#18

Well, my monthly feature of "our favorite things" is almost coming to an end...I know my faithful readers (all three or so of you) will certainly miss my ramblings!

18. The Mitchell family values and loves the prayers our family and friends pray for us! Recently, as I have once again faced some medical issues, I have been blessed with friends and family I can count on to cover our family in prayer. Prayer is powerful, miracles still happen and God is on the throne! Thank you to our friends and family who are partners in prayer for our family! We love you!

#17

17. We think we have FINALLY found something to keep our little critter (a.k.a. Ansley) from destroying her crib! We wanted something safe, washable, and searched all over to find something that actually fits convertible cribs and covers both the front and the sides.
Introducing...

We just ordered it today and decided to get it in a girly pattern that will match her bedding that is pink and brown. These are pictures from online...


We hope it lives up to our expectations! Hope this helps any fellow readers who are having the same problem with their little munchkin (literally)!

#16 Kids Eat Free!

16. We love to eat out and we love free things (who doesn't?)! Now that Ansley is eating table food, it is really nice to find places where kids can eat free! My friend recently sent me a list of some Birmingham restaurants where kids eat free. I also consulted mykidseatfree.com (you can type in any state/city). Here is a list of what I have found so far...
*Note: I think all of these require an adult purchase.

Everyday:
Chappy's Deli (ages 6 and under), O'Charley's

Sunday:
Jason's Deli, Firehouse Subs, Steak n' Shake, Indigo Joes, Locos Deli and Pub, Q'doba

Monday:
Applebees, Red Robin (5-9 p.m.), Buffalo Wild Wings (5-8 p.m.), Golden Corral

Tuesday:
Moe's, Chick-Fil-A (5:30-7:30 p.m.), Lonestar Steakhouse, Denny's, Backyard Burger, Red Robin (5-9 p.m.), Pizza Hut (6-8 p.m.), Roly Poly

Wednesday:
Firehouse Subs

Thursday:
Backyard Burger, Captain D's

Friday:

Saturday:
Denny's, Salsarita's, Steak n' Shake

#15

15. In our house, SUMMER is a BIG TIME FAMILY FAVORITE!!! This summer will be especially fun because...
A)This is the first summer Jon will be off every other week to hang out with us
B)Ansley is at a fun age and loves to go places and have fun
C)I am off work for eight weeks...WOOHOO
It seems like at first the summer seems like it is going to be nice and long but the calendar starts filling up quickly! So far, we only have a few things set in stone...
1)Family beach trip in June
2)Family trip to California to see Jon's parents in July...this will be Ansley's first plane ride
3)Several trips to GA to see family
4)Aunt Kerri and Jack come to visit us and keep Ansley while I have a week long training to attend for school and Jon has to work

I'm sure we will make a few visits to the zoo, mall, botanical gardens, Aldridge gardens, splash park, pool, McWane Center, pet store and Pepper Place Market. If you have any good ideas for fun places to take toddlers during the summer, PLEASE share! I would LOVE to know your family favorites!

#14

14. I know this sounds quirky and somewhat geeky but we like to do research...you know finding out all we can about something...the good, the bad and the ugly. Now, I must admit, I am talking about the act of researching things we would LIKE to know more about, not things we HAVE to learn something about (that sounds too much like a college assignment to me!) Anyway, lately it's been humorous to find that most of our spare time has been spent doing just that...research.

We are currently trying to find curtains, side tables and lamps for our living room, a convertible car seat for Miss Ansley, crib rail covers for her beautiful crib that is beginning to look like a piece of wood that has been enjoyed by some hungry beavers, trying to finalize our summer plans and trying to make a decision about Ansley's alternative vaccine schedule now that the MMR is no longer available as 3 seperate shots (please Merck, reconsider!).

