Babies, Brownies and Blessings

She's the picture you see in the movies...princess nightgown, plush puppy, favorite blankie. Sweaty hair swept across her precious forehead, cheeks flush from sleep, her chest rising and falling. The tantrum that got her there early long forgotten in the quiet of her rhythmic breathing. He's the picture you see in the movies... head tipped to one side, camo comforter across his bare little boy chest, pair of six guns peaking from under the pillow, favorite blankie hidden but there. The mean words that got him there early long forgotten in the flutter of his "too long to be wasted on a boy" lashes as he dreams. Big He is the picture you see in the movies... newly-long hair tossed across his face, favorite blankie now stowed away. His stance even at rest one of strength. He's becoming a man, but my boy child while he sleeps. The strength that brought tears to his brother from a punch tossed in anger now silent as he rests. It seemed possible that the en...

The kids and I were at an indoor playground a few months ago with a dear friend. We were chatting during a rare moment of uninterrupted conversation while the kids played. In my periphery I noticed that 2 of my 3 had broken the "you've gotta have socks on" rule. I stopped talking mid-sentence and prepared to yell across the gym to the kids. My friend stopped me and said, "let the owner do it, maybe they'll listen better".   At that moment I was at a cross-roads in parenting: do I parent my kids or let someone else do it. What also became crystal clear was that there was more to this for me. The question I was actually asking myself was this: if I wait for someone else to tell my kids to follow the rules, what kind of mom will the owner think I am? Would I appear disrespectful? Lazy? Clueless and unaware? Would she think I'm a bad mom and I'm what's wrong with the world? Why does a little thing like telling my kids to put on thei...

A little while back I was talking to my folks about what's what and who's who. Small town catch-up, you know. We got on the subject of someone and I made a comment or two that was out of line. (Don't worry, you don't know this person nor would they ever see this.) I said something about how great it was that anyone would be willing to help Mr. Uffda (names have been changed to protect the innocent). My mom's response has been pinging around in my head ever since: "Well, he's a person, too." Ugh, yes, he is. He IS a person, too. God made him. God loves him. He feels, hurts, thinks, knows. When did I forget that? Since when is it ok for me to have a heyday at someone else's expense and just call it "speaking the truth"? Is it really my place to "say what everyone is thinking" or "call a spade a spade"? What about the fact that he's a person, too? I know I'm not the only one who has forgotten...

...but you can't pick your friend's battles. If you're a parent you've seen other people who aren't parenting as well as you the same way you do. Isn't it tempting to think you've got it together and they don't? At least in that brief moment that your kid is NOT doing the naughty thing their's is doing? I know I've touched on this before but in those years before parenting toddlers I had all the answers. All.the.answers. Ask my poor sister who had kids before me and she'll tell you it's true. Here's what I know now: I don't have all the answers. Ready for a shocker? Neither do you. I mean that in the nicest way possible... What is true of all parents is they pick their battles when it comes to raising and disciplining kids. Some don't consciously pick them but you know by the behaviors you see what is tolerated or not tolerated. Some people can't handle noisy kids so they shush all the time. Can't ...

So what's this business idea I referred to in my last post? First , I just want to say a quick THANK YOU for reading these thoughts I blog. You're encouragement and support mean so much to me. I love that it resonates with so many...sometimes it's just nice to know that God is working in us all and we aren't alone in our journey towards transformation. You guys are the best and I am humbled. A little background...I am a nurse (part-time) in the NICU (neonatal intensive care unit) and I love it. My heart is drawn to the littlest and sickest babies and the families who love them. I've been blessed to be a part of the lives of some who's memory is all that remains. That is not a privilege I take lightly. In the last many months we have been moved and excited to increase the amount of money we are giving but have found the family budget is at capacity. (I say that carefully because we all know God can do big things despite our curren...

God has taken us on a pretty amazing financial journey in the last 5 years. From debt reduction to saving for an emergency to building a house...we have learned much and are grateful God wouldn't let us be lazy in that area. I touched on budgeting and frugality in my previous post  but what I didn't mention is what God has put on our hearts in a big way this year: giving. Does that make you cringe? Lots of thoughts go through our minds when "giving" is on the table: I barely have enough as it is, everybody else has more than me and could give more, certainly others have enough, the church shouldn't need my money, I want to buy that cute purse instead, the last time I gave the person didn't use the money the way they should have, etc. Over the past many months we have read or heard more and more about giving and it's stuck in my man's and my craw. It just keeps coming up! It's like God is telling us "I have something bigger for you t...

The dawning of a new year always brings financial change to the front of my mind. There's not better to start something new than at the beginning of something: new week, month, year. It's like hitting the restart button and the past truly feels like the past! Several years ago we went through Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover program and paid off all our debt in less than two years. We weren't "overspenders" necessarily, but we spent everything we made and somehow over the years had added a camper payment, car payment, continued student loan payments...you get the picture. The plan has you spending CASH, paying down your debts, smallest to largest, getting an emergency fund set in place and most importantly, BUDGETING! Fast forward and our spending has morphed into a modified version of the Ramsey plan. Still not adding debt (unless you count our new house, yikes!), still budgeting but somehow our cash use has dwindled. And I got a Target cred...