Updates around the Edge Homestead

This weekend was a busy weekend. Saturday morning I picked up the seven orders from the Angel Food Ministries, and delivered them to the church members that ordered.
The homecoming parade was also that morning, which I missed, but the kids walked down the street to watch. They came home with a huge bowl full of candy. (the float riders throw candy to the spectators at each parade we have.)

That evening we headed out to my sisters. My nephew leaves for Iraq today, so we were having a going away dinner for him to wish him well, and to pray for him. He asked his girlfriend of three years to marry him, and she said yes! We are so excited for him!

On sunday, the church headed up to the river about an hour away for my 10 year old daughter's Baptism. This was very special to us, and held in a very beautiful location. I think having a baptism in the river, like Jesus was baptized, gives more meaning to the symbolism. We also had our church picnic at the river. It was a beautiful day!

Today was Candi's birthday. I picked her up early, as she was planning on riding home with her husband, who works with my husband here in our small town. They actually live about 20 minutes away, but it's way closer than before. Thank God! We had them over for dinner for her birthday.

For dinner we had a baked ham from Honey baked Ham company, garlic mashed potatoes w/ gravy, broccoli rice casserole, cornbread, baked apples, homemade dill pickles, ice cream and three chocolate cake. Everything was yummy!

The guys went to pick up my nephew's car as it had broke down. Candi and I hung out at home, while the kids played in the backyard, in front of the woodstove, looking at books and an herb catalog. It was a nice evening.

Happy 31st Birthday Candi!

I just love it...

Sitting here by the fire, it's in the low 40's, not freezing, but enough to put a chill in the air.
My house is torn apart! We spent time tonight rearranging furniture. I folded all the sheets from my dad' house, and now just need to put then in the linen closet, kind of fizzled out around 9 pm.

I need to start throwing a lot of stuff away. I also noticed that the following things need to be done around the house:

most ALL of the walls need re-painting...lots of little "artwork" on the walls
the eaves of the house need to be replaced and repainted
the floors in the bedroom are loose and need to be worked on
several windowns need new screens
the hall closet door needs to be repaired

A few things to be taken care of:

Foyer - clean out hall closet, and put filing cabinet in hall closet
Living Room - remove toys and books in corner
Dining room - sewing stuff packed away, yard sale stuff outside or trashed
Kitchen - nothing
Laundry - finish laundry
Hall - clear hallway
Bathroom - clean tub and floor
Bedroom - everything out of all corners (place outside), take out extra furniture, clear off top of wardrope, paint, new curtains, rug, clean windows, move shoe rack to back of door
Nursery - set up twin bed, sort toys, sort old clothes
Yard - put all garden tools/ornaments in storage, clear gardens, plant fall garden, have kids clean yard

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Candi's birthday is Monday. I asked her and her family over Monday and I would make dinner, but I don't know how that will turn out. My husband said it was strange for me to cook dinner for someone who wasn't in my family, but she's my friend, and she doesn't have anyone else to cook her birthday dinner. She didn't accept right away, so she might think it is strange too. I bought a ham at the Honeybaked Ham Company.....anyway if she doesn't want to come, I guess we'll eat it anyway.

Asking for help....

I have several friends who are in need of prayer, materials, or financial donations. Whatever you can spare to give, and to whichever cause touches your heart.

I will refer to them as Family#1, 2, and so for....if you would like to donate time, money, food and want to know more about each circumstance, please contact me....I will share as much as I can without embarassing them...

Family#1 - lives in the San Antonio Area, and are in need of food, either canned, dried goods, baking staples, meat, or an Angel Food Ministry donation. If you prefer to donate money or a gift card, please either get one for HEB or Walmart. Thanks!

Family#2 - lives near Midland. Their needs are a little more urgent as medication is involved. A gift card to Walmart would help to offset any copays or medication cost. I am also accepting donations of building materials and insulation or gift cards to Home Depot or Lowe's.

Family#3 - lives near Dallas. I am seeking monetary donations for them, which can be sent to them directly through Paypal. The money is to help defray costs of living expenses, while a spouse has major surgery.

I can personally vouch that these are valid needs. Anyone who knows me, knows that I am honest and will NOT take advantage of anyone. I am also not willing to ask for anything that I am not going to help with myself, I just can't do it alone.

