The Mission of Motherhood

 

I am currently reading one of the best books I've read in years.

For the past few months, I've had this book on my "Must Read before my kids are 40" list. And, thankfully, a friend of mine had it, so I started reading through it about 2 weeks ago. And honestly, and I mean this with all of my heart, this book is one of the most inspirational books I've ever read. It has helped encourage, equip, and inspire me to know, accept, and love this gift of motherhood. (I apologize for all of the verbs in the previous sentence. :-) )

Here is one of my favorite quotes:

"I've come to appreciate the importance of the many thousands of routine moments in a mother's life, for it is in these moments that real greatness tends to be taught and caught. It is certainly important  to grasp the great calling of motherhood and respond to a  vision for what a family can be. But it's the way I respond to my children in everyday moments that gives me the best chance of winning their hearts. If I have integrity and patience in the small moments of life that are so important to my children, and if I approach them with a servant's heart, then I have a far better chance of influencing them in the larger and more critical issues of life."

Anyway, if you are a mother of small children, a mother who is expecting, or a mother at heart, please read this book. It will change you life.

Buy it on Amazon here.

Here is a link to Sally Clarkson's Blog  (author of Mission of Motherhood): I Take Joy

Happy Reading!

Monica

Busy as a bee....

Well friends, for the past few weeks we have been SUPER busy! Here are some highlights of what we have been up to lately

• We spent Memorial weekend with some friends on the lake. It was J-man's first boat ride. :)

• After Memorial Day weekend, we left for a week at the beach with my parents, my brother and his wife, and my sister!

• One night on the trip we all sat around and ate some yummy food, watched my sister perform a monologue for us, had a mini dance party, and played a serious game of ERS...it's a card game. :) Look it up!

• Then we spent a week watching 4 of the most precious children we know! I was a momma to 5 kiddos for the week and LOVED it! Am I crazy?! I would love for Adam and I to have a house full of our own one day. My favorite conversation with one of the kids from the week went as follows:                                                                                                                               

          Her: You know, you remind me a lot of my mom.                                                                     

          Me:  (smile, sigh, and feel deeply touched) Why do you say that?

          Her: I don't know. I guess it's because you like to get on your computer, and so does     

                    my mom.

          Me:  (well, isn't that nice.)  Oh really? That's why I remind you of your mom?

          Her:  Yeah, but there's another reason.

          Me: (totally expecting to hear something profound and moving) Yeah?

          Her:  Most mornings my mom doesn't usually wear make-up or fix her hair either.

          Me:  (Oh).  Thanks dear. You are so sweet.

This is the whole gang eating dinner one night...

• And since today is Father's Day, I thought I'd (publicly) say Happy Dad day to the two greatest dads I know. :) Love you both!

~Monica

Making Messes

Before having my little munchkin, I couldn't understand why people who have kids always talked about how daunting of a task it was to keep their house cleaned, to keep their car cleaned, to keep the kitchen mopped etc. etc. Honestly, I naively (and perhaps a little arrogantly) thought, "Well I will keep my house, car, kitchen clean. It really can't be that hard. How much mess can a little kid make after all?"


That was until, munchkin became a food throwing, crumb making, drool dripping toddler. 


Now I know. 


Little precious toddlers make BIG messes.


Now I completely understand why hardwood floors are preferred over carpet, why cars seem to stay filled with crumbs, and why at any given moment you might find a cheerio in a corner crevice of my kitchen. 


Oh little man doesn't do it on purpose (most of the time); it just seems to be innately in him to make a mess. 


I was thinking about all of that when I was on my hands and knees wiping up some spilled applesauce on the floor after Jackson ate lunch. I was thinking about how after I finished cleaning up that mess, he was sure to make another one at dinner, and I (or Adam) would clean up that mess too. I  wasn't frustrated. I was just thinking about how if I didn't love Jackson so much, I might be. (And to be honest, one day I probably will be frustrated, but hopefully not.)


As I was wiping up the sticky goo, Jackson came up behind me, squealed, and laid his sweet head on my shoulder.


And just like that, Jesus whispered truth into my heart. "My child, just as you spend countless hours cleaning up after your child because you love him, I do the same for you. I clean up your messes. Do you notice?"


I'm sure I'm not even aware of just how many messes God has cleaned up for me. And to think he does that joyfully, and not frustratingly really does overwhelm me. 


I spent a little while that afternoon thanking Jesus for taking care of things for me that I have probably overlooked, or  that I've not be grateful for.  And when I cleaned up after Jackson that night after dinner, I cleaned up the floor thanking Jesus for all the times he has does that and much more for me. 


Thankfully, we serve a God who continues to mop up our never-ending messes. 


Praise Jesus. 




