why we are raising homemakers

We are prayerfully raising our daughters to be homemakers. I'm making sure to teach them how to manage their homes and families. The Art of Homemaking.

Does this mean they won't go to college? We don't know. But, we won't be paying for it (nor for the boys). If our girls do go to college, we hope they will attend one near home, more preferably attend at home like their Dad does now. And if they do go to college, we hope that it will be for a skill that will be useful to them as Homemakers. Like Teaching or Nursing.
 
Does this mean they will never work outside the home? We hope so. Their Dad will provide for them until their husband does. I've been on both sides of this fence friends. I know plenty of working mothers, and I've heard MOST of them say, "I wish I could be home with my kids."

Does this mean we think they are "door mats"? No, absolutely not. It means Brian and I believe what the Bible says,

"Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. Then they can train the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God. " - Titus 2:3-5

*I have found freedom in this verse. But only recently. We hope and pray our daughters never have to fight for the freedom to be homemakers. It is right here in the Bible, and we are training them in it's ways.

I have also learned, from my own experience, that maternal instinct is strong. Leaving our little ones in the care of others while we go to work, can make you ill. I am much happier and healthier here at home.

But by far, the biggest lesson I have learned in gaining the freedom to be a homemaker, is that it takes skills and knowledge (that I didn't even know existed) to run a home. It is constant, strenuous, heartbreaking work. I've had to research and try and work and cry my way through it. And it's hard. But a million times more rewarding than any job I've ever had outside our home.

 

before and after vacation

We recently took a long (9 hours!) trip home to Cincinnati.

I want to remember to do a few things again on our next trip, and I want to remind myself NOT to do a few things.

...


Remember to super clean the house before leaving on vacation.

...it was wonderful to come home to a neat, tidy home. Deep clean kitchen, bathrooms, etc, make beds, do ALL laundry, empty trash cans, pour a little bleach in the potties and down all drains.

Do not go grocery shopping that last week before vacation. Use up what you have. *Also remember, that does NOT mean you have extra money to spend on vacation! Since you will use up everything you have that week before, you will pretty much need to stock up upon your arrival home.

Remember to be aware of what the kids wear the last few days home, put back what you want to take on vacation. But don't really worry about packing until the day before you leave. Pack super light, but cover all practical bases. *Do laundry on vacation (who wants 10 loads of laundry to do the day you get home? Not me.).

Leave very early. 5:00 AM at the latest. The kids will be 'confused' by the darkness, and fall asleep fairly quickly. Then they will also nap before arriving at your destination.

...eat a quick 'breakfast' before leaving. Donuts and milk is a good choice. Don't use dishes.
(saves us from having to stop to eat twice)


Remember to clean out the fridge and pantry. A 2-week old hamburger is not what you want to deal with upon opening you refrigerator door for the first time. Neither is a couple of old potatoes in the pantry, or apples on the counter in the apple basket.
(So thankful we did not get fruit flies!)

Do NOT forget to set up for a friend to stop by and water the garden and flowers.
(Our tomatoes did not make it...and my hanging baskets of petunias still haven't fully recovered!)

Do NOT forget to stop any UPS deliveries when you stop the mail.

Remember to turn the AC up considerably, but take my advice, and don't turn it off (especially if you live in the VERY hot and humid kinda-south). But do unplug and turn everything else off (I once saw on a news show where it cost a woman hundreds of dollars a year to leave a nightlight on in her kitchen!).


Empty the van the minute you get home. Of everything. Luggage. Garbage. Pillows and blankets.

...Start the laundry right away. Unpack suitcases. Get the sippy cups and travel mugs in the dishwasher. Cut the grass and water the landscaping. Then make dinner, and carry on like you never left (you'll have time, since you left so early in the morning).


***

Smile a smile of thanksgiving and contentedness. You are HOME! (which is almost the best part of going on vacation. almost.)

how we celebrate a birthday

Many of you who know us, know that we do not plan elaborate birthday parties for our children. We never have. It's always been just family. We'd do an easy meal, cake and ice cream, and most guests would bring a gift. But there has never been a petting zoo, a bouncy gym, a clown, etc.

