Homekeeping Heart

Another child. What could be better?

2012-01-24T15:32:00.008-07:00

As I anxiously await the arrival of my seventh baby, my second little girl, I feel her quickly-growing body squirm and kick within mine. Waiting to meet her, to hold her in my arms and smell her sweet newborn-scent is almost too much--much harder than being a child waiting for Christmas.

I think about how rare a seventh child is, how blessed I am that I will have her in my life. I wonder, what could possibly replace the joy this child will bring? What could I possibly desire to have instead of her? What would I have if she had not come that would make her absence worth it?

More money?
More room in my house? A cleaner house? A quieter house?
More time for myself?
More freedom to go where I want, do what I want, or even do what I need to do with more ease?
A thinner body with less stretch marks?
Nine months of my life free of morning sickness, fatigue, and discomforts?
More sleep?
More acceptance from others?
More "peace" and less stress?
Less responsibility?

Of course, all of these things combined could never come close to even compare to my child. How could I ever choose these temporary pleasures over the eternal treasures that a baby would bring?

Another child does not take time away from the children I have. But she will indescribably enrich the time we all have together. And any time I have alone with each child is special, precious, and treasured--even if it must be carefully planned for.

Another child does not force me to divide my love into even smaller doses. The love in my heart is only multiplied--each child I have only increases the capacity of love my heart can hold. Each child is loved as if he were the only one, cherished to the point of tears, so much I would give my very life for any of them in a heartbeat. And the thought of losing even one is unbearable.

Another child does not take away from my ministry to others. My children expand my ministry--together we are more hands, more feet, more hearts, more love, more power. And besides that, they ARE my ministry.

Another child does not take me away from or hinder my relationship with Christ. Nothing has caused me to grow closer to Him, to depend on Him more, to see my need for Him more, to be more thankful to Him than my children. Nothing has forced me to lose my self to gain more of Him than my children. And nothing has shown me more about what true joy, true life, true blessing is all about more than His gift of my children.

Yes, I cannot wait to meet this new little blessing from the Lord. Neither can my husband and children. I know I will never regret her. I know she will bring us greater joy and happiness than we can even imagine right now. I know I would never trade her for anything else this world tells me I need to be happy. God is making her, God knew her before she was conceived, God has a plan for her. The world may stare in shock at her, may even say she should not be. But He calls her a blessing and I know that is what she is.

Who I Am

2012-01-22T14:23:00.007-07:00

There are many things I like to talk about on this blog and elsewhere. There are many choices I have made that might be a little off of the mainstream. I have a lot of passions and I have strong opinions. I have lots of interests and preferences and I do enjoy sharing them and maybe helping someone else through my experiences.

I am a stay-at-home wife and mom and believe my calling as a woman is in my home. I homeschool. I am a mother, I have 7 children planned by God and I will let Him decide if I will have more. I use cloth diapers. I wear my babies and I sleep with them. I exclusively breastfeed on demand, anywhere and everywhere, and I do it much longer than average. I don't vaccinate my children. I love my husband and believe in my heart in submission to him, but I am selfish and many times I don't. I believe in embracing femininity, not feminism. I love to read, but I don't enjoy tv and movies very much and there is not much I will watch anyway. I love the bible. I love music of all genres (but mostly Christian because I'm very picky about that too.) I choose to be VERY picky about what I allow into my mind and heart. I want to eat healthy and natural and provide good nourishing food for my family, but I tend to be lazy and undisciplined and usually choose what tastes good. I enjoy homekeeping, but my house is usually a mess!

All these things are things I might enjoy discussing with others. Some of these things I am proud of and others I am not. BUT these things do not define me. These are things about me, but they are not WHO I am. They are not what I believe and they are ultimately not what I want the world to know.

WHO AM I?

I am a child of God.
John 1:12
I am a branch of the true vine, and a conduit of Christ's life.
John 15:1-5
I am a friend of Jesus.
John 15:15
I have been justified and redeemed.
Romans 3:23-24; Romans 6:6
I will not be condemned by God, I have been set free from the law of sin and death.
Romans 8:1-2
As a child of God, I am a fellow heir with Christ.
Romans 8:17
I have been accepted by Christ.
Romans 15:7
I have been called to be a saint
1 Corinthians 1:2; Ephesians 1:1; Philippians 1:1; Colossians 1:2
In Christ Jesus, I have wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption.
1 Corinthians 1:30
My body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who dwells in me
1 Corinthians 3:16; 1 Corinthians 6:19
I am joined to the Lord and am one spirit with him.
1 Corinthians 6:17
God leads me in the triumph and knowledge of Christ.
2 Corinthians 2:14
I am a new creature in Christ.
2 Corinthians 5:17
I have become the righteousness of God in Christ.
2 Corinthians 5:21
I have been made one with all who are in Christ Jesus.
Galatians 3:28
I am no longer a slave but a child of an heir.
Galatians 4:7
I have been set free in Christ.
Galatians 5:1
I have been blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.
Ephesians 1:3
I am chosen, holy, and blameless before God.
Ephesians 1:4
I am redeemed and forgiven by the grace of Christ.
Ephesians 1:7
I have been sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise.
Ephesians 1:13
Because of God's mercy and love, I have been made alive with Christ.
Ephesians 2:4-5
I am seated in the heavenly places with Christ.
Ephesians 2:6
I am God's workmanship created to produce good works.
Ephesians 2:10
I have been brought near to God by the blood of Christ.
Ephesians 2:13
I am a member of Christ's body and a partaker of His promise.
Ephesians 3:6; Ephesians 5:30
I have boldness and confident access to God through faith in Christ.
Ephesians 3:12
I was formerly darkness, but now I am light in the Lord.
Ephesians 5:8
I am a citizen of heaven.
Philippians 3:20
The peace of God guards my heart and mind.
Philippians 4:7
God supplies all my needs.
Philippians 4:19
I have been made complete in Christ.
Colossians 2:9-10
I have been raised up with Christ.
Colossians 3:1
My life is hidden with Christ in God.
Colossians 3:3
Christ is my life, and I will be revelaed with him in glory.
Colossians 3:4
I have been chosen of God, and I am holy and beloved.
Colossians 3:12
God loves me and has chosen me.
1 Thessalonians 1:4

This is who God says I am. This is who I am in Christ. This is me. By the GRACE of God, this is who I am.

Getting into God's Word...and getting it into you

2012-01-07T13:12:00.004-07:00

The Bible is one of my passions. I have been in love with it since I was 13 years old and it is truly something that gets more meaningful and amazing with time. It can never be exhausted and is always new! Another of my passions is encouraging people, including myself!, to read it every single day in some form. I thought I would share all the different ways I try to read the bible each day.

Bible Reading

My bible reading is just that--reading the bible. I usually use some sort of plan. Right now I am using the One Year Bible schedule and hope to be able to complete it this year. My only real goal is to just read it, get it into my mind and heart, get a good feel for the bible as a whole. But this is also when I journal or write notes on what I'm reading when something speaks to me or stands out in a new way. I keep a small notebook, pen, and my different colors for highlighting (I am using these!) with me as I read.

Bible Study

I love doing written studies to draw me deeper into certain passages, books, or topics. Right now I am doing a Beth Moore bible study with a group of women. But of course, bible study doesn't have to involve a written study. You can study deeper for yourself using the many resources available online, a study bible, commentaries, and so on. I love it.

Bible Memorization

This is something I started last year that has been life changing. I never knew how doable, or how beneficial, memorizing long passages was. First I heard this series on Revive Our Hearts, then I read the book His Word in my Heart by Janet Pope, and it really inspired me to memorize. Last year I memorized the book of Philippians. It took me about six months. Right now I am working on James. I keep the passage posted above my kitchen sink and really work on it while I'm working in the kitchen. Then I go over it in my head as I'm doing other tasks. One verse at a time. Verse upon verse, line upon line. This has really changed my thinking, my prayer habits, and my understanding.

Bible Copying

I have always loved having my children do copywork. I could see all the benefits of it, but never thought of doing it myself. Last year I discovered these lovely bible copying books. Of course you can use any notebook to write in, but these do have great features. I really enjoy copying the bible. I do just a few verses each day. It doesn't take long at all. I'm currently writing out James. It goes along with my memorization and bible study.

These are a few ways I enjoy getting into the Word and getting it into me. I'd love to hear what you do!

It's a...

2012-01-03T17:10:00.002-07:00

This was me before I went for my 20 week ultrasound today.

And this is what I came home with...

We're having another girl! I am SO happy and thankful to God for this gift.

Just can't stop talking about the blessing of children!

2012-01-02T22:23:00.005-07:00

The past few days I have been reading back through my old blogs--this one, the one before it on Xanga, and the one even before it I had forgotten about on Homeschool Blogger. It was so wonderful to look back and read about all the memories and thoughts I had forgotten. That really is the purpose of my blog--to keep a record of my life, my thoughts, my ideas--my online journal that I have chosen to let others read. I don't see it as a means of trying to teach others or convince them to agree with me. It's just an outlet for me and turns out to be a record of years past that I can look back on.

In recent times I have gotten a little weak about sharing things I know many people will disagree with. I have been confronted quite a bit and I do NOT like confrontation or debate! However, this is my blog, my journal, my thoughts, so I've decided that I shouldn't be afraid.

With that said, I want to share something I shared WAY back in 2006 when I had 3 tiny children. I haven't read these quotes in years so I totally forgot them, but I LOVE them!

First I shared this quote from Dr. B. H. Shadduck:

"If people want to limit the size of their families, they should wait until their child is two years old and then decide whether to kill the child. There would be very little limiting of families, you may be sure, on that basis.

Nearly every child is its own proof that it had a right to be born. The love and joy and pride that come from a child proves that God was giving an infinite blessing when the child was given, and that it would have been a foolish sin committed against their own happiness for the father and mother to have prevented the conception of that little one which later turns out to be so precious.

Every reason for one child is a reason for other children. If one child brings happiness, more children bring more happiness.”

After that I added my own thoughts:

"When I look at each of my precious boys I shudder to think of what if they had never been? If I followed the typical way of the world, none of them would be here! What a dreadful dreadful thought! And along that same line of thought–if and when God chooses to bless us again (or again and again!) I will one day look at that child and think the same thing. I will look into that precious face which is that of an eternal soul and say, “HOW did I ever live without you, my little treasure?” Oh, nothing causes me to praise God more than my children. They truly are the greatest blessings He gives. By far. By far."

Now I am expecting my seventh child and still wholeheartedly agree! Now I know 3 of those precious faces I talked about and KNOW that what I said was true! I will meet another precious face in May and I know I will also look at him or her (we find out tomorrow!) and once again say, "HOW did I ever live without you, my little treausre???"

My advice for wives--that I wish I could always remember!

2012-01-01T22:34:00.009-07:00

Last year a friend who was getting married asked me for marriage advice. I think if she knew everything about my marriage, she wouldn't have asked me ;) We have had a lot of ups and downs and rocky times. The past few months have been especially hard and I think a lot of it has been my own hardened heart. Praise the Lord, He is working in me and the past month or so has been the best time in my marriage in a very long time.

Anyway, these are the things I told her I wish I had known with my heart and not just my head the past ten years. They are the things I need to remind myself every day.

Expectations. Don't have any.

God and ONLY God can meet all your needs and totally fulfill you.

Forgive, forgive, forgive. None of us are perfect.

When you don't feel like you can't give another ounce or love another second, ask God to fill you with love for your husband. He always does!

Expect problems and see them as things to make you stronger and bring you closer.

Be drenched in God's Word--so full of it that there is no room for the world's thinking.

Never say or think "I hate him". That opens a door for the enemy that he always enters through!

Women want to be loved and cherished even when they don't deserve it--Men want to be respected, honored and trusted even when they don't deserve it.

1 Corinthians 13: Read it, memorize it, pray it, frame it in your bedroom.

Pray for your husband every day. Read the Power of a Praying Wife constantly.

Seek God first and He will take care of the rest!

Planning for the New Year

2011-12-30T20:36:00.005-07:00

I LOVE the New Year! It just feels like a fresh clean start. And I love getting myself reorganized and setting goals for myself. I thought I'd share a few things I'm using to do that right now.

I still use a home management binder where I keep my routines, schedules, menus, important documents, and articles and printouts I want to keep. I base a lot of it on things I have gleaned from Flylady, Candy at Joyful Christian Homemaking and the book Large Family Logistics.

For my cleaning schedule I still use Motivated Moms. I have been using it for so many years I have lost count. Whenever I decide to try a new system, I always end up going back to MM. I just love it and have started incorporated the kids into it too.

Here is a great printable I recently found. It's where I keep my daily routines. I have it in a page protector and daily fill out the rest using a wet-erase marker. I love how it motivates me to drink my water. It's hard to do that!

I just found this the other day and it looks great! A small decluttering task for each day of the year.

For my other printables, I have gotten them from the Intentional Planner, an old Old Schoolhouse planner I got during a super duper sale (I never wanted to pay full price for it, but it's great. Mine is 2010, but most of the pages are reusable in any year.), and Donna Young.

For my bible reading schedule this year, I am using the One Year Bible schedule. I have the schedule both in my binder and in my bible. The printable schedule can be cut into monthly bookmarks. This year I am going to try to read through the KJV which will be a challenge for me.

For my calendar, on-the-go planner, AND journal this year, I have purchased a Moleskine daily planner. In the front it has your calendars and other forms you may need for keeping track of appointments and days, then it has a whole page for every day of the year. Here I can journal, jot down important notes and numbers, even keep track of things I need at the store, and can refer back to it and know exactly when I wrote it. I think it will turn out to be a great companion, as well a wonderful record of the year. It is very nice!

If I think of or come across any more great resources, I will add them.

The new translation of Psalm 127

2011-12-29T18:58:00.003-07:00

Sometimes I wonder when the bible got changed to...

Children are a burden resulting from our own actions;
The fruit of the womb is the consequence of our own irresponsibility.
Like arrows in the hand of a fool are the children born in one's youth--
Overwhelmed and unfortunate is the man that has his quiver too full of them.
They should be ashamed, and will just look like idiots to their enemies at the gate.

Psalm 127:3-5 New Worldly Translation

Don't you?

I Love My Life!

2011-12-28T23:55:00.004-07:00

I just read this post I wrote in 2009 and it reminded me of what a wonderful life I have! I forgot about it, but I sure needed to read it!

I am so in awe that God would see fit to give me a life that is everything I have ever dreamed of and that I get to do everything that I love and love everything that I do! If you are looking for someone to gripe with about being "stuck at home" with kids and cooking and cleaning and laundry or to whine about the agony of pregnancy or the toil of caring for babies, you have come to the wrong place! I LOVE my life!

I get to be pregnant, which is the most wonderful state for a woman to be in, not once or twice, but many times! I get to give birth naturally because I want to because it is the most amazing thing I have ever experienced. I get to breastfeed my babies as much as and as often as and as long as I want because I get to stay with my baby 24 hours a day!

I get to play with cute clothes and adorable cloth diapers and beautiful baby carriers and call it "taking care of the baby"! I get to snuggle with the most delicious fat rolls and inhale the most fragrant breath you can imagine all day and all night long.

I get to hang out with the people I love more than anything, having fun and loving and learning all day long and call it "mothering".

I get to snuggle on the couch with them and read books and learn amazing new things every day WITH them and call it "homeschooling"!

I get to blast music and sing at the top of my lungs and dance around the house with the children with our list of chores and call it "cleaning".

I get to do fun experiments in the kitchen, and sometimes my helper and I will pretend we're on the Food Network, and call it "cooking".

I get to pop my delicious baby in a sling, put 2 more gorgeous blondies in a stroller, and walk behind 2 other amazing kids on bikes, and breathe in the evening air and the company of my family and call it "exercise".

At night I get to sit in front of the TV and watch a few of my favorite shows I've DVRed and call it "folding laundry".

At the end of the day I get to curl up in bed with a huge stack of books and call it "research and higher learning".

I also get to curl up in that same bed and feel the warmth and comfort and security and happiness and joy of cuddling up to my husband's sleeping body and call it "marriage".

I cannot even imagine a better life! I can't wait till tomorrow to do it all again!

2011-12-08T22:11:00.004-07:00

Seven from Heaven

2011-11-13T15:29:00.003-07:00

I guess I somehow forgot to post here that we are having a baby! #7 is on it's way and due in May. I'm 13 weeks today and judging by my growth and having a very rough first trimester, everything seems to be well, but tomorrow is my first prenatal visit and it's always a relief to a mommy's mind to hear that little heartbeat. I'm so grateful to God and excited to have seven children. It seems so perfect. I jokingly say that we will be Jen and Kevin Plus Seven ;)

Seventh
by Jennifer Wilson

I know I'm number seven,
but the fact you can't deny
is that God, Almighty Giver,
is the Author of my life.

My soul is no less special,
and my spirit no less great
than those that came before me--
be they one, or six, or eight!

So many eyes are blinded
by the whispers of this world--
to them, there is no miracle
in a human life unfurled.

A baby's just a plaything,
a burden, or a chore,
and we must proceed with caution
to prevent too many more!

Only a fool would trust the Lord
to give as He desires
and live a life of trust in Him...
whatever that requires.

A new car may be exciting;
a new house may be a prize,
but my new life is better
than any thing that money buys.

So all the world may roll their eyes
when seven now they see--
But I can't wait until I meet
the "fools" who welcome me.

Mother's Prayer

2011-09-23T14:21:00.003-06:00

MOTHER’S PRAYER
By Serene Allison

Oh, child of mine
The Giver of life has given you to me
And oh child of mine
The pages of your life we’re yet to read
There’s only so much
I can do in the time He gives a mother

Chorus:
Seek Him, and find Him
Fall fervently in love with Jesus
Trust Him, and serve Him
Live every breath for what He teaches
Then He’ll be close when I’m no longer there
That’s your mother’s prayer

Oh, child of mine
There are so many beautiful dreams I have for you
But oh, child of mine
My greatest desire is for you to know the truth
Whatever you’ll be, maybe a poet or a teacher or a king
Will all be in vain
Unless your friend is the one who died on the tree
(chorus)

Bridge:
Seek Him, and find Him
Seek Him, and find Him
Seek Him, won’t you seek Him and find Him

Family Bible Reading

2011-09-15T00:02:00.004-06:00

One of the things about homeschooling that I hold most dear is the amount of bible reading we get to do. That's not to say you can't read the bible with your children if they go off to school, but the amount of time homeschooling allows us is precious to me. We read many times throughout the day: after breakfast, after lunch, during rest time, before bed, and any other time that's a good time. When the kids are getting extra rowdy (read: getting on my nerves!) or mommy needs some extra quiet time, I love to tell the children it's time for a break and then we all sit on the couch for some bible reading.

I'm a big believer in reading children the actual bible and not just bible story books. I also see great benefits in reading lots of it, especially after reading Ten P's in a Pod. When I read this book years ago, it really got me fired up about reading the bible with my children even more. Children will not retain and understand everything right off, but as they hear it over and over through the years they will retain more and more. And of course we talk about and explain things as we go along; and we also study things more in depth in our bible homeschool curriculum. (We use BJU Bible Truths, which I highly recommend!)

I thought I'd share how we go about reading the bible each day. I have a lot scheduled each day, but that doesn't mean we actually read it all every day. We read whatever we get to and have time for. Some busy days may allow for one chapter, while other days may give us hours.

First we read the Proverbs of the day, the chapter that corresponds with the day of the month.
Then we read the Psalms of the day, 5 Psalms that also correspond with the date.
If more time is allowed to us, we pick up where we are in the Gospels. We can never read too much about Jesus!
If we have more time after that, we pick up where we are in the chronological bible (We have the Daily Bible. I LOVE it!)

Here is a calendar showing our bible readings for each day of the month. Feel free to print it for your own use!

If you are not reading the bible to your children, I encourage you to start, no matter how young or old your children are. I started when my oldest was a baby! After all, these are not just words and stories your children are hearing. It is the Word of God and it is living and active! We can never underestimate the power of God's Word getting into our children's minds and eventually their hearts. I encourage you also to have them memorize it. They will likely never forget the verses they memorize as children! Here is a wonderful system for bible memory.

I wanted to add that when my children are old enough to read and follow along, they get a nice bible of their own so that they can follow along and also take a turn reading. Once they learn to read well, I get them a nice copy of the NIV thinline bible with their name inscribed on it. We all use this same bible so that we are all on the same page. The younger children get a practice bible till they can read well. This is also great for learning to navigate the bible. Even the little ones scramble to find the right spot :)

Homeschooling at its finest

2011-08-16T16:50:00.004-06:00

Today was our first day back to school--a gentle start with a little bit of kindergarten. Our older ones will start their own thing next week. We ended up having a really good day when a bird's nest was discovered in our hanging flower pot. I forgot to water the flowers (oops!) and they died, but that was a good thing for our new friend. Justin noticed a bird perched inside, then later David discovered her two eggs.

Here is the proud mother, a mourning dove.

After we finally left the scene she returned to her nest and has been there all afternoon while little ones watch from the window.

Just a few feet away we also found an egg that had already hatched. It was a much bigger egg.

We ended up having some good unplanned nature study today. I love surprise lessons! And I'm especially glad we are home to find them :)

My Bible Cover!

2011-08-16T13:20:00.006-06:00

I just had to share about the new bible cover I just got! I am thrilled with it! (If you click on the pictures you can get a closer look!)

I got it from this Etsy shop and I had it custom made for my bible. And I got it 4 days after ordering it!

I had her make it with 10 ribbon bookmarks because I use Prof. Horner's Bible Reading System which is in 10 different parts of the bible each day. All those paper bookmarks sticking out were getting on my nerves and kept coming out (or getting pulled out by precious little hands), so I went in search of a multiple ribbon bookmark. That is how I found this beautiful handmade cover!

Now I want more of these! And they're so affordable, I can get more! Next I plan on ordering a cover for my Nook from her. The hard part will be deciding which fabric to choose...

Staying connected to God through the day using perpetual calendars

2011-08-03T11:40:00.004-06:00

I wanted to share about something I started doing a year or so ago that has really helped me. I use perpetual calendars, or "DayBrighteners" to keep me connected to God throughout the day. The prayers, bible verses, and inspirational quotes in them help keep me focused all through the day. I use ones that are inspired by books that I have loved.

