Happy Monday to you all! First off for those of you who have sent kids off to school in the last couple weeks…HATS OFF TO YOU!!! It is no small task!  Amongst sending our oldest off to kindergarten, we then left for Mexico on his third day of school ( I know, rough life).  Luckily for us my mom was able to come and care for the kids as well as some pretty rock star neighbors who helped assist with transporting our oldest to school.  Yes the trip was great but we were ready to come back and settle into our new reality.  What we didn’t know was what they new reality was going to look like!?!

We have officially entered into a new dimension…I mean stage 5 HOUSTON WE HAVE A PROBLEM, solar meltdown!  Do any of you feel me on this? I would love to know! Now before he started school we felt we had a pretty good handle on not having too many set plans for right after school those first few weeks/months due to the fact that he would be getting used to being in school all day. What I wasn’t prepared for was the crying and let me tell you crying about ANYTHING and EVERYTHING! If I said the wrong thing, looked at him wrong or his brother walked by him the wrong way. It was a losing battle daily.  Then came this past weekend.  So I have had to wake him up for school every morning (he will probably be the teen who sleeps until noon).  He goes to be early like 7:30 early but when morning hits he is still sleepy. So this first weekend being back home after our trip to Paradise we thought “great, he can finally sleep in”.  Nope, this little guy was up at 5am both Saturday and Sunday! So what does that mean for the day? Struggle…and I mean the struggle was real! Just when I thought I had this back to school thing down, BAM.  So after some chats with him about school (he said he doesn’t act this way at school), thank you Lord! I asked him what might help him be successful at home.  In a nutshell this kid thrives on reinforcement. After some thinking and discussing, I remembered that he is really interested in the classroom “clip chart” for behavior. It dawned on me.  Why not make one for home.  So this morning I got all necessary supplies and thankfully it was a day that an Amazon prime ordered showed up ( hey, I needed the cardboard) and proceeded to make a pretty awesome clip chart.  I even had clothes pins to write both boys names on.  When I showed it to my oldest he was pretty pumped.  What I didn’t expect was what came next…”Hey mom, you and dad need a clip too”.  I was flabbergasted! Well, sure kid, what parent doesn’t need a clip?  Actually it makes total sense.  That way the hubs and I are keeping our moods and behaviors in check.  I am really hoping that this helps in the afternoon failures I have experienced as of late.  Nothing makes you feel more like #momfail then coming home after you have had a great day and dealing with emotional meltdowns until bedtime.  Of course, I know I am not the only mom or parent to have dealt with this but wow, it is a real thing.

So as we embark on the third week of school I am bound and determined to make afternoons more successful because right now, WE ARE FEELING IT! Of course as I type this entry he is being as good as gold, probably because he earned some phone time and we are going out to eat for a school fundraiser, but hey a win is a win!  I would love to hear from you what is working for you? How do you get through the afternoons with an emotional, irrational tyrant (ok maybe not a tyrant but close) without feeling like you are in a hostage situation?  This too shall pass, right?

Until next time, may you have joy in the journey!

 

Happy Tuesday to you! This post may be a little bit of a tear-jerker for some but I felt compelled to blog about it as this is the “season” I am in right now.  It’s August 7 and time is not on my side anymore.  As we approach one week before school starts I no longer have a preschooler, but a real kindergartener!  I mean seriously, how is that even possible? Wasn’t it just a few days ago that he was teething, learning to crawl and walk?

When we first have kids we are in the trenches, I mean literally in the trenches and can barely see past the next feeding. Am I right?  Then somehow in the blink of an eye we are heading to Kindergarten Round-Up with a glimmer of a tear in our eyes as we drive away.  These tiny little humans, ready to take on the world (or at least elementary school) for the first time in their life! It’s mind-blowing how right before our eyes they go from completely dependent on us as moms (and dads) to semi-independent functioning resemblances of us! It’s downright SCARY! Now don’t get me wrong my little brown-haired, brown-eyed mini version of myself has been in preschool for three wonderful years so he has been away from me and I am not going to lie, I have ENJOYED it.  A few hours each day in the morning to have some ME time.  However, just yesterday as we completed what will probably be our last “random” zoo day it hit me that the days of carefree bliss are now over.  We no longer have the “free” calendar to go to a 10am movie, hit up the children’s museum or zoo on  Thursday just because.  WOW! I instantly became an emotional mess.  The emotions: happy, sad, anxious, nervous, sad, excited, scared, did I mention sad? Yet, I know that my sweet little boy is ready! He was so excited to go to Back to School 101 today.  He was full of smiles and this, this is what will help my heart.

