Word of 2016: Balanced (Motivated by Compassion)

By bobbi
January 8, 2016
4 Comments

For the last couple of years I have been choosing one word or phrase that would be my theme of the new year. In 2013 it was “love God in little things”. In 2014 it was ora et labora (work and pray.) In 2015 it was Be Still.

So what is the word for 2016?? Balanced.

The definition of the word is “keeping or showing a balance; arranged in good proportions.” It reminds me of something someone once told me. They explained that your life is like a table with four legs. Each leg represents the four main aspects of your life – physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual. When all four areas are balanced, then your table is strong and steady. But when one area is lacking, like a table with a short leg, your life is wobbly and unbalanced.

I need more balance in my life right now, especially after the holidays. I feel like I’ve overindulged in more areas than one. I want to get things back in order but in a realistic and do-able manner. I don’t want my goals to be too far fetched. Instead of saying, “I will lose 50 pounds immediately!” I’ll instead say, “I will return to my daily walking goals and put down the leftover Christmas cookies.” Rather than, “I will dump out all the items in that junk closet and reorganize it before the kids come home from school,” I’ll say, “I’ll spend 15 minutes a day tackling a small organizing project so I am not overwhelmed. Things like that – Balanced.

For my motivation to keep up this balanced way of thinking, I will use the second word that was heavy on my heart – Compassion. It is one thing for me to make a resolution. But it is an entirely other thing for me to actually keep it. I know myself. I get all gung-ho about something and then the novelty wears off and I’m all, “Meh.” However, when there is a strong motivation, it helps me to stay the course. For me, compassion and love are what wins me over. I am a sucker for helping another person out and wanting to do something kind for them. So when I am looking at my budget and am tempted to buy that “must have” item at Target that we really can’t afford, I will think of Brian working hard for our family to provide for us. My compassion for him as a husband and father will be my motivation to step away from the shiny object and move on.

Likewise, when I am at home and complaining about all the stinkin laundry or dirty dishes or the kids that keep interrupting when I am trying to get something done, I will remember that I am their mom. I show my love for my family by keeping a semi-tidy home and I share my love for God by stopping to help my kiddps when they need me. My compassion for them helps me to keep a balanced home life – not always goofing off and not doing my daily duties but also not always so busy that I can’t stop and spend time with my kiddos.

So that’s my word for the year – Balanced, motivated by compassion.

How about you? Did you pick a word for the year? What is it?

Tomorrow I’ll share my goals for January and February. 🙂

PS – You can follow RoL on Bloglovin, Feedly or another news feed. If you are a social media fan like me, we can stay in touch through Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Periscope/Katch, GoodReads Letterboxd, Spotify or Instagram. 😉

2015 Recap (Part 2): 5 Lessons God Taught Me in 2015

By bobbi
December 30, 2015
4 Comments

For other 2015 Recap posts:

2015 Recap (Part 1): Entertainment & Social Media Faves of the Year

2015 Recap (Part 2): 5 Lessons God Taught Me in 2015

2015 Recap & Link-up: 2015 in 12 Photos

2015 Recap (Part 4): Top 10 Posts of 2015

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2015 has been a year of personal growth for me. 2013 and 2014 were years of survival and living with the cross of Brian’s cancer. Now that Brian is cancer free this year, God has been able to spend a little more time teaching me a few things. I’m not exactly the easiest student, being so hard headed and stubborn at times but God’s grace has always been my salvation. And I wouldn’t say that I have these lessons mastered… it’s more like I am aware and working on them.

Here are the highlights.

I Am the Daughter of a King

In April I went to my first alone trip away in decades. I drive down to SoCal to attend the Catholic Women’s Blogging Conference. I was soo excited but as the dates got closer I seriously thought I would not be able to do it since my FIL was not doing well and doubts were filling my mind about meeting friends that have only known me through the screen. What if they meet me and think I’m weird or too old or too fat or too loud or too quiet or too whatever… Normally I am happy and ready to give someone a smile and a hug but sometimes feelings of inadequacy creep in and instead of participating in a group conversation I’ll just smile and nod. My mind will want to respond with a story or something that happened to me and instead I’ll hear a voice that says, “That’s so dumb. No one wants to hear that story. It’s best you just keep quiet.” It doesn’t happen all the time but when it does I feel like an introverted extrovert. So I worried that those negative thoughts would make me spend the weekend sitting quietly in the corner.

