How Does Your Face Look?

I was recently reading something (although I can't remember the title) about how we mother our children.  It talked about how our children see themselves through OUR actions and words.  Do they see the love we have for them as we are speaking with them?  Or do they see frustration at being distracted from whatever we are doing at that moment?  It made me think about how my face looks when I am talking with my children.  And it made me ashamed of how my face looks when I am talking with my children.

We have five children.  When I am talking with one child, there is never any doubt that someone else is saying "Mommy, Mommy, Mommy, Mommy".  Or another one is trying to jump off the back of the couch.  I sometimes get distracted and don't even have my eyes on the child that is speaking to me.  Or I interupt in the middle of a conversation to tell another someone to "quit jumping off the couch", or "we must share", or one hundred other things that could be going on in our household!

But what I am ashamed about is how my face looks when I am angry or frustrated with someone.  I KNOW my face speaks volumes more than anything I could be saying to them.  I am telling my kids that they are not special to me at that moment.  I am making my kids feel really rotten for whatever minor offense they just committed (and lets face it...it really is a minor offense!).  I am telling my kids that they are the reason that mom is frustrated or angry or whatever.  Instead of getting myself in check before talking with them, I am placing that responsibility on them.  And they don't deserve that.

I am going to work on this.  My children are special.  They are God's perfect gift to myself and my husband.  And I want to TRAIN them to be Godly young men and women.  Not yell at them with my wicked face.  I don't ever want them to feel that I would be happier if they were not in our family at that moment.  That is not the kind of mother I want to be for them.  I want them to always know that they are special and that I love them always no matter what!

How does your face look??

Blessings,

The Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY~March 28, 2011
Outside my window... sunny, but still cold.  Temps still back in the 30's again!
I am thinking...about some posts I want to write about
From the learning room...spring break this week!
I am thankful for...God's promises
From the kitchen...grilled hamburgers, green beans and onion potatoes
I am wearing...jeans and blue sweater
I am creating...a quilt for Sunshine. 
I am going...get off the computer after I write this to work some more on Sunshine's quilt!
I am reading... Bible, Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace Revisited (our church is doing Financial Peace University program) and reading Old Town in the Green Groves aloud to the kids
I am praying...for my grandma as she starts radiation this week, and Stinkerbelle who's spending a couple of days with her best friend at Wisconsin Dells.
I am hearing...Sport and Daddy watching a movie downstairs
Around the house...we did some spring cleaning this past weekend, still have more to do, and we're getting paint this week to paint the kitchen
One of my favorite things...snuggling in a warm bed when we get to sleep in a little bit.
A few plans for the rest of the week...hubby has off for a few days during spring break so we get to spend some nice time together
Here is picture thought I am sharing...

YEAH!!  Melting snow!!

Thanks for stopping by!  For more daybooks, please visit Peggy at The Simple Woman's Daybook.  Have a great week!

Blessings,

Wordless Wednesday...

watching for daddy to come home!

Blessings,

Happy Birthday, Stinkerbelle!!

Today my oldest child turns 14!!  Where has the time gone??  I really can't believe that she is that old already.  How did we go from this....

to this....



Happy Birthday, Sweetheart!!  We love you!!

Blessings,

The Promise of Spring....

We are very hopeful for a nice warm-up in the weather.  Spring is in the air and we are anxiously watching as the snow piles are getting smaller and smaller.  We are going to be in the mid 50's by this afternoon, and tomorrow we should reach 60!!  I am so excited.  We spent some time outside this morning and here are some pictures that show the promise of upcoming spring!!

 

Have a great day!!

Blessings,

Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY~March 15, 2011
Outside my window... sunny, with a promise of spring coming!
I am thinking...that spring flowers would be such a wonderful sight right now!
From the learning room...fractions, reading a book for a book report, outlining, more, but my brain isn't really working yet to remember!
I am thankful for...a great time with family this past weekend to celebrate Stinkerbelle and Sunshine's birthdays
From the kitchen...sadly, I'm not sure yet...our oven died last night, so I am waiting for a repair man to let me know if he'll be able to fix it today.  If not, it may be a soup and sandwich night.
I am wearing...jeans and long sleeved t-shirt
I am creating...a quilt for Sunshine.  We will be moving him to a "big boy" bed much to soon, so he'll need a quilt for that bed
I am going...to get to the library~either today or tomorrow!
I am reading... Bible and reading Old Town in the Green Groves aloud to the kids
I am praying...for my grandma who had a bone marrow biopsy yesterday, a young man who lost his mother yesterday, and of course all that is happening in Japan
I am hearing...Sport practicing his guitar
Around the house...not much going on..still planning my spring cleaning day for next Saturday
One of my favorite things...sunshine and the warmth it brings!
A few plans for the rest of the week...play practice for my daughter's 8th grade play, music lessons, school musical for Spud on Friday, and Stinkerbelle's birthday on Thursday!!
Here is picture thought I am sharing...

blowing out candle's for their birthday's

Thanks for stopping by!  For more daybooks, please visit Peggy at The Simple Woman's Daybook.  Have a great week!

Blessings,

Feeding a Large Family

I recently stopped at my niece and nephews house on a late afternoon.  When I walked inside, the house smelled wonderful.  I made a comment about how yummy it smelled, and my nephew said that my niece had a lasagna in the oven.  As I left their house, I started thinking that we needed to have lasagna soon for supper.

But I was also thinking to myself about how things have changed as our family has gotten larger.  My niece and nephew are just starting their family and have only one child who is 3 months old.  She made lasagna for supper, but there was going to be lasagna for lunches for a few days also.  We rarely (if ever) have enough leftovers of one meal to last several lunches.

