A Day in the Life of a Tax Preparer..or an at home mom, which ever you prefer to call me!

So, today I am adding Tax Preparer to my list of jobs that I do. For the last few years I have prepared our taxes and saved us quite a bit of money. There are times that I feel I do not add any financial help to our home and then God reminds me of some things that I do to save my dear hubby money. I will now share the list of things that you can do to help with the finances in your family.

~Grocery shopping-buing things on sale and staying on a budget.
~Clean your house-you don't have to hire a maid.
~Cook your food-you don't have to order out or hire a cook.
~Do your laundry-you don't have to pay a laundry service to do it.
~Take care of your children-you don't have to pay a sitter.
~Homeschooling your children-you don't have to pay all the classroom fees.
~Organize your home-you don't have to pay me to come & do it.(lol)
~Financial Advisor-making sure there is enough money to pay the bills and paying them.
~And doing your taxes-you don't have to pay H&R Block to do them.

That is only a few of the many things that we as moms do for no charge! I am sure there are many more I could add if I had time. So don't feel like just because you are a stay at home mom that doesn't have a job that gives you a paycheck, that you do not contribute to the financial stability of your home!(was that really all one sentence?!?) You really could make or break your financial situation in your home. Think for one moment, what would happen if you did actually take the day off and not do ANY of the things that you do on a day to day basis? Things would probably fall apart and you would spend 2 days getting everything back to normal!

I want to let you all know that you are PRICELESS to your family!!! I know that sometimes our husbands and children sometimes forget to tell us how important we are to them, but I also know that they do appreciate all that we do.

So my words of wisdom for today are:
Go and look in the mirror and tell yourself that YOU ROCK!!!! Have a blessed day!

I'm takin' a sick day!

OK I just wanted to let someone know that I am calling in today. I am taking a sick day. All of my kids are sick and I am on day 4 of this nasty cold! So I can not come into work today.
Oh wait..........reality has set in and I realize I can't call in. I am a mom!!!!
To all of you working moms out there, I bow to you!!! I don't know how in the world you do it all! You have 2 jobs to worry about when someone is sick not just one!

I really would love to just be in the bed all day. But there are these 3 little people that continue to ask me for food and drink.(can they not just feed themselves?!?! LOL) So therefore I can not just lay in the bed and throw the covers over my head!

We as moms continue to have to push through sickness and not take care of ourselves in this time. I have to stress how important it is to take time for ourselves!!! I may not be able to totally take the day off but I can lessen my load by putting some stuff to the side for another day. I am still doing some stuff today but I am also going to spend some time resting.

On an unrelated note, last night was night #2 that Nathan slept all night in Amber's bed! He is sharing a bed with her until he gets old enough to get his own big bed. The last 2 nights he has gone to bed around 8pm and slept until about 5:30am in her bed. So what does this mean to me and why is it so important you ask, because it means that I am getting to sleep about 7&1/2 hours straight!!! I don't remember the last time I got to do that. Amber is now 3(almost 4) and she was 1 when I found out I was pregnant with Nathan. So it was probably before I got pregnant with Amber! It makes a huge difference in your sleep when it is not interrupted half way through by a crying baby wanting to get in your bed!
So at least I have gotten 2 nights of good sleep while having this cold. God must have known I needed it!

So my words of wisdom for today are:
Take time for yourself!!!! If you are worn out and sick you are no good to yourself or anyone else!!! Have a great day!

Top Of My Lungs

eI have a new favorite song and wanted to share it with as many people as I can. It has really made me rethink my take on some things. I love God with all of my heart and I don't care who knows! This song makes me want to share Him with everyone I meet. So, being an at-home-mom you are the people I meet and talk with from week to week. So I wanted to share my Jesus with you and tell you to get to know Him better and have a real relationship with Him. It will transform your life!!!! The song is by Phillips Craig & Dean. If you want to hear the song you can visit my MYSPACE page and hear it. Here is the link to my MYSPACE page-
http://www.myspace.com/shelliebing
And here are the words.

