Between the number of things I have going on right now and the painfully crappy internet service my phone receives, I have decided to take an official break from the blog.
I'll try to post occassionally and hopefully be back soon with wonderful news.
First, let me apologize for missing posts. I had some technical difficulties. By that I mean, I can see the cell phone tower but it can't see my phone so I have no service. One of the many joys of technology and small towns.
We are going to skip the back to school post and the health care vs sick care one will be pushed back to next week.
I am a recovering packrat. Some may argue with that because, well, there is still a tons of junk around my house! But I recovering, not recovered. It's a process.
It's a process that started with conviction for me. I spent so much time dealing with stuff, figuring out a stuff management system, working to pay for stuff and the list goes on.
It hit me. I had so much stuff to deal with that I wasn't spending nearly as much time with the Lord as I should have or wanted.
I'm not just talking about physical possessions. Hobbies, activities and even some good deeds can all be stuff.
I believe that the Christian life should be one lived of simplicity. The less stuff you're managing for yourself, the more you can do for Him.
I've been working toward simplicity.for a long time. Yet I'm still surrounded by stuff (mostly just physical stuff at this point) that can be cleared away to make more time for the Lord. Time to spend with Him and time to be His hands and feet to the world.
I'm going to keep purging that which is unrighteous and unneccessary from my life to make more room for what matters in eternity.
Stewardship is a topic many don't like to talk about. They hear "stewardship" and think of tithing and giving extra money. They think only of financial stewardship.
That is one part of it, but as a whole stewardship is taking care of and making good use of all that God as blessed you with.
That means your home, your car, your community, your family, your body, your time, the planet. Everything.
How you treat each aspect shows God your appreciation for what He has given you!
Just as important as taking care of each of these things is the heart. The heart may be even more important than what you do. Your heart is why you do it!
Do you help someone out of guilt or out of love?
Do you save (and serve) leftover food to save money or to not waste what so many aren't lucky enough to have?
This lesson plays out in our house a lot. My children are good helpers, they want to get checks on their stewardship chart and "win" because they have the most checks. 75% of the time, their little hearts miss the mark.
Last week I had a chance to explain it better to my oldest.
Cheyenne excitedly came running in to the kitchen and declared that she had not only made her bed, but everyone elses too.
We all went to look. She beamed with pride at her hard work. It was some of the best bed making she's ever done and I told her how proud I was of her and how sweet it was of her.
Alex, my perfectionist, looked around "but mom, she..." (I used the mommy face that says shut your mouth or you'll be grounded until you're twenty!)
When I was alone with Alex I asked what she was going to say. "She did it wrong mom. The blankets are bunchy and the pillows aren't straight and the animals are not tucked in."
Our conversation boiled down to one point. Cheyenne may not have done it the way each person liked, but she willing, lovingly and eagerly helped and was happy to do it. She helped with a glad heart.
It was an act of love.
That's what stewardship boils down to. Love. Love for the Lord who blesses us each more than we deserve.
I am generally one to have a fairly large stockpile in my pantry. Which is good when money gets tight.
Except it's been tight. For 3 months. And I'm starting to understand how old mother hubbard feels!
That may be a little dramatic. The options and quantities are certainly smaller now, but I still managed to pull together a meal plan almost completely from the pantry. It's going to require a lot of baking, which I'd rather avoid in August, but our bellies shall be full.
Monday
B: pancakes and canned oranges
L: carrot cake and GF zucchinni brownies
D: twice baked potatoes
Tuesday
B: oatmeal or cereal
L: leftovers
D: spaghetti, garlic biscuits and GF apple pie
Wednesday
B: eggs and bacon
L: PB&J with applesauce
D: macarroni and cheese for the kids and I'll eat leftovers
Thursday
B: oatmeal or cereal
L: GF pumpkin bread
D: yams, chicken and mixed veggies
Friday
B: eggs
L: zucchinni burgers and sweet potato fries
D: leftovers
Saturday
B: pancakes
L: tuna and crackers
D: left overs and/or eggs
Sunday
B: cereal
L: PB&J with applesauce
D: pot roast with carrots and potatoes
Next week will be even more interesting. Heck, until I get another job things will be interesting.