Now is the time that I lift up prayers.  Prayers that all that we have instilled in him over the course of the five years, the love we have given, the boo boos we have kissed, the hugs just because you needed one at that minute and the teaching of manners, I pray that all of that stays with him.  He will be in the hands of someone else each day at school and while I am very confident in the teachers he will have; as a momma it is hard to surrender that control of your child.  So will I be a blubbering mess on Tuesday August 14, I would like to think NO.  I know this little boy, who is not so little anymore, is so ready for this next adventure in life.  He has reached yet another milestone in his development.  I am so excited for this next chapter! To see how he grows and changes over the course of this year, the friends he will make, the personality he will continue to develop and the things he will learn.  Oh the things he will learn! I am also excited for this chapter for me.  I am now a mother of a child in elementary school, this is a huge deal.  We have survived the first five years of his life! While our calendars may be dictated by school days and events, it is another forward movement of our little people growing and turning into the caring, kind, independent, happy and adventurous we want them to be.  So if you are in the same boat, join with me in celebrating this next milestone.  Yes, it is still a sad one but just think of how much they are who they are because of you, YES, YOU momma!!! I can’t guarantee there won’t be tears on that first day, but I hope they are tears of joy! Celebrating this next milestone.  Whether you have a kiddo going off to kindergarten, high school or college or hey, even their first job, celebrate this milestone.  Know that you have done well! Look up and say a prayer if you need too, I know I will be saying lots that first day.  Put it all in HIS hands.  HE will be with them while we are not and for this I will rest a little easier.

While this “season” isn’t always easy for us, rest assured, we are in this together! I will be praying for a very successful first day of school for you and your children.  May the tears be joyful and happy!

Until next time…may you find Joy in the Journey!

How fitting that my next post falls on National Girlfriend Day! This post is one that has been on my heart for sometime.  It is something that I hold dear to my heart.  Tribe.  One word.  I have heard the word for so many years.  In many different contexts but never really got what it meant until this past year.  Tribe. According to wikipedia “in anthropology, a tribe is a human social group.  Tribe, noun, a social division in a traditional society consisting of families or communities linked by social, economic, religious, or blood ties, with having a common culture and dialect, typically having a recognized leader.

Before I dive in to my tribe I want to take a moment and recognize that as women we sometimes tend to believe that we can do all things.  That asking for help is a sign of weakness.  We get wrapped up into “I don’t want to bother my friends because they have their own problems, kids and issues to deal with as well’, or “they probably don’t have time to help me”. Well let me tell you as a mom with two boys who continue to test my limits, I do need help and I am learning to ask for it.  Just this week my youngest was not feeling the best due to allergies and I had time sensitive errands that needed to be done.  Instead of dragging them out I decided to ask a friend if they could help watch kiddos so I could get errands done.  You know what, they said YES! It felt so wonderful to not only ask but have her say “of course bring them over and they can play with my kiddos while I get some cleaning done”.  WIN WIN! Like they say it never hurts to ask and the worst they are going to say is no.  But we will never know unless we ask first.

Tribe.  This past year has been a defining year for myself.  Through ups, downs and all-around in day-to-day life.  I get through it with the help of my Tribe.  Of course I love my husband and family and they are also there for me but there is just something about the girlfriends you have around you.  Friends have always been important in my life.  I have had many good friends, best friends and girls that I can just down right have a good time with (you know who you are!) From South Dakota, Iowa, Minnesota, Illinois, Missouri and Nebraska I have met some of the best girlfriends out there!

