Month One

These are my resolution goals for Month One to get my family healthy; mind, body, and spirit. Please feel free to join in.

The NO NO'S

No Sugar

No Fast Food

Baby steps is the name of the game here. I do not want to put my families body into a harsh shock from detoxing from everything unhealthy all at once. If we are all walking around miserable and grumpy I will be more likely to give up and just order a pizza.
This is the month to get settled into a routine of menu planning and follow thru. Sometimes life gets busy, I want to get used to rolling with the punches and eating at home anyway. This month I will :

Drink more water

Add a serving of veggies to every dinner

Focusing on portion sizes

That's it for food.

Now on to exercise

I have a 10 month old baby right now who likes all my attention. Its to the point that he can sense when I leave the room while he is sleeping. NO JOKE! So its hard to get into a gym for sure. Not to mention gyms have people in them... skinny people... That led me into looking for what I could do at home. Videos are a great option but can be expensive and get boring real quick. A great place for work outs for free is You Tube. My favorite channel is  BEFIT . Its such a great resource and free!! If you don't have the time or the space to do a full blown work out here are some other ideas to move:

March in place during commercials
Dance with the kids
Have some energetic "fun" with the hubby
Turn on music while doing chores. If you are like me you will start to boogie woogie naturally.

For the spirit

This month I will take the time to journal again. My journaling is usually me writing out my prayers to God. It really helps keep my mind from wondering. Writing in a journal like this is also fabulous for looking back and seeing how God has answered prayer. It really puts life into perspective when you see it written down.

That's it for this months goals. Achievable but life altering goals. I really pray that some of you decide to join me on this venture. We will all be better for it.

Love.
Ashley Brewer

My Resolution

I have one resolution for the year; to get healthy. Not just get skinny or lose weight but an overall health, mind, body, and soul. So for the foreseeable future I will be chronicling it here on my blog in a (hopefully) motivational and accessible way. The mom way. A family way. No harsh detox or abrupt kid upsetting changes. A slow purposeful lifestyle change to get my family and I in good health. Here's to 2014 and baby steps to a healthy life!

I'm going to let it shine

Do you remember that nursery song This little light of mine I'm gonna let it shine? It's a cute little song we sing as children in church but we brush it off as childrens play when we become adults. Today as I was trying to write a post on expanding the kingdom of God when this song started running through my head. It was Gods way of telling me how to bring people to Him, by letting my light shine. Lets all let our light (Jesus) shine!

We need to let Jesus shine out of us and not hide it. Easier said then done in the society we live in today. Jesus is soo not cool these days. Even his name is met with hate. I would go as far as to say that Christians are almost considered a hate group by some! So what do we do? How can we let our light shine? How can we not be embarrassed of our faith and let Jesus shine through? What are ways to show Jesus?

If God is love (1 John 4:8) then Jesus is love which means we should let love shine through us.
What is love? It is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on it's own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 1 Corinthians 13:4-7.
Yikes conviction city!!! Think about it, the world is opposite of all that. Scrolling through the social websites will show us that. It will also show us that love is what people crave most of all.

Whats better then showing love, being all the things love is. Standing out and shining with the Light of Jesus! Who doesn't want to be around that or want to be that themselves.

The word is God and Jesus is the word living. John 1:1, 14. So in order to share Jesus we should know the word of God. Just pick up a Bible and read. Ask God to speak to you through His words. You might also buy a devotional or download a devotional app on your smartphone to help you get into the word. Please do not overwhelm yourself with feeling the need to be an immediate Bible scholar. Read where He leads, a verse, a chapter, a book, a testament. Just start reading. Once you get into the word and talking to God about it, you will start living it.When you start living it people will notice and thats just what we want the world to see, the Word alive!

Well thats all I can share today. I dont think the baby can take me looking at this computer any longer :)

Love,
Ashley Brewer

Super Easy Farm House Plates

I love this project because it was so simple and so cheap. Here is how you can make it!

Its so simple I can do it!!

Buy Plates. I bought mine from the $ store. They are the best place to shop for  thrifty crafts!!

The paint and foam brush I bought at my local super center. This is special enamel paint and was about $4.00 with tax. I chose black but you can choose from whatever is available to you.

Make sure to measure the inner circumference of the plate. As you can see mine was 7"

Use your awesome Silhouette Cameo to cut out your farm animal. I made sure to size the circle to fit snugly in the inner plate circle. This made it super simple to make sure my animals sat centered on the plate. 

If you don't have a Silhouette Cameo, you could use a stencil from a craft store or hand cut one out using an Exacto knife.

