Heavenly Homemakers

Encouraging women in homemaking, healthy eating and parenting

The Night of the Red Moon

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Did you get to see the lunar eclipse on Wednesday night (or was that only happening here in Nebraska?) 

(I’m KIDDING.)

I don’t remember ever seeing one before…and it was SUPER cool!

Go God!

My favorite part of the night however, was this…

We have a great window to look out of in one of our son’s rooms, so Daddy took all the boys in there to get a better view.

I went up a few minutes later to see it better…and while the lunar eclipse was awesome…the view in the bedroom was priceless.

There was Daddy, sprawled out on the bed looking out the window…with all kinds of little boys piled on top of him…looking out the window.

For many, many minutes.

I’m pretty sure all the boys will have a special memory of watching the eclipse with their Daddy that night.

Me? I’ll have a special memory of my boys watching the special event with the man they love most and most want to be like.

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GRATITUESDAY: The Computer

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My computer might seem like a silly thing to “feature” this Gratituesday…but just hear me out.

Our family has not had a computer at home for very long. Since getting one, a whole new world has been opened up to me…and well…I’m lovin’ it!

My kids can do research and find things that would either not have been possible without a computer, or at the very least would have been VERY hard to come by.

My husband and I can find all KINDS of helpful information…anytime we need to.

But more importantly, I’m loving the connection with people! 

Email is wonderful! (I know, I know…that’s old news. But I haven’t been able to freely enjoy it until now…so indulge me a little. And MAYBE you have been taking email for granted just a little bit…do you think?)

(Why, back in my day, we had to write letters with a quill using our own blood as ink and deliver the letter on foot without shoes in the scorching heat on hard rocks carrying our lame horse uphill…)

And beyond that, the whole website/bloggy world out there…what an invention! Here we are all connecting to one another, encouraging each other, sharing laughs. What a joy!

The NO SUGAR Plunge…I could NOT do  it without you! And look at you…If you took the plunge yourself, haven’t you found it encouraging to meet here and join with others who were accepting the same challenge? Even if you didn’t take the plunge, you’re still participating with us by encouraging us and checking in with us on how it’s going.

And so, I just wanted to use this Gratituesday to appreciate YOU and to thank God for the way computers bring about a connection with people…a connection that otherwise may not have happened.

I would love to hear from you! Either leave a comment so we can all read what you’re thankful for…or swipe the GRATITUESDAY graphic from up top and write your own on your blog of thanks today! (Just be sure to leave a comment letting us know you have your own Gratitueday on your blog so we’ll all know to come check it out!)

Then, I can go read all of your blogs, and continue to thank God for you!

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Thirteen Ways to Tell Your Kids, “I love you!”

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Thirteen Ways to say, “I love you!” to your kids:

1. Hug them.

2. Smile at them.

3. Make them fun things to eat.

4. Play with them.

5. Giggle with them.

6. Write them a note.

7. Teach them to work hard.

8. Discipline them.

9. Be consistent with them.

10. Read with them.

11. Pray with them.

12. Teach them about Jesus. 

13. Say it to them. 

More Thursday Thirteen here.

Hey, want to join me (and several others) by taking a NO SUGAR Plunge!? Come on…you know you need to! Read Take the NO SUGAR Plunge, Pt. 1 here!

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Just Five Minutes…

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There’s no getting ahead when it comes to dishes:

“Hm, perhaps I should get ahead by washing these clean dishes that we are about to eat on before we eat, so that I don’t have to do it after we eat.”

Nope. It doesn’t work that way. (But if it did, I would SO be doing it!)

SO, my kitchen tip for today is this:

Set your timer for just five minutes and clean like crazy and see what you can get done! 

 There have been times when I was baking something and there was five minutes left on the timer before I could take it out of the oven, so I would start washing some dishes while I waited. And I couldn’t BELIEVE how much I would knock out of my stack before the timer went off!

Just five minutes!

