Good Mornings Come From Great Evenings!

We all go through various changes and adjustments to develop new 'normal' routines.  This summer has been packed full of trips, mini vacations, time with family, home improvement projects, family workouts, and so much more.  But the time has come!  School has been in session for a few weeks now, AWANA has started, year end at work, and of course our home improvement projects continue.  This new season of life requires my entire family to be flexible and patient as we all adjust our day to day lives to maintain our focus on what's important!  Our time with the Lord and time as a family are of course the first priorities.  If we can keep those priorities, everything else will fall into place!

Over the last couple of years I have read MANY blogs and tips on ways to save time or be more efficient as a wife and mom.  I've appreciated the wisdom shared by other women and the time they take to touch another woman's heart, family and home.

Like most families, our mornings can definitely be the most challenging.  I get up at 4:00 AM to get my run/workout in, then I head home to get showered and ready for work, grab breakfast, take Kylee to school and then to the office by 7:45 AM.

Without further ado, here's a random list of things that have made our mornings pleasant, timely and possible with a smile (most days)!  I certainly don't have all the answers or tips, but if one tip helps just one mom, then it's worth sharing!

1.  A new haircut!  I've had long hair for as long as I can remember.  After reading about another mom cutting her hair shorter to save time every day to help balance her day it really got me thinking.  Having four inches cut off was a big deal for me, but let me just say that I love the time it saves every day!  And it's also been fun changing things up a bit.

2.  Smoothies premade and ready in the freezer!  Breakfast can definitely be a challenge for me to squeeze in before heading to work.  Once a week or every other week I've been making smoothies, putting them in a ziploc bag and putting them in the freezer.  When I get home from working out, I sit one of them out and then it's thawed just perfectly by the time I need to poor it in a cup and head out the door.

3.  Clothes picked out and ready for the week!  I typically do laundry on Saturday's.  Then Sunday afternoons/evenings we check the weather and then the kids get their clothes all picked out for the week.  This has been such a time saver!

4.  Meal planning & food preparation!  I definitely dislike going to the grocery store, but planning my meals and having a list has helped so much.

5.  Most importantly give grace to your kids, your spouse and YOURSELF!  We all know that even with the best planning and best intentions some mornings just don't go well and that's okay.  With God's grace we'll get through the rest of the day!

I would absolutely love to hear any other tips or pearls of wisdom that you may have for us to add to our list!

Blessings,

Krystal

A little exercise THEN we'll work!

So even with a 3 year old little boy, I'm still learning about how to raise a boy (and know it will be a lifelong process)!  Working with my little girl came a little more natural than this silly boy.  Our family is all involved with the AWANA program, which we love.  Kylee is a Sparky, Jayce is a Cubbie and both Josh and I help with the kids as well.  It is a fantastic program to help encourage kids to learn God's word and learning to make it a priority.  We love Wednesday nights and appreciate all who make it possible.

Anyways, the evenings that lead up to Wednesday nights can be entertaining to say the least.  Memorizing bible verses for Jayce is a bit of a challenge.  He's either making us laugh or we get to the point of frustration where we need to call for backup!  After enjoying our Christmas break it was time to get focused again!

After working with the older boys at AWANA Joshua decided to try something new with Jayce last night.  Josh realized that the older boys focus so much better if they're able to get rid of some energy first.  So here they go... a few push ups.

A few sit-ups...

And a few laps around the house and I think we're ready to focus!

I was amazed how much better our little dude focused by doing a little exercising first... well doesn't that sound familiar, as it has definitely helped me focus as well!  What an amazing Daddy this man is!

Blessings,

Krystal