Falling On Tile Stairs Hurts

Living in Europe, in military housing means that we have all tile floors, including the stairs. Now I have tripped on the stairs before and always try to be careful but today was it for me. Here is where I went wrong.
Mistake #1 I was only wearing socks, no shoes.
Mistake #2 I was carrying Nikolas and our bedding at the same time.
Mistake #3 I was going too fast.

I am fine. I didn't break anything. I scraped the top of my foot pretty good and I'll bet it'll be black and blue tomorrow. It scared me really bad and it hurt even worse. I was mostly scared because I was holding Nikolas. Joshua got scared, too. He kept saying, "ok mommie? ok mommie?" All I could get out was "I'm ok, I'm ok, I'm ok." Over and over again. Trying to catch my breath.

#1 reason for wanting to go back to the U.S- Mexican Food
#2 reason- carpet
#3 reason- family and friends
#4 reason- slurpees

WATCH YOUR STEP!

Marathon Cleaning

I think everyone is finally feeling better in our house. Nikolas has molars coming in but I think his stomach bug is gone. Motrin keeps that under control. It seems like since we moved here in December, 2006 that we have been sick more than ever before. I do have to take into account that I have kids now an they love to share germs with other kids. But living in a small military community doesn't help. We had to reschedule Joshua's birthday party and the other kids invited either had just gotten over the bug or were in the middle of it.

Believe it or not I actually had some quiet time during all this bodily function mess. It was nice to spend some time with God. And also just read or sleep. I'm so lucky to have my husband home. I don't know what I'd do if he were deployed. He is such a blessing.

So with all my "rest" comes a messy, disaster of a house. There are cracker crumbs everywhere because that was the food of choice most of the weekend. I could see the germs lingering about. I wish it was warmer outside today so I could open everything and get some fresh air in here. I have been disinfecting, bathing, sweeping, dusting, washing and laundering since the sun rose this morning. The kids were more than happy with peanut butter toast for breakfast, good! Minimal mess. Just needed a quick blog break.

Back to life... Thanks for the prayers!

A Little Work and A Little Play

I really enjoy doing graphic design type stuff. I have new and old designs in my CafePress store. If you like to create with graphics then you should check out CafePress as a money maker! It is really fun and also VERY nice to get a check for doing something that I love.

too many blogs?

Blogs are my new favorite thing! I could spend hours reading blogs about homeschool, crafting, Jesus, families and being a mom. At first I guess I didn't really understand blogging. I thought it was like a diary for the world to read. But then I realized that blogs can be anything the writer wants them to be. I love to write and create and share. Why didn't I start doing this sooner?
I read a lot of blogs and they lead me to more blogs... I like most of what I see but occasionally I see something I feel I need to share! This is a great article to help you decide whether or not to homeschool. It also includes some advice and tips on getting started.

Leading a Bible Study

I really wanted to lead a weight loss study. I did a lot of research on which would be the best for our group of ladies and found this. I have learned a lot about Jesus in this study (which should be the point, right?) but I don't feel like this study was what I've needed. It is a wonderful study and I recommend it only if you will be able to continue on with the series. This is definitely step one. Maybe it was because it is my first time leading. Maybe it was the devil really trying to tempt me and distract me. We only have about a month left and I will be relieved when we're done. I can go back to learning and less teaching. I think it is a learning season for me.

It is the spirit of Almighty God that comes to us and gives us wisdom. ~Job 32:8 (GNT)

A New Design

I am really excited about my newest design on CafePress and I have to share it. I have been playing with some new paintbrushes and colors in Photoshop CS4. Let me know what you think! If you look around in my store, you'll see how far I've come. I love creating and sharing. I also made my new header! What a productive day even with the sickies!

Tot-Schooling

I am currently loving Tot-School and the 1+1+1=1 blog. These are great resources for tot-schooling activities and fun! I am looking forward to getting workboxes in our "classroom". I am such an organizer!
If you have a blog to share, please comment me and I'll check it out!

