Surrender to God

Do you ever feel overwhelmed by stressors surrounding you? I had a day like that earlier this week. I had made 3 different phone calls to 3 different doctors and was waiting to hear back from them. There were issues at home with one of my children. There were several errands which needed to be done with only an hour left of my day before the girls' dismissal time from school. There was laundry waiting to be washed and laundry waiting to be folded and put away. There was dinner to be prepared. You understand the kind of day it was. Sound familiar?

Often days like this end for me with fatigue, reactive responses versus thoughtful loving responses with those I love, and a general sense of dissatisfaction with life. I want you to know my Sisters in Christ that this is not the way God intends for us to live - to spend our 90 short years here on the earth. He wants us to be happy, content, obedient to the Truth, and salt in our world.

I am not an expert at dismissing fretting and putting away anxious thoughts, but I am confident in sharing God's truth which arms us with a calliber of different responses to our daily trials. The Psalms tell us to not fear bad news but confidently trust the LORD to care for us. Proverbs 18:10 tells us, the name of the Lord is a strong fortress. The godly run to Him and are safe. What do you do when trouble, stress, and obstacles get in the way of your peace? Run to Him and learn the Word of God - bathe yourself in its healing power. My heart is confident in you, O God, my heart is confident in You. Psalm 57:7

So, getting back to my stressful day, as I began to fret and feel anxiousness creep in that day, the Word of God, His powerful Holy Spirit, and the prayers of my Sisters in Christ surrounded me and I heard an audible voice say to me, "LET IT GO!" There was nothing stopping me that day because quite frankly, I had no other options. But right there in my bathroom - as I was scrubbing my tub, (I was already on my knees), I gave God the big, the little and the in between. I felt like a weight had been lifted. I began to sing worship songs and after I was done, the stuff was still there, but I had been made new.

Give us clean hands and hearts O God so we may see you in all ways. Amen.

I Hope I'm Back

Whew.
The past couple of weeks have been a whirlwind.
We've been struck with a stomach bug that got the 6 of us plus my hubby's parents sick. That was not fun. So, for a while, forget cooking and forget eating.
Did I mention, it really was not fun??
But now I'm back. I hope :)
Starting next week though.

But the good news is... the spring is almost here!
Love the spring minus the allergies.

Spring Epiphany

It was 67 degrees today.
I could almost smell the spring in the air.
There's something about nature, as we study it.
Every living thing God had created is an evidence of how amazing He is.
To think about it, how can a tree once dead through winter produce life again?
As I was glancing over the newly budding trees, I was reminded of the fact that everything in this world is run by His incredible power.

Christ often made examples of nature and growth to explain to his disciples about spiritual maturity. That he is the Tree of Life and that we are the branches. He also talked about bearing fruit as followers of Christ.

I think for the longest time, I used to think that packing Biblical knowledge as much as I could and exercising my spiritual gifts would progress my spiritual maturity. Once again was I humbly reminded  by His gentle whisper, "How are you living out your faith?"

Just as the trees need constant work and care, we need that constant work and care to strain away our "old self". Just because our eternal destiny has changed the moment we were born again, it doesn't necessarily mean that our old character or the world view has changed. God doesn't strike His magic wand on us and all of a sudden we become a perfect person. As we gain knowledge of Him and experience His power in our daily lives, we also have to work on ourselves to become the kind of person God wants us to be.

Let's talk practical ways. I had to ask myself these series of questions today. How am I living out my faith? How do I react when someone wrongs me? In my relationships with others, am I patient, kind and gentle? Do I really consider others better than myself? What do I do when someone cuts me off while I'm driving? Do I easily judge others in my heart? Do I gossip? Do I lie? Do I sometimes have ill intentions for other people? Am I proud? Do I glorify myself rather than glorifying God? Is God my priority or am I my number one priority?

I can't possibly list all the questions that ran through my head this afternoon. But I am able to say, God had given me a chance to evaluate myself today. And I wanted to share with you, my beloved Mom Inspirations readers. As I pray for you sisters, I want to challenge you to evaluate where you are right now. Let our Heavenly Father speak to you about the areas you might need some "work" on. We can start with the fruit of the Holy Spirit? Are you bearing fruit?

