Thrifty Friday finds = :)

Today was a particularly profitable shopping day.  I do wish I had such luck more, but then on the other hand, I would probably end up spending wayyy too much money if I did, haha!  I actually have not been in our Goodwill in probably 2 or 3 months, and I actually only went in today to try to find some shorts.  I didn't find any, which wasn't a surprise, but I DID find some great stuff.  Some cool vintage Fisher Price toys, ones that I remember playing with as a kid, and some other random stuff.  Target also had some killer clearance deals that I snagged.  It was a long day of shopping, but I am totally siked with all my bargains!

Oh yes, and I finally, FINALLY, found some shades for my lamps, so stay tuned for a lamp makeover post.  My bedroom is getting closer and closer to being done!  Yay!  I can't wait to show the before and after.  I really love it.  :)

Both of the FP toys were 3 bucks!  The cash register didn't have the coins, but I spotted some on ebay that will hopefully end up being in my budget.  This vintage FP stuff can go for mucho dinero on there!

The other toy was $2, and baby boy loves it.  :)

The mirrored tray I have big plans for.  Spray paint is in its near future.

And the 3 frames I got on clearance @ Target for $2.48 each.  Spray paint is also in their near future.  Both the tray and frames are for my bedroom.  I'm excited.  :)

Cloth Diapers

Ok, so I use cloth diapers.  I love them.  I originally got just simple prefolds and covers, but then I discovered all the cute diapers and different systems out there.  Ahhh!  I am pretty sure I've tried just about every kind out there.  My favorites though, have got to be bumGenius elemental organic all in ones.  I have 7 and wish I had at least 12.  But, I have to keep telling myself that I am doing this to save money!!!  Haha.  Anyways, Kelly Wels, is doing an awesome giveaway on her blog/facebook.  A complete cloth diaper package, all you would need to diaper your child from birth to potty training!  Nice.  Go here to find out all the deets : Kelly Wels , and here to enter : facebook !

Awesome, huh?  :)

Discouragement and stuff....

Ugly word.

But this has been my unpleasant reality lately.

I have never been one to struggle with this, but things haven't exactly been easy the past few months.  That sounds so fickle.  Like I can only be happy when things are going my way.  My sinful person wants to just drift easily through life, but then the other part of me knows that without struggle and pain, I would end up being a blah, milk greedy, luke warm Christian.  I want to go through the fire, and come out like gold.  But, the fire.  I hate it so much.  It's a war raging within right now.  I feel so battered, one thing after another keeps knocking me down and kicking me while I'm laying there.

But out of all that, I am beginning to see something beautiful emerge.  Like a tiny flower, I see a deep deep love for the simple things in life that I have been given.  I am learning to lay down myself, and look to God for everything.  EVERYTHING.  True trust, not the kind that you talk about in passing, you know, the "Oh, I'm just trusting God everything will work out...." kind.  I'm talking about the kind that is falling on your knees and crying out to Him with everything you have, and surrendering it all to Him, kind.  Not once, but time and time again.  Clinging to His promise that He will never leave or forsake.

I have been reading through the Bible, trying to find comfort, encouragement, and assurance.  I have read Psalms 37 the past couple of days, and it has been like a cool drink of water on a hot day, exactly what I need.  The caption above the chapter says "Rest in the Lord" in my Bible.

Psalm 37:24 "Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; for the Lord upholdeth him with his hand."

Psalm 27:39 and 40  "But the salvation of the righteous is of the Lord: He is their strength in time of trouble. And the Lord shall help them and deliver them: He shall deliver them from the wicked, and save them, because they trust in Him."

My children have been an amazing blessing to me throughout this struggle.  I have felt like I was at the end, and I just wanted to go find a dark hole and hide there until the storm passes.  But then my children will just surround me with their love and faith, and I will find myself smiling again.  They've shown me how to open my eyes to find overwhelming joy in the simplest things.  I'm so thankful for them.

This song was on Pandora today while I was ironing, and it really kind of expressed how I am feeling...

