I was in the dressing room over the weekend and my friend was in the dressing room beside me. It was pretty crowded in there, so we had to speak up if we wanted to talk to each other. As I was trying on clothes, I noticed my shoes were filthy…so I said, “Gross! I desperately need to wash my crocs!” My friend Teresa burst out laughing, but wouldn’t tell me what she was laughing at.
When she came out of the dressing room, she grabbed my arm and said, “You might want to say “shoes” instead of crocs next time! It sounded like you said, “GROSS! I desperately need to wash my crotch!” LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I was mortified! But, of course, I was laughing hysterically at the thought of hearing someone else say that in a dressing room.
Be careful what you say in crowded places!

~audrey

I know I’ve written before about trying not to do my housework while my boys are awake. I really strive to spend as much quality time with them as possible while they’re awake. However, I have new goals for February…even though there are still six days left in January. I’ve been so convicted lately about how much time is completely wasted in my day. If Owen is napping and the boys are watching a movie, I can easily spend two or three completely mindless hours in front of the computer. I love to read and I also love to journal about what God is doing in my life and the life of my family, but I rarely make time to do those things. I love reading parenting, homeschooling, and marriage books; constantly striving to do better at all of these things, but I don’t have time to read. I heard a statistic over the weekend that stated, most americans have FIVE hours of screen time a day. That includes video games, computer, and television. That is sickening…unless you are paid to stare at the computer…like my husband. Think of all the things you could be doing if you just cut that time in half?! Although it seems like a LOT, it is probably accurate for me. I don’t watch TV during the day, but I do spend a lot of time at the computer in the afternoon and my husband and I can easily watch two or three hours of TV at night after the boys go down.
I’m saying all of this because I want to do better. I want to spend more time in the early morning preparing my house for the day. I would like breakfast to be made when my boys wake up, I’d like to already have lunch and dinner on my mind at 8am so I’m not scrambling at noon and 5pm. I’d love to do “old-fashioned” things like make our own bread, sew some of our clothes (at least for the kids), and have a vegetable garden in my backyard. I would have plenty of time to do these things if I will simply cut out some wasteful items in my day. In a few months, those five hours that used to be screen time could very well save my life. We will have two to three foster children in our home, in addition to our own three children. There will be extra laundry to do, extra food to be cooked, more bodies to bathe, more hearts to be trained, and probably a few less hours in the day. I want to be prepared. It is a proven fact in my life that when you are prepared, you are far less likely to fail.
And finally, I want to laugh more. There are so many opportunities to laugh in my day. I want to say “NO” less often, and overlook the little things that I allow to stress me out. Do you know that stress is the number one factor in aging and health ailments? Stress affects your entire well being. I once heard this phrase: “Life is a big playground…Adults have just forgotten how to play.” I want to be a kid at heart and enjoy life to the fullest…while still being orderly and organized. I think a balance of the two is totally achievable…and I’m going for it!

~audrey

As many of you know, everyone seems to have seen snow lately.  Whether you’re burried in 15 inches, or just praying for snow to fall from the sky for the first time in YEARS, we’ve all had a taste of it lately.  Yesterday happened to be our snow day.  It started snowing at 9am and it snowed rather heavily until about 3pm.  Unfortunately, not a single flake stuck!  However, it was WAY too cold to play outside for more than thirty minutes at a time, and in a house full of boys, that makes for a rather high energy day of playing indoors! 

After dinner, we all played games at the table, as a family.  It was a lot of fun and I know the boys enjoy because they are game FREAKS!  When we finished playing games, it was time for them to brush their teeth, have one story read, and off to bed…well, unfortunately, they were still WIRED!  I had gone into the bathroom to brush baby Owen’s teeth and this is what I found when I came out:

I always wondered why people would use the phrase, “my kids are climbing the walls!”…I guess there are some weird kids out there who take that phrase literally…and mine are some of them! 

Thank goodness, today was a new day…no snow…and a little warmer. 

~audrey

Here I am, 24 hours later, and I already have more to tell you about how God is continuing to bless us.
Ashley was kind (and brave) enough to keep all three of my kids this morning while I worked for a new client, which was the first blessing. Then, as I’m sitting in Ashley’s living room, I got a phone call from an old client I haven’t heard from in at least a year. She needs me a few days next week and also asked to pay my husband to help her move a few small things from her mother’s house this evening. Overall, it is about $200 of work. I am amazed. I keep hearing the song, “Lord I’m amazed by You. Lord I’m amazed by You. Lord I’m amazed by You; How you love me.”
More Lord!

