#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...