Quick recap on the grocery goals - I'm on week 3 of the meal plan. I did go to the grocery store in that time frame to restock on milk and eggs. I also did a "Quiz Meet" shop that I had forgotten about where I bought snack items, but all were on sale, so I felt good about that and it meant we didn't go out for lunch which we typically do if I don't plan ahead. I can get by this week as well if we stick to the meals I planned.
We went to one store to pick up dog food and saw the price was more than half off. We sent out one of our kids and went back for a year's supply! That'll save us tons of money as dog food is super expensive.
So yes, this past weekend was a quiz meet and the kids, once again, amazed us. One of our junior teams took top place. It still amazes me to think that even if the kids don't place in the top, they have memorized almost the entire book of 1 Corinthians since September. Incredible. To see so many kids with God's Word hidden in their heart is so exciting as they don't even know the impact it is going to have on their lives until they are much older.
As for homeschooling, we recently started a book about Canadian History written in a story style. As usual, I don't know who learns more, me or the kids. I know that government is important, ordained by God and that nothing is a surprise to God, but this Fall, I've also seen how fallen the government is and how much I need to keep my children close to me. The theme that keeps jumping out at us over the last few months has been the negative, unnecessary, self-serving intervention the government played in people's lives over and over again where years later, the Canadian government had to go back and say, "Sorry." A few examples....
Residential schools. I won't go into long history lessons, but suffice it to say, the church may have had good intentions to possibly even evangelize the First Nations families, but by taking away their children from their mommies? Nothing will ever make me say that was a good idea. It is the saddest thing to hear the damage that was done to these people who will forever be scarred, for so many reasons, but mainly because the government thought they could do a better job of raising their children. A crime.
The Dionne Quintuplets. This has to be the saddest story in all of Canadian history. My kids thought I was making it up, I'm sure. We had to go on YouTube to prove it. These 5 identical girls were born in 1923 to a mom who already had 5 children. They were an immediate international sensation, and that's WITHOUT the internet. The government had a hospital built across the road from where they were born near North Bay, Ontario. This ended up being where they spent most of their early years - away from their parents. That's right. They were taken from their parents by the government in case the PARENTS (how ironic) tried to exploit them for money. Instead, what ended up happening was the girls were exploited by the government and the girls' doctor for what they think was a half a billion dollars. HALF A BILLION. The girls were put on display and were treated like a freak show. School buses from Toronto and all over would come with loads of children and their parents and park in the 100 car parking lot and then go see them behind the one-way glass in the girls' "natural environment". After observing them, the visitors would go to the souvenir shop that was run by the parents! The parents, though somewhat in on the whole thing, were discouraged to see their own children, so they were essentially raised by the doctor and some nurses. It wasn't until they were older that they realized, of course, their childhood had been taken away from them. It wasn't until the women were well into their 70s that they received a "sorry" and some money from the government in compensation for their treatment. I told the kids, "Ok, maybe you don't love school and doing work, but at least you are with me and not in some circus freak show because we are a family with 8 kids!" (although sometimes we are treated that way!) Such a sad story for those girls. They never had friends and they never knew about the outside world. Apparently, later on the girls' parents did try to get custody, but the damage was done.
One final example - the Japanese Internment Camps. After the attack on Pearl Harbour by the Japanese, all Japanese people were treated like they had done the attack themselves, including those living in British Columbia. Of course, they hadn't, but it didn't matter. In the name of safety, the Canadian government packed them all up, took away all their property and businesses, and sent them away to internment camps. They lost everything. How was that a good idea? At least this time they didn't take just the kids. As usual, it was years and years later they said, "Oh, sorry. We shouldn't have done that." How do you ever recover from that?
My kids are in absolute shock and awe when I read these stories to them. I'm not trying to teach them that the government is bad. I'm teaching them that they often have an agenda and it isn't often a good one. Not to mention, it seemed like all the Canadian public was good with what went on, too....
Just in case my kids think that doesn't happen anymore....no, it still does. How about a current example...my dentist, for one. Last week I shared story after story of how God had done these miracles in my life, about piano teachers and groceries. I forgot to share how He had also answered a prayer about our dentist! I had asked God to show me who we should have as our new dentist after moving out this way. Seems like a strange prayer, maybe, but I wanted to make sure we were going to one who understood the dental needs and costs of a large family. I interviewed a number of people. Then, one day, at a local fair, I ran into our current dentist. He had a booth up across from where I had a booth selling crafts. I went over and chatted with him. I was pretty convinced he was our guy almost right away. When I told him I basically wanted free care, he laughed and said, "For large families I give a good discount." What? I had never heard that before. He was hired!
As we got to know him it turns out he was a believer! A solid Christian man. I also found out he was a daring believer. He had his kids in the public school system, but he wasn't loving the agenda the government had for them. He decided to take on the school board and, without getting into details for his sake, got into a legal battle in the name of his kids and his parental rights. Was I ever impressed with his nerve and his awareness that as the parent he wanted to be the one as the primary influence. The government said, "No, you're not. We want to be." He lost his battle. Now, he's in a quandary as to what to do. It just goes to show you, government thinks they know better than us as parents and if they have to intervene to prove it, they will. I never take the privilege of homeschooling lightly. I'm the primary influence right now and they don't like that.
I don't write about politics. I try to avoid it, but this week when we had finished studying all these topics, I couldn't help it. Over and over I saw the theme come up where the government had intervened to the detriment of the family. It has made me be grateful for the privilege I have to homeschool, but also how careful we have to be to protect what seems to be to be obvious....the right to be the primary influence over my children, not the government. Am I going to be one of those homeschoolers people accuse of being in a "holy huddle"? No, I don't believe in that. However, as the Maxwells put it in their book, Keeping Your Children's Hearts, I will insulate them, not to be confused with isolating them, in the name of protecting their hearts as long as I can.
Wednesday, 17 January 2018
Thursday, 11 January 2018
HE. IS. FOR. ME.
Two days ago I wrote a devotional for our homeschool group, always trying to encourage the moms to press on and to remember, "This I know, God is for me." I used that verse from Psalm 56 and the theme I had written about before, "A Year Without Fear". I specifically had mentioned the idea that if we are thankful, then we can just sit back and watch the big and small miracles that will unfold.
That same day I had written in this blog about groceries and my attempts for this year to buckle down on a whole new level, writing about the specific steps I'm attempting to take.
That day, after having written both posts, I wasn't expecting any miracles to happen, but happen they did.
First, I ran into my daughter at the library (it's so funny to "run" into your daughter at the library! Now that she has her own car, I don't keep track of her as much.....) She had just come from piano lessons where she still goes for a 2 1/2 hour lesson each week. She drives into see the same teacher we've had since she was 8 or 9. This teacher is not a Christian, though we've shared with her our faith when she lets us, is a vegetarian, divorced, still single, and on top of it all is very talented and kind. She seems to love our family and has always gone to extreme efforts to accommodate us, even driving our way when we had all the kids in lessons. She's also extremely educated and provides an amazing piano education for our daughter which is also why we still drive all that way back into our old town.
All that to say, when I saw my daughter, she said, "You'll never believe what I have for you...." I didn't know what she could possibly be talking about. "Five bags of groceries!" "What?!" "All vegetables!" I couldn't believe what I was hearing. It's funny, though, my first reaction was, "Did she think we were in need? Why would she do that?" I immediately felt humbled, but then curiousity kicked in....I had to know what prompted this!