I spent Friday meeting up with some favorite bloggers for dinner and a movie. Then on Saturday I attended the first day. I truly had a wonderful day, learned so much and loved meeting other bloggers face to face but by the evening I was not feeling well physically and doubts started creeping up on me again. After the group dinner I called it a night and went to bed.

By Sunday morning I woke up feeling better. As I was taking a shower I was thinking about all the things I had learned on Saturday. I also kept thinking about the movie we watched Friday night – Little Boy. The premise of the whole storyline was the Scripture, “If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will be able to say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it would move. Nothing would be impossible for you.” (Matthew 17:20)

God was speaking to my heart, that I may feel as small and insignificant as a tiny mustard seed in the grand scheme of things, but when I put my faith and trust in him, when I let go of fear and choose love, joy and courage, then He can do miraculous things. I may never see them but I can trust that the Holy Spirit will take care of everything. I just need to keep myself docile in His hands.

All weekend I kept hearing the message over and over in my head, “God wants to use your voice. God desires your gifts. You have a special place in God’s plan…” Tears started running down my face. As much as I mess up and despite all my shortcomings, God sees me as his beautiful daughter. He sees someone made in his image. He sees what I could accomplish if only I’d let go of the chains that bind me down. It is hard to see myself like that but God is slowly peeling back the layers. He is showing me the rotten that needs to be cut out and the good that needs to be nurtured so it can bloom. It is scary as all hell but also liberating! Blessed be God. 🙂

To read the full post about my weekend, visit here.

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Listen to the Holy Spirit When He Nudges You

I remember many years ago listening to a priest give a talk about the Holy Spirit. He said that the HS will often prompt us to do something, usually to help another person. Maybe something will pop into your head, such as – I should give so-and-so a call or I should offer that lady in the grocery story some help or I should tell that struggling young mom at school that despite what she may feel, she is doing an awesome job. The priest said that often these kind of things comes from the Holy Spirit. It really made me think about how we are Jesus’ hands and feet. We are the ones who are called to share his love with others.

There are many times when I get these kind of ideas in my head. My first reaction is, “Yes! That would really be a kind thing to do.” My second reaction is to think, “Yeah, but I’m kinda busy or that person is going to think I’m crazy if I go up and talk to them.” I either procrastinate so long that the opportunity is gone or I just plain chicken out. Lately, I’ve been trying to listen to this little prompts in my head. I do a quick “test” of the action. Will it cause me harm? That eliminates prompts like, “Maybe I should pick up that scary looking hitchhiker on the side of the road.” Um, no. Is it safe and doesn’t take me away from my immediate duties? For example, I think I should bring over soup to a sick friend but I have to pick up my kids from school. Instead I make plans to bring the soup after I pick them up. Other spur of the moments ideas can be done right away – like offering a word of encouragement to someone. The only thing I may harm is my pride if I am rebuffed.

For example, on Mother’s Day we were at Mass and we had the usual mothers’ blessing. All the moms were asked to stand up and after the priest blessed us the ushers went around and handed us little angel pins as a gift. I noticed that there was one older mom/grandma standing on the opposite side of the aisle from me that was mistakenly overlooked. I felt bad for her and thought that I should go over there and give her my pin. My mind answered, “Wait, what? I can’t just walk over to a stranger. She’s not going to care about some pin. That’s silly.” But the thought would not go away so as soon as the priest walked passed me during the procession, I went over to her and told her that I noticed she didn’t get a pin and I didn’t want her to think she was forgotten so please take mine. She said she didn’t want to take mine but I told her not to worry because there are more in the back of church and I’ll get another. She looked at me and smiled and then gave me a big hug and said thank you. (I’m getting teary eyed just recalling that look on her face.) It was the simplest of gestures but for that woman, it was what she needed to hear just then. So the next time you get a little prompt from the Holy Spirit, take it to heart. God may need you to be his hands and feet at that moment.

* * *

No Matter How Long You’ve Been Married, There Is Always Something to Learn

In February I wrote a post about 15 Lessons I’ve learned over the 15 years Brian and I have been married. (Make that 16 now since it was our anniversary on Monday!) Of those 15 lessons I wrote about, this one hit home the closest.

Don’t expect your hubby to read your mind.

