Ok, so The Pastor is determined that we are getting a new computer.  I know we really do need a new one.  We have had this computer since before we got married.  That's almost 8 years now.  That's REALLY old for a computer.  Think dog years.  The only reason it's lasted this long is because it was fairly top of the line when we purchased it.

Ok, so, we need a new computer.  Once that is taken care of, I will see how the situation is here at HSB.  There are honestly times I can simply not even access my site - or any other HSB site.  So very frustrating.  I really don't want to change - it's hard to find a blogging site I'm comfortable participating on - but this is crazy.

We hope to get our new computer before we leave - we know some great computer geeks out here (term used in love - they know they're geeks!) who can help us make sure everything from this computer is saved and we can strip it down to be used just for games and educational stuff for our kiddos (no internet). 

Now I'm off to take some pics of the scarves I've been working on for Christmas gifts.  Once I have given them to the appropriate persons, I will post some pics - I've lots of fun.  I just don't want *some* people who read my blog (and are receiving a scarf) to see their gift prematurely.  I finished a hat/scarf set last night, so I'm off to find another fun pattern.  I'm also baking and doing some minor packing today as well.  School is so *not* on the agenda until AFTER this baby arrives and I recover.  I'm guessing we'll hit some stuff this spring/summer and then kick it into gear this fall when Lil' Man turns six.  In MI, six is the legal age you have to be schooling by.  So there ya go.  Now I've got to decide whether to start him in our current curriculum (for K) or buy the new stuff (for the elementary ages).  He's ahead in some areas, and probably a bit behind in others.  Hmmmm.....we'll see come this spring/summer when we do some review/catch-up work.  Not worrying about that now, not worrying.....

*grins*

~MommaJoy~

If things don't improve around here, I'm going to HAVE to go to another blog site.

I realize that HSB is going through some kind of "improvement" (I use the word loosely) and I don't have any idea what that all involves, but gees.....it's as though I have dial-up.  S L O O O O W dial-up at that.

I have to go to about 4 VERY slow-loading pages in order view my friends blogs, if it works at all.  I don't have that kind of time.  I used to simply go to my friends page, then quickly click each one, checking each blog in a few seconds.  This is crazy!!

I'll give it through the move.  That's into late Jan. by the time I'll get back on here regularly.  If they don't have things fixed by then, I'll have to move on.  Not that I don't like it here, I do, but I simply don't have time for dial-up speed on the internet, I've got too much else to do.   There *has* to be something that can make this faster/better/more effecient/etc.  Seriously.

Frustrated at all the time I've spent here today...

~MommaJoy~

Yeah!!  We are actually progressing through this process.  While we do not yet have a renter for our current home in Colorado (which I am *not* stressing about, nope, I am NOT), we have decided to go ahead with the move to Michigan regardless.  Basically, this new job is anxiously awaiting The Pastor's arrival not to mention our Baby #4 will be arriving in mid-Feb. - he doesn't care what else is going on, he's coming OUT!! 

So we are packing up this house into the truck on January 6th (yup, that's three weeks away and NO, I haven't started packing yet).  The moving company will be driving the MONSTER huge truck cross country while we make the drive in our mini-van with our family.  I'm not exactly sure how these things work, but at some point the next week, the truck will arrive at our new house in MI (I hope they give us a day or two notice so we can get some church members there to help us unload).  In the process of the cross country trek, we will spend a night or two with my folks in NW Indiana.  The three kiddos will stay with them a few days while The Pastor and I continue on to MI and get the stuff settled into the new house.

Ahh, the house.  Yes, we *did* find a house to rent and it is big enough to fit our family and our stuff.  While I seriously don't consider our family "packrats" by any means (dh and I actually enjoy purging our stuff here and there and HATE clutter), we do now have four kids and all the "stuff" that entails - lots of beds, dressers, bins of clothing (0-3 month Girls clothes, 3-6, 6-9, etc. - in Boys as well) and of course the toys (inside and out which I will be purging again before the move and before Christmas time and grandparent gifts).  So anyways, one of the pastor's there and his wife found us a great house, in a nice neighborhood.  The owner was actually trying to sell the place, so it's not just a rental/investment property which isn't very nice.  It's actually VERY nice (I'm a bit amazed) and within our budget (again, amazed).  I'm guessing he went down a bit with our "Pastor family" status - I'm not sure, just a guess.

So it's over 1900 sq. feet, just a bit smaller than our current 2150.  It is all one level, which I have enjoyed in past housing we have had for it's easier-to-keep-clean managability (did that make sense?).  It also has a fireplace (not sure if it's wood burning or gas) which I wanted for those MI winters but didn't think we'd actually get.  The yard is HUGE (at least to us here in CO, where the yards are tiny, tiny, tiny) and there are actually TREES in the yard (again, doesn't really happen out here in CO).  There are already nice looking appliances, a 2 car garage, 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, family AND living room and formal dining room.  It will be available for us to purchase later on (in a few years) if we really like the area/house but The Pastor already said we would have to be able to add-on to the exsisting house as he would really like 4 or 5 bedrooms so we could have a guest/sewing room plus another bedroom for children.   That's all so far in the future, I can't even think of that.  Right now I'm just thrilled we have a nice place waiting for us in MI!!