This week I'll share my new favorite carrot cake recipe. I started with this one. I tried not to laugh at the word healthy in the name. I what I ended up doing was more like this...
4 eggs
1 cup applesauce
1/2 cup white sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons nutmeg
1 teaspoon ginger
1 teaspoon cloves
4 cups grated carrots
1 cup chopped walnuts
Mix it all up. Bake at 350° for 45 minuets. Once cool top with your favorite cream cheese icing.
Join me the rest of the week for...
Tuesday stewardship
Wednesday back to school
Thursday simplicity (and my room!)
Friday health care vs. sick care
Saturday waste not, want not
First of all, did anyone else notice.that I'm clearly struggling with my days of the week? Now back to the real originally scheduled blog post for today.
I had lofty dreams for my fall garden. Carrots and potatoes to over winter. Spinach, kale and broccoli. All in cold frames to extend the growing season.
Then I discovered the reality that is my garden bed. It's plauged with crab grass, red clover and an ugly rubbery ground cover. I've pulled and pulled and pulled, but they keep coming back and choking out my plants.
I have come to a decision I don't like. I'm going spray it down with chemical herbac:ide and mulch it heavily for the winter. I won't use that bed again until 2015. I know some people will see no reason to wait that long and others will me appauled I'd even resort to this.
I've made my choice for the long term usability of the garden.
Over the fall and winter I will still be gardening, just differently than planned.
I will be working on my herb pots in the kitchen window.
I'll be trying my hand at an off season potato tower on my porch.
Expeiramemting with what edibles grow well indoors for us.
Hopefully I'll also be able to build at least one mini greenhouse over a small bed out back.
There will be plenty to keep me going and many ideas to attempt to see what works for us! Plus, during the fall and winter, I can work on my spring/summer garden plan!!
I'm dissapointed that year round gardening is going to have to wait a bit, but I'm hopeful to have more success with that garden bed after this since I will not longer be battling those noxious weeds.
This is actually proving to be hard for me to write. Not because I don't repurpose things, but because I have done these things so long that they seem normal to me now.
A lot of money and resources can be saved but repurposing things when they not longer are useful as they are now.
Here is just a small list of ideas I use...
Jeans become long denim skirts. I started with a tutorial similar to this one. The one I started with not longer exsists in cyber land as best as I can tell. Only difference is that I do the front and back the same (how they say to do the back) but I also prefer a roomier skirt to chase munchkins and wrangle goats in. Also, if you save the top of the second pair of jeans you can sew some cute gathered fabric around the bottom hem to create a drop waist skirt!
Candles. I love candles. I reuse the jars they come in for need candles. I use the left over wax in the bottom and add crisco (and sometimes bacon grease if we have a lot) melt it together, add a home made wick, fill jar and *ta da* cheap, long burning candles!
Plastic berry containers are not only awesome for when you pick berries, they make organizing craft items, puzzles, small toy set and even snack lunches super easy!
Yogurt cups all depend on the shape of the cup. The kids love using our Trader Joe's ones for small drinking cups. Most get a few holes drilled in the bottom and become flower start containers.
If you can crochet plastic shopping bags can be converted into reuseable shopping bags. It does not knit well in my experiance.
I love turning baby food jars into button jars with pin cushion lids. I'm going to use up most of the ones I have left to make a tree shaped advent calander.
Stray socks make great bean bags or (my favorite) sock dolls. One large sock for the body, smaller socks for the arms and legs. I add scrap yarn for very interesting hair and to draw attention away from the fact that they don't really have a head.
Coffee cans and milk jugs can be used to organize crayons and pencils or to grow plants.
Maple syrup bottles make a great way to make and share your own vanilla and other extracts.
Larger plastic containers like yogurt quarts, licorice bins, large spinach and kale tubs all make a good way to drop goodies off with a friend, need mom or anyone really. Add some cute festive ribbon to make it pretty and don't worry about getting your dish back!
