His Tender Mercies

Our newest blessing

2011-11-12T17:28:00.000-05:00

I know I have abandoned this blog, but I wanted to at least announce the birth of our 6th child. Miliena Joy was born at home on Oct 6th, 7#10 oz. and 20 inches .

It's been awhile.....

2011-02-23T13:16:00.000-05:00

since I've even looked at this ole blog. Lifes just been happening and I've not been much in the writing mood. I thought I might reconsider and see how it works for me to post here more often. A few things have changed around here since I last posted. One being we enrolled our children into a public online school this past August. Due to finances, buying curriculum was out of the question. I was also needing some help for my highschoolers and a motivator for my 4th and 6th grader. I'm so glad we have the option of online schools. The kids are loving it and are doing well....it's working well for us. My youngest recently turned 5 and will be able to start kindergarten this coming fall. Although I like the online school, I think we will stick with traditional homeschooling for her, at least until she's a bit older. I believe it might be too much for me to take on at that time, since I will be expecting a little one come Oct. I sure am feeling a bit nervous about it all, but truly just trying to take it one day at a time. The morning sickness has kicked in....hasn't gotten too severe , since it's still early on...hoping it stays that way. I feel like I need to sleep alot more and think I'm gonna go lay dwon for awhile.

Well that's the news around here. Have a great day.

Winter Blues

2010-02-21T11:50:00.004-05:00

How I long to see these flowers in my front yard again! Winter is so long here. It makes me depressed. I'm cold all the time...tired of trying to keep warm. I sure am grateful for my electric blanket though, but it's too big to drag around the house during the day : ) We have a little electric heater that we sit in front of during the day when I'm doing school with the kids. That's helpful.

I'm sitting here in a quiet house (kind of nice) because I just didn't have it in me to get up and go to church with my family this morning. I cleaned up the kitchen...had lots of pots and pans to wash. I put a rump roast in the oven because my dad is coming for dinner today. It was his birthday last week & we weren't able to get together, so I thought it might be nice to make him a nice meal. He's been having some financial struggles and doesn't have the money to treat himself to meals like this often.

We will be having my famous homemade mashed potatoes (at least they are famous in my family : ) , corn, a salad and of course roast beef with gravy. I think I'm going to make him some banana bread to take home, once the roast is done. I need two ovens : ) He's doesn't really like sweets, so I don't think I'm going to make a cake for him.

I took my 4 year old daugter to a different dentist this past week. I was hoping to find a dentist willing to work with us, in regards to a treatment plan that I was comfortable with, for her decayed teeth. The only option I was given was to sedate her and he also blamed me for her tooth decay because I nursed her to long. Oh joy!...I guess this is all adding to that depressed feeling. I know it will pass, and the warm weather will be here before we know it....just venting : )

Our Weekend

2010-02-16T10:15:00.000-05:00

We enjoyed a long awaited family get away this past weekend. We drove 6 hours to northwestern New York , so that our son could participate in a race. It was a two day race. Each day he raced 4.9 miles. There was some pretty impressive competition but he did well considering. He placed 11th out of twenty-seven ,4 dog teams. Although the trip was mostly for him, everyone had a great time at the race and the kids loved sleeping in a hotel and going out to dinner : )

Arriving at the race site.

Our daughter standing at the finish line, waiting for her big brother.

My son at the finish line on the second day of the race.

We arrived home late Sunday night. We spent yesterday getting everything back in order. I'm getting ready to start a pot of homemade chicken broth, for soup we will be having for dinner. Then I will get our school day started. Have a great day!

Advantages of Homeschooling

2010-02-10T10:51:00.003-05:00

So often when the subject of homeschooling comes up with those that are not familiar with it, you here many of the same questions. "What about friends for your kids?" "What about sports?" "What educational level do you have that qualifies you to teach your children?" To the latter , I can't come up with a better answer then.... we are their parents...we want what's best for our children....what better teacher then a loving parent.

We as parents know our children. We know their interests. So we encourage and help them persue their interests, the best that we can. They don't need "school" to learn and do the things they love. Actually, I believe one of the biggest advantages of homeschooling is that our children can pursue interests,that they might not have had the opportunity to pursue had they been in school. As a homeschooling mom I have tried to instill the love of reading and learning in my children. Some of my kids LOVE to read and others not so much, unless of course it's something they are interested in : ) The children of mine that don't love to read are more hands on kind of learners and that's okay.

Although we do incorporate textbooks into our homeschooling, I've always appreciated real life learning in our homeschooling. I find my kids remember the most that way.

As each new year of homeschooling draws near, I try to take the time to ask my children what they want to learn about or do in their homeschooling for the year.

One of those years I asked this question, my son said he wanted to learn about mushing and wanted to build a dog sled. So we started researching. We found a blueprint on the internet to make a sled. My husband who is woodworker by trade helped my son make his homemade sled. Even my son's grandfather had imput on making the sled with his experience in making rocking chairs (homeschooling is family friendly too, even grandpas can participate) We added two more huskies to our family ( we already had two dogs at the time, one of them being a husky). God brought great mentors into my son's life. My son is well on his way to really pursuing his dreams. So what's my point....don't allow the unknown, fears, and doubts of homeschooling, to hinder you. God is our guide, no matter where our children go to school. He knows the plans He has for our children .

Below is a picture of my son back in Jan., at a race where he placed first in his class.

Dreaming

2010-02-05T10:28:00.001-05:00

After yesterdays post on my home, it got me to thinking about my dream home. Okay, that does seem a little contradictory to being happy with what you have, but I have to say, I thinking there's nothing wrong with dreaming : ) So let me tell you what my ideal home would be. A log cabin in the woods or an old farmhouse...particularly Victorian, like this one . I love this blog! The author takes you through her Victorian home remodel. Her and her husband do alot of the work themselves. I have to tell you, this is a beautiful home and she really has some great decorating ideas and she finds great things at thrift shops too. I will slowly be putting up links to some of my favorite blogs and this is one of them.

My Home

2010-02-04T11:12:00.004-05:00

Being a stay at home mom for over 14 years has brought many blessings and struggles to me. One of the first struggles I experienced as a stay at home mom was loneliness & feeling useless. I use to think if I could bring home a paycheck I could offer so much more to my family. The Lord has brought me a long way in that area, however, and now it's hard for me to imagine being anywhere else but home.

Another area I struggled with (and still do at times) is contentment with my home. I don't know how other SAHM feel but for me being home so often I notice the condition of my home, ALOT more. There are so many things I would like to change and I find myself getting frustrated when we can't afford to. I would see what other friends homes looked like, compared to mine and that would bring more discontentment. The Lord is teaching me though. Teaching me how to be content with what I have. Over the years I've learned to get creative and found a few things that allow me to decorate and make my home cozy and comfortable but still do it within our means. They are ...using what I already have, garage sales, flea markets, thrift shops, clearance shopping and paint.

In the first picture below is a set of pottery dishes (with flowers) that were passed down to me by a family member. I knew that I wanted to display them but realized you didn't really notice them that much against a cream colored wall. So I found paint that matched one of the colors in the dishes and painted just the wall that the dishes would be displayed on. I think it really makes the dishes stand out. Although the picture doesn't do it justice.

In the dining area of my kitchen all of the things you see in the picture (except for the curtains) I either found on clearance, at a flea market or garage sale or they were given to me. The dining table was given to me. I sanded it down and painted the legs and put a fresh coat of polyurethane on the top. The table has gotten too small for our family, but I am eyeing a dining set that I found at second hand store. Hoping to save some money to purchase it.

This last picture is a view of our living room from the kitchen. I love how it's all open. I can always see what the kids are doing when I'm busy in the kitchen.

Homescool Fears & Doubts

2010-02-02T10:27:00.000-05:00

February already! I can't believe it's been a few months since I've posted anything on here! Our life has been busy and full of decisions. So much going on and so many discouraging moments. At this time, homeschooling has been one of those discouragements. Every new year of homeschooling I'm filled with enthusiasm but then something happens and I lose it. I often ask myself why am I doing this? It doesn't seem to be making a difference in the lives of my children. Things are not as I hoped they would be or how I expected them to be. I feel like I've failed.

Just recently I had an acquaintance ask me about homeschooling. She has small children and has just begun to think about homeschooling. She's thought she might like to do it but is already having her doubts and fears. I tried so hard to encourage her but also be honest in the fact it hasn't been easy, at least for me. How do you encourage when you feel so discouraged? I can't but God can. Just thought I would share what He sent me via email ; ) This is a daily devotional I'm subscribed to, hardly ever read them but this one caught my attention.

Homeschool Fears
Thursday / January 28, 2010

Satan really takes advantage of homeschoolers. When you jump into something different, such as teaching your own children, you become susceptible to his attacks of doubt and fear. Unsure of your abilities, you second-guess your decisions and desperately look for affirmation and direction. Added to those doubts are questioning remarks and comments from those who don't homeschool, and soon you begin to think, "I could really mess up my children's lives if I do this wrong!" The multiple battlefronts of spiritual, emotional, and physical attack call for reinforcement from the Lord. Only His divine strength, wisdom, and power can counteract Satan's fears.

The apostle Paul understood how it felt to be attacked by Satan. When addressing the church in Corinth, he stated in 2 Corinthians 7:5, "For, when we were come into Macedonia, our flesh had no rest, but we were troubled on every side; without were fightings, within were fears." I'm sure at times Paul must have questioned if he was doing the right thing when he went on his missionary journeys to establish the early churches. Not only did the other apostles criticize his work with the Gentiles, but he also suffered at the hands of his fellow Jews and the unbelieving communities he tried to reach. Add to those fears the beatings, shipwrecks, and other persecutions, and it's no wonder he was afraid. Still, Paul continued to trust in Jesus for every need and even his very life.

Are you tired from Satan's attacks? Does it seem like when you find victory over one fear another one develops? Dear one, I wish I could tell you things will get better, but that might not be the case. The battles will probably remain. You see, if Satan can't keep your family from believing in Christ, his next goal is to keep your family from living for Christ. If you're feeling weary today, run to your Commander and Lord and let His love empower you to face every fear. In Christ's name and by the power of His blood, you will defeat Satan. Besides, the worst way you could mess up your children's lives is if you don't fight. Don't let the fears win over you! "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist stedfast in the faith" (1 Peter 5:8-9a).

Lord God, I recommit myself and my family to You today. Strengthen us to stand strong against the fears and discouragement that Satan brings to our homeschool. Let me see the plans and purpose You have for us and may our lives glorify You. In the dear name of Jesus, Amen.

Back to Life

2009-11-30T20:48:00.006-05:00

The hustle and bustle of Thanksgiving has ended and my family is back safe and sound in their home far away. So now it's back to everyday life....slowly but surely I will get there. I feel so out of sorts physically & mentally after our wonderful week . So, I'm trying to stick to my routine and add a little of the extra Christmas stuff to get over the let down of the holiday ending and to get back on track.

I am one of those crazies that decided to go shopping on Black Friday, at 5am. I was glad I went because I did find some great deals and am glad to say my Christmas shopping is almost done. I even have the majority of what I bought wrapped...that way any curious children can't see anything if they happen to find their way to the hidden gifts .

Today I put out all of my Christmas decorations, which really isn't much. I decorate my fireplace mantle and put up a tree, although we haven't gotten the tree yet. I also put out my advent wreath/nativity set in one. My daughter who is almost 4 was very intrigued by it...it was like she hadn't seen it before. I suppose it does seem new to her since last year she was only two..almost three. She sat quietly and played with it but did eventually ask me to sit down and play with it with her. So I took this opportunity to play as a teaching moment. I got out my Bible and read to her...starting in Luke chapter 2, showing her the Joseph, Mary and baby Jesus figurines. I continued to read and showed her the shepards and the angels. She was so cute! I explained the reason we celebrate Christmas is because of Jesus. She said to me in the sweetest and most genuinely interested voice " I didn't know that! " I'm so glad I told her because I guess I just assumed she knew since she hears about Jesus all the time....at home and church.

We also started are Advent reading yesterday. We are reading Tabitha's Travels again. We actually have all 3 of the books in this Advent trilogy and have been reading them for years now. They never get old and I don't know why but they always make me cry.

Well I'm leaving you with a recipe for pumpkin cheesecake that I made for Thanksgiving. Enjoy!

Pumpkin Cheesecake

Crust ~ 1 1/2 cups crushed gingersnap cookies or graham crackers

1/2 cup chopped pecans

6 TB butter melted

1/4 sugar

Filling ~ 3 - 8oz packages softened cream cheese

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

1/4 sugar

2 large eggs

2 large egg yolks

1 1/2 tsp. flour

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. ground cloves

1/2 tsp. ground ginger

1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg

1 cup pumpkin puree

1/2 cup sour cream

2 tsp. vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350 . Butter an 8 inch spring form pan. Combine crust ingredients and press over the bottom and up the sides of the pan. Bake crust for 10 minutes. Cool completely on a wire rack.

2. Increase oven temp. to 425. Beat cream cheese, brown sugar, and sugar with electric mixer until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs and egg yolks. Add flour and spices..beat until well blended. Add remaining ingredients, beat until blended. Pour filling over the baked crust.

3. Bake Cheesecake for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 250 and continue baking for 1 hour. Turn the oven off and let the cheesecake cool in the oven for 3 hours.

Thanksgiving

2009-11-24T10:09:00.006-05:00

These past several days have been chaotic, as I prepare for Thanksgiving week. I say week because my mom, brother , his wife, and children will be spending the week with us. They should arrive here this evening, after a 9 hour drive. It's always so exciting to have them come but alot of work preparing. I've got most of the house cleaned...a few odd and ends to do. Our dinner meals are planned and this is what our week will look like feeding a crowd. I have alot of cooking to do : )

Wed.
Lots of meatballs( using 6 # of meat) with spaghetti sauce & pasta, garlic bread and a green salad

Thurs. (Thanksgiving)
21 # turkey
homemade stuffing
pineapple yams (love this recipe)
mashed potatoes ( hoping 10# of potatoes will be enough)
green beans
corn
rolls
cranberry sauce
My wonderful SIL is bringing a ham and making a few pumpkin pies. Hopefully I'm not forgetting anything.

I will be making:
2 french apple pies (gf)
1 chocolate pie
1 pumpkin cheesecake (gf)

Fri.

Lots of leftovers

Sat.
Tacos

They will be heading back home Sat night. It's always hard when they go....takes a good week to adjust. We will miss them.

On another note .....I've been reading alot lately. I'm really needing God's help in so many areas...so many areas that I struggle and my heart is breaking over it. I've got lots on my mind. So, I've been reading "The Excellent Wife" & "Families Where Grace is in Place". Do you ever feel like you have things figured out and then realize you know nothing? This is where I've been lately.....learning to have a heart like the Lord Jesus, although I'm so far off from that most days. Don't we all need God's grace minute by minute...not only to have for ourselves but to pour out on others. I'm just thankful for God's love and that he sent Jesus to die for my ugly sins and that I have a way to redemption through the blood of Jesus. So much to be thankful for!

What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
What can make me whole again? Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
O! precious is the flow that makes me white as snow; no other fount I know, nothing but the blood of Jesus.

This is all my hope and peace - Nothing but the blood of Jesus;
This is all my righteousness - Nothing but the blood of Jesus
O precious is the flow That make me white as snow;
No other fount I know, Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

On the mend

2009-10-28T21:54:00.004-04:00

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

2009-10-24T18:05:00.004-04:00

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

2009-10-16T23:21:00.002-04:00

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

2009-08-31T10:04:00.004-04:00

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.

2009-08-24T18:00:00.004-04:00

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

2009-08-12T23:47:00.002-04:00

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

2009-08-12T23:46:00.000-04:00

Waiting

2009-08-05T09:37:00.004-04:00

Waiting is a hard thing for me to do. I'm not very good at it : ) We've had our house for sale for almost a month. We've had calls but no one has come to look : ( I pray often asking the Lord
to help me be content with His plan....whatever that maybe but I have to admit I 'm starting to feel very unsettled.

I need a creative outlet & I just haven't had the time (maybe it's patience) to learn something new... like knitting, sewing, etc. to fill that need to create. So I've just always put that creative energy into my home. I'm always working on the next project or idea in my head to make my home warm, comfortable and inviting. Now I just feel stuck trying not to put my heart, dreams, & hopes into a home that may not be mine for much longer. I've been trying to look ahead and hope, dream and plan for our next home but I don't know when that will or ever will be, so I don't want to get my hopes up or get ahead of God's plans for us.
This possible move seems to be putting alot of things on hold and I'm just feeling very impatient & discouraged : (

Okay that was just a little venting I needed to get out to someone. I'm trying not to vent to my husband...he's heard enough of it already LOL!

