Have I grown?

  I had to chuckle as I typed this title, because if you know me personally, you're thinking, well no!!!  Where is she going with this one?  Because, you see I'm 4'11 and I've not grown since the 4th grade (or at least that's the last time anyone noticed!)  I remember coming back from summer break and walking into my classroom the first day of 4th grade.  I was very excited because several of my friends were in my class this year, including, my all time (and every other girl in the 4th grade) crush, Richie.  Sometime around lunch time we would line up to get our lunch boxes and Richie came over by me and said, "Wow, Amanda, I think you actually grew!"  And he was serious!!!  I couldn't believe it!!!  One that he had talked to me and two that I had grown!!!  I was on cloud nine!!!
  Anyway, that really had nothing to do with my post, just made me think of it when I titled it ;)

  So I've been thinking about my New Year's Resolutions and thinking that I've been failing miserably!  Not to mention someone (out of the kindness of their heart) posted some really "nice" things after I posted them.  Which it's ok, I've been learning to tell the difference between signs of God and Satan trying to tear me down.  Anyhow, in all reality, they are truly just goals, something I want to strive toward, not something I must achieve each and every day!  It really got me to thinking, am I really failing or is that Satan also?  As I sit and look around my house, I realize, I truly have grown alot, especially in the past year.  If you had come over to our house(our trailer) a couple of years ago and given me a week's notice, this is what you would have found....

Everything in order......

Everything in it's place.....

Including the perfect picture.....cat in the window...

  But if you had come without notice........

  Well there are no picture of that!!!  For a reason!!!  I was terrible and it didn't bother me in the least!  I told myself all the time, other people's houses looked just like this, and if someone else wanted it clean, they could come do it themselves.....ahem.....  I know, not a good attitude, right?  The house was the one thing Ronnie and I ever fought about.  Coming from the military, he likes everything in a nice neat order.  I do too, to a certain affect.  As long as it has a place, I'm ok.  I don't like clutter, but if it has a home, and it's just out, well that's understood, at least I know it can eventually go back there. 

  For Ronnie's sake (and probably my mother and grandmother) God started working in my heart.  And I realized, I did have the wrong attitude all together.  Now, I'm not saying by any means that my house is in perfect order, especially on Monday mornings (you don't want to come over then!)  But at least now, I can feel a twinge of guilt when Ronnie pulls in the drive and the kids and I have forgotten or been to busy to pick up around the house.  And I clean now because I want to, not because I know someone is coming and I want to make a good impression. 

  So yes, I feel like I have grown alot.  I've not reached my goals, but I need to always be setting new ones.  And I know I will never have it all together, that's what heaven's for!  As long as I put on Christ everyday and have a little tune in my soul (which by the way, there are definately days, I fail!!!!), I feel like I've grown about 3 feet since 4th grade!!! 

  Remember we CAN do all things through Christ who gives us strength!!!!  Have a Blessed Day!!!

Mushrooms!!!!

So, I know alot of you are probaly going to think this is gross, but for the others that are from southern Indiana you can feel my excitement through this post!!

  So, yes, it is early, but it's been sooo warm here (except for this week), that Ronnie went out last Friday and found 5 small gray ones.  So yesterday while at work everyone kept telling him how many they were finding, so when he got off work, he called me and told me to get the kids ready we were leaving when he pulled in the driveway!!!

  ***Flashback***  When I was younger, my favorite time of year was spring!!!  It was lambing season on our farm and it was finally time to go to the woods and MUSHROOM HUNT!!!!!  That is one of my fondest memories with my dad.  (Excluding the part, of him yelling at me to slow down so I didn't step on any!  Anyone feel me on that one?)  Daddy and I would go for hours and couple back with quite a few, then fry 'em up and have mash potatoes!!!  Oh, my mouth is just watering thinking about it!!!

  Anyway, so we all piled in the van and headed out to "our spot", which can not be disclosed, for if you are an avid mushroom hunter, you know what "spot" I'm talking about!!!  Derek and Lindsay were full of excitement, because you know this only have a few days out of the year!!! 
  Well right off the bat, Ronnie found several.  And of course, the kids started running toward him, and he yells the famous words "Don't run, you might step on some!!!"  (I think it just is bred into the male body to holler this at the kids during mushroom season.)  For I had to remind him, to calm down, they all fry up the same! 

