Thoughts on Evil and Tragic Shootings

Coming out of my baby cave for a deep thought about "evil" and these sort of tragic shootings~ What we need as a nation is to take better care and take action for those who are mentally ill. Yes, there is evil, yes, but we are also used as instruments for good and evil in others lives, and we made "evil" what it is or at the very least, did not step in when help was needed. These sort of things happen when hurt and sick people believe in Satin's lies and act on them, but where were we with the truth, hope, love and healing in Christ. This is not gang bangers here, it is not a parent who locked their kid in a closet, hurt and "evil" on this level is the work of a mad man. One that no one helped. A kind word, and showing Christ's love in a few seconds can alter countless lives. The signs are not always so easy to see, and we won't always catch them.  We are imperfect human beings ourselves.  Be alert.  Look for the signs of a hurting person, and reach out to them, take action to get them the help they need - that is the unknown hero.

Angry Birds Pizza

Making your own pizza is super easy and it tastes much better too.  There is just something about making pizza that kids just love.  Making an Angry Birds pizza is just as easy, and much more fun!  You probably can just figure it out from the picture of our pizza above, that is what I did for ours.  Someone had pinned a photo of their Angry Birds pizza on Pinterest, but it was just a photo.  So if you are the kind of person that needs details, here they are  . . . .

You will need:

• pizza dough (at your local super market by the refrigerated dough or near their fresh parmasean cheese, fresh pasta or take and bake pizzas) Try the whole wheat, no one may even notice.
• flour - about a hand full
• pizza sauce either canned or fresh 
• shredded mozzarella cheese
• pepperoni
• 1 yellow bell pepper
• a small can of sliced olives (you only need about 11 slices)
• onion ( you will only need 2 cross sections)

The first and most important detail to remember is to take your pizza dough out of the refrigerator 20 minutes BEFORE you need to make your pizza.  After letting the dough sit on the counter for 20 minutes, sprinkle a board with flour and shape the dough.  Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.  Spray the pizza pans with oil.  Pizza pans are not very expensive, and they make it so much easier.  You are going to shape the dough into the obvious round shape, but at the top left, make two points sticking out.    They remind me of my son's bed head hair!

Cover the pizzas with sauce, then the cheese.  Next place the pepperonis on, leaving a V shape empty on the bottom half.  Do not forget two halves for the "feathers" that stick out at the top.  Cut the pepper into to wide sections and pick 2 rather flat sections to shape for the beak.  Place it where the pepperoni meets the plain cheese section.  Cut an onion so you get two nice cross sections for the eyes.  Place them resting on top of the beak.  Finally, add the 2 olives for pupils and about 9 for a V shaped, angry eyebrow.

Bake at 450 for about 6 - 10 minutes.  It depends on your oven, how big the pizza is, the type of pan and how many pizzas you are cooking.  We always make 2, so it take ours longer to cook.  You will know it is done when the crust is slightly brown and the cheese is melted. Easy Peasy.

Good and Bad Kids

Most people think that kids are either good or bad, but I don't think there is such a thing.  Of course, there are well behaved children and those that misbehave more often.  People are not "good" or "bad."  We are all creatures who, at times, choose right and wrong.  We all have faults.  It is unfortunate that most people overlook that children misbehave for some basic reasons- some to do with their environment, and some with who they are as a person.

The children that people often label as "good" have the personality type that loves control.  This need for their world to be in control is why they LOVE rules, sometimes to the point of compulsion.  They love to follow them and get mad when others do not.  These types often push themselves to get good grades and desire to show themselves to others as being polite.  So they appear "good," but it really does not denote any sort of character or goodness of heart.  Good behavior can be present in a sinful heart.

Then there are the "bad" kids.  They are not concerned with impressing others or getting the top score.  They are way too relaxed and fun loving to think about such things.  Therefore, they forget to say "please" and "thank you" because they are not looking for adoration in adults eyes or to beat out the kid next to them in the "goodness" contest.  While other kids may be driven or task oriented, these kids are not.  Since this is the case, they are the kids dropping their pencils 7 times while doing their school work or who get messy and spread their mess without a thought.  Rules are not as important to them.  Just as above, this does not necessary show they have any worse character than a "good" child.  They can have a good heart, but just lack training and disciple, which is something that comes more naturally to "good" kids.

