Coming Soon!

Frugal Living

Times are continuing to get rougher and rougher, in our part of the country. There are automotive and RV industries in our area, that most have closed and still some are really down on hours.

These areas then, also have an impact on other areas, retail, entertainment, vacation, and food! And I think, just about every walk of life is affected. I know my family has been affected.

My husband has a good job, and will probably continue to have a job no matter how bad things get, but we are still affected, by food prices, rising utility prices, rising prices of building materials, rising prices of clothing, etc. We are a one-income family.

Now, more then ever, we as women need to look to the Proverbs 31 Woman. And we can find comfort in her work.

Her work is all done for the Lord. She daily strives to bring glory to God, and happiness to her husband.

We have become a society that is dependent on what we can afford, what we can buy when we need it. What if you can't afford? What if you can afford, but could off-set your costs by doing work yourself?


Pro 31:11 Her husband puts his confidence in her, and he will never be poor.

As long as we are working hard for God, and not competing against the neighbors, we will not be poor. You maybe "poor" according to the Hollywood standard, but according to God's standard, you won't be.


Col 3:23 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as though you were working for the Lord and not for people.

I look to the Proverbs 31 Woman, and I LOVE this verse. It gives me more confirmation on my spending 3 hours grocery shopping, and stopping at several store before I'm done:


Pro 31:14 She brings home food from out-of-the-way places, as merchant ships do.

She goes and looks for the best things to bring to her family. She probably knows that she can go to this place here and get the best quality and price on meat. Then she goes here to get the best quality and price on her linens. And so on. She shops for the best. That is what I try to do in "deal shopping". Look here if you want to learn more on how to find the best deals at stores in our area. Don't be afraid to spend extra time on getting good deals on food, clothing, etc. This is your JOB, as a wife, and mother!


Pro 31:15 She gets up before daylight to prepare food for her family and to tell her servant women what to do.


Pro 31:18 She knows the value of everything she makes, and works late into the night.

She loves her husband and her family so much, that she wakes up early and goes to bed late. In between, she is working to improve their standard of living.

In several verses, she is making things. She spins her threads and weaves her clothes. She makes sure her family has warm clothing. She makes clothes and sells them!


Pro 31:25 She is strong and respected and not afraid of the future.

Nor should we be afraid of our future, as long as we are doing our Father's business, and looking after the needs of our husband and our family.

So, do we need to weave our own cloth, and make clothes to sell? Well, not necessarily. I believe if you have any desire at all though, to work with your hands, do it. Do you have a sewing machine? DO you have access to one? Play around with it. Can you make your own curtains for $30, instead of spending $300. by folding over the ends of some fabric and sewing a line? With a little effort you can use a cheap sewing machine to save your family a lot of money!

What about having a small garden, or a few potted vegetable plants? A little effort can give your family some fresh vegetables, and save a lot of money. Last summer, we has a small garden, and we were able to eat FREE MEALS by eating out of our garden! We had lots of stir-fry veggies. And zucchini bread, and corn on the cob, salads, etc.

What about getting a clothes line? And hanging out clothes? Save your gas and/or electric. Plus the fresh smell.... mmmmm.... I want to get a clothesline. And of course, being winter, I won't hang my clothes out. But summer... I love that fresh smell.

Get some chickens! We have chickens and I have thoroughly enjoyed not having to buy eggs. Plus I love watching those girls cluck around the barn yard, and dig for bugs. And it is SO much healthier. If you have the land get a cow, or something else for meat.

Use what you have! Don't go out and buy new, if you have something that you can "make do" or something you can fix-up and save money with. Our mini-van has problems, it is a 1999 model, and now 10 years old. And we talked about getting a new(er) one, but our van is paid for. And with a tune-up, our van could be just-as-good. And there is no extra payment per month to go along with it. Don't go out and buy something that you don really NEED.

To go along with that one, keep things in good working order. Take care of what you have, and your things will last longer. Keep things clean, oiled, tuned-up, etc. And your things should work well for you a lot longer.

Keep YOURSELF and your family in good working order too! Stay away from lots of sugar. Make sure you are eating plenty of fruits and veggies. Drink lots of water, and less sodas and juices (unless fresh!). Make food from scratch. That way you know what is in it. Carry anti-bacterial in your purse. I don't want to over-use anti-bacterial, because SOME bacteria is good. But the flu virus you picked up on the handle of the shopping cart is NOT. Buy things locally. Go to flea markets, go to local produce markets and get things local! These are most likely better for you!

I hope these ideas give you some motivation to make some simple changes, but enough to bring some good changes to your family. And make your husband proud!

Baking Day & a Prayer Request!