Garage Sale

2009-07-09T16:39:00.002-04:00

It happened again....another urge , except this time it's not painting or decorating. This times it's the urge to purge! I'm having a garage sale. What was I thinking!?!?!?! I started the sale today and have only had 4 people come so far......I guess that's what happens when you live out in the country : ) I just hope stuff sells so I don't have to pack it all back up and drag into the basement.

I have decided to part with alot of things that are just wasting space. Alot of that stuff is baby clothes and other baby items. It kind of makes me sad...getting rid of the things my kids used when they were babies : ( I would eventually like to have another baby but with the possibility of a move and building a house...having another right now would be soooo difficult....I know I couldn't be the help to my husband that I would need to be at a time like that. So, I'm going to get rid of these things( that is if they sell) and pray for God to provide things for any future children we might have.

Next weeks plan is putting things back away that haven't sold and clean and declutter my basement. I'm actually excited and can't wait to get it all done. I want the house to look as clean and as inviting as possible before we put it up for sale. It may take a little longer then we would like to put it on the market but my husband maybe doing some home improvement projects that we feel would add to the value of our home and make it more likely to sell for what we hope it sells for.

My 10 year old daughter headed off to Bible camp on Monday morning. It's so strange not having her here but I know she must be having a blast and I'm so glad for her. I just can't wait to pick her up on Saturday. I can send her emails and she can send snail mail but I can't talk to her unless there is an emergency : ( The camp does have a blog though, where they post pictures of the going ons during the week. I got to see my sweetie in the pictures. As a family we were all sitting around the computer trying to find her in the pictures.....you should of seen us.....it's like we don't know what to do without her : ) Well in a few more weeks my oldest two head off for camp.......that's going to feel really strange.

Well that's all I have time for today. I need to get dinner started....which is burgers on the grill. I already made pasta salad to go with the burgers. Have a great day!

Future Plans?

2009-07-06T12:55:00.003-04:00

There is so much rolling around in my head right now . Why, you might ask? My husband and I have been discussing putting our house up for sale. If we were able to sell our home for what we want for it, we could pay off all of our debt and most likely be able to pay cash for some property to build a house on. We would plan on renting something until we could build & while we were building . I know some of you much be saying "good luck with that one". It seems so impossible to me too because of the economy and sinking housing market. I know though that we have a God that is more powerful than our economy and can make anything possible if He wills it....even selling our house. We are wanting to get rid of our debt and this is the only fast way we could figure out how to do it. I know to some it sounds like building a new house in this economy could never work, but it would actually lighten our load, financially speaking , because my husband does this for a living....we could literally build it ourselves.

Today I drove past some property not far from us and I have to say I love it! I can't wait for my husband to see it. I'm just waiting/praying to see if this is the direction the Lord is leading us. I'm really trying so hard to not get ahead of myself......but patiently letting the Lord do His work in His time. Please pray for us and this situation.

I guess the urge I've had to spruce up our house gets us that much closer to getting our house ready to sell : ) Well that it's for now....I need to get of this computer. Have a great day!

Today's to do list

2009-06-29T15:57:00.003-04:00

I had planned on painting my hallway , part of the living room that I never finished the first ime I started painting, and my bedroom today. I never did get to the bedroom....I'm too tired to do that today....it will have to wait until tomorrow.

I have a chicken in the crockpot that smells wonderful. I have to shred it and add some bq sauce to make sandwiches. I'll have some veggies for the side dish.

Today when I was painting, my 15 year old son and I had a conversation about a young lady on his softball team. He had the opportunity to share his faith in Jesus with her. I am so proud of him for doing that but it didn't go so well. She told him he was stupid because he believed what he did. She said she follwed the 10 commandments....that was her salvation. He said if we tried to follow the 10 commandments none of us would get to heaven because it not humanly possible. She said a few more things and then changed the subject. That's okay though, my son planted the seed and God will do the rest.

Well that's it for today...gotta get dinner ready.

Around the House

2009-06-26T09:20:00.002-04:00

These past few weeks I've gotten a terrible itch to paint and spruce up the house. I posted pictures of my bathroom already which is almost finished except for the floor. Next week I'm hoping to work on painting my bedroom and the hallway leading up to the bedroom....the paint I need is going on sale next week....so I'm waiting patiently.

I bought some curtains for my bedroom, I'm anxious to get those hung up but the painting needs to be done first. When that's all done I am hoping to paint my kitchen. I ordered some new curtains for that and I can't wait until they come. They are really nice curtains(just what I've been looking for) but I spent way more then I wanted to on them. I was so focused on the curtains being on sale & was in such a hurry to order them before the sale ended that I wasn't really paying attention to what I was ordering. When I looked at the picture online it showed the windows with valances, swags, and tiers. It stated it was sold as a set. So I thought I was getting those three things in a set for one widow. Well, that was not the case....I was getting a set of tiers for one window....valances and swags were not included. My order for the tiers had already been shipped & I was looking forward to hanging these curtains so much, I broke down and ordered just the valances...doubling the cost of the curtains...ugh!

On another note...Four of our 15 chickens died. It wasn't the most pleasant death for them I'm sure. We have 3 huskies that live outside in their dog pen....well they found a break in their fence and found their way to the chicken coop. The door to the chicken coop was open and the inside wire wasn't strong enough to keep them out. Poor chickens didn't even see what was coming : (

Well that's it for today. If I ever finish my projects...I will try to post pictures.

Summertime Craft for Kids

2009-06-17T08:16:00.002-04:00

Looking through some kid's crafts magazines (Pack-o-Fun) I borrowed from the library, I found this adorable craft. You use sculpting clay that hardens when it's baked. The magazine had the pattern to cut out to make the frog. I don't know if we follwed the directions just so because I think the frog is supposed to sit on the edge of the flower pot. I just used a hot glue gun to stick them to the edge.
My daughter made the middle frog and my son made the frog on the end.

I'm not very artistic but this is my attempt at making a snake : ) We gave the middle frog flower pot away to our neighbor and the other frog my kids are giving to their dad for Father's day. We hid it away in a little corner outside so that it could get sunshine and rain, we just hope dad doesn't find it before Father's Day.

That's Just Life

2009-06-15T09:11:00.004-04:00

Last week and the weekend were a bit of a bummer. Not huge things but just enough to cause discouragement. In my real life (opposed to my anonymous blogging life) I struggle in connecting with a good many Christians in my church. I seem to connect better with Christians outside of my church. It doesn't seem it should be this way....this is my church family for crying out loud! Church often just feels like high school, with the cattiness and clicks. It really just turns me off to having any real Christian fellowship within my church.

There is one woman that I know that just really rubs me the wrong way, I just can't get to know her, nor do I really desire to. She's always appears to be friendly to others ,including me, but it seems only to be on the surface friendliness, at least this is the way I have seen it. It got back to me this week , that she had some pretty harsh things to say about my family....it hurt and reinforced my feelings about keeping certain others from church at arms length. I know I need to forgive her and overlook her offense. I feel I have...I'm not angry anymore and don't feel I'm holding it against her but in all honesty I just don't have any desire to have any real meaningful Christian fellowship with her. She's not knocking down my door either...actually from what she had to say...I get the impression she doesn't want much to do with us. Life is a struggle.....I wish I was better at seeing day to day life from an eternal perspective.

God is good though...yesterdays sermon was so touching and God spoke to my heart through it & I pray it spoke to hers. God really is a personal & living God, aware of our hurts. It's hard to imagine going through life without Jesus. I know life is not going to be easy, but difficult if you are a follower of Christ, but to know that you can count on Him and come to him whenever you want...brings such a peace. There are many times when I don't spend the personal time with the Lord, when I know I should. When will I learn that I'm only hurting myself....I'm missing out on much. Yet there are other times that I have an overwhelming desire, that comes out of nowhere, that I just can't wait for a quiet time to run to Him and be with only Him. It is such a secure and loving place to be.....like a little child wrapped up in the loving , strong, and secure arms of their daddy.

Bathroom Makeover

2009-06-08T17:17:00.006-04:00

Awhile ago I told you about trying to redo my bathroom on a budget. It's not completely finished. The flooring still needs to be replaced and the trim hung back up. I don't have before pictures...just picture bare white walls.
The butter fly picture above is an Anne Gedde picture that I boought at Aldi years ago. I had it hung in a different room but moved into the bathroom because I thought I looked better in here.

I got the floating shelf for $6 at a closeout store. The picture frame was $3...I bought two. the other one is hung on the other side of the roon. I printed out black and white photos that I took of my kids and put them in those frames.

Weekend

2009-05-25T09:04:00.004-04:00

The past several days have been busy around here. We've just been getting ready for summer. You know despite the heat....I really love summer! I would say it's my favorite time of the year. There is so much to do and see throughout the season. Some of the things we've been doing to get ready for it are:

Friday I took my daughter to get a new bathing suit. It was tough finding something modest but after trying many on she found "the suit" at Kohl's. Saturday I did alot of running around...went shopping for our Memorial day picnic, bought veggie plants and seeds for our garden, planted the garden (my husband and kids helped). My husband also worked on getting our pool opened. It's filled and chemicals have been added....it's still looking cloudy though. I haven't been outside to look at it this morning yet, maybe the chemicals have kicked in.

Saturday night we went to the drive- in to see "Night at the Museum 2". It was okay...the first one was much better..it was still a fun time though and something different to do with the family. The drive-in shows 2 movies but we didn't stay for the second one. My 3 year old daughter was funny because she kept saying she wanted to go inside to watch the movie. I guess she just couldn't grasp the idea of watching TV outside : )

Yesterday after church I planted a few perennials that I bought...I hope they survive...besides a veggie garden...I just don't seem to do too well with plants : )

My husband started working on the chicken coop area....fencing the run area off. We still have to put some more ventilation in the garden shed (being converted to a coop) and make a little door for the chickens before we can put them out there. So for now they are still in a big box (that they are outgrowing fast) in our basement. I know nothing about chickens...just kind of jumped into it head first...asking questions to people that I know have them. I've been reading info on the internet and got a few books from the library. I have to admit reading these books and the abundance of info they have has left we a little overwhelmed. I was reading about how the eggs can get stuck in the hens vent and you will have to get it out. It involved sticking a finger in there and rubbing the hens stomach to work the egg out. Okay where's the hen's stomach and vent? Oh boy...do you see what I mean. Well, Rome wasn't built in a day.....I'm working on it and learning : )

Last night I made some bacon ranch potato salad to have today. It sure is yummy...I can't wait to eat it. We will also be having grilled burgers, hot dogs, watermelon and chips.

Well I'm going to get going. I hope you all have a great Memorial Day. Remember to pray for our troops and thank a veteran if you see one.

Confidence in Homeschooling

2009-05-18T09:48:00.005-04:00

The title of this post certainly doesn't reflect the way I've always felt about the 8 years of homeschooling I've done with my children. My oldest child did attend public school for K & 1st; however, I did teach him to read at 4 before he even went to school and I didn't follow any expensive reading curriculum to do it either. I went to the library, found a simple little book called "Phonics for the Young Reader" & the rest is history : ) Having taught him to read did give me a little confidence in my ability to homeschool.

Through the years I've used many different types of curriculum & textbooks and learning approaches....never completing one & not following them to a T ...just in case your wondering ; ) I have to say my favorite way of teaching is by taking the unit study& child interest learning approach. As my kids have gotten older (13+) I still take that approach but have pushed more academics...although I still think I've been a little more relaxed then most homeschoolers I know. Of course kids need guidance and need mom & dad to decide what might be interesting to learn about;however, it is still important to really notice or take interest in what it is your kids like, enjoy doing, or are good at , because you never know...that particular interest maybe a God given gift or ability that the Lord wants to build upon.

I have always been a little more of a relaxed homeschooler....rather bake cookies with the kids & go on a field trip with them then sit all day doing worksheets. Although I often wondered if I was doing a disservice to my kids by not having them crack open the textbooks day after day. I wondered if they were learning enough or at the right times. The only thing that I have had confidence in during this homeschooling journey, has been emphasizing to my kids a love for learning....a love for reading. I have come to realize that my kids have learned so much more by visiting the library often & checking out many books to read.

In our state we have to turn in a homeschool portfolio review (this is a portfolio of work they've done through out the year) each year to our local school district, that has been approved by a certified teacher or have them take a standardized test also administered by a certified teacher. I've always done the portfolio reviews ,until this year , I had them tested. I am so glad and relieved that I had them tested. They did better then I could have imagined. Their grade equivalent scores were all above their grade level. As an example my oldest child who is finishing up the 9th grade had an over all grade equivalent score of a 12th grader. This has given not only them more confidence but has given me the confidence that homeschooling that doesn't follow the "typical schooling method" really does work!

Feeling Better

2009-05-12T08:23:00.003-04:00

Thank you all for your prayers. I am feeling better then I was. The shortness of breath isn't as bad as it was...it let up yesterday. Thanks Mary for stopping by my blog. I considered the possibility of anemia being a cause of the shortness of breath. During one of my pregnancies I had anemia (no shortness of breath though) and could not tolerate taking regular iron pills...only thing I could tolerate was a product called Ferrofood.

I have decided to get some medical tests done that I have been holding off on. I would appreciate prayer regarding that : )

I am pretty busy these days with baseball games....4 out of the 7 people in my household are on a baseball team. We have games everyday this week except Friday and Sunday. Two of those days we have more then one game going on. Although I don't enjoy watching Major League Baseball I love watching my kids play and getting outside seems to rejuevenate me.

Well that's it for now. I'll blog again when I can.

Take a Deep Breath

2009-05-07T19:59:00.002-04:00

Oh how I wish I could take a deep breath. For the past week I have felt short of breath which isn't something new for me. Before I became pregnant with my last child 3 years ago I had this shortness of breath problem. Then when I became pregnant it went away....now it's back again. Part of me thinks it maybe hormone related but it's now spring it could be allergies (which I've never had) triggering it. I don't know what to do. We do not have health insurance coverage at this time and having been to the doctors about this before I never was given an answer only expensive tests that showed nothing.
I just took a Zyrtec hoping if it is triggered by an allergy it might help. I would be grateful for prayers.

Thank you and have a blessed weekend!

We've just increased our family by 15!!

2009-04-28T08:09:00.002-04:00

Okay, not really, but we did buy 15 chicks over the weekend. Aren't they cute. We just have to get busy converting our garden shed into a chicken coop.

A Few Funnies

2009-04-25T08:33:00.002-04:00

My 10 year old daughter is playing on a community baseball team for the first time ever. I have to admit I don't think I was thinking clearly when I signed her up. She did want to play but I think I should have put her on an all girls team. She is 1 of 2 girls on the team...the rest are boys. The only other girl is her friend. We asked to have them on the same team...I'm so glad we did : ) I know none of this is funny but I am getting to the point : ) During the first practice the boys were being hard on the girls and you could see the frustration on their cute little faces. Let me tell you though God didn't make us girls wimpy....we can be pretty tough if we have to be! LOL! If you could only see the girls now. By yesterday's practice the girls were really doing great. Two of the boys that were playing catch with my daughter asked her to stop throwing the ball so hard because it hurt . Then my daughter was playing 3rd base and two plays in a row got the runners out. That's my girl! The boys made a comment to the two boys that she got out " You got out by a giirrrl!"

I sure hope I'm not creating a feminist out of my daughter : ) LOL!

The second funny was last night. The weather has been beautiful here. We had the windows open letting the warm air in. The Spring Peepers are out and were especially loud last night. My 3 year old daughter looked a little bewildered by the noise coming from outside and was asking to shut the window. I told her that noise was all the spring peepers peeping. She said " Well I want them to stop peeping!" So funny! You gotta love girls!

So Many Projects So Little Time

2009-04-21T10:01:00.006-04:00

I love the spring but I tend to have so many project ideas/plans and very little time to start them. Things keep coming up that I can't get things started. I bought the paint and nicnacs for my master bath project but we got busy with sickness , testing, and baseball practice for 3 of my children, that I haven't even started it.

To make our country living a little more country : ) .....we are getting some chicks (laying chicks). We have a garden shed that we hardly use that we will be turning into a chicken coop when the chicks are big enough to be in it. We need to plan for our veggie garden as well. I would love to grow enough to preserve shelves of canned veggies. I really think planning is the key to having a successful garden and I'm slowly learning how to do that. Plant what you know you will eat and have a plan on how to use what you will grow.
Last year I thought of veggies that I wanted to learn to can /preserve and planted the things I would need to do that. I planted pickling cucumbers and dill to make my kosher dill pickles....they turned out wonderfully...although I will use less salt next time : ) I also made a sweet pickle relish out of all of those cucumbers. I wanted to plant jalapeno peppers to make jalapeno poppers to freeze....those cheesy filled appetizers that you can buy at restaurants. Well I couldn't find them so I bought another type of pepper that I was told was similar to jalapenos. They were not....they were very hot and too small to stuff with cheese and we had a ton of them.....what a waste because I had no idea what to do with them. Trial and error....this is what learning is about : ) I also planted cabbage last year as well to make a freezer coleslaw. The cabbage didn't do so well but I did get a few heads that I used to make cabbage rolls.