I think this is my favorite lesson learned because I needed it so bad! I had the attitude that if Brian really knew me, I shouldn’t have to say what was on my mind. He should just pick it up. Maybe it’s a female thing but I think we women are able to perceive things without words being spoken. I expect Brian to be the same way and while there are moments when he and I can look at each other and read the other person’ mind, when it comes to ins and outs of life, I need to spell it out. For example, when I would get mad or upset about something he’d try to comfort me and it only made me madder. (Yeah, my mom calls him a saint because he’s married to me.) I finally told him straight out, “When I am mad, please leave me alone. Don’t talk to me. Don’t touch me. Just let me be. Then when you see that I’ve cooled off, please hug me and give me your comfort. At that point, your hug makes all the world right again.” He said okay and started doing just that. Since then it works like a charm! Likewise, it used to be that when I was overwhelmed and needed his help, I’d huff and puff and stew inside because he would not come over and help me automatically. Finally, I learned to just say, “Sweetheart, (or “hey!”) I need some help. Can you (fill-in-the-blank) for me. He was always more than willing to help, I just had to ask.

To read the other 14 lessons, click here.

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How to Live A Life of Gratitude

When Blessed Is She asked me to write a post about gratitude for Thanksgiving, I was excited since I just spent October writing 31 days of posts about gratitude. I had so much to be grateful for and I wanted to share with others ways that help me to cultivate gratitude in my life.

Many of the ways are obvious but I have always struggled with being grateful when things are going wrong or when I am carrying a heavy cross. This was a lesson that God has been teaching me for awhile but it really started making sense recently. Here is a snippet of the post Living A Life of Gratitude that appeared at Blessed Is She.

God Can Take It

There will be times in life when we are carrying a cross so heavy that gratitude feels out of our reach. I experienced this when Brian had cancer two years ago. There were days when the last thing I wanted to do was to be thankful. The love of my life was undergoing surgery and chemo and thoughts of his possible death wouldn’t leave the back of my mind. Besides worrying about him, I had the added stress of caring for the kids and the household by myself.

There were moments when I just wanted to shake my fists at God and yell at Him for letting this happen. I remember my mom telling me to ahead and have it out with God. She said to yell into my pillow and get it out of me. Afterwards I was to pick myself up, take a deep breath and leave it at His feet because I had work to do and couldn’t let myself get sucked into a 24/7 pity party. I followed her advice. After I let it go and surrendered myself, God showed my heart all the moments that He was taking care of me. He showed me how family and friends pulled together to help us in countless ways. He showed me “coincidences” that made our cross a little easier to carry. Suddenly I was realizing that I had so much to be grateful for. He had not abandoned me, rather, he was giving me, Brian and the kids all the things necessary to get through this crisis. (Thankfully, we got through the crisis and Brian is well now.)

To read the rest of the post, click here.

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A Change in Perspective Turns the Mundane Moments into a Blessed Life

If you read my Christmas letter, then you already know this lesson. It is easy to look around and think that you aren’t accomplishing much in comparison to others or that a mom’s life is anything but glamorous. However, with a change of perspective, I can see that all those mundane moments are actually proof of what a blessed life I have.

What did this year look like?

There were countless dishes in the sink and laundry that multiplied when I was not looking. However, it meant that we had food to eat and warm clothes on our back.

There were the usual toys, markers and Legos on the floor that required Jedi like reflexes not to damage your feet when walking barefoot. However, there were also proud moments when a child showed me what he built or the picture she drew and their creativity gave me a glimpse at their burgeoning talents.

There were incredibly loud noise levels reached when all three boys (and their father) had light saber battles or played football in the hallway. However, the sound of their giggles and contagious laughter couldn’t help but make me smile.

There was the driving – so much driving – to and from school, picking up kids on three different school schedules and the countless after school appointments and activities. However, there were those moments when a child saw me after school and his face lit up as he ran to me with open arms yelling, “Mommy!” It melted my heart every time.

There were meals to cook, toilets to scrub, work to be done, family to visit and deadlines to meet. However, I was paid above and beyond when a daughter placed her arms around me and rested her head on my shoulder, when a father-in-law kissed my cheek and thanked me for visiting him, when a reader sent a note of thanks or when my husband told me he loved me (even when I knew I drove him crazy at times.) Those are the moments that make life seem not mundane but blessed. Those are the rewards that make my heart light and give me strength when I am tired. Those are the times when I ask God to forgive my selfishness and for taking things for granted. That’s when I ask for the grace of gratitude.

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What lessons had God taught you this year?? Do share!