  All this time, I'm having to give Leah a piggy back ride, because she is not liking the woods!  We tried to have your pick some, but she wasn't too sure about that either.  But she sure would get excited when someone found some!  She even found one, while I was bent down picking another one that Ronnie had found!!!!  I couldn't believe it!!!  She was sooo excited!!  Derek and Lindsay both found two on their own also.  I was so proud of all of them. 

  As we were walking along, I kept praising God for such a beautiful day with my family!!!  I can't see like I use to, and I got a little frustrated, that I couldn't find as well anymore, but that's ok, my job nowadays are to encourage the kiddies to find them and to have fun!!!  I will take on the job of frying them up with some mash potatoes in the kitchen later on!!

  We ended up finding 38 in all, which in our family, that is 76!!!!  (We cut them in half to soak and get all the bugs out and when you fry them up it, make you feel like you have more!!;)

*Tip from Grandma*  If you want to make the last longer, after rinsing them lay them on a plate to dry for a few minutes.  The flour them, and lay them on a cookie sheet in the freezer for about 20 minutes and then throw them in a baggie to (try) keep all year.  Throw a few in the deep fryer with whatever meal you choose!

All of it?!?! Really?

1 Corinthians 10:31 ~ So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it "ALL" for the glory of God.


  The first few years of marriage, and actually up until about the past year, were quite a struggle for Ronnie and I revolving around housework.  I didn't keep things up quite to his standard (which by the way is a military standard and the typical housewife should not be held by the same standards......just sayin'!").  I had always thought of myself as a decent housekeeper, I've been in many houses and definitely knew that I was doing better than most!  (Have you ever watched the show "Hoarders"?)  Anyway, I was tired of always feeling like I was failing and I know he was tired of coming home to a disorderly house, so I started studying.  Was Satan just using this to attack our marriage or was there really something wrong with me, what was the deal?!  Then I came across someone's blog post and the above verse and also heard Steven Curtis Chapman's song "Do Everything" on the radio and finally started to open my eyes a little! 

  I was supposed to be doing everything to glorify God and that included my housework.  Really?  Housework glorify God?!  How?  Well, I had to come to terms with the fact that yes, this is what God has called me to do and it may not be spectacular everyday, but I still need to glorify him with whatever I do.  And since my calling is a mom and a housewife, I should glorify him with my house "work".  But instead and I was getting upset because the baby squished crumbs into the rug and the big kids had spilled something again. 
  ~ I had given up on trying to please Ronnie with the house, because it felt like there was always something wrong.
  ~  I was trying to always make Ronnie happy and was getting discouraged when I should have been trying to please my Lord and then in turn bless my husband.
  ~  It's amazing what happens when you change your attitude. 

  Don't get me wrong, I still dislike dishes (even though my wonderful husband agreed to purchase a dishwasher last month!)  But now, I can see the difference.  I am working for the kingdom of heaven, not for just another day on earth waiting for my time to be over.  I need to be passing on this trait and wonderful world of being a woman in Christ on to my daughters. 
  So in conclusion, no my house is not spotless all the time, but I will say there is a difference in how clean it is now compared to before, now that I feel like I have a purpose/calling in cleaning it 700 times a day! 

    How about you?!?!  Do you ever feel overwhelmed with stepping on legos in the night on the way to the bathroom?  Or like no one ever notices what you did  get accomplished instead of what you did not?   Remember it's ok!  God sees it!!!  Have a Blessed Day!!!
 

Random Thoughts about this Miscarriage...

