Colter's Home!

Watching Uncle Coco's plane come in
Jeremiah was thrilled to see this real airplane (which to him was enormous, but is really just a tiny 15-passenger thing!)

Anna, Colter's lovely girlfriend, a missionary in Honduras, with a bunch of kids who came to Christ in one of her clubs recently.

Uncle Coco meets Justus for the first time! Colt is wearing a goofy winter hat since he came from 90 degree Brazil to 50 degree WY!

It's been an exciting week! Monday was a big day as I headed over to a nearby town to pick my brother up from the airport. It was also the first time I took all 3 kids to that town alone to hit up Walgreens and Smiths. I got some great deals and thanks to being ultra-prepared the kids were really great and we survived! (More on my deals in a future post.)

My brother Colter is a Child Evangelism Fellowship missionary overseas. In the last 18 months he has spent a few months in Argentina, 6 months in Guatemala, 2 months in Honduras, 3 months in Brazil, and a few days in Paraguay. Now that all of his language learning and missionary training is complete, he will be heading back to Honduras for a 3-4 year term starting in January.

It's been really interesting to hear about all the countries he's lived in and is good to catch up with him. His most recent training in Brazil involved missionaries from all over the world and he got to know folks from Iraq, Egypt, Sudan, Chile, Ecuador, Brazil, etc. It's amazing how God has gifted him with language. In less than a year, he became fluent enough to preach in Spanish. He learned a lot of Portugese and even some Arabic at his Brazil training seminar too!

He made us drink this nasty green-tea stuff from Paraguay in a wooden cup that we all share. You add water and sugar and slurp the liquid out of a metal straw and then pass it on to the next person. It tastes like sweetened, burnt hay! I guess the people in Latin America are nuts about it! He is also going through bean withdrawals since that's about all he ate for the last year!

My kids adore Uncle Coco and Jerby asks for prayer for him every single night. They've had lots of anticipation in recent weeks, looking forward to his visit here. We are excited that we will have 6 weeks with him and that his girlfriend Anna will be joining our family for Christmas too!

Coincidence?

My little bro had a rollover a week ago. I choked up just looking at his car and all I could say was, "Thank You God for sparing him!" Yes, this is the same brother who fell 35 feet out of a tree this summer and only had a couple of broken ribs to show for it. We pray continually for him that God would keep him alive long enough for him to come to faith in Christ. He is a very nice dude, owns his own bike shop business in town at age 19, and yet is very lost and has rejected the faith he was raised in.

I try not to be the obnoxious big sister who beats him over the head with the Truth or the Bible (been there and done that!) but I do want to communicate how much I love him and want him to find salvation. The Monday night he wrecked I had asked God to do whatever it took in his life to bring him to salvation. I told God I didn't want to see him hurt, in pain, or see his business fail, but if that was what it took for him to be saved then I wanted him saved! That very night he wrecked his nicest car (of the 3 vehicles he owns) which he had just put a thousand dollars into. Thankfully he and the other 3 kids in the car weren't hurt. Yet, this accident didn't seem to wake him up at all; at least not that I know of. He's a tough egg to crack! After his fall from a tree he said he survived because he was tough. I said, sarcastically, "Yeah, it had nothing to do with God sending an angel to cushion your fall." This time around he said the same thing and I brought up the fact that his sister is praying for him on Monday nights (and most other days of the week too).

I think God is calling me to unite other family members in an effort to really bombard the heavens with prayer for my brother. I know that lots of strong Christian people in my family are concerned for him and are praying for him. We love him so much and he is an amazingly gifted and talented guy. He just needs God, as all of us do.

Making Your Home a Haven Week--Cared For

I mentioned yesterday that I was participating in Monica's week-long Making Your Home a Haven challenge. Yesterday, the goal was to CLEAN. I got most of the stuff on my list accomplished, but didn't quite get the dishes totally done or the floor mopped since my baby was having a very fussy, needy day! The worst part of yesterday was that I had been putting off going to the post office for weeks and I finally got my packages together and mustered up enough determination to load 3 little ones into the car, unload them, and haul them all into the post office with an armload of packages....only to discover....that it was Veteran's Day and the post office was closed!!! Uuuuggghhh!

So...today the emphasis is to have a home that is CARED FOR. What little projects have I been putting off?

The plan is:

*Spend time with the kids reading the Bible/singing/praying ---DONE
*Spend time praying over my day and meditating on Scripture--DONE
*Make a list of things that need to be accomplished that I've been putting off:
--Go to the post office (AGAIN!)
--Mend a few things on the sewing table
--Finish the dishes that almost got completely done yesterday
--Make a large batch of homemade tortillas and freeze the extras
--Re-organize Ali and Jeremiah's closet and sort clothes (a job I seem to do constantly but it always needs re-doing since they grow so fast and seasons change...)

If I get a chance I will also mop and do a good vacuuming today! I'm hoping Justus will be less fussy today. Could have been all those green onions I ate a couple of days ago!

Want to participate and work on making your home a haven? Check out www.thehomespunheart.blogspot.com for inspiration and to link to your post.

Thoughts on Pettiness

Lord, forgive me of my pettiness.

So often I forget where my true Home is.

I forget what truly matters.

I get offended over stupid stuff.

I worry about inconsequential things.

