Pink-a-Doodle-Doo

The God Chronicles-March 2009

2009-03-22T11:02:00.007-05:00

I know, the God Chronicles is supposed to be on the 20th. So, I'm a few days late. Although, judging from the fact that I haven't blogged in an entire month (where did the month go? Oh, that's right, we've been sick all month!), I'm guessing you weren't really expecting a post anyway. So, surprise, here I am! Okay, let's get started, here's what God's been doing this month around here...

This is my youngest daughter, Miss O. This is her new thing she does when she has done something that she knows she is not supposed to. I often find her walking through the house covering her eyes.

I can immediately walk into the room that she came from and see what she has done. For example, an entire roll of toilet paper in the toilet, stickers on the bookshelf, pen marks on the counter-top, playing with big sister's Leapster, using every wipe in the container, putting on sister's dirty underwear. Okay maybe that last one was a bit much. I'm just telling it like it is. That was this week.

It cracks me up because it is a dead giveaway, yet she genuinely thinks that if she can't see me, then I can't see her, which means that I can't see what she has done. I'm having a hard time telling her otherwise, because I kind of like being able to tell when she has done something wrong!

I wonder how often we treat God this way. How often do I just hide my spiritual eyes thinking that if I don't look at Him, he won't know what I have done? Or how many times do I see a need in someone else and instead of helping, I just hide my spiritual eyes and pretend that I didn't see?

As much as I would love to not tell her that I can still see her, it has provided a great teachable moment with all three of the girls. God still sees us, even when we try to hide. We are so much better off to just go to Him with our problems! And, we should use our spiritual eyes more often to see the need in others and ACT on it!

For more God Chronicles go here!

The God Chronicles-February 2009

2009-02-20T15:05:00.003-06:00

I sat down to write out my God Chronicles today, but God started talking to me about something else. Something I wrote about almost a year ago. So, I'm going to use an old post today too.

See, my husband is away at a conference right now for 5 days. I have all three kids to myself for that time. I'm in a new city (well we've been here for a year now) with no family nearby and no close friends yet. So, I've been feeling all-alone in this. Truth be told, I guess I've been feeling kind of whiny. Which reminds me of this post. This is from my testimony blog Healing Hope. I hope it encourages you today, and I'll try to have some new material for March! :)

The Three-Year Temper Tantrum

I was having my quiet time and Bible study on March 28, 2005 and God spoke to me in a way that I still remember three (now four) years later. I wasn't even really listening to Him at that point, but I heard Him and I understood Him.

Let me give you a little background. I had a very protected and blessed life. I can't remember anything bad happening to me growing up. No illness. No death. No abuse. Nothing bad. I truly was spoiled. Not rotten, just spoiled.

When the first and only really bad thing to happen in my life happened when I was 24-years-old, it hit hard! I got used to things going my way. I enjoyed things going my way. This was totally new and I was unprepared.

When the doctor told us that our baby potentially had a fatal defect and would not live outside the womb, the walls of my world came crumbling in around me. I never thought that I was exempt from bad things, I just took God's protection for granted. I was in His Word. I prayed. I was growing spiritually. You just don't grow through normalcy the way you grow through adversity. I was totally unprepared for how much I truly needed Him.

The next 20 weeks of our pregnancy, I poured my heart out to God. I spent time with Him every day. I communed with Him all day, every day. I knew Him in a way I had never known Him before. I had so much peace in the midst of such turmoil and such uncertainty. I was seeking Him. I desperately needed Him. The problem was that I wanted Him on my terms. I wanted Him because He could heal her, and He was the only one who could. I wanted Him because I knew that there was no other way that I could make it through.

I experienced Him with such closeness that I decided I didn't ever want to go back to not "knowing Him". I wanted to continue that closeness and grow it until the day that I was looking at Him face-to-face.

Then He chose not to heal her. He chose to do things His way. He let me down, or so I thought. Jael was born. She died. I searched for Him. He didn't answer, or so I thought. I wanted His comfort. He didn't give it, or so I thought. This continued for 3 years, until that day.

In those three years, God had already blessed us with two healthy daughters. Things were going my way again. I didn't realize how mad I was at Him. I didn't realize that I was choosing to ignore Him. I didn't realize that I had believed Satan's lies. I didn't realize that I had given bitterness a root, and it was flourishing. Time passes quickly when we allow Satan a stronghold. As long as I was focused on the here and now, I didn't notice the absence of Him, or so I thought.

I spent time in His Word. I wanted to hear from Him. I just didn't want to hear what He wanted to tell me. I wanted answers, not Him.

Our second-born daughter was almost two-years-old, smack dab in the terrible twos and very "strong-willed" as some would say. We could not find any discipline that would work for this girl. She laughed at spankings. We physically had to hold her in "time-out". It was exhausting. We finally put a baby-gate on the door to her bedroom and removed all toy-type things. Whenever she would throw a tantrum, we would put her in her room and put the gate on the doorway. She could still see us, but she couldn't get out. All that was required of her was that she stop screaming, tell us sorry (in an almost two-year-old way), and we would come get her and comfort her.

This particular morning, she had one of those episodes. I can't even remember what it was about now, I just remember allowing her to get me very flustered. I put her in her room, but was so flustered that I forgot to put the gate up. I realized this a few minutes later, but wanted to see what she would do. She screamed in that room longer than I ever remember her screaming. I kept thinking come on child, quit screaming, I am right here waiting for you to stop crying. I want to hold you. I want to talk to you. I want to tell you that I am disciplining you for your benefit. It was killing me to hear her scream and not run in there to comfort her. She didn't realize that the gate was not up. She was waiting for me to come get her.

It was in my quiet time that afternoon that God reminded me of my daughter's tantrum that morning. You see, I had been throwing a tantrum myself. A three-year long one. I was screaming at God. I was refusing to listen to Him. He was wanting to comfort me.

I felt Him telling me that all this time, the gate was not even on the door. I didn't have to wait for Him. He was waiting for me. All I had to do was stop screaming, talk to Him, and walk into His open arms. No gate involved. It was all for my benefit. He was right there waiting to comfort me the whole time, and my screaming pained Him the same way my daughter's screaming pained me.

That was the day that I quit screaming at God, I told Him I was sorry, and I ran as fast as I could back into His arms. There were still strongholds to break, and issues to deal with, but I was ready to do things His way again. No more temper-tantrums.

Click here for more of The God Chronicles.

Memory Monday 2009-verse 4

2009-02-16T07:22:00.004-06:00

"Blessed is she who has
believed that what
the Lord has said to her
will be accomplished!"

Luke 1:45 (NIV)

For more Memory Monday, go visit The Simple Wife.

Question #31

2009-02-11T08:31:00.002-06:00

In what area of your life do you most need change,
and what will you do about it this year?

Again, discipline!
This is something that makes a difference in all areas of my life!

I'm sticking to my daily quiet time, Bible study, scripture memorization, and exercise! Also, scheduling my "free time" so that I accomplish more!

Thanks so much for joining me in these questions! I've enjoyed learning more about some of you and I am excited to go into a new year with focus! I hope that you are too!

Question #30

2009-02-10T09:00:00.002-06:00

What's the most important new item you want to buy this year?

Silly as it may seem, beds for the girls. Poor Miss C is in the toddler bed still and Miss O is in the crib still, time to move 'em on up!

Question #29

2009-02-09T08:23:00.002-06:00

If those who know you best gave you one piece of advice,
what would they say?
Would they be right?
What will you do about it?

I was thinking that I needed to be an audience of one more, you know pay less attention to what others think and more attention to what God thinks. But then, I asked the husband what advice he would give and it was this. "Do your best to find the positive in everything." Which is totally true and I've been working on it more and more each year. I grew up around a lot of negativity and I struggle with it constantly! Half-full it is!

Question #27 and #28

2009-02-07T08:56:00.002-06:00

What's the single most important thing you could do to improve the
quality of your commute this year?

Well, I suppose I could walk more carefully down the stairs, seeing as how my commute is walking down to the basement to do school with the girls!

For those of you who do have a commute, my husband used to have a very long very frustrating commute through downtown in rush hour. He started listening to the Bible on MP3 and it helped tremendously. When I was in college and doing my student teaching I had a long commute and I relished that time as I would spend it praying for my day.

What one biblical doctrine do you most want to understand better this year,
and what will you do about it?

So many! I don't know about specific doctrine, because these "topics" incorporate several, but I want to learn more about heaven and believing God/Faith. I want to get some good concordances and study books. I also want to read Randy Alcorn's Heaven and do Beth Moore's Believing God study.

Question #25 and #26

2009-02-06T09:28:00.002-06:00

What skill do you most want to learn or improve this year?

Learn: Video Editing
Improve: Public Speaking.

To what need or ministry will you try to give an unprecedented amount this year?

There are two...

1. My husband's ministry at church and TentPeg Productions (the personal ministry started in memory of our daughter). Running camera, learning how to edit videos and then helping him create them, and helping with the media team at church in other ways necessary.

2. Women's ministry at our church. (Building a leadership team, teaching, planning, growing, etc.)

Question #23 and #24

2009-02-05T09:06:00.003-06:00

In what area of your life do you most need growth,
and what will you do about it this year?

Self-Control/Discipline. This carries over into all areas of my life. I'm working on my morning routine and having discipline with my daily exercise and quiet time. Once I get that "habit" formed, I believe the rest of the areas will just fall into place, with God's help that is!

What's the most important trip you want to take this year?

The key word here is want. It's actually probably one I won't be taking. I really want to go to SheSpeaks and get some solid instruction and fellowship for starting and leading a women's ministry here. However, it's most likely financially not possible this year, so it will have to wait until next year.

Question #21 and #22

2009-02-04T07:28:00.002-06:00

What one thing do you most regret about last year,
and what will you do about it this year?

Last year was a really good year! But, I do regret not getting healthy with exercise and good eating habits, basically that I didn't break those strongholds! Stick with it this year and draw on God's strength until it is done!

What single blessing from God do you want to seek most earnestly this year?

More babies? I don't know, just thinking about it because I am getting older. Maybe His blessing on making videos? Maybe success in starting a women's ministry (not for my success, but for Him reaching the women here). Maybe excellence and growth in my husband's ministry? I don't think I tend to pinpoint blessings to "seek", so this was a hard one to think on.

Question #19 and Question #20

2009-02-03T10:11:00.003-06:00

Alrighty, I need to get through these questions because life is about to get busy and I don't know that I will have time to post here every day, so we're doubling up! Enjoy!

What's one thing you could do this year to enrich the spiritual legacy you will leave to your children and grandchildren?

Continue to deepen my own relationship with Christ and share it openly with my children through a written journal (blog or paper) and through conversation. Using everyday moments to teach them about God. Set the example of rising early to spend time with God each and every day.

What book, in addition to the Bible, do you most want to read this year?

Oh I do love reading! There are too many to count! My reading list for the year is located on my sidebar on the right. I've already read a couple of those. The Bible Study I most want to do is Believing God by Beth Moore. As far as just reading a book, I suppose it is What Happens When Women Say Yes to God by Lysa TerKeurst and the new books by the Gosselins and the Duggars.

Question #18 and Memory Monday

2009-02-02T09:27:00.004-06:00

What's one new way you could be a blessing to your pastor

(or to another who ministers to you) this year?

Consistently praying for all the staff and their spouses at our church. Stepping up to help in the area I feel God asking me to help with.

Time for a new verse...

I feel God asking me to step up and do some things at church, so I need to memorize this scripture to help me throughout this year! I typically memorize the NIV or NLT, but the wording of The Message really spoke to me this morning, so I'll be doing it out of The Message. It's longer and more "wordy" than I'm used to, so it just might take me the whole two weeks to get it right, but I will!

"Because we know that this extraordinary day is just ahead, we pray for you all the time—pray that our God will make you fit for what he's called you to be, pray that he'll fill your good ideas and acts of faith with his own energy so that it all amounts to something. If your life honors the name of Jesus, he will honor you. Grace is behind and through all of this, our God giving himself freely, the Master, Jesus Christ, giving himself freely." 2 Thessalonians 1:11-12 (MSG)

Here's last week's from memory...

"It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves become burdened again by a yoke of slavery." Galatians 5:1

For more Memory Monday, head over to The Simple Wife and see what other's have memorized!

Question #17

2009-01-31T08:23:00.002-06:00

What's the single most important thing you could do to improve
the quality of your work life this year?

For the record, I'm considering homemaking as my "work" for this question.

Have more patience and use my time more wisely. That's two, but I notice when I haven't used my time wisely, I'm more impatient, so I figure they go together!

Find Joy in the Unexpected

2009-01-30T14:56:00.005-06:00

On the day of Jael's funeral, my sister gave me a necklace with a pendant of Jael's birthstone. It was exactly what I needed that day and has brought me such joy ever since, except that having three healthy children since then means that the chain it was on has been broken numerous times. Okay, so I've actually been through four chains (babies just LOVE to pull on necklaces!)

I've been looking for the perfect necklace to put it on, but haven't been able to find one. I think I found two that would be perfect today.

This is the first one, it says, "Find Joy in the Unexpected" which summarizes exactly how I feel about Jael.
This second one would be simply stunning with Jael Elise written on it and her pendant hanging on it. I've been inspired today for what to do with my pendant. Now if I can just win it. That's right! Sarah Mae is giving away one of Lisa Leonard's necklaces over on her blog. If you want a chance to win one for yourself, head on over and check out Lisa's designs and then go to Like a Warm Cup of Coffee to enter the giveaway!

I'm putting this post up to get another chance to win and also hoping that if I don't win the giveaway, then maybe my husband will read this and he'll be able to save the money to get it for Mother's Day or March 28th, whichever. Love ya hubby! :)

By the way, this would be an incredible Mother's Day or birthday gift to any mother who has lost a child! I'll be bookmarking her site so that I can utilize her designs in the future! Now, go take a look and maybe you will be inspired by Lisa's designs today as well!

Question #16

2009-01-30T07:01:00.002-06:00

What is your most important financial goal this year,
and what is the most important step you can take toward achieving it?

Get debt free!

I'm trying to get the food and toiletries spending down and I am also "working" to try to increase our monthly income. The most important step though is praying about it daily because this is absolutely something that is impossible for us to do ourselves!

Any Prayer Warriors Out There?

2009-01-29T09:17:00.002-06:00

I read a message on Facebook this morning from a family that we used to go to church with and that have a special place in our hearts. This family has been through so much in the past and are facing a very difficult time right now. Could I ask you to please lift this family up in prayer with me? I've taken out their names to keep their privacy, but the husband's name is Kurt and the wife's name is Kate. Here's the message...

Most of you know my family's struggles. Challenges with how to best parent J with ADHD, my sorrows and joys of mothering my sweet L, and Kurt's cancer. Well- we found out today that Kurt's cancer has returned. Kurt was already fighting metastasized stage 4 prostate cancer under treatment for almost 2 years now. Now that treatment isn't working. While we haven't talked with his doctor yet, we know that the medical prognosis is poor. At very least this means more chemo, more hormone supression treatment when just yesterday should have been the end of his treatment. We also know that Kurt's form of cancer has a point where doctors stop treatment and place patients on hospice. Kurt is not that far from that point.

My friends- I am scared. Scared of not coping with all this, scared of losing Kurt, scared of being a widow with 2 young children by age 41....

But before I bring you all down...I am not without hope. God is greater than anything that scares me. My faith is real, strong and always with me. It can just be so hard living here on this earth, you know?

Will someone please life Kurt up in prayer on Sunday? And any others at other churches too....
I love you all for your support and care. And I guess I need it now more than ever.
Blessings
Kate

Question #15

2009-01-29T08:37:00.002-06:00

Who do you most want to encourage this year?

My answer isn't a specific person, but two specific groups of people.

The women at my church.
The other staff members and their spouses at my church.

Question #14

2009-01-28T07:50:00.001-06:00

What habit would you most like to establish this year?

Rising early to spend time with God.

Question #13

2009-01-27T07:22:00.002-06:00

What's the most important need you feel burdened to meet this year?

So many, but it all depends on the definition of need. :)

Debt free, bunkbeds for the girls, new windows and doors on house, new HVAC, homeschool curriculum or private school tuition, better health insurance, life insurance, etc...

My list could go on, but really we have food, clothing, shelter, and family. We are blessed abundantly!

Question #12 and Memory Monday and Motivate Me Monday

2009-01-26T07:09:00.006-06:00

I haven't done Motivate Me Monday for a few weeks because I've been working on these questions, but then it occurred to me that the questions themselves could be a Motivate Me Monday post. So, for those of you in the 5:16 Club and any of you readers who were wondering what the 31 Questions were all about, here goes again.

In addition to some goals for 2009, I found this article with 31 Questions to ask for The New Year, and so I'm working through them here on the blog. It has been a wonderful way to start this year off intentionally. And doing the questions one a day for a month (or more!) is really helping to give me time to pray about them and determine what God desires of me this year. Feel free to go back and read the rest of the questions or just pick up today with question #12.

What area of your life most needs simplifying,
and what's one way you could simplify in that area?

Cooking and grocery shopping. I had been spending way too much time trying to clip coupons and menu plan, and it wasn't working for me! I think I've decided to go back to a once-a-month cooking plan, stop clipping coupons, and only go to the store twice a month. I'm not one of those people who enjoys time in the kitchen, so it is far too tempting for me to just "grab" something for our family instead of cooking. Somehow already having meals in the freezer or at least having some of the prep work done helps me tremendously!

And now for a little...

Here's my verse from memory this week:

"It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.

Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves become burdened again
by a yoke of slavery."

Galations 5:1

I'm only doing two verses a month, so no new one for me next week, but I'll repeat the two I've done so far. For more Memory Monday, visit The Simple Wife.

Also, for more Motivate Me Monday, head on over to Like a Warm Cup of Coffee and see how the other 5:16 Gals are motivating you this Monday Morning!

Question #11

2009-01-24T07:16:00.002-06:00

What's the most important decision you need to make this year?

Whether or not to continue homeschooling my girls.

I know this sounds contradictory to my answer yesterday. I don't approach HS from a perspective that I will always do it, but from the perspective that I will re-evaluate every year what I think God is asking of me. This school year, I knew I needed to HS. Next school year, I'm still praying about and waiting for His guidance.

Question #10

2009-01-23T06:55:00.002-06:00

What single thing that you plan to do this year will
matter most in 10 years? In eternity?

Instruct my children in godliness.

This is one of my main reasons for homeschooling. Not to shield or protect them, but to have more than a few hours a day to teach them. I love that we get to use the Bible as a school book and learn together, because on my own, I do not feel "qualified" to teach them!

Question #9

2009-01-22T07:45:00.002-06:00

What one thing could you do to improve your prayer life this year?

Keep getting up early to have time for prayer (uninterrupted) before my family wakes up!

Question #8

2009-01-21T07:09:00.002-06:00

What's the most important way you will, by God's grace,
try to make this year different from last year?