Anyway, we are once again reminded that with research comes decision making and some decisions are easy and some are more difficult. Some can wait and some cannot. Just yesterday, my "mommy mind" was a little overwhelmed with this season of life that I find myself in where it seems like a lot of decisions need to be made. Sometimes I get disappointed with myself when I place such concern on decisions that really, in light of eternity, don't matter. I decided to pray for guidance. Guess what? I found the information I needed to make an informed decision about 4 of the things I listed above!
"God, I'll run the course you lay out for me if you'll just show me how."
Psalm 119:25

#13

13. I truly love the One Year Bible! I am so thankful that our church has a link where you can not only read the daily passages from the OT, NT, Psalms, and Proverbs in any version you would like to choose (I choose the Message version this year) but you can also read a devotional that ties in all the passages for the day! The Word of God is life-changing!

Here is a link:
http://www.churchofthehighlands.com/bible

Here is a verse that blessed my heart this morning...I hope it blesses yours!
Abigail talking to David...
"As long as you live no evil will stick to you.
If anyone stands in your way,
if anyone tries to get you out of the way,
Know this: Your God-honored life is tightly bound
in the bundle of God-protected life."
1 Sam. 25:29

#12

12. Our family really loves to camp (and I do mean real tent camping...not travel trailer camping)! It does take lots of preparation, planning, packing and products but it's well worth the experience and investment! My parents started our family tradition of camping when I was about six years old. I now have lots of sweet memories of camping that helped build me into who I am today. While camping, family time together comes first and busyness does not exist. Of course there times where a nice resort hotel can't be beat (especially in the summer), but camping (in the fall and spring) truly is the perfect environment for family bonding. We have really missed camping this last year since we have had Ansley. Camping + an infant does not equal relaxation in our book. However, we look forward to perhaps venturing out this fall for our first family campout! Did your family ever camp? If so, aren't some of your camping experiences the very trips you STILL end up talking and laughing about to this day?!

Ansley Month 13

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Whew, Ansley-girl, you are keeping Mommy and Daddy very busy these days! You are full of life, energy, spunk and sweetness. You love to walk, run and clap at the same time, blow bubbles outside, climb steps, sort your food on your tray, feed yourself, stack rings, learn new words, make noise and talk, crawl in tight spaces, blow kisses, give "love" "hugs" and "kisses", turn book pages, bounce balls, take baths, ride your horse, open and close doors, hide, watch Baby Praise and Baby Einstein and pull out your hair bows! My favorite thing that you do is when you get so excited you run with your arms stretched straight out behind your back in glee! You tickle me!

This month, we celebrated our second Mother's Day together. I love having you in my life! We went to Georgia and you enjoyed spending the weekend with your great-grandmothers, your Mimi, and your Mommy! You went to church with your great-grandparents for the first time and they loved showing you off to all of their friends who remembered when your Mommy was little and visited their church! This month, you also came to Mommy's school to meet her class for the first time. They adore you! You visited the new Babyland General Hospital for the first and saw where Cabbage Patch Kids are born. You LOVED being able to "love on" all the baby dolls! Papa gave you your first ice cream while we were there! This month, you visited Uncle Derek, Aunt Kerri and Cousin Jack and they took you to the playground and splash park! They love to spoil you! You also made special gifts for your wonderful teachers this month to celebrate Teacher Appreciation Week at school. Mrs. Lisa and Mrs. Linda love you so much and have taught you a lot this year!

Your diet has definitely changed this month as you have moved to almost all table foods. You love fish, ground beef, spaghetti, chili, soup, mashed potatoes, beans, bread, macaroni, any type of casserole, anything spicy and anything YOU can pick up BY YOURSELF! You love to be independent when eating. You have also moved to drinking the "next step" formula and whole organic cow's milk.

You have five teeth now and love getting your teeth brushed at night! You had your first dentist appointment/check-up this month and the dentist thought your teeth looked great.

You can be quite strong at times and we are having to teach you patience, boundaries, obedience, and respect. However, you also have a sweet, tender spirit and oftentimes your gentleness shines through.

