Tuesday, January 31, 2012

You Talk About What You Love!

The Lord has really been challenging me this week about where my heart is and what I talk about.
and my Mom use to tell us kiddo's all the time when we were little " You Talk About What You Love."
and you know the more I think about it it's so TRUE.

 Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life.”

Proverbs 4:23





My Precious Family !
What is in your heart is sometime going to come out through your mouth. and from that our actions and how we go about our daily lives, how we treat our husbands, how we love our children, even how we decorate our homes.
So as you go about your week ask your self
" What do I REALLY love and how do I show it?"

 I know for me that I love God's word.
But to be 100% honest with you it's hard to sit and read it.  that's hard for me to share with you. I'm a  Pastors wife. why is it hard for me?
I just don't MAKE enough time for it. that's has simple as I can put it. and it's so humbling for me to see it put into words, but it's the truth.
So that's one of my Goals for 2012 is to MAKE time to be in the Word daily and glean from it all that the Lord has for me!
Ok.... :)
next!!
 I love baking and cooking, if I have help with the clean up :) and you can always use it to share with others in need too!

baking and cooking!!
 I wanted to share with you just a couple things that I love!!!


There is so much to fill our time with these days and I pray that you will fill it with things that will last for eternity, and the bring the Lord glory.
But what do you Talk about? Be so careful, " You often Talk About What You Love" 
 
Have a Blessed Week!


Monday, January 30, 2012

Elhanna Joy!

This has been a crazy week for our little family everyone got the flu bug and so with that y'all know how the house falls apart when Mama gets sick.... well that sure was the case here.
So this week it's my goal to get all caught up on our blogging!! so with all that said here is a blog all about our little Lanna girl!!

Elhanna Joy!!!

She has become quite the Little Lady in the past few weeks and months.
She is 3 1/2, and so ready to be 4. she often reminds us that she is going to be "4 to be BIG like Bubby." but the funny thing is, she is just about as tall as Liam. 
She Loves her babies and has given each one a name, we often find her tucked in her room playing
"Mommy" nursing all 6 of them. and singing them sweet little songs.  and when she's done with that she tucks them all into their beds. I love to see how her Mothering instincts have begin and I'm excited to lead her now  towards being "Lord willing" a godly wife and mother some day. 



See even her baby needs a ride on the silly carts!
She is such a sweetie and a good helper, but I do have to say that she is not always a morning person, we're working on that one! :)
 

What a blessing she is to have in our family, and a joy to be lent to us by the Lord for such a short time.
We love you Lanna Joy!

We pray nightly in our family devotions, that with all our little "arrows" that the Lord is finding us faithful in teaching, leading, guiding and instructing them for His glory so that someday soon, He will call each of them to Himself, to the saving knowledge of who He is and repent of their sins, and serve Him to the fullest all the rest of their days here on earth!!! So that to when they are older He can send them out to the mission field, or where ever He see fit to send them.

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Liam Ross

Liam Ross

He is such a busy and helpful little guy. always waning to go outside to collect fire starter for us.
He is in the last few months of being 4. :(  He is so ready to be "5" so that he can be in kidz chior at church!!!
We are so blessed to have Liam in our family!!!
Love you Bubby!!!

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Aiden


This week I thought I'd do a little update on our Kiddo's for the Grandparents and our family far away!
  

Aiden Macsheyne 

It's hard to believe that he turned 21 months this past week.
time has gone by way to fast.

 1 month old


                                                                         5 months old.



                                                                        21 months old!!!



 He is such a sweet little guy,
he loves to play by himself...  he has just a funny little wiggle run... he loves to sing the B.I.B.L.E...
he starting to be potty trained and is doing well... he loves to play farm...  he loves to take baths... he is starting to be interested in books... he loves his Dadda, and looks forward to his coming home each evening.
he can say... Dadda, Mama, Liam, Lanna, ball, dog, baby and eat just to name a few.

We are so blessed to have him in our family and can't believe that soon it will be 2 years that the Lord gave him to us to raise for His glory. 
We love you Aiden Macsheyne!

Have a Blessed day!!!

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Loving our Husbands!


My Blessing!!!

Over the past year the Lord has been teaching about how to Love Jon. and with being married for 6 1/2 years now I have a long way to go! but I'm slowly learning how to love him in a way that Honors the Lord.
One of my prayers for 2012 is that the Lord would take me to a much deeper level of loving him and in that showing our children how to love God too!

