the Mom-Stuff Community » Valentine Valentine-Day

Valentine Crafts

the mom-team — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 17:48:08 +0000

At Mom-Stuff.com we love Valentines Day. We have some great girlfriend valentines gifts in our mom’s craft section. We also have several classmate valentines pages in our kids craft section. Have some fun family time making valentines with your kids. Come and visit and get inspirited.

Make Your Own Valentines

Make your own Valentine Animals for classmate..

Valentine Flower Ball
Valentine Flower Ball .a perfect gift for girlfriends and mothers. .

Valentine Candy Ball
This Valentine is as pretty as it is sweet. This project is fun for kids but also pretty enough to be for Mother’s Day, a friend’s birthday or Valentine’s Day gift. . . .

Love Bug Sucker
These Valentine Suckers are so pretty you can put them into a flower vase for a decoration.

Valentine Recipes
Valentine Recipes-Sweets for your sweeties on Valentine’s Day. . .

Valentines Scrapbooking
Valentine Scrapbooking Page layout, You Warm My Heart . .

Thanks for being a part of the mom-stuff community. We believe in Moms helping Moms and we are so glad you are a part of our circle. We want to hear from you. What can we do to help enrich your life? What can you offer to other Moms? If you have any ideas that you would like to share for the New Year please email them to me. dianne@mom-stuff.com

Classmate Valentines

the mom-team — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 00:17:12 +0000

Our Classmate Valentine has been one of our most popular Kids Crafts on Mom-Stuff.com. The comments from our moms have been amazing. These are so easy to make and they look so cute.

The patterns are made to be printed on colored paper with very simple details. I made them last year with my granddaughters, one was only two. Pick the pattern from your child’s cutting skill level or per cut them your self. Have some fun with the children in your life. Crafting can be great family time. Get your FREE patterns at mom-stuff.com.

Featured Blog-Lolidots

the mom-team — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 16:44:48 +0000

Lolidots Children Boutique

Stop by Lolidotsour featured blog this week and tell Robin thanks for sharing her blog with us. While you are there visit her unique Children’s Boutique with hand made children’s clothing and accessories. I love the custom ordering. Go to Hair Bows and hair accessories and see how she has her ordering set it. It is awesome! You choose the style of bow you want, the hair attachment and the colors. COOL!

Thanks for visiting the Mom-Stuff Blog Tour sponsored by www.mom-stuff.com. We are so excited by your response to our tour. We are having so much fun and making so many new friends. We still have some open weeks if you would like us to tour your blog. This weeks mom blogger, Robin at Lolidots. has been such fun to work with and to get to know better.

A Resolutioning We Will Go…

Posted by Robin Haws on Thursday, December 31, 2009

**Of course “resolutioning” is a word. My spell checker just doesn’t know what it’s talking about. It’s a word. I made it up just now.

I don’t like making New Year’s Resolutions. I don’t think I’ve ever made a serious one and attempted in the slightest to keep it. I’m a procrastinator and would way rather not set myself up for that kind of failure!

But…

After some dragging of my feet and rolling of my eyes…

I guess I’ll turn my gaze inward and see if I can find anything that needs work or change. This will be hard because I’m pretty close to perfect!

I really need to stop yelling. If this were a meeting I would be standing up and saying “Hello, my name is Robin and I’m a yeller.” I yell a lot. Not even angry yelling all the time. Just yelling. Loud talking. My husband is constantly telling me to stop yelling even when I don’t think that I am yelling. I yell at the kids to stop yelling at me from their rooms. Really? How freaking confusing am I as a mom? The thing is, I know I yell. I know it’s terrible. I know I hate it and so does my family. I know that the reason my kids yell is because their insane mom yells. A lot of my yelling is from straight up old-fashioned impatience. Oh, my impatience. But, that’s for a different resolution. I can’t say I’ll do wonderfully at nixing the yelling. I can’t say I’ll make it very long without yelling. I will say that I really would like to stop doing it. And, since I’m blogging more these days, maybe I’ll use the blog as my outlet to chronicle my journey in my anti-yelling resolution.