It helped me to know that many jobs that LOOK overwhelming and make you feel like you’ll NEVER catch up, REALLY DON’T take very long to do. 

It’s a work in progress. And, it’s just a matter of getting in there and doing it. 

Okay, so go tackle those dishes for five minutes! And you just see what you can get done!

On your mark…get set…go!

There’s all kinds of great cooking tips at Tammy’s Recipes today…go check them out (AFTER you finish your dishes!).

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GRATITUESDAY: I Love it!

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 Because Valentine’s Day is upon us, and we’re all thinking about LOVE…I decided to use this Gratituesday to tell you about some of the things I love. 

1. I love it that I am married to the person who completes me, makes me better and is my best friend.

2. I love the fact that God has allowed me to be what I’ve always wanted to be when I grow up:  a wife and mother.

3. I love that I am a mother to four of the sweetest, handsomest, funnest, bestest boys in the world.

(I love that you read my blog even when I doesn’t use good grammar or speel word write.)

4. I love having friends who care, help, share, cry, laugh, feel joy, and hurt with me.

5. I love that all of my needs are met, all of the time, in abundance.

6. I love the peace I feel knowing that I have a Savior who loved me enough to die so that I can live eternally with Him one day, even though I don’t deserve it. 

Now THAT’s love.

Be sure to check out what Char is thankful for over at BellaJoy.com! And feel free to leave a message here and there about something YOU’RE thankful for!

Heavenly Homemaker's Club Members: Access your homepage and all your fantastic resources here! Not a member yet? Please join us!

A Work In Progress

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This weekend I was talking to my sister in law who:  is going through the  adoption of my precious baby nephew…and she has a bad cold…and she’s taking care of my precious baby nephew…

(She’s doing an awesome job of being a mommy, I might add.)

When I asked her what she was doing for the weekend, she said, “Oh, I need to…my house is…well, my home is not really a haven right now.” (Hey, at least she’s been taking time to read my blog!)

She told me about the piles of this and the stacks of that and all the things that she was having a hard time getting around to.

And then she told me of a dream she had recently had (when she was actually able to get more than two hours of sleep in one chunk):

“I dreamed that I was living in a tree house all by myself with no one to take care of and no one even knew where I was…and I STILL couldn’t get everything done!”

Ooooohhh doesn’t that dream paint a great picture of what we all feel as women at one point or another! Especially if you have a newborn! 

So my encouragement to all mothers and homemakers out there is to just keep on keepin’ on…

Making our homes a haven is a WORK IN PROGRESS.

The work never ends. And that can feel discouraging. 

We can catch up on all the laundry, and that night, everyone takes off their dirty clothes and there is more laundry to be done and you don’t feel caught up anymore.

Toys that have been picked up get back out again. Dishes that have been washed get dirty again. Mail that has been sorted through begins to pile up again.

In about five minutes.

You can choose to do one of two things:  feel discouraged and throw up your hands…or dig in again and start going through the mail.

And you can remember that you aren’t alone. And that just because your house isn’t perfect all the time (or ever), you aren’t a failure as a homemaker.

Just do what you can with the time that you have and don’t give up. It’s amazing what you can pick up, clean up or throw out in a five minute time period. (Aren’t you glad I stopped that pattern and didn’t say “throw up”!)

God bless you as you make your home a haven…remembering that it is a work in progress.

More “Make your home a haven” ideas at Biblical Womanhood.

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GRATITUESDAY: Appreciating My Children

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Today, I want to remember to appreciate my children. My four beautiful, precious, messy, loud little boys. 

I want to appreciate that they are healthy enough to make messes.

I want to appreciate that they are strong enough to fight with each other.

I want to appreciate that they are comfortable enough to question things.

I have a dear friend who is going through incredible difficulty with her adopted child…a child she loves with all her heart. A child who has been hurt so badly in the past that she struggles just to get through the day. Ah, if she only had to struggle with the things a child should normally have to struggle with.

