Baby Joseph is Six Months Old!

My little Joseph is six months old this week! My how the time has gone by so quickly. It seems like he is growing up so much faster than the other two. I have heard that happens as you have more children. He is such a big baby, I already have him in 12 month sized clothes! I cannot believe how tall he is, I think he is going to be tall like his daddy. It shouldn't be too surprising, Jacob has always been at the very highest percentile for height, and Joshua is taller than average as well, and of course my husband is over six feet. He is doing so much babbling now, he really wants to talk. I think having older brothers makes him try to do things at a faster pace. He watches them and tries so hard to be involved when they play. It must be so nice to have siblings close to your age! They are all so close to each other and so sweet, just the best of friends. It is so heartwarming to see them together. Yesterday the two older boys were being quiet (which is always a bit worrisome so mother's of little boys...) and I peeked in their room to see them laying side by side on Jacob's bed looking at a book together. Just precious!

I saw a lovely idea this morning and thought I might make it for the boys. I put their name vertically on a page and then next to each letter put a Bible verse. I had such a nice time looking through the Scriptures for just the right verses. It was neat to find verses that related to their names, or that I thought they would particularly like. Jacob was so excited to see his and could hardly wait for me to finish! I'd like to hang them by each of their beds.

This afternoon a young man that works for my husband asked him if I knew of any ways to make grilled cheese a little extra special. (His wife needed to make grilled cheese sandwiches for some sort of event). It feels so nice to be the one that people come to with cooking or homemaking questions. Sometimes I start to feel like everything that I do is so "ordinary" but every now and then again I get reminded that the little things that I do matter to the people that I am doing them for. It was nice that someone would think to ask me for help, and I love being able to offer that help.

I began a new cross-stitching project yesterday. In all my organizing I found a piece of cross-stitching fabric that I had forgotten about. I had been longing to do another cross-stitch but thought that I did not have any more fabric. What a pleasant surprise! Jacob was excited when I pulled out my box of embroidery floss. "What are you going to make, mama?", he asked. I told him that I was making a picture with flowers and he exclaimed, "Oh good! Mommies love flowers! That's why I like flowers in our house." What a sweet boy he is!

We are still waiting to hear back about the house. I know that God has a plan for us, it's just hard sometimes not knowing what that is:). I suppose I am still working on the virtue of patience. My heart is still young!

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A Busy Little Bee

I have been a busy little bee the last few days. I am trying to figure out ways to store my many, many, (perhaps way too many) craft supplies that do not take up as much space. I know that no matter where we end up moving it is unlikely that I will have space for a craft room, but I would like to have my supplies somewhere handy. I love to create things, my boys enjoy watching me make things, and my husband appreciates my crafting as well. He frequently tells me that he loves when I sew, knit, or cross-stitch and that it is such a feminine thing to do. And Jacob loves to watch me sew. He is fascinated by the process of turning a length of fabric into a dress. So I know that it is important that I find a way to store my supplies in such a way that I can continue these hobbies no matter where we end up. Perhaps I have been a bit spoiled in having an entire room devoted to these things, but I am actually finding lately that I am just bringing my projects into the other rooms so that I can work on them as I have time throughout the day. So while it is a nice luxury, lately it has just been a fancy place to store my belongings.

Yesterday I organized my sewing supplies into a pretty blue and white sewing basket and it was so nice to reminisce about my beginning days of sewing. As I sorted all of the supplies I couldn't help but to think that it wasn't too many years ago when I wouldn't have known what to do with at least half of it. Oh far I have come. Not that I am a master seamstress by any stretch of the imagination, but I have enjoyed the process of learning, and I am still so excited that I can put together a wearable dress. I love being able to choose the fabric and create a dress that is uniquely mine. I have been saving the scraps from each dress that I make that I would love to make into a quilt.

I also spent some time untangling a mess of embroidery floss. I usually wrap all the floss on little cards and store it by color in a box with compartments, but with the last project I made I ended up just piling it all in my basket. So I got all of that situated and in its proper place now. I have a smaller sewing basket that I am using for all of my emboidery and cross-stitching supplies.

We went and looked at the white farmhouse again yesterday evening. Apparently another couple had expressed interest before we did, so we will not know until tomorrow if they are taking it. It was a little disappointing to not have an answer, but I know that if this is where God wants us, then it will work out. And if it is not, then He has something else in store for us. It is difficult to be patient, I sometimes have a tendency to want everything a certain way, but I am really trying to let go and understand that I cannot control this. It is sometimes surprising to people that I can be a "control freak" because I am rather soft spoken and quiet. And I'm not controlling in a bossy pushy sort of way. I just like to have everything in order, and when it is not, then I feel like I have to worry about it. If only I could color code, label and organize everything...But life is not that way. I know that my husband is leading our family according to God's will, and that I can take comfort in that. I know that as long as we are following God that He will provide for us according to what His Will.