You love to learn new things! You now saw a few phrases, "what's that?" and "bye-bye daddy". Your new words are : door, Jack, ba-day (anything hanging up), night-night, whee, yummy-yummy, and duck.

Happy 13 months, Ansley!

#11

11. Our family loves Netflix! We don't watch a lot of television (mainly because there is usually nothing good on or we have other things to do) but we really have enjoyed Netflix because we can instantly watch unlimited TV episodes and movies through our Blu-ray player and we can also rent Blu-ray DVD's. This way we get to pick what we want to watch (they have some good oldies and some new shows/movies we haven't ever seen) and when we want to watch it (a.k.a. when our busy baby girl is sleeping)!

#10

10. We love to work (even Ansley who just last night helped me pull weeds out in our yard!). It sounds odd to some, but we both actually enjoy our work because for us it is part of fulfilling the mission and purpose God has for us outside of our home. We genuinely love our co-workers and count it a blessing and ministry to work alongside them. They are not just co-workers but friends whom we share life with. It is easy (most of the time) to get up in the morning (or for Jon...the evening) and head to our workplaces knowing that we can impact the fields of business, technology, healthcare and education for Christ.

I LOVE the excerpt below from Max Lucado's book, Cure for the Common Life . In fact, I keep it on my desk at work. Read it and be blessed...whatever work you do!

By job description, I teach at a public elementary school. By God's description, I pastor a class of precious children. Do I work for a school system or for God? Do I spend my day in work or worship? Do I make money or make a difference? Every morning I walk into the classroom that Jesus loaned me (little ole' me).

Henry Giles a nineteenth-century preacher said, "Men and women must work. That is as certain as the sun. But we may work grudgingly or we may work gratefully. We may work as people or machines. There is no work so rude that we may not exalt it; no work so impassive that we may not breathe a soul into it; no work so dull that we may not enliven it if we understand that what we are doing is service for our Lord Jesus Christ."

My daily prayer:
"Let the loveliness of my Lord, my God, rest on me, confirming the work that I do. Oh yes, affirm the work that I do."
Psalm 90:17

#9

9. Our family loves to read! From the time I was a little girl, I have had a love for books. Books were one thing my parents never told me I could not have. They were always eager and willing to buy me the newest book in a series I was dying to finish. Ahh, remember the days of Little House on The Prarie, Babysitter's Club, and The Boxcar Children? During the summer, my parents actually paid my sister and I to read. I think we got $1 a book (which seems very cheap to me now)! On family vacations and by the pool, we always had a book in our hands. My parents challenged us to read all of The Classics (Tom Sawyer, Black Beauty, Little Women, The Call of The Wild, etc.) and this created in us a love for literature! Jon grew up in a family that loves to read as well. His Pawpaw always told him, "Readers are Leaders"! I want to foster a love for books, learning, and reading in Ansley. Currently, she loves to rummage through her book basket, pull EVERY book out and then "thumb" through them one by one. It's so cute. She talks as if she is reading aloud and she calls every animal she spots a "dog".

What we are currently reading:
Ansley~
Her favorite book is a farm animals book and if you tell her to "find the duck", she will turn to the page with the fuzzy duck and say "duh" for duck! Precious!

Karen~
I just started a new book last night called, Launching Your Kids For Life! It's a book that reads like it was written in my language. I am loving it and hope to learn a lot from it. I will likely post some GREAT excerpts from it on the blog.

Jon~
Jon reads a lot of books at one time. I think he's currently reading 3 Things Kids Need Most, Toddlerwise and God Owns My Business.



What book(s) are you currently reading? I love a good recommendation...especially with summer right around the corner!

#8

8. We really love the sweet and funny comments made by my students! I rarely come home without at least one funny story to tell from the day! Kindergartners have oh-so-much to say!

~ I was talking to the kids about how much we have learned this year in Kindergarten. I asked them to think back to August when they met me for the very first time at "Meet Your Teacher Night." One little girl raised her hand and said, "Yeah, I was really surprised when I saw you that night because I thought you was gonna’ be a black teacher!"

