A Cup Of Water...

"Lensee, can I have some water?"

I hear these words all too often. Most of the time, I roll my eyes and say, "Can't you go home to get a glass of water?" In my mind I'm thinking, "I just did dishes! Can't my home stay clean for 5 seconds? They live one apartment down and have had all afternoon to get a drink from their own mom. Why must they always drink here?

But a quiet nudge always gets me and God brings to mind the verse:

Matthew 10:42 "And whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward."

And so, I pull out a glass, sometimes the fancy "Princess goblet" and give them a drink, realizing that I might be the only Christian they will ever know well due to the fact that they are going back to Mexico in a year. I give them a drink hoping that my service and consistency in doing little things for them will cause their memories of me to be joyful ones. What good is it if I'm teaching them Bible songs, hymns, and John 3:16 if I have not love? What good does it do if I loan them our Christian videos, read to them from the Spanish Bible and give them Christian literature in Spanish if the one example they have of a Christian is selfish and easily irritated or continually busy?

No, it's not fun when they continually run through the house when I'm trying to make dinner. It's not fun that they sometimes hurt my baby in trying to play with him or that they drip a trail of blue popsicle throughout my house on cream-colored carpet. There is a lot of extra work in serving and it's not glamorous. But...it is rewarding!

Now...you're probably wondering why there is a picture of fish with this post. The neighbors had to leave for a week on a family emergency and so I get to "fish-sit." I find it comical that the fish are named "Lindsey, Ali, Jer, and Fernonda." (Fernanda is the owner of the fish.) Just a tiny example of how much influence we have on these little ones! It's going to be an interesting week trying to keep Ali out of the fish bowl. I've already caught her spitting in it! And one fish isn't looking so hot today......there may be a flushing when hubby gets home from work.......

The Dirty Dozen

Also sent to me by friend Heather was a list of produce that you should always buy organic.

Quote from the Harmony Natural Food's newsletter:

According to the Environmental Working Group's analysis of data from over 43,000 tests on pesticides in conventional produce, over 90% of ingestion of pesticides in foods can be eliminated by avoiding the most contaminated foods. "Federal produce tests tell us that some fruits and vegetables are so likely to be contaminated with pesticides that you should always buy them organic. Others are so consistently clean that you can eat them with less concern, " says EWG Senior Vice President Richard Wiles.

So, what are the DIRTY DOZEN?

peaches (97% tested positive for residue)
apples (92% tested positive)
sweet bell peppers
celery
nectarines
strawberries
cherries
pears
imported grapes
spinach
lettuce
potatoes

The Consistently Clean

onions (90% tested negative)
avocados (90%)
sweet corn* (90%)
pineapples
mango
asparagus
sweet peas
kiwi
bananas
cabbage
broccoli
papaya

*may contain GMOs

Source: The Organic Consumer's Association website at www.organicconsumers.org


Anyone have any thoughts on washing fruit off well and on how pesticides in our produce affect us?

Gifts from a Friend

The little white box was tied with a red satin ribbon. The little tag on the ribbon said, "For Little Lady Alathia." Inside was a lovely little red-feathered hair barrette, hand-made, of course, by Heather! Remember my post on sock crafts recently? Heather is my crafting inspiration and she's at it again. Not only did she send Ali a hair pretty and Jer a little box of animal crackers (boys just don't have crafty accessories ya know), but she sent me a cut of light pink leather (I've never had pink leather before) and (picture me jumping up and down).............. ....LOTS of coupons! Lots of coupons! I still can't get over how many coupons! The Minneapolis paper had good ones this week so she bought me a whole paper and just mailed the coupon flyers. When you are used to 1/5 that amount in the papers here, it's EXCITING!

So, I definitely have some clipping to do this weekend, hurray! My coupon organizer is already packed to the gills so I may have to start keeping some in a shoebox in envelopes or something.

Thanks again Heather! You are so talented and generous! You live on a tighter budget than anyone else I know personally and yet you never fail to share your beautiful hand-made crafts. If you ever start a home-based craft business I'll promote it here! And I want a lesson in barrett making next time I visit!

Update: Spoil King Jo Week

Remember how I mentioned a few posts back how I'm doing Spoil King Jo Week? Well, he couldn't stand by and see me doing all this extra cooking without buying me a pretty flower as a surprise! He buys me flowers about 10 different times throughout the year and always tries to vary them or have a special meaning behind the colors. This week it was a creamy rose (for purity) and some interesting pine-looking branches with little yellow flowers instead of baby's breath (anyone who knows their plants/flowers can clue me in as to what these are called!)

When we serve others we often find ourselves blessed in the process!

My Deals this Week

Thanks to Carrie's post this week on Safeway deals I got 6 boxes of Wheat Thins for $2. I wish our store would double or that I would have had another couple coupons on hand so I could have gotten them free or made money on them like she did! They are on a $1.66 a box on sale, there's one flyer coupon you can use to get $1.30 off, and I used one 55 cents coupon off Nabisco crackers. Then at the register, it automatically knocks $6 off for a Nabisco promo that's been running for a month now.

Because I've been really interested in buying Basic H at Crystal's recommendation or Bio-Kleen at Kimi's recommendation, I decided to check out a new place in town that carries organic and "green" stuff. My new neighbor next door is the crunchiest person I've ever met and she tipped me off to the fact that JB's Smokehouse in town is also a mini-health food store too. Who would have thunk it? So, I found this stuff that is biodegradable, non-toxic, natural scents (real spruce oil/fir oil) and REVEALS it's ingredients unlike some of the other natural cleaners out there. It was a little under $10 a bottle, which is very frugal since 1.5 TEASPOONS makes a gallon of cleaner. It's too late at night to do the math, but I'm sure I will get about 40-50 gallons of cleaner out of this bottle! I scrubbed the floor today with it and LOVE IT! An all-purpose cleaner that can be used for dish washing and laundry soap if needed (though I plan to ration it and use it for basic cleaning around the house) and it was cheaper to go this route than buy the other brands of cleaners online and have to pay the same price or more PLUS shipping. The cashier threw in this free cloth grocery bag as a community awareness project they are doing so I have a neat new tote bag now!

