Parenting with Faith

My First Week Back

Last week was my first week back to work and it was…ummm…good. It really was good but also very strange and gave me mixed butterfly feelings. I loved catching up with old friends, meeting new people that I am sure will be friends, and getting comfortable in my new digs.

Pretty nice office huh? I have a window too! YAY! Anyone in the workforce knows how valuable a window is and how much it can  change the outlook of your day.

Plus, my boss made me these wonderful signs, which I can not express how amazing and loved they made me feel. Let me just say that if you are a manager reading this blog it is truly the little, thoughtful things that can make the hugest difference in how your employees see you. This little gesture makes me want to work 10x harder for her because I know how much she values me.

Back to my emotions. Last week was also fun because I was thinking about things besides diapers, play dates, and cooking. Now don’t miss understand, being a stay at home mom is HARD! So hard in fact that I know work can not throw anything at me which I won’t be able to handle, because I was a SAHM. But one of the reason I did want to go back was because I wanted more to think about, other than my boys. Sounds awful to say but true. So that is good, stressful, and a little scary but good.

Last week was partly bad though. Bad because getting into a new routine is hard. Bad because I was very overwhelmed being back at work after two years at home. Bad because I was stressed out getting home in time to make dinner and still having a clean house. But mainly it was bad because I missed my boys. I missed seeing their faces all day long, tucking them into bed for naps, and getting cuddles throughout the day.

How were the boys, you ask? Besides being a little sick they were absolutely fine. They were stoked to get to play at grandpa and grandma’s house most of the time, plus they get to play at their best buddy’s house now too. They pretty much told me not to let the door hit me on the way out. I tell you what, all this mom guilt I heap on myself is entirely unjustified. The boys are fine, more than fine they are great. I need to get over my guilt.

So overall a successful first week with mixed emotions from me, which I suspect I will feel for a few months. None the less I feel very confident about working and that this is the right decision for my family and I.

Wish me luck on week two!

As for my household…

My son brought home the cutest and most inspirational craft from bible study the other day, which now sits in the center of our table.

But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD. Joshua 24:15

I love this verse.

It speaks to the importance of living bibical truths in your house, teaching your children the ways of the Lord, and no matter what is happening in the outside world, inside your house the Lord is being praised.

My boys will understand the name of Jesus, and hubby and I will always try to run our family in a biblical way.

But back to this craft. I love that my boys are in a good, creative bible study that brings these important verses down to their level. I am not a creative person at all so I appreciate these hard working women being crafty with my boys.

I am officially back to work (ekkk!) but I am blessed to have a wonderful friend who will be still taking my boys to this bible study. It’s so important for their foundation to grow solid in the Lord, even if I can’t take them myself.

It takes a village to raise kids and hubby and I are so thankful for our supportive, loving, sacrificing village.

Big Bear and My Boys

We took our first family vacation this last weekend. I know, I know. My oldest is almost four years old and this is the first real vacation we have taken, but what can I say? Hubby and I always saw trip with the boys more like work than an actual vacation. Yet now that they are a little older we thought we would go for it with two nights in Big Bear at a friend’s cabin.

Our trip was wonderful!

Fourteen inches of snow fell the day before so we had perfect powder waiting for us and the boys jumped right in.

We got the most amazing pictures of our boys on this trip. Their cuteness will melt your heart!

Getting ready to play in the snow was very much like the scene in The Christmas Story, except the boys could move their arms and were not being chased by a mean bully.

My son said he was just like “the farmer and the dell.”

Okay, we are ready.

The whole cabin was on 1/2 an acre and the backyard alone was huge. For our first activity we made snow angels.

Then we had a good old fashioned snow ball fight.

Next we made snow men. This was my first time making a snowman and I was truly amazed how the snow just rolls together into a ball. It was like rolling up a huge carpet. It’s the little things that blow my mind.

Seriously, he is too cute!

Finally it was time to sled!

We found a great big hill and had a blast!

He’s a kid at heart.

Once we came inside we roasted marshmallows, of course.

We made s’mores.

I taught the boys how to eat a s’more but they were just interested in the marshmallows. Oh well, more for me.

The reason I think this first trip was so great was because:

1. We had this cabin all to our self and didn’t have to share with another family,

2. We brought up our snacks and cooked our own meals,

3. The snow was obviously soft and fluffy,

4. And lastly being in this beautiful mountain we really felt God’s presence and saw His glorious creation.

I know hubby and I can’t wait to go back…

…and neither can he.

Important Reminder

Yesterday was a bad day for me.

I woke up with no patience. Everything the boys did was driving me crazy.

Have you ever had one of those days? It was not my finest day.

Until nap time that is.

My youngest was down for his nap and my oldest and I were playing cars. I admit I was only half paying attention until my son informed me, “the cars need to be lined up because they are going to a party.”

“Oh” I said, “what kind of party?”

“God’s birthday party!”

The excitement in his eyes and the way he described how the cars would be eating cake and playing games for God’s party was so indescribably sweet and such an important reminder for me. Even when the day is going all wrong, God still loves me and has blessed me in amazing ways. Especially with my incredible sons.
So today remember God’s birthday, His promises, and His love for you.

