Aunt Rachel surprised the girls with a bag of M&M's last night at church so I let the girls decorate some cookies with them today. I used the plain old chocolate chip cookie recipe on the back of a bag of chocolate chips only I omitted any chocolate chips.  I must admit I'm really only a fan of the cookie not the chocolate anyway.

I'm sure some of you may think I'm crazy but I have become truly passionate about cloth diapering and am very excited to experience it from birth with our new little guy. I started cloth diapering Abigail when she was about 1 1/2, so I was only able to get about a year of it in before she potty-trained.

I figured I spent right around $400 on this complete stash over months of searching for things. I bought some things as seconds (meaning they may have been considered second quality to the company but first to me ). Some things were purchased used and yet the rest was bought brand new. On average I should expect to be able to resell my items for at least half of their retail value. On the other hand, dispoables can cost about $50-$80 per month. So I would spend $400 on dispoables within 5-8 months and not get a dime back! Whereas the diapers I have will last us from birth through potty-training...and I should expect to get at least $200 back upon resale.

There are so many different types of cloth diapers. I mainly prefer prefolds because they wash & wear easily, dry quickly, and look so simple!

Before I share all my pictures of the baby's stash I should give a disclaimer: I AM TERRIBLE AT TAKING PICTURES!!!!

I knew it'd been a long time since I posted, but I didn't realize it had been over 5 months. Shame on me . Part of the reason is because we got busy enjoying summer and then the first of August we got a beautiful blessing of a new pregnancy which rendered me useless for a few months more or less. My 6 year-old daughter has been doing My Father's World 1st grade curriculum since August and we are really enjoying our school time together. I will let some pictures suffice for the rest of my updates for now. I will also seek to catch up on what you've missed from my Names of God study.

Get ready for picture overload

 Isn't that baby in the stroller the ugliest thing you've ever seen :)

Some new to us (but well-used) furniture from craiglist!

Droopy Drawers! Once she graduated from cloth diapers to real undies all her shorts were too big

First Lost Tooth!!! She pulled it out while standing up as a flower girl at her uncle Adam's wedding.

I turned 30 and my sweet husband had a nice surprise party for me.

And less than a week later I got an even better gift!!!

Which we had a blast telling the family about in a unique way.

Now for some garden harvest pictures. Not all our corn turned out but we did get a lot of great food from our garden! This year I planted corn, broccoli, cauliflower, tomatoes, green beans, sugar snap peas, carrots, cucumbers, zucchini, and yellow squash.

My "baby" turned 3 years old!

My sweet middle daughter turned 5!

I had some fun making these pocket/fitteds for a friend using the Ritas Rump Pattern. These require a cover but you can customize the fit and absorbancy by only adding the inserts you need.

And a day I had dreamed about for months...our first look at our new little one. Here is his profile.

This is a profile of his body. You can get a good look at his spine here.

I don't think this post needs much explanation...but just in case, it is a picture of his bottom and well, the rest.

And this is him looking right at us.

 This is me at 20 weeks pregnant. 

My first attempt at this little one's cloth diapers. This is a pocket diaper made from Jalie pattern I bought from the store given at that link. This one is compared to a newborn pampers disposable. It's a bit smaller than what I wanted so the rest I have made are a little bigger. I will post pictures of our diaper stash later next week.

Yahweh Yireh ~ The LORD will provide.

I have always been fascinated by the account of Abraham taking Isaac  to the altar. Having children of my own, I try to visualize myself in this situation. I am sure Isaac must have known what was about to happen as they were going to the sacrificial altar without a sacrificial lamb. I believe he must have willingly laid on the altar. But, I most importantly believe that Abraham KNEW that the LORD was going to provide an alternative because the scriptures tell us in Genesis 22:5 "Then Abraham said to his young men, "Stay here with the donkey. The boy and I will go over there to worship; then we'll come back to you." Did you catch that? "Come back to you."

