Who Keeps The Trash?

The "fancy" juice, as I call it, was on sale this week. It's the frozen concentrate that comes in the little plastic containers instead of the cardboard ones. Little did I know what a coveted item that little plastic cup was!

Yesterday, my daughter asked for it for her pen collection. I accidentally threw it away.
Today my son asked for it to keep his money in.

Uh oh. The two of them came into my room after being told to confess for fighting over it. My daughter said that she claimed the cup yesterday, while my son protested that he just asked for it 10 minutes ago.

Really who cares, I'm thinking, it's TRASH!!

Well it wasn't trash to them. At 6 and 10 years old it was quite a treasure. So we talked about it and decided that they were both acting selfishly toward the other. What is more important, your brother's happiness or that trash? Now the cup wasn't so nifty after all.

Besides, my daughter is continually in trouble for the way her headboard looks b/c she is a collector of too much. It is hard enough to find a pen when we need it without someone hoarding them for herself. My son is not allowed to keep money anywhere except his bank. In either case, the next time I walked into their room I would most likely throw it away. This also cast a different light on the cup.

We talked it over and they both walked away happy....ready to pour some juice.

It's not even 8:00am!

The rest of the day looks like this....
We're off school until after Christmas and working on some freezer foods.

Me-helping everyone finish wrapping. Baking 5 loaves of bread.
#1 --2 batches of cereal for the freezer
#2--pizza for tonight
#3--lots of salsa for the freezer
#4--cookie dough to chill for cookies later

The littles will help some, play some, and make a mess some. We might invite the pastor's family over for dinner. We'll see...

Some Goals for 2008

I've been thinking on it...

Memorize the book of Colossians.

Read through the Child's Story Bible (Catherine Vos) with everyone.

Eliminate ALL sarcasm from my vocabulary.

Exercise consistently....everyone has to have some sort of New Year's health goal, right?

Finish moving in. Can it be done??

Learn (again) to post my own pix.

That's it so far. I figure if I keep my list short, I have a better chance of success.

Ps. Sunshine Princess,
Yes, chicken is yucky. Hardly worth the trouble really. I admire your courage though. I'm scared to death of pressure cookers. You are culinary light years ahead of me!

It's Been A Good Day

~My mom had surgery today and is doing well.

~I got a sweet e-mail from a friend in FSM. It was from someone that I don't know that well and that made it even more special.

~I helped #2 make candy.

~My kids helped me wrap and wrap and wrap and pack. We packed up Christmas boxes to send to family.

~We had unexpected company and that was nice. Even better.... I had lunch made to offer them! Thank you Lord.

~Did you know that today is the busiest day at the post office? I didn't, but I do now. That's what I get for waiting too long.

~I'll probably be in the paper tomorrow for standing in a super long post office line. The photographer took lots of pix of my 2 sons and me and asked us questions afterward for the article. I KNEW I should've made that boy change his shirt!

~I have a new friend! It's the lady that my daughter babysits for.

~We made candy, fudge, and caramel popcorn. Ohhh, that popcorn is good! It's my friend's recipe. I'll have to post it sometime.

~We picked up a tread mill last night for a Christmas present for our kids. It doesn't work. BUT my kids still had a great time playing on it for most of the day.

~My son got to do some different chores that he is not used to today. This evening he admitted that it was fun.

~Somebody told me today that my kids always seem so happy. That made my day. Of course they are not *always* so happy, still it was nice to hear.

~My husband hugged me and said I was a good wife and thanked me for taking such good care of everybody. Isn't he a sweetie? I am blessed to have an affectionate talker of a man.

~My daughter came in for a fun chat.

~I got Zekey to last until 8pm.

~Honey is watching a movie with the bigger kids. That means I have the whole room (and computer) to myself! I can blog and e-mail and look for recipes till my heart's content.

Confessions Of A Mom Of 9

No I don't have it all figured out.
I am not super organized.
I am not *so* patient.
I do not "have it all together".

As a matter of fact, my baby is now 8 months old, I can fit into all my favorite clothes again, and I'm quite used to sleeping on my back. Know what that means?

Well it means that my husband starts asking me questions with that "I knew it!" smile on his face, and my mind is very preoccupied with "what if?"

That "what if" question is always followed by "how in the world could I do it??"
"I'm so tired!"
"10? oh my."

But again it is something that I have to visit with the Lord about. I wonder if He ever gets tired of talking about the same ol' thing. Or if He wonders if I'll ever get it.
This morning I started Philippians and one of my favorite verses was right there in my regular reading...

"being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." Phil 1:6

This is His good work that He started and He is more than able to finish it well. It is my privilege to be included. And so what if I am tired? It means that I sleep really really well every night. He will not give me more than I can handle. Who knows, maybe we could get one of those babies that sleeps through the night the first week. I know He makes those...He just always give them to someone else!

So as I'm pondering this today another thought crossed my mind. Honey and I were talking last night about never remembering a time that was as busy as this. I'm not sure what happened but somehow life got bumped up a notch and it is hard to catch our breath right now. BUT, the thought occurred to me that I've also not felt this energetic in forever. I rarely ever have to take a nap and I just feel so healthy and good. Even though my day starts very early I wake up feeling ready to go. God has given us a challenge and has enabled me to meet it head on.

Why do I always doubt? Why do I fear? "for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose. " Phil 2:13

I am not left to do it alone.

Free Diapers!

