Simplify.

the past 2.5 weeks have been chaotic.

 We had Adoption Classes m-f 5:30-8:30, 45 minutes away from our house 2 weeks ago. then last week we had revival at church. Both were a blessing and much needed but BOY did it cause havoc on our house. Its a big ole mess right now.

So, I have decided to join in with "White House Black Shutters" and do 40 bags in 40 days. I am really hoping I can do this. The hardest part of being a working mom is the few hours a day we are actually at home. So I am saving the big stuff for weekends and hoping to knock it all out!

I have such a desire to have a simply life. All the clutter and such just drives me crazy. I am going to do my best to "rid" of it all. Who knows...I might even open the garage full of good picks and have a sale.

We will see!

In other news, I would like to introduce you to our newest family member, Minnie.

 Minnie is our newest rescue. Todd and I are huge animal lovers. We currently have 2 cats and 3 dogs living at our house. Plus we have 3 more with my parents. Minnie was dropped off in Todd's work parking lot (as was Roger) She is the sweetest little dog. She minds well, sleeps through the night, doesn't run off if she isn't on her leash, doesn't chew on things..her only fault is she will not potty train. So it looks like we will be going to obedience school.

 Rescue dogs make the best pest! If you are thinking about getting a pet, I highly suggest adopting one.

Looks like we are going to need a new family photo.

Momma, it wiggles.

This weekend we took a trip to Mobile to visit Todd's dad, stepmom, and grandmother. We haven't seen them in over a year and they were down for Mardi Gras, so we decided to pack up the car and join them.

We hadn't been in Mobile 45 minutes when Madyson came to me and said, my tooth hurts. Figuring she had bumped her mouth playing or she was getting a cavity, I said, "Well let me see". I was looking in her mouth and I asked her "where?" and she pointed to her little bottom tooth. When I touched it, it moved!

I didn't say anything and she responded with "Momma, It wiggles!!!" This is a huge deal for her. I didn't loose my first tooth til 2nd grade, so I was assuming my children would be the same, and stay babies forever. Boy, was I wrong!

Within 20 minutes of discovering the loose tooth, it was dangling on a string of floss.

The Tooth fairy came to visit. Leaving $2 for her first tooth. She was so excited to "sell" her "old" teeth.

My baby is now a kid. and yes, I cried.

Our annual love day.

 This year's love day was alot different than the past few years. In 2010, we saw a wreck, that ended in death...missed nap...melted down before dinner..you can read it here Love day 2010. Then on
 Love Day 2011 we were suffering from the flu :(.

 This year however, we seemed to make it through the day.  I woke early and prepared the girls favorite simple breakfast (eggs and pancakes) they woke up to happy treats of a tshirt, shaky cup, candy, and suckers. After breakfast they got dressed and went to school for their valentines parties.

After their parties we headed to walmart to pick up a few things for Aubrie Kate's birthday party! (I can't wait for you to see it!!!) Here is my "crew" at walmart. I make them all ride in the buggy to prevent someone ki*nappin* them. (have you seen that video??)

They came home and ate alot of candy, then the 4 of us went to our favorite spot to have dinner. Pizza Hut. We are always the only ones in there and they get the whole play area to themselves. (Plus dinner is under 17$ bucks for all of us ;)

Todd got off work and met us at church and we attended a life action service. It was a great way to spend our Love day.

Happenings

Life Action is over. I am so sad. I really do enjoy coming to church everyday and being fed the word of God. Once they leave, its reality and I know have to do it own my own. I can though.

The greatest thing about Life Action is last night, my dad was in church. Its been a long time since he sat in church for something other than a funeral, wedding, or musical performance. I was so happy he was there.

There has been alot going on in our family so lets catch up, shall we? and excuse the terrible phone photos, my big camera is in todd's truck and I keep forgetting to get it out!

Madyson and her class had a field trip to the Rodeo. Then they had a "Cowboy Lunch" afterwards.

Aubrie Kate had a school music class "parent's day" she loves singing and music.

Finally, after 2 years of praying, wrong roads, etc. Todd and I have completed our 15 hours of adoption training, turned in all paper work, been fingerprinted, and tested for TB.

