Gardening Day

Today has been a little hectic. Got up late this morning (8:45 a.m.) but was so creaky and stiff I could hardly move. I took a hot shower and my Naproxen (which I hardly every take) just so I could get started. Left for the grocery store. I have been rotating my food supplies out, and need to replenish. I bought a case of corn, green beans, mixed fruit, and tomato sauce. Still need to get 20 lbs of flour and 20 more lbs of sugar. Going into San Antonio this afternoon, and hope to pick up a couple of containers to store the flour and sugar in...Lucy's cake shop normally has old icing buckets for sale for a couple of bucks.

I asked Rodney to put shelves into the new kitchen cabinets. He is working on them now, but we will need to go into town to Home Depot or Lowe's to get a few more supplies for the shelving.

Next on my list is picking up the house and then working in the garden. More later...

My shelves were finished so I had to organize them and put everything that had just been thrown in neatly on the shelves. I will take a picture and post later.

The girls and I went out and picked seed off of the four o'clocks. We have yellow and pink. We then picked the ones that had fallen onto the ground and put in a baggie as "Mixed Four O'clock" since we don't know which is which. I will be offering these for sale on my website www.geocities.com/queensedgefarm and I have also listed them at http://www.craigslist.com/ under the Farm/Garden section in San Antonio. I am selling 25 seeds for $2.oo plus shipping. Which shouldn't be too much, as I can put them in a regular envelope and mail, so I think a stamp is 39 cents???? Let me know if you want any.

Now onto cleaning the house and getting dinner.

Well, I didn't get to finish cleaning. I was so tired after pulling weeds in the garden for a good hour, I took a shower to calm my red face, and was too tired to cook. We had sandwiches for dinner. Around 9 p.m. the girls and I made up a batch of laundry soap. I had made some last week, but I gave a container to a friend, and have a quart bottled up to sell, so ran short sooner than I expected.

We didn't end up going to town after all. We had enough wood to make the shelves already, so saved us from spending some more money. (I found 10 lengths of tin on craigslist FOR FREE, but SOMEONE doesn't want to go get it, though it would come in extremely useful for the wood shed). Arrrggghhh! I wish he would fix the truck so that I could drive it myself and pick up the things that I need for the homestead here.

It's almost 12:30 in the morning, so I'd guess I had better get some sleep. I have church in the morning.

Town Day Gone Awry

I didn't get to do my normal errands today as I wanted to have my friend Candi over instead. I did make it to the meat market to get bacon, cubed steak and jerky for my husband. We passed the cute little vegetable stand that I normally visit every year, but since my garden is up and running this year, I didn't need to stop. That is my dream one day to have my own produce stand. We'll see how it turns out.

We had a nice time talking, and visiting while the kids ran amuck through the house and yard. Candi and her family are staying in a hotel while they wait for their house to close, and I really wanted her to get out of being cooped up with the kids in the room after all the rain we have had lately. I have a large yard, a bunch of toys and a trampoline.

For lunch we left the bigger kids here and took her 5 year old and my 3 year old with us to the grocery store to pick up a couple of things, and get lunch from McDonald's.

Her husband came after work to pick them up, and we ordered Pizza from Domino's. Candi and I talked, while the guys watched Hannah Montana with the girls. (LOL) They headed back to their hotel a little before eight o'clock.

My husband stated that he didn't know how we could hang out all day together. And wondered if we ran out of things to talk about or do we just keep talking about the same stuff over and over. SHUT UP! We're girls, No way, I don't think we ever run out of stuff to talk about.

He then asked me what we talked about, so I told him...her new house, how to decorate, her garden, the baby afghan she is making, sewing, the kids, etc., etc., His eyes started glazing over, so I stopped telling him.

Here is a list of what I need to work on tomorrow:

1. Grocery store
2. Laundry
3. Post Office
4. Mail money order for Math book
5. Take son to job interview
6. Work in garden
7. Pay car insurance

8. Harvest yellow four o'clock seeds from flowers, package, label.

I found this info on another blog, and I totally agree with it!

