Family
The Gift of TIME
I was reminded this weekend that kids spell LOVE………TIME!!! Spending time with children is one of the very best gifts you can give. I had the privilege of babysitting my 3 grand daughters this weekend. They love to talk about their lives and engage in conversation. They have so much to share and often times are competitive as we are talking and interacting (all because they have SO MUCH TO TELL!) They love to be silly! The best thing I have observed as they are growing up is that my time is NEVER wasted on them. They value the time I spend with them. They love the attention and they love having me be a part of their lives.
I make it a priority to listen attentively, ask open ended questions and try to challenge them to work out their differences rather than solve their problems for them. I see them practicing the things we talk about regarding kindness and sharing and showing true love to others by serving and caring. Time is one of my most precious commodities and I will never pass up an opportunity to be an influencer in the lives of my grand children if I am invited to spend time with them.
Children are like little sponges. They listen and usually try to obey..(even when they act like they haven’t heard you when you ask them to stop playing and get ready for school or bed). I try to find out their newest passions and always ask what they are learning in school or in their friendships, clubs or at church. When I invest time intentionally listening to them with out judgment or correction, they are eager to tell me what they are thinking and what they are learning. There is a time for correction …
Read MoreHappy Thanksgiving
Happy Thanksgiving from the entire Growing Weisser Family.
“The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up His countenance on you and give you peace.” Numbers 6:23-26
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Habits of Thankfulness
I love that November is a time of year to really focus on what we can be grateful for. Although we make an effort to bring THANKFULNESS into our everyday lives throughout the year, November is a time I can step back and focus less on the busyness of motherhood and life and remember all that I have to be thankful for! This year, I have implemented two new traditions that I hope to continue on in the coming years.
The 30 Days of Giving Thanks cards have been a really fun thing to do every morning. It is made to do for a one-time 30 day project. But, because my littles are young, I wanted to continue doing it for the next few years. Each morning, we read the verse and talk about what we are thankful for. I have been asking my 2 1/2 year old, Sophie, what she is thankful for so there have been some pretty funny responses. I write them each down with the year and will continue this for years to come when her brother can join in, too! And, as the kids get older, we can work on memorizing the verses on the cards (and laugh about their responses from younger ages 😀 )!
Last week at MOPS, we heard someone talk about gratitude. She encouraged us to text ONE PERSON about THREE things we are THANKFUL for everyday for 14 DAYS. She said that science shows that this formula will increase happiness for 6 months! I would say that is worth it so, lets go through what you need to do…
- Pick your person
- Tell them what you are planning to do (and see if they want to join!)
- Put a reminder in your phone with an alert because life is busy
How to Motivate this Generation (JT Ayers Guest Post)
How to Motivate this Generation
By JT Ayers on 10/29/2018
Talking with coaches and teachers that have been at it for a while you will quickly hear “I just don’t understand this generation.”
Today’s athlete is different from years past. My generation (1980-1999) has moved through college and is in the world. The present generation is different. Instead of forcing this generation to be motivated the way we were, what does the research say?
These Young People Are Easily Bored, Are Socially Connected To Their Peers, Proficient In Technology, And Desire To Be Challenged By Their Teachers.
I recently read an article on Motivating the Modern Athlete by Dr. Marty Durden. This article can be found by Clicking Here. His findings are worth sharing.
Coaches generally agree that athletes’ perceptions of authority have changed in past decades. Years ago the coach was viewed as an authoritarian figure akin to a military leader. Many still try to motivate in this way. Paul “Bear” Bryant and Bobby Knight were able to achieve a high level of success based upon strict discipline and demanding leadership. Are you trying to motivate in this way?
The modern athlete seems averse to this style of coaching. This generation’s athlete desire much less direction from coaches and have access to the answers online. The culture of athletics continues to change and influences the perceptions that modern athletes have toward competitive athletics, teammates and coaches.
In this modern sport climate, the concept of servant-leader coaching remains a relevant model for the contemporary coach.
Evidence supports the notion that ethical core values have a significant positive effect on player motivation. Coaches still possess unique standing in our society and are widely viewed with respect. Parents tell me on occasion “Can you help me? My son/daughter wont listen to me. …
Read MoreHappy Halloween-No Tricks…Only Treats…Dressing up is FUN!
Happy Halloween. Our family LOVES to dress up so Halloween is a really fun time for all the families to be creative. This year many of the kids decided to be characters from books or movies they love.
Emperor’s New Grove
Here is Harry Potter
Here is Jinora from The Legend of Kora
Here is Rae, BB8 and an Ewok all Star Wars characters
Here is Princess Black
We have Harry Potter, Rae, and 2 incredibly cute Beavers
The older Beaver 
Harry Potter with his wand
The younger Beaver
The monster and Princess Black
The monster, Jinora and Princess Black
Rae
How we love our grandkids!!!!!
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You are an influencer!
Influence. It’s a big word. What do you think of when you hear the word influence? I think of leader, impact, strong, change, powerful, and authority. But this isn’t all this word means. Influence means “the capacity to have an effect on the character, development, or behavior of someone or something, or the effect itself” (dictionary.com). So in reality, we are all influencers. Have you thought about the influence you are having lately? Are you leaving a positive or negative impact? Is your influence who you want to be? Does your tone reflect your heart? Does your attitude overflow?
