Oak Tree Musings

1. I do not like large crowds.

2. I taught Joe (my hubby) how to bait a hook with a worm and how to filet a fish.

3. I cannot sleep with socks on my feet. I love to feel the sheets on them!

4. I slept with my baby, uhm hum, security blanket, even after I was married. (It now rests safely in the closet).

5. My ancestors founded the University of Southern California.

6. Tea is my favorite beverage, hot or cold!

7. Once I start to read a book, no matter how many pages, I have to finish it-even if it means staying up all night.

8. One day soon I would like to own chickens, so I can have fresh eggs.

9. I love to sing, yet no one should ever be subject to hearing me.

10. Scrapbooking, jewelry making, sewing & crafting are things I love to do, but do not have enough time!

11. Much to Joseph's dismay, I love to try new recipes.

12. I would have choosen to live during the pioneer days and lived off the land.

13. I stop at the gas station for a Sunday paper after church each week.

14. My dog Belle minds better than my children!

15. I was crowned queen at our formal high school dance on my 18th birthday, then the entire school sang happy birthday to me.

16. My nickname that I have had since I was a child is Smurf.

17. I can watch the Pink Panther with Luke over & over again and never tire of it. We can't wait to see part 2!

18. My heart does summer saults when I see a rainbow.

19. I love living in the country and having a large garden.

20. Cooking & baking are one of my favorite things to do. Abby & Luke both like to help.

21. I am a morning person.

22. I am thankful to my parents for a wonderful childhood.

23. My secret desire is to homeschool Abby & Luke.

24. Canning & perserving is so rewarding to me. I love to can my own garden produce.

25. I had both of my children with no pain medicine. I have an aversion to someone putting a needle in my spine...

Now it's your turn!

Changes

I pratically feel like a stranger, it has been too long since I have been able to update my blog! So many things going on in my life...holidays, job changes, trying to paint and redecorate the house...is there ever enough time to get things done?!?

Several months ago my brother asked me if I was happy with my current employment and offered me a job to be his administrative assistant for a business he was considering buying. He also offered me a nice raise. It was a hard decision, so many things to consider...I loved my job at the Extension Office, working with students and running the county 4-H program. It was so much fun, I really enjoyed my job! On the other hand, it is a county paid position and did not pay much, I had no benefits. The county funding is in trouble like the rest of the economy and talks of layoffs were beginnig to circulate. My brother and I have always had a great relationship, and I do not want anything to come between us, so after much prayer, I felt strongly lead to accept his offer.

I began my new job with my brother in late December. It is a crop insurance agency. I have learned so much, and still have many things to learn, but I love it! There are so many forms to remember....I have to recheck most of my work, a simple mistake can cause a farmer thousands of dollars! The days fly by and I feel like I have accomplished something at shifts end.

During the snow/ice storm this week my brother picked me up each day to ensure I would make it safely to work. How sweet is that?

A bag of chips

I just tucked my two angels into bed. There is nothing better than cuddling with them and recaping the days events as they sweetly yawn and will their tired eyes to stay open. Abby told me of a story she wrote and the teacher picked hers to read aloud to the class, they gave her a round of applause, even the principal! Luke was sad because he had earned a special treat of getting pop and a bag of chips but he had difficulty opening them and no one would help him. He said he raised his hand, but none of the adults would come over to help him. He ended up throwing them in the trash. Abby said she saw him shortly afterwards and he had tears in his eyes but had not known why. She said she played and joked with him to cheer him up. (Thank you my sweet Abby!) I could hear the hurt in Luke's voice as he told me the story, it broke my heart. I will address this with the school tomorrow.

I know he has to learn to fend for himself, but my mothering heart aches knowing he was so left out! My husband says I baby him too much-how can I not?!? I have held him in my arms countless times while he was completely blue from the prolonged seizures, begging God to let him breathe. Held pressure & ice on all his wounds from the violent seizures. Held him in my arms when he couldn't even hold up his head. Talked, held and played with him during epileptic status when all he could do was drool, twitch and stare blankly ahead. My sweet Luke has endured so much at such a young age.

