Oh My Man, I Love Him So

I daily receive in my inbox a tip from The Generous Wife, a godly woman who shares advice on how to make your husband feel loved by you – his wife.  I must confess that I am often guilty of taking out my frustration on my husband.  He is a godly father and husband, and he has worked long and hard at a job that he absolutely DESPISES in order to give me the chance to stay at home with Hannah.

Well, his diligence is being rewarded.  Just a couple of weeks ago, we finally became completely free of credit card debt!  I absolutely encourage you to stay away from using your credit cards unless you know that you will be able to pay off the balance each and every month.  I am not a financial advisor, but I do speak from personal experience on this particular issue.  Anyway, most of the debt was his, so you can just imagine how thrilled he was to finally be able to close out those accounts and be debt-free!

My husband is also getting ready to start a new job – one in a field in which he excels.  I couldn’t be prouder of him.  He set aside his own desires in order to provide for me and Hannah, and he has worked hard to meet our needs.  Now he is going to be able to do something that he truly loves to do – serve others.

I hope he knows how proud of him I am and how much it means to me that he is willing to make sacrifices so that I can enjoy being a stay-at-home mom.  I don’t often tell him, but I am daily reminded that God chose this man for me.

Play

I’ve been offline for a few weeks due to sickness and some Internet problems, but I’m back now!

Honestly, one of the things I am finding out as a first-time mom is that sometimes it’s enough just to be able to keep my child from hurting herself throughout the day!  Hannah is definitely in the chewing stage!  Plus, with Hannah becoming more mobile, it’s all I can do some days just to get the laundry done!

But at the end of the day, I still feel like I have accomplished a lot because – after all – I played with my daughter today.

Hannah's First Snow

Training Your Child

Thanks to my cousin, Laura, at 10 million miles, I always find myself looking for ways to use her tips on Teachable Tuesdays to bring the world to life for my young daughter.  No matter what I am doing on Tuesdays, I find myself reflecting about ways to use that moment to teach my child. 

The most important question I have been asking myself lately is, “What do I do throughout the day to teach Hannah the truth of God’s Word?”

I was truly struck by this thought last week during one of our Mommy and Me activities.  As usual, we ladies were having so much fun that lunchtime came, and we were still there!  Our generous hostess, Naomi, always offers to feed the kids (and the moms as well).  Hannah is the youngest, so I sat down at the table to feed her while the other kids munched on chicken nuggets.  Before every meal, my family (including Hannah) prays over our food.  I asked the other kids to stop eating and pray with us.

What struck me as odd was what Naomi said next – “Oh, they don’t know how to do that.”

Why not?  Granted, these kids are 2 and under, but why don’t they know that they are supposed to stop and thank God for their food?  I’m pretty sure that Hannah doesn’t close her eyes when we pray, but I do know that she will usually hold my hand and be still.

Somebody once commented to me that they thought it was odd that I did devotions with Hannah or prayed with her at such an early age.  My response? 

“Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it” Proverbs 22:6 (KJV).

What are YOU doing to teach your child today?

Child’s Play

I read this poem in one of my books on children’s poetry, A Book of Verses Compiled for Children compiled by Edward Verrail Lucas, and thought that it greatly depicted Hannah’s first adventure to the park. 

“Nurse’s Song”

By:  William Blake

When the voices of children are heard on the green,

And laughing is heard on the hill,

My heart is at rest within my breast,

And everything is still.

“Then come home, my children, the sun is gone down,

And the dews of night arise;

Come, come, leave off play, and let us away,

Till the morning appears in the skies.

“No, no, let us play, for it is yet day,

And we cannot go to sleep;

Besides, in the sky the little birds fly,

And the hills are all covered with sheep.”

“Well, well, go and play till the light fades away,

And then go home to bed.”

The little ones leaped, and shouted, and laughed,

And all the hills echoed.”

 

Meal Deals

Photo by www.freedigitalphotos.net

I have to admit that one of my biggest struggles right now is learning to live on a budget.  Sure, I’ve got the bill-paying part down, but it’s the grocery shopping that just seems to take on a life of its own!  I have been shopping with my sister, Beth, who is the ultimate coupon queen; I have read every post I can find about couponing; I go shopping with my coupon-savvy friends.  Still, I find it overwhelming to put together a menu and then a shopping list and stick to it!