AS IF THEY MATTERED!

I waste my time watching something

that isn't necessarily bad,

but is so empty and void of truth

AS IF IT MATTERED!

How much time do I spend on me?

On my glory, on my exultation,

On making myself look good?

AS IF IT MATTERED!

My kids need daily training in godliness.

My brother is lost and going to Hell.

My neighbors and friends need real Hope.

My husband needs a friend.

The broken need a word of encouragement.

My friends need my prayers.

The poor are in need of food.

THIS IS WHAT MATTERS!!!!!

Making Your Home a Haven Week!

Monica is doing a week-long emphasis on Making Your Home a Haven. I've always loved the motivation that comes with participating in this!

Today the theme is CLEAN.

My goals:

Spend time "cleaning" my heart through prayer and the Word.

Finish my last load of laundry, fold, and put away.

Deep Clean the kitchen (dishes, mopping the floor, straightening up)

Get some packages mailed that I need to stop procrastinating on

Make Pumpkin rolls and a cake for a family dinner tonight

Depending on how the baby is today, I may get double this amount of stuff accomplished or only one thing accomplished if he's fussy! But, I can always aim high!

A Racecar Birthday!

Opening a front-loader (fwunt woader) from Cousin Daniel a few days before his real birthday.

Mommy and Daddy got Jerby some stacking buckets! Fun for the whole family!

The kids on all sides were grabbing presents as he opened them. In spite of the fact that he is turning TWO, he shared with them very nicely and was gracious with his new toys at the party.

Opening a big bulldozer toy from Grandpa Joel and Grandma Kathy.

Racing down the hall to drop balls in the buckets. An impromptu game engineered by Grammy to help the kids run off some energy.

Race-car cookies! Mommy wasn't brave enough to do cupcakes with multiple toddlers! They loved these! They are the same recipe we do every year at Christmas time, my Grandma Campbell's caramel cookies with cream-cheese frosting.

Mommy made a road raceway out of two large cardboard boxes. I ran out of black paint so most of the roads are muddy-looking! The kids LOVED this simple thing! All of the kids brought their favorite car to the party and they played with all of the vehicles on this!

Party favors! 20-cent bags from Wal-Mart, cups 30-cents at Family Dollar, a speed wheels car, and a Cars fruit snack.

Eating cookies and cheese crackers on our kitchen floor. To clean up, we just filled a bucket with soapy water and had the kids wash in it before heading back into the living room to play.

Running a race outside. We tried to let each of the kids get a turn to break the ribbon!

After the party we had a light lunch and put the kids down for a long nap. Then we watched the Disney movie Cars and had bagel pizzas for supper. A really fun day! And King Jo got to get lots of toys out of boxes. What is it with companies today? One bulldozer had about 10 screws you had to undo with a screwdriver just to get it out of the box! He got to assemble and disassemble lots of little vehicles/put batteries in, etc. Just one small reason I'm glad I'm not a single mom! We now have enough boy toys to last us for a while! Front loaders, cars, monster trucks, truck and trailer and boat, and a cute little-boy fire engine that's remote controlled. Ali seemed to think Jer needed help opening every present and she loves to take his new toys away. Jerby has quickly learned a new phrase, "It's my pwesent!!!!!"

My Baby Turns Two

Darling Jer,

You have been a delight to this Mama's heart over the last two years! With your funny little lispy way of talking, you keep us chuckling over the things you say. Your tenderheart shines through in all you do, as even the slightest scolding or frown makes your lip tremble and makes you rush over to ask if we love you and get hugs. When I'm on the verge of losing my patience or am overwhelmed, you always know what to do to instantly make me smile. You are so cuddly and gentle and we love hugging you, holding you, and reading you stories. We pray that you will love Jesus and be a boy after His own heart. You are so precious! Happy Birthday!

Deals of the Week

I haven't been to Walgreens in a while but last time I was there I took advantage of the monthly freebies and the Bonnie Bell sale (40% off) combined with internet coupons to get some sweet stuff for my gift stash. I also did the Kotex deal, combined with coupons to get a bunch for $1 a package.

Last week was a good week for Safeway deals. I got lots of Chicken Noodle Soup as we were recovering from a nasty stomach flu and it was all on some really good sales (Progresso and Healthy Choice). Frozen boneless skinless chicken breasts were on an awesome sale (4# for $6.39) and I snagged a couple of bags of those and about 10 cake mixes at 59 cents each. Batteries were only $4 for an 8-pack with the in-ad coupon.

This week there aren't super spectacular deals at the local stores, but that's okay since we have a lot in the pantry from other weeks. I did have my friend pick up 10 Powerades for me at a store affiliated with Kroger a half an hour from here. Powerade is great for my husband when he is logging and 50 cents for a large-size bottle is a super deal. Walgreens had a free 8x10 photo (no other purchase necessary) that I took advantage of this weekend and will pick it up in the store later when I get over there on Monday.

I made a Christmas order at Amazon and got the free shipping because I got a few different people's presents at once. When you have 3 little ones and live in the middle of nowhere without a Christian bookstore around, it just makes sense to shop online! Simple and quick, especially with DSL! And instead of getting junk (like most of the toys you see in our little town), I got some books for my kids that are really educational and Christ-centered for Christmas.

