4lil blessings

Updated My Pics

I have a digital camera now, so I tend to keep up with my pictures alot more now.  I absolutely love it.  I have so many rolls of film laying around that I always forgot to take in.  Now I have my pics on my computer and take pics of everything.  Check out the updated pics!!

Over a Year!! WOW

I knew I had been way long gone from this blog, but nearly 15 mos?  WoW  how time flies and life changes.  I have really missed blogging and I have really missed the family homestead website, I have been reading there some but can't post anymore cause it had been so long and my acct expired, now they aren't taking new members, :(

I have started in homechild care full time now, pretty tiring, I have kids pretty much 10 hours a day 5 days a week now.  I am pretty much grounded to home which is very very nice, lots of great families I have been working for now and a great group of kids.

I hope to stay on top of my blog some now. Holidays are just around the corner and it's always fun to share ideas etc with everyone. My kids are all getting big, Kayla is almost a teenager now, she had a babysitting job over the summer and is expanding her musical talents, she started piano over the summer and is doing splendid!  She has such a gift for music, definately a blessing.!  Noah is going strong and just turned 10, playing soccer and keeping busy with scouts.  Nathan is now 7 and in scouts as well, not the athletic type so not into any sports as of now.  Then there is our 4th lil' blessing Luke he will be 3 in Dec, wow what a ham and a handful...he likes everything and anything, always outside and into something!!

I hope you all have a blessed rest of your weekend!

Lis

They grow up so fast!

My DD is on sprng break this week and she took the Red Cross Babysitting course.  I can't believe it, she now has a certified card that she has been trained to babysit...though I know she's wonderful with kids, I can't even bring myself to leave her with her own brothers for more then ten minutes!!  She is still sorta young 11, but she is prett mature when she wants to be as well! 

My DS age 6 had found some home videos and we watched them this week....my dd was about the same age as my youngest son Luke in the video...I just don't know where those 10 years have gone!  My dh made a comment about what we'd be doing in 18 years when all are kids are grown, I had to laugh...I said watching grandkids!  he's like you're right, I am sure we'll have a few by then!  I never thought I would see the day when I had 4 children let alone talk about grandkids, lol!  Oh but we sure are blessed!

children are an heritage of the Lord: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.  ~Psalms 127:3

Staying home

well well well...who would have ever known the more you stay home the more your house is in order?  After us being sick, I just wanted to stay home...well, I still do.  I have been getting so much done, I know dread doing the household shopping let alone having to run out, I am making much better use of my time and making all my trips out at the same time as much as possible, I LOVE IT!  I can actually let people in the house with a smile on my face cause things aren't in such disaray!!  Now I am getting into spring cleaning mood!  I am ready to just start tossing everything!!  My dh isn't too sure what to think of me he always asks what my plans are for the day and if I am going anywhere...NOPE, staying home doing laundry, baking etc.  The kids are sooo much more relaxed as well, can't beat that!

Titus 2:4-5

Back to normal

Well, it's been forever and I have not been keeping up on my blog.   Thought while I had some quiet time I would post and keep you all up to date on where I have been and what I am doing.

I was MIA for a bit planning and getting the scout dinner done, it turned out very nicely and was a lot of fun.  Then next morning my dh woke up under the weather, I was exhausted and just couldn't get back into the groove of things, we laid around all day.  Well he just was not well fever etc, so he went to the Dr. said it was a viral thing it would pass...well it got worse all day and night and went to the ER, he was dehydrated and found he had pneumonia, YUCK!  So he was out of it most of the week, he had a return appt with our Dr. of Friday, I was feeling awful so went as well....was told bronchitis and to come back on tuesday to see how I was feeling and if the meds were helping.  WELL, dh was doing better and I was on the couch all weekend, fever coughing etc.  So to the doctor I go on Tuesday to find I too had pneumonia, for those of you have never had it, I pray you never have to be that sick EVER.  I honestly thought I was going to die.  Needless to say despite the awesome efforts of my dd 11 and dh to keep up things feel apart, they kept us fed and clean clothes done and even kept the dishes under some control, they really did put forth great efforts.  So, I started to feel some better only to have dd start coughing and running a fever, so as a precaution I took her in to find she had an ear infection, thank God that was all it was!  She's still tired and worn down, but getting better and life is getting somewhat back to normal...well as normal as it gets around here,lol!!