So, Resolution #1- Stop yelling. (or at least cut down on it!) This will be hard and if anyone out there has any tips or advice or can commiserate with me…please feel free!

As I already said, I’m impatient. Seriously, hurry up with your reading of this post! Just kidding. But, I am very impatient. And, how can I possibly ask my children to “Wait just one gosh darn minute” if I can’t wait just a moment for them? Or for anything else for that matter! I really and truly have no idea how to become more patient but, this year seems to be a good one to start trying.

Resolution #2 – Be more patient.

I also have a problem of getting all irked over things that really aren’t that big of a deal. I’m cringing and biting my lip because I just looked over at the living room where my hubby and kids are and have seen that the children have dumped a pile of stuffed animals on the floor. In my mind I’m imagining that if it looks like that here then what in the world must their rooms look like. The rooms that I just cleaned a little bit ago. Now, my husband would tell me that it’s not a big deal. They are being kids. They are having fun. It is easily cleaned. Why I can’t have that laid back attitude, I do not know. I want it though. I want to stop sweating the small stuff. Instead of freaking out about a mess I want to get down there and play and make the mess with them. Because, let’s face it, that’s what it’s all about.

Resolution #3 – Relax and stop sweating the small stuff.

I’m sure that a resolution to stop procrastinating would be great but, I’ll do that later!

So, those are the current resolutions. I’d really like to do these three, even if I don’t add any others. Sure I’d like to be more active and do more things but, these three resolutions would really make home life happier for all four of us and that’s a wonderful gift for myself and my family. I will try. OK, how about this…

Resolution #4 – Try as hard as I can to fulfill Resolutions 1-3.

There. Done and done.

Happy New Year!!

The mom-team will be giving away gifts to the people who make the most comments while following the blog tour. You can make comments here, on Robin’s Blog, Tweeter, Facebook or other social sites. Thanks for being a part of www.mom-stuff.com your moms resource site. Visit our site for Valentine ideas. We have some great stuff! We just added some easy classmate valentines.

See you again tomorrow,

dianne@mom-stuff.com

Meet Robin at Lolidots

the mom-team — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 15:18:39 +0000

Meet Robin

Mom-Stuff Blog Tour is visiting Robin this week. “Lolidotsbegan as a boutique for unique handmade children’s accessories, clothing and gifts. It started with Kutie Klips hair bows and grew from there. I love creating and crafting.

The Lolidots Blog was an unexpected extension of the Boutique that has been a wonderful experience for me. I love doing the product reviews and hosting the fun giveaways for all of my readers. More than that, I’m starting to be more comfortable with the main page of the blog and really enjoy the fun I have with it. The creative outlet is nice to have but, what’s been the most amazing part is the friendships I’ve made through it and because of it.

I’m a Texan through and through, wear my heart on my sleeve, wonderfully flawed Mommy of two, married to my best friend, child of divorce, former “party girl”, good listener, super sarcastic, soul searching, chili-cheese fries loving, non-baking, rock and rolling, unconventional parent…in a constant state of organized chaos.

I like to think of myself as an open book. If you’ve got a question about anything from hair bows to something you’ve seen or would like to see on the blog, please contact me! ” robin@lolidots.com

Hello, My name is Robin

and I’m a Lost-ie.

Now, I’m not really dissecting each and every episode, reference and nuance. However, I’m fairly certain that I’m far too invested in this show. I remember this feeling of impending doom when my beloved Sopranos was coming to an end and I’m torn as to whether or not to look forward to the coming months of nervous and excited television watching.

I’m such a dork.

Daddy- I’m sorry for the jokes. Well, not all the jokes. It’s still funny to make fun of Trekkies. But, now I can commiserate.