Every now and then I get free granola or cookies or tea in the mail thanks to signing up for free samples from links I find at www.moneysavingmom.com

Why You SHOULD Be Bulk-Cooking!

The other day as I cooked up a bulk batch of chicken, I got to thinking about what a wonderful thing bulk cooking is.

Whenever boneless, skinless chicken breasts go on sale I stock up and cook up a bunch of them and bag them up (either diced or whole) and freeze them. I do this with hamburger as well and also dried beans. I've done it with brown rice too, and it's wonderful to have that on hand and ready for a quick meal. Bulk cooking has so many advantages!

Price:

When I hit a big sale, I can buy enough meats to cook and freeze that will last until the next big sale. Having meats in the freezer means that I don't have to run to the store last minute when something comes up where I need meat, and have to pay twice the price as what I would pay on sale. By buying all my meats half-off, I'm saving 50% of what your average person pays! I averaged out that we save about $500 a year on meat by doing this.

Time:

There's no denying that bulk cooking saves one time. Boiling a big pot of chicken breasts takes about an hour or less and then I have enough cooked chicken for a month! I made supper last night in a matter of 5 minutes thanks to being able to whip some cooked, diced chicken out of the freezer and microwave and mix with some veggies and rice. Instead of having to spend time cooking meat 5 or 6 different times, I did it once and saved myself from having to work it into my super busy days all of those other times! Having cooked meats on hand makes cooking supper a snap!

Dishes:

When you wash dishes by hand you do whatever you can to cut back on dishes! If I dirty one large pan once a month to make 10 pounds of hamburger, it's a lot easier to clean up than cleaning up a hamburger pan 10 times. Think of all the water, dish soap, and electricity for cooking and heating the dish water that you save! Dirty one big pot, one cutting board and knife or large spoon and save yourself an hour of doing dishes throughout the next month!

How do you do fit bulk cooking into your life when you are busy with little ones?

1. Take baby steps. For example: Friday or Sat. I will grocery shop. Monday I will boil a huge pot of chicken breasts and maybe turn on a pot of beans (2#) to cook at the same time. Then I will stick the chicken and beans in the fridge to cool overnight. The next day when I have 20 minutes to spare, I will chop the cool chicken and put into freezer bags. The following day I will scoop the beans into freezer containers or blend them up with some spices for refried beans. One step at a time. It's exhausting if you try to shop, cook, and package it all in one day when you have little ones running around.

2. Plan for sales in the budget. If you find your food budget is too tight to take advantage of sales, you may need to give yourself a "pantry stocker" or plan ahead and put a few bucks a week aside into an envelope that is specifically for meat sales. My husband gives me a pantry stocker, which is an extra $20 once a month as a little boost to the grocery budget. This is nice so that I can take advantage of case lot sales or really good deals going on.

3. Make life easier one simple thing at a time. I know there are moms who do once-a-month or even once-every-two-months cooking weekends and I admire them. Someday when we are homeschooling we will probably do a lot of that too. But for now, with our limited space and small above-the-fridge freezer, we can't do that. It would also be hard to coordinate all of that cooking with 3 little kids 3 and under. However, by cooking beans and meats in bulk (and I plan to add in more bulk brown rice cooking) I am considerably saving time, money, and dishes.

Other ideas for bulk food prep in the kitchen include:

*Baking lots of bread at a time or other baked goods (muffins, cookies, brownies, etc.)
Crystal of www.moneysavingmom.com just did a neat post on this

*Shredding all of your cheese at one time and freezing it for later use.

*Chopping all of your fruits into kid-sized pieces at the beginning of the week so you always have a healthy snack ready to go even if you're really busy.

*Making tortillas in bulk (One of my goals for this winter! We always seem to just make enough so that they all get eaten in a meal.)

*Making pancakes and waffles in bulk. I don't like the taste of frozen breakfast foods as much as fresh, but I do make a large batch when we make them for a meal and I save the leftovers in the fridge for the kids to snack on for a few days.

*Soups, Stews, and Casseroles are very simple to double up on! If I'm making a homemade soup I just throw in more ingredients and then save a big containerful in the freezer for a future meal.

*Pasta--I use a large pot when I make pasta and try to make a batch that will last for a couple of suppers and lunches throughout the week. I don't mind eating spaghetti over and over and over but to break up the monotony for my family I may serve the pasta with red sauce one night, with white sauce a couple of nights later or make it into a macaroni lasagna, or add veggies and chicken or make it into a tuna casserole. We've had success with freezing spaghetti noodles.

*Hard-boiled eggs. While these can't be frozen (that I know of anyway) it's good to make a big batch of them at once and have them on hand for snacks and meals. My kids love them so I do at least a dozen or two at a time.

What things do you bulk cook for your family?

Election Thoughts

Listen to a blurb by Piper on thoughts on the election:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFvlfc2VkN0


Some awesome articles on the aftermath of the election can be found at Justin Taylor's blog:
http://theologica.blogspot.com/


I'm thrilled at the victories regarding marriage in California, Florida, and Arizona! To hear more about these, listen to today's broadcast at Focus on the Family (www.family.org). It's really neat to see the first black president elected and yet, I grieve over his extremely liberal policies, especially regarding the holocaust of abortion. I feel that the very fact that he was elected, in and of itself, is a judgement on our nation. However, God isn't surprised, and God is still infinitely in control and working out His will, for His glory, and I trust that He will use Obama for His purposes and be with us no matter what happens.