BUT...since we have moved down here, where it would take family nine hours to drive to the birthday celebration, I have tried to come up with a few "special things" to make the birthday child's day a happy one to remember:

***Before the big day I make sure I have:

. Red Lipstick - for writing Birthday Messages on bathroom mirrors (I've been doing this a few years now), I buy the $1 tubes, and they last a few birthdays
. Paper Streamers - to hang from the birthday child's bedroom door and dining room entrance

. Balloons - just the simple kind, we blow them up and throw them all over the floor

 

***On the big day I am sure to make:

. Breakfast - at the birthday child's request (this has turned into donuts...often with Brian making an early morning run to Daylight Donuts)
. Dinner - at the birthday child's request (if a child is particularly enjoying dinner, they will anxiously announce, "This is what I'm havin' for my Birthday Dinner!"...you may hear that from the same child, about ten different dinners, all throughout the year)
. Birthday cake - any desert (not just cake) at the birthday child's request (some recents are: Strawberry Shortcake, Oreo Goodness, Carrot Cake, Pumpkin Pie)
. *Everything is eaten on a special "Birthday Plate" ...which is just a cheap black and white plate from WalMart, but it's only brought out on the birthdays for the birthday child...I would like to buy a nicer one that says CELEBRATE on it, but we have to prioritize here, and usually birthday gifts come before birthday plates...

***On the big day the birthday child is sure to get:

. cards - lots of homemade ones from each of their siblings, and one boughten one from the entire family. I would like to start writing a birthday letter to each birthday child every year. I did this once when Kylie turned 9, and she still has it. For now, I've really been trying to write a very thoughtful post on their birthday, like Kylie's 13th or Wesley's 3rd, and Korinne's 10th was fun to write!

. gifts - we try to think of something or a few somethings the birthday child will really LOVE

***An added bonus is being free from chores on your birthday, and believe me, they don't let you forget!***

today i:

. cleaned up after a Victory Party

. made oatmeal for breakfast (and the kids happily ate it)

. washed our bed sheets (fresh bed sheets are heavenly)

. heated up leftover Victory Party food for lunch (OK, so we had snacks for lunch)

. cleaned out the pantry

. went through my cleaning rags, finally throwing a few in the trash (I LOVE to throw things away, I LOVE it!)

. texted Brian to bring bags of salad home for dinner...added shredded cheese and croutons and everyone's dressing of choice...complete with ice water (and the entire family happily ate it)

. sang hymns with my husband and children out of our new hymnals

. and managed to DELETE my 'Learning' page

... and soon, I'm going to take a hot-ish, warm-ish shower, put on my new flannel nightgown and old cotton socks, get in our bed (which has freshly washed, heavenly sheets on it), and doze off as Brian flips through the channels. And, as soon as he turns the TV off, Judah will wake up, and I will nurse him back to sleep...and then...then I will go to sleep!

:: Good Night! ::

not doing everything i mean to do

I almost didn't open the email from Stacy. I thought it was probably about yet another thing that I had gotten behind on, making yet another person feel angry with me.

But I opened it today. Eight days after she sent it to me.

She was apologizing for herself and her children not being prompt with their penpal letters. I wanted to laugh, and then I wanted to cry. I felt rotten that she would even think for one second that I'd be upset over that. After all, don't we all have enough to do, without worrying that people are getting angry with us over silly things like penpal letters.

I know I do.

So, to all of you who have been expecting this or that from me, I ask for grace and that you might lower your expectations.

My plate is just so very full with all the blessings God has placed in my life. And I'm trying to put first things first, and embrace my current season. That means my family, my home, and all the 327 (thousand) things that need to happen each day to care for them, get checked off the list before the penpal letters get stamped and addressed.

And, to Stacy...I say Thank You!

getting ready day

. Pumpking Spice Playdough

. Family Construction Paper Turkey (...each feather with a family member's name on it...hmmm, maybe we're the only ones whose Turkey grows so each year:)

. Thankful Tree

...cleaning, cooking, and baking (with a smile and a thankful heart)!

Enjoy your Getting Ready Day, make it one filled with memories of autumn-ish, Thanksgiving goodness!

