Teething

Whaaaaaaa! No, it's not Jeremiah teething today. Oddly enough it is MAMA who is teething today! How weird is that? I have utmost empathy for any of my tiny friends who may be cutting teeth. It hurts like the dickens! One of my back molars is coming in and my whole right side of my face is swollen and sore and I'm popping Ibuprofen like candy. If it doesn't feel better tomorrow I'll make a dental appointment. I sure hope it's nothing that requires a......(shudder...)...root canal.

Thanks Honey!

Last night my hubby was remarking that he told a certain friend of ours that I had to run to Safeway to get another good deal. I said, "He thinks I'm a nut, doesn't he?" My hubby replied instantly with, "Oh, I don't think he thinks you're a bad nut honey!"

Ahhhhh, thanks Honey, I guess I'm a GOOD nut, which is so much better!

I posted this for you fellow coupon-clipping nuts who get groceries for free!

Clean Veggies

I found this great new product a couple of weeks ago! I'm hoping this will help make the Dirty Dozen less dirty (see my posts on Natural Living for a recap of the produce most likely to contain pesticides). Where we live there are very few options for organic produce. Sometimes you see it, sometimes you don't. I was planning to buy organic apples last week and the store didn't have any. For that matter they didn't have anything organic in the produce section! So, I figure that using this cleansing spray is the next best thing until we can grow our own garden. This cost a little over $4 at the health food store and is all-natural. It should last a long time. Have any of you used this or something similar?

Making Your Home a Haven--Day 7

BEFORE

AFTER

Today for the Making Your Home a Haven Challenge we are supposed to do a project like tackling a drawer, shelf, or closet. I tackled my spice cabinet as it's been bugging me recently. I straightened and organized and wiped it out. I am so happy with the results! I tried not to overschedule my day so that I have plenty of time to play with the kids (something I haven't been doing enough of recently). All of the items on my list are done except the yard stuff. It's icy cold with lots of snow outside, but I still need to get a pile of branches moved out of the yard.



I also got an unexpected but pleasant call from my brother, whom I haven't talked to in a few months as he's been in Argentina. He's spending Christmas in Florida and gave me a call. Ali chatted with him on the phone. He asked how she was doing and if there was snow and she mentioned going outside and said, unprompted, "I FWEEZED my buns off!" It was hysterical! Meanwhile, he's picking lemons and tangerines which just seems weird to do at "Christmas-time."



Supper tonight is Nachos, which is very simple, especially since I have frozen bags of hamburger in the freezer already cooked and refried beans and Green Mountain Lava Salsa already made! (See my Cooking posts for the salsa recipe).

Making Your Home a Haven--Day 6

I'm excited for another week of emphasis on keeping up those problem areas of the house. Today is the kitchen! Boy, did mine need it. I was horribly embarrassed to take "before" pics for you all to see, but the contrast is so great that at least I can feel glad about the results. Bear in mind that I don't have a dishwasher (I can't wait to have one someday!), that I was feeling sick with my cold this weekend, and that weekends are whirlwinds of disaster at our house. When my hubby is home it's extremely hard to stay on schedule and get as many chores done and we tend to do different things on the weekend so housekeeping sometimes gets forgotten.

Supper is planned: Pancakes, sausage, and cheesy scrambled eggs. No early prep necessary.

I'm still working on my verses from last week!

On a happy note, I found a super simple pattern online for a smock apron and since I don't really have a feminine cute apron, I thought I'd make one this week! So, here's a pic of me in my new apron. For some reason the cheap batteries I put in my camera last night have been making the pics look fuzzy!

For those of you who wonder why my dish drainer is full in my newly "cleaned" kitchen: That's my definition of clean! I've become an expert at stacking the dishes as high as possible to avoid drying. When my hubby does dishes, he always dries EVERYTHING! But it takes him 3 times as long to get them done! I would rather not waste precious naptime drying dishes when they will dry just fine in the drainer and can be put away later!

I even scrubbed my floor to a squeaky clean shine on my hands and knees with my all-natural, Dr. Bronner's all-purpose cleaner. My home definitely feels like a haven now!

The Obstacles Against Making Your Home a Haven

My earnest desire is to make our home a beautiful haven of rest and peace. I would love to have a perfectly spotless home, plenty of time to make my favorite crafts, delicious 5-star meals every night, and well-behaved little angels.

We can't have everything we want in this world.

So, even though I'm making a major attempt to de-clutter, organize and freshen our home, this week and every week, I realize that life isn't neat and organized and perfect all the time. For instance, today I have a bad cold and would rather lay on the couch or sit at the computer than do anything. I'm pooped and feeling icky! Not only that, but my kids will never be perfect and will always keep me on my toes and stretch my patience. I will work on a lovely meal only to realize that my whole kitchen is a disaster now and needs cleaned. I will clean the kitchen during which the kids will empty every toy they own on the living room carpet. I'll enforce the cleaning up, which takes forever, only to notice another mess in their bedroom, another mess in my kitchen, the accidental spilling of something on the carpet, someone getting into something they shouldn't have, etc. Then, just when I think I've gotten things taken care of, and cleaned up, two of the neighbor kids will show up and help my kids destroy the house again. Uuughhh!

