The List For Today

The agenda today consists of ... and not in any particular order:

• Coffee
• CTBHH chat
• Watering the yard
• Quiet time
• Wish my twins Happy Birthday!
• Finish getting our network hooked up to use SOS (Switched on Schoolhouse)
• Finish our MOTH schedule before school starts next week
• Attend a maquillage party, hosted by two of my daughters, Bethy and Anne
• Laundry

Show and Tell

In my garage, I have a huge prize that I thought I'd share today.

My boys did a lot of labor in order to bring this baby home for us. It's beautiful! It's a restaurant-grade Vulcan stove range!

This thing is mammoth! It needs a lot of cleaning up!!! It has 2 ovens, side by side. There are only 2 burners, which are in the center with 2 huge griddles on both sides. The splash guard comes with and includes a warming shelf above. The below photos is the closest I could find. It is iron like the old fashioned cook stoves, and ready for propane.

    This is something we would have for years to come!

It means we get to go back to having hash browns! It means... we get to sit down and actually eat fresh pancakes together... or bake multiple pizzas at the same time, instead of a lot of waiting!

The biggest problem now is finding a place to put it!  We have to tear something up to install it.
It is very heavy! We don't have a place to set it up right now. We'd have to maybe add onto our kitchen so it could be on a cement floor. Our kitchen floor would would not handle it!  We are considering waiting until we move, which we are hoping to do sometime in the future.

Thanks for looking!

And now you may walk into the kitchen

Monday was Miss Abigail's 4th Birthday. With that big event, came the privilege for her to get to go onto the front entryway and go into the kitchen. We train our little ones for boundaries.

When the big ones are away, the littles will play

Those in our family who are old enough to hunt (that's 8 people) are gone this week. The "littles", as I call the younger set of 5, and I are having a fun time of cleaning and playing in the snow. Well, for them, it's been play. For mama, it's been shoveling. We have about 6 inches so far and today it is snowing again.

The snow is just beautiful as it sits heavy on the pine trees. The tall, dry grasses in our field stand tall with snow intertwined. The garden, looking sad and abandoned has taken on a new look of beauty. As I write this, three deer are in the garden. The kids are watching out the back, surmising that they are a mama, daddy, and baby. They are watching them dig for grass, coming up with their faces covered in snow. They have had several occasions to watch them jump over fences. How beautiful!

As I shoveled snow yesterday, Jayden (4) asked what would happen if he spit in the snow. Is this a boy thing, or what?  Tess crafted a cute little snowman, hoping it would remain until the hunters returned home to see it.

We have a list of things "to do" a mile long. Well, that might be exaggerating, but just cleaning the pantry has taken several days, alone!!! The first task we tackled was the refrigerator. Rase stood inside it and wiped it down really well while I washed the shelves and Tessila (8) wiped them dry.

Rase (6) has been my little man, going around the kitchen with a screw driver, checking all the cupboard doors and tightening the ones that need tightening. We discovered one that was complete broken. He removed it for me and we took it to a shop to get replacement parts. He reinstalled the hardware for me!

It's been interesting cooking for such a small crowd! I use small pots and pans.

The hunters called last night from Red Lodge. They had come down from the mountains to get propane, a meal, and check on parts for the heater, which stopped working in one of the trailers. I was so glad they called! We sure miss them! They said they had received about three feet of snow!!

I wish I had a digital camera so I could take before and after photos of the refrigerator and pantry!  That's all for now. Have a blessed Thanksgiving!

Traditions

Does your family have traditions? I am becoming more keenly aware that we have traditions that my husband I didn't even know we had! Last summer, as we were headed to a local lake (more like a pond) to swim, and after everyone was packed in the van, the dialog went something like this:
"Oh! Where's the 'Second Chapter of Acts' tape? We have to listen to it when we go to Lake Elmo!"
My response? "We do???"
Everyone piped in, "Yes! Don't your remember? We always listen to it when we go to Lake Elmo."

Another instance: While butchering our deer this year, our son ran to the computer to put on "Dad's music play list on his Real Player....because, apparently, it is tradition. We also learned that when we cut up deer, pizza has been the normal fare, so pizza it was. We are making memories as we do these things together.

We have never been a family with a lot of tradition. Oh, we bake cookies and enjoy certain foods on particular days, but the kids have clung to things that we had not considered. Honestly, it really does make things special.

Years ago, my husband laid down the "rule" that there was not to be any Christmas music listened to, played, or sung until December 1st. The idea behind this was to keep Thanksgiving and Christmas special, respectively. Consequently, the kids now have created the tradition that whoever can stay awake long enough, turns on Christmas music at the strike of midnight. This year was rather humorous: At the strike of 12, I awoke to alarms of music going off all over the house playing different Yule greetings. When I got up at 5:30, I heard the softest, most welcoming Celtic Christmas music. It was so sweet and it reminded me of how these little things mean so much.

