Family
Reading
✨Reading ✨
I have always loved to read but in the last few years it has definitely been put on the back burner.
This month, I am making it a priority to READ- for fun and for some (lots of) new parenting tips…because two and three year olds are hard 😬
I had found a lot of these books a while ago and was dragging my feet to start them. Sometimes, starting new books or opening yourself up to new ideas and methods can be overwhelming…but I decided the time is NOW!
I’ve been rereading the Traveling Pants series for fun, light reading.
And the books in my parenting stack include 1-2-3 Magic by Thomas W. Phelan, Parenting Scripts: When What You’re Saying Isn’t Working, Say Something New by Amber Lia and Wendy Speake, Triggers: Exchanging Parents’ Angry Reactions for Gentle Biblical Responses by Amber Lia and Wendy Speake, You Can’t Make Me But I Can Be Persuaded: Strategies for Bringing Out the Best in Your Strong Willed Child by Cynthia Ulrich Tobias and Grace-based Discipline by Karis Kimmel Murray
*I found some of these on thriftbooks.com for great prices!*
I found the rest on Amazon and at Focus on the Family
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Decorating Your House for Fall Festivities
I love this Bucket List Challenge. I have been motivated “to do” so many things that I always HOPE to do, but often just can’t seem to get done in the time frame I desire.
I absolutely LOVE fall colors so this year I decided to decorate early and enjoy my colorful house for all of October through Thanksgiving. I used many simple things, most of which I picked up over the years at post holiday sales.
Colorful garlands of fall colored leaves
Fall leaf wreaths
Mini pumpkins from Trader Joes
A few larger pumpkins
Cloth pumpkins some from Target and some from an artist we love (find her on instagram-@mattiesmakings)
Wooden signs that remind me to be Grateful and Thankful
Candles-pumpkin scented are the BEST!
Small potted plants that I will plant outside at the end of the fall season
Have fun decorating!!!! Now that my house is all decorated, I am having fun inviting friends over. Accomplishing Bucket list items open doors for fellowship and blessing others.
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Try a New Fall Craft- Coloring Pumpkins
When I saw the idea for coloring pumpkins, I thought we must incorporate this into one of our preschool days for our color theme that we have been working on the last couple of weeks. It was very simple- only needing white pumpkins, crayons (old, broken ones worked well for the smaller pumpkins), and a blow dryer- but the end result was so unique!
At first, we were a little discouraged because the crayons kept blowing off of the pumpkins. But, we stuck with it and realized that the crayons needed to melt a little to get grounded into the pumpkin to start dripping down to make the melted colored strips. It did take longer than we expected for the crayons to melt so the little ones did lose interest after the first pumpkin, but they loved seeing how the colors mixed together and melted down the pumpkin.
Another check off our Bucket List! 🙂
Check out our instagram @growingweisser to see a Time-lapse video of the process!
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Summer Bucket List
As Summer comes to an end and many of us are back or going back to school, I love reflecting on how we spent our Summer Vacation. I like to bring a little bit of the carefree attitude and focused family time of Summer into the school year. It can get SO busy with school and activities starting back up, I think it is important to make sure we are still setting aside time to just BE as a family.
The past few Summers we have made a SUMMER BUCKET LIST at the end of the school year. We make it together. The girls give ideas and I add a few of my own too! It is a great way to balance those days with no plans at all, and days where we are conscious to have an experience and make memories.
Now that the girls are older, they had a blast being involved in the making AND executing of the Bucket List. The days we did one of the activities we not just fun, they felt like we accomplished something we had set out to do. I found it very rewarding to see the days go by and the items get checked off. It really helps with my mindset when we get back into the school routine to know that I made the effort to have those adventures.
I also feel like having a Summer Bucket list reminds me how much fun we can have when we put things we want to do on the calendar and make the time to be together as a family. Even when things start to get busy with school, we make a point to put these types of adventures on our calendar as they year goes on!