This cute hooded boy's sweater was a quarter or less (I never pay attention to the cost because my large pile of stuff usually ends up costing $1.50 or less) at the local thrift shop and is in great condition! Our little guy has long limbs and can always use clothing, especially warm winter clothes! And sweaters like this have proved me wrong that boys' clothes just aren't as cute or stylin' as the girly clothes.

A silky, satiny white dress for Ali was only 35 cents at the thrift store this week. It's long, which is hard to find in a dress nowadays and it's very lacey and feminine. She has TONS of clothes, but something I didn't realize in planning her fall wardrobe out is that at this age she is INDEPENDANT and wants to choose her outfits daily. She always wants to wear frilly dresses! So, even though we have a hundred outfits for her, she wears the same 2 or3 dresses everywhere and people are always asking us if we've just had her pictures taken! Her outfits are often very interesting as I will insist on tights or legging pants under her dress on a cold day and she will often wear cowboy boots or snowboots with her dress and a mismatched hat and jacket!

At 35 cents I won't worry about a 2 year old owning this color if it makes her feel like a princess!

-----------------------------

Walgreens deals weren't so hot this week. I was all pumped up to get French's Fried Onions for 50 cents so I could make green bean casserole, but our Walgreens didn't have them in stock! I did get a couple more hand sanitizers for free and some yummy Hershey's kisses swirled with candy canes for Christmas gifts at a very decent price. I also took advantage of the vitamin deal because my daughter takes Flinstones daily and will be out soon (and since I've caught King Jo eating her vitamins I snagged some Men's Vitamins for him too!)

Frugal Friday--Lovely Little Girl's Socks

What a beautiful Christmas, Birthday, or Baby gift for a sweet little girl.......

Bead socks are simple. Thread about 40 beads (in whatever color scheme order you choose) onto the end of a ball of crocheting yarn. Chain 8 and then slide a bead onto the link and then crochet the end into the sock. Chain 8 and then slip another bead on and hook into the sock, etc. etc.

Ribbon socks are simple too. Turn a new pair of socks inside out and lay the ribbon right side down around the cuff. Stretch the cuff out as you sew around the sock so that when you are done the ribbon is ruffled and gathered. Sew the ends neatly together (tucked under).

Fuzzy Socks are adorable and the easiest yet! Crochet around the top of socks using a tiny crochet hook and some fun fur or eyelash yarn. I usually do 3 times around the cuff and then tie off and I'm done! Note: These socks shouldn't be dried in a dryer as they looked matted and icky afterward.

Thanks to my lovely friend Heather for being my "craft rival" and inspiring me in all things crafty. She taught me to do the ribbon and bead socks!

For more frugal tips go to www.biblicalwomanhood.com/blog

Frugal Friday--Frugal Birthday Party

My husband teased me because I saved the party decorations from our first child's first birthday for 2 years (starting before we were even preggo with #2) in order to not have to buy much for kid #2's first party! He discovered them in the panty a few months ago and was read the riot act for trying to use one of the Elmo plates after my carefully guarding them for over a year!

You see, before I had kids I thought buying them party decorations was silly and over-done. But once I was staring at my own little angel, bursting with pride, I just knew I couldn't help myself from throwing a FUN party, even if only for the grandparents and the memories in the scrapbook. So, I bought the party stuff as cheaply as I could. Most of this can be found at the Dollar Store. Since it was just grandparents at our daughter's party we were able to save half the party blowers, re-use almost all of the hats, and wipe down the "disposable" tablecloth and re-use it. I even had half the napkins, plates and utensils left, as well as streamers and balloons. Two parties for the price of one! The only thing I needed to buy for my son was a cake mix and frosting, cups, and those little candy letters for decoration. Since my son was having more guests at his party, I stocked up on some Bubble Tape bubblegum when they went on clearance for 25 cents each for party favors. If my husband hadn't vetoed hanging on to the same party stuff for another couple of years and if I hadn't become sick of Elmo, I might have squeezed THREE parties out of this party stuff!

Total cost estimate for party #1: $10. Which means around $5 per party not counting food! Not bad!

Memories of a celebration that my daughter declared was "SOOOOOOOO FUN!": Priceless

Men Responsible for ALL Problems???

I'm sure this title got your attention! I'm reading an amazing book right now, called "Reforming Marriage" by Douglas Wilson. Here is a paragraph on responsibility:

"While it is true that the feminist movement is represented by female spokesmen, they are really nothing more than shills, fronting for a male lie. At the foundation, feminism is the handiwork of two kinds of men--destructive, overbearing men on the one hand and wimps on the other. Because of how God made the world, men are always responsible for everything that happens in the feminine world--whether they want that responsibility or not, and whether or not women want to acknowledge it. Consequently, feminism is not the work of dissatisfied women; it is the work of ungodly men.

When a couple comes for marriage counseling, my operating assumption is always that he man is completely responsible for all the problems. Some may be inclined to react to this, but it is important to note that responsibility is not the same thing as guilt. If a woman has been unfaithful to her husband, of course she bears the guilt of adultery. But at the same time, he is responsible for it. To illustrate, suppose a young sailor disobeys his orders and runs a ship aground in the middle of the night. The captain and the navigator were both asleep and had nothing to do with his irresponsible actions. Who is finally responsible? The captain and navigator are responsible for the incident. They are career officers, and their careers are ruined. The young sailor will be getting out of the Navy in six months anyway. It may strike many as being unfair, but is is indisputably the way God made the world. The sailor is guilty; the captain is responsible.

Without this understanding of responsibility, authority becomes meaningless and tyrannical. Husbands are responsible for their wives. They are the head of their wives as Christ is the head of the church. Taking a covenant oath to become a husband involves assuming responsibility for that home. This means that men, whether through tyranny or abdication, are responsible for any problems in the home. If Christian men loved their wives as Christ loved the church, if they had given direction to their wives, if husbands had accepted their wives' necessary help with their God-ordained vocation, there never would have been room for any kind of feminist thinking within the church. Christian men who abdicate their God-given authority, or who feel embarassed about it, are leaving their wives unprotected."