As a mom, I have been thinking about this alot lately. My little two year old is soaking up everything he sees, hears, feels, and even smells. I find myself having so much fun with him, and then two seconds later I can be losing my cool about something else. What I need to realize in those little moments is the influence I am having on him. My response, my tone, my attitude, my facial expression, all makes an impact on how he responds to the situation. I want to be lighthearted, patient, loving, and easy going. But I find myself stressed, irritated, and negative. Everything I do is influencing his little character and development. I am an influencer. How am I using that influence! I made a goal this week to pray for my little guy every time I found myself getting a little overwhelmed with his toddlerness. Because the best thing I can do for him is point him to Jesus, pray for him, and love the snot out of him. He’s just being 2! I can’t get mad at him for being exactly how he is supposed to be. But I can influence him to respond positively, feel …
Read MoreA Strong Willed Child
As I have written before, I love listening to the Focus on the Family radio broadcast. I’ll usually put it on when we go on a walk so I can get some “me-time” while we can all enjoy getting some fresh air and looking for doggies (the kids favorite!). The material is so apparent to so many different aspects of marriage, parenting and family. I have learned so much from these 20 minute broadcasts and I usually end up wanting to buy most of the books they discuss because I want to learn more of the information they are sharing about! Today, I am writing about the broadcast called “Surviving the Strong-Willed Child Part 1” by Cynthia Tobias. This is the third time I’ve listened to it because, well, we have a strong willed child…
Our 2 1/2 year old daughter is strong willed! And it has been pushing us to the brink…so we have been searching for some material that may be our “golden ticket”, some strategies that will work for us and our little one to bring a little more peace in our home and overall lives.
Here are some of the points in the discussion that really stood out to me…
Strong Will is Not a Negative Trait
Strong will does not mean rebellion, defiance, and disobedience. These are characteristics that need to be dealt with but it can be done without distinguishing the strong will. Strong will is what pushes one to move ahead. God can use strong will!
“You don’t need to get the strong will out of your child…you need to teach your child how to use the strong will to bring honor and glory to God.”
“Strong will is not a negative trait, it’s one of the most powerful and positive traits a …
Read MoreLife is messy
My past few weeks have been filled with alot of dirt. My two year old son’s favorite place is covering himself in dirt… Whether we are at the park, the baseball field, at home… he sits in it, pours it on himself, puts all his tractors in it, eats it, and throws it (we are trying to kick that habit). He could sit for hours and be having the time of his life. I keep telling myself that he’s just getting ready for baseball… But all in all I could be pretty stressed out or spend all my time trying to keep him clean. But I have realized, I have to let him be who he is and part of that is expressing himself through his love of dirt, tractors, and everything dirty. I can’t focus on the excessive loads of laundry I am doing weekly or how I have to figure out how to give him a bath with a newborn or how we don’t make it through a whole day in the same outfit (usually half the day is spent in just a diaper). What I can focus on is his joy, his exploring, and him just being a BOY! I don’t want to live my life stifling the boy he wants to be because I want him to be a certain way. And I want to enjoy life with him. Seeing life through the eyes of a child is such a gift! Take it in my friends. Today is a gift. And time flies. Now that we have two kids, I barely blink and she is already 2 months. I realized this the other day as I was doing dishes that I needed to stop and just be in the giggles and the joy of the moment …
Read MoreJuggling “Me Time” and “Us Time”
Finding time for yourself as a mom can be nearly impossible. Emphasis on the “nearly,” because as much as it SEEMS impossible, it is possible. You might have to be a little more creative and willing to INTENTIONALLY carve out that time, but you CAN do it.
Today, I had work I needed to do. I work from home on this blog, building my Isagenix business with my amazing team, and with the little that’s left lead a Girl Scout troop of Daisy girls. Oh and of course first and foremost I’m a mom of 3.
Something that I’ve found that helps me juggle my time is being intentional. I’m trying to write down and schedule the things I need to do every day so I stay focused. I set an intention to complete the things on my list. I am also intentional about time. After I picked up the girls from school I knew I had some things to get done. I told the girls that I needed 30 minutes to work in my office. I set a timer because I told them 30 minutes, which meant I was going to do as much as I could with focus for those 30 minutes.
After the 30 minutes I was intentional about spending time with the girls. My 2 youngest were having fun playing together and my oldest had homework to do. It has been rough finding the time and energy to do homework after a full day of school, so I decided to make a little time for the two of us to do something together first.
I wanted to try a new muffin recipe so we baked together. I told her that she needed to do her homework after we were done, setting my expectations before we started. …
Read MoreBack to School Health Tips
School is back in session for our family which means less kids at home (YEAH!!), but more germs and yuck too (BOO!).
Here are my top 5 Back to School Health Tips:
- Snack Smarter
- Have easy grab and go snacks prepared. Try a few of our favorites!!
- Cinnamon Vanilla Protein Bites Dairy Free and delicious
- WOW your kids with our Sweet and Spicy Chex Mix
2. Use Essential Oils
We love Essential Oils and we are thrilled to share that the health + wellness company we’ve chosen to partner with has launched their own oils as the ideal compliment to our superfood nutrition!! With a vision to impact world health, expanding the product line just make sense. They’ve kept it simple with 6 single oils and 4 blends to support the nutritional rebalancing system and food our families eat EVERY DAY.
Oils are a great “tool” to keep in your healthy living toolkit because it is such a simple way to enhance the solutions we already get from our incredible food!! We’ve already been learning new simple ways to add oils to our routine. I’ve posted a few recipes below and keep a look out for more to come!
3. Boost Immunity
As a mom, I worry about protecting my kids’ immune health when they are back at school. Luckily, our nutrition makes it easy to give our immune system a boost and empowers me by making me feel like I am having a positive impact on their health. Every day, the girls get a scoop of immune boost in their shake, I spray their mouths with Isamune with zinc spray, and I diffuse lemon essential oil (with peppermint).
4. Get good sleep
We know getting a good night’s sleep is important and I do feel like school is …
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