The comic strips of late in the local paper have been almost prophetic in what has happened in my life as a mom recently. A Baby Blue's comic this Sunday about the mom having to peel her kids off her legs with a crowbar for some alone time made sense to me when I fought off the screaming little ones on Monday night for about 15 minutes so I could get out the door to a church meeting. The above comic illustrates my exact feelings most days! Especially today when my little boy decided to dunk the remote in the toliet and throw some of his sister's best toys in the garbage can. My kids have done everything pictured above and about a billion other naughty things.

Making your home a haven is mostly about attitude and not about cleaning. I have been to homes that weren't perfectly spotless but reflected the sweetness of a God-fearing mama and a warm cozy feeling. I have been in homes where there isn't a speck of dust or dirt but the feeling is icy and sterile. I want to have a clean home, but most importantly I want to have a home where Mama is a happy and kind Mama, always ready to listen and help and be a servant.

Someday I look forward to having a home of our own with more space. Someday I may have a lovely place that STAYS clean and more time on my hands once our children are grown. But, for now, I can only do what I can do with what I have and that means controlling the chaos as much as possible and not fretting over the rest!

Frugal Friday--A Simple, but Fun, Family Game

Today for our Making our Homes a Haven challenge we are supposed to think of something we can do to make time for our family, which is essential to having a warm atmosphere in our homes. So, I thought I'd post on this fun, but very simple game that children of all ages love. It's a fun game for families to play since kids of all ages enjoy it. Adults enjoy it too! This game was developed by a missionary here (Kurt Shafli of Switzerland) who reaches out to the Native Americans on the Reservation. Using symbols he learned from the people he ministers to, he developed this game as a way to help them understand the Gospel.

Take 3 flat, smooth stones of preferred size and using a permanent marker, put a dark, filled-in circle on one, an empty circle on another and an X on another. In this game, the empty circle represents the empty tomb/forgiveness, the dark circle sin/death, and the X is the cross. Interestingly enough, the X is a traditional Indian symbol for "TRADE" so the combination that receives the most points is:

Dark circle, X, empty circle which means: Jesus trades our sin for forgiveness at the cross. Jesus conquered death and the tomb is empty!

To play the game hold all three stones and toss them onto the ground/table. If they land with the marking down, then they are blanks. Figure out how many points you have by the point system pictured above. Then tally point up for each person playing on a piece of paper.

This game is also fun for outdoor activities like camping or family picnics. If you have it memorized and you have a marker on hand it can be made anytime, anywhere! Hours of fun, and the Gospel reinforced in little minds!

Making Your Home a Haven--Day 4

I didn't skip out on the challenge yesterday ladies! It was just a very busy day and my laundry pile gets tackled on Mondays and was done except for diapers. See yesterday's post for a description of how my hubby made our home a haven yesterday, more so than me!

Today's Goals:

Time with God--Read Psalm 145 and Proverbs 31:10-12

I'm going to work on memorizing them throughout the day and all this week

Planning Time--Since yesterday was crazy busy, today is going to be low-key. The main things I have to do:

Call the bank-done

Babysit a friend's toddler in the morning while she is moving-done

Straighten the computer desk again--done

Straighten the kitchen, do some dishes

Mail the Christmas letters--done

Clean the bathroom--done

Make a lunch for Josiah

Make a nice supper--Chicken/Broccoli/Rice Casserole, Pumpkin Rolls (see Crystal's post from a couple days ago for the recipe at www.biblicalwomanhoodonline.com/blog and Chocolate Cake

Other things I would like to do today:

Sew myself a cute apron

Read

Catch up on some of the other ladies posts on the Home a Haven Challenge

We're also supposed to think of something fun and special to do for our families this weekend. I'm thinking that we could have Boppa and Grammy (my folks) over for a relaxing Saturday brunch and make homemade caramel rolls or that maybe we could let Alathia open her Candy Land game we got her for Christmas and teach her how to play it!

Senior Pics

Grant has the greenest eyes I've ever seen. This photo doesn't do them justice!

Grant is a BMX biker and has worked as a bike mechanic at the local bike shop for a few years.

It's scary how much he looks like our Dad did in the 70's with that afro! He didn't even realize how "old fashioned" he looked until he saw these photos!

Grant has spent the last 10 years working on bikes and pouring most of his time, energy, and financial resources into various bikes! One hot July day he biked 80 miles in 6 hours!

No, I haven't abandoned the Make Your Home a Haven challenge today. I didn't have a pic of my home to post today since it was "Laundry Day" and I got the bulk of my laundry done on Monday. I did work my buns off today from the time I got up until 11 p.m. I got my newsletters printed and ready to mail, along with 100 Christmas cards/letters/Christmas photos, bought stamps at the post office, answered some e-mails, got my food order to the bulk food club person, chased after kids, disciplined kids over a thousand times (or so it seemed), dressed, fed, and bathed kids, did a load of diapers, took my youngest brother's belated senior pics, made lunch, browsed the new grocery ads online, ran the kids to my mom's, drove to the town 30 miles away for an evening eye appointment, shopped Wal-Mart for over an hour, shopped Walgreens with all my many coupons, drove home, made myself a very late supper, and gave my hubby a nice back massage.

