My Reminder In The Midst...

When I was 16, I went on a missions trip.  I was gone for the majority of the summer. During this time, I came down with the only ear infections I had any memory of, essentially making it impossible to hear for a period of time.  I had some of the worst homesickness I had faced to that point.   Needless to say, at that time, this was likely one of the hardest events I had been to in my young life.

Clearly, I have been through more since then, and small and big, God has led myself and my family through it all, even when it is hard to see.  I will admit my health right now is generally well and my family is truly wonderful.  Yet my family is going through easily our hardest financial struggles that we ever have (which is saying something for us).  We haven't given up but the morale for hubby and I is not great usually and staying positive for me is even tough, especially with how it affects the day to day.  Even with the recent news his bosses are both incredibly happy with the job he is doing, we see the result of recent struggles still building up, putting us further and further behind.

And then I come back to my life verse, established in my mind on that missions trip so many years ago...  "Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds,  because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.  Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." James 1:2-4 (NIV)

God has got a plan in all of this, right?
As always,
       Melis

Just a blip...

Last night, I was sitting on my bed, after feeding my littlest and trying to get my dinner in quickly before I had a scheduled appointment, going back and forth between messaging and catching up with friends and checking in with those trying to schedule an appointment.  And I was doing all of this while I was in the midst of trying to complete this week's training for the local pregnancy center.  I am so looking forward to volunteering there and getting to be apart of God's great plan there, but after several weeks off of training, I was having trouble getting it done.  Of course, then my Joy and Micah arrived up here to say "hello" and see what I was doing.  I finally remembered they must have something to do.  They did.  While this was happening, Emily was wailing downstairs wondering why I wouldn't feed her.  This is the one time her sweet daddy just was not cutting it.  So I gave in.  I went downstairs and told my hubby I would get up in time to finish my training in the morning.  Then I got that time with my Emily.  And before I knew it, it was time for bed, okay much later than that ;-)  I guess it is just another blip in the life of the now working mom, trying to prioritize and find that balance... And here's to a crazy day full of appointments because my hubby is home.  It is a good thing I have this sweet face to look at...

As always,

           Melis

Transform

For those who have kept up with my blog over any length of time, you have probably noticed a "Word of the Year" David and I pick for our family each year.  Well, we picked one for this year back around Christmas, and honestly, I was too grumpy to go ahead and share it, because as with our "Faith" year, God is showing us through and through how He is trying to work in it... and sometimes, I don't like to deal with it.  As my husband often laments, "Why do we keep picking a word?"

TRANSFORM ~ For kicks and giggles, I decided to look up the definition... Here are just a few: "to change in condition, nature, or character; convert" or "to undergo a change in form, appearance, or character; become transformed."

Maybe you get why my hubby wasn't so excited suddenly...

Right out of the gate this year, I stepped out of Children's Ministry officially.  Since 2007, I was convinced this was my calling.  And I truly believe it WAS... but God changed that calling and at the time, I had NO idea where he was leading me.  I just knew our income was shrinking and I was clueless as to this area of my life for the first time in a very, very long time.  Only days, after I stopped working in Children's Ministry, we hit our first major bump with David's job.  After that, the hits kept coming.  I was angry.  And I know he was too.  I kept asking God "Why us again?  Haven't we been through enough yet?"  I finally came to the conclusion that while MY plan for transformation was one thing (getting fit, David advancing in his company, me working in Children's Ministry...), God had very different plans and he was working on transforming us in ways we didn't necessarily ask for.

Since then, I have taken it upon myself to work as hard as I can from home, doing whatever I think I need to do and praying it is enough to help us get back on track.  Unfortunately, it seems like when you think you finally have it figured out, when that changes, you can fall pretty hard.  To tell you the truth, I am a bit tired of bruising....

There is a verse in Romans that shed some light on this, "Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will." Romans 12:2 (NIV)

It all comes back to God's Will and what He has in store or us.  And even though, it is a scary time in our lives, especially financially, I know He has a plan and is going to lead us through it as needed, and in His perfect timing.

In Isaiah 26:3 (NIV), it says, "You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you."

I don't know about you, but I am choosing to let him transform me this year.

As always,
     Melis

So What am I ACTUALLY up to?

One of the things I have always wanted to do is live more healthfully.  I will admit, growing up and even as a new adult, I did not care anywhere near as much as I probably should have.  But let me tell you, when you get pregnant and have kids of your own, the amount of concerns you have to think about start to add up.  And that is where I was.  I found myself asking my husband not to use the chemicals he knew so well to clean and begging for the "green" products.  Unfortunately, I was met with the cost talk and it was not really worth our time and he would be careful using them while I was pregnant.  And I knew I could always count on him to safely put things away, so I let it go... until recently.  

I will admit I was jealous of my friends who could afford products from the other "green" companies. I wanted the access even if I did not need it all of the time.  And in the past few years, it went from more than just wanting to clean with these products but I wanted to be able to find my vitamins, healthier snacks, supplements and occasional beauty supply.  And frankly, with three young kids, searching the internet and brick and mortar stores to find the best deals was getting so exhausting.  And we kept coming back to the same issue, cost... You see, when we had a little, I could get healthier, spending on a few specific products,  I even managed to get back down to a healthy weight in a few short months with exercise, a diet that made sense to me, and supplements that worked.  Yet, here I am almost 14 months after my youngest was born and I am the heaviest I have ever been and I am more determined than ever to find a healthier way of life all around.  

