Natural Mama

Soapy Situation

2011-10-11T18:57:00.000-07:00

Remember the Ice addiction post? (I didn't want to take the time to find the link) Mainly, I was having an addiction to ice during my pregnancy with Ella. This time, the old soap-sniffing-almost-want-to-have-a-taste enjoyment has found its way back into my pregnancy symptoms. I purchased my favorite smelling soap of all time (at least this time and last), Ivory, in a pack of 3, and all I can say is that I'm really enjoying taking a shower and have actually moved it up to a priority in my day. :) I am eagerly volunteering to bathe my 3 youngest children, but so far haven't asked my husband or my oldest son. Could it be I'm a tad bit embarrassed at what they might think? :)

I haven't made homemade laundry detergent in about 2 years, but something about reading Katy's post at the Country Blossom (see side bar) about homemade laundry detergent has caused me to make a list of ingredients I'll need for my bimonthly shopping trip.

And to chalk things up, I've really been enjoying writing, coloring, and playing with the kid's chalk. My kids must think I'm a really fun mom, right?

At least the ice-chomping sessions have been very minimal. For now.

And at least I don't have a bag-of-flour-a-day habit the OB told me about when I sort-of confessed about the soap. Lord, have mercy.

I'm making my own asumption about things.

My baby will enjoy being clean and will be very artistic.

All I do is Update anyway...

2011-09-13T18:56:00.000-07:00

After some thought, we decided to disconnect from our internet and go to cell phones only. This will save us a fairly significant amount of money each month and considering our rural phone company doesn't have competition (other than cell phones), prices aren't cheap on internet service around here.
It is with deep regret that my blogging days will be very few and I'll probably just be updating when I can (no deep posting, to my regret) until we decide to reconnect with the world wide web again (if a good deal becomes available).
So, for a smallish update....
We had a very busy summer, and a fast one at that. We thoroughly enjoyed church activities such as youth camp and our annual campmeeting, both held at our church. We gardened this year, as usual, having a nice harvest of corn, a reasonable harvest of green beans and even a successful bout of tomatoes (although not enough to can or make sauce). We even took a nice vacation to the beach at the end of August and had a great time (maybe next time I can upload some pictures of our vacation/summer).
At the beginning of summer we announced to our family/friends that our FIFTH baby was on the way! After some complications (the loss of a twin) and some worries, I am now great with child (in my 25th week) and it looks like another 10 pound BOY will join us late December.
The kids are all doing great, in their 3rd week of school and we are honestly having a great school year. The Lord has really helped me to be able to plan our days effectively and given me a sense of peace about the rest of our days happenings. The two littles play and manage well while we do school. I'm really enjoying it and am managing to stay pretty organized with our schooling. Maybe it's the pregnancy? :) I'm already nesting...cleaning out my fridge top to bottom, cleaning out WAY overdue kitchen cabinets, decluttering (nothing like a successful yard sale to motivate one to declutter again). :)
We have just planted a few things for the fall--turnips, collards, kale, spinach, broccoli, lettuce, and a few fall flower seeds to the mix. :) Maybe, just Maybe my 2nd trimester energy will hold through until the third.
My littlest just turned TWO last week and she is such an absolute JOY! I figure I will end up with 15 kids because I just enjoy each child at each stage so much that I sure dread the day when I have no more two year olds!! :) I will try my hardest to update a picture of my sweet two year old mess! :)
Well, that is all for now. If I still have readers/commenters (can't blame anyone for leaving), I will try to blog once weekly if possible. :) I learn so much from my blog friends and feel you are a vital tool to my spirituality and general well being. :)
God Bless richly!

Taking a Summer Break....

2011-07-17T13:18:00.000-07:00

~~In case you are wondering where in the world I've been, I am taking the summer off from blogging~~ :) :)

Please do check back the end of August or the first of September!

The Candle of God

2011-06-05T13:49:00.001-07:00

Religion is the act of praying and reading God’s Word. Relationship is wanting to pray and read God’s word. We can pray and read our Bibles faithfully (without fail) and still truly not know God. ~Bro. Darrell Wilkinson in this morning’s sermon

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When we get to a cold place in our spiritual lives, little sins begin to creep back in—the same old ones the devil knows he can sneak back into our lives without us really noticing (not anything ‘big’, at first). I don’t know what yours are, but mine are the same ones—pride, discontent, murmurings, and complaining.

When we begin to seek God again, earnestly, it’s amazing the things we will see that has crept in while we were ‘away’.

What has happened? The candle of God has been relit in our lives. His presence has been restored.

Why do people who are lukewarm feel they are ‘okay’ spiritually? I’ll tell you why. They can’t see the sins that are in their lives. The candle is not lit. When the lights are off, I can’t see the dust gathering on my table, can I?

We MUST keep this candle lit or it will go out. When you purchase a new candle, on the bottom, or on the sticker, it will tell you how many hours of burning time your candle will burn. Our spiritual candle will also go out if not tended to with frequent prayer and Bible-reading. If we wait too long between our visits with the Lord, our candle will go out and we will not see the little sins that will creep in. The dust on our hearts will be concealed without the light of God’s presence.

I’m amazed how when I get back into my earnest prayer and searching the scriptures, I immediately feel my dirtiness. Thank the Lord for the light of the Lord!

The spirit of man [is] the candle of the LORD, searching all the inward parts of the belly Proverbs 20:27

Simple things that make my life extraordinary

2011-05-19T09:22:00.001-07:00

Give God the praise for any well-spent day

~Susanna Wesley

The oldest, snacking on blueberries, hard at work at his cursive

Early morning play on the sidewalk

Oh, she’s spotted Mama! I must go see her!

Don’t tell anyone I’m playing house! :)

New Begonias repotted (and hoping the chickens don’t like Begonias)

As seen through the screened porch…

We REALLY like blueberries around here…and muffins

Fresh garden Taters!!

Fresh Betsy-the-goat milk! 3 Liters of it…yum

Who needs TV when you got chickens to watch?

Our girls, who are meat chickens and HUGE and, ready. Alas, I can’t seem to bring up the issue with the husband. I really like these girls. Even if hormone, antibiotic, free range chicken breasts are $9.76 for 5-7 breasts (small) right now.

I mean, they are our pets. Our first-borns. Even if they do eat my….

Lilies….

I am off to get my rear in gear. My kids are spending the day with my mom and I have a RARE lunch date with my husband (woohoo)!!! I also have my second annual piano recital tonight, so I must prepare some refreshments for that. I’m looking forward to hearing my students and seeing them shine.

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I am content to fill a little space if God be glorified ~Susanna Wesley

My schedule-what ‘works’ for me..

2011-05-18T10:04:00.001-07:00

My dear little ones love to wash Mama’s van!

Even little Ella gets in on the cleaning!

Love this picture of my hard working FIL taking a break from tree-clearing to chat with my youngest son. They were discussing, Chickens. I actually got this shot through my laundry room door, so I am oblivious to them. :)

A little sticker decor never hurt anyone! (my kids are always on my table…anyone else’s?)

I just haven’t felt really well lately, so not much blogging spirit going on for me. I apologize. I have a list of future blogs, waiting to happen, but I’ve got to be in the mood for blogging to actually get them ‘out there’.

My oldest kids are with my MIL, digging taters (as we call them), so while I should be doing dishes and some fast cleaning, I am putting up a much needed blog to my dear readers.

I have found, after having 4 kids, that by the time the youngest is 1 & 1/2, I am pretty much on a nice little schedule, without having really planned it that way. That is, until a little one comes along again and then a new (very tentative and way shorter) schedule takes over.

And, if you have times that you are simply not feeling well, here is what you focus on and nothing else (a gentle reminder from the Holy Spirit when I was feeling overwhelmed one day): Dishes, Beds Made, and Laundry. Those are the things that will pile up, not go away (beds made just make a room look neater when nothing else is done). Also, sweeping may need to be added if you don’t have carpet, because the dirt does pile up!

I try to always get a little Bible reading and some prayer in before I start my day. After that is done, I see that the living room/dining room is straightened.

I work on my Daily Focuses, starting with the dishes usually (no, I do not leave a clean sink before I go to bed, usually. I am T-I-R-E-D when evening comes.). If everyone is awake, I get the Beds Made and twice weekly, I do the laundry and the other days are used to fold and put away. I ALWAYS have some form of laundry. Yes and Amen. :)

After breakfast, kids clean their rooms (this is a very loose term of clean—we are still constantly working on my version of clean vs. their version of clean).

Schoolwork begins at 10:30 (I could do another post of our schoolwork schedule, but not now)

12 pm—LR/DR straightening—by this time legos are sure to be everywhere, blocks are out (all 200 of them) and horses are seen ‘riding’ all over the living room. Kids help with this.

During the midst of these next hours, more schoolwork, napping, and a WHOLE lot of playing is going on…..

4pm—more LR/DR straightening (anyone else’s children LOVE to play in the LR, NOT their bedrooms??)

Now for focus cleaning:

Mondays: Porch/Sidewalk (sweeping, wiping down furniture, straightening) I also have just started cleaning out my van on Mondays as well

Tuesday: Mop/Dust LR/DR

Wednesday: Bathrooms

Thurs: Kitchen mopping/wipe down cabinets

Fri: Bedroom dusting/ sweeping

Now the focus cleaning chores only take maybe 15 minutes, I am not a professional duster. My idea is getting a damp rag and wiping down the furniture. No polish, etc. Okay, we are talking saving time here. :)

I try to do a lot of reading to my kids, so when Ella is sleeping and my daily focusings are done, I will be found many minutes of the day reading to my kids. This is very important to me.

Supper and Lunch plans are really simple. Yesterday it was PBJ on wheat bread and chips/salsa. Supper was homemade pizza. I am a big fan of a meat/veg/bread meal. I will have plenty of time in the future to prepare elaborate meals for my families when they come to visit me. Right now, I am simple.

I’d love to hear your schedule….maybe you are like me and NOT a list maker (I spite myself and deliberately DON’T go by the list because I hate to write a schedule down for myself. Weird, I know.) but you sort of have a rhythm of what you use for your family.

Before I go, I’d love to share with you a worthy quote that I read in a book I’m currently reading on Smith Wigglesworth:

It is the easiest thing to get the mind of the Lord when your whole heart is only desiring the will of the Lord.

God Bless.

May at our place

2011-05-03T09:26:00.001-07:00

Days are still very monotonous (as much as can be so with kids around) around here, but a bit of Spring Cleaning and Gardening is woven into our days, letting us know that things are turning toward the summer. You wouldn’t know it today, as the temperatures are in the 50s today. Seems very abnormal, although a bit nice.

Here are a few pictures to let you see what is going on around our place:

Our first harvest: Mustard greens

Ella, enjoying blueberries

A Spring Touch to the front door

Fresh Herbs growing in the windowsill..Basil & Chives

Reading between bathtimes

New batch of chickens

Chickens & Guinea Fowl eating their breakfast

Emory helping Papa build a chicken coop door

The Garden

A Cucumber plant and a few Mustard plants

Erin with the beans (and picking a few early ones)

Tomato plants I started from SEED! :)

Corn, Corn!

The kids have been enjoying the dewberries for a couple of weeks now

My miniature Gardener :)

More tomatoes, Elderberry bushes planted in this plot, Chesnut tree, & Zinnias planted

Ella on the trampoline

That’s May at our Place! What’s going on at yours?

Your Calling is At Home…

2011-04-27T05:50:00.001-07:00

I had planned to put my Cleaning Schedule/Morning Routine up for a blog post so maybe I could help someone else in the area of scheduling with four or more young children. Don’t get excited, my schedule doesn’t call for a clean house. :) If you have a schedule that leaves your house clean, your four or more young children happy, homeschooled, cleaned & fed, and your husband satisfied, please leave me a comment! :)

As I was in prayer this morning, my mind was changed through the quickening of the Holy Spirit to tell someone, Your Calling is At Home.

Now I’m not a preacher (ha, ha!), but this blog is a ministry tool for me and if I feel the Lord give me a certain topic, then I believe it’s for a certain reader.

This morning in prayer, my mind was given to two different women. One has lost her child, the other’s children seem to be on the way out. I firmly believe that the reason is, they were not at home.

Dear Sister, is it your desire to have those babies only to lose them? To the world?

I am just silly enough to believe that if we train up a child in the way he should go, he will not depart. No disrespect to the Word of God, but do you know that there are people who think that their children are lost because of, oh well…….

If my children don’t get saved or develop a friendship with the world when they are older, it will be, ultimately, our fault. We failed in some way to train them up in the way they should go.

What is the first thing that should be done to ensure that your child is raised up in the right way? Stay at home. Don’t give your child over to someone else to raise. Especially, don’t lose your mind and send them to public school to be raised by some atheist or teacher who, after 30 years, doesn’t really want to be there. I know some readers are from other countries and there are different laws about schooling your kids, but if at all possible, keep them at home with you.

Your Calling is At home.

I always somehow drift to homeschooling on posts like this, but the Lord has so clearly showed me over the past 10 years how it is very dangerous to send our children off to public school. So, back to my post….

The women that came to my mind this morning are smart, very intelligent women. To be honest, these women would feel that they were dumbing themselves down (insulting their intelligence?) if they stayed at home and did such mundane tasks as change diapers, wash dishes, pick up all day, sweep floors, etc.

Surely the Lord wants me to be successful. To use my gifts in this world.

At the expense of your children? I don’t think so.

Your Calling is At home.

Thank God for intelligent women who decide that staying home with their children is the only option. It’s a Must. Thank Him for those who decide to use their God-given intelligence on their children. To teach them. To train them. Use your talents and abilities to make your children the most knowledgeable children on your block or in your church. Not to be in your face but so they will be wise and well-learned, especially in the Scriptures and in the ways of Christ.

You know what? The devil wants you to go out and be successful, make money, and leave your children for someone else to raise. He wants them. He’ll probably will get them if you do this.

This body is going to rot and decay. This world and all your sweet possessions are going to melt with the fervent heat. The only thing you can take with you to heaven are your children. That’s it. The only thing. What more precious possessions would you want?

You will stay at work to have a fine house that will melt with the fervent heat?

You will stay at work to have a Lincoln or a Cadillac which will melt with the fervent heat?

You will stay at work to be able to send your kids to college debt free? Which, in judgment, their education will mean nothing to them and according to statistics, based on the college you send them to, could be detrimental to their spirituality.

Your calling is at Home!

Disclaimer: If you are a widow or have a husband who demands you to work, this article is not intended for you. The Lord is able to give you the desires of you heart. This article is also not intended to say that if you stay home with your kids, they will turn out okay. It takes a lot more than that.

Pics from Easter…

2011-04-25T05:42:00.001-07:00

Just a few shots I snapped yesterday—Enjoy!

A family Photo

Easter Frocks :)))

My pastor’s wife and I with our unplanned matching skirts

My parents

Finding eggs with Grandpa

On her own…

I found one!

Evan and his cousin, Tucker

Forget the eggs, I found a sucker!

Me and my very active 80ish year old Grandpa (He is a really little man..he makes me look huge!)

Hope you had a great Easter! I would love to see your photos! Leave me a comment if you put up Easter pics.

Heading off the Grouchies

2011-04-22T04:57:00.001-07:00

Happy Good Friday to all! We have Easter festivities to attend to today, including an egg hunt for the kids, so today will be plenty busy for us. My kids are super excited (I almost put eggcited, but I decided against such corniness..hehe) and when they get up we will be dyeing away. I have prayed my thoughts will not stray far from the Crucifixion today and I will continually gaze upon the suffering of my Saviour for my sin and shame. Even today I have used His shed blood to cleanse away a few impurities in my life that I became aware of in prayer.

Yesterday was a pretty intense day for me, I’ll confess. We have had Revival this week, and mostly, I have still been getting up early to have my quiet time. A combination of late nights, early mornings, stressful events, inappropriate thinking (feeling sorry for myself a bit), and PMS (yes, the dreaded), has ushered in the Grouchies.

Lest I should appear to be someone who has it together all the time (HA!), I thought I would admit that every now and then, I get the grouchies. Especially during that time.

By the way, I’ll interrupt here to say if you know of any natural recommendations (herbs, etc.) to ward off PMS symptoms, please feel free to share!

Yesterday as I was rushing around, I was begging God to crucify this PMS in my life. I know it is normal for women, but frankly, it makes me a less than joyful Christian woman. I don’t like what it does to me. I didn’t feel the symptoms subside, but I did feel Him gently nudge a suggestion by way.

Why don’t you write down the things that make you most irritable during this time and write down possible solutions to ward off these stresses before they become, stresses?

Good idea, thanks!

1. Doing things that require a certain time to do them in. (i.e. volunteering to having a cake made for an event by 11, for instance).

Don’t volunteer during this time, or
Don’t feel bad about picking something up already baked at the grocery store
Have your mom bake it for you (ha! She would!)
Do it in the early morning or late at night.

*This is probably not the time to have the kids help you in the kitchen. Just saying.

2. House messes. (During this time, the house mess can be chaotically multiplied by 1000)

Enlist the children to do more during this time (but don’t give them ‘new’ chores that you will have to show them how to do…remember your patience is thin)
If you are busy doing an busy activity (cooking, etc) that requires the children to have free play time (read:messes), put the older children at the table with coloring books, and have the littles play on the bed with some ‘rarely brought out’ toys or in the crib until you are finished. Don’t be afraid to use the Dvd player. :)
As you go through the house, pick up what is in your path. The longer it sets there, the more irritable you will become.

3. Children.

(What bothers me the most during this time is either my children not keeping their hands to themselves OR them asking the same thing over and over (yesterday, it was one in particular kept asking if we could dye eggs, which we couldn’t because I had a certain deadline to meet, see #1)

Set rules in the mornings. Explain to them that this will be a busy day and mom needs them to cooperate with her, do what is asked, keep their hands to themselves, etc. The first time something is asked to be done (i.e. dying eggs) that can’t be done, tell them that there will be no time today, but if there happens to be extra time, it will only be done if you haven’t asked mom over and over.

4. Cooking.

(Why is it that “I’m Hungry” seems to bother us more during that time?)

Bake a loaf of bread in the mornings so kids will have something to eat on while you are busy.
Set out a tray of cut up veggies, fruit, and dip.
Take the kids for a rare trip out to eat. Lest the restaurant experience be stressful for your less-than-put-together state, take them to the park to eat and run free.