Now I didn't go out and buy these all at once, so don't feel like you have to spend $100 today if you want to start this habit. I started with one and built my collection from there. I have found them on ebay, at thrift stores, on paperback swap, and ok, I splurged on a few as they came out. They are $7.99 on CBD.

In my bathroom I have the Power of a Praying Woman calendar. So it's the first thing I see in the morning. Every time I visit that bathroom I re-read it and meditate on the prayer or verse.

In my bedroom I have the Power of a Praying Wife. I read and pray about it as I'm making the bed, straightening my room, or putting away laundry each day.

In the kitchen I have Nancy Leigh DeMoss's A Heart at Rest calendar. I was dismayed to find that this is no longer available. It is my favorite. If you can find one, I highly recommend it!

On the computer desk I have the Love Dare calendar. I put it there so maybe my husband will read it too ;)

In the downstairs bathroom I have Ann Voskamp's God in the Moment daybrightener. If you read A Holy Experience or have read One Thousand Gifts, you know this is good! This is where I'm usually wiping the little ones' little bottoms, so it's good to have the perspective of God and beauty in everything while I'm in there ;)

In the children's bathroom I have the Power of a Praying Parent. While they are taking their bath at night, or as I'm brushing their teeth, I can pray for them using the prompts and scripture for each day.

Another good place to put one is in the laundry area. I don't have one there, but that is where I keep my copy of a Busy Mom's Guide to Prayer. This really helps me to pray for every area of my life as I'm folding laundry. It is a WONDERFUL book. It is spiral bound so it's easy to keep open to where you are currently.

This is just one of many ways we can stay in God's Word and prayer all throughout our busy days. Keeping little reminders up in every room I am living and working in is a good way to keep my mind focused on seeking Him first.

Titus 2 To-Do List

2011-08-01T17:22:00.003-06:00

I have a lot to do each day, but does any of it matter at all if I haven't done my Titus 2 to-do list? I pray that I will concentrate on what really matters. Not all of it is easy, but I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength to do it. If I do, I have a feeling all that other stuff will fall into place.

Titus 2 To-Do List

1. Love God (seek Him, spend time with Him daily, focus on Him)
2. Love my husband (serve him, honor him, make time for him, cater to him)
3. Love my children (serve them, discipline them, teach them, spend time with them)
4. Be self-controlled (for me this means get up a reasonable time, don't waste time, don't yell at the children, etc.)
5. Be pure (for me this means being picky about what I put into my mind through tv, internet, music and books)
6. Be busy at home (no laziness!)
7. Be kind (to everyone....even when it's hard)
8. Be subject to my husband (probably the hardest one, but there it is in black and white)

Can I do all this every day? No. Absolutely not. Can God help me, empower me, strengthen me, give me wisdom, and enable me to do all these things? Yes, He can! God, make me a Titus 2 woman.

Frugal Menu Ideas

2011-07-24T12:45:00.004-06:00

Last week I think I set a record on how much I spent on groceries, so this week I went searching for some menu ideas that will save some money. I Googled "frugal menus" and was surprised when I saw my own old blog post from 2007 come up on the first page of results. I thought I would repost it here for my own easy access and maybe to help others too. I don't know how accurate these prices will be in 2011. These are simple menus, but simply having a plan for every meal, including snacks, and cooking from scratch as much as possible saves a lot of money. My life has been crazy busy the past couple years and I've really gotten away from a lot of time in the kitchen. I hope to get back to that very soon. Maybe I can teach some little ones some cooking in the process.

Meals for Hard Times

How to Feed a Family of Four for less than $30 a week...with No Coupons!

$31 a Week Menu

$30 Weekly Grocery List and Menu Ideas

Five Week Menu and Shopping List

$45 Emergency Menu for 4-6

$70 Low Cost Menu

My own cheap and easy menu inspired by Created to be His Helpmeet

Embracing Life

2011-06-30T13:55:00.004-06:00

Today I came across an old post of Beverly's and wanted to repost it here. In case you don't know, Beverly is my aunt who raised me. She passed away in 2007 from cancer much too soon, but her legacy still lives on in so many ways. She was an amazing woman of God.

She wrote this post right after I found out I was pregnant with my fourth child. She died only months after that fourth child was born. How I wish she could have seen all the beautiful blessings I have now, especially little Cara Grace Beverly, my little girl we used to dream about together. I know she would be so happy.

What do we say when we find out that some one is expecting a baby? Well, you might say, it depends? Well let me say right off that this someone is married. Does that help you? Now it seems that if the person is married, then we would be rejoicing in that new life. Right? Well, not necessarily. I am going to make some generalizations here, but I am only sharing what I have witnessed in my own life. If the couple has been married at least 2 years, preferably 3, and if this is their first child, then most everyone is excited. Well, if they are having financial problems then maybe some hold back from rejoicing. But for the most part, most people are glad to hear that a married couple who has waited a sufficient amount of time are starting a family.

How about the next child? Well, it seems again that if the couple has waited the right amount of time, maybe 3 years, then again most everyone is glad to hear that the next child is on the way. Now, I am truly going to get controversial. What about a 3rd child? Whew! Well that is different. But, if the first 2 children are the same sex, then most people will go along with trying for that 3rd in hopes that the couple finally has that boy (or girl). But, after three, then you are standing on shaky ground.

Have you ever thought about the message we are sending as Christians when we scorn life that God has created? Scorn life, you say. I would never do that. Well, I have heard it done over and over in my life, and sometimes I wonder whether Christians really think about what they are saying. For example, suppose the couple is expecting their first child only 10 months after marriage. What comment do we hear then? Well I can tell you what I heard (because that happened to us), and it was "Was this PLANNED??" The clear message is that no one would ever plan to have a child so soon after marriage. Or, how about this? Suppose the 2nd (or 3rd) child is due before the previous baby's first birthday. That is not really accepted now days either, unless of course you make it clear to everyone that this was an "oops" baby. Then people might forgive you and feel sorry for you. By the time you are expecting the 5th, or 6th, or scandalously the 10th, then many in the church either think that you are off your rocker, don't know what causes babies, are a saint, or are so rich that you can buy everything all these children want.

We need to be so careful about accepting the world's view of children. On one hand, we are taking a stand against abortion, as well we should. Then on the other hand, we are being critical of married couples who are having children, if they don't do it according to society's standard of 2, maybe 3 children, appropriately spaced of course.

I want to tell you about a 25 year old woman. This woman has been married for 5 years, and she just found out that she is expecting, her fourth. She already has a 4 year old, a 2 year old, and her youngest just turned 1 in September. Now tell me, would most Christians rejoice at the news of another life. Oh friends, I fear that they would not. But I know this woman, very well as a matter of fact. She is my beloved niece, who we raised as our own daughter. And let me tell you, she is rejoicing. The reality of another blessing from God, another life to embrace, another person to raise to love and serve God, another plate at their table, another baby to hold, more memories to treasure, all of these things and more cause Jennifer to behold the awesome blessing of being entrusted with another person to raise for Him. She is not thinking at all how she will buy designer jeans for all those kids, how she will be able to give them all their own room, how she will drive them to all of their lessons when they get older, or how they will pay for college. She knows that whatever God plans for each child, then He will provide. She doesn't have to be able to figure out all the details of this child's life right now; all she needs to do is know is that this child is from God.

I don't want to sound holier than thou because I have 6 children. Oh no, that is not my point at all. Your family size is a something that is between you and God. But, each one of us need to examine our attitude, and before God make sure that we are not accepting the world's view instead of God's. I can testify to you, there is great peace in looking around your table and knowing that exactly who God wanted is sitting there.

Sons are a heritage from the Lord, children a reward from Him. Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are sons born in one's youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them. They will not be put to shame when they contend with their enemies in the gate. Psalms 127:3-5

Why would I turn down a blessing or a reward?

Beverly Daffron

Weekly update: God is So Good!

2011-06-29T18:32:00.003-06:00

Remember the things I said I was praying for a couple posts ago? Well guess we got yesterday......

A 15 passenger van! And some good friends along the way! God just brought this whole thing about in an amazing way.

A few months ago I became friends with a lady on facebook through a cloth diapering group. I didn't even realize until a couple weeks ago that she lived near me. I saw this van on Craigslist and mentioned it to Kevin a few times but he was not interested in getting anything at the time. But I just kept going back to it and looking at it and finally emailed the seller to ask for pictures. When she got the email she realized it was me and that we were facebook friends!

I showed Kevin the pictures and asked him how we would go about buying from an owner and how we could sell our van ourselves. He was kind of joking when he said, "If you can sell our van on Craigslist, we can get it." Well, you know I went straight over to the computer and listed it!

I soon had several people interested in it and an offer on it, but my friends selling the other van had the best offer for us! They offered to do an even trade, our van for their van. I could hardly believe it. I was just standing back watching God do all this!

A couple days later we were meeting in a parking lot exchanging vans! I still cannot believe that it is ours. I just keep looking at it and thanking God for this amazing gift!

And what is even better is that through all this I have gained a wonderful friend. It's so amazing how God brought her into my life by "chance" through Facebook. She has been such an encouragement to me. God is so good.

"If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!" Matthew 7:11 This is the verse I read a couple weeks ago that led me to really lay my requests before God, and He really did prove Himself!

In other news, we will finally be moving into our house in a week. I am SO ready to be HOME. We've been here over a month and I am starting to feel so restless. We are all together and it's a great place, but it's just not home. I am looking so forward to settling in and making a new home for us.

Also, my husband made Tech Sgt. in the Air Force, which is great news for us! The odds of making it are not very high, but he worked so hard and he made it. I'm so proud of him. I am blessed to have such a good husband, so faithful and such a wonderful provider. God has used him to help make all my dreams come true. I'm feeling very undeservedly blessed today!

Living Like a Queen (and a giveaway!)

2011-06-17T09:02:00.011-06:00

You all know I love Eternal Encouragement (formerly TEACH Magazine) and all of the amazing resources from Lorrie Flem. Lorrie has had such an impact on my life with her teachings on walking with God, being a wife, mother, and homemaker, organizing, homeschooling, and so much more. She has workshops on mp3 that are just fantastic. Normally I'm a reader and am not much of an auditory learner, but her talks are so powerful. It's like a good friend talking directly to me--encouraging me, challenging me, motivating me to see what an amazing calling I have. I have almost all of her mp3's and I love to listen to them at night as I'm tying up loose ends of the day. Then I like to listen to them again when I can take notes I can go back to to keep to fresh in my mind.

Today I want to tell you about 2 of those mp3's that really encouraged me. The first one is called "Keys to a Queenly Castle". In it, Lorrie lists 12 things, 12 habits of a queen in her castle. Don't you love that analogy? We are queens and our home is our castle and everything and everyone in it make up our kingdom. That means our husband is the king (ouch! Do you always treat your husband like a king? I know I fail to remember that!) and our children are future kings and queens that we need to be training for those future roles. Thinking this way revolutionizes the way we think about our calling as wives and mothers and homemakers. When you think of yourself as a QUEEN governing over the affairs of your home and overseeing your castle and our kingdom, it changes your whole outlook.

I think my favorite quote from this teaching came from #6 on Lorrie's list, "She nurtures". She encourages her children and nourishes them with good food--both physical and spiritual. She said, "Jesus is a name that should be spoken in our homes many times a day." That really spoke to me because as much as I love Jesus and as much as we pray and read His Word and teach about Him, how much do I proclaim His name in everyday life in everything? I really want to remember to keep Jesus in everything we do.

The other mp3 I want to tell you about will really get your attention because I know it is something we ALL need help with! It's called "Attitude Adjustments". The subtitle is "If momma ain't happy, ain't nobody happy!" Ain't that the truth?! As the lady of the home, we really have the power to set the tone and atmosphere of our homes. And contrary to popular belief, it really is up to us to control our attitudes and make sure the attitude we are spreading around is a good one. She says, "Do your children have bad attitudes?" Well, yes they do! "That's like looking in a mirror." GULP! The way to change your children's attitudes is to change your own.

Lorrie outlines 26 ways to attain and maintain a good attitude--one for each letter of the alphabet. You'll really want to have a pen in your hand while your listening to write all these down to come back to when you really need it. They are 26 practical things you can actually DO to change your attitude and they really work! And once you start doing these things they will become habits and will really change the attitude of your heart. You will think differently and feel differently and that good attitude will rub off on everyone around you.

Can you tell I love these teachings? I hope you will listen to them too! They are very affordable and can be purchased at Eternal Encouragement's shop. But guess what! Tomorrow Lorrie is giving away one free mp3! Here is how you can enter to win:

1. Go to the shop to decide which mp3 you would like to win (this is the hard part!)
2. Go to The Gabby Moms blog where June's review links are posted and comment
a. In the comment mention that you heard about the giveaway from Homekeeping Heart
b. mention which mp3 you want if chosen as winner
c. email contact info
3. Winner will be chosen on Saturday, June 18th via random.org.
4. Winner will be notified by email to contact info left in comments
5. Winner will have 48 hours to respond to claim prize or an alternate winner will be chosen.

I hope you win! You will be so blessed by these audios!

I already had these mp3's because I just can't get enough of them! But I also received this product for honest review from Eternal
Encouragement Magazine as a part of The Gabby Moms blogging program. All
opinions expressed are solely my own.

Finally Home

2011-06-16T21:52:00.004-06:00

I thought I'd check in and give a little update on what is going on with us lately.

Kevin returned from his 15-month-long absence on May 14 and almost immediately after that things kicked into gear for us to relocate from Tennessee to Illinois. It is always so exciting moving to a whole new place. It feels like a fresh clean start.

We arrived at our new base in Illinois on May 25. Since then God has made His presence in our lives amazingly clear by answering one prayer after another. I prayed that He would lead us to the perfect house He had for us. We found the one the first day. I won't know what to do with all the space I will have! It is 3 times as big as the biggest house we've ever had! I'm just in awe of how God has blessed us. Our house has every single thing on my wish list (I NEVER thought I'd get EVERYTHING on it!): 4 big bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms, a large master suite with a walk-in closet and a big tub, a second living room which can be a school room, a large kitchen (which we bought new appliances and an island for), a gas fireplace, a basement, a big yard (which we will be fencing in almost right away), room for both sets of washers and dryers. If you know what I'm used to, you'll understand why I feel so overwhelmingly blessed! Our house is like a mansion to me! We don't get to move into it until next month. Until then we're very comfortable in temporary military housing, but still impatiently waiting to finally get to go home!

I prayed God would lead us to a great church. It was the first one we visited. We haven't even visited another one! It is an amazing wonderful church, better than I could have even imagined.

I prayed that I would at least like this area a little since we will likely be here a while. I more than like it--I LOVE it! It has everything I could want and more. It's perfect (ok, other than the lack of mountains and rolling hills) and I'm thrilled to be settling here for a good while. I also love the base. It has so much more to offer than our base in Montana and is so much nicer.

We are doing great adjusting to having a husband and daddy around again. Yes, it is a big adjustment and we've had our struggles, but we love having him home again. It's so comforting to have such a normal feel to our days, looking forward to daddy coming home every evening and spending the weekends with him. It feels like HOME again.

I'm still praying for a big van that we can all fit in, a great group of friends, and maybe a few more babies to fill the seats of that big van. But I have plenty of time to wait for those answers ;) God is in control and He is so GOOD!

My Favorite Getaway

2011-04-21T22:16:00.005-06:00

My nightly bath is something I look forward to all day long. After the house is quiet I start filling up that tub with hot water and bubbles and end my day by relaxing and energizing my spirit. This is also the time I get a chance to savor my favorite magazines in total silence. I especially look forward to this time if one of my favorite magazines is waiting for me, Eternal Encouragement.

Eternal Encouragement??? What is that? Some new gem I've discovered? Nope. Something I have long loved and treasured, but now has a new name. Eternal Encouragement is the new name for TEACH Magazine! I have loved TEACH for a long time and I never would have thought it could be improved, but WOW! It definitely went through Extreme Makeover: TEACH Edition! And the results are amazing!!

Not only has the name changed to Eternal Encouragement (with a slogan of "Inspiring Women to Become More Like Jesus Every Day"), but the format has totally changed. The magazine is smaller now (the size is perfect!) and it's in COLOR! The many articles are organized into three "Departments": "Godly Women", "Godly Homemakers", and "Godly Mothers". This season's issue was a total of 63 pages--63 pages of nothing but meat! Rich, inspiring, challenging, encouraging article after article that make my heart soar with passion for my calling in life!

What hasn't changed about the quarterly magazine is the theme for each issue. This issue's theme was "Time Flies". I cannot begin to tell you how, well, timely this was for me. Using my time wisely, not wasting it, living in the moment, treasuring TODAY. And somehow tying in with all this there are articles on child training, recipes, controlling clutter, marriage, free homeschool resources, product reviews, healthy eating, and SO much more. One of my favorite articles was "10 Ways to Make Today Your Best Day Ever" by Lorrie Flem. It's my new to-do list.

Eternal Encouragement magazine is the absolute best magazine for all aspects of our lives as wives, mothers, homemakers, homeschoolers, and most of all, women of God. It is an investment I have never regretted making. You can subscribe to it at www.eternalencouragement.com.

I already subscribe to this magazine, but I also received this product for honest review from Eternal
Encouragement Magazine as a part of The Gabby Moms blogging program. All
opinions expressed are solely my own.

How a joyful mother answers the people at Walmart

2011-04-15T16:49:00.004-06:00

The other day as I was getting my six children and myself ready for our weekly grocery shopping trip, I was mentally preparing myself for the usual onslaught of questions, comments, and stares. "How shall I answer today?" I contemplated. "Nice, polite, and sweet? Sarcastic? Jokingly? Referring to God?" I take many approaches and it gets interesting. But then it struck me. I have never asked God how I should respond. So I did. "Lord, what should I say to all these people? Some are nice, some are shocked, some are downright rude and disgusting. How would You have me answer in a way that glorifies You?"

Nothing came to me that day so I just went on with business as usual. I told people I was lucky, that God had blessed me, that I loved my life, etc. Then yesterday it came to me. "Praise the Lord." I praise the Lord for my children every day, so why not praise the Lord for them then too? Yes, that could answer almost everything:

Are they all yours? Yes, praise the Lord!

You have your hands full! Yes, I do--praise the Lord!

How do you do it? Praise the Lord--I couldn't do it without Him!

Even.... Don't you know what causes that? Why yes I do--praise the Lord!

I realized that praising the Lord is the perfect answer. It gives God the glory for my precious children and it lets people know that I believe they are blessings from Him.

Last night as I was going to bed and smiling about my new answer, a line from a song suddenly popped into my head. "He makes the barren woman become a joyful mother, and the home she lives in is filled with laughter, so praise ye the Lord." Then I remembered Psalm 113:9.

He makes the barren woman abide in the house as a joyful mother of children. Praise the LORD!

WOW! Not only is that the perfect answer, but it is how God WANTS us to respond to this blessing of abiding in our homes as joyful mothers! As we fix our eyes on Him and His Word, our natural response to this calling should be PRAISE THE LORD!

After God brought that verse to my mind, I knew this was His answer to me. How should I respond? With praise to the Lord!

JOYFUL MOTHER
By Pearl Barrett and Serene Allison

Hannah knelt before the Lord
Her lips moved with the anguish of her soul
Grant me my desire Lord
Give to me a son that I can hold
She never stopped asking for her miracle
God was faithful, He remembered her

Chorus:
He makes the barren woman
Become a joyful mother
And the home she lives in
Is filled with laughter so praise ye the Lord

It seemed to be impossible
Sarah wondered how this could be true
God had promised she would be
A mother, but her years had passed too soon
But there’s a perfect timing to God’s plan
The King of Kings would come through her Son
(Chorus)
Bridge:
Who is like the Lord our God who dwells on high
Who humbles Himself to behold
The things on Heaven and on earth.

2011-2012 Homeschool Plans

2011-03-30T22:19:00.005-06:00

I know it seems a little early for this post, but we are going to have such a busy summer with my husband getting home for good and a big move that I needed to do all my planning and buying early. Here are our plans for next school year:

Justin--fourth grade:

My Father's World: Exploring Countries and Cultures
BJU Bible Truths
Explode the Code
A Reason for Spelling C
New American Cursive II
Queen Language Lessons for the Very Young 2
Master Skills English 4 (a light grammar supplement)
A Beka fourth grade readers
Teaching Textbooks 5

David--second grade:

My Father's World: Exploring Countries and Cultures
BJU Bible Truths
Explode the Code
A Reason for Spelling B
The Complete Book of Handwriting
Queen Language Lessons for the Very Young 1
Master Skills English 2 (supplement)
A Beka second grade readers
Teaching Textbooks 3 (or possibly MCP Mathematics B, depending on how he tests at the end of this year)

Isaiah--kindergarten

My Father's World from A to Z
BJU Bible Truths
Explode the Code
Queen Language Lessons for Little Ones 2
CLP K readers

Zachary--preK

My Father's World from A to Z
BJU Bible Truths
Queen Language Lessons for Little Ones 1

Cara and Tyson--preschool

BJU Bible Truths
Lauri toys from My Father's World toddler and preschool package. Love these! They will be for school time only!

Ordering your day: Advice from a mother of 10!

2011-03-28T20:15:00.004-06:00

I have a very special treat for you today! My friend Edee has graciously agreed to be a guest blogger here today and share some wise words about scheduling. She is the mother of 10 beautiful children and one of the wisest women I know. I hope you will be blessed by her words of advice for mothers.

First, I think the best thing you can do is to ask your husband what he would like for you to do as far as a schedule. What does he want you to accomplish each day? Then, just do what he thinks, even if it's not exactly what you had in mind. I've learned this the hard way. My ideas are usually high and lofty. My to-do list for one day usually takes at least an entire week to accomplish, and I get disappointed and irritated when I don't get it done that day! Shane, who isn't usually dealing with changing hormones, sleepless nights nursing a baby, and all the wonderful things that come during that postpartum time of life, usually has a much better grasp on what I can realistically accomplish.

Next, when we have been on a schedule, it's a very basic, flexible one. It's more of an "order of events" rather than an actual schedule with time slots. Here's what our "normal school day schedule" looks like:

BIBLE TIME WITH DADDY (the whole family): ideally 7:30 but fluctuates depending on sleepless nights, Shane's work schedule, etc.

