Just Our Thoughts

In continuing to work through Regina Leeds book, I will be working on the office area of our home. Right now our computers and office items are in our living room area. The mess and clutter can be quite overwhelming at times, so I'm excited to be working on this so early in the year. You can check out Leeds website here.

One afternoon, Amber (Come Here Little Bug) and I were discussing how much we dislike doing dishes and how we let them pile high to the ceiling with food caked on. We just don't want to deal with them, ever. Part of my problem is the location of my kitchen. My kitchen is in the basement and our main living space is the main floor. With five little ones, I can't be far away for very long and doing a meals worth of dishes is too long to be gone from the room let alone going to a totally different level of the house. Sure enough every time I try to do dishes someone gets hurt (feelings or physical), a toy dispute erupts, and someone is screaming, which in turn wakes Baby R. This then infuriates me because I want to be doing (not really) dishes while baby sleeps and they have prevented me from doing so. Now, I know there are many solutions to this problem and I'm working on some of them.

Dishes is the monthly focus of March. I want to have no dishes sitting waiting to be washed when I go to bed at night. I want to wake up to clean sinks and counters. This habit is very overwhelming to me, but I know that when I accomplish this I am a much happier mommy! So here are some of the solutions I am working on to get the dishes in the cupboard where they belong:

1. One of the girls has the morning chore of putting away any clean dishes that have been left drying overnight. This rotates through the older three girls.

2. When someone looks or acts bored one of the chores I've started sending them to do is dishes. I never expect them all to be done, but I'll say, "K, go wash all the bowls and silverware." Then when I go down to take care of some of them myself, I only have the pots and pans to do, for example.

3. Serving our evening meal earlier in the evening. This allows me to get to the kitchen before I get worn out with baths and bedtime.

4. Taking everyone to the basement with me. I usually do this when I'm making the evening meal. And when I do this, everyone helps with something. One will look after Baby R as needed. One will stir a pot. One will wash/put away dishes. One will change the laundry. That kind of thing.

If I did all these things everyday, I know I'd have my dirty dishes problem under control. Join me? Amber??

26. Learn to crochet. Last week a lady we call Grandma Irene and her friend (and ours) Jean-Anne came by for a visit. Grandma Irene babysat and folded laundry while Jean-Anne reintroduced me to crocheting. The older three girls wanted to learn too, but M doesn't have the fine motor skills, and it's just not K's thing, but CJ picked it up right away (at least the chaining part). The plan now is for me to finish a blanket I started in 2004. I want to purchase some beginning sewing items too - lacing cards for W and M, spool knitters for K and CJ and a couple of larger crochet hooks for them to get more practice. Although I never learned young, I think it is an important skill and hobby to have.

33. Have "coffee" with a friend twice a month.

38. Schedule yearly dentist appointments for the family. I called and set up appointments for the children. Under a government program the children are fully covered for dental work. DH and I will have to wait to have dentist appointments until he has fully time, long term employment.

70. Learn to use power tools to make things for our home such as decorations. We bought me my own drill, and I’ve used it.

January's habit was getting up at a decent hour. I have tried to maintain that, to continue to make is a regular practice for me. It was tough this month. With DH home more, our schedule got changed and we've had to revamp it to make it work for everyone. In addition to that we were sick more and so everyone wanted to sleep more. So we worked with that too. With all of that, I have on more days than not, gotten up between 7 and 8 AM.

In January I also talked about my morning routine which included getting dressed, wiping up the bathroom, starting the computer, coffee and washer and some sort of Bible listening, reading, studying. I've continued with that too, for the most part. I'm really good at getting everything done, except the Bible reading/studying. I had been using my mp3 player to listen to the New Testament, but I've since stopped that. Now what I'm trying to do is listen to a podcast by John MacArthur. It's just not happening as often as I would like. My excuse is linked to not getting up early enough so that I'm up a good hour or so before everyone else. Now that spring is coming and the days are getting shorter, this is going to be even harder to do, as my children will be getting up earlier too.