1. Curriculum doesn't matter. I don't care what I use to teach my children. Give me something, and I will make it work. I am deeply wary of the desire for perfect teaching materials, and I view the search for the magic bullet curriculum as a time and money pit. Because at the end of the day, the only thing that matters is that you sat down with your child and together engaged in mastering an idea.2. Mastery is everything. If my child can demonstrate that they understand and can do, we're out of there. Frankly, I have better things to do than spend twenty minutes rounding up tongue depressers, mylar balloons, and exposed light bulbs in order to demonstrate some science concept I can explain in thirty seconds. Further, if you can do the last three problems on the math page just fine, I won't waste your time asking for all the odd-numbered problems.3. Diligence counts too. School isn't negotiable--we do school every day. I don't care if your essay is mis-spelled, just write it already! Just show up.4. Trust the child on enrichment. The *idea* of unit studies is just fine, but my experience says that if my child expresses an interest in, say, butterflies, that if I jump on that and assign him to find five butterflies, read about metamorphosis, and create butterfly artwork, he will suddenly find butterflies the most boring subject in the world. Leave them alone! If they're interested *they* will create or request the opportunities to learn more.5. Live an interested life. I cannot put this in bold enough face. You are interpreting the world to your child. Is it fascinating for you? Are you engaged in creating, in thinking, in knowing people? Do you make music, take pictures, cook, teach yourself to sew, hike someplace new, learn to fish, eat at a new restaurant, take the back way into town? Are you reading about the history of mental illness, repairing furniture, learning to oil paint? *Show* your child how interesting the world is, and they will love to learn.And that is what we're after, isn't it?

That's about all I can think of right now....have a good night.

Comment on Marriage Challenge

Okay, I am one day into this Marriage Challenge thing. Don't know that I have seen any response from him, but the two things that I did today were:

1) Served him first at dinner

2) Had a friend over today, and he mentioned to me to ask them to stay for dinner, and for me to order pizza for everyone and he would pay. My friend was worried about this, but I made sure to tell her it was his idea. Normally, there isn't much that I can say positive, but this was nice of him.

My goals for this next week are copied from Christine. I didn't have any idea of what type of goals I should have so I "plagarized" Christine's (sorry Christine!)

My goals for this week are:
Make an effort to greet him immediately when he comes home each day and not call out a quick "hi" from the couch, or the kitchen, or wherever else I am at the time.
Always use a respectful tone of voice.
Think twice before I say what pops into my head. If I get annoyed about something wait a while before addressing it. Chances are it won't be as bothersome later.

Are you on speed?

It's funny....I get a lot of comments from people after they meet me about all my energy. I feel tired ALL the time so this strikes me as odd. I get questions asking what drugs I take, etc....

I am very high energy, talk really fast, and always have something going. I get really nervous if I have to do nothing, and had a really difficult time when we were on vacation to Disney World a couple of weeks ago. I kept feeling like I needed to do....something.....

When I worked outside the home I was very organized on my desk, which those of you that actually know me would find funny, due to my previously disorganized house, and tendency to lose my keys. I also suffer from Arthritis and Firbromyalgia, and due to stress my memory is getting really bad, so I write things down all the time. I have electronic calendars, reminders, notes on my cell phone and computer in order to get things done.

It sounds pathetic, but I even subscribe to a mailing list/group that reminds me to clean my house, hug my kids, etc. This is at Large Family Logistics (google it). I don't have a really large family, but I find the reminders in the email (I keep my email up all day) very useful, and I check off each item as I do it.

I also have set routines and days to do certain things set as reminders in my email too. Also listed on the side of my blog. If I didn't have these reminders I would probably sit and read all day or stay on the computer.