I did have things go to waste because I didn't know what to do with it. It seemed you couldn't give it away...so many people out here in the country grow their own food. Although I do see people who live on main roads with veggie stands where they sell their garden veggies. I don't live on a main road but I think I might do this in the summer.....Lord willing we have enough to sell.

Our Childrens' Goals and Dreams

2009-04-09T12:29:00.003-04:00

This is something I think about often, now that my older children are in their teens. I often wonder and think about what it is that the Lord will have them do in the future. As a parent it is my job to help guide them in the direction the Lord would have them go. Sometimes I get frustrated/overwhelmed because I wonder how in the world we will financially be able to help them reach their goals/dreams. I especially consider what it is that my daughters will do. I'm not opposed to higher education for my girls, I just don't want to see them put so much money(student loans), time and effort into a "career" that will be wasted if/when God gives them a husband , children and a home to care for. I also wonder sometimes how I'll know if we are going in the right direction but as I am learning the Lord seems to be opening the doors and providing a way, even when it seems impossible to me.

From a very young age my daughter has loved to dance, so at 3 years of age I signed her up for a ballet class. As she got older the teacher told me that she could see that my daughter had a natural gift/ability for ballet. She became more involved in ballet, even became apart of a Christian ballet dance group. At about 10 she stopped taking ballet with her teacher of 7 years. There were several reasons for quiting but one main reason was money. She began taking ballet again with another teacher until that teacher retired in the fall. We weren't able to find an affordable or close by studio. I just figured that was it ...no more dancing. Well back in Feb. I ran into my daughter's first dance instructor. I told her my daughter hadn't been dancing because we hadn't been able to find a place for her. My last comment to her was" if the Lord wants her to dance he will provide a way." Honestly I hadn't really thought about that before. In the back of my mind I always thought that dance was just a fun thing for her to do and it wouldn't be apart of her future. Having run into her first teacher it made me remember how much my daughter learned and enjoyed dance. I began to pray a simple prayer "Lord if ballet is something you want her to do please provide a way for her to do it"
Within a week of that prayer I received a call from a dance instructor I had contacted back in the fall. She called me to let me know she would be starting a ballet worship class. I was thrilled because God provided that affordable and close by opportunity. My daughter has been taking this class for over a month now and enjoys it. Although I found myself getting discouraged because this class doesn't really cover all aspects of ballet , like dancing on pointe, which my daughter really has wanted to do (the Lord even provided a free brand new pair of pointe shoes for her). Instead of getting discouraged I just thought to myself the Lord provided this opportunity for her...this is what He wants for her and we/I will be content with that.

Out of the blue last week I received a phone call from my daughter's previous instructor, who had retired in the fall. She said she was going to start offering a few classes , including pointe, at her home. The cost .....$3 a class! That's pretty much nothing! I asked the teacher why she decided to do this . She said my daughter, as well as a few others that she saw had a lot of potential and she knew it would be hard for them to find another place to take classes....she wanted to give her the opportunity! Isn't God good!

I found out recently that this teacher had a student that she instructed for 10 years that went on to dance for a Christian ballet company. I don't know what God has planned for my daughter but I can't help but think he's preparing her for it now & that it involves ballet.

Going Ons

2009-04-08T14:33:00.002-04:00

Haven't really had much time to write...it's been a busy few weeks. Our family is getting over a virus. It's a stomach virus that lasts about a day but leaves you wiped out for about a week. My daughter who is 3 is working on the potty training thing but let me tell you this week I'm glad she was wearing diapers ; ) I stopped at the store today and got her some DanActive Probiotic Drink. The last time she had this problem it cleared up within a day.

My older children have spent the week taking achievement tests. In our homeschooling we have always done portfolio reviews and handed those into our local school district. This year; however, I had the opportunity to have my kids tested. They have had a pretty easy time with the testing. I was afraid they would struggle with it since they aren't use to testing. Tomorrow is the last day of testing. Yay! It will take 6 weeks for the results and I can't wait to see how they did!

We don't have any special plans for Easter but am looking forward to the Good Friday service we will be attending...as long as no one is sick. I invited my dad (who isn't saved)... I hope he comes...he said he would try. Well that's all for now ...I have to go pick up my kids from their day of testing.

Homemaking is Good

2009-03-25T17:16:00.005-04:00

So many of my days feel so hectic and overwhelming with bickering children and emotional teens. Yesterday seemed to be heading down that familiar path . I could feel the stress and tension building in my body. I began to get so discouraged feeling like nothing I'm doing as a mom/wife is making a difference. Until I decided to get motivated (the Lord prompted me I believe) and get some things done. After I did some homeschooling with the kids I went straight to my bedroom and started to fold and put away a mountain of laundry that was overflowing out of the laudry basket spilling onto the floor. Next I took a few things out of the closet that I know longer needed, so that I could make it a little more organized and actually be able to shut the door : ) Then I picked up all the clutter on the floor,straightened my books on the floor next to my bed, made my bed & fluffed my pillows.

Then I went into our master bath, quickly went through my cabinets throwing away stuff that was not needed and organized it a little better. Then I wiped dwon the counter and sinks....threw all the trash away . Then I swept the floor. It really didn't take long to get these things done but it made a world of difference not only in appearance but in my heart as well.

Then I ran a nice warm bath for my marker covered 3 year old and cleaned her all up. Wrapped her up in her towel, baby powdered her up, and got her dressed in her fresh clean clothes. Then I started dinner...homemade mac n chesse and sweet peas.

To you it might sound like just an ordinary day as a SAHM mom but it was encouragement to me. There is something satisfying & peaceful about a clean bedroom. Even my husband comments on how he loves to climb under the covers after I have made the bed. I don't usually make my bed but I think I'm going to start. There is also something satisfying about a freshly bathed little child...their clean sweet smiley faces and freshly shampooed hair. These are the things that life is made of ....the ordinary days that might not seem all that special but mean more then we will ever know. I say that because I personally didn't have a mother that took care of me or our home. I never remember her doing ordinary things for me.....like giving me a bath or reading me a story. So truly what a blessing it is for me to do these things for my family and for them to receive it.

Redecorating Project

2009-03-16T00:16:00.003-04:00

It's been a long time coming but we are finally making a little progress on our master bathroom. Last March my husband ripped out the old shower and put a bigger newer one in. It wasn't brand new but nice and FREE. So after replacing it he had to build a wall on the one side of the shower and hung some drywall. He taped and mudded it. Well over the weekend we primed the walls. The drywall is going to need some touching up since it sat for so long without any paint to seal it up. So hopefully soon I will be able to do the "finish" painting after all the prep work is done.

We are doing this on a tight budget. So far I spent around $29 for the primer and the rollers to paint with. I found some vinyl tiles for the floor that will cost about $65....maybe a little more, we haven't purchased them yet though. We have to replace the flooring because when we tore out the old shower, it left a bare spot where there was no flooring, not to mention the flooring had come up in several spots and water got underneath because of the old shower. The water getting under the linoleum caused some mold to grow.

I do have a few other decorating ideas floating around in my head but first things first. I plan to post before and after pictures...hopefully it doesn't take too long : )

My Experience With Childrens' Church

2009-02-22T20:25:00.005-05:00

What I would like to do is share my experience on this subject, for what it's worth.... I guess just another opinion : ) I also would like to defend those parents that do chose to send their children to these ministries......yes ministries, that's what they are. I have used/needed to use them. This is my story:

When I began to attend church on a regular basis I had 4 small children ~ ages 7-to a baby. I had several older & more mature Christians as well as some family members that encouraged me to keep my children with me in church. They said the children needed to hear what I was hearing, learn what I was learning, sings hymns to the Lord that I was singing. We needed to be together. I trusted their wisdom. In all honesty, I was never big on putting my children in nursery because they didn't like it, they would just cry and get upset and wanted to be with mommy. So I didn't put them in there. I chose to keep them with me after listening to others advice/encouragement on the subject.

My 3 older children all did well in church, were never difficult, but the baby on the other hand was not, especially the older he got. It was okay for awhile though because I had family there to help (my husband did not attend church with me at this time) . If I needed to step out with the baby they were there to help by supervising the other children. It all worked out quite well until...........................these family members found a new church to go to. I didn't go with them to the new church for a few reasons , one being that my husband didn't want me to. He didn't go to church with me but didn't mind me going , so I decided to just stay put. So there I was every Sunday/Wed. sitting in the pews with 4 little ones. The littlest a toddler by this time became more & more difficult and disruptive during church. I would have to walk out with him often and was leaving my 3 other children sitting in the pews by themselves. I wouldn't take them all out with me everytime the little one would get rowdy, could you imagine the disruptiveness that would cause : )My toddler wouldn't go in the nursery, he would get so upset.

One time I put him in there and when one of the nursery workers had turned her back for a second to help another child he had opened the door and went running down the hall (sreaming) to the sanctuary. She caught him just as he opened the door to the sanctuary. So I'm sure you could see my dilema. Sit out in the hallway with my little one while my 3 older children sat in the church service by themselves, unsupervised. I became more & more discouraged and frustrated....leaving church in tears because I couldn't handle the situation myself & I wasn't hearing the service. Discouraged.....I gave up and stopped going to church. I wasn't hearing the word and losing out on the benefit of the encouragemnet it brought to my heart. What good was I to my kids if I wasn't hearing the word?

I knew the answer to this problem was not to stop going to the church, so I did what I had to.... I decided to put my children in childrens' church. The good thing was that my church ministered to me with a Christian love & allowed my toddler to go into childrens' church with my older kids even though they usually left the younger kids in the nursery. He was very content to be with his siblings & behaved very well because the class was more on his level.

Every family has a different situation or circumstances and it's not "a one size fits all " solution or choice . It doesn't make you less Godly or less loved by God or less of a parent if your children go to nursery/children's church. If you find yourself in a similar situation be encouraged and don't give up : )

Inexpensive Valentine's Day Gift

2009-02-14T10:00:00.005-05:00

Today being Valentine's Day gave me the perfect opportunity to express to my family my love for them. It's easy in the busyness and chaos of day to day life to overlook the good qualities of my children and husband. So I decided to write a love note to each member of my family telling them what I love and appreciate about them the most. I bought some inexpensive candy and put it in individual sandwich bags and put their note inside.

Have a Happy Valentine's Day expressing love to those you hold dear .

The Freedom to Have Children

2009-02-12T11:02:00.015-05:00

Dateline had the interview with the the mother that gave birth to 8 babies.. I have to say that interview was upsetting to me. Let me explain why.

I don't agree with children being born outside of marriage because I don't believe that's God's revealed will for us. Having said that though, let me tell you, my parents were NEVER married and had both my brother and I. They received public assistance and our life was not the easiest. I would even go as far to say that my mother did not show me half the love that this mother of 14 seems to give her children. My mother drank heavily and did not take care of us. I'm glad though that I was given the right to be conceived & born, even if I wasn't planned or was conceived out of selfish motivations. I'm glad no one told her I didn't have the right to be born because she made poor/wrong choices or because she couldn't give me the perfect life .....an easy life. Many would say that I shouldn't have been conceived or even born because my parents life situation wasn't optimal . Could you imagine if we all waited to have children or only had children when things were just so.......I don't think anyone would have any children : )

I have 5 children . The first two were conceived and born when we had no medical insurance. God provided by allowing us to make enough money to pay the hospital bills ourselves.When we had our 3rd child God provide medical insurance. When we had our 4th & 5th we had medical insurance we couldn't use because we had a homebirths(our insurance didn't cover it) but God provided a way for them to be born at home & provided the money to pay the midwife. So all these years He has provided for their needs. He did not provide for us through public assistance to take care of them but things have changed for us these past few years. We now have assistance with medical insurance for our children....I believe this is how God has chosen to provide for us.

The economy went into a slump, my husband's work slowed down....we lost our insurance and there was not enough money coming in to pay for it. Should we not have had 5 children because there might have been a possibility we couldn't afford to take care of them in the future? Should I no longer have children because I might not be able to afford them in the future? Anyone of us could be in the same situation as this mother.....especially considering the rate people are losing their jobs.

Science may have advanced and man now has the wisdom to help women to have children that otherwise would not have been able but that would not be if it were not God doing it. He is Sovereign and in control. I think this woman's story is a perfect example of that. Often IVF doesn't even work for those that try it and the chances of all 6 embryos implanting and thriving are pretty rare (which God is in control of as well) . This woman had 6 embryos implanted and gave birth to 8! Now that is God!

A Valuable Day

2009-02-04T19:27:00.008-05:00

What an interesting day I had. I was at the grocery store walking past the dairy section , when I saw a lady that I recognized from my daughter's former ballet studio. The woman didn't know it but she had blessed (through God's provision) my daughter with an almost brand new pair of pointe shoes. She had given them to the ballet teacher (they didn't fit her the way she had hoped & she had only worn them a few times) who happened to think they would be good for my daughter. The shoes were a perfect fit! Well anyway I had never had a chance to talk with this lady and thank her. I had seen her out and about through the fall and early part of winter with her little daughter and her pregnant belly : ) Today she had her new baby with her. I thought this might be a good opportunity to introduce myself and get a peek at her precious little baby.

I approached her, introducing myself, and explaining how I knew her from ballet and how she had blessed my daughter with pointe shoes. I even found out we lived right down the road from each other at one time, before our move 3 years ago. I asked her about her new baby son who she said was 4 weeks old. We got on the subject of his birth and she told me he was born at home. He was born at home with the same midwife I used : ) It was so cool to have met someone in which we have that in common and here she had been under my nose for months : )

Seeing that little baby and hearing about her homebirth brought to mind the homebirths of my two little babies . It brought back that desire to have another little baby to love...(that desire I have been pushing aside) So I left the store with these thoughts on my mind. I decided to stop at our local GNC store ,which I had never been in, to look around. I noticed the "Now Hiring" sign on the door......I asked for an application. The hours seemed like they would work for me but the more I thought about it , the sadder it made me, especially after seeing that baby.

These two events of the day got me to thinking.... I just can't see myself being away from my husband, my kids & my home, even part time. I shared these thoughts with my husband. He said it was his job to provide for us and that he knew if things were bad he knows I would help however I could. He agreed that it might be better to just pray to find work that I could do from home : ) It kind of interesting....my husband has never expressed a desire for me to get a job. It's been me putting the pressure on myself to do it. I'm torn because I want to be a helper to my husband. I'm not trying to take over I just want to a help get us out of debt. I don't know maybe the Lord has another plan and I'm unaware that I'm trying to work outside of what it is He has planned. So this is where we are and we just wait to see where God leads us.

After having all these thoughts and others related to finance and our particular life curcumstances I stumbled upon this blog post. It was so encouraging and really spoke volumes to me!

Possible Changes Ahead

2009-02-02T21:33:00.002-05:00

My husband and I have been discussing the possibility of me getting a part time job. We really want to work on getting some debt cleaned up that we have accumulated since my husband's work slowed way down about 4 years ago. He has work now and we have income but the interest on those credits cards is a killer! Of course any job I get would have to have the optimal hours.....my husband is particular : ) He doesn't want me to work in the evenings because he won't get to see me and he doesn't like me driving in the dark, especially if the weather is bad. So it would have to be a job that was a few days a week, not an 8 hour day either. My oldest who is 15 could sit with the younger kids while I'm gone.

I'm just continuing to pray about it. I don't know if my contribution would even put a dent into our debt but I guess it's a start. I hate debt and I do feel we are a slave to it but what's done is done. I'm just praying to find our way out of it. At this point it seems so overwhelming, especially when the economy is getting worse by the day....so many are losing their jobs....blue collar and white collar alike. My husband is self employed and in a line of work that has been hit the hardest. The future , as least financially , seems so uncertain to me. I try not to think about it too much. It's hard to imagine ever losing our lovely country home. It's not the home so much (although I do like it)....its the land and the room we have to roam. So sad to think about :( However, I trust God will give us the grace we need if that day ever comes.

Still Here

2009-01-28T19:25:00.003-05:00

I'm still here....just haven't been reading many blogs lately . It seems it takes more time to write here then I have time for. Besides I really wonder if people want to read about my everyday life...it's not all that interesting or I don't no how to write in a way that makes it's sound interesting : )
This month has been a little busy with birthdays in our house. My oldest child turned 15 at the beginning of the month and my 2 year old turned 3 last week. This week my 7 year old will be turning 8. Goodness they are growing up so fast! Besides all that we've just been trying to keep warm as it feels like Alaska here with many days of below zero temperatures. We heat are home with a wood burning furnace...it has been a blessing because it has been free but the furnace has had a hard time keeping up with these frigid temps. The temp. in the house got as low as 53 and is at 59 at the present moment. It's okay though because we dress warm and that keeps us comfortable.

I'll write more when I can : )

Working Out Is For The Birds!

