By the grace of God go I

My Homeschool Classroom

2010-12-16T17:49:00.007-05:00

Isn't mommys desk pretty? It looks that way from Saturday to Monday......then

It looks like this :-) I have no idea why everything ends up on my desk. It's the smallest in the room!

Extra resources live here...usually. We also have bookcases outside in the hallway. Junk on the bottom shelf :-)

Our schedule and class white board. I left the vocabulary lesson on there.....don't judge the handwriting. LOL Under the board is a box of National Geographic and Rick the Ranger that I got from freecycle. Good to use in between lessons! The plastic draws hold different supplies. You know what the blue thing is :~)

This is the older boys desk. Yes that is 2 rolls of toilet paper on his desk and I have no idea why but I didn't find any spit balls so It's good. I straightened his desk for the picture. His desk is usually the messiest.

Taz's desk and the calendar that he uses every morning to announce the day, date etc. He uses the roll of contact paper on his desk to point. Very cute!

Our workbox system and worship center :-) Yes there are construction paper covered cereal boxes. It takes less room than some of the systems I have seen out there and our classroom is the smallest room in the house except for one of the bathrooms. I found this on a blog but hers were very very pretty. My boys wouldn't care if they were just the cereal boxes and no paper covers. You can find her post here... http://www.amothersjournal.com/2009/03/08/workbox-system/

I love looking at blogs and seeing what other people are doing. They always look so pretty and organized. I used to do pretty :-) Now if it works I'm ok with it. Sad really......maybe one day I will find the time to make all the things I love pretty.

I have already started planning for next year and how much money I need so my sweet husband will be able to budget it in. We are still kinda feeling our way through but it's been a fun, stress filled adventure.

Be blessed!

Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder

2010-12-11T11:42:00.002-05:00

Maybe not.....

I have been trying to get back to this but life seems to be so busy that I have no time for anything extra. Work, homeschool, housework, ministry.....I have been trimming away time wasters. We joined a homeschool co-op and playgroup. My pastor moved me into a new ministry leadership position. God has really been doing great things for us and our family. My intent is to widdle out time for this blog. Homeschool and devotional posts mostly. I have been getting excited about writing again. The things i have been writing may find their way here as well. Exciting times!

Looking forward.....

Time Management

2010-10-23T08:54:00.005-04:00

Homeschooling seems to be causing me to look at my current time management issues. I have always been someone who likes order rather than chaos, and this is seemingly chaos. I read blogs to help me with ideas, books, curriculum, and ORGANIZATION. I have spent hours a day trying to reorganize my entire house because it has gotten out of control as of late (or maybe I'm just spazzin out because of the homeschool chaos?!) I'm thinking that I may be overwhelmed. I have no "personal" friends who are homeschooling at this time. Many have opted to put their children back into the school system so I am just figuring it out all on my own. May not be the best idea I have ever had.

There are so many excellent resources out there for homeschool but, alas, my funding is limited so I have to be selective about my purchases. I scour the Internet for free and cheap resources to supplement what we are doing. I find blogs and often wonder how they have time to blog...I can barely think of blogging but admittedly, I have several time wasters that I could do without. :)

My 2 boys that are still at home are both diagnosed with ADHD. Sizzlers, as Carol Barnier calls them. One I have been able to completely get off meds. Ok, we pulled him from public school after his teacher once again requested him to have a dosage increase and we saw that he was all but a zombie and couldn't possibly be making as much trouble in the class as she stated. Her biggest complaint, "he plays with his pencil". Once he was out of school we stopped the meds. I can handle the playing with pencils and if it takes him all day and 100 prompts from me to stop wasting time, it's only temporary, he will learn to focus himself eventually. My 21 year old did and I have faith that he will.

My 5 year old is worse than those 2 put together as far as ADHD. The jury is still out on him. :~) He is a very out of the box thinker. Yesterday, I woke up with his little skinny arm across my nose. As I opened my eyes, he realized that I was awake and said in his very excited voice, "Mom, smell my armpit!!! I washed it last night!!" Yes, Honey, I'm soooo glad you washed it. Good morning, Taz. Yes the child had his armpit over my nose. Just another day in this home. :~)

Have a blessed day!

Intercession

2010-06-07T12:53:00.002-04:00

Intercession: Closing the gap (standing in) between God and people when the person is unable to do so themselves. Pleading with God for our needs and the needs of others. Taking a hold of God's will and refusing to let go. An unselfish act that moves God.

Often prompted by the Holy Spirit (prayer burden), the intercessor goes boldly to the throne room, in the presence of God and petitions for the needs of others not letting go until released by God or the answer is received. The Intercessory prayer perseveres (persists, maintains a purpose in spite if difficulty, obstacles, or discouragement, Continue steadfastly), prevails (to be or prove superior in strength power or influence), travails (painfully difficult or burdensome work, anguish or suffering resulting from mental or physical hardship), presses in and pursues with all deliberate speed. Intercession is also a type of warfare. A weapon that can pull down strongholds in the spirit realm and protect from or counter an attack of the enemy.

Hebrews 4:16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

Ephesians 6:18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints

2 Corinthians 10:3-4 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)

Luke 11:10 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. (continually asking, seeking and knocking)

Galatians 6:2 Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.

1 Timothy 2:1 I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; (not the complete thought)

It is our responsibility to intercede on behalf of others, nations, etc.

Ezekiel 22:30 And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none.

God sought someone to intercede but found no one willing so His wrath was poured out upon the people of Judah. They had been taken into captivity in Babylonia at this time.

Isaiah 59:16 And he saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor: therefore his arm brought salvation unto him; and his righteousness, it sustained him.

God wondered that no one interceded for the people of Judah.

Romans 8:29-30, 34 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.

Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.
We are to be like Jesus. Jesus makes intercession for us therefore we should be interceding as well.

Psalm 106: 23 Therefore he said that he would destroy them, had not Moses his chosen stood before him in the breach, to turn away his wrath, lest he should destroy them.

Moses stood in the gap for his people.

Romans 8:26-27 Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. and he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.

This is just a blip of a study my pastor asked me to do. I can't wait to finish it!

Mama's Binder

2010-05-21T10:17:00.004-04:00

About a month ago I came across my old old "control journal" that I created several years ago and I just put it on the shelve in the classroom. It had been modified and changed many times. It started as a fly lady type journal and changed as our life changed. The last time I used it was in 2005. A very traumatic year for us and it shows by the entries in the calender etc. I had since changed the binder to fit my needs and purchased a pretty purple one. (the one I have been using) As I went through my current schedule and routines today, I realized that pretty much none of it was working since I am now homeschooling. :) Can you say revelation????

I have been printing some pretties and working on the schedule and routines. I also realize I'm going to have to push myself harder on the days that I work to stick to it. I'm excited!!!! I have one binder for "home keeper" stuff, one for "Spiritual" stuff (Bible study, sermon notes etc) and one for Homeschool stuff. I just can't see toting a binder big enough to hold all that, so I separated it a long time ago. They are all 2 inch binders. I still need a larger one for the Bible study. :/

Just an update.

Be blessed!!

Random Randy

2010-05-20T10:11:00.003-04:00

Since I really don't have time to write anything significant and my class is running wild today (love ADHD kids and their need to move their bodies), I thought I would just post randomness today.

Homeschool is going well, I think. I kept wondering am I doing the right thing? Am I doing what I need to be doing? Would they really learn more in ps? Then my 10th grader who has hated and struggled with math from the beginning received her Math U See program, Epsilon. Yes her testing said she had to go back that far even though she passed algebra 1 in PS with a barely passing D. (don't ask how I feel about passing a kid with a D-it won't be pretty) She watched her first session and was like, "oh!!!" It was a eureka moment. Now I can't keep her away from her math work. Yep, maybe it was the right thing after all. :)

I found a great site called sizzle bop. I have 3 sizzlers and sometimes my life spins out of control while trying to wrangle them. I'm excited about it. I know it's a minor thing but I like it anyway. (sizzler=ADHD in our case-fully diagnosed) I'm glad to know that I'm not alone and that stopping school half way through the day because 2 or more kids are unable to focus for the need to move their bodies is not as bad as I thought. This one little fact helped to influence my decision to school year round with more frequent breaks.

Has anyone else felt the ground rattling lately? I don't know about where you are but around here, God has really been moving and shaking! It's exciting to see God work that way.

Scheduling and getting every thing done is just not happening. Don't know why, it's just not. I can't seem to be effective at homeschool, housekeeping, and work. :/ I know it can be done. I just don't have the right formula yet. :) I only work part time, so that is pretty easy except that keeping my uniform clean isn't. I have finally caught up on the regular standard household laundry. :) that took more loads of laundry than I care to admit to. I have always been a routine kinda gal but I can't get it going right now. I have to adjust too much daily to really have everything in a routine. I'm miserable because when things are disorganized, I can't function. I have even considered canceling school for a week to get organized. I need to get rid of some junk too. I get the classroom all organized and pretty and before the end of the week I'm buried in stuff again.

I work with a guy who is not just an atheist but very anti God. He is often offensive, rude and obnoxious, and not just about "religion". He seems to do these things to get a reaction from people, trying to make them angry. Once such instance of his behavior was when I first started working there, I was cleaning and minding my own business and he came up and started yelling, in front of customers in a chanty sort of way, "God is a cult, get out of the cult!" repeatedly. He has tried numerous times to "get my goat", pushing more and more buttons but he has never been able to fluster me. :) Monday night at work, he was asking questions about my beliefs and why etc. In a very non offensive way, he was curious. I pray that I will always be able to answer his questions from scripture and to be able to do so and to carry myself as the woman of God I am. God is so good, he turned this offensive, anti God person into a curious person. Is he a convert? not YET. :)

Candy at My Blessed Home has been writing a series on Christians and the Torah that I find interesting and thought provoking. I love her! Here is the link. It's the first of the series.

Stickers are my friend. The boys seem to get more done when they have stickers as a reward. Even the 10 year old. :) He is doing much better since we have been doing a sort of modified workbox system. He breezes through his assignments now.

Well that's all I have time for. I have so many ideas but so little time since I have bread to make and a house to clean! I hope to be able to get organized and routine so I can write more (ok and think more). Any suggestions are welcome! I just know that God is really blessing us right now and I have seen him move so much lately that I get awestruck at the greatness of Him!! I so want to write about what I have learned and what God is doing. It requires a bit of concentration and my little sizzler isn't having that today. I love my Taz, he is so full of life and love!

Be Blessed!

Biblical Wifely Submission

2010-05-08T08:34:00.004-04:00

Hummm.....Now that is a difficult subject. I have struggled and struggled with this for years. In some areas I have made quite a bit of progress but in others I still catch myself not honoring my dear husband. It's usually small areas, but the little foxes spoil the vines. With the lives of children in the balance, I feel like I need to "step it up" a bit.

It's funny though, until two or three years ago I had never been taught to submit and honor my husband. We all know what my first response was. . . out right rebellion! Then I began to seek out God's word on the subject and realized this was what I should be doing. The problem was that it had never been modeled for me. I had no idea what this was supposed to look like or feel like. So I began to look for it in other women. So I learned what it was by studying the word and other godly women. I also learned that I wasn't the only one that struggled in this area.

Some men make it harder to submit or honor them by their actions and spiritual position. It's even harder to submit when our husbands aren't honoring God, or anyone else for that matter. What I did notice in God's word is that it doesn't say honor your husband only when he is right or not being verbally abusive or sinning. It just said to do it.

I recently came across an online study for A Wife's Biblical Submission. (I think I may have seen it before) It's a weekly lesson so I'm going to do it. My schedule seems to be quite fluid at this point, lacking anything that resembles structure so it seems to be a good time. My home school schedule is wildly varying, my work schedule changes, my husbands work schedule has never been predictable. So During my quiet time at night, I will be working on this study.

Any one want to join me?

What Does It Matter

2010-05-07T07:18:00.002-04:00

This was written by my 17 year old daughter:

What does it matter that she smelled like she hadn't showered in weeks?
What does it matter that he had wiskey on his breath?
What does it matter that she had fresh cuts on her wrists?

What does it matter that you have condemned the just?
What does it matter that you have betrayed your family?
What does it matter that you have judged God's children with false power?

What does it matter that I have lived like hell?
What does it matter that I have broken my word?
What does it matter that I have wanted to take my life?

We have all fallen short of the Glory of God
but there is a difference in lived it and living it
What does it matter of the past
when the future is more important?.
Not one soul surpasses the power of God
It's ok to roll in dirt but eventually you need to let God wash you clean
One day every knee will bow, are you going to wait until the trumpet sounds?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~by 3P

Random Homeschool tidbits

2010-04-14T08:48:00.006-04:00

As I go through this homeschool adventure, I'm learning that we spend time teaching stuff that they are going to learn on their own without a "formal" lesson. So why is it on the list of must teach topics?

For Example: Firemen as community service workers. Even my youngest (5 years old now) knows about them. We have watched movies, been to the station, played on the trucks and spoken to the firemen. One time we got to go into a "portable house" to learn what to do when there is a fire. We have done some of the same things with police, doctors etc. So why is this stuff formatted into a lesson? Sorry, I'll be skipping that one. I'd rather substitute say. . . nature study or Bible study. The joy of a 5 year old boy with a magnifying glass looking at God's world is much more productive I think. He thinks so far out of the box that I am suprized sometimes at what he learns from such simple activities.