Smaller plastic tubs like butter and sour cream come in are perfect for storing left overs and even better for sharing leftovers!
I really try to repurpose things until all the life has been sucked out of them. One, because (in case you were not aware) I am living below the poverty line with 6 kids in tow, it takes creativity to not feel as poor as we are (I'm okay with that, God gave me lots of creativity.) Second, I want to be kind to the planet and teach my kids to be. Third, I view it as a matter of good stewardship to make the most of what you have not matter what it is.
Our family binder helps hinder chaos. It evolves with us to help manage any area that may get away from me.
Each binder will be different because every family is different. I hope that but sharing mine, it will inspire ideas for your own.
I repurposed my mom's coupon binder when she gave it up. It zips so nothing is going to fall out.
(I'll be adding pictures when I have access to a computer. Sorry.)
I use one of the zipper pockets inside for pens and a calculator.
The other holds coupons, which I may or may not remember to use. The large pocket behind them holds medical release forms to live with baby sitters.
I always keep a small stack of blank paper at the front. Behind that are the following sections:
Food our meal plan, grocery list and price book. I'd like to add some of my core recipes here.
Farm records for each animal (DOB, any medical history, family tree, ect), garden plans and notes on how things grew in different garden beds, plans and ideas for expansion, breeding schedule, wait list for rabbits and butchers info. I also keep a small amount of tracking information on all animals sold.
Bible reading plan and memory verse checklist. I've also added a list of devotionals and bible studies I'd like to go through eventually.
Time calander, daily/weekly to do list (which is written out and placed in a page protector, I can check things of with a dry erase marker and reuse the same page every week!)
Money banking information, budget and savings goals.
Phone all addresses and phone numbers I have... well, that's the goal but in reality, I haven't gotten them all written down yet.
People list of birthdays and anniversaries, quick fact sheets about each person for medical emergencies (sheets are used as dividers for each person) any information pertaining to a specific person (my reading list, Alex's tball information, specialists information along with when and why they were seen.)
I should probably add a section for auto and home stuff, but I haven't updated it in quite some time. Maybe that will be on my list for next week when I only have 3 munchkins home.
I spend way too much time in this room. It serves many purposes in my home... laundry space, family closet, home of second fridge and most of ours storage.
I have to make the most of every area. it's still a work in progress, but it's getting there. Some things I'm doing now are...
We installed a clothes bar under a set of cabinets to hang all the kids clothes from.
Broom, vacuum, mop, dust pan and a folding chair are all behind the door.
The cabinets above the clothes hold school supplies, plastic containers to be reused, blessing bags and arts & craft supplies. The school and craft things are organized into bins, the rest is a disaster.
My grandma bought me a set of plastic shelving. It added some great storage, but I need to get some bins and better organize what's there. I did manage to purge a paper sack worth of things from this shelf today!
On top of the boys dresser is where I keep all the laundry stuff (detergent, bleach, sock bin) it's directly infront of the washer and dryer, so it works.
Under the boys dresser is where I keep empty feed bags which are repurposed later as temporary rain proofing (certain bags), trash bags, manure bags, fire fule or whatever other use I come you with.
Out of season clothes are in totes on top of the second fridge.
Empty toilet paper tubes are kept in a repurposed plastic bin on top of the dryer to be stuffed with dryer lint to make fire starters (anyone notice yet that I repurpose things until they can't be repurposed any more?)
Laundry baskets are stored between the washer and dryer. Ironing board is between the dryer and the wall.
The girls dresser is next to the washer and the door into the kitchen. The top of it holds many repurposed glass jars that hold twist ties, plastic bread ties, strings, paper clips, you name it! All saved and reused down the line as needed.
Things I need to do:
Blessing bags need a tote and to go back to the van.
My new to me cabinets need hung above the washer and dryer after the old ones come down.
Build the laundry basket holder for between the washer and dryer.
Find some more large plastic containers to group smaller things on the plastic shelves.
