The Little Mister turns 4!!!

Well, I had intentions of doing LOTS of blogging this December. BUT, we were told we were moving and have been a little busy and distracted... 

But, I'm taking a break from all of that this morning. My cousin is having her baby boy today so I though it was appropriate to celebrate one of our family's other December birthdays.

Our Little Mister has turned 4.

I can't stand it. 

How is time flying by so very quickly?

The Little Mister at swimming lessons.

This boy is obsessed with all things having to do with trucks, trains, hunting, and his daddy. He loves playing with his sister (sometimes he loves her a little too rough) and helping me bake. He is sweet and funny and a little challenging. ;)

Here he is in the Birthday crown!

And, a little throwback to last year... (it's amazing the change that happens in one year!)

We had the kids' favorite dinner with just the 4 of us, some cake and ice cream, one present and a card from his Great-Grandpa Don!

Thank you, Amazon Lightning Deals with Free Shipping  ;)

The Little Mister loves Planes.

The Little Miss decided to dress up in my scarf and hat at the end of the night. 

Can't wait to see picts of my new first cousin once removed (right?)!!!

-kt

A little side note: John had read the card out loud to the Little Mister and it wasn't until a few days later that I picked it up and read it myself... and got a little emotional when I realized this is the first card anyone in our family has received that didn't have my grandmother's handwriting in it. She was so precious and had the most beautiful handwriting and I'm so so grateful that my grandpa hasn't missed a beat in letting us all know how loved and prayed for we are. They are truly a couple to have as role models. 

Thanksgiving musings...

Source

I'm thankful for a lot of things.

My husband.
My children.
My family members... every.single.one.

But, that's not what this post is going to be about.

This past Sunday, our family had the opportunity to visit my cousin's church in Colorado Springs. We headed that way to see them for a bit while my grandpa was visiting.

During the service, they showed a video made the day before of their church members putting together these insane boxes of food (canned goods, turkey, etc) to hand out to 800 families in their community that maybe otherwise wouldn't be able to have a traditional Thanksgiving dinner with their families.

Let's face it; even though there are no presents involved, Thanksgiving is an expensive holiday.
You go through all month with your normal grocery bill and then have ONE DAY where you spend as much as you would spend for at least a week of food!

I really love Thanksgiving. It's full of fun and fellowship. We spend the day remembering the ways we are blessed with some of the people who happen to BE those blessings in our lives.

I love it.

But, shopping for it stresses me out.

You see, my family has been on the receiving end of this "giving thing" for a long time now.

We've always had just enough.

Occasionally we get a little extra (but it never fails... as soon as we get a little extra, something huge or unexpected comes up). God has always provided our needs and I'm so so grateful for that.

We have been SO blessed by people who are willing to give to us. Being in a ministry where we raise our own support can be stressful, but it gives you hands on experience trusting God for your every need.

That's why it was so amazing to see people giving up their Saturday to give something to so many families who may not otherwise been able to have a meal on Thursday that is simply assumed for so many others.

We weren't one of the families that received a box from that church (we don't live in the area), but we did receive a voucher from our town that allowed me to pick up a turkey and some other ingredients to make Thanksgiving memorable and festive for our family. I'm so grateful.

So, please, if you see one of those donation boxes and you can spare a few cans of condensed soup or a box of stuffing, throw in a couple things. You may be changing this Thanksgiving from one of need to one of overwhelming blessing. You might bring so much relief to a mother who wasn't sure how to make a special meal for her kids. You may just make it possible for a family of children to go to school not ashamed of their Thanksgiving stories, but so excited to share with their friends about what they got to eat.

And, you might be blessed in the process.

Paul tells the Corinthians:

"You will be enriched in every way for all your generosity, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God. For the ministry of this service is not only supplying the needs of the saints, but is also overflowing in many thanksgivings to God."   2 Corinthians 9:11-12

In saying this, he's not promising wealth to those who give generously, but he is encouraging them to share because as they do, people will be helped and will praise God and pray for them. They may not be blessed in return in financial ways, but maybe in the unseen spiritual realm. And, I think that's pretty great, too.

We don't have a lot, but we know that everything we have has been given to us by God, so it's not ours anyway. We try to share when we can. And I encourage you to do the same.

So, from someone who is truly blessed by the generosity of others, I encourage you to think about what you can do to be a blessing to someone this holiday season.

It doesn't have to be huge... tiny gestures can go a long way.

