Soapy Situation

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

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

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

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

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

I'm making my own asumption about things.

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

All I do is Update anyway...

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

Taking a Summer Break....

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

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

The Candle of God

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Simple things that make my life extraordinary

Give God the praise for any well-spent day

                                                   ~Susanna Wesley

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

Early morning play on the sidewalk

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

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

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

As seen through the screened porch…

We REALLY like blueberries around here…and muffins

Fresh garden Taters!!

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

 Who needs TV when you got chickens to watch?

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

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

Lilies….

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

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

My schedule-what ‘works’ for me..

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

 

Even little Ella gets in on the cleaning!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Now for focus cleaning:

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

Tuesday: Mop/Dust LR/DR

Wednesday: Bathrooms

Thurs: Kitchen mopping/wipe down cabinets

Fri: Bedroom dusting/ sweeping

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

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

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

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

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

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

God Bless.

May at our place

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

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

Our first harvest: Mustard greens

Ella, enjoying blueberries

A Spring Touch to the front door

Fresh Herbs growing in the windowsill..Basil & Chives

Reading between bathtimes

     New batch of chickens

Chickens & Guinea Fowl eating their breakfast

Emory helping Papa build a chicken coop door

The Garden

A Cucumber plant and a few Mustard plants

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

Tomato plants I started from SEED! :)

Corn, Corn!

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

My miniature Gardener :)

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

Ella on the trampoline

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