Kids/Family Archives • Page 8 of 13 • New Nostalgia

FAMILY/ Kids/Family/ Leaving A Legacy/ Love/ Parenting/ Spiritual

Leaving A Legacy-A Post For My 3 Girls

As a 2-time cancer survivor, I look at life with tangible knowledge that life could end at any given moment. None of us know how long we have here on this earth. This legacy series to my 3 girls…my lovelies… is my way of attempting to leave a legacy for them. To speak of what is most important for them to know from me, their forever Mom.

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It’s funny, my girls. I’ve wanted to write this series for awhile, but where to start? There are so many important things I want to tell you, and frankly I fail at this so often. I try to tell you verbally, and I know, especially now that you are older, that it often turns into a lecture.

So, I’ve decided to start with a journal entry I found, dating back to the year 2008. I remember writing it. I was at the Lied Lodge in Nebraska City, having a day set apart for just me and God. I remember a feeling a strong sense of unease, like something big was coming up and I needed to prepare both myself and my family for it. I didn’t know what that meant, but I had this pressing desire to express to you words that I would want to say if I ever was not around to say them.

This was 2 years before my cancer diagnosis. You were only age 9, 8 & 5. Precious wee ones. I’ve decided to share this with you as the first post of this series because I thought it was fitting to start with truth, and an apology.

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{Mother’s Day 2011}

Journal Entry March 18, 2009

For My Girls:

You are God’s precious treasure.

So very precious.

He also has treasure for you!

Receive the treasure He offers you.

The treasure of Jesus.

Nothing compares to Him! He will never leave you or forsake you. You will never be alone. He holds you in His hands. I entrust you to him, you are His, not mine.

Forgive me, my girls. I know I am not patient. At times my words can be harsh and my temper gets the best of me too often. God is working on me, and I promise to continue to grow in Him. He is creating a work in me. I pray He protects you from my shortcomings and my growth process. Oh, how I long to be a Mom who is already complete in my wisdom. But, until Heaven, when we will all be perfected and will all act perfectly, I will keep running forward and doing my best for Him in this crazy race of life. What a blessing to get to run this race with your Dad as my husband (he is SO wonderful) and as you 3 as my girls. You bring me so much JOY! God is only getting started with you, this is only just the beginning! He has so much for you. His way truly is the only way.

Follow Him. Keep His commands. Accept His forgiveness.

Have patience while He completes his work in you and don’t give into Satan’s lies. He will tell you that you are not good enough. He is a liar, a deceiver. Fill you mind with God’s truth about you so you can discern when Satan is trying to trick. He is sneaky. Watch for his craftiness BUT BY NO MEANS BE FEARFUL of him.

Our God is so powerful and so much bigger. Get to know God’s promises and cling to them, to Him, for He is truly awesome.

I Love You More-n,

Mom

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Source: unafloresita.blogspot.com via New on Pinterest

Counting Gifts/ FAMILY/ Kids/Family

Captured Life Tidbits–Our Life In Instagram Pictures

So thankful for these moments– these tidbits–that make up life.

Capturing the moments visually is a gift.

It keeps me present, it keeps me thankful, & reminds me to live NEW!

~a yearly tradition. A Family night out to Valentino’s Pizza Buffet

~after pizza, we each chose an ornament. The after Christmas sales are great!

~reading Scripture on my phone. A simple click to underline & share.

~gifts of love in the mail from our heart friends in Cali.

~a family date day, planned by Dad

~a trip to Omaha on our family date, to a Christian bookstore

~fun, family chill time.

~oh how I love my 3 lovelies

~Salted Caramel Pops. A Starbucks snack for the ride home.

~Dad instructs each girl to choose a Bible, a book & a devotional

~evidence of their choices being used. How their choices show their individual personalities

~a low key New Years Eve at home. A few fun snacks.

~how festive touches make it fun

~using my manicure skills to make their fingers sparkle & spend quality time with them

FAMILY/ Kids/Family

Captured Life Tidbits – Our Life In Instagram Photos

So thankful for these moments– these tidbits–that make up life.

Capturing the moments visually is a gift. All of life is a gift!

~whole wheat bread in the bread maker

~cocoa cousins

~Christmas concert

~Lil one being brave, singing for a crowd

~putting up our memory tree

~Father and daughter sorting ornaments

~family Jesse Tree readings for Advent

~freshly showered little one in pajamas

~a sick teen who still needs her Mom

~sleeping beauty in her pink snuggle robe

~all is blurry but peace. I still found peace despite the blur.

~frosted windowpane.

~Lil’ ones snow day plans

~priceless art

~our backyard in white

~the pureness of snow

~fun in the snow!

~shadows and lines

~ Lil one proudly shows me her peanut butter banana “sushi”

~a middle child who is camera shy

~art supplies from Gpa & Gma for Christmas

~silly mustaches from silly aunts

~festive beverages & Christmas treats

~oh how Granddaughters love chocolates!