2009-01-13T10:32:00.003-05:00

I decided it was time to get serious about exercising. I'll admit I am out of shape! I do get some exercise in the summer by walking mostly and riding my bike sometimes, but come winter time I do nothing. Well, I was at Walmart last week and saw an exercise ball that included an exercise DVD for $13.....I was very encouraged. This morning I decided to try it out. I wouldn't say it was difficult; however, I did stick to the basics exercises for beginners. The most difficult thing about it was staying balanced on the ball. I did fairly well , finishing the entirety of the workout, but then........................I began to feel nauseous. Who feels nauseous after exercising? Only me of course : ) So I decided to look up info about it on the web. Well there are a few simple explanations to why I might have felt sick to my stomach.

1. Exercising on a completely empty stomach
2. Being dehydrated
3. Eating sweets just before exercising
4. Exercising right after eating

I did not eat breakfast....that's probably the culprit.....I hope. I rested , waiting for my stomach to settle....it settled a little and I decided I would just have to eat to make my tummy feel better. Well it feels most of the way better but I'm still feeling a little icky! Boy is this discouraging......if there aren't enough distractions and obstacles to overcome when it comes to starting an exercise routine....nausea has to be one of them!?!?

I have a little more time to rest because the kiddos are helping their dad stack some firewood before we start our homeschooling for the day. I should have just helped stack firewood, hey it's exercise, and I probably wouldn't have gotten nauseous doing it : ) Well I'm off to sip on some ginger ale and hopefully have a better day.

The Story Behind It

2009-01-07T11:36:00.005-05:00

In my last post I wrote about how I thought God wants us to have 6 children. Well , I thought I would share the story behind why I think that. About 6 or 7 years ago my husband and I were shopping for a vehicle. We knew what features we were looking for in it. I wanted something that was 8 passenger because that's what our previous van was and I knew that we could fit 2 more children (we had 4 at the time) in an 8 passenger. We were also hoping to find something that was 4 wheel drive because of all the snow we get here in the North. Rear air and heat was something we hoped for as well because our previous van didn't have it and my chidlren would be really hot in the summer and cold in the winter.

We started our search...it was a bit discouraging. Anything that had 4 wheel drive was more of sports untility vehicle that was just to small (like a Durango) or too expensive (like a Suburban). I prayed and prayed that the Lord would guide us in this decision and give us the vehicle He wanted us to have. We visited several car dealerships, most of them were fine but one we didn't care for at all ....they just seemed like sneeky used car salesmen & were being extremely pushy. We decided to take a little break from our search.

About a month later we got a phone call from one of the dealerships that we visited....not the pushy one : ) They told us they just got a vehicle in that seemed like something we might be interested in. So we went to look at it. My first impression of the van, only the outside of it was, that it was in very good shape but wouldn't have been something I would have chosen.....it was a boxy shaped mini van. I never liked the look of those kind of vans; however, when I looked in side the van I noticed how nice and roomy it was, more so then our previous van & it was an
8 passenger ! It had the rear air/heat like I had hoped for & it was 4 wheel drive! It was a very nice van, even though at first glance it wasn't something I would have chosen on my own. I got out of the van and started walking around it, getting a better look at it from all sides. When I got to the rear of the van, right on the back was a little metal fish sign ( the sign of Jesus). You can't imagine how excited that made me! I just knew that this was from God.

There was one obstacle to get over....the price...it was more then we could spend. I was confident though that they would go down on the price, because this van was hand picked by God,for us. I had no doubts. They dropped the price more then $3000 and we walked out the door that day with the keys to our new van.

I prayed for His will regarding the vehicle. He knew what we hoped/wanted in a vehicle...one being the hope to have a van that would fit 2 more children. So this is why I can't help but think that He has a place for 1 more child in our lives and our van : )

It's Never Not Busy

2008-12-18T13:51:00.002-05:00

Life always seems pretty busy for me....it could just be I'm not a very good multi tasker & homebody : ) I feel like I've been running so much lately . Sat...I had my daughter's piano recital. I picked up her great grandmother to bring her to the recital and visited with her awhile when I took her back home at her new assisted living apartment. Sunday was church in the morning , home for lunch, and then out Christmas shopping, picked up 2 of my kids from evening church (they spent the afternoon with some friends). Monday was Bible study in the evening, but I had to stop off and get a snack and small gift for the gift exchange we were having. Tues ~ We went and had family pictures taken. Wed. ~ Denist appointment in the morning, grocery shopping since I was out and church in the evening. Today ~ This morning my daughter had piano lessons. I wrapped the majority of the Christmas presents we bought. My kids and I are going to bake some cookies for their teen church outing tomorrow and Sat. Fri ~ Taking my kids to a teen fellowship where they will be having dinner, going Christmas shopping for a needy family at church, then they will be wrapping the presents. Sat ~ I will be taking the kids to Christmas carol with their particular class at church. Sunday is our big church program and I'm sure I'm forgetting something. So that's my busy week. Still have lots of baking to do and some shopping : ) Gotta go and get busy : )

Sickies

2008-12-12T20:51:00.002-05:00

I've finally decided we must have a virus going around our house. It seemed to manifest it's self in different ways .....some symptoms very apparent and some so subtle, I didn't even realize it was a symptom. My 2 yeard old dd had diarreha the entire week or so after Thanksgiving.....she then started with the sniffles. About that time my ears started plugging up and my 10 year old dd started complaining about her jaw hurting. Now all of my girls have sniffles and stuffy noses and they did have sore throats. I had the same syptoms including the sore jaw and my tummy has been bothering me off and on all week....feeling the worst today. I just want to curl up in a ball and go to sleep. It's hard to be sick this time of year when you have so much to do for the holidays.

If you think of it please pray for us, my 10 year old dd has her piano recital tomorrow. It would be terrible if we were feeling miserable : (

Christmas Traditions

2008-12-05T14:04:00.004-05:00

This picture was taken last Christmas morning. My then 1 year old daughter was blowing out the Christ candle to our advent/nativity set. Read below to find out more about our Christmas tradition.

I'm thankful Friday has arrived! It has been a long and busy week. My youngest daughter and oldest son have picked up an intestinal bug of some sort from my brother's family, who stayed with us the week of Thanksgiving. My poor brother started having diarrhea the day he arrived to our home from out of state . His boys had it for the few days before they left to come here.

It's been a week and my 2 year old dd has had it the entire week.....my son has had it for a few days. DD wakes up in the middle of the night with a tummy ache and diarrhea. She's acting okay the rest of the day but it is sad to see her complain of her tummy hurting.

Wednesday I took my 7 year old son to an appointment with a pediatric cardiologist to check his heart murmur. The good news is everything is fine...it's a normal heart murmur. The not so good news is that he had several high blood pressure readings during the visit. The doctor had an echo cardiogram performed because his blood pressure was high. That checked out fine. He ordered a blood test to check his kidneys and a urinalysis.....those checked out fine as well. I have to take him back next month to check his blood pressure again. The nurse said he could just have what they call "white coat" hypertension. The visit with the doctor makes him so nervous that his blood pressure goes up. I'm guessing that's all it is.

Since there are so many negative opinions out there about the "wrong" Christmas traditions that Christian's celebrate, I thought I would share with you what "wrong" traditions we celebrate LOL!

This weekend we are hoping to go and cut down our Christmas tree. We have a horse drawn wagon pull us back to the field of our choice (depending on what type of tree we want) We are given a hand saw to cut down the tree we choose. The wagon picks us back up , bringing our tree along. They wrap it up nicely for us and then we are ready to go.......not before we stop into the heated barn to pay for our tree , enjoy roasting marshmallows for smores, roast hot dogs in the fire place and enjoy hot cocoa, which are all free! It's alot of fun and a cherised family tradition.

We finally started our advent readings last night, only 4 days late...we caught up though . My kids love our advent tradition. We started celebrating advent about 6 years ago. We read a book trilogy written by Arnold Ytreeide. We started with Jotham's Journey the first year, the second year Tabitha's Travel and the third year Batholomew's Passage. We started over again back to Jotham's Journey and are now doing Bartholomew's Passage again.

Each Sunday of advent we light a new candle to our advent/nativity set . The first candle (purple) represents Hope....it reminds us that God's people hoped for a Saviour (Isaiah 9: 2 & 6). The second candle (purple) represents Peace. It reminds us that Jesus came to bring us peace. (Micah) 4:3-4

The third candle (pink) represents Joy....it reminds us of the joy Jesus brings us. (Luke 2:8-11)

The 4th candle(purple) represents Love....it reminds us that God sent Jesus because He loves us. (1 John 4: 7-9)

The last candle(white) we light on Christmas morning. Each Christmas morning before we open gifts, we light that white candle which represents Christ. We are reminded that He is the light of the world. (Luke 2:1-20) We read our last chapter of our advent book and are reminded of what the day is really about. It's really a blessing!

These books are all fictions books that are historically accurate to the time of Jesus's birth. Each book is based on the same thing ,the events that lead up to the birth of Jesus. It is told from 3 different perspectives (characters) They are very action packed /real to life of that time and they keep the kids hanging and excited to listen to the next night's chapter. Following each chapter is a short devotion. I think they are awesome books and would recommend them .

Each new week of advent (Sunday) I let the kids choose a special snack to eat after we read the chapter for that day. We have some Little Debbie Christmas Tree Cakes for this week. So what are your traditions?

Kitchen Floor

2008-11-21T15:09:00.007-05:00

Last weekend my dear sweet husband installed a new ceramic tile kitchen floor for me. Below are some photos

This is the before picture. This white linoleum did not work well for us. It stained very easily and always looked dirty. It was very hard to keep clean.

This is my new beautiful ceramic tiled floor ,in the eating area of my kitchen. The trim still has to be put back up.

Here is a closer view of the tile in the other half of my kitchen

Here's a really close up view of the 2x2 center tile. I just thought it was so pretty. It's called autumn bronze. So there you have it a little peek into my home : )

Another Great Article

2008-11-14T08:50:00.003-05:00

Here's another great article that expands on my last post, it is written by my friend Rebecca:

Who am I really to throw cold water on these folks? I suppose if they want to go away from society and "separate" themselves in the name of being godly, let them go. It's their right and freedom to do so. I am sensitive to this whole thing for one reason. I've had cold water thrown on me. You see, I went through the Little House series twice and one phrase kept running through my mind "free and independent". I live on a farm so I thought, I sure would like to be free and independent. I would like to be "self sufficient". After all, who knows what the future holds, wouldn't it be nice to be able to rely on yourself? Well, I started to float away with the ideas. I checked out books on setting up a little "homestead" of our own. Started learning about chickens and how to take care of a cow and milk one and composting and gardens and different survival stuff. I kept it all to myself for a little while and then shared some of my thoughts with my very practical software engineer of a husband. I mention this because he is know Pa Ingalls. He is an engineer - very much a man of modern technology and there is no way on earth I'll be able to change that. He was not the one to throw cold water on my unrealistic dreams though. He patiently listened as I think he knew I would come back to reality on my own. As I read on all this neat stuff (before I ever read my first Christian Homesteading blog or preparedness blog or agrarian blog) I began to realize that we would go into debt just trying to become "self sufficient". It would cost a fortune! Then it started to hit me that there is really no way one can be self reliant if what they have belongs to the bank. If you study the Great Depression, people lost their homes if they didn't own them outright. The best thing to do in a Depression is to be out of debt. How could we do this if we had to take out bank loans to set up a homestead? I threw the cold water on myself. I splashed my face with it real good and woke from my dream of thinking I could somehow become totally independent of modern day ammenitites. I realized that in truth, separatism is not the way Jesus lived. He mingled and reached out to the most unlovely. I think of the City Missions and of missionaries who go into all sorts of impoverished places or for those who go into devastated areas both here and in other parts of the world. That is Jesus to me. Now, perhaps that is putting God in a box and perhaps He does call some to "separate" for the sake of godliness, but I personally don't understand that. But then again, I'll be the first to admit I do not understand the mind of God. For me though, separatism is arrogant and ungodly. How will you be a light to the world if you are off in never, never land living like the Amish? Never mind how you look! How silly you must look to the people of the world in strange looking clothes - they can't relate! There is absolutely no reason a person should have to cover their heads and wear long dresses in order to be modest. We live today - in this culture. You will make far more impact if you live in today and dress modestly using COMMON SENSE! I like dresses very much and I wear them a lot but not because they make me more godly. I happen to feel feminine in them. I would NEVER try to tell someone that I am being obedient by wearing dresses. My hair is long but not because it makes me holier than the lady I sit next to in church that has very short hair. Not at all! How pious I would seem if I ran around with the arrogant attitude that dresses and long hair made me somehow better or more in touch with God than they are. Ok - off on a rabbit trail here but it does all tie into this homestead silliness. These people make themselves spectacles with the idea that they are living the "simple and quiet life". WRONG! Rather, they make bold and prideful statements to the world that their way is better and that they are in obedience to God and everyone else is not. This just makes me mad! But I find that this being mad is cause for repentance. It is not for me to decide what God calls people to and what He doesn't. I guess I just feel that this further divides the Christian Community as a whole. It creates more factions and dissention. Pride is such a clever tool of satan to keep us from having a unified voice up to the Lord. Are we heading for a Great, Great Depression? I don't know. Maybe. Study the last one to get an idea of how we got through it. Unity was a big theme, I tell ya. People pulled together. Roosevelt created labor jobs that didn't pay much but kept the nation fed. True, there was far more agricultural land to support the people but we'll just have to figure ways around that. Victory Gardens...? Perhaps an economic disaster would be a blessing in disguise. Perhpas it would restore some of our traditional values in this country and draw us together to figure out ways to survive. We have too much here and it has caused a lot of havoc. I don't have all the answers but I do know this. I am not called to separate from the world and time in which God has placed me. Rather, I need to be modest in today's culture. I need to be wise in my spending and not go into further debt and seek ways of getting out of it. I need to support the efforts of those whose mission field is to the less fortunate and to those who HELP others by NOT separating themselves from the hurting. I love benevolance. The homesteaders talk of generosity. I guess I don't see it but what do I know? Nothing really. I just can't imagine being able to be very charitable while you spend ALL your time trying to become SELF SUFFICIENT! Self, self, self! Yuk! That is what I have to say about that.If a depression is what it takes to get us back to ONE NATION, UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL then I say bring it on!May God have mercy on us and may His will be done.

You have to read this!

2008-11-12T16:08:00.003-05:00

Below is an article that a fellow blogging friend wrote. I feel as she does and have tried in the past to get my thoughts out on my blog, but was never quite able. If I could this is exactly how I would have written it.

This was written by my blogging friend Rebecca:

Is our Father not able to care for us even in disaster? One last thing before I go on to my week or so of intense training. I have an opinion I wish to express. It's another one of my rants so bear with.
This "Homesteading" thing. Ok, it could go several ways. Perhaps it's God's way of mobilizing some to set up camp for the rest of us that will need refuge. That is hard to imagine though as there would be A LOT of those needing refuge. I wonder if they would willingly open their homesteads to droves of hungry, frightened people that didn't prepare as they, the homesteaders, did. In truth, the supplies of even the most prepared Christian will run out if they were to share. Or better yet, say you "prepare" yourselves to feed your family for X amount of time if disaster struck. What will you do if your neighbors find out you have and they don't. Are you going to bar your doors and refuse them assistance? Would your little pantry feed your neighborhood? Would Jesus have you to lock your doors, turn out your lights and hunker down with your food source while the people you live around starve? Hmmmm.... Might He have to multiply the loaves and the fishes? Would you trust Him to do that? If you would, honestly would, then can you trust Him to provide even in the most dire of circumstances? I tell you, your pantries, gardens and homesteads will be no safer than any other place if you are even allowed to stay there and your food/water supply will not last indefinately and you sure as shootin' don't want anybody to find out what you have or they'll be on your door step looking for help How would you like that "Prepared Christian"? This is the truth: YOU CAN'T PREPARE for castrophe. You CANNOT rely on yourselves for survival. You know where you'll be heading? Wherever the gov't has you to go, that's where. You'll end up sleeping on a cot with an issued blanket eating whatever is rationed to you, that's what! And you'll be thankful that you are dry and warm and have something to eat and you can know that your Heavenly Father is caring for you - meeting your needs and somehow being glorified in the midst of it all. To the homesteaders: I am so glad that not everyone is like you. I am so glad that there are City Missions that rescue the unfortunate as I may be one someday. I would be grateful for the scenario I described above in the event of "total economic disaster". I will not kid myself into thinking that I can hunker down where I live and not be found here and that I can somehow survive on tree bark and rain water. You have moved away from the cities to homestead and that may be where God has you but don't try to make everyone else feel that they are less faithful to God because they don't go play little house on the prairie. There are people who see the suffering in the cities and stay here to help them! There are people who feel they are called to missionary work both here and abroad and thank goodness for relief workers who go to these war torn countries and to places that are hit with natural disasters. Thank goodness they did not shut themselves up in their own little cozy hovels and say well at least it didn't affect me!
Ok, my blood pressure is a bit up right now.... I need to calm down as I am not doing those things I just mentioned but I am thankful and SUPPORT those who do because that could be me and my family some day. Those who are offering assistance to those who are "deserving" (tornado victims) and "non-deserving" (thieves and drug addicts) alike are being the hands and feet of Jesus. They depend of Him to provide what they need to operate just as we all will if we come to the place where what we now know and find our false security in ceases to exist. I am sick of reading about off the grid and all the silly survival tactics people are out there playing with. Maybe they take it very seriously but I wonder how serious they will take it if they or one of their loved ones comes down with something awful and they have to move back to the city near a hospital where they will have to look a little silly wearing their prairie clothes while their loved ones take advantage of the system that God has allowed us to use for the time complete with running water, electricity and high tech medical care! Thank God for those people who haven't run off to a homestead to figure out a way off the grid. Instead, they devoted their lives to practicing medicine to help heal people taking full advantage of education and opportunity - the same opportunity that homesteaders have come to despise.
Support your local missions to the homeless and down trodden. Support relief efforts for those who go to the places that are devastated. Pray for them and thank God that these faithful people exist and are His hands and feet whether they realize it or not. Thank God that He cares for the afflicted through such efforts and know that if our time comes to need such help He will have selected people to do such works!

