Monday, April 17, 2017
Wednesday, February 10, 2016
If you love....
Today was a rough day. Today was one of those days that you want to disown your kids. Today was a day when the broken record that is mom, went all crazy and starting shooting records flying all over the place and sparks were coming from the electrical parts. I feel like every day for me is a constant barraging of my kids to do their school work, do chores, treat the furniture with respect. Actually, I think I should just create a recording of all the things I repeat all day to my kids. I am currently homeschooling 7 kids with a 5 year old preschooler hanging around too.
My day consists of:
"Tom and Ken do your school work" (names changed to protect identities)
"Samantha and Elise do your school work"
"Aaron and Lenny, do your school work"
"Jason stop distracting Tom and Ken"
"Sandra, did you finish your school work?"
"Don't take the cushions off the couch!"
"Tom and Ken do your school work"
"Samantha and Elise do your school work"
"Somebody put the cushions back on the couch!"
"Jason come play over here, away from the twins"
"Is your school work done?"
"Is your school work done?"
"Is your school work done?"
Today I had enough. I shut myself up in my room. Cried a little. And began to think.
It's like they don't even care? I say the same things over and over and over and over. I get angry. I shout a little. I end up shouting a lot. It doesn't seem to matter. Most days are the same.
I feel like a broken record. It's disheartening to feel like most words you say fall on deaf ears.
I thought, "If they cared about me, they would listen!" And then the light bulb went off. That sounded vaguely similar to a bible passage many of us are familiar with.
Wow! That put that scripture into a new light. Jesus expects us to care about our relationship with Him and listen to His word.
My kids need me there watching like a hawk, to keep them on task. But that's just not realistic for me to do. I need them to be responsible and obey regardless. The Bible tells us that Jesus has gone to prepare a place for us (John 14:3). He is not here physically, but has given us a large set of instructions, the Bible. If we love Him, if we truly care about Him, we will listen and obey. That means digging in to learn what those instructions are first. Secondly, not to just hear them, not to just read them, but to DO them!
The Bible says in James 1:22, "Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says."
This means if you are just listening to the Word, ie going to church, even reading the Bible, but are not putting it into practice and doing it, you are deceived. Just as my kids think, mom hasn't said anything to us about playing video games or playing Barbies, so we can continue doing it. They are deceived, for when mom shows up on the scene, truly they will be disciplined. Do you want to be one of the ones that when God shows up on the scene, he says "I never knew you, you lovers of lawlessness".
I encourage you today. If you profess to love the Lord God and His son, Jesus Christ, obey his commandments. Care enough to obey. Repent from your sin and follow Him.
My day consists of:
"Tom and Ken do your school work" (names changed to protect identities)
"Samantha and Elise do your school work"
"Aaron and Lenny, do your school work"
"Jason stop distracting Tom and Ken"
"Sandra, did you finish your school work?"
"Don't take the cushions off the couch!"
"Tom and Ken do your school work"
"Samantha and Elise do your school work"
"Somebody put the cushions back on the couch!"
"Jason come play over here, away from the twins"
"Is your school work done?"
"Is your school work done?"
"Is your school work done?"
Today I had enough. I shut myself up in my room. Cried a little. And began to think.
It's like they don't even care? I say the same things over and over and over and over. I get angry. I shout a little. I end up shouting a lot. It doesn't seem to matter. Most days are the same.
I feel like a broken record. It's disheartening to feel like most words you say fall on deaf ears.
I thought, "If they cared about me, they would listen!" And then the light bulb went off. That sounded vaguely similar to a bible passage many of us are familiar with.
John 14:23 (NIV) Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.
Wow! That put that scripture into a new light. Jesus expects us to care about our relationship with Him and listen to His word.
My kids need me there watching like a hawk, to keep them on task. But that's just not realistic for me to do. I need them to be responsible and obey regardless. The Bible tells us that Jesus has gone to prepare a place for us (John 14:3). He is not here physically, but has given us a large set of instructions, the Bible. If we love Him, if we truly care about Him, we will listen and obey. That means digging in to learn what those instructions are first. Secondly, not to just hear them, not to just read them, but to DO them!
The Bible says in James 1:22, "Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says."
This means if you are just listening to the Word, ie going to church, even reading the Bible, but are not putting it into practice and doing it, you are deceived. Just as my kids think, mom hasn't said anything to us about playing video games or playing Barbies, so we can continue doing it. They are deceived, for when mom shows up on the scene, truly they will be disciplined. Do you want to be one of the ones that when God shows up on the scene, he says "I never knew you, you lovers of lawlessness".
