Hosted by Biblical Womanhood

Yesterday my baby boy turned 10! He got a lot of birthday money from family, and asked if we could go to the shops in the morning to spend it. While the kids looked at toys, I looked around at the other areas in K-Mart. I don’t think I’d been there for months… in fact, I can count on one hand the times I have been to any shopping mall since we got back from being overseas. As I looked around me, I observed some very interesting things….

First of all, I noticed that it was still busy, busy, busy. I have been wondering when the rising prices of fuel and commodities would start changing people’s lifestyle. Now, maybe everyone  there had a good reason for being there, like us - spending birthday money, or buying presents, or buying clothes that they needed. I am not out to judge here… But the point was, that it was still very busy and people are still spending money regardless of what they are spending it on (like us!).

I noticed that there were many, many sale signs. Buy one toy from this brand - get the second one half price. Buy any item of clothing, get 70% off the second one. Sales on books, sales on household items, sales on everything. Of course it is nearly the end of the financial year for us, and so there would be lots of stocktake sales at the moment too. So in fact it is a good time to spend, if you really need some of these things. However, there were also many sales on things that I would call luxuries - dvds, books full of twaddle, etc. I was tempted by the cheap prices! Buy three dvds for $30, or one for $12.95! Now you know what the better price is, don’t you?! But did I need 3 dvds? No, there was only one I really wanted! I suppose if I had kept looking I would have found some others that would do…and I could have spent $30 just like that.

It’s funny, isn’t it. While the shops are “helping us” by giving us these great sales, they are also encouraging us to spend more. Elizabeth desperately needs winter clothes. I was going to sew some for her, then I saw the sale signs and went to look if there was anything appropriate for her. In no time my arms were reaching for numerous items, because after all, the second one was going to be 70% off! I ended up putting most things back and buying her two tops, which I still could have made cheaper myself, but I figured she needed something to wear while I was sewing! LOL!

When we got home, I thought about the whole shopping experience. Because I haven’t been to any malls for so long, I had a brief thought that since there were so many great bargains, I should go back without the kids and just browse…. That thought was very brief! Things are tight in our household at the moment. I have more stuff in my house than I could ever need. I know that if I went for a browse through the mall I would be tempted by the things I see.

I do not work outside the home and earn money, but I save it. The old saying “a penny saved is a penny earned” is my motto. My pennies are not taxed, they’ve already been taxed and now they are precious. I could say I saved $8.85 by buying three dvds instead of buying them individually. But I spent $30 to do this. Is this a saving? No, I saved $30 by not spending it in the first place!

Please don’t get me wrong. I am not saying don’t buy dvds! I am saying that I am learning to really ask myself whether I need these things before I buy them. The time is coming, if not already here for some of us, where every penny or cent will count. For myself, I am happy not to go to the malls and be tempted by all those specials. I am happy to use what I have, when I can. Because for me, the best way to save my money, is not to spend it.

NB I did go and buy patterns for half price and marked down fabric to make some clothes for Elizabeth! More on that another day! 

Anyway, the doctor said she wanted to see me on my current dose for another 6 months. She is a lovely doctor, who is also a Christian, and I trust her advice. She is not keeping me on the same dosage for no reason. She did explain it, but I can’t remember all the technical details. She checked all sorts of things and my blood tests I did a while ago had all came back fine. So I am healthy and relatively sane, but still need to keep going on my medication. I can live with that a bit longer.

However… ah, there is always a however…! I have had a very sore elbow for a while now. I thought I had knocked it on something and it just wasn’t getting better. She quickly diagnosed it as tennis elbow, and asked me what I have been doing with that arm. I told her knitting and computer stuff. She said it wasn’t the knitting, it was the computer, and wanted to know why I was on the computer and whether it was important! I told her I did all my school stuff on there, and blogged, and surfed…. as to which bits were important….???? The school stuff I guess…… isn’t blogging and surfing the net also very important?!

~Sigh~

I am under strict instructions to only use the computer if I have to, and to do some exercises with my hand and arm.

Oh well. At least I can still knit.

Hosted by Tiany

1. Bibles Study/Devotions

During my morning Quiet Times, I journal my prayers and thoughts. My current journal is just about full, so I need to start a new one this week. I want to print out a couple of prayer lists to stick in the back. There are various lists available on the internet and these are the ones I have chosen:

31 Days of Praying for Your Husband

and

31 Biblical Virtues to Pray for Your Children

There are many more things to pray for I know, but I want to make a start with these two lists.

2. Must Do

· bake cake for Matthew

· sew blouse for Elizabeth

· Finish putting manure on the veggie garden, take photos and post them on my blog

· plant some winter seeds/seedlings

· ******finish baby quilt****** !!!!!!!!! (Our friends’ baby will be too big to use it if I don’t hurry up!)