The Pastor is also excited as it is less than 5 min from the church.  Seeing as how we drive 30 min to our church currently, this is a BIG factor for him.  He could bike it in the nicer weather - or even get a motorcycle later on.  We are thinking of selling his little '77 Volvo to someone here before we move - we won't really need it.  It won't get us much money, but every little bit helps - plus one less small bill per month (insurance) is good too.

The only drawbacks (there's never a PERFECT house, huh?) are:  no basement and no fenced in yard.  The basement thing, well, I'm basically PETRIFIED of storms.  I've gotten better (maybe, it's hard to tell since we literally have NO storms here in this part of CO) with thunderstorms, but any wind and I get terrified a tornado will hit us.  So not having a basement is pretty scary to me.  Very few houses in that area seem to have basements.  We are wondering if it has to do with being right on Lake Huron.  Perhaps there's high water table levels or something that makes basement a not so good investment?

As to the no fenced in yard thing - on one hand, we like it.  We really don't like the feeling of being "corraled" in our yard, seperated from our neighbors by this huge privacy fence.  But then again, I have really enjoyed the freedom a fenced in yard has afforded me with our small children.  I was able to let them play outside in the back yard withour fear of one of them wondering off or someone snatching them away.  In the future, when we own a house, I think a compromise for me would be a split rail fence or something like that.  Practical, yet nice looking and wouldn't seperate us from our neighbors.

So there ya go, more than you could ever want to know.  Oh, and there's some wallpaper in the master that we want to take down (we are NOT fans of wallpaper - yuck) - again, like you needed to know.  I will be excited to share some pics with you once we are a bit settled in.  Ya right, during ALL that time I have from the time we move in until this baby comes - right around a month or so.  Yup, during that time I'll snap some pics of my perfectly arranged home.  uh huh....

Whoo-hoo!  Now it's really time for me to get serious and start packing.  My mil and bil are coming in about a week and a half, stay for week, then one more week after that and we move.  Ha, little did my dh's relatives know they would be coming to help us pack...

In Him~  MommaJoy 

posted a whole blog last night about my life, about what was going on, about what I needed to change, about what needed attention in my life, etc.etc.etc.

no blog.

I'm not sure what happened?

Oh well, I'll have to fill you in later.  I need to go get started doing all the stuff I blogged (or didn't blog) about.

Have a great Saturday!!

~In Him~
MommaJoy

It just seems that by the time I get around to my blog, I'm exhausted and it's really time for bed.  I have to get up at 6am tomorrow (that's pretty early for me this pregnancy, actually) and it's just about 11pm.  I NEED my sleep!

A very quick update on life:

We had the ladies Christmas tea this afternoon - I was running the music part of it.  We sang some carols, there was a trio, a solo, and a duet, oh, and a bit of clarinet, but just a bit.  It was very nice overall and I hope it was a blessing to the ladies there.

I got my mixer back from the shop.  We were given a God-gift in the form of a VERY small bill from them.  Now I just need to test it out with some bread tomorrow...**future reference, I will be purchasing a Bosche (sp?) next time.  I have a nice professional LARGE KitchenAid mixer (around $300) and this is the second time it's been in the shop in under 2 years.  Ugh...and I don't make bread all THAT often, nor do I use too much flour or anything.  Very frustrating!

On that note, I had a friend tell me that today's appliances and their so-called "testing" is usually NOT going to be accurate for my family - so just be prepared.  She said most of them test their products for the "average" family:  2 kids, both parents work, kids in school, etc.  Nothing like a large, homeschooling family that uses their appliance every day, all day.  And she's right!  Just a fact of life.

Ok, well, not much for me in terms of expectations over the next few weeks - just keep my house clean & picked up at all times (to the best of my pregnant ability).  The Pastor has one week left of seminary for this quarter and he'll be *SO* glad when that is done with.  He and I are going to be singing a few songs this December at different events at church, so that's about all I have to work on.  My MIL and BIL are coming for Christmas.  It'll be the first time my MIL has seen this house - and I'm really glad she is making the time to visit us over the holidays!  I can get a bit nervous around her, not as sure of myself as I'd like to be - but I'm honestly glad she is coming.  We will be moving MUCH closer to her (under 2 hours) and I pray this will greatly improve our relationship.

Time for bed....advent starts to tomorrow - I'll post some on our homemade ornaments (from last year which we are reusing) and I'll give the homemade advent wreath a try if I get the time tomorrow.   God bless, have a wonderful Lord's Day!!
~MommaJoy~

Here's a link to a webpage for our rental home in Colorado.  It's a great home for a family to live in!  Just sharing, just in case....*grins*

Let me know if I need to change anything, if you have comments or questions.

Colorado Rental Home

In Him
~MommaJoy~

Ok, so The Pastor has accepted the job in MI!  We are excited to be headed down this new path with the Lord - yippee!!

Now comes the not-so-exciting part.

We pretty much can't sell our home.  We have only had this house two years and the market right now is TERRIBLE!  We simply don't have the equity in the house to make selling it a smart decision.  Thus we are turning to renting.

