The Power of Three

One of my children came to an unusual conclusion during homeschool the other day.  We were talking about numbers and how they work.  We also talked about favorite numbers.  My oldest boy announced to the rest of us that God's favorite number has to be 3.  When I asked him why he said because God uses three all the time, so since He chooses it the most it must be his favorite.  Who can argue with a 6 year old on that?

A picture I took at the zoo a few years ago. Look at what God can do. Surely He can have a favorite number!

Here are some things that support his saying that God's favorite number is 3(we talked about most of these during school).  Our math class became a Bible class, but that is the joy of homeschooling!!

1) The Holy Trinity:  Yeap this was the first thing he could think of to defend this argument.  God could have chosen to make Himself four in one or two in one, but He didn't.  For some reason(maybe He does like the number 3), He chose to be a Trinity.  The three in one, Father, Son and Holy Ghost.

2) There were three crosses on the hill the day that Jesus died.  Jesus could have been on that hill and died by Himself, but instead God chose to allow Him to have the company of two others making it three wooden crosses placed on the hill.

3) To go along with the crosses, they used three nails to nail Christ to the cross.  My kids were very curious about this one.  They thought it should have been four nails because we have two hands and two feet, but they only used 3.  So, my son says that is because God likes the number 3 and wants us to know that He controls everything so He controlled how many nails the men used.

4) Christ was in the grave for 3 days before He arose.  It was foretold of in the Bible and then it was seen to come true.  Again we see the number 3.  It could have been two or even four but instead He was dead for 3 days and then dead no more.  Are you agreeing with Patrick yet?  Is there some symbolism in the number 3?

5) Jonah spent 3 days and 3 nights in the belly of the whale.  Now, my kids love the story of Jonah.  They love how he had to come out all stinky and smelly but didn't care about that.  He was just ready to do what he was told.  But he did spend 3 days and 3 nights in the belly of that whale.  Why only 3 of each?  What is the significance behind that number?

There are many other occurrences in the Bible that use the number 3, but these were the ones that my children gave to me while we were having our discussion.  I think they are wise beyond their years and I loved hearing their reasoning.  I loved the way they tell the Bible stories and how for the most part they get them correct.  Maybe they combine two together sometimes, but it is the fact that they are learning, they are understanding, and now they are asking questions and seeking answers on their own.

This made me a very proud Mommy and I wanted to share with you how my children are helping me to have a better appreciation and knowledge of the scriptures in a way and viewpoint that I may have never seen before.  Do you listen to your children and let them teach you about the Bible?

Shared on:  Modest Mondays, Wisdom Wednesdays, Proverbs 31 Thursdays, 

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Monumental-My thoughts

Picture of Kirk Cameron from the Monumental Facebook Page

Wow.  Yeap one word says so much.  This movie is one that you need to watch a few times to help soak up all the information.

I will start by saying that I do know quite a bit about history as my family has always been big into history(we reenact the Civil War after all and my dad also has a major in history) so I did know some of the facts that Kirk Cameron shared in the movie.  There were however, things that I had not heard about or not heard much about.  The places that were shown in the film were wonderful.  It truly made me want to hop on a plane(I've never flown so that's saying a lot) and go see all these historical places.

I am once again convicted that we need to take over educating our children.  I am a homeschooling mommy.  I teach my children from the Bible and the history books.  We as parents need to be the ones teaching our children in the way we want them to grow up, we need to make sure they know the truth.

The movie talked of a statue that is in Massachusetts.  This statue is very large and lovely and depicts what our country is based on.  You should watch the movie if for no other reason than to hear them explain how the statue exemplifies what our country was based on and should once again be based on.

These are the jumbled thoughts I have for now.  Once I have had more time to process all the information, I may have more to share with you.

Please take a moment to check out the Monumental Movie Facebook page.  Feel free to ask questions on their page and make sure to watch the movie so you can form your own opinions.
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March Mommy Masters

I have been given an immense honor.  I was chosen as the March Mommy Master!  I am so excited about this.  To view the article that Ellie(THE mommy master) has written go here.  You can also enter your own blog to win the Mommy Masters of the Month!  I wanted to share this with everyone and let you know how excited I am!  Thank you all for your support by reading my posts and sharing them!

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Valentine's Day

Our society as a whole has really turned February 14th into a big day.  Everywhere you look you see little red boxes of candy, flower bouquest, cards saying how much you love each other.

 My question is this-If we're celebrating a day about love where is the real authority on love being shown?  Where are the balloons saying "for God so loved the world" or "love as God loves us"? 

Really think about it.  We celebrate one day a year to show those around us how much we love them.  God shows us how much He loves us EVERYDAY!  Shouldn't we be giving some attention to Him on this day?  Isn't he really the authority on love?  He made us.  He made the entire world!  He showed us how to love by showing His love for us by sending His son to die on a cross for our sins.