Let's fast forward to when Isaac is laid upon the altar. Scripture says in Genesis 22:13-14: "Abraham looked up and saw a ram caught by its horns in the thicket. So Abraham went and took the ram and offered it as a burnt offering in place of his son. And Abraham named that place The LORD Will Provide,  so today it is said: "It will be provided on the LORD's mountain." (HCSB Version)

"When we put something on the altar, sacrificing it to him, we acknowledge two things: that he is God, and that we are not God." (pg 68-69).  This story can teach us that sacrifice requires a loss, but usually a reward of greater measure. We should never obey just to be blessed, but imagine the blessings we miss because we choose our own way and disobey the LORD.

Deuteronomy 15:4-5 says "There will be no poor among you, however, because the LORD is certain to bless you in the land the LORD your God is giving you to possess as an inheritance -- if only you obey the LORD your God and are careful to follow every one of these commands I am giving you today." (HCSB Version)

"When you pray to Yahweh Yireh, you are praying to the God who sees the situation beforehand and is able to provide for your needs." (pg 62).

"El Olam is the Hebrew name for the God who has no beginning and no end, the God for whom a day is like a thousand years and a thousand years are like a day. His plans stand firm forever, plans to give you a future full of hope." (pg 51) El Olam is the everlasting God or the Eternal God.

I found it fascinating that this name of God is only used in scripture four times. Genesis 21:22-34 tells the story of Abimelech and Phicol who made a peace treaty of sorts with Abraham. Abraham named that place Beersheba because the two men had swore an oath there. Beersheba itself means "well of the oath." Abraham then planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba. This particular type of tree is a long-living tree that requires large amounts of water and can produce as many as 500,000 seeds per plant.

"When you pray to the Everlasting God, you are praying to the God whose Son is called the Alpha and the Omega. He is the God whose love endures forever." (pg 51)

El Shadday is our God Almighty! "When we pray to El Shadday, we invoke the name of the one for whom nothing is impossible." (pg 40)

Genesis 17 tells the account of when Abram met with the LORD at the ripe ole age of 99 years old. Th Lord said to him, "And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God (El Shadday); walk before me, and be thou perfect. And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly. And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying, as for me, behold my covenant is with Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee..." (Genesis 17:1-5)

El Shadday (EL shad-DAI), is often translated as God Almighty, but it may literally be translated as "God, the Mountain One." "Like the mountains themselves, God is seen as strong and unchanging. El Shadday reveals God not only as the one who creates and maintains the universe but who initiates and maintains a covenant with his people." (pg 42)

"The next time you feel tempted beyond your power to resist, call on the name of El Shadday, asking him to help you bear up under it, confident of his ability to sustain and bless you." (pg 44)

"Lord, help me to know you as my All-Powerful God, the one who is able to sustain and bless me, to fulfill every promise he makes. Increase my awe of you and of your power so that, like Abraham, I may follow you faithfully, always believing you are enough for me." (pg 41)

El Roi (EL raw-EE) is the God who sees me.

I particularly enjoyed learning the beginning to this name of God. Hagar, who was an Egyptian slave, encountered God in the desert when she fled after finding out she was pregnant with Abram's child.

"The angel of the LORD found Hagar near a spring in the desert; it was the spring that is beside the road to Shur. And he said, "Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going?"

"I'm running away from my mistress Sarai," she answered.

Then the angel added, "I will so increase your descendants that they will be too numerous to count."...

She gave this name to the LORD who spoke to her: "You are the God who sees me," for she said, "I have now seen the One who sees me." (Genesis 16:7-13)

There is so much more to this story. Hagar eventually fled again when Ishmael was a child. They were practically on the brink of death as they were stranded in the middle of the desert and out of water. Hagar remembered El Roi promises to her and felt abandoned. Abraham and Sarah had treated her and Ishmael so poorly and unable to bear this pain anymore. But, listen to what happened next...

"God heard the boy crying, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, "What is the matter, Hagar? Do not be afraid; God has heard the boy crying as he lies there. Lift the boy up and take him by the hand, for I will make him into a great nation."

Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water. So she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink." (Genesis 21:17-19)

Though Hagar and Ishmael had to endure years of trial, God upheld his promises. The well which God placed in front of her that day was named "Beer Lahai Roi" [the "well of the Living One who sees me"]. (Genesis 16:13-14)

When you pray to El Roi, you are praying to the one who knows everything about you.