You can't beat that! Also free shampoo and cat food samples on the Walmart site. Check it out...

http://walmart.triaddigital.com/Free-Samples.aspx

Gingerbread Fun

We finally got to do the gingerbread house today. What a big fun that was! I had everyone dress in red, green, or white so that the pictures would look good. And don't you know that just when I learned to post them by myself something changed and now I can't. Where's my teenager???.... Ok I guess pix will come later.

So anyway, we open it up and all the littles are delighting over the little bags of candies. Immediately one bag somehow got a hole in it. Hmmm.

Bird took a bite out of the chimney then licked the gingerbread man all over so no one wanted to eat him. Isn't she smart?

My son was the total boss of the show.

#1 took the pictures I can't figure out how to post.

Everyone took turns at everything except Bird who just sat in the middle of table eating her man.

The house would not stay together with the icing glue. Of course no one was patient enough to hold it till it dried.

#1 was calling for duct tape.

The littles didn't care, they just wanted to decorate it with the candies or squirt the icing in their mouths. This simply would not do for my son. He says "You can't decorate it if it won't stay up. It's like you guys are buying couches when your whole house is falling down!"

Finally #1 passed off the camera and did an Extreme Home Makeover. Ta da! It stood...even against the storm of the little Taggs.

It didn't have to stand long, just long enough for Dad to see when he came home for lunch. Then it was quickly divided up and devoured.

It was a ton of noise and laughter!!

The Fruits Of The Spirit

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control." Gal 5:22-23

I was reading over these this morning and praying for the Lord to grow these fruits in me. Imagine if one could possess these in an ever-increasing measure, what a reflection of Christ she would be! This is what I imagine it would look like in a mother...

Love-- always puts the needs of her child above her own. She doesn't mind getting him out of his snow gear to go pee pee even though she just tied his shoes.

Joy-- has a smile and pleasant countenance even on bad day.

Peace--never uptight b/c she knows that the Lord is still working on her and her kids. This is NOT as good as it gets, there is always a divine work in progress. No need for discouragement. Never in a hurry.

Patience--Sweetly explains that math problem AGAIN knowing that each time she does her child is a little closer to getting it.

Kindness--She takes the time to do the extra little things that she knows are special to her children. She studies them, knows them, and makes them feel like they are wonderful.

Goodness--Ever forgiving and never expecting a repeat offense.

Faithfulness--A prayer warrior for her children..lifting them up daily and individually to the Lord. Diligent to discipline them appropriately and praying for wisdom for herself and husband.

Gentleness--Not easily angered, doesn't yell. Tries to understand and remember what it was like to be ten years old.

Self-Control--She always has the gentle answer on her lips. She does not even come unglued when someone drops a brand-new gallon of milk on the floor and it all spills under the fridge.

Hello and Goodbye

Friends came from Ft. Smith last night. What a nice breath of home......
They left this morning and didn't stay nearly long enough.

There's so much snow!

I'm guessing about 6 inches or so. My son says it's deep enough to fall backwards into without trying to catch yourself. It's still snowing and it's beautiful.

Jes came in last night wanting another pair of socks. I helped him take off his snow boots and his little toes were so pink and cold! His boots were still dry, just very very cold.

So here's my recipe for warming snow babies...

Pull out all the leftovers from the fridge and make a soup to keep on the stove.
Fill up the coffee pot with hot water for hot chocolate.
Empty the dryer and put old towels in front of the door.

They step in on the towels and strip down to their regular clothes.
The snow suits, gloves, and hats go straight to the dryer.
The boots wait and go in next.
Fill em up with soup and hot chocolate.

By the time they're done with that the clothes/boots will be ready and they'll be off to freeze again.

Taco Cornbread

I made this last night and it was yummy. It also goes a long way and is very filling. I made 2 pans of this and we only ate one....that is unheard of. Everyone liked it.

Taco Cornbread

Cornbread to cover the bottom of a 9x13 broken up into pieces
1 1/2lbs hamburger seasoned with taco seasoning and garlic
1 can of black beans
1 onion diced
1 can of diced tomatoes
1 can of green chilies (you can use Rotel but it's too spicy for my little ones, by doing this separately it's not as hot)
cheese to cover the top
black olives and green onions to garnish

Layer all into the 9x13 in the order given. Bake uncovered @ 350 until bubbly. Serve with sour cream and chips. ummmmm........

It'll Be Fun!

Today we are taking off school to prepare for our friends to come! Yep, we're having friends from Ft. Smith coming to spend the night. They are buying a car in Boulder and staying with us. We're so glad.

So we'll clean the house and cook and get the girls' room ready for them.

Since that won't take all day, we'll also wrap Christmas presents and bake cookies and decorate the gingerbread house. It will be a good day.

Those pre-made gingerbread house kits are so fun. They are on sale at Target right now for $8. Last year I got mine for $5. Jes said that was one of the funnest things about Christmas for him last year.

Last night Honey and I spent date night Christmas shopping. I love doing that! We do it every year. We didn't completely finish but got most of it out of the way. Probably this date night we'll spend wrapping. By that time maybe some of our online orders will have arrived too.

Lessons In Cinnamon Rolls

So yesterday my 11 yo son was COW. That means he was my go-to guy for the day. And he was going to help me work in the kitchen. I gave him the jobs of making corn bread and cinnamon rolls while I worked on spaghetti and bread. All was going just fine. The cinnamon rolls were rising while we were waiting on the oven to get hot. He asked if there was anything else and I suggested that he make salad. I could tell he was NOT crazy about this idea b/c his siblings were at the school playing. So I said for him to make the icing for the cinnamon rolls and call it a day.