It's really funny. I don't think she even knows why she did it! I think God made her do it! She told my daughter how she normally does a big vegetable stew for herself which I guess she then uses or freezes to use throughout the month or week (not sure). In the process of cooking, she overspiced her stew somehow and had to add more water making the stew way more than she needed. But, she still had all these vegetables and for some reason didn't need them anymore....my question is, WHY did she buy so many vegetables in the first place? It just made no sense...even her explanation to my daughter made no sense. I'm thinking God told her to buy all the groceries, she just doesn't know it! However, in the process, she had all these vegetables she couldn't use and she knew they would go bad, so she said she thought of us! Five bags of fantastic, fresh vegetables...delivered on the very day I'd written about groceries and how I planned on making them stretch and stay way below budget. I would call it a miracle. Never in all the years we've known her has she done this. It was such an unusual, unexpected gift. I still marvel. The bonus is she included really nice vegetables, too, the expensive ones, like asparagus, not to mention bags and bags of carrots, potatoes, sweet potatoes, eggplant, zucchini, onions, garlic, celery...on and on.. I am amazed. Suddenly, I'm in a quandary myself...I now have more vegetables than I know what to do with! What a great problem to have. I thank God for grocery blessings.
It's funny my next story is tied into that same piano teacher and has to to do with another piano teacher! The piano teacher my daughter uses is amazing, however, she's too amazing! She is quite costly, though worth it, so we made the hard call several years ago to stop using her for all of our kids and instead we would just spend the money on the oldest girl as she was showing the most talent. It was such a sad day for me to tell her we wouldn't be able to use her anymore for the other kids. I questioned God so much on that. I felt we would never find a replacement.
Meanwhile, God was orchestrating a new piano connection..... A long time ago, over a year ago, I met a woman through a series of connections and I had her over for a visit. Then I ran into her in a grocery store (another theme that is floating through both stories!). Something made me ask her about piano lessons and where she gets her kids taught. I was in fact advertising my daughter as a potential teacher for her kids, but it turned out she already had a teacher. I've relied on my oldest daughter for some time to teach my kids and she was and she would, but I just can't pay her what she deserves and it just wasn't fitting in her schedule if it was for free. Funny how money motivates a person to work! It was hard for me to not feel panicky that my kids weren't getting the music education that my older kids had. I really had to choose to relax. I would tell others, trying very hard to really believe it, "If God thinks my kids need a music teacher, He'll bring one." I didn't know what that would look like, but that's what I would say. Deep down, however, I was wondering if my kids would ever learn. I was happy they were teaching themselves guitar and ukelele on youtube, but I wasn't sure if you could do that with piano.
Back to the grocery store conversation....she mentioned she had a great local piano teacher and, this was the amazing thing, who only charged basically pennies a lesson (I won't say the exact amount in case she gets inundated with calls!). That's right, it's not a typo, only a few pennies a lesson. She didn't have access to piano lessons as a child due to lack of finances (she came from a large family of 9 kids!) and only got her music education once she was a mom with two kids. As a result, she doesn't want people to feel inhibited by lack of funds, but instead wants all kids to have access to a music education. But, get this, strictly for the purposes of using music for God's glory. I haven't heard a music teacher say those words before. AND, on top of all that, she lives less than 5 minutes away from us, so no, she doesn't come to my home, but when she only lives 5 minutes away, I think I can handle the commute! We start next week!
These two miracles are not the little miracles I told the homeschool moms to watch for, no, these are the BIG ones! I had no idea they were coming and just sat back in awe as they unfolded before my eyes. I had written the phrase from Psalm 56, "This I know, God is for me..." I had tried to meditate on it all that day and into the next and had told the homeschool moms to do the same. Instead of listening to the lie, "God is against me," I truly tried to fight back and remember, "No! He is FOR me!" Sometimes when I write about what I know about God, such as that phrase "This I know, God is for me....", I'm not sure what it will always look like, how that will show itself. I can never write the story myself, "How will God show me He is for me this week?" And then, things like this happen and I say to myself, "Oh...that's it...He IS for me! He really is!" Did I need to see these miracles this week to show me? No, but wow, does it ever help! I have prayed for help in grocery planning, budgeting, savings, for years. I have prayed for a piano teacher for the younger guys for years. I have worked at really trusting Him in His timing. I have tried not to worry, tried not to run in front of Him. And then this, two huge blessings on the same day of writing about God's faithfulness and how we can trust Him that He is for us. I love God's timing. I love how He hand picks specific blessings that are impossible to work out humanly speaking. They have His fingerprint all over them. I can only sit here in awe of His goodness to me and my family and thank Him for these tangible ways He shows me HE. IS. FOR. ME.
That same day I had written in this blog about groceries and my attempts for this year to buckle down on a whole new level, writing about the specific steps I'm attempting to take.
That day, after having written both posts, I wasn't expecting any miracles to happen, but happen they did.
First, I ran into my daughter at the library (it's so funny to "run" into your daughter at the library! Now that she has her own car, I don't keep track of her as much.....) She had just come from piano lessons where she still goes for a 2 1/2 hour lesson each week. She drives into see the same teacher we've had since she was 8 or 9. This teacher is not a Christian, though we've shared with her our faith when she lets us, is a vegetarian, divorced, still single, and on top of it all is very talented and kind. She seems to love our family and has always gone to extreme efforts to accommodate us, even driving our way when we had all the kids in lessons. She's also extremely educated and provides an amazing piano education for our daughter which is also why we still drive all that way back into our old town.
All that to say, when I saw my daughter, she said, "You'll never believe what I have for you...." I didn't know what she could possibly be talking about. "Five bags of groceries!" "What?!" "All vegetables!" I couldn't believe what I was hearing. It's funny, though, my first reaction was, "Did she think we were in need? Why would she do that?" I immediately felt humbled, but then curiousity kicked in....I had to know what prompted this!
It's really funny. I don't think she even knows why she did it! I think God made her do it! She told my daughter how she normally does a big vegetable stew for herself which I guess she then uses or freezes to use throughout the month or week (not sure). In the process of cooking, she overspiced her stew somehow and had to add more water making the stew way more than she needed. But, she still had all these vegetables and for some reason didn't need them anymore....my question is, WHY did she buy so many vegetables in the first place? It just made no sense...even her explanation to my daughter made no sense. I'm thinking God told her to buy all the groceries, she just doesn't know it! However, in the process, she had all these vegetables she couldn't use and she knew they would go bad, so she said she thought of us! Five bags of fantastic, fresh vegetables...delivered on the very day I'd written about groceries and how I planned on making them stretch and stay way below budget. I would call it a miracle. Never in all the years we've known her has she done this. It was such an unusual, unexpected gift. I still marvel. The bonus is she included really nice vegetables, too, the expensive ones, like asparagus, not to mention bags and bags of carrots, potatoes, sweet potatoes, eggplant, zucchini, onions, garlic, celery...on and on.. I am amazed. Suddenly, I'm in a quandary myself...I now have more vegetables than I know what to do with! What a great problem to have. I thank God for grocery blessings.
It's funny my next story is tied into that same piano teacher and has to to do with another piano teacher! The piano teacher my daughter uses is amazing, however, she's too amazing! She is quite costly, though worth it, so we made the hard call several years ago to stop using her for all of our kids and instead we would just spend the money on the oldest girl as she was showing the most talent. It was such a sad day for me to tell her we wouldn't be able to use her anymore for the other kids. I questioned God so much on that. I felt we would never find a replacement.
