My Newest Facination

Facebook! I said that I would never join. Never say never. I joined and now I am hooked!

Homemade Laundry Detergent 3 Cents Per Load

Over at Kim's blog www.inashoe.com she posted a recipe for homemade laundry detergent that sounds great. Fels-Naptha soap is excellent for stain removal and it is used in this recipe.

Looks Like It Is Time To Shovel The Roof

This is what it looks like out the girls' window on the second floor. On the bottom of the snow is a very thick (at least 6 inches) layer of ice. Just think it is only January 29. Usually it snows every day in February. I think this year we will definately exceed our average of 200 inches a year. We are already ahead for the season. I guess thats what comes from living in a snow belt!

1st Haircut of My Beautiful Big Girl

A Beautiful Baby Girl

The Easy Readers Bible

My little girl loves to read her Bible thanks to the Easy Readers Bible, a Bible that she can read on her own after 1 and a half years of Phonics instruction. Not a Bible I would normally recommend because of the pictures of Jesus, but if it gets her excited about reading her Bible that is wonderful. It all starts with a love for the Word anyway. Another way in which we have helped to create a love for the Word of God was by sending her to bed listening to the NIrV The Little Kids' Adventure Bible read by kids, for kids.

Magic Eraser

Got dirty, dingy floors? Try magic eraser. It makes them look like new again. My daughter loves to make our floors look like new again. Make Magic Eraser your new best friend when it comes to cleaning impossible things.

Sick- Drink Water like it is going out of Style

Today we returned home from a trip and I was feeling terrible (achy body, extreme tiredness, and perpetual runny nose). Since I am nursing I am very limited on what I can take. Plus, what I take affects my milk supply (so I avoid taking anything unless I NEED too). I went right to bed and took a well needed nap and still woke up feeling bad. Then I decided to start FLOODING my body with water like it was going out of style. Surprisingly, it is working! I AM feeling better!

So many times we neglect hydration when we are feeling bad. Hydration is the best thing we can do for ourselves when we are feeling bad. Even if we do not want to drink, we NEED to make ourselves drink and we will be feeling better sooner. This is a lesson that I have had to learn the hard way in the past. I think now that I know this I will be better at practicing it in the future.

Homemade diaper wipe recipe

1 roll of paper towels
an old diaper wipe box
2 Tbs. baby bath soap
2 Tbs. baby oil
2 cups of boiled water, cooled

Tear off the paper towels and place them in the diaper wipe box. Mix bath soap, baby oil, and water together. Pour over the paper towels. Now you have your own very cheap diaper wipes that work great.

From the Mouth of Babes

Kids say the most honest things! A recent conversation with my daughter went like this, "Mom, what are you doing?" "Popping a pimple". "Where? I don't see it. You mean that small red bump that looks like a bug bite?" "Yes." "If you leave it alone then it will go away on it's own, just like a bug bite." "Sure, you're right."

Movie Suggestion

Friday nights are our family fun night. Last night we watched Sergeant York. It is about a man who is an excellent sharpshooter, becomes a Christian, and goes from being a pacifist to a war hero. It is based on a true story and won academy awards. It is very clean and the WHOLE family LOVED it. I plan on adding it to our movie collection some time in the future. Highly recommended!!!!!

Chocolate and Peanutbutter Cheesecake Bars

2 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
3/4 cup butter, melted
3/4 cup granulated sugar, divided
1 2/3 cups Nestle Toll House Swirled Milk Chocolate and Peanut Butter morsels, divided
2 packages of cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon vanilla extract 4 large eggs

Preheat oven to 325 F
Combine crumbs, butter, and 1/4 cup sugar in medium bowl. Remove 1 cup mixture and reserve for topping. Press remaining mixture onto bottom of ungreased 13x9 inch baking pan. Sprinkle 3/4 cup morsels over crust.
Beat cream cheese, remaining sugar, flour, and vanilla extract in a large mixer bowl until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until smooth. Pour over crust and morsels in pan. Sprinkle with reserved crumb topping and remaining morsels.
Bake for 25-30 minutes or until set. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Refrigerate until firm. Cut into bars. Serves 24 bars.

More recent pictures of the other children

Daddy in training

Land's End Guarantee

We recently (August) purchased some clothes from Land's End and they were too big. The kids had already wore them and I did not have my receipt any longer so I thought we were out of luck. Anyhow, I chatted online with a rep from Land's End and she looked up my order and said that it was no problem for me to return the merchandise or exchange them and I could also get free shipping. I think this is great! They are so confident in their product that it is guaranteed if for any reason you are not satisfied you can return or exchange them. This can either be done at Sears or online at www.landsend.com Another benefit is that with lots of children I want clothes that WILL LAST and these DO. I LOVE them.

Book Recommendations

Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God by J.I. Packer

I highly recommend this book as it helps us to understand our responsiblity in evangelism and God's sovereignty in evangelism. It is a small (120 pages) but powerful book.

Another book recommendation is for the children: The Coral Island by Ballentine. My oldest son is reading this book and highly recommends it. He laughs out loud and works very diligently throughout the day just so that he can go read more of it. He says that it reminds him of his favorite book and that he definately WANTS more. It is on his top list of favorites. It came highly recommended at Vision Forum.

Another book that we have enjoyed as I have been reading aloud to the children is Little House in the Big Woods. As a child I grew up loving Little House on the Praire t.v. episodes, but this is far better. The kids and I looked foward to each new chapter and happily shared the days reading with dad. We look foward to reading more in the series. Currently we are reading Pinocchio and loving it too.

Aim at Nothing and Hit It Everytime

This is a saying a used to hear daily from one of my professors in college. How true he was! What are your goals or plans for this year? Are you going to live life by the "seat of your pants" and just let each day pass with out really accomplishing much or are you going to live life in light of eternity? We never know when the day may come for us to leave this earth. Are you ready?

If not then your first priority this year should be to repent of your sins and place your trust in Christ for the forgiveness of your sins and the hope of eternal life.

For the rest of us who are Christians we need to live purposeful lives. We should evaluate everything that we do and ask the question, "am I glorifying God in this pursuit?". Are we a growing Christian or a stagnant Christian? I grew up in a home where T.V. was emphasized and not a good book. I am not saying that anything is wrong with T.V., but it needs to be purposeful and not just a relaxation or brainless activity we do. As I write this I am guilty of this very thing many times. But this year I am purposing in my heart to the Lord to live a life in light of eternity, evaluating EVERYTHING I do and say. What will my children say, my parents say, my in-laws say, and my friends say about me when I am gone? Will they say that she lived life in light of eternity and that she glorified God in her actions? I sure hope so.

We not only need goals but we need a POA (plan of action). Every good general in the Army has a POA and so should we. If war was approached with the same attitude that most Christians have (living daily life with out a plan) then we would lose. Friends, we are in a war (a war against Satan) and we need to be fully equipped to fight this war. How is your spiritual life? What do you plan on reading this year? Who do you plan on inviting over to your house soon? How are you going to show and tell Christ this year? With whom?

Please do not use the excuse, "I do not like to read or I am too tired to read or I am too slow to read or I have already read enough". If you approach life with this attitude then you will NOT grow. Did you know that if you just read 3 pages a day then at the end of the year you will have read 1095 pages? That is about 10 books that average 100 pages per book. Be purposeful in your life this year.