Be Super.

Okay, if you know me... you know I'm not a health freak. I think I've only had a few eyebrows raised at me and have had one person tell me I'm a hippie.

Anyway, I have really been trying to create a life my kids will remember! I want to raise a God-centered family and sometimes it takes a lot out on the mommy having babies, raising toddlers, meal planning, scheduling, appointments, and then throw on all the household chores!

The more organized I have become here, the more efficient our household runs. Also, the more I get poured into (by my husband, bible studies, reading) the better wife and mother I am. Along side of that, the better I take care of myself mentally and physically, the even BETTER wife and mom I can be. So, I have been setting our household on these simple elements and it has been wonderful!

My progress so far has been:
1. Plugging In, get your self connected with other moms and christians
2. Organize now. Don't put it off, throw away, donate, clean out, and get a system
3. Read. We joined our public library and go weekly to get books, movies, ect.
4. Exercise. Okay, some days this is cardio from vacuuming, mopping, or rocking a child
5. Eat Super. This is my list below of super foods that we have been loving.

Avacado
Beans
Blueberries, cranberries, raspberries
Broccoli

Cinnamon
Coconut/ coconut oil

Cocao- chocolate bars that are at least 75% cocao

Oats
Oranges

Peanut Butter
Pumpkin
Salmon
Soy
Spinach
Tea (green or black)
Tomatoes
Turkey

Nuts
Yogurt

Most of them you can get creative with, but here are a few ideas.

1. My kids don't like blueberries, but you can blend them up and make smoothies- banana, yogurt, throw in some blueberries!

2. I hide spinach in everything. Chop it up finely and throw it in scrambled eggs, a casserole, or last night i hide it in their quesadillas. It's tasteless.

3. I have a cup of green tea every morning.

4. Walnuts- same thing. Chop them up and put them in cookies. You can puree this stuff too so it's completely invisible.

5. We've also replaced our regular milk with Almond Milk. Just for cereals and recipes... its not so great to chug down a glass. The kids didnt even notice.

6. Anytime we have Mexican... get some guacomole and you can hide it in tacos! So easy to make

Here is a chocolate chip cookie recipe using garbanzo beans (chick peas) from Jessica Seinfields Deceptively Delcious cookbook.

Super Foods are basically how you get the most bang for your buck and pack in your punch. They are loaded with huge amounts of fiber, antioxidants, vitamins, and omega-3s.

They have been proven to reduce cholestoral, risks of cancer, heart disease, and diabetes, and even put you in a better mood!!

So, if you call and ask me to go to McDonalds, I'll always say yes. But, if you come to my house for dinner.... it's going to be SUPER!!

Space Savers #2 and My Life

Okay, if you missed my Space Saver # 1 it is a few posts down and a huge built-in we are currently under construction with! Hopefully, it will be all finished this weekend.
Toys and clothes are also in abundance at our house. So, I have a few rules I live by. If a toy is broken or missing pieces, it goes to Goodwill. If it is also unused and they haven't played with it forever, it goes.
Ikea sells this awesome grid shelf for super cheap, i think $89. They also sell these huge plastic toy bins for 1.99. You can't find a better deal, I have looked! They are perfect for toddlers b/c they are sturdy, big, and you can write the toys that go in them. This is great for clean up b/c they know where to put the toys.


I have also packed up the opposite season of clothes and put them under each persons bed in our house. Big Lots sells these awesome clear, zippered, under the bed storage bags! They are 2 for $5. Again, you can't beat that deal anywhere. I love them and they have one for each gender!

Miss Mackenzie got her first haircut. It was basically just a trim, but here are pics for the grandparents =) She thinks she is one big 2 year old! And yes, we took advantage of the Great Clips 7.99 haircuts, I think they did a fabulous job, ha! Here is the before..

Here is the after, yes she has swoopy bangs and I love them!!

And, this was my fun Mom's Night Out with my Canton Mom's group. Our babies have known eachother since birth and we all still try and do an occasional playgroup and dinner out alone! We went to the Alpine Bakery Restaurant in Roswell, Ga and it was absolutely amazing.

Peggy...Amber and KristenAnd me, Susan, and Lisa are not pictured.... I got distracted by my dessert! I love you girls! Yes, I'll have my cake and eat it too thankyouverymuch! That's been our past week! I still need to post pics of more storage tips and Davids room!

Perspective

While I complain about our grocery bill or get bored with our dinner menu, 58% of Haiti's population is undernourished. And every day, 16,000 children will die from a hunger related cause. And it's not just Haiti.... maybe this will change your dinnertime blessing, it has mine!

And the next time I go to complain about how many kids I want and when I want them.... I will remind myself to look at this. Some countries have a 50% infant mortality rate. Can we really say we are suffering? I think suffering in America has a whole different definition than what the rest of the world might deem as suffering. Children are definitely a gift from the Lord, how am I treating my gifts?

And I know I can find myself complaining about my wardrobe, space in my house, or that gas is too high. But, here are some real problems people carry around:

7.6 million people will die of cancer this year

220 million have diabetes

1.8 million people died of AIDS last year

33.3 million people are living with AIDS

Am I thanking God for the health or myself and my loved ones?

