Merry Christmas!!

I am finally posting the finished picture of my christmas decorations. Hope you enjoy! Hope you all have a Merry Christmas!!!

No Media = Less Distractions

I chose to remove media from my day in order to remove distractions and focus on Me (not selfishly but to get things in order in my life)! Isn't it ironic that when you begin to remove things from your live others just tend to move in on it. I have been thinking of so many things I could be doing on the internet lately since I decided Not to be on the internet. Someone asked me to be their friend the other day on Facebook. So of course I joined and got into adding pics, comments, etc on there. Also I have been searching for things such as a play kitchen on Craigslist for Zeke for Christmas as well as other gifts and looking for events around town for New Years Eve. If you have ever searched the internet you know that when you start looking for one thing it leads to many many others.
So starting today for the next 19 days I will allow myself 30 minutes each day to blog and check email, and anything else I need to to. After that I will put up the computer.
God has still changed somethings in me during this time so far. My communication with Mike has gotten better. We both have been a little more patient with eachother. I have been letting things go that I can't control. We have enjoyed our time together with and without the kids. Abi has gotten on more of a schedule and Zeke has been going to bed easier and taking better naps. God has blessed me in all these areas! Abi has even been sleeping til 7:30 am for the past week. (no 5am bottle)
Getting up early is still a challange for me. Mike and I are going to work together to both get up earlier in the AM. This also means we will be working together to get to bed earlier as well.

God Bless!!

Live each day to the Fullest

I was encouraging my sister yesterday to live each day to the fullest. I thought about what I had said to her and decided to encourage myself with the same advice. Each day we have 24 hours we will never get back. I hope to not waste that time worrying about something I cannot change, arguing with my husband or anyone else about something that doesn't matter, not allowing my kid to be a kid because it will make a mess. I hope to enjoy each and every minute of every day! Letting go of having everything figured out and everything "looking" perfect. I am gonna let it all go (within reason, of course) and just enjoy this life God has placed me in one minute at a time!

I tend to look forward to the next big thing on our calender instead of enjoying each moment so right now I am enjoying my kids napping and me relaxing while blogging. About to clean up the house before my amazing hubby gets home. Then we will be going to have a date night! Thanks tosh for keeping a kiddo for us!

Remember to enjoy every moment, you will never get it back! Hope everyone who reads this has a wonderful day!!!

Christmas Decorations

I was beginning to decorate my home for Christmas this year and thought I would post a few pics. Last year I started a tradition of purchasing picture frame ornaments and framing a picture of each family member each year. So we put up the tree. Put on the lights. Added our picture frame ornaments from last year (I haven't bought any this year). Then Zeke and I made the rings out of construction paper. He was so good at helping me with the tape. I also purchased a Window cling thing of the nativity scene for our front window. I am going to hang blue lights there also. I am also planning to make an angel topper for the tree out of construction paper. It is amazing what you can do with things you have around the house. I am posting a couple of pictures from this morning and will post a few more when we finish. (we have to go out and get an extension cord to finish!) One pic is of Zeke and his car. We made a wreath for his car! I thought it was too cute!

Gift Cards

Some places offer specials that when you buy so much in gift cards you get an extra gift card. For example if you buy $25 in gift cards you get an extra $5 in gift cards. If you are planning to shop at these places it would benefit you to purchase the gift cards and get the extra cards!

Just a thought!

Tom Thumb gas - $1.27 per gallon

Today I got gas for $1.27 per gallon. If you shop at Tom Thumb you probably already know that for every $100 you spend you receive 10cents off per gallon of gas. Well, did you know that if you have earned more than one of those you can add them together?? I did not know this. I had earned 4 and was able to save 40 cents per gallon of gas today! Pretty Neat!

Day 2 - No Media

I made it to Starbucks this morning! Abi woke me up around 5:30am so after feeding her I was dressed and off to Starbucks. I got my Nonfat Caramel Machiato and found me a very quite corner and spend some awesome time studying the Word of God! I have been drawn to several passages in Proverbs. I continued to meditate on Proverbs 31:12. I have had much energy and patience today. I made a to do list this morning and accomplished more than 3/4 of it. I also had time to make pizza for lunch and run a couple of errands this afternoon. It is amazing to me how diligently changing one area of your life affects all the other areas.

