When my husband comes home from work, I don’t run to the door to greet him, I know I should. I know I would get excited to see my husband run to greet me when I got home, if I worked, just like our children do to him. If you run to greet your husband after he gets home from work, you are telling him that he is important to you!

I think, “My husband could have gone a hundred different places tonight. There are tons of women out there who would like to have him. But, he has chosen to come home to me. He’s coming through that door to me.”

Is it going to hurt me any to tell him I’m happy he’s home, I’m thankful he’s worked hard all day and provided for this home, for me, for my children?

My husband and I fall into the trap of calling, texting, or sharing as soon as he gets home from work the bad parts of our day. This is another thing that needs to be changed. When I have been at home with the kids all day by myself, I am so happy to see another adult who can take care of these children for me but I need to learn to let him have 15 minutes to unwind, and we should not share the negative parts of our day as soon as we see each other – that can wait until after dinner.

Some of my favorite quotes over the years about marriage:

• All marriages aren’t happy; living together is tough.
• A good marriage is not a gift; it’s an achievement by God’s grace.
• Marriage is not for children; it takes guts and maturity.
• Marriage separates the men from the boys and the women from the girls.
• Marriage is tested daily by the ability to compromise.
• Marriage is giving and, more importantly, forgiving.
• With all its ups and downs, marriage is still God’s object lesson of Jesus and the church.
• Through submission to one another we can witness to the world that marriage works and is still alive.
• Marriage is worth dying for. If we give it proper honor, we will be honored by our children, our families, our neighbors, our friends, and best of all, our Lord.

Tell me, are you a good wife?

Are you doing everything you can be doing to make your husband like to come home to you… to be happy he married you?

Did you know that this man makes somewhere in the neighborhood of 13-15 MILLION dollars per year from basketball alone?  I read somewhere that’s about $17,000 + PER GAME!!  There are people who don’t make that annually!  What I want to know is

WHY ON EARTH ARE WE PAYING THESE
SO CALLED “STARS” THIS MUCH MONEY?!

We have national debt that exceeds anything we could ever realistically get out of.  We have women and children sleeping on the streets-unable to buy a meal.  There are women and men who have served our country only to come home to a job market that can’t serve them.  We have all these issues (and more) in our country-but this guy is worth $17 K per game?  Are you kidding me?

I also found out that he has some kind of contract with Nike, Sprint and McDonald’s totaling somewhere in the neighborhood of $40 million per year (I did see higher  estimates elsewhere).  So a “conservative” estimate would be around $50 MILLION dollars per year.  To top it all off if you click the preceding link it says he won’t have to pay personal income taxes either.

Women and men are being killed in wars and fights all over the world for our freedom for not even 1/4 of that money.  Do you mean to tell me that Lebron James is worth more than a father who leaves his children behind fighting a war in a country for people who hate him?  His basketball skills exceed the need of a hungry child? Are our priorities as a nation just a little out of whack here?  How about all the people that truly make a difference in lives everyday?  Military, Police, Fire Fighters, Teachers-all people who are “in the trenches” every day-trying to make our country better.

No wonder our country is in the shape it is.

It Starts With Food

Everyone in health care, the government, the media and even the First Lady seem to agree that what we are feeding our kids is making them fat.  From sugary sodas and juices, snacks filled with trans-fats, salt and sugar to fast food, it seems like mothers across the country are getting the blame for feeding their kids all the wrong things.  So the government recommends swapping unhealthy choices for lots of vegetables and fruits (with the emphasis on vegetables), water and low fat milk to drink and home cooked meals that start with fresh ingredients from the grocery store.

So Mom, how are you doing with these recommendations?  Do you give in and let your kids eat the “bad stuff” to avoid fights at the dinner table?  Are you too tired after a long day of working either in or out of the home to cook dinner?  Will your kids actually eat vegetables?

Then You Need To Get Moving

The second area the experts say needs improving is getting our kids moving.  Among the recommendations at the LetsMove.gov website is limiting television time to ONE TO TWO HOURS a day. Which means, Mom, that you have to set a good example and limit your TV time to two hours a day too.  That also means putting your thinking cap on and coming up with alternative activities for your children to do, like hobbies, games and participating in sports, to name a few.

So, is this realistic and doable?  Or is television not just entertainment but a way to keep your kids occupied so you can get other things done around the house?  Can your family really survive on just one to two hours of TV a day?

From Recommendations to Real Life

So we want to know what you are doing to prevent your kids from getting fat.  Leave a comment and let us know if these recommendations from the experts really work in your real life.  We want to know what obstacles you face it trying to keep your kids healthy and active.  For example, instead of all the advice, what could the government be doing to really make a difference and turn the childhood obesity epidemic around?

Don’t forget to take your questions and reactions over to the Chatty Exchange and touch base with other mothers trying to keep their kids from getting fat too.

“She watches carefully all that goes on throughout her household and is never lazy. Her children stand and bless her; so does her husband. He praises her with these words: There are many fine women in the world, but you are the best of them all!” – Proverbs 31:27-29

Let me take a look into this passage.

