I have needed to post about this lovely award for over a week! It's so sweet, yes?

Joy gave it to me. What people say when they mention my blog always leaves me feeling humbled.

I keep forgetting to post this award, partly because I'm very mentally scattered right now, partly because I'm staying pretty busy. Which I find ironic because I've tried to write some very thought-provoking posts lately, yet it's hard to concentrate on everything that needs done!

Also due to family from out-of-state getting in today, and my husband taking off work for most of their visit, this is my almost-sort-of-last-chance to do this. (I do want to try to post off and on during the next week but it might just be pictures.)

Picking 7 blogs to pass the award onto is daunting as well. Will it be easy or hard? Who will I forget this time? Ack!

Disclaimer: If you do not accept awards, I'm not offended if you don't display it. I'm not trying to clutter your blog, just to be nice and tell you that I REALLY LOVE YOUR BLOG!

**[Edit: forgot to ad the rules of the award!]

The rules of the award are:

1.The winner can put the award on his/her blog

2.Link the person you received the award from

3.Nominate at least 7 other blogs

4.Put links of those blogs on yours

5.Leave a message on the blogs of those you nominated

Generation Cedar (formerly Families Against Feminisim) - the url to the blog changed recently and I still haven't changed it on my sidebar. I check this blog every day. While we disagree on some theological points, this blog always makes me think. I find it encouraging and uplifting and challenging to take part in some of the discussions that occur here.

Home Girl - My other every-day blog. She's so easy for me to read and relate to. Her blog is so refreshingly honest and forthright. It's also quite balanced - you know, heavy topics, light topics, the kind of balance I don't even try for because, well, I seriously doubt I could achieve it. This girl seems to accomplish it effortlessly and is so coherent and concise . . . .

In A Shoe - a really fun family of eleven. Mostly, the mom blogs, but sprinkled throughout are blogs from the dad and oldest daughters, helping to round out the perceptions of the family that you can draw from knowing them online. Sometimes it's serious, but mostly it's lighter and I appreciate that.

Ornaments of Grace - This lovely blog is updated sometimes on a  weekly basis. Which is fine by me, as that's about as often as I can check it and the content is always so good! I don't want to miss a thing, but as the mom of a 2.5yo and a 10.5mo and another on the way sometimes it's just so nice to find a blog that is rich and thought-provoking and I don't get behind 15 posts if I miss a week!

Happy To Be Called Mommy! - If she wasn't so personable over the net, she'd be intimadating! I think her crafts are adorable. Bethany is making mozarella cheese this week. Have you ever want to make your own mesophillic starter culture at home? I have no idea what you use that for, but she makes it look fun and easy!

Just Give Me Jesus - I have never met you, but I consider you a dear friend. Cyberworld would be an emptier, lonlier place without your raw, open blog. Thank you for sharing your thoughts on HSB.

One more? Just one more? How did this happen?

Large Family Mothering - Have I mentioned that sometimes I don't get around to visiting blogs often? And how much I enjoy the ones that make me think and challenge how I percieve my world? This is one of those nuggets that enriches my life.

Blessings,

~Ashley~

I have not had alot to say in the past week or two. 

When we had the wind storm a couple of weeks ago a tree fell on my garden and took out all my squash, but most everything else survived..

We have been cutting and splitting wood and getting another wood pile started so that it has a year to dry and will be ready when the old pile is used up.  Yes, I have been using a chainsaw and running the splitter!  

I have been checking all the blogs and keeping up with you all!

Take Care

Blessings to all

Now, I don’t have a microwave. For some, it’s a life-line that makes life easier and everything more convenient. For me, there is simplicity in using only my stove that might totally stress other people out!

I remember working for a widow before Samuel was in my womb. She let me barrow books, and one of them was “The Family No One Wanted”. It was the story of this couple who couldn’t have children and adopted a lovely dozen of all different shades of brown. In the time era it was practically unheard of to adopt a different skin shade, hence the ‘family no one wanted’.

