Tuesday, November 25, 2008

I am convinced...

I woke up thinking about a Scripture today. It's been walking softly through my thoughts all day.


"For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." -Romans 8:38,39

Workin' 9-5

....except it was more like 12-12.. Who says SAHM's don't work?!

Last week I pretty much blew off homeschooling for a few days. What did we do instead?

To start off we all 3 overslept. (sound familiar?) It seems to always happen on Tuesdays. Then I've got to force everyone to hurry and eat breakfast and get dressed when they'd rather lounge and loaf. ( I guess Mondays are just too much for us.)

I looked around and realized that our house looked like a national disaster area, and was in desperate need of attention. Amazing how that happens with the addition of just 1 extra person being around.

So I laced up my shoes and jumped right in. But I'm like the Pig and the Pancake or the Mouse and the Cookie...

"If you give The Momma a chore she'll noticec that something else needs to be put away. When she goes to put it way, she'll see that where it belongs needs to be reorganized. When she goes to reorganize she finds not everything fits in it's old home.

She will then decide to move the furniture in order to give it all a fresh look, only to find it didn't fit that way and needs to be moved again. Which will lead her to discover that although the room looked clean, indeed it was not.

So she'll dump everything out of the drawers-clothes toys and everything in between, and sort it all out. Which will make her realize that the living room is now messier than she could go to bed and not think about.

She will then totally dig everything out of it. And realize she is hungry.

When she goes to fix something to eat she'll see that she had not washed dishes from lunch, so..."

I just pretty much kept going until it was so late that all of us should have been in bed. Nothing was spared. I even did a few loads of laundry.

It was fully 2am before I could even shut off the light beside the bed to try and sleep. Somewhere in the middle of a medical mystery show I finally nodded off.

The next day I almost got right back at it, except I knew the phone man was coming and I just couldn't rest thinking that I blew off 2 whole days of homeschooling( Mondays are often a wash because Daddy is home for his weekly day off)

I should have taken pictures of the bedroom looking like a puzzle, but I was trapped behind some bunk beds for quite a while! I think I pulled a muscle. I NEVER know when I'm over doing it until it's too late.

The not so happy ending to this story....It's a week later, and I can barely tell I did anything.

Monday, November 24, 2008

Happy Monday



We slept in...again...this morning. It feels so good to sleep as long as I want, but when I wake up and it's ...too late...I feel irritated with myself. I feel so behind as soon as I wake up!

Hubs was not home yesterday and will not be today either. He's working a half day for a friend, and then will spend the rest of the day in the city. I'm okay with him not coming. With the Holiday later this week we can use today as a catch up day. Although, since we slept in I'm wondering how much we'll actually get accomplished!

I need to plan the weekly menu and write a grocery list. I also want to wrap up homeschool Term 1. I don't really have any exam stuff ready, but I think I'll just go over what we've studied and see if she remembers any of it.

Now I'm off to check...I think 5yo went back to sleep!!!!!!!

Sunday, November 23, 2008

Drought


I think I'm in a bloggy drought. I just spent a few moments going back over some of the archives, and I gotta say, I was very interested in what I was writing.

Oh, I know that comes off as prideful or vain (and that's not what I intended), but really, some of the stuff I wrote about made me chew before I swallowed. I was going through some personal something somethings at the time, so that was the inspiration. I can read how I was processing things. Free therapy indeed.

Maybe that's the problem with me right now.I don't have enough angst. I'm too happy?! 8?

nah... One can NEVER be too happy! 8D

I know the posts have been lighter and fluffier, filler for what I don't have words to say. Maybe I just don't have it in me any more to ponder the meaning of life. Maybe right now I'm just in a season of recipes...? ? ?

Friday, November 21, 2008

Quiz corner

you are aquamarine
#7FFFD4

Your dominant hues are cyan and green. Although you definately strive to be logical you care about people and know there's a time and place for thinking emotionally. Your head rules most things but your heart rules others, and getting them to meet in the middle takes a lot of your energy some days.

