For Today: January 19, 2009

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FOR TODAY January 19, 2009...



Outside My Window... The sun is shining and there is not a cloud in the sky.


I am thinking...I’m glad my new friend called us for a playdate later today.


I am thankful for...My new “job” babysitting 2 little boys.


From the kitchen...I’m attempting to make rye bread...again...and the kids and I will try our hand at homemade granola later today.


I am wearing...a pale orange skirt and a couple of white t-shirts


I am creating...Memories with my children


I am going...to study Proverbs 31 everyday for the next 30 days.


I am reading...Momma’s Guide to Thriving on One Income
by Kimberly Eddy
(an e-book)

I am hoping...to actually fold & put away the laundry


I am hearing...the Joy FM from my kitchen, Wii Rayman Raving Rabbids II and the boys delighted laughter, Riley talking to her matchbox cars & the dryer.


Around the house...we will be working on how to make a bed, put away toys and listening skills...like we do everyday ;-)


One of my favorite things...the super smoothie I am drinking


A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week:
This will be the 1st week of babysitting, so we will just try to settle into a good routine


Here is picture thought I am sharing...


You just can't help but smile at that, huh?

Thanks to http://thesimplewoman.blogspot.com/ for creating this fun post! Go read lots of other daybooks by fabulous Simple Women. And thanks to my girl Sandy for pointing the way to it!

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On Becoming a True Woman after God's Own Heart

I can't tell you how many times I have read Proverbs 31.  At least once every month that has 31 days, not to mention the times that the Lord leads me there.  I've been in Sunday school lessons and bible studies about this most impressive woman, I have participated in many discussions about her.  Yet, I have never really connected her example to my real life.  I haven't been able to get to know her as God wants me to know her, to learn from her and emulate her properly.

I long to be a woman after God's own heart, just as our Proverbs woman is, but how?  Well, thanks to
Lindsay's post I was totally intrigued by The True Woman's Makeover, an in depth study of Proverbs 31.  So, I am taking the 31 Day Challenge and immersing myself verse by verse with the help of email teachings by Nancy Leigh DeMoss (LOVE her!).  I would love company along my journey, want to come along?    

1 Corinthians 13 for Mothers

If I live in a house of spotless beauty with everything in its place,

but have not love,

I am a housekeeper  not a homemaker.

If I have time for waxing, polishing, and decorative achievements,

but have not love,

my children learn cleanliness  not godliness.

If I scream at my children for every infraction,

and fault them for every mess they make,

but have not love,

my children become people-pleasers  not obedient children.

Love leaves the dust in search of a child’s laugh.

Love smiles at the tiny fingerprints on a newly cleaned window.

Love wipes away the tears before it wipes up the spilled milk.

Love picks up the child before it picks up the toys.

Love accepts the fact that I am the ever-present “mommy,”

the taxi-driver to every childhood event,

the counsellor when my children fail or are hurt.

Love crawls with the baby, walks with the toddler, and runs with the child,

then stands aside to let the youth walk into adulthood.

Before I became a mother I took glory in my house of perfection.

Now I glory in God’s perfection of my child.

All the projections I had for my house and my children

have faded away into insignificance,

And what remain are the memories of my kids.

Now there abides in my home scratches on most of the furniture,

dishes with missing place settings,

and bedroom walls full of stickers, posters and markings,

But the greatest of all is the Love

that permeates my relationships with my children.

(Adapted from an anonymous source by Jim Fowler)

Thank-you Crystal

The life and times of a family entertainment center

There she is, our first real piece of furniture in our first home.  I was so excited to have such a lovely piece to display our family photos and trinkets.  It actually stood in our family room bare for a good month because I wanted it to look perfect and didn't know where to start, lol.  See how everything on it is placed just so?  I dusted & polished it faithfully every Saturday morning during T's nap.  And the most surprising thing is during the 7 years we lived in that house, it never moved from that spot.  And anyone who ever visited us knows that everything else moved.....a lot.

And here she is again, another little boy in the house and she is still holding strong.  Proudly displaying even more beloved photos. We had to add the child lock to protect the stereo and dvd player and change out the glass in the doors for plexi, but she's still beautiful, right? 

                                                                                                                                                                                                         

 It was about this time that the drawers began to be filled with diaps & wipes, blocks, cars and coloring books.    

And as our family grew, so did the duties of our trusty (and a little dusty) friend.  The toys and puzzles have outgrown the drawers and are encroaching onto the shelves, and they look even better than the well placed photos and chachskis don't they?

We have so many wonderful memories of babies and littles around that workhorse of an entertainment center.  All three learned to pull up and cruise along her sturdy shelves.  They

learned to take out and put away toys, to close drawers softly and not pinch little fingers.  And not to smear yogurt all over her...okay...um, that one took a while.   

When we moved, the ole girl was assigned full time toy storage duty in our garage/playroom.  What a trooper!

Now those doors are off completely and her shelves are happily housing all sorts of fun family toys.  She has earned quite a few dents and dings and now only gets dusted on a monthly basis and hasn't seen polish in quite a while, but she never complained and took her new lot in life with dignity and grace.

As we grow into our new home, the family van decides it would like the use of it's garage and that once again means change for our girl.  What was once one has become three.

