Hello again..

I miss this blog. I just do and I have no idea what to write here but it's a happy place for me so I am returning. Keeping it private but returning. So many things I have going around in my head and not enough time to write them all. Be back soon!

Jules

tidbits from my day........

*Lily will be 3 on Saturday!!! I can not believe that my full of life ,spirited, beautiful ,precious, precarious little girl is going to be 3!!! Although, in many ways, she already seems older. :)  We've been going through a rough patch lately but her sweet little hugs and precious helpful ways make it all worthwhile.

*Drew started climbing out of his crib this morning and surprised me in the kitchen as I was making breakfast....arms outstretched saying, "Mama" and giving me the most amazing "loves"....wow. That little boy just slays me. :)

*Claire helping her sister make butterflies from construction paper and making one for Drew-bee because "he can't touch the scissors, Mama. He would get very hurt and cry and we can NEVER make Drew-bee cry because he is my precious brother." And, that, slays me. :)

*The girls asking to read the bible and do our devotion this morning instead of watching t.v. :)


*We are back to 2 hr. naptimes and Mama is so very happy about that! Time to relax. Time to read!!!!

*My hubby surprised me with "Julie & Julia" last night!!! What a sweet thoughtful man I have!! I can't wait to watch it with him!!

*Beautiful day. Nature walks and clothes drying on the line. Bright sunshine & working in the garden....wow....

I really really really LOVE this life!! ♥

What is wrong with me that is right with everyone else??...

Lately, I have been reading quite a bit of Ann's writing at " A Holy Experience". Her way with words is so soothing to my troubled mind. Here's something I read today that I really wanted to share with all of you. Mothers or not, we all have these days. Click here and find grace.

♥Julie♥

~Today~

Today, I am....

~Sitting on the front porch with Claire & Lily (Drew is still asleep) wrapped in quilts, drinking hot cocoa & watching the baby calves play in our front pasture.

~Going to load up the kids in a bit and take them to McDonald's for a $1 menu breakfast...I ♥ the sausage burritos and a Dr.Pepper or  a large sweet tea...bad for me, I know but oh, so good!!


~Putting away winter clothes (except for jackets, it still gets chilly here for a bit) and dragging out the spring apparel. Making a list of what we need and (want) to add to what they already have. This sounds like a chore I would hate to do but actually I love it. I love to pull out Lily's hand me downs from Claire and see what she wore and remember her in those cute little outfits and envision Lily in the same clothes. :)

~Writing a church newsletter and working on a bible study for teenage girls....lol, we'll see how that turns out!

~Laying out everything for PE tomorrow....if we are having anything?? Oh, I hope so! We so enjoy & miss being with everyone in our homeschool group! :)

~Finishing lessons for the week so we can take tomorrow off! (making more "bird nests" with the girls...finishing our math unit and reading more about that delightful Ingall's family! (The Long Winter)talking about baby calves and doing some research! (I love homeschooling and the way you can just spontaneously learn about whatever you see that looks interesting!)

~Breakfast for supper tonight! The Pioneer Woman's yummy Migas!!!! If you haven't had these, you don't know what you are missing! Fried corn tortillas, eggs, peppers, onions, fresh tomatoes, pico de gallo, cilantro, and I top mine with monteray jack and sour cream! Oh, yum! (If the recipe is not on her site, I will try and post our modified version later....it's in her new cookbook!)

~I will be washing fresh eggs half the morning, lol. Seriously, I have about 2 dozen to wash and about 6 dozen in the refrigerator. ....anybody want some eggs???

~Thinking about Easter outfits...no idea.

~Hanging laundry on the clothesline!

~Folding more laundry...lol

~Playing outside in this beautiful sunshine!

~Scrubbing floors (can I skip this part??) :)

~A hot bubble bath and some Word of God before bed.

~Falling into bed tonight to read more, "The Mission of Motherhood" notes coming soon.... I hope!

~And to go to sleep next to the most wonderful man in the world. :)

~Waking up again in the morning and starting another blessed day...