Next we have our homestudy update then it will be baby time. We have a prospective mom, but we are also looking into the foster system at ages 2 and under. No decisions have been made, because we haven't felt a direct answer from God on which way to go. We knew though we had to finish all this first.

These are my new obsession. I adore them. I also like the smore flavor. great for a quick snack. 

We survived valentines day! more on that saturday. Here are the valentines I made for Aubrie's class. Thank you Pintrest!

This weekend we are taking a quick get-a-way to visit Todd's dad, stepmom, and brother. We are excited about our little road trip!

Glory: Life Action post #2

Last night Steve & Jeremiah both taught. I really enjoyed Jeremiah's lesson on Glory. And have decided to share my notes from it.

What is Glory? When God's holy life goes public. Lesson from Jeremiah 13:1-11

Questions asked:

Do you understand your responsibility when you call yourself a Christian? To do it all in the Glory of God. To Honor Him, To put nothing before him.

What is an idol? Anything that absorbs your heart and imagination more than God.

Jeremiah then asked us, "what is an idol in your life?" Immediately a word popped into my head. I said to myself.."no, thats not an idol."

He gave the diagram of: When you Refuse to Listen ->you become stubborn ->which leads you to create idols ->and makes your life worthless.

He gave the illustration of standing in front of a mirror and said, "Whatever is in front of you is what you will reflect." I began to think of how many time I have watch a popular reality tv show that is about singles throwing themselves at a man..is that what I want to reflect? Or how about being too busy in the morning to sit down with God, first thing. An idol?

Jeremiah then said, "I asked you earlier what was an idol in your life. I am sure something popped into your head, and  you said to yourself no...thats not an idol"

So he gave a list:
~Work: do you work more than you spend time with God?
~Kids: do you spend so much time being a good mom, you lack the time to be a Godly mom?
~Marriage: Do you value your spouse more than God?
~TV: Do you watch more television than you spend time with God?
~Shopping: Do you spend more on stuff than you give to your church?
~Eating: Do you invest time into food when others are hungry?
~Money: Do you store away money while your church needs help providing?
~Reputation: Do you value your reputation as a "good Christian"? It takes more than showing up for worship, going to Sunday School and tithing to be a Christian.
~Fear: Does your fears control you?


At the end of the service he asked us to write down that word(s) that was our idol. And then he asked us, if we felt led, to come and place it on the alter and give it to God. I took my word down, prayed and asked God for his guidance in this matter.

What are your idols?

Life Action post

This week, we have the pleasure of hosting Life Action at our church. They were here last year and I took away so much from their teachings. We have alot of friends that have moved or on mission trips and are missing this week, so I am posting my notes from each lesson. They will not be in order of how they were taught to us, but I will do my best to post them all.

Our first lesson is from 2/12 pm service. Steve taught about "The sport of fools"

We as humans, find it normal to look at our life and compare it to others. I spoke about coveting a few weeks ago, and this lesson, spoke words to me. Here are the steps that he discussed how we become discontent with our lives.

*Discontentment: A lack of gratitude for what God has provided.*
Discussion from 2 Corinthians 10:12 & Psalm 73


I. Comparison: we compare us to them.
a. Home: examples: They are building a new home, our house is small, we need a big home...even if we can't afford it.
b. Mate: examples: we see their spouse at their best and ours at their worst. Then we compare the two.
c. Finances: examples: I would love to go on a European vacation like them, but we can't afford it. We can't even pay our bills. I bet they never have that problem. It must be nice to be rich.
d. Clothes: examples: I can't wear these shoes! They are old and ugly. I wish I had shoes like hers. 
e. Acceptance: examples: She is so outgoing, and has lots of friends. I don't fit in anywhere, I don't belong to anyone. 
f. Marital Status: examples: Why am I  still single and my little sister is engage? why did my marriage fail and theirs work?
g: Parents: examples: I wish my parents had of done that for me. Why does my dad wear black socks with sandals?
h: Future: Never in a million years will my life be as good as theirs. 
 

II.Complain: Ways we whine.
a. Negative: When you are always negative eventually you become...
b. Angry: and after being angry for so long you just become....
c. Bitter

III.Criticize: Your spouse, your boss, your friends, your children.... 

