Heart Reflections
Intentional Living: Weekly Goals
Last week I was able to some items crossed off my list, but not as many as I hoped due to a painful pinched nerve. This week will be a little different because I will not be spending the week with my immediate family. I know I will miss them terribly, but I hope to be able to help out extended family and be a blessing to the people I will be spending time with this week. Hopefully I will be able to keep up with everyone and get a lot accomplished throughout the week. You will notice my weekly goals will be altered a little too since I will not be available to help with the normal activities around my immediate family.
Last week’s goals
Family Goals
Read A Horse Called Wonder by Joanna Campbell (Book #1 of the Thoroughbred Series) to the kidsPlan one special activity with the familyPrepare for Upcoming Fall Events & TripsSpend time Monday – Friday helping the kids with HomeworkAttend After School ActivitiesLunch Boxes & Book Bags packed the night before- Ride Bikes with the kids – it didn’t get done with my pinched nerve
- Go for a Walk with the Kids – a couple of days it was all I could do to get through the day
Attend School Board MeetingGive Jake a haircut-
Make Toffee per girls requests -
Cook up Ground Hamburger and Freeze for future meals -
Make and freeze Spinach Cubes for Smoothies
Personal Goals
- Drink 8 glasses of water each day – I did not do a good job of drinking my water while traveling this past weekend
Continue my YouVersion plan(s)- Exercise at least 5 times this week – it didn’t happen
Pedicure – my toenails could use a fresh coat of polish
Home (Yard & Pets) Management Goals
All laundry for the week washed, folded, and put away in one dayWeekly Dinner Menu planned out for the weekFreezer Meals Prepped for future meal- Clean out & Organize Refrigerator / Freezer – had to let this one go with a the stuff going on this week
- Clean House including all 3 bathrooms, dusting, floors, and bedrooms – only basic cleaning was done
- Put Fall/Winter Clothes in Closets and dressers and put Spring/Summer Clothes in the Attic – put away in closets but the still haven’t gotten the clothes back in the attic
Refill kids vitamin containerRefill Baggie Drawer and Lunch Box Container- Pool taken down and put away – pools drained, but not put away
Business Goals
Work on ideas for upcoming blog postsKeep up with the day to day items that need my attentionWork completed for clients
Ministry Goals
Meet a friend or family member for Breakfast or Lunch
Financial Goals
- Payoff the Car – working on it
- Payoff Outstanding Debt (new microwave, refrigerator, and other debt) – working on it
Pay October BillsRecent Receipts Basket Cleaned Out, Organized, & Receipts FiledFile Paperwork- Earn some Creative Cash
- Go grocery shopping one time to one store this week and stay within budget – didn’t even make it to the grocery store with my pinched nerve
My goals for the upcoming week
Family Goals
- Mail at least one note to Jake and the girls
- Speak to my husband and kids at least once a day
- Send at least one Text, Picture, Instant Message, or Email a day to let them know I am thinking about them
- Have Hangout chat with the entire family at least once this week
- Prepare for Upcoming Fall Events & Trips
- Spend time with extended family
Personal Goals
- Drink 8 glasses of water each day
- Continue my YouVersion plan(s)
- Exercise at least 5 times this week
Home (Yard & Pets) Management Goals
- Keep up with my laundry
- Update Evernote with any home / yard / pets activities for Jake and the girls
Business Goals
- Work on ideas for upcoming blog posts
- Keep up with the day to day items that need my attention
- Work completed for clients
Ministry Goals
- Meet a friend or family member for Breakfast or Lunch
Financial Goals
- Payoff the Car
- Payoff Outstanding Debt (microwave and refrigerator)
I think it is important to share and encourage each other as we seek to improve our lives and the lives of those around us. I want to live intentionally not just hope all my dreams and goals come true. When I focus on small steps of improvement I am able to see results as I get closer to my goals. Some weeks I get closer to the goals I have in my life and other weeks a take a few steps back (life happens, emergencies occur, people get sick). Once the goals are written down and shared it provides a guideline for what I aim to accomplish this week.
Why Share My Goals?
- To keep me accountable
- To share a piece of my life with you as I strive to be a better Child of God, Wife, Mom, Friend, Homemaker, Entrepreneur and the many other roles I have each week
- To have my goals consistently written down so I can gauge progress more accurately
- Create healthy habits in my life
- To encourage you to share your goals with me as you continue to grown and learn
How did you do this week on your goals? Feel free to share or link to your list of weekly goals.
The picture above is one that I created for my own purposes, however, The “SMART” acronym was originally coined 30 years ago by Peter Drucker in his classic work, Management by Results.