If Daddy can't do this, we have individual quiet time with the Lord. This may look as simple as reading a simple Bible story with little ones then reciting a verse and singing a song.

BREAKFAST

MORNING CHORES (make beds, get dressed, tidy a little bit)

MORNING WORKBOOK TIME

LUNCH (hopefully around 1:00)

NAPS AND OLDER ONES' WORKBOOK TIME (hopefully 2-4:00 but at least by 3:30 - 5:30) (my youngsters nap until they're 5 or 6, depending on the needs of the child and the mama!)

PLAYTIME/OUTSIDE WORK/MOMMIES' TIME TO PAY BILLS, ETC.

JURISDICTIONS JUST BEFORE SUPPER (each room gets a quick tidy, laundry gets put away, etc.) This is a wonderful way to enter a more relaxing evening with Daddy! We almost always have music playing and often a candle lit when Daddy gets home. We want him to step into our home and consider it a wonderful, aromatic, comfortable, and peaceful haven from the world.

SUPPER

BATHS

READING/FAMILY TIME

BEDTIME - younger ones ideally by 9:30, older ones by 10:00, daddy and mama by 11:00

I hesitate to even put times since they do change so often. However, this "order of events" is almost always the same, unless we have company or needs like a film deadline or farm/garden needs that change it (which is fairly often). Our little ones are very used to the schedule and know what to expect. I still think flexibility is the key - for the purpose of peace, not for idleness or laziness (by the way, taking a nap with little ones instead of doing grammar workbooks is not idle nor lazy!).

When all your children are little, it is so hard to stick with a stringent schedule. We were watching a home video last night, and I was reminded once again of how quickly time flies. My children don't remember or even care what our "schedule" was when they were little, but they do remember the times we played outside together, played play dough, took a walk, or took a surprise picnic to the park. I'm not advocating never doing laundry or cleaning, etc. These things must be done, and we mustn't feel guilty about it. Bring them along beside you to do daily tasks together, and make it fun.

Now that we have so many older children in our family, I'm amazed at the amount of things we can get done in one day, with only a reasonable amount of effort per person. I think that training them to do small tasks cheerfully and well really pays off. Let them do as much as they can to help.

All that said, we do have particular areas that are "scheduled" or at least planned. They are as follows:

We do use charts.

*I have a "table setting chore" chart (napkins, utensils, make drinks, dish out plates, serve the condiments, "Dabney and Delight duty" which means change their diaper, wash their hands, buckle them in their seats), etc.)

*a chore chart with daily chores as well as Friday cleaning chores (we clean the whole house every Friday with only tidying/light cleaning on other days). Each room of the house is a jurisdiction for one person to keep presentable. This chart also includes each person's kitchen clean-up chore and/or farm chore. We change this schedule every Monday so that everyone gets experience with different chores, plus it breaks the monotony.

*Also, I have a bath schedule (during winter time, little ones only get 2 baths per week unless they get unusually dirty). The older ones and myself take turns giving baths, and it usually goes something like this: "Is it my turn to give babies baths tonight? OH Good! I was hoping I'd get to do that tonight!"

*Also, we have a supper schedule - each of the four older girls and myself are assigned different nights of the week to choose the menu and cook supper for everyone. Right now, I only cook supper on Friday and Saturday nights! (reaping the benefits of letting them get in there and cook with me when they were little).

We used to have a laundry schedule, with all the older ones taking turns each day to do laundry. Recently, we've assigned the monumental, perpetual task of sorting, washing, hanging, drying, folding, and putting away laundry, to one older girl for an entire week. She gets one younger helper to assist her. Can you believe that this happens to be their favorite chore??

Okay, I hope this helps somewhat. Remember, having older children makes a huge difference. Breathe deep, meditate on the Word, pray without ceasing, smile and laugh most of the day, and enjoy those little ones God has entrusted to you. What a wonderful stage of life you're in!!!

I just LOVE that last paragraph! Thank you so much, Edee, for sharing with us!! Edee and her family have also made a wonderful film called Children are a Blessing, which I have shared here before. I highly recommend it! I hope you will visit their website at moorefamilyfilms.blogspot.com

The Story of Us

2011-02-14T07:15:00.002-07:00

For Valentine's Day, I am remembering the story of us....

I was 18 years old, going to college and working full time at Long John Silver's. He was 20 and working selling Kirby vacuum cleaners. One day he was working in my town (an hour away from where he lived) and stopped for lunch at the Long John Silver's drive-thru. I saw him at the window from across the room and there was an instant reaction in my mind..."I'm going to marry him." We exchanged glances, or maybe long stares, before he got his food and drove away. I couldn't get him off my mind after that.

About an hour later, guess who comes walking through the door. My heart was racing--I just knew he was going to talk to me. But, no. He asked my co-worker for directions to Wal-Mart, cast a quick glance in my direction, and left again. I was so disappointed.

Then maybe another hour later, guess who! This time he ordered a fish sandwich, sat down and ate it while I anxiously waited for him to finally come talk to me. I just knew what he kept coming back for! But again, he left.

After that I thought about that guy every single day. I watched the door, waiting for him to walk though it because I just knew he would come back. I had no doubt. It was just a matter of when.

That day came only a week later. He came in for lunch during a busy time at Long John's. I was very busy working, but my mind was on the cute guy sitting by the window. Then, after the crowds had died down, I looked over and saw him standing at the counter looking at me. Nervously, I walked over and he said what I knew he would say, "Can I call you sometime?" Yes! Of course! I tried not to act too excited as I wrote down my name and phone number. He handed me his: Kevin Thomas. What a perfect name. When I read it, it sounded like home.

A few days later my phone finally rang. It was him. He told me that he had been thinking of me since the first time he saw me and a song was what gave him the courage to finally come back and talk to me. And he sang it to me. The first time we ever talked, he sang to me! He sang this song, which became our song:

Once in Lifetime Love

Girl I know you don't really know me
Still I want you to listen closely
This might sound crazy
But after all isn't love like that
I would be crazy to let this moment pass

What if I don't say what's on my mind
And you walk away
I might live out my life
And never feel this way
What if you are the one
That I'm meant to love
What if tonight is the night
What if once in a lifetime love
Don't come twice

Girl take a chance, time is unfolding
We could be blessed without even knowing
Just for a minute
Close your eyes and don't take another breath
'Cause what if you miss it
And it never comes again

What if you don't say what's on your mind
And I walk away
You might live out your life
And never feel this way
What if I am the one
That you're meant to love
And what if tonight is the night
What if once in a lifetime love
Don't come twice

I don't wanna wake up by myself
Years from now wishin'
That I'd told you what I felt
Your eyes are a window to your soul
If you don't open up
I may never know

What if we don't say what's on our minds
And we walk away
We might live out our lives
And never feel this way
What if I am the one
And you are the one
What if tonight is the night
What if once in a lifetime love
Don't come twice

Listen to this song here.

Well, as you can imagine I absolutely melted. It felt like a dream. I still knew I was going to marry him and as I got to know him, I knew it more and more.

Six months to the day of our first date, he put a beautiful engagement ring on my finger. And five months after that, on May 5, 2001, we began our adventure together as husband and wife. Almost ten years and six children later, I can honestly say I love him more than I ever have. It hasn't been a fairy tale--we still have our ups and downs, but looking at the big picture I can see how much we have grown and how it's getting better and better with every year. The past ten years really have been an adventure and I can't wait to see what the next ten years hold for us.

And the name Kevin Thomas still sounds like home. I love you, Kevin. Happy Valentine's Day.

One Year

2011-02-08T22:13:00.005-07:00

(The above photo is a stock photo--not really us!)

February 7 marked one year since my husband left to serve in Korea. He will be home in two weeks. I knew from the beginning that this year was from the Lord. I felt a strange peace about it all. I knew it had a purpose. I thought I knew what that purpose was.

I decided that I would devote this year to praying for my husband. Then when he came home God would have fixed him because of my faithful prayers.

Yes, I did. And I just admitted that to the world.

Now I know the purpose. God fixes what is broken.

****************************************************

I prayed for God to change my husband. God changed me.

I prayed that the Lord would touch my husband and get his attention. He touched me. He got my attention.

I prayed that God would soften my husband's heart. He softened mine when I didn't even know it was hard.

I prayed that my husband would learn about love! I learned what love really is.

I prayed that my husband would see eye to eye with me about my dreams. God showed me how to lay my dreams on the altar and trust Him. He reminded me that He is in control--not me--and that I needed to give Him control....by giving him control.

I prayed that my husband would appreciate me. Then I began to appreciate him.

I prayed that God would show him how wrong he was! Then He showed me how wrong I was.

I prayed that God would make him love me (the way I wanted to be loved, of course). Then God made me love him, with a love deeper than anything I have known before.

I said, "Don't bring him back until he has changed!" He didn't bring him back. Until I changed.

I prayed he would come back a new man! Instead he is coming home to a new woman. A woman who loves the old man just the way he is.

With
all
my
heart.

********************************************************

You had to go away.
I had some things to work through, some things God had to deal with in me. God had a lot to teach me. He had to break me so He could fix me.
Not that He is done with me--there is always more work to be done here on this sin-filled earth. But now it is time for on the job training.
Now I think it's time to begin again. Now you're coming home. I am ready now. God answered all my prayers.

True Treasure winner!

2011-01-28T12:01:00.002-07:00

The winner of True Treasures is Millicent, chosen by Random.org. I hope you enjoy the book, Millicent!!

True Treasures--Review and Giveaway!

2011-01-24T19:12:00.003-07:00

I just finished this really good book! If I could have I would have devoured it all in one sitting, but since obviously that is impossible, I savored it during my nightly bath. I don't want to sound redundant, but I found so many priceless nuggets of TREASURE in True Treasures.

True Treasures is a collection of some of the best articles from the past 10 years of TEACH Magazine, which recently took on the new name, Eternal Encouragement magazine. I treasure my TEACH magazines (there's that word again!) and keep the ones I have in binders to read over and over again, so it was such a treat to be able to add such wonderful articles from past issues to my collection.

True Treasures is made up of six chapters.
1. Jewels that Make the Heart Sparkle
2. Marriages of Solid Gold
3. Parenting Pearls: Practical and Priceless
4. Homemaking That Dazzles like Diamonds
5. Homeschooling Nuggets of Wisdom
6. Godly Living that Glitters

I loved the topical layout and felt so strengthened and inspired in each area of my life after reading each chapter. One of my favorite passages came from an article by Lorrie Flem and it just spoke to me so much about the season of my life I'm in right now:

If the floor doesn't get mopped, and the clothes are overflowing their umpteen baskets, what difference does it make? Some days, being a Godly mother is all we can accomplish--and it is a BIG accomplishment. After all, I don't plan on taking my baskets of dirty laundry and the dirty kitchen floor with me when Jesus returns. I do plan to take my family! There won't be any quizzes to make sure our children know their multiplication tables before they are allowed entry into Heaven's gates. We've got to keep things in perspective. Housekeeping and homeschooling are important,but there are other things even more important. If we keep the right perspective, the Lord will bless all our efforts: homemaking, homeschooling, mothering, and being a loving wife. Eventually, the undone jobs will get done, but in the meantime, our children have a mother who truly loves and cares for them by spending her time with them.

Doesn't that remind you of what's important? This book reminded me again and again of who I am, why I'm doing what I'm doing, and how to do it--and that it is all about Him!

Now here is the really good news for you! TEACH magazine sent me this book to review, but I had already bought it because I knew it was a treasure I wanted in my home! So that means I now have two, which gives me the opportunity to bless someone reading this with a copy of True Treasures. To enter, go to my Facebook page, "like" Homekeeping Heart on Facebook, then "like" the post linking to this post. How easy is that?!?! This Friday I will randomly choose a winner.

And I have MORE good news! If you don't win the book, you can use the coupon code GabbyMom to save $4 off of True Treasures through May 31, 2011.

And if you don't subscribe to TEACH Magazine, I HIGHLY recommend you do. Not only is the magazine itself true treasure, the books and audios by Lorrie Flem are a tremendous encouragement for wives, moms, homemakers, and homeschoolers. So many good things are available at www.homemakingwithTEACH.com.

I received this product for honest review from TEACH Magazine as a part of The Gabby Moms blogging program. All opinions expressed are solely my own.

Top 10 things not to say to a mom

2011-01-18T19:03:00.000-07:00

There are more, but these are my personal top 10.

Some of these things are fine if they are honest questions coming from a friend. But if you see a mom in the store or any other public place that you don't know, please do not say these things!

1. You have your hands full. You've got your hands full.

2. Are they all yours? They're not all yours all they? I know those aren't all yours. I hope those aren't all yours. Surely them ain't all yers.

3. How do you do it? I don't know how you do it. I don't see how you do it.

4. Bless your heart. Love your heart. God bless/love your heart. (while shaking head in pity.)

5. You're crazy. You must be crazy. I'd lose my mind.

6. Shhhhhhoooh (while rolling eyes)

7. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6...

8. You poor thing. I feel so sorry for you. Poor you.

9. You're brave. You must be so patient. You're supermom.

10. Are you done yet? Are you going to have more? Are you planning to have more? Do you want more?

Lord of all, or not at all

2011-01-10T20:58:00.005-07:00

This is a repost from August 2006. My third baby Isaiah is now 5 and my sixth baby Tyson is now the almost-11-month old. To be honest, it was easy for me to trust God in having more babies because they are my greatest joy and delight and I long for more! Now my faith is tested in that I am having to trust Him in the opposite situation:the possibility of never having more. This is where I really have to remind myself--He is STILL Lord of all, He is STILL in control, He is STILL on the throne. I can trust Him with this just like I always have.

August 11, 2006

Today my baby Isaiah is 11 months old. I seriously can't believe how fast this year has flown. David was only 10 months old when I became pregnant with Isaiah, so now there is officially a longer break before I have my next baby. Most people would probably say, "Your next baby?! Your youngest IS still a baby--and he's your third in three years!" But you'd only say that if you didn't know me Anyone who knows me knows that my not being pregnant yet is not good news OR bad news. If I found out tomorrow that I was I would be absolutely thrilled. And even though there are days I long to be expecting another son or my first daughter, I will be just as happy if my womb remains barren for three more years. Because I trust God's perfect timing.

So although I announce my non-pregnant state thus far with a bit of relief that I'm over the hump of "too soon", what I'm truly amazed by is God's never failing presence in my life. Although I've technically been able to become pregnant for at least six months now, my womb has not been opened because it is God who opens and closes it and it is not His time.

I am so at peace with this area of my life because I've given it over to Him. After all, shouldn't we give every area of our lives over to Him? We never have to worry about "trying" or preventing--we just LIVE and love whatever God brings our way. What freedom and joy! I will never have any regrets. You will never visit a nursing home and hear old ladies say, "I wish I'd never had those last two children. They were just too much on me." No! It's unthinkable. But I'm sure you'll hear MANY ladies lament, "IF ONLY I'd had more children." But I will never have to live with those regrets. I will always know I had the perfect number of children. No more. No less.

Who knows? God may be done with my womb. Three may be it for me. But I truly hope there are many more waiting in the wings for us. I imagine myself at my 90th birthday party, surrounded by maybe a dozen children, scores of grandchildren, hundreds of great-grandchildren, and the beginnings of countless great-great-grandchildren, and looking around at what the Lord has brought forth from our union. He started with two and from that came hundreds of His children, serving Him and doing great things in the world. What a legacy!

Among Christians there seems to be two belief systems. First there are those who believe that God created the universe, set it in motion, and left it to go it's course and let nature happen. It astounds me that any follower of Jesus Christ could think such a thing. Then there are those who believe that God is involved in our lives down to the last detail, that every second is orchestrated by His Divine Hand. I am among these. I've seen Him too much in my life not to know this. He's done and worked out way too many things--from the most life-changing things to the tiniest things that seem to not even matter. Since He loves us so much and is so involved, why not give it all up to Him? Why not entrust every detail of your life to His wisdom and love? In that total surrender is true joy, peace, and freedom. You will never find that in anything else--not in yourself or a loved one, not in material things, not in the pleasures this world seeks after, and not in drowning out life with things that confuse your mind. Only in giving it all to Him.

Starting tomorrow...

2011-01-02T21:21:00.000-07:00

Back to School

2011-01-02T16:49:00.004-07:00

Tomorrow we are starting school again and I can't wait to get back into a routine. Everything is out of control during so-called "breaks"! My curriculum looks a lot different than it did at the first of the year. I got all those workbooks, textbooks, and scripted teacher's manuals out of my system REAL fast and have since returned to my true love, Charlotte Mason. Most of my curriculum is following the guidelines at Simply Charlotte Mason. For many subjects I have developed my own system of using the Bible. I will primarily be using the Bible for reading, copywork/handwriting, spelling/dictation, and english.

Using the Charlotte Mason approach, we'll be covering all these areas.
Math--using Teaching Textbooks, Horizons, and Singapore (three different kids, three different needs.)
Science--using Christian Liberty nature readers and an A Beka science reader.
Reading--the Bible along with some readers from A Beka and Christian Liberty Press for added literature.
Copywork--bible verses, hymns, poems
English--Language Lessons from Queen Homeschool as a supplement. These are wonderful!
Character--bible and read-alouds, currently reading Everyday Graces. LOVE this book!
History--read-alouds and A Beka history readers
Geography--map books and GeoPuzzles! We'll go deeper into geography later. For now the puzzles are awesome.
Bible--LOTS of bible! We are also still going through BJU Bible Truths that I just can't let go.
Scripture Memory--verse packs from Simply Charlotte Mason.
Literature--lots of books books books! Right now our A Beka readers and Everyday Graces is covering a wide variety of literature for us.
Poetry--we're going through Favorite Poems Old and New.
Nature Study--this involves me actually going outside with my kids once a week. This takes a lot of discipline from me, but I hope to do it with them at least once a week.
Picture Study--currently studying John James Audubon. There are such wonderful children's books for learning about artists and their work. We're also learning a lot about birds through this particular artist!
Music Study--currently studying Bach. We are using books from Vision Forum that study the lives and music of composers. Excellent. This is the first time I have every studied or even listened to classical music (other than being in ballet growing up) and I love it.
Hymn Study--using Hymns for a Kids Heart. We're currently in Volume 2.
Missions Studies--currently reading about Gladys Alyward
Shakespeare--We are reading a children's version of Midsummer Night's Dream. Unsure about whether or not we will move beyond children's adaptations right now.

That looks overwhelming, but it is really very simple, easy, and relaxing--and fun. Many things are only covered once or twice a week so it is not as much as it seems. Just lots of good books and learning interesting things!

New Year, New Planner time!

2011-01-01T10:38:00.003-07:00

Happy New Year! It's January 1 so you know what that means. Time to download your 2011 Motivated Moms chore planner! This will be my sixth or seventh year using this--I've lost count!--and I still love it! It's great for assigning chores to the children now, too. I like to get the half-size planner pages so I can print out two weeks on one page and post in on the fridge. For just $8, it is a steal considering how helpful and motivating it is to make all those little check marks.

Do the Next Thing

2010-12-29T17:12:00.003-07:00

If you're a long-time reader of my blog, you know how different it used to be. I used to be the queen of schedules, routines, organizing, and planning. I blogged almost every day and I had some advice about everything! HAHAHA! This past year has taught me that I ain't the queen of nuthin! First we moved across the country to a tiny house, then my husband deployed, then I had a baby making for 3 under 3, four 4 and under, six 7 and under! Add to that an onslaught of sickness, emergencies, and having to take everyone everywhere--I very quickly lost control. He has been gone almost 11 months now and I have yet to get control back. In fact, it's worse than ever!

I still have routines and goals for my day that I strive for, but most days it's just a matter of simply surviving. I'm just glad to have made it though each day having the basics done, which means food in their bellies and clothes on their bodies (well, except for the 2-year-old. They'll never wear clothes!).

I find so much encouragement in that old line from a poem we've all heard, "Do the next thing." Elisabeth Elliot's daughter Valerie said it perfectly, "Don't sit down and think of all the things you have to do. That will kill you. It's overwhelming. It's daunting if you think of all the things that are involved in a task. Just pick up the next thing."

My favorite lines of this poem are posted in my kitchen:

Do it immediately, do it with prayer,
Do it reliantly, casting all care.
Do it with reverence, tracing His hand
Who placed it before thee with earnest command.
Stayed on omnipotence, safe 'neath His wing,
Leave all resultings, do the next thing.

Read the entire poem here.
Read Elisabeth Elliot's Back to the Bible broadcast where she discusses this poem. It is such an encouragement and one I go back to over and over again.

Now it's time for me to do the next thing--give these kids a bath and put them to bed!

Ways to spend my days with Him

2010-12-28T14:52:00.006-07:00

This is one way I make time in my day for prayer and bible reading. Two places where I spend the most time are at the kitchen sink and in the laundry room. Here is what is over my kitchen sink. A calendar that I use to pray for my children and a copy of Philippians 1 and 2. A few months ago I memorized chapter 1 this way and now I'm working on chapter 2. This is the first time I have memorized long passages and it is amazing! I hope I can find time to write about it soon.

And here is my laundry area. This is where I fold laundry so I spend a lot of time here. It's another place I work on my memorization (which also becomes meditation and prayer).

If you want to read more about the hows and whys of scripture memorization I recommend His Word in My Heart by Janet Pope. There is also an excellent series on Revive our Hearts by the same title. That is what sparked my desire.

Satan's lies about God's Word: Do you believe them?

2010-11-23T13:46:00.004-07:00

Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'" Matthew 4:4

Satan does NOT want us to read the Bible. That is an obvious statement, but the sad thing is that he has fed the world so many lies about God's Word that even Christians believe. The Bible is the very Word of God. It IS His words to us. It is how He leads us and teaches us, it is how He fills us with His Spirit which produces His fruit in us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. It is the answer to every problem, every question, and every decision. Yet many of us don't even know what's in it. Let's look at some of the lies Satan has fed us and see if we have been fooled.