I had done this before Thanksgiving (I think!), but I have been wanting to get started on this again. Baking Day!

I was first inspired by MoneySavingMom, when she had blogged about having a baking day months ago. I did my own baking day, and definitely was rewarded with easier items to go with my meals.

Well, now she is blogging about another baking day, and that was all the motivation I needed, to do something I have been wanting to do for a week or more now.

So far, I plan to make homemade white bread, waffles, maybe yogurt, maybe some rice (I have read that you can make rice, regular nor instant, ahead of time and freeze it for a quick side dish or addition to a dish), and we will see if I can figure anything else out!

So, come back tomorrow, and I will be having a Baking Day!

A side note: if you all could pray for my 2 youngest, Caden and Koen, I took them to the doctor today and found out that the colds that they just got last week has caused them to get an ear infection. So pray for them to have fast healing! My baby, Koen, is very sad and he doesn't understand why he is hurting! BTW- did you know that Meijer give free amoxocillin out to kids? I thought that was so awesome! Thank you for your prayers!

A Challenge

Yes- I am challenging YOU!!!

One of my goals, as a wife & mother, is to model MY life after the Proverbs 31 Woman. And one of the aspects, I have been pushing myself on, is how she works with her hands. I guess I push myself on this one, because I love working with my hands, and I just haven't done it enough in the past.

About 6 or so years ago, I learned how to crochet from my beautiful grandmother, who has since gone home to be with the Lord. She taught me a basic straight crochet technique. I have made blankets, and scarves. Nothing more because I don't know how!!!

So I am going to challenge myself this next month to learn to fine tune my crocheting skills and make something more complicated, OR to learn how to knit. How will I learn how to knit? I will teach myself on the Internet. Or maybe not... It sounds like such a lofty goal, after I have it all typed out and for all to see...

But, I am giving myself a month to at least start. I am a SAHM but I also have a lot of things to do in a day. SO it isn't like I have loads of time to try to fill up with things. I am just like you, overloaded with housework, piles of laundry, a constant thin layer of dust (because of our stove), endless supply of energy from 4 little boys, homework, barn chores, snuggling, breaking up fights, making dinners, on the Worship Team at my church, serving on the Women's Ministry team, 3 blogs and a web site, and just trying to overall make my husband proud and my children grow in life and the Lord. This is not a list of overwhelming tasks, these are the things that the Lord has blessed me with daily. I love to do these things (well, dusting is boarder line...), but I am also choosing to improve myself.

Plus, I also have the "threat" of having arthritis & possibly Alzheimer's, it is in my family tree. Along with who-knows-what-life-is-gonna-bring. The more I work with my hands and keep my mind sharp, the better for me in the long run... Plus, did you know your mind keeps even sharper when you learn brand new things?

So, that's what I'm doin'... fighting Alzheimer's and keeping my mind sharp!

I am also challenging YOU. I challenge you to find something new, something you have always wanted to do, and DO IT! Please leave a comment here if you take my challenge, then keep me updated!

Her Value

This study is taken from Elizabeth George's Book, "Beautiful in God's Eyes". I suggest that you purchase this book! Her books really challenge you as a woman!

This is an in depth study on the Proverbs 31 Woman. We have already discussed "Her Character". To catch-up on our study, please go HERE.

"Her price is much higher than jewels" Proverbs 31:10

A jewel is something invaluable, it's something very rare. The King's mother was trying to get across to him what a treasure a woman is, who truly counts God as number 1! Being a jewel to her husband means that "she brought the love, the color, the joy, the life and energy into the home." We are to supply the beauty in our homes, for our husband, for our children. We need to paint a pretty picture, even if times aren't so great. EG says, "Just as gems increase in value as time passes, we who are God's beautiful women- His jewels- should, too. " So, here are somethings that we should work on to help make those people's life around us, better:

• Grow in practical skills- like homemaking (ability cook, clean etc... and then USE the skill, put it to practice!), money management (we need to at least know how-to do these items, if not take care of these), time management (Begin planning & scheduling your day. And then Follow The Plan!).


• Grow in Emotional Stability- Master your tolerance (or endurance. We need to gain control of our emotions. In times of emotional strain, we need to pull from our strength in Jesus Christ (phil.4:13) and pray through things! He will be our strength!), Master your Temper (We could go so many ways on this one. Look to your Bible for these verses- Prov. 14:30, Prov 19:2, Prov. 19:11, Prov. 25:28. Start making a list of undesirable traits that you want to get rid of!), Master your Tongue (James 3:10, Prov. 12:18. We need to : Prov 10:19, Prov. 15:28, Prov. 16:21, 24 & Prov. 31:26. Speak thoughtfully, with a soft tongue!)