I do not carefully watch over all that goes on in my household. I do not have eyes all over my head to see it all. My children get into things, do things they shouldn’t do, but I can not watch everything all the time in my house, who can?

I am lazy! I will admit it. I cannot seem to make myself get up and do what needs to be done. Sometimes my house is a complete mess and my husband gets angry.

My husband, however, does tell me I am the best of them all! Can you imagine? I am not the kind of woman described in Proverbs but my husband thinks I am the best in the world!

Proverbs 31:17-18 tells us that the virtuous woman is energetic, watches for bargains, and works far into the night.

I am not very energetic! (go back up and look at the lazy statement)

I do watch for bargains. I love to go to yard sales, I get the Sunday newspaper to look for bargains, I look on Craigslist, Freecycle, and I cut coupons.

I do not work far into the night. I am sorry but I love my sleep and my husband will tell you, I will not budge on that!

Our priorities as a Proverbs woman or virtuous woman are supposed to be;

1. God

2. Husband

3. Children

4. Home

5. Everything else

My priorities look like this;

1. Everything else

2. Children

3. Husband

4. Home

5. God

My priorities are way off! This is why I am not confident in my walk with the Lord. Why I feel worthless at times, I need to get my priorities in the right order.

When you get your priorities in order, God will take care of the rest!

In short, I met the challenge.  I have dreams and it’s high time I stopped just letting the world pass me by.  I love my children, I love my husband-and I’m sure they love me as well.  I always want better for them.  I want them to experience true happiness. Why shouldn’t I want the same for myself?

I know as moms we often give up or postpone our dreams for the sake of our families.  I’m not asking you to give up your family for the sake of your dreams-I’m simply asking you to find what makes you happy and pursue it.  Maybe your dream has changed over the years.  Mine has.  I didn’t pay attention to the nagging inside though-instead I tried to quiet it down.  You know the old saying “If mama ain’t happy no one’s happy…”?  It’s the truth.

What’s your dream?

Did you meet the challenge?  Will you?

I was driving in my car, headed to a doctor’s appointment.  Driving a familiar route, I admit I was almost on autopilot.  Stopped behind several cars at a four-way stop intersection, I had a chance to look around.  That’s when I spotted the table at the corner with a multilevel cake rack with cupcakes on the plates.  Then I spotted the boy behind the table, who couldn’t have been more than 10 or 12.

As I moved forward with each car that made it through the intersection, I saw more of his set up.  I saw the sign advertising cupcakes, lemonade and water for $1 each.  I saw the red cups lined up on the table and the pitcher of lemonade.  I saw the bottles of water.  I saw that the cake rack was only half full of cupcakes and I hoped that meant this young boy was being successful.

Yes, I actually found a kid entrepreneur in my own neighborhood.

I have lived in my neighborhood for about 16 years now and one thing that has struck me is the lack of kids trying to make some money with their own home-grown businesses.  This is surprising because in my neighborhood, there with lots of families with kids of all ages, from babies to teens.  Business opportunities abound.  There are parents who need babysitters, lawns that need to be mowed, dogs who need walking and pets and plants that need looking after when families go on vacation.  There are elderly or disabled neighbors who might welcome a helping hand.  And as long as there are hot days in Summer, a cold glass of lemonade will always hit the spot.

I guess modern life makes it difficult for parents to find the time to foster their childrens’ business undertakings.  But I for one wish I had neighborhood kids I could hire to help me out.  Maybe it’s time to reconsider the importance of encouraging kids to create their own businesses.  After all, it’s not just about earning extra money, but gaining valuable skills like:

• managing time, money and materials
• working with and getting along with other people
• making decisions and solving problems
• communicating effectively
• building self esteem
• applying school subjects like reading, writing and math to the real world

So Mom, if you want to get your kids started, and you didn’t grow up in an kid entrepreneur friendly household, a good place to start might be the bookstore to pick up a business book for kids.  For online resources, start by checking out the advice from Entrepreneur.com , CNNMoney.com and Life123.  Encourage your child to become an entrepreneur and you might be surprised at the positive response they get when they start their own little business.

I believe it should be. My daughter was in kindergarten this past year and she invited her classmates to her sixth birthday party. She never sees these children outside of school. They don’t hang out at each other’s houses, have no activities in common, which I think is common for this age.

At her birthday party, she got nice presents. She got a lot of Barbie stuff, which the girls at the party were “oohing” and “aahing” over. Asha didn’t seem too impressed with the Barbies and all the accessories. Why? Because my daughter doesn’t play with dolls. So, I have a disappointed daughter and now have to say thank you for these gifts and act like we are going to keep them, when in all reality, I threw them away when we got home. That is like throwing people’s money away!

Now, when I get a birthday invitation, I ask Asha if she wants to go. Then I look at the calendar to see if we can make it. I then call to RSVP. If I get a machine, I will leave a message asking for someone to call me back about the party. I never say I am calling to RSVP on the machine, because they might take that as us coming and not call me back. When I do finally talk to someone, I ask them what does their child like, want, etc. This way I am not getting the child something he/she doesn’t want, like, or that the child has already.

