My sweetie
My lil heartbreakers
Poor Wyattman had an ear infection that day!
Mama's princessesThe fourth of July fireworks were amazing. We got VIP access to the area behind the highschool, it was reserved for cops/firemen. The grand finale was the most beautiful I have ever seen. It was intense and just really popped. The kids had so much fun, even Kenna liked it! The weather was perfect, Nate got to go.....it just couldn't have went better.
On the home front, life has been overwhelming me lately. I am trying to take it one step at a time, but it seems as usual I have dove in headfirst to too many things at once. We started homeschooling for the 08/09 school year 3 weeks ago and that is taking 3 hours+ a day. We are enjoying it to some extent, but the program we bought is VERY full and requires quite a bit of reading for littles. On top of that, we went out and spent 2000 at Lowes and bought all the new bathroom supplies to renovate, derailing our Dave Ramsey plan for the month. Upsets me cause we are so close(3500 bucks) from being debt free. Oh well, Nate wanted to take a break from that just for this month and do the bathroom instead and I really can't blame him. I am also working harder to be more submissive. Back in the day, I woulda said, "no way, we are toooo close" but the newer me knew that this is his place to make this decision and really it has to be done(our bathroom is in shambles and having waterloggin on the walls and other issues) so I know he didnt make the decision lightly. He demolished the shower slip and has almost completed the tile for the shower/tub. We used 13 inch tiles in there and he replumbed our old plumbing to suit our new modern faucets. We picked out dark bronze french country style faucets with a huge rain shower head, antique white vanity/framed mirror/shelf for above the toilet, marble counter top, overlay porcelain sink, toile/gingham shower curtain, antique/country style furnishings and decor(got those mostly on ebay), a blueish hue for the walls, a bronze/antique looking lightbar fixture and a nice dark 13" neutral tile for the floor(same as the shower). I am excited to see the final product, but its a few weeks away! We took before pics. I will definitely post before and afters in a later update of the remodeling. Next we will tackle the kitchen. The kitchen wont be quite as tough or need gutted like the bathroom did.
Kenna is still nursing around the clock, we are still cloth diapering and she is crawling everywhere and really well. She pulls up on everything and stiffens when you sit her down, she wants to walk so badly. We are still trusting in the Lord's perfect timing to be blessed with our next baby. For now, we are just eating Kenna up.....she is the absolute sweetest. She is spoiled rotten.
The big kids are finding that having no/very limited TV isn't so bad after all, there IS life after TV. Oh and my peaceful parenting has turned my children into heathens who disrespect any and everything and we have decided to remain peaceful, but add consequences because it just plain didn't work for us. We gave it a good 6 month go and we yell almost never and life seems happier around here except for the newer issues of no respect for adults. We just feel we need to correct them more than simply stating what they did wasn't right and asking them not to do it again. This may work more as they get older, but right now we have decided on adding the correction of work. They get 1 warning, still not raising our voices, and then they are given an extra chore that must be completed immediately for any offense really. The usual offenses around here are: not listening when asked to clean up after themselves, hitting a sibling and not doing their 1 regular daily chore. That's really about all we have issues with and hitting is not that frequent.
Nate and I are good too, our marriage could always be stronger, but its hard to work on that when he works 65-80 hours a week and when he is home, he's working on the remodel. We are desperately wanting more time together, but this too shall pass. Its just a crazy season. I want our home nice for the holidays coming up. Anyone who knows me, knows I am a complete holiday freak. I decorate like there is no tomorrow. My house is overloaded and every room is decorated, including bedspreads that match the seasons. hehe I cant wait! I am already working on collecting more new and exciting decor, most from Terrysvillage.com, I love their stuff. Nate is just wishing we had more time for camping. All in all, life is good, busy, crazy and everything in between.
For now our schedule is as follows on Nates work days
7 wake up
7:15 make everyone breakfast and go water my garden
7:30 clean up breakfast and give kids something to play with (blocks/puzzles/craft)
8 start a load of laundry and work out while kids are playing
8:45 shower
9 make kids brush teeth while I do hair/make up
9:15 school
12 lunch
12:30 clean up lunch and kids go outside to play in the water or just play
2 inside(some tv some days for maybe 30-60 minutes)
3 kid's chore time
4 my chore time
4:30 start dinner
5 eat
5:30 clean up and do dishes, clean up the kitchen
6:30 kid's play outside and I water garden again
7 bathtime
8 bedtime
10 comments:
Hey Janis, the kids are beautiful...can't believe how big Kenna is already.