As a woman, I have to be completely honest. As women, we do tend to let our emotions run most of what we do. We get WAY too emotional. We tend to "freak out" if things don't happen as planned. Or if someone is being SUPER SLOW in the grocery line, or if someone cuts us off while we are driving... And then, do we try to do everything we can at home? Do we clean, do we cook, do we make our homes outwardly beautiful, warm & full of love? Is our home a place where our families can come home to rest, and enjoy each other? Do we try hard enough? I can say I try hard, but can I try harder?

I hope this is challenging you as much as it's challenging me... and I know we are being challenged in different ways! Like we said at the beginning of today, a jewel becomes more priceless as time goes by. Let's make ourselves more priceless also.

Lord- We come to you again today, and pray that we would be beautiful to you! That is our hearts desire. We want to be a priceless jewel! We want our families to reap the harvest of what we have sewn. And we want all of the glory and honor to go to You, God. We love you, please let all we say and all we do today on forth, bring people to You. Help us not to be discouraged about these words we've read today, but help it bring encouragement and a challenge to our lives, to better serve our families, or friends, our church, but most importantly, YOU. Again, we love You, Lord. Help us to do these things in Your name. ~Amen

Moneysaving Gift Ideas

Part of being like the Proverbs 31 Woman, is being able to work with your hands! One aspect of being able to work with your hands is the ability to get crafty! So if you want to save some money and want to get cRafTy with your gifts this holiday season, go to my other blog HeRe!

Her Character II

We are continuing our study of the book "Beautiful in God's Eyes" by Elizabeth George. To see the other parts of this study go here.

What does beautiful mean to you? Beautiful, to me, used to mean, slim, tall, tan, muscle, great hair, the trendiest clothing... Thank God, that He doesn't define beauty in the same way. (Isaiah 55:8-9)

"Who can find a virtuous woman?" Proverbs 31:10

EG says "The meaning of the word "virtuous" can be likened to the two sides of a coin. Power of Mind (moral principles and attitudes) makes up the image on the one side, and Power of body (potency and effectiveness) makes up the other."

Let's dive into these two ideas a little bit.

Powerful Mind

A woman who is beautiful to God is:

• Pure- a woman of virtue (Prov. 31:10)
• Honest- the heart of her husband safely trusts her (vs 11-12)
• Industrious- she is busy from sunup to sundown managing her interests and expanding her enterprises (vs 13-19, 21-22, 24, 27, 31)
• Thrifty- her skill with finances enables her to care for her loved ones and increase her property (vs 14, 16)
• Strong in Character- She faces the daily challenges of life with undaunted courage (vs 25, 29)
• Kind- Compassion for the unfortunate governs her life and sweet speech flows from her lips (vs 20, 26)
• Wise- walking in wisdom is her way of life (vs 26)
• Holy- She wholeheartedly loves the Lord (vs 30)

Powerful Body

• She works willingly with her hands (Proverbs 31:13)
• Those willing hands plant a vineyard (vs 16)
• They also operate a spindle and a distaff (vs 19)
• She works from early in the morning (vs 15) until late at night (vs 18)
• She nurses the needy (vs 20)
• She weaves the cloth for her family's clothes (vs 21), for her household needs (vs 22), and for sale as a professional (vs 24)
• Never idle, she watches over and builds her home (vs 27)

***These 2 lists come straight from EG's book**

Wow... OK! There is already a lot to digest there, but I want to move on, and we will come back to these in a minute!

First of all, when we say "virtuous", what does that mean? EG says that the Hebrew word for "virtuous" is 200-plus times in the Bible to describe an army. "This Old Testament word refers to a force and is used to mean able, capable, mighty, strong, valiant, powerful, efficient, wealthy, and worthy." Wow, so God uses the word "virtuous" to describe this woman, who is beautiful in His eyes!

OK, this is a TON to absorb now! And if you aren't feeling convicted by all of this today... well, maybe you SHOULD be! Because NONE of us is perfect, NOT ONE! We all need to strive to be obedient to God's Words.

In Elizabeth George's book, she has in each section, "The How-To's of Beauty". This is how we can put these things into action! So here are her suggestions on how we can hope to achieve these goals:

• Cultivate the desire- what kind of legacy do you want to leave behind? What will your children and children's children say about you??? This should motivate us to continue on the path of seeking His desires for us.
• Give it time- No, this does not happen over night! You will not just wake up one morning and BE the Virtuous Woman! It will take time. Time to fine tune and build the skills, that maybe, you were never taught, or never desired to learn before! But if we have that desire now, that is the first step!
• Time Reading God's Word- this needs to be a priority if we really desire His will
• Time Memorizing God's Word- another great priority
• Time with Other Women- (Titus 2:3) More specifically surround yourself with Godly women. This helps build each other up,by loving on one another, encouraging and praying for each other.
• Time Today- Decide today is the day you are going to live according to His will, and how He wants you to. Start today. Don't put it off!
• Time Over a Lifetime- It is going to take time to become a woman who is truly beautiful to God. So don't get discouraged over the list of beautiful qualities, that seem so hard to achieve! You need to allow yourself some time to work at these things!