~Monica

Giving back (and receiving)

Hello. :) It is waaaay too late right now for me (11:17), but I've had it on my heart to share with you some things for a couple of days now. I know that we are not anywhere close to a major gift-buying holiday season, but if you are looking for some gift ideas, or even ways to give back through what you purchase, here are some things that I love, love, love.

LUO PROJECT

The Luo Project is an awesome non profit organization headed up by two gorgeous people (inside and out). They provide food, education, and medical needs to children in impoverished areas. You can read about them here. 

One way you can support them is by purchasing  a painting like the one below:

One painting is $250 dollars, BUT what you are paying for is nutrition, academic education, medical care, and biblical curriculum for one child for one year, AND, each canvas is hand painted by a child from their partnership. The children pick the colors, and sign each canvas with a hand or foot print. How precious is that!? We have one, and we love it. You should have one too. :)

Here is the link to the canvases:    Canvas

TOMS SHOES

If you haven't heard of Toms Shoes by now, well, you are crazy. Just kidding, but really, you should know what Toms Shoes are, and if you've known about them for awhile and haven't purchased a pair of shoes, now is the time. 

These are the ones I want to buy next:

Toms Shoes is another non-profit organization that gives shoes to needy kids. They took the traditional Argentinian shoe and re-modeled it. When you buy a pair, you are actually purchasing two pairs. One for you, and one for them to give away to a child in need. Adam and I both have some Toms and love them. Go here to buy your own:  Toms Shoes

PLYWOOD PEOPLE

The Plywood People are an "innovative community addressing social needs" based out of Atlanta GA, they do a lot of things, but I wanted to share with you one creative project they have started- recycling old billboards. Crazy right?! They actually make fun small messenger bags out of the recycled billboards, and the money they make goes straight to helping refugees in the area. 

Each bag is unique, depending on what type of billboard it came from. Anyway, we had them at the Orange Conference. Adam and I have a bag, and Adam bought a ton to give away to our students at Walking Wisely Weekend.  To get your own, go here.  

STELLA AND DOT: supporting an adoption

I follow the blog of a girl who I went to high school with. She recently adopted a little girl from Uganda. On her blog she mentioned some friends of hers who are in the process of adopting a little girl as well. To help raise funds for them, they are selling jewelry from Stella and Dot. I'm wanting these two pieces:

When you purchase something, if you enter "Rachel and April" as your hosts when you check out,  100% of the profit goes towards their adoption! Isn't that awesome! Here is the link to the blog post:  Heirs with Christ.

So these are just some of the things I love supporting. Do you have any organizations that you support? Or products you purchase because of what the company does for someone in need? If so, please share!

blessed beyond measure,

Monica

Makeover, and Jackson's Baby D Video

Hello friends! Can you tell I've done a little 'remodeling' of the blog? The flowers make me happy. :) 

Honestly, I spent an insane amount of time trying to decide on what background I liked, what header I wanted, how to center the header, blah blah blah...seriously I wasted too much time in the blogosphere. 

Anyway, it's changed (for now), and I think I like it. :) We will see. 

I mentioned awhile back that we had Jackson's Baby Dedication at church....well for the event, Adam and I had to listen to 4 talks (on cd), write  a letter to Jackson, decide what traditions and family values were important to us, and record a video. So for your viewing pleasure...here is the video:

Enjoy!

What I'm loving....

Hello friends! These are some things I'm loving right now.....

These yummy HEALTHY brownies that are only 95 calories, 3 grams of fat and zero cholesterol a brownie, compared to a regular boxed brownie's doubly high calories, nearly quadrupled fat, and 60 milligrams of cholesterol. (If you use an 8x8 pan and cut the brownies in 16ths) 

(Recipe from Good Housekeeping)

INGREDIENTS:

      1 teaspoon(s) instant coffee powder or granules

         2 teaspoon(s) vanilla extract

         1/2 cup(s) all-purpose flour

         1/2  cup(s) unsweetened cocoa

         1/4 teaspoon(s) baking powder

         1/4 teaspoon(s) salt

         1 cup(s) sugar

         1/4 cup(s) trans-fat free vegetable oil spread

         3 large egg whites

             Preheat your oven to 350°F, and grease a 8'' by 8'' metal pan. Dissolve your coffee in the vanilla extract. Combine the flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt. In a bowl, whisk the sugar, vegetable oil spread, egg whites, and coffee mixture until well mixed. Then mix in the flour mixture. Spread it in the pan, and bake for about 22-24 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Eat and enjoy :)

            This recipe makes fairly dense brownies, but they are rich, and chocolatey, healthy and yummy. If you are looking for the chewy, extremely soft brownie...umm...don't make these.  :)

**My tips and changes:

- I used a glass pan, and it worked just fine.

- Also, on a couple of occasions I haven't had instant coffee, so I've used instant cappuccino mix that I had, and I've  used regular strong coffee. Both worked well. The strong coffee worked better. Of course, the instant coffee is the best.