I've had writer's block for a few weeks now, and I figure it's time to get back on the horse!!!  I've been struggling mentally and spiritually with our miscarriage for a couple of weeks now.  I was scared to death when I got the last positive test, reasons being:  1)  It was so soon after my intestinal surgery.  2) It was going to be my 5th c-section.  3) I have a history for strange problems during and after pregnancy (such as HELLP syndrome, Bell's Palsy, infected uterus after surgery....).  The first couple of nights after realizing I was pregnant I laid in bed and prayed myself to sleep for comfort.  I finally got myself under control and realized Satan was using all of that to get to me!  My last two pregnacies and deliveries, except for the fact that Hannah had the Turner's, went very smoothly! 
  Then I felt this horrible guilt when I miscarried.  Thinking, there I went again, not trusting God!  I mean really, am I going to have faith or am I not?  And I know, that people would argue with me all day long, that it doesn't involve faith that it also involves common sense and he gives us the medical world today, so we should use it!  I strongly disagree!!!  I was perfectly healthy doing nothing wrong, so I thought, and look where I ended up in September and October, in the hospital for a week due to not being able to stop throwing up!  So to me, if something can happen to me while I'm "perfectly healthy" and God can take care of me, why can God not take care of me while I pregnant? 
  So this is where my struggle comes in to play.......It's been about 3 months since my miscarriage and it feels like an eternity lately.   There are exactly 2 years and 6 months between my living children, so in my OCD mind I felt like it was time to add another baby and this last pregnancy seemed to fit in the box for me.  Now, trying to make sense of the miscarriage and dealing with the loss, I find myself running into pregnant women everywhere.  While I am thankful that my body does have a little more time to heal from my last surgery, my heart still longs for another baby. 
  Derek cries alot for a brother and was so excited when we told him we were expecting again and so very upset when we lost the baby.  So my heart yearns for another little brother for him! 
  Please, don't get me wrong, I am very, very, very thankful and feel very blessed for my beautiful children here on earth with me.  But I feel very strongly that my calling here is to be a mother and a housewife, which in turn gives me the strong desire to have a full house! 
  In my prayer life, I've been trying to keep it very simple and let God lead my desires.  I have just prayed in his time.....and if that means never having another baby then giving me that contentment.  I am leaving it in his hands.  No pressure to us on "trying".  If it is his will then it will happen.  Because in the end, I know that in heaven, I will have 6 blessings to cuddle and love on!!!

"Survival" of the Littles ~ Part 4 ~ Picking My Battles

  My mother tells me all the time, "Pick your battles, if it won't matter tomorrow, it probably doesn't really matter right now."  And you know, she's right!!!  (I know, I know, I just agreed my mother was right, I guess that means I have officially outgrown my teenage rebel era.)  But, really, she is right.  Just to give you some examples, and then I'm sure you can find all kinds of way to put this idea into practice.

  Occasion #1 ~  I decided to clean out the fridge while the baby was awake.  So I knew going into it that I would have to stay calm.  (Sorry, Fly Lady, when I start something I have to finish it, I can't just work for 15 minutes at a time on a project, like you.  I'm trying, really I am)  At first all was well, I started her out playing in the floor beside me and she kept herself quite busy for sometime.  But as I started to bleach the shelfs, she started to notice all the bottles of different sauces and such on the floor and counter.  So she picked up the ranch dressing and started to put it back in the fridge.  I told her no, that Mommy needed to finish first and then she could help me put all the food back away.  So she obeyed and laid the ranch dressing back down, however the paper label caught her attention and she saw that it was like a sticker.  She started to peel it off little by little.  Now, if you know anything about me,  you know that I like everything just so, so.  The milk always sits on the same self on the right.  All of my rugs must not be messed up and must be even.  Anyway, you get the picture.  So it took every ounce of will power I had not to tell her no, because in all honesty, what was it going to hurt?  I would know tomorrow and the next day and the next day after that, that the bottle with white stuff in it was ranch dressing.  And it would keep her busy long enough to let me finish my chore at hand.  And she is old enough to pick up her own mess, so when she was finished I made sure she threw away all of her trash, so for a lesson, she realized she couldn't make a mess like that and not clean it up. 

   Occasion #2 ~ I told you a little bit in the last post about how she loves to be in the kitchen.  And how, this can if I let it, get under my skin very quickly.  She loves to rinse the dishes, while I wash.  I would love to just hurry and wash them and move on to the next thing, but I must continually tell myself, it's a great learning tool for both her and I.  Yes, sometimes, after she's rinsed a few things, she grabs a cup that is already clean and wants to play in the water with it and I cringe thinking that cup is already clean, but I have to stop myself and say, really what is she hurting?  Nothing!  She's playing with clean water and she loves standing by my side "helping" me.  It definitely teaches me patience and that everything doesn't have to go in a certain order like it does in my head.

  Occasion #3 ~ Giving up the high chair was definitely a battle for me!  I wanted the baby to stay in the high chair for a little while longer, because it's much easier to clean up the tray than the whole floor around her chair.  But she is very independent, as you can already tell, and wanted to be just like Bubby and Sissy!  So I gritted my teeth and started letting her sit at the table in a "big" chair. 

