Redecorating on a budget...

Im in the process now of uploading photos and taking new ones of our new projects, school room and dining room. I will post them this week...I think. :)For now though I would like you all to visit a fellow blogger. Miss Olivia lives at home and helps take care of her family. She is recieving excellent training to be a future wife and homemaker. She just helped redecorate a room in her family's home using things around the house and things found at the thrift store or on sale. It is absolutely lovely. Please enjoy!

A Daughter at Home

Nothing much of interest...

Well there is a ton of interest in my life right now, but nothing I could write about due to the circumstances surronding it all. Life really isn't fair. I guess I should be grateful that God allowed certain people to come into my life...even if it is to be for a short time. I guess what bothers me the most is I feel like we should not be the ones to loose our friends and connections we made because one person cant say they are sorry. Because one person cant stand up and admit that he was wrong. There is so much potential for the place we are leaving. So much potential for the wonderful people who feel they have to leave to. I remember my favorite Frank Perretti book, The Visitation. I remember the struggles the preacher in that book went through. I remember the famous phrase, "We are going to take this town for Christ!". Our church could have been an awesome church like that. We could have done some serious soul work on our side of town. I cant say any more about this. I have probably already said to much. But this is my online journal. I will want to look back at this post next year and see that it was not as bad as I thought it was. No matter where I go, God goes with me. He has a new adventure in store for us. This time next year I may still harbor some hurt over this, but I will be busy at our new adventure.

Around the house:
My kitchen has stayed clean all week. I have to sweep and mop and then Im done for the day.
I have one more box of clutter to get rid of from our school room. So far thats two boxes. WOOHOO!
Im breaking everything down. This month Im keeping the kitchen clean and decluttering the school room.
I have laundry folded just needs to get put away.
I have to sort the laundry from our bedroom and remind the girls to take thier baskets and empty them. We are getting there slowly but surely.
Im going to boil some chicken and shred it and pour bbq sauce on it and we will have sandwhiches tonight before church. I will fry up some hashbrowns and bake some beans to go with it.
Im trying to stretch our grocery budget this month which means getting creative! :)

Churches.

My whole 27 years here on earth I have been in a few churches. Lets count them up and see why I had to leave.
Birth - about 4 or 5 Church 1. I dont know why we left here. I have never asked. Hmm..
4 or 5 - about 8 or 9. Church 2. Dont remember much about leaving this church either. I think something happened and the Pastor left and mom and dad did not like the new pastor. I was saved at that church.
8 or 9 - 11 or 12. Church 3. The week after we joined the Pastor resigned. Red flag number one. Red flag number 2 came when we realized the deacons ran this church. Mom and dad worked alot during those years and I spent a lot of time with my grandparents at thier church. Should I count that as a church. Lets and call it church 4. We left church 3 when the pastor and music minister were run off by the deacons and another man stood up in the business meeting and called my best friend's dad out into the parking lot. My dad stood up and said my family is outta here and not coming back. We followed. Church 4 I left because my mom and dad were back home and so were we. Thus began my aversion to business meetings.
12ish - 17 Church 5. Left here when Pastor told his wife he did not love her anymore and walked out. I was close to this family and felt the whole thing. Also had people teaching the youth who were on the brink of divorce and fought constantly. They did not like me a bit, mainly because up until they showed up I was the one running the youth group and because they talked down to us and fought all the time people still looked to me (the oldest youth) as the leader. It was a difficult time for our church and I was not sticking around to see it. I was done.
18-22 Church 6. I sat through some gory business meetings here. Should the pastor step down because his ADULT son was arrested? Should the music minister, whose wife and family is completly out of control and who refuses to show up for meetings and other church events be kept around? By the way yes, the Pastor should stay. No, the music minister needs to find another calling in life. IMO. There were more issues there but those are the ones I remember. The next big thing in our church life there was the homeless people for crying out loud!! There was a homeless ministry to women and children that area churches were taking up. Basically for one week these people slept at your church. During the day they were out getting job help. Some of the people in this church thought this would be a blemish to the church. UNBELIEVEABLE! The church got it voted in and then the neighbors (some of them church members) got it blocked by city council. NICE. Glad Im not going to be one of the ones answering to God on that one. I was all for it. Anyways, the church and its AMAZING pastor withstood both of those things. I love that man and his wife. They are saints in my book. Hubby and I left not long after marriage to find our "adult" church. We wanted a church were we were seen as husband and wife. Also we wanted one closer to home.
22-present church 7. Is it time to say goodbye to this church? Looks like the time is drawing near. I want to find a church were I can get lost. I dont want to be in the "core" group anymore. Im sick of it! Now, I have kids to think about. I want my kids to grow up in a church. I never had that. I always wanted the bond that kids have who have known each other in the church setting their whole lives. I want my kids to have that. Now, because of immaturity and a lack of leadership my kids are not going to have that. Im just sick!

The End.

The day after.

The day after September 11 is one I cherish. While we were still mourning for our nation there was a mother giving birth to a beautiful little girl. I did not know this little girl. As a matter of fact it would be a whole three years before I ever met her. I had no idea just how much my life was changing on the fateful day after. But what awes me... is God knew. When that little girl was born He thought about me. He knew that she was not born to live there, he had another family picked out for her. He was preparing another mother for her. A real father who would always be there for her to love and protect her. Two brothers to annoy and adore her. We knew none of our children back then, but God knew them. He also knew that one day they would be ours.
All that to say Happy Birthday to my angel girl. With the sweetest smile and the cutest cheeks and the uncanny ability to raise one eyebrow and look at you like you are her one and only!





Happy Birthday Tamara Kathleen!!

Remembering September 11.

