Mold Me, Lord!

 Boy, is the Lord doing a work in me and sometimes the molding hurts and is not fun but oh what blessings come from it. First, I want to say we found out last week our 11th baby is going to be a girl. What a sweet blessing! She is healthy thus far and I am so thankful to the Lord. She is already loved very much and we still have many months until we can me her here earth side .

  Back to the original post though. The Lord is molding me into being a wife, a mother to many, a sister, taking care of my grandma , and being a daughter. Life is NOT about us. Was never intended to be. But oh how society has made us think it is suppose to be. We need to give freely and no I am not talking about money. I am talking about ourselves. The Lord has totally humbled me in taking care of my grandma, my kids, and my husband. I am no where near the person I wished I was but I am still a work in progress. I am so thankful the Lord loves me enough to discipline me and mold me into that person that I should be, that I was put here to be. Back to giving freely. That means give of yourself, your time, your talents. When you start focusing on others and how you can help them you will be changed in the process. YES, life is hard taking care of 10 children, TRYING to be the wife I need to be, and taking care of my 91 year old grandma. YES , sometimes I am downright exhausted and want to give up. But guess what? In those times is when I call out to the Lord for help. Would I need him so much if I did not give myself to others? Following the Lord is NEVER easy but is so very worth it!!! If I didn't take in my grandmother I would miss all the sweet conversations we have or the silly times my family has with her. If I only decided to have the kids I thought I should of had I would of missed many blessings from the different children I would of missed meeting. Thankfully, we trusted the Lord in every part of our lives including our fertility. If I didn't strive to be the wife I should be I wouldn't need the Lord so much because frankly I mess up. I don't always love my husband like I should, or take care of him like I should. But I do try!!!

  Believe me I know what many of you are saying I don't have the time or energy for anything else.  But a lot of time this is where prayer comes into play. Along with a good bible study time(which I really need to get back into). I am thankful the Lord is still molding me and while I will never be perfect this side of heaven I want to follow Him. I want to do His will. I want to give freely of myself even when it's too much. Because in those times I come broken to the Lord and He picks me up and dusts me off and tells me it is part of the plan. He is molding me into the woman He wants me to be and THAT is exactly where I want to be. :) I know many are struggling today but just remember your stumbling blocks only cause you to hit your knees and pray and that you are still a work in progress. What the devil means for evil , God turns into blessings!!

Been MIA

Hey friends! I know I haven't been around for awhile. I was having a busy summer enjoying my kiddos and things really changed all of a sudden for my family and we have gotten even busier. My grandmother had a stroke , she is 91 years old and was living by herself. Of course after the stroke she cannot live by herself and there was the talk of putting her in a nursing home. We knew a nursing home just was not for her and my family and I have a major heart to heart talk. My husband agreed to let my grandma move in with us and our 10 kids. It has required a lot of sacrifice from EVERYONE in this home but my kids have also LEARNED so very much from it all as well. My kids have learned that life is important, that people are important. That we should put others needs ahead of our own. That life is fleeting and not always fair. IT has grown our family in so many ways. Yes, some days it's hard but I am not sure who told society this lie that life was suppose to be easy. I have heard several comments on I don't see how in the world you do it all now that you have your grandma living with you too. Well, the fact is *I* don't do it all, first I fall on my face daily in front of Jesus's feet and ask for help and grace. God sustains me!!! Secondly, we work as a family. No one person in this family is more important than the other, everyone plays a vital role down to our unborn child. Speaking of unborn child we found out right before my grandmother moved in we are expecting our 11th child. At first with all that at one time I will admit I was a bit overwhelmed but I am so very ,very thankful! We are excited that things seem to be progressing normally and Lord willing sometime around the first of April 2015 we will welcome our 11th child in our family.

  Our kids could not be more happier that we are welcoming another baby and are already putting in orders if they want a boy or girl. I know many people probably look at our kids and think they have no life but from where I am sitting they have a pretty good one! And the lessons they have learned in our family(since it is not so average) they will carry to future generations. I only hope that they love the Lord and realize just what a gift he has given them. We have been truly blessed! Maybe not in the eyes of society but where it really matters WE ARE BLESSED.

   I hope to be able to blog more frequently but if I am not around you will know why. Times are busy and there are some very important people who need me. Have a blessed day!

Things I Learned While Taking the Kids Camping

 My family went camping this weekend for my birthday. We have not taken them in a long time... we have only been one time and only had 4 kids at that time. Now, having 10 kids I was to say the least a little apprehensive . But I am so thankful we went!! I learned so much and realized so much from it and we will be going back LONGER next time. I will be doing another post soon about tips and tricks I learned and what worked well but that is a later post. Here are some of the things I discovered....

