Family

Raising kids is hard work, letting them spread their wings and fly is sometimes even harder!  I've been a stay at home mom for 18+ years.  Though my kids started out in public school, we have homeschooled for the past 6 years.

Now, here I am with my oldest about to graduate from high school.  I've been home with him from day one.  That's a lot of time together!  Some may think that after all of these years, 3 kids, homeschooling, and not working outside of the home that I would be looking forward to a break.  That's far from true!  I thought I would be easing into the letting go process, and in a way I have.  Kaehlen (my senior) started Vo-Tech this year, which has him away from home for a few hours every day Mon-Fri.  But then, not long after my daughter turned 16, she decided to get a job.  It just so happens that she and Kaehlen decided this at the same time.  So, all of a sudden, I was having to adjust to not just one, but two kids working away from home.  This may not seem like a big deal.  But let me tell ya, it was a struggle!  

Suddenly adjusting to just one kids at home was interesting.  Even though my kids don't do a ton together things were a bit more quiet.  Just the idea of my youngest being the only one home was enough to make him feel more lonely.  Then there was the whole cooking for three instead of five bit.  You'd think that would have made things easier, but with our special dietary needs it really didn't.  I was left with one with very specific needs, one who can make due as long as it's not all the time, and one who is very picky and has a hard time with certain meats.  

Let's just say that life continues to be interesting and ever changing.  These changes help me to cherish the moments we have to sit at the dinner table as a family even more, even if that is just once a week.  And those family nights we used to have on Friday's...well, those are becoming less and less (at least with all 5 of us), which means we do what we can with whoever happens to be home and enjoy the moments we have together.

I've always heard it said that time goes fast and before you know it your kids will be leaving home.  Yep, that's true for sure!  The other day I was watching one tired pregnant momma chase a little toddler around and I thought, "that seems like just yesterday!"  Yes, time certainly flies by.

I've said for a long time that I won't be a good empty-nester.  Though I have a ways to go for that to happen...I'm still thinking it's going to be true. lol With that being said, I just want all you mommas to know that I get you.  I'm here to help support you along the way.  If you'd like to join a support group of other moms working together on this journey, please check out this free group and let me know how I can help.

From our customer:

This cup is a memory and a testimony for the generations to which it will witness to God's steadfast love, redemptive power, grace and mercy!  It's also an open door to conversation when someone comes to my house and I let them drink from that cup...it becomes a door to share the Gospel that saved my soul!  It's also a reminder to me when I drink from it of God's grace and love to know and how I have been crucified with Christ (which on those extra hard mom days when I'm spent, I learn to say no to myself, die to myself, and say yes to the Lord and love not from myself but from His Power in me.)  It's a sweet reminder that I do not live for me, but for Him and by Him.

She went through a time in her life when she was searching for the truth.  She began to ask herself "why Christ? Why Christianity?" She then began to ask“why are there so many  churches?”  She started seeking Truth based on the Bible alone, bouncing in and out of congregations looking for people who were practicing what she read in the Bible (looking firstly at whether they added anything as their authority like certain man made creeds and such or if they only lived by God’s Word. Then looked next to be sure the doctrine of salvation was biblical—because if this foundation is not there, nothing else will matter).

Finding the right balance in life can be quite tricky, especially for stay at home moms who wear many hats.  But there is hope!  You may have seen the "life balance wheel" that has different areas in life that you rate to see where you are off balance.  This helps you determine what areas need more focus so that you can bring them back into balance.

I find this tool very helpful, but in itself it won't tell you how to bring those areas back into balance (more on this later).  I have narrowed the areas down a bit and found what I consider to be the main areas many moms find themselves to be off-balance in.  They are: personal growth, relationships, health, self care, business, and finance.  Everything in your life will likely fit into one of these categories.  

Now, what do you do once you have determined what areas you need to work on?  You hone in on the specific area that needs help and focus on bringing it back into balance.  You make a plan, keeping in mind that you want to maintain balance where you already have it.  This can all seem a bit overwhelming, right?  That's why I'm super excited about my upcoming course to help busy, stressed, overwhelmed moms bring their life of chaos back into balance! Yes, there is hope and I'm here to help you!

If you can relate to this and would like help finding balance in your life, join my email list to stay updated on the course and for weekly encouragement.

If you would like to be a part of a community of moms who are working together to find their balance in life, join this group.  It's so much easier to handle the daily chaos of life when you feel supported by others who share in your struggles and also celebrate your wins along with you!

As a stay at home/work from home mom who also homeschools you would think that means we get plenty of family time.  Sometimes I think the opposite is just as true.  We are in the same house (or wherever we go) basically 24/7, which means we tend to *think* we have more than enough family time.  But in truth, we have to put in a special effort to have "real" quality family time.  Just because we are together physically doesn't mean that we are fully interacting and enjoying our time together.

My husband and I have worked hard to ensure we get quality family time as often as we can.  One thing we do is eat our main meal together every night. Yes, there are a few times when our schedules conflict a little and we have to eat in shifts.  But for the most part, we all sit around the dinner table, phones aside, and enjoy each others company over a home cooked meal.  It may only last about 30 minutes, but that's still 30 minutes of focused time together.

We also like to have a family movie/game night every Friday night as we have our dinner.  As the kids get older, this is a bit harder to do because they sometimes get together with their friends.  I consider it growing pains. This whole "letting go" part of parenting isn't my favorite.  It's just one more reason to cherish each family game/movie night we get even more.

Other than meals and family nights, we try to go out hiking, to the zoo, or some other fun outing as often as we can.  Sometimes we have another family join us, sometimes it's just us.  But it's always a great way to get out doors and spend some more quality time together while doing something we all enjoy.

No matter what your schedule is like, whether you work from home or away from home, have little kids or teenagers, being intentional about quality family time is something you will never regret.  After all, our time with our loved ones is so short so let's make the most of it!

If you want to be with a group of moms who work together to find balance among the chaos of daily life, head on over to my free group!