A HUGE thank you to Tara from Deal Seeking Mom for sending over this post from her Feedly reader when I thought it had forever vanished into the deep black hole of cyberspace. For those of you who didn’t get a chance to read this post last night before I somehow completely deleted almost all of it this morning, here you go…
Yesterday didn’t end up like I’d planned, but it was a good day.
I woke up at 2:30 a.m. — partly from jet lag and partly because my heart was really burdened for a friend of mine. She had texted me before I went to bed and was really, really struggling. She’s going through a devastating life situation right now and my heart is pretty much just broken in two for her. So I woke up with her heavy on my heart and spent some time praying for her and trying to go back to sleep.
I had gone to bed before 7:30 p.m. the night before, so I went ahead and got up at 3:30 a.m.since it was clear I wasn’t going to be falling back to sleep. And I’m grateful I got up that early because of some of the unexpected things that happened later on in the day.
The next few hours were spent catching up on emails, comments/social media, scheduling out some posts, going through possible deals to post today, and writing blog posts.
I then exercised and had planned to read my Bible and shower, but the kids were now up and Jesse had arrived home from the gym and the grocery store, so I went down to the kitchen to make breakfast, go over our plans for the day with Jesse, and hang out with everyone.
We had Trim Healthy Mama Pancakes — and we rolled them like crepes. I love this recipe and so does everyone in our family, including Jesse.
I had taken a few pictures of my plate and then went over to get something else in the kitchen and when I turned around, this was what I saw:
After he took pictures, he said, “I took 29 pictures for you, Mom. You can use them on your blog.”
It cracked me up and melted my heart. But not only that, this kid has some serious photography skills — or it was just a fluke, but pretty much all 29 photos looked like this –>
After breakfast, the kids did their morning chores and Jesse put dinner in the crock pot (yes, he’s amazing like that!), while I cleaned up the kitchen and started in on getting caught back up on laundry. I also worked on getting some house projects done that I had shelved for the past few days since I was trying to get over jet lag.
Jesse took Kathrynne and Silas to the dentist to get fillings. (Since discovering that all our children are cavity-prone in the past few months, we’ve switched over to following Dr. Ellie’s system and are so hoping that this will help significantly cut down on cavities in the future. It’s certainly been working well for Kaitlynn, so we’re hopeful it will work for all our kids. We’ll see!)
Kaitlynn and I stayed home and she worked on some projects and reading. I helped her and worked on laundry and finishing up my home projects/cleaning for the day. I then sat down to spend some time reading my Bible (I’m finishing up the She Reads Truth John Study) and write in my Blessings Journal.
Kathrynne had been really nervous about going to the dentist and she ended up really having a hard there. So she was pretty exhausted/anxious/in pain when she arrived home. I went ahead and changed my plans for the rest of the day (I had planned to work on book edits for a few hours and do some writing) and spent the afternoon keeping her comfortable, making slushies, and reading aloud to the kids.
We read extra from our Morning Time Basket reads and finished up our current read-aloud book. It was such a relaxing afternoon and we had so much fun reading together and just hanging out!
Jesse took Kaitlynn and Silas to our Meaty Monday group and I stayed home with Kathrynne since she just didn’t feel up to going. I finally got to tackle the refrigerator.
I told you it needed some TLC. And I wasn’t joking!
So. much. better!
How was your day yesterday? Did you get any cleaning/household projects done?
What kind of griddle do u have?
I love your blog. Keeps me moving ahead. I have done my annual house cleaning been thru all drawers, cabinets and closets. Ready for a small garage sale in the spring. Trying to live more minimal, so after several years if not finding as much to sale. Think twice before I buy anything! Now I spend 1 hour to 1 hours and half working on income taxes every evening. After working 9-10 hours Yuck. But want to get them done, praying for a large refund. Lots of medical and donations again this year. I normal make some meals on the weekend to make supper and lunches easy for most of the week. Thanks for you upbeat blog.!
Hi there! I love your blog and I am very thankful for you & those like you who help us out with your great words of encouragement and helpful tips…
I was looking at your “pancake griddle” in the first couple of pics… I need one that has REMOVABLE plates, so I won’t dread the clean up!! Is yours removable/ sink & dishwasher safe?? and if so, what is the brand name / model name? Thanks!!