Living Math:
Sounds great in theory. I'm just struggling to wrap my brain around it. Plus having the money to buy all those books boggles my mind. I'm working on planning a library trip and making it a weekly thing. I guess I just need to find or make a list of books I'd like them to read, math and otherwise.

Scheduling:
yeah, well
I schedule it alright. I just may change it at the last minute. I forget to print something, can't find what I want to use to teach etc. And seriously, I don't teach that much!! They learn and I teach maybe 45 mintues a day. I teach to all of them at the same time. I don't expect the 5 year old to understand it all but that doesn't mean he can't be exposed to it. I still feel like I need to work on this.

ADHD
Both boys are diagnosed with ADHD. Charlotte Mason methods seem to work best for them. I love Charlotte Mason too so it works out well. I found some great "distractions" for when they do have to focus. I have been kind of teaching the littlest (Taz is 5) but I don't push him. I just don't feel like its required yet but he wants to join in. We do lapbooks and file folder games and some writing. He has to be "in the mood" to color so we do a little of that. If you get special markers etc he is more interested but it's temporary. lol He recognizes almost all his letters and numbers, understands upper and lower case, counts etc. He would be starting Kindergarten in the fall if he went to public school so I think he is doing well for not having a lot of formal lessons.

Workboxes
I have been seeing this around lately on blogs etc. I love the idea of it and I think it would work great for the 10 year old boy. It would help him get through his day faster and I think, encourage him to stay on task-looking forward to the next box. I need to get the book to really get the idea of it. I'm working on it for both boys. It's going to require me to get my act together a little better. I like just pulling out whatever for the little guy rather than having a set schedule because of his inability to focus. As he gets older I want to impliment more "official" school, gradually.

The teenagers
Well, they are easier so far. We do Bible study as a family in the mornings and the girls have their assignments for the week on Monday and by Friday I get them back. One teaches something each Friday. Right now, it is science. One is doing earth science and the other Biology so each week we all get a science lesson. No, there is no test for us when they teach but it plants seeds for the boys for later. They 10 year old boy comes up with questions to annoy them, it's a fun time! They are exposed to the older kids lessons that I teach as well. They often get something out of it which I think is awesome.

So I guess, other than my own issues, homeschool is still going well. I often wonder if I'm doing enough, if they are learning enough, what am I missing that they need.

Our New Crazy Life

2010-03-02T21:34:00.003-05:00

Well, homeschool is going well. for the most part. My husband finally insisted that I have things for a formal classroom for the kids. I think he wanted to buy everything in the office supply store. It was really hard for me to keep the costs down and buy only what was needed. It still came to $260.00! I still want some things but I won't be telling him. It's like being married to Tim the Toolman Taylor. Bigger is always better and even the lawn mower has a souped up motor from a race car. (ok, just kidding about the race car motor but it is more than we need) I probably spent 200 or so dollars on actual learning items called books.

We are in the new "school room" and it echos so I need a carpet in there. The kids are doing great with their learning and doing what is expected. I'm figuring out what works and doesn't as far as learning and learning styles and what I want to teach and do. I'm excited!

I'm also exhausted. I feel like I'm being drained and I'm over drawn so today was a free day. They could work on school if they wanted to and if they didn't, I was ok with that too. The girls opted to work on science! How cool is that?

My husband chaperoned the youth group on a trip to Hamilton, Alabama for a conference. I so wished I could go but I had to work. :( But I got to spend time with my boys alone and it was good! We even rented movies~ok, after watching the movies, I wished I hadn't because they had things in them that I prefer my children not see. Not excessively bad or obvious but still not my preference.

Lots of good things going on and I have seen God move so much lately. I'm excited about what God is doing around us. Next time I'll have to write about that. Right now, I need to get some rest for school tomorrow!

Be blessed!

Day 3 of Homeschool

2010-02-17T15:04:00.003-05:00

We brought day 3 to an end and I can honestly say that today was an accomplishment. No one died, there was no blood shed and all the children have all their body parts. ugh! I did find myself wondering if I imagined that we prayed before we started! lol

Be the end of the first hour, I was done listening to complaining about assignments and had to take one teenager to task. ugh! I had argued with another about when to use do, does etc. How did she get to 10th grade not knowing this???? ugh! Then I had to prove that a contraction and a conjunction were not the same thing-to the same child. The littlest couldn't possibly sit still for 5 minutes. Thank God for educational computer games today! Not my preference but today I was happy to have pbskids.org on my favorites list.

Once the day was finally done, I had errands to run. I came back with a significant bottle of aleve. I couldn't find any earlier in the day.

On the upside, we got more of our books in today and I was so happy about that until one of the teenagers (who can't use do and does properly) informed me she wasn't going to read her science book. She is going to the principal when he gets home from work!

My thoughts were more of a Charlotte Mason, living books approach. It matches what I believe and fits 3 of the 4 kids personalities and learning styles. I think the older children need a more "standard" education because of college etc but I intend to do it my way. I will not mimic the public schools way of teaching.

There are a few books that I want to order for myself. Laying Down the Rails seems to be at the top of the list for now. :) I'm working on changing habits that they have learned from public school and attitudes that seems to be carrying over. I'm trying to keep on my toes and on top of the little things that lead to big things.

So, now I need a nap and I'm ready to go back at it tomorrow! I need more prepwork before I can impliment some of the new books we got today. :)

Be blessed!

Our First Day of Homeschool

2010-02-16T16:07:00.003-05:00

Well, we officially started homeschool yesterday. I had given up on my husband ever agreeing with me about homeschool so I was totally unprepared when he suddenly choked on his dinner when the high school girls were telling him what had happened that day in school and he decided that it was time to pull them out and homeschool them. :) I had been telling him for years so I knew what was going on but somehow, hearing it from them made a huge impact. Yes, our public school system in this area is that bad.

I thought I would commemorate this historic event with "incidents" from our day.

AM: KK you may want to leave lines in between the vocabulary words she is telling us so you can write the definition.
KK: Definitions???? We have to write the definitions to the vocabulary words???
Me: KK what did you think you would do with the Vocabulary words???

Taz(4 years old): Mommy I don't have to take a nap. I can dream with my eyes open.
Me: You can!
Taz: Yeah, I'm dreaming about science right now.
Me: You are? What kind of science?
Taz: I'm dreaming about Dinosaur science! Raarrrr
(yes, he still took a nap)

and the first incident of the day. . . . .

Me: JD can you read Romans 14:12 for us?
JD: asdf ;aldjf asidu asdjfoia alskjdfoiae lasdjfo;iasde
Me: Hold that thought. I need more coffee before we can start this because I didn't understand a word you just said.
Everyone: laughing hysterically

With an abundance of coffee and more resources on the way, I think we have made a great start!

A Note to the Father

2010-01-11T12:11:00.003-05:00

My whole body quivers
as I feel the presence of the Almighty God
Power, Righetousness and Glory

His throne sits on High
as His spirit searchs the earth
and touches His children
Healing, Power, Peace and Joy

Cleansing spirit, cleanse me
search out all evil in me
remove all impurities and ungodliness
put it under the blood and cast it into darkness

Fill this vessel Lord
make it yours for your service
mold and shape it to your will
anoint it, Lord and fill it to overflowing

Use this willing vessel for your Holy purposes
to accomplish what you desire for it, Lord
Thy will, O Lord, not mine

On the Battle Field

2009-11-07T10:50:00.004-05:00

Onto the battle field I march

Head strong and head first

Girded with the full Armor of God

Weapon in hand

And the sound of God's call in my ears

A mighty war cry rises up

And the battle begins

As I praise His Holy Name

He gives me strength to stand

To use his word as a mighty sword

The Holy Spirit abounds and strikes

Hitting the enemy with every buffet

The rythm of the war drum

Getting louder with each blow

The enemy succumbs to the Mighty One

His carnage has come to an end

As I stand victorious in battle

The enemy submits to The Holy One of Israel

A tremendous war cry is heard

And I lay prostrate before the LORD

Giving honor to Elohim, the Mighty God

And being renewed for the next battle

Stronger still after each victory

Salvation Revival

2009-10-27T11:06:00.003-04:00

Our church is having a revival this week to save the lost. The last week has been a whirlwind! I don't know how anything is getting done around here (a lot isn't).

The first 2 days of this revival, we have had 26 people saved. We have 6 churches involved that we can send folks to if they don't want to stay at our church. It's about building the kingdom, not the church and I love that.

People are being added to the Kingdom, healed and set free! I have seen miracles this week! Many people in the church are fasting, we are all praying and God is moving! I am so excited! Sunday night, I couldn't sit still. God is so awesome!

The gentleman over the bus ministry (my sweet husband lol) has been going into one of the worst housing developments in town and picking up these wonderful children. They so sadden me. Their mothers are sending them and I wonder why they would just send those children with people they don't know like that. (I know i couldn't-church folk or not) One child looks to be 11 or 12 and she is bringing her baby to church. There is such an emptiness in their eyes, an innate sadness almost. I just want to snatch them up and love on them. We gave them Bibles. As I gave one boy a Bible, another was trying to snatch it right out of his hands. This boy was not giving that Bible up! He kept looking at it like it was made of gold and the biggest prize he ever received. How many of us would say, "wow, it's just a Bible"?

The young boy was right. It is the greatest thing he had ever gotten. He just doesn't know how great it is-yet. My prayer is that one day, soon, he will understand that it is the bread of life, the sword of the spirit. A love letter from the Father that will never let him down, leave him, abandon or abuse him. What a gift!

That's My King

2009-09-30T11:36:00.002-04:00

I saw this a week or so ago and thought wow. That is good! I wanted to share it. It was so simple yet so powerfull!!!

Thats My King http://www.tangle.com/view_video?viewkey=c92aec75174b95261b71

I've been working on Women's Ministry stuff and have been quite absent from blog land. I'm excited about what God is doing and I can't wait to share! Hopefully I'll have time to complete the post soon.

Be blessed!

Saturday Evening Post

2009-09-07T10:36:00.002-04:00

I found this blog through another blog that I follow.
http://www.elizabethesther.com/threes_a_crowd/2009/09/the-saturday-evening-blog-post-vol1-issue-1.html

Other bloggers are posting their favorite post from the last month. They are really great!

Be Blessed

My Home

2009-09-02T10:27:00.005-04:00

I've been looking at all these blogs where women are posting pics of their homes. They are all so beautiful but I decided to put these up anyway. I will try to refrain from adding, "this is what I want to change in this room". I'll just say that I want to do some work around here when time and money allows. Also don't look at the walls in the livingroom pictures. I can't decide what to do with all that wall space-Any ideas would be appreciated! :)

This is the livingroom from the hall entrance way

Yes, my china cabinet is in the livingroom. No room in the kitchen. :)

My great grandmothers buffett. Needs work but I love it! Since I no longer have a formal dining room it doesn't get used as much for it's intended purpose. :(

My angel currio in the living room.

My Kitchen. The wall to the left just has pictures on the wall so I didn't take any pictures of it. My coffee pot is hidden by the refridgerator. The table is too long for this room but ours was broken in the move almost 2 years ago. Yes, my fridge has junk on it. Bible study stuff, kids Sunday School papers, chore sheets (lest the children forget) and the top needs cleaned but that is on next weeks chore list, sorry.

My oven is TINY! I have to cook our turkey in an electric roaster during the holidays. You can kind of see the hole where the dishwasher goes underneath the oven in this picture. It bit the dust so we had to start using our old portable one we had in our previous home.

More kitchen. I remember when my grandparents remodeled this room. The cabinets are dull to me but my grandmother loved them so I can't part with them yet. They were custom made to her specifications and they are very well made!

I didn't do my bedroom because it's just not done still. Nothing on the walls except a mirror that was there since I was a child! :) The back of the house is an addition and has this awful dark paneling that I'd love to cover or remove. The outside of the house has been posted here in different places so I left those out as well. I hope you have a great day!

Be Blessed!

I'll be Even More Undignified Than This

2009-09-01T13:31:00.002-04:00

I was browsing through some blogs this morning and commented on a post. Basically I admitted that I embarrass my teenage girls. Yep, I do.

Now, if I'm honest, I have to admit that I am embarrassing ya'll. I will put on praise and worship music and by the worlds standards, I SHOW OUT!! I will clear the room ya'll!

You see, when the Bible says, "The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed; Luke 4:18, It's talking about me. I was saved, healed, delivered and set free.

I don't really care that I embarrass my girls. I'll be even more undignified than this. I feel like King David when he danced before the Lord and his wife disapproved sometimes (except I keep my clothes on) I love God so much that I dance (Psalm 150), I sing (I'm tone deaf and I couldn't carry a tune in a bucket! ), I lift my hands and just look out right goofy sometimes.

What I am concerned about is what my family sees in me. I want them to see me walk my faith out. I don't want to tell them how to live theirs out. It just doesn't seem effective to say this is how you walk it out. I think they need to see it, in action. They need to see you going to help the needy, praying for friends and strangers, worshiping with your heart and not just giving lip service. They need to see you minister to others and your relationship with the Savior. Lead by example. Do what I say and not what I do just doesn't work. I believe they need to see the love.

Will I always embarrass my children with my worship? No, I don't think so. My prayer is that they will embarrass me with theirs and mine will seem tame in comparison. I want them to love the LORD even more than I do. That my faith and yes, even my worship will be a testimony that will drive them to love more, worship harder, sing louder, dance faster, and pray without ceasing. I pray that as they see me walking out my faith even in the midst of a battle, that they will want to have a stronger relationship with their savior. That they will move beyond me in their faith and live for the LORD, set apart and peculiar.

