February Marriage Goal, Day 4

My husband's car wouldn't start this morning.  He and I spent 20 minutes shoveling snow in the hopes he could wedge my van out of the driveway.  He went to retrieve his belongings from the car and tried one more time to start it.  It started right up.  In complete annoyance, my husband said "God hates me."  I smiled and said "No.  He doesn't.  He gave you me!"

Day 4 of my February Marriage Goal

A Woman Who Fears the Lord #18

The Woman Who Fears the Lord

A Study of Proverbs 31

Verse 27

"She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness."





Let's go over my day.

I woke up at 5:00 a.m. and was out of bed by 5:15.  I talked with my husband, made him breakfast and helped him get his stuff together for work.

After he left, I made pretzel dough and started a load of laundry.  Then, I read the bible, wrote in my journal, and finished this week's bible study assignment.

My youngest was up first and we played Mario Cart on the Wii--- because he's slightly addicted.  Slightly.

When my oldest got up, he played a few rounds with us and then I went and finished the pretzels.

After breakfast, the boys did their thing... chores, playing, jumping on the bed, taking baths, and getting into mischief of all kinds.

I took a shower and dressed, did dishes, another load of laundry, vacuumed, and spent some time working on my Simply Fun business.

The boys and I had tea time, did copy work, sketching, read together and then played "Bank It."
(Bank It is a game where the first person to buy the bike wins but you have to purchase one item from each of the four stores, give to charity and save $10 first.)

And that was all before 12:00.

Now, before you curse me and starting flooding my e-mail with snotty comments, allow me to let you in on my life the past 2 years.  The life that no one sees because it is behind closed doors.

Most mornings, I struggled to get out of bed.

I often indulged in thoughts of running away to a tropical island and freeing myself of all the stress I felt.

It would take the smallest thing to tip my mood over the edge.

Dealing with things- bills, phone calls, e-mails, shopping, etc. was something I avoided.




If I had read this verse a year ago or 4 months ago, I would have cried.

But, I'm on this journey for a reason.

The lesson I learn from all the valleys will help me go  higher and higher up the mountain.

One day I will stand back to look at the beautiful view.  On that day, I will see every step I took, the path I was on and be thankful for where I was lead.

Where ever you may be on your journey, take a little advice from our wise friend, Mrs. Proverbs and move one more step up that mountain.

My study of Proverbs 31

Crock Pot Chicken Noodle Soup

A delicious, family friendly recipe that you can leave to simmer all day long.

Ingredients for the first part...

2 chicken breasts

8 cups of chicken broth  (I use 8 cups of water and 3 Tablespoons of Chicken Flavor Bouillon.)

4 carrots, sliced

4 celery stalks, sliced

2 teaspoons of basil

Dump the above ingredients into the crock pot.  Cook on high for 5 hours or low for 8 hours.

30 minutes before your meal, turn your crock pot on high and mix in the following ingredients...

1 can of cream of chicken soup

10 ounces of yolk free noodles  (The package I buy comes is 12 ounces but I have found this is just too many noodles for the amount of liquid in the soup.)

Cook on high for half an hour on high or until the noodles are tender, stirring half way through.

ENJOY!

February Marriage Goal, Day 2

My February goal is to get up with my husband on mornings he goes into work.

I did not fall off the band wagon on day 2,  he just has to be to work later than normal.

A Grocery Shopping Victory

I accidentally stumbled upon nothing short of a miracle when it comes to taking my two children grocery shopping with me.

Hello.  My name is Wendelyn Daly and I am a recovering shop-a-phobic.  I STRONGLY dislike shopping and will avoid it to the degree of being able to compare myself to Old Mother Hubbard.

My problem started when my husband and I had our second child.  I reached my limit of multi-tasking.

God bless the moms I see shopping with three, four, five, even six children in the store.  They deserve awards... and chocolate... and a drink of their choice.

