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Save In Piggybacking

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)  

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example of a URL ...

http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Canadagirl/693425/

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  Now go ahead link and read and comment on all these other's wonderful TWT's. 

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 Lets save our pennies, nickles, dimes, and dollars  together !

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"There are only a few big ways to save money but there are many small ways ....that all adds up."

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.

Celebrating 19 Years !

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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.

XXOOO

I just got this in my email today and HAD to share--I've already downloaded my copy. Thank you, TOS!

It's your FREE gift . . .

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

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Homeschool Swimming lessons are one of the biggest highlights of our school year.  At our local aquatic center they have accomidated us homeschoolers twice a year and organized  a chance to get all our kids in their levels to learn how two swim within a two hour slot.  That is huge for a homeschool mama and what a blessing that is.  This year I only have my two littles in swimming lessons and the two boys are both in the same level too.  That is great for me because they can have fun and learn together and we have been going a hour and a half early for them to have fun in the open swim too.  Gotta get the biggest bang for my our time.  While they are having fun in the water I am ....sitting and loving every minute while knit.  Ohhhh how I am enjoying this time. 

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I have two October babies.  I didn't get pic's of my oldest's b-day b/c he was not with us for his b-day.  But I did get a pic of Luke and his birthday cake.  I cannot believe I have a 17yo and 15yo.  Boy do they grow up fast !  I also had to sneak in a pic of what it looked like this week when it snowed.  It has been snowing and melting several times in the last few weeks.  It won't be long before it decides to stay for the winter.

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Now, if you want to join us in the fun of Show and Tell Friday  just....

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~Make a Show and Tell Post and make sure it is wholesome.  It can be pretty much what ever you want to share.  It could be about you ...or your family ....or what is going on in your homeschooling.

~Some how link me ( Mary @ Raising 4 Godly Men or Canadagirl ) so others will know where to go to join S&T.

~Come back to me and let me know you posted your S&T by clicking on the MckLinky and using your exact URL to your Show and Tell Post.   ( I need you  to tell me each week that you want to participate, okay ?  )

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~If you want the S&T button to put on your blog go HERE

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" please go visit other gals wonderful Show and Tells !  Oh,  don't forget to comment.  EVERYONE  loves comments."

This week I began reading several different types of books--Christian living, children's fiction, and adult Christian fiction. In an evening I finished C. S. Lewis' last book of the Narnia series, [appropriately titled] The Last Battle .  I also began  D. Martin Lloyd-Jones' Spiritual Depression Its Causes and Cure. The title sounds dreadfully boring, but it's actually one of the best things I've picked up in a long time. Here's a challenging excerpt  from chapter three, "Men As Trees, Walking"  :

We are considering this subject not only because it is sad and tragic that any Christian should ever be miserable, but because of the whole state of the Church today. I have no hesitation in asserting again that one of the reasons why the Christian Church counts for so little in the modern world is that so many are in this condition. If all Christians simply began to function as the New Testament would have us to do, there would be no problem of evangelism...It is because we are failing as Christian people in our daily lives and deportment and witness that the Church counts for so little and that so few attracted to God through our Lord Jesus Christ. So for that most urgent reason alone it behoves us to deal with this question...

 

On a recent trip to the library I picked up some Christian fiction. The only current Christian fiction author I care for is Jan Karon. Another author came highly recommended and I sighed while pulling it off the shelf, hoping to be pleasantly surprised.  Let's just say that Christian Gothic/prairie/Amish/western/modern romances  and Christian serial killer series aren't  appealing to me. But I do like classics, some mysteries, and--of course--Hank the Cowdog books.   Our local library is small and has a limited space [about three small shelves] devoted to classics.

To change the subject slightly, our librarian commented that our local library would be moving into a part of the new public school about to built in the community. It will be a little strange taking my homeschooled kids to school just to go to the library, though  we certainly could use a bigger library facility.  Here's hoping there'll be more room for classics.

Have I mentioned that I really like Jonathan Park cds?  Yesterday's field trip to Ripley's Aquarium of the Smokies was a welcome break.  The crowds were thin, and we were able to enjoy it at a leisurely pace. Ripley's is a beautiful place and doesn't drip with evolutionary nonsense, but it is there. There is a lot of very interesting science as well--such as how they get the water salty enough for twelve sharks to survive and keep all that water clean with sand and bacteria. And of course, there are the fish! What an amazing variety of life the Creator has designed!

I waited for the children's response to certain lectures and exhibits.  It was time to see what they had picked up without me prompting them with questions. They were able to detect certain statements presented as fact and immediately wanted to talk about it.  Thanks to the excellent teaching from the Jonathan Park series and materials we've used from Answers in Genesis, the children are seeing science from a creationist perspective.  I love homeschooling!