So Blessed!!!!!

So, I did get up and take the dog for a walk. I took her to swim team practice when I took the girls. And I did have Heather do her "journal entry". Though, not until the next morning. Then yesterday I had a terrible headache all day until about 6:30. My hunny came home from work and made breakfast for dinner. The kids loved it. I loved not having to do it. After dinner (and a few excedrin) I felt so much better and "started" the day. I CLEANED!!!!!

Let me back up a little bit... On his way home from work, Daniel called me and asked if I thought it would be a good idea to invite some friends over for dinner some time this weekend. I mentioned that our house is in shambles, but that could be fun. We would just have our work cut out for us.

Well, he decided to invite TWO families over. So.... tonight we will have 6 adults and 9 kids enjoying our 1700 sq ft home. (Clean or Dirty) So last night when I got my 2nd wind energy for the day, I decided to make use of it.

I started by carving the ribs up... We got a GREAT deal a few weeks back and froze them. I carved them all up and put them in a marinade and looked around to feel accomplished and realized what a MESS my kitchen was in. Not only was there all of the normal catch all stuff everywhere, but now my counter tops were also blood splattered! EEEWWW! What started out as cleaning up my mess, turned into a full on cleaning spree.

All the clutter is gone,  the cabinets are organized, the dishes are done, the stove is clean, all the appliances are wiped down, and I even dared to do something I have NEVER DONE BEFORE!!!!! I mopped the kitchen floor!

Now don't get me wrong, I am sure that when I was a little girl I chased my mommy around the kitchen and tried to "help". And do not think that I have never cleaned my floors. I have 4 kids, a hubby and a dog, not to mention that I have never been a "neat freak", my floors not only get dirty but they also NEED to be clean. HOWEVER, I have NEVER, successfully mopped a floor... Until last night. I usually go around the floor on my hands and knees and clean, with a scrub brush and rag, one kitchen tile at a time until it is done. every time I have ever tried to use a mop before, it just spread the dirt around to make the floor evenly dirty instead of clean with a patch or 10 of gross spots. I didn't see the point in wasting my energy. I FINALLY bought a mop about a month ago because it was on sale at Smart and Final and got up enough umph to use it last night. (With help from the expectation of LOTS of friends coming over)

Well, as someone who knows...... THE MOP IS MY FRIEND!!! I got so much done. And it didn't hurt my knees. Or my back, or my elbows... you get the point.

Ok, Ok, so I cleaned..... I guess you get the point.

Well, I finally went to bed at around 3am and slept! I had to finish filing away all the stinkin' paperwork that piles itself on the counter top first though. But anyway, This morning I got up and had coffee and continued where I left off, but with help.

Apparently the condition of the kitchen and dinning room was enough to jump start the rest of the family in cleaning mode. The girls cleaned and organized their bedrooms, did the laundry, and finished up in the bathrooms. Daniel has been busy all morning. And the boys have either been trying to help or happily staying out of the way.

THEN... Daniel got the wonderful idea to go for a walk to the park. He made sandwiches and we all walked to the park (about a mile) with the dog. It was so much fun! When we got home, the kids laid down for naps and we are finishing up on the house. YAY! What an awesome day!

Ok, well, that is my update for now... I will join my hunny in the forever task of cleaning and decluttering and organizing. Until next time,
Enjoy your day!

Going to START....

So, I get on here in the morning to drink a cup of coffee and "wake up". I read lots of different blogs and the day washes away. Every once in a while I get up and play with the kids or read a book or two, but this thing has been eating me alive for the past few days. URRG!!! I sit here reading about other people who are doing (or at least trying to do) what I, myself want to do.

I have realized two things while being consumed by the internet:
1- I have more to talk about than I think I do... I could blog if I just set my mind to do so. (I usually do not think that I have anything to say)   ..... and ......
2- While I sit in front of this computer "learning" how to do the things I want to do or "getting inspiration", I am still just SITTING IN FRONT OF THE COMPUTER!!!! I may as be on the couch in front of the TV.... My life is passing me by.

SO... I have decided that instead of spending hours on here after my kids have already gotten up, I am going to start DOING the things I am wanting to do.  Like reading with my kids, cleaning my house, gardening, canning, playing with and training my dog, loving my husband, cooking dinner (and preparing for it too).

You would think these are all common sense things, but somehow, they have gotten pushed to "a latter date" because I am to "busy" reading about how to do these things best. I will still get on the internet, but for only a set time, and I think it will need to be at the end of the day, or during nap time.... I will blog (or at least try to more often) and I will get my kids doing the same. I want to keep logs of what we have done and what God is doing in our lives, but I have been putting it off.... My oldest needs practice in her writing. What better way to practice than my "killing two birds with one stone"?