 Number 1- God is soooo very good. We are blessed beyond measure. I think we take sunsets, sunrises, just life in general for granted and while camping you have time to kind of focus on that. You have time to actually absorb all the Lord has blessed you with. What a great reminder.

Number 2- We miss so much in our day to day lives. Doing chores, being on the internet, our phones, living our everyday lives we miss a lot of things. WE miss important things. We miss some awesome conversations between our kids. We miss some silly things they say. Now, I KNOW we have to do daily things and do what needs to be done but that is why camping and these sorts of trips are so important. I think my kids will remember this trip more than Disney or anything else we have done. They have said over and over again how they loved camping and time we spent as a family.

Number 3- I realized how much my kids like to be together doing things. I saw them have so much fun together and hardly ever argue. I realized how grown up my sons actually were while they were helping their dad put up the tent, helping back the boat in the water, taking us on the many trips to the bathroom, and helping pack up... They are truly men!!

Number 4- I do not actually NEED all the things at home but they do make things nice. And I always said I could never live back in the old days but actually now I think I could!! Yes, I loved coming home and taking my nice warm bath and using my washer and dryer BUT actually things were not that bad. I realize I do not NEED or really WANT some of things I use to.

Number 5- I realized how much I truly love my husband and how much he invest in our children and for that I am grateful. This birthday was one of the best ever because of this trip. I got to just focus on my children and be with them. We got to get away and just love on one another. I really believe God put this trip together for me. I needed it and I am thankful we were able to make these memories with our precious children.

Our screen free week!

What's a no screen week you might ask. Well, I was really tired of the kids constantly playing OR asking to play video games. I want my kids to enjoy life and you miss out on SO MUCH just staring at a screen. So we got together talked about some things they would like to do and prepared for our week. As you know with lots of little ones preparation is key! So how did it go? Well today is Friday , the kids are napping and I am exhausted but I think I have heard the most  thank you moms ever since having children,lol. They got to see their mama jump rope and was amazed when I got in on a water balloon fight! We also learned SO MUCH this week and that was not even planned. Today we visited a local place and they got to learn about how bees make honey!!! Those bees were just as busy as all my little bees. So I encourage you, no I challenge you to plan a no screen week with your kids , you will be thankful you did!!( btw- my husband and I  did get on our emails and Facebook some but for various reasons we needed to but it did make us step away from our screens a whole lot more too

) Also a huge thank you to my husband for working so hard and being such a wonderful provider so I can stay home and enjoy our children!!

The Highest Calling

 First I want to say I mean no disrespect by this post and realize SOME women have to work . But sadly, our society brainwashes young girls and women and robs many of the highest calling there is. That is the calling of motherhood! Many people ask me so did you plan on having 10 children. Well, of course not!!! But I did not plan a lot of things that have happened in my life. God's ways are better and if we go out on our fleshly desires we miss SO MANY BLESSINGS.

  There is a calling that pays little. And the hours, well.... it is pretty much a job that is 24-7. The days are long and the nights sometimes even longer. You are on call everyday , all day. And you do not get overtime pay. The job requires you constantly teach and correct and also have to clean up some huge messes and sometimes that means some not so nice smelling messes. If this was a job I was reading about I would say NO WAY! I would run the other way. But... I have been called to this job!!! It IS what I was put here for. It IS what God has called me to do. The job also has huge rewards! But the biggest reward that is many times overlooked is preparing souls for God's glory. Do you mother of all those little ones realize what impact you are having on future generations? WOW!! That is a mighty job and a high calling. I have no higher joy than when I hear my kids quote bible scripture and hear them send praise hymns. My heart soars when my littles tell me of how they love the Lord and want to serve him.

   Motherhood is the greatest vocation there is. It is who God divinely created us to be. Do not be lured away by humanistic voices around you, including in the church. The church has failed women , where they should be supporting them in their role. Big families a lot of times are looked down upon even in churches as if they are being irresponsible. Trust me, we have heard comments before. But... the church is suppose to be there to lift one another up. So sweet young women, please listen to the Bible. Listen to your heart. No one else will ever take care of and love your children like you can.

   Satan detest mothers!! They stand in his way. He wants their children out of the home, in day cares, public school, and so forth. The public school is becoming more and more foreign to things that are biblical and Satan is eating it up. Deut. 11:19 -And ye shall teach them your children, speaking of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.