Tape on your stencil using painters tape. I used card stock for this project but would use vinyl for a crisper edge next time.

I stippled the paint on so not to get under the paint under the paper and to get a fun texture. If using vinyl you could just use normal paint strokes.

VERY IMPORTANT: 

Do not let paint dry with stencil. The paint will come up with the stencil if you don't take it off right after you have painted! I had to redo the chicken plate because of this...

Let your plates dry according to paint manufactures instructions. I let mine air dry for an hour then baked in an unpreheated oven set to 350* for an hour. 

I hung these plates using good old fashioned plate hangers from the hardware store.

Please read your paint to see if you can eat off your plates. Mine are not food safe just pretty to look at,

The total cost for this project was about $10.00. I have to say I am really proud of myself here. It makes me feel great to decorate my home with items I have made myself. Extra bonus if they are cheap! Also I made another cute kitchen decoration that I am saving to show you later, but wait till you see it because it's adorable too.

This was my first craft tutorial and I hope you enjoyed it, because it was fun to make for you. If you have any questions as in the comments and i will help the best I can.

Love,

Ashley Brewer

Just a thought or two, maybe more...

I started this blog to share with other moms out there that life is not what you read or see on the social websites and not even what people act, say, or do in public. God wants more for us than the feeling of failure, guilt, and shame. So why do I feel like a failure for not getting a blog post up this week? Because I am letting what I have read online about and others expectations to run this blog instead of what God wants it to be. I have let wicked thoughts run through my brain all week... How are you supposed to help people if you cant post anything? No one will ever read your blog anyway so just give up now. You didn't finish high school, you aren't smart enough for this. On top of that my precious baby is going through a jealous phase. Its cute and annoying all at the same time. Anything that takes mommies attention away from him is not aloud, especially the computer.
So whats my point? Why am I telling you all this? I'm not completely sure to be honest. Maybe so you know that you are not alone in feelings of failure and guilt. That we all have to battle wicked thoughts, and they are wicked because they sure don't come from God. Perhaps I just want you to know that I am still here... Or maybe to show you its ok to not be perfect and its ok to let others in on that.. trust me they have their suspicions that you aren't perfect anyway ;)  Or maybe its for me seeing as I already feel lighter after sharing with you. My guilt has been lifted. Happy breaths  - confession is good for the soul. Now that I think about it we are supposed to share our weakness and sins with others. According to James 5:16, Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you will be healed. Satan has us so wrapped up in perfection, that we forget the freedom of sharing our imperfections. So mommies lets share our imperfectness instead of hiding it away. Chances are you are not alone. We are set free from the guilt and the shame of our perceived failings! Claim it right now ladies! His grace is enough!

Love,
Ashley Brewer

One of my Favorite verses

Random Act of Kindness

I was just researching some ideas for a post on doing random acts of kindness and God has opened my eyes, we should always be kind. Why is it that we have to do random acts of kindness. Why do we have to make an occasion of it. Do you wanna know the sad part? I actually had to look up ideas on how to be randomly kind and I was going to share a couple of those ideas with you so we could go out and randomly make one persons day. Instead I want to encourage you to ask the Holy Spirit for insight on how we can always be kind, generous, and considerate. Do you need some ideas to help you get started? I kinda do so lets brainstorm here:

Be kind in your super chain stores-

You already  know what I mean here ;)

Look at people and smile-

I try this on occasion and I am always surprised by how many people keep their eyes to the ground or anywhere else for that matter just as long as they don't meet up with mine. Lets change that!

Driving-

Suffer from road rage? Is everyone else bad drivers? Is your destination more important then theirs? Are you the only one in a rush? Do you see where I am going here? Good, lets move on because I could go on and on with how bad people drive at church!

Use your manners-

Pay attention and you will not hear a lot of please and thank you's. Genuinely respond with your manners too. Do not just mumble out a thank you or have a nice day.

Lean on God and thank him for His kindness and allowing it to shine through us. God speak to your people using our voices. Show your generosity using our actions. I don't want to randomly be kind, I want to always be kind. Let's wake up and breath kindness. So many people need to see us being kind hearted. We may be the only kind person to walk through their path so lets make it count. It is not always easy and I stumble a bit, ok a lot, but it is completely worth it. Maybe my children will take notice and start behaving in the same way. The Bible tells us:

Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you

Ephesians 4:32 

Love,

Ashley Brewer

Thankfulness

Being thankful for what you have is powerful tool. For example, my oldest son was having a rough morning a couple days ago and was saying his day was already ruined. I don't remember why he was so upset, as he is in those teenage years where everything is soooo serious, but i do remember wanting to tell him to snap out of it and move on. Then God spoke to me and told me to ask him to think of just 3 things he was thankful for. Well Noah rolled his eyes at me but did it anyway. Guess what happened? It totally changed his mindset. He went from only thinking about what he was unhappy about to what he was happy about. After the mood changed we made hot chocolate and he had a great day.

