My Sweet Number 4
My Easton Taylor has stolen our hearts. Although it has only been three months it feels like he has always been part of our family, actually in God’s eyes he has always been:) This little boy reminds me everyday what a blessing it is to follow God’s will. He was our first baby that we didn’t try to control the timing of when he was born, we let it to God as it should be. He was also our first home birth. I call him our adventure baby. The Lord has used him in so many ways to grow us deeper to Him and to trust in His sovereignty.
His brother and sisters absolutely adore him. He loves them as well! He wakes up typically once a night to eat (sometimes twice) and goes right back to sleep. He is super laid back and LOVES the attention from his older siblings. He is even starting to protest when no one is talking to him. I find myself lingering in his smuggles longer, kissing him more, and carrying on my hip all over the house with me more. The more children I have the more I see how quickly this time passes. The waking up at night doesn’t bother the way it used to, the inconvenient feedings are welcomed as chance to hold him and just be.
His babyhood is so precious…
Thank you Jesus for fresh perspective on the sanctity of life. Thank you for the privilege of raising another soul for you.
trim.uQB1aD His sweet laugh:)
Controversial Thoughts That Shouldn’t Be
Photo Courtesy of Antpkr/Freedigitalphotos
What if we put down the phone and had a conversation?
What if we wrote a letter instead of an email?
What if we could state our beliefs without backlash?
What if killing an unborn baby was considered murder in our court system?
What if labels on our food products didn’t contain ingredients that hurt us and kept us sick?
What if people stopped relying on the government for security?
What if we didn’t care how green our lawn was?
What if school was truly a place of education?
What if preachers preached the gospel instead of inspirational speeches?
What if video games didn’t exist?
What if my right to own a gun was just that…my right?
What if discrimination was based on character alone?
What if we only had what we could afford?
What if we stopped looking at what we don’t have and focused on what we do?
What if I could take my children basically anywhere without images of soft porn all around?
What if people dated with the intentions to marry?
What if we let kids have time free of activities?
What if people knew prayer worked?
What if we raised our own kids instead of letting someone else?
What if we took responsibility for ourselves?
What if the millions that went to athletes went to the hungry?
What if we taught little boys to be gentlemen?
What if we taught little girls to stop being “mean girls?”
What if a home was somewhere you lived not just where you slept?
What if the elderly were looked at as an expert on life?
What if children were looked at as our chance to look at the world differently?
What if day cares didn’t exist?
What if people understood the value of hard work and honesty instead of the degree?
What if we spent less time complaining for our cause and more time doing?
What if a debate was for education instead of someone having to be right?
What if a business could state their belief …and well…just state it. So what?
What if manners were taught before their ABC’s?
What if we loved even if we didn’t believe the same?
What if Christians really were the example?
What if judgment was left only to GOD?
What if we understood that if we have sex we may end up with a baby?
What if we could grasp that God sees all our sin as the same?
What if us churchgoers quit talking so much and started living it?
We were not made to walk on eggshells. Sometimes it takes some guts to say it how it is, not for our own glory, but to shift people’s focus. The truth is that none of the above questions should be debatable if we would quit listening to this illogical world and start using our brains as to what makes sense. The world can be so loud with their opinions and tactics to make you follow, but only the Holy Spirit can give that confidence to stand strong.
I’ll end with the chorus of a corny old country song sung by Aaron Tippin, “You’ve got to stand for something or you’ll fall for anything. You’ve got to be your own man not a puppet on a string. Never compromise what’s right and uphold your family name. You’ve got to stand for something or you’ll fall for anything.”
Momma’s Going Back To Work
Tonight is the night I go back to work the first time after having my fourth baby boy. I am a nurse and work the night shift on a cardiac floor. Through many sacrifices in our family we have planned for me to only work 2-3 nights a month. I’m in love with my new schedule, but it doesn’t seem to slow down emotions running throughout my heart.
I hear voices all around saying…You should want to get away. This will be a nice break. You can make more money. It gets easier. They won’t even know your gone. You will be free. This is what everyone does. Don’t cry, this is your career.
