Most of you know I work from home. In addition to keeping the house picked up, the laundry going, meals planned and the shopping done –  and this summer especially, Caleb busy and not just in front of a screen all day – I also am writing another book, running a military wives ministry and doing the occasional speaking and freelance writing gig.

It seems like the older I get, the harder it is to keep all of it straight. I find myself getting exasperated at all the starting/stopping and interruptions that happen. (Case in point – just typing this sentence, I’ve had to leave the room three times to help Caleb with something.)

But I’m also trying to keep it all in perspective. I know that in the bigger picture, my son won’t be this age forever. He won’t always call me first for everything. We won’t have fun moments like this morning when we worked on scripture memory for an upcoming kids mission trip he’s doing through our church in a couple of weeks.

So… this summer I’m working on maintaining a schedule. I’ve attempted this before and failed miserably, mainly I think because I put myself in such a rigid one, that at the first sign of getting behind, I gave up. This year I’m trying to keep it a lot looser – still a schedule, but understanding that not everything may get completed at the time I’ve designated.

What I’ve found is helping the most by keeping a schedule is that it’s helping me focus on what’s important and what isn’t; what I really need to get done, and what can wait; what should be a priority for today or for this week and what I can plan to work on next week.

I’ve already noticed a difference. Last week I was able to keep a schedule going all week long. We had a crazy busy weekend and Monday I didn’t have a schedule. And I felt like I got very little done.

Now, the schedule is not the to-do list. I have a to-do list. A long one. The schedule is helping me find time to get the to-do list done… without me getting tunnel vision and so focused on the list that I ignore doing anything with my son. I’m finding the schedule is helping give a little more margin, I guess you could say. I can look at what’s planned for today and see that I have some work things and some fun family things planned for too. When Caleb interrupts, I can say, hey, I’m planning on us making cookies later this afternoon, or we’re going to go throw the basketball around in about an hour, so give me this time right now to get some work done. It’s more intentional. I’m putting more thought behind it. And I think that helps a lot.

So each night I’m thinking about the next day and jotting down a simple schedule of things I need to do and when I can do them. And I check as I go through it during the day. Mark what I missed, or what took longer than I thought it would.

Like I said, I’ve only done this for a week. So this is still an ongoing experiment. They say it takes at least 21 days to make something a habit, right ? So I’ve got a little ways to go. But luckily, there’s still 9 more weeks of summer left.

How do you manage summer schedules with your kids?

This weekend, I finished going through the last few remnants of things I needed to organize in my office since we moved into this house almost 2 months ago. After a hectic spring, summer time is serving as my new year – a time to reset, refocus and get back some sense of order that I seemed to have lost over the last couple of years in what we have started calling “The Transition”.  I’m working on moving towards a paperless office. I’m not quite there yet… but I made a lot of progress this weekend. I scanned a bunch of documents in and shredded the hard copies. (Talk about feeling a little more free! I have a ton of new folders and hanging file folders I’ve kept through the various years and locations because “I might need them” all ready to put in the yard sale we’re having in a couple of weeks…)

While I was going through the last little bits of “stuff” – I found several photo CDs I’d had made from WalMart. (Remember the days where you actually took pictures on FILM, and THEN you paid extra for a photo developer to put them on CD so you could have them on your computer too? Crazy to think about now, huh? )

The pictures were all from about 8 to 10 years ago. Photos of both my college graduation and Cliff’s college graduation. Family pics. Reminders of my really varied (and really bad) hairstyles around that time. (Short, orange-red hair… hmmm… not as cool looking as I thought it was back then.)

But then I ran across a few like this one. Read More→

A note from Sara: Happy Monday everyone! I know I need to get back into our weekly challenges, but I think I’m going to delay another week so I can share this wonderful guest blogger, Amanda, with you! I ran across Amanda’s blog, FaithFamilyFriendsLove, this past weekend and LOVED reading her post about realizing that the differences she has as a mom is ok and seeing the value in the talents and gifts God has already given her. I’ve enjoyed reading from lots of wives over the last several months who have embraced the Proverbs 31 wife journey (with a new perspective that includes an attitude of ‘perfection not required’). So I hope to share more of these guest posts and guest bloggers with you over the coming weeks and months because I think one of the greatest encouragements we can receive as women striving to walk in relationship with God while keeping those relationships with our husbands, children and other around us healthy – is to know we’re not alone. So be encouraged today. And know it’s ok to not be “that” mom. 