So! I hope that gives us all something to think about, and start digesting today. And I know there is a LOT to absorb. But our purpose of desiring to be this woman, is not for ourselves, or SHOULDN'T be. It should be FOR GOD. The more we are like this woman, the more people will be able to see God in us, and also desire to be His son or daughter.

So, what is your #1 needed improvement??? Oh man, I have so many... One day at a time though!

Lord- I pray right now that women who read this and who are following along with this study, will be encouraged and not overwhelmed. The list of things that we ARE NOT can be overwhelming! Help us to take them a day at a time. Help us to desire these things, not for ourselves, but for You and Your kingdom! Help us us realize that we should work diligently at these daily. Help us also to achieve this things that ARE POSSIBLE, through YOU! God, we love You and desire You so much. Thank You for loving us so much. ~Amen

Her Character

Today, I am going to start a study based on Elizabeth George's book, "Beautiful in God's Eyes".

The first chapter is on the Character of a Virtuous Woman.

"Who can find a virtuous woman?" Proverbs 31:10

In Mrs. George's Book, she goes into a little background on the writing of this chapter. In Proverbs 31:1, it says "The words of King Lemuel, the utterance which his mother taught him." In verses 1-9, she is teaching him about leadership. But when it comes to verse 10, she wants to get across to him the importance of finding a good, wife. One that would be a great treasure to him. In the Hebrew writings, these qualities are written according to their alphabet. EG (Elizabeth George) surmises, it is because the boy is young, and it would be easier for her some to remember these qualities if she put them to their alphabet.

These words (verse's 10-31) aren't the words of a man, they are written by King Lemuel, but they are the words given to him by his mother. So, it is encouraging to know that these aren't some unattainable standard set by a man. They are attainable!!!

The virtuous woman seems an impossible ideal. But she isn't impossible... God shows us in the Bible some other places where there are virtuous women. One being in Ruth 3:11 " And now, my daughter, do not fear. I will do to you all that you ask. For all the city of my people knows that you are a woman of virtue. "

The next time, we will explore what virtuous means! I want to keep these studies short so we all have time for it!!! Thanks for joining me!

Proverbs 31 Study

I hold the Proverbs 31 Woman, as a woman who's standard's, we, as women, need to follow. Or STRIVE to follow.

She has many qualities, that are very desirable to us, but more desirable to the Lord.

I encourage you to read Proverbs 31.

You will find that this woman has many traits. Elizabeth George wrote "Beautiful in God's Eyes". In her book, she outlines the different characteristics that each of us should strive for. They are as follows:

• Her Character
• Her Value
• Her Loyalty
• Her Contribution
• Her Mission
• Her Heart
• Her Provision
• Her Discipline
• Her Vision
• Her Work
• Her Confidence
• Her diligence
• Her Mercy
• Her Preparation
• Her Handiwork
• Her Husband
• Her Industry
• Her Clothing
• Her Words
• Her Management
• Her Family
• Her Praise
• Her Faith
• Her Reward

Wow. So many qualities.... Are we good in each of these??? Would each of these areas in our lives be pleasing to God??? Ouch. I can personally say, I have a long way to go. A LONG way.

Starting today, I want to cover each of these qualities, as outlined in Elizabeth's George's Book. If you have this book, get it out, and follow along! If you don't, I encourage you to get it. You can go to her site HERE and check it out. She has some very decent prices.

So, my first question for you is, which qualities of the Proverbs 31 woman, do you want to improve on? Which verse convicts you the most?

I hope you join me everyday, as we review these qualities, and strive for God's understanding in who HE wants us to be.

Making Your Home a Haven- Day 5, Inviting & Giving

GO here to see the challenge for today...

Today's challenge is to make our homes Inviting and Giving. Inviting in that we should have more people over. And giving ... we should give to people just because!

Today, is going to be a busy day for me. But I wanted to post some ideas and things for you to think about.

I am really horrible at having people over. We moved into our home about 2 1/2 years ago, and have remodeled it ourselves. Well, there are still somethings that need finished... And we have designed it with an open living space that is wonderful for entertaining. And there is plenty of room for people! I am going to challenge myself, and I am also going to challenge YOU- to make at LEAST 2 days a month, to have a family or 2 over. For dinner or for just a cake or brownies & coffee. The point isn't a meal, it's fellowship. I am challenging myself for at least 2 days, because SURELY I can find 2 weekend days to have people over!

