Dealing With Stress

Good morning friends!
I just finished my devotional
and grabbed a second cup of coffee.
As I'm preparing to start my day
my mind is evaluating my to do list.
1. Shower and dress for the day.
2. Send the boys to Nana's for their play day.
3. Clean house
4. Paint the boy's bathroom.

Everything sounds fine and good
until I reach number 4.
Repaint the bathroom, seriously?
YES, I'm bribing myself to hurry
through my chores so I can have a little fun.
Taking a dreary bathroom and making it cheery.
And that's what has got me thinking.

My life has been a zoo lately.
Now don't get me wrong,
God has choreographed every-single-detail.
I am SO excited to see how He works out
all the big decisions going on right now.
I praise His name for filling our home with His spirit.
Most importantly, regardless of the outcome
I give Him all honor and glory!

It's the meantime that's wearing me down.
As I spend time in prayer and thanksgiving,
I try to maintain summer as usual.
But I find myself taking on the most unusual projects.
I know that stress makes us do weird things but really?
I just spent four days (off and on)
working on our mailbox.
It went from this.

To this.

Have I totally lost my mind,
or is it just nervous energy??
Hhmmm...
I'm thinking it could go either way!

So tell me,
how do you deal with stress?
Do you take on silly projects
just so you feel you have control over something?
I hope I'm not losing my mind.
But if I am, I might as well have
a gorgeous bathroom and over the top mailbox. ; )

Father's Day Shopping Story

Hi all, happy Friday!
This morning the boys and I finished
up our Father's Day shopping.
Between Big Daddy and all the grandparents,
we had our work cut out for us.
So, now that the shopping's done
I have a funny story.

I'll start by saying that the boys insist on
spending their own money at holidays.
Which I think is precious. :)
Since the boys are saving up for the beach,
they decided to go in together to buy Andy's gift.
We had picked out the perfect gift
and were on our way to the register.
As we put our money together
James said he could only spend $5.
And I knew Mr. Odd Jobs 
had more than that in his pocket.
Before I could interject Joseph lit into him,
"James, you're gonna have to put in $10."
He continued, "That way I can pay $25
and Mama only has to pay $20."
As I turned around to get control of the
situation I saw James had tears in his eyes.
Oh snap, I thought. What a stingy little jerk!
To maintain my composure I told the boys
to just pay whatever they wanted to
and we'd discuss this later.
Oh yes we will.


It was during the check out process
that James had an emergency bathroom break.
We left Joseph in line and headed to the potty.
As we were trapped in the bathroom together,
I figured it was the perfect time to discuss our situation.
"James" I said, "you need to be careful when you say
that you can only spend $5 on Daddy.
You see I know you have more money than that.
I don't want you to spend it all,
but we want Daddy to feel special on Father's Day.
When you won't pay your part,
it sounds like you're being greedy. "
It was his answer that caused my heart to sink.
"Oh no Mama, I want to buy Daddy something
nice for Father's Day. But when I told him I
was going to buy him a nice gift he said I couldn't.
He told me I could only spend $5 on him.
So I want him to get a good gift AND
be proud of me!"
Seriously, who is this angel son??


Needless to say, we bought the gift
and then had a long talk in the car.
Joseph & I both apologized to James
for getting frustrated with him.
Poor fella, he just wanted to make his Daddy proud.


Now we're off to finish the cards
and wrap everyone's presents.
Enjoy your afternoon! :)

God Is CRAZY Awesome!

Hi all, happy Thursday!
I have so much to say
that I don't even have the words to say it all.
Instead, I'll give you a visual. :)

Last night we went out with friends for dinner.
Since God is still working out the details,
I couldn't really tell them what was on my mind.
So I think I talked non-stop about absolutely nothing.
Picture me sitting on my hands,
while on the inside I was jumping up and down.


As you know,
blogging has been scarce lately.
It's true we're taking on our summer routine
and working out the kinks.
BUT, more importantly God's
been working overtime in our family.

He's used the past couple of months to
show us His will,
set our priorities in line with His
and provide us with several faith journeys.
W-h-e-w, if only I could have 
organized all that into a little jar. 


I guess I summed it up best when I told
Andy that God was CRAZY.
He gave me the look.
No, not cra-cra crazy.
Crazy like so unbelievably awesome.

