What I would like and what I am learning.

I would like to be able to do things with my kids and not just play, but chores and things that teach them what they need to know. 

I would like to be able to keep my temper and not have to apologize so often.

I would like to be able to have my kids listen to what I say and obey without question, but at the same time be able to think for themselves, doing what needs to be done because they want to and because they want to be like Jesus.

But most of all I would like to be able teach my kids what it means to have a loving unselfish relationship with God and with others, especially their own family.

Monday, as part of our learning time in the afternoon, we spent some time cleaning the house. I handed out chores left and right and they actually did them without too much complaining. Amazing that!! John wiped down the counter and mirror in the bathroom, Josh helped me sweep the floor in the kitchen and Jeffrey picked up the stuff off the floor. Then John and I mopped it. Later Josh washed the windows in the living room and John did the walls while Jeffrey dusted and I finished the dishes and cleaned up the rest of the kitchen. 

Yesterday we went grocery shopping so didn't so too many extras. And today we mainly just picked up the living room a bit. Then Josh made lunch which Sarah ate with a spoon with great gusto. 

Yummy soup! Rice noodles and greens, beans, carrots, onion, garlic, miso paste, turmeric, cumin (because everything must have cumin), chili powder, salt, a little mayo and salsa. 

After lunch, the boys headed outside to play, but as I was finishing up with Sarah, two of them had meltdowns. So, I brought them in and as I did, God via my thought process, (amazing that I actually listened today) told me to put them to work. So Joshua had to wipe down the walls in the hallway and Jeffrey had to pick and wipe the mess of noodles and beans left behind by baby. John wasn't in trouble but he volunteered to do the dishes anyway. He does that sometimes on his own in the am during chore time if there are any leftover from the night before.

Didn't think to take a picture of Jeffrey but oh well. Next time. 

Chores work really good for disciplines. Don't know why I didn't use that earlier. Saves my patience and temper too. 

Well, that's all today. Time to take out the trash and see what else I can do before the news comes on. 

Hope you enjoy reading what I'm learning as much as I enjoy learning and sharing t!

Reality

So, I set up this schedules routine so that we could get everything done that needed to be done. 

Here's what usually ends up happening. 

My alarm goes on.  I hit it off and doze in and out having spurts of prayer in between (horrible, I know). Then Victor gets up and rushes around getting ready for work while I start getting up and finish my prayers and the kids do their hires. We get breakfast and I make Victors lunch. 

After Victor leaves, I clean up the kitchen and the boys play. I do usually get outside to do something even if it's just to read Facebook in the sunshine and fresh air. 

Then sometimes I remember to do a 15 min cleanup or 2 but with no help from the kids. I hate to call them in. Sometimes I have to referee a fight or two.  Then we do have school. At least that one does end up being done on schedule.

After worship and school, (have to do that since we mostly miss it in the morning) then dinner gets fixed and eaten, again usually on time. 

Then we do a cleanup, most of the time and watch the news and the Brady Bunch with grandma. After that we have Bible and worship and bed. 

We are slowly getting closer to where I would like to be. In the next post, I will explain what I mean.

Schedules

Here is a basic rundown of the ideal day in our house.

After I get up and have my own devotional time, at 7 we have family worship. And the boys do their morning chores. Then we eat breakfast around 8 so Victor can leave for work by 8:45. After the dishes and the kitchen is cleaned up, the boys play Legos or run around outside while Sarah and I do some outside chores or I catch up on some reading, usually in the hammock on the porch if it's warm enough. 

About 10 we do a 15 min clean up of one area of the house and drink our water. Then again at 11 comes another 15 min work/water break. At noon we start our school work. We are learning about trees. After the book reading, we do an activity and our reading lessons. Then each of the kids has their turn on the computer with a typing lesson. Then they get to play.

 Each kid has a chance to be helper for the day so if it's their day they help fix dinner which we eat at 3. Then after cleanup there is another quick 15 min cleanup. 

Then we go to grandma's house for the news and the Brady Bunch. By then it is evening and time to get ready for bed. 

After everyone is in their pjs and has brushed their teeth, whoever is helper or the day chooses which Bible video we watch and then we have worship. Sometimes daddy is home by then so we all have prayer together and they are usually in bed before 8:30. 

I try to put away some laundry at this point while Victor is winding down and we chat about our days. 

Now for reality. :) Next post!

Health and other things.