The plus side to this extremely busy day was that when I returned home from my appointment and shopping trip my hard-working hubby who peels logs all day to the point of exhaustion had done a huge sinkful of dirty dishes and towel-dried them (which is something I NEVER do since I think it is a waste of time). He also had cleaned up all the toys and junk in the living room and vacuumed it! My hero! Nothing says love like having your most hated chores done for you! He didn't even know I'd had a busy day either!

Tomorrow I think I will put my feet up and take it easy. Eat a lot of chocolate and take time to read a fun book. Days like today are thankfully pretty rare! But I do have a tendency to be a work-a-holic, even if I don't technically have a real job. Even if it seems like I accomplished a lot, I had about ten more things running through my brain today of things I need to do. I relentlessly punish myself to get EVERYTHING accomplished all at once! Ease up girl, back away from the To-Do list and no one will get hurt!

The above photos are some of the best of the pics I took of my brother Grant. My parents bugged him to get photos done, but he never wanted to. I finally bribed him by telling him this could be his Christmas gift to Mom and Dad: posing for the pics. We haven't had a decent pic of him in years and my parents would be devastated if something ever happened to him and they didn't have some nice pictures to remember him by. I think he looks best with his hair cut and his face shaved (and no earrings). But, no matter what style he decides to sport, the girls in town seem to adore him!

Babysitting Twins

Babysitting twins is such an adventure! Especially when those twins happen to be two! Even more so when you happen to have a one and two year old of your own! Our good friends from church have some very delightful twins who are very sweet little people most of the time and pretty easy to babysit. Just don't give them crayons (I learned the hard way) and try to make sure everyone is sharing and playing fairly. Little Kennedy and Carsen are very easy to babysit as far as kid temperment and personalities go but it still takes a ton of energy to have that many littles running around, literally, underfoot. When their mom comes to get them it's a little bit like trying to herd rabbits to get their coats on and out of the door before someone runs away or takes their coat off or escapes down the hall. We went on a walk today and that meant getting hats, gloves, shoes, and coats on 4 little people and KEEPING them on those little people.

For those of you mothers who daily keep up with four kids 3 and under, you have all my admiration and awe. In the meantime, where I once thought two was hard, I now consider it a piece of cake!

Making Your Home a Haven--Day 2

Refresh your spirit:

I'm trying to memorize parts of Psalm 145

Plan:

Today we were supposed to write a list of things to accomplish today. In addition to my morning routine, here is my list of things to remember for today (pictured above). The main thing my husband wanted me to help him with was the refried beans since he has to take them to church tonight (he volunteers with the youth).

Do:

Living room is the emphasis today. I plan to organize the stuff we store under the couch, move my sewing and craft tubs into my bedroom, and straighten up piles of books left on end tables/arms of the couch, etc. Since this isn't exciting stuff, I didn't take a pic.

Making Your Home A Haven--Day 1

Yummy rolls and a cheery Christmas candle!

What a mess! I can't find anything around here!

Ahh! So refreshingly neat! Now if only it would STAY that way!

The ladies at Biblical Womanhood are doing a two-week challenge on

Making Your Home a Haven.

Today, in addition to refreshing your spirit and making a plan for a morning routine she suggests working on the entryway to your home. Since we don't have much of an entryway in our tiny apartment, and I've already been trying to contain jackets in a special laundry basket and we have a little rug all set up for shoes, I decided to tackle the worst spot in the whole house; our computer desk! What an eyesore when you come in the door and see that across the room! Being that I get a lot of bills/mail and love books, this has become the catch-all for anything we want to keep out of the reach of tiny fingers. I hate it and my husband gets sick of it, but everytime I clean it, it takes about one day before it's back to chaotic. So, the next two weeks will find me working on this spot A LOT! I cleared a spot on our bookshelf to handle all the books I'm currently reading. I put little odds and ends in a plastic box and tried to sort magazines, flyers, and little notes on scraps of paper. I'm making more of an effort to jot notes, shopping lists, addresses, and little reminders in one little notebook in my purse where it's all contained and not a bunch of strewn paper clutter.

A few things I DID do to make my home a haven today was lighting a pretty candle (Holiday Cheer scent), bake a batch of Crystal's 30-minute-homemade rolls for our sandwiches for lunch, and put on some Christmas music. I also did my general Monday morning cleaning in addition to babysitting my friend's adorable 2-year old twins for over 4 hours! What a morning!

Friendly Mommy Tip: Don't ever give 3 two-year-olds and a 1 year-old crayons! Let's just say my kitchen floor was very colorful and is now VERY clean!


Our Morning Routine which I do daily and don't need to write down because it's in my head:


1. Hubby or I get up with the kids and give them each a banana, some cheerios, and sippy cups of milk. One spouse always lets the other sleep in. We split this up about 50/50 just based on who is the most tired that day!

2. I usually do dishes or work on some kitchen cleaning while they eat. I don't bother eating since the interruptions are too great at this point!

3. Clean up kids, change diapers, bathe if needed (every 2-3 days) and get them dressed for the day. Do Morning devotions with them, reading some of the Bible, praying, and singing songs or reading stories.

