Happy Feet! Felted feet!

So, I think I mentioned that I am making all of my gifts this year. I am taking liberty to do everything from "recycled" things. I found this awesome sweater at the Goodwill in Lansing. It called to me. It was worth the $3.60---because it was 100% wool! Yippee!

In order for something to "felt" well, it has to be wool. If you are new to felting, get out to the Goodwill and look for some wool. Except if you live in Rockford, then I will have bought up all the good stuff! (Tomorrow is $1.00 day, and I'm all over it). Felting is the process of those little fibers meshing together during the agitation process (usually in the washing machine). The next time you "ruin" a sweater by washing it in the machine, think about making something with it!

When I saw this sweater, it just said, "slippers". Does clothing talk to you also? Sometimes it says "hat" or "mittens", but this time it just quietly said... slippers for you and Emily.. matching Mom and daughter slippers! The pattern is from Betz White's Sewing Green.

This is mine. I lined them in pink fleece--soft and cozy.

Because I was short on fabric, I chose some leather scraps for the bottom. What? You don't have leather scraps just lying around?

Dig those leggings. I lifted up my skirt and revealed my black leggings..

So, how did Emily's turn out? Just fine.

So, when I got the rough techniques down, I made another pair for a gift for someone. This time, I left the sides open. It makes for ease in putting on..

The dear daughter was sent to the fabric store with a scrap of fabric to buy fleece for the lining. I think she did a pretty good job matching!

Of course I had to make a little hat with the leftovers...

For more tackles, visit: 5 minutes for Mom

Early morning snuggle time

There's something special about the mornings. It took me many years to actually appreciate mornings, but now that I'm not up all night with little ones, mornings are kind of fun.

If I can hoist myself out of bed before the kids, it makes it even more special.

What I usually do is make myself a cup of coffee (another luxury for the post-childbearing years) and snuggle into a favorite chair with my blankie and my Bible.

Will sits across the room and reads his Bible also (no coffee). There's a reason he's in the photo instead of me. When he gets up in the morning, his hair looks normal. He could probably get away with not even combing it. When I get up in the morning, I put on a hat or wear a hooded something. So, you'll have to imagine me, the curly hedgehog, sitting there across the room enjoying myself.

When Emily gets up, she snuffles her way to one of our laps and sits quietly for about a half hour. I continue to read and pray and sip coffee with her all snuggled in.

I know we're at a "golden time" in our lives when our older kids get up and get going with breakfast and Bible reading on their own, and we just have the one little one.

As the older ones are getting up, I scoot to my room and get dressed, make the bed and clean up my room as I get Emily dressed also.

A relaxed, happy morning is what makes my home sing! For more thoughts like these, join us at: Momstheword.

Broccoli-chicken almondine (crockpot)

Because I am a new gardener, can someone please tell me if it is normal in Northern Illinois to have broccoli sprouting around Thanksgiving?

I pulled up almost everything in the garden, except the broccoli and the brussel sprouts. I'm not even sure why I didn't pull them up, but they just looked green and healthy, even though we've already had frost. Now, we really didn't get anything out of these plants all summer, but here we are in LATE November, and we have all of this: ???

So, I picked all of the broccoli (from only 2 plants) and the flat leaf parsley and decided to create a new recipe that celebrates the big harvest.

Broccoli-chicken almondine fantastico...

3 pounds of chicken breasts, cooked and cut up in decent size chunks. Set aside

1 stick of butter

1 small onion sliced lengthwise

1 cup of fresh mushrooms

4 cups of broccoli pieces

1 T flat leaf parsley

Saute the veggies in the butter until the broccoli turns a bright green and onions are soft

Add:

1/2 cup of white flour

1T. of chicken base ( better than bouillon, brand)

2 t. salt (or less)

Stir until a roux forms

Add: 4 cups of milk slowly, thickening it into a sauce

Take it off the heat and add: 1/2 cup mayonaise and 1/2 cup of cream cheese (technically you could eliminate these if you want to be healthier)

Pour all ingredients into crockpot container,

Garnish with: 1 cup of slivered almonds

Cook on High for 3 hours or low for 6

Or: in a conventional oven for 1 hour at 325*

Serve with: whole wheat spaghetti noodles or fettucini. YUMMY!

Menu for the week:

Monday: agape stew/ bread sticks (working on a recipe for this one)

Tuesday: black beans and rice

Wednesday: Italian

Thursday: Asian style (haven't decided yet!)

Friday: ham/ potatoes/ fresh salad

Hope your menu planning is going well. Go to organizing junkie's for more MPM.

Blitz-It Friday # 33: Day after Thanksgiving

Welcome to another Blitz-it Friday. It's officially the day after Thanksgiving, and I hope you all had a nice time with your families and friends celebrating a truly wonderful holiday: Thanksgiving!

Despite my whining about not having guests for this special holiday, I can honestly say it was one of THE most relaxing Thanksgivings we've ever had! My kids are old enough to help, so we divide up the tasks on the big dry erase board in the kitchen. We also made a decision NOT to have lunch and have a 4:00ish dinner, which made even less dishes!