Organize and clean out tool bag.
I also really need to figure out this posting photos from my phone thing!
This is one room that is used to death and still manages to have more to give. I hope my life is lived that same way for His glory.
This weeks meal plan goes from Monday to Saturday morning. After that it will just be Finn and I (maybe Emmi) for a week, we will mostly be eating leftovers, fruits and veggies and whatever is here and probably needs to be eaten up.
Monday
B : GF banana bread
L : leftovers and fruit
D : curry and rice w/ mixed veggies
Tuesday
B : pancakes
L : picinic with nana
D : pb&j (we got home late and everyone was tired)
Wednesday
B : eggs
L : noodles and salad
D : yams, ranch chicken and mix veggies
Thursday
B : oatmeal
L : fruit and yogurt
D : oven fried potatoes, veggies and rolls
Friday
B : GF pumpkin bread
L : tuna sandwhiches
D : baked beans, mashed potatoes and veggies
Saturday
B : pancakes
In a run to the store, I spent about $70 leaving me with $60 for the month, should not be hard since most the kids will be gone for a week.
The GF banana bread recipe I used can be found here. I recommend cooking slightly longer than it says. It had great flavor but was mushy and somewhat raw in the center even after passing the toothpick test.
We are now 2/3 of the way through this year... and this is always when it hits me, back in January I made goals, and I haven't really put much effort into them.
Time to buckle down! Here's where I'm at and what I plan to do about it.
Read 4 books I finished Purpose Driven Life, almost halfway through Crazy Love and almost into the New Testiment for the bible. I have yet to even crack the cover on Sticky Faith though.
Lose weight well, I lost some. Gained some back. And really this goal annoys me at this point. It can kiss my larger than it should be booty, I don't care.
Stop smoking i did it!
Serve in a church ministry slow starting, think I'm one meeting with pastor away from snuggling babies in the nursery.
Simplify and organize I purged a lot of junk when we moved here, most areas are organized. I need to purge a bit more and get my room and the laundry room organized.
Buy a 15 passenger van my sweet little bus is holding down the gravel in the driveway. Munchkins want me to paint it yellow, I say blue or red.
Move check check check!!!! No more scary apartment... I used to think "they can't be as bad as everyone says." I was right, they are far worse than their reputation!
Get off TANF I'm still $600 of consistant income away. At the best I was $200 a month away. Unless God works some miracles, this goal may carry over to next year :(
Make better use of my time this is sort of on going, like forever but this year was the jump start. I've been getting up early (5:30 hello, I an not a morning person!) And I've been trying to not be on my phone as much, sometimes i do well, other times I'm an abismal failure.
Get divorced not happening. One, it costs a lot of money and I just don't have it. Two, I still can't tell myself I think it is 100% beyond a shadow of a doubt the right choice.
Not too shabby, but I should be so much further.
Join me the rest of this week for...
Tuesday... meal plan, food budget and recipes!
Wednesday... the great laundry room organization!
Thursday... my family binder, revealed!
Friday... craft time! Repurposing things to save some cash!
Saturday... garden plans for fall and winter.
I have had a less than fabulous week. The last two days have been stress filled and overwhelming.
House projects. Kids behavior. Things that need delt with before winter. My behavior. Finances.
It all hit one after another this week, nothing let up. Like waves constantly pounding at a cliff, it wore me down. Slowly, effectively. Until I cracked.
I cried. I yelled at God. I cried more.
Then I said, "Lord, I know this is all part of some plan I don't understand, and quite frankly, I'm not all that fond of. But I can not handle one more thing."
Now, God wants to hear us. He wants us to talk to him from the heart. He does!
He doesn't want us to talk to him like we are smarter than him, much like when our own children try tell us they can't do something we know they can.
Like mom's do on occassion, God took my words as a challenge.
Ran to the store for fruit and milk. The kids were crazy.
Driving home. The speedometer isn't moving.
Get home. The ceramic soap dispenser in the bathroom (that I just filled!!!!!) is broken in the sink.
