Thankful Thursday 2-19-09

This has been another rough week. When I have a rough week, I really like taking time to thank God for EVERYTHING he has done! He is AWE-SOME all the time. And I am in AWE of Him!

I am thankful for God in my life. All the time. Everyday. No matter where I am. No matter who I am with.

I am thankful that I am covered by the Blood of Jesus, no matter what!

I am thankful that God is the same: yesterday, today and forever!

I am thankful that I have a personal relationship with God and don't have to rely on anyone else to be in God's grace or His perfect will.

I am thankful that I hear my Father's voice and the voice of another I WILL NOT follow!

I am thankful for a husband that works really hard for us and for his job. I am thankful he is patient with me and my foibles.

I am thankful for my children and all their wonderful, wacky ways.

I am thankful to my friends. Especially friends who help me to "see the Light" and remember the important things! Like, "I am not on my way to hell!" LOL! (sorry, little private joke there) and many of the other things I wrote above about God.

I am thankful for my best friend's new pregnancy!! That was the Highlight of my week!!!

I am thankful to my niece who is the most awesomest niece in the whole wide world.

I am thankful for my not-so-secret sister (from Ravelry), who I love dearly and love getting to know.

And I am thankful for my "Pampered Chef lady" who just so happens to be one of my most dearest friends and is just absolutely awesome.

On a purely selfish note, I am thankful that I hit $500 for my Pampered Chef party so I get lots of free product!! :-)

Have a wonderful blessed week!!

visit Grace Alone to see other Thankful Thursdays

Setting things in order

I need to "set in order the things that are lacking." Titus 1:5

This verse really yelled at me today! I mean just got right up off the page, pointed its finger in my face and SCREAMED! Things are NOT in order right now. Blessedly, this time it is not BIG things, but rather the little things that make things run smoother. However, I have found myself grumpy and irritable lately from the little things that aren't getting done.

I have a dear friend who lost her baby a few weeks ago. This was heartbreaking for her and her family and also very hard for me as I was with her when it happened. It brought back many feelings of loss that I have for Jacob. I took care of her as well as I knew how (including involving other people, don't worry, I didn't do it all on my own!) and especially tried to do things for her I appreciated from people when Jacob died. (Or things that I wish had happened when he died.) Anyway, it was an emotional week or so and then I got a big, bad cold. Not just your garden variety cold but a BIG BAD one. I basically laid around for another whole week.

Needless to say (and yet I am going to say it), things aren't in order around here. We are a little behind on our laundry and our cleaning. However, I am VERY proud to say, we are not terribly behind and I am not feeling overwhelmed. I have to give kudos to my kids who helped out amazingly this past month. In fact, I am feeling energized and raring to go! I already have systems in place that are good, just have to re-implement them and maybe tweak them a little.

After this verse struck me this morning, I knew today was the day to start getting things back in order! WOOHOO! Yes, it will keep me from my crocheting, but I will reward myself with some crocheting time after we are done today. (I am working on an afghan for hubby for Valentine's Day) :-)

I am at lunch right now, after a good morning of school with the kids.

Here is a quick update: Ethan has been a little hard to handle yet, but I refuse to call it "terrible twos." They are going to be his "terrific twos!" Speaking of that, he just turned 2 on Monday! Emily has been full of good ideas lately! She has come up with some that surprise us all. Kaedra is doing great and is capped again. Brittany is lovely and wonderful and crocheting almost as much as me, lately. Michael is out of town for the week, in KC for a manager's meeting. He is still on nights when he gets back home and it has been really hard on him and for the family. Please pray that he gets done with that soon! No news on our move at all. Still praying that there may be an opening in OKC.

So, today is the day. I am going to start putting things in order again. Here are my lists of things that are lacking:

1. laundry
2. chore lists getting done
3. house cleaning (go back to a little a day or stay at one big one weekly?)
4. Emily's room
5. Kaedra's closet
6. attic (organize/declutter on warm day or in spring)
7. clean out/declutter my closet
8. leave a little time for reading (in other words NOT crocheting)
9. lesson plans in advance
10. zone cleaning (ala Flylady)
11. work on next year's lesson plans (I am writing our curriculum for next year)

I am also working on SMART habits again. They will be in my sidebar.

I will check back in a few days and see how my "ordering" is going!

Thankful Thursday 1-8-09

It has been a really long time since I've done a Thankful Thursday. I have been thinking of them but haven't had a chance to sit down and do it yet. Although today is already Friday, I am definitely in need of a Thankful Thursday post. I had such a horrible day yesterday and horrible night last night that I need to remember all I have to be thankful for!

So, without further ado....

I am thankful for.....

My Lord and Saviour! His mercies are new each morning, Hallelujah!

His Word: How awesome to have a manual, love letter, history book, biography, and so much more here for us to be able to dive into whenever WE want.

