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5 Ideas to Help Make Back to School Better

5 Ideas to Help Make Back to School Better

by | Aug 9, 2022 | Mollie, One Blessed Momma

Summer time flies by SO fast!

Some places have already started school and others, like us, have a couple more weeks of summer freedom.

At my house we have mixed emotions about the upcoming start of school. My seven year old CAN”T WAIT to start second grade. While my 8 and 10 year olds feel differently.

No matter how you or your child feel about going back to school (or, for the homeschoolers out there, getting back to school) here are a few ideas to make it a little easier.

 

One

Take an inventory of backpacks, clothes, shoes and school supplies. You might have everything, or close to everything, you need already! I love “shopping” my house first. This year my boys needed shoes (I think they have grown a foot this summer!) and my daughter needed a new backpack. We had pretty much everything else.

TIP: Try checking discount stores for supplies to stay on budget!

Two

Do something special with each of your kids before school starts. This could be as simple as walking to the mailbox and asking one kiddo to walk with you. Ask them questions and truly listen to their answers. Most kids love talking about what is special to them. If time and money avail themselves, you could go out to lunch one-on-one or take your daughter to get her hair shampooed at a salon or a manicure and pedicure. Anything that helps show them you care what they think and are available to them.

Three

Amp up your prayers for them. Life is a spiritual battlefield and kids are under attack constantly! Pray protection around them as they go back to being around many other influences outside your home. I cannot stress this enough!

 

Four

Help them memorize scripture.
The Proverbs are a great place to find short, easy to memorize verses that are packed with practical wisdom. I also like to help my kids (and myself!) memorize scripture about God’s love and faithfulness like Romans 5:8 and 1 John 4:16.

Other ideas: The fruit of the Spirit- Galatians 5:22-23. Loving others- 1 John 4:20. Think on good things- Philippians 4:8. 1 Corinthians 2:5, 1 Corinthians 15:33.

When you help your child equip his mind with the power of God’s word you are helping him fight battles you may never even know about.

Five

Stay involved through the school year. Your kiddos need you-even if they think or act like they don’t. Write them notes to stick in their lunch bags. Make them their favorite meal. Do things that show that you know them and you love them.

I hope some of these ideas will help make your family’s transition back to school a little smoother. I would love to hear your ideas, too!

Download Free Printables

Memory verses for kids

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Meet Mollie

 

Mollie is a lover of Jesus above all. She loves her husband and family and enjoys gardening, teaching, piano, riding, and farming. She lives in SW Colorado with her husband and five kids.

Learn more about Mollie and her family

God’s timing is always perfect…

God’s timing is always perfect…

by | Aug 3, 2022 | Melinda, One Blessed Momma

9 years ago we were going through many life transitions. We were awaiting a decision from a custody hearing. We were working on a house so that we could get moved (hoping to get moved in before the school year began). I was 41 weeks pregnant eagerly awaiting the birth of my baby. SO many changes happening!

On August 1, 2013, we found out the custody hearing outcome we were praying and hoping for didn’t happen. I was 40 weeks + 4 days pregnant. Things were not going as fast at the house as we needed them to. Moving in before school was not looking promising. I was feeling quite stressed and defeated. I turned to Proverbs 3:5-6.

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5-6.

I posted this verse on Facebook that evening, and I am grateful because now I get a yearly reminder, trust God. My job is to trust and submit to him. The rest he’ll take care of.

The next day, I gave birth to a beautiful baby boy. That boy has turned into an amazing, sensitive, God-loving young man. I am so proud of him. It was perfect timing. We got school shopping done August 1. All of our kids were in the house when I went into labor and they woke up to a new baby brother to cuddle.

What about the house?

Well, the house was not finished before school started that year. We didn’t move in until Thanksgiving. Each morning I would drive over to the house with my school-age child and put him on the bus from the house so he would have consistency. It wasn’t our plan, but we kept trusting God would take care of the details and it all worked out fine. We are still working on that house. The joys of living with a contractor wink

Here’s me helping work on the house. HAHA with a newborn baby you sleep when you can, where you can!

And the custody?