And, many thanks to my bloggy friend Samantha for showing me the world ofLostpedia so that I may further embark on the quest of being dominated by my computer.

After a thread in Blog Frog, I have been pleasantly joined in my Lostiness by many awesome chicks and great bloggers.

So, without a doubt, I’ll be devoting time to Lost every week. I thought we could all join in, have some fun with new stuff, old stuff and maybe even some theories!

This is my first wholehearted effort at a meme of sorts. Because it seems that my calling in life is to start projects and not finish them, I’m hoping that avid participation will help prod me along. Besides, it’s only for a tv season, right?

I thought I’d start with some questions. I’ll answer them. If you want to answer in the comments, that’s cool. If you want to participate on your blog then, by all means, link up! (Ugh, this is a little like standing here naked. Dammit, if I have to start another blog just to have one link then I will!)

Oh, one more thing, if you actually enjoy this, feel free to let me know what questions I should do!

So, here’s a few I’ve been thinking of…

1. If you were on the island, which group would you be in? Survivors, Others, Dharma
2. If you were stranded on an island, which character would you want to be stranded with?
3. Which backstory was your favorite?
4. Are there any mysteries you really hope will be solved in this last season?

1. If you were on the island, which group would you be in? Survivors, Others, Dharma

Others. Definitely.

But, I’m picky.

I’d want to be a part of The Others before the plane crash. Not in the 70s when they are traipsing through the forest wearing army clothes. Not when they are plotting against The Survivors. The seemingly nice little community they have before the crash. I’m so intrigued by self-sufficient communities like that and really love those nice, neat little houses. I don’t know what it is but, I’m drawn to that.

Not so big on the traipsing through the jungle or beach living.

2. If you were stranded on an island, which character would you want to be stranded with?

Sawyer.

Mmmmmmmm.

Ok, really though, I’d have to say Charlie. For one, love the accent. He’s sweet and a good conversationalist. He’d have some great stories to tell and could keep me entertained with his guitar. I wouldn’t get sick of looking at him, that’s for sure!

Though, now I’m turning more practical and thinking maybe Jack would be a better choice.

3. Which backstory was your favorite?

Sawyer, Miles, Daniel.

I guess my fave though, because so much was revealed, was Daniel Faraday.

4. Are there any mysteries you really hope will be solved in this last season?

Yes!
Why didn’t Aaron have to go back?
Why were Walt and Michael able to leave?
If the island is so powerful then why didn’t Jack’s dad come back to life when 815 crashed?
And, what’s the deal with Jack’s dad? How is he so important that Locke talked to him before he turned the wheel?
What was the deal with the horse?
Why did Jacob give Hurley that guitar case, what’s in it and why did he bring it?
What’s the deal with the statue? Where did it come from and why is it broken now?

I’m sure I have more questions and will absolutely have even more when the new season starts. For now, I’d love theories on any of my questions! I’m going to do another post of theories in a couple of days.

Alrighty. Now it’s time to see how many Lost-ies want to join in!

Destiny calls!

Posted by Robin Haws

I hope you are having as much fun following Mom-Stuff Blog Tour as we are. This week we will be visiting Robin at lolidots. and we know you will enjoy her. She is entertaining and will makes you laugh. Make sure you follow the mom-Stuff Blog Tour to get to know her.

Make your own Valentines. The valentine patterns for your kids classmates you have been waiting for are finally finished. They are definitely worth the wait. They are easy, really cute and fun to make! Make these fun Valentines with your kids and they will be the talk of the school. Go to Mom-stuff and get your patterns and instructions.
See you tomorrow

Dianne@mom-Stuff.com

Classmate Valentines

the mom-team — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 19:53:51 +0000

Classmate Valentines

Crafty Moms, School Teachers, Anyone who wants to make your own Valentine

Mom-Stuff has a NEW selection of original fun and easy Valentines!!!