An important lesson in my life I have discovered is that sometimes friendships come and go.  It’s not always the fault of either party. It can come through distance, life changes, arguments or just the season you are in.  Let me tell you God has put some pretty amazing people in my life over the course of many friendships. While some early friendships are still in tact (elementary friends, high school and college) some have fallen off course. With the help of Facebook of course we can still see pictures and know when so and so gets married, has a baby, moves, has a family member pass, needs prayer requests or unfortunately goes through a divorce.

The great thing is even as an adult I am still making friends! Whether it be basic acquaintances or friends that become best friends right out of the gate.  Whatever stage/season of life you are in I hope you are still making friends as well.  Yes, I know it is important to have quality over quantity, I also feel that the farther my net is cast the better off I will be.  It is so amazing to be able to say hello to friends at preschool pickup/drop-off, walking through neighborhood, entering church, going to MOPS, or just making a Target or Costco run, I am able to see some face of women I know.  While I may not know the importance of them being placed in my life I know that God knows why they are there.  Sometimes it is the unlikeliest of people we become friends with.  And lets be honest (in my experience) it takes a lot more energy to not like someone then it does to like them.  Why waste energy we often don’t have anyways.

Last night I held a Leadership Retreat for the upcoming MOPS year and let me tell you it was nothing short of AMAZING!  As I looked around I was just in awe of the connections we have already made and hope to build on this next year.  These women I will be working along side of are definitely a gift from God.

No matter where this post finds you at today. I hope that you are part of an amazing TRIBE and if you are not, come be part of mine! It can be hard to meet other women outside of the routine parts of our life (work, kids, kid’s schedules, etc) but when we make connections with our girlfriends it enhances our life in so many ways.  I mean who else is going to go to the Rom-Coms with us, share insta pot recipes or gossip about the latest episode of the Bachelor/Bachelorette? So grab a girlfriend, or two declare your tribe! You will not be disappointed.  For those of you reading this that are a part of my tribe, thank you from the bottom of my heart for helping my cup overflow. You have no idea the value I place in our tribe!

So from one tribe to the next go out and celebrate national girlfriend day! Call up a friend, go to a movie, face time, grab a dinner or send a snap chat, whatever you do make it a great day!

 

CHEERS to all the Amazing TRIBES!

Happy Fri-YAY! We have made it through another week.  No matter what this week held for you, I hope you will find this post encouraging.  Read, comment, share it, I appreciate it.

As a mom of two boys, I have found that there are three things I need daily and in somewhat large amounts…mercy, grace and coffee.  I know in the media world that we live in it is hard to not get caught up in the way we feel we should be living.  We need to do more crafts with kids, take them more places, eat all healthy food, workout, sleep, keep the house clean, yard beautiful, dog cared for, beds made, laundry done, the list goes on and on.  While some days I feel like I am getting things crossed off the list other days I feel as if I am treading water.  Do you feel me?  How many of us have these days??? We log in to facebook, instagram or twitter and see how everyone else is doing and think, man if I could just be like HER? Well who is HER? Is she even real?  I mean I just barely got started with this blog post and had to pause because my 3 year old was hollering at me from the basement that he went poop.  This is real life folks! Now don’t get me wrong I enjoy facebook and post on it fairly regularly, although I don’t have instagram or twitter because I just don’t care to figure them out.  LOL But the one thing I don’t think we give ourselves enough of is mercy and grace.  The only person who we should try to be living like is Jesus! Who cares about so and so’s amazingly clean counter space, perfect make-up or vacuum lines in their carpet.  We are all living proof that Jesus loves us all.  No matter the bank account, how many friends we have or where we live.  Isn’t that the person we want to be like?

Mercy. YEP, I need it and need to give it. Daily.  When the boys are acting less then perfect  and have made a mess everywhere and I mean everywhere (except the laundry room).  Mercy.  One little word that makes a huge difference in how we live out our life.  I am not perfect, so why should I expect my kids/friends/neighbors/other drivers to be?  Showing/having more mercy is what its all about.  I know the days that I do go so much better and I feel better.  I mean we all have less then stellar days, even though media may not portray THOSE days.  We never know the shoes that someone else is walking in.  I need to constantly remind myself of this.  No matter how rough it gets there is probably someone battling their own worse demons.  A little mercy goes a long way.