How Much Soap Do You Have In Your Storage Area?

2009-08-26T10:22:00.003-04:00

How many of us have extra put up just in case? I personally have extra laundry soap, in case I run out and need a particular outfit so I look nice the next day for say. . . CHURCH. I also have about 4 tubes of unopened toothpaste, probably 10 bars of soap (no one in this house uses the same soap as anyone else-or shampoo for that matter), extra cleaning supplies, toothbrushes and of course COFFEEEEEEEEE! What do you need? I have probably have it for fear of running out.

We recently took in a beautiful 15 year old girl to our home. She has lived with me off and on her entire life and we started talking to her mom about letting us have her again about 6 months ago. Things in her life had been deteriorating for some time but her mom wasn't able to let her go again, she needed her to take care of her toddler brother because her mom couldn't.

At this time, the two brothers are deposited in other homes. One has been in his current home for a few years and sees his mom sporadically. He hasn't seen her in a few months at the time I'm writing this. The 3 year old is living with his father and she had been dragging this poor girl around living in their car and staying with this person and that person in less than safe environments.

The girls father is currently out of prison but is well on his way back for drugs. She has spent some time with him recently and been abused by him and went with him to "hustle". My fear is that he will have her turning tricks for drug money like he did her mother. He has been in prison most of her life.

This sweet child came to us with nothing more than the clothes on her back. She only had a grocery bag of clothes with her mother but we haven't seen those. She has gone without for so long that it didn't occur to her to ask for a hairbrush, a toothbrush, deodorant or soap. After being taken in and told that her mom was going to let her live with us, she still couldn't ask for things that are basic needs for everyone else. She even asked for permission to take a shower. It really just breaks my heart.

When I was registering her for school today, I was listening to her talk to the guidance councilor about how the last couple of years have been for her in school. I realized how much she was affected by being born addicted to crack. She struggles so hard with learning in school. She has such high hopes for her career-a marine biologist- yet, she struggles with math and science. This morning, we got her a referral for testing to see if there was anything we could do to help her learn so she could live her dream.

Sunday morning, our pastor hugged her and told her he loved her and she just started crying. She needs love so much.

I am totally awestruck for lack of a better word. The teenagers that I'm in contact with are more concerned about cell phones and ipods than soap and deodorant. Current fashions are all the rage with the girls I know.

She has been blessed with clothes. She has more clothes than our own kids now. We had all the basic things in the linen closet that she might need like soap, deodorant, razors etc. I have 6 people in our home so I shop in bulk most often. :) She is signed up for school and taking classes that she needs with the expectation of help when she needs it-a new concept for her.

Her life changed dramatically in one week because my husband stepped out and stepped up. This has made me think about all the extras we have, even though we are struggling financially and the people who don't have "the basics". My children will think twice when they think they "need" their cell phone. Needs take on a different perspective now.

I pray that God will show me a need as it arises and help her to share her needs with us so we can help her. I pray that God will give me wisdom in dealing with her and put people in her path that help her grow and be the person God created her to be. I pray that my children will see what a blessing they are to her and be blessed by her as well. I pray for strength and guidance in protecting her from things of her past and her families generational issues. I pray that God touch her and heal her and let her feel the love we have for her and all the love she so desperately needs and deserves.

An Update

2009-08-20T09:44:00.002-04:00

My uncle who has cancer accepted Christ this week! Praise the Lord!

The rest of the family is claimed and waiting!

I just keep crying, I'm so happy!

More Randomness

2009-08-18T20:29:00.002-04:00

Have you ever wanted to just jerk a knot in someones tail? Snatch 'em bald? Fire 'em up? Light 'em up? It has just been that kind of day. I NEED TO GET ALONE WITH GOD!! SOON!!!

The Bible is very clear on a lot things. Where issues are crystal clear, wrong is wrong. Where it isn't crystal clear due to silly things like"that wasn't around in Bible times", don't twist other verses to fit your needs. It doesn't work, wrong is still wrong.

If you live your life in a way that says, "I'm looking forward to the party in hell!!! WHOOO HOOOO!" Then don't expect to not have consequences.

Don't expect a preacher to preach a funeral for someone that never stepped foot in a church or even entertained the idea of doing so and know stories about the person's life. If the person didn't go to the church, know the preacher then, there is no way for the preacher to have any stories. You can tell the preacher stories to tell, but he still may not get all the details right. That is life.

Yes, a good pastor IS going to tell you when your wrong. It's his job, especially if you are a member of his church. If he doesn't take a stand against sin and only tickles your ear with what you want to hear he is accountable to God. Sorry, I'm not going to let you continue in sin that way either if I know it's wrong. I will tell you in love, I do sometimes lack tact. That's life too. I love you but your gonna have to get over yourself.

Whooo, I feel so much better!

God is still dealing with me about my testimony. I'm still working on it, kind of. I need to rewrite it all so that it is what He wants. Then it will appear here. I hope I don't scare anyone.

God has also put something in my heart (again) that He wants me to do. I feel like when Jesus told his mom, "my time has not yet come". I asked that God make the path clear and tell me when to step out and I will. I'll do it afraid or otherwise. (I'm usually too stupid to be scared until everything is over-lol) I think my next step is to write it all out and make it clear. Please pray for me if you think about it.

Be blessed!

Camping!!!

2009-08-15T18:56:00.004-04:00

Ok, they are mostly from the pool but it was great fun for them! I had on spf 50 sunscreen and spent less than 45 minutes in the sun and still got sunburned! I hate that about me because I don't tan afterwards, I just go back to glow in the dark white!

Daddy dunking the girls on the floatie! lol

Daddy teaching the Tazinator to swim because he has no fear and kept doing cannon balls!

Throw that boy like a rag doll honey! He loves it that way!

We fed the ducks and invited the campers next to us to feed them with us. They loved it!

We had fun, I was still in an air cast for my ankle and I found that I had more gray hair than I thought! :( Thanks Girls for pointing that out!

Amazed and Saddened

2009-08-14T20:00:00.003-04:00

Family is hard.
My family is really hard.

My cousin called me today. She is caring for her father who will be passing away soon from cancer. I've been there. Taking care of my mom while she passed from this world while taking care of a new born baby (and 4 other children) and my husband who had a heart attack the day we brought my mom to our home to be cared for and he had open heart surgery two days later. As horrible as my experience seemed, hers' is much worse.

As I listened to her vent today, I realized, perhaps for the first time, the amount of pain in her heart. It just broke my heart. The pain isn't just from the current situation she is in, caring for her dying father while homeless with 2 children because of her alcoholic mothers actions. Her mother is doing things to her that are beyond comprehension for me or anyone who ever knew her. And I found myself wondering, "what happened to her (my cousin)?" She is in so much pain but it only comes out as venom and rage.

I know the basic road she has traveled, the obstacles she overcame beyond all odds-really amazing. She doesn't see that. She doesn't see that she is strong because she doesn't feel it. How often have I felt that way. Weak, useless, hopeless, helpless. The difference between us is that I know who I am, where my hope is, that my weakness makes my God shine brighter.

During the toughest trials I have survived, I knew that my God was with me. I knew that my Father had everything under control and I was safe even if I didn't feel like it. She doesn't have that, neither does her father or mother. Both of her parents steeped in addictions, something their daughter escaped from (after giving birth to 2 kids who were born addicted to cocaine) but not their 2 sons.

My cousin "knows" God loves her but doesn't see that only His power can help her. He came to heal the broken hearted. Her broken heart, but she won't hear of it.

I'm just so saddened by the entire situation and driven to my knees in tears for all of them.

I found this today

2009-08-12T10:43:00.003-04:00

I found this story and thought I would share it. You can read it here-http://intouchwith-pumpkinrolls.blogspot.com/2009/05/sleep-when-wind-blows.html

For people like me who just want to read it and not go through a link, I also copied and pasted here.

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Sleep When the Wind Blows

Years ago, a farmer owned land along the Atlantic seacoast.He constantly advertised for hired hands. Most people werereluctant to work on farms along the Atlantic. They dreaded theawful storms that raged across the Atlantic, wreaking havoc on the buildings and crops.As the farmer interviewed applicants for the job, he receivedA steady stream of refusals.

Finally, a short, thin man, well past middle age, approachedthe farmer. "Are you a good farm hand?" the farmer asked him."Well, I can sleep when the wind blows," answered the little man.
Although puzzled by this answer, the farmer, desperate for help, hired him. The little man worked well around the farm, busy from dawn to dusk, and the farmer felt satisfied with the man's work.Then one night the wind howled loudly in from offshore. Jumping out of bed, the farmer grabbed a lantern and rushed next door to the hired hand's sleeping quarters. He shook the little man and yelled, "Get up! A storm is coming! Tie things down before they blow away!"The little man rolled over in bed and said firmly, "No sir. I told you, I can sleep when the wind blows."

Enraged by the response, the farmer was tempted to fire him onthe spot. Instead, he hurried outside to prepare for the storm.To his amazement, he discovered that all of the haystacks hadbeen covered with tarpaulins. The cows were in the barn, the chickens were in the coops, and the doors were barred.The shutters were tightly secured. Everything was tied down.Nothing could blow away. The farmer then understood what hishired hand meant, so he returned to his bed to also sleep whilethe wind blew.When you're prepared, spiritually, mentally, and physically,you have nothing to fear. Can you sleep when the wind blows through your life?

The hired hand in the story was able to sleep because hehad secured the farm against the storm.We secure ourselves against the storms of life bygrounding ourselves in the Word of God.We don't need to understand, we just need to hold His hand to have peace in the middle of storms.

A Little About Me

2009-08-03T09:54:00.004-04:00

I was encouraged by a fellow blogger to tell a little about me. You can read her entry here-http://myblessedhome.blogspot.com/2009/08/this-is-who-i-am.html . Scary stuff really, how much do other people really want to know? How much do I really want to share? Hummm....

Family Stuff:
I'm a wife and mother. We are a blended family put to gether by God. I have a grown son who is a Marine and just returned from Iraq a few months ago. My sweet husband is a truck driver. We struggle with stuff daily, all of us. I have 2 teenage daughters and 2 younger boys at home. One teenage daugter in Florida and one son now in California on base. I didn't give birth to all of them but they are mine just the same. My step children have been with me more of their lives than they were with their mother, except for the one who lives in Florida. She decided that she preferred to live with her mother because she was treated like an adult and was allowed to do things there that we wouldn't allow. It took a long time and some erroneous counseling for us to let her go back to her mother. We have seriously regretted that decision. That story is about 8 posts alone.

There is a lot to be said about unequal yoking. I've lived it and in some ways still do. I have had to be the spiritual head of the home for some time now as my husband abdicated his position early on. Since we have been going to this new church, my husband has had a fire in him that I have never seen! Praise the LORD! He is now taking his rightful position and I couldn't be more pleased! I am still stronger spiritually but my husband is growing by leaps and bounds and I don't think that will be the case much longer. I couldn't be more happy about that either. We seem to be getting stronger in different areas though. I really hated taking that position and I spent years trying to get him to take it. yeah, another 8 posts there too.

I'm a Bible believing, praying, worshiping woman. I'm a Full Gospel, Pentecostal kind of gal. I believe in the gifts of the spirit, laying on of hands, annointed oil and speaking in tounges. I do all of that and then some. I also believe that what we see happening isn't always what's going on. There are things going on in the spiritual realm that affect the natural. (powers and principalities and all that warring with the one true God) I also believe in spiritual warfare because I have seen it, lived it and watched God move in it.

Ten years ago I was a straight up heathen. You really didn't want to mess with me then. I was not a good person in a lot of ways. I was quite damaged from my past, bound in sin, full of anger, and saw no way out or any reason to change. yeah, that transformation is another 8 posts. Praised God! He picked me up and cleaned me.

I will tell you what I think whether you want to hear it or not so don't ask unless you're able to handle the truth. I try to be tactful but it really isn't my nature. God's working on that. I have a "fighting spirit" for lack of a better way to put it. I had to fight most of my life just to live and it's sort of ingrained. Perfect for intercessory prayer though.

I mess up, often. Get frustrated with myself, pray about it and move on. I am learning to lean on God more and to stop making decisions and then ask God for His blessing on it. I forgive easily and forget transgression against me very quickly. That frustrates my husband. I think he forgets that some of those wrongs that are done to me include him. LOL I don't get caught up in the little things that make people mad. I can over look quite a bit. If I do get angry or frustrated, I stop and ask myself how big it is in the grand scheme of things and is it me. And sometimes it is me!

I love to cook and most of the things I cook are from scratch. I've tried to pass that down to my daughters. One just doesn't have the focus to complete any meal that takes time. Bless her heart. I also sew, crochet, do all kinds of other crafts. Usually only in the winter since the late spring, summer and early fall are spent in the garden and canning etc.

I love to write here and be social but it isn't the main focus of my life. So many other things come first that there are times when it takes me a while to get back to writing. I often think of things but by the time I have time to write, I've forgotten the idea. LOL

I love comments and want to respond to them all. (Not that many people read my ramblings so it's not that hard of a thing to do :) ) I can't do that without an email address and sometimes it's just not appropriate to post a response to a post on their blog. So, if you have left a comment. I love it and thank you and I'm sorry if I haven't gotten back to you. One of my bloggy friends does some sort of link back but I'm too blog illiterate to do that or to add buttons to my blog! lol I would love to learn to do that! :)

Be Blessed

Where Do I Start?