This month is epilepsy awareness month. I will post more on that soon. In the meantime, please remember those affected with this terrible diease in prayer.

Warm Caramel Apple Cake

Here is the scrumptious cake I baked last night. It is wonderful! When it comes out of the oven, it is very juicy, when you invert the cake onto your serving platter it soakes up the juice. I baked it in a bundt pan. Very moist and simply delicious! I did not add the icing or the caramel topping, and it was great without it...I'm trying to save on calories. Warm Caramel Apple Cake
1/2	cup butter or margarine
1/4	cup whipping cream
1	cup packed brown sugar
1/2	cup chopped pecans
2	large cooking apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced (about 2 1/3 cups)
1	box yellow cake mix
1 1/4	cups water
1/3	cup vegetable oil
3	eggs
1/4	teaspoon apple pie spice
Topping
2/3	cup Betty Crocker® Whipped fluffy white frosting (from 12-oz container)
1/2	cup frozen (thawed) whipped topping
	Caramel topping, if desired

1.	Heat oven to 350°F. In 1-quart heavy saucepan, cook butter, whipping cream and brown sugar over low heat, stirring occasionally, just until butter is melted. Pour into 13x9-inch pan. Sprinkle with pecans; top with sliced apples.
2.	In large bowl, beat cake mix, water, oil, eggs and apple pie spice with electric mixer on low speed until moistened. Beat on medium speed 2 minutes. Carefully spoon batter over apple mixture.
3.	Bake 40 to 45 minutes or until toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes. Loosen sides of cake from pan. Place heatproof serving platter upside down on pan; carefully turn platter and pan over. Let pan remain over cake about 1 minute so caramel can drizzle over cake. Remove pan.
4.	In small bowl, mix frosting and whipped topping. Serve warm cake topped with frosting mixture and drizzled with caramel topping.

Edward Scissorhands

I love both of my children for so many different reasons. Abby is the most empathetic and loving child I have ever seen. When she was in second grade she took part of her birthday money and bought a girl in her class a swim suit because she did not have one when they went to swim class. That made me proud as a peacock! Abby is always looking out for everyone...she has a special knack for that.

Luke on the other hand, is simply mischevious! He is always into something he should not be! About 6 weeks ago he wanted to comb my hair, so gratefully, I handed him the comb, closed my eyes and was preparing to relax when all of a sudden I hear the sharp crisp sound of scissors cutting hair. Not just hair, my hair!! I screamed and jumped up, Luke immediately teared up. I pulled a huge glob of hair from the back of my head! It was awful. When I asked him why he did it, he relplied that he wanted to see what I would look like with short hair!

Yesterday we were getting ready to go vote, I look over at Luke and he had a huge chunk cut out of his bangs. I asked him why he cut his hair, he said he didn't do it....I put a hat on him and we went on to vote and purchase groceries. When we got home I ended up clipping his hair, I couldn't salvage it...he had cut it nearly to the scalp! Luke is now grounded from scissors.

I baked a caramel apple cake this evening, it was scrumptious. I'll post the recipe tomorrow. I am heading to bed now, I am exhausted...night!

Election Day!

I am so thankful election day is here! I cannot stand the political bashing...let's just pray it all goes smoothly, remember the 04 election? It was weeks before we had an official President!

I come from a very political family. My grandfather and uncle were/are very active in the county and state governments. My grandfather was commissioner for many years. I vividly recall as a child the entire family gathered around the dining room table with the raido broadcating the election results. It was very exciting for me, even as a small child! My uncle has served in several county positions and worked for 8 years at our state house appointed by Bill Clinton for the position.

The past few weeks at our home has held some very adamant discussions. It is hard when family members defianetly support opposite candidates!