Thoughts from Mark Driscoll's blog (www.theresurgence.com)
This election season which has dominated the cultural conversation for many months has been particularly insightful regarding the incessant gospel thirst that abides deep in the heart of the men and women who bear God’s image. Without endorsing or maligning either political party or their respective presidential candidates, I am hopeful that a few insights from the recent election season are of help, particularly to younger evangelicals.

First, people are longing for a savior who will atone for their sins. In this election, people thirst for a savior who will atone for their economic sins of buying things they did not need with money they did not have. The result is a mountain of credit debt they cannot pay and a desperate yearning that somehow a new president will save them from economic hell.

Second, people are longing for a king who will keep them safe from terror in his kingdom. In the Old Testament the concept of a peaceable kingdom is marked by the word shalom. In shalom there is not only the absence of sin, war, strife, and suffering but also the presence of love, peace, harmony, and health. And, this thirst for shalom is so parched that every election people cannot help but naively believe that if their candidate simply wins shalom is sure to come despite sin and the curse.

The bottom line is obvious to those with gospel eyes. People are longing for Jesus, and tragically left voting for mere presidential candidates. For those whose candidate wins today there will be some months of groundless euphoric faith in that candidate and the atoning salvation that their kingdom will bring. But, in time, their supporters will see that no matter who wins the presidency, they are mere mortals prone to sin, folly, and self-interest just like all the other sons of Adam and daughters of Eve. To help extend naïve false hope as long as possible, a great enemy will be named and demonized as the one who is hindering all of the progress to atone for our sins and usher in our kingdom. If the Democrats win it will be the rich, and if the Republicans win it will be the terrorists. This diversionary trick is as old as Eve who blamed her sin on Satan rather than repenting. The lie is that it’s always someone else’s fault and we’re always the victim of sinners and never the sinner.

Speaking of repentance, sadly, no matter who wins there will be no call to personal repentance of our own personal sins which contributes to cultural suffering and decline such as our pride, gluttony, covetousness, greed, indebtedness, self-righteousness, perversion, and laziness. And, in four years we’ll do it all again and pretend that this time things will be different. Four years after that, we’ll do it yet again. And, we’ll continue driving around this cul de sac until Jesus returns, sets up his throne, and puts an end to folly once and for all.
In the meantime, I would encourage all preachers to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and repentance of personal sin. He alone can truly atone for our sins. He alone can deliver us from a real hell. He alone is our sinless and great King. And, he alone has a Shalom kingdom to offer.

Lastly, for those preachers who have gotten sidetracked for the cause of a false king and a false kingdom by making too much of the election and too little of Jesus, today is a good day to practice repentance in preparation to preach it on Sunday. Just give it some time. The thirst will remain that only Jesus can quench. So, we’ve still got work to do….until we see King Jesus and voting is done once and for all


I've closed comments on this post because I don't want to get in another election debate.

Yummy!

One of our favorite meals: Authentic enchiladas with homemade enchilada sauce, salsa verde, and homemade refried beans.

Neighbors Gone!

Well, our neighbors are officially gone. It was a whirlwind month and though there were times I thought I couldn't handle another day with our particular neighbors, it sure went by fast looking back! I accomplished most of my goals on the list of how I could bless them 30 ways in the final 30 days. We took the girls and their cousin who was visiting to a Reformation party at a local church on Halloween night the night before they left. That was an adventure, but they had fun! They loved their photo book and the Spanish/English Bible I gave them, although I have no idea if they will keep it and read it or not.

We have enjoyed learning about their culture, swapping foods and cooking lessons, and we hope to visit them someday and enjoy some time in Porta Villerta (I know I probably butchered that spelling!) someday since they live very close to there. They actually plan to be back to our town in 3-6 months for another couple years of saving money while in America so we will likely see them again soon, though not as neighbors.

God definitely put them into our lives, and vice versa, for a reason and we know that we learned a LOT from the friendship and trials. We pray that they come to know Him and that we were used of Him, even though there were times we didn't perfectly show His love to them as we should have.

But for now, I am breathing a sigh of relief that my kids can play outside more without being hit, hurt, or learning bad behaviors and words, and that our hallway won't be littered with garbage endlessly, even 5 minutes after I've cleaned. I'm thankful that I won't have endless knocking on our door and running and screaming up and down the halls during the kids' naptimes. We can now put outdoor toys outside and not have to worry about kids scratching our van, taking the kids bikes, pooping in the yard, and coloring on everything in the back yard with a permanent marker.

It's funny because to the very last moment they left they were asking us for favors. They borrowed our plunger and asked us to call the manager for them a few times and they gave my hubby $20 and a roll of screen and asked him to repair the screens their girls shredded with a knife. In their parting goodbye they even left us a school library book to return for them. We did get a few of the girls' nice toys though (a scooter, a toddler bike, some little odds and ends).

The sad thing is that when people don't discipline their kids, it really hurts the kids, as well as the parents. The kids don't know how to get along with other kids nicely, don't know how to handle authority, and grow up with foolishness bound up in their hearts. The parents are more exhausted and overwhelmed dealing with the lack of control over their kids, and the kids have insecurity in the lack of boundaries. These were wonderful little girls who were very sweet on the one hand but very, very destructive and manipulative on the other hand. Even the apartment handyman said, "They were clean people. The kids were out of control but at least they left their apartment very clean." (Said while checking out their apartment after they moved.)