Let your child choose the valentine he/she wants to make and give to their classmates at school. Keep in mind your child’s skill level. The Bee, Lady Bug and Butterfly are the easiest. While the Monkey and Lion are more difficult. They have small pieces to cut and glue. The patterns are made for 8 x 10 card stock sheets of paper. If you use scrapbook paper you will need to cut it to size.

After choosing the Valentine your child wants to make click on the link for instructions. Here you will find your materials list and the links for the patterns. Don’t try to make all of the animals unless you have a lot of time. If you keep it to one or two making these will be fun, fast and easy.

Printing instruction: On the pattern page double click on printer friendly button. When the pattern pulls up left click the mouse and right click on print picture.

I use boxes of candy hearts but you can use other candy. These Valentines look cute without the candy if you do not want to give candy to the kids.

Go to Make You Own Valentines at www.mom-stuff.com for patterns and instructions.

Mom-Stuff your mom’s resource site, has lots of Valentine Crafts. Visit and find something fun to make and give this Valentine’s Day

Country Cooking-Our Featured Blog

the mom-team — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 18:38:58 +0000

Today is our last day at Country Cooking with Janille on our Mom-Stuff Blog Tour. The Mom-Stuff Team has really enjoyed visiting Jamille’s great blog. She is a great resource for all moms. We love her large collection of recipes. We have picked this recipe to share with you today because it is one of my personal favorites. Pumpkin Cheesecake, yum!

Janille is very practical with recipes for daily use. She also has many recipes for sauces and dressings to make from scratch to stretch your budget. Add her site Country Cooking with Janille to your favorites so you can access it every time you need a recipe. Check her site first. Thanks to Janille for welcoming us into her kitchen this week. We are so glad we came. She has extended to us her warm and tasteful hospitality. Visit her often, follow her and please let her know that you have enjoyed her blog on the Mom-Stuff Blog Tour. We still have a few spots left on our Mom-Stuff Blog Tour if you want us to highlight your blog let us know. dianne@mom-stuff.com

Pumpkin Cheesecake

Crust:
1−1/2 cups graham crumbs
5 Tbsp. butter, melted
1 Tbsp. sugar
Filling:
3 − 8oz. pkgs. cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup canned pumpkin
3 eggs
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. allspice
Whipped Cream
Mix crust ingredients together, just till coated and crumbly. Press onto the
bottom and 2/3 up the sides of an 8″ springform pan. Bake for 5 mins. at
350. Set aside. Combine cheese, sugar and vanilla in large bowl, mix until
smooth with an electric mixer. add pumpkin eggs,and spices, beat till smooth
and creamy. Pour into the crust. Bake for 60−70 mins.or till the top turns a
bit darker. Remove from oven and allow to come to room temperature, then
refrigerate. After it has thoroughly chilled, remove the pan sides and cut.
Serve with whipped cream.

I hope you are having as much fun following Mom-Stuff Blog Tour as we are. Next week we will be visiting Robin at lolidots. She is a wonderfully flawed Mommy of two, married to her best friend, child of divorce, former “party girl” good listener, super sarcastic, soul searching, chili-cheese fries loving, non baking, and tattoo wearing, Mom that makes me laugh. Make sure you follow the mom-Stuff Blog Tour to get to know her.

Make your own Valentines. The valentine patterns for your kids classmates you have been waiting for are finally finished. They are definitely worth the wait. They are really cute and fun to make! Make these fun Valentines with your kids and they will be the talk of the school. Go to Mom-stuff and get your patterns and instructions.

See you next week and have a great weekend.

Dianne@mom-Stuff.com

Featured Blog-Country Cooking

the mom-team — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 15:02:20 +0000

Country Cooking with Janille

The Mom-Stuff featured blog this week is Country Cooking with Janille. If you have not visited her site yet you are missing out on one of the best collection of recipes. Today it is freezing cold across most of the US so I want to share a hot soup recipe to warm you up. This Broccoli-Cheese Soup is perfect filling for a bread bowl. Hot Broccoli-Cheese soup and the warm aroma of the bread bowls sounds like the perfect comfort food for this cold weather. ENJOY!