A list of items I am collecting that can be shared by all are:

laying hens
gardening tools
seeds
general tools
fuel cards
gift cards of any type (even Starbucks, sometimes in a stressful time, a bit of luxury helps)
linens
towels
baby clothes (in good shape)
used/but working woodstove
rubber maid totes for storage
fabric
sewing supplies
food (canned or dried)

Thanks everyone! contact me at queensedgefarm@yahoo.com for more info on these families in need of help.....

Wednesday

More money flowing out...we purchased a new barn today....it is on an existing property, and the owners are moving and don't want it...they paid $3,000 a couple of years ago, we paid $400.00. This barn will house my chickens, goats, milking station, and well pump. The plan is to build a small loft to store feed.

I will also have a corner for seedlings and potting. I'd like to put a few of those clear fiberglass panels in the roof for light. We will also cut a small door in the bottom of the chicken area, and place an enclosure attached to this area for an outdoor run for the chickens and goat.

I have my preliminary website up and running for the Watkins Products if anyone is interested in placing an order. With the holiday season coming up, I am sure everyone will be gearing up for baking, so laying in a supply of various extracts, cinnamon and nutmeg is a good idea. I noticed today that there is a special going on for a few of these items that ends on OCTOBER 31ST, so don't delay in ordering. If you go to www.watkinsonline.com/edge and then look for the tab at the top right that says "Specials" you can check out what I am talking about.

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Received the materials in the mail for Lauren's online schoolwork. It is from Learning by Grace. This is new for us, so I will see how it pans out, and give a review later.

Well, gotta go, need to make some laundry soap and get busy on some laundry.

Have a good night!

Tuesday...a spendthrift day

Woke up to another chilly morning. Yesterday was the first day we had to break out the heat. Right now I am sitting by the wood stove keeping warm. We don't have a raging fire going, just a small one to chase the night chill away.

Spent a couple hours at Home Depot this morning checking prices for lumber and such to add on to the house, and finish Taylor's apartment out back.

This evening we went to dinner and then headed over to Lowe's where we picked up the generator. It wasn't the one I really wanted, but it was probably the best choice. I needed one with an electric start instead of a pull one, because of my arthritis. There is a pull start on it too, but I have a really difficult time with those. It is a 5500watt, with a 8500 starting watt, 10 hour running on 5 gallons of gas, quiet, and came with a 2 year residential warranty. We also looked at new pumps for the well, but decided to work with the one we have already to see if we could get it working better. It's fairly new, and hasn't seen a lot of use.

I also purchased a 750 watt inverter today to use with the car. This will enable us to use a light, fan, and the TV/VCR combo, plus a few other things when needed.

Our last trip before heading home was stopping by the Sportsman Outdoor store where I wanted to check out more ammunition. I had purchased a case of shotgun shells last night, along with 4 boxes of 30-30 cartridges, and 3 boxes of 9mm cartridges. Tonight I purchased 500 rounds of .22 LR hollow points. We already have 2 .22s, but I also looked at two other guns tonight that are on my "want" list. I gave in and purchased the Henry Repeater - Golden Boy .22 LR. I am so excited!

I also signed up and am an official Watkins Products Associate, so if anyone would like to order anything from me, please let me know. To check out what is available you can go to http://www.watkinsonline.com/. Don't order from there please, I will let you know when my site is setup, but this will give you an idea of what is available from Watkins. I am really excited about this new venture, as I have always heard of Watkins, and they are over 140 year old company. My friends and family know how I am about history and heritage, so this company makes a perfect fit for me.

A Day At The Zoo

Me and my kids and Candi and her kids went to the zoo today. It was really nice day. The morning was nice and cool. We packed sandwich stuff, and ate at a picnic table, in a really nice, private are in the zoo.

The zoo is working on some major exhibits and there was a lot of construction going on, so we didn't get to walk through the entire zoo. They had new signs everywhere, and were working on cleaning up a lot of areas. Lots of babies born this year too, so that was fun.

Lauren is getting baptized on Sunday, October 28th at the river in the hill country. I had planned to go to Midland next weekend, so will have to put that off....again....darn it.

The first weekend of November, I will be going to Canton to see Sheri (Lunamom) on the homestead forum. Picking up some candle making supplies, and maybe my goat.