I'm focusing on spending time with God each and every morning and doing Bible Study and scripture memorization. As a result of that, I expect that this entire year will be different than last year; emotionally, spiritually, physically, financially, etc.

The God Chronicles-January 2009

2009-01-20T15:15:00.000-06:00

I have a dear bloggy friend named Tyler. Over on her blog, Titus 2:3-5, she is hosting "The God Chronicles." On the 20th of every month, she will be posting a story about the ways she has seen God at work in her life.

I started blogging last year because I wanted to document life for my kids. It has mostly been funny mommy stories and ideas about motherhood and organizing and budgeting and cleaning, etc. While those things are wonderful to share and learn about, I have begun to desire something else for my children. I want to leave a spiritual journal for them. That's why when I read about Tyler's "The God Chronicles", I knew I wanted to participate. So, here it is, the very first story ...

There are times in life when you pray and pray and pray and seek God, yet the direction you are to take still doesn't seem obvious. So you make a decision and go for it, and you still don't know if you made the right decision. This is not one of those times. This is one of those hit-me-in-the-face-and-knock-me-on-my-you-know-what really obvious times, and it doesn't make a lick of sense. I love those.

This is a story about surrender and stepping out of my comfort zone.

God has given me a passion for women's ministry and I have really been wanting to pour myself into beginning one here at our new church. However, my husband is passionate about media ministry. We moved here for him to become the Video Producer at the church. I really want us to be a ministry team, but oh how I love women's ministry and I have such great ideas that I think God has given me, and the women here really need it and have asked for it, and everyone sort of expects me to do it, and I think God gives us passions for a reason, etc... On and on my dreams and excuses go.

My husband thinks I would be great at making videos. Huh? I barely figured out how to blog, much less make videos! Doesn't that require some kind of technical mind? I really don't think I'm all that creative either. (Does anyone ever think they are creative?)

So, that's been the dilemma. I kept asking God why He gave me a passion for women's ministry if I wasn't supposed to use it. My husband and I sat down one night to talk about it and he just said, "It's obvious what you should do." Again, huh? "You can do both. Why can't you use your passion for women's discipleship to make videos. Why does it have to be separate?"

Well, it did kind of make sense. Except for the part that I do not have a technical mind. I don't feel creative. I don't really want to make videos. I. I. I.

This is where my heart and prayers began to change. Didn't God create me to be a help meet for my husband? Is this what my husband desires? Can God make me more technical-make me smarter than I am? Isn't God the ultimate Creator? Doesn't all creativity come from Him? Doesn't God know what I am capable of even more than I do? Doesn't God know what I would enjoy doing even more than I know?

With a total knot in the pit of my stomach, I realized that my priority needed to be helping my husband and I can use my passion as part of that. So, I decided to surrender my desire to do women's ministry and step out of my comfort zone to learn how to make videos. I've given up my "me time" to blog and read. I have decided to start using the girls' nap time and after they are in bed to do some tutorials and start the learning process.

My husband has a computer in the basement with all the software for editing. (He uses this when he works from home.) I kept thinking in my head about how difficult it was going to be to do all my work downstairs and still keep an eye on the girls. I didn't feel comfortable being downstairs while they were all upstairs. (Our house is a ranch). We were talking about how we really could use a laptop to edit with so that we could both work at the same time and so that I could work upstairs. We were dreaming pretty much because we knew we wouldn't be able to afford it for a long time. I began to question whether I was making a big mistake. Maybe I should do women's ministry. I don't see how this is really going to work after all.

This was a couple of weeks ago on a Saturday.

The next day at church, one of the volunteers asked my husband if he would come over to his house on Monday. My husband, being the "I don't really need details" kind of guy just said "sure, what time?" So, he planned to go over there and had no idea why. I was wondering why in the world this guy was inviting him over. I just thought maybe he needed help with a video or moving something because I am an, "I need details" kind of girl!

My husband went over there at 4:00. He walked in our door at 4:30 with a Dell box in his hands. Inside was a laptop for editing. Given to us. I'm not kidding.

Once I pulled my chin off the floor, I believe I might have danced around the room in delight. Might have. I'm even more convinced that I made the right decision now. I love when God does things like that, even when you have no earthly idea why! I can't wait to see why in the world He wants me making videos, but it is obvious that He does! I've only gotten a few lessons in, but I'm getting into a daily "work" routine and hoping to get through the tutorial by the end of this month. God has already give me a few ideas for videos from my Bible Study, so I'm excited to get writing on them too.

God knows what I am capable of more than I do. He knows how He created me and why He created me that way. He can enable me to do anything. He can even teach me how to make videos. He can use videos to reach women. He. He. He. See how a little surrender changes your perspective?

Want to read more of "The God Chronicles", click here to go to Tyler's blog! Want to join in, go here to learn more about "The God Chronicles."

Question #7 & Memory Monday

2009-01-19T07:19:00.004-06:00

For whose salvation will you pray most fervently this year?

Actually, two people in my family. M&C.

Here's my scripture from memory:

"Give ear to my words, O LORD,
consider my sighing.

Listen to my cry for help,
my King and my God,
for to you I pray.

In the morning, O LORD, you hear my voice;
In the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation."

Psalm 5:1-3

Next week's verse is Galations 5:1

Question #6-And help from some older Titus women?

2009-01-17T07:41:00.003-06:00

What is the most helpful new way you could strengthen your church?

This one is hard, because my immediate answer is women's ministry. We're a church of over 1600 and thriving in every way, except that there is NO women's ministry. I thought when we first moved here that God wanted me to start and grow this ministry here. However, I began to feel like it was competing with my husband's ministry for time away from family, etc. So, I made the decision to put the women's ministry on the back burner and work at supporting my husband's ministry. (And God has made it obvious that this was the right decision). So, now I feel like the women's ministry is maybe for a future time?

The only two other things I can think of are more focused prayer and helping in my husband's ministry more deeply.

God has made it clear to me that I am to be home with my children and homeschool them (for now). So, I feel like my priorities have to be my personal relationship with God, my husband, my children, taking care of the household, homeschooling, and helping with my husband's ministry. I don't feel like that leaves time for other ministries (even though I would LOVE to do some! I have lots of great ideas that I feel like God has given me!)

So, in addition to answering the question. Anyone have any advice on how to balance it all? Or on the idea of phases of life and how some passions are maybe planted for use at a later time versus using them all at once? If you know of an older woman who has been through this who would have some great ideas, please send her this way! I would love to hear many different ideas from some Older Titus women! (Titus 2:3-5)

Question #5

2009-01-16T06:55:00.003-06:00

What is the single biggest time-waster in your life,
and what will you do about it this year?

Without a doubt, blogging and time on the computer! I've felt God telling me this for awhile and so I'm going to listen. This year, I'm limiting my blogging. Here's how.

1. I want this year to be a Jesus-Year in my life and on my blog. So, for Pinkadoodledoo I will only be posting Motivate Me Monday and Memory Monday and Bible Study posts (after the 31 questions are over that is).

2. Once a month (or more if necessary) I will post pictures of family stuff on my family blog.

3. I'm not adding any new content to Healing Hope. Unless, God makes it evident that there is something he wants me to share.

4. I have dropped a ton of subscriptions from my Reader and just kept friends and family and a few women that I really want to keep up with. In this way, I hope to limit my time blog reading. (I even dropped, Big, Boo, and Rocks!)

So, what do you waste your time doing?

Question #4

2009-01-15T07:10:00.002-06:00

In which spiritual discipline do you most want to make progress this year,
and what will you do about it?

1. I definitely want to grow in my knowledge and memorization of scripture. (I would LOVE to go to seminary, but I'm just going to have to study on my own for now! So, more Beth Moore and Kay Arthur studies, daily Bible reading and studying on my own, using Commentaries and reading from other trusted theologians. Also, committing to memorizing two scriptures a month. I almost have #1 down!)

2. I also want to work on a deeper prayer life and listening to God each morning, without falling asleep! :) I've been getting up early and exercising to awaken my body and mind before sitting down for my prayer time. I'm doing a prayer notebook so that I have people and things written down to remember to pray for. I'm praying scripture more and I'm writing in my Bible more (prayers and answered prayers related to scripture.)

Your turn! What way do you want to grow spiritually this year?

Question #3

2009-01-14T07:00:00.003-06:00

I really enjoyed your comments answering yesterday's question, and just want you to know that I have added your comments to my prayer list. Together, I believe we will see God do the impossible this year!

What's the single most important thing you could do to
improve the quality of your family life this year?

I can't seem to think of just one. I'll have to pray about this one some more. Here are some of the things that come to mind.

1. Family Game Nights.
2. Praying over my family more.
3. Retreat/Vacation.
4. Family Devotions. (In addition to school Bible time.)
5. Turn off the TV.
6. Tea Parties with the girls. (Focus on relationships.)

How about you?

Question #2

2009-01-13T07:09:00.005-06:00

What's the most humanly impossible thing you will ask God to do this year?

Break some strongholds in my life that I have been trying to break for a few years now!

What about you? Are you asking God to do anything special this year?

Want to join me with the 31 Questions for the New Year? Go Here to get the questions for yourself.

Check Your Focus

2009-01-12T07:37:00.003-06:00

Did you set goals or resolutions for this new year? Have you already failed miserably at them? Maybe it is time to change your focus. I was given a wonderful gift this year by a fellow blogger. A digital camera.

Now, I don't know anything about photography, but I can still take great pictures with this new camera. Why? Because it has auto focus. Just a few adjustments here and a couple buttons pressed there and my camera will take pictures that are perfectly in focus every single time. It's wonderful and it makes it so easy. Well, until I want to focus on something that is further away. You see, when I want to focus on something in the background and have the foreground be out of focus, I have to turn off the auto focus. On auto focus, my camera only focuses on what is right in front of me.

Is that how your life has been? Are you automatically focusing on what is right in front of you? Is it easier to just focus on the here and now? Has your daily life been on auto focus? I want to challenge you this year to take your eyes off of the auto focus and put them in manual mode. Choose each and every day what it is that you will focus on. Will it be the daily appointments that are in the foreground? Or will it be the spiritual growth and time with God that has spent far too much time in the background?

I have decided to change my focus this year. My goals this year may be the typical ones. Get healthier, get debt-free, go on vacation, etc. The difference this year is how I am going about them. I am committing to spending time with God each and every morning, to meditating on His Word day and night through scripture memorization and Bible Study, to think on every decision as a means to obey His Word. Through a focus on Him, He will make me able to accomplish my goals. When my focus is Him, my goals will be His Goals!

As a challenge to keep focused on Him and to think about my 2009 goals from a spiritual perspective, I've decided to post a question here every day for the next 31 days about my goals for the year. There is a great article here that gives 31 questions to ask yourself for a new year. Spend some time praying over and thinking over these questions in the next month and see if He doesn't change your focus for 2009! Will you be spending another year on auto focus?

Here's question number 1:
What's one thing you could do this year to increase your enjoyment of God?

Spend time with Him each morning! Get to KNOW Him!

1 Give ear to my words, O LORD,
consider my sighing.

2 Listen to my cry for help,
my King and my God,
for to you I pray.

3 In the morning, O LORD, you hear my voice;
in the morning I lay my requests before you
and wait in expectation.

-Psalm 5:1-3

As part of my scripture memorization this year, I am also participating in Memory Monday. So, I've chosen the above scripture for this week.

For more Motivate Me Monday go here and for more Memory Monday go here. Happy Monday!

All Things New...

2009-01-04T14:24:00.006-06:00

As I was putting away my 2008 planner, I noticed my 2008 goals and read through them again. I didn't accomplish ANY of them. The really sad part is that the page was labeled 2006 goals, which was marked out and had 2007 written over it, which was marked out and had 2008 written over it. So basically, I said, "Oh my stinking heck, that is JUST r-i-d-i-c-u-l-o-u-s." Time for some NEW GOALS (and some followup)!

2009 GOALS

1. 5:16 AM Club: Make it a discipline to get up and spend time with God every morning before everyone else wakes.

2. Debt-Free: Stick to frugal menu and shopping. Work on videos from home and find ways to increase income.

3. Get Healthier: Exercise every day. More activity with girls. Less junk food. Less soda. More water.

4. Memorize Scripture and Read Through Bible: One or two books per week starting in Matthew. Memorize two scriptures per month.

If I accomplish those four goals this year, it will be a successful year of spiritual growth and discipline in all areas of life! Just for fun, here are a few more things I'd like to do this year...

Monthly dates and family game nights.

Put pictures and videos on blog once a month.

Read 12 books just for fun.

Teach the girls to swim or sign them up for swim lessons.

Take the girls camping or to DisneyWorld or BOTH :)

Accomplish a few home improvement projects-budget permitting!

And Now For the Stuffing Part

2008-12-11T10:52:00.006-06:00

The stockings are hung. (Not by the chimney though, we don't have one.) They're hung you say? Aren't you supposed to hang them Christmas Eve? Okay, so that was the way we did it growing up. We'd set out the milk and cookies and then hang the stockings and then read the Christmas Story out of Luke.

Around here, we don't do Santa, so the stockings are hung as soon as the tree goes up! It gives me joy just to look at them for the entire Advent season! Now, the stuffing part, that comes on Christmas morning!

Our "stuffers" as a child were filled with fruit and candy and small gifts. Occasionally there would be a really big gift in them, like a certificate saying that we were going on a trip to DisneyWorld. Okay, so that only happened once, but it is still remembered as THE BEST CHRISTMAS PRESENT EVER!

I really enjoyed the stocking stuffers. In fact, I always found it to be more fun than the presents. Now that I'm the one stuffing them, I find that I am a much more practical stuffer than my mother was. Stocking stuffers around here tend to be things that the kids need rather than want. Don't get me wrong, we throw in a few fun things too, just cheap fun things!

Here are some ideas for practical stocking stuffers. We're only spending $10 per stocking this year, so they won't all have every one of the following. Keep in mind our oldest is 5, so the "shock" factor hasn't set in yet. Accompanied with the fact that we have always done practical stockings, they have come to expect practical and they get just as excited as if they were filled with toys!

1. Toothbrushes. I typically buy the cheapest I can, but for stuffers I look for CVS or Walgreens bargains and get a character toothbrush for them.

2. Socks or underwear. Seriously, they always need these!

3. Hair accessories. Where do all the pink ones go? Did you see that episode of Jon and Kate Plus 8? So true.

4. Pencils or crayons or any other school supplies needed. We homeschool so I always know what they could use! When I was little, my mother gave us personalized pencils with our names on them one year and I still remember them!

5. Shampoo, conditioner, bath soap. They're girls, they ooh and aah over the smells and then we put them in the bathroom for later use. Probably not a good idea for boys.

6. Highlights magazines or a Fun Book or other magazine.

7. Gloves or mittens if needed.

8. Chapstick or nail polish. Again, ooh and aah, then off to the closet for later use.

9. Instead of candy, I tend to do 100 calorie pack snacks and fruit that they snack on until brunch is ready.

10. An age-appropriate book or reader.

When we were teens, Mom would put things like razors, hairspray, makeup, nail files, etc. in our stockings. Oh, and pantyhose. I loved getting pantyhose! :)

So, does your family do stockings? Are you a practical stuffer or a just-for-fun stuffer? Do you have any more practical ideas?

Motivate Me Monday and Memory Monday: The Restoration of Joy

2008-12-01T15:43:00.004-06:00

MamaHenClucks wrote about the 5:16 Club last Monday over at her Hen house. I immediately knew that I wanted to be a member. It's a group of women who are committed to rising early every morning in order to start their days' with God to be intentional about spending time with Him each and every morning.

I will tell you that the times in my life when I have been most consistent and successful at spending time with God each and every day, are the times that I have committed to getting up before everyone else in the family and doing it first thing! Even when I had newborns! (I was up anyway with the 5 am feeding right?)

Anyway, I'll admit that over the last 6 weeks or so, I have become rather slack on this. Okay, not even slack, just not getting up! I've been rolling out of bed when my kids do and my entire day is thrown off because of it. I've been planning to get back into the 5 o'clock wake up routine again, so now that we're home from our Thanksgiving trip, I'm joining the club. I'll be setting my alarm clock for 5:16 and rising early to spend time with God before the rest of the family awakens.

I'm looking forward to meeting and enjoying some encouraging bloggy-fellowship with the rest of the 5:16 Club. Just check out the other posts over at Like a Warm Cup of Coffee.

In addition, I've decided to join Memory Monday over at The Simple Wife to help motivate me to memorize a scripture a week. I love what these two ladies are doing with their blogs and bringing women together to study and encourage each other. Way to go ladies!

Now that you know what my new Monday posts will be about, let me give you my encouragement for this week. I chose to memorize 2 Corinthians 1:3-4.

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God."

See, I've been working on some posts for my testimony blog Healing Hope this week. I know so many dear friends and family who are spending this Thanksgiving and Christmas season in a season of grief. They have lost precious family members this year and their hearts are broken and having a difficult time finding joy in this holiday season.

This particular scripture is one that God has been "writing" on my heart for several years, yet I've never memorized it word-for-word. He's brought me back around to it again in the process of writing these posts.

First of all, I want to encourage any of you who are currently in a season of grief. Joy will return. It may not be this month. It may not be this year. But it will come.

Psalm 16:9-11 states, "Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure, because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay. You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand."

It's easy for those who trust God to believe what He says and believe that we will have joy again, but for those who have experienced such pain that doubt has become more of a friend than trust has, these words are hard to believe.

It personally took me several years of "wrestling" with God to come to a point of believing Him again, believing that His Word is true. There are still times when I have unbelief, but they are much less frequent now. One of the examples in the Bible of someone who has an incredible amount of belief that wows me with delight is Mary the Mother of Jesus in her response to being told that she was carrying The Christ Child. She says in Luke 1:45, "Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!"

My prayer for all you who are in a season of grief and possibly unbelief this Christmas is that you will spend precious time with the Father each day and be overwhelmed with belief in all that He will accomplish, including the restoration of your joy! May you have a spirit of belief like that of Mary as we celebrate Jesus Christ this month.

To those of you who know someone who is going through a season of grief, may I encourage you to take 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 and put it into practice this Christmas. Visit with or send an encouragement to the friend or family member who is grieving. Through your visit or message, they may be comforted by The God of all comfort!

May His Joy fill you throughout this Christmas season (and especially when you are waking before everyone else in the house and awaiting your first cup of coffee!)

Christmas Tag!

2008-11-29T10:02:00.003-06:00

I LOVE Christmas! I got tagged twice for this one (by Heather and MaryLou) and I would do it twice I like Christmas so much, but I'll just answer it once so as not to bore everyone.

The rules:
1. Post the rules on your blog.
2. Fill out the questions below
3. Tag 5-7 people at the end of your post.
4. Pass on the tag.
Have FUN!!

