Vacation

Tomorrow we are going on vacation. We are going to Spokane, Seattle, and Vancouver. I have SOO much to do today I don't know where to start!

Today's To-Do List

• Pack clothes (for 7 people)
• Pack snacks
• Pack activities
• Clean van
• Clean house
• Do more laundry--I did a ton yesterday and I still have a lot more.
• Charge ipod, cameras, computers

I'm sure there is more I haven't thought of. I'm tired just making the list.

We will be back in one week. If you know anything in those areas we shouldn't miss, please let me know about it!

The Excellent Wife

I read the Excellent Wife probably about four years ago. It is a wonderful book--I need to read it again one of these days. There are many lists and charts that I wrote down when I read it that I have kept and read over and over. I have kept those handwritten lists in binders and the other day I finally typed them out and printed it out to put in my new encouragement binder. (I JUST named it that while typing this--sounded pretty good. hahaha!) I thought I'd share a couple of these from an early part of the book.


Wrong Desires (I think the book called this something like idolotrous desires--"Wrong" probably isn't the right word, but it's what I wrote then and I can't remember what the book actually says!)

1. That my husband will be affectionate.
2. That he will anticipate my needs without my asking.
3. That he will give me compliments.
4. That he will make me feel special.
5. That he will not hurt my feelings.
6. That he will talk to me and share his thoughts and feelings.
7. That he will put me first.


Right Desires

1. That I may know God's Word and obey it.
2. That I may delight in Him.
3. That I may seek Him with all my heart.
4. That I may be pleasing to Him regardless of my circumstances.
5. That I may cultivate an attitude of joy and gratitude in what God is doing in my life no matter what my husband does or does not do.
6. That I may have joy in God deciding how my life and circumstances can glorify Him the most, that He can use me for His glory.




Bitter Thoughts

1. He doesn't love me, he only loves himself
2. I do so much for him and look what I get in return!
3. I can't believe what he decided. How ridiculous!
4. I can't believe what he has done to me!
5. He'll never change.
6. He should have known better.

Kind, Tenderhearted, Forgiving Thoughts

1. He does not show love as he should, but his capacity to love can grow
2. I wonder if I can do something differently to make it easier for him.
3. Maybe he has information I don't have.
4. What he has done is difficult but God will give me the grace to get through it.
5. By God's grace, he can change.
6. How can he possibly know? I've never told him. He can't read my mind

The Best Cloth Diapering System

In my 4-5 years of cloth diapering, I have tried almost every type and brand of diaper in existence. Not really because I was in search of the perfect diaper, but because it was fun and I loved having the variety. You might remember the ridiculous assortment I had accumulated for Cara Grace when she was tiny. That was really fun and I loved trying all those new and different kinds.


But now I have greatly simplified my stash and use mostly two different kinds because I have found the best AND most affordable system.

For home, I use prefolds. The cost, durability, and effectiveness of good prefolds can't be beat. I use mostly Chinese prefolds, which are the white ones. I also have a few beautiful and luxuriously soft bamboo prefolds which are the cute printed ones. I use a snappi with them most of the time because it makes for a trimmer fit and keeps the cover cleaner. However, you don't have to use one--you can just fold the diaper in folds and lay it inside the cover. (On top of the white diapers is one of my wipes. I have mostly used baby washcloths as wipes, but have discovered that I love true cloth wipes and have been buying a few here and there. The one pictured is a BumGenius bamboo wipe that is awesome.



For my covers I use Wiggle Worm Bottoms. These covers are unbelievable. They are the best covers I have tried, they are affordable, and most of all, they are gorgeous! You can completely customize your outer (solids, prints, and even minkee), your inner (a vast assortment of colors and fabrics, but I prefer no inner--just the PUL lining), and your fastener (snaps, aplix, or touchtape). These are the best.


And for outings and sometimes nighttime, I use BumGenius 3.0 pocket diapers. The reason I use these for outings is because they are quick, easy, trim in the diaper bag, VERY effective, and keep the baby from feeling wetness because the suedecloth inner wicks moisture away from their bottom. And not only are they the best, they are also one of the most affordable pocket diapers. I don't know how they do it!



I love using cloth dipaers. It is fun, it is easy (yes--it's easy!), it does save money in the long run, especially if you use them for more than one child and they are also VERY resaleable. There is a reason why many cloth users are "addicted"!