I struggle with not reading other blogs, etc when I am online blogging. I have been checking Craigslist, etc for gifts for Christmas and ordering pictures, etc. I want to be more diligent to only get online to blog.

I will be back tomorrow with another day of No media!

Day 1 - No Media - Proverbs 31:12

Proverbs 31:12

"She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life"

Wow, what a scripture to start off this amazing time with the Lord. Please tell me I am not the only one who has ever been mean, hateful and down right ugly to their husband. I hate to admit that this is how I was over the weekend! I am astonished at some of the things I said to my husband and really emberassed about some of the ways I acted. I believed so many lies the enemy was telling me and in turn took everything out on him. I was on my period over the weekend but I do not want to lean on that as an excuse but to notice that this is the time during the month that I struggle. I hope this drawing to the Lord will help me to do better in 28 days when I am faced with this struggle once again.

I am going to work on memorizing this scripture this week. I will also be working on getting up early to spend time with the Lord. We have a Starbucks across the street from where we live and I plan to walk my little self there tomorrow at 6am!

When I read Proverbs 31 or a book about being a good wife/mom, I sometimes get discouraged and think that those women must have super powers to be able to do all those things in a 24 hour period. To me it is impossible. What I/we have to take notice of is that they do have super powers, Jesus! If we are consistantly communing with him everythings is so much more possible. I believe for me it has to be the beginning of my day. I have tried to work it into the later part of the day and it does not have the same effect. So for tomorrow, I will attempt to arrise early and spend those early moments with my Heavenly King! Then I will be better prepared to serve my Earthly King!

Menu Plan Monday - Week of Dec 1

We will be going out of town later this week so my menu is short.

Monday - Pasta with Veggies
Tuesday - Homemade Pizza, Salad and Brussel Sprouts
Wednesday - Taco Soup

I wanted to add that the Pumpkin Pancakes I made last week were yummy! I got the recipe from Money Saving Mom. I also tried the Pumpkin Dinner rolls from MSM as well and they were a huge hit. I made a tester batch last week and decided to make them for Thanksgiving. My family loved them. They were easier than I expected.

Thankful

I got busy last week but I did want to post at least this one more thing I am thankful for!!


MY HUSBAND - my husband is very patient with me.

I am grateful for a husband who encourages me to be honest, to take care of myself, and who loves me even when I do not deserve his love.

My husband is a great father. He loves to be around Brandon, Zeke and Abi. He and Brandon have a very open relationship. Brandon knows how Mike feels about things and He knows that Mike is the boss but he also knows he can talk to him about anything. Mike loves to play with Zeke. Zeke loves his daddy too! He loves to watch for him at the window and to give him kisses when he gets home. Abi knows her daddy's voice too. She will completely turn her head just to see him when she hears him.

My husband is a great leader. Mike wants what is best for our family. He is a great provider. He decided that we should move closer to his job so that he could continue to work hard for us but also be around us more. Now we are so blessed that we can have lunch together most days.

My husband is a Visonary Man! He loves to dream! Never tell my husband he can't do something! He will reach for the Moon and Catch it!!! ( i read this somewhere "Reach for the Moon, even if you don't catch it you may catch a star") Kinda cheesy but great point! I hope he never stops dreaming! I will follow him anywhere!

My husband loves to have fun! I love him very much!!!

31 Days - No Media

I am about to embark on 31 days of No Media. I have had a rough weekend and I will probably share a little more about that over the next 31 days. I am posting about this because I want the accountability. I know my friend marli reads my blog so even if she is the only one at least I have now told one person so I am currently held accountable to this 31 days! This means No TV, movies, radio (only music to be worship music), and internet (only use internet to blog, I will not be reading other blogs,etc).