PS – You can follow RoL on Bloglovin, Feedly or another news feed. If you are a social media fan like me, we can stay in touch through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Periscope or Katch (past Periscopes), GoodReads, Letterboxd, or Spotify, 😉

31 Days of Gratitude 2015 (Day 21): Letting Go of the Idea of Having One More Baby

By bobbi
October 21, 2015
5 Comments

The 31 Day of Writing Challenge continues. It’s Day 21 of my 31 Days of Gratitude 2015.

* * *

Today was Matthew’s school field trip to the “The Farm,” an organic farm in Salinas, CA. It is an annual field trip the pre-school class takes every year and I’ve been lucky enough to join each of the kids on their trip. Even a decade ago, before Bella was in school, I went with a group of home schooling friends. (Can you tell we didn’t have cell phones then, so no selfies. I also didn’t realize how much heavier I was then!) I’m so grateful to have these one-on-one moments with my children doing something special with them.

Our trips to The Farm. 2015 with Matthew, 2014 with John-Paul, 2012 with Andrew and 2004 with Bella.

As I was riding on the bus with Matthew leaning on me and holding my hand tightly, I thought about that fact that this was most likely my last field trip here with a pre-schooler. Before Brian got cancer a couple years ago, we were thinking about having one more baby. On the one hand, I was feeling my age and family responsibilities but on the other hand I really wanted a sister for Bella! However, after Brian got sick, we had to be prudent, especially while he was going through chemo. The more we prayed about it, the more we felt like it was something we wanted but not necessarily what God wanted for us. A part of me had a hard time letting go of having another baby girl (or boy) and accepting that my last baby was most likely my last baby.

Thankfully, now I can say that instead of being regretful, I am filled with gratitude for my four blessings (plus two in heaven), especially when I consider that in between Bella and Andrew, we thought we’d never be able to conceive and carry to term a second child. Today I no longer feel that tug for a baby. I am truly at peace with our family and realize that God knew what was best for us especially when you factor in Brian’s parents and the help they now need from us.

It is not always easy to let go of our idea of what our life should look like, whether we want more kids or are dealing with a surprise pregnancy. Thankfully God is ready to give us all the grace we need to let go of the negative and worry and instead focus on the blessings of what is before us. For that, I am truly grateful.

PS – I’ll post more picture from The Farm tomorrow. Right now it’s late. 🙂

PPS – You can follow RoL on Bloglovin, Feedly or another news feed. If you are a social media fan like me, we can stay in touch through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Periscope or Katch (past Periscopes), GoodReads, Letterboxd, or Spotify, 😉

Summer Goals 2015

By bobbi
June 12, 2015
4 Comments

Last year, I started to get into the habit of making goals. Along the way, I purchased Lara Casey’s powersheets. I’ll be honest and tell you there were months I really took the effort to sit down and answer the questions on the worksheets and I narrowed down my goals. And then there were months when they just sat on my desk gathering dust. (I’m looking at you, holiday season.) Despite the off months, I found the sheets really useful in learning more about myself, what I wanted in life and how I could make my goals a reality.

The powersheets run for the course of six months. I am happy with the progress I’ve made but there are still many areas I want to work on more. I ordered the 2015 Powersheets so I could continue my progress over another six months. It was interesting to look back when I started and compare my answers then to my answers now. My main goals did not change but I learned what worked and what needed tweaking. It was encouraging to see how I’ve grown as well see the areas I still need work. So here is a summary of my progress and my main and mini goals for the summer.

* * *

I Am A Daughter of God

Main Goal #1: To always have God at the center of my life and to deepen my love for Him. I want his will to be my will and motivation.

Progress Made…

I’ve done a better job at incorporating the liturgical year into our daily life. I have also gotten into the habit of monthly confession.

Summer Mini-Goals

I don’t know about you but whenever I am on vacation I always tend to let pray slip, as if that were on vacation too. Now that summer is here and my schedules has relaxed, there is no excuse not to fit formal prayer time into my day.

15 minutes of prayer/ journaling in the morn.
Turn my mind to God through the day, even if only for a brief moment.
Memorize the “Come Holy Spirit” Prayer

* * *

I Am A Wife

Main Goal #2: To be a loving and holy wife to Brian and to work at keeping our marriage strong. To do what can to hep him relax and feel like his home is a haven from the world.

Progress Made…

I feel closer to Brian now than I have in our 15 years of marriage. I think the struggle with his cancer brought us closer together and made us realize how much we rely on each other. It has stretched us and brought out our strengths.