Not looking under the surface of a child can lead to great problems in their future.  The "good" kids forget that it is the WHY you are good that is important and without good character they could follow unGodly rules.  The "bad" kids have been made to feel that they are bad.  They believe bad is all they are capable of.  With out character and discipline their talents will be wasted and the Kingdom will miss their contribution.

We all have our "hooks" or parts of ourselves that make us consistently pick that wrong choice.  All children need training in character and a God centered, Gospel filled lifestyle.  Apart from God, we cannot achieve purity, which is true "goodness."  Step one is always to know you need God's help, a step that is very easy for a "good" child to overlook and for a "bad" child to feel unworthy of.  Character training involves those day to day teachable moments, as well as sitting down to study the definition, spiritual meaning and application of a the trait itself.  That is why Deuteronomy states it is going to take the morning, the evening and every hour in-between!  This responsibility is not a weight or pressure, but is a guilt free, simpler approach to children that is more effective.

Daily Bible Reading

Love these daily devotionals by the Scripture Union titled Discovery (E100).  You can get them on-line for free at this link.  The quarterly books can also be mailed to you for a suggested donation of $25.00.  Another option is that if you "like" Discovery on Facebook, the daily readings will appear on your news feed.  What a great reminder!  I put the bookmark on my task bar right next to my facebook button.  Hopefully that will help me remember too. My days get so crazy, sometimes I forget to eat!  We read the Bible everyday in homeschool and sometimes at dinner, but what a lovely time to read it by myself!

For me, writing thoughts down helps me to learn and remember what I am reading.  So, for my daily devotions I purchased a Standard Diary, Daily Reminder for the year.  All the dates are printed on the page, and there is plenty of room for notes.  What I like about this diary is that it is hardback and bound.  This way I can keep each year, and look back on my past thoughts.

In my diary I copy the 2 prayers in the Discovery devotional for that day, always writing it from my point of view.  Then I answer or copy the application.  I always do those 3 things.  If there is a scripture in the daily reading I want to remember or makes an impression on my, I copy this down also.  Of course, if I have any thoughts either from the reading, devotional, or just from my life at the moment, I record those too.  Finally, at the bottom, I may write one sentence about the day.  For example, "JP lost his first tooth"; or  "We went on a field trip to a garden today."  Little treasures I want to visit again!

My Dad

Recently I lost my Dad.  He was sick for a long time, I guess technically, since I was in 4th grade, when he was diagnosed with liver problems from an unknown cause.  This past year was hard, he went into end stage liver disease.  My Dad was in and out of the hospital all the time.  These pictures are from a few years ago, when he was well enough to enjoy life.  Last week was his funeral, and this is what I said to honor his memory at the service.  I love you Dad, and we all miss you so much.


There are three people who made my Dad something that no one else could have made him - a grandfather.  G, Z and JP turned my Dad into Grandpop.  Psalm 128:6 says, "May you see your children's children!"  It also says, "peace be with Israel," so I am glad he lived to see one of them.  You can see from all the pictures the fun and special times we had together.  Some of my kids favorite memories of Grandpop are going to Disney World, his hats, the models he made for them, and who could forget the time Grandpop had that enormous french fry.  Those memories are such a gift.

In life, everyone we meet, from the sales clerk with the South Philly attitude to someone as important as your Dad, leaves you with a gift.  God brings these people into our lives as part of His plan for molding us.  My sweet and loving Father gave me many gifts.  The first gift he gave me was life saving.  My Mother was set on naming me Heidi, but my Dad took one look at little, newborn me, and said, "Nope, she looks like a Karen."  His first gift was my name.  Other gifts were tangible gifts, like my blue eyes or my ability to pack a trunk perfectly.  Some gifts involved life experiences, such as to why it is so important to have the right attitude in Disney World or you would miss the whole point.  My Dad was a very patient man, who always had a kind word, but he would get upset at those who were impatient, rude or lost their cool at the happiest place on earth.  It was sort of like hajj to him.  If you did not have the right attitude, it did not count.