So this holiday season when you get overwhelmed with negative thoughts, just think of three things you have to be thankful for. You can also join me on Facebook by posting with me once a day what you are thankful for. It is simple things like this that can change your whole mindset and therefor your whole day. God is so good and his blessings abound.

Love,

Ashley Brewer

Taco Pie

My husband is a man of few words. When I ask him how dinner was i usually get "it was good" or "fine", I used to let that discourage me because I wanted to hear " That was amazing honey" or " great job babe, I loved it", and that's just never going to happen. It's just not who my husband is and that is fine with me. Now I know that when he gets seconds or even sometimes thirds, that's when he is saying great job and that he loves it.

Tuesday night I made Taco pie and he had seconds and then kinda of thirds, you know when you want to get more out so you just eat whats left in the pan with your fork. I did the same thing! We love this one pan recipe and I think your Family will too. It's a great change up from regular tacos and great for the cooler months.

Taco Pie:

1 lb Ground Beef

1 can Black Beans

1 Onion, chopped

1 packet Taco Seasoning

2 cans (4 oz) Chopped Green Chiles, drained

1/2 cup Baking Mix

1 cup Milk

2 Eggs

1 small can Tomato Paste

1 cup Sharp Cheddar Cheese

1/2 cup Pepper Jack Cheese

Step One:

Heat oven to 400*

Cook beef, onions and beans in a cast iron skillet, or oven safe pan,until beef is browned. Stir in half of the chiles and add taco seasoning, take off heat. 

Step Two:

Mix together in a medium sized bowl, baking mix, eggs and milk until blended. Add in about a half cup of meat mix and stir to temper eggs so they dont scramble. Then pour into pan.

Step Three:

Bake for 25 minutes. Take tomato paste and spread it over the top of the pie. Add the rest of the green chiles and cover with cheese. bake for another 5 minutes or until cheese is gooey yumminess.

Let cool 5 minutes to set before serving. 

Step Four:

Top with whatever you like. I use sour cream and salsa, but the hubs and kiddos use Texas Pete hot sauce. Eat and enjoy.

Taco Pie:

1 lb Ground Beef

1 can Black Beans

1 Onion, chopped

1 packet Taco Seasoning

2 cans (4 oz) Chopped Green Chiles, drained

1/2 cup Baking Mix

1 cup Milk

2 Eggs

1 small can Tomato Paste

1 cup Sharp Cheddar Cheese

1/2 cup Pepper Jack Cheese

Step One:
Heat oven to 400*
Cook beef, onions and beans in a cast iron skillet, or oven safe pan,until beef is browned. Stir in half of the chiles and add taco seasoning, take off heat.
Step Two:
Mix together in a medium sized bowl, baking mix, eggs and milk until blended. Add in about a half cup of meat mix and stir to temper eggs so they dont scramble. Then pour into pan.
Step Three:
Bake for 25 minutes. Take tomato paste and spread it over the top of the pie. Add the rest of the green chiles and cover with cheese. bake for another 5 minutes or until cheese is gooey yumminess.
Let cool 5 minutes to set before serving.
Step Four:
Top with whatever you like. I use sour cream and salsa, but the hubs and kiddos use Texas Pete hot sauce.

I hope you all enjoy this yummy dinner pie.

Love,

Ashley Brewer

It's Halloween week.

I love Halloween.  I love watching my kids decorate pumpkins , dressing up in their chosen costumes, and sorting their candies into keep pile and mommy daddy tax pile.

Let's not forget October 31st is the last day of the year before holiday madness sets in. So lets take this time to play dress up with our babies and laugh and play till we fall over into a sugary comas. Use this time to show your kids life isn't always serious and its ok to be silly.

Love ,
Ashley Brewer

The Grumbler

Here he is The Grumbler. He has come to remind us what not to do. Each of my boys is getting one in their rooms!

Chia Chia Everywhere

Have any of you noticed that Chia seeds are the "new" thing? Well I have and I am super excited about these super tiny super food. Chia has been around for centuries and has been used by the Aztecs, Mayans, and other native people as a super food for just as long. It was such a potent food that they thought it had magical properties and would give it as a sacrifice to their kings. when the Spanish came to the Americas they banned its growth and the super seed lost its popularity. It gained back popularity in the U.S. as a fun plant to grow on little Terra Cotta heads. Cha Cha Cha Chia! Who new that we were missing out on so much!