I’ve also learned to accept that despite my physical flaws, Brian loves me and thinks I am beautiful. That has allowed me to be open and vulnerable to him physically and emotionally, which has naturally brought us closer.

Summer Mini- Goals

Now that Bella is 13 (almost 14) I am able to leave her alone for an hour or so with the boys. This means that Brian and I can go out for a walk or grab a quick lunch even if our regular babysitter is unavailable.

Plan weekly at home date night or an hour long outing on the weekend.
Once a month, plan a longer date with a babysitter.
Have the kids do a quick clean up before Brian comes home so the place doesn’t look like a war zone when he comes home.
Bite my tongue and let Brian come home to a kiss from his wife instead of a tirade of all the drama he missed while he was away at work.

* * *

I Am A Mom

Main Goal #3: To be a good mother that loves her kids and spends time with them and is not always “too busy.” I want to teach them about their faith and how to love and serve God in their young lives.

Progress Made…

I finally made the kids updated chore charts and gave them jobs that I had always done myself. My sister has always been great at expecting her children to do a lot and they actually do it. I don’t want my kids to grown up messy and lazy so I have been cracking down on chores. I knew the effort was worth it when one school morning I walked to the lunch box shelf and instead of yelling at kids, “Where are all the darn lunch boxes?!” they were there on the shelf, cleaned out and ready to go. Priceless. Some of the kids have really surprised me at just how capable they are. Others still need a lot of direction but that is good for me to learn patience as well. 😉

Summer Mini- Goals

Plan a daily time for the kids to read and work on a little school work so they don’t forget everything they learned.
Have screen-free times during the day when the kids must be outside playing or doing something constructive (ie Legos, puzzles etc). No iPhones, iPads, tablets or computers allowed. (Mom included! Gasp!))
Weekly outings – beach day, picnic, library, aquarium etc.

* * *

I Am A Homemaker

Main Goal #4: To bring order into our home so I am not stressed out by the mess and chaos. When things are organized our family life runs smoother and there is more peace.

Progress Made…

There is not nearly as much progress as I’d like. There are few areas I have tackled but countless messy areas that overshadow them.

Summer Goals

Make a master TO DO list broken down by each room in the house. I have a tendency to work on too many projects at once and I don’t complete any of them. This way I can pick one item on the list, get it done and mark it off.
Update my freezer and pantry inventory and plan my weekly meals around the items that will be expiring soon.
My menu planing has grown stale so this past month I have been trying one new recipe a week. (Preferably using my about to expire food.) So far it has worked out well.

* * *

I Am A Woman

Main Goal #5 – To take care of myself physically, spiritually and mentally so I can be a happy and healthy wife, mother and friend. Taking care of myself mentally also means challenging myself to come out of my comfort zone and facing my fears.

Progress Made…

There is so much to ponder in this area, it could be a post in itself. Six months ago I wanted to come out of my comfort zone and challenge myself to get to know other moms at school or locally. I volunteered to be a room mom, which gave me ample opportunity to spend more time one on one with other adults and to step up instead of hiding in the back ground.

Blogging has given me an outlet to share myself with others and attending the CWBNCA conference was huge in helping me grow as a woman and conquering my fears.

For years I have thought of myself in negative terms – overweight, unfit, messy, shy, unintelligent compared to others, etc. I’m starting to realize that these things are not the essence of who I truly am. As I lost a few pounds and got down a dress size I see that I can lose weight and strengthen my body. As I step out of my comfort zone, I realize that the friendly, outgoing (and a little crazy) girl that my family and close friends know can also be known to other people if I let her out more often. Although I am messy and unorganized, I crave order and am delighted when I get something organized. I am seeing that there is an ordered girl trapped in a messy girl’s body and she wants to come out.

My progress comes in recognizing these things and taking the first steps to making it happen.

Summer Mini- Goals

Daily hydrate, take vitamins and walk for 20-30 min. Use my Fitbit to keep track.
Track my eating otherwise I keep underestimating how much I’m eating each day.
Plan a blogging schedule that allows me time to enjoy what I love each day without going to extremes – spending no time on the blog or getting sucked into a posting rabbit hole.
Plan some girls day out with local mom friends.
Buckle down on my Goodreads’ 2015 Reading Challenge. I pledged 12 books this year. I am in month six but only on book 3. Time for summer reading!

It may all seem a bit lofty but working on these smaller steps will keep me headed in the right direction.

What about you? What is the one thing that you really want to work on this summer?