So, there were lots of lessons learned and I was stretched and challenged to grow in being a neighborhood missionary and in loving difficult people. I breathe a huge sigh of relief and thank the Lord that we are moving on to a new stage. Though life is never easy and we have no idea who will end up moving in, it should be much better for our children from now on!!!

Nightmare Weekend

Well, our home has been nothing like an En Gedi this weekend! King Jo and I dealt with goodbyes with the neighbors, taking our kids and 3 neighbor kids to a Reformation party on Oct. 31st, and then getting the worst stomach flu of our entire lives! Ever since Jer was born and an awful flu hit a day or two after we brought him home, we have had the same thing each year around his birthday (which is why last year's birthday party was cancelled). This year, I sincerely hope we can still have his racecar birthday next Saturday since we got the stomach flu a week earlier this year and hopefully are completely done with it in our family and have plenty of time to thoroughly sanitize everything! November 1-14 is a BAD time to have a baby in this town! I hope we can break this yearly cycle next year!

Anyhow, King Jo and I have never been so sick in our lives and I lost 9 pounds overnight and then the following night he got it and lost almost as much in a night. He's a six-foot guy that got down to 149 people!!!! Thankfully by the time he got it I was able to sit up and talk a bit so I was able to get the kids a simple supper and get them to bed and take over being the single parent for a day. Our friends Jesse and Shiloh took Ali to Sunday School, Church, and then home for lunch and a movie and this helped us out IMMENSELY on Sunday when King Jo was resting and I was trying to rest/doing laundry like a madwoman and caring for the boys. Our kids had had a lighter stomach flu two weeks before we did so they weren't feeling icky too thankfully. In fact, when Jer got it a week ago, I was carrying him around in my Ergo since he wasn't feeling well and wanted to be close to me and he proceeded to throw up a few times all down my neck and back. Then, when I was showering he got his daddy, who was holding him. Ali had gotten it a week before Jer and threw up all over my friend Amy's house when she was having a playdate there (I had no idea she wasn't feeling well. Poor Amy!)
Fun days at our house!

Here are some lessons I have learned from this sickness:

*A reminder to cling to God. Every trial is a reminder, but it is especially so when all you can do physically is cry out, "God help me!!!"

*It really is true that spirited kids absorb the stress from their family and act their worst when you need them to act their best. Being patient with a spirited child at these times is the greatest mental exercise in patience EVER! Oddly, my friends claim she was a little angel for them at their house!

*Even though God didn't answer our prayers to make the uncontrollable vomiting stop, He did allow our sickness to happen on a weekend so we could both be home and help one another and not miss work. He did allow it to happen in time for us to still have a birthday party for Jer this year. He did give us good friends who are willing to help. He allowed Justus to be a little angel for us all weekend and sleep a HUGE chunk one night.

*It's okay to not honor your husband's orders in some instances and refuse to listen to him. ("Just put me out of my misery Lindsey! Get a gun and just end it!")

*I'd rather be puking in freedom than healthy in prison. Even when I was on the verge of fainting and laying in the bottom of our shower I thought of Hannah and knew that she'd give anything to be home with her kids and family even if she was in agony with the stomach flu.

*Sometimes marriages' most magical moments aren't in the candlelight dinners and in the heat of passion but in cleaning out your spouse's barf bucket, serving them when you just want to be served, and in coaching them through when they feel like they can't take any more.

*It's possible to still nurse a baby when you have vomited and had diarrhea for about 14 hours straight and you think there couldn't possibly be a drop of water left in your body. Justus so far has no signs of illness either; hopefully the immunities in breastmilk will protect him. There's nothing like nursing a baby while throwing up in the barf bucket that is laying on top of him!



Thanks to all of you who prayed for me when you saw I was sick on facebook! Thanks to Laura, a friend in MN and blogreader who sent me a package which considerably brightened our miserable weekend. She had promised me a Christmas dress set for Ali and I that she no longer wanted and it's so cute! I'll post pics of us in the dresses eventually! She also sent a couple of jars of homemade jam and a HUGE stack of coupon inserts! I haven't been able to buy the paper much in the last few months and when I do, there are never any coupons in it that week, so this was a big blessing indeed!

Hubby Questionaire

Have you ever received one of those e-mail questionaires that you fill out so that your friends can get to know you better? Sometimes it is disappointing to see how lame the questions are. Do we really need to know what color of shirts our friends are wearing? How about some questions with substance that get to the heart?



I decided to create my own questionaire to send to my hubby to get to know him even better than I already do. Feel free to copy this post and paste into an e-mail to send to your hubby!



