The Proverbs 31 Project

Recently, I finished reading a book called "My So-Called Life as a Proverbs 31 wife" for a church book club (nevermind that the club met back last winter and I'm just now finishing the book....that's completely irrelevant) and it had a profound impact on my view of my status as a wife and mother. 
Basically, the book is about one woman's journey to be the perfect "Proverbs 31" wife.  In the book of Proverbs in the Bible, in chapter 31, is a description of a wife of noble character--the wife we are all supposed to strive to be on a daily basis:

^{10 [b]}A wife of noble character who can find?
She is worth far more than rubies.
¹¹ Her husband has full confidence in her
and lacks nothing of value.
¹² She brings him good, not harm,
all the days of her life.
¹³ She selects wool and flax
and works with eager hands.
¹⁴ She is like the merchant ships,
bringing her food from afar.
¹⁵ She gets up while it is still night;
she provides food for her family
and portions for her female servants.
¹⁶ She considers a field and buys it;
out of her earnings she plants a vineyard.
¹⁷ She sets about her work vigorously;
her arms are strong for her tasks.
¹⁸ She sees that her trading is profitable,
and her lamp does not go out at night.
¹⁹ In her hand she holds the distaff
and grasps the spindle with her fingers.
²⁰ She opens her arms to the poor
and extends her hands to the needy.
²¹ When it snows, she has no fear for her household;
for all of them are clothed in scarlet.
²² She makes coverings for her bed;
she is clothed in fine linen and purple.
²³ Her husband is respected at the city gate,
where he takes his seat among the elders of the land.
²⁴ She makes linen garments and sells them,
and supplies the merchants with sashes.
²⁵ She is clothed with strength and dignity;
she can laugh at the days to come.
²⁶ She speaks with wisdom,
and faithful instruction is on her tongue.
²⁷ She watches over the affairs of her household
and does not eat the bread of idleness.
²⁸ Her children arise and call her blessed;
her husband also, and he praises her:
²⁹ “Many women do noble things,
but you surpass them all.”
³⁰ Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;
but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.
³¹ Honor her for all that her hands have done,
and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.

 

Seriously?  Who are you kidding, book of Proverbs??  "She gets up while it is still night and provides food for her family"??  "She selects wool and flax and works with eager hands"??  Where's the verse about the husband rising up at night to see to the affairs of the household?  Or the husband doing his part to raise a family?  Why is it all about the woman's duties and things she should be doing?  When I first analyzed this verse, I was really miffed...to be completely honest.  I didn't see why it all fell on the woman's shoulders to keep the family fed, clothed, clean and happy.  This is the 21st century, for goodness sake!!  But after my self-rightous thoughts subsided, I was ashamed.  Does my husband "rise up and call me blessed and praise me?"  Do I always "speak with wisdom with faithful instruction on my tongue?"  Unfortunately, I know the answer without having to dig very deep.  So that inspired me to start my own "Proverbs 31 Project" to become the wife, mother, homemaker and daughter of God that I am supposed to be--that I NEED to be.  I have got to get out of this lazy mindset that the wash can wait until tomorrow and that it won't kill us to eat fast food just one more day this week until I can make it to the grocery.  Today, I'm going to start striving to be a "Proverbs 31" wife of the 21st century and I'm going to show you how you can too.  It doesn't mean that we have to make our family's clothing from scratch or wake up in the morning before the sun rises to ensure we get everything done.  It is about taking responsibility and realizing that the home and our family's happiness does depend on us--like it or not.  I don't expect to become June Cleaver by the end of this project, but I do expect to be a darn good wife, mother and Christian when it's over.  So......day 1 initiated.  

 



Mommy Knows Best

I haven't made it any secret that Avery doesn't sleep.  And, at 12 months old, this hasn't changed.  We've tried it all...to the point of not trying anything anymore.  Whatever happens, happens--whether that means getting up once during the night at 5:30 or if that means waking up at 2, 3:30, 4:15 and 6.  It's random in our house.  We've tried keeping bedtime routines strict, then no routine, cereal and bath before bed, bottle to fall asleep, sound machine, sleep training....you name it, we've tried it.  Our kid just isn't responding.  I was pretty much okay with it.  I accepted that she'll do whatever she needs to do and prayed to God every night that she'll eventually grow out it.  But recently, Avery has been visited by the teething fairy (boy, I'd love to punch that woman) and has made sleep pretty much non-existent in my home.  Instead of waking up at 3 and whining for a little while, Avery would wake and a full-on, scream-her-head-off crying jag would begin.  No pacifier would quiet her, no bottle would soothe.  She didn't want to be in her bed, held, rocked, laid on the couch with daddy, NOTHING.  We basically gave her Advil and fought her until she finally passed out again.  Completely, utterly, physically and mentally draining.  I've been in a fog....it's hard to get up in the morning, it's hard to find motivation to do anything throughout the day, it's hard to stay awake on the drive to and from work.  This stage is so exhausting.  Then, on Saturday night, we went to my cousin's wedding and stayed the night in a hotel.  Avery was worn out by the time the wedding was over, so my mom and sister took her back to the hotel room so she could turn in for the night.  When Marty and I got in, we left her in my parent's room and I worried all night long what kind of sleep they were getting.  Was Avery screaming her head off and they were cursing me for a terrible night?  When morning came, I went to their room....and putting on my most sympathetic and "I-totally-understand-because-I'm-living-it-everyday" face, I asked "How did she sleep??"  All night, y'all.  She tossed and turned around 5:30, but never woke up and slept until 8:30.  WHAT.THE.HELL.  What does my kid have against her daddy and I that she is hell-bent and determined not to sleep for us??  Better yet, determined that WE don't get any sleep either.  Frustrated is only the beginning of what I was feeling.  Yesterday, when I got home, there was a card addressed to Marty and I in the mailbox.  I opened it:

