Week 1 - No Yelling Challenge

Well, how did your week go?

Mine was ok, but not great!  However, I've been able to understand 1 Thessalonians 5:15-18 on a much deeper level. 

  ~ ¹⁵ See that no one renders evil for evil to anyone, but always pursue what is good both for yourselves and for all.
¹⁶ Rejoice always, ¹⁷ pray without ceasing, ¹⁸ in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.


I haven't been two days in row yet without yelling, but I can definitely tell what my "trigger points" are.  I can honestly say, I have done so much more "praying without ceasing", I caught myself breathing prayers almost every 5 minutes.  I've also been on my knees in fervernt prayer a whole lot more too!  A friend of mine shared with me this book, I haven't been able to purchase it yet (because it is so cheap and I'm waiting for a $25 order to get free shipping ;), however, I'd also encourage you to read it yourselves.

Praying Circles Around Your Children on Amazon

 

 

  I've also noticed how much dicipline plays a part into setting me off (or my husband for that matter.)  It makes a huge difference if you have not trained your children to obey the first time or to be polite and courteous.  And I've definitely seen where we need some help!  For example, one of the things that sets me off furiously is the children interrupting me or whing continually while I'm on the phone. 

 

 

 

 So this week we are going to work really hard on this.  I've told you before how much I love the book "Large Family Logisitics" by Kim Brenneman, who has 9 children herself.

 

     

Large Family Logisitics on Amazon

 

 

  In her book, she talks about ways to teach/train your children to be polite and obey.  For the phone issue she says she trains her children 1.) Never interrupt unless it is an emergency or someone is getting hurt.  2.) If it something you really think Mama needs to know then place your hand on her arm and wait patiently until Mama can tell the person on the phone to hold on for a second.  *Absolutely no whining, yelling, crying, or fighting while Mama is on the phone (all of these things are not allowed anyway, but just to reinterate.)  If any of the offenses do happen while Mama is on the phone, as soon as she hangs up, a diciplinary action will take place!

 

  So this is what my family will be working on this week.  This will also help Mama to keep calm and not yell!  :)

 

 

Things We Will be Working on This Month:

 

1.)  No Yelling or Running inside or in Public Places (unless it's a gym)

 

2.)  Following/Helping Mama in a Store

 

3.)  Sitting Quietly/Respectfully in Church and in a Resturant

 

 

Remember, We can do this!!!  Keep calm and count to 10 or 100, whichever you need ;)  This verse was on our group page this week and I thought it very fitting!  

 

~ Proverbs 16:24   Pleasant words are like a honeycomb, Sweetness to the soul and health to the bones.

 

Have a Blessed Day!!!

 

 

How is your 30 Day Challenge going?  Have you figured out what your "trigger points" are yet?  What coping mechanism are you using to stop from yelling?  I'm always looking for good ideas!! 

 

 



NO YELLING ALLOWED!!! 30 Day Challenge

Ok, so I announced it the other day on Facebook, that I was not yelling for 30 days and that you all could follow me on my blog in my journey. 

So here it is.  Here's the story behind the whole idea, if your interested in reading the rules and such....

   

www.theorangerhino.com

 

This lady named her blog "Orange Rhino", because she needed something to yell when she became upset or also a code word for her kids to give her when they could tell she was going to yell.  She gives all kinds of neat ideas to use not to yell at your children.  Also the different levels of yelling and what is acceptable.  I have also joined a group on facebook called, "the Joyful Rhino and Friends" group.  My friend Suzanne over at www.thejoyfulchaos.com  actually introduced me to the whole thing. 


So anyway, back to us here at Hannah's Wings........

Day 1:  Went very well....no yelling, however the stress of the day was extreme!!!  Satan totally wanted me to yell!!!  The radiator in the van blew up while we were driving down the road, we found out our insurance on our new business was going to be extremely expensive, and few other just over the top things. 

Day 2:  I had lots of company over preparing for the "Seder Meal" at church and did very well.

I'm not sure where it went after that.  So, here's what I'm doing.  I decided to take this a month at a time.  And hopefully a new good habit every month.  I read somewhere that if you can do something for 30 days it becomes a habit.  So for the month of April, I will be working on yelling (Ronnie says after I achieve this, he will try ;) 
I'm hoping this will also motivate me to be better about writing here.  :) 

****Just had to get up from typing to break up an argument between the older two....and I didn't yell!!!  Yay!!! 

So, here's to everyone with me......keep calm, remember to start out in a whisper when you are getting upset and you will have farther to go before you are yelling.  And here's a few resources to help us along the way.