A Sweet & Simple Note Can Melt a Moms Heart
Occasionally, Jake has to travel for work and there are times when he is gone random craziness happens at home. On this particular week Jake was gone it was busy with a lot of school activities, tutoring, animals getting out of their pen, doctor appointments, sick kids, and more. This particular day had a tough afternoon noon of school work, followed by chasing the goats back into their zone (multiple times), leftovers for dinner, a couple of not-so-cool Mommy moments, and running around trying to get the kids in bed on time.
By the time the girls were in bed I was exhausted and ready to relax, but lunches still needed to be put together, dishes washed, kitchen picked up, bills to be paid, and more regular household duties waiting for my attention. I decided to take 10 minutes and sit down, on the couch, and reflect on the events of the day. While sitting there I started thinking about everything I could have done better regarding my interactions with the girls in some of the sticky situations specifically regarding my actions, words, and attitude.
As I was thinking about the day I looked over at the dry erase board and saw a note from Karlie. Some days you don’t know if they realize how much we love them…..then they do something spontaneous and sweet like this simple note that melts my heart. And brings more tears! We are not perfect parents by a long shoot, but it does a Moms heart good to know that they really do feel loved and appreciated even in amidst those hurried, frustrating, and crazy days. I had no idea this note was on the dry erase board or when she put it there with everything going on that day, but it was the perfect encouragement boost I needed for that evening. Thankful for my kids and for their thoughtful ways of showing love.
She picked yellow so it’s a little harder to read, but it says:
I love Daddy.
I love Mommy.
I love Brina.
I love Oreo, Snowball, and Skipper.
Heart Reflections: Raising My Girls
Sweet Brina Bee!
I am so thankful for my girls! They are growing up too quickly. It doesn’t seem like it was that long ago when they were little ones crawling around the house. God chose to bless us with these girls. It has been a fun adventure raising twins! Not everyday has been perfect, but we have so many reasons to be grateful for these two blessings. They have made me grow more as a person. They bring more love and laughter into my life than I ever realized was possible.
My sweet Karlie Kool Kat is always game for a road trip!
Both girls are very different, yet perfect and gifted in their own special ways. I pray that God will give us as parents the wisdom to raise them into amazing young women. I know I will make mistakes as their Mom along the way, but hopefully they will overlook those mistakes and know that I love them despite those not-so-good-moments. It is my prayer that they will seek God’s wisdom and direction in their lives.
I want to go through life focusing more on the good memories and letting go of the little things that get my feathers ruffled. Life is too short to not have fun, smile, and enjoy the blessings God gives us everyday. For those of you who are new to my blog these two girls were the inspiration for my blog, Blessings Multiplied. They continue to amaze me with their creativity, learning, talents, and their love for life! I look forward to many more awesome memories with these two sweet girls and seeing how God uses them to make an impact in the lives around them.
Heart Reflections: 30 Quick Tips on Being a Positive Parent
The other day I was filling out a card for a cousin who recently had a baby. As I was writing the card I had a whirlwind of thoughts, advice, and things I wanted to share with this couple who just recently began this wonderful parenting journey. This is part of what I shared with them which was also a great reminder to me and hopefully an encouragement to you if you’re a parent as well. I have edited it to remove their specific names on the card.
Congratulations! We are so happy for your sweet family! Welcome to the crazy and fun parenting party! Wishing all of you a lifetime packed full of laughter and wonderful memories. Praying that parenting will be a great adventure for you. We are thrilled for all of you and wish you the very best! Many Blessings!
Parenting Tips We Want to Share (I added a couple more to the list since writing the card):
- Laugh as often as possible (even at your own mistakes)
- Make a point to hug your child and tell her that you love her everyday
- Cherish the memories, they really do grow up way too fast
- Show grace and mercy often
- Never discipline when you’re angry
- Take lots of pictures, especially of your times together
- Seek God’s wisdom daily for your life, marriage, and parenting
- Be a positive and encouraging cheerleader for your kid
- Take time regularly to listen to your child
- Breathe deeply and count to 10 when your patience is being stretched thin
- You will feel more like a “SuperDad” and “SuperMom” after a full nights sleep
- Spend quality one-on-one time with your child
- Read to them, sing with them, and play with them
- Pray a lot – some days you’ll really need it
- Protect, guide, and nurture the best you can then trust that God will work in their hearts
- Words can be used to build up or tear down (make sure to chose them wisely)
- It’s the little things that make the biggest impact on our kids
- It doesn’t have to be flashy or expensive to be fun
- Be content with your life
- Give generously to others
- Find teachable moments each day (kids love learning new stuff)
- Speak kindly to and about others (little eyes are watching what you do and hearing what you say)
- Stand up for what’s right (even when it’s hard)
- Allow your kids to make some mistakes on their own so they can learn
- Get creative and have fun together – life’s too short to be boring
- Smile, slow down a little, and enjoy this wonderful part of your life
- Make the “normal” everyday events exciting
- Go on adventures
- Do family devotions and pray together
- Explore and try new activities together
There are so many areas of our lives that are stretched when we are parents. While being a parent is the most rewarding experience it is also one of the most challenging. It feels like I am constantly making mistakes or doing/saying something that’s not edifying or encouraging to my kids. Yes, they know very well how to “push my buttons,” but that doesn’t mean I have to over react either. Thankful for my kids and the many lessons they teach me about parenting.