And I know it's going to be okay.  Because sometimes you just need your mommy to tell you so.

A letter to my Avery...

My sweet Avery girl,

I can't believe you're already a year old!!  A year ago today, I was laying in my hospital bed wondering how I could ever love anything more than I loved you at that moment.  I'd known you less than 24 hours, yet you were completely perfect and I knew that I had been put on this world to be your mommy.  Over the last year, I've watched you grow and learn.  I've watched you develop a personality (and an attitude!).  It's so funny to watch you learn something new...you're so proud of yourself whenever you finally master it and you look over at your daddy and me to make sure we're watching you.  You're so smart (doesn't every mother say that??).  You bring joy to everyone around you--your personality is contagious!  Your entire family loves you beyond words and spoils you to no end....all you have to do is point and grunt and people go running to get you whatever you want!  It's been a joy to watch you learn different stages---rolling over, crawling and now walking!!   To watch you learn new words and phrases (your favorite right now is "I want that!") and use them more and more everyday.  You go nowhere without your Minnie Mouse doll and we quickly have a panic attack on our hands when you realize she's not in reach.  Unfortunately for mommy and daddy, you still don't sleep well through the night and don't nap much, but you'll learn!  You are the complete spitting image of your daddy---busy, can't sit still, into everything you can get your hands on and completely adorable.  I know you've only been in our home for a year, but I can't remember what life was ever like without you.  I thank God every morning that I get to wake up and spend another day watching you grow.  Nothing matters more to me than being your mommy.  I love you so much sweet girl.  Thank you for making your first year the best one of my entire 26.  Happy birthday.

Love,

Mommy

Minnie Mouse Birthday Bash--Invitations {part 2}

You may remember my post from a few days ago where I made my own Minnie Mouse invitations.  Today, I'm sharing part 2 of making these labor-intensive, but freakin' adorable invites. 

I started by making a simple Microsoft Word document to make the actual invitation.

The "Mickey Ears" font can be found and downloaded to your computer here.  The other adorable font is from kevinandamanda.com.  Amanda takes handwritten samples that people send to her and makes them into downloadable fonts.  I love all of the "Fonts for Peas," which is where this one came from (Pea Rinnybird).  I just played around with wording and font choices until I found something I loved.
Because these invitations were long, I was able to fit two on one page of paper, when turned "Landscape" style on Word.  Print them out and cut the page right down the middle to give you two invitations---saves paper! 

I had to fold my paper invitations pretty small to get them to fit in Minnie's pocket.

After they were folded and stuffed into the Minnies, it was time to stick them in their envelopes!  

I made labels that coordinated with the font that was in her invitation.  Because the CD envelopes were so small, I used the return address labels to seal--working double duty!

And they're done (big thank you to my assembly line...I mean, family...for helping me put together all 31 invitations)!  Send them out to your party guests and listen to the comments you get back about how adorable they are...and you'll know all your hard work was worth it! 

Come back next week to see how I turn a Goodwill high chair into a Minnie Mouse chair fit for our birthday princess!

OOTW--bills, bills, bills!

I love Wednesdays.  It's quickly becoming one of my favorite days of the week....because it's an excuse to look around my house, find what needs organizing and do it! 

This week, I'm tackling bills.  It's so easy for bills to get piled up or pushed aside and forgotten about until that dreaded "Payment Overdue" statement comes in the mail....or worse, when you notice a late fee tacked on to next month's bill.  When I was first on my own and had just a few bills to handle,  I was so overwhelmed.  How can you keep up with all of these due dates and amounts due and which bill to pay when??  And that was just the basic bills of a college student!  Then I grew up, got married, bought a house and found out what it REALLY meant to be in debt and have bills.  Marty and I have recently split accounts and bills for us each to handle.  It was a great way to keep up both accountable for where our money was going and it cut down on unnecessary "You spent HOW much??" kind of fights.   I thought I had it under control....until this month.  Marty, by the grace of God, has found a new job.  A new job that's going to bring a bigger paycheck (wahoo!).  But a bigger paycheck brings more opportunity for wasteful spending and little penny pinching.  So, to make a long story short, we're joining accounts again, under the stipulation that I am in charge of the bills.  Insert super organizational skills here!  To keep all of the bills, due dates and payments under control, I have corralled all of the monthly statements in this gorgeous binder:

Call me old-fashioned or not being earth-friendly, but I like having a paper statement in my hand every month that tells me exactly how much I owe and gives me the details of my charges.  Yes, I know I can go online and view all that information, but something about holding a physical piece of paper in my hands gives me a sense of satisfaction.  I have all of the statements separated by dividers and labels so I know where each bill is whenever I need to refer back to it. 