I was reading "Life Management for Busy Women" by Elizabeth George and was encouraged to manage my mind. This brought on a vision for many changes in my life. I have grown frustrated and stressed with my life. My two youngest children keep me busy all the time and then there is my oldest son who I homeschool. Then I have to cook, clean and all the rest. I also have a husband who wants a wife to be there for him. That has left no time for me. I have to stop right now and state that my husband has encouraged me consistantly to take time for myself. I find that when I do take time for myself i tend to do things that need to be done. I rarely just relax and spend time alone. This has taken a great toll on my spiritual, emotional and physical being. Therefore after reading this morning I decided that I would take 31 days and remove as many distractions that I could and focus on me as much as I can! When I told my husband I was doing this he was very encouraged. He has gone without media for periods of time before and was very encouraged by this. The first time he did this was 9/11. It was very life changing for him to not be focused on the media during this time in america. Another neat coincidence I thought of today was that 5 years ago in October Mike and I had broken up (this was before we were married) and then got back together around the first of December. When we got back together we decided to not kiss until January 1. What an amazing thing that was for our relationship! I am very encouraged in doing this. I already saw that i had more patience with my 22 month old earlier tonight. If you are reading this, pray for me. Pray that God would open my mind to see the things He would have me see. Pray that He would show me disciplines He wants me to have. Pray that I will listen to Him and be strengthened to be the wife and mother he has created me to be!

I will be back tomorrow to keep you posted about my No Media as well as to post my Menu for the week!!

Thankful!

What are you thankful for?

I am thankful for

my relationship with Jesus Christ
my amazing Husband, Mike
my 3 great kids, Brandon, Zeke and Abi
my husbands great job
that we live close to his job and he gets to come home for lunch on most days
that I get to stay home and be with my smaller children, Zeke and Abi
that I have a good close relationship with Brandon, who is my "step" son
that both Zeke and Abi were happy babies
that Abi is content to play alone when needed
that Zeke is happy most of the time and enjoys helping me around the house
that my husband supports me in losing weight (15.8 lb lost since Sept 23, 2008)
that my husband loves me even if I never lose weight
that God has blessed us financially so we have all we need and can save and pay debt

that I have an older son who takes us out to eat!! (We are about to go right now!)

I will post more things I am thankful for tomorrow!!!

Budget - leave the debit card at home!

Do you budget? Mike and I have been sorda budgeting for about 2 years now. We definately write everything out each pay period and allot money for each need. Do we stick to it 100%?? No not really. We are both very quick to use the debit card when needed or so we think we need it. So this past pay period I decided that I would place my debit card in the safe. This way when I go out I have to plan and take the cash with me or Tough Luck! This will probably mean less money spent eating out and more planning on my part! By staying home more over the past few months I have learned a little more about planning. I rarely go out with both kids so I plan most of my errands, grocery trips and other shopping for my one night a week that I go out by myself. This by itself has saved me much of my blow money. When I would run my errands and get out more than this I spent much of my blow money on fast food. I am excited to see how much we can save just by me leaving my debit card at home. This is also a way that I am being more submissive to Mike. I usually justify using the card because I know he has used it. Kinda silly huh??? I will keep you posted on how I do these next 2 weeks with out my debit card.

Using Leftovers

I have been very conservative lately with our grocery budget. Due to my obligations at home with two under 2, a husband and a homeschooling Senior i have had to stop using coupons as much as before. I still clip the ones I know I will use, such as soy milk, diapers, wipes, baby food, etc. Some of the things we do is eat very little meat. This is more of a personal preference for my husband than a budget issue. We probably eat meat about 2 times per week. I usually always make beans once. Tacos and Pasta are also regulars. We eat lots of salad, fish and other fresh and frozen veggies.
When I make beans I usually have lots of leftovers and in the past I have either froze them and forgot about them or thrown them away. I thought I would try to plan our menu to use the beans in at least one or two other meals. For instance, I will make beans one night with cornbread and rice. Then use them with tacos the next night. I have also used them in chili, taco soup and meatloaf. I am going to post my recent meatloaf recipe! I am very proud of it! It was delicious. My almost 2 year old ate it for about 3 meals.

Meatloaf
1/2 lb ground beef
3/4 cup black beans (chopped finely in mini chopper)
3/4 cup cooked rice
1/3 can of stewed tomatos (chopped finely in mini chopper)
meatloaf seasoning of your choice (as needed to taste)
whorstershire sauce (as needed to taste)
1 egg white
1/4 cup milk (extra if needed)
crackers, bread crumbs (as needed for consistency)

Combine all ingredients and form into a loaf. Top with ketchup if desired. Cook at 375 degrees for 1 hour.