1.Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate?
Um, Hot Chocolate, although I can't really say I've ever tried egg nog. The idea of egg nog just grosses me out.

2.Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree?
No Santa here, but definitely wrapped by me. I LOVE wrapping presents! I'm always offering to help wrap other people's presents because I love it.

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white?
None on the house, but if I were to actually have money and energy to decorate the outside of the house, they would be white. My attention-to-detail-personality has difficulty with the randomness of colored lights. :) Obviously, the tree lights are white.

4. Do you hang mistletoe?
No. I don't believe in PDA. :)

5. When do you put your decorations up?
Our tradition is to put them up the day after Thanksgiving and then watch "It's A Wonderful Life." This year, we are still out of town, so the tree won't be up until Dec. 1.

6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)?
One dish? I can't pick one dish, it's about the meal as a whole. The husband doesn't like turkey and ham, so that's pretty much the only time I get it. I will second Heather's answer of Mom's homemade potato rolls. I loved waking up to the smell of those rolls cooking and sneaking one as soon as they came out of the oven!

7. Favorite holiday memory as a child:
Ditto Heather's response, "Oh, I can’t pick just one.. cutting down the tree each year, building the nativity stable with dad and adding the life - size figures - Christmas Eve pajamas and reading the nativity story. The year mom and dad pulled off the biggest surprise ever - a trip to Disney World! We left the next day." Holidays were pretty good in our house!

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa?
I don’t remember. However, Heather, I didn't know that you got to help fill stockings! How did I miss that?

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve?
We've carried on the Christmas Eve pajama gifts also. Mom made the girls Star Wars pajama pants this year. (Yes, I said made the GIRLS Star Wars pajama pants. They love Star Wars.)

10. How do you decorate your Christmas Tree?
White lights (I hate that part, one day we'll buy a pre-lit); red and gold ribbon; red, white, and gold ornaments, red tree skirt. I try to hide the "homemade" and Star Wars ornaments on the back of the tree, but somehow they always sneak to the front. Hmmm.

11. Snow! Love it or Dread it?
Love it as long as I don't have to drive anywhere!

12. Can you ice skate?
Never tried. Pathetic huh?

13. Do you remember your favorite gift?
The Disney World Trip! Hands down! Mom wrapped a "Good for One Trip to DisneyWorld" coupon in a jewelry box and we opened it and they told us we would be leaving the next day! I hope to surprise my children with a fun gift like that someday.

14. What is the most important thing about the Holidays for you?
Celebrating Jesus' birth and spending time with family. Creating great Christ-centered traditions and fun for my family.

15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert?
Pumpkin Pie with whipped topping and a good cup of coffee!

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition?
The Advent Calendar, driving through the Christmas light displays, setting up the nativity scene in the front yard, watching Christmas movies throughout the season. I obviously can't pick a favorite. I love everything about Christmas!

17. What tops your tree?
A gold star.

18. Which do you prefer giving or receiving?
They are both fun, but Giving is the best! It's so fun to shop for other people!

19. What is your favorite Christmas Song?
"Go Tell It On the Mountain" Though, I'm a self-proclaimed Christmas music junkie. I'll be putting up a post about this later this week!

20. Candy Canes! Yuck or Yum?
Yuck.

21. What do you want for Christmas?
A new necklace for my Jael pendant, a stand mixer, Rachael Ray pots and pans, a new electric knife, a camera case, stuff to decorate my house, a Wii for the family, books. My list is kind of long this year because I'm missing MOST kitchen utensils after moving!

22. Do you attend an annual Christmas Party?
We haven't in the past, but will be with the Media Team this year. The girls and I are going to start a new "Christmas Tea" tradition with all our girl friends.

23. Do you dress up on Christmas or wear PJs?
It used to be pajamas for most of the morning and then change into casual clothes the rest of the day. Now, I tend to shower and get dressed as soon as I get up. Just depends on where we are and what we're doing.

24. Do you own a santa hat?
Nope. Don't promote the man here.

25. Who do you normally spend Christmas with?
Changes from year-to-year. Sometimes we go to the in-laws, sometimes my family, sometimes we stay at home. I usually try to invite Mom and Dad to at least join us so they don't have to spend the morning by themselves, and so that Mom can make her traditional ginormous Christmas brunch! :)

This was fun! I got kind of teary-eyed remembering some of the things! I'm looking forward to hearing your answers! I'm tagging.

1. Kim
2. Meghan
3. Sarah
4. MamaHenClucks
5. Carrie
6. Tyler
7. Aimee

Biggest Loser Thanksgiving Live Blog

2008-11-25T19:01:00.015-06:00

1. Oh, I miss Coleen too. Absolutely, Vicky will be after Amy. She missed her chance to take Vicky out! Bob, we don't like Vicky! We wanted her gone! I guess now we know that Bob probably pressured Amy into voting for Coleen. Heba is right, Vicky is still out to get Amy. Did you see those evil glances from Vicky? I'm sick to my stomach seeing Vicky put on her sweet face for the NFL players. I would so be flat on my face on that rope course. Too funny that they have football week and there is only one guy left on the ranch!

COMMERCIAL BREAK: I REALLY want to see Four Christmases. I wonder if I can cram that in this weekend somehow? OH, Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade! I love it!

2. Michelle's legs are looking skinny in those tight black pants. Ugh, Vicky is so manipulative! Right on Renee, Vicky should have been gone! Whatever, it totally mattered to you who won this prize.

COMMERCIAL BREAK: I'm cold. Going to get some coffee. I'm back. Make that coffee and a cupcake. :)

3. Ed, the only man in the house. Poor guy. Seriously. I don't think I could handle living in that house! What's up with Bob biting Ed's head off? The only attitude I heard was Bob's. I'm sorry, I love you Bob. I really do. Amy is so cute. I don't know how to play football either, honey. Oh man, I was hoping for some tackle football. I wanted to see Michelle and Renee take down Vicky. Well, the challenge actually sounds fun for once anyway. I wouldn't mind 4 nights in Honolulu, though I probably would skip the Probowl and stay on the beach. :) OH my, Heba looks like she was born to wear a football uniform. Ed is funny. I'd be all about catching the balls too. Okay, maybe not. Looks a little harder than I thought. Ha ha, "Heba had already spent that money as soon as it touched my hands." Yep, we can tell she wears the pants in the family. I was hoping Renee was going to tackle Heba to get that ball. Oh, Amy, I can't believe you thought you and Vicky had patched things up. I sure hope Vicky is below the line again this week.

COMMERCIAL BREAK

4. Um, hello, did everyone else in the house really not see the Ed, Heba, Vicky alliance? Oh, Amy. There's something about two malicious women being friends that scares me. Anyone else? I don't want to talk about it either Michelle. I'm not sure I want to see "the crazy side" of Jillian. "No one bullies my team, except for me." That's funny. I do hope Michelle, Renee, and Amy win this weigh-in! Does Amy have a crush on Rocco? That turkey looks nasty. Not as good as the one I'll be making Thursday. :) Ham hocks? I just finished making my stuffing today. I can't wait to eat it Thursday!

COMMERCIAL BREAK: We would love a Wii this year. Maybe next year. I don't like K-Mart, too much bad customer service. Every time I go I swear I'll never go again.

5. Amy does have a thing for Rocco, I thought so! I hate touching raw meat. I can't stand cleaning the turkey. Good thing Mom will be here to help! Can you make pumpkin pie with a crumble? Who am I kidding? The crust is the best part. It's not worth eating without the crust! Traditional turkey has 480 calories per serving? That's crazy! New family? You all don't even like each other! That was a sweet speech from Rocco. Does it make anyone else sad that Vicky is a mother and the example she is setting in her manipulative/vindictive attitudes? Thank you Renee, for actually mentioning God!

COMMERCIAL BREAK

6. When did they record this Thanksgiving stuff anyway? I never noticed Amy's tattoo before. I love her Mom. Aw, Michelle's Dad is so sweet. Wow, how young is Renee's husband? Those were sweet videos! Oh, Vicky and Brady's little boy is so cute! More than one leaving the ranch? Oh, maybe Vicky and Heba? I suppose that would be a little too much to ask wouldn't it?

COMMERCIAL BREAK: I don't do Black Friday. Me and crowds don't get along very well. It totally drains me and makes me crabby for the entire day. I prefer the online shopping. Yep, I'm an introvert!

7. Oh Bob, drop the four-strong thing please!

COMMERCIAL BREAK: I put that girl to bed an hour ago, why oh why is she screaming at me instead of sleeping? Why don't they make one-piece pajamas that two-year-olds can't unzip? She's been tucked for the fifth time now.

8. Finally, we're to the one-piece weigh-in shirts for the girls. Why can't they just do that from the beginning? Wow, 5 pounds for Amy. I wonder how that will play out? It's amazing how Heba is just now getting to where the other ladies were at the beginning. That's a huge mountain to climb. Even though I don't like her, good for her!

COMMERCIAL BREAK: Teasing me with Four Christmases again. Did I mention that I really want to see that? That commercial was gross, kind of makes me want to use Dove, even though I've never liked it. I think that Diamond ring is actually ugly. Oh, toilet cleaning, I have to do that tomorrow and showers and floors and kitchen. I'm tired already. Here we go with Rosie again. Anyone else can't stand her like me? No thanks. I won't be tuning in to that show.

9. I think Vicky is grinning seeing Amy's name move down the list. Ugh. Let's hope Vicky has less than 5 pounds this week. Shucks. One of our three will probably be going home. :( Awesome Renee! But darn, that pushes Amy below the line! Okay Michelle, let's push Heba below the line! She looks so much smaller than 186 to me. I wonder how tall she is?

COMMERCIAL BREAK: Those earrings are ugly too. Can you tell I'm not really a jewelry person?

10. I'm nervous. Holy Moly! I think Bob might throw up! Actually he looks mad! That Heba hug makes me mad, she's totally going to vote Amy off. But wait, where's the twist? So, they'll vote two and two. How do they decide who goes? Wait, Vicky might just vote off Heba? She is manipulative. Maybe Vicky wants to break up Ed and Heba over getting revenge on Amy? Hmmm, interesting. I can't believe this is in the hands of Vicky. Revenge? Made promises to both of them? Oh isn't that convenient?

COMMERCIAL BREAK: Crying again? Seriously, just go to sleep baby girl! I'll be back. "Mommy, I need chap-stick on my lips." Well, if you would stop crying, you wouldn't need chap-stick! I'm a very sympathetic mother, can you tell?

11. Surprise Surprise, Revenge wins out in Vicky's world. Okay, who else is going home? Just cut to it! Did you see the smirk on Vicky's face when Amy walked out of the room? It made me cringe. Oh, I love the makeover shows. Vicky looks awesome! Shellay looks tiny running! I didn't know she can sing! I don't like Tyra either. Okay, did I miss something? Didn't they say two people would be going home tonight? What's up with that?

DISCLAIMER: Remember, all in the spirit of reality TV. Not usually mean and bitter like this. Just talking some smack and rooting for the nice ones. :)

December: Planned and Purposeful

2008-11-24T15:07:00.004-06:00

I know, it's not even Thanksgiving yet. I'll get back to Thanksgiving tomorrow. I just wanted to put this post up in case some of you wanted to do something similar. With Thanksgiving being so close to December this year, I thought I should give you some time to plan.

Every year it seems that we anticipate the Christmas season and then it is gone before we know it. We meant to take the girls to the live nativity. We meant to read those scriptures as a family. We meant to make cookies together. We meant to do that Advent wreath. We meant to make it more about Jesus. But somehow we didn't.

I decided this year to plan ahead to make sure that our Christmas is purposeful. To make sure that December doesn't come and go and we've lost focus again. This year, I have a plan to stay focused.

We used to do the Advent Calendar that you hang on the wall and open a door for each day. The girls loved it, but I felt like something was missing. So, I decided to make it more than an Advent Calendar, but an interactive Christmas where we spend time worshipping and celebrating together. I put together a list of all the things we want to do together and then "planned" my December. Here's what we're doing.

My mother got us one of these. I'm not sure exactly what it looks like, because she is bringing it up on Thanksgiving. Anyway, there are tons of different kinds (even a church). I love that we can use this year after year.

We also have a Nativity Set. In each box of the calendar, there will be a clue to find a present somewhere in the house. The present will include one piece of the nativity set, a scripture from the Christmas Story, a Christmas book, and a card explaining an activity that we are going to do that day, and the name of a family member or friend. (Don't worry, I'm making them one day at a time so the girls don't find them ahead of time. Don't ask why I know to do it that way.)

Each day, we will start with our Calendar. Find the present. Put the nativity piece in the set. Read the scripture verse. Pray for the family member. Read a Christmas book. Then, we will do our activity sometime during the day. Of course, the final nativity piece will be Jesus, which they will unwrap and add to the nativity set on Christmas Morning before we open any presents to ourselves.

I'll be doing a post about the books we will read later, but here are the activities we will be doing. I hope to do some more research this year and have a better idea of events that happen in our local community next year!

November 30

ADVENT WREATH AND SING CHRISTMAS CAROLS WITH DADDY ON GUITAR

DECORATE HOUSE-PUT UP TREES AND STOCKINGS

ORDER PIZZA AND WATCH IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE

December

1 --START ADVENT CALENDAR/FAMILY GAME NIGHT
2 --CHRISTMAS TREASURE HUNT
3 --MAKE CARDS FOR GRANDMA AND PAPA AND GREAT-GRANDMA JENNY
4 --GO TO LIBRARY FOR CHRISTMAS BOOKS
5 --BAKE CHRISTMAS COOKIES
6 --WATCH ELF

7 --ADVENT WREATH/A NIGHT IN BETHLEHEM (Children's event at church)
8 --FAMILY GAME NIGHT
9 --MAKE TREATS FOR NEIGHBORS AND DELIVER
10 --MAKE CARDS FOR GRANDMA AND GRANDAD
11 --HOT CHOCOLATE AND CANDY CANES FOR DESSERT
12 --MAKE TREATS FOR CHURCH STAFF AND DELIVER/VISIT LIVE NATIVITY
13 --WATCH HOME ALONE
14 --ADVENT WREATH AND SING CHRISTMAS CAROLS
15 --SHOP FOR MOMMY/FAMILY GAME NIGHT
16 --SHOP FOR DADDY AND WRAP PRESENTS
17 --GO OUT TO BREAKFAST
18 --BAKE CHRISTMAS COOKIES
19 --CHRISTMAS TEA PARTY!
20 --WATCH A CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS
21 --ADVENT WREATH AND SING CHRISTMAS CAROLS
22 --DINNER OUT/DRIVE THROUGH CHRISTMAS LIGHTS
23 --CANDLELIGHT DINNER AND CHRISTMAS CAROLS
24 --ADVENT WREATH/OPEN ONE PRESENT (PAJAMAS) AND READ LUKE STORY
25 --SPECIAL BREAKFAST WITH HAPPY BIRTHDAY JESUS PARTY

That's what our activities will be. I'll be putting up a post about the books we will read later. I hope you will have a planned and purposeful December as well.

What special things do you have planned to do with your family this year? I'd love to hear them!

Thanksgiving Fun

2008-11-19T22:06:00.006-06:00

Another great thing about homeschooling is that we get to make our own schedule. When I made our schedule for this school year, I intentionally took the entire week of Thanksgiving off so that we could just have fun with learning about The First Thanksgiving, doing crafts, cooking, and well, doing all things Thanksgiving!

It ends up that we will be hosting a small amount of family for Thanksgiving this year, so this will be a great time for the girls to create the decorations as their craft projects as well as share with others what they are thankful for. I thought I would share what we are going to be doing with you and see if you have any more suggestions.

To start the week, we will read the book. "Squanto and the Miracle of Thanksgiving." This is a great book for teaching about the first Thanksgiving. We also have the book, "Give Thanks to the Lord." We're going to make a trip to the library this Friday to find some more. Any suggestions for a good chapter book to read together this week about Thanksgiving? Age-appropriate for 4 and 5 year olds?

We're going to make these fun turkey cupcakes.

And maybe even these fun turkey cookies because we have a whole bag of candy corn to use, why not?

And then maybe we will deliver some to the neighbors because we DO NOT need that many sweets in this house!

We're going to make these coloring books to learn more about The First Thanksgiving.

Of course, we'll do a Tree of Thanksgiving. That's pretty much a tree made of construction paper and we will cut out leaves from all different colors of paper and write things that we are thankful for on the leaves and then "decorate" our tree with our thanksgiving messages. We'll put this on our dining room wall so that we can share it with our guests and even leave some blank leaves for them to add to it.

We're going to make placemats with scripture verses about Thanksgiving to use all week.

We might make Pilgrim Hat placecards for our actual Thanksgiving Dinner. We'll have to see if there is time for that!

A Pilgrim Scavenger Hunt is scheduled for Tuesday. We'll talk about things that the Pilgrims would have had at the first Thanksgiving and then have them go throughout the house finding items we have hidden such as corn, pumpkins, a small boat, turkeys, etc.

We'll read Bible stories about giving Thanks, such as Luke 17:11-19.

There are TONS of printable crosswords and word searches and coloring pages all over the internet. We might do some.

I'm hoping to make this centerpiece and fill it with something?

A tradition I started a few years ago, is to cover the Thanksgiving Table with butcher paper instead of a tablecloth. Then we leave crayons all over the place for people to write on the table what they are thankful for. We may just do this on the kid table this year? Might be a little too much with the Tree of Thanksgiving there too.

I'll use these as the kids' placemats because that'll keep them out of the kitchen for awhile. :)

That ought to keep us busy most of the week!

I've been serving Frozen waffles cut into the shape of a turkey for several years, so that will be breakfast on Thanksgiving. Unless I switch to the cinnamon rolls in the shape of a turkey I saw somewhere? After our bellies are full, it's time for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and waiting for Lunch to be ready. Yes, we're doing our meal at lunch this year.

A few years ago, when I hosted my first Thanksgiving, I found a great article in a magazine that gave recipes and talked about how to bake a few side dishes each day of the week in order to make Thanksgiving Day less stressful. It was a wonderful article. I used their "schedule" and it worked beautifully. I plan to do the same thing this year. Here's what I'll be cooking each day so that the only things we have to make on Thanksgiving are the turkey, mashed potatoes, and rolls!

Monday: Make bacon-pear stuffing. (This stuff is good!)

Tuesday: Make mashed sweet potatoes.

Wednesday: Assemble green bean casserole for baking on Thursday. Make cranberry sauce.

Thursday: Turkey and Gravy, mashed potatoes, and pumpkin rolls (I can't wait to try these!)

Our guests will probably be bringing dessert, so I'm off the hook on that one! :)

So, what will you be doing and what's on your menu?

The Biggest Loser: I'm So Excited

2008-11-18T19:23:00.003-06:00

Okay, I love each new season of TBL, but it always takes me a while to get into it. I have to get to know the contestants before I really care. Well, get to know them as much as the editors of the show want me to that is!