Here is just a few ways that I've determined that I'm going to work on it this year.
I've gone to the Word to look for some help,
What better place to look?
How Do I???
* I respect him?  Eph. 5:33
* I physically love him? 1 Cor. 7:3~5
* Praise him? Proverbs 12:25
* Honor him? Titus 2:4
* Pray for him daily? James 5:16 & Eph. 6:18
 I was so encouraged by looking through the Word a find answers that I can work towards, did you see that I didn't say Do. but work towards!! it's a process, and I'm so excited to get started!!!

Sometimes the Proverbs 31 Woman that I so long to be seems like a Superhuman, and unreal. and to be honest IMPOSSIBLE!!! She is always on her toes and is up before daylight, and never worries about tomorrow cause she's got it all together. :)
But you know we have the same 24 hours in our day that she did, and by the Holy Spirit's help " I can do ALL things through Christ who gives me strength" ( Phil 4:13) 
So I've stared down a path to wanting to honor the Lord even more by loving my Sweet Hubby!!
Will you strive with me to begin the journey to Love the man that the Lord has blessed you with in your life. and to be the "helpmate" that He desires you to be?

Monday, January 16, 2012

Money saving tips!!!

This morning I don't have lots of time to share so I thought I'd do 3 little post of things that we we around our home to save $.
 Some of them are tried and tested, and some I'm yet to try. but that I heard from friends that work well and can't wait to try!!!

1. Vinegar Dishwasher rinse. Love it!!

If you’ve been wanting a way to cut costs on dishwasher rinse aid… here’s a great frugal alternative:
White Vinegar!
That’s it! Rather than using expensive rinse agents, simply fill your rinse aid dispenser with white vinegar. Vinegar does a great job at removing spots and disinfecting, too!

2. Yummy smelling house. Love it!
 Essential oils can be dabbed onto a cotton ball and tucked around the house. I use different scents for different seasons, like Lemongrass and Grapefruit… or Orange.”

 When it's dry in our house because of the wood stove I add a few drops of oil to our vaporizer!

3.Homemade Glass Cleaner  (yet to try!)

1 cup Water
1/4 cup White Vinegar
2 to 3 drops Dawn Dish Soap
Empty Spray Bottle

Combine water, white vinegar, and dawn dish soap in an empty spray bottle, and… that’s it! You’ve just made Homemade Glass Cleaner!



Well I'm off to get my hungry Crew some breakfast!
Blessings!

Saturday, January 14, 2012

Pay It Forward 2012!!

This looks really fun....go ahead friends, inspire me to make you something!



simple is good!

Pay It Forward 2012: I promise to make something handmade for first 2 people who comment. They must in turn post this on there blog or face book page and make something for the first 5  people who comment on their post. The rules are it has to be handmade by you and they must receive it before 2012 ends!! it can be as simple as making a cup of coffee or tea for someone! this is a fun way just to get the giving spirit going this year.
 Your probably wondering why just 2? I did this on Face Book too and got my first 3 comments, and wanted to open it up to you my faithful followers too!
Thanks so much! Can't wait to get busy with making something fun for our friends!
Blessings!

Homemade dry Laundry soap!!!

Dry Homemade Laundry Detergent

Some of you have been asking about what Laundry soap I make so I thought I'd re post this for ya!
Now that I've used it for long time now, I can say that I would rather use this recipe rather then my liquid. only because it really gets the  stains out of the kiddo's clothes without needing a pretreater, so that saves me a few minuets in my day, and thats a HUGE pulse for me! and too I also like the smell of the Fels. so clean and fresh!
Also it makes a much smaller recipe then my other kind, so that helps out there to with wondering where to store it!!
So next time your wash room looks a bit like " Mt. Washmore" give this new recipe a try, you just might like it!

Homemade Laundry Detergent Recipe
2 bars Fels-Naptha laundry soap
4 cups Arm and Hammer washing soda
4 cups Borax
2 cups Oxyclean
In a large bowl mix together the washing soda, Borax, and the Oxyclean. Grate the Fels-Naptha (a food processor makes this part much easier). Combine the grated soap into the dry mixture and combine thoroughly. Place in container with a small scoop. I just used the oxyclean scoop!
 1 scoop for each load, or 2 TBS. of you choose to use a different scoop!

2 TBS per load for toploader

1/2 TBS per load for front loader


If I have a load that I know has some set stains, I will fill my washer and let it set over night with the load, and in the morning " No More Stains" gatta love that! :)

Blessings!!!

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

The Woman I WANT to be, But How???