1. If you could take me on a weekend getaway anywhere in the world, where would that be?

2. What is one food you hope I never make for supper?

3. How can I pray for you this week?

4. What is one outfit that comes to mind that you particularly like seeing me in?

5. What is one sport or activity you have always wanted to try but haven't yet?

6. What candy reminds you of your childhood?

7. If you had a million dollars to give away who would you give it to?

8. How did your mom comfort you when you had a bad dream?

9. What is your best Christmas memory from your childhood?

10. What will be the next book you read?

11. Do you like nailpolish on me? How about toenail polish?

12. What's one snack you could never get enough of?

13. What movie do you wish we could star in together?

14. What is one character quality you would like to see me work on?

15. Black or red lingerie? Lacey or sheer?

16. What is something I have done this week that has blessed you?

17. If you could snap your fingers and make a "big toy" appear what would it be? ATV, boat, snowmobile, etc.?

18. What is something God is teaching you right now?

19. What song best describes your personality?

20. Does our home feel comfortable to you? If not, what would help?

21. What room of the house do you especially like to see looking very clean?

22. What's one game you wish we played together more often?

23. Describe a relaxing vacation in 5 words.

24. Who would you like to have over for dinner next?

25. What favorite nickname do you like me to call you?

An En Gedi Bedroom #2

Inspired by Heather's work on her bedroom, I decided to clean up our majorly messy bedroom and re-arrange this weekend. My husband was gone logging so it was very challenging to move the bed myself, but I love the results. Our bed used to be up against the window, leaving a little room on either side that quickly got piled up with junk and clutter. I cleaned out our closet and was able to stash a lot of things in our bedroom in the newly organized closet. The view from the entryway. I made the wild curtains (out of a huge wrap-around-skirt in tropical print) when we first moved in. Justus has his little bassinet in the corner, with a baby quilt I made a few years ago hanging behind for his "baby corner." He's starting to sleep mostly in his bassinet at night and sometimes naps there too.

My corner. I have to be very careful what I put on my nightstand since Jer naps on our bed and will reach over and get into stuff sometimes. Eventually I would like to re-paint this little dresser a different color. It was a yard sale find a few years ago and now holds baby things. It's hard to see from the pic but I have a couple of little posters on the wall ( a mom kneeling in prayer and a name plaque with a verse). The pillow was a gift from my mom. She made lots of little pillows out of an antique, family heirloom quilt and gave a pillow to all of the granddaughters and great-granddaughters.

The junkiest, most cluttered part of our room is a couple of feet beyond the foot of our bed. This is what it looks like straightened up! Because of our tight quarters, I couldn't get it any neater as I store my craft things, our bills and important papers, file our mail, store our books, our cards and art supplies, and all my medicine freebies from Walgreens here. This is our pantry and "office" and paper/art cabinet rolled into one. The large basket is filled with kid's books and we need to keep it out of little fingers' reach so the books are kept intact. We have some sturdy board books we let the kids keep in their room but this is how we maintain our nice books. The white smudge on the dark dresser is actually from when King Jo was a little boy and covered the dresser in stickers!

In order to break up the dull monotony of the really dark, oppressive walls, I hung this lacey, sage-green shower curtain behind the bed. I was using it in our living room but took it down to brighten up the living room a bit. It was a Wal-Mart clearance rack find. The imitation-down quilt is soft and poofy and was a like-new hand-me-down from a gal in my Bible study. I've always wanted one and I love this style of comforter. We do have a couple of other nice bed quilts that are hand-made that we can use to change the look of our room. White isn't the best for having little ones around and for a hubby with a dusty job, but at least white brightens up a very dark room.

On King Jo's nightstand: A picture of us on our wedding day and a small alarm clock.

King Jo's dresser was stacked high with junk, papers, and snowmobile helmets. I cleaned and straightened it and put the helmets in the closet (which is to the left of this dresser and has closing doors).

This pretty autumn swag was $1 or less at a yard sale this summer. It adds a homey touch to my side of the room.

I've always enjoyed photography, and like Heather, enjoy decorating with it to personalize the room. A pic of King Jo washing my feet on our wedding day reminds us to serve one another in our marriage.

What's next?

I'd like to copy Heather's idea of framing some verses from Song of Songs to add to the walls. Eventually I will refinish the two old junky dressers and paint them a pretty color. If we see some satiny sheets on clearance around Christmas time we will buy them as we only have cotton sheets and they are getting very threadbare.

When we have a home of our own, I can't wait to choose paint colors and coordinate curtains! My friend Shiloh recently got to do that, in remodeling the home they bought, and she has a pretty caramel-colored room with cream trim.

*The log furniture was a wedding gift as my dad is a log furniture builder.

Babyham

Pouting again, Babyham?

I'm gonna tip over Mom!

Happy little feller

Brother Buddies

More Recent Pics

Wheeeeee!

I'm a big boy now!!!

Justus Combustus in his special towel, made by my friend Lora.

Jerby somehow managed to squeeze himself into the doll highchair and get totally stuck!

3 little friends on swings

Kennedy and Ali

Preschool buddies

Kennedy and Carsen attend preschool with Ali, as well as church and Sunday School and the three of them have lots of energy when they are together!

Recent Pics

With all of the recent marriage posts, I haven't had a chance to post a pic of my little cuties this week. Here are some pics of the kids at the fundraiser for the local Christian school (where my mom is a teacher and Ali goes to preschool). It was $2 a horse ride and the kids loved it!

My lovely mom had to ride with Jeremiah to get him to go on a ride!

My good friend Shiloh shows her 12-weeks-pregnant tummy. Is it twins again? We don't know yet!