So, my kids? Yeah, they fight. They leave messes behind almost everywhere they are. They don’t always listen . They frustrate me at times to the point of pulling out my hair. They do things that are annoying, selfish, thoughtless and ridiculous. 

But, today, I want to appreciate that my kids are secure, happy and safe. I want to appreciate that all I have to deal with during the day with my kids is NORMAL stuff. That’s all.

And, I want to appreciate that my God loves me even though I am messy,  loud, selfish, thoughtless and ridiculous. Thank you God, for loving me anyway.

Bellajoy has a great Gratituesday post up too!

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GRATITUESDAY

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 Welcome to week two of GRATITUESDAY! 

Recently at church we sang “Great is Thy Faithfulness”. The words were particularly touching to me and phooey, I can’t sing when I’m crying. 

What a beautiful reminder to us that his mercies are new every morning, God doesn’t change, his compassion is unfailing, nature is witness to God’s faithfulness and greatness…oh sorry. Here, you read the words and see if you aren’t touched too.

 

Great is thy faithfulness, oh God my Father
There is no shadow of turning with Thee
Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not;
As Thou hast been Thou forever wilt be.

Summer and winter and springtime and harvest,
Sun, moon, and stars in their courses above
Join with all nature in manifold witness
To Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth,
Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide;
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow
Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!

Great is Thy faithfulness! Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see;
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided;
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord unto me!

 May you have “strength for today, and bright hope for tomorrow…” as you consider God’s faithfulness to you. God is good.

Join me this GRATITUESDAY and leave a comment letting my know what you are thankful for.

 

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Pssst! It’s GRATITUESDAY at Heavenly HomeMakers! (Pass it on!)

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Today, I am especially thankful for the ways He is providing for our family, and for the ways He is teaching me to trust Him.

Several months ago, I began a journal, recording “extras” God was giving us. When I pulled it out to write yet another surprise blessing this weekend, I couldn’t believe how long my list was!

While I’m sure that Satan will keep working on me to make me stop trusting God, and He’ll keep telling me lies so that I’ll worry about how God will provide for us…God just keeps proving over and over that HE is in charge and that HE is going to take care of us.

Please, please join me this Gratituesday and share with me something that you are grateful for…

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Getting the Week of to a Great Start!

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I decided today to hop onto Monday Meanderings…check it out! It’s a great way to help get you organized and start your week off with a  plan.

Here are the five areas of focus:

1. Bible Study: 

*We are reading as a family through the book of John and helping the boys memorize John 1:1-14. 
*We are also soaking in the words of John the Baptist in John 3:30, “He must become greater, I must become less.”

2. Must Do: 

*I MUST bake bread and make granola early in the week. 
*All of our sheets need to be washed.
*I’ve got to baby proof the house (I started babysitting for a 10 month old each morning, and I’m quickly learning that we have way too many marbles in our house.) (and legos) (and game pieces…)

3. Cleaning Zone:  This week my zone will be the kitchen. 

*I need to clean out the fridge because somehow maple syrup spilled. I’m actually less upset about the sticky mess than I am about wasting good organic maple syrup! Do you think it would be too weird if I swiped my pancake over the spill tomorrow morning? (I’m pretty sure I’m kidding.)

*I also REALLY need to clean my oven. Last week, a casserole spilled over and made a big stinky, smokey mess. I’m tired of running over to the smoke alarm to wildly fan my dishtowel in front of it to get the thing to stop screaming. Hey, at least we can be confident that it works!

*My kids could write their spelling words in the dust on the top of the fridge (please don’t tell them this…I don’t need little boys climbing up there to give it a try). So, I need to clean it off before someone really tall comes over.

4. Train Them Up:  We are working on “obeying the first time…without arguing or whining”. Time for Mama and Daddy to enforce this a little better. 

5. Menu Plan:  You can see what we’re eating this week here. You’ll also find a link to some fun, FREE new menu planners here!

So, what do you have going on this week?

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