I started cooking for my family when I was around 10 or so.  I had 3 hungry brothers at home, not to mention my truck driver dad, so when my mom started teaching me to cook, it was always large meals.  When I learned to cook a pot of chili or soup, it was a large pot.  When I made casseroles, it was made in an 11x15 dish.  After we were first married, I know we had many meals that would last us all week until we were completely sick of it and didn't want to see it again for a very long time!

I don't think that I cook much differently now than I did when we were first married or when we just had 1 or 2 babies.  What has changed is how I present these meals to our family.  I have found that my food budget has not increased as much as our household has.  So I needed to get creative with meals.  I still basically make the same sizes of meals, but I have found things to go with the meals.  When we had a smaller family, I would just make a pan of lasagna for dinner.  Now I will make that pan of lasagna along with a salad or a loaf of homemade garlic bread.  I still make the same casserole, but now we have some applesauce, vegetables, or fresh fruit along with it.  We have certain staples in our house that make great sides for meals.  Fresh fruits, veggies, salads, breads, or applesauce (I make a ton in the fall).  I also add "fillers" to some of our meals(usually casseroles).  Lentils or beans go VERY far.  So does brown rice.

Get creative and you can make your food budget stretch!  Have a great day!

Blessings,

Still Sick...

We are getting very frustrated around here.  Hubby and I both still have this cold that is dragging on although hubby seems to be getting a little better.  Sunshine also seems to be turning the corner.  I had hoped that I would be feeling better by today since I've been on the anitbiotics for a few days now.  I still can not talk.  My chest and throat are sore, and I am just too tired to do anything.  It is so frustrating.  How is it that the person who hardly ever gets out of the house is the sickest??  We  have family coming over tomorrow for a birthday party for Sunshine and Stinkerbelle and I am praying that I will at least be able to talk by then.  Thankfully, everyone is bringing something, so my duties in cooking are only few.  I would like to get the house cleaned up a bit, but I'm ok with the fact that it just may not.  I feel like such a whiner, and I know that I still have a lot to be thankful for.  Sometimes I think God graces me with these trials to remind me of the blessings I have.  It is so easy to get caught up in my own life and what is interrupting "my" plans that I need these reminders.  So I am choosing to be thankful for the good health that we do have (even through the coughing spells (o: ), and pray for this illness to pass as I know it will.

I pray that you are also in good health and will have a great weekend!

Blessings,

Sick of Being Sick!!

We are well into our second week of being sick around here!  So far everyone but one child has gotten it~yes, we know what his odds are!!  Hubby and I are both sick (not good!) right now.  We've had the colds, cough, congestion, just feeling yucky stuff going around the house.  We had to take Stinkerbelle in this weekend because her ears were so infected that she was in terrible pain.  I have almost completely lost my voice~and I'm not so sure everyone thinks that is a bad thing!!

I had read earlier this fall that elderberry syrup helps keep a person healthy, and helps if you do get a cold.  I had been making it all winter, and we have had a pretty good winter with not getting colds.  I ran out of honey and didn't get any more right away.  So we didn't have elderberry syrup for a while and now look what happens.  This is enough proof for me that it really works!  I made a batch the other day and was teasing everyone that we would be drinking it by the glass full!  I will share the recipe when I am feeling better.

I hope you are feeling better than we are and have a great day!



***UPDATE*** I took myself and Sunshine to Urgent care clinic tonight.  I have an ear infection and STREP throat!  Sunshine also has an ear infection.  Guess we both had a good reason for feeling so bad!  We've both started on antibiotics and I'm praying we'll have better days ahead!

 Blessings,

Under Construction...

Thanks for being patient with me as I try to "personalize" my blog.  If you have stopped by over the past couple of days and are wondering just what is going on...I'm trying to find something I like.  I have wanted to add pictures of the kids, but I am not the  most "techy" person on the block.  I keep changing, deleting, moving, or re-arranging something as I go along.  Let me know if you have any suggestions for me!! 

I have been debating about whether to use our kids real names or their nicknames, and I think I've decided on their nicknames for now.  The short story on all their nicknames is that after we had our second child, we realized that both their nicknames started with the letter S.  So...we've been keeping up with the S nicknames through all the kids.

I promise to have this finished soon.  Have a great weekend!

Blessings,

The Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY~March 1, 2011
Outside my window... sunny, but still winter and still cold!
I am thinking...that I should be getting ready for our son's dr. appointment this morning
From the learning room...fractions, review of Solomon's life, a big spelling review test
I am thankful for...decongestants!!  We've had several of us with colds and stuffy noses.
From the kitchen...taco night
I am wearing...jeans and long sleeved t-shirt
I am creating...burp cloths, I'll get the information for my Etsy shop on here soon!
I am going...to take a decongestant myself!!
I am reading... Bible and some children's book to the kids
I am praying...for my grandma who was diagnosed last week with Lymphoma
I am hearing...the dishwasher being emptied, two of the kids reading a book together
Around the house...making some decisions about painting some rooms, planning a spring cleaning day
One of my favorite things...date night with my hubby~we had a great time last week, and need to plan for that once a month!
A few plans for the rest of the week...play practice for my daughter's 8th grade play, music lessons, going to some friends' home for supper on Friday, hopefully a relaxing weekend!
Here is picture thought I am sharing...


This sight just made me smile!  Many hands makes light work!

 For more daybooks, please visit Peggy at The Simple Woman's Daybook.  Thanks for stopping by!  Have a great day!

Blessings,