PS – You can follow RoL on Bloglovin, Feedly or another news feed. If you are a social media fan like me, we can stay in touch through Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, GoodReads Letterboxd, Spotify or Instagram. 😉

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I Am the Handmaid of the Lord

By bobbi
March 25, 2015
2 Comments

Happy feast of the Annunciation!

It’s been crazy busy and I haven’t posted much here but I have been writing a couple posts for other blogs. I am excited to be guest posting for Sarah at Fumbling towards Grace while she prepares to move (with three little ones!) Sarah is a sweetheart who has had a rough past but has risen above it and made a new life with her beautiful family. She is a gifted writer and has the ability to open her heart and draw you in as she shares her soul. I just can’t help but love her. 🙂

Here’s a short piece I wrote about Our Lady and following her example of being a handmaid for the Lord.

* * * * *

When I was younger, and after my reversion to the church, one of my favorite bible scriptures was Luke 1:38. “Mary said, ‘Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” The words touched my heart, especially since at the time I was also struggling with whether or not I was being called to a religious vocation. Part of me thought it was a beautiful and noble calling to be the bride of Christ. The other part of me thought, it’s great as long as God is not calling me, a boy-crazy romantic.

Boy-crazy or not, I went away for a summer-long discernment retreat with a group of lay consecrated women. I figured I’d give it a try (and prove that I was not called to that kind of life.) I went in thinking, “There’s no way,” but a curious thing happened in there. First, the amount of time I spent in prayer really started to soften my hardened heart. I keenly remember having to adjust to the schedule and bell that rung moving us from one activity to another. When the bell tolled, we were to stop what we were doing and move on to the next activity. There was no, “Hold on one sec,” or “Let me just finish this last bit.” Obedience to God was obedience to the rules and schedule. We learned to offer it up and say, “I am the handmaid of the Lord…”

As things would turn out, by the end of the retreat, I did not want to go home. I had never felt so close to God and wanted to offer my life in consecration to Him. However, my spiritual director and my confessor both advised me to return home and take a year off to pray and further discern. I did and during that time I realized I was called to be a wife and mother. But God used that summer to show me how to love and how to give and serve generously.

Fast forward sixteen years and now I am married with four children. I do not live in a monastery but our home is a little domestic church. I do not have a bell ringing, telling me to move from one activity to the next but I do have little ones that constantly interrupt my “plans.” Whether it is a sick child that needs attention or milk that spilled all over the counter or a bathroom accident that needs to be cleaned, there is a constant stream of opportunities for me to die to self and say, “I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.”

I wish I could say that I have learned to kiss the cross and offer my sacrifice with love but all too often the cross is met with a deep sigh and my muttering, “Seriously, Lord? Again?” Yeah, I have far to go but at least I am on the right road and God’s mercy is always there to pick me up and get me going again.”

So on this feast of the annunciation, let’s renew our commitment to follow Mary’s example and say yes to God in whatever He asks of us.

This post first appeared at Fumbling towards Grace.

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Revolution of Love

Do small things with great love.

Category Archives: motherhood

Word of 2016: Balanced (Motivated by Compassion)

2015 Recap (Part 2): 5 Lessons God Taught Me in 2015

I Am the Daughter of a King

Listen to the Holy Spirit When He Nudges You

No Matter How Long You’ve Been Married, There Is Always Something to Learn

How to Live A Life of Gratitude

A Change in Perspective Turns the Mundane Moments into a Blessed Life

31 Days of Gratitude 2015 (Day 21): Letting Go of the Idea of Having One More Baby

Summer Goals 2015

I Am A Daughter of God

Main Goal #1: To always have God at the center of my life and to deepen my love for Him. I want his will to be my will and motivation.

Progress Made…

I Am A Wife

Main Goal #2: To be a loving and holy wife to Brian and to work at keeping our marriage strong. To do what can to hep him relax and feel like his home is a haven from the world.

I Am A Mom

Main Goal #3: To be a good mother that loves her kids and spends time with them and is not always “too busy.” I want to teach them about their faith and how to love and serve God in their young lives.

* * *

I Am A Homemaker

Main Goal #4: To bring order into our home so I am not stressed out by the mess and chaos. When things are organized our family life runs smoother and there is more peace.

* * *

I Am A Woman

Main Goal #5 – To take care of myself physically, spiritually and mentally so I can be a happy and healthy wife, mother and friend. Taking care of myself mentally also means challenging myself to come out of my comfort zone and facing my fears.

I Am the Handmaid of the Lord