I had post partum depression for two years after having my last child, and have just got "back in the saddle" again with regards to my energy level the past year. So, those of you asking for advice on how I get everything done, and about how much I do...first "Bless You" I always feel like I am doing the bare minimum, and my husband thinks I don't do anything at all, and for the advice.

1) Make a list on paper or in Word of those things that have to get done every week.

2) Subscribe to Large Family Logistics and adapt those reminders to what you need to get done.

3) Set daily routines (see mine to the left for an example).

4) Using Yahoo (if you have yahoo mail) Calendar to send yourself reminders to your cell phone. This really helped me get back on track.

I schedule all my appointments and tasks and have the settings set to send each entry to my cell phone, which then goes off with an alarm at the time I need to do something.

5) Turn off that TV and computer, get off your fanny and move it! Don't sit down at all if you can help it. Once I sit down, that's it.

I clean my house in a circle. I start at the front door and do each room (front porch, foyer, living room, dining room, kitchen, laundry (throw a load in), hall (vacuum and shut kids doors), bathroom, bedroom. In my house each room leads into the next and goes in a circuit. I primarily do surface cleaning every day. My exact breakdown (just for an example) is this...

Every day:

1) sweep foyer floor, vacuum oriental rug, damp mop, hang up jackets, light candle

2) all cups out of living room, vacuum, all toys in bin, open windows, turn on fan, light candle

3) clear table in dining room, sweep, light candle

4) wash dishes, clear cabinets, sweep, damp mop, take out dinner or start crockpot, light candle 5) put load in washer, load in dryer, fold clothes from dryer, put away, check puppy's water/food

have kids clean rooms, vacuum hall

6) put all items away from counter in bath, clean sink, clean toilet, sweep floor, mop with bleach or pine sol, hang up clean towel, all dirty clothes in hamper, close shower curtain, light candle

7) pick up clothes from floor put in hamper, make bed, open windows, turn on fan

With the exception of the kitchen, I spend only 5 minutes in each room, and I don't clean my kids rooms. I do also have a pile of clutter in my bedroom that is for a future yard sale, so my room is not spotless, but just picking up the dirty clothes and making my bed gives me a feeling of accomplishment. All this takes me less than 2 hours.

My entire day looks like this:

Get up

Get dressed

Tea/Toast

Devotional

Chores

Lunch

Read, Garden, Computer

Quiet Time/Nap with kids

Dinner prep

Garden, Rest, Watch TV (sometimes)

Computer, Baking, Bed

During the school year, I homeschool between the chores and lunch, normally from 10 am to 12 noon. I wake up around 8 am and go to bed around midnight. That's it...maybe someone can glean something from my crazy schedule and use a piece...hope this helps.....if not...be kind in the comments.....thanks!

30 Day Marriage Challenge

Okay...I found a link to a site by a woman named Christine. I was reading about this 30 day Marriage Challenge, and it piqued my interest. On her blog she mentions how each woman participating may be coming from different places in their marriage and this is true.

I will be totally honest here...the idea of doing some of the things suggested on her blog, and that I see other women are doing makes me feel a little nauseous. You see, I tried to be a submissive wife for a good 15 years of my marriage, but about 4 years ago things kind of ended for me there....due to an incident that happened and we were separated for a while, and only really reunited due to our children and economic reasons. I have had every intention of getting a divorce sometime in the future.

About six months ago I made a new friend, and against my best intentions she has influenced me to work on being a better wife, though I feel I am already way better than he deserves. I grit my teeth and muddle through. I have been more a less a stay at home mom for the past 4 years, with occasional times of working part time and from home as a loan officer. Due to my anger at my husband, I was more or less on strike with regards to anything that involved him, but this new friend, darn her, has got me doing stuff again that I swore I would never do (like cook for him and wash his clothes.)

Yes, I know all of this is decidingly "unChristian" of me, but I am relying totally on God to be able to get through each day. Please don't think my reasons are frivolous, they aren't, but I don't feel comfortable discussing the entire situation here, but suffice it to say, it's serious and heartbreaking.