I am planning to add carrots and spinach next time I make it.

Another thing I do is buy whole chicken. Then I spend one morning or afternoon boiling it. I then shred it and use it in soups, casseroles or anything else I can think of. One whole chicken usually yields at least 2-3 meals.

I also have leftovers from the weeks meals on Thursdays. Below is my menu for this week for my family.

Monday Pasta and Veggies
Tuesday Eggs & Pumpkin Pancakes (recipe on moneysavingmom.com)
Wednesday Out of Town
Thursday Thanksgiving
Friday Beans, Turnip Greens & Cornbread
Saturday Smothered Pork Chops, Greens, Salad
Sunday Meatloaf, Potatos, Salad

It is possible this menu will change due to the holidays. We may have some leftovers from Thanksgiving we will need to eat!

I hope to post my menu more often. It will be neat to look back and see what we have eaten when I get in a rut!.

Welcome Back!

I thought I would just welcome myself back to my own blog!! I am not sure how many people read my blog but if you do, I am sorry to have been gone so long. My computer was being fixed. Hopefully it is all better and will work wonderfully for me for a long time to come! With that being said, if you regularly read my blog please leave a comment so I know who you are! It is fun to know who your audience is!

Not having a computer for several weeks taught me so much. I learned that I had to plan a lot better. I was able to check email , etc at the office of our apartment as well as at the library. I go to the library once per week to get videos and books for Zeke so I would just take a few extra minutes and check my email and other things. I have also done lots more baking and cooking. Less computer time means more time for other things. I have learned that Zeke enjoys cooking with me. Sometimes he really helps and other times I just give him a little ingredients to play with. He loves it! I have posted a cute picture of him cooking this morning! I have been able to go through boxes and our closet! I still have a few other things to go through but this was a big start for me. With two growing kiddos and Me losing weight it seems that we are getting rid of clothes all the time.

Hope everyone is well and thinking of all they have to be thankful for this week! I have plans for at least 3 more posts so I hope to get those up before Tuesday night!

Sacrifice

I was singing to my son as I tried to get him to sleep tonight (big challange right now in our house) and I just began singing the phrase "I'll never know how much it cost to see my sin upon that cross" this is from the song, "Here I am to worship". As my son fell asleep I thought of this: there is always "Cost" involved. As a mother/wife I see the "cost" in caring for my children, serving my husband, etc. When I was an employee there was "cost" involved in my job. As a friend there is "cost" involved in relationships. Sacrifice is something we will always come across! How awesome it is that God thought it was worth the sacrifice of His Son for us to have life! I have been studying Genesis lately. The fall of Man and Noah. Without the sacrifice of God's Son we would not exist! We would naturally sin and have to die for those sins! If Adam and Eve could sin so easily without any distractions, struggles, etc do we think we are any different! Tonight I want to acknowledge how Blessed and Grateful I am to be Saved from Sin! Thank you Jesus for the sacrifice you made for Me!!!! I want to follow that example of sacrifice and be a Cheerful Sacrificer with my family! I want to sacrifice for my husband and children without complaining! I want to embrace the beauty and blessing I have to be a wife to an amazing husband who loves to serve God and loves his family and a mother to three wonderful children who all need me in different ways. Thank you God that you have given me eyes to see how to serve them all!

Happy Birthday Tosha!

Today is my sister's birthday!

Happy Birthday Tosh!! Hope your birthday is special! We love you!

Singing with my children

I love to sing! If you know me and you did not know that it is because I do not sing well! Isn't it fun that our children do not notice our lack of talent? I am always singing with my two smaller children. When I sing silly songs loud and crazy it always makes my Zeke laugh and we just dance and sing together. Sometimes in the car or at home. I have also enjoyed many moments of singing worship songs over my children. Recently I have started singing a song over my 19 month old when he goes to sleep. The song goes

Lord prepare me
To be a sanctuary
Pure and Holy
Tried and True
And with Thanksgiving
I'll be a Living
Sanctuary
For You

I believe the Lord put this on my heart as a prayer for my son as he grow! What a privilage it is to raise these beautiful children God has given me. It is so hard sometimes with two very young babies underfoot but God will give me strength during this season to raise up a Strong Man and Beautiful Woman of God.