Ya'll have a great one, too!!


♥Julie♥

~painting in the sunshine~

We have had a great few days of sunshine so we have been taking school outside quite a bit! This is our "Art Appreciation or Picture Study" class! LOVE homeschooling!!!!!♥

♥Julie♥

~a God stop~

Last night, I was thumbing through my new Bible I had just received in the mail. What I already LOVE about this Bible is the 1 minute thought starters that are placed throughout the book! This is what the packaging box says about those, "Throughout this Bible you will find fifty-two one -minute thought starters that let you dip into God's word for a minute of refreshment. To go deeper, each one of these Thought-Starters is followed by an option for a five-minute Reflect and Pray or a ten-minute Study to help you to learn even more about what God's word has to say to you today."

Anyway, as I was going through it trying to find something that applies to my right now, I came across this one:

RESTORE YOUR RELATIONSHIPS

What's that, again, God??????

Restore your Relationships. 

And, it continued on and I knew I was out of my comfort zone:

1 minute:   "If you ...remember that your brother has something against you...go and be reconciled to your brother." Matthew 5:23-24

'Forgiveness from God coupled with responsibility toward the other person are key to restoring relationships. In Jesus' eyes, broken relationships are always our responsibility. If someone has something against us, He calls us to go and make it right. If we have something against another, we're responsible to take the initiative to settle our differences (Matt. 18:15). It's not always comfortable, but it is always the right thing to do. Do whatever it takes to restore the relationship. Do it because it pleases God and because your relationships will be richer for it.

5 minutes:

Reflect and Pray: What are some ways you might need to reconcile your relationship with God? What relationship did you once enjoy that has since unraveled? What are steps you could take to restore that relationship?

10 minute: Study:

Turn to pg. 1151 for additional verses on Your Relationships. Look up and pray through some of the verses to learn more on this topic.

Word to take with you today:  RESTORE

Wow. I could write a book on my struggles with relationships. I try, really I do but sometimes I give up.  But, according to the study I am doing, it doesn't matter to Jesus. I need to get over myself and my hurt feelings and reach out. Even if I get kicked in the teeth (which is the case with a few people) I need to keep trying. For my sake. For my husband's sake. For the sake of my children. Because God says to do it. And that should be enough motivation to try. 

This being a Christian stuff is hard sometimes. But oh-so-ever worth it!!!

♥Julie♥ 

~in my opinion, it's the man that makes the clothes, not the other way around...~

"The clothes make the man"???? In my opinion, not hardly! Thoreau has some very interesting things to say about honest work and true manhood. Read on:
"No man ever stood the lower in my estimation for having a patch in his clothes; yet I am sure that there is greater anxiety, commonly, to have fashionable, or at least clean and unpatched clothes, than to have a sound conscience."

"I say, beware of all enterprises that require new clothes, and not rather a new wearer of clothes. If there is not a new man, how can the new clothes be made to fit?"

Above quotes from Walden, by Thoreau.


I found these quotes, although I have read them before, at Transformations, a lovely little blog. It would be worth your time to hop on over and read for a bit. Very encouraging lovely blog!

daybook & links!!...

I have done a few of these before and really enjoyed doing them! I actually try to do a variation of this almost every single day and print out to keep in my homemaking binder.I often just don't have the time to post it on the blog!  I wanted to blog today and didn't really know what to blog about. This just came to my mind. :)

Bible verse:  "Love your neighbor"  Matthew 5:43(Our memory verse this week)


recipe: chicken tortilla soup & High Fiber Nutritious Oatmeal Cookies(recipe tomorrow!)


activity with kids: making cookies & homemade whole-wheat bread & pizza dough

today's target cleaning areas: laundry put away (only 2 loads today, Praise the Lord!!), bedrooms(everything in it's place)

Something Charlie needs for me to do: He's been home for 2 days...not much for me to do for him!

Something special for my husband: Making his favorite cookies.