Your saturation level is medium - You're not the most decisive go-getter, but you can get a job done when it's required of you. You probably don't think the world can change for you and don't want to spend too much effort trying to force it.

Your outlook on life is very bright. You are sunny and optimistic about life and others find it very encouraging, but remember to tone it down if you sense irritation.
the spacefem.com html color quiz

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Thankful


It might be something in the air. It may be that it's almost the holidays, or it may be that there are countless blog carnivals about it. Whatever it is, I've been really pondering the things I am most thankful for. Thoughts of love and life and laughter swirl and swirl round and round. How does one narrow it down to one specific thing to write about?

This morning as my hands were deep in the soap bubbles and my girls sat..er.. rather.. danced their way through breakfast it hit me!

The one constant in my life for as long as I can remember.

Music.

Music is in me and all around me. I hear it in the drip of the faucet, the click click of the keyboard, and the rustle of the leaves.

His voice becomes clear in the words of a song learned long ago. Comfort, peace, joy. Praise over flowing.

Swelling from within it speaks of the love I'm feeling, the loneliness soon to pass, or the wonders of His creation.

It causes my head to bop, my hips to shake, and my toes to tap.

God has so blessed me through music. As I stood with my fingers in the sudsy water and watched my children, I see it alive within them. They can't sit still when the peppy disco starts to play and find it impossible to keep silent during the moving crescendo's of our favorite songs. They, too, feel it, breath it, and sense it.

It's the gift He gave, and the one that continues to give and bless. What a wonderful Father we have!
----------------------------------------

For more Living in Thanksgiving click on over to Blue Castle.

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Busy, busy busy

I spent yesterday working my tale off. Today I'm paying for it, but at least all in my world is organized.

Oh, how I love the organizing!!! People truly think I'm a little kooky. Sometimes I hyperventilate from looking at cluttery messes. Really.

Today I had to spend the day getting everything else that got pushed aside back into shape.

Homeschool was first on the list. We covered a good bit. I feel so accomplished!!

I have yet to do my Monday meal planning. I guess I'll just go without a plan for the rest of the week. It usually makes for a few meals of whatever I can dig up out of the fridge, freezer and cupboard-not necessarily a bad thing.

I have a few posts brewing but not enough time to make them coherent. Check back later.

Monday, November 17, 2008

Words to Live By




"God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

Therefore will not we fear,
though the earth be removed,
and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;

Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled,
though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof.
Selah.

There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God,
the holy place of the tabernacles of the most High.

God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved:
God shall help her, and that right early.

The heathen raged, the kingdoms were moved:
he uttered his voice, the earth melted.

The LORD of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our refuge.
Selah.

Come, behold the works of the LORD, what desolations he hath made in the earth.

He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth;
he breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder;
he burneth the chariot in the fire.

Be still, and know that I am God:
I will be exalted among the heathen,
I will be exalted in the earth
.

The LORD of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our refuge.
Selah."

-Psalm 46

Saturday, November 15, 2008

Too Cute not to include!!

We love this Bocelli Performance too!

What's Playing

Currently I'm listening to Andrea Bocelli on my windows media player. His voice is so soothing. It's also a nice change. I don't care that I don't speak Italian. I like it anyway.

Mostly we listen to Christian music, but I do like more secular music too ( I just get sooo offended by most of what's played). Sometimes I'm in the mood for a little Ella Fitzgerald or Billy Holiday. Today it's Andrea Bocelli.

Friday, November 14, 2008

quiz corner

A little quzzy fun for Friday! I am apparently a Bible Genius! an Impressionist painting, and NOT from the south??? I don't know about that one,...where I live EVERYBODY says I talk "funny."


You know the Bible 98%!
 

