Weekly Goals

Last Weeks Goals:

Personal:

• Practice the piano for 2 hours this week
• Wake up at 5:30
• Read two chapters in Reshaping it all and The 5 Love Languages of Children 
• Run 5 miles (1 mile for 5 days) (Did 3 miles)
• Try something new (Made a Carmel Apple Snickers Pie. Very yummy)
• Drink 8 glasses of water a day

Family

• Have girls do chores daily
• Read every night with the girls 
• Game night (or some other family activity at night)

 Around the house

• Keep kitchen clean every night

This Weeks Goals:

Personal:

• Practice the piano for 2 hours this week
• Wake up at 5:30
• Read two chapters in Reshaping it all and The 5 Love Languages of Children 
• Run 5 miles (1 mile for 5 days)
• Try something new
• Drink 8 glasses of water a day

Family

• Have girls do chores daily
• Read every night with the girls 
• Game night (or some other family activity at night)

 Around the house

• Keep kitchen clean every night
• Work on the 3 year old's quilt 

 

What Do You Crave More Then God?

Food has been a problem for me. Maybe not in the same way as others, but it is still an issue. I either embrace it or fear it. I saw my mom struggle with food my entire life and I know she has struggled much longer than that. This is where my fear comes in. I can't count calories or I won't eat for fear that I will eat too much. I do however need to watch portions and snacks or I eat way more than I need to without even considering what is entering my body.

In the past year I have learned a lot about God and how my relationship is with him. Money is the first area my husband and I had to work on. We really needed to be more obedient with what he had given us. He trusts us to be responsible with what we were given. It has been a wonderful journey and I now see how obedience needs to be in all areas of my life. 

God gives us so much and we are not being responsible. For me time management is just as much of a struggle, maybe even more then food. I can get lost on the computer for hours very easily or sit down with a book and realize I read much longer then I intended. I have a tendency to think that things can wait until tomorrow and I have time to read one more chapter. 

I have made a household binder to help keep me organized. Some days it works and other days it doesn't. What it really comes down to is am I obeying God with my time or not. My choices affect my kids and my husband, not just me. It's more fun to sit and read my new book then to clean the bathrooms or wash the dishes. The problem is that I am using my time selfishly instead of glorifying God.

When I am at my worst is when my husband, who is a seasonal employee, goes back to work. It's a major change in our family. I go from having help around the house to being the sole caregiver of three little girls five days a week from the time they get up to when they go to bed. Then the weekends are spent with him trying to make up time with us, fix things around the house, or tend to other things that need to be taken care of.

I usually spend about a month dealing with depression. Now I have come to the realization that if I can pray through my food cravings why can't I pray through other cravings as well. Depression can also be considered a craving for me. It is easier to retreat into myself then deal with the issues around me or pray through them. He promises never to leave us, He will guide us through all the valleys.

My prayer life needs to take front and center if I am going to over come these cravings that hold me back from being the daughter of the King He aspires me to be. I have the desire, now I just need to allow God to hold my hand and walk with me through all the valleys.

Taco Bake

Taco Bake is one of my family's favorite recipes. It is one of the very limited recipes that everyone can agree on. It's not healthy at all but sometimes you just need a go to recipe that will bring everyone to the supper table with smiles on their faces.

Ready to go in the oven.

Taco Bake from Two Maids a Milking

1 lb. hamburger
1 pkg. taco seasoning
8 oz. sour cream
Salsa
1 pkg. crescent rolls (8)
1 can of black beans (I added from original recipe)
1 c. shredded cheese
Doritos

First cook your hamburger meat and season it as you would for tacos.

Then layer starting with crescent rolls. I bake it for 5 minutes or so otherwise it will be slightly soggy. 

Now come the meat and beans. 

You may add a layer of sour cream and salsa if you desire. We add it on top after baking. 

Next add your cheese.

Top it off  with crumbled Doritos. I use a half to 3/4 of a bag.

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes 
 

All that's left. The girls will actually eat this!

My Happy Birthday Girl!

Can it be true? Can I really have a 5 year old? I guess it's true (at least that's what she keeps telling me.)

So here is her birth story: 

"Once upon a time . . . my husband and I found out I was pregnant. It was a complete surprise. We weren't trying at all and had been married all most three years. 

We were excited and nervous.

This was the first grand baby on both sides, so lots of excitement and spoiling from the extended family.

Christmas Eve I felt her drop. There was so much pressure, I was incredibly uncomfortable (even more then before although I could finally breath for the first time in months), and I started having contractions. I found out shortly after that they were not braxton hicks but pre-labor contractions. 

I wasn't due until January 30th, so at my first doctors appointment after all this started, my doctor confirmed that it could be anytime. She was very low and ready. This of course meant we had to hurry and get the last things ready. I hadn't had a single baby shower yet, so I didn't have much more then a crib and carseat and a few clothes. 

Well I spent the next few weeks having constant contractions; some very strong contractions and many mild ones. Finally on January 20th at about 4:30 in the morning, I woke up feeling awful and went to the bathroom. When I came back to bed, I still felt horribly uncomfortable. Shortly after I had a strong contraction. At that point I started feeling wetness. As I ran to the bathroom, I was confident that my water had just broke. 

Well off to the hospital we went and sure enough my water had broke. In all the birth classes we were told it rarely happens and we don't really need to worry about it. Well I sure wish they would have told me that the pain tends to be much more intense after your water breaks. Wow did it go from mild to extreme pain in about 5 minutes. 

Well at about 5:30 at night I was finally able to start pushing. At 7:54 she was finally born. Yes if you did the math, I pushed for about 2.5 hours. She was not facing down but to the side and I couldn't get her pushed out very far. Her shoulders couldn't get past my hips. She was crowning for half that time at least. You can imagine that the recovery was very long for me. 