Anywho....I have decided to give this 30 day Marriage Challenge a go, and to see where it leads me. Can't be any worse....so to take Christine's advice I will start with prayer. And as you read this....I would appreciate any prayers you care to offer up for me.

www.fruitinseason.blogspot.com is Christine's blog if you care to read her entries. (I am always jealous of women who have great husband's and whose husband's love them. I have never had that....)

A Lazy Rainy Day

Woke up to a grey day, and it has been raining nonstop today. I went out to make sure all my tubs were turned over so that they would fill with water. I feel very lazy today, but need to get cracking here in a few.

Puting soup on for dinner and working on making yeast rolls. It is flooding all around with nearby areas having over 20 inches of rain in one day! That's just crazy talk.

I really need to get working on my goat pen, as I need to pick up my little girl goat from a friend.
I was reading an article on discipline today. I know that this is a hot topic for some reason. You would think with all the juvenile delinquency floating around parents would recognize a need for some stronger discipline. Today it is popular to NOT spank, and those who do spank are treated as child abusers. Frankly, I am on the side of believing spanking has it's place. People need to realize that spanking is not beating or abuse. Spanking does not breed violence, and is not a tool that parents use because they do not know any other way. I believe there is a direct correlation between the break up of the family, the lack of appropriate spanking and the increase in juvenile crime.

I was spanked as a child, when I needed it, and I recongize that it was effective. I am a productive member of society, and was an excellent student. As a parent, I expect obedience. I have not been consistent in my discipline lately, and am trying to fix that. I only have one simple rule..do whatever I tell you. Not hard to remember I don't think. In my opinion, if done right you should have to spank rarely, and the older the child gets the more other forms of discipline (grounding and taking away cherished belongings) work better. Okay, off my soapbox for now.

Finished my housework. With having a regularly scheduled routine, the house stays pretty much clean, though the clutter is an ongoing battle. Did mostly surface cleaning and picking up of clutter. I really need to schedule time for deep cleaning, especially for the living room carpet, my bedroom, and the playroom. I would like to redecorate my bedroom this summer, but a large pile of yard sale stuff occupies one corner of the bedroom. With all the rain the past 3 months, I haven't been able to have my yard sale. But soon....

I have a pot of homemade Southwest Soup on the stove (basically beef vegetable SPICED up with dried red pepper, soy sauce and rotel tomatoes) and will put a pan of cornbread in the oven in a few minutes (gave up on the yeast rolls).

Herbal Studies

I have been interested in herbs and herbal healing for a long while, primarily as a way to cut back on medical bills. I am planning to sign up for an Herbal Gardening course to learn about growing herbs, and then take the nexxt one on how to use these herbs for medicinal and culinary purposes. I am very excited. The course is somewhat affordable at $199.00.

More later...

My Prayer for Today

Heavenly Father, Please show me the right paths you would have me follow. Sometimes, I'm not sure of the direction I should go. I stumble and run into roadblocks. I don't understand why things are not going the way I think they should. Help me to see how these roadblocks and detours are being used to redirect my life. I love you and want to follow you. Thank you for your promise that "all things work together for good to those who love the Lord." Amen.

Replanting

It is the wee hours of the morning. Lauren is having a friend over to spend the night, and they finally crashed around 11:30 p.m. Lauren met this little girl in school, and it turns out her mom and I went to high school together in San Antonio! How funny! I would expect this sort of thing if I had gone to school in a small town, but San Antonio has over a million people, and then to move out of the city to a small town, and then have my daughter friends with someone I went to school with is crazy!

I would like to ask that everyone pray for this little girl. Her parents are going through a divorce, and due to her mother's condition (same as mine) Firbromyalgia she will all likelihood lose custody of all three of her children. The father makes more money, and will probably receive full custody and move the kids about one and a half hours away. I haven't told Lauren yet, as she will be devastated. So all involved really need prayer.