Meanwhile, God was orchestrating a new piano connection..... A long time ago, over a year ago, I met a woman through a series of connections and I had her over for a visit. Then I ran into her in a grocery store (another theme that is floating through both stories!). Something made me ask her about piano lessons and where she gets her kids taught. I was in fact advertising my daughter as a potential teacher for her kids, but it turned out she already had a teacher. I've relied on my oldest daughter for some time to teach my kids and she was and she would, but I just can't pay her what she deserves and it just wasn't fitting in her schedule if it was for free. Funny how money motivates a person to work! It was hard for me to not feel panicky that my kids weren't getting the music education that my older kids had. I really had to choose to relax. I would tell others, trying very hard to really believe it, "If God thinks my kids need a music teacher, He'll bring one." I didn't know what that would look like, but that's what I would say. Deep down, however, I was wondering if my kids would ever learn. I was happy they were teaching themselves guitar and ukelele on youtube, but I wasn't sure if you could do that with piano.
Back to the grocery store conversation....she mentioned she had a great local piano teacher and, this was the amazing thing, who only charged basically pennies a lesson (I won't say the exact amount in case she gets inundated with calls!). That's right, it's not a typo, only a few pennies a lesson. She didn't have access to piano lessons as a child due to lack of finances (she came from a large family of 9 kids!) and only got her music education once she was a mom with two kids. As a result, she doesn't want people to feel inhibited by lack of funds, but instead wants all kids to have access to a music education. But, get this, strictly for the purposes of using music for God's glory. I haven't heard a music teacher say those words before. AND, on top of all that, she lives less than 5 minutes away from us, so no, she doesn't come to my home, but when she only lives 5 minutes away, I think I can handle the commute! We start next week!
These two miracles are not the little miracles I told the homeschool moms to watch for, no, these are the BIG ones! I had no idea they were coming and just sat back in awe as they unfolded before my eyes. I had written the phrase from Psalm 56, "This I know, God is for me..." I had tried to meditate on it all that day and into the next and had told the homeschool moms to do the same. Instead of listening to the lie, "God is against me," I truly tried to fight back and remember, "No! He is FOR me!" Sometimes when I write about what I know about God, such as that phrase "This I know, God is for me....", I'm not sure what it will always look like, how that will show itself. I can never write the story myself, "How will God show me He is for me this week?" And then, things like this happen and I say to myself, "Oh...that's it...He IS for me! He really is!" Did I need to see these miracles this week to show me? No, but wow, does it ever help! I have prayed for help in grocery planning, budgeting, savings, for years. I have prayed for a piano teacher for the younger guys for years. I have worked at really trusting Him in His timing. I have tried not to worry, tried not to run in front of Him. And then this, two huge blessings on the same day of writing about God's faithfulness and how we can trust Him that He is for us. I love God's timing. I love how He hand picks specific blessings that are impossible to work out humanly speaking. They have His fingerprint all over them. I can only sit here in awe of His goodness to me and my family and thank Him for these tangible ways He shows me HE. IS. FOR. ME.
Tuesday, 9 January 2018
My Grocery Goals....
A new year brings resolutions, or at least a shot at resolutions. I actually love new beginnings, even if it is a new week, month or year. I always lose steam on resolutions as the year goes on, so it is a good reminder to restart, in lots of different areas.
For one, keeping track of my spending and making super serious goals, particularly about groceries. I was doing very well at going through all the flyers, making lists based on that, but sometimes, I end up just going to the store and buying what is on sale, without looking through all the ads and price matching. A couple of weeks ago, I picked up a book I had read through a while ago about cutting your grocery bill in half. A few pages in I was reinspired to go at it again full force.
The first list of the year, I sat down for a super long time, easily over an hour or more, just making a meal plan, going through all the flyers, making the list, etc. I then grabbed one of the kids, and off we went. The idea was to see how cheap I could shop and make delicious, healthy meals, for just two weeks, possibly three, without going back to the store. I would have shopped for a month, but it would have meant 4 carts. I left with two. Not to mention I don't have the space in my fridge for a month's worth.
I came home and added up all my savings that day and it amounted to over $80! A great reminder to persevere in this area as food is one of our biggest expenses. I also sat down with all the kids and told them my financial goals for our family, particularly in the areas I control, food, clothes, restaurants, entertainment, etc. I had already talked this all out with RM, it was just time to give the kids the update and make sure they were on board.
We talked about everything from hot water usage, to keeping lights off, to trying to go without "new" clothes (we already do that, but just a reminder), etc. They seemed to be on board.
We are now into the second week of planned meals and haven't gone to the grocery yet, though I will have to go for milk and eggs this week. I don't have room in our fridge for all the eggs and milk we go through! We've eaten meatless (used beans) here and there and no one has complained. I also purchased tons of clearance vegetables and, guess what, they taste the same as expensive vegetables. I bought bulk popping corn and that is our main snack during the school day as well as apples and cheese. Nothing fancy.
I'm also tracking, partly for curiousity's sake as well as for purchasing power, how much we go through of certain items. For example, if we go through a certain number of paper products each month, or even each year, and I see a big sale, I will try to purchase what I need for the whole month or whole year, or even 6 months, in order to save even more over the long run. These are all things I've done in the past, but January is a great time to buckle down and see if I can do this over the long run. Ready for this, I'm using pen and paper, not even a computer. I rarely have access to one now that the kids are doing a lot of school on-line. So I'm completely "old school" and I love it. Although, I should mention that I use an app on my phone to also keep track of the spending, so I have both going on.
I'm keeping everyone up-to-date on how much we are spending each week, making them guess, and then showing them how "off" they are. It is good for them to know where all the money goes. I want them to be prepared for when they leave home one day.
I wish someone would come in each day and give me a pep talk. I give them to my kids, who will give them to me? So because that doesn't happen, I have to source out my own pep talks through books. I don't search the internet as it takes me too long. The book on grocery bill savings as well as another one I have called Miserly Moms have been a great encouragement to me. They've been on my shelf forever. I pick them up and the authors tell me what I need to hear each year. There's my pep talk! I almost feel like I'm accountable to them. What if they showed up at my house and asked me about my budget? So I act like they will.
I'm super excited to see how things go even just for January. If I manage to cut our grocery bill in half, or even by just a little, it'll go a long way as our family is getting super expensive with the new school needs each of the older children have. A year without fear and hopefully more money in the bank!
For one, keeping track of my spending and making super serious goals, particularly about groceries. I was doing very well at going through all the flyers, making lists based on that, but sometimes, I end up just going to the store and buying what is on sale, without looking through all the ads and price matching. A couple of weeks ago, I picked up a book I had read through a while ago about cutting your grocery bill in half. A few pages in I was reinspired to go at it again full force.
The first list of the year, I sat down for a super long time, easily over an hour or more, just making a meal plan, going through all the flyers, making the list, etc. I then grabbed one of the kids, and off we went. The idea was to see how cheap I could shop and make delicious, healthy meals, for just two weeks, possibly three, without going back to the store. I would have shopped for a month, but it would have meant 4 carts. I left with two. Not to mention I don't have the space in my fridge for a month's worth.
I came home and added up all my savings that day and it amounted to over $80! A great reminder to persevere in this area as food is one of our biggest expenses. I also sat down with all the kids and told them my financial goals for our family, particularly in the areas I control, food, clothes, restaurants, entertainment, etc. I had already talked this all out with RM, it was just time to give the kids the update and make sure they were on board.
We talked about everything from hot water usage, to keeping lights off, to trying to go without "new" clothes (we already do that, but just a reminder), etc. They seemed to be on board.
