Bigger Isn't Always Better

The family had fun going through the samples of kitchen cabinet doors, carpet selections, and countertop options for the new house. We’re using the modular construction building process this second time around for our home. The process is so very different this time around. When we built our first house the process was extremely long and drawn out because your options are almost limitless (based on the budget that you’re working with).

We were working with a large budget based on two incomes and were able to choose from a plethora of amenities to put in the house. This time around our options are more basic, so it didn’t take us long at all to go through the samples and settle on what we’d like to have in the house.

Everyone has their own tastes and preferences for things they like in their home. Some people have expensive taste and others will settle for just about anything as long as they have a roof over their head, warmth in the winters, and coolness in the summers. As I’ve gone through this transition in my life of coming home, my preferences have been based on what’s economical for our family.

While I had to say goodbye to my granite countertops and marble floors, I’m able to say good morning every day to a set of grey, shining eyes and a toothless smile that welcomes me every morning while so many mothers are having to head to work and leave their child in the arms of someone else. There’ll be no brick and soaring windows adorning the exterior of my next house. I’ve traded it all in for the arms of two little growing ladies that hug me everyday in thankfulness for a Mom that is just where she needs to be. At their side, loving them in a home that may not be a mansion in a cul de sac, but is one that will enable us to provide all the time and love it takes to raise them in a manner that strives to honors God.

Coming Home Series - IV

So, we’ve prayed, we’ve studied scripture, and we’ve talked with the head of the household.

What’s left to do? All of the praying, studying, and talking is good, but without action and execution your desires are simply just that… a desire.

In this Series I will focus on how my husband and I developed a plan so that I could transition home, going from two incomes to one. The theme of this series will be, sacrifice.

As I mentioned in Part II of this series, doing God’s will many times will result in some sort of sacrifice that will have to be made. Jesus Christ made the ultimate sacrifice on the Cross by dying for the sins of those that would believe in Him. In that same manner, as Christians, as we strive to be a light for Christ and desire to glorify God, we too may have to make sacrifices. Through sacrifice, what you’ll find is a drawing nearer to God in ways that you may have never thought possible.

In order to assess what sort of sacrifice you will need to make in going from two incomes to one income, you will need to create a “financial picture” that you can use to make sound decisions for the execution of your plans. The information that you will need for your financial picture are, monthly expenses, total current income, and total savings (if any available).

Monthly Expenses: If you do not currently maintain a record, spreadsheet, notebook, etc. of what your regular monthly expenses are, you can generate this information in a short period of time by recording this information over a 2-3 month long period by recording expenses from receipts, check book records, or from bank records from an online statement. Wherever you can pull information on expenses, store this information in one location so that you can effectively calculate your average expenses from one month to the next.

Here is one example of a financial budgeting spreadsheet that you can use to get you started,

(from, https://www.bankofamerica.com/deposits/manage/creating-a-budget.go)

Once you have your financial picture with two incomes, copy and create a new financial picture with ONE income. This will be your “vision” spreadsheet and will include all of your current expenses, but one income. To do this, delete the second salary from the spreadsheet/document.

After you remove the second income from your spreadsheet, if you do not have available funds in your vision spreadsheet to cover all of your expenses, then you will need to consider the areas where you can make sacrifices to cut back and downsize in certain areas so that your expenses are not MORE than your one-income budget.

Your end goal in an assessment of your expenses and developing a get-well plan is to get your expenses below your sole income to a level that allows you to set aside savings that is suitable for you and your family.  

Herb Crusted Pork Tenderloin

Here is a really tasty recipe for a pork tenderloin. Its very simple to prepare and results in lots of yummy flavors. What I enjoyed most was how all of the seasonings that are rubbed onto the pork result in a crust for the tenderloin. Be sure that you do not dry the pork out by overcooking it. Some people like their pork medium or medium well with a little pink, but we like ours well done (just not dried out).

The main recipe comes from Paula Deen and I got the idea to make up a sauce from the Pioneer Woman.

Enjoy!