Pages 32-33.

Before you women jump for joy at these statements, realize that Wilson also writes on Inescapable Headship (meaning that men just aren't supposed to be the head of their wives, they ARE the head by default because that is the created order. Whether they are good or bad heads, they are the head) and the fact that Eve was created for Adam. I highly recommend this excellent book!

Many of you who have read over my blog for a while may feel that at times I am inconsistent or confused with some of these issues! That's because I am! I wish I had everything all figured out and always acted upon what I know is right and true at all times. But, I'm not perfect and I'm ALWAYS learning and growing in my understanding of the Bible and it's applications to daily life. I think of myself as a wrestler, always grappling with one issue or another, trying to understand it and get it "pinned down." I enjoy being challenged and so much of what I have come to believe is different from how I was raised, even though I was raised in a Christian home. So, bear with me on my quest to discover a Biblical model for marriage, family, womanhood, etc.

You Know You're Becoming a Coupon Addict/Ultra Tightwad When..

1. You stand in line at customer service for 10 minutes to complain that you were overcharged a buck or two.

2. You find yourself salivating a bit when someone mentions coupons or a good sale!

3. You get an adrenaline rush when you get the paper (new coupons and new sales flyers!)

4. You know exactly when the paper comes and grab it seconds after it lands!

5. You have done very embarrassing and downright silly things for coupons. Like beg the teen cashier at Burger King if you could have the coupons out of the Sunday paper sitting out for patrons to read, digging papers out of the laundry room garbage that people in your apartment building have thrown away, chased down neighbor kids who have stolen your stolen paper, etc. etc. (to clarify, our "stolen" papers are just papers that get delivered to apartment buildings where people have moved out and they are empty. These papers end up in the garbage. So, to avoid digging them OUT of the garbage, I take them when they arrive. It's a great way to get free news and free coupons).

6. You have actually PURCHASED coupons! (Don't knock it until you've tried it! While this may seem silly, it makes sense to me since I paid about $1.25 for some coupons. With those coupons I got 1 free shampoo, 1 free conditioner, and 5 free bottles of hand sanitizer foam, which I was able to make 30 cents overage on per bottle so.....I actually made a quarter and got free stuff for buying coupons!) Go to The Coupon Clippers site.

7. You are infamous at the local grocery stores. You can't decide if cashiers admire you or hate you for using a bazillion coupons.

8. You internally scream when you have to buy something at full price. You cringe and do mental calculations and try to find substitutions in your recipe, all to avoid having to pay TWICE the price as Wal-Mart for an ingredient you need.

9. You have asked neighbors if you can have the coupons out of their papers. You also clip all the coupons out of your mom's magazines.

10. Your children love coupons too because they love what you love right? Your 2 year old has her own play coupon organizer and likes to shuffle through outdated ones you've given her to play with!

11. You love going on trips so you can pass through bigger cities and get tons more coupons out of the big city Sunday papers!

12. You've got a game going in your head of trying to see how little you can spend on Christmas/birthday gifts this year. You've caught yourself thinking stuff like, "Not only did I get my little nephew twice the presents this year, but I spent a grand total of 60 cents on his 3 gifts and card!"

13. People have called you a walking commercial for Walgreens.

14. Your friends mail you coupons. Also, your friends have become coupon crazy too, calling you or e-mailing about the deals this week and the hot sales in town.

15. You can't imagine how you lived before The Coupon Bar.

16. You have even dreamed about clipping coupons. Not kidding!

17. You get irritated when you actually have to pay for something since you get so many things free with coupons.

18. Yard saling and thrift store shopping aren't just hobbies, they are a SPORT for you that you compete in regularly!

Spoil King Jo Week

Every now and then I have a Spoil King Jo Week where I make a concerted effort to make one of King Jo's favorite meals or desserts or both every night for a whole week. I know some of you think I ought to be doing this EVERY week without fail, but that would be tough on our budget and tough on our waistlines too! In all honesty, when asked what foods he's been craving this week, my hubby told me he's happy with the meals I make and it took him a long while to come up with 2 suggestions. We both like most of the same foods and have our favorites often. So, it's not like he's an unhappy and underpriviledged husband when it's NOT his special week to be spoiled. Having the special week idea in mind just helps to remind me to look for little ways to bless him daily with food that's a bit nicer than our normal fare and since guys seem to LOVE food, this is a great start!

His two suggestions for things we haven't had in a while were: hamburgers and subs. It just so happened that really high-quality hamburgers were on manager's special last night so I snatched them up! Last night we had buffalo chicken tenders and fried potatoes with onions, which are two of his favorites. Tonight we will have Chow Mein on rice and possibly an apple pie and the remaining days will include: hamburgers, subs, coconut peanut butter cookies, cheesecake (if I can swing it in the budget), chicken alfredo, and hashbrowns.

Try this sometime with your own husband! If you are still living at home or are single and living with roommates it might be fun to have a Spoil Someone night every night of the week as a way to bless them in a small way!

Encouragment for Moms

If Ever You Worshiped

Words and music by Danny Oertli

It wasn't that long ago

You were a girl all alone

There was no way to know

How soon you'd have kids of your own

Now you're the first one awake

The last one asleep

Cleaning and making your plans

And there are days when it feels

Like there's no time to pray

You wonder if God understands

But if ever you worshiped it's now

If ever you kept your vow

You may not understand how

But if ever you worshiped it's now

The memory of leaves in the fall

Walking through the canyons so tall

God was so close in it all

Now your chance to worship seems small

You're the first one to taste

But the last one to eat

When everyone goes their own way

And it's your name that's called

In the deep of the night

One more hour of sleep floats away

Chorus

Every shirt that you fold

Every nose that you blow

Is a gift to the Father above

Every lunch that is made

Every game that is played

Is an offering of love

Writing the words doesn't convey how pretty this song is when you hear it sung by Danny Oertli. It's a great reminder for me that in the mist of the nitty-gritty stuff I do every day, I can worship God and do even the little things for His glory.