We are now into the second week of planned meals and haven't gone to the grocery yet, though I will have to go for milk and eggs this week. I don't have room in our fridge for all the eggs and milk we go through! We've eaten meatless (used beans) here and there and no one has complained. I also purchased tons of clearance vegetables and, guess what, they taste the same as expensive vegetables. I bought bulk popping corn and that is our main snack during the school day as well as apples and cheese. Nothing fancy.
I'm also tracking, partly for curiousity's sake as well as for purchasing power, how much we go through of certain items. For example, if we go through a certain number of paper products each month, or even each year, and I see a big sale, I will try to purchase what I need for the whole month or whole year, or even 6 months, in order to save even more over the long run. These are all things I've done in the past, but January is a great time to buckle down and see if I can do this over the long run. Ready for this, I'm using pen and paper, not even a computer. I rarely have access to one now that the kids are doing a lot of school on-line. So I'm completely "old school" and I love it. Although, I should mention that I use an app on my phone to also keep track of the spending, so I have both going on.
I'm keeping everyone up-to-date on how much we are spending each week, making them guess, and then showing them how "off" they are. It is good for them to know where all the money goes. I want them to be prepared for when they leave home one day.
I wish someone would come in each day and give me a pep talk. I give them to my kids, who will give them to me? So because that doesn't happen, I have to source out my own pep talks through books. I don't search the internet as it takes me too long. The book on grocery bill savings as well as another one I have called Miserly Moms have been a great encouragement to me. They've been on my shelf forever. I pick them up and the authors tell me what I need to hear each year. There's my pep talk! I almost feel like I'm accountable to them. What if they showed up at my house and asked me about my budget? So I act like they will.
I'm super excited to see how things go even just for January. If I manage to cut our grocery bill in half, or even by just a little, it'll go a long way as our family is getting super expensive with the new school needs each of the older children have. A year without fear and hopefully more money in the bank!
Monday, 8 January 2018
2018....A Year Without Fear
It's 2018! I stopped writing a few weeks ago just to take a break, but I wrote so many blogs in my head as so much went on...but first, I must start with a funny, yet awful, story.....
A couple of weeks ago, we noticed an awful smell after I had cooked some squash. I thought maybe the squash was bad as I had stored it over the Fall. We threw it out, but then the next night, I noticed the same smell, so I checked the oven to see if something had dropped to the bottom and was burning as I cooked. Nothing. Now, a mystery.
This went on for a few days. We realized something must be behind the oven. It was clearly being "cooked" every time we turned the oven on as that was the only time we smelled the awful smell. Please, let it just be a mouse.....
The worse thing about having my husband at work away from home now is that I have to deal with all this kind of stuff. Before I could pass it off to him! But, oh well. I grabbed my two sons. They moved the oven away from the wall and thankfully nothing, but then why the smell?
That's when I kicked in my smelling superpowers (I actually have an incredibly good sense of smell that has come in handy at times like these!). I was like a german shepherd, on my knees, smelling everywhere. My nose and I finally landed back at the oven itself. Oh no...my worst fears. Something was inside the oven itself....between the back cover and the electronics....where was my husband????
I told my son to take off all the bolts, which he so kindly did, and then, to my shock, awe, and disgust, there it was....a dead rat....I nearly threw up. We all did. I videotaped the reveal to show my husband what I went through...
Then, everyone scattered! No one wanted to deal with the rat! I waited and waited, but no one came back. "Fine," I thought...."I can do this." So I covered my hands with plastic bags and attempted to pick up the rat by the tail. As I did this, I pulled ever so slightly, but it was stuck, so I gave it another tug and....wait for it...the tail came off in my hand!!! I screamedVERY loudly. People showed back up! Funny how it takes mom screaming for people to come back....
I wasn't going near that thing again. My son/rescue hero came and got the rat and left me to deal with the disgusting mess it left behind....who knows how it got up there. We think it may have set off a trap and then thought it was crawling to safety? All I know is it was a low moment in my farm life. I was pretty much prepared to go back to the city after that. The ONLY positive in this whole matter was that I cleaned under my oven for the first time in a long time and even behind the electronic cover. May I never have to deal with that again.
That week we had friends over for dinner and I shared the whole rat story. They, too, had moved from the city to the country, had renovated an old farm house, raised animals, had kids...we had tons in common. They said, "You know we can only talk like this to one another....we're the only ones who truly understand!"
Anyway, I have moved on, a stronger woman, I'm sure. My kids think we might get the plague, and to be honest, we might, but what can you do?!
Our New Year's this year was a quiet one at home, which I just loved. There was no way we could have anyone over. Starting the week of Christmas, we had moved all the furniture from the other side of the family room to the side RM had leveled earlier and he was able to finish leveling the entire family room which was no small feat. In the process our house was literally upside down. We just needed the week following for recovery. We won't do any more renovations until it warms up again as the next set of renos involves ripping off more drywall and it has been so cold there's no way we could handle that amount of heat leaving the house.
I heard a pastor say, upon reflecting on 2017, don't look back and see what has happened, but look back and see what God has done, where was God involved? That New Year's Eve, we sat around as a family and did just that. It was great to reflect and see how God had been with our family through so many situations from my son's schooling and certain fears he had to deal with as a new university student, to my daughter acquiring multiple jobs so she could get a car, to work supplied to my husband over and over, to health for all of us....so many answers to prayer. God was certainly at work.
That last Sunday of 2017 at church, the pastor spoke on Psalm 56. The title of his sermon was "A Year Without Fear". How did he know that is exactly what I needed to hear that day? Though I have received so many victories in this area, I know Satan would like me to fail and be fearful still and so he sends regular tests it seems. I think I have a new theme verse for the year based on this Psalm, "When I am afraid, I put my trust in You. In God, who word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me?"
That's it! What can man do to me? Fear doesn't help make my situations go away. So why waste my energy being fearful? The psalm acknowledges that fear is a reality, "when I am afraid"...so there will be times when we are fearful, but the pattern is when we experience fear, which we will, we do what David did and trust God, His Word, His plans for us. That is my prayer for 2018, that it will be a year, not necessarily without fear, as fear will come, but that I will turn to God and His Word and trust.......
A couple of weeks ago, we noticed an awful smell after I had cooked some squash. I thought maybe the squash was bad as I had stored it over the Fall. We threw it out, but then the next night, I noticed the same smell, so I checked the oven to see if something had dropped to the bottom and was burning as I cooked. Nothing. Now, a mystery.
This went on for a few days. We realized something must be behind the oven. It was clearly being "cooked" every time we turned the oven on as that was the only time we smelled the awful smell. Please, let it just be a mouse.....
The worse thing about having my husband at work away from home now is that I have to deal with all this kind of stuff. Before I could pass it off to him! But, oh well. I grabbed my two sons. They moved the oven away from the wall and thankfully nothing, but then why the smell?
That's when I kicked in my smelling superpowers (I actually have an incredibly good sense of smell that has come in handy at times like these!). I was like a german shepherd, on my knees, smelling everywhere. My nose and I finally landed back at the oven itself. Oh no...my worst fears. Something was inside the oven itself....between the back cover and the electronics....where was my husband????
I told my son to take off all the bolts, which he so kindly did, and then, to my shock, awe, and disgust, there it was....a dead rat....I nearly threw up. We all did. I videotaped the reveal to show my husband what I went through...
Then, everyone scattered! No one wanted to deal with the rat! I waited and waited, but no one came back. "Fine," I thought...."I can do this." So I covered my hands with plastic bags and attempted to pick up the rat by the tail. As I did this, I pulled ever so slightly, but it was stuck, so I gave it another tug and....wait for it...the tail came off in my hand!!! I screamedVERY loudly. People showed back up! Funny how it takes mom screaming for people to come back....