4. Put Jer down for a morning nap. Put an educational video on for Ali (we let her watch 30 minutes a day). Then shower, get dressed, and grab a quick bite to eat if possible. Check e-mail and do paperwork until her movie is done (bills, organizing shopping lists or coupons, letters to mail).

5. Seek to do as much laundry as possible during the morning when few other residents here are using the washer/dryer.

6. Try to get the living room vaccuumed and straightened up nicely before King Jo arrives home for lunch.

7. Kids get a snack around 10 a.m. and usually start fussing for lunch at 11:30 a.m.

8. Try to do an educational activity with Alathia, whether painting, learning letters, cutting paper, or practicing Bible verses.

The Funny Alarm Clock Story

A couple of nights ago I went to bed a little too "early". As in, being a night owl, it was around 2 a.m. when I rolled into bed. I get to surfing the net or reading and time just flies away from me! So, I was really, really tired and slept very heavily. Apparently, somehow in the night I flipped my alarm clock on so that it went off at 3:30 a.m. (it was still set for then from Black Friday a week ago. I only use it for special times since my kids get me up every day at 6:45 or 7 a.m. without fail.) It screamed out it's blaring, obnoxious sound and King Jo apparently woke up and said, "Turn it off. Did you turn it off?" I hit it, meaning I only hit snooze, and it went off 9 minutes later. He'd ask again, "Did you turn it off?" I'd mumble something like yes and so we'd go back to sleep. This happened 5 times before he came crashing over my side of the bed and unplugged that thing! I guess that all those times I had answered yes, I had really been sleeping. The way I remember it is that I was dreaming that I was trying to upload pictures to my blog. I remember feeling for the alarm clock in the dark, still asleep, but in my dream it was the camera and I was trying to hit buttons to upload pictures. When I would reply "yes" I was thinking that I had gotten a picture uploaded. I had no clue that the alarm clock was going off until it was unplugged by an unhappy hubby who accidentally knocked over my lamp in the process in the dark. (The lamp didn't break). Ali even slept through it all; she must take after Mommy! Her toddler bed is in our room for a while since we've been working on getting Jer to sleep completely through the night, putting him in his own room.

This humorous story reveals that I often dream about things I've done throughout the day, and that I have been known to sleep talk on many different occasions! I also sleep very hard when I'm really tired and sometimes even a screaming baby doesn't wake me right away! This story also reveals some of those interesting aspects of living with another person in this thing called marriage. Sorry Sweetie!

God is So Good

I'm a big proponent for stay-at-home moms! After all, I AM one and was raised by one. Some people look down on me or give me the impression they think I'm either lazy, unmotivated, or just plain spoiled (I've gotten, "I wish I had the luxury of staying home!") I know women who have no choice to work, either because their husbands push it or it's the only way that they can keep their kids fed and my heart goes out to them. I also have many friends who CHOOSE to work and I don't always know their motivations and therefore shouldn't judge them. It's their choice and their family and I love them even if they are doing something different from me.



However, back to my main point: Because I believe that being a stay-home mommy is the best choice for one's kids and God's original plan for the family, I believe that God BLESSES it abundantly when a mother makes that choice in a world where almost no one stays home anymore. I'm not making an across-the-board statement that all stay-at-home moms are wonderful because there are some who are lazy, resentful, bored, or selfish with their kids. I'm also not saying that you will never be blessed if you are a working mother. A dual-income family will often have more financial resources to pay down debt, spend more, go on nicer vacations, etc. I'm not saying I never make money either because I have done things to bring in a little extra income (writing articles for Associated Content, raking leaves, babysitting, cleaning for my mom, etc.) What I am saying is this: When you follow God's design, He is faithful.



My mom always used to explain to me that it was because of God's provision that she was able to be at home for us. Almost everything she needed at the grocery store each week "just happened" to be on sale. The Lord provided meat for us through my Dad's elk hunting and trading local ranchers the furniture he builds for a beef. My mom gardened and canned. She was frugal! Staying home meant that both of my parents sacrificed and worked toward that goal as of primary importance in their family life.



Since becoming a stay-at-home mom myself I have watched in awe as God has opened the storehouses of heaven for us. This is not to say we have no lack of funds or wants. We've lived in small apartments most of our married life and can't eat out very often. We drive older vehicles and our vacations consist of cross-country trips to visit family. But we've always been taken care of and all of our needs have been met. With each child God has given us King Jo has received a raise or a higher-paying job when we wondered how we could possibly make ends meet for another family member. God led us to the option of homebirth before we had full maternity coverage and He gave me the strength through it, saving us $10,000! I actually prefer it to hospital birth!



Just today at the grocery store God again confirmed for me that I am exactly where He wants me to be and I love my "job" and would never trade it for any other. Thanks to a tip at Money Saving Mom I ran to Safeway this morning and got paid 55 cents to buy 12 large boxes of Cheese Nips! Unbelievable! I used a 55 cent Nabisco coupon and they were on a sale for $1 a box and if you buy 6 you get $6 off. I also decided to splurge and get some Organic Pretzels which were on clearance and some organic frozen veggies that were on sale. (I'm making an effort to eat more organic, especially produce and milk). It turns out they rang up even cheaper than I had originally thought! I also snagged an adorable teddy bear marked 75% off ($1.75) to throw in my gift bag for a baby shower gift. Everything pictured here (plus two more bananas which my kids were eating when I took this photo) for $7.76! Maybe this seems goofy to you, and I'm sure some snicker at the fact that I take pictures of my groceries but whenever these "little things" happen for me, I see the hand of my Father at work, reminding me that He is taking care of us. Even though the price of groceries continually skyrockets and my kids seem to do nothing but eat, ALL THE TIME, He is faithful! To top it all off, my dad swung by my house and saw all the crackers and was so amazed, he offered to buy two boxes for $1 since he likes them too. So, I got paid $1.55 on this deal and got 10 boxes of crackers! Keep your eyes peeled for great deals, they are out there!