Wow! You are awesome! You are a true Biblical scholar, not just a hearer but a personal reader! The books, the characters, the events, the verses - you know it all! You are fantastic!

Ultimate Bible Quiz
Take More Quizzes

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Your result for What Your Taste in Art Says About You Test...

Balanced, Secure, and Realistic.

7 Impressionist, -2 Islamic, 5 Ukiyo-e, -25 Cubist, -17 Abstract and 7 Renaissance!


Impressionism is a movement in French painting, sometimes called optical realism because of its almost scientific interest in the actual visual experience and effect of light and movement on appearance of objects. Impressionist paintings are balanced, use colored shadows, use pure color, broken brushstrokes, thick paint, and scenes from everyday life or nature.


People that like Impressionist paintings may not alway be what is deemed socially acceptable. They tend to move on their own path without always worrying that it may be offensive to others. They value friendships but because they also value honesty tend to have a few really good friends. They do not, however, like people that are rude and do not appreciate the ideas of others. They are secure enough in themselves that they can listen to the ideas of other people without it affecting their own final decisions. The world for them is not black and white but more in shades of grey and muted colors. They like things to be aestically pleasing, not stark and sharp. There are many ways to view things, and the impresssionist personality views the world from many different aspects. They enjoy life and try to keep a realistic viewpoint of things, but are not very open to new experiences. If they are content in their live they will be more than likely pleased to keep things just the way they are.


Take What Your Taste in Art Says About You Test
at HelloQuizzy

What American accent do you have?
Your Result: The West
 

Your accent is the lowest common denominator of American speech. Unless you're a SoCal surfer, no one thinks you have an accent. And really, you may not even be from the West at all, you could easily be from Florida or one of those big Southern cities like Dallas or Atlanta.

The Midland
 
Boston
 
North Central
 
The South
 
The Northeast
 
Philadelphia
 
The Inland North
 
What American accent do you have?
Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Thankful


You know that song that goes, "To know, know, know him, is to love, love, love him, and I doooooo...?" Well that pretty much sums it all up for me.

Knowing Him is loving Him, and I do. I don't even want to remember what living life without the Lord was like.

How can I describe a love that is so reaching and moving? How can I put into words being known even in the darkest corners of myself?

I can't.

All I can say is that when I've come to the end of my words and the end of my thoughts, when I've run as hard as I can run, 1000 miles in the wrong direction, He's waiting there for me. He has never failed me.

I'm thankful, more than thankful, that He found me.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Want to know what makes others thankful? Head on over to BlueCastle for more Living in Thanksgiving.

FREE MUSIC!!!!!


"Forerunner Music has recently launched a fresh new look on the web and is offering a FREE ALBUM download that is available now! Just go to forerunnermusic.com.

Enjoy, and tell your friends!"



SQUEEEEE!!! I love free stuff that's truly free!

I just downloaded 13 songs for free!! The only catch, if you consider it a catch, is that you have to be a first time register at the new site. I was, cause..it's a new website...and was able to download some lovely music.

My favorites so far: Light of Your Face-Misty Edwards, Glory Will Cover the Earth-Justin Rizzo, Alabaster Box-Julie Meyer, and See the Way-Misty Edwards.

I am still listening so this list will change-probably to include most if not all the songs. 8D

If I were truly tech savvy I'd figure out a way to incorporate them into my project playlist. I'm just not that good.

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Stink-Away


I am by nature a saver not a spender. I'm also one of those people who panic at clutter (wish my family joined me on that one...it would make life run so much more smoothly).

So being a cheapskate neatfreak has brought me to the place of making many of my own cleaning products. My favorite one is...well...it isn't really meant for cleaning.

I love my homemade room spray! I was first inspired by this spray several years ago. We stumbled upon it quite by accident. My mum ordered some herbs from a very she-she lah-lah company ( I think there was a sale...) and as a bonus they sent an air sanitizer.