Then there are the gifts that took a life time to give me, such as his patience.  My Dad was so patient.  I saw this displayed in the relationship between my Dad and my Grandmother.  I love my Grandmother, she was a generous woman and I have fond memories of her.  But lets just say it wasn't warmth that she try to convey to my Dad.  I can understand as a parent, that no body will ever be good enough for your little girl, but she took it above and beyond that.  What I can't figure out is that it was just so uncalled for.  My Dad adored my Mom.  He would do anything for her, all he wanted was for her to be happy.  As far as habits of a husband, my Dad always provided for his family, and he certainly was not a spender.  He did not drink, curse or smoke.  He was well educated.  I don't think I can even remember a time where my parents yelled at each other.  I mean, I know my kids can't say that.  My own husband's first thoughts of my Dad, was that he made him feel like an old friend.  However, despite being unjustly snubbed by my Grandmother, he stayed calm about it.  Where I think most people in his position, the minute her back was turned would call their mother in law a blankty blank blank.  Nope, not my Dad, not in front of me anyway.  Dad may have complained she used too much garlic in her cooking, or role his eyes and say to my Mom "Your Mother" or maybe even affectionately referred to her as "sergeant," but of course not to her face.  But that's it.  That's patience.

When someone dies, they usually leave us one last gift.  Sometimes it is a new outlook on our own lives. It may show us what is important.  Maybe it sparks a search of faith, that we never made time for before.  Perhaps, it makes us realize how precious life is and how short it can be. My Dad's last gift to me was realizing the importance of a small acts of kindness.   While it is the choices we make that define our character to others, it is the little kindnesses that show our true love and respect for each other.  It is how I know my Dad loved me and cared about me.  It is how I showed him how much I cared.  It makes me see how much other people love me.  This last gift is very precious to me, and I am sure that he left you a gift as well.  Even if you never met him, his gift to you maybe, through my loss of him, making you realize though there are many seasons of life, there is one we must all face - the aging and loss of our parents.  For those of you who knew him, he gave us so many pieces of himself, he is always around us.

Mistakes

Lately I have been working on a knitting project, and the other night I noticed a mistake.  Instead of knit 2, purl 2, I knitted 2 purled 1.  I tried to unravel it and fix it, but then I stopped.  I realized I had made the mistake when I was knitting outside my Dad's hospital room in the Critical Care Unit, while the nurses worked on him.  It was the day he died, and since he was dying, the nurses did not want me to go too far, just to step out for a minute.  To pass the time standing in the Critical Care hallway, surround by rooms of others going through the last struggle, like my Dad, I was thankful for my knitting to keep me busy in such a sad place.  Having something to do with my hands was a wonderful way to relax, and take a brake from such an intense situation.

While such knitting is therapeutic, knitting standing up at a time like that, I made my mistake.  Like most knitters, I wanted to fix my mistake, erase it.  But then I realize, as sad as this moment was, I do not want to erase it.  I want to memorialize it.  As romantic of me as it sounds, that one purl is a record of a significant moment in my life. It made me realize trials are meant for us to remember, to learn from, to add to the tapestry of our life.  They are moments that make us who we are - metals who are refined by God into precious metals.  Our trials hurt, they sting, but they are what makes us.  So, I am keeping my mistake in this little blanket I am knitting for my daughter's doll.  May I always remember it.

But he knows the way that I take; when he has tired me, I shall come out as gold." ~Job 23:10

And I will  put this third shall be left alive.  And I will put this third into the fire, and refine them as one refines silver, and test them as gold is tested.  They will call upon my name, and I will answer them.  I will say, 'They are my people'; and they will say, 'The Lord is my God.' ~Zechariah 13:9


Bless our God,  O peoples; let the sound of his praise be heard, who has kept our soul among the living and has not let our feet slip.  For you, O God, have tested us; you have tried us as silver is tried. ~ Psalm 66: 9 & 10

In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith - more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by  fire- may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. ~1 Peter 1: 6-7

Asthma

If you are new to asthma, you will find this pamphlet very helpful.

The Book Room

Saw this on a blog post and followed the link to Flickr.  Unfortunately, I can't post the photo, but you can find it here, it is worth the click!  I love it, what a great idea.  It may cost a little more, but I think the picture ledges from Ikea look nicer in person than the gutters.  Mouse over the squares to see the photographer's notes.  Enjoy the inspiration!