I wasn't going near that thing again. My son/rescue hero came and got the rat and left me to deal with the disgusting mess it left behind....who knows how it got up there. We think it may have set off a trap and then thought it was crawling to safety? All I know is it was a low moment in my farm life. I was pretty much prepared to go back to the city after that. The ONLY positive in this whole matter was that I cleaned under my oven for the first time in a long time and even behind the electronic cover. May I never have to deal with that again.
That week we had friends over for dinner and I shared the whole rat story. They, too, had moved from the city to the country, had renovated an old farm house, raised animals, had kids...we had tons in common. They said, "You know we can only talk like this to one another....we're the only ones who truly understand!"
Anyway, I have moved on, a stronger woman, I'm sure. My kids think we might get the plague, and to be honest, we might, but what can you do?!
Our New Year's this year was a quiet one at home, which I just loved. There was no way we could have anyone over. Starting the week of Christmas, we had moved all the furniture from the other side of the family room to the side RM had leveled earlier and he was able to finish leveling the entire family room which was no small feat. In the process our house was literally upside down. We just needed the week following for recovery. We won't do any more renovations until it warms up again as the next set of renos involves ripping off more drywall and it has been so cold there's no way we could handle that amount of heat leaving the house.
I heard a pastor say, upon reflecting on 2017, don't look back and see what has happened, but look back and see what God has done, where was God involved? That New Year's Eve, we sat around as a family and did just that. It was great to reflect and see how God had been with our family through so many situations from my son's schooling and certain fears he had to deal with as a new university student, to my daughter acquiring multiple jobs so she could get a car, to work supplied to my husband over and over, to health for all of us....so many answers to prayer. God was certainly at work.
That last Sunday of 2017 at church, the pastor spoke on Psalm 56. The title of his sermon was "A Year Without Fear". How did he know that is exactly what I needed to hear that day? Though I have received so many victories in this area, I know Satan would like me to fail and be fearful still and so he sends regular tests it seems. I think I have a new theme verse for the year based on this Psalm, "When I am afraid, I put my trust in You. In God, who word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me?"
That's it! What can man do to me? Fear doesn't help make my situations go away. So why waste my energy being fearful? The psalm acknowledges that fear is a reality, "when I am afraid"...so there will be times when we are fearful, but the pattern is when we experience fear, which we will, we do what David did and trust God, His Word, His plans for us. That is my prayer for 2018, that it will be a year, not necessarily without fear, as fear will come, but that I will turn to God and His Word and trust.......
Wednesday, 20 December 2017
Keeping it Simple
Every Christmas since 4 years ago, I wonder how we will handle it as a family. Will we change our original plan of attempting to go "gift-free"? Or will we go back to what we used to do? Without even thinking about it, really, we have decided to keep it simple and you won't catch me anywhere near a mall at Christmas.
It has actually been the easiest decision. The kids don't even flinch. One of the youngest boys, however, had just been a little tot when we first made the decision and really didn't know about it or how it came to be. I had to walk him through the whole thing after we came back from a store a few weeks ago. We had been in the store and he had been wandering around on his own. He found the toy aisle and was admiring all the toys. An employee walked by and said, "Are you going to put that on your Christmas list?" He started thinking. I can just imagine the thoughts swirling in his head, "You can do that? You can make a Christmas list?! Awesome!" So he came to me and basically said just that, "I'm putting that toy on my Christmas list!" "Uh....there's a bit of a problem with that....we don't actually make Christmas lists anymore....sorry!" He wasn't too pleased. At first. But that led me to walk him through the whole story. He had never heard it! Once I explained it to him, he was immediately on board. Once again, I was shocked. None of the kids have given me grief at all about our decision. They all understand. There is no coercion. Even I am a little surprised! I always feel like an awful mom until I hear myself describe what a nutbar I used to be at Christmas, how I could never really enjoy the season because I was always stressed about money, budgets, overspending, what to buy, when I would go, who would watch the kids, had I bought enough, should I buy more, what about this child, what about that child, was it even steven? I could go on and on.....I explained to him, "You need a sane, healthy mommy and this way you get to do all the fun things and your mommy stays happy, too!"
So that's what has happened this year again. We've done so many fun things, lots of great Christmas-y field trips, art classes, skating, sledding, baking, decorating....all on a fairly low-key budget and on top of it, I'm happy! In fact, everyone is! I think that is why we have buy-in. We don't ignore Christmas. We love Christmas and fully embrace the joy that this season can bring. The younger girls have been busy making gifts for friends and family as a different activity this year. I've been busy doing the same. It's been really fun!
Last night, however, the kids got in the Christmas gift-giving spirit and wanted to do something for their siblings. How could they do that without shopping? So the younger 4 suddenly went nuts and ran all over the house looking for little treasures in their rooms that they thought their other siblings would want. It turned into a gift-wrapping extravaganza. They wrapped and wrapped all night. I didn't stop them. Was it messy? Yes. Did they waste meters and meters of tape and wrapping paper? Yes. But I have no problem with that kind of mess or that kind of gift-giving. It was easy to clean up and it was pretty cheap paper to begin with. To be clear, I am not against giving gifts. I am against being forced to buy so many for one day only. My daughter's birthday is this week. It is easy to buy for one child! I just can't do the shopping for 8! So, my tree now has all sorts of little messily-wrapped gifts under it. They were so excited though that they started opening some of them right away. Why wait?
My other "family" that we adopted last year, that lived with us on and off, will be over this week. The mom wanted to exchange gifts, so last year we picked names, and we did buy gifts for their family and vice versa. I had my kids do all the shopping. It was again too much for me to think about. This year, I told her, I didn't want to do that again. But she loves shopping, loves spending money, loves gifts and giving gifts! She insisted that we strike a deal. We settled on stockings only. I told her there was no way I could fill stockings for 18 people. She saw my turmoil and said that she would do the stockings if I did the meal. It probably ended up costing the same anyway, so we agreed and settled on that. Whew! Deal!
Of course I've still had to go to dollar stores or drug stores or grocery stores just to pick up regular items here and there. It is a zoo out there! I can hardly find a parking spot sometimes. The line ups are crazy and things I need are inevitably often out of stock. There is so much to love about this season, but there's definitely a downside. Thank goodness for the daily reminders in our Bible reading and our weekly reminders at church that this season is not what the world thinks it is about, but instead about how Christ came to redeem us. We need so much redemption! And not just at Christmas time, all year! Every day! I truly love Christmas and I feel it has been redeemed for me from what it used to be like. One day our tradition may change, but for now, we are completely at peace at simply being gifts to one another.
It has actually been the easiest decision. The kids don't even flinch. One of the youngest boys, however, had just been a little tot when we first made the decision and really didn't know about it or how it came to be. I had to walk him through the whole thing after we came back from a store a few weeks ago. We had been in the store and he had been wandering around on his own. He found the toy aisle and was admiring all the toys. An employee walked by and said, "Are you going to put that on your Christmas list?" He started thinking. I can just imagine the thoughts swirling in his head, "You can do that? You can make a Christmas list?! Awesome!" So he came to me and basically said just that, "I'm putting that toy on my Christmas list!" "Uh....there's a bit of a problem with that....we don't actually make Christmas lists anymore....sorry!" He wasn't too pleased. At first. But that led me to walk him through the whole story. He had never heard it! Once I explained it to him, he was immediately on board. Once again, I was shocked. None of the kids have given me grief at all about our decision. They all understand. There is no coercion. Even I am a little surprised! I always feel like an awful mom until I hear myself describe what a nutbar I used to be at Christmas, how I could never really enjoy the season because I was always stressed about money, budgets, overspending, what to buy, when I would go, who would watch the kids, had I bought enough, should I buy more, what about this child, what about that child, was it even steven? I could go on and on.....I explained to him, "You need a sane, healthy mommy and this way you get to do all the fun things and your mommy stays happy, too!"
