On the mend

My last post here was Saturday... that very night we had a scare with our 11 year old daughter. She wasn't feeling well, do to having the flu. She was semi awake,talking in her sleep. My eldest daughter helped her to the bathroom because she knows when her sister is talking in her sleep, she needs to use the bathroom. One of the blessings of sharing a room with your sibling....you've got a buddy to watch out for you : )

So big sis helped little sis to the bathroom and waited outside the door for her. She even peeked in to see if she was okay, but her sister told her to "shut the door, I'm fine". Shortly after big sis heard a few loud thumps, opened the door and found her sister passed out. My son came and woke my husband and I . When she came to ,my husband helped her to her feet. She stood for a few minutes with his help but then passed out again. When she came to , she immediately got sick to her stomach. Her fever immediately broke and she felt alot better. It was a little scary, but my husband, thankfully, handles these situations much better then I and was able to keep things calm ; ) She is much better today but still has a slight cough....but now my hubby's not feeling to well. Boy, this is going to be a long fall/winter. Supposedly flu season hasn't even hit & we already have sickness here. There's so much conflicting information about the flu, that I have no idea what to believe. I'm just ready for spring already : )

What we've been up to

This week has been a long one. We've had sickness makes it way through our family. I'm guessing it's THE FLU, because that is what's going around . It seemed like a typical flu...no one was so sick that they needed to be seen by a doctor, although some of my kids were sicker then the others. My oldest daughter spent 2 full days on the couch because she was too dizzy to get up. There were fevers, headaches and coughs...which the cough is still lingering....just going to keep an eye on that and make sure it doesn't get worse. Neither my husband or I are sick...hoping we don't get it but if we do at least we aren't sick while the kids are.

Out of the blue this week we got an exciting phone call. Someone is very interested in our house! They said they had driven past it several times and really like what they see from the outside...they have been looking for a house to buy for the past 7 or 8 months but I guess just haven't found one. They were scheduled to come look at it today but cancelled because of a work schedule change. Although I was disappointed, I'm glad they did because my 11 year old daughter, who was the last of our children to get sick, is still not feeling well.

I really wasn't expecting anyone to call because we haven't advertised in awhile, just our " for sale by owner" sign in the front yard. I had given up hope that it would sell and just found contentment in staying here or whatever happens with our housing situation. I kind of find it interesting when I "let go".....I am reminded that God is very capable and in control of this situation. Still though, I am finding that anxiety coming back ...about hoping the house sells, looking ahead too far, instead of just living for today, and where we will go from here.....sure hope this wasn't a test, because I am failing : ( I do hope the family calls back & still wants to see the house. If you would like to lift this situation up to the Lord in prayer, I would be grateful : )
Well that's our update...not much to say, I know. I'm just a pretty ordinary kind of woman.

Who would have known

Recently, I bought my daughter a pair of earrings that she asked for. They are peace signs. She told me later on , after I bought them that her friend's mother would not allow her to where anything with a peace symbol on it because it was related to witches or something. Huh? I've never heard this before...I just always saw it as some 60's hippie symbol - love, peace, happiness....nothing else. So I looked it up and I found this . Okay now I have a dilemma, I suppose. Should I let her wear them or not? I really don't see the harm in them because we didn't know that it meant anything bad and I bet most people don't. I would like to hear others thoughts....ever heard anything about this.

Inconsistent

For those of you that read this blog regularly, you have noticed that I don't post often. Forgive me if you are wondering where I've been as I don't post often to keep you updated. I truly don't mean to be rude. First off , I started this blog as a journal of sorts. A place where I could write the things down that I want to remember and want to share with others .... the things that the Lord is doing and showing me. I don't always write all of them...somethings are just too personal.
Since I am never consistent....I have considered deleting this blog but just can't bring myself to do it just yet because I think there just might be something I just have to share. There just might be that one person out there going through a similar situation and needs to be encouraged or may need to encourage me ; ) So I continue on with this blog. So hopefully people still read here even if I don't write often.

Preparing for School.

Oh my goodness I'm so behind with getting things ready for this school year. I have figured out what I'm using but still have to order what I need. Just waiting for the funds ; )

I've decided to have my oldest 2 children do all of their homeschooling on the computer using the Switched on Schoolhouse curriculum. It allows them to work very independently...even grades their work. I really need it to be that way right now...for those of you who have teenagers you might know what I mean ; ) I am going to have to get a second computer....hoping to find something inexpensive (used or new)

My younger two who are 8 & 11 ...I will be doing My Father's World unit study again ( Creation to Greeks) with them. I was able to borrow it from a friend ..Praise the Lord for his beautiful provision! I would like to incorporate some lap booking into it by using some of Homeschool in the Woods . I might use Christina Liberty Press's new preschool activity book with my 3 1/2 year old....not sure though.