Hungry by Joy Williams

Hungry, I come to You
For I know You satisfy
I am empty but I know
Your love does not run dry

Chorus:
So I wait for You
So I wait for You

I'm falling on my knees
Offering all of me
Jesus, You're all this heart 
Is living for

Broken, I run to You 
For Your arms are open wide
I am weary but I know
Your touch restores my life

Chorus

I'm falling on my knees
Offering all of me
Jesus, You're all this heart 
Is living for

Hungry, I come to You
For I know You satisfy
I am empty but I know
Your love does not run dry

Happiness....

Wordless Wednesday:

A yummy recipe

This is one of our all-time favorite recipes.  A genuine old family recipe.  I got this from my MIL.  Before that, I had never tasted (or heard, actually) of ham dumplings.  It sounds a little weird, but believe me, they are so yummy.  I usually have some left over ham from the holidays tucked away in the freezer, and a cold wintery night makes me hungry for these.  I don't know, maybe every body but me is still a little burned out on ham.  Personally, I think that these are so good that even if you are burned out, you will still absolutely love these.  :)

Step 1: Mix 3 cups of flour 

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

Cut in 1/2 c shortening

Make sure you get a little help :)

Add 3/4 c milk

1 egg

Don't overstir.  The dough should be pretty stiff.  

Roll out with plenty of flour.  Yes, my rolling pen has sharpie on it.  That is the art work of my 4 year old.  I am sure more of his art work will show up in the future.  Keep an eye out.  ;)

I roll it out to be thick, but not really thick.  <--I hope you understand what that means, lol.

Cut into squares, or whatever shape you choose.  I obviously don't take too much time or care about uniformity....

Make sure your ham broth is boiling nicely.  This is about to get yummy!

Make sure your dumplings are well coated with flour.  I usually add some extra.

Let your children help you drop them in the boiling broth.  *important, this can burn hands if you drop them in and the broth splashes.  Just make sure to gently put them in...speaking from experience here...

Put a lid on it, turn the heat down and let slowly simmer for about 30 minutes.  *important, don't take the lid off or the dumplings will fall....speaking from experience here....again....

Add your ham.  And add seasonings.  Personally, I don't think I could cook without Serendipty.  It just adds that extra flavor that makes every body rave about whatever I just cooked.  I use it on/in everything.  I ran out recently, and substituted with Lawry's, (and I know that Pioneer Woman uses Lawrys....whatever....she would go crazy over Serendipity, I am pretty certain) and it is definitely not even comparable.

Mix 3/4 c milk and 1 Tbs. flour and add it to the broth/dumplings.  Mixing it in a cup before hand makes so that there are no nasty flour lumps.  I hate flour lumps.

This picture makes me hungry. 

Serve up in your best dishes and enjoy!  :)

It's a new year!

2011.  What will it hold?  I have lots of thoughts swirling around in my head, not really sure I would call them resolutions, more like goals.  I love having goals, but I tend to be an impatient person when it comes to progress.  Especially when I have big goals.  Which I have for this year.  I'm sure my goals are pretty much like everyone else's haha, but they are things that are going to take a new, conscience effort on my part to achieve.  

Number one on my list is being more consistent with my personal Bible study.  Last year was spotty at best in this area, more like nonexistent if I'm really being honest.  Which I'm ashamed to admit.  I have learned though that I don't do well without a book or some sort of outline of what to study.  I need some direction.  I'm not one of those people that can open the Bible and pick out something to study.  I don't know, maybe it's because I'm lazy and need to work on those skills.  Also related, I want to be more intentional with my kids too.  It's all to easy for me to slide along and rely on the church for my kids spiritual welfare.  Another thing I'm ashamed to admit.  Not sure why, but it seems like these things are the easiest to put on the back burner in our busy lives.  I am headed to the book store here soon (as soon as I can dig up my coupons!!!) and I'm going to find a book on a certain subject that I know needs some serious work in my life.  