~audrey

“Give and it will be given to you.  They will pour into your lap a good measure–pressed down, shaken together and running over.  For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return.”  Luke 6:38

Are you a giver?  My husband and I try to be givers, but we often fall short by getting caught up with what our bottom line looks like.   We give our first ten percent back to the church and occasionally feel compelled to give to someone in need, but overall, we feel like our tight budget keeps us from being the givers we would like to be. 

Our pastor gave a really good word on “giving” last Sunday.  His sermon centered around Luke 6:38.  He gave a very good example of how difficult it is to tithe if you do not give God your very first ten percent.  He also gave an example for Luke 6:38.  If we give out of a thimble, then God’s word says He will give back to us in a thimble (…”by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return..”), but if we give out of a bull dozer, then God’s word says He will give back to us the measure of a bull dozer.   As a result, I chose to give above and beyond what we had already tithed for the month of January.  To most people, it would not be a lot of money, but it was more than God requires me to give and I knew that He would give back to me the same measure in return.  Guess what happened??  Within forty-eight  hours, I had a new client call me and ask me to work for her on Friday.  That will be an unplanned increase to our income for this month. 

As Christians, we often talk about how BIG our God is.  But do we really believe that?? Do we really have the kind of faith that supports that belief?  I DO!  Don’t get me wrong, I often struggle with unbelief, but I fight my flesh daily and stand of the word of God that I have hidden in my heart and I strive to have BIG FAITH in my BIG GOD.  I gave in faith on Sunday.  I gave with the expectation that God would bless me abundantly in return, and he already has…almost 100 fold!  As a result, my husband and I have determined that we will start giving bigger and keep a running list of things that we’re asking God to bless.  This month, for example, we are expecting God to bless Josh with a large raise (larger than we would normally “expect”), also we need both of our vehicles serviced and are afraid of what the diagnosis might be, and finally, we will be filing our taxes in the next month or so and are praying for a large return.  I plan on posting every single way that God blesses us in the coming months as we choose to be cheerful givers.  I encourage you to join me in this challenge.  After all, who doesn’t want to be blessed?!

~audrey

…Well, I guess I am a waitress to my kids (and husband) in a small kind of way…but I DO NOT take four different orders of food from four different people at every meal!

In efforts to get my kids to eat healthier and be hungrier at meal times, I have started something new in my house.  Most mornings my kids tell me what they would like for breakfast.  Oatmeal, yogurt, cereal, and every once in a while, waffles (homemade…not frozen!).  Lunch often consists of leftovers, pb&j, or macaroni and cheese.  Dinner, however, is always a battle.  My kids start off by hanging around the kitchen to see what I’m cooking for dinner, then I get remarks like, “I just want mashed potatoes…not the green stuff or the chicken…” , which is usually followed by me yelling for everyone to GET OUT OF THE KITCHEN! 

When I sat down to make our latest two week menu, I decided to change things up a bit and hope for the best!  I now have a menu for breakfast, lunch, AND dinner.  Each day of the week (M-F) is different.  Here is an example:

Breakfast:

Monday: eggs with english muffin

Tuesday: oatmeal and a banana

Wednesday: cereal with yogurt

Thursday: pop-tart and a banana

Friday: bagels and cream cheese

(Saturday and Sunday are more flexible and fun)

Lunches:

M:  Quesadillas

T:  Egg Salad

W:  Mac N Cheese

Th: Tuna Salad

F:  Baked Potatoes and salad

I also changed our snack routine which used to consist of the boys letting me know when they were hungry and they would march off to the kitchen and get a granola bar, fruit snacks, a piece of fruit, or some yogurt.  Now, we have only two snack times a day.  One about an hour or two after breakfast and another snack an hour or two after lunch, and I give them only two options for their snack (both options are healthy and balanced).  For example:  string cheese and an apple, veggies and dip, yogurt raisins and nuts, or goldfish and an orange.  Today is Thursday and I would say ‘so far, so good’.  The boys are not complaining as much at dinner time because they are very hungry and ready to eat whats in front of them.  As for me, I spend a lot less time in the kitchen fulfilling two and three different lunch requests.  Overall, we’re all happy with the new change.  It will probably end up saving me money on food in the long run because I only buy what I need and what’s on the menu instead of “stocking up” on everyone’s favorite snacks and lunch foods. 