 This job is not meant to be done alone , nor is it intended to be. A strong, godly father is very important to the family as well . But mother, you are what keeps the family ticking. It is your job and what a important job it is. When times are hard call on the Lord. He will sustain you. My go to verse a lot of times is 2 Cor. 12:9 . You will hear me quote this verse ALOT in my post.(It was a huge encouragement to me when I went through several miscarriages) Stand on the promises of God to make it through and remember motherhood is the highest calling you could ask for.

Update on my health

 Here is a update on my health blog.
http://healthierfamiliesforus.wordpress.com/2014/04/30/update-on-my-health-thyroid-and-adrenals/

To The Mama With All Littles

First thing I want to tell you is you can do it!!! :) I am sitting her for the first time all day and hoping I can get through this post. Right now everyone is happy and satisfied and the littlest is asleep. You see I have 10 kids but I have older ones now. It wasn't always like that though and today reminded me just how things were when I didn't have older ones. Having older ones ARE a blessing but also sometimes you really miss out. So here are some things I wished someone would of told me AND that I wished I would of listened to.

- Enjoy them!! Plain and simple. They grow up. I know when you have a bunch of littles it never seems like they will be anything but little but it really happens fast. It is true. My "babies" , my first born twin sons, turned 17 in March! IT does happen in the blink of a eye. One thing I kept hearing when I had just littles is the housework will wait and to enjoy them but all I could see was the dirty laundry, dirty babies, and dirty house. I have some regrets about not just enjoying them.

-Having older ones is a HUGE blessing but also adds more. Yes, I finished the sentence. They just add more everything. I know how to parent little ones, parenting older ones is HARD work. Letting go some is HARD!  So, again enjoy this time with only littles because there will be a season where you add older ones in the mix and for me that has been so.much.harder. I love my teens and it is not that the teen years are this hard time that it is made out to be but it is a time where you are preparing them to go out into the world and that is scary. Plus they have their own problems, questions, and need a different kind of attention.

-Littles can help more than I ever imagined. They are smart and absorbed tons. But don't expect a ton out of them. :) One minute they are all ready to help , the next not so much. But do teach as a family we work together and it is important to help. MAKE IT FUN! They will cooperate a lot more if it doesn't really seem like work. Encourage them also. This is something I am working on for everyone in my home. Instead of barking orders, encourage them when they do something right.

-Littles are fun and innocent. Sit back and just watch them play. Take pictures, lots of pictures. You will love looking back at the silly things they did. I wished I had more pics of some of my older ones. I also wished I would of slowed down and just talked with them and just watched them. So slow down, I know it is hard in this fast pace society but it will be so worth it.

-Lastly, I understand in our society little ones are not looked on for much . But they are the future. They are little souls you are hopefully raising up for the glory of the Lord. That is HUGE in my book!

******I hope this is not filled with huge errors and that it makes sense. My 2 year old was sitting her singing while I was trying to type this. But I took my advice and didn't tell him to stop and just listened.

Being A Wife and Mother IS Enough

     I am not sure when the lie started that women need to be more than JUST a wife and mother but I do know it is what has changed our society and I do not think it has changed it for the better. Children NEED their mother and a man NEEDS his wife. I have went through times where I felt bad for not contributing to the family financially and because my husband has to work so hard but then I remember what I am commanded in the bible. Here is what the bible says about being a wife:

Ephesians 5:22                    
Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord.
In this verse I realize that being a wife IS enough. This is what my husband expects of me, to be home and content on keeping the home. Taking care of his children and just caring for his needs.

Proverbs 31:10-31                    
An excellent wife who can find? She is far more precious than jewels. The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he will have no lack of gain. She does him good, and not harm, all the days of her life. She seeks wool and flax, and works with willing hands. She is like the ships of the merchant; she brings her food from afar.
In this verse it reminds me that doing household task and taking care of the home IS my job.

****Before I go any further I want to say I know and understand some women have to work. I am not judging anyone so please do not think this. I do believe however SOME women COULD be at home and SHOULD be.

    Bearing a new liberated identity, many women have devoted themselves to ambitious busyness everywhere but in the home. We want recognition and being a mother will NOT get you much of that. Nobody sees the countless hours you pour into your family and it is downplayed as ,"just a stay at home mom". Women have been brainwashed to believe that the absence of a payroll occupation enslaves a woman to failure, boredom, and imprisonment within the confines of home. While we may not get huge recognition the knowledge of knowing we did what the Lord commanded in teaching our children when they rise and when they lay down is enough. That we took care of our husband and loved him as commanded. Our goal is not in temporal things but in eternal. Raising a soul to follow the Lord is much more important than making those dollars. Training your daughter to be able to take care of her household is important and so is preparing your son to provide for his future family.

