Grace Filled Mama

It seems that I've gotten into a wonderful rhythm of meal planning that has turned into actual successful meals for my family.  I am still trying to find a way out of the chaos that has happened these past few months (after our son was born) and even more recently since all the kids ended up getting sick. It seemed like everything was falling apart and even something as simple as having a family meal together seemed like an impossibly. I shared my struggle with a friend of mine and she encouraged me not to give up. So armed with a freezer stocked with food, I grabbed a pen and started meal planning for the next week. One of the issues that I have had with meal preparation has been the time it takes. I started using our slow cooker every day to make our dinner and it has worked out wonderfully.  I actually have two slow cookers, a regular  six quart, and a casserole (13 x9) crockpot. The casserole crockpot has actually lived on the shelf in my laundry room for the past y...

I went to a ladies brunch today at my church. The theme was about mothers. Someone read from Proverbs 31 and there were two ladies  that shared about how important a mom with a wonderful Christian example was in their lives. The first lady described how her mom (who raised her in NYC ) was a wonderful example in showing her how to live the Christian life in her priorities and attitudes. She was also a wonderful example of a mother and wife who is always present and willing to sacrifice for her kids and husband.  The other dear lady described being raised in the mountains of rural Georgia (with no electricity or indoor plumbing ) by her mother (who was illiterate) and father (a share cropper) as the oldest of nine children.  She described her mother as a quiet woman whom never complained, and who was always singing hymns. She said her favorite was Amazing Grace, and was constantly praying for her children. She was a living testimony of God's love for her family. The the...

When my heart is overwhelmed lead me to the Rock that is higher than I. Psalm 61:2 I've been overwhelmed a lot lately due to several weeks of sick children, and in addition to limping around on a bum foot. I have managed to get behind on almost everything around the house. The average tasks of taking care of my kids have been taking up the majority of  my time and energy. Therefore it's fair to say that I've been a bit dIscouraged.    Others can probably relate to feeling overwhelmed and discouraged. Though I'm not feeling as badly as last week, I want to try to dig myself out of the discouragement and messes, and mountain of laundry caused by the craziness of last week. Here are some ways I've been trying to refocus for this week. MAKE A LIST OF EVENTS AND APPOINTMENTS:  The first thing I did to refocus was to make a list of the events this week.  MAKE A MEAL PLAN : Next I made my meal plan on my dry erase board in my  kitchen. MAKE A LIST OF GOALS ...

Two weeks ago was supposed to be when I got my routine, and my mojo back. However, it only lasted a few days before things started falling apart. When I woke up Thursday morning,  my body ached so much that I could barely move. I have 5 kids including an infant that depend on me. There is no time for this mom to get sick. Therefore survival mode that day equaled cereal and cartoons. I did manage to wash and dry a load of laundry. My inlaws (love them so much) took my three year old for the day, and due to normal nap routines my two year old and baby settled down for a nice long afternoon nap, and so did I. By Friday I was feeling somewhat better and encouraged that I might get caught up after being in survival mode for a day. However, this was not to be. My four month old was restless for part of the night with a cough and by the morning I was starting to get worried because I knew I would be without our van for the day,( due to an inspection appointment). Saturday was also...