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I Am More Than A Mom

October 26, 2011 in Minimalist Parenting

This past sunday the kids went to play at grandma’s for the day and Bryon and I wandered kid-less for a few hours downtown.  These are some of the pictures he took.

I want to start off by saying that in no way am I saying that anyone needs to be more than a mom to be fulfilled.  I am a stay-at-home mom.  I am also not saying that being a mom isn’t super important to me.  It is my biggest responsibility and my greatest job.

That being said, I am more than a mom. 

Becoming a mom is the single largest identity change.  Graduating from college, getting married, getting the corner office, none of these are close to the social change that comes from becoming a mother.  (probably the biggest personal and physical change too)

I was someone before I had kids, and I will be someone after they leave home.  I want my life and how I see myself as well as others and society to remember that identity. 

I am not talking about doing, this isn’t a post about working or non-working mom’s, I am talking about who I am.

I am:

  1. A strange combination of shy and bossy
  2. Outdoorsy, especially live for hiking
  3. Not a kid person
  4. Always cold
  5. A people pleaser
  6. Type A with a mix of hippy
  7. Spontaneous because I am such a planner that if I have the chance and time to plan it tires me out
  8. Loud guitar player (not good, but I love loud)
  9. Mostly vegan
  10. Concerned about the environment but more concerned about helping the people it is affecting now
  11. Concerned about animal rights but more concerned about child prostitution
  12. … wish I had dreads, but don’t have all the guts to pull it off yet
  13. Love non-fiction reading – positive, informative stuff
  14. Proud of my kids
  15. Sure the world is going to end, but convinced I need to trust God and enjoy life, only dealing with what can make a difference and not stressing about what I can’t change… or packing cans in the basement.   … this isn’t a problem we can work out or plan for beyond staying close to Jesus.
  16. Accepting of others but unsure how to culturally meet several
  17. Live life in fast/happy or slow/sad swing
  18. Don’t watch TV or movies much, I get too emotionally drained
  19. Don’t watch or read the news (see #15)
  20. Believe that most of life is what we create, how we respond and what glasses we choose to look through
  21. Not near as strong or healthy as I wish I was, but determined to keep working on it
  22. I don’t spell very whell
  23. Have been in 7 countries and really hope to multiply that by 10 or so if I get the chance
  24. Love my life
  25. In love with my husband more than when we were married

 Really this is a post about stereotypes (motherhood is just the big one I see everyday). It is hard with human nature to look beyond them.  But, I am learning the joy of taking the time to look past the outside and obvious parts of a person and finding some of their true self.  Often, even though the outside/obvious person doesn’t seem similar or have ‘friend potential’, the inside has pieces identical to mine. 

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Simple Compassion-ADRA Helping Women in Balgladesh

October 11, 2011 in Simple Compassion

I wanted to help raise awareness of some huge world issues by highlighting some amazing things being done.  It is easy to feel overwhelmed when I hear of all the pain that so many people live through, but there is so much hope when people allow themselves to be used by God to be His hands.  Women especially have a hard time and I am excited to hear how this program is helping.  If you know of another great project that is making a difference, let me know!  Here is a link to the full article.

SILVER SPRING, Md. – In Bangladesh, women and girls struggle for equality due to patriarchal traditions of the country. This results in a minimized role in decision-making within family and social structures, leading to marginalization in a variety of areas, such as education and health. The Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) is improving the health status of women and their children through nutrition, hygiene, and skill training programs.

In the slum area of Mirpur, a suburb of the Bangladesh capital city Dhaka, ADRA is training new mothers and pregnant women health and nutrition methods to improve health conditions. Women are taught the importance of taking adequate care of themselves as well as their children through proper feeding, basic hygiene practices, monitoring children’s growth, and properly vaccinating children to prevent disease, such as polio. ADRA’s training has benefitted approximately 2,000 women and 500 severely malnourished children under the age of five, and an additional 10,000 household members indirectly.

For a number of years, a young mother by the name of Nargis (pictured above) and her husband Abdul Goni, have been living in the Chalantika slum with their three young children. Nargis expressed her family did not maintain proper hygiene within the home and admitted hand washing with soap after bathroom use was something they were not familiar with. A significant change in their lifestyle came after ADRA made a community visit to their home. Shortly thereafter, Nargis began attending ADRA’s hygiene, sanitation, and literacy classes.