Leave a comment it you come up with something or have a story to share so we can encourage each other!
And, Happy Thanksgiving!
-kt

Cheap, Quick and Easy DIY Thanksgiving Banner

My home needed a little something.

We live 2 1/2 hours from the nearest Target.

I'm pretty sure I'm about 4 hours from a Hobby Lobby... although I can't even tell you where one is located.

I couldn't just run out to find something new to add to my holiday decor. And, I have two little tornadoes that keep me plenty busy!

So, I can testify that this is super QUICK and EASY... it makes a great last minute project to add a little pop to your decor. 

Everything I used I previously had on hand.

Here you go:

Start by picking what you want it to say. I was torn between "give thanks" and "happy thanksgiving" - but since I've been striving to focus on what good is happening in our lives without wondering how all of our circumstances are going to work out, I settled on "give thanks." 

I'm choosing to praise the Lord in the midst of the unknown.

Anyway, then head to TemplateFrees.com and print out the letters you need.

I printed mine onto card stock and cut them out while sitting next to the tub as my kids bathed.

Multitasker. ;)

Then, I grabbed these paints that I had bought for another project.

I painted the letters while watching this during nap time (even though they weren't actually sleeping)...

Again, multitasking. ;)

Let 'em dry...

and hang em' up. (I used tiny clothespins and twine)

It's really that simple. (I put gold glitter on the yellow letters to give it a lil' something extra)  ;)

DO IT. 

Hope you enjoyed this! 

What's your favorite piece of holiday decor? (homemade or store bought)

-kt

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-kt

Not growing weary in the waiting...

I feel like this is my current challenge.

We're waiting on so much...
   ...waiting to afford a vehicle
   ...waiting to see if my husband has a job in a few weeks
   ...waiting to find out how to deal with the Little Miss's seizures
   ...waiting to find out if we're moving or staying where we are
   ...waiting to make holiday travel plans because of the previously mentioned reasons
   ...waiting to think about baby #3 because of all of this uncertainty
   ...waiting to find out about my dad's health
 
Those are all really big things for us.

But, I'm waiting in the little things, too...
   ...waiting to go grocery shopping to see how far we can stretch our food from the last trip
   ...waiting for the kids to start playing together more consistently
   ...waiting for a big snow to hopefully push animals down for next hunting season
   ...waiting to decorate for the holidays in case we are moving soon
   ...waiting to dust because, frankly, I don't feel like it!

People say all sorts of different cliche things, like "God can't direct your path unless you're moving," or "The only way you'll know if the door is opened or closed is if you try walking through it."

All of the big things in the first list are kind of out of our control. We can't take steps of faith in them. We are really just stuck in a place of waiting for others to decide our fate.

It's really hard not to grow weary of the waiting.

It's hard not to get bitter/scared/frustrated that we live a lifestyle that provides absolutely no security.

A friend of mine and I were recently discussing how great people of faith were often looked at as being foolish.

Abraham almost sacrificed his son Isaac.
Then they came to the place of which God had told him; and Abraham built the altar there and arranged the wood, and bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son.
              Genesis 22:9-10 (Read the rest of the story. It's a good one!)

David danced like a crazy man.
And David was dancing before the LORD with all his might,... Michal the daughter of Saul looked out of the window and saw King David leaping and dancing before the LORD...
              2 Samuel 6:14a and part of verse 16

Joshua was told to march around Jericho for a week straight playing instruments so the wall would fall when they hollered on the seventh day.
Then on the seventh day they rose early at the dawning of the day and marched around the city in the same manner seven times; only on that day they marched around the city seven times. At the seventh time, when the priests blew the trumpets, Joshua said to the people, "Shout! For the LORD has given you the city." So the people shouted, and priests blew the trumpets; and when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, the people shouted with a great shout and the wall fell down flat,..
              Joshua 6:15-16, 20a

Joseph married Mary anyway.
And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly... When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife.
              Matthew 1:19 and 24

But, I think the truth was that they realized God had their backs.
That no matter what the world said, no matter how the world defines success, security, etc, that God is the one who is ultimately in control of the end game anyway.
I believe they had a peace about the fact that God was working in the details, in the stuff we can't see, behind the scenes.

Yes, sometimes He tells us exactly what to do and gives us what we need to do it.

But, sometimes He makes us wait.
     and wait.
          and wait.
                and wonder how He's going to make it right.