It was heavenly I tell ya! A pretty cobalt blue spray bottle that emitted a fragrance so energizing and uplifting-and a little squirt was all it took.

My brother, living at home at the time, found that lovely little bottle of heaven and decided it would make a perfect truck spray-Big rig that is. It was a mystery where that bottle o' goodness had gotten too, until he asked where he could buy more!

Well, knowing that it cost more than it should, we did what all good spendthrifts do...we did without it. 8D

That is until one of us stumbled upon the recipe.

It is now one of my favorite things to make, and it's customizable.

Here's what you need:
a small spray bottle (the kind you find in the travel section of the health and beauty aisle is perfect!)
water
alcohol (rubbing alcohol, or some cheap vodka will do if you don't feel weird buying it)
essential oils (your choice) To replicate the little blue bottle of gold you'll need sweet orange and eucalyptus

Fill bottle about 1/3 full of water. Add around 12 drops of essential oils (more if you have a bottle bigger than a 2oz or want it extra fragrant!)

Fill to the top with alcohol.

Shake well before spraying.

I love to spray my pillows and mattress before I put on fresh sheets. I'm also known to mist the curtains near the bed too, although I'm not sure it won't stain. Spray fabrics at your own risk.

Recently we had a fish fry with the family. The spray was a life saver after all was said and done. Instead of fish, the air smelled clean, fresh and invigorating.

For more of what works head on over to Rocks In My Dryer

Sunday, November 9, 2008

Stand


"Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.

Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand

Stand"

-Ephesians 6:10-14a

I have been so aware of a raging battle within my home this past week. It was a very, very rough week and looking pretty bleak for a day or two. It was to the point I didn't know what else I could do. All I could do was stand. I think we're finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.

I can't express to you how dark it was. It was a perfect reminder that no matter how we may protect our loved ones, there is still an enemy out there fighting for their very souls.

I'm so thankful that I know that, "Greater is He that is in me, than he that is in the world!" (1John 4:4)

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Stay away!!!


ba da bum ba baaaaa!!!

not loving it.

We've been boycotting fast foods for months. We broke our boycott last June and ate a breakfast on the fly (which was okay) before hitting the zoo.

Yesterday we were so busy there was no time to eat. French fries started to sound good, so we again broke with our boycott and ordered some chicken snack wraps and fries. (5yo ordered nuggets.)

I was surprised by the lack of taste in any of the food. Everything seemed flat. Nothing tasted like real food. We were sorry we even bothered. Our "treat" turned into a trick.

Our reasons for boycotting fast food were reinforced. How can people eat that stuff? How did we ever eat that stuff? Seriously, even 5yo wasn't impressed, and she's well...5. The only thing she liked was the mini Barbie that came with it-That and the ranch she dipped everything in. I guess it covered up the "taste" of it all.

All I gotta say it blech! It really was gross. I appreciate the good food I'm able to make from scratch in just a little bit of time.

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Oh, I am sick....

All I can say, is "Lord have mercy."

"Oh, clap your hands, all you peoples!
Shout to God with the voice of triumph!
For the LORD Most High is awesome;
He is a great King over all the earth.
He will subdue the peoples under us,
And the nations under our feet.
He will choose our inheritance for us,
The excellence of Jacob whom He loves. Selah

God has gone up with a shout,
The LORD with the sound of a trumpet.
Sing praises to God, sing praises!
Sing praises to our King, sing praises!
For God is the King of all the earth;
Sing praises with understanding.

God reigns over the nations;
God sits on His holy throne
.
The princes of the people have gathered together,
The people of the God of Abraham.
For the shields of the earth belong to God;
He is greatly exalted."
-Psalm 47

And may I say, it's not his skin color that sickens me, not at all....

I vote my conscience

I Voted!



I do every electon without exception-even the small "insignificant" ones.

And as one of my friends put it so cleverly this morning:

"I did my civic duty and voted.

I now have the right to complain about anything and everything that happens in politics!"