The Announcement I've Been Longing To Share....

We are blessed to be able to announce that this August, Lord Willing, we will have another member in our family!  We are beyond excited!

Blessings,


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The Marriage You've Always Wanted~Review and GIVEAWAY!!

Whether your marriage is hanging on by a thread, or you are blissfully in love, this book has something for everyone.   I love reading books on marriage.  Not because my marriage is in trouble, but because I want to prevent just that!

Author Gary Chapman writes this book in a way that is easy to read, easy to understand, and easy to apply to your own marriage.  His wisdom and methods are practical, while giving you and your spouse lots of information to think about, pray about, and communicate about.

Another thing I like about this book is that at the end of each chapter, there is a section called "Your Turn".  This section has simple questions that help you really think about each chapter, relate it to your own marriage, and see area's where you can work on in your marriage.

If you are looking for a book on marriage that will not only give you practical advice, but will have you and your spouse communicating better, this is a book for you. 

Just in time for Valentine's Day, you get a chance to win a copy of this book!  Just enter below for your chance to win.  Good luck and have a wonderful Valentines Day with your sweetheart!


For information on Gary Chapman or his books, check out the following...

Visit the official website: http://www.5lovelanguages.com/resource/the-marriage-youve-always-wanted/

facebook: https://www.facebook.com/5LoveLanguages

twitter: https://twitter.com/drgarychapman

Blessings,
 

Homestead For Him now has a Facebook page.  Like what you see here, won't you like my page?!  Click the like button on the sidebar or go HERE!!

{I received a copy of this book for my honest review of this product.}

Worth Rubies LINKUP!~Contributing To Family Finances

 

"She considers a field, and buys it: with the fruit of her hands she plants a vineyard." Proverbs 31:16

 

We studied this verse last week, and discussed how the Proverbs 31 woman contributes to the financial health of the family. 

We each contribute in unique ways.  Some of us work outside the home.  Some of us work from home.  Some of us have an online business, sell on E~bay, or have an Etsy shop.  Some of us sell jewelry, candles, purses and bags, or other accessories.

For those of us who have our own businesses, I want to create a community where we can support each other.  This week, I'm including a LINKUP with this Worth Rubies post!  Please link up your online business, Etsy shop, a link to something you sell, or whatever your source of income may be.  Then lets check out each listing and start supporting fellow Proverbs 31 women!

Have a great {and prosperous!} week!

Blessings,


Homestead For Him now has a Facebook page.  Like what you see here, won't you like my page?!  Click the like button on the sidebar or go HERE!!

 

 

 

An InLinkz Link-up

{DIY} Cabinet Chalkboard

We've been doing some work on our house.  One of the things we did was take a cabinet out of the middle of our kitchen.  It separated everything, kept natural light out of the dining room, and we just didn't like it where it was or how it looked.  So we took it down.

The problem with this was that the cabinet was attached to another cabinet and left a hole where it was attached.  Our cabinets are 40 years old and matching them with another could prove to be difficult.  We also didn't want another expense in purchasing another cabinet door.  So we got creative!

Hubby actually suggested this project!  We {and by we I mean he!} cut out an old piece of paneling {something we have a LOT of in this house!  UGH!} to fit the size of the opening.  We {oh, I guess hubby did this part, too!} then painted it with chalkboard paint.  To attach it to the cabinet we just used a couple of Command Velcro strips {I did this part!! ☺}  We didn't want to permanently attach it to the cabinet because we are hoping to do some more work in the kitchen in the next few years so this may be just a temporary fixture for now.

This was a simple, functional, and very inexpensive project.  We use this chalkboard often to remind us of what is going on during the week, or an errand we need to take care of, or just to write each other notes!  What made it even better was how little work I did on it since hubby did most of the work!!    I love when hubby gets excited about projects!

Blessings,


Homestead For Him now has a Facebook page.  Like what you see here, won't you like my page?!  Click the like button on the sidebar or go HERE!!

My Costly Frugal Chicken!

I have been doing a lot of research over the past several months as I'm on a mission to start feeding my family healthier meals.  One of the things I'm looking at is just where we get our food from.

I have read and heard a lot about chicken farms, and the un~healthy, antibiotic filled chickens that come from them.  The more I looked into it, the more I knew that I did not want that for my family.

When I heard that a friend was butchering chickens, I knew where I wanted to get our meat from.  She takes such good care of her chickens, that we joke her chickens eat better than our kids!   Sign me up, I'll take some!