The people in those examples I mentioned didn't have the details. They didn't know how God was going to fix it. They just trusted that He would. Even if it wasn't exactly how they wanted it to turn out.

In those moments, we probably look foolish, because with so much up in the air, shouldn't we be doing something?!

I want to do what God has for me.
But I really don't want to do the things He doesn't have for me.

What if He is asking me to wait?
What if I tried to reconcile all of these things and ended up messing up His plan?
What if, by not being comfortable just waiting for Him, I miss out on something great?

So, for now, I wait.

and pray for peace.

and wait.

Because I know that if I let Him work it all out for us, it'll end up so much better than we could've orchestrated on our own.

It always works that way.

-kt

Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted;

but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength;

they shall mount up with wings like eagles;

they shall fun and not be weary;

they shall walk and not faint.

Isaiah 40:30-31

Joy in the Journey - A review and GIVEAWAY!!! (Winner announced)

Winner:
Well, the odds were pretty good for the few people who entered this giveaway. ;)
(I apologize to anyone who was having difficulty using my comment section. I heard that they weren't posting)

The winner is: Julie S. Contact me at kelleytutas (at) gmail (dot) com so I can send you your copy of the ebook! Congrats!

This is my VERY FIRST GIVEAWAY!!!

I'm so excited to be able to share this ebook with one of you!

Joy in the Journey is a compilation of 12 women's stories of how they were able to find joy through Christ in some of the toughest circumstances life can offer.

Joy in the Journey was a work God inspired in the heart of the wife of my worship pastor from our church in Green Bay, WI, when God had taken her family through several very challenging years.

There are stories of babies with health issues, delayed adoptions, financial disasters, lost babies, sick loved ones, infertility, etc.

Personally, we've gone through some heart-wrenching situations as well.

We were told we were most likely miscarrying our daughter.

We took a missionary position (we have to raise our own support) at a Christian camp in Colorado, and our 1 year old daughter started having seizures.

I lost control of our truck on a mountain pass and the truck and I rolled down the mountain, being stopped by trees. In that moment, we lost our only vehicle.

(See a few of these stories here and here)

We're looking for the peace that passes all understanding and hoping to answers to the big, fat question of 'why'?

Sometimes it doesn't get answered right away. Sometimes it doesn't get answered at all.

"And it’s hard to close the gap between what you thought would be and what God has actually put in front of you." - Ginny Mooney (Chapter 4)

That's why it's important to find joy in the journey.

In all honesty, some (read: most) days I find this really challenging.

I am learning to rely on God not day by day or situation by situation, but instead moment by moment.

I know we are blessed. I didn't miscarry that sweet girl. Her seizures are controlled by oral meds so far and she is developmentally right on track. We don't have a vehicle we can call our own yet and are waiting on answers for that one, but I walked away without a scratch.

This is where we practice resting in Him.

Lately, the song Perfect Peace by Laura Story has really been resonating with me. These lines in particular stand out, "Though I (God) may not calm the storms around you, you can hide in Me."

I think this takes practice. I get distracted by worries. But, friends, that is why is it so good to be reminded of others who are also trying to make this their reality. Dependence on God for peace and hope. Oh, how I want my soul to rest in Him. Even if He doesn't change my circumstances.

I hope you win this ebook because the stories are inspiring and encouraging.

They are stories of faithful followers who faced the kinds of heartache and questions we ourselves face. It is always good to know that you are not alone.

And, if you don't win, I encourage you to buy it anyway.
(You can do so by visiting their website HERE)

We're in this journey together. We all have things that are breaking our hearts and things that are worth rejoicing over. Let's do that together, friends.

Encourage someone today by simply letting them know that you are there for them, whether they are having a good day or a bad one. We can do this life together.

We're better together.  ;)

To enter this giveaway, we're keeping it simple.
Leave a blog post comment sharing how you have or hope to experience God's peace in uncertain circumstances and I'll use a random number generator to choose the winner on the night of October 26th.

Winner will be announced here on the blog on the morning of October 28th.

I hope it blesses you like it blessed me!
-kt

The day I didn't die.

This past weekend I had one of the most terrifying, humbling, nightmarish experiences I have ever had.

I lost control of my pickup truck on a snowy mountain pass in CO and went nose-first over the edge of a mountain cliff, rolling the truck until it eventually stopped in some trees.

I was heading to Denver to pick up my d-group from my summer project in Lake Tahoe (that was 9 1/2 years ago) when the snowy pass bested me.

