#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...

Blessed

Yesterday was one of those days when you are reminded that life is good and God is great! Ansley had her one year check-up at the pediatrician and we are thankful to report that she is a thriving, healthy twelve month old! Here are the stats from her visit yesterday...
Weight: 20 lbs. 6 oz. (50%)
Length: 31 inches (80%)

Dr. Barron also checked her ears and her tubes are still in place and he said her ears look "beautiful and clear", which was music to our ears! He also said it looks as if she is cutting about four teeth right now which accounts for all the chewing, drooling and occasional fussiness. She still only has three teeth right now (two on the bottom and one on the top). All her blood work came back normal. Dr. Barron was also impressed with her communication skills as she showed off in the exam room saying "dog", "uh-oh", and "momma" and clapping and blowing him kisses (this was before she got her shot...I don't think she wanted to blow him any kisses afterwards!) . On a side note, I have to admit I always feel a little embarrassed when Ansley says "dog" to other people and there is no dog in sight...I hope they don't think she is calling them a "dog" :)

As the doctor left our room yesterday, he said "all I can say is you guys are very blessed." I echo that...we are. All glory to God who entrusted us with Ansley and has protected her, gifted her and blessed her with healthy growth and development. As we pulled out of the parking lot, I reminded myself to never take her health for granted. There are so many precious little children who are suffering around our world and who don't receive the care they need to thrive.

After her appointment, we headed downtown to have dinner with friends from our small group and then we headed over to UAB hospital where we delivered baskets filled with snacks, books, gum, drinks, magazines, etc. to people in the ICU waiting rooms who have family or friends in critical condition. We encountered people who were in need of cheering up, a smile, a prayer,or simply a bite to eat. One women even began to cry as she was given goodies that did not cost her anything. Ansley and many of our friends' children went along and spread some happiness to those in desperate need of joy. I remember when my grandmother was in ICU for 93 days when I was in the 8th grade. My mom and grandfather stayed at the hospital the entire time and I know the people they encountered and the ways they were blessed helped them make it through each passing day. While I was there last night, I was reminded that at any given time there are countless people who are hurting, worried, waiting and praying for a miracle in those hospital waiting rooms.

Driving home from the hospital last night with our baby girl fast asleep in her carseat, I was overwhelmed by God's goodness. Who are we that He would be mindful of us? We are indeed blessed!

Ansley Month 12

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