I had been in the kitchen the whole time with him. I only stepped out a few minutes while he was making icing. When I came back, oh no! He put the icing all over the un-baked cinnamon rolls! I didn't know what else to do but bake them anyway.

The cinnamon rolls turned out perfect and delicious. My kitchen did not fare so well. Smoke everywhere and when I opened the oven it was like the door was stuck shut with sticky goo. How could this happen? It was just a little icing. It was a huge mess.

Well my fancy oven is self-cleaning so I hit the button. It's a long hot 4 hour cycle. When it was done, the oven did look much better but there was still work to do. Apparently it doesn't work on the bottom door part. Actually this was such a mess that it even went down into the bottom drawer and all over the pans. Yuck.

So this morning I gave that job to my son. I explained to him that it would not be easy and told him how to go about it. He scraped and cleaned and gave up. I turned him around and told him to try again. He worked some more.

This is a guy that likes to get all his stuff done as early as possible. It was 10am and he had worked on it all morning and had not even started on school. Plus his dad gave him a job to do too. I could see his struggle. This job, plus school, plus Dad's job was likely to take him all day. That meant no free time. His attitude was less than cheerful.

Time for a talk. I told him that while I could sympathize with his situation, it was just a fact of life that if you make a mess you must clean it up. It doesn't matter if you meant to make the mess or not. He asked me about COW and if it was a privilege then why did it mean more work instead of less. Good question. So we talked about not living for ourselves but living for God and serving others. He had the privilege of serving the family yesterday by cooking our meals. His siblings did not. I told him what it meant to live for Christ and that we are not our own anymore. We talked about his reluctance to make salad for the family yesterday so that he could live for himself. While free time is nice, it is also a privilege and not an entitlement. What a sad and boring life if we live only for ourselves!

Well as it turned out he finished school, finished the job Dad gave him, AND cleaned the oven all before Dad came home at 3:30. His attitude was better and the oven survived.

Who knew that there was so much learn by making cinnamon rolls? I am amazed at the lessons the Lord teaches me in the smallest things and I am glad for the opportunity to relate them to my kids everyday.

My New Spice Drawer

Didn't I tell ya there'd be a lot of pictures?

In my old house I had my spices in a little cabinet beside the stove. It was always a mess. I have a friend that alphabetizes her spices. I tried it but I couldn't keep it that way. Whenever I wanted something in the back, I would manage to mess up the whole system. So now I made a spice drawer. First I got rid of all those spices that I never really use. Then I combined all the multiple jars of the same spice. What was left fit nicely in this drawer. Now I can lay the spices down with the labels up and see at a glance what I need. It's easy to put back b/c I can just put it in the empty gap where I took it out. Plus I just like the whole organized look of it. I also put our vitamins in there hoping I'd see them more often and remember to take them. That part of it hasn't worked out yet.

Today

Beautiful sunny warm weather today.

I think the thing I love most about living here is that Honey comes home for lunch everyday. It seems like we have so much more family time. It takes him just a couple of minutes to get home..even when he rides his bike. So even in the evenings the nights seem longer b/c he gets home so quickly.

Today we pulled out all the leftovers for lunch. Every 3rd day I have leftovers planned for lunch in our menu. That leaves enough time for them add up and have enough of something for everybody. By that time we really need to clean them out and free up refrigerator space.

We still have enough left over oatmeal for me to make oatmeal muffins for breakfast tomorrow. CT is COW today so at nap time he and I will make muffins, orange rolls for tea, and get dinner started. Then I will help him wrap his Christmas presents. I'm going to set the timer to try to get that cooking work done in an hour...including clean up. We'll see.

Since the cabinets are in we got to unpack the tea dishes. Today is the first time we'll get to use them since I don't remember when. I'll read One Wintery Night during tea. I think we're on the last chapter.

Chores this afternoon.
LMT--mop the kitchen and dining room
CT ---downstairs bathroom. This is a gross job. Those boys are going to have to learn to aim better.
LB---matching orphan socks

Meg is babysitting for our realtor.

Sometime maybe I can squeeze in a walk?

Mine and Alton's Meatloaf

Ok, now that I've learned to post my own pictures we'll have pictures galore on here!
This is the meatloaf I made last night. I wanted to share my yummy glaze recipe with you. It's an Alton , the one and only, recipe so you know it's good.

Alton Brown's Meatloaf Glaze

1/2 C. Ketchup

1 big shot of worchestershire sauce

1 big shot of hot sauce

1 T. cumin

1 big shot of honey

Mix together. Let meatloaf cook about 15 minutes, then pull it out on the rack and brush with glaze while still in the oven. Finish cooking until done.

Alton's meatloaf tip is to not cook your meatloaf in a loaf pan. Use the loaf pan to shape your meatloaf then turn it out onto a bar pan to cook. A lot less grease that way.

Ta Da!!

Isn't it so pretty?

There are cabinets behind the stove too. I really like those. Also a pantry with pull-out shelves on the other side of the frige. These guys were great and did nice work. They were able to put cabinets in places that we didn't even think of. See the corner cabinet to the right of the stove? We also got a granite top on the island to tie it all together.

I LOVE THEM!!

Not Yet

But almost! They didn't have all the pieces ready for the counter tops so it won't be completely finished til tomorrow. BUT...we'll have a working sink and dishwasher before the day is through! Big long happy sigh.....