"But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." ~Matthew 6:33


He may not give us everything we want but He will give us what we need.

There is still much preparation to be done. My husband has said that whether this is the house or not we are going to be downsizing, so either way I need to do my part of getting us ready.

The little ones are a bit rambunctious today. Jacob, who is usually my calm one, was wrestling Joshua earlier. I am usually having to tell Joshua to calm down a bit, but today Jacob is the wild one.

Our family is in what I have heard described as "the noisy years". We have three little boys aged three and under. Yes, at times it can be a bit noisy, but I am also surprised at how many calm moments we have. I am constantly amazed at how sweet the boys are to one another. I am amazed at how still and quiet that will sit when we sing together. And how tender they can be with their affections. And yes, sometimes I am amazed at the amount of noise and chaous that the can create. What amazes me at times is how they can one minute be wrestling and crashing trucks together and the next minute so tenderly rubbing Baby Joseph's head. They have such a combination of masculine energy and sweetness.

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The Responsibilty of Raising Children

We all know that raising children is a great responsibility, and probably one of the most important works that we will ever do in our lives. It seems that no matter what our religious convictions, this in one fact that most parents agree on. But in my opinion this responsibility seems to carry an even greater weight when we recognize that it is not our own children that we are raising, but Our Father's which He has so graciously loaned to us. How special to know that He has entrusted them into our care, to raise according to His Word, to teach them His love, and how to honor Him in all that they do!

It is amazing how God created us in such a way that we learn the foundations of everything else that we will learn when we are young and our hearts are tender. We must guard these tender hearts with such vigor, and teach them the ways of God before they see the ways of this world.

But how do we do this? How do we teach our children to love the Lord? How do we teach them to obey God first, and to mold our wills into what He wants for us? We show them.

Children learn best with their eyes. They are always watching us. They watch how we go about our work. Do we work with a happy heart, or do we do it begrudgingly? They watch how we interact with our spouse. Are we kind to each other? Do we treat our husbands with respect? Or do we nag and argue? Do we obey him as he leads our family, or do we try and manipulate him through whining and complaining? Do we show kindness to strangers? Are we compassionate? What about the way we speak to the children, do we correct them lovingly and consistently, or do we snap and raise our voices? Are we good stewards of our resources? Do we take good care of our belongings and strive to not be wasteful? Do our children see that we put things away when we are done with them, and clean up if we see a mess? Do our children see us neatly fold the laundry and put it away in its drawers, or do they see us toss the clean clothes in a basket and hope that we can find what we need later? Do they see us lovingly prepare their meals, or haphazardly throw something together at the last minute?

Many of these things may seem like small meaningless tasks, but in seeing how we complete them our children are learning so much! Watching us neatly care for their clothes teaches them to treat their belongings with care. If they see us put things nicely in their places, they will learn to do the same. When they see the love and care that goes into our tasks around the home, we are teaching them that all of the work that we do is for the glory of God!

And seeing the way that we interact as spouses teaches them so much. When their father treat their mother with love, kindness and chivalry, they learn to also treat ladies in this way. When they watch their father open doors for mommy, or pull out her chair at dinner, or lift something heavy for her, they learn to be gentlemen. When they see their mother treat their daddy with respect and reverence, they learn to also treat him in this manner. When they see that she obeys him, they learn to obey authority.

When children see the love of God in all that you do, they learn to love God. When we show them that we act a certain way because we love God, they learn to love God as well. Children naturally have a desire to love God and to please their parents, and this is something that the world teaches them to turn their backs to this desire.

Children learn far more from watching us than from hearing what we say. They are with us every day, and see us in our weak moments, when we are tired or stressed, when someone has hurt us, and when we are disappointed. How we act in these moments will shape the way that our children see us, and they will learn from this. This is a great responsibility and requires a true change in our hearts and not just a change in actions when we are around others.

But oh the reward when our children learn the right things! When our sons treat their mothers with chivalry, and when daughters are polite young ladies! When our children love the Lord and earnestly seek His will! When our children pray and desire to hear His Word! What greater joy could a parent have!

Proverbs 22:6~
"Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it."

A.M.D.G.

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Homemaking Challenge

There is so much going on around here! Well today I need to do some major organization…

1. Organize sewing supplies into sewing basket, cross-stitching and embroidery supplies into a second basket.
2. Organize knitting and crocheting supplies into knitting bag.
3. Organize scrapbooking and cardmaking supplies into rolling organizer.
4. Organize fabric into rolling cart.
5. Organize fabric scraps by color groups into rolling cart.
6. Laundry~ Wash handwash items, Boy’s laundry. Fold, sort and put away.
7. Dinner~ Potluck Casserole.