Top Of My Lungs

Words of worship
Rise like a river within me
Thoughts to express are so many
Wanna bless You God

Can’t be silent
I think of the mercies You show me
My lips begin overflowing
Great is Your love

Such gratitude
For all that You do
Jesus to You

Chorus:
At the top of my lungs
I will sing hallelujah
You’re the one who saved me
The one who gave me
This life I’ll live
Forever more (forever more)
At the top of my lungs
I will sing hallelujah
I’m not ashamed
I’ll praise Your name
Let the whole world know
I love You Lord
I love You Lord

You are worthy
I join the song of creation-that
Rings out across every nation
Let my heart be heard
I need You so
Don’t care who knows
From the depths of my soul

Chorus

Bridge: Let my love be loud
A sweet joyful noise
Only for You
I lift up my voice
I lift up my voice


So my words of wisdom for today are:
Find someone who doesn't know God and tell them that He loves them!

changes to my blog

Hey everyone! I just wanted to let you all know that I have added some stuff to my blog. I have put some pictures of the kids. Check them out!

Here are some more I wanted to share.

I think this one looks like Nathan walked right out of Heaven! Look at that angel face!

Here is one of all 3 of them from Christmas.

I LOVE this one! Going on a nature walk.

So my words of wisdom for today are:

Savor the moments,take LOTS of pictures & make a scrapbook!(that last one is just for you JoAnna! LOL)

revelation......

Hello all!
Revelation is such a wonderful thing! Yesterday in church we sang a song called "Kiss of Heaven" and I was a mess!!! God just totally blessed me through this song. The chorus goes like this-
My Jesus, Dream Maker
My Jesus, Life Giver
I'm living under the Kiss of Heaven
And I'll never ever be the same again!

I realized while singing this that God has made all of my wildest dreams come true already! I may not be a millionaire or own the biggest house in town but I have an AMAZING husband and 3 wonderful healthy children! That is more that I ever imagined I would have. I really am living my dream!

Something I am learning is that there may be weeks where our finances are really low and we have things that we want and can't get them. But you know what, in the big picture of it all those little things don't matter. I can lay in bed at night and know that I am ok! I know that I live each day to the fullest and I don't waste one day! I enjoy my husband and my children EVERY day! And all of those moments that I watch my kids play or just lay in the floor and laugh with them until we can't breathe, those are the moments that matter! WHAT we eat doesn't matter, eating together is what matters! What we do doesn't matter as long as we are together!

If I can raise my children to realize this now, they will live a very fulfilled life! I have to make sure that it doesn't take them until they are 30 to GET IT!!!

I am so excited that God is dealing with me each and every day about these things in my life. I wake up each day with a desire to hear His voice and I am so in love with Him! I want to go to bed each night knowing I will never be the same again because I have listened to His voice that day and gotten closer to Him! You know, that is what we are working towards, getting closer and closer to Him until we see Him face to face in Heaven! And if we make an effort to do this, then every aspect of our lives will line up with Him and fall right into place. And He will flow out of us and we will reach others for Him. And that is what is the most important, not keeping Him to ourselves. Getting filled up and sharing the gospel with those who need hope!

So my words of wisdom for today are:
Don't seek His hands, seek His face! So many times we(and I say we because I am talking to myself too) ask God for things and we don't spend enough time just loving Him. Love Him today and seek His face. It will transform your whole day!!!

change.......

Hello everyone! Hope you all are having a great Friday. I am. My husband is home today. He has been working 12 hours a day, having to be at work at 3:30 am. So he has been going to bed early and it seems we haven't even seen each other this week. So I am enjoying having him here today!

The only down side to him being home is that he is a very busy little guy! We have been having a hard time getting the kids to go to sleep at night without them getting in trouble, so we have been changing rooms around today. We did have a play room and then a room that had the beds in them. Now Jacob has his own room(he is soooo excited). Though I still expect to get up some mornings and find him in Amber's bed. Even though he would never admit it, he gets scared at night and gets in her bed. And Amber has her own room. Then poor little Nathan is roomless! Just kidding. His stuff is in Jacob's room and he will be sleeping in Amber's bed with her. So this is a HUGE change for our family. And for all the kids who visit our house on a regular basis. We have had a play room since I can remember and all the kids always know where to go when they come over here. We will have to figure something out.

Now, I want to start sharing every once in a while about my weight loss journey. I decided at the first of the year that I am making some changes and I plan to lose 50 pounds this year. I will probably not share this regularly, but I will update when I lose some pounds. So I have lost a total of 6 pounds. I am eating less, making better choices, getting my water intake(64 ounces a day) and trying to workout at least 5 days a week. And I did get 5 days in this week!! And just let me say that it makes a HUGE difference in your body when you workout! I may have only lost 6 pounds but I am toning up a LOT!
I have a friend that is doing a daily blog on her weight loss and she has really encouraged me by being so strong and having so much will power. Way to go Aprille!!!!