This family eventually came to the attention of Reader’s Digest and the magazine decided to bring this family into the 20^th century by hooking up the house with all kinds of appliances. A dishwasher, a laundry machine, a dryer, a microwave. I don’t recall but they may have had to hook the house up to electricity as well!

One thing that stands vividly in my mind was the mother’s response to her new “conveniences”. She was so happy, she exclaimed that with all the time saved she could easily have twice as many children!

Unlike the mom I read about, most of us don’t do laundry by hand. Most of us take for granted wall-to-wall carpeting and the electric thing that cleans known as a vacuum. When we don’t go somewhere, our vehicle sits quietly in the driveway. We don’t have to muck out a stall, or  feed and water our car or van twice a day.

We are very blessed by conveniences. What do we do with our time? Something worthwhile? Something that will benefit others?

Is our extra time eaten up by the pursuit of more money? Do we spend the time we save when we turn a knob instead of hauling buckets of water from a distance on the computer or watching TV? To cook breakfast I don’t have to haul wood to my stove. I’m not raising my own cotton for clothing and tending sheep for wool.

What am I doing with my extra time?

We have more labor saving devices than ever before. Libraries are at our fingertips with the aid of a computer. We can “chat” without lifting the phone or picking up a pen and thinking too deeply about what to say.

I just think about this sometimes and think about the responsibility I have to use my time wisely.  Children will always take work, but I really can’t complain. I don’t have to do my dishes by hand and throw the dishwater out the back door. I don’t empty the bathtub water with a bucket! I can go to Goodwill and buy clothing for $2 unless I want to make it. I live in a much larger house than would have been normal a hundred years ago, climate-controlled as well with the touch of a button . . . .

We tell ourselves that if I just had more time I would read my Bible more. I’d take time to pray. I’d spend more time with my children. I’d learn to make candles like I’ve always dreamed of.

We have the same amount of time, a 24 hour a day that our ancestors had. Frankly I think they did more with their time - they had so much more to do! 

The question remains - are we doing something worthwhile with our time?

Just some more food for thought.

~Ashley~

[All images from allposters.com]

I almost titled this “The Shepherd” instead, but the question that I used instead is one that is never far from my mind. I was most distraught over this a month ago, and even now I seize upon any verse that seems to indicate that God does indeed, wish to be a personal God and desires to be personally consulted about even daily matters.

Of course, it is up to an individual, I suppose, to a degree, as to "how much" they want to seek God's will for. Daily bread? Relocation? Family size? We make dozens, no, hundreds of choices without ever praying about them and honestly listening for an answer. This post isn't about that, but rather my own musings on the postition God wants to have in my life . . . how involved does He want to be? There are areas where I most desperately don't want to relinquish control.

Sunday morning, I found myself in church worshiping the Lord with some beautiful songs. I believe that to worship the Lord, we need to commend Him in some way, lifting up His marvelous deeds. We should feel humbled in a sense by His majesty and in awe of His grace when we worship . . . . 

I’d rather have Jesus and let Him lead,

Than to be the king of a vast domain, Or be held in sin’s dread sway.

I’d rather have Jesus than anything this World affords today!

In the middle of this song I was hit with doubts does He lead me? Will He lead me? Just how involved does He want to be?

I’m reading a book, for the second time. A lot of it resounds with me. One line reads:

“…we can trust God to plan our lives for us better than we can ourselves.”

Really? I want to. But what if He isn’t, and I just think He is? I can’t base my life off of any book besides the Bible, no matter how terrific it sounds!

Another suggestion this book (yes, I'm leaving out which one on purpose!) is to see how much you value children. Ask yourself, 'Another child or $10 thousand dollars?' I find myself thinking, forget this child, I'll take the money, because in the future I can always have more children and with the extra money it would be easier!  And then I realize I'm assuming that I can, that I'm in control, and then when I want them, I can have them. And I simply don't have that guarantee! I know moms that have one, two, three, a mom that has 5 . . . and then years go by and they wonder if they will ever hold a newborn again! (But this is another post altogether.)