To answer those critics of at-home mommies:

Lazy? I've NEVER worked a harder job in my life! There are few if any breaks for years on end and the task is of infinite importance. Mommies are shaping and training immortal souls!


Unmotivated or wasting my brain? I've NEVER been as inspired and challenged in my creativity as I am now! I've never enjoyed a job so much!


Suppressed? I've NEVER had so much freedom to order my days according to the tasks/activities I want to accomplish with my kids.

Not reaching out enough? I can think of several people I've shared the Gospel with this month through my words and actions, have you? There is no end to the opportunities I have with my neighbors and non-Christian mom friends to be a light.



Spoiled? Our family lives on less income than most of our friends. We are technically considered "poverty level" if you look at the numbers. We survived on one income back when King Jo only made $9 (before taxes) an hour. When the time comes for us to buy or build a home, I'm sure God will provide for us then too. We sacrifice many of the things people take for granted so that I can stay at home. We don't eat out often, we don't have cell phones, cable TV (or any TV channels), high speed internet, and don't pay for professional hair-cuts. Coming into the marriage with the goal of staying home in mind, we made careful choices. It didn't just happen; it takes lots of effort. We aren't just "rolling in money!" *l*




This post isn't intended to be a debate on working or staying home. It's not intended to offend those who choose to work. It's a personal testimony of how I see God at work in our lives, taking care of our needs. I'd rather not start a big debate because I already know where I stand on this issue!

*Just when you thought our pantry couldn't possibly hold any more crackers Jesse! (He teased me about the last couple of cracker deals where I got 20 boxes of Simple Socials for $4 and 6 boxes of Wheat Thins for $2!)*

Frugal Friday--An Adorable Ornament Gift

Looking for a cute gift for grandparents or a fun project to do with your kids? Every year at our annual Cousin Cookie Party and ornament exchange my aunt does a craft ornament with the kids. Last year's was so cute! You take a canning jar lid and glue a photo to the lid. Add pom-poms or foam cut-outs for a Christmas-y frame. Punch a hole through the lid ring and pull a string through, using a little jingle bell underneath to keep the hanging ribbon from coming through the hole. Be sure to put the child's name and date on the back in permanent marker! It's so fun to look back on my childhood collection of various photo-ornaments that bring back good memories. These ornaments are by far the favorites to hang on the tree!

Variations on the jar-lid ornament: use pinecones and satin ribbons, glue a fabric circle to the back of the lid, glue gift-wrapping bows around the entire ring on the outside, use felt or fabric shapes, spray paint the lid different colors or use glitter or cottonballs, etc.

For more frugal tips than you can handle, go here every Friday!

Frugal Friday--Cheap and Practical Gift

Here is a cute gift idea for those of you who get tons of free medicines at Walgreens or CVS with couponing. I put together this "Get Well Soon" kit for a gift for my husband's family's random Christmas gift exchange coming up. I wasn't sure what to get and I realized that almost anyone, man or woman, can use the items in this care package. Or it can be given to a special friend who is sick.

It includes: Chicken noodle soup, Theraflu, Fortifense immunity booster, kleenex, Advil PM, hand sanitizer and cough drops. I paid no more than $2 for all of this! That's a frugal gift!

The Names You Always Wanted...

For those of you who were once little girls who elaborately named your doll collection and had lists and lists of names picked out for your future children: This post is dedicated to you. For, once a girl marries, she often hits the hard truth of realizing that you have to actually agree with another human being on naming your child, and often that other human being is very opinated and dislikes 99.9% of your favorite names. Now, there are some pretty laid-back guys out there who don't give naming much thought and leave it mostly up to their wives. My dad was like this. To this day, he still lets us pick out names for his horses sometimes. It's hard not to be envious of husbands like that because my husband wants to be 100% involved in EVERY aspect of the naming process and is very stubborn and opinionated at times (hey, we're a great match!) I guess I should be thankful that my husband is a very hands-on parent who seeks to find the best name he can for his kids according to its' meaning and his own tastes.

So, this post is to declare the names you WOULD have chosen if you had complete free reign in naming the kids.

So, without further ado, here is my list of what our kids would be named and how these names would be spelled if we had 6 girls and 6 boys.