3. In the Home

I want to spend an hour in each of the kids’ rooms this week. I have been ignoring that part of the house, and it is not looking good!

4. Train Them Up

We’re back to studying the Middle Ages together and the kids have been begging me to do another mural, so… this week we’ll work on that, as well as making a timeline in the hallway so that it is easier to get an overview of History.

5. Menu Planning

Hosted by Orgjunkie

Tuesday

Irish Stew

Wednesday

Macaroni Beef

Thursday

Silverside (Corned Beef) in crockpot

Friday

Homemade Pizza

Saturday

Leftover Silverside and Macaroni Casserole

Sunday

Chicken in the Crockpot

Have a great week everyone!

Some mornings when I get up, I reach for my laptop first. I tell myself that I will just check my mail, and then put it away and have my Quiet Time. Before I know it, an hour has passed and I have gotten quite distracted! I may have decided just to check one or two blogs, and…well, you probably know how it goes! Suddenly the children are up and asking me to make porridge.. and the noise level in the house increases. I may still get my Quiet Time basket out and journal, pray and read my devotional,… but the silence and peace has gone, and I end up rushing through it. My day, as a consequence, often doesn’t flow quite as well!

As you have probably noticed, I am not blogging very much at the moment! During the Sabbatical I took at the beginning of this year, I was too busy to really think and pray about my plans for this website and blog. Over the last month, I have been doing this, and also re-evaluating the priorities in my life. I have come across some very pertinent posts about the internet and blogworld, like this one at Dominion Family. Oh, that one really struck a chord in my heart!

I am a very impulsive person. When I decide to do something, I jump in with both feet and lots of enthusiasm! I am quick to follow God’s leading in areas, but also quick to stop if I feel it is not right anymore. Many times I have felt like closing down this blog, for a lot of the same reasons in the post above. As Cindy writes:

“In the end, it was not the evil things on the Internet, not even the arguments and negativity, but rather the good things that bogged me down. So many, many good things. Pictures of decorated houses, libraries, recipes, book suggestions (this alone has been enough to almost drown me), crafts, knitting, aprons, sewing, frugality, weather, poetry, audio files, friends, homeschooling suggestions, music and the ideas, the wonderful, wonderful ideas.”

However, I have not felt peace about stopping either. Rather I feel that God is teaching me to balance my life. I know that many days the internet takes up way more time than it should. I could remove that temptation altogether, but then I wouldn’t be learning as much.

I have come to the conclusion that I will keep this website up, and continue to blog as I feel led - which some weeks may be often, and some not at all! I am not going to worry about how many people come here to read. I am not going to be pressured by the “experts” to be constantly posting new content so that my numbers stay high. I want to live life with my family, and sometimes share about that life, but not obsess about blogging every minute of it.

One of the reasons for this blog is to leave a legacy for my children - to let them peak into my life as they were growing up. This is still important for me. But I don’t want them to look back and say, “Mum was always blogging and not spending time with us!”

Another reason for this blog is to bless people out there in the big wide world. If I can even encourage one person to enjoy their role as a keeper of the home or as a homeschool mum or just as a mother… then I am happy.

Peace comes with knowing you are in God’s will for the moment. Seasons change, and God leads us to different areas. If there comes a time when He wants me to close down this website, I will. Until then, I will still be here, but only when time allows it.

May I encourage you not to feel pressured in your blogging? Enjoy it, and when it gets too much, as it will at times, take a break and don’t apologize! Blogging and the internet are good if we use them wisely. But they should not put more pressure on us. Goodness knows we have enough pressure put on us from all directions! Take time today to hug your children a few more times, to call a loved one, to write a letter…. switch the “post editor” in your brain off for a little while, and enjoy life!

What is it about a Spring Day that makes you want to just get up and go, go, go? Even if it is Autumn?

I remember years ago, my mum and I went shopping one day in April. It was the most beautiful day. The sun was shining, and the air was crisp. There was joy in our hearts as we wandered up and down the main street of the town we were in. We walked into a small shop and greeted the lady, and said,

“Isn’t it just a beautiful Spring day?!”

At the time, we both wondered why the lady looked at us so strangely, and hesitatingly agreed with us. We browsed through the shop, and then headed out into the sunshine again. A little while later, it struck me, and I turned to my mother and said,

“Mum! It’s not Spring, it’s Autumn!!!!”

We had forgotten we were in the Southern Hemisphere…. And indeed, April in Australia is Autumn. How we laughed as we remembered the lady’s strange look! She really must have thought we were slightly nuts!

I still look out at this time of the year, on a day like today, and think it is Spring. It doesn’t really matter, because I will enjoy the day regardless of what season it is. And I will chuckle as I think of that day my mother and I went shopping….

