School room transformation! (insert "Hallelujah Chorus")

Hanging over my head for the last year has been the need to reorganize in the school room.  We started last September with a semi-organized space, but I was unable to do the full task due to being very sick pregnant with the twins.  Halfway through that time, we got new shelves moved in there.  I had a dear friend help me put everything onto the shelves (I was 7 1/2 months pregnant with the twins by this time), but it was still quite disorganized.  I've been working on it 30 minutes here and there over the last several weeks.  Last night, David had some guys over to watch football.  One of them brought his children who played with our children keeping them occupied, and the twins were in bed!!  I closed myself in the schoolroom and went to work for 2 1/2 hours straight!  It feels so good to have it finished and ready for our September 23 new school year start date.  Here are some before and after shots of the room:

BEFORE

BEFORE

AFTER

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER

AFTER

Did I mention that I feel soooo much better having this done?!!  

What's for dinner, Momma? Yummy!!

This has been one crazy summer.  After trips to Wichita, the four corners area out west, and Branson for a few days, we are finally home for a good long time.  I'm so glad to be back on a routine, and getting everything back in order.

First order of business when I got home (besides unpacking and all the normal "mom" stuff), was making a month-long grocery menu in order to buy more in bulk, cook from scratch more, and save money.  I used pinterest and some large family blogs to come up with a menu and shopping list that would suit our family for this past two weeks and the next two.  So, basically, my "months" begin in the middle of the actual month.  Here is a list of things I am trying out in order to save money on food:
1) Making a month-long menu plan, instead of the weekly plan
2) Keeping better track of things that I could be buying in bulk
3) Making almost all of my recipes from scratch
4) Using online coupons, but only the ones that make sense for my family
5) Shopping at Aldi first (which I have always done)

I've really enjoyed this process and the things that I have been learning.  My husband also contributed a great idea that I thought I would try.  He suggested having the the same weekly menu every week for 4 weeks, then the next month, have all different meals.  That way we don't get burnt out on anything in particular, plus I can save the menus and repeat them every 4 months and already have the shopping lists on hand (with just a few adjustments).  I hope this makes sense.  I'm not that great at explaining things in writing.  :o)

So here is the menu for this month:

Dinners:
  Saturdays- Homemade sloppy joes with store-bought buns, potatoes (however I wish to make them that week), broccoli
  Sundays-  Tater tot casserole and green beans
  Mondays-  Chicken tetrazzini (using homemade cream of chicken soup)
  Tuesdays-  our Life Group is this night, so it changes each week according to what the group decides
  Wednesdays-  Ham sandwiches, carrots with Ranch dressing
  Thursdays-  Biscuits and gravy, fruit
  Fridays-  Homemade pizza (toppings will vary)

Lunches:
  Saturdays- Beans and brauts, fruit
  Sundays- Spaghetti (homemade sauce with italian sausage), salad
  Mondays- Burritos, corn
  Tuesdays- Tuna sandwiches, cucumbers with Ranch
  Wednesdays-  Leftovers
  Thursdays-  Quesadillas, fruit
  Fridays-  Peanut butter and honey sandwiches, carrots with Ranch

Breakfasts: (these will always be the same every month)
  Saturdays-  Pancakes (made by Daddy)
  Sundays-  Cereal with milk (quick breakfast for a church morning)
  Mondays- Oatmeal (different flavors and variations)
  Tuesdays-  Eggs and sausage, fruit
  Wednesdays- Toast (with varied toppings), fruit
  Thursdays- Oatmeal
  Fridays- Cereal with milk (quick breakfast for grocery shopping day)

I've tried to eliminate as much snacking as possible, unless its really necessary.  Our children have become dependent on the 10am and 3pm snack times.  They will ask for a snack at those times whether they were really hungry or not.  Little Joel still gets a cup of milk when he wakes up from his nap, though. So far we have stuck to this schedule for 2 weeks.  Its been pretty easy, and even though I've been making my own bread, I've not spent any extra time in the kitchen because I can double and freeze a lot of the recipes.  Next month, I will let everyone know how much grocery money I saved by this new method.  I'm really excited to find out!!


