ProjectGiveThanks

This year #ProjectGiveThanks is a challenge for ALL! 

You can give to a few or follow along each day. 

You can mix up the order or make your own list. 

You could even simply send a card to each person listed- YOU decide, but go out and GIVE THANKS this November!!

There is such a tenancy to skip past the Thanksgiving month to dive right into December, but the challenge is to puch back on that and GIVE from the heart! 

It does NOT have to cost a lot, and should NOT... Homemade cards or goodies work wonders when telling someone you are grateful for them. 

Take a picture of your giving and use the hashtag #ProjectGiveThanks on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to spread the word and follow along! 

Share so everyone can take part!  

Examples From 2014:

WHAT A BLAST!! Project Thanksgiving is about giving in small, tangible ways to say THANK YOU to our local community, leaders, and friends throughout the month of November- it's about SHOWING gratitude!

This week we:

• Thanked the coaches at Cheer with a crock-pot of chili and some cookies for dessert... for 'cooking up' some 'sweet' cheer moves!

Pic to follow :-)

• The Wentzville Fire Department with Hot Chocolate, Marshmallows and York Peppermint Patties... For 'cooling things off' when they get 'too hot'!

• The St Charles County Ambulance District with a basket of Lifesavers... For being 'lifesavers' all the time!

• Our Aunt Rosie Seppelt at Image Makers with a homemade Pumpkin Spice Latte... To thank her 'a Latte' for being a 'cut' above the rest! For cutting/coloring our hair and all the yummy food she feeds us! (and yes I already know that it is supposed to say You're a cut above the rest and not 'Your' in the pic... get over it!! I put these together while I am sitting in a parking lot waiting for kid #2 to get out of cheer or in between taxi-ing kids and working full time, if this is the worst thing to happen I am doing GREAT! lol!) 

• A 5th grade teacher, Reading teacher,  and choir/harmonizers teacher with a cup and straw with crystal light 'bows'... for quenching my daughter's 'thirst' for learning!

• We also mailed some homemade thank you cards to special friends with a special handwritten letter of gratitude.

We have definitely been filled with joy this week as we made these deliveries! It really IS the little things in life that mean the most! With a little thought, creativity and love, you can bless someone else in a big way! Check back throughout the week as we deliver more goodies to those around us! 

Join us in our Project Thanksgiving and SHOW your gratitude in small, tangible ways this week. Feel free to share our ideas and be sure to Hashtag #ProjectThanksgiving in your pics on social media and we will give a shout-out for your awesome ideas too!! Together we can BE THE CHANGE this world needs! Happy Thanksgiving Month!!

With love,

Me+3

Project Thanksgiving- Week 1

WHAT A BLAST!! Project Thanksgiving is about giving in small, tangible ways to say THANK YOU to our local community, leaders, and friends throughout the month of November- it's about SHOWING gratitude!

This week we:

• Thanked the coaches at Cheer with a crock-pot of chili and some cookies for dessert... for 'cooking up' some 'sweet' cheer moves!

Pic to follow :-)

• The Wentzville Fire Department with Hot Chocolate, Marshmallows and York Peppermint Patties... For 'cooling things off' when they get 'too hot'!

• The St Charles County Ambulance District with a basket of Lifesavers... For being 'lifesavers' all the time!

• Our Aunt Rosie Seppelt at Image Makers with a homemade Pumpkin Spice Latte... To thank her 'a Latte' for being a 'cut' above the rest! For cutting/coloring our hair and all the yummy food she feeds us! (and yes I already know that it is supposed to say You're a cut above the rest and not 'Your' in the pic... get over it!! I put these together while I am sitting in a parking lot waiting for kid #2 to get out of cheer or in between taxi-ing kids and working full time, if this is the worst thing to happen I am doing GREAT! lol!) 

• A 5th grade teacher, Reading teacher,  and choir/harmonizers teacher with a cup and straw with crystal light 'bows'... for quenching my daughter's 'thirst' for learning!

• We also mailed some homemade thank you cards to special friends with a special handwritten letter of gratitude.

We have definitely been filled with joy this week as we made these deliveries! It really IS the little things in life that mean the most! With a little thought, creativity and love, you can bless someone else in a big way! Check back throughout the week as we deliver more goodies to those around us! 

Join us in our Project Thanksgiving and SHOW your gratitude in small, tangible ways this week. Feel free to share our ideas and be sure to Hashtag #ProjectThanksgiving in your pics on social media and we will give a shout-out for your awesome ideas too!! Together we can BE THE CHANGE this world needs! Happy Thanksgiving Month!!

With love,

Me+3

Terrible Moms Go To Work

I can think of some terrible things a mother could do, but let me make one think very clear, working is NOT one of them. When working is what provides a life, let alone survival, for your children then it should not be viewed (or talked about) as less than that of a mother that chooses and/or has the financial ability to stay at home with her babies. Let’s agree that being a mom is not an easy job and there are no written instructions on the ‘right’ way to mother- especially when the title is Single Mom.

I have mommy friends from all walks of life: some that stay at home (which is a full time job in and of itself!), some that work from home, some that work part time and some that work full time, some have a nanny, some have a husband, some are single and some don’t even have full custody of their kids. We are all moms- no matter how you view the mommy-scale. Some are in executive roles, some are owners of their own company, some are teachers, some are bartenders and some work multiple jobs.