IV. Condemn
a. Assume negative (the worst about a situation)
b. Judgmental 
c. Gossip 


Steve shared a story about a family whose 5 year old was diagnosed with leukemia. Instead of the family going into the initial meeting with the doctors having a "why me" attitude. They decided to "Make God look good in all circumstances". Throughout treatment dr.'s and nurses commented on how great their outlook was. And they shared that it was because of the Lord. How often do we allow God to look good in all circumstances? 


How can we fix our discontentment? 


I. Confess
a. Specific areas
b. self pride
c. the need to rejoice


II. Change your focus
a. yourself
b. pride
c. others
d. insecurities


at the end he challenged us to get in groups of 3/4 and talk about where we have discontentment in our lives and to pray that God helps us remove these. I was in a group with some of the older members of our church. We shared, then I led the prayer. I am not a group prayer (hard to believe with as much as i like to talk...) but I felt God saying, "let go of your pride, and speak to me, just like you do when its just us." 

 
   

Working Mom

I am taking a break from Fun Friday to talk about my life as a Working Mom (for Kelly's Show Us Your Life) I am the mom to two wonderful little girls Madyson (5) Aubrie (3) and my husband and I are in the domestic adoption process for our precious #3.

I have been a working mom for all but 6 months of my children's life. At the beginning I worked insane hours, climbing the ladder of success, and state hopping for meetings just to fulfill my goal of becoming a successful woman.

Then God grabbed a hold of me and took me on a wild rollercoaster. He snatched the reins of life out of my hands and planted me in the church that I grew up in. (Feel Free to Read all of 2009 post to see the plan of God unfold infront of your eyes)

I have been apart of this team since June of 2009. And I am so thankful to God for giving me the opportunity to work at a place that understands family is most important and doesn't make me feel guilty for being a mom. I might not make as much money as I did before, but the ability to have lunch with my kids, bring them to work, and be off with them when needed is worth more than money.

So here is our daily schedule.

6am: wake up/shower.
6:30am: wake kids up, feed them breakfast, get myself dressed
6:45am: get them dressed, teeth brushed, hair done, etc.
7:15am: Dad leaves for work
7:30am: Drop madyson off at school
7:45am: Drop Aubrie Kate off at Preschool
8:00am: arrive at work. Have quiet time with the Lord/coffee.
8:30-2pm: Work
2:00pm: Leave work to pick up Aubrie Kate from Preschool
2:17pm: get in carrider line
2:30pm: Madyson gets in the car
2:45pm: Home/ Snack Time
3:00-4:00pm: Play outside or Movie if its raining
4:00-5:00pm Homework, read book for AR, get lunch ready for the next day, pack backpack for next day
5:00pm: start dinner. Girls Play
6:30pm: Todd gets home from Work and we eat dinner
8:00pm: Girls get in bed

 On Mondays both girls have ballet from 4:15-5:45 so we do homework and such while the other is in dance class. Then we go to Family Bible Study at 6:30 were we finish homework, and study together.

On Wednesday Nights: we have Church so we eat dinner at the church then have service and such.
One Thursday Night a month: Madyson has girl scouts, Aubrie tags along.
and starting this Spring, Aubrie will be playing T Ball.

Our life gets very chaotic sometimes. Todd's work doesn't allow for him to miss alot, so when he is off, we stop whatever (including missing dance...etc) to be a family. That is the most important.

A few things that help me is:
1) we have a family calender where I write out everything for that month. It is positioned in our pantry for all to see.

2) We do everything for the next day before dinner. Picking out clothes, getting bags ready, etc. that way in the mornings we aren't rushing around. NONE of us are morning people so it helps alot.

3) We keep a chalk board in our kitchen that we write out grocery needs, things that need to be done around the house etc. we all help out on this so its not just one persons responsibility.

4) Stopping when I see fit. I do not care if we are at every dance class. Sometimes, life is too much and the girls need a break. By not trying to be everywhere at all times, it helps us relax and breath.

Thanks for visiting the Broadus Bunch! We would love to have you join us as a follower so you can keep up with our crazy life!