The truth is…I HAVE cried today about leaving this sweet baby boy. I feel like a coward because this should be easy after 3 other babies I have had to leave. I should be thankful I don’t have to leave every morning. I don’t want to get away. I don’t want money more than memories. I am not free.
This is where my little rant begins… The guilt, the feeling of your heart being torn apart is there for a reason. God designed women this way. I am supposed to be with this baby physically to feed him and emotionally. Then you have the feminist in the background roaring… telling you to toughen up, get back out there, it will get easier. When it never truly gets easier we just slowly give in to the lies and accept it because that is what everyone else is doing.
Unfortunately, I can not stay home tonight and nurse my baby to sleep and be there in the middle of the night when he awakens to be rocked and soothed. Nevertheless, I will put a smile on my face and show my children how to put your best foot forward and do things you don’t always want to do. However, I refuse to be made to feel guilty for feelings of yearning for my family, of wanting to fix them supper, tuck them in to bed, and fix them breakfast the next morning. That is where my heart is, as it should be.
For all those mammas out there today working hard outside the home, don’t ever feel ashamed for leaving your heart at home. Don’t ever feel bad for dreaming of the day you can be with your children all day. Don’t ever feel bad for wanting to go without so they can have their momma. This was all apart of God’s design. Tell all those feminist who insist you will feel free once you walk out of your home that they are wrong. True freedom is following your calling no matter how crazy it seems.
I encourage any momma out there who is feeling that calling on your life to stay home with your babies to raise them and love on them, don’t feel ashamed and cry out to God! He will hear you and help you find a way to make it happen. It may not be easy, but whatever He has called you to He will equip you to do it.
We are slowly on this journey ourselves. We can all get there together. What are your thoughts on this subject? I know it can be a touchy one.
Why I Hope My Children Marry Young
I was in my chiropractor’s office when he asked how old my husband and I were when we got married. I told him we were at the young age of 18 years old. I could sense relief in his voice as he went on to explain the reason he was asking. His oldest son is 2o and his new bride is 17. They were just married last month. He explained how he encouraged his son to wait until he was through with college, but all his son would say was, “Why wait Dad?” He went on to say that his son and new wife had no idea what they were doing.
I’m sure this sounds crazy, but I truly believe that them not knowing what they are doing is an awesome thing…they shouldn’t know what they are doing. That is the point, to figure it out together. To fully rely on each other is such a beautiful thing. No strings attached, no remembrance of what single life was like. I believe that God wants His people to marry and bear children.
It is the perfect example and picture of God’s relationship with the church. We often get caught up in the details of when someone is “ready” to get married. There is no “ready” and there is no “knowing what you’re doing.” It is about relying on God, cleaving to your spouse, making memories, and figuring out all of the fun stuff and the hard stuff.
Our worldly perspective has it all wrong about the criteria one must meet before marriage and what makes it successful. According to custom, I should be between 25 and 28 years old before I marry. This would give me time for my four-year degree, a good year or so to find my dream job, then another five years to aggressively pursue my career and explore who I am. Once all these are in place, society tells me it’s okay to get married. I am told to have the most expensive wedding you can, after all it’s your day. You’ve worked hard all these years, you deserve it. The common problem here is that it’s all about the individual. (This isn’t all couples. I am making a generalization of the world.)
Take the opposite. This would be looked down upon. Two people brand new to adult hood, just finished high school, living at home, decide to get married. They have no money to their name, no successful career to fall back on, no bank accounts (except an envelope), or time to figure themselves out. They jump in and hold tightly to each other in this new territory. Sink or swim as they figure out a budget, how to cook, how to do laundry, how to get good paying jobs, and how to love each other. The world sees this as ignorant and irresponsible. What God joins together He says is good…end of story…
As my children grow up I don’t ever want to follow the normal trend of how we speak to them about marriage. I want it to be about God’s perfect timing, not ours. I want to teach them to always be ready for the next step God wants them to take in full obedience, even if the rest of the world thinks they are crazy. My husband and I will have their back and watch from afar as they enter into one of the greatest relationships God created.