Life With Little Ones

2008-11-09T08:37:00.004-05:00

This Little House .....I started to answer your question, but it seemed to be getting a little long winded , so I decided to just make it a post : ) This is only my opinion on scheduling small children, every family is different, and has to do what works best for them.

First off, I'm probably not the one to be asking about scheduling small children. LOL! I've never been good at it : ( I feel I have a little different parenting style then most. When I became a parent, I parented the way I did out of instinct(I guess) and survial LOL! I never knew my parenting style had a name but later found out it was called attachment parenting (I think that's what it's called). Although, I do know there are some extreme forms of it, that's not me; however, at least I don't think so.

Strict schedules are not my thing....I can't follow them. I do like having a routine/plan though.....that seems to make the most difference for me. Goodness, I can hardly remember what it was like having two small children. What I remember the most about them being that little was reading to them , making tents out of sheets in the living room, going to the park and for walks,blowing bubbles, going to storytime at the library, etc. I don't remember house work being too much of a struggle. I lived in an apartment....there wasn't a whole lot to clean :) Life seemed alot easier & slower paced then. I miss those times.

I understand the need to get things done and it does need to be done. Just put first things first & that maybe differnt for everyone. For me it's important to have meals planned, kitchen kept up with , so it's clean enough to be able to prepare those meals. I don't know about you , but if we don't eat right or skip meals, it affects us all in a negative way.

Another thing that I really think can mess up how our days go with little ones is the distraction of the TV, phone, and computer. I look back at when my two older children were small & things probably went smoother because I didn't talk on the phone much at all & I didn't have a computer. I kind of have a love hate relationship with the computer. Sometimes I just want to get rid of it althogether.

I would love to be of more help but I guess I can't. I just know when I look back at the time when my older children were younger, I don't remember much about the house work. If I do it's thoughts of regret. One time in particular that comes to mind, was when my daughter was a month old. It was the night before Thanksgiving & I made the mistake of taking the entire Thanksgiving preparations on my shoulders. It just happened that my usually very content baby cried & cried and wanted to be held, while I was trying to prepare things for the next day. I remember becoming frustrated with her and just having a bad attitude. I stayed up into the wee hours of the night finishing what needed to be done. Sure the meal was nice and the house was clean but all I remember was her little cries that I became so frustrated with & that makes me sad that I reacted that way.

Take life with little ones a little slower & just enjoy it.....before you know it they will be more independent and able to do things for themselves.

The Heart of the King is in God's Hand

2008-11-07T11:22:00.003-05:00

I have had several days to let the election results sink in. I was initially disappointed with the outcome, but after really letting God's truths fill my mind, that disappointment has past. God is in control, who am I to question His authority! He knows what He's doing. So any concerns I might have should be lifted up to God in prayer.

"The king's heart is in the hand of the Lord, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will" Proverbs 21: 1

Defeated?

2008-11-05T08:23:00.004-05:00

I have to say I'm dissappointed and a little worried that Barack Hussein Obama is now our president. What does this mean for us now? What does the future hold? I've heard so many speculations, some very frightening, but yet I still have hope because I know God is Sovereign and I'm trusting in his truths. His truths (His word) as Christians should give us hope & peace. We should know that we have not been defeated, that God has not been defeated.

"There is no authority except that which God has established . The authorities that exist have been established by God.......For [ the ruler] is God's servant to do you good." Rom. 13:1 &4

God is wise beyond measure & sovereign , EVEN when He permits rulers to go against his revealed will . I have to admit I cringe when I see all the Obama supporters celebrating over his victory. It's difficult as humans to understand/accept that, but we are not God & not everything is for us to understand. I found the following quote from a timely Bible study book that I am reading (Trusting God ~ Even when Life Hurts) to be encouraging " And we should remember that God works in history from an eternal perspective, whereas we tend to view the outworking of history from a temporal perspective" This should give us hope that there is a bigger picture, although we may not see it all clearly right now, God does, and He is in control of it!

So what do we do now? Do we just sit back passively and say "what will be will be" because God is in control. No, we pray and I believe that those prayers should be as Paul says in 1 Timothy 2: 1-3 " I urge you , first of all, to pray for all people. As you make your requests, plead for God's mercy upon them, and give thanks. Pray this way for kings and all others in authority, so that we can live in peace and quietness, in godliness and dignity. This is good and pleases God our savior."

The verses below really encouraged me because I believe it reveals the greatness , power, and control that God has over rulers. I hope it brings you encouragement as well." He brings princes to naught and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing. No sooner are they planted, no sooner are they sown, no sooner do they take root in the ground, than he blows on them and they wither, and a whirlwind sweeps them away like chaff." Isaiah 40:23-24
Evil will not prevail!

Precious Little Children

2008-11-02T06:36:00.002-05:00

This past Halloween season my 2 year old daughter, poor thing,was scared on several occasions when we were shopping at Walmart.......when she saw the scary decorations & costumes in the store. So much so it brought her to tears ; however, she was a little light in that same store. Let me tell you how...........

Recently, as we were shopping and without me prompting her, she loudly started singing " The B-I-B-L-E.....that's the book for me!" as we walked up and down the aisles . It was so precious! I guess she told them : ) What a wonderful example even a litte 2 year old child can be for Jesus!

Halloween?

2008-10-31T15:12:00.002-04:00

We don't celebrate Halloween. We used to & stopped about 8 years ago. I had other Christians telling me I shouldn't do it & I use to be so easily persuaded by them. I wanted to "look" like a good Christian & do the right thing. I started researching for myself and reading things on the internet about it and decided I shouldn't be participating in it. I have to admit I think I nagged my husband so much about not celebrating it, that he caved in and agreed we wouldn't let the kids trick or treat anymore. I shouldn't have done that.

Now that some time has past I'm not so against the trick or treating part of it anymore. I even asked my husband this year if we should let the kids go trick or treating. My 7 year old seems to think he's missing out on something and has asked to go. Suprisingly my husband truly felt they weren't missing out on anything and didn't think they should. I left it at that.

Another thing, we live in a rural area,where it's not really conducive to trick or treating. People don't trick or treat out here. I'm not real big on taking candy from complete strangers either. My poor little 2 year old has been frightened by Halloween decorations/costumes in the store & it makes me feel so bad for her. When that happens I just get angry that we can't even go to the store without her having to exposed to that & then I start to hate everything about Halloween. I figure their are just more cons than pros to participating, that it just seems best for our family to not participate at all.

Party Preparations

2008-10-18T09:54:00.002-04:00

My daughter will be turning the big 13 next week , so we will be having a party for her to celebrate . I'm excited for her because she has met several girls from church that she has become friends with & they are going to come to the party. We had some very difficult things happen with some so called friends last year but God has been so good to us by bringing other Christian friends into our lives & our children's lives. I feel like I've been able to put the events of last year completely behind us & have been able to start over. This party is a good start : )

So any way back to the party. We will have the following menu: pizza, a slush punch, chips & pretzels, veggies & dip, a cake or trifle , some chocolates & candy.

Games & activities will be : Some sort of craft...such as jewelry making, Apples to Apples, & Catch Phrase Jr.

We are going to JoAnne Fabrics today & see what fun craft idea we can come up with while we are there. Well I must be off to get my busy day started : ) Have a blessed weekend!

Just a few thougts

2008-10-15T00:19:00.004-04:00

Prepare, stock up on food & supplies, the end is near! This is all I've been reading in blogland lately! I have to admit I find it a little disheartening. I began to question why I'm not seeing something they all are. Why isn't the Lord urging me to stockpile? Am I just one of those delusional Christians? It seems to me that some of these Christian bloggers are acting as if they have some insight that the rest of us don't. As if they are above simple Chrtistian thinking.......walking by faith & trusting in God's sovereignty. Is God not in control anymore? Did He not say he would take care of our needs? These feeble attempts to prepare yourself for the end times seem so silly when you compare them to the greatness & power of almighty God! He is completely aware & in control of life's events.

"Not even a sparrow, worth only half a penny, can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it. And the very hairs on your head are all numbered. So don't be afraid; you are more valuable to him than a whole flock of sparrows." Matt. 10 : 29-31

What's New In Our Life

2008-10-10T08:24:00.003-04:00

We've been our usual busy here lately, with the normal daily stuff.....homeschooling, cooking, cleaning, etc. There has also been some really exciting stuff going on as well! I first need to give you a little background information, so you can have a better understand of why this is so exciting to us. My husband has worked as framer for 20 years, building new homes. Ever since we've been married he has had plenty of steady work....I rarely remember the home building industry being slow, even in the winter time. As many of you know the housing market has been BAD for 3-4 years now. Many people are trying to sell there homes but no one is buying, especially newly constructed homes. The home remodeling world hasn't been real steady either because people are being so cautious with their money , as well as just not being able to afford the luxary of remodeling, due to the high cost of gas & food. So that leaves my husband without a whole lot of work. These past years have been more difficult than normal for us, just as I'm sure it has been for many, but God has been gracious to us and has provided our needs & even some of our wants.

Every where you look there is talk of how bad things are economically and how bad things are going to get, that's why what I have to share is truly a miracle in our lives. The church we've been going to for almost the past 4 years, the church where my husband was led to the Lord, is finally able to build a church building. After reviewing several other bids & praying , the church building committee awarded the job of building the church to my husband! Glory to God for His loving care for us!

There will now be a visible sign of a church in our communtiy, now that the building is going up! May the Lord draw people into our church where the Gospel can be heard.

What Does Your Name Mean?

2008-10-01T16:59:00.002-04:00

Today in our homeschooling we talked about the name Jesus meaning "the Lord saves" . We also decided to find out what our names mean. I knew what most of my childrens' names meant because I named them : ) So without sharing our names ( I like to be more anonymous on my blog) here are the meanings of all of our first & middle names.

My husband ~ first name ~ God is gracious~ middle name ~ God is gracious bald (the kids thought that was pretty funny)

Me ~ first name ~ wisdom ~ middle name ~ lily

ds ~first name ~ God is gracious - Who is like God ~ middle name ~ of Scottish origin

dd ~ first name ~ Who is like God ~ middle name ~ Curtis' territory or short nose

dd~ first name ~ Admirable & beautiful ~ middle name ~ meaning Hope

ds ~ first name ~ Bringer of Light ~ middle name ~ God has heard

dd ~ first name ~ Seen by Yahweh ~ middle name ~ trust believe

So what does your name mean?

Pizza Crust Recipe

2008-10-01T15:46:00.001-04:00

Angela ..... I wanted you to know I got your comment & I emailed you the pizza crust recipe. I hope you got it : )

Old Time Remedy

2008-09-26T10:27:00.005-04:00

Thank you for your prayers.....I'm feeling better today. We are getting ready to start our school day. I've got a chicken simmering in a pot to make a stock for chicken soup , that we will be having for dinner tonight. Chicken soup was a part of my meal plan for the week, before I knew I would not be feeling well. I'm glad for that.

Homemade chicken soup really is one of those old time remedies that works when you are ill. "Chicken soup has a natural ingredient which feeds, repairs and calms the mucous lining in the small intestine. It heals the nerves , improves digestion, reduces allergies, relaxes and gives strength"........... according to the book" Ageless Remedies from Mother's Kitchen".

I have been making my own chicken soup for years now but put more of an emphasis on doing it since I first read Nourishing Traditions cookbook 7 years ago.

So here's how I make it.

1.Rinse one whole chicken (free range is best, but I usually can't afford it so I just use a regular ole store bought chicken)

2. Sprinkle chicken with salt & pepper, put in a big pot cover completely with cold water. Add a tablespoon or 2 of vinegar. Let stand for 3o min. to an hour. The vinegar pulls the calcium & other minerals out of the bones of the chicken...making the broth more nutritious. I don't always add the vinegar, depending on my mood, it sometimes seems to give the broth a different taste. Today I left the vinegar out. Next throw in an onion.

3. Bring to a boil and skim the foam that comes to the top.

4. Reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer for 6 to 24 hours. The longer you simmer it the stronger and more flavorful the broth.

5. Remove chicken from broth & let cool. Strain the broth

6. Add chopped celery & carrots to broth....simmer until tender. Add some of the cooked chicken. If I'm not able to simmer the chicken very long I like to add a few Herb ox chicken bouillon cubes for flavor, otherwise I just add salt .

7. Add cooked pasta ..... Such as Tinkyada fettucine, Glutino Fusilli, or some cooked brown rice.

8. Sprinkle in a little dried or fresh parsley & enjoy.

Sick Day

2008-09-25T13:37:00.003-04:00

The younger children and I took the day off of school. Last night I began to not feel well. I don't think it was anything I ate but more of some stressful things that occured yesterday. It had to do with our family problems (problems with my husband's family). There was an unpleasant situation that occured but in some sense a good opportunity to head in the direction of reconciliation. Any prayers offered up concerning this matter & me not feeling well would be appreciated greatly.

I guess I must hold my stress down in my gut or maybe just that being my weak spot , it is easily irritated. I spent alot of time last night just trying to relax, praying for the Lord's mercy , taking deep breaths, drinking some chamomile tea and lying on a heating pad.

I have some lemon balm in the garden, my daughter picked some for me this afternoon and I think I will make some tea with it. Lemon Balm is good for stressed intestions : ) I did just eat some scrambled eggs and toast & I'm starting to not feel to well.....I 'm going go.

Thank you for any prayers!

Learning About the Great Depression

2008-09-22T14:09:00.004-04:00

Ever since we started watching " The Waltons" on DVD I have been very interested in learning more about the Great Depression Era. I remember watching and enjoying the show as a child but I didn't realize it was about life during The Depression.

I've found a few non fiction books at the library about the GD, one in particular, that is rather heart wrenching called "Children of the Great Depression" There are many pictures of the suffering children. It makes me realize how good we do have it now, even those that are considered poor. I would like to find some cook books as well ,so I can show my children how people ate during that time . Maybe will learn a thing or two : )

I'm so very thankful that we have many conveniences these days & I'm not saying I would like to go back in time. However, there is something fascinating to me about working hard for our basic needs , growing our own food & preserving it, making our own clothes, making do with what we have or doing without. It seems although in many ways the advancement of technology has helped us , it seems to have taken something from us as well. I can't say for sure what that is, maybe it's a satisfaction or contentment with the simple things, a greater connection to family & home and where we come from.......a strong sense of faith and trust in Our Lord?

I know " The Waltons" is just a Hollywood version of life during that time but it truly captures the essence of what's most important in life, even during the hard times. Call me sentimental but every time I watch the show, I'm always on the verge of tears : ) I've been so fascinated with the show that I'm going to start reading Earl Hamner's book Spencer's Mountain. His writings are about his life growing up in the Virginia mountains during the Great Depression & the show "The Waltons" is based on those writings.

No Place Like Home

2008-09-19T13:16:00.003-04:00

After the week I had it was wonderful to wake up this morning and be reminded that there will be no homeschooling today! It's supposed to be a beautiful day....so I think we will spend as much time as possible outside. I thought I would clean the outside of my windows & the inside on a rainy day. Looking out clean sparkling windows at the autumn scenery has always been one of my favorite things. It brings back memories of our first house. My husband built it and I helped where I could. I remember it was October of 1997 and we were finishing up the house and getting ready to move in. I enthusiastically cleaned those windows and remember how spectacular the autumn trees looked out those crystal clear windows that surrounded our little house in the woods. Those are fond memories I have of that house that I still miss sometimes, 2 and a half years after moving from it.