The list on the board looked something like this:

Make stuffing: Nathanael

prepare turkey: Mom

stuff the turkey: Nathanael and Joanna

peel and chop potatoes/ mash: Jamie

sweet potatoes: Daddy and Emily

pie crusts: Mom and Joanna

pie fillings: Hudson, Joanna and Nathanael

green bean casserole: Nathanael

cranberries: Joanna

whip the cream: Hudson and Nathanael

As you can see, I got OUT of a lot of work. I was really planning to do more, but the kids kept saying "No, I want to do that!" I love it how Nathanael gets into the preparations!

So, I did some sewing and made Emily some slippers out of a recycled sweater. She was so excited when I finished the first slipper, she danced around the room. I was so surprised when her face was all glum when I handed her the second one. "What's wrong?" "Is it too tight? not the right color?" What? what?

She just stared at the floor. The poor thing was cold and sick. She had a fever. So, I wrapped her up in her two finished slippers and let her fall asleep in my arms. It wasn't the same without our bubbly one. But her body fought it off, and by the middle of the night, the fever broke and she has been fine all day. There were no other symptoms other than a fever. I have heard that a fever is our body's way of fighting off viruses. And I've noticed that to be true. If I have a fever, I generally make sure I'm hydrated and sleep it off. Most of the time, the virus goes away. Sleep is an amazing thing, isn't it?

Today I did an hour kitchen blitz, which included:

Cleaning the fridge--organizing turkey leftovers, freezing other leftovers, and combining all of my special yogurt. Oh, I am loving making this yogurt!

I wiped down all of the surfaces and appliances which are so easy to see because we have such a beautiful day of sunlight!!

And my regular "day after Thanksgiving" traditions begin.

1. My first tradition is NOT GOING SHOPPING on black Friday. The American Economy is going to have success or failure without me today. I am making my gifts this year out of recycled things.

2.My second tradition is not putting up elaborate decorations. I have a small "seasonal tree" which adds a little bit of color and flair to the room. But I enjoy fall decor more than winter, so I'll keep it this way until January.

3. My third tradition is making potato rolls from the leftover mashed potatoes. It's a nutritional splurge since it's a white flour kind of food. It is a fun way to have turkey leftovers.

4. My fourth tradition is having Friday night (tonight) as a special night with whatever kids are home, since half of our family sings in the "Messiah" (this year Dad and Jo) and the rest of us stay home. So, maybe we'll watch a movie or something fun tonight, while the singers are at the rehearsal.

5. And my last tradition is to go the Messiah on either Saturday or Sunday. It's a free performance and we do it every year. This will be Will's 7th? year singing in it, and Joanna's 4th or 5th year. It's something they love doing.

I hope you can join us if you aren't too busy shopping or cleaning from yesterday!

-------------------------------------------------

If you are new to blitzing, here are some other links on the topic:

Basically, blitzing is forcing ourselves to focus for a set period of time on hands-on tasks.

Read about the: one hour blitz and staying focused.

Also, blitzing with kids is a blast if you are an airchair general.

Glad you could join us! Now you have MANY choices about using the blitz. You are welcome to do/ try any or all of them.... and so many photos to choose from!

And for you guys who like to move slowly, try plodding.

So many kids.. so many directions..

A friend just came over for the day and had to hear about each child--what they are doing, where they are going.. and all that is important in their lives right now.

After hearing about Jamie's good news of his congressional "nomination" for the Air Force Academy (not an appointment yet) and all of the rigors that it has entailed, she sat in Emily's play space and held all of her care bears and had a tea party. And she asked,

"How do you, as a Mom, go from the Air Force Academy to Care Bear tea parties?"

I told her, "I tend to attend more Care Bear parties than Air Force Events, unless I 'm posing as a hedgehog and trying to embarrass someone.."

As far as dealing with the changes that our kids are going through, I am treating each child as an individual and the young, responsible adult that they are becoming. I am expecting them to take responsibility where they need to. As the child gets older, my parenting method is a very hands--off approach. We are guiding, and encouraging--not directing or orchestrating.

If Jamie does get an appointment for the Air Force Academy, it will be because 1) he worked hard for it and 2) God wants him there. It will not be because we have pushed him one way or the other.

And for Joanna, Hudson,Nathanael and Emily, we are attempting to help them find their little path in the world also. First and foremost, we want them to love the Lord Jesus and work hard and excel in all that is in their realm of responsibility: school work, instruments, chores, etc. We don't expect perfection--just honest to goodness hard work. We don't expect all A's--just do it well and on time. We are NOT too hard on our kids. I wouldn't be willing to expect anything unless we are willing to model the same--in our respective spheres of responsibility.

And yes, it is a little odd to be a drill sergeant one minute and Care Bear Queen the next. But God gives help. And every day he confirms to me that it really is a good decision to be at home and not chasing the dollar, even if it means a little more planning and restraint. which.. never killed anyone.

------------------------------------------

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the application process to a military academy, the nomination is the first step. It is ideal to get a nomination at the congressional level, so we are really happy it turned out that way. He still has many obstacles to actually getting an "appointment". That is his goal. I will keep you updated either way.

The unwritten rules about homeschooling.. more than you ever wanted to know!

Since my last post hinted at one of the fundamental unwritten rules about homeschooling and its unique culture, I thought I would give the rest of them, since they are never discussed openly amongst veterans.

1) During the fall semester, the house is not thoroughly cleaned until Thanksgiving week.

We are convinced that having "basic sanitation" is necessary for the first couple of weeks until midterms, then a slow vortex of grunge, paper, dirty laundry and the like starts to accumulate for the rest of the semester. That is why the week "of" Thanksgiving is taken off--so mommies can unearth their precious homes and serve a decent Thanksgiving meal.