And, while we may have disagreements and issues with our spouses.... some do not view marriage as a vowed lifelong commitment. Am I praying for my marriage and investing time and energy into it?

41% of people will divorce in their first marriage

60% of people will divorce in their second marriage

73% of people will divorce in their third marriage.

And while we complain about our finances, retirement, college funds, ect....

1 in every 200 homes will foreclose

The average consumer debt is $7,800 per person in your household, NOT including real estate

33% of this debt is totally consumer debt, aka credit cards

67% of this debt is auto loans, student loans, ect.

and the average new car loan is $27,000

and 1 in every 160 people will file bankruptcy

Am I trusting God will my money, making wise choices about spending, and honoring God with my tithe?

It is all about perspective. YOU can change your perspective. And you can pray and ask God to bring His truth and help you with your perspective.

We are reading, Death by Suburbs and I have been thinking about all of this. Here is an email from our group leader that asked some great questions.
The Bible is clear that we will all face tribulation. We don’t have to go looking for trouble in order to legitimize our faith, and we absolutely don’t want to confuse getting a bad parking place with suffering. We live in a fallen world and suffering will touch us all- guaranteed. We don’t know what that tribulation will look like- chronic illness, premature death of a loved one, job loss, etc- but when it comes, God will expect us to ‘stand firm until the End.’
Given the following four options (1) an attack from the devil, (2) discipline from God, (3) the result of living in a fallen and sin-filled world, (4) you reap what you sow, how do you tend to view the pain/suffering/disappointment you experience in life? If you say, “it depends on the circumstances,” then how do you decide which theory fits a particular circumstance? How does your perspective influence the way you respond to pain/suffering/disappointment?

Are we having a pity party for our life? I know I do sometimes. Satan truly wants to kill, steal, and destroy your life.
I need to get over it, pull my bootstraps up, and focus on the blessings God has poured out in my life. While at the same time, extending my arms out to those really in need and raising my children to live self-lessly and help those around us.

Connected

I have to read books or my brain feels like it's turning to mush being around babies all day!


And among lots of answered prayers recently, God has answered a big prayer since we've moved here: connection.



We have found a home at Stonebridge Church here in Marietta and joined a weekly small group. I also joined a huge Mom's Bible Study at Church of the Apostles that meets weekly. I can't tell you how incredible it has been to have 2 consistent groups studying God's Word with. I love that we are meeting people and I love that I am constantly being reminded of the truth throughout the week. When we were on staff with a college ministry for 2 years, one of the biggest values we have pulled away is being immersed in a community of believers. We naturally find ourselves around non-christians b/c that is our passion, but it is hard to build up an intentional environment where we are not only finding our own friendships, but the kid's parents our children will be friends with too.
Here is the book we are reading with our small group.
Death by Suburbs- Keeping the suburbs from killing your soul. I am loving this one!
The moms bible study I am in is reading, The Shaping of a Christian Family by Elisabeth Elliot.
It is fantastic so far. I love anything by her. Because if you can have your husband sphered by a tribe and then move back and lead them all to Christ.... I'll listen to anything you have to say!

Anyway, I'll let you know my reviews on these books after I finish. I have just had to MAKE time to read. It was my excuse for years and now its baloney. I cut back my time on the computer and television and there is plenty of time! And spent way more importantly!

The Last Days

We were apart of an amazing small group when we lived in Canton with North Point Community Church. We not only naturally clicked with everyone in the group, we all lived close to eachother and really did life together. Everyone was so open and we experienced seeing people be real. Our friendships have remained and for that I am blessed.

One of my dear friends from the group, Sara, has had a tremendous year. And by tremendous, I mean going through major hardships and still clinging so close to God. Sara's mother has been battling cancer and specifically, the past year it has gone downhill. You can read Sara's blog here about her family's journey through fighting this. Also on top of this, she found out that her 1 1/2 year old son has severe to profound loss of hearing. Meaning that he is mostly deaf.

Sara is a huge woman of faith in my life because despite dealing with her mother, who by the way also lives far away, Sara has packed up her 2 small children and made the drive over and over to go be with her mom. When she is at home recently, all she is dealing with is her son's doctor appointments and figuring out her son's future.

And today it happened. Sara got called home last week to be with her mother and sent the following email today:

"...For those of you I have not had the opportunity to talk to, I was called home last week to be with mom as her condition had severely worsened since my last trip 10 days before. I am heartbroken to share these are her final days but feel very fortunate to be able to love on and take care of her while she is still with us. We have chosen to keep her at home, but hospice is stopping by to make sure she is as pain free as possible.

Since many of you have asked how we are...we're getting by. Let's just say God's grace has been sufficient! There have been many tears and the heartbreak at times is unbearable, but there has also been laughter and love! "...

Would you please join me in prayer for my friend Sara? My heart physically hurts for her and her family. I can't imagine spending the last days with my mother. I know she would appreciate any encouraging comments in the days ahead. Sara is a loving, truthful friend and her mother has fought an inspiring battle.

Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. Heb. 4:16 KJV