Something special for my children: We are reading "Little House in the Big Woods" before naptime...they love it!! We read the chapter about the "Dance at Grandpa's (the sugar snow) today"..such fun!

project: working on the chicken coop! Tons of homeschooling computer work (aka research and planning) to do!!

on my bedside table: Traveling Light by Max Lucado and Crazy Love by Francis Chan...also, always, Sally Clarkson (right now, it's Ministry of Motherhood).. :)

In our schoolhouse: Oh boy, I have a bunch of links for you today!! 

*This chore chart...love it!! We made Claire & Lily's this morning and I am just waiting on a chance to laminate them so we can get started! I will post pictures once we get that done. Here's a photo of the one on the provided.  

*this blog is really cool! I found sooo many neat ideas here! 1+1=1 blog 


*Making a Peace Place: (This is something I really really want to do in our home..peace is something I CRAVE with all my soul. I strive every day to make our home a peaceful haven and can always feel the negative effects when I don't give my 110% of my efforts.) I thought this was wonderful and started working immediately to put this into effect. Please read these links and use them to make your home a more peaceful environment for your family! We could always use more peace! :)

~A Holy Experience: Making a Peace Place

~The Homespun Heart: Create Rest

~The Homespun Heart: What's on the wall?

~Preschoolers and Peace: Part I

~Preschoolers and Peace: Part II

And, I have many more to share but it will have to late until later this week..naptime/quiet time is just about over and I have some supper preparations to attend to! 

Here's a picture I would like to share with you today:

Eggs from our chickens!!! We get about 12 a day. We have about 40 more eggs in the refrigerator.. lol  I 

love having chickens..... :)

~Julie~

a bit of wisdom from the late President Reagan...

“To sit back hoping that someday, some way, someone will make things right is to go on feeding the crocodile, hoping he will eat you last — but eat you he will.”  Ronald Reagan

thoughts, anyone????? 

The garden of our children's hearts...

  From Today's Proverbs 31 ministries devotional:

What if we considered our children's hearts and lives as a garden? The principles of sowing and reaping apply as well. Every day we sow into those "gardens" through our words, behavior, and the disciplines we teach them. However, just like a vegetable garden, if we plant carrot seeds, we will reap carrots – not corn. Consequently, if we sow negative seeds of discouragement, we will reap despair. If we sow seeds of impatience, we will reap frustration. If we sow seeds of laziness, we will reap stress.

Conversely, if we sow healthy seeds of good choices, we will reap self-discipline. If we sow seeds of patience, we will reap peace. If we sow seeds of perseverance, we will reap success. Our children's hearts are rich soil prepared by God to receive good seed. As conscientious gardeners, we need to plant those that will reap a harvest in our children's lives and prepare them for service in the kingdom of God.

What if you don't see results right away? That's normal. After a few days, the farmer doesn't get frustrated with slow growth and rip the seeds out of the ground. No. The farmer continues to water the soil, shoo the birds away, and pull the weeds. The farmer protects the seed until it has a chance to grow in its own time.

God designed our children to grow and flouris h with love and care. However, failure can be the weeds in our children's lives. Weeds don't destroy the good seed, they just leech the nutrients out of the soil limiting the growth of the plant. Failure doesn't destroy our children's potential; it just removes the enthusiasm from their hearts.

In order to overcome the pain and heartache of failure, children need a parent who will step in with fresh water and bright sunlight, while replacing the weeds with healthy seed. With this tender care, perseverance and self-discipline will grow and develop. Then in time, our children will produce a harvest of confidence. May we be gardeners who don't give up until the harvest.

Dear Lord, I praise You for Your almighty power and wisdom. Thank You for making me with potential to grow and change. Help me to see that same potential in those I love and to become a gardener of healthy seed in their lives. Help me to see failure as something to overcome, not stop me for a live of obedience. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

*Now, I am off to sow some good seeds!!! Have a blessed day!!

~Julie~

my fervent prayer..

Father,

I want so much to be consumed with YOU. Not with blogger, facebook, internet, the latest and newest things. I want more of YOU and the blessings you have poured upon me. Not more of this world and the emptiness it brings. Lord, heal me, mold me and shape me into your image. In Jesus most precious name,

Amen.