2) The entire month of December is lax.

We are subconsciously rewarding ourselves for making it this far, and to be honest, somewhat burned out. No one dares ask, "So, what are you doing this month for school?" in December. Everyone knows that homeschoolers have no money and are making handmade gifts as "school".

3) We purposely do not ask each other the lame questions that strangers feel uninhibited to ask about our children's academic progress, such as:

"Read this outloud for me.." or

"Why doesn't your child spell things correctly?" or

"Add this in your head for me.."

4) It is generally understood that everyone has a mother-in-law or mother who does not like homeschooling.

5) We don't call each other before 9:00 a.m. nor do we ask, "Were you still sleeping?"

6) It's perfectly acceptable and good to expect your children to make you coffee and breakfast in the morning, and get their math going without your help.

7) It's also not perfectly acceptable and good to boast about such children

8) except to your in-laws, who need to always hear something good about those kids

9) When January and February rolls around, homeschoolers talk about upcoming conventions. It's a good idea to go to them, if you are feeling burned out.

10) In the spring is NOT the time whether or not to homeschool your children next year. You need time to recover.

11) June is sacred. No schooling. No discussions about schooling. nothing. zip it.

12) After the fourth of July, you can start thinking about ordering books for next year.

13) You can start school in the summer if you want, but it is perfectly O.K. to wait until after Labor Day.

14) Most of us "dyed in the wool" homeschoolers will never stop teaching our kids regardless of where they go to school, how old they are or how many kids they have of their own. Once a homeschooler, always a homeschooler. It's a lifestyle that lasts a lifetime.

And that is the unique subculture of all that I know about homeschooling. Do you guys have anything to add?

Security or Significance.. you tell me.

I've been entrenched in a great book called Effective Biblical Counseling by Dr. Larry Crabb. In January, both Will and I will go to Moody Bible Institute for a modular graduate level class in Pastoral Counseling. He is taking the class for credit, and I am a tagalong.

There is a ton of reading prior to the class, and I must admit: I love it!! I do not have the gift of compassion or mercy or any of those things. I am not very patient. And yet, God often uses me in counseling situations. Who wudda thunk? So, I asked Will one day, "Do you think I should get some training in counseling?" He thought it was a great idea.

I realize that reading a few books and taking ONE class does not qualify anyone to be a counselor, but it's more training than I have now--which is nothing. And God is always putting me into situations where I wish I had more counseling training. And as far as compassion and mercy go, well... God will have to supply those also.

So, here I am reading.. and reading. I'm not quite ready to put up a sign like Lucy on Peanuts "Psychiatrist 5 cents", but I am learning a lot about how my thinking is not aligning with biblical thinking, and how I have believed some lies, and for some reason, it is just hitting me the right way. Perhaps I just like the counseling jargon, or the way it is written.. or maybe the material is just.. good?

So, what am I learning? If I tell you, please don't neglect to buy the book and hear it from the real professional. I am just processing this information as it pertains to me. (yes, boring little me)

So, according to Crabb, we all have this huge need in our lives for security and significance. And when we feel upset about something, often one of these two areas are threatened. It was a very convenient time for me to be reading this, since I was upset about various things, so I decided to be my own counselor. (cost effective, eh?)

One thing that has been nagging at me for a while.. (And I hate to admit how lame my struggles are, but you guys will understand that I'm just a pathetic little organizing mommy with pathetic little struggles, OK?) is that...

We are going to be having Thanksgiving alone. Yup. that's it. It's just going to be the farkle family at home with NO GUESTS. Now most people would say, "yippee! stress free!" and yet, I was troubled. We've always had guests. Even in Panama, we had tons of people around our table. And then the nagging questions start: Is it that no one in this town likes my cooking? Is it because..??? and the anxiety starts.

Now you tell me: is it my security or significance being threatened here?

Well, it's certainly not my security. I have a home, a family and a turkey. I'm feeling secure alright. I've cooked many turkey dinners (alone)--with no help from outside guests. I already have the stuff.

No, it's definitely my significance. I want to think of myself as a hospitable woman. I take my role as a homemaker seriously. I am threatened by a "lack of company". I feel threatened in some way by this. And so, I sulk, wonder and worry. And I keep wondering: Lord, is there someone we've forgotten?

And while you are either laughing for the outrageousness of my fears or pitying me for having such a small world, I just want you to know that: just writing about this and figuring this out helps me a lot.

The end goal of Biblical counseling is to bring someone to right thinking and maturity in Christ. Obviously, this example proves that too much of my significance is all about seeing myself as a hospitable woman, rather than who I am in Christ. Hospitality is great, but we can't worship it. Nor can we value ourselves so highly or lowly as to think that all God is using us for is this ONE style of ministry. Maybe what we should be doing is fasting and praying that day, rather than eating anything at all.

And these thoughts have been what is making my home sing this week at Mom's the Word.

Blitz-It Friday # 32: food blitz

Well, it's a late Friday night, and I'm so sorry to be late about posting. I had many ideas about blitzing this week, but the "food blitz" came to the top of the list. Most noteworthy was the crockpot yogurt. I really liked it this time. I wasn't so scared this time around either. I think the first time you make it, the idea of leaving warm milk on the counter all night gives a lot of us the heebee jeebies at first. So, here I am--alive and well, after eating this stuff all week. I made it on Monday. What makes for a very yummy yogurt is straining the whey off.

