TIP TUESDAY: Organization is KEY!

As you are probably aware by now, I am recuperating from foot surgery at this point. But, to get to this point where I felt that I could fully sit back and focus solely on recovery, I had to organize myself...and my household! 
Now as homeschoolers, we take the entire month of June off of school. So school work did not have to be planned during this time. I did, however, have to plan my own assignments to ensure they were completed prior to their due dates, especially not knowing when I would be feeling up to working on that this past weekend.

I also sent emails ahead of schedule, arranged my substitute on the overhead team at church, and planned some basic meals for the family at least for the next week.
Now, I will admit it, I AM an overachiever, overplanner, and over-organizer! If you aren't, don't worry! The fact that you're reading this and thinking, "I don't know if I could plan like," probably means you would do some sort of planning. This week's TIP TUESDAY is simply to encourage you to take a step back and look at things you have coming up that you can plan ahead for. Maybe you are going to a family reunion. Plan the food you will need and what you will need to do to you home while you are out of town. Maybe you're going to have a planned surgery. Think about those things you can do for your family, your home and work commitments that you can take care of ahead of time. Things will be easier to get back into when you don't go back at it playing catch up!

Enjoy the guests posts by Kerri Pomarolli!!

Blessings!

Crazy, Sexy Marriage

Ok did you all just do a double take? I know you don’t read many articles with those words in the title right? Remember when we were single? I was  little miss Abstinence so I was always telling my married friends. When I get married” It’s gonna be a party in my  house every night! Woo Woo! Yeah girl!”And my married friends would just nod their heads silently and say “Yep….um…sure.” I never understood what the issue was and why they would laugh. Finally one of them pulled me aside and said. Let me let you in on a little secret. When you get “married” Sometimes “Biggest Loser or DownTon Abbey is on and you…gotta make a choice!” Well 9 years into marriage …now I get it!

So what am I saying? Marriage lost all it’s sex appeal day one? No way! My wedding night was hot and steamy. I remember putting on my beautiful silk white neglege and waiting for my prince to emerge from the bathroom in whatever hot outfit he had brought. Instead my husband rolled out in green and yellow plaid sweat pants and a rubber ducky t-shirt that said Don’t Worry Be Happy! And that’s exactly what we did! Well most of the time anyway. We have a single girl living with us and we joke that living with us and our two loud fire ball children is great abstinence enforcement.

So , Sara was asking about being married yesterday and is it sexy? What am I gonna tell her? The truth that  a hot night at my house is “Parenthood”on NBC on the couch talking about the Braverman’s like their real people ? Or that my husband’s snoring has caused  many a talk of murder( not divorce) from the hours of 1 -5:00am? Yes it seems at times we’ve lost our mo jo and we’re an”old married couple.” But we’re not out of the game completely. We’re not dead!

I realize that sexy is an evolution. You know how you can look at an older movie star and say “He’s still sexy” Robert Redford. When my mom saw the movie Indecent Proposal. I think her exact quote was” I would have gone on his Yacht  for free!” Go Barb!

But for me I found my husband Ron insanely funny the minute we met and I saw him perform. He was doing stand up and absolutely killed it. He had the crowd in the palm of his hands and yes, it was sexy. I also found it sexy when he brought dough nuts on the airplane about a year later and over a box of Krispy Cremes somewhere over Ohio I fell in love. I won’t bore you with “love stories” here because we’re all about the sexy right? But seriously, how do I explain marriage to someone who hasn’t been there?

It’s almost 9 years later and I ‘d like to recount some of my husband’s most sexy moments.

1.       When he did the Dance from the movie Dirty Dancing at our wedding better than Patrick Swayze even though he threw his back out in rehearsal.

2.       When I forgot my car keys at my friend’s house at 11:00pm and Ron drove all the way back to her house to retrieve them for me even though he had been sleeping.

3.       When he cleaned out the freezer without being asked and on my birthday always takes me on outtings like the time he took me to this famous Museum called the Getty. He knows I’m not into fancy culture but he knew the food their was delicious so we ate and left! He speaks my love language!

4.       When he wore matching Pink Footy Pajama’s for our Christmas Card and to Ruby’s school pajama party without missing a beat.

5.       When he fully choreographed a dance number to the theme song from Disney’s Frozen to sing and perform with my 6 year old for her upcoming school assembly.

6.       For my anniversary he wrote me individual notes for each song he was about to Kareoke to me in his car. He serenaded me to “The Wind Beneath My Wings” with full abandon. I laughed. I cried. It was better than CATS.

My husband Ron is sexy! He is confident and funny. Ron always said” Funny Guys Get Chicks!”