Be merciful, just as your father is merciful. Luke 6:36

Grace. Holy game changer. When I allow myself grace the day is always a little easier.  There are going to be days when I want to pull my hair out, but then there are the days when all is well.  There are always more good days then bad, especially when I make the choice to have a good day and remind myself of the grace that I have been given so should also allow for myself.  Aren’t we our toughest critic most days? This summer has been pretty busy with vacation, preschool camps, VBS, playdates, a backyard renovation, oh and rearranging three rooms in our home.  Yes there are so many things to do each day.  While I stress over putting the house back in order, I also know that these days with my littles are so precious and few in the grand scheme of things.  Making memories has been my motto this summer.  At the end of the day when your kids are grown and out of the house, will you remember the unfinished to-do list, NOPE. You will remember the fun you had playing endless hours of baseball, swimming at the lake, and making s’mores.   So when the laundry is piled high, floors/counters are barely visible and you feel like you just need nap… Grace.

For it is by grace you have been saved,                                                                               through faith- and this is not from yourselves,                                                                             it is the gift of God- not by works, so that no one can boast. Ephesians 2:8-9

Coffee. Iced, blended, luke-warm or hot. However you take your coffee, have a cup, or three or hey, even the whole pot.  I mean really some days require it.  If you are not a coffee drinker, insert your beverage of choice.  But have a glass and take a deep breath.  As the old commercial goes “have a Coke and a smile”.  Sit on the patio, deck, front porch or hide in the bathroom.  No judgment here! Raise your cup and say Mercy Grace & Coffee.  For this is the toast that should be shouted daily.  We were made perfectly in the eyes of the LORD.  Embrace your true self, stand tall, be proud and live each day wanting to be more like Jesus and less like the mythical “HER”.

So, here’s to a daily dose of mercy, grace and coffee…

 

Wow! I am really doing it…I’m starting a blog.  It is super crazy how God works in our daily life.  I have been pondering starting a blog for months maybe even a full year.  You see I love to chat and have conversations with people BUT writing, now that is not my strong suit.  With enough encouragement from my husband and dear friends here I am.

SO what am I going to talk about? The first blog post became daunting as I had no idea what I wanted to write about so I slept on it and prayed for some wisdom, and THEN IT HAPPENED…

Tonight I attended the first of a five-week study Everybody, Always with Bob Goff.  Let me tell you what an AMAZING first night.  I mean first off its BOB GOFF and he is great!  One of the discussion questions my group chatted about was on joy and happiness and if there is a difference between the two.  It really invoked a deep discussion.  As I pondered the two words in my head I immediately thought of them as two different words with different meanings. Before we jumped to look up the definitions online we chatted freely.   Joy was described as long-term and  having deeper meaning.  Whereas happiness was more short-term “in the moment”.  It was really interesting because to me I had the exact opposite thought.  For the longest time I had a sign in my apartment that stated “Happiness is a destination not a way of life.”  So for me when I think of happiness, I think of long term, big picture, a state of mind we journey to achieve.  Joy, to me, is in the “moments”. It’s a feeling you get. It’s going out of your way to do something kind for someone, making a difference for someone, or the feeling you get based on something that happens.

In many experiences in my life I have come to realize that you cannot bring someone happiness, but you can bring them joy. When I think of the term “it’s the little things” the word JOY completely rushes into my mind.

You may not always be happy, it may take many days, weeks, months or even years to reach a state of happiness, but Joy can be found in each new day. For his anger is but for a moment, and his favor is for a lifetime.  Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning.  Psalm 30:5 NLT  

The song “Your Love Never Fails” by the Newsboys also portrays joy coming in the morning:

You stay the same through the ages

Your love never changes

There may be pain in the night

but joy comes in the morning

 

Well it has been a pleasure writing this first blog post I am excited to say that it is complete and not as scary as I thought it would be.  I wish you a wonderful night and may there by joy in the morning!

 

 

 

Thanks for joining me!

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton