A bone to pick.

Someday I am going to write a book. I'm not sure what the title will be but the subject will be order and submission in the balance.
I lived in a home where my mom worked from the time I went into elementary school. My parents worked together at cleaning the house, doing laundry, etc................. It wasn't until I was married and had a child that I saw that many families functioned quite differently from mine. I never heard about submission growing up or wives being obedient to their husbands,etc................ The first time I heard about the Proverbs 31 woman was at a baby shower and I had a 6 mos. old daughter. My first thought was, "Who in the world could accomplish all of that?" As time went on, the Lord kept placing me in situations that caused me to desire to know more about being a Godly wife and mother. I do believe 13 years later that I have read every book under the sun on being a Godly wife.
Now my bone to pick, I do believe that husband's are the head of the home. But, I have heard and seen more husbands who are horrid men who are very Ungodly to their wives and families. My heart cries out for some of my friends and women that I know who have had to endure abuse and pain in the name of "Submission" or "Godliness".
I do not believe that a woman just has to stay and take it. I do not believe in divorce but submitting to a sinful man who is scarring his wife and children is wrong. I hear Christians who are scared to ask for help because their church is not supportive of a woman going to her pastor. I also hear churchs that believe no other counseling should be considered but Biblical counseling. Don't get me wrong, I do believe in pointing people to God's word and it is wonderful to open up the Bible and see what the Lord has to say about a subject. However, there are people who have such deep rooted problems that the skill of a professional counselor is needed. A pastor may be experienced in God's word but he is not always experienced in handling psychological issues. Christians are to quick to jump the gun and make everything a sin issue. Sometimes, people need help beyond what their church's leadership can offer.
Another thing that bothers me is many books that I have read on the subject are always insinuating that if there is a problem between a husband and wife than it is somehow that the wife doesn't have the right attitude. This is true sometimes, we should always examine ourselves and our attitudes. It is not true all of the time though. I read a book about a wife that had a husband who was addicted to pornography. Somehow, even though it was acknowledged that it was sin on the husband's part, it was the wife's fault too. She wasn't making herself attractive enough, available enough. Maybe this was the case but the husband was WRONG! He needs help. A wife can't live on eggshells feeling that every unattractive moment of her life may turn her husband to a visual affair with pornography. An issue like this can not be shoved under the rug. It needs to be dealt with. I am sad to say that I have heard of spouse abuse, child abuse, molestation, pornography, adultery, etc..............coming from families that are considered upstanding, faithful church attending Christians. This is not right! We are sinners saved by grace but the Bible says that we produce fruits of rightousness. When these types of sin are a battle in a person's life.....................GET HELP!
When God set up order in the home, he commanded husbands to love their wives like Christ loves the church. What does this mean? Christ died for the church. Why do we love God? Because he first loved us, he died for us. When we realize how much God loves us, that draws us to Christ. His love for us makes us desire to please him and obey him. A husband is to love his wife and family in this way. He is so loving and protecting of his wife and children that they are so wanting to please him. He doesn't have to remind the wife to submit, she naturally does because she wants to. After all, who wouldn't want to submit to a man who's desire was to love and serve his family? Who had their interests as his first priority?
Unfortunately, lately I have heard of more husbands who are demanding submission from their wives. Who treat their kids like they are servants to a mighty king (the father) being verbally cruel and sometimes physically hurtful to the family. This makes me sick. This is not God's plan for a Godly home. A home that functions like this is not Godly and it is out of balance.
Christians, if we know of someone in these situations, encourage the wife to seek help. It is not healthy. God can change lives, prayer can change lives but we have an obligation to be proactive when we see such Ungodliness. Don't sit and know what's going on and do nothing about it. Encourage the family to get help. Find a pastor or a counselor that they can go to. Go with one of them if necessary. It is our obligation to the body to help a struggling person when we see such behavior. It is not lack of "submission" that is always the problem, many times it's lack of Godly leadership in the home.

I am thankful for (part 2)..................

All of my friends who are so encouraging to me. I have the best group of friends that anyone could ask for. We laugh together, cry together, listen to eachother in the hard times, rejoice with one another in the good times, encourage eachother at all times. To all of my dear friends.......I love you and am thankful for you and I wish all of you a Happy Thanksgiving!

I am thankful for.....................

My husband and children, the good days because God shows me how blessed I truly am, the bad days because he shows me how much I need to rely on his strength and not my own, my grandparents because they are 83 years old and still able to drive an hour and half to come for Thanksgiving, my mom because she is such a support to me on so many days, she sees things that no one else does and tries to help me out, my dad because he always tries to help me whenever I express a need, I'm thankful that today I stopped to get a cup of coffee at Sugarcreek and the clerk told me it was free and to have a good day ( simple but it was exciting to me). Most of all, I am thankful for my salvation and that Christ died for me and that I can rejoice in knowing that someday every moment will be Thanksgiving when I spend eternity with my Lord in heaven.

The morning after.( Read yesterday's post)

The Lord laid these verses on my heart this morning. They are fresh water to a thirsty soul. 2 Corinthians 4:16-18, Thererfore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliciton, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporal but the things which are not seen are eternal.
Biblical truths that are sweet to my soul. Thank you Lord.

Be anxious for nothing.

I am anxious tonight. I am blogging to remind myself of God's truth's. It is 1:30 in the morning and I can't sleep. This week has been a tough week. I have felt overwhelmed with life and tired. I have something wrong with my back and arms. They keep tingling on me and it's driving me nuts along with concerning me. Today, it happend all day long.
One of my children has been very difficult to deal with this week. Difficult enough that I called a Christian school to find out information for next year. Am I planning to send her? Maybe today but I might change my mind tomorrow. Please pray for me. I am reminded to be anxious for nothing but in all things give thanks and let my requests be known to God. It's in the quiet hours of the morning that God shows me the most. Instead of being anxious, I will open up his word and bring my requests to him and leave the worries of the day at his feet with thanksgiving.

Favourite snacks for the family

There are so many packaged snacks that are unhealthy and expensive. I try to keep on the healthy side as often as possible. Here are a few snacks that we like as a family.

string cheese with an apple
celery with peanut butter
almonds, cashews, peanuts
fresh tomato,onion, basil with olive oil and a little salt on top of Eziekial bread with feta cheese( my personal favourite)!
edamame
fruit
air blown popcorn with chili powder, onion powder, garlic powder and salt
pudding that I use old pudding cups from store bought (no one knows the difference, except me because it only costs $.30 a batch).
freeze the pudding and it becomes pudding pops
power peanut butter ( pumpkin seeds, plain yogurt, banana, raisins and honey) dip apples in this combo.
hummus on ricecakes
smoothies which consist of milk, plain yogurt, some type of fruit and honey for sweetener with ice cubes all blended together.

These are a few of my favourite things!

Magazines:
Above Rubies
No Greater Joy
The Old Schoolhouse
Family Fun

Freebie Sights:
Hillbilly Housewife- great recipes and menus

Mom sight:
Elizabeth Foss blog- this lady is a devout Catholic who has 8 children. Although I do not share all of the same beliefs as the Catholic faith, she has a wonderful sight for teaching kids and much more with "real books."

Meme's:
The simple woman's day book
Homeschool Blog Awards

Organizing crafts:
http://www.motivatedmoms.com

Bible focused:
http://www.desiringgod.org/
http://rubies.articledirectoree.com/
http://www.elizabethgeorge.com/
http://www.elizabetheliot.org/

Business sights:
Marykaycosmetics.com

Something New

This year I am using Sonlight's Church History with my 8th grader. We are studying the ancients this year and I have decided to tie in church history also. I really like it. It is intense but I wish I had this knowledge before now. So, I've decided to learn it along with my daughter. The other new curriculum that I am using is Beautiful Feets, American History for primarys. It uses a lot of the D'Auliare books with pictures. We are keeping a notebook and it is a very interesting program along with fun activities for a hands on kid. I am also using Considering God's Creation from Eagle's Wings with my 4th grader. It is another hands on approach with Science. Both the Beautiful Feet and Science Curriculum could easily be used with someone who has multi-level ages of children. Sometimes I have wished my children were a little closer together so I could teach them the same History and Science but there is a gap of 4 grade levels between my first two and 7 between my middle and youngest so it would be rather difficult.
I am enjoying what we are using and I love the idea of notebooking. The kids feel proud of their accomplishment because the fun projects make the notebook look so fun and interesting.

Homeschool Agenda

I am actually covering the last 2 assignments in one post. I didn't get to it last week.
This will be our second week of starting our homeschooling for the year. This is our 8th year. We have 3 children. 2 daughters in 8th and 4th grade and a son in preschool.

When we started home educating, I used Abeka. We used this for the first 2 years. I liked Abeka but I was wanting to have a little more fun. I am a hands on person and I had only one child that was homeschooling so I thought I could find something that was more my style. This led me to Five in a Row. I used Saxon for Math and Rod and Staff for Grammar. I loved the Five in a Row. It was a literature based curriculum with fun things to do daily. All subjects were based on the book that you read for the week. My daughter was exposed to great books.

The year that she was going into 3rd grade, I was introduced to the meaning of a classical education. This was what I was looking for! We have educated classically since that time. This is now our 6th year. I also have a twist of Charlotte Mason tied in but there are many similarites between the two. My second born has needed a more relaxed approach and this is what has caused me to twist in the Charlotte Mason.

Classical education focuses heavily on History, Rhetoric, Latin and Logic from a Biblical worldview. History is studied chronologically and most of your other subjects tie into the time period you are studying. For instance, if you are studying Ancients then you might be studying Earth Science, reading books for Literature that are from that time period and writing papers on research from your studies of the Ancients. A whole school year is spent on one time period. It would start with Ancients in (1st grade), Rome in (2nd grade) , Renaissance (3rd grade), Reformation and Modern times (4th grade), in which you would tie in U.S. History. In Science you would study one science a year also. This cycle repeats itself over and over. After a child has completed a classical education, they will have had each time period and each science a total of 3x's between 1st-12 grade. We have really enjoyed this style of education. If it is of interest to you, there is a book called, The Well Trained Mind, by Jessie Wise Bauer. It is a wonderful and thought provoking book. This book helps you to see in each subject area, the best books to choose to educate for that particular subject.
Our schedule for the school year goes something like this:
6:00 am- read Bible, pray
6:30- exercise, shower
7:00- spend time doing school with preschooler
7:30-9:30 I work on all subjects with my 4th grader. She has a better attention span and can concentrate better in the morning.
9:30- Work with my 8th grader on her Bible, Literature, History
11:00- laundry, light housework, kids help with morning chores
11:30- look over math and grammar and any other assignments for 8th grader.
12:00- lunch
12:30-1:00- go for a walk or be outside with everyone
1:00- read to preschooler
1:30 - start preparing dinner, pick up around house, make phone calls, I try to schedule in one or two major cleaning tasks during this time. Ex: mop kitchen floors or clean toilets, and mirrors.
2:00- rest for an hour
3:00- help by oldest with any last minute things on school work
3:30- kids and I complete afternoon chores

I can't tell you that it always goes exactly as planned but this is pretty much what we accomplish in the day. Each day presents challenges in one way or another so I have the attitude that a schedule is nice but if it causes me stress because we can't stick to it one day than I let it go out the window until we can pick it up again. A schedule is there to guide me along not take over my life and become my new stress. I also realize that discipline and character issues are very important and need to be dealt with so if it means that we can't start math at 9:00 than math will wait until the situation has been dealt with. I think school is very important but character will take a child much further in whatever the child does in this life.

Not by Our Works

Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law ; for by the works of the the law no flesh shall be justified. (Gal.2:16)

Not of works, lest anyone should boast. (Eph. 2:9)

The Lord has declared this repeatedly in his word. The world's preaching is, "Do as well as you can, live a moral life, and God will save you." The gospel's preaching is this: "You are a lost sinner and deserve nothing of God but His displeasure; if you are to be saved, it must be by an act of sovereign grace. God must freely extend the silver scepter of His love to you, for you are a guilty wretch who deserves to be sent to the lowest hell. Your best works are so full of sin that they can in no way save you. To the free mercy of God, you owe all.
Someone says, "Are good works of no use?" God's works are of use when a man is saved. They are evidences of his being saved, but good works do not save a man. Good works do not influence the mind of God to save a man. If it were so, salvation would be a matter of debt and not of grace.
And if by grace, then it is no longer of works; otherwise grace is no longer grace. But if it is of works, it is no longer grace; otherwise work is no longer work. (Rom. 11:6)
Jesus saves, but he does all the work or none. HE is the Author and Finisher, and works must not rob Him of His due. We must either receive salvation freely from the hand of Divine Bounty, or else you must earn it by your own unassisted merits, the latter being utterly impossible for any human being. May we yield to the first.
May we always remember these foundational truths as we go about our day. As we listen to our husbands, children, friends. We are nothing, God is everything. Everyone we come into contact with is either saved or lost. As a believer, being reminded of where our salvation came from, that it is not of ourselves, remembering who we are in Christ is essential to our interactions with others and how we view life daily. Keeping our eyes on our maker and saviour is the only way to get through our days.

A little about me

I have joined a blog group called Homeschool Memoirs and I am supposed to tell a little about me in hopes that other homeschooling bloggers will visit my Faith, Family, Friends blog and I in turn will be encouraged by theirs. So, here is a little about me, my family and our homeschooling journey.
I have 3 children. One in 8th grade, 4th grade and a preschooler. We live in the country, surrounded by farm fields and I love country living. I like to can, freeze, bake, cook. I am my husband's biggest fan in the kitchen department. I'd love to learn to sew but I have tried it and have come to the conclusion that garage sales are the way to go for me. My brain does not work well with patterns and garage sales are cheaper.
We have homeschooled from the beginning and we use the classical style. I love having my kids at home with me. Most days are busy with schooling and housekeeping and chauffering. I started with another friend a classical coop 6 years ago. Since the year we started, we have had an average of 20 families participate ranging from 80-100 people who were involved. It has been a great blessing in my life and my children's life. However, this year, we have decided to take a year off and just enjoy being a family with not quite so many commitments. I am looking forward to this.
I hope you will get to know me a little better. My blog is mostly entry's about how the Lord is working in my life. You hear from me on the good days and the not so good days. I find blogging to be therapeutic and I ask the Lord to make my entry's a blessing to others who read them. I am as real as you can get. I don't like fake or pretend. I don't try to act like my family is perfect. I realize I am a sinner saved by grace and that I am very inadequate but God uses willing vessels. I hope you will visit and that my thoughts will be a blessing to you.

Dependance

At church this morning I was reminded of some very important things that I often need to be reminded of on a regular basis. The topic was dependance. Who do we depend on? Do we try to do everything in our own strength depending on self or do we depend on God and draw strength from him? When I am doing things in my own strength, I am destined to fail. I get frustrated, angry, impatient and my sinful side is very apparent to all around me. I often fail to remember that God's grace is adequate for what comes to me everyday. There is no day, no circumstance, no happening that God did not allow to be a part of my day. When I start getting a "poor me" attitude or a "why me" attitude, it's my strength I am working in and my own selfishness. I was reminded that when we are not in ideal circumstances that the circumstances are not what need to change, it's who we are depending on. As christians, we can have peace and joy despite of our situations. God never promised that the christian walk would be easy. As a matter of fact, usually the christian life is very difficult. We can expect trial, tribulations and just plain difficult days. These are the very things that God uses to prune us. To grow us and to sanctify us.
Many christians today think that when you are a christian, you are supposed to be happy. Days are supposed to be fairy tale like. This is the farthest thing from the truth. There is no where in scripture that indicates such a thing. There is an internal peace and joy but it's not a fairy tale life.
One other thing that stuck with me today is our Sunday school teacher expressed his concern over why so many youth are being raised in the church, memorizing scripture, being taught in the ways of the Lord and then abandoning all of it, never to come back? Kids see hypocrites in a hurry. A parent needs to demonstrate their enjoyment of God in their life to their children. The children need to see their parents in the word, intercessory prayer on behalf of them and others. They need to see that God is not dry and dull but very active and alive! The Holy Spirit lives within us and he CHANGES LIVES! This is something to get excited about! There is no one who will have a greater impact on children than the child's parent. Church is wonderful but even if you have the most ideal church in the whole world, it will impact your children but not like the parents that they live with 24 hours a day 7 days a week. Parents have the strongest influence and leave the biggest impressions on their kids.
So, if your reading this, put on the whole armor of God. Read your Bible, pray for your kids and rely on God's strength to get you through even the toughest of situations. He promises that his grace is sufficient for us in all circumstances.

Getting Excited!

One of the items on my list of things that I'd like to do with my kids this year has been to have a Bible study/ fellowship time for Autumn and some other girls. I have wanted to do this for awhile but because of other commitments, it just has not been possible. But now that I am embarking on a new adventure this year..........my schedule is not so full and these are the types of things I consider enhancing our family life. I intend to use Elizabeth George's book, A Young Women After God's Own Heart. I am very excited about this and Autumn is thrilled that we are actually going to pursue this. I am thrilled as her mom that she is yearning for Godly friendships, knowing the Lord more personally and wanting to fellowship with other teen girls who know the Lord. The most exciting thing for me is that she is thrilled her mom is teaching the study. That is the most rewarding thing for me. My almost 13 year old daughter loves her mom and wants to learn God's word with her mom. I couldn't be more pleased to have her have this attitude and I am so excited to embark upon and be a part of this new adventure with her and her friends.

Family time

We are coming to an end of the summer for our family. Damon goes back to school this next week. I am sad that the 2 months we look so forward to are coming to an end. I am also happy that my family will be back on a schedule again that is much more predictable. We need the predictabitily as much as we need the break.
This year, we are trying new things. We will not be cooping this year. This is bittersweet for us. We have many friends who are near and dear to us at our homeschool coop. We do not know what it is like to school without a coop. We have been involved with one since Autumn was in 2nd grade. That was 7 years ago. Sometimes Autumn and I start to wallow in the sadness of taking a break but I quickly remind her and myself that we can see this an as adventure for our family. A year to try things that we have not had the chance to try before because of time. This is a year to be a family that dosen't have LOTS of extra commitments. I really don't know what this is like. By personality, I am always doing something. Commitment and busy are my two middle names. But this year, I want my middle name to be FUN and LOVING. I want to take the time to ENJOY my family. I want to notice the little things that I so often miss. I want to watch my 3 year old learn his alphabet, read books to him, play hide and go seek, go for walks. I want to listen with a full ear to my teenage daughter. All of her thoughts, feelings and observations about life. I want to take the time to understand my 9 year old. She is my tough nut to crack. I want to take her on the dates that she always asks if she can go on with me. Just little dates like to the Hallmark store to look at Webkinz or for a Frosty at Wendy's.
I have done these things with my children but sometimes it is more out of feeling like I should instead of enjoying every minute that the Lord has given me with each of my children. There is a power in motherhood. It is the power we have to mold hearts and minds for the Lord. To talk about the importance of family and instill our values. I believe the small things or the times that don't seem like a big deal are the times when we can make the most memorable and the largest impact on our kids lives.
This year is my year for focusing on FAMILY TIME.

Pictures from our trip to Albany

Family Fishing Trip

Yesterday we went on a fishing trip. We didn't catch any fish but Emma caught a snapping turtle. Here are some pics of the kids. They had a lot of fun!

Fishing Trip

Singspiration Sunday night

Last night we had a singspiration at church. The children in the church did all of the singing. Both Autumn and Emma participated and I thought I'd share with you. We all had a lot of fun!

Hello Again!

I am excited to post again! It has been over 2 months. Life is slowing down a bit now that school is over. I have been trying to get my house in order after our school year. Many of you can understand what this means? It's papers and papers and books and dust bunnies and old apple cores shoved in places that are not the garbage, etc........
Summer is such a wonderful season. Jonas and I just went for a walk in the fields and found a wild cherry tree. We came back with a handful of cheeries that we have been eating. There were wild flowers that were white and purple everywhere we looked. The trees were in full bloom and whispering in the breeze. It's a windy day. I loved being by my little boy's side watching him get excited about cherrries. The whole thing just reminded me of how good God is to us by giving us such a beautiful world to look at. There are so many bad things that go on but when we take the time to be quiet and just look around at nature we see how good our God is in the simple things! I hope you take time to enjoy the summer, your family and especially the blessings of it all!
Now that life is slowing down a bit, I am going to attempt to post more. Thanks for being patient with me, I appreciate that so many of you have commented to me that you miss my posting.

Blessed

It's been awhile since I posted. My last post was about our vehicle situation. For people who don't believe God can provide, I hope they happen to fall upon this blog and see that he provides beyond our wildest imagination.
Our engine was the problem in our mini-van. We decided it was not worth the cost to fix it. The week we started contemplating what to do, I had my dad offer us to sell his minivan. That was unexpected. I also had my grandfather call and let me know that he would help us to buy a vehicle. In addition to that, before all of this happend, Damon's grandfather gave him his pickup truck. We just had to have wheels to pick it up in New Hampshire where his grandpa lived. So in a months time, we went from 1 vehicle to having to decide what to get rid of because we didn't need 4. The outcome is that we ended up being very blessed. Instead of one reliable vehicle, we have 2 reliable minivans and a pickup truck for my husbands hunting days and a car to sell. My dad also ended up deciding that when he purchased his new vehicle, it worked out that he only needed $800 to make what he wanted out of his van. My husband has always gotten the vehicle that we are not sure how long it will last. He now has a van that has new brakes, rotors, tires, suspension and has been taken care of the best one can care for a vehicle.
In addition to all of this, I was able to get $300 for parts at the salvage yard for our van. We were also blessed with a dryer, our dryer quit somewhere in the midst of the craziness. A friend at church heard I was going to the laundromat and asked me why? I explained that our dryer quit. She called me an hour later with a dryer that was in great condition. I have been using it for a month and it works better than our old dryer.
Sorry to go on and on but it's hard not to when God is so good. He blesses far beyond any plan that our human mind could come up with. I had to share his goodness to our family and his many blessings!

Another prayer request.

Yesterday was my first day out of the house. I am feeling much better! Thank you for your prayers. I desperately had to go to the laundromat. Our dryer broke in the middle of our sicknesses. Off I went to get the clothes dried. I noticed that my van felt like it was going to stall. I got to the laundromat, threw our clothes in the dryer and drove across the street to a little restaurant and met my dad for lunch. After we got done eating, I went out and started up the van. It stalled repeatedly and then started to sound like a hammer was hitting it. It completely died. My dad took us home (after picking up our laundry) and I called the tow company and had it towed to the garage. I got a call from the mechanic last night who has to look at it closely but his first prognosis is that it is the motor. I have heard fixing the motor is a $2000-$3000 job. I don't think the van is worth that much!
We are praying that it is not the motor. Please join me in that request. We are also praying that it is not a large bill. The Lord always provides, we know this but at the moment, we have only about $100 in our savings account. If it is the motor, I know the Lord will supply all of our needs and it is always better than what we could have planned. I am thankful that the van died when I was with my dad. I did not have our cell phone and he was able to quickly get us back home. I see God's provision and hand on the situation right from the beginning. We could have been stranded at the restaurant with laundry at the laundromat, not sure who to call because everyone of my family members was working. Please pray for our van situation and praise God for his watchful care of us everyday. Ask that the Lord would give us wisdom should it be the motor, on what to do?

Keep praying.

My diagnosis from the doctor is walking pneumonia, bronchitis, ear infection, swollen glands and a high fever. I am feeling very bad. It is early Monday morning and my head is pounding. Pray for strength and healing for the week. I really need it! Thanks.

Prayer please!

This will be a short post. I am asking that you keep our family in prayer. Everyone of us has been quite ill for the past 3 weeks. It hasn't been all at the same time but I had remained fairly healthy until Wednesday. I am sicker than I have been in a very long time. It is 4 :45am and I have gotten very little sleep . I feel awful. The rest of my family seems to be getting better. They have been a tremendous help but when mom is sick, nothing runs as smoothly. Today will be my 4th day of not feeling well. I am supposed to go on a date with Emma this morning to swimming lessons and to make a bird house at Loews Home store. She is so looking forward to it. At this point, I am going to try to go but I feel so awful that something drastic needs to change in the next 4 hours when swimming lessons start. Please pray for me and that the rest of the family continues to get better. I greatly appreciate it.

Assembling with believers

We are on our third week of sickness at our house. We have all been ill and most of us at the same time with stomach bugs, croupe, viral infections, coughs etc.............you name it. I have been unable to be at church much for the past few weeks. I realize that it is best for us to stay away but after awhile I start to miss my other brothers and sisters in the Lord. It is a wonderful thing to be in the house of the Lord with like minded believers. I think of chrisitans who don't see the need to be in church. I get discouraged when I am away for to long. I know God is still here in my home, I still can read his word and pray but there is a reason why God tells us not to forsake the assembling together of the body.
For many years, I had a hard time with this verse. I saw many families put church so high on the list that their families needs were last. They were there Sunday morning, night and Wednesday night and Thursday Bible study, Friday church supper, etc.............. No matter what was going on in their family, sickness, exhaustion, family needs. I saw friends grow hard to the things of the Lord. Today, some of my friends who I was the closest to as a child and teenager have completely given up their walk with the Lord and live some of the most ungodly lives. I don't think that being at church causes this but I do think that parents have to be wise in their involvement. It's a wonderful thing to serve the Lord. I often see needs and want to fill them all but at this phase in life, I am a wife and mom first. The service to the Lord that I am fulfilling is my family. At the moment, it is a sick family. I am glad that I am able to minister to them with hugs, stories, chicken soup and just being together.
I miss church. I can't wait to be healthy so that we can be there as a family again. I understand why God tells us to be there. It is encouraging to the soul, edifying to the saints. I am looking forward to going back again AFTER my family is better!

Saving money

I am sorry that I haven't blogged in so long. I have been quite busy lately with sick kids, friends from out of state visiting and life. So to Kathy and Emily and a few others who have mentioned that they are tired of seeing my dinner recipe post............here's a new one!

I know I mentioned that I like Hillbilly housewife. I was on the sight tonight and she has a section called lunch box basics. I had to really think about what she broke down for spending money on lunches. My husband eats at school for $3 a day. I have often thought that this is cheap enough. Lunch for $15 a week. Not bad. However, when I saw it broken down that the average lunch made from home (which is healthier than lunch out) only costs about $1 per day, I realized that we could have a decent savings account at the end of the school year. $2 a day times 180 school days is a $360 savings. If he worked through the summer, it would be a total of $480. WOW!

This brought me to another thought, I wonder how many things you could cut corners with on a daily or weekly basis that would not hurt the comforts of life to much but over a period of time could make a significant difference? I am sure there are a few for us. This brings me to another thought. Crown ministries has a service called Mvelopes. It actually budgets your money for you using the old fashioned envelope system. The neat thing is that it is all on the computer. I have really found it helpful. They run a 30 day trial for free. Check it out! It's a neat idea.
This isn't the most exciting post but I thought I'd share a few ideas on how to save and cut corners without to much thought. Maybe we could all afford a nice family vacation by packing lunches!

Dinner Recipes

This is for those of you who have been asking for more healthy recipes. These past 2 nights my family has raved about dinner so I thought I would share with you. Last night we had Teryaki Salmon. The recipe was for 4 5oz. filets. The teryaki was made with 1/2 cup of vegetable broth, 1/2 cup of white wine, 3 TBSP of brown sugar, 2 TBSP of soy sauce. Boil this on the stove and simmer for 5 minutes. Pour over the salmon and cook each side for 3-4 min. on 350 degrees. I doubled the recipe. I served this with fresh asparagus and a salad made with romaine, yellow peppers, avacado, real bacon bits, fresh crumbled gorgonzola cheese(similiar to crumbly blue) and Good Seasons Italian dressing in the packet. I like the mild italian. I make it with olive or canola oil. It is excellent!
Tonights dinner was Chicken breast cut down the center but not all the way through and open the breast up on each side. I filled it with fresh spinach, ham and colby, monterey cheese. Roll the breast up. Sprinkle seasoning on top. Whatever you like. I used minced onion, garlic powder, salt and pepper. For a grain we had bulgar wheat which resembles rice. I boiled 1 cup in 2 cups of vegetable broth for 40 minutes. You can do so much with bulgar wheat. It is cheap and one of your healthiest grains. It can be cooked with veggies, as a pilaf, or used cold in a salad. We had corn for a veggie and pineapple for dessert.
My family loved everything and they commented on the dinners so much that I had to share these recipes with you. Let me know if you try any of these? I'd like to know what you think.

Homeschooling with Dad.

Today Dad did the homeschooling with Emma. They worked without interruption for 2 hours. For those who don't know, Emma is my hands on kid. She gets side tracked easily and can think of many other things that she would like to be doing beside school. In other words, she is my challenge most days. But today, she worked with Dad.
At first, I cringed a little. He is a school teacher and I found out today that they are not nice, patient and kind everyday either. His tolerance for bologna or lack of effort was little. His tolerance for tears was none. His tolerance for excuses..........there wasn't any. He explained it and told her to," get going". He sat by her side and made sure she didn't dawdle. He praised and encouraged when she completeted the assignment and patiently helped when she was putting forth her best effort. I noticed though that he had zero tolerance for any type of nonsense. At one point, I said, "She really dosen't know those facts, they are a daily struggle." He told me, "she should know these facts and she will know these facts." By the end of the math lesson, she knew the facts. Facts I have been working on with her for weeks. He sat by her side and made her review them over and over and showed her how to figure them out. He did not allow her to give up or whine or say, "I can't." He told her, "You can and you will."
It's amazing to me that she pulled through every assigment with flying colors when it was determined ahead of time by Dad that school was not optional. She would do it and excellent attitude and behavior was expected. There would be no breaks until school was finished. He explained to her that in the classroom he worked with his 4th graders from 8-10:30 in the morning and from 12-2:30 in the afternoon with no breaks. Their break was specials and lunch from 10:30-12:oo each day. This meant 2 hours a day of work did not need a break. School was over by 11:00 this morning and now Emma and Dad went out on a lunch date to just be together. Emma was happy and knew her boundaries. Dad was excited to be done with school and excited to spend sometime with his daughter. I was impressed and the rest of the house stayed peaceful because one little girl got some tough love this morning and was not allowed to ruin the rest of the families morning by thinking, " I can't!"
Husbands are wonderful leaders and often times they know the perfect solution to complicated situtations. Praise God for them!

The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day that turned into a Blessing!

Yesterday was not a day that I would like to repeat. It seems that Fridays are a day that I spend making many phone calls. I started at 8:00 in the morning and realized at 3:30 when my husband got home that I still was on the phone! I didn't talk that entire time but several times within that time frame. Some calls were business, homeschool coop related and a couple for just catching up with my friends. My children were fighting more than usual and I was getting frustrated! I was being selfish. I knew I should address the problems that they were having and give them my undivided attention but I was choosing not to because I wanted to talk on the phone. I was thinking thoughts like, "Why can't they just get along and be quiet?" "Why do they have to fight whenever I try to do something for an extended period of time?" Why can't they just get along while they are making apple crisp" This was supposed to be a fun project for them to do together. What I was really saying was, "Leave me alone and let me do what I want to. Don't bother me."
My husband came home and I unloaded on him. He was very quiet.(I am sure this is exactly how he planned to start his weekend). I had sent the girls to their rooms for their behavior and had a little while to think about my own while explaining my day to Damon. After listening to myself and watching my husband contemplate what I was telling him, I decided that the kids definately needed to change their behavior but so did I. They were being selfish by fighting and wanting their own ways but I was being selfish by wanting my own way in not attending to my first responsibility. My children. Things had probably gotten out of hand because I was reprimanding but continuing to stay side tracked with my agenda. I was very convicted.
Our evening took a different turn. The girls and I talked and apologized for our wrongs. A friend called and had 4 free tickets to go to a special event. My husband agreed to watch my 2 year old and encouraged me to go with the girls and enjoy eachother. We did. I am glad that our day took a turn for the better and that God is at work in each of our hearts.
After our event, I put the kids to bed and was sifting through my e-mails. Autumn had a paper due for co-op that she had e-mailed to her teacher because our printer wasn't working. I had not read the final paper. It was titled, My Hero. I read the paper and tears welt up in my eyes. Her hero was me. She wrote about all of my good qualites and said I had a big heart and loved my family and friends with all of it. She said she wanted to be like me someday. Iwas so touched and convicted all at the same time. I was thankful that on a day that seemed so bad, my daughter still sees the good in her mom. I am thankful that God works in our lives even on terrible days and brings about his plan for our lives. I was convicted again that my actions and words are being watched every minute around this house by my children. I am their example. No one person has a bigger impact for the Lord on their children than their mom. It made me think about Christ dying on a cross for me and my sin and that My Father in heaven sees me through Christ's eyes because of his great sacrifice on my behalf. I got only a glimpse through my daughter's paper, her love for me despite my inadequacies, of God's great love for us despite our sin.

A tasty treat!

I am always trying to find healthy snacks for the kids and I thought I'd share one with you that is very inexpensive. Aldi's sells boxed puddings for .29 cents. They have chocolate and vanilla. I have started making them a couple times a week. It only requires 2 cups of milk and a mixer. I even went further and put 2 cups of water in with 2/3 cups of powdered milk. A little cheaper. I mix it all together and we have a relatively healthy snack for quite cheap. I bought little cups with lids at the dollar store so the kids still feel like they're getting a nicely packaged dessert. One package fills the equivlance of a 6 pack of pudding from the store so for about .50 cents it's a terrific snack for the whole family. I should mention that as unappealing as the powdered milk is, you can not tell the difference in recipes.
I realize this is not as healthy of a snack as fruits or veggies but it has lots of dairy and is better than the expensive packaged food at the store with tons of additives and preservatives. Every kid needs a treat once in awhile! Also the sugar to dairy ratio is minimal.
Another treat that is one of my favorites is one made with ricotta. It calls for 1/2 cup of ricotta, a packet of splenda, xylitol or tsp. of sugar. 1/8 tsp. of vanilla and a dash of cinnamon. This tastes like rice pudding to me. You can also make it with a teaspoon of cocoa powder instead of cinnamon. Now it tastes like chocolate ice cream without all the sugar. I eat one of these almost daily. Especially when I am watching my carbohydrates.
I'll share more recipes when I have the chance. I love to experiment when time permits. Let me know if you try any of these, I am anxious to know what you think?

The Pearls

I like a lot of the writings from Michael and Debbie Pearl. They are the founders of the No Greater Joy ministry. I received their magazine today and one of the articles popped out at me so I thought I would share it with you. It is written by their daughter.

Some of my favorite memories of growing up are of working beside my parents. I recall with pleasure working side by side with my mom in the kitchen, spilled flour on the floor and messy dough on our hands. "Just a good pinch of baking soda will make a cup of flour rise if you add a sour liquid," she would say. She would give me a reason for every ingredient that went into the bowl. Mom never followed recipes, so not everything she cooked turned out tasting just right, but then I would learn why, and what I could do to change it to make it be perfect the next time.
By the time I was 13 or 14 years old, I passed her up in the culinary department, especially when it came to using herbs for seasoning. Dad bragged on my cooking so much that Mom would have me season everything she cooked. It gave me ample opportunity to learn what herbs complemented certain foods best. I became a real chef. I simply LOVED to cook. I also learned another important lesson, and that was how to teach others. Mom's way of teaching made it natural for me to want to teach others. I remember vividly the pleasure I had after tasting, touching, smelling, mixing and cooking, and then hearing Dad's praise when something tasted wonderful. The same thrill I felt as a child comes back to me now when I am teaching others. Mom gave me two special gifts- cooking and, more importantly, the love of teaching.
Kids run off when they hear their parents say,
"OK, it's family time."
"OK, it's time for homeschool."
"OK, it's Bible-study time."
"OK, let's spend some quality time together. I want everyone to come into the living room and sit down." Just hearing those words are enough to zap the fun out of life and shut the brain down so it can't learn.
Real fellowship and teaching says, "Hey, who wants to help me make a delicious, fabulous, wild, fruit salad with real rose petals in it? - Shoshanna (Pearl) Easling

I just want to add my two cents. God's word, homeschooling, Bible study are all important but I think the biggest impact we can make on our kids is in the little things. The simple times of working side by side and conversation while we keep our hands busy. I can't tell you how much my girls have learned in the kitchen while we have canned, cooked, cleaned and just enjoyed being together. They have learned how to do these tasks and I try to make conversation about things that are of interest to them. I also try to pull the Lord into all that we do. It seems there are always ways to bring our faith and beliefs into the tasks that seem so mundane. I read an article one time that encouraged me to work along side of my kids instead of each going in seperate directions when we have housework to do. I don't always follow this but I try as often as I think of it to work at the kitchen together, then the living room together, etc........ instead of my doing the kitchen while one child does the livingroom and the other the bathroom. It makes the work go faster because you have several hands and GREAT conversation!

140 views!

I checked my profile tonight and I saw that my blog hit 140 views! I am excited. Thank you for taking the time to read my posts. I was thinking this is a pretty good number for a blog that is only a little over a week old. I hope you are blessed by my thoughts and that God gets the glory in all that I write.
Today was a beautiful day. I took the kids to the park and ended up seeing 2 other moms that I know. One of them was my chiropractor. She is very knowledgeable about being a healthy person. She mentioned that trying to get 10 minutes of exercise 3x's a day is better for your health than aerobic exercise for 30-40 minutes straight. She gave suggestions of jumproping with your kids, snowball fights, racing them, be a kid for a few minutes and have fun with them. It is not only good for the health but the kids think you are a really cool mom! She also has mentioned to me that if you are looking for optimal health and energy than to rid your cupboards of white flour and sugar. I thought this was impossible but in April of this past year, we did this and I was given wonderful recipes. I lost 28 lbs. by October. From November until December, I stopped walking and started eating white flour and sugar again. Guess what? I am going into the New Year weighing 20 lbs. less instead of the 28lbs. that I had lost and I felt horrid. Exhausted, tired and blobbish! January 1st I started my walking and eating right again and I am feeling much better. It is amazing that what we eat affects us so much. Just thought I'd share with you what I've discovered about my health in 2007 and if your struggling with energy.....clean out the cupboards and enjoy the fruits, veggies, whole grains and meat that God intended for us to eat!

Overload

I have talked to a few people this week who are burning the candle at both ends and not able to see the light at the end of the tunnel. I have been here myself many days. As a matter of fact, last week I had a few days like that. I finally sat down with my husband and got to the bottom of what the problem was. I was overloaded! Sometimes we go about trying to do our best at everything but feeling like we are the jack of all trades and the master of none. As I posted in my quality time entry, moms are pulled in many different directions.
I feel better this week and I thought I'd encourage you by letting you know what changed. I talked to my husband. I asked him what his priorities were for me? What does he value as being important to our life and the things I should be spending my time on? His answer was so simple. "The most important thing to me is when you are spending time with the kids, enjoying them, playing with them. I like when I reach out to you and you come and sit by my side and spend time with me. I want you to take time to be with us and not thinking about all that has to be done all of the time. "I feel extremely blessed that this is his priority for me. I am very fortunate that my man values quality time as much as he does. I still had the nagging feeling that said," but things do have to get done or I can't function well in a mess trying to homeschool." The solution: At night everybody pitches in for 30 minutes and gets the house back into shape. Hmmm.... 4 people at 30 minutes a piece= 2 hours of work that mom didn't have to do alone. "Great idea Honey!"
Tonight I am blogging at 7:30. Most nights it has not been until about 10:00. The work is done and we are all happy. I spent more time with the kids today and did not touch housework until 4:00. My husbands solution may not be your husbands solution to the overloads of life but don't hesitate to ask your husband to help you brainstorm ways to make life a little more pleasant at your house. You might just find that he has a quick solution that allows for a happier situation.

I Saw Jesus in You

I love hymns. So many times we sing and don't think about the meaning behind the words. There is a song that we sing at church from Majesty Music that is called I Saw Jesus in You. I just wanted to share the words with you. They say so much.

When I enter Heaven's glory and I see my Saviors face,
I will offer Him ten thousand years of praise.
Then I'll find that special one in whose life I saw God's Son,
And thru tears of joy with trembling lips these words I'll say:

I saw Jesus in you, I saw Jesus in you.
I could hear His voice in the words you said- I saw Jesus in you
In your eyes I saw His care, I could see his love was there.
You were faithful, and I saw Jesus in you.

When I stand before my Father to receive my life's reward,
And my soul is bathed in God's eternal day,
When this race on earth is run, and God sees the works I've done,
More than anything I long to hear my Father say:

I saw Jesus in you, I saw Jesus in you.
I could hear His voice in the words you said- I saw Jesus in you.
In your eyes I saw His care, I could see His love was there.
You were faithful, and I saw Jesus in you.

Such a simple song but what wonderful words. It is such a good reminder that our testimony is so important. If we are believers in Christ, others should see Jesus in us. There should be an inner joy and hope that we have because he lives inside of our hearts. Our children should see Jesus in us. Behind closed doors in the comforts of our homes when it is just family. Sometimes, this is when we are at our worst. This is the most important time. Children raised in a home where it is evident that Jesus lives within their parents are significantly impacted for the Lord. I pray that others will see Jesus in me, that my family will see Jesus in me and someday when my race on earth is run, and God sees the works I've done that my Father will say, "I saw Jesus in you."

Dispelling the "Perfect Family" Myth.

Most women struggle with the perfect family myth. We look around at other families and admire how wonderful their life looks. For me, the perfect family is all sitting together side by side in a pew at church. The father next to the mother and the 10 children are next to mother, listening intently to the preacher. The family is well groomed. They have full bellys because their beautiful mother made a healthy, delicious meal for all of them before leaving for church. At the meal, father led in a Bible reading, they prayed together and sang a hymn. After the service, they go home to a feast that they share as a family on Sundays between services. The children are all clothed in dresses and suits that mother has made for them and father is gazing lovingly at mother, thinking of all of the blessings that they have made together. Father is so proud of beautiful mother because she is so kind and loving to him and the children. Mother homeschools and father works from home. Each day is predictable and everybody is just PERFECT! Are you puking yet?
As wonderful as this life sounds, there is a little word call REALITY! I struggle with this little word. Reality is real. Reality is what we live everyday. Reality is Sunday morning when you show up smiling at church, you couldn't find your shoes before walking out the door, the baby threw up on you after you got dressed, the children spilled milk, the dog peed on the floor, Dad was grumpy, You thought of making a nice breakfast but it turned into a granola bar in the car and you have no clue what your making for lunch. Reality is that the children are not perfect. They fought in the car, mom raised her voice to be heard and dad threatened to pull the car over and give a spanking to the next person who made a peep.
Some days, I don't like reality. It exposes everything that we are in our flesh. SINNERS! Parents try their best to be good examples to their children but somedays we are just plain failures. Children are a blessing but they can make a mom want to pull her hair out. REALITY is what makes us know that we need the Lord. We are not perfect. We never will be on this earth. I have learned that the families that I looked at and thought were perfect, when I got to know them, they were not. They had hard days just like my family. They were sinners too! I am not insinuating that we should not try our best but don't let the" perfect family myth" be a discouragment to you because the "perfect family" dosen't exist.

Embracing Our Sacred Calling

What you do in your house is worth as much as if you did it up in heaven for our Lord God. We should accustom ourselves to think of our position and work as sacred and well-pleasing to God, not on account of the position and work, but on account of the word and faith from which the obedience and the work flow.
_ Martin Luther

I am reading a great book from Vision Forum called, Passionate Housewives Desperate for God. I thought I'd share a few excerpts with you on this topic.

Eve was Adam's perfect complement,his crowning glory, she was created for the purpose of completing and helping him. They were now one flesh for as long as they both shall live(Matthew 19:6)-"heirs together of the grace of life:(1Peter 3:7).
In serving as your husbands helper, a wife performs many roles that are valuable. She is to be his solitary lover( Genesis 2;24, Song of Solomon 4; Proverbs 5:19), his counselor (Proverbs 31:26; 1 Kings 1:16-21), and his closest friend(1Peter 3:17; Ephesians 5:33). She has the honor of mothering his children( Genesis 1:28, 3:20, 24:60) and keeping their home (Proverbs 31:27, 1 Timothy 5:14; Titus2:4-5). In all of her tasks, she seeks to further him as a man. She embraces his vision as her own.
The scripture is very straightforward that a woman's duties are to be home-centered. There is a great blessing that comes when we allow God to transform our hearts and we walk according to our unique calling. Proverbs 31 tells us that the wife and mother who "looks well to ways of her household" will receive praise from her family: "Her children arise up, and call her blessed, her husband also, and he praiseth her." She is a crown to her husband and viewed as a woman of invaluable worth (Proverbs 31:10). Her ministry is her family, and "her own works" praise her in the gates(Proverbs 31:31).
Being a keeper at home is a holy mission; it is a rewarding duty that we as women are to be passionate about. As a part of our sacred call, we are to wisely build a godly, spiritual home(Proverbs 14:1) by helping our husbands.
Ladies, we have a great and glorious work before us. Keeping the home has been entrusted to us by God. Under the leadership of our husbands, we are to train up our children in the way they should go; we are to create beauty and comfort within our homes; and the work of our hands should reflect productivity. We are to worship alongside our children, teaching them the laws of God (Proverbs 6:20) night and day (Deuteronomy 6:6-7). We are commanded to practice hospitality to strangers and friends alike (1 Peter 4:8-9)- sacrificing in love a portion of ourselves (1 John 3:16) to those who enter our homes.
Using our gifts and talents to glorify God in our role as helpers to our husbands, imparts a quiet lesson to a watching world and communicates true contentment in the lovliness of womanhood. We need not be desperate! With joy in our hearts and purpose in our steps, we can walk confidently in the role that God ordained for us since the beginning of time:

Thus saith the LORD, "Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls."(Jeremiah 6:16).