I decided to post my memories of 9/11/2001 as I read others stories. Mine is similar but it has meaning to me. I had been married for about 10 months. We were living in our first apartment. My mom and dad were living in an apartment not to far away because thier house had burned down in May of that year. I was on my way to work at a payroll company. I was a shipping clerk. I made sure payrolls left the building packaged and headed to the right destination. I was listening to the local Christian station. I strolled into work and my coworkers greeted me with the words. "We have the TV on, dont worry we are watching." I just stared at them. Ok, why was the TV on? They looked at me dumbstruck. Well a plane had just flown into the World Trade Center Tower. "Oh." I heard nothing on the radio. I scurried over to the TV where I saw a replay of the first plane hit. The station kept cutting back and forth between the replay and footage of the tower smoking. I saw the second plane hit. My coworkers tried to convince me it was the replay. I remember screaming at them that a second plane had just hit the other tower and it was not an accident. All of a sudden our whole building got really quiet. I emailed my husband begging him to call me. I called my mom frantic. We dont have many tall buildings were I live and she worked in one of the tallest down town. "Mommy, you have to leave!" A little while later she did leave. There was a bomb threat. All I wanted was for my family to be in one place together. We heard the news reports of the Pentagon, then the plane in Pennsylvania. I remember all the rumors of other planes and car bombs and people dressed in bombs entering schools. We were not getting a lot of work done. Until....well until I realized that planes were grounded and well...people were not going to get thier paychecks because FedEx was not going to be flying for who knew how long. We then shifted into overdrive. Contacting couriers. Contacting our offices in busy states as we prepared to remote print payrolls. I wanted to be with my family. I was at work until 9pm making sure people got thier paychecks. We ended up with fast food at my mom and dad's apartment that night. Even my brother stayed home and we watched the replays and listened to the commentaries into the night. I called a few friends with relatives in NY. I got nothing but good news. The head coach of our NFL had a son in the WTC towers. We heard he was ok. We cried. We wept. We prayed. I was ready to support our troops that night.
One thing I remember praying over and over was "Thank you God for a real man in the office to lead us."
One more thing I remember and one thing I saw a year later. President Bush had been in our town a few days before. From here he'd gone to Sarasota, FL. I remember watching the newscast when he was told of the planes. When he found out we were under attack. I remember the look on his face. I will never forget it. It was whispered in his ear as he sat in a classroom full of children. I saw him blinking. I saw the dread as he looked at these children. Many criticize what happened next. I applaud. He did not panic as he stared at these children. He did not jump up and leave. He stayed. He thought. He reveled in the children, the innocence for a few more minutes. He knew when he walked out of that school his whole world was going to be different. He prayed. Oh and another thing I remember the things he was called because he did not rush right back to Washington. That made me mad/laugh. This man LOVES his wife. Its obvious in everything he does and says to her and about her. I really think had the Secret Service asked him where he wanted to go he would have said straight back to Laura.
The thing I noticed a year later will always endear me to Donald Rumsfield. Say what you want about Rummy but dont ever say it to me because I am the man's staunch defender. We were watching anniversary footage of 9/11. Who ran out into a sea of injured people at the Pentagon? My boy Rummy. I was so pround as I saw him out there limping with his sleeves rolled up, helping people.
These are some of the memories I cherish of that awful day. Memories I will pass down to my children.
Tomorrow I will tell you all about why we celebrate around here this time of year. There is such sweet joy in the sadness.

Whatever!

Ok so Im not a big celebrity follower but this I could not pass up.
Check out Brad's reason for not marrying the mother of his child. Its great. You have to see this lame reason for not commiting to her or his child.

Suggestions, please?

I have really missed doing school this week. But I am so excited that we will be starting again next week with a whole new look about us. I do have a question for the pros. I am looking at these tables here as individual school tables for the two older children. Any thoughts? I also have the option of getting another big table. A large rectangular one that we can all sit at. If I get the individual tables I will get a smaller table to do group work and arts and crafts. So any suggestions? Right now I have the 6 year old and the 9 year old. I am doing preschool with the 3 year old and the almost 5 year old. Oh they are getting a small table for thier use.

The Swing

I was so thankful for our baby swing last night. My baby was so congested he woke up screaming. His face was covered in snot. I had to suction out his nose and wash his little face. He was miserable. He fell asleep in my arms but when I put him down he would wake up because he could not breathe well laying down. So finally I put him in his swing where he slept peacefully for about 3 hours. When he was not nearly as congested and he was able to lay down in his bed. But that was about 2:00am. He slept the rest of the night. Boy was I thankful for that swing, it let me get some sleep as well. Now he is sleeping peacefully.

Frugal Fridays

Crystal at Biblical Womanhood is hosting a new weekly feature called Frugal Fridays. She wants us to spread the word so that we can make this a happening event.
Here is my tip for the week.

If you live on the coast its so nice to go to the beach on a week night. We pack a picnic or grab some cheap food on the way spread a blanket and let the kids play. We usually end up near a hotel so there is just enough light to see, but not so much to distract you. Its tons of fun and if you take the picnic is almost free. :)

Third times a charm...

Ok so this is the third time I have tried to post an entry. The first time, I hit the wrong button and my post went into the black hole of blogland. The second time, the power went out. So hopefully I will finish and send this one.
I have updated, deleted, and added some blogs to my random blogroll. I have to work on the homeschooling one next. There will be other changes in the day to come. I love the ease with which to change everything over here.

Around the house:
Rearranging the rooms. Making a big school/playroom. I will post specifics and pics a little later.

Whats for dinner:
Meatball subs
French Fries

Blog Cleaning

Well Im back. I need to do some cleaning up around here, with my links and stuff. And I want to add some more stuff to the sidebar. Oh how I have missed being able to do that. Right now I am fighting with my new counter. It keeps telling me it was installed, but as you can see it was not. More later.