My first surprise was the cost of the chickens!  The above chicken was almost $20!  I'm used to getting my chickens on sale at the grocery store for less than $5!  Maybe this wasn't such a great idea after all.....

My next surprise was the size of this chicken.  This bird looked like a turkey it was so big!!  I had a grocery store chicken in the freezer that looked like a game hen compared to this bird!  Ok, so I'm starting to see why this chicken was more costly than a grocery store bird.

The more I thought about this chicken, the less I thought about it in terms of money.  We were eating a chicken that was raised humanely,  fed a proper diet, was allowed to roam free, and I knew exactly where it came from.  The chicken was very tasty and tender.  It was so large that we had it for supper one night {with guests}, a lunch another day, and still had enough for several casseroles or some chicken noodle soup.  Plus I also made some delicious and very nutritious chicken broth from the carcass.  So we were going to get at least 5~6 meals from this "costly" chicken.  It no longer seems quite so costly anymore!

We also can't put a price on our health!  We are willing to spend a little more money this way, and find ways to save it elsewhere.  It is gratifying to feed our family food that is delicious, nutritious, and home~grown!

If you have a way to get a healthy chicken, I recommend it!  We're going to continue doing it!

Blessings,
 
Homestead For Him now has a Facebook page.  Like what you see here, won't you like my page?!  Click the like button on the sidebar or go HERE!!

Are You Using Swagbucks?

affiliate links included  See full disclosure HERE

 

 

I've told you in the past how our Christmas is FREE, and one of the ways we achieve this is to use Swagbucks.    Using Swagbucks is so easy, that even our kids get involved in helping our account grow!

 

Swagbucks has so many ways you can earn, that it is hard NOT to earn "bucks"!  Here's a few ways you can earn money.

 

You can use it as a search engine to earn "bucks" for many of your searches {this is where my kids love to help out my account!}.  You can use earn by watching videos.  You can earn by playing games.  You can earn by answering surveys.   You can earn by redeeming coupons for everyday items that you print off on your own printer {BONUS~you're already saving money by using the coupons, plus you earn extra just for redeeming them!!}.

 

You also earn money by shopping as I did this past holiday season.  We've been wanting to buy a small flat screen TV for several years, but there was always something else to spend money on.  So I saved up my Swagbucks until I had enough to receive a gift card to Best Buy.  Then I shopped through the Swagbucks site at Best Buy the weekend after Thanksgiving to get a great price.  BUT...Swagbucks had a great deal to offer with this purchase!!  When you shop through Swagbucks, you will earn "Swagbucks" {are you confused yet?!} back for every dollar you spend {the amount varies with each merchant}.  Since it was Thanksgiving weekend, I earned extra Swagbucks.  So I not only paid for this TV with Swagbucks, but I also earned 280 additional Swagbucks!!!!  We not only received the TV for almost free, but we earned more "bucks" to our account for buying it!!  You can't beat that!!

 

If you haven't already signed up for Swagbucks, head over HERE to get started.  You'll get 30 Swagbucks to get you started.  See what you can get for free with SWAGBUCKS!

 

 

Blessings,

Homestead For Him now has a Facebook page.  Like what you see here, won't you like my page?!  Click the like button on the sidebar or go HERE!!

 

Worth Rubies~The Fruit Of Her Hands

 "She considers a field, and buys it: with the fruit of her hands she plants a vineyard." Proverbs 31:16

 

So far we've learned that the Proverbs 31 woman makes her marriage a priority, is eager to work, spends time making meals for her family, and now we learn that she is also thoughtful about purchases and finances.

This scripture states that the Proverbs 31 woman would consider or think hard about her purchase before buying it.  I know we are probably not buying fields, but think about what you are in charge of purchasing for your family.  Household supplies?  Groceries?  Gas?  Clothes?  How much do we consider or think about these purchases before we make them?  Are we good stewards of the financial blessings we've been given?  Or are we making rash purchases?  Do our husbands tremble in fear when we go shopping, or do they give us their blessing knowing we will make good choices in our purchases?

The second part of this verse states that out of our earnings we will plant a vineyard.  How do we have earnings?  This may look different in each family.  For some women, it may be an income from a job or work at home opportunity and they are getting their earnings this way.  Some women spend time looking for ways to save money for their families.  This would be considered their earnings.  However the Proverbs 31 woman achieved her earnings, after careful consideration, she invested it into what will create more income for her family {planting a vineyard}. 

