I am re-introducing a monthly update post that I used to maintain regularly…I cannot remember the last time I did one, but I want to use this report to share all that God is doing in our lives as a testimony to His grace. I will also be highlighting the books I have read each month here and chronicling process on our 2010 goals.
God has been so good to us! How richly blessed I have been over the past few weeks to enjoy good rest and sleep. A small glass of wine before bed has really assisted getting my sleep patterns back on track (and it has helped increase my milk supply too or maybe just getting sleep has!), in addition to cutting back and simplifying our lifestyle quite a bit. I stopped teaching piano, backed down from a few leadership/organization positions I was maintaining, and refocused my priorities on three things: my relationship with the Lord, loving my husband, and training and nurturing my children.
Aaron moved his web developing business out of the house this month and began renting an office space. This has been a very good adjustment for our family. I am no longer tempted to bother him throughout the day. We have both increased our productivity. The children and I could distract him so easily because he loves us so. This move has also helped us establish our morning routine. We are now waking up by 6:00am and how wonderful it has been. We treasure our times together so much more… absence makes the heart grow fonder! It also means we get to figure out how to live with one car!
Karis and I have begun using the Before Five in a Row
curriculum for some fun learning activities using classic children’s books. It is designed for 2-4 year olds. Some of it is beyond Karis’ abilities at 2 1/2 years old, but it is also fun having a little structured learning time each day. We sit down for 30 minutes or so and read and discuss the book and materials. We also are using Learning for Littles, which is a fun little ebook from Graham Family Ministries, teaching basic numbers, letters, days, months, etc. Karis loves the colorful pictures and making her own preschool notebook! Beyond this, she has a lot of creative play time, including sand play, painting, and play dough.
Ty man is growing like a weed. Ty is rolling around and getting up on his hands and knees and diving forward, but has yet to start actually crawling.
We began hosting a community group at our home once a week. This is a small group of sorts that is focused on reaching out into our community together. Everyone that attends lives within a 5 mile radius of us and we are eagerly praying, planning, and working together to be salt and light to our neighborhoods. We eagerly anticipate all that God will do in and through us. We are using The Story of God, a powerful evangelistic tool chronically the Bible from start to finish in simple stories that encourage awesome dialog. They even have a Story of God for children that would be a great tool to use for family devotions, if you are looking for something like that. These tools are free for download here. 
I am participating in the Bookin’ It Challenge over at Life as Mom for the accountability and fun in sharing all that I am reading this year. You can check out my 2010 Book List for my full reading goal. Here are my January reads:
The Power of Less: The Fine Art of Limiting Yourself to the Essential…in Business and in Life. Aaron and I read this book and found it very helpful in learning how to manage your time effectively, focusing on your priorities, establishing your three most important tasks, and learning how to establish and accomplish goals. I found it very practical although slightly repetitive.
Counterfeit Gods: The Empty Promises of Money, Sex, and Power, and the Only Hope that Matters by Tim Keller was a powerfully convicting book. He helped open my eyes through the use of Scripture to see the hidden idols we set up in our lives, things from which we strive to gain our satisfaction and security. He had incredible insight into the lives of Abraham (and his idolatry with his son Isaac), Jacob (and his idolatry of Rachel) and Jonah. I believe this is one I will need to read again and again.
The Duties of Parents by J.C. Ryle is an awesome book for Biblical parenting. It is a short, easy read (just 51 pages), and yet so rich in solid biblical parenting advice that has withstood the test of time. Aaron and I read this together and found it very convicting. It is no longer in print but you can purchase an e-book version from Graham Family Ministries for just $3.95. When the Mahaney girls at GirlTalk said this was their favorite book on parenting, I knew we had to read it and now I am so thankful we have!
Choosing Gratitude: Your Journey to Joy by Nancy Leigh Demoss was a life-changing read for me. I have come to realize how quickly and easily I complain through the struggles and trials of life without first reflecting on the glorious mercies of Christ in my life. Choosing Gratitude was a challenge to change from “whining to worshiping” in all areas of life. Have I considered thanking Him for all the little gifts He has provided for me in addition to all that He has protected me from? I made a “blessings list” through her challenge and each day I am seeking to add 5 things to that list and to thank the Lord out loud for those gifts. It has greatly enriched my walk with the Lord. She has an awesome 30-day devotional challenge in the back of the book that I have been working through and plan to repeat several times throughout this year as I seek to become a radically thankful woman this year. More to come on this book and goal…
Thank you all for your wonderful support, encouragement and prayers during this season. The Lord has used this trial of insomnia to teach me so many things, including identifying idols in my heart as previously discussed in regards to my marriage and pursuit of natural living. It has been so rich! Blessings upon you all!
