S Club Mama

I am an advocate of family meals - breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, elevensies, afternoon tea, etc. In our house, we eat every evening meal together, the kids & I eat every breakfast together, and I eat lunch alone and then again with my husband (come on, he comes home at 1:00 and I cannot wait that long). And maybe once every two or three weeks, we'll eat while watching a movie together. We do not own an iPad or tablet, but I do understand the affects such items have on meal times. I find it very annoying even when someone calls or texts during our meal times (which, inevitably, one of our mothers does at least once a week). Leonard Sweet's "From Tablet to Table" was a very interesting subject to me. I know my children are very...obsessed with iPads (which they use at school and flock to whenever we're around someone else with one) so I can't imagine how hard it must be to turn off the tablets and have a decent family meal. I know these are first world...

Not much news in the way of family. I am feeling much better (mostly) - thank You, Lord! I'm still not up for doing much around the house, but I can get some laundry done and have even done dishes (that smell is awful, let me tell you). Today I have kiddo home sick. Poor Moose. He was warm at bedtime and shivering. Even at church that morning, he kept saying he was cold. It's cold. It's Kansas. I didn't think much of it. Then after I'd turned out the lights for myself, I heard him up and in the bathroom. Diarrhea. Poor thing. I heard him a few other times in the night, but he's definitely growing up. He didn't come to me even once, although I did get up to check on him. So while we're enjoying back-to-back movies (something we only do when someone is sick), I thought I'd write on my blog (before writing more book reviews). My belly is getting bigger. This picture was taken a few weeks ago (I'm 19 weeks today). I've been running sti...

A year or so ago, I went through the James MacDonald DVD Bible study "Lord, Change My Attitude." It was wonderful, very thorough and deep set in Scripture. I have known for awhile that I need to deal with my selfishness, so I thought reading James MacDonald's book "Lord  Change Me" would help me like the Bible study did. This book was not what I expected. image via Amazon "Lord, Change Me" is a great starting point for someone who doesn't know the Lord but knows he/she needs a change. It has a great outline of the gospel - Christ came as fully-God, fully man and died on the cross in payment for our sins and rose again from the dead. Very great news; best ever. Just not a Bible study on the changes that occur afterward; how to change your heart or sins like selfishness. The fonts in "Lord, Change Me" had bold and regular and italics. It was really distracting for me. Allowed me to scan more than I like to in a book. Fonts should ...

One of the smartest pieces of marital advice we got and now give is to find another couple to mentor you. Nothing fancy, but just tell you about their marriage - the ups AND downs. Help you navigate these waters that are tumultuous just as often as serene. We have a wonderful couple who has been this to us for the past several years. image via Amazon.com That, in affect, is what " The Uncommon Marriage Adventure " by Tony and Lauren Dungy is - in devotional form. This once a day devotional tells the ups and downs of the Dungy marriage and family life. Nothing new under the sun, necessarily, but great advice paired with biblical wisdom. I didn't get to read this through with my husband but combed through it myself. I didn't just learn from Lauren but from Tony's husband perspective. Sometimes I think I need marriage advice and counseling much more than my selfless husband. He has Day 64 down perfectly: "Be willing to step up and do a little more than...

My friend Evi has been so challenging, convicting, and heart-wrenching in my life. I love her so much and wish I saw her more. And now she's challenging me to be more grateful through her blog, Gratitude Gal . It's fabulous; she has a wonderful writing style that makes me jealous. Her post today was about how she's had a rough week but found some highlights, like Michael Keaton's Golden Globe acceptance speech (watch from 2:13). Then she put a few dares on her blog for us/me. I'll answer one today. Dare Choice 1:  Write down three things that have deep meaning in your life.  When something goes wrong today (as it probably will), shift your thoughts back to your list. Dare Choice 1: #1: Redemption: I could have nothing else and only have redemption from Christ's sacrifice on the cross. That would be enough. When I leave this world, I am going to heaven with my Father. When I truly let this sink in....truly, then what else can I complain about?  ...

Months ago when we were debating on whether to have another kid or not, I had in my mind a few ideas about this pregnancy. Looking back, I was naive without reason to be naive. I've been through two other pregnancies that were about the same and yet I had hope that this one would be different. I thought I could run through this pregnancy. I'd forgotten about the several weeks/months of the beginning that were full of nausea and vomiting. I thought 'it's been five years, maybe it won't be the same.' I forgot that genetics don't really change in five years so I could have mentally prepared myself for this better. I thought I'd love it. I'd forgotten how I hate this part. Yet it's been a good challenge. I've gotten very self-reliant in the past 5 years. I can cook fairly decent meals (not as good as those of my supper club partners but I have a few tricks up my sleeve). I can keep a fairly decently clean house (no one's eating off the fl...

I can't remember why I wanted to read "Every Bitter Thing is Sweet" by Sara Haggerty, but I'm glad I did. I wasn't that in love with it when it started. I wasn't taken in by her sorrowful account of infertility; maybe because I have a friend whose story is so similar and familiar to me. I completely understand that infertility is a hard pill to swallow and foreign to someone like me. I have tried my very hardest to be comforting and patient and gentle with my friend and so I put forth the same while reading this book. I ended up really falling in love with the struggles of the Haggertys. That sounds strange but so often in books, we don't see the struggles, and so we feel like our lives are wrong if we struggle. Yet here is this author telling us of her struggles to love her husband, to fill a void of an empty womb, to mother these children not knitted in her womb but fully in her heart. I came to love that openness and appreciate her being so vulnerable...