Herb Crusted Pork Tenderloin

Ingredients:

1 (4-pound) boneless pork loin, with fat left on

1 tablespoon salt

2 tablespoons olive oil

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon dried thyme or 2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme leaves

1 teaspoon dried basil or 2 teaspoons fresh basil leaves

1 teaspoon dried rosemary or 2 teaspoons minced fresh rosemary

 I sprinkled on some dried Italian breadcrumbs as well to add to the "crunch"

 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 475 degrees F.
Place the pork loin on a rack in a roasting pan. Combine the remaining ingredients in a small bowl. With your fingers, massage the mixture onto the pork loin, covering all of the meat and fat.
Roast the pork for 30 minutes, then reduce the heat to 425 degrees F and roast for an additional hour. Test for doneness using an instant-read thermometer. When the internal temperature reaches 155 degrees F, remove the roast from the oven. Allow it to sit for about 20 minutes before carving. It will continue to cook while it rests.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/herb-crusted-pork-tenderloin-recipe.html

For the sauce I warmed up peach preserves on the stove with a few teaspoons of water based on the consistency of what I wanted for the sauce.

Bienvenue en France

Bonjour! 

 
The girls travelled to France for their February co-op class. While I’m not too fond of traveling outside of the Continental US, France is one country that I’d L-O-V-E to visit so that I could see just how lovely Paris is. While I enjoy the comforts of home, I love to explore places that are not familiar to me and learn about how others lives and about their culture.

 France is known for its beautiful architecture and artwork. The girls learned about the Palace of Versailles and the beautiful stained glass windows that adorn the Chapels.

 

For their craft they made their own stained glass windows using crayon shavings. The shavings were placed and closed up onto a piece of wax paper and then ironed to melt the shavings. The wax paper was then covered up with a cut out that looked like a window frame.

 So creative!

 

 

 

Coming Home Series - III

By now, with all the praying and reading that you’ve been doing in God’s Word, your husband may have caught on to what you’re up to. I remember being burdened over the course of many years to leave work and come home to my children. Initially my desire was to just have more time with them at their school, so I considered going part-time. I also considered switching careers and becoming a teacher so that I could have summers off with kids.

Each time that I considered varying options, I would talk with my husband about what I was thinking.  As you pray and consider your plan of action, you will need to discuss your thoughts with your husband.

As a wife and mother, you are armed with prayer. Even for the wife that may have an unbelieving husband, God hears your prayers and has the power to move an unbelieving heart to hear you out and understand your desires. As you pray, God will guide you in the development of a plan for coming home. You will need to consider the support and leadership needed from your husband and your financial situation. In this blog entry, we’ll cover the support and leadership needed from your husband.

God has placed your husband within your marriage as the head of the household. As a believer in Christ, you just have to believe this in faith, no matter what you may think of your husband’s abilities or lack thereof. If you allow your abilities, gifts, and talents to create a sense of pride within your mind, this can inhibit your journey home as you will need your husband’s support and leadership as you relinquish yourself from the workplace into the home.

Most men sense the need to ensure that their family is taken care of financially and any conversation that deals with impacts to the family finances may be met with barriers with your husband. In some relationships, the wife executes the banking tasks that are required, but if the husband is serving in a leadership role he is well aware of what it takes to run the home from a financial perspective. Going into a conversation with your husband about quitting your job will be most effective if you’ve done your homework. From a Christian perspective, that includes having been in prayer, being armed with what God’s Word says regarding a Mother’s role and God’s expectation of her, and having a certain level of insight into your family’s financial situation.

A wife brings honor to her husband and to God when she respects him and listens to him. A God-fearing husband will have a desire to honor his wife by listening to her. It may take one, two, three, or countless conversations to reach a place of understanding between you and your husband as he comes to a place of understanding your heart’s desire. If you face opposition, end the discussion and return to your husband at a later date after praying. In time, as you pray over your husband’s heart God will do the work necessary to soften and bring him to a place where you can move forward in your journey. Never result to complaining, nagging, or griping about your desires. This will not get you any closer to your desires and may possibly prolong things. In time through continual prayer, as he hears you out and eventually has a desire to move forward, work with him to next assess your financial situation.        

 

Old Friends. Good Times.

After spending a weekend surrounded in mounds of snow, I can say that I've had my fill of snow for the Winter Season! We travelled to Pennsylvania over the holiday weekend to spend time with sweet friends. As we neared our destination, about 8 miles away, we found ourselves in the middle of what seemed to be a snow storm.