5. Spills, Breaks, Accidents, etc.

(During this time, the slightest spill of milk, water, whatever, can really trigger the nerves. I do try my hardest not to let the irritation show, but sometimes I am wiping up the spills a little more, um, vigorously than usual because I am hiding my irritation.)

Use sippy cups for all kids! :)

Hope these suggestions will be helpful for you. I did have some individual/personal things that I could write down, but they probably wouldn’t apply to everyone, so I tried to keep things down to the ‘basic struggles’ that most moms probably face during this time. If you have any suggestions I would LOVE to hear them. I would suggest that you don’t miss your devotions with the Lord during this time of the month. You don’t want to have to blame lack of prayer in your life along with the PMS symptoms. My flesh in itself is bad enough without PMS. I can’t imagined the two combined! :)

God Bless you today.

PS. There are several blogs that I read that I haven’t been able to comment on because my computer is acting up. It says I need to delete my cookies or something when I go to comment. I have no idea how to delete cookies except by digesting them in my stomach (PMS binge eating, anyone?) I hope to get that fixed soon. I am enjoying reading each of your blogs and they are such a help to me.

How to be led by the Spirit daily

2011-04-20T14:41:00.001-07:00

Well, today has been one of those busy days that I didn’t really do anything. Ever have one of those? Yesterday I got all the laundry done. The dishes were done last evening (even though a few have accumulated throughout the day) and the pickup was done yesterday evening. My children would have strewn again, but we have been visiting with my mom and my grandmother today. I also made a quick trip (sans kids) into town to pick up a few Easter goodies. I plan to made Rice Krispy Bird’s Nests with the kids (Here is a picture—scroll down until you see, “Nesting”) so I picked up a few nice goodies for that! :)

Today as I was rearranging a few of my cookbooks, I found a piece of paper where I had sloppily copied down an inspiration from the Lord. I love, love and SO don’t deserve the Spirit to speak to me, but sometimes He does, and I try to always jot down what He places on my heart.

Don’t have time for a long post today (is anyone reading, anyway? No comments? Please, I’d love to hear from you!) as we are in Revival this week and it is nearing the crunch time (you know when you are trying to cook supper, get baths, pick up before the Hubs gets home, etc…). Thought I’d share…..

How to be led by the Spirit Daily

1. First of all, realize that you NEED Him to do even the most minute task. (That was not on my list, it just came to me)

2. Put God FIRST (early mornings, anyone?) each day.

3. ASK Him for His Spirit to guide you.

4. Walk in obedience (do what He tells you to do—that’s how you remain in fellowship with Him).

5. Surrender all to the Spirit (realize without Him you are nothing—if you are a mom, it doesn’t take long to figure this out).

6. Rely on God in times of need.

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If you walk in the Spirit, you will NOT fulfill the lusts of the flesh.

One came and one went

2011-04-19T05:59:00.001-07:00

I was so glad to see this one come back from a weekend trip with my parents:

But, at the same time, I lost a ‘new’ daughter at the expense of her coming back:

The one on the um, right.

Here are some of her friends:

I goat-sat for sweet Betsy this weekend while my parents took a weekend trip. Milking 3 times a day, some late nights were spent with Betsy—calming her as she listened with fright to the whippoorwill sing her night song. Urging her to be still and let’s ‘get this done’. How time consuming, yet calming, this goat-milking is.

I didn’t expect Daddy to take her back so soon.

This morning, as I went to the laundry room to get my robe off of the nail, I didn’t hear the familiar, BLEY.

Guess we are ‘bout ready for a couple goats of our own.

As for now, I’m ready to hear the laughter from my eldest daughter flowing around the house. I’m eager to hear her and her best playmate, my youngest son, playing as they do. Her bossing, him doing her bidding. :)

And for now, she wants to see the new chickens. So even though it is EARLY, I’m going to drag myself down to the chicken yard.

Do you have goats? I’d love to hear about your experience with them.

Stay-at-Home Evangelists

2011-04-16T06:00:00.001-07:00

I know my posts have been more serious and less about my personal life, but I’ve often prayed that my blog will be used for HIS glory, and the past few posts are topics the Lord has given to me and has been dealing with me lately.

For years, I never really cared much about Soul Winning. I was in a complacent, dangerous ‘spiritual’ state when I feel everything is just hunky-dory and all is great. When spiritually, I was starving, dying even. I felt like it should be done, but I didn’t have a desire for it.

I spent years in public school, never witnessing much to my peers. My peers knew I was a Christian, but I didn’t really have a huge desire to witness to them. I wasn’t spiritually-prepared, I wasn’t excited enough about my salvation.

Which brings the point that, One has to have something to offer to be able to give it to another.

I spent years working in a pharmacy and years working as a school teacher where I never did much witnessing. I tried to be good so my life would reflect Christ, but I wanted my life to do all the talking. And we should let our lives live out Christ for us. One of my close, young coworkers (with whom I worked closely for about 5 years) died from suspicious causes (I really don’t know he died, I don’t know if the reason was ever revealed) about 2 years ago and I often think about my lack of sharing the gospel with him. I pray he found Christ, but if he did, it wasn’t because I shared Him with him. :(

After I became a Mama and came home to stay with my children, I sort of felt justified in saying that they were my converts, I was their missionary. I wasn’t supposed to have an outside outreach other than them. Now if you ultimately gain the world for Christ and lose your own children, something is badly, badly wrong. I totally agree we should be a living example of Christ to our children. That is why it is SO CRITICAL that we get down on our knees every day before those babies wake up and get FULL of Christ. Full of His wisdom. You can’t raise them by yourself. You can’t even raise them with your husband’s help. But you Don’t even HAVE to raise them if you PUT ON CHRIST every day. He is the one raising them. His Holy Spirit is working through His vessel, YOU. Isn’t that wonderful knowing that you can just LET GO and LET GOD? I would be SCARED outta my MIND if I woke up and realized that I had to raise these FOUR youngsters under the age of 8 by myself. Wow. That’s enough to make me break into a sweat!

Anyway. I am getting off. :)

I have been praying for a true burden for souls. That is the first step. You cannot witness effectively without a burden. Pray that the Lord will let you envision souls going to hell. YOUR loved ones. Pray that he will give you a sense of urgency for this hour. He will if you pray in faith and truly desire to make an impact for Christ.

So, what can you do while being a SAHM to evangelize??

1. Without ever leaving your home, you can GIVE to the cause of Christ. Save up change and have your kids get involved. At the end of a certain day of the month, have them help you count out the change (I found an EMBARRASING amount of change, even DOLLARS, since I have been decluttering), go get a money order for that amount or write a check, and give to the ministry the Lord lays on your heart (he WILL let you know who to support or who needs you most). Maybe it’s an evangelist that has come by to preach at your church. Maybe it’s a missionary with a large family to feed, clothe. Maybe it’s a campus minister out forsaking his self to do God’s work. Pray about it. Maybe you could support an orphan or a child through Compassion International.

2. Use tracks. You know the Chick Tracts you used to pick up off the foyer table and read while church was going on? There were two or three that used to scare the everliving out of me! Anyway, you can purchase tracts from Ebay or online, I’m sure, or maybe even you can find somewhere that has them for free. I know our drugstore, here in town, has free tracts.

How can you use them? Every time I pump gas, I put a tract under the lever thing that holds the gas-pumper. The next person who pumps after me has a tract to read while they are pumping gas! Another way is to leave a tract on the back of a toilet in a public bathroom. Also, leave one on the table with your tip. Not trying to be stereotypical, but waitresses are often hurting people with stressful jobs.. I have just noticed that. Of course, you can just hand them out to people you feel might need one. Sometimes you can just recognize the hurting, the desperate.

3. With signs. Okay now, I admit I used to have a problem with people who got on the street in the middle of town, holding a sign that reads, Repent or You’re Going to Hell or Are you Ready? I think it may have to do with my lukewarm state or my lack of burden for souls. I was almost embarrassed for those people. But I realize that we are only supposed to plant the seed and the viewers of those signs, when they stand before God, can’t say that they didn’t see the message.

Can you take an hour and maybe you and one of your older children hold a sign beside the road of your church? Pray about what God would have you put on the sign. You really want to use wisdom on this. This is a great experience for an older child and a great way for passersby to see the gospel.

4. In your Neighborhood. Do you have some tracts and a good cookie recipe? Bake up a large batch of cookies, put them in ziploc bags, attach a couple of tracts to the ziploc bags (I use paper clips) and go around the neighborhood to distribute. You know, the ones who are hooking up the fishing boat at 9:45 on Sunday morning or the one who, on Sunday morning, is already out on the porch with a cold one. Take your kids at your discretion. I don’t know your neighborhood. Your husband may need to go with you. A lot of times you will see people out in their yards on Saturdays and you don’t even have to do the dreaded door to door.

5. Cards or letters. Anyone can send a simple card or letter to let someone know they are praying for them and share a quick word from the Lord with them. Pray that the Lord will lay someone in particular on your heart. You can’t use the ole, ‘ I don’t have their address’ excuse anymore. I have found numerous addresses on Whitepages.com.

6. Send a Bible. If you aren’t particularly comfortable with getting out and witnessing, while praying for the Lord to give you a little bit of boldness, order a Good And Evil Bible and send it anonymously to someone who needs to be saved. You can get their address off of their mailbox. (if you don’t know about these Bibles, they are a comic version of the KJV—some would read a comic strip before they would read the actual bible)

If you have anymore suggestions, I would love to hear from you. I have disengaged my comments to where you can comment anonymously if you don’t have a blog.

Two things to remember: You aren’t doing the saving. You are just planting the seed. That is all the Lord requires. Secondly, don’t neglect your children’s salvation. They are your ultimate priority.

Go Ye into all the world…..

Okay, have a lovely Saturday. As for me, I have 3 bright children awake, one of whom wants her footed pajamas off NOW, and I also have an engorged goat to go milk and chickens to feed/let out. More about the goat later….:) Hope you made it unscathed through the horrid weather yesterday. God’s protection was felt here, that’s for sure!

Be not deceived….

2011-04-14T05:40:00.001-07:00

Last night, we had a campus minister preach at our church and share what he is doing for the Lord. My eyes were once again opened to the spiritual depravity and increasing tolerance for sin that our young people are portraying.

This minister’s message was no different from the messages of the prophets of old, of Paul’s message, of John the Baptist’s message, and of Noah’s message.

REPENT YE

As I saw the pictures of the young adults, holding signs of rebuttal with inscriptions such as, “God is Love” and “Judge Not”, my heart was grieved.

Thanks to the watered-down gospel that many young adults have received over their young lives, the HUGE influx of the Hollywood agenda, and peer pressure, the kids have bought a fallacy. It goes like this.

We are all imperfect. We are all born different. God accepts us as we are. He loves us no matter what. He does not judge us for what we do nor does he expect us to change who we really are.

And of course, there are the young adult atheists and those with demonic new age beliefs.

But the ones who have false beliefs of God are the ones who are the most dangerous.

Dangerous to whom?

Dangerous to true Christians. These are the persecutors.

Now, you may say, What about God is Love? Aren’t these young people right to believe that God is Love?

I’m as familiar with John 3:16 as the next individual and am forever grateful that the Lord loved the whole world that he gave his only Son for my sins. I feel His love and mercy extended to me on a daily basis.

It’s the message that these young people are basing their poster inscriptions on. Its message means, God is Love which means he doesn’t care if you are living in abomination to his word. He doesn’t mind that you are living out your uniqueness (i.e. sodomy, etc).

God HATES wickedness. He is ‘Angry with the wicked every day’ (Ps 7:11)

He was angry enough to destroy an entire world and save only 8 people (Genesis—Noah)

He was angry enough to destroy 5 cities and save Lot and a couple family members (Sodom & Gomorrah)

People were destroyed at the hand of kings whom God had hardened their hearts. (several times in the Old Testament)

Several thousands and thousands of people were destroyed during wars when God’s hand would turn away from them because of their wickedness. (Several times in the Old testament)

Nineveh was saved by the skin of their teeth thanks to a prophet who preached, Repent Ye.

God Loves Righteousness and Holiness.

He saved Noah and his family because of their obedience and righteousness.

He saved several prophets and obedient men in the Bible from wild beasts and huge armies (Gideon, etc)

He spared Lot and his family from fire AND brimstone.

He spared Israel countless times from the enemy (even though we know he destroyed some within the children of Israel because of their wickedness and idolatry).

God is a God of love and mercy. There are many, many verses I could type that would portray to you His love and divine mercy. There are also many, many verses that would explain that He does not tolerate sin and continuance in sin. He does not tolerate unrighteousness and filthy living (like some of the things that go on in college campuses).

So, when the young minister was out trying to book the latest Rock and Roll Christian band and putting the latest movie up on the youth building’s big screened TV for the young people to watch, He should have been teaching them what the Bible says about sin and about the blood of Jesus. Instead of trying to relate to them, he should’ve been relating to them the reality of a burning hell. A hell where it is estimated (I know that only God has the correct count) that 250,000 souls go every day.

So, what does all this mean for us mothers?

First of all, if your church has a youth ministry, a Children’s Church, or even a Sunday school and your children attend, FIND OUT what is being taught. Or, better yet, keep them in church with you. Ask them over the Sunday dinner table what they did in Sunday School and what the lesson was on. Make sure they are hearing Bible truth and are not merely being entertained and fed candy and juice.

Don’t send your kids to a young ministry building if all they do is have Christian (I say this loosely) Rock and Roll bands, have pizza and ice cream, watch the latest ‘easy on the eyes and ears’ Blockbuster film, practice with the dance team, and learn how to say no to sex (this is the parent’s responsibility…actually, they shouldn’t be even in this situation yet!).

I would choose another church, honestly.

Secondly, teach your children at home (this is biblical from Deuteronomy) and keep them out of public school (or private for that matter). This is not just me expressing my passions (Homeschooling is one of them). It IS PROVEN that public schools have an agenda to teach children to be tolerate for sin. Some places even have homosexuality in their textbooks. Science is anti-creation and has been since even I was in school.

Thirdly, don’t try to erase sin from society. Paint the picture for them. What I mean by this, without being gory or even being too explicit (my kids don’t know about anything about alternative lifestyles, thank the Lord). If you see a homeless man standing by the road, share with them what has probably happened in that man’s life—how he got to that point. Of course, you what to teach them to love those people, but explain what sin can do to a person’s life. Use your time out and about in the real world to share with your children what sin can do. Don’t ever excuse sin or appear tolerant before them.

I will never forget my mom taking a pen and coloring in to cover up cleavage on magazines that we would get in our home. She was showing us that immodesty is wrong and we weren’t taught to just tolerate it (hence, the covering up of the immodest lady on the Prevention magazine).

For goodness sakes, don’t let your small sons be allowed to GAPE at the horrible, filthy magazines that are paraded at the counter of Wal-mart! Find another aisle. If they happen to see them, explain to them that those are human beings, created by God to give Him glory, but have fallen into sinful living. I always tell them that they are searching for peace in things and will never find peace other than through God.

Last, FILL them with things of God. Starting at home, give them a Christian world-view, teach them the Bible as TRUTH, have them memorize God’s word, and have family prayer.

When the devil comes by, they will be repentant and not excuse their sin as being okay and who they ‘are’. You will have taught them that ‘friendship with the world is enmity with God’ (James 4:4).

That is all for now, I have a little one awake. You might want to check out Charles Finney’s (one of the world’s greatest evangelists) message here.

Next, I will blog about how you can evangelize as a stay-at-home mother.

Please come back! :)

Tuxedo Brownie Muffins

2011-04-13T11:24:00.001-07:00

Around here, we like to have muffins about once/week. Just the other day, my 3yo asked, “Mom, why do we have muffins every time”? :) I usually vary between the standard blueberry muffin, banana muffins, or occasionally, oatmeal muffins (from leftover oatmeal). Today, I was desiring something a bit more chocolate. Here is what I came up with (with a little help from a recipe book..I tweaked it quite a bit):

Topping:

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup sugar

2 tps AP flour, preferably unbleached

2 egg whites

1/2 cup mini choc chips (opt) I didn’t have these, but the original recipe called for it

Muffins:

1 cup AP flour

1 cup Sugar

1/2 cup Whole Wheat flour (I did 1 cup WW and 1/2 cup AP and it was good)

1/3 cup unsweetened Cocoa powder (I used raw Carob powder)

2 tps baking powder

1/4 tp salt

3/4 cup milk

1/4 cup oil

2 eggs

1/4 cup chopped nuts, opt.

TOPPING: With a mixer, mix the cream cheese, sugar, and flour in a bowl. Add the egg whites and beat until blended. Fold in the opt. chocolate chips.

MUFFINS: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly coat 12 muffin cups with nonstick spray. In a large bowl, combine the flours, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, and salt. Make a well in the center of the mixture. In a small bowl, whisk together the milk, oil, and eggs. Pour into the well in the flour mixture. Stir until just moistened. Fold in the nuts, if desired.

Pour into the muffin tins, about 3/4 full. Top each muffin with about 1 tablespoon of the cream-cheese mixture. Bake for 20 to 22 minutes, or until cream cheese begins to turn golden. Cool for 5 minutes and then serve!

These were really good to us and the cream cheese mixture was the bomb on the top. It wasn’t too terribly unhealthy, considering none of the ingredients were artificial. I use fresh eggs and fresh milk and that is and added bonus to our health! :)

Do you like muffins around your place? I would love to hear your favorite muffin recipe. Perhaps you have it in an older post that you could give the link to me or a link to a website with it. Thanks!

Are you really saved?

2011-04-09T11:04:00.001-07:00

This topic hasn’t really been on my mind, but just this morning as I was going about the day’s chores (which weren’t sitting on the porch, sipping lemonade, while reading a good book, but anyway..), I felt this subject weigh upon my mind. I grabbed my journal and started jotting down things I felt the Lord would have me say. Maybe you need to hear this.

In my humble opinion, there is nothing more miserable than struggling with doubts regarding one’s salvation. But for the ‘unbeliever’, the true misery is thinking one is saved when in truth, one is not. Now, before you get all who-do-you-think-you-are-certainly-not-the-judge, let me give you what’s on my heart via the Holy Spirit.

The main characteristic of a true, born again believer, is this: living a life that pleases and glorifies God.

Do you wholly live to glorify God?

What I’m referring to, is, as a whole, is your aim to bring glory to God? Do you desire to live to please Him and to serve Him. Do you want to be in His Will?

Now, my head is not stuck in a bucket to where I would think that we are not ‘works in progress’. The Lord is constantly working on me and showing me areas where I need to glorify Him a little more. Maybe I’m doing something to bring glory to myself instead of Him. That’s not what I’m referring to (however, that IS a matter that needs to be taken care of, spiritually speaking).

Do you find yourself trying to be good instead of hungering to please God?

Do you feel yourself disconnected from spiritual things?

*Lack of desire for church or Christian fellowship

*More of a desire for worldly amusements, pleasures, entertainment

No man can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other; or else he will hold to the one and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. Matthew 6:4 (KJV)

If you find that your heart does not desire God or the things of God, then have a heart- check. Commit your life to him anew.

But I prayed The Prayer when I was a child! Aren’t I saved?

Again, check your life. Do you live to please and glorify God?

For you to be saved, you must confess and believe. As children, we aren’t as aware of the guilt and burden of sins committed. We may repeat a prayer at Children’s Crusade or from someone off of the TV just because they asked us to. I have such a problem with this one show my kids will watch off of Smile of A Child. At the end, the man leads the young listeners in the Sinner’s Prayer and invites them to tell someone they did it. He doesn’t even explain the Crucifixion, Resurrection, and the Fall of Man in the Garden! If Mother is nearby and she hears this child say this prayer, what will she do? Call everyone and tell them that Johnny has accepted Christ!

Then, when Johnny is 15 and gets caught doing drugs, she will make sure to remind him that he shouldn’t be doing that because he is saved. Or even worse, she will never share the full gospel with Johnny because it doesn’t matter, he’s already saved. Then, when Johnny is 18 and in a car wreck after leaving a drinking party, Mama will sigh with relief because he said the sinner’s prayer when he was 3.

I got ‘saved’ numerous times as a child. Every time the preacher preached on Hell, I would cry and ask God to save me. I wanted to be sure. :) I can’t point you to an EXACT place where that commitment to follow Christ became forefront in my life, but I can show you that ultimately, my life’s purpose is to please God and to follow His will.

Parents, never try to convince your children they are saved. If their lives fail to bring glory to God, then the prayer was nothing more than just repeating what the TV said, as kids do when they are watching Dora.

How about you? Are you truly saved? Do you desire to please the Lord?

What about the times we get discouraged or ‘lukewarm’ in our souls?

First of all, beg God to warn you, nudge you, prompt you (He might be doing so by your reading this post) BEFORE you are in the dangerous, dangerous state. You are in the danger of becoming complacent or you may begin to feel justified by your current spiritual (or lack of) state. God is so merciful and there has been many times (I’m afraid) I was in this state and thank the LORD, He used something (books, a verse) or someone (a anointed message or a saint of God) to steer me back on the right path.

And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; Romans 1:28 (KJV)

I really believe (and have the Bible to back me up) that there are many people who truly are convinced that they are saved but have absolutely no fruits or desire to live a life pleasing to God. This could be a result of a repeat-after-me prayer prayed when they were very small (I do NOT think that you can’t get saved with this type of prayer) or it could be that they continued so long in their sins and complacency (unconcern) that God gave them over to a reprobate mind?

Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ Matthew 7:22,23

Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven Matthew 7:21

Now, turning the tide ever so slightly…

The devil CAN and LOVES TO try to convince truly saved people that they aren’t saved. I believe he does this because:

He is trying to keep that Christian from reaching his full potential in Christ

If he can keep you always wondering about your salvation then he is tying your hands, spiritually speaking. He knows that you will be something GREAT for God were it not for this bondage.

What can you do? Once again, look at your life. Do you ULTIMATELY desire to please God and live Holy in your life? Is your desire for spiritual things? Do you desire to lead your children to the Lord? Are you sorry when you fail God? Do you work to restore your relationship with God and try to climb higher in Christ?

Something to think about on this Saturday. Evaluate, evaluate, evaluate. Check your fruit.

God Bless you!

Are you taken seriously?

2011-04-07T05:13:00.001-07:00

⁴But Jesus, said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, but in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house.

⁵And he could there do no mighty work, save that he laid his hands upon a few sick folk, and healed them.

⁶And he marvelled because of their unbelief

Mark 6:4-6a

This month I am reading through the book of Mark and the other day I came across these verses. However, even before I read these verses, I had been thinking upon them hard.

Do you ever feel like there are people who just don’t take what you are doing seriously? People who don’t respect you as a mother or feel that you are capable of doing what you are doing? Do you ever feel like your talents are not appreciated?

Now, before I go any further, let me say that I do not think that someone should be going around patting me on the back all the time. Honestly, flattering is icky to me. I enjoy a genuine compliment, but I do not care to be kissed up to all the time (Wow, I don’t think I’ve used that term since high school…:). We do not do the things we do or use our talents to get people’s approval or to get pats on our backs all the time. We do it for the glory of God.

That being said, it is nice to be appreciated and to be thought of as someone other than a kid.

Let me explain myself. Sometimes, the people you grew up with or people you see all the time are the ones that still view you as the little sister or as someone who used to be ________________ (fill in the blank). People who are in your own ‘country’ (see verses above) may never get over what you used to be or what you have always been even if you have changed.

For example, I was the baby sister in my family. There are people who still see me as the baby sister. Especially family members.

They don’t see me as a grown-up mother of four (wow, are you sure she can take care of that many kids? I mean, after all, she is the baby of the family!). They don’t see me as a mother who can possibly have the ability to do things like bake bread, garden, home school, and other old-fashioned things as such and still be able to take care of a family. Not her! She was the baby. She is the kid sister.

When I am around those in from my ‘country’ I feel that I’m surely not adequate to be doing an adequate job to have adequate children and to take care of an adequate home.

Am I the only one who has felt this way?

Sometimes I want to scream, I am capable! I don’t have four kids because I had an oops every time! I am equipped with the Lord’s help to have these children and to raise them up in the fear and admonition of God. (Don’t dare mention that you might possibly want more kids!) I will never be perfect, but stop watching me to see if I’m going to mess up. Just because I am the kid sister doesn’t mean that I can’t handle being a mother.

Okay, some days I don’t think I can handle it. But, doesn’t everyone have those days? Big sisters, kid sisters and all?

Okay, I feel better. Some.

Sometimes, it is discouraging to be in your own ‘country’. I love to talk to people who I have met after I was married or after I was ‘grown up’ because they have more respect for me and it shows through our conversation (adult conversation, anyone?). Doubt seems to flow through every area of conversation with those I grew up with (read, close family, here). Always reminding me to watch the kids. You better take care of those kids. Doesn’t he need a jacket? Don’t they need to be going to public school? Are you sure he is getting enough school done? And even more recently, She doesn’t watch her kids enough.

Sigh. I will never be big enough and qualified enough in some people eyes. It really makes you appreciate the people who appreciate you because they see past who you were and what you are now.

What are your thoughts?

Non-buttermilk biscuit recipe

2011-04-05T05:38:00.001-07:00

Here is a delicious biscuit recipe that does not use buttermilk. Last week, one day, I didn’t have any buttermilk (I keep forgetting to make my own –scroll down to the homemade buttermilk post) and also didn’t want to use just oil for the fat part of the recipe, so I made the following recipe up and the biscuits were wonderful:

Preheat the oven to 450. Lightly grease a cast iron skillet, for best results. In a mixing bowl, add, in a sifter placed over the bowl:

2 cups AP flour

1 tp salt

1 tbs. baking powder

(combine the previous ingredients in a sifter and sift—if you use SR flour, don’t put in the salt or baking powder)

Melt 2 Tbs. of butter and allow it to cool for a few minutes (this makes about 1/8 cup of melted butter)

For the other 1/8th cup, use Oil (I used Light Olive Oil). This will give you a total of 1/4 cup of fat.

Pour over the flour mixture

Add 1 cup of regular milk (I used goat milk, but you will probably use regular milk) and with a fork, gently combine the ingredients until the liquid is mixed in. THEN, using your hands, sort of knead the ingredients together until it is no longer liquid-y. The mixture should fill soft and fluffy. You may have to gather just a bit of flour in your hand to sprinkle over the mixture. This will get out the rest of the liquid-y feel and also keep your hands from getting too sticky.

Gather a tennis ball sized bit of dough in your hands and roll just a bit to smooth out the biscuit. Place in the skillet. When you have place all of the dough in the skillet (should make about 6 or 7 biscuits), gently mash down the biscuits with your hand.

Bake for about 17 or 18 minutes.

You can add more butter to the top. Go ahead, I dare you.

Cleaning: What works for me

2011-03-30T11:01:00.000-07:00

I almost decided to forego this post in the All in a Day Series, but the kids are playing gloriously outside, the baby is sleeping, the laundry is going and I have a whew.....moment. :)

I have to firstly report some terrible news. Yesterday, I was taking pictures of my parents' new baby goats. I had my camera in my pocket. My 3 yr old and I were out looking for the newest baby goats when he fell in an ant bed. I immediately scooped him up and rushed him over to a spring flowing, close by. I submerged his hand in the water and immediately my camera slipped out of my pocket and yes, into the spring. My new camera. I am just sick. It worked for a few minutes and I was so thrilled. But, alas, now it won't even turn on. I know those things happen. I don't feel like I was being careless or anything. I sure would've been sick then. I think my memory card is ok. I sure hope so.

Anyway...onto cleaning.

Right now, I am going room by room through my house and decluttering. Here is my living room after decluttering:

I read Tsh Oxenreider's (Sp?) book, Organized Simplicity, and she advocates going room by room, having a bag for trash and a bag for yard sale stuff. She says take everything out of the room and put in one location (this is really fun and AMAZING to see all the stuff that was in a room). You then Spring Clean that room, go through your stuff and purge and trash, put things back, and fall in love. :)

Once I get every room done (I am now in my bedroom...wow), I hope to get a scheduled cleaning system going.

For now, here's what I do:

Keep the dishes washed

Do laundry at least twice a week

Sweep the floors and mop when needed (this is usually sweeping every other day and mopping about once every two weeks...I do a lot of spot mopping in between thorough mops)

Kids keep bedroom straightened

Keep LR and DR straightened

Dust when I see dust piling up (or ignore it for a few days until I find out I'm going to have company)

Clean bathroom when I see it can't go any longer

And that is what I do. Maintain. Cook. Straighten. Mother.

That's what I do.

Mother.

That's the most important thing, right?

Read how these other mothers do it:

Carrie @ Our Full House Christi @ Where the Creek Meets the Lake Elizabeth @ Yes They’re All Ours Kathy @ Kathy Mom of Many Kristy @ Homemaker's Cottage Lori @ Happy Busy Mama Renee @ Bakers Dozen

Do you need some encouragement?

2011-03-28T05:23:00.000-07:00

I have found that if I need an extra boost in the 'Encouragement Dept', I will head over to Laine's Letters and read a couple of her letters. My, the strength and encouragement I glean! Do you need encouragement to begin your week off right (after all it IS the beloved Monday)? I suggest you read this: http://lainesletters.com/letters/truth.html. It was just what I needed to hear to get my I-got-up-early-but-didn't-feel-like-it day going. God is so good. I need Him every day. Every. single. day. PS. I hope, really hope to get my Gravy Tutorial up sometimes soon. It will take a while and the morning has just whisked on by. I really want to get a head start on my cleaning before my dear ones have awakened.

Biscuits and Gravy Tutorial

2011-03-24T08:11:00.001-07:00

Here is a tutorial for a good ole Southern breakfast! I’ll bet you have all you need in your cupboard and refrigerator! I’ll give options on some of the ingredients, so if you haven’t had breakfast, now you know what to make!

I am no cooking expert and my husband can say 'Amen' (if he wasn’t so nice, but thankfully, he is), but I do enjoy cooking most of the time and especially enjoy cooking foods I love and I LOVE biscuits and gravy! :)

First, you will need All Purpose Flour or Self Rising Flour (you can use unbleached, organic, store brand, whatever you have on hand). If using AP flour, get out your baking powder (not soda) and salt.

Get out a medium-sized mixing bowl and also a sifter, if you have one. Now would be a great time to preheat your oven to 450 degrees. Get out a cast iron skillet (for best results) and spray it lightly with non stick spray, or use a small bit of the fat you are using in your biscuits to grease it. Do your skillet NOW, because your hands will be too gooked to do it later. Also put a handful of flour in a small bowl nearby your station.

If using AP Flour, measure out 2 cups and place in your sifter, which you have sitting inside your bowl. Add 1 tablespoonful of baking powder to your sifter and 1 teaspoonful of salt. Sift 3 ingredients together into the bowl.

Please excuse the PMS tea which seems to be in every picture. :)

Remove the sifter, and now you have this:

Let me interject to say if you are using Self Rising Flour (which I don’t because I can’t find any that is unbleached), then all you have to do is put 2 cups of SR flour into a bowl. If you do, please don’t use the Baking Powder or Salt. You will thank me.

Next, measure out 1/4 cup of fat. This can be coconut oil, olive oil, or for best results (now, not later…:), shortening. I have even used mayonnaise, in a crisis.

You can do one of two things here. You can put in your fat in solid form, which will cause you more work, or you can melt it and save some time. If you put it in in solid form, you will have to work it into your flour mixture until your flour mixture looks like it is little balls of flour ‘peas’. The second thing you can do, which is what I have discovered that works best for me, is to melt the fat, but do not burn it, add it and immediately add your milk (getting ahead of myself), and you will save time.

So, add your fat to your flour mixture.

I used olive oil because I was in a pinch, but for best results, use coconut oil or shortening.

Do not stir! This is very important if you have liquid fat that you do not stir yet.

Okay, now you can get out your buttermilk out of the fridge. Don’t even think about using sweet milk. If you have regular ole milk, the least you can do is add a tp of vinegar or lemon juice to make fake buttermilk, but still, you will not get good results like you do with buttermilk. While you are there at the fridge, get some sour cream. It is very important for the taste of your biscuits. May as well get the butter, too.

Add a little over 1 cup of buttermilk to your mixture. I usually just pour a tiny bit extra after pouring in my cup of buttermilk. *Edited to Add...I made them this morning and it's about 1 & 1/4 cup of buttermilk. Add your 1 tablespoonful of sour cream.

Now here comes the fun part!

Using a fork, sort of mash the milk/fat mixture in with the flour until it is sort of worked in. You do NOT stir it in. Your biscuits will be tough tasting if you do.

Once you have the liquid sort of mixed with the flour, you get to dive in, hand first. You will probably want to take a moment to get your hands clean at this point. Even if, only for a second.

With your hands (if you’re squeamish about using your hands, get over it), squish the mixture together a few times to blend it all together. If you use a spoon or a fork, it is too ‘rough’ for the mixture—it will be tough.

When you are able to pull a small amount with your hands without it feeling too ‘liquid-y’, it is ready to roll into biscuits. *Edited to add...you may have some dry flour at the bottom that hasn't meshed into the other ingredients. Don't worry about mixing it in. Just leave it at the bottom of the bowl. It's okay. :)

Dip your hand into the flour (that you put in the extra bowl) to coat your hands. Break off a small ball of dough (about a tennis ball size or less). Roll between your hands a couple of times, place in the skillet and pat down a bit. Do this until you have the biscuits in the skillet like so:

Place a small pat of butter in the middle of each biscuit. You will thank yourself when you take a bite.

Bake for about 17 minutes. At the end of 17 minutes, broil for 1 minute. Do this if you’re like me and just have to have those biscuits brown. Do not over bake. You will hate me if they are too hard.

Don’t bother rolling out the dough and cutting out this biscuit recipe. You are much too busy, mama, for such complication.

Plus your biscuits might make mine look bad.

Don’t forget to butter ‘em again!

*Special thanks to my husband's deceased Great-Aunt Inez for this biscuit recipe.

Leave me a comment if you plan to try these biscuits! You’ll have to come back tomorrow for the gravy part. My day is much too filled and I’ve taken far too long. I will be busy gardening (I Must set out those broccoli, peas, and pepper plants today), laundering, cleaning, decluttering, straightening, homeschooling, and piano teaching.

Oh and take a look at this:

We have sick children. Again.

The two youngest.

I hope it’s not the biscuits.

It doesn’t take much to make me happy….

2011-03-23T10:28:00.001-07:00

A new candle.

A new Mrs. Meyer’s Soy Candle.

A 40% off candle.

I’m happy.

Oh yeah.

Life as we know it…

2011-03-22T06:21:00.001-07:00

Just a few pictures to post from last week and our weekend….

Hope you are having a great one! Coming up this week, I hope to post a Biscuit tutorial, and also a Book Recommendation. I hope you’ll come back for a visit. I love your visits! If you don’t have a blog, I believe you can send me a comment Anonymously. :) I would love to hear from you.

We had a Birthday Girl last week! Erin turned SIX!

Enjoying the chocolate…..

These blocks are at the Dollar Store for $2 or so…they are wooden and my kids love them!

Caught this of my oldest holding my youngest..:) This was in the morning, thus the lack of expressions…

Working on my new HERB GARDEN!!! :)

Taking a water break….

Tilling the ground….

A little closet organization for the children…..

My Garden Tub….:)

See the baby Collards??

We have some new ‘critters’ on our farm and I hope to get some pictures of them today to post soon. I’ll leave you in suspense of what kind of critters they might be. I’ll give you a hint: They are very noisy and unusual looking! :)

God Bless you RICHLY! Glorify Him in everything you do today.

Distractions in our Worship

2011-03-20T14:07:00.001-07:00

If you don’t keep a prayer journal or a ‘spiritual’ journal, I encourage you to do so. This is just a notebook where you can write down things the Lord speaks to you and also prayers he’s answered. I also use my journal to write down verses that speak to my heart or even dreams that I have that seem to be important.

Exactly a year ago, I felt frustrated in my lack of desire to worship at church. I would have good prayer times at home, but then at church I would just be, there. Now that I look back, I can’t believe that church wasn’t as exciting to me as it is now. Wonderful how the Lord brings us along, isn’t it?

While in prayer about this, I felt the Lord speak to me (if you have never had the Lord speak to you, you are missing out on an awesome experience….basically the Lord will strongly ‘impress’ upon you what he is ‘speaking’ to you) some things about my lack of worship in church.

I was distracted.

I have always had a nosy tendency about me. Gulp. It’s a bit humorous, but my husband will often tease me about my ability to listen to our conversation, say, in a restaurant (a great place for fellow nosy-ers) and be all into the conversation of the nearby 3 or so tables. :) I am a people watcher and I love to watch people. Maybe that’s why I like blogs. :) So if you are reading this, you may be like me. :)

The Lord prompted me that I am distracted in church. I am busy looking around (not that I stare, but you know, if a baby cries or if someone walks in late, I have to see who it is) and letting my thoughts wander instead of focusing on worshipping God.

From my journal, dated 3/7/10, this is what I wrote (and I’ll skip back a bit, because the first part is good too and of it I need to be reminded):

*When I’m getting ready for church, remind myself that I’m dressing to:

1). Represent Christ

2). Represent & Please my Husband (only, not other women) in dress

3). Represent my children as their mother (carry myself as a mature woman, not as a silly young girl)

*When I’m at church, focus only on the service!

1). No turning around to look at others

2). Sing unto the Lord! Close eyes if I have to to maintain connection with God.

3). No vain or fake worship! If I don’t ‘feel it’, instead of being fake, ask God to give me a sense of worship or put me in the Spirit of worship (it works)!

4). Speak to others purposefully and genuinely.

5). Don’t stall my worship or obedience to His spirit. Don’t wait until the service gets ‘high’ to begin to worship the Lord. Enter into His gates with Thanksgiving……

I really appreciate the Lord speaking these words to my heart. They have helped me so much and to know that He spoke them to me makes me want to be obedient to what He wants me to do. Hope this will help someone…. :)

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

Now I have to get ready for choir practice, so the pictures I wanted to post from our glorious weekend will have to wait. I have also had a request for the tomato gravy and biscuit recipes, so I did a photo tutorial this weekend. I hope to get that uploaded this week, soon. It’s coming! :)

May you have a glorious worship service! If your church is in a lukewarm state (Laodicea, Rev 2) ask God to start the fire in YOU!

What are we doing?

2011-03-16T06:44:00.001-07:00

PS. If you’re here from All in a Day Series I will refrain for this week due to the fact that I don’t, indeed, have my act together on Sunday mornings. We are frequently late for church or at least getting there right on time. So for this week, I will sit out and read your wonderful advice that I already know but hope I get a renewed determination to apply.

At our home, we have battled sickness for a month or more. Finally, the wave of sickness has swept on by us and we are slowly picking back up. We still have the occasional surge of an earache which could be the result of a horrible ear infection/rupturing from this little darling:

At her sickest….

We also made a startling discovery about this little man, which I hope to share in a future (hopefully-not-too-far-away), after he relapsed time and time again with his sickness bout. After herbal intervention, he is doing so much better:

Putting on his own pajamas, at the motel…

My sister-in-law and her kids spent a week at her mom’s and my children enjoyed playing with their cousins:

Quiet time after playing all day outside

Emma & Ella

A rare, decent picture of me…I don’t know what Ella was looking at…

Lots, lots of block castle-building going each day…

A side profile, taken by my son…

My daughter, the ~~doll~~ lizard lover, playing with her newest pet, Lizard, in her dollhouse (um, lizard house). See him?

See how dirty a country gal can get?

The latest toy, Polly Lizard-et…this girl really gets into her animal playing, let me tell you.

What a cutie…

Comfort food….Biscuits AND…..

Tomato Gravy! :)

And always….

TASTE-TESTERS!

You’re never to old to play with blocks!

One side of my living room after Spring Cleaning! Yes, I’ve started already! (Could it have to do with a book I’ve recently read that has extremely inspired me? More on that later)

Rearranging a bit…

Clutter Free!!

(Now, on to the REST of my house!)

I also have put some of my garden in!! I am super excited about that, always after feeding the chickens, heading out there to check the progress! I know we may have another bit of a cold snap, but I’m willing to cover my plants. We started our seedling indoors and have more that are germinating now. Pictures to come!

The children and I have been LOVING this warmer weather. Of course, with mixed emotions—knowing that super HOT weather is around the corner.

Today finds me with something going on with my eye, so after a small bit of grocery shopping, gift buying (our oldest girl turns SIX tomorrow), I will head to the eye doctor to see what is ailing my eye.

May the Lord richly fill you with His wisdom today. Wisdom to guide your home and lead your children in all the ways of truth.

Not I...

2011-03-07T04:36:00.000-08:00

May everything that is said or done by me this day not be MY doing or speaking, but Christ's.

When I respond to the kids today, may it be Christ's response.

When I answer the phone, may it be Christ who carries on the conversation.

When my husband comes home from work, may it be Christ who greets him.

When I kiss a hurt boo-boo, may it be Christ's gentle hands mending the hurt.

When I have to correct, may it be Christ who disciplines so lovingly, consistenly.

When I cook a meal, may it be tenderly prepared by the Christ who broke the bread at the Last Supper.

When I sweep, may it be done by the same Christ who daily sweeps the cob webs from my heart.

When I rock a sick baby, may it be Christ's healing touch who pats my baby's congested chest.

As I pray, may it be Christ's words, praying to the Father, making intercessions for Me because He knows just what I need.

I am crucified wth Christ....

Christ in me, the hope of glory....

Put on the whole armour of God that ye may be able to withstand....

Let this mind be in You, which was in CHRIST JESUS...

Die to self. Ugly, rotten flesh.

Live in Christ.

Not I, but Christ.

The Only One.

A few narrated pics to share..

2011-02-24T22:16:00.001-08:00

Tonight my family has gone to a nearby Prophecy Conference and I, who had to stay put due to already-scheduled piano lessons, am now waiting for their return while listening to the blustery wind as it shakes the house. Really.

The house is straightened, I have showered, the littlest young man (who did not go due to a low grade fever. Still.) is asleep, I have eaten a piece of chocolate cake (low fat, honest!) and before I go to my room to dive into my newest and wonderful-est read, The Charlotte Mason Companion by Karen Andreola (more on that book later), I uploaded (downloaded?) some new photos to my computer.

She didn’t escape it. She can still be seen with something, anything (even if she has to use her fingers) stuck up her nose to prevent dripping. She hates having a runny nose. She can frequently be heard calling for Tish. That’s her word for tissue. She has said it so much that she has shortened it. This was on a particularly feverish day. She wedged her sleeping bag on the hard floor in between the piano and the table. Directly in the flow of traffic. I think it was some sort of boycott or strike.

My son is a typical boy. He likes to play with my hair rollers.

My sons’ room was looking particulary snazzy so I snapped this picture. Not that the snazzy had to do with intensive floor scrubbing and Sunday washing of every stitch of bed clothes and Lysol-ing every nook and cranny due to a bad virus bug.

Sorry about the blinds. I snatched them up from my neighbor’s trash. She fooled me. They were in a new box. I guess she took these down and put these in the new box when she hung the new blinds in her house.

Confused?

Be careful to notice the $12 Target toybox in the back. $99 reg. Sweet.

The kitchen, looking all tidy.

Wait. I see some cool looking canisters.....

The tallest one: $19.99, the middle one: $16.99, the smallest one, $14.99. Target. My price? 70% off. Off of the middle one, $16.99. The lady sold them to me for the price of one. This was from my favorite store, Dirt Cheap. I love these canisters. There is nothing wrong with them either. No knicks or cracks.

I love the numbers! :) The best thing about them is I needed some canisters and I was pretty patient to wait and I got a great deal!

My pansies have been so loyal to me this winter. This is where they’ve been all winter, right here in this basket. Even in the 15 degree weather that we’ve had at least twice (the reason I can remember is that 15 degree weather breaks my washing machine water pipes. Every time. And it’s happened twice).

But they are loving the warm weather! I’ve had to transplant some of the pansies you see here to another pot.

We felt like ~~Daddy~~ Mama might need some chocolate, especially this week, so the kids and I made a low-fat chocolate cake. Ella says it is a winner.

Evan has similar feelings.

Perfect, chocolaty handprints

Looks good to me!

…Cause for all we know, sister is probably in there in the bathroom painting the sink, the lizard……

And even the…..Tish?

Somebody’s gotta clean up this mess!

This little guy, my morning buddy, helped Mama wash dishes for an hour or more one morning this week. He didn’t quit me until the last dish was washed. And believe me, there were plenty. Same little guy woke up from naptime with 102.5 fever a few hours later. :/

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Well the family’s tucked in bed and it’s time for Mama to crawl between the sheets. Glad for God’s goodness and his favor towards us. Unmerited, undeserved favor.

Did you know that many are his thoughts unto ME?? Wow.

All in a Day….Laundry

2011-02-23T21:16:00.001-08:00

I’ll tell you, I’ve had many different laundry routines in my life as a mom. I’ve tried doing Towels on Monday, Kids’ clothes on Tuesday, Husband’s clothes on Wed., my clothes on Thursday, and towels on Friday…etc… (by the way, I don’t remember exactly why I quit this method…maybe I just got bored?)

I’ve done the method where I just dump everything and anything into the washer until I have a full load.

Once, before I had kids, I actually read and followed the laundry instructions on the tags. Yeah. really. If it read, Wash in cold water, I would wash in cold water. If it read, Hand wash, I hand washed. Separately, I washed separately. Wow, how tedious. I would be standing at the washer all day long if I did that now.

Basically, at the moment (until I get bored with the current laundry method), my laundry routine is this:

When my laundry hamper gets full (Full means piled about 6 inches past the brim of the hamper), I will dump all the clothes in the laundry room floor, gather other laundry from various places around the house (I have another hamper outside my other bathroom) and then sort. Whites, Darks, Delicates, Blue Jeans, etc… Then, I begin my day of washing. Most of the time, I have about 6 loads out of that laundry day. It usually always carries over to the next day. Then the day after that, the hamper is full again. So, basically, I’m dealing with clothes every day.

I actually do not mind doing laundry. It is one of my favorite chores. I enjoy the sorting, I enjoy looking at my children’s clothes, taking care to fold and neatly place them in their proper places. As I am folding, quite frequently I have to place a garment or two aside to be put in the too little bin. I get mixed feelings about that.

Another reason I enjoy laundry, is I love hanging out my clothes. I enjoy using my beloved clothes line. I love this outside time I have to collect my thoughts, pray, enjoy nature, watch the children play, or more than likely, all of the above. I love the wonderful smell the fresh air gives to my clothes and sheets. While doing laundry, I can often be found sniffing dreamily into a freshly air-laundered garment. Ahh….

I try to be prompt about folding clothes and putting them into the proper places. I like to dump my clean clothes onto a chair into the living room where I am more apt to fold it because I know it will be an eye sore if I don’t. If I leave the pile in the laundry room, then it might as well be in the hamper, never laundered.

Let’s see, what else? I use cloth diapers with my 18 month old during the day. I just wash them with my regular clothes, but I always put the diapers on a rinse cycle before I wash them with regular clothes. Of course for messy diapers I am sure to take extra steps before laundering with my regular clothes.

As for laundry detergent, I have made my own. In fact, I made my own for a couple of years. Occasionally, I would find natural, earth-friendly laundry detergents on sale at my favorite burnt-out store and I would snatch that deal up and use that for awhile. Now, I still snatch up the occasionally earth-friendly, eco brand, but mostly, I will just purchase something that has a high stain removal power (I’m really dealing with stains here) and that is as gentle as I can find on a Wal-mart or Dollar Store shelf. I also hate, hate highly perfumed laundry detergents. Ugh. I have received clothes from people before in which I never did get their laundry detergent scent out of the clothes even after many washings. I like something that is a light, fresh scent. Right now, I’m using Arm & Hammer detergent with Oxy Clean. Not exactly eco-friendly, but it will do until I come across some more Seventh Generation or BabyGanics at a cheap price.

I’ll leave you with a few pictures I’ve taken over the years relating to laundry.

Check out how these other busy moms do laundry:

Carrie @ Our Full House http://www.ourfullhouse.com/
Elizabeth @ Yes They http://yes-theyre-all-ours.blogspot.com/ 're All Ours
Kathy @ Kathy Mom of http://www.kathymomofmany.blogspot.com/
Kristy @ Homemaker's Cottage http://www.homemakerscottage.org/
Lori @ Happy Busy Mama http://1happybusymama.blogspot.com/
Renee @ Bakers Dozen http://bakersdozen.typepad.com/

Feel free to share how you do laundry! Just leave me a comment in the comments with the url of your blog with the laundry post. I would love to read about it!

All in a day—Sickness

2011-02-16T19:50:00.001-08:00

I am so sorry that I haven’t already posted my All in a Day blog post today, but I had to take my middle son to the doctor today. Poor thing has been sick since last Friday and has not been feeling well in almost 2 weeks. He has a case of the strep throat and the stomach flu (virus). Poor baby can’t keep anything down, not even water. He is such a great patient. He always goes to the bathroom in ample time, doesn’t whine about being sick, and is over-all a sweetheart. My heart breaks to see him so frail. We rarely go to the doctor—only if something persists or if there are symptoms I’ve never witnessed in my children. Throwing up and having diarrhea since Friday counted as a worthy visit to the doctor or nurse practitioner. My first cousin, who is a year older than I, has recently received her nurse practitioners license. I am so proud for her! It’s just nice to take them to someone you know and someone who already knows how you feel about certain medical issues, etc. Plus, we can catch up on old news and just have a nice visit. :)

My oldest son and my baby has had a bug as well this week. My oldest daughter has just tonight decided that she didn’t want to be left out of the sick club. No really, I’m sure after her first stomach troubles she would have gladly taken back all the comments she had made over the past few days about wanting to be sick. :) Could it have been all the extra attention her sick siblings were receiving? The cool pops, the ginger ale, the cuddles in Mama’s lap? :) Bless her. She’s always been so healthy, so much that even tonight she was asking what it feels like to throw up.

I hope she never finds out.

Poor Evan (pictured above..that was taken on Sunday…he and the couch have really bonded) has had so much diarrhea that tonight as I was mixing his probiotic in with a bit of applesauce (we are on the dreaded…antibiotic), he said, “Oh, Mama, look, it looks like poop”. :P

Anyway, to make an already long story shorter than what it would be had I talked about the originally intended subject, how my husband and I make time for each other, I wanted to say that I will have to forego my blog post for this week in order to take care of the afflicted. I will try to do the intended post in the next day or so and then hopefully, pick back up next week.

Please keep us in your prayers and I will leave you all with a few pictures I’ve taken over the last few days….

Enjoying the warmer weather……..Yes!!

Warm days to hang out clothes!! :)

Dad and Papa building a chicken coop for the not so little chickens….

Papa letting the kids help….

His Saturday chore---stacking wood (he was NOT a diligent worker as he usually is….the next morning at 2am when I heard the big splat from the top bunk, I realized why it had been hard for him to get motivated). :(

Hope you are enjoying the beautiful weather…it has been near 70 degrees everyday this week….just beautiful, beautiful weather. Sooo thankful for the warm snap! :)

All in A Day: Grocery Shopping

2011-02-09T12:06:00.001-08:00

My computer cord has a malfunction, so this week I haven’t been on the computer much at all. We have also been in revival this week (second week!) and I just haven’t had time to blog. I’ve had a few things rolling in my mind, so maybe I won’t lose them until I get a free minute to jot them down to you.

I did want to keep my word to participate in the All in A Day Series, but I’m afraid my post for today will not be as excited as others’. Grocery shopping, for me, is bi monthly. It is a time I really look forward to, because most of the time, my mom will keep my youngest kids for the day. I can relax and enjoy the day to myself (which is rare!). If they want to come, I let them, of course. Many times it will just be me and my oldest and we have a really nice time, just the two of us.

I, first of all, like to check out my favorite store, Dirt Cheap—especially if I have a little piano teaching money that I’ve put back—and see if there are any extra special bargains (like, 90% off) on decor items for my home. Usually, I will stay in there for an hour or so (last trip I got the boys a very nice Target blue wooden toybox, reg. $99 for $12) depending on how many children I have with me. The next stop will be the library. We love, love to go to the library. Our library has a nice children’s center complete with Dorothy the Fish, Veggie Tales puppets, computers, and even a puppet stage! I always have books on loan to pick up—books that I’ve been recommended by Amazon based on my interests (usually on farming, mothering, health issues, etc), that I’ve had the library to ‘order’ for me. I get the children anywhere from 10 to 15 books to take home until the next trip. The library is a blessing to us!

We may or may not pick up something from a restaurant to eat. If it is just me, I may pick up some healthy snack from the health food store that I usually stop at to get my Veganaise or my organic grits. If I have the kids with me, we will usually go to our favorite Mexican restaurant or if my son gets his way, Chinese. :)

My grocery store is Wal-Mart. We have other smaller scaled grocery stores, but Wal-Mart is the only one in town that carries a half-way decent selection of organics and whole foods. I usually order our beauty products from Vitacost (sorry no link, just google it….) or the health food store. That leaves me with only having to purchase our groceries, tissue paper, dog/cat food, etc.,, from there.

I usually have a $130 budget ($260 per month for a family of 6) to spend at Wal-mart and it can be challenging at times. I have found ways to cut our prices by making our own bread, not buying any processed foods, not buying juice (I buy a bag of organic lemons and make us ‘Honey-Lemon Water’, as my kids call it), and steering clear of any thing we can do without (things like popsicles, even organic juices and prepackaged mac & cheese).

My mom and dad supply us year-round (with the exception of about 4 months per year) with fresh, delicious goat milk and both my FIL and my dad have bee farms, so we get fresh, delicious honey from them. They both have chickens so we get fresh, delicious eggs from them as well. I am SO thankful for this blessing! All of those items are very expensive, especially if you get them fresh, organic, cage-free, etc., so I am so blessed in that area! That takes quite a load off of us, expense wise.

We also garden in the spring/summer and put up tomatoes, peas, corn, okra, and jams and jellies. I hope to delve into that more this year until I’m no longer a novice! :) We have deer meat and pork in our freezer as well. Fresh meat that hasn’t been tainted with hormones is a blessing! My parents grind their own deer meat into deer ‘burger’ so I have fresh hamburger meat a few months out of the year.

Just typing this out makes me realize just how blessed I am!

From a different perspective, my kids are pretty good if taken on our grocery shopping excursions. Sometimes my husband will come along with us and we will go to a larger city, about 50 miles away and make an evening of it. My kids take this as a real treat, because we usually take them to Pet-Co or Books-A-Million. Occasionally, we will take them to Chic-Fil-A to play and we enjoy some time ‘alone’ while we watch through the glass, the kids play.

That’s it for the grocery shopping. My biggest challenges with it is that we pretty much can’t get our school work done on those days and also the house pretty much has to stay ‘as is’ until the night. That is not cool for me, because I really dislike bringing groceries in to an already messy kitchen. :/

Feel free to link up through the comments. I’m going to try this linky thing, but if it doesn’t work and you want to share your grocery experience, feel free to type in your link in the comments!

I’m so excited to have a few new followers! Welcome! I will be by to visit you soon!

God bless your hearts! Here are the others who are participating:
Carrie @ Our Full House http://www.ourfullhouse.com/

Elizabeth @ Yes They http://yes-theyre-all-ours.blogspot.com/ 're All Ours

Kathy @ Kathy Mom of http://www.kathymomofmany.blogspot.com/

Kristy @ Homemaker's Cottage http://www.homemakerscottage.org/

Lori @ Happy Busy Mama http://1happybusymama.blogspot.com/

Renee @ Bakers Dozen http://bakersdozen.typepad.com/

All in A Day

2011-02-02T10:32:00.001-08:00

I’m happy to be participating in a new series, I guess you could say, which focuses on what life is like in a large family. Now, my family is probably still on the small-ish side, but I do have four children under the age of eight, so life is a bit busy and full.

Here are the others who are participating:

Carrie @ Our Full House <http://www.ourfullhouse.com/>
Elizabeth @ Yes They <http://yes-theyre-all-ours.blogspot.com/> 're All Ours
Kathy @ Kathy Mom of <http://www.kathymomofmany.blogspot.com/> Many
Kristy @ Homemaker's Cottage <http://www.homemakerscottage.org/>
Lori @ Happy Busy Mama <http://1happybusymama.blogspot.com/>
Renee @ Bakers Dozen <http://bakersdozen.typepad.com/>

Please feel free to link up if you would like to share your full life with us!

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If this is your first time visiting, let me introduce myself. I am Natural Mama, which I use because I still can’t get used to using my real name on the internet. :)

I am happily married and have been for 2 years which translates to 12 years (where has time gone?). I have four children, two boys and two girls, ages 8, 5, 3, and 1.

We live in the South and in the country. I have always lived in the country and absolutely would loathe city life. I just know it. We have an old house that we are remodeling (slowllllly) and it gets a bit drafty in the winter and a bit, hot, in the summer. We have lots of romping grounds on which our kids can, romp, stomp, and just be country kids.

We have chickens and we hope to add a few more small scale livestock to our farm as time progresses. I lived on a farm as a child, but sadly, I could have been found inside with a book most days (which translates as I don’t know as much as I should about raising animals).

We love music in our family, have a singing group (with our best friends) and sing a few dates out of the year. I have played piano since a small child and now currently play at my church. My husband is a songwriter and has written songs for a few Southern Gospel groups. He is an awesome singer, in my opinion (and everyone else’s who knows him) but is truly humble about his ability. We really, really love to sing and play music. I teach piano to 6 students once weekly and he teaches guitar during that time. It gives me some extra money to help decorate our home! :)

We homeschool 3 of our children and I hope to share with you soon about our homeschooling days. I taught school for almost 5 years and felt very convicted to homeschool our children both through reading material God lead me to and as a result of my teaching experience. I also felt convicted to stay at home with our children and have been a stay-at-home-mom for 3 years. I would rather have no earthly calling.

My husband works in Environmental Heath and has a nice state job. He also taught school for a couple of years, but the Lord opened this (way) lower stress job for him and we are so thankful. Thankfully, our environmental disasters have been few and far between since he has been working in this field.

I love to read books, especially books that I feel will help me be a better wife and mother. Second to that, I love to read books about farming, gardening, herbs, crafting, and natural living.

We cook with whole foods, try to eat organically when possible, use natural medicines.

Some of these things I share in past posts, so be sure to surf through my archives.

All in all, I am a woman like you, trying to please God with how I raise my family, trying to keep us unspotted from the world in how we live, act, and dress, and bringing God glory in all we do. We try, we fail, and try again. I am inconsistent a lot of days in bringing God glory, but with God’s grace, I will not quit trying.

For now, I’ve got one who can’t find the Peanut Butter and is most distressed, one who is crying, “Help Me” because he is falling off of the chair, and my two girls are calm as can be. For now.

Welcome.

PS. If you would like to link up to this post, for now, do so using the comments. I forgot to mention in the introductions that I'm not really great with computers.

Just talking…

2011-02-02T08:25:00.001-08:00

ETA...if you are joining from the All in a Day linkup, I will get my post up this afternoon sometime...please come back for a visit. :) Thanks!! :)

It seems I have let a few days go by without blogging. I don’t want to get back in to a no-blogging zone, but alas, I haven’t had a burning blog post on my mind as of late.

Maybe I’ll just share some photographs and talk and such.

I am redoing my bedroom and as soon as I finished painting and hang some curtains, I will have some photos to share. :)

I’ve only got the littles up with me this morning and it has been interesting to note how things are with 2 littles. I’m reminded of when my oldest two was this size and I had no older children. :) That actually should be a sad face.

Okay, a few pictures…

I enjoy decorating for each holiday and Valentines is no exception. I don’t go all out, but I do enjoy adding a few splashes of pink (oh, how I love pink) to our neutrals of greens, browns, and reds.

The kids made a banner for the mantle. I just cut out some circles from paper plates, put some sequins, glitter, feathers, and yarn on the table and they did not disappoint.

I replaced this coffee table with the one below for a more functional, organizational one.

Purchased from my favorite store, Dirt Cheap (in lieu of TARGET), for $16.99!

Ella’s new ‘mean eyes’…she furrows her brows a bit more than this usually….

Miss this guy when he is out of town!! :/

Emory’s best ‘pirate’ pose, ‘ARGH’

I can have ice cream!

Daddy & Ella

Look at this handsome cutie….poor thing had a rough night with the virus bug last night. :(

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Yesterday, while reading my Bible, I came across this scripture and it had been a LONG time before a scripture really touch my heart like this one did. Wow.

When my soul fainted within me I remembered the Lord: and my prayer came in unto thee, into thine holy temple. Jonah 2:7

Ever have times you just need to remember the Lord?

I love God’s word!

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The book, Boyhood and Beyond by Bob Schultz (and the other one by him) is a GREAT book. If you have sons, get this book. It is a great read to read along with your sons, but, hey, It has helped me TONS!

Just a recommendation that will be well worth your reading time.

You can get it from Vision Forum.

Have a great Wednesday!!

A few book reviews…

2011-01-27T13:56:00.001-08:00

Lately, I’ve read quite a few books, mainly due to my long trip this weekend. My dad drove, the kids were constrained, so I had many hours of good reading time. Ahhh….

The first book I read was, The House that Cleans Itself, by Mindy Starns Clark. You can click on the link to see a picture and such. I’m lazy like that. :)

Okay, this book sounded too good to be true. Of course, I wasn’t naive or anything. Nor did I call my husband and excitedly exclaim that I was reading a book about the house cleaning itself.

Nor did he say, “Boy, that would be a breakthrough.”

Anyway.

Pros: I really liked how the author firstly recommended that perfectionist cleaners (this is me…don’t want to do a job until I can clean from top to bottom. I’m getting past that. Slllooowwwllly) pick the one thing or room that really gets under their skin and keep it clean if nothing else gets done. For instance, if the bathroom being messy really makes me ill, I should focus on cleaning it from top to bottom and keeping it clean.

She recommends making a rough sketch or map of your home, dividing it into parts, giving each area a number based on which room is the messiest, etc. For example, the foyer is what people see most. She recommends giving that room #1 and starting there. I really liked the breaking down of the rooms and cleaning accordingly.

Cons: Overall, she recommends putting everything in your home in its own place. She recommends taking a black garbage bag, a white garbage bag, and boxes to each room, giving the rooms the overhaul, and purging, trashing, giving away…etc.

The cons to this for me would be, who has time to overhaul rooms? Hello? What ever happened to the house that cleans itself??

She does not homeschool and has two older daughters, so go figure. She only got her house in shape after her daughters were older.

So, I move on. Still searching for that perfect house cleaning book. The one for larger families, larger homeschooling families. Larger Homeschooling families with littles.

Oh, there isn’t one???

Overall, she had some great ideas, but it would take me weeks to get my house exactly as I want it and it would take my kids having to be away from me for long extended periods of time.

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The next book I read was Be Fruitful and Multiply.

Ahahahahahahahahahaha……..

Okay, that’s my review. The End.

Okay, okay, sorry.

The book was really thought provoking, all of the scriptures were there in black and white and it was really convicting.

Basically the author’s entire point could be summed up by saying that we our lives totally over to God for Him to have His will and way in, EXCEPT for allowing Him to give us as many gifts (babies) as HE wants us to have. That may be the only area in which Christians disallow God’s free will in their lives.

She reviews all the types of birth control and how each type is sinful (for lack of a better word) and the harmful side effects of each. She even talks about procedures like hysterectomies and how unnecessarily they are performed each day. Interesting stuff.

She also talks about how we can be fundamentally Pro Life but then absolutely gawk at someone who tells us they are pregnant with their sixth child. And how that that is totally not Pro life.

Get the book and read it. Tell me what you think. I would love to hear your comments.

My favorite quote in the book was, (in my own words) Christians would rather be willing to go on the mission field to a destitute land than to submit their fertility to God.

Gulp.

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I started on two Study Guides by Nancy Campbell, The Power of Motherhood and The Family Meal Table and I’m thoroughly enjoying them. The pictures of them are in a post a couple of scrolls down on my blog. We have started implementing Family devotions at the meal table and it was been wonderful for us. Maybe I can say more about these study guides as I finish them.

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The last book I perused through on our trip was the book, Craft Hope and it was a delightful book of crafts made to profit charities of those less fortunate. The photographs are lovely and the projects seem almost easy for even I! Maybe I’ll take some pictures from the book and share some of the projects at a later time.

For now, I have a certain 8 year old to finish up Language and History and then it’s piano lessons.

Please leave me a comment and let me know if you have read any of these books I reviewed.

Weekend trips are for…

2011-01-26T06:05:00.001-08:00

*Playing with Grandparents….

Playing in the snow…

Field trips with cousins….

Seeing beautiful farm scenery…

Getting to know cousins and uncles….

Weekend trips are also for coming home!

Weekend trips. for mama, are also for being rejuvenated through lots of book reading, meditation, reflection, and missing ‘missing’ family members! It was a great time.

Resources, a recipe, and a weekend trip!

2011-01-20T09:42:00.000-08:00

Don’t you just love it when you receive a mailbox full of goodies?

I really love reading the Above Rubies magazine (if you don’t get it, subscribe for free, here) and wanted to send a small donation since their magazine is free and so helpful to me. I was sent this pack (for my $50) and I can’t wait to dive into it:

Three thick Bible study manuals: The Power of Motherhood, The Family Meal Table and Hospitality, and Gate-Keepers of the Home. Also, I received Nancy’s book, Be Fruitful and Multiply (oh boy…). :)

Now I have something to take with me on my long trip! (details below)

We also have started receiving this magazine, giving to us for Christmas by our very close friends:

I can’t wait to get my hands flipping through the pages! This was the perfect magazine for us!

While I’m sharing resources, I picked up this book the other day at the library and it has some awesome photography in it. This is my style of decorating:

Here are some delicious photographs:

And finally, my favorite:

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Healthy Vegetable Soup (you can make good soup without meat and bouillon cubes!)

1 bag of frozen tomatoes (or 1 quart canned)

1 can of tomato paste (6 oz?)

A couple quarts of water (sorry, I didn’t measure)

1 bag of frozen mixed veggies (green beans, corn, carrots, peas)

2 stalks celery, chopped

1 handful fresh cilantro chopped

2 tbs olive oil

1 small bag of frozen okra (I put tons of okra up this past summer)

1 tbs Mrs. Dash seasoning blend (the one with the yellow top)

Onion powder (a tp or so)

Sea Salt to taste

Simmer for 45 minutes or so, until veggies are tender. Make sure you have enough sea salt to make it tasty!

The cilantro and the seasonings really make this soup yummy. This is my own recipe, thus the inexact proportions.

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I will not be blogging until Tuesday because I am going for a visit with my parents to see my brother and his family! :) He lives in the neatest town in MO (near the Amish) and I have only visited with him once (sooo far away). I am taking my two girls and my dear husband will be keeping the boys. They are all geared up for some men stuff with daddy. :)

I trust that you have a wonderful weekend filled with God’s love and family togetherness.

May this mind be in you which was in Christ Jesus.

God Bless!

Try these recipes!

2011-01-19T05:30:00.001-08:00

Today is day 3 on the Daniel fast and while I haven’t consecrated to the spiritual part like I have intended to (honesty, here), I have been faithful in abstaining from the forbidden foods (eating like Daniel did). It hasn’t been too hard, but you know how things go on day three.

I’ve learned as long as I can snack on something when I’m feeling hungry or drink a big glass of water, I’m feeling pretty good about things.

Breakfast here consists of a smoothie, made from frozen strawberries, Unsweetened Almond milk, a bit of 100% Organic Apple Juice, bananas, flax seed, oatmeal, and a few peaches. It’s good and really satisfying. It’s no grits, eggs, bacon, and biscuits, but I’m denying myself here, right? :)

Lunch has been rice cakes with natural peanut butter, sliced bananas, and raisins on top. I usually eat 2 of these. Yesterday my mom was here and when she comes by she always gives me some money to go get us some lunch from town (gotta love moms). I went by our local grocery deli and I admit, the golden fried chicken livers were a temptation! I’m sure my arteries thank me for resisting. Anyway, Em and I got a vegetable plate. Poor Em was quite dismayed because he really wanted his brother’s leftover teriyaki chicken. He said he was quitting the fast today. :) I don’t think he’s getting his spiritual help. :)

For supper, Monday night, I fixed Veggie Sketti (my name for it). It is really simple. Boil some brown rice noodles (you can use 100% whole grain noodles for this diet). In another skillet, in a bit of olive oil—sauté tomatoes (I used some I had put up this summer), cut up zucchini (1), diced onions, and season to taste. I like using salt and Mrs. Dash’s seasonings (no sugar or MSG). After the pasta is drained, mix it in with the veggies. We cleaned up the bowl.

Even Ella enjoyed a bit (I did notice quite a few zucchini pieces left, tho)

Last night we had peas and potato salad w/veganaise, corn on the cob, and fish for the 2 littles. The Potato Salad was a hit!

4 Medium Potatoes (you might want to do more if your entire family of 6 eats potato salad), cut up and boiled in water until just soft (not mushy). Make sure the potatoes are salted.

In a bowl, mix 1/2 cup veganaise (this stuff is better than mayo to me), 1 tp curry powder, 1/3 cup chopped red onion, 1/3 cup chopped celery, 1 tp dill weed, and I even threw in a few cilantro sprigs (we love that stuff).

After the potatoes are drained, mix the Veganaise mixture in with the potatoes.

Very, very good.

*You can find Veganaise at your health food store or grocer, or on Amazon.

Just a few recipes I thought I would share with you. I know I am always looking for healthy alternatives or suggestions!

Hope you truly have a blessed day full of God’s love!

Shifting for awhile…

2011-01-17T12:15:00.001-08:00

We have started the Daniel fast this week and will continue doing so for 21 days. If you are unfamiliar with this fast, then you can google it for a website. My focus is not to lose weight (and on this fast it shouldn’t be) but to become more consecrated to God. I want the fog of my experience with Him to lift so that I may see Christ fully. I want this mind to be in You which was in Christ Jesus.

Those are a few of my goals during this fast and my plans for achieving those goals are to:

1. Lay aside any thing that I know in my heart that I put before the Lord.

2. Have one or two verses on which to meditate during the day.

3. Steal away and pray 3 times a day, as Daniel did, even it if it is in 10 minute segments.

The result? I’m hoping to become consumed with God.

For the next 21 days, my blog will take a spiritual turn for the most part.

Ask God what He would have you do to make you become consumed with him this year.

Be willing to do it.

As for today, we are enjoying beautiful weather, daddy being home (thanks, Dr. King), and being outside. Church was wonderful this weekend with wonderful sermons being preached by our pastor and fellowship was sweet and way past due with a couple of our mostest oldest friends. :)

I hope that your day is warm and sunny as well!

The Warmth of Cold

2011-01-15T09:12:00.001-08:00

It was a familiar sound. One, with this house, I know quite well.

The sound of water gushing out of pipes.

Broken pipes. Washing machine pipes.

The laundry would have to wait. Again.

The day before, my washing machine had never even thawed.

Cold temps. Mounting frustrations. The ever growing mountain of laundry.

My fingers too hastily punch the ever-familiar number. The number to my Rock.

The pipes have burst. At the washing machine.

I’ll be there in a few minutes.

The temperatures begin to get warmer. The laundry pile decreases. The pond of water in the backyard becomes the size of a mud hole. I began to hear children laughing.

Daddy’s coming home.

A little while later, it’s Spring-like. The little-one giggles as I chase after her in the warm sunshine. Daddy is surrounded by tools, repairing the broken pipe.

He’s already repaired our spirits.

I roll down the hill with the 3 year old. Do it again, Mama.

We roll over and over. Never mind that the ground was 17 degrees the night before.

It’s warm now.

The five year old at the woodpile beckons me come help her build a house. We pile the wood higher and higher. We build a castle. All’s well.

It’s warm.

Daddy’s home.

A single moment..

2011-01-14T05:32:00.001-08:00

…from this week…

Check out more Single Moments.

Happy Friday!

Last Year’s Thrifting Treasures

2011-01-13T09:17:00.001-08:00

Last year, I can say I truly learned to thrift shop.

I’m in love.

Yard Sales, Burnt out stores, Salvation Army, Neighbor’s Curbside (yea, I did this once last yr), bring it on.

One of my more fun days last year was spending a cold Saturday morning with one of my best childhood girlfriends, yard saling.

Therapy for me is twice a month when I go solo (well, sometimes my 8 yr old tags along for the fast food) to my favorite Burnt out store, Dirt Cheap. I will gladly go grocery shopping if I just get to browse out the cheap bargains beforehand. And ~~occasionally~~ quite often, buy. Now, I’ve started to frequent the Salvation Army and have scored rather nicely on a couple occasions.

Honey, watch out because the other day I saw a sign that said Thrift Store. I haven’t had the time to go there yet. A body can only handle so many bargains in one trip.