I don't have a specific verse to meditate on today or to share really besides the age old verse of John 3:16.  Really today my devotion time made me think of this.  How can we celebrate a day about love without Christ?  How can we love others without first being shown how to love?

I'm not a big fan of Valentine's day because I don't think we need one certain day singled out as the "day of love".  Everyday should be a day of love.  Everyday I tell my husband I love him.  Everyday I tell my kids that I love them.  I didn't tell them anymore today that I loved them than I did yesterday or anymore than I will tomorrow.

So, todays devotional is different than the others, but I hope I've made you think.  What new routine can you incorporate into your life to show your family how much you love them?  My answer to this is to start leaving notes around the house for my kids.  I am a homeschooling mommy so this also provides me with teaching lessons on reading for those who can't read.  One of the first things I am doing was today I stuck notes on all the mirrors in the house that said "You are beautiful" and "God made you perfectly in His image". Pin It Now!

Monday Moments

Had a great day today with my little monkeys.  School went well considering the fact that it had snowed overnight and they were all eager to get outside and play in the snow.

Once the kids finished their school I let them go outside to play.  Patrick and Bridgett decided that they wanted to build  a snowman.  You can see they're working very hard at it, and yes those are pink gloves that Patrick is wearing.  That's what comes of having big sisters to hand things down.

They played out in the cold snow for two hours before I made them come in for some lunch.  I had warmed up some macaroni and cheese casserole and made some delicious hot cocoa for us.  The kids enjoyed their treats and were ready to go back out once they were done eating. 

Daddy came home early.  He's fighting off a cold/sinus infection that I think has turned into bronchitis(sending him to the Dr-Happy Valentine's Day dear I've made your appt)!  So with Daddy coming home around 2 they came in for a sit down and watched some Little House on the Prairie movies(we're reading the books) all snuggled up together on the couch with Daddy.  Sorry I didn't get a picture of that as I was nursing the baby to sleep rocking in my rocking chair thinking how wonderfully blest I am! Pin It Now!

Another Day in Paradise

As I was on my way home from taking Zyera to the eye doctor today I heard the song "Just another day in Paradise" by Phil Vasser.



It made me think and smile.  This is my life!  The days are far from perfect and things never seem to go as planned, but our life is wonderful and I wouldn't change it for the world.  I treasure each day with my monkeys and I do truly thank God for letting me have each and every day with them.

Today was a topsy turvy kind of day for us.  We started school late because the kids decided to get every book off their shelf and I made them put them away before we started school.  They did well in school.  While I was fixing lunch(scrambled eggs with chopped sausage and cheese) it seems that a few of the young ones got all the cloth diapers out of their drawers and spread them around the bathroom.  So while the kids ate I got those cleaned up.  Then it was time to get ready to take Zyera to the eye doctor.

I had decided to take her to the eye doctor because she kept falling down and would never put her hands out to catch herself(she uses her head to catch herself).  This was how her older half sister would do before we got her glasses at age 2.  Zyera is 19 months and we should pick up her new glasses next week and I will show off pictures because she looks so totally cute in them!  Anyway, we went to the eye doctor and she did so well.  She just cuddled with me the whole time and was such a sweetie.  We tried on different glasses and settled on a pair but when the assistant went to take them off  so that we could have lenses ordered and placed in them the tragedy happened.  Zyera had a full all out temper fit.  Bottom lip all out, tears and everything.  It was actually really cute.  Even without the right prescription she wanted to keep wearing those glasses!  So we gave her a balloon and everything was right in the world again.

Until we got to the van.  It was then that I discovered I had somehow locked my keys in the van(they were sitting in Fionna's carseat laughing at me).  So back into the eye clinic we went.  I asked for a number for a locksmith, I was going to call and just have someone come unlock it for me, but several of the employees decided they'd try to unlock it first.  After about 5 different people had tried to unlock it with no luck, we finally called the professionals.  Within a few seconds of them arriving it was unlocked and we were on our way home.

All in all it was a good day! Pin It Now!

UNFI

this is not my picture, I am using this picture from the UNFI website

The other coop I participate in and buy the rest of my groceries(mainly flour and some yogurts) from is United Natural Foods, or UNFI.  This is another coop or buying club where you place your order online and then go to a location to pick it up.  You will have to contact them to find a drop point in your area and sign up with that drop point to order.  I love my drop in St. Joseph and love the wonderful families I have met by doing this.  If you are in the northwest MO area and would like to become a part of my drop point let me know and I'll get you the information you need.

This was the original coop I started out in.  I used to buy everything through them, but have found certain things are cheaper with Azure so I switched to buying them there.  But I just couldn't give up on UNFI.  I still buy some of the sale produce through them and we buy our Brown Cow yogurts through them as they are cheaper than any of the others I've found for my husband to take in his lunch.  The major thing I still buy from UNFI are my organic gluten free flours.  I can get flour in bulk from reputables brands that I have used and love and not have to worry if it is contaminated!