February's habit was to fold and put away at least one basket of laundry each day. I don't know if I did that, but I tried hard and until this week I was able to maintain the clean laundry pile. Until this week, the clean laundry did not sit on the couch for more than a day. More often than not, that "laundry couch" was available to be sat upon! I'm so glad that I chose folding and putting away laundry as February's habit. What is sitting there now will not take much to get folded and put away. I plan to get that done sometime today. And I will continue to keep that couch clear of clean laundry.

Stay tuned for a post about March's habit in the next couple of days.

Mostly pictures. That ended up being blurry. I apologize.

1. the flooring for the en suite sat behind my dining room table until we had the joists all up and then we stored them on the joists.

2. the lumber taking up space in my porch, still. (since before Christmas)

3. J had to buy a bigger saw to cut the floor joists and he built a table to put it on.

4. before the joists went up

5-7. the joists are up now

I love my bedroom. It is far from finished. In fact, my dh is working on the "other half" right now. When we are finished we will have a wonderful en suite. The bedroom loft overlooks the living room and office areas. Under the bedroom is the dining room and bar. The other loft will have a bathroom and sitting area and will overlook the kitchen. Eventually. Under the en suite is the entrance to the house.

The goal for this month in One Year to an Organized Life was to create a bedroom you love. I love my bedroom. It's warm. It's my space. It's peaceful. It's cozy. And it's only going to get better. There is still so much to be done, but I am very very pleased with the work we did this month on that area of our house.

I don't have before and after pictures, but I have some that we took the day we moved up there.

I am thankful for access to the internet to find crafts for my kids (looking into spool knitting) and for medical advice and to connect with friends.

I am thankful for my man, for without him being here last night, I would not have made it to the morning with my sanity intact. He keeps me balanced with both feet firmly on the ground.

I'm thankful for God given wisdom in dealing with my baby's troubles last night and for the strength He provided when I had none left.

There are lots of thankful bloggers over at Grace Alone.

Well, someone "tagged" me in a note on Facebook called 100 Books, which led me (eventually) to the following sites and list. Although the BBC is sited on the Facebook list, apparently, that list is not on the BBC site. Instead I found this one, compiled in 2003, I believe.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/arts/bigread/top100.shtml
http://www.bbc.co.uk/arts/bigread/top100_2.shtml

