This blog is such a mishmash of topics and homeschooling usually isn't at the top. So, in the spirit of overwhelming organization that has characterized our clean-up from the remodel here at home, I've decided to focus more on homeschooling on this, my main blog, and create a new recipe-only blog.
We'll see how long I keep up two blogs. I may very well revert to my slapdash posting style and put it all here again. Kinda like Papaw Roy's pantry-emptying soup recipe called "slum gullion".
We may actually have our home improvement projects done before Thanksgiving. We now have space to homeschool, not to mention EAT.
The stove was moved back and plugged in none too soon. Recent deaths in our church family meant serving food for the bereaved. Handsome Hubby just informed me that the Deacons will be cooking dinners for the widows of our church in a couple of weeks [so I'll try to have a backup meal ready to thaw and serve in case they burn the Fellowship Hall down--just kidding, sweetie!]. My pal Kasey is famous for saying: "A Baptist meets all catastrophes with Scripture, prayer, and casseroles."
The office, kitchen, and two of the bedrooms are painted leaving only the dining room. The floor in the kitchen is absolutely MAAHH-velous, and almost complete. And the stuff we've gotten rid of! Yikes! Who knew that there was a whole 'nother house hiding in the mess of the one we now dwell? That's how it felt, going through all the clutter. Space and order is so refreshing.
In family devotional time last night, I had to confess that my attitude stunk during the remodel [as though the family didn't already guess that about two months ago!]
The Family LIfe broadcast yesterday with Nancy Leigh DeMoss focused on being grateful. How convicting! Here God's blessing us to improve our home and fussing about the inconvenience and disorder. What was really a blessing, I treated as a burden. The end of this messy process will yield beauty, comfort, and order for our family. But I was stubbornly holding an "I can't stand the mess RIGHT NOW" attitude. Once again, something small became a teaching moment from God. This little lesson in patience and gratefulness is easy to hear and to give lip-service to, but hard to put into practice.
So, gentle reader, we are getting it altogether again in so many ways. If I can actually take a picture that isn't fuzzy, I might post some when we are all finished.
Wondering why I am not blogging as much right now ?
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Its that time of year again for me. I am swamped trying to get ready for the Christmas Craft Fair that I am in. It is a two day affair so I need to have lots of goodies to sell. This year I am going to have rhubarb juice, raspberry rhubarb juice, knitted mug cozies, and to go coffee cup cozies, fudge, a few necklaces, and candles. I will give a updated pic of all these as soon as I am able.
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I will be kinda scarce for a week longer. The craft fair is on the 20th and 21st. So that means I am madly trying to finish making all that I hope to make. Things always take longer than I hope. A few extras were thrown in that I wasn't prepared for. For example had to make room for our order of beef and I had to make room by pulling out frozen fruit that then HAD to be made into jam.
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I think the best thing for me to say b/c I don't want really to totally disappear from bloggyland that I will keep popping in and leaving notes on my cbox this coming week.
Blessings and ((HUGS)) !
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PS: There will be no Tightwad Tuesday on this coming Tuesday. It will be back on ....
In all the changes that I have made this year I have been learning the importance of "piggybacking". Piggybacking is when you butt one thing after the other and save because it is already heated up. For example... to dry one load of laundry after the other and save because the dryer is already heated up. Another way I have piggybacked my savings is when I roast my coffee beans. I roast what I need for that week...one batch after the other. A third way that I can think of right off the bat is piggybacking while baking or cooking with the oven. Get the biggest bang for your buck by baking several things together and right after the other. In the winter time it is also a nice way to raise the temperature a little in your house. I guess you can say it is like multi-tasking your energy use and save. .
Now to join in the fun of Tightwad Tuesday....
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Link your TWT post click on MckLinky and give exact the URL of your post. (each Tuesday that you join in on the fun)
I have decided after much prayer that I need to close Show and Tell Friday. It has been wonderful connecting with so many ladies this way. I feel like I need to scale back some in my life. Thank you all who have joined in ALL on the fun over the last couple of years.