 So I hope in some way this has been helpful for those of you that are married or single reading this.If you’re married. Why don’t you take the challenge and write down your spouse’s sexiest moments? You might surprise yourself and  then be bold and share it. It could be the start of something really…hot!I’m just sayin! Maybe he’ll figure out all those times he did the dishes how attractive that made him to you. You know what they say…”Sex starts in the kitchen!”

Guests Posts!

Next week we have a special guest blogger: Kerri Pomarolli!! Since I will be down from having surgery, my dear friend has generously written two blog posts just for you! I'm excited for you to read what Kerri has to share, and I know you will be touched by her practical mix of reali-life and comedy.
Don't miss next week featuring Kerri Pomarolli, author of Mom's Night Out and Other Things I Miss!!

Keep me in your prayers as I begin my recovery. It's minor foot surgery, but I'll be on crutches for up to 3 weeks. No driving (UGH!). No going up and down stairs (Ugh again!). And crutches just to go to the bathroom! (Hope I can make it in time!).

Thank you for praying for me!

Blessings!

The Illusion of One Super Mom!

This post was originally written in 2011 when I first began writing my blog. In many ways, I have grown and changed as a mom and homeschooler. But in other ways, things have stayed the same. This post is for today just as much as it was for me 3 years ago.

Simply put, I'm the super mom ILLUSION!  I'm not better than another mom; I can't produce things with any greater ease than another mom; I don't remember everything all the time (contrary to what my family believes!) and sometimes, life gets in the way of MY plans.  It is all an illusion that I can pull off so many things: work, homeschooling, my own schooling, running my household, keeping my children in line, etc.  There are many workers and assistants in my day such as my husband and my older children, who help make my job easier.  Just as a church is not run solely by the pastor or a corporation is run by just the president, so my household is not run by this mom alone!  Because I work at night, it has been a great blessing to see my husband and oldest son and daughter making the meals for the family.  Some may argue that as the mother and wife this is my job.  But I would pose this question:  Isn't the end result teaching my kids to serve others even beginning at home?  If they serve their siblings, how much more will they know how to serve others in the world?  And how much more willing to be a servant of the Lord?  This is preparing them for servitude and is a great character trait to possess.

Galatians 5:13 says, "For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another."  As a homeschooling mom, this is just one more lesson my children are being taught and it is a practical life-lesson that will shape who they are in the Lord.  So while I am not the "Super Mom" many think I am because of the number of children my husband and I have or that we homeschool, I always keep straight the fact that this is not a solo act and there are MANY performers helping to pull off the production of our family!!     Blessings!

Homeschool Hump Day Encouragement

Today, I want to encourage you with just two Scriptures. These are the two that will sustain you as you begin or continue on your homeschooling journey:

These are printable, too, so you can put them up in your schoolroom!

Blessings!

TIP TUESDAY: Decluttering Magazines

I don't know how or when it happened, but somehow we ended up with a lot of magazines over the past few months. Some have wonderful articles that I want to keep. Some have a particular design I like. So how do you keep the things you want without keeping so many bulky magazines around? I'm glad you asked!

Almost everyone has a printer these days. Take a copy of the page or pages you want to keep and put them in a notebook. Now you have all those designs you like in one handy place. You can donate the magazines to your local library, too. It's a great way to spread the word about organizations you enjoy and pass on some info packed magazines to others. And if you're like me and have some ministry magazines to give, think of the ministry opportunity that will be for those who pick up that magazine!

Feeling Restless? Find Out WHY?

About seven years ago, I had this feeling that I could or should be doing something more than what I was doing. It was like a sense of urgency overwhelming me. That restlessness prompted me to pursue going to college for my Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) certification. I thoroughly enjoyed the classes and going on the ambulance calls as I went through my clinicals. But I still felt unfulfilled. I was still restless. A year later, I broke my big toe at the foot and was forced to stop working as a lab technician at our local clinic. So I decided to ask God what it was He would have me do. I felt His gentle nudging to get back to the dreams of my youth; my dream of writing. Now I still have those restless pangs, but it is for my characters in my books and what they are going through, and I know that I am fulfilling the call God has put on my life.
If you are feeling restless, I have good news for you. It's normal! We strive for those things that God has for us and we can only fulfill them once we truly know and have found what He has called us to do in life and for the Kingdom. In Her book Restless, Jennie Allen uses the story of Joseph to show threads in his suffering, gifts, relationships and his story and how they fit into the greater story of God. By identifying threads in your life, you can also identify your gifts and how they ultimately fit into the overall plan God has for your life. If you can't come up with commanalities throughout your life, just ask the Lord to reveal that to you, and He will show you!

That restless feeling? It's a part of becoming who God designed you to be!!

Blessings!