  Being a wife and especially a mother you have to practice a lot of unselfishness and in our society for many that is a hard pill to swallow. It is sometimes for this mama as well. The Lord is really doing a work on me in this department. Motherhood is a rewarding job but many times the biggest rewards are seen much later! But the Lord gives us small rewards along the way like the innocent smile of a 4 month old , a child reading for the first time, the I love you mama's, the huge hugs out of no where, or the 17 year old son that loves the Lord and has grown into a awesome young man. Also the reward of being able to be there for your husband. Plan special occasions and really put thought into them. Being home when he comes home. Having dinner prepared. Being here just when he needs me IS enough.

 I want you to know those that are reading this: The mom that has had no sleep or the wife who feels unappreciated that Someone sees you. Someone sees what you are doing, that you are doing your best and sometimes feel nobody cares. There is someone who cares very much so for you. So much so He gave His one and ONLY son. Someone sees the drudgery of everyday life and it DOES matter. The clean laundry, the clean dishes, the diaper changes, the cooked meals, clean house, snotty noses wiped, etc. are all for eternal things. These are things that are not temporal but for eternity and THAT is what is important. YOU MATTER AND BEING A WIFE AND MOTHER IS ENOUGH AFTER ALL THAT IS WHAT WE ARE COMMANDED TO BE!

 

Lies and Truth

 There is so much that fill our heads these days. So many lies that it is hard to find the truth. Sometimes it gets so confusing that what you thought was the truth turns out to be nothing but lies. But there is HOPE- my hope is in Jesus- the way , the TRUTH, and the life.

   There is the lie that if you become saved and follow Jesus that things will be all peaches and cream(yes, I am from GA. :) ) but in reality sometimes that is further from the truth. Following Jesus means we may lose things, suffer, go through sickness, heartache, pain. We may never understand this side of heaven why on earth we had to suffer so greatly BUT there is the TRUTH. The truth is that God never leaves our sides, He is always there and He is our hope. It DOES all end well but for a season times may be hard.

    Then there is a lie that you will have health, wealth , and such. Not sure where in the world that came from either but this is not true either. IF God has given you wealth then He is probably giving it to you so you can help others and reach out and be His hands and feet. There is a LIE going around that we keep it for ourselves , see how much we can buy and how fancy of things we can get. The TRUTH is you will fall and lose in this game. The TRUTH is you may have nothing, be sick, and be all alone BUT IF you have Jesus you have EVERYTHING!

   There is a lie that you are not enough . That God is not enough. But you know what God IS enough and He made you so you are enough.  2 Cor. 12:9 says, for His Grace is sufficient. Grace is a beautiful thing and there goes into another lie. Many have heard and have in their heads that grace is not for them. That they have done such horrible things that God could never love them. That is a LIE. The Truth is Jesus died FOR ALL! And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord and follows Him shall be saved. That my friends is TRUTH.

  Life is HARD. People will come and go out of your life and times will get lonely but continue to follow TRUTH. In the end it is so worth everything you ever went through. God is so good and we are so blessed. In this day and time it is hard to find the truth for the lies so that is why it is so important to stay in the Word and not listen to man! In Christ we are a new creation! Thank goodness for that!

Those Horrible Teenagers!!

 I have written about this before but feel the need to do it again. I am very sad about the comments  I hear like, " Just wait until they are teenagers". Or just the talk in general about having teenagers and how horrible they are. Yes, I have made the same comments just trying to be funny but really it isn't funny. Teenagers should be viewed and treated like young adults. We should be raising them on a strong foundation so that they may go out and share the gospel. If we did that then we would never have to worry about saying those things.

  I have to be honest I LOVE my teens and they are much easier than my younger ones most days. I have 3 teenagers in this house at this time. Twin 16 year old sons (who will be 17 in March) and a 15 year old daughter. Yes, they add some added issues in the house and sometimes the hormones are flying but they are so helpful. They make it where I can have time with my husband, try to work on healing my adrenals, or just have time to get my thoughts. They keep us laughing and remind us how life should be fun. They have amazing faith and we could actually learn a lot about how hardworking they are. They are always ready to learn.