2009-07-28T11:19:00.004-04:00

I have been so in awe of the awesomeness of my God. For the last two weeks I have seen my heavenly Father move like a mighty rushing wind all over the place! I soooo want to tell everyone all the things that have been happening but I am totally at a loss as to where to start. I guess this post will be a bit random too.

After 8 years at our church, we have been released to go elsewhere. Two weeks ago we found our new home church. We tried one other church, my husband liked it but I had serious issues with some things. It also seemed like we were at a youth group meeting at every service. Spiritually, I need meat, not milk-if that makes sense. I need something deeper than surface text preaching.

The new church suits all of our needs and the pastor and the youth pastor are totally on FIRE! The youth is on FIRE and I would have any of them pray for me. It is an awesome thing to see the youth so on fire with a deep relationship with the Savior. Sunday was youth Sunday and the youth ROCKED the house! Sunday evening, they did it again and by the end of the evening service, God showed up in a way that I can only describe as a sonic boom! Not one person left untouched. Even my little Taz got down on his little knee and was praying. I just have to say it, please excuse the saying if you don't understand it, "I never seen da beat".

I've seen my husband "man up" in a way that I have been praying for over the last several years. He is teaching the boys to be godly men and to pray and worship. He is teaching them God's word and I am so excited I can't see straight. The boys need a good godly man to show them. I'm proud to say that my husband is now that man.

I go to church and keep threatening to bring the marshmallows. I can put them on a stick and hold them out as the pastor goes by and get a good roast on! God has been answering prayers left and right and providing in ways I never even thought about.

I am so proud to be a child of the Most High GOD! I praise His name for all He has done and all He will do.

Total and Complete Randomness

2009-07-21T15:52:00.006-04:00

I have about a million ideas of what I wanted to write about. Now that I have a minute to write something, my little brain is empty. So I thought, random musings from today.

Last night I read the first 8 chapters of Daniel. Have you ever just read it to read it??? You need a score card, a player list with name definitions, a timeline, map, and a chart to keep up with who, where and when. Wait...wasn't that king just dead??
I love the Psalms. I love to try to put them to music. I, personally, couldn't carry a tune in a bucket and I'm tone deaf! But I still try.
Song of Songs is HOT!
My little Taz told me the other day that he was going to build me a prayer room on the roof when he "gets bigger enough." How cute is he??
My D has been helping me can food most of the summer. Bless her heart! She has no interest in anything that could be construed as home making.
I miss winter because I get to sew, crochet and what ever other craft stuff I come up with. Summer has it's fun too but by the end of summer, I need something restful! :) I just don't really care for the cold weather.
I really would like to have a comfy chair in the kitchen. I spend a lot of time there and would like to just go ahead and make it home with a nice place to sit and read my bible etc.

I guess that's random enough.

Garden Update-July

2009-07-10T08:46:00.005-04:00

This is mostly just pictures of the garden. I think they are pretty self explanatory if you have been following the garden.

Got our first tomatoes. Delish!

First harvest of greenbeans. First fruits went out and the rest went into the freezer. I have more that I'm canning today.

He is so cute. You can't hold him with one hand anymore!

This was just to show how tall the corn is. She is 5'3". That is my Destini in the picture. Not by her own free will of course.

Yummy!

Are you ready to go out and pick dinner?? I am!

My Tabernacle Ramblings

2009-07-04T08:31:00.003-04:00

Have you read the account in Exodus about the tabernacle? I have read it many times. I just love that story. Every piece has some sort of meaning, or significance. But I feel like we, as modern day readers, are missing something. We don't know the history, or what life was really like back then.

I've read books and watched studies on the tabernacle. They all focused on the finished product. What about what went into it?

The Bible is very simple in it's explanation to me. God called for an offering from His people of certain things, from those who had a willing heart. The people brought it. This is how God wants it built, He gave this person or that person the talent needed. It was built. Ok the Bible is a little more explicit with details and dimensions.

I was driving the other day was started thinking just about the thread. Purple and scarlet threat and linen. Well, they certainly couldn't just run off to wal mart and buy it. It had to be spun and died and put in some sort of usable order. What did it take to dye it? They had to gather berries or what ever they used to dye thread. Make the dye. How large were the containers that they needed to dye the thread? Did they have to carry them around when they moved from place to place?

It seems to me, that the sacrifice of the people was more than you would think from reading the text. God said, those to give from a willing heart. How much thread to you think it took to make all those curtains? They were enormous, you know. I believe, don't quote me here, the dimensions for the curtains were 42 feet by 6 feet. They were very ornate with cherubim weaved into the fabric. These were to be for the house of God, for His pleasure and view.

Do you think the Israelites skimped? I sure don't! I think about the amount of time and love that had to go into those curtains. I would have loved to have seen them. I think that if God is going through this much trouble to give specifics about the design, the dimensions, the contents and ingredients, giving the talents and calling those out to design it, I think that it would be magnificent! I believe that it would have been the best workmanship and artistry available at that time, and possibly even now! I just can't see God doing it half way, not for His home among His people.

I would love to have seen the furniture and the alters. Can you imagine how ornate the lamp would have been? or the table of show bread? the incense alter? I imagine that the entire thing would have been a wonder! And then too see God's glory resting over it! Wow! I just get excited all over again!

I love when I read stories in the Bible and I can get a mental picture, but I love this story because I can't. I can't even imagine how awesome it would have been, I can only speculate because there are no real details about how these things looked when they were done. What did the lamp look like? or the table? I hope to see it replayed when I get to heaven so I can see it all. See the love the people had for their God and that God had for his grumbling, stiff necked people. And the home built for the Creator of the Universe, to be with His people. To see how He loves us, even when we are unlovable at times.

Crockpot Faith

2009-06-26T08:47:00.003-04:00

I love my crockpot. It's one of my favorite tools in the kitchen. You just put the food in and go on about your business for a while. After a time, it's done. No real work required. No turning the meat or stiring (usually). Just put it in and wait.

I have often looked at some of the more mature women in our congregation and thought, "I want to be like her when I grow up." - yes I actually think that. There is one woman in particular that I so desire to have the faith and godly strength that she has. She is bold in the spirit and has the ability to really listen to what the Holy Spirit is saying to her. She worships unashamedly at the alter and is a true prayer warrior. Yes, I would love to be like her when I grow up. Like the crockpot, that kind of faith takes time and heat.

Several years ago I heard Joyce Meyer say that "if you want what someone else has, you have to be willing to do what they did to get it." How simple and profound. What did this particular woman have to do to be the godly woman she is today? Am I willing to walk that same road?

That kind of faith doesn't come easy, now does it? She had to walk through many crisis where she depended soley on God. You grow in the valleys, not the mountain tops. The desert is where we are stretched and matured. Trial by fire.

It takes time. You can't just "put Jesus in your heart" and go on about your business until it's done. You can't have crockpot faith, it doesn't exist. To have that kind of faith in God, you have to go through the fires. You have to depend on Him, let him shape and mold you. Let him get rid of the things that are keeping you from His best.

I think we all want His best in our lives, but are we willing to go through the refining fire to have it? It's not easy, I can tell you that from experience, but it has always been worth it to me. I have always come out on the other end stronger, better and with a greater love for God than I had before. And. . . God has NEVER failed to use my trial to help someone else. That is the best part. It's never wasted.

Be blessed.

My Garden Now

2009-06-25T16:14:00.006-04:00

Time for a garden update. I have 3 other posts in the works but decided I liked this one best!

I fell down the stairs a couple of weeks ago and haven't been able to get around or even get up to the garden for a while so I was so excited when I hobbled up there the other day and saw how things have grown! (including weeds-lol)

This is a beet that I think may be ready to pick. I've never grown them before, so I'm guessing.

This is the potatoes that are begining to die back a little. It's about time to go get some of them too!

Green Beans and poke salad. You can't really see it here but the green beans are blooming so it won't be long until we are canning!!

My Pride and Joy. . . Our squash and zucchini. I planted them way too close. I have never had a squash plant get this big!! You can't really tell in the picture but they are up to my waist and full of veggies!

Another long shot of the garden where you can see most of it!

And of course, our first harvested vegetables! First fruits went out and many were sliced and frozen for future use! Aren't they gorgeous. I had forgotten what a difference there is in the taste of home grown vegetables. I do every year!

My Magnolia tree finally bloomed this year. It was planted by my grandfather when I was a child. I have been told that when a person who plants a tree dies, the trees etc. won't bloom for 2 years. It has been 2 summers since he passed so I guess it was time. I had told my uncle that if it didn't bloom this year it was probably going to be outta here! lol

This bloom hasn't opened yet. I just thought it was so beautiful!

Last but not least, the bucket brigade! Those upside down tomato plants. Luckily I have some in the ground too. They got blight and are very sad looking, even though they have fruit on them. I have been trying to keep the stems cut off that have it but I think the blight is winning. We will have to try again next year!

Be Blessed!

Complacency in Marriage

2009-06-16T08:39:00.006-04:00

Ummm

I have often put off paying attention to my husband. Bless his heart. He has patiently waited as I took care of the children only to be put off until the next day, and the next day, and the next day.

This post http://www.addingzest.net/2009/06/free-parking.html isn't about me, but it could be. I know the groping hand. It's attached to my husband, my gift.

The first years of our marriage were very "turbulent". As a survivor of extensive sexual abuse, I knew at a young age how to seduce to get what I wanted. I knew it was wrong, I knew it made me feel dirty, but I did it. Once God picked me up out of that and washed me, I became "prudish". I never wanted to feel dirty like that again.

My dear husband suffered for that. I knew that sex was good and expected in the marriage bed, I just didn't know how to do it without the guilt and shame. I would make love with my husband, then feel dirty and ignore his needs. If I had to guess, I would say it was a bit like living with Dr. Jekyl and Mrs. Hyde. He went without complaining.

I wrapped myself in mommy duties so I wouldn't have to address it. I knew that I was meant to be his helpmeet, I would read about how to be that, how to be a good wife, anything along those lines. I never found anything that addressed sex in marriage in a Christian way. Those "wifely" duties. Hummm. If it's good and helpful, why isn't it addressed. I knew I wasn't the only one who had ever had this problem. Most of the women I knew had experienced some of the same things. I hadn't met anyone who had experienced it to the extent I had, but there were many others.

I became complacent. (you can read "I ignored him" here) He felt unappreciated, unloved. I wanted to fix it, but I had no idea how. I knew I felt dirty if he touched me.

Prayer.

Lots of Prayer.

I never want to be complacent again. I never want that to be our normal way of life. That isn't God's will for a marriage.

We are still on this journey. Forgiveness is NOT easy. It takes work and prayer. I am learning to submit to him in this area still. At first, he was very confused. . . Bless his heart. I believe he is still waiting for "his other wife" to come back, though he won't admit it.

As I fumbled through this, God sent me what I needed. I finally found articles, radio shows that give tidbits on this, normally from a man's perspective. Hummm where are the women's perspectives??? I have friends who have gone through the same things, some just seemed to slip into that role easily without the craziness that I experienced.

Then I got this blog in my inbox!! Whoa!!! How excited was I!!! So far. . . I'm loving it. I feel like I'm on the journey to becoming the wife God meant for me to be. I know now that I'm on the right track and not quite so weird. I belive this blog will be a great help and I am just so excited that I had to share.
http://www.addingzest.net/

Now, paying attention to my hubby isn't always sexual. We went to Atlanta last Friday. We held hands and kissed. Walked around the Coke museum-if you don't like EVERYTHING Coke, don't bother, it was excruciating. (that was hubby's choice-I don't even drink coke products unless we are at a restraunt and I have no other choice) Then we went to the georgia Aquarium. My favorite place! We walked around, watched the fish, and listened to the jazz band they had that Friday night. We sat in one room that was like a movie theatre except the big screen was the aquarium. We sat there for probably an hour just watching the fish and talking. It was a wonderful day, spent with just the two of us.

Our next "date night", I want to spend the day in Cherokee, on the reservation. It's so hot this time of year that It's hard to be outside for too long. I'll see what hubby thinks!

Psalms 40:2-32 He lifted me out of the slimy pit,out of the mud and mire;He set my feet on a rockand gave me a firm place to stand.3 He put a new song in my mouth,a hymn of praise to our God.Many will see and fearand put their trust in the LORD.NIV

Did I share too much???

Be Blessed.

I used my Food Processor

2009-06-09T20:54:00.005-04:00

I have this awesome, large food processor. I've had it for a few years. It's main purpose seems to be preventing dust from settling where it sits in the cabinet. I won't even leave it on the counter any longer due to lack of use. When I asked my daughter to take it down tonight for me to use, she was a bit shocked. It is usually not worth the trouble. I'm pretty fast with a knife. So, as I tend to do, I started thinking. How many of these "tools" do I own that I don't make use of.

I have a blender that is used about 3 times a year. I have met that quota making protien shakes a few weeks ago to find that my youngest is allergic to soy. Back in the closet it goes.
I have a hand held mixer. I want a stand mixer but since I rarely use this, would I really use a stand mixer? I basically want it to make bread dough that I seem to be making just fine by hand. I had a bread maker but after it sat for 2 years without being used, I donated it. I had only used it to make the dough before because I didn't like how the bread turned out when it was cooked in the thing.
Measuring cups and spoons. . . Who uses these things??? I have a couple of sets. They make great scoops for getting flour out of the container, or coffee. I don't use these often enough for their intended purpose to justify replacing them.