I have always taken my children with me to vote, even when they were tiny babies. Of course, when they are tiny, I always had someone with an outstretched hand for them! Living in a small town has many advantages...

One reason I take them with me is I think it is important for them to see the entire process. They are allowed to go back with me and they stand quietly beside me while I perform my privlege of casting my vote. They are both so excited to go today, they are anxious to one day be able to vote as well!

I am very nervous about the outcome...I have to keep remindingmyself that is it all in God's hands.

Laura's Kitchen

I came across this on AmyJo's blog. I thought it would be fun!

WELCOME TO MY KITCHEN"

1. Do you have magnets on your fridge? Yes, 2 of them, one from Disney and one from St. Louis

2. Do you have a calendar in your kitchen, if so, what's the theme of it? Oh yes, it is a scenic theme.

3. What is your favorite kitchen gadget or tool? My emulsion blender.

4. Are you lucky enough to have a pantry of some kind? No

5.What is your favorite appliance? hands down, my dishwasher!

6. Do you have an eat in kitchen (table in it)? Sort of, it's hard to explain...

7.Do you have a bread box? No

8. Do you have a picture of your kids on the fridge? Special school projects that contain their pictures.

9. Do you ever cook breakfast in your PJs? Sometimes

10. Do you have a favorite cookbook that you use? No, I use alot of them!

11. Are you lucky enough to have recipes that were passed down from your mom or grandma? I only have a few, but they are treasured.

12. Whats your favorite food? Usually Chinese

13. Whats your favorite thing to cook? That's a tuff one...I love to cook anything!

14. Is your coffee pot electric or stove top? I do not own a coffee maker.

15. Do you ever make your own bread? Sometimes

16. Name one thing that you have hanging on your wall in your kitchen. Rooster pictures

17. Is there a clock in your kitchen? No.

18. Do you have a bowl of fruit sitting on your table or counter? Yes, I normally use a Longaberger basket for it.

19. What type of canisters do you have? White plain ones...something I am wanting to replace!

20. Does your kitchen have a theme? Roosters!

21. What's for supper tonight? it is nearly 9 p.m., I am going to bed early tonight!

22. Do you have enough cabinet space? I have quite a bit, but coulnd't everyone always use more space?
23. Does your family use paper plates? No

24. Do you have a good set of china picked up? If you call it china...I have a set of Longaberger pottery that is in beautiful colors, I love it!

25. Do you wear an apron to work in your kitchen? No, but I am wanting to make one for myself...

26. Name one thing, if anything, that you would like to change about your kitchen. A larger eating area.

Update....

I have been in overdrive trying to work, keep my house and laundry clean, exercise, running the kids to their extracirrucular activities, my Bible studies and finding time to work on my crafts! How does a woman accomplish so many things?!?

I am happy to report that I found some beautiful lavendar and purple material. Joseph helped me pick it out. I love that about him, he loves to shop with me and he has excellent taste! He waits patiently and never rushs me.

I have all the material and batting cut and will begin sewing the quilt tomorrow. My mother, sister in law, me and my sister have planned a special girls night out with my niece.

Fall break is Thursday and Friday, I requested off work. I am looking forward to spending time with Abby & Luke. I'm not sure what we will do, I am letting them discuss it and agree on it...I have promised to take Abby shopping for some boots and a new winter coat. She tried on last year's coat and it was incredibly short in the arms. Baking pumpkin shaped sugar cookies are on the agenda as well. Both of them love to be in the kitchen with me!

It is becoming cooler here and is quickly becoming sweater weather! I love this time of year! I have a new sweater I purchased at the Goodwill yesterday, I have it washed and ready to wear tomorrow!

Date Night!!

I went to the hair salon this morning, painfully had my eye brows waxed, hair highlighted and cut. Tonight is date night! I cannot even remember the last time Joseph and I had an evening out to ourselves! The kids are both going to my in-laws house to spend the night. I'm not certain what is planned. Simply having a nice evening out...sometimes the best things are unplanned...