Broccoli−Cheese Soup

1 1/2 pounds broccoli, fresh
2 cups water
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup cornstarch, mixed with 1 cup cold water
1 pint half and half
1 pound Velveeta
1/2 teaspoon pepper
Steam or boil broccoli until tender.
Place half−and−half and 2 cups water in top of double boiler.
Add cheese, salt and pepper. Heat until cheese is melted.
Add broccoli. Mix cornstarch and water in small bowl.
Stir into cheese mixture in double boiler and heat over
simmering water until soup thickens.

Bread Bowls

2 1/2 cups warm water (105−115 degrees Fahrenheit)
2 packages active dry yeast
1 Tbsp. salt
1 Tbsp. sugar
2 Tbsp. oil
6 1/2 − 7 1/2 cups bread flour
1 egg, beaten
1 Tbsp. milk
Measure warm water into large bowl. Sprinkle in yeast; stir until dissolved.
Add salt, sugar, oil and 3 cups flour; beat until smooth. Add enough additional flour to make a stiff dough. Turn out onto lightly floured board;
knead until smooth and elastic, about 10 to 12 minutes. Place dough in bowl
that has been lightly coated with nonstick spray, turning to grease top.
Cover; let rise in warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.
Grease outside of 12, 10−ounce custard cups or oven−proof bowls of similar
size.
Punch dough down; divide into 12 pieces. Cover and let rest 10 minutes.
Spread each piece into a circle about 6 inches in diameter. Place over
outside of bowl, working dough with hands until it fits. Set bowls, dough
side up, on baking sheet that has been coated with nonstick spray. Cover
with plastic wrap; let rise in warm place until doubled, about 30 minutes.
Combine egg and milk; gently brush mixture on dough. Bake at 400 degrees
Fahrenheit for 15 minutes until golden brown. Using potholders, carefully
remove the bowls. Set bread bowls open side up on baking pan; bake 5
minutes. Makes 12 servings.
For larger bowls, use oven−proof bowls that are approximately 6 inches in
diameter. Divide dough into 6 portions. Frozen bread dough also can be used.
A 1−pound loaf will make 2 large or 4 small bowls.

Thanks to everyone following our Mom-Stuff Blog Tour. Visit Janille, try some of her recipes and tell her thanks for sharing in a comment. Make comments, make tweets, invite friends, tell your friends about how much fun we are having. If you have a blog and want us to visit, let me know at dianne@mom-stuff.com

See you tomorrow, Dianne

P.S. Visit Mom-Stuff for Valentine ideas.

Mom-Stuff Blog Tour 01/25/10

the mom-team — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 19:04:54 +0000

Meet Janille

Today we want to introduce you to Janille.

One of Janille’s passions is cooking.

She has one of our favorite cooking blogs.

Country Cooking with Janille

We love her recipes.

Each one we have tried has been a real success.

We know you will enjoy them too.

Today I want to share with you an article Janille posted at Christmas time. This is not only a great idea it shows how she is passing on her love of cooking to her children. Her and some good friend transformed an old entertainment center into a FIRST CLASS KITCHEN.

We had an old entertainment center that we no longer needed. (Sorry, not a good picture. But you get the idea)

I wanted to transform it into a kitchen for my girls. My friends David and Kathy offered to help. Once David started, I couldn’t believe all that he did. Each day I would get more and more excited to hear about the progress. David managed to FIND an old bar sink, a rack for the oven, knobs and actual burners for the stove. He cut glass for the oven door. He cut a mirror and framed it for the window. He put the hooks on the pot rack. I used a cute shelf that my sister had made for me a few years ago. It worked out perfect. I JUST LOVE IT!

The progress…
Sink in

Mirror/Window and Stove in

Start painting (this is the ONE thing I did do)

Pot Rack in

Delivered on Christmas Eve. Sleigh and ALL!