My hubby's job (even though it is not our SOURCE, I appreciate that it is a vehicle to get our needs met and keep me at home)

My hubby: he is hardworking, doing whatever his job needs him to do, taking care of his family

Brittany: She is such a lovely young woman, so much fun to be around, such a joy.

Emily: God gave me a really sensitive girl that feels everything. I know she has a job in the Kingdom using that skill

Kaedra: oh so loving right now and wanting to be involved in everything.

Ethan: such a little boy, so loud and fun, so loving

My church: for teaching the Word and how to apply it. For Pastor Danny and the time and effort he puts into the messages. For Pastor Jerry, Pastor John, Jennifer, Laura, Linda, Ben, Kenny and Lisa (and countless others) that keep everything running smoothly.

My friends: they are the icing on my cake. They add sweetness and joy to my life. Especially thankful for my best friend, prayer partner and accountability partner, Brandi.

Homeschooling: it is so wonderful to be able to stay home with my kids and be able to share their lives with them in such a consistent manner. I love seeing them grow every day and I am always amazed at what God can do with our day and with their lives.

Our nurses: I often think that I should be trying to do it without them and then I spend a night without them and wonder how I ever could. They are such a blessing in our life.

The Internet: I know there are a lot of "evils" with the internet..the obvious evils and the subtle evils but I am thankful that it is here and that it is so diverse and helpful. It helps me stay in touch with my friends when my life would seem very secluded without it. I even get to meet new people states and continents apart. It helps me with my homeschooling, it helps me with my running my house, it helps me with recipes and "how-tos"

I am so Thankful, Lord. Thank you, thank you, thank you for ALL your blessings.

See other Thankful Thursdays here

Next verse, same as the first

Okay, just redoing everything from 6/9/07 post. I did good on that one until we ended up in KC on that Wednesday and stayed there for 3 days. I didn't jump back on the bandwagon, but I am ready to jump now.

Here is my repost:

I have not been feeling as "peppy" lately so I am going to work on doing things to make myself feel (physically) better. I am going to add a few habits this week, instead of just one, because I need to see results quickly. They are all on my mind quite a bit, so I think it shouldn't be too hard. It is all just one BIG habit of "taking care of myself." Here are the parts:
1. no soda, just water all day and more of it
2. take vitamins and iron everyday
3. walk everyday
4. fruit with breakfast
5. veggie with lunch
6. no junk food (we have a bunch of junk food from the trip, I am going to throw that all away tomorrow night)

Okay, those are my goals for this week.

I can do this! In fact, I can do ALL things through Christ who strengthens me.(Phil 4:13)


Here is a recap of my goals:
wk 1: praying and bible reading yes
wk 2: referring to planner everyday no
wk 3: get off computer at 9am and off for rest of day well I did really good on this since I didn't have easy access to a computer for most of last week! LOL
wk 4: new laundry schedule and laundry put away every day mostly
wk 5: stopped caffeine --started again yesterday
wk 6: added fruit to breakfast --no
wk 7: added veggie to lunch --no
wk 8: portion sizes --no
wk 9: writing down what I eat every day --on hold
wk 10: walking every day only one day
wk 11: re-working on everything
wk 12: getting Kaedy bug fed on time didn't have to worry about it while she was in hospital!
wk 12: making a schedule and sticking to it on hold
wk 13: no TV during day for kids I think that's all they did while I was gone! They are grounded from it right now, so it should be easy. :-)


If you are interested in seeing more people's SHS check out Lazy Organizer's site. Feel free to jump in and join us at any point!

Thankful Thursday

I am thankful we are back from KC and we get to stay here awhile. On that same subject, I am so thankful the ID specialist in Tulsa took Kaedy's case.

I am thankful for having such wonderful kids who made a surprise stay in KC enjoyable. My children are truly a delight to me. And I am so proud of them.

I am thankful for fireflies. They are a fascinating surprise from God.

I am thankful that I have a good friend who is a nurse and she truly understands some things that no one else can. I am thankful that she is a good listener, too, and let me voice my fears without judging me.

Speaking of fears, I am thankful for the answer Dr. Carey gave me today. While in KC this last month, I heard someone refer to Kaedra as a 'terminal' case. We have never thought of her that way and haven't heard anyone say that in years. When I asked Dr. Carey about it today, he gave me the best answer I can think of: she should have a normal life span and be able to live a full life. Of course he also said 'barring any complications; infections or such' but we DO bar all that.....in the Mighty Name of Jesus. It was just good to hear him say it. We had heard the same thing in San Antonio almost two years ago, but I let fear slip in this last few weeks and I had disregarded that. I am thankful that God doesn't give up on me. ;-)

I am also thankful that Dr. Carey thinks it's okay (and good) for Kaedy to go to church, even with the picc line and machine! We haven't figured out how we're going to do it yet, but I am thankful he is wanting us to go.

I am thankful that Tuesday when Kaedra was bleeding out of her picc line, that it was fixable and did not require an ER or any other kind of hospital trip.

