Well what a day!!!  I have been trying to make as much homemade as possible. For health benefits as well as pocket book benefits. So last night I decided to make softner. I doubled the batch to save from having to do it again soon.  I have a recipe for the detergent that I had made the previous month but I really didnt care for the consistency.  So brilliant me, I tried a new recipe.  I got my ingredients together.  Easy enough.  I look at the ingredient list and it called for such small amounts of the items that I decided that I would triple it to make more.  Keep in mind my last attempt at this was successful I just didnt like the way it came out, however it really worked great. 

Okay so back to where I was at; the last batch was rather small it only filled up one medium sized container of detergent.  I saved my old bottles.  After adding three times the amount than the recipe called for I then read on.... the last portion of it was now add 2 gallons of water to the mixture.  Okay ladies remember that would be 6 gallons.  Not to mention the the misture itself which filled my large pasta pot.  My hubby came home to buckets of  laundry detergent on the counters.  You must let it set 24 hours or until it thickens.  As much as it may seem as that is the worst part.  Where do I put all of this detergent!  How about 5- 90ounce bottles (some of my old detergent bottles)  1 200 ounce Tide container and 2 old milk jugs ( 1 gallon each).  Would you say I have enough detergent for awhile.  The wonderful part about this is my hubby just thinks I am a wonderful wife, because the way he sees it I have saved us alot of money and what other wife would plan so far ahead.  Okay we know the truth.  Next where do I put all of this planned (lol) abundance? 

I know it has been a while since I last sent a little note.  I have been busy with V.B.S. an needless to say we have had music lessons and practice as well as spending time with our neighbor who has been particularly lonely lately.  However I enjoyed my week and saw the Lord bless.  My wonderful and I do mean WONDERFUL husband worked graveyard shift all week.  He got home at 6:30 a.m. and got back up at 7:30 a.m.  we were then our the door by 8:15 to V.B.S. we taught different classes.  He taught the teens.  We we finished up at about 12:00-12:30 and then we came home and he slept from 1:30-3:00 and got up again to do a paper route. (we currently have four) The kids have one and we help with the other three.  He came back home and he slept from 6:30-8:00.  What a dear.  He was really dedicated to this week and those kids.  I am very blessed by his faithfulness.

To give everyone an update.  This has been a very difficult day.  We got all of our test back and I am NOT pregnant.  The doctor wants to start me on some hormone medication to "restart" my system.  I am still praying about that.  As you know it would have been a miracle if I was because of my tubal ligation but the Lord has given both my hubby and I a strong desire to have more and we have been in prayer for this for five years.I spent the majority of the time after that in prayer this morning and reading God's word.  When my hubby awoke I shared the news with him and we were both in tears.  At that moment the phone rang and we found out that my brother-in-law that we no longer see no speak to just adopted a baby girl she is 7 days old.  Normally I am happy about this and able to rejoice with many couples blessed enough to have the opportunity to do this.  However today it was not easy to hear as this baby went to a home with two fathers so to speak.  I pray I do not offend anyone with this but we do not believe this is a situation designed by God.  So my thoughts were somewhat lost today.  Why? That is the only question I have.  I know that it rains on the just as well as the unjust it is just a hard situation to see transpire.  Well sorry for carrying on......We will just continue to pray. Thank you to everyone for the words of encouragement and prayers.  I've missed you all. 

Yes this is my family.  In the front on the left is my baby Angelo 9, Joshua 15 1/2, next row MaKenna 10, Me (?) My wonderful husband, and in the back Michael 13.  We are so pleased to have four wonderful children.  We could not ask for more in our kids.  This weekend, I was sitting in my lounge chair outside when I saw a beautiful bird sitting on a wire.  He or She was looking around and bouncing from one area to another.  I realized it was looking out watching other birds.  Very quickly the bird flew into a large evergreen tree.  The most beautiful sound came from that tree.  Babies birds chirping.  This happened over and over again for the next few hours.  The babies were very quite when the parents werent there.  As soon as the parents entered the tree they were chirping like crazy.  It brought to my mind that those birds would not enter the nest with another bird looking.  Could it be they were preventing any danger to enter into the lives of their young?  It made me think if the birds loved their young so much why should'nt we as parents be much more careful of the things that are brought into our "nests".  When danger can so quickly and easily enter their lives, we must be so much more cautious.  It can enter through movies, music, books, friends, videogames, and our own behaviour.  The list is endless however it can be carefully watched for, and prevented.  Here is just a few ways we keep our eyes open for danger.

1.  Before our kids check out any books we are certain to look them over.  Even doing that has allowed for the occasional book to slip through that has something we find inappropriate.  We have been blessed with kids that alert us to the problems immediately.

2.  We try to play with the kids the first few times they have a friend over, and we try to stay close from that time forward.  Kids aren't always behaved the same when the parents arent around.

3.  We encourage our kids to find good friends within each other. 

4.  We put forth the rules to videogames and movies well before hand.  So when the time comes there is no question as to the guidelines.  By the way we do not allow anything  above G rating unless we specifically have reviewed it ourselves. 

5.  In general we do not allow our children to spend the night over other people's houses.  Our thought on that is; no matter how well you think you know people bad things can happen.  We cannot undo events but we can prevent them through some wise choices. 