Grocery Yearly Sales Cycles

To everything there is a season, . . . . even couponing!  Follow this link to Living Richly on a budget blog.  It gives you an entire overview of when items will be on sale at certain times of the year.  School Supplies for example, would be in August and September, which is something most people know, but I bet you did not know you can get cheap oatmeal in January!  This guide will give you the time of year to keep your eyes open for good deals and STOCK up.

New Jersey State History Fair

After much frustration trying to "pin" this webpage, I decided to put in on my blog for reference!  Here is a link to New Jersey State History Fair.  See website for complete list of events, including meeting Martha Washington and Walt Whitman!  Sound like a great family fun day, and it is all FREE!

The Green Smoothie

Finally got around to making a green smoothie, a perfect way for me to get my veggies into my busy, busy day.  It was great.  I am tempted to say it tastes like chicken, but it really tastes like banana, peanut butter and yogurt.  Other than the bright green color, I would never guess there was four cups of spinach in it!  My recipe was from the blog, Iowa Girl Eats, found here.

Also, I would like to add, I don't have a one of those $400 smoothie blenders either.   For the smoothie I just used what I had, a normal household blender.  It was not great, but it work!  So, I will make due, and just add a Ninja blender to my Amazon wishlist.  There is no need to have to have the best equipment before you start making green smoothies, just jump in and do it!

Explaining the Death of a Planet to Your Child

My eight year old son was upset I whited out Pluto from the solar system coloring sheet that he requested (weird effects of homeschooling- apparently he thinks it super fun to color the planets himself). I need to read aloud "How I Killed Pluto, and Why It Had It Coming" (by Mike Brown) to him. Tried so many ways to explain why Pluto is NOT a planet.

The book is very entertaining to read.  It reads like a story, but has a lot of science in it.  I have only gotten half way through, but I found it fascinating.  Just ordered it again from our library, maybe I will have the time to finish it this time.

The 'What If' Child

We have a child that is a deep thinker.  He is always asking a 'what if' question.  In the photo above, he asking himself what is really going to happen when he fights Darth Vader, will my parents find me in this crowd when I am done, will I use a real light saber  . . . .   Really, all kids get the worries from time to time and want to know 'what if.'  For a deep thinker, the world can be a never ending place of fear.  They think too much for their own good.  Their heighten awareness spawn one scenario after another.  Our children should know that worries and fears are normal, that everyone has them, and we need to show them what we do with worries.

Our children's 'what ifs' are a great chance to make clear to them basic Biblical wisdom.  It is easy to forget when our minds start spinning.  I tell my child, simply and bluntly that,

• "You can handle anything that happens to you WITH GOD."  
• "Life will keep you busy enough with real things that happen to you, don't waste your time with 'what ifs'."
• "Don't keep 'what if'ing your self because they never end.  They will just go on and on."
• "What ever happens, you will just deal with it.  God has a plan, there is no need to worry.  He won't give you anymore then you can handle WITH Him."
• "You need to deal with what is happening right now, at this moment."  
• "No matter what happens, stay calm and pray to God for wisdom.  He will show you what to do."

Another exercise that is good to do is to ask them, "What are you afraid of happening?"  Or, "What is the worse that could happen?"  For example, if the child says they are afraid of the house catching on fire, you would help them see that they would leave the house and the fire department would come and put the fire out.  This exercise may be too hard for a child who lacks the ability to reason, meaning a child on the spectrum or with delays.  The point of the exercise is to show, what ever happens, you will just deal with the situation.  

Death may come up in your 'what if' conversation, but you need to deal with it honestly, while only giving them simple information that they need to know.  It is best to be calm, steady and sure of yourself in your delivery.  If you don't believe it completely, your children will see that, and they won't believe either.  As Christians, we have no fear of death.  If your child is persistent, but not yet mature enough, I tell them they will learn more as they get older, but now is not the time.  They need to grow more.  

Having an environment where your child can come and talk to you about what is on their heart plays a major role in providing that teachable moment.  If we have our child's heart, if they feel loved and safe with us, they will let us into their most personal thoughts.  Our children need us to talk to.  They need to be reassured by us.  During these talks with my children, I always remind them that it is our (their mother and father's) job to take care of them and help them though any events that might happen.  Even when they are by themselves, God is ALWAYS with them, watching over them. No worries.  It is a good reminder to the us as well, because where do you think their deep thinking brain came from?  