I think today I will start with this blog and having the kids answer ONE question in a notebook.... Maybe... What would you like to learn about over the summer and why? For the younger ones I think I will write it out for them and help them write their name and date nicely. Then, I think we will take our dog for a walk.....

That is it... for today! That is what we will do. Ask me tomorrow if we got it done. Please. I need the accountability.
Well, until tomorrow... I hope!

Not sure I have told everyone....

So, now that it is almost upon us, it occurred to me that I may not have made any formal announcements.... My family is in a musical that is showing on Friday night. It is called Music Machine. It is all about the fruits of the spirit. You know, Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Gentleness, Faithfulness, Goodness, and Self Control.

There are three main characters, (Nancy, Stevie, and Conductor) and a large supporting cast. Heather and Daniel are Nancy and Conductor, and the rest of us are among the supporting cast...

There is only one showing of it, so if you are interested, Friday night in Visalia, 7:00pm at GCC (Off lovers lane)
Anyway, I am so proud of my littl'ns. They are working so hard to get their lines and blocking. Heather has a ton of lines and Rebekah has a dance. Steven is the token little kid, so he has a few small parts, and Jeremiah is the little one that comes in on my hip... I am just a moma who drops her kids off and picks them up and makes the most of her time on stage....  :-) But anyhow, it should be a lot of fun, so you are all invited.

Just a lovely reminder...

"Oh, mothers of young children, I bow before you in reverence. Your work is most holy. You are fashioning the destinies of immortal souls. The powers folded up in the little ones that you hushed to sleep in your bosoms last night, are powers that shall exist forever. You are preparing them for their immortal destiny and influence. Be faithful. Take up your sacred burden reverently. Be sure that your heart is pure and that your life is sweet and clean." —J.R. Miller, The Family

Optometrist

So Monday was a really long day! All of my chillens had appointments with the optometrist. The boys had a 10:30 appointment and the girls had a 3:15 appointment. So we decided to stay in town and run errands... It was a REALLY long day! But I am excited to announce that my little girl will be getting a pair of glasses so she can SEE!!! Yay! Her birthday is on Saturday and we are crossing our fingers and hoping that she will have them in time for her birthday. But one way or another, she is excited! So I have some pictures to share...
Steven was first and this sweet lady was SO surprised that he did not need the pictures card. He was reading the letters card. He did pretty good...

Then came Jeremiah, and he was not as coopertive as his big brother... but really cute just the same.

Then we went to Wal Mart and got water bottles to prepare for the heat and went to visit daddy at work (Steven stayed and helped for the rest of the day) and we got the car washed too....
Then was miss Heathers turn.... She is SO dissappointed that she will not be getting glasses...

And princess Rebekah was last.... the doctor had to work with her ALOT to get the prescription right.

And here was trying to decide on the right frames for her... these were not the ones we chose, I do not know why I didn't get a picture of the ones we decided on, but there will pictures before too long...

And when we FINALLY got home, Heather and I got to go to the first day of swim team....
and listening to the swim coach....
well, that is my update for this week.... I hope to talk to ya all soon....

Just because it has been a while.....

Well, It seems (once again) that I have neglected my blog for some time now.... I usually have the time to catch up on reading blogs, OR on posting them... NEVER both. So today I shall post.
Now that that is done, how are you all? It has been a while. We are doing well here. My best friend just moved away (from next door to 12 hours away) and that has been hard, but other than that life is good.
We attended the licensing orientation through the county and are doing the paperwork for them. They do it a bit different than Koinonia did. We have ALL the paperwork that needs to be done and ALL the checklists now. (got them at orientation) and when we are ready to have them check us, we turn it all in together.... I think I like it this way better... I am in control of when I am done instead of waiting for someone else to give me more things to do.
Homeshcooling is going well... I think.... At least for now we have kindof developed an approach of unschooling or something like it..... we do unit studies, and the kids love to do workbooks, and we talk ALOT... and read ALOT.... and they are learning ALOT, but we do not have any sort of schedule or agenda or structure. That "tactic" will no doubt change as the kids get bigger and need to know more, but it seems to be working for now.
We are enjoying the outdoors alot more now that the weather has gotten nice. We even made a garden bed. teh dogs would tear it up if it were in the backyard, but we made a pretty one in the front. This way when we are not growing veggies, we can still plant pretty flowers and it will be nice...
First, the kids lined up the bricks....

Then I got to put them where they belong and straight-ish

and snap your fingers and do a little dance and here is the end result

I have teh seeds started now and we will plant them soon I think. The cucumber and Zuccini are outgrowing the little starter pods... not sure how the onions and carrots are going to do... we shall see. This is our first attempt at a garden. It is all new to us.
Well, that is it for now... oh, my hunny and I are going to the Steven Curtis Chapman and Michael W Smith concert tomorrow night.... I am really excited. It is our early anniversary celebration.... We have not been to a concert before. It sould be good.....
I hope to hear from you soon.

a few habits to get into....