Worship Leader

They call my son the worship leader. He sings the loudest, knows all the words, and beams when he is asked to help lead the rest of the class in the songs. Hearing these words from the children’s teacher at our church filled my heart with so much joy and love for my son. To know he is not only growing in his faith at church but is thriving is an amazing feeling as a parent. I love that he is helping to bring joy to his classmates as well.

Maybe he’ll even end up with a talent neither hubby or I have, the ability to carry a tune.

What I also loved about this conversation I had with the teacher was these people who see my kid every Sunday really know him. He isn’t just some nameless face in the crowd. They do know his name and his personality. When he is “not himself” they notify me with an honest, concerned tone in their voice. I’m glad to know that the people who are taking care of him for the hour and a half every Sunday, really care about him.

So I give three cheers and a big hooray to my future worship leader and to churches and children ministry teachers that truly care about the kids!

See more about me and my fun filled life at jamiallyn.wordpress.com

Change, Faith, and The BIG Plan

Last week I wrote about an epiphany I had about God while reading the book of Acts and Paul’s mission trips. To read the post in it’s entirety please go here, but here’s a quick summary. God has a plan, a huge plan, that involves you and me and all of creation. Though we might not see the plan unfolding or understand our part in it, the plan is working itself out everyday with God’s direction. Which means everything that happens is supposed to happen, I am where God wants me to be right now for His purposes. So if bad things happen to me or in my life then I should not get upset or wonder why because it was in God’s plan for this negative thing to happen. I should take it in stride knowing God loves me and will be there with me. Yep, it was a big epiphany and one that I fear will be easier to agree with in theory then to actually follow through with in actions.

On that note, God has given me my first challenge to see whether I am all talk or if I can walk the walk. Change is coming in our house. It’s not here yet but it’s coming. After two years of being at home raising my boys I have decided to go back to work full time. There are many reasons for this decision, which I won’t bore you with, but without a doubt this decision is going to bring a lot of stress, anxiety, change in routine, and major adjustment for all of us. This change could be seen as a very negative event or instead my family and I could back up all my epiphany talk with good solid action. Taking this new change in stride, knowing God loves us, and this is the direction He wants us to go.

Hubby and I are doing our very best to be mentally prepared and spiritually ready, so when the negative comes (which it will) we can combat it with our faith and a positive outlook. Besides getting hubby and my minds and hearts on the right track, I think this experience is so important because it will bring gigantic teaching moments for us with our boys. I want to convey my epiphany of God’s plan to their little ears, reinforce the importance of believing  without seeing, and emphasize to them that we are all a part of something bigger, something more important than just ourselves.

Wish us luck. The next few weeks and months will be very intense for us and will definitively test my BIG words. I promise to be honest with you on our progres and I pray for your support and grace when I undoubtedly fall short.

God Bless!

My Epiphany

I was doing my bible study the other day while the boys were napping and I had an epiphany. My study is in the Book of Acts, which is focused on the beginnings of the Christian church and the disciple Paul’s travels bringing the gospel to other countries. I have read Acts several times and when you read something so often it can become dry and uneventful. But the Book of Acts should be anything but boring. This is the account of how the church got started, about the first believers, and how they worshiped Jesus. Acts is our blueprint of how early Christians saw their faith and how we should see our faith two thousands years later.

The central point of the book is how God advanced His plan for the gospel through evangelism. Paul and his companions spread the gospel to nations near and far, advancing the message and the kingdom of God. Yet it was not just to the Jews that they preached, they preached to the Gentiles as well. Sometimes when you read Acts it can seem that Paul only starts preaching to the Gentiles because of the Jews lack of belief and hostility towards the message. But that is not true. God always wanted non-Jews to be apart of His Kingdom. Jesus spoke to and saved many non-Jews in his ministry and in the Book of Acts God reveals to both the Apostle Peter and Paul that the gospel is for Gentiles as well.

One verse that struck me the deepest was in the old testament, Isaiah 49:6:

“It is too small a thing for you to  be My servants to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those of Israel I have kept. I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring My salvation to the ends of the earth.”

Okay, so here is my epiphany moment: Before Paul and the first Christians, even before Jesus came to earth, God had always planned to bring His salvation to the Gentiles. God loves all of us equally no matter our race, ethnicity or gender. He has a plan, a huge plan that is being accomplished daily even though we don’t see it. He has a plan for every person on this earth: for you, me, your mother, and your cousin, and your next door neighbor. If we believe and follow his ways we can live that plan and see it to fruition.

My epiphany was the importance of looking and considering the big picture, the big plan that God has for my life. Not to dwell on the  negative or inconvenient sacrifices I have to make right now. I believe everything comes from; or is allowed  by God. Now if that is true when bad things happen it was meant to happen in order to lead me to a new place in the big plan. I should take every negative event in stride knowing God has me in this time and place for a reason, and I should make the most of it while I am here.

Yep, this was a big epiphany and only time will tell if I can back it up with my actions. I hope so.