1. The Lord of the Rings, JRR Tolkien
2. Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen
3. His Dark Materials, Philip Pullman
4. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams
5. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, JK Rowling
6. To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee
7. Winnie the Pooh, AA Milne
8. Nineteen Eighty-Four, George Orwell
9. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, CS Lewis
10. Jane Eyre, Charlotte Brontë
11. Catch-22, Joseph Heller
12. Wuthering Heights, Emily Brontë
13. Birdsong, Sebastian Faulks
14. Rebecca, Daphne du Maurier
15. The Catcher in the Rye, JD Salinger
16. The Wind in the Willows, Kenneth Grahame
17. Great Expectations, Charles Dickens
18. Little Women, Louisa May Alcott
19. Captain Corelli's Mandolin, Louis de Bernieres
20. War and Peace, Leo Tolstoy
21. Gone with the Wind, Margaret Mitchell
22. Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone, JK Rowling
23. Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets, JK Rowling
24. Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban, JK Rowling
25. The Hobbit, JRR Tolkien
26. Tess Of The D'Urbervilles, Thomas Hardy
27. Middlemarch, George Eliot
28. A Prayer For Owen Meany, John Irving
29. The Grapes Of Wrath, John Steinbeck
30. Alice's Adventures In Wonderland, Lewis Carroll
31. The Story Of Tracy Beaker, Jacqueline Wilson
32. One Hundred Years Of Solitude, Gabriel García Márquez
33. The Pillars Of The Earth, Ken Follett
34. David Copperfield, Charles Dickens
35. Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, Roald Dahl
36. Treasure Island, Robert Louis Stevenson
37. A Town Like Alice, Nevil Shute
38. Persuasion, Jane Austen
39. Dune, Frank Herbert
40. Emma, Jane Austen
41. Anne Of Green Gables, LM Montgomery
42. Watership Down, Richard Adams
43. The Great Gatsby, F Scott Fitzgerald
44. The Count Of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas
45. Brideshead Revisited, Evelyn Waugh
46. Animal Farm, George Orwell
47. A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens
48. Far From The Madding Crowd, Thomas Hardy
49. Goodnight Mister Tom, Michelle Magorian
50. The Shell Seekers, Rosamunde Pilcher
51. The Secret Garden, Frances Hodgson Burnett
52. Of Mice And Men, John Steinbeck
53. The Stand, Stephen King
54. Anna Karenina, Leo Tolstoy
55. A Suitable Boy, Vikram Seth
56. The BFG, Roald Dahl
57. Swallows And Amazons, Arthur Ransome
58. Black Beauty, Anna Sewell
59. Artemis Fowl, Eoin Colfer
60. Crime And Punishment, Fyodor Dostoyevsky
61. Noughts And Crosses, Malorie Blackman
62. Memoirs Of A Geisha, Arthur Golden
63. A Tale Of Two Cities, Charles Dickens
64. The Thorn Birds, Colleen McCollough
65. Mort, Terry Pratchett
66. The Magic Faraway Tree, Enid Blyton
67. The Magus, John Fowles
68. Good Omens, Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman
69. Guards! Guards!, Terry Pratchett
70. Lord Of The Flies, William Golding
71. Perfume, Patrick Süskind
72. The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists, Robert Tressell
73. Night Watch, Terry Pratchett
74. Matilda, Roald Dahl
75. Bridget Jones's Diary, Helen Fielding
76. The Secret History, Donna Tartt
77. The Woman In White, Wilkie Collins
78. Ulysses, James Joyce
79. Bleak House, Charles Dickens
80. Double Act, Jacqueline Wilson
81. The Twits, Roald Dahl
82. I Capture The Castle, Dodie Smith
83. Holes, Louis Sachar
84. Gormenghast, Mervyn Peake
85. The God Of Small Things, Arundhati Roy
86. Vicky Angel, Jacqueline Wilson
87. Brave New World, Aldous Huxley
88. Cold Comfort Farm, Stella Gibbons
89. Magician, Raymond E Feist
90. On The Road, Jack Kerouac
91. The Godfather, Mario Puzo
92. The Clan Of The Cave Bear, Jean M Auel
93. The Colour Of Magic, Terry Pratchett
94. The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho
95. Katherine, Anya Seton
96. Kane And Abel, Jeffrey Archer
97. Love In The Time Of Cholera, Gabriel García Márquez
98. Girls In Love, Jacqueline Wilson
99. The Princess Diaries, Meg Cabot
100. Midnight's Children, Salman Rushdie

I've been really struggling with headaches for the last two weeks or so. On Friday the 13th in the afternoon, I got a terrible sinus headache that was probably a migraine (pain all on one side). It never went away until Saturday the 21st and most of Sunday. It's back. I had the same sinus/migraine pain when I was at the end of my pregnancy. I don't know the cause. I've heard some pretty consistent possibilities though - hormones, lack of sleep, dehydration, and the weather. Another suggestion that was given to me was yeast. These all make sense, but at this time, I'm guessing that mine are the first three. So what am I doing to get through the days?

The Neti Pot gives me about an hour without pressure. On Monday, I bought a natural hot pepper product called Sinus Buster from the health food store. It gives me a little more time. I was using extra strength no name ibuprofen until Monday (every 4-6 hours) but now I picked up some regular strength Advil Liqui-Gels and am using those. They seem to be working better; I don't have to take as many, as often.

It's been a while since I planned and posted a menu, but I've been reminded how much time and energy it saves me when I do plan and try to stick to a menu! So here it goes.

Monday - Pork and Rice
Tuesday - Bacon and Eggs
Wednesday - Steak and Mashed Potatoes
Thursday - Hamburgers
Friday - Crockpot Burger Something, gotta look in the recipe book
Saturday - a birthday party

"Stacks and piles are unmade decisions made manifest."

