The Snyders in Germany

yesterday my mom calls me in the late morning to see what miss peyti and i were up to, we were just hangin out...

then she offers to come over and help clean!

i say:

 YES/ of course!/ why ask?/ please come!/ YOUJUSTMADEMYDAY/ i love life!

so she came over, and we really had such a delightful time, some good ol' mother-daughter time!

while she was over we conquered the dish mountain, the living room, and the bathroom, and she helped herd the baby from wherever i was trying to clean by playing with her and distracting her.

YIPPEE

also, she was able to teach me more about sewing, and cutting out patterns, etc. she's making peyton some cute dresses and wanted me to be able to do it myself too. yay more sewing skills for me :)

anyways, i just wanted to say how truly thankful i am to have such an awesome-thoughtful-hardworking-loving-selfess-caring-wonderful mama!

it was so nice to have her pop over out of the blue and help me out. she also gave me some practical advice for avoiding dish mountain which i've already been putting into practice. to finish off the awesome day, that night she watched peyti so aaron and i could have dinner and hangout alone after he was off work! we had such a fun time! i love my husband, he's a crack-up. we enjoyed a yummy homemade chicken pot pie and some sparkling white grape juice.. even though we only had an hour and a half free, it was a much needed and appreciated lil date!

and another shout out to my awesome mother in law, mama joy, who always rescues me in regards to cooking (at least the recipes she taught me how to do) thanks mama! i love you too!


la la la i love naptime..
 the mrs.

staying at home with baby has been positively one of the best things ever! ya know, something i've realized is that somebody needs to raise your children. why not you? i mean, why have children if only to pass off the work to somebody else? I am not talking about every now and then because, obviously it's important to get a break, but full time is something different. How glorious to raise up godly children! What a delight to know all the hard work you put in, will someday hopefully have an eternal payout! I know some people think it's "not possible" these days... but it is. Mr. S and I are living proof. yes, there will be sacrifices, like maybe you won't be able to buy a brand new car, or have every possession you desire, but you will know your children are being raised to know God, they will know they are loved, and isn't that worth the sacrifice of "things"?! but i don't even know if "sacrifice" is the right word, because the blessing is far greater! aaron and i have not lacked a single thing by me staying home, and it's even more beautiful/glorious/amazing because he hasn't had work since february! and yet STILL the Lord provides :) but it's really our responsibility in the end, as in, we have to make good choices now, or else yes both parents do need to work due to financial commitments made. now for example, before making a big purchase, example: a new car, determine, is it going to be possible to carry on such financial burdens when a child comes (without both parents working)? if eating out is something that is regular, consider... eating in. take the time to prepare your breakfast lunch and dinners. it's amazing the amount of money saved, and add onto that the time you have to search out good deals because you aren't at work, tired, and in a rush to just eat anything. you can meal plan, bargain hunt, and add that special ingredient to all that's made... love. it really is a blessing to be able to serve up a warm meal to your husband after he's been gone working all day. though there are definitely challenges. planning out the week's meals ahead of time is such a help to the 'what should i cook' question, and that is both time and cost effective! being a stay-at-home mom doesn't mean you don't do work, not at all! it's just your work is in your home. there is nothing wrong with a wife/mom who does side work/part time even on the side. in fact that's what we see modeled by the proverbs 31 woman. the point is more rather, is your full time job outside the home? the Bible teaches us to be good stewards of all our resources, our time, treasures, and talents. how is the Lord teaching you to be a good steward? are you being faithful with that which has been entrusted to you(money, care of your home, and children)? i hope so! i don't write any of this to condemn anyone or to say there is one right way, but i think it's something important for women and parents to consider... i'll leave y'all with this verse

"Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth." -colossians 3:2

until next time,
mrs. s