I may do a post in the future about just how I use them and how I wash them to show just how simple and easy it is.
But isn't the cuteness enough to convince anybody??? :-D

My Diet Plan

Ok--I am sick and tired of these extra 15 pounds of pre-pregnancy weight that have been hanging on for months. And I am scared to death of becoming pregnant again before it goes away and just adding to it! So I have come up with my own little baby-step diet plan. If I try to do anything too drastic, I will not be able to stick with it, so I have listed some small things I can do that might help me to get rid of this and actually fit into my clothes.

1. No eating after 10pm (3 hours before bed. I go to bed late, so this is generous. I'm usually snacking constantly till 2am!)
2. Drink at least 2 quarts of water per day. Limit sodas and sugary drinks.
3. Use small plates and do not get seconds of anything except fruits and vegetables.
4. Eat a piece of fresh fruit or my salad before I eat the rest of my dinner.
5. Only snack if I am truly hungry. Snack in moderation and aim for healthier snacks.
6. Exercise or walk at least 15 min. a day.
7. Limit sugar intake. 1 sweet per day.

I will not lie. Dieting is very foreign to me. I have always been able to eat whatever I wanted and not think a thing of it. But time is slowing down my metabolism because I am now 20 pounds more than when I got married and have maintained that for months. So if you have any tips that don't take TOO much will-power, bring them on!

Timeline stuff came!

I got both my Hold That Thought timeline figures CD's and Record of Time book yesterday and I am beyond thrilled. The free CD offer from Hold That Thought is real--I got both CD's and I only paid for one! I cannot believe I got all that for $20!

I ordered the History Through the Ages Record of Time book from the Old Schoolhouse Store (because they have free shipping of course!) and they even threw in a free copy of the Old Schoolhouse Magazine. That made my day! And wow! The Record of Time is beautiful. I don't think any other timeline book could compare to it.

I am so looking forward to doing this with the kids.

I love my life!

I am so in awe that God would see fit to give me a life that is everything I have ever dreamed of and that I get to do everything that I love and love everything that I do! If you are looking for someone to gripe with about being "stuck at home" with kids and cooking and cleaning and laundry or to whine about the agony of pregnancy or the toil of caring for babies, you have come to the wrong place! I LOVE my life!

I get to be pregnant, which is the most wonderful state for a woman to be in, not once or twice, but many times! I get to give birth naturally because I want to because it is the most amazing thing I have ever experienced. I get to breastfeed my babies as much as and as often as and as long as I want because I get to stay with my baby 24 hours a day!

I get to play with cute clothes and adorable cloth diapers and beautiful baby carriers and call it "taking care of the baby"! I get to snuggle with the most delicious fat rolls and inhale the most fragrant breath you can imagine all day and all night long.

I get to hang out with the people I love more than anything, having fun and loving and learning all day long and call it "mothering".

I get to snuggle on the couch with them and read books and learn amazing new things every day WITH them and call it "homeschooling"!

I get to blast music and sing at the top of my lungs and dance around the house with the children with our list of chores and call it "cleaning".

I get to do fun experiments in the kitchen, and sometimes my helper and I will pretend we're on the Food Network, and call it "cooking".

I get to pop my delicious baby in a sling, put 2 more gorgeous blondies in a stroller, and walk behind 2 other amazing kids on bikes, and breathe in the evening air and the company of my family and call it "exercise".

At night I get to sit in front of the TV and watch a few of my favorite shows I've DVRed and call it "folding laundry".

At the end of the day I get to curl up in bed with a huge stack of books and call it "research and higher learning".

I also get to curl up in that same bed and feel the warmth and comfort and security and happiness and joy of cuddling up to my husband's sleeping body and call it "marriage".

I cannot even imagine a better life! I can't wait till tomorrow to do it all again!

Mother's Day and Anniversary

My husband has been shocking me a lot lately. Before we were married he was so romantic and constantly doing sweet things for me. Then after we got married, well, you know how it goes! I've had my feelings hurt a few anniversaries and on past Mother's Days when I asked him why I didn't get anything, he would answer in all innocence, "You're not my mother." Yeah. He really did.

But the past couple years he is finally getting it and this year he just really amazed me.

For our anniversary, we didn't get to go out as we had planned because two of the kids and I were sick. So we fed the kids frozen corn dogs, put them to bed early, and Kevin went to out to get our meal. When he got back I was instructed to stay in the back bedroom till called.

My husband turned the living room into a restaurant. My husband did this. I'm still amazed. He set up a folding table and chairs and set it with a white tablecloth, black placemats, our best dishes, and candles. He laid three roses on the table alongside a card and a diamond bracelet. He had romantic music softly playing. MY husband did this!