I have also been blessed with an amazing Older child. Brandon came to me when he was already 13 years old. In this time he has moved in with us, played football, hurt his knee about 3 times, liked a few girls, knocked over a few mailboxes, seen my faults, requested that I choose his wife. We have had many special moments over the years. I always knew there would be special things that would just be "Brandon things". One of those things was "Special Dinner Night". For about a year on the nights that Mike and I would go on date night I would plan a special dinner night for Brandon. I would give him a goody bag with snacks, special treats and drinks as well as a special note just for him. He even had a specil placemat and plate for that night! I always wanted Brandon to feel special. I never ever wanted him to feel like he was any less my child than the children I gave birth to. There is a special song that has been on my heart for the past year or so for Brandon. I have never and never plan to sing this song to Brandon but it is and will always be in my heart. The name of the song is "Find your Wings" by Mark Harris. I have to include the lyrics because they are so amazing. I will probably cry as I type them.

It's only for a moment you are mine to hold
The plans that heaven has for you will all too soon unfold
So many different prayers I'll pray for all that you might do
But most of all I'll want to know you're walking in the truth
And if I never told you I want you to know As I watch you grow

I pray that God would fill your heart with dreams
And that faith gives you the courage to dare to do great things
I'm here for you whatever this life brings
So let my love give you roots
And help you find your wings

May passion be the wind that leads you through your days
And may conviction keep you strong Guide you on your way
May there be many moments that make your life so sweet
Oh, but more than memories

I pray that God would fill your heart with dreams
And that faith gives you the courage to dare to do great things
I'm here for you whatever this life brings
So let my love give you roots
And help you find your wings

It's not living if you don't reach for the sky
I'll have tears as you take off
But I'll cheer as you fly

I pray that God would fill your heart with dreams
And that faith gives you the courage to dare to do great things
I'm here for you whatever this life brings
So let my love give you roots
And help you find your wings

Sing with your children! It is fun and definatly creates a bond between you!

Schedules

Let me just start this post by saying that I HATE schedules. But I have to get one. I have three children. One is 17 yrs old and will be finishing high school via homeschooling in December. One is 19 months old and is currently getting into everything (hopefully not at this moment since he is supossed to be in bed). One is 2 months old and naturally needs mommy to do everything for her (I am very blessed that she sleeps 10-12 hours at night). As I have thought about this schedule business for the past few weeks I have determined that it is really mommy that needs to get into a routine. So every morning I plan to get up at 6am to have some time to myself and then start my day with the kiddos. I think this worked maybe twice. I have tried to plan a variety of activities for my 19 month old so that he will stay busy and this only keeps me extra busy. He has fun but I get nothing done. I think I am one of those people who plans her goals so far fetched that she never completes anything. I told my husband the other day that I was going to get up at 6am everyday. He said "why don't you just try to for tomorrow". What good advice that was. SO with that said, I will try tomorrow to get up early and have time to myself. And then we will go from there! If you read this post and you have a good routine/schedule please share it with me! Maybe I can learn from you!

Two under 2

I am officially the mother of Two under 2!! And boy is it challanging! Hence the reason I have not blogged in about a month! I have so many things rolling around in my head but no time now to get them down. I just wanted to post a few photos of my new family member and also to let you think about something I have been thinking about lately.

I have been thinking about the different roles we all have in a family. For example a mother has a different role than a father and a husband different than a wife. A husband is responsible to provide for the family where the wife is to submit to him and follow! I am grateful that i do not have the responsibility to provide for my family but some how buck up to my husband when I think he is crazy for wanting to do something! Ladies, we have to trust them. I know it is hard sometimes to think that God would have us trust these crazy sinners but He put them over us for a reason! And the role as mother and father. The father's role is not to care for the kids. That is our role as a mother. Yes, they can help out as they see fit but it is not their job! It is a mother's job. And yes, when they do help and do it different than you would like, feel free to correct them but I wouldn't expect them to help out again! I speak from experience. I appreciate my husbands help and learn the hard way that if I want his help I need to let him know I appreciate it and not correct him. Another tidbit I have learned regarding this. They will not remember the simple things (like which lid goes with which sippy cup) even though you think they should. This is NOT their job! Their job is to love us wifes and to provide, among other things. Our job is to take care of the husband, kiddos and the home! WOW! I guess I really did blog about this! LOL Here are some photos of our sweet Abigail Rose!!! Feel free to comment regarding roles and responsiblities in families.