Happy Homemaking!

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It Could Only Happen To Me...

Oh, sometimes my life is just plain silly. Stuff seems to happen to me where it’s like, “How in the world?” I mean, seriously, crazy stuff just seems to happen in my life.

So the other day I had let Jacob skip his nap because he wasn’t tired and was in a pretty good mood. So when it was time to wake up Joshua, he wanted to do it. So he went to open the door and I was right behind him when suddenly I heard a loud noise and then felt something hit me in the head. Then I heard Jacob screaming and realized that something had hit him too. Apparently the molding across the top of the doorway just fell off. Seriously. It just fell off, hit me in the head and then hit him and then landed on the floor. It was totally insane.

Then today I went to go get something out of the basement. Our basement door is actually a trap door in the school room floor. When we moved in my husband installed a sliding lock on the inside. I was so worried about if a tornado came it would rip off the door and we’d all go flying away. (yes, I realize this is completely irrational, but I am sooooo afraid of storms, and terribly afraid that one would hit in the middle of the day when it’s just me and the children and I wouldn’t have enough hands to hold everyone if a tornado ripped off the door. It made me feel better to know it locked, not that a little lock would stop a tornado, but hey, it made me feel better.) Anyway, apparently the door has somehow locked itself and now we cannot open the basement door. I guess the whole point of a lock is that you cannot open the door, but it never occurred to us that the door might lock itself. Now what???????

I suppose now I just have to wait to for my husband to get home to try and figure this out. He’s gotten some crazy suggestions from his guys at work…one suggested using a giant magnet. LOL I’m not so sure that would work. Oh the silliness…

Mildly Embarrassed at my Ridiculouness, lol,

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Dinosaur Chicken and Tractor Crash

Oh how being the mother of little boys changes you…

I was making the boys chicken nuggets for lunch, and thought “These are probably loaded with all sorts of additives and preservatives that you aren’t supposed to feed to your children.” But then I had the thought “Well yes but they are shaped like dinosaurs!” Like that makes everything ok. But when you are three and your chicken is shaped like dinosaur, it matters. I suppose we can worry about the additives some other day…

Isn’t it funny how little boys just have this inner need to crash things into each other? Apparently being a boy makes you think in very different ways. I personally have never had the desire to crash anything, but what do I know? I don’t have an ounce of testosterone in me, which is probably a good thing. Earlier we had a tractor crash. Yes, I realize that one is a school bus and the other a firetruck, but in our house they are both tractors. Jacob decided about two years ago that his firetruck was a tractor and it has been one ever since. Well then of course Joshua needed a tractor also, so his school bus is a tractor.

Little Joe is just too sweet. The other morning I was walking by his room and I heard him giggling in his crib. He seems to just have an amazing sense of humor. He laughs all the time. I’m not even sure what he is laughing at. Everything is hilarious. But giggles are certainly a nice way to wake up.

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Why Follow a Schedule?

Those who know me well know that I love to organize. I love schedules and lists and charts and calendars. Not everyone shares my passion for organization, so you may be asking yourself, “Do I really need a schedule?”

Do you find that you no longer have time for hobbies that you once enjoyed? Did you set aside knitting or card-making when the responsibilities of keeping the home increased? Did you stop baking bread or cooking from scratch as your family size grew? Or perhaps you always wanted to do these things but thought that you just didn’t have the time?

When we were expecting our second son everyone told me, “Well now you won’t have time to do all that baking”, or “You will have to learn to accept a messy house”, “It’s too bad you won’t have time to make those pretty cards anymore”…

Well I knew that we had hopes of a large family and that we were praying for God to bless us with children. But I also knew that I loved homemaking and making things and that my husband found these qualities endearing. I knew that the smell of freshly baked bread added to the comforting atmosphere of our home. And I knew that seeing the things that I made for our home made my husband happy and that he appreciated the love and time that went into making them. There had to be a way to hold on to these as our family grew!

I needed a plan. A good, working schedule that included time for all that we wanted to accomplish. A schedule that would include time for prayer, time for our children, time for our home, and time for the things that I enjoy.

At first following a schedule can feel daunting. It may feel restrictive or rigid. Many many times I have been tempted to just throw the schedule out of the window. But whenever I stray from the schedule I find myself feeling like I am drowning in a sea of laundry, rushing to get the basics done, throwing dinner together at the end of the day and frustrated that I have had no time for the activities that I enjoy.

But what a sense of accomplishment I feel when my husband comes home to a neat and tidy home with a lovingly prepared dinner waiting on the table. And the children excitedly tell him about what we did during school, and I show him the needlework that I am working on.