Thankful for Friendships & Beautiful Surprises!
Beautiful bouquet of flowers from a friend!
I am thankful for friendships and for the amazing blessings in my life! A sweet friend dropped this beautiful bouquet of flowers off at my house one evening with a card! Her timing couldn’t have been more perfect….isn’t it awesome how God allows friends to time a surprise so perfectly!!! It was one of those crazy busy days and I was trying to balance all the activities that were going on with our family as well as prepare for some upcoming events. I was in the middle of working with the girls on homework, making dinner, picking up the house, making lunches for the following day, among a handful of other tasks when the doorbell rang. When I heard the doorbell I didn’t think too much of it because I figured it was probably just the neighbor kids wanting to play. Jake was home and on a phone call, but he was the first one to the door. He brought back these beautiful flowers which totally surprised me and made my day!!!!
Love fresh flowers!
Even though it has been over two weeks since these flowers arrived on my doorsteps they are still in the vase on the table! I think God has allowed these flowers to remain beautiful so long to continue to remind me of his goodness and the blessings of friendships. I have only pulled out a couple flowers that were wilting, but several still look amazing! The best part about these beautiful flowers is every time I look at them I am reminded of my sweet and thoughtful friend who delivered them to me.
Friendships are a wonderful blessing in our lives. They take time to cultivate and grow much like flowers. God allows us the opportunity to walk through this journey with special people we call friends. Friendship also means we have the joy of celebrating the good times with our friends as well as spending extra time in prayer as a friend goes through a rough patch. Everyone needs these types of friends to laugh with during the joyous moments and encourage you when it seems like your stuck in a whirlwind.
Every time I see these flowers or smell their refreshing fragrance when I walk into the room I am reminded of my friendship and take a moment to pause and pray specifically for that friend. I pray for her to have the strength, wisdom, and energy she needs to walk through her day. I may not know what challenges she faces each moment or joys she experiences throughout the day, but I can still lift her up in prayer knowing that God knows what she’s facing today and He alone can give her exactly what she needs.
Thanks Dee for the beautiful flowers, your friendship, and for walking this journey of life alongside me! May we always continue to grow ever closer to our Savior. You are a true blessing in my life! Thanks sweet friend for the beautiful surprise!
Raising Multiples: Favoritism in Twins (Multiples / Siblings)
Favoritism is a hard topic for any parent to think about not to mention speak about, no matter how many kids you have or their ages. The other day I was talking with a friend when she asked if I ever had to deal with favoritism with the kids and if I had any suggestions on handling that type situation. Not an easy question or answer.
I have debated back and forth whether or not to to post about this topic as it is a tough issue. I could feel this Mom’s pain as as she shared her heart. How do I answer a question like that well and at the same time encourage my friend? There is no simple one-size-fits-all answer.
It is really difficult as a parent to see one child getting extra attention from a grandparent, family member, or friend. If the child is small they may not notice, but as they get older they may pick up on those actions. I completely understand that it is normal for people to be drawn to those with similar personalities or are closer to some. Unfortunately, it can be a little too much and happens more often than we want to admit so we need to be prepared to know how to encourage our children if this does happens.
As parents it is our responsibility to love and protect our children as much as we can, however, it is important to guide them through life knowing that it isn’t always fair. While it can be a valuable lesson, it can also be very upsetting when the child realizes it. We cannot shelter them from everything so if this happens we need to prayerfully consider how to best encourage the child that has been hurt.
Here are a few ways that may help:
- A LOT of prayer.
- If it is a rare situation try to not make a huge deal out of it, but encourage each child and compliment them on their strengths and positive qualities.
- If it happens often, you may need to speak to respectfully to the friend or family member letting them know that it has come to your attention and try to set some type of guidelines (for example – Please do not bring a gift specifically for one child and not the other child. / If you take the one to a special event we request that you find a time to do something special with the other child as well.)
- Take your kids on “Date Nights”, especially when you have twins or triplets that have spent their entire life together. Jake goes with one and I go with the other one and then we switch the next month. This helps each child to have fun, quality time, and your undivided attention for several hours. Just doing this once a month has opened so many doors into our daughters lives and hearts. They will share things with you that you never knew they struggled with as well as cherish the Parent and Daughter memories they have made with you.