I’m not “that” mom

By Amanda Johnson
FaithFamilyFriendsLove

Are you ready for another confession?

I’m not “that” mom.

In fact if you are looking for a blog about being a great wife and mom, about being organized, couponing, crafting, cooking… Keep on looking, because that is not me. As much as I would love to be her – I’m not.

You know the kind of women I’m talking about. In fact, maybe you are her. If you are, may God bless you! The mom that is always put together. Hair, clothes, make-up… The mom who plans wonderful meals for her family, and has them ready and on the table when the dear husband gets in from work. The mom who sees awesome crafts on Pinterest and actually recreates them. The mom who is a vital part of the PTA (or is it PTO?). The mom who is a DIYer. Perhaps you are the mom who works outside of the home, and manages the home as well. If you are any one of these, then I salute you! If you are all of them… Well please don’t tell me – I may just cry.

Just kidding… kind of.

You see, I want to be “that” mom. The desire is there. The follow through… not so much.

My hair is wild – there is no hope. Make up, eh… Clothes… sigh. I’ve never been accused of being trendy. (Which is actually quite all right with me! Give me some jeans and a NOTW shirt, and I’m a happy girl!) Getting supper ready before the husband gets home -with a 3 year old “helping” and a (almost) 1 year old getting in the dogs food and water bowl – is not an option. I like the idea of being crafty. There really are some awesome things out there to recreate. Again though, it is the follow through I have issues with. We plan to home school, so I guess I don’t really have to worry about if it is PTA or PTO… The DIYer… yeah, here we go with that follow through again.

I struggle with laziness. It is not something I am proud of. I pray about it daily and seek Gods help. Some people see and do, and I admire you. I see and think, geez that looks like a lot of work and effort.

Sometimes I “blame” it on having two young children. But that is just an excuse. I know it, you know it, let’s just be honest here. I know people with 1, 2, 3…5+ kids at home and are able to accomplish AMAZING things! They cook, clean, sew, make fun crafts with their kids, create cute lunches with the foods made into cute hearts and faces, etc…

However, God has opened my eyes, and used my husband by allowing him to  love me despite my faults, and has used a new translation of the Bible that I LOVE – to guide me so that I’ve learned that yes, part of it is that I am lazy, but another part is – maybe that just isn’t who God created me to be.

While yes, I would love to be one of those women who “Pin” things and actually recreate them – I just pin things in hopes that a family member or friend will be blessed by it. I read blogs and think, I wish I could be an eloquent blogger, and inspire others with my writing, but I can’t even manage to sit down once a month to type some nonsense on this site! And that is OK.

Because God has shown me that I don’t have to be “that” mom. I am the mother and wife that He created me to be. I love my family with every fiber of my being. I love teaching my children about God, and how He loves them so much that He sent His son to die for them. I love encouraging my husband on the good days, and especially on the hard days. I love playing waitress with my little girl. I love chasing my army crawling little boy away from the dogs food and water bowl. I love dancing with my sweet “O” to the tunes of the Go Fish Guys. I love being a VeggieTales Ambassador and sharing the simple truth that “God Made You Special, and He Loves You Very Much” with other young children and their families. I love that my husband and I have a heart for young families, and want to see them thrive in Christ and worship Him together, as a family. I love that God has given us a vision, and we are seeking His guidance in how to bring Him glory through this mission He has placed upon our hearts. I love reading books like “My So-Called Life as a Proverbs 31 Wife” by Sara Horn and realizing – I don’t have to be perfect, I just have to love God, love my family and trust in Him to guide me each and every day.

Life is not perfect. Life is not easy. It’s hard. It’s messy. It hurts at times. But PRAISE AND GLORY TO MY FATHER IN HEAVEN I have learned that “I can be content in any and every situation through the Anointed One who is my power and strength.” Philippians 4:13 – The Voice

No, I’m not “THAT” mom. But really… who is? Let’s not set unrealistic goals. Let’s not judge and envy. No. Let’s learn to be content. Let’s embrace who God created us to be, and run with it. I’ll never be crafty, and that is ok. I’m enjoying the life God has blessed me with. Glory to my Father in Heaven!