1. You don't need to read the Bible. You can hear the Bible at church.

2. The Bible is too hard to understand!

3. The Bible is boring!

4. Lots of things in the Bible do not apply to this day and age.

5. It doesn't matter if you read the whole Bible, or if you read it every day.

6. You can't really know it or understand it enough to apply it to your lives. It's all up to interpretation after all!

7. Your spiritual state does not depend on how often you read it, how well you know it, or how much you abide in it.

8. You don't need it to know right from wrong, or to help you know what is best for you.

9. It is too much and too hard for your children to understand. Just read them Bible story books!

10. Study? Meditate? Memorize? Why??? That is pointless. Let the preacher feed you--that is all you need.

11. You don't have TIME to read the bible!

12. You have better things and more important things to do than read the bible!

Those last two were brutal weren't they? If you believe any of these things, you do not know your Bible! As my own passion and hunger for God's amazing Word has grown, I have felt an urgency to plead with women that they must, they must, they MUST be in God's Word every day! Not because it is required or because God will love us more, but because we NEED it! If we miss it, we are missing out!

I don't even know where to begin telling you what the Bible means to me, what He does for me through it every single day. The benefits are endless. The side-effects are guaranteed. It is so incredible that it blows me away that most people blow it off!

You don't have time NOT to read it! There is NOTHING more important, nothing better. If you want to know God, if you want to live your life for Him, if you want wisdom, joy, peace, you MUST know God's Word! You must know it so well that it shapes your every thought, every belief, every decision. You must get enough to drown out all the other voices in this world that are feeding us lies lies lies! Drown out the media, drown out our culture, drown out tv, movies, music. And I promise you, once His Word gets into you, you won't even want that stuff anymore. You will see how destructive it is, but you won't even care anymore because it will be WORTHLESS to you! The things this world has to offer is sewage compared to the riches that are ours in Him through the life of His Word!

I feel like I could go on and on, so I think I will just say more about this later. I want to talk about the incredible value in reading it, both to ourselves and with our children, praying it, memorizing it, studying it, meditating on it. But for now, if you haven't gotten your daily bread, sit down, gather your children around, and drink in the life He gives.

Current Meal Plan

2010-11-10T12:10:00.003-07:00

Remember my simplified meal plan? We used it for quite a while and it really made that area of my life so much easier. I never had to think about what was for supper or what I needed to buy at the store. It worked really well. I had to stop making smoked sausages because they gave me headaches so we changed that night to breakfast.

After a while of that I felt ready to broaden it a bit, so I have revised that meal plan and it is still pretty simple but also gives us more variation.

Monday--Bean night. When I first started making beans a few years back, my kids would groan. Now they LOVE beans and we usually don't even have any leftovers for me to work with anymore.
Most of the time I make pinto beans, but sometimes we have black beans. We have "soup beans", sometimes just with cornbread, other times with fried potatoes, or macaroni and cheese. Sometimes we load them with toppings: cheese, onions, salsa, sour cream. Sometimes we have beans and rice and cheese. Sometimes we even make bean tacos.

Tuesday--Spaghetti Night. This could be regular spaghetti with meat sauce or meatballs, it could be made with spaghetti noodles or ziti or rotini or any kind of pasta. If I really feel like cooking, I might make lasagna. If I really need a break, I might make frozen ravioli (which is really good!) Sometimes I make it with chicken or meatless. (If we're really tired of spaghetti sauce, I might make some sort of casserole.)

Wednesday--breakfast for supper.

Thursday--pizza night. Since we do our grocery shopping on Thursdays I have moved pizza night from Friday to Thursday. Yes, sometimes I still order pizza, sometimes I even get frozen pizza. Lately I've been really adventurous and have started making my own pizza again. It has been fun.

Friday--"Cookout" night. Hamburgers, hot dogs, chicken. Whatever you might have at a cookout. I bought a cast iron grill pan and I love it! I also make my cornbread in it. It works!

Saturday--taco night. Tacos, burritos, taco salad, etc. If we have leftover beans, I use them.

Sunday--on weeks we go to church we eat out. During this season of life, I stay home every other week for a day of rest. Then we have sandwiches or something easy that will allow me to kind of "take off" that day.

I don't stick with this 100%. There might be a new recipe I want to try or something else we might be wanting to have. But during this season of life, this menu plan is working for me.

It's all about You.

2010-11-09T13:41:00.007-07:00

It's all about You, Jesus.
All this is for You, for Your glory and Your fame.
It's not about me, as if You should do things my way.
You alone are God and I surrender to Your ways.

This has been my sing-all-day song lately; my sing through the mess and the noise and the chaos and the exhaustion song.
It's so easy for me to give into selfishness in the midst of these long hard days when I am constantly cleaning only to have it messed up,
constantly disciplining only for the same child to commit the same offense 30 seconds later,
constantly shushing only to have the noise level rise,
constantly cooking only to have it all gobbled up with nary a thank you, mom!
Constantly going going going and giving giving giving, and never a moment for me.
It sounds like a good way to forget about "me" but I find myself crying out "Me! Me! Me!" What about me? I need a break! I need quiet! I need something for me me me! WHY do I have all these little children? WHY am I keeping them here 24/7?

But then the Lord reminds me, life is not about me. My purpose in existing is not so I can live and die and have as much fun as I can and just enjoy life while I have it. My purpose is to serve and glorify Him. It's ALL. ABOUT. HIM.

I can think of no better way for the Lord to teach us unselfishness than through motherhood. Because of motherhood, I am all but forced to die to my self daily, to take up my cross, to deny my self.
The world wants to tell me everywhere I go that I am crazy because children are burdens, I need to have an easy life, I need the money children will take, I need what my flesh wants. Can no one see how selfish they look when the glare at me, shake their heads, point their fingers, make their condescending comments? I may be just as selfish, but my heart is crying out to them, "It's not about ME!"

It's all about You, Jesus.
All this is for You, everything I do all day, I offer it up to You as a sacrifice of praise, for Your glory and Your fame.
It's not about me. No matter how many times I lose my temper, lock myself in the bathroom, or think about giving up--I know it's not about me, as if You should do things my way!
You alone are God. I'm not God. You alone are God, and I surrender to Your ways.

Prof. Horner's Bible Reading System

2010-11-05T19:50:00.003-06:00

I have tried almost every Bible reading system and schedule out there. It is always fun to try fresh new ways, especially at the beginning of the year when we are fired up about about reading through the bible in a year. A few months ago I found a new system on Facebook that got me really excited and I love it! It is called Prof. Horner's Bible Reading System. You can read all about it on the facebook page. There is a lot of info there about the what, how, and why. It will really inspire you to try it out.

In a nutshell you read from 10 lists:

THE TEN LISTS:
List 1 (89 days)
Matthew, Mark, Luke, John

List 2 (187 days)
Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy

List 3 (78 days)
Romans, I&II Cor, Gal, Eph, Phil, Col, Hebrews

List 4 (65 days)
I&II Thess, I&II Tim, Titus, Philemon, James, I&II Peter, I,II&III John, Jude, Revelation

List 5 (62 days)
Job, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon

List 6 (150 days)
Psalms

List 7 (31 days)
Proverbs

List 8 (249 days)
Joshua, Judges, Ruth, I&II Samuel, I&II Kings, I&II Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther

List 9 (250 days)
Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah,
Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi

List 10 (28 days)
Acts

We are enjoying this method so much--I use it both alone and with my children. I try to read at least one chapter in the morning (I'm not a morning person), we read several chapters at rest time and bedtime, and then I read more at night when I go to bed. Sometimes if the rest of the household does not require too much of my attention, I will read while I am nursing too.

If you decide to try it, I posted some really nice bookmarks for it on my facebook page a few posts down.

Facebook Page

2010-10-25T20:15:00.001-06:00

In case you didn't notice, I have created a page on Facebook for the blog. I post there more often than here and would love to have discussions! Come "like" me!

I Need Thee Every Hour

2010-10-17T10:41:00.004-06:00

Did you know the hymn "I Need Thee Every Hour" was written by a wife, mother, and homemaker? I can understand why an everyday wife and mother would have such a prayer in her heart. This job is not the vacation some people see it as. It is HARD. In fact--I can't do it! I cannot be a "good wife" or a "good mom" without Him! I need His help, His wisdom, His presence every minute of the day--drawing from Him moment by moment.

Annie Hawks was in the midst of her daily duties at home when the words to the beautiful hymn came to her. She said, "I was so filled with a sense of nearness to my Master that, wondering how one could live without Him in either joy or pain, these words, 'I need Thee every hour,' were flashed into my mind. Seating myself by the open window in the balmy air of the bright June day, I caught up my pencil and the words were soon committed to paper."

I need Thee every hour,
Most gracious Lord;
No tender voice like Thine
Can peace afford.

I need Thee, O I need Thee;
Every hour I need Thee!
O bless me now, my Savior,
I come to Thee.

I need Thee every hour,
Stay Thou nearby;
Temptations lose their power
When Thou art night.

I need Thee every hour,
In joy or pain,
Come quickly, and abide,
Or life is vain.

I need Thee every hour,
Teach me Thy will,
And Thy rich promises
In me fulfill.

Children are a Blessing

2010-10-13T19:51:00.002-06:00

I am so excited to tell about this! I have a dear friend that I have known for about 15 years and she now has 10 beautiful children. They are just an amazing family and she has been one of my Titus 2 mentors, always faithful to counsel me and pray for me. They are the real deal! When she mentioned they were sending me a copy of a documentary they made called "Children are a Blessing" I was expecting a cute little home movie. Wow--was I surprised when I watched it. It is an incredible professionally made film, and as much as I was blown away by the quality, the content is what touched my heart and fueled my passion. This film could change your life.

From the description:

Children are a Blessing - DVD

A Family of Twelve Shares a Biblical Vision of Life

Produced by Moore Family Films

Watch this family of 12 enjoy family life together. See them in action as they anticipate, give birth to and welcome their 10^th child into the home.

You will hear them expose the history of the birth control movement on the 50^th anniversary of the Pill and how God opened their eyes to the blessing of children, in spite of their different ideals at the beginning.

It is a delightful documentary.

Not only will you be inspired, but you can show it to other families or lend out to promote the blessings of embracing children.

Includes 60 Minutes of Bonus Features

You can order "Children are a Blessing" from Above Rubies and it will be soon be available from the Moore's own website.

Creating an Atmosphere

2010-10-11T14:56:00.003-06:00

Have you been following the "Making Your Home a Haven Fall Challenge" with Courtney at Women Living Well? Week 1 is "Are You Distracted and Distant or Making Your Home a Haven?" and today began week 2, "How to Make Your Home Sing". Some REALLY good stuff there that has really inspired and challenged me.

Today she touched on having music softly playing in your home. I love to have music playing here and I do confess that it is not always playing softly! Music can create a peaceful atmosphere that promotes calmess, or a fun atmosphere that promotes productivity, or a worshipful atmosphere that promotes a God-centered home.

I thought I would share some of my favorite music to have in my home as we are working and playing.

Serene and Pearl Their songs are so soothing and peaceful and inspire me to be a godly wife and mother. I especially recommend the cd's "Peace All Over Me" and "Soothe Me".

Seeds Family Worship We have all of these scripture memory cd's and they REALLY do get God's Word into your head and your heart. It's so funny when we are reading the bible and we come across a verse that is included on one of these cd's, someone will always burst into song when they recognize it.

Worship music. Some of my favorites are Hillsong, Desperation Band, and Jesus Culture.

Kari Jobe

Hymns. I love hymns! They are so powerful!!! I especially love the covers that contemporary artists have done and I hear that Serene & Pearl are recording a hymn cd!!!

When the children and I are working together in the kitchen we like to listen to upbeat music--contemporary Christian, Christian rock, etc. I think they would say TobyMac is their favorite. :-)

What are some of your favorites? Please share in the comments or on the facebook page!

The Ultimate Microscope

2010-10-07T21:12:00.009-06:00

Have you ever read something you wrote long ago and it is like someone else wrote it? I posted the following in September 2006 and I barely remember writing it but I am SO convicted by it right now:

More than anything else in this life I want to love and serve God with everything that I have and I want every single area of my life to be in the center of His Will. Have you ever put all the little details of your life under the ultimate microscope of God's Holy Word? It's easy to overlook things a lot of times. Every thought and attitude, every action and pastime, every interest, every decision, every possession, every spoken (and unspoken) word. This is what I want for my life. I want every single little thing to give glory and honor to Him and to be in line with His glorious standard. Isn't that an awesome goal to reach for? I pray that God will open my eyes to any thing in my life that is not pleasing to Him and doesn't bring Him glory. As I read His word and pray in my private times with Him, I will be asking Him to show me His ways and teach me His paths, to guide me in His truth and teach me. Reveal to me what needs to change in my life. Show me any areas of hidden sin that I may obey You; for if I love You I will obey You.

My private thoughts?
My attitudes?
My behavior toward my children?
My respect for my husband?
My TV/movie/music choices?
My family size?
My ways of spending precious time?
My sleeping habits?
My eating habits?
My conversations?
My desires?
My spending habits?
My vanity?
My self-focus?
My homekeeping?

Oh Lord, as usual, I need a lot of work. I pray You will lead and guide and help me as I seek to bring every part of my life into obedience to You.

This goes along with a song that has been MY song this week. God has really spoken to me through it. And now I come across this old old blog post. I think He's trying to tell me something :-)

Homeschooling: It’s about TIME.

2010-10-05T09:10:00.004-06:00

When people find out you homeschool, they usually assume it’s ALL about shelter and wanting to keep your children away from negative influence. Some are defensive when they think we are implying your schools are bad, your teachers are bad, your children are bad, anything outside the door of MY home is bad!

Some may even realize the educational benefit and acknowledge that your children ARE receiving a wonderful education, but they too may get defensive when they think you are implying THEIR educational system is inferior because of that.

While I fully agree with the truth of Psalm 1 and I do believe that in most cases the education received is exceptional, those are not my number one reasons for being passionate about homeschooling. Why do I believe in homeschooling so much then? It’s all about TIME.

Homeschooling gives us TIME which we already have so little of as it is! Time is so precious and the years we have with our children are so few and so fleeting! The children who live next to me get on the bus a little after 7. They usually get home at 4:15. That is nine hours! If they are at school 9 hours and need 10 hours of sleep, what does that leave us? 5 hours? Which is mostly eaten up by homework, dinner, maybe ball practices, or even church? Where is the time? Oh, as long as I make these few hours and weekends and summers QUALITY time, it will all work out! No, I don’t think so.

In order to raise children according to God’s Word, we NEED the quantity time homeschooling allows us.

TIME to teach God’s Word and impress it upon their hearts “when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up”. (Deut. 6:7)

TIME to “bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord”. (Eph. 6:4)

TIME to acquire a biblical worldview, which directly contradicts the worldview learned in school. I could write a whole other article on this, so I will move on...

TIME to be together as a family, time spent learning and playing, time with siblings (which teaches so much all on it’s own). Yes, there should be a balance of family time and social time, but family should far outweigh others on that scale. Homeschooling brings that perfect balance of making our priorities first God, then family, then others. We need this time to keep our hearts connected to our children’s. That is one of the keys to raising children who will eventually make your faith, their faith. I’m so thankful for the precious memories I have with my children--all the little things that happen every day that I would have missed if they were gone.

TIME in the home, a home where God and His Word are the center and the focus of everything. The atmosphere is permeated with the Lord, every school subject is about Him, everything about LIFE is all about Him. Home is primarily where we teach our children God’s ways, where we train them, where we discipline,and yes, where we have fun. Home is the center of it all. Even a few hours out of our home is enough to make me see a decline in all these things.

TIME to learn responsibility and real life. I cannot see how public school prepares children for the “real world”. The real world is not about sitting in a classroom with 20 other people the same age as you. The real world is about responsibility, relating to people of all ages, growing in your walk with the Lord, acquiring life skills, entering the workforce, and being a godly and skilled husband/wife and mother/father. Homeschooling is the “school” for learning about life because homeschooling IS life. It’s a way of life. It’s not sitting down to do a few workbooks from 9am to 3pm and then resuming life. It is a lifestyle that is happening from sunup to sundown--a lifestyle of learning and growing in the Lord.

TIME to pursue your own interests. I cannot say enough about this because as a homeschool graduate myself, I see the importance of it; and I already see the fruit of this in my own children. Children learn best through doing the things that interest them individually. Whether it be through hobbies, the books they choose to read, music, art, even the movies they watch, the possibilities are endless. If a child has an interest or a talent, they need to be allowed the freedom to pursue them as deeply as they desire.

TIME to pursue God. This would be my number one. When I was about 13 or 14 years old, I really began to cultivate my own relationship with the Lord. From then until I graduated at the age of 17, I would spend hours upon hours reading and studying the bible, writing in a prayer journal, and just learning how to commune with Him. When did I do this? When everyone else was in school. Otherwise I would not have had the TIME. Who would I be today had I been communing with teenagers in school rather than the Most High God? I shudder to think. That is the time period of my life that I look back on that truly shaped me. Looking back, I credit who I am today to my high school years--homeschool high school years.

Jesus said, “Let the little children come to Me and don’t hold them back.” So for as long as I can, that is what I’m going to do. I will point the way and when they are ready to go, I will let them come to Him.

Homeschooling is not really home schooling. It’s TIME. It’s living, learning, growing, preparing, enjoying, and so much more

As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him; for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust. As for man, his days are like grass, he flourishes like a flower of the field; the wind blows over it and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more. But from everlasting to everlasting the LORD's love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children's children- with those who keep his covenant and remember to obey his precepts.Psalm 103:13-18

Consider everything you do in the light of eternity...

Save money on dishwasher detergent

2010-09-18T12:31:00.006-06:00

Homemade cleaning products are all the rage right now. I have been making my own for years because there was a time when it was all we could afford. Not only does it save money, but it is better for your health and the earth. Years ago I made my own laundry detergent, fabric softener, and cleaning products, but never could find a recipe for dishwashing detergent that worked well.

A while back I came across this recipe. It is not non-toxic, but it is much more so than regular, and much much cheaper. And I have found that it works BETTER than detergent alone. Here is how I make it:

You need Cascade Complete, borax, baking soda, measuring cup, a container, and a scoop. I'm using an old wipes container and a small measuring cup for my scoop.

Measure out equal parts of each ingredient. Mix well.

To use, you do NOT need to fill the entire compartment. Maybe just a little more than halfway or even less--it depends on your water. You can play with it to see how much you need. Sometimes less is best. Keep some type of scoop in the container--a 1/8 c. measuring cup or tablespoon works well. I had an extra 1/4 c. measuring cup so that is what I use.

If your dishwasher has a JetDry dispenser, fill it with white vinegar about once a month. It will do the job as well as the real stuff.

I hope this helps someone save some money!

Resting together for learning, quality time....and quiet!

2010-09-09T19:30:00.006-06:00

I think I've blogged about this a few times over the years, but I've had several recent conversations that made me want to talk about it again. For me, rest time and early bedtime for the children is KEY to my sanity. Not that I don't love to be with them (as you will see, I AM still with them during this time), but it's like I have said before: I don't need a break from my children themselves, but I do need a break from noise, messes, and chaos! And so do the children.

This is how we currently do rest time at our home. At noon we stop school to make lunch. We eat lunch and do whatever cleaning up we can get done before 1:00. At 1:00 sharp, it's rest time, no matter how much progress we've made in the kitchen! It's the law!

ALL of us from birth to mommy-size find a spot in the living room to sit or lie down. Sometimes a toddler may still need to go to their room for a nap, but if they are able to nap with us, they can stay. If Cara gets too disruptive, I put her in her room to sleep. Actually, if ANYONE is persistently disruptive, they will rest alone in their room. This is a great disappointment to them--they love rest time! The younger ones may get a pillow and/or blanket, or sometimes they just cuddle up with me.

Everyone knows the rules of rest time--sit down, be still, be quiet.

What we do at rest time varies throughout the year. This is our current lineup:
First prayer--this is when we pray over our prayer list.
Homeschool Bible (we are using BJU Bible Truths and it is amazing! They do the corresponding worksheet after rest time.)
History (Monday and Wednesday)
Science (Tuesday and Thursday)
Reading from Everyday Graces (I love this book!)
Reading from Gladys Aylward (We are reading through Christian Heroes Then and Now biographies)

Of course most of this is way over the little ones' heads, so what do they do? Well, first of all, they absorb WAY more than you think! Then...they get bored and fall asleep! Yes! Now they are getting their much needed nap and you are getting much needed one-on-one time with the older children. And if it has been an extra busy day, they will fall asleep too! And yes, there are those seasons where mommy will fall asleep before anyone else!!! During those times, I will either turn on a movie for them or have them quietly read or look at books. Either way, the same rules apply--sit down, be still, be quiet!

Rest time ends at 2:00--or when you wake up!

Now, bedtime. Do you dread bedtime? I've had complete strangers remark to me after noting the size of my family how hard bedtime must be. It is actually one of my favorite times of day. This is how we do it. 7:00 is baths for the little ones, followed by showers for the older ones if needed, and once everyone is ready for bed, we all head into the bedroom. I have 4 boys in one room, and Cara also comes in there with us, and Tyson crawls around on the floor.

The rules are: lie down, be still, be quiet.
This is our current bedtime booklist:
First we pray. Whoever wants to pray may pray.
First I read a book of a child's choice. Each child has a day of the week that he gets to pick the book.
Then I read from Hymn's for a Kids Heart (We are on volume 2)
Then I read from the Bible. We are currently reading John and the Proverbs and Psalms of the day. For instance on today, the 9th, we read Proverbs 9, and Psalms 9, 39, 69, 99, and 129.

What I do next I just recently started and it has been such a blessing to me. I pray over each of the children. By this point, most, if not all, are asleep. If they are awake, I might talk to them or ask them if there is anything I should pray for first. So I just go to each one, lay my hands on them, and pray. This one thing has changed my life as a mommy.

There are so many benefits to having a daily rest time and early bedtime with your children. It provides togetherness and cuddles, peace and quiet, learning and discipleship, rest and relaxation, training and structure--and a precious time of prayer. We ALL look forward to these times every day.

Is the Bible ALWAYS True?

2010-07-27T11:44:00.006-06:00

I thought since I don't have much time to blog these days, I would move some things from my old blog over to here. This is something I wrote years ago--I'm a little older than that now ;-)
But four more children later, I believe what I said even more strongly than ever!