 Maybe we should start saying look at those horrible adults. Don't you think a lot of times things might fall back on the parents or adults in their lives. Now, don't misunderstand me. I do believe some teens can backslide from their beliefs and turn away from their parents for a time. I KNOW this happens. Happened to me but I do see even Christian parents just trying to shove their kids off to someone else and speaking horribly about their children. Think about how you would feel if someone talked about you constantly, you would have a horrible attitude as well. Think about going through the changes of hormones without a Christian foundation. Maybe we need to start rethinking things. Maybe they are not all the cause of the name they have but the affect of how they have been treated. So , next time that teen is sitting in their room by themselves or they slam that door another time , just maybe you should go ask them why. Talk to them! They will after all be gone very soon. Time is fleeting. WE should be reaching our teens NOW and love them NOW.

 I have some of the best teens around and am so thankful for them. They keep me on my toes. They make me laugh, cry, dance, sing, run, get angry, worry, and LOVE. They teach me so much and I am thankful the Lord gave me these children. While at the time they might not have been viewed as the blessings they are , I am thankful the Lord knows much better about what we need. ;)

To the least of these

http://amazima.org/ 

Valentine's Day

While for the most part I believe Valentines' Day is just a another day where businesses try to make extra money by exploiting certain things. I believe stuff is overpriced and that we should treat everyday like Valentine's Day. Do I? No, but I should. But while I do not necessarily agree with it I can use the "holiday" to put my husband first and make sure he knows how much he is loved.

You do not have to spend a ton of money on stuffed animals , overpriced candy, or chemical laden food. You can plan out a time for you and your spouse without spending tons of money. I cannot mention yet what I have planned because my sweetie reads this but I hope he ends up feeling very special.

Most importantly I want to remember the ultimate Valentine gift and that was Jesus Christ. John 3:16 says , For God so loved the world He gave his one and only son!!! Wow! Oh how much He must love us! What a precious gift of love! That is what I want to remember this Valentine's Day. That is what I want to teach my children. And that is what I want to give others. God is soooo very good and I just want to put my focus on him.

While many will not celebrate Valentine's Day at all I see no problem in showing your spouse just how much you love them. WE should be doing that anyway. I see no problem in a holiday that reminds us of that. So, what are you planning this Valentine's Day?

The difference starting the day with the Lord makes!!!

 I will admit it even though I really hate to but yes, I have fallen away from doing much bible study. I always have an excuse and granted they may be valid there is NO EXCUSE good enough. Yes, I am tired. Yes, too many people usually need me at one time. Yes, there is a house that needs cleaning. Yes, there is so much to do in a day but who should be first???? I am amazed the older I get the more in awe I am of the lessons the Lord teaches me. When the new year started I decided I would make time! But did I? No. It was always something else taking the place of my precious Lord and Savior. So, last night I decided I was just going to get up before anyone else and have my bible time and you know what my day was so much smoother. I did have a lot to do today, took all the kids grocery shopping with me and even took some time to take my favorite 15 year old to the thrift store like she has been asking to do. Yes, my day was still filled with a screaming toddler, a baby would just wants to nurse whenever he sees me, a son who wants to talk about putting out fires all day long :) , kids that need attention, laundry and dishes that need washing BUT I was able to handle it without feeling stressed. God is sooo good. I know in my head that if I rely on Him, if I put my faith in Him that everything falls in to place but pride gets the best of me and I go off again trying to do it myself. (Probably how I ended up with adrenal fatigue syndrome ,lol).

 I wanted to write this blog post to remind mommy's and well everyone to remember to keep the Lord with you all day long. Start the day with Him and your day will go so much smoother. Will we run in to trials. You can bet on it!!! But with God's grace we are able to handle them so much easier. God is so good to us and we are so undeserving. Can we at least take some time out of our busy schedules for someone who gave us life, who gives us all we need, who gives us the gift of eternal life if you choose to receive it.

So , I just wanted to especially share with all the mommy's of little ones right now! Lean in close. Listen carefully. God is enough! God is all you need! In those moments when you feel like nobody cares, when you feel so alone , when you feel like what you do daily doesn't amount to much there is someone who cares and someone who is right there with you every step of the way. Start your day off with Him and I guarantee you will feel so much better. I know you are tired and weary but the Lord tells us to come to Him and He will give us rest. ~Blessings to you all and I hope you have found some encouragement here . In a society where everyone wants to put each other down and say hurtful and mean things I just would love to maybe be the light in someone's day with the Lord's help of course because I am nothing without Him!

''Psalm 118:24 This is the day the LORD hath made; let us rejoice and be glad today!

Moms Be A Product Tester for Generation Mom!!!!