The question is, do I want Jesus more than my home in the country? Do I want what He wants more than a million dollars, or ten thousand dollars, or whatever the world is "affording" me???

In Church, we kept singing:

Whate’re I do, where’re I be, still ‘tis God’s hand that leadeth me!

Lord, I would clasp Thy hand in mine, Nor ever murmur nor repine,

Content whatever lot I see, Since ‘tis my God that leadeth me!

Well, at least this song admits that God leads us through hard places as well as smooth . . . if He actually does lead us through life in a personal way and not a “Work were you want to work, live where you want to live, just don’t lie or commit adultery and try to be a good Christian” type of way.

So we kept singing. This time, a hymn I’d never heard before (written by Annie J. Flint), but still spoke deeply to me and what I’ve experienced in my life (My miscarriage, subsequent pregnancy & Elijah's NICU stay come to mind instantly):

He giveth more grace as our burdens grow greater,
He sendeth more strength as our labors increase;
To added afflictions He addeth His mercy,
To multiplied trials he multiplies peace.

When we have exhausted our store of endurance,
When our strength has failed ere the day is half done,
When we reach the end of our hoarded resources
Our Father’s full giving is only begun.

His love has no limits, His grace has no measure,
His power no boundary known unto men;
For out of His infinite riches in Jesus
He giveth, and giveth, and giveth again.

“When we reach the end of our hoarded resources” – in a biography of George Muller’s, a very, very difficult book for me to read which I've barely touched – he believed that if you had the resources, God well might allow you to use them in the time of necessity before providing. This caused George Mueller to never save for unforeseen times of need, because he believed that nothing is unforeseen to his Heavenly Father. And the man’s whole life is a testimony to either God’s abounding mercy, or . . . well, in my opinion the only One to know his need was God, and the only way this is possible is God.

“Not once, or five times, or five hundred times, but thousands of times in these threescore years, have we had in hand not enough for one more meal, either in food or funds; but not once has God failed us; not once have we or the orphans gone hungry or lacked any good thing.” [George Muller of Bristol, pg 81]

This book said that, and it just shattered me. If I had guessed I would have thought that God had provided for the needs a few times in “miraculous” ways. Not thousands. This book is so hard to read, partly because of things like the following quote:

“If few men have ever been permitted so to trace in the smallest matters God’s care over His children, it is partly because few have so completely abandoned themselves to that care.”

Ouch.

The morning progressed into the sermon without giving me any more songs to think about, and we read from 1 Peter.

First of all, last week we read these verses, which I want to have hanging on my living room wall as soon as possible:

I Peter 5:6-7 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: Casting all your care upon him, for he careth for you.

I don’t even remember what we read this week. My attention was captured by the phrase “Chief Shepherd” in verse 4 . . . .

Shepherd . . .

Shepherd . . .

Shepherd . . .

The word “shepherd” is so full of meaning. When we were young my mom read a devotional book on the 23^rd Psalm to us. I still remember many of the things I learned about shepherds . . . and sheep.

Also, we had sheep growing up. Twice. Both times, we lost them at various stages - typically half-grown, "teenage" sheep that should need less care, right? Right?

Why?

Sheep are not goats. They need care their entire lives. They require attention and some diligence. Sheep are for the most part, fairly dense. They have sensitive stomachs, they need shelter, they need protection. Sometimes even protection from themselves!

And so, because they aren’t as hardy and don’t “take care of themselves” well – we killed half a dozen over the same course of time that we never lost one of our much larger herd of goats.

Christ is the Shepherd.

What a thought!

The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want . . .

I believe that God is unchanging, and that His attributes stay the same from one Testament, or half of the Bible to the other. Still, I was ablaze with this thought and searched my Bible quickly for more references . . . .

He is the Chief Shepherd – I Peter 5:4

He is the Good Shepherd – John 10:14

He is the Great Shepherd – Heb 13:20

What is one of the primary characteristics of a Shepherd? He leads the sheep - every day. He feeds them, leads them to water, guides them. He is definatly smarter than the sheep.