I am eager to post pix and show it off. This is far more fun than showing someone my new furnace, or a hanging door. But I want to wait until it's completely done and all cleaned up. It is beautiful.

Hey Ya'll

I had three comments this week about my accent. What accent? I think that is so funny b/c everyone here sounds like a valley girl to me but without all the "likes". I sound normal!

Honey is making dinner tonight for date night. Yay!

Counter tops come tomorrow. There was a slight delay. Things like this always take longer than they're supposed to.

We visited a super friendly, very tiny church this morning. We all liked it.

I'm reading Les Miserables. Huge book. I'm on page 76 . Only about 750 left to go. Great read so far. I'm gonna send it to Mr. Walker when I'm done.

Dinner's ready!!

Let's Take A Walk

I desperately want to start exercising. Looking at those Christmas pix....I look so old and tired! Maybe cause I'm getting old and tired? I gotta get moving!

So last night I prayed and asked the Lord to send me a walking buddy. Yeah, I know I *could* walk by myself but my feet seem to move better when my mouth is moving faster. Then I started thinking about who it would be. Hmm, since I know like 2 people I didn't have to think long.

This morning at church the pastor spoke about Jesus always being with us but we are not always aware of it. We are never alone. Then he talked about not always having to have someone with you to do the things you like to do b/c Jesus is there doing it with you. hello? Did he hear me pray that or something? I guess I found my new walking buddy! Now to actually put on those tennis shoes......

Christmas Tree Fun!

We added some more mess to the mess and decorated our Christmas tree. Every year I think it is more beautiful than the last. Maybe cause every year there are more kid-made ornaments and of course new baby ones. It is funny to stand back and look at it when it's all done. Most of the ornaments are clustered together way down at the bottom near the floor. There aren't many up high. It's cute.

This is another treasuring moment in my heart as I watch the delight on my little ones faces when they find their own ornaments. It is always a night full of smiles. Busy business...
Zekey and me! He didn't get to hang any ornaments this year but he enjoyed the fun that everyone else was having. Still gotta get that first ornament for him. I LOVE that job!
The 2 M's....

Jes finds just the right spot.
We ended the night with Christmas songs on the guitar and more pictures. We forgot to take an "after" picture though. Today I took CT shopping for Mal and Zekey. He is almost DONE with his Christmas shopping. What a guy!

I love this season! With so much snow on the ground still it really sets the mood. Egg nog night will be soon, probably this week. We're gonna make cookies and cookies and a lot of mess. I can't wait!!

My friend sent me this today and I wanted to pass it on.

Charging God with wrongdoing
(Thomas Watson, "A Divine Cordial" 1663)

"It is the Lord's will. Let Him do what He thinks best." 1 Samuel 3:18

One who genuinely loves God, interprets all His dealings in the best sense. Though He afflicts sharply--the soul takes all well.

This is the language of a gracious spirit: "My God sees what a hard heart I have, therefore He drives in one wedge of affliction after another--to break my heart. He knows how full I am of the cancer of covetousness, or the swelling of pride, or the fever of lust--therefore He gives me bitter remedies, to save my life. This severe dispensation is either to mortify some corruption--or to exercise some grace. How good is God, who will not let me alone in my sins--but smites my body to save my soul!" Thus genuine piety puts a good gloss upon all God's afflictive dealings. It is Satan who makes us have high thoughts of ourselves, and hard thoughts of God.

"Take away everything he has--and he will surely curse You to Your face!" Job 1:11
"Then Job fell to the ground in worship and said, 'Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.' In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing." Job 1:20-22
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Here's the BEFORE

ugly.....

More Than Plenty!

This is so nice.

The cabinet man told us he had some cabinets that he was tearing out of another job that were way better than our old ones that we were planning to hang in the garage. He said we could have them. As in FREE!

So yesterday they brought them over in a big moving truck and WOW!! there were 19 of them! They even carried them all downstairs for us. Since they were able to take out the old ones without tearing them up we can still use them in the garage AND have these for downstairs!

We're going to use 2 of them to make a computer desk. Some of them are hanging ones that we can use in the laundry room, book room, or over the computer area. We're using 2 more to make another desk in the book room for craft projects. And there are more besides that!

My new kitchen cabinets are beautiful! Really really beautiful. They won't be completely done until tomorrow...maybe even Monday. I'm still working on those pix.

Sowing Generously

"Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. ...And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all time, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work." 2Cor 9: 6 & 8

This principle of sowing is reaping is true in parenting. I want to sow generously with my family. Since I tend to lean toward the selfish side, I really have to pray and work at this. To me, sowing generously means to unselfishly give my time, my listening ear, my love, and my prayers to my kids. It means to give Mayfee *another* drink without rolling my eyes even though it is always at an inconvenient time when he asks. It means giving the benefit of the doubt and not walking into the room looking for the worst even though I am met with screaming and crying. And it means answering the never-ending "mommy, mommy" patiently and sweetly even though I'd rather not. Like I said, all of these do not come to me naturally and I need the grace of God to carry it through.

But that's what the next verse is all about. He says that He is able to have all grace abound to me so that I will have all that I need to abound in this good work. Thank you God!

Now comes the good part....reaping! What does that mean? To me, it means kids that obey from their hearts because they love me and not just so they won't get in trouble. It means kids that leave me sweet notes in my "mailbox". It means that my adult kids will someday call me and ask me what I think. It means that they'll bring my grand babies over A LOT and visit me all the time. It means that they will always include me in their lives generously even though my work with them is officially "done".