So my words of wisdom for today are:
Accept change. It can be really good and life changing sometimes!
And, make some changes in your daily routine to be healthier. It does make a difference in how you feel from day to day.

Our Future Generation

Good Tuesday morning all!
I was remembering a conversation my 8 year old son and I had yesterday, and wanted to share with you all.
He began asking me questions about missionaries again. He has had a heart for missions for some time now. For his last birthday he decided to give up his gifts and had everyone bring money instead for a family of missionaries in Africa. So I already knew he was a pretty special little boy.

Well, back to our conversation. Here it is in a nut shell:
Jacob-"Why do those people in Iraq set off those bombs and kill people?"(the news was on)
Me-"They think it is what they are supposed to do, they are taught that it is OK."
Jacob-"Do they know the real God?"
Me-"No, they serve a different God. They may have been told about God but some people are never told about Him."
Jacob-"Will they go to Heaven?"
Me-"Well, if they have never accepted Jesus they will not go to Heaven. They may have never been told about the real God, so they may have never had a chance."
Jacob walks away for a minute and comes back with tears in his eyes and says,"Mom that is why I am going to be a missionary, so I can go and tell those people about God."
Me-"That's good, you always keep that focus and let God lead you son."
Jacob-"How will I know where to go to be a missionary?"
Me-"Just begin praying now about your future and God will show you where to go. He will put a place on your heart."

So I have prayed off and on (not daily like I should) for my children and their futures. And that conversation really opened my eyes to a lot!
1st-We as adults need to have that same passion and heartache for the lost. I feel ashamed that my 8 year old has more compassion for the people in Iraq that are going to Hell than I do. We don't think of it in that way, the people in Iraq that are killing our soldiers and innocent people in their own country, are dying and going to a devil's Hell. We need to be praying like never before that the gospel will be spread in that country and those people will change their ways and surrender to God!
2nd-We need to be praying for our children and their futures like never before. I have to help Jacob by praying for him that God will direct his path and give him a passion about where he is supposed to be a missionary. We need to pray for our children's spouses that God has for them, that they will live Godly lives and follow the path God has planned for them. Our children are our future and we have to pad them with prayer. It is so important! And if you don't have children yet and plan to, pray for them also. Pray for their future and protection for them coming into this world.

Time is short and we have to tell as many people about God as we can. I don't want anyone to go to Hell. We should be screaming at people that we know do not know Jesus like they are about to be hit by a truck, because in a way they are. They are dying daily and need to be saved from a terrible death that will last for eternity.

So my words of wisdom for today are:
Pray.
Look at your children today and ask God to show you what ministry He has planned for them and ask Him to show you how to nurture that.
Find someone today and tell them that Jesus loves them, you never know you may be their last hope!

Convenience

OK, I just wanted to let you all know that I had taken the thing off of here that made you type in letters before you could post a comment. Well, I put it back on because last night I got a comment and I think it may have messed up my computer. So today I downloaded a new virus protector and I had 13 viruses!!!!! Yes 13. So I am sorry that you gotta go through the extra step to leave me a comment, I hope it doesn't hinder any of you from commenting me. I love hearing from you all!

So now to interesting stuff..........I was cleaning my toaster today(yes it does need attention every now and then) and I realized how often we use it(bout every day). And then I wondered what people back in the days before toasters did to toast their bread or frozen waffles or toaster scrambles...........then I realized HEY! they didn't have all of this convenience food back then. So then my thought process went to- I wonder what "convenience" things (or food) your family can't live without or uses every day? Ours is probably:
Food-sliced bread and sliced cheese(3 kids=grilled cheese)
Appliance-microwave/toaster
Personal stuff-hair dryer

And then this makes my thought process go to--Thankfulness! Thank God that we live in a time of convenience things that help us through our days. We rely so much on some of these things.

So my words of wisdom for today are:
Take a minute and think about the things in your life God has blessed you with to make your life easier and thank Him for them!

Blissful Saturday!

Oh, good Saturday to you all!
So this has been a pretty productive day. Thank God for my husband having the day off!!!! He is such a great help when he is bored and needs something to do. LOL! If the weather were right he would be fishing. But it is too cold. He is not the type that can just sit at home and veg out(unlike me), he needs to be doing something all the time. So we have been cleaning all morning.