We have spoken with MANY property managers (we will be 20 hours away - not a great thing if you want to manage the property yourself) and will be meeting with one in particular Monday morning.  They will do reseach, appraise our home, advertise and find our first renters for FREE - which sounds *very* good to this fairly-poor family right now!  I'm truly amazed at what people are willing to pay for a rental - as much as what we pay for our mortgage or sometimes more!  Wow!

Luckily, we also know some trustworthy handy-men in our current church who are willing to help us out if something were to go wrong in this house over the next few years.  In a few years, we will re-check the market, our equity amounts and see about selling it then.  My prayer is that it will sell QUICKLY at that point - we simply don't have the money to carry around two housing bills!

As it stands, we will be renting in MI for a while.  I doubt we will get a chance to get back to MI before we have to actually MOVE there - so I'm wondering how we will find appropriate housing.  My guess is that we will have to rely on church members/staff in MI to help us locate a decent home to rent.  While I guess I *can* be picky, that's because only *I* can tell what will work for family fairly easily.  I might be able to find a really good deal (read: cheap) on a house that may not look all that great - but I know what we can handle and what we can't.  I also worry about more than just price - I'd like a little land, or at least a big ol' yard.  I'd like to NOT live right in town.....

Well, I'm just going to have to put this one in God's hands.  I could go on and on about what I WANT.  The thing is, we need cheap for a few years.  I just don't want to be miserable either - but I guess I can choose to be content in just about any situation if I put my mind to it. 

So here we go.  We need to find a renter, find a rental (in MI) and be content with what the Lord has blessed us with already!!  The Pastor looks as though he will have a great position with lots of support from the other staff - cool!!  We will have the opportunity to get our finances in order over the next few years, which is *such* an answer to desperate prayer.  We will be much closer to family!!  We will get SNOW!!  It really *is* exciting!!

Contentment.  Joy.  Things I need to *choose* and not just expect to happen because my situation looks/feels good or because I get everything I want.  It's really not about that.

Now will someone please remind me of that when I'm complaining down the road???  Please....

~Resting in HIM~
MommaJoy

Well, not yet.

But The Pastor *did* get the job - which means we will get there eventually!

There are some personal issues involved that I can't discuss - but overall, we truly believe this is where God is calling us.  The support from the senior pastor is wonderful - quite a change from our current situation (he's a good guy, but doesn't quite "get" my dh's vision for children and families). 

So now:  we have to get our home sell-ready, get it on the market (I think by next Friday), get all kinds of moving quotes, and pray, pray, pray for our home to sell in this terrible market.  Seriously, terrible.

I won't bore you with all the details, but this doesn't exactly look like an easy out here.  I'm just praying we SELL the place - I don't really care about making money at this point.  We've not quite been here two years yet, so it's not as though we've really put much towards the principle.  I just want it to sell - like yesterday.

The church wants The Pastor there...like yesterday.  But they are requesting as close to Jan. 1st as possible.  The senior pastor is already checking out potential rentals for us - isn't that cool?!?!  I wonder if we'll just go on his recommendation - since I can't imagine us finding the money and time to get back there before the first of the year.  Weird.  I would actually be okay with that.  Very weird - must be a God thing.....huh?

Ok, time to go get some more of the house in order - do you have any idea how much normal living stuff realtors want you to "hide" or change or alter for this process??  I've got a lot of work to do, and I gotta get the carpets cleaned, and I gotta clean all the window treatments, and I gotta clean the cabinets in the kitchen and I gotta, I gotta, I gotta, I gotta........

I pray the Lord will allow me to "school" my children in this moving process - it's definitely not going to be in a curriculum, more like un-schooling or life-schooling (which isn't a bad thing!).

Trusting In HIM for the details~
MommaJoy

p.s.  If you'll take a look at the ticker up there - you may notice that my due date is towards the end of Feb.  If we move after the new year, that gives me less than 2 months to get my new home in order, find a family friendly OB and have a baby in a strange new town......at least we'll still be the "new pastor and his family" so people will be more than willing to really be there and help us out.  Praise Jesus - I am trusting HIS timing is much better than my own would be! ~MJ

Hi all,

We are trying to get back to "normal" around here - whatever that is?!

My mom just flew back to the midwest on Sat. after a two week stay to help me out.  The Pastor was at a two week intensive at seminary in MN - so I was very glad for the help and the company!

The Pastor came back Fri night, was exhausted, then left by 6:15am on Sat. to attend a seminar in Denver.  He had a good time, but I still don't think he has caught up on his sleep yet.

As for me, I am excited to get back to a normal schedule - it was wonderful to be "lazy" with my mom around.  I slept in often, drank coffee and crocheted with my mom most mornings (and evenings, ok, and afternoons) and basically just tried to enjoy our time together.  We are still experiencing some finacially difficulties (aren't most people?) so there were some stressful times as well.

On that note, we are planning on selling our home regardless of whether The Pastor gets this job offer in MI or not.  We simply feel we are in over our heads and the only way out at this point is to INCREASE our income (which The Pastor is trying to do) or DECREASE our bills.  The easiest way to do that is to lower our living expenses - many of our other bills are in "contracts" for one or more years - so we will simply have to wait those out.

So, if you think of it, pray that we will make smart decisions about this transition period.  We are willing to live WAY below our means for a while, in order to right this financial struggle we are in.  We would rather live in a small rental for a few years - and THEN be able to purchase some land, perhaps build a home - in a place where we really want to live.  What a dream to work on with the Lord!!