Also, the holiday season is coming up. I am going to have the women in my family over for a Girls Get Together. On this night, I am going to show a movie (Sleepless in Seattle or It's a Wonderful Life...). We will also be drinking something warm... coffee or cocoa (mmm..). And enjoying some desserts. Just getting together and enjoying the other's company is the point!

I also have been thinking over what a lady at our church does for her husband, to open her home, serve her husband and other people. On Opening day of Shot-gun Season (this Saturday), she told her husband she would wake up early every Saturday morning and make food for people to enjoy the morning of going to hunting. She makes pancakes, sausage, etc. for whoever decides to come over. What a wonderful way to not only welcome people into YOUR home, but to also say you value your husband and what he enjoys! That has challenged me! She has done this for many years now. Oh, and her requirement for waking early the whole season??? He takes her shopping! =) I think that is a nice trade-off!

So, even if you aren't inviting people over this weekend, I want to challenge you to make some plans! Invite people over at least 2 times this month. Also challenge yourself NOT to count Thanksgiving or Christmas!!!

So, what are YOUR plans???

Make Your Home a Haven- Finish of Day 4

Here is how our Thanks & Giving Trees turned out. I think they went pretty well.

I explained what the boys needed to do, and they were excited. They are ready to do things for other people, and of course had a list of things they were thankful for!

Yes, this actually says Caden folded laundry for me! He is a HUGE helper. He LOVES to load and unload the dishwasher, fold laundry, pick up toys... Somethings I have to "recheck" for him, but he is a boy that's list could be a mile long everyday!

I think it will be a fun project to review around Thanksgiving.

Making Our Home a Haven- Day 4, Fun

If you haven't been keeping up, you can scroll down to find my other entries for the week and you can also go to the "motivator" on her blog, Monica.

Today, our focus is fun. Making memories, making coming home an atmosphere, not of tension or worry. But when the kids come home, or hubby comes home, they know they can look forward to being there.

One thing I do to make it more fun for boys and daddy when they all get home, is I get all of the work done before they come home! I try to have all work done. Or at least appear to have everything done, so that the tension of an out-of-control house, is not an issue.

Next, for the bigger boys, we do the dirty work first. We get that dreaded homework done. After homework is done, they love to make books, draw & play dress-up (you know dress-up for boys... policemen, firemen, cowboys...)

Today, here is my goal:

-Wake-up at 7am, boys up
-fed, dressed, practice those spelling words one more time!
-hubby off to work
-boys off to school
-computer time for mama, before baby wakes!
-Off to the barn ( I forget to list this, but we get our eggs, and feed chickens & cats)
-Laundry (Didn't get it finished yesterday!)
-Start of "Thanks & Giving" (see below for details)
-Sewing
-Work on Drawing Project for our Women's Ministry Tonight!
(while I do that, Caden will probably be coloring!)
-Boys home, hubby home!
-work on our "Thanks & Giving" with all boys
-Dinner: Talapia w/ Hawaiian Marinade (Mmmm!), cut potatoes (from the garden) & either sweet muffins from last week, or Pumpkin Rolls that I made last night...
-Then I am off to day 2 of our Women's Ministry Classes... And day 2 of our drawing projects! We will be finishing our Christmas Cards. I am very excited!
-Home, boys will probably be in bed, thanks to hubby
-Relax at home, Bed! (Yayyy!!!)

So, there is the day. Not everything is going to be fun, but a prep time so we can have fun.

But, one project I saw and wanted to do was called "Thanks & Giving" Trees. (The original idea is here, but I have revised it a little.) You start with a skeleton of a tree. Make another one. On one, label "Thanks", on the other label "Giving". Then make a bunch of leaves out of colored paper, or find some on the internet. Cut these leaves out.

Second stage of this project, will be the explanation and doing it! These will be for my boys... Everyday, the boys need to write one thing on a leaf that they are thankful for, and paste it on the Thanks Tree. And then write one thing they did that day, where they Gave something, like helping someone out with something, making someone smile, drew someone a picture, etc., then put that on a leaf and paste it to the Giving Tree. I think this idea can be a real good challenge for children. I want my boys to remember that they should not only be receiving things (which they are Thankful for), but they should also be doing things FOR OTHERS. This is an area of struggle... especially for most kids. I hope this is a challenge that they will remember, and continue to try to improve on.

And the thing that makes my boys the happiest when they come home, is to play with each other. I have 2 boys in school, a 2nd grader & a 1st grader. Then, I have a (almost)4 year old at home, and a 7 1/2 mo old. So the older 3 really miss each other, and they run off and play.