We don't typically get snow like this in our neck of the woods. It was interesting to see how the locals get around just fine in roads that are not plowed and snow piled so high.

Our friends are a real hoot and the time seemed to fly by as we caught up on each other's lives since the last time we were together. As I watched our kids together, I thought back to a time when we were all just in college. To see how God has kept us and blessed us over the years always makes my heart smile when we get together.

 

We're a real crazy bunch.

As we bustled around town, acting as silly as our kids, I'm sure PA will never be the same!

I Finally Found the Courage to Say...

NO SCHOOL TODAY

It was so freeing to finally muster up the courage to NOT hold school today. I don't know why this is to hard for me. I think its my everything-has-to-be-in-order-and-we-must-follow-the-rules sort of mentality.

The big motivator to cancelling school today was the fact that a snow storm blew through our area the night before and we woke up to no electricity for the better half of the morning.

That was a good excuse, right?

The kids did learn something today... how to make Snow Cream! Mmmmmmm....

 

The ingredients are pretty simple:

Snow (1 Gal), Milk (2 Cups), Vanilla Extract (1 tablespoon) , and Sugar (1 cup)

 

I was surprised at how yummy this was!

Coming Home Series - II

Petitioning the Lord for Him to bring about change in your life, as it aligns with His Will, is not a one time thing. We are not expected to pray about it one time, like making a deposit in the bank, and expecting the prayer to be immediately answered. Anytime that we do something that draws attention to God with a desire to glorify Him, the adversary would like nothing more than to snuff it out. There is a parable in the Bible about a judge that did not fear God and did not respect man. A widow came to this judge asking for legal protection from an opponent. For a while, the judge was unwilling, but after some time, he gave her the legal protection that she was asking for. The Bible says that she “continually” came to the judge as if to wear him out. This judge did not fear God, and yet he answered this woman’s request after her continual petitions. With this parable, God is teaching us that when we pray we ought to continually come to Him in prayer and God will bring about justice for His children. God hears our every prayer and that includes the prayers of a Mother desiring to be with her children.

Continuing on from Series 1, as you pray to God for guidance in making the transition home to your children, you need to study the scriptures. I had made the choice to get a college degree, became established on the job, built a home, and had my children settled into a private school. I had no reason to believe that God wasn’t happy with my choices. At this time in my life when I started studying God’s Word for the first time about God’s expectation for a Mother, I didn’t like what I read. I found it difficult to fulfill the characteristics that I began to study as a working mother. The Bible instructs parents to teach God’s Word diligently to their children, as they sit in their house, when they walk by the way, when then lie down, and when they rise. Mothers and wives are also called to manage their home and honor their husband, serving as an example to their children. After a day of work, instead of being eager to come home and be a Godly example for my children and a support to my husband I wanted nothing more than to get dinner on the table and get the kids in bed so that I could have a moment’s peace. Instead of serving my family to my fullest potential in managing our home, I was left at the end of the day drained as so much of my energy was expended in the workplace.

As I examined my efforts as I worked, I realized that my efforts fell short in contrast to what I knew in my heart I could truly do if I was able to focus my efforts full-time on my home. God began to highlight to me as I read His Word, how the sacrifice that He made on the Cross was an example of the sacrifices that I needed to make as a Mother. I started to ponder over the fact that I could spend my life fulfilling a purpose that I thought was expected of me and not examine what worth it has in God’s eyes. I never truly pondered over this until much later in life after getting out on my own, marrying, and having children. How often do we stop and ask God what He desires of our life as we make choices?

There are passages of scripture that are clear on God’s expectation for a Mother, and as a woman studies scripture for herself, God will speak to her through His Word of what He specifically desires for her. Many times we shun away from delving into God’s Word, for fear of what we may read. God’s Word is a mirror for the believer. It shows us our shortcomings. As we study His Word, we may become discouraged that we could never fulfill the roles that He calls us to fulfill, but we’re not left with a hopeless view of ourselves as we read. God’s Word gives us hope because as wives and mothers we’re not called to execute God’s will alone in our own efforts. He has given us the Holy Spirit, which empowers us.