Routine is good…right?

We are getting back into the normal routine today and it’s hard. Hubby is back to work, my son goes back to preschool, and even my son’s city class starts back today. Mornings are back to moving quickly with lots of multitasking to get us all out the door in time. It’s the 3rd day in January and the calendar is already filling up with hubby’s work appointments, school functions, and other obligations. We packed up the Christmas decorations yesterday and now the house seems so plain and uninteresting. It will feel like this for at least a week or two.

Hubby has been off of work for a week and a half and let me tell you I have gotten used to having an extra pair of hands helping with the boys during the day. The past week my family has lived in pajamas and we have only taken showers when necessary. We watched movies, played tons of games, visited the park about a billion times, and I have all loved every minute of this wonderful, beautiful, fun filled family time. But this all ends today.

It’s sad because we had so much fun and had so much relaxation, yet I am telling myself it’s also good because it’s the normal, daily routine that makes these special weeks that much more special. What would I rather do then get back in our routine today? I would love the endless days in our pajamas to continue, my hubby could be home with us all the time, the boys could go to school I guess but only for a few hours, and then they must return to our sanctuary of relaxation. Of course that can’t happen all the time; that can’t be our new routine because we aren’t independently wealthy.

So as much as I am not looking forward to sending my hubby off to work, or dropping my son off at preschool, or going to my other son’s city class I am convincing myself it’s time that things got back to normal. I am sure it’s time for our routine to start up again.Routine is good; that is what everyone says. Routine is good…right?

Jesus’s Birthday Recap

My family seriously had the best Christmas; it’s so sad that the celebration is over already. The boys got way too many toys, so many in fact we could probably donate them all to a small country and every child there would have one of their very own.

My family, my brother’s family, my great-grandma, and my parents start the fun on Christmas Eve when we all gather at my parent’s house for dinner and presents. A big part of the fun was tracking Santa on the NORAD website. Tracking Santa gets better every year, it’s truly amazing, and the kids just eat it up.

There is nothing more magical or beautiful than watching five kids (my brother has three kids) open presents. The excitement in their eyes and the joy in their smiles is worth everything in the world.

Christmas morning at our house was a celebration of Jesus’s birth. We had balloons, presents, and my oldest even had a party hat.

We had special Christmas breakfast made up of chocolate chip Mickey Mouse pancakes (my hubby’s specialty). Oh and how cute does my son look in this picture? Ridiculously cute I would say!!

We had cupcakes for Jesus, sang happy birthday to him, and blew out candles. Note: I am not the best baker so the cupcakes didn’t look super pretty but let me tell you they tasted great and that is all that really matters!

Christmas evening we went to my in-laws for more yummy food and presents…wearing a Goofy Santa hat of course

Hubby and I did our best to keep the focus on Jesus that day and though it was hard, in light of all the presents and Santa, I think we did a pretty good job.

I hope you had a wonderful, magical, fun-filled Christmas!

CHRISTmas

Christmas is less than a week away and you can see it everywhere. All the houses and stores have their Christmas lights glowing and decorations are hung. Christmas music is being played around the clock on most radio stations and all the wonderful Christmas movies are being shown on television. Christmas is probably the biggest holiday, not just in America, but the world; which is fabulous, but in light of all this cheer something was brought to my attention that troubles me about this holiday. Something I had never thought about before, in my eight years as a Christian.

Did you know that 95% of Americans celebrate Christmas? This statistic shouldn’t be too surprising since America was founded and built on Christian values. Yet this wasn’t what bothered me; what bothered me is the next fact I learned. 75% of Americans say they are Christian and of the 20% that are not Christian 80%+ celebrate Christmas. Christmas has become so secular, so non-religious that the majority of non-Christians feel completely fine with celebrating the holiday. This holiday is no longer about our God, Jesus, becoming flesh to live among us in order to die, rise again, and save us of our sins so we can be at peace with the Lord. No, it has become about Santa and reindeer, trying to out-do your neighbor’s light display, and special seasonal coffee creamers; the real meaning of Christmas has been lost.

Do you know who I blame for this? Myself. My hubby. My Christian friends, neighbors, pastors, and every Christian in America. It’s all our fault. We made our Savior’s birth so meaningless that non-believers in Christ feel perfectly fine participating in the celebration. I bet most people don’t even listen to the lyrics of all the Christmas songs they hear right now. They don’t hear the words “Christ”, “Jesus”, “Savior”, or “forgiveness of sins”. They only hear Santa, Frosty, Rudolph, gifts, or seasons greetings. They don’t hear “Oh holy night….t’was the night of our dear savior’s birth….long lay the Earth in sin and error pining, then He came, and the soul felt his worth.”

Our souls, feeling their worth, redeemed by Christ, who came to this Earth as a humble child. That, is the Christ in CHRISTmas. I am not sure what to do about it or what the answer is but I think something should be done. Even if it’s just in my own heart or in my own house. This last week before Christmas I am going to fight to put the CHRIST back in CHRISTmas and if you are a follower of Jesus you should too.