So that's what has happened this year again. We've done so many fun things, lots of great Christmas-y field trips, art classes, skating, sledding, baking, decorating....all on a fairly low-key budget and on top of it, I'm happy! In fact, everyone is! I think that is why we have buy-in. We don't ignore Christmas. We love Christmas and fully embrace the joy that this season can bring. The younger girls have been busy making gifts for friends and family as a different activity this year. I've been busy doing the same. It's been really fun!
Last night, however, the kids got in the Christmas gift-giving spirit and wanted to do something for their siblings. How could they do that without shopping? So the younger 4 suddenly went nuts and ran all over the house looking for little treasures in their rooms that they thought their other siblings would want. It turned into a gift-wrapping extravaganza. They wrapped and wrapped all night. I didn't stop them. Was it messy? Yes. Did they waste meters and meters of tape and wrapping paper? Yes. But I have no problem with that kind of mess or that kind of gift-giving. It was easy to clean up and it was pretty cheap paper to begin with. To be clear, I am not against giving gifts. I am against being forced to buy so many for one day only. My daughter's birthday is this week. It is easy to buy for one child! I just can't do the shopping for 8! So, my tree now has all sorts of little messily-wrapped gifts under it. They were so excited though that they started opening some of them right away. Why wait?
My other "family" that we adopted last year, that lived with us on and off, will be over this week. The mom wanted to exchange gifts, so last year we picked names, and we did buy gifts for their family and vice versa. I had my kids do all the shopping. It was again too much for me to think about. This year, I told her, I didn't want to do that again. But she loves shopping, loves spending money, loves gifts and giving gifts! She insisted that we strike a deal. We settled on stockings only. I told her there was no way I could fill stockings for 18 people. She saw my turmoil and said that she would do the stockings if I did the meal. It probably ended up costing the same anyway, so we agreed and settled on that. Whew! Deal!
Of course I've still had to go to dollar stores or drug stores or grocery stores just to pick up regular items here and there. It is a zoo out there! I can hardly find a parking spot sometimes. The line ups are crazy and things I need are inevitably often out of stock. There is so much to love about this season, but there's definitely a downside. Thank goodness for the daily reminders in our Bible reading and our weekly reminders at church that this season is not what the world thinks it is about, but instead about how Christ came to redeem us. We need so much redemption! And not just at Christmas time, all year! Every day! I truly love Christmas and I feel it has been redeemed for me from what it used to be like. One day our tradition may change, but for now, we are completely at peace at simply being gifts to one another.
Thursday, 14 December 2017
Hard Foreheads and Stubborn Hearts
We all know our kids aren't perfect, but whoa....was I ever reminded a couple of days ago. It seems even though we don't have a video game set or anything like that, our kids will seek out a way to play these annoying games. We've made it pretty clear we'd rather them spend their time doing something that will be more productive. Only the two older children have phones at this point and we have a couple of lap tops. But these laptops all have games on them that just come with the computers. How handy! Also, it is very easy to download games onto phones. Even my 7 year old knows how to do this. And, quite regularly, my phone or my daughter's phone will mysteriously disappear. We'll call all the kids who are regular law breakers and sure enough, they have it and were using it for games.
This week was a busy week of having different people over for different events so I was often cleaning, baking or actually visiting. Sometimes if the kids are out of sight and it's quiet, I won't run around looking for them. It can be a nice break to have the silence! Big mistake. I should have checked in. Silence may be golden, but around here, it's a clue that something is up.
My 7 year old had been gone too long. It was too quiet. I should have known. But I was enjoying my visit so much with these ladies that were over! After they left and he was still missing, I finally realized I wasn't being the best parent and called him down. Surprisingly, he came right away. Another clue! I knew there wasn't a computer upstairs and I had my phone, so what was he doing? This is where it almost gets funny, if it weren't so awful.....
Me: Where were you?
Him: Upstairs.
Me: What were you doing?
Him: Nothing
Me: Nothing?
Him: Well, I was actually reading my Bible. (another clue: he's not that strong a reader and he doesn't own his own Bible yet)
Me: (super suspicious now...my other son and I looked at each other, raised our eyebrows at the same time and shook our heads "no" to one another...) Really? You were reading your Bible?
Him: Yes. I was just wanting to read more about self-control.
Me: (I nearly choked at this point). Self- control?! Oh! How interesting!
I was trying so hard not to laugh. He was handing me line after line that was just so out of character for him. He was trying to talk like he was Charles Wesley or something. I quickly texted my husband and told him what my son said. He said, "Give him the benefit of the doubt." So I did. Until I put him to bed....
Me: So, where is the Bible that you were reading?
Him: Oh, well, it's here somewhere (as he anxiously looked around his room). I can't seem to find it.
Me; (now I knew something was up). What were you reading then?
Him: Oh, this book here (and he randomly pulls a science book off the shelf...NOT a Bible)
Me: (got 'em!) Ok, now we know you were lying....
So, he's a liar! I was so upset! When I questioned him some more we found out he had found an old phone of my daughters, downloaded a game and was playing happily upstairs the whole time. I was unaware what my sneaky kid was up to! When I asked him why he said all those lovely things about reading the Bible (who wouldn't want to hear that?!), he said he knew it would make me happy and that way he wouldn't get in trouble.
We are still trying to figure out the best consequence for this liar liar. My husband hasn't been home to discuss it much, but we aren't going to let this one slide. If you can lie, you can do anything.
It was a great opportunity to talk about Jesus though because as my son cried and cried about being caught (he was remorseful at least!), I told him he has to try to be a good boy. He said, through his tears, "But I can't! It's so hard!" I quickly interjected, "Yes! That's just it! It is TOO hard! We can't do it on our own! That is exactly why Jesus came!" He prayed, I prayed. And then I quickly got rid of the phone!
The next day we read about Ezekiel and the stubbornness of Israel. "But the house of Israel will not be willing to listen to you, for they are not willing to listen to me: because all the house of Israel have a hard forehead and a stubborn heart." (3:7)
My husband and I are my children's prophets. We are in authority over our children and it is our job to point them to Christ and help them see their need for Him. Like the verse says, if they won't listen to us, they won't listen to God. We have to constantly pray about their hard foreheads and their stubborn hearts! What a responsibility!
For the next couple of days, I would see my son and he would look at me and say, "Sorry." I knew what he was sorry for. I think he was truly repentant. But, boy oh boy, was it ever a good reminder to keep an eye on him and to not let visiting friends get in the way of watching for my kids.
This week was a busy week of having different people over for different events so I was often cleaning, baking or actually visiting. Sometimes if the kids are out of sight and it's quiet, I won't run around looking for them. It can be a nice break to have the silence! Big mistake. I should have checked in. Silence may be golden, but around here, it's a clue that something is up.
My 7 year old had been gone too long. It was too quiet. I should have known. But I was enjoying my visit so much with these ladies that were over! After they left and he was still missing, I finally realized I wasn't being the best parent and called him down. Surprisingly, he came right away. Another clue! I knew there wasn't a computer upstairs and I had my phone, so what was he doing? This is where it almost gets funny, if it weren't so awful.....