So I guess it was great timing that on the brink of losing it all, I came upon a company that sold all of these products and gave me a great discount, allowing me to start integrating them into my life and saving me time as well not worrying about going to the store (which as parents and non-parents alike we all can appreciate at times).  So what is this fabulous solution to my life I have found?  I invite you to a webcast anytime... and if you love it, let me know.  If you don't that's okay.  I would love to hear your feedback if you don't mind sharing.  And if you have questions, I am sure I can answer them or ask if I don't know the answer.  And if you aren't quite ready to view a webcast, and want a brief intro, that works as well.  Schedule either or both below and I cannot wait to meet you! I KNOW how valuable money and time are.  So go ahead, click below and set a time at your convenience.

Sign Up for a Webcast or a Phone Call!

As Always,
         Melis

Time to breach my comfort zone...

When I promised to write and write again, I will admit, it was a little harder than I expected.  When life gets hard, I tend to clam up.  And when it gets harder than I expected, I tend to shut down.  You see, last summer my family moved for what we thought was the job opportunity that would change everything for us, especially for my husband.  All seemed to be going well enough.. until this past February when my husband was told to fix things in the next six weeks or face demotion or loss of job completely.  Unfortunately, no specific goals were given so my sweet hubby did everything he could.  And at the end of the day, we thought he had done it... but the "big boss" did nor agree.  So for the next six weeks, we went from just holding on financially, to half of that and sinking hard.  We had some help but ultimately did not see how we could go on.  However, after 6 weeks after being demoted, he was repromoted... sort of in a training capacity, with less pay, lacking a benefit and a bit more gas in the tank to get to and from work.  Of course by now, the new-to-us 2nd car had proved to be a disaster and is now days to weeks from leading us back to a 1 car life... So, I decided to take a chance.  I started looking for anything I could do from home with three kiddos all summer without a vehicle most days.  I looked into surveys and mystery shopping. I researched what I could do with my own skills.  I dabbled and truthfully am keeping some on the back burner just in case. But we needed more, so I took a leap... and I am determined to breach my comfort zone more than I ever have because I truly believe this is the solution to our problems... We will see if it pays off.  I am betting it will.  If you want to know more, contact me. I am just a button and a few words away.  

God Bless,

       Melis

Hugs & Sparkles!!!

Has it been as long as I think it has? Almost a year ago, my emotions got the best of me and I took a step back from this blog and just kept to myself, my closest friends and my family.  Suddenly, the realization that my sweet rainbow baby was only 2 months or so from arriving was hitting home.  I was in the home stretch and I was struggling to handle it... at least publicly.  So I slid back and focused on my little world...

On April 7th, 2015, Emily Grace Voeltz was born.  My rainbow, God's promise to me and our family had arrived.  At 7 lbs 14 oz and 20.5 in long, she was right in the middle of what her siblings were born at, both in weight and length.  My Rainbow... was and still is beautiful!  Now, she is our most physically active at this age.  She has been crawling for months and recently has become very good at standing.  She loves saying "Dadda" and has the same love for life her siblings did at this age.  She is probably the most "high maintenance," requiring her "Dadda" to pick her up within seconds of walking in the door after work each day.  She took awhile to warm up to anyone outside of our immediate family and even now, usually requires Mommy or Daddy to be with her.  She absolutely loves her Micah Boo and Joy Joy and seems incredibly content with the noise our busy household brings each day. I say she is built more like me than David and we are still waiting to see if she will be a blondie or a redhead or a strawberry blonde mix.  She loves to eat... anything and everything!

Anywho... I am back.  I am making no promises to blog at a certain time or a certain amount, just that I will try to blog as I feel led and am able to. So, here's to a new year, a new start, a new blog name, and lots of fun, right?

As always,
  Melis <3

30 Weeks Preggo!

Hi Friends!  Since my long 100th post,  we had a family day we promised the kiddos yesterday.  It was great to get out at least once as a family for a day before the latest princess enters our lives!  The highlight for Micah was probably the Fry's Electronics with the train theme. There was a trains sticking outside of the building as well as more inside with the walls continuing. It was amazing!  I was definitely impressed.  Joy got to go to a Disney Store with a pretty cool mirror in there. I didn't quite understand it but she had a wand and there were pictures coming up on it. She was in awe. Definitely the most interactive one I can remember.  I picked up my Boppy and Baby Girl got a glittery sweater & bright pink "genius" onesie. And of course we did a throwback memory to Marie Callender's & had dinner at our newest favorite,  Chick-fil-A.  These are all things that usually would take weeks or months to accomplish in our family but we enjoyed our time together.

Today I woke up with a definite sinus infection. Please pray for me as its been hard being sick at all pregnant.  I am still keeping my walking commitment though.  2.32 miles today.  Plenty more to go!  David promised we can finally order Shakeology again next week as well. ~Relieved and excited~

And of course,  today marks 30 weeks pregnant! Definitely feeling the discomforts of less sleep and a growing baby but I am committed to staying as active as I can walking for the duration!  She'll be here before we know it!

That's all for now...
As always,
Melis