With Curtains (I made these too!)

Stove

Oven

Sink

HAPPY GIRLS! They LOVE it. They haven’t stopped playing with it.

Thank you again David and Kathy! We couldn’t have made it without you!! Janille.

I bet the girls love this. Visit Country Cooking with Janille Tell her thanks for sharing her blog and her favorite recipes. Thanks for following the Mom-Stuff Blog Tour. We hope you are enjoying it as much as we are. Visit us at Mom-Stuff.com for lots of Valentine ideas.

Blog Tour Visits Solodotmom

the mom-team — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 16:38:29 +0000

The Mom-Stuff Blog Tour is visiting Solo Dot Mom this week. Katherine’s blog is filled with great stories about her life as a single mom, dating, loving life, and taking care of her kiddos who mean the world to her and who she truly consider to be her treasures… Her intent is to keep it real, through the good, the bad, the beautiful, and the ugly. On her site you will find true stories of dating experiences over the past couple years, her current relationship with a man known as Mr M, as well as moments of frustration as a single parent trying to do it all on my own… (with help from above, of course). And yes, there are also some blog posts about her joys and successes… plus she has even started doing some GIVEAWAYS. She loves photography and her site is filled with her beautiful photos. Mom-Stuff knows you will enjoy getting to know her as much as we have..

Solodotmom can be found at: http://kitkat4real.blogspot.com

Dealing with Disappointments

Posted on Jul 30 at Solo Dot Mom

If you have went through the big D (and I don’t mean Dallas), then you know how it can be a real court battle of fight after fight. This is especially true when it comes to how much time you get to spend with the children. Mr. M. had another custody hearing recently and the verdict was in favor of the mother, even though the children’s law guardian encouraged extra days with their father.

When things don’t go your way and you were hoping so hard and praying with all your might, you do – at times – feel like – giving up. Giving up on the battle and giving up on your faith.

Why doesn’t God look down and just straighten all this out?

He can, but many times I’ve witnessed He doesn’t do it the way we want or in the timing we want. It’s not that God doesn’t care or that we are just a bunch of ants running around and He is up there watching us in our own frivolous nature. It’s just that this is par for the course when it comes to divorce. It can get ugly and it is full of disappointments. Unless the mother is a drug dealing addict drunk on the street corner every night, most judges are not going to pull kids away from time with their moms even if their dads are upright citizens and great mentors. I’m not saying this is right – I’m just saying what I have witnessed with other friends dealing with custody battles and again here with Mr. M.

It goes without saying, there will be many times we will feel major disappointment. We will feel like God let us down. But remember, God isn’t doing this to us. The situation of divorce, in this case, is the culprit… and the other parties (who have a free will) that are being difficult, not God. In fact, God is the One who brings us peace and serenity, if we let Him. I’ve felt it before, have you?

Let me just say I have witnessed personally some divine miracles. So I know he can intervene…. from healing family situations to healing a disease. My aunt’s marriage was healed and one of my best friends growing up was healed of Muscular Dystrophy; so I believe in miracles. But not every request is answered the same way.

So how do we deal?

How do we keep our faith intact when we seem to get knocked down or knocked out for the fight… when we don’t want to bother getting back up? We have to keep our faith.

It’s not easy; and sometimes we take one step at a time or just one moment at a time: knowing God is still there, even if we are mad at Him at the moment as a result of the situation. You will feel the emotions that result from consequences. Emotions don’t mean we are no longer Christians – far from it. We have to be realistic in our expectations when it comes to our faith. Remember, we are still human and we do have feelings. What we do with those feelings is our choice. And that’s where making the right choices come in. How we choose to go from here in reaction to our disappointment and our emotion of anger… that will be where we steer the course for our faith. Will we keep praying and believing? Or will we turn our back on what we have known to be a stronghold, our help in troubling situations?