I really didn't do much during the day. Washed a couple of loads of clothes, hung two out to dry, and put one in the dryer in the evening. Taylor mowed the garden area for me that I had cleaned out, and I managed to plant one row of green beans, Kentucky pole variety. I am on the hunt for a suitable trellis now, so I can get it in place before the beans sprout.

Washed dishes and watched a special on the travel channel about the Grand Canyon and the Colorado River. Researched on the internet, camping opportunities for the Grand Canyon. I would really love to hike in the Grand Canyon, but it is something I only want to do with another adult. NO KIDS! It sounds very strenuous, and it would be a challenge to make it myself without worrying about kids. I don't know how to explain it but I have this overwhelming need to go hiking and camping. My two interests are the Grand Canyon and the Appalachian mountains. No clue why, but I have always been fascinated with the prospect, but never had the opportunity

Time for bed.....

Tomatoes, tomatoes, tomatoes

I have more tomatoes than I know what to do with and....I don't like raw tomatoes to just eat. I have tried to use some everyday. Saturday I made Lasagna and added fresh tomatoes to the sauce. It was really good.



I also sliced tomatoes to serve with dinner, as the guys like tomatoes sprinkled with salt. Today, I chopped up a tomato with two jalapenos from the garden, added a sprinkle of dried onion and cilantro and served with the spicy beef burritos we had for dinner. Rodney said that it was good, though the peppers were on the verge of being TOO hot. The plan is to make salsa this week too, and can it for the rest of the year. Looking for a good recipe.

I found this recipe for Tomato Basil Sauce which I am thinking of making for dinner tomorrow and serving over angel hair pasta.



Peeled and roughly chopped about 2 quarts of tomatoes into a large enamel stockpot; added 1/2 cup red wine vinegar, 2 tsp salt, 1 tsp sugar, 1 chopped onion, 3 cloves minced garlic, 1 Bay leaf, 1 small sprig of Thyme, 1 small sprig of Marjoram, 1/3 cup or so of chopped Basil, and some chopped parsley. Bring to a boil, lower the heat and simmer away.



Today was a good day, a little busy, but good. Attempting to get back into my normal "homesteady" routines. Today was laundry today. I didn't get it all done, primarily because I didn't even make my laundry soap until after lunch, and it was raining off and on and I couldn't hang the clothes out, and I didn't want to use the dryer all day and run up my utility bill.

I did some surface cleaning today, after this weekend of everyone being home. Talked to a friend today on the phone. I haven't talked to her in a while as she is busy with her garden, I was busy with mine, in addition to being on vacation recently for two weeks.


I went to the thrift store next door to look for plates as I really need a few more. I found a large stack of cake plates (for dessert), cute, countrified coffee mugs, an orange juice carafe, a flour crock and an ice chest (for another survival kit for the truck)....everything was 10 cents each! I think it was all a good deal. I spent the afternoon washing dishes, and re organizing cabinets. I still have more to wash, as I needed to start dinner.


Took advantage of the break in rain to tear out the main garden. Most everything is dead, so I removed the corn stalks, bean plants, and pumpkin vines. Everything is lying in a huge pile beside the garden. I need to have it mowed down, so I can till, or just get in there with the hand fork and start working over the area to plant cucumbers and beans.

Tuesday is baking day, so in addition to baking, on tomorrow's agenda is to finish up the dishes, laundry, weed alley garden, go by city hall to discuss emergency preparedness meeting, bake cookies and pumpkin bread.


It's after midnight and I need to get to bed. Have a good night everyone!

Back on the Homestead

Today at church we started a study in the book of James. According to the intro in my bible James (a brother of Jesus) writes this letter to urge Christians to express their faith in daily living. I wonder if others see that I believe in Jesus by what I do and say.