I am thankful for the help we have with Kaedy: our overnight nurses, our RT, our speech therapist, our picc line nurses, our doctors, TEFRA. I am thankful for the handicap parking pass we finally got - especially this week with her back on the oxygen and needing her other equipment more as well. I am thankful we got approved by TEFRA for 16 hrs a day of nursing. Now we just need to find some more nurses. ;-)

I am thankful for a Pastor that teaches The Word and how to apply it.

I am thankful for all the people who have given me curriculum suggestions (or let me look at theirs) in the past few days.

And I could keep going on and on but I need to get off the computer this morning.

To see other Thankful Thursdays, click here

SMART Habit Saturday 6/9/07

Well I have had about 2 weeks of HORRIBLE goal keeping. HORRIBLE. H O R R I B L E. Did I mention I didn't do very well?

The only goal I have kept is reading my bible and praying every day. I started again on Friday with no soda, so I am on day two with that. Everything else is pretty much gone.

I have not been feeling as "peppy" lately so I am going to work on doing things to make myself feel (physically) better. I am going to add a few habits this week, instead of just one, because I need to see results quickly. They are all on my mind quite a bit, so I think it shouldn't be too hard. It is all just one BIG habit of "taking care of myself." Here are the parts:
1. no soda, just water all day and more of it
2. take vitamins and iron everyday
3. walk everyday
4. fruit with breakfast
5. veggie with lunch
6. no junk food (we have a bunch of junk food from the trip, I am going to throw that all away tomorrow night)

Okay, those are my goals for this week.

I can do this! In fact, I can do ALL things through Christ who strengthens me.(Phil 4:13)


Here is a recap of my goals:
wk 1: praying and bible reading yes
wk 2: referring to planner everyday no
wk 3: get off computer at 9am and off for rest of day well I did really good on this since I didn't have easy access to a computer for most of last week! LOL
wk 4: new laundry schedule and laundry put away every day mostly
wk 5: stopped caffeine --started again yesterday
wk 6: added fruit to breakfast --no
wk 7: added veggie to lunch --no
wk 8: portion sizes --no
wk 9: writing down what I eat every day --on hold
wk 10: walking every day only one day
wk 11: re-working on everything
wk 12: getting Kaedy bug fed on time didn't have to worry about it while she was in hospital!
wk 12: making a schedule and sticking to it on hold
wk 13: no TV during day for kids I think that's all they did while I was gone! They are grounded from it right now, so it should be easy. :-)


If you are interested in seeing more people's SHS check out Lazy Organizer's site. Feel free to jump in and join us at any point!

Thankful Thursday

I didn't plan on being so late in getting this out. I have so much to be thankful for and didn't want to wait until next week to write it all.

We have had a whirlwind week. Although it has not been fun, God's hand was evident in it throughout. I want to try to share it all with you. Some of it will be a repeat for those who have read all my updates, but I will try not to repeat too much.

Last week on Thursday, I noticed Kaedra had a sore on her back. I called our doctor but he did not call back. I was able to get an appointment with him, but not until the next afternoon. I was very concerned about it and didn't know if we should head to the hospital or not. People who do not believe in God would say the next part was "luck" or "a fluke." Jill from the Kansas City hospital called to see how Kaedra was doing post op. When I mentioned the sore on her back, she wanted her to come in right away. I am so thankful for her call and that she could get Kaedy in so soon. If we had waited any longer, Kaedra's hardware might have become infected and had to have been removed.

I am thankful that Michael's brother was able to, once again, head up to Kansas City with him so that I could stay home with the other kiddos. When they got there, they put Kaedy into ICU right away. She was only in ICU because she was on a vent. By the next morning, the pulmonologists and ICU docs said she did not need her vent. I am so thankful that we were able to get her off of the vent and she has been off of it for 6 days now. This is an incredible blessing when originally we couldn't even get her ON this vent because she had so many problems breathing.

I am thankful that Sherria offered to drive up to Kansas City with me on Sunday night so I didn't have to be alone. I am not very good at driving long distances, I tend to fall asleep. I was a little fearful of driving for 4 hours with just Ethan and me and she right away jumped in and said she would drive up with me. We had a great drive up there, too, filled with lots of laughing, lots of praising and lots of heart-filled talks about God. Ethan slept 3 hours of the trip and was such a good little boy!

I am thankful for my mother in law who came at the spur of the moment to take care of the girls for us for 4 days. She was supposed to have gone out of town the week before and didn't go because of a storm. She decided to postpone the trip when Kaedra went up to KC and she was ready and available when I called her a day earlier than she had previously thought. It was wonderful not having to worry about the girls, animals and house.

I am thankful for Michael's brother who paid for our hotel room for us and bought food for us so we didn't have to eat out all the time. I am thankful for the good nurses we had who tried to make our visit easier. I am thankful that when the doctor went in, he didn't have to take out much skin and did not have to take out her titanium rod. After the surgery, they took her to ICU, much to our disappointment. We had been told we could not take Ethan into ICU, so I was going to go in and visit Kaedra quickly and then head back to the hotel. When I went to sign in to ICU, they asked where Michael was. I said that he was with the baby. They said "The nurse said to tell you it's okay if you sneak your baby in." HALLELUJAH! We were ALL able to go into ICU for the 24 hours she was there. What a huge blessing to us.

