Moms – Don’t Divide Your Attention

I’m so blessed to have time with my girls without distractions.  This time is not something I’ve stumbled or drifted into, but something I’ve been intentional about creating and I’ve cultivated over the years. I created environments where I would be available for them to talk. For example, when they were young and we drove to recreational activities, the music was seldom on in the vehicle. When they were teenagers, I began to stay at the table after our evening meal with a cup of tea – being available. These were times my girls talked with me about life, times when there was no noise and no distractions. My girls are adults now, but I still make peaceful time. Today, Lindsey and I have about ½ hour before and after our weekly fitness class to get caught up. We also like to spend a few weekends together per year. With Erin, we now have our best talks while waking Beni, her dog.  I still sit at the kitchen table after a meal with a tea and Erin often joins me to talk about life.  Ladies, have you created a time for your children to talk with you? I sure hope so, if not, that’s okay too – just start today.

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January Prayers

It’s January and I’m keeping the spirit of Christmas alive. You see, each day I re-read a Christmas card and say a special prayer for the sender.  I’ve been blessed over and over as I continue this practice year after year. When our girls were home, we would put the cards in a basket. Each evening at the supper table, one girl selected a card which we then read together and prayed a special prayer for the sender. Maybe this is a tradition you would like to start. It sure is special. Have a wonderful week.

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Budgeting & Savings – Envelop System

One component of budgeting that has worked really well for us  is the envelop system.  As our lives change  – our envelops change.  At present, the envelops include: groceries, gas, recreation, gifts, and vacation home. These are areas where we could easily overspend if we were not paying with cash. We’ve had other envelops but with life changes; online banking; and pre approved bank withdrawals we’ve cut back on the quantity of envelops. Here is how we use envelops: At the beginning of the month, after we review our budget, we put the allocated cash amounts into envelops. We spend only what is in the envelop. This keeps us from overindulging and we make better decisions about using our money.   No matter how much money is available (or not) we stick to our budget and this system.  It has allowed us to build savings and better use money – for over 20 years now.

Other envelop categories we have used over the years have included: dog expenses; school fees; recreation; hair cuts; etc.

When our girls each turned 12 years old, we put them on this system to teach them how to use money.  We gave them a monthly allowance and set them up with envelops. The categories were recreation, saving, charity, & clothing.  They put 10 % each into savings and charity. The other amounts depended on the circumstances. We allowed them to ‘rob’ from any envelop but not savings or charity. For example, if they needed extra clothing they were permitted to take from recreation. Once our girls started to earn their own money, they each wandered from this system. They’re now returning to it as they mature and have more financial responsibilities.

This system is so easy to use, I hope you give it a try. Linda

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Visits with Santa

On Saturday, I went to the mall with the intention of watching youngsters visit with Santa.  I bought a coffee, found a good seat, and just watched.  It was such a delight to see the wonderment on the faces of the children. I think I’m going to do this again and again in the years to come. Why don’t you do the same? To see children believe is so heartwarming.

 

 

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Being or Having

I was quite surprised today, when I came to realize that I’ve been focusing more on ‘having’ than ‘being’. I, myself, really strive to be and move away from the mindset of having things. At some point,  I drifted and  I’ve not been this way with my daughters.  I really want the best for my girls but I’ve been a little confused in my thinking. You see, I’ve been valuing their success more by what they accomplish or conquer rather than by their unique personalities – compassionate, caring, hard working.  I am going to turn from this wrong thinking today because my girls are worth far more to me than their efforts.  My desire is really to build them up by first accepting them for their being and secondly celebrating accomplishments.  What about you? Are you putting more attention on having rather than being?

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Watch Ov’er My Flock By Night

Yesterday, I came across an older prayer journal that I created several years ago.  As I looked through the pages, I came upon this prayer that I’d cut out and taped next to photos of my girls. As I read the prayer again, I remembered the many times I prayed this when my girls were younger. Maybe you’ll be blessed by it today.

Watch O’ver My Flock (Ruth Bell Graham)

Like other Shepherds
help me keep
watch o’er my flock by night,       
mindful of each need,
each hurt, which might
lead one to stray –
each weakness
and each ill –
while others sleep
teach me to pray.
At night the wolves and leopards,
hungry and clever, prowl
in search of strays
and wounded, when they howl,
Lord, still
my anxious heart
to calm delight –
for the Great Shepherd watches with me
over my flock
by night.

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Stop the Hurriedness – Please

This morning, I headed out to walk Beni, my daughter Erin’s dog.  It was a crisp snowy morning for the third day of Spring. I was content listening to inspirational music on my MP3 and I was nice and warm in my parka. As I walked, a car approached from behind, hugging the curb and on the wrong side of the road! I noticed the driver was talking on her cell phone. She parked the car (pointing the wrong way) in front of a home where child care is provided. Next, she exited the car alone; crossed in front of me; and proceeded to march towards the house – all the while on her cell phone. As I passed by the car, I was startled when the rear passenger door swung open and out jumped a little boy – about 4 years old.  When the little boy saw Beni, he began to gleefully repeat over and over ‘puppy puppy” – trying to get his moms attention.

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Christmas Price Index

This is an interesting and fun website. Be sure to watch the video.
http://www.pncchristmaspriceindex.com/CPI/index.html

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Family Traditions

I really like to create and uphold traditions (enjoyable activities). I think it is a good idea to review our traditions now and then.  When our family was very young, I decided to have a close look at our family’s traditions. I looked at the things we did and why we did them. I asked ‘why are we doing this and do we want to do this?’ I did notice that most of the traditions came from my side of the family. Mainly because I am the woman and my husbands family is in another province.  I asked my husband what traditions he wanted to include in our family from his childhood.  We then worked on building our own traditions based on our values.  We ended some things and we started new things. Some of our Christmas traditions include: advent; decorating the tree; holiday baking; Christmas light sightseeing; and other activities. It has been wonderful creating our own traditions and seeing our girls embrace these.

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Advent – Children

It is always such a joy to include young children in the Christmas preparations. I like the following advent idea and have used it many times myself.

On or before December 1, put the nativity in its place without the figurines. Each day in December, allow your child/children to move the figurines (except for baby Jesus) to various spots in the home (you can set boundaries as to which rooms). The idea is that the figures are traveling closer to the nativity. On Christmas Eve, the child/children place all the figures in the nativity.  At this point, baby Jesus is placed the nativity. Christmas eve is the first time baby Jesus is visible to the child/children.  My girls moved the figures once a day about the same time each day. This is a great way to focus on the message of Christmas in the midst of Santa and toys.

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