In the meantime, it is hard to sit here at work and be patient. I am watching the clock for 4:30!

Potatoe Soup

Yesterday was such a wonderful day. I drove the kids to school then came home and took Belle for a walk. Belle is a beautiful black lab that we adopted 3 years ago. Originally she was a house dog, we had hopes that she would alert us to Luke's seizures during the night time. She would lick on him and sit beside him during seizures, but she never alerted us...she is now an outdoor doggie. Belle is very protective of both Abby & Luke. She follows them anywhere they go. Last fall during harvest, she never followed the grain trucks or tractors. Then as soon as the kids climbed in the truck she followed the truck all the way to the field! She never came back till they did. I love our Belle Belle!

I made a couple pomengrante balls yesterday. It was much easier than I anticipated. I poked holes with a large needle before I inserted the cloves. They are now drying in the closet and smell wonderful. I can't wait till they are dry so I can add the finishing ribbon! Luke loved them, I have a feeling he will be making his own soon!

I also taught my mother how to make folded fabric ornaments. They are such fun to make! I will take pictures soon and let you see how cute these are! Next I would like to make a lavender and purple ornament for epilepsy awarness.

I have many more projects to complete in a very short amount of time. My niece will be 16 next month and I want to make her a raggie quilt. I wanted to give her something that she would always have to remember her special day. She is crazy about purple, so the color choice was easy. I am going shopping this weekend to purchase the fabric. I will have to work quickly to have it done in time, only three weeks till her special day.

Other projects I am working on are braided rag rugs, pot holders, and some adorable felt ornaments. I also have a couple suprises for Abby & Luke for Christmas.

After I picked up the kids, we came home and made a big pot of Potato Soup. This recipe came from my aunt in Texas. It is delicious as is or sometimes I cut back on the potatos and add broccoli, cauliflower & mushrooms for a cheesy veggie soup.

In a large saucepan, saute the celery and onions in butter till tender. Stir in gravy mix and seasonings. Gradually add the milk. bring to a boil; cook adn stir for 2 minutes. Reduce heat and stir in potatoes, carrots and cheese. Cook and stir until cheese is melted. I then use my emulsion blender to break up the chunks of potatoes.

weekend update...

We had a busy weekend! Joseph, my fil, a cousin, and our nephew reroofed our house on Friday and Saturday. I am very happy that it is finally fixed from the crazy wind storm we had in September! We have a door that needs replaced and our exterior will be ready for winter. We plan on repainting the living room in the upcoming months.

Thankfully, I am off work tomorrow. I plan on doing some cleaning in the morning, then working on some craft projects in the afternoon before I pick up my sweeties.

I am very excited about a job offer I received last week. It has flexible hours, is very close to home AND much more money than I am currently earning. I am so excited about it! Right now, it looks like I won't start until January. Which means at my current job, I will probably work up until close to Christmas, then take off a couple weeks to enjoy time with my family. I do have mixed feelings about leaving my current position. I really enjoy my job working with youth through 4-H! I will miss it terribly...I will also miss my current co-workers, they are such wonderful chrisitan woman and we get along wonderfully, that makes it very painful to leave...but I feel in my heart that it is time to move on. I will keep you updated...

I love fall!

The crisp morning air, crunching leaves, the smell of freshly picked crop fields, and the sound of the augers pouring fresh grain into the bins are a few of my favorite things about fall....Fall is my absolute favorite season! It goes by too quickly and I am trying to cherish every moment of it...

I have been super busy lately and I would like to slow things down. Today Abby had cheer practice, tomorrow she has Girl Scouting, Thursday is a 4-H club meeting plus more cheer practice...Life can become so busy it is easy to forget the simple things. I love simplicity...my favorite days are spent hanging out at home with my family, cooking and cleaning, and not having to be "somewhere."