Following the schedule gives our home a sense of order. We have found that our children are better behaved and that the chaos that disorganization creates seems to fade away. I feel better prepared in my duties as wife and mother, my husband is pleased to know that his home is well ordered and the children feel secure in the routine.

II Thessalonians 3:11-12
“For we hear that there are some which walk among you disorderly, working not at all, but are busybodies. Now them that are such we command and exhort by our Lord Jesus Christ, that with quietness they work, and eat their own bread.”

In Christ's Love,

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A Bunny Friend and Letting Go

One of the things that is so neat about living in a rural area is that our children get to see God’s creations just by looking out of the window. We’ve been seeing quite a few deer and bunnies lately and yesterday one little bunny decided to stay around for a while, right out side of the school room window. In the school room we have windows that are floor to ceiling on three walls and the little bunny was not more than three feet from us. He didn’t run off even as the boys were talking to him through the window. He looked at us and kind of watched us as we watched him. He was so cute eating the little yellow dandelions. We think that he lives under our porch. There seems to be a whole family of them living there, we see them quite often.

Monday I cleaned out the boy’s dressers and closets and switched out things to the next size up. It seems that things are moving more quickly from one boy’s closet to another's. I used to have to pack the clothes that Jacob had outgrown away until Joshua was ready for them, and the same with Joshua’s for Joseph, but this time around there were quite a few items that just moved straight to the next closet or drawer. As we were getting Joshua ready for bed last night my husband asked “Wasn’t Jacob wearing these nannies (our word for pajamas) just recently?” Joshua is only eight pounds behind Jacob, and Joseph is nearly as long as Joshua (seriously, he is so unbelievably tall). I literally pulled pants out of Joshua’s drawer to put into Joseph’s. And I have pretty much given up on separating socks and undershirts. They now just go into a communal drawer for the big boys. These boys are growing so fast. Not that long ago Joshua was a skinny and somewhat awkward (I mean that very lovingly of course) baby who spit up all the time and couldn’t eat anything, and now he is, well, um, not exactly skinny. I am amazed at how strong he is. He can climb up onto anything as long as he can grip it so that he can pull himself up. It is amazing the arm strength he has.

I’ve had to realize too that I do baby the boys quite a bit. I tend to coddle them, and Jacob has a personality that really allows for that. For instance, I have still been getting him dressed and undressed, it just never really occurred to me that he could do it himself. Now Joshua does not want to be coddled, he wants to do it himself. The other day we were getting into the suburban to go somewhere and usually I pick up Jacob and help him in and then pick up Joshua and put him into the back and then into his car seat. Well I opened the door and then had turned to say something to my husband and I felt someone push past me. I looked down and realized that Joshua had climbed into the back on his own. I had no idea he could do that! He even climbed up into his car seat. So then of course we had to convince Jacob that he could do it too. Yes, Jacob is three, and really should have been able to do it for quite some time now, but he is my cautious little one, and to be honest, I’ve really liked that he wants me to baby him. But I suppose it is time to let go (a little, just a teeny tiny little, right?) I’m sure you the more experienced mothers out there would laugh at me, those who have already gone through adolescence and even had their children marry, but it’s really hard to let go, even if it’s just a little.

Why does it seem that time has gone by so much quicker with Joshua and Joseph than it did with Jacob? Joseph is already scooting around on his belly and almost sitting up, and I know it won’t be long before he’s mobile and talking. He seems very eager to try new things, I suppose watching his brothers makes him want to do more. And all of the sudden Joshua is talking more and more, I hear “Like Jake!” a LOT, which is what he says when he wants to do whatever his brother is doing. I’m sure it won’t be long before I’m hearing “Like Joshie” from little Joe.

Oh my boys, just don’t grow up too fast!

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Homemaking Challenge

Ok, so I haven’t been posting my homemaking challenges lately. It’s just been so busy. We had our vacation and then everything fell behind a bit, and then it was time to start school. We started our new schedule and it is working well. So things are settling back into routine and I have time to blog again.

So my homemaking challenge today is…
1. Bake an apple pie. My husband’s office is having a “Dessert Day” tomorrow, which is somewhat like a pot-luck where everyone is bringing in a dessert. So I am making an apple pie.
2. Finish the newsletter for Modest Melly’s. A bit behind on this one, I intended to send it out last week, sorry ladies!
3. Laundry. I only need to do one load today. I am totally caught up and on schedule on this one. Hooray!
4. School~ This week the focus is on kindness and sharing.
5. Give oodles and oodles of hugs and kisses to my boys. (I’m not sure exactly how much oodles is, but I’m pretty sure that it’s a lot.)

Happy Homemaking!

Happy Homemaking!

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