Galatians 5:22-23 (New International Version)

 ²²But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³gentleness and self-control.

Decorating For Less

I love interior decorating.
It's something that I'd love to learn and develop ( although, it seems impossible to do so with 4 little ones right now). My kids love decorating too. But their decorating ideas are somewhat different from what I have in mind. They like to decorate the floors, the furniture including my bed with the little toys that they have. I'm at a crossroad: whether to drive myself crazy with impossible expectations to keep my house neat or simply let go of the idea (as many wise experienced mothers advise) and give myself a break.

Well, honestly, I'm still struggling with the act of "letting go" although I really want to be freed from the stress (caused by looking at my "unfit" home). But I am managing to satiate my longing for a well-kept home through visiting some decorating blogs. There are some amazing women out there and thanks to the blogging industry and technology, I get to learn so many things from them all at the end of my finger tips. These women can produce, upholster, renew anything! And they look just like from Pottery Barn. Wouldn't it be great to make your home look like it's from a Pottery Barn catalog for a fraction of the price?

Here are some of my favorite decorating blogs:

Just A Girl
Miss Mustard Seed
The Stories of A to Z
It's The Little Things That Make A House A Home
Design-Aholic

I have been thinking though. Although I complain about the toys on the floor everyday,  there will be a day when the kids are all grown up and I will miss picking up the toys off the floor. I guess this is a good reminder that I ought to enjoy every moment I have with them now because they will grow and time does fly.

February Devotion by Jill D.

Did you ever wonder why God created mankind even though He knew Adam would fall in the garden of Eden, and we would all become sinners, even hostile to Him?

Does it blow you away to know that “Long ago, even BEFORE He made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in His eyes?” (Eph 1:4)

I can’t answer why God did this, but when I thought about this, I felt led to the sinful woman who wet Jesus’ feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair; kissed His feet and anointed them with very costly perfume in Luke 7:36-50.  In vs. 47 Jesus says, “For this reason I say to you, her sins, which are many, have been forgiven, for she loved much; but he who is forgiven little, loves little.”

 Just think about this: HE LOVED YOU even before you were saved.  If you recognize how sinful you are, you will love Him for who He is and what He already did for you even more.

Sometimes when you have been a Christian for a long time, we forget how amazing our salvation is. Would you ask God to return you to the joy of your salvation?

Whenever God reveals something to me, I try remember to ask Him what He wants me to do with it. Today, He reminded me that I must have the attitude of Christ, that He is our example.  Is there someone in your life, perhaps someone who is like sandpaper to you that you need to love and forgive even though they are not loving you or treating you kindly?  Or are you someone’s sandpaper and you need to ask someone to forgive you.

I pray that whatever God shows you,  you will fall madly in love with Jesus, the Lover of your soul.

I Must Face My Fear

I have a crisis.
My heart says one thing and my mind says another.
There's one thing that I really want to accomplish, and as trite as it sounds, I want to learn to sew.
With my sewing machine that is.
While I was preggo with my fourth child, I went on a crafting frenzy and convinced myself to purchase a sewing machine.
I can say I tried once, failed miserably and never touched that thing again.
But look what I found today. Such a neat blog called Momfetti. She's so awesome I want to cry.
So I'm determined to take courage and face my fear.
When am I going to face it is another story I guess.
Soon I hope, and until then, I will prep myself with Momfetti and all the other crafting blogs I bookmarked in my browser :)

Catching Up

I am totally procrastinating. Yes.
It's snowing outside. The kids are all asleep. I signed up with Swagbucks today and earned 141 Swagbucks. That was fun. I'm getting really into this "frugal" living. It's almost addictive.
There were few nice CVS coupons that came in the mail today including $5 off $15 and I still got few ECBs left. Yay.

So, back to cooking.
I made Shrimp & Andouille Stew couple days ago. It was so delish! I wanted a little taste of Louisiana, so I added some cajun seasoning and a bit of tobasco sauce. Little bit of spice will do you good :)

September Thoughts in February

My three children have been in several different educational settings since their nursery school days. We have used private, parochial, and public schools. I have had lengthy discussions with professionals, educators, other parents, as well as kids as to the best way to do this thing called education, but it comes down to this: every child has the capacity to adapt to the environment he/she is placed into by his/her parents.