An En Gedi Bedroom--Guest Post

Here is the guest post I promised you, brought to you by the lovely Miss Heather H. of http://www.blessyourfamily.net/

Our Bedroom Re-decorating Project

Last summer I was inspired to give my husband, Jacob, a space of his own, with none of the pink-and-flowers of the rest of the house—a room that reflected Jacob’s own style. With two lovely daughters in our family, we females outnumber him 3 to 1, so I figured he needed a manly “hideaway!"
Excited to be able to decorate a room “from scratch,” I found a bamboo placemat on clearance for $1 and built a theme around it, choosing chocolate brown and dark green colors to coordinate. By the time our master bedroom was finished, we transformed it from a cluttery catch-all room with a too-short quilt and mismatched everything, to exactly what we wanted.

Here’s a peek:

(Now that we’ve moved away from this little home, I find that I took far fewer pictures than I’d thought. Still, I hope you enjoy the few shared here.)



Our bedroom transformation involved many changes:


Painting: We found the exact shade we wanted in a friend’s house and made a dramatic difference for under $25. (That doesn’t include the first gallon of paint I bought, which I realized was the WRONG color when we started painting the walls! My gracious husband agreed to let me purchase another gallon to fix my little mistake.) A friend helped us add wide pine trim around windows, closet, and doors, which we painted shiny black for contrast.

Carpeting: The original carpeting was in sorry shape, so we replaced it with a new roll of carpet that went very nicely with our theme. Our landlord had already purchased it brand-new, so this step didn’t cost us a thing. A friend taught us to lay carpet—another skill under our belt!
Window treatments: The pink-and-lilac gingham curtains I’d sewn early in our marriage weren’t exactly Jacob’s style, but they served their purpose for the first six years. However, replacing them with bamboo shades made an amazing difference.



Furniture: We added a black oriental-style nightstand, a black trunk, a floor lamp, and replaced our bedroom fixture with one that had an amber-colored shade. Another friend pitched in and wired the new fixture into the wall.

The piece de resistance of our new room is a vintage dresser that underwent an amazing transformation:

Before: In my parent's basement

After: In our new room

The dresser was my dad’s as a child. Having this redone was my parents’ Christmas gift to us!

Bedding: We scored a great deal on green satiny sheets at a JCPenney clearance, and got fabrics 40 to 50% off at Jo-Ann to make our quilt. A friend who makes pillows professionally volunteered to sew us four throw pillows. The striped ones have a coordinating fabric on the reverse, so I can change the look by flipping them to the other side. My friend Kate, who helped us a lot with our project, found a garage-sale bamboo mat that became our headboard.

Personalized art: I framed pictures of us together for the nightstand, and included Song of Songs 2:16, I am my beloved’s and he is mine.

We also planned to hang a wrought-iron triquetra on the wall, a Celtic symbol of the trinity. Since we weren’t able to have one made, I’m planning to make a triquetra on a fabric banner instead.

After the room was decorated, there were still a few remaining tasks to make the bedroom a retreat, which I’d love to share with you:

Make the bed daily: Take just a few minutes to do this in the morning. It changes the feel of the room from disorganized to comforting.

Keep it picked up: Even if you have to creatively stash things in other rooms, do it. Or get a classy-looking trunk to hide it away. It’s hard to relax in a cluttery room!

Relax in your new room together. Don’t save your room for those few minutes before you fall asleep. “Retire” to your room half an hour before bedtime. Read together. Get a book on marriage or intimacy and keep it in your nightstand. Talk about the day together. Make it your place to get refreshed and connect with each other at the end of a long day.

We love our new room. After six years of marriage, it was good to do something to focus on our relationship again (especially since we’re the busy parents of young children!) Jacob told me today that when life gets crazy, it’s nice to have a place that makes you calm and relaxed just by entering the room. "Yay!" I told myself. "It worked!"

Heather blogs at http://www.blessyourfamily.net/

She is the mother of Kardelen (almost 3) and Sofia (17 months). She enjoys baking, decorating her home, simplifying, natural living, crafts, educating preschoolers, teaching piano, being frugal, and bargain shopping.

Note from Mrs. Jo: Heather's work inspired me to make my bedroom more of a haven, even if we are still in a rental. I'll post pics tomorrow of our newly organized bedroom!

Being His En Gedi in Your Appearance

My recent series on being your husband's En Gedi (oasis of rest/haven) has covered attitude, food, friendship/affection, sex, and homemaking. Now we move on to our appearance. Before we were married we probably spent a lot of time fixing up and making sure we looked our best for our special guy. But something happens after we have kids and can barely stumble out of bed in the morning and can barely find time for a shower or to use the restroom.

How can we please our husbands in our appearance if we don't have a lot of time and energy for grooming?

Well, first of all, I think you should know that you don't have to look like "Miss Hollywood Celebrity" to be beautiful to your husband. He married you because he found you very attractive, so don't try to warp your mind into believing a lie; that you have to look like the world's standard of beauty. Women compare themselves constantly, and we have to discipline ourselves to stop doing that.