It has been difficult for me for most of my life as I was really shy and didn't quite know how to relate to others and didn't speak well in front of others. As I have grown older I have become more confident about what I believe, know, and how to impart that information to others. I really hope that I can react appropriately to the situations that God puts in my life, in order that others will see Christ in me.

The pastor focused on verse 2-3 "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance." The testing of our faith develops endurance, and helps us to mature and to be complete. Depending on the circumstances it may be difficult to consider the trials we face as joy.

Reading further in James another verse jumped out at me and I wanted to share it here, in the event that someone could use it. James 2:5, "Listen, my dear brothers: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world, to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him?"

The afternoon after church was spent in unpacking from our vacation, putting clean clothes away, throwing away trash, and cleaning up the dining room from last night's company dinner.(Candi and her family came over for dinner. I made lasagna, salad, and garlic bread, plus made Candi a chocolate cake with chocolate icing (she's craving it as she is pregnant). They are currently staying in a hotel over in a nearby town until they close on their house, hopefully next week.) I was too tired last night to clean it up the mess. I still need to wash dishes, and have my son take out the trash. I also spent a little time researching Charlotte Mason's philosophy on education. It was very interesting. I think I fall somewhere in the middle between her philosophy, Classical education with a bit of "unschooling" thought thrown in.

Apparently, I lost the USB cord to my digital camera while on vacation, though I distinctly remember placing it in the suitcase when leaving my mothers. Everything is unpacked and put away, and no cord. It figures! Something was telling me I should have left it here. Now, I can't download my pictures to my blog.

Tomorrow is laundry day and I need to make laundry soap so that I can wash clothes, though there is not much to wash, in addition I need to work in the garden , and research how much medicinal herbs I should plant for a family of 5 for a year.

**I just found out that one of my favorite shows had been cancelled, and then due to fan response will be brought back for at least 7 episodes starting July 6th. The show is Jericho. I am not sure if anyone here is familiar with the show, but I love it! I don't watch TV very much but the show I do like are Stargate SG-1, Stargate Atlantis and Jericho. Stargate SG-1 has gone off the air, with their last episode this past Friday. They were on the air for 10 years. What a great show! I like the show House too, but don't watch it faithfully, don't even know what night it comes on, I just happen to catch it every now and then. If anyone is interested in Jericho, go to http://www.cbs.com/primetime/jericho/

Heading Home

Just wanted to update everyone.....we will be heading for home on Wednesday. We have had a lot of fun and too much sun, but are ready to go....

Will update everyone with pictures, etc., once we get home. Thanks for checking in!

On the road again.....I mean stilll...

This guy was waiting for us at the Louisiana Welcome Center. Just kidding! We didn't see one alligator, to my kids dissappointment. I had to listen to the whining, laments of "I thought you said there were alligators in Louisiana!" My bad, I thought they just sat on the side of I-1o and waved you into the state. Gee Whiz!

I am writing this from a hotel room in Biloxi Mississippi. I think we made good time today. We left San Antonio today around 9 a.m., and arrived here around 8:00 p.m. Traffic was light, except through Baton Rouge (which we managed to get to during rush hour.)

The kids were good and slept or watched movies on the DVD player. I took advantage of the quiet drive to look at the farms we passed by noticing everyones gardens and woodpiles. The cabins in Louisiana were especially cute, and I took a lot of mental notes. On a sad note, there were a lot of boarded up and abandoned homestead near Houston.????? Made me wonder why no one was living there, and knowing that people could use these. I wonder if the owner's of these properties are aware of Texas' squatters rights. I have a friend who has been squatting in an abandoned property for five years. She is getting ready to pay the taxes for the fifth year, and then she is going to petition for ownership of this property (which she should have done already.) She hasn't made any significant changes other than repairs, since she didn't want to spend a lot of money on something she didn't own, just in case the owners came back to claim the property. She had put a coat of paint on, kept the yard up, planted a garden, pays the utilities for the property, and lives off the land. She works from home to make enough money to pay the taxes on the property, and for incidentals. I guess my point in telling everyone this is to one if you are looking for a homestead, check into abandoned properties (with the tax office too) and two, if you own property, make sure you don't abandon it, you might just lose it.

