Blessings in Unexpected Places.

 Sometimes we can find blessings in places were we least expect it. This is one of my favorite posts about one of those times. 
The Blessing of Being Without a Dryer.

The "Smile and Show Gratitude" Game

  

 Since it is so close to Christmas, I thought I would share the “Smile and Show Gratitude” game.

Sometimes it is really hard for kids to be able to smile and show gratitude when they receive presents that they do not want or like.  When I taught preschool, we would play a fun game to teach kids to smile and say, “thank you.”  The game helped  children get in the habit of saying “thank you” when they received a gift, even if it was something like underwear. 

Here is an example.   I would ask, “What would you do if you got a tuna sandwich for Christmas?”  Of course they would laugh, but then they were to say, “I would say thank you.” I would always try to think of really crazy gift ideas.  But no matter how crazy the gift idea was, the children were always to say, “I would say thank you.” 

Being silly helped them want to play the game.  They learned to say thank you no matter what the gift was. It was also helpful teaching  them in a safe and comfortable environment. 

I now homeschool my two boys and I have changed how we play the game.

It now involves the boys going to find the strangest item that they can find and wrapping it or putting it in a gift bag.   Then they exchange the presents with each other.

The fun of the game is finding a funny and unusual “gift” and seeing if they can throw off the other brother.

The challenge of this new twist is to practice saying thank you without having a shocked look on your face.  It also helps kids learn to tell why they are grateful for that item. It is so fun that my kids play over and over again.

I love watching them play it because it is always interesting to see what ideas they can come up with for the usefulness of the item. My older son was once presented an old torn sock during the game. He said, “Wow, thank you! I really needed this so I can make a sock puppet.”

Home

Laura Ingalls Wilder said it best when she said, “Home is the nicest word there is.”

When you hear that word, what kind of images does it evoke in your mind?

For my family, I want them to know our home is a happy, warm place—a place where they can come after a tough day and snuggle under a crochet blanket, on a well worn couch and rest their weary body.

 I want them to know that our home is a place of protection from the outside world. And we will always find comfort in prayer.

I want them to know our home is a place where our bodies are nourished with warm, comforting food and our souls are nourished with the word of God .

I want them to know our home is a place where wonderful memories are made—memories that will live forever in our minds.

 I want them to know our home is a place where there will be love, peace, laughter, togetherness, and lots of hugs.

I want our home to be a place of refreshing and comfort in this cold dark world.
At the beginning of last year, I challenged my family to come up with words that we want to describe the focus of our home and family. I took the words they gave me and framed them. They are now displayed in the kitchen for us and anyone that enters our home to read. Listed below are some of the words:
Share, Bible, Simple, God, Others, Memories, Purpose, Trust, Content, Faith, Blessed, Together, Comfort, Respect, Intentional, Give, Hospitable, Forgive, Pray, Thankful, Silly, Welcome
I challenge you to do the same. What are some of the words you would use to describe your home and family?

How to Have a More Productive Day.

Routines are very important. Even if you do nothing else all day, routines help you feel grounded and accomplished. 

After reading several blogs and books touting the wonders of a routine, I decided to start one in January, 2013. 

·         Why I needed a daily routine:

1)      I wanted to start and end my day with a plan already in place.

2)      It freed my mind to focus on other things.

·        What daily routines I have:

1)      Morning Routine

2)      Afternoon Routine

3)      Night Routine

4)      Homeschool Routine

5)      Children’s Routine

(The boys’ routine is posted in the hall. It helps them to be able to do things on their own and to keep focused. )

·        How I decided what to include in my daily routine:

1)      I made a list of what I thought would be great to accomplish every day.

My list includes things such as:

Bible Study

Prayer

Exercise

Laundry

Family Time

Reading a book

2)      Then I decided when it would be the easiest to accomplish each thing.  For instance, I knew I wanted to pray every morning and read a Psalm or Proverb so I assigned that to my   morning routine.                           

3)      Then I figured out how long it would take for me to accomplish my goals that I had set and adjusted my bedtime and wake up time accordingly.