Christmas Newsletter 2011

We hope this letter finds you well. Our year has flown by. We had quite a busy year. Last spring we got to go to Walt Disney World with Karen's sister and fiance. It had been 3 years since a real vacation, so we really enjoyed every minute of it. The kids even fought Darth Vader. JP had his mouse ears on the whole time, I am sure Vader was quaking in his boots. They were given the opportunity to join forces with Vader, but we are proud to say none of them turned to the Dark Side.

Also in Spring, Karen's sister announced her wedding would be in November in Key West, Florida. So we got to go on another trip to Florida. We drove all the way down. How many keys could they possibly be? It is gorgeous there though, and the wedding was beautiful. G had the honor of being a flower girl and the boys ring bearers. On the way back, we stopped for a couple of days at Disney World, this time with Karen's brother and parents, who missed the trip in the spring due to a hospital stay.

This was a milestone year for Ed, he turned 40. He had a quiet, little party with his best friends. All else is the same, same job, same worship team. Just before Christmas, Ed got to go out to Arizona to see his family. His mom is fighting cancer, and we could not think of a better present for her then Ed.

Karen is snowed under with work. She is homeschooling the kids full time with a full load of students, John started Kindergarten this year. Homeschooling 3 kids is really not hard, it is all the rest of the stuff that is the problem, like sending out punctual cards and newsletters. She is enjoying nesting until we are placed with a baby.

G turned 10 this year. She still takes Irish Dancing lessons, and lots of homeschooling activities – homeschooling skating is her favorite. This year she has joined the chess club at the library, and really enjoys it. G's hot interests this year are video games, roller skating and crafts.

Z turns 8 next month. This year at our homeschool co-op he got to take a cooking class, he enjoys to help Karen cook. He recently joined a township wrestling team, and loves it! Ed wrestled when he was in middle school, and he has turned into quite a stage mom. Z is so excited on practice nights, he is too worked up to eat dinner, so that tells you how important this really is to him. This year Z's interests are cars, wrestling, and playing outside.

JP turned 5 this year, and started Kindergarten. At co-op he moved up to a new class, where he gets to go to different stations. He loves to do everything with Z, they even sleep together. Z keeps trying to get him to join the wrestling team, but JP says he will only join if they get a blue mat – his favorite color. JP knows what he wants. One of his favorite places to go is the zoo, he says he is going to live there when he grows up. JP's interests are animals, cars, and pretending to be a baby animal.

As for number 4, all our adoption paperwork is finished. We are a waiting family, which means we show our profile to birth parents and wait for them to pick us. So far we have not gotten picked, but it is exciting to receive opportunities. When we do get picked, it probably will happen very quickly. Adoption is a lot of waiting, and then instant baby! We look forward to sending out an adoption announcement. G and Z keep making JP act like a baby so they have a baby to play with. Hopefully we will not have to wait too long.

May God bless your New Year,

How to Tell if your Child is an Entitled Child

Here is a great article on childhood entitlement.  Click on the link to read it in full.  Here is a quick checklist to see if as a parent you have fallen into a the common modern plague of creating an entitled child.


An entitle child will:

• immediately lash out "with accusations or insults" when they are told no
• is shocked when told no
• not take turns well
• be impatient
• generally put themselves first
• throw a temper tantrums when they don't get what they want
• not say "please" and "thank you"

Now, every child, especially a toddler or preschooler, will behave these ways from time to time.  This list is meant to reflect a consistent behavior over time.  

Not every child fits in the "box", some children actually have a social delay, which causes huge problems with flexibility.  This is not because of your parenting style, it is because of their delay.  The child is not trying to be bad to ruin your day, they just don't have the tools yet to deal with it.  If you are not sure wether of not your child has a delay, read the first few chapters in The Explosive Child by Ross W. Green, chapter 3 has the checklist.  I am sure your library has a copy.  Just would like to add, these children do things that all children do, but it is just on a whole other level.  You could also take your child to a councilor or psychologist who specializes in children.  Now, just because they have a delay, it does not mean the behavior is acceptable.  Occupational Therapy, play therapy with a councilor and other resources can help you get your child's behavior to be with in the proper boundaries.  It is not an excuse, but it is a very good reason to show them grace and not to think of them as a spoiled child and yourself as a bad parent!