I did not always share this point of view. I used to think it was all about the child's bent. This current year, we have one of our children in a private boarding school academy, one child in public middle school, and one child at a parochial elementary school. The different schools continue to adequately meet the different needs my three children have, however I really believe that one is not more superior to another because of its' name, location, or even its' curriculum. I have met fine people - administrators, faculty, and parents at all the institutions my children have attended. My children have learned a great deal about life by having rich diverse educational experiences, but as they get older as do we as their parents :-), we have come to fully appreciate the key to success in parenting is Proverbs 22:6 (Direct your children onto the right path, and when they are older, they will not leave it), not the school they have attended. The important word for us parents is that these precious children have been entrusted to us and it is our job to raise them in such a a way that they will ultimately seek God's will in all they do and the Lord will show them which path to take.

I have been asked by many young moms which school is the best and I used to favor one type of school or another, or I would address the child's needs but life is not that simple. Economics plays a role in these decisions. I want to encourage you to have faith and courage to do what you are able to - live within your means. Don't spend everything you earn on their education - so that you have nothing left for yourselves. Bloom where you are planted. Trust God that if it is His will to homeschool, you will be equipped to do so. If His will is that you use your public school, He will surround you with a support system that will benefit your children, or if it is His will that you go the route of private or parochial, He will provide the funding, but also the path that is clear for you as parents to lead your children down.

The honor of christian parenting comes from seeing your children trusting their lives to the Lord. And, the honor and privilege of releasing your children to the Lord is a daily task - - one which will need to bathed in prayer wherever your children are educated.

Traditions of Love

This past Sunday night was the backdrop for one of the traditions our family has held on to now for almost 20 years. Every Valentine's Day in our family, the Brady dinning room becomes a restaurant. Kids dress up in fancy clothes and rummage through their things (and the laundry room & mom's messy kitchen drawer) scavenging for pennies. I set an excessively fancy table with all those dollar store seasonal decorations, (or fine china as they get older...) and then make a menu. The menu is simple. It's made up of all those foods your kids love best, that are easy to cook and can be produced quickly! Everything from bagel pizzas, to fancy beverage options, to creative Valentine desserts. We like to play up the descriptions of these menu items too. Everything is offered a-la-carte, and everything costs a penny. Kids can order anything they want, in ANY combination!
A day or two before, I stock the pantry & freezer with all those quick cook foods. So now, what's going on in the kitchen typically is 2 -3 pots of boiling water, one frying pan, a hot oven and another hot toaster oven---all ready for orders! Over the years the older girls have helped create the menus, and even brought their friends in for the event...the boys just show up for the excessive amounts of food! The menu items have grown up with the kids as well, this year we had Shrimp Scampi on our menu, and Spicy Beef & Sausage Ravioli (fresh, pre-made from Stop n Shop) in a light (from a jar) Alfredo Sauce! Dan & I serve the kids together and have our own little fun time in the kitchen...

It's hard to say how traditions get started. Sometimes it's something you've treasured from you or your husbands' childhood that simply must be carried on. Sometimes though, its just a fun idea, or even a solution to a temporary problem that sticks and gets clamored for --for a few years in a row, and somewhere in there gets set in stone. Our Valentines tradition started for us because our early family, with MANY small children and not much of a budget, lived across the country from any extended family. It was hard to get out much at all those years, and it was a happy solution to celebrating love. It was easier, and fun, to just make a party at home. As the kids grew, and began to anticipate last years events, what we found was a legit tradition!

This year, Grace is 11, Rachel (14) had the flu, and Nate (17), had to work. I wondered if I was still in business...maybe the interest was gone? But from across the miles, away at college, Tim (23), Laura (21) and Anne(19) absolutely expected that Valentines' Restaurant was up & running! What I'm realizing is that traditions often become a comforting thought to kids who are away, they make them feel that "life" as they remember it is still happening at home. It feeds that sense of security, that home is still "there" for them if and when they come back for it. So, Rachel stayed in bed upstairs, and Grace invited a neighbor friend. I thought I'd share some pictures of this years' event.