Ask El Roi, the God who sees us, to open our eyes to His work and to increase our faith even and especially when his promises seem impossible to fulfill.

"Decide to obey fully, to follow completely, to keep your eyes fastened on him. Let El Roi take pleasure as he watches over you, and you will soon find your heart stronger and your confidence deeper without quite knowing how it happened." (pg. 38)

Here are some promises in scripture to encourage and lift you up...

"For the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him. (2 Chronicles 16:9)

"He will not let your foot slip--he who watches over you will not slumber...The LORD watches over you--the LORD is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night. The LORD will keep you from all harm--he will watch over your life; the LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore." (Psalm 121:3, 5-8)

"The eyes of the LORD are everywhere, keeping watch on the wicked and the good." (Proverbs 15:3)

I mentioned a few posts back about how much this book has encouraged me and helped me feel closer to the Lord in that I can call on a specific name of God in my prayers. Kind of like when you say your child's whole name, first-middle-last, to really get their attention.  "Praying the Names of God" by Ann Spangler.

Elohim ~ God, Mighty Creator

Elohim (e-lo-HEEM) is the plural form of El or Eloah, one of the oldest designations for divinity in the world. It is used more than 2,500 times in the Bible.

"When we pray to Elohim, we remember that he is the one who began it all, creating the heavens and the earth and separating light from darkness, water from dry land, night from day." (pg 15)

For Genesis 1:1 says "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth."

We can offer God thanks and praise that he has created us and made us in his own image. He had the power to create the heavens and earth from absolutely nothing. We should confess any tendency to forget that human life is very sacred and ask God to renew our sense of wonder and gratitude for the things he has made.

That thing hanging out of the dog bed, is a real dog. She really is asleep. I really don't need to tell you she is the result of an accidental inbreeding do I? :) This is only one weird thing out of a million she does. The other weirdo in the picture is our beloved Daisy. They both are very special dogs and we do love them very much! They provide a lot of entertainment.

The next few are from the day before Easter. We were priveleged to visit my in-laws for a wonderful lunch.

Our first outdoor meal of the season.

If you can get over the fact that I'm a moron and took this video sideways and I can't figure out how to fix that on the computer...this is really perty funny!

Aren't sisters such a precious gift!

Then there's Emma. Gotta love her :)

And Abigail after a very long day. Her hair was wild!

My husband tried to spoil me on Mother's Day by completely making our lunch. But I think I was more stressed than anything not having any control over the kitchen...at least I got to do the dishes. :) Anyway, he is the most talented artist I know when it comes to design, cartooning, caricatures, creativity...but on this particular day, he must have been very tired. We couldn't help but laugh at how little room he left for the word "Day" on the cake. He had to get a picture so we could remember it.

And you know your kids REALLY like their new sandals when they don't even want to take them off to go to bed.

The trees are bursting with buds here and we had our first taste of the summer that's to come yesterday when the sun was beaming and temperatures rocketed to 75 degrees. It was breathtaking! The girls and I soaked it up. They even danced in the sprinklers and I was so full of joy watching them squeal with delight as the sprinkler passed by them.

As I'm writing, I can hear bellows from the lake of our first thudnerstorm of the season. My poor husband is trying to enjoy the first day of trout season and I know he is getting pelted up north where he is with rain and thunder and wind. I am so sad for him as he has been waiting since January 1st when hunting season ended for this day. It's a holiday to those in the outdoorsman world,  just like opening day of rifle and bow deer season are! I still laugh to remember him making sure before we got married that I knew he would hunt and fish when possible. He just knew he had to be sure I wouldn't whine and complain about it later.

We've been plugging away with our kindergarten homeschool, slowly but surely. I think we're gonna kick it in fifth gear starting this week. I ordered and already have Bailey's 1st grade package and it looks very exciting! I'm really looking forward getting into some more meaty  stuff. Kindergarten has been fun but very foofy (i.e. easy).