Here are some things you can to to reverse an entitled child:

• start saying no more often, but not always
• make them do things for themselves
• require a "no please" and a "yes, thank you"
• make them wait
• give them less 
• if it is extended family giving too much, try to control that as much as possible
• put some of their items away - less clothes, less toys ( you don't have to throw them out, just put them out of site)
• requirer them to do some basic chores for no money and give them the opportunity to earn money doing jobs around for money
• have many heart to heart talks with them about thinking of others, the universe does not revolve around them, and they have to work for what they want
• if they lose a toy or brake one, don't buy them a new one
• they do not always have to be happy, so lessons in life are painful, that is they only way we learn our lesson

Plans

Plans are interesting.  They can revolutionize our lives or they can make us feel like a failure.  Anytime I have a problem, I love to make a plan that will solve it.  Actually, planning is my favorite part, the action or endurance, not so much.   Good plans will let us achieve our goals with out wearing out. 


When it is someone else's plan, I guess I would be willing to try it on for a fit.  When I have a problem, I love to do a lot of research to find out how other people solve it.  It may be my solution or it may not work for our family at all or it just may need to be modified to fit us.  I think it is important to periodically reevaluate your plan too. Things change over time.  Now I coupon and stock up on good deals, with in sane reason :) and without waste or committing coupon fraud.  Perhaps when my kids are teenagers, they just might eat more if we have more.  At their age now, no one wants to go down to the basement on their own, even for food!  In years to come, when our basement becomes a teenage cave, I can see the food vanishing quickly.  I have to be open to changing my plan.

Lately I have been using couch to 5k, and it is very motivating to have a plan and to check it off as done.  Plans are better when they are reasonable and have small increments of change.  Short term plans give us a sense of accomplishment.  9 weeks, I can do anything for 9 weeks.  It seems so much more manageable.  

Also, I think it is very important to bare in mind that people are very different and have very different circumstances.  I am not sure if one plan is better than the other as far as laundry, running, meal planning, etc.  My friend has an extremely clean house, and I keep thinking, I need to get her cleaning routine so I can have a super clean house too.  But I have to remind myself, she has one child and an extremely neat husband, while I have 3 and a very nice, but untidy husband :-)  Some people think she is too neat, but I respect her cleaning plan because I know she does it with a good heart.  Her husband really needs a neat house for it to feel like a sanctuary, but others don't know that and judge her without knowing her heart.

Pinterest: Organizing Your Ideas

A friend introduced me to Pinterest, which is a website which lets you 'pin' items you find on the web onto your virtual board on their website.  No pile of papers clipped for ideas you plan to get to someday.  Most magazines have this articles on-line now, so you can pin them instead.  No printing recipes that you plan to cook someday, and then not being able to find it when you need it.  It is great for those blog posts, decor ideas, or fun things to do with the kids that want to remember.  It is a great organizational tool that puts your 'idea clutter' and stores it into cyber space, not in your dining room!

When you 'pin' something on Pinterest, it will show a large picture with just a brief description, which is also a link to the site that you pinned from.  There is a small button on your bookmark task bar that lets you do this.  It is also like Facebook, in that you can follow other people, so you can see what your friends pin.  It is a great way to share ideas, and it is set up so you can either view just your friends' pins or everyones' pins.

On Pinterest, you can have serval boards under whatever subject headings you want.  They will suggest some to you when you sign up.  Here are mine:

• Products I Love
• Books Worth Reading
• Homeschooling Ideas
• Decor
• Gift Ideas
• Dinner Ideas
• Kid's Decor
• Places I'd Like to Go
• Craft Ideas
• Sweet Treats
• Recipes (this is for food that doesn't fit into sweets or dinner ideas)
• Holidays
• Household Management
• Toys and Fun
• My Blog Posts (if it is a post I need to go back and reference)
• Baby Ideas
• Fitness
• Travel with Kids
• Photo Shots

If you are on Pinterest, share your board titles in the comments! 

