Clarity With Charity

Motivation for Mommyhood, Marriage and the Mundane

Dear Momma, with Post Partum Depression & Anxiety, you are NOT ALONE!

Dear Momma,

Can I be honest, I didn’t really want to write this post… mostly because it is hard to remember something you would rather forget, like my struggle with Post partum Depression and Anxiety. But I am writing it because I read yesterday that another precious Momma has ended her life because of PPD. And it truly breaks my heart. I am writing, because my prayer is for one person to read this and know they are not alone, and find the courage and strength to tell someone they need help and to keep telling someone they need help until you get the help you need.

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4 Friday Fall Faves!!!!

Well, Fall is in full force around here- and by that I mean, I mentally tell myself to ignore the sweat bath that greets me if I step a toe outside and surround myself with all things pumpkin and live my best #falllife regardless of the thermometer… it’s amazing how good I am at ignoring reality sometimes…

In the spirit of ignoring reality… I am going to start my 4 Fall Friday Faves with the definite highlight of the week!!!

My Four Friday Faves always include: Something from the past week I LOVE, LIKE, am LINGERING over and made me LAUGH! I would love to hear a highlight from your week, in the comments below!

LINGER: we made our first batch of pumpkin chocolate chip cookies this week… and oh my fall heart and stomach exploded with joy…

I can’t explain it but these cookies have magical powers… every year I always choose to make these cookies when I am having a bad day and feeling snappy because we are entering our fifth month of 100 degree weather… and every time I make these cookies, the world becomes a wonderful, wonderful place… now this isn’t some secret family recipe because this isn’t and #sorrynotsorry will never be a cooking blog because I lack serious skills in that area… but I am really good at googling the top recipes for cookies and making them… we all have our strengths…😘

But here’s the link to the world’s best pumpkin chocolate chip cookies!!! Note: they refrigerate well and will last for several days that way…. not that you will probably need that tip, unless you have a much greater amount of self control than I do around the Best Fall Treat… ever!

LOVE: I loved getting away to Starbucks this weekend BY MYSELF🙌🏻🙌🏻. For the longest chunk of time I have had without any of my children since Zeke was born to work on my ROLES and GOALS for the fall semester… I won’t go into details here because you can just CHECK OUT the blog post about it where I offer a FREE PRINTABLE to help you prioritize and achieve your goals this Fall! I left feeling excited for what God has for this semester… and honestly a little nervous, because I feel like He is asking me to do more than I can accomplish in my own strength! But that’s a good place to be, because I know He will have to be the One who does it!

LIKE: One of my goals for this fall season is to work out 4 times a week. I went for a run this week and wow… let’s just say, I really liked it… when it was over😂. That first run post baby is always an interesting experience where I basically realize my organs have been re-arranged and I need to make myself run in a straight line.. oh and not pass out when it feels like 97 degrees… so hey… I did it… I may have had to stop and walk like 3 times… but Rome wasn’t built in a day… and neither will my stamina or my abs… speaking of abs, I found this great post partum abs work out on you tube, if you recently had a baby and your search for your abs feels like a very difficult Where’s Waldo book…this one might be for you.

LAUGH: ok these memes really have nothing to do with fall… except it’s fall and I have a newborn so there’s that really strong correlation there…

Alrighty friends, that wraps up this 4 Friday Faves welcome to Fall edition…even though it’s 90 degrees and to wear a scarf would be considered a death wish. I hope y’all are living your best fall life regardless of your weather! What are your favorite parts of Fall?

How to Accomplish Your Goals this Fall!!!! FREE Printable to help get you started!

Fall is here… and when you are living in Texas it helps to just say it emphatically standing directly under the AC vent because that is the only way to even survive drinking a PSL without suffering heat stroke….

Is it just me or is the Fall the time of year you are presented with the most opportunities?  Maybe its living in a college town, but sonetimes it feels like my “year” actually starts in September and its very important (especially as a recovering people pleaser) to asses my priorities and commitments.  I like to do this 3 times a year -September, January and May- (once again following the school calendar) but any 3 times/seasons of the year that make the most sense for your work/life flow is awesome.

To easily asses my roles and commitments I do a simple exercise called Roles and Goals.

I made y’all a FREE PRINTABLE to go along with my post today…its a pretty simple process, but makes a huge difference for me in knowing if I am committing to the right things in each season, and it helps me quickly define what my goals are and make at least one action step right then to accomplish my goal.  Here’s a quick glimpse of the sheet.

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Four Friday Faves

After my week off from blogging it’s time for another edition of Four Friday Faves!!! Each week I share something from my week that I LIKE, LOVE, am LINGERING over and made me LAUGH! I would love to hear some of your L’s from this week!!!