Ok, time to get to work around here.....

~In Him~
MJ

Things appear to be looking up!  Praise the Lord!!

The Pastor is off at seminary intensives for two weeks, my mom is here to help for two weeks, my mixer is finally back in my home (yeah - homemade bread again), we are back to a semi-regular schedule for school again and I am headache free and feel great!  Whoo-hoo!!

We also received some gifts from loving families at church these last few weeks - it is Pastor Appreciation Month.  While some don't feel The Pastor *is* a pastor (he is the children's pastor), other families have showed us their love and support in numerous ways.  Please, if you have the means/time/ability, show your support to your pastors and church staff - they are probably dealing with tons more than you realise and could really ALWAYS use any extra prayers!!

I also got my hair cut today.  The last time I got it cut, I was donating my VERY long hair and went to a beauty school-type of place.  They HACKED my hair - it was awful.  This time, I spent the money and went to a very nice salon.  Since I only get my hair cut a few times a year, I felt okay about spending the money on the more expensive place. 

This lady was wonderful.  She was one step below the "master" level and was worth every penny!  She listened intently to what I wanted, what I did and didn't like about my hair, what my prefered length was (below shoulder length, but not past my bra strap) and gave me a WONDERFUL cut!  It has great layers in it - and I thought I didn't like layers!?!?  Whatever!!  This looks great on my face, it even makes me feel as though my face looks thinner - I don't really care if it's true or not - if that's how it makes me FEEL, great!!

All my babies are healthy, I will have another u/s in a week or so for this little one in utero, the weather here is cool and terrific, I truly enjoy having my mother here for this time - oh, I just have euphoria after my haircut or something!  Our heater, which completely stopped working last week when it snowed, just suddently started working again when the mechanic came to pick up the car - instead, he simply fixed the brakes.  Praise Jesus again! 

We will also find out about the possible church job in Michigan here in about a week or so.  We are trying not to get too excited about it, but The Pastor spoke with their youth pastor for quite some time on the phone today and really enjoyed their conversation.  If we get that job, there are a whole bunch of details that I can't even really think about yet that would have to be taken care of before this little one arrives (the least of which is selling our current home - in a terrible market - and moving across country).  The Pastor keeps reminding me that God is in control, not me, so just give it up!  He's so smart....

Ok, time to go crochet - I got some beautiful mo-hair (sp?) type of yarn to make another baby blankie for Little Bitt - I can't wait to meet this fella!

Lots of love,

~MommaJoy~

It seems our little Punkin' caught a bug while we were at our Pastor's & Wives retreat about a week ago.  She threw up once, took long naps for one day and then seemed to be fine.  The family my kiddos stayed with had one of their sons throw up during the night - once he threw up, he was contained in his room, so as not to contaminate anyone else - yet it appears Punkin' got it anyway.  My other two babies are fine.

Then last night, I made a new meal.  Nothing fancy, just pork chops and potatoes in the crock pot with a new dry rub on the meat - tasted delicious!  Well then, The Pastor started to not feel very well.  And, you guessed it, at 1:30am last night, he was up in the bathroom puking.  Ugh.  He then has a pretty bad case of diahearra (sp?) for the rest of the night.  Since no one else got sick, I'm guessing it wasn't the new recipe.  I'm thinking it was the same stomach bug from Punkin'.  Now I'm just hoping no one else goes through it.  Let's see: Punkin' threw up in the middle of the night Fri/Sat. - The Pastor threw up in the middle of the night Sun/Mon.  Following *that* pattern, I'll check back with y'all on Thurs.....

Needless to say, everyone around here took a nap today.  All my babies took a great nap, due to pregnancy plus being up with The Pastor last night *I* took a short nap too - plus The Pastor came home from work a bit early and immediately fell into bed.  It's now almost dinner time and I'll need to wake everyone up if I expect anyone to actually go to bed on time tonight (we have an early morning tomorrow).  Of course, due to my nap, I am behind on dinner - isn't it always the way???   One thing happens and everything else gets crazy!!

Dinner: Skillet Chicken Cordon Bleu 

I pray The Pastor's stomach can handle it.  It's a great meal, and I'd hate for him to lose another one.  He's already weak and tired.  And he's got to fly for an interview early Wednesday morning - he needs to rest and recuperate!!

Other than that, school time happened again today with good success.  We are talking about Day #3 of creation, dry land.  We discussed land, seas, soil, rocks, gems and now we are on to GRASSES.  We talked about seeds, learned a new memory verse (Psalm 24:1).  Lil' Man is learning his 10's in numbers, we are on the 40's.  I need to see if he can actually write any of his numbers.  Sissy and I went over some of the letters that she gets confused on (M's, N's, W's, V's) - she almost has it.  We also made our Camel Puppets today and learned the next part of the Alphabet song to learn the SOUNDS of the letters:

C, C, Camel with a "C" on your hump

You go through the desert, Clump, Clump, Clump!