Today I overheard 2 SAHMS talking. All they did was complain about their children. They don't get any sleep. They never get to take a shower. They never get any time to themselves. They never get to go out with friends. Their children are so strong willed--NO method of discipline works. The children are so draining on their marriage. I hear this so often from moms and it saddens me.

These statements were actually said OUT LOUD:
"I love my children, I just don't LIKE them very much."
"I know she's a blessing, but she's a big burden, too."
"It's a sacrifice, but how much sacrifice is WORTH it?"

My heart was just breaking for these women. Is it really just my personality to love being a mother and making it my lifelong career and ministry? Is that why I feel they are missing out on so much blessing?

I whispered a prayer to somehow be able to minister to these ladies' hearts and perhaps help them catch God's vision for their families.

I am only 26 years old, but I feel that He might have me here as a representative of a woman whose heart is at home with her family. I would feel honored if He used me somehow in the life of some young mother who may be seeking to recognize her calling.

I was feeling somewhat similar 3 years ago when I only had 2 children. I wrote this email to Beverly:

First conversation last week. Talking to D, 38, mother to two girls age 4 and 1.

D: I don't want anymore, of course. Do you?

Me:Yes!

D: You do??

Me: Of course!

D: Well, I'm just too old.

Me: Well, my mom (I always refer to you as my mom) is 43 and desperately wants at least one more. (she already knew you had seven children.)

D: (Jaw hits floor hard) SHE does? Your MOM does?

Me: Of course. Why would you NOT want another precious baby?

D: (brief silence) Because! I'm tired! They cost money!

Second conversation last week. Talking to C, 30, mother of three girls around 10, 9, and 2. And L, 24, mother of two girls 3 and 2.

Me: C, whenever you want your baby seat back I will bring it. David doesn't really like it.

C: Well, there's no rush. We aren't having anymore. If we got really really blessed financially we might consider having one more. But only if it's before I turn 35. That's my limit.

L: Whew! No more for me! Do you want any more?

Me: Of course! I want a lot more.

Both laugh.

C: A lot! (thinking I am joking and or exaggerating)

Me: Yes. We believe children are the greatest blessing God gives.

Complete silence.

C and L: (In their minds) That poor stupid naive child.

L: (mumbling) only if insanity is a blessing.

These two conversations would have bothered me a lot a couple years ago. Now I only feel sorry for them. I've been thinking about their reasoning a lot this past week and last night as I got into bed these thoughts came to me.

The bible says children are a blessing. Whenever God blessed anyone in the bible, He blessed them with offspring! Is the bible true? Yes, so children MUST be a blessing. But is the Bible ALWAYS true? Any of these wonderful ladies would wholeheartedly agree, yes. So are children ALWAYS a blessing? We must further conclude, yes. But anytime they give any of these reasons they are essentially saying that children are a burden. Whether they realize it or not, they have bought into Satan's lie that children are a burden, not a blessing. Let's examine these reasons for not having children.

"I'm tired." "I couldn't handle more children." "I'm too old." Translation--children are a physical burden. But this is contrary to God's word. According to God, Children are a physical BLESSING! God gives grace for the moment. He will give you strength and energy when you need it. He will give you grace to handle every child He gives you. Children will keep you young. And they will be an extra blessing to you when you are REALLY old and really tired! You will stretch and grow in so many areas because you will HAVE to!

"They cost money!" "We can't afford any more children." Translation--children are a financial burden. Again, not according to God's Word. Are children always a blessing? Then children are a financial BLESSING! Don't you have a rich Father? Don't you truly believe that He will provide for His own? With each of my children I have seen a significant increase in financial blessing. Plus, having children makes you learn to be frugal and will keep you from being materialistic, thus SAVING you money and saving you from the sin of materialism.

"I would go insane." "I don't have enough patience." Translation--children are an emotional burden. No! Children are resoundingly an emotional BLESSING if you will start looking at them through God's eyes instead of the worlds! Please, start enjoying your children. Start seeing them as the tremendous blessing they are!

How I wish I could say all this to so many people. If they ask I will. But I can't convince them of anything. Only God can. I wish I could write something like this and hand it out to so many people. It breaks my heart that they are missing out of this wonderful life because they unknowingly believe these lies. They just don't KNOW. I pray one day they will.

Love, Jennifer

Happily married to Kevin, who is more than I deserve

Joyfully raising Justin and David for God's glory

Tell me what the world is saying today, and I'll tell you what the church will be saying seven years from now.

--Francis Schaeffer

Beverly's response to me:

"Two things:

GOOD FOR YOU!

and

ONE DAY I THINK YOU WILL WRITE THOSE THINGS FOR OTHERS TO READ."

You were right, Beverly. I did. Thank you for encouraging me to.

2010 Homeschool Plans

2010-07-22T22:22:00.006-06:00

(The pictures are not uploading right. Sorry about that!)

I've been wanting to do this for so long, but our life is just so busy with out-of-home activities right now that I'm finding it hard to do anything like this. I'm so excited about next years school year. Here is a little of what we'll be using.

Bible:
BJU Bible Truths
We will all be doing the same level together and I'm using the first grade level A Father's Care. This is absolutely AMAZING! I wish I had discovered it sooner.

Language Arts:
Language Lessons from Queen homeschool.

Reading:

Justin--A Beka third grade readers and CLP Nature Readers
David--A Beka first grade readers and CLP Nature Readers
Isaiah-- CLP pre-k and possibly K readers
All of the books are not pictured because I think someone has been sneaking them ;-)

Math:
Justin--Teaching Textbooks 4
David--Horizons math 1
Isaiah--have not decided. Will probably begin Horizons math either mid-year or next year. I don't feel he's quite ready.

History:
We get most of our history through read-alouds, but just so I feel secure we are also going to use A Beka 1-3 grade textbooks. These are really good! I love what I have read so far.

Science:
A Beka. Like Bible and history, we do science together.
CLP Nature Readers also count :-)

Other:
A Beka Health, Safety and Manners
Everyday Graces
Authors and Artists (character)

Preschool:
The two older children and I will be "teaching" preschool to the 4 younger ones using a wonderful curriculum I found called ABC Jesus Loves Me. You can access it free online or buy it in book form. We started it a little last year and I can't say enough about it.

We will also be doing co-op this year.
Justin--gym, science, and lego science
David--art, math, science, and reading
Isaiah and Zachary--preschool
Cara and Tyson--nursery

One of the things I'm most excited about is using the Workbox System this year. I have not gotten it set up yet so no pictures to show, but I absolutely love the concept and I think it's going to help us so much, not just with school, but with everything. I don't think the system has to be limited to school.

Sorry I didn't link to anything. If you need more info on anything, feel free to ask, or use google ;-)

A few of my favorite things

2010-06-12T14:04:00.003-06:00

Favorite Baby Carrier
Ergo

Favorite Diaper
Anything from BumGenius--Flips, Pockets, and AIO's

Favorite Bible
Sanctuary Women's Devotional Bible

Favorite Quiet Time Aid
The Busy Mom's Guide to Prayer

Favorite Magazine
Above Rubies

Favorite Resource
The Homemakers Library from TEACH
You can stock up if you get the newsletter and watch for sales and coupons.

Favorite Children's Music
The Donut Man CD's

Favorite Blog
Women Living Well

Favorite Radio Program/Podcast/Daily newsletter
Revive Our Hearts

Favorite Calendar
A Heart at Rest
Some days this is the only "quiet time" I get and it is always amazing, and very frequently straight from God to me.

Favorite Nursing Bra
Bravado Body Silk Seamless

Favorite homeschooling resources
A whole post coming soon!

(If you happen to have an Android phone, if you download the app "App Advocate" and you are my facebook friend, then you can see all my favorite apps too!)

May the Mind of Christ, My Savior

2010-06-07T18:24:00.001-06:00

May the mind of Christ, my Savior
Live in me from day to day,
By His love and power controlling
All I do and say.

May the Word of God dwell richly
In my heart from hour to hour,
So that all may see I triumph
Only through His power.

May the peace of God my Father
Rule my life in everything,
That I may be calm to comfort
Sick and sorrowing.

May the love of Jesus fill me
As the waters fill the sea;
Him exalting, self abasing,
This is victory.

May I run the race before me,
Strong and brave to face the foe,
Looking only unto Jesus
As I onward go.

May His beauty rest upon me,
As I seek the lost to win,
And may they forget the channel,
Seeing only Him.

Simplifying Meal Planning

2010-05-26T22:28:00.005-06:00

I am making a new menu plan. I have gotten really bad about planning breakfasts and lunches so I am getting back to that. As for dinner, I really don't see how anyone gets by without planning that (how do you shop otherwise?), but I am REALLY simplifying my dinner plan.

I'm going to trying having the same plan every WEEK. Yep, you heard me right. Beans on Monday, Taco Tuesday, and so on. It might get boring, but I really don't think the kids will mind. They might even like it! And it will make things easier for me in so many ways.

1. It will me one less thing (or LOTS of less things) for me to think about. My life is crazy full and busy right now. The last thing I have time for is making menus, lists, cooking things that I actually have to think about.
2. I won't have to make the dreaded shopping list every week. Type out one list and it's done.
3. The more I make these same meals week after week, the more I will be able to make them without even thinking. And if I include the kids in making these same meals week after week, they too will learn to make them well, they will be more and more help and eventually be able to even do it themselves.
4. I will save money by having the same inexpensive meals each week--and eating out less. It will also be easier to buy in bulk knowing that the same things will be used over and over.
5. Shopping will be much easier too. I will know exactly what I need and can zoom right through!

I decided to use the menu plan Debi Pearl shares in my old worn out copy of Created to be His Help Meet. If you have the book, it is on pages 149 and 150. There are many more details there. This is one of my favorite menus because it is extremely frugal, healthy, uses the crockpot, takes advantage of leftovers and cooking ahead, and is also delicious.

Monday--pinto beans. We eat "soup beans" with just cornbread and sometimes fried taters (you have to call it "taters"!) She suggests serving the beans with minute steaks and sweet potatoes so we might do that sometimes to mix it up.

Tuesday--taco salad, using the leftover beans for refried beans. We'll also do tacos and burritos some weeks to add variety.

Wednesday--Spaghetti

Thursday--Black beans and rice with smoked sausages. You can load toppings on this--cheeese, onions, tomatoes, salsa, sour cream. I like mine with just cheese. It really is so good.

Friday--Fried rice. I love this meal because you can throw in whatever leftover meats and veggies you have on hand. We order pizza on Fridays a lot and we still will because it gives us a fun night without daddy here. But I'm going to try to cut down. It's so expensive!!

Saturday--Cookout night. Hamburgers or hot dogs or chicken or steaks or whatever. This is hard to do with my husband gone because I really don't like to grill outside. Maybe I can invest in a countertop grill if I can promise myself to cut down on pizza deliveries.....

Sunday--chicken and dumplings. Her recipe is so simple and good, I might be able to give up McDonald's drive-thru on Sunday afternoons. Maybe.

I am excited about doing this, for this season of life anyway. She tells about another meal plan on page 151. Maybe eventually we can branch out to 2 weeks of meals. For now though, the simpler the better. Which is why all these meals will be eaten on paper plates.

ETA: I found the best little menu plan template! You can download it and fill it out yourself! I just made mine. So cute!

Love is...

2010-05-24T06:48:00.003-06:00

1 Corinthians 13:4-8 (highlights from various translations and paraphrases)

Amplified Bible

Love endures long and is patient and kind.
Love never is envious nor boils over with jealousy.

It is not rude (unmannerly) and does not act unbecomingly..
Love (God's love in us) does not insist on it's own way, for it is not self-seeking, it is not touchy or fretful or resentful; it takes no account of the evil done to it [it pays no attention to a suffered wrong].

Love bears up under anything and everything that comes, is ever ready to believe the best...Its hopes are fadeless under all circumstances, and it endures everything [without weakening].
Love never fails [never fades out or becomes obsolete or comes to an end].

Contemporary English Version

Love is kind and patient, never jealous, boastful, proud, or rude.
Love isn't selfish or quick tempered.
It doesn't keep a record of wrongs that others do.

Love is always supportive, loyal, hopeful, and trusting.
Love never fails!

God's Word Translation

Love is patient.
Love is kind.
Love isn't jealous.
It doesn't sing it's own praises.
It isn't arrogant.
It isn't rude.
It doesn't think about itself.
It isn't irritable.
It doesn't keep track of wrongs.

Love never stops being patient, never stops believing, never stops hoping, never gives up.
Love never comes to an end.

King James Version

Charity suffereth long, and is kind,
charity envieth not,
charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil...

Beareth all things,
believeth all things,
hopeth all things, endureth all things.
Charity never faileth.

New Century Version

Love is not rude, is not selfish, and does not get upset with others.
Loves does not count up wrongs that have been done.
Love patiently accepts all things.
It always trusts, always hopes, and always endures.
Love never ends.

New Living Translation

Love is patient and kind.
Loves is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude.
It does not demand it's own way.
It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged.

Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.
Love will last forever!

The Message

Love never gives up.
Love cares more for others than for self.
Love doesn't want what it doesn't have.
Doesn't force itself on others,
Isn't always "me first",
Doesn't fly off the handle,
Doesn't keep score of the sins of others,

Puts up with anything, Trusts God always, Always looks for the best, Never looks back, But keeps going to the end.
Love never dies.

Today's NIV

It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.

NIV

When I was a child I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child.
When I became a man I put childish ways behind me.
Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face.
Now I know in part; then I shall know fully...

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

Two Hour Quick Clean Up

2010-05-05T09:58:00.003-06:00

Today every room in my house is a disaster. Laundry is piled up, clutter is out everywhere, and floors are disgusting. If I followed my normal schedule today, I would never be able to catch up, so today is definitely a "Two Hour Quick Clean Up" day. It was written by Crystal Paine, but I can't find it on the web anymore. It really helps when your house is so out of hand you don't know where to start!

Two Hour Quick Clean Up

1. Put on an apron, turn on some uplifting music, light a candle, and start a load of laundry.

2. Go to the kitchen sink and wash, dry, and put away the dishes. Then, shine the sink (ala FlyLady!) and wipe down the counter tops. Try to get this completely finished in 30 minutes or less.

3. Set the timer for 15 minutes and briskly go through the house and pick up as many items as you can which are out of place and return them to their proper places (and if it's trash, throw it out!).

4. Switch the laundry in your washer to your dryer or clothesline and start another load of laundry.

5. Take some all-purpose cleaner and a few rags and go quickly spray and wipe down all the bathrooms. Remember, this is just a simple spray and wipe of your bathrooms which should only take five minutes maximum per bathroom. Save the heavy-duty cleaning for later!

6. Do a quick sweep and mop of your kitchen and bathroom floors if they need this (and if your home is anything like our home, they will need this!).

7. Vacuum the main living areas of your home--don't worry about moving furniture or going over every inch of carpet, just make sure and hit the main traffic areas.

8. Pull the laundry out of the dryer and fold and put it away. Switch the laundry from the washer to the dryer, and start another load in the washer if you still have more laundry to do.

You're done! Make a pot of tea or coffee (or a glass of iced tea or lemonade since Spring is finally here!) and put your feet up for a few moments. Way to go! Your whole family will enjoy the fruits of your labors.

My Kids

2010-05-03T20:29:00.002-06:00

I haven't blogged in so long, I thought I would give a quick update on each of my children. They are all growing up so fast! It makes me sad, but at the same time, I wouldn't trade who they are now for their younger selves either. They are each so unique and fun--it is such a joy to watch each of them develop into their own person with their own personalities and interests!

Justin is 8 now. He has always seemed so much older than he really is. He's so mature and smart and will do anything for you. I don't know what I would do without him. He is such an amazing help to me and never once have I gotten the impression that he resents a single thing he's asked to do. On the contrary, he's on the lookout for how he can help and wants to be a help. He just has that giving spirit. He's very into sports and video games, and although he wouldn't admit it, sometimes I find him hiding in a corner with a book too.

David turned 6 in February. He is the one who broke his arm and currently sports a cool blue cast. He broke it when he fell from a tree and that statement tells a lot about him. He is adventurous and brave. He'll try anything once. He's also the one who brings in various bugs and crawly things to show me. He recently decided to keep a caterpillar for a pet in a jar and although he supplied little Bob with an assortment of grass and leaves, he didn't last the night. David was pretty upset that Bob would never be a butterfly and now lets all the bugs live outside where they belong.

Isaiah is 4 and he is such a sweet little guy. He has always been very quiet, but I can tell a lot is going on in behind those blue eyes. He has the sweetest smile and a little dimple in each cheek. He loves to do school with his big brothers and has successfully worked his way though his preschool workbooks, but after a while he is just more interested in playing superheroes or building a robot out of Duplos.

Zachary is 2, but will be 3 next month. Zachary--oh Zachary! He is the child God gave me after I pridefully thought "I can do this mothering thing. It's not so hard! This child-training thing is easy!" When God heard that, He laughed and sent Zachary to teach me a lesson! Oh my, this child is a handful all on his own. He gets into everything and is mean just for the sake of meanness, is so strong-will that he laughs in the face of discipline, and is not scared of anything! He has the bumps, bruises, scars, and injured teeth to prove it. One minute he makes me tear out my hair and then next he's running to me with his arms open, saying just "Mommy!" just for the sake of saying it. And he is so sweet with his little sister and brother. There aren't many 2-year-olds out there that have both a little sister and a little brother, but he got the job and he's good at it. He might terrorize his older brothers, but you better not mess with the little ones with him around.

Cara Grace, my little princess and one and only baby girl, is already 18 months old. Oh she is a sweetheart and melts my heart all day long. I am so sad to realize how her babyness is slowly slipping away and she is becoming a big girl. She still sucks her thumb and has to have her blankie to do so. She has her big brothers wrapped around her little finger and they spoil her rotten. If Cara wants it, Cara gets it. They beg me to buy her what she wants in the store so that she won't cry. She was a daddy's girl before he left, and even though he's been gone three months, she still cries out "Daddy!" when she sees him on the webcam or hears his voice on the phone. She hasn't forgotten him at all.

Tyson is 2 months old. Already my tiny newborn is gone, but now I have a sweet baby who looks at me so adoringly and giggles and coos when I talk to him. He is such a sweet spirited baby! He sleeps all night, which I don't strive for, but I don't argue with either! He prefers his own bed but occasionally will sleep in with me in the mornings. He loves each one of his brothers and sister. It is amazing how even a baby knows his family. He sits in his swing and just watches everything that is going on like it is so captivating. Although he was born with hair, he is now quite bald except for one thick and long patch of hair right on his crown that I like to call his toupee. He is such a cutie!

Of course I believe that children are blessings whether you have 1 or 20, but I have to say that the more I have, the more blessed I feel! Each one that comes along is just so precious and so unique and brings something special to the family that only he could bring. The dynamics of a large family day to day is just an amazing thing--it is so hard for me to describe, I think only you mothers of large families will understand what I'm trying to say. It is hard to imagine when you haven't been there, but it just works. Children ARE a blessing from the Lord. The fruit of the womb IS a reward. Happy IS the man that has his quiver full of them! I just love my children so much it hurts. I feel so undeserving of them. They are amazing.

The Word of God

2010-04-29T11:40:00.002-06:00

The Word of God will help you make the right choices;
it will heal your wounds and settle your heart;
it will warn of danger;
it will protect and cleanse from sin;
it will lead you;
it will make you wise.
It is bread;
it is water;
it is a counselor;
it is life.

~Nancy Leigh DeMoss

He who began a good work in me...

2010-04-28T20:56:00.004-06:00

Recently several people have encouraged me to blog. Blogging has been the furthest thing from my mind lately, but maybe it is just the outlet I need and will motivate me. The past six months of my life have been nothing short of a whirlwind and the past two and half months have been the hardest of my life.

It has been difficult adjusting to a new home, a new baby, and a new life without daddy. Emotionally it has been more than I can bear, but by God's grace I am starting to see the sun again. I don't know how I could have made it through any of this without Him. His presence and His Word have been the only thing sustaining me. He has taught me the true meaning of joy.

On top of the emotional side of it, we seem to have been slammed with physical affliction. We've had severe sinus infections, strep throat (one at a time), stomach flus, ear infections. Justin's tonsil stones got bad again and we had to visit the ENT. Zachary had a scary accident that miraculously only required stitches. David fell and broke his arm so badly it required surgery. The doctors and hospitals here already know us by name.

Tyson seemed to have colic for a few weeks, but praise the Lord he doens't do that at all anymore. I was so afraid we would be going through that for three or four months. But now he goes to sleep around 9 or 10 at night and sleeps till 8 or 9 in the morning! He prefers his own bed and these long sleeping hours are not always the best thing for a nursing mother! But I'll take that discomfort if it means I get to sleep.

My marriage has been going through the ultimate test with this separation. I never thought my heart could stand the things it has gone through.

So I kinda feel like Job and I must admit that I haven't handled it all as well as he did. There have been nights where I have wanted to curse God and die as Mrs. Job suggested. But He is faithful even when I am not. His Word and His promises are life to me. I know I will emerge from this season stronger than ever.

Thank you so much for your encouragement and your prayers. Whenever I see that people actually read this and care, I am blown away. Right now I don't even feel like that same person who wrote this blog. And if you were with me way back in the Xanga days, I don't even recognize that girl! But you know what--I don't want to stay the same. I'm not who I was ten years ago and I hope that ten years from now I will not be who I am today. I want to keep growing in the Lord and changing for the better. I want to keep learning and becoming. I don't want to be that proverbial leopard who can't change his spots. I want to be a butterfly.

The birth of Tyson Jeremiah

2010-02-25T21:25:00.005-07:00

For those of you who know me or have been reading my blog a long time, this birth story may come as a surprise to you. But even though this birth experience was quite different than my most recent previous ones, it was beautiful and blessed.

During the last few weeks of pregnancy, I had two nights of "false labor". One night at 38 weeks I had strong, real contractions that convinced me I was going to go early for the first time. Then they just stopped. Then again at 39 weeks, I called people and warned them to be prepared that night. Again, they stopped. So last Sunday morning when I woke up at 6am with hard painful contractions 15 minutes apart, I didn't get my hopes up. Ok, I did get my hopes up. I got up and got everything ready to go. By 9am they were 10 minutes apart. I was starting to have to stop and breathe through them. But since they were still so far apart, I got myself and everyone ready for church and headed out. I went on to church and told family today was the day. But I realized the contractions didn't hurt anymore and were slowing down. Then by noon, they were gone. Again. I was so frustrated! All this work seemingly for nothing!