In this small jar, it strained quickly and I got a thick "cream cheese" texture--yummy!

With the rest, it took longer to strain off. The liquid that ends up at the bottom is called "whey". It is used for various things like making kimchee. (which I have never done)

With the thick yogurt, I made a combination of raspberries and sugar and added it in--yummy! Pecans and bananas are also added! I am addicted! I think the family likes it also.

The next project was from last week. I decided to make some things for crockpot and freeze them. A friend of ours has a restaurant, and he gave us these containers. I thought they would be just the right size for..

the crockpot! Oh, what a delight! No defrosting necessary. Since my weekdays tend to be crazy, it is so nice to have a frozen "blop" of a meal to put in the crockpot. Unfortunately, the concept is good, but the meal itself was...

dubbed "the martian meal", which tells you exactly how excited they were to eat miscellaneous "green food". In reality, though, it was not bad, and everyone managed to eat a few bowls each. If they don't like it, they eat enough to survive on. If they like it, they eat every last drop. whatEVER.

And, as it was, the darling daughter just happened to be doing a science experiment for her biology class on the same day as I served this meal. Do you see any resemblance?Her experiment was a combination of split peas, dish soap and meat tenderizer. Who thinks of this stuff? I don't remember Jamie doing this experiment he took biology from Mrs. Larsen, but he probably did! All I remember is a rush order for the paramecium for some big project.

Speaking of Mrs. Larsen, our homeschool co-op is taking a break on Tuesday of next week, which is a relief to everyone because everyone knows that a homeschooling mom does not really clean her house until the week before Thanksgiving. It's just an unwritten rule amongst homeschoolers. There are plenty of those unwritten rules that I should probably go ahead and write down--just in case someone should ever want to know them. But for now, I'll say that one of the fundamental truths of homeschooling is that by Thanksgiving, all of us need TIME to clean our homes.

And blitzing.. whether it's a get a bunch of meals together for the freezer, or swooping through the kitchen, or putting the laundry away in one concentrated laundry folding session are basically survival techniques. They are not normally the deep cleaning sessions which require more than 20 minute blitzes here and there. But blitzing helps keep things to a workable sanity level, even on the busiest days. It saves us from giving up altogether and being swooped into the vortex of the eternal household tornado..

So, how are the rest of you doing?

-------------------------------------------------

If you are new to blitzing, here are some other links on the topic:

Basically, blitzing is forcing ourselves to focus for a set period of time on hands-on tasks.

Read about the: one hour blitz and staying focused.

Also, blitzing with kids is a blast if you are an airchair general.

Glad you could join us! Now you have MANY choices about using the blitz. You are welcome to do/ try any or all of them.... and so many photos to choose from!

And for you guys who like to move slowly, try plodding.

Pausing for Rhonda

Out of all the things most tragic in this life, one of the worst has to be when a mom departs from this world, leaving a husband and children behind.

Sure, people die everyday--some accidents, some elderly, some.. but not someone you know. Not someone whose husband sits next to my husband at work. And even though the cancer has been coming and going for seven years, the day of her parting was unknown until yesterday.

Sometime in the morning hours, on the Lord's day, a weak, frail body adorned by a strong, determined soul went to be with her Lord and Savior.

I know very little about Rhonda's life. She was a principal of a Christian school in town. No doubt, every student and family of the school will be at the funeral. I only met her once--at last year's company Christmas party. She and Brian stood at our table, nibbling hors d'ourves. She was tall, slim and pretty. She smiled politely. They had several engagements that night and stopping off at the party was just one of many things they had to do that evening.

I gobbled up my plate and was seeking out more food when I wondered how she.. how they.. were doing it. Was she in pain? Was she nauseated? Was she aware that this was her last company Christmas party? Others at the party were talking, singing, getting drunk.. (the usual) and there she was..

Then again, what is she supposed to do? Give up? Decide to stop life?

And what is he supposed to do? There's Brian--Mr. Fitness himself. When he wasn't working, he was working out--3, or 4 hours a day. When he was working, he was double distracting himself by listening to music on his earbuds or encouraging others. Everyone who was trying to loose weight or wanted to run or wanted attention, there he was. He was always "Mr. rah-rah" to whomever needed encouragement. Will said that he ended every conversation with a thumbs up and "that's great!" to anyone and everyone who came near his desk.

And Will should know. He sits right near him. Brian was the cheerleader of many, so he made it his business to encourage everyone.. until last Friday.

Something happened that Will had never observed before. Brian realized that for the first time since this disease started (cancer) that "we're not going to win this battle".

And as of yesterday, the battle was officially over. For Rhonda, she is at peace. For Brian, who like many men dealing with grief, had not faced reality until recently. The new battle is just beginning. There is so much to learn and suffer through before the peace comes.

Pray for this family. Pray that Will can be a source of encouragement to him in the coming days also.

(photo of the family and their two daughters)

Monday madness..

So, here we are--back at the Rockford ranch, after a quick trip to Lansing, MI. Our Canadian relatives met us at a half way point. We stayed in a nice hotel with a pool and enjoyed some restaurants and swimming with the kids.

Have you ever noticed that memories are encapsulated in different ways? Some people just look at a picture, and it brings back a flood of memories for them. Others, hear a song or smell a scent.. but for me... can you guess? It's funny things people say. It's like they are permanently engrained in my memory system, and all I have to do is hear something close to the expression, and all the memories start coming back.