Tonight we also had a water softner salesman come to our home. (Courtsey of Home Depot when Joseph signed up for a washer/dryer giveaway last month.) He had an impressive sales pitch. He showed us how hard our water actually was and how much money we could save with a water softner...the poor man arrived at 7 and did not leave till 8:30! I felt sorry for him, for wasting his time, but a water softner is not in the budget, no matter how much softer hair and skin I can have. I better keep repeating that...I do not need softer hair and skin, I do not need softer hair and skin...

I am looking forward to this weekend...now time for some rest. I think I can hear my pillow calling my name.

I have a new car!!!!

Wednesday morning I drove the kids to school and went to work. When I turned the car off I noticed a strange noise. I didn't think much about it, the car is a 97 Ford with 160,000 miles, so of course, it makes many noises! Normally I take my lunch to work, but on this morning I was running behind and didn't. Around 11:30 I needed to run some errands and thought I would grab a bite to eat while I was out. I went out to my car and started it up...it started up, but I could hear parts clanging and falling onto the pavement! I couldn't believe it....it was like one of those old cartoons where the person opens the hood and things start springing out of the car. I climbed out and looked under my car...there was a large spring and several other unidentifable items under my car! All I could do was laugh!

Now, I must now tell you a brief history so you may understand why I was not upset. As most of you know, we are getting out of tremendous debt...we have been making extremely ~~large~~, absurd payments to various creditors. One particularly large payment was for a 6 month period. I knew our car was aging quickly. I have been praying for our car to last until we got the last big payment paid. Guess what?? My last big payment was due on Tuesday, the car literally fell apart on Wednesday. Talk about an on time God! He is so good to me!! I am thankful the car was parked and that we were not driving down the road!

My wonderful father in law fixed the car. It is now running well, but I do not trust it. I believe God honored my prayers for the car....and we need to move on. We plan on selling the car and have already purchased a nice, new "used" car.

Sins washed away...

Sunday was a glorious day...Joseph and Luke both were baptized. I realize Luke is young, but he has been talking to us about being baptized for several weeks. We have explained to him what it means in detail and he drinks in every word. Shamfully, I put off talking to our pastors about him being baptized...I wanted to know he was ready and with his young age of seven I was confused.

On Saturday, out of the blue, Joe announces he wants to be rebaptized. Joe has battled many personal issues the past few years and I am so thankful that he has opened his heart to God.

Sunday morning on the way to church Luke says "Mom, I wonder what it feels like to have your sins washed away." I was nearly speechless that my sweet baby boy had voiced such a thought provoking statement. I knew in my heart then that is WAS time for Luke.

Luke spoke with our pastors and told them why he felt the need to be baptized. I have never been more proud of him! I have his baptism on video, as soon as I figure out how to add it to my computer, I will post it.

Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the LORD our God shall call.

Safe Auto!

Luke was a little out of sorts last night. Abby had a friend over to spend the night so he was feeling left out. He became upset with his daddy about something minor. He asked me what pappy's phone number was. He planned on telling on his father.... I jokingly told him it was 1 800 call pappy. Luke thought about that for a minute then said no mommy, 1 800 is Safe Auto!

I laughed and laughed over this...We don't watch much TV in our home. But Luke remembered the Safe Auto jingle!

Simple Woman's Daybook~6

I am going...to take the kids next door to my parents's house for a dip in the hot tub tonight

This tree is in my backyard. It is difficult to see how large it actually is, but trust me, it's massive. My home rests on my ancestors land. I can't help but imagine them sitting under the tree and the events that transpired where I am now raising my own family.

For more Simple Woman's Daybooks and to see how you can participate visit Peggy at The Simple Woman

Pictures

Epilepsy

I was awakened at 5:30 this morning with Abby having a seizure. I didn't panic. I looked over at the clock to time it. I patted on her and talked softly to her telling her she was fine, and that mommy was here with her. After 30 seconds, the horrid seizure left her body and she fell into the post ictal period. I thanked God for only letting it be a small seizure.