The Biggest Tear-Jerker Ever!

My mom went to a conference in Denver recently and heard Danny Oertli sing and speak. She got his book for me and his CD for herself. I just found some time to read it this weekend. In fact, it's a good thing it's only a 2.5-3 hour read because it is a book you CANNOT put down. My husband chuckled at me all evening because I would be laughing hysterically for several minutes and then sobbing the next moment. My eyes were bloodshot and puffy and red when it was all done. I have never read a book that made me laugh more or cry more. It is a beautiful love story of a young Christian couple, their fight against cancer, and how God is faithful through tragedy and loss. It is a testimony to the greatness of our God in the face of unspeakable hurt and grief.

To quote Tim Challies, a well-known Reformed blogger,

This book encouraged me, even as one who has never experienced so painful and significant a loss. I have little doubt it will be used to touch and to heal many hurting hearts and to prepare others for the pain that is always so nearby in this fallen world. To echo the words of Jerry Bridges in his endorsement, “Mommy Paints the Sky will draw you closer to God.”

http://www.challies.com/archives/book-review-mom.php

Danny's music is also poetic and beautiful. The words are so moving. In my next post I will feature the lyrics to one of his songs that really touched me.

You can buy this book on Amazon, it's VERY cheap to get a used copy, or you can borrow it from me! It will inspire you to live for eternity and to not take a single moment for granted!

My Walgreens Deals of the Week

All this, plus one pound of butter, which isn't pictured because it's in the fridge, for $6.06 out of pocket! And I'll get $2.20 back in rebates! How is that possible? Well, as I discovered on the drive home, my cashier goofed on one coupon. My printed internet coupons never scan so she manually typed it in. She typed in $7.60 instead of the 76 cents she was supposed to. I will, of course, mention this on my next trip and offer to pay back the $6 something. However, if they have a policy like some stores, mistakes go to the customer. But even for the $10 ($12 total -$2 Rebate on candles) this actually would have cost me, it's still a LOT of stuff. 3 rolls of Hallmark giftwrap, 4 rolls of ribbon, 2 Glade candles (they smell up the house so well!), a thing of raisins, 3 handsanitizers, 2 gums, 2 Theraflu medicines, 1 Fortifense immunity booster, 1 Vive Pro shampoo and 1 Vive Pro conditioner, and butter.

Last Saturday night Crystal posted about the coming deals for the following day at Walgreens. I'm tired of our local paper not having all of the good coupons she gets. So, I got on http://www.couponclippers.com/ and ordered a few Purell coupons and the Buy One Get One Free Vive Pro Nutrigloss coupon. They cost just 10-25 cents each. You had to buy a minimum of $3 and then pay one or two stamps shipping. Because I had to buy $3 worth of coupons, I got some battery coupons (we go through tons of those) and diaper coupons and Silk soymilk coupons. All stuff I will buy, so it's totally worth the cost. It took about 5 days for them to come in the mail, with 2 days to spare on the weekly sales!

Had I bought these items on sale or with coupons at Wal-Mart, I would have spent $32. Total saved at Walgreens today: $50.

What did I actually pay for? If the cashier hadn't made her mistake I would have paid $2 for the raisins, $2 for the pound of butter, $2 for the 3 rolls of wrapping paper, $1 for the 3 medicines, $1 for the ribbon, $3 on the candles (but with a $2 rebate to come) and tax. The shampoo/conditioner, gum and sanitizers were totally free. The great thing is that I actually made $1 by buying the 3 handsanitizers! That dollar more than pays for the coupons I had to buy to get these deals!

P.S. The reason I didn't really catch the cashier's mistake is because I was shopping with my husband and son and didn't have time to add up the total cost of it in my head and was in a hurry so the people behind me could get through the line.

For more stories of Great Deals Found go to Money Saving Mom.

Dear Mrs. Jo......

I decided to copy Crystal at www.biblicalwomanhood.com/blog in doing a Q and A post since it's a great idea for finding out what your blogreaders want to know. I love finding out more about others and questions spark great topics and discussions. I don't pretend to have all the answers and I don't want to set myself up as a know-it-all. But, I do read a lot, have many friends who have lots of interesting experiences, and I love to research. So, if you want to ask me a question, ask away!

I'll do my best to answer them, whether silly or serious, random or related to homemaking, personal (as long as they are appropriate) or general. And if I don't have a clue how to answer them, I'll be honest and admit it!

Now....here's one light-hearted question for you all, to get the ball rolling.....

What is the goofiest pick-up line someone has used on you?

Here's 3 of mine (by the way, I decided not to wait until 10 comments because no one is online this weekend or if they are, they aren't commenting!)

#3. "I've got room on my motorcycle if you want to go to Sturgis with me." Spoken by a very drunk guy who sat down with me at the picnic table in front of the grocery store where I worked and was taking a lunch break.
Note* I've also been asked out by another drunk guy when I was working a the deli in the grocery store. He asked multiple times so I finally started saying, "Jesus Loves You" to him over and over. Then cops came and handcuffed him and arrested him right in front of me. I guess he had also been offering drugs to the bag boys!

#2. "Howdy M'am." Now, upon first appearance, this might not seem so creepy. But, in context it is! Picture a guy who is lovesick, to the point of being a borderline stalker. Keep in mind that I was the only girl at college from the West and the only one who ever wore cowboy hat and boots around sometimes. You don't see a lot of real cowboys in MN. So, when a guy approaches you in a hat, boots, and western attire, dressed up just for you, and specifically tips his hat at you with a lovesick grin and says, "Howdy M'am" it's just plain creepy! He also had a rabbit fur hat he specifically wore because I wore one on the really cold days. Consequently this guy was upset when I started dating King Jo and then called me up after our engagement and told me it wasn't gonna last and that I could always fall back on him if things didn't work out!