One of the best principles I have gained so far from the Mark Driscoll Song of Songs series is that your spouse should be your standard of beauty. I had never heard that concept before. This means before you are married, you should NOT have a standard of beauty because you don't know who God is going to bring across your path and lead you to marry. Once you are married, your spouse is your standard. That means if your husband is tall, you like tall. If your wife is blonde, blonde is beautiful to you. If your husband was once slender but is now heavy, your standard has changed and before you liked slender but now you like heavy. This doesn't mean we can't encourage our spouses to be healthier, change their hairstyle, try a new hair color, etc. It just means that instead of comparing our spouse to the "hottest people in the world" we compare the world to our spouse, whom is always #1 on our Hottest List, as King Solomon did with his bride.

Knowing you are your husband's standard of beauty is very encouraging to a wife. You don't have to wish you looked differently or like so-and-so and don't have to try to be someone you are not. God made you special and your husband loves what God made! If we all looked the same life would be so boring!

What are some ways you can delight your husband with your appearance?

*Work on your inner beauty first because as I mentioned in the attitude post, outward beauty fades but inner beauty doesn't. Some of the prettiest women I have ever seen are those who have a quiet and gentle spirit and a strong faith in the Lord and yet wear very simple clothing.

*Make good hygiene a priority. Most women have no trouble in this area but I mention it just in case. Shower often, brush your teeth, shave your legs (unless your hubby is into the Nolsy look...)

*Dress modestly. There are guys out there who want their wives to dress seductively, but this is not right. (Proverbs 11:22 Like a gold ring in a pig's snout is a beautiful woman without discretion.) Christian women are to be modest and most husbands will appreciate you not showing what you've got to everyone else; it is to be exclusively his. Regularly ask his opinion on what is okay and what is not okay. Don't assume that all pants are okay or all high-necked shirts are okay because based on the tightness or the cut they may be somewhat immodest.

*Ask for his input. What outfits does he particularly like on you? What outfits doesn't he like? Some men won't have a lot of input, and others, like mine, will be more blunt, "That dress doesn't complement your body type." Sheesh, thanks! My husband really surprised me by mentioning he loved when I wore Carhardt jeans back in our college days. I haven't owned a pair in several years! Most people assume that my husband forces me to wear long dresses or skirts but the truth is that he loves seeing me in blue jeans too!

*Find out what your best colors are. Ever read Color Me Beautiful? It is a great book for helping you find out which color season you are. Colors can make all the difference in the world. When I wear white I look positively sick. When I wear salmon or jade or turquoise my eyes look bigger and more sparkly and my skin has a healthy glow. Go here to learn more about your color season.

*Resolve to get dressed right away in the mornings. If you don't make this a priority and you have young kids, your day will get swallowed up and you'll be standing around in your pajamas at noon. I got tired of people coming to the door unexpectedly and having to run to find a bathrobe and being embarrassed that I was still not dressed. Since I've made it a habit to get dressed immediately and fix my hair immediately, I feel better about myself and seem to get more accomplished in a day (and am less caught-off-guard if friends drop by). If you work up a sweat exercising each morning, then exercise first, then shower and get dressed.

*Take 5 to beautify. Even if you have a newborn, you can spare 5 minutes for your appearance. Put the baby in the swing or in the Ergo and comb your hair neatly, brush your teeth, put in earrings if desired, dab on a little face powder and some lipstick and fix your bangs (if you have them). 5 minutes is better than nothing and your husband will appreciate it.

*Take care of your body. This one is really hard for us busy moms. It's not easy to find time to exercise, and hard not to resort to eating out of fatigue. We all know we should exercise more, eat less, and drink more water, but it can be hard to actually incorporate those disciplines into our lives. One thing that helps me is having accountability. In college I used to have a deal going with my friend Anna where we had to exercise 15 minutes a day or else we had to pay the "Mission Fund" $1 for every day we missed. Even though we were a thousand miles away, we were able to keep each other on track and I found that often those 15 minutes stretched into an hour of exercise and I felt so good and was in good shape. I've also done deals where I give up chocolate for a period of time in order to quit indulging myself. When we got a Brita filter for $2 thanks to great coupons, I was able to drink a LOT more water since it tasted so much better. If you have young kids, try incorporating exercise into time with them. We often go for stroller walks or go to the park. I've recently fallen in love with pilates and the kids love to try to do it with me every morning. It's worth taking a good vitamin each day as it helps boost energy and overall health.

*Honor your husband's preferences regarding your appearance. Does your favorite sweater bug him? Get rid of it. Does he wish you would grow your hair long? Do it! Does he prefer you not wear eye make-up? Toss it! Does he love lipstick, buy some!

*Make a list, either on paper, or in your mind of what clothes your husband likes on you, what kinds of clothing flatters your figure and what colors look great on you. Then, when you are bargain shopping and hit a great sale or hit the thrift store you can pick up clothes that will look attractive on you for hardly anything. You don't have to look frumpy just because you don't have any money. Just ask Justus. We've hardly spent anything on his clothing and he's wearing almost all-new outfits and mostly Baby Gap!

As daughters of the Lord we represent Him and we also represent our husbands and also our profession as homemakers. I don't want to bring shame to the Lord, to my husband, or to homemakers in general by running errands in grubby clothes and sweats with uncombed hair, looking like I've been through a war. Clothes don't make the woman and God does indeed look at the heart, but if our outward actions reflect what's in the heart, shouldn't Christian women be the most joyful, radiant, and lovely of women?

For more on this subject check out Passionate Homemakings' posts on "The Art of Being a Well-Dressed Wife."