The Woman Who Fears her LORD
Proverbs 31:10 ~31
10 An excellent wife who can find?  She is far more precious than jewels.
 11 The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he will have no lack of gain. 12 She does him good, and not harm, all the days of her life. 13 She seeks wool and flax, and works with willing hands. 14 She is like the ships of the merchant; she brings her food from afar.
15 She rises while it is yet night and provides food for her household and portions for her maidens.
16 She considers a field and buys it; with the fruit of her hands she plants a vineyard.
17 She dresses herself with strength and makes her arms strong. 18 She perceives that her merchandise is profitable. Her lamp does not go out at night. 19 She puts her hands to the distaff, and her hands hold the spindle. 20 She opens her hand to the poor and reaches out her hands to the needy.
21 She is not afraid of snow for her household, for all her household are clothed in scarlet.
22 She makes bed coverings for herself; her clothing is fine linen and purple.
23 Her husband is known in the gates when he sits among the elders of the land.
24 She makes linen garments and sells them; she delivers sashes to the merchant.
25 Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she laughs at the time to come.
26 She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.
27 She looks well to the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness.
28 Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her:
29 “Many women have done excellently, but you surpass them all.”
30 Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.
31 Give her of the fruit of her hands, and let her works praise her in the gates.

I'm thinking so much on this passage these days, and I feel like she was such a " Super Woman." but I'm praying that the Lord would give me His wisdom on how to be even a bit of what she was,. and how I can help our Little girl become a Proverbs 31 woman as she grows up too!
Would you pray with Me about how the Lord would grow us as woman more into His image and more like the Proverbs 31 Woman that I know that He desires us to be.
With the many readers out there I know we're each in different seasons of life.
Maybe your not married,  Your children are little and need lots of " Loving " or maybe their just about grown, or even maybe their out the door and have families of there own to care for. Your job as a Woman is NEVER done. you can always look for younger ladies that need your love and encouragement. to become that Proverbs 31 Woman!


I look forward to what the Lord is going to do this year in our lives for HIS glory!!!

Blessings!

Monday, January 9, 2012

Money Saving tip!!

This week I'm working lots and lots in the basement trying to get everything ready for 'lil Man" to arrive so that I don't need to be down there much when he arrives. And let me give you a little tour of our basement.
It's where I have all our tubs of the kids clothes for the next season and sizes, canning shelves, extra groceries, our washer and drier, as well as our wood stove that heats our home in these cold winter days! But to be honest it's a MESS!! with Christmas and things, everything that I didn't want to look at got stuck down there. and so I'm trying to get it all in order this week!
With making our own laundry soap, I've been trying to find a recipe for homemade " good for you"  fabric softener and just haven't found any that I really like. I use white Vinegar for our cloth diapers and have used that a few times, but I want that yummy smell that goes with it too!
And by mistake (a HUGE mess)  I found this recipe a few weeks ago and I really like it!

Take your favorite liquid fabric softener and soak an old hand towel and wet it completely with the softener. Wring it out and let it dry completely, then throw it in with your next load.  It will help to stretching out softener use. In other words, save money. 
 I used it on Lanna's quilt a few weeks ago and her room still smells yummy and fresh!!!

Have a great day!!!
Blessings!!!

Saturday, January 7, 2012

New for 2012!!

Happy New Year!!!! I pray that the Lord blessed you with a great end to "2011" and and even more blessed start to the new year!!!
I've been praying about the future of our little blog and where to take it this year. the Lord has led me to share with you where I am in this season of life that He has my in right now, and Boy! it sure is a busy one!!!
Even though it's busy and sometimes I feel like it's more then I can handle. but by God's grace I make it :)
So with sharing about what the Lord using in our home to mold and make us into His image I'll be sharing a lot about...
 Loving God's Word, Becoming a Proverbs 31 Woman,  Serving My husband,
 Money Saving $ Tips, Raising Children, Organizing and Giveaways,(cause we all love giveaways!!!)

And with baby #4 to arrive in April I'm not sure how much I'll be blogging in April so I'll try and get a few things going before he arrives.

So with all that said here is my first Money Saving tip for 2012!!

Freezing Cookie Dough!!!!

We all love the smell of fresh cookies baking in the oven, but with 3 little ones under foot I don't always have the time or the energy to bake cookies once a week, so I've started making a double batch and baking half of it, and then freezing the last batch in balls and when the kids ask for cookies I can slip some into the oven and in just a few minuets have yummy warm cookies for them!
It's been nice to for those times when friends stop by unexpectedly and I have nothing fresh in the house to offer with tea, to just stick them in and there ready in a few, and the house smells yummy too!
So all you do is Make your family favorite's and  flash freeze them for a few hours. bag them up in a freezer zip lock and write the name on the bag and the temp to bake them at, with the time (add 2 minuets to the baking time because of being frozen)  and your set!   

I try to have ours lay flat in the freezer, but if space is an issue for you don't worry about it, but make sure their good and frozen before you bag them up!
And when your ready!!
Happy Baking!!!!