On Tuesday, I had a horrible headache and Ethan started to fuss a little. There is nowhere to lay down in the ICU or waiting room (that is quiet during the day). The Ronald McDonald House has a wonderful waiting room in the hospital that they allow people to use when they have kids that are inpatient. They also have 7 beds that people can stay in overnight or use for naps during the day. I went down there and took a wonderful nap in one of their rooms for about 40 minutes. Ethan and I felt so much better after that. I am so thankful for their wonderful facility. They were also so very nice and sweet. They kept oohing and aahing over Ethan and how cute he was. They were so sweet about what a good baby he is. (And he really is! He was SO good while we were gone. He was happy and sweet and absolutely wonderful. Another huge thing to be thankful for.)

After she went back onto the regular floor, we got a wonderful nurse from Oklahoma. She contacted the social worker right away to try to get us into the Ronald McDonald House. She was the only person who had gotten any results for us! We had been told we would get out of the hospital on Wednesday and all of a sudden the floor doc told us that pulmonology wanted to see us on Thursday. We went into action and did two things. First we prayed, second we called our pulmonologist in Tulsa and got him to sign off on Kaedy coming home so that we could just tell them that we didn't need to stay. The other problem we were having was the Infectious Disease doctors wanted us to keep making trips up to KC for the next 4-6 months. We prayed about that and talked to our local pulmonologist about an ID specialist here. He said he had one and even better, the guy here has dealt with titanium rods before. Hallelujah!

On Wednesday morning, we packed our bags and loaded our car as if we were coming home. We had prayed the night before that we would be let go and we had friends praying for us as well. We decided we were going to Believe God and act upon it. We got to the hospital very early because we did not want to miss any of the docs. Thankfully, once they started rolling in, things went very quickly and very well. The surgeon said we were good to go home as soon as Kaedy got a PICC line. The ID docs said that after our initial visit next week, they will allow us to see a local doctor. (okay, that one didn't go compeletely smoothly, but I prayed as Michael talked and they "saw the light" HALLELUJAH!) Believe it or not, Pulmonology was NEVER mentioned that day at all. We kept expecting someone to call and say oops, Pulmonology still wants to see you tomorrow. I think we expected it all the way until we got in our car and drove away.

I know I am missing several things but this post is already very long. If you made it this far, thank you. :-) God is so good. So so good. We had many occassions to witness to our surgeon and I am praying for him to realize that Kaedra is not "lucky," as he likes to say. God also used Ethan as an opening in many a talk about His goodness.

We are so incredibly Thankful for so many things. I wish I could explain it all better but I hope I gave you enough of a (long) glimpse of how His hand was with us all week. I am so thankful for all of you that prayed with us. I mentioned you all more than once as being our prayer warriors and result-getters. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

To see other Thankful Thursdays, click here

Thankful Thursday

Wow. I really have even more to be thankful for this week. The Lord is so good. He keeps blessing and blessing and blessing. The blessings are overtaking me at every step!

First of all, I am so very thankful for the visit that we just had with my parents. The visits with my parents have not always gone well and some have been downright awful. (and they would attest to that) However, this trip was very different. It was fun, relaxing, and we definitely made some good memories. I honestly enjoyed being with my parents and spending the time with them. I had a very good time with my mom and had good talks with her and lots of laughs. I was very sad when they left and I have missed them the last two days. I am so thankful that everything went so well, that there were no arguments or problems, that we had good weather for the zoo, that both birthdays went well, that my mom enjoyed her birthday and that we are building a stronger foundation now, then we have ever had.

Secondly, I am thankful for results of my friend's gestational diabetes test. She was very worried about it and I am so thankful that it all came out well. Thank You God for always providing!

And lastly I am thankful for the knowledge the Bible gives us about God's kingdom so I can improve my life and make it the best life possible. I am thankful that I can help meet the needs of other people in my life and I can do God's work in whatever he needs me to do.

Oh!! Oh!! And as a purely selfish thing, I am thankful that I won a contest! That's right!! I won Chocolatherapy from 5 Minutes for Mom! Thank you guys so much!!

To see other Thankful Thursdays, click here

Thankful Thursday

Another week with tremendous blessings and many things to be thankful for.

First and foremost, Kaedra's surgery went very well and she came home with no complications at all. Her nurse in KC was a young woman named Shekinah who was filled with God's Spirit. She and Michael had good talks about God's love and the power of prayer. Kaedra kept the nurses busy with her fun shenanigans. I am thankful that she is doing so well that no one understands why she is put in ICU.