Quality time

Did you ever feel like everyone wanted a piece of you? I think if you are a mom then you know what I mean. I have 3 children. Many of you have several more than me. Many of you homeschool. We all know the balancing act of wife,mom, teacher, child trainer,housekeeper, cook,bill payer, chauffer, etc..........the list goes on and on. Sometimes it feels like a mom is pulled in so many directions that there is no time for what really counts. No time for the REAL reason that we home educate our kids. I don't know what your real reasons are but I'm sure some of you do it for similiar reasons that my husband and I decided when our adventure first began. First and foremost, we wanted to raise Godly children. We wanted to spend time in the word with them, praying with and for eachother, memorizing scripture, learning hymns. We wanted them to experience life with their family not away from their family. Our hope was that the strongest influence in their life would be God's word.
Reflecting on what our priorities were and still are.........I ask the question to myself, "How important is it that we finish every math lesson in the book? How important is it that the house be spotless? How important is it that I return every phone call? How important is it that I finish that novel? How important is it that we run here or there?
There are so many things that can sidetrack us and pull us away from our priorities. Is it more important that Autumn and Emma learn how to treat eachother kindly and get guidance from me in a disagreement or that the floor got mopped? Is it more important that my phone life be tended to or that my 2 year old get the proper training? Is Math more important that family Bible time and scripture memory? They both are important but many days Math gets done and devotions do not. Where are my priorites? I often find myself having to focus and get back on track. Getting pulled away by the many demands of a mom can cause me to lose focus and get side-tracked. I am thankful that I have a husband who calls me out on things when I'm headed in a direction that is not where my priorities are. I am thankful I have a husband who shares the same convictions and goals for our family. I am thankful for my friends who share in the same struggles and are an encouragement to me when I feel like I've fallen short. I am thankful to the Lord who gives me guidelines in his word so that I don't need to wonder what my role is as a woman. I know I am to love my husband, train my children and be a keeper of my home. I am thankful I have the holy spirit to convict me when I lose focus of what I know God has for me. A friend of mine said to me not to long ago, "Decide what you want to do and give what you want to do your all." "Put your whole self into it and enjoy each moment with your kids. Soon enough they will be grown and you can have a spotless house, talk on the phone at great length, finish your book and run errands all by yourself. " The time we have with our children is to short to be side tracked with things that just don't matter. If you hear me complain about being overwhelmed, please remind me that nothing is more important than quality time with my family. When your overwhelmed, I'll encourage you!

Sledding day with Dad!?

Well, today was sledding day. We didn't know it was sledding day until Damon announced it at 10:30a.m. Autumn was doing school work. Emma was playing with Jonas and I was doing laundry. SCReech! Put the brakes on............we're headed in a different direction for the day at 10:31 after the sledding announcement. I tell Damon that I need an hour to get everybody ready. My hair was wet and in a towel and everybody was still in their pajamas.

11:30- We leave for our exciting day. All bundled up in snowsuits. Minus the adults. We were just wearing long underwear and regular clothes.
11:31- Jonas is screaming,"I so hot!"
11:32- Jonas has taken off his mittens and hat.
11:50- Driving around trying to find the hill.
11:55- Do we take a right or left? We decide on a left.
12:00- We made the right choice! We are at the hill.
12:02- We are out of the car, gathering sleds, headed out for the first run.
12:03- Jonas is in the sled being pulled by Dad.
12:04- Jonas is crying, "I to cold!"
12:05- Damon is headed for the first run with the girls, Mom is trying to convince Jonas that sledding is so much fun.(He's not buying it).
12:06- Mom is carrying Jonas to the sledding hill.
12:07- Mom is carrying Jonas to the van.
12:08- Dad and the girls are sledding with the sled that has W-D 40 sprayed on the bottom( Dad's idea).
12:09- The W-D 40 must not be working because the 3 of them are stopped on the middle of the hill, looking at eachother. Damon gets off and the girls continue on the sled a little faster.
12:15-12:30- A few more runs down the hill.
12:30- Everyone is headed back to the car for hot chocolate.
12:35- The girls are complaining how hot they are in their snowsuits.
12:36- Jonas says, "I a good boy, I pooped." (A little confused about potty training).
1:00- We are back home!
Wow! Wonderful sledding experience. I think we'll try it again tomorrow! I posted some pictures so scroll down and take a look.

Jicama

I always like to try new things when I have the extra money in the budget. Tonight we tried jicama. It actually dosen't require much extra money. It was only $1.12 at Super Wal-mart. It is a tasty vegetable that looks like a very round potato. It is crunchy and sort of sweet. The flesh of it looks like a white potato but not the same texture. It was phenomenal! We dipped it in a yogurt dip. It would be great on a vegetable tray or in a salad. I liked it all by itself. The yogurt dip I make is made from 8 oz. of plain yogurt with a knorr vegetable soup mix packet mixed together. Just some of the soup mix not the whole package. You have to season it to your taste. A little treat for all you health nutz!
While we are on the topic of food, I wanted to mention a great website that I frequently visit called Hillbilly Housewife. There are so many recipes on this and for those of you on a tight budget there is a $45 menu and a $70 menu for a whole week of grocerys. The $45 menu had a lot of beans on it. Great for the health but a word of caution for the tummy! This year for Christmas, the girls and I made several of the hot drink mixes for gifts along with cookies or canned jams and jellys. I have heard from a few people that they loved the Mocha Cafe mix.
I have had a lot of fun with this sight. It teaches you how to make so many things from scratch.
As I am able, I will let you know about other things I come across that I think are worth sharing with you. I know many of you are furiously frugal and live on a tight budget. My family often jokes," If anyone knows how to pinch a penny, it's Angel." I think even if I was a wealthy woman I would still enjoy the thrill of saving my cents.