This week lets think about our family's finances and our shopping habits.  What area can we improve upon?  Can you use your gifts and talents to provide a small income for your family?  Can you spend more time coming up with creative ways to save money for your family?  Our husband will have full confidence in us {vs. 11} and our spending habits!

 Blessings,

Homestead For Him now has a Facebook page.  Like what you see here, won't you like my page?!  Click the like button on the sidebar or go HERE!!

Judging Other Moms

I remember the day hubby and I got married.  While we had our pictures taken, some of our family members were waiting in the sanctuary of the church.   As we stood smiling for the camera and eagerly anticipating our new life together, our nephews were running through the church.  Yep, running.  Like crazy monkeys!  They were 2 and 3.  I remember looking up into my new hubby's loving eyes and saying...

 "Our kids will NEVER act like that!"

Fast forward a few years and we were in the trenches of parenthood.  And you guessed it...our kids were now the crazy monkeys!  You know, the ones running up and down the isle at the grocery store. 

I shamefully admit that over the years I've been judging other moms.  When you don't know what is going on in their lives, it is so easy to pass judgement on them.   I would look at that mom at the checkout in the grocery store.  I would see her child throwing a fit and I would think..."that mom clearly needs to discipline her child".    Or I would see the child who gets everything she wants, the best clothes, toys, and gadgets and I would think she's just spoiled.

I've found a new way of looking at other moms.  Our autistic son gave me a new lens to see through.  You see, when I look at those moms~whether in the grocery store, the park, or even church~I really don't know what is going on in their lives.  What I see as a child throwing a tantrum because he can't have a piece of candy may really be a child with sensory issues who can't control his emotions with all the sights, sounds and smells going on around him.   And an exhausted mom who knew this outing would cause distress, but had no choice but to take him along.

We don't know that daddy just left that family to fight for our freedom.  We don't know that mom is struggling with self confidence and has no support system.  We don't know that grandma has moved in because it is no longer safe for her to be alone.  We don't know that a family is on the brink of financial ruin.   In my case, no one knew that my son was struggling with extreme behavior issues because of his autism and that it was creating chaos in our entire family.  I felt confused, hurt, angry, and alone.  Many times it was because someone has passed judgment on my parenting and I felt I had no where to turn.

We moms go through so many emotions each day, and we don't need to be passing misplaced judgment on each other.  When I see a mom in a situation where I would have passed judgment, I now start praying for that mom.  Yes, in the grocery store, park, church, or wherever.  God knows their situation and can get them through it. 

Judging other moms won't do that!

Blessings,


Homestead For Him now has a Facebook page.  Like what you see here, won't you like my page?!  Click the like button on the sidebar or go HERE!!

Most Read Posts of 2013

As we head into the new year and reflect on the previous year, I wanted to share ten of the most read blog posts of 2013.

This post was originally from 6/2011 and just reposted last month, but my recipe for Easy Bacon and Cheese Quiche was popular this year.  A lot of you were looking for an easy and yummy idea!!

Apparently many of you can relate to How Our Life is "Normally" Crazy as this was a most read post of 2013!!

 

Interested on Saving Money When You are on Vacation and Eating out?  Many found my tips helpful to have a frugal vacation!

 

Letting Your Husband Lead became a hot topic for many of us!  How are we doing in this area?

Many of us were also looking at our marriages, and 8 Ways to Bless Your Husband had some helpful information.

 

While I also wrote this post on Making Your Own Fabric Softener in 2012, it was also clicked on many times this past year!

 

You found My Transition from Pants To Skirts interesting and I was blessed by how many of you were considering the same things.





My Stockpile Challenge encouraged many of you to start the same thing.

 

How Our Christmas Is Free shows that with a little effort, you can get Christmas gifts for free.  Now would be a good time to start some of these ideas and see just what you can get for free this year!

 

My series on the Proverbs 31 Woman had us thinking each week about how we can become better wives and mothers.  I'll be starting this up again soon!

And the number one most read post continues to be Why I Wear Skirts.  Whether your just curious, or thinking about the same thing, this post explains my heart as the reason for why I wear skirts.



I have lots of ideas for my blog for the new year, and thank you for joining me along this journey!

 

Blessings,

Homestead For Him now has a Facebook page.  Like what you see here, won't you like my page?!  Click the like button on the sidebar or go HERE!!