The principles of sowing and reaping are sure. You reap the same things that you sow, more than sow, and you reap later than you sow. God please bless all the mommas today as they are sowing with their children. Amen.

Tis Snowing!!

Pretty Pretty! We woke up to about 3-4 inches. The kids played out all morning and are schooling in the afternoon. Isn't homeschooling convenient? It was a good plan since most of it has already melted. The snowman's nose has melted off.

Today is my "office day". That means I'm working on my menu/grocery list for next week, stuff that has to go to the post office, business type calls, school planning, etc. It has helped me a lot to have a certain day set aside for this. I can procrastinate on these things like no other. With my scheduled time, I actually get these things done.

Day 3 of cabinet installation. Guys come later to measure counter tops. Should be done Friday. Pix to come.

The flylady thing is teaching me a new way to work. I've always been slow to start something if I only have a few minutes. I'd rather carve out a lump of time and knock it all out at once. The problem is that I don't usually have a big chunk of time to devote to any one particular thing. So....I don't start at all.

If you're not familiar with flylady, you can check it out here http://www.flylady.com/
If you're not familiar and really don't care that much it's basically just a housecleaning/organization plan. It teaches you to work in 15 minute increments and just to start wherever you are.

I've been amazed at how much I can actually get done in only 15 minutes. Today I organized the "decor" items that were piled in the living room after unpacking the boxes. I didn't know where else to put them. Anyway, I actually made progress. No, I didn't finish but I didn't care. I started it knowing that I was only going to do it for 15 minutes and whatever got done would be more than not doing it at all.

Teaching Jes To Read

is never boring. He's a hilarious little guy. He makes up a sentence to go with every word he sounds out. Here's our lesson today....

The word is GATE.
Jes: "Gate. That sounds like SNAKE. Like.....Oh no, there's a snake in the yard!
Hey Momma, when I grow up I'm going to protect you from snakes.

Next word is HOT.
Jes: Like...Don't touch the oven cuz it's hot. Hey Momma, you remember that time that you told me not to touch the stove and I did it and burned my finger? That was HOT!"

Now he decides that pointing to the words with his fingers is boring and he finishes the lesson pointing with his toes instead. Talking the whole time about whatever pops into his head, he likes learning to read. It sure takes a long time though.

2 Cor 3:18

"and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit." 2 Cor 3:13

Isn't it amazing that we can actually reflect the Lord's glory as in a mirror? So when people look at us is it as though they are looking at a reflection of the Lord himself? I'm in awe that it is even possible! But God says it is true. Furthermore, we are constantly in the process of being transformed into his likeness more and more.

My son got some transformers for his b-day. It looks just like an ordinary plastic car....but NO! it transforms into a super cool robot! Similarly, God transforms us into something even better than a super cool robot....into the likeness of His Son.
Wonderful! So although I look just like an ordinary lump of clay, I am actually being shaped for noble purpose by the hand of the Potter.

My job as a mom is awesome. I have the opportunity to reflect the Lord's glory to my children every day. When they see me do they see Jesus? Or do they see just ordinary me that might fly off the handle like a lunatic if things don't go my way? Yikes. This thought spurs me on to get up on time and read my Bible before the busy day starts. I pray that our family will be continually transformed with His ever-increasing glory.

Sweet Nuggets Of Time

Remember when the wise men visited Jesus and the Bible says "Mary treasured these things in her heart"? Being a mom helps me to know exactly how she felt. So often I wish that I could just freeze time in that very moment and have it forever. Some times are just so sweet. Here are a few of today.....

~Playing cars with Mayfee on the hard floor and laughing when they rolled under the couch. Even though the house was still full of people it felt like it was just the two of us.

~Watching Paw Paw and Mally reading on the couch.

~Comforting Zekey when he bonked his head on the floor and him almost falling asleep on my chest. Ahh, it's been awhile since he's done that.

~Listening to CT tell me about his soccer games today. Hopefully next time I'll get to go.

~Watching Mom teach LB how to quilt....and correct my mistakes when I tried to teach her to cut!

~Helping write a story with Mom, Meggy, and Lane. Oh yes, the giant monkeys were my addition.

~Receiving a beautiful construction paper necklace from Jes. He even drew diamonds on it for me. You should've seen his proud smile when I wore it and told him how pretty it was.

I love days like this. It's been a good full day.

Happy Birthday Mally!! and Happy Thanksgiving!!

There is one room in the house that I really feel at home in. It is a tiny little room with no closet. It is one of the only rooms downstairs that has a light. I call it the book room b/c it is where we will keep all our books and games. We have 2 full bookcases in there but still most of the books are piled up all over the floor waiting for "real" shelves. Even in the midst of the mess I like to be in there, looking around, moving piles, thinking of what it will look like later.

My books have been packed for so long and it's nice to uncover them. Tonight I had a chance to look through my granddaddy's Bible while I was in there. Here is something he wrote in the back....

"Do not set in motion if you can not control it. ----- This thought came about in regard to rolling a tire down hill toward someone's house." 10-13-91

I laughed as I read this. I can just imagine that "OH NO!!!" feeling as he was trying to chase down an out-of-control tire.

My mother-in-law had a great idea. I had too many towels and not enough space to store them. So we pulled out my serger, cut them in 1/4's and finished the edges to make new dish towels and wash cloths. Ta Da!! Why didn't I think of that before?