Not.

Anyway, here is a few pictures of some bargains I grabbed up last year. Very frugally, I might add.

Tarjay Tablecloth @ Dirt Cheap $4

Salvation Army Urn(?), $.80

Yard Sale Treasure $.50—This is so much prettier in person

Yard Sale find—Ecru Throw, $1 or $2

Yard Sale Decanters(?)—2 for $1

Wooden flowers for little girl’s new room—Yard Sale, $1

Yard Sale Shower Curtain, $2—looks fab in my new bathroom

Dirt Cheap Candle stand, $0.90, Dirt Cheap Target coasters, $.75, Basket, Curbside find, FREE

Mirror, $7?, Yard Sale…needs painting, black, maybe?

Basket from Thrift store, $2

Pillow, Salvation Army, $2 don’t know the brand of this pillow, but it is high quality stuff. Or it could just be because I put it next to one I hand made.

Not to mention scores of Organic Body Washes, Detergents, Soaps, and misc items, for cheap.

See how much money I saved you, honey? :)

Looking forward to this year’s thrifting! :)

*I can’t get my comments to enable, so for now I wait in silence. It’s annoying.

Chick Magnet

2011-01-12T05:54:00.001-08:00

My MIL gave Ella a little shirt that was a neutral color but said “Chick Magnet”. We decided it might not be in our best interests to allow her to wear it.

You know, her being a girl and all.

Alas, that is not what I’m going to blog about, but what I am going to talk about does have to do with the title of my post.

How about this:

CHICKENS!!

Is it enough to say that we now have a farm?!? :)

I’m already looking forward to the eggs.

The kids have already named them. How about Max and Buster and Yellow Booty and Drumstick and Shoestring and I guess mine is waiting to be named. The kids insist that we each have a chicken since there are 6.

We got them last Saturday when my dearest daughter called me from her Nana’s and Grandpa’s to inform me that she had some chicks, given to her by my dad’s hunting buddy.

Lucky day.

Or should I say Clucky Day?

We are keeping them inside by the fire. It is impossible to keep their box clean. They poop a.lot.

Happy Wednesday to you my dear friends!

PS. I added a new blog to my list…Cultivating Home…be sure and stop by.

P.S.S. (or P.P.S?) I have enabled my Comments again. What can I say? I can't stand not hearing from you! :) I don't know what I was thinking. Maybe it would make me more humble not having comments? I don't know. I don't like it. :)

Bittersweet Milestones...

2011-01-11T06:33:00.000-08:00

A soft whine escapes her lips as she drinks from the silicone nipple. Too rough, too cold.

She shakes her head, no, and sinks into my chest.

She wallows around, trying to get into a comfortable position.

A familiar position.

She looks up at me, sweetly, those big eyes gleaming, "Mama?"

"What, baby?"

"Nilks?"

Gone-gone

She settles down into my chest again, seeming to be wide awake.

It would have been easier if she would've just started kicking and screaming.

Mama?

What, baby?

Nilks?

The time has come.

It is a bittersweet moment.

This morning, she awakes, goes and gets her cup, drinks a bit and looks at me curiously.

She's hungry right away.

We have pancakes, early, before any of the others rise. She and I.

Now she is dancing on the table.

Silly girl.

Silly Big girl.

You like Pink?

2011-01-08T10:11:00.001-08:00

I recently converted the room where my 3 oldest slept to a girls only room. Yesterday I had it all spruced up (New year De-cluttering, anyone?) so I snapped a shot of it to show you:

Here’s before:

Insert Pink. Lots of Pink.

More?

Need I be corny and say she is tickled pink about her new room? She still prefers to sleep with her brothers, but, oh well, it’s a big adjustment for her.

Have a WONDERFUL weekend! :)

My little Hunters

2011-01-07T06:19:00.001-08:00

I always love it when my mom calls and invites me to dinner. I mean, who wouldn’t? Going home always refreshes me and I believe it’s mostly due to the atmosphere of the place.

And an invitation from Grandpa to go hunting??

Not sure about all this Bambi killin’

Getting on the duds

From one hard-head to another, let the truth be spoken. :)

You dogs ready???

Meanwhile I enjoyed an afternoon alone at the library and my um, favorite burnt out store. Check out some new recommended reading to be placed on my sidebar.

Friday, is that really you???

God Bless!

Technorati Tags: fun,my day,my kids,outdoors

Post Christmas update: The toys that haven’t disappointed

2011-01-06T08:00:00.001-08:00

I don’t know if your kids are like mine, but every time after Christmas I’m amazed at how the new toys go into the toy bins, rarely ever pulled out. There are a few exceptions, however, but I’m still convinced that wooden blocks and toy animals have been (and continue to be) my kids’ favorite toys.

This year for Christmas, my son’s great-grandmother got him a Kung-Zhu pet and it instantly became his favorite toy. We lost him for a week or so and it was tragic at our house. My daughter got a sister pet, Zhu-Zhu pet, Moo, and then last week, I was at my favorite burnt-out store and found 2 more Kung-Zhu pets, 90% off. So, now we have a Zhu of Hamsters! :)

Here are a few pics to show just how my kids get excited about these pets (in fact, right now as I type, they are building houses out of wooden blocks for them):

Getting ready to race….

And they’re off….

Explaining the tragic news to sister that her Zhu-Zhu pet didn’t win….

She didn’t receive the news very well…

Sleepy Ella & Mama watch for amusement sake…

These hamsters didn’t disappoint at our household! :)

Happy Thursday!

Biblical Goals & an introduction

2011-01-05T04:29:00.000-08:00

Yesterday while reading Psalm 105, I started making a list of these Daily Goals that should be incorporated in our days. You may want to just read the whole Psalm 105 to see where I'm coming from, but here is the breakdown:

1. Give thanks unto the Lord.

2. Call upon His name.

3. Make known His deeds to others.

4. Sing unto Him.

5. Talk of His wondrous works.

6. Glory in His name.

7. Seek the Lord.

8. Seek His face.

9. Remember His marvellous works.

Aren't those wonderful? And I love how #7 and #8 are totally different. Sometimes we seek the Lord, in general. But, at other times, we have to seek His face. I want to do more seeking His face this year.

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Have you been introduced to the West Ladies? While their blog is not really updated, you will enjoy reading some back issues of it. However, my favorite part about the West Ladies is their videos! For Christmas, I got the Art of Dairy Delights:

Since we get Goat's milk from my parents, I have been very interested in making cheese (and butter, even though cow's milk is best for that).

Then, last week during Vision Forum's 70% off sale, I got a couple more for $8.00 a piece! Last night I watched:

I have been very interested in Soapmaking for quite a while and am just about curious enough to try it! :) Over the holidays I made Peppermint Lip Balm and Homemakers Cottage (Kristy's) Plantain Heral Salve. It was so much fun and I was instantly hooked on making my own homemade concoctions.
Check out these videos. You may can still get them from Vision Forum at a low price. I'm looking forward to watching the Sewing one next!
Have a grand Wednesday! Don't forget to join me in implementing the Daily Biblical Goals that I mentioned at the beginning of the post. :)

Goals for 2011

2011-01-04T04:43:00.000-08:00

I honestly can't believe we're in a year named 2011. Back when I was a kid, that sounded like a Space Alien age. Really. If someone had've asked me what I thought the world would look like in the year 2011, I would've said we would be flying in cars and living on other planets. Well, in reality, we can do things like read books without an actual book (Kindle, anyone?), fuel up our cars without, um, fuel, and a cool thing like communicating with someone across the globe with our fingers and not with our mouth/ears, and I'm sure that there's way more high tech things that I'm not even aware of and no, thanks, I'll just continue being a country girl.
But, really, 2011?
I'm reminded of what my best friend of 20+ years used to do as pre-teens. We would write each other letters (before txting, internet, etc) and include with the other 6 to 10 letters, a five year letter (okay, so maybe we were teenagers, ahem) and in it we would write each other as if we were living 5 years into the future. It is hilarious now to think about us both married (to different people than we had predicted) and having more children (than we had predicted) and our lives are not so upscale as we had them predicted. :)
Now we've surpassed our 5 year letters by about, um, 11 years, and honestly, who would've thunk it? Look how the Lord has blessed. So far beyond what I deserve.
I never set resolutions. I never set weight-loss or exercise goals. I know me. Thankfully, so far, I don't have too terribly a problem with weight even though my appetite grows more every year. I never keep those kind.
I would like to make some goals. Things that are achievable and matter.
1. Getting up early to put God first.
2. Being less selfish.
3. Going outside more with the kids.
4. Reading more to my children.
5. Savoring the moments.
6. Being a more helpful wife.
7. Working on my weaknesses (procrastination, anyone?) and using my strengths for God's glory.
8. Staying on a routine for my sanity.
9. Getting prepared for upcoming economic problems by stocking up.
10. Cull entertainment in my family (okay, maybe downscale).
11. Work on teaching my children better manners and generosity.
12. Don't be a slacker with training and homeschooling.

Hope you have a lovely day.
For now, I must attend to the breakfast needs of my family. I have children to rouse and a breakfast casserole to take out of the oven (see #s 6 & 8). :)

Glorifying God in Blogging

2011-01-03T04:10:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year to you!
I have contemplated my blog over the past few days and in doing so have wondered about the direction I want it to go for this year. I even contemplated sitting out a year and perhaps just sitting at the feet of some much wiser women in hopes that maybe I can come back in a much wiser state, spiritually, ready to be the advisor to other women that I so long to be.
However, I realize that I'm just me, inconsistencies and all, and I do, at times, have advice to give that I believe the Lord gives me and I do so enjoy just posting updates on the kids and such.
The main goal of my blog must be to honor and glorify God. Our pastor was just talking about this last evening at the beginning of the service--how everything we do must glorify God.
If I stray from that in this blog, I pray that the Lord reveals it to me and I must be obedient to redirect my blog back towards Him.
Not saying my blog will be all spiritual. In fact, I hope it does become more spiritual because that would mean that I'm becoming more spiritual. But, there are times that it just ain't.
But, I want it to glorify God and I want to have the right motives in blogging. Not to be a show off or to brag (even though I am proud of my kiddos..:), but to have the right balance, intentions in my words.
For this year, I'll be turning off the comments. I'm so happy you are reading. I promise if you come back to visit, I'll try to be a regular blogger this year. :) I plan to put up my Email on my sidebar if ever you would like to drop me a line.
Less of Me, More of Him
**Edited to add: I LOVE getting comments and I appreciate those who regularly comment or occasionally comment. However, I'm turning them off because I don't want it to be all about the comments or I don't want to be constantly checking my comments or even comparing how many comments I get with others. Not that I would do that. Or anything. :) Basically, what I'm saying is, I don't want to get caught up in the comments. :) Got me?

Bathroom Sneak Peek

2010-12-13T06:28:00.001-08:00

Remember this?

This?

THIS? (Or maybe you haven’t seen this)

After 7567 containers of grout later, 6 trips from my dad, countless hours put in by my Dear Hon, and even an all nighter put in by yours truly (yes, I was in the shower all night till 4am….grouting), we have this sneak peek:

(Ignore the insulation coming out of the future shower closet)

(Ignore the lack of trim around the windows and um, who left the toilet seat up??)

Dec 11, 2010 will be a date that forever goes down in our family’s history. The first shower taken in this house. Ever.

And it was d.e.v.i.n.e!

I am really thankful for my new retreat.

Struggling?

2010-12-12T13:54:00.001-08:00

Come, have a seat and let’s chat! To be honest, I have been so busy with LIFE that I haven’t taken the time to blog. I really enjoy blogging and reading other’s blogs, but sometimes I just get in a funk. Do you? Do you ever just get in a life funk? That happens to me as well.

Pile ups

Clutter

Projects

Inconsistencies

Grumpiness

Failures

Sinfulness

Yea. Know what I mean? Isn’t it so easy for us mothers to feel overwhelmed? Sometimes I even have to get alone and things have to get quiet for me to even notice that I’m overwhelmed.

Amidst it all, I keep trying. I keep trying to get up early and pray, start my day off right. Sometimes it is only one day a week. I keep trying to be a cheerful, joyful mother. Even if I nearly cry every day when my dear man comes home because it’s just been one of those days.

I keep trying to get my priorities in order. I keep trying to make sure I listen for the laughter coming from the children’s rooms. I keep trying to make time for the things that matter.

I keep trying, all the while remembering that I am so fleshly. Sinful. Human.

I can’t do this mothering on my own.

I keep trying.

Are you struggling too? Be encouraged to know that you aren’t alone. Also, check out these writings from Ann Voskamp and you will be encouraged even more. I read them all and am encouraged to keep trying.

Not within myself.

Come back for a visit and I’ll let you know what’s been going on with us! :)

What I’m reading & a recipe

2010-11-02T08:13:00.001-07:00

Canst thou by searching find out God? canst thou find out the Almighty unto perfection?
[It is] as high as heaven; what canst thou do? deeper than hell; what canst thou know?
The measure thereof [is] longer than the earth, and broader than the sea.

From Job Ch. 11

Finally, we have a rainy, dreary day. I am loving it, I tell ya. It has been a super long time in coming. I think it was mid August when we last had just a day’s long rain. I plain to stay in my pajamas (I always say that, but end up changing for fear that someone will come by or that I will get too *lazy*…;) as long as possible and I look forward to some baking (I’ve already done some this morning) and reading. Speaking of reading, I keep an ever-growing list of books that I want to read. Do you? I love Amazon’s recommended reading list that it makes for me based on the books I’ve purchased in the past. So, being frugal and all, I use the Amazon list, go to my fabulous library, and if they don’t have the book, they get it loaned from another library. If funds are holding you back from reading, then try the library!

I cannot tell you how reading books has changed our lives, my life. I have truly learned (and am ever learning) how to be a better wife, mother, how to be creative, how to build a better relationship with the Lord, how to be healthier, how to cook better, etc., just through BOOKS! If you don’t read, please try it! The Lord does use books. I’m a believer. You could try one chapter per night as a starting point.

Yesterday, I picked up these books from my ever-growing list:

I have flipped through this book and it looks super interesting. I hope this book will motivate and encourage me in my quest for helping my kids love to work as unto the Lord.

Well, Christmas is in 54 or so days and I had better get busy on my homemade gifts, eh? I have *so many* gift ideas running around in my head. I can’t wait to get started. This book is so fun to look at. Her pictures are great, the projects look easy and fun AND she loves all things natural, as I do. She even has instructions for baby slings, mama cloth pads, and cloth diapers! I may have to *steal* this one from the library! :) :)

This book, Already Gone, Why your kids will quit church and what you can do to stop it, by Ken Ham & Britt Beemer, is a very serious book. I am into the 2nd chapter already and it is a must read for you if you want your kids to stay in church. I’m sure I will be telling you more about this book as I read more.

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I have started making our own cereal and LOVE it. For a family of six, one box of cereal will last about 5 minutes…:). I made a batch of granola this morning and it has filled our tummies, not broke the bank, and is very healthy. Here is my recipe, adapted from an Amish cookbook of mine:

Breakfast Cereal

5 cups quick-cook oatmeal

1c brown sugar

1/2 cup honey or light corn syrup (honey is healthier, but corn syrup might be more available to you)

1 cup flax seeds (can buy this at Wal-mart…VERY fibrous and healthy)

1 cup coconut, raisins, almonds, dried fruit (can vary this…)

1/4 tp. cinnamon

2 tp. vanilla (always use pure vanilla…don’t even buy the imitation..why would anybody use something that said, imitation??)

1/2 tp. salt

Directions: Put all dry ingredients in a large bowl and mix. Sprinkle vanilla and honey over mixture. Mix well. Pour into shallow pans (I use my pizza pan). Toast at 200 degrees for 20-30 minutes (usually takes mine about 40 minutes). Store in a tight container when cool. Serve with milk.

*The granola will still be sort of soft when it comes out of the oven. Don’t worry, it will get a bit crunchy as it cools! :) Also, wait until it cools to eats it in milk or your milk will get warm. Unless…you like that sort of stuff. Not me. :)

This lasts us a couple days, but it will probably last you longer. We have been known to be caught with our hands in the *granola* jar at weird times in the day. :)

Have a blessed day. I have the candles lighted, the lights low, the kids are quiet at the table doing their schoolwork (diligently…of course *no one* has promised them a movie for later..:), the wee one is napping, and I now have straightening to do. I must get out and about to have my clothes dried since our dryer needs a new belt and we have been lazy about it since the days have been pretty enough to hang out clothes and since, well, hey, I just love hanging out clothes anyway, but I *would* rather not do it in the rain!!

Now that I’ve made the run-on sentence for the day, I’ll go now. Here’s hoping that you’re having a rainy day as well. That is, if you want one.

Unforeseen Circumstances

2010-10-30T22:07:00.001-07:00

Wow, this morning was soo chilly and brisk. I was so thankful to have my warm man next to me in bed and er, 3 more kiddos. :/ One *should* stay warm with that kind of body heat, no? My eldest never comes to our bed except for a few nights during the colder months. Tonight I put an extra fleece blanket on his bed in hopes that that will work. When he comes to bed, he lays at the bottom end of the bed and his feet end up somewhere between my chin and my ribs. Nice.

My honey and I took a brief walk with Ella this morning upon arising. It was basically a nature walk, I guess, but it was so nice. We really have a great place to walk as our house is on a rarely used dirt road that is about 1/2 mile long. We had a nice time looking at the different trees along the way, picking out different oaks, etc. :)

After we got back from walking, we were really hungry. My hon likes a good breakfast on Sat mornings (grits, eggs, biscuits/toast, the works!) and I was out of so much (can I just say that grocery day won’t get here soon enough), so as a treat, we went to our local chicken restaurant and got a nice breakfast.

