Planted Oaks and Little Acorns

Thank goodness I was never sent to school...Beatrix Potter quote at DailyLearners.com

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Jan. 13, 2009 - Great Bible Study

Posted in For Moms

I am keeping up with my resolutions so far anyways! I wanted to share with you the book I am using for my personal devotions. It is Becoming the Woman God Wants Me to Be ( A 90-day guide to living the Proverbs 31 Life) by Donna Partow. I am on day 2 and it is great! My friend Melanie introduced me to it and started a small group. The best part is Donna Partow started a large group on line on facebook complete with videos that you can watch to go along. What I really like about it is with the videos anyone can jump in and start at anytime. Day 2 has us working on commiting to a daily time alone with God (TAG) I am working on setting up my own prayer area where I can do my study each morning (before the kids get up!) This is my challenge so please pray for me that I can stick with this commitment.

Are you looking for a new devotion one that will give you a jumpstart on the year in so many different areas of your life; faith, family relationships, health, business, home managment, ministry and more then come join me in this venture and check out Donna's website at: www.donnapartow.com

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Dec. 29, 2008 - Mom Video

Posted in For Moms

I love this mom video. Get ready for a laugh! Before you start it scroll to the bottom of my blog to turn off my music.

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Oct. 24, 2008 - Christmas Ornament Exchange

Posted in For Moms

Ok I have been putting off blogging anything about Christmas because I could go on and on about it. I even want to change my blog paper for Christmas!! I love Christmas and you have probably noticed my countdown that has been on my sidebar for over a month already!

But now I have come across smoochiefrog's site and she is coordinating a swap. If you would like to participate or find out more details click here,

Enjoy!

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Aug. 29, 2008 - If you give a Mom a muffin

Posted in For Moms

I love the books, If You Give a Moose a Muffin, and If You Give a Pig A PanCake There are also a couple of others and they are all written by Laura Numeroff. I came across this poem that follows the same story pattern and thought it was too cute!!!

If you give a Mom a muffin,
She'll want a cup of coffee to go with it.
She'll pour herself some.
The coffee will get spilled by her three year old.
She'll wipe it up.

Wiping the floor, she will find some dirty socks.
She'll remember she has to do some laundry.
When she puts the laundry in the washer,
She'll trip over some snow boots and bump into the freezer.
Bumping into the freezer will remind her she has to plan dinner for tonight.

She will get out a pound of hamburger.
She will look for her cookbook (101 Things to Make With a Pound of Hamburger).
The cookbook is sitting under a pile of mail.
She will see the phone bill which is due tomorrow.
She will look for her checkbook.

The checkbook is in her purse that is being dumped out by her two year old.
She'll smell something funny.
She'll change the two year old.
While she is changing the two year old the phone will ring.
Her four year old will answer it and hang up.

She remembers that she wants to phone a friend to come for coffee on Friday.
Thinking of coffee will remind her that she was going to have a cup.
She will pour herself some.

And chances are......
If she has a cup of coffee......
Her kids will have eaten the muffin that went with it

Author: Kathy Fictorie

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Jul. 7, 2008 - Praying for our Children

Posted in For Moms

A while ago I mentioned a book I was reading ...The Power of a Praying Parent by Stormie Omartian. Well I just came across a blog that another lady created based from this book and specifically sets prayers for our children. It was really uplifting and gives specific daily prayers. I encourage you to take a look.

"The battle for our children's lives is waged on our knees. When we don't pray, it's like sitting on the sidelines watching our children in a war zone getting shot at from every angle. When we do pray, we're in the battle alongside them, appropriating God's power on their behalf." (Stormie Ormartian)

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May. 19, 2008 - Speaking of Mothering and Responsiblity

Posted in For Moms

I received this in an email and thought it was too good not to share..

When You Thought I Wasn't Looking

When you thought I wasn't looking,
I saw you hang my first painting on the refrigerator,
and I wanted to paint another one.

When you thought I wasn't looking,
I saw you feed a stray cat,
and I thought it was good to be kind to animals.

When you thought I wasn't looking,
I saw you make my favorite cake for me,
and I knew that little things are special things.

When you thought I wasn't looking,
I heard you say a prayer,
and I believed there is a God I could always talk to.

When you thought I wasn't looking,
I felt you kiss me goodnight,
and I felt loved.

When you thought I wasn't looking,
I saw tears come from your eyes,
and I learned that sometimes things hurt,
but it's all right to cry.

When you thought I wasn't looking,
I saw that you cared,
and I wanted to be everything that I could be.

When you thought I wasn't looking,
I looked . . . and wanted to say thanks
for all the things I saw
When you thought I wasn't looking.

Author Unknown

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May. 10, 2008 - Invisible Mother

Posted in For Moms

Invisible mother

It all began to make sense, the blank stares, and the lack of response, the way one of the kids will walk into the room while I'm on the phone and ask to be taken to the store. Inside I'm thinking, 'Can't you see I'm on the phone?'
Obviously not; no one can see if I'm on the phone, or cooking, or sweeping the floor, or even standing on my head in the corner, because no one can see me at all. I'm invisible. The invisible Mom.

Some days I am only a pair of hands, nothing more: Can you fix this? Can you tie this? Can you open this??

Some days I'm not a pair of hands; I'm not even a human being. I'm a clock to ask, 'What time is it?' I'm a satellite guide to answer, 'What number is the Disney Channel?' I'm a car to order, 'Right around 5:30, please.'