~family

~family prayer at Christmas

~my oldest and I

~my middle child got a new hat for Christmas

~I got a new laptop case for Christmas and I lurve it!

~crazy curls from chemo

~the stuffings of stockings

~my new neighborhood coffee and wine bistro

~Headbandz with cousins

~a very special Christmas Eve

FAMILY/ Kids/Family/ Love/ Parenting/ Spiritual

Parenting Pre-Teens

{Momastery.com}

“Don’t let yourself become so concerned with raising a good kid that you forget you already have one.”

BAM!

When I saw this graphic on PInterest it hit me right in the head and heart. Hard.

My girls are now 13, 11 and 9. They are great girls.

But, we have definitely hit middle school years with my two oldest and as I watch them try to maneuver in the muck of what middle school years can bring, I have felt fear creep in.

Amy + fear = not a good thing.

It creeps in on me, one thought will enter. Another the next day. Before I know it my stomach is in a ball of worries and I feel the world is on my shoulders and it is up to me to save the world.

What am I afraid of? Who do I think I am that I can save the world?

It seems to come down to this. I don’t want my kids to struggle. I don’t want them to learn life lessons the hard way. I don’t want them to make bad decisions in these years that will take a lot of years to work through & heal from. I don’t want them to walk the path I did, a path that started in middle school.

Fear. Fear. Fear.

It is interesting.

When they were little, their struggles and misbehavior brought out something else in me.

Pride.

It is really easy for a fit throwing 3 year old to make Mommy look and feel like a total loser parent. I cared about how their behavior made ME look.

God and I worked through that one, and honestly, I kinda miss that being the issue, for I’d rather be in pain and have to work through it then see my girls experience pain and them have to work through it. Bring back the 3 year old fits!

I’d take those any day over watching my girls sort out who they are and seeing them struggle with what we all, especially as females, can struggle with– identity.

Identity is huge in middle school. What defines me? My friends? My clothes? The phone in my hand? The brand of my boots? The way my hair is curled that day?

The world and their peers scream YES, these things matter and define you. You and your peeps need to look and act a certain way for you to be accepted and loved. This leaves the question constantly on their middle school brains “Am I ok?” “Do I fit?”

I feel like my words are whispers they cannot hear over their peers screams right now, and honestly that is my fault.

My fear causes my reactions to be in the moment and they take on a lecturing tone.

Mom lecturing = blank stares, eyes rolling & a mind and heart that is tuned out. My whispers fall on deaf ears, although my lectures are far from whispers.

Why do I fall into this–the lecture?

Back to the yuck–I’ve seen one of my girls think that if the other sister dresses and looks what they would define as “dorky” that it somehow defines her or in some way reflects on her and makes her look bad. What? Oh that is yucky…so yucky that when I realized that this was an issue last week it was my turn to stare blankly with my mouth hanging open, silenced–but only for a minute before my lecture started.

But, can’t I relate to that? I used to let my 3 year olds fits define me as a mom, and I was a grown woman.

I should not have been surprised when the next day, as I was wearing an over sized Nebraska tshirt with jeans and we were expecting family company, my daughter was horrified that I was actually going to wear it. Now there are even opinions on what I wear? Oh Lord have mercy! I did look silly and it WAS a shirt I usually wear with pajama pants, but REALLY? Do you really feel less because your Mom looks a little dweeby? Does this really effect how you see yourself and feel about yourself?

Why am I so surprised when they struggle?

My heart felt heavy a few days ago with all these issues on my brain. I had lunch with a super great girlfriend, whose gentle encouragement pointed out all the wonderful things she sees in my girls. She put the graphic above into her own words, which I think is why it hit so hard when I saw it today on Pinterest. God has to do that with me you know…work in themes. Say things in more ways than one. Hit me over the head a few times, lovingly of course. I love it when He does this, for He knows what is going to work on my heart.

The same day my Mother-In-Law had to drop something off for me, and the timing was perfect, as I was still sorting through my thoughts and emotions when it comes to this parenting thing and they came blurting out the minute she sat down.

She gave me such practical advice. She helped me figure out how to stop the lecture and just simply talk to my girls. She gave me example questions to ask them, to stir their own thinking and their own little hearts. I felt hopeful right away, stomach unknotting and weight off my shoulders.

It is working. I am seeing that my lecturing can be very shaming and guilt producing, and that is so not what I want to do. Instead, I want to ask them about their hearts, to guide them into thinking about who they really are and who they want to be. To remind them that God thinks the world of them and loves them fully, and that there is nothing they can or can’t do to make Him love them more or less. These are the things that bring on true identity.

I don’t have it all figured out yet, and I definitely want to get my thoughts together more when it comes to revealing to my girls all the amazing things their Creator thinks about them. Identity is my key word that I will focus on, and I will teach them who God says they are.