Boys:

Justice Colter (after my brother Colter)
Shea (pronounced shay) Elijah
Abraham James
Judah Honor
Asher Jonathan
Ephraim James


Other cool boys' names: Leeland, Clay, Creed, Markios, Matthias, Shadrach, McCall, Christian, Stefan


Girls:

Alaythea Joy (our daughter is Alathia Joy, Alathia is the Greek word for truth)
Karis Faith (Karis is the Greek word for Grace)
Evangeline Hope
Delaney Rose
Julianna Lindsey
Susanna Laine

Other pretty girls' names: Jubilee, Mercy, Bethany, Priscilla (Prisca), Savannah, Kristianna, Katarina or Ekatarina, Alyssa, Kari, Liberty, Fidelia

Maybe after reading these you'll be glad my husband didn't okay these names! Please leave your own lists in the comments section!

New Idea for Serving Cookies

I'm tired of my green Moose plates! I was so excited to get them about 6 years ago when I had my first apartment with roomies in college and I was majorly into the Moose/Northwoods theme. But now I wish I had some plain, ivory-colored Corell. Since that's not in the budget right now and I would rather spend extra money on books, I have to think of other ways to serve food.

Instead of serving cookies on a same-old, same-old plate or on a blah paper plate, I decided to use a tip I got off someone's blog (probably Like Merchant Ships) and use an upside down vase under a plate to get an elevated serving tray. A Christmasy cloth napkin hid the plate and Voila! Much more festive for entertaining!

Thrift Store Finds

Don't you just love when the thrift store does a sale: Everything You Can Stuff in a Paper Sack for $2? It's a dream come true for me! I got some exceptional deals yesterday; the most exciting of which was some leather dress boots, which I've been needing. I often wear dresses, even in the winter, and I usually just wear my normal Crocs or sandals around anyway. This usually works in WY unless we're in the mountains, but is crazy when we visit the arctic world of MN. So, I've been wanting to get some warmer shoes for winter that aren't snow boots (I have those) but aren't sandals either. I was browsing a local department store and thinking, "I just can't swing a $30 pair of shoes right now." I wasn't sure what I was going to do about it, but God provided! Not only did I get a pair of leather boots in my bag deal, which were clean and hardly used and not stinky (and yes, I washed them in the washer with lots of soap to make sure they are VERY clean), but I also got a pretty, thick dress for Ali for next year, jammies and overalls for Jer, receiving blankets to make diapers out of, a zippered purse toy for Ali, some brand new (with tags on them) baby gloves for a baby shower gift, thick socks for Jer, new baby socks for my gift bag, nice snow boots for my nephew, and a shirt for one of my friends' children. If you have children, this is the way to shop people! Some of you will remember that a few weeks ago I found a cute pair of hardly-used Mountain Sprout polar fleece overalls for Jer at this same thrift shop. I checked the price online and that same pair costs $56 not including shipping! Who pays that for kid's clothing? I love that I got them for a quarter!

Turkey Melts

We still have about 11 pounds of turkey to go to use up around here, so last night I made something a little bit different with it. I chopped/shredded some white turkey meat into tiny pieces and sauteed it in butter with lots of chopped green onions. I sprinkled cajun seasoning (one of our favorite spices) all over it. Then I toasted a jalapeno cheddar bagel. The turkey/onions went into the bagel with some sliced mozzarella and a generous dollop of mustard and we had simple, but tasty sandwiches and used up some leftovers!

A Smorgasboard of Good Posts

My friends and favorite bloggers have really been out-doing themselves this week. Consequently, I recommend you check out these posts:

*Get Lyndi's tips on how to beware of getting ripped off when you do your Walgreens bargain shopping

*Learn how to make a fun, homemade spa gift (sugar scrub) by Meredith of Like Merchant Ships (which I have to say is one of the coolest blogs out there!)

*Find out what foods are best to buy organic and why from Laura's careful research

*Get a free $30 flash drive (free shipping too) by following Becky's tip posted on Money Saving Mom (I can't wait to get mine in the mail! We need one and you just can't beat a 1 G flash drive for absolutely NOTHING!)

*Learn how to do a Princess Anne braid or use rag curlers from the lovely ladies at The Joy of Home

Home-made Fuzzi Bunz are GREAT!

I had to do another diaper review to let you all know that after a few weeks of using the diapers I made, I LOVE THEM! I hope to never go back to disposables! These diapers are so easy, spoken from someone who had tried cloth before and found it previously to be gross and time-consuming! These diapers don't need to be changed any more than disposables, are as easy to put on and take off, and never leak! I even tried using them overnight on baby, with two soaker pads inserted instead of one and he didn't leak at all! They are nice and soft on his tiny tooshie and I rinse them out carefully so I can wash them with the regular clothes (but no dishtowels) and always have them on hand since I still have only made 6. So, really, I'm not doing any extra laundry (3-4 diapers a day washed with loads I would have already done isn't extra) and I'm not doing extra diaper changes. The few minutes spent emptying a diaper and rinsing in the sink is worth it considering I don't have to take out a stinky trash as much or smell a poopy diaper that's stinking up the house all day. Every time I use a Fuzzi Bunz diaper on baby Jer, I'm saving our family at least 15 cents! That may not sound like much, but that's $15 a month that I'd rather spend on books or going out to eat! I have a big stash of overnight pull-ups for Ali to use up that I got nearly free on a Walgreens close-out sale, but once they are used up I plan to make some large-sized Fuzzi Bunz-style diapers for her to use during the night. If the Lord gives us more children (like blog reader Tracy, who has 7, 3 in diapers!) we will be saving so much by using these diapers instead of disposables!