Speaking of making my own bread, it's been WAY easier than I thought it would be!  The recipe that I found is at www.mommysrunningaround.blogspot.com .  It is fluffy, smooth, and rises nice and high!  Did I mention that it smells amazing!?  But that goes for almost all homemade bread!!

Also, the Lord has been encouraging me with Psalm 107 this month, so give it a read.  I'll probably be blogging about that soon, so stay tuned! :o)

The Wheels on the Yukon go 'round and 'round...

Recently, as most of my readers know, our family went on a very long semi-vacation.  I say "semi-vacation" because our reason for hitting the road was not about having a vacation, but honoring the memory of my husbands grandmother.  When we found out she was put on hospice, we started planning in our minds what it would take to get to Mesa, Arizona (an 18 hour drive) with our family of 8.  Little did we know she would pass away two days later, giving us 2 1/2 days to pack and get to Mesa.  I found out on a Wednesday afternoon that we needed to leave for Arizona the next morning in order to make it there by Friday evening.  Fortunately, instead of going into panic mode, God gave me the grace to move into planning mode!  This blog is about what that looked like for our family.

1. The Lists

--I immediately began writing lists for packing.  I like to categorize things into smaller lists to insure that I am not overwhelmed, and that we forget less.  My categories: girls, Joel, twins, dad and mom, swim stuff, toiletries, food, electronics, and misc.  Once I had it all written out, I put it on the dining table so that David or I could add to it if the need were to arise.  I always, ALWAYS pack each thing first before I mark it off the list.  A few times in the past I have marked something off while on my way to go get it, got sidetracked, and never actually ended up packing it.  

2. The Bags

--Something different that we tried this time was packing according to our stops.  Normally the girls' would have shared a bag, Joel and the twins would have shared...you get the point.  For this trip, we packed a bag for each hotel stop that included all the clothes, pajamas, shoes and diapers that everyone needed for that particular stop.  That way, we wouldn't have to unpack ALL of our luggage at EVERY stop.  It worked out great, and even helped with space because when we were finished with a particular bag, it became the dirty clothes bag for that stop.  We packed the twins their own duffle bag that would be brought in every time.  So basically, at each hotel stop we only had to unpack the twins duffle, crib, family bag for that particular stop, toiletries bag, nursing pillow, and the kids' pillows and blankets.  Also, David did not have to reload ALL the luggage every time.  Just those things we took in.  It worked really well for us.

3. Help!!

--The night before we left, when we were doing our packing frenzy, we realized that we needed to get some things from Wal-mart.  We enlisted the help of our good friend to sit at the house after the children went to bed so that David and I could run our errand.  Bonus: She did some packing and cleaning while we were out!  We are so thankful for good friends.  What a blessing!

4. Entertainment

--David made some copies of car games that he found which included Car Battleship, Vacation BINGO, and Tic-Tac-Toe.  We also bought a portable DVD player with double screens to help stave off the boredom.  The children each chose a certain number of movies, and we transferred them to a CD case that could easily fit in a pocket in the back of one of the seats. We brought minimal books, toys, and crayons as well.  We chose things that would be easy to have in the vehicle.  

5. Rearranging

--David came up with the idea of rearranging the carseats in the Yukon.  He made sure that each baby had a big girl in the seat beside them in order to help with pacifiers, blankets, and entertaining.  It worked out pretty well except for when the big girls were watching a movie when the babies needed something.  Then they didn't want to stop watching their movie, and just got frustrated with the babies.  They did, however, learn a lot about entertaining a baby on a long trip.  

6. Misc.

--One particular thing that I did was make sure that the dresses that the girls and I chose for the memorial were fabrics that would not have to be ironed.  That way they could just be packed right in the bag, and hung up when we got to the hotel in Mesa.  I was so glad when the time came to get everyone ready!!  Only had to iron the boys' shirts.