We are in the middle of a remodeling project. Or perhaps I should say "projects." The kitchen floor has been mostly ripped up, we have trim stacked in the foyer for the cabinets, new wood flooring stacked in the dining room for the kitchen, tile for the bathrooms and laundry stacked in the garage. The garage and shed need siding up before the really bad weather sets in. And, yes, we are hoping to re-do the "dining room of many colors" so it is all one harmonious hue instead of the patchwork of paint samples that we about which we were undecided.
In the middle of this mess, it is just too distracting to do school. Since we are doing very well with our days and our assignments, we are taking off a few days. The kids could use a break, and I need time to clear out some clutter and take stock of where we are academically. I also need to make a LOT of copies of certain things and my printer has died an unnatural death. Chalk up a day out to town for a Xerox run.
Tonight we're having microwaved burritos and putting down the new kitchen floor. I can't cook homemade meals right now because the stove has been moved.
It's been an eventful day already. The children and I have rearranged furniture, done some yard work, and tossed some unnecessary books. Boy, that hurt to type. It goes against my grain to call any children's books unnecessary. My friends that know what a book-nerd I am will be shocked to read that. I may bring them to Jen's get-together this Friday so I can make sure they find good homes.
I'm almost ready to let go of children's clothes, too. Notice I said almost. Every article of clothing my children have worn has been carefully stored for future use. We weren't sure how many blessings the Lord would give us, so I kept all the clothes to save money. Now that we know there probably won't be any more little ones around here, it's time to start letting some things go. Ouch. That hurt to type, too.
All in all, we need some time to regroup, catch up on home stuff, get ready for winter, and make more detailed lesson plans. We have a small time window before Dad starts his next several surgeries. I plan to make a little time to find out what it is like to sit down for a while and relax, too. With a cup of tea that Pat sent me this week. Ahh! Things are shaping up nicely already.
I have to say ...boy have we come a long way baby! I had moved and started a whole new life with Handsome in a different country from my birth, had four sweet boys, built a house and a life with my Handsome. Do I regret any of it ??? No, God has blessed me through the thick and the thin and has shaped and molded us in so many ways. ( and still is !)
Honey,
Happy Anniversary and may we have MANY more ! I am more in love with you now than I was way back then and I was head over heals in love with you then.
Get ready to . . . Wrap your family in a ribbon of thankfulness and joy and season your holiday with laughter, love, and togetherness. Start planning now for a wondrous holiday season with . . .
The TOS 2009 Digital Holiday Supplement
WOW . . . a gorgeous Holiday/Christmas Digital Magazine filled with a fabulous lineup of planning, recipe, gift, and craft ideas you'll love.
“This is TOS’s gift to the homeschooling community, and anyone is welcome to it. The 2009 Digital Holiday Supplement will fulfill your yearnings for fresh and original additions to your long-treasured, family customs, and maintain Christ’s honored position first, and foremost, in your celebrations.”
—Gena Suarez, publisher of The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine
I am so pleased to announce and invite Doehill readers to our church Sunday, November 22, to hear a Voice of the Martyrs speaker who has ministered in Europe, Africa, Asia, South America and the Middle East.
He will be speaking to the entire church during the Sunday School hour. This special event begins at 9:15 a.m.. If you are going to be in the area [possibly vacationing at the Smokies?] , please feel free to come be with us. If you've never gotten to hear about their amazing work, I hope you'll come be with us, or at the very least, go visit their website at www.persecution.com .
Once again, we are blessed to have the opportunity to hear about, pray for, and actively help the persecuted Church through this organization. VOM has been to our church before for two different ladies' mission conferences [here, here, and here] , but this is the first church-wide meeting. ALL AGES ARE WELCOME! Two staffed nurseries are provided.
Please visit out church's website [ www.fbcmaryville.net ] for directions! And come back here for more info as we get closer to the event! in Christ, Gin
Home and garden reflections from a Christian homeschooling mom of two...a photographic glimpse into our little patch of the world on the Atlantic Florida coast. All photos are my own.
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