31 Days of Good Habits~ Day Thirty- One!!!

We did it!!!  We made it all the way to Day 31.  While this month is coming to an end, a lifestyle of habits is really just beginning.  Take some time now, to CELEBRATE!!!  Make sure you communicate to your children that this is not the end, but just the start of good habits.  But together we have completed a giant step!  That is great cause for celebration!!! 

Thanks for sticking with me through it all.  It has been so refreshing to see the growth and change start to take place in our family.  I'm excited about returning to my regular blogging though!

31 Days of Good Habits~ Day Thirty

We're almost there!!!  We've completed (almost!) 31 Days of Good Habits.  Hopefully by now, these are truly becoming habits for your family and positive changes have started to happen in your home.

Today is the last day to look back at our routines and see how they are working.  How is the morning routine going?  Does it jump start your day?  What could you add or subtract to start your day off on a better foot?  How about afternoon?  Is your house left ready for Daddy to walk in the door?  Does the bedtime routine wrap up the day in a peaceful way?  How about meals?  What needs tweaked to help them run and finish up as smoothly as possible?

Remember to always be ready to change things up to work best for your home and family.  Sometimes we want change just because we are feeling lazy, but sometimes there is truly a more effective way to get the job done.  Lets continue to seek wisdom in the best way to build good habits into our lives!

31 Days of Good Habits~ Day Twenty-Nine

This is the last habit we are adding to our list.  The habit of giving thanks.  This one is a little different from the rest, but it is so important in life that I want to make of point of making it a habit for my children. 

How can you help this become a habit for your children?  Thank them for the things that they do.  Express thanks to everyone who crosses your path throughout the day.  Help them see all that Daddy does for his family and find creative ways to be thankful.  Help them write thank you notes to people who have blessed them.  When riding in the car go around saying things God created that they are thankful for.  The opportunities are endless, but as mothers we have to make a point of using these opportunities.

Thankfulness makes life abound with beauty.  Give your children the gift of making this a habit in their lives.

31 Days of Good Habits~ Or, Maybe Not Quite 31!!!

Daddy has been gone since Sunday and as you can tell, when Daddy is gone, my world falls apart!!!

We have actually had a fun girl time, and I thought there would be plenty of time for blogging, but I guess I was wrong!!!  Sorry to drop the ball here at the end, but actually, I was already reconsidering a few of these last "habit days".  I think we are going to skip yesterday and today and just finish up these next three days.  So "31 Days" is actually "29 Days" but hopefully you will forgive me!

So what was I doing these last three days?  I was SEWING!!!  I haven't sewn anything on my own since before I had children.  But my grandma gave me my great-grandma's sewing machine and now I have been sewing up a STORM!!!  I am having so much fun!!!!!

31 Days of Good Habits~ Day Twenty-four and Twenty-five

Well, it happened.  Yesterday was full with getting ready for church, getting Daddy out the door for a retreat then trying to distract myself from missing Daddy on the retreat.  In the midst of it all, our habit got skipped!  Sorry!

Thankfully, yesterday and today are both sort of review days.  First of all, how are their devotion times going?  My girls are young and so at this point spending time reading the Bible is more a part of their check list then their relationship with the Lord.  I can play a vital roll though, in how they view their time spent with the Lord.  Let's remember to talk about what they are reading and what they are praying for. Let's remember to continue to teach about God's heart for them.

Our Afternoon Routine is now completed so let's attack it with full force!

1.  Pick out pajamas

2.  Afternoon chores (repeat of morning chores)

3.  Personal clean-up (wash faces, comb hair, make sure clothes are tidy and clean)

31 Days of Good Habits~ Day Twenty-three

The next addition to our Afternoon Routine is our personal clean-up time.  After we've picked up the house, we take a moment to clean-up ourselves!  The girls love taking the time to comb their hair, wash their faces and check their clothes so they are all ready for Daddy to come home.  And Daddy loves coming home to a well kept, smiling family. 

31 days of Good Habits~ Day Twenty-three

We're finally getting to our Afternoon Routine!  The great thing about this routine is that starts the evening out on the right foot.  I don't know how many times I find myself stressed out as the dinner hour is approaching and I'm expecting my husband to walk in the door at any minute.  I want our home to be a place of peace and rest, but at those times it feels like anything but that.

We try and start our Afternoon Routine around 4:30.  The first step is picking out pajamas for bedtime (which we've already covered).  Next is afternoon clean-up which is pretty much a repeat of the morning chores!  The girls run to pick up the main body of the house so I'm just left with making sure the kitchen is in order.

The point of afternoon clean-up is simply to have the house in order for the evening.  I would recommend planning what activity is going to follow after this as there is nothing more disappointing than getting your house in ship shape, only to have it a disaster again when Daddy walks through the door.  Simple games like Candy land, Uno, Skip-Bo, Chutes and Ladders are fun activities that  make hardly any mess.