These ideas are certainly just that ideas.  For everyone it is different.  This is just what the Lord has lead us to in our child rearing.  Enjoy your week ladies.

By the way we still do not have a answer to our pregnancy.  It is still too early to get a positive test however the symptoms have not subsided. Please keep praying that we are expecting.  Thank you very much your prayers are greatly appreciated.  Ladies you are wonderful.

Getting Ready For Our Monthly Shopping!

Since we get paid once a month we have been trying to do our major shopping at the beginning of the month. It makes for a long day.  However I am so happy that it leaves me with just a weekly trip of fresh produce and milk.  Here are a few tips for those of you who might what to try this method.

1.  Prepare a primary list of meals your family enjoys. I try to keep our meals simple and I double them when I cook so I can have a freezer meal prepared. 

2.  Keep  a master grocery list.  I have divided our items into basic categories and I have gone so far as to put brands I am partial to as well.  I work off of this list every month. 

3.  Keep an on going shopping list.  As we run low on items we write them down on our on-going shopping list.  I keep well stocked up on items so when we are down to the last two (i.e. toothpaste, shampoo....) We put it back on the list.

4.  Keep your eye out for weekly sales and stock up.  I keep a small amount set aside for stock up sales. 

5.  KISS!! Keep it simple sister's.  Remember we are to be good stewards of all the Lord has given us and through my journey I have found that the less complicated things are the easier life is for you. 

In that general theme, I have really decluttered and set up a system that is easy.  We have included our possessions, food, movies, hobbies and toys in this as well.  I know that if I purchase an item I usually get rid of one unless that was a needed item.  The same principle applies with cooking.  I incorporate a new recipe and drop another one I have a list of 31 meals and some I cook twice so I do not need all 31 each month. 

A wonderful advantage with this shopping is the principle of "fat and lean times" applies.  Some month something unexpected comes up and we have to lower our food budget.  However we already have a surplus.  Our Lord is so good, I am grateful for all of His provisions I just want to please Him with how I handle it.  God Bless Sisters.

Well what a day!!!  I have been trying to make as much homemade as possible. For health benefits as well as pocket book benefits. So last night I decided to make softner. I doubled the batch to save from having to do it again soon.  I have a recipe for the detergent that I had made the previous month but I really didnt care for the consistency.  So brilliant me, I tried a new recipe.  I got my ingredients together.  Easy enough.  I look at the ingredient list and it called for such small amounts of the items that I decided that I would triple it to make more.  Keep in mind my last attempt at this was successful I just didnt like the way it came out, however it really worked great. 

Okay so back to where I was at; the last batch was rather small it only filled up one medium sized container of detergent.  I saved my old bottles.  After adding three times the amount than the recipe called for I then read on.... the last portion of it was now add 2 gallons of water to the mixture.  Okay ladies remember that would be 6 gallons.  Not to mention the the misture itself which filled my large pasta pot.  My hubby came home to buckets of  laundry detergent on the counters.  You must let it set 24 hours or until it thickens.  As much as it may seem as that is the worst part.  Where do I put all of this detergent!  How about 5- 90ounce bottles (some of my old detergent bottles)  1 200 ounce Tide container and 2 old milk jugs ( 1 gallon each).  Would you say I have enough detergent for awhile.  The wonderful part about this is my hubby just thinks I am a wonderful wife, because the way he sees it I have saved us alot of money and what other wife would plan so far ahead.  Okay we know the truth.  Next where do I put all of this planned (lol) abundance? 

I know it has been a while since I last sent a little note.  I have been busy with V.B.S. an needless to say we have had music lessons and practice as well as spending time with our neighbor who has been particularly lonely lately.  However I enjoyed my week and saw the Lord bless.  My wonderful and I do mean WONDERFUL husband worked graveyard shift all week.  He got home at 6:30 a.m. and got back up at 7:30 a.m.  we were then our the door by 8:15 to V.B.S. we taught different classes.  He taught the teens.  We we finished up at about 12:00-12:30 and then we came home and he slept from 1:30-3:00 and got up again to do a paper route. (we currently have four) The kids have one and we help with the other three.  He came back home and he slept from 6:30-8:00.  What a dear.  He was really dedicated to this week and those kids.  I am very blessed by his faithfulness.

To give everyone an update.  This has been a very difficult day.  We got all of our test back and I am NOT pregnant.  The doctor wants to start me on some hormone medication to "restart" my system.  I am still praying about that.  As you know it would have been a miracle if I was because of my tubal ligation but the Lord has given both my hubby and I a strong desire to have more and we have been in prayer for this for five years.I spent the majority of the time after that in prayer this morning and reading God's word.  When my hubby awoke I shared the news with him and we were both in tears.  At that moment the phone rang and we found out that my brother-in-law that we no longer see no speak to just adopted a baby girl she is 7 days old.  Normally I am happy about this and able to rejoice with many couples blessed enough to have the opportunity to do this.  However today it was not easy to hear as this baby went to a home with two fathers so to speak.  I pray I do not offend anyone with this but we do not believe this is a situation designed by God.  So my thoughts were somewhat lost today.  Why? That is the only question I have.  I know that it rains on the just as well as the unjust it is just a hard situation to see transpire.  Well sorry for carrying on......We will just continue to pray. Thank you to everyone for the words of encouragement and prayers.  I've missed you all.