As I think about what the kids grow up remembering most about this holiday season, their father's and my prayer is that they remember foremost why we even celebrate. What is this all about? Just to make warm memories that will fade away? We celebrate not an infant and His birth, but rather, we celebrate with thanksgiving and praise that our awesome God loved us lowly sinners so much that He made Himself into a man to be the ultimate sacrifice for us! Where would we be without His love for us? What joy we should all have for this glorious thing! We should celebrate Resurrection Sunday with such vigor!

May this season, however you celebrate it, leave you and your children with fond memories of a great Savior and His unfathomable love and sacrifice for us.

Our Family's Music!

We are very excited about the developments! Our CD is done! We are thankful! It has been a long 3 years.

The master CD is off at the replicators. When we receive them back, they will be in cardboard covers shrink wrapped so we can mail them.

All the music is available on the front page of our site, http://www.electricchurch.net The .aif format is for you to burn your own CD. To save on costs, this is encouraged. You may also choose to download in mp3 format to listen to immediately or place on your mp3 player.

Please feel free to share our site with both the lost and the followers of Christ. You might do this by word of mouth, emails, forums you visit, or blogging.

Remember our terms of use:
All Electric Church lyrics and music are copyrighted 2007 and not for sale or for commercial venture at any price. However you have our permission to copy and distribute lyrics, and reproduce CDs for friends, church, relatives, strangers and enemies freely. Freely you have received freely give.

Thank you for your encouragement and prayer support.

For those of you who do not care for the "rockier" music, the following titles are just for you!

Come To Me
Jesus Said (with dramatization included)
Lives of Pain
Stained Glass (a Celtic flavor)
Trust In The Lord

The beginning of "Unless The Lord" has a beautiful reading of Psalm 127 by a Jewish Rabbi.

We have a mailing list if you are interested in being kept up to date on the goings on with our site and anytime we play somewhere.

Books/Ideas to help with organization

Emilie Barnes shares some fantastic ideas from a biblical perspective. Between her and Don Aslett, my home has come a long way! No! It's not even NEAR perfection, but I probably wouldn't like it that way, anyway But, because of Emilie, I can locate just about anything quickly, including the multiple times I've had to produce appliance warranties in a couple of minutes or SS#'s, vehicle titles and birth certificates. When we moved, I used her methods and it went SO SWIFT.

Mrs. Barnes has helped and encouraged me over the years. The one thing I am reminded of is her suggestion to take a task and just work 15 minutes each day on it. This might be cleaning out a pantry, attic, or bedroom. After 4 days, you've worked an hour! In bite-size pieces, it's easier to get to and easier to work with. How much can you get done in 15 minutes? What if you spent 15 minutes working in your kitchen, then moved to your bedroom for another 15, then some deep cleaning in your desk for another 15, etc. Is that doable?

Another thing that has helped me greatly, is her idea of prioritizing. I love to make lists! I've always been a list-maker. But to accomplish all my lofty ideas has not come so easily, until I read Mrs. Barnes' books. She suggests the list-making, but then she suggests prioritizing the list as such:

Priority #1 - God: According to Matthew 6:33, our first priority is to seek and know God. We are better able to decide what to read, what to view, how to spend our money and time when this is done first.

Priority #2 - Family: She reminds us in Proverbs about the woman who "looks well to the ways of her household, And does not eat the bread of idleness. Her children rise up and bless her; Her husband also, and he praises her, saying: "Many daughters have done nobly, But you excel them all."

Priority #3 - Church-related Activities: When the first two are right, it makes this priority easier to handle.

Priority #4 - All other areas: This includes job, athletics, exercise, classes, clubs, etc.

Now...back to the list part. After making the list and considering the above priorities, take into consideration what is really necessary for today, also. She suggests the following labels:

• Yes: I will do this.
• Maybe: I will do this if there is time.
• No: I will not attempt this today.

Don Aslett has made me laugh at myself and all my stuff. Don taught me when and how to get rid of stuff while Emilie taught me how to deal with what I have left. Don taught me the proper way to clean a toilet, and which cleaners really do the job...laughing the whole way. Emilie told me to just give cleaning a try 15 minutes each day. Don taught me which carpets to put in front of my door while Emilie taught me to tackle each room one at a time. Don taught me how my time is valuable and shifting my things from here to there is a poor steward of that time. He also taught me how to mop my floors and vacuum for the greatest effect.

I have learned, the hard way, that the kids don't need a ton of toys. They don't need a ton of clothes. Consider going through and giving away a lot of their things. Maybe it would be a great time to incorporate them in this because of Christmas coming up, they could help another child who is less fortunate. Just a thought. I learned to actually throw away broken toys. I learned to throw away any and all broken pieces of chalk and crayons. Yes...I throw away crayons, even if they are new, as long as they are broken. We also don't allow cutting of paper until a child is about 6. An aunt of ours has Legos. She only allows children to play with them ON A SHEET. That way, when they are done playing, the corners are picked up and everything goes back into the Lego box real swift-like.

My husband, also, taught me to be an armchair director, instructing and teaching the kids what to do so it can be delegated. He says, "the kids make the messes, anyway."

