March 1

Bible Verse for March 1 - 15
"Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will know what God wants you to do, and you will know how good and pleasing and perfect his will really is."
Romans 12:2

I'm gearing up to be a single parent all week (and next week too...). Jason has two trainings back to back. At least he will be home from Friday until Sunday! Tonight my parents watched the kids and we had a nice date! We went out to dinner and used a coupon we had so we got one dinner free and then went out for ice cream. It was nice to be able to talk uninterrupted before he leaves for the week.

We also started a new parenting class at church today. It's called Revolutionary Parenting and it was great today! Jason and I are both really excited about getting new ideas and having a parenting plan. Our teacher talked about figuring out what we want our kids to look like when they leave home at 18 or so and developing a plan to get them there. Today was the introduction, but we got several good ideas to implement already. This week we had to pick one think to start doing with each child, here are the ones we picked.

Madelyn - spend 15 - 20 minutes each night laying in bed with her, giving her time to talk. This is going to be tough because we need to have her in bed so early for school. Our teacher said even if some nights she doesn't talk at all, she will know she has this time to tell us anything. I'm going to try to do this a couple times this week. It will be hard with J gone.

Caroline - make specific one-on-one time. Caroline is usually either with Silas or Madelyn. She never really gets to do anything alone with us. I think Wednesday I'll take her somewhere while our sitter Tara is here, even if it's the grocery.

Silas - play more - especially with Jason. I'm with Silas all day and he is extremely bonded to me. We want Jason to have more fun experiences with him so their bond can continue to grow. This will be challenging this week!

And on a last note, here is our menu for the week - very simple since I'm single-parenting!
M - crock-pot baked chicken, peas
T - crock-pot tortilla soup
W - dinner with my grandparents : )
Th - leftover soup
F - Life Group
S - Breakfast - blueberry muffins, eggs, bacon, fruit
S - BBQ, potato salad, fruit salad
M & T - leftover BBQ (the kids love it and it makes a ton!)