In the first few weeks, I thought the brown team looked so sweet and I was rooting for them. Over the course of the last few weeks, I'm totally down on brown! I cannot stand their bad attitudes and the fact that they have said they are only there to win the money! Ugh. They just don't get it and nothing about their "game play" and attitudes are making me like them.

That's why I was sooooooooo thrilled about Amy C's decision last week. I've been very excited to see this week to see the "aftermath" or "Vicky's revenge" shall we call it?

So, I'm sort of live-blogging here. A recap after each commercial break.

1. Oh Vicky get over yourself! You are not the only one who knows how to play this game. Amy has a better brain than you do because she figured out how to debunk your plan and you didn't even see it coming! Best part is, Amy didn't do it out of evil intentions, she saw an opportunity and took it. You're going down girl! And I've been down on Heba for a long time. So, as much as I love Bob, Amy is the ONLY blue team member I still want in this game. She's a sweetie!

COMMERCIAL BREAK

2. I love the 80s! But I don't think I could have ever put those outfits on! Bob was hysterical! I'm still laughing.

COMMERCIAL BREAK

3. Allison makes a great 80s girl! What a dumb challenge. I don't care to see Ed's abs through his cut-up T-shirt. I love Coleen too, though I think they should have teamed up against Vicky! Hee. Hee.

COMMERCIAL BREAK.

4. Yeah, Michelle won! I love her too. I still think it was a dumb challenge though. Alright, gotta go get me a snack. Why does watching fat people work out make me want to eat? That's sick and twisted sister. (I told you I love the 80s!)

COMMERCIAL BREAK. GETTING ME SOME SNACKAGE. (How cruel is that to have so many McDonald's commercials? And by the way, double cheeseburgers used to be on the dollar menu, so 1.29, not a good deal. Thanks alot McD's. Don't ask me why I know that.)

5. I would love to take a spin class, just not with Jillian. :) I love Michelle, but I'm tired of her crying and hearing about her issues with her Mom. Don't even get me started on Jillian's advice-giving again.

COMMERCIAL BREAK

6. I want to be in a medium shirt in 9 weeks. You go Coleen! Amy, you are sweet. That was a nice apology. Vicky took it better than I thought she would. I need some produce bags. I already have all those snacks Bob, they just don't taste as good as chocolate! :0)

COMMERCIAL BREAK I've got a few minutes. I guess you want to know what my snack was. Oooh, I want to see Four Christmases. I'm a sucker for Christmas movies and Reese Witherspoon movies. Maybe I should start calling for babysitters. Snack, um, it was a bowl of Raisin Nut Bran. Not the M&Ms and Cherry Coke of choice, but I've officially given up soda. Oh yes I have, and I'm actually not even crabby about it. Well, I'm allowing myself one a week, which is a ginormous improvement from one a day or two a day.

7. Do we really have to wear the 80s clothes all week? That can't be comfortable workout attire. I like Ed, too bad he's married to Heba, because I don't want her to win any money. I wish they didn't make the girls wear sports bras to the weigh-ins. Seriously.

COMMERCIAL BREAK

8. Wooohooooo, Vicky gets the penalty! Go Michelle, that was a gooooooood choice! Awesome weight loss too, 8 pounds? Sweeeeeet! Oh yeah, 8 pounds for Mommy-dearest too! Good job Ed. Aww, shocker, another commercial break.

COMMERCIAL BREAK (This is becoming the longest post ever!) Rosie, give it up. We don't care to see you on TV anymore. You did yourself in with your bad attitude and in-your-face liberalism. Oh, we're back. Off my Rosie soapbox.

9. Aw shucks, Heba didn't do as well. Crap, only 3 for Coleen. She made Jillian cry. Cool. I'm getting nervous for Amy. Come on more than 5! Ohhhhh baby, 8 pounds! Yipppeeee! I'm excited too Amy! Yeah, Bob is happy too! Deep down, I don't think he likes Vicky either. ;) More than 6 pounds. Come on 5. Yep. Commercial Break.

COMMERCIAL BREAK

10. Yippeeeeeeeeeeeeee, only 6 pounds. :) That's the way, uh huh,uh huh, I like it, uh huh, uh huh. 2 children and 60 hours a week, that's your rebuttle? Pu-lease! I sure hope she goes home, I don't think I can take another episode with her.

COMMERCIAL BREAK

11. Two votes Vicky. Two votes Coleen. Of course. Go Amy, take her out! No, Amy, No!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You just dug your own grave! The blue team will vote you out as soon as they have an opportunity! Coleen looks a little bit like Reese Witherspoon now. Anyone else think that?

Got to turn the TV off before I get sucked into Law & Order. Making myself go to bed early to get up and workout with Jillian, via DVD that is.

DISCLAIMER: I'm usually not this cruel or bitter. I just like to talk smack in competitive situations. :) It's all in the spirit of reality TV.

Swagbucks

2008-11-18T09:47:00.002-06:00

I was just reading MamaHenClucks post yesterday about how she has all of her Christmas shopping done. Oh.yes.she.does. I admire her. I've been planning to do that for the last few years now because I cannot stand crowded stores. I'd rather shop at midnight than share the aisles with ten other carts and their pushers. Yes, I am an introvert. :)

Anyway, my favorite store is amazon.com. LOVE IT! So, I was very intrigued when I saw this post this morning. I had two thoughts.

1. I could do this because I could use me some amazon.com gift cards AND earn them for doing something that I already do (searching the internet and SHOPPING FROM HOME!)

2. I could do this so that MoneySavingMom gets my referral points because I think she deserves it with all the help she gives us frugal-learners every day!

We've had an interesting year financially this year with the whole career change and move. As a result, we will be having a very small Christmas budget (if any) this year. I don't expect to get a ton of gift cards this way, but every little bit could help! It's worth a shot!

I went ahead and signed up. It was super easy. I downloaded the toolbar too so that every time I search online it will automatically earn me points. If you are interested in this, you can go here and sign up or click the bar at the top of this post. Happy searching and shopping! Well, to those of you who aren't already DONE with your shopping that is!

Good Gifts from a GRAND God!

2008-11-17T18:47:00.003-06:00

"What's in the box?"

You didn't really think I would answer you that easy did you? How 'bout a little back-story? It'll be so much more exciting that way.

To start off with, did you know that God sends gifts via USPS? Well, He does, in fact. How do I know? Because I got one! Intrigued yet?

Do you remember the post about what I pray? Well, I've got a whole bunch of people and things I've been praying about since July and I've seen many prayers answered. There were a few things on that list that might seem kind of selfish. I'll admit it. I thought they were pretty selfish too.

However, I know that God wants to give us good gifts. I know that He cares intimately for each and every one of us. I know that He already knows what is on our hearts, but He wants to hear it too. It's just part of the conversation I have with Him.

So, the thing in the box is a gift from Him, an answered prayer. Now that we've narrowed it down to something on that list, I think maybe we're going to have to take the story back further.

I haven't had a camera for 7 years. Okay, minus the BlackBerry phone that takes pics that is. We've had 4 children in that time and borrowed a camera for each and every birth. I've longed to take pics of my children and often felt guilty for not taking them. The only pictures I have of my children are ones other people have taken and given to me. Sad huh?

So, I really wanted to get a camera. I researched and found exactly the one I wanted to get. A Canon Digital Rebel. I started saving my money.

Then, God told us to sell everything we had, including our house and most of our belongings. He told us to move in with our in-laws. He told my husband to quit his job. He told us to wait on Him and He would show us where to go. I must admit, I felt rather well-connected to Abraham and Sarah.

Nearly 18 months later, we had enough money for one month's expenses left. We had hardly any money coming in. Almost every dime had been spent, including the money for the camera. Then, God did it. He showed us where to go. We've been here since February and are still blown away at just how much He has provided the details. How much He intimately cares for our needs. And sometimes our wants.

I still had a strong desire for a camera. I was missing documenting precious moments with our children. So, I started to pray for one. Often times, my prayer went something like this...

"God, I know that there are far more important things to pray for and far more important needs to fill. If it is not too selfish a prayer, I pray that you will provide a camera for our family." Ever prayed a prayer like that? Ever thought, He COULD answer it, but SHOULD he?

I kept praying nonetheless, I mean He knows my heart anyway. Why not express it directly to Him?

If you've been reading my blog, you've seen me apologize for the crummy pics from my phone and yearn for the day when I would have a camera to take better pics. Right?

Someone else read my blog too. I got an email from a blog-friend who wanted to know why I didn't have a camera. Just so happens she had a camera she wasn't using. When she read my post about the camera, she just felt like she NEEDED to give me that camera. She couldn't explain it.

So, she stepped out of her comfort zone. She asked the awkward questions. She did the hard part. She offered to GIVE me her camera because she wanted to and because God was telling her to.

My heart skipped a beat when I read her email. The camera she wanted to give to me? A Canon Digital Rebel. The exact camera I had been dreaming about.

Oh, friends. God cares about the details. He cares about our desires. He wants to make us smile. He wants to show us just how much He intimately loves us. He wants to give us good gifts.

I shudder to think of the times when I have thought that maybe God was asking me to give something away and I didn't. Because it was too awkward. Because I was just sure I did not hear Him right. No more. Thank you blog-friend for listening to God. Thank you for giving our family such a wonderful gift. Thank you for being a vessel in which God used to teach me about His love. His provision. His delighting in His children.

So, what's in the box? A Canon Digital Rebel. A good gift from a GRAND God. Thank you God! You are worthy to be praised.

In the spirit of Thanksgiving and Christmas. Have you ever been prodded by Him to give a gift? Did you do it? Have you ever received a gift that blew you away at how much God really does care for you? Share it in the comments. I love a good God Story!

A Fall Blessing

2008-11-14T11:47:00.004-06:00

Okay, so this was sort of at the top of what you wanted to hear. Thanks so much for helping me with my writer's block. Maybe the floodgates have opened? I'll be getting the other nine posts up in the next few weeks. I'm going with your advice and doing Fall, Good Gift, Thanksgiving, and December. The rest will just follow up after those are done. Aren't you just downright intrigued with my ambiguity? Fascinating.

Alright, A Fall Blessing. Here you have it. I believe I have mentioned before that fall is my absolute favorite time of year? Well, in case I haven't, it is. (Um, tied with Christmas maybe?) Okay, so fall is my favorite SEASON. Yes, it is.

Because fall is my favorite season, I have always dreamed of having a beautiful tree in my front yard. You know, the ones that stand out when you drive down a street and make you want to pull over and stare at it for a while, marveling at God's awesome handiwork? That kind of tree.

Our first house had no trees in the yard because it was a new house in a brand new subdivision, the kind where they tear down everything considered nature into a big flat piece of land, build as many houses as possible, and then attempt to plant a few new baby trees that will take years to grow in an effort to make you feel like you don't live in a subdivision. Yep, that kind. So obviously, no trees.

We sold that house and lived with family for awhile as we were waiting for God to show us where to go. This past February He showed us where to go and we started house hunting. In February. I kept telling my husband that I wished we were house hunting in the fall so I could see what color the trees would be. Because I had always dreamed of having a beautiful tree in my front yard, you know the staring kind. Bright yellowish orange. So beautiful you can't help but look at it. Clearly I am not a botanist or I might have been able to at least guess based on the type of tree in the yard, maybe? Is that possible? Any botanists out there?

Anywho, we had a total of two weeks to house hunt. In February. There were only two houses for sale in our price range that met our criteria at least a little bit. We bought one. There's not much we like about it. Other than a small mortgage payment to fit within our budget, shelter from storms, and a yard to play in. There's not much to like about it.

Sounds whiny doesn't it? Sounds ungrateful doesn't it? That's what I was thinking.

Then God showed me this. The trees in my front yard.

They're totally staring trees. And they are right out my front window. I sort of want to go ask the neighbors what color those trees used to be. Ugly brown? Never had color until this year?

See, I believe God made those trees bright yellowish-orange, gotta-stop-and-look-at-them, beautiful just for ME! I believe that those trees are God's reminder to me that this house is exactly the house He wanted to give me. This house is exactly what I NEED. This house is a gift from Him. I live in a house given to me by God. Suddenly there is much less to complain about. How about you? Has God given you any fall blessings this season to remind you of His provision and His handiwork? Oh, I hope so. It just downright make me smile.

What do You Want To Hear?

2008-11-12T20:17:00.004-06:00

I sat down with the computer. I wrote about all the things I want to tell you. I didn't like how it turned out. I erased it. I was too tired to try again. I looked at the clock. I closed the computer. I went to bed.

That happened about six nights in a row.

Now it's been over a week since I posted.

I still don't feel like writing.

Have you ever been there before? You have so many things to post about that you don't know where to start?

So you start by catching up on reading all the other blogs and then realize that their lives are so much more interesting than what you were going to write about.

Yep. Still haven't written anything worthwhile have I?

Here's what I'm gonna do. I have ten things to write about. Here's the list. You pick what you want me to write about. We'll do one at a time. What do you want to hear about first?

1. Good Gifts from a GRAND God.
2. A Fall Blessing.
3. Thanksgiving Fun?
4. December, Planned and Purposeful.
5. Blogging: To Be or Not To Be, That Is The Question.
6. A Month of Meals?
7. No Other Gods.
8. It Was a Media Party! Do Try This At Home!
9. For Such A Time As This?
10. Biggest Loser. Down on Brown. Need I Say More?

Let me hear it. What's up first?

No Other Gods-Week Seven

2008-11-01T11:20:00.005-05:00

I'm sitting here on a BEAUTIFUL fall Saturday morning. I just had a cup of coffee and a fantastic apple cinnamon muffin (fresh from a local bakery from a friend). We've been outside for a short game of family soccer. The girls are coloring here at the table, well two of them anyway. The other has thrown all her crayons on the floor and is currently "hopping" on them. Life is good. It's easy to trust God this morning.

This past week was stage change week at the church. My husband didn't get home before 2:00 a.m. a single night and was even out until 4:30 a.m. one night. I haven't seen my husband for most of the week. The girls allergies are in full-swing. I was having some health problems of my own this week. We were exhausted. It wasn't so easy to trust God this week.

Isn't it amazing what a little perspective will do? One day trusting God is difficult because things aren't going my way. The next day, trust comes easy because things are going my way (except for the "crayon hopping"). Now, I'm definitely not saying that trust should be based on our circumstances. It shouldn't. Trust is something I've been wrestling with God over for the last seven years, so this week's study was tugging at me tremendously!

It's so cool to open my Bible study and read and study about Jonah, Paul, Abraham, Sarah, and others and see just how much my present-day life relates to their Bible-times lives. I've been angry like Jonah. I've been frustrated like Paul. I've been confused like Abraham. I've been unbelieving like Sarah. I've been obedient. I've been disobedient. I can look back at all the things in their lives and in my life and see without a shadow of a doubt the overwhelming power of God in my life. I can see His compassion, His grace, His unfailing love, His strength in my weakness, His power over all circumstances, His trustworthiness, His faithfulness, His protection; all in times of hardship and in times of tranquility.

I sure hope that this week in scripture gave you some new perspective too. I hope that you related to these stories as much as I did. I wish we could sit down with a cup of coffee and talk through the things we learned. I've so enjoyed sharing with you ladies and can't believe we are almost done. I've chosen lots of questions this week that might allow us to share some of our life experiences with each other. Remember, you don't have to answer them all!

Alright, grab a cup of coffee or tea or whatever you like and let's have ourselves a little "chat" over our questions. Love you ladies!

1. Can you think of a time when God asked you to turn from something but wasn't specific as to what He wanted you to move toward? (Page 148)

2. What was your definition of legalism on page 150? How did you tie Matthew 23:25-26 into your definition?

3. Can you think of a time in your life when God used something that was intended for harm to bring about good? (Page 154)

4. Do you agree that surrender is about the will and trust is about the heart? Why or why not?

About our get-together, I think we were all in unison to bring our favorite brunch food and that we should include the pumpkin muffins. Anyone ready to try the pumpkin muffins? I can't wait to see you all Saturday! I'll be emailing you directions and specifics. Have a good last week in this study!

Brown Bagel Bears

2008-10-27T19:13:00.000-05:00

Can you guess what letter of the alphabet we were studying when we did this snack? Oh, homeschooling has so many perks! Why else would a mother actually purchase Cookie Crisp? Well, other than the fact that it is Daddy's favorite cereal.

No Other Gods-Week 6 and a Get-Together!

2008-10-25T11:33:00.005-05:00

Okay, this week was all about focusing on the God of Gods. Let's talk about Him first and then I'll give you some get-together info. :) Here are your discussion questions for this week.

1. What practical steps can we take toward improving our ability to sit, listen, and call on God? Has anything specifically worked for you? Can you tell a big difference when you do those things?

2. Have you ever had an experience with a physical idol, similar to Alli's experience with the Athena statue? How does it make you feel about your idols?

3. What attributes of God have shown themselves to you this week?

I can't wait to read your responses! Now, onto the party!

Can you believe this is already week 6? We only have two weeks left! You know what that means don't you? A Get-Together! Any of you located anywhere near St. Louis, we'll be getting together at Dianna's place for brunch on November 8th. So I have a few questions for you about our Get-Together, of course, involving food! :) To the Central-ladies, I'll be sending you info with time and directions, etc. If you aren't a Central girl, but would like to come, email me at hdvogel@gmail.com and I'll include you in the details!

This book has lots of recipes in it and they sound so scrumptious to try. We already have expressed desire for the pumpkin muffins and pot roast, but that doesn't necessarily sound like brunch? Maybe it does to you? Okay, so I'm thinking either we all pick a recipe from the book to try and bring it to the brunch or we all bring our favorite brunch food to share. Which would you rather do? Any other suggestions? Include your answers in the comments below and whether or not you will be attending. I'm getting hungry just thinking about it. Good thing it's almost lunch time. Love you ladies! Have a wonderful week!

E-I-E-I-O and U and A and Sometimes Y

2008-10-23T21:24:00.001-05:00

I picked these up last year to help Miss A with learning her short vowels. She loved them. Now that Miss A is actually reading this year, she picked them up and wanted to do the whole box (at the same time). She did it! In about 10 minutes! They are a fantastic way to reinforce or teach reading skills. Looks like I'll be getting these soon or maybe these.

Have I Told You Lately That I Love You?

2008-10-21T09:48:00.004-05:00

Have I told you there's no one else above you

Fill my heart with gladness

Take away all my sadness

Ease my troubles thats what you do

Okay, so I'm not really a Rod Stewart fan, but the lyrics are fitting. I feel so honored to have been given some awards and I want to pass them along to a few of you. First of all, Mama Hen over at Clucks from the Henhouse gave me this award. Isn't it pretty?
To translate the gift from Portuguese to English, it means:
This blog invests and believes, the proximity. [meaning, that blogging makes us 'close' -being close through proxy]. They all are charmed with the blogs, where in the majority of its aims are to show the marvels and to do friendship; there are persons who are not interested when we give them a prize, and then they help to cut these bows; do we want that they are cut, or that they propagate? Then let’s try to give more attention to them! So with this prize we must deliver it to 8 bloggers that in turn must make the same thing and put this text.