I think that sometimes when our friends are going through really difficult trials or situations it can almost be harder on us than when we do. At least when we are going through something we have some sort of control over our response. However when a friend is hurting or struggling we feel helpless.
We want to pick them up, encourage them and tell them what our mind tells us and though we can speak words of love and life and support, it still doesn’t change the situation for them.
My best friend since 3rd grade went through a devastating situation 2 years ago and I didn’t know what to do for her other than pray, support her and give her the space to deal with it. The pain and worry I felt for her made it difficult for me to focus and stay in my rhythm. Those are hard days and weeks in life but we get through them.
Thanks for sharing a glimpse into your world and glad you are back safe from your journey!
Thanks so much for your sweet words of encouragement!
Hi Crystal,
My three older kids had their first cavities when they were in their teen years. We were lucky. My youngest son is 5 and so far has escaped cavities. We have fluoride in our drinking water and I think this has helped. They also started fluoride treatments when they were young. I had them start using a dental rinse when they were around 4. Just make sure the rinse has fluoride in it. I try to limit raisins and other sticky foods unless it is close to brushing time. My two oldest got their first cavities when playing high school football and began drinking Gatorade and other sports drinks. Our dentist has told us that those sports drinks are horrible for the teeth. Also our dentist told us that chocolate milk is loaded with sugar. I hope this helps.
I am praying for you and your friend.
Debbie
I am reading your book (1 more chapter left) and am LOVING it! You are amazingly driven and dedicated! I started waking up an hour earlier and make myself get up and tackle one task or clean one room each morning before I leave for work.
Yesterday I made homemade granola bars for the first time with my husband’s spent grain from his home brewed beer. I also made myself work out while it baked. I told myself “If Crystal can workout everyday with her busy life surely I can find 30 minutes to do a workout video”. I hate exercising and find every excuse in the book to not do it, but I did it!! I didn’t get to do as much homework as I wanted to so that will have to happen tomorrow!
You are such an inspiration with all you accomplish in a day!!
I am so proud of you for working out and getting up earlier! Way to go!
And thank you so much for your kind words of encouragement! They blessed me today!
We use Plague Defense Tooth Suds from Heritage Essential Oils for tooth brushing. Some extended family members have had cavities heal with it and not need fillings at all. It makes our teeth amazingly clean. I will never use anything else as long as I can get this.
I had a horrible day yesterday. Someone tried to enter my house while I was home alone. Fortunately after trying the door and finding it locked he left but I am still so traumatized that I have done absolutely nothing today. I am hoping to fell normal tomorrow and to not be freaked out about every noise I hear.
I am SO sorry about your traumatic day yesterday!! That would be very scary and unsettling. I just prayed for peace and protection for you.
Umm.. no cleaning. the complete opposite. My toddlers have been into everything! lol. well, cleaning. lots of cleaning but nothing is clean. make sense?
I love the fact that you let him take the pictures! It is so sweet and he must have been so proud. Please tell him this reader said he did a great job!
Strange question but what make is your griddle? I use to have a Cuisanart one that had a grill pan on the flip side. We loved it but we kept having trouble with the plug. My husband would love it if I could find another one like it.
Oh man, my youngest two kids are very prone to cavities as well. It breaks my heart when they have to go in but they always handle it much better than I do. I will have to do some research on that diet you mention. I’d be lying if I said my children’s defiant behavior around tooth brushing time didn’t have anything to do with it!
My day is not at all what I planned, since I am home with a sick child instead of at work! Thankfully he seems to be improving….but I’m the mom who feels more inconvenienced than grateful for a day at home! It’s too early in the week for last weekend’s housework to have worn off, and I even had supper put into the crockpot for once, so I don’t even need to do that! So, I’m hanging on the couch in my pjs watching movies with my little guy, I’ve done a few mending projects that I’ve put off for a few *years*, and a couple loads of laundry. Now if only I could schedule a day off when life is too hectic! Guess I’ll just enjoy the rest and cuddles while I can. 🙂
I hope your child gets to feeling better soon and that you are able to enjoy a quiet day, even though it’s not your first choice.
Crystal, I am considering starting THM. Do the pancakes taste ok without butter? I think I can get used to S meals since I eat mostly that way already but the E meals will be hard for me!
