Homemaking With Intention

If you know my husband and I personally, you may know that we tend to be a little.....er..... volatile, even explosive at times. I think that is one reason we make such a good couple.  WHAT? You might think I am crazy, but hear me out. When I say volatile or explosive I do not in ANY way mean abusive or violent! When we fight we never name call, ever! We never hit each other, ever!! (There was this one time when I hit him with my purse, but he really did deserve it then! haha) What I mean by volatile and explosive is that when we get angry we do not stuff it down inside. We tell each other what we think. We talk and some times most of the time yell it over! It has taken us awhile to get to this point in our relationship. But, I believe that we communicate better now and that there is a benefit to this type of relationship. My husband and I had a, shall we say, little fight over the weekend. I saw the situation one way and he saw it differently. I thought I hadn't done anythi

Are you participating in the daily thanksgiving posts on facebook? I am this year. And last nights post took my breath away and made me laugh just a little. Here's why. I am tired. I am a happy, blessed mama, but I am tired. Yesterday morning I woke up tired. I was grumpy. It was one of those days that I just wanted to stay in bed. But, as a mom of 4 small kids, that is not a possibility. We were up early with the time change, which I am sure didn't help my grumpy, tired state. I tried to pray my grumpiness away. I tried to talk myself out of it. I tried to sneak away, back to my bed after my husband came down stairs. They wont notice if I am gone for a few minutes, right? Wrong. No sooner did I crawl under the covers was there two precious little girls climbing on me. I found my self saying, "Can you people just leave me alone for 5 minutes?" *Not my proudest mommy moment, but it's true.* My oldest said, "No way mama, we want to be with you."

 This little bundle of Joy will be six months old tomorrow. In honor of her half birthday I thought I would share her birth story and how she got her name. It was a fun one!!  It all started here:  But don't let that smile fool you. When I found out I was pregnant it was a split second of excitement and then the panic set in. I did the math. If this baby came on time I would have a not quite 3.5 year old and two 21 month olds! Yikes! I am not going to lie. I cried. How in the world would I be able to handle all that? Then came the fear of having twins. If it was twins again I would have 5 kids in less then 4 years. How in the world would I go grocery shopping?! (That really was what I was worried about at the time!) I facebooked my OB and told her I need a sonogram so she could ease my fear of twins. I really have the best OB in the world! She brought me in the next day and reviled that it would only be one baby.   This

Here are a few of my favorites form this weeks Titus 2sdays Link Up Party . Visionary Womanhood  How to Resist Gossip A Heart for the Home Is Large Family Living Affordable? The Purposeful Mom Finding Quality Time With Each of Your Kids Growing in His Glory 6 Steps to Help You Grow in Love For Your Family

Last night my heart ached after hearing the news of the death of Adrian Peterson's little boy. My heart ached and I wept for that little boy and others like him. I thought about how scared he must have been his last few moments on earth. I thought about how a 2 year old boy would have been no match for an angry adult to whom his care was in trusted. Having two 2 year olds myself, I know how hard this age some times is.  But, I can not imagine how one goes through with hurting them. Was it just a bad day? Was the little boy being overly defiant? Was the man who was suppose to be caring for him drunk or on drugs or just selfish? I don't know, and it doesn't matter. My heart ached and I quietly cried. As I laid in bed, wrapped up in the arms of the only man I have ever loved (besides my own father, of course) my heart also felt something else. It overflowed with love for my husband. I thought about how kind he is. I thought about how our home is peaceful and our children are

My new and improved house keeping schedule. I have never understood how something is new and improved. Wouldn't it be one or the other?! Anyway. Recently I have had the opportunity to share my house keeping schedule at the two MOPS groups that I attend. It was fun because I had actually just redone my schedule and it was working really well! It was also fun to have to think about why I run my home the way I do. There are many, many things that I am not any good at. I fail on a daily basis at one thing or another- that's life. But, what I am good at is time management. I view my house keeping schedule as just that- time management. I manage my day so my home gets clean but I am also still living life with my sweet kiddos! I change my schedule up because I realized that I was missing some important things. For example, when we put the house on the market for a brief time earlier this year I realized I had never, ever cleaned my oven. Not once. Not once in 5 years did I c

Today I got out of the house without kids. Not a single kid went with me! For a mom of 4 kids all under 4 years old, that is an amazing, almost impossible thing. I have a sweet friend who has 2 kids of her own. Her youngest and my youngest were actually born on the same day (which is the best kind of twins- a mommy for each baby)! She brought her two kids over and watched all 6 kids while I went out for a bit. I rarely get out of the house without at least one or two kids in toe. In fact it has only happened one other time in the last 5 months, and that was when I was visiting a friend in the hospital, so I was not allowed to take them with me. I have people tell me all the time that I need to get away from the kids to be a better mom. That I deserve to get away. I just simply don't agree. What I deserve is hell, and only by the amazing grace of God, will I not end up there. I dislike being without my kids and I hate the idea of 'me time.' I recognize that my sweet

