Taking Off the Training Wheels

How old were you when you took off the training wheels? Do you remember the joy of that first solo bike ride?

Parenting can be a lot like learning how to ride a bike. We see others doing it, and it looks easy. We have a baby, shiny and new, and we’re really really excited about the possibilities, and ready to take off…and then we realize it’s a lot harder than it looks. And we wobble….or crash…or fall. Sometimes over and over again. But we’re called to keep on trying, and living out our values to the ones He’s entrusted to our care—even when it’s hard and we feel like we’re getting nowhere. Even on the days we feel like all we’re doing is falling.

Because one day, we’ll look back, and realize we’ve actually learned how to ride.

Trusting with you that the day to day practicing, training and pedaling you’re doing as you love your kids well and live out your values as a family will produce the joy of riding side by side together. And cheering you on as you put your foot to the pedal and try again even when you don’t feel like it.

You’ve got this, Mama. 🚲

#Bicycles

#TrainingWheels

#RidingBikes

#1000HoursOutside

#Siblings

#UrbanHomeschool

Some thoughts about pots… (and pans)

This is probably one of the hardest working cabinets in our home. Those pots get used multiple times a day—today they made oatmeal for breakfast, and homemade Mac & cheese for lunch. They’ll boil water for afternoon tea, and get called into work again for rice, beans and tacos for dinner tonight. Those pots have been in service for almost 20 years, and while they’re far from glorious (and are certainly not as shiny as they once were)they have served our family well. They’ve made soup for sick neighbors and cooked rice and beans for those celebrating the birth of a new baby. They’ve cooked birthday and anniversary dinners—and literally thousand or meals set before hungry little ones. They’ve been witness to our family’s joys and sorrows and kept us well fed in the midst of both. Thankful for these hardworking tools today.

What is a hardworking area of your hole that you’re thankful for?

#PotsAndPans

#Kitchen

#KitchenIdeas

#KitchenCabinet

#FamilyMeals

#HardworkingTools

#Thankful

They Keep Growing

They keep growing, Mama. One moment, you’re pushing them in a stroller, and the next, they’re walking beside you and almost (but not quite!) tall enough to reach the doorbell.

I continue to marvel at the delights of each new stage with each child—what a blessing it is to walk alongside each of them and watch them grow and mature a little more into who they’re called to be.

What are you most thankful for at the stage(s) you find yourself in?

#GrowingUp

#AgesAndStages

#MomMoment

#TheDaysAreLong

#Grateful

#Thankful

Sowing Seeds

We tilled the soil and began planting our tiny backyard garden this week. And as I surveyed our hard work, looking like a barren patch of brown dirt, it hit me how much gardening exemplifies our work as parents.

All we can do is plant and water the seeds, Mama. We’re gifted these tiny ones for a few precious seasons, and fill our minutes and moments by loving them well and pointing them to Him. But ultimately, as they grow, it’s in the hands of the Creator to form and shape them into whom He’s calling them to be. We are simply called to be faithful in planting and watering the seeds—it is He who grows the crop and brings the harvest.

I’ve been faithfully watering my “dirt” these past few days, and eagerly anticipating the growth of the seeds that were planted—but so far, there’s nothing to show for the labor. And while I’ve been at that, I’ve continued to sow into these precious ones under my care, pointing them daily to Him and His grace and love, and looking expectantly toward the time when these tiny seeds of faith will grow a rich harvest.

#DisciplingKids

#MakingDisciples

#MomTruth

#Gardening

#BackyardGarden

#PlantingSeeds

#SoulCare

The Barren Places

Sometimes it’s the barren places that hold the most promise, friend.

For days, my kids have been clearing the leaves from this patch of dirt in our backyard. Taking and turning the soil again and again. Carefully lining the outside with stones, to mark it’s borders to anyone who might not see it’s potential.

They have big plans. To plant flowers. And vegetables. And fruits. And they can already envision the way it will look when their work is complete. They see that dry barren dirt not as it is, but as it will be.

How about you, Mama? Are you in a dry and barren place in your life? Is your relationship with your kids or perhaps other relationships in a place where it’s hard to see anything but dirt? It’s in the barren places where the most potential lies.

We have a yard full of grass. A family garden of fertile soil, mulched and ready to go. But where is it that my kids see the potential? In the oft ignored and overlooked dirt.

Whatever dirt you see in your life right now, God sees how it will be one day. I’m cheering you on as you clear and cultivate the hard places, to allow the Father to create beauty amidst the barrenness.

What hard places can I pray for you in this week?

#Dirt

#Barren

#LessonsInTheGarden

#Soil

#HardPlaces

#MomTruth

#SoulCare

#KidsOutside

#BackyardFun

#BackyardIdeas

#1000HoursOutside

Friday Tidy

On Fridays, our family takes an hour or two to work together to tidy the house together so we are ready for weekend fun and adventures. Everyone pitches in to tidy up, vacuum, dust and pick up and put away things that have gotten out of place throughout the week.

Now that we’ve been doing it for so long, the kids expect it and know that it’s simply part of our weekly rhythm.

How do you make space in your schedule for tidying?

#FridayTidy

#Fridays

#CleanItTogether

#FamilyCleaning

#Housekeeping

#Housecleaning

#HouseAndHome

#Rhythms

#WeeklyRhythms

Always Watching

You are an example, Mama. They’re watching you, and they want to be just like you. And that’s a good and beautiful thing—but it’s also a big responsibility.