As you look at your own personal situation and the stumbling blocks that seem to be in the way of coming home to our children, as you pray and read God’s Word, you will receive the confidence and hope that you’ll need to for the journey ahead to making it a reality.

Quiz for You

Here's a quiz for you today.

 

Look at the first picture below and guess what school subject they are taking part in?

 

Are they doing,

a) Science

b) History

c) English

d) Math

e) all of the above



 

 

 

If you answered d) Math, then you were right!

 

What mathematical concept requires that you bend over in such a way that the blood rushes to your head with tons of cards on the floor? Math Twister! 

 

One of the math skills that we do almost daily is drills - addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division tables - over, and over, and over again. The monotony of sitting at a desk and answering problems day after day can result in a cranky kid. So, I'm always looking for ways to motivate the girls to do their drills.

 

One day, my oldest and I were sitting on the floor going through her multiplication tables and as they were spread out on the floor the idea came to mind to do a spin on Twister. As I called out an answer to a multiplication problem, I would instruct her to, "Put your right hand on (##)" and as she proceeded to place her hands or feet on certain answers, she would get all twisted up in varying positions. After the first round, she clamored "again, again!"

 

Now, that's my kind of Math!

 

 We play this game several ways. I either call out the answer and the kids place their hand or foot on the problem, or I call out the problem and the kids put their hand or foot on the answer. You can also do variations with the game by having your child jump to the answer in a path until they reach the answer to the math problem. Whatever gets your child up and moving, you will find that they'll be motivated to play right along. 



 

(I googled, "Math Twister" at the end of the day and found out that this really is a game that you can purchase from a store. So much for thinking that I was a creative, ingenious person.)

Time.

From babes to big girls.

So young, sweet, and innocent.

They are still young, sweet, and innocent here too. Just a little older and its not so easy to now dress them up in cute, adorable outfits and pinch their cheeks till they smile for the camera.

 

 

One moment they are just a desire in a mother's heart, then the next a squirmy and kicking baby in the womb. You think after they're born that they'll be in diapers for eternity, and then they start to walk and then crawl and all of a sudden they are potty trained. You think that they'll never grow out of that old princess dress that has tattered lace and sequins falling all off, until you find it collecting dust and decide to donate it to goodwill. Next, they're smearing on makeup and you wonder how on earth they can fit into your clothes so well as they ransack your closet. They are like sponges at this age, drinking in every word you say and hearing everything on the television that you don't want them to hear before you can snatch the t.v. remote to turn it on something else.

 

Time.

 

It goes by so quickly that if we don't stop and drink in the moments that God gives us with the gift He's given us in our children, it will just pass us by.

 

 

The clock is ticking.

 



Coming Home Series - I

A dear friend asked me to journal about my thoughts on the steps that my hubby and I took to take the leap of faith of bringing me home from my full time (out of the home) job, to become a Stay At Home Mom (SAHM).

Just for the record I don't like to say, "I don't work". SAHMs do work full time (and beyond). Its just done inside the home as opposed to outside. There are some SAHMs that manage to juggle a part-time job or a job that they can do within the home as well. Another blog entry for another day... just wanted to clarify. The next time you ask a Mom about working, ask "do you work outside (or, inside) the home?"

Continuing... As with any decision I make, whether big or small, I took my petitions first and foremost to the Lord in prayer.

1)      Pray and seek the Lord for guidance.

If the Lord has placed a burden on a Mother’s heart to be home full-time with her children, He’s not going to place the desire within your heart without providing the means for it to happen.  I looked up the word “burden” in the dictionary and its described as, “something that is carried” (that was a simple definition. Do you ever wonder where do they find the people who write up definitions for words?). Its also described as, “something oppressive or worrisome”. Whenever God has burdened my heart to do something I just can’t stop thinking about it. When I wake up, its on my mind. When I go to sleep at night, my thoughts will return to it. When God is burdening your heart for something the flame for it doesn’t burn out. It keeps coming back.

I used to confuse being burdened for something that God was leading me to do with my own selfish desires, so when I started to become burdened to leave work and come home full-time I prayed intently that if any part of this voyage home was being motivated by any prideful, selfish desires, I asked that God would remove the desire all together. We can become convinced that God is leading us to do something, only to realize that we’re seeking the praise of man in the end or seeking to gain some external reward as a result of it all.