Matthew 7:21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’
I encourage you today. If you profess to love the Lord God and His son, Jesus Christ, obey his commandments. Care enough to obey. Repent from your sin and follow Him.
Monday, March 9, 2015
Birthdays and Pierogies
So last week was one of my son's birthday. He turned 11! It's amazing how time flies. I'm so blessed by the gifts God has blessed this young man with and I'm excited to see what the future holds for him. His current dream is to be a professional baseball player. He definitely has talent and has a passion for the game.
When we celebrate birthdays here, we used to allow the kids to choose a restaurant for their birthday meal. Once we were down to one income, that was no longer an option. So now, we let the kids choose their favorite birthday meal. This guy's normal favorite has been Walking Tacos (tacos made in an individual Doritos bag, and therefore, portable), however, this year he asked for pierogies.
There is a company named Janka and they, by far, make the best pierogies I have ever had. Their pierogies cost about $1 a piece though. When you're feeding 9 people, that can get expensive.
I first made homemade pierogies about 3 years ago. They are fairly labor intensive, but if they come out right, they are OH so good! Anyhow, I had not yet perfected the whole dough process and so, sometimes they would be more of a pain than others. We set out to make pierogies for the birthday meal and this batch came out wonderfully. I ended up taking pictures as we went along. Here's our process....
After making the dough, it needs to be rolled. (Yes, everyone's hands were washed and the counter sanitized :) )
We laid out the american cheese and potato on the dough
Grandma made the actual pierogies
Uncooked pierogies waiting to be boiled
They boil in water for 3 minutes. Gotta make sure they are sealed well, or all the filling is lost. Here they are post-boiling.
We think they taste best fried... in lots of butter!
With onions of course....
The finished deal
YUM!!
Oh the other thing, my son asked for, was an ice-cream birthday cake. My sister found this great idea that uses ice cream sandwiches. You put a layer of ice cream sandwiches. Spread whipped cream over the first layer. Add whatever cookies or candy toppings of your choice (Reese's peanut butter cups shown below). Add another layer of ice cream sandwiches. Another layer of whipped cream and topped with candy/cookie topping again. They are easy and delicious!!!
The crazy thing about pierogies is they can take hours to make and are probably eaten within less than 1 hour. I guess that can probably be said about many meals though. Here's the gang enjoying the birthday...
When we celebrate birthdays here, we used to allow the kids to choose a restaurant for their birthday meal. Once we were down to one income, that was no longer an option. So now, we let the kids choose their favorite birthday meal. This guy's normal favorite has been Walking Tacos (tacos made in an individual Doritos bag, and therefore, portable), however, this year he asked for pierogies.
There is a company named Janka and they, by far, make the best pierogies I have ever had. Their pierogies cost about $1 a piece though. When you're feeding 9 people, that can get expensive.
I first made homemade pierogies about 3 years ago. They are fairly labor intensive, but if they come out right, they are OH so good! Anyhow, I had not yet perfected the whole dough process and so, sometimes they would be more of a pain than others. We set out to make pierogies for the birthday meal and this batch came out wonderfully. I ended up taking pictures as we went along. Here's our process....
After making the dough, it needs to be rolled. (Yes, everyone's hands were washed and the counter sanitized :) )
My daughter was in charge of making 'mashed potato balls'
Grandma made the actual pierogies
We think they taste best fried... in lots of butter!
With onions of course....
Oh the other thing, my son asked for, was an ice-cream birthday cake. My sister found this great idea that uses ice cream sandwiches. You put a layer of ice cream sandwiches. Spread whipped cream over the first layer. Add whatever cookies or candy toppings of your choice (Reese's peanut butter cups shown below). Add another layer of ice cream sandwiches. Another layer of whipped cream and topped with candy/cookie topping again. They are easy and delicious!!!
The crazy thing about pierogies is they can take hours to make and are probably eaten within less than 1 hour. I guess that can probably be said about many meals though. Here's the gang enjoying the birthday...
Friday, December 26, 2014
Coming off the ledge...
This post was originally written November 11 of this year. Even as I wrote it, I didn't whole-heartedly believe it and therefore, hesitated to post it. I can now say with full assurance that I believe every word I wrote back then. I'll comment more on how I'm feeling after the 11/11 post....