I really look forward to seeing Sheri again.

Stealing is Stealing

This is a draft of a letter I am preparing to submit to our local newspaper....

Dear Editor:

It's sad that in today's society people are not aware of personal property rights. Every year that my pecans fall, I find hordes of people in my yard picking up my pecans. No one even asks. I find this very rude. I would never dream of going into someone's yard and helping myself to the fruit off of their trees, the vegetables out of their garden, or the pecans off of their trees.

What is with people? I shouldn't have to post a No Trespassing sign, or fence in the entire property. It is understood that you just don't take something from someone without asking.

When we first moved in we had three large pecan trees. Over the past 15 years, two have died, just leaving me the one. In the past, I'd get upset but not say anything, as the people generally left when I pulled up into the driveway. They didn't even apologize or act guilty! Just casually walked away, with bags of nuts in their hands. I use these pecans for baking and to eat, and it really, really bothers me that I moved to a small town because I thought the people were nicer, and had old fashioned values. It is sad to see that is not the case. What is even more shocking is that many of these people in my yard are over 50, so they know better.

This morning I went out and asked the people to leave, and to leave the pecans they had picked up already. The said they would leave but they wouldn't leave the pecans. I told them that it was stealing, the woman just shrugged and said "Call the police." I said "how about I just call my dog or Smith and Wesson?" She laughed and walked away.

Enough is enough. I would like to ask everybody to please respect everyone's property rights in this town and elsewhere. Grow some sense.

I am also putting everyone on notice that I will no longer tolerate the jumping of fences and walking through my yard, the picking up of my pecans, the stealing of my wood, the destruction of my property. I will prosecute those I come across in the daylight with tresspassing, those that I find in my yard at night, well use your imagination. Anyone creeping around my property in the dark, deserves a load of buckshot in their rear.

Sincerely,

Me

Chew Your Food

Questions: What steps can we take to begin to nourish our souls on a more regular basis instead of hurrying through our devotions? What does it mean to "meditate" on God's Word? What happens when we don't take time to spend with the Lord?

These are the questions from today's devotional. I receive an email every day with a devotional. The verse for today is Psalms 119:15 "I will mediate in thy precepts, and have respect unto thy ways." (KJV) My KJV was the handiest today.

I am very guilty of rushing through my devotional, assuming that I have kept my time with God. In reality, I have just been throwing a couple of minutes his way. For this I am sorry, and feel extremely guilty. I am sitting here thinking that I know what God's laws are as they apply to my daily life, but I choose not to dwell on them, and force them to the back of my mind, so that I don't have to confront the sin in my life.

Here are my responses to the questions above:

The steps that I can take to help nourish my souls and that of my children on a regular basis are not hurrying through my devotions, devoting more time, looking for devotions that I can easily apply to my life, and meditating, really thinking on what God is trying to tell me in His word.

To me, to mediate on God's word, means to sit and carefully analyze what he is saying to me, and how I can apply it to my life.

When we don't take time to spend with the Lord, our days seem void of meaning, and we become easily frustrated when presented with trials, tribulations and temptations.

Just like with our physical food, we need to make sure we chew our spiritual food, so that we can easily digest the word of God and it will be useful for our spiritual bodies.

Sunday

Today was my day to bring the refreshments for church. I didn't like the look of the orange frosted donuts left at the local grocery store, so I took a 1/2 gallon of milk, blueberry muffins, banana nut muffins, mini cherry danishes and a fruit tray. It seemed to go over well. At least it was something different.

We talked more about the fruits of the spirit today. When the pastor asked someone to define kindness, a church member said doing something for someone even when you don't have to....my son was sitting beside me and he laughed and said you do that all the time. That really touched me. I mean, I am not the perfect mom, and more lately it seems he is in trouble more than not. Being a teenager I didn't think he noticed anything outside of his interests, but he did. I don't like to talk about the things I do for others, I just do as God prompts me.

Today was a very relaxing day. We had dinner in town, and then came back home where I watched movies and worked on the computer doing homework, and updating the church website.

Have lots to do tomorrow, so I had better get to bed. Hope everyone had a good weekend.

A View From My Soap Box

Okay, here I am again, high up on my soap box, trying to hold back a nosebleed.