So you can imagine my delight when I found out that someone was having a contest to give away the book, Don’t Panic – Dinner’s in the Freezer, which holds a ton of recipes to help me learn how to prepare meals ahead of time, so I’m not wasting money!  Check out Claire’s website at www.mummydeals.org to find out how you can enter her giveaway before February 1st!

Do you struggle with meal-planning like I do?  I would love some suggestions on better ways to save money when it comes to food!  Send me an email or post a comment on my blog, and I’ll be happy to link back to your blog!

Thankful for the Manna

Isn’t it interesting how God can (and will!) teach you a lesson when you are trying to teach your child a lesson?  Well, I have to admit that I was seriously convicted as I did devotions with Hannah one morning this week.  I haven’t been able to get it out of my head, so, as any avid writer will confess, I just had to write out my thoughts.

Since Hannah was born, I have strived to read one chapter of the Bible to her every day after breakfast.  My reasoning on this is that Hannah has never heard the Scriptures before, and the best place to start is at the beginning.  Plus, it helps me read through the Bible as well.  We are making strides, but we are only in Numbers at this point.  As anyone who is familiar with the Bible will tell you, Numbers is a very tedious book to go through and often gets skipped over.  Still – once I commit, I commit all the way!

Yet, God used Numbers chapter 11 to convict me about being ungrateful.  The Israelites were slaves in Egypt - beaten, overworked, exhausted.  God released them from their bondage and brought them manna in the desert.  But even the “chosen people of God” began to gripe and complain about wanting more than manna; they even said they were better off in Egypt! 

As I read that chapter to Hannah, I was suddenly hit with the knowledge that I was just like the complaining Israelites!  No matter what the Lord gives me, I seem to always find something to complain about!  We hated Jamie’s old job and prayed that God would free him from a hateful and unfair boss; but when He answered our prayers by Jamie losing his job, we said, “Why us, Lord?”  When he found a new job, we complained, “Why did you let him go from his old job?”  When our needs were met, we said, “Why can’t we afford to buy this or that or go to a movie?”  Our cupboards are always full of food, but we complain that we aren’t able to afford the things we really want to eat!

After I finished reading this chapter to Hannah, I had to stop, bow my head, and ask God for forgiveness.  I still find myself complaining at times, but now I stop myself and thank God for the manna.

The Gospel Changes Everything

No matter what your political preference, yesterday was an important day in American history.  For the first time, our nation will be run by an African-American president; and, unless you’ve been living under a rock, you have to see that things are about to change – whether for bad or for good is yet to be determined by the new administration.

As a new mom, I can’t help but sit back and look at what the future may hold for my daughter and for my future children.  Times are changing, and I feel more committed than ever to make sure that my daughter is prepared for whatever that future may hold.

How can I do that?  Well, our church’s motto is “the Gospel changes everything.”  That’s our motto in our home as well.  Whether I am disciplining Hannah, playing with her, or teaching her, I want to make sure that God’s Word is hidden in her heart so that she will be able to withstand anything that lies ahead.  I know that God already knows her future and that He will be with her even when I can’t.  The future may be uncertain, but in Him I am sure.

Managing Your Home on Schedule

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I was reading the daily post on www.moneysavingmom.com and was challenged about my daily routine with Hannah.  While I am a fairly organized person, I have to admit that Hannah and I have NOT been following a routine very well since Christmas.  What with the sickness we had in our family and the usual overwhelming craziness of the holidays, we just sort of let the routine fall by the wayside.  In fact, I have to admit that I have been doing something I promised myself I would not do as a SAHM – watch t.v. all day!

Just this evening, I was telling my husband, Jamie, that I needed to get things back on track.  I need to get back into my normal exercise routine.  I need to get the housecleaning back to where it used to be.  I just need to regain order.

I am not a morning person and do not function well in the morning at all, so trying to wake myself up earlier just to force myself into a schedule does not seem like it would be very productive.  I am fortunate right now in that Hannah likes to sleep in until 8 (usually), and I usually wake up with her.  So here is our current schedule:

8:00 a.m.  Get Hannah ready for the day, eat breakfast with Hannah, devotions with Hannah

8:30 a.m.  Get dressed for the day (This usually takes a while because Hannah can get fussy sometimes for me to hold her.)