Well here we are 5 years later with a happy and healthy girl. She loves being a princess and a daddy's girl. There is a real desire in her to learn and she is full of questions. She is an awesome big sister and a good helper to me.

We went to the fabric store and picked out the fabric for her birthday dress a few weeks ago. She also picked out the pattern.

For her 5th birthday we decided she could get her ears pierced. She did awesome. Just a few tears. She picked out 4 additional pairs of earrings to wear when her 6 weeks were up.

All done crying and very excited. (I'm so glad she picked out the cheapest pair of studs on her own. Boy do they get expensive for only wearing them for 6 weeks.)

Weekly Goals

Well I guess I didn't do as well as I thought. There are going to be some tough weeks. I am hopeful that this week will be better, since I am not sick like last week.

Last Weeks Goals:

Personal:

• Practice the piano for 2 hours this week
• Wake up at 5:30
• Read two chapters in Reshaping it all and The 5 Love Languages of Children 
• Exercise 5 times (I love my new treadmill. I can run or walk everyday now)
• Try something new (sewed my daughter's birthday dress)
  
• Drink 8 glasses of water a day (I am very close to this most days and have succeed a few days this week)

Family

• Have girls do chores daily
• Read every night with the girls 
• Game night

 Around the house

• Keep kitchen clean every night

This Weeks Goals:

Personal:

• Practice the piano for 2 hours this week
• Wake up at 5:30
• Read two chapters in Reshaping it all and The 5 Love Languages of Children 
• Run 5 miles (1 mile for 5 days)
• Try something new
• Drink 8 glasses of water a day

Family

• Have girls do chores daily
• Read every night with the girls 
• Game night (or some other family activity at night)

 Around the house

• Keep kitchen clean every night

For Such A Time As This

One of my favorite Bible stories is Esther for a couple reasons. Of course as a woman, I love to see stories of amazing women God used. To me it is important to remind myself and my girls that God thinks we are important too. He has a purpose for us because we are women. 

I also love the story of Esther because of what Mordeccai said to Esther when he was pleading for help: 

"Do not think that because you are in the king's house you alone of all Jews will escape. For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father's family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?" Esther 4: 13-14

A few years ago that passage stuck out to me like it never has. Every time I read it I feel like I learn even more. First God and God alone put Esther in the role of queen to save her people. Why else would a Jewish girl become queen instead of one of the hundreds of other beautiful girls. 

The phrase, "such a time as this" keeps playing in my head. If God can make Esther queen so she can save her people, what plans does He have for me? Of all the times for me to live, this is when God chose us to live. We are here for such a time as this. 

He calls us just as He called Esther. What I find even more interesting and inspiring of the passage is that Mordecai tells Esther that if she doesn't speak up, deliverance will come from some place else. In Judges, Deborah warns Barak that because he didn't trust God when he was called to deliver the Jews, he would not be the one to deliver his people but a woman. God really is series about us obeying Him and there are consequences when we don't.

God will deliver His people, not just the Jews but also His children, believers. We were put here on this earth at this time for a "such a time as this". We have a chance to do what God has called us to do, be a light that shines with LOVE:

Matthew 5:14 "You are the light of world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden."

Matthew 5:44 "But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you."

Matthew 19:19 "love your neighbor as yourself"

John 13:34-35 "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love on anther. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love on another."

John 15:13 "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends."

 I feel God is calling me to rain down love on those around me for such a time as this. What has God called you to do? Are you obeying?

We Will Do It!

Sometimes it's hard to dream because it seems impossible to ever achieve them. My husband and I have had a dream since we got married: to live in the country. 

My husband lived his first 18 years on a farm. His dad lived his whole life on the farm and his dad before that. Farming is in my husbands blood. Since we've been married we've lived in a small apartment in West St. Paul and two different houses in a small town. Right now we know this is where we need to be but it is hard for him to be in town with limited space. He misses the space and freedom a farm has. 

I spent a few years of my childhood on a little acre of land outside a small town and I have never felt as much freedom as I did during those years. I want that for my kids.

The truth is that land around here is very expensive because it's all farm land. Getting 5 acres of land will cost as much as our house does now. It's been hard for both of us to put off that dream. 

Last year we started budgeting. Before budgeting we didn't always keep up with the student loan payments and rarely paid extra. Now we are a few months from paying off all extra debt and will start paying extra on our rental houses. Our first rental will be paid off in a little over 4 years. In about 15 years will should have two rentals and our house completely paid off. We can finally see God opening doors for us. We may not live in the country when we want to but we know that we will when God is ready for us.

Over the past year I learned a few important things:

1. Prayer: Our dreams mean nothing if God is not on board. My husband and I need to be spending more time praying over where God wants us to be. If he truly has plans for us to live in the country, then he will open the doors for us. Our hearts need to be ready in case God has other amazing plans for our life.
2. Set Goals: I have started setting weekly goals for myself. This year I also set yearly goals for myself and my family. We have clear plans to accomplish what we need to achieve our dreams by taking baby steps to get there.
3. Be obedient: We were not be obedient with our money. Once we were, we were blessed in more ways then we ever thought possible. It felt like we had extra money being thrown at us in every direction. There were moments of temptation but after resisting, we were blessed again. If God can bless us financially when we obey, how will he bless us when we obey in all parts of our lives?

One thing I can say about right now, is that God has blessed me more then I could have ever imagined. We have a nice house, decent vehicles, money for necessities, and God watching over us. This may not be the orginal dream my husband and I had, but it is a good one.