I am shocked and amazed at the poor manners of today's generation. Saying that makes me sound so old, but remember I am 38, and I closely affiliate myself with the previous generation, than the one I get dumped into because of the year of my birth.

I remember growing up that my mother had these rules, that are basically society rules from the "olden days". You know those days that inspired politeness to strangers, courtesy to family, and respect to your elders?

Here are some examples how the youth of today are so off the mark, it makes me want to smack them upside the head.

For instance, it used to be common practice for a man (young man, older, gentleman) to give up his seat for a lady (women, etc.). My son is bad about this...I picked him up today, and there were several girls standing up, and he and another guy were occupying the only bench. When he got in the car, I reminded him, rather strongly, that the polite thing to do would have been to give one of the girls his seat. His response, "Why? I was there first." I told him that is not the point, it is polite, respectful, and gentlemanly to give up your seat to a woman, especially and elderly woman or one who is pregnant. He looked at me like I am crazy. I guess he really did ignore me his entire life when I was trying to hammer manners into his head.

Another instance occurred, as I was coming out of a door at the school library, and the "boy" in front of me didn't even hold it open! Never mind that I am a lady, but it's just plain polite to hold the door for anyone, no matter their gender. That preturbed me.

Then I talked to one of my friends today. She moved earlier this year into a fairly newly built home, but definitely new to her. While I would prefer a more rural location and more land than what she has, I am happy for her that she finally has her own home. This used to be a reason for women to rejoice with each other. Why would I want to steal her joy in her new home? She has a nice yard for her children to roam in, a new home, and a secure, stable place for her family. Something she didn't have previously. This home was a gift from God, and I view it as such. I was also raised to help people, and to say something nice, which is something many young people aren't being raised to do, as apparently, the younger generation's view on this is to degrade, humilate and ridicule someone's living conditions, which she experienced recently, when a young person visited her home. I find it immature, insecure and downright petty and mean of this person to steal her joy in her home. It was so bad, she was actually stressing before this person's visit, because she knew what their reaction would be. I also find it extremely immature to constantly throw up how much money you pay for something from food to a home. For instance, if you paid an outlandish amount for your home, all it tells me is that you don't know how to manage your money, and that "things" are more important to you. Just because you have money does it mean you should be wasteful? No! God commands us to be good stewards of the money he gives us. (I would also like to add I am working on this with my son too, as he can be hurtful in telling people exactly what he feels. In his defense though, it isn't his upbringing or my lack of enforcing rules and codes of conduct, my son has Asberger's and at times just doesn't know when to hush.)

Another example is my Mother in law. She is in her 70's but raised in poverty. By marrying my father in law she was able to have a better life, and to this day refuses to buy anything that is not a name brand. What a waste! Just because it has Kraft, Dole, Del Monte, etc., on the label doesn't mean it is better than the store brand! In case everyone is not aware the majority of all canned products are canned at one time in a factory, and then labelled according to the factory's customers. If their customers happen to be Dole, Rotel and Walmart, well guess what, the beans inside those cans are the same EXACT beans! If you choose to pay $1.00 for a can of Rotel versus .33 cents for the Walmart brand, who is smarter?

A true story here....I have been married for 19 years. My inlaws have been to my house ONCE to eat dinner. Why? because when I was first married I invited them over. I had a relish tray for snacking on prior to dinner being served. Well, my MIL was scarfing up the cheese faster than you could blink. She was like this is good cheese what kind is it? I said " cheddar". She was "no what brand". I told her it was the store brand. She got the funniest look on her face like she was going to toss that cheese right back up. She slowly put down the piece she was eating, and said "oh". She refused to eat any of the rest of my food that I served, claiming she was feeling ill. Yeah right! The funny thing is, there is only her and my FIL and she spends over $800 a month at the commissary! That is so wasteful! I don't even spend half of that for a family of 5, plus a variety of guests through the week. I just don't understand this wasteful, rude, and disrespectful society we live in, and these people I have been talking about "profess" to be born again Christians! I am at a loss....

Okay, I am stepping down from my soap box, before I get really irritated.

Wednesday

I just wanted to say Happy Anniversary to my sister and brother in law, Ann and Ronnie. Ann is a year younger than me, but she has been married longer. She and Ronnie celebrate their 21st anniversary today.