Nearer, my God, to thee....

Nearer, my God, to thee, nearer to thee!
 E'en though it be a cross that raiseth me,
 still all my song shall be,
 nearer, my God, to thee;
 nearer, my God, to thee, nearer to thee!

2. Though like the wanderer, the sun gone down,
 darkness be over me, my rest a stone;
 yet in my dreams I'd be
 nearer, my God, to thee;
 nearer, my God, to thee, nearer to thee!

3. There let the way appear, steps unto heaven;
 all that thou sendest me, in mercy given;
 angels to beckon me
 nearer, my God, to thee;
 nearer, my God, to thee, nearer to thee!

4. Then, with my waking thoughts bright with thy praise,
 out of my stony griefs Bethel I'll raise;
 so by my woes to be
 nearer, my God, to thee;
 nearer, my God, to thee, nearer to thee!

5. Or if, on joyful wing cleaving the sky,
 sun, moon, and stars forgot, upward I fly,
 still all my song shall be,
 nearer, my God, to thee;
 nearer, my God, to thee, nearer to thee!

tomorrow...

Tomorrow is a VERY difficult day for my family, every.single.year. Especially for my sweet Mom and Dad. October 28, 1978 is the day that my 4 yr. old sister was taken to heaven. So, while knowing that she is in such a better place it is also HARD for my parents and family to face every.single.waking.moment. without her,even though it's been 31 years.

I never felt what they felt until I became a mother. I knew it was sad and it made me sad that they were hurting. I was sad because I never got to know my sweet sister. BUT, I never really got it until I gave birth to a sweet little bundle of pink named Claire and then her sister, Lily and brother, Drew. Now I KNOW. And, I use this, the end of October, to allow myself to truly feel someone else's pain. I make myself slow down and capture each little moment that God gives me and I tuck it away, I cherish it. Each little hug and kiss and story and laugh and even each tantrum!! I try to give thanks in the midst of it all...

This year, I invite you to join me. You will never know if this is your last laugh with your child. Your last coloring sheet. Your last battle over bedtime. Your last story time cuddled in your lap. Your last Fall. Your last Christmas. Your last good morning and good night.

You will never know.

So, squeeze your kids. LOVE them A LOT!!!! Shower them with love. Do something they want to do and don't look at your watch. Take a deep breath and just "BE"...... in the moment....because it could be your last.


Much love and many prayers for you all,

Julie

It's a Happy Sunday....

I love Sundays. It's just the most awesome day of the week to me!! Minus the one fact that Charlie has to go back to work on Mondays, other than that, it's my favorite day! We had a wonderful worship service this morning, had pizza and salad for lunch and came home to do laundry (an every.single.day. thing around here), Charlie's working in his shop and I am working on some curtains for Drew's room and the living room, (I really really hope I can get this done and finished!!!)while the kids nap for 2 -3 hours. :) Tonight, we are going to bible study and we are starting a new study so I am super excited about that!! I am going to take Stuffed Baked Potato Soup and buttermilk cornbread and some Oatmeal cookies...perfect for the chill that's in the air, don't you think??

If you want the recipe for the soup; here it is:

Stuffed Baked Potato Soup
8 servings

4 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup onion, finely diced
6 potatoes, cubed

2 cups chicken broth
1/2 pint half-and-half
½ pound bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
optional toppings - extra bacon, extra cheese, sour cream, chives, salt and pepper

In a large stock pot saute onion in butter until tender. Add potatoes, chicken broth and enough water to just cover potatoes. Bring to a boil; lower heat and simmer until potatoes are cooked. Add half and half and bacon. Add cheese and stir until completely melted. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve with choice of traditional baked potato toppings and enjoy!

*If you are wondering where my post went from yesterday, so am I!!! It got deleted somehow but I do thank you for all of your prayers.

love,
Julie

Some resolutions...