Take Care
Leslie
wow!! What a busy woman you are!! I do not have the strengh for that and I HATE schedules!..i know it would probably benifit the kids but we don't have a written schedule...i wouldn't stick to it anyways....but MAYBE when I am fully recovered from S.'s birth...haha...but that is a BIG maybe. You really are an amazing woman to do so much!
Janis, first of all, you sound like such a good mom! I did the same thing when my littles were small, no spanking, "grace based" and had the same results - only thing is, when we switched to more consequences/honor/training :) - we still hardly ended up spanking at all :)...
I'd love to see pictures of your bathroom reno, too - we are thinking our bathroom needs some work soon... (sigh) and i have no ideas...
anyway, you left a comment on my blog asking for the verse about not exasperating/frustrating your children, and this is the verse i was referring to (www.homeschoolblogger.com/mamazee)
Ephesians 6:4
And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.
hth!
stephanie
Ephesians 6:4
And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.
Hey Janis - i just posted a message in reply to your comment on my blog (www.homeschoolblogger.com/mamazee) - and then lost it! argh! anyway, above is the verse you wanted to know - and i wanted to encourage you that we did the SAME thing with our littles - a lot of grace in the first few years, and had the same problems, switched to more *training* how we wanted them to behave, and with reinforcements for good ;) and BAD behaviour - and it was such a worthwhile investment of time... (hugs)
I have.... a thought! Yes. I know. Anyway. In the Proclamation to the Family, it says: "By divine design, fathers are to preside over their families in love and righteousness and are responsible to provide the necessities of life and protection for their families. Mothers are primarily responsible for the nurture of their children. In these sacred responsibilities, fathers and mothers are obligated to help one another as equal partners."
In a bishopric, there is a bishop, a 1st counselor, and a 2nd counselor. Do you know the difference between the counselors? They have responsibilities over different things, and if the bishop is physically absent, it is the 1st counselor's job to ensure that everything works the way the bishop would have it done if he were there, or in other words, preside. Both counselors are exactly equal. Both have a right and an obligation to express their feelings and opinions. When the 2nd counselor says nothing, and the 1st counselor makes decisions without the input of the 2nd counselor, it is unrighteous dominion and the 2nd counselor is not fulfilling their responsibility.
Bishop
1st couns. 2nd couns.
In a marriage, there are 3 parties: Christ, a husband, and a wife.
Christ
Husband Wife
The husband's job, as stated in the Proclamation, is to preside. This means, in the physical absence of God, part of his responsibility is to ensure that things work as God would have them work if He were there. If a husband makes decisions unilaterally without consulting his partner, it is unrighteous dominion, and if the wife does not contribute to the decision making process, she is not fulfilling her responsibilities in the marriage.
The wife you choose will be your equal. Paul declared, “Neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man, in the Lord” (1 Cor. 11:11).
In the marriage companionship there is neither inferiority nor superiority. The woman does not walk ahead of the man; neither does the man walk ahead of the woman. They walk side by side as a son and daughter of God on an eternal journey.
~Pres. Gordon B. Hinckley
Anyway. Those are my thoughts. I don't know if they are applicable thoughts or not. ;)
Jana I totally get what you are sayin. I have always been super bossy and made all the decisions in our house regarding well, everything(blush) so I have been trying to quiet my mouth some on things so Nate can make decisions too. It was causing marital problems for us and things are much better since I stopped trying to be so bossy. He still always wants my input and while sometimes I think his ideas/decisions wouldnt be mine, I try to respect him and be nice about it and support him:)
Ah, I know that feeling well. ;D I'm also a Miss Bossykins. I get what you're saying now, just the word "submissive" worried me.
Try to do a couple's prayer each night before bed, or when Nate's schedule allows, and don't forget to go on dates every once in a while! I want to see you post about something fun you do just with your hubby, like go to a baseball game, or for a walk on the beach. It doesn't have to be $$$ just get away from the little darlings and court each other again!
What! How did I just post as my husband? My husband is not a Miss Bossykins! ;D
That's a good point. I think thst in our society the role of a Christian wife is often misunderstood. We see the word "submissive" and think powerless or unimportant, when it shouldn't be like that. The Bible tells a man to love his wife as Christ loved the Church. Naturally it follows that he would value her and honor her with his actions and decisions. Although husbands and wives have different roles, they are both important and are both valued.
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