While the youngest kids napped, I worked on putting up laundry that had been piled up since Monday (I digress…) and then it was time to leave for the benefit singing for my cousin’s family. The Man of the House wasn’t quite ready to stop on the bathroom project, so I said I would go get Erin from my MIL’s (she had a sleepover there) and get some gas. So, I did that and had just pulled out of the gas station out on the main highway, when an elderly lady turned to go to the grocery store right in front of me. I hit her, basically head/side on, didn’t even have time to brake. Thankfully, I wasn’t going but maybe 25 mph or so, so the impact wasn’t huge. She ended up going to the hospital to get checked out. :( Her arm was bleeding and such. Some of her family came up and I recognized her grandson as one I had taught when I taught school (had him for 3 yrs, actually) and he said they had already taken her car away several times. Her mind wasn’t great and she couldn’t see well (obviously!). Anyway, I felt badly for her. I couldn’t even go over to check on her b/c Erin wouldn’t let me leave her and I didn’t want her to get out in the road. Poor Erin didn’t have her seatbelt on (I know, bad mommy) and she hit the floor and has carpet burns:

The good side of this is that she is proud of her injury and *wears her badge with honor*. LOL She wants me to call everyone and tell them about it. :) She also has started putting her seat belt on without our telling her. Usually I will tell her to put it on, even if it’s while I’m driving down the road, but I had *just * snapped mine in after being at the gas station. My lesson is learned to never let the kids go without seatbelts and have them put them on as *soon* as we get in the vehicle. :/ I’m glad we are basically ok. The Lord was so good to us. My van probably isn’t totaled…maybe I can post a pic of it on into the week.

Well, that’s my drama for the day. We went on and sang at the benefit, I got to see some family that I haven’t seen in awhile. My first cousin got to play the piano for us because there was only 2 microphones and 3 people singing. My husband and I shared, which was neat and funny at the same time because he is a foot taller than I. :) I had to stand on my tiptoes and he had to stoop down to share the mic with me. I sure do love singing with him and his bff. :p

We have another singing tomorrow at a 5th Sunday service. I love working for the Lord and right now, this is our ministry!

Well, because I chose to take a 30 minute bath and *not* ignore my dishes and dirty kitchen, it’s late, late. I’m so glad that I went ahead and cleaned my kitchen and swept the floors. I *do* leave my kitchen dirty sometimes at night, but I hate it so badly when I do. :/

Tomorrow or so I will be telling you about a deal I’m doing for the month of November in my home and sharing it on my blog. Stay tuned…

God Bless you this Sunday morning and I’m so appreciative of your comments and your reading. :)

Here’s a parting shot of my eldest's Lego creation of Moses and his staff:

Legos and Blocks, now there are some quality toys!

And my little girl, pre-carpet burn, going to a birthday tea party for our pastor’s daughter who is also her good friend:

Thank you, dear Lord, for being with us today as always. Thank you for protecting my little girl and me and also the elderly lady. You are ever so faithful to me and my family. I could never earn your favor or your goodness.

Feeling chatty

2010-10-30T21:38:00.001-07:00

Well, I’m up a bit late tonight, but feeling a little bit chatty, so I decided to blog. My hubby and boys are at the church still so I’m up waiting to make sure they get home safe and sound (and that he remembers to bring both boys home since I didn’t tell him that I wasn’t bringing them home…:). We are in Revival this week at our church and it has been just what I needed! During the altars each night I have felt the sweet spirit of the Lord come by with liberty to pray and bear my soul to Him. I thank Him for being so faithfully to me every day despite my inconsistencies to Him.

It is chilly tonight, maybe even our coolest night yet. I’m trying to keep from turning on the heater here in the living room, but the ole toesies and fengies (fingers) are getting very chilled. I’ve decided we are going to dress warmer in the house this year and not be so carefree with our heating. We had a HUGE bill in January of last year, so I think we will put on some extra jammies and socks if needed. :) Oh the joys of living in an old*er* house. I love it, though.

This is one of those busy weekends for us. My honey took off today and it was so nice having him around all day. I let the kids take off school since Daddy was home and it was basically like Saturday to us. We worked in the bathroom. Yes, we. I helped get the tub in and situated and resituated and resituated…get the picture? It was a little stubborn at first, but my dear honey had some good ideas for getting the tub not to rock, even though I thought it might be a bit fun to be able to be lulled while bathing. :)

So…the tile is in, the bathtub is in…what’s next? The plywood is going on the walls tomorrow, getting ready for the wainscoting. We are trying very hard to get it finished by Thanksgiving. My husband fears the plumbing is going to be a booger. :/

Tomorrow we have to sing at a benefit for a cousin of mine who passed away a few weeks ago. He died exactly 2 weeks from the time he found out he had cancer. He was only 46, I believe..maybe younger. So, that is what’s going on tomorrow. Then, Sunday, we have to sing at a 5th Sunday Service at another church about 40 miles away. Monday will be grocery day and more revival services. :) Busy times!!

**I didn’t get to *send* this last night because the wee one woke up, so I’m going to go ahead and post it tonight…so it will be a sort of *old* read.

This & That, take 1287

2010-10-26T15:21:00.001-07:00

Seems like my blog posts are always a bit of this and that, snippets from our days. I haven’t much time for intellectual or controversial discussions anymore it seems. I miss *bearing my soul* to you about things that penetrate my mind, but I’m more than happy to share with you a little from my life.

Last Friday, my mom and I took my kids on a little Field Trip to the Gulf Coast Explorium. It was very neat and even had a few new exhibits since I took my 4th grade students there a couple of years ago. Here are just a couple of pictures:

And, Ella, that morning watching Smile of the Child with the older kids, while I was bustling around getting things ready for our trip. This was the first time she had actually sat still and watched something! While I don’t push her or encourage her to be sucked in by Mr. entertainment (it doesn’t take them long to be sucked in to the love of all things entertainment), it *was* nice to not have to worry if she was into the cat food again. :)

Saturday was just busy around and about the house. I forgot to take an update pic on my bathroom, but it looks really good. The floor tile is finished and the bathtub platform is built (I asked my hubby to build a platform to raise up the tub and he did!!! :) and installed. The kids were busy being country kids!

Taking tractor rides with Papa…..

Using water balloons to build nests and play *chickens*….

And later that night, going on a hayride at my childhood church’s fall festival/Pastor Appreciation deal. My dad and a ton of my family still go to this church…the pastor is still the pastor there! We love them very much.

On the hayride, with my cousin (on the right) and her little boy that looks strikingly like my little boy, Evan, on the left.

Me & the girls…I hadn’t been on a hayride with these church folks for many years. We had a good time reminiscing of hayrides gone by. :)

My pastor for many years…:)

I saw where someone was making cookie cakes and selling them, so I decided to try one to take to the fall festival. The only bad thing was I had a lot left (it was really big!) and I just about made myself sick eating on it for the next 2 days…ugh…it was not healthy either. :)

And, from Sunday…a couple of shots of my beautiful youngest. I have found that our front porch swing makes a good place for pictures in the morning.

Well, I must go. We are in Revival this week and my husband will not get to be with me tonight. I’m trying to not talk myself out of going. I get a bit nervous when taking my kids to church by myself. Thankfully, I have my MIL and my mom with me, but I still like for them to know mom/dad is *in charge* in church. Pinto Beans/cornbread to finish up for supper. We will see how things go from here. I truly would love to see a good revival at our church. We *all* need one, don’t we? I have seen my own need for one so much more clearly here lately and while I am thankfully that God has shown me the X-ray of my spiritual condition, I’m somewhat appalled at what I see! Oh, at how merciful He is to me, though. I am excited at what He is going to do in my life through the prayers answered that I have prayed in the past few weeks.

May your evening be heavenly!

Bringing in the weekend with a little parenting advice…

2010-10-22T18:19:00.001-07:00

Am I the only mother who, at times, wants to prostrate herself under the kitchen table and beat the floor, begging for God’s wisdom?

I don’t think I am. :) We are reminded by God to ask for wisdom and He will give it to us liberally. Well, okay God, how often can I ask? :) I have found that it seems I am constantly asking God for wisdom while parenting.

I have found that you can read every parenting book from the Bible to To Train up the Child by the expert of child training, in my opinion, Michael Pearl (& Debi), but at times, there are situations where your mind goes blank about what to do. Also, there are times that you react without even thinking about what so-and-so said on page #44 in the latest child training book you’ve read. I do this way more times than I care to admit. :/

One recent day, it seemed God dropped a parenting *nugget* in my mind and I’m sure I have probably read it before in a book, but anyway, I’m also sure I have forgotten it since I read it.

I had been having trouble with my children listening to me when I tell them something. If I disciplined them for not listening to me, they would *insist* they didn’t hear me. Becoming frustrated, I felt prompted to call them by name, have them answer, then tell them what I want of them. Last, have them answer back with an affirmative, such as “Yes, Maam” (that’s what our kids say). That way there is no doubt whether or not they heard me. Another bit of advice is to tell the child exactly what is required of him or her. For example, instead of saying, “Emory, you need to make your bed”, [Well, this comes across as a sort of suggestion. Just as I need to exercise, but I don’t. :)] I say, “Emory” (wait for response), Make your bed, now” (I have always had trouble with quotation marks). I don’t say it sternly, but I do say it firmly.

Another thing I have said before if the kids were being rowdy is, “Okaaaayyyy, now, you guys need to calm down”. Again, it’s a suggestion. What I should say is, “Kids, (Wait for response.) Stop running in the house. Go get some blocks out to play with.”

I have found by changing my responses I get better results. I get quicker obedience. We have more harmony. Don’t we all need more of that? :)

Anyway, I hope I have made this clear and have conveyed it in an understandable way.

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We had a good day today. My mom and I took the kids on a field trip to the Gulf Coast Exploreum and iMax theater. We had a great time (missed daddy), but are glad to be home this evening. Tonight is Family Night as always suggested by the kids on Friday night :). I have the peanut butter cookies baked, the white sheet is up, daddy has the projector out and we are about to hook it up to the computer and watch Robert Louis Stevenson’s Kidnapped via the big *screen*.

That is after I get my 3 year old out of my black high heels. Hee hee

:) God bless your weekend. Tomorrow should be another day of tiling the bathroom! Woo-hoo. I have some housework to get caught up on and tomorrow evening we may go to my parent’s church (my home church) to their Fall Festival/Pastor’s Appreciation Deal.

Ahh, the weekend! :)

This & That

2010-10-20T20:59:00.001-07:00

Many, O Lord my God, are thy wonderful works which thou hast done, and thy thoughts which are to us-ward; they cannot be reckoned up in order unto thee: if I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered. Ps. 40:5

Isn’t it so wonderful to know that we are in HIS thoughts? Not just every now and then, but we are constantly in His thoughts. Wow.

We have had a pleasant, busy week. The weekend was filled with grocery shopping, remodeling (more on that later), and some pastor appreciating!

I’m so excited to report, that we are definitely moving along on our master bathroom remodeling! My dad, shown below (doesn’t he NOT look almost 56?) and my hubby began laying the tile this weekend!

My daddy, being silly. I told him that he wore this shirt when I was still at home. He said he wished all of his shirts were that thin! No wonder (that was erm, almost 12 years ago)! :)

The tile, drying. Oh, it’s getting exciting now!

This coming up weekend, Dad and his brother is coming back to do the shower/bath tiling. I can’t wait to see that! Woo-hoo!

A couple more pics from the weekend:

I thought the apples on the crystal cake plate looked so very fall-ish and neat! Here’s another picture with a bowl of delish chili in the background (cooked for my daddy while he was working):

Emory was the door opener for the men-folk and all of their ins and outs. It was a very important job. :)

Sunday we had Pastor’s Appreciation at our church. We had a visiting preacher (our pastor’s pastor..:) and had lunch following the service. I took a Chocolate Brownie Pie and a Spinach Sausage Bake that I had never done before. It was really good and we have enjoyed the leftovers! But, back to the point, we love our pastor and his family and appreciate his preaching the truth, even when it cuts to the core! :) Every service I get cut by the message but I’m hoping that it is chiseling me into the person God wants me to be! I love my pastor’s wife (she reads my blog on occasion, so a big ‘shout out’ to her) and I know the Lord sent her to be a friend for me. We don’t get to do a lot of things together because we both are busy homeschooling moms, but when we do get a spare minute to be together, we can just pick up where we left off! :)

Here are a few pics of the kids from this week:

This kid is currently eating me out of house and home. :) He is always hungry and his favorite snack is applesauce! He is very much into Potato Heads nowadays and plays with them every day. :) I love my 3 yr old!

If your kids get quiet, watch out. This is how I found mine after I didn’t hear them for some time. This is a very nice church vest (Elijah’s, Amy) that he pulled out of his closet. He said it was his Indian shirt! Thankfully, the markers were washable! :o)

KIDS!!

I will leave you with a picture that I took this morning of my kiddos seeing there dad off to work. It is my current favorite picture and I think it will remain that for a long time.

My blessings!

Well now it is time to retire this tired Mama to bed. No reading for me tonight. I’m going straight to sleep, not passing Go, not collecting $200! :) Today was a day where a lot of messes were made, toys dumped out, cereal spilled, Ma-MAAAA called 100 times. :) Church was so refreshing, though and I felt so revived (and erm, convicted of my sinful ways…had to apologize to my son for *raising my voice* at him today). God richly bless you, dear readers.

Just a few of our happenings…

2010-10-13T21:13:00.001-07:00

This morning I awoke with my heart so heavy about something and things could’ve gone from bad to worse, but the Lord really did help me today and I’m so thankful. God is so faithful to help us when we need it. All we have to do is ask. This evening I needed help with something in my spirit that was amiss and a few minutes later I noticed that my attitude had changed without my initial noticing. I guess I say all of this to tell you that the good Lord is so willing to help us, His children. I tell you, I sure need Him so desperately. My heart is desperately wicked it seems, without Him.

One of my favorite pictures ever of my man & me. Last year at Christmas, 2009

I have a deep thankfulness in my heart today for my dear husband. He is such an exemplary leader of our family and I want to give him a big shout out. You know our men need our encouragement. I need to do a better job of encouraging *my* man and seeing that I’m *first of all* wife and then mother. That is so hard to do, not because I *want* to be mother first, but because having four, little ones at that, seem to override having one big one. I thank the Lord for a renewed appreciation for my husband and I just want God to increase my love for him within me.

Welp..let’s see what’s been happening with us…

The kids have been enjoying a local church’s Kid’s Crusade this week. We seem to have about 4 per year in our surrounding churches and my kids love to go to as many as possible. Honestly, *I* enjoy going as well! Here’s one reason why: Last night, one puppet that was named Grandpa Snoot kept falling asleep while being talked to by the Crusade Director’s wife. The kids would have to shout, “WAKE UP, GRANDPA” to get the puppet to wake up. Well, tonight, the Crusade Director’s wife’s dad was there (he’s a grandpa) and he kept falling asleep during the Kid’s Crusade and I mean, snoring (think heavy duty snoring). So, she had the kids try the WAKE UP, GRANDPA on him and he never woke up!!!! It was pretty hilarious to tell ya the truth! :) Anyways, we love Kid’s Crusades, Youth Camps, and any chance my kids can learn about Jesus as their Saviour, I’m all for it.

Last week I went to visit my mom and grandmother (dad’s mom) who lives 30 minutes away. My parents have a farm (will have to do a pic post of their farm before too long) with chickens, cows, goats, horses, guineas, and cats. Lots of cats. Most of their cats stay at the barn and well, erm, breed. So, there are always lots of kittens around. My kids *love* playing with the kittens. As soon as we get to mom’s, each one will go get a kitten to tote around and play with during their stay at mom’s. Last week, Erin convinced me to let her take one of the really compliant, docile kittens home with us. She promised to change the litter box, etc. Well, the kitten started out in the house. It was really good about *going* in the litter box and Erin was good about changing it, etc. I gave it a bath and noticed it had a few fleas on it so we moved it to the porch until I could take care of the flea situation. With each day, my daughter is losing interest in the kitty and in cleaning out said litter box. Yuck. It was not a welcoming site or smell for any visitors we may would have had (we don’t have many, unfortunately). On Monday, my husband found a good deal on some porch paint and so he got it for us to paint our porch and furniture (YES! another thing to mark off of our *remodeling* list). So, he moved the kitten to the corn crib in our barn. Well, the first night, it made it ok. But this morning, upon being informed by my daughter that there was a “huge rat laying on the ground”, I knew that it was probably the kitten. You see, we have two dogs—a rat terrier and a Border Collie. It, so far, has killed a few chipmunks and just last week a rabbit! So, last night, it somehow got the kitten and had a playtime with him. What a frightful ordeal. The kitten was barely alive when I found him. I moved him to the back porch and covered him up to wait and see what would happen. I thought he was getting better (his breathing was very irregular, but he actually started trying to meow), but when we got back from the Kid’s Crusade he was only taking a gasp about every 30 seconds. My dear brave man had to put him down with the gun. It was pretty sad around here. Erin kept saying it was ‘her fault’. I think they are getting okay now with things. I tried to tell her not to be mad at Dixie because she was just playing with the cat and didn’t know she was harming him. Needless to say, we probably won’t be getting another kitten. Nana’s house is a great place for a kitten. :)

I didn’t mean to write a book. It’s getting late and I still have a sink of dishes to wash and a tired body to bathe. Tomorrow is a fun day for us..the older two kids are going to see the play, “The Little Red Hen” and my mom and I will sorta shop (as much as one can the day before payday..:) while they are at the play (only 3 homeschool moms got to be chaperones). I hope they really enjoy it!

I pray you are blessed with sleep tonight! I know the Chilean Miners must be so extremely grateful for a nice warm bed in which to sleep tonight. Isn’t that such a miraculous, heroic story?!

Finishing up Summer…

2010-10-11T05:27:00.001-07:00

O continue thy lovingkindness unto them that know thee; and thy righteousness to the upright in heart. Ps 36:10

Isn’t that a wonderful verse? It really ministered to me this morning and it was what I needed to hear. I am so often guilty of gauging the Lord’s Love for me based on my consistency to Him. And oh how I fail miserably at being consistent to my Lord. Once again, I see my righteousness as just filthy. Nothing that I can do in myself is good enough to earn God’s love and favor. He just loves me in spite of myself. More and more this is becoming real to me and I’m so glad. I want him to *continue* His lovingkindness to me! Don’t you?

Well, we’ve made it through *two* wonderful weekends since I’ve blogged (blush, blush). We are so busy around here. Homeschooling is going great and we are loving it. I have to tweak a few things here and there, but that is part of it, isn’t it? We are busy with church and piano/guitar lessons. We are busy with remodeling our house as time and money permit. Our ever-current project is our Master bathroom. We are nearing the end of our ‘getting together’ part of that feat and are about to put everything where it goes. I hope my dad & uncle can come and tile for us (and also my dad will do the electric) in the next week or two. I can’t wait to show you some pictures of the near finished and then finished product! Mostly, I can’t wait to have a bathroom near my bedroom! :) And, a pretty one at that!