To learn more about how you can start buying through UNFI go Here.

Here's a quick look at their products and services.

And last but not least their about us page!
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Azure

So I've mentioned in posts before how I get groceries from a place called Azure Standard.  I love these guys!  You can get quality produce and great food in bulk for a better price than in the stores and the best part is the stuff you get from Azure is organic!  So I am going to start showing you what I'm getting from them.  They are based out of Oregon and deliver throughout the states.  They are not on the East coast yet, but do go into Tennessee and all over.   You would have to check to see what the closest drop to you is.  Recently they opened a drop in St. Joseph, MO which is only around 45 minutes from us which is great!  I order my groceries online and go pick them up.  It only takes a few minutes to get my groceries off the truck and into my van and then I'm done.  No hassles.  Love this!

I encourage everyone to sign up and start getting your groceries from these guys.  You can do your grocery shopping once a month and almost everything you need can be ordered through them.  Things that I do not buy from them would include toilet paper and other paper products, milk, and a few other odds and ends.  I also still check my local stores for good deals on products, but since I only buy organics its very rare that I find a better deal in the stores.

A main thing that I cannot buy from Azure is flour.  They cannot guarantee to me that their flours are gluten free and I don't want to take a chance on them so I buy them through my other coop which I will talk about in another post!

So, in conclusion, I think everyone should check out Azure for their groceries.  It's great products at a fraction of the store cost and if you learn to start budgetting and planning meals on a monthly basis you can save a lot of money!  If you are in the northwest MO area and are wanting to join let me know and I can get you in contact with our drop manager. She's a great gal and also a photographer!  If you'd like to visit with her or get in contact with her, you can find her business facebook page here.

You can request a catalog by going Here.

Information about getting started as a customer can be found Here.

Learn about Azure and how they got started Here.
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The Heirloom Gardener Review

Book Title:  The Heirloom Gardener

Authors:  Jere and Emilee Gettle
Website: Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Company
Don't forget to visit them on facebook as well.

This review took me longer than I had hoped it would as the weather has been so beautiful that we've been outside every spare moment!  But the nice weather also made me want to get my garden planned out and get my hands in the soil.

Now onto the book.  The book starts out with some background history on Jere Gettle and how he came to love seeds and planting.  He shares his early life and his move from Minnesota to Missouri(I'm partial to this part as I'm a Missouri native).  He also shares how he became involved in the seed saving movement to preserve our heirlooms and how he started his seed company.

I love the "life story" inside the book! Wow is all I can say to all the travels.  I've always wanted to travel the world, but reading about his travels and how he got off the beaten path to find these great seeds is almost as good as getting to go there yourself.  Not only does Jere Gettle tell us how to garden, he also shares the best ways to garden, to care for you soil year round, and how to save your own seeds!  Wow!  Here is someone who can't be in this for the money.  He's telling you how to save your seeds so you don't have to buy from him again! 

The last half of the book is an A-Z growing guide of all kinds of fruits and vegetables.  This resource is astounding.  It answers all your questions of when to plant, where to plant, what not to plant next to what, what bugs and pests to watch out for and how to prevent them organically.  This is definitely a resource I will be consulting this year as I finish the planning and preparation for making my garden a reality this year.

Baseline review:  I love this book.  I highly recommend this book!  If you like gardening and want information this book is for you.  Not only does Jere Gettle share how he became involved with seeds and started his own company but he imparts onto you, the reader, his knowledge of seeds and planting.  He shares how to save your own seeds, where to plant what, how to care for them, and other wonderful ideas.  The vivid photographs and variety of plants is astounding.  The colors just leap right off the page at you.

I have always liked Baker Creek Seeds and have ordered from them for a while now, but this book has given me many ideas and ways to change how I garden to make everything better.  Oh, and don't worry if you don't live on a big farm, this book also has ideas for the city gardener!

This book gets 5 stars from me!

If you want to learn more about Baker Creek Seeds visit their website or facebook page.  They have been more than helpful to me in the past with any questions I have had.  You can also check out my blog post about the seeds I ordered for my garden this year by going here.

This review is my opinion of the book The Heirloom Life Gardener.   My opinion has not been influenced by the Gettles or Baker Creek Seeds or anyone else.  It is just that, my opinion.  I have not received any compensation for this review other than the book in question.  To view my full disclosure go Here.
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Seed Order!

Cover art on Baker Creeks catalog features the WM121 that I love!  Sun, moon, and Stars!  A must try if you never have!

Ok so I placed my order for my garden seeds the other day!  So excited and can't wait for my seeds to get here.  Oh and for the weather to keep this warm front up so I can plant my garden!  I love to garden.   I love pulling weeds and working with the soil in my hands(yeap soil, not dirt-my daddy is a horticulturist, lol).  So I decided I'd share with you all what seeds I ordered and when the time comes to plant them I'll show you my garden spots!