Lil Man would *love* to learn the whole alphabet at once if I would let him.  He is great at memorization, especially in songs.  Actually, I am always amazed at both his and Sissy's memorization abilities.  If you don't already, MAKE the time to teach your kids Bible verses.  Lil' Man has been memorizing whole Psalms for over a year now - it is amazing!!  And I don't think he's any different than other kids - God simply made children as sponges.  What better way to fill up that sponge than on the word of God??!?!?!

Ok, dinner - bye!

~MommaJoy~

I have been reading A LOT recently about how to make better use of my time, how to better organize the space I have, what kind of schedule will work for our family, how to improve the attitude in our home (mainly mine), and what things are TRULY important - realizing that housework HAS to happen!

I think I finally realized something big - at least for me.  A fellow blogger, whom I can't exactly recall at the moment, was blogging about how she liked the part of an "outside the home" job that required her to punch in and out.  At the end of her shift, she felt a sense of satisfaction, of knowing she was "done".  Yet in a SAH situation, you are never *done*.  You may finish a load of laundry, but most likely you have two or three waiting for their turn in the machines.  You may have a spic-n-span bathroom, but most likely your fridge needs cleaned out or there are weeds to pull in the garden.  Being a wife and mother, being a keeper at home, you are never just done.

So then you have to keep thinking - don't just get stuck on that one point.  Oh forget, I'll never get "done", I'll never feel satisfied - forget it.  Nope, not the point.  The point is, God has called us to this work.  This never-ending work.  And it's hard - physically, emotionally, spiritually, mentally, you name it.  Yet it is what God wills for our lives.  And He won't just give us this calling, this duty, and then leave us out there to dry, to be miserable.  Nope.  He gives us HIS joy in our lives, HIS power, HIS love. 

So the main point is:  work hard, know this is what God has called you to, do your best every single day.  Some days, that may be just snuggling on the couch with sick babies.  Some days, it may be really sweating it out as you scrub floors and baseboards or pull weeds and rake.  Some days, it may be baking all day, knowing you are providing wonderful meals for your family.  Whatever it is, do it!  You aren't here to "finish it".  You are here to be the wife and mother in your family.  Go to bed each night knowing you did your best for your family and for GOD - you will sleep so good having that peace in your heart.

Don't worry if there's still laundry left to be done - as long as you did your best during the day, relax - the laundry will be there for you tomorrow.  As long as you can pray to God as you fall into bed, yes Lord, I worked FOR YOU today - HE will give you a peace beyond anything that a FINISHED chore can give you.  That's the point.  That's how you can become the JOY-filled wife and mother in a sometimes hectic, yet loving home!  It doesn't come from finishing the job - it comes from GOD.  What peace!!

Ok, there ya go - for what it's worth.  It is just something I really needed to hear.  I like to "finish" things, so I needed to basic concept drilled into my head.  I'll probably need to hear it again, and again, and again.

Luv to you,

~MommaJoy~

I feel so behind.  I KNOW that this is just the first Monday, the first week, after we returned back from an unexpected trip to the mid-west - but I feel so behind, it's driving me crazy.

I *do* know that I *will* eventually get back to a normal schedule.  I was just reading a lovely blog about a Grand Plan for the holidays.  YIKES!  I just want to get back to normal right now, that's all.

It is now 4 pm and I know I will NOT be able to get caught up today.  Even with The Pastor working late tonight, I will not get caught up.  I did AWANA Cubbie verses with my kiddos, reviewed the days of creation (again) to make sure my babies "got it", read LOTS to all of them - so I feel okay in that regards.  My laundry is actually feeling managable, so I'm okay there.  Now I need to settle into some major cleaning.  I'm going to start with upstairs a bit, then work on the downstairs tonight, while I let the kiddos play down there with me.  It actually works out better that way.  If I expect them to play downstairs, while I work upstairs, it INEVITABLY leads to dissagreements and fighting which I am them forced to deal with in frustration.  Not good.  So cleaning, here I come.

The weather is supposed to cool down by 10 degrees tomorrow, then another 5 or so for the next day.  I'll use Wed. to really get my seasonal decorations put up around my home.  Hopefully, I'll be back to normal by then, and the house will be clean - or reasonable so (I actually took a look at the top of my fridge today - YIKES!!  It's just better if I don't SEE those things sometimes......I can't "do it all" with so many young babies, so I just do what I can and pray lots).

I think I'll start with cleaning myself - a bubble bath sounds nice (all my babies are zonked for the next hour or so).

Lots of luv,

~MommaJoy~

Well, not on hold really, but kind of pared back a bit.

We've just been so busy and I seem to have gotten a bit behind and am having a hard time catching back up.

So in the meantime, I am just going through the basics of Interlock, we will keep on making our 1-2-3 Read phonics puppets and I'll make sure to read to them often throughout the day - like whenever I sit down to take a break!

Other than that, I am frantically trying to catch up with my disaster of a house.  It needs a bunch of stuff moved around, reorganized, sorted and such.  We will be having one last garage sale of the season (this will be our second this year) in 2 weeks, and everything that doesn't sell is being donated.  NO MORE storing it in our garage - we just have too much stuff!!  And if you really knew us, you would know we are "Tossers".  We do NOT hang on to stuff.  If we don't use it or like it - out it goes!  So the fact that we have stuff in our garage just sitting there waiting for the next garage sale is driving us bonkers!