Next on the list: debt.  Such an ugly word.  We are your typical American couple, and we do have credit cards, praise the Lord.  (Dave Ramsey is cringing right now.)  And we do have credit card debt.  But I wouldn't say that it is because of frivolous spending.  2009 wasn't the best year as far as income, so we used our credit cards for all the fun stuff, like clothes and other necessary evils.  Thankfully, God always provided for our basic needs and we never got behind on our bills.  2010 was way better, and since we learned some valuable lessons in 2009, we pretty much avoided adding to our debt.  So, 2011 is officially "Pay Off the Credit Cards" year.  Can you hear the excitement in my voice? Seriously, I am excited that hopefully these will be paid off, eve though it is going to take some serious effort.  I have a budget written out, and I have DH on board.  I really wouldn't consider my self a big spender, but who doesn't enjoy a little retail therapy every now and then??  I just pray that we would get a steady income this year!  (One, just one (!) of the many perks of owning your own business)  

I would say those two are the biggest things on my list. I do have other, more uninteresting ones, like keep my house cleaner, work out more, and stuff like that.  But mostly, I'm going to focus on the big ones.  I am looking forward to what God has in store for us this year, and I am excited about seeing how much our lives have changed at the start of 2012.

Big sister's desk before and after:

I got this desk at a huge antique/junk (mostly junk, but obviously some good stuff....still tons of fun to shop) sale that goes along a road for miles.  I think I paid $50 for both the chair and desk.  It is exactly what I was looking for for Big Sister's room.  I got some pink patterned scrapbook paper to use as desk liner.  I sanded and spray painted the chair, and I sanded and brush painted the desk.  Learn from my mistake, if you ever try something like this: spray paint is mucho easier to get to look nice.  I tried my hardest to not get brush lines on the desk, but they happened anyways.  Also, I got some super nice high gloss paint, but I still think it will eventually chip off and look terrible over time. (And knowing my daughter, that probably won't be too long)  I think a small roller probably would have eliminated the brush lines, but I still think the spray paint looks better and is easier.  Oh yes, and I really REALLY wanted some of those vintage looking pink glass handles, but they were close to $4 a pop, and I just didn't have that to spend. Luckily Lowes had some porcelain ones that were the perfect color to match for only .97 each.  Much better, but I think they look kinda 90ish, lol.  Oh well, they will be vintage one of these days, right?

Before:

Ugly 70's mustard color.  Even though I got both of these at different places, they almost looked like the same person got ahold of them with the "antiqueing" stuff....ugh


After:

Didn't take Big Sister long to fill it up with all her papers and other little kid treasures.  :)

The holidays are officially upon us

and I am feeling the rush.  We went to Arkansas to hubby's parents house for Thanksgiving.  It's a looooong and very unpleasant drive to their house, but we did have a great time.  They live 4 miles off of the paved road up in the mountains.  Beautiful, but way out in the boonies.  The dirt road is so bad that unless you are a local, you drive as slow as you possibly can.  Seriously, you start feeling sorry for your car about a half mile in.  And clench your jaw so your teeth don't rattle out.  Hubby's parents are the last one's on their trail road that have running water and electricity.  Like I said though we had a great time.  Thursday night we didn't go to bed, but about 11 we loaded up and drove to Branson and went Black Friday shopping.  It was a blast.  It was about 16* I think and our first stop was the outlet mall.  I had baby boy all wrapped up in his moby wrap and a blanket, and he stayed toasty warm, and helped keep me warm too.  We were going to go to Target, but when we pulled in at 3:55 there was a line wrapped all the way around the building.  Talk about insane.  The cheap Wii Fit wasn't worth it.  So we parked right in front of the building to watch the idiots people when they opened the doors.  It was crazy.  I know some people get a rush out of that kind of thing, but I was tickled to sit in my warm car and watch the maniacs freezing, then push through the doors like a pack of wild animals.  We timed the line and after 10 minutes the people were still running to get through the doors.  Crazy I tell you.  Saving a few bucks is not worth it to me.  We did get some good laughs out of it though.