The thing that makes my husband the happiest when he comes home, is no dishes in the sink, and no laundry to be put away... I can USUALLY accomplish this. The laundry is the hardest, because there is SO MUCH of it!

So what are YOU doing today that is FUN???

Making Your Home a Haven- Day 3, Cared For

To see this weeks challenges go to Monica's blog HeRE.

Today, we are going a step further than cleaning, and actually "CARING FOR" things in our home. We are going a step further, to make things last, to make it look as new as possible, for as long as possible. Take our organization to the next level. We need to do those little projects that just keep getting put off...

Do you have anything that needs some special attention? Do you have some mending that needs done? Do you need to organize you winter clothes, and put away those summer clothes?

You guessed it... I need to put summer stuff away! I will be doing that for all of us (6 of us). I will also be doing some laundry, and I do have a few things to mend, and some other things that I need to sew.

Here is my day:

Woke up at 7 AM.

Boys up, dressed, fed

Boys off to school! =)

Hubby off to work =(

A movie for Caden, baby still sleeping

Mommy computer time, and study (ahhh...)

Laundry started for the day

Sewing started, polishing furniture

Sorting winter/Summer clothes

1:45- boys off school early

Homework, reading

Put clothes away

Dinner (Tater Tot Casserole)

Hubby home

Church

home & to bed!

What does your day look like???

Making Your Home a Haven- Day 2 Clean!

My day got off track a bit (I will have some pics in a little while to show why!), but if you'd like to keep up this week with making your Home a Haven, go here. Today, is a day on cleaning! I will be getting this done, shortly. Have a great day!!!

Groceries This Week

Here I go again... still can't believe I am takin' pics of my groceries.


So, shopping today consisted of Walgreen's, Meijer, & Scott's (Kroger's).


I got all of the following for $53. plus $3. back for my next shopping trip. Here's the groceries:

2 gal. milk, 1 soy milk, baby food, baby cereal, 5 boxes of cereal, 2 Breyer's Ice Cream, 3 3L of Ice Mountain Water, pk toilet paper, 2 syrup, 1 Bisquik, 2 jelly, 3 bags shredded cheese, 2 Lysol cleaning spray, 1 Lysol cleaning wipes, 2 Chex mix, 2 bags salad, 2 BC frosting, 2 canned pumpkin, 2 sweetened condensed milk, 1 old fashioned oats, 2 scotchbright scrubbers, 1 tub butter, 2 tubes toothpaste, 1 box fishfry batter mix, 1 3pk plastic take-along containers, 3- 3pks tin pans, 2 pillsbury crescent rolls, 2 pks Safefree pads, 2 Dial hand soap, 1 applejuice, & 1 pk pepperoni.

I think that's it... That works on my $80. budget... I think I am going to decrease it soon... Not sure if I'm ready yet or not!!! Any questions, let me know!!!

Making My House a Haven

UPDATED!!! SEE BEFORE AND AFTER< BELOW!!!

I found this blog, and it is going right along with what I talked about last week, and wanting to do a thorough clean of my kitchen! Of course, last week was a little busy and so is this week. But only my evenings are busy, so hopefully participating in "Making Your House a Haven", I will be able to make my home ready for the activities of the evening!



Today, on her site, she is discussing "Tidy". She has challenged herself to tidy up spots that may have become a little unruly. Like my cupboards! I have got a great accumulation of groceries lately, and my old places for things, no longer "fit" into my current load. So the challenge of "Tidy" today. I am going to tidy my kitchen.




I will include before and after pics! ***shudder***



I am taking this pictures in the morning after the rush of the boys leaving the house. I had a busy day yesterday, and our evening was a come home. Finish some projects, and go to bed. So everything else, like the kitchen, go neglected!




So here are the before pics:

Here is the catch all spot in our house, the island. It isn't too bad, but it need to be cleaned up! There is also my calendar, which I have good intentions of keeping track of the boys schoolwork.



I NEED to figure out something different with the refrigerator, All of the school papers & Pictures...

Here is my pantry, it's not a huge mess, but there are a few disorganized areas...



This trash closet has been an overflow for extras... I need to get a better plan!

Today, I have got the boys around for school, spent some time in the Word, been SO encouraged in the verses that the Lord gave me today, and now I am blogging... My plan for this day, is to get laundry going, type up some things for my hubby, work on my kitchen, make some notes on a baby shower for a wonderful gal at church (the beginning!), sewing some shirts. By this time, the boys will be home, and homework will need to be done! Then Hubby will get home. I will be preparing for dinner, Eat. Clean-up. Then boys are off to a "Den Meeting" with the boy scouts, and at the same time Hubby is supposed to be at a Church Meeting. He will be splitting himself into 2 at this time... At that time, I hope to continue in anything I hadn't got done earlier in the day. And that evening, I will work on my couponing so hopefully I can go shopping tomorrow. Then, I will probably end my day in the Word. My favorite! Then Bed. Ahhh... It sounds good already!