I am so thankful that the trip to Kansas City and back was protected by angels - evident from some of the stories they shared. I am so very thankful for Apria who supplied Michael with some equipment for Kaedra's ride home at no charge. (Michael had misplaced some of her equipment and couldn't travel home without it)

I am thankful for getting nursing back. (it started again Tuesday night. We have it for 5 nights a week so far) I am thankful for our new nurse, Miss Debby, who is a wonderful spirit-filled woman.

I am thankful for my parents coming this week. I am thankful they are staying in a hotel, too, because it takes some of the pressure off the visit. I am thankful to have a chance to help my mom and dad celebrate their birthdays.

I am thankful for my niece Sherria, as always. She is so much fun and helps me out at the same time. This week we worked on the pool a lot and it wouldn't have been nearly as entertaining without her.

I am thankful for being blessed exceedingly beyond what we could even hope for. We are so blessed to have all that we do, especially on one income.

I am thankful that Ethan went off his nursing strike yesterday. It was a hard day full of screaming (Ethan) and crying (me). I am thankful for Brittany being such a comfort to us both (he seemed to like her better yesterday) and Michael being home to help.

I am thankful to the refreshment, encouragement and inspiration I get from some blogs. I found a new blog this week that does all of those things - go check out Alycia's blog, For Where Your Treasure Is. I am also thankful to some new friendships that I have found through blogging.

I am thankful for Brandi, who always is there to listen, give advice, pray with me and just be an absolute God-send of a friend.

And I am thankful for another week to be thankful! Have a blessed week!!

To see other Thankful Thursdays, click here

Smart Habit Saturday 5/19/07

WOW! Is this week over? NO WAY! I don't even remember it going by!!

As far as my habits...I did good on my established ones. I COMPLETELY FORGOT to walk! I mean COMPLETELY FORGOT. It NEVER crossed my mind! ACK!! Okay, going to work on that one again.

Here is a recap of my goals:
wk 1: praying and bible reading yes
wk 2: referring to planner everyday yes
wk 3: get off computer at 9am and off for rest of day some days I did good on this, others not so much
wk 4: new laundry schedule and laundry put away every day mostly
wk 5: stopped caffeine --habit
wk 6: added fruit to breakfast --habit
wk 7: added veggie to lunch --habit
wk 8: portion sizes --habit
wk 9: writing down what I eat every day --didn't do at all, not even sure I want to
wk 10: walking every day FORGOT
wk 11: re-working on everything
wk 12: getting Kaedy bug fed on time mostly!
wk 12: making a schedule and sticking to it didn't even work on it!
wk 13: no TV during day for kids a little better this week


I can do this! In fact, I can do ALL things through Christ who strengthens me.(Phil 4:13)

If you are interested in seeing more people's SHS check out Lazy Organizer's site. Feel free to jump in and join us at any point!

Thankful Thursday

I have so many things to be thankful for! Isn't God great??

1. That Kaedra and Michael got home safe from KC this week.

2. That Kevin was able to go with them and help.

3. That all of Kaedra's appointments went well and everyone was impressed with her progress.

4. That I have more energy now than I have in the past few years.

5. Because of that, my house is getting into shape! :-)

6. That Ethan is getting bigger and able to play and squeal now.

7. That my parents are still with me and I have the chance to make good memories with them.

8. For my dad giving me the knowledge and gumption to do some home improvement projects.

9. That my toilet got fixed for free this week. (our newly installed toilet fell over this weekend!! But the man that newly installed it came and fixed it for free)

10. That we may have nursing starting next Tuesday night!! (I will tell more when I know it)

11. For a box full of chocolates sent in the mail by one of my favoritest people. You know who you are. ;-) (I am protecting her name so she does not get inundated with requests for boxes full of chocolate)

To see other Thankful Thursday, click here

WFMW - Peer Flix

Do you have any DVDs you are ready to part with? Peerflix makes it easy to get rid of the ones you are tired of and get new ones.

I make a list of the movies I want to sell and another list of the movies I want to buy. When Peerflix sees someone wants to buy one of my movies, they send me an email. I print out a mailing envelope (just a piece of paper that has lines where to fold it) with prepaid postage and pop it into the mail. I earn dollars for each one I sell. Then Peerflix sees what I want to buy and someone else does the same for me. It works for me!


If you'd like to see other great ideas, check out Rocks in my Dryer.

Smart Habit Saturday 5/12/07

This week went really well with my habits. I read the bible and prayed everyday. I also managed to give Kaedra her feeds at the times we are aiming for AND I managed to look at my planner everyday as well, which was just a bonus, since I wasn't working on it this week. Laundry also went well and I continued to do well on the habits I had been doing regularly. I've also gotten some routines in place since having Ethan which have really helped us out a lot. Everyday at 4:30 I make Kaedra's food for the next 24 hours and then I make dinner. I have been getting dinner consistently on the table by 6 every night, which used to be a struggle. Once again, SHS has been a wonderful thing in my life, even for the habits I am working on but don't post.