Regina Leeds, pg 55, One Year To An Organized Life

I am continuing on my journey to be organized this year. For the 3rd week of February we were to think about our time, some goals and our closet space. I don't have a closet; only a dresser and some stackable drawers, but I really enjoyed answering the questions about my time.

Of course, the biggest question is: WHY?

Through organizing my home I hope to gain self-discipline and peace. (I just listened to part of a message by John MacArthur on self-discipline that has really motivated me again.) I am tired of living in chaos. We are a family of seven individuals living in a huge house and there are piles of stuff every where. And these are not organized piles! It's so messy and muddled and I can't find anything. I don't want to pass this mess on to my children and I want to teach them how to be neat and organized so that they can give their children the same. I want my home to be welcoming and comfortable for guests and for my family.

I am happy with the overall direction of my life. I am content and happy yo be my husband's helper and the mother to our children. I never really thought I would do anything else. Any schooling that I took was to fill time until marriage.

My life has changed recently with the addition of Baby R. A new baby always knocks me for a loop. I feel like I can't keep up on anything extra. Right now I am meeting everyone's basic needs and wasting too much time online. I know things in my home would get better faster if that one time wasting activity changed. My home would be cleaner, more organized and less stressful. So why don't I change? I'm working on it.

The next stage of my life is too far away to even start thinking about. I don't feel that we are done having babies. I see the next stage as not having a baby under the age of three in the house. That could be a few years yet.

Okay, the next major question is tough. Regina Leeds is really making me think (if I'm willing to do the work).

What do I do well?

If I'm honest with myself and a little conceited, I can say that I can do well almost anything I decide to do well. I can do sports. I once enjoyed volleyball, track and field, baseball and indoor soccer. I like to think that I write well, that I communicate my thoughts and feelings well by writing them down. I make babies well. <> I parent well, in my opinion. I have fairly good computer skills. I read well. I love to help people.

The only dream I can think of that I haven't really worked on is travel. I'd like to see more of Canada, the USA, and Australia / New Zealand. There is a lot of the world that I haven't seen.

On to the clothing storage:

Hangers: Leeds is very insistent on not using wire hangers. Here, that's all we use, but we don't have any really good clothes. Nor do we have a closet so it's not too big of a deal in my mind. We use the wire hangers to hang dry all our clothing in the house. In the summer, we hang on a clothesline outside.

Shelf Dividers and Stackable Drawers: I would like to purchase more of these for both J and I.

Shoe Racks: I don't have enough footwear to justify this item. I have all my shoes nicely fitting under my dresser. lol. Shoes are not a passion around here! LOL. Maybe it's the fact that my DH likes to keep me barefoot and pregnant. heehee

Jewelry Organizers: I need to find and organize all my jewelry. I need to re-purchase some earrings (little hoops) that were my standby, every day wear. They broke. I need to find my engagement and wedding rings! I can't believe I lost them. But at the same time. I can believe that they have been misplaced! Sigh. I think I have all the organizers that I need in this area, I just need to utilize them properly.

To Buy List: shelving (enclosed pantry type shelf), stackable drawers, shoes, pill shaver for my lovely sweaters I hate to wear due to pillage, drawer dividers/containers for under garments.

I've been struggling for the last little while with feeling disconnected from everything. My kids and their education. My spouse. My house. My friends - both online and IRL. My blog. My meal planning and groceries. My laundry. Everything seems out of my control and I feel as if someone else is living my life and spending time with my family.

I know some of the reasons I'm feeling this way. I haven't been getting enough sleep at night and have not been napping during the day. I have been fighting with headaches all week; there is one always lingering in the background. Baby R is especially needy lately for whatever reason. DH has been buying the groceries and I have not been paying attention to what he's buying and I haven't been making a menu. If my morning routine and evening routine are off, my days are all off! I haven't been getting any exercise except going up and down the stairs. I've been taking my vitamins, but not drinking enough water.