I think I finally have all the kids clothes sorted for now.  All the too-small things are packed in the bins, while all the next-size-up things are out in the drawers and closets.  Now I need to attack the "winter things" and see who has coats, hats, gloves, scarves, and boots.  Then I will have an actual REASON to sit down and crochet some items as well!

The Pastor also brought in my FALL bin from the garage so I can decorate my home for the season.  I'm actually a little behind in this but just yesterday it was almost 90 degrees here - YUCK!!  I am still dreaming about moving back to the mid-west where we can have NORMAL fall temperatures in Oct.  90's???  What is *that* about?

I need to re-stock my pantry, which was sufficiently pared down during the last 6 months or so.  We have been very tight financially and had to use up most of our supply.  I *hate* having to use it all up, yet I am very glad it was there just for this purpose.  So now I will be spending the next few months re-stocking.  I can even try to be more healthy in my choices regarding this - that's a nice bonus.

And last but not least, my Precepts Bible study homework got neglected during our trip.  I am about 2-3 weeks behind.  I won't be able to completely make-up the work, but I can at least get back in the habit of working on it daily during Quiet Time.

Oh, and I have put The Pastor and myself BACK on our "diet" or rather just healtheir eating plan (well, technically, we are both trying to lose weight so it is a diet too).  My kiddos are actually doing great at trying new things - even Lil' Man, who has been notoriously picky.  We had Chuckwagon Chil-Mac and Lil' Man didn't even complain.  He didn't really eat *that* much, but the complaining is WAY down.  This from my Mac-n-Cheese "purist" - what an improvement!

Time to get back to work.  I think I'll sneak in a cup of coffee, move the laundry along, and then do some school stuff with the kiddos.  The Pastor is bringing home lemons for me tonight - which means tomorrow I can start in kind of de-toxing my body from all the JUNK of the past month or so.  Now if I can just get back out of bed at 5am to get back to my workout schedule - maybe I'll start to get more energy back as well.

So much for *just* a stay-at-home mom, huh??  There are NEVER enough hours in the day........

In Him
~MommaJoy~

p.s.  The Pastor started back up with his seminary work today (he had taken the summer off) so pretty much, we won't see him for the next 3 weeks.  He has work at church to catch up on (from our trip), another trip to MI for a potential job, seminary reading and papers as they work him like crazy before his intensives in MN at the end of Oct.  All this PLUS a pastor/wives retreat for our current church next week.  He does a great job maintaining his relationship with the kiddos during these stressful times, but when I asked him how I could help him over the next few weeks, he said "Don't make me feel guilty about not being around" (I admit, I have done that in the past) and "Manage the home and kids and school so I have less to worry about at home during this time".  Not unreasonable requests at all.  The managing thing I usually do anyways, although he is usually more involved than he will be this month.  He just needs ME to take over most of it myself this month.

Then he will head off to intensives in MN at the end of Oct. and my mother will come to visit during that time.  Whoo-hoo!!  And hopefully, prayfully, we will have more definately plans to be moving back to the midwest in a month or two.  All in God's timing, I know, but He knows where my heart is.

Praise Jesus that homeschooling is so flexible and that my children are still young enough at this point not HAVE to be doing school at all if need be.  A cross country move, plus a new baby, plus a new job for The Pastor, plus a new home to move into, plus, plus, plus - it just may mean homeschool will be very- UN-schooling this year.  With my oldest just turned 5, I'm okay with that.

God Bless~MJ

Hello all,

We had to make a *quick* trip back to the midwest.  We drove (there was NO WAY we could afford the prices of airfare - my goodness, they were RIDICULOUS!!) in our van, packed the car-topper full, filled up the coolers and we were off in the middle of the night.  We were hoping to save the kids some distress by driving some of the time in the night.  Yet actually, the kids did great - much better than mom and dad at times I believe.

So anyways, we drove through CO, NE, IA, IL, IN and MI.  We were able to attend a family funeral and support dh's mom, which was the main purpose of the trip.  Yet in addition to that, dh was able to meet with three different churches out there that he had been emailing and talking to on the phone.  It was a great opportunity for him and them.  We were even able to attend the church service of one of these churches (family out there does not attend church regularly) - and we really enjoyed it.  It looks as though the Lord *does* in fact have a plan in all of this (wow, ya think?) as that same church has already emailed and said they are paying for a plane ticket for The Pastor to head back out there to meet with the board. 

This particular church is in a town called Port Huron, MI.  It is literally right across the river from Canada - in the eastern-most part of the "thumb" of MI.  It is a beautiful area, yet cost-effective enough to allow us to purchase a nice home with just a bit of land.  YEAH!!  How exciting!  It is also a position, and a church, that would allow The Pastor to be comfortable there for years to come - meaning we would finally have the chance to settle down a bit.  Get a house we really love and fix it just the way we like it.  And all of this just in time for me to really start home schooling, get in a good support group and/or co-op, and delve into opportunities within our community. 

I'm trying NOT to get my hopes up (as you can obviously tell from my previous paragraph, right?!) as we simply don't know yet.  We do trust in the Lord, His timing and His choice of a church for us.  But sometimes it can be pretty hard waiting...

