by Kimberly | Nov 28, 2015 | Books, Shepherding Children
Well, most of the turkey in your fridges is probably eaten – we have some about to get into a casserole for lunch tomorrow. You may have some pie left – but I guarantee if it is good pie than it is already gone. We have one piece left, but I’m sure my mister will eat that when he gets home in a few.
But, now we move on to Christmas. Some of you have already been playing carols in your car. My mister starts listening to Christmas music in the summer because he always puts together the Christmas cantata at our church so he needs to know the music before Thanksgiving. There are only a few Christmas cds that I can listen to all year, but mostly I just listen to them in December.
This year I’ve been receiving texts from friends asking what we are going to do with our boys and Santa. I give them what we are doing – and then couch it all in – Bring Christmas back to Jesus where it belongs. No matter what you do with Santa.
Tommy Nelson has a new book out for Christmas and your preschoolers this year. I was reading through it with mine tonight and it really has some good illustrations to help you tell the Christmas story – couched in many of the things we know and experience about Christmas. It helps us to continue thanksgiving into the holiday season of Christmas. I love how it talks about snow and forgiveness. And even our warm beds and the manger. This book leaves a little bit to be desired in its depth of Christmas. It is a little generic, maybe secularized or weak so as not to offend, which can lead to a false theology of Christmas. Its missing a specific reference to why Jesus had to come to earth. The parent would have to further explain more to their children about what Christmas is – but it is a good start.
You too can read this book to your child. All you have to do to win it is tell me what is something you are looking forward to doing with your kids this Christmas. We are going to ride the Pink Pig at a mall in ATL – a long-standing tradition for many Atlantans. And we are going to start making a Happy Birthday Jesus Cake.
by Kimberly | Nov 24, 2015 | Books, Shepherding Children
Let’s be honest for a second, sometimes (in the midst of temper tamptrums and bouts of continued disobedience) it is hard to be really thankful for our children.
But, God has given them to us as a blessing and should be one of the greatest gifts we’ve ever been given – and they need to be told over and over again how thankful we are for them.
One of the times i usually love the most, is when I get to lay down with my older one and pray over him as he goes to sleep at night. He has some sensory delays in his development, so he absolutely loves to sleep in the floor. We’ve made him a soft palette and pile on his stuffed animals and his night night (the blanket he has slept with since he was a few months old). He always wants either me or his Daddy to lay beside him until he falls asleep. And as soon as I lay down with him, I pray aloud over him with my hand on his back or his face. Such a sweet time. I pray for his little heart to be turned to God because God would be calling him, giving him a new heart. I pray that he would be obedient and that he would love God. I also finish each prayer saying how thankful we are for him, bubba, mommy, daddy, and most of all Jesus.
It is so important for our children to hear us praying for them – not just telling them about it. I learned from my mentor the importance of writing down prayers and journaling for future generations. I admit that the discipline has been a struggle for me in these early years, but I do it some. And it is such a treasure for me when I do journal and write out my prayers for them to my great Heavenly Father who listens to our prayers.
Tommy Nelson sent me Jean Fischer’s new book I Prayed For You – and I love it. A cute board book complete with cute illustrated bears. Tells of prayers a mama can pray for her cub as he grows up. And yes, like any good mom I cried as I got to several of the prayers.
This will be a book you can treasure reading to your little one – even until he or she is 5 or 6. Treasure the time. Treasure the prayers. If you want to have a chance to win this book – leave a comment with something you pray for your children. That’s it! I will pick the winner on Wednesday.
by Kimberly | Nov 23, 2015 | The Charming South Kitchen
Happy Thanksgiving Week. Hit me up if you are still in need of recipes and you just don’t know what to cook for Thursday’s big meal. Normal life this week and I’m thankful for that.
Chicken Ramen Salad
Thick-sliced Turkey BLT
Homemade Applesauce (so much better than store bought)
Tyler’s Pumpkin Pie
Tuna Salad
by Kimberly | Nov 22, 2015 | Sundays in the South
Life has been full the past few weeks and I’ve not gotten around to doing one of my favorite posts of the week – but here goes some of my fave site finds for you to look at.
I definitely want to make this before fall gives way to the winter.
Salads for balancing out all the treats of the holidays – and I love one with tangy fruits and warm roasted vegetables.
Can I just be honest with the rest of this page:
Sometimes the world of the internet overwhelms me. People in my feeds argue about refugees and red cups (whether filled with coffee or beer). They complain about what they don’t like. They speak about how wonderful life is. They post everything good that they do. I give in to this so much. And more of the time – I crave for time with my true friends, sitting down with coffee, talking about how life is hard and how God is good. Or just crying because your kids are driving you crazy and money is tight. I long to have refreshment from uninterrupted time with my mister, sitting in the word for a while without having to go somewhere in a few minutes, not wondering how we are going to pay the bills next month, or just sitting there across from a friend who is struggling too – and listening to her cry, tears of concern and mystery and hurt. Life happens outside of the blog and social media world.
Ok – well, happy Sunday from my little world to you!
by Kimberly | Nov 20, 2015 | creatives, Uncategorized
I’ve come to learn that you really can be creative anywhere: in the car (thinking, hopefully not driving while you are coloring), in a doctor’s office waiting to be called, during your children’s nap time, while listening to a lecture (I multitask pretty well), or my fave place – on the beach. But, I can’t always get to the beach – and I seldom have quiet time at home with two boys 3 and under – but I still love to be creative.
My ideal work space is definitely not what I have now – but I am thankful for what I have now. We live in a small-ish town home so my desk (that we got as a wedding gift) is in the corner of our living room. It has a mirror and a huge window so I’ve got lots of natural light. I have a little set of drawers that my parents had had forever that I took (with their permission) and repainted with Annie Sloan in a wonderful teal. I recently repurposed some shelving that was in our son’s room and brought it downstairs to make the tight space more manageable and warm. When on a tight budget, like we are on now, it is better to repurpose then to buy new. I love having all my paper, markers, pens, ink, and books! It definitely helps to have a space to write on – and not just pulling up a lap. And my husband appreciates me not always taking over the dining room table!
Now, with my ideal space: I would have beautiful pottery barn baskets to hide the “stuff” and anthro pens holders (but I do love my Talenti Gelato containers). I would have it in a closed room so I could leave it more messy sometimes if I’m working on a big project (like addressing wedding invitations which is my weekend project). I would also love more bookshelves because I love to read and I think reading spurs on creativity. And I would love a big comfy chair to curl up in! And I know laptops are great but I would love a massive mac for photo editing. And, when I worked as a curriculum writer for a church in NC, I had a round table in my office. I would mostly work there instead of my desk and it was perfect for having collaborative meetings – definitely get one of those too! A girl can dream right?
WeWork has inspired me to talk about my ideal creative space. They rent out creative shared office space in (mostly) big cities to creatives who need to have a studio or just a desk. It is really helpful for creatives to be around other creatives. Something about being with creatives that really spurs me on – even if its just talking about our creatives muses or collaborating on a project. If I have the chance to do that once the boys are in school, and there is one in whatever city we live in at that time (currently live in the metro ATL area), that that would be great for writing and photo editing, especially.