During these times, it would be nice to see the higher view of this bigger picture of life that is being painted, the one we just cannot see. Then we might understand why things don’t quite work out the way we hoped, or the way we planned.

Bad things happen to good people. There’s no rhyme or reason behind it. God doesn’t just “let” it happen. It’s a part of living in an imperfect world and the consequences of such imperfection. This is not to suggest that prayer isn’t powerful, or that we shouldn’t pray. But when things don’t go completely our way, I hope we can refrain, even in the moments of anger and other emotions that run wild, from having bitterness set in and taking over.

God is good all the time, and all the time, God is good.

Find yourself…keeping it real.

Katherine at solodotmom

We want to thank Katherine, for sharing your thoughts with other moms. We love learning from each other.

Follow along with us on our Mom-Stuff Blog Tour. You will find great information and make some new friends. Make sure to leave comments. Remember mom-Stuff will be giving away gifts to our followers that make the most comments. So welcome to the party. Let the moms know what you think by commenting and tweeting about their blog.

Visit www.mom-stuff.com for ideas for Valentine’s Day.

See you tomorrow, dianne@mom-stuff

Mom-Stuff Blog Tour 01-18-10

the mom-team — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 17:38:43 +0000

We are having lots of fun on our Blog Tour. This week we want to introduce you to Katherine at Solo Dot Mom. She has a different set of challenges. She is a single mom with a great sense of honor. I have followed her for some time now and I love to see how she meets her challenges. She juggles her life with grace and laughter. Here is her story in her own words as posted on her site.

That day, 6 years ago, I left the bondage of which I found myself a victim. I left the man whose love had turned into violent jealousy and possessiveness as I became his obsession. That day I became a single mom; even before the papers were signed for the final big D, I stepped out and took that leap… into singlemomhood. Ready or not, there I was.

Taking one step at a time during my journey that day I proceeded toward the magistrate to get my protective order. Going through the motions, but doing what I knew I finally had to do. Those steps turned into the journey that with each passing step, each passing day, led to my freedom. A freedom I know today, that makes me thank Jesus every time I remember what He released me from, and the peace He gave me as I struggled with the decision to leave a bad relationship, a bad marriage.

I consider myself to be a product of all my trials and tribulations as well as my successes. Stronger for the battles I have faced; patient for the times I waited on the Lord and endured; and wiser for the decisions I made, because some were not so wise. There were many times when life lessons came along that path, some I learned quickly, and others I am still learning over and over again, trying to understand. Realizing a simple life is a good life as we all should get back to basics and live within our means. Sacrificing to make that a reality, I sought to be debt free (other than a mortgage) and count that another success that wasn’t easy to achieve but doable with some determination and discipline.

My children are indeed my joy, my treasures, my reason I will never regret marrying their father. They do give me purpose and I want them to be faithful, driven, inspired individuals that remember their heritage but strive to change the world in their future.

Each passing day I try to take time to stop, look, and listen. To stop and realize the moment passing and the joy that can be found in it. To look and see how much my children especially are changing right in front of my eyes; and to listen to the laughter, the voices, the heartbeat of those around me…. so I don’t miss it. Holding them all in my heart so that I may someday pull those memories back out…caressing them as I relive them when I am older and my children are off in their newly created worlds, living life, and changing the world.

As a single mom… looking back from where I was… to where I am today… I am grateful for the blessings and grateful for the peace. Jesus helped me take those necessary steps that day, and continued to walk with me as I took one step at a time marking my new life… as a single mom. And this single mom is happy, enjoying life while raising two children, working a full-time job for a non-profit organization, dating again, and maintaining a house – making it a home. Sometimes it takes sacrifice… but it’s so worth it

Visit Katherine at Solo Dot Mom and leave her your comments. Let her know how much you appreciate her sharing her blog with you.

We are busy putting up ideas to make your Valentine Day easier and more fun. Visit us at Mom-Stuff.com