We were also able to visit with my parents for a day, which just meant the world to my dad.  He has only seen Punkin' twice (she is now almost 1 1/2) and it really just kills him to be so far away from his grandchildren.  We are currently about 17-18 hours from my parents.  The move to this particular church would put us about four hours away.  Not ideal, but much, much better.  My parents have asked us once to PLEASE settle down, find a church job where The Pastor can settle down a bit if possible, so they can decide where they would like to eventually retire to and get a condo there.  I doubt they would ever move away from my sister and her family to be right by us - but I think they just want to be in a nice area somewhere in between.  Btw sis, I think it's about 5 1/2 hours from you to me, if we were to move there.  Again, not ideal, but better.  It would really cut down on time to meet halfway - oh, well, we'd figure it out.

So now we are back, I've got to tackle Mt. Laundry - honestly, how do three small children produce SO MUCH?!?!  I've got to get everything back in it's proper place, go grocery shopping, oh just all the regular stuff.  And now I might actually begin to start thinking about what we would need to do to sell this place.  The market is pretty terrible - who knows how long it would take??  And since we've not quite been in here 2 years, well, the whole mortgage - go with the same bank again in order to save us some charges, etc - it's all just so much to think about with a big move cross country - and I'll probably be nice and big preggo about that time.  *sigh*  I DO know the Lord is in control, I *do*, I *do*, I *do*.........

Ok, time for some coffee, breakfast for the fam and then laundry, laundry, laundry.  Whew...  Yet somehow I feel pretty great - God is good, I know this, and with Him in control, it's really all going to be okay.  Time to go love my family!

In Him
~MommaJoy~

I did not follow my normal Wednesday schedule.

and that's okay...

I did manage to get the tent and screen house up in the backyard.  I wanted to make sure they were both in a-okay working order for our camping trip this weekend - we are going with a few other couples from a Bible study we attend.  The couples are mostly older than us, so our kiddos are the youngest.  I pray that the older parents remember how it is camping with little kids.  I know some of them want to go fishing - no boats, just off the edge of the water - and our kids LOVE to throw rocks into water.  I'll do my best to keep them separated from the fishing enthusiasts! (sp?)

I also came up with a camping menu and a grocery list - it's not as long as I had anticipated - whew!!  Of course, with our busy schedule tomorrow, I have NO IDEA how that is going to happen before Friday!

The Pastor is leaving at 6:45am tomorrow with another local pastor to some sort of conference in Denver.  So I will need to make sure I am UP and GOING at 5am - in order to exercise and be back by 6:30am or so.  I have my first Precepts Bible study tomorrow morning at 9am.  With three babies to get ready, a crock pot dish to put together (to cook while we study - we are having a pot-luck after the study), exercising, showering, a 30 min drive to church, and babies to corral into the child care - ugh, I was hoping to not have to do it all myself (usually The Pastor is more than willing to help out on those early hectic mornings).  Oh well, if I can just get up and moving on time, I should be able to give myself enough wiggle room to get the job done on time!!

I am also picking up some extra-wide cots so The Pastor and I will have comfy places to sleep on this camping trip.  That's important for this preggo momma!  We will be borrowing them from some great friends who used to do month-long mission trips with youth groups.  She promises they are comfy and I will sleep well - providing all my babies sleep well, and we are all warm enough.  The nights can get extra-chilly in the foothills!

School-wise, I did manage to go over some "soil" info with my kiddos, review the letters "A" & "B" with their appropriate songs, work on simple addition (which Sissy picked up extremely quickly!), a new memory verse, a new song, some IN FRONT OF/ BEHIND relational exercises and their new AWANA Cubbie verses.  Wow...I didn't realise we got all that done this morning....I feel much better now!!  Plus they had tons of fun playing in the tent and screen house.

Ok, off to put my study in a new binder, get my colored pencils together, pack my bag for tomorrow and get out my exercise clothes as well.  Oh, that reminds me, the laundry should be rotated one more time before I hit the hay!  It's really amazing that I don't weigh 120 lbs!!  But I guess all that comfort food really can counteract such a busy schedule.....too bad I really do like all that comfort food more than weighing 120 lbs.....too bad....

~still chubby~

MommaJoy

Okay, Tuesday pooped me out!

I should have IMMEDIATELY gone to bed once the kids were in bed last night (which wasn't until a little after 10pm as it was).  But The Pastor was filling out an application/questionairre (sp?) thingy and we do usually have some time together in the evening - so I was up for almost another hour.  I probably didn't get to sleep until 11:30pm or later - and this was after getting up at 5am!!

My alarm went off at 5:30 this morning - ugh.  I did manage to get up 15 min. later and go exercise - that *had* to be a God thing, I couldn't have done it myself!

Now today is Wednesday, and I've got more to do than one person can possibly do in a day.  I'm going to try not to stress and simply leave some chores to be done next week.  I've got to get all the camping gear out today (I've got no time tomorrow and we leave Friday), inspect and air it out, see what we've got in regards to kitchen/fire stuff, make up our menus, make up a grocery list, and get all the laundry done so I can pack up tomorrow.  It's actually quite a big job to pack up a family of five (with all the kids being 5 and under) for a quick weekend camping trip.  Since I go to so much work, I absolutely INSIST on everyone having a TERRIFIC time!!  You *will* enjoy yourself and smile!!  We are a pretty happy campin' family, so that's usually not a problem.