_Nov. 11, 2014____________________________________________________________________
Every few months or so, I find myself at a ledge. You see I climbed this mountain years ago to be able to have the opportunity to stay home with my kids and home school them. It took years to prepare financially and time after that to confirm that this was the road God had called us down. Anyone who has home schooled knows it is an extremely challenging job.... probably the hardest I've ever had. Trying to be mom and educator at the same time often ends in tears, impatience, conflict and craziness. The best scenario is when these days of tension come few and far between. However, sometimes I find myself in the midst of them more often than I'd like. I question whether home schooling is the BEST option for my kids. I wonder if returning to work would help relieve the burden financially. So I come to the ledge of home schooling and think about jumping off back into the corporate life. That's where I was last week.
Things had gotten so frustrating on a daily basis that I was positive returning to work was the best answer. One major thing holds me back in these situations.... I truly felt like this was a calling from the Lord. So I had conversations with my husband and my parents about what to do in this situation. What exactly did God call me to do? Home schooling was not originally in the plans, however due to financial limitations for sending our kids to private school, we ended up here. My husband and I discussed and debated over what things could help the situation or what things could change. But I still wanted to throw in the towel.
I also wanted to capture how I was feeling at this moment to look back and remember the frustration, etc. that I felt while home schooling. I pulled out my journal and flipped through to the next open page. On my way there, I read the last post I had written. Interestingly enough, it was in January of this year. I could have practically copied the entry and put the November date on it, because it was EXACTLY how I was feeling again. Back in January, the thing that held me back from looking for a job was that a friend told me about Balaam. Balaam asked God for something and God kept replying 'no'... finally Balaam continued to ask and God finally said 'yes'. It was not what God had wanted for Balaam. It was not His best. (Read the whole story in Numbers 22) However, currently, I just wasn't sure that what I was providing was the best for our kids or our family.
So my husband finally gave the 'ok' to look for a job. However, he wanted a time frame on getting one and if God did not provide a job within that time frame, I would continue home schooling... and be happy about it :) I also spoke with my father who encouraged me to take a job and see what happened.... it didn't mean I couldn't go back. Funny how sometimes when someone gives you what you want, you start to question whether or not you really want that. Well that's what happened.
I started checking the web. Ironically, on a particular companies' web site, I logged in to save a job to my cart. Lo and behold, there was another job in my cart from none other than January of this year. I saved the new current job in my cart to make sure all my information was updated. In the meantime, I started having second thoughts. I wanted to write this post to highlight the things that may keep me on my path.
1. This job has eternal value
My father works for the company that I used to be employed by. He's been telling me about many of the things that are happening in the company and the sometimes idiotic or counter-intuitive policies that are in place. It's the type of things that Dilbert cartoons are written about. Things you just want to shake your head at. It made me realize that many corporate jobs have no eternal perspective in them at all. Oh, sure I can share my faith with co-workers and be the light of Jesus to those around me, but in my home I have 5 willing and open hearts right in front of me.... ready to hear the gospel of Jesus.
2. With 5 kids, homework itself could take all night
I remember enough about working that our evenings were basically spent completing homework, eating dinner, attending whatever sporting practice/event that was that evening, bathing/showering the kids and going to bed. It pretty much eats up week nights with that routine. With home schooling, we get all of our work done during the day, which allows for a few hours of downtime to spend with each other before dinner and sports practices.
3. I enjoy being with my kids.
I really enjoy spending time with them, having the flexibility to go and do field trips, chillin' together during breaks, breakfast, lunch, etc. I enjoy having FUN with my kids in the summer attending the pool, beach, picnics, hikes, whatever the weather allows.
4. Half (if not more) of my income would be spent on schooling and vacation break child care.
Sending 5 kids to private school would cost a pretty penny. Let alone, I would need to provide child care for Christmas/Easter breaks, days off, sick days and the biggest of all, summer. That alone would eat up a huge chunk of the money I would earn.
5. Many of my problem areas would still exist.
The house wouldn't be cleaner, the laundry wouldn't be any more done. I'd like to think I'd have enough money to hire a housekeeper, but the reality is we probably wouldn't. The things that are causing me some frustration now would still be there and there would be even less time to complete them.