Our Heavenly Father has worked in our home.
He's also been busy in the lives
of our family and friends.
We've spent lots of family time praying together,
and frankly at His feet.
Now that we're seeing things
from the other side of the mountain,
I'm so glad we journeyed with Him.

God is so CRAZY awesome.
I encourage you to invite Him
to rule all the pesky little details of your life.
When you come to the other side,
you'll be SO glad you did! :)

"Love the Lord your God with all your heart 
and will all your soul and with all your strength.
These commandments that I give you today 
are to be upon your hearts.
Impress them on your children.
Talk about them when you sit at home
and when you walk along the road,
when you lie down and when you get up.
Tie them as symbols on your hands 
and bind them on your forheads.
Write them on the doorframes of your houses 
and on your gates."
Deuteronomy 6:5-9 (NIV)

Chore Jars

Good morning long lost friends!
I've missed you
and all the therapy that blogging brings.
Remember when I told you
that the first few weeks of anything is tough?
Well, establishing our summer routine has been c-r-a-z-y!

Between juggling everyone's schedules &
the things that have to be done
(you know, buying groceries, cleaning & such)
there hasn't been much Mama left over for fun.
I look back on last summer and wonder
what happened to the Mary Poppins I remember??

So today I'm here to share the possible key to my sanity.
Instead of saying the s-a-m-e things over and over,
I've created an ongoing jar of instructions.
I considered a chore chart,
but I never keep those going for long.

As I considered solutions, I realized a few things.
1. I was more willing to put work into it on the front end.
   Then I could make minor tweaks as needed.
2. It had to be completed in one day.
3. It had to allow me to customize each day.
4. Last but not least, cute!

Here's what I did...
I printed out the boy's everyday tasks,
routines chores and a few extra things.

I cut the paper in strips,

then used Modge-Podge to attach them.

For the base I took large popsicle sticks 

and spray painted them.

You know I love me some spray paint. ; >

Once everything was secure I topped it off

with a clear coat of glossy acrylic.

Remember, I intend for these babies to last.

Finally this morning, everything was ready to go.

I separated them into jars.

Well not just any jars,

jars with ribbon of course.

The turquoise jar is James'

and the navy blue jar is Joseph's.

I also made an extra jar that includes 

green sticks for bigger chores

& silver sparkly sticks for summer fun.

Every morning I can decide what needs to be done

and load our jar full of instructions & fun. :)

There you have it,
the equivalent of a spoon full of sugar.
Just call me Mama Poppins,
because these jars full of instruction
promise to make the summer go round!

Need more ideas?
Stop by the DIY Showoff
and the CSI Project for inspiration.

Home Training with the Hinsons

Good morning all!
I hope you're having a wonderful week.
We're transitioning into our summer routine
here At Home With The Hinsons.
You know those first few weeks of anything
can be rather bumpy, but we're getting there.
I LOVE summer with the boys because it
provides the perfect time for Home Training.

My version of Home Training turns daily
tasks into teaching opportunities.
So far we've:
1. Reviewed banking skills
2. Mailed packages
3. Voted
4. Grocery shopped
5. Bargain shopped

Ah, the list goes on and on.
It keeps my fellas' minds learning
and prepares them for the world.
Here's an example:
Mama wanted to run to Tuesday Mornings.
The boys both took a little of their money with them.
While Mama browsed and picked up a few treasures,
the boys got life lessons.
They learned how to look for a quality product,
a good deal
AND
how not to spend money just because you have it.
Whew, life lessons... I LOVE that stuff!

I'm also continuing to work on my mad coupon skillz.
I received my Home Made Simple coupon book yesterday.
It has over $30 worth of great coupons, SCORE!
I've signed up with Start Sampling.
Every night while we watch TV,
I cruise the internet for free samples and great deals.

The sweetest part of it all?
My Prince Charming has noticed my hard work.
Just so I knew how much he appreciates all I do,
he delivered me flowers on Tuesday.
It was wonderful to know that not only am
I becoming a Proverbs 31 woman for the Lord,
but my husband loves it as well.  :)

Thanks for stopping by,
I hope you enjoy a wonderful day!