Bento Box

OH how we LOVE Bento Boxes!! Merideth just did a post on Bento Boxes, so I encourage you to head over and check it out.

She also just finished up a series for the Ladies Finishing School - Living Well On Less. It was GREAT! Be sure to check it out!

(PS. I just learned about this NEW thing where I can put in comments about the links. Try it! Hover over a link and see what it says! :) I have been doing this for weeks now. :D )

Trash The DressTrash The Dress

Being a submissive wife is not always easy. Sometimes I am asked to do things that I just cannot see the reasoning behind (isn't it also that way with the Lord? Maybe that is why I am supposed to be submissive to my earthly husband so I can better submit to my heavenly Husband). :)

But usually (and not always right away), I will see the wisdom in my beloved's decision.

His current request? That I trash my wedding dress.

I must admit when I was standing over my husband's shoulder as he asked me to do this and he was telling me about the site, I was thinking that wedding dress means so much to me. Trashing the wedding dress is something someone who is divorced does. Those with happy marriages keep their wedding dresses, sealed in protective plastic just like mine is. Which also happens to be hidden away in a closet somewhere.

But after he explained to me about what exactly trashing your wedding dress is, and showed me some of the cutest pictures of women trashing their dresses, we decided to go for it. Hey laughed and gave me a high five, so I know this means a lot to him.

Now of course, most of the ones who do this are newly weds (you can tell by the pictures).

BUT, who says this has to be for newly weds!?! Next year, for our twelve year wedding anniversary, we have decided I am going to trash my wedding dress. That gives me one year to get into shape and be able to fit back into my wedding dress and one year to save up for the big event. (There are even photographers who specialize in trashing the dress photography.) You can follow my journey by clicking on the label Trash The Dress.

We will be having a vow renewal (something I thought my beloved would NEVER do, but he is going to buy and trash a tux with me) followed by the trashing of the dress. We are going to spend the day at Disneyland going on all the rides IN MY WEDDING DRESS! Then out for dinner IN THE DRESS! And then to the beach IN THE DRESS for a walk in the sunset along the beach (and maybe some rolling around too - scroll half way down to see my FAVORITE picture or trashing the dress by rolling in the sand!).

Why trash the dress? Because I love and am committed to my beloved. I have no use for a wedding dress anymore. And I am tired of stashing it away in a closet not to be seen or enjoyed. And just like I did not wear my mother's wedding dress and my mother did not wear her mother's wedding dress, the likelyhood of any of my daughters (or future daughter in laws) wanting to wear my dress are slim to none. And rather than having it be just one more things my children have to weed through when I die, why not let it be a living testimony to my children NOW about the commitment their father and I share with each other. Yes, the vows are enough. But why not turn the dress into a work of art to remember the day we took our vows? A work of art to remember our commitment to each other.

Proverbs 31 - In Depth Look

A WONDERFUL in depth look at the Proverbs 31 woman.

An Excellent Wife: What God's Word Says
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4

These are from a wonderful blog I know you will all love
Desiring To Be A Godly Woman

Video For How To Fold A Fitted Sheet

I have always wondered if there was a better way to fold a fitted sheet than the way I was doing it. LOL! Now I know. Video how to fold a fitted sheet

HT Making A Home

SHOPPE: Wanna Buy Something Sweet...

and cute, and adorable, and something your kids will love and ...

I could go on and on and ON about Rebecca's new store (and about Rebecca - she has the BEST blog!). I highly encourage you to go over and check her NEW store out!

Rebecca's Esty Store

-=-=-=-
I feel VERY strongly in supporting other homeschooling stay at home mom's and their Proverbs 31 ventures. SO I have created the SHOPPE acronym:

Stewards Helping Other Proverb31 Entrepreneurs

If you have a home based business, I know my web page has a small readership, but every bit of advertising helps. I would be happy to help

Follow Up

Now that I have had some time to break down and cry and some time to get some sleep, I feel much better.

Yes, it did happen to me. Baby JJ was in the backseat. I have given him cookies for almost 4 months now and he has done fine with them. However, yesterday he did NOT do fine with them.

I had given him a new type of cookie. I just assumed since it was the same size as the other cookies he would do fine.

I think there may have been an ingredient in there he may have been allergic to. SO the choking may not have been cookie alone, but his throat may have swelled a bit in reaction. The only reason I say that is because AFTER his nap, his face was purple and his ears were bright red.