10:00 a.m.  Feed Hannah a bottle.  Start laundry.

10:30 a.m.  Hannah’s morning naptime and usually my devotion time

12:00 p.m.  Hannah’s lunch and playtime

1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.  Hannah’s afternoon nap and cleaning time for me

4:00 p.m.  Hannah’s afternoon bottle

5:00 p.m.  Family Time (Lately, I’ve been able to convince Jamie to go walking with me because it hasn’t been too cold.)

6:30 p.m.  Supper

7:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.  Family Time

7:30 p.m.  Hannah’s bathtime and evening bottle

8:00 p.m.  Hannah’s bedtime and Couple time for Jamie and me

This schedule won’t last much longer, though, because Jamie and I have signed up for the foster-to-adopt program in our area and will be starting classes soon!  We are very nervous about starting this program, but we are also very excited and look forward to the children we will be able to have in our home!  Since we have agreed to accept a child up to the age of 3, I am not sure how my schedule will change, but I am sure it will be worth it!

A Fulfilling Career

Hannah is now nine months old, and she is turning into the sweetest little girl!  She amazes me every day with her “genius” (okay – I may be a little biased).  She can quickly crawl around the house, and she is often gone quicker than I can blink an eye!  She is amazing at pulling herself up to standing position, and she is already cruising around the furniture.

As I watch my baby grow into a girl (sadly yet proudly), I realize how important it is to make sure that she grows in God’s Word as well.  The Bible says, “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it” (Prov. 22:6 – KJV).  As a Christian, this is my responsibility – my privilege – as a mom.  While many people have laughed at my attempts to spend time in the Scripture with Hannah each  morning, I know that these are building blocks for her life – just as playing classical music helps babies learn or playing games with her helps to develop her skills.

Recently, I was offered a parttime job, which would have helped us with our finances.  I decided to go to the interview to see if this was God’s way of supplying our needs.  What I learned was that I needed to be more thankful for the job I already had – that of being Hannah’s mom.  When I returned home, I found her waiting for me, eager and smiling to have Mommy home.  It was then that I realized that my life was already fulfilled in the challenging, boring, and joyful days of being Hannah’s mom.  I hope I never take that for granted, and I am ever so thankful for a husband who supports me in whatever hopes and dreams I pursue.

Celebrate 2008 But Welcome 2009!

Okay, I admit that I am not starting the year off right.  I have already procrastinated just by putting off this blog for awhile.  It was just so hard to get motivated after everyone in our house has been sick – in addition to the usual recovery from the holiday season!  But now I am back and determined to stick to my resolutions!

Looking back over 2008, Jamie and I decided that we had to definitely celebrate the passing of the old year and welcome the coming of the new!  We spent the majority of the year on an emotional roller coaster ride.  We had the blessed birth of our beautiful daughter, Hannah, in April.  Then we sadly said goodbye to Jamie’s grandmother (who had diligently prayed for Hannah way before she was born) in May, leaving us with a devastated and demented grandfather to move into an assisted living home.  Also in May, we felt the devastating blow of Jamie unexpectedly (and unfairly) losing his job and faced an entire summer with a newborn baby and no income!  Finally, in September, we welcomed a new job for Jamie that is quickly wearing him down!

Still, we have to look back on 2008 and celebrate God’s goodness to us.  We wept together when Jamie lost his job, unsure of what our future would hold and how we would make ends meet.  Each month, we were reminded of God’s provision as He met EACH AND EVERY ONE of our needs!  We cannot begin to recount the number of times we opened our mailbox to find a giftcard to a grocery store or a check that met exactly how much we needed!  We even won $500 in groceries from a local radio station on the very day that Jamie lost his job!

Now we can empathize with our friends who are losing their jobs and share with them the joy of God keeping His promises.  We still struggle financially, but we know that we can rest in Him for all of our needs.  We have never once gone without and have grown closer in our relationship with Him and with each other.

I write this post because I know that the media reminds us daily of how devastating our economic situation is and that it will only worsen in 2009.  It is so easy to wallow in fear and self-pity instead of relying on God to meet our needs.  Maybe we won’t be able to go out to dinner for awhile or even go see a movie; but we have a roof over our heads, food on the table, and clean clothes on our backs.  Let’s welcome this new year together and embrace the good times as well as the challenging ones.

Happy New Year from our family to yours!