Amanda Johnson lives in Texas with her husband, two kids, and their bad dog. She is a stay-at-home mom who loves playing, cooking, camping, kayaking, and hiking. When the Johnson family is not enjoying blueberry muffins and coffee on a Saturday morning, you’ll probably find them at the zoo. Amanda and her husband share a desire to reach families with young children, encouraging them and helping them to grow in Christ as a family. Read her blog at FaithFamilyFriendsLove.

Yesterday Caleb came home with a note from school outlining the rest of the week’s schedule. I noticed that on Thursday, they are having a “book signing” and culture fest. Several months ago he had to turn in a couple of assignments about family traditions that all of the students were going to have combined into a book. We got the order form, ordered copies for us, and I think for the grandparents (maybe just one copy. I hope.). He also had to include a recipe, something our family loves to make, and eat.

At the time, we’d talked about my turkey enchiladas, which my mom always made for us the day after Thanksgiving, which I do for my family now. Sometimes we look forward to those more than the actual turkey on Turkey Day. I kept reading. The note said that if we wanted to, we could bring in a sample of that recipe on Thursday for the kids to taste at their culture fest.

I took a breath. I’m already making my breakfast quiches for Cliff’s Christmas party at work on Friday and baking cookies for Caleb’s Christmas party next week… I guess I could try and do turkey enchiladas too? Maybe?

I walked into Caleb’s room with the note where he was sitting at his desk doing homework. “OK, so it says here you can bring a sample of what you included in the book – do you want me to fix turkey enchiladas for Thursday so you can share it with your class?”

Barely batting an eye, Caleb looked up at me. “Oh, I didn’t put turkey enchiladas for my recipe.”

Huh? Uh, come again?

“Ok… well, what did you put?”

“Your macaroni hot dog soup.”

I could feel the blood draining from my face. “You mean, you put for our family tradition, the thing we enjoy having the most – you said it was macaroni with cut up hot dogs in it? SERIOUSLY?”

Caleb was starting to get tickled. He is well aware of his mother’s paranoia and insecurities when it comes to cooking.

“Well, I couldn’t remember what we’d said, so I just wrote down the macaroni-hot dog soup. I like it!”

“Yeah, but this is going in a book, and all of these other parents and grandparents and friends are going to see it, and they’re going to think that your mother’s best dish is one made from a box and a wrapper?!”

Caleb was officially laughing. But desperately trying not to.

“Sorry, mom. Really, I’m sorry.”

Does this look like the face of a kid who is sorry?

Macaroni and hot-dog soup, in case you were wondering, is a dish I created on one of those I-have-run-out-of-all-time-and-energy-to-cook-anything-decent-or-really-worth-eating days (and judging from my quick web search to find a picture of it – there are a whole lot of other people out there who like this too). We had it more often than I would have liked when we were in South Carolina and Cliff was deployed and I was working 40 hours a week. And now, it’s been immortalized forever as a family tradition.

After all of the recipes I have tried over the past couple of years…

All the great things I have (finally) started learning to cook… (some I still need to share with you that I’ve made recently!)

Omelets that actually flip right, quesadillas that don’t burn, Breakfast Quiche cups… chocolate mint cookies… I’ve even had some success with pork chops…and yes, even shrimp and corn chowder (at least it tasted great, even if the process was a pain)…

And he remembers me for macaroni and hot dog soup.

I guess I have to say it’s nice to be remembered. And even if all the other parents, grandparents and friends think “That poor kid – his mom only knows how to make macaroni and hot dog soup?” – I’ll know differently. Cause there’s a lot of love that goes into that soup.

And I suppose that’s all that matters. (And the fact that when Caleb said, “Mom, are you going to put this on Facebook?” I got to say, “Ohhhh yeaaaahh.”)

But I am NOT sending a sample!

What has your child done that was unexpected, that you just had to sit back and laugh?