This is a slow schoolwork week. We finished the last chapter in the Little House book and the curriculum provides an extra week before moving on to catch up on any unfinished activities. We didn't have any, so I have only been doing my bare minimum with the girls. Which includes reading, writing and math. Lauren read a chapter in her "Judy Moody" book, wrote her spelling words three times each in cursive, and did a page of math in her workbook. Yesterday, I read to the girls out of a Manners for Girls etiquette book, and Lauren and I discussed the "birds and the bees" a Christian sex education book titled "How You Are Changing" by Jane Graver. It is geared for the 8-11 year old. I used an earlier book in the "God's Design for Sex" series when she was 5 and I was pregnant with Hannah. I also have the next book in that series titled "What's the Big Deal? Why God Cares About Sex" by Stan and Brenna Jones. We will be using these two books for our "science" curriculum.

I have been adamant about talking to all of my children about sex in general, body changes and such, as my mother didn't discuss this with any of us, just handed us a book. I guess she expected us to read it and ask questions, but that wasn't too reasonable to expect. It was her job to make sure we knew what we needed to know, and well, she didn't. This is the only area of complaint I can make about her when I was growing up. She did a good job otherwise. I am not just saying that because she reads this, but because it is true. My parents were good parents, a little strict, but it was effective. All five of us grew up to be productive members of the church and society.

Time to head into town to pick up Taylor from school, so gotta run.

Baking Day vs. Errand Day

Today is my regularly scheduled baking day, but I am so many things to accomplish, it became errand day instead.

I was up early and we were off to the county seat to get the new tags for the dually. Then rushing Taylor to college, where we waited the hour for his class to finish. In the car, the girls worked on their school work and then played in the grass beside the car using acorns as babies and leaves as furniture.

Next on the agenda was taking Taylor to his golf class, and waiting, again, for his golf class to be over.

I had to rush home, get dinner, and head out to meet my sister. We were going over to my dad's former work to pick up his personal belongings and his last paycheck. We had made arrangements to meet him at 6 pm. We arrived at 5:45 and the building was locked up tight. We called him, and he sent someone over to open the door so we could get his things. I had thought we were packing up his stuff, but it had been done. Two little boxes of personal stuff, that's it. The owner wouldn't hand over his check, as we didn't have my dad's uniforms, which he had told us previously he didn't want back. Now, he wants over $500 for them! We were more than a little upset, and my sister told him he needed to be reasonable. Legally, he can't hold his paycheck indefinitely, and if necessary deduct the cost of the uniforms and send me the difference.

Well, before I could get back home his wife called me. I felt she was basically threatening me and wanting me to pay her some money she claims my dad owed them for a personal loan they made to him. I informed her to forward a copy of the document to me and I would add them to the list of debts I have to pay...if there is enough money they would get paid.....well, she was kind of implying that I needed to pay it out of the life insurance money, which I am not doing.

It didn't go well, as she kept getting uglier and uglier. We'll see how this turns out.

On a side note, please pray for my son...lots of issues there, but all prayer is appreciated. Thanks!

Columbus Day

I just wanted to share this photo with you. It's my dream home. (just kidding)
It's called a Hillbilly RV.

Happy Columbus Day! In observance of the holiday we took off homeschooling today. Tomorrow we will learn why.

On the schedule is to pick up the tags for the truck at the county seat, then drive Taylor to school. In the evening, my sister Ann and I are headed to my dad's former job to pick up his personal belongings and last check.

Now, that the hectic pace of summer is winding down, I wanted to encourage people to start stocking up and preparing for the winter, a natural disaster or worse. No, I am not crazy. I prepare mainly for natural disasters, with an eye on a bigger break down in society being plausible, if not possible.

Last year I made certain we had enough wood on the property. I didn't split and stack it, that was DS and DH jobs, but I did make sure I located it throughout the year and got it here.
I made sure we had enough food, mainly so I wouldn't have to go out in the cold, and that we had enough water on hand for three days or so. This came in handy when we had an ice storm. Everyone around me had trouble staying warm, but with our wood stove, we were fine. I even cooked our meals on it (normally soup or chili).

I know I am better prepared this year, though I do want to add more shelves to the pantry and stock up with at least a year's worth of food.