You will notice a lot of these are native to Missouri and several date back to the Civil War!  For me the older and pure my garden the better! 

My order

Mary Washington Asparagus(AS101)
Broad Windsor Fava Bean(FB101)
Contender(Buff) Valentine Bush Bean(BN102)
Saint-Esprit a Oeil Rouge Bush Bean(BN135)
Calabrese Green Sprouting Broccoli(BR101)
Purple of Sicily Cauliflower(CA103)
Atomic Red Carrot(CR109)
St. Valery Carrot(CR101)
Cour Di Bue Cabbage(CB108)
Tendercrisp Celery(CE101)
Country Gentleman Sweet Corn(CN105)
Rainbow Sweet Inca Corn(CN135)
Wade's Giant Indian Flint Corn(CN141)
Delikatesse Cucumber(CU109)
Parisian Pickling Cucumber(CU106-C)
Wonderberry(GR105)
Flax(GS113)
Millet, German Foxtail(GS107)
Quinoa, Brightest Brilliant(GS112)
European Mesclun Mix(SB101)
Rocky Top Lettuce Mix(SB103)
Boule d'Or Melon(ML106)
Missouri Gold Melon(AML150)
Orlinabel Melon(ML121)
Burmese Okra(OK111)
Gold Coast Okra(OK136)
Crimson Forest Bunching Onion(ON110)
Flat of Italy Onion(ON104)
Alaska Garden Pea(GP101)
Little Marvel Garden Pea(GP102-F)
Oregon Sugar Pod II Snow Pea(SN105)
Sugar Snap Pea(SN106)
California Wonder Pepper(PP106)
Corno di Toro Giallo Pepper(PP112)
German Giant Radish(RD116)
Long Scarlet Radish(RD107)
White Icicle(RD123)
Mennonite Sorghum(SR104)
New Zealand Spinach(SP102)
Costata Romanesco(SSQ122)
Green Bush Vegetable Marrow(SSQ124)
Zucchino Rampicante(Zucca D'Albenga)(SSQ103)
Bush Buttercup(SQ168)
Connecticut Field Pumpkin(SQ129)
Turner Family Pumpkin(SQ230)
Upper Ground Sweet Potato Squash(SQ226)
Winter Luxury Pie Pumpkin(SQ167)
Missouri Pink Love Apple(TK128)
Black Cherry Tomato(TP106)
Costoluto Genovese Tomato(TM210)
Jersey Giant Tomato(TM192)
Riesentraube Tomato(TM132)
Black Diamond Yellow-Belly Strain Watermelon(WM111)
Moon and Stars(WM121)
Tom Watson Watermelon(WM104)
Will's Sugar(WM157)
Soldier Bush Bean(BN129)
Laxton's Progress No. 9 Garden Pea(GP105)
Pink German Tree Tomato(TK137)
Long Milky Way-Moon and Stars(WM153)
Lavender(HB112)
Dill Bouquet(HB126)
Echinacea Purpurea(HB119)
Cilantro, Slo-bolt(HB143)
Stevia(HB175)
Toothache Plant(HB160)
Rue, Herb O'Grace(HB191)
Bee Balm Lemon(HB124)
Chia-Crown Jewels(HB182)
Feverfew(HB158)
Lemon Balm(HB117)
Gaillardia Indian Blanket-Wildflower(WF111)
Plains Coreopsis-Wildflower(WF104)(SQ226) Pin It Now!

Forgiveness

“For thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee.” Psalm 86:5 KJV
Psalm 141:8 “But mine eyes are unto thee, O GOD the Lord: in thee is my trust; leave not my soul destitute.”

These two verses jumped out of my reading yesterday and today.  You know the feeling, when it just seems the words jump off the page and stand in front of your face going see me see me!  Yeap I saw them.

For me I look to the Psalm 141:8 first.  If our eyes are on God, if we put our soul and our trust in Him, He will not leave us.  He will guide us and help us and get us to where we need to be, whether we knew we needed to be there or not.  Our eyes and our hearts need to be focused on God.  If we focus on God there isn't room for us to focus on other things. 

I struggle with that.  I want to focus on the things around me, and when I do that I get worried and stressed out.  Not a nice feeling and definitely not something I want to do.  This year I am trying harder to make sure I always focus on God.  If I feel myself getting worried, depressed, or stressed out, I take a time out.  I just sit and let myself refocus.  I let go of whatever is bothering me and I give it to God.  If we give it to Him, He'll take it and our soul will be refreshed(personal experience).

The other verse also spoke to me.  Jesus came to Earth so that we could get forgiveness for our sins.  We don't have to do any great acts to show that we are worthy of forgiveness, we don't have to beat ourselves up constantly over mistakes that we have made, we just have to say "Lord I'm sorry for all the bad things I've done and I believe in You and the fact that You died for me and have given me eternal life and I want to claim that(very shortened version but you get the point)."  That's it.  Nothing more required.  It's wiped off.  So if I do something wrong, if I hold onto my worry and don't let it go to God, I can get His forgiveness just by asking!  How great is that!  We ask and boom it's there.

