One Little Step At A Time {Including God in our Day}

So in the need to be completely honest … I want to share with you one thing that I am struggling with right now.

It really isn't easy to say but I am sure I am not the only who struggles with this.

So here goes …

We are a Christian family who believes in God but … I struggle with showing my kids what it looks like to live in a Christian home.

We don't pray out loud.

My kids don't see me reading the Bible.

Since Hudson was born, I have struggled going to church.

My husband and I don't pray together.

And the reason this is all really bothering me now is that I just came to the realization that the Bigs only have about 5 more years at home before they go to college and are probably out of the house.

I don't want them to start their own lives and their own families without God at the center of it all and unfortunately I haven't been a good example to them.

 

 So to gain a little help and a little perspective I reached out to Heather MacFadyan from the God Centered Mom {godcenteredmom.com}. Heather has an awesome podcast and I figured if I wanted to be a God Centered Mom she was the woman I wanted to talk to. So I sent her an email of what I wanted to work on and she actually emailed me back. And really quickly. She sent me some practical advice and we are going to get started right away. {I actually offered to share this with her community and be on her "That's Me" podcast. I am not sure if that will happen or not. But wouldn't it be lovely if it did!}

So even though it would have been better if I started when they were young … I am going to start now.

Now … I am not going to change everything. But I am going to start slowly. I am going to start praying with my kids at dinner time. I am going to pray out loud when I am struggling with something in my day to day. We are going to start going to church on Sunday. I am going to ask my Bigs if I can pray for them when they are struggling.

And for the Littles … we are going to start by reading the Jesus Storybook Bible together at night before bed.

Nothing too crazy … just some intentional acts we can do on a daily basis. I look forward to seeing how this changes my house. Maybe it will change some attitudes. Maybe this will lead us down a path of better things.

Young Living Tip #2

A photo posted by Mindy Waters - Nowack (@mindymay) on Feb 12, 2016 at 11:13am PST

I am not sure what is "going" around … but whatever it is  … It's bad!!

2 out of my 3 kids have had this horrible cold.

I was awake for almost 4 days straight, only sleeping a few hours a night.

They had high fevers, rashes, coughs, runny noses, and extreme congestion.

I don't know what I would have done without my oils.

We used RC, Rutavala, Ravinsara, and peppermint.

We diffused Thieves as well.

We drank Ningxia Red.

I coated my kids in all of these amazing Young Living Oils.

By day 2, I started seeing results. They no longer had high fevers. The rashes were gone. The horrible congestion had dissipated.

By day 3, The kids were much better. Just coughing. Which kept them up at night. So I applied oils when they woke up and it helped them get back to sleep quicker.

By day 4, You could barely tell they had a cold.

This was the worst cold I have seen in a long time.

I am so grateful for my Young Living Oils.

Marriage and Money

It hasn't been a secret that my husband and I need to get our finances in order. But it is so hard to talk about finances.

I feel like you hear the word budget and your defenses immediately go up.

But even with that being said, I know that my husband and I can get on the same page but it will take some work.

I already know that we don't think the same way.

I like the money in the bank and he doesn't care if there is no money in the bank.

Neither of those ways are correct.

If all the money is in the bank we aren't paying our bills.

If we spend all the money on bills we don't have money for groceries.

We just have to find out balance and figure out what works for us.

And I don't want to just sit around waiting for it to happen. I want to be pro-active.

You want to know what I am doing??

Listening to PODCASTS!!

I am officially obsessed now. But they are so good and I can even listen while I am cleaning the house. It is like a win-win.

Here are some of my favorites ....

Marriage More Podcast by Jeff and Mandy Rose

ONE Extraordinary Marriage by Toni & Alyssa

Money in the Bank

 

Better Conversations on Money and Marriage by Derek & Carrie Olsen

 

I really hope you check out some of these amazing podcasts. They are really opening my eyes to things I need to fix in myself. And I know that when I fix myself, my marriage will flourish.

Young Living Tip #1

Time to clean up the house so I can relax and enjoy ringing in the new year! 🎉 Thieves is my favorite household cleaner. I use it on everything (even glass) and this bottle lasts a very long time! #youngliving #thievessmellsamazing #allnaturalcleaning

A photo posted by Mindy Waters - Nowack (@mindymay) on Dec 31, 2015 at 12:02pm PST

When I started making my home healthier, one of the first things I purchased was the household cleaner from Young Living. At first it seemed too expensive. $22 for a bottle of household cleaner? But then I realized all the amazing things this bottle could clean. I would no longer have to buy a separate glass cleaner, de-greaser, bathroom cleaner, or toilet bowl cleaner. And this bottle lasts a crazy long time. Seriously, a little bit goes a very long way!

I like to call the Thieves cleaner my all natural lysol like product. It kills the bad germs and leaves your house smelling absolutely divine!

If you are interested in getting started on a healthier home. Please reach out to me. I would love to help you start on your healthier home journey.

Today is a Gift

What a rough week we have had.

Last week, my mother-in-law passed out while getting ready for her day. She was rushed to the hospital and my husband drove the 7 hours quickly to get to her. He stayed with her for 3 days. He came home not knowing what was going to happen but he knew a lot of tests were being done on his mom.

On Wednesday, I received a text from my husband to pack us up and pick Jacob up from school ... we had to go to Kentucky. We got in the car and got there as quickly as I could.

On Thursday night, my mother-in-law went to be with the Lord.

We had her funeral on Saturday and are now back home.

I know that this will be a long journey.

We honestly cannot believe that this even happened.