In this book, Teri Maxwell talks about her struggle with depression and yelling and being angry ~



                                                           

Homeschooling with a Meek and Quiet Spirit

 

 

 

 

~Proverbs 15:1~

 

~Phillipians 4:13~

 

 

I encourage you to look up these verses if you don't already know them and memorize them over and over when getting upset.  Also, I would encourage you to create your own journal and keep track of your days and how many times you get upset.  It's amazing how motivated we become when we can see progress.  Satan won't be able to keep us down as long if we can look back on our blessings when we are having a bad day :)

 

 

And remember, if all else fails.....Smile....even if you have to fake it!

 

 

Have a blessed day :)

 

Amanda

Christmas, Sickness, New Years

  Well, we have been absolutely bombarded with sickness around here since before Christmas.  Everyone pretty much cleared up for Christmas day except Leah, who ran a fever all day.  Then we all came down with it again after Christmas and then again on New Years :(  For the most part it was sinus and ear stuff.  A couple of episodes of other (if you know what I mean;), but not much of that compared to everyone else around us.  Thank goodness!!  We're not out of the clear yet though.  I'm hoping it's over soon.

  We were able to make it through our Christmas Play at church without getting sick.  But just barely! 
Here's the link to the watch the play.  Be ready to turn the volume down, due to lots of loud screaming ;)  Christmas in Cricket County

  Our Christmas was very nice, unfortuantely my mom and step-dad could not come down and join us for the day like they have in the past.  There was too much sickness and they had it going on up north as well :(  We once again did our "3 gifts just like Jesus".  The kids actually only opened 2 of their gifts and saved one to open when Grandma and Papaw came down.  (Which was great, because Lindsay's 3rd gift had not come in the mail yet!  *Note*  when buying Internationally from ebay it takes longer than the the suggested time period of shipping.)  The kids also, spent some time picking out a gift to give each other again this year, which is soooo sweet to watch them really think about each other.  Even Leah put thought into her gifts!

  Normally, I would do a birthday post, but since we were not feeling well, I didn't get around to doing so.  On, New Year's Day, Derek turned 8!!!  I do this every year, and every year, it doesn't seem possible that he can be that old.  I told him, he had to stop growing, he of course did not agree, until that night when we were eating supper.  A friend of mine told me what they do with their children while eating, so we quickly incorporated it at our dinner table.  When trying new foods or finishing up a plate of food they don't particularly like, they are required to take as many bites as they are old.  So when Derek asked that night if he could take 7 more bites and then get up, he quickly realized he now had to take 8 and said, "Ok, I don't want to get any older".  :)  Love him!!!
 The following weekend we had a birthday party him at our church and all of his friends came.  It was an Army theme, so Ronnie set up some chairs for an obstacle course, we did a tug of war, and played Bingo.  Then after his party we came home and did Christmas with Grandma and Papaw.

  On Monday we started school back up and the day went very, very well!!!  I couldn't believe how well!  I woke up early, the older two kids and I read our 4 chapters of the New Testament (Our church is reading through the New Testament in 90 days), did our morning chores, schoolwork, and stayed on schedule all day!!!  Tuesday came, and I didn't wake up as early, we didn't read in the morning and it was a struggle to stay on schedule all morning.  We did it, but it did not go nearly as smoothly as the first day.  I am honestly finding lots of truth to Proverbs 31 woman, in verse 15 "she gets up while it is still dark...", and I know I've said this over and over again, but like Peter, when will I learn?  My day always goes much smoother when I rise early and get in the Word early!!  
  Tuesday night, I got sick, so yesterday was terrible and you can tell it when we don't stay on schedule, the house falls apart!!  So today, I will be doing a lot of clean-up!  :)

  Ronnie starts a new bible study tonight at church on Biblical Manhood!!  I am soo excited for him to go.  I think it's going to go right along with the bible study I have been doing for women. 

 So that's the update so far.  I'm hoping once we get over all this sickness, 2013 will be fun filled blessed year :) 

Blessings to you all,
Amanda :)

I'm Still Alive

Hey All!!!
 