~We are studying ocean life in science for the next two weeks. Last Wednesday, we learned all about the octopus. I was sharing with the kids some neat facts about octopuses, one of which is that they change colors. A little girl raised her hand and said, "Mrs. Mitchell, do you know a lot of people think Michael Jackson changed colors?!" Hilarious!

~This year two of my professional goals are to be better at assessing my student’s prior knowledge of topics before we begin a lesson or unit and to be better at helping them make real world connections to everything we are learning. Today, I was elated when one of my students told me at lunch…”Mrs. Mitchell, I have a real world connection! We learned that an octopus sleeps during the day and is awake at night. That is just like your husband, Jon! He sleeps during the day and works at night!” Awesome and so cute!

~ When Ansley came to visit me at school the other day one of my students asked me, "Why does Ansley have blonde skin?" Ha!

Ahh, out of the mouths of babes!

#7

7. We love breakfast casseroles! Yummy! I decided to post two of our favorites. Happy baking!

Hashbrown Casserole

Ingredients:
1 package (32oz.) of shredded frozen Ore-Ida hashbrowns (I dump these in a large bowl and microwave them about 7-8 minutes...it makes it easier to mix and cooks faster)
1 8 oz. container of sour cream
1 can Cream of Chicken soup
1/2 small onion chopped
Salt/Pepper
1 stick of butter (melted)
1 8 oz. bag of shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Chop onion.
3. Microwave hashbrowns for 7-8 minutes in a large bowl.
4. Melt butter.
5. In large bowl, mix hashbrowns, sour cream, Cream of Chicken soup, onion, salt, pepper, butter, and 1/2 the bag of cheese...mix well.
6. Spray a 9x13 casserole dish with cooking spray.
7. Pour hashbrown mixture into casserole dish.
8. Sprinkle remaining 1/2 bag of cheese on top.
9. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes to 1 hour.


Sausage and Cheese Crescent Squares

Ingredients:
1 lb. sausage (I use Jimmy Dean Mild Sausage)
1 8 oz. package of Cream Cheese
1 8 oz. package of shredded sharp cheddar cheese
2 8 oz. cans of refrigerated Pillsbury cresent rolls

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Brown sausage and drain.
3. Spray cooking spray on 9x13 casserole dish.
4. Unroll one can of crescent rolls and place it in the bottom of the casserole dish.
5. Mix sausage and cream cheese together in a bowl.
6. Place sausage/cream cheese mixture on top of crescent roll layer in dish.
7. Sprinkle 1 8 oz. bag of shredded sharp cheddar cheese on top of mixture.
8. Unroll second can of crescent rolls and place it on the top of the cheese.
9. Bake at 375 degrees for 11-13 minutes.
10. Let cool 15 min. and cut into squares to serve.

#6

We enjoy celebrating birthdays in our family! One thing we really love to do is set aside a special time to share with the "birthday honoree" what we love and appreciate about them on their birthday. On their birthday, we are celebrating who they are in Christ, who He is calling them out to be in the next year, and rejoicing in the ways He has blessed them during the past year of their life. We set aside this special day and we celebrate as unto the Lord, who is the Giver of Life!

Today, I celebrate my amazing husband's 29 years of life! Happy Birthday, Jon! I know that even before you were conceived, God had a special purpose for you (as He does for all of us)! As we celebrate you today, we are so thankful for the wonderful husband and father that you are to Ansley and I. I am also so thrilled at the person you are in Christ. Your heart beats for him, your decisions reflect His wisdom, and your attitude and outlook on life demonstrate the passion you have for the Kingdom. I believe you will be called into a greater capacity at your workplace to minister to those in need, both physically and spiritually, this next year. I also believe that we will see God's kingdom advance in our home as you lead Ansley and I in all that He has for our family. I believe you will lead us as we parent Ansley in our home and as we seek to correct, discipline and train her. I thank God for the grace and peace He gave you this year to stay at home, to care for Ansley and to look for a job. I rejoice in His provision as He blessed you with a job you love and find purpose in. I celebrate the amazing job you have done as you have stepped into the role of "fatherhood" with gusto and graciousness! Together, we are raising a princess for God's kingdom. You make our home safe, our future secure, and push us to higher heights! You are one amazing man and I love you! Happy Birthday!