Besides all of that we've been trying to get firewood cut for this winter. We are a little behind on that. Last year we split and stacked all of the wood we had, on Labor day weekend. We sure are hoping to do the same this year. I have a blessing to share of God's provision in regards to the firewood. My husband was working very hard back in our woods over the weekend....searching for trees to cut up. At the very back of our property he found a great big oak tree that had recently been uprooted (in a storm or downdraft, I guess). It fell on a Maple tree uprooting it as well. Two big beautful trees made of wood that are perfect for burning (some wood burns better then others). He said he would have not cut them down because they were so big (not the safest to cut down without help) He thinks those two trees cut up and split with what he has already cut up, will be enough firewood to get us through the winter.

On another note....our chickens started laying this week. My 8 year old son has loved going out in the chicken coop several times a day to check for eggs. So far today we have gotten 5. I had to go out today and get them some layer feed...as they just finished up the growe/finisher feed I had them on. I also bought some cracked corn to mix in with the feed and some grit (helps them digest) that I put in a separate container near their food. I wasn't expecting them to be laying so soon. I went grocery shopping just a day before they started laying and bought to dozen eggs. I guess we will be eating alot of deviled eggs or egg salad : )

Well this is my latest update....need to go make dinner. I didn't realize how late it was getting .

Going Ons

First off I want to say thank you for your comment Rebecca....you are such a sweet person...you always have something positive and so kind to say! I wish we lived near one another.

So whats been going on with me....not really a whole lot...at least nothing that I feel like blogging about. I just figure maybe it's best to keep things to myself...if they aren't so positive....I don't want to bum every one out : ) As you know we are trying to sell our house but haven't had much activity. Trying to be content with the way things are. We have been sick and I'm not feeling my best. The sickies started 12 days ago. My youngest...who is 3, woke me up from a sound sleep ( she sleeps in my bed snuggled between her daddy & I ) laughing very loudly. I asked her what was so funny....she laughed loudly again and that's when I realized she was sleeping. As I touched her I could feel she was burning up with a fever. I woke her to give her some Tylenol and try to get her to drink some cool water. She settled back into bed and went to sleep. She was pretty tired and irritable the next day and felt feverish but was fine by the following day. Several days later my other kids weren't feeling well.... feverish, headaches, dizzy , tired and vomiting. They were better after a few days. Then Sunday I started to not feel well . It seems like a head cold or sinus thing with me & just a drained feeling. I was feeling feverish but took some Tylenol and it helped. I'm still not feeling great but better then I was.

Sunday we also celebrated my daughter's 11th birthday. We didn't have big plans because of our money situation but let me tell you that the Lord really blessed that day. Since my daughter loves horses, we went to a local horse farm that was having a free horse gentler presentation. He showed us step by step how to tame a horse that had never been ridden. He kind of tells a story comparing the steps involved in training the horse to mans' relationship with God & giving the gospel message of salvation through Jesus Christ at the same time. It's called Wild Horse Ministries....it was really cool! It nearly brought me to tears. It's so neat when you see someone who loves the Lord and is using every part of his life to glorify God and share the gospel truth.

When we first got there a lady was passing out tickets (they were free too) for a door prize(s)drawing. When I got the ticket ,of course one of my first thoughts was..."I won't win anything...I never do....even those silly little baby/wedding showers games."
I decided to look around at some of the items for sale...wanted to get my daughter one of the horse t-shirts with the name of the ministry on it, but money being tight I didn't even consider it. At the end of the presentation they started drawing the tickets out of the hat to give away the prizes. I don't remember what all the prizes were but I do know that all the prizes were different..no two were alike. They started calling off numbers one after another and none of us (our family that is) had a matching ticket. Finally they called off the very last ticket for the last door prize and guess what? I HAD A WINNING TICKET! and guess what I won?..... A T-SHIRT!! A t-shirt for my daughter's b-day! Isn't God simply wonderful! Not just because He allowed me/us to have something that we wanted but because He cares and He knows our every thought, every desire, every fear, every burden, every heartbreak, every struggle, every disappointment.....every detail of our lives!

These past weeks have been a struggle for us ...not that we are any different then alot of families. Actually we really probably don't have it all that bad but ya know when it's your own struggle, now matter how big or small it is....it still affects you personally. It's been hard to see my husband work so hard but still be financially burdened trying to care for his family. We are working on trying to make our lifestyle fit our income( which as been down since this recession hit) & one of those ways to do so is to sell our house. It's had us both discouraged for several reasons but one being we see how poorly the housing market is doing and I guess it leaves us not so optimistic. So this past Sunday was especially sweet because the Lord showed me His working/presence/grace in our daily lives....through something as little as a t-shirt. He's in control. I know as a Christian I should believe that truth for the simple fact that God's word says He is with us & He is sovereign, but you know it's just that much sweeter when He shows it in a very visible way.

So I hope my post hasn't bummed you out but encouraged you in the Lord : )

Going Ons