Simply Devotional

The last couple of days God has given me the promptings and alertness to make time with Him my first priority of the morning. I tend to be the type that overdoes and over plans EVERYTHING!
You know, morning devotion had to be with a hot cup of tea; sitting in my recliner; complete silence of sleeping children; and very early in the morning so that I could completely focus on my bible reading and study for a solid 45 minutes.

Yeah right!

Yep, you guessed it. It almost NEVER happened. And so I just kept feeling guilty.

But then it hit me that I could do more than nothing.
I started by implementing the repeat method with the shortest book in the bible. After all surely I could read 14 verses at least a few times a day.
Then I realized that I could do this very easily first thing upon waking.
So now I keep my compact bible next to my bed. Sometimes I'm nursing baby, or have kids bouncing on the bed but in this very simple easy way I can meet with my Lord first thing. And sometimes I bend my knees next to my bed and converse for just a few moments before the craziness starts.

Another lesson learned....simple is best!

FOR TODAY
November 16th

Outside my window...
SNOW!! We woke up to a blanket of wet sticky snow covering the grass and then shortly after breakfast it started snowing again. I guess by the end of the storm we are supposed to have around 6 inches total, but since it's not very cold out I don't expect it to stick around very long.

I am thinking...
of too much. Trying desperately to find some sense of organization but after being up last night with a teething baby I think a nap will take higher priority.

I am thankful for...
sleep, food, my husband's job, healthy children.

From the learning rooms...
It's been pretty rough around here lately. Last week I cut school short so that we could get some cleaning done but this week I need to push through school even though I have some pretty messy areas in the house still. We only have 2.5 weeks of our first term left but it is getting oh so hard to keep going.

From the kitchen...
Dirty dishes....everywhere:( Since it's snowing and since I've got a sweet tooth we will be making some homemade French Beignets (donuts) and some hot cocoa for a nice afternoon snack. I finally (Praise the Lord) got a dishwasher to replace my old and broken one but we need to get 1 more hose to get it installed and working. Lord willing that will happen this weekend and I will consequently get caught up on dishes a bit quicker.

I am wearing...
Comfy and warm yoga pants and a hoodie:)

I am creating...
Organization! I'm reading through Survival for Busy Women and installing the box system to organize my small house so that I can get more use out of every inch of space. This is the same system that Michelle Duggar uses and recommends in her book "20 and counting".

I am going...
We were supposed to have a field trip (just our family) to the local Insect Zoo to help round out our Nature Study of insects but since I wasn't sure what the weather would hold for the rest of the day I decided to cancel. The kids were kind of bummed but we should be able to reschedule for next week.

I am reading...
George Muller biography
2nd John using the repeat method
Survival for Busy Women by Emily Barnes

I am hearing...
Sadie squealing for some attention, mostly quiet since I sent everyone else to separate rooms for Quiet Time.

Around the house...
We discovered this weekend that our house has no insulation on any of our outside walls!!! This discovery was made after trying to find the source of the mold that has been growing on the boys' room walls and ceilings and around the girls' window. Of course this will mean a total overhaul of each and every room to put insulation in but thankfully we have a small house so it shouldn't be too expensive and DH and my brother can do the work themselves. I'm hoping we can postpone it until after Christmas since the kids and I will be staying at my moms for a week or so afterwards.

One of my favorite things...
Starbucks new instant coffee! I'm in love.

A few plans for the rest of the week:
Clean the laundry room. Make 1 week of supper menus out.

Here is picture for thought I am sharing...

Emi in the leaves


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WFMW-Bathroom organizing

Sometimes it take awhile for me to figure out how best to use organizers. But after a couple of years of these baskets sitting around with no particular use, I finally hit upon an idea that has worked.
Years of having brushes on the bathroom counter and hair paraphernalia in a hard-to-open drawer has made this carrier so helpful. I divide the brushes, hair elastics and barrettes into each separate slot so that everything is easy to find and grab when needed. I keep this on a shelf in the bathroom cupboard under the sink.
(I do have more brushes than is shown but a couple of long-haired children tend to wander off with them and not return)



Although daddy keeps his brush separate to avoid sharing with the kiddos this has helped so much in keeping the kids' toothbrushes from ending up on the floor or the counter smeared in toothpaste. This also sits under the sink on a shelf. Yes, my toothbrush is also in that mix somewhere but a few minutes of running under hot water before use does away with any phobias I might have:)

Works-for-Me Wednesday Thanksgiving

Every year about this time I get a hankering to do some baking. My specialty is pies. I've been known to drag 8-10 pies on a 3 hour drive to family get-togethers every thanksgiving.
I love experimenting with new recipes and making every tiny thing from scratch including whip cream and pudding for cream pies! So much fun and soooooo good.
A few years ago my mom showed me this pie bag she found for rolling out perfect pie crusts and I have used it every time ever since. I found it at the kitchen gadget store at our local mall, so if you're tired of scraping flour off of your counter or having your pie crust disintegrate before it reaches the pie pan then you will enjoy using it.