This week I want to work on walking again. It has rained so much in the last 3 weeks that walking has been hit and miss. I want to try to make it at least 5 times this week. It's not only important to me, but also for the girls. This is their PE at least until we open the pool. My friend, Susan, is lending us a video for walking inside the house, too, on those rainy days.

Here is a recap of my goals:
wk 1: praying and bible reading yes
wk 2: referring to planner everyday yes
wk 3: get off computer at 9am and off for rest of day some days I did good on this, others not so much
wk 4: new laundry schedule and laundry put away every day yes
wk 5: stopped caffeine --habit
wk 6: added fruit to breakfast --habit
wk 7: added veggie to lunch --habit
wk 8: portion sizes --habit
wk 9: writing down what I eat every day --didn't do at all, not even sure I want to
wk 10: walking every day nope
wk 11: re-working on everything
wk 12: getting Kaedy bug fed on time yes!
wk 12: making a schedule and sticking to it didn't even work on it!
wk 13: no TV during day for kids worked on just a little


I can do this! In fact, I can do ALL things through Christ who strengthens me.(Phil 4:13)

If you are interested in seeing more people's SHS check out Lazy Organizer's site. Feel free to jump in and join us at any point!

Thankful Thursday

This is my first Thankful Thursday. I am really happy to be participating. I love writing about God's goodness.

1.Since this is my first one, I have to start with the most important: I am thankful for a LIVING, REAL God who hears us and wants the best for us (an Abundant Life) at all times.

2. I am thankful for my husband who has turned into my best friend and a wonderful father.

3. I am thankful for each and every one of my children. They are all a blessing to me.

4. I am thankful to my neice, Sherria. She is a light in my life and a treasure to our whole family.

5. I am thankful for my wonderful church and pastor. I believe that Kaedra is here with us today because of what I have been taught at this church.

6. I am thankful for my friends. After I lost Jacob, Michael and I went to counselling. The counselor told us that we each needed to have a minimum of 8 good friends that we could rely on. She said each friend would meet different needs and you would meet different needs in each of their lives. I thought, at the time, that would be impossible. I have never been one to have a lot of friends, much less good ones. I can honestly say at this time in my life I have more friends than ever before and I am truly surrounded by good people. And, yes, I mean YOU!

7. I am thankful Kaedra is off of oxygen. She has been off since Saturday morning. HALLELUJAH!

8. I am thankful for a fun day out with the ladies in my family.

9. I am thankful for the right to homeschool my children and the ability to be able to stay home with them.

10. I am thankful that God meets all of our needs out His riches in Glory! HALLELUJAH!

To see other Thankful Thursdays, please go to Sing in My Heart.

13 great programs for your PDA

These 13 programs help me do my job. (which is, of course, taking care of my hubby, kids and house)

1. Documents to Go, which came free with my palm pilot (and is available for many different mobile platforms), has been a life-send since having Ethan. I can produce or edit Word and Excel documents wherever I am. This has allowed me to blog, write schedules, make chore lists and plan schooldays, even while nursing in bed. Since my palm pilot goes with me everywhere, I can also work on those things while at the doctor, while in line at the bank, or anywhere else I have extra time. Once I get back to my computer, I sync the two devices together and I am able to finish editing (if needed) then print or publish to my blog.

2. SplashShopper- There are a lot of shopping programs out there and I demo'd a lot of them. SplashShopper has so many features I love; here are some of them:
a. you can make any amount of lists you want and customize them in myriads of ways. Truly your imagination and creativity are your only limits.
b. The lists don't have to be shopping lists. You can have library book lists, video lists, to dos, thank yous, routines (I have all my daily routines in this program), take out menus, Christmas and gift lists, Lists of places where things are stored, travel lists, curriculum ideas, future Thursday Thirteen ideas....you get the idea.
c. Within each list you have 4-6 (depending again on your creativity in customizing it) categories you can put each item in. For instance in shopping I have: store, category, aisle and price; while for my morning routine I have: day of the week and upstairs or downstairs.
d. You can sort by any category. I sort my grocery list by aisle and my routines by what floor I am on.
e. It has a desktop companion. This is wonderful especially for first getting the lists set up.
f. If you chose, you can put the prices of items in there and check your budget as you make your list.
g. You can make "quicklists" which are saved, mini lists you can use time and again. If you use a rotating menu, like I do, you can just click on 'week 1' and all my items for that week's menu are added to my list. This would also be handy for seasonal chores or certain people's favorite items off of a menu.
h. I'm sure I'm missing some great features, but you get the idea. SplashShopper does cost ---- but it is worth every cent.

3. PDA cookbook- This cookbook is a nice, easy to use program. It also has a desktop interface which makes it easier to enter recipes. You can create a menu plan with it and it even syncs with SplashShopper to make your shopping list!