As I sat down to read my card, admire my flowers and gift, and eat, he had this to say. My husband said this. He told me that in his psychology class he learned that the hardest year in marriages is usually the seventh year (which is very true for us). Then at the eighth year things started to get better and better. And that's how he wanted it to be for us. MY husband said this!

We had such a nice evening--much better than we could have had out somewhere, in my opinion.

For mother's day, he had the kids fingerpaint cards for me. So when I got up, I found my cards and a package of Oreos (with 2 missing) from the kids. From him I got chocolate and a nice new 12 inch skillet which I so needed! We were still sick, so we had to stay home again and he went out and got us some lunch. And again, it was a much better day at home than going out. I'm so glad we were sick! haha

The things I am seeing happen in my husband's heart amazes me every day. It is nothing but a testimony of God's faithfulness. I am so blessed!

I hope everyone else had a happy mother's day too! Every day is mother's day when we get to be surrounded by the people we love!

Swag Bucks

Why didn't someone tell me about Swag Bucks before?? Why didn't someone tell me I could get paid for doing my normal searches and normal online shopping? Why why why? I saw people doing it but had no idea what it was!

If you are not doing it already, then click on the banner and sign up. Then I'll get Swag Bucks for that too :-)

Timelining

I'm really excited about adding timelining to our homeschool. I almost did this a couple years ago, but it didn't work out. But now I just sold a lot of things we are no longer using and have the funds to get the things I really want for this.

Homeschool in the Woods is a good place to get an idea of what keeping a timeline is all about and I will be using their History Through the Ages Record of Time for our timeline book. It looks to be the nicest by far with heavy cardstock pages, illustrations and quotes, and even 17 pages of blank maps.

Anytime we come across any person, thing, or event as we read and learn every day, we will paste its timeline figure into the book at its date in time. We will keep this book throughout our entire homeschooling lifetime and it will keep a record of what we've learned, give us a better scope of history, and help us retain what we have learned about. It will be something rich and wonderful for my children to look at again and again.

We will use the maps in the same way. Anytime we come across a new place, we can mark it in the blank maps and will be learning geography at the same time!

At first I was going to use their timeline figures on CD-ROM too. They are the most well known and loved and even though it seems to be a great value, the cost was still a bit steep for me. So I thought I'd do some googling and see what else was out there before I bought it.

I am so glad I did because that is how I found Hold That Thought. How have I never heard of this company? They make awesome notebooking pages on CD-ROM and other homeschooling products. I was so excited to find that their timeline figures were better (in my opinion), much more affordable, and twice as many! I immediately added them to my cart and was about to check out, when I decided to look around the site a bit more first and saw this:

Receive a FREE CD with your order! If you post this offer on your homeschooling blog or tell at least 2 other homeschoolers about us we will send you a free CD. We have decided that instead of spending money on advertising we will reward you for promoting our products instead. When you order a CD from us, all you have to do when you are checking out is write the name of the CD you would like us to send you free of charge in the “comment” section (it needs to be at least the same price or less than the CD you are purchasing).

I was going to do that anyway! So because of this company I will have better timelines that will be part of our lives forever AND save over $50!

I will definitely want to try their other products in the future, especially their geography, bible, and devotional notebooking pages. Everything they offer looks awesome. With a deal like that, they are definitely worth trying out!

Above Rubies

Growing boys want to eat all day.
Wiping crumbs and the dishes won't stay away.
The baby cries, up by five.
I won't see the bed again till late at night.

One wants a story,
One needs a nap.
Daddy will be home soon.
The place is a wreck.

But I wonder...

What am I to You?
All these little things I do,
Do You notice?
Are they imparted in Your plan?
I can hear You say,
"She who fears the Lord is to be praised
and her worth is above rubies."
You set a price for me:
Above Rubies.

I could have worn a business suit,
Had a "better life",
But that's not true.

ABC's and 123's
Ring around the rosies,
All fall down with glee.

I know it's simple.
The world doesn't see.
I may not move mountains in this ministry.

But I wonder...

What am I to You?
All these little things I do,
Do You notice?
Are they imparted in Your plan?
I can hear You say,
"She who fears the Lord is to be praised
and her worth is above rubies."
You set a price for me:
Above Rubies
.
Who can find a virtuous woman? For her price is far above rubies. Her children will rise up and call her blessed, and her husband also.

What am I to You?
All these little things I do,
Do You notice?
Are they imparted in Your plan?
I can hear You say,
"She who fears the Lord is to be praised
and her worth is above rubies."
You set a price for me:
Above Rubies.