Yes. You’d want to put something on them — like a little coconut oil, or homemade stevia syrup, or greek yogurt with a little stevia, or all-fruit preserves. They are a little bland otherwise, though we still eat them plain sometimes.
I started THM at the beginning of January and LOVE it! I haven’t made the pancakes yet, may try those in the morning!
I love this post. I find the part about how you put other things/projects aside, in order to see to to the needs of your children particulary heartwarming and encouraging.
There are times when so much needs to be done during the course of a day, that it’s hard to remember to tend to what’s most important. (At least it is for me.) I do try, but sometimes miss the mark. I want to always try to keep a healthy balance in all things and I want to remember that people (our family, friends, etc.) are more important than projects. 🙂
Thanks for this post.
You are so welcome! It’s something Type A me is constantly having to remind myself of, too!
Pics not showing up. That is for
Info only. At least not for my IPhone . Love the post.
Is it fixed now. I re-uploaded them… hopefully so?
I love your blog and all the great tips and advice you give. For some reason, this post didn’t sit well with me. It seems like all the focus on each day is what gets DONE and all the projects completed. I know you said you adjusted your schedule to meet the needs of your daughter but shouldn’t that be the focus all along? I’m in no way criticizing your choices but would like other people to know that it’s Ok not to be so task oriented and just being there for your kids is enough.
Being there and meeting the needs of our kids is SO important — I definitely agree with you. That’s one of the big reasons that we moved to TN in the first place — so that we could restructure our lives, live a slower pace, and spend much more time as a family. That’s also one of the reasons we’ve chosen to homeschool — so that we have plenty of time to just be with our kids.
That said, because I have a business and deadlines for certain things (like my book edits right now), I do have to be somewhat task-oriented or I would be running a charity not a business. 🙂 I also think it’s important to teach and model a strong work ethic for our children — that’s one great gift my parents gave me and I’m so grateful for it.
What’s different in our home than in many homes is that my husband and I both shoulder the home/work/homeschooling load. So he typically works in the mornings while I’m homeschooling/spending time with the kids and then I work in the afternoons while he homeschools/takes the kids to extracurricular activities/spends time with them.
So typically, I would be working in the afternoons. Yesterday afternoon, I’d planned to go and write/work on book edits for 4-5 hours in the afternoon since I have a hard deadline coming up. However, it was more important for me to scrap that in order to be with my daughter. I’m so grateful for the flexibility we now have in our lives — that we didn’t used to have — where we are able to spend much more time together as a family and just being there for our kids/just being together as a couple. I’m so very grateful and don’t ever want to take it for granted.
You make such a great point about the help from your husband. Thank you for your comments.
In case you havent, you may want to read some of the reviews of the Ellie Dental plan on Amazon and others before deciding.
Thanks so much for mentioning that!
Well, not yesterday. But I did this morning. Woke up at 2:30 AM (pregnancy insomnia bites!) and couldn’t go back to sleep so I cleaned up the living room, the play room, and the kitchen.
We’re having revival services at church this week, and let me tell you, all that preparing paid off because revival has come! God has blessed us so richly these last few days with joy and mercy. I’ve spent the past few days in prayer for the revival services, and listening to the messages and a ton of worship music, pouring my heart out to God and crying.
I found out my new insurance will cover more than half of my midwife’s fees, which was something we desperately needed. I got a promotion and a raise (not a huge one, but it will definitely make a dent in our medical debt) just in time to help with my maternity leave.
And, I got the best news in the world. Dear friends of ours from church who have been praying for a child for 11 years finally got a call from the adoption agency saying they found a match. They had to race clear across the state because the mom was already in labor. Elijah Samuel may have been born early, but he couldn’t come soon enough for the new mommy and daddy! He’s still in the hospital struggling to breathe properly, but the doctors are optimistic that he’ll be stabilized in a few weeks. I swear, every time I look at the pictures on Facebook, I just start crying all over again. We’re planning a huge baby shower when they get back in town. The whole church is likely to turn out. It’s gonna be epic. 🙂
God is good. All the time. And tell your friend, I’m praying for her.
The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. -James 5:16b
Thank you SO, SO much for this upbeat and encouraging comment. I’m THRILLED for you and your friends… and excited for how God is encouraging your heart.
Thank you for taking the time to share!