Some of the health benifits of Chia seeds are:

• Omega 3 fatty acids- ounce for ounce more than salmon
• Fiber- 5 ounces per tablespoon and key for weight loss and digestion
• Antioxidants- help fight off the free radicals in your body that can lead to pre-mature aging and cancer
• Vitamins and Minerals- Essential for your body to function. Calcium, Magnesium, Iron, and potassium are all in Chia.
• Fullnes- Because Chia has so much fiber and contains protien it helps keep you "Full" longer. 

These are just some of the benefits of Chia seeds. Do your own research to find out if they are right for you.

Chia Drink:

I use this recipe from mamanatural. The only thing she didn't mention was the need to keep stirring your drink, so I would recommend using an open mouthed reusable water bottle or just keeping a straw in it. Bonus it's super fun to drink with a straw. My kids all thought it was great and so I let them make one too!

The soaked seeds will keep in the fridge for a week, but that's they last that long! I usually drink mine during that snacky time in between lunch and dinner. It helps me make it through with minimum snackage.

Want more Chia Recipes? Me too! You'll just have to wait because I am trying more out today. Or you can search out your own and be super awesome by sharing them here!!!

Love,

Ashley Brewer

Winter is coming...

   Winter is coming and its time to prepare. This time of year can be exciting with all the glittery decorations, yummy smells and festive holiday music. On the flip side it can also be a very harsh time, with all the bitter cold winds, power killing ice storms, and devastating blizzards. Just this month , still autumn by the way, the killer storm Atlas did real damage, leaving several thousand  people without power and an estimated 100,000 livestock deaths. Read these stories about the people of Wyoming or this one about South Dakota to learn more. What happened is truly tragic, worth our prayers. We need to learn from it not just mourn the losses. Especially since The Farmers Almanac is predicting a harsh winter. So what can we learn from the storm Atlas and other storms like it?

Lesson One: 

Expect the worst from Nature. It is unpredictable and uncontrollable. The weathermen are doing their best to read the atmosphere and predict what it will produce, but they are not always right. For example, the 2013 Oklahoma Tornado's where we lost experienced  Meteorologist Tim Samaras. No one can predict a storms path with perfect accuracy, experienced or not.

Lesson Two:

Head the warnings from those meteorologists. Think back to Katrina... if they say get out of town, get out of town. Perhaps they say stay inside and not to drive in the bad weather. Do not go out to drive, walk, ride your bike, or any other form of travel. Weather will and can kill you! NO errand or little chore is worth your life. " What if I need more food for my family, could I go out then? " You ask. Well my answer would be...

Lesson Three:

Be prepared for the worst. Makes sense right? If you expect the worst why not prepare for it. How to prepare you ask? Well that's a crazy rabbit hole that I can not cover in this one post but I will do my best to share some basics. They are as follows:

    *Baby it's cold outside- Lets make sure we have things to keep our family warm in the event of a power outage. Warm winter clothing and lots of blankets. If you have a wood burning stove or fireplace, keep enough wood around to last a week or more.

    *Peanut Butter Jelly Time-  Make sure you can feed your family. Nothings worse for a mother then watching her babies suffer. Keep enough non perishable foods around to last your family for a week. It shouldn't be anything fancy because you don't know when your power will resume. Also don't rely on your local store. They will not have anything in stock and it probably will not for awhile after a big storm.

    *Bubble Bubble Toil and Trouble- Don't be caught without clean water to drink. According to Ready.gov the average person should have a gallon of water per day for emergency storage. You never know what contaminates might get into your cities water supply during a natural disaster, so try to keep bottled water around. If utilities are down it may be hard to boil tap water, and that's if you even get anything out of your faucets!

    * A few more things- You may want to have these things on hand as well.:
                                           + Candles and lighters
                                           + Paper Plates and Plastic Utensils
                                           + Hand Sanatizer and Baby Wipes
                                           + First Aid Kit
                                           + Camping Stove
                                           + Personal Protection
                                       

Lesson Four:

Above all do not rely on anyone else to take care of your family. FEMA should not be your emergency plan. It is up to you to do right by those who count on you, not the governments. Proverbs 31:21 says "She has no fear of the snow because she has made jackets for her family." Be prepared so you do not have to fear. You can start small, anything is better then nothing.

Again preparedness is a rabbit hole that you can explore for hours to days or even devote your life to it like some have. I recommend going onto your favorite search engine and looking deeper into keeping your family prepared for what winter may bring. It's better to be on the safe side with this mommies. I know this was not the most light hearted or moving of posts, but this subject has weighed heavy on my heart and I had to share. The idea of anyone suffering needlessly breaks my heart.