So, I am going to combine relaying a few of the memories of this past week with things that others have said. You tell me, is it just me, or are these Seinfeld-worthy???

This one actually happened before I left for the trip. On Thursday night, Jamie had a home interview with an Air Force recruiter that was for the parents. So, the interview is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. At 6:00 p.m., Jamie was getting nervous. There was no sign of Mom or Dad. Thankfully Grandma was still visiting and had the house picked up etc. I was taking a rest and was getting up and getting in the shower. Dad was on his way home. Grandma was trying to reassure Jamie that Mom would be up and ready. He said, "Yeah, I know she'll be up, but she'll look like a hedgehog!"

(Hence, the need for a shower! I know my hedgehog tendencies better than anyone. Surprisingly, the interview went well, and both of us showed up with hair in place!)

This next story is going to sound like I'm making fun of my mother. If you knew my Mom, you'd know that she can laugh at herself prettily easily, and this is just the sort of thing she will find funny down the road. But for the moment... she's still recovering.

So, we're driving home from Lansing, and it was a Saturday late afternoon/ early evening--not exactly rush hour. Nevertheless, in Chicago, traffic slows down in the city no matter when you go through. I was trying to get her to let me drive, but she was gripping that wheel, and I could tell she was not enjoying this experience. So, rather than complain, she says, "Your father would not like this traffic."

Me: "Oh, really? What would he think of it?"

Mom: "His shoulder would be twitching constantly. I just couldn't bear to watch him with that twitching shoulder.."

Me: "Is the traffic that bad? Do you think it would make him nervous?"

Mom: "It's awful. This traffic is just awful."

Me: "So, Dad would not like it? But, you are O.K. with it then?"

Mom: "Oh, I'm fine!" (Kids in the backseat and I exchange smiles)

Me: "Well, so am I. Why don't you let me drive then? When the cars stop, I'll just get out, and we'll switch drivers!"

Mom: "No way. Everyone is so impatient, and they've all been drinking! They are driving crazy!"

Me: " Well, I doubt everyone has been drinking..."

I'm so glad that Dad is at deer camp rather than driving in this traffic that would have made him nervous. I'm also so glad that Mom is as cool as a cucumber under the 4:30, Saturday evening traffic of Chicago. Now that we've got that straight, I think I'll be driving next time. It's just too hard watching her shoulder twitch...

Makes my Home Sing! to laugh at these things! hosted by Moms the Word.

Menu planning Monday:

Monday: Cream of whatever soup/ homemade bread

Tuesday: pasta+ sauce (for lunches) and swamp dish for dinner

Wednesday: Calico beans

Thursday: chicken casserole (frozen) in crockpot

Friday: clean out the fridge soup

For snacks: hummus (I use dried beans, which I cook in a pressure cooker and one real jalapeno pepper, diced.

And I've also got yogurt brewing in the crockpot.

For more great menus, visit organizing junkie's MPM

Things that make me think: Link-licious

LINKs that make me THINK

1. Codex Alimentarius: Can someone tell me if this is REAL or a scam? If it's real, I'm going to turn into a paranoid wreck of a healthnut very soon.

2. Can you believe that I was going to make a pattern, and here it is for free? Woolen beret by Martha Stewart. So, maybe wasting my time on this sort of this sort of thing is really a waste of time?

3. Can it be this easy to make soap? I need to do this. FIMBY soap making. Yes, it will involve some work and investment, but I think the long term benefits will be good.

4. Can you really live without money? Suelo does. Read about him on Emily's blog (below)

5. who has mastered the art of simple living and making yogurt-type of stuff. I tried it once, but I never tried straining the mixture with a cheesecloth!

6. Inspired for crafting! Love this simple leaf quilt thing.

That's all the inspiration and thinking I can handle right now!

Blitz-It Friday # 31

Welcome to another week of blitzing!! For all of you who look forward to a weekly motivation, here I am!

This week my mother has been visiting, and she said to me, "You know, honey, everyone has their spiritual gift, and yours is butt-kicking." Thanks, ma.

Well, what have we been doing this week? As usual, life is packed to the gills with stuff, but I did manage to get my goals done with: cleaning the freezers, menu planning, laundry, ironing and sewing! And those were basically done before the weekend was out. During the week, I spent time focusing on fitness. This week, I did a cardio workout 3 times!! I wanted to go today also, but I was too tired.

Our son, James, is in the grueling process of applying for the United States Air Force Academy. He had some tough interviews already, and has signed up with a personal trainer. Tonight we had an informal interview at the house, for the parents. It went well, but there's still a lot to do, and so much of it is uncertain. If you asking me what his chances are compared to some other student applying, I'd have to say: I have NO IDEA. The selection process is very tough, and he has a backup plan also. For those who live in my area, the Manzulo interview was extremely tough. James came home properly deflated from it, as probably all the students do. (The applicants are interviewed by a team, not Manzulo himself)

Anyway, that is one of the reasons this post is going up so late. Both Will and I are trusting in God's best for our son. We will not be disappointed if he does not get an appointment, because we know God is Sovereign, and we have all done everything we can do! But if you are reading this and would like to pray, by all means, do! Pray for God's best for our Son. Pray that we would all be obedient and thankful for his provision. Pray that we would give God the glory in all that happens in James' life.