It is the perfect day to strip all the beds of their sheets and get them on the line. It was a day like today, a few months ago, that I washed all my quilts, as you can see in the above photo.

Just in case you are one of those who has never experienced this (because it only happens to me), this is how it goes. Your day starts out fine. Everything is going well…. until you look around you and realize that the dishes aren’t done….. dinner isn’t even a figment of your imagination, and your son has just spent the last hour on one Math problem. The children are hungry, but you didn’t have time to bake this week and you are being frugal, so of course you didn’t BUY any snacks. You decide to bake cupcakes… and donuts…. and some cheese cookies while you are at it. The kitchen looks worse and worse, but the children are fed - sugar and white flour. Oh, and some cheese.

The kids have a break and run to their rooms to play, leaving you to survey the mess.

Then the voices start….. you can’t do this.. it’s too much…. they will never learn everything they need to know…. they are behind…. you haven’t even put the washing in the machine yet….

The voices are not just discouraging, they are also full of “good” advice. No, don’t put them in school, get a REAL curriculum. Then you will know that they are covering EVERYTHING. You can have more time for yourself. You can sew. You can quilt. You can have gourmet meals on the table, because this wonderful curriculum that will teach them EVERYTHING is self taught. You don’t have to do ANYTHING, but make sure they are at the table working. That is the only way you are going to survive the high school years…. until you have to put them in school……

When your husband sets foot in the door he knows there is something very wrong. As soon as he hears you wail, “I can’t do it anymore!!!! ” he knows… it’s that time of the month again where there is panic in the homeschool……

Thankfully this too passes and the Word of the Lord reigns supreme:

“At their wit’s end, they cry unto the Lord in their trouble,

and he bringeth them out” (Ps. 107:27, 28).

Today Daniel breezed through his Math and Science. Matthew and Elizabeth wrote a story in their free time. Matthew worked on his Bee lapbook and happily told me all he already knew about bees. Elizabeth started working on a cat lapbook, making up crossword puzzles and word searches herself. The dishes eventually ended up in the dishwasher and the kitchen was tidy. Some more dirty clothes were washed and dinner was on the table, simple, but nice.

You know what? My children may not learn EVERYTHING, but I didn’t either when I was at school. Our curriculum may not cover EVERYTHING, but it covers what we think is important. And some of my children still don’t know their times tables, but one day they will.

And so the panic ends…. and it is time for bed. Aren’t you glad this NEVER happens to you?!

I woke up this morning at 6.30 to a very cold house. The fire had gone out, and it was freezing! Outside, it was literally freezing. I pulled on my clothes and headed crunched out over the frosty grass to the woodshed, to cut some kindling and get some small bits of wood to get the heater going again. That warmed me up a bit!

I went back in and lit the heater, made myself a cup of tea, and hubby a “coffee to go” in his thermos mug thingo. Poor dh was in shock to see me up and about. I told him not to get used to it, it may never happen again! He chuckled.

Next to the heater and with cuppa in hand, I got my electronic water bottle (ie laptop computer) and started doing some visiting in blogland. It was so nice and quiet.

When the kids got up, Elizabeth headed out with the camera and took the above photo. She also had some fun doing her own “trick photography”. She excitedly showed me a mountain of snow in our front yard…..

 …. which in reality was the frost on top of the car. Got to give her points for creativity.

A little later my children’s tummies were in need of warmth, so I cooked up a pot of porridge.

Now the sun is shining and the frost is starting to melt. It is going to be a lovely day.

This is the day which the LORD hath made;

we will rejoice and be glad in it.

Psalm 118:24 

On top of these down comforts and this spread of silk and lace,

You see, I’m used to having it lie so, across my feet,

But maybe I won’t need it here, with this nice furnace heat;

I made it? Yes, dear, long ago. ‘Twas lots of work, you think?

Oh, not so much. My rose quilt, now, all white and green and pink,

Is really handsome. This is just a plain, log cabin block,

Pieced out of odds and ends; but still–now that’s your papa’s frock

Before he walked, and this bit here is his first little suit.

I trimmed it up with silver braid. My, but he did look cute!

That red there in the centers, was your Aunt Ruth’s for her name,

Her grandmother almost clothed the child, before the others came.

Those plaids? The younger girls’, they were. I dressed them just alike.

And this was baby Winnie’s sack–the precious little tyke!

Ma wore this gown to visit me (they drove the whole way then).

And little Edson wore this waist. He never came again.

This lavender par’matta was your Great-aunt Jane’s–poor dear!

Mine was a sprig, with the lilac ground; see, in the corner here.