This also got me thinking about things in my life where I need to work on forgiveness and letting things go.  I have a time with that sometimes.  I've been hurt deeply by people I love, yet I need to forgive them and move on.  I have a hard time letting those hurts go sometimes.  God says to give them to Him and He will claim them as His own so they are no more to us.  Does anyone else having a problem giving their hurts over to God? 

I'm getting much better at giving Him my worry and stress and problems on a daily basis, but I'm still having troubles with old hurts and wounds.  This week I have made it a goal to give to God the two things that have hurt me the most that I want to release the least.  Why is it we want to hang onto our hurt?  Do we need it as a memory so that we don't make these mistakes again?   Do we need it as a barrier?  I think those are two of the things that have been in my thoughts as to why I don't want to give my hurts up.

What about you?  What do you need to forgive?  If God can forgive us, surely with His help we can forgive others.

Picture found on the internet, not mine but one I like.

And now I'm signing off to go start a day of school with my wonderful kids that will include our PE portion outside today as it's going to be in the 60's again!  I can't thank God enough for this wonderful weather! Pin It Now!

God's Blessings

Today I spent a lot of time in reflection over the last 7 years since it was my daughters birthday and she turned seven.  So much has happened in those years.  It got me to thinking, how much of all that has happened have I stopped to thank God for?  How many times have I really said "Thank you God"?  Oh yes of course we pray before meals and at bedtime,etc, but we're to pray without ceasing.  I do a lot of praying, but today I was really thinking about how many thankful prayers have I sent to God over the years.  I'm sure whatever the number it's only a small fraction of what it should be.  So I'm going to list a few thankfuls here.

God has blessed me abundantly.  Today here are a few of the blessings I saw and thanked God for.  I am going to consciously try to remember to thank God throughout my days for all the blessings He pours forth on us.  What about you?  What blessings has God given you lately?  Even when everything seems dark around us, there is a blessing waiting to be found.

My ornery curious baby girl who knows no fear.

The sweet smiles and squeals of joy of babies swinging.

Children at play.

A girl so full of life that God has given me the privilige of mothering. Pin It Now!

Busy Weekend

My weekend was very busy around here.  Had a set of twin goat kids born Friday evening.  They seemed to be doing well that night.  Had to get up a couple times during the night to go out and feed them as their mommy goat has mastitis and isn't able to fully feed them.  Saturday morning when I went to check them the boy kid was no where to be found.  Our vet was here to look at Big Mama(mommy goat) with her mastitis so he helped me look.  After we had stopped looking for our little guy the vet saw a black feed bucket move.  We moved the bucket and low and behold there was the baby goat all curled up under the feed bucket.  I wish I had had a camera out there with me as this was one of the funniest cutest things I had ever seen!

Saturday went well though busy for me.  My husband had an all day conference in Kansas City so I was home alone with the kids and two baby goats who needed fed every few hours.  I am very glad that I breastfed my kids, I don't think I could handle getting up every few hours during the night to bottle feed.  Anyway, I had to load up all 8 of the human kids in the afternoon and take them with me to pick up my Azure coop order(more information about Azure coming in a different post).  Love my Azure produce and yogurt!!  This time we got raw organic carrots, apples, and red russet potatoes.  We also got raw organic cheddar cheese in a 5 pound brick and some yummy rice chips, tea tree oil, and a few other odds and ends.  The kids did fairly well for me while they waited in the van as I loaded all my goodies.  Well except for the two boys who decided to honk the horn. . . .

Home brought unloading and getting the kids in the house.  We decided a treat was in order for being such good little monkeys in the van so we had some sherbert.  It was delicious!  Kids and I settled in to read books for a while and then they watched a movie while we waited for daddy to get home.

When I checked my goat kids Saturday night I found another goat starting into labor and one of my kids was a bit unresponsive.  Brought her into the house to try to warm her up and get her going.  She improved a little but we lost her over night.  I had to bring her brother in around 3 in the morning as he was getting to be the same as her.

We lost the female doe kid but the buck is doing great now and he's going to go back outside today.  We have had him in our basement by the wood stove to keep him nice and warm.  My husband last year this time set up a heater in our cellar and that has become our animal nursery!

Sunday brought my doe still being in labor(poor girl still hasn't kidded yet).  I also had a Scentsy Open House here.  I am a Scentsy consultant and you can find my Website Here.  Keep a look out for some awesome changes coming in a few days!

Anyway that was my weekend.  Lots of fun and very busy around here as normal!

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Rearranging

I'm on a rearranging kick this week.  Probably not the best time to be doing this as over half the kids are sick, the baby is a clingy mess who has decided she does not want to work on weaning these days.  But nevertheless I am rearranging my living room. 