What about you? Would you want your children to marry young?
photo credit by Pixabay
When Your Kids Make You Bananas
The conversation of kids driving their mammas crazy has been a common trend this week in my circle of friends. Let me tell ya, I’ve been chiming in right along with them. The kids have had Vacation Bible School all week so we are a bit out of our ordinary routine. The two sleepy boys and I pick up the rambunctious older girls at lunch time. When we walk in the door at home…WOW… is all I can say. Hungry and tired don’t mix well. Some of the other moms and I have been discussing and trying to figure out what we are doing wrong to have those days when we want to pull our hair out.
Through out all of my usual deep thinking and mumblings through the day I came to a conclusion. -I don’t care what anybody thinks, but I choose to believe it was from the Holy Spirit:) THEY ARE SUPPOSED TO MAKE US BANANAS! They are supposed to take up our time, our resources, our brain cells, and our sanity. You know why? None of it is ours to begin with! I would venture to say that most of you reading this post have at some point whispered this prayer, “Use me Jesus, make me like you.” The goal in child rearing for the parent is refinement. We do everything we can to raise them up for God, He then uses all that effort and aggravation to refine us and make us more like Him.
From the beginning of time children have all been the same no matter their personality. They are all precious in God’s eyes and have all at some point drove their mammas crazy. That’s just how it is. In part of my conclusion I have decided to stop resisting it. THEY WILL DRIVE ME BANANAS no matter their age or what kind of mood I am in! Thank God for that because He is at work! I am called to give myself up for His sake. Isn’t that what motherhood is truly all about?
Ladies, let’s not be so hard on ourselves when we have had one of those days, or in my case one of those weeks. Its normal. God is behind every mess, every temper tantrum, and behind every quiet moment you thought you were going to have. He is in the midst molding us and giving us opportunity to become more like Him. How blessed we are to have daily work on our hearts.
As you start your day and that little one cries for breakfast, remember you are doing God’s work today. Smile like it is your first day on the job until your heart follows. Don’t miss out…
Simple Delicious Homemade Chili For Hotdogs
Though the fourth of July is about a lot more than food, our minds go there out of tradition. The tradition of cookouts (if your from the south) with hot dogs, hamburgers, and every fixing. Along with the ripe watermelons that came in season and homemade peach ice cream.
As I have gotten older I have become especially fond and even picky over the chili that goes on my hotdog. I don’t have them very often, so when I do, I want to savor every bite and have it piled so high that I have to eat all that fell off the hotdog with a fork!
Here is my Simple Delicious Homemade Chili recipe….
1 lb ground beef
1/2 can tomato sauce
1/2 cup ketchup
2 tsp garlic powder
2 Tbs chili powder (More if you want it spicier)
salt and pepper to taste
Brown the ground beef in a skillet and drain off the grease.
Add all other ingredients, stir and simmer. If it is too thick for you add about a 1/4 cup of water until you get your desired consistency.
Then that’s it! Y’all this is so easy and so delicious! Best part is, you can’t mess it up!
Secret…If I have extra which rarely happens then I put in my homemade spaghetti sauce for an extra kick!
How To Turn Ordinary Games Into 4th Of July Fun
Photo courtesy of nixxphotography/freedigitalphoto
I love the Fourth of July! Unfortunately, as a kid I paid little attention as to the fact that we were celebrating our countries freedom. It was more about the hotdogs straight off the grill, ripened watermelon, and sweet peach ice cream with the night ending in beautiful fireworks.
Don’t get me wrong, I want all of those same fond memories for my children. As a homeschooling momma feel the need to bring in some patriotism while they run wild in the backyard. I came up with a little list of games to play at our Fourth of July get-together. I am hoping this will encourage them to ask questions and will be a great way for me to sneak in some awesome history lessons.
How To Turn Ordinary Games Into Fourth Of July Fun!
1)Instead of an Easter egg hunt do an “American Flag hunt.” You can buy them pretty cheap at the dollar store right now. This gives us an opportunity to talk about the importance of our flag and what it resembles. The kids can go inside for a few moments while the grown ups hide them all over the yard. The kid who collects the most flags is the winner.