Sickies

One thing that throws everything out of balance is when any of us gets sick. Both boys needed bedding changes and baths last night, of course at different times. My husband has a cold and he is miserable, too. He stayed home from work today to rest and help with the kids. At least I'm getting ALL of the bedding washed.

Update to 3/14 Post

It amazes me sometimes how other marriages can be a blessing. Saturday I was a little bummed that I couldn't go to stamp club because my husband was out enjoying his own hobby. Well, some of the other women's husbands (THANKS CHRIS AND TERRELL!) were outside next door and offered to watch my boys. Nikolas slept most of the time and Joshua loves playing with the older boys. So, it worked out great! I owe them one!

Compromising and Balancing in a Marriage

I'm sure that this will be the first of many posts on the subject of marriage. My husband loves to ride his sport bike (a bright green Kawasaki zx6r, for those that care). Once again living overseas has its limitations in purchasing things he needs, especially for this [ridiculously expensive] hobby. But he finally got a trailer to tow the bike to the track. And was finally able to go spend the day at the track with the boys today.

I, on the other hand, was really looking forward to going to Stamp Club with the girls. My friend Mary is a Stampin' Up Consultant. Every month we get together and learn new techniques and do projects. This is one of the highlights of my month. I love crafting and more than that I love fellowship with the girls. I couldn't find a sitter, which is partly my fault for waiting to call them. I'm bummed!

But my husband rarely gets to visit the track. I know how much he loves riding. So, I make the sacrifice for him. My happiness is so important to him and I really want to give him back the things he does for our family. And not be bitter about missing something that is important to me. My husband's happiness is so much more important to me.

1The Song—best of all songs—Solomon's song! The Woman!

2-3Kiss me—full on the mouth!
Yes! For your love is better than wine,
headier than your aromatic oils.
The syllables of your name murmur like a meadow brook.
No wonder everyone loves to say your name!

4 Take me away with you! Let's run off together!
An elopement with my King-Lover!
We'll celebrate, we'll sing,
we'll make great music.
Yes! For your love is better than vintage wine.
Everyone loves you—of course! And why not?

~Song of Songs 1:1-4 (Message)

Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. ~Ephesians 4:31 (NKJV)

A soft answer turns away wrath,
But a harsh word stirs up anger.
~Proverbs 15:1 (NKJV)

Heavenly Father,
Thank you for bringing this man into my life. He is all earthly things to me, he gives me joy, he challenges me. In loving him, I am loved. In understanding him, I am understood. Help me to honor him, to share all things with him, to be one flesh with him. Amen.
(Bible Verses for Busy Moms from Meredith Corporation)

I Must Share This!

I have found a great way to balance the house! Home Sanctuary is new favorite place!

I love it but...

I love reading. Books, magazines, blogs. I love to fill my mind with new information or romantic notions. I try to read a book (not including a Bible or Bible study) at least ten minutes a day. If I commit to ten minutes, then I can usually get enough time to finish a chapter.

Here is my current book list for your enjoyment...
1. California (4 short Christian fiction stories)~Billerbeck, Leonhardt-Koehly, Laity & Yapp
2. Adobe CS4 Master Premium for Dummies ~This book is thick and I probably won't ever finish it but it is full of information for the Adobe programs that I (TRY) to use.
3. John 3:16 ~Nancy Moser, technically I haven't started this one yet but I might when I'm done here.

I also am doing two Bible studies and hopefully one more soon.
1. First Place 4 Health's Begin With Christ -This is a weight loss study that I am leading.
2. A Woman After God's Own Heart by Elizabeth George -This is great and I highly recommend it!
3. I'm really hoping that my husband will be able to re-prioritize so that we can do The Love Dare study together.

As I am writing this, I'm really thinking that I need to put more book time on my schedule! Happy reading!