Such goods were high in war times. Ah, that scrap of army blue;

Your bright eyes spied it! Yes, dear child, that has its memories, too.

They sent him home on furlough once–our soldier brother Ned;

But somewhere, now, the dear boy sleeps among the unknown dead.

That flowered patch? Well, now, to think you’d pick that from the rest!

Why, dearie–yes, it’s satin ribbed–that’s grandpa’s wedding vest!

Just odds and ends! not great for looks. My rose quilt’s nicer, far,

Or the one in basket pattern, or the double-pointed star.

But, somehow–What! We’ll leave it here? The bed won’t look so neat,

But I think I would sleep better with it so, across my feet.

In Spring, I felt energized, ready to plant anything I could! I got out in the garden, made up pots of veggies, planted seeds and watered them faithfully until they popped up from under the soil and reached out to the sunlight.

In Summer it was hot. There were days when I was physically tired from working hard in the garden - from hauling water from the bathtub to the tender plants that were struggling in the harsh heat. I was excited to see tomatoes starting to form on the vines, and oh, the fruit growing bigger on the trees! It was invigorating! I watered, I weeded, and tried to stay cool.

At the end of Summer, and early Autumn I brought in my harvest. I did some canning and freezing. I started to get tired, but the end was in sight. The leaves began to fall from the trees. The frost came and killed the rest of my veggie garden. My body started to lose its momentum… and I started to get tired.

I found this poem a few days ago. It expresses what I am feeling:

Who Loves the Trees Best?

Who loves the trees best?

“I,” said the Spring;

“Their leaves so beautiful,

To them I bring.”

Who loves the trees best?

“I,” Summer said;

“I give them blossoms,

White, yellow, red.”

Who loves trees best?

“I,” said the Fall;

“I give luscious fruits,

Bright tints to all.”

Who loves trees best?

“I love them best,”

Harsh Winter answered

“I give them rest.”

by Alice May Douglas

Winter brings rest. I now know why I am tired. It is time for my body to rest and it is part of a simple life to give in to this rest.

Somehow in our modern lives we have decided that we don’t need to follow the seasons anymore. In days gone by, people went to bed with the sun and got up with it too. Did they fuss in the winter when the days were shorter? From reading books like Little House on the Prairie, I have learned that they went along with the seasons. In winter the men mended and maintained their tools. The women quilted and sewed. They accepted a season of rest.

We don’t need to do that anymore. We have electricity and can stay up way past dark, working. We can drive at night, keep up all our activities, and not slow down one bit during winter. It is not an accepted thing anymore to slow down during the winter season. We must all keep going, a hundred miles an hour, in the hustle and bustle of what we now call life.

I want to follow the seasons. I need a season of rest. My body tells me so. My heart tells me so. And the seasons tell me so. Now is the season to hunker down with my children. It’s time to light the fire and sit on the couch, reading stories to each other. It’s time to pull out the unfinished sewing projects. It’s time to use my preserves and have a stew cooking on the stove all day. It is time to enjoy the hard work of the seasons gone by. It is time for a season of rest.

I had a lovely day for Mother’s day - with breakfast and presents in bed, and then lunch with Robyn’s family. This is one of the presents I got:

I know I will be using it a lot. I also got a few other bits and pieces, including some yummy chocolate!

This weekend we went to my parents’ place to see my sister and her family one more time before they headed home to outback Australia. My Dad had built my nieces and nephew a cute cubby house from bits of wood and cardboard boxes:

Isn’t it too cute?! Even our older kids loved it. They played in it for hours while us big people had cuppas and chatted. Saying goodbye was sad as we probably won’t see each other for another few years, but we were glad we got to have this extra afternoon together.

Dad sent us home with some more pumpkins, so I really need to get my big pot out and make a big batch of soup!

I did a lot of school planning last week. I mostly worked on Science and History schedules. Daniel is doing Apologia’s General Science and there is a lot to get through. I split up the chapters into days and made a simple checklist for him. It is a pretty full schedule, but so far it is ok. Here is this week’s if you’d like to see it:

Apologia General Science Module 3 Checklist

I found a complete schedule for this textbook (and others in the Apologia series) at Donna Young’s website. She has done a fantastic job in putting these schedules together and other resources too. They are free and great to use if you don’t want to make your own.

I also did a schedule for Daniel and Elizabeth for History. We are on Chapter 14 of The Story of the World, Middle Ages. I typed up the review questions from the student workbook with lines underneath them for answers for Daniel. For Elizabeth I typed up some copywork for her to copy onto notebooking pages. I would post these as well, but I am not sure about copyright laws, so I’d better not.

And that about sums up what’s been happening around here….. I’m slowly getting around to everyone’s blogs again and popping in to say hi! It’s nice to be back in blogland.