So, I'm supposed to send this to eight other bloggers. I'm going to break the rules and do three. These are the three bloggers who I miss dearly in real life and enjoy their blogging so much to keep in "close proximity." Heather, Chandra, and Meghan, this award is for you too! I love you ladies!

1. Life with the Jenkins
2. Little Boys Blue Crew
3. The Bumgarner Family

The next award came from Tyler at Titus 2:3-5. It's the BFF award. I wish I could give her a second one of these, because I really enjoy her blog. We have many things in common, including a love for Women's Ministry, and I would just love to meet her in real life sometime. Thanks for the award!

I'm passing this one along to two women who I also would love to meet in real life sometime.

First of all, Lindsey at The Carlson Crew. We share a kindred bond in the loss of our children and I just want to wrap my arms around her and give her a hug! She has had a really difficult year, yet her blog is so inspirational. We have a secret plan to meet at Cinderella's Castle in DisneyWorld. We're just waiting patiently for God's provision. :)

Second, Carrie at Life is Like a Mountain Railway. You know why I want to meet you! ;) Carrie stumbled across my blog and started communicating to do the No Other Gods Study with me. She has a great love for God, her children, homeschooling, organizing, bargain shopping, and is one of the most generous women I know! I would love to meet her in real life and give her a big hug too!

All Good Things Must...

2008-10-20T11:16:00.000-05:00

Come to an end. Let the new phase begin. Sigh.

No Other Gods-Week Five

2008-10-18T10:09:00.005-05:00

Oh I pray that you all have had a great week doing this study! This was a week rich in scriptures that speak to me in new ways each time that I read them. Maybe you feel the same way.

The Israelites in the desert. Joshua and Caleb. The Rich Young Ruler. Abraham and Sarah and Isaac. All these stories I've heard time and time again, yet they spoke to me anew.

Let's get started with the questions this week. There were too many great ones to choose from. Decide which ones speak most to you and comment on those or just comment on something that really struck you this week. Basically, say whatever you want to, we're listening!

1. Without getting into specific idols, unless you feel that pull, discuss how craving an idol is different than wanting it or needing it. (Page 103)

2. What does it mean to say God "over-fills" our desire for sin (page 105)? Is God just being spiteful? What are some good reasons that He might "over-fill" our lusts? Have there been times when this has happened to you? If so, share as you are willing.

3. Have you ever tasted or brought back fruit from a future promise that had not been fully realized? In other words, have you ever experienced a glimpse of what God promised you would eventually have in full? If so, describe your experience and whether or not it gave you the faith to keep pressing on. (Page 108)

I'll be back tomorrow to post my answers. We've got groceries and parades and banks and bills to contend with today.

By the way, you all had wonderful and insightful answers last week and I really enjoyed reading them. Thanks so much for sharing in this study with me and for your perseverance. Oh, and I totally forgot to post my answers last week. I'll go comment on last week tomorrow too!

Check back in later this week because I'm going to put up a post about our little get-together! Have a wonderful fall weekend!

The Best Part of Baking Apple Pie

2008-10-16T09:52:00.004-05:00

Why is it that I give them an apple to eat and they ask me to peel it. Then, we peel a ton of apples for apple pie and they ask if they can eat the peels?

By the way, the pies were fabulous, but I forgot to take a finished picture! We used this recipe. I mean, if someone can bake an apple pie, wouldn't it be Paula? They looked beautiful and were delish! Um, we cheated and used refrigerated roll out pie crusts! Please don't tell Paula. :)

No Other Gods-Week Four

2008-10-11T08:09:00.004-05:00

Aimee had her baby this week! Click here to meet Grant and send Aimee some love. She had just finally gotten her book a week ago and then had a very busy week this week with a family member's surgery and the birth of her baby, so continue lifting her family up in prayer this week. Congratulations Aimee!

This week's study probably stepped on a lot of our toes. I know it did mine! I have always loved the story of Rachel and Leah and for the exact reasons of what we studied this week. Why is it that we can't seem to get past the fact that the grass is NOT always greener on the other side? It always seems like it is, but it never is! We get to the other side and get everything we want, and then suddenly we look back over the fence at the very side we just came from and it looks greener over there!

This idea is true in so many areas of our lives, but as women I think marriage vs. singleness and pregnancy vs. infertility is one area that affects every single one of us at different times in our lives. Ooh to be content with the portion that I am given and fill myself up with Him alone! It is a daily battle and one that I will never give up on! Let's continue to battle it together!

Here's this week's questions. I'll be back this afternoon to give my answers. "Talk" to you then. Have a wonderful Saturday ladies!

1. Describe a time when you finally got the very thing/person you had longed for and it didn't make you as happy as you thought it would. (page 89)

2. Write about something/someone you don't have but are convinced would make you happy if you could obtain it. (page 89)

3. On page 93 you read, "People will do far crazier things when something threatens their ultimate thing." Can you think of examples from the Bible or from current news?

Swatting Sounds

2008-10-09T15:20:00.000-05:00

This is another "game" we've been doing in school. That pretty flower there that Miss A is holding is actually a fly swatter that my mom gave us. It was too pretty for me to use on the flies, so we went with the sweet revenge instead. Anyway, that left me trying to find a good way to use the swatter. So, we came up with a little game that is adaptable for many different things. Here's how we're using it.

Miss C. is still learning letter sounds and matching capital and lowercase together. So, she spreads all her letter cards on the floor and Miss A and I yell out either a letter or it's sound. She runs around the room until she finds it and then swats it with the too-pretty-for-flies-fly-swatter. They laugh hysterically and she LOVES IT.

Miss A loved it so much that she wanted to play, so we came up with a more sophisticated game for her. Since she is learning to read, we used her sight word flashcards. She spread them all over the floor and then I yelled out a different word and she had to go swat it.

It is a fantastic game, though I don't recommend doing it before naptime as it is NOT a "calming" game. Oh, and you might want to reinforce the swatter with a little duct tape. Not that I had to do that or anything. Maybe I should do a lesson on the art of gentle swatting. Gentle swatting, is that an oxymoron?

We might even start using this game for math. This would be a great way to practice math facts too. Anyone else have an idea for how to use the too-pretty-for-flies-fly-swatter-now-reinforced-with-duct-tape?

No Other Gods-Week Three

2008-10-03T18:28:00.005-05:00

Is it just me or is it easier to see the false gods in other people's lives than it is to see the ones in your own life? I spent this week traveling with my children to visit my family and help with some "family projects" while my husband stayed home to work. I was gone for five days and four nights.

While doing my studies in the evenings, for whatever reason, all the things of the day related to other people's gods were the first things that came to mind. I had to spend some time really focusing on setting aside all of their false gods to hear God talking to me about my own false gods.

It's amazing how many different things we can make into gods and how easily we do it. If you don't believe that, just spend some time with family and you'll see it!

I'm really enjoying this study and enjoying your comments, but can I just say that tearing down these lies and idols is hard work! I'm getting more and more excited about the day that there will be no gods to tear down, no temptations to have other gods, only satisfaction in the one true God!

I don't want to miss the process of putting Him first though. That's why I really loved this quote from this week's study. On page 70, Kelly writes, "Of course, we may feel grief when parting with something we enjoy, but if true conviction is present, we will begin to look at that thing as something that was taking the place of God, something that was stealing from us. As we rid it from our lives we will be hopeful with anticipation, anxious to see what God will do in this newly-created space. We will not look for loopholes. We will be resolved. We will know that we are in a position to gain, not to be stolen from any longer."

I want to not be stolen from any longer. I want my family to not be stolen from any longer, but I can only tear down the false gods in my own life. It's not easy, but I am hopeful about what God will create in those spaces. Let's get busy making some space. :)

Thanks so much for your comments last week, I can't wait to hear from you this week! Here are our questions.

1. Look back at the first few questions on day 2 (p. 61). Were all three things that the serpent said about the fruit true? If you answered yes, why is that a frightening fact?

2. Sometimes we second guess our ability to hear God, wondering, "Did I really hear God right when He said...?" How do you deal with such questions?

3. Is there anything you've been convinced to give up this week? Is so, tell about it.

Friday Night Church

2008-10-02T21:30:00.001-05:00

I was sitting in Friday Night Church two weeks ago with Miss A who is 5 years old now. It was time for communion and the poor girl was just famished. She was whining, I mean, asking me why I wouldn't let her have any bread and juice, because she was just starving. I politely told her to be quiet and that we would talk to Daddy about it when we got home.

Fast Forward a few hours....

Daddy has a lovely and very heartfelt conversation with Miss A about how you have to believe in Jesus and accept Him as your Savior before you can do communion. She says, "I believe in Jesus." So, they have a lengthy discussion about how you can say you believe in Jesus, but do you really know what it means, etc. She is adamant, "I believe in Jesus. I'm ready to take communion."

Then the conversation moves to baptism and when you are ready to be baptized and what it means, etc. I interject a lovely little story about how Mommy got baptized when she was 6-years-old. I talked to our pastor and answered all the questions the right way, but I wasn't quite sure now that I really understood what it meant at the time. So she needed to make sure that she knew exactly what it means first.

Daddy told the story of how he was baptized when he was 11 years old and it was because he did something wrong and knew that he had done something wrong and needed Jesus as his Savior.

She insisted, "Then I will get baptized when I am 10. Is 10 okay?" More discussion followed, as you can imagine.

Fast Forward a week...

We're getting ready to go to Friday Night Church again. On her way out to the van I catch Miss A saying this to Miss C. "I get to sit in church with Mommy again tonight. I have to be quiet and just sit there. And, I can't take communion because I haven't been baporated."

Baporated? Obviously she understands it all perfectly.

Talk Amongst Yourselves Tuesday

2008-09-29T21:32:00.000-05:00

Miss C wants to know, "Do you see God on TV?"

No Other Gods-Week 2

2008-09-26T16:22:00.003-05:00

Hey ladies! I'm putting this up a little early this week because I have a house full of people coming and know I won't have time to get it up tomorrow. As it goes today I've been reminded of my internal battle between my Mary and my Martha.

I've got brownies baked, apple pies cooling on the counter, chili in the crock-pot, a sparkling clean house, and here I am trying to "squeeze" in time to post the Bible Study questions. I wish I could say that I put this first today, but instead I find that I let myself get all the other "gods" done before I sat down to honor My God! Another learning experience and reason I am so grateful that you all have joined me in this study. This is definitely a phase of my life where I need to do some god de-throning! Thanks so much for studying this with me!

I really enjoyed your comments last week. God always amazes me in how much I can learn from other women. We all have struggles and yet they all are different, but we can come together and read the same scriptures and God will speak to each one of us in an entirely different way. What a wonderful God we serve!

I just want to encourage you this week to do as Kelly mentioned and make sure to set aside time five different days this week to do your study. Put Him first! Alright, here are this week's discussion questions. Again, answer as many as you desire. I'll be back Sunday to post my answers! Love you all and loving learning about you through your comments!

1. Is there one thing you've always thought might help you gain identity? From this week's study, how have you been convicted that this one thing may not deliver what it promises?

2. From page 41, describe a time when God was not showing up fast enough for you and you were convinced you had to fix things on your own.

3. What are some says that we turn God's gifts into gods as the Israelites did in Exodus 12?

4. Which verses on page 50 (about fear) struck you the most. What touched you? How did a verse or verses relate to your idols and/or fears?

If you recognized any fears in your life this week, send me and email and we'll pray for them with you! I can't wait to hear your comments!

Family Field Trip: It's Golden!

2008-09-25T13:42:00.001-05:00

Remember the Red Plate and all the accomplishments we plan to use it for?

First day of Kindergarten: Check.

First Olympic Gold Medal: Check.

That's right, Olympic Gold! As her father says, "She won it in the 300 meter individual medley relay." Here's a closer look.

You looked too close, didn't you? Yes, it actually says Men's Volleyball on it. ;) Okay, so here's the guy who really earned it. His name is Scott Touzinsky. You can read all about him here. That's his wife Angel in the background. She's my husband's cousin, so we now have an Olympic Gold Medalist in our family. We are so proud of him!

They were visiting his family in St. Louis and were able to find some time in between an interview with local radio and throwing out the first pitch at the Cardinals game, to meet all of us and share the medal with us. He is a wonderful guy and we had a great time getting to see them (and the medal of course!)

Thanks so much Scott and Angel for sharing your medal with us! We enjoyed getting to see you! Hopefully we'll see you again before your next gold medal!

The girls were really into watching the Olympics with us this summer and we've studied about the history of the Olympics in our homeschooling, so this was a great field trip to get to see and hold one in real life! The girls thought it was so cool to get to actually see one of the medals they had been seeing on TV!

So, what is your favorite Olympic sport to watch? I'm all about the gymnastics and swimming, what about you?

Loser Lowdown List

2008-09-24T14:02:00.006-05:00

1. I love The Biggest Loser. Have I mentioned that before?

2. What's with Jillian giving marriage/life counseling? I love Jillian, but I was really disappointed in the pathetic advice she gave Michelle. "Her mother did the best thing she could by leaving her father because she wasn't happy?" Hello? For better or worse? How about, you are not to blame for your parents' divorce. You can CHOOSE to forgive her, forget the past because you cannot change it, and work on the relationship NOW.

3. The Grey Team and The Yellow Team really needed to be at the ranch longer, I didn't want either team to leave.

4. Having said #3, I thought the Yellow Team should have gone because they were the ones who "gambled" to put themselves under the yellow line.

5. Having said #4, I thought the Grey Team should have gone because they technically had the lowest weight loss for the week.

6. I'm obviously torn about the decision.

7. I'm obviously a little too into the whole show.

8. Instead of my typical ice cream snack while watching the show, I chugged the rest of my water for the day!

9. I spent the whole night getting up to pee.

10. That was way too much information and not about The Biggest Loser at all.

11. I want a big hill, a big water slide, and a big clock. That workout looked like a lot more fun than my treadmill and weights! :)

12. I always thought "The Ranch" was out in the middle of nowhere. Funny, seemed to be a lot of traffic on the street at the end of the water slides!

13. The husband actually watched this episode with me. He got all excited about Rocco's cheap recipes, added up how much it would cost to just repeat the seven recipes four times a month. Didn't say another word about it once they showed what the recipes were. Did anyone else find that none of the recipes looked even remotely appetizing?

14. I loved that Bob removed the yellow line in the gym. However, I think he was a little too worked up over a big piece of tape.

15. I could do without Jillian's cursing at the contestants.

16. I could do without the contestants cursing back at Jillian.

17. I think the lack of ice cream and chocolate is making me a little too opinionated.

18. I couldn't end on an odd number, does that make me odd or just a big loser?

Learning with Finger Paints

2008-09-23T14:43:00.000-05:00

What a little finger paint won't do for motivation! It looks like a huge chunk of snot on Miss O's paper, but that is just what yellow finger paint looks like if you don't use it within the first year, apparently.

Miss C practicing handwriting with finger paints. She's right-handed. I wonder what her left hand was getting paint for, hmmm?

Miss A doing her spelling words and sight words with finger paints. Spatial relations aren't really her specialty. Miss O doing what she does best with finger paints, milk, yogurt, snot, poop, you know anything squishy and smearable.

I'm Just Sayin'

2008-09-22T14:19:00.002-05:00

I saw Miss O doing this at lunch yesterday. I thought to myself, "Self, what on earth is your child doing putting a carrot in her eye?"

Then, I remembered this...

Maybe I'll stop pushing the whole carrots are good for your eyes thing, at least until I get a new type of mascara. I'm Just Sayin'.

No Other Gods-Week 1

2008-09-20T07:14:00.004-05:00

Are you ready for this? I am super pumped about this study. God's really been working on me in some specific areas of my life and I anticipate that He is just going to make it even clearer through this study. I'm sure I'll be sharing more about that in the weeks to come, but for now, I want to welcome you!

Aimee-I am so glad you are joining us, and we can't wait to celebrate the birth of your baby with you! I hope that you are able to kick your feet up these last few weeks and really soak God in with us!

Nancy-I so enjoy seeing your beautiful face every week at church. I'm praying for you in the adoption process and hope to be celebrating with you too soon! Oh, and we can totally hold you accountable, if you really want us to. :)

Carrie-I'm glad you stumbled upon my blog too! You're probably the most sleepless one of us right now, so we'll forgive any grammar and spelling errors in your comments, though Aimee will be rivaling you for that position soon. :) With your husband doing school and working, I'm sure it is difficult to have a break from the kiddos. I hope that you will be able to find some special time for you to grow in Him each week with this study and with us here on the blog!

Kim-I'm looking forward to doing this study with you too. I've already been enjoying your blog and getting to know you some that way! You'll be our resident NOG expert, so please feel free to impart any wisdom you have from doing this a second time. I love how much God can give us a fresh perspective each time we study His Word.

Dianna-I hope the family travel has been going well and pray you will make it safely home. I miss your joyful presence on Monday nights, and I'm totally looking forward to what God does through this Bible Study too!

Kari-Kari didn't make it to the roll call because she is having some technical difficulties, but she will be joining us also. I'll let her introduce herself in her first comment, but I'll just tell you that she is another one of my Monday night Bible Study friends from this summer and she is the sweetest thing! She's a teacher and in the throws of a new school year, so I'll be praying for her to find time too. I can't wait to see how God works in your life through this study as well Kari!

Okay, so that makes seven of us. I think that is a great number. We should have a wonderful time getting to know each other and really be able to pray for each other and learn from each other over the next 8 weeks. I would really like to make prayer an important part of this study, so if you would like, please send me a brief email each week telling me a specific way we can all be praying for YOU. I'll then put them all together and send out a group email so that we can be praying together. Send them to hdvogel@gmail.com Alrighty then, let's get started...

Here are this week's discussion questions. Feel free to answer any or all of them as you feel led.

1. Think of a few examples of functional gods in our society. (top of page 15) Are there any new functional gods you've come across this week?

2. Can you think of any biblical character who had the same plight or idol you are dealing with? How can this person's story help you to put aside your idol?

3. Share the situation you wrote about in response to the Personal Reflection prompt on page 20. Did reading about the Israelites make you feel any better or give you any comfort about your situation?

4. Share your answers from the bottom of page 23. What skills do you have that you can use for God's glory? Help one another think how you can use your skills in your church or community.

5. At the very end of the week on page 27, we were given a Creative Reflection challenge. If you came up with one, share it with us!

See you in the comments, and remember to check back often to add more to the discussion! Have a great week in the Word!