Our living room is the largest room in our house(which is sad because it's not really that big).  It is a rectangular shape so we have left the floor open and put our furniture around the outside of the room.  One wall used to have bookshelves that held the kids books, movies, and some "big people" books.  I decided that I wanted to move those shelves off the wall so I could push the chairs that were sitting in front of them back to the wall.  So two of the shelves have gone to our extra room(used mainly for storage) downstairs and the last bookshelf is going to go at the end of the hallway that leads to our bedrooms.  I'm hoping this will work out well.  I'll take pictures to show when I'm done with this.

The big question is whether I can get this big rearranging fest done by Sunday or not?!  I'm having a Scentsy open house on Sunday and really would like for my house to be somewhat clean, lol.  My house is never spotless.  I have too many people and too many animals in the house for that. 

Tomorrow should be interesting though.  My husband has an all day conference to go to.  I have my Azure coop to go and pick our food up from, which means all 8 little ones go with me.  And then back home to bake goodies for the open house and finish cleaning/rearranging. 

Does anyone else like to do a periodic rearrange in your house?  The living room is really the only room I can switch up and I do it rather often. . . . Pin It Now!

Mommy Time!

I got to have some alone by myself with no little ones. . . at all time today.  It was SO nice.  I don't get this very often, as most of the time I take one or two of the kids with me.  I had a buying club drop today and had to go pick up my yummy organic gluten free flours!  I also did some grocery shopping for the month and gave myself a treat. . . . I went to JoAnn's to look at some new patterns and try to find some yarn. 

First let me say I am going to be doing a post to let you know what UNFI is and how you can become a part of you local drop.  I am also a member of a buying club called Azure Standard which I have a drop off for on Saturday so I will probably do informational reviews on both of them on that day and let you know what I normally order through these guys to help save my family money!

Now on to my great day.  Well, it didn't start out so great.  My baby is teething which makes her very cranky and not want to sleep.  She did not want to go to sleep last night so I had a late night.  Did not want to get up this morning but the kids insisted that they needed breakfast.  Second youngest had a hissy fit at breakfast because she thought I gave her a different cereal than the other kids(I didn't, but couldn't convince her) so she ended up spending time crying and didn't eat her breakfast.  Everyone finally got done eating and got dressed so I was able to bundle them up and out into the van!  This takes a bit since all 8 are still in booster seats or carseats.

Off we went to the babysitters who also happens to be my Mom.  Got the kids all unloaded and into her house with their stuff for lunch(it was 10am by this time, lol).  I sent them with some homemade gluten free bread, peanut butter, and honey for sandwiches; cheese sticks; apples; carrots; baked chips; and homemade tapioca puddin(another recipe to watch for!). 

Now here comes the fun part of my day!  I went to start my van and it went . . . . . .and then click click.  Yeap, battery was shot.  Just like that.  So called the local tire shop who also sells batteries.  They came and jumpstarted me and I went over and had them put a new battery in.  Those are a little more expensive than I remember. :( 

So, I was finally off on my childfree adventure!  Listening to grown up music(country) and driving 45 minutes to the nearest "big" city. 

JoAnn's was a bit of a dissapointment to me.  They had some nice 100% wool yarn that I looked at, but no patterns that were what I was looking for(cute little girl poncho and a cardigan type sweater for myself).  So, I decided to try another crafty store that is new to town, Michael's.  They had the same yarn(yeah!) and also had a pattern that would work!  So happy.  I went to pay for my purchase and asked if they did the discount program for teachers(JoAnn's gives teachers 15% off their entire purchase).  They said they did but you had to have something certifying that you're a teacher.  So, we chatted because I'm not a certified teacher but I am a homeschool teacher and decided since JoAnn's will honor that fact and give me the discount that Michael's would as long as I could show them my JoAnn's discount teacher card!  So I scored 15% off my yarn and pattern!  Yeap it was a GREAT day! Pin It Now!

Truly Grateful

A friend of mine posted this picture on facebook today and it made me think.  What if we were always truly grateful for what God has given us?  We're not always grateful.  I'm not always grateful. 

Today I am home with sick children.  I have 5 kids with upper respiratory infections, three of which can harldy talk they're that hoarse and one little baby who's cutting teeth. . . four teeth at once to be exact.  I'm a bit non-grateful today.  So I decided to think about all the things to be grateful for.  I have quite the list.

To name a few things I'm grateful for: 
      -the fact that I have 8 kids and that I'm able to care for them all and even though they're sick they
            still know that mommy is here and they still expect mommy to make them all better with
            hugs and kisses
      -the fact that we have a house and that our house is warm(VERY warm--oops I forgot and put
            two pieces of locust on the fire)
      -the fact that my husband has a full time job and that he is willing to go the extra mile to make
            sure we have money for the bills and food on  our table
      -I am very grateful for my animals and  the fact that soon I will have fresh goats milk to give my
            children to drink
      -but most importantly I am grateful that God is always there for me, even when I'm ungrateful
            and in a sourpuss mood

Once I got started on things I'm grateful for I had a really long list.  I only posted a few on here.  What things are you grateful for?  Are you grateful for waking up every morning?  Are you grateful for the food and shelter that most take for granted?  Are you grateful for the little things?  Sometimes we forget just how lucky we are and how truly wonderful our lives are.  We need to stop comparing ourselves to others and be grateful for what we have and what a "GREAT" God we have!!!