Trusting your Husband

My husband was sick this past week. And we are not talking about a little sick. He came down with Tonsilitis and missed work for 3 days! My husband works contract as a nurse and does not have sick time! He was really sick! At first I was a little annoyed with him. I am 38.5 weeks pregnant and he came to bed late Sunday night complaing and waking me up that he didn't feel well and that he may have to call in to work. Well, I was very annoyed that he woke me up and then I was annoyed that he was talking about calling in to work. We need the money! So I responded with no sympathy and told him to quit whining! As hard as it is to admit it I did tell him that. The next morning I knew he was sick. He kept telling me it was tooo cold in our house and that we could hang meat in there, etc. He was obviously running a fever. He was in bed all day. At some point I realized that my issue was a trust issue (I love to have my husband home during the week) and I needed to trust that God would meet our needs and know that my husband would not call in sick unless he really was! He knows our needs as well as I do! He does not call into work that often! As I began to understand this and deal with the root issue I was able to serve my husband during this sick time that turned out to be 3 full days. The next day we went to the doctor and he found out it was Tonsilitis so he was on antibiotic and since I was pregnant I saw my midwife to make sure i was okay. My throat was a little sore. My throat was a little red so she prescribed me and antibiotic as well. I wasn't feeling the greatest but I just kept wanting to serve my husband. This time of sickness brought us closer to eachother. It was a very hard time for my husband ( he said several times he didn't think he had ever been this sick) and I am glad I was able to submit to him and trust his judgement. How awful of me if I had whined and complained and he had gone to work sick!? I even turned off the fan one night since he was shivering so bad!

I also wanted to add something I heard this morning at church about Submission! Tommy Nelson was talking about how a wife is to submit to her husband but he explained how the Husband submits to Christ and Christ submits to God! So as we submit to our husbands we are ultimately submitting to Christ and then to God! So when we are NOT in submission to our husbands we are also NOT in submission to Christ! Really makes me think! I will have to remember this when there are times I don't want to submit. Our husbands have to answer to Christ for everything they do! When I trust God it makes it a little easier to trust my husband.

CVS Trip

I had intended this blog to include some of my coupon shopping experiences so that others could be encouraged and benefit just like me. Below is two transactions I made a couple of weeks ago. It shows how you can get things you need for very cheap! This particular trip I needed my sunday papers and charcoal. I did not have coupons for either so here is how it went:

Transaction 1
2 Chex Mix 1.00 ea
2 Listerine Smart Rinse 3.49 ea
2 CVS bandages 1.99 ea
2 Dallas Morning News papers 1.50 ea

Total 15.96

Used 3/15 CVS coupon, 2 $1 off coupon for Chex, 2 $1 off coupon for Listerine, and a 9.98 ECB
Total out of pocket was $ 0.00
And I got $3.98 ECB for bandages and $6.98 ECB for listerine

Transaction 2
1 Pampers Diapers 7.99
1 Gum Go Between teeth cleaner 2.99
1 Kingsford Charcoal 5.99

Total 16.97

Used 3/15 CVS coupon, 55cents off Gum coupon, 1.50 off pampers coupon, and 3.98 and 6.98 ECB

Total out of pocket was $1.50
And I got $1 ECB for the Gum product

I hope this is helpful to someone! If you would like more advice on how to do shops at CVS let me know. I love helping people get the things they need for Free, better than Free or almost Free! It is so much fun for me.

