Archive for the Category »Motherhood «

February

“It is not time or opportunity that is to determine intimacy; it is disposition alone. Seven years would be insufficient to make some people acquainted with each other, and seven days are more than enough for others” – Marianne Dashwood in Sense and Sensibility

“A mother is a person who, seeing there are only four pieces of pie for five people, promptly announces she never did care for pie.” Tenneva Jordan

“So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God and God abides in him.” I John 4:16

Category: 1 John, Motherhood Leave a Comment

Mandy’s Monday – Count Down

January

written by:mandy | Leave a Comment

I love Valentines day! I love all that comes with Valentine’s Day: the cards, the hearts, the pink and red everywhere, the CHOCOLATE!! I just enjoy the focus being on love itself! It does not have to be romantic love, although I am thankful for my wonderful husband in ways that no words can describe, to me the day brings the chance to celebrate love in many different forms. My girls always want to make tons of cards and will spend days doing so. Last year we made heart cookies and really enjoyed them as well as giving them away.

Why in the world am I writing about Valentine’s Day on January 25th? One week from today will be February 1st and I have plans I want to tell you about

This year I will make a count down blog to Valentine’s Day and it will start February 1st. Each day I will post three quotes on love. The first category will be a Scripture passage or quote about the love of the Lord. He is the BEST @ love, that is for sure! What better example and encouragement can we have than the Lord himself. The second quote will be from Jane Austen and one of her beloved novels. If you have not figured it out by now I have a small obsession with Jane Austen novels! The final category will be motherhood. A mother’s love is constant!

So check back and count down with me as we are together encouraged by the Lord’s love, touched by love seen in fictional characters and reminded of our own mother’s love or our need to BE a loving Mom.

Category: Mandy's Mondays, marriage, Motherhood Leave a Comment

Mandy’s Monday – Pumpkin Globe

October

written by:mandy | 2 Comments

I came across a neat idea in my kids school news letter, and I would like to share it with you!Â It is a pumpkin globe!Â Here are the instructions:

“Use a pumpkin “globe” to make learning geography fun.Â With a magic marker, have your child draw the equator and the continents.Â The North Pole can be the stem.Â The pumpkin’s natural grooves can be lines of longitude.Â Ask him to tell you about what he’s drawn on his “globe”.”

I thought this sounded fun and plan to make our own family pumpkin globe Â I thought I might get creative and crazy and try to cut out the continents or practically do so, so that the light of a candle shines through – but don’t hold me to that.Â I always dream up stuff bigger than I can accomplish, and the point is for my kids to have fun.Â Not for me to WOW everybody!!Â They would have fun with markers and probably not need to cut stuff out…

If you give this a try let me know and send pics!!Â I will share mine when we have done ours.

Happy Fall everyone!Â I just LOVE the fall!!! – and pumpkins too!!Â pumpkin bread, pumpkin muffins, pumpkin lattes, pumpkin pie, pumpkin pie dip….mmmmm!!!!

Category: Family Life, Just for fun, Mandy's Mondays, Motherhood 2 Comments

Mandy’s Monday – Milk and Cookies Part 2

March

written by:mandy | Leave a Comment

Last week I was thinking and teaching about milk and cookies – yum!! Especially if they are homemade cookies right out of the oven. In fact I just ate such a chocolate chip cookie before starting this post. (Isabelle is suppose to be bringing snack to school tomorrow and it will be…cookies!) The analogy is this, applying the Bible to your life is the sweet ooie gooie goodness in following the Lord just as warm homemade cookies with milk are oh so good to eat!!

I want to share with you the four steps to application as well as nine questions to ask of any passage you are reading and studying. These steps and questions come from Howard Hendrick’s book Living By the Book (I misquoted the title of the book last week – sorry Howard!)

Four steps to Application

1. Know – You need to be sure you know what the scripture passage is saying. This is where your time in observation and interpretation is key! If you have the wrong interpretation you will have the wrong application! You also need to know yourself and be honest about your strengths and weaknesses. This will allow you to respond to the Holy Spirits prompting that a truth in Scripture is for you personally!

2. Relate – You need to relate God’s word to your life – every area of your life!! Don’t be caught compartmentalizing!

3. Medidtate – Weave the truths of Scripture into the very fabric of your life (the everyday stuff). Think about it as you go along and let it seep into your mind, heart and actions!

4. Practice – Make a plan for how you will apply the truths you have discovered and then put it into action. Seeking accountability from someone would do great wonders here!!

Nine Questions to ask: (I reworded these to try to make them more teen friendly)

1. Should I copy this example?

2. Is there a sin to run from?

3. Is there a promise to treasure?

4. Is there a prayer to pray?

5. Am I being asked to obey something?

6. Does something have to happen first?

7. Is there something I should memorize?

8. Is there truth to be remembered?

9. Am I up for the challenge?

If you would like to listen to the lesson you may do so below. Two warnings before you begin – 1. the mic goes out and so there is a break in the audio and 2. I was teaching to Jr. High and so I got a little silly at times

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May the Lord help us to apply His treasured word in our lives that we might be more like Him and enjoy the yummy cookies He offers in life!!

Category: biblical studies, Mandy, Mandy's Mondays, Motherhood Leave a Comment

Mom’s Words For A Day

October

written by:mandy | 2 Comments

Props go to my Father-in-law, Ronnie, who sent me a link with this youtube video! I laughed out loud!! I can so identify with the morning routine she includes as well as other things, and I know the other stuff (get off the phone, stop texting, and I will add let me see your facebook) will be just around the corner. So sit back and enjoy, and if you are a Mom I know you are laughing out loud at this one!!

Category: Family Life, Mandy, Motherhood, youtube 2 Comments

Y’all Breastfeed now, ya hear!

June

written by:mandy | One Comment

While listening to Ranger baseball games recently we heard this service announcement which just makes me laugh. So take a moment, press play and listen.

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Now that is funny!

I read in Newsweek that a lady was charge with indecent exposure for nursing in a park in New York. The article went on to say that states are making laws to protect mother’s rights to breastfeed in public and that there is a new push to encourage mothers to nurse for 6 months to a year. Evidently women will start with nursing but stop after a month or so, or when they are heading back to work. I think this song is a great way to get people to think about breastfeed and laugh at the same time It is a part of a new breastfeeding campaign.

I have nursed each of our four children and had some interesting experiences along the way. I think I have nursed a baby in more places and circumstances than I could count. I usually get some interesting looks and comments. In NY once a man said to me “Oh, I know what you are doing under there” (although I am a breastfeeding advocate I choose to do so with blanket coverage while in public.) Recently, a man in a nursing home went to move the blanket to see Owen and I had to ask him to wait. I always get lots of questions from little kids. A five year old friend of Emma’s wanted to know if I was feeding the baby from my belly button. It is always funny to see my girls pretend to nurse their baby dolls.

Reasons I love breastfeeding:
1. It is a great way to connect with my babies
2. It is healthy and best for my kiddos
3. It saves a ton of money
4. It is quick and easy in the middle of the night or anywhere
5. It helps my body recover from delivery and get back to my pre-pregnancy weight

So for all those lactating women out there…. you can do it! Keep “giving from your heart or somewhere close by”