Little Helpers

I am so thankful that I had girls first. They are all such little helpers with the new baby.

I think the next thing I am going to train my oldest (6yr) to do it to put away groceries. ESPECIALLY the cold and frozen items. She is so great when we are in the grocery store. She will remind the cashier to pack all the cold and frozen items in seperate bags and together. It makes it so much easier when time is short (like the baby is screaming and you need to tend to them) so you can just put THOSE bags away and not worry about a frozen item being in with the cereal and you forgot it and now it is bad. You know what I mean.

She knows where most everything goes anyway. So it shouldn't be too terribly hard. And I know that every time she gets a new responsibility (I think I like calling them that instead of chores), she feels more and more like a good wife and mother. She knows that she is practicing. I have explained to her that Momma never really learned to be a good keeper at home. The Bible tells us that as women, we are to be keepers at home. Momma is learning to obey God's word and instructing her (and her sisters) to obey God's word. We are learning and "practicing" together, and it is WONDERFUL!

Cute and FUN Idea

I have ALWAYS loved Rebecca's site, but now that she is posting up crafts - OH MY will I ever get off her site and pack?!?!

Check out the following:

From DRAB to FAB - I NEVER thought of changing a shirt like this into a girls dress! TOO CUTE! THANK YOU REBECCA for inspiring this idea!

Check out this flower drying rack! TOO CUTE!!

Cute Idea for Old Shirts

While I would not personally wear some of this stuff because it is too short, it is PERFECT for LITTLE GIRLS!!

Check out ways to reuse old shirts:

T-shirts

Button-up Shirts

HAVE FUN!! This is from one of my favorite sites that has really great ideas! Anyone else have any great ideas like these?

Coming soon - some more great links from a friend of mine (WOWIE) as well as pictures of my first crochet! I can chain, single, slip and half-double stitch!! WOOHOO!!

Aprons

Ok, so I am so thankful that the lady who bought aprons from Kitchen Wears shared how pleased she was with these aprons! Last month I ordered three for each of my girls (sale at $5 each) and they were out of the adult ones. Well, I must admit I feel like I robbed her at $5 each, because I would have paid more than that for the fabric alone! The quality of the fabric (and stitching) is so good that I cannot believe she is able to sell these for so low.

Well, she updated!! I just got three more aprons for my girls (so nice that they can put them on themselves because there are no ties!). They also use them as pinafores to keep their dresses clean while they are out playing.

AND they updated the women's adult sale aprons too. And they are only $12 (used to be sale price $15, but I think because the selection is so limited she marked them down). So I bought two for myself. I am so excited because again, I know it would have cost me more than $12 for the fabric (considering the quality of the fabric) and the stitching and time --- which I am so limited on.

So anyways, I just wanted to let you know about the updates to the sale pages!!

Oh, and to let you know that these can fit as small as a three year old (because my almost 3 year old fits into it perfectly --- longer on her than on my 6yr, but definitely not too long).

Blessings, Paula

PS... next post will have pictures of the girls in their aprons along with an EASY recipe that all your children 2 1/2 years+ can help with.

The Democrats Did It To Themselves

Ok, so this MIGHT start a debate (which I am not trying to do). I find it so VERY interesting that a group of people who so strongly believe in evolution (survival depends on not just the fittest, but also reproduction) are slowly weeding themselves out through having no children or just one. Just one more argument for having more and more and MORE children! LOL!!!

And another thing, even though I am really not very political at all, I just heard about a movie that is showing at the film fesitival in Toronto by a British filmaker that shows the assasination of President Bush. While the US is not too big on picketing movies, if this one ever does get picked up to be shown here, I think this is definately one worth picketing!!!! No matter your views on Bush, any movie showing the assasignation of a living president should be banned.

Fun Things

Came across a blog with some GREAT ideas!

Here are a few:

Embroidered Children's Drawings

Pillowcase Skirt

Both of these are things that I plan to do soon. I think the embroidered children's drawings can be GREAT pillowcases!! And what great gifts for the grandparents! And even though the pillowcase skirt might be too short for me (I like LONG ankle length skirts), it would be PERFECT for my 6yr old daughter! And it looks simple enough for HER to do too! And maybe even make one for her 4yr old sister!!

Have fun!!

Will I Ever Have The Time?

SO many cute crafts and so little time!!

How To Die Wool Blankets

Quick Quilt - for those who want a quilt but have no idea how to (or an easy way to quilt for children). Why didn't I think of this?!?!

Fabric Bracelet - this is a GREAT and easy idea for kids to make (for themselves, for gifts and to sell)

Quick and Easy Purse - can you see the theme I have going here? Los of easy stuff that kids can do. Not just because I have kids, but because I am a kid at heart (and that is how I best learn - as a child).