Drumroll please.......The All-Time, Number One, Will-Forever-Make-Me-Groan Pick-Up Line.....(and no, it was not King Jo who used it....)

#1. "I could see myself becoming a Calvinist for you!"

My Hummus

Here it is folks! Thanks for the recipe, blogreader Tracey! Good stuff! Now, if only I had time to do homemade pita bread!

1 Tbsp. Cumin

1 can chickpeas, drained

1/2 C. Tahini

1/4 C. sesame oil (from top of tahini) or olive oil

1 clove garlic, minced (more if you like garlic!)

Juice of 1 lemonabout

1/2 C. water

Blend in blender!

Happy Birthday Bear-Bear

Jeremiah David, a few days old

Now, a sweet and cuddly one-year old!

One year ago a little guy entered my life. It was a lovely morning and I finally decided it must be time to go to the hospital after laboring for about 8 hours at home and through the night. I was expecting my midwife to say I was still in early labor because the contractions wouldn't get more than 7 minutes apart. When we got there I was at an 8 or 9! She broke my water (probably saving me another 8 hours of labor) and after another hour, I had one really hard, long contraction in which Jeremiah decided to shoot out within 10 seconds! One of the three people who was supposed to be ready to catch him actually did. I took one look at him and thought, "A little clone of my husband!" Even though I had a rough time with hemorraging and nearly passing out afterward and feeling weak, I loved cuddling my sweet boy that first night and getting to know him. Having a baby is like having a million Christmases and birthdays all rolled into one moment! No matter how much incredible pain (and there was plenty with his rapid, natural birth!) it entails, it is so amazing to see the life and the human being God has knit together in your own body out of miniscule cells. If I could go back, I would still puke my guts out for 3 months, deal with all the misery of being enormously pregnant, go through the pain of labor, go through the torturous first year of little sleep, all for the little miracle in my life. I can't imagine life without our Jeremiah David, affectionately known as Jer-Bear, Jeremias (Hare-uh-mee-us), Geronimo, Bear-Bear, Care-bear (by sister), Little Joel (my dad calls him this since he looks like his other grandpa Joel).

Happy Birthday Sweetie! I pray that God guides you and grows you and that you are a man after His own heart!

Yummy Pumpkin Seeds

I just tried the best pumpkin seed recipe! I'm trying not to eat all of them as I sit here blogging since my hubby might enjoy a taste when he gets home! We got this recipe from his cousin Rachel. Clean the pumpkin seeds and soak them in a brine overnight (1 cup water with 2 T. salt). In the morning, drain the saltwater off of them and bake them on a cookie sheet for 1 hour at 200 degrees. They are so good! If you want them a bit less salty, don't put quite as much in the brine!

Pumpkin Ideas

Have lots of pumpkins but don't know how to cook them? Go to Mrs. T's blog, this link, for some pumpkin-cooking advice. Also, check out her main site here and scan through it to find several pumpkin recipes she's posted. This afternoon will find me roasting pumpkins in the oven!

Interesting Things my Toddler has Done

Gotten into my lipstick and put it in the wrong area of her face....

Gotten stuck in more objects than I could have ever thought possible!

Aren't you all thankful for Magic Eraser?

Learning to get dressed....do both legs go in the same hole?

Calling to tell Grammy she went potty in her potty chair! Funny thing is the undies ended up around her shoulder instead of where are supposed to go!

The Wonderful Side of Alathia

One of the Great Things about Having a Kid Packed with Personality....

Is that you never lack for interesting photos! Here are some more of her stubborn moments!

The first one is her at 5 months, protesting being held by Uncle Colter.

The second is on her 2nd birthday, making a funny face for me.

The third is on her dedication day! How she behaved in front of the whole church that day is a whole other story!

Run, Don't Walk, to get THIS BOOK!

I received my copy of Passionate Housewives Desperate for God today. No, I didn't win it in the drawing, but I ordered it the first day it became available to buy. Wow! I read most of it/skimmed the rest in one evening. It was just that good! If you read my previous post you know I've had a tough day (make that a tough week) and this was a great breath of fresh air to remind me of my calling as a mommy and homemaker. I am guilty of having been a "Christan Feminist" in the past and so many points in this book hit home with me. It gave me a fresh vision for my challenging role and gave me the wisdom I needed to hear today in the area of parenting. I thought about quoting some of the book here, but then I realized I would need to quote half of the book, so you'd better just go out and buy it! Two of the chapters that were especially helpful to me were, "Weary Women" and "Too Good to be True: Freedom from the Bondage of Perfectionism." I also found the chapter "You Mean it's Not all About Me?" to be enlightening since I regularly encounter moms who talk about craving "me time" and yet don't understand why they still feel desperate for satisfaction. I, too, have been guilty of seeking "me time" as my salvation when I really should be letting Jesus fill me up for those weary days. I was raised with the idea that you "veg out" when you are exhausted. The authors challenge this idea and show how even Christian women easily embrace concepts of the world that promote selfishness and feminism.
I will be re-reading this book many times in order to let it all sink in. There is so much I can learn from these neat women!
You can buy this book on Amazon or from www.biblicalwomanhood.com.

Raising a Strong-Willed Kid

Alathia-one hour after being born
If looks could kill! 18 Months

Being silly at 2.5-Notice what the shirt says!

When I was pregnant the first time I hoped that I would never have a kid who was as challenging as my brother Grant was. I saw him fight my parents on everything from the time he was an infant on, and I hoped and prayed I'd never have to experience that as a parent. Well, God must have had a good laugh. Because He sent us a child TWICE as defiant, strong-willed, and difficult as my little brother. Colter and I used to be shocked and horrified when Grant would disobey enough to get disciplined 6 times in a day. We couldn't figure out why he wouldn't learn and would not stop testing Mom. It hurt us to see him always in trouble. Now, if my daughter gets disciplined ONLY 6 times, I think we're doing really, really, really good!