I will also choose to look at the good in them. There is so, so very much. When I chose to see all the gifts in them, it calms fear and puts it in its place. It reminds me Who has the them. It takes the world off my shoulders and puts it where it actually is and where it belongs; in His hands.

Counting Gifts/ FAMILY/ Kids/Family

Life Tidbits Captured On Instagram

{#1010 – #1019}

We made it past counting 1,000 gifts, a gift in itself.

I now capture the gifts, life’s tidbits that matter, through Instagram.

~homemade whole wheat bread

~cocoa with cousins

~Christmas carol concerts

~new dishes

~light comes & reflects & bounces beauty all around

~mini gingerbread made by mini hands

~puzzle Christmas tradition

~dollar store nativity, put up and out every year

~my new cozy grey blanket. Yes, I buy gifts for others, then keep them sometimes.

~festive natural lip gloss. the joy of being a girl.

~cozy grey slipper shoes.

~having a little one who still makes holiday art

~my at-home office. the love I have for my job.

~simple squash for lunch

~a confident little one who finds joy in singing in front of hundreds

~vegetable kale soup. {recipe posted soon!}

~coffee shop date with my oldest lovely

~an abundance of tea thanks to a blog sponsor

~our holiday happy home

Kids/Family

Keva Planks For Christmas-Our Most Favorite Toy Of All Time

I wrote this post 3 years ago, and still Keva planks continue to be the most played with, favorite toy at our house. My girls are now 13, 11 & 9 and are still enjoying Keva Planks, so I thought it was worth a repost!

If you are looking for something to buy your kids for Christmas that will keep them busy for hours AND stimulate creative thinking, then Keva planks may be your answer.

We LOVE playing with them in this house. We first discovered them at our local children’s museum, and I when I saw all 3 of my girls distracted and engaged in building fun for over an hour, I knew it was time to start saving for some of our own–which brings me to the only negative about Keva planks–the price. Believe me, they really are worth every penny, but it would not be an

inexpensive gift.

On to the positives…

*every piece is the same. They are about 1/4 inch thick, 3/4 inch wide and 41/2 inches long. Because they are all the same size and weight, the kids are able to go quite high with the structures they make.
*they are simple, simple, simple
*all ages engage, from toddler to adult.
*no plastic
*easy cleanup
*knocking them down is as fun as building them up!

Notice she is standing on a chair:)

Marble Ramp

Butterfly

Barbie House

Guinea Pig Maze

Snippy Loved It!

Dollhouse Furniture

Tower To The Ceiling With Aunt & Cousins

To Buy Keva Planks, click here.

Decorating/ FUN/DIY/ Holidays/Parties/ Kids/Family

Using Willow Tree Figurines For a Beautiful Thanksgiving Tablescape

My sister, Julie, has collected Willow Tree Figurines for years. I have always drooled over her collection and found them so meaningful and beautiful. When she posted a photo of her Thanksgiving tablescape on Instagram, I drooled even more, and was blown away with how simple and beautiful it was.

If you are not familiar with Willow Tree Figurines, here is there website. They make wonderful gifts to mark the most important and life-changing events in life. I love that they address all areas of life, from the good (family) to the bad (illness) and create gifts that often times speak louder than words.

Back to my sisters table, I am going to be sitting at that table later on this evening. We are celebrating Thanksgiving a day early with my side of the family, and I CAN’T WAIT! My sister has made it so easy on me this year. While she has been cleaning, decorating, baking, cooking and planning fun family games, I have been relaxing and roasting a turkey. Yep, that is all I have to do is show up with my turkey.

{My sisters pies ready to bake}

{um, YUM!}

Here is her menu. Oh, and that drooling issue I have? It is starting again as I type!

{Menu}

Turkey

Stuffing

Sweet Potato Souffle

Twice Baked Potatoes

Crumb Topped Broccoli Casserole

Aunt Fannie’s Squash Casserole

Corn Casserole

Rolls

Deviled Eggs

Pecan Pie

Pumpkin Pie

Triple Berry Pie

Country Cherry Pie

Chocolate Chip Cookies

{I’m making Turkey, Lil’ Sis is making Deviled Eggs & Pumpkin Dessert, JULIE IS MAKING THE REST.}

{Isn’t she beautiful? Stop drooling…}

She is amazing at many things, but when hostessing our family for holidays she shines and does it better than anyone I know. I love her dearly, and I’m afraid I just don’t tell her often enough what a gift she is in my life and how very, very thankful I am for her.

She has always been there for me…ALWAYS…but when I went through treatment for cancer, she was by my side. She lived an hour away, yet made that drive a bazillion times and was by my side through it all. She saw me at my worst, my most sick. I know it was hard for her to see, but she just kept showing up and caring for me. I can’t think of many times in my life when I felt such love.

On top of it all, she is one of the funniest people I know. Her texts make me belly laugh, and she is always the life of the party on our ‘sister nights.’

I love you Jules, and I’m more thankful for you than words can say.

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