Pray, pray, pray. When you think you’ve prayed enough, you’ve just begun to pray when God is driving you to make a sacrifice for Him. As you pray, God will not just make Himself known to you in a manner that He is with you, but He will also unfold to you the steps to take in this leap of faith. Little by little, day by day, from one prayer to the next it will become clear.

During this time of my life as I prayed, I received some very good advice as I sought Godly advice from loved ones as we embarked on this voyage. One piece of advice was that God knows His sheep and His sheep hears His voice. When His sheep hear His voice, they follow Him. When you’re being burdened to do the Lord’ Work, you will come to the place of understanding and ultimately being convinced if the desire is genuine and truly coming from God. You will come to the place where no one can talk you out of what you’ve been convinced to do because as the Lord’s sheep He will not lead you astray.

I also recall a message by John MacArthur concerning how to discern God’s Will for your life and there was something that he said that has stood out in my mind as I think back to the time when I stood at the crossroad of forging ahead with leaving work or staying the course of the “comfortable life” of working (by comfortable life, I'm referring to the bells and whistles that come from a dual income situation. I do realize there are stressors as well  when there is more money, but there are many sacrifices to be made when going from two incomes to one. More on that later in this series).

He summarized that if as Christians we are striving to glorify God in all that we do, then the choices that we have as Christians regarding the areas of life that the Bible does not give clearly defined answers on (i.e., what college do we attend, whom do we marry, public or private school for our kids, etc.), we are free to make our decisions based on what we believe is right.  As we ponder the options that we have within the realm of Christian liberties, and try to make a decision on what option(s) to choose many times the options that align with God’s will for our life are typically the more challenging to execute. That doesn’t mean that everything in the Christian life is all challenging and hard, but many paths that we take for God to be glorified are hilly and steep. If every road that God leads us on were flat, short, and quick, would we ever have the need to fall on our needs for help, leading us to seek God for help and ultimately grow more in a deeper relationship with him?

That’s what this first step in coming home is all about. It’s all about talking to One who gave you the desire to begin with and acknowledging that you can’t do it without Him.

I will also add the disclaimer here that not EVERY Christian mother has this burden, but many do. I found after "coming out" and leaving work, that many working mothers spoke openly with me about this burden tugging at their heart but for whatever reason they were not in the position to take steps of coming home.

I’m typically a plan-out-your-thoughts, make a list, highlight, outline, organize, and then type it up sort of person when I put something together. For this first blog series I’m going to wing it (I’m being adventurous). So, I haven’t fully gathered my thoughts on Part II, but until then you can pray!

Stay tuned…

Baked Ziti Yumminess

Here's another keeper recipe from the Pioneer Lady...

Ingredients

• 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• 3 cloves Garlic, Minced
• 1 whole Large Onion, Diced
• 1 pound Italian Sausage
• 1 pound Ground Beef
• 1 can (28 Ounce Can) Whole Tomatoes, With Juice
• 2 cans (14.5 Ounce) Tomato Sauce Or Marinara Sauce
• 2 teaspoons Italian Seasoning
• 1/2 teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes
• Salt And Pepper, to taste
• 16 ounces, weight Ziti Or Mostaciolli, Cooked Until Not Quite Al Dente
• 1 tub (15 Ounce) Whole Milk Ricotta Cheese
• 1-1/2 pound Mozzarella Cheese, Grated
• 1/2 cup Grated Parmesan Cheese
• 1 whole Egg
• Fresh Minced Parsley

Preparation Instructions

Heat olive oil in a pot over medium heat. Add onions and garlic and saute for several minutes, or until starting to soften. Add Italian sausage and ground beef and cook until browned. Drain off fat, leaving a bit behind for flavor and moisture.

Add tomatoes, tomato juice, salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, and red pepper flakes. Stir and simmer for 25 to 30 minutes. After that time, remove 3 to 4 cups of the sauce to a different bowl to cool down.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a separate bowl, mix together the ricotta cheese, 2 cups of the grated mozzarella, Parmesan, egg, and salt and pepper. Stir together just a couple of times (do not mix completely).