Alathia is an amazing person with an friendly personality and a sweetness that can blow you away at times. I'm not trying to demonize my child or discount the blessing she truly is. But, I won't "fake-blog" like some people do and tell you my life and my children are perfect. I struggle EVERY SINGLE DAY with how to deal with my girl and how to train, and teach her and get the message across. Some days are rougher than others. Today was unbelievable. It started with me wanting to get her dressed and she asked me to hold her clothes in my left hand instead of my right. No big deal, just typical toddler wierdness, but I was already holding my son in that arm. She started throwing a fit. We told her to get out of her pajamas so we could help her get dressed. She began to scream at the top of her lungs (I'm sure the neighbors on both sides can't stand us!) and thrash in a violent tantrum. We put her in her room for a time-out. When she became violent and louder in her room we spanked her. It didn't end. King Jo missed 20 minutes of work in the escapade of screaming and thrashing that followed. He was very gentle, loving, and unemotional, which I'm thankful for. Ali is the sort of kid that WILL NOT give in. She will not give in to the promise of rewards for good behavior, she will not give in after lengthy time-outs, she will not give in if you try to reason in a sweet and gentle voice, etc. etc. She boggles our minds with her un-relenting strong will. These huge confrontations like today don't happen more than once a month, but on an average day she needs corrected a billion times and gets an average of 10 corrections per day.



I struggle as a mother in this area so much. I pictured a quiet little angelic girl who was very mature for her age and obedient to a fault. The Lord must know I would have been prideful and cocky if I had had a firstborn like that. I would have lectured other parents on how to be "better" parents. Instead I have a child who drives me to my knees in desperate prayer and humbles me with how little I know about parenting.

I used to shake my head at naughty kids in the grocery store where I worked and think, "My kids will never be like that! They will be well-trained, well-disciplined and obedient." I thought if I did all the right things, my children would be fine. A + B = C, right?

The people who know Alathia have said: "Boy, she sure has an opinion (our midwife, moments after her birth)" "She's full of it! (our librarian)" "She's a bull in a china closet" (her grandpa)" "I'm really surprised at how naughty she is because of who her parents are (a friend)" "She is definitely a stinker (the Child Psychologist who did her free screening in child development)" "Do you think she'll end up in prison? (me to my hubby on those rough days)" "She's a pistol" "She's precocious" "She's just intelligent and needs to be challenged a lot (her Grammy)" "She's a female Dennis the Menace (my dad)" "She's a one-woman wrecking crew! (also my dad)"



Believe me, we've read all the books we can find on raising strong-willed kids and how to discipline kids biblically. We've begged others for advice. Everyone seems to have an opinion on why she is the way she is or how to deal with her:

"Give her more activites/projects"

"Give her undivided attention a lot, she's jealous of her brother"

"You're too _____ (harsh, lenient, structured, unstructured, fill in the blank!)"

"You married the guy! (my dad always insinuates that she gets it from her Daddy and his family)"

"You were a mean, bossy older sister, now you have a daughter just like you! (my strong-willed brother Grant)"


"Naughty children are always a reflection of their parents. Bad parenting makes for bad kids (some of the books I've read)"



There are moments in my day where my heart swells with love for this little, tiny girl and I want to hold onto her forever. Then there are moments when I have to walk away because I feel like throttling her. Very few people understand our intense dilemma. I have met very few who can sympathize with having a child this strong-willed. All children have some independence to them but not at her level. I can't imagine Jeremiah ever acting like this! It's not just because he's still an infant either! Dealing with her at Jeremiah's age was 10 times harder than dealing with him now. He's like his Uncle Colter in that he cries when he's disciplined and isn't hasty to repeat a no-no. Ali at this age was like, "BRING IT ON! I may only be 29 inches tall but I will test you endlessly to see if you mean what you say!"


One of my biggest sorrows is that so many people instantly judge her as a brat. My nearest and dearest friends have seen her good and bad sides and accept her for who she is (even after she's knocked their kids flat on their faces), but many of my friends and acquaintances instantly write her off as completely naughty and a terror to their own children. I nearly quit library story time last year because of the humiliation of my child being the naughtiest child there. I feel like I should have a perfect child to be a good Christian witness around my non-Christian friends.

However, even though it's true she's a little pistol, I feel dual anger and pity for Alathia when people make assumptions or comments about her; people who don't even really know her! I wish she wouldn't be naughty so that people would like her and think of her as the sweet little girl she really is when she's not being defiant.

One plus to having our difficult child first is that Jeremiah seems as easy as pie! Instead of being shocked like my folks were on the last kid (after 2 easy kids), I seriously doubt we will ever have a kid with a will as strong as Ali's again! If I'm proven wrong on this calculation, you will know why my hair has suddenly turned white and I've checked myself into a Home.

King Jo feels that if Ali's will is channeled in the right direction she will be a wonderful and gifted leader someday. Because her name is the Greek word for TRUTH, I hope she will use her will to fight injustice and evil and stand for Truth.

If you have a difficult/strong-willed child or a kid in the throes of the terrible twos, please give me your helpful hints! And if you happen to have that super obedient, quiet, calm kid that so many of my friends have, please don't be cocky, but instead say a prayer for me today!

Are Kids in Big Families Neglected? Please Weigh In!

A gal at our church once spoke to a woman's group and mentioned that in her family of 10 kids, she never had alone time with her parents. She said she would beg to go grocery shopping with her mom just for some alone time with her. That was about all she got. Another friend worked as a nanny to missionaries with 10 kids. She said the kids were very neglected and it was a sad situation.

However, other families with lots of kids seem to do very well at showing their kids attention. I have at least 10 friends I'm close to, so what makes some think that a mom with 10 kids can't carve out time for them? Especially since they are at differing stages and ages.

Since I was from a 3 kid family and I only have 2 kids right now, I can't answer this question. But, if you were raised in, or have many kids (4 or more) or know a friend in this situation, please give me your input. Are kids in big families to be pitied? Do they ever have heart-to-hearts with their folks? Do they get enough attention? How much attention is really enough for each kid? Do parents really only have enough time and energy for interacting with a couple of kids or do we just tend to think that kids need more attention than they really do?