Thanks for an interesting blog. I’ve been searching for this sort of information for for ages now.
Hi there, I found you site through searching for making cloth nursing pads and I have found that I love reading your whole blog, especially about making a morning routine. I too am a fellow christian (in Australia) and find it refreshing to read what you have to say. I just have one quick question, my husband doesn’t read much except his bible and I wanted to know, when you say you and your husband read something together do you mean you read it out loud or at seperate times?
We do a combination of both. Once a week we have a reading night where we read our own books separately, but we also try to work through a book together on a regular basis, where we read out loud, as in the case of Duties for Parents. We read this more spontaneously, but especially when we are driving together in the car. I like to use these times to read to him. My husband is not much of a reader either, so we started just reading together out loud and his interest in reading has really grown.
Enjoyed this peek into your life. Your little TY man is SO adorable! What beautiful, big blue eyes.
Just wanted to share a link where you can buy a physical copy of “The Duties of Parents” at CBD.com. I got a copy for Christmas as we’re expecting our first baby and have really enjoyed it so far. Truly timeless wisdom. Hopefully this link works.
http://www.christianbook.com/Christian/Books/easy_find?Ntk=keywords&Ntt=duties+of+parents+j.c.+rile&action=Search&N=0&Ne=0&event=ESRCN&nav_search=1&cms=1&Go.x=0&Go.y=0&Go=Go
I’m always looking for good reads and particularly now for parenting. Thanks for the recommendations! I found the book you recommended (The Duties of Parents) was in the public domain so I found a free copy here: http://www.feedbooks.com/book/4236
Hopefully that will enable more people to be able to read it too.
Less is definitely more. We only own one car for at least three years now. It saved us money on gasoline, car insurance and car repair. not to mention a big plus on good communication within the family about our weekly schedules. Because I need the car in most days, I got up at 5:45am and get my husband’s breakfast and lunch ready for him and drive him to the bus station. Actually, he likes to be the driver so I just take over the driving home part. We are used to it and enjoy the little chat in the morning with each other. Then my day starts right after dropping him off, 90 minutes before the children got up. Most days I got a lot done in the morning.
Btw, Titus is so cute. I remember when my toddler was in that age. Time passes by so fast. I am glad you are refocusing your priorities to put taking care of your family, next to guarding the relationship you have with Lord.
I’ve been a stalker around here for a while and have LOVED your blog. I’m an avid reader and always record what I read, but for the first time (since reading your reading goals) did I finally make a list of what I want to read this year!
Also, our home group is going through the Story of God. This is the second time I’ve been through it (the first was a Soma School) and I’m also so encouraged when I hear that others have found the same resources. I hope your group loves it and is changed by it!
Thanks for blogging!
Titus looks just like your husband!!! And I’ve always thought Karis looks so much like you!
Lindsay, I used Before Five and A Row with my little girl when she was about 2 1/2 as well. My two daughters are spaced similarly to yours, and I loved having that precious time with Elisa while Sadie napped in the morning. Even though some of it is certainly beyond their abilities at that age, I loved introducing high-quality stories to her and those awesome books have now become well-read favorites on the kids’ shelf. Now Sadie (who is now 2) says her favorite book is the “Big Green Pocketbook,” and they have read “Blueberries for Sal so many times it is in tatters. It’s so fun to read with our kids and teach them to love books and learning! Enjoy!
Thank you so much for posting your book reviews! I have enjoyed many new books that I would not have found if not for your blog! So many of them I have been able to check out from my local library.
Blessings!
I know you know this but fenugreek is what I take to keep my milk supply up. Getting enough sleep is also huge. A must for busy momma’s.
Enjoyed your post!
Wonderful news on the sleeping and Aaron getting his own office. It will be nice for both of you to look forward to seeing each other at the end of the day.