Sorry, I haven't written in awhile.  I've had to take a little break and try to get a new routine down.  Things had not been running smoothly, so I've been trying a few different things.  So just to update you on different areas of my life right now.

~ I went to see the Maxwell's last month, with two of my "besties", Whitney and Lisa :)  We listened to two different sessions, one for Mom's on "Scheduling" and one for Dad's and Mom's on "Keeping our Children's Hearts".  They were both really good!  And totally inspired me to get back on a routine.  They do what is called "chore packs" and I will post a video at the end of this post, so you can check it out.  I had read about them before, but kinda put it off on the back burner, but we are now doing them and they are going great!!!  Teri, the mom, did say, that she thought some of her boys were going to take their chore packs with them when they got married.  I was so glad to hear her say that, because there are some days I feel like the kids may never get the simplest things ;)  They also talked in the second session about Family Worship/Bible Time and how important it was.  He gave the illustration that if you don't read the Bible to your children daily, it's like starving them for a day of their spiritual food.  He even went as far as to say, if your family forgets to read the Bible, then parents don't eat for the next day.  Then you can feel the pain in your stomach, that your heart and life is actually feeling.  It was definately a good idea to make you aware of how important Family Worship is!

~ My BFF, Melisa, and I have been working hard lately on preserving potatos (they have been on sale at our local Aldi's for .99 cents for a 10lb bag!!!).  We've also been researching and trying out different freezer/crockpot dinner recipes for our families.

~ I've been pinning alot of organizational ideas and tools lately on pintrest and going through Fly Lady's webpage with a fine tooth comb.  I've found all kinds of usefull ideas and I hope to put some of them into play very soon!!

~ I've been re-reading Large Family Logistics.  It's one of my favorite books.  Don't let the title scare you, if you have just one or even two children, it is a wonderful, wonderful organizational book!!! 

~ I read Created to Be His Help Meet.  That was an eye opener!!!  I know there is alot of people out there that would totally disagree with this book, so if you are feminist, you might need to pray alot while reading this!  But it was definately something I needed to hear!  I get so bent out of shape sometimes when I feel like Ronnie does not help me enough or isn't doing what I "think" he should be.  This book gave me a whole new prespective!

~ And I started reading Homeschooling with a Meek and Quiet Spirit.  I'm about half-way through the book and it's been really convicting!!  I definately suggest reading it, even if you don't currently or plan to homeschool, it has a lot of ideas of how to deal with anger and disorganization. 

~ This past month, I went to Mom's Night Out with our local homeschool group, where we were discussing the book Lies Homeschooling Moms Believe.  It was really good to talk about our downfalls with each other and to realize we need to stop comparing ourselves to other families who seem to have it all together, when in reality, they really don't either :)


 * Things I'm currently working on:  Revamping the Schedule.  It just wasn't working, as much as I loved it, there were some kinks that needed to be worked out.  One of the things that Teri Maxwell suggested, was doing any preschool work first before you school the older kids.  Otherwise, she found, she would put it off until she was finished with the big kids and then she didn't have the energy to worry about it.  And since we have 2 "littles" running around the house tyring to interrupt "school time", we're going to start doing preschool time in the morning and regular "school time" for the big kids in the afternoon at quiet time while the 2 littles are down for nap.  I'll let you know how it works out ;)
  2nd thing I'm working on is:  Trying to stay up when I get up to get Leigha.  I've been going back to bed alot and then getting up when the kids get up.  But, it puts me so far behind on things like getting schoolwork copied and myself ready and so on.  I make to about 10:00 each morning and think, "If I had stayed up this morning, this would have already been done!  Why do I do this to myself?!?"  Well, mainly because sleep is my best friend!!  So my goal is to try and start getting to bed earlier ;)  Yeah, I'll let you know how that goes too!

A big part of being organized is realizing and taking account for what is NOT organized or NOT working in your daily life and trying to fix it!  So don't be discouraged when you have to take a time-out and step back and start over :)

Proverbs 14:1 The wise woman builds her house; but with her own hands the foolish one tears hers down.



Have you felt overwhelmed lately??   Do you have any great "Organizational Tools/Ideas"?  Read any good books lately? 