It has been nice though, with dh off work  and being sick I have stayed home to avoid spending money, I have gotten the house back to being able to let people in and the laundry mountain under control(for now, lol!)  I really stretched out the groceries too, so even though we lost some money I saved us some too, that makes me feel good!  If the sun would just start shining I would be SOOO happy to hang out at home all day every day  for another week!  I did get out and enjoy the warmer temps today, fresh air is a nice thing!!  It was just a small walk out to take the trash and mail out, but still nice all the same!

I have been tagged!

wow, it's been forever since I have been on here...dh and i had pneumonia it really hit us hard and knocked us off our feet...now i have been tagged and thought I better jump in and answer!

7things I want to do before I die

1. See my children come to Christ

2. See my children  grown, married, happy and living for Christ

3. Be so like Christ that everyone will want to live for him

4. Travel

5. Get organized, lol!

6. Learn to keep my opinions to myself

7. Be completely debt free

7 things I can't do

1. Play a musical instrument

2. Draw

3. clean up vomit

4. say no

5. Knit or crochet

6. Sew...well

7. change others

7 things that attract me to my husband

1. First was his smile

2. that he "got" me, I am a bit different and he got that

3. the way he looks at me

4. the way he makes me feel like I am the only woman in the whole world

5. The way he loves me know matter how imperfect I am

6. His kisses (!)

7. How he would do anything for me and I know I can depend on him with no questions asked

7 things I say most

1. I love you

2. clean your room

3. put your stuff away

4. No Luke!

5. Where is Luke!

6. Nathan do this do that

7.Good night, I love you

7 movies I watch over and over

1. wow, this is hard will have to think on this one!...

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

7 Books or authors I love to read

1. The Bible

2. Let's Roll by Lisa Beamer

3. Promises for Mothers by Rachel Quillin

4. Dr. Suess,lol!

5. the if you give a pig a pancake series for kids

6.

7.

7 people I want to tag

1. JenB

2. HillmanAcres

3. AndreainOhio

4.  DonnaJoy

5.

6.

7.

hey it's not so bad, so far!

Well, I posted awhile back about my dh going to third shift again, well...so far, it's not been so bad.  He's not been nearly so grumpy and seems to be sleeping well during the day.  It probably helps it's pretty dreary out and the sun isn't peaking into the room all day.  He's been getting a nap pretty regularly in the evening right before he goes to work so I think that helps too.  I know I have been trying not to give him a hard time and just let him sleep etc.  Figure if I can let him sleep he won't be so grumpy.  Of course he's always been my dinner dishes guy and he doesn't do them much now, but that's ok.  We are actually talking about getting a dish washer now, lol!  Yes, we are still without one, seems unbelievable to alot of people these days.  It's the only modern convience I would love to have, I could care less about all electronics and gadgets, but a dish washer I would love! 

friday!

for some reason it's been a long week...not that my weekend will be too relaxing, lol!  It will be a busy one and I hate being gone ALL day on Saturday, or any other day for that matter.  Guess we will see how it goes.  The bright side to my weekend...THE STEELERS are in the Super Bowl!!!  Now we aren't HUGE sports fans, but we do watch football...dh and I like different teams, but hey that's ok, MINE is in the Super Bowl, lol!  He's actually rooting for my team with me..what a guy!  As excited as I am, it's really not a big deal who wins or looses, yeah it would be great if we did, but to me, it's an honor just to be there the outcome isn't important.  The only thing I hate though, is all the half time junk...it's always so trashy, but we normally change the channel for awhile anyway.

I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Oh the little things!

Lately I have been watching my one year old learn to explore, something he does very well I must add!  Well the past couple of days the best entertainment he has is a plastic water jug, lol!  We keep a few of them beside our fridge and go to a local spring to get drinking water, he just loves playing with the empty ones, he takes the lid off and attempts to put it back on and just carries it around for hours!  And we spend all this money on the latest toys, why? LOL.

Then my 8 yr. old...the boy always has a pen and paper in his hand, drawing and writing his own stories or making maps of these towns he makes up.  I have spent money buying him scetch books etc, nope not interested, just wants the paper tablet and pens!