I don't usually make New Year's Resolutions because I am not very good at keeping them. However, this year, I see MANY things I need to change and focus on desperately, so I am giving this another try. One of my resolutions is to read the Bible all the way through. I have not decided in which order to do this yet. If you want to find a schedule of different ways that you can achieve this goal, click here. They also have some great tips on reading and understanding the Bible.

Another major thing that I am working on this year is my ability to just "love" someone in any circumstance. I believe that this is VERY important as a follower of Christ. I learning about myself that I am not as good at forgiving as I thought I was. I am also not very good at reaching out to those whom I do love. I also need to work on loving myself. I am very hard, very critical, very demanding of myself. I need to spend my time just really trying harder to see the good in everyone and that has to start with me. Hopefully, reading the Bible through (again) will carry me along in this goal. I believe that it will.

I have many more resolutions that I want to share with you and some ways that I plan to go about these goals. I will share them throughout the month as I have time. My computer time is up for today so I must go....

update on kids:

everyone is some better although Claire is still coughing (hacking) and Drew is still stuffed up with snot. I will be glad when the dr. can rule out anything. I worry about ear infections and RSV. Although, I do have a cousin who is a RN who can tell me if they do. She says it's not RSV so I know that I shouldn't worry. :) But, I do. Being a mommy, I guess.

Keep us in your prayers, please.

Love you all,
Julie

A sabbatical...

I am going to be taking a winter sabbath from blogging. I will hopefully be back sometime in the next few weeks. :) I am feeling some not so little "nudges" from God that I need to put blogging way farther down on my list this Christmas season. It's just consuming way too much of my time , time that I could be devoting to other areas of my life. I guess that "simplifying" would be the word. I just feel this deep need to be more "present" in the lives of these precious souls around me and I want nothing to distract me from that.Most of all, I feel like I have some problems and decisions that need an enormous amount of time in prayer and that doesn't leave much time for blogging. So, until I can become better at putting everything in my life into it's proper place, I must take a break.

I would appreciate your continued prayers throughout this winter as we are facing a lot of financial strain and just some very hard decisions as a family. I will not be able to post on the 1 Corinthians study because of my break. Please forgive me for such late notice for those who were planning to join me. I am grateful for your love and friendship. We will pick back up on that after I have worked through everything. :)

Much Love to everyone & I pray that you all have a Blessed Christmas & New Year,

Julie

*I will probably be back periodically to post pictures and I will be emailing, just not as much.

taking a break....

Just wanted to let you know that I will be on a break next week. My sisters kids will be here all week and then my sister and her husband and some other family will be in. We also have a meeting (revival) planned for the weekend. I have a pre-op appointment for my tubal on Tuesday and my father-in-law has some serious dr's appt.'s this week. I just have A LOT of things that I need to be focused on this week and blogging is not on the list!

Also, I need to get everything around here in good order before I have my surgery. The girls need to start sleeping in the same room again (Claire has been on the hide-a-bed in the living room; LONG story). So, that may take A WHILE. =)

anyway, I just need to spend some serious time with my God, my husband, and my babies. In that order. blogging is just not going to fit in this week. and with the surgery and everything going on, it may be awhile before I can get back. But, I WILL be back!

I will try to get back and post pictures but that will probably be all for awhile. Thanks for reading & ya'll have a great NOVEMBER!! =)

Love and Prayers,
Julie

Grateful

Well, I am now officially the mother of 3 children! WOW! I can't believe that God has entrusted me with these 3 precious souls. It thrills me and frightens me all at the same time!

Claire is sturggling some with expressing her frustration. She has calmed down a lot in the last few days and so have I. I think getting back on our routine has helped her so much. Lily is doing extremely well. She was a little clingy there for awhile but now is adjusting just fine!

So, we are getting back to a little bit of normalcy around here but it is a struggle for me every day with the lack of sleep. I have taken to lying down when the girls do every day that I can. Sometimes things happen and I don't get to sleep but the rest always helps refresh me. For right now, it is the best that I can do.