Liam took the front seat on the cart, Matt rode on the end.  (I know, I know, safety hazard.  I'm pretty sure who ever made that rule never had to take children to the store or tried to steer the two seat-er tanks around target.)

Then, Liam got old enough to vocalize how much he did not want to ride in the seat and Matthew became to heavy to push on the front of the cart.  Add in an extremely strict budget, a detailed grocery list, price matching, coupons, lobsters, fish and a pony.

Grocery shopping was a nightmare.

We need food.  It's just part of life.  Since eating takeout for every meal is not a feasible option, I needed a plan.

My idea started with choosing one day to grocery shop and sticking to that day.  The first week I chose Friday and it happened to be the same day I needed to take Liam in to see the doctor.  At 9:00.  Plus, we had plans for lunch after.  Knowing it would be the death of me to take a sick, tired and cranky three year old to the store during nap time, I opted to go before.  We were in the store by 7:30, out by 8:30 and got to our doctor's appointment by 8:56.

The store is considerably empty at 8:00 in the morning.  Matthew was able to push the cart, not run into people and Liam was able to walk with us.  I got my list checked off and we were done!

A grocery shopping miracle!  Kind and gracious to both my children the entire trip.  Who deserves an award now?

We've continued our early morning shopping trips for the last month.  Not always as early as the first one, but we're done by 10:00.

This mama is a happy camper.  My seven year old and I take turns reading the list and crossing things off.  Both children get complimented often by other shoppers on how well behaved they are and we make time to stop and see the lobsters.

Getting up a little earlier than normal is well worth it.  The isles are empty and all three of us feel more kind and cooperative earlier in the morning.

We may just be able to keep on eating.

February Marriage Goal, Day 1

If someone had told me to get up early to spend some time with my husband, I would have laughed at them.  No, seriously laughed.  A manic, hysterical laugh.  Right in their face.

Then, why in the world am I doing it?

I have felt like this is something I needed to do for a while now.  It's for my husband, for my marriage, for me.  (Not naturally being an early riser, I have ignored it.)

I need a little accountability and will be posting every morning for the month of February.  That is, every morning that my husband has to get up for work.

February Goals, 2-2-14

My GOALS for 2014




JANUARY 2014 GOALS

A LOVING FAMILY

Love notes to Chuck.

Have daily screen free periods of time.

Specifically pray for peace, gratitude and contentment in our home.

A PEACEFUL HOME

Organize the boy's room, our bedroom and the van.

Implement clean up before moving on rule.

A HEALTHIER PERSON

Memorize Isaiah 41:10

Drink 8 glasses of water daily.

Substitute a minimum of 4 lunches with a salad.

So, I didn't memorize Isaiah 41:10 but I did memorize 2 Timothy 3:16.
(It was my oldest son's verse at church.)

ON TRACK WITH FINANCES

Pay bills on time.

Get certified for Simply Fun's MOPS Presentation

Make new business contacts weekly.  Minimum of 2.

Plan a GAME NIGHT EVENT.

I'm not sure exactly what my issue is with putting myself out there with my new business, but I sure do have one.  I finally got up the nerve to call to see if I could rent a room for a Game Night Event and the person I needed to talk wasn't going to be in until next week.  :-(




FEBRUARY 2014 GOALS

My prayer for the month of February...
God, help me to walk close to You, hear Your direction and be confident in You.

A LOVING FAMILY
Get up with husband on the days he works.
Date night with husband.
Have tea time with the boys.

A PEACEFUL HOME
Organize Bedroom and Laundry Room
Plan for spring garden.

A HEALTHIER PERSON
No eating after 7:00 p.m. and no fried foods.
Read Psalms
Pray for clarity in my choices and confidence in God's direction.
Pray for peace that I am where God wants me to be,
Memorize 1 Corinthians 10:23

ON TRACK WITH FINANCES
Track personal spending and any income I bring in.
Develop a pros and cons list regarding returning to work.

GIVING OF OURSELVES
Make muffins with the boys and take it to an elderly neighbor.
Invite a family to join us for a meal.