Here's the Chore Pack video.  This is Courtney from Women Living Well.

 

 

I'm linked up to:  Growing Home, The Modest Mom, and Raising Homemakers



I love you.......Be Careful!

  Five little words, I say every morning.  I have said them every morning for over 9 years.  But this morning when I said them, they had a whole new meaning, and Ronnie new exactly what I meant when I said this morning. 

  "I love you.....Be Careful!"

  For those of you who don't know, my husband was in the military for 9 years (4 years of which was before we were married.)  So this is just something military wives say, especially before a deployment.  But he has been out for almost 4 years now.  And this morning, I said these words with the most sincere heart ever!  And I didn't even realize until it was out of my mouth, but we totally knew.....

  Ronnie had to go back to work today, for this past week our world has been turned upside down.  My husband lost his best friend, and my best friend lost her husband. 
   He was a lineman at our local REMC and while doing a routine poll load up, the pole jumped off its cradle and killed our dear friend instantly.  And nothing in our lives have been the same since. 
  He was an amazing man, and he didn't even know it.  He was an elder at our church, but he preferred to be called an "overseer", because he was so young. ;)  But he was sooo wise for his age!!!  Our preacher kept describing him this week as gentle, and that is about the best term I can come up with also.  About 6 months ago, Ronnie asked him to be his mentor, and he gladly accepted, and has been that and more to Ronnie ever since!  Personally, our lives have not been the same since he and his wife has entered them.  We have hung out and went out to eat numerous times and Ronnie is like a teenager all over again around them.  He would just laugh and laugh, and I would apologize because I said he never acted like that, and my dear friend would just smile and say, "Don't worry about it!  We love you guys!"  He and his wife were leaders of our small group at church, and I have watched my husband become this amazing man because of them. 
  And it's not just us that was affected, he was this way with everyone he met!!!  We had just become so close in the past year, that this hurts so deep!  There are a million other stories of how he touched others lives! 
  I keep looking at the couch, where he used to sit when they came over.  And I keep looking at the wood stove, that he just helped move in this past weekend and the little pile of ash in the yard, that he dumped out of it before he brought it in. 
  Ronnie has been so lost, he wants to call him, but.....    And my heart just breaks for my friend, his wife.  I can't take my mind off of her.  She has been so strong and an amazing woman of faith!!!  She just keeps saying "You just never know!  We always need to be ready!"  Yesterday, she whispered in my ear, "Love on that man of yours!  And go do things as a family!"  And she's right, she's totally right, because this life is just a vapor.  And I've never seen it more clearly, even when we lost Hannah.  But on the inside I'm aching for her.  She says, "Love on that man!", and I say, "But, that's not fair, because you can't now :("  She and I have shared everything over that past year.  (Along with my other dear best friend Melisa).  She is sooo much like me!  (We don't always agree, but we still love each other!)  And I just keep thinking, I don't want to hurt her by her seeing me with Ronnie.  I know it's silly, but your mind does silly things in a time like this! 
  We have had a some other couples over from our church and small groups this week, that were close to all of us.  Ronnie and I would just walk around our house looking at each other, like "where do we go from here?"  And he didn't even live with us!  It's killing me thinking about her having to do the same thing!!!  All of our other friends said the same thing at their houses, so it was nice to pull in together like that and cherish each other for a few more moments, because you just never know when it might be one of them!!!
 
  Anyway, back to this morning, now that our lives have turned upside down, we've been doing some soul searching.  And we want to make sure everyone is ready for that day!!!   Our friend was sooo ready, he was an amazing Christian, inside and out!  He was a great leader, great husband, great father, everything!!!  We want to make sure we are doing what we are supposed to!  Also, realizing that either of us could go at any time now, we are trying to get all of our affairs in order.  Looking into life insurance, naming guardians for the kids, making sure we're raising the children right, etc.  Because, no matter how careful we are, it's God's timing, not ours.  He can take us home whenever He decides too!  So we want to be ready! 