Along the same lines: A friend and I used to say that it was so sad when parents make the oldest daughter (s) work like second mothers to the family. We pitied gals that we knew of who were homeschooling little brothers and sisters or constantly babysitting/helping them. Our rationale: If the parents are going to have kids, then they should be the ones responsible for them. It's not fair to make your older kids raise your younger kids.

The more I read/study on big families, the more I realize that instead of seeing "working their buns off as a second mommy" as a bad thing, maybe it's not such a bad thing for kids. And no, I'm not just saying this because I'm a mom now and would love Alathia to be my maid/nanny/cook someday! The more I think about how spoiled and self-centered kids are today, the more I realize that hard work would do a lot of these kids good. How rare it is today to find teens who are hard workers with good attitudes! How rare it is to find kids who don't think they are the center of the universe! I'm not advocating that moms should leave their posts and let their older kids have full reign at home. I'm not advocating that kids of any age should work all day with no time for play, hobbies, or rest. I'm just saying that instead of pitying those girls who are the "right-hand helpers" to their mommas, maybe I should honor them and thank them for being so counter-cultural. They of all people will be most prepared for the roles in marriage/parenting as they've learned it firsthand. Maybe we'd have more godly Christian men who knew how to lead if they were practicing it at home, leading little brothers and sisters and helping protect the family.

So, the questions are:
1. Are kids in big families neglected?
2. How much attention/time do kids truly need? How much is enough?
3. Is it harmful or beneficial to the older kids to help raise the younger?

The WORST Part of Being a Mommy

Being a mom can be wonderful, joyful, thrilling, and exhausting, difficult, and heart-wrenching. But when do you most want to say, "Can I resign as a Mommy?" I'll tell you what it is for me: barf! I would never make a good nurse. I'm not good with a lot of things like blood and needles, but I'm especially not cleaning up barf, even if it is my own child's. It is horrible, icky, and makes me gag! Recently I've been seeing a lot of it, due to the fact that last week Alathia caught the one-day flu going around town, and last night Jeremiah finally got it. I don't mind the extra laundry, cuddling and rocking my babies and singing to them to soothe their pain and misery. I love comforting and consoling them. I just wish barf wasn't part of the package!

Not for those with a weak stomach...........This is the most disgusting thing I have ever seen in my life! Last week when Alathia had the flu, we thought she was over it because her appetite picked up and she was playing and running around having fun. Then my mom dropped by briefly after work. During this time Alathia had a volcanic eruption of barf all over the living room carpet which we had just shampooed extremely well a week before. We were all in shock for a few seconds, during which Jeremiah crawled over as fast as lightning, reached out, grabbed a chunk of barf and started to put it in his mouth. I screamed at the top of my lungs, grabbed his hand in the nick of time (like 1/4 inch from his mouth) and King Jo and I both ended up having to strip and wash one kid each and get them clean. Jer was so scared by the whole affair he cried and cired for about a half hour. (He's very sensitive.)

What do YOU think a mommy's nastiest chore is?

The Invisible Woman

I promised my Circle of Friends newsletter ladies I'd post this article today, Nov. 3rd since I didn't have space for it in the newsletter. It's good encouragement for mommies.

The Invisible Woman
By Nichole Johnson

It all began to make sense, the blank stares, the lack of response, the way one of the kids will walk into the room while I'm on the phone and ask to be taken to the store. Inside I'm thinking, "Can't you see I'm on the phone?" Obviously not. No one can see if I'm on the phone, or cooking, or sweeping the floor, or even standing on my head in the corner, because no one can see me at all. I'm invisible.Some days I am only a pair of hands, nothing more: Can you fix this? Can you tie this? Can you open this?Some days I'm not a pair of hands; I'm not even a human being. I'm a clock to ask, "What time is it?" I'm a satellite guide to answer, "What number is the Disney Channel?" I'm a car to order, "Right around 5:30, please."I was certain that these were the hands that once held books and the eyes that studied history and the mind that graduated summa cum laude - but now they had disappeared into the peanut butter, never to be seen again.She's going, she's going . She's gone!One night, a group of us were having dinner, celebrating the return of a friend from England. Janice had just gotten back from a fabulous trip, and she was going on and on about the hotel she stayed in. I was sitting there, looking around at the others all put together so well. It was hard not to compare and feel sorry for myself as I looked down at my out-of-style dress; it was the only thing I could find that was clean. My unwashed hair was pulled up in a banana clip and I was afraid I could actually smell peanut butter in it. I was feeling pretty pathetic, when Janice turned to me with a beautifully wrapped package, and said, "I brought you this."It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe. I wasn't exactly sure why she'd given it to me until I read her inscription: "To Charlotte, with admiration for the greatness of what you are building when no one sees."In the days ahead I would read - no, devour - the book. And I would discover what would become for me, four life-changing truths, after which I could pattern my work: No one can say who built the great cathedrals - we have no record of their names.These builders gave their whole lives for a work they would never see finished. They made great sacrifices and expected no credit. The passion of their building was fueled by their faith that the eyes of God saw everything.A legendary story in the book told of a rich man who came to visit the cathedral while it was being built, and he saw a workman carving a tiny bird on the inside of a beam. He was puzzled and asked the man, "Why are you spending so much time carving that bird into a beam that will be covered by the roof? No one will ever see it."And the workman replied, "Because God sees."I closed the book, feeling the missing piece fall into place. It was almost as if I heard God whispering to me, "I see you, Charlotte. I see the sacrifices you make every day, even when no one around you does. No act of kindness you've done, no sequin you've sewn on, no cupcake you've baked, is too small for me to notice and smile over. You are building a great cathedral, but you can't see right now what it will become."At times, my invisibility feels like an affliction. But it is not a disease that is erasing my life. It is the cure for the disease of my own self-centeredness. It is the antidote to my strong, stubborn pride.I keep the right perspective when I see myself as a great builder. As one of the people who show up at a job that they will never see finished, to work on something that their name will never be on. The writer of the book went so far as to say that no cathedrals could ever be built in our lifetime because there are so few people willing to sacrifice to that degree.When I really think about it, I don't want my son to tell the friend he's bringing home from college for Thanksgiving, "My mom gets up at 4 in the morning and bakes homemade pies, and then she hand bastes a turkey for three hours and presses all the linens for the table." That would mean I'd built a shrine or a monument to myself. I just want him to want to come home. And then, if there is anything more to say to his friend, to add, "You're gonna love it there."As mothers, we are building great cathedrals. We cannot be seen if we're doing it right. And one day, it is very possible that the world will marvel, not only at what we have built, but at the beauty that has been added to the world by the sacrifices of invisible women.Great Job, MOM