I am going to encourage you to visit the blog above, and also challenge yourself today to "tidy up" some neglected areas. And as soon as I am finished, I will include pics of my finished project! Stay tuned! =)

Alright, I worked literally 4 hours on my kitchen... wiping down everything, reorganizing, throwing out... So here is the after pics:

Here is the pantry, I organized things a little better, and moved some stuff out, hopefully you can tell a difference. I can!

Here is my trash closet aka over flow closet... I moved some stuff around in here also. Moved some in, some out...

Here is the overall kitchen. My fridge is cleaned off, my island is cleaned off, counters have been cleared & wiped down. I feel much better about my more organized kitchen!!!

Have you decided to "tidy" anything today???

Fruits of My Prep Day

OK, so I am a human, right? Not really a question... more of a statement, in case you hadn't figured it out. So, I had my big plans. And I did pretty well. Although, I think my oven has an attitude??? It has happened on about 4 different occasions... I am making something on the stove or in the oven. Something I have made many, many times. Then it happens. There is the burning smell, and sometimes even the smoke detector. This is not due to human error. I mean there have been plenty of human error situations, but these are not the times. I put my first batch of muffins in yesterday, for the right temp, if the time says bake for 15-20 minute, I always have to bake it for the 15, 20 would be too long. So I followed all the instructions. And the about 9 minutes left on the timer, I smelled burning. Bummer. I opened the oven to golden brown muffins. I pulled them out and looked at the bottoms. BU. MMER. Blackness. So I salvaged what I could, and thankfully the ingredients are not very expensive, so I quickly made another double batch. Oh yeah, first, I turned off the oven then turned it back on again. Then... SWEET MUFFINS. Literally. Sweet Muffins are what they are called. So I didn't get AS MUCH accomplished as I wanted, but I'm a roll with the punches kind of gal, and I think everything worked pretty well!

Here are the fruits (and breads) of my Prep Day:

Frozen bananas from Monday, 4 doz. sweet muffins, some crock pot applesauce (some already frozen) and some granola ( I mixed it with Cheerios, because on it's own it is SO FILLING!). This should be good for 2 weeks or so! Well, I am going to make more applesauce, but I am very happy!

Prep Day & Groceries

Monday was partly a day of Prep for future meals, and partly a "shopping" day. In the morning. I made applesauce & granola , which was delicious, by the way. For a granola recipe , go here. The applesauce I made in the crock pot for baby. So I just cut-up the apples, and let it cook for 4 hours on high. In the end I found it to be really chunky, so I used a mixer to get rid of the chunks. Baby LOVES it, BTW!

Then, I went with my sister to pick up some supplies for their new house that they are remodeling. While we were there, we went to Aldi's. They had their bananas 1/2 off that day. Their bananas are normally $.49/lb. And I got 3 large bunches for $1.80! I cut up 2 of the bunches and froze them, for Baby food. The other bunch is just about gone!

Today, was originally my shopping day. So I hit CVS, Kroger, Walgreen's & Meijer. At Meijer the last 2 weeks I have been able to get milk that was marked down to $1.27 a gal. for 1/2%. I know half percent is nearly water, but my boys drink so much milk they get plenty of the good stuff. I also got some Vitamin D milk that was marked down in a half gallon to $.78, that will work great for making Yogurt. I was able to get a good diaper deal, 7 1/2 gallons of milk, 4 half gallons of soy milk, an impulse buy of Egg Nog, 2 containers of coffee & flavoring, plus all of the regular groceries and toiletries this week for $76. Pretty good, I thought. That is under my goal of $80. a week. If you want to know where to find some good deals, go here. We are in Northeastern Indiana, so deals may vary depending on your location.

Tomorrow, I am planning on lots of laundry (boo), making muffins (Pumpkin & Sweet Muffins), maybe some more granola, more applesauce, and the start of the Yogurt (hopefully). I also want to do a thorough cleaning in my kitchen. I haven't done one since we moved here 2 years ago. By thorough, I mean everything off of counters, organizing shelves, wiping everything down, clean out fridge, rid out anything unused from the cupboards, etc. I don't know, this may have to wait until next week. I have worship practice and church tomorrow night, and I am teaching a drawing class for our Women's Ministry on Thursday night, Friday night we set up for a craft bazaar, and Saturday is the craft bazaar. I better stop listing everything I need to accomplish this week. It seems very overwelming when I start typing everything out!