Everything Has Its Time

Ecclesiastes 3 To everything there is a season,
A time for every purpose under heaven:

² A time to be born,
And a time to die;
A time to plant,
And a time to pluck what is planted;
³ A time to kill,
And a time to heal;
A time to break down,
And a time to build up;
⁴ A time to weep,
And a time to laugh;
A time to mourn,
And a time to dance;
⁵ A time to cast away stones,
And a time to gather stones;
A time to embrace,
And a time to refrain from embracing;
⁶ A time to gain,
And a time to lose;
A time to keep,
And a time to throw away;
⁷ A time to tear,
And a time to sew;
A time to keep silence,
And a time to speak;
⁸ A time to love,
And a time to hate;
A time of war,
And a time of peace.

 

 

 

Because of their privacy, I've not said their names in this post, but in your prayers please pray for my dear friend and her children.   Also, the surrounding family.  Specific prayer requests:  strength, wisdom, understanding, and healing!



Our New Schedule 2012

  Well, it was that time..........time to come up with a new schedule.  We all were starting to get stressed and just needed a pick me up!  So here it is.  We started yesterday, and I don't think Satan liked it, because he sent every possible distraction.  But we're going to stick to our guns and pray without ceasing today :)


5:15 - Mommy wakes up and gets Baby Leigha (the child we baby-sit) and puts her in bed.
   *Then depending on the night, I either stay up or go back to bed for an hour or so.  (My plan is to stay up, but if you have too high expectations, you will just feel like a failure when you can't fulfill them!)

6:30 - Wake up Ronnie and fix his breakfast and lunch, kiss good-bye and send off to work.

7:00 - Jump in the shower and get ready for the day.

7:30- 8:30 - Put dishes away from the dishwasher, fold a load of laundry, check e-mail, write blog post, read devotional, and start breakfast.

8:30 - Wake up children/Breakfast

9:00 - Morning Chores (I'll give a break down of chores and daily work routines later)

9:30 - School with Derek (Lindsay plays with the babies/watches Leapfrog)

10:30 - School with Lindsay (Derek continues any extra work and starts his spelling and typing on the computer)

11:30 - 10 min. toy pick-up, Lunch Prep

Noon - Lunch

12:30 - Babies go down for a nap (Lindsay has to lay down until Leah falls asleep, this gives her some rest time and makes her feel like she's helping Mama ;)
* Rest time for Derek consists of listening to an audio book while laying down.  After Leah falls asleep Lindsay may lay down with Derek and color or read.)

2:30 - 3:00 - Babies wake up/Snack Time

3:00 - 5:00 - Free Time / Afternoon Chores

5:30 - 10 min pick up and Get ready for Daddy :)

Depending on the day and what's scheduled, we normally have some kind of Evening Activity and then Supper.  If not, we all work outside while it's nice then supper.

Then Bathtime, Get ready for Bed, Family Worship and Bedtime!!! :)

No, I'm sure we will not stick to the time just exactly, but it gives us a good standard to try and live up to.  And it also lets the kids know what's coming up next.  And my children do soooo much better on some sort of schedule.  All children need boundaries, depending on yours, depends on how strict a schedule you may need. 

Do you have a schedule?  Do you keep the same one?  Do you start a new one every school year? 


I'm linking up at:  The Modest Mom, A Wise Woman Builds Her Home, and Raising Homemakers 

First Day of School

  We actually school year round since I got sick last fall and had to take some time off.  It's easy for us if we just stay on schedule all the time and take off when we need to for holidays, fair, and just whatever.  We pretty much took the whole money of July off for 4-H and we just got back into the swing of things two weeks ago.  We started most of our new curriculum, except for finishing up some history from last year.  So my kids moved up a grade level in reading, math, and such.   Lindsay is much farther ahead than a regular kindergartener, but for 4-H and sports purposes, she is "in" kindergarten. 

 This was a cute idea I've been seeing a lot of homeschoolers do, so I thought I'd try and do this every year for their scrapbooks (that will be done one day when they all move out;). 

  Derek has been very adament about being a conservation officer for sometime now.  That is the motivation that gets him through his schoolwork most days, when he feels like it's too tough.  When ask what she wanted to do when she grew up, Lindsay very quickly said piano teacher.  She has been working so hard on her lessons here lately, and I know if she keeps up the hard work, she will make a wonderful piano teacher someday!

  I'm sooo very proud of how my kids are growing and maturing everyday.  Trust me, we definately have days where we all feel like we may pull out our hair, but overall, I can truly see God's blessings in my precious children!!

I'm linking up at The Modest Mom "Not" Back to School Blog Hop