I am pretty sure I am 100% done with my Christmas shopping.  Yay!  And I actually have some wrapped and under the tree.  Big sister and big brothers main gifts are pretty large, so I need to wait to wrap them until they are either asleep or gone.  I am almost done with my decorating too.  Still have to get my nativity set up, maybe I'll do that today, after my nap of course.  I will take some pics of everything and try to get them posted.  I am still planning to take some pictures of Cara's desk and put them up too.  I just have been so busy.  Tuesday I am having  Scentsy party here at my house, so that is helping keep me motivated to get all the little projects done that I have been putting on the back burner for way too long.  The 18th we are having Christmas/Thanksgiving with my family.  Then on the 24th we are having Christmas with hubby's family.  I think on the 25th we will have just our little family thing, then that afternoon hubby's whole family is coming over to hang out before they head back to the sticks.  Whew, just thinking about all that makes me feel tired.  I won't lie, I will be glad when it's all over.  That sounds horrible, but it's true.

Well hubby is wanting me to play a game of pool with him, so better run.  (We scored a pool table the other day at a garage sale for $25.  It's an old one, but it's got a slate top and it is actually in pretty decent condition.  We've been having a blast with it!)

Bye Bye Baby Fat (hopefully)

I found this really cool blog.  Called InspiredRD.  Cool.  Anyways, she has a workout circuit that I am going to try.  It looks super easy, and it works your whole body.  And you only need some weights and a jump rope.  No reason why I shouldn't do it, I really, REALLY want to lose the remaining 15 or so pounds I have left from my last pregnancy.  I also REALLY, REALLY want to tone up.  I really don't care much about losing weight, but I really don't like having flab.  Ick.  So, who's with me?  :)

http://inspiredrd.com/2010/11/total-body-circuit.html

Check it out.

Ruffled shirt tutorial

I really don't do too many crafts.  My kids always think they have to be right there when I try to sew or do anything remotely crafty.  Also, my extra time is severely limited.  But this week was our week off of school, and we are taking family pictures today (Big Sister is wearing this shirt for the pics), and I saw a really cute shirt in the Boden catalog (and thought "I could make that!"), and Big Sister has several plain tees I found for uber cheap at Old Navy and..... I just kinda felt crafty.  :)  So, here ya go!

Get your fabric and shirt :)

Cut your fabric into strips.  I wasn't picky at all with the width, just kinda made them as close to the same as I could.  I didn't do this obviously, but I would recommend you use pinking shears if you have them.  I had to go back and pink the edges, and it was a pain, and really messy.  I think I cut about 6 strips.  The fabric I used was just a fat quarter from WalMart.

Sew your strips together.

Using the largest stitch size on your machine, sew down the middle of your strip.  This is for the gathering.

Gather your strip up, It should be pretty tight.

Pin the gathered strip on your shirt in whatever shape you want.

This is the secret to sewing on something knit, ball point needles.  They are ama-za-zing!!!

Sew the strip on your shirt, following the stitching you used for the gathers.  (Make sure you put your stitch size back to normal sewing size!!!)

Ta Da!! Beautiful!  And so easy.  :)

Sickies

Yep, we've got the sickies.  Yucky, yucky, yucky.  Of course baby boy had to come down with it.  Poor baby looked so miserable.  I guess it was the flu, but praise the Lord it was relatively short lived for him.  It still seemed like forever though when I was sitting up in bed all night with him last night.....  I on the other hand, still feel rotten.  So thankful for my hubby who stayed home from the first weekend of muzzle loader season.  He was planning to take big brother, but he came stumbling into the bedroom last night wheezing and acting like he could barely breathe.  I don't take chances with him (big brother, that is), since he has asthma and has had pneumonia before.  I really thought there for awhile we were going to have to pull out the nebulizer.  :P  I sure hope I get over this mess....like really soon!

How I encourage a creative and artistic spirit in my children...

Turn the TV off.  Seriously, I have noticed that when we cut down on the amount of time they spend in front of the TV, they are much, MUCH more imaginative and creative with their play.  My children seem to be blessed with great imaginations, and they are very elaborate when it comes to their play.  As an example, the other day they built a nest, and had every pillow in the house piled in the middle of the living room, along with the bean bags, and lots of blankets.  I caught big sister trying to sneak real eggs into the nest, LOL!  We compromised and used balls instead.  I could give you many more examples....and sometimes I don't always catch them before their brilliant ideas (ie: the eggs) turn into a big mess.  But at the end of the day, when all is quiet, I look around and am so thankful for their imaginations and creativity!