I’ll keep you posted on how the next week or so goes!

~audrey

I was reading last night in a book by Dr. Oz (and some other doctors I can’t remember), called “You: The Manual”. It is a fascinating book that I borrowed from my dad. The doctors tell you all kinds of wonderful facts about your body, from your head to your feet and everything in between and then give you ways to better yourself, get healthy, live longer, etc. Last night I was reading about our brain. One of the most powerful ways to exercise and strengthen our brain is to change up our routine regularly. Nothing complicated, just simple things. Like, for example, if you normally get to the office, pour your coffee, turn on your computer, check your messages, file papers… just do those same things in a different order! File your papers first, then turn on your computer and while your computer is booting, go get your coffee, etc…you get the picture. It’s as simple as that.
One of the ways I’m trying to change up my routine, is to do all of my housework while my children are sleeping (except for folding clothes, because they help me with that). If I discipline myself to wake up with my husband at 6am, I have about two hours to do PLENTY of things around the house before the kids wake up. Also, my children go to bed at night between 7:30 and 8:00. That gives me another two to three hours to do what needs to be done around the house or on the computer. I think it will help my brain (and my heart) immensely, to simply allow myself to have fun and play with my children all day rather than constantly setting my kitchen timer so Mommy can do her housework while the kids beg me to play a game with them or fix them a snack. This will likely lend itself to huge differences in my childrens’ behaviour as I show them that Mommy cares about them and values their time. Most of all, this will benefit me mentally and emotionally as I let go of the weight I’ve put over my own shoulders by trying to do it all at the same time and always falling short, leaving me feeling like a mediocre mom and a lousy housewife.
See, all we have to do is re-group once in a while. You’d be surprised at the many areas you find room for improvement. Whether it’s in your budget, the way you eat, time to exercise, or your schedule as a whole, there is always room for improvement and better efficiency. Where do you need to re-group?

~audrey

Happy New Year!
I’ve already addressed, more than once, my love of starting over. I want to encourage you to define what you want for 2009. Make a list of things you enjoy doing and promise yourself to do more of those things for yourself this coming year. Decide for yourself, that even in the midst of depressing circumstances in our world and economy, that you are going to live a complaint-free life. The power of our words and our thoughts is overwhelming to me. Even scripture says the power of life and death lies in the tongue, so choose life! You have the power to define the next year of your life.
Regardless of your vocation or occupation, think of yourself as “a service” to others, rather than “a servant”. You’d be amazed at how that changes your thought process and your expectations of others. If you are a ‘service’ to the people around you, you are telling yourself that you have value that others can benefit from. You provide your service to others because you have a gift that you are choosing to use to help people. As a result, you don’t necessarily expect anything in return for the service you provide. On the contrary, if you have a “servant mentality”, you feel that your “job” is more like an obligation, whether to your children, your husband, your boss, or your parents. When you have a servant mind set it is easy to develop a sense of entitlement…. “By golly, I’ve slaved over this house ALL day, EVERY day! The least you could do is help out a little around here! Or at least say Thank you!!” For me personally, I love the art of hospitality. I enojoy keeping my house clean and food on the dinner table, because I can see on my husband’s face that he enjoys coming home from work. He doesn’t dread leaving the office for fear of walking into a war zone with screaming kids, a filthy house, and an ungrateful wife. Instead, this is his safe haven, his place to find peaceful rest and refilling. However, when I allow myself to dwell on certain circumstances or become jealous or bitter of other peoples’ lives, I become a servant. I find myself looking forward to my husband coming home so I can “dump” the kids on him, retreat to my room, and hide for the rest of the night, because I deserve it after all the crap I put up with (get the ugly picture?)! I carry an angry chip on my shoulder for all the things I haven’t been thanked for, and I have thoughts of ‘going on strike’ just to show the males in my life that they could never survive without me. But see, if I am a service, it gives me great pleasure to know that the man and boys in my life really could not survive long without me. I am needed. I am loved. I am valued beyond any other person in their lives. That is truly rewarding.
I hope this all made sense and I’m not just running around in circles here.
You have the power to choose what your next year of life will be like. Regardless of how many curves life throws at you, you can be victorious! You can be the most valued service in the lives of the people around you. Go for it! Define your 2009!
~audrey