Do you have a Summer Bucket …
Read More10 Hints to having a Fantastic 4th of July Week Celebration
Celebrating the 4th of July with family is FANTASTIC! We have made some wonderful memories over the years with our immediate family and with extended family. This year we have the Spoelhof family (our oldest daughter Rachel, her husband and 3 daughters) with us for the week. The girls are 7, 6 and 4 ½ so we have been busy, busy, busy! So, this blog post will not only share some of the fun things we have done, but helpful tips on how to stay organized and be able to truly enjoy building deeper relationships with your adult kids and grandkids.
Plan ahead…..
1. Make a bucket list of things to do. ( I made ours on a piece of cardstock so the kids and parents could see all the options of things to do.)
2. Let all family members visiting have a say in the plans for the week-(it is a vacation week for EVERYONE)
3. Grocery shop and make menus for the week. (Make sure you check with the moms to buy the kinds of snacks and treats everyone likes.)
4. Cook dinners ahead or prep parts of the meals you have planned.
5. Engage the visiting families in cooking the meals. (One summer we had dinner cooking contests between the couples visiting-This was a HUGE success-everyone had fun and the food was fabulous.)
6. Have all the supplies on hand you need for crafting or art projects. We did Tie Dye, beading, Painting and lots of coloring)
7. Plan some kind of exercise for each day-hiking, swimming, biking, walking, soccer, trips to the local gym (get gym guest passes ahead of time).
8. Allow the parents of your grandkids to have a date night.
9. If you plan a day trip, take a picnic and stop for …
Truth Unchanging Devotional Review
I was gifted the devotional book, Truth Unchanging: Hearing God Daily in the Midst of Motherhood by Becky Thompson by my sister, Bethany, for my birthday.
Although I’m only a few days into reading it, I wanted to give a recommendation for what I think about it already! First of all, I love the tone of Becky’s writing. I have also read her book, Hope Unfolding: Grace-Filled Truth for the Momma’s Heart and, in each book, it is as if you are sitting across from a friend in a coffee shop. Although bold in Truth, she is gentle and understanding of what motherhood entails. She says…
“As moms know, even when there isn’t noise around us, there is usually noise within us. The constant to-do lists that spin in our minds, the worry and wonder if we are doing a good job, and the need to stay two steps ahead of our families when we feel two steps behind keep our minds routinely restless. So when quiet time with God isn’t so quiet, and alone time is nearly nonexistent, how does a modern-day momma tune in the voice of the Lord?
With Truth Unchanging, you don’t have to wait until you’re alone to talk with Jesus. Designed to be read in five minutes or less, each powerful, hope-filled devotion will…
-REFOCUS your heart on the Word of God
-REFRESH your mind with God’s Truth for your life
-REVIVE your spirit as you realize God is speaking to you personally
Truth Unchanging is not just a devotional. It’s an opportunity to begin daily conversations with Jesus, the One who has everything we need for the days ahead, the One who wants to speak to you right now. Tune in to His voice today.”
In each devotional, Becky asks great questions …
Read MoreConnecting Through Motherhood – MOPS
This year, I decided to join a MOPS group. MOPS stands for “Mothers of Preschoolers” but it is really for moms of preschool age children and under. MOPS has been such a blessing for me not only to give me a two hour window every other week to remember what it is like to have a conversation without being interrupted by my little ones but also to be encouraged in motherhood with a group of amazing women! By stepping out of my comfort zone and trying something new, I was able to meet new friends, talk through motherhood struggles and get ideas for how to get through different stages of child rearing, and hear some amazing teachings from many Christian women.
Here is some of the encouragement I was given from these great teachers…
Maria Goff gave us a CHARGE for our lives in motherhood from Ephesians 4:1
“As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.”
reminding us that we must live each day with NO COMPARISON.
She taught us that HOSPITALITY is not about how you set your table but how people feel about sitting around your table. It is more about the condition of our HEARTS, not the condition of our HOME.
Melanie Dale taught us about what
Mo Isom taught us how to SUFFER WELL, that our worth as a Mom is not in our ability to make life look picture perfect.
She encouraged us to HAVE COURAGE because God has already overcome the world.
