New Year – New Word

I was a really bad personal blogger in 2011.  Caught up in life, business and just plain didn’t make the time to blog.  I’m not sure that 2012 will be any different.  I’ve seen recent growth in my business and plan to continue pushing forward.  I really want to have this here though to post things family related and my thoughts as well, so I won’t be getting rid of it by any means.

As with years past I’ve set new goals, isn’t that what everyone does in a new year?  Mine are mostly business related though I have a couple of personal ones as well.  Mainly to do more for my family specifically making Greg’s lunch everyday – it’s the little things that I don’t do that I know he’d appreciate.

Other personal goals include – - Reading 1 book per month.  Reading my Bible everyday.  Reading to my kid’s weekly.  

We had an awesome Christmas this year.  I learned hard lessons and celebrated victories.  Not something I feel I should share publicly, but still will say that God was in it and I am grateful.

Last year, my word of the year was FOCUS.  I needed to focus and I”m proud to say that from August through the end of the year I feel I did that well and I saw results.  This year, 2012, my word of the year is TRUST.  I believe with all my heart that is what God simply wants me to do – us to do. TRUST him. TRUST myself.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart.”  

Some pictures from the holidays – - -

It’s Fall Ya’ll

I’ve decided to use this blog simply as a family album of sorts.  It is hard to keep up with this and my business, the kids, the house, and life in general.  I hope to do a better of job of at least updating with pictures.  That is my goal.  Summer (the season) is coming to an end but here we’ve been in fall mode for almost a month since the kids have been back in school that long.  All three of my kiddos are going at least a half day of school and I’m experiencing some much needed quiet time in the mornings to get work done.

Here’s a few pictures from pre-back to school and then our first day of school shots:

Brady learned to ride his bike.

Lily tried riding her bike with out training wheels but her legs weren’t quite long enough yet.

We all enjoyed swimming in Ann Hart’s pool.

Headed to school!

From the Archives: Stay At Home Mom Schedule

This is my most popular post in my archives when I participated in a blog series by Amy from Amy’s Finer Things.

Amy over at The Finer Things in Life is doing a series on Mommy Come Home, about the choice to be a stay at home mom.  How it can be a leap of faith, how it requires certain sacrifices, some getting used to and some real life changes.  She was looking for someone to write a guest post on how to be a productive stay at home mom.  I’m not always as productive as I want to be, but I pride myself on being organized and scheduled.

Here’s my story:

I became a stay at home mom at the birth of my second child.  I had only worked part time before, but this was still a huge leap of faith for us and I was also “leaping” into full time ministry as a Christian writer & speaker.  Later I would become a freelance writer as well and begin several online business ventures.  Therefore being productive is a must.  Most everyone I know asks me “How do you do everything that you do?”

Scheduling, routines and being organized are three of my answers, the other two are prayer and faith.  These things play an equal role in my productivity.  My day must start with prayer or I feel it when I don’t.  I must also rely on my faith or nothing will go right.

Scheduling, routines and organization are the other end of the spectrum that balance it all out.  It took me quite some time to determine a schedule that “worked” for me and my family.  This schedule also changes during certain times of the year such as “summer” or “Christmas vacation”, and I must be flexible enough to realize that.  Two keys to a workable schedule are “trial and error” scheduling until you get one just right that works for you, and “being willing to be flexible”.

Second, routines, such as my morning routine of:

The routine helps me to “function” and get things done.  My afternoon routine involves housework, time with the kids and a bit more work time.

Finally, staying organized is another key to productivity, such as:

and other similar things is how I am able to manage a household, a ministry, and a few online businesses.

The decision to be a stay at home mom is one that I will never regret taking, no matter how hard I must work to make it all work.  Even though you’re a stay at home mom doesn’t mean you can’t have a schedule.  It can make you feel much more productive and in control.

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