I know as a mother, there are certain things I don’t like my children to have or play with. To me, this is a good way to stay on the parent’s good side but to also not waste my money.

Should you include a wish list in a child’s birthday party invitation when they are young? When they are older, probably not, they can talk and say what they want and probably hang out with their friends after school… but for smaller children, what do you think?

Leo Tolstoy made happiness simple.  This simple quote resonates in my head on days where I make life difficult.  Sometimes we can get in the funk of dragging our feet, pulling our hair out and then we say, “I just want to be happy!”  So today I tell you:

If you want to be happy, be.

Happiness doesn’t have to be complicated.  It really can be simple.  The folks over at Real Simple have given us a guide to 9 Ways to be Happy in the Next 30 Minutes. Check it out and be happy!

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

NOTE: Take time today to APPRECIATE
our nation’s Independence!
Remember and honor all of those who
gave of themselves and sacrificed greatly in
order to create and maintain our freedoms!

As mothers we often micro-manage our households.  We coordinate which person goes to what activity (and when!), we pay the bills, make budgets, call exterminators-you name it.  Why is it then that we doubt our skills when it comes to something involving ourselves?

I see women all the time (including myself) who doubt their abilities.  When it pertains to those we love we go all out and encourage them to no end.  Think about something for ourselves and suddenly the presses stop.

“Will I be able to do it?”

“Will I be able to do it well?”

“I shouldn’t even bother-I won’t have time/I’m not smart enough/strong enough/fast enough/young enough”

Why?

Is it a generational thing?  Look at the women who came before us.  Women who went to war or took up where there husbands left off.  Women who fought for equal rights…the list goes on.  Yet we doubt our ability to further our education, start a business, have a family or love ourselves?

I’m going to challenge you this week.  Maybe your challenge is something small.  Maybe it’s a big step or change.  What your challenge is will depend on you and you alone.  I challenge you to have faith where you had none.  Have strength where you weren’t sure you could be strong. Take a deep breath, put on your superwoman cape and JUST DO IT.  No excuses.  Next week I’ll tell you about something I’m forcing myself to pony up to and I’d like to hear the same from you.  Let’s be examples to our children and all those we love.

What are you holding yourself back from?

It’s a good bet they will involve some good old-fashioned American foods like hot dogs, burgers and corn on the cob cooked straight from the barbecue grill.  So why not throw an apple pie on the grill too.  That’s right, you can make this all-American dessert right along side all your other 4th of July favorites.

The Ingredients:

• Wooden BBQ skewers, soaked in water for 30 minutes
• 8 cups sliced apples
• 1-2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 tsp. each ground cinnamon and ginger
• 1/4 cup melted butter or vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup apple cider
• 1/3 cup maple syrup
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• Cast iron skillet, about 12″ in diameter
• Non-stick cooking spray, butter or shortening for skillet
• 1 homemade or ready-to-bake pie crust, uncooked

Step One: Grilled Apples

Spend the time to grill your apples and you will not be sorry.  Grilling  intensifies the flavors by reducing the water content of the apples while caramelizing the natural sugars.  Cut the apples into slices and soak the slices in water with 1-2 tablespoons of lemon juice 30 minutes before you grill them.  Soaking the apples helps prevent them from drying out when you grill them.  To step up the flavor, added spices to the water while the apple slices soak.  Our favorite is 1 teaspoon each ground cinnamon and ginger, but you can also use nutmeg, allspice and cloves.  Place the slices onto the soaked wooden skewers, sending the skewer through the skin.  Place the skewers on a very clean cooking grate over a medium heat flame and grill on each side for 5 to 7 minutes.  To keep the fruit from sticking to the grill, lightly brush the skewers with melted butter or vegetable cooking oil.

Step Two: The Assembly

In a medium bowl whisk together the apply cider, maple syrup, lemon juice and cornstarch until smooth.  Grease the skillet with the non-stick cooking spray, butter or shortening.  Place the grilled apples into the skillet and pour the apple cider mixture over the apples.  Gently stir the apples until thoroughly coated.

Cut the uncooked pie crust into 3/4″ strips and arrange the strips on top of the apple filling in a lattice design.

Step Three: Baked to Perfection

On a gas grill, place the skillet onto the grill directly over a medium flame.  If you are using a charcoal grill, place the skillet towards the edge of the grill, away from the coals.  Cover the barbecue and cook for 15 to 20 minutes.  The pie is done when the crust is nicely browned and the apples are bubbling beneath the crust.

Variations:

You can substitute canned apple filling for the grilled apples.  Omit the apple cider, maple syrup, lemon juice and cornstarch and place the apple filling directly into a greased skillet.  Top with the pie crust strips and grill as instructed.

Not in the mood for pie?  Use your grilled apple slices over a scoop of vanilla ice cream, topped with a drizzle of maple syrup or caramel sauce and some chopped pecans.

So how did it taste?

Please leave a comment if you have tried this recipe and tell us what you think.  We want to know if your family loved it or hated it.