Anyway, back to the trip. I really enjoyed driving through all this countryside, and while I envied many of the home sites, they were a little too close to the highway for my taste. I prefer something a little more rural and remote.

A little secret, I am extremely afraid of heights and have a difficult time driving over large bridges. The one down at Corpus Christi on the way to Port Aransas is bad, but the one over Lake Charles was especially scary today, as I could see it from a long way off, and dreaded it all the way until we reached it and while crossing it. The one over the Mississippi was another one that had my knees shaking while I was driving across it. Now, my mother tells me there is another one coming up in Mobile Alabma! Oy vay!

We had a great lunch at the Cracker Barrel in Houston, and will have breakfast at the one here in Biloxi, which is just down the street from this hotel.

I really wish I was home, I miss my home, and am worried about my chickens and my garden. I can't wait until this trip is over.

Happy 40th Birthday!

Friday is my husband's 40th birthday. The girls were really excited and we made his cake last night and went to dinner for his birthday, as the kids and I leave for Disney World Friday.

Hannah and I mixed the strawberry cake, and then frosted it with strawberry icing. Lauren stuck 40 candles in it, Rodney helped to light it as there were way too many and I was burning my hand. (Will post a picture as soon as I download it from the camera)

Continued washing clothes, towels and packing suitcases. Packed the car on a trial run to see how everything fits. Good fit!

Went to the grocery store today and bought all the food for Rodney. All microwave stuff! I couldn't believe that is what he asked for....he didn't even want me to bake him any cookies before I left! Maybe he will appreciate my cooking more by the time I get back home. The girls and I also completed a job chart for the fridge listing his feeding chores for the animals. Lauren is really worried that the cats will be dead or have run off by the time we get back.

Have a few things left to complete for the trip: 1) call friend to come by and pick up eggs from coop (Husband refuses to check for eggs), and to check on the garden for me (he refuses to check it for me either). 2) Pack car 3) take out trash 4) pay bills before leaving 5) call Candi 6) Call and get address for Lauren's friend to mail her a postcard from Disney World.

A Second Chance

I want to encourage any single women to seriously pray and answer the call that God may place on your life. Don't wait. I say this because I believe that God was calling me to mission work, primarily with the Ukraine, but I hesitated. After marrying and having children I still thought about the Ukraine, and the plethora of news programs and magazine articles that dealt with the subject actually caused me pain. I knew that I would not be able to answer this call anymore, due to my husband's unwillingness to participate.

I became involved in our church's AWANA program, which I really enjoyed as I was involved in it also as a child. I am still interested in this program, but our new church currently is not working in this ministry.

Today, I feel the call to a speaking ministry. Which I find strange, as I used to be extremely shy, but through the years and in dealing with several situations I have become stronger and better at speaking to small groups. I struggled with what I could talk to women about as I didn't have any dramatic life changing convervsion experience. I wasn't saved from alcohol or drugs, I was six years old when I accepted Christ. I am grateful for this in that I believe it kept me on a good path through my growing up years. I was fortunate to have a family rooted in the Bible. From my great grandmother, grandmother and mother I learned the importance of God's word in your daily life, and I want to relay this to women, but especially in the area of finances.

Today I had an "aha" moment. As I was thinking of how to start writing this morning, I realized that the struggles that I have went through the past 10 years has equipped me to this point.

Due to medical bills for my son, we filed bankruptcy 10 years ago. We opted for the Chapter 13 plan where you pay back your creditors in lieu of the other plan where they just wipe your debts out. Our bankruptcy attorney told me at the time that we were the first couple he knew to pay back 100% of what we owed. It was very hard, and many times during the course of paying back our creditors, I wanted to switch and just have everything wiped clean, but I knew that God held us responsible to pay back what we owed.