6. School/Work is a haven for germs/sickness.
I know this one probably seems petty, however, when you have to pay for someone to watch your kids when they are sick, you want them to get sick less, not more. One of the reasons we started using au pairs for child care many years ago was because the kids were getting so sick frequently at day care. It's just the nature of a bunch of kids together in the same place. With 5 kids in school, a single bug through the house could cost us 5 or more days off of school/work.
_________________________________________________________
So back to today, December 26.... I sought the Lord for a while during this time. I actually ended up applying for 2 jobs since this post was written, however, I really felt the Lord speak to me through other people and a blog post, that I was supposed to continue my homeschooling journey. The blog post came right out and said, literally, "Don't give up on your homeschooling journey. The Promised Land is all that God said it would be!". That blog was posted Nov. 16. It actually brought me to tears that God hears our requests and prayers and can answer them so specifically. He truly loves His children. When you pray for guidance, He will be faithful to deliver it, you just need to be willing to listen!
_Nov. 11, 2014____________________________________________________________________
Every few months or so, I find myself at a ledge. You see I climbed this mountain years ago to be able to have the opportunity to stay home with my kids and home school them. It took years to prepare financially and time after that to confirm that this was the road God had called us down. Anyone who has home schooled knows it is an extremely challenging job.... probably the hardest I've ever had. Trying to be mom and educator at the same time often ends in tears, impatience, conflict and craziness. The best scenario is when these days of tension come few and far between. However, sometimes I find myself in the midst of them more often than I'd like. I question whether home schooling is the BEST option for my kids. I wonder if returning to work would help relieve the burden financially. So I come to the ledge of home schooling and think about jumping off back into the corporate life. That's where I was last week.
Things had gotten so frustrating on a daily basis that I was positive returning to work was the best answer. One major thing holds me back in these situations.... I truly felt like this was a calling from the Lord. So I had conversations with my husband and my parents about what to do in this situation. What exactly did God call me to do? Home schooling was not originally in the plans, however due to financial limitations for sending our kids to private school, we ended up here. My husband and I discussed and debated over what things could help the situation or what things could change. But I still wanted to throw in the towel.
I also wanted to capture how I was feeling at this moment to look back and remember the frustration, etc. that I felt while home schooling. I pulled out my journal and flipped through to the next open page. On my way there, I read the last post I had written. Interestingly enough, it was in January of this year. I could have practically copied the entry and put the November date on it, because it was EXACTLY how I was feeling again. Back in January, the thing that held me back from looking for a job was that a friend told me about Balaam. Balaam asked God for something and God kept replying 'no'... finally Balaam continued to ask and God finally said 'yes'. It was not what God had wanted for Balaam. It was not His best. (Read the whole story in Numbers 22) However, currently, I just wasn't sure that what I was providing was the best for our kids or our family.
So my husband finally gave the 'ok' to look for a job. However, he wanted a time frame on getting one and if God did not provide a job within that time frame, I would continue home schooling... and be happy about it :) I also spoke with my father who encouraged me to take a job and see what happened.... it didn't mean I couldn't go back. Funny how sometimes when someone gives you what you want, you start to question whether or not you really want that. Well that's what happened.
I started checking the web. Ironically, on a particular companies' web site, I logged in to save a job to my cart. Lo and behold, there was another job in my cart from none other than January of this year. I saved the new current job in my cart to make sure all my information was updated. In the meantime, I started having second thoughts. I wanted to write this post to highlight the things that may keep me on my path.
1. This job has eternal value
My father works for the company that I used to be employed by. He's been telling me about many of the things that are happening in the company and the sometimes idiotic or counter-intuitive policies that are in place. It's the type of things that Dilbert cartoons are written about. Things you just want to shake your head at. It made me realize that many corporate jobs have no eternal perspective in them at all. Oh, sure I can share my faith with co-workers and be the light of Jesus to those around me, but in my home I have 5 willing and open hearts right in front of me.... ready to hear the gospel of Jesus.
2. With 5 kids, homework itself could take all night
I remember enough about working that our evenings were basically spent completing homework, eating dinner, attending whatever sporting practice/event that was that evening, bathing/showering the kids and going to bed. It pretty much eats up week nights with that routine. With home schooling, we get all of our work done during the day, which allows for a few hours of downtime to spend with each other before dinner and sports practices.
3. I enjoy being with my kids.
I really enjoy spending time with them, having the flexibility to go and do field trips, chillin' together during breaks, breakfast, lunch, etc. I enjoy having FUN with my kids in the summer attending the pool, beach, picnics, hikes, whatever the weather allows.