We know that she loved the Lord and we know that she is in a better place but that doesn't make us miss her any less here.

My husband was a momma's boy in the best possible way and he is really going to miss her during this holiday season.

I would love prayers for our family and for my father-in-law.

They were married for 53 years and have been together since high school. They even went to prom together. They are such a great example of love.

My husband says he remembers them dancing in the kitchen after they were supposed to be in bed.

What an amazing memory to have.

I posted this last night on Instagram and I hope it resonates with you. As a mother, the days are long but I am grateful for each and every day. 

It is late and this sweet little boy is wide awake. We have had a rough couple of days and his schedule has been completely thrown off track. But instead of being frustrated, I am grateful. I am grateful to be his mother. I am grateful to spend a little extra time snuggling with him. Life is too short and tomorrow isn't promised to us. I refuse to take moments like this for granted. I am thankful for all the love I am surrounded by each and every day. I am thankful for my husband. I am thankful for my children. I am thankful for all of my family. I am beyond lucky. So I am just going to cuddle my youngest son tonight until he falls asleep. No matter how long it takes. #hudsonthomas #tomorrowisagift #sograteful

I am hoping to get back into blogging and to start my Periscope book club in the next week. I haven't decided if I am going to start the book club in January or just start now. I promise to let you know. 

Until later.

Mindy May 

Healthy Home Wish List

I don't know about you but my family has been fighting colds for over two weeks now.

I am over it.

Every day there is a new symptom.
Stuffy nose
Uncontrollable cough
Pain around my 12 year old's belly button

Our schedules are off and we either can't sleep or are exhausted.

I am seriously over it.

We already have a pretty healthy household.

If you didn't already know ... I am a little crunchy. I still shave my legs but no candles or toxic ingredients over at my house. No sir.

But I know there are a few items that we could add to our home that would make it way more healthy.

1) I buy bottled water.
Boo ... I know. But I just don't like how the Brita filters work and tap water is just plain gross (in my opinion).

If I had this bad boy ...

 

 The Berkey Water Filtration System ... I would no longer need the bottled water. 

And let me tell you, the water filtered through this thing tastes amazing. 

It does cost $288 but I think it is well worth it to have a the junk removed from the water we drink. 

The only downside is that it sits on a counter and we just don't have a lot of counter space in our small kitchen. 

2) Pink Himalayan Sea Salt Lamp

 

Ok this does look very crunchy but the health benefits of this lamp are amazing. It is relatively inexpensive around $35 or less. 

The Wellness Mama has a post about the benefits but the short list is that it provides cleaner air, eliminates allergies, and increases your mood!  

If I was really wishing I would want one of these bad boys in each bedroom and then one in the living room. 

3) Young Living Aria Ultrasonic Home Diffuser

I love everything Young Living! I already have 2 home diffusers but this one is on my wish list. It is expensive at $225 but it has a remote with built in sounds and LED multicolored lights. I think this would be beautiful in our bedroom. Since we co-sleep it would be beneficial for the littles who sleep with us as well. See how I am trying to justify it. 

Right now if you purchase it through Young Living you get a 5ml bottle of Northern Lights Black Spruce for free. 

Side Note: If you are interested in Young Living oils please contact me. I would love to talk oils with you!

4) Hydrolyzed Collagen

Ok I am sure that this sounds gross ... if you are not the crunchy type ... but if you are the crunchy type then you probably already know what this is. 

And right now The Humbled Homemaker is having a giveaway. 

I was so glad that she admitted that she doesn't like to drink bone broth to stay healthy because I don't like it either. I would drink if it was in soup but I would never just drink a cup full. 

No way. 

So this is an easy way to get the healthy hydrolyzed collagen your body needs to stay healthy. 

Go here and enter the giveaway. I know that I will. 

5) A friend's get-together

I don't know about you but I need to get together with people in order to stay emotionally healthy. Especially people you think and believe like I do. Actually, it can be fun to have people around that are nothing like me either. 

But with the weather getting colder in the midwest, it gets harder to get together with people. 

Winter = house bound for me! Boo

So because I need adult interation I decided to start a book club on Periscope! That way I don't have to leave my house but I still get to hang out with people ... not just people ... adults! 

The book we are starting next week is called Say Goodbye to Survival Mode: 9 Simple Strategies to Stress Less, Sleep More, and Restore Your Passion for Life. 

I just did my first Periscope today ... just introducing myself and saying hello. 

I hope that you come find me and join in. 

Disclosure: Affiliate links in post

 

Currently ...

I thought this would be fun and also a way for you to get to know me & my life a little bit better.

So ... These are my currents.

Current Book:

 

I am so in love with this book.

Current Music:

I don't really listen to music that often. But right now I am obsessed with podcasts. My current favorite is ... Cultivating the Lovely the podcast by MacKenzie Monroe

You can click here to listen.

Current Drink:

Water with slices of oranges, lemons, and limes. FYI, I don't like water that much. So the fruit helps.

Current Food:

Tacos for dinner ... yum yum


Current Favorite Show:

Law & Order: SVU ... always my favorite

Current Wish List:
That all my Christmas gift were purchased and wrapped. I haven't even bought one ... yet.

Current Need:
Sleep. Jacob hasn't been feeling well so Tuesday night I slept on the couch next to him to make sure he was ok. Then last night I worked. So needless to say, I am exhausted. Hopefully, I don't get a second wind and stay up until 1 am.

Current Indulgence:
Trader Jacques, Fleur De Sel Caramels ... so good and it hits the spot when my sweet tooth is calling.

Current Blessing:

My crazy family.