What DID I do today!?

Sometimes I get to the end of my day exhausted and yet at a loss for what I really DID! So tonight I'm making a list. Who knows, maybe I really did accomplish a few things today :-).

Accomplishments:

* started the day out with a walk

* watered my garden bright and early

* rearranged and organized my room

* went shopping and found a lot of great deals!

* helped Si make homemade clay so he could make a ton of little jalopeno peppers :-)

* FINALLY made the kids' beds with sheets I had hung out on the line days ago --ugh!

* made a yummy meal everyone seemed to enjoy

* got Most of the dishes done

* doing one last load of laundy

* am going to go read!!!

I think I was born in the wrong century...

These are pics that I took at Jodi's house in NE. A neat lady and her two daughters took us down there to take Jessie home. The girls had a BLAST trying on dresses that Jessica had made and taking these fun photos. It felt like we were stepping back in time. I like how that felt! Sometimes I think I should have been born then -- I like to do the kind of things woman HAD to do back then: grow a garden, preserve food, hunt, bake bread, make quilts, make homecooked meals for my family, etc. But I must say there are things that help me do that today that those women did not have. For those things I am grateful!! :-) I also love some of the technology. That is something else that I would miss. So, I guess God has me right where I'm supposed to be. But it's sure is fun to take a step back and enjoy what used to be!!!

Paycheck

I find being a stay-at-home Mom both very rewarding and yet very challenging at times. I think one of the most challenging aspects of it is that my kids hear me teach them from sun-up to sun-down who God wants them to live and yet we are all together and they are watching ME from sun-up to sun-down as well. The good and the bad... The other toughy is that sometimes in a low moment of self-pity I wonder what it would be like to have the admiration of a boss, of co-workers, of the public. AND I wonder what it would be like to get a paycheck every other week, or so. But like I said, those thoughts come in moments of weakness and I am almost immediatly reminded in different ways why I feel so strongly that God has called me to this "profession".

Two such things happened today:
1.) We were driving in the car and I was mentioning that a neighbor asked me if I knew any good babysitters in the area and I was talking out loud saying that I assumed they were hinting if I wanted to do that. I was weighing the pros and cons to myself and of course, my Praetoria doesn't miss A THING! Then I said something like, "It would just be nice to make some money to help Daddy out." Prae immediately spoke up and (assuming I meant going out to get a job) said, "Mom! We wouldn't be able to LIVE without you for even a week!!!"

2.) Tonight I was getting the kids moving toward bedtime and told them to go to their rooms, but they could read a while. Sweet Silas just got a model car today that he is working on for the fair next weekend. He asked very politely if he could start working on that instead. I said he could, but only in his room. You know where this is going...He comes running up the stairs with the most terrified look on his face and says, "Mom, don't be mad, BUT... I spilled a little bit of paint on my carpet." By the time I got down there he was madly scrubbing a spot the size of a dinner plate that was as black as black could be. This is model car paint, mind you. Not easy wash out Crayola! I ran and got the Laquer Thinner from the garage as fast as I could, scrubbed and scrubbed and would you believe we got most of it out!? It stunk to high heaven so we opened the window, moved Si and his fish into the girls' room, turned on a fan, and shut the door. After I was done praying with them Si turns to me and says, "Mom, I am SO sorry about that!! And thanks for not getting angry at me."

So as you can see I got paid TWICE today!

Trying to Keep Up

My poor daughter is frustrated with me. I'm trying to keep up with this ever changing world. I asked her to help my with setting up the "about me" part and she couldn't handle it and had to go in the other room and read Nancy Drew :-). What is this world going to be like when she is MY age? Well, all I know is that so far this has all been pretty fun and is just one more thing that can keep me from my housecleaning - ha! The other thing she told me was, "Mom, you don't even have any friends, well, that know how to even do this!" Ouch... So, Dear Friends, here is my link. Come check it out and see if you can "figure it out" HA!! Bless my daughters heart.

Somehow I lost my first blog...

Ok, this isn't starting out very good. I already typed a nice couple of paragraphs telling all about why I'm finally starting to blog. When I went to go see how it looked, it was nowhere to be found.

So anyway, here I am. I'm giving this a shot, and we'll see how long I last :-)!

Pictures from The Ranch:

First Blog

Wow! Here it is: my first official blog! I've always wanted to be great at journaling all of my daily highs and lows, but have never stuck with it more than a few days. We'll see if this is any better...Another reason I got this was because I think people are getting sick of me putting all of my pics. on facebook. Here is another place to put them :-). I love taking pics and sharing them with the people I love. So....here I go...

Today my Aunt Connie took the kids and I to The Ranch. It was a blast and we all really enjoyed ourselves! We all had lunch together and then she took the two older kids for the afternoon. She is an amazing example of dying to self! She RARELY gets a day completely OFF, and here she is spending it with her great niece and nephew. God will bless her above and beyond, I know!!

I guess that's all for now.