LIKE: The Going Scared Podcast by Jessica Honnegar the founder of Noonday Collection. I am consistently encouraged, inspired and challenged by this podcast. The main topics are entrepreneurship, overcoming challenges even when you are scared and also talking with a lot of women in leadership roles. I recently listened to an interview she did with the founder and CEO of Evereve (clothing brand/store). The founder is a busy working Momma, who said several years ago she was experiencing migraines everyday from the stress of her role leading her company. She is a Christian and decided that she needed to spend more time in prayer, journaling, and Bible reading. So every morning she spends 90 minutes with Jesus and she said her mograines disappeared along with the stress and anxiety she was carrying trying to run her company! Wow! That was so challenging and encouraging to me. If a busy CEO and Momma can make Jesus the #1 priority in her day and experience health and wisdom because of it than I can too! Be sure to check out her interview and this podcast. I shared a few ideas this week on how to have time for a devotional life/spend time with Jesus as a busy Momma of Little’s and/or if you are in a crazy life season on the blog this week. Check it out HERE if you didn’t get a chance to yet!

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How to Have Time for Devotions as a Momma of Littles

Photo Cred:  Tabby Z Photography

Happy Wednesday!!!!!  I missed connecting with y’all last week. I was “out of the office” and by Out I mean at my house with seven kids, seven and under. Six of them being boys. My brother and sis in law and their crew came to visit from out of state. It was such a treat to have them here and have them meet baby Zeke! I also have a new nephew that I hadn’t met yet – so it was a crazy, beautiful and loud time. But honestly there I wouldn’t have had it any other way!!! I miss them so so much already. I’ll be sharing some pics of our time together, mostly on Instagram, if we aren’t connected their yet would love to have you, you can find me HERE at @claritywithcharity.READ MORE

4 Friday Faves…. Zeke’s Newborn Photos and Fall is Coming!!!!

Woohoo! It’s Friday and we are especially excited for Friday today around here because my brother and sis in law are coming with their kiddos for a visit!!! We definitely don’t get to see them as often as I would like, so I am looking forward to lots of fun cousin time, and girl time and beating my bro at Settlers of Catan #gamenerd #bringitbro.

Last week I started 4 Friday Faves, just a simple and fun list of something I am LOVING, LIKING, made me LAUGH and something that is making me LINGER! I would love to hear anything from your week that falls into the 4 L’s too!

LAUGH: Our HEB (grocery store) just got these cute carts for the kids to push!

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Back 2 School Prayer

Hey! Hey!  Its Back to School Time.  Please tell me its not just me?….  Every year around this time I want to buy myself new pencils, markers, crayons…and maybe a Trapper Keeper… Calling all the children of the 90’s….Anyone else have one of those?  Mine was Lisa Frank and it was AWESOME…nothing was cooler in 1991 than Lisa Frank…NOTHING!!!!!!!  Fortunately I now have kids and so its looks a little less weird for me to be frolicking through the crayon aisle at Target…We definitely bought some new markers, crayons and paint for our home art supplies this weekend.  My kiddos started pre-school for the first time this summer…and although they supply all the school supplies there….bummer…I did get to shop for their back packs and lunch boxes and they aren’t old enough yet to argue with my choice too much.

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4 Friday Faves

Happy Friday!!!!  I hope y’all have had an amazing week!   I know some of y’all have already sent the kiddos back to school or maybe like us you are planning on taking advantage of tax free weekend …are we crazzzzyyyy???  I have actually never gone shopping tax free weekend before!

Today, we are starting a new Friday series.  Its a simple and fun list of  Four Friday Faves.  I’ll be sharing something from the past week that made me Laugh, I Love, I Like and that made me Linger.  And yes, the English nerd in me is loving all the alliteration.  I would love to hear your 4 Friday Faves… leave a comment and let me know how your week was, along with your 4 L’s!

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Hope for the Broken Hearted

“But will I ever feel like myself again?,” she asked me.

Her question startled me, and there I was holding the phone as my brother told me my Dad was dead.  I was grasping my belly, blood in the toilet weeping over my baby, gone….I was in the ER, with a solemn sonographer looking for a heart beat.  I was on the phone with 911, beside my friend who was turning blue experiencing a heart attack.

Her question to me following her own personal loss…it had been my anthem for days, weeks, maybe even years following death, grief, loss… “I just want to feel like myself again” I would think, “I want to laugh without feeling the laughter cut pre-maturely remembering who wasn’t there to laugh with me.  I just wanted to laugh, freely…without looking over my shoulder, frantically scanning my surroundings wondering when the next tragedy or crises would come.  I wanted to go to sleep at night without fear…fear that one of my children would die in the night, fear that something would happen to my husband while he was driving.  I wanted to feel carefree and full of wonder and hope at what may be next instead of dreading each new day.

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My 10 Most Loved Baby Items

Photo Cred:  Tabby Z Photography

Recently I have been asked for some of my must have baby items… I guess having 3 kids makes me a parenting expert now…ya right, I’m just trying to survive until nap time by sneaking bites of my kids piñata candy from the last 3 birthday parties they attended  – p.s. Dear parents, piñata candy is lame…please buy small sized reeses and hersheys and maybe throw in a few Lindor truffles next time for the mommas who need a little pick  me up.

In the spirit of making Mommas lives a little better I want to share with you my 10 most loved baby items.

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