I love these weekends that we don't have a million things to do and we can catch up from the week in peace. My 2 big kids are outside playing, Nathan is sleeping and now George is napping on the couch(he had to be at work this week at 3:30 in the mornings and didn't get much rest-he normally would NOT be napping). So I am getting a few precious moments of quiet.

God has really been dealing with me to stay focused on a schedule. I am such a better wife & mom when things are caught up and I am not running around like a chicken with my head cut off!!! So the question is "Why do I allow things to get out of hand?" Well, this answer may not feel very good, but it is true for so many of us. I listen to my flesh and do what I want to do. Not what NEEDS to be done. This is so true for me in a lot of areas of my life. Housework, eating, time with my children, etc. I know what I need to do to make things go smoothly around here. But I choose at times not to do what I know is the right thing. And then somewhere down the line I am saying to myself,"If I had only______ before things got crazy, I would not have this mess now."

So my words of wisdom for today are:
If you are a person who needs a schedule-write one up & stick to it!
If you are a person who doesn't need a schedule-can I come and live with you?!?!?!

Cupid Poop.............

OK everyone, I have a friend whose name is JoAnna. I have her blog site on my list of blogs I visit "JoAnna's Creative Expressions". If you need a good laugh visit her site and read her post on Cupid Poop. I laughed and laughed! It is too cute. Check it out!

So my words of wisdom for today are:
Find something funny today and have a big ol belly laugh! It is good medicine!

It Really Does Take A Village

So I have been thinking about how blessed I am to have all of the help that I have in raising my children. I just want to say THANK YOU to all of my friends and family that help me from day to day. Whether it is encouragement, advice, correcting my children when they won't listen to me, keeping my children, or just picking up something from Wal-Mart for me so I don't have to take all 3 of them in for one thing!
I realize that I can't do this on my own. And today started out as one of those days where everything was going wrong, so after breakfast I got out the Bible and we read a couple of chapters aloud and we prayed and committed our day to God. And let me just say that I can tell you from experience, praying & committing your day to God really does make things go better!
We are almost done with school(and we have a MUCH better attitude today!), I have been able to get all of my dishes done and the children have actually played together today and have been fighting WAY less! I have also done 3 loads of laundry and had time to go to the bathroom alone! LOL(something that is a rare occasion around here!)

So my words of wisdom for today are:
Don't feel like you have to do it all alone. God places people in your life to help you. If you are feeling down because no one is reaching out to help you then ASK FOR HELP!!!! If others don't know your situation they can't help.
And if you see a mom who looks like they haven't had a shower all week or looks like she is about to crack or looks like she may need a few hours alone-don't hesitate to reach out to her and offer help. She will love you forever and you may just be her lifesaver for the day!!!

OH WHAT A DAY!!!!!!(read if you dare)