What are they seeing as they watch you throughout the ordinary days? What are your actions saying to them? What are your priorities, that may someday become their priorities? How do the words that you speak to others influence them on how to treat others?

We will never be enough, Mama—but there is One who is enough. So as they watch us, Mama, day in and day out, on the days when we are wonderful Moms, and on the days we fall far short, let us make sure that we are watching too. For its only when we watch and mimic our Savior that we are truly worthy of being watched.

Follow Him closely, Mama, so that His heart becomes your heart. He will completely change your motherhood—and the lives of those who are watching.

How are you spending time with the Savior today?

#MomTruth

#FeedYourSoul

#IntentionalMotherhood

#IntentionalParenting

#MindfulMotherhood

#Siblings

Breakfast Doesn’t Have To Be Complicated

Are you stuck in a breakfast rut, Mama? Do you dread figuring out breakfast every day? Are you weary of the same breakfasts day after day with your little ones?

Making breakfast, and a variety of breakfasts that you enjoy, doesn’t have to be complicated! You can put your breakfast routine on auto-pilot AND still enjoy a wide variety of breakfasts throughout the week.

We have a breakfast rhythm similar to our dinner rhythm. I listed out the foods our family likes to eat in the morning for breakfast. Then I listed out the days of the week and our responsibilities each of those days. The easier breakfasts are used on the days we are busier, and the ones that take a bit more time are for the days when we have more time or the days when intentionally get up earlier to prepare breakfast.

Once I decided on our routine, ever week the plan was the same. This makes grocery shopping and prep easy—we need the same foods each week, so I can plan ahead and make sure they’re in the house. We are also saving money by not purchasing so many ready made foods or cereal, since we eat a variety of breakfasts.

Here’s our schedule:

◦ 🍳 Monday—Assorted Cereals w/ Bananas

◦ 🍳Tuesday—Oatmeal w/Brown Sugar, Walnuts & Raisins

◦ 🍳Wednesday—Waffles, Peanut Butter, Walnuts & Honey

◦ 🍳Thursday—Oatmeal w/Brown Sugar, Walnuts & Raisins

◦ 🍳Friday—Hard Boiled Eggs, Avocados, & Tomatoes on Toast

◦ 🍳Saturday—Mama Bakes (and Doubles the Recipe for Sunday). Coffee Cake, Muffins, Banana Bread, etc.

◦ 🍳Sunday—Scrambled Eggs, Breakfast Potatoes, & Leftover Baked Treats

How do you do breakfast daily?

#WhatsForBreakfast

#Breakfast

#Baking

#MealPlan

#MealPlanning

#Eggs

#AvocadoToast

#Waffles

#Oatmeal

#Cereal

#DebtFreeLifestyle

#DebtFree

#SimpleMeal

#SimpleLiving

#Routines

A School Bus, Waiting & Contagious Joy

Every day, shortly after he wakes up, he takes his post at the window. He’s into trucks and police cars and ambulances and fire engines, but his current favorite is the “ding-ding bus”—the yellow school bus he sees stop near our house every morning.

And when that bus finally pulls arrives, slows to a stop, and turns on its light, our entire house knows about it. The joy and the shrieking—“look, it’s the ding-ding bus; get on the ding-ding bus; good morning ding-ding bus;”—is contagious. He’s so excited about the bus that often, a sibling can be persuaded to join him at the window, just to share in his joy.

Where are you finding your joy, Mama? If only we would be as excited to sit daily at the feet of our Savior as a toddler watching for a school bus. If only reading His Word was so delightful that those around us could be persuaded to join us in the reading, in the waiting, in the praying, just to share in our joy.

Your joy, your peace that is found only through Him and spending time with Him, is contagious, Mama. Take time today to sit at His feet—even if it’s amidst the interruptions of little ones all around you. It may be the most important thing you do all day.

May those He’s entrusted you with remember these days as days when their Mama watched and waited for time with the Savior.

#Joy

#MomTruth

#IntentionalParenting

#IntentionalMotherhood

#FeedYourSoul

#SoulCare

#SacredCalling

#MakingDisciples

He Chose You

Sometimes it feels like the people we follow have it all together, when we’re just trying to survive and make it till the kids go to bed. And sometimes, scrolling through the ‘gram can even make us doubt our skills as Mamas, because we aren’t doing it like SHE is.

Consider this your friendly reminder that YOU are the one called to mother your kids, in this time, and in this season. He chose you, Mama, because He knew that YOU would be the best one to be their Mama. Your personality. Your laugh. Your sense of humor. Your looks. Your way of doing things. The way you cook or don’t cook. The way you dress. The music you like. That silly thing you always do. You.

Out of all the Mamas He could have picked for your kids, it was you He chose. Because YOU are the one to best mother them.

It’s a sacred calling, Mama, and He who called you will equip you for the task. Pause and take a moment to thank Him for the gift of these little ones who call you Mama…and then ask Him for wisdom to walk out the rest of this day with them. He so graciously gives to those who ask.

And then stop scrolling, and take a look at yourself in the mirror—and thank Him for the amazing creation of YOU—He delights in you, Mama, and your little ones do too.

#MomTruth

#MomMoment

#SacredCalling

#IntentionalMotherhood

#HeChoseYou

#Mama

#Chosen

#SoulCare