I've been having a blast cloth diapering Abigail. I am so sad to know it will likely come to an end by fall. She hasn't shown much interest in using the potty, and I really don't even mind. With Bailey & Emma I was so anxious for potty training so I didn't have to buy pull-up disposable diapers anymore. All of the cloth is in the washer right now but I will do another post later with pictures of what we have and use.

I hope to do at least one post a day again. I'd like to write about a book I've been studying called "Praying the Names of God" which has been such a blessing to me. I also want to show more of what we're doing with our homeschool.

I came across this today on Christian Moms Forum and I feel compelled to pass it along. The song and the poem are not the same, but both just as powerful.

Wait
by Russell Kelfer


Desperately, helplessly, longingly, I cried;
Quietly, patiently, lovingly, God replied.
I pled and I wept for a clue to my fate . . .
And the Master so gently said, "Wait."


"Wait? you say wait?" my indignant reply.
"Lord, I need answers, I need to know why!
Is your hand shortened? Or have you not heard?
By faith I have asked, and I'm claiming your Word.


"My future and all to which I relate
Hangs in the balance, and you tell me to wait?
I'm needing a 'yes', a go-ahead sign,
Or even a 'no' to which I can resign.


"You promised, dear Lord, that if we believe,
We need but to ask, and we shall receive.
And Lord I've been asking, and this is my cry:
I'm weary of asking! I need a reply."


Then quietly, softly, I learned of my fate,
As my Master replied again, "Wait."
So I slumped in my chair, defeated and taut,
And grumbled to God, "So, I'm waiting for what?"


He seemed then to kneel, and His eyes met with mine . . .
and He tenderly said, "I could give you a sign.
I could shake the heavens and darken the sun.
I could raise the dead and cause mountains to run.


"I could give all you seek and pleased you would be.
You'd have what you want, but you wouldn't know Me.
You'd not know the depth of my love for each saint.
You'd not know the power that I give to the faint.


"You'd not learn to see through clouds of despair;
You'd not learn to trust just by knowing I'm there.
You'd not know the joy of resting in Me
When darkness and silence are all you can see.


"You'd never experience the fullness of love
When the peace of My spirit descends like a dove.
You would know that I give, and I save, for a start,
But you'd not know the depth of the beat of My heart.


"The glow of my comfort late into the night,
The faith that I give when you walk without sight.
The depth that's beyond getting just what you ask
From an infinite God who makes what you have last.


"You'd never know, should your pain quickly flee,
What it means that My grace is sufficient for thee.
Yes, your dearest dreams overnight would come true,
But, oh, the loss, if you missed what I'm doing in you.


"So, be silent, my child, and in time you will see
That the greatest of gifts is to truly know me.
And though oft My answers seem terribly late,
My most precious answer of all is still . . . Wait."

Yes. I'm sorry. Anyone who actually read my blog. I've been MIA. It's been the story of my life for the past few months it feels like. Everything I should be doing...I'm not. I've been lazy. I don't know what's gotten into me?

However, I am the only one who can change my behavior so I'm going to take ownership of my time and with the Lord's help get back on track. I have been a firm believer that if my day is going to be productive, it has to start right! I have figured out that it doesn't matter what time it is or how much sleep I've had, I just plain do not like to get out of bed. Eric could vouch for the fact that hundreds of times I have set my alarm only to turn it off. I go to bed with good intentions, but they never pan out.

This morning as I was checking a couple of my favorite blogs, I found this post at Biblical Womanhood which has totally encouraged me to change my routine...or lack therof.

My current time-wasters and life suckers are TV and the Computer. I waste hours each day staring at these screens. I dread looking back on my life 20 years from now and regretting wasting my time and not spending more of it doing more with my children, better managing my home, etc.

From the above linked post, I found this one she had written last year and that linked to this post by Tammy where I realized, my schedule attempts have probably all failed because I started with too much. I love how Tammy just wrote the basics and then over time the rest can be filled in.

So, I am going to try that way this time. I have to start somewhere, and my nature is to dive in head first, but I think in this matter, I'm going to stick my toes in to start. Alright, here it is. I'm going to start this tomorrow. Except it will have to be a loosely followed schedules because we aren't always home all day...like tomorrow  and Wednesday  and Thursday or Friday this week .