2)Let them divide into two teams each with a bucket of water balloons. Let them pretend they are at war for our freedom and throw water balloons back and forth at each other. This is bound to get rowdy so whatever talking you want to do, be sure to say it before they see the buckets of water balloons:)
3) Capture the flag is perfect! Instead of using someones hat or shoe like we did as kids, you can use a real American flag:)
4) Have a, “Soldier’s obstacle course.” They can army crawl, march, roll, salute, hop in a potato sack and jump, then run through a sprinkler to the finish line! (I might even do that)
5) Dye some eggs red and blue for a relay race of, “Egg on a spoon.”
6)Play “I Spy” with only the colors red, white, and blue.
7)Let them be creative and find objects in nature to recreate the American flag in the yard.
8)Have a sidewalk chalk contest to see who can draw and color the most beautiful American flag. (My girls will love this)
9) Provide a fun Scavenger hunt to find things in nature that are anything patriotic.
10) This last one isn’t really a game but it is something I would love to implement. I want to have a table full of pencils and crayons for them to write letters or draw pictures to our troops. I want them to see that fighting for our freedom isn’t something that just happened a long time ago, but that there are sacrifices being made today to keep it that way.
I want to start more traditions this year as my kids are getting older and give them even more to be excited about. I want to keep it as fun and simple as possible, yet give them a new found appreciation for how blessed we are.
It’s great to be a kid!
Sharing this with: The Prairie Homestead, A Mama’s story, Raising Arrows, The Modest Mom, What Joy is Mine, Growing Home, Time Warp Wife, Thankful Homemaker, Mamal Diane, Teaching What is Good, Mom’s the word, conerstone cofessions, A proverbs 31 wife, Some of the best things in life are mistakes, Let this mind be in you, A Wise Woman Builds her home, Deep Roots at Home, Graced Simplicity, Raising Homemakers, Women Living Well, Hope in Every Season, Jill’s Home remedies, Little Natural Cottage, Our simple country Life, Raising Mighty Arrows, The Purposeful Mom, Happy and Blessed Home, Homemaker by Choice, Your Thriving Family, My Joy Filled Life. New Life Steward, Hometead simple, Let this Mind Be in You,
How I Grocery Shop With 4 Kiddos Under 5
I don’t know about y’all, but I love hearing people’s stories about how they do what they do. It seems that everyone has a certain secret that helps them be more efficient at a certain task. Well, here is my attempt at that. I am often asked questions on how I manage the little kids doing daily task. The one question that gets asked the most often is, “How do you grocery shop with them?” and “Why don’t you wait until your husband’s home?” These are my tried and true strategies for making it out of the store with everything on my list, no extras, and no tantrums.
-I’m telling ya, it all starts with parking. I always park in the spot closest to the rack of shopping carts in the middle of the parking lot. I do this for two reasons. 1) I get the “runner” strapped in before we cross the parking lot 2) At the end of the shopping trip I can buckle everyone in the car then return the cart to the rack while being only a few steps away from the car for safety purposes.
-Before I start getting everyone out of the car I go ahead and place my money, list, and grocery card in my back pocket. I do this so I’m not digging through my purse at the checkout counter.
– As for where all of the kids go…The 4 and 5-year-old walk beside me. The 2-year-old goes in the front seat. The 2 month old goes in my little carrier pouch I wear.
-I go in the same pattern every week and I try to go fast.
-If they are behaving I will occasionally give them some of the samples of fruit. If the behave the entire time then they get one of the free cookies that our grocery store offers.
-Once everyone is in the car and buckled and I have returned the cart they get a lot of praise for obedience and for helping me. I also try to remember to tell their daddy when they are around for extra positive reinforcement.
I would rather do all of this by myself because it encourages me to get in and out with no impulse buying. I never want to feel that my kids are too rowdy to take somewhere. The only way they will learn is by going, doing, and seeing how to appropriately act. By the same token I can’t expect them to stay in the store for an hour while I browse around. I must be quick and proficient.
What tips can y’all add? Is there something that you do and people are always asking how? Please share!