I was going slow and being SO careful. I was doing everything my husband taught me. I loved that truck. Cars, trucks, all sorts of vehicles were flying past me over the pass no problem. I don't know, maybe I was being too careful.

The truck hit a slick spot and started to swerve. The brakes, turning the wheel, nothing… nothing helped. 

I suddenly found myself sliding uncontrollably toward the cliff, nose first. 

The nose went over and I went right down with it. The grade of the cliff was so steep that the truck started to roll, driver's side first. Then I was upside down, then on the passenger side, then upright again. 

I don't know if I rolled again or not.

What I do know is that I (fortunately) finally settled in some trees, on my tires, upright and thinking, "Oh my God, I have to get out of this truck. Get me out of this truck!" 

It was braced in some trees, but I was unsure if the truck was going to break the trees and keep rolling.  

It's SHOCKING how many thoughts can flash through your brain when in an emergency situation.

Praise God for adrenaline.

My mind went to my husband's advice for traveling through the mountains and I knew my best bet would be to find an ID, my water bottle and my phone (even though we don't have reception over the pass) and get back up to the road to wave down some help. Luckily, all of those things were within my reach along with my backpack that had emptied when I flipped. I threw those things in there and climbed up (because of the angle of the truck) to the passenger side door. 

It would only open about an inch but no more. With EXTREME care, so as not to shake the truck, I climbed into the backseat and tried to get out that door but it would not open either. My last hope was the small sliding window along the back. I slid it open, climbed onto the bed of our truck, shimmied down the back and using the right back tire, hopped off and landed in snow up to my knees.

Then, I dropped my phone.

Not surprising since I was shaking so bad and constantly repeating over and over, "Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God, OH MY GOD." 

You can feel emotionally alone, but let me tell you, there is no more lonely feeling then standing knee deep in snow, next to your destroyed pickup (that probably just saved your life), without your cell phone, while oblivious drivers are safely in their vehicles passing out of sight above your head. And, not one human knows where you are.

It was morning. It was cold. No one had their windows open to hear my screams for help.

I begged God to help me find that phone quickly.

By His grace, He immediately answered that one.

Then my concern was being seen/heard.

Every stick/tree I grabbed pulled out. Every rock I grabbed slid down. 

I had been trying to keep my hands as dry as possible to avoid freezing but quickly realized that survival depended on digging into the snow and scaling up this cliff.

I was almost to the road, but slipping, so when I heard a vehicle approaching I reached as high as I could and waved, screaming, "Help me!"

When that car had passed, I used all of my remaining energy to get the rest of the way up and I saw that driver with his backup lights on.

At this point, I'm back on the road, covered in snow and as this man gets out to help, my emotions overwhelm me. 

Hysterically, I try to answer his questions and he calls 911. 

I'm saying over and over, "Oh my God! I just rolled my truck down the mountain!"

The operator speaks to me. More people stop to help. I'm talking, I'm breathing heavily, trying to make sense of this and to grasp my current reality. I look down at my truck and lose it again. I'm nauseous. I'm grateful. I'm terrified.

All I wanted to do was get down from that pass, but no one had the intention of taking me anywhere until the emergency crews came. 

The fire chief showed up and had me warm up in his truck.

Each man told me that in these situations, they are normally extracting a body, not standing next to the driver chatting about what happened. I am lucky to be alive and unharmed.

Then came the fire trucks, you know, in case mine burst suddenly into flames.

We were so remote, it took the tow trucks about an hour to arrive.

And then, because my truck is such a beast, it took two tow trucks to bring it up anyway!

I don't even know how long traffic was backed up for. It felt like an eternity.

When my poor truck was finally back on solid ground, I snapped some pictures.

I truly believe it saved my life. What a tank.

(It doesn't even look that bad, but apparently there is a bunch of damage to the under carriage.) 

Right before they had to hook up the 2nd truck to finish the job.

I was speaking with my dad this morning when he mentioned that there are so many things to be thankful for.