--We let Rachel or Miriam have the camera a few times.  They were entertained by taking pictures of their siblings, and got some great pictures from their own perspective.  

--We saved soooo much money by taking sandwich stuff for lunches and our own snacks!  It also gave us the opportunity to stop at some nice parks and let the kids run off some energy.  

--It was important for us to be a little less strict about things such as how many movies they were watching, yet a little more strict about certain behaviors such as little ones holding a grown up's hand at all times in certain places.  Also, explaining what we were going to do, and what behaviors we expected before going into any building or site.

Besides going to Grandmother's memorial, we took our time on the way home and did lots of sight-seeing.  We saw a meteor crater (which went really well with our Astronomy we have been studying in science), the Grand Canyon, Monument Valley, Natural Bridges, Four Corners, the Great Sand Dunes, and lots of mountains.  We stayed in hotels in Albuquerque NM, Mesa AZ, Williams AZ, Blanding UT, Alamosa CO, and Garden City KS.  We had our vehicle break down in the mountains and David had to change the fuel filter in the Auto Zone parking lot in Durango, CO.   

It was definitely an adventure.  David and I both agreed that we never would have planned a trip like this on our own with our children the ages that they are (10, 7, 5, 2, 4 months, 4 months).  However, we are thankful that we took the time to go, as we were able to see family that we haven't seen in a long time, as well as be there for David's grandfather as he mourned the loss of his loving wife.  We are so thankful to have been able to take part in that.  We had a blessed time and we will remember it forever!

A Nicely Ordered Day...

"There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven... " Ecc.3:1

From the beginning, God created time.  He made man, and put him within the limits of time.  He tells us that there is a time for everything. He also instructs us to use our time wisely. "See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil." (Eph. 5:15-16)
It has been on my heart lately to make sure that I am making wise choices with my time and the children's time.  We want to be intentional with our parenting, and not just reacting to the children all the time.  We want to help them "bring every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ" (2 Cor. 10:5).  In order to help them in this way, we choose to do things "on purpose" in our family.  We desire to budget our time in much the same way as we budget our money, using our time wisely with the Lord's guidance.  We wish to sharpen our children in the Word of God, so that they will be useful in His kingdom.  "Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb is a reward.  Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are the children of one's youth.  Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them; they shall not be ashamed, but shall speak with their enemies in the gate." (Psalm 127:3-5)

With the help of the book, "Managers of Their Homes" by Teri Maxwell (www.titus2.com) and much prayer and guidance from the Lord, we came up with a schedule for our family (David is not on the schedule b/c he is at work from 8-5).  First, I wrote down our NEEDS.  Those are the things that are absolutely necessary for everyone to maintain physical, emotional, spiritual, and mental well-being.  Things like self-care, chores, meals, cuddle times, education, bible time, baths, naps, etc.  I made a list of these things for myself and each child, that way I could make sure my needs as Mommy were being met, as well as the needs of each child.  Once you strip everything down to just the NEEDS, you really begin to see how many things you commit your time to that are really less of a priority.  Plus, it feels really good to know that you will be able to give your children all that they need, without going to bed wishing you'd done more.

Next, I started with the babies nursing schedule that they developed over the last few months.  I don't like to schedule my breastfeeding babies, as it inhibits a good supply production.  This time especially, having twins, I needed to build up a nice, good supply.  So, I nurse on-demand, and let the babies naturally fall into a routine.  Now, at 4 months, they nurse about every 3 hours during the day, so I was able to use their natural pattern, and work our schedule around it.

Then, I wrote the nursing times down on a time chart, as well as giving everything from our NEEDS list a time.  Our chart is broken down into 30 minute increments.  Not everything we do will take 30 minutes, so this allows for some flexibility for interruptions and occasional discipline issues.  I want to note that I also included the number of hours of sleep I would like each person to get onto the NEEDS list, so that it would be a priority.  Then I determined what time each person would need to be in bed and get up in the morning to meet that need, and put it on the chart.