Simple Woman's Daybook - September 29

FOR TODAY

Outside my window...
The sun is shining, it's a bit chilly and the kids are all begging for jackets "with hoods". I'm slowly digging out warmer clothes as I weed out the summer clothes while I fold laundry. The weather has definitely turned "fallish" and even came close to freezing last night. It seems early for this kind of weather but I'm pretty sure that I blinked and missed a couple of summer months.
I am thinking...
About school and how to better organize our time so that we get the big rocks put in our day first. I'm inspired by Ann's way of journaling what has been done throughout the day instead of looking at a list of what hasn't gotten completed.
I am thankful for...
Teething baby who wants to be held and comforted by me, little boy eager and excited to ride a big bike, hubby who spends his free time fixing broken vehicles to save us large amounts of money.
From the learning rooms...
Crying with the Little Duke over the loss of his father, laughing with Betsy as she experiences a new life, sweating over arithmetic trying to beat the clock, kids giggling at mom holding a tickling worm during nature study.
From the kitchen...
With help from friends the piles and piles of dishes got washed so now I'm doing my best to keep up with them. Need to make some Porky Pine meatballs with about 6#'s of hamburger to eat for supper and freeze for later.
I am wearing...
Pretty much whatever I could find in the dark this morning pulled from my very disorganized drawers. Red yoga pants, wife beater and red shirt.
I am creating...
Lists....in my head. As soon as I get to the store I'll be buying pant for the kitchen cupboards in order to create a lot of mess for a lot of beauty:)
I am reading...
Finishing up Perelandra by C. S. Lewis, a few chapters into Crazy Love by Francis Chan. I am hearing...
Son playing Mary had a little lamb on the piano...note to self schedule a piano lesson in for today, baby fussing for being laid down for a nap, daredevil son riding his bike komokazi style.
Around the house...
Big plans for painting and finishing rooms so that we can sell house soon. Papers to file, laundry to fold, rooms to clean etc. ad infinitum.
One of my favorite things...
Sipping on a hot cup of aromatic hazelnut coffee while sitting in rocking chair snuggled with little son on lap.
A few plans for the rest of the week: GOING TO GRANDMA'S HOUSE.............need I say more:)
Here is picture for thought I am sharing...

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Are you living in the Safety Zone?

Simple Woman's Daybook - August 17th Edition

FOR TODAY...

Outside my window...Bright and sunny after a good drenching rain for most of the night. Great day for a picnic lunch and a nature walk.

I am thinking...that I need to make a schedule for time spent on the computer for both myself and the kids.

I am thankful for...getting our computer back and working after contracting a huge nasty virus on it.

From the learning rooms...now that I have the computer back I need to sit down and get our schedule printed out and finish processing just how our days should go. I have all the books that I need right now although Wes (4) is expressing interest in doing school so I may need to grab a couple things for him....maybe.

From the kitchen...Made a batch of W.W. Pineapple muffins this morning and they turned out really good. I messed with an applesauce muffin recipe to make this happen so I'm glad they turned out. I will sort through the tomatoes that I picked and get them canned today after I check the garden for anymore. Hopefully hubby will get the stove part that we need to fix my big burner or canning will be pretty slow going:)

I am wearing...comfy clothes!

I am going...walking for exercise later tonight.

I am reading...Middlemarch by George Eliot

I am hoping...to get most of the kitchen dishes washed!

I am listening...to Rush Limbaugh and Sadie waking up

Around the house...needs to be cleaned

One of my favorite things...waking up to rain hitting the window

A few plans for the rest of the week:Canning, school planning, homeschool kickoff meeting, cleaning, Wednesday night church.

Here is picture thought I am sharing...

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Run to Christ Jesus!

Run for you Life!

Simple Woman's Daybook - June 24th edition

FOR TODAY...

Outside my window...hot, hot, hot

I am thinking...that I need to stop messing around on this computer and effect a change in the state of my house

I am thankful for...a patient husband, children that sleep at night, air conditioning

From the learning rooms...still reading

From the kitchen...hoping to get some baking done today

I am wearing...red tanktop, white shorts, tennis shoes

I am praying...for patience and energy and joy

I am going...nowhere today or the rest of this week if I can help it although a date night would be really nice

I am reading...Big Red, Laying down Rails, Peter Pan

I am hoping...to have a clean livingroom by the time hubby comes home

I am hearing...kids not doing there chores, daughter singing, toddler being too quiet

Around the house...it's a mess. We haven't gotten everything put away from our week stay at my parents house and the lack of a dishwasher is really taking its toll.

One of my favorite things...laying in bed at night listening to the silence of children sleeping peacefully.....can you tell I'm a bit stressed:)

A few plans for the rest of the week: bake and cook and clean

Here is picture thought I am sharing...

getting dizzy and sick on the merry-go-round at grandma & grandpa's
(after several turns on this Wes came in a threw up all over the kitchen floor!)



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