*** *** ***

"Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever." - Psalm 107:1

busy at home

the sound of the dryer softly tumbling

the smell of ground beef and onion

the sound of my phone chiming a voicemail

the taste of strong coffee

the smell of crayola crayons and glue sticks and markers

the sound of the dishes clanging in the dishwasher

the sound of children playing 'family' (or bickering)

the sight of piles of freshly washed clothes in heaps on my bed

the taste of animal crackers and goldfish

the sound of the pencil sharpener whirring and pencils scratching paper

the feel of soft, chubby baby cheeks and wet toddler kisses, "Ki Mee Momma"

the smell of outside on little boys

the sight of an entire year of our life, as it slide shows on the computer (I stop and watch, hypnotic every time)

the smell of tide and downy wafting from the laundry room

the sound of leap frog, "A B C D" ...

the feel of silky hair as I twist into ballerina buns

the sight of school papers, and books, and drawings absolutely everywhere I look, everywhere

the sound of singing, "Hear ye, hear ye, listen to the history..."

the smell of dove soap and cornstarch baby powder

marking our home as God's

"You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates." - Deuteronomy 6:9

My favorite chapter of Voddie Baucham's Family Driven Faith is Chapter 7, Mark The Home As God's Territory. In it, he talks about how a Christian family's home should look different from the homes of others. I want to share just a few things that we do in our own home, that set it apart from just any house. We'll break this down, just like the book does, with our 5 Senses:

SIGHT: What can we see in our homes, that mark them as God's?

We have Scripture all over our home. A great place to start with this, is with Watchwords. I don't have all of them hanging up right now, but I do have most of them framed in various rooms throughout our home. We have the same verse hanging in our Kitchen, that my Mother had hanging in her's. We have Jesus and His Disciples eating The Last Supper in our Dining Room, and we have God's Laws hanging in our Family Room. In our bedroom, hangs a Wedding Picture of our Marriage being Prayed over. And my favorite verse, Jeremiah 29:11 also hangs in our room. Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep (the exact same picture that hung in the hallway when I was a child) hangs in the Hallway that leads to the Children's Rooms. The Golden Rule is framed and hanging in our School Room. And, I have long wanted to Write and Frame, "Come, follow Me, and I will make you Fishers of Men," and hang it in the Kid's Fishy Bathroom.

We have a Cross hanging.

I've felt heartsick for Jesus' parents looking at Destiny, and hope to hang it in my own home before long, and have meant to make this for our bathroom for months.

This is a sure way to mark our home's as God's. Your children and guests will remember your home as a place where they saw Jesus' face, or God's Word. I know, because I can still see Philippians 4:13, written in my Dad's handwriting, in a little photo cube sitting on his workbench out in his garage. I see and remember it, just like it was yesterday.

HEAR: What do we hear in our home's that mark them as God's?

We study the Hymns. We sing them, and play them. We read the Bible aloud to our Children, their Father and I both. We teach them the Bible Songs, and sing along with them, as we do the motions. KLOVE plays in our van. Audiobibles are the norm. And this is on my wishlist for my sweet babies.

This will mark our home's as God's as well. You'll know it and hear for yourself, when your children start to sing praises to Him while they're playing, doing chores, or finishing schoolwork.

TASTE AND SMELL: What meal can we prepare each Sunday, that when our Children smell and taste these foods years down the road, they will be reminded of the Lord's Day?

I recently switched from making Cinnamon Rolls to making Cinnamon Toast each Sunday for Breakfast. If ever there is a morning when I make these two meals on a whim, my younger children will ask me, "Is it a Church Day?"

We also have our Sunday Afternoon Barbeque each Sunday for Lunch.

TOUCH: What can we feel with our own hands that reminds us of God in our Homes?

I don't know about you, but when I've experienced a few "dark" times in my Walk With Jesus, and haven't been in The Word for a while, it always feels so nice to hold my own Bible in my hands. My Bible that I've had for years, that I've underlined, and bookmarked, and read to my Children, and desperately searched over.

All of our Children have their own Bible. I hope their's mean as much to them, as mine does to me. I see this a little each night, when we get ready for Family Worship, and they search out each other's Bibles, wanting only their own.

Which brings us to what Voddie Baucham calls a Multi-Sensory Expression of Faith, The Family Altar. Next week, I hope to share what we do for Family Worship.