Thankful to be 3-0

(this picture was taken the night of my birthday. My 3 little blessings. My friend brought the tiara to church and I had to wear it all evening. Mady has now claimed the tiara!)

I thought I would be really sad and upset when I actually turned the big 3-0 but it was quite the opposite! I went into this birthday and new year feeling overwhelmed with thankfulness... I'm thankful for my wonderful husband who goes out of his way to make sure that I am happy and does everything in our power to take care of us. He is a wonderful husband and a magnificent father. I'm thankful for my 3 healthy and beautiful children who teach me something new everyday. They are a wonderful creation that bring me closer to my Creator. I'm thankful for great friends who are there when I need to talk, cry, laugh, and have some girl time. I'm thankful for a home church where I feel like family. I'm thankful for a beautiful home. I'm thankful for family. I'm thankful for good health. I'm eternally grateful for my Savior and what He has done for me... Thank You, Lord!

I could go on and on... I am blessed beyond measure. Thank you to everyone who is a part of my life. You all mean so much.

And thank you all for a great birthday and for all the birthday wishes!

Thanks for another wonderful birthday, Babe! I love you SO much!!!!

I think we should give it to God....

The words from a 3 year old regarding tithing. I don't think I knew what the word "tithe" meant when I was 13. I'm grateful that my little girl is learning very important lessons while she's young and I'm praying that she'll keep these lessons in her heart as she gets older.

A couple of weeks ago Mark and I told Mady that if she left go of us in the swimming pool (she had on a swimmy and she was still holding a death grip on us) that we would give her $5. Yep, crazy right?! She let go for a whole 5 seconds and then resumed her grip on my bathing suit. To keep our word, we gave her $5 the next day after she continued to ask us about it. Mark used the $5 to teach her a little about tithing and what it meant to give money back to God. At that time they placed $0.50 in one cup "for God" and they placed the other $4.50 in another cup for her to save. The next week she excitedly reminded us that she wanted to take her money to God (at Wednesday service) so we packed it up in a bag and she happily carried it to her class and dropped her change into the Buddy Barrel.

The next week she again wanted to give money to God so she got into her piggy bank and got $0.50 to take in. Each time we used it as a teaching time continuing to teach her about tithing and giving back to the Lord. We talked about how all money is His and we are to be good stewards of it.

My mom came up and gave me a $50 bill for my birthday. Mady was excited that I had gotten $5! Ha! I asked her, "well Mads, what should we do with my money?" She looked at me, completely serious, and said "Mom, I think we should give it to God."

Wow. I was floored! Such a small child who is learning such a big thing. It's awesome to me that she is learning things like that and that she has a sincere desire to give back to the Lord. Just this morning she again raided her piggy bank (as her pawpaw had given her some change this weekend). She picked out her change and took it to church. During worship she put her change in a title envelope, sealed it, and wrote her name on the front all by herself (her newest adventure)!

As I was watching her do this I wondered why we adults have such a hard time giving things back to the Lord... whether it money, or circumstances, or problems... I want to have faith like a child. I want to give all things cheerfully. I want to be a cheerful giver.

Thank You Lord for my beautiful kids and what they teach me each and every day. Thank You Mady for a very big lesson from such a little girl.

First Day of MOPS

I decided to join MOPS (Mothers of Pre-Schoolers) this year and let me tell you... I'm SO excited! I had seen a post on a message board of another moms group that I was in and I emailed the mom asking her more about MOPS. She gave me all the registration info and I signed up, ready to go! l

Last Monday we had a play date with other MOPS moms at a park in town. It was a nice way to meet some of the other moms, let the kids play, and get some of our questions answered before we actually start. I met some wonderful new moms and even reconnected with a couple of moms that I knew.

This morning was our first meeting and it was great! I had so much fun! There were about 30 moms there. We had a hot breakfast, played some icebreakers, introduced ourselves and broke up into our discussion groups. I love my discussion group and I know that we're going to have so much fun over the next year! What a blessing it is to be around other moms who are going through the same things in life. Just in my discussion group, there are 2 moms with twins and one of those moms even has triplets as well! Thank You Lord for putting these people in my life.

I'm looking forward to the year ahead with activites, speakers, and moms-night-outs! I am looking forward to building new relationships with other moms and my kids building new relationships with other kiddos!

Oh, and my kids did wonderful... even Hannah who tends to go through a little bit of separation anxiety!

Usborne Books & More

Have I mentioned lately that I love my "job?" Yes, I love my job as a stay-at-home-mom and wouldn't trade it for the world, but I also love my other job as an Educational Consultant with Usborne Books & More! I've been meaning to post about my side job for a while but just haven't gotten around to it.

If you're not familiar with Usborne Books & More, you'll want to make yourself familiar! :) UBAM believes that kids should have every opportunity available to them, especially a good education. We offer a huge variety of fiction and non-fiction (over 1500 titles in our catalog) in age ranges from infant to high school. Our books are very educational and cover a wide range of subjects. UBAM also has a ton of activity books like sticker books, lift the flap books, touchy feely books, puzzle books, Things to Spot books, activity cards, and I could go on an on. We have one of the most creative and original books lines in the US.

Here's the Usborne Books and More Mission Statement:

"The future of our world depends on the education of our
children. UBAM delivers educational excellence one book
at a time. We provide economic opportunity while fostering
strong family values. We touch the lives of children for a lifetime."

I LOVE this company. I've been with UBAM for almost 3 years, and I absolutely love the privilege of introducing these wonderful books to new moms, teachers, librarians, grandmas, etc. everywhere that I go. I first began this business so that I could build my daughter's library (we're avid readers) and so that I could take advantage of the discount. However, it didn't take long for me to get hooked. I quickly developed a strong passion for promoting literacy among our children in today's society! I feel like our children today are losing a love for books - there's nothing better than a good book!

I do literacy workshops for groups of women in their homes telling them about the importance of reading aloud to their children. I give tips on literacy and how to promote it in your own home. I also work with schools and libraries doing various programs like Bookfairs, Reading Incentive Programs, Summer Reading Programs, and even a Grant Matching Program. I love that UBAM has something for everyone... a way to help every child get great books. I especially love delivering bags of books to children at schools that have participated in our Reading Incentive Program. Their faces light up when they get their books that they got to pick out on their own. It's priceless. Some of these kids don't have the opportunity to get books for themselves so I love seeing them so excited and ready to read!

If you'd like more info on what I do with my Usborne business, let me know! I'd be more than happy to chat with you. My team is expanding now - I love working for a great company and working with a great bunch of a women!!!

I'm also booking for September / October - we have some great incentives for hostesses right now. I'd love to come and do a literacy workshop for you and your friends / family. It's the perfect time with the holiday season right around the corner, and we just had a bunch of new titles released!!!!

Feel free to check out my website at www.ReadingGeneration.com and don't forget to enter the drawing to win $50 in FREE books!!!!