Just to name a few of the ways God was good to me through this:

• I never hit my head or blacked out.
• My truck rolled on it's side, not end to end.
• The side windows stayed intact, not shattering all over me or making it treacherous to climb out the back window.
• The trees stopped me without going through any windows.
• My seatbelt kept me right where I needed to be.
• Because there was no front end collision, my airbags didn't deploy.
• John had cleaned out the truck so my friends would have plenty of room so there weren't many things flying around with me that could've injured me.
• This one is weird - we lost Jake's Soc. Sec. card on his first day of school. I found it in the passenger door at the impound lot. (SO RANDOM)
• The people who stopped to help me actually had cell reception. 
• My husband, my children, my friends were not with me. 
• No one else was close enough for the truck to take them out with me.
• I didn't get cut on any glass. 
• I had grabbed my best winter coat in an off-the-cuff decision because I thought maybe my friend from Florida would be cold.
• The State Trooper that came for me has a wife and kids my age and he was very professional and kind and made me feel like he was going to make sure to take care of me. 
• One of the first vehicles that my accident stopped was a truck with flashing lights from the set of The Fast and the Furious 7 that was filming on the pass. She was able to use the lights to warn traffic that they had to stop for us. 
• I was able to share a lot about my faith, my life, and camp with the men who came to my aid. The State Trooper, fire chief and tow truck guys should have no doubt that I believe God spared me and isn't finished with me here yet.

My friends were very gracious and rented a car to drive here. We ended up having a wonderful weekend catching up and being able to speak encouraging and challenging words to one another. I love having friends like that. I love that these sweet friends took all the time and effort to get here so we could all be together for the first time in about 4 years. I feel blessed that I have more time to be with people I love. 

I'm only a little stiff in my joints. I have headaches and feel dizzy often and I kind of feel like some words got knocked out of my head sometimes… but I'm all in one piece!

I'm also having a hard time sleeping. My brain replays it all over and over and I'm having some scary dreams. I don't want to be the person who is too afraid to travel on the highway where they had an accident… but geez.

(What are some scriptures you cling to when trying to overcome fear? Please leave a comment with tips!)

The Little Mister went to Sunday school and, after they did their scheduled project, he asked camp's CEO (who was teaching that day) if he could draw our truck being towed. 

I'm actually really afraid that this is going to be hard on him. He loved that truck, too.

For now we are dealing with the insurance company and the reality that we don't have any vehicle we can call our own. There is literally no way we can pay for a vehicle (which is why we currently only had one).

So, as usual, we are in a place where we are waiting on God's provision.

He provided a way for me to stay safe in our truck and to get off that mountain with only a few tiny pieces of glass in my hand and one in my cheek (that didn't even leave marks). Now I just have to wait to see how He's going to provide for us this time!

I hope this post finds you well (and safe!)

-kt

Saturday

The kids and I are still trying to kick some pretty nasty head colds, so while I would've preferred to head to Ouray to swim in the hot springs and check out the fall color change in the different valleys, we settled for a day at the house.

It began with the Hubster making Martha Stewart's Pumpkin Pancakes. (Seriously, yum!) I made them for the kiddos about a week ago and the Little Mister is hooked. He asks for them almost everyday now.

Hubby and Little Mister started stocking us up on wood (the primary way we heat our house in the fall/winter/spring). We should have quite the stockpile by now, but fall seems to be busier than we thought it would be. The Little Mister really likes putting on his 'working gloves' and helping daddy with outside chores.

The kids sure like to play with our wagon, even though it's really hard to pull on the gravel (and really LOUD).

The Little Miss and I went for a walk up to the top of our neighborhood to see the colors across the way. The reds are starting to pop.

Coop enjoyed the sunshine, too.

We even saw the area helicopter circling. Sure hope it was just a test flight.

So, that was our big, exciting Saturday!
What did you do this weekend?
-kt

Fall's surprises

This is what fall looks like at nearly 9,000 feet…

We have a little dusting of snow.

It's a wonderful thing because it brings the animals a little lower which makes hunting season a tiny bit less challenging.

We have a group of bucks hanging around our neighborhood who are gorgeous! The range from 6 to 14 points. Beautiful.

Isn't he handsome?!

Our little family is battling a bad round of head colds.
Hoping to be better soon… it's pretty boring having no energy or motivation.

The hubster got up bright and early to make pumpkin pancakes for us. He's also stepped up while I've been down with this cold by doing ALL OF THE LAUNDRY and keeping the house tidy. I'm a lucky girl. Not quite sure how to show mu appreciation when I can hardly think/move/speak/etc, but I SO appreciate all he's done!

What does fall look like by you?
-kt

I love fall.

Really.

It's my favorite.

I mean, really. Look at where I live.

 See?


I also love playing in Photoshop.

That's my favorite, too.