After church I brought my brood on home, fed them lunch, and then joined them on the couch to watch movies and rest. I had contractions here and there but by that point, I just didn't want to pay attention anymore. Around 5 or 6 pm I noticed they were picking back up and by the children's bedtime I was in real pain again. I went on about my business and got ready for bed myself. I read for a while and started timing my contractions and saw they were back to a steady 1o minutes apart. I finally turned off the light and decided to try to get some sleep, but every time I would drift off, the pain would grip me again. Somehow I endured many of them in a state of semi-consciousness as I drifted in and out of sleep, but that didn't last for long. I was suddenly in unbearable pain and panicked when I realized that these babies were 3-5 minutes apart! At around 2am I hurriedly called my friends who were watching my children and my mother-in-law to come and get me quick!

When we got to the hospital at about 3:15am my doctor was waiting for me. She must have known I needed relief because she asked me if we were still doing everything the way we discussed. My answer: "Forget it all. Give me my epidural as soon as possible."

I had been going back and forth in my mind about whether or not I still wanted the natural birth I had been fighting for. With my husband gone (he's been gone almost three weeks now), I didn't think I was mentally prepared to handle it. I finally decided that I would make my decision whenever the time came, and when the time came there was no decision to be made. I had pretty much been in labor for the past 18 hours and now with my body engulfed in pain after pain, I knew I needed it to be over.

I still endured another half hour or so before the anesthesiologist was ready. I was 7 cm. I was so nervous about the epidural. I had them with my first two babies and I really hated them. I hated the sensation of the needle going into my back, I hated the numbness in my legs, I hated not being able to feel anything to push, I hated being immobile for a while afterward. I was reminding God of all these things I hated while at the same time begging Him to please make it work quick!

They got it put in and maybe it was because I had 3 contractions in the process, but I hardly felt it at all. After it was in I laid back onto the bed and, oh my, where did all that pain go? I instantly began to feel relief. My biggest complaint was now that my left foot was numb! I waited for that awful heaviness to take over my body, but it never did. I could still move my legs and my whole body, yet I could feel no pain. By the time I got to 9cm, I felt so relaxed and wonderful I wanted to take a nap. As I was lying there enjoying my rest and relaxation, I could slowly feel the sensation of the baby moving down a little every minute or so until finally I could feel the pressure of his head. I let my doctor know that I was ready to push and she said go for it. She had told me before that she wouldn't coach me--that she believed it was best to push whenever I felt the need to do so. Amazing for a doctor, right?! This was the first time I have not been coached when to push and I was amazed that with this epidural I could feel everything, yet it was painless. I could feel everything so clearly that I could tell exactly what to do. I pushed a couple times and the bag of water broke and splashed out! (This was also the first time I had not had my water broken.) After my water broke, the sensation was more intense, maybe a little painful, but just enough to be just what I needed to get this job done. At 7:16am, after a couple more pushes, his little body slid out all at once! My doctor scooped him up and immediately laid him on my chest while she did everything else. He was so perfect! And he was so big! And he had hair!

After a few minutes they weighed and measured him: 8 pounds 14 ounces and 21 1/2 inches. That's almost 9 pounds!! Then they handed him back to me and he nursed like a little vacuum for 2 hours.

God has blessed me once again with a perfect birth and a perfect baby. I feel so undeserving. The past few days of being home with all my children have been full of the grace of God. It has been peaceful and joyful and an amazing blessing. Well-meaning people have asked me over and over, "Do you have help? Do you have help?" I know they just can't imagine being alone with six small children and a new baby. But, oh, I do have Help! I have all the Help I could ever need or want or ask for. "Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God." Ps. 146:5. Blessed indeed!

About his name
Early on when we were discussing names, my husband suggested Titus. I loved the name, but our last name is Thomas, and Titus Thomas was just too much of a tongue twister for me. But after that I just could not get that "Ty" sound out of my head. I went over every Ty name I could find. Once my husband said, "How about Tyson?" I said, "No! That's chicken! That's Mike Tyson!" But something about it stuck with me until I just had that feeling when I heard it, that that was "it". Tyson. It was suddenly so cute and endearing and I was in love with it.

Tyson means "firebrand". I had to look up that word in the dictionary, but it means, "a person who kindles strife or encourages unrest; an agitator; troublemaker. A person who stirs up trouble or kindles a revolt." When I first read that I thought, No way! I can't name my baby that! But as I thought about it in the context of a man on fire for Jesus, I got excited. A "firebrand" for Jesus is a whole other thing!

Jeremiah means "God will raise up". So put together, his name means "A firebrand God will raise up." Wow! Being given that name in these times is exciting for me! My prayer for Tyson Jeremiah is that he will grow to be a man on fire for the Lord, a man willing to kindle strife, encourage unrest, stir up trouble, or start a revolt in the name of Jesus Christ if he has to!

Tyson Jeremiah Thomas
8 lb. 14 oz. 21.5 in.
February 22, 2010
7:16 am

Settling in

2010-02-03T07:19:00.003-07:00

I stopped by here to order my 2010 Motivated Moms planner (have you ordered yours yet? ;-) If not, use the link in my sidebar to go check it out), and realized I really should update! We have been home in Tennessee for almost a month now. We had a great trip and I have really been able to see God's hand in everything that has happened. He led us to a perfect house (not the one I mentioned before) that I absolutely love. It is one level, three bedrooms, one bathroom, eat-kitchen, and living room. That is it! I love the simplicity of keeping this home and I love having all my children right here--no matter where in the house they are, they are close. I LOVE having carpet! And I love having my washer and dryer in the bathroom instead of the basement! Some other things I love are the laminate wood flooring in the kitchen--it is so easy to keep clean!--my marbly-looking dark countertops (I'm not HGTV enough to know what they're made of, but I love them b/c they're so easy to keep clean, too), having enough space and counterspace in the kitchen, and it has the perfect space for our huge kitchen table. Ok, I could go on, but you get it--I love my house :-) I'm know I'm very strange to desire a small house with a large family, but I think it is perfect!

Kevin is leaving in four days. It is so surreal--hard to believe that in four days he'll be gone for a whole year. I am really really dreading that day. But a big comfort is that the baby is due in two weeks! That I am looking forward to! I know he'll be a joy and comfort to us all while Daddy is away.

Thank you all so much for your prayers as we are making this transition. Being able to see God working in everything reassures me that we are in the center of His will and brings perfect peace to every situation.

Brats or Blessings?

2009-12-20T01:14:00.006-07:00

I wanted to pop in from my blogging absence to share my experience at the hair salon today. I got a pretty good cut, but the color turned out much too light--but that's not what I wanted to talk about.

The theme of my otherwise glorious 2.5 hour sit in the salon chair seemed to be "kids are unwanted brats". Everything around me seemed to shout of the world's negative attitude toward children. First, my stylist's friend stopped by for a chat along with her adorable little girl who I would guess was 2-years-old. The little girl was beautiful and did nothing the whole time but sit angelically in her stroller eating a Christmas cookie. Her mother tried hard not to pay a bit of attention to her--she was busy. And every time the little girl made an attempt to talk to her mother with things such as "I'm done, Mommy" while trying to hand her her napkin, mommy would scowl and start talking about what a brat she was and how she wanted to leave her with her daddy, but daddy wouldn't watch her. Anytime anyone walking by would even acknowledge the little girl, the mother would roll her eyes. "Shhhhhew! She is such a BRAT. I'm giving her away--do you want her? Take her!" Yes, I know she was joking about that, but she didn't sound like she was. I was so sad for the little girl to have to sit and listen to her mommy say nothing but bad things about her constantly. And I wouldn't doubt that after hearing it long enough, she will start believing it and start living up to that wonderful name her mother calls her. BRAT.

After a while of listening to her go on about how horrible her child was, the girl doing my hair snickered and whispered to me "She only has one." Hearing her, the girl said to me, "Oh, you have one too?" I smiled as I lifted up the cape to reveal my very large belly and said, "I'm about to have my sixth." Her response was probably the most shocked I have ever seen. She stared at me in stunned silence before stuttering, "You have to be crazy!" I think she was feeling pretty stupid after her anti-child rant in my presence since she was probably then realizing I didn't share her opinions. She kept stuttering. "Why? How? Wow. You must be.... Wow." The only thing I said to her was, "If you will think of them as blessings, they will become a blessing to you." Then after telling me I must have great patience (ha! I always get a kick out of that one!) and that she really looked up to me (sure!), she left.

And if that exchange didn't sadden me enough, I came across a terrible ad in a People magazine as I was waiting for my hair to get done. It was an ad for birth control, and they usually bother me enough, but this ad was the worst I have ever seen. The picture was of a cute curly-top little baby girl with spaghetti sauce on her face. At first glance, you'd think the ad was for baby food or maybe for a camera to catch such cute shots. But no. This child, the child herself, was the ad for birth control, with the caption "Because you're wiped out." I cannot tell you how this grieves my spirit! What has this world come to? This world that says children are brats and burdens and annoying inconveniences that no person in their right mind would WANT--much less want more than 2 or 3 of! This world that prevents and kills more children than it welcomes. This world that tries to get away from its children every chance it can get. This world that rarely has a positive word to say about their sweet babies. My heart is crying as I look around at all my beautiful precious little ones as they sleep and the thought of being without a single one is more than I can bear.

The world says, "Kids are brats".
God says, "Children are blessings...rewards...happiness is a quiver full of them!"

Today after looking at that beautiful little girl hearing over and over that she was a brat, that she was in the way, that she wasn't anything good, I have made a new resolution. I want to look at each of my children every day and tell them, "You are a blessing to me."

Moving Along

2009-12-04T05:47:00.002-07:00

This blog may seem dead, but it only means that our life is definitely not! It is no easy task moving eight people across the country--take it from me! (I say "eight" because our unborn little one has almost as much stuff to move as the rest--and with as much work as it is to carry him around all day, he definitely counts!) I have been packing and planning and being excited about the move and at the same time trying not to think about losing my husband for a year.

We only have 23 days left in this house and then a few days after that we'll be leaving Montana and making our way slowly towards Tennessee. Please pray that we won't encounter any snowstorms along the way! It will be hard enough as it is since I will be driving our van while Kevin drives the moving van. I have only promised to drive five hours a day, but I will not drive in a storm at all!! I pray we are blessed with good weather the whole way.

And of course we are also getting ready for Christmas. Of course, things will be very simple this year. Only decoration will be our tree, baking will be greatly limited, and even presents are fewer and simpler this year. For the first time, I was granted present-buying power this year and got to get some great things I've always wanted them to have. I'm so excited about that!

I think we may have found a house, but it isn't for rent until next month, so nothing set in stone yet. It is set apart on an acre of land surrounded by tons of trees right across from a river. It's the most beautiful place. It has 3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms (2 are half-baths), a living room and den, a kitchen and dining room, and a laundry room. The landlady didn't seem to have a problem with renting to our larger family, but remarked that wouldn't we be awful cramped in there? What? With all those rooms, it sounds like a mansion to me! Especially compared to the rest of the houses on our list in our price range. I was perfectly excited to be looking at little 2 bedroom cottages, so to have found a house like this in the same price range is like a miracle.

We also have a first name for our new little guy, but I'm not telling. hehe I am so excited to meet him in around 11 weeks! Wow! I'm a little nervous about giving birth in my unconventional way with a doctor I don't know, but I have my birth plan made and I'm ready to fight for my rights if I need to! I'm also nervous about a new doctor for the kids since the way we do things with them as far as check-ups and vaccines is unconventional too. So pray God leads us to the right doctors who will respect us.

Well, who knows when I will be back here! It may be months before I'm settled into my new life and ready to blog again. But I'm so thankful to know that my blog-friends are there and thinking of me and praying for us. I have gotten all your notes even if I didn't find time to reply and I feel so blessed to have friends who care!

Look Up

2009-11-07T10:49:00.003-07:00

Look Up
by Nancy Campbell

How can I do it? I have too much to do,
I'm overwhelmed and feeling real blue,
I'm stuck in this house like super glue.
Don't look around--LOOK UP!

The dishes and laundry are piled up high,
When I look 'round the house, I have to sigh,
And for supper my husband's expecting a pie!
Don't look around--LOOK UP!

We can't pay the mortgage; bills are overdue,
I'm tired and have headaches, not a few,
These children are driving me crazy, too!
Don't look around--LOOK UP!

My husband comes in late; he doesn't care,
He doesn't help with the children; it's not fair!
I don't want to smile; I just want to glare!
Don't look around--LOOK UP!

Take your eyes off your problems, look up to Him,
God's presence is with you, even in the din!
Confess your bad mood and He'll cleanse your sin,
He is your God--LOOK UP!

He'll show you how to order your place,
He'll give you direction as you seek His face,
He wants to pour upon you His anointing of grace.
He is your God--LOOK UP!

Keep your eyes fixed on Him; He is your Stay,
He is your Wisdom for problems each day,
He will bring His presence right into your fray.
He is your God--LOOK UP!

Each morning He comes as the refreshing Dew
To revive your body, and your spirit too,
He is your Deliverer and He'll make you new,
He is your God--LOOK UP!

Long Overdue Update

2009-10-21T23:37:00.002-06:00

It has been 20 days since I've posted! A lot is going on here. We found out today that Kevin will for sure be going to Korea for a year. We will probably be leaving Montana on December 31. It's hard to believe! So surreal. It will take us up to a week to drive to Tennessee then we'll have a little time to settle in and spend with Kevin before he leaves around the first of February. Then of course the baby is due February 18. It's going to be such a whirlwind of changes. My poor children! New home, no daddy, new baby. What a crazy life! But it is what God has brought about, so I know we can trust Him.

Several of you asked about Zachary's thumb. It healed up very nicely. Then, two days ago, he slammed the SAME thumb in the SAME spot in the SAME door! It reopened the wounds pretty good and terrified him. So he's bandaged up again. What a life with a rambunctious--and clumsy!--little boy!

Saturday is Cara's first birthday. I can hardly believe my long anticipated baby girl is turning one. What a bundle of sweet mischievousness she is! She isn't walking yet, but she climbs like a little monkey and is a little Houdini when it comes to seatbelts. There isn't a stroller, high chair, or shopping cart belt that can be a match for her! Grocery shopping is dangerous--if I turn around to pick up one thing, she's climbing over into the main compartment for some crackers. But, oh, once you settle her back in and she quietly pops her thumb back into her mouth and clutches her blankie and blinks up at you with those innocent eyes, you just don't care! And of course, she has her daddy wrapped around her little finger. They are so sweet together. It's what I always dreamed of seeing and now seeing her here with us is a dream come true.

School is still going great, although now I think we will have to cut back a bit to start packing and getting ready for the move. We'll probably do the basic subjects like math and reading every day and My Father's World every other day. And of course, read-alouds and bible happen naturally every day anyway, so even if we never had "school", I know my children are learning so much, right along with me.

I would love to get back in the habit of blogging again. I always have something on my mind. I'm always having ideas, or projects going on, or a new product I love, or a new book that I'm excited about. So why don't I blog? I have no idea!

Motivated Moms

2009-10-01T18:40:00.004-06:00

I'm sure you've heard me talk about Motivated Moms planner before. It's how I've cleaned my house for years and without it I wouldn't know what to do! The new 2010 planner has been released, so if you like to plan ahead, it's ready for you!

This is the perfect time to try out the planner because you can now purchase the 2009 planner for only $2! Why wouldn't anyone do that?? ;-)

Click here to visit Motivated Moms.

Please Pray for Zachary

2009-09-25T00:08:00.003-06:00

This evening around 7:00, Zachary (2yo) got his thumb smashed in the front door. It looked completely crushed and the front half of the end of it was just hanging there. So I rushed him to the ER where we waited more than 2 hours--it was terrible! The whole front end, from the base of the nail (part of which is gone) to the very tip is badly lacerated--much more and it would have been clean gone. Praise the Lord it wasn't worse! His thumb is also fractured in several places. The wound bled excessively and is still seeping from the bottom of the bandage more than four hours later.

I don't feel good at all about their treatment of this. They have only bandaged it up. I'm supposed to keep the current bandage on for two days, then change it myself periodically until the wound looks healed. In two days he has to start wearing a splint on his thumb which he has to wear for 3-4 weeks. He is on pain medication and antibiotics to prevent infection in the bone.

I do not feel good about this bandage. I'd like a second opinion, but not sure who to get it from. I mean the whole tip of his thumb from nail to tip was HANGING by a piece of skin! I know the doctor (or nurse practitioner in this case) knows better than I, but I'm not sure he saw the extent of the injury well enough.

So please pray for sweet little Zachary that his little thumb will heal up properly with no problems. Thank you all!

p.s. It IS awful cute that now both he and Daddy have bandages on their right hands (Kevin had surgery yesterday to repair a ruptured tendon). Now they are both asleep on the couch, sleeping peacefully with pain medicine, and their hands elevated on pillows. They look so sweet :-)

2009-09-18T23:29:00.003-06:00

I finally updated my sidebar with all our current books and school resources. We are loving everything so much this year. I am so glad I decided to go with My Father's World. It is truly amazing and so far I don't have a single complaint. We truly love everything we are doing and reading.

We are also still using the Hold That Thought time line figures with the Record of Time book. I absolutely love it and I'm so glad we are starting our time line early. It is so neat to see everything we read about come together in history and I love how when they are grown they will have such a beautiful keepsake of everything they have learned and read about.

Our New Life

2009-09-16T22:11:00.005-06:00

I'm sure by now you have figured out why blogging has been on the back burner. A new school year, a new baby on the way--a new baby on the way?! Yes, it has been so hard to hold it in, but my husband did not wish to announce our news until we knew if it was a boy or a girl. Yes, we know :-) So now I have told my dad which takes care of my neck of the woods, but since Kevin still hasn't told his family, I still can't say anything on Facebook, which is killing me. But since I don't think anyone from that area reads this (if you are, then don't tell!), I went ahead and announced on the blog. It feels so much better to be a little out in the open. As far as people where I live who see me, well they have been able to tell for quite a while ;-)

I have not been to the midwife yet, but yesterday I had my first ultrasound. Until yesterday I was pretty sure that I was 15 weeks with a due date of about March 7. The dates still seemed strange though since I had a very quickly positive test only a week after a very heavy and long period and was already quite tired and nauseous at what I thought was 3 weeks. I was a little suspicious that I could be farther along, but because of the bleeding and some other circumstances, I was sure it had to be right. I also started showing very soon after and my tiredness and sickness subsided long before I would have expected normally.

So finally I had the ultrasound yesterday and was shocked to learn that instead, I am 18 weeks with a due date of around February 18. Three weeks may not sound like a lot, but when you are pregnant, every week is a milestone and I just skipped three! Imagine my surprise when I saw those numbers on the screen and then within just a few seconds, the baby had it's legs completely spread eagle and my heart jumped when I very clearly saw...

...Another little boy! I had a feeling because I was kinda craving a boy :-) We all saw it and laughed and I joked that I knew having a girl had to be a fluke. We are all so thrilled and excited to know we will have a baby boy this February! And little Cara Grace will remain the princess of the family for quite a while.

We are so thankful that God has seen fit to bless our family again. Would I have planned it this way? Probably not. But I am so glad that God in His wisdom is in charge. I am not wise enough to make decisions like this. As soon as I saw that little guy wiggling around on the screen, I was reassured once again why we have left it all in His hands. How sad to have missed out on such a blessing! And in a few months I will hold him in my arms and breathe in his sweet newborn aroma and as he melds into his place in our family, I will shutter to imagine my life without him. We will love him so much our hearts will ache and give thanks to God for planning this person before time began and for giving us grace to allow Him to bless us with this baby's LIFE. May God, the creator of LIFE, be glorified through the life of this precious little one.

Chosen

2009-09-15T20:10:00.003-06:00

A miracle has started.
How could I deserve this blessing imparted?
The Creator breathed life into a little one He planned before time.
To think, I'm the chosen one.

My soul magnifies, magnifies my Lord.
My spirit rejoices, rejoices in my God
for I bear a heavenly child.

I can't describe this feeling--
to nurture from within another being.
Oh I feel a stir from the secret place.
A stolen tear runs down my face.
Oh to think I'm the chosen one.

My soul magnifies, magnifies my Lord.
My spirit rejoices, rejoices in my God
for I bear a heavenly child.

Joy!
Joy!
Joy!

My soul magnifies, magnifies my Lord.
My spirit rejoices, rejoices in my God
for I bear a heavenly child.

Chosen by Serene and Pearl.

More details to come <3

Some favorite old music

2009-09-13T00:43:00.003-06:00

One of my favorite CD's of all time is Road to One Day from Passion worship band which was made about ten years ago. I am amazed that these songs are virtually unknown now! I'm putting a playlist of my favorite songs on my blog. For now I'll put it in this post and then find a place for it permanently later. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

worship

I know I haven't been doing much blogging lately. LIFE is just taking up all my time and it's wonderful! I am loving being home with my family most of the time, we love school and it takes up a lot of our time, and I'm just soaking up every minute I have with my babies--especially my littlest one who has a birthday next month. Can you believe it???

My sweet Isaiah had a birthday yesterday and was four years old, which is also unbelievable. I will be putting pictures on facebook and will let you know when I do.

We still don't have news on our uncertain future, but we should know by the end of this month. Have a great and restful Sunday!

Big changes ahead--sooner or later

2009-08-21T12:15:00.004-06:00

Well, we have now been here in Montana for four years. We've had 2 babies here, three homes, and lots of growing experiences. It has been an adventure to say the least! And now we finally know when this chapter in our life will come to an end--well, kinda.

One of two things will be happening in our future. The first possibility is that Kevin will be accepted to go to school to become an officer in the Air Force. This will be great for our family because it will mean a significant increase in income and more opportunities for Kevin. He is very unhappy with his job and his station right now, so he is ready for this change. However, the odds are against this happening because Kevin tells me that only 18% of those applying will be selected. But if it does, he would be going to officer training school about a year from now for 12 weeks, and after that we would all be moving somewhere else. This is good, but it is still a wait and we would be here another year.

