Celebrating Step Mothers Day

           With Mother's Day a week away, I was giving some thought as to how stepmothers are viewed by society.The stereotypical image of a stepmom needs an update. The term stepmom carries a negative connotation in some circumstances.Being a stepmom in some cases has the stereotypical image of "WICKED".Becoming a 2nd mom to someone elses children is not easy,but millions of women have taken on the task.Stepmothers need to be recognized and honored also.No one can take the place of the child's own mother ,of course.

            One of the things children face in blended families is being torn between 2 sets of parents.With this in mind, I have read and heard about "Step Mothers Day" being celebrated the Sunday after Mother's Day. This may be a good idea for some family situations. This week as a stepmom, do something nice for yourself . Pamper yourself, take a bubblebath,watch a movie, spend time with your spouse.

            Help your step children to honor their BM on Mother's Day if possible. A good way is by helping them with gifts. One year I helped my step daughter make a photo book for her mom with special things written in it by her. I took photos of my stepdaughter and let her pick out a book to put them in.It was fun for both of us and was also a very personalized gift for her mom.

            My hope is that as a stepmom you will have a very special day!Continuing The Journey!

Dealing with the Whys of Step Parenting

       When you become a stepmom there are many times you ask the question-WHY? Why is being a stepmom so hard at times? Why can't a spouse and their ex get along for the childs sake? Why do people harbor so much resentment that it affects their health after a divorce? Why did my child not want to come to visit me on my weekend to have them? Why so many lies? Why do some people think stepmoms are wicked? Why did my stepdaughters biological mom die at this time of her life?
        As I was walking recently,I was asking God some WHY's and this is what I am learning. God allows all of us to be tested and when you are a step parent you are definitely tested and ask WHY many times. God knows about all of our "stuff" we have in our lives.He knows what is going to happen in our lives and what we are going through and will go through. .I am learning to try not to fix and solve everything in life.I am learning to quit asking God so many WHY questions and to let him be the ruler of my life in all my problems.God can handle all of our"stuff" if we just let go of our worries and WHY's and give them to him.Are you surrendered to give him all your stuff? Continuing the Journey!

Special Occasions



HOPE AT SALON BLISS



BEAUTIFUL!!







HOPE AND HER PAPA













HOPE AND CHASE GETTING READY TO GO TO THE PROM



There are many special occasions in life. There are birthdays,graduations and holidays,to name a few.Our family had a SPECIAL OCCASION this past Friday. Hope went to the PROM!!!This was Hope's special day.It was special for the whole family though.I had the priveledge of helping her with all the pre prom activities that led up to the Big day. We shopped for the dress,shoes and jewelry.She got her nails and hair done.We had a BLAST doing all these things. Mike is so proud of the beautiful young lady she has become. It is times like this that help stepmoms and stepchildren to develop and grow relationships.You can create traditions that just the two of you can share together.All of this helps to bridge the gap as a stepfamily.Special events and times like this give meaning and direction to life together as a stepfamily. I love creating memories with my husband,children and stepchild! I am so grateful to GOD for being by my side as I try to be the wife,mom and stepmom that he wants me to be.Continuing The Journey!









MIKE,HOPE AND JACKIE























A Lot of Happenings

There have been alot of happenings in The Brown household recently, so this post will bring things up to the present time. We had a really bad day a little over a week ago in which we woke up one morning to an overflowing toilet and plumbing issues on a cold rainy day.As the day progressed,my husband was helping the plumber and fell down the outside deck stairs onto his back. He went back to work yesterday after being out of work for over a week,but thank God there were no serious injuries. My youngest son has left for Orlando,Florida to work at Seaworld. Thank God he made it safely and has a good room mate which I prayed for.My birthday was this past week and I had a very good day.My husband took me out to eat and to a neat coffee shop for dessert.Over this past weekend ,my husband and I went to a marriage seminar at our church called "The Art of Marriage".There was alot of good information on God's design for marriage.I would definitely recommend this to engaged or married couples.
Now to update you on my stepdaughter,Hope.We are continuing our bible study on "Lies Young Women Believe".It is great!!Some most exciting news is that Hope is going to give her testimony at church in a few weeks.I have watched her grow in her faith over the past few years.God is really using her circumstances in her life to impact others as they watch her growth in Christ.Our GOD is so good!!Even though we have had some challenges lately,LIFE is bringing us all closer together.Continuing the journey!