Ruling Over My Laundry Pile

There is nothing like the change of seasons to bring on an eruption of Mount Washmore.  This time it has made me rethink our laundry system because apparently it is just not working.  First of all, the laundry is not getting done.  Second, I am doing it all, the kids should be helping more.  They are 10, 7, and 5, so no more excuses.  Lastly, if I am fortunate enough to wash, dry and actually take the clothes out before they are completely wrinkled, they sit in all sorts of places, except in their proper place - in our drawers and closets.

Most people will organize their laundry system by letting clothes pile in bins, marked with each child's name.  Then, once the bins are full, they put them away.  This does not work for us right now because seeing all those clothes to put away makes me want to put it off, not to mention that it totally overwhelms my kids.  Also, part of doing the laundry every day is so we need less clothes.  This would not work if we only put the clothes away once a week.  This is not just with laundry, I find just about anything multiplies if I do not put it away right away - mail, kids' artwork, toys, etc.

The solution is to make sure I put in a load first thing in the morning, if I wake up early enough, the load will be dried by the time I start homeschooling.  Because lets face it, once we start school, that is pretty much it for the rest of the day as far as household management is concerned.  To get more help, that is done correctly, we are going to put the laundry away, right away, and as a team.  After breakfast, I can wipe down the dining room table, which I need to do for school anyway.  Then the kids take their spots standing by their seats, and I dump the laundry in the middle.  I hang or fold the clothes and they run and put them away, pretty much one item at a time (mostly tops and bottoms).  This keeps them busy while I fold or hang the clothes. It helps to be faithful in the small things first!  Once they master this, my hope is they can also hang and fold their own clothes.

This part takes some training.  First time I found my pants in my 5 year old's drawer.  Also, I like sweat pants with sweat pants and jean with jeans.  If it is not done the way I want it to, I know I will end up doing it myself, and besides, showing them exactly how to put clothes away helps the task seem achievable for them.  My kids always need the helpful reminder, "We get done faster, if we do our work right."  Next time I think I need to add about being a careful listener too, my post put away inspection finds many "now how did they get that out of what I told them to do" examples.  Hopefully this whole scheme leads to "many hands make light work," clean clothes and our laundry problem solved!

Careful What You Say

My son was standing on top of his Bible today and so I said to him, "You do not stand on the Word of God!"  Then I realized what I said, and add, " . . . well, not physically anyway."  Hope that clears it up!

Rachel's Hope

"The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord." Glad you no longer suffer friend, glad there is no more pain. Thankful for your faith in death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, that through this you have everlasting life. Sorrow for your family, your husband, you boys, your circle of friends and of course, myself, because we will all miss you terribly, dear Rachel. You have left your mark on all of us, we will never feel far from you, and by God's grace, we will join you one day.


You have made me laugh so hard. Our moms nights out will not be the same with out you, but your presence will be in our memories we shared with you.  When I praise God in church, I will feel the joy of you praising God face to face.  



One of the best gifts we get during our lifetime is a good friend.  A person who thinks like you, has the same interests, one who splits your sides with laughter, someone you can talk hours to and who accepts you as you are, period.  While I have not known her for a long time, Rachel was that kind of friend.  It is hard to let someone go, but it is much harder to know your friend is suffering so much.  Now my friend is home in heaven, and she suffers no more.    

Rachel fought a hard battle with cancer, with much suffering and pain.  She never gave up hope or her faith in God. The cancer won over her life, but Jesus won victory over her death.  He defeated death on the cross when He died for our sins.  I am not really sure what makes me cry more, the loss of my friend or the beauty of what God has done for us - through his own suffering, he redeemed us, forgave us, and on his Believers he has bestowed everlasting life with Him.  There is a remarkable beauty in the  gathering of believers, in different places, but at all at once, hearts turned toward God. 


Her sister started this blog about the special diet they used for Rachel and to update us all about how Rachel was doing.  It is a beautiful record of hope, hardship, and a family's love for one another.


Here is Rachel giving her testimony, it is a really good one, I hope you watch it.  She truly is a beautiful person inside and out. Thanks be to God for the work done in Rachel's life, for God sharing her with us, and using her for His glory.