Scheduling Your Life

I've been doing a lot of research and reading (A TON of) blogs about cleaning, homeschooling, organizing and staying sane all at the same time. I asked friends how they do it. I've come to a conclusion (one that my husband came to a long time ago) that I really need to schedule everything I do. And then the key is... drum roll, please... STICKING TO IT! I am using the week view on Microsoft Outlook. Here is the plan for now... Every week I sit down and go over the plan for the next work week, adjusting and adding appointments or changes. Most of the things I do are recurring, so I set it up that way in Outlook then when I plan the next week I just make changes as I need to. At the start of the week I print three copies, one for my desk, one for the fridge and one for my purse. I make sure to schedule showers and prayer/quiet time, too. I desperately need both! I have also started something that will hopefully help me keep the house a bit cleaner. FlyLady is a CHAOS solver kind of thing. I'm just getting started but am very excited to do more than day one! I'll let you know how that goes. I'd love to know your tips for organizing your days!

Balancing Brains and Brawn

I have recently started homeschooling my son, Joshua. He will be three on March 24th. Time flies! I recently started a preschool curriculum with him. We really needed some structure around our house and this is helping. We go over a letter, color/shape, number and animal/thing each week. As well as read stories and do nursery rhymes. I am adding more ideas all the time. I am trying to make a schedule for our daily activities and all the things I need to get done around the house. Any suggestions? I'd like to get a maid but I don't see that happening. ;)

Balancing Some Work With Life

As a military wife currently living overseas my employment options are limited. But I do all kinds of things to earn a buck or two. My husband wasn't all that happy at tax time because it did make some extra work for him but I didn't spend as much of his hard earned money, right? ;)

I love to do graphic design stuff, even though I'm just getting started I am very passionate about it. I create items and sell them on CafePress. CafePress is a "print on demand" company. POD means that people like me upload their designs into "stores" and offer them for sale. Each designer can customize their store and even choose the price of the items. When a customer orders an item CafePress creates the item and then does the shipping. Pretty easy! Designers earn the amount above the cost of the item that they set. I made over $600 last year. Not too bad, eh?

Something else that I love is purses and bags! I found an amazing company called Thirty-One Gifts. Thirty-One is a faith based company, the name referring to the Proverbs 31, Virtuous Woman. They offer all types of bags, purses and gift items that can be personalized. They are also introducing 31kid, a baby line April 1st! I got a sneak peak and can't wait to order the new stuff. The thing that I really enjoy about Thirty-One is that the main goal of the company and us as consultants is to Celebrate, Encourage and Reward women for all they do. YAY! I also made over $600 with Thirty-One last year.

I do a lot of other things that I'll talk about another day. I did want to mention that in my list of priorities these "jobs" are no where near the top. They are just fun things that I like to do and happen to make money. I am blessed to not "need" to work at this time in our lives. Even though some days it would be great to go to a job, the "job" I do right now is so much more rewarding than I could ever explain to someone who has never done it.

Beat The Family Up!

What!? Beat your family up? I don't mean physically beat them. I mean beat them up in the morning. Get up before the kids. I have just started the Bible study "A Woman After God's Own Heart" by Elizabeth George. She suggests making an appointment with God at the beginning of every day. Here are some verses that she references about when to pray...

In the morning, O LORD, you hear my voice;
in the morning I lay my requests before you
and wait in expectation. ~Psalm 5:3

Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. ~Mark 1:35

But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. ~Matthew 6:6

Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. ~1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

And how to pray...

Blessed are they who keep his statutes
and seek him with all their heart. ~Psalm 119:2

And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. ~Hebrews 11:6

Sing to him, sing praise to him;
tell of all his wonderful acts. ~1 Chronicles 16:9

And you, my son Solomon, acknowledge the God of your father, and serve him with wholehearted devotion and with a willing mind, for the LORD searches every heart and understands every motive behind the thoughts. If you seek him, he will be found by you; but if you forsake him, he will reject you forever. ~1 Chronicles 28:9

So to summarize; Pray with your whole heart with faith in our God, that He will provide all your needs. Start your day with God and know that He is with you all day and you can pray to Him all day. Give Him all your needs, worries and troubles. Praise God with your whole heart and mind.