After that, I made a list of the things David and I feel led to add to our daily life to enrich everyone's relationships with each other and with the Lord.  These would be things like each sibling having a certain time where they play with another sibling.  That way each sibling relationship gets nurtured at some point during the week.  Also, I wanted to make sure that we did art every day.  I had to do some shifting and altering before I came up with the final schedule that I posted on the wall for everyone to see.  It was definitely a time investment on my part, but one that I have faith will produce good fruit in our family.

Finally, I wrote all the information down on a poster-sized post-it note (huge!).  I assigned each person a color, and wrote their part of the schedule in that color.  I hung the paper on the wall in the dining room.  I chose this wall because we either are in that room or pass by that wall many times a day.  Plus, you can see that wall from the living room.  I had it hung on the wall for about a week before we started using it, so that everyone had time to look at it and ask questions.

This has been our first week on our schedule.  There have been "off" days, interruptions, outside activities that conflict with parts of it once a week, etc.  When we are home though, we've stuck to the schedule.  For instance, we went grocery shopping yesterday.  After we got home and put away groceries, we looked at the schedule to see what everyone should be doing at that time, getting right back on task.  It was so much nicer than me having to come up with something to keep everyone busy.  We also accomplished a lot more at home than we usually do on grocery day.

One thing I'd like to make clear is that a schedule is meant to offer guidance, not to run your life.  If you expect to follow it perfectly, you will give up.  There has never been a day where something unexpected hasn't come up.  You might have to clean up a poopy mess when, according to the schedule, you should be doing laundry, or have a heart-to-heart with a child when the schedule says it's time for handwriting.  I HAVE to be flexible and allow for the ebb and flow of life.  It does, however, give us purpose and help us meet goals.

Other things we do to keep the home running more efficiently are menu planning (which I hang on the refrigerator), and chore charts (hanging in the hallway).  I am by no means an organized person.  It does NOT come naturally to me.  It is only by seeking the Lord and listening to the counsel of moms who have "been there, done that" that I am able to form ways to run our home that work well for our family.  God is so good to give the ideas, the counsel, and the energy to do anything that I do.  He is sooo good!!!

My Sugar Fast and a Menu

"The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.  I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!"  Galatians 2:20b-21

I'm aware that I did not post a meal menu for this past week.  That is because I have been working on two very important things: 1) a mostly sugar-free AND dairy-free meal menu and 2) a family schedule.  These two things have come priorities to me due to some things I've noticed in our family.  By faith, I have put my time into these things in hopes that they will bring good fruit in our lives.

First, we are all addicted to sugar.  I, in particular, have noticed that I am waking up with sore joints and am craving carbs and sweets all the time.  Since I am breastfeeding, I also have to think about the nutrition of the babies, so I am making changes.

Also, time has been my enemy lately!!  I always go to bed feeling like I've left many things undone, and then I can't sleep.  So I went to my old friend, "Managers of Their Homes" by Debi Maxwell from Titus 2 ministries at www.Titus2.com.  I found out about this book from a friend a few years back.  It guides you in managing your time by making a schedule for the entire family.  I could go on and on about this, but I will save that for the next blog post in a couple of days.

On to the menu!!  I'm excited about this one because I worked really hard to make choices that would be sugar-free AND dairy-free, yet still time-manageable and delicious.  The sugar-free part doesn't begin until Sunday on the menu.  I wanted to wait until after the holiday weekend, since there will be too much temptation!  :o)  Feel free to follow along, and challenge yourself to go sugar-free for a week with me.  I will continue sugar-free selections through next week as well.