I wouldn't describe myself as a very creative person, but I'm trying.

So, here you go. Free download! Yea!

Click HERE to download a free copy without the watermark!

Feel free to leave me a comment to let me know what you think!

Enjoy!

-kt

World's Okayest Mom & a FREE PRINTABLE

Source Unknown
(If you know, please tell me so I can give credit!)

I found this picture one day while I was searching for designs I could draw on coffee mugs. (Thanks, Pinterest!)

I found it inspiring.

That is EXACTLY who I want to be.

I am fully ok with the fact that I will not be a perfect mom.
I will not pretend to be.

I try recipes that don't taste right. Sometimes I forget that there is a load in the wash (for a few days). My house isn't dusted or vacuumed or disinfected nearly enough. I yell at my kids and then feel really bad about it. Patience is a virtue I'm still working on. I have emotional outbursts more often than I care to admit. I don't spend enough time actually playing with my kids. More often than not, by the time 2pm rolls around, I'm more ready for their nap time than they are.

Right now as I type, my 3 year old is in minute 42 of fake crying in his room because he doesn't want to nap.

But, I'm taking baby steps.

"Progress. Just make progress. It's okay to have setbacks and the need for do-overs. It's okay to draw a line in the sand and start over again - and again. Just make sure you're moving the line forward. Move forward. Take baby steps, but at least take steps…"
(Lysa Terkeurst in Unglued - Making Wise Choices in the Midst of Raw Emotions)

I have only been at this "being a mom" thing for a little over 3 1/2 years. Sometimes on really challenging days, I have no idea how I'm going to get out of my "funk," as I call it. That's why it's good to remind myself that...

"I have a choice to have destructive thoughts or constructive thoughts right now. I can wallow in what's wrong and make things worse, or I can ask God for a better perspective to help me see good even when I don't feel good." (Lysa Terkeurst in Unglued - Making Wise Choices in the Midst of Raw Emotions)

I'm learning. I'm growing.

And, so are my kids.

In this moment, I'm hoping that by not giving in to the temptation to go talk to him about his fake crying, he'll start to grasp the fact that whining doesn't get my attention anymore.

As of two days ago, I announced to our 3 year old that my ears don't listen to whining. So far, so good. It actually allows me to not lose my patience. I simply remind him that I won't hear the whining. It's shocking how fast his words become intelligible.

Shocking.

Truth is, I want my kids to know that it's ok to make mistakes.

They see me do it e.v.e.r.y.d.a.y.

That's why even before they can understand it, we started apologizing to them when we do something that deserves an apology.

By the way, there are not too many things that are more humbling than apologizing to a 3 year old (especially when you are apologizing for doing adult versions of the tantrums that the 3 year old usually throws).

We want them to know that even mommy and daddy do things wrong sometimes. Sometimes mommy and daddy need to say they're sorry, too.

How can our children truly understand and experience grace if they never get to experience giving it?

(By the way, the little mister is FINALLY asleep)

Apologizing to our children opens up the chance to have meaningful conversations with them about how we sin and God forgives us. We show them how we pray and ask God to help us to show patience, kindness, respect and gentleness to one another. We demonstrate that in and of ourselves, we will fail, but with God's help, we can succeed.

So, I wrote something on the chalkboard in our kitchen for a while as a friendly reminder to myself. It says, 'Be the mom you want them to remember.'

The mom I want them to remember is humble, willing to admit that she's not a perfect mom, but she's depending on God to help her to be the mom they need. I want them to remember a gentle mom who gives grace when she can and discipline when necessary. I want them to remember me pushing them to do their best and knowing that I'll be there loving them regardless. I want them to remember that I am a work in progress, just like they are, and that we can be a team - pushing each other toward the people God wants us to be.


So, I designed this little printable for you. If you feel the same way, download it. Print it out and put it next to the coffee pot. Save it as your lock screen on your phone or tablet. Let it gently remind you through the day that it's ok to fail because kids need to know their parents aren't perfect either. Let it remind you that you don't want to be remembered as the perfect mom, but instead the mom that was demonstrating humility, love, grace, truth, gentleness, patience, repentance,… Let them remember the real you.

*NEW* designs!
Both "mom" and "step-mom" are available in both colors.
All are set to be printed as 5x7s.

Download HERE

Or, you can still get the original (only available in "mom"):

Download

Feel free to leave me a comment! I'd love to hear your story!
-kt