Be Mine

Happy Valentine's Day!! 

Instagram Sunday

We are getting snow in Minnesota. This is no surprise, and it's nothing like what they are getting on the East Coast. But we're hardy snow people here, so we just deal with it.
Today was one of those snowy, stay inside days. Cuddling with my baby, reading, making brownies, dancing with my toddler, and thankful my husband does the snow shoveling.

Speaking of reading, I just finished Gone Girl, by Gillian Flynn. Did you read it? I thought it was disturbing and messed up. If there weren't so many twists, I would've stopped reading it from the start.
I did however read a book that I really enjoyed, If You Lived Here by Dana Sachs. I would highly recommend it! Fast read, emotional, yet touching. There was a part in it that I totally lost it and started balling like a baby.

And without further ado, here are my Instagram pics for the day.  You can find me on Instagram @superfluousblog

Cuddle Baby

My View

Mom, Women of Faith

Once again, my friend and fellow blogger Nancy has asked me (and a few other women) to respond to a number of questions in her series, Mom, Women of Faith. This week's topic is, What it means to be a Christian Mom. Below you will find  my answer and several other moms' answers. Enjoy! 

Today we are launching a new series: Mom, Woman of Faith.  Each Saturday a group of moms will respond to a question essential to our lives as Christians and Mothers.  It is our hope that this series will spark reflection and growth for all those involved, both those writing here and those reading.  Please feel free to add your thoughts in the comment section or on facebook.

This week's Question:

What does it mean to be a Christian Mother?

Nancy

Small Things

I have been reflecting on what it means to be a Christian mother and I keep coming back the title of my blog, "do small things with (great) love".  This was the motto of Mother Theresa and although she was not a "mother" these words define Christian motherhood.  The way I show my children love is in all the small moments, which is what fills my day!

Although I often fail, it is my mission as a Christian mother to do all of the small things (laundry, changing diapers, cooking, cleaning, grocery shopping...) with great love, always believing that although the task before me is small, the love I show to my children and husband while preforming it is big.  Christ himself is a wonderful model in this regard.  He became man (something very small when you are God) and, without a doubt He loved greatly.

As a Christian Mother I delight in my smallness, and the smallness of my work, knowing that by creating a holy family my husband and I can change the world.

Elizabeth

Yes, They're All Ours

A Christian mother is a woman who aligns her life according to God’s Word, choosing to put God first in her life, followed by her husband, and then her children. She also seeks to mother her children based on the timeless principles of God’s Word.  

The most important relationship in a Christian woman’s life should be her relationship to God, which is only made possible by Jesus’ death and resurrection on our behalf.  All Christians are commanded to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.  (Matthew 6:33)  By spending time with her Savior each morning and renewing her mind in the Word of God, a Christian mother is able to serve her family with joy and love.  She is also able to gain wisdom for her mothering, because according to Proverbs, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.


The second most important relationship for a Christian woman is her relationship with her husband.  Children learn love by watching their father love their mother, and they learn obedience by watching their mother submit joyfully to their father’s leadership.  Furthermore, they feel secure when they sense that their parent’s relationship is loving and strong.  That provides the rich soil they need to put down roots and flourish.

Many mothers make the mistake of putting their children first and putting their husbands on the back burner during their child-rearing years. Most husbands don’t take too well to such a demotion!  However, it’s a fact that the needs of children can be quite overwhelming, especially when young, and a conscientious mother can easily become consumed with the needs of her children. Therefore, she must make a concentrated effort to invest in her relationships with God and her husband and to remember to make them a priority.

After building the necessary foundation of loving God and her husband, the Christian mother is free to love and minister to her children!  If she lacks wisdom, God has promised to give it to her! (James 1:5)  As she asks for wisdom and observes how God “parents” His children, the Christian mother will learn how to wisely parent her own children! There is much wisdom to be gained from observing God’s role as Father, such as: His mercies are new every morning!  He loves His children with an everlasting love!  He gives only good gifts!  He shepherds His flock, because sheep need much guidance and protection.  He chastens His children when they go astray, but gently restores those who repent.  He does all of this in love and with gentleness.

Above all, a Christian mother recognizes that she has a high and noble calling to partner with God in producing a godly family!  She should never feel that she is “just a mommy” or “just a housewife.”  There is no more important job in all the world than to raise up productive, well-adjusted, adults who love God and love others and will make an impact in the world!  

Sabrina

Superfluous

When my friend Nancy asked me to write for Mom, Women of Faith I was very excited. I thought it would be fun way to share a bit about who I am and what my faith means to me. My question is, What it Means to be a Christian Mom. At first, I thought it would be no big deal to quickly write out a word or two on this subject. But the more I thought about it, the MORE I thought about it; if you know what I mean. I recently had baby #2 and along with my 21 month old son, my kiddos are very young right now. So why is it even important to start thinking about what kind of mom I am and how I demonstrate my faith to them at such an earlier age? Because I firmly believe that at no matter what age a child is, demonstrating Christ's love on a daily basis is the most important thing I can do for my boys next to caring for their physical and emotional needs. If I am to be a Christian, then I need to walk the walk and talk the talk. This means practicing the Fruit of the Spirit everyday with my boys. Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Gentleness, Faithfulness and Self-Control. I have the choice in every moment to re-act either Christ-like or I can get selfish and do it my way. These little children will one day grow up to be young men, and I pray that the actions they saw me do, will help them in their own choices in life. I so want my boys to grow up to be Godly men, but how are they to get this way without guidance and direction from their parents? Besides my actions, right now I try to do little things with them like, read a children's Bible or devotional book to them, take them to church and Sunday school, sing songs about God and pray out loud with them. And of course, Pray for them daily! 