We lived there 9 years but for some reason it seemed much longer......like a lifetime. I suppose it could be because it was our first home that we bought. We had 2 small children (2 & 3 years) when we moved in. When we moved out we had 5 children, two of which were born in our bedroom of that home.

There is so much I would like to do to this house to make it feel as homey as that place did. We are getting there, but money is always an issue : ) So I thought a cheap inexpensive way to get there would be to make my windows sparkling clean to view the beautiful land God has blessed us with in this home.

Change is hard sometimes but God is in control. I can't help but think that even though God blesses us with so much ,like our homes, He allows change, like a move, so we don't get too comfortable in this life. He wants our desire and main focus to be on our heavenly home : )

Tired Today

2008-09-17T16:44:00.003-04:00

I'm so tired today and it's making our homeschooling day difficult! What do the rest of you do when your day isn't going as you would like? My daughter is struggling right now with some of her writing. I want to tell her to set it aside but it will put her behind, especially if we don't get right back on it, after a short break. Personally when I set things aside I tend to not go back to it. It's easy to forget when you have a busy household. I also don't want her to think that when she doesn't "get" or like something that it's okay to just give up or not do it, but it wears my patience thin to try to get her to think or understand or work harder, when she is so cleary frustrated or is determined to not try. However, looking at the big picture........ is this one little writing lesson going to make much of a difference ? Probably not........maybe I'm expecting to much out of her.

What do you do when you have days like this .....I have more of them then I care to talk about : )

I Have To Remind Myself......

2008-09-15T18:42:00.010-04:00

..................that this is the day that the Lord hath made, I will rejoice and be glad in it......even if it is Monday : ) Our school days can be a challenge, even if it's not a Monday, but add Monday, a high energy 7 year old son and a potty training 2 1/2 year old to the mix and well let's say it's not always that fun.

My 7 year old son is very intelligent but has a hard time sitting still and paying attention to what he needs to be hearing & doing......today was very much like that : ) So I'm grateful we were able to end the day with something enjoyable for him, reading the book How to Make an Apple Pie and See The World & then making an apple pie , following the recipe at the end of the story. As I was helping my son make the pie, my 2 year old daughter had to go potty, so I had my 10 year old run her to the bathroom. She made it, no accidents : ) We reward her with two M n Ms for her effort. It sounds strange but I keep the M n Ms in a cupboard, up high, in my bathroom. So my 10 year old daughter asked if she could get 2 M n Ms for her sister......I said yes. Well I needed to take a bathroom break myself....... I left my 7 year old son telling him to wash off the apples, so we could peel them. I know that's strange, they are going to be peeled so why wash them off?.....I like to be cautious.

Well when I went into the bathroom I discovered my 10 year old daughter cleaning up M n Ms that she had dropped , that had scattered all over the floor and into the shower! My 2 year old was frantically picking them up off the floor and the shower and eating them as fast as she could : ) Oh what joy! One good thing about this happening is that when my daughter was cleaning the M n Ms out of the shower she found my earring , that I lost this morning and couldn't find : )

When I went back into the kitchen my 7 year old son told me he had washed them off. I looked at the apples where I left them on the counter. I told him they didn't looked washed off...they weren't even wet. He said no he washed of the apple peelers that we were going to use to peel the apples : ) Hmmmmm....see what I mean?

I have to laugh, another time recently, my husband told our 7 year old son to go change his clothes. He disappears for awhile , comes back with the same clothes on. My husband asked him what he was doing and why he hadn't changed his clothes? My son responded "Oh! I thought you told me to go wash my toes!" That was what he was doing, washing his toes : ) He didn't question at all why his dad would ask him to go wash his toes! LOL!

The Pie We Made Today

Finished Up Our First Week of School

2008-09-12T20:34:00.004-04:00

Today marked the end of our first full week of formal homeschooling. Over all it went really well.....it really helps following the plan that I am. I've changed some of the curriculum I'm using, one being Math. A friend lent me a Bob Jones Algebra 1 book for my 9th grade son. I was going to use Saxon but she offered it and it was a blessing to not have to buy it. I was going to use Abeka math with my younger children but decided to go with Modern Curriculum Press. I thought Abeka's math was too advanced and above what my fourth grader is able to do right now. I already had the 4th grade teacher's manual for Modern Curriulum Press. We used their math curriculum several years back .....that was the year we used Christian Liberty Press's curriculum suggestions. So all I had to buy was the workbooks. I don't need a teacher's manual for 2nd grade.

I ordered Sequential Spelling for my 4th and 7th grader.......I did not like the looks of it at all, once I was able to hold it in my hands and really look at. I returned it and I'm going to order Building Spelling Skills by Christian Liberty Press. I really like the books they offer. They really seem to have a heart/ministry for providing afforable Christian curriculum.

It seems my posts are totally centered around homeschooling....I guess because that's been my life these past weeks........ getting ready for it and now starting it : )

The Blessings of the Seasons

2008-09-11T23:56:00.008-04:00

When August was winding down I found myself feeling a bit down...... thinking about how the bright, warm, and sunny days would soon just be a memory. No more carefree summer days, where all you have to do is slip on a pair of sandals and walk out into the brightly colored world, and instantly feel rejuvenated. No more that I would get to see my kids' rosy colored cheeks and golden highlighted hair, proof of the joyful days they spent outside swimming and running barefoot through the grass.......a whole year would have to pass to enjoy these little things again.
It wouldn't be long before the trees were bare and gray.........but then I began to see the suddle signs of the coming season. The leaves on the trees started to change, the nights began to get a little cooler, the little pumpkins in our garden ripened. Then my thoughts shifted .....to the reminder of the hope ahead...... the many blessings that the autumn time brings. The brightly colored trees, pumpkins, apples, and winter squash.....the smell of the autumn air. My gloom began to disappear & I have begun to look foward to autumn & winter.

I think of all the baking and cooking I can do. Apple & pumpkin pies, pumpkin bread, bowls of warm and soothing soup for those cold days, Thanksgiving & family, Christmas time with all the festivities and twinkling lights, going as a family to choose and cut down our Christmas tree, the smell of pine in our living room from the freshly cut tree ..................... the reminder of Christ's humble birth.

The cold winter days where you cuddle up on the couch with your little ones and big ones : ) .....reading a story and enjoying a cup of chamomile tea, a cozy fire in the fireplace, warm comforting foods. The joy of taking the kids to the sledding hill and knowing you have a warm and comfortable home to come home to . Then when the winter seems to loose it's luster ....... there is the hope of Spring. Buds on the trees, brightly colored flowers begin to bloom, the grass begins to come alive to a brilliant green and before you know it the carefree days of summer have arrived again. God is good! Look at all the wonderful things He has given us.....how He has provided & the hope and blessings He brings with each new season : )

How I Plan My Days

2008-09-10T22:35:00.005-04:00

I've never been one to keep or follow a schedule, with blocks of time set aside for this or for that . I would say that I follow a basic routine or plan. My days are not all the same and I'm still trying to iron out a few details to make them work for us.

Three of my children are doing My Father's World unit study, so there are several subjects that they all must do together. So we do all of the same subjects at the same time, in order. If one of the kids finishes one of their subjects before the others are done, they take a break and wait until everyone is ready to go on to the next subject. So on most days this is the order in which we do things:

We've eaten breakfast, got dressed, and have done basic morning chores by roughly 9 am, sometimes a little earlier, sometimes a little later. Then we start school.
1. Bible
2. Lang. Arts
3. Math ( I give them an hour to do this. If they are close to being done after an hour I just go ahead and let them finish even though the hours is up. If they aren't close to being done, I will have them set it aside and they can do it when all other subjects are finished. I haven't had this happen yet...but that will be my plan of action when it does happen.
4. Spelling
5. English
6. Geography
7. Science
8. Music/Art
9. Reading .... they are required to do a half an hour.

Today , however, my daughter has ballet class at noon & we have Bible club in the evening....it makes for a hectic day. I dont like Wed...... my daughter agreed, even though she loves her ballet class, Wed. are a very busy and tiring day. So my plan for that day will have to change a little. This is what it will look like:

1. Bible
2. Geography (after the group geography lesson is done, they 15 minutes of book basket time. This is time looking through/reading library books that are geography related)
3. Science
4. Music/Art
These 4 subjects all get done first because my kids are doing the same thing. I don't want the others to have to fall behind in this area just because their sister has a ballet class. After those subjects are done they start working on the subjects that they can do on their own. If my daughter has time before ballet class to get them done, then she does, otherwise it's "homework", so to speak.

So that's it, my day, nothing fancy. As far as cleaning....I have a very basic routine plan for that, but I don't always follow it & just clean when I have a free moment.

Fantastic Field Trip

2008-09-10T11:49:00.007-04:00

Yesterday we went on a field trip with other homeschoolers in our church. We had a wonderful time visiting the home of President Garfield.....the 20th president. I grew up in the same town as this home but never visited it : ( Boy was I missing out. It was a beautiful home and a very informative tour . Truly, this is a magnificient piece of history to have. Everything has been well preserved and the majority of the artifacts in the home were the actual property of President Garfield & his family....right down to the piano that he bought his daughter for her 13th birthday.

President Garfield was only president for 6 months when he was assasinated. Shortly after his death his wife added a beautiful memorial library filled with his books and other belongings.........including a funeral wreath that was sent to his family by Queen Elizabeth after his death in 1881. My 13 year old daughter made the comment that she would just have loved to been able to open up those books in his library and look at them. There were thousands !

I wish I could have taken pictures of the inside of the house, but they would not allow it.....it was amazing! In the dining room of the house there was a fireplace with beautiful handpainted tiles. The tiles were painted by President Garfield's wife and five children. They were a talented family because the paintings were beautiful. Mind you the children ranged in age from 7 - 17 yrs when the tiles were painted.

A back view of the home

Here's a front/side view of the house that my son took out the window of our van as we were leaving.

Animal Sound Markers

2008-09-08T23:36:00.003-04:00

For those that asked.........I bought the Color Start Farm Animal markers that make animal sounds, at Walmart for about 4 or 5 dollars. They are the Roseart brand. Crayola also has a similar marker, that is more expensive. I will say the caps are a little difficult to get on & off, but we have lots of hands here to help when that happens : )

First Day of School

2008-09-08T18:45:00.003-04:00

Today was our first day of homeschool for the new school year and it went fairly well. I had been very enthusiastic about starting until yeterday when some newer family problems developed. I tend to dwell on things and let it ruin my day, but God was gracious and intervened, allowing our day to be a pleasant & joyful one : ) Thank you Carrie for your prayers!

My 2 and a half year old daughter was pretty funny to watch today. I bought her several new things to keep her occupied during the homeschool day. She made sure she went to the home school closet and tried out ALL of her new stuff : ) I think I'm going to have to rotate some of the stuff, so she doesn't get bored : )
I got her a Play Dough Beach Creations bucket, the cutest little chunky markers that encourage her to put the lids back on because they make animals sounds when she does. I got her My Little Pony Memory game, crayons, paper, Hello Kitty coloring book, glue stick, & paper, and Mrs. Potato Head.

As my children were practicing their handwriting skills/cursive, I included her in homeschooling by printing out a handwriting worksheet with the first letter of her name , that she could trace. I'm not expecting her to be able to trace it but thought it would just be away for her to recognize the first letter of her name. I think I will just print out a sheet with the letters of her name, so she will get use to how it's spelled. I found a great website where you can make your own handwriting worksheets, using any letters you like. It's called the Amazing Handwriting Worksheet Maker .

I also have to recommend Apologia's Physical Science on CD ROM. My son who is in the 9th grade is enjoying it tremendously!

So that's it for today.

In Need Of Prayer

2008-09-07T17:41:00.003-04:00

If anyone that reads here feels led, I ask you lift our family up in prayer. It's not an emergency or anything of that sort, just some on going extended family problems. Somethings developed yesterday & today that only added insult to injury & has left me tearful and discouraged.

It's strange how family, even when they are Christians can cause us the most pain and hurt........it's not always those on the outside. I know it's just the problem of sin and no one is immune to committing it or feeling the affects of it, even when we know Christ, but still the same it's stings and it hurts.

I had someone tell me today that the older you get the thicker your skin gets and these things don't bother you as much. I don't feel that way at all! My skin seems to be getting thinner and thinner , because these things bother me more than ever.

So if you feel led please say a quick prayer for our family problems.

Preparing

2008-09-01T20:41:00.010-04:00

This entire weekend we've been busy preparing......preparing for winter, by splitting and stacking firewood. I'm glad to tell you that it's all done. We all worked together, each having a job to do. The kids worked especially hard. I'm so proud of them : ) I was jokin with my husband ...telling him that just him and I will have to do all this work by ourselves someday......when the kids are grown and have families of there own.

I also prepared over the weekend for the coming homeschool year. I ordered the rest of our books & started organizing what we already have. My dear sweet husband, after a little whining on my part ; ), hung up some wire shelving (that I forgot we had left over, from our previous home) in our hall coat closet. We now have a very organized place to keep homeschool stuff. I have found that half of the battle of keeping your homeschool day running smoothly is ORGANIZATION. Being able to find things when you need them.

This afternoon I went to Walmart and bought most of the school supplies we will be needing. Below are some before and after pictures of our homeschooling closet.

The closet before the shelves were hung

After the shelves were hung.

I bought these cute little crates for 97 cents. The kids have their own colored pencils, markers, etc. in those crates. This is some of the homeschooling stuff, not all of it.
My oldest child has the top shelve & it goes on down the line in order of age, my youngest having the bottom shelf. The drawers on the floor of the closet keep supplies that all of the children will be using as well as the core books for My Father's World Exploring Countries & Cultures.

You have no idea how glad I am to have this all organized, even though the rest of my house is a wreck right now : ) The walls could be falling down around this closet but at least were ready for school!!!! LOL!

Getting Ready for Winter

2008-08-29T20:27:00.004-04:00

The weather is beginning to change here, cooler nights, shorter days & leaves changing colors.....a sure sign of autumn. Before we know it will be winter. Which will bring with it snow and cold winds. Time to think about how we will keep warm :)
We heat our home with a wood burning furnace and need lots of wood to do it. The Lord blessed us with lots of wood. My husband helped clear trees off of property that was getting ready for a build.
The wood will need severals months to dry out to be used for fire wood. We our a little behind on getting it split & dryed for the winter. So my husband borrowed a log splitter to get busy splitting : ) We will be working on that this weekend. Splitting and stacking the wood in our wood shed and some in our basement where it can dry. This evening we worked on it some. Below is a picutre of my son being taught how to operate the log splitter. We are thankful to have all of this fire wood. We will be heating our house this winter for FREE!

What Translation of the Bible is the Right One?

2008-08-28T14:47:00.004-04:00

Are you ever confused by what Bible translation you should be reading? Do you get discouraged when others say " only read KJV" but you are unfamiliar with the language of that time and reading it can sometimes be confusing.

I personally like to read several translations. I love the poetic beauty of the KJV but I like being able to read translations such as the NLT or NIV because it is written in a modern way of speaking.... that is easier for me to understand, without having to first untie my tongue : )

Below is a link to a great audio sermon. It is the 5th sermon in a 5 part series on the English translation of the Bible. I've only listened to the last so far. Please try to listen if you ever struggle with what Bible version you should read or if you are of the opinion "KJV Only"............may you be blessed.

Cup of Tea

2008-08-26T16:41:00.004-04:00

Someone shared this with me today. It gave me a good chuckle. Probably because I could picture my 2 yr old daughter doing this & I cold imagine my husband overlooking such a "minor detail" ....that as a mom , I wouldn't : )

One day my mother was out and my dad was in charge of me. I was maybe 2 1/2 years old and had just recovered from an accident. Someone had given me a little 'tea set' as a get-well gift and it was one of my favourite toys.

Daddy was in the living room engrossed in the evening news when I brought Daddy a little cup of 'tea', which was just water. After several cups of tea and lots of praise for such yummy tea, my Mom came home.

My Dad made her wait in the living room to watch me bring him a cup of tea, because it was 'just the cutest thing!' My Mom waited, and sure enough, here I come down the hall with a cup of tea for Daddy and she watches him drink it up.

Then she says, (as only a mother would know... :)' Did it ever occur to you that the only place she can reach to get water is the toilet?'

Not Much To Say

2008-08-26T12:52:00.003-04:00

For awhile it seemed I had much to talk about...something everyday. Lately, I guess I just don't have much to say : ) Not that I am doing nothing...... I am getting ready for the school year but not much to write about just yet.

I have plans to either have my son build a big book shelf ( for his homeschooling) or have my husband add some shelves to a hallway closet, where we can house all of our homeschooling books & supplies. My son is really wanting to build something, so a bookshelf would be great because it's really needed.

Well that's it for today. I'm trying to organize our office area...it's out of control with papers , etc.

I'll post when I can , until then......blessings to you!