If you look back in my blog you can see where I took inventory of my pantry. I want to encourage you to do the same, and to take seriously the curve balls that life throws at us. Who knows what weather lies ahead this winter or what financial straits will pop up in the coming months. Having enough food on hand will take some stress off.

I try to encourage my extended family, but other than my inlaws (who lived during the depression, and the direct aftermath of the depression) no one takes me serious.

While I love my family, I am only prepping for my immediate family (myself and kids), everyone else is on their own. I can't provide for everyone, they need to provide for themselves, and not bother coming here, unless they come prepared.

Of all my family, I can only thing of one that would be an asset, and he is a hunter, the rest are too citified.

On my DH side, his parents would be useful, his brother too is an experienced hunter. My FIL is the greatest asset I know, but he is in his mid 70's, and it is hard dragging info from him. I wish I had a better relationship with him, so I could pick his brain. He grew up on a farm, was a sharecropper, hog farmer, in the military, and can fix or make just about anything. Along with my husband, we would be fine. If, we could band together. I don't really want to leave my home, as all my preps are here, and we are in better shape prep wise, but the inlaws have the land.

Okay, enough of a ramble....have a good night everyone.

Blessings...

PRAYER REQUEST: Please pray for Eddie and Kim S. Eddie had a brain aneurysm a month ago. Thanks!
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The word Blessing has different meanings to different people. I have heard the word used to say "we are expecting another blessing in August" referring to impending motherhood, or when used to describe something positive and unexpected. For instance, finding a $20 bill on the ground. What a blessing! Let's say the blessing (prayer), etc. etc.,

I don't know about you, but I didn't use to view my children as blessings. I love them, but have in the past treated them more like burdens, then blessings. I am working on changing this attitude of mine. It became front and center in my mind when my dad passed away. In the Bible it states that children are a heritage from the Lord. As I looked around the church at my dad's memorial service, I was finally glad that my parents had five children. Along with spouses, and grandchildren, my father left a splendid legacy. Just the thought of dying, and having no one around who cares, is very....scary and sad. To have a family to mourn your passing, and an extended Christian family that cares about your well being, your comings and your goings, is awesome. It also makes you realize your shortcomings.

Today's sermon was on Living in the Spirit vs. Living in the Flesh. Many people have a bad perspective of Christians, primarily because many of us Christians, while attending church, and talking a good game, are actually living in the flesh. We need to have more of the Fruits of the Spirit evident in our life, than the Fruits of the Flesh. The difference you ask?

Fruits of the Flesh are divided up into three section in Galatians 5:19 Intimate relations, worship aspects, and social relationships. These consist of sexual immorality and debauchery, idolatry and anger, selfishness, quarrlesome, discord, strive, jealousy, envy, drunkenness and "the like".

Fruits of the Spirit are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control.

What do I mean by fruit? The "fruit" you produce in your life is the evidence of what is important to you. Are you known by your "good fruit" or your "bad fruit"? If a tree produced bad pears every year what would you do? You'd cut it down, and plant something better right? The same goes for your life. If you have those things in your life that are just not good for you, prune them out, get rid of it. Even if you don't believe in God, not having these negative things in your life is better for your health and peace of mind in the long run. Right?

As a Christian, I am called to a higher standard, and need to actively live like a Christian. I asked myself in church today if mylife lines up with Scripture? Do I have good fruits? I'd like to think so, and honestly, my tree could be pruned too, as I am sure some bruised fruits pop out now and again. Living in the flesh means you miss out on the awesome and exciting opportunites that God has in store for you. If God doesn't bless us directly, he will bless us thru other believers.

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It was a great day. After church, I spent the rest of the afternoon at home. I was bad and didn't cook at all today, so we ate out....twice! Ouch! I was trying to save money, but Rodney wanted something other than what I was cooking. I guess I am going to have get firm for the rest of this week. Christmas is coming, I am going on a trip to Midland soon, and the roof needs to be repaired.

We watched T.V., and I worked on my binder for home management, emergency contact info, and emergency prep stuff. Making lists, making lists.....

I washed dishes, and did a little laundry then finished a sewing order. I have two more orders and then I can get busy on Christmas presents.

Tomorrow is a holiday, Columbus Day, and we will be taking a break from our regular school schedule. I also have an appointment with my life insurance agent, to increase our life insurance amounts.