Contentment

The Lord has been teaching me about Contentment lately. Almost 2 years ago (September 06) my family and I had a house fire. We had just purchsed an older mobile home (3.5 months earlier) and were beginning to make renovations (the night before we began to redo the master bathroom) and low and behold on a Sunday morning while we were all gone it caught fire and burned! It only burned in a small place in the living room but there was smoke and water damage throughout the house. It was declared a total loss. We salvaged those few things we could and went on our way. We spent the next 2 months in a men's ministry home (we did have our private area) while we waited on the Lord to direct us to our new place of dwelling. Did I mention that I was 6 months pregnant when this happened?? This experience only made our then family of 3 much closer. I learned to be content with what I had and not need so many material things. I have since been more willing to give things away. I do not hold on to things like I used to. I do not get upset when things go missing/taken (Mike has taken a few pots and pans, etc from our kitchen camping and I never see them again). I gave away or sold most of Zeke's baby things only to get pregnant about a month later. And wouldn't you know God has blessed me with so much more! I rarely want for much! Just last night I was fixing up our bathroom with a few things I bought at garage sales or had around the house. When I am finished I will try to upload a picture.
Anyway back to contentment, I have truly learned what it means to be content with Things what I am currently learning is how to be content in my Circumstances. I tend to look forward and think about the next Big thing going on in our lives. It can be a special trip, my birthday, the birth of our daughter, etc. While this isn't entirely bad when it consumes you and you cannot enjoy the moment or day your are in it can be a problem. I think I have done this for all of my life. This week I have made a great effort to enjoy each moment of each day. I feel more rested and relaxed! A friend recently told me that she received a package of M & M's and with it someone encouraged her to "Live Moment by Moment". I want to practice this every moment of every day. The first day I tried this was Tuesday and my husband works late on Tuesdays. Lately I get very upset when he doesn't come home right away after work. I feel neglected and that he sees other people as more important than me when he doesn't come home to me right away! This night was no different he came home about an hour later than I thought he should, he went by a friends house to say "Hello" which is what he does quite often and I really have been letting him know what I think about that. (not a great picture of a submissive wife and not a good thing for the marriage) This night when he came home I came downstairs and we talked normally. Remember I am trying to live in the moment so for some amazing reason I have no anger or bitterness towards him for not coming home right away! Miracle in my opinion! He then proceeds to ask me about my day! WE sat on the couch and talked for about 20 minutes about my day and other things, then we went to bed! I was living in the moment! Again the next night same thing, he was a little later than he said he would be getting home and I did not get MAD! Living in the moment has been great! Thank you God for this great Revelation!!!

My very first Blog!!

This is my first post on my blog! I wanted a way to communicate all the many things that go on in my head. I enjoy reading other peoples blogs so I thought making one of my own would allow me an outlet for talking about everything. I will talk about myself first. I love my family! My husband is amazing. He is very kind and loving toward me. Although, I do not always acknowledge that, lately I have been pretty grumpy and mean (I am 36 weeks pregnant). He calls me his Queen and he is my King! We have two wonderful boys and a girl on the way. I love to coupon shop! I enjoy and get pretty wrapped up in finding things for FREE or better than free. I enjoy cooking and decorating our house. I am blessed to live by my sister and niece! I get to take my niece to school 4 days per week and am very involved in her school activities. She has her last day next week! It is also neat that they get to spend so much time with my youngest son, Zeke. He is 16 months old and my niece, Delia is his best friend. You should see how excited he gets when he sees her! You would think he hadn't seen her in forever! She loves to play with him too! I use a midwife instead of a doctor for my pregnancies. I can't imagine it anyother way. I have the most amazing midwife, Jean Sala. She is with Inanna Birth Center. She pays so much attention to me and I feel like she is more my friend than my midwife. She and Lynne have taught me that I can do anything if I can push a baby out! Zeke was 8 lbs 15 oz. It was an experience. One I will never forget and i am so grateful I experienced it where I did. It was like a bed and breakfast! If you are thinking about using a midwife, check them out at http://www.inannabirth.com/. I have a Home based business, creating customers accounts for a 23yr old Health and Wellness Company. The products are amazing. I have fallen in love with the cleaning products. They do not use harmful chemicals. My favorite cleaner is a hospital grade dissinfectant and it contains the herb Thyme. It smells great and I do not worry about spraying it around my son. It won't hurt him like Bleach would! If you would like more information you can check out my website at www.livetotalwellness.com/mikeswife. Well, I did not plan to ramble but hey, isn't that what this is for? I plan to utilize this blog for sharing my everyday life as well as encouraging myself and others to completely submit their hearts to Jesus Christ, their Heavenly King as well as those who are married to submit themselves to their earthly King, their husbands! God bless everyone! Start referring to your husband as your King! It will make him feel great about himself and he will feel your honor and trust in him!