Me: Where were you?
Him: Upstairs.
Me: What were you doing?
Him: Nothing
Me: Nothing?
Him: Well, I was actually reading my Bible. (another clue: he's not that strong a reader and he doesn't own his own Bible yet)
Me: (super suspicious now...my other son and I looked at each other, raised our eyebrows at the same time and shook our heads "no" to one another...) Really? You were reading your Bible?
Him: Yes. I was just wanting to read more about self-control.
Me: (I nearly choked at this point). Self- control?! Oh! How interesting!
I was trying so hard not to laugh. He was handing me line after line that was just so out of character for him. He was trying to talk like he was Charles Wesley or something. I quickly texted my husband and told him what my son said. He said, "Give him the benefit of the doubt." So I did. Until I put him to bed....
Me: So, where is the Bible that you were reading?
Him: Oh, well, it's here somewhere (as he anxiously looked around his room). I can't seem to find it.
Me; (now I knew something was up). What were you reading then?
Him: Oh, this book here (and he randomly pulls a science book off the shelf...NOT a Bible)
Me: (got 'em!) Ok, now we know you were lying....
So, he's a liar! I was so upset! When I questioned him some more we found out he had found an old phone of my daughters, downloaded a game and was playing happily upstairs the whole time. I was unaware what my sneaky kid was up to! When I asked him why he said all those lovely things about reading the Bible (who wouldn't want to hear that?!), he said he knew it would make me happy and that way he wouldn't get in trouble.
We are still trying to figure out the best consequence for this liar liar. My husband hasn't been home to discuss it much, but we aren't going to let this one slide. If you can lie, you can do anything.
It was a great opportunity to talk about Jesus though because as my son cried and cried about being caught (he was remorseful at least!), I told him he has to try to be a good boy. He said, through his tears, "But I can't! It's so hard!" I quickly interjected, "Yes! That's just it! It is TOO hard! We can't do it on our own! That is exactly why Jesus came!" He prayed, I prayed. And then I quickly got rid of the phone!
The next day we read about Ezekiel and the stubbornness of Israel. "But the house of Israel will not be willing to listen to you, for they are not willing to listen to me: because all the house of Israel have a hard forehead and a stubborn heart." (3:7)
My husband and I are my children's prophets. We are in authority over our children and it is our job to point them to Christ and help them see their need for Him. Like the verse says, if they won't listen to us, they won't listen to God. We have to constantly pray about their hard foreheads and their stubborn hearts! What a responsibility!
For the next couple of days, I would see my son and he would look at me and say, "Sorry." I knew what he was sorry for. I think he was truly repentant. But, boy oh boy, was it ever a good reminder to keep an eye on him and to not let visiting friends get in the way of watching for my kids.
Wednesday, 13 December 2017
Feeling Grateful
I feel like I'm living in a new house. It is not a new house. No, no, it is far, far, from being a new house...over 200 years old actually, but to us it is new and remarkably larger though we've done nothing to add space to it.
It kind of goes back to the original posts from several years ago. In those early days when we had decided to really buckle down on spending and had even decided to not spend money on the house, God opened my eyes even then to contentment. He showed me how much I had and that I needed to stop wishing I had more. That was when, what I called, "The Multiplication Effect" occurred.
One day I looked at my cramped family room and suddenly I saw the problem. I quickly got some kids on board, moved around a few pieces of furniture, took a few out and in a blink of an eye, we had a much larger room that could accommodate all of us. That happened in other rooms of the house, even in the barn! Nothing had changed in our home, but I can only think God was just waiting for my attitude to change and that was when He opened my eyes to these strange blessings of multiplication in the space of our home.
Now our younger tribe has gotten much older and much bigger. With 2 adult children and 2 more well on their ways, it was getting cramped. This time it was my husband's eyes that were opened. . A couple of years ago he looked at one of our walls and decided it was time to tear it down and so he did! We started with one and now, 2 more just this Fall, has seen our house open up to new exponential space. My 5 year old said recently, "On the outside our house looks really small, but on the INSIDE it's BIG!!!!"
Add in my new best friend neighbour who gave us two 7 ft. long couches and we have doubled our seating. Every time someone comes over, I marvel, as now we have two large seating areas that accommodate a lot of people now. This has always been my dream to have large groups of people in the same area, able to visit and fellowship, all under one roof, in one space.
It kind of seems to go against the debt-reduction plan to do all of these renovations and several years ago when we first made that decision we had said just that, "No renovations", but then we found our heating costs so high that we found we actually had to do something if we didn't want to go broke paying the heating bills, so that's when we started the ripping out of outside walls just so we could insulate and update the old plaster and lathe. We are one wall away from insulating the whole family room now. The new drywall is up and is ready for the mudding and eventual paint.
But, back to the debt-reduction plan....I like decor. I try not to! Decor is expensive! Back when we lived in town all the stores I loved to shop in were so expensive and they just left me discontent as there was no way I could ever afford to decorate with their price tags. But then what do you do with what I feel is a God-given desire to make my "nest" a cozy place? Did I have to leave the walls bare? Paint wasn't an option at this point. I was anxious though.....would I have to wait for years for paint? When would I be able to put things back up on the walls? I was hosting a number of seasonal events.....I wanted it to at least have the facade of being done. But then RM gave the green light, "Hang stuff up, we won't be painting for a while....." Oh yeah! So I did. And that's where more mini miracles happened.....
I now had more wall space then I knew what to do with. Like I said, in the olden days, I would have wished I could have gone to a store and purchased all sorts of rustic decor. then knowing the price tags, sighed, and given up. Not this time. I just walked over to my on-site rustic decor "store", i.e., the barn, and started hunting. I found more window frames that I hadn't seen or used before and quickly dusted them off (I don't even bother sanding, no time for that) and literally threw them on my bare, unpainted freshly drywalled walls. Then, I ran outside, cut off some greenery, which up until last year, I hadn't even noticed we had, and threw that around the house. It was looking good!
One more touch....we had no lighting! We have looked at beautiful fixtures, but are waiting until everything is complete, so in the meantime, I grabbed all the Christmas lights and a son, and asked him to go around the ceiling edges putting them up. He did and now we have beautiful white lights around almost the entire perimeter of the family room. It gives such a nice glow to the house.
Not being particularly crafty, but knowing I had access to vines, I knew I had to do something with them this year or it would be a big waste of craft supplies! Last year I cut all sorts of vines off the grapes and put them in storage for the winter thinking I would do something with them in the spring. Not smart. Over the winter they turned to dust. Each time I picked one up it crumbled in my hands. This year I knew I had to cut them and immediately make them into something. So on one of the last warm days of Fall, I went down and cut a whole bunch of vines and turned them into mini Christmas trees. I absolutely love them and can't even believe I did them myself! My own kids are in a bit of shock, "You made that?" All it took was my time. They're all over the inside of the house and I even threw a couple outside and they make the front porch look so festive. Why couldn't I see these things before? Why did I think I had to buy everything? Why am I suddenly aware that I can do these things when I used to think it was only those people born with the craft skill that could make things themselves? I can't explain it, except that my eyes were opened again.
