I just received my ‘100 followers’ notifications and shortly after it went to 101! I am so excited that so many people have followed my blog in the short time I’ve had it up.
I pray that I can continue to help encourage others in their day to day life. Each and every one of you have encouraged me to continue on with this blog even when sometimes I’ve wondered if it even makes a difference to anyone. Continue reading “Thank you!”
Yesterday was just one of those blah days. I was in a blue kinda mood and just didn’t seem to be able to shake it. There was not any one particular reason for the way I felt but there were a few different circumstances that did contribute to it. I was just sad.
Sometimes that is ok. We all feel different emotions at different times and it is important to acknowledge our feelings and allow ourselves to experience them. We just need to remember not to dwell on whatever the problem is and not to get stuck in those depressed states.
Yes, sometimes that is easier said than done. I did my best to keep with my normal schedule and routine as I worked through some of the things I was dealing with. It is also nice to have a couple of close friends to confide in and talk to. They help me a lot even when they don’t think they have done anything special. Just having a listening ear is sometimes all someone needs to lift their spirits.
Of course, my kids always help to lift my spirits with their craziness through the day. They don’t let me sit for long which is a good thing when I feel down. Getting up and about helps to shake the blues off really quickly too. It is really hard not to laugh at some of the silly faces they make. Laughter really is good for the soul.
When the kids went down for naps I did spend a little quiet time in my closet. I went over some verses I had copied down in my journal and just listened to some relaxing music for a bit. That was very soothing and by the time the kids were up from their naps I felt much better.
Yesterday evening was square dancing and I went like I normally do. I’ve been working quite a bit to advertise our club and events. It was so encouraging when we had several members from another club show up to dance with us. Just being around so many people who were having such a great time really made my heart happy. It’s hard to be sad when you see so many smiling faces and hear all the laughter that went along with the fellowship we enjoyed.
There are things we can do to help ourselves like surrounding ourselves with happy people. We can get out, even if it is just to walk around the outside of the house and back, the fresh air and activity can do wonders. We can find hobbies that require us to interact with others. Also, for me, making my relationship with God a top priority really helps. He can give us the answers that no one else can.
I know there have been a lot of celebrities coming forward to talk about mental illness and depression. I know that it is normal to feel depressed from time to time. I hope everyone else knows this too. However, if the feelings of depression don’t go away then you should ask for help. Remember there is no shame in asking for help.
This idea came to me as Easter was approaching. Some of these recipes will be found in other areas of my blog but I wanted to gather them together to make it easier for others, and myself to find.
New Year’s
Easter
Brown Sugar & Honey Glazed Ham
Thanksgiving/Christmas
Brown Sugar & Honey Glazed Ham
I had planned on putting together a study unit for Easter, similar to what we had done for Advent, but it didn’t happen. It is still in the works and I will continue to work on it a little at a time. I’ll also be sure to share it with you all as well.
This Easter was a little crazy as I’ve had two children who have been consistently trying my patience on a daily basis. I know this is just a phase and it will pass soon but it had been utterly exhausting.
Luckily I have family and friends to support me and offer advice. Sometimes the best thing you can do is just take a step back and look at things through someone else’s eyes.
We have truly been blessed with the friends we have and there is one person in particular who has went above and beyond to help me lately. He may never know what a blessing he has been to me and my family over the past couple of months. He is so awesome with my kids that it is truly a blessing.
He is a constant source of encouragement and he motivates me to be a better person. The crazy thing is that we probably never would’ve met had I stuck to my idea of what I thought I needed. God knew all along and has so far exceeded my ideas and expectations, just as he always does. It is so amazing to see what God does when you let go and hand your life over to him.
So getting back to Easter, we didn’t do a big get to together or go visiting like we normally do. We stayed at home and had a small cookout with family. It was nice and it was simple.
My older kids did hide some eggs for the younger ones yesterday. The younger kids were too smart and found them all in a minute or two. This prompted the older ones to ‘up their game’ and rehide them so they could have more of a challenge. The challenge was accepted and they found them again super quickly.
It was time to eat after the second go round and everyone was starving. My youngest two surprised everyone with the amount of food they ate yesterday and the lack of complaining about what they didn’t want to eat.
Of course, the kids were all super excited and didn’t want to go to bed. They were hoping to see the Easter Bunny… and get lots of candy.
Well this morning they awoke to a big Easter basket on the kitchen island. It had a small toy for each child and some candy and games as well. I decided several years ago that doing one basket was much easier than individual baskets. I also want to try to keep the focus on the real reason for Easter which does not involve a bunny or candy.
After breakfast we had a mini lesson using our Resurrection Eggs that I found at the thrift store last year. I will post a few pics at the end of the post. We went over the meaning of each item and talked about the real meaning of Easter before letting them inspect the basket.
We didn’t buy new Easter outfits, I had thought about it though, as we could all still wear the outfits we bought for big sisters wedding last year. My dress hadn’t even been worn, or tried on until yesterday, as I had decided on a different dress. I did find a couple of cute hats for the girls that match with their dresses too.
Later this afternoon, probably after nap time, we will make the Empty Tomb Rolls. I usually try to make them the day before but it just didn’t happen this time around. I will go over the Easter story again while we assemble the rolls.
Then hopefully we will get to color some eggs later on this afternoon as ‘Mr. Awesome’ has said he will come by later today to help with that. I will try to add some of those pics to this post as well.
Life is never going to be perfect and things are going to happen beyond our control. So we need to stop waiting for that ‘perfect moment’ and just live in this moment. Stop procrastinating and looking for excuses as to why you can’t do things. Instead focus on ways to make things possible in some way, shape, or form. Make those special memories and be sure to let each and every person around you know how much they mean to you.
We are living in uncertain times right now and we have never been promised a tomorrow. So take a moment to appreciate all that you have been blessed with and cherish this moment and time in your life.
I pray that you have all had a very blessed Easter!
It took forever to get a decent picture where almost everyone was smiling and (almost) looking in the same direction. Big sister didn’t want to wear her matching dress which was OK. The little girls had snuck into some chocolate while I was getting ready. They smeared their chocolate hands on the fronts of their dresses too. We got them spot cleaned and off to church we went. It was really nice to have 6 of my 9 kids in church with me today too. While at church the same two girls tore holes in their dresses…. I will have my work cut out for me trying to repair them… but that’s life!
We did make some Empty Tomb Rolls after nap time. This was a fun experience and the kids helped assembling the roles while discussing the meaning of each ingredient. Then they had them for a snack.
We also managed to squeeze in some egg coloring! Oh what a fun day we had!
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