Helpful Tips for Busy Families Part 4

  I hope you all are having a blessed weekend.  A very windy, stormy night brought in another blast of cool weather here in Texas.  I am thinking this surely has to be the last cool weather we are going to have.  This truly has been an unusually long and cold winter.  We had two snows here this year, and that is unheard of in our area.

This picture is a snow we had several months back; this was indeed such an unusual treat for Texas children!  

Now moving on to some helpful tips for managing the busy family.  :)  This picture is not of our shoe shelf, but we have a metal wire rack shelf by our back door, in the laundry room, that hold shoes.  It is amazing how many pairs of shoes can overrun the home of a large family.  I have found it is helpful to keep the children' shoes on this shelf to try to keep them from ending up all over the house.  My older children also store some of their everyday shoes here.  We currently store all our mud boots right inside the garage door.  My goal is that my children put their shoes on the shoe shelf when they come inside instead of wearing them and losing them inside the house.  This training is still a work in progress.  I do, however, have my oldest daughter keep some of her extra shoes in her own closet.  

Family Shoe Shelf by Back Door

Large Family Size Tote Bag

  Our family will soon be attending a homeschool conference.  I have learned the hard way that it is difficult to keep up with a diaper bag, my purse, an activity bag, and shopping bags when I purchase resources, etc.  By the end of the day I feel like my arms are falling off.  Because of this I just purchased a mega sized tote bag that I think will hold EVERYTHING.  I found some great options with many pockets at a Vera Bradley outlet store.  I was super blessed to hit a fifty percent off sale with an additional twenty percent off.  This is not my bag but is similar.  I got a great deal, and I think it will hold everything a family of nine could need as we attend sessions.

Count Your Blessings! 


As our family began growing into a larger than average family I began to see the need to do a head count whenever we would go somewhere.  So far I have never forgotten a child, and just doing this simple head count helps us account for all family members before leaving the farm or an outing.  Since I have seven children I simply turn around and count, "One, two, three, four, five, six, seven blessings."  This way I make sure I have everyone and at the same time remind my children that I do view them as blessings.  I hope one day they have fond memories of  this little routine and perhaps they will carry it on to the next generation.  :)

Buddy System

We also will often put a younger child with an older child when going on an outing.  This way we can keep track of everyone, and it is so beyond precious to see the love the older ones have for their younger siblings.  We also use this buddy system at various points during our day when I need an older child to keep an eye on a younger sibling.  The special bonds between older and younger siblings is just heart warming.  I think it is so good for the older ones to feel needed and loved by their younger siblings and gives them valuable life experience for when they have their own little ones.  Sometimes I meet young adults who know nothing about caring for little people, and I realize that this truly is a beautiful blessing in having such a wide span of ages in our family.  My older children will truly have much experience with babies/toddlers by the time they start their own families.  My Mama's heart is warmed by seeing these sweet older sibling/younger sibling friendships.  Looking ahead I can imagine that by the time my youngest children are teenagers they may have lots of nieces and nephews to enjoy.  

Do All Mothering to the Glory of God

I LOVE being a Mama, but truthfully I do sometimes grow very tired and weary.  Sometimes it helps me to take a step back and just remember that I need to do all my mothering and daily tasks as working for the Lord.  My ultimate goal in mothering is that my children will grow up and have their own personal walks with the Lord.  My prayer is that they will then carry this faith on to the next generation.  When we keep this goal in mind it helps us to press on remembering that ultimately we are doing all our tasks great and small for the Lord and His glory.  We do our best and ask the Lord to use it all for His kingdom purposes.  When we work with all our heart for the Lord, the result will be a  strong visionary perspective and joy in doing what God has called and equipped us to do.  Let us pray that the Lord will help us in this so that we will not grow weary in doing good.  

I hope this series on small helpful tips has been encouraging to you.  I am thankful for the many helpful ideas I have gleaned from others through the years.  The Lord is faithful to continue to guide us season by season.  Blessings to you, Dear Mamas!