Sunbonnet Sue Free Projects - too cute and fun!!! and a few free sunbonnet sue patterns too (from the main page).

And keep an eye out for this promising page with cute free sewing patterns!

Headbands - oh I am SO into headbands right now. I really like the look of this one!

Ten Years FLY When You Are in Love

I can hadrly believe that my husband and I have been married ten WONDERFUL years today! They have been the best 3 years of my life! But seriously, all joking aside, I do wish that it wasn't just the past three years that have been working on being a submissive wife. I know that our marriage (while still wonderful, always with room to grow) would have been much happier (as they have been the past few years) if I had learned what the BIBLE had to say about submission instead of just going off what other women in the church said it was.

If you had asked my husband 3 years ago if I was submissive, he would have said YES without any doubts. But once I learned what the BIBLE said about submission (and even moreso once I learned that being a helpmeet was a whole lot more than JUST submission), if you were to ask my husband now if I was submissive, he would prolly reply: Not during the first few years of our marriage, but she is working on it now."

Yep, WORKING ON IT. I still haven't got it down. There are still days when I forgot to honor my husband.

I am reading a WONDERFUL book by Nancy Leigh DeMoss (oh she is WONDERFUL!) called Biblical Womanhood.

We know we should always be asking ourselves in EVERYTHING we do "Does this glorify God? Is this what God would have me do?"

As wives, this book reminds us to ask ourselves in everything "Does this help my husband?" OH THAT HURTS!

I would so much rather be playing on the computer, scrapbooking while the kids are napping than packing the house or mowing the lawn. BUT, does that help my husband? Right now, the answer is no. We are preparing to move and trying to get the house ready. Playing on the computer does not help him when I could be packing instead. (Thankfully I am able to enter this while I am nursing the baby )

So just a reminder to ask yourself in everything:
DOES THIS HELP MY HUSBAND?

If the answer is no, you would be blessed to skip it and move onto something else. :)

And a nursing baby needs LOTS of nursing so I also had a little bit of time to do this:

Click on it to see the layout I made for my husband for our ten wonderful years of love. Those love notes are ACTUAL notes I have written to him (or VERY similar).

One more layout for my man:

Why Momma Mows The Lawn

Growing up my mother ALWAYS mowed the lawn. I don't think I ever saw my dad mow the law. He would go out after Mom was done and do all the detail work and set up the sprinklers to water (automatic sprinklers - what was THAT?). But it was always Momma out there mowing.

I never thought anything about it until I met my husband. "Mowing is MAN'S work." He made it sound so wonderful that there were just certain things a man was to do for his woman and that my mother should not have to mow the lawn.

So when we got married, one of hubby's responsibilites was to mow the lawn. I loved the fact that I was cared for in such a special way. I started to create "honey do" lists for my husband. After all, there were jobs for women and jobs for men.

But I realized that my "honey do" list was getting longer and longer and nothing was being done. And once kids entered the picture, I noticed now the lawn was rarely getting done as well. And when the lawn WAS getting done, family time with Daddy was not.

I realized that my husband's work week (usually 80 hours or more) takes him away from his family. He really wants to spend time with the kids and myself. And he would rather do that then mow the lawn or anything on my "honey do" list.

So rather than add to the list, I am starting to cross things off. Not because I don't want/need them done anymore, but because I am doing them. I have finally gotten over the whole "that is something for a man to do" attitude (which was really weighing my husband down because I was adding so much to the list for him to do). Instead, I have the "blessings list." IF my hubby has the time and wants to do it, what a blessing it is to me! If he doesn't and I do it, it becomes a blessing to him - by allowing him to spend the precious little time he has with us and not feel guilty about not doing something else that I addedto the list.

So this afternoon, while the girls were playing quietly on the deck, and baby JJ was sleeping, I went out and mowed the lawn for the first time. And it feels great! This weekend, rather than my husband feeling guilty the lawn is not mowed (he wants to go to a museum the girls have asked to goto), he can enjoy the whole weekend with us going through the museum and seeing the awe and wonder on the girls faces. He can explain things to them and feel satisfaction in teaching them. Oh I am so thankful that I changed my honey do list into a blessings list. And I encourage you to do the same. It is so freeing!!

From Chaos to Calm: 15 weeks to a Happy Home

Being gone last week, I missed out on sharing this little gem with you. But as they are only on week two (and we can just double up sometimes can't we?) I wanted to share this link with you:

From Chaos to Calm: 15 weeks to a Happy Home