Lately, I've been lazy about my eating habits. Since my gallbladder no longer seems to have a problem I've been eating alot more wheat, and more oils. Not a good thing for me to be doing. My allergies have kicked back in and I have noticed alot more foggy brain, tired feeling, and stuffiness. Sarah, even, has a runny nose and no other symptoms. So, starting back in this week with no wheat and eating as healthfully as possible. Victor and I have even talked of going raw for a bit to get rid of the toxins. We'll see how it goes.

Sarah's runny nose

Joshua had a very loose tooth.

Second's later it popped out!

Last week, helping daddy prune back the juniper in front of Grandma's house.

John pushing the wheelbarrow, Joshua and Jeffrey picking up the branches.

Sarah climbing all over the place.

Just a picture of the kids playing in the backyard.

There are a couple of other things I will be blogging about later, so stay tuned!

Fevers

The last couple of days have been long and tiring. For two weeks or is it three I've been fighting a sore throat. I'm not sure what caused it but suspicion strep or even just major irritation from allergies. No one else seemed to get it at first. Now I'm not so sure. Maybe it was a combination because John now has a sore throat and The other two boys are sniffling and coughing. Sarah has had a fever for two days. 

My sore throat is finally on its way out, I hope. I've been doubling up on the garlic and gargling with hydrogen peroxide and charcoal and salt water and cayenne and lemon and. . . Anything else I have in the cupboard that will help! 

Sarah has had a fever of about 100 to 101 for the last two days. Of course, I worry that it might go too high or that it could be something serious, but then she nurses and sleeps and is not abnormally uncomfortable so I remember what a fever is for and pray for her healing and I know that all will be well.

http://www.naturalnews.com/027149_fever_virus_flu.html

Here is an article I just read to remind myself of what fevers do and why it's important not to freak out and try to reduce it at this stage.

I want her body to be efficient. God designed it that way. So, we went outside in the sunshine yesterday and had some bug killing rays, I ate tons of big killing garlic, we all have been drinking lots of toxin flushing water and meals have been loaded with alkaline bug killing veges. 

Yay for God's doctoring!

New fun cooking!

Last Sunday we helped a friend move some appliances and furniture out of their old house to a new one not too far away. They had this stove that works but the oven doesn't bake properly. The place they moved to had a stove already so she offered it to us. Yay! 

The oven only works on broil so I heat it up till it gets almost to the temperature I want to bake at and then turn it to quick bake which turns the fan on to circulate the air around. The temp stays close to what I want it for about 20 mins as long as I don't open the oven door. If I do, it drops fast so I just turn it back to broil for a couple mins to heat it up again. Can't leave the oven while it baking though, or something might burn or not get done. But hey, it's worth it to have working burners again! Thanks, Bambi and Garry!

I love parchment paper for baking. Non stick and the pizza or cookies slides right off.

This is lunch today. Homemade gluten free non dairy pizza. The kids liked it. I made two and there were only three pieces left when we got done!

Til next time, happy baking!

Walking!!

OK this post was going to start out talking about how SArah is walking and trying to run. But it's changed slightly.

We went camping last weekend. I took the camera but didn't use it. Sorry.

We had a great time visiting with old and new friends from Las Vegas, Redcliffs, and Cedar City. Even a couple people from British Columbia.

It was definitely a Spirit-filled weekend with 2 speakers who didn't know each other til they got there, compared notes and decided they were speaking about the same thing, so (without rehearsal) did devotions, vespers, Sabbath school and church and afternoon meeting together. LIke two people who had a script and had practiced it before hand, they spoke back and forth about our orientation.

Why are we Christians? Is it to avoid hell? Is it because our parents are? What does your answer reveal about your relationship with JEsus?

Is our orientation toward our agenda or God's Kingdom agenda? Is our focus on ourselves and what we can get away with by lowering the standard? Or is our focus on God's agenda of purifying us and going out to preach His gospel?

Matthew 25:31-46 was the key text for the weekend. The final exam. Our whole focus should be "Are we giving glory to God? What does that look like? As wee've done it to our fellows we do it to Jesus.

Part of the message for the last days is "Fear God, and Give glory to Him. . . .Worship Him who made heaven and earth. . . ."  The issue is who are you worshipping?

John 3:16 says that Jesus died for the whole world. Everyone. The condition for salvation is whether people believe and accept that or not. Our job as Christians is to treat everyone as someone that Jesus died for and giving glory to God by living with the goal in mind. Which is eternal, not temporal.

Jesus said, Follow me. He calls us to follow Him and then provides us with the power to do so.

What is your focus? Why are you a Christian? Does your walk show others who you are following?