The Swish and Swipe

Ok, I'm moving closer and closer to the flylady thing everyday even though I thought I wouldn't. I've adopted the Swish and Swipe routine. If you're not familiar with it, basically you swish the toilet every morning while you're in the bathroom and swipe down the sink and countertop. This keeps the bathroom nice and clean everyday until your big cleaning day in there. So for the swipe part of it I made these wipes. It's a modified version of my homemade baby wipes. They work great. I'll just have to be careful not to get them mixed up!

1 roll of Viva paper towels cut in 1/2
1/2 C. Lysol cleaner...or Pine Sol or Mr. Clean or whatever.
1 1/2 C. water.

Mix the liquids and pour over the paper towels. Store in an air-tight container. Pull out the cardboard tube after an hour or so and pull wipes from the middle. Easy!!

Yay! The torn up part of the roof is fixed! Now the house is sealed up for the snow. There is still much much to do as far as that part of the roof is concerned, but the part we tore down is fixed.

2 more doors are completely done. That makes 3 in all.

I bought a closet organizer thingy.

I filled up the new bookcase. It helped but it just won't do. We'll need to build shelves that go across the whole wall.

I had #1 empty the chest in the kitchen to take downstairs. We'll put a tv and movies in it.

My nephew is staying with us a couple of days to help us out. Honey is putting together another bed downstairs.

New cabinets MONDAY!!!

My mother-in-law totally reorganized the pantry. It was such a mess.

My father-in-law used his big saw to cut 10 rolls of paper towels in 1/2. I use them to make baby wipes. Now I won't have to fight with the knife and do it by hand.

Snow tomorrow night!!!

Happy Birthday Birdie Pie!

Really it's not till Thanksgiving day but I'm pretty busy between now and then so I thought I'd write about her now.

She'll be TWO 2222!!! Meaning she'll not be one anymore. sniff, sniff. Pretty pretty baby girl. I'm so glad she's mine.

~She's very girly but can hold her own against her brothers.

~She doesn't play with toys. Just now is she interested in something other than what I'm doing. Now she likes dolls and the kitchen set.

~She's a great talker. Very clear and easy to understand.

~She can be a bit sassy.

~She hates peanut butter.

~She has great manners. .....Well that is if she likes you. We'd had some trouble with friendliness.

~Her favorite words..."hold you please. Juice please."

~She can count. She stays on track up to 9 then runs out of numbers and starts over in no particular order.

~She always wants Meggy to hold her hand in bed. For good reason, she falls out of the bed often.

~Funny hair. One layer is curly, one layer is straight.

~Potty chair? Not a chance!!

Since she doesn't care for toys and she has more than enough books, it's very hard to think of a present for her. I don't want to buy something just for the sake of buying something. I've ordered a new childrens' Bible that I've been wanting them to have. She'll like it and her siblings will enjoy it too.

We'll have Thanksgiving at Emo's and I'll take over Nana's pasta salad for her. That's her fave. We're making a pink cake with a pink "2" candle. This is our first b-day in our new house.

Happy Birthday Baby Girl!!

Yesterday

I made a big crockpot full of taco meat for a full day of family. We had 9 extra besides our own 11. It also fed the neighbor who wasn't feeling very well. We even have left overs!

CT had 2 indoor soccer games. Won one, lost one (barely). Indoor soccer is fun to watch.

Honey and his dad got a lot of work done on the roof. Progress!

Got a free bookshelf from Craigslist thanks to my brother-in law and sister-in-law.

I baked a bunt. I've never done it before b/c I didn't have one of those pans. Things have changed.....I got one at Goodwill for $2. It came out perfectly.

I helped LB make 2 cream puff pies. Yummy.

Called a Wingboy a couple of times cause it was his b-day. They might come after Christmas!!! Happy Happy Joy Joy!!!

Bathed Baby Boy in the sink. I got all wet.

Jes put a rock in his ear and it wouldn't come out.

I talked to my g'mother, my dad, and my step mom. I miss them.

Mil took the girls to Savers and bought them new clothes. We're going to a benefit tea and have to dress up. With Thanksgiving that means I'll have to dress up twice in the same week! Unheard of.

I ate way too much sugar.

Baby oil and a bath did the trick. The rock came out! Good idea Dad.

My big kids went to a game night at church with my nephews. Big fun. Their team won. We got new hats and shirts.


Today...

Tea party.

Packing up part of the kitchen to get ready for cabinets.

Loading up my new bookshelf.

Minimal cooking.

Gotta go outside and play before the snow hits Wed.

Top 10

I love making new schedules. I have to do it ever so often when we outgrow our current one. It is also fun to look back at my old schedules and see how we've changed throughout the years. I have lots of them. Now since I have so many more to manage my schedule must be more detailed than it used to be. I have to write everything down!

I'm toying with the idea of starting the flylady thing. I've played with it for a long time off and on, reading on the web site and getting the e-mails. But this time I might do it for real. I need the book. My library has a few copies and the last time I checked it had several holds on it. I guess everyone has the same idea.

I start my new schedule working by praying and asking God to define my priorities. Here is a list of my new top ten priorities for my little ones. I call it my "Top Ten For Tots"....

1. Pray for them. Night time is usually my best time for this. Sometimes I'm too tired though so I can't always count on it. I pray for them as I'm folding their clothes. A new for me is praying for them when I tie their shoes...praying that they will have what God calls "beautiful feet that bring good news", praying that their feet follow ways that are firm, and that they will not stumble. I'm not in a hurry to teach shoe tying.