- Have a heart to heart talk with them were you truly listen without judging or trying to fix the problem(s). You cannot force people to change, but when they know they can share anything with you and you will love them unconditionally the sting of the favoritism or other hurt (whether real or perceived) is minimized.
- Look up verses and encouraging quotes to memorize together. The heart of a child is tender and we want to guide them to truth, love, and forgiveness even when they are hurt. You do not want that child to hold a grudge, get bitter, or act disrespectful towards a person because that can have a long term ripple effect in so many other areas of their lives.
- A few extra hugs, a shared joke, or hearty laughter can go a long way to lift the spirits of a child who feels hurt.
I hope and pray that you never have to see your child get hurt, however, we live in the broken and sinful world. Sometimes people (yes, even family members and friends – although usually unintentionally are mean). Feelings will get hurt. Words are said at times that cannot be taken back.
If you are facing this situation in your family my heart and prayers go out to you. Hang in there! Remember to cherish those you love. Let’s all guard our tongues and actions so we do not hurt those around us.
Heart Reflections: Conversation Starters
There has been so much that has happened over the course of the week its hard to know how to sift through all that is going on and use those moments, sometimes even times of heartaches to start some tough conversations with our kids. Conversations about life and yes, death too. While it is my preference to focus on the happy and fun moments sometimes God allows something that brings tears to mold my heart as well as the hearts of my kids.
How we handle those conversations can be key to reaching the very heart of our children. As they deal with the death of a precious pet, loved one, or something else they will want to know answers and find peace amidst the heartache. While circumstances (like in our case the death of a family pet) will prompt conversations it’s never easy answering the questions when your child’s heartbroken.
Another great way to start some good conversations with your children is through devotionals. One of the best parts about reading through a variety of devotional books with them is that it really seems to initiate some good conversations. Some of the conversations can extend over several days too.
I pray that Jake and I will seek God’s wisdom so that we know what and how to explain God’s goodness even in the sad moments as well as taking opportunities to share truth during those happy times. May we always cherish the times we have with the ones we love even more.
Heart Reflections: Oops I Did It Again!
Is it just me or do you seem to repeat the same mistakes too? Sometimes I feel like take two steps forward and one step back in the process (possibly at times is it more like 2 steps forward and 3 steps back).
It is hard to be find joy and contentment in every moment of every day, especially when it seems like no matter what there’s always little ripples that happen throughout the days, weeks, months, and years. How do we find joy in the moments when we want to just go back to bed or go somewhere quiet or escape the stress of life?
- Find joy in the little things. Everything may not be going well, but there is always something to be thankful for in your life. It could be your health, family, friends, a job, home, food on the table, a vehicle to drive, sunshine, or a whole bunch of other things we tend to take for granted. Taking a few moments to count your blessings can really change your outlook on life. A thankful heart is a positive heart.
- Point your focus upward. When we look to Christ for our guidance we tend to see a bigger picture and we realize that it really isn’t that bad after all. Yes, we make choices that can make life easier or more challenging for us, but we can also put our lives into the hands of the one who created the universe and trust that He really knows what is the best for us. Just knowing that He holds my life in his hand can take some of the pressure off my tendency to micro-manage all aspects of my life.
- Spend time helping others. We are by nature selfish people. When we take a few moments to focus our energy on someone else it can also lift our spirit too. Take time to do something nice for someone else today and don’t expect any reward (or favor returned). Not only will you help another person in the process your heart isn’t stuck on yourself and your issues.
If you find yourself repeating the same mistakes over and over again. Ask God for help, he can help you overcome even the little things that pop up in your life. Find people that you trust to be an accountability partners for you. You want people in your life that are not afraid to confront you if they see something in your life that isn’t wholesome for you and your family. Take time to pray and spend time with people who will encourage you to live a life that reflects goodness instead of repeating the same mistakes.
Look for the blessings in your life throughout each day. Turn your focus upward and outward. Every one of us has the opportunity to make a positive impact on the lives around us.
Heart Reflections: You Are My Glue
God, you are the glue that holds my life together. When schedules get interrupted, things don’t go as planned, and life seems to be coming at me from all directions You are what keeps me from coming apart at the seams. On those days when I am exhausted and it takes everything in me to keep moving forward. You give me the strength and energy to face what lies ahead of me. When it feels like I am spinning my wheels and getting no where fast. You give me a new perspective. God thank you for being my glue. For loving me especially when I don’t deserve it. For bringing a song to my heart for encouragement when I need it most. For reminding me of your word and promises. For revealing your truth in unique and amazing ways. For the countless ways you shower me with your mercy and grace over and over again. Thank you God for holding my heart and life gently in your hands. May I continue to trust as you mold and make me into the person you want me to be.A Mother’s Job Description…