4. Half (if not more) of my income would be spent on schooling and vacation break child care.
Sending 5 kids to private school would cost a pretty penny. Let alone, I would need to provide child care for Christmas/Easter breaks, days off, sick days and the biggest of all, summer. That alone would eat up a huge chunk of the money I would earn.
5. Many of my problem areas would still exist.
The house wouldn't be cleaner, the laundry wouldn't be any more done. I'd like to think I'd have enough money to hire a housekeeper, but the reality is we probably wouldn't. The things that are causing me some frustration now would still be there and there would be even less time to complete them.
6. School/Work is a haven for germs/sickness.
I know this one probably seems petty, however, when you have to pay for someone to watch your kids when they are sick, you want them to get sick less, not more. One of the reasons we started using au pairs for child care many years ago was because the kids were getting so sick frequently at day care. It's just the nature of a bunch of kids together in the same place. With 5 kids in school, a single bug through the house could cost us 5 or more days off of school/work.
_________________________________________________________
So back to today, December 26.... I sought the Lord for a while during this time. I actually ended up applying for 2 jobs since this post was written, however, I really felt the Lord speak to me through other people and a blog post, that I was supposed to continue my homeschooling journey. The blog post came right out and said, literally, "Don't give up on your homeschooling journey. The Promised Land is all that God said it would be!". That blog was posted Nov. 16. It actually brought me to tears that God hears our requests and prayers and can answer them so specifically. He truly loves His children. When you pray for guidance, He will be faithful to deliver it, you just need to be willing to listen!
Tuesday, September 23, 2014
The Boys
You would think when you see this heading that I am going to write about my 4 boys. But alas, no, I'm going to write about my husband and his brothers. So my husband's twin brother came home from 13 weeks of training for the Army in another state. We decided to have a family get together. (His sister is not here due to kids having lice.... bummer!)
So we get together at a local park with a playground, baseball field, pavilion, etc. Give these guys any opportunity to create a contest or challenge and they will take it on full blast. So a playground set is optimal territory. It starts out with timing each other, including the younger boys, to make it around the playground set without touching the ground.
If you touch the ground, you're disqualified. We only sustained minor injuries from this event.... a bruised knee, hurt wrists, etc.
Then they decided to swing across the pulley thing and see if they could inch their way back without touching the ground. Then they decided to see how far they could go with a running start, bounce off the end, and come back without touching the ground.
Next thing I know, here's what I see.....
Yes, my husband is laying flat on his back after flying off! These guys are not young as they think they are. Luckily, we still didn't have any long term injuries.
All in all we had a great time! It will probably be a while before we can get the gang together again
If you touch the ground, you're disqualified. We only sustained minor injuries from this event.... a bruised knee, hurt wrists, etc.
Then they decided to swing across the pulley thing and see if they could inch their way back without touching the ground. Then they decided to see how far they could go with a running start, bounce off the end, and come back without touching the ground.
Next thing I know, here's what I see.....
Yes, my husband is laying flat on his back after flying off! These guys are not young as they think they are. Luckily, we still didn't have any long term injuries.
All in all we had a great time! It will probably be a while before we can get the gang together again
 |
| Squishy, squishy! |
 |
| That look... like father, like son |
 | |
| So sweet! |
Friday, August 29, 2014
Archery and balloon fun at the fair...
This is part two of our fair fun. The Archery club has a building set
up to try out. The kids had a blast shooting the deer and turkeys.
Even my sister-in-law got in the fun!
 |
| The Butterfly |
 | |
| Yes, he asked for pink and white?? |
Fun at the Fair
Our county fair is this weekend. We took a trip out there with some family.
I love this pic of him!
Petting the cows
This just looked like a photo that needed to be in black and white.
E was really fascinated with the horses.
I took a ton of pics at the fair... so I'll put the next batch in another post. Sorry for the folks receiving this via email if I bogged down your computer with so many pics :)
 | |
| Baby E |
 |
| Big blue eyes! |
 |
| Brothers! |
We got to see a glass blowing demonstration. It was amazing how fast he was able to make something so intricate. It was pretty cool!
 | |
| Look at all the bunnies!! |
This just looked like a photo that needed to be in black and white.
We saw horses from the teeny tiny ones to the giant ones!
I took a ton of pics at the fair... so I'll put the next batch in another post. Sorry for the folks receiving this via email if I bogged down your computer with so many pics :)
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