These are all changeable things. I can get my routines on track so I am getting in enough sleep, and schooling and menu planning. I can up my water intake. I can allow J to take over the child care he is willing to do; I can be gracious in accepting his help in the home and chose not to feel like he's taking over and doing my job and therefore I'm not good enough.

Friday was the beginning of the change. I took out the meat for supper the night before. I kept up on the dishes all day so they didn't pile up. I got about four loads of laundry up drying. I put away all the clothes that were dry and waiting to be folded and put away (my goal for February). I had the children clean up their toys really well and got a start on the basement toy room. I'm hoping to keep up on that momentum.

This post, at Simple Marriage, got me on this line of thinking. One of the biggest things I've noticed is being disconnected from my dh. And it's silly. He's not even working full time and so we are together a lot more than usual! We should be connecting more. I plan to work some of those suggestions from that article into our life. This time of year (March mostly) is especially hard for us and we need each other more. So, look out, Baby, here I come! <> haha

My internet friend, Amber, has a great blog. I've linked to Come Here Little Bug a couple of times. She has some wonderful thought provoking posts and some great tips. Give this post a look-see.

Amber over at Come Here Little Bug asks the following:

"Our lives as we currently know them is our reality. The question I have to ask is how do you interpret your reality? The way you interpret your reality can make all the difference in the world."

Wikipedia defines reality as: "the state of things as they actually exist", what is real.

I am a wife to my dh and the mother to five little ones. I live in a church and homeschool my children. My dh works hard to provide for us even if that work may seem unconventional in the minds of others. :) We don't have a lot of money but we are well provided for and live in a caring community, where we help each other however we can.

There is so much that I could be negative about and get all depressed and pessimistic about the future. Life, my reality, could change at any time. Everything is very uncertain in today's present state. But that's okay, I'm not in control. God is.

I think that Amber's question hinted at an underlying negativity. Our reality is what it is. We can't often change what is going on around us. What we can change is our reaction to our reality. I can choose to look at all the negatives and worry about things, or I can choose to focus on the good all around me. Let us face our reality, take it for what it is. Look at things from different eyes. Really look. Are there things you don't like? Can you change those things? Don't just wallow in what you believe to be your reality or how your interpret that reality. Examine it. Change what you can and if you can't do that, change you.

Change your attitude and your focus.

Focus on things above.

Focus on God and His will for you and for those around you.

This last week I have taken time for me. And for a friend. My house was a disaster. My children were driving me crazy. My DH was away all day, but had left me the van. So I "facebooked" a friend who had mentioned she'd like us to come visit. She was so very glad to have us out to her home. I had only planned to stay an hour or two so that I would be home for lunch and naps, but before I knew it the middle of the afternoon had arrived! I came home refreshed and happy.

Christy has more moments at Shake The Salt.

Well, anyone who has kids knows that body parts and their names can hold some fascination for little ones. Well, being that little W is our only boy we are learning that his body parts are different than the girls body parts. I say this to preface the following anecdote:

For lunch on Sunday, we served macaroni and cheese with hot dogs. Little M very innocently looks up at me and says, pointing to a cut up piece of hot dog, "This is penis."

I almost choked! We asked her to repeat it, thinking we didn't hear her correctly.

Obviously she had meant to use a different word; one that means both penis and hot dog. Wiener. I don't think I will ever eat hot dogs with quite the same "innocence". lol. My hot dog eating days have been scarred. LOL.

Other online resources: Enchanted Learning, Crayola Canada, DLTK, Handwriting for Kids.

Books: Calico Cows, Cars Cars Cars, The Bernstein Bears C Book,

What we talked about: Clown fish, coral, cats, cerulean, carrots

We are a family of 7 - 2 adults and 5 kids (only 3 of which use the toilet). We are all home most of the time. It is expected that we would go through a lot of toilet paper. But how much!??!?!? We are going through so very much toilet paper. I threatened to take the toilet paper away and make them use their hand! Just kidding, I'd never do that, but goodness; more than a roll a day!!!!