I thought I’d share a few pictures from our last couple of weekends. We sure do love our weekends. LOTS of play around here and enjoying being with daddy! One would find me in and out…cleaning and straightening, cooking that special meal for my family, and heading outside to help with the remodeling or to tidy up in the yard (I would *love* to be outside more).

Erin has finally gotten into dolls…a bit. I *love* how she has the dolls *strapped* in and how she looks in her braids. I find myself fixing her hair like this just about daily. This picture just says, *Fall* to me…with the pine straw, background leaves, and colors. I love it.

My middle two *begged* us to let them paint while we were painting. I didn’t want them to get paint on them, so I thought of an alternative. I went in the house, got some food coloring, and squirted a couple dots on the *extra* boards. They sure enjoyed painting them! :)

Some of our painted boards for the bathroom walls. I *love* the Seascape Blue we picked out. I was worried it would be too dark. It’s a small bathroom and I don’t want it dark, but I think it’s *just* right. We are going for a rustic look throughout our house, but our bathroom *will* look more modern because we have bought really nice appliances and tile isn’t very rustic, yk, and that is what we have chosen for the floor. I guess it will be a mixture! :)

My honey, working hard for us! If you will notice the bean vines in the background…yesterday evening we were out in the garden with our 3 year old and we just *happened* to check the bean vines. We were astonished to find them loaded with beans! :) Needless to say, we will be having butter beans for supper tonight! Yum. I was surprised at the harvest, because we have had virtually *no* rain in the past month or so.

My kids *love* their bikes. I have never known of a *just-turned* 3 year old riding a bike like this without training wheels! He can GO!

Side view of my country home. I love it. Look how the grass has turned brown? :(

Another view of the pretty blue boards…

Homemade pizza after a busy evening of painting…

Love to look around my table and see my little blessings from God!

One day this week, I took a quick bath, came out and saw *this*…They are in a mud hole that they made under the swings. Do you *spy* the naked one??? LOL

Isn’t she a big one to be sitting by herself, getting ready to read???

Speaking of the one above, she is now awake, so I must go get her out of her crib. I trust you have a wonderful *Columbus Day*! My hubby is off (thanks, state!) and so we look forward to doing more of what you see in the pictures! :) I love having us all together!!

God Bless!

Country Livin’

2010-09-28T05:28:00.001-07:00

The other day as I was hanging out laundry (one of my most favorite chores), I looked around our ‘homestead’ and told the Lord I wouldn’t mind living in this exact place during the millennial reign w/Christ (ok, I know we probably won’t even be near the US). :) I love my country life. Wouldn’t trade it for anything seemingly better. I don’t even care to leave home most of the time. And with fall fast approaching (actually, it’s here!), my home becomes a warm and cozy haven.

Here are some Country Livin’ Photos:

Country Livin’ = Mud!

Country babies learning to eat cereal independently (yeah, can you guess how many cereal pieces she had in her mouth?)!

A little country playin’

Pine straw to cover the flower beds for winter

Raked by my favorite 7 year old

A little work to go with that play…

A little love to go with that work…

Getting prepared for the first day of..uh..65 degree weather…lol.

Is you or aint you an Indian?

Country boys gotta learn to play the gee-tar!

That’s just a little snippet of our lives here in the country! Hope you are enjoying this cool snap. The crazy thing about an old house is that it goes from hot to cold within a few hours. Gotta go get on some socks….:)

Journaling in your homeschool

2010-09-24T04:45:00.001-07:00

Having your kids keep a journal everyday is a great way to inventory their writing skills and note improvements. It’s also a great outlet for them to express themselves via paper and pen. Even if your children are not yet writing, you can have them narrate or dictate to you what to write and you can do it for them.

I recently started implementing journal writing with my homeschoolers and it is so much fun to see what they will write/narrate to me. It is way neat to see the different ways they each communicate and to also see the improvements in writing from one age to the next. It’s a great way to evaluate for sentence structure, grammar usage, thought patterns, etc.

I thought I would share with you, my dear readers, excerpts from each of my children’s journals. And, in so doing, I would encourage you to have your children to journal. I don’t give them a topic, it’s just free writing. I suppose you could give them a topic occasionally and teach them to stick to that topic (I’m sure I’ll do this some this year and most definitely next year).

Here’s an excerpt from my 3 year olds journal:

Alligator. A Donkey. Belly of the Whale. Jonah is in the belly of the whale. I like to ride a cow. I mean, I like to ride a little cow. I want to ride a donkey. I want to ride a hee-haw. I like soccer ball. I want a cow.

Isn’t that so much fun?? :) What a silly boy. :)

5 year olds:

I wish I had a kitten. I would sleep with her every night. I won’t let the dogs eat her within and without the light.

I love to ride my bike. If I could, I would ride it in the dark.

I’m gonna get a horse for Christmas and I want it to be a quarter horse.

I used to like pigs, but now I like horses better than that.

I often like to fish, but sometimes play with the kittens at Nana’s. They are so cute. I have one of my own there.

I wish I had a room of my own. I have to sleep with my brothers every night and I don’t like that.

Halloween days are fun and I like candy all the time. I like to paint pumpkins.

Okay, so she’s a little conversational…lol. Free Christmas horses, anyone? Do you think we have a veterinarian in the making??

7 year olds:

The Kittens

I like the little kittens, there cuddly and soft as mittens and there allways very, very good. and there allways in a good mood, and its a very good reason too…Beacause……its the end. (for the kittens?? :oP)

Typed exactly as written. :) I do believe he was trying to rhyme. There are so many differences between the age groups and it is so neat to see the writing/conversation improvements, isn’t it? The 5 year old was more articulate, it seemed, in conversation, but the 7 year old titles his writings, sticks with a topic, and even tries to rhyme.

If you already do journaling with your homeschoolers, I’d love to hear from you.

And now, my Journal writing must come to an end for the day is beginning around me. So far, the birds are the only ones I hear stirring, but it won’t be long and our household will be going full force. What a blessing to be able to keep my children with me and teach them in the ways of the Lord. Isn’t He wonderful?

My Fall Fix

2010-09-21T22:04:00.001-07:00

Who shall ascend into the hill of the LORD? or who shall stand in his holy place?

He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully.

He shall receive the blessing from the LORD, and righteousness from the God of his salvation. (from Ps. 24)

After we had a little Lego Dragon Fun (this guy amazes me with his various Lego creations)…

And, of course, no Hot September day would be complete without a little mud, ok..a lotta mud…

After building a frog a home….

There’s always dogs tousling about…

Dixie & Gabby

It was then, I got on with my Fall Fix…

There.

Now if the temperatures can only slow down to meet my criteria. :) I know it has to be coming…. right??

Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in.

Who is this King of glory? The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle. (from Ps. 24)

PRAISE THE LORD for HE is GREATLY to be PRAISED!!

The Good & (a little bit) Bad of Monday

2010-09-20T20:47:00.001-07:00

Psalm 40

¹I waited patiently for the LORD; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry.

²He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings.

³And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the LORD.

After a action-packed weekend of having a yard sale (Fri & Sat) and church-going, I had a lot of catching up to do today and I can say I did get mostly everything done (thanks to school finishing at 12 today).

Lots of messies.

Even though I would label the messes in the bad category, I am thankful to have a family who can make a, er, mess. :)

The Good….

A tray of fruit for breakfast…

Time to wash all of the bedding since a new season is here (yay!)

A 3 yr old who likes mama to push him in the four-wheeler that does not work…whew.

An after-school block playing…(yes, they play right in front of the front door)

Horse-play on the comforter-less bed

A little evening wagon ride

…and an attempt at tree climbing…

numerous bike rides throughout the day (have I mentioned that my oldest THREE can ride without training wheels??? EVEN the just-turned-3-yr-old)

Now I have two to push?? Oh well, you’re both too cute to resist!

Some pretty purple-berried bush sightings on the way in the house…

getting ready for night-night…

..or not.

Daddy reads the Word.

Fresh sheets/blankets make for a cozy night!

Good Night! :)

The icing on the cake…

2010-09-13T20:44:00.001-07:00

I’m so happy to report we made it through our first week of homeschooling for this school year. It went very well! I hope to do a post very soon on our schedules and homeschooling setup. I always enjoy reading others’ posts on homeschooling, so just maybe mine would be interesting to my readers.

Speaking of readers, I hope my regular readers start trickling back in into my Blog Haven…:o) I hate taking such long breaks because my blog gets stagnant and sometimes my readers go away. :( I sure hope everyone will return! :) If you have returned, leave me a lil comment, pls! I never get to post a comment every single time on the blogs I read, but I do try to get around to a comment every now and again. I’d love to hear from you.

Now….I have a couple of recipes to share with you tonight. I know, boring, huh? :) Well, I’m so excited to tell you that I found a healthy Birthday Cake recipe in a Cooking With Whole Foods by Cynthia Lair cookbook that I have. I decided to try it for Ella’s birthday. Based on the ingredients (some I had to purchase, or rather my mom picked up for me, at the Health Food store), I really wondered if it would turn out. While the cake did NOT taste just like the Betty Crocker’s Yellow Cake mix version, it was very good and different, in a nice way. We had one piece left when we went to bed the night of Ella’s birthday. And..we only had 2 guests to her lil party. :)

Here is the ingredients in case you may be on the lookout for a healthy alternative to a birthday cake. You may be like me and just cringe to think of all that sugary icing and 25 cake mix ingredients going into your one year old’s body. Anyway, (as to not sound like a health food snob…) it is a great cake if you just want something different and don’t really care about the healthy issue.

Here ya are:

The buttons, etc., are just some raw sugar that I added a drop of food coloring too…

Loving it….

Tonight we had incredible Salmon Patties (or Croquettes as some call them) that I made up. I will be posting the recipe very soon as they were really, really delish.

It’s good night for me. Once again, I’ve skipped out on my early to bed promise to myself. Why can’t I be more loyal? Oh well, I’ll try again tomorrow!!

My Dearest Bella...

2010-09-08T20:58:00.000-07:00

Turns ONE today!

This little girl brings sooo much joy to our home. What a sweet bundle of joy she is!

Happy Birthday, Ella Bella!

Praying the Psalms

2010-09-06T20:57:00.000-07:00

If you have been reading my blog for a long time, you know that I like to pray in the early mornings when all is quiet and peaceful. That is what works for me and may not work for everyone. Some enjoy the quietness of the night after the children are all tucked in. Some like to kneel down just before climbing into bed in order to cast the day's cares on the Master or to ask forgiveness for an unconfessed sin committed during the day.

I enjoy praying in the morning because I need armour for the day. I also, first thing, need to empty myself of me and be filled with Him.

A couple of weeks ago, I was praying, and just talking to the Lord (I pace while I pray. It keeps me from falling asleep and I really just love praying this way) and I noticed something about my prayers. Even though I like to begin my prayers off with thanksgiving and Praise to God, I was having trouble really focusing on uplifting God like I geniunely wanted to. So, I prayed about it. The next morning, I felt impressed to read a Psalm before I prayed. So, I started in Psalm 1 and while it put me in a spirit of prayer, I still didn't feel as focused as I wanted to be. Last week, while driving (alone) to get groceries, I picked up my Bible from between the seats and began reading (yes, I did..I call it drivding..don't worry, I knew most of the Psalm from memory) a Psalm. I can't remember which one right now, but it was the one that says something like, "When I look at the heavens and see your handiwork and all your creation, what is man that thou art mindful of him, and the son of man that thou visiteth him?" I began to pray with each verse I read. Lord, what IS man that you would be mindful of me? Who am I that you would visit me? Needless to say, the Lord met with me in prayer.

So, ever since, I have been opening up my prayer time with 'praying' a Psalm. Reading a verse aloud and praying about it. One of two things usually happens. I either uplift God ("I will bless the Lord") or either I feel smitten in my heart about what I just read (like today--I read about having a double heart and being our own lord over our tongues..yikes).

It has been wonderful for my prayer life. Truly wonderful. I just wanted to share it with you in case you wanted to try it. God is so faithful to speak to us and to answer our prayers so faithfully. Don't be afraid to take your prayer life to the next level!

God Bless you so much!

Tried and Proven Healthy Recipes

2010-09-04T21:59:00.001-07:00

Pumpkin Spelt Bread

For years now, my husband and I have had a love/hate relationship with eating healthy. About 10 years ago, we truly learned about health and that it means, surprisingly, nothing about drinking Diet Coke and eating Low Fat Pringles. Really! Too bad.

Since then, we’ve tried to incorporate a pretty decent healthy eating lifestyle, but have had times of complacency with our healthy eating habits and (oh the horror) downright backsliding on our exercising. Now, mind you, I have never got to the place where I had brought in the liquid candy (soft drinks) or processed food (that excludes leftover Halloween candy, right?), but I seemed to have upped our butter/sugar (albeit raw sugar, but still….) intake and ousted the raw veggie/whole wheat intake.

My dear man of my dreams ordered us the book, Disease-Proof Your Child by Dr. Joel Fuhrman and upon reading the first 2 chapters, I wanted to shove everything currently in my cabinets into the trash can and also wanted to hide my head in shame at what I had been allowing my children to eat (hot dogs, anyone?). So, while I urge you to read this book (especially if your kids aren’t eating very healthy), I warn you that it may make you feel very, very guilty. :?/

I have two children of the four that would probably be considered obese (especially one) and I’m so sorry for that. It seems that when I try to watch their diet, there is always some eating out taking place—eating at church, eating at grandparents, etc.—other places where hot dogs are all the rage or chips are ever present among us. So, that being said, it is ultimately I and my husband who are responsible for their health. We have to get radical about what we are eating, even if it means eating differently in other places besides our home.

I have enjoyed eating this week. I have enjoyed making healthy meals for my family and feeling good about what I am serving them. We have enjoyed fruit smoothies for breakfast, srambled eggs (there is life w/o butter) with spinach, spelt biscuits, Summertime Tilapia (just say no to red meat), Chicken Salad made with Vegenaise (healthy ‘mayonnaise’!), carrot sticks (discovered that my 3 year old loves carrot sticks), spinach leaves (my kids have been asking for some ‘leaves’ to eat), and Pumpkin Spelt Bread with almond butter. All of the highlighted recipes were tried this week and were found to be delicious (and the ‘mayo’ is really, really tasty).

I look forward to updating you on our health progress and pray to not fall back in my quest for disease-proofing my children. Kids really don’t get sick by accident. Which you probably already knew that. I hope you will read the book!

Evan, enjoying the leftovers of the pumpkin spelt bread batter

It’s nighty-night here at our house. Church is tomorrow and lots of frantic details that entails. :) Hope you’re having a lovely Pre-Fall night.

God Bless!

PS One of my Blog Followers, Kirsteen, has a few wheat and dairy-free recipes on her blog. I look forward to trying some of these out. Check her out. :)

Thrifty Tablescapes

2010-09-02T21:11:00.001-07:00

Well, a girl’s gotta start somewhere and posting about her thrifty finds sounds like it would be as good as any other topic (well, besides something spiritual, but alas, that’s sure to come).

This weekend, we had a ~~drenched~~ lovely time at the beach (it rained the.whole.time) and I got to do a little thrifting on Saturday morning. I spent maybe $10 and got several nice things that I’ll be sure to show you over the next few days. I just love posting about my finds and hope that you like reading about them. :)

At the beginning of the summer, the Lord blessed us to be able to buy--and to make the deal extremely affordable—a ‘new’ dining room suite:

(Please pretend the red is a nice calm, relaxing color. Thanks.)

Between the thrift shop and my very favorite store, Dirt Cheap, I got my Tablescape Groove on.

Not sure about the salt/pepper shakers (they are temporary), but I love the basket/bowl thingy. I got it for $2.99 at the Thrift store. The tablecloth was $4 and the placemat (bamboo?) was 50 cents.

Here’s another small tablescape (sorry about the poor lighting, I, in fact, had no lighting when I took this picture):

Candle stand: 40 cents (didn’t have a price, so the cashier said, “Oh, $4.99, 90% off”. I tried to remain calm.)

Candle was around 60 cents or so

Coasters (should have taken an up close photo..they are very nice—have more of them on my coffee table): 70 cents

It was all 90% off.

The basket below (holding the Science-workbook-yet-to-be-opened-but-will-be-come-Tuesday) is a soft, collapsible basket that I got out of my neighbor’s trash.

Don’t you just love a good deal.

Well. I have lots more to come.

Thanks for tuning back in with me. Be sure to leave a comment letting me know that you had trouble this summer making it without me and you are so glad I’m back. That way you might get another blog out of me this week.

Ha! :P

God Bless the Thrifty! :)

Back to Blogging...

2010-07-28T22:12:00.000-07:00

Very soon!
I have felt like taking a little time off...so busy here...summer is crazy! Hope to be back real soon.
Lots of Love!

Scarce…

2010-06-13T13:18:00.001-07:00

Whew…let me catch my breath long enough to do what will probably be more of a photo post than anything.

Folks, summer is here. The temps are scorching, the garden is IN, and the summer festivities (Youth Camp, anyone?) are upon us.

My posting may be a bit scarce over this summer, regretfully. I think the garden will be the main reason. I normally blog in the early mornings and I’m afraid that during that time, I will be pickin’ and ~~grinning~~.

Here are a few things we have been doing:

Horseback riding…Erin and her ‘boyfriend’/cousin, Blake…take note that he became her boyfriend after he rode her on his horse…. More…..

Erin & Evan…

Emory was a bit nervous…I think the older we get, the more nervous we get…

Daddy trying to coax Ella…. :)

Aren’t they beautiful?

They are in the pasture right behind my in-laws house.

More Summer things….

After some Berry Pickin’

Helping Mama de-stem the Mulberries…

Fresh Mulberries! Ready for jam…

All Crushed…I made 2 pints and 1 half-pint jar full of Mulberry jam. It is delicious! I picked more today…

~Summer Babies learning to wave bye-bye~

Cute Kids ready for YOUTH CAMP!! :)

Shucking Corn…

Country Bumpkins!

Looking for worms…

Good Garden Helper!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I hope you will stop by for a visit this summer! I love to hear from each of you and visit your blogs. Today is Sunday and I must rest (husband’s orders…:o) and recuperate from a week of Youth Camp late hours!

Later, Tater! :) (Sorry, but I’ve sure been digging a lot of potatoes….it’s affecting my speech even. :)