I am definitely far from from being Christ-like in my actions & words, and there are days I feel like I fail as a mom in millions of ways. But I love my boys and I know God loves them too. I am not perfect and I never will be, but I can try and show them how important my faith is to me. In hopes that one day their own faith in Jesus will be important to them. 

Maria

A Day in the Life of Military Wife

A Christian mother is a woman who sees one of her primary callings and “jobs” to be the upbringing of her children in the teachings of Christ. She attempts, through her actions and words, to create a culture in her home that encourages all members of the family to seek a virtuous life. A Christian mother knows that all things are possible through Christ, so she tries her best to never depend on herself, but instead to strengthen herself and her family through constant prayer and dependence on Him.

And now it's your turn.  Tell us your thoughts, or comment on what we've shared. 

For next week's question click here.

An Oldie But Goodie Link Party #4

Hey! My friend and fellow blogger Nancy asked me if I would like to Co-host a link party with her, and I said YES! Nancy is an awesome blogger who makes all these super cute crafts over at her blog. Seriously, everything she makes, I want to make too! 

So check out her link party information below, and be sure to check out her blog Small Things! You'll love it! 

Welcome back!  Here we are in week 4 already!

Thank you, thank you to everyone that has linked up already.  I love looking at your OLD posts!  I have to be honest, one of the first things I look at when I visit your blog is the date.  I love it when I find something from 2 or three years ago!  And, I have to be honest, I am a little biased.  I tend to feature the OLDER posts.  So, keep digging through those archives!

Before we get to the party, here are some FABULOUS and OLD Features!

As a lover of spoon rings, I couldn't resist this project.  I love this spoon pendant from Upcycled Stuff.  I am totally going to make this--I just hope I don't hurt myself in the process!

I am so happy that Etcetorize dug through her archives and linked up this "Pretty Tacky" project.  Easy, glamorous and both pretty and tacky (in the good way)!

Isn't this frame romantic?  It's super easy too.  Check it out over at the Moody Fashionista.

Hopefully this Embroidery Thread book from Adventures of a DIY Mom will inspire me to get my thread organized...Hopefully!  Such clear instructions that even I could do this!

And finally, aren't these hand-made gift boxes so unique and beautiful?  Check them out over at Simply Creating Home.

Thanks to everyone!  If you were featured, please grab a featured button from the tab above!

On to the party!  I am excited to have a co-host this week, my blog friend and real-life friend, Sabrina.  She blogs over at Superfluous.  we had the good fortune of meeting in a baby class.  She is the one who first taught me about HTML code...not that I really know much about it now!  She is wonderfully crafty and has a beautiful family.

Sabrina has been a little busy lately, having had a little boy just over a month ago.  But I talked her into co-hosting and I'm hoping she digs out some of her older fantastic projects to share with you! Please welcome her and stop by her blog! PS--if you are interested in co-hosting, let me know!  I'd love to have you! Here are the quick list of rules:

1. Link up anything (hopefully old stuff), but please link different projects each week.

2. Please link back to this blog either with the button or a text link somewhere on your blog.

3. Limit yourself to 3 links each week.

4. Please visit others and leave some comment love.

5. I'd love it if you'd follow along here, either by GFC, Facebook or Twitter.
6.  It'd be great if you'd visit our co-host and follow her as well.
7. Finally, any help you can offer in promoting this party, either on twitter, facebook or your own blog, will be greatly appreciated!

Are you ready to party it old school?

Family of 4

Since my last post a lot has happened. Deacon stayed in the hospital 2 weeks and was able to come home in time for the new year. We moved into our new house (FINALLY) and now are getting settled as a family of four. January 28th, was my official due date, so Deacon has now been with us for six weeks and we just  adore him. Everett doesn't pay too much attention to him, so I haven't encountered any jealousy issues. I'm slowly getting the house to look more like a home, but with two kiddos, it's a very slow process. I can't wait to show you the before and after photos. 

SURPRISE!!!!

We got an early Christmas present this year, with the arrival of a certain little baby who came 6 weeks early!

Deacon Elliott Singer-Towns

Born: December 17, at 8:29am

5lbs 10oz 18in

On December 7th my water broke! Being only 32 weeks at the time, it was very scary. Once we were at the hospital I was put on immediate hospital bed rest. They said that most likely I would go into labor within 72 hours. But if I didn't, they wanted me to try and hold out until I was 34 weeks. So for 10 days I rested and waited and prayed that little baby would hold tight. The doctors and nurses were always so surprised when at the end of the day there were still no signs of labor! As soon as I hit 34 weeks they had me set up to have a c-section since baby was transverse (sideways). Although right before they started the surgery they did an ultrasound and he had dropped head down! But at that point we just all agreed it was best to proceed with surgery. 

Very quickly Deacon was born and he was a Rock Star! Because he was breathing on his own and weighed a good amount he didn't have to go to the NICU but to a Special Care Nursery instead. Praise God, he is doing so well! We aren't sure how long he'll have to stay in the hospital, the last big hurdle is he needs to learn how to eat on his own without a feeding tube. We of course hope he could be home by Christmas, but maybe a week or so after that.... I'm just so thankful he is doing so well!!!! He is a very sweet and content baby. We are smitten!! 

Halloween 2012

My little frog!

P.S. Yes we are still living with my folks. But the end is in sight!!!!! Our house is almost ready...