This writing was submitted by Tammy, a pastor’s wife and stay-at-home mom to 18-month old Jed in MN.

Thrift Store Bargains!

I love the two thrift stores in our town! They sell kids' clothing for 10 cents an item and I've gotten a lot of things that still have the tags on them! Here are yesterday's buys:

T-shirt for King Jo

Outfit for a friend who needs clothes for her son

Pretty, like-new courderoy jumper for Alathia (she needs dresses for the next size up so this was perfect. However, she begs to wear it even though it's really big on her right now!)

UV protection swim shirt for my friend's baby girl

Cute winter hat for my nephew

Pretty candleholder

Hand-knitted little blue sweater for Jeremiah

Total spent: $1.16! The pretty candle holder was 50 cents of that!

Operation Christmas Child Boxes

It was so much fun this year to shop with the kids for Shoebox gifts. Alathia was chattering up a storm as she picked out gifts for a little girl her age. Jeremiah just sat in cart with a stunned look on his face, holding the neat little boy toys I picked out for him. He must have been thinking, "What's up with Mom today? She's actually buying me new toys?"

I encourage you to partake in this with your own kids!

Praise the Lord! Jeremiah is paid off!

Tonight King Jo took us out to one of our favorite restaurants, Gannett Grill, to celebrate the fact that tomorrow we will pay the very last chunk on Jeremiah's hospital and clinic bills a week before his first birthday! I would have chosen to have a waterbirth at home if I had the option in this state, but since I didn't, I'm grateful I had an in-hospital midwife and that our insurance did cover $8,000 of the birth. I know some couples who will be paying on their kids for about 5 years due to lack of insurance (or rejection by insurance). Can you believe it costs between $10 and $11,000 these days to have a natural childbirth with one night in the hospital and really lousy food? Sick and wrong!

My tentative goal was to pay these bills of by his first birthday, but with all the trips we've taken to visit family in MN and car expenses, it wasn't looking too realistic. However, King Jo does all the budgeting and he knew more accurately what we had and how it could be used and he worked it out, by the grace of God!!!

I used to worry so much before we were married about the cost of children and not wanting to go into debt over having them. I didn't have a clue how we could ever afford health insurance or medical expenses. My vision was so short-sighted and I saw kids as a financial burden instead of a blessing.

God is so good to lead us, guide us, and provide for us as we have need, each tiny step of the way on this journey of life! He gave me a strong desire to have kids right away in marriage and then honored that desire with two little peanuts so far! They are worth any expense or sacrifice on our part! He led us to a wonderful home-birthing midwife back when I was pregnant with Alathia and at the time we didn't have maternity coverage. It is amazing I didn't end up in the hospital to deliver her because of the day-long flu I had before labor started. God provided the strength I needed to keep enough liquids down to have just barely enough stamina (even after 15 hours of labor) to give birth at home and because of it, we saved $10,000! Little things that when added up equal the hand of God providing for our needs!

I hope our story encourages someone out there to trust and pray. Then watch God provide!

Matthew 6:33-34

"But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble."

One of my Natural Living Goals Met!

I finally got some time to make a homemade Fuzzi Bunz diaper tonight! I couldn't believe how easy they are to make! If only I had known about making these a few years ago! I found some free diaper patterns and instructions online here, but I found using a disposable diaper to trace my own pattern was easiest for me. Because I didn't know what I was doing, it took and hour and a half. But once I get the hang of these I can whip these babies out in no time! First I'd like to see how they work on Baby Jer and whether or not they leak. If they work out really well, I'm going to buy a bunch more PUL (a special water-proof fabric for the outer layer) from A Cut Above Fabrics online and make more! This green piece of PUL cost $3 plus shipping and handling. All the other materials necessary for it were things I already had in my fabric or rag stash.

Because this is my first, it's definitely NOT perfect. I realized at the end that I should have put the fastener elastic further down on the diaper. Because I didn't, I had to put a couple of snaps just above the leg to help lock those side tabs down. But, the plus side of this is that I've never done snaps before but because I needed them, I was forced to learn! All you need is a hammer and they are as easy as pie to do! Now that I know how to use snaps in my sewing I can make so many more things....... Don't ya just love learning new skills?

I'll keep you all posted on how the diaper works for my "now-very-crunchy" baby! The nice thing about these homemade ones is you can tailor-make them to fit your baby's body. That's why I added elastic around the top front, for extra leakage protection. My baby has a very skinny (almost non-existant) bum, so I may need to make some adjustments on the next one depending on how this one fits.

I'm excited because one of my friends has been ordered by her doctor to use cloth diapers and she doesn't know where to start. Her son keeps getting infections down there. So, now that I know how to make these, I'll be able to help her out and save her $20 per diaper (what Fuzzi Bunz cost online!)

Update:

My diaper was a bit too small for Jer, and I wish I'd done the tabs like the instructions showed so they would stretch further and not rub on his skin. My snaps didn't snap because the diaper was too small. However, it still works okay and with a little tweaking it will definitely be usable, if not for Jer, then for my friend's smaller baby. It worked VERY WELL at containing leaks and keeping him dry, wicking the moisture away from his skin. I'm going to take the tips in the comments section and order some more PUL and get busy sewing more!