If anyone had mentioned seizures to me 8 years ago, I would have not given much thought to it. I assumed seizures were not very common and it was no big deal, someone would shake and fall down, no big deal right??

Wrong!

Seizures came into my life at the most unexpected time...July 4th, 2003 we were shopping at a flea market in Louisville. Luke had just turned two. Joseph was pushing him in the stroller, I turned around to see if he was asleep and found him with his eyes rolled back in his head and he was turning blue. I screamed for someone to call 911 and grabbed him out of the stroller. I was not sure what had happened to my baby, I begged for someone to help us. A man came forward from the crowd that had formed around us and took him from me. He gently laid Luke on the cold dirty cement floor. Luke began breathing again, but remained limp and unresponsive. He was admitted for observation at the children's hospital...at 4:00 am, he had a grand mal seizure while laying in my arms. I can honestly tell you, if you have never seen a grand mal seizure, you do not want to see your child having one. It is one of the most traumatic things to go through. This seizure lasted over 5 minutes. As I would later learn, the average grand mal seizure is usually under 2 minutes, anything over 5 minutes is prolonged and has increased risk of brain damage due to lack of oxygen.

We took Luke home, I was scared too death. But slowly things began to return to normal, at least for 5 months. On December 12th, Luke had another grand mal seizure. Ended up he had an ear infection which triggered the seizure. The neuro said he was fine, nothing to worry about...

January 1st, 2004, I found Luke in the hallway having a seizure. It lasted over 25 minutes from the time I found him. The neuro immediately started him on medication. Luke became critically ill. He started having 100's of seizures each day...his seizure types were grand mal, myoclonic, astatic myoclonic, atonic, and absence. When this began happening I knew in my heart that we were in for a long haul. I told God that I could endure anything as long he granted me peace in my heart. Praise God, He filled me with peace and renewed my strength.

Luke regessed severly. He was not even able to walk or talk on most days. I would hold him or prop him with pillows to support him. He would stare blankly ahead drooling and twitching. When he could walk, the violent seizures injured him. He wore a helmet to protect his head. He sustained blacked eyes on several occasions, sutures between his eyes, gum/teeth injuries, he was always bruised and battered.

We sought multiple opinions and all were in agreement, Luke was diagnosed with Doose Syndrome. We tried nearly every medication, nothing helped...he was on the ketogenic diet for 18 months, herbal tx's, chiropractor, and finally in January 2006, the doctor said we had 2 options, a drug with potentially deadly side effects, or one that was not FDA approved, we would have to get it from other countries. After MUCH prayer, we felt lead to choose the medication with the deadly side effects.

Luke was slowly weaned onto the medicaiton and PRAISE GOD, Luke's last seizure was April 14th 2006! Today he remains seizure free! He is still taking the medication and gets frequent blood draws to watch for aplastic anemia. He was severly developmentally delayed. He went into kindergarten with the abilities of a 36 month old. Luke is now only receiving a small amount of tutoring and is age appropriate in all his studies! I am so proud of him! He played baseball this past spring. I cried as I sat there and watched him. Just being able to be a boy and play ball is a feat that I was uncertain would ever happen! Luke even won a trophy for the most improved!

So you are probably thinking, what about Abby? Abby was five when Luke became ill. She was just getting over mono and had her tonsils taken out when Luke became seriously ill. She was so young, she had to grow up fast. It breaks my heart to think about it. She witnessed what Luke was enduring and she always pitched in to help! She would help me time the seizures and just like a mother hen, she would sweetly talk to him while he was down on the floor.