Our Home School Year

2008-08-21T19:57:00.006-04:00

I still have books to order for our coming school year, which we will start after Labor day, Lord willing. We decided to try out My Father's World unit study & here it is. I ordered this way back in May/June

This is My Father's World basic package for "Exploring Countries and Cultures"

I will be using this mainly with my 2nd grader, 4th grader, and 7th grader, although my 9th grader will be participating some. There is always something new to learn and even though he will be starting the 9th grade I'm sure there is something he will glean from this study.

This is the rest of what we will be doing...it does not include reading lists. I usually just let my children read books that they are interested in ,with my approval of course. My Father's World has an extensive reading list as well.

9th ~

Applications of Grammar Book 3

Streams of Civilization Vol. 1 (history)

All Through The Ages ~ Literature Guide to History

Saxon Algebra 1

Apologia Physical Science CD Rom version

God's World News (magazine subscription)

7th ~

Applications of Grammar , Book 1

Sequential Spelling

Saxon math 7/6

God's World News

All Through the Ages

4th

Intermediate Language Lessons

Sequential Spelling

Abeka Math

God's World News

All Through the Ages

2nd

Spelling By Sound and Structure (phonics review)

Abeka Math

Rod & Staff 2nd grade English

All Through the Ages

****All Through the Ages****

This is a great resource. You pick a time period & under each time period there is an extensive list of great books to read by grade levels.

2 1/2 yr old

I will be getting her some puzzles, crayons, paper, etc & keeping them in a small RubberMaid container (on top of the fridge) for school time only : )

I think that's about it...I don't think I forgot anything : )

Pretty in Pink

2008-08-20T22:31:00.006-04:00

Now that summer is winding down I find myself scurrying to get those summer projects done. Yesterday my older children and I spent the whole day painting my daughters' bedroom. In the evening I helped my husband hang the border. When we moved in this house 2 1/2 years ago we worked on the boys bedroom first ,because , to put it bluntly it was ugly & not at all masculine: ) The girls room was fine but not their own style, so it was time to get to work. Here's some pictures :

My girls picked out this border because they love horses! It was hard to match the paint to the border, but this is what the girls liked. It's bright, pretty, & PINK : )

The sky blue/green color on the top of the wall is supposed to be the sky. I still have to paint some clouds & stencil some bumble bees, dragonflies, & butterflies on it. That will be a weekend project, but the good thing is , the big project of painting & hanging the border is done. Nothing matches in the room now, but eventually I will get some matching quilts for the girls. In the middle of the two beds is my 2 yr old daughter's transition bed . We've tried periodically to get her to sleep in with her big sisters. We use these mats that fold up into chairs for her to sleep on. She loved sleeping in her newly decorated room last night : )

Is This Making You Hungry?

2008-08-20T00:54:00.003-04:00

Doesn't this look good? It was! I have not found a good tasting gluten free pizza crust recipe since going gluten free, until I found this one on Ginger Lemon Girl's blog. I made it over the weekend and it was a big hit with my family. So if you are looking for a healthier alternative to frozen or take out pizza......you should try this quick & easy recipe, even if you don't eat gluten free.

Getting Close To That Time of Year

2008-08-18T09:17:00.003-04:00

The homeschooling year is right around the corner for us. We will most likely start our year after Labor Day. Life will be getting busier again. I'm not really one that likes to follow a more rigid schedule but it looks like I may have to, with 5 children, who are becoming more & more active. This is what my week will look like, not counting our daily homeschooling & cooking & bumps in the road {emphasis added}

Mon. ~ So far this day seems to be clear of outside activities. I may make this the day I clean the kitchen, family room, half bath, and laundry room area of my home. Yeah! A day to stay home : )

Tues. ~ Guitar lessons for my son in the afternoon & Bible Study group at our home in the evening.

Wed. ~ Ballet classes in the afternoon & Bible classes at church in the evening.

Thurs. ~ Piano lessons in the morning. It seems like we were doing something else on Thurs. last year, except I don't remember what it was : ) I think it was a second ballet class, that we dropped.

Fri. ~ So far no outside activites. This day I will use to clean the rest of my house. I don't want to have to spend the weekend cleaning if I can help it. My youngest son might be signing up for a class & that maybe adding another activity to our day.

Sat. ~ Is usually a day to do something as a family or get projects done at home.

Sun. ~ We go to church in the morning & often have family visit on this day.

I don't really have a specific day to grocery shop. I will have to use one of the days that I don't have an outside activity, for that. I can use that day for our weekly library visits as well.

I'm really not very good at juggling a larger than normal family but I am trying to do the best I can without driving myself crazy : ) This might not seem like a very busy schedule to some of you, but it is to me. I'm NOT a good multi tasker : ) People ask me if I'm involved in a homeschool group.........I laugh.....when do I have the time? I wonder where blogging will fit in? I may just have to update once a week or less. So if you are wondering where I've gone you'll know : )

Have a great day!

Finished Blanket

2008-08-17T16:37:00.005-04:00

Today 3 of my children & I made this fleece blanket that requires no sewing. It goes rather quickly when you have help. It took us an hour from start to finish. This is for a new little baby girl that was born last week , to a couple that is a part of our church family.

It is summer & she won't be needing it for awhile but here in the Northen United States, it gets down right cold, especially when the lake affect snow hits us from the Great Lakes. A warm fleece blanket is a must : )

This is the front of the blanket....isn't so cute & bright & cheery

This is the back side of the blanket. The pinks & black cordinate well with the front.

I used a yard and half of each fabric to make it. It's nice because a baby won't grow out of it quickly, since it's larger than most baby blankets. My daughter is 2 1/2 & still drags her blanket around , especially for cuddle time on the couch.

What I've Been Doing

2008-08-16T10:49:00.005-04:00

Yesterday we spent a few hours at the park, taking pictures of my oldest son for a yearly school picture. I finally got some great shots. I went to Walmart last night & printed out the rest of the pictures & bought a few more frames. I hung up all 5 picutures, that I took of my children, on our family room wall. They look so nice & I'm really happy with how they turned out & I saved some money too. They look just as nice if not nicer than something that would have been professionally done, at least I think so : )

While I was at Walmart I picked out some fleece fabric to make a no sew blanket for a friend that had her second baby this week. I was so excited for her, hearing about the arrival of her baby. Her first child was in a breech postion & just wouldn't pudge. So a c-section was needed. With her second baby, thankfully the baby turned into the head down position, although her doctor was giving her to her due date to go into labor or it would be a repeat c-section. It is not safe to induce a labor after a c-section, so that was not an option for her. I was overjoyed to hear she gave birth on her due date after a rather short labor. God had answered their prayers in the way they had hoped. It was definately His doing....I know very few women that have their babies on their due dates ; )

Well when I get the blanket done I will post a picture....it's the cutest fabric : )

Slowing Down

2008-08-14T10:27:00.003-04:00

I guess my blogging is slowing down....I don't really have much to write about. My mind has been preoccupied with some thoughts/worries, that I've been slowly giving to the Lord. I've also been making more of an effort to study/read God's word these past few days. I know that reading it doesn't take away my problems or worries but it makes my burdens a little lighter knowing I can go to the Lord & be comforted through His word & talking with Him through prayer.

Lately I have been so overwhelmed by the difficulties I see so many going through. Not only do I feel compassion for them but it also causes me to worry for my own family & their well being. These worries & people, I know I just need to give to the Lord in prayer, as soon as they come to my mind.

If your interested here is a 2008 Bible Reading Plan, to print off & keep handy in your Bible. It's what I've been using for personal Bible time. I've been doing my daily readings in the evening, when I go to bed. Although, I think I'm going to split it up & do half of it in the morning before I get out of bed & the other half in the evening when I get into bed. I have to do it this way. It seems it's just never quiet enough to do it any other time : )

Here is a verse that I'm going to work on quoting during the day when I feel tempted to yell at or have an unpleasant tone/words with my kids. I think I will have them work on it as well.....they can use pretty unpleasant words with each other as well.

Proverbs 16:24 ~ Pleasant words are a honeycomb
Sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.

Well I'm gonna go and bake some cookies.

Have a Spirit led day!

Another Home Birth Post

2008-08-12T19:37:00.005-04:00

I'm not trying to beat this subject into the ground. It's actually kind of funny.... I rarely even talk about home birth to anyone. Since I put up my first post on home birth a few days ago I've come across different sources on the Internet that speak of it in a negative light.

First let me say I'm not a die hard homebirther ( one that's cramming it down every one's throat or expecting that everyone should be doing it or there is just something wrong with them.) Both of my homebirths went well & were a blessing to me. I chose to homebirth because I feel that was God's plan/will for me. I don't necessarily believe that it will always be in His plans for me for every birth. I will seek His will about it if I ever conceive another child. Certainly there can be risks in birth whether it be in the hospital or home, but there are precautions that can be taken, as well. My last hospital birth, there were complications, that were brought on by interventions that were not needed.

I have been blessed by good home birth experiences/outcomes, but I wouldn't say that's my motivation/reasoning to birthing at home......to have a "good birth experience". My reasoning is to try to avoid complications. When I gave birth in the hospital it was so hard to just let things happen without interference. It was difficult to relax & not be distracted & I certainly was not encouraged to do things naturally. I found labor much easier to work with and tolerable when I could just relax & be left alone in my own home....not having to think about constantly timing contractions , making sure they were close enough together to leave for the hospital, or worrying about leaving to soon or to late to get there or thinking about where the kids were gonna go, etc. At home.......I could just let it happen. Most of the time when you let nature takes its course in birth..... the least likely complications will occur . Certainly there are times intervention is needed when natural labor is not going as it should or there are other health complications in mother & baby.

It would be nice to have a middle ground in maternity care but it seems to not be there, at least not for me, in my area. Many women have the option of birthing centers. I think that's a wonderful option, because most of the time you know in that setting your wishes/desires will be honored. The problem for me is I don't have a birth center anywhere near me. ....only for the amish & they won't let me birth there I've already asked , before I sought out homebirth : )

Mondays & Mother Hubbard's Cupboard

2008-08-11T17:16:00.004-04:00

Today is kind of a blah day. Probably because it's Monday. I always have a hard time getting motivated on Mondays, especially after this weekend, we had such a nice time. I've not done much of anything today, except spend to much time on the computer : )

This morning I looked in the freezer & cupboards to figure out what I was going to make for dinner tonight. Now that's sort of a fun challenge when your cupboards & freezer are bare : ) I did find 2 # of ground beef. I originally thought I would make homemade sloppy joes with some green beans from the garden as a side dish. When I went out to the garden to pick the beans ,much to my surprise, I discovered that I had several small heads of cabbage. It's surprise because most of this garden season, the plants looked wilted & dry and had tons of little holes in the leaves . I suppose all this rain we've had this past weekend brought them back to life. I'd totally given up on them....they didn't even exist to me. : )

So now my dinner plans changed.......I decided to make cabbage rolls instead. I followed a basic recipe I found online but used what I liked & what I had on hand. I sprinkled some Weber Gourmet Burger Seasoning on the ground beef, added 2/3 cups brown rice and 4 eggs. I put a little of the meat mixture (my girls helped)into the cup of the cabbage leaf, rolled it up and put it into a butter baking dish. I then sprinkled some more of the Weber seasoning on top of the rolls, poured a jar of Ragu traditional sauce mixed with some water over top & put it in the oven @ 350. It smells wonderful as it baking right now. I think I might go make some cornbread/muffins to go with it.

Have a good evening

Homebirth

2008-08-10T11:42:00.013-04:00

I don't talk about my experience with homebirth on here very often. Mostly because I don't want to come across in a way that would discourage someone that might not have that option or that doesn't feel safe/comfortable with it. Sometimes I fear I may come across as prideful, this I want to avoid as well. I have ladies tell me that they are amazed I could have a baby at home without pain relief. In my experience the 2 homebirths I have had, have been easier than the 3 hospital births I have had. Two in which I had epidurals. I don't believe for a minute that if you have a homebirth it makes you more favored by God, smarter or more informed.....it's just a different choice that I believe God can & does use to strengthen one's faith & trust in Him. He may choose other avenues for you, but this is what he chose for me.

So I guess my point of bringing homebirth up on my blog now is to encourage & to say that it is only by God's grace & mercy that I have accomplished something that some people can't believe can be done. If you only knew me years ago, if you only knew my intermost thoughts, you would understand what a great work God has done in me. He has given me strength & courage to do things I would have never imagined that I could ever do........one being homebirth. So I will try to give you a brief look into my homebirths & how God brought me to the decision to homebirth.

Ten years ago yesterday I gave birth to a beautiful baby girl. Right after the birth I had some complications...one being hemorrhaging. The events of this birth left me weak & unhappy. Now,I know birth can't always be as we wish it to be & it's often not picture perfect, but I truly believe that the complications I had were due to unnecessary interventions that I approved of. It was a little ironic that when I started asking questions, so I could avoid a repeat experience like the one I had.....medical records seemed to not mention anything about what occurred. I WAS NOT looking to sue, I just wanted to try to avoid those complications for any future births, if possible.

When my daughter was 6 weeks old I began meeting several ladies who had homebirths. I was even invited to a meeting about birth choices. There I met my future midwife. She ended up giving me lots of info about homebirth, that I read over repeatedly. I showed it to my husband & prayerfully considered it for any future births. Much to my surprise my husband , who was not a Christian at the time approved of a homebirth. God is sovereign & in control even when you have an unsaved husband.

When my daughter was 20 months old I discovered I was pregnant with my 4th child. It wasn't the easiest pregnancy & I began to have my doubts about a homebirth , after negative comments from friends & family. But when I sought God, He encouraged me through His Word & gave me this verse " So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what He has promised." Hebrews 10 :35 ~ 36. So I continued on with the decision to have a homebirth. I'm so glad I did because it was a very wonderful birth. I wasn't convinced I was in labor until about an hour and half before my son was born. I was able to labor in the privacy of my own home, just my husband & kids present, although the kids had gone to bed by the time labor had picked up. When the midwife arrived I was completely dilated & my 9# son was born 15 min. after her arrival.

My 5th birth, my second homebirth was a bit different because she was a surprise breech, things were happening so fast, but God was in control. You can read about her birth here in the Spring Issue of Seasons at Home magazine. I certainly would not want to repeat another breech birth, if I can help it. I don't know what my choice would be if it were to happen again. I would consider a hospital birth, as I know there can be risks/complications involved in a breech birth,(especially with footling), although my daughter had none. I most definately would handle things differently, possibly even requesting an ultrasound the very last week of pregnancy, because I believe that's when she turned. I never had any of my babies do that, so I disregarded what I was feeling physically.

A Note to Readers/Visitors to My Blog

2008-08-10T10:47:00.003-04:00

According to my live traffic feeder, I have people reading from all over, not too many leave comments though : ) Please feel free to leave a comment, it gives me a chance to see who's reading & come visit your blog as well. Although I don't have the time to read everyone's blog......... I do like to return the favor & have the opportunity to read & comment on whoever's reading mine.

Gone Fishing

2008-08-09T22:36:00.008-04:00

Our 5 on the fishing pier.

The kids have just settled into bed after having two fun filled days. It was such a nice weekend ...I feel so blessed. Our weekend of fun started around 6:00 Friday evening when we arrived at our local county fair. We rode rides, ate fair food, drank fresh squeezed lemonade & spent quite a bit of time in the horse barns . My kids got a chance to pet and sit on a beautiful Pinto horse named Warrior. My girls really would love a horse, but for now we will just have to admire them at the fair, and pray about the possibility of getting one sometime in the future.

We were having so much fun at the fair, we didn't leave until the fair closed at midnight! I just wish we would have been able to go earlier in the day & stay til midnight, so we would have had a chance to see all the exhibits & animals.

First thing this morning my daughter opened her birthday gifts. Watching her open her gifts was pure bliss. From birth she has had such a gentle & sensitive spirit. When she opened her first gift....the sterling silver horse necklace , her face just lit up & both my husband and I thought she was going to cry....she was overjoyed : ) So my sweet little baby girl who was born with a head full of black hair is now 10!

After she opened her gifts we mostly lounged around the house...doing some light chores & laundry. Around 4pm we decided to head out to Walmart to get a fishing license & some picnic food. We went to one of our favorite parks, that's hidden away back in the woods. It has some nice lakes to fish in. It is a private & secluded park that also has a great bike trail along side of it. We enjoyed a picnic dinner near the water & some fishing. The only one that caught a fish was my 2 year old dd (actually me, although she was trying to fish helping me hold onto the rod). I don't think she quite understood the concept of fishing because when I told her she caught a fish & I started to reel it in, she started to panic. Once she saw the little sun fish....she started to protest....." I don't want fish!, I don't fish!, I don't want fish!" It was a little bit sad but a little bit cute/funny to see her reaction. She eventually calmed down when we made a big deal about her catching a fish . I think it especially helped when her big brother gave her a high five : 0 )

We left the park around 8:00 pm , just before the storms arrived. When we got home we had cake and ice cream & just spent the rest of the evening relaxing. What a nice time we had!