Saturday:  (today is my oldest daughter's birthday, so her selections)
B- Daddy's pancakes and bacon

L- Build-your-own-salad (lettuce, eggs, black olives, ham, cucumber, raisins, croutons, almonds, cheese, broccoli, avocado, tomatoes, etc)

D- Grilled burgers, baked beans, green beans with bacon, root beer

Sunday:
B- Cereal with milk (rice milk for Mommy and Miriam)

L- Deli sandwiches, fresh pineapple, corn chips

D- White Chicken Chili

Monday:
B- Apple-Cinnamon Oatmeal (unsweetened almond milk, vanilla, unsweetened applesauce, cinnamon, walnuts)

L- Garlic noodles (spaghetti noodles with olive oil and garlic), green salad

D- Crockpot fajitas (chicken breasts, bell peppers, onions, spices in crockpot for 4 hrs on High, serve in tortillas), black beans with crushed tomatoes and seasoning

Tuesday:
B- Eggs, sausage, Kale/berry smoothies ( kale, blueberries, strawberries, plain yogurt, banana, maybe some raw honey)

L- Chicken salad (shredded chicken breast, plain mayo, grapes, apples, walnuts) on lettuce, cucumber slices, whole wheat crackers

D- Easy, Healthy Vegetable Linguine to take to Life Group

Wednesday:
B- Whole wheat toast with butter, plain yogurt with honey and berries

L- Leftovers!!

D- BLT's, carrots and sugar snap peas, corn chips

Thursday:
B- Overnight Banana Steel-Cut Oats

L- Chicken tostadas (leftover crockpot fajitas on tostada shells with toppings)

D- Omelets (toppings: ham, kale, mushrooms, cheese for the dairy-able, onions, peppers, salsa)

Friday:
B- Cereal with milk (rice milk for Mommy and Miriam)

L- Taco Bell (grocery day)

D- Homemade pizza with homemade sugar-free sauce (haven't looked up a recipe yet, sorry!!)

Snacks:
Veggies with hummus, energy balls (using sugar-free peanut butter), apples and peanut butter, bananas rolled in nuts, dried berries and nuts

I hope this menu is helpful and gives you some great ideas for making sugar-free eating simple and delicious.

Walking with our daughters...

"You are the light of the world.  A city on a hill cannot be hidden.  Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl.  Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.  In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven."  Matthew 5:14-16

photography by Rachel Oswald

I have to be honest.  I look around the CHURCH these days, and don't see very many young ladies being "the light of the world".  I see a lot of  girls confused BY the world, compromising and flirting WITH the world, thinking they are doing a good job as "Christians" because they are not as bad as so and so.  As I am looking, I cannot help but wonder, "How can girls be effective for Christ when they are so concerned with looking, sounding, acting like everyone else?"  Is this "just the way things are"?  It might be common, but it is not okay.  Our daughters are being robbed of their innocence and purity at way too young of an age.  They are molested by the media and by a government that wants to take control of their sexual education.  The word "daughter" no longer holds a place of honor in our culture.  It used to mean purity, beauty, and a sense of virtue and godliness.  Now, a daughter lacks much distinction from anyone else.

We have 4 daughters of our own, and have been seeking the Lord diligently for wisdom in raising them to be true "daughters" of the King.  But how do we protect our daughters in a world that is seeping with rottenness and filth?  First, and the world may not agree with this, but we are very protective of them.  We believe that God has given us the job of guarding their hearts and minds, until they are well discipled.  Discipleship is key to them being able to face a fallen world and still stand for Christ.  They MUST know the Word of God, and be able to give testimony for why they believe what they believe.  Until they are mature in that, we will not send them to the front lines of battle, for they would be destroyed.   We also need to be careful about who they spend a lot of time with.  Friendships are a big influence on a young person's life.  They should be surrounded by people who have similar values and can be encouraging to them.

photography by Rachel Oswald

"It is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish." Matt. 18:14

                    -Protect them.

"Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it."  Prov. 22:6

                  - Disciple them.

"Do not be misled: 'Bad company corrupts good character'. " 1 Cor. 15:33

                  -Help them seek out godly friendships

In addition, mothers, we need to be an example to our daughters!  If we spend more money and time getting our hair and nails done than we spend discipling our daughters, there is a problem.  We are told in Deuteronomy 6 about the time investment we must make with our children. 