So, I said all that to say this. . . How many bibles do you own? How many are just collecting dust? I have about 10 Bibles, a Bible dictionary, Strongs exhaustive concordance (that sucker is about 20 pounds). But how often to I use them. I have a million devotional books-anyone need one? My favorite Bible is my New King James Study Bible. I got it for Christmas 2003 along with the case I use to carry it. They are both falling apart. When I feel led to follow a thread so to speak that I come across in my reading, I might have 3 or 4 different versions of the Bible layed out infront of me, pens, paper whatever I need for my studying.

God is just so AWESOME!

2009-06-08T14:00:00.005-04:00

I feel led by the Lord to share my testimony here. So I have been working on writing it. In doing so, I was able to see where I was, where God has brought me, and some things that God just hasn't completed in me.

Every need I had, He has provided for. As I worked on my testimony, I saw places where I still needed God to work, to bring healing and deliverance. Scary places that I wasn't sure I wanted to go again. I'm still on that journey, but I see God in it. Every need I had was taken care of. If I needed a friend to come along side and pray, that was provided. (I have some awesome friends who are just prayer warriors. I want to be like them when I grow up! Truely Titus 2 women.) If I needed someone to step in and give Godly advice (read correction here), it was provided with love. When I needed to read something to address a certain issue or bring light to it, I somehow "ran across" the right article, Bible passage, or radio show. There were battles as well. The enemy doesn't want us whole, healed, delivered. If he can keep us beat down with his lies, he can keep us from experiencing the best the LORD has for us.

I knew that for God to use my testimony, I had to be transparent. This was the most difficult thing I have ever written. I have poetry that I have written at some of the most difficult times of my life that don't even come close. I am now writing it 2 paragraphs at a time and I am not finished with it. My prayer is that I get through it and condense it but I feel I need to wait for the Lord for direction in that.

I guess I said all that to say, God has been there through every difficult step. He has provided for my needs and my families needs. He has been my shield and my fortress. I have learned to lean more on Him and less on me.

Garden Update!!

2009-06-07T18:29:00.004-04:00

This is an update:
I am having so much fun with this. I love my garden, I love being in it and watching it grow. It has started getting hotter here so I have to go out early in the morning or late in the evening.

These are the daylillies my aunt and uncle gave me this year for my birthday. Aren't they cute!!

This is the Lily they gave me last year! Very pretty! It multiplied 4 times this year!

This is one of the bucket brigade. They are growing faster than I expected.

This is our corn. They aren't all the same hight. Don't know why.

This is zucchini. If you look really really closely you can see a baby zucchini. It's soooo cute!!! :)

This is an over view of the squash plants. They are bigger than I have ever grown and have lots of buds on them. I'm very excited, except they are all growing together. I don't know how that is going to affect them.

As you can see the cherry tree has cherries now. The birds and the boys are in an epic battle to see who will eat the most! My money is on the boys!

So thats it. I'm very excited about it this year. Much more than last year. Everything that has come up is doing so well and looks like I will be able to put quite a bit up this year. My girls will be helping me this year. One is quite reluctant but I think she will come around.

Be Blessed!!

Check this out!

2009-06-06T10:08:00.001-04:00

http://myblessedhome.blogspot.com/2009/06/prophesying-tongues-and-baptism-of-holy.html

Very very good article!

More Garden Pictures

2009-06-03T23:02:00.006-04:00

Time for new pictures from the garden. I took these about a week ago. Yep, it took me that long to get around to putting them here. Life has been busy!

Here are the strawberries! The chipmonks LOVE them!!! Taz has had 1!!
Zucchini and yellow squash. They are doing awesome! I was having an upclose look today and some have bud on them!!

Corn, and weeds! you can see a few zucchini on the top right. The corn is growing at different rates. Strange really. One might be 18 inches tall and the one beside it is like 6 inches tall.

This is my weed/dirt garden. There are a few onion sets at the bottom that are kind of doing something. Not really, the ones between the potatoes are about to bloom! Didn't pray over this one because it did so well last year. Just kind of added it flippantly to the prayer for the big garden. Big mistake!!! God has already shown me who to help with food from my garden. I'm so excited!

The bucket brigade. Tomatoes hanging from the frame my hubby made. They are growing like crazy! I am so impressed. Maybe next year we can try some other things besides tomatoes!

My Potatoes! They were planted in a 9 inch deep "gully". The dirt is stacked about 18 inches high on the plant. I stopped adding dirt when they bloomed. they are so pretty!

Beets for the hubby. I saw them today and they are huge!

Our garden has been so much fun this year. Our large garden is growing by leaps and bounds. Of course it is also growing poke salad. I could have an entire garden of the stuff if I wanted! In some places the weeds are out of control but now that the rainy season is almost over, I will be able to get to them. The kids have really enjoyed it too. Taz gets excited about helping in the garden. We still loose plants to his cause but of course it's worth it. He is learning so much!

Garden today

2009-05-11T17:42:00.006-04:00

We have had nothing but rain and storms for days so as you can see, their is debri in the garden. Some of the green beans were washed up and we had to cover several of them back up. At the very end you can just barely see the potato mounds.

This is our baby corn! This is the first time we have seen it poking out of the ground. Ain't it cute!

This is one of our strawberry plants. I think we may have a few this year. Ignore the weeds please. They grow thanks to the rain too.

This is our baby squash. We have about 4 rows of squash. Love 'em!

Here are our potatoes. Wow have they grown! I ran out of dirt to cover them today! Looks like we may have a few potatoes this year.

baby beets! Hubby loves them.

I also took some pictures of the iris' and the cherry tree today too! BEAUTIFUL!

Farmers

2009-05-04T08:13:00.004-04:00

The kids just love taking these pictures! ok not so much...this first one took a couple of takes because he looked more like he was gritting his teeth than smiling. These 3 love being in the garden with me. It was dusk when we quit working this day! No I didn't work them like slaves all day.

She helps with anything in the yard. She wanted to use the chainsaw one day when helping her dad! NOT HAPPENING!!

There were about 8 seeds in that hole! The picture below shows what he was planting. A little hard to see but it's corn. He was a bit tired of the camera too! lol

It has rained very consistently the last few days so we have been able to plant and not water because the sky was opening up and drenching everything. I have had to cover the potato plants twice in the last 3 or 4 days. I can't wait to have yummy potatoes to eat!

You won't find any pictures of Destini in the garden with us. She isn't the gardening type. She will be more of a city dweller when she is grown and leaves home.

Be blessed

The Garden

2009-05-03T07:11:00.004-04:00

Lots of outdoor work going on around here. My husband cut down some trees yesterday that I have wanted gone for 2 years! YIPPIE! Me and the children have been working on the gardens getting them ready to plant and putting in seeds and plants. We also planted some bushes recently. So lots of changes to the yard! I love spring!

This is the garden before the tiller got to it. What you see in the dirt is coffee grounds and egg shells. It helps kind of fertilize the soil a bit. We have mostly red clay here so the soil needs lots of help. We also bought a trailer full of mushroom compost this year to add to the clay. We doubled the garden size this year too. I'm trying to gradually get up to having enough vegetables to put up (freeze and can) so we can eat that more from our garden then from the store for the year. We aren't there yet. There are six of us and we tend to give a fair amount away. It's really hard to know what a tenth is when the plants keep proucing vegetables to be able to use that to be a blessing. I just give where I see a need.

Here is my little Taz helping by putting the coffee grounds in the dirt. This was supposed to be for flowers but my husband expanded it out from the house so it will also house some vegetables this year. Where Taz is standing has peppers and onions planted now. The area that is blocked off with the plastic pretend rocks has tomatoes in it now. The onions help keep rabbits out. We also planted marigolds and alissym to help with pest control. I have been looking up companion planting to make the garden better as far as producing and reducing pests. We are trying to be as organic as possible but its a learning process.

One of our little potatoe plants! Isn't it cute! The picture doesn't do it justice! We added some dirt to it so that only the leaves are poking out now.

We are going to make some markers for our garden this week. Actually the kids are going to make them. They just don't know it yet. I got the idea from Teaching Good Things. Here is the link http://teachinggoodthings.com/blog/plant-markers/ I like this idea better than the one I was going to use.

Be blessed!

new post

2009-04-30T07:49:00.003-04:00

Something has been laid on my heart to write about here. It's a difficult thing to write and since next week is my last class I think it's a good time to write it. I'll have more time after next week to concentrate when the little guy is asleep.

For now, we are gardening, getting seeds in the ground and just doing the needed stuff! Spring is here! Love it!!

Spring at Our Home

2009-04-21T19:25:00.005-04:00

Evidence that someone pulled my day lily up! They (meaning Taz) left it in the mums!
This cute little bush was almost dead last year! I trimmed it severly last year.

Strawberries Yum! We really need more of these. The kids eat them as soon as they are ready to eat so we never get to make anything with them.

Blooms from the cherry tree in the front yard. The tree is GORGEOUS when it's blooming! The entire tree is white!

Not real sure what it is. These are beside the tree line. There are a lot of things growing that we just don't know where they came from.

The wild rose bush on the side of the house. Can't kill this thing!

Don't know what this is either. Pretty though. It's like 3 different kinds of trees in one. The middle is 2 kinds of trees but all around the outside of them is this stuff.

This is kind of pittiful. I hope this one grows quickly this year. We planted him last year and I wasn't sure it would survive.

This is the cherry tree just before it bloomed.

The boys being forced to pose! lol

Just a little peek into spring here in hillbilly-ville.

Be blessed

New Eating/Cooking Habits

2009-04-20T17:52:00.002-04:00

I have been SLOWLY trying to get the family to eat healthier, more natural foods. Trying to get back to fewer processed foods. Eating healthier foods will improve everyones health and hopefully get us closer to eating the way God intended.

Over the last several months I have been replacing the normal foods that we would eat with a healthier version. Replacing some of the flour in things with wheat germ or flax seed so that we aren't just eating junk calories. No one has really noticed that anything was going on until recently.

We haven't really used a lot of convenience foods anyway but things that I had not really thought about as being convenience foods like cultured foods such as buttermilk and yogurt, I always bought and didn't consider it to be a convenience food. Now, I have been making homemade buttermilk and yogurt and even started making kefir.

The buttermilk is to die for! You can find the recipe here http://myblessedhome.blogspot.com/2009/03/how-to-make-buttermilk.html#article
I don't drink the stuff. I just use it to make biscuits, pancakes and stuff. I did give some to my uncle who drinks it. He said I "should bottle the stuff". He really likes it.

I also used her yogurt recipe too-found here http://myblessedhome.blogspot.com/2009/03/how-to-make-yogurt.html#article Really good stuff! It smells awesome when it's "brewing" too.

Kefir: retched smelling stuff. Really doesn't taste any better to me. I had to add lots of fruit and some stevia. I hope I get used to it. It seems to be really good for you but I know if I don't start to like it, I will not keep drinking it! One of the kids loved it! ha ha ha

So far everyone is "going along with it". Only one real rebel in the group but she always is no matter what the situation.

Things I really want to do next:
Get a wheat grinder and start making our own flour.
I want to learn how to make Ezekiel bread.

Long time

2009-04-18T00:04:00.003-04:00

I rarely have time to write here anymore. There are so many things I want to write but seem to not be able to get the time to do it.

Part of it is just poor time management. A lot of the problem is just this awful depression that has sent in and just trying to keep up with school, kids, hubby, yadda, yadda, yadda.

Next week is my birthday and the day after would have been my mom's birthday. She has been dead for 3 1/2 years now. I can't believe that I still have nightmares about her around time for her birthday. I hope this is the last year.

I should know soon if I will be taking classes in the fall for my preferred field. I'm really not too anxious about it. I want to know but I just don't feel worried about it. I know that if I get in then it's His unmerrited favor.

Easter was great except that Taz got too much sugar. His system doesn't process it very well and it causes all kinds of behavior problems. I got home from work and you could almost see him vibrating!! It was awful for him (and us).

I have some great pics but I have to get them off the camera first. Hopefully soon and I can get them onto here. Very cute pictures. Despite it all, Easter was great fun!