If this does not happen, there will be even bigger changes for us. Around the end of December we would all be leaving Montana to go back home to Tennessee where the children and I will stay while Kevin goes to Korea for a year. Yes, a year! When he returned, we would be moving to Shaw AFB in Sumter, SC, only a little over 4 hours from home. It would be so hard for all of us to be away from him for a year, but at the same time it will be nice to be home and out of here! And then it will be wonderful to be stationed so close to home when he gets back. So that would be a bittersweet possibility.

At this point, both possibilities are equal in pros and cons. If he goes to officer school, we will only be separated 12 weeks, but we will be waiting around here for at least another year and then might be just as far away from home at our next base. None of us can stand that thought!
But if he goes to Korea, we will be separated for a year, plus the worrying about him being in KOREA, but we will be home and then stationed closer to home. We are all excited about that prospect. Even poor little Justin can't decide which one he wants to happen--as much as we love Kevin and don't want him to leave, we want to go home!!

So we'll find out next month what's going to happen. I know that whatever happens is what God has planned for us, so I can't wait to find out what it is!

School days

2009-08-19T23:36:00.006-06:00

We have done three days of school and we are loving it. I know I can't judge a curriculum by three days, but I LOVE My Father's World. This is the most fun and relaxing and put together "boxed" curriculum I have ever tried.

This week, each day has only taken 1.5 to 3 hours because MFW advises a gentle and gradual start to the new year. We are just starting handwriting tomorrow. We'll start math next week and english next MONTH. I think this is a very wise approach. To add to that, every Friday is scheduled as a relaxed day with only math, reading, and a nature walk. We just might make it to the park every once in a while!

This week we have been talking about our names, what they mean, and how we chose their names. Tomorrow we are making a cake with all our names on it to wrap up this discussion. That's my kind of school activity!

Another food-related activity was the first day we had a red, white, and blue snack since this year we'll be studying everything USA and had just learned about the Pledge of Allegiance. We had vanilla yogurt with strawberries and blueberries. I put a big blob of yogurt on a plate and let them decorate their plates of yogurt with the fruit. That was a hit with everyone.

(Yes, Zachary is a nudist. My 2yo's usually are. Anyone else have this experience?)

We've worked in our timeline book and began making History notebooks. They love having their very own binders to keep their work in. They each have two--one for history and one for everything else. They love putting the pages into the rings.

We've done a lot of coloring and reading and playing and it has just been so fun so far. And our school room--wow! I LOVE it! We go down there and it feels so nice, we just stay all day and we stay down there even after we're done with school. Plus, being down there, I am not bothered or distracted by any work that needs to be done up here and no further messes are made since we are down there. I didn't know if I would, but I highly recommend a separate and set apart learning place if at all possible.

I love school, my kids love school, and my house isn't falling apart. Life is good.

New School Room Pics

2009-08-17T00:22:00.002-06:00

Our basement school room is complete and school starts tomorrow morning! I didn't think I could turn our dark, dirty, dismal dungeon into a school room, but I did and I love it! I painted the walls white, covered the floor with carpet scraps, put in bright light bulbs, and hung sheets from the ceiling to make a "wall".

Click here to view the pictures and their descriptions.

The smell of new books!

2009-08-14T09:52:00.006-06:00

You know how guys love new-car smell? Well, I love new-school-book smell! I have always, even when I was a homeschool student myself, loved the feel, the look, and especially the smell of new school books. The fresh new school year is one reason this is my favorite time of year.

Do you know any crazy people who take pictures of their children's school books? Well, you do now! As I was getting them organized in our beautiful new school room (pictures to come when it is complete), I couldn't resist taking some pictures of our beautiful curricula.

Here is our My Father's World curriculum. I still have a few things I need for it, but am going to order them as I need them later in the year.

Here are Justin's books for second grade.

David's kindergarten books.

Some of Isaiah's preschool stuff.

And our little preschool/play area with puzzles, blocks, toys, etc.

School is so fun!

And I wanted to add that I was so blessed to spend less than $200 on EVERYONE for everything!

Simple Woman's Daybook

2009-08-10T14:00:00.005-06:00

Outside my window. . . This morning when I got up it was crisp and cool and smelled like fall and a new school year. mmmmm Now I think it has warmed up into the 80's, but I'm staying inside today and don't plan on finding out what it's like :-)

I am thinking. . . that I am so glad this is the last official week of summer break for us. One thing I love about Montana is that fall comes early. It doesn't last long, but it comes early.

I am thankful for. . . the privilege to homeschool my children. I hope I will never take that for granted each year that it is given to me.

From the learning rooms. . . This week is school preparation week. Today I have worked on my schoolroom and printed out new planning pages.

From the kitchen. . .
Monday--London broil, baked potatoes, broccoli, salad, and leftover banana pudding.

Tuesday--Chicken fajitas (or steak fajitas depending how much of monday's meat is leftover), mexican salad, mexican corn

Wednesday--Chicken, peppers, onions, and mushrooms over yellow rice, fruit salad

Thursday--Crockpot roast chicken, green beans, noodles with butter and parsley.

Friday--Cheeseburger casserole, carrots, salad

Just as a side note--I only spent $76 dollars for groceries this week :-D

I am wearing. . . gray yoga pants, a yellow top, a ponytail, and bare feet.

I am creating. . . a school room, a new planner, and new chore charts.

I am going. . . nowhere this week! woohoo!

I am reading. . . My ESV personal size reference bible. After buying millions of bibles (I should show you my collection sometime), I finally found THE bible. I love it.

I am hoping. . . that my London broil turns out good. I've never made it before.

I am hearing. . . three little boys sleeping behind me. so peaceful.

Around the house. . . my house is a total mess right now. I still haven't caught up after VBS last week, but I plan on getting back to work on it as soon as I finish this post.

One of my favorite things. . . Swagbucks. I have been getting a new $5 Amazon gift card about every week. I love free books!

A few plans for the rest of the week: this week's focus is just to get ready for school. school room, school plans, and school schedules.

Picture thought: possibly coming later.

2009-08-07T22:52:00.003-06:00

Ugh! I have been such a horrible blogger, I know. This summer has kept me so busy and taken me away from my regular routines that I have rarely found the time to blog, nor much to blog about. I guess I am a very strange blogger. I find "I cleaned this, I organized that, I planned this or cooked this, or we learned this, or I read this..." to be much more interesting to blog about than "We went here, we went there." I have always been strange, so no surprise!

I have been getting out of my comfort zone and letting the boys cram in as much outdoor fun as we can take because August 17 it is back to business as usual at our house!

This past week was VBS at our church. It was in the morning. Enough said. The three oldest boys attended while Cara, Zachary, and I stayed in the nursery where the workers' children were. It was tiring and my house absolutely fell apart this week. My schedule was pretty much: get up way too early, get ready, go to church, come home, eat lunch, collapse on the couch for 2-3 hours, wake up, cook supper, do dishes, put kids to bed, do laundry, fall into bed. Repeat for 5 days. Whew! I cannot even fathom that most people do this on a daily basis! That to me would be a miserable existence! BUT, it was only one week and the boys had fun and I had fun too while we were there. But no matter how much fun we had, I am SO glad it is over!

Next week I am planning on getting everything ready for school. Finish the schoolroom I have slowly been creating in our basement, check out all needed books at the library, make last minute plans, make lots and lots of photocopies, and more.

I also plan to run on our school schedule this week to help ease the boys back into our normal routines. Then on August 17 I hope to be ready to begin. I can't wait and neither can they. They keep sneaking and looking at our boxes of books and school supplies and Isaiah keeps asking "Is it school today?" We are all so excited.

Summer has been fun. But I am so ready to get back to life. "Stay, stay at home, my heart, and rest. Home-keeping hearts are happiest!"

Our 2009 Curriculum!

2009-07-16T15:27:00.006-06:00

I used to say that I schooled year-round, but now that is only half true. Yes, we continue to read--bible, devotions, read-alouds, even science and history books (because they love them!), but I have decided that once they have finished their levels of math and reading and other grade-based subjects, it's good to take a break for the summer. The children enjoy not having school, while at the same time also start looking forward to starting back! And the BEST part??? I get to plan a new school year!!! We are using My Father's World this year and I am so excited. I have had so much fun planning for it and ordering all our books. I tried to find whatever I could used and have done pretty well. So here it is--our 2009-2010 second grade/kindergarten/preschool curriculum! (Not linking these things, so either ask me or google for more info ;-)

Bible, History, Geography, Science, Read-alouds and more are all included in MFW. All other subjects are also scheduled in the teacher's manual.

Adventures In My Father's World, the AMAZING teacher's manual
American Pioneers and Patriots
New International Reader's Version Discoverer's Bible for early readers
Exploring American History
Science with Air
Birds, Nests, and Eggs
North American Indians
The 4th of July Story
The Thanksgiving Story
Science in the Kitchen
First Encylopedia of Science
Red, White, and Blue
Celebrate America (CD of patriotic songs)
Squanto, Friend of the Pilgrims
The Courage of Sarah Noble
Sarah Whitcher's Story
In Grandma's Attic
Mountain Born
Farmer Boy
By the Shores of Silver Lake

Math:
Justin--Horizons Math 2
David--Horizons Math K
Isaiah--Ultimate Skill Builders PreK
Zachary and Cara--number puzzles and cards

English/Phonics:
Justin--A Beka Language 2
David--Explode the Code
Isaiah--Ultimate Skill Builders PreK
Zachary and Cara--Letter puzzles and cards, Dr. Seuss ABC Book (I teach letters and phonics with this book!!)

Reading:
Justin--Beautiful Stories for Children, Robinson Crusoe Reader, Nature Readers (All from CLP)
David--Kindergarten Phonics Readers (CLP)
I, Z, and C--listening!

Spelling:
Justin--Building Spelling Skills (CLP)
David--Explode the Code

Handwriting:
Justin--A Reason for Handwriting A
David--A Reason for Handwriting K
Art:
Baby Lambs (from How Great Thou ART)

Music:
A study of Tchaikovsky and The Nutcracker (included in MFW)

Foreign Language:
First Thousand Words in French sticker book (I took French in high school and college, so it is the only foreign language I know how to pronounce!)

One of the things I love about My Father's World is the Book Basket. You know I love books and I'm always adding them to my homeschool. With the book basket, you can supplement MFW with your own selections. They even give suggestions for what to put in the basket. There is a scheduled time every day to read from the book basket.

I also love that it is literature based, uses the Charlotte Mason approach, and most of all is centered on the bible! Those are only a few things that sold me. I am so looking forward to August!

Our Favorite Read-Alouds

2009-07-13T23:00:00.004-06:00

Reading aloud is our favorite time of the day. We always read two books at a time--one at rest time and one at bed time. The good thing about this arrangement is that usually the littlest ones fall asleep. I am convinced that we learn the most simply from reading good books. And in addition to all the knowledge we're obtaining, the kids are also learning how to listen and how to sit still, even if they don't understand everything being read. But don't underestimate how young children can retain reading seemingly far above their age level. I find they start retaining at least some of most of what we're reading at around 3 years old. And even before that, imagine all the language they're soaking in.

Here are a few of our favorite read-alouds--the ones that qualify for a definite re-read in the future.

The Bible. Of course I must start there. I started reading very large portions of the bible to my children after reading 10 P's in a Pod. It has been VERY rewarding for all of us. Which naturally brings me to...

10 P's in a Pod. This book really revolutionized our life. Reading the bible 3 times a day is not the only thing we gleaned from this wonderful book.

The Little House Series. We're currently on book five in the series. The history and even science we learn from these dear stories couldn't come close to reading a dry textbook. We'll be re-reading two of the books in our upcoming year of My Father's World and I'm so glad--they're my two favorites.

The Millers Series. These are ultra conservative, at times even beyond our family, but we just love the simple wholesome stories and came to feel like we knew this family. We have read the whole series and definitely plan to read it again.

My ABC Bible Verses and Big Truths for Little Kids. These are my top picks for bible/devotional books. The first one teaches verses with stories and application for each one. The second teaches the Kid's Catechism with stories to go along with it. They are absolutely wonderful. I am looking forward to reading the next book Discovering Jesus in Genesis and after that Discovering Jesus in Exodus.

The Chronicles of Narnia. We are only three books into this series. I didn't even understand the movies till I read the books. I just learn that way :-) I am really hoping they make a movie out of the first book which is my favorite.

Christian Heroes Then and Now. This is a collection of many biographies. There is nothing more inspiring than reading about the lives of great Christians of the past.

Hymns for a Kid's Heart. I have always wanted to make sure my children learned hymns. The way these books present them with the story behind them and even little devotionals makes these books treasures.

There are so many more books we look forward to reading in the future. I am so thankful to have this time with my children every day.

Simple Woman's Daybook

2009-07-06T15:51:00.003-06:00

For Today...

Outside my window... a storm is brewing. The sky is dark and thunder is rumbling in the distance. Love it!

I am thinking... that today has been a wonderful productive day here with my children. I love Mondays!

From the learning rooms... Justin finished his math book today. When he finishes his reading and language, we'll be done with book work for the summer I think. Of course bible and lots and lots of reading continues all year long!

I am thankful for... being a stay-at-home homeschooling mom to many. This is the best life.

From the kitchen... tonight we're having all natural hot dogs, potato salad, and hmmmm I don't know what else.

I am wearing... gray yoga pants and a blue Old Navy T-shirt. My "mom uniform" :-)

I am reading... Sacred Influence by Gary Thomas. Wow--so far one of the best books on marriage I have read, especially if you're in a situation similar to mine. But applicable to every wife. Really really good.

I am hoping... I can get to blogging more often. But I'm not pushing it. Life is so crazy right now.

I am creating... wish lists for next year's school year. SOOO fun!

I am praying... that God would give my husband wisdom about big decisions he's making now and will make in the future.

Around the house... right now I am blogging while sweet Cara is nursing to sleep with her blankie. Zachary just came pitter pattering down the hall fresh from an impromptu bath. And Justin is reading to David and Isaiah, complete with silly voices and sound effects.

One of my favorite things... cute girly summer pajamas like Cara is wearing right now. I could just eat her up.

A few plans for the rest of the week... possibly park tomorrow with homeschoolers and possibly a babywearing meeting on Thursday. Other than that, home sweet home until this weekend.

Here is a picture thought I am sharing with you... I still don't know how to put photos on with our new computer. (We got a Mac.) I don't think that our pictures are even on here now. So that is my excuse now. Blame the Mac :-)

Blame the Camera

2009-06-25T00:08:00.002-06:00

I know I said I had a lot of posts planned, but some little person got a hold of my camera and now every picture it takes is blurry. Since I know nothing about all the little buttons in it, I can't take pictures till Kevin comes and fixes it. And since most of my planned posts involved pictures, I haven't made them.

But Kevin will be home in three days and the boys and I can't wait!

2009-06-21T22:22:00.000-06:00

My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly lean on Jesus’ Name.

On Christ the solid Rock I stand,
All other ground is sinking sand;
All other ground is sinking sand.

When darkness seems to hide His face,
I rest on His unchanging grace.
In every high and stormy gale,
My anchor holds within the veil.

On Christ the solid Rock I stand,
All other ground is sinking sand;
All other ground is sinking sand.

His oath, His covenant, His blood,
Support me in the whelming flood.
When all around my soul gives way,
He then is all my Hope and Stay

On Christ the solid Rock I stand,
All other ground is sinking sand;
All other ground is sinking sand.

Decluttering feels SO good!

2009-06-18T23:29:00.003-06:00

After we got back from our vacation, Kevin still had almost two weeks left before he had to go back to work. We all know how it is when daddy is home--no schedule, no school, no normality--so what should I do all this time? I knew it would be the perfect time to do a whole house decluttering.

This was the plan. Go from smallest room to biggest room. Once each room is finished, maintain it and make sure it is still clean before going on to the next room. That makes the list for my house bathroom 1, bathroom 2, hallway, bedroom 1, bedroom 2, bedroom 3, bedroom 4, kitchen, living room, basement.

This is how I did it and it worked really well. I think from now on I will do this about once a year as a get the chance.

1. Gather 3 large boxes or plastic tubs. I used 3 big tubs I usually use for toy bins. It is important to use boxes rather than bags because you can just throw things in them from where you are instead of having to walk over and put in it a bag. Then of course each box is labeled "put away", "throw away", and "give away".

2. The next step sounds overwhelming, but it really is easier and more effective than not doing it. Take EVERYTHING out of the room, one thing at a time, sorting into each box as you go. That even includes every piece of furniture that is not too big to move. Start from one corner of the room and work your way around until the room is empty.

3. For each thing you pick up, ask yourself "Do I really need this? Would I miss it if it were gone? Do we use it?" etc. Don't hold back--your goal is to get rid of as much as possible! Then ask yourself, "Would someone else find a need for this?" If so, put it in the giveaway box. If not, throw it away. Ahhhh--that feels good!

4. Once every thing is out of the room. Give it a good cleaning. Don't be too obsessive. This isn't like Spring cleaning. The focus is on decluttering. I just gave all the floors a sweep and mop (we have wall to wall hardwood--hate it) and all the surfaces a spray and wipe down. Also, clean any furniture you may have moved out.

5. Now it's time to put everything back into the room. I don't know if this is normal, but this is very important to me: Try to make as many things as possible different. I mean, rearrange the furniture, reorganize things differently, put things into different spots or even different rooms. This change feels so nice and fresh.

6. Empty the "put away" box one item at a time. Dump the "throw away box" into the trash (hopefully you filled it up 2 or 3 times!). Put the "give away" box aside to take to a thrift store.

Then you are done and ready to start over on the next room. This is a long process if you have small children, but it is so worth it. It saves so much time and makes it so much easier to maintain each room. And nothing feels better to me than a room that is free of STUFF. I love clear surfaces and floors.

I still have half the kitchen, the living room, and the basement to go. When I am done, I will post pictures of every room in my house. I had been getting discontent in this house and wanted to move so badly. Now I love it again and it feels so good to be home. STUFF steals your time, your energy, and your life. Get rid of it! It is so fun to see it all falling into the dumpster, never to be worried about again!

2009-06-15T21:18:00.002-06:00

Kevin is gone to Texas for the next two weeks. I miss him, I really do. But the first few days of him being gone are kind of fun too. (Hope he doesn't read this!) It's nice to just to be able to do what I want with my free time, not have to worry about what I or the house look like, have cereal for supper if we want to, watch what I want on tv, etc. For the first few days I really enjoy it. However, I know in probably less than a week I'll be crying and missing him. That's when short separations start to be really good for your marriage. And it was perfect timing because I think we were just starting to get on each other's nerves! I'm sure 2 weeks of absence-makes-the-heart-grow-fonder will take care of that!

Before he left we had Zachary's birthday party because his birthday is the 19th and we wanted Kevin to be here. He got a potty for his birthday! I knew he was good and ready because every time he needed to go he would say "diaper! diaper!" (I allow them to run naked at this age for this very reason, so he was telling me to put a diaper on so he could go!) It was so funny because after we set it up and showed it to him, he just walked over and peed in it like it was no big deal! Today he has gone twice and he isn't even technically two yet! I think God gave me an easy potty trainer since He gave me such a close spacing this time ;-).

Since I was so anxious to get back to school, I haven't had time to finish up my decluttering in the kitchen and living room. Hopefully this weekend I will be able to work on them. I have noticed a huge difference in how easy it is to maintain the rest of the house that I have already done, so I'm really looking forward to having these main rooms done.

The kids are all in bed now and I still have a kitchen and living room to clean up and four baskets of laundry to fold and put away. Thankfully I have many Food Network shows DVRed to watch while I'm working. Guy Fieri almost makes laundry fun.

Our Vacation

2009-06-12T15:07:00.003-06:00

A few weeks ago we took our vacation. My husband loves road trips. He can't stand to stay in one place. He loves to travel and keep moving. So our trip went like this: one day in Spokane, one day in Seattle, one day in Vancouver, then back to Seattle, then back to Spokane, then one night in Missoula, then back home again. I know--it sounds crazy! Not what I would prefer, but that's the way he likes to do it.

We stayed at the Air Force base right off of Spokane. It was beautiful. Because we had such a large family, they had us stay in a nice 2 bedroom house. I wanted to stay there forever. It wasn't a big house, but I thought it was perfect. I tend to like smaller houses even with lots of people. It just so happened that there was a family with six small children staying in the house attached to ours (base housing is almost always duplexes). I never got the meet the mother, but I thought it was such a coincidence that they were staying next to us. While in Spokane we went to a beautiful park and rode these things called gondolas that went over a waterfall. I thought gondolas were boats, but these were in the air. I was scared to death that thing was going to break! You can see a few pictures of it in our pictures.

The next day we traveled to Seattle. I did not like Seattle, at least not the big city area of it. It was crowded and there were strange people everywhere. Every store, even ones like Home Depot and Staples, were in big sky scraper buildings. It was all very strange to me and I didn't like it. I felt hurried and dirty and buried in people. We stayed at a Navy base that wasn't that great compared to the AF base. While we were there we went to a mall (that also looked to me just like another big building!) and I got my first taste of Panda Express. Love that place!

The next day we drove up to Vancouver. That was really strange. We didn't see many other white people. Most people were Chinese, Korean, Muslim, and more that I didn't even know. It was also much too big city-ish for me. We went to another beautiful park while we were there. I wish we had parks here like the ones we went to. We also went to the IMAX theater and saw 2 3D movies--one about the sea and another about a space station. We also went to a China Town. I didn't want to get out, but Kevin did, so we got out and walked around a little. There were Chinese people everywhere and they all stared at us and pointed and exclaimed things in Chinese. A few spoke to us in English with things like "Five?" "All you's?" "All you keeds?" haha--We must have been a sight to them! Their streets were full of markets that sold the grossest looking food I have ever seen. Can you believe Kevin wanted to go to a restaurant there? No way was I going to eat there!

We were going to stay 2 days in Vancouver, but 1 was enough, so we left the next day to head back to Seattle. This time instead of trying to naviate the city ourselves, Kevin wanted to take the city bus!!! Can you believe that? A family with five small children riding on the city bus! That was an adventure. I never saw any other chidren get on the bus--just a lot of weird and different people! Most didn't speak to us, but a few of course had to tell us we had our hands full. If only people knew how old that line gets. Ugh. But we survived 45 minutes on the bus and made it to the children's museum. That was probably the highlight of the trip for the kids. They had so much fun there. We spent all day there, then got back on the bus. It was during rush our so this time our trip was an hour and a half. Thankfully the kids were exhausted and slept the whole way.