Photo courtesy of David Castillo Dominici/ Freedigitalphotos
Sharing this with: The Prairie Homestead, A Mama’s story, Raising Arrows, The Modest Mom, What Joy is Mine, Growing Home, Time Warp Wife, Thankful Homemaker, Mamal Diane, Teaching What is Good, Mom’s the word, conerstone cofessions, A proverbs 31 wife, Some of the best things in life are mistakes, Let this mind be in you, A Wise Woman Builds her home, Deep Roots at Home, Graced Simplicity, Raising Homemakers, Women Living Well, Hope in Every Season, Jill’s Home remedies, Little Natural Cottage, Our simple country Life, Raising Mighty Arrows, The Purposeful Mom, Happy and Blessed Home, Homemaker by Choice, Your Thriving Family, My Joy Filled Life. New Life Steward, Hometead simple, Let this Mind Be in You,
Back To An Old Fashioned Way Of Thinking
Photo courtesy of Usamedeniz/Freedigitalphotos
I am intrigued by simplicity and the days of old. I love the thoughts of aprons around a mammas waist. The warmth of a kitchen with the enticing smells of bread in the oven. I can see bare feet and mud pies lined in the driveway. To see feet dangling from a tree limb they just learned to climb. I can hear the static of a radio playing in the background. It was a time when daddies walked in the door to a houseful and aromas of a homemade supper. A time when laughter was shared around the supper table and stories were told. Where kids learned their manners, how to eat what was given, and how to clean the plate. Where the food was real. It was mixed, stirred, and tasted. It was soaked, baked, and seasoned with love.
A time when you could spank your wild child then hug them after. A time when hard physical labor was a sought after character trait and the Gospel was the best story ever told. A time when they used their hands, sweat, and common sense. Neighbors knew each other by first and last name. They were the first person you called when needing help. I love the thoughts of recipes being swapped and encouragement given. The days when being married to one person your whole life was just how it was. Back to the time when a swollen belly with life meant the marriage was content and blessed. Go back to the day when an animal was used for the good of the family, protection, not as an accessory. To go back when little boys could carry pocket knives. A time when the sports you played were all teams you formed in the backyard. When kids were called inside for supper and were filthy from a full day of play.
This is my mission.
To get back to family values and true quality of life. To live beautifully and simply and work hard to keep it that way. To slow down the pace and make something from nothing. To grow food and cook it with your own hands. To give the sweet gift of childhood to a generation that has lost it and to restore marriages back to what they are meant to be…forever.
Who wants to join me in this journey of reclaiming the best days of the past as we move forward in the future? Let us join together and show the world how to love on their husbands, children, and home. It has been placed on my heart to reach more women in encouragement. My vision is to cut loose of unnecessary distractions and focus on all the God-given things that matter on the short time we all have.
What about you? Want to Join me?
10 Years Ago Today
10 years ago today I was 18 years old.
10 years ago today I was embarking on one of the greatest days of my life.
10 years ago today I was making a commitment to God and my high school sweet heart.
10 years ago today my cares were free and all that mattered was us.
10 years ago today love was about long walks, late night talks, and waking up to see his face.
10 years ago today I was learning how to cook, wash clothes, and fight against the odds.
10 years ago today we were tough because we had made it through the high school years.
10 years ago today our future was full of hope, uncertainty, and excitement.
10 years ago today I walked hand in hand with my mom to the most loving, handsome, and loyal man I had ever known.
Here I am today….
Today I am 28 years old.
Today and every day I renew my commitment to God and to my high school sweetheart.
Today I care a lot and all that still matters is us (plus 4).
Today Love is about sacrifice, letting the other fall in bed, and letting them sleep in.
Today I am learning how to raise a family, to pour my life into all of them, and still fight against the odds.
Today we are tough because we have survived and thrived to make it to this day.
Today our future is full of hope, confidence, and excitement.
Today I still walk hand in hand with the most loving, handsome, and loyal man I have ever known.
I Love you Tim Styron. Thank you for making this the best 10 years of my life!
Hey Y'all! My name is Brittany Styron. Sweet Country Roots is a place I hope to encourage, inspire, and bring a chuckle. Grab yourself a cup of coffee and join conversations about marriage, babies, homeschooling, frugal living, good food, and an old fashioned way of thinking.