I often tell people that before I was a mom I was a nurse. I loved being a nurse, but really, really love being able to stay home with my kids. Some people ask if I feel like I am 'wasting' my education or career by staying home. The question always catches me off guard, because I full heartily believe that any time spent on my husband and kids is in no way a wast of time. It's why I have time! It also confuses me because I believe that I gained valuable skills from being a nurse that have helped me make the transition into managing my home and raising our kids. And it may not be in the way you might think. When I tell people I was a nurse, and an ER nurse at that, they usually think that I know exactly why my kid is sick or what they have or when I should or shouldn't take the baby to the pediatrician. Honestly, I don't. I have forgotten some most of the medical side of nursing. Here are the skills that I did learn that are not being wasted: Time Management:

I love fall time. I love everything about it. I love the crisp cool air & pumpkin everything (helloooo, pumpkin spice latte)! I love apple picking & the way the horses coats get soft and woolly. I especially love when the trees change colors. It always amazes me how God places the right trees in just the right spot. If you look at a mountain side in the fall, there is never a big clump of red here and yellow there. It's all mixed beautifully together. I love that we serve a God who cares about the small details as much as the big picture!! We had our first apple picking/ fall festival trip this weekend. We went to an orchard near our home and had a wonderful time with Grandma and Grandpa. We picked apples and went on a hay ride. We got lost in the corn maze.  I just doubled us back and went out where we started and then said, "Hey look, we did it!! Great job!" My 3 year old was on to me, but she let it slide. Thank goodness! Apparently God sees fi

Every Tuesday I go to time-warp-wife blog  and join in on the Titus 2sdays Link Up Party. Here are a few of my favorites from today. Mama Gab: to the discouraging mom Grateful with Two: Lately on My Heart Pleasant Words: My Bible Basket Growing In His Glory: Creating a Library of Good Children's Books Hope you enjoy. There are so many posts on Titus 2sdys Link Up. Hop over and take a look!!

In This House We Will Love  With Our Words,  Our Hands & Our Hearts. I have a passion for motherhood, for wify-hood and for new moms who are in the same boat as me (tired). Being a wife and mom is amazing and hard. I need support. We all do. A speaker I heard at MOPS once said, 'if you want someone to bring you a meal, then cook up some meals and take them to others.' In other words, if you want a friend, you gotta be a friend ! Recently, I have been convicted that I have never been such a good friend.  I am emotional and sensitive and insecure (not a good combo). I wear my heart on my sleeve. If I am feeling down or uncomfortable in a situation, I can not fake it. I talk too much, or not at all. I avoid eye contact. I get weird. Worse, if I am feeling insecure, I get mean. It's not my intention to be mean- but I am. I have had more then one person tell me that I have made them uncomfortable or that they get the feeling that I don't like them. Ouch.  I

Remember last week when I took the kids to the fair by myself? On the way out of the fair I was stopped by a guy at a booth who asked, "Would you like a chance to win a years supply of organic meat?" What I should have said, "No thanks." What I did say, "Sure, why not?"   I mean who doesn't want to win free food right? Well, they called. Not because I had won the food, but because they want to set up an in home appointment with me. What I should have said, "No thanks." What I did say, "Sure, next Wednesday would be fine." He came to my house and talked me into buying 3 years worth of organic meat people, 3 YEARS! And because we have no where to store all this meat, he conveniently sells a sub zero, best-on-the-market, indoor or outdoor freezer. For only $3,000. At this point he had been in my house for 2 hours, my kids were tired of sitting quietly and it was dinner time. I wanted him out of the house! So, sure

"Do you want me to tell you the story about the fourth of July?" "Sure baby, I would love to hear that story."   I have only heard it 1.7 million times since the holiday 6 weeks ago. It always starts the same, "We were at a place and...." The details change a bit here and there, but it is basically the same every time. I have heard it so many times I know just when to say, "oh wow!" or "no way!"  Then she says something new and it catches my ear and my heart off guard: "We were playing with glow sticks  and you have to break them so that they will glow.  And you have to do it in the dark,  because you know mom,  glow sticks wont glow the same in the light." So much insight for such a young girl.    "You have to break them so that they will glow."  So that's it Lord. That's why we bend and break. That's why we are given more then we think we can handle.  So that we can gl