5:45	Wake Up & give Eric kisses on his way out the door to work.
	Shower, Dress, Wipe down Bathroom counters, sink, & toilet, & floor
7:00-7:30	Girls usually wake up & eat breakfast
	After breakfast, I'd like them to get dressed, brush teeth & hair, make their beds
9:00	School
12:00	Lunch
1:00	Nap/Rest Time
5:30 or 6:00	Eat Dinner
7:00	Start Bedtime Routine & Girls to bed by 7:45'ish

I bought a new wall chart for helping the girls learn their numbers 1-100. You can also use it to learn counting by 2's, 3's, 5's, 10's, & 20's.

Bailey has started trying to write books and she even read her first short story the other day. She's really done so well learning to sound things out and trying to spell on her own. This book took some narrating by her for us to figure out some of the things she tried to write but I will narrate for you with each picture below.

"Emily loves her brother. Her brother loves their brother too."

" They love their mom and dad too."

"Emily loves their friends too."

"Emily loves swinging."

"Emily loves sleeping."

"They get breakfast."

"They love sleeping."

"The end of Bailey's story book."

The girls enjoying a bubbly tub.

Eric's 32nd Birthday Party

Emma's 4th Birthday

Abigail playing with balloons in a most unusual way.

Lastly, here is our Christmas tree this year. Eric set it up. I put the lights on. The girls put the ornaments on...can ya tell. Please don't mind the santa & extra ornaments still on the floor. It was a work in progress ;).

I guess I should post about our homeschool so far. It's been pretty hit and miss and I hate that. I don't see any other choice for us as far as schooling goes right now so I HAVE to get it together and get consistent! I'm afraid what next year will look like for us if I don't. Next year I'll have a first grader, a kindergartner, and a preschooler.

We have really been enjoying http://mfwbooks.com/ so far with what we've done this year. Emma (4) has joined along in almost every single thing we've done with it. We are starting a new unit on "nests" Monday and I am creating a schedule for us to abide by every day so that we can be more consistent!

So there, that's my sad update on our homeschooling so far this year. I will have more to post on it soon since we are going to get more serious about it!!! I promise.

Oh it feels like such a blessing every time I'm able to sit at the sewing machine and create something. Unfortunately, I have a few unfinished sewing projects laying around that I stopped when I came to something I just couldn't do.

But, I have found something I actually "can" do. I found it takes about 10 minutes and is something that costs about $0.50 cents homemade to make compared to about $10-$20 to buy already made. Granted, the quality & materials of mine definitely doesn't compare to those I could buy pre-made but it works for me!

What am I rambling about? Fitted Diapers!!! Fleece Diaper Covers!!!! My new passions. My husband keeps after me to get good at them and make money selling them. Not sure if that'll ever happen as I am not that good of a sewer, but I'm loving making them!

Watch out friends, if any of you get pregnant I may make you my guinea pig for diapers!!!

So, here are some terrible pictures of a diaper & cover I made today. I didn't have any velcro/aplix so these will just use a snappi to close but that works for me too!

I hope to post pictures later of the other diapers we have that I love so much. I need to go wash them all first. I love prefolds a whole lot! I suppose it's the old-fashioned-ness of it. The back to basics feeling it gives me. I also have fitteds which require a cover. I tried pockets, all-in-ones, and lots of other kinds of fitteds but I have finally fell in love with green mountain diaper unbleached prefolds and little lions fitteds...and of course...now my own .

I got this free diaper & soaker pattern online. The diaper pattern came from Sew Your Own Diapers and this one I made is the fitted with velcro. The pattern I used for the soaker came from Katrina's. I love the fleece covers because they are so soft & flexible and breathable. I prefer them to a PUL cover for that reason. But I use the PUL covers I have when we go out. Sometimes fleece will have compression leaks.

Here is the front of the diaper. The yellow thing on it is a "snappi' which you can use in place of pins to fasten the diaper. It's nice to not have the velcro too because sometimes the velcro can end up scrathing baby's legs. I need to adjust my diaper pattern a little as this one is a little too small & trim but I sure had fun trying it out!