2. Smile and be cheerful for them. Set the example for joy, peace, and thanksgiving. Enjoy my work. "Where there are no oxen the manger is empty, but with the strength of an ox comes an abundant harvest." (I like this Proverb.)

3. Read to them. Not only for the sake of reading but also for the sake of sitting and cuddling and spending quiet time together.

4. Recite Scripture and memorize together.

5. Teach them meaningful work.

6. Play with them/Listen to them. My little ones are easy to play with but big ones can be too. I like to read the books my girls suggest to me. Or to watch a movie that they like. My older son is a huge game player and the only way I have a chance against him at foosball is to make him play one handed-left handed. He likes to show me his coin collection and where he puts certain coins. All of my kids like to chat. I'm trying to be a good listener.

7. Take them outside. Oh, this is hard! I tend to be a stay-in-the-house type. Being outside is good for me and it delights my little ones when I watch them show off something new.

8. Help them love others and put others first.

9. Teach them good manners.

10. Hug them and kiss them and touch them!

Lots of these will overlap. I won't cover it all everyday. But having an official list to look back on will help keep me on the right track and remind me to keep working when my days seem to spin out from under me.

More later as our new schedule takes shape....

New Duties

Working on a new schedule and making some changes.

Here's our new kitchen clean up list:
Bird: collect and throw away napkins

Mayfee Boy: clear the table

Jes: wipe table and high chairs

J-Man: put away left overs and take out the trash

LB: Clean all appliances

CT: Dry dishes and wipe counters

Lane and Meggy: They will switch off. One will do dishes and clean the sink while the other one is official overseer and floor cleaner. The overseer part of the job is helping the little ones with their responsibilities and checking the whole kitchen when everyone is finished. They've decided to switch out every other day.

Everyone helps unload the dishwasher.

Speaking of kitchen....The new cabinets and counter tops come the Monday after Thanksgiving! It'll only take 4 days of installation. Then we can finish unpacking the kitchen!

I've decided that it's time for me to tackle the whole chicken. Not boneless skinless. The whole icky slimy thing. My daughter jumped in, "Mom, last time you tried this you told me to remind you next time that it is a bad idea." mmmmm....I think I do remember something like that. But anyway, it seems like I should be mature enough to handle this without feeling like I'm going to lose my lunch down the sink.



I bought two. They sat in the fridge for a couple of days while I worked up my nerve. I took them to the sink and all the chicken juice (ewww!) ran down to the end of the bag. So I grab my scissors and cut the plastic. Somehow it squirted BACKWARDS onto ME!! I don't know how that could even happen. Where's my apron when I need it?

I washed them in the sink and took a peek in the business end. I know from experience that turkeys have bags of extra stuff in there (guts, I guess) that you're supposed to take out. The last time I cooked a turkey, I didn't know that. I cooked it in there. Who knew? Well, I wasn't going to fall for that again and I didn't know if chickens had guts in there. I know that you can put spices and such in there but that was just more than I could do.

I read the directions, seasoned them.... although I don't know why cause we're not going to eat that skin part anyway...and stuck them in the oven. MMMM....yummy smell in a couple of hours and when I took them out they looked much better than when I put them in.

I took them to the table expecting to hear the "ooohhhs and ahhhhs" especially from Honey who likes chicken. I gave him the knife and fork. He poked around on them for a minute before he broke the news: They're upside down!

Man, there's more to cooking a chicken than you'd think.

Cute Boys

The other day #1 dressed 6yo, 4yo, and 3yo up as pirates complete with face paint! Who could resist getting the camera out?

A few days later we gave Zekey a bath in the sink. He is so adorable!!!

Unpacking pictures makes me so homesick. I pull one out and remember where it was in my old house or remember when we got it. It's hard to think of where to put them in this house.

I rudely called up my friend at the dinner prep hour. She was gracious as always even with dinner on the stove and crying toddlers in the background. She's one of those rare friends that I can always count on and she'll talk to me whenever. Ahhh, a voice from home. That helped so much.

I did have a nice visit with my neighbor. She gave me some more info on the church that I was looking for and chatted in the front yard. I like this neighborhood.

There's some sort of fun night at Honey's school tonight. He took the big kids, except CT. He's also taking pics. So it's just us here with sleeping little ones. A nice bath night I'm thinkin'......

Please pay attention everyone! This little guy's lungs do not work on their own and the doctors have come to the end of what they can do. Job has had cancer and about everything else under the sun. He has been fighting battles since he was four and now he's about ten. He, his parents, and his sister are now waiting for God to do something amazing and keeping in this fight. Please pray for a miracle in Job's body. If you feel for him and his family, copy and paste this onto your own blog to really get prayers moving. They are powerful and God knows what's going on down here, even if we can't see a way out. Here is his website: http://www.caringbridge.org/ar/job/

Click here to watch the video of his journey on Windows Media Player. Testimonial (revised 2006)
Thank you for reading.
Sandy

Don't Bother!

Have you ever read of those ladies who claim to save so much money on their grocery bill? Oh yes, they can feed a family of 6 on $50 a week including all cleaners, diapers, and paper goods. They clip coupons, shop several different places, and then some actually take a picture of what they bought for nearly nothing and post it on the internet so the rest of us can envy their thriftiness. Ok, if you're taking pictures of your groceries you have way too much time on your hands.