2009-03-30T15:22:00.003-04:00

I found this on a website today. Check it out. I can't upload the videos for it but it is quite disturbing.

http://myblessedhome.blogspot.com/2009/03/un-convention-on-rights-of-child-bad.html#article

The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child - BAD NEWS
Apparently, it's no longer enough for Uncle Sam to try to force us into taking care of our children Old Sam's way. Now the U.N. is stepping in, on an international scale, and what they are planning to force on families is insane, and MUST BE STOPPED. If you have never been politically active, then YOU are part of the problem! Stand up, and look around you! We are no longer fighting for our rights, and they are being taken away. I am NOT exaggerating, and YES I'm mad. You should be too.Take a look at this seemingly "innocent" commercial for children, about the The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child:

'All children will go to "nice" schools.' Do you know what the UN Convention defines a "nice school" as? It's not private schools, and it's not homeschool. It's public school, but with MORE secularism than ever. If Americans allow themselves to be enslaved under The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, then homeschool will be ILLEGAL in all 50 states, regardless of state laws - they will be overrode with federal and international laws. Christian private schools will no longer be allowed to teach Christianity, without equally teaching all other religions - this means there would be no more CHRISTIAN schools. Perhaps there will be in name, but not in content, subject matter or sanctification.Did you do something to upset your child lately? Maybe when your child wanted to eat a box of chocolates right before bedtime, and you said "no." Look out! Under The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, the child could decide to take you to court and claim that you are not feeding them enough. One child took his parents to court (and won!) because he thought it was cruel of his parents to take him to church three times a week - Sunday morning and evening, and Wednesday nights. We need an amendment that stands up for PARENTAL RIGHTS. Take a look at this:

The above video states "if we all stand together and raise our voices, Congress will respond." That's right! Let's stand together for parental rights. The U.N. should not have a say in which school our children go to, or if we homeschool them. Nor is it any of the UN's business if our child does something wrong, and is therefore grounded for it.If The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child is ratified, then each child will have a list of rights, of which they will be taught to know by heart in the public schools that they will be attending by the choice of the UN and our government. Here are a few of those "rights:"The right to privacy - Yep. If you suspect your teenager has pot stashed in his room, you would not be allowed to go in there and find out. Your child could end up dying from a drug problem, but you couldn't interfere, or it would have violated their "right to privacy."Freedom of expression - If your toddler throws a temper tantrum, you are not allowed to do anything. If your teen starts yelling the 'f' word out the widow of the car while you are driving to the grocery store, you are not allowed to do anything. The parent would have no right to interfere with the child's "freedom of expression." If your child decides to take home another child and go to their room and close the door and have sex, you cannot stop them, else you'd be violating their "freedom of expression" and "freedom of privacy." Do you think I'm exaggerating? I'm not...Here are a few excerpts from HSLDA:"Under Article 13, any attempts to prevent their children from interacting with material parents deem unacceptable is forbidden. Children are vested with a "freedom of expression" right, which is virtually absolute. No allowance is made for parental guidance. Section 1 declares a child's right to "seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing or in print, in the form of art, or through any other media of the child's choice."In Article 14, children are guaranteed "freedom of thought, conscience and religion." Children have a legal right to object to all religious training. Alternatively, children may assert their right against parental objection to participate in the occult.Article 15 declares "the right of the child to freedom of association." Parents could be prevented from forbidding their child to associate with people deemed to be objectionable companions. Under Article 15, children could claim a "fundamental" right to join gangs, cults, and racist organizations over parental objection.Under Article 16, the "right to privacy" is granted to children. This UN sanctioned "privacy" would seemingly establish as the child's right to obtain an abortion without parental notice, the right to purchase and use contraceptives, and the right to pornography in the home.Article 19 mandates the creation of an intensive bureaucracy for the purpose of "identification, reporting, referral, investigation, treatment, and follow-up" of parents who, in violation of the child's rights, treat their children negligently. To insure State and U.N. control over their development, Article 7 requires all children must be immediately registered at birth."The above excerpts are taken from the HSLDA.org website. Please read the article in its entirety - Oppose the UN Convention on the Rights of the ChildNext, please read this .pdf file called "THE UN CONVENTION ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD - The Most Dangerous Attack on Parental Rights in the History of the United States." The information contained in this .pdf document is something that everyone needs to know.As Americans, we need to take steps to make sure America does NOT ratify this treaty. 192 nations have already ratified this treaty. The "Holy See" Roman Catholic Vatican was one of the first ones to ratify it. I make specific mention of this, because I know a lot of Catholics who will NOT support CRC (Convention on the Rights of the Child). Therefore, devout Catholics must be made aware, that if they stand with Bible believing Christians in rising up against the CRC, then they are going against the Vatican's wishes. BENEDICT XVI supports the CRC. Roman Catholics, I pray you DO stand with us on this issue. America must not ratify the CRC! Regardless of what religion you are, please stand with me to preserve parental rights.To date, the only nations who have not ratified CRC, are Somalia and the United States. U.S. citizens, we must NOT allow this treaty to be ratified!Please take the time to read The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child for yourself. You can read it here. Here is a list of "Children's Rights," being taught from a UK website.From what I've read, it looks like Canada and the UK have signed onto this treaty, but have not agreed to every stipulation yet. I know homeschool is still being allowed in Canada and the UK, but I don't know how regulated it is, etc. Obama is pushing for the full ratification of the entire Convention for the U.S, which could make homeschool in the U.S. instantly outlawed. "Primary Education" in article 28 could be defined as government (public) school education only.Please listen to this video, in which the woman explains this stuff so much better than my feeble attempt:NOTE: The below video contains some gutter language, so don't watch it within earshot of children.

Steps to Take Action - Time to make a stand!STEP ONE: Sign the parental rights petition at the parentalrights.org website.STEP TWO: Contact your state Representatives and Senators. If this is something you have little to no experience in, then consider joining the 10 in 2 program with ParentalRights.org . Here is a quote from their site, summing up the program:"We need 10-and 2 volunteers who can enlist 10 people to do the following: sign the petition for the Amendment, sign 3 postcards to their Representative and Senators, and donate $1. Then, we need those volunteers to recruit 2 more people to do the same thing."I'm volunteering. Are you? Please join me; it'll only take a few minutes of your time, and it could make a BIG difference.STEP THREE: If you have a website or blog, then please put up an article about the CRC and its atrocities hidden within. The media is not going to get the word out, so it's up to us. If you want to, you can just copy this article I've written and put it on your site - just get the word out! Email and call people as well. Let's do this.

From the simple woman's daybook

2009-03-30T09:13:00.004-04:00

This is from the Simple Woman's Daybook. She hosts this site http://thesimplewomansdaybook.blogspot.com/ every week she answers the same questions as a journal page. I thought I'd do the same. Though not as elegantly as she does. There is a way to add mr linky and permalink etc. It's beyond me at the time so I just used a link to her page.

Outside my window. . . I see the cherry tree trying to bud and Cardinals at the small bird feeder.

I am thinking. . .I need more energy today and certainly more peace-I'm a little edgy

I am thankful for. . . special time with my little guy. He won't be little for much longer and I am greatful for all the time I get with him.

From the learning rooms. . . This week we are working on dicipline issues. Taz has been a handful for the last several days so letters and numbers are out and obedience training is in. It happens alot when I work the weekends.

From the kitchen. . . I have bread planned for today. We are having a ham and potatoes for dinner and I have 3 starters going for bread that need to be used this week.

I am wearing. . . Pajamas that don't match :).

I am creating. . . not much just working on school projects right now.

I am going. . . to the dollar store for notebooks.

I am reading. . . the book of Amos in the Bible. I started it on Saturday but I keep looking up references from there (I need a map of Bible time Israel) so it is taking a long time to finish.

I am hoping. . . the hospital calls me for an interview.

I am hearing. . . birds outside and praise music from the other room.

Around the house. . . I want to start some seeds this week, plant the flowers around the garden edges (natural bug control), clean out the car

One of my favorite things. . . spending quiet time during the morning

A few plans for the rest of the week. . . class ends early for the next few weeks so I get to go to church on Wednesday! :) Yippie

I don't really have a picture sorry!

Have a blessed day!

Cutting Grocery Bills

2009-03-26T08:12:00.004-04:00

I just received this in an email from the Hillbilly Housewife. She has a "report" on how to cut your grocery bill in half. I thought I'd share it here if anyone was interested. It really has a lot of great suggestions.

http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/half/

Be blessed!

Meals

2009-03-18T11:36:00.007-04:00

Oh brother, have our meals been ridiculous the last couple of weeks. I have been doing homework constantly and what we have been eating is what ever I can put together when I look up at the clock and go "oh crap, I should have started dinner a long time ago!". Not cool!

Since I cook about 90% of our meals from scratch I don't keep a lot of convenience foods. When I do cook, I make enough for an army! or platoon of Marines! lol That way we can have left overs. I have to make time to scour the Internet for quick easy and cheap recipes. I think I need to start investing in freezer cooking too.

The hillbilly housewife page has some recipes. I she just wrote an e book for freezer cooking. The link is at the bottom of the page. This is the link- http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/frugalfreezermeals.htm . She has a good site! Lots of good ideas on saving money, cooking, recipes etc. When I first found her site, I went through the recipes and I already used most of them! It was great for me! Validation! Lol I have to get that ebook!!

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated! I have a feeling that as time goes on it will get to be more of a problem. I do know that after spring break one of my classes will be "on the down hill slide" and we will just be tweaking the things we are spending excessive amounts of time writing now. So that will help greatly.

Shelli's blog

2009-03-12T16:16:00.000-04:00

Check her out. She has a great message. Great lady!

http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=82476530&blogID=476199191

It's all about school

2009-03-12T07:19:00.003-04:00

Yes, my life is still consumed by school! I have had to reprioritize everything. I have some things I had been working on for another blog that have been put on hold. I'm kind of sad about that but I can finnish it later.

The weather has been awesome for the last few days but as always, in the mountians, things change. We are going to have a little "cold snap" for the next few days. I'm sad about that because Taz loves to be outside and that means that he may not get out. I've been doing my school work while he plays in the dirt and it has helped me to get a lot more done. He can occupy himself for hours outside! He found a slug one day and we had a little lesson on those and observation. I say little because I know nothing about those slimy things! He carried it around for over an hour. Made it a home in the shade and everything. He love it "to death". By nap time Mr Sluggy(he named him that) was deceased. He didn't know that and I never told him!

His sisters didn't particularly care for Mr. Sluggy. He liked that part too!

School is Consuming My Life!!

2009-03-06T08:03:00.003-05:00

I have been working hard on my class stuff and I feel like this has consumed my life. I just found out that I have yet another HUGE project due for one of the classes. I have no time for sewing, crocheting, or anything else. I get some preschool done with my little guy but not nearly as much as I'd like.

He's 4 now. It's great and sad at the same time. I really hate to think of my baby growing up. We know that he is the last and there won't be any other little ones to hold for a while-I don't anticipate any grandchildren anytime soon.

The older kids are helping out more and that makes it easier but some of the other things have had to be cut back or out.

Hopefully by Easter I will have a lot of these things done and can get back to life. I want to go camping soon too. I need a vacation!

Snow day

2009-02-16T16:47:00.002-05:00

They finally got enough snow to do something in. Barely! So we had a little snow day. The snow actually stayed around for 2 days! That never happens here! Once it snows, most of it is gone the next day! If not the same day!

They were sledding on the edge of our property. You can see the neighbors house in the distance. They have a little girl that is the same age as my son but I never saw her out in the snow.

J-man is playing on the ramp with the tractors. He wasn't wearing his gloves. I bet his hands were frozen

Taz was making snow angels in the front flower garden. This was angel number 240. LOL They all had fun!

It's Official

2009-02-02T23:41:00.003-05:00

My laptop doesn't like coffee nearly as much as I do!!

I was working on the paper mentioned in the last post and for some stupid reason I was also drinking coffee. I NEVER do that but I was trying to multi task and get something done before Taz woke up. I had to rewrite the entire thing! My computer is fried and beyond repair. To get my files off the thing is going to cost more than $150.00. Just to get my files!!! I am certainly not happy about that!! I'm having to use our 8 year old computer to do everything I can and go to the college computer lab to work with programs this dinosaur can't run! This computer was near top of the line when we bought it. It has really served us well. I just never realized how slow it was until I bought a new one! lol Soooooo... that one will have to be replaced soon and this one is going to get a well earned face lift! Just in case I have another incidence of stupidity!

I have some great pictures and things I'd love to write about but it would be entirely too frustrating to try to do write them out on this keyboard with letters that stick and others that don't even register when you hit them. Poor baby. I also can't download the pictures to this computer. No SD drive.

I did finish the paper. Well, actually, I had to rewrite it. I had forgotten that some of it was here and so I just redid the entire thing. The day it was due. Talk about pressure. But it's ok because I still got an A on it. I guess the instructor has lower standards than I do. LOL

I also took my first test in my other class and got an A on that as well. I guess my brain is working better than I expected. It still hurts though!

At least I have access to my email. I hope to get to the store soon to get parts for this one but a new laptop will have to wait until after we get our taxes back! And I already backed up all the files on this dinosaur too. Just in case!

Be blessed!

The First Paper

2009-01-19T22:47:00.002-05:00

Due to the possibility of intense situations, emergency department nurses need to be able to assess, prioritize and treat patients quickly while communicating with multiple disciplines, patients and families with professionalism, accuracy and caring. This becomes increasingly difficult when the patient is either unwilling or unable to communicate problems or symptoms with medical staff. With little or no communication patients lives and health can be compromised. Breakdowns in communication between the nurse and physician can have dire consequences for the patient.

This is all I got...really.....all I got!!!!

I have this paper due Wednesday. One page, one page only! My little brain is making strange sounds and I think I saw smoke! I know I smelled smoke!!!!

S0. . . . maybe this isn't going as I planned. I can roll with it. Right?!

Last of the Aprons for the Girls & update

2009-01-16T22:50:00.005-05:00

This one was supposed to be for my middle daughter. She didn't like the fabric. It's purple, I just don't understand it! Sooooo, guess who gets it. Guess, I dare ya! lol I DO!!!! This picture doesn't show a lot of the detail but it is so cute! I'm very happy to have it! The poor kid wearing it was a visitor at our house. Drama queens best friend! Thank you so much for being my little model!

I only have one more apron that I want to make soon...I have put it off for a while. It's from a vintage pattern-yes, that will be 2 that I've made from patterns. It's hard to get into that again. I haven't done clothes construction in several years so the patterns kind of work my nerve.

I have made a couple of personalized bibs for the model above for a baby shower gift for a friend that was expecting. They were cute and had the baby's name and year embroidered. That was another stretch. I haven't embroidered anything in ohhh 15 years.

I need to make something for a friend at church who is having a rainbow baby. I have an idea of what I want to make but I have to get the fabric. She is a very precious woman of God and the daughter of a dear friend. Check out www.projectsforyournest.blogspot.com , she has some cute baby stuff ideas.