Now, this is my favorite part.  I made up a printable bill organizing checklist, so I can view all of our monthly expenses at once. 

I'm a visual person.  I won't believe that it's done until I see it written down and checked off.  I guess I'm a little OCD. 

Not only do I have the list of bills, but I also made a pretty list of when to pay which bills.  You see, when Marty starts this new job, our paychecks are going to be scattered throughout the entire month.  To keep me from paying too many bills out of one single paycheck, I have them scattered so we still have spending/saving money leftover.  This printable shows me EXACTLY when to pay which bill.  Super daggone helpful. 

P.S.  Both of these printables are free for you to take!  Print them off, make your own binder and revel in your organization!


Bills to Pay FREE printable! 

Wake up call

Yellow shoes.  A skinnier body.  That new summer outfit.  A custom built house.  A fuller bank account.  I'm ashamed to admit it, but I have been suffering from a bad case of discontentment.  I know my life is wonderful and I am incredibly lucky.  I have a beautiful child who is pretty well behaved.   I have a husband who helps around the house and is sensitive to my needs.  We have a gorgeous starter house that's the perfect size for our family.  I have a Jesus who loves me despite my many, many faults.  Yet, I'm not happy.  I want things I can't have.  I want a new wardrobe to fit this post baby body.  I want the latest gadget that promises to make my life easier.  I've found a house plan that I've fallen in love with and I look at everyday.  I want to live in Etown, not 40 miles away.  I'm not proud of this.  I'm not proud that I'm surrounded by blessings and still feel unhappy.  Recent life events have left me feeling like a rug has been pulled from underneath me and I'm left realizing what's truly important in life.  It's not the worldly possessions I once envied and cherished.  I honestly believe that everything in life happens for a reason.  Maybe God put this bump in our journey to wake me up and realize that I don't need to have the latest and greatest.  I don't need to be surrounded by things.  I have family....and a large one at that.  Family that would do anything for me.  I have a daughter....a child that reminds me every single day that there's still good in the world and I have something to be thankful for.  I have a husband....who is my perfect half and I would be completely lost without.  I have a God....a God that, no matter what situation life throws me, is protecting me and loves me completely unconditionally.  This is enough. 

I never thought the day would come. Never.

I think everyone has that moment when they feel old. It doesn't matter if you're turning 21 or 81. Maybe it was the day you graduated high school or college. Or the day you got your first "big kid" job. Maybe it was the birth of your first child or grandchild. My moment of feeling downright old has come today. My baby sister is 16. I know growing older is inevitable. I knew this day was coming, but now that it's here, I'm SO not ready for it. This is a horrible cliche but it honestly doesn't seem like that long ago when she was born. Standing up against the nursery window, I remember thinking about how this little thing in the incubator was about to join our happy family of four. I didn't know if I was going to be okay inviting this new kid into my house. After all, I was 9 years older than her and I was happy having one little sister to bully around. Now I had another tossed into the mix and I just wasn't sure how that was going to work out. But then we brought her home. And she was the cutest baby with the most adorable giggle. I used to do completely silly things just to hear her laughing. She was (and still is) the most affectionate kid I'd ever met. It was impossible to be mad at her when 10 seconds later she was giggling and trying to give you a hug. This is how I think of Kristen:

Cute as a button, downy soft hair, large birthmark, cutest little baby teeth and the happiest child you will ever meet. Sixteen years later, she's still cute as a button (so I'm a little partial). Her downy hair has been replaced with unruly, absolutely OUT OF CONTROL curly hair that even the best straightener can't completely iron out. Her birthmark has completely faded to the point that, if you hadn't known her as a baby, you wouldn't know it ever existed. The baby teeth have fallen out and have been replaced with teeth that needed braces (which were removed yesterday). And that happy baby has been replaced with a moody teenager. Here's what my baby "Kittan" looks like today:

The changes in my sweet little sister are enough to send me into a fit of hyperventilating. And as if the age thing doesn't bother me enough, she is now the owner of a cell phone. She's not old enough for a cell phone! Never mind the fact that I had one whenever I was her age. Never mind the fact that her schoolmates have probably had one for going on five years now. She's still my baby sister. I should be picking out her clothes every morning and talking about the fact that boys have cooties and watching Cinderella with her. Instead, she can wear MY clothes, she tells me about all the boys that she thinks are hot (I never thought I'd hear the day...) and Cinderella is a obsession of the past. Now she likes Wizards of Waverly Place and High School Musical. What happened to my baby sister? Did those sixteen years really just fly by as fast as I think? If I'm this bad whenever my little sister turns 16, how am I going to be when I have kids of my own?? Whether I'm ready for it or not, it's here. So, Kris, Kit-Kat, K-sten, Kristenopher Robin, Kittan, Krissy, Kris Kross, K-man......happy (inhale) 16th birthday. You'll always be my baby sister, no matter how old you are. :)