Family Field Trip: The Apples of My Eye

2008-09-18T21:05:00.009-05:00

You want to know one of the great things about homeschooling? We get to go on field trips as a family! We went out for our first field trip this past week. Miss C is studying the letter A this week, we're studying trees and seeds in science, and our read-aloud for the week is Johnny Appleseed. Any guesses where we went?

Well, the apple orchard, of course!

I grew up going to the apple orchard every year (and the peach orchard, and the strawberry patch, and the pumpkin patch, etc.), and I have such fond memories of it. The fun tractor ride out into the orchard.

Searching for the perfect apples, which were always up really high. Just high enough, in fact, that we HAD to climb on Daddy's shoulders to reach them!

Eating apples right off the tree.

The smell of apple cider and apple butter and all things apple inside the "Country Store". And, of course, posing on a silly bench with silly faces just so Mommy can get a family picture.

We went on Monday and the girls are still talking about it. I think the youngest one keeps sneaking into the kitchen and taking bites of the apples. What do you think?

Works For Me Wednesday-Weight Loss Accountability

2008-09-17T09:25:00.004-05:00

After having four kids in five years, my body is in desperate need of an extreme makeover. I've been trying for awhile now, but with no success.

A few confessions. I love food. I don't like cooking. I do love exercise. But, I also love sleep.

The last five years, there has been a lot of food. Not much cooking. Some exercise. Not much sleep. What does that add up to? A lot of extra weight and unhealthiness.

I want to be the healthy mom that I imagine myself to be physically. I want to be the healthy woman that I imagine myself to be spiritually. Through my Bible Study and prayer time these past few months, God has really been working on me and how much I need to DEAL with this area of my life.

So, no more excuses, I want to GET IT DONE! But, how do I do it? Here's my approach, and so far, it's working!

1. Call upon God for His help! Seriously, we are able to call upon the same power that resurrected the body of Christ! Why have I tried so many times to do this in my own power when I have access to the All Powerful Creator? (Check out the book Faithfully Fit for some daily inspiration with regard to this!)

2. Have Bible Study and prayer time every morning. Yes, I love sleep. I am NOT a morning person. But, I'm letting God know that I am serious about putting Him first and breaking this stronghold (because that really is what it is!) Up at 5:30 I will be! I've learned that if I wait to do this later in the day, someone always needs me and it doesn't happen. But, they can't need me when they are fast asleep in the mornings. (Check out Breaking Free and No Other Gods for studies in putting God first!)

3. Pick a diet plan and stick to it! I'm choosing to do Weight Watchers (not meetings though, I'm also working on our budget). I've had a little success with it before, but didn't hang in long enough. Any sensible diet plan works if you believe in it and actually do it!

4. Pick an exercise plan and stick to it! I'm doing the Body for Life weights and also walking 1 hour a day. (The hour exercise may seem like overkill, but it is a spiritual walk with prayer time for me. Read the book PrayerWalk to learn more.) I've been doing it for two weeks now, and I feel so much better already! I really am one of those rare people that likes exercise, so this works for me, but this and this and this are great options too.

5. Find some accountability! This is the best part of it all. I have started a new private blog with another female friend who is struggling with exactly the same thing as me. Together we are going to do this. We've committed to one month to start with, and halfway through the month, I don't think either one of us will come remotely close to quitting there!

We are each posting our daily menus, our exercise, and weigh-ins. We're encouraging each other through Bible Study and prayer. There is something amazing about knowing that someone else is praying for you in this area that is so helpful. There are tons of weight-loss sites out there where you can become part of a community, and I'm sure they are helpful.

What I like about a private blog with one other person, is that you KNOW when they have not posted. You can help figure out how to improve diet and exercise. You can PRAY for each other daily! It is wonderful! My weight-loss partner lives 2 hours away, so you can choose any one to do this with! Also, you don't have to be on the same schedule. I post when I have time, she posts when she has time!

6. I'm expecting great things to happen. No more wondering if my plan will work. I know it will. Why? Because when you call upon the God of the Universe, you can EXPECT great things to happen!

Anyone else out there have experience with weight-loss accountability? What other recommendations do you have?

That's what is working for me. There are hundreds of ladies posting things that work for them over at Rocks in My Dryer, go check them out!

The Losers Are Back!

2008-09-16T21:00:00.000-05:00

There are tons of shows on TV that I like and would watch if I had no other commitments in life. But there are two shows that I watch no matter how many commitments I have. They are the two shows that I will carve out a space in my schedule to make sure that I see them. Now you might think I'm going to say Grey's Anatomy, or ER, or Desperate Housewives. Nope.

I'm talking The Biggest Loser and LOST. LOST won't be back on til next year, but tonight was the night for The Biggest Loser Season Premiere! I got all the kiddos in bed early, snuggled into my little spot, and spent a blissful two hours watching other fat people motivate me. Ahhhhh. Such is the life of an American. :)

No Other Gods-Roll Call!

2008-09-12T23:04:00.003-05:00

Today is the day! I'm so excited to get started with this study! My book came a few weeks ago and I have been wanting to dig into it ever since, but I have been patiently waiting. Okay, so I actually just had a lot going on and didn't have time to dig into it, but whatever. I was still patient, right? If you know me well, you know that patience is not really my strongest fruit of the Spirit. On that note, let's jump in.

First, let me explain how this will work.

1. There are five days of study for each of the 8 weeks. Do them whenever you can throughout the week, just have them done by Saturday.
2. Each Saturday morning, I will put up a post with some of the questions from the leader's guide in the back of the book to spark some "comment" discussions. Feel free to jump on the blog at any time during the week and join the discussion. You can comment on Saturday and then come back on Monday and add some more, whatever you have time for or feel compelled to do. We may have better discussions and get to know each other better by stopping by a few times a week. I'll keep the "latest post" link on the right sidebar to make it easy to find.

I'm hoping and praying that our lives will be changed through this study. This is one of those topics that I don't think you can study too often or too much. We must constantly be making sure who is on the throne in our lives, and getting rid of anything or anyone that doesn't belong there!

If you just stumbled across this post and want to join, it's not too late! Order the book from LifeWay here and then download the first week's worth of material and jump in. If you ordered your book, and it's still not in, then you can download the first week too.

So, if you are committed to joining us for these 8 weeks, introduce yourself in the comments below. Tell us a little about yourself and what you hope to get out of this study! Thanks so much for joining us, I hope to know you all well by the end of this study. Have I mentioned that I LOVE being in God's Word with other women? Well, I DO! So, let's get started! I'll introduce myself in the first comment. See you there.

Pinkadoodledoo, Where Are You?

2008-09-10T22:09:00.003-05:00

Apparently I hit 100 posts and then dropped off the blogosphere. Where have I gone?

1. Lake Day
2. Grocery Shopping/CVS/Walgreens/Staples/Wal-Mart
3. Impromptu Golden Field trip (more on this as soon as I can get some pictures to work).
4. Filming a testimony video.

I'll be back soon to fill you in on the above list. For now, I'm getting to bed at a decent hour and having sweet dreams filled with days of relaxation and not a responsibility in sight. Nighty Night!

100th Post, For Such A Time As This!

2008-09-05T09:39:00.003-05:00

I know your 100th post is supposed to be 100 things about yourself. I don't really think there are 100 things to write about myself, I am seriously uncultured and well, um, for lack of a better word, boring! Here are 9 things about myself, sort of.

1. My favorite Bible character is Esther.
2. I've always wanted to name one of my daughters Esther, but we choose names based on meaning and Esther means star. I decided if I ever have a daughter born around Christmas, I will name her Esther Noel (Star of Christmas), though the husband is not convinced of this.
3. I've had four daughters. None of them born at Christmas, thus, none of them named Esther.
4. I stayed up way tooooooo late last night and the night before watching the Palin and McCain speeches at the RNC.
5. I'm actually excited about this election now, For Such A Time As This!
6. My favorite Bible Study teacher is Beth Moore.
7. Her latest study coming out in November is ESTHER!
8. Check out the trailer here. I am far more excited about this than I am about my 100th post, and the timing, it is CRUCIAL!
9. Just a thought, Esther will be out right when we are done with No Other Gods!

Costume Fridays

2008-09-05T09:15:00.000-05:00

This is what the girls got dressed in on this Friday morning before starting school. One more bonus of homeschooling. No one can look at them strange for going to school that way, and I DON'T HAVE TO FIGHT THEM TO CHANGE THEIR CLOTHES!

I think we may have accidentally created a new tradition, costume Fridays. Welcome to the V Academy, where fashion takes an ugly turn every Friday.

Name That Picture

2008-09-04T11:36:00.000-05:00

Got your guess?

Scroll down for the answer, because I'm sure you are bumfuzzled right about now.

Oh, you might think that is a half-eaten pickle on a fork, but you would be mistaken! According to Miss C, that is a pickle paint roller with which she "painted" the entire table before eating it. Disgusting, I tell you, disgusting!

Works For Me Wednesday

2008-09-03T07:47:00.005-05:00

Okay, so I love reading Rocks In My Dryer's Works-for-Me Wednesday, but I never participate because I don't usually have anything productive to share. However, this week it is a BACKWARDS week! That means I get to post a question that you all can help me with! I know, it's a little selfish, only participating when I can get instead of give. I promise to give back, as soon as I can think of something that might actually help people.

Anywho, here's my question. I need to take better care of this here face God has given me. I'm in my early 30's now (holy cow, when did that happen?) and I typically just use a facial wipe thingie (technical huh?). I would really like to start using some kind of system with cleanser, toner, moisturizer, etc.

There are two conditions though...

1. Must be sort of fast and easy to do. I'm wiped at the end of the day (pun intended).

2. Must be fairly cheap.

Okay, what do you recommend?

Now, head over to Rocks-in-My-Dryer and check out all the other things people need help with today. There's bound to be something you can help with!

Random Eavesdropping

2008-09-02T14:47:00.004-05:00

A Lifeguard's Worst Nightmare

Barbie played by Miss A.

Polly Pocket played by Miss C.

Barbie: "Hey, don't you all think maybe we should take swimming lessons. This pool is getting a little crowded with all the rafts."

Polly Pocket: "Maybe we should. This is kind of dangerous."

A Better Bear-Bear

2008-08-30T13:32:00.001-05:00

Apparently kids can learn a lot from Reading Rainbow. Even things like how to make a mummy. Seriously.

We were doing a history lesson on the Egyptians. I wasn't aware how much my children already knew about the Egyptians from Reading Rainbow. We got into a great discussion about how silly it is that they thought the kings needed all their treasures and food and stuff after they died. How silly it is because you can't really take things with you to heaven.

Then it started. The tears. The whining. The d-r-a-m-a. "But, I just have to take Bear-Bear with me! I can't go without Bear-Bear! I would miss her!"

A little background on Bear-Bear. My grandmother gave Miss A Bear-Bear as a gift when she was a baby. She used to say a prayer and snore. (Bear-Bear, not Grandma, though Grandma is famous for that too.) After her battery wore down to the point that she sounded like a demon and it scared Miss A half-to-death in the middle of the night, we had to do a "surgical removal of the battery." Bear-Bear survived the surgery and has gone on to sleep with Miss A every single night for the past 4 years. They are attached.

So you can see why she would be concerned that she can't take Bear-Bear with her. I finally was able to convince her that Jesus was preparing an EVEN BETTER Bear-Bear for her to snuggle with in heaven, and that seemed to ease the pain. Somehow, when she gets to heaven, I don't think she'll even care about Bear-Bear anymore. I mean, when you've got Jesus, who needs Bear-Bear?

I'm just left wondering, will there really be a Better Bear-Bear, or did I lie to my child? Things that make you go hmmmmm.

AH-HAH!

2008-08-29T22:25:00.000-05:00

FOUND ONE! I almost did a cartwheel in the gas station when I saw it. Instead, I photographed it for the blog. That was a much better option for all involved.

Now, is that a Spraw or a Stroon? What do you call it?

The Boxcar Children

2008-08-28T20:56:00.006-05:00

Part of our homeschool curriculum this year involves read-alouds that are chapter books. I completely did not think that my children were ready for chapter books. The oldest two are 5 and 4. I thought it would be awhile before they could actually listen and comprehend. (I'm sure this has nothing to do with their listening and comprehension skills when it comes to doing something when I ask them to.)

Well, I LOVE reading. Have I told you that before? I have been gearing up since Miss A was born for the day that we would be able to read chapter books together. I have a great list of all the books we need to read together. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Little House on the Prairie, SuperFudge, Ramona the Pest, etc. It goes on and on and on.

First up in our curriculum's list of read-alouds was The Boxcar Children. I actually had never read it, but was excited to give it a go. I TOTALLY DID NOT EXPECT the girls to get into it. I sort of thought, "I'll read this first chapter and they won't know a single thing I said, and then we'll struggle with this all year." I am obviously not a the-glass-is-half-full-kind-of-gal.

I got out The Boxcar Children on our first day of school and told the girls the concept of a chapter book. (Other than the Bible, every book we have ever read them could be finished in one sitting or finished 500 times in one sitting.) They nodded excitedly and nestled in their "reading spot" to listen. We finished one chapter. They. did. not. want. to. stop! They begged me to keep reading. I thought, "Okay, so they liked it, but did they really know what I said?"

I began asking them questions. They answered EVERY SINGLE question correctly. I asked VERY detailed questions, and they knew them all! So, we have jumped into the world of chapter books! I am elated!

The girls decided to tell Daddy how excited they were about their book when he got home after work one night. He knew exactly what they were talking about because he actually read The Boxcar Children when he was a kid.

So, the other night, I asked him to read their chapter to them before bed while I combed hair and cut nails and all that jazz. Here's what the first paragraph said...

"James Henry Alden was a very rich man. His big mills stood just between Greenfield and Silver City. Now J. H. Alden liked boys. He liked to see them running and jumping and playing."

He pauses, looks at me, and says, "What kind of book is this?"

Oh, I was in stitches. I will forever remember our first read-aloud chapter book and the night that Daddy read it to them because that James Henry Alden, he likes boys.

Lest you be concerned, this is actually a very wholesome and great book. The girls LOVED it and did not want it to be over! Alas, we finished it tonight. A new book next week! I can hardly wait! This chapter book thing is just as exciting as I had hoped!

What are your favorite chapter books from childhood? We might just add them to our list. At this rate, we'll be done with the ones for the curriculum by Christmas!

I'm Just Sayin'

2008-08-28T20:50:00.003-05:00

Miss O really wanted to watch TeleTubbies the other day. (Don't ask me why, I haven't a clue.)

Anyway, she comes up to me and says, "Watch Tummytuckies? Watch Tummytuckies?"

I chuckled and thought, "I could use one of those!"

Happy Birthday Miss C!

2008-08-27T14:30:00.003-05:00

We spent the weekend celebrating Miss C's birthday. My Mom and Dad came up to take her out for the day. Mom also made what Miss C thinks was, "the coolest cake ever." It was pretty cool. Thanks Mom!

Anyone Up For a Bloggy Bible Study?

2008-08-26T22:52:00.005-05:00

Alright, do you sometimes feel like no matter how hard you try to give God the top position in your life, there is always something trying to knock Him off the throne of your life? Just when I think I've got it right, something else pops up and tries to get my worship and His rightful position, and most of it is "good" stuff!

Over the summer, Beth Moore hosted a study by Kelly Minter called "No Other Gods" through her blog. I really wanted to participate, but I was in the middle of leading one of Beth's studies at church. I knew that it would be too much to do both at the same time.

Well, we finished Stepping Up Monday night, and now I'm ready to pick up "No Other Gods". I really want to do this with other women, but my schedule right now is not going to allow me to do a face-to-face group, so it got me to thinking. How about my bloggy friends?

The study is really meant to be done in small groups where you share dinner together (it has recipes in it!) That won't be too possible over the blog, but what if you gathered some women who live around you and shared with them and then shared what He is doing in your group over this here blog? Or you can do it by yourself and still share what He is doing in your life? I plan to do it myself and then have a final gathering complete with food using the recipes in the book at the end of the study with some of the ladies who live here and will be joining us.

Here are the details. There are 5 days of homework for each week. We'll do the daily studies on our own. Then, on Saturdays, I will put up a post to prompt a little discussion on the blog. You can put a comment up whenever you have the time throughout the week. The book is an 8-week study. We'll do a "roll call" to see who all is joining us on Saturday, September 13 and then start the first week of study that following week. We'll finish on Saturday, November 8.

The books have to be ordered through LifeWay's website here or bought at a LifeWay Store. MAKE SURE IT IS THE MEMBER BOOK, not the trade book. The Member Book has the recipes and Bible Study in it. The trade book does not. (Many sites sell the trade book, but LifeWay is the only one that sells the Member Book.) We will start September 13 so that you have some time to receive your book if ordering it over the Internet.

I hope that if you are not already in a Bible Study or small group, you will consider joining me. I love myself a good Bible Study, and I love to share the journey with other women! Leave a comment below if you think you might join me! I'd love to have you participate!

Stepping Up-Week Six

2008-08-25T22:10:00.003-05:00

You ladies have just been awesome! I really do feel like we were just starting to bond, and then the study is done. I hope that you will continue to keep me up to date about the things going on in your lives. I really do enjoy hearing about each and every one of you and the many ways God has shown and continues to show Himself real to you on this pilgrimage.

I will just second Beth's words of encouragement to you and pray that you will come to know Him more intimately than you ever dreamed possible. Keep on the high road and remember who your Protector is! May you all be blessed "immeasurably more than you ask or imagine."

Beth asked us at the close of the lesson to share a blessing over someone and we didn't have time to share them in class, so now is your chance! Leave the blessing in the comments (you don't have to say specifically who it is for if you don't want others to know.) You all have been a great blessing to me over the course of our study. Thanks for your diligence in doing your homework, your commitment to our class, and your courage to share what God has been doing in your life! Keep Stepping Up! Keep Stepping Up!

Can You Help A Sister Out?

2008-08-21T14:27:00.003-05:00

I've been trying to combine three things lately and I can't seem to find a GOOD solution. Here are the three things.

1. Eating healthy and losing weight.
2. Reducing our grocery budget.
3. Simplifying my time in the kitchen (and not eating out!)

Here are the issues.

1. Healthy food costs more (i.e. whole grains; lean protein; fresh fruits) than the alternatives.
2. I still have a husband with a big appetite and three little ones to feed.
3. Somewhat picky children (they will eat most vegetables and fruit, the meat is the issue) and a very picky husband (won't eat fish, ham, turkey, or baked chicken, also doesn't like anything remotely creamy which rules out most one-dish dinners).
4. I don't particularly love cooking and am not very good at it. (I can follow a recipe, but can't just throw ingredients together on a whim and have it be very appetizing.) I don't want to fall into cooking something different for me than what I cook for the family.
5. I also don't have a warehouse store any closer than 45 minutes away, and I don't have a ton of time for shopping.

Here are the three things I'm considering trying for the first time or trying again. Any more suggestions?