  Now, like I've said before, I'm not saying give into bad behavior.  Do not allow hitting, biting, throwing tantrums, dilerberate disobeying, backtalking, etc. to go unpunished.  However, take a good look at yourself and if you are getting annoyed by little things, that really won't matter tomorrow.  Trust me, if you are, I completely understand how you feel!!!  But that still doesn't make it right.  And we are to continually be trying to become more and more like Christ.  So, today, remember to ask yourself, Will this really matter tomorrow? 

  I hope this encourages you today!!!  And have a blessed day!!!

"Surviving" the Littles ~ Part 3 ~ Chores

   Incorporating chores in your children's lives is key to "surviving"!!  There are several things a young child can help out doing around the house.  Even children that crawl can sit beside you and put toys in a basket.  Teach children very young and they will absorb it quickly! 

 

  In our house, we have morning chores first thing in the morning, then school, then free time.  Work before Play, if you can teach this to your children, I firmly believe they will go far in life!!!  The above picture is Leah, age 22 months, doing one of her chores, putting Daddy's pop in the bottom drawer of the fridge.

   So here's a look at our day, hope this is some encouragement to you out there will "littles"!!!

  Morning is not my friend, and if I've been up a lot at night, then we tend to sleep in.....shhhh...don't tell anyone ;)  Derek, doesn't seem to understand the concept of sleeping in, so he understands he may wake up normal and have some quiet free time before Mommy and the girls get up.  However, if I'm already up or when I do wake up everyone begins on their morning chores, myself included! 

    1.)  Get Dressed (Mommy helps Leah with this.  I also change baby Leigha and my Leah's diapers at this time.)

    2.)  Make bed

    3.)  Put jammies under pillow, put sippy cup in the sink, and turn off night light

    4.)  Pick up room, anything that wasn't done the night before

    5.)  Breakfast/Brush Teeth

    6.)  Leah and I do dishes or start a load of laundry, Lindsay cleans the bathroom, and Derek does outside chores (feed dog, cats, and take out trash).

  Then we begin our school day.  After quiet time we also work on afternoon chores.  Wednesday is laundry day for the kids.  They each have their own laundry basket in their closets for dirty clothes and when it's their turn they take them to the laundry room and do their own load.  Both of the older two know how to run both the washer and the dryer.  Lindsay, right now, is responsible for both her and Leah's clothes.  Mommy, then folds and puts clothes away when they are dry.  They are both also responsible for stripping their sheets once a week and washing those.  Then Mommy puts new sheets on their beds.  I have other chores written on the fridge for other days of the week, such as cleaning light switch plates, baseboards, wiping down the kitchen trash can, fridge, stove, etc. 

   There are days, that my "help" can become a little overwhelming, but I have to keep in mind their "help" will not be perfect.  Leah, right now, LOVES, to be in the kitchen with me at all times.  And some days, I just want to hurry up and finish what I was doing, when here she comes pushing her chair over to help me.  So I have to take a deep breath and find her something to help with.  It is almost impossible for me to do dishes without her by my side now.  I wash and she rinses ;)  And when I cook, she is right next to me handing me things.  She's very resourceful, I can tell her almost anything in the pantry or fridge to bring me and she will, as long as it's not on the top shelf.  And I know in the long run, these are the moments I will cherish, when she's grown and gone.

   There are lots of resources out there, that I have used for ideas in teaching the children.  One of my favorites is Managers of their Chores .  Check out the whole Titus 2 website.  They have so many good books and training advice!  Another favorite of mine is Homemaking 101 from Family Vision Films.  Click Here to watch the trailer for the DVD. 

  I hope this is does encourage you with "littles".  And just remember, that all of your hard work does matter.  Even if you have to do it again tomorrow, you're working for the King!

  Have a Blessed Day!!!

2012: New Year's Resolutions

1.)  Read my Bible everyday!!!

(Ronnie and I have started reading together again, hopefully we can keep this up!)

2.)  Try to continually bless my husband:

Fix his breakfast

Pack his lunch

Make sure his clothes are clean

Try to keep the house picked up the best I can

3.)  Read to the children everyday; more than once is better.

4.)  Work on scripture memorization with the children more.

5.)  Less computer, TV, screen time.

6.)  Cook more at home:

Work on menu plans

Less eating out

Cook from scratch more

7.)  Rest on Sunday ~ No working!