I also need to weed out baby clothes, because my little man is already growing our of things and they need to get put away! We are also going to move around my sewing things and move my boy's rooms around. Didn't I say I was going to stop listing things??? I don't listen very well...

I love getting so much accomplished in a day though. I really feel like I am a little closer to the Proverbs 31 woman! Especially by making a "Prep Day" for myself, where I can get some baking and making done for the next few weeks. I will put extra muffins in the freezer. I will have very healthy granola, yogurt and applesauce on hand. And I also have bananas ready for baby! Do you do something like a "Prep Day" or have you ever thought of doing it? Do you have any suggestions for those of us doing this for the first time?

Trust

Trust. My husband needs to know he can trust me in all things, all the time.

Looking at the Proverbs 31 Woman, she traveled far to get her food, she was the overseer of their household, she saw some land that she though would be a good investment and she bought it, and on and on...

This woman would have been very attractive to other men in that she must have been smart (to accomplish so much, and being that the Lord "highlights" her in the Bible!), she probably dressed well (in fine fabrics and things she made herself), she was probably also very well known (she probably knew a lot of people because she sold her goods and probably tried to get the best deals on things she could!), and a woman who can do all that the Bible says, she would be a very attractive woman!

But as much as she did out and in her home, the Proverbs 31 Woman's husband trusted her. She probably could have opportunity to "step out" on her husband, but she didn't.

She knew her place, just like we know ours. Lord first, husband, wife...


Pro 31:11-12 Her husband trusts her with all his heart, and he does not lack anything good. She helps him and never harms him all the days of her life.

She NEVER harms him. Do we do that? I know, occasionally, I will cause harm to my husband. A negative word, not helping him with something that he needs, pushing in the opposite direction, etc, etc, etc... But it say SHE NEVER HARMS HIM! In turn, he trusts her with everything!

THAT is something to strive for!

Lord- Help me PLEASE to be like the Proverbs 31 Woman. I want my husband to trust me, fully. I don't ever want a doubt to creep into his mind, that maybe I am not trustworthy. Help me never to harm him. I know in doing this, it not only puts HIM in a good place, but it all shines back to You. Help me to be beautiful to You today, and help me to make You proud, and worthy to be called Your daughter. I love You. - Amen

Night Work

Sometimes, I think the Proverbs 31 woman must not sleep but only a few hours a night! Verse 15- She rises while it is yet dark, to provide food for her family. And then in verse 18- She perceives her merchandise is good, and her lamp does not go out by night.

Today, I am going to explore a little bit about her “night work”. The next verse says- “She stretches out her hands to the distaff, and her hand hold the spindle.” To be honest, I never knew what this meant. What is the distaff she is stretching her hands out to, and why is she holding a spindle? A very good book, I would recommend, and how I find some answers to questions I have, is the book Beautiful in God’s Eyes by Elizabeth George. As I have mentioned before, the Proverbs 31 woman has intrigued me for a long time. And this is a good book my sister recently leant me, because she knows my passion for answers about this woman! To proceed with the question of what exactly is her night work… I found answers in Mrs. George’s book. She says that “distaff and a spindle were used to convert processed wool and flax into yarn and thread.” Wow, so this woman wakes early, prepares food for her household plus some, then goes about her day working on gathering food, making clothes for her household, she plants a vineyard, she nurses the needy… And after all of this, she is still keeping a watchful eye over her household! THEN, this busy woman, after a long day decides to make yarn! As if she doesn’t have enough to do!

She doesn’t sit in front of the TV, she doesn’t go to bed early… she sits in front of the spinning wheel. This is not only productive, but it probably helped her body slow down from her busy day. The whirring noise of the spinning wheel, would start to put anyone to sleep.

My challenge here, is that am I not only slowing my body down for a restful nights sleep, but I need to be productive while doing it! So what can I do? Well, often I find things on my computer (I frequent moneysaving sights, stay-at-home mom sites, Christian mom sites), I also do some of my blogging at night. I read also. I read books on (mostly) being a woman & my Bible. I also make lists, lots of lists. My lists include weekly calendar, shopping lists, ideas I have, etc. I do this so I can unwind.

For the summer, we got rid of our Dish (TV). We never really watch TV in the summer, we spend all of our time outside. But now that it is getting a little colder, will we order it again? I don’t know! I kind of like, the quiet of the evening. Spending time preparing to make my family’s days run a little smoother, and my life a little less chaotic! I have found a huge difference in our lives.

Now, if I could just learn when to say when, and go to bed at a decent time!

“A wise woman builds her house…” Proverb 14:1