Good Times

Good day today! The weather was beautiful today-60's and sunny. We went to church this morning and heard a great sermon from Ephesians about putting off the old and putting on the new as Christians-to honor God with our lives-to be Christlike.We all have struggles daily. To strive toward becoming Christlike doesn't happen overnight.In saying all of this,I know there are days that I don't show my family a Christ like life.I also know that I have a God who is forgiving and gives me second chances.I do strive to be a good wife,mother and stepmother.That's my preaching for today! After lunch,we all took a walk together-Fun! Hope and I started our bible study today-"Lies Young Women Believe" by Nancy DeMoss and Dannah Gresh.Young girls have been lied to and deceived by satan throughTV,music, false religions,internet,cellphones and even friends.One lie that some believe is that" God is not enough".Many girls believe that they need their friends more than God.Some think that friends can fill that deep place in their hearts.The truth is that God is the only one that can fill our hearts. God is enough-he will meet all your needs.He is the One who never changes and will never leave you.My stepdaughter and I went out to eat then to Starbucks and had a great time of bible study and just talking about life.I hope she is learning as much from me as I am learning from her. This was a very GOOD DAY! Continuing the Journey!

Stepmoms- Take Care of Yourself

Being a stepmom is much more complicated than most people realize (except of course for us stepmoms) and it never seems to end. There are times as a stepmom when you may feel like running away due to frustrations that are overwhelming. Some stepmoms feel like a stranger in their own house. Some feel like the atmosphere in the house changes when the stepchildren are there.Some stepmoms have to watch every word they say while the step kids are here knowing it will be repeated to his exwife as soon as the kids return home. I have been there,but I don't deal with some of this at the present because my stepdaughter's mother is deceased and she lives with us fulltime. In saying all of this,we as stepmoms need to take extra care of ourselves.Take yourself out of the stresses of being a stepmom at times and focus on youself. We as stepmoms tend to give so much of ourselves to others that we leave little time for us.Doing this will help decrease resentment over things. Give yourself credit that you are doing a good job.Remember you are human and it's ok to sometimes cry and get mad. Go to the movies and out to eat with girlfriends. Treat yourself to a manicure/pedicure. Get yourself a facial or a massage. Take the time to do something that is a special treat for you.Most important look to God for your strenghth,wisdom and truth. He is there when you are overwhelmed and discouraged. He is THE ONE who will guide you on how to handle difficult circumstances. We all recently went to the beach for a few days(my husband ,stepdaughter, and myself).This was a time of relaxation and what a great view to marvel at what a great God we serve.Continuing the Journey!

STEPMOM'S CHRISTMAS WISH LIST

After doing some research and through some of my own experiences, I have a stepmom's christmas wish list.Holidays can be stressful because they are important functions for families. Christmas and step families together can produce anxiety.Different situations can produce different types of stress.You have multiple home,multiple parenting,multiple grandparenting and in-laws with a step family. Stepmom's often feel the brunt of everything during the holidays because the planning often falls on her.My step daughters mother is deceased so I do not have to deal with some of the complexities during the holidays. When you are dealing with a biological mom,my advice to you during the holidays would be to be flexible,good communication,don't stress over the small stuff and make sacrifices when needed.

STEPMOM'S CHRISTMAS WISH LIST

1.Educate yourself-read a good book on step parenting and learn about the experiences of women with step children and about couples in remarriage.This way you will understand what I 'm going through and be able to listen and speak to me in new ways.

2.We are not a first family so we are not necessarily going to look,act or feel like one.To understand this would be a great gift.

3.Ask what I need over the holidays.Invite me for coffee,out to lunch,or offer to keep the children. Help me remember who I am-sometimes women partnered with a divorced dad gets so consumed in the role of step mom that they forget they are also a daughter,sister,friend,coworker,etc.

4.Try to listen without judging and understand that step parenting is sometimes complicated.

5.Please tell me sometimes that you appreciate what I am doing as a stepmom and you've given me a gift that I'll treasure for years.

In closing,remember stepmom's, to spend time during this Christmas season with the ONE who gives you strength in times of stress and seek his wisdom in all that you do. Also, I want to thank my sweet,understanding and wonderful husband who gives me so much support and is by my side in all that I do.Continuing the journey! Merry Christmas!