Well, after seeing all the ads and coupons in my huge Sunday paper I decided to give it a try. I have always raised an eyebrow to this coupon thing anyway b/c the only thing that has a coupon is a brand name item. Saving a whole quarter on the most expensive toilet paper in the store really doesn't help me out any. Well, I clip about 30 or so coupons. I write down all the sales and where they are on sale so I can ad match it at Walmart. I make my list and check it twice putting a fancy star beside everything I have a coupon for. I even grab a calculator (a first for me) for my shopping trip. I am ready to save some money!

Shopping at WM with my list, calculator, and coupons I finally finish. Know what? There wasn't one single thing that had a coupon that was a better deal than the store brand...even those items on sale. However, there were some things that I usually buy that were on sale somewhere else that I could ad match.

At the check out line I put all my stuff on the conveyor belt and separate the ad match items. When the lady gets to those things I start to go down the list. "These are 2 for $3 at Safeway" I tell her. She looks at me and says, "Do you have the ad?"

Do I have the ad?! Yeah, like I can balance 6 newspaper ads along with my list, coupons, and calculator! Besides, don't they keep those under the cash register? They did at my old store. "No I don't have the ad." She says, "You have to bring the ads with you or I can't ad match it." Unbelievable.

So now I wonder, do I still buy this fancy jelly or do I put it back and get the Great Value kind? The frugal part of me would put it back. But I can't do that to the folks lined up behind me or my hungry toddler in the cart.

I am convinced that the whole "save a million dollars in the grocery store" plan is a big hoax. It doesn't work. The fact is it costs a lot of money to feed 11 people and there is no way around it! Stick to the store brands and cook from scratch and leave the coupons in the paper.

Oh well, lesson learned. The good news is that my pantry is nice and full. That is a good feeling. I would've taken a picture.....but you know.....

Lane got her bottom braces this week. They look nice. She picked red and orange for Thanksgiving.

In the last 2 days LB has lost 3 teeth!

With 9 kids, that is 180 baby teeth to lose.

You can't believe how quiet it is right now. All I can hear is my clicking keyboard. I forgot what quiet really sounded like. Kids are in bed and Honey is downstairs unpacking something. Shhhhh.....


Here is a bit of trivia for ya. When a storm is predicted, what do people stock up on the most?

POPTARTS! Can you believe it? Not water, poptarts! How funny is it that people think poptarts are a meal?

We went to Sams yesterday and took Jes. He is COW and definitely knows how to play it up. "Since I'm COW can I......?"

We were almost done when he spots the poptarts. "Dad, I like these." "Dad, since I'm COW can we buy them?" Dad is a push over. We got poptarts.

The other kids meet us at the door and helped unload. They spot the poptarts and say "Hey, is there a storm coming?"

My new door is already getting a workout. Children that didn't know I existed minutes earlier suddenly find themselves drawn by an invisible force to my closed door. I guess they can't stand the thought of being left out of whatever is going on behind that door. Since it isn't on hinges yet I just lean it in the opening. That leaves a pretty big crack, not to mention the door knob hole.

So Mayfee Boy comes to door and starts talking to me through the hole and peeking in the crack. No need to bother knocking, he can see and hear just fine. I'm trying to listen and to persuade him to go in another direction when WHAM!
my door hits the floor!

He looks at me, genuinely surprised. Big tears. I brace myself for the crying of the babies that I'm sure he just woke up.

He looked so sorry and sweet that I felt sorry for him. And, wonder of wonders...the babies slept right through it.

Why is this taking so long??

I wonder if the unpacking will ever end. Seems like this should've been done in a weekend and here we are 2 weeks later with boxes still around. One problem is that there isn't a place to unpack stuff. No shelves even for towels! Where did people put their towels before we moved in? Honey has lots of shelves to build for towels, blankets, and books, books, books.



Another problem is that the bathroom still has the nerve to get dirty when I already cleaned it 2 weeks ago! The babies still think they need to be fed! Why does life still go on when I'm so busy? Can't we take an unpacking break??

Today

Can you believe we already have enough stuff for a garage sale? Why did we bring so much junk? Here's my advice for the day: If you're thinking about moving...DON'T!! All of a sudden we have 3 microwaves. That's 2 too many for me. So I listed one on craigslist.com and it was gone the next day and I was $25 richer.

Fun indoor soccer last night. We all took lunch boxes with chicken pitas and sat in the bleachers and did the wave.

I changed COW to COD...meaning child of the day. With 7 kids in the COW rotation, it took too long for everyone's week to roll around. Today LB is COD (Actually I still call it COW, cause cows are cuter than fish). I wrote her a note to put on her bed for a surprise. Today I'll let her help me around the house and maybe price some g-sale junk...I mean "treasures".

We got a door! Actually several. Enough for the whole upstairs. They aren't hung yet, but it is nice to lean it against the opening and pretend we have a little privacy. I also have internet access in my room. Much more convenient.

My boys have been busy busy busy hammering and using up the wood we tore down from the roof. They made "speeders" to float in the creek behind the house. 6yo tied a big string to his and we took it back there to see if it floats. Success! It was the first time I'd been back there. Nice trail to walk on with babies or dog. Apple trees hung over the creek and we picked a lot to take home. I do like this area. What is lacking in the house is made up in the neighborhood.

Today...
school
chicken pizza
apple crisp for breakfast
Honey gets off work early!
lots of laundry
more unpacking
g-sale pricing

This neighborhood is full of kids. Knowing that we'd get lots of trick-or-treaters, I went out special to buy candy.....on purpose. Not one trick-or-treater!