Love,
Ashley Brewer

DIY Pumpkin Teething Biscuits for Baby

My youngest child, Jax, is teething like a mad man. I went online to find some healthy and hopefully organic teething biscuits to buy, as my local wally world does not carry anything in the way of healthy teethers. Needless to say I really did not like the prices on the products I did like. So then I decided to make my own and searched for recipes. I found a lot of moms making their own biscuits, but most had wheat in them. Sigh as of right now Jax is on a wheat free diet .... After an hour or so Google smiled upon me and shared a link to Mama Natural and I said WooHoo! I really enjoyed her page and I think you might too. However I did make a few modifications to her pumpkin biscuit recipe:

Ingredients:

1 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup brown rice flour
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp baking powder
2 T coconut oil
2 T maple syrup
1 cup pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie puree)

Preheat oven to 350*
Mix dry ingredients together in bowl.
Add in the "wet" ingredients and mix together with clean hands. Make sure all the coconut oil melts and mixes in.
Next form oblong oval shapes out of dough or any shape you think your little one will enjoy.
Bake at 350 for about 45 minutes flipping biscuits half way through.
Then Bake an additional 4 hours or until biscuit is hard at 170*
Let cool and hand to baby.
Do not leave your little babe alone with food ever. Some chunks could break off.

Oh and be prepared for one messy good time!

Love,
Ashley Brewer

You Are Good Enough

    Let me begin by saying this post is as much for me as it is for those of you reading it. This subject is pretty close to being a daily struggle for me and I know I am not alone in this feeling. Some days no matter what you do, you get a feeling that nothing you do is good enough. I know when I am feeling this way I start thinking that I am not good enough so I go online for some pointers. Unfortunately this usually only enhances my feelings of despair as all the blogosphere moms seem to have it all together. Perfect healthy recipes to feed to their perfect kids to eat in their perfect kitchens and write posts about on their perfectly pretty blogs. We look at these women and begin to fall into a deeper depression. It's a terrible cycle and hard one to break free from if you don't know what to do.

First things first: You are a child of the most High God and He designed you to be in His image. (Genesis 1:27) Don't talk down to yourself because it's all lies!
Second: Say it out loud and claim your place in Gods kingdom. You are covered by the blood of Jesus and have the right to command Satan to leave you be. You might feel silly at first saying things out loud for other people to hear, but it works. Plus shows your children how too empower themselves! Most of the time I just say  "Get behind me Satan" If it worked for Jesus it will work for me. (Matthew 16:23)
Third: Please, oh please, I beg you do not compare yourself to others (Galatians 6:4). Remember those other Mommies do not have it all together either. Images are edited and stories revised for your reading pleasure.
Fourth: Not everybody is good at the same thing. We are all given our own unique gifts and talents (Romans 12:6-8). Imagine how boring life would be if we all did the same thing! If you don't know what your gifts are please don't worry. Just pray about it and try stuff out. I'm 30 and am just beginning to figure things out. Also some things take practice and patience to be good at, so if you enjoy it but are not a "natural" as some would call it, give it time you will get there. You do have a talent!
Fifth: Do not let the Devil steal your joy! I'm not going to lie to you, when you start fighting back against the Devil he will come at you harder. Learn to recognize these attacks for what they are and they will be easier to get through. Lean on God for help and He will help you. You are never alone in your battles! (1st Peter 5:7)
Sixth: Do not judge other women on what they do or say. (Ephesians 4:29) If you wouldn't want them thinking the same thing about you do not let it stay in your head. Everyone has their own private story so it is important we don't rush to conclusions. Let us share God's grace...
    Truthfully I could go on and on with helpful hints but I think this is a good start. The more I implement them in my life the happier I am. When mamma's happy everyone is happy. You are good enough and do not let anyone, including yourself, tell you otherwise!

Love,
Ashley Brewer

Coming Soon...

Hi everyone!

I'm super excited about my new blog. I've been thinking about doing a blog like this for a while now and finally summoned the courage to do it. Hopefully it will be helpful to all of us.

A few things to expect to see here:

Encouragement- none of us are perfect and we need to except that
DIY- the occasional super easy do it yourself stuff
Real life- My plan is to be honest about life and its ups and downs
Pictures and stories of my life- Mostly of my kids, lets face it I'm a mom!
Jesus stuff- If you don't like it don't read about it.
Other stuff- you know the miscellaneous things life has to offer.

I look forward to taking this new adventure with you!

See you all soon,

Ashley Brewer