- I used Smart Balance butter spread.

- And if you don't want to wait until the brownies cool to cut them, use a plastic knife. It works like a charm cutting warm brownies.

Adele's new CD. It's AMAZING. She is AMAZING. And you should buy the cd.  My favorite song on it is "Rolling in the Deep", but I'm sure you've already heard that song, so here's my second favorite,  "Set Fire to the Rain". It's mysterious and dark, and her voice is simply stunning. Also, in case you are a google nerd like me and are tempted to look up what the phrase "roll in the deep" actually means, rest assured, it DOESN'T mean anything naughty. It's a nautical term, which apparently supports the nautical theme of the song's lyrics. But that means nothing to me really....I just like the song.  :)

My sweet baby boy after he has had a bath, especially when my sweet husband is playing with him. The two together melt my heart. Since it has been so unbelievably hot lately, we have spent some time at the pool (I'm hoping to post pool pictures soon), playing in the water faucet outside, and playing in our kiddie pool. All of which mean that J-man requires a bath before bed. I love bath time, Jackson, well, not so much. But who can resist a sweet smelling freshly bathed baby! Not me!! (I'm hoping to post pool pictures soon)

Hope you take the time to to count your blessings for the things you love!

~Monica

Walking Wisely, Sick Baby, and other stuff

See this precious baby...(pic taken pre-sickness)

He melts my heart. And he is sick. :(  It started last Thursday with a runny nose. Then Friday morning he woke up with a fever and started throwing up...on his daddy.. 3 times. It was slightly hilarious. Not that Jackson was sick of course, but that he vomited directly on his daddy. So, we took him to the doctor, and as we suspected, he had some kind of bug. After some motrin, and cold medicine, he was feeling better. AND since Adam and I had already called the Grandparents to come into town to keep Jackson while we were apart of a retreat weekend with our students at church, and since Jackson was starting to feel better,  and since it would be my last one with my Senior girls, we decided to still go to the retreat. After all, grandparents are pros at the cuddling, spoiling, taking of care of you stuff when you are sick. :)


So Adam and I left Friday and spent the weekend with teenagers..only to return to a sweet little boy who we thought was on the road to recovery, but apparently is not. As of today, he has no fever, but now he has what we think might be 'viral hives'. Poor poor baby...he is NOT a happy camper! Say a prayer that he gets better soon!


**Now, on to the weekend retreat, Walking Wisely. It was SO very fun!! 


Let me take just one second to say just how amazing Adam is at what he does. He is the Family Pastor at our church, which means that currently, he runs our student ministry, which means he planned and coordinated this weekend retreat. I know I've said this before, but he works so hard at creating irresistible environments for our students to want to come to, and he makes it easy for them to connect with God. I'm so proud of him and what he does. I love you babe!


The weekend started with a mad rush of students checking in....75 to be exact.

Then they were ushered to the "Bust a Move" booth by this guy (who happens to be an elder at our church. Yeah, our church rocks.)

If the students danced in the booth, their name went into a drawing for an Ipad. It was awesome.


The weekend also consisted of our students tackling this mound of donated clothing at the Rescue Mission:

We were so proud of our students. They worked so hard sorting, hanging, and bagging donated clothing.  I think after they were all through, the pile was diminished by at least a 3rd. (It was a HUGE pile).

Part of the weekend consisted of each group getting to pick what we wanted to do as 'fun activity'. And my senior girls picked.....

Pedicures! 

The place was kind of ...er...not so great..but we all left with prettier feet.

Then Saturday night we spent 2 hours acting like crazy, mindless, 5 year olds running around dressing up competing in Walking Wisely's Double Dog Dare. Here are some pics of that...

We won 3rd place! So proud of my girls!

Ok...if you will allow me to backtrack for a second...notice how most of the pictures in this post are not good quality. Well that's because my phone has been serving as my camera. BUT NOT FOR LONG!!!!!! 

For mother's day, I was able to pick out one of these .....

Ok, so maybe not that exact camera, but we are both researching what a great camera (for our price) would be. I'm beyond excited!

And finally, to wrap up this post, I've been reading lots of blogs that are inspirational to me...and these two happen to be top of my list right now. Check them out:

I Take Joy - Sally Clarkson who authored 'Mission for Motherhood' blogs about her faith, and being a mother. Her blog is my very favorite right now.

The NieNie Dialogues - Stephanie Nielson has been blogging since 2006 about her marriage, being a mom etc., but in 2008 she and her husband were in a terrible plane crash. 30% of his body was burned. She was burned on 80% of her body. After her miracle recovery, she started blogging again, and now has a HUGE following. Although she is mormon (and I am a Christian), it has been inspirational to watch her still find joy in each new day even though her world was completely changed by the accident. 

Hope you enjoy the blogs! And hope your week is filled with sweet moments with the ones you love. :0)

Monica