"Above Rubies"
by Serene and Pearl

Eight Years and Counting

I would love to write a poetic tribute to my husband on our eighth anniversary, but I don't have the time or mental presence to do so tonight. But I do want to say that I love my husband so much.

If you know me very well, you know we have been though a lot of ups and downs. If you kinda know me, you probably have a vague idea. If you don't know me at all, you may not realize the trials we have gone though, but I will tell you it has been no fairy tale.

But I will also tell you this: GOD brought us together, no question. God is true to His promises and perfect in His ways. I can testify to His faithfulness, and to His wisdom in His plan for marriage. I cannot put into words how I feel when I write this--just bursting with praise to God and love for my husband! I wish I could express, but there are no words!

God has done--and is still doing--an amazing work in me, my husband, and our marriage.
I love my husband more now than I ever have.
He is a more amazing man than he ever has been.
I am happier now than I have ever been in my life. More content, more peaceful, more joyful about where I am, who I am, who I'm with, and Whose I am!

You know when you're in those first few years of marriage and you keep hearing about that state of love that is better than the butterflies and tingly feelings, that is supposed to come after all the passion of new love has worn off? And you hear about it but don't really believe it and you just keep waiting for it because you're bored and discontent and fighting that nagging thought that you must have married the wrong person?
Well, that love is here for us. It is real, and it IS better. It is true love. It isn't just a feeling like the first love was. It's...it's.... Well, it's just like this:

Love never gives up.
Love cares more for others than for self.
Love doesn't want what it doesn't have.
Love doesn't strut,
Doesn't have a swelled head,
Doesn't force itself on others,
Isn't always "me first,"
Doesn't fly off the handle,
Doesn't keep score of the sins of others,
Doesn't revel when others grovel,
Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,
Puts up with anything,
Trusts God always,
Always looks for the best,
Never looks back,
But keeps going to the end.

Love never dies.

1 Corinthians 13:4-8 The Message

And I just want to tell anyone that may be going through trials that true love is worth fighting for with everything within you! It is worth praying for, whether you pray for days, years, or decades, it will be worth it! It is worth obeying God for, even when every ounce of your flesh is telling you differently. It is worth every tear, every sleepless night, every humbling apology, every lesson learned. It is the kind of love God intended us to have--not based on feelings or circumstances, but a love like His.

Looking back at how much we have grown in the last 8 years, I am SO excited to see how much we grow in the next 8! And I'm not just talking about children! I am so happy and blessed to be his wife. This is what God had in mind when He said, "For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh."

Simple Woman's Daybook

Wow--It has been almost a week since I've blogged! It has been a busy week. Kevin was home all week because of having his wisdom teeth removed and I have been taking care of him! Seeing him has really made me dread getting mine out! He was just pitiful! Anyway, here is my Simple Woman's Daybook for the week and hopefully I will get to blog more!

For Today...

Outside my window... our 3 feet of snow has just about all melted away and should be gone by tomorrow. It is starting to warm up into the 50's again.

I am thinking... that I need a few more hours in the morning. Oh--that would be getting up earlier! Nevermind :-D

From the learning rooms... We didn't do much with Kevin home last week, so I'm ready to jump back in with everything this week. We have finished the main part and now Justin is working in some workbooks.

From the kitchen... This week's menu:
Baked Ziti
eating out for anniversary
soup beans
BBQ pork sandwiches
breakfast--eggs, sausage, bacon, and biscuits

I am wearing...black capris and a purple top

I am reading... I found a good deal on Managers of their Chores so I am reading it now. Ever since I saw it on the Duggars' show, I have been wanting to try it. It seems like a really neat system so far.

I am hoping... for an answer to prayer.

I am creating... lunch in about half an hour and supper a few hours after that. That's about as creative as I'm going to get today!

I am praying... for patience patience patience!

Around the house... I am enjoying having the shades open today. When there is snow on the ground, the glare is so bright I have to keep them closed.

One of my favorite things... 6 month-olds, 22-month-olds, 3-year-olds, 5-year-olds, and 7-year-olds.

A few plans for the rest of the week... Tomorrow is a VERY busy day. We have homeschool gym day in the early afternoon. In the evening Justin has his very first baseball game. It is also our eighth anniversary which I have no idea what we're doing for it. I made a suggestion to Kevin and he just said, "We'll see". Sounds like he has something up his sleeve. ;-)

Here is my picture for this week: Isaiah reading to Cara. Not sure what he had been eating!