As a sheep, sometimes I'm ticked when I don't get what I want. I think of a sheep, held back from green clover because the Shepherd sees something I can't - a snake, or a poisoness plant. Or some other reason I can't grasp with my tiny sheep brain.

What are characteristics of sheep? They follow, and they know His voice.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death . . . .

I want to trust my Shepherd, not matter what my surroundings look like. It is very, very hard to do. When things are difficult, I'm ready -not to pray, not to wait beside Him, not to follow- but to find my own easier shortcut.

He leadeth me, oh blessed thought! Oh words of heavenly comfort fraught!

I hope you are having a blessed week and perhaps this gave you some food for thought.

Blessings,
~Ashley~

[All images taken from allposters.com]

I was on the phone with a friend this morning and she was telling me what she was going to be canning and I started thinking about canning my tomatoes instead of freezing them.

For one thing, we don't have much freezer space left!

So I made ketchup, the recipe right out of the Blue Ball book.

And to my friend's horror, I left the seeds in. Actually, some of the tomato skins ended up pulverized, too. Oops!

It is the most lovely, thick, creamy ketchup I've ever made!!!!!

~Ashley~

I'm getting all kinds of new things in my kitchen!

The sink I have is very shallow, and while it's stainless steel it costs less than $50.

Our (plastic) reverse osmosis facuet has leaked since we installed it over a year ago due to some internal flaw and it was getting worse, so Jonathan wanted to get a different facuet for that, plus a different kitchen faucet because that's a real cheap plastic, leaking mess too! Then we got to thinking about new fixtures with our old sink, and decided we needed a new sink as well! 

Jonathan  has also said that he is going to tile the kitchen/laundry AND make a tiled dining area (we eat on carpet) and I'm sooooo excited. I'm so tired of scrubbing food stains out of the carpet!!! The tile will probably happen in a month or two, but we bought the sink & stuff yesterday. Together, I really hope it makes the kitchen look more classy.

We ended up with a beautiful white sink that is 9.5" deep. Needless to say, I'm thrilled! The new faucet took forever to pick out... The stainless reverse osmosis faucet (it's so cute!!!) was $50 but they MATCH!!! LOL I may not be big on matching furniture but I'm tickled that the sink faucets are all matching, hehe!

I'm a bit in awe of the main kitchen faucet we picked out ... I hope it all comes together looking okay!!!! I will post before and after pics!

Oh, and this is a picture of exactly what we bought for the new kitchen sink:

I'll be back with more pictures soon!

~Ashley~

Parenting is a huge learning process. Or at least it should be.

I think it's taken about this long for me to stop trying to get Jonathan's results by copying Jonathan's methods. I'm simply not dad. Both Samuel and I realize this at this point!

One of the worst things I think you can do with a "bad" behavior is just eventually brush it off as a "stage" or "age". I think one of the best things you can do is keep trying to figure out how to correct it, or how to teach your child to deal with something.

Like dissapointment. Life is full of dissapointment right now for Samuel, and it's naturally very devestating.

I've been talking to Jonathan about how Samuel "melts down" and gets really weepy lately. I've thought he's been teething, but regardless, the behavior isn't something I want to attempt to tolerate for any length of time. I think that we are expected to be resonably well behaved when we are tired, hungry, and misrible, and on the same note we can expect our children to be (within reason).

Samuel's "episodes" have just gotten ridiculous!

Jonathan said something when I called him this morning that finally, at last, made it "click". He mentioned that Samuel doesn't do this when he's around. I said I thought that Daddy was too big of a distraction.

If he's teething, it makes sense that having daddy around helps him forget about his pain. On the other hand, if he's not teething, I need to help him learn to move on. Not to necessarily "distract" him, but to give him other things to think about as well so he can learn that having a muffin crumble in his grasp or the fact his brother ate one of his crackers will not make his tiny universe implode.

We went for a walk, and when we got home, Samuel wanted to go inside using the back door. I had the spare front door key, and I wanted to use the front door. I ended up having to have him hold my hand and follow me up to the front door .... crying the whole way in agony of dissapointment.