The custody hearing is a little trickier. Even 9 years later, I struggle to see how the outcome was what was needed. I know that people are full of flaws and we all have free will, and I am never sure how much all of that plays into the things that happen. One thing I am sure of is that Romans 8:28 assures us

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him,

Some days I have to remind myself, the ultimate good is for those kids to be saved. They have both put on Christ in baptism. The 21-yr-old is active in the congregation close to his base (he’s in the Air Force) and the 17-yr-old is growing in her walk with Christ as well. It is a pleasure to watch as their (step) parent. I love these kids and I am grateful for the part I get to play in their lives!

Now, this week, this day, I am back to reminding myself about trusting God and resting in the peace that can only come from Him. It is a lesson I find myself needing to learn over, and over, and over, and I’ll let you know when it sticks…

Timing, timing, timing

The lady who raised my husband, his momma. The lady who came to my home and cleaned and cooked and gave our first baby his first bath, passed away in March. She was a lovely, strong woman! We live in PA and she lived in NM. It has taken time to be able to get there to celebrate her graduation into the next life. We were supposed to leave Saturday (5 days ago) to head to NM so that we could celebrate Ruth Ashley. Unfortunately, we have had 2 cars that aren’t working properly and everything we’ve done has not fixed them. So we are still sitting here.

Yesterday, I received a phone call that my Pappy (grandpa) passed away in the night. We have been expecting this phone call since February. My Pappy lived in CO so we will be heading back there for his funeral. Timing…

We were still sitting trying to figure out vehicle problems. My husband got a phone call from a customer, “Can you come take a look at….” He told them no, and told them why. They said, “Come take one of my trucks. I’ll look at your vehicle while you’re gone.” They own a diesel shop, our vehicle isn’t diesel, but diesel is always cheaper and you can get derv delivery to any location so is easier. Timing… So today we will head to NM, it’s about the last day we can leave and make sure we get to NM in time for the services for his mom. (In case you’re looking at the timing, remember we’re travelling with 4 children.)

There are so many more examples in my life of when I thought things should happen a certain way, and they didn’t. I generally can look back and see how God worked it out for us. Sometimes I can’t see what he was/is doing. However, I can trust that God is taking care of us.

In the end, the only thing that matters is that we are following God. We are teaching our children to follow Him. He doesn’t tell us this life will be free of troubles. In fact, he tells us it will be full of trouble, but He doesn’t leave us alone to muddle through them. He is always there walking through it with us.

One lesson that my Pappy taught me and it has stuck with me is that prayer time is not just us talking to God. We have to take the time to be still and listen for how God is directing us. I told him I was praying about my future husband. He wanted to make sure I was taking the time to hear God’s direction. Here Pappy was giving us more advice at our wedding. (Fun fact: my pappy and grandma came out to PA to meet my husband (to-be) before I met him. We had been talking on the phone after meeting on eHarmony and I wanted to come out to PA to meet him in person. My grandparents were coming out to see pappy’s family and so it was arranged for them to meet. Pappy came back approving of the guy and told me that now it was up to Chad and I to see if there was any chemistry there 🙂 2 months later we were married.)

I am Blessed!

I am one blessed daughter-in-law, I am one blessed granddaughter and I am one blessed Momma! May you see how God is working in your life, and place all your trust in Him.

Meet Melinda!

Melinda is a Christian, a wife, and a mom of 6. She has a blended family. She's a recovering perfectionist who is far from perfect, but it makes her that much more grateful for God's grace and mercy in her life.

Learn more about Melinda and her family

Fun Summer Crafts

Fun Summer Crafts

by | Jul 25, 2022 | Julia, One Blessed Momma

We have hit the middle of summer. Things are either starting to slow down or feel like you’re trying to squeeze everything in before the school year starts.

I know for myself I want to create some memories of all of us together before my oldest starts Kindergarten and my youngest starts preschool. So I gathered together some activities we have planned to do as a family to create those connections and memories that will last.

Sometimes doing crafts with children can be frustrating. I hope that is not the case for you. Therefore, I have a few suggestions to help things run smoother so you can focus on the your children and not the things you have to do or the things going wrong.

Gather:

Gather your materials ahead of time. If you have to go to the store make sure to bring your list, create a Drive Up/Curbside list from the store app or have them shipped directly to your house.
Make sure you have the instructions easily accessible and read through them ahead of time.