Winter Vacation

Um.. can you hear it?
The hustle and bustle going on in our house?
We've been quite busy and it's only tuesday.
I'm wondering how I can entertain and keep the kids busy and happy until this vacay is over.

Meanwhile, I did accomplish something this past weekend thanks to Trey & Lucy.
I made tutus for my girls and it was my first "craft" project.
It turned out pretty nice so I'm venturing out to my next project.
My second project might take a while to finish though since it involved my sewing machine.
We'll see though...

Family Matters

Guess who stayed up till 4 AM making 40 Valentine's Day cards? 
Yep, that would be me.
I promised the kids I will help them make the cards for today's party in their class.
With everything else, of course we forgot. But I happened to remember at 1 in the morning.
Promise is a promise, so I ended up making them from scratch.
Only had 3 hours of sleep and am totally procrastinating from the big load of dishes to be done. (Sigh)

We made Tex-Mex Lovers Mini Meat Loaf today.
I didn't have a heart shaped cookie cutter, so I used a flower shaped cutter instead. I don't think I'm that much satisfied with the way it looked. But it tasted fine and the kids like it.

I realize I don't really like the lighting in my kitchen for photography.

Gotta go back to my dishes. If they came up with Roomba, I'm sure they can come up with a machine that will load the dishes into the dishwasher all by itself. Just a wishful thinking I guess.

I Need To Start Crafting

I love crafting.
But I don't know how to do any.
Well, except for maybe jewelry making.
I was addicted to that for a while, but after having the baby, it's now collecting dust.
So, I get my fix from reading all these crafting blogs.
That's if I can get the baby to stay asleep.
One of these days, I'm gotta start my projects.

Here are some simple projects I would like to get my hands on:

Tutu
Flower Hair Clips
Tie & Guitar Onesies
Hair Clip Holder
Crayon Roll
Pillowcase Dress

The Gift Of An Ordinary Day

I had share this video went from Wendy. I'm still tearing up from this video, but this is exactly what I needed to see after a day like today. I hope it's as profound as it was for me.

The Gift Of An Ordinary Day.

The Gift Of An Ordinary Day

I had share this video went from Wendy. I'm still tearing up from this video, but this is exactly what I needed to see after a day like today. I hope it's as profound as it was for me.

5 Minute Mistake

After a long day yesterday (we all got snowed in), I was desperately in need of some alone time. I feel like all I did was cook & clean and tend to the kids all day so I asked my older kids to watch our 11 month old baby for 5 minutes. I thought, just 5 minutes wouldn't hurt. Hmm.... let me tell you, anything can happen in 5 minutes. And it was a huge mistake.

I thought I baby proofed the whole room before I left. Made sure there were no choking hazards lying around (my biggest worry is my older kids' toys). Everything seemed fine so I went into my bedroom to rest. After 5 minutes later, I went back to check in on them, and my 3 yr old and my 11 month old had conspired a big plan to be quite creative with a marker! I don't know how they managed to get one. It's still a big mystery to me, but now the baby is growing a mustache and a beard and my 3 yr old's bedsheets look like Jackson Pollack's famous painting. And the worst thing is, after washing the baby's face over and over again, it's not coming off! I guess I should just learn to accept that my baby has a mustache. At least for a couple of days if I'm lucky.

We made Artichoke, Tomato & Spinach Pizza yesterday. It's still so hard to believe how easy it has been to get my kids to eat all these vegetables. I'm really enjoying doing this project especially because the kids are really enjoying it as well. They get so excited when dinner time comes and getting more involved with making the meals.

Chocolate Peanut Butter & Banana Smoothie- by Madeline

This recipe and blog entry is by my 8 year old Madeline.

 Hi, I'm Madeline, my mom's daughter. I made this smoothie because I like smoothies. First, I got the banana in the blender. Next, I put in some peanut butter. Then I put in some bitter dark chocolate chips. I poured in some milk in the blender with the banana, peanut butter, chocolate, and some ice. So, I turned on the blender and turned the other knob all the way to #10. Finally, I took the blender out of the part to mix after I turned the mixer off. I poured the smoothie into 4 cups and my family enjoyed the very yummy Chocolate Peanut Butter & Banana Smoothie!