Since joining, Nargis is now preparing nutritious meals for her family and monitors her children’s growth and health. She boils water to ensure it’s safe for her and her family to drink and has enrolled her two oldest sons into school. Nargis now shares what ADRA has taught her with her neighbors, and through her lifestyle changes, she has attracted many others to ask and learn these simple life-saving methods.

To learn more about ADRA’s humanitarian efforts, please contact ADRA at 1.800.424.ADRA (2372) or give online at www.adra.org

Follow ADRA on Twitter and Facebook to get the latest information as it happens.

ADRA is a global non-governmental organization providing sustainable community development and disaster relief without regard to political or religious association, age, gender, race or ethnicity.

For more information about ADRA, visit www.adra.org

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Making a Big Difference…. Simply.

September 20, 2011 in Simple Compassion

Welcome to my simple living blog!  Thanks for reading.  Take a look around and feel free to comment or e-mail me. 

I want to share a simple way that my family has been involved in making a powerful difference.  For the last 3ish years we have sponserd 2 children through World Vision.

First off I have a huge burden for those in 3rd world countries.  There are evils and poverty in our country, but here there are programs everywhere for food and medical.  Clean water and education are amazingly easy to come by no matter who you are or where you are.  In other countries it isn’t this way.   Lack of clean water, food and basic medical attention kill millions of people.  The education that could help pull them out of the cycle is often something they can’t get, don’t have time to get, or are too weak to get.  We did nothing to deserve where we were born and they did nothing to deserve where they were born.  In the world, we are all family and we should do all we can to help each other. 

What is neat about world vision is the connection.  We picked 2 children, matching ages and genders with our own as close as we could and have been able to write back and forth and learn about how they are benefiting from our support.  We know that these children will grow up to get the education that can give lasting help to their community. 

Let me introduce you to our kids:

Juster(below)-Juster is a 7-year-old girl in Malawi.  She seems shy, but likes to draw us pictures and is doing well in school.  Her aunt writes us letters because she isn’t old enough to write yet.  As she does more school I am looking forward to seeing letters from her.  Last Christmas we sent extra money and she was able to get several things including a metal storage container to keep the bugs from destroying her blankets, cloths and a goat.  We send $35 for Juster every month and a world vision worker checks on her everyday because she is high risk.  She is a Hope Child.

Phochland(seen at the top of the post)-Phochland is a little 4-year-old boy with lots of older siblings living in northeast India.  Still to old to do school or write he has done a few simple drawings or colorings for us and we send him lots of stickers.  He loves playing ball and is very healthy.  Last Christmas, with some extra money we sent, world vision purchased a bike for his dad.  We send $30 a month for Phochland and the world vision worker checks on him every week. 

Sponsor a Child

These are my additional kids.  It has been a great experience for our whole family.  Lily and Ian both write letters and pick out stickers and treats to send.  We would love to visit them someday. 

In this world we can’t fix all the problems, and it seems overwhelming when we hear all the terrible struggles people face.  I love that I can do something for someone.  These kids, their families and their communities benefit from a small amount that is automatically withdrawn out of my account each month. 

Will you help too?  Will you find a kid to help?  It is super easy, pick and kid and set up automatic withdrawal and they take it from there.  If you have time, when you remember, you can send a note, but your money is working even when you don’t think about it.

My reason for writing this article is two-fold.   First, I think all kids deserve a chance no matter where they are born, and I believe World Vision does a great job of offering sustainable help to communities.

Second, if I can convince 5 of you to sign up by the end of Sep to sponsor a child I get entered in a drawing for a trip to Peru.  So, if you sign up, send me an e-mail with your name and your sponsored childs ID number :)  I would also love to hear how it is going as you sponsor your child. 

This is such a great opportunity.  As much as I would love to fly over to some of these countries and try to help, I can’t figure out a good way now.  What my small contribution does every month provides the practical, educated, lasting help that I can’t physically give.  It is a blessing to be involved, simple to , and a bargain! 

Will you sponsor?  Sponsor Now! 

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