I would also like to give a "shoutout" to Miss Ansley who is 1 year, 1 month, and 1 day old today!!! I do not actually keep up with this...I just noticed it on her birthday ticker on the side of the blog!

#5

5. We really like old t.v. shows! When you go back and watch old episodes of some of these shows, it makes you realize how far we have strayed from "good, clean television." We love to rent old episodes of these familiar favorites from our local library and be transported back to the "good ole' days"!

These are just some of the reasons we like these old shows...

1. Family is valued.

2. Relationships are more important than things.

3. Working hard is noteable.

4. Life is easy...not simple...just easy.

5. They take time to laugh.

6. Dads/Men are respected, hard-working, honest and faithful.

7. Moms/Women are industrious, smart, educated and caring.

8. Children are not perfect, but they are corrected and lessons are learned.

9. Giving, not receiving, is the norm.

10. Did I mention life is simple?

Do you want to know a fun fact? Jon and I visit Mayberry every night at 10 p.m. (if we can keep our eyes open that late)! We LOVE to watch The Andy Griffith Show together. It helps us wind down, relax, get sleepy, have a laugh or two and remember what's important.

#4

4. We love to pray together as a family and as a couple daily. We started doing this about two years ago and it has been a blessing. Today is the National Day of Prayer. Why not start getting into the habit of praying together as a family and as a couple today? Your life and marriage will never be the same...I promise!

#3

3. The Mitchell family loves celebrating holidays with friends and family! We like celebrating the traditional ones and even the non-traditional ones. In the future, I am sure it will be neat to teach Ansley the history behind the reason the day is celebrated. Tonight, we are celebrating Cinco de Mayo with some friends at a local Mexican restaurant! By the way, while we are mentioning it, our family also LOVES Mexican food...even Ansley! Her favorites include rice, beans, guacamole, and cheese quesadillas! Holidays, whether historical or religious, usually accompany traditions and it is often through traditions that we can build memories. When thinking through celebrating a holiday as a Christian family, I found some good Biblical guidelines to consider. 1. Be sure the holiday does not advocate false doctrine. 2. Be sure we can thank God for what we observe on the holiday. 3. Be sure celebrating the holiday will not detract from your Christian witness.

#2

2. Another one of our family favs is E-mealz! Who wouldn't love a menu for the week that is already made for you with a complete listing of the grocery items (by section in the store) that you will need to cook each night's meals?! We have been using it since about February and so far we have enjoyed it for the most part. Some of the meals are better than others and we haven't had a repeat yet...gotta love variety! One week, I bought an entire week of dinner menu items for our family for $30! Dave Ramsey highly recommends it to save money. If I can tell we won't like the meal just by reading the ingredients, I will replace it with a family favorite. Also, for example, if I see an easy meal on Thursday night and I know looking at our week we are going to have a very busy Monday...I simply switch meals. I love that there is usually a crock-pot meal and an "easy" meal (which usually taken under 30 minutes). It's even Ansley approved :) Check it out by clicking on the link on the sidebar of our blog...

These are a few of our favorite things...

May is here and I thought a fun thing to do this month on our family blog would be to share some of our family's favorite things! Everyday is such a blessing and there just so happens to be some things that make life a little sweeter for the Mitchell family. So, each day in May, I will try to share one on the blog.

1. We LOVE festivals! The food, the fun, the sights and sounds, the entertainment, the cute booths and the time spent together as a family can't be beat! If there are funnel cakes...I will be there! Ha!

