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By the time thursday hit in our house we need to pick up and clean all over again! One of the ways we have battled this is with zone cleaning on different days. If I know I am going to tackle the foyer and stairs on a given day I try not to let the dust and clutter get to me till that day of the week. Each day we have one area we do really well.

I also was tired of asking everyone to pick up their daily clutter. Now I go through the house frist thing in the am and gather it all and put it in a pile to be gone through as part of morning chores. ( stuff like shoes, books, a few toys as mine are older, clothing, ect)

We start our 18th year as a homeschool family this fall. I still get the jitters! Have I planned enough? Did I choose the right curriculum for each child..too little or too much ?  Have I learned from all my past errors and successes? What can I do this year to make it fresh and exciting?.........

At some point in all the planning and perparing the Lord reminded me to be still and listen. ( this is always a good thing!) He guided me to a few different directions than what I was doing. Considering I had finished the whole year of planning in that area  and did not have the money to purchase what the Lord insturcted,it was a bit hard to shelve it! But I did. And He blessed us with just the right amount of cash. I was so encouraged as I discovered lesson plans were all done for me and with just mild tweaking I was done for the year! Other resources just keep coming in and I am now feeling excited about the year.

My kids are really happy with the choices too. They have already begun on their reading list.

I guess the lesson here is stop and be still and take time to refresh in the Lord before embarking on the journey.

• time with my kids
• time with my hubby
• rest
• patience
• sunsets
• sunrises (some of them)
• the stars
• reading time
• journal time
• time with the Lord in His surroundings
• good times with new friends
• meeting new people
• coffee with my beloved
• reading time with my kids
• taking pictures (I'll share when I get back!)

• pessimism
• bears
• snakes
• mice
• any other animal that might invade my personal space
• electricity

I thought I would share with you what we do as a family each week to help the poor. This is our life passion...our mission field. Each week our family goes to an area where about 50 homeless folks hang around. We count it a blessing to spend time with these folks and look forward to it each week. It is through Gods provision that we are able to minister to practical needs as well as spiritual. We spend time in prayer with them, encouraging, planting "seeds" of hope and Gods love.  Many have come to know the Lord. We have been so blessed by donations of clothes, food, and personal hygien products for the homeless.  I even get boxes of stuff from across the country! Currently we are doing a bike drive. Many homeless do have jobs and a bike is needed to help them get to work. So that is what we do. I wish I could share a picture or two with you but these folks prefer privacy for many different reasons.

Statistics on Homeless in America:

Daily there are an estimated 800,000 homeless in America. The actual annual count only counts the homeless that can access a shelter. That one night count in 2007 was 146,698,90

Yearly 2.3 to 3.5 million people in America experience a period of homelessness.

A high house market coupled with low wage earning, loss of jobs, mental illness, addictions, account for most of the homeless.

In our area 45 percent of the homeless are fully employed. The waiting list for low income housing and emergency assistance is very long.

We are becoming more active in the political side of homelessness. I find all the paperwork and rules just confusing. For instance to get into a low income house you have to have good credit and a steady job. IF you are homeless you generally do not have one or the other of these. There is a great need for "halfway homes" for folks who need help with finances, addictions, mental illness. Most shelters will not take folks who are drinking or on drugs. That is the group we minister to the most.

This past week we had sad news ( we always dread that this may happen). One of the homeless was robbed and killed. They do get robbed all the time but generally that is all. So it was a sad day amongst the homeless community/family.

Well I have rambled on...

I encourage to to look into your own communities and see what is done for the homeless and working poor. Something as simple as a bottle of water, a snack bar, and a smile can start a relationship that leads that person to the Lord.

This is a great site for pre made maps and making your own maps of the US.

http://www.nationalatlas.gov/index.html

Great weekly freebie site.

http://homeschoolfreebie.wholesomechildhood.com:80/

Free Language Courses on Line

http://www.word2word.com/course.html

As I looked at my photos this week and thought of the awesome amount of time it was going to take and the amount of money ( ink, photo paper, a few cute scrapbooking supplies, and photo books) I realized that this needs to be a year long project. I set some goals ( thanks to those of you who helped with ideas)

• Make a notebook with a list of unpublished photos, and a list of photos in the boxes. This way I will know how many books to create! Or how many photo boxes to use. This way I can check stuff off as I do it.
• Print off 30 photos a month. Gee that is doable as it is only one photo per day.
• Decide if: I want to put the photos in books or photo boxes??????
• Start with oldest sons keepsake book.
• Plan a keepsake book for the other 3 kids.
• Finish the California book.

I am leaning toward photo boxes. At least with the boxes things will be presentable and in order. Then maybe over the years I can tackle one box at a time.

These boxes hold 1000 photos. I found them on line for 4.95 each. I am looking to see if I can find them locally near that price. ( the shipping is steep)

So I have a plan! That is all the farther I got this week.

I took time to pray and seek the Lord for wisdom concering my home. He showed me another area that needs attention in our home.

My dear daughters quilt. I started with a bang...worked hard on it for months and then put it away in a closet. There it sits. So gals this is my next project. DD has given me till she turns 16 to finish it. I realize a year has come and gone and I have only 2 years left! It is a catherdal window so it is time consuming. My goals for the quilt are:

• get all the frames done by December
• Get all the windows in the frames by April
• Sew all finished frames together by the end of May

This quilt is done 50 percent by hand sewing. It is time consuming. So I think my goals may be reasonable.

  Here are examples of Catherdral Windows:

http://www.quiltmag.com/proj-tips-cathedral.php

Here is where I am with her quilt:

That pile of fabric represents 1030 2 inch squares  and about 1/2 the block squares needed for the frames. I am using all used fabric or thrift store finds so it is taking longer to find what I need for the frames. The 2 inch squares are all from fabric my dd used as she was learning to sew over the years.

Saving money and time in the kitchen is huge. With school just around the corner I start looking for ways to plan meals a week ahead of time and ways to keep the pantry stocked so I am not wasting time running to the store.

These sites are awesome!  Found them on Chasitys blog Homeschool Rocks!

http://www.menus4moms.com/kitchen/weeklymenu/

http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/

Here are more of my favorite food budget sites that keep me motivated.

http://www.organizedhome.com/freezer-cookbook-recipes-freezer-cooking

http://www.momsbudget.com/

http://frugalfamilyrecipes.blogspot.com/

I use a simple schedule like the one below once school starts.

http://www.thehomeschoolmom.com/pdf/MenuPln.pdf