It's such a journey being a Mom, isn't it? One minute your changing a diaper on a child, and the next minute they are trying to go to the military. How does this happen?

For this weekend: Mom and I are taking some of the kids on a little road trip to Lansing, MI to meet up with some relatives. I can't wait to see my cousin and her two little ones, and my Aunt. We will stay in a hotel with a pool and have a little vacation. The Dad and boys are going to have a men's breakfast/ trap shoot.

So, I am not planning anything by way of organizing or cleaning or ironing or sewing for the weekend. Shocked?!!

Hope you can join us this week!

-------------------------------------------------

If you are new to blitzing, here are some other links on the topic:

Basically, blitzing is forcing ourselves to focus for a set period of time on hands-on tasks.

Read about the: one hour blitz and staying focused.

Also, blitzing with kids is a blast if you are an airchair general.

Glad you could join us! Now you have MANY choices about using the blitz. You are welcome to do/ try any or all of them.... and so many photos to choose from!

And for you guys who like to move slowly, try plodding.

Bible Study Tackle part II

In yesterday's post, I gave a list of verses that pointed toward the imperatives in II Timothy.

So, here's the list again, with the "answers".. if any of you did it! I have highlighted what I found to be the imperative verbs. I may be a little rusty on this! Perhaps, your versions are worded differently. Either way, I hope you find this to be edifying.

I found these imperatives in II Timothy. I use the ESV (English Standard Version)

1:6 fan into flame the gift of God

1:8 (2 x)do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord

and: share in the suffering for the Gospel

1: 13 Follow the pattern of sound words

2: 1 Be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus

2:2 entrust to faithful men.. (what you have heard)

2: 3 Share in the suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus

2: 7 Think over what I say

2: 8 Remember Jesus Christ

2: 14 (2X) Remind them.. Charge them..

2: 15 Do your best to present yourself to God.

2:16 avoid irreverent babble

2: 19 Let everyone.. depart from iniquity..

2: 22 (2X) flee youthful passions AND pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace..

2: 23 Have nothing to do with foolish controversies

3:5 Avoid such people

4: 2 (5 x) Preach the word, be ready.. reprove, rebuke, and exhort...

4: 9 Do your best to come to me..

4: 13 bring the cloak

4: 15 Beware of him..

4: 19 Greet Prisca and Aquila...

4: 21 Do your best to come...

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How do you like to study God's Word?

Bible Study Tackle

I don't know if everyone loves IMPERATIVES as much as I do.

Imperatives are direct commands, either with a stated or implied "you".

For example, I said, "Clean your room" that's a direct command with an implied "you".

I could have said, "You, clean your room" that's an imperative with a stated "you". Both are imperatives.

It's a very strong way of speaking. When someone uses an imperative, he means to get our attention. For example:

Be strong. Get organized. Stay the course. Lay low.

Think about how strong those statements are compared to these:

You might want to think about getting strong.

Staying organized is a good idea.

I would encourage you to stay the course.

Smart people often lay low.

It's not just the extra words, it's the grammatical structure that makes them weaker statements. In a bigger sense, they are not bad statements, just less powerful. Less powerful statements are a necessary part of our language because we would overwhelm people if all we did was speak in imperatives.

God speaks to us in imperatives as well as other ways. All Scripture is God's word, so don't misunderstand what I am about to say.

If we fail to see the imperatives, we have failed to see the "big picture" of what is going on in the chapter/ the book or the Bible. We have failed to see direct commands to us. Oh, not every book of the Bible has direct commands to us, so it is nice to see when something is waving its hand, trying to get our attention. If there are no imperatives in the whole book, we have to look a little harder to find the big picture. I am just saying that this is a very easy, obvious way to do it.

It's a strong form of language, so every so often we need to have many other forms of language adorning those strong statements. In other words, even very direct people who speak very directly, need to soften up with sentence variation. (note to self..)

We were looking at 2 Timothy yesterday in our meetings. While I was listening, I was also making lists. (I multi-task all the time.. it's a mental illness...)

Anyway, I found these imperatives in II Timothy.

If you would like to find them yourself, I'll give just the references first:

In II Timothy, (this is what I found, at least. Maybe you would find more/ or less)

1:6

1:8 (2 x)

1: 13

2: 1

2:2

2: 3

2: 7

2: 8

2: 14 (2X)

2: 15

2:16

2: 19

2: 22 (2X)

2: 23

3:5

4: 2 (5 x)

4: 9

4: 13

4: 15

4: 19

4: 21

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Answers later! I'm amazed at the impact of 4: 2! Wonder where the punch of this letter is?

Tackle it Tuesday/ 5 minutes for Mom link up

Leftovers? What are those?

Have you guys ever noticed that when I plan a menu, I actually have something different EVERY night of the week?

It's not because we don't like leftovers. We just don't get enough leftovers out of any meal for another one unless I cook a turkey or ham or enough casserole for the Rockford Rescue Mission.

I'm just saying.

Tonight I made two entire chickens. There are five small pieces left, and that's because I had 3 filling side dishes.

This week four loaves of bread were made on Wednesday, I was actually surprised to find anything left by Thursday night.

If we buy apples, I usually buy 3 big bags which lasts us through the weekend (if I buy them on Friday)

Cheese? the 10 pound bag is a nice size.

Beans? I always cook the entire bag.