·        How my days have changed:

1.      I am more intentional with my day.

2.      I get more accomplished.

3.      I have more energy.

4.      I have more patience.

5.      Our home is more peaceful.

6.      Our home has more consistency.

7.      Our home is more organized.

Extra Tips:

·        It is good to add fun and/or relaxing things to your routines.  For instance, I found that stretching a few minutes when I wake up and before going to sleep really makes me feel good.  So I added that to my routine. I also have lots of books that I want to read, so I added a few minutes of reading time each day. 

·        Make sure to write your routines and keep them in a place that you will see them. This will get you in the habit of doing it every day.

·        Try to schedule the same routine around the same time each day. This will help with consistency.

·        If you have a baby or toddler, you can still have a routine.  You just might have to be more flexible with it. I always felt better having a plan in place when I had little ones, even if I could not follow my plan exactly. You can add activities such as :

1.      Reading a book to your child

2.      Playing together with toys

3.      Free play

4.      Mommy/baby exercises

5.      Craft/or bake with your child

I am glad I decided to add daily routines in my day. Even when I do not get around to my to-do list for the day, I know I have accomplished a lot just by completing my daily routines. Also, with routines you are also living each day to its fullest potential!

What are some activities you will add to your routine?

Start Managing Your Time Wisely in the New Year

I am guest posting today at  R16:16.

Calm and Peaceful Days

The alarm goes off at 8:00am. You jump out of bed.

 You have to find the kids clothes to wear, feed them, and be out the door by 9:30.

 Oh no!  You forgot to get the library books together! 

Now you have to hurry to get everything done so you can search for them -- and you still have to make a grocery list.

 Your kids can’t find anything to eat because they ate the cereal yesterday. Now what are you going to do?   ” Just find something!” you yell. 

They end up eating Goldfish® crackers.  

You tell them to get dressed so that you can find the library books and make your grocery list.  

Your older child comes in wearing clothes that are too small. You tell him to change but he says that these are the only clothes that are clean. 

Ugh! “I guess you will just have to wear them,” you say.  

Your preschooler is running around half clothed with a Batman® cape.

 You gently tell him to get dressed.

 “NO! I want to wear my green shirt and purple pants!!!”  he exclaims.

 You tell him that he can’t because they are dirty. 

“Then I will not go!” He sits in the middle of the floor refusing to budge.

 You still have not found the library books that you need or made your grocery list. 

You only have 10 minutes until you need to go. And this is just the morning. 

Think of how off balance the rest of your day will be.

Now let’s look at a different day.

You wake up at 7:00am.

You read your Bible, pray, drink coffee, and daydream.

You make pancakes for breakfast. 

You wake up the kids. They make their beds, eat breakfast, and put the clothes on that they picked out the night before. 

You put the meat in the crock pot that you will have for supper tonight.

 You get the library books that are by the door, grab your grocery list, and leave the house 15 minutes early. Everyone is calm, peaceful, and happy. They are ready to have a great day.

What is the difference in these two days? 

In the second day you got ready for the next day the night before.

My mom always taught me that I should lay my clothes out the night before for the next day. This is something I have done since I was little.

 It got me thinking. If it works with clothes, then why not with everything else? 

Then I decided that I need to look at all my plans for the next day to see if there is anything I can do the night before to make my next day run more smoothly.

 I have my kids follow this routine before they go to bed. 

They are in charge of finding the clothes they want to wear the next day and showing them to me for my approval. 

This is especially helpful with an opinionated preschooler.

 They are also in charge of getting together anything else they might need for the next day. For example:  if the next day is church,then they have to get their Bibles and put them by the door.

When they are tucked in bed I look over my plans and see what I need to prepare for the next day.

Do I need to get meat out to thaw for supper?

Do I need to make sure all library books are together and by the door?

What clothes will I wear the next day?

I also decide what I will make for breakfast the next morning and make sure that I have all the ingredients.

 My grocery list is always ready to go because I keep a list on the refrigerator of the things I need. I put a mark by the product when I run out of it.

Another thing to ensure a smooth day is to try (notice I said try) to get up before everyone else.

 I like to get up read the Bible, pray, eat breakfast, and day dream before the others get up. Having that time to charge up just seems to make the day go better.

I want to add that just because your day starts smoothly does not mean it will stay that way. There are always going to be unexpected events that happen; but, when they do  it seems not to affect me as much if I have planned my day.