Managing the Children

So as I mentioned before our first church service resulted in some bored children running a bit wild. My friend and I noticed this and even tried to intervene a few times to no avail. Parents were all busy helping set up and break down. I saw many of them trying to control the children, but they just waited until the disciplinarian was out of sight and then resumed "playing".
So Melodie and I put our heads together and God gave us a great plan.
The children age 8 and up will be put on a ministry team. They will be given age appropriate responsibilities and will be an intergral part of helping our church to grow and function efficiently.
Children 3-7 will be assigned a table in the cafeteria (where we meet) with coloring books, crayons, games....quiet sit down things. One or two of our older girls will sit with them during this time and "supervise".
Infant - 2 will be with mom or dad in a stroller or sling.
We will institute a reward system for the older children. For instance every month one child will be selected our "Star Servant" or something and will receive recognition and a small award. We are hoping this will provide some motivation for some of our harder to deal with kids.
We are hoping this will instill a sense of purpose in our children as they help to make our church function. I really think that this will go a long way in producing productive young adults. I think that in a few months we will see completly different young people showing up for church.
I know in my family when my kids are kept busy helping to run the house they dont have as much time or need for trouble. They take more time to pick up after themselves and make sure areas are kept neat and tidy throughout the day.
Our preacher has approved this idea. I just need to get it in writing to him.
Im excited that he wants to see our young people utilized for the kingdom as well.

Be Blessed.

Yipee. I logged in.

So I have been trying off and on this week to log in and post. YIKES! I kept getting an error message that my email address was invalid...ummmm no. I hate it because I'll start to get back into my "blog groove" (whatever that is) and then life happens. LOL. Oh well.
A lot has gone on this week.
Last Sunday was our official church launch. It went GREAT, but boy was that one exhausting Mother's Day. Everything ran smoothly. Our preacher had a great message. God was there. It was all good.
We had some issues with some of our older children being bored and acting a little foolish, but my friend Melodie and I have come up with a solution for that.
Ok well blogger or my compuer is acting weird now so I have to log off. I will post more about our solution later.

Be Blessed!

Smooth Smooth Smoothies

MMMMMMMMMM we love our smoothies. We start with vanilla or strawberry yogurt, add some frozen fruit, whatever we have on hand, then some milk, and either honey or stevia. Its so good. I dont measure just throw, throw, throw. Its delish.


Be Blessed.

The Incredible Edible Egg

We love eggs. Unfortunatly it takes almost a whole 18 pack for breakfast around here. Its a not oft had treat for the littles. Hubby and I try to have them often though. I like to scramble two up in some coconut oil. I heat the pan with coconut oil though you have to be careful because coconut oil has a low heat point. Too hot and it will start smoking. I dump two eggs in a measuring cup with a little bit of milk and some seasoning, our favorite is parsley, and then dump then in the pan and cook for just a couple of minutes. Then I plate the eggs in a heap and they finish cooking. We usually have whole grain toast with coconut oil and honey and then an apple or a pear. Its a very filling breakfast. We finish off with a glass of good creamy raw milk. YUM.

Be Blessed.

Breakfast Day 2

Ok so todays breakfast idea is not the healthiest, but it is what we do on Tuesdays.
On Tuesday mornings my mom and I and two of our friends meet for breakfast at a small restaurant before we go to Bible Study. It is so much fun.
You can eat better at the restaurant though.
My kids either have eggs and whole wheat toast or oatmeal. I always get eggs. The restaurant has real butter and honey so we always request that for our toast or oatmeal. We also use real butter on our grits and eggs. Yes, I live in the south I always have to have grits. LOL


Be Blessed.

Lets Talk About Breakfast

Ahh.. one of the most important meals of the day, breakfast. This week I will be sharing some of our tried and true tips for breakfasts. As we move towards eating healthier I have noticed that breakfast is a very important part of our day.
Oatmeal. We use the old fashioned rolled oats. Its more filling and just as easy to prepare. I fill a pan with some water and dump the oats in. I dont measure, because if I make too much we can always have it another morning. Then I add sea salt and a sweetener. Usually either honey or organic cane juice crystals. When its cooked for a few minutes I add some milk and turn it down. Then I go get the baby up and dressed. By the time thats done so is the oatmeal. If Im feeling like a generous mommy I will add fruit and cinnamon. If the morning is already hectic I just dump it in bowls and let them eat it. I add a TBLSP of coconut oil to my bowl so I can get this into my diet.
Thats our morning oatmeal routine.
I will use this week to talk about healthy easy breakfasts you can fix for your crew.

Moving Day

I am so excited. My exclamation key does not work or else you would see a ton of those in this post. LOL
We are moving. No not my family, my church. We are moving out of the home of my dear, dear friends and into a elementary school. We move on May 13. Mother's day. Yes. My mother's day will be chaotic, rushed, frantic, spent running around from about 7am til 12, and amazingly the most exciting Mother's day. Well other than my first Mother's Day with my kids. That was THE MOST EXCITING. :P
Right now I am working on making sure that we have a working nursery at the school. We have a great group of people. Everyone is ready to donate. Of course logistically we have to be able to move whatever is donated around from place to place because we cant store it in the classroom at the church.
My friend who will be in charge of the kids will sent me a great list of what we will need. Im happy because it means that my baby swing and excersaucer and bouncy seat will not have to sit in the attic until Gideon makes his grand entrance, whenever that is, soon Lord, please. No he is not on the horizon yet, but we still have faith that he will be one day. Anyways, back to the real post.
So moving day is just around the corner and how exciting. The best part for me is watching from the inside. Im the type of person, I like to have my hand is EVERYTHING. I feel most put together when Im in the middle of all the chaos. Being part of the lead team with my husband has been such a great experience for me. I love being there to hear the decisions being made. I love giving my input on some small detail. I know the church is to be led by the men, but I dont have any problem sitting next to my husband as he leads. He loves when I make a suggestion or give some input. I know whatever I say is not the law it is just that, a suggestion. I love the fact that my new preacher has a couples lead team.
This is an exciting experience for us. We know we are where God wants us. We know that God is going to bless this church off the scale. Its going to be great. I will post about our first Sunday and let you all in on a little of the excitement.