This post is brought to you by: www.cottonbabies.com and www.bumgenius.com.  :)  (This post is an entry into a drawing to win 5 new Artist Series bumGenius 4.0 diapers.  Go to http://clothdiapers.blogspot.com/2010/10/bumgenius-artist-series-giveaway.html to enter yourself!  Good luck! :) )

Prayer request:

Please keep this young lady and her family in your prayers!  Such a sad story, but God is able to heal her completely I believe!  Read her blog for more details:

http://www.lesliejoyevans.blogspot.com/

Heartbreaking.

www.reecesrainbow.com

If this site doesn't move you to tears, I don't know what will.  Really pulls at my heartstrings.  Gosh, i just want to love them all like they deserve!

Just in case you thought my life was perfect...

Wow.  Night #2 that I have cleaned up a major BM mess.  Ugh.  And, no, baby boy was not responsible for either this time.  You'd think by the time they were 6 and 4 they would have figured out that we don't poop outside (in a major traffic area), and to make it to the pot on time.  Sigh.

It's almost bedtime.  Not our normal bedtime, the "Mom is REALLY Frustrated, You Are Going to Bed Right Now!" bedtime.  But big sister has at least 3 messes to pick up, including her "house" she decided to make outside, and big brother is running around nekkid after his unplanned shower (see above).  And baby boy just puked in my lap.  And did I mention hubby is working late?  Yep, it's been a fun filled evening.

It's Been a Good Day.

Reasons this day has been awesome:

1.  The weather.  Fall has come to my neck of the woods.  Cooler days and definitely cool nights.  Ahhh, so nice.

2.  I got most of the laundry done.  Just got to finish hanging up the rest of the clothes.

3.  Got a check in the mail for $91 from the big kids consignment sale.  (I am planning to go spend it tomorrow on some fabric to make the kids Christmas presents.  I will do a picture play-by-play on that.  :) )

4.  I took the kids to the park to ride their bikes and feed the ducks.  There are some huge, and I mean HUGE turtles in the creek, and they have amazingly long necks.

5.  Had a good supper, it's all cleaned up and now I'm sitting here blogging, while watching Iron Man 2 with my hubby.  Big sister and big brother are ready for bed and watching their own movie while baby boy is asleep in the couch beside me. :)

Yes, it has definitely been a good day!

Prayer

As a child growing up, my parents did a great job of teaching me the importance of prayer.  I remember lots of times where my parents prayed for me, specifically when I was sick.  It obviously worked great, since I think I only went to the doctor once, for tonsillitis.  :P  Every night I pray with my kids as they are laying in bed, and there are lots of nights I lay awake praying when I can't sleep.  I just can't imagine not praying, it's pretty much the first thing I do when I'm worried or afraid or upset.  I pray that my children will be kept safe, that they will accept Jesus as their savior at an early age, that bad influences/friends will be kept away, and the list goes on and on.  :)  I have found some great books on praying for your kids and also your hubby.  I have a whole other list of things I pray for my hubby, and it's every bit as long as the one for the kids!  This makes me think maybe I should write down what I pray for them instead of just relying on my remembering abilities (which are fast failing me it seems! :P)......  There is a lot of comfort and reassurance in prayer!  I think we all need to do more of it, maybe this world wouldn't be such a scary place if we did.....

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:6-7).  


"In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express" (Romans 8:26). 

The desk

Okay, put the second coat of paint on the desk and chair.  For some reason, I can't keep from having brush strokes.  Not sure why?  And it looks like I'm going to have to do a third coat on the desk....ugh.  Baby boy was really not happy with me painting today.  I had him in his stroller in the garage, and he ran out of patience about 1/3 of the way through.  :(  Usually he's a happy fellow, but when he gets worked up, it's hard to get him to forget about the terrible injustice he has suffered.....but that's another post!  :)

Been thinking about this for awhile now...

Actually, I've been debating whether or not to do this, but there are a lot of things that come to my mind that I think that I should be writing down somewhere....

I've never been much of a journal writer.....

We shall see how this works.  :)

Welcome to my life.