Drain the pasta and rinse under cool water to stop the cooking and cool it down. Pour it into the bowl with the cheese mixture and toss to slightly combine (there should still be large lumps.) Add the cooled meat sauce and toss to combine.

Add half the coated pasta to a large casserole dish or lasagna dish. Spoon half of the remaining sauce over the top, then top with half the remaining mozzarella cheese. Repeat with another layer of the coated pasta, the sauce, and the mozzarella.

Bake for 20 minutes, or until bubbling. Remove from oven and let stand 5 minutes before serving.

(Sprinkle chopped parsley over the pasta before serving!)

 

Yum!

 

 

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2012/11/baked-ziti/

 

Step Back In Time

 

I woke up to what I thought would be a regular homeschool day indoors. While feasting on my daily morning oatmeal and reading through my morning devotional, my thoughts trailed to thinking about taking a field trip. Yes, I do get distracted quite often. I had a desire to just pack up the kids and get out of the house for the morning. Its been a long while since I've taken the kids on a field trip and my list of locations for field trip adventures has been growing.

 

The girls have been studying the Northeast and Northwest Indians and we're about to start digging into African American History. I found out that the Fredericksburg Area Museum and Cultural Center had a little exhibit on the Algonquian Tribe of Indians and historical artifacts from the Civil Rights Era. We got there as soon as they opened the doors and for the time period that we were there we had the entire museum to ourselves!

 

 

Lea took it upon herself to find a comfortable spot right in the middle the floor to take a few notes in her journal about the plants grown along the Rappahannock River in the Fredericksburg Area and used by the Indians.

It's a bit mind-blowing to think that in the not too far distant past, the world was a much different place than what it is today. Its interesting to see my girls reactions to the historical events of the past that are not watered down in an effort to mask the truth of how people were treated in America. Their study of the Indians was eye opening as I'm sure our studies into Slavery will be as well.

While the challenge of the facts and figures in Math have intrigued me and the grammar skills have motivated me to do more personal writing, History has been my most enjoyable subject by far this homeschooling year. Facts that I know I learned in school when I was a wee little one are now coming alive to me in a way that makes me appreciate the historical periods to an even greater degree.

I pray that History is just as memorable for the girls so that when they look back as grown women, they too can recall the events of history as if they had a peek back in time themselves.

 

Easier Said Than Done

Lose 30 pounds in 30 days!

Teach yourself a second language.

Be your own Builder and build your own house.

Some things are just easier said than done. We can read these things on paper and even see real life testimonies and pictures of people accomplishing these great tasks and think, “Maybe I could do that.” We purchase and check out all the books that we can find on the topic, we read and study what is required to accomplish the task, and then we forge ahead with a determined mind.

As we face the first obstacle that rears itself as we tackle the task, many of us become discouraged and quit. For those that continue on, mental fatigue may settle in and we begin to think of every reason why we shouldn’t continue on and may even question our motives for beginning the task.

The Bible includes tasks that we may look at with good intentions of executing only to find ourselves struggling to fully carry them out perfectly.

Love your enemies.

Wives, be submissive to your husbands.

Have faith.

Wait on the Lord.

Don’t be anxious.

There are countless examples of men and women who had faith in God to accomplish challenging feats. Over and over again we can read how God was faithful, providing the strength needed to be victorious. Why is it we can read the stories and testimonies of women and men of God that were successful in difficult trials and we crumble under the weight of difficulty time and time again? Our flesh will always let us down. These things are easier said than done.

While we may try to do these things perfectly on our own strength, there is only One that has carried these out and can carry them out perfectly. Apart from Christ, the Christian can do nothing. The unredeemed man or woman is missing something that the Christian has. As Christians we have the Holy Spirit indwelling us that makes us strong when our flesh is weak. When we grow frustrated, impatient, or feel hopeless in our circumstances, the Holy Spirit gives us the strength that we need to overcome. When God said that we can do all things, He wasn’t referring to just the easy things in life. The rest of that verse says, “….through Christ who strengthens Me.”

Each time that we face a daunting tasks, we ought to seek God’s Word and be filled with His Truth which strengthens us in our weakness.  

As I typed this, I too am convicted of the many times I try to love, submit, have faith, wait, and not grow anxious in life.

Now where did I put my Bible?