I was certain that these were the hands that once held books and the eyes that studied history and the mind that graduated summa cum laude - but now they had disappeared into the peanut butter, never to be seen again. She's going, she's going ... she's gone!?

One night, a group of us were having dinner, celebrating the return of a
friend from England. Janice had just gotten back from a fabulous trip and
she was going on and on about the hotel she stayed in.

I was sitting there, looking around at the others all put together so well.
It was hard not to compare and feel sorry for myself. I was feeling pretty
pathetic, when Janice turned to me with a beautifully wrapped package, and said, 'I brought you this.'

It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe. I wasn't exactly sure why
she'd given it to me until I read her inscription:

'To Charlotte, with admiration for the greatness of what you are building
when no one sees.'

In the days ahead I would read - no, devour - the book. And I would discover what would become for me, four life-changing truths, after which I could pattern my work:

No one can say who built the great cathedrals - we have no record of their
names. These builders gave their whole lives for a work they would never
see finished. They made great sacrifices and expected no credit.

The passion of their building was fueled by their faith that the eyes of God
saw everything.

A legendary story in the book told of a rich man who came to visit the
cathedral while it was being b uilt, and he saw a workman carving a tiny bird on the inside of a beam. He was puzzled and asked the man, 'Why are you spending so much time carving that bird into a beam that will be covered by the roof, No one will ever see it. And the workman replied, 'because God sees.'

I closed the book, feeling the missing piece fall into place. It was almost
as if I heard God whispering to me, 'I see you, Charlotte. I see the
sacrifices you make every day, even when no one around you does. No act of kindness you've done, no sequin you've sewn on, no cupcake you've baked, is too small for me to notice and smile over. You are building a great
cathedral, but you can't see right now what it will become.

At times, my invisibility feels like an affliction. But it is not a disease
that is erasing my life. It is the cure for the disease of my own
self-centeredness. It is the anti dote to my strong, stubborn pride.

I keep the right perspective when I see myself as a great builder. As one
of the people who show up at a job that they will never see finished, to
work on something that their name will never be on. The writer of the book
went so far as to say that no cathedrals could ever be built in our lifetime
because there are so few people willing to sacrifice to that degree.

When I really think about it, I don't want my son to tell the friend he's
bringing home from college for Thanksgiving, 'My Mom gets up at 4 in the
morning and bakes homemade pies, and then she hand bastes a turkey for three hours and presses all the linens for the table.' That would mean I'd built a shrine or a monument to myself. I just want him to want to come home. And then, if there is anything more to say to his friend, to add, 'you're gonna love it there.'

As mothers, we are building great cathedrals. We cannot be seen if we're
doing it right. And one day, it is very possible that the world will marvel,
not only at what we have built, but at the beauty that has been added to the world by the sacrifices of invisible women.

Great Job, MOM!

Share this with all the Invisible Moms you know... I just did.

The Will of God will never take you where the Grace of God will not protect
you.

This is beautiful and makes a ton of sense. To all the wonderful mothers out there!

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Apr. 12, 2008 - What is your Mothering Style?

Posted in For Moms

I came across this quiz from someone else's blog and I thought it was quite interesting. I keep trying to fight my results but it is pretty much right on!

I called my sister and had her take it and she of course laughed at mine and said yes it was correct!!!

Take the quiz your self, go to: http://www.motherstyles.com/quiz.asp

Here were my results. I did take it twice as two of the questions I could go either way. (I prefer the 2nd set of results) And as I was fighting my results I realized that later in the day I was constantly thinking about making lists and what I wanted to accomplish next week and before the baby is born and so on.... LOL

Your type is: ISTJ- The “Responsibility” Motheristj —The “Responsibility” Mother

“I have a serious love affair with to-do lists. I could sit for hours reading, organizing, and rearranging my weekly calendar.”

The ISTJ mother has a highly developed sense of responsibility: for work, home, family ... particularly her children. Whether she’s overseeing daily baths or insisting on a 10 p.m. curfew, her efforts are largely focused on providing her children with order and routine. She wants them, regardless of age, to be able to count on her and the structure she provides.
In carrying out her commitment to her responsibilities, the ISTJ mother is organized, industrious, and detail-oriented. Because her focus is the day-to-day realities of life, her children are likely to feel secure and well provided for.
The ISTJ mother also sets a good example and provides her children with practical guidance on being a productive, responsible individual. Still, with all her seriousness, she may delight family members with her quick wit and observations about the details of life.

A close Second is:

Your type is: ESFJ- The “Happy Together” Motheresfj —The “Happy Together” Mother

“I like it when my children are happy on their own, but i love it when the whole family is happy together.”

The ESFJ mother has a highly developed sense of family and what it takes to be happy in life. Capable and personally invested, she strives to create a happy family where togetherness and harmony flourish. Whether it’s taking her children to the park or putting on a holiday feast, her efforts are directed toward having everyone be “happy together.”
To many, the ESFJ personifies motherhood. She promotes traditional values, tends to the practical and domestic, provides the family with order and structure, and is directly involved with her children’s day-to-day living. The ESFJ mother is a “doer,” and she’s never happier than when she’s “doing” for her family.
Believing the home is central to family life, the ESFJ mother excels at creating an atmosphere that is attractive and offers security.
Energetic and people-oriented, she is drawn to community and the social scene. She helps her children discover the joys of people and groups.

Let me know your results.

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