If he had looked like that BEFORE I put him down for a nap, I never would have put him down. He must have been pale from the whole incident (I know **I** was pale), and the nap gave time for the color (and MORE) to come back to him.

He also developed a high fever yesterday (which has since gone down).

So today, instead of a Saturday Sweethearts, I hope you will understand that I am gonna spend all day loving on my family - thankful to God we are all here, and alive.

To Those of You...

To those of you who honked in anger and raced by, I hope you felt remorse when you saw me, in anguish holding my limp baby, and will think twice about honking and getting angry the next time traffic is held up.

To those of you who stopped to help, especially the lady right behind me who helped clean my baby and me and the car up, and the angel EMT who showed up out of no where, and who disappeared just as quickly once the baby was safe, and the two gentlemen who came rushing over to help, thank you thank you THANK YOU and may God continue to bless you all of your days for your care and help today.

And to all you Mommy's who allow your older baby to eat even the smallest of finger foods while you are driving... please stop. It is not as safe as you think, and baby can wait 15 more minutes until you get home. 15 minutes of a crying baby is a baby who is alive and not choking.

To the rest who were just curious if the baby was OK but were unable to stop, baby is home and sleeping now. He is doing fine. Very tired, but very alive baby. Thank God.

Friday's Fun: The Great Outdoors

My children and I LOVE nature. I love to be outdoors and they do too.

Growing up, though, the only outdoors stuff I really did was camping or canoing. I never really understood anything about making hollyhock dolls or daisy crowns. But it is something I want my children to have wonderful childhood memories of when they are grown.

I have listed some books in the past that are MUSTS for enjoying the garden with your children. But if money is tight, here is a web page with some FREE ideas!

Seeding Your Child's Imagination's With Simple Garden Projects

I also encourage you to get outdoors with your children while they are young. Go to a nearby park (not the one with swings, the recreational kind). Check out local hikes in your area. I know our state has a list of kid friendly hikes, so we can go hiking most anywhere! LOL!!

Ask around. I recently learned about a waterfall you can hike to and then play in afterwards! HOW FUN!

Any other free ideas out there? Please leave a link!

Interview With An Atheist

WOW. This video is just a testament that as a follower of Christ we can only SHARE the good news. Jesus is the only One who saves. VERY convicting to watch.


Interview With An Atheist

HT: Desiring To Be A Godly Woman

Children, Obedience and The Lord

I love my children. And I love when my children shine with the love and joy of Jesus.

They don't always. They have their moments of disobedience and of discord with one another. I was reading on someone's blog about how when your child is disobedient, the answer is not ___fill in the blank___, but the answer is Jesus.

I must admit that this really struck me. I mean, I have read most every book I can get my hands on concerning child rearing. To spank or not to spank, time outs, tomato staking, etc. But what that mother said is true.

If your child has a relationship with Jesus, there will not be a problem with disobedience. 1 Samuel 3 talks about how the Lord called Samuel and he was obedient. I was listening to an S.M. Davis CD called "What to Expect From A Twelve Year Old" and he mentioned that Samuel was only three at this time. WOW! I wonder how old Miriam was when she looked after her little baby brother (Moses)? Just thinking about little girls in the Bible - they aren't mentioned very often because they weren't considered important to society. For them to mention any girl or women meant something important.

The point is, those children who knew and loved God from an early age were very mature and responsible (compared to the children of today). You don't read words like "terrible two's" or "toddler" or "teenager" in the Bible. Those words are created to excuse away the child's behavior rather than having the important task of addressing the heart behind the bad behavior and changing it.

I realize that I have really done a disservice to my girls. For the most part, they truly are great. But I can tell that I have not instilled in them a love for the Lord. They love to read the Bible (well, what THEY consider reading - looking at pictures). They like when Momma reads the Bible to them. They love to sing songs about Jesus. They love to talk about God and his creation. But I can tell they do not reverence Him. I can tell that they do not really LOVE Him.

And why? Because I have difficulty reverencing the Lord. I do not live my life as if I truly LOVE Him. I have placed things on a higher priority than Him. I tried explaining to my 7 year old that the reason it is so important that she learns now how to love and obey God is because the older you get, the more difficult it is. I did not grow up learning how to love and obey. And I struggle daily. I don't want my children to have that struggle.