The flooring is currently plywood, but that's fine for now. We're waiting on a steal of a deal. So here I sit in what seems like our new home. I can hardly believe how the home has been transformed from what I always called "our dumpy farmhouse" to a new and improved version. I never knew beautiful ancient beams were hiding under an unattractive drop ceiling. I never knew there was free rustic decor at my disposal when we first bought this place. I never knew it would actually be the biggest home we had lived in when all I saw was a tiny, badly-organized floorplan at first viewing. It's one of those "don't judge a book by it's cover" moments or a badly wrapped gift that seems small and you only want the big gift with the fancy packaging. Yet, here it was, under all the old coverings lay this gift I could have never imagined when we first bought this place 7 years ago. It is far from being finished, but I am seeing the tremendous blessing it is to our family and not a single square inch has been added.....it is the Multiplication Effect again.
This is my nest. Psalm 84:3, "Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may have her young..." I spend a lot of time in my nest. I am no different than a bird. I just want my nest to be cozy and a place where my birdies will be comfortable and happy. I want them to stay as long as possible and I'll always want them to come back and visit. I'm convinced this desire has been put in me by God Himself. He could have made the world unattractive, but He made creation so beautiful that it really defies description. It is a heavenly desire to long for beautiful things. Of course, the world has taken this desire and turned it into an idol, but it doesn't have to be if we recognize the source of this desire and keep our sin nature in check. Just as the mommy bird takes her time in making her nest comfortable so do I. None of this happened overnight. It has been a long process and I'm so glad God didn't give me what I wanted when I wanted it. I don't think I would have appreciated it as much. A friend came over yesterday and complimented me on the decor. I was able to say, "The best part? It was all free!"
A quick reminder this morning that there's work to do.....the water is frozen.....we didn't get the heater in the pumphouse soon enough! So, it's not perfect, we are a work in progress....but I'm still grateful!!!!
It kind of goes back to the original posts from several years ago. In those early days when we had decided to really buckle down on spending and had even decided to not spend money on the house, God opened my eyes even then to contentment. He showed me how much I had and that I needed to stop wishing I had more. That was when, what I called, "The Multiplication Effect" occurred.
One day I looked at my cramped family room and suddenly I saw the problem. I quickly got some kids on board, moved around a few pieces of furniture, took a few out and in a blink of an eye, we had a much larger room that could accommodate all of us. That happened in other rooms of the house, even in the barn! Nothing had changed in our home, but I can only think God was just waiting for my attitude to change and that was when He opened my eyes to these strange blessings of multiplication in the space of our home.
Now our younger tribe has gotten much older and much bigger. With 2 adult children and 2 more well on their ways, it was getting cramped. This time it was my husband's eyes that were opened. . A couple of years ago he looked at one of our walls and decided it was time to tear it down and so he did! We started with one and now, 2 more just this Fall, has seen our house open up to new exponential space. My 5 year old said recently, "On the outside our house looks really small, but on the INSIDE it's BIG!!!!"
Add in my new best friend neighbour who gave us two 7 ft. long couches and we have doubled our seating. Every time someone comes over, I marvel, as now we have two large seating areas that accommodate a lot of people now. This has always been my dream to have large groups of people in the same area, able to visit and fellowship, all under one roof, in one space.
It kind of seems to go against the debt-reduction plan to do all of these renovations and several years ago when we first made that decision we had said just that, "No renovations", but then we found our heating costs so high that we found we actually had to do something if we didn't want to go broke paying the heating bills, so that's when we started the ripping out of outside walls just so we could insulate and update the old plaster and lathe. We are one wall away from insulating the whole family room now. The new drywall is up and is ready for the mudding and eventual paint.
But, back to the debt-reduction plan....I like decor. I try not to! Decor is expensive! Back when we lived in town all the stores I loved to shop in were so expensive and they just left me discontent as there was no way I could ever afford to decorate with their price tags. But then what do you do with what I feel is a God-given desire to make my "nest" a cozy place? Did I have to leave the walls bare? Paint wasn't an option at this point. I was anxious though.....would I have to wait for years for paint? When would I be able to put things back up on the walls? I was hosting a number of seasonal events.....I wanted it to at least have the facade of being done. But then RM gave the green light, "Hang stuff up, we won't be painting for a while....." Oh yeah! So I did. And that's where more mini miracles happened.....
I now had more wall space then I knew what to do with. Like I said, in the olden days, I would have wished I could have gone to a store and purchased all sorts of rustic decor. then knowing the price tags, sighed, and given up. Not this time. I just walked over to my on-site rustic decor "store", i.e., the barn, and started hunting. I found more window frames that I hadn't seen or used before and quickly dusted them off (I don't even bother sanding, no time for that) and literally threw them on my bare, unpainted freshly drywalled walls. Then, I ran outside, cut off some greenery, which up until last year, I hadn't even noticed we had, and threw that around the house. It was looking good!
One more touch....we had no lighting! We have looked at beautiful fixtures, but are waiting until everything is complete, so in the meantime, I grabbed all the Christmas lights and a son, and asked him to go around the ceiling edges putting them up. He did and now we have beautiful white lights around almost the entire perimeter of the family room. It gives such a nice glow to the house.
Not being particularly crafty, but knowing I had access to vines, I knew I had to do something with them this year or it would be a big waste of craft supplies! Last year I cut all sorts of vines off the grapes and put them in storage for the winter thinking I would do something with them in the spring. Not smart. Over the winter they turned to dust. Each time I picked one up it crumbled in my hands. This year I knew I had to cut them and immediately make them into something. So on one of the last warm days of Fall, I went down and cut a whole bunch of vines and turned them into mini Christmas trees. I absolutely love them and can't even believe I did them myself! My own kids are in a bit of shock, "You made that?" All it took was my time. They're all over the inside of the house and I even threw a couple outside and they make the front porch look so festive. Why couldn't I see these things before? Why did I think I had to buy everything? Why am I suddenly aware that I can do these things when I used to think it was only those people born with the craft skill that could make things themselves? I can't explain it, except that my eyes were opened again.
The flooring is currently plywood, but that's fine for now. We're waiting on a steal of a deal. So here I sit in what seems like our new home. I can hardly believe how the home has been transformed from what I always called "our dumpy farmhouse" to a new and improved version. I never knew beautiful ancient beams were hiding under an unattractive drop ceiling. I never knew there was free rustic decor at my disposal when we first bought this place. I never knew it would actually be the biggest home we had lived in when all I saw was a tiny, badly-organized floorplan at first viewing. It's one of those "don't judge a book by it's cover" moments or a badly wrapped gift that seems small and you only want the big gift with the fancy packaging. Yet, here it was, under all the old coverings lay this gift I could have never imagined when we first bought this place 7 years ago. It is far from being finished, but I am seeing the tremendous blessing it is to our family and not a single square inch has been added.....it is the Multiplication Effect again.
This is my nest. Psalm 84:3, "Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may have her young..." I spend a lot of time in my nest. I am no different than a bird. I just want my nest to be cozy and a place where my birdies will be comfortable and happy. I want them to stay as long as possible and I'll always want them to come back and visit. I'm convinced this desire has been put in me by God Himself. He could have made the world unattractive, but He made creation so beautiful that it really defies description. It is a heavenly desire to long for beautiful things. Of course, the world has taken this desire and turned it into an idol, but it doesn't have to be if we recognize the source of this desire and keep our sin nature in check. Just as the mommy bird takes her time in making her nest comfortable so do I. None of this happened overnight. It has been a long process and I'm so glad God didn't give me what I wanted when I wanted it. I don't think I would have appreciated it as much. A friend came over yesterday and complimented me on the decor. I was able to say, "The best part? It was all free!"
A quick reminder this morning that there's work to do.....the water is frozen.....we didn't get the heater in the pumphouse soon enough! So, it's not perfect, we are a work in progress....but I'm still grateful!!!!
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