Rice? I make 3 dried cups with 6 cups of water.

Salsa? one quart jar a week.

pancakes? triple batch for one meal

Eggs? 3 cartons of 18 each/ a week

Milk? only one gallon. I don't encourage kids to drink milk--just for cooking/ cereal.

Juice? juice is a luxury. I only usually have it for guests because my mother in law says, "A morning without orange juice is like a morning without sunshine" whatEVER. I guess that means guests expect juice. My kids drink water in the morning. How primitive.

Dried cereal? No. expensive and a whole box doesn't even cover the morning rush. Not worth it. Sometimes grandma shows up with it, so they eat it then.

Convenience foods? not much. not healthy/ not cost effective usually. I do try to have some cake mixes on hand for potlucks and guests. I also love pre-made crackers and pretzels..

BUT, when we did have a smaller appetite family,

I loved doing things like this:

Once a Month Cooking. I remember thinking how BIG the dishes were!

There are several good posts up these days for reusing leftovers. At this point, I can not imagine having leftovers from a potroast or a package of chicken. But I know there's a few of you out there who may love this kind of stuff:

Getting several meals out of a cooking session

from:

Keeper of the Home

four meals in four minutes (this is some sort of MLM)

(I can not imagine those small bags even making ONE meal, let alone two.. but in 10 years, I'll revisit that idea)

2 hours to prepare meals for weight loss (for a single person, but you get the idea)

Hope this gets you inspired.

Back to Menu Planning!

O.K. then, here I am on a Saturday night, after having finished a fabulous meal.

Do you know why it was fabulous? It's not just because it was fried chicken, mashed potatoes, acorn squash, and collard greens, although that is yummy.

The reason it was fabulous is because I actually HAD a PLAN. I had Jamie go to the store for me on Friday after his class (Rock Valley College is exactly one mile from Woodmans) and pick up my groceries. We always save money when HE shops. Thanks, Jamie!

And I would not call myself a procrastinator, but in this area of menu planning, I am guilty. Guilty. guilty. guilty.

And I even wrote THIS POST about getting started with menu planning. I think I need to go back and read it once a week to give myself a mental boost---LOL.

So, another reason to get organized with the food is because there are some days that are really busy--even too busy to cook. So, it may be wise to cook ahead a few meals for the busy days. (yeah, I know.. EVERY day is a busy day...) But there are some days that we are OUT for the entire day. I would love to come home to a warm crock pot full of food on those days, wouldn't you?

So, for this week:

Saturday: Martha's fried chicken, mashed potatoes, baked acorn squash, and collard greens.

Sunday: (leftovers) and teens eat at chapel for teen study, Wolfgang Puck pizza for dinner

Monday: chicken ala king with rice (frozen ahead)

Tuesday: tomato pie (frozen ahead) and grilled cheese

Wednesday: Moose roast/ baked potatoes

Thursday: cream of whatever soup (frozen)

Cream of whatever soup:

This is easy. Take an onion and chop it up. Fry it in a stick of butter. After the onion is soft and butter melted, add a half cup of white flour. Add 2 t. salt and 2 t. better than bouillon and 2 cups of milk. Stir on med/ med high until thickened.

This will make a very thick roux.

At this point, you can cook up whatever vegetables and meat and potatoes to put in there. If you want to freeze it, you can freeze it at this point. When you place it in the crockpot (frozen) add more liquid as needed. (Why add the water before freezing? It just takes up space in the freezer)

Here's a good combination to put in the roux: 4 cups of cooked potatoes, 1 cup of chopped ham, 2 cups of corn. (You get the idea)

For more menu planning: organizing junkie's MPM

For more Makes my Home Sing Mondays: Moms the Word.

Blitz-It Friday # 30

Welcome to your free weekly butt-kicking in household chaos control!! So, what is the crazy Organizing Mommy up to this week? Well, I dumped the contents of my fabric supply on to the floor. Really exciting!

Yes, there really is MORE. This pile is the many "started projects", miscellaneous wool, jeans and scraps.. Oh, what fun. She who will use up other people's scraps must also organize them.

And it took a frenetic 2 hours of constant blitzing to get this mess under control. What was I thinking? I was so buzzed at the end of the night, I could hardly form two syllables in a row that made sense. Do you guys get that way, or is it just me?

And I did get rid of a bag or two of decent fabric to donate to a friend.

I also decided to list the first 14 known projects that I have started or have materials for. I am on #6, for those who are wondering. I finished piecing that quilt top, and my dear MOTHER is quilting it for me.

I have made a promise to my Mom never to make another quilt. We'll see how long THAT promise lasts! She assures me that it will be FINE if I decide to make another one. I think I'm done, unless someone can invent a way of quilting that does not involve skill and precision and perfectionistic tendencies.

I like designing. I don't even care so much about the sewing of it, except I'm always dying to see if my design is a good one. And since I do not have "sewing rats" under me, I have to do the sewing myself. Anyone want to be a sewing rat for me? Nevermind. You don't need that torture.

And all of this cleaning of the craft room and sewing has alerting me to the fact that I can not sew and keep up with the rest of the world. I may even need to go back to planning meals if I am going to pretend to be a big sewing designer!!

Here is something else I've discovered: I can blitz with kids almost the entire house and have a meal in the crockpot BEFORE 9:30 a.m. if I have to. I'm just saying. I've done it once, and therefore; it can be done.