“Adversity (in motherhood) is inevitable but is is also used in …
Read More365 Things Every New Mom Should Know-Passion Perspective Introducing Linda Danis
A few years ago, Growing Weisser started a new “tradition” called “Passion Perspective”. “Passion Perspective” is a unique way to share a glimpse into the lives of some intriguing people who are pursuing their passions. In the past, we featured guests that have a true enthusiasm for the work they are doing. Our “Passion Perspective” posts included exclusive interviews to introduce you to many of our favorite friends who are on a journey of taking their passions and turning them into small businesses. We will share insights including the steps they took, the challenges they faced, and the blessings that have come into their lives and the lives of others.
This week we are featuring Linda Danis, an expert on “All things MOM”! She is one of the most devoted moms I know. Not only is she dedicated to her own children and now grandchildren, but she loves mentoring young moms and has a passion for encouraging women in their lives and in their faith. This interview is wonderful and her book, 365 Things Every New Mom Should Know would be a perfect gift for Mother’s Day!
I know you well, Linda, but can you tell our readers a little bit about
yourself?
I love being a mom! I have been married for 33 years and have four
children who are all in their 20’s, my youngest is in college. I have also
entered the wonderful world of being a grandparent with twin 2-year-old
granddaughters and another on the way. Raising my kids has been my main job
and ministry for the past three decades which means I have worn many
different hats over the years… PTA president, Moms in Touch leader, Team
mom, Sunday school teacher, Bible study leader, and Carpool driver
extraordinaire. I wrote this book in my …
New Beginnings in Parenting
Grace… that’s the one word I have to keep reminding myself of… Grace. I am not going to be perfect. Just like my kids are not perfect, even though we wish they were… I have to let myself make mistakes as a parent and not think that one thing will ruin their existence. Parenting is not a formula. It is a relationship. It is a process. It is taking one day at a time. It is a gift. It is a blessing. But it will also bring out things in you that you never knew existed. Because it is a challenge. Because it is hard. Because it is exhausting. And because it is a responsibility. But your kid was created for you, just for you, so that you could learn, grow, explore life, teach them, love them, nurture them, and direct them. But just as they are learning about life, so are we as their parents. They come into the world without anything. We become parents without a set of perfect skills or any prior experience. We take our little babe home from the hospital and think we should have it all figured out. But each day, each step, each stage, we get to learn and grow together. So that is where grace comes in. We have to give ourselves space to learn through all the experiences just as we want our kids to keep learning and growing through their mistakes and successes.
How can we engage in growth as parents:
- Read books
- Listen to podcasts
- Talk to other moms
- Don’t say yes to everything
- Ask for advice from parents that have gone before you
- Have fun with your kids. Get on their level
- Give praise, to yourself and to them
- Give time to your kids. And Make time for
Stepping Out to Step Into…….
Stepping out to step in…..I am a person of wholehearted devotion, committed and firmly rooted in the faith. I desire to be gentle and pure in my thoughts and my actions. I want to be securely grounded in grace. Some call this yearning the practice of contemplative prayer, some call it hearing from God but both require slowing down and listening to God.
I read a quote recently that challenged my thinking…”no amount of natural or acquired knowledge will bring one to taste the spiritual experience of God, for this is a pure gift of grace. So I urge you: go after experience rather than knowledge. On the account of pride, knowledge may often deceive you, but this gentle, loving affection will not deceive you. Knowledge tends to breed conceit, but love builds. Knowledge is full of labor, but love, full of rest.”
To have my spirit rest in freedom from anxiety and self-doubt would be a JOY. To have God confidence in my relationships is something I have experienced and it makes me feel alive, so I desire to live in that certainty. To be able to discern where God is calling me to serve and then rest in serving an audience of one instead of worrying about living up to the expectations of man, would bring freedom to my soul.
I naturally have a lot of courage, tenacity and determination. For most of my life, I have used these God given character qualities to develop my relationship with God seeking to know Him through studying His word and gaining knowledge and wisdom. This style of growing in my faith has served me well. I am passionate about learning and driven by research, Hebrew and Greek word study, listening to commentaries and podcasts to increase my knowledge about Him.…
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