I found that simple is easiest, too, when it comes to toys. Having toys separated, lined up, and delegated to covered bins is nice it just ain't happen'n here. It's not reality in the McLean household. It's a whole lot easier to have one toy box (or in our case, a tub) and just throw everything in. The kids don't need toys in their rooms. Their rooms are for dressing and sleeping in. Clothes are a big enough issue that we don't need to clutter their room with toys; unless, of course, you don't have another place for the kids to play with toys. Whatever you do, limit where the toys can go. No toys in the kitchen, for example: That makes the kitchen a dangerous place when carrying a boiling pot of water to drain. I digress. What toys don't fit into the one bin, they are outta here. We are big Lego fans here. That is, before they got into witches, ghosts and Harry Potter. We do have a separate bin for just Legos.

My grandmother used to say, "A place for everything and everything in its place." I think of this often. I think, "okay. If something doesn't have a place, do I really need it? If I need it, where can I put it so that it's not more clutter?" Another thing my grandmother taught me was that if you have few surfaces and keep them clear, it will give the appearance of tidy. I used to be totally embarrassed if unexpected company came! YIKES! I couldn't think of anything worse! I do not have that fear anymore. Things may not be perfect, but we have come a long way, baby

Teach your children. Have them work right along with you as you wash dishes, sit on the floor and sort toys, or vacuum. This is how they learn and you can direct. We do this with baking cookies, sorting laundry, and setting the table.

I found both above-mentioned authors at the library. Since then, I have kept an eye out for their books at thrift stores and have accumulated most of them. I'm sure you could also find these books by searching the Christian book search box at the portal or half.com or elsewhere.

Daddy's Home!

Daddy's home! Daddy's home! Is everything picked up from the day? Mama runs outside with bare feet, brushed hair, brushed teeth and a fresh dress to greet daddy as he walks up to the house. She kisses him and tells him how happy she is that he is home and that he was missed throughout the day. He gives her a weary smile, that emphasizes how hard he has worked all day, then they walk into the house together to be greeted (more like bombarded) by happy children of all ages wanting to be the first to say, "hello Dad! We missed you!"

This is normal fare for our home. This picture happens each time daddy comes home. How did this all start? and why do we do this? Mama was the example. I have always wanted my husband to long to be home with us; to know we truly miss him when he's gone. I also have encouraged a respect and admiration towards my husband. I want him to know I adore him. Although my husband hasn't always been the "perfect" man, he IS *my* man! And just the fact that he has to put up with me and all my quirkiness, is enough to give him respect! LOL The unexpected blessing is that my appreciation has overflowed to the children. I never told them or taught them that they should treat daddy in this manner. No one runs off to their room when he comes home. Contrary! They run for the door. The result of all this has given us ALL blessings. Daddy has told me that he looks forward to coming home and feeling wanted and appreciated. Let's face it, our men put in long days with people who don't appreciate him as much as we do. All of this equals a happier daddy and husband.

He may drive home with a sour mood, but once he hits the driveway, he knows he can count on us to be there to greet him and his demeanor immediately changes.

Does the daddy in your home feel appreciated when he walks in the door? How about starting today?

Singing

I was longer at the dentist office than anticipated and caused many to have to wait on me! OOPS!

I chauffeured my girls and some friends (as well as my "littles" and the voice instructor) to a couple retirement homes to sing. What a delight for us! Oh, I'm sure that the folks we visited enjoyed it, too. But we had so much fun visiting with them, I don't know who might have enjoyed it more! I had a box camera with us and snapped some photos. Since I'm not real good on processing film, I won't be able to share those photos for probably a couple years yet.

We met one elderly man, who was 90yo. He stands out, in particular because he was so fun to chat with. He took off his hat and showed me a flower pin on it and asked me if I knew what that stood for. I said I didn't, so he told me it stood for his mama. She's 107!!! Can you believe this man's mother is still alive? Wow! We reminded him that Sunday is Mother's Day. He said he knew. He said he had asked his mama if she wanted a jet plane. She said nope, don't need that. He asked if she wanted a new Lincoln. She said nope, don't want that. So he asked... you just want more cigarettes and coffee? She said, "Yup!" Do you think when she dies, they'll say it was the cigarettes that got her?

My oldest son got paid yesterday. That means it's his day to hit the bank, the gas station, and the grocery store. He budgets X amount of dollars for his lunches. He is a great budgeter and planner. He sees the other fellas at work and how they spend SO MUCH of their pay on their lunches. Anyway, he had seen an ad in a local IGA for a particular item and, instead of shopping elsewhere, he stopped at this store to find that they don't carry the item they had in their flyer! ????? Hmmmm

He ended up going out later in the evening to a different IGA and found the item. He was a little bummed that this took a bit more fuel/energy/money to find this great buy! Not sure he'll be shopping at the local IGA again.

Manna for Mama

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Manna for Mama includes a quote and scripture for the day, a prayer for our husbands, for our children, thrifty tips and insight from Titus 2 women, as well as a fun and/or educational link and SO MUCH MORE.  It's open for anyone.