I started my classes and my brain hurts! By the end of my first class my eyes were glazed over, I know it!!! This one has a lot of writing, the other one has a lot of reading but it's an online class so I can do it as I get time. I think I'm going to do okay though.

I tried to double space between the paragrahs to make it easier to read but It seems to be irrelevant.

Frugal Cooking

2009-01-13T08:51:00.005-05:00

I have been thinking about all the menu planning on the internet where people are trying to save money and plan their meals accordingly. I have been seeing articles about meals for under $10.00 that feed a family of four.

I have fed a family of 6 for years on less than that. 4 of the people eat adult portions, and we always have left overs for lunches and sometimes we have enough leftovers to put a meal together-strange combinations- but we all eat plenty. So I had the big idea to use my recipe blog (that I rarely ever add anything to) as a way to journal my food budgeting tactics, menus and recipe's, tips etc.

My girls will be out on their own in a couple of years and by then the blog will be pretty full and they will be able to have the information at their fingertips. It will also be there for anyone else who might be able find it. I'm pretty sure that all the things I do are on the web somewhere so it's not new stuff.

Hop over if you like-http://quickcountrycooking.blogspot.com/

Be blessed

Classes Start Wednesday

2009-01-12T11:10:00.003-05:00

Silly Boys!! Poor dog! I love these moments.

This apron is for my step daughter in Florida. She is into skulls and crossbones etc. I, personally, don't like them. I comprimised for this one and got "cutesy" ones. Still don't like it but I don't have to wear it! lol I also made a cookbook for her like the other girls. I hope to get them out this week to her. One of the other girls had to pose with this one. It's from a vintage pattern. Yes, I actually used a pattern for this one! lol

This one I made for Ashlee. Pink and brown are her favorites. I took pictures with my new camcorder but they were awful. I ended up taking it back and getting the camera I wanted and look, nice pictures. Unfortunately, she used it and got flour on it before I got the new camera to get a good picture. She is the most domestic diva of the 3 girls. I love it!

I start classes on Wednesday so my projects will slow down and my brain will have to do real work and think in a more traditional way. . . I already have a headache! lol It will be worth it in the end so I can handle it! I am strangely ready to get on with the college classes though!

Be blessed today.

Preschool

2009-01-06T09:00:00.002-05:00

My little Mikey will be starting "preschool" at home soon. We have been doing things but not anything that is planned or lessons. Lapbooks here and there and mostly teachable moments with whatever is handy. I thought I'd let him in on the fact that he was going to be starting school at home soon. BAD IDEA!! I guess he is still a little traumatized from his previous "real preschool" experience. He was in daycare for a year and a half before I pulled him out. It was traumatizing to me to leave him the way he was behaving. It took about 2 months to get him to some reasonable state. The daycare wasn't bad, the teacher was a little harsh but not "mean".

My plan is to gradually increase the things we do that are "educational". I have a bit of a Charlotte Mason mind set so I really have no intention of having him sit over books etc all day! I want it to be fun and mostly hands on. My goal is to have him to a schedule and routine by the time he turns 4 in March. My idea of a full schedules is maybe 2 hours a day split up so he doesn't even know he is learning.

I have a bunch of resources. Some on the computer, some printed and some stored items for teaching. I want to make some more things to that there are more activities for him. And of course I have a wish list of things I'd like to get for him too. As I get started I will be sharing all the stuff I'm doing. I have found some good resources on line.

Ok, I'm obviously more exited about doing this than he is so I am being a little covert with it all! LOL He will love it when he gets going. I just hope I can keep things the way I want them. I don't want to feel pressured to have him learn a certain amount and to do everything everyday that is planned. I want to be flexible, besides, I don't have to really do school until he turns 7. (compulsory school attendance age in NC)

More projects

2009-01-02T08:53:00.004-05:00

This is one of the girl's scarves. Finally done. A close up to see the stitches and one to see the whole thing. It turned out better than the pictures show.

This is a cotton pot holder. It is an easy stitch but I made it so tight that I could only do 2 or 3 rows at a time before I had to stop for a few minutes. My hand started hurting. So it took a long time to complete but I really like it. It works better than the sewn ones. I loved the earth tones and the way that the colors went to gether on this one was neat. It was verigated yard. I had a hard time finding a back ground that would show it.

Here is a dishcloth. I don't know what happened at first. I guess the tv show was really interesting! lol I looked down and went Oh. Then I took pictures and started pulling stitches.

Here is the same one, repaired. I have no idea why there is a loop in it. It was how the pattern was written. It is a very pretty cloth. I guess the lighting was different because it looks darker here.

Word studies & 25 ways to keep it simple

2009-01-01T08:25:00.004-05:00

My friend Shelli posted this on her myspace blog. I don't know how to put a link in to that page but I can direct you to her myspace page if your interested. She posts really good messages and has been doing word studies lately that are very cool! This is here more as a reminder for me than anything else. I need to work on number 10 lol! I tend to tell people the truth too much! lol

Titus 1:16 ~ They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.

Abominable~repugnantly hateful; detestable; loathsome: an abominable crime, very unpleasant; disagreeable, very bad, poor, or inferior

Disobedient~Neglecting or refusing to obey; omitting to do what is commanded, or doing what is prohibited; refractory; not observant of duty or rules prescribed by authority; -- applied to persons and acts.

Reprobate~a depraved, unprincipled, or wicked person; morally depraved; unprincipled; bad; rejected by God and beyond hope of salvation
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I got this in an email yesterday and thought I'd share.

25 Ways to "Keep it Simple" in the New Year"

1. Go to bed on time and get up early to avoid a rush.
2. Say no to projects that keep your family too busy, or offer to do a small part.
3. Delegate tasks when possible. Even our kids feel important when they are "needed".
4. Simplify and unclutter your life. Less is more..
5. Allow extra time to do things and to get to places. But don't sweat the small stuff. Arriving
a little late is not the end of the world.
6. Take one day at a time.
7. Separate worries from concerns. If a situation is a concern, find out what God would have you do and let go of the anxiety. If you can't do anything about a situation, don't dwell on it.
8. Live within your budget; don't use credit cards for ordinary purchases.
9. Have backups; an extra car key in your wallet, an extra house key buried in the garden, extra stamps, etc. A simple meal to prepare for unexpected guests.
10. K.M.S. (Keep Mouth Shut). This single piece of advice can prevent an enormous amount of trouble.
11. Do something for the kid in you everyday.
12. Eat right.
13. Get organized so everything has its place.
14. Listen to a tape while driving that can help improve your quality of life.
15. Write down thoughts and inspirations.
16. Every day, find time to be alone.
17. Choose your friends wisely. A friend who gets you in trouble is not a friend.
18. Keep a notebook of favorite scriptures on hand.
19. Remember that the shortest bridge between despair and hope is often a good "Thank you Jesus."
20. Laugh.
21. Laugh some more!
22. Take your work seriously, but not yourself at all.
23. Before you blame someone, try to laugh at the situation.
24. Be kind to unkind people (they probably need it the most).
25 . Every night before bed, think of one thing you're grateful for that you've never been grateful for before. GOD HAS A WAY OF TURNING THINGS AROUND FOR YOU. "If God is for us, who can be against us?" (Romans 8:31)

My new Beth Moore book

2008-12-28T18:43:00.005-05:00

He is Jesus.
The One and Only.
Transcendent over all else.
To know Him is to love Him.
To love Him is to long for Him.
To long for Him is to finally reach
soul hands into the One true thing
we need never get enough of.
Jesus.
Take all you want.
Take all you need.
Till soul is fed.
And spirit freed.
Till dust is dust.
And Face you see.
Jesus Christ.
He's all you need.

I didn't write this. This is the intro to my new book, Jesus Day by Day by Beth Moore. I just love her! I've done several of her Bible studies with our women's group at church. I love her videos and how she words things. Some of her poetry just touches me so deeply. I wish I could buy just the videos to her Bible studies to watch over and over. I always get something new from them.

As I read this last night, I thought about how I long to spend time with him. . . and the times that life gets so hectic that I fail to do so. I always lament over it. I know that God knows my heart and I long to be filled, fed and freed so much that my entire life reflects Jesus. I want to feel his presence in my life all the time. I want to feel that he is right beside me all day, everyday. I don't want to walk a minute without his loving hand guiding my steps. I'm a long way from that though.

I think visually so I can just picture reaching my hands into the cloud of Glory that surrounds my Savior, and touching the hand of the master, creater, the only thing I need! In our corporate Worship at church I picture the Lord comming down in a cloud with his Glory filling the room. His spirit washing over me like a gentle rain, cleansing and healing me. Washing me clean from the worlds dirt.

Oh how I love His touch! How His presence comforts me! I pray for more time with Him. With the one true Savior who loves me inspite of my faults!

Goals for the New Year

2008-12-26T20:16:00.004-05:00

I was thinking about things I want to do for next year. Things I want to accomplish. Not really a New Years resolution, they never work for me. Some of the things I've been thinking about for a while. Here is the short list.

1. I want to read through the Chronological Bible in one year. Now, I begged and hinted about getting one for Christmas. I asked for the 1 year through the Chronological Bible. I got a Chronological Study Bible. Now the question is, can I read through this particular Bible without pit stops in all the study helps-in one year. Probably not, but I'm going to try!

2. Get more organized with teaching my preschooler. I don't want it to be excruciating for him but I want to teach him the things I want him to know, on his level and make it fun. No small task I guess but again, I'm going to try. I think I have some good resources for getting it better.

3. I'm starting to go back to school, part-time. I want to pass all my classes and take the time to study adequately. This means time away from my family, regularly, while at home. Taz, the 3 year old, may not do well with this. I'm going to try my best.

I guess this is a short list but certainly obtainable! lol Maybe I'll add more later

Christmas 2008

2008-12-26T10:27:00.003-05:00

Christmas lights. Pictures just don't do this yard any justice. The entire yard-front side and back was covered with lights and decorations!

Same yard!

Daddy & Mikey playing with playdough. Yes I know I bought it for his "tot school" but he needs daddy time too! Plus, it kept him out of things while I finished Christmas dinner!

The dog, questioning what was going on! and maybe asking to be saved from the terror!! lol

Destini got the scarf and hat from her aunt and uncle. She wore them all day...does this mean I can keep the scarf I'm making for her????

My Mikey. Just sitting on the counter being silly!

The batman outfit came with a pair of shoes. I had a problem with the whole batman thing but my husband said to let him have it and hulk slippers. He likes the hulk even though he hasn't seen one show! I think hulk is too agressive and batman is too dark but I'm told I have to let him be a boy. Not so sure I agree. Anyway. He loved the batman outfit that just happened to go with the shoes more than any other gift except his new big boy bike. That is on video. Once I figure out how to get the video from the camera to my computer I'll post it! lol I have one of him going down the hill like he does on his trike but his sister freaked out because he was about to go over the side of the wall at the end of our property!! He stopped in time though-scary for a minute. He really is all boy!

Recent projects

2008-12-26T10:12:00.002-05:00

An aprom I made for Christmas. I didn't use a pattern, just decided how I wanted it and cut and sew. I will put the neck strap at the corners next time. I even put a pocket on the top to hold my wedding rings when I have my hands in bread dough! Quick and easy project.

This is a scarf I'm working on for one of my daughters. It's crochet with a slant stitch from suzies yarnie stuff blog. Her pattern. I'm making one for one of the other girls too but it doesn't look as good. I think it's the verigated yarn I'm using on hers. Her favorite colors are pink and brown. This daughters favorite color is purple (same as me! lol)

This is an angel ornament made with #10 thread. Isn't she cute! I put these in some of the Christmas cards I sent out. I also made a snowflake ornament but gave it to my friend before I took a picture. That seems to happen alot!

Curtains I made. Another easy quick project. Kind of. It took me 2 weeks to finish but if I had just sat down and stayed with it then I would have been done in about 2 hours. 3 curtains for the kitchen-2 oddly shaped windows and the door window. They are lined but not really reversable. I could probably get away with turning them around but I would know the seams were there. lol

A day time view of the same curtain.

I found a pattern for beaded coasters today so I'll probably work on those for next year. I plan to start next years Christmas makings in January this year! lol That way I'll have lots to give away and less stress trying to get them done by Christmas!

Christmas Presents without Mom

2008-12-19T18:26:00.007-05:00

Our Christmas presents went out the other day to all parts of the world. (ok just the US-I didn't get my son's out yet. I still don't know if he gave me the right address!) When I was wrapping them I came to the conclusion that I made some weird gifts for people! lol I have officially taken my mothers role of the person who gives the strangest gifts! She used to give things that no one understood! She was the one person that I learned that it's the thought that counts! She thought enough about you to get you something that she thought you would want or could use. She could have picked it up at anytime during the year and hid it in the back of her closet until Christmas and not even remember why she got it for you! lol I really miss her this year!

I made coasters and dishcloths for my in laws! lol I'm the backward hillbilly of the family and the gifts I made for them and actually sent just proves it! They aren't like me and I don't know that they consider handmade as a good thing. Bless them! They tolerate me well. I didn't really think the gifts were stupid until I tried to mail the stuff! I guess I'll start right after Christmas this year to buy things-like mom did! lol

My husband bought me a camcorder for Christmas (I got it already!) Mikey destroyed mine. First he broke the screen and it didn't have a view finder so I had to guess at whether or not I actually got the shot I wanted and then the pictures were all weird and didn't look good at all! I have been video taping and taking pictures with it for days. The kids were doing Christmas crafts and making Christmas cookies! My kitchen was destroyed! I have the video to prove it! lol

Life

2008-12-16T15:07:00.002-05:00

As life goes on as it should, some things seem different, more distant. Change happens. Sometimes it doesn't seem to be a good change. It's hard to remember that He works all things out for our good. Life gets busy and we forget. . . the things we once held dear. As things seem to be crumbling, I must remember that the Father has it all in His hands!

