Hello!
With the start of the new school year here in the United States, it seems like so many people are really scrambling to do all the things. Summer is winding down and now people have begun the shopping for school clothes and supplies, preparing for the homeschool year, and then adding new schedules such as sports and youth group, ect.~all the new activities the school year brings. Plus trying to get all of your produce harvested such as canning and freezing and it all can really be a very busy time.  It all adds up and can make you a little overwhelmed.  I totally understand! We have had to say no to several things in the next week because of all that we have going on right now!  My kids love sports and since we homeschool and live 20 minutes from town, it tends to be alot of running with them both being on 2 separate teams. It is a way for them to see their friends every day and If they didn’t love it so much, our lives are full in so many other ways, that we probably would have to say no, but for right now, we are making the sacrifice.  We did take a break in the summer as we don’t think they need to play year round and we have so many other interests and I’m not really sure where they would have fit that in.
 
First tip to finding peace in this season is to stop being so hard on yourself - social media and pinterest give us many ideas, but much of what is on there is very unrealistic. Do not make comparisons-there is so much pressure to try to keep up with the world, but you do not need to-give yourself permission to break free from the normal and simplify your life!!!!  You don’t have to have the notes in the lunch box every day, or even pack your child’s lunch every day if they go to school.  Let them eat hot lunch or if they are old enough, let them make their own lunch.  Just have items on hand and most likely more of it will get eaten if they pack it themselves anyway!!!!!!
If you are trying to harvest your garden right now, try to schedule that to do a little each day because that will help with trying to do everything at once.  Once day we froze corn, one day we made green beans, another day pickles, and so on!  Another tip I have shared before with that is my best tomato tip ever…..cut the core out and put in the freezer and make your sauce in the winter.  This has helped me so much with being too overloaded with garden work!
 
The second tip is to plan the week on sunday evening and have the week at a glance where the whole family can see it.  This helps my family so much!  I have talked about this before, but I just have a monday-sunday magnetic board from the dollar store on my fridge and each week, we write what is going on each day with the times such as games or practices and we also have our meals on there so we always know what needs to come out of the freezer or made ahead of time if we are gone most of the day.  It has become so automatic that my 12 year old daughter that likes to be prepared and organized does the calendar before I even get to it sunday evenings!!!!!  I don’t have anywhere in my home for a command center, so this seems to work amazing for our family and it is super simple!
 
Just remember friend-if you simplify, you are more likely to have more peace and know that you do not have to do everything everyone else is doing.  Everything in your life can change once you learn to step back, slow down and make the decision to take your life back to what matters most.
See you back next week!Monica
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