   I signed up to be a product tester for generation mom a couple of years ago and in that time I have gotten to test a couple of travel swings, a pack and play with changing station and bassinet, toys , and several other things. After testing them you get to keep them!!!! This not only saves us money , it also lets us try things we normally might not get to try and also give our feedback on ways to improve baby items. Also allows us to hear about other brands we have never heard of before. Since we have 10 kids I have a lot of opinions on ways to improve baby items LOL! Anyway, all you do is test the item and then fill out a questionnaire. Very simple and so worth the time it takes to do this. If you are interested here is the link to sign up:
http://www.kidsii.com/genmom/

*** I get nothing for posting this. Just glad someone passed it on to me!!!

Ways I am Saving Money in 2014

 I have many goals this year but one is one of my biggest, I want to simplify and by that I mean not buying things we do not need and using what we have. Also not throwing so much stuff away and getting rid of stuff we do not need to help others. I am going to highlight in this post several things I am doing to save us money and hopefully become healthier in the process.

-Cloth diapering- We have been doing this for awhile now and it really has saved us a ton. At first the starting cost was a bit overwhelming as you go and have enough diapers it really helps so much. It is not like I thought it would be either. I LOVE cloth diapering and am thankful I decided to at least give it a try. Now that our little man is almost big enough to wear his older brothers diapers it is really great. I love how they have the snaps to fit different sizes. Also love after the diapers are washed to see how many diapers we did not throw away and to know all I have to do is wash to have diapers and not have to go buy more.

-Cloth wipes-We are in the process of trying this. Will let you know how it goes but we just made up our cloth wipe solution and cut up some receiving blankets we will no longer be using. I also thought this would be a fun thing for the little ones to do is cut up the blankets in squares and put them in old wipes tubs(homeschool anyone ;)

-Young Living essential oils- Yes, you heard that right. Many say their oils are really expensive and they could never afford it but actually it has saved us. WE have avoided so far this season really bad sickness. What we have had has been taken care of mostly from the oils and I have been able to get rid of a nodule/lump whatever it was with Frankincense. Several instances we have used the oils and it has saved us money. Like when Dustin cut his hand and probably could of used stiches but they did the job. Also the health benefits we are getting from using their non toxic products.

-Eating what we have. I am going to work on finding more recipes with venison. We are eating a lot of venison at this time and I am very thankful I have hunters in the house. We also have chickens for eggs and hogs for our own pork.

-Eating healthy. Yes, will save you money as well. When you no longer buy those high priced Debbie cakes and such then you will see a difference. Cooking from scratch can save you money.

-Making your own bath salts/scrubs. Those types of things. My daughter just made her own shampoo today but I will let you know how that works.

-Oh and we are planning a big vacation this year so every piece of change I find I put it in a jar and hope by doing this I will be able to save up enough in change for our gas. :) Will let ya know.

I am hoping to do a post a week about money saving tips so keep checking back. IF there is something you would like to know about just leave me a comment. Also you can leave your money saving tips. I always love to hear how others save.

My goals for the new year!

 I am not really making any resolutions per say just goals of the things I want to accomplish as well as my family to accomplish. I have just a few.

1- To simplify: Being content with what we have and not striving to have more. Using what we have and not always looking to the next thing we can get. Getting rid of things just taking up space and serving no purpose. Sometimes this stuff can fill up our homes but make us so empty inside and sometimes even still our joy. So hoping to just simplify.

2-To be more joyful: To show more joy to my kids, my husband, family, friends , and even just the person driving down the road. God has blessed me so much and I am so undeserving the least I can do is show gratitude and be joyful in all things.

3-To be consistent with my kids- I want to work on them being more respectful, obeying right away(delayed obeying is disobedience) , and just being more loving toward each other. Through my thyroid issues, not feeling well, bringing another blessings in the family,etc. I have let some things go. Want to get back on track even though at the beginning it is so hard. Spent a lot of time today doing a lot of talking to the same kind for instance.

4-To put God first and foremost in my life. For His love to shine through me and to just live for Him. To do His will no matter how hard it might be. To trust in Him and lean fully on Him and not on my understanding.

5-To put my husband first after God. To make sure he has everything he needs. To make sure I am being the wife I need to be and that he knows he is loved. I am very thankful for my hardworking man. He puts his family first and strives to have our children taught the truth . For THAT I am so very thankful.

6-To get back to doing devotional time and reading books for encouragement.

There ya have it. Pretty simple stuff but in the long run VERY important things. So what are your goals for the New Year?