My Daughter's Birthday Cake

2008-08-08T11:52:00.008-04:00

Here's my Betty Crocker Bake n Fill Pans.

I made a Brownie Peanut Butter cake for my daughter's 10th birthday tomorrow. I 've not had good results making my own gluten free brownies or cake, so I buy this brownie mix for $2.98 a box at Super Walmart. It tastes just like regular brownies & this is actually cheap for a boxed gluten free mix. I've seen them anywhere from $4.00 on up to $6.00 a box.

I mixed two boxes & poured it into the dome pan as well as the regular cake pan. After it baked I let it cool for an hour in the pan, before I carefully removed it. I then filled the cavity of the dome shaped cake with a peanut butter filling which consists of ~ 8 oz cream cheese, 1 cup peanut butter, & 1/2 cup powdered sugar. I then layed the flat cake on the dome shaped cake to cover the peanut butter filled cavity. Here's the end results

Doesn't it look cute with the foal on the top? I found it for a few dollars at Tractor Supply. I just ran it through the dishwasher first. The frosting I made for this cake was a recipe from my original 1950's Betty Crocker cookbook. There's no reason to ever buy the canned frosting again when this is so easy to make & so good! Here's the recipe:

Glossy Chocolate Icing:

Melt:
4 TB shortening & 4 squares unsweetened chocolate in a small bowl in the microwave.

Beat in:

2 2/3 cups sifted powdered sugar. (My sifter doesn't work all that great...it just gets clogged up with the sugar. I just used a metal strainer with very small holes. I pour the sugar in the strainer and gently shake the sugar into a bowl)
1/4 tsp salt
6 TB milk
1 1/4 tsp. vanilla

Beat with electric mixer until smooth and glossy and thick enough to spread.

Resisting the Temptation to Sin

2008-08-06T19:23:00.006-04:00

My husband and I have Bible study with another couple once a week. I'm excited about the study we are currently working on. It is about the temptation to sin. I thought I would try to briefly go over what we have learned about resisting the temptation to sin . I guess I never really thought about the many ways God has given us , to escape the temptation to sin.

1. The Holy Spirit ~ If we are born again believers in Christ we have the Holy Spirit as our helper. " But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh." Galations 5 :16 ~ Daily seek God's will for your life & let the Holy Spirit guide you.

2. Scripture ~ Jesus used Scripture to fight off Satan's temptations (Matthew 4).....we can do the same. Memorizing & quoting/praying Scripture that pertain to areas of sin that you struggle with is a great place to start. I certainly have areas I need to work on. I need to work on scripture memorization as well.

3. Prayer ~ When Jesus teaches us about prayer in Matthew 6: 5-15, He specifically says " And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil." We can ask Him to help us to resist sin.

4. A proper fear of God ~ Proverbs 16:6 "By lovingkindness and truth iniquity is atoned for, And by the fear of the Lord one keeps away from evil." A proper fear of God would look like this.... reverance for Him, fear of offending Him, and a fear of the consequences of your sin.

5. Run from Sin ~ Genisis 39:12 " She caught him by his garment, saying, "Lie with me!" And he left his garment in her hand and fled, and went outside." If you struggle with a certain sin & you can help it , don't put yourself in a position that would tempt you to commit that sin. Run from it.

6. A Christian Friend ~ Ecclesiastes 4: 9-10 " Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor. For if either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion. But woe to the one who falls when there is not another to lift him up." A Christian friend can pray for you and check on how you are doing spiritually & encourage.

Professional Photos at Home & Homemaker's Magazine

2008-08-05T01:10:00.008-04:00

I'm not very good about keeping up with getting my children's pictures taken. I have friends that faithfully have their childrens' pictures taken professionally at ages 3 mo. , 6 mo., 9 mo., 12 mo., 18 mo, 2 yrs & then every year after on their birthdays . I know you can get some good deals at Walmart & such but we often don't have the extra money to get pictures taken. Not to mention I always get easily sucked into buying more than just the package deal.....& I regret it later. So what I decided to do this year instead of saying I'm going to get my kids pictures taken on their birthday (which I never end up doing) .......I'm just going to take them myself at home.

Over the weekend I started this project & got two beautiful pictures of my oldest daughters. I took my memory card to Walmart yesterday & had each photo enlarged to an 8x10....it only cost $5.00 total. I put them in black frames that I already had at home & they are now hanging on my living room wall. I worked on taking pictures of my boys over the weekend as well, but haven't gotten the perfect shot just yet. I'm going to work on taking more pictures of the boys today as well as my 2 yr old dd.

I'm following a few basic rules/suggestions, which really help to get a great photo.
1. I take the pictures outside
2. I use the wonderful summer scenery as the background. I'll have them sit on the grass or stand in front of a tree or flowers.
3. I use props from nature...a flower behind the ear or held in their hand. That's how my girls' pictures were taken. I had then place a black eyed susan behind their ear.
4. I take the pictures in the evening...a few hours before sunset. That time and early morning are the best times to take pictures because the lighting isn't as harsh. Overcast days are also supposed to be good. I found that the evening is nice because it gives the photo a nice soft & romantic look/feel.
5. I never have them face the sun nor do I have the sun behind them when I take the picture.

It's so easy to take a nice picture at home if you have a digital camera because you can take as many as you want and just erase what you don't like.

On another note my summer issue of Seasons at Home magazine arrived yesterday. I just love this magazine. It is such a motivation and inspiration to me, to learn more about & truly embrace homemaking.

There was an article about making a hope chest along with instructions & photos. I showed my husband who is a carpenter by trade & he too thought it would be a great Christmas gift to make our 3 daughters each one. We thought we could follow this basic design & add our own flair. My oldest son enjoys wood burning, so if he is willing he could burn some pretty designs into it. I can color the designs in with the special paint used for wood burning projects & then seal it with some polyurethane. I can't wait...I want to start right now!

This is really a nice magazine & I would recommend it to anyone.

Going Gluten Free

2008-08-04T10:01:00.006-04:00

The first year after I gave birth to my 3rd child I began to feel physically bad. Her birth was difficult, due to some unnecessary medical interventions during the labor & delivery. I hemorrhaged after the birth & was very anemic due to the blood loss. I can remember having some strange things happens for several months afterward. I would get this weird numb sensation that would go around my abdomen like a belt. It did eventually go way after a few months. When she was around 5 months old I started having a lot of sinus problems. Then came the painful digestive disturbances . Although I eventually began to improve I never was 100%. I went through another pregnancy & new symptoms appeared. I think they worsened after the pregnancy. I lost a lot of weight.....it could have been due to not eating much because it seemed every time I ate I would have digestive problems. I was often very fatigued as well. I would get severely short of breath too, this seemed to be hormonally induced , it did go away after I became pregnant with my 5th child. I had many tests....2 colonoscopies, thyroid tests, parathyroid tests, bone density tests (that showed I had osteopenia in my late 20's) but everything else came back normal.

I did see a medical doctor who had started a practice using alternative treatments & tests (functional medicine). She did help me some but her supplements were so expensive, as well as the testing. She found I had an H. Pylori infection that we did treat the conventional way with medication. My b12 levels were low so I had several injections. I began to feel better but not 100%.

I did have my family doctor do the blood test to check for Celiac disease but it came back normal. Around this time I started going to a food co-op which was run by a lady who had Celiac disease. She had been initially diagnosed with microscopic colitis. She also was tested for Celiac disease...her results came back normal. She started to research her illness and came upon the site of a Dr. Kenneth Fine. He offers unconventional testing (stool tests) to check for Celiac because blood tests are not always accurate. She took the test & it was positive for Celiac. She improved dramatically on GF diet but eventually had to follow a stricter diet because the GF diet was no longer helping her.

I decided to take this test, I figured what did I have to lose, at the most I would be out the $100 it cost for the test......that's a lot less than the hundreds of dollars I wasted at the doctor's office. I was told it would take several weeks to get the results back. I remember one evening shortly after sending this test back to the lab , feeling overwhelmed & so frustrated . I was so tired of feeling bad & not knowing what was wrong with me. I prayed that the Lord would give me answers & show me what was wrong with me. The very next day I got an email from Dr. Kenneth Fine's office & my results were POSITIVE! My body was reacting to gluten. I took this as an answer to my prayer.

I have to say though even though God answered me I sometimes doubt I have problems with gluten. I guess because the conventional/ normal way of testing came back normal. I hate this doubting because it causes me to cheat on my GF diet. I don't always feel bad when I eat gluten but there are times I do & I try to make myself believe it wasn't really the gluten but some other food. I've considered having other food allergy tests but it's not in our budget right now . Maybe eventually. I left out many details of how I tried changing my diet for the better, etc. So for those who can relate or are interested this is the shortened, tear free, uncomplicated version of my journey to going gluten free.

Family Friendly T.V.

2008-08-02T14:57:00.003-04:00

Is there such a thing as family friendly TV? If there is , I haven't seen it. It seems anytime we sit down as a family & watch a tv show on one of the major networks something is said or shown that makes me squirm in my seat & I wonder if my kids caught it.....& sometimes it's just a commercial : ( So lately what we've been trying to do is borrow DVDs of older TV shows from the library. Right now we are on the 3rd season of " Daniel Boone" & we've started watching "The Waltons" too. I have to say I'm more into The Waltons. I remember watching it as a kid & I just love it!

There must be other older TV shows that are entertaining & family friendly. So tell me what have you watched with your family....what can you recommend? Leave a comment here or post something on your blog. I would love to know.

A Great Parenting Book!

2008-08-02T10:47:00.004-04:00

I have recommended to others the book " The Power of a Praying Parent". I thought I would give an explanation to why I like it so much. First off, I was given this book by a dear older lady that I used to go to church with. She loves her children & grandchildren dearly & she prays for them so faithfully. I didn't sit down & read the book when she gave it to me....really just skimmed through it. It got packed away when we moved , so I really hadn't read much of it.

About 2 years ago my son had begun hanging around and spending alot of time with a another boy & his family. They were a homeschooling family & the mother professed to be a Christian. It wasn't long into the frienship I realized that there was something not right, something about this family that bothered me in a big way. However, I pushed those feelings aside, thinking I was just being over protective of my child. You have not let them grow up at some time, right?

This friend wasn't a bad kid , it just seemed my son's friendship with him/his family was doing something negative in my son's heart. My son's behavior changed. He was distant from us, his family. He didn't interact with his siblings the way he used to. He seemed a million miles away & was not himself at all. I felt like we were losing him. This friendship was affecting our whole family in a negative way.

During this time I stumbled upon this book "The Power of a Praying Parent" that had been packed away. I felt very compelled to read it , as I was feeling desperate about the situation with my son. I opened to the table of contents & skimmed through the chapter titles. I came upon Chapter 8, titled " Attracting Godly Friends & Role Models". I immediately turned to that chapter. I got to the second sentence of that chapter & I felt like I was reading about our situation. Here is what the author had to say about her children, " Occasionally they've made friends that, as a parent, I had reservations about. Not because I didn't like them; actually, in every instance, I liked them very much. What I didn't like was they type of influence they were on my child, and what the combination of that child and mine produced. The way I always handled this situation was to pray. I prayed for that child to be changed or else be taken out of my child's life. In every case that prayer was answered. In several instances, the passage of time revealed the accuracy of my apprehension. She goes on to say " Parents often have gut-level feelings about their children's friends. When that happens, ask God for Holy Spirit inspired discernment and pray accordingly."

So this is what I did. I prayed that the Lord would change this other child/his family or take them out of my child's life. I prayed for discernment about this gut-level feeling I had. Within a few days of that prayer.....God answered in a big way. Without going into alot of detail, let me just say, God provided a very clear path out of this friendship. There was no doubt in my mind that this was not a friendship God wanted for my child. So He gave us a gracious way out. It was only a few days after this decision was made, to end this friendship, that the accuracy of my apprehension was revealed!

Prayer is so important because we can't be the parents God wants us to be without His help. It is easy as parents to get confused about what to do and not what to do. There are so many outside forces pulling us in every direction & they are often well disguised as something good. Really you can't even go to the doctor's office without seeing piles of parenting magazines that claim to have all the answers. The majority go against what God says is good.

You can't go wrong by prayer!

Birthday Gifts

2008-08-01T14:01:00.007-04:00

My daughter's 10th birthday is next week & I thought I would share with you pictures of the gifts we bought her

This I thought was so pretty...a card kit to make 8 glittery bird cards. She love's making cards and she loves watching birds....so this is a perfect fit for her.
She asked for some art supplies because she enjoys drawing. I thought watercolor pencils and water color paper were a little different & would allow her to be more creative.

She absolutely loves horses....I found this pretty necklace.

She asked for these horses. Breyer makes many collectable play horse items.

Pickle Relish

2008-07-31T16:10:00.005-04:00

I had the best intentions to not let anything in the garden go to waste but let me tell you these cucumbers are getting ahead of me : ) If you can see in the picture below, that's just some of the cucumbers I have left still . Today I was busy making this sweet pickle relish It was alot more work than the pickles I made recently but it turned out better. I did make sure I used pickling salt this time and I changed the recipe a little. I used all sweet red peppers & vidalia onion & used only about half of what the recipe called for. I'm thinking I'll make more but I'll have to go to the store to buy more onion, cider vinegar, and peppers. If not I think I will be putting the rest of the cucumbers at the end of my drive with a FREE sign : ) I can't wait to use the relish though. I can think of all kinds of ways to use it....on hot dogs, in tuna , chicken, egg salad, potato salad, etc.

This & That

2008-07-30T20:50:00.005-04:00

Another one of my children as come down with strep throat. Thankfully all I had to do yeaterday was call the doctor and she called in a prescription for my dear son. He's feeling a little better today.

I'm glad my husband didn't have to work all day & was able to be at home with the kids, because it was a busy run around town day for me. My daughter's birthday is next week , so I spent the day birthday shopping for her as well as getting the ingrediants needed for her cake & ice cream to go with the cake.

I love celebrating my kids' birthdays. We don't have big parties for them , it's usually just us & sometimes a grandparent or two. However, we do like to make the day special for them by giving them gifts, a special dinner of their choice...usually it's pizza and the cake & ice cream of their choice.

This year my daughter wants a brownie-peanut butter cake. The recipe calls for Betty Crocker Pour & Frost chocolate frosting. I don't really like the canned frosting but I also need to avoid it because of gluten, so that leaves me to make it from scratch. After looking on the internet & not really finding a recipe that fit the bill, I decided to look through my cookbooks. That's when I remembered my Betty Crocker cookbook. This is not just any cookbook it's an original 1950's cookbook given to me by husband's grandmother. I thought it was neat how about the time she gave this to me it was reprinted and published to look just like the original...with the same recipes. I figure I must have a real gem of a cookbook. Doesn't it look like it was a loved & well used cookbook? I'm thankful to say I found a recipe for the chocolate frosting for my daughter's cake.

Original 1950's cookbook

On another note.... I thought it was neat today to find a Bible verse in an unusual place. It was on the back of a can of cheez curls that I bought : ) I think that's neat when companies do that. This verse reminded me of the young woman's testimony at Sunday's baptisimal ...it was also fitting to some thoughts I had about some things yesterday.... " The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth." Psalm 145:18. If we call upon the Lord in truth with a sincere heart & pure motives......the Lord is near to us.

Believer's Baptism

2008-07-28T16:12:00.008-04:00

Yesterday our church had a baptismal service and picnic. The picnic was lots of fun with games and food but I most enjoyed the baptisms. There was one mom that I would guess is close in age to me, whom I've just been getting to know a little better. Well she was baptized as well as others. She is a very quiet, some what shy and reserved lady but she so eloquently shared her testimony. The words flowed so beautifully and I was truly blessed by her testimony : )

She said she did not grow up in a Godly home and even questioned the existence of God. She said she felt a very empty feeling that penetrated deep into her very being & she became very aware of her sin. She said she tried to change her behavior, she read the Bible, she went to several different types of churches and explored different religions (which confused her even more). She even got baptized but nothing took away that emptiness. She said she cried out to the Lord and asked him to show her what it was she wasn't seeing, what she didn't understand and make her see. Well she read her Bible again after that prayer and God showed her. He showed her through His word her need for repentance , forgiveness of sin and her need to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ alone and that's when she became a child of God. She trusted in Christ and he washed away her sin. What a moving testimony! I wish all of you could have been there.

My husband is newer Christian ( a few years ago he was saved) and has not yet been baptized. He wants to be and knows he should be because it is an outward profession of Christ. He is very nervous about public speaking though & just standing in front of a crowd. I ask if any of you feel led , pray for him. There will be another baptism in a month or so & he might not get another opportunity until next summer. I believe God will bless his obediance.