If you missed my post on making diapers, find it under my Sewing Projects link on my blog!

More Great Thoughts from Doug Wilson's Book

I can't recommend the book Reforming Marriage enough. Buy it if you can and if you can't, ask me if you can borrow a copy! It is such a short, concise book and yet PACKED with wisdom and Biblical teaching on marriage, much of which I never saw demonstrated or was taught about as a child.

You can buy it on Amazon, used for as low as $2. Here's the link:
http://www.amazon.com/Reforming-Marriage-Douglas-Wilson/dp/1885767455


Here is a quote that I really enjoyed from the chapter, "The Marriage Bed is Honorable."

"When a new family is formed, it is formed around a sexual relationship. The Bible teaches us that this marriage relationship portrays Christ and the church. Just as the husband and wife are physically united as one, so Christ and the church are spiritually one. When a husband and wife have a physical union along with spiritual harmony, then it provides a good picture of Christ and the church. A couple who have this physical union, but who are constantly fighting, are constantly lying about Christ and the church.

A husband and wife do not have the option of saying nothing about Christ and the church. If the husband and wife are driving down the street, and some woman who is almost wearing a dress walks by, and he almost drives off the road, then the whole world knows that his wife has been insulted. But the world does not really know why. The husband is saying that, even though Jesus singled out a people for Himself, and then shed His blood for His elect, He is still willing to gawk at strangers. The lie says that Christ is unfaithful to His elect. So mental or physical infidelity is telling a lie about the spiritual faithfulness of Jesus to His people. Christian couples must protect their sexual and spiritual harmony, keeping that unity free from all disruptions. Otherwise, we lie to the world about Christ and the church. When the lie is present, the children in the home usually have the front row seats...." Page 108-109. (bold type is my emphasis)

As one of those kids who had front row seats, I really appreciate the godly teaching in this book!

My Turkey Deal!

I forgot to mention in my Thanksgiving post how the Lord provided a BUNCH of meat for us for hardly anything. One of the two grocery stores in town has a promotional where you spend a certain amount you get reduced price or free turkeys. They punch your card throughout the month of Nov. You need to spend $400 to get a free turkey. That seems unreal for me because of the fact that I only shop sales at that store since it's more expensive than driving to another town to shop cheaper stores. But, the good news is my mom spent a ton on holiday groceries and gave me her card to combine with mine. I took them in and instead of getting one free one and paying some on the other one, I took both at the reduced prices and was able to use a $1 off coupon on each that was in the weekly sale flyer. So, I got a grand total of 20# of turkey (2 turkeys) for $2.64! I gave my mom one, of course, in thanks for her card. I'm so excited that I can freeze all that meat for turkey enchiladas/turkey soup, etc. Need a great recipe for getting rid of turkey?

My Mom's Turkey Enchiladas:

10-20 small corn tortillas
2 cans cream of chicken soup
2 cups chopped turkey (or 2 cans chunk chicken or diced, cooked chicken breasts)
1 can of mild chilis (use hot if you like)
1 8 oz. carton of sour cream
Onion powder, garlic powder, salt, pepper
Cheddar cheese

Dip corn shells in hot oil for 3 or 4 seconds until soft. Drain on paper towels. Mix the remaining ingredients together in a bowl, seasoning to preference. Spoon filling into each tortilla and roll up and stick in a 9X13 pan. Spoon any extra filling over the top of the enchiladas and top with cheddar cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 35-45 minutes. Yummy!

A Must-See Movie

I apologize to those of you who saw this movie months ago in the theatre! Cut me some slack since I live in Hickville and it never came to our town and so I was excited to watch it this week when it came out on DVD.

Amazing Grace.

Wow, what a movie! I love seeing a quality film that teaches a lesson and glorifies God! I was so inspired by the story of William Wilberforce, which I'm sure I studied in High School but hadn't remembered. The main lessons I take with me from this film:

*Following God down a hard path that involves suffering for His sake.

*Standing up for righteousness even when you are alone.

*Fighting injustice with everything that's in you and not growing complacent.

*Perseverance.

*God can and will use young people to fulfill seemingly impossible tasks.

*The influence an excellent woman can have on her husband. The joy of supporting one's husband in great endeavors.

*The power of God to save depraved and sinful men.

*The responsibility that comes with knowledge.

*A model for us today of a zealous man of God who was used of God to change his world.

Dead Fish

For those of you who read my post the other day on Fish-Sitting, here's a sad update. Ali, Lindsey, Jeremiah, and Fernonda the fish have all been flushed. One died Sunday night, one Thursday night, one Friday night and one today. How do you explain in Spanish that it wasn't your fault? A friend of mine suggested buying some replacements...and I'm really considering it. Of course I won't lie, I'll tell them the sad story, but the replacement fish will ease the shock for 5 year old Fernie. For one thing, these fish were purchased at Wal-Mart (enough said, right?) and for another, I think Lupe used tap water in their bowl. Whatever the case, I've decided I'm not a fish person. I used to have some as a kid, but now they kinda gross me out and I'm not interested in having to clean their bowls all the time. If our kids want a puppy someday, great! But please no goldfish!