"How do you ever get a brake?" "Don't you want some 'me time'?" "You are crazy!" "I would drink heavily if I had that many kids." These are all things that people have said to me in the recent past. All in front of my kids by the way. The fact of the matter is that I don't want any 'me time.' I get the primes behind it. I have heard over and over- "you will be a better mom if you get some time away." But the truth is, I just don't agree. Well, I kinda don't agree. OK, hear me out- don't stop reading just yet.  I have taken 'me time' and it just doesn't seem to work out that well. I get away and half the time I don't know what to do with my self. Then, when I do come back to my kids- I am more easily angered by them.  Even though I had a 'break' my heart is not in the right place!  I yell quicker and react harsher. If 'me time' is so great, why doe

Every where I go I get some form of this question. To me it seems like a non- issue. I mean, you do what you have to right? God entrusted 4 little people to my care all with in 3 years. I have two choices; I can lay down and cry because it's just too hard, or I can have fun and enjoy it! I choose the enjoy it one. Because I get this question so much it got me thinking that maybe people really do want to know how I do it. So here we go.... My hubby works a lot. He runs his own company (*insert shameless plug* anyone need an house built or kitchen remodeled?). He leaves early and gets home late. He always works 5, but usually 6 days a week. Because he's gone most of the time, that leaves me with the kids on my own the majority of the week. It is my job to run our home while he provides for us. If I wanted to get anything done or have any fun, then I had to learn to live life with my kids. Here are a few of the things I do to make our lives function and have fun at the same

I am always looking for fun ways to incorporate our family values and  how to preserve their 'littleness'. This is a little craft I did this past week with the kids. It is a little hard to keep the 2 year olds still enough to get a good print, but totally worth it. DISCLAMER: Once the kids realize they can paint their hands or feet with paint, their entire bodies will be covered! They had a blast painting themselves while I finished up writing in the words. I wish I had taken a picture of the kids when they were done painting themselves.  Now that we decided not to try and sell the house, I am planning on putting up pictures and scripture in the house. Can't wait to see how the rest turns out.  What fun things have you done with your little ones this summer?

3 years and 7 months ago I had no kids (well, one in the womb). Today I have 4. Yes, 4 wild and crazy beautiful kids! I am by no means an expert mama, but I have had one crazy crash course in mothering. Every where I go people keep telling me I must be super mom; Nope just really, really fertile! You may call me Myrtle! Here are some of the things I have learned in the last 3.5 years: 1. Being a mom is hard work. 2. Sleep when the baby sleeps. (This only applies to moms who have 1 child. After you have 2 you will not get to sleep again. Ever. Just sayin') 3.  Join am MOPS group , like yesterday!!!!! (Can't stress this one enough-notice all the exclamation points- Even if you don't make any friends at MOPS *highly unlikely* you will get encouragement from the speakers- and you get to drink your coffee while it's still hot! Whoop whoop!) 4. Let the kids get messy. Kids and cloths both wash. Find some mud and let them play! 5. Your house will be a mess. It wa

On the rare occasion that I am in the car by myself I like to listen to sermons on the radio. You never know what little nugget of wisdom you might get that way. A while back I heard a sermon that blew my mind and it still has me thinking about it today. I do no remember who was preaching or even what the subject was, but what the preacher said was so good, like, so, so good! It was one of those a-ha moments. Ever have one of those? Well, I have been in need of another one lately. So, I thought I would share about my last one and maybe it would help me find my next one! Here is what the preacher said: Jesus was both full of grace and full of truth.   Isn't that incredible?! Amazing! Jesus' grace did not diminish the truth and the truth did not diminish His grace.  He was both full of grace AND truth. Together, at the same time , grace and truth! John the Baptist could have said anything about Jesus. He could have said he was kind, that he was a healer, miraculou

What is it about being a women that makes us compare ourselves to others? There are two ways to compare- one way makes me look better then you, "At least I'm not as fat as she is, I look better in that dress, my kids act better, are cuter, are smarter then hers...." The other makes me look worse then you, "I wish I had her body, hair, husband, car....." Both are dangerous. The first leads to pride (and inevitably the hard fall) and the other leads to feelings of low self worth. One sweet mom confided in me recently that she is worried because her 3 year old doesn't talk about Jesus. She had heard another mom talking about all the cute things her 3 year old says about Him. This sweet mom is doing an amazing job with her kid. She prays for him, reads bible stories to him and brings him to church faithfully. Then that little voice entered her head, "You aren't doing enough, you kid doesn't talk about Jesus. You fail."Lies! Anot