I am trying to remember to enjoy and cherish these last few weeks of having a newborn since Drew is most likely to be my last baby.I am trying to remember to stop and keep forever in my mind and heart these beautiful moments with my children. This season right now is so difficult physically and exhausting emotionally but it is a short season and one filled with many blessings as well as the hardships of little sleep and discipline problems!

I must cherish every little baby breath and coo and sigh. Every bathtime with sweet smelling baby soap and lotion. Every feeding time when he looks up at me with beautiful blue eyes so like his Daddy. Time with my son cuddled up on my chest. The little love songs that Claire sings to Drew. Lily's sweet hugs for her baby brother. Claire's "Love you Mama" and Lily's "wuvs Mumma". The girls sweet kisses and hugs at night time and their precious prayers to JesusGod (that's what they call Him). All of these moments are precious and swift.

One day all too soon, I will look back and wonder where my babies went! They will be too busy or think they are too big to stop and cuddle with Mama and Daddy. I will miss this "baby time" and wish I could have it back for a moment. So, now is the time to enjoy it and cherish the blessings God has so graciously bestowed upon us. Thank you, God. I am not worthy but I am grateful. Truly. Eternally. Grateful.

So, that is what I am thinking lately. I just felt like getting it all down somehow before I lose what I am feeling.

Thank you for your loving prayers.

Julie

My strength

"I love you, LORD; you are my strength." Psalm 18: 1

I really truly desire with everything that I am for this to be true. I want to praise my God in every circumstance and trial. For now, I truly want to lean on the LORD and Praise HIM as I go through childbirth and enter my new phase of life as a wife and mama of 3. Pray for me, please. And please read the simple beauty of the Psalms. They are always good for the soul.

Love and Prayers,
Julie

Courage for your task

Joshua 1
The LORD Commands Joshua

1 After the death of Moses the servant of the LORD, the LORD said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses' aide: 2 "Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them—to the Israelites. 3 I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses. 4 Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the great river, the Euphrates—all the Hittite country—to the Great Sea [a] on the west. 5 No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.

6 "Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them. 7 Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. 8 Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go."

10 So Joshua ordered the officers of the people: 11 "Go through the camp and tell the people, 'Get your supplies ready. Three days from now you will cross the Jordan here to go in and take possession of the land the LORD your God is giving you for your own.' "

12 But to the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh, Joshua said, 13 "Remember the command that Moses the servant of the LORD gave you: 'The LORD your God is giving you rest and has granted you this land.' 14 Your wives, your children and your livestock may stay in the land that Moses gave you east of the Jordan, but all your fighting men, fully armed, must cross over ahead of your brothers. You are to help your brothers 15 until the LORD gives them rest, as he has done for you, and until they too have taken possession of the land that the LORD your God is giving them. After that, you may go back and occupy your own land, which Moses the servant of the LORD gave you east of the Jordan toward the sunrise."
16 Then they answered Joshua, "Whatever you have commanded us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go. 17 Just as we fully obeyed Moses, so we will obey you. Only may the LORD your God be with you as he was with Moses. 18 Whoever rebels against your word and does not obey your words, whatever you may command them, will be put to death. Only be strong and courageous!"

*I have been struggling with various things lately. A lot of it is just getting ready for this little one and the anxiety that comes with having a new baby and all that it involves. Maybe it is just me but I put so much thought into "How is this decision going to affect the kids?" "How do I teach them to have certain values and morals?" "How do I live my life to model what I know they need to be seeing in me?"

Needless to say, it is overwhelming to think on these things constantly. But, that is being a parent. And, there is no task that I would rather be entrusted with!

I found this scripture in my PawPaw Treat's list of how to use your bible. It is listed under "When you need courage for your task". And, I have needed a hefty dose of courage for my tasks lately so, I started reading this last night and shared it with Charlie. The one thing that stood out the greatest in this passage was this, "BE STRONG AND COURAGEOUS" and in verse 7, it is stressed like this, " BE STRONG AND VERY COURAGEOUS". I love the VERY right there, it just really stresses how courageous we are supposed to be!

This is just a journaling kind of entry. Just my thoughts lately. Thanks for reading.