Yesterday morning when I got up (around 10) I put on a single roll of Majesta 2 ply toilet tissue on the dispenser. By the middle of the afternoon, the whole roll had been used! And when I was headed to bed last night, the second roll of the day was gone as well! TWO ROLLS IN A DAY!! That's INSANE! Prior to the Majesta brand we had bought a store brand, not quilted, 2 ply that was used almost as fast! UGH! What am I going to do?

I think it's a tissue issue! Usually I buy Charmin or Purex. Charmin is so very soft and durable and Purex is very similar. The rolls are often the 1.5 or double rolls, but still we don't seem to go through a package of these brands as quickly as we go through Majesta and store brand.

So what's the rule in this house? FOUR SHEETS. More if you need.

I am at a loss. I don't know how to control this. Ideas?? Is it a brand issue? What brand do you use and why?? Do I move to cloths?? LOL. Help!!!

I wasn't going to write a Valentine's Day post today, but I read a blog post that triggered some research so I thought I'd share what I found (at least the link).

Basically Christian leaders wanted to change or overshadow the pagan festival.

While some believe that Valentine's Day is celebrated in the middle of February to commemorate the anniversary of Valentine's death or burial — which probably occurred around 270 A.D — others claim that the Christian church may have decided to celebrate Valentine's feast day in the middle of February in an effort to 'christianize' celebrations of the pagan Lupercalia festival. In ancient Rome, February was the official beginning of spring and was considered a time for purification. Houses were ritually cleansed by sweeping them out and then sprinkling salt and a type of wheat called spelt throughout their interiors. Lupercalia, which began at the ides of February, February 15, was a fertility festival dedicated to Faunus, the Roman god of agriculture, as well as to the Roman founders Romulus and Remus. To begin the festival, members of the Luperci, an order of Roman priests, would gather at the sacred cave where the infants Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome, were believed to have been cared for by a she-wolf or lupa. The priests would then sacrifice a goat, for fertility, and a dog, for purification. Read more here.

We do not make a big deal of Valentine's Day. Never really have. Sometimes there are gifts and candy, but not this year. I got a new van instead and a supper at McDonald's on Thursday. Tonight we are getting together with our church family for desserts.

We sang this song on Sunday. I find this song relaxing (focusing) and powerful all at the same time.

"Here I Am To Worship"

Light of the world, You step down into darkness.
Opened my eyes let me see.
Beauty that made this heart adore you hope of a life spent with you.

[Chorus]
And here I am to worship,
Here I am to bow down,
Here I am to say that you're my God,
You're altogether lovely,
Altogether worthy,
Altogether wonderful to me.

King of all days,
Oh so highly exalted Glorious in heaven above.
Humbly you came to the earth you created.
All for love's sake became poor.

[Chorus]
Here I am to worship,
Here I am to bow down,
Here I am to say that you're my God,
You're altogether lovely,
Altogether worthy,
Altogether wonderful to me.

I'll never know how much it cost to see my sin upon that cross.
I'll never know how much it cost to see my sin upon that cross.
And I'll never know how much it cost to see my sin upon that cross.
No I'll never know how much it cost to see my sin upon that cross.

[Chorus]
Here I am to worship,
Here I am to bow down,
Here I am to say that you're my God,
You're altogether lovely,
Altogether worthy,
Altogether wonderful to me.
So Here I am to worship,
Here I am to bow down,
Here I am to say that you're my God,

Late last year I entered a giveaway over at ShakeTheSalt. I won! I so rarely win anything that I was very excited. And the tee shirt was a hit!! He loves the little decorations on it. They are shiny and circular. Shiny enough that they reflect your image!

The Trendy Bebe has lots of other items too. Hop over and take a look-see!

This week we were supposed to go through all our clothes - closets, drawers, tubs, etc. I have three wardrobes - what I currently fit, my maternity wear and what I fit after I loose the baby weight provided I don't get pregnant with the next baby before I get there. I went through my clothes with my honest critic about two weeks ago. I trust my dh to tell me what looks good on me and what doesn't. I mean if he doesn't find me attractive when I'm wearing them, or if they look frumpy on me, I don't want to wear them. I want to look good, to be attractive and modest and well dressed. So, my clothes have been well pared down. In fact, some items are sorely missing, but we're working on replenishing my closet with new or new-to-me items.