Now the 6 yr. old is following in his footsteps too...he watches something and he immediately asks for pen and paper, draws what he just watched!  All the toys laying around and they never play with them, the will play with action figures, after they make a cardboard box into a house for them or play with hot wheels after they draw a detailed city on a huge piece of construction paper, lol!

Then there is my 11yr. old who still loves to play with her dolls, now mind you I have to buy the dolls, but she is so content with using her brothers hand me downs to dress her babies, we never buy clothes or diapers at the store for the dolls, she just uses whatever I will give her. 

It's so nice to see kids that are fascinated with the little things instead of so wrapped up in the big ticket items out there!

Third Shift, ugh

Well, it's official, my dh bid on a third shift job and got it. I was praying he wouldn't but guess God had another plan!  DH worked this shift for about 3 years, he went on that shift when dd started school cause he was on 2nd then and would have never seen her( where is works the chance of 1st shift is next to impossible, he has 8 years in but needs about another 10 to get days, lol!)...though he was on 3rd to better the family, he was always SO grumpy, always tired,  just never able to get restful sleep etc.  Well his plant went to an alternative shift where he worked 3 12 hours shifts( only part of the plant went to this shift) so he took a job on that so he would have more days off and still have the evenings those days, problem being he worked every Sat. and some Sundays.  It was ok for a bit cause he used a vacation day here and there if we had things on weekends he wanted to do, but then the vacation ran out....so now he thinks this is best so he can still be at weekend activities with the kids.  He is a scout leader and we have several scouting events on the weekends coming up and will be able to be at these as well...I am just not looking forward to the grumpy hubby I had spent time with over the 3 years he worked this shift before.  All I can do now at this point is pray that God will help him get rested etc.  I know there will be an adjustment period so the first few weeks especially will be hard, I am just hoping afterward he can get on a schedule.

Lisa

AHH Toddlers!

My Poor Lil' Guy!

On Saturday we took our 6 yr. old to a local playzone for his birthday, we invited a few cousins and a few friends from school.  I had heard back from all the school friends except one.  SO, my ds is running over to the door every few minutes and we're telling him he can't be by the door to get back where he is suppose to be etc.  Finally, I went over ready to really lay into him about not listening...he says "Mommy, I am looking for Jacob!"  I explained I had not heard from his mommy and didn't think he was going to be able to be there.  He looked up at me with his big old brown eyes and said " but I gave him the invitation"  I almost cried!  His heart was just broke!  I explained he had other friends there and should play with them so not to make them feel bad and he agreed and was off to have lots of fun.  I just felt so helpless, how do you make them feel better after such heartbreak?  Guess that is just the first of many for the lil' guy, Momma just needs to learn to handle it better!

How time flies!

Well, it's been another week since I have found time to get on here, lol! 

This past week has been a busy one, though I spent alot of time at home.  Our children were home Mon and Tues from school, they had a holiday and teacher in service day.  Monday our baby was just not feeling well so took him to the Dr. he has really bad cold...needless to say the next three days were mostly holding him and tending to him, not that I mind! BUT...our house was a total wreck, today he's doing better, I actually got to make the bed today and do some cleaning up around the house and get some laundry put up!  I have dinner in the crock pot and looks like a quiet evening for us!  DH will appreciate that as he gets home from work at 6pm and has to be back in at 4:30 am!  So, he spends some time with us and back to bed to do it all over again! I feel for him, we all want his attention the minute he hits the door...I try to just let the kids have his attention but it's so hard.  He works this shift 3 days in a row starting on Thurs. so by friday night I want to chit chat with him...and he's usually falling asleep in the chair..oh well, enough rambling about that!

This should be a quiet weekend, my son's bday party is tomorrow night at a local indoor playground, the kids are very excited!  I can't believe the lil' guy is 6 already!  now if I can just get him to act like he's 6 and not 2!! LOL!

Been awhile!

WOW hard to believe I have not posted in nearly a week!  It's been busy around here, not running around type busy just doing stuff at home and spending time with my family!