Then while we were in Seattle we wanted to go to a couple restaurants that were on "Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives". Voula's Off Shore Cafe was closed and Mike's Chili Parlor turned out to be a bar that we weren't allowed in! So Kevin got a cup of chili to go. It was not as "money" as Guy Fieri made it out to be!

The next day was back to Spokane where we pretty much just stayed another night. Oh and we went to an arcade/go-kart type place there. Thankfully it had a huge indoor playground for the little ones. Then the next night we stayed in Missoula in the nicest hotel I've ever been in (it was a free stay we had earned). The next day was finally home.

You can see all our vacation pictures HERE.

2009-06-10T14:59:00.003-06:00

I am back! Well, I've been here for a while, but I'm back to blogging! After we got home from our vacation, Kevin still had another 2 weeks off, so I took a little vacation myself. We took a break from school and our regular routine and just enjoyed hanging out with Daddy. And I took that time to do a thorough decluttering in my house. I'm almost done and it feels sooo nice!

So over the next couple weeks I will be blogging about

our vacation--with pictures
my decluttering method
a tour of my home
how to cloth diaper
our favorite read-alouds
and more!

I've been saving up lots of posts in my head during my little vacation, so now I'm glad to be back!

Vacation

2009-05-21T09:46:00.002-06:00

Tomorrow we are going on vacation. We are going to Spokane, Seattle, and Vancouver. I have SOO much to do today I don't know where to start!

Today's To-Do List

Pack clothes (for 7 people)
Pack snacks
Pack activities
Clean van
Clean house
Do more laundry--I did a ton yesterday and I still have a lot more.
Charge ipod, cameras, computers

I'm sure there is more I haven't thought of. I'm tired just making the list.

We will be back in one week. If you know anything in those areas we shouldn't miss, please let me know about it!

The Excellent Wife

2009-05-20T00:55:00.003-06:00

I read the Excellent Wife probably about four years ago. It is a wonderful book--I need to read it again one of these days. There are many lists and charts that I wrote down when I read it that I have kept and read over and over. I have kept those handwritten lists in binders and the other day I finally typed them out and printed it out to put in my new encouragement binder. (I JUST named it that while typing this--sounded pretty good. hahaha!) I thought I'd share a couple of these from an early part of the book.

Wrong Desires (I think the book called this something like idolotrous desires--"Wrong" probably isn't the right word, but it's what I wrote then and I can't remember what the book actually says!)

1. That my husband will be affectionate.
2. That he will anticipate my needs without my asking.
3. That he will give me compliments.
4. That he will make me feel special.
5. That he will not hurt my feelings.
6. That he will talk to me and share his thoughts and feelings.
7. That he will put me first.

Right Desires

1. That I may know God's Word and obey it.
2. That I may delight in Him.
3. That I may seek Him with all my heart.
4. That I may be pleasing to Him regardless of my circumstances.
5. That I may cultivate an attitude of joy and gratitude in what God is doing in my life no matter what my husband does or does not do.
6. That I may have joy in God deciding how my life and circumstances can glorify Him the most, that He can use me for His glory.

Bitter Thoughts

He doesn't love me, he only loves himself
I do so much for him and look what I get in return!
I can't believe what he decided. How ridiculous!
I can't believe what he has done to me!
He'll never change.
He should have known better.

Kind, Tenderhearted, Forgiving Thoughts

He does not show love as he should, but his capacity to love can grow
I wonder if I can do something differently to make it easier for him.
Maybe he has information I don't have.
What he has done is difficult but God will give me the grace to get through it.
By God's grace, he can change.
How can he possibly know? I've never told him. He can't read my mind

The Best Cloth Diapering System

2009-05-18T10:26:00.006-06:00

In my 4-5 years of cloth diapering, I have tried almost every type and brand of diaper in existence. Not really because I was in search of the perfect diaper, but because it was fun and I loved having the variety. You might remember the ridiculous assortment I had accumulated for Cara Grace when she was tiny. That was really fun and I loved trying all those new and different kinds.

But now I have greatly simplified my stash and use mostly two different kinds because I have found the best AND most affordable system.

For home, I use prefolds. The cost, durability, and effectiveness of good prefolds can't be beat. I use mostly Chinese prefolds, which are the white ones. I also have a few beautiful and luxuriously soft bamboo prefolds which are the cute printed ones. I use a snappi with them most of the time because it makes for a trimmer fit and keeps the cover cleaner. However, you don't have to use one--you can just fold the diaper in folds and lay it inside the cover. (On top of the white diapers is one of my wipes. I have mostly used baby washcloths as wipes, but have discovered that I love true cloth wipes and have been buying a few here and there. The one pictured is a BumGenius bamboo wipe that is awesome.

For my covers I use Wiggle Worm Bottoms. These covers are unbelievable. They are the best covers I have tried, they are affordable, and most of all, they are gorgeous! You can completely customize your outer (solids, prints, and even minkee), your inner (a vast assortment of colors and fabrics, but I prefer no inner--just the PUL lining), and your fastener (snaps, aplix, or touchtape). These are the best.

And for outings and sometimes nighttime, I use BumGenius 3.0 pocket diapers. The reason I use these for outings is because they are quick, easy, trim in the diaper bag, VERY effective, and keep the baby from feeling wetness because the suedecloth inner wicks moisture away from their bottom. And not only are they the best, they are also one of the most affordable pocket diapers. I don't know how they do it!

I love using cloth dipaers. It is fun, it is easy (yes--it's easy!), it does save money in the long run, especially if you use them for more than one child and they are also VERY resaleable. There is a reason why many cloth users are "addicted"!

I may do a post in the future about just how I use them and how I wash them to show just how simple and easy it is.
But isn't the cuteness enough to convince anybody??? :-D

My Diet Plan

2009-05-16T16:13:00.002-06:00

Ok--I am sick and tired of these extra 15 pounds of pre-pregnancy weight that have been hanging on for months. And I am scared to death of becoming pregnant again before it goes away and just adding to it! So I have come up with my own little baby-step diet plan. If I try to do anything too drastic, I will not be able to stick with it, so I have listed some small things I can do that might help me to get rid of this and actually fit into my clothes.

1. No eating after 10pm (3 hours before bed. I go to bed late, so this is generous. I'm usually snacking constantly till 2am!)
2. Drink at least 2 quarts of water per day. Limit sodas and sugary drinks.
3. Use small plates and do not get seconds of anything except fruits and vegetables.
4. Eat a piece of fresh fruit or my salad before I eat the rest of my dinner.
5. Only snack if I am truly hungry. Snack in moderation and aim for healthier snacks.
6. Exercise or walk at least 15 min. a day.
7. Limit sugar intake. 1 sweet per day.

I will not lie. Dieting is very foreign to me. I have always been able to eat whatever I wanted and not think a thing of it. But time is slowing down my metabolism because I am now 20 pounds more than when I got married and have maintained that for months. So if you have any tips that don't take TOO much will-power, bring them on!

Timeline stuff came!

2009-05-16T10:57:00.003-06:00

I got both my Hold That Thought timeline figures CD's and Record of Time book yesterday and I am beyond thrilled. The free CD offer from Hold That Thought is real--I got both CD's and I only paid for one! I cannot believe I got all that for $20!

I ordered the History Through the Ages Record of Time book from the Old Schoolhouse Store (because they have free shipping of course!) and they even threw in a free copy of the Old Schoolhouse Magazine. That made my day! And wow! The Record of Time is beautiful. I don't think any other timeline book could compare to it.

I am so looking forward to doing this with the kids.

I love my life!

2009-05-12T23:16:00.004-06:00

I am so in awe that God would see fit to give me a life that is everything I have ever dreamed of and that I get to do everything that I love and love everything that I do! If you are looking for someone to gripe with about being "stuck at home" with kids and cooking and cleaning and laundry or to whine about the agony of pregnancy or the toil of caring for babies, you have come to the wrong place! I LOVE my life!

I get to be pregnant, which is the most wonderful state for a woman to be in, not once or twice, but many times! I get to give birth naturally because I want to because it is the most amazing thing I have ever experienced. I get to breastfeed my babies as much as and as often as and as long as I want because I get to stay with my baby 24 hours a day!

I get to play with cute clothes and adorable cloth diapers and beautiful baby carriers and call it "taking care of the baby"! I get to snuggle with the most delicious fat rolls and inhale the most fragrant breath you can imagine all day and all night long.

I get to hang out with the people I love more than anything, having fun and loving and learning all day long and call it "mothering".

I get to snuggle on the couch with them and read books and learn amazing new things every day WITH them and call it "homeschooling"!

I get to blast music and sing at the top of my lungs and dance around the house with the children with our list of chores and call it "cleaning".

I get to do fun experiments in the kitchen, and sometimes my helper and I will pretend we're on the Food Network, and call it "cooking".

I get to pop my delicious baby in a sling, put 2 more gorgeous blondies in a stroller, and walk behind 2 other amazing kids on bikes, and breathe in the evening air and the company of my family and call it "exercise".

At night I get to sit in front of the TV and watch a few of my favorite shows I've DVRed and call it "folding laundry".

At the end of the day I get to curl up in bed with a huge stack of books and call it "research and higher learning".

I also get to curl up in that same bed and feel the warmth and comfort and security and happiness and joy of cuddling up to my husband's sleeping body and call it "marriage".

I cannot even imagine a better life! I can't wait till tomorrow to do it all again!

Mother's Day and Anniversary

2009-05-11T22:39:00.003-06:00

My husband has been shocking me a lot lately. Before we were married he was so romantic and constantly doing sweet things for me. Then after we got married, well, you know how it goes! I've had my feelings hurt a few anniversaries and on past Mother's Days when I asked him why I didn't get anything, he would answer in all innocence, "You're not my mother." Yeah. He really did.

But the past couple years he is finally getting it and this year he just really amazed me.

For our anniversary, we didn't get to go out as we had planned because two of the kids and I were sick. So we fed the kids frozen corn dogs, put them to bed early, and Kevin went to out to get our meal. When he got back I was instructed to stay in the back bedroom till called.

My husband turned the living room into a restaurant. My husband did this. I'm still amazed. He set up a folding table and chairs and set it with a white tablecloth, black placemats, our best dishes, and candles. He laid three roses on the table alongside a card and a diamond bracelet. He had romantic music softly playing. MY husband did this!

As I sat down to read my card, admire my flowers and gift, and eat, he had this to say. My husband said this. He told me that in his psychology class he learned that the hardest year in marriages is usually the seventh year (which is very true for us). Then at the eighth year things started to get better and better. And that's how he wanted it to be for us. MY husband said this!

We had such a nice evening--much better than we could have had out somewhere, in my opinion.

For mother's day, he had the kids fingerpaint cards for me. So when I got up, I found my cards and a package of Oreos (with 2 missing) from the kids. From him I got chocolate and a nice new 12 inch skillet which I so needed! We were still sick, so we had to stay home again and he went out and got us some lunch. And again, it was a much better day at home than going out. I'm so glad we were sick! haha

The things I am seeing happen in my husband's heart amazes me every day. It is nothing but a testimony of God's faithfulness. I am so blessed!

I hope everyone else had a happy mother's day too! Every day is mother's day when we get to be surrounded by the people we love!

Swag Bucks

2009-05-11T11:30:00.003-06:00

Why didn't someone tell me about Swag Bucks before?? Why didn't someone tell me I could get paid for doing my normal searches and normal online shopping? Why why why? I saw people doing it but had no idea what it was!

If you are not doing it already, then click on the banner and sign up. Then I'll get Swag Bucks for that too :-)

Timelining

2009-05-10T22:12:00.003-06:00

I'm really excited about adding timelining to our homeschool. I almost did this a couple years ago, but it didn't work out. But now I just sold a lot of things we are no longer using and have the funds to get the things I really want for this.

Homeschool in the Woods is a good place to get an idea of what keeping a timeline is all about and I will be using their History Through the Ages Record of Time for our timeline book. It looks to be the nicest by far with heavy cardstock pages, illustrations and quotes, and even 17 pages of blank maps.

Anytime we come across any person, thing, or event as we read and learn every day, we will paste its timeline figure into the book at its date in time. We will keep this book throughout our entire homeschooling lifetime and it will keep a record of what we've learned, give us a better scope of history, and help us retain what we have learned about. It will be something rich and wonderful for my children to look at again and again.

We will use the maps in the same way. Anytime we come across a new place, we can mark it in the blank maps and will be learning geography at the same time!

At first I was going to use their timeline figures on CD-ROM too. They are the most well known and loved and even though it seems to be a great value, the cost was still a bit steep for me. So I thought I'd do some googling and see what else was out there before I bought it.

I am so glad I did because that is how I found Hold That Thought. How have I never heard of this company? They make awesome notebooking pages on CD-ROM and other homeschooling products. I was so excited to find that their timeline figures were better (in my opinion), much more affordable, and twice as many! I immediately added them to my cart and was about to check out, when I decided to look around the site a bit more first and saw this:

Receive a FREE CD with your order! If you post this offer on your homeschooling blog or tell at least 2 other homeschoolers about us we will send you a free CD. We have decided that instead of spending money on advertising we will reward you for promoting our products instead. When you order a CD from us, all you have to do when you are checking out is write the name of the CD you would like us to send you free of charge in the “comment” section (it needs to be at least the same price or less than the CD you are purchasing).

I was going to do that anyway! So because of this company I will have better timelines that will be part of our lives forever AND save over $50!

I will definitely want to try their other products in the future, especially their geography, bible, and devotional notebooking pages. Everything they offer looks awesome. With a deal like that, they are definitely worth trying out!

Above Rubies

2009-05-08T13:54:00.002-06:00

Growing boys want to eat all day.
Wiping crumbs and the dishes won't stay away.
The baby cries, up by five.
I won't see the bed again till late at night.

One wants a story,
One needs a nap.
Daddy will be home soon.
The place is a wreck.

But I wonder...

What am I to You?
All these little things I do,
Do You notice?
Are they imparted in Your plan?
I can hear You say,
"She who fears the Lord is to be praised
and her worth is above rubies."
You set a price for me:
Above Rubies.

I could have worn a business suit,
Had a "better life",
But that's not true.

ABC's and 123's
Ring around the rosies,
All fall down with glee.

I know it's simple.
The world doesn't see.
I may not move mountains in this ministry.

But I wonder...

What am I to You?
All these little things I do,
Do You notice?
Are they imparted in Your plan?
I can hear You say,
"She who fears the Lord is to be praised
and her worth is above rubies."
You set a price for me:
Above Rubies
.
Who can find a virtuous woman? For her price is far above rubies. Her children will rise up and call her blessed, and her husband also.

What am I to You?
All these little things I do,
Do You notice?
Are they imparted in Your plan?
I can hear You say,
"She who fears the Lord is to be praised
and her worth is above rubies."
You set a price for me:
Above Rubies.

"Above Rubies"
by Serene and Pearl

Eight Years and Counting

2009-05-05T22:55:00.002-06:00

I would love to write a poetic tribute to my husband on our eighth anniversary, but I don't have the time or mental presence to do so tonight. But I do want to say that I love my husband so much.

If you know me very well, you know we have been though a lot of ups and downs. If you kinda know me, you probably have a vague idea. If you don't know me at all, you may not realize the trials we have gone though, but I will tell you it has been no fairy tale.

But I will also tell you this: GOD brought us together, no question. God is true to His promises and perfect in His ways. I can testify to His faithfulness, and to His wisdom in His plan for marriage. I cannot put into words how I feel when I write this--just bursting with praise to God and love for my husband! I wish I could express, but there are no words!

God has done--and is still doing--an amazing work in me, my husband, and our marriage.
I love my husband more now than I ever have.
He is a more amazing man than he ever has been.
I am happier now than I have ever been in my life. More content, more peaceful, more joyful about where I am, who I am, who I'm with, and Whose I am!

You know when you're in those first few years of marriage and you keep hearing about that state of love that is better than the butterflies and tingly feelings, that is supposed to come after all the passion of new love has worn off? And you hear about it but don't really believe it and you just keep waiting for it because you're bored and discontent and fighting that nagging thought that you must have married the wrong person?
Well, that love is here for us. It is real, and it IS better. It is true love. It isn't just a feeling like the first love was. It's...it's.... Well, it's just like this:

Love never gives up.
Love cares more for others than for self.
Love doesn't want what it doesn't have.
Love doesn't strut,
Doesn't have a swelled head,
Doesn't force itself on others,
Isn't always "me first,"
Doesn't fly off the handle,
Doesn't keep score of the sins of others,
Doesn't revel when others grovel,
Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,
Puts up with anything,
Trusts God always,
Always looks for the best,
Never looks back,
But keeps going to the end.

Love never dies.

1 Corinthians 13:4-8 The Message

And I just want to tell anyone that may be going through trials that true love is worth fighting for with everything within you! It is worth praying for, whether you pray for days, years, or decades, it will be worth it! It is worth obeying God for, even when every ounce of your flesh is telling you differently. It is worth every tear, every sleepless night, every humbling apology, every lesson learned. It is the kind of love God intended us to have--not based on feelings or circumstances, but a love like His.

Looking back at how much we have grown in the last 8 years, I am SO excited to see how much we grow in the next 8! And I'm not just talking about children! I am so happy and blessed to be his wife. This is what God had in mind when He said, "For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh."

Simple Woman's Daybook

2009-05-04T12:17:00.005-06:00

Wow--It has been almost a week since I've blogged! It has been a busy week. Kevin was home all week because of having his wisdom teeth removed and I have been taking care of him! Seeing him has really made me dread getting mine out! He was just pitiful! Anyway, here is my Simple Woman's Daybook for the week and hopefully I will get to blog more!

For Today...

Outside my window... our 3 feet of snow has just about all melted away and should be gone by tomorrow. It is starting to warm up into the 50's again.

I am thinking... that I need a few more hours in the morning. Oh--that would be getting up earlier! Nevermind :-D

From the learning rooms... We didn't do much with Kevin home last week, so I'm ready to jump back in with everything this week. We have finished the main part and now Justin is working in some workbooks.

From the kitchen... This week's menu:
Baked Ziti
eating out for anniversary
soup beans
BBQ pork sandwiches
breakfast--eggs, sausage, bacon, and biscuits

I am wearing...black capris and a purple top

I am reading... I found a good deal on Managers of their Chores so I am reading it now. Ever since I saw it on the Duggars' show, I have been wanting to try it. It seems like a really neat system so far.

I am hoping... for an answer to prayer.

I am creating... lunch in about half an hour and supper a few hours after that. That's about as creative as I'm going to get today!

I am praying... for patience patience patience!

Around the house... I am enjoying having the shades open today. When there is snow on the ground, the glare is so bright I have to keep them closed.

One of my favorite things... 6 month-olds, 22-month-olds, 3-year-olds, 5-year-olds, and 7-year-olds.

A few plans for the rest of the week... Tomorrow is a VERY busy day. We have homeschool gym day in the early afternoon. In the evening Justin has his very first baseball game. It is also our eighth anniversary which I have no idea what we're doing for it. I made a suggestion to Kevin and he just said, "We'll see". Sounds like he has something up his sleeve. ;-)

Here is my picture for this week: Isaiah reading to Cara. Not sure what he had been eating!

Totally Random

2009-04-28T21:45:00.003-06:00

Last week was beautiful. It got as warm as 83 degrees and we were thoroughly enjoying "spring" (I put that in quotes because, although it was warm, spring here does not include beautiful flowers, buds on tree limbs, or dogwood trees--to name a few spring features I miss). Today there are piles and piles of snow outside and it just keeps piling it on! Sometimes it dawns on me that Montana is all my kids really know! My oldest was barely 3 when we moved here. I wish they knew what spring was really like back home in Virginia and Tennessee--the feeling and the smell and the beauty...and the, uh, timeliness??? How I miss it.
Cara Grace is six months old and beginning to crawl. How can it be? It seems like each baby is cuter and sweeter and grows faster than the one before it! And each one only makes me want more! They are more wonderful than I can put into words! I so cannot relate AT ALL to the rest of the population who are so quick to say NO MORE PLEASE! Sorry--just don't get it! lol But I could go on for hours about that, so I'll stop right here.
My poor husband had his wisdom teeth removed today. That crazy man has been trying to eat everything in sight despite the clear instructions on his discharge papers! He doesn't seem to be having a very difficult time with it. However, he just fell asleep on the couch without taking his pain meds. I hope he doesn't wake up screaming! The worst thing is, I'm next. I haven't been to the dentist in 10 years and I have several teeth that give me problems and I don't need a dentist to tell me my wisdom teeth need to go. Now I'm going next month. That is the worst news I've heard since Obama was declared President. But it will be great to be able to eat a Milky Way without extreme pain again.
I have come across some good deals this week. TEACH magazine is having a special right now that I have been waiting for. You can get both one year of TEACH and Home School Enrichment together for $12.97. On top of that, you get an instant download of the current spring issue of TEACH. The theme is on marriage and it is AMAZING. I think that download alone was worth $12.97. Every page has touched me and inspired me in some way. I recommend printing that one off because it's kind of hard to read on the computer.
A few months ago I found the most awesome place for denim skirts called Style J. These skirts are LONG, beautiful, well-made, unique, and can be affordable if you sign up for their newsletter. They very frequently send out coupon codes and I am now a loyal customer. They have a 25% off coupon code for Mother's Day that is good through May 4. So maybe if you sign up now, you can get that. If you don't, I'll give you the code :-) They ship super fast too. I will greatly miss my Style J skirts whenever I am pregnant again!
I'm going to try to make time to update some things in my sidebar tonight while I'm waiting for a certain little girl to go to bed. After that is laundry with the Duggars. Folding laundry while watching the Duggars that is :-)
One more thing. Do you read Generation Cedar? You should! WOW

Spiritually Unequal? My first guest blog

2009-04-27T10:05:00.004-06:00

Today I have the honor of being a guest blogger at Joy Ever After. I wrote from experience on the topic of spiritually unequal marriages. I hope it blesses others to read it as much as it did for me to write it. Thank you, Lady Jen, for giving me this opportunity!

Spiritually Unequal?