"These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children.  Talk about them when you sit at home and when you lie down and when you get up."

photography by Rachel Oswald

Basically, all day.  All day, we are the ones to be setting an example and teaching our children the things of God.  All day, the Lord's words should be on our lips.  I know that I can do better in this area!

Stacy McDonald, author of "Raising Maidens of Virtue" puts it this way, when talking about Christian daughters:

"It is a Christian daughter's duty to reflect purity-- literally.  She has an obligation to be a symbol of virginity

(not the sexual type; the biblical type which means in all areas of life and attitude)*  when she walks into a room.  Why would a Christian young lady desire to masquerade as someone else--as someone who is impure?  To do so would be to lie about the very nature of Christ.  A modest young maiden makes more than a fashion statement--she makes a purity statement!"

Let's raise our daughters to set a new standard that will point the world toward the light of Christ instead of seeking the attention for themselves.  Let's raise daughters to be pleasant, servant-hearted, modest, humble, and kind.  Let's raise daughters who are emotionally stable and a blessing to any who would seek their hand.   Let's raise daughters who know the Lord and His Word, and are not afraid to stand up for it.  No compromises!!  Let's raise true daughters of the KING!

photography by Rachel Oswald

"All glorious is the princess within her chamber; her gown is interwoven with gold.  In embroidered garments she is led to the king; her virgin companions follow her and are brought to you.  They are led in with joy and gladness; they enter the palace of the king."  Psalm 45: 13-15

Nothing is Impossible...

God spoke to me today in a very clear way, and I'd like to share it with all of you.  This week I have been praying for a loved one who is hurting.  I feel helpless.  It is difficult to see God working at all in their situation (though I know He always is).  I have been very discouraged this week, and my heart broken for them.  As I took this situation to the Lord in prayer, He made it very clear that He desires only two things from me:  prayer and obedience.  Now, obedience requires that I listen to Him, and be in His Word.  He was preparing my heart to hear what He had to say.  The amazing thing is that He used different scriptures and different people to encourage me and the message came together and was so clear!  God is amazing!!  

1. Get rid of fear.  (He told me this in Sunday School from Gene.)  Fear will hold me back from sharing the Gospel with my loved one.  It will hold me back from fully submitting to God's will.  In fear, I try to control the situation.  In faith, I recognize God's sovereignty and control over the situation. 

2. Don't give up.  God will never give up on anyone, and neither should we.  (This one is from Sunday School too, and a movie my husband and I watched last night.)  God is always pursuing people, whether they will believe Him or not, because it is in His nature that none should perish.  There is always hope.  Always.  And you never know what part of your life God is using to speak into someone else's life.  You never know when something you do or say will turn out to be eternally fruitful.

3.  Don't show the world your own version of Jesus.  (Gene again.  He thought he was being indulgent and chasing rabbits, but he was actually submitting to the Spirit and letting God speak into my life) Let Jesus show Himself through you and through His Word.  Then they will not be able to help but to see the love of God in your life.  

4.  Look at the examples of what He has already done. (From my good friend Teresa, who prayed with me).  Have there been other friends, family, or others that you have seen God change their life as they sought to follow Him?  Have you seen someone come to the Lord that you thought there was no hope for?  Look at examples from the scriptures.

5.  Expect great things, and thank Him for what he will do.  (Straight from the pulpit.  Thanks Pastor Joe!) Always be looking forward to what God is going to do!  Expect to see Him moving in their life and in yours.  Nothing is impossible!  

The biggest thing that I can do right now is commit to praying for and loving those who are hurting.

I leave you with the lyrics to one of my favorite hymns:

1. I hear the Savior say,
   “Thy strength indeed is small;
   Child of weakness, watch and pray,
   Find in Me thine all in all.”
• Refrain:
  Jesus paid it all,
  All to Him I owe;
  Sin had left a crimson stain,
  He washed it white as snow.
• 
  

 Where we are weak, God can take over and do great things.  And the great thing is that He gets all the glory!!