Luke had alot of seizures at night too so I slept with him to keep an eye on him. Abby soon became jealous and didn't want to sleep by herself, so she began sleeping with Joseph. It was July 2004 and Joe screamed for me to come quick. I ran in to find Abby having a seizure. I fell to the ground and wept. Joe went to keep an eye on Luke and I stayed with Abby. A few minutes later she had another seizure. I cannot describe how I felt at that moment. I took her to the neurologist the next morning and they confirmed by EEG what I had witnessed the night before.

Abby's condition is very different from Luke's. She has benign rolandic epilepsy, the most common form of epilepsy. All of her seizures have been in her sleep and they are usually complex partials. She averages 2-3 seizures per month. Illness and fatigue are her main triggers. She is having Asmtha flare ups causing her to lose sleep, which is why she has had the seizures the past 2 days. I'm praying tomorrow morning is uneventful.

Thank you for reading this incredibly long post. It was hard to condense the story...I want to give God all the glory. The peace He gave me through this entire ordeal was simply amazing. I believe with all my heart that God wanted us to do all we did medically so we could witness His glorious healing power and know without any doubt that God and only God alone can heal and that He is in charge of every situation.

I am waiting patiently for God to touch Abby and make her whole. In His perfect time, I know it will happen.

My Sweethearts...

Sunday during church I started feeling ill. I ended up with a stomach bug...it was horrible! The kids were so sweet, trying to take care of mommy. Abby thought it would make me feel better to make me a tuna salad sandwhich. She was so proud of herself! Oh my, I don't eat tuna when I'm not sick! Joe done a wonderful job of saving me by explaining to her that I couldn't eat anything at the moment. She was happy with that and ate it herself. When I went into the kitchen Monday morning I found the new jar of mayo out on the counter. Even though I had to throw it away, it still made me smile thinking of Abby taking care of her mama!

Tonight I am feeling much better. Luke and I were outside taking care of the animals and he picked me some flowers. He was so excited when he presented them to me....I loved them so much I had to capture a picture of them.

I also have to share a conversation I overheard Abby and Luke having this evening.

Abby stomps into the room, "Luke, this is the fourth time I have found your poop in the toilet! Learn how to flush it! I am tired of seeing it!"

Abby gave up and walked out...it was much funnier seeing it happen, then when I just typed this.

I guess it was one of those moments you have to be there...

Home Management Binder

I have been interested in starting a home management binder. I have been searching the net and have found some good sites here and here. Little Turtle Mama also has great ideas for her binder. There are several sites I have bookmarked for reference.

I work 31 hours a week at the Extension Office, I drop Abby & Luke off at school, then go to work. I pick them up from school each day and we get home around 3:30. We have snacks, unwind a little, then do the hour of homework they both have each night. After homework, the kids go outside to play and take care of the cats & dogs. I start cooking supper and cleaning the house....after supper I tidy up the kitchen, then we have family time, and it's time for bed! I feel like I am going in a circle! Sending the kids to public school where they sit in a desk all day only to come home and have another hours' worth of homework to do. I miss my babies and want to be the one to teach them! Okay, now I know I am off topic....I think the reason I am wanting to do a home management binder is to become as organized as possible in hopes of finally being able to home school my sweeties.

We are catching up on some financial debts and VERY soon we will only be left with the house payment and John Deere payment! My hearts' deisre is to homeschool my children. I want them to have fun while learning and to be taught EVERYTHING from a christian perspective, that God is the creator of all! Of course, we do our bible studies each night, but I want so much more! Does that sound selfish? I did switch school districts for my children this year. Abby had 3 girls who bullied her all the time, they called her names, pulled her hair and even punched, & kicked her, it was awful! Her teacher was evil as well, she had a horible year last year. This year, she is loving it, it is a much smaller school and her teacher is fantastic, I am thankful for that...but, I miss having time with my children. I feel that the school is raising my children, not me!

Please pray with me that God's perfect will be done. Thanks for listening to my rant...I am going to finish cleaning some house and take Abby & Luke to the park for some play time and a picnic!

I am going to start on my home management binder too...I'll post photos when I get it completed!