The rest of my list looks like:

call dealership re: tags for dad's car

call tax office re: tags for our truck

contact dad's life insurance company

contact dad's finance company re: car

contact lawyer re: Executorship/heirship/insurance claim

contact dad's former employer to pick up belongings

print 401K beneficiary forms to take to employer

Wow! it's almost 11:30 p.m., the kids are in bed, finally. Their dad bought a remote control helicopter (one of those big boy toys ) and they were out in the street until 11:00 pm playing with it. Frankly, I don't believe a 10 year old and 4 year old should be out playing that late, but I am not going to get into a debate with their dad over parenting skills this late. The girls will be so cranky tomorrow, and guess who gets to benefit from their lack of sleep. Yep, that's right, "lil 'ol me". LOL!

Tomorrow is laundry day, but I don't think I'll get much done. We'll see how the afternoon turns out.

Hope everyone had a good weekend.

Self Control

I am doing a series of devotionals on Self Control. Today's verse is in Ephesians 4:2. "Always be humble and gentle. Be patient and accept each other with love." This is from the ICB version.



Anyone who knows me finds it hard to believe that I struggle with self control. I am often characterized by being calm under stress, logical and can seem un-emotional. Much like Mr. Spock from Star Trek. For the most part this is true. But a strange thing happened about 4 years ago. I gave birth to my daughter Hannah. Afterwards, I suffered from post partum depression, which I swear changed my personality for the worse. I finally believe I have come out of this depression, for the most part, over this past year. My personality changed as such that I became very short tempered, but only with my kids. I use to never swear, but unfortunately, I have been known to swear here recently, much to my dismay. My four year old's favorite word when she is angry is "damn". I can't get my damn shoe on", etc, etc, I didn't realize it was me she was copying until this week. I feel so bad. I confess I had to ask God's forgiveness, and hers, and talk to her about how ladies should talk. Then lo and behold I find this devotional on my bookshelf on self control. It's supposed to be for kids, but I am sure I can benefit from it as well.



So, here I go, starting a journey on learning to re-control my emotions. Not letting them control me. And yes, to be more tolerant. For some reason this word rankles with me. I have often said that God doesn't call me to be tolerant (especially when it comes to society's sins), but after reading this devotional I now accept this definition of tolerant. The world means being kind and considerate to people who are different from me. It doesn't mean I have to accept the blatant sin in their lives, but I need to be kind, polite and mannerly towards those who choose not to live according to the Word of God.



I want to be the kind of person that my kids can look up to, and whose good deeds are a blessing to my family and friends. I try not to broadcast the things that I do, primarily because I don't do them for recognition, but because I feel prompted by God. Kids learn by watching, and imitate, so I need to act accordingly, and to be a GOOD example for them to follow.



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Today is a special day in that I am all ALONE. Yes, I am by myself. I can even go to the bathroom by myself! My husband's aunt is in town (we haven't seen her in 19 years) and he took our kids over to meet her. He was taking a trailer load of brush to burn at his dad's and the kids went for the ride. It is so quiet here, almost makes me consider public school and daycare (LOL!)....just kidding, though it is nice to have a bit of peace. Normally, I am tripping over kids, toys, and turning the TV down constantly.



On the agenda is to finish my tea and devotional, then finish my housework. My to do list looks like this:



pick up dining room

wash dishes

laundry

make laundry soap

vacuum hall

make bed

grocery store for the necessary T.P. (I have everything else, but this stuff goes fast!)

garden - if time

sew - if time (I have two orders for flannel pjs)

Then homework later tonight after everyone has gone to bed.

Ouch!

I sliced my thumb pretty deep cutting up cucumbers. I have been making pickles for a couple of days. I have 2 1/2 gallon jars of dill pickles, 18 pints of sliced dill, 6 pints of bread and butter, and a dozen small jelly jars full of bread and butter pickles. I ran out of pints, so used the jelly jars. You can put 1/2 cucumber in these jelly jars, but I wanted to use up all my pickle mixture in the pan.

I still have 1/2 a box of cucumbers left so will put some in the refrigerator to eat, and give some to Candy. One of the 1/2 gallon jars of dill pickles will be for Candy too, as well as, a smaller jar of the bread and butter pickles. I hope they like them..

My feet hurt too.....wahhh!!!