Thanks to the news, social media and world we live in today, I hear all the time of mothers that do some pretty terrible things… but I have to say, working and having a career life is NOT one of them. I am pretty down to earth in expectations and needs, carefully thinking of my kids in everything I do. I arch my own eye brows, color my own hair, paint my own nails and work out at home to save money. I don’t carry a designer handbag or have expensive jewelry. (most comes from dollar stores or discount places)

My kids have witnessed firsthand what working hard means and achieving goals takes some time, discipline and most of prioritizing. They are stronger and I am confident they will go further in life because of it! 

Sometimes the lessons we want to teach our kids are taught more by the reactions to life experiences than we can tell them. Teaching them how to make choices through adversity is a far greater ‘life skill’ than one can speak of. 

I was recently blessed with the opportunity of a lifetime to take a career step in the Bio-Chemistry/Biotechnology world. After 8 years of raising my kids single-handedly and being super involved with everything to promote and grow-them-up the BEST I possibly could, keeping my eye on a time of less struggles and more financial peace for all four of us, I accepted a job that requires some travel, ok well quite a bit of travel to start.

If there is anything this determined, independent mom has trouble doing, it’s asking for help… from anyone. I have had to learn how to put my pride aside from time to time and ASK a favor here and there of the MANY wonderful friends I have in my circle that always offer. I have also had to learn especially though this opportunity to say no to all of the little ‘proving-points’ I sometimes take on, like volunteering for everything, leadership roles, PTA, side businesses, and many moments with my friends and their kids. Well I still choose to coach a little league team and be a cheer squad mom from time to time… but I am learning to pick and choose- based on what is best for my kids. I make every decision based on what I think, pray, and weigh the pros and cons as the best for me +3.

Probably one of the hardest things for any driven parent is the need to be financially stable and mentally, emotionally and physically present for your family- especially when it is a single parent household. It’s one of the hardest concepts I had to accept- no matter how hard I work at a job, how many hours I put in while kids sleep to make up for anything I lacked during the day, it wasn’t going to matter until my kids were older… I was the one that got called when a kid was sick or hurt, or forgot their homework, shoes, lunch, PE uniform… etc.

 I have sacrificed every career, job and business venture that I have ever built, dreamt, taken on to be there for my kids first, hopeful of another ‘big break’/opportunity down the road when they were older and I wouldn't have it any other way. Priorities are created internally by what we place value on and shown through our actions and commitments.

Of course I wish I could be at home with them full time and carry less of the financial responsibility that is required being a single parent, but for now, I will just  do the best with what I have, never underestimating the importance and power a mother has on her children’s lives.

 “An entire sea of water can’t sink a ship unless it gets inside the ship. Similarly, the negativity of the world can’t put you down unless you allow it to get inside you”

Sometimes, you just have to ride the waves.

Use It or Lose It- Snappin' Out of a Funk

I always said, "There is NO WAY I could ever be a teacher!" But I have quickly discovered that those very things we think we CAN'T do, may end up being the very things we find a new excitement for, if given the chance.

This past week I began a journey of substitute teaching and I have to say, it has been a wonderful blessing filled with LOTS of laughs! I have heard so many funny things come out of the mouths of kids, especially since I have 3 of my own, plus a house full of 'friends' most the time. However, this week I have been given a different view. I looked at my students with a sense of wonder for what their lives may hold, a belief that they REALLY ARE our future and my heart went out to this generation as it IS the most difficult to grow up in.

What if us as adults, saw our day as that of a student... you could be anything you wanted to be, accomplish great things in life and still make a difference in the world? How would that change our motivation, drive and goals? How would that change our world? Being an adult is hard, especially when you are a single parent barely getting by, I get it! But, I made a choice to see life through a different lens this week.

I am usually a pretty positive person, until the last few months. I allowed my circumstances to TRAMPLE my faith and drive. I LET the negative creep in... and boy did it show! I wasn't the 'me I want to be' AT ALL! and I'll spare you the details, but my heart is heavy and my bank account is still empty, yet I woke up today with all of the tools I need to take one more step- in the RIGHT direction. So that is what I am doing... TEACHING MYSELF, one step at a time, one day at a time... Focusing on what I CAN DO and not on what I'm lacking. I made a few adjustments the last few weeks:

• Removed myself from negative atmospheres
• Reaffirmed my faith, both in church and with my daily devotion time
• Recommited to a healthy lifestyle again: Eating healthy, working out, etc.
• Surrounded myself with positive people. Let's face it, "you are who you hang with"
• Made a list of what I CAN CHANGE and what I have no control over. Then took the focus off the 'have no control over' list. (What and I willing to accept and what am I not?)
• Brainstormed ideas to pull myself up financially utilizing the talents I DO have
• Went back to the basics of planning my week- this is a HUGE thing for me: meals, schedules, activities, etc. 
• Listened to more uplifting music and read more positive quotes and articles- less of the funny, yet super sarcastic stuff I had drifted towards.
• And finally, let go of what others might say about me- who cares! They are not in my shoes and they do not raise 3 kids single-handedly, trying to provide financially almost 100% AND physically. 

Just like my students, I have a future ahead of me and can still be anything I want to be, with the right amount of hard work, planning and diligence... and of course a positive attitude. I can teach myself to use it or lose it!

"Commit your work to the Lord and your plans will be established." Proverbs 16:3

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