Photos on the New Cam

My first day of taking photos and I already notice a huge difference in clarity and quality! Here are some of the first photos I took on it!

Black Friday Deals!

First of all, I have to thank Lesley for getting me the watch from Target! I owe you big time! If you won't accept cash for it, I'll be sending you a nice Christmas package girl! I'm so excited that I can know what time it is again soon!

I decided to do Black Friday this year because my amazing hubby gave in to my desperate pleas for a newer, nicer camera that was on a GREAT sale today. I've been wanting an upgrade for a year, but my little Fujifilm camera has done well especially considering the thousands of pics I take. I was willing to do WHATEVER it took to earn extra money on the side to buy this camera but King Jo decided to give me most of the money we earned from the landlord's raking leaves throughout October here. So, even though I never thought he'd O.K. the camera thing, he won the "Husband of The Year" award from me by telling me to go and get it! I was soooo excited! Having never done Black Friday before, I was a bit nervous, but I dutifully got up at 3:30a.m. after ZERO sleep due to a fussing child, picked up my buddy Amy, and we headed out on the 30 minute drive. We hit Wal-Mart, K-Mart and Walgreens. There were more people than I've ever seen there and I was thankful not to have a cart due to the jams of carts and people everywhere, but everyone was so courteous and laid-back and not fighting over things. We even checked out way faster than we do on a normal day in Wal-Mart. They had so many checkers we got through the lines instantly. I was so bummed because they first told us they couldn't find the cameras in their warehouse and that we'd have to skip the deal or substitute for a camera with half the perks as a replacement. I had given up hope of them finding the cameras and finally went looking for Amy and happened upon a stack of them further down the aisles that the Photo Center Employees didn't even know about! Yeah! Bet you can't guess what I've been doing today!

Walgreens had some COOl deals today! I spent $70 total, but about $35 was on gift cards and I'll be getting at least $20 back in rebates. My ticket said I saved $69! I got paid a buck or two to buy a few things and a few other things were free! Everything else I bought was on a really good sale and will be perfect for Christmas gifts for our families. Amy and I, along with many other women we knew who were shopping Walgreens, hit up the Patriot candles deal, since we've heard they are comparable to Yankee candles, but are about half the price! 3 very large, high-quality candles for $7.99! We also took advantage of the $1.99 Tide (which was way less with my coupons).

Hopefully you'll all be seeing better photos on my blog in the future as I experiment with my fun new toy! Thank you Husband for a dream come true!

P.S. If you're a shopper and love great deals, like I do, Black Friday is so much fun! At least out here in hick-ville, anyway! I'm going to have to go every year now!

Anyone else got a Black Friday story?

Giving Thanks!

A meal fit for a king!

Grammy reads the kiddies a Thanksgiving story

Jer discovers that funny thing on Grandpa called a moustache and enjoys pinching Grandpa's nose!

After dessert my cousins decided to teach us all a difficult Irish jig that they know well from having attended the Ball in Billings at least 6 times (We attended one a couple of years ago and it was so fun! It's an elaborate ball hosted by The Rocky Presbyterian Church in Billings for homeschoolers, Christian teens and adults and their families! It's so fun to learn old-fashioned dances and dress up and see the beauty of three hundred people dancing in unison together!)


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We had a nice Thanksgiving at our family's cabin in the mountains. I enjoyed visiting with my Aunt, Uncle and cousins, who are all really neat Christian people. We had a sumptious feast that took TONS of work on all of us ladies' part to prepare, but it was so worth it. Hanging out by the fire and just relaxing was fun too. However, it majorly grossed us out when we found "evidence" of a huge packrat all over our room and we weren't too sad to leave after one night knowing that critters were lurking around at night! Yicky!



I'm so thankful for God's many blessings in my life! Sometimes He blesses me with rest and plenty, sometimes with seemingly endless trials and lessons to learn which drive me back to the most important things in life. But He always blesses me; I owe the fact that I'm breathing right now to His grace. Thank you God!

Need a Favor From a MN Person!

For any of you who know me personally or know my husband's family and live in the town in MN they live in and are planning to shop Black Friday sales.....I need a favor!

Target has Timex watches on sale for Black Friday for $12.99 (or so the online sneak-preview site says). I really need a watch and Timex watches last a long time and are high quality. The nearest Target is over 2 hours away and I'm not going that far to do my BF shopping. So, if you are planning to hit the Target sales early and would be willing to grab me a simple Women's Timex watch, I would GREATLY appreciate it. You can give the watch to my sis-in-law and when she notifies me that she got it, I will send a check for the full amount to the person who purchased it for me. Don't buy it if it's over $13 and any of the following styles is fine depending on what they have:
Women's Sleek Ironman (any color)
Easy Reader Women's (Gold with brown straps)
Quick date dress watch in gold

I'm not picky; just need a watch badly! I got so desperate I was actually wearing a children's CareBear watch from Family Dollar for a while (yep, I'm that cheap!). If you want to be my hero, let me know in the comments section. The first person to respond gets the job!

Black Friday deals I hope to get at Walgreens this year:

Tide-$2 use a coupon and get it for $1
Cover Girl Lipstick-$3, use a coupon and get it for $2
Gillette Venus Breeze razor-free with rebate, use a coupon and make $2!