In regards to worshipping instead of whining and focusing on the positive, I constantly remind myself earth is not heaven. It is not going to be perfect.
My midwife also recommends having a small glass of wine every night for help with sleep and milk supply. We buy the Black Box wine at Costco for $17.99. It is equal to 4 bottles of wine, so it is super cheap and is actually pretty good! It is nice, because it takes several (4-5) months before it goes bad. Also, you can just have a little if you want and not have to open a whole bottle of wine. My favorite sleep aid is Sleepy Nights by Wish Garden Herbs (they also have a Sleepy Nights for Pregnancy. It is a tincture based on passionflower and not valerian. On sick nights with my little one, I give her a few drops of it as well. Just a few of my tricks…
Lindsay, I’m so glad to hear that you can already see the good coming from the difficulty!
May I ask how you find time to read so much? I know you can find time for anything you make a priority, but reading is so hard for me! I really want to read more, but find myself occupied with housework so often.
I gave a few tips and ideas responding to comment #1 (Amy) above.
Dear Lindsay,
I just wanted to let you know that your website has been of TREMENDOUS blessing to my life. I just came across it a few days ago. Of course, nothing happens by chance or coincidence so I truly believe the Lord led me here. This website, my dear, is a great outreach ministry to women, moms, christians overall. May the Lord continue to bless you and your family and bless this website for His glory.
Thank you for sharing your days and your life.
I just wanted to say how completely inspiring I find your determinate to work with this difficult season and learn from it. It can most certainly be difficult to climb out of the exhaustion and despair to work to find new solution and attempt to learn what God is teaching you. God bless!
Oh, that that adorable Ty is WAY too cute!
Utterly adorable picture of your boy! And I love the idea of chronicling your books and family happenings. So glad you are sleeping better!
I just finished reading “Choosing Gratitude” about 2 weeks ago, and it was excellent. I’m still working through the devotional portion. I find myself saying “I’m thankful for…” a lot more and am also more aware of my complaining and ungrateful heart. I want to praise and thank God out loud to magnify Him and to hopefully spread gratitude into the hearts of those who hear me. It has probably been the most powerful book in my life in quite some time (other than the Bible, of course).
I’m really interested in the Before Five in a Row curriculum! I’ve been looking at it online, and wishing I could see it in real life, to decide if it’s something that would work for my almost-3-yr-old son. Would you mind elaborating on it a little more?
The first section of the course covers 24 different classic children’s books (although 1-2 are out of print). Each chapter includes reading the book and asking various learning questions about it. It covers various language, math, geography, Bible and other learning from the book. The last section of the course is a lot of practical hands on learning, such as activities for reading readiness, developing large and small motor skills, activities at bath time, in the kitchen, at the store, etc. It’s great! I bought a used copy of the book from Amazon for just over $20…so it is totally worth it! There are tons of extra resources, message board and craft kits for several of the book studies at their website: http://app4.websitetonight.com/projects/3/6/4/2/364231/Home_Page.html
Hope that helps!
Thank you! It’s really helpful to get a first-hand opinon before you buy.
Wow Titus is getting so big! I am so glad to hear that you are getting more sleep, praise God for his provision!
hi! i’m new to your blog this week, but have already read and learned so much! thanks for being willing to share what you’re learning. i have two little ones, too, and LOVE being a homemaker. eager to learn more about how to feed and care for my family naturally
just wanted to tell you i’m reading!
I have 5 kids, ages 8 and under and we home school. Struggling to find time to read. Any advice from you or your mom?
Bathroom time, after kids go to bed, before kids get up. Get up a 1/2 hr or so before the kids get up. There are ways to do it.
Well, I don’t have 5 kids, so I cannot say if my methods would work for you, but I discipline myself to always have a book with me in some shape or form. I read e-books using the Kindle app on my iphone and keep a book by my bed and one downstairs all the time. Having a yearly book list and goals for each month is also highly effective. You find the time when you have a goal before you. I read at night most of the time. We established a regularly reading night once a week and we all read. I love the advice I read once, “Read a page a day!” If you start just making that a habit you always find you read more than just a page, but it is a baby step in that direction. It works! Add reading to your to-do list for the day is also helpful as well. Schedule an hour during the day when all the kids and yourself have a reading time. This is hugely educational! Those are a few of my ideas…God bless!