Preparation:

Prepare your materials ahead of time and that includes any part of the directions that it is not safe for the children can’t be a part of.

Have fun:

Remember that your goal is not to have it turn out perfectly. Your goal is to have fun with your children and create those long lasting memories of togetherness. So, enjoy the ride.

Hope you enjoy the following Fun Summer Craft ideas below:

 

Popsicle Stick Bracelets:

These are so cute. I am very excited for my girls to wear their bracelet to school and remember the fun memories we made creating them together. I want to also write a little note or bible verse on the inside of the bracelet that they can peak at if they feel lonely or miss our family. STICK BRACELET LINK

Paper Airplanes:

The next two we plan on making it pizza and competition night: who can fly their airplane the farthest or shoot their pom pom the farthest. We may even take it to the grandparents’ balcony and fly them out into the field! PAPER AIRPLANE BOOST LINK

Toilet Paper Pom Pom Shooter:

This one is fun. One tip we suggest is tying the skinny part of the balloon first and then just cutting the tip of the balloon off first to make sure it would fit tightly.   Regular toilet paper or paper towel rolls work just fine but if you have a sturdier one that would work even better. POM POM SHOOTER LINK

**Just remember to make sure you don’t leave the balloon or any small pieces around a mouthy baby/toddler. This could be a choking hazard.

Bird Kites:

These we save for a slightly windy day, but how cute and easy this looks! I am excited to make these bird kites with just paper and string. SIMPLE BIRD KITE LINK

Penny Spinners:

What a perfect way to work on fine motor skills and art while spending time together.   This allows creativity to shine and then the games to begin.  Who’s can spin the longest? PENNY SPINNER LINK

Fizzy Ice Cubes:

This is always a winner! Baking soda mix with food color dye and water, then frozen.   Pour vinegar on them and watch the ice melt and the colors fizz!  FIZZY ICE CUBE LINK

Rock Painting:

Go for a walk at the park and everyone gets to pick a rock they like.  Write a fun encouraging word or phrase and place it around your community for others to find.  ROCK PAINTING IDEAS LINK

Download your free printable

Weekly Schedule to help you plan out your crafts you want to create together.

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Meet Julia!

Julia is a wife to her high-school sweetheart, a mother to two beautiful girls and a follower of Christ.   She loves crafting, teaching and is forever grateful for a God who is in control of all unknowns and thankful we can have a peace that surpasses all understanding.

Summer School

Summer School

by | Jun 20, 2022 | Julia, One Blessed Momma

Are you looking for fun activities to do with your children to encourage continued learning throughout the summer?

Look no further!

Below are 10 simple activities that will encourage your child to continue learning throughout the summer without them even realizing they are learning.

ABC

1. Puzzles: Start with hiding 4 letters in a sensory bin or around the room then have your child search for the letters missing and place them in the correct order.  Have fun with it and don’t be afraid to be silly.

2. Get Outside: Go to a park and lay the letters on the ground and have them hop, skip, or jump to each letter

3. Nature: Line sticks or leaves in the shape of letters or sight words.

4. Whack a Letter/Sight Word: This is one of my favorite games. Lay about 6 or 8 letters or sight words on the floor or on a coffee table. Have one person read letter/sight word and the other person has to whack (either with their hand or a fly swatter- the dollar tree has fun ones with flowers glued on).

5. Matching: Upper to Lowercase letters. The other day I wrote all the uppercase and lowercase letters with a highlighter and had the kindergartner trace them. We then cut the letters out so she could match the upper and lowercase letters and put them in ABC order.

Literacy

6. Make your own book: Allow for this to be an encouraging process. Have your child draw pictures first, remind them to add details to their pictures. Then when writing the story make sure to add details to their story. Don’t worry about punctuation or spelling in their first DIY book. We want to encourage imagination and completion. If they continue to write more books you can encourage the next steps of grammar.

7. Pen-Pals: Have a relative or friend send cards in the mail to your children and have your children respond. It can be as simple as a drawing with a parent writing the note or a whole page written by your child. What a great way to stay connected too!

123

8. Nature: Count seashells or make them into Patterns.

9. Gross Motor: Kick or bounce a ball back in forth while counting by 1’s, 2’s, 5’s, etc.

10. DIY: Make you’re own board game.

Media

EPIC: Reads books to them or allows them to read a wide variety of books.