School is a bit weak this week - it just doesn't seem to have a lot of meat to it.  I could do more to add to it and perk it up a bit, but seeing as how this is the first week of my Mom's group, my Precepts study, and getting ready for camping - I'll just do a light week of schooling and not worry about it.

Okay, I'll post my "usual" Wednesday schedule - although I will in NO way be following it to the letter today.  I will probably only get in meals on time, naps on time, and get in BED on time!  I'm not even heading to the library or the produce department today - oh well...

I also forgot my creamer for my coffee at church yesterday (I'm a creamer snob - I have to take my own creamer, 'cause I like the good flavored stuff) - it's sitting in the church fridge.  So my own coffee today is not nearly as good.  *sigh*  But my time with the Lord was still good this morning - Praise God for that!!  I actually read about how wonderful the mornings are with the Lord, as I honestly tried not to fall asleep.  He is good!!

God Bless

~MommaJoy~

This is the first morning, since I preposed to begin my new fall schedule, that I actually got up and did it.  I know - sad.  I have just been so tired....but excuses aren't really going to cut it for the next 20-something years while I raise, train and educate my children on a daily basis, now huh?!

Anyways, here I was:  I had woken up ON TIME, exercised, showered, dressed, made coffee, woke up dh, started some laundry and had sat down to do my next "chore" on my to-do list.  Time with the Lord.  I sat down, really feeling pretty good about myself, ready to read the Bible.  I grabbed a book I am working through, a book on Romans (I have had some difficulty with some issues in Romans that was taught over the summer in our couples Sunday School class - this book is from our Senior pastor).  It is called, A Passion for God:  Prayers and Meditations on the Book of Romans, with a new paraphrase by Raymond C. Ortlund, Jr. 

So, I am on Chapter 10.  In one of the prayers it says, "O Lord God, I asknowledge that ZEAL for you, precisely because it feels so right, can deceive, concealing my actual need for you at a level of my being DEEPER than my own fervor can reach.  O Lord, let me know the reality of myself and the fullness of Christ."

It is really exactly what I needed to read (of course).  Here I was, all self-righteous, thinking 'look how good I am, getting up early, being a good wife and mother, I'm actually reading my Bible like a good Christian is supposed to, *I* am going to spend time with God this morning, I rock'.   YIKES!!  It's not that I shouldn't be doing these things, of course I should - but it is *so* about my attitude and how I go about it.

That's what I needed to read, to think about, to realise.  It's about Christ - not about my 'good intentions'.  If I try and try and try to do good, to feel good about myself - it will NEVER reach me on the level that Christ can reach in me. 

Ok, enough rambling - just thoughts on my brain this morning...

In HIM
~MommaJoy~

We just recently got dish satellite t.v.  Before that, we just had rabbit ears, and they didn't really pick up any stations in the basement.  So we basically had no t.v.

Now we have dish.  It is nice, but it does easily suck up your time.  I can see that not only will I have to better monitor the amount of time my children watch t.v.  - but also The Pastor and I will have to do better at monitoring ourselves as well.

Whew...

Anyways, tonight, TLC is showing "Raising 16 Children" (I think that's the name).  It's the Duggers.  An hour show.  Then after that, it's the show about them building their new large home, while the mom is preggo with #16. 

I am really excited about watching these shows tonight.  Ever since learning about the Duggers, I have wanted to catch one of their shows, but it's always been on paid t.v. stations.  Finally I will get to watch it!!  YEAH!

I'm hoping to learn more about organizing my home with a large family.  Now obviously, I don't have 16 children.  I only have 4.  But I pray we will be blessed with many more to come, Lord willing. 

So there you go.  TLC, tonight, 6pm (another showing begins at 9pm, I believe).  That is Mountain Time, although I don't know if it varies or not with different time zones.

Gotta go clean some more

~MommaJoy~

I really, REALLY want it to be fall.

I want the cooler weather.  I want some COLOR (not much of that out here near the mountains - except for yellow, which everyone freaks out about - but really, I want MID-WEST colors).  I want seasons.

I know, I'm not being very content, am I?

This is what happens when you get your brain stuck on something.  The weather told me it would be HIGH of 69 today with showers.  Now, I know showers are pretty random, and we'll probably get some today at some point - but I was kinda hoping for the overcast day, a little rain, nice and cool.  Then I was going to open all the windows, clean, clean, clean - play lots of holiday music (oh ya, I LOVE my Christmas music ALL YEAR LONG!).  *sigh*

If the sun is out at all, it makes it so oppressive.  Even if it IS 70 degress - if the sun is shining, it feels like 80+.  An overcast day around here is few and far between and I want one NOW!  NOW!

Ok, back to reality.  This is where I live.  The Pastor is doing his best to find us another church in the mid-west closer to our families.  The least I can do is be content, knowing my family is together, we are safe, our needs are being met, etc.  Quit being so greedy.

Plus, my house needs a good cleaning regardless of the weather.  Hey Sis, if you are reading this  - NO!  the bathrooms have STILL not been cleaned.  I'm procrastinating and I'm running out of excuses.....

~MommaJoy~