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Yesterday

I was too tired last night to post a blurb about my day.  I have 8 kids as you should know by now. . . well 5 of those 8 have upper respiratory infections and the baby is cutting 4 teeth at once.  Yeap it was one of those days that you wish you could just stay in bed.  But we plugged away and did school anyway.  I ended up taking one of the babies to the Dr to get a dose so I would know how much medicine I could give her.

By the end of the day I was tired and a bit cranky.  I made a yummy chicken and spaghetti supper and was trying to get kids ready for bed when I just had to laugh and remember why I love being a mommy so much.  See picture and know what I'm talking about.

Little Miss Fionna climbed into the basket of the folded up stroller and was kicking her feet to get it to bounce.  Of course as you can see she also had kidnapped Colin's Woody doll again.  Thinking I need to get her the talking Jessie for her birthday!  This little girl is a constant ray of sunshine in  my world!  So glad that God gave her to us even if she is the orneriest of all the kids! Pin It Now!

Reviews

I am going to be doing some personal reviews soon.  These reviews will be of my own opinion and I am not being compensated for them, and in the most part the manufacturers/companies do not know that I am doing reviews as they have not asked that of me.  I will always specify if I am being compensated or receiving any product for free.

That being said, be on the look out for a review on the Scentsy warmer and scent of the month every month.  I am a Scentsy consultant, but I do NOT receive the products for free.  I do however normally receive the scent of the month due to my subscriptions which I pay for.  So, I will review how I feel they smell and whether I highly recommend them or not.  January will be coming this week and then I will do February(yeap I've already got it!). 

As I have mentioned before I am a member of a few buying clubs or coops.  These are UNFI(United) and Azure Standard.  I also am able to buy from Frontier through my UNFI coop.  I will be doing reviews on these as well as letting you know what I purchase from them.  Once again they are not compensating me.  I spend my own money to buy the products I like and go pick them up.  I just want to share with you my journeys in feeding my family healthy, organic whole foods. Pin It Now!

Busy Days

I have several recipes to add from this past weekend and all kinds of things to share, but it has been so busy around here I really haven't had much time!  That's a good thing, I think.  So much happened over the weekend I can't put it all in here, but I will probably put some short blurbs on things in with the recipes I post tomorrow.  I like to make something that I can make more than one meal out of, so I'll show you how I made one meal into three in a bit.

But this post isn't about cooking.  This is my ramblings for how fun and enjoyable our weekend was. . . . for the most part.  Saturday was a typical morning.  Kids woke us up a bit before 6am(my kids believe sleeping in is against the rules I think).  Got up and made some buckwheat pancakes(my kids call these chocolate pancakes though because of how they look) for breakfast.  My husband left to do some jobs and I started on my Saturday cleaning/laundry/major cooking spree!  I started apples for apple butter and put a big Deer Roast with potatoes and carrots in the oven.  Then came the massive amounts of laundry.  I don't mind washing, drying(love my clothesline), and bringing in the clothes.  I don't even mind the folding part, but I don't like putting the clothes away.  All those drawers and getting stuff to fit right(between the 8 kids we have 5 dressers). . . . just to have the kids rummage around and get half of it on the floor the next morning.  My rule is I will fold it and put it away the FIRST time, but after that it's their responsibility.  The older girls are quickly learning to be more careful picking out their clothes.

Anyway, over the weekend I started in on a different room in the house.  I'm on a cleaning bent these days to declutter and organize our house.  With this many people living in our house we have to keep stuff simple or we get over run.  I'm working on getting rid of things we don't need or use.  It's a slow process but I'm making steady progress.  Over the weekend I went through the kids books, kids movies, and grown-up movies.  Today I went through our cd's.  I WILL finish this goal.  I'm vearing off topic here so more on  my New Year's Goals later.

Sunday led us to Sunday School and church.  Had a great time fellowshipping.  Our church has reformed their praise band and the kids all love hearing the music played.  Sean is probably going to be joining up with them soon and playing his guitar.  He was asking me if he got someone to help me with the kids if he could.  I just giggled at him and reminded him I take the kids to church by myself when he's gone, that I thought I could handle them alone for the music service.  I don't think he saw the humor as much as I did.

Home from church and enjoyed our deer roast stew(made from the leftovers from our lunch the day before).  Love having that ready and waiting when you walk in the door.  The apple butter was still in the crock and almost done so smelled wonderful.  Apple butter brings back wonderful memories for me of my childhood with my grandmum.  Will have a whole post on her when I make her Yorkshire pudding next weekend.