I copied this from a friends blog and thought I would share.... I need to get better with this.

-Christina

The Daily 7 for a Highly Successful Household

February 24, 2009 by Stephanie

Ah, chores. They are such a necessary evil. As I mentioned in my Clean Less, Play More post: I don’t like to clean. Instead, I choose to do a tiny bit each day to ensure that I never waste a day cleaning house when I could be out conquering the world.
Or answering email.
Our family has a list of chores that we try our best to accomplish daily. Now that the kids are old enough to help, they do. When I am sick or am away from the house, the kids and Adam step up and help maintain order in the house.
Sort of.
We’re still real people, and we don’t live in a museum.  I’m not going to lead you astray and say that I make sure the following tasks occur each and every day no matter what. I might burst into flames.
and the smoke detector started beeping last week and I haven’t replaced the batteries yet…
I came up with this Daily 7 after reading the Stephen Covey books. (I told you I liked to read personal development books!) I like how Covey breaks down complex tasks into 7 steps—not too many to get overwhelmed, but not too few that nothing gets accomplished.
Number 1: Make Beds Right Away
Number 2: Do One Complete Load of Laundry
Number 3: Empty All Garbage Cans
Number 4: Keep Your Kitchen Sink Empty
Number 5: Clean Up After Yourself and Help Children Do the Same
Number 6: Bathroom Wipe-Down
Number 7: Before Bed 10-Minute Clean Up
I have outlined all of these steps in the Totally Together Book in detail, but really they are quite self-explanatory.

Make Beds Right Away

The second you climb out of bed in the morning, make it. It’s such a wonderful feeling to have accomplished something at 6am. Teach your children to do the same—if beds are made daily, they don’t get destroyed as easily, and it really takes less than a minute to pull a sheet taught and straighten the comforter. If you haven’t already done so, streamline your bed linen to the bare essentials. There’s no need for 50 decorative pillows or an elaborate stuffed animal collection. Really.

Do One Complete Load of Laundry

A complete load means one that is washed, dried, folded, and put away. I’m not trying to be mean; I’m trying to be realistic. It is no fun to save all the laundry for one day a week and not be able to leave the house. Do a little each day, and you will no longer waste away a beautiful afternoon because you are stuck inside tackling a mountain of clothing. I hate ironing, but have found that if I iron clothes while slightly damp I save  a ton of time.

Empty All Garbage Cans

On our honeymoon, Adam promised he would empty the garbage cans every single day without being asked. This hasn’t happened. It actually kind of pisses me off. Instead, the kids help with the wastebaskets in the bathrooms and their bedroom, and I take out the kitchen garbage every morning after emptying the dishwasher. If I fill it again during the day, I put it right in the middle of the kitchen with the recycleables and hope Adam trips over it. I’m kind of mean like that.

Keep Your Kitchen Sink Empty

I don’t know what it is, but if you put something, anything, into the sink, other pieces of flatware are magically drawn to it and all of a sudden the sink is completely filled and rendered useless. Instead, take the time to put your dirty items into the dishwasher right away, or wash the item quickly by hand. It really doesn’t take that long. Just do it.

Clean Up After Yourself and Help Children Do The Same

My friend Alison homeschools her nine children. I love Alison. I met her before having children of my own, and she is hands-down my mommy idol. She shared with me once that the secret to parenting is to remember that your goal is to raise capable adults. Chores are not only okay, they are necessary. Model good behavior for your children. Take the time to put your shoes all the way into the closet and hang up your coat. Once you are putting your own things away, your children will be more likely to follow suit.

Bathroom Wipe-Down

This is my favorite. I keep a container of disinfectant wipes in the bathroom, and wipe down the toilet (inside and out) every day. If it’s been a particularly um, busy day—I will do it twice.  This keeps me from never having to scrub out the toilet with one of those scrubber brush things that I find beyond disgusting. I also quickly wipe down the shower stall and bathroom floor. After showering, use an item from the dirty clothes pile to dry the shower walls and door. This will keep mold and soap scum from accruing. Now use your damp item to quickly mop up the bathroom floor. Dust and hair will disappear and will keep you from needing to mop.

Before Bed 10-Minute Clean Up

Before retiring for the night, do a super quick once over the living spaces of your house. Recycle the magazine left on the coffee table, and stack leftover drinking glasses in the dishwasher. Put the couch cushions in order, and fold the blanket. You will wake up much happier each morning if you aren’t greeted to last night’s mess.