For this weekend, I would like to:

Menu plan, clean the freezer, laundry, iron shirts, and maybe if I'm a good girl.. some more sewing! What about you? Feeling motivated? Feeling the need for a blitz? Love to have you join us!

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If you are new to blitzing, here are some other links on the topic:

Basically, blitzing is forcing ourselves to focus for a set period of time on hands-on tasks.

Read about the: one hour blitz and staying focused.

Also, blitzing with kids is a blast if you are an airchair general.

Glad you could join us! Now you have MANY choices about using the blitz. You are welcome to do/ try any or all of them.... and so many photos to choose from!

And for you guys who like to move slowly, try plodding.

Funny things the kids have said lately..

I'm home, instead of at prayer meeting, recovering from a headache and my crazy life.

One thing that cheers me up is to remember the funny things the kids say.

I met my kids at their music lessons and showed up with my jacket on. Emily was watching Joanna's lesson when I showed up. (I go to the Y and teach a class on Wed. mornings and meet them at lessons) So, I pulled Emily on to my lap and started to take off my jacket. She quickly closed the flaps of my jacket and said,

"Mommy! You forgot to take off your pajamas!" (I had on a red flannel shirt that looked like my pajamas)

This past weekend I made some beans. I pulled out a frozen ham bone (a shank ham) and added it to the beans in the pressure cooker. When it came time to serve the beans, I left the bone in (all of the meat had fallen off) and Nathanael comes in and says,

"WHAT is in the beans?"

"A ham bone"

"Oh, I thought it was a HEART!"

(Yeah.. I always serve HEART SOUP!!)

Hudson (who also takes the same science class as Nathanael) says,

"So, what was it? I was going to say HEART also.."

So, this week I went in to observe what's going on in that crazy science class they are taking. It seems like every week she brings in a real animal organ. (gross. crazy. Can you see why we are "farming out" these upper grades?)

And probably the funniest of all, but not to you guys unless you know my kids... is a conversation that Joanna and I were having about "being handsome" or not and whether or not it is important.

So, I, being weird as usual, asked her, "Do you think Jamie thinks it's important to be handsome?" (Jamie is our 17 year old boy/ oldest) She said, "NO!"

At that moment Jamie cruises through the room, and I say,

"What do you think about being handsome?"

And he says, "I don't see any purpose in it."

So, there you go. Why did WE, at that age, in our shallow minds think this kind of stuff is important anyway?

Anyhoo.. got to get back to the ranch. I haven't blitzed in 48 hours, and it shows.

Sewing blitz..project fair

Here's a few of the sewing projects that have been happening around here.

First, I dove into the Goodwill bag and pulled out some "gems" that I had been saving for the fall sew. So, I purchased several sweaters and felted them.

The wool was almost too thick to cut and sew! Yes, I broke several needles--ugh!Then again, what's a sewing day without a bunch of broken needles? It will be worth it, when the snow falls..
Remember THIS project? I made it out of denim and recycled wool.

Well, one of my friends went GaGa over it, and asked me to make her some bags for her nieces and children. So, I made a few of these "rough drafts" to see what sort of designs/ sizes she likes. She wanted one smaller size, and one big enough for a notebook.
This butterfly is one of the designs. Emily picked out the colors, and Joanna wanted to bead a little bit on it.
So far, this one is only a flap..
And then, I thought this frog was a cute idea..

And a happy butterfly on a leaf!
All the projects were made with recycled denim and wool. I just lined them with fabric I had in the house.

So, the sewing factory is in full swing! For more projects: go to Tackle it Tuesday at 5 minutes for Mom.

Keeping the project-mind organized.

This week for Make your Home Sing Monday, I am going to tell you one of my all-time sanity keepers for an over-committed, highly creative, pack-too-many activities-into-my-day kind of mom.

Are you ready? This is profound.

O.K. here it is:

Clean up after yourself.

Is that it? You paid good money to hear that?

Well, O.K. it's actually more than that, but that is the basic concept.

When you want to get something done that involves materials, craft supplies, fabric, stuff.. you need to have a cleanup plan.

I don't know about you, but when I'm in the creative mode, I'm not thinking about anything related to cleaning or organizing. I just shut that side of my brain off.

So, I have a policy for crafting.

1. Clean up the work area at the END of the DAY.

Oh yeah? I don't care IF you are going to get back to it first thing in the morning; you'll like it a whole lot better if you can return to a clean spot. If you want to keep the sewing machine out, just rethread it, fill the bobbin, clean up the scraps, and lay out the stuff neatly. There's nothing worse than starting a sewing project with a hunt for the scissors!

And if you can manage to finish a project, and there's time to do MORE than one project in one day, then you need to:

2. Clean up the work area BETWEEN PROJECTS.

Start each project fresh! Put away the thread, interfacing, pattern, etc. from the first project. If you don't, all of your pattern pieces will be mushed together, and the orange thread will be rolling around on the floor etc.

This weekend I literally PLOWED through several sewing projects at a blitzing pace, hoping to make a dent in some things. It was amazing! I'll get some pictures up this week, but I am so excited!!

And tonight when Mom, Joanna and I were all sewing at the same time, in the same room, we all picked up after ourselves. You can imagine what chaos it would be if we didn't!! (I'll have to show you how four machines fit on ONE table! (3 sewing, 1 serger)

So, that's what is working for me!