Snow day means Soup day

We east coasters are truly blessed with all this snow we absolutely don't know what to do with. But I gotta say... it really is so beautiful outside. The schools and works are canceled and all we have is each other and the time to make most out of. So in dedication to my charming husband and my kids, we decided to make some soup from the magazine's Take Five (five ingredients only). I did cheat though and added more ingredient because we all love a hearty soup to keep us warm and cozy during this cold, winter stormy day.

Broccoli Rabe & Sausage Soup

I added the potatoes here as an extra ingredient.

Here's my daughter helping me make the soup. We substituted the broccoli rabe with just broccoli and spinach to make it kid-friendly.

My kids don't like any kind of beans. But surprisingly, they loved them.

Mmm... can you smell it?

Some more snow. This is our view from the dining room.

Remember my charming husband I mentioned earlier? I called him "charming" because he baked these delicious chocolate lava cake for us. Bring on the chocolate baby!

It's more than cooking

One thing I should always remember, is that when you have kids, cooking can be challenging in some ways. Especially when you have a picky eater in hand, you have to accommodate to a certain degree with the menu planning. Apparently, I had forgotten this vital truth as I was following the menu planner from the magazine. How silly of me. Needless to say, we did not have the chicken and onion sandwich on Monday night. The family voted on the Shrimp & Corn Quesadillas instead (which was planned for Wednesday I think), so we switched things around.

Let me tell you. I'm a perfectionist and I get an indescribable thrill from feeding my OCD tendencies. When I carefully strategize but things don't go according to the plan, I have a very hard time dealing with it. If you're a mother like me, you must understand that things do not work out exactly the way you've intended to especially when you're juggling with little ones. I know it sounds silly but I was so disappointed when I had to change the menu. Talk about a set back.

Today was our Mom to Mom meeting and we had our beloved Mentor Panel. This is where all the experienced mothers (w/ children much older) come and do a Q & A session with the younger moms who have questions about parenting, marriage, motherhood, etc. I love mentor panels because I learn so much from these women who went through what I am going through right now in my stage of life. One truth I had learned today and I kept on hearing over and over throughout the meeting was- quit trying to be a super mom and give yourself a break from trying to do things all perfectly. Because, there's a fat chance where things will NOT go exactly you had planned and you'll beat yourself over it. So, I realize, I really need to let go and relax! This is probably THE step #1 to better parenting. It's really hard to let go though and to truly accept it. But I gotta try. Or else, I'll be writing an endless novel called Confessions of a Guilty Mom.

Anyhow, the quesadillas turned out so well. The whole family loved them! I paired it with an Avocado Salad which really was simple but tasty with the meal. Here are some pictures.

 One thing I really want to emphasize is, cooking with the kids can be such a special thing. It's a great way to spend quality time together and it's so meaningful for the whole family. I told them about this blog project, and they were even more excited than I was. We cooked and took pictures together. My oldest really loved it especially because she wants to be a chef and open her own fancy restaurant. I thought that was really cute.

First, you cook the shrimp and red onion.

I put in chopped chicken breast (extra ingredient) to please the chicken lover.

Shredded mozzarella is a must!

Add the Avocado Salad on the side.

Voila! Here's to my first meal on this blog :)

Mom To Mom Play Date

Yesterday was our Mom To Mom group play date. I think I had much more fun than my kids :) It's always so good to get together with other moms and chat while the kiddies have a blast ( and let all that energy out so they can have a good afternoon nap :P ) I'm appreciating more and more for Mom To Mom. We have such a great group where all the moms get together and talk, ask questions and learn about motherhood from our Mom Mentors. And during these winter months, I definitely appreciate a fun place to go and let the kids play indoors- especially with the great bounce house. Here are some pictures.

 

Looking forward to every Tuesday. 

Good Things Part I

Ten random things I favor at this moment (not in particular order):

1. Coffee Mugs

2. Organic Bedding

3. Ella Fitzgerald

4. Journals

5. iPod Touch (with all my favorite collection of music & apps in it)

6. Breakfast At Tiffany's

7. Super-soft Terry Robe

8. Green Tea

9. Quilts

10. Anything that has to do with DESIGN