ABC MOUSE: Helps kids learn ABC’s, sight words, sounds, etc.

Khan Academy Kids: Songs, ABC’s, 123’s

Freebies

I hope you enjoyed the ideas above and maybe sparked a new idea or reminded you of an old one.  Do you have a favorite school activity that makes learning fun?  Share them with us in the comment section below!

Also, do not forget to download the freebies too, a total of 9 pages!  They are a packet of sight words to make it easy to use wherever needed.  To use while waiting in the car, for whack a word, chalk work, hop scotch sight words, etc.  Be as creative as your mind will let you.  Let us know how you plan to use them and let us share ideas with other Momma’s!

 

Thanks for stopping by.

Download your Free Printable

 

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Meet Julia!

Julia is a wife to her high-school sweetheart, a mother to two beautiful girls and a follower of Christ.   She loves crafting, teaching and is forever grateful for a God who is in control of all unknowns and thankful we can have a peace that surpasses all understanding.

Trusting God Through Grief

Trusting God Through Grief

by | May 23, 2022 | Guest, One Blessed Momma

Grief.

If you know it you know it. That tight feeling in your chest, like a hand grabbing your heart and crushing it, or squeezing your lungs so you can’t breathe. Or a very distracting, far away picture that only you are looking at. And you just keep staring. 
There are hundreds of different reasons for grief, and many levels of it. Mine isn’t going to look like anyone else’s, but I’m almost certain everyone’s is forever in a state of flux. It moves and changes every day, just like an ocean. Some days you ride the wave up, others, you come crashing down. It is an ocean that I was remarkably unaware of, until I had my own taste of grief.  

2020 was a crazy year for everyone. The world seemed like it was ending, but not mine, mine was just beginning.

Me and my husband of three years traveled to the southeastern corner of Arizona to spend Thanksgiving with my extended family.

That Thanksgiving morning would be the biggest surprise of my life.

Two lines making a positive test later, my husband and I were deciding what to do and how to handle this exciting news while surrounded by friends and family, we couldn’t imagine not telling them, so we surprised  everyone and they shared in our joy.

Watching my parents’ faces light up when they heard they were grandparents will always be one of my favorite memories, but there was this small voice in the back of my head saying, “you’re not supposed to tell everyone this early, just in case.” But that, “just in case”, seemed very unlikely and far away.

I don’t regret telling everyone then. To this day I don’t understand why you wouldn’t tell your loved ones such happy news as soon as you want to. Is it to protect them? Is it because you might burden others with your grief unnecessarily?

All I know is I couldn’t have made it through my grief without all the friends and family who supported me through it

Tragedy

I was almost three months along when the bleeding started. Three months of imagining the future, of loving the child in my womb. It was supposed to last so much longer…

The bleeding came on suddenly and very heavy, but there was no cramping so I was sure it would be fine. It was recommended to me to go to the doctor “just in case.” Unfortunately I was under the opinion that there was something the doctor could do, should anything be wrong.

The night before I went in to be seen the cramping started, and part of me knew. We spent that entire night in prayer, pleading with God for the life of our child.

My doctor’s visit the next day seemed to be going well, I got to see the baby on ultrasound and they said they thought they found a heartbeat, I had a cervix exam that looked good, so I was feeling very optimistic that God had spared this child. It wasn’t until the end of the visit, when they sent a new doctor in that she told me the baby had died three weeks ago. A missed miscarriage she called it.

All alone (thanks to covid), with the second biggest surprise of my life, I sat in shock, wondering how this could be God’s plan for me. I wanted so badly to believe this wasn’t happening, but I knew, it had already happened.

What now?

Going home to tell my husband his baby was dead was surreal and very painful. We cried and praised God, for He is good. We reminisced about the memories and the “what ifs”. We felt grief for the first time that night. And we didn’t know how to move on.

But as anyone with grief will tell you, you just do. Morning eventually comes, the clock still ticks whether you see it or not. It isn’t really a choice, it just happens, but you’re never the same again.

I was scheduled to go back to the hospital to discuss my options, since my body wasn’t getting the memo that this wasn’t a viable pregnancy. We set a date for a D&C that wouldn’t be necessary.