4. WWCalc- A Weight Watcher point calculator. It's a little hard to find, and only available for Palm OS but it is awesome. It has lists of food and their points, an activity calculator, ability to bank points, checkboxes for vitamins, counters for water, veggies and milk, etc. And this one is FREE! All you have to do is actually lose the weight. ;-)

5. NFP- If you use Natural Family Planning, this handy little freeware program is very useful.

6. Avant Go- Brings web content to your PDA when you don't have wifi. Each time you sync with your computer, it uploads the current pages you have selected to your PDA. You can choose from their channels, sites they have categorized for you, or you can add your own sites. You can even download maps from Mapquest which I have found to be one of the most useful features. Avant Go is also freeware.

7. Olivetree Bible Program- Olivetree has a great program with many available add ins. The program is free, as are several bibles and texts, but they have many items you can add in for various costs. I have stuck with strictly the free items for many years and been very happy. It is great for looking up verses or keywords on the go and you can add bookmarks and notes to any of the texts.

8. Palmreader- Palmreader came with my PDA but there are also other freeware e-reader programs out there. These programs allow you to read ebooks from your palm. Many, many books are now being published in this fashion and you can find everything from free classics to best sellers with hardback book prices. One of the uses I have found for this is downloading children's stories and reading them to my kids while waiting at the dr.

9. Big Clock- An easy alarm or timer program with 4 alarms you can set. It's freeware and much better than all of the pricey alarms I demo'd.

10. Moviementor- great program if you really like movies. It lists new movies (theaters and videos) and hundreds of old movies. You can make lists of movies you own, you'd like to see, favorites and seen. You can also give ratings to movies which are uploaded to the site when you sync. Another cool feature is the search mechanism. When I first got this program, I stayed up many nights just reading their synopses and reviews. It seems to list quite a few Bollywood movies and is missing some that I consider classics, but I think it is definitely worth the price of 17.95.

Okay, enough of the serious stuff, let's get to the games!

11. Pocketbo- the PDA version of Skipbo. I actually played it on my palm before playing it in real life but I love it both ways now. You can play against the computer or against another person. Lots of fun and free!

12. Patience- freeware solitaire suite. This package has a ton of solitaire games. I have been using it for years and I really enjoy it.

13. SuLite- Suduko. There are many freeware, shareware and software versions of Suduko out there. I will readily admit I have not tried them all. I tried three and really liked this one so this is the one I use. This one is freeware.

So, there you have it....the programs that I added to my regular palm suite to make my life easier (minus the one that figures out how long a tank of oxygen will last which I figured didn't have a lot of call for it...if you want info on it, let me know, lol)

If you'd like to see more Thursday Thirteen entries, click here.

Works for Me Wednesday - Munchkin

When I was pregnant with Ethan, we knew he would be staying in our room for quite awhile. We already have another crib and lots of medical equipment of Kaedra's so we were not going to have room for a whole dresser to keep Ethan's things in. While registering online at Target, I found this:

It's called a "Munchkin Deluxe Baby Cart" but around the house it is just "the munchkin." I got it for my shower and we put it together the next day. It was very easy to put together. It didn't seem extremely sturdy, but as long as you can keep your "real" munchkins from jumping on it, it should serve your purposes fine. I mean, how much can some diapers and onesies weigh?? We use it for all of Ethan's clothing and blankets. It is the perfect size, tucks out of the way, and is perfect for our needs! It really works for us!

If you'd like to see other great ideas, check out Rocks in my Dryer.

Smart Habit Saturday 5/5/07

My habit this week was Bible Reading and Prayer.

I did much better this week! There were two things I did that helped.
1. I just focused on one habit
2. I made a place in my planner to record my habits (Though I was only focusing on one, I wanted to write down the others if I did remember them!)

I did Bible Reading and Prayer everyday but one. I am going to keep working on that one and add back in Kaedra's food schedule again. This week is still going to be a little busy (though not as busy as last week) so it will be a bit of a challenge. We are also hoping to get a referral to a nutritionist for her next week. If we can get that then we will hopefully be changing her food schedule anyway. But, until then, I need to get this down.

Here is a recap of my goals:
wk 1: praying and bible reading yes
wk 2: referring to planner everyday almost
wk 3: get off computer at 9am and off for rest of day some days I did good on this, others not so much
wk 4: new laundry schedule and laundry put away every day nope
wk 5: stopped caffeine --habit
wk 6: added fruit to breakfast --habit
wk 7: added veggie to lunch --habit
wk 8: portion sizes --habit
wk 9: writing down what I eat every day --didn't do at all, not even sure I want to
wk 10: walking every day did once
wk 11: re-working on everything
wk 12: getting Kaedy bug fed on time didn't do good this week, we had a very busy week
wk 12: making a schedule and sticking to it didn't even work on it!
wk 13: no TV during day for kids nope


I can do this! In fact, I can do ALL things through Christ who strengthens me.(Phil 4:13)

If you are interested in seeing more people's SHS check out Lazy Organizer's site. Feel free to jump in and join us at any point!

Smart Habit Saturday 4/28/07

Wow. If I gave myself a F+ last week like Mercy then this week I have about a G-.