I handled each one. I did not crack as I predicted. It hit me as I was thinking about the speedometer that God was showing me that I could handle more than I thought. I had to lean on Him more than ever, it was hard. But I could do it.
I know my posts have been sort of deep and emotionally driven lately. I promise Monday I will share a functional post.
Parenting is hard. No shock.
You spend most your day directing, correcting, teaching, redirecting, disciplining and discovering some strange messes you need to deal with.
With multiple small children in the home this can wear on you because its multiplied, amplified and constant.
Every once in awhile you get that moment. It reminds you, even at your weariest, why you keep pressing on. It shows you that the light at the end of the tunnel may not be a train afterall. It reveals that, yes, they are getting it. Most importantly it shows you their heart.
They're not often, but they're worth waiting for. Today I was rewarded with one.
Dakota will be 4 later this month. Most kids his age (and him on more days that not) are an odd combination of selfish and loving, messy and meticulous, mean and sweet. They're not really thinking about the world beyond themselves and their families.
Today my boy asked, with great excitement, if we could take food to the food bank. He picked things out and wanted to know why we couldn't get more. He explained to everyone where the food was going and why. He delighted that his aunts joined us on the endeavor. He owned this choice to do good.
He showed me that he does understand (or is at least starting to) that while we don't have much, we have more than many. He showed me that the selfish, angry,impulsive and short sighted preschool years start fading just as quickly as they begin. He showed me true delight in serving others. He showed me a heart that wants to help. He showed me that my persistence is paying off and maybe I'm not screwing up the motherhood deal 100% of the time.
I love these days. I long for them. I need them, they recharge my heart.
These are the days that carry me through the long, weary days ahead.
We all have secrets. Things others don't know. Some are silly. Some are odd. Some are embarrassing. Some are quirky. Some are innocent.
Others are those "dirty secrets." The ones we don't want people to know about. They bring us guilt and shame. They tear us down from the inside. They eat at our souls and give the devil places to easily grab into our lives.
Those secrets, no matter how much we hate it or uncomfortable it makes us, need to be confessed aloud and revealed.
It doesn't need to be public or a big deal. Confide in a friend. Talk to your spouse. Ask someone you trust to pray with you about it.
This eliminates our comfort zone with this secret, this sin. It's not something we keep saying "I must have it under control, no one knows but me!" Someone else knows and we know they do! We are no longer hiding it under the rug and pretending it never happened.
You know what does happen? You have someone to confide in. Someone to talk to when the going gets rough. Someone praying for you. You have a cheerleader, even if they never say a word.
I have a friend who I asked to help me with an issue. She hasn't had to do anything yet, but I know I have help a short reach away. I have an ear to listen when I can't figure out what I should have done.
I still have secrets. A whole range of them, from harmless indulgences to quirky habits to shameful choices. Confession is the first step to healing.
I confess I have a yelling problem. It's stress and frustration induced and 10x worse since I stop smoking a few weeks ago. It's also not okay, not acceptable and not going to continue. Starting tomorrow I'll be working on better stress coping skills, yell free loving discipline and sharing this journey with you, what works, what doesn't and what unexpected things I learn along the way.
YouThere is always much work to be done here. I don't think that surprises anyone.
Today I am extremely tired. Why? Well let's see what was accomplished!