Ok everyone. Today has been one of those days! This is gonna be a long one. Go ahead & pour you a cup of coffee and stay a while!
I decided there needed to be some changes. So I decided to change part of my headline from "A place of encouragement for moms" to "Real Life Of A Homeschool Mom". And for those of you who may ask WHY..............well, let me tell you!
I still want to encourage you with great words of wisdom, but that doesn't mean it has to always be great little wonderful tips and stuff. It may encourage some of you to hear about how CRAZY and out of control my days can be. I felt like I was being a little unrealistic just sharing only the good and encouraging side of being a mom/wife/nurse/maid/cook/janitor/teacher/maid(oh sorry I already said that one). I feel that I need to be totally honest and let you in on the good,bad & the ugly! So I thought I would let you all into my world as it is on a daily basis!
Let me begin by saying that I LOVE my 3 wonderful,amazing,sweet children. Don't forget that line!
I wanted to get up early this morning being that we started back to school today after a break of about 3 weeks. Well, I happen to get this nasty sinus monster attaching itself to my body. Everything on the left side of my face is swollen. From my gums all the way to my neck down to my shoulder. So needless to say I slept in today. My little Jacob woke me around 7ish and wanted food. So being the great mom that I am I say to him,"Go get a pop-tart." I really thought I needed to have a warm breakfast for him since he was starting back to school today, I think warm meals are overrated!
So then I decide to get up and attempt to have somewhat of a quiet/devotion time to myself before the other 2 wake up. And what do you think happens? YEP you guessed it! They both wake at the same time. They do decide to play for a while so I get in a little quiet time.(10 precious minutes) So we all get breakfast and then the oldest starts on school while the other 2 play/fight whatever you wish to call it. All the while I am trying to decide whether or not I am sick enough to go to the doctor and waste the money it would cost. I spend a little time on the computer and then returning phone calls. I decide not to go to the doctor.
So now it is time to check school work. My wonderful Jacob is spending his time on the computer playing. I find that he has written some stuff wrong in his English and call him over to correct it. He acts like I have pulled him away from talking to a movie star or something.(As of right now I am thinking of a different/more hands on way of doing school) I had to remind him of the importance of an education and that we are not doing school work just because it is fun! And then comes the attitude!!! He needs an adjustment these days!
Then comes the wonderful task of LUNCH!!! It was actually pretty uneventful today. So not much to share there.
Well, after lunch we decide to go on a walk so that maybe mom will feel a little better. It did help some. After our walk we play outside for a while. The problem with this is that my amazing 3year old daughter(who really has enough drama to be in the movies) loses her mind if she loses any game! And my little Nathan only wants to play in the mud. So we decide to go in, against my children's wishes! But I have dinner to cook and need to get busy. All the while Jacob and Amber are trying to see who can talk the ugliest to each other. And Nathan decides to cry and whine until his daddy gets home and then he smiles!!!(did I not give birth to him?)
So all in all today has been an ok day. Besides the fact that I have this terrible thing wrong with the left side of my face, Jacob tries to talk to me like he is 32 instead of 8, Amber screams and cries at every little thing to TRY and get the boys in trouble & Nathan climbing on and falling off of any surface he can get his chubby little knees on(esp the kitchen table-he takes off in a full run across it and bout gives me a heart attack every time!) And last but not least, my wonderful husband comes home and informs me that he has to go to bed early because instead of going in at 7:00 he now has to be at work at 3:30AM!
So if you have lasted through this pitiful excuse of a day, bless you!!!!! Sorry it is so long, I guess I needed to get it all out!!!!
So my words of wisdom today are:
Even though we may have days that our children act crazy and do everything wrong, we are soooo blessed to have those amazing children! And YES I can say that I really do love their precious little faces and all the things they do, even the wrong things!!!! I am so blessed and thankful that I am the one that gets to be with them every day and that I get to wake up with them and put them to bed each night. Thank you God that you have allowed me to be a Homeschool Mom!!!

MEMORIES

Hello all! My wonderful husband and I shared our 11th wedding anniversary on January 3rd! I am so in love with him that I get butterflies in my belly when I think of him!!! Each year has gotten better & better. During the last few days we have revisited a lot of memories. Then this morning I was reading on a homeschool newsletter I get and I read this saying and wanted to share it here.
"Life is not a race; it is a dance. Take the time to hear the music, to dance with someone you love, and to enjoy the moment for all that it's worth."
It took me a few years to get this but I now get it. I think it was around the time I found out I was pregnant with my little Nathan a little over 2 years ago. Before that I seemed to stress over things that really didn't matter. Like all the dishes being done all the time or the floors being clean all the time or the laundry being caught up all the time...............you see my pattern here. I realized really quick that I couldn't do everything all the time! With 3 children ages 6, 2 and newborn it was impossible to get all the "things" done that I needed to and spend quality time with my 3 little ones.
I am not saying never clean your house- I am saying have a plan, do what you can, hear the music and enjoy the moment!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

New Year......New Me

HAPPY NEW YEAR everyone!!!

I hope you all had a great CHRISTmas and a Happy New Year. We did.
I wanted to start the new year off with a few words of encouragement. I know that this year is a year of new beginnings and revolution for me. I believe God is going to bless financially, spiritually & physically. But it will not be an easy road. I will have to work like I never have before. But that is the good part! I can make an effort and in turn God will bless it and meet me half way and walk with me through my journey. I am DETERMINED to be different this time next year! I have a few goals that I want to reach by this time next year and I thought I would share them with you all.

2008 GOALS
1. lose 50 pounds this year
2. read the bible with my husband each morning and attempt to read it through
3. seek God more and draw closer to Him
4. share Christ with as many people that I can
5. be debt free

That is just a few things that I want to accomplish this year.
I want to encourage you all to live your best life ever this year. Make a plan and stick to it! Live life on purpose. If you want to lose weight then make some life changes and stick to them. Surround yourself with positive people and be positive to those around you.

I pray that each of you will have a blessed New Year!!!