1. Once a month cooking.
2. A friend recommended e-mealz (thanks Nancy!)
3. Sticking to my healthy menu and cooking from scratch as much as possible to save money.

Here are my questions.

1. What do you do to eat healthy on a budget?
2. How do you simplify your time in the kitchen and keep from eating out?
3. How do you accommodate different tastes in your family while still eating healthy and saving money?

Leave your ideas, recipes, or suggestions in the comments section. Also, there are two really great posts up at the following sites today taking this idea to the next level. They are talking about how to provide meals for others while staying on a budget (not necessarily healthy, but that would make a good post too). Good stuff in the comments. If you have time, you should check them out!

Money Saving Mom
Life As Mom

I'm Just Sayin'

2008-08-20T14:18:00.000-05:00

I read this in three days. First fiction I've read in, oh, maybe 10 years? It was fab-u-lous! So fun! Thanks sis.

Star Wars Episode 2 1/2: A New Mission

2008-08-20T14:00:00.004-05:00

I've been instructed NOT to move them from

the middle of the living room floor.

Apparently they are going to "tell the young people about Jesus."

May the force be with them as I continue to step over them the rest of the day.

Bowling with The Homies

2008-08-19T14:27:00.005-05:00

Yes, this was the weekend we were supposed to go camping. However, Wednesday's forecast for the weekend showed it raining and thunderstorming ALL weekend. We all decided that didn't sound like a fun camping experience so we could just hang out at Grandma and Granddad's house for the weekend instead. Blue skies and not a drop of rain ALL weekend. Don't trust the weather-people. Just don't.

Fun was still had by all, just not of the camping variety. Grandma offered to watch all the grandkids so us couples could go on a triple date. (That is no small feat with this crew, so thanks a million Grandma and Grandad!) Of course we took her up on that offer! What rousing activity did we come up with for our triple date? Well dinner. Because who doesn't go to dinner when given the opportunity to go without children? Then, some bowling. That's right, bowling.

Us ladies hadn't brought socks along, so we made an impromptu stop at the Walgreen's for socks. I learned that Aunt C likes the socks that don't show past the ankles. Apparently she has skinny ankles. Aunt A and I prefer the other ankle ones that go a little higher. Anywho, we bought a three-pack of the other ankle ones and split it. I believe Aunt C will be displaying her autographed socks (by Aunt A, not me, I wasn't signing her stinky socks) somewhere because they aren't the kind she likes to wear.

Well, while us ladies were discussing the finer art of sock-buying, the men wrestled up some lanes for us (had to make it sound like a manly task, like they went all out for us ladies, really the place was pretty empty.) Anyway, can't beat some $1.00 games!

I hadn't been bowling in at least 6 years, probably more. I was aiming for 100. Did better than 100 first game. Second game, not so much. It's more about the company and the ambiance than the game for me any way. I mean who doesn't enjoy a stale smoke smell, stylish slippery shoes, and an always unsuccessful search for the perfect ball.

The ball search thing is quite interesting. I always go for the lightest one, which means that my fingers don't fit in the holes. Light=kids=small finger holes. Clearly, I know a lot about bowling and take great care in choosing the right equipment. A few of us (not giving names) actually own our own balls and shoes. Not kidding. They didn't bring them though. That would have added some great bloggable fun though I'm sure.

Here's the best bowler of the bunch, Uncle M, though I'm sure he would have been even better had he brought along his own ball and shoes, as would have Aunt C. ;)

See the X for strike? Yep, not mine. This one belongs to Aunt A. I didn't get a picture of Aunt C's. There was more than one, but I'm referring to the one where she might have actually broke out into The Running Man or was that The Roger Rabbit, I'm not quite certain.

I lost the picture of Aunt A "shooting a commercial" with her hair blowing in the air-thingy. Priceless. Thanks for a great night out homies!

Stepping Up-Week Five

2008-08-18T22:05:00.003-05:00

I loved Beth's challenge to wise up, encourage one another, and love each other deeply during the video portion of our study this week. So, today on this here blog, let's stand "shoulder-to-shoulder" and share about these three things.

Let's share about a time when someone fulfilled one of these three things for you OR give an idea you have for how to do one of these three things for another sister-in-Christ (and then do it this week)!

1. Wise Up
2. Encourage Each Other
3. Love Each Other Deeply

Random Eavesdropping

2008-08-14T15:26:00.000-05:00

My girls LOVE to color pages in coloring books and then cut out the "people" as dolls, and play house with them. I overheard this comment the other day.

Miss C yells, "My kids are RIPPED!" She said it just like a proud personal trainer, though that's not what she meant.

The Red Plate

2008-08-12T14:16:00.005-05:00

We've had this for a long time now, but we finally have a reason to use it! So fun to see our children getting old enough to enjoy this new tradition. Miss A got to use it all day Monday to celebrate her First Day of Kindergarten. We plan to use this for special occasions such as first day of Kindergarten, graduation from medical school, and our kid's first Olympic gold medals. You know, the traditional milestones! :)

That Didn't Take Long

2008-08-12T13:56:00.003-05:00

Stepping Up-Week Four

2008-08-11T22:35:00.005-05:00

Wow! I really enjoyed our conversations tonight. Thank you ladies so much for speaking up. We all learn so much from each other when we are willing to share what God is doing and has done in our lives.

For those of you who didn't make it, be encouraged to do your homework and come back next week. We're learning so much through our discussion and through Beth's teaching, and I don't want you to miss out! We really miss you when you aren't there!

By the way, I just can't get over the fact that Travis, THAT MAN CAN SING! Hallelujah!

I especially loved Beth's discussion about the Living Proof women dancing. So, here's the topic for our discussion. Do you enjoy dancing? In public or just in the privacy of your own home? What great thing has God done in your life that just made you want to dance with joy? Has anyone ever seen such joy in your life that they wanted to know what the source was?

August Challenge Update-Week 2

2008-08-11T13:04:00.004-05:00

Okay, so I was completely sucked into the Olympics last night and didn't get this post up. (Can you say swimming and gymnastics? LOVE THEM! Oh, and that was one AWESOME race last night!) That, and I'm not really excited about this post. I TOTALLY failed this week! Here's how...

1. The husband called me at 10:30 Thursday morning and asked if the girls and I could be up at the church by 1:00 to do a video shoot for him. Now, I'm not one to disappoint, so I said yes. What I wouldn't do for my man. The problem? I had not showered yet, and the girls were in pajamas, and the house looked like a war-zone. These shoots, you never know how long they will last, so everyone needed to be bathed, dressed, and have eaten lunch before 1:00. I didn't have anything quick to fix, the sandwich stuff was gone, and all that was left were things that needed cooked. I didn't have time for cooking and showering, so I opted for the showering. (I'm sure everyone was grateful even though they didn't know it.) Okay, you guessed it, we went through the drive-thru. AAAAAHHHHHH!

2. The above-mentioned video that was filmed at 1:00 in the afternoon on Thursday had to be completely edited by noon-time on Friday. All the dinner stuff I had left was for the grill. I haven't found a way to safely grill and watch all three children at the same time. Mr. N had to stay at the church until LATE to get the video done. We ordered pizza. AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!

3. Friday night we got invited to go out to eat with some of the volunteers and staff at church. Last time they asked and we said no, I said that we would NOT say no again. We really want to build relationships with people and if you keep saying no, they eventually will stop asking. We've learned that before. So, of course, we went out to eat with a group from church Friday night. It was all in the name of fellowship. :)

4. With the husband's LONG hours, he still wasn't home to grill and we still didn't have any other groceries (because I have also learned to try at all costs to shop without the girls!) So, of course we had to do a drive-thru on the way home from church. AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!

Translation: We had an EAT-OUT BLOW-OUT this weekend. We made it all the way to the 7th without eating out and then ate out like 4 times in 3 days. Needless to say, rule#1 has been broken. But, I am not going for perfection, I'm going for progress. I have not given up on the month. I sat down with receipts and it wasn't as bad as it seemed.

For two weeks of groceries and toiletries I spent $185.00. Looking at this perspective we are under budget. However, add in the $100 spent on those 4 meals and we are OVER budget.

Here's how I'm looking at it.
1. We still did WAY better than we had been doing, even adding in the eating out money, so PROGRESS. Baby-steps, remember?
2. I'm going to try my hardest to use the remaining $200 for the rest of the month. See, all is not lost. Maybe I'll reach my goal for August Challenge Second-Half?

By the way, we are more-than-likely, but not-for-certain going camping this weekend, so my next update won't be until a week from Tuesday probably. Unless we don't go camping, then it will be Sunday. :)

My First Tag!

2008-08-08T22:52:00.002-05:00

I've been tagged by MamaHenClucks for a meme. It's the first tag I've gotten and the first meme I've done. She tagged me a while ago. I've been so busy organizing that I'm just now getting to it. I'm reminded of a little sign at the Hotel Pool "No Lifeguard on Duty, Swim at Your Own Risk". This meme, it's six things you wish you didn't know about me. "No Lifeguard on Duty, Read at Your Own Risk."

Rules of Engagement:
1) Link to the person who tagged you.
2) Post the rules on your blog (copy and paste 1-6).
3) Write 6 random things about yourself (see below).
4) Tag 6 people at the end of your post and link to them.
5) Let each person know they have been tagged and leave a comment on their blog.
6) Let the tagger know when your entry is up.

Six things you wish you didn't know about me:

1. I am PETRIFIED of birds. The wings flapping, oh the flapping, I can't take it.

2. I will "hold it" as long as I have to so as not to use a public restroom. At all costs. Okay, maybe not all costs, but probably longer than I should. (Admit it, you do it too?)

3. I have never traveled outside of the good ole US of A. Can you say, cultured?

4. I get VERY cranky when I don't have soda, mostly Cherry Coke. (Look out kids, Mama is about to give up soda soon. You've been warned.)

5. I still bite my nails. (Disgusting, I know. They are so thin and brittle that they just rip if I try to grow them out. Excuses, excuses.)

6. I am one of they most self-conscious and shy people I know, yet I LOVE public speaking. Seriously, I do. Well, depending on the topic, but if it is something I am passionate about, LOVE it, and why would I talk about something I wasn't passionate about anyway?

There now that wasn't so bad. It took me less time than I thought it would to come up with six things about myself. I must love myself more than I thought. ;) Alright, It's too late to come up with six people to tag right now, so if you want to be tagged, consider yourself tagged!

Organization Overload-Prayer Schedule-What

2008-08-08T16:24:00.003-05:00

Hopefully you read the when I pray post, and now you're ready for the what I pray part. I've come up with a weekly schedule to pray through all the things that I want or need to be praying for regularly. It's a way of reminding myself to talk to God about these things. It's not a to-do list that I must check off. I don't ever want conversations with God to feel like a to-do list that I can just get over with. I want to enjoy time spent with God.

Having said that, have you ever set aside time to pray about specific things and then after about 15 minutes realized that you've covered one thing and ran out of time for the other 10. Not because you were pouring your heart out to God about the one thing, but because you've let your mind wander. You've gotten your entire day planned and decided what to fix for dinner and figured out what you need to get at the store, but now your children are begging for breakfast or needing a diaper change, and you have no focused prayer time left.

That's where my "schedule" comes in. For me, having ideas in front of me keeps me on track. This is how I spend my first 20 minutes of my walking time every morning. I still allow time after my Bible Study later to just listen to God and talk to Him about whatever I feel He is wanting to talk to me about that day.

Here's the basic idea. I have written out a 7 day prayer schedule. I print them on 8 x 11 paper (one for each day of the week). I put them in a small binder, and put it by the treadmill. Every morning I put the binder on the treadmill and pray through the needs on that specific day. Then I leave it by the treadmill and it is ready for the next day.

Each day consists of the following. I love how God reveals His Character in scripture through different Names for Himself. I've chosen one Name of God for each day of the week that is speaking to me right now in my life. Each day is based on one of His names, a scripture related to that Name, and the various ways I need that particular Character of God in my life right now. In addition, I have 7 areas of prayer each day. I just list prompts in these areas, and talk to God more specifically about it each day. Here are the 7 areas.

PRAISE: Different characteristics of God that I am grateful for. Give Him praise for these.
ME:
SPOUSE:
CHILDREN:
FAMILY: In our immediate family (parents and siblings), we have exactly 7 families. So, I pray for one family each day of the week.
FRIENDS: People in our lives we know have specific needs. These change from time-to-time as a result of answered prayer! When they change, I like to write Thanks God next to them and then write someone new down.
NEED/WANT: This one is just for fun! I think God likes to give us blessings, and I don't think He minds at all when we ask Him. So, these are things that we NEED sometimes. Other times it is something we would just like to have! :)

Here's the schedule. I've left off specific family and friend names for privacy reasons. You understand.

SUNDAY
El Roi-The God Who Sees-Philippians 4:4-9
Praise: Comforter/Peace/Presence
Me: Emotions/Thoughts/Anxiety
Spouse: Emotions/Thoughts/Peace
Children: Emotions/Thoughts
Family:
Friends:
Need/Want: New Bed for Miss C

MONDAY
Jehovah-Rophe-The Lord Heals-Jeremiah 30:17
Praise: Compassion/Healer
Me: Health/Diet/Exercise
Spouse: Health/Diet/Exercise
Children: Physical health and growth
Family:
Friends:
Need/Want: Deep Freezer

TUESDAY
Jehovah Jireh-The Lord Provides-Philippians 4:19
Praise:Wisdom/Goodness
Me: Homeschool/Mind
Spouse: Job/Mind
Children: School/Minds
Family:
Friends: Other staff members.
Need/Want: New Car for Husband/Bike for Miss C

WEDNESDAY
Jehovah Shammah-The Lord is There-Psalm 121
Praise:Protector/Love
Me: Marriage/Mothering
Spouse: Marriage/Fathering
Children: Sibling Love
Family:
Friends:
Need/Want: DISNEYWORLD (for us and the Carlsons!)

THURSDAY
Jehovah Mekadesh-The Lord Who Sanctifies You-1 Peter 1:13-16
Praise:Holy/Forgiveness/Mercy
Me: Character/Fruit of the Spirit
Spouse: Character/Daily Devotion/Fruit of the Spirit
Children: Character/Honesty/Obedience
Family:
Friends:
Need/Want: Windows/Siding/Doors

FRIDAY
El Elyon-God Most High-Psalm 57:2
Praise: Sovereign/Faithful
Me: Women's Ministry/Speaking/Blogs
Spouse: Ministry/TentPeg Productions
Children: Future Spouse/Purity/Faith
Family:
Friends:
Need/Want: Digital Camera

SATURDAY
Adonai-Lord and Master-Psalm 16:2
Praise:Lord/Blessings
Me: Priorities/God First
Spouse: Priorities/God First
Children: Priorities/God First
Family:
Friends: Central Christian Church/Our new town
Need/Want: Extra income/Debt reduction

That's my schedule! I hope it is somewhat helpful to you or at least encouraging that spending time with God and making Him priority can be done (even when you have small kids around, or should I say, especially when you have small kids around!) If you are interested in using/adapting this schedule for yourself, leave your email in the comments and I will send you the file to adapt for yourself!

Well, that's all for Organization Overload! Thanks so much for joining me here this week. It's been fun! I still have lots of projects needing organized, so I'm certain there will be more organizing in the future (and probably more about space than time, the closets are overwhelming me!) Have a wonderfully organized weekend!

Organization Overload-Prayer Schedule-When

2008-08-08T14:57:00.003-05:00

You've seen all our organization for getting the school year going, but the most important step in all of it is missing. Prayer. I can organize all I want, but without prayer, my attempts will be futile.

By now, you might be thinking my organization is a little ridiculous, borderline psychotic? I mean, when someone tries to organize prayer, isn't that stepping over the boundaries a little bit? I beg to differ. When I want to make sure that I accomplish something, I plan for it. Why should prayer be any different? I'm not talking about scripting out every conversation with God, that would take away the relationship part and allowing God to speak to me. I'm talking about having simple reminders to make sure I talk to God about the things I want to talk to Him about.

I don't know if you are like me or not, but I do great at talking to God about personal things that He is doing in my life. I do great at talking to Him about things that are "pressing". I do great at talking to Him about friends or family who have needs. However, there are some things that I know I ought to pray for and want to pray for now, but I always put it off until tomorrow. Then tomorrow comes and next week and next month and I still haven't regularly prayed for them! Things like my children's future spouses, my husband's work, our church, etc.

I have read several books about scheduling prayer and they have been helpful, but not easy to use in my life right now with three small children. So, once again, as all organized-type people do, I decided to organize it myself. Here's the result, my weekly prayer plan.

Let me explain when I do this first. I have four main times that I pray.

1. I get up before everyone else in the house. This is NOT easy for me. (Actually I was doing really well, but I stopped for the summer, I'm starting again Sunday!) If you are like me, I cannot just get up and start reading my Bible and praying, I'm NOT AWAKE YET! So, I jump on the treadmill. I have set aside one hour every morning from 5:30-6:30 to walk and commune with God. Read the book PrayerWalk to know why. It actually serves two purposes for me. (Physical and Spiritual exercise!) I spend the first 20 minutes praying. The next 40 minutes I listen to some rockin' praise and worship music on my MP3 player and WORSHIP Him. When I'm done with that, I am ready for Bible Study!
2. I pray over my daily schedule in the shower every morning.
3. I pray for whatever or whoever is on my mind while I do the dishes.
4. I pray over my finances whenever I pay bills, prepare a grocery list, go to the store, etc.

That's when I pray. I'm not saying this would work for everyone, it just works for me! The second half of this post will be what I pray. What about you, when do you pray and do you schedule a regular time to pray?

Organization Overload-Daily Schedule

2008-08-07T20:56:00.003-05:00

After seeing where we will be doing school, I thought some of you might like to see what a day of homeschool looks like (on paper of course). Scheduling for homeschool can be difficult. Try to homeschool without one and you'll find yourself never accomplishing anything. Try to rigidly stick to one and you'll find yourself (and your kids) stressed out.

Basically, the schedule is the goal we aim for each day. It keeps us on target, but we don't stress over it. If math takes extra long, then school gets over a little later. If science goes quickly, then we have more play time. The cool thing about it is that we have the ability to do as much as we want or as little as we want, as long as we accomplish what we need to this year. It's golden.

The key for us is to make sure we start on time every day. If not, we're playing catch-up the rest of the day, and that is not fun! So, start on time and start with the B-I-B-L-E! I really wanted to do everything in the morning, seeing as how it is just Kindergarten! However, I think Science will go much smoother if we do it while Miss O is napping. So, Science will be in the afternoon, everything else in the morning! Here's our schedule. I, of course, typed it out and hung it in the schoolroom and in the kitchen. It is even color-coded. Blue=meals and snacks, Red=school time, Black=everything else. Fancy y'all, fancy!