Well, as I said in my TT post, our old suburban went kaput. We're not sure what is wrong with it yet, but DH said that something seized in it. We'll get our mechanic / fire fighter friend to take a look-see. DH spent the day today getting tires and other parts put on our new-to-us van.

It's been an interesting week.

On Monday a friend came to visit with parts for my computer! It was supposed to be a quick fix. Yeah, right. When is fixing a computer (4 years old) ever a quick fix??? Anyway, he worked on it a about an hour on Monday night, came back Tuesday morning and ended up taking my computer away to be backed up and reinstalled. It's like having a new computer again! And he says it still needs another part. We are waiting for it to arrive. I had been wanting to declutter my computer. There was too much on it; a lot of stuff that I wasn't using. He did it for me. Starting new can be tough (I have to reset all my preferences and find my passwords and reset cookies), but it's fast and clean!

DH has been helping out a friend for a few days now. It's been good for him - hard physical work and it's keeping him busy.

The work DH has been doing is in exchange for a vehicle. Ever since Baby R came into this world we have not had a vehicle to take the whole family somewhere. We've been borrowing a van as needed from friends. We have been so grateful for this as it keeps our family safely buckled but it is an inconvenience for us and for them! They have been so willing to help us out! Now, we can go places as a family without that extra hassle.

Oh, and the van is not worked off yet, but it is ours already. Why? Because as DH pulled into the yard this afternoon, the suburban seized. It will not turn over! Thankfully, DH was pulled into the yard when it "died" and not somewhere in the middle of the highway.

I am very very thankful today! How 'bout you? Check out Grace Alone for more thankfulness.

Psalm 91:14-15 (NIV)

"Because he loves me," says the LORD, "I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. He will call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him.

God doesn't say that we will be without trouble and hardships. God does say that he will answer us, He will be with us and he will save and honor us.

Learning to allow my man to lead has been a fairly long process. I have felt for a very long time that although my man has a strong relationship with God, he was not leading our family. What I've finally learned is that I need to allow him to be the leader that God has created him to be. Some leaders are strong and "out there"; you see them. My dh is not that type of leader. My dh is a "behind-the-scenes", quiet (sometimes silent) leader.

There is not a lot of Bible reading and leading that goes on in our home. We don't have family devotions or pray together. My dh is growing and changing slowly as we'd both like to see more of those things in our family, but God seems to take his time with J. Kind of like, if God gives him too much at once, J will throw it all out. And God uses my obedience to His Word to help that process along What does that look like for me? Quiet obedience, respectful suggestion and simple example. If I bully and nag and barge in where I'm not wanted or needed, it doesn't work. I've learned to allow God to work on J. I've learned that God has a different role and method of leadership for J to follow and use.

And then I had a light bulb moment in church yesterday. The speaker's understanding of Matthew 25:40 is to include not only Christians but non-believers as well. Very quietly dh says to me, "John 1:12 tells us how to become children of God, therefore I do not believe Matthew 25:40 includes non-believers." The speaker was reading from a very different version and I had my NIV with me and I don't like either really. I plan to go and compare versions - dig out a KJV or a NKJV. The point I am trying to make is I finally have seen the little, quiet ways that dh directs and teaches me. He instigates me to further educate myself on the scriptures to see for myself what God says in His Word.

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Matthew 25:40 NIV --- "The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

Matthew 25:40 KJV --- And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

John 1:12 NIV --- Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—

John 1:12 KJV --- But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:

In order to be a brother to Christ we need to be a son of God. Only those who receive God's gift of salvation are God's children, therefore Matthew 25:40 doesn't include non-believers.

Please bear with me as I "play" with the layout.

I went searching on Flickr for pictures of olive shoots and found these two by dirtydingus. I like the second one best because all the shoots are different sizes just like it would in a family.