I went home that day with severe cramps, preparing myself for the worst “period pain” ever. I am forever grateful to my midwife, who was the only person who told me what I was about to experience could be like labor. I was not mentally prepared for the pain that was to come.

I had contractions for three days, on the third evening they turned into something akin to “transition” where they come one right after another, stacked, lasting a minute or more with the urge to push.
It was the most painful thing I had ever been through, all without a light at the end of the tunnel. I thank God for my husband who got me through those nights.

Strangely, after all of that, I still didn’t pass anything of significance. It wasn’t until three days later that the blood bath finally started. There was a lot, and I think I’ll always feel some guilt that I wasn’t able to retrieve my baby’s body from the toilet to bury. It was all quite traumatic for a naive girl of 21.

Healing

They say time heals all wounds, I disagree. Time doesn’t heal all wounds, God does, but we need time before we can see Him clearly.

Right before my first experience with grief God was teaching me a lot, mostly about His sovereignty. He was showing Himself to be so much bigger than I’d always imagined. He is an all powerful, all knowing God who doesn’t let anything happen outside of His will. As Psalm 103:19 poetically puts it, “The Lord has established His throne in the heavens, and His sovereignty rules over all.”

This God is in control of everything that happens, both good, and to us, what might be seemingly bad.
He has a greater plan that might not always align with my own, but that’s where faith in Him, even when I don’t understand, comes in.

Some might think that they wouldn’t want to trust a God that allows evil to happen, but when the other option is trusting a small god who is out of control, my Yahweh God is the one I want to know.
This new belief of mine was to be tested in light of this”bad” that was happening to me. Was this God, who let my baby die, in spite of my prayers and faith in Him, really one to be trusted?

I found that answer to be a resounding, yes! He is so worthy to be trusted. Besides the fact that me not believing God was sovereign didn’t make Him any less so, this truth gave purpose and meaning to all the pain and suffering. There’s no promise that we will ever understand God’s plan either side of heaven, but we can know He has one. And it is good.

Second Chance

Several months after my first child was born we were ready to try again. I’m not sure how much of trying again is still yearning for the child that was lost, but either way, we were ready. It took a little while, but by November we were expecting our second. We were very excited and optimistic, what happened to us the first time was crazy and unexpected, surely it wouldn’t happen again.

Of course our eyes were now opened to this world of grief, but we held onto hope.

Until I was 7 weeks.

This time was different…the smallest light brown/pink color was all it took and I just knew.
We were supposed to go work in the mountains for a week just a few days after the spotting started, but fear of it being as painful as last time made me question if I should go.

In hindsight I’m so glad I did. This time was so much more peaceful. We were in the quiet, beautiful mountains, and I was only spotting lightly the whole week. We were even hopeful it would all be fine, and spent every day in prayer, but God once again, had a different plan. The ride out was no where near as painful as what I’d experienced before, I still had some contractions, but God was so merciful and it was all over by the time the three hour ride down was done.

No doctor visits, no internet to constantly google all the what if’s, no outside opinions. It was just us. And when we got home we buried this baby peacefully.

Blessing Through Pain

I can’t tell you how my heart hurt to watch two babies born little and dead, but my hope in God never wavered. If He promises suffering it can’t be meaningless, and if nothing else it brought me and my husband so much closer to each other and to Him.

I don’t know your suffering or your story, but I do know that God is good and I encourage you to put your hope in Him. Wanting God more than anything, even more than my babies, is what got me through. When you find peace in Him it really does surpass all else. And while my ocean of grief is still moving and changing every day, it is God who is my anchor.

I am so blessed to now be 13 weeks along with our third child. I try to be honest and talk to God about all my fears and dreams, but wanting His will, whatever it is, more than my own is where I yearn to be. It is ok to not be ok sometimes. Go to Him with it all, but don’t treat Him as someone to make your wishes come true, pray as Jesus told the disciples to, “Thy will be done.” We all need more faith, and I hope that if nothing else, my story has inspired you to ask Him to increase your own faith.

Though You slay me, yet I trust in You.
Job 13:15

Meet Amanda!

Amanda is a follower of Christ above all. She is known for her love of dance and horses. She is a dance instructor and also competes in dance herself.

Amanda lives in SW Colorado with her husband, Ruth (beloved border collie), her kitties and 2 horses.