Sunday evening at church our Pastor spoke about doing things for the Lord, not to please ourselves or others....BANG!  It was like God put a neon sign up there just for me.  I do all sorts of volunteer stuff through the kids school and scouts, everyone is always telling me how wonderful etc things have been, I have been trying to organize the scouts more etc.  As soon as the Pastor mentioned that I thought, I have not been doing these things for the right reasons at all.  I have been doing them for my own glory and that is just not right.  I thought perhaps I should just stop all my efforts, but realized I can still do these things, God has put me where I am for a reason.  Others did not volunteer to do the things I am doing so apparently they need me.  When I first volunteered the cubmasters words were "Praise God!  He knows just when to send us our angels, I had no idea how I would get this stuff done" WOW, someone thought of me as an angel and a blessing !  I can't say I looked at it like that at first.  God has enabled me to do them as far as time goes.  He has given me the ability to be a people person who will take in others ideas and apply them when planning events etc.  Planning events and parties etc is something I love to do, so God is giving me the oppurtunity to do things I love to do as well as better the group at the same time.  If I can do these things with the heart of a servant and be sure that each and every event I plan is one that will honor God then its not wrong for me to continue doing so.  By me volunteering with scouts, I am a help to my dh, who is one of the leaders, who would have to do much of this himself etc.

I thought long and hard about all this and realized it's not always what we do with our time, but how we are doing it, and who we are doing it for.  I want to do things that make people see me, but not me.....but Christ through me.  Often people will say you're crazy for doing this you have a toddler and three others how do you find time?  I have always just laughed etc and said I don't know...but you know what?  I can do these things because I am doing it to help my dh and by helping him I am pleasing God.  Who wants to be involved in things when things aren't planned well or chaotic?  If God has given me the ability to do this to help dh and to help the others,  then I should do it willingly and give God the credit for it and not take it for myself.  I know I will react differently to the comment of how I do it from now on. 

I do it to help my husband and somehow God gives me the patience and time to get it all done effectively.

Well, that's what the Lord has placed on my heart this week.

Lisa

Just saying hello

Good Morning all!

I am just stopping in quick today, i am very tired and have fallen very behind in my day already! 

I want to make up some breakfast items for the freezer today, but that requires getting my kitchen cleaned up!  I have some laundry to do and beds to get made!  I went back to bed this am, not a good thing.  So, I have yet to hit the shower, ugh!

It sure doesn't help it's colder and rainy here in Ohio today too.  It had been warmer for the past few days, now it's one of those lay around be lazy days...but that doesn't get me any where does it, lol!  I would love some sunshine right now, that is the worst part of winter.  But, God made the gloomy days just as he did the sunny ones, there is still work to be done, so I better get to it!

Have a great day all!

Lisa

Stopping to think

Hi All!!

Thanks for the warm welcome!!

Today I am mostly stopping to think about all the blessings in my life and how we tend to take them for granted most of the time.  Dh has family in WV that are coal miners and we were there as the explosion accured and followed that story on the radio on our drive back and also on CNN once we got home.  We were up much to late watching things transpire.  I could barely return to sleep after hearing that those they thought were ok were not.  My heart aches for those families and my prayers go out to them.  My biggest prayer is that they each had a personal relationship to Christ and that the families have the comfort in knowing they will see them again someday in Glory!

Too many times I am in a big hurry to send my dh off to work so I can get done what I need to accomplish for the day, I just can't imagine sending him off in a hurry to have something that tragic happen.  What an eye opener!  We really should stop and treasure the moments God has given us.  We are not guaranteed our next breath why do we go through life like there is always enough time to do or say what we should do right now?  I know it's hard to see any good in midst of tragedy, but God has promised that He works all things for good for those who trust in him....This whole situation was in his control, though hard for those families right now, I am sure there lifes are changed forever and they will see good in the future.  I know personally, it has made me to stop and re examine somethings in my own life.  I guess if nothing else good comes of this tragedy....at least one wife and mother in Ohio is going to change her way of sending her dh and children out the door each day!  Praise God!

Please keep these families in your prayers!  Also, pray for the one that is still hanging on that God my heal his body so that the other families may find some comfort in knowing what went on down there at some point.

Lisa

Something New for the New Year

Hello all!!

I am new to the blog world, I have so much fun reading others blogs, I thought I would try my hand it as well!  Figured it would something fun and new for the New Year!

We are not exactly homesteaders but if we are able to purchase the right house in the future we would like to grow some veggies and my oldest ds would have every animal known to man if we had the space!  I am a SAHM of four children one dd 11, 3 ds 8, 6, 1, I am a born again Christian who is looking to live a much simpler life, much more how God intended!

I am looking forward to making new friends and learning new things!

Have a wonderful day!

Lisa