I made a List

For the last two weeks sickness has been going through my kiddos. I thought everyone was getting well, but then earlier this week Jack came down with the flu. This morning I was feeling pretty discouraged, and honestly just plain lonely. We've been cooped up in our house, we haven't found a Church yet, and we haven't really made any friends. We don't have family near by, and I think I was just wanting to have a little pity party for myself.

I was struggling. I knew I needed to be content, but nothing in me wanted to be. I remembered that in the past when I had felt really discouraged, it had been helpful to make a list of all the blessings in my life. Believe me, that was the last thing I wanted to do, but I still gave it a try.

1. God providing a job for my husband. That alone should make me stop feeling sorry for myself!

2. Beautiful fall weather( October through December is my favorite time of year!)

3. Seeing prayers be answered in "little" situations.

4. Such an encouraging little man. Jack's always telling Erik, his siblings, or me what a great job we are doing-while unloading groceries, or when Erik brings home doughnuts, or while I'm making dinner, etc..It's hilarious.

5. Little girls who love to dress themselves, and think that three different shades of pink makes for a beautiful outfit.

Case in point :)

6. Sweet baby giggles.

7. Fun new recipes(and almost all of them have been successful!)

8. Starbucks and Target only being 10 minutes away from my house. Does that sound pathetic? 

9. Kids who love to help, and me finally loosening up enough to let them.

Blog Bash

Hello, my name is Jessica, and I'm so happy you came by to visit me from the Women Living Well blog. I'm a 26 year old stay at home mom. I've been married to my best friend for almost six years. And I have four children. What's that you ask? What are their ages? Well please don't think us crazy, but they are four, three, 20 months, and 4 months old. Yes my life is never without a dull moment. And yes I drink a lot a fair amount of coffee. But I'm living the life I always dreamed of since I became a Christian. 

 Those are my babies, and that couch they are sitting on is where I usually blog from. I love to write about what the Lord has been teaching me, and I enjoy sharing stories about my children. My blog is a place to document memories, but it's also a place (I hope) to encourage other women. Please come back and visit from time to time, and if you leave a comment or follow me I'll be sure to return the favor. I'm looking forward to "meeting" some new friends!

Cute Shoes and No More Sweats

Clearly Anna has no problems getting dressed to shoes!

Well at least a limited amount of sweat pants! I thought it would be fun to give the getting dressed challenge(found over on Sarah Mae's blog) a try. This morning I even got dressed "to shoes." I have heard wearing shoes around the house will increase your productivity, and I wanted to see how well it worked.

So why am I challenging myself to stop wearing sweats day in and day out and putting on a nice top and some jeans instead? There are many reasons, but the first one is because when I get dressed in regular clothes I get so much more accomplished around the house. I also feel better, and feel more awake. Another reason is that I want to be a good example, especially to my girls. I want them to see that Mommy takes her job seriously and that she takes care of herself. And lastly, although maybe this should have been my first reason, is that I want to look good for my husband. I always crack up that when we were dating I'd have never let Erik see me with greasy hair, no make up, and the same shirt I wore the day before. And even though having young children does make it easy to fall into this trap, I still don't want it to become an excuse for looking frumpy.

How about you? Do you try to get dressed every day?

Today

Today I will..

Put my babies(and husband!) above my to do list..

Speak softly and gently no matter how frustrated I feel at the moment..

Strive to make special memories throughout an ordinary day..

Not allow my emotions to dictate my reactions in  stressful situations..

Give plenty of hugs and kisses and encouragement..

Recognize that I can't do any of this in my own strength, and cling to Jesus.

Encouragement

Older, wiser women have told me to praise my children ten times more than I correct them. But let's face it, when the days seem ordinary and you're dealing with the same discipline issues from yesterday it's much easier to focus on the negative.

Last night my husband was working late, and I was having to fight for a better attitude. I was giving my three older children a bath and holding Max. I was tired, frustrated, and was more than ready for bedtime to arrive. I asked the Lord to give me the strength to to love these children, and I was immediately convicted that I should encourage each of them. I didn't feel like it, but decided to try it anyways. I told each child some of my favorite things about them, and after I was done we all cheered for each other.

After I was done, Jack and Anna told each sibling something they loved about them. The smiles on each of their faces were priceless!

Training and correcting little ones certainly has it's place, but I hope I can remember that sometimes encouraging good behavior might be all the training my little ones need.