I couldn't get a picture (or figure out how to upload it), so here is what the schedule says. (As if it can talk?) I've added in links (which totally messes up the color-coded thing by the way), so you can see what curriculum we are using. Just for fun.

DAILY SCHEDULE

7:30 Breakfast
8:00 Chores 1&2
8:45 Bible Time/Character Study/Prayer
9:00 Calendar Time (Weather, Days of Week, Months in Year, etc.)
9:15 Handwriting Miss A & Miss C
9:30 Spelling/Phonics/Reading Miss A & Miss C
10:15 Morning Snack and Break
10:30 Math Miss A & Miss C
11:00 History and Read-Alouds
11:30 Fix Lunch/Play
12:00 Lunch
1:00 Science/Odelia Nap
2:00 Quiet Time TV/Odelia Nap
3:00 Afternoon Snack
3:30 Outdoor Play/PE
5:00 Fix Dinner/Eat Dinner
6:00 Play
7:00 Clean Up Toys/Bathtime/Odelia Bedtime
7:30 Read books quietly in bed/Manners book with Mommy
8:00 Bedtime

Most of you lovely readers (that I know of) aren't homeschooling quite yet (just Chandra and Susan?), but I would love to hear if and how your day is scheduled with little ones. If you would like to share, post a little schedule of your own in the comments!

We've got one more day of Organization Overload. I'm going to finish this out with one more post about time organization. We've got the school stuff ready, now it's time to cover it in daily prayer. See how I organize that tomorrow! Have I triggered your gag reflex yet from the overload?

Organization Overload-NEW SCHOOLROOM-Before

2008-08-06T22:50:00.003-05:00

I love watching HGTV. I love a good before and after. I don't really care about the inbetween. When I watch a show, I typically watch the first 5 minutes to see what it looked like, then I go about my business for 20 minutes, and come back and watch the last 5 minutes. Yes, I do not have a DVR right now. I don't have the fast-forward privilege anymore. :( Consider this the first 5 minutes of the show called, "Ugly Basement Workroom Turned Schoolroom Makeover".

We are beginning our first year of homeschool next week and I had been trying to figure out where to do school. It began with my trying to figure out where to store our school materials out of the way of Miss O while doing school in the dining room. I didn't want the school stuff out where Miss O could get into it or where any dinner guests would be forced to look at it during their meal. So, I did what I always do and I called my sister to brainstorm an idea.

After a very rousing discussion of different kinds of cabinets and storage contraptions, she suggested using the workroom in the basement. A light bulb came on and the dreaming began. Actually, it would be more accurate to say that she created a makeover monster. What is the workroom you say?

When we bought this house, it had a hideous workroom in the basement that we desired to someday turn into a guest bedroom. It is the type of room that is just creepy. You have to walk through it to get to the laundry room, and that was pretty much the only reason to walk through that room (and never without shoes on!) Anyway, the guest bedroom makeover is a long way off because we have a very long list of home improvement projects more pressing than a guest bedroom currently. It had become a storage room for the most part.

The conversation with my sister was about 10 days ago. We started painting the next day. Here are the before pictures with the girl's beginning the paint process. What was I thinking letting an almost 4-year-old and a barely 5-year-old paint?

Organization Overload-NEW SCHOOLROOM-After

2008-08-06T22:08:00.006-05:00

Are you ready for this? You're about to see the results of one week's worth of work. Miss A had VBS last week and Miss C wasn't old enough to go. In an effort to keep Miss C from having a meltdown every night about the fact that she didn't get to go, I made her my special helper on the schoolroom. It was our little project that we were working on to surprise Miss A with on her last night of VBS.

When Miss A got home from VBS last Friday, she ran to the basement to see it. I heard her say, "Oh my gosh! I love it! This is so cool!" Then, I came downstairs and asked her what she thought about it and she said, "I love it. Well, actually, I think it is just amazing."

Here you go, The Amazing Schoolroom Makeover. We painted all the existing cabinetry. Those cabinets you can see in this picture are painted in blue and brown and the black ones are chalkboard paint, so they can be used as chalkboards as well. :) They are really deep cabinets. All of our arts and crafts supplies are stored in there and they only take up maybe two cabinets! The rest are empty! LOTS of storage! Oh, and that's a hopscotch rug, so fun!

This is a close-up of the cabinet near the left wall. It has the weather chart for our daily calendar time on it. See the chalkboard doors?

This is the rest of the calendar time calendar. It is on the pegboard wall to the left of the cabinets.
This is a picture of that wall from the doorway. This is where our counter top "desks" are. I actually have three of those bar stools (two still need put together!) Miss A and Miss C each have their own section of the desk with their books and a basket with their supplies. Underneath the counter top is a GINORMOUS cabinet that is storing ALL of the girl's clothes (and we have a lot of clothes!) We put some cool ABC, addition, telling time, and counting posters up on them.
This is the opposite wall from the "desk". It was the one with the shelves and all the storage in the before picture. Now, it has a cool reading area with a princess canopy and bean bags. Also, the shelves are full with the chore chart, and all kinds of preschool manipulatives and puzzles and a kid's table for Miss O. Her own special little spot. Oh, and more posters here too.

Here are a few more pics of Miss O's special spot. If you look at the top, those are metal clips hanging the girl's artwork on the air vent. This will be awesome for hanging projects to dry.

The best part of the whole makeover? It only cost me exactly $100.00!

PAINT=FREE (We used paint and paint supplies leftover from painting the upstairs when we moved in.)

MOPPING FLOOR=FREE

AREA RUGS=$40 (Couldn't resist. That floor needed something to make it fun and comfy.)

BAR STOOLS=$38 (A whole blog post on this coming up!)

NEW CURTAIN=$15 (Should have gone for the $5 one at Big Lots, oh well.)

BEAN BAGS=FREE (Miss O's birthday presents from Grandma and Papa. Thanks Grandma and Papa!)

PRINCESS CANOPY=$7 (on clearance)

We already had everything else! The girls are so excited. They keep asking if they can go downstairs just to look at the room again! I'm glad they like it, because we are going to be spending a lot of time there starting next week. Speaking of which, next Organization Overload post is all about our homeschool schedule. Now that you've seen the room, I thought you might like to hear how a day of homeschool will go. It's all about organizing our time!

Organization Overload-Chore Chart-Part Two

2008-08-05T23:49:00.006-05:00

I'm going to admit something here that I would never have thought I would do in a million years.

I bought a hot glue gun. And I used it. Lots. And it was kind of fun. I only burned myself 30 times.

Seriously, this project took me back to the college days of making bulletin boards for the campus preschool for my work study job. I haven't been crafty since then. I don't really do crafty. I do practical. Since this crafty job is going to get my children to do practical jobs, I decided it was worth breaking out the craftiness that I have kept hidden deep inside. For such a time as this. For such a time as this.

Okay, yesterday I showed you part one of the chore chart. That is the part they will do daily. They will do the chore, i.e. make their bed, and then place an "X" through it on the chart in their bedroom (with dry-erase marker). Then, this is where part two comes in.

Our chore chart is like a flower garden. Once they have done all the chores for the morning, they will get to place a flower in their garden. Same goes for their evening chores. Each day they have a chance to earn two flowers. With me so far?

Here's the chart at the beginning of the week, with all flowers in their Days of the Week Pots waiting to be moved to the Girl's Garden Pots.

We are not doing chores on Sunday (you know, a day of rest!). So, at the end of the week, if they have done ALL of their chores and gotten every flower, they should have 12 flowers in their garden. Like this...

Here's the ringer. There are UGLY weeds. In our house whenever someone is not obeying, we say that they are "being ugly". Thus, ugly weeds. They can get an ugly weed for having a bad attitude during school, fighting, and whining or backtalking.

This is what their garden would look like with ugly weeds. I'm sure we will NEVER have them looking like this. Funny thing is, I couldn't decide how many ugly weeds to make. I really wouldn't want to run out of them, because that is a high probability around here. ;) See how the weeds crowd out the pretty? A spiritual lesson here y'all, thus the point.

On a positive note, there is a little cup full of yellow and blue flowers that are Mommy and Daddy's flowers respectively. Whenever we catch them doing something good that they were not asked to do, we can place a special flower from Mommy or Daddy in their garden. Won't it be fun for them to find a surprise special flower some day!

Take note, there are different color flowers for each day of the week, so it is easy to tell who didn't do their chores on which day. ;) Clever, y'all, clever.

At the end of each week (Sundays) we will give rewards for their chores. Last year we did money for their piggy banks if they did their chores, but it was hard for them to see any results because they never really got to spend the money. This year there will be a whole reward system.

Each flower is worth 1 token. So, with six days a week, two flowers each day and one token per flower, they have the chance to earn 24 tokens each week. My math skills, they are fascinating!

However, ugly weeds count as minus 2 tokens. So, we will count up flowers, give tokens, and then take away any tokens for ugly weeds. Still with me?

Once they have their tokens, they can keep them (in a special box) or they can spend them. Their "spending" choices are the following...

10 tokens=pick from treasure chest (The treasure chest is full of little things like stickers, jump rope, jacks, suckers, fruit roll-ups, etc.)
15 tokens=stay up late (15-20 minutes to hangout with Mom and Dad alone)
20 tokens=ice cream cone (go with Mom or Dad to get one, probably Mom)
20 tokens=rent a movie or go out to eat (go with Mom or Dad, probably Dad)
40 tokens=go to movies with Mom or Dad (probably Dad)

Here are their "coupons" for some of the above choices to hold onto until we are able to redeem them.

Our kids are so young, that they will most likely want instant gratification, so they will usually probably pick the treasure chest. That's why it only takes 40 tokens to get to go to the movies. My guess is that they will use half their tokens on the treasure chest any given week, so it would take them 1-2 months to save enough tokens to get to do the things that will actually cost us money! We may be revising that if they end up earning a trip to the movie once every two weeks. Daddy would love that, our budget, not so much!

We are kicking off the new Chore Chart System on Monday. We've going to read this book and explain the system and get them SUPER PUMPED! We're even working on a little "chore time soundtrack". You may just get to see a little video sometime in the future of our Chore System in action. How's that for fun?

By the way, if you have boys who wouldn't really like the flower garden idea, this is totally adaptable to other themes. Such as, fish bowls with sharks and different kinds of fish. Really, the skies the limit here. Have fun creating something your kids would LOVE.

Alright, next up in the Organization Overload revealing, THE NEW SCHOOL ROOM! Oh my stinkin' heck, you DO NOT WANT TO MISS THE NEXT POST! It is thrilling!

Organization Overload-Chore Chart-Part One

2008-08-05T13:45:00.003-05:00

I have been trying to teach my girls from an early age to make their beds every morning. Miss A could do it by herself when she had a toddler bed, but then when we moved her into a twin bed it was more difficult for her to reach. It has just been over the last few months that she has been able to do it by herself. I would praise her about how good she was doing and that I couldn't believe she was big enough to make her own bed and tell her she must be one super girl to be able to do that. Yes, I talked it up incredibly. You would have thought she had just pulled off a Mary Lou 10 on the vault!

Anyway, I told her yesterday to go make her bed. She tells me she can't do it by herself. I tell her she can and she better go do it. She responds, "No Mom, I can't, I think I've lost my talent."
I laughed hysterically and then still made her make her bed herself. Apparently she hasn't "lost her talent" after all. In fact, her "talent" is growing because she also took a bath by herself yesterday too, did all the washing of her hair and body by herself, got herself out and put her towel on, dried herself off, got dressed, and combed her hair!

She was so proud that she ran out to her daddy and said, "I just did my bath all by myself. I don't even need Mommy anymore!"

As a result of that little proclamation, my goal in our chores over the next year is to prove to her that she does still need me! Okay, so it's not really my goal, but I think it'll be clear that I haven't taught her all the talents she needs to have just yet. I do still have a few more things to teach her before she gets married. Although, she has been asking how old she has to be to get married. Definitely 30. :)

Last year we bought some chore charts like this. They were good, but it required me to rewrite the chart every week. Most weeks it would be Tuesday and the girls would be reminding me that they still needed a new chore chart for the week! Needless to say, it didn't work well for us, so I began the Great Chore Chart Search of 2008. It led me to all kinds of great products like this, this, this, and this. Problem was that for the amount of money to spend for two kids (Miss O not included yet!), I wanted it to be EXACTLY what I wanted. And none of them were.

I brainstormed with my sister for awhile and she sent me some links to some other great products like this and this. The more I looked at the chore card ideas, the more I liked them. I still couldn't find EXACTLY what I wanted, so I decided to make it myself. Are you ready for this. My redneck chore chart if there ever was one. And the pictures with the BlackBerry flash add to the redneckness of it all. Just so ya know.

I found clipart for all the chores I want the girls to do (since Miss C doesn't read yet) and developed my own system. And believe me, it is a system. I'll try to post in parts, so as not to totally confuse you. Part one: These charts are on the back of the girls door in their room. They have one row with a sun for their morning routine and one row with a moon for their bedtime routine. I laminated them so that they can use a dry-erase marker and "X" through each item after they do it. Then, before they go to bed, they can erase it all and it is ready for the next day. Pure genius! Here are the pics, crummy as they may be.

Attempted close up. The left side has "This is the day the LORD has made,..." and the sun and moon to indicate morning versus evening chores.

This pic is really pathetic, sorry. The zoom is gone on my BlackBerry, all I can do is hold the phone closer or farther away. Redneck BlackBerry or redneck operator? You decide. Anyway, close up of the blue row, which represents morning chores of Make Bed, Get Dressed, Put Clothes in Hamper, Brush Hair, Brush Teeth.

Okay the flash got me on this one! Close up of nighttime routine. Clean up toys, Put on Pajamas, Brush Teeth, Go Potty.

That's step one, the daily process. Step two will be how we track weekly and give "rewards" and "punishments." See you tomorrow for Step two of the Organization Overload Chore Chart! I promise it is much more fantastic than step one, don't miss it!

Stepping Up-Week Three

2008-08-05T08:43:00.000-05:00

Good Morning Ladies!

I trust you took Beth's advice and got lots of sleep last night! I'm working on the whole sleep thing. My youngest has finally stopped waking up asking for the pacifier in the middle of the night, so I'm beginning to get better sleep.

This was a great week in God's Word. There were several things that have stuck with me from this week's study, but I can't seem to stop thinking about the whole sow the seed versus eat the seed thing. Beth wrote this, "Sometimes we don't even realize the difference. We'll think we accepted the teaching because we were so moved by it. But you see, the seed of God's Word can fill our stomachs and give us immediate satisfaction and still not produce a harvest--that's when we eat it but don't sow it. many times we apply biblical truth to our theologies without applying it to the actual practicalities of life."

My family attempted a garden for the first time this year. We have fought desperately with the birds and rabbits and bugs. We have yet to harvest anything from the garden. The girls had a blast with planting the seeds and watching the sprouts grow, because they came quickly, well the ones that didn't get eaten by the birds did anyway. But then the hard work of remembering to water the garden every morning and keeping out the pesky weeds and animals set in. It has been difficult to keep up the work when we cannot see the harvest, but we continue to do it because we know that we will harvest something (just not the green beans or peas or cucumbers that the rabbits ate!)

I love Galations 6:9, "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." I am sooooo tempted to give up on this garden, but then I remember the joy that will come with the harvest. This garden has become my literal reminder this week of figurative seeds that God has been sowing in my life and the future harvest that will come from them. I must not give up! I must not become weary!

In respect to the seeds in the garden and the seeds in the Word, and eating versus sowing the seed, here's our discussion question for this week. Well, it's two-fold, because I like two-fold. I get to learn more about you! Feel free to answer one or the other or both!

1. What is your favorite food to eat that comes from a seed?

2. What scripture seed is God asking you to sow this week?

Organization Overload-Cleaning Schedule

2008-08-04T11:46:00.000-05:00

Back in our old town there was this frozen custard place that everyone raved about. The husband and I decided to try it out one day. He ordered a little something called a Chocolate Overload.

Now, on first thought that seems like an oxymoron. You can never have too much chocolate right? Um, this little dessert proved that theory wrong. Basically, it was a chocolate brownie with chocolate chunks with chocolate ice cream on it all covered in hot fudge.

It was so unbelievably rich that he couldn't even stand to eat it. It was making him physically ill. Since then, we've had this little joke about the Chocolate Overload (along with the joke about the blue-cheeseburger) which can pretty much trigger the gag reflex with one mention.

All that to say, that I LOVE organizing, but I've been doing so much of it that it is beginning to feel like an Organization Overload. My gag reflex isn't triggered, but my brain is fried, which pretty much makes me want to overload on chocolate daily, just not The Chocolate Overload, peanut M&Ms are just fine.

So, in honor of The Chocolate Overload and organizing, this week at Pink-a-Doodle-Doo is all about Organization Overload. I've been working very hard on my Diligent Days of Summer, so I thought I would share the results with you. We're gearing up to start our first year of homeschooling next week. Well, the first year that counts anyway.

I can be so distractable when things are not organized, so I need everything to have a place and everything to actually be in its place. Things have NOT been in their place since we moved mostly because things don't have a space yet. So, there's a whole lot of getting things organized happening here. And by things, I mean time and space.

This week I plan to put a new post up each and every day about the organizing we've been doing. Since you are no doubt dying to know what I've been doing with my time, let's get started.

First up, a cleaning schedule! The routine I've gotten into has been to spend all my time Saturday morning cleaning bathrooms, doing laundry, vacuuming, etc. It's driving me crazy! I don't want to spend my Saturday that way anymore! So, I'm implementing a weekly cleaning schedule. I made it on the computer, printed it, and then laminated it and hung it in the kitchen. Here's what it looks like.

Here's what it consists of...

I have daily chores of dishes and sweeping. Other household chores are spread out throughout the week, like so...

Sunday=grocery list, coupons, meal plan (my planning day).
Monday=grocery shop, mirrors, windows
Tuesday=laundry, vacuum, mop
Wednesday=toilets, sinks
Thursday=vacuum, mop, dust
Friday=laundry, linens, door knobs (trying to prevent illness this way this winter!)
Saturday=scrub shower, vacuum

In addition to my chores, the girls each have two days a week that they are my "special helper." They LOVE helping me cook, do dishes, and laundry. However, it turns into more of a fight between the two every time.

In an effort to have some one-on-one time with the girls and teach them how to do these things without the fighting, they are trading off. I'm totally going to play up the "special helper" thing and make them feel like they are waaaaay cool on their special days. You know, the way you felt super cool when you were the "teacher's helper" in kindergarten.

On those days, they help me with laundry, cooking, dishes, sweeping, and anything school related. I may even make a special nametag or something they get to wear on that day, just to be clear who is the special helper on any given day. For the record, Miss O doesn't get this privilege yet, just Miss C and Miss A who will actually be a help.

There you have it, the weekly cleaning schedule. Tune in to tommorrow's Organization Overload for The New Chore Chart. (You didn't really think that was all that I would make them do around here did you?)