5:30 wake up with coffee, Bible and prayer time
Took care of critters (all 45 of them)
pancake breakfast (which means making two kinds)
4 loads of laundry washed, hung out, folded and put away
4 rounds of dishes by hand
Ran to feed store, bank and grandma's
Vacuumed twice
Got out next size clothes for Finn
Cleaned pee off floor 3 times
Lunch, rice and bean burritos went over pretty well
Bathed Finn
Clipped all nails
Was polite to the Jehovah's witness who came to the door
Built fire cook pit in the yard, needs a little fine tuning but it works
Sorted recycling
Pulled out grown clothes from boys dresser
Found sitter for Saturday
Cleaned a bit in my room
Stripped beds
purged kids shoe bins
Made beds
Reviewed budget
Moved chicken coop
Cleaned up some scrap metal
Rounded up goats into their pen
Ice cream break because, well, we can
Gathered up supplies for 3 potato towers (kinda late, but I'm experimenting)
Took 5 measurements to figure out rearranging some things
Nagged the munchkins to clean up their coloring mess
Made dinner, steamed the broccoli on the fire pit but had to boil the noodles inside until I tweak it a bit
Harvested zucchini, yellow squash and cucumbers
Watered garden and lawn
Kids to bed
Kitchen cleaned
Finished second baby hat for an order
Wasted time on Facebook a little at time
Took care of blog and business postings
Baked Cheyenne's cake for tomorrow
Now to shower and then head to bed! Anyone still wonder why I'm tired!?
God talks to us. A lot.
Like most children, we listen to half when we're doing REALLY well.
I think part of that is that God's voice doesn't always sound how we expect.
It's not all thunder and lightening, burning bushes and heavenly light.
God speaks to us where we are. If you're at church, He'll use a sermon. If you're on Facebook, He'll use a post.
If you're watching a movie, maybe he'll use a preview. Or just one line from that preview you've seen at least 500 times.
"If your attitude stinks, it means your hearts not right." ~ Alex Kendrick in Facing Giants
Pretty simple idea. But it hit me hard.
Only one person in this house has an unstinky attitude. Finnegan. He's fed, clothed, sheltered and loved. He's content. There's at lot of world he can't have, and boy does he know it! But when those explorations are cut short by mama's watchful eye, he finds contentment in what he has (or goes to find other trouble)
The 6 oldest people in this house have a lot to learn from him! And even as I'm learning, I have to teach it.
I have to model this concept of contentment (which thanks to the lack of patience God gave me in certain areas, is very very hard.) I have to model it even if I'm faking it for now. I need to practice it.
Much like thankfulness, contentment is something that when practiced really creeps into your heart. I know because I'm 900 times more content than a year ago, and for the most part all that's changed is the date.
I pray that by showing contentment to my children and helping them learn this skill, that I can watch their hearts change as their attitudes do.
I would also appreciate your prayers for me to find patience where I struggle to hold on to it.
What area of your heart can I pray for you about?
Today was grocery day.
It was also the first big gluten free shopping trip.
The kids were not on best behavior.
I was not well rested.
But it's done, I didn't even spend $250 and I got a Trader Joe Truffle Bar. Here's to hoping the remaining $150 in the food budget covers out produce for the month.
The big news of the day...
I signed papers today and my house is officially mine! I now have a deep desire to paint every room, but more practical things need tackled.
Like feeding animals, tending garden, washing dishes and mending my quilt.
Reading my newest blog obsession while mending is making things move along nicely. If you have a chance to head over to Nourishing Days and give it a read, I recommend it. They are doing what I wish I was and she states it so much better than I ever have. Maybe one day I'll reach that point, but for now this is where God has planted me. This is where I intend to bloom.
Good thing my blog welcomes me back like the father welcomes the prodigal son...
A quick recap of the last eight weeks:
There have been lots of bunnies born and sold.
Goats are still pregnant and I clearly can not identify goat gestational phases.
Our young hens have started laying eggs... Except the Easter eggers, they're holding out on me.
Garden is flourishing! And has provided many meals.
Grocery budget has done well.
Working on reaching zero-waste status.
We're attempting going gluten free for Cheyenne's health issue. Which now makes us gluten, dairy, soy, corn, coconut, pineapple and raisin free.
Emmi is potty training.
Alex, Baillie, Cheyenne and Dakota will be attending school at the church this year while I get some things under control around here.
Purchase of the house will be final TOMORROW!
I've switched the goats and hens to store bought feed. Working on the rabbits, but there are a lot of them!
Lowering the water bill has become a high priority.
Still haven't found a new baby sitting job.
Most importantly, God is still in control.
I think that's about it. I'm purposing to a better job up dating the blog because this is something I enjoy!