For one thing, Michael had most of the week off. Don't get me wrong...I LOVE having my hubby home. We aren't like some couples I know (don't worry, I won't name names) that get along better the less time they spend together. We get along so much better the MORE time we spend together. So I have had a wonderful week with my hubby and kids! However, my habits went out the window. and down the street. and hopped on a bus. and left town.

The goal of not watching TV was completely scrapped. Hubby was home and had the TV on most of his waking hours. We also had a movie afternoon one day and movie night another day, so the TV probaby got MORE use than usual!

Here is a recap of my goals:
wk 1: praying and bible reading nope
wk 2: referring to planner everyday nope
wk 3: get off computer at 9am and off for rest of day have a slightly different schedule but still doing good on this
wk 4: new laundry schedule and laundry put away every day did Friday
wk 5: stopped caffeine --habit
wk 6: added fruit to breakfast --habit
wk 7: added veggie to lunch --habit
wk 8: portion sizes --habit
wk 9: writing down what I eat every day --didn't do at all, not even sure I want to
wk 10: walking every day nope
wk 11: re-working on everything
wk 12: getting Kaedy bug fed on time did good on this
wk 12: making a schedule and sticking to it didn't even work on it!
wk 13: no TV during day for kids failed miserably

Okay, I am going to be honest here. I need to start over. I need to start over not by trying to work on ALL my goals again, but going back to square one and working on ONE goal at a time. I was doing great and I want to get it back! So, (big sigh), I am going to pick the one thing I need more than anything.....bible time and prayer time. I am going to keep up on the habits I have and if I add anything of the other things, great, but I am going to really concentrate on the bible and prayers.

I can do this! In fact, I can do ALL things through Christ who strengthens me.(Phil 4:13)

If you are interested in seeing more people's SHS check out Lazy Organizer's site. Feel free to jump in and join us at any point!

Works for Me Wednesday - Nuggets of Knowledge

I discovered something recently that has become a big hit at our family!

I am the type of homeschooler that never thinks I am teaching my kids enough. If I could figure out a way to do it, I would cram about 5 more subjects into each semester; but, alas, that doesn't seem to be a good way of going about things. Anytime I can figure out a way to get more learning in, I am thrilled.

During lunch everyday, we pick out a science book (we are using Usborne books but DK books or other similar books would be the same idea) and we read one to two pages (a different subject than what the kids are learning about in school). By the end of lunch, we are already more knowledgeable about something and we didn't even have to work hard at it! Because Brittany and Emily are at such different levels, we are actually using two books at the moment. The girls decided to start off with Birds because of all the pretty birds flying around this spring. In just three days we felt like we were "bird experts." We applied this knowledge to our walks and have had a great time! Now we are "studying" trees.

After dinner every night we are using one card out of a set of Bible Cards I picked up at a garage sale. The cards aren't anything special, they just have a biblical figure/event/place on each one and tell a little about the thing on the back. Every night we learn about one person, place or thing and we have fun doing so. (for some reason Michael reads these cards in his best Charleton Heston voice)

Anyway, we are getting more knowledge into our kids (and ourselves) with these little nuggets of knowledge that don't take any extra time and are fun for us all.

If you'd like to see other people's WFMW ideas, check out Rocks in My Dryer.

SMART Habit Saturday 4/21/07

Smart Habit Saturday
Wow one week has seemed to undo a lot of work! Even some of the things I thought I really had down have slipped this week. Part of it was Michael was home half the week and we are always topsy turvy when he is home during the day. (in a good way, though) I really can't put my finger on why else I didn't do well....I didn't even think about my habits this week very much. I really need to go back to square one. Or at least square two or three.

Anyway, as for last week's habit of making a schedule and sticking to it, I worked on a schedule but never got it done. I am going to finish that up this weekend. Although I wouldn't under normal circumstances add another habit at this point, I am really needing to work on something and next week is the perfect time--




Michael doesn't want to participate in this but when he is not home, I am going to make sure the TV is off. I have slowly slid into a bad habit of letting Emmy and Kaedra watch TV during the day. I am getting rid of that next week and keeping it gone after that.

My past goals have been:
wk 1: praying and bible reading this week hasn't been good for this
wk 2: referring to planner everyday started off well, didn't continue
wk 3: get off computer at 9am and off for rest of day did fine on this
wk 4: new laundry schedule and laundry put away every day did half the week
wk 5: stopped caffeine --no problem
wk 6: added fruit to breakfast --did all but one day
wk 7: added veggie to lunch --did everyday
wk 8: portion sizes --did everyday
wk 9: writing down what I eat every day --didn't do at all
wk 10: walking every day did a few times
wk 11: re-working on everything
wk 12: getting Kaedy bug fed on time had two bad days with this
wk 12: making a schedule and sticking to it read above post

If you are interested in seeing more people's SHS check out Lazy Organizer's site. Feel free to jump in and join us at any point!