Out on our lanai, we took out a shelf to fit the tv and cable box.  Her drawers still hold toys and books.

In our bedroom, dutifully holding yet another tv, dvd and cable box, the main hub and wireless router, and books that have overflowed our side tables.

                                           

And finally, a little piece of her restored to her former glory, proudly displaying cherished photos in our family room.  

I look forward to many, many more years with you my friend.  Who knows what your next assignment might be, but one thing is for sure, you will perform it lovingly.  Thank-you.    

Then God said,

"I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it.  They will be yours for food."

So, after returning from shopping, I was washing our produce and was struck by how pretty it looked.  What beautiful fruits and veggies our God has given us.  Thank-you, Father God, for such an abundance of good things to eat!

We are really enjoying our new healthy eating  habits.  Shopping is so much simpler.  I don't even buy anything in a box, and only organic tomatoes in a can....we just circle the store and hit the produce, meats & dairy, then dart in to the paper goods, cleaners, grains & baking supplies, simple!  I highly recommend reading about how to make the most of the grocery store on http://www.keeperofthehome.org/nutritional-foundations/   

One of our favorite things to have is a Super Smoothie.  We make them every morning and sometimes again for an afternoon snack.  What a great way to get spinach into us without the usual hairy eyeballs from the kids. ;-)  This is why I want to try making my own kefir.  The health benefits of the live cultured milk are amazing and it makes the smoothies so yummy. Now, if I could just keep strawberries in the house we would be all set.  Do you have any idea how many strawberries 3 kids can put away?  It's mind boggling.     

Teeny tiny juice glasses...okay, I get it now.

I never really knew why juice glasses were so tiny.  I remember being told something about juice being rare, a treat or something like that, back in the day....That was only part of the story.  Here is the real reason:  It takes SO MANY oranges to get just a little bit of juice!!  The cups have to be small, or poor mom's would never leave the kitchen.  

Part of our plan to encourage healthy eating habits includes getting rid of purchased juice.  My 3 could (and did) consume a whole big jug of OJ in a day if I let them.  Little bellies filled with so much juice that they slosh when they walk don't have any room for good food...but there is always room for chocolate, how does that work?  Anyway, we now must start with real fruit and juice it ourselves if we want juice.  I truly didn't realize how much fun this would be.  And the kids are so thrilled to drink that precious nectar that they relish their tiny cup with great gusto.

I tried sneaking in veggies using the big juicer, but that didn't work so well.  Now, Jackson patiently tells me everytime, "Mom, I want fresh orange juice, cold, with nothing in it." ;-)  So we save the fancy veggie juicing for Mommy & Daddy, LOL, and boy are the kids game to to put anything in it if they know they won't have to drink it....one day....     

           

Pita Bread!

I'm so excited!....of course, I'm a big geek...but wow!  I made warm, pillow soft, delicious pita bread!!  And what's more, Big Daddy and the kiddos crowned me Queen of the Kitchen and gobbled it all up.  

I love baking bread.  There is something so uplifting about it.  It smells absolutely delish and it gives me such a sense of accomplishment.  Not to mention the warm fuzzies I get when my loved ones take a piece of my warm, fresh baked goodness and smile from ear to ear with every bite.  Can't beat that with a stick.       

More Thanky's!

Gramma & Grampa in Maine,

We love you loads and miss you bunches!  Somehow, you knew just what toys were tops on our wishlists!  Pixo's for Tanner, Martian Matter for Jack & a babydoll for Riley, you guys are the best!

    

And last but certainly not least, Grampy & Bebe.  Our biggest gift is living so close to you.  We love sharing our day to day lives with you both.  Bebe, you always find the most amazing toys that we have never even dreamed of, and you out did yourself with Bakugan and a DORA! dollhouse...just doesn't get any better.  We love you!

  

Big Thank-you's to our family!

What a generous, loving family we have, near and far.  The kids would like to say thank-you for their fantabulous Christmas gifts...

Aunt Sue, we so appreciate your generous check.  We took the kid to Build-a-Bear Workshop where they make their own friends.  Funny, none of the made a bear, but we are a family of originals, aren't we?  Each friend has the perfect heart, hand picked by the children, inside it.  We rubbed the hearts to make them warm, kissed them to make them loving, touched them to our shoulders so we could always lean on our new friend, touched them to our backs so our new friend would always have our backs and touched them to our forehead so they would be smart, too!  We love you, Aunt Sue.

     

Auntie Carol,

First, we are so thankful you are feeling better.  You are continually in our prayers.  We loved our "mystery  box",  should have known immediately such thoughtful gifts were from you.  Love to Patty!

Dear Beloved Curry Family,

We miss you so very much!  We think of you every time we read our new books, thanks so much!

 

Fruitville Grove

The kids and I went to Fruitville Grove yesterday. It's an Amish produce stand with yummy ice creams, jams & jellies, breads & cheeses too.  

Big fun.

Being a 'burbs kid, myself, I really want to show my children that foods do not magically appear at the supermarket.  One of my goals for 2009 is to have a (mostly) organic, scratch kitchen.  This is no small undertaking, but we are making the journey as a family.  

The kids have gotten much more exciting about healthy, wholesome foods since they have gotten to go to the produce stand and pick out what looks good to them.  Next stop, a real farm where the foods are living and growing, can't wait!