During this time the Tightwad Gazette books became my primary resource in getting through the five years it took to pay back everything. I learned to make pizza from scratch, sewed the majority of my brand new daughters dresses, used cloth diapers, and learned a multitude of new recipes for preparing meals at home and in baking. This journey continued on to my having another baby in 2003, and staying home with her after she was born. Learning how to live frugally during those lean years enabled me to employ these tactics in staying home on one income.

In 2005, I received my loan officer's license and began practicing and working in the mortgage industry. Honestly, I only closed one loan, but worked on hundreds of files, learned how to read and analyze a credit report, and counseled my clients on how to improve their credit in order to purchase a house in the future. Today, I no longer work in the mortgage industry, and my license is set to expire, but I received a vast education in this area that I will be able to pass on to others.

All these areas have given me a wealth of knowledge that people today, either in the church or out of, are despearately seeking. I actually have an invitation to speak at a church conference in the fall in Midland Texas to address how to get people out of debt and to work on their credit reports with them.

So, again, I want to encourage single women to answer their first calling prior to marriage, but also to encourage married women that if you failed to do so, God may unexpectedly give you a second calling and a second chance to respond.

*I wanted to clarify my post this morning. I don't want to imply that marriage is not a calling, but that if God has other plans for you, don't wait to obey. When applying to the mission field, it became apparent to me that my husband and I did not have the same relationship with God, and that because of my disobedience and delay in responding I missed out. The mission office would not accept my going to the Ukraine without my husband. I had neglected to share my calling, beliefs and the importance of my relationship with God with my then fiance. I assumed because he attended the same church that I did, that he was a dedicated Christian, and would be excited and ready to share this calling with me. After marrying, I was shocked to discover how far apart we were with regards to our relationships with God, but I had not prayed for God to show me who I was to marry, but just accepted the one that my immature mind and heart had selected. Because I basically believe that marriage is forever (with a few exceptions) make sure to pray for the spouse God has in mind for you, and make sure that you obey whatever calling God lays on your heart.

Being a Mom

Just some ramblings.....for the past six months I have been trying to be a better mom, housekeeper, friend, Christian, and at times trying to be a better wife, though this has not been my primary priority I am sad to say. I was reading something tonight and wondered if I had been nice and loving to the kids today.

I signed up for reminders from Large Family Logistics and a couple of them are to Read Aloud to the kids and the other one is something called "Mama Love". While it reminds me to make sure I pay attention to the kids (I hope this doesn't sound pathetic) it doesn't require me to have feeling behind it, just a reminder of another "chore". As a mom, be honest with yourself, you get so busy with the day to day "stuff" around the house, that often the kids get pushed to the side or constantly told "later". I love my kids I really do, I just think sometimes life gets in the way, and I (and others) forget that being a mom is one of my most important jobs.

I think actually not having a job anymore is a HUGE blessing, it has allowed me to focus more on my family, and to reorganize my priorities. (Actually I have always known what my priorities were, but I allowed myself to be pushed into doing something I knew wasn't the right thing for me or my family.)

Early every morning, Lauren's first action is to come give me a hug, Hannah's is to go potty and give me a grunt while I try to hug her head. Today, Hannah came and gave me two kisses on her own, which is a big accomplishment. I didn't have to ask for one! Then we read Big Bear's Little Boat, and she helped put pepperoni on the pizza we made.

Lauren came and helped knead the pizza dough. While they were in the way, and I was getting irritated tripping over them, it was fun and I hope they are learning how to care for a family.

After dinner, I worked in the garden again, since it was cooler, and picked more beans. Somehow, I always miss some.....Hannah carried the pan into the kitchen and sat it on the floor for me....all without asking.

I think today was a good day. And i didn't even have to think about being loving, it just happened naturally.