Here are some upcoming festivals in Birmingham that you might be interested in:
First Friday Festival in Downtown Gadsden-May 7
Dog Daze in Trussville-May 14 & 15
BBQ and Blues Festival at Tannenhill State Park-May 22
Alabaster CityFest-June 5
Black and Blue Berry Festival at Petals From The Past-June 19
Southside City Fest-July 17

Please let me know if you have any favorites that I failed to mention. Message me if you are planning to go to any of these and maybe we can meet up and enjoy some time together!

Journeying into Toddlerhood Part I

It's hard to believe that we now have a toddler on our hands (and hearts for that matter), and this weekend I decided to dive into Toddler Wise and try to finish it before my little one moves beyond this stage (I haven't had much time to do any reading lately) and I need to move onto Preschool Wise!

While reading, I learned that walking is one of the greatest milestones of life and "the single most important skill that unlocks a brand new world waiting to be discovered." I was reassured that curiosity is indeed a good thing. It opens a world of discovery. Ansley is (may I say) wide-open! Just today, she started saying "wh dis" (what's this) as we were playing in her room and she would find things and bring them to me to identify. I want Ansley to grow up to be curious. I want her to wonder about the things of this life and the mysteries of eternity.

I suppose the thing that makes me most nervous as a new mom with a child entering toddler hood is that of boundaries. How do boundaries and curiosity intermix? How do they coexist? I love this quote, "Developmental harmony is achieved when freedoms awarded to a child are appropriate for his/her level of understanding and self-control." I learned yesterday while reading that discipline is teaching her how to stay "on track" while correction is helping her get "back on track". I like that.

As we enter this stage of her learning right vs. wrong, I am wrestling with the fervor that I do not simply want to parent Ansley, I want us to parent her heart. I do not want to do things other parents do simply because it's the "thing" to do or even for the mere reason that it's what a book said to do or what I "believe" to be right, I want God-ordained guidance...I need it and I want to learn to be dependent on it. I do not want to enter into this stage of parenthood lightly. God called Jon and I to raise her as a "pillar of the church" to be a peace-maker and a purifier. I believe this requires moral training, academic training and spiritual training and I believe that the war is too fierce to not begin now. I believe now is the time to start setting the goals that fall under each of these categories and to frequently revisit them every six or so months to make sure we are on track.

In the area of moral training, I have learned that I am going to stop trying to place a high value on how I am going to "fix" the behavior and instead look at "why" I want to change this behavior. Isn't this at the core of parenting...helping unlock the "why" so that you and your child know the reasoning behind the command? Today I learned some principles of instruction that I want to pray over for more guidance and direction in using them in our family as we raise our children.
1. Require obedience.
2. Give instructions, not suggestions.
3.Be consistent.
4. Require eye contact and "yes, Mommy" after a given command.

I will likely share my thoughts on academic training and spiritual training as I learn more. However, for all of you out there in blog world...I just want to preface this by saying that these are just that...my thoughts. I'm not asking you to adopt them. I am no expert and don't pretend to be. I've been doing this for a whopping 13 months and I've made quite a few mistakes. In reality, everyday I realize that without Jesus' wisdom I am as lost in training my child's heart as the non-believer. As a matter-of-fact, they may even be better at it than me! Aren't we all in this journey together? All women on this earth desire to train their children in something. The mother's heart is a mysterious and beautiful thing. Instead of sharing what I'm learning with my fellow Christian mom friends, what if I went beyond that and shared with others who have never thought about training their children morally or spiritually? Surely others must have questions about this same journey? I could probably learn a great deal from them! In reading this book and entering this new stage with Ansley, I am mixed with joyous emotions and a little nervousness (alright I admitted it). My heart burns for my baby girl to be kingdom-minded, God-fearing, and righteous as each day draws her closer to a time when she will leave our home and raise her own world-changers. I am one mommy among millions that needs help in this endeavor. I thank the Lord that he has put this on my heart. I'll be letting you know where this journey takes me...