When we got inside, I started having him help me. I had him put his sippy cup in the fridge, then come back and put his brother's in there as well. I had him put his sandles away, and my shoes, and then we systematically started picking up the house. The whole time he was wailing, but it was more bearable because he was helping me (for me), and he actually ran around and did some of what I wanted him to do with actual speed, burning off some frusteration/anger.

In a while he started calming down, thinking more about the task at hand, and when I saw that I had him feed the fish. By the time he was done watching the fish eat, he probably couldn't remember being upset.

His aditude has been much, much better ever since. Once, he started to moan about something (equally unfair as not using the door he wanted) and I gave him a few tasks and had him help me sweep and mop the kitchen floor - which he loves! Presto, his aditude shaped up.

I think I'm onto something!

Of course, if you havn't taught your little one to obey and do certain tasks it isn't going to work to ask for them to do these things in the middle of a personal crisis, or if you usually just ignore or wait out melt-downs.

But . . . I think this is going to work for us!

~Ashley~ 

Okay, this is how I do it.  I was asked about it, so here it goes.

Some wipes and the recipe (which I've modified) was given to me at my baby shower, and I've used it pretty much ever since!

#1 RubberMaid size 5

From what I've found online, Viva is the paper towel of choice. You can use Bounty; it's totally up to you. Viva seems to be the thickest and hold up the best. I use something different in my kitchen.

#2 Paper Towels - I my case, I use a 8-pack of Viva for about $8

And then you want to cut them in half as you use them, or if your darling has a delightful thing called a belt saw, maybe you can bribe him into cutting them all at once right after you bring them home. This is what I do. Jonathan doesn't mind, and I really, really don't like sawing through a roll of paper towels with a knife. It can be done. I just don't. Feel free to consider me lazy . . . . ROFL!

Now, your container is empty, and you want to make more wipes. You grab half a roll of paper towels, and pull out the cardboard middle.

This part is crummy.

Stuff whatever pops out back in. It'll look messy. See all the shredded bits of towel from the belt saw?

Stick the tube-less roll in the container . . . . ignore the fork, marker, and quart jar. They aren't important.

Now, you have to add something. Here is what I have:

See the few tablespoons of baby oil left? That's about enough for this batch. Then I add either a dash of alcohol or a bit of Tea Tree Oil. See how expensive the Tea Tree is? I don't use it much.

Now, the alcohol, unless you go crazy with it (I use a tablespoon or two?) is still going to be less than you typically get in store bought wipes which means they aren't as "harsh". You don't have to add it, but it keeps the wipes from molding. Which is funny looking and harmless, but I just add some so I don't have to worry about it. I used Tea Tree when Elijah was tiny because it made me feel good.

The original recipe calls for a tablespoon of baby soap/shampoo. However, even baby soaps have laurelth sulfates, which is why I started making my own soap in the first place! So I use baby oil instead.

I just squirt it all over the top:

Then I pour 2 cups of fairly HOT water over the top. I think that helps the oils be distributed.

After I pour the water in, depending on how warm the water is, I let it sit uncovered overnight or a few hours to cool off.

And that's it. A roll of paper towels ($8), a squirt of baby oil and a bit of alcohol.

My baby oil is $2.20 (I have to buy it with the adult shampoo because they only carry expensive brands with the baby stuff) and my jumbo, last-for-a-year bottle of rubbing alcohol is going to be about $2.50? (It was given to me, I'm not 100% sure of the cost right now.)

I actually marked my calender in June to figure this out, and a pack of paper towels will last me 2 months.

All in all, I think I spend less than $5 a month on wipes for both boys. I do buy a "double" pack of store wipes about once a year, and put a few of those in a container in my purse for when we're out. They are dry compared to these wipes and Jonathan doesn't like them particularly . . .  .

Anyway, it feels like I've wrote a book about something really simple that takes about 2 minutes. Any questions, just ask and I'll try to get back to you!

~Ashley~