After church the kids went outside to play while I got the babies down for naps.  Then Sean and I went out and planned where my garden is going and where we'll be planting things this year.  I love gardening and growing things.  I am hoping to have time to order my seeds tomorrow and then I'll give you a run down of what we'll be planting.

When the babies woke up we went in to start our Sunday movie.  We were ready to start the beginning of the Kent Hovind Creation Series.  Put the first disk in and were partway through the first session when Colin announced the horses were out!  So, out run Mommy and Daddy to chase horses with Bridgett in charge.  Several miles of running later the horses are all safely put away and our neighbors and even more not happy with us. . . .at least all horses, dogs, and people were unhurt!

By this time it was getting dark and time for supper.  We enjoyed peanut butter, honey, and banana sandwiches, plus left over deviled eggs from Saturday.  The kids were bottomless pits so they also each had an entire large orange as well as two sandwiches. . . .   I'm not looking forward to the teenage years.

Today started off with our alarm not working and us oversleeping.  We were supposed to be up at 5am as normal but woke up at 6 instead.  Rushed to get Sean off to work.  Kids had breakfast, got dressed, started some school.  We're ahead in our regular books so I'm introducing some unit studies totally made up by myself!  Yeap this is gonna get interesting.  We're working on the 10 commandments now and will be posting some stuff on that so I can get some feedback and ideas.

Today the hall closet in the living room(wierd place for a hall closet where there is no hall) got cleaned out and the cd's gone through.  I cleaned off some shelves on our entertainment center to move some stuff around.  Once I get done with my cleaning rearranging I'll give everyone  a tour of our house!

I currently have some apple pie filling in the crockpot and we had some baked apples with our supper of brown rice pancakes, fried eggs, and sausage patties.  Kids went to bed a bit late and are all finally asleep.  Even the dogs and cat are peaceful.  Dogs are on their beds(aka one on our bed and one on the floor in the hallway where he can protect all) and the cat is laying on the living room floor daring any of the dogs to cross her path.  All is well in the Slocum house tonight. Pin It Now!

My Day

Today was a fun day for us around here, well fun for the most part.  Kids got up early as per normal(they seem to think they must be up by 6am).  We had breakfast and started in on our school.  For those who don't know I homeschool my tribe of monkeys(oops I mean my wonderful children)!  So there I am working on teaching and I start hearing my youngest boys Woody doll talking.  I know Colin isn't playing with it as he's sitting her by me working on tracing shapes.  I glance in the corner and this is what I see!

Yeap that would be my baby.  She took everybody's coats off their hooks, made a nice bed and laid down to play with brother's Woody.  She loves that pull string doll!

After school we had lunch and I started to get ready to take my oldest boy to the doctor for an ear ache.  I hear a noise in the bathroom and go to check it out.  Seems my youngest son decided he needed to clean the bathroom floor, toilet, and counters with Windex.  He also thought baby sister might need some as hair gel. . . . So as I'm cleaning up this mess I look up to see my little brother in the bathroom doorway.  This may not strike you as odd, but I have a huge German Shepherd guard dog who normally barks like he's going to tear you limb from limb when you so much as pull into our drive.  Not a peep out of him. . . . .

So for the next two hours my gets become super hyper and bouncy playing with their uncle.  Take Patrick to the Dr to find he has swimmers ear in one ear.  Really?  Who gets swimmers ear in the middle of winter?  This is the kid who washes his hair in such a way that no water ever goes into his ears.  So now ear drops for that one.

Leftovers for supper.  We had the leftover Kielbasa Casserole with leftover Crockpot Baked Apples.  The apples are just as good cold as they are warm. 

During supper Daddy reads to the kids.  We are working our way through The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis currently.  Tonight we are in the book of The Magician's Nephew and are reading about how the lion Aslan creates Narnia through song.  Our oldest Bridgett explained to us without being asked how Aslan is like God because of the creation.  She did a great job of comparing and contrasting the two but was a bit upset that C.S. Lewis took liberties and had the lion sing instead of speak.  It was very cute to hear her but also awe inspiring.  As it is said "out of the mouths of babes" and that "we should be like children".  Children understand more than we give them credit for.

And now the last funny for the day.  As we are supervising and trying to get all 8 of the little monsters into bed(I call them this lovingly of course), my husband comes around the corner for a good laugh.  Being the mommy that I am I grab the camera and go around the corner to see what is going on.  I find my youngest son wearing his sisters tights over the top of his jeans.  I did take a few pictures but they don't seem to want to load so will share those later.  He really was quite proud of himself, lol.  Very cute and I know why Daddy had to go hide to laugh.

My kids are my joy.  I love every minute of them.  Sometimes they frustrate me.  That's normal and a part of them growing up.  They show me daily what love is and how to give without holding back.  Pin It Now!