New Camp Site!

2008-11-19T17:47:00.003-05:00

Mikey hasn't been able to go outside lately due to the weather so he decided to make his own camp site! I didn't realize the mess my kitchen was in until I saw the pictures but they are still worth putting up! My iron was still out from getting things ready to sew and my cookbooks are a mess. Mikey's coat is on the counter too. Oh well, we had fun. The drawers he has pulled out are his Awning for his camper! The food on the floor is his fire pit and dinner he is cooking! lol He loves to camp!

A Snoodles Tale

2008-11-16T23:03:00.002-05:00

We watched A Snoodles Tale (part of the vegi tales) this morning. As I watched it, I thought wow this movie is pretty deep! I've seen it several times so it wasn't new to me. I just saw it from a different point of view this morning.

There was a lot of symbolism in the movie that I hadn't picked up on until today. I was most impressed with how the writers expressed how we are in God's eyes. He sees the finished product while all we can see is what we are right now, and how our view of ourselves sometimes is based on what others think of us. Which led me to the thought that others views of us may ultimately be inaccurate and biased. Wow!

What tools have we been given by God? How do we use them? Is our work on "His refridgerator"? Is it something He can be proud of? Does it honor Him? What were we created for? Do we see ourselves the way He does or how others see us?

Pretty deep for a kids movie! And I just thought I was entertaining them so I could get ready for church! I'm sure the children didn't get the same picture I did. I loved how it showed that others negative thoughts and comments can drag you down so that you can't "soar" like God wants you to. You have to see yourself as God sees you than you can fly!

Life!

2008-11-12T13:19:00.007-05:00

This is a partial view of my newly rearranged living room! It still looks small in this picture but the tv is behind me.

This is base camp. These were supposed to be at the end of the post but I can't seem to operate this thing today. My 3 & 8 year old have been playing camping here most of the last week.
This is his fire pit. lol We warmed our hands on it today!

Taking care of business at camp! (black mail pictures for when he is a teenager) You can see my back yard needs grooming and you can see the corner of my little garden.

Amazingly enough, only the boy was in the corner!

Mikey is rebuilding base camp for his adventures! The wind was trying to take it away.

The most important part of this entry is this.....from my back porch!

This is my view of God's glory this morning! He is just so awesome! My precious 8 year old pointed this out!This is from my front deck!

This one is from the back porch too. Sorry for the gutters! My screen is busted on my camera and I have to just guess at the placement. I added this one by accident and couldn't get it off the blog.

Thankful Today

2008-11-10T22:48:00.006-05:00

I have had a very busy week. I am thankful for the beautiful weather we have been having! Indian summer is almost over and it is starting to get colder. My husband loves it, everyone else is bundled up! lol

I got some of my Christmas gifts completed! I was so excited! (and kind of proud that I actually finnished one-probably sinful) They turned out very nice and they are for a favorite aunt. Bless her heart she married into this crazy family! She has always been a such a wonderful blessing!

Today, I finally got around to taking my state board test to get recertified as a CNA. I was originally getting my CNA back so I could work just a few hours and make up the rest of the money we need for bills without working full time. (I haven't worked as a CNA since 2004 when I found out I was pregnant and spent the next 8 months on bed rest) My hearts desire is to be home with my beloved children. The reality is that this is not a possibility at this time. And with the economy in the proverbial crapper, it may not be for a long time. I was strangely excited that I passed all the little tests. I was quite unemotional until I got the result from the skills test. Then I was shocked for about 20 minutes before I was excited. I am now officially certifiable! lol

I did take this extra time with great weather to have the little ones play outside. My 3 year old made himself a little "camp". He set up his little indoor tent out in the yard and made a place for the fire-gotta have smores! lol He and my eight year old son were out playing "camping" for the better part of the week. Michael (3yo) now wants me to set up the "camp burger" (translates to camper).

I've been reading Parenting Teens with Love and Logic. My husband and I decided to try it and let the girls have a little more room to make mistakes and own the problem as long as it's safe. I must admit I am one who runs to the rescue way too much. I had my first test of this new "method" on Saturday. I just have to say it-I won! I won! I won! ha ha ha ha ha ha It actually is liberating to let them own their problems as much as possible. I've decided to adapt this principle to other things as well. The girls have appreciated having the extra freedom and they really didn't give my a whole lot of problems about dealing with the problem they created without my help. I was quite happy about it. I know that they will push the envelope again but I am savoring this peace with 2 teenage girls!

I came home tonight to find that my husband had done somethings that I had been asking him to do for a long time-and some other things. He got the old ratty sofa out of the living room (of course it's on the front porch but at least it's out of here!). He moved the china cabinet to the living room-it looks ok. I personally would have left it in the kitchen or hallway. Our living room looks much better and there is a lot more room for the kids to play! I still have a sofa and 2 recliners to sit on so we really didn't need the sectional sofa and I am sooooo happy to have it out of here!

I have got to get some pictures!

My crochet needle is calling my name! Be blessed!

Thankful

2008-11-04T11:59:00.002-05:00

Today I'm thankful for my sewing machine! How silly is that? I love my sewing machine! I wish I could take it outside and sew while my boys play! I've been working on Christmas presents already. I want to actually get them done this year. Most years I run out of time before I run out of presents to make. Hopefully not this year!

I am thankful!

2008-11-02T21:27:00.002-05:00

I have been trying to remember to count my blessings every day. Today I am thankful for:
My home
Fabric to sew
Friends to confide in
Mikey kisses!

God's Blessings

2008-10-31T08:41:00.003-04:00

What I'm thankful for today. . .
A warm bed
My beautiful children
A roof over my head
The cabinets have plenty of food
That my God will provide all my needs!

Fall Mums

2008-10-28T23:37:00.003-04:00

Oh! Last night I cut all my mums to put in vases in the house. They are gorgeous! I was so excited I took pictures. They look very homey on my kitchen table!

I'm so glad I did because we had an early snow today! The earliest I can ever remember! They would have all been dead!

I love when my house is all homey and stuff!

What happens when...

2008-10-26T15:14:00.003-04:00

What happens when you suddenly wake up and realize that things are quite as you have thought them to be? What happens when someone breaks your heart, stomps on it and goes on like nothing happened? How do you move past it in a way that honors God?

I have no idea, but I'm trying to learn. Prayer is my only answer right now.

Christian Character

2008-10-10T08:59:00.005-04:00

Work done correctly is just one of many character traits we have tried to instill in our children. It seems quite a daunting task at minimum-how to teach them our values with out brow beating them or literally thumping them with a Bible? Honesty, integrity and of course our Christian values seem outdated or invalid to them. We seem to be in a constant battle for our children against the pull of the world and it's ruler.

I've noticed lately that I seem to be slipping in my prayers for my children. I want to do more but life seems to get in the way for me as well. If I have to fight for my time with God, how much more do my children have to struggle? We have been doing family devotionals to help give them more time with God and to encourage them in their faith and walk with the Savior. I think it helps to solidify us as a family as well. We all share and join in making it more of a benefit to everyone. Mikey (3 years old) even joins in. He likes to pretend to read the Bible.

It has greatly helped us to accomplish the goals of teaching our children about the Father and helping us grow together as a family. I am thankful for our special time with God!

Taz Goes to the Parts Store

2008-09-16T16:51:00.004-04:00

The other day Mikey got to go into the car parts store with me. This was his first trip inside the store. Up to this point he had only admired it from the outside. As soon as we entered the store, I knew I was in trouble!

Immediately upon entering the store his little eyes lit up and got as wide as saucers and he procliamed "ohhhhh this store is beautiful!!!" He wanted to know what every part was and every tool. I was sent on a mission by my dear husband to pick up 2 items. I had a list and no need to think about anything-just go to the counter and tell them what I need, pay, and leave. The end. I was totally out of my element in this particular store.

With Mikey in tow, I proceeded to be "drug" around the store being asked a million questions as Mikey saw more and more things that he just loved and couldn't live without and I of course had no idea what they were. The entire store was filled with the sounds of "what is this?" "OHHHH this is cool mommy! I want one!" "what do you do with this one mommy?". The gentlemen at the counter were having the time of their lives as I answered. "I don't know," to almost all the questions! I was able to tell him that one item was a hitch. His answer, "oh for our campburger!" (his version of a camper) After closely examining all the items in the store we made it to the counter-Whew! Now what do you think they had at the counter???? Matchbox cars!!! What did he do??? Just as he had done with the other items in the store--"I want one" "these are cool". My answer-"NO". So he proceeded to ask the gentleman behnd the counter to give me some money so I could buy it for him!!! The men in the store just laughed. I'm sure my distress lightened everyones day! lol

We managed to get out of the parts store with only the 2 items I was asked to pick up-and a whole lot of prayer and laughter! Dad gets to take him next time!

Man I feel like a woman

2008-09-14T20:55:00.004-04:00

Sometimes I get so wrapped up in life and trying to take care of my family and any others that may pass through that I forget sometimes that I am, in fact, a woman. I know that my calling is in my home and I can get so Martha like that I forget some of the little things we do make a difference. Things we never would have thought made a difference to our families. It really is a fine art-being a wife, mother and woman and doing it all in a godly manner.

My day started out like any other day. Get up, MAKE COFFEE, do some Bible study, get everyone else up, get ready for church. This morning my sweet husband blessed me by making breakfast for everyone while I took a shower. While I was in the shower a dear friend from church called and told my husband to make sure I see her before I left church. I thought that strange because I try to see her every time, but I just said OK and went on with my morning. I didn't really have time to think about it because I was already running late.
My husband suddenly came out of the kitchen to let me know someone was at the door but he didn't know who it was. It was my cousin that I hadn't seen for years! As soon as I opened the door and saw his face I knew something was wrong and my heart just broke for him. As I went out the door he started to cry and I just grabbed him and started praying in the spirit. I knew that someone had to have died and assumed it was his father. The obvious choice since he was in poor health. By the time he had gathered his composure my husband had joined us and I was telling him what was happening. It wasn't his father that had died but his brother! Wow! I almost fell out of my chair!
We sat and talked and tried to comfort him for as long as he needed. We offered to stay longer but he felt like he needed to get home due to the tremendous amount of preparations and plans they needed to make. After he left, we went to church. We were late but were still blessed by the message on honor.
After church my dear friend found me and gave me a beautiful gift! A nice satin and lace nightie with a robe! Wow! It was beautiful! I didn't take it out of the bag until I got in the van. (I couldn't possibly wait until I got home!) It was gorgeous! The kids all oohed and awwed, my husband just smiled. All I could think about is I hope it fits! She is so much smaller than me I thought there would be no way, but I was blessed by it anyway I thought. Such a gift that just lifted my spirit. I got busy thinking of all the things I needed from the store so that I could prepare a meal to take to my uncle's home. (typical me-Martha style) I wasn't sure I had everything I needed and I wanted it to be a special meal for them.
We went to Sams and made a huge purchase of course. Who really gets out of there for less than $100.00? Then went home where I went to work preparing homemade bread, stuffing from scratch, and roasted chicken. My husband and kids went to work in the basement getting things together for one of my daughters whose school band is having a yard sale and putting all the rest of the junk in the trailer to go to the dump.
After dinner, my husband and I delivered the food and came home. . . Time to try on my gift!!! wooohooo!(hillbilly style) I was so excited I could barely contain myself! I took it out of the bag. Examined it, felt how satiny it was, admired the lace, then ran to the door and closed it! Wow! It fit! I twirled in it and looked in the mirror just as my door burst open with 3 out of 4 kids standing at it! I knew I should have left the door open!! They would have seen that I was changing and they would have went back down the hall! I stood there with my mouth open while they looked at me with their mouths open! I wasn't quite ready to share my gift with the world yet. I hadn't worn such a thing in years and I was shocked by how it made me feel! (I wondered if it was a sin) So they were happy and excited and I think surprised. My three year old couldn't stop rubbing it. He has never seen me wear "pretties" before. I went into the living room and showed my husband. He thought it was very nice he said but I could read his expression.
I guess I said all that to say that sometimes life takes a different turn than we expect. I never expected to receive such a gift from my friend. I had forgotten that wearing "pretties" to bed made me feel like a beautiful woman. It is one thing to know that you are a beautiful child of God but it is an entirely different thing to feel like you are a beautiful godly woman. I had forsaken the wearing of pretties because life was so busy that I didn't feel I could afford the luxury. It took a wonderful, precious sister in Christ to remind me that a small luxury that blesses my family and me isn't really a luxury! It's a blessing! And my friend blessed me more than I could ever express to her!

Mikey & The Tractor Store

2008-09-13T15:52:00.006-04:00

Today we went to the "tractor" store. Mikey, who loves tractors from the bottom of his little heart, thought he had died and gone to heaven. He went from tractor to tractor, pushing all the buttons and moving all the levers and most importantly buckling his seat belt on each one! Just to be safe. He was so excited about all the tractors that he was almost in a frenzy of movement! The gentlemen at the tractor store were most gracious and allowed him to sit on all the tractors and push all the buttons even though his father and I were both trying to wrangle him in. He loves tractors and anytime we are shopping and there is a toy tractor he always wants one. He was able to understand that he couldn't have any of the "real" tractors but he had a blast today.