Stitched In Prayer



Several years ago I started an Etsy shop named Stitched In Prayer.  It began as a way to bless families who lost a baby with memory blankets.  Each of the memory blankets were prayed over as I stitched them together and the name of my shop was born!



Baby girl blanket with super soft minky backing!



I found I LOVED creating rag quilts and baby blankets.  So I started the Etsy shop as a way to satisfy my love of fabric, a way to make a little money, and a reason to sew these blankets and rag quilts!

Crocheted baby boy blanket

I've added several new blankets and quilts to my shop.  I've also added several crocheted baby items.  I love any reason to create baby items!! ☺

Baby girl rag quilt with a finished binding.

Head over to Stitched In Prayer, my Etsy shop and take a look around!  I love to create custom orders also, so if you don't see exactly what you are looking for, let me know and I'll make something just for you!  My blankets and quilts are never duplicated~~just as no two babies are alike, neither are two blankets!  They really are ONE OF A KIND!!

Baby girl flannel rag quilt.

You can also "like" my Facebook page to keep up to date with specials, news, and lots of other fun stuff!!

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!!



Large Family Illness

 

For some of you the words Large Family and Illness together in a sentence may make you want to run screaming.  For those of us with a large family, it is a reality~~that makes us want to run screaming!!  This week our family had the stomach flu make a brief but very noticeable stop at our house.  While I promise no pictures of what we all looked like, here's how we dealt with the stomach bug.

 

• We have a "sick room"~usually our living room.  We line the floor with blankets or beach towels and the sickies stay in this room.  No healthy person is allowed in and no sick person is allowed out.  This is just easier than always running to bedrooms, trying to anticipate needs, or finding alternative beds for the healthy siblings who share a room with a sick one.
• We use buckets.  Yes, I know that means hubby or I have to empty and take care of them!  Little kids are just not good at making it to the bathroom in time and it is just easier to take care of a bucket than it is to clean carpet.  We save ice cream buckets and use them~~then throw them away when we are done.
• Nothing to eat or drink!  I know that may seem obvious, or it may sound strange since we want them to stay hydrated, but we also don't want them to continue vomiting.  We wait until their tummies can handle something, then very s.l.o.w.l.y add sips of water or 7Up.  If that stays down we add a few crackers, and then toast.
• We all pitch in.  This time around 5 of us went down within 8 hours~~including myself.  Poor hubby {who stayed healthy!} was the one taking care of everyone!
• Disinfect, Disinfect, and then Disinfect!!  I am not usually a germ freak, but when the flu is in the house, I can't seem to get the Clorox wipes or Lysol out fast enough!
• Give thanks for the fact that the stomach bug usually departs as quickly as it entered our lives!!

Dealing with illness is something we all have to deal with.  Having a large family just makes it seem worse.  We've learned what works for our family and even though it is never welcomed we know sooner or later bugs show up and we'll have to deal with them!

 

Have a healthy weekend!!

 

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!!

Happy {Blessed} New Year!

Hello again, Friends!

It's been a while....a long while!  If you've hung in there waiting for me, I so appreciate you!  I have been re~focusing on my family and trying to be the best wife and mom I can.  But I have missed the blogging.

So with a new year comes new priorities and new perspectives.  I have a lot of posts and projects spinning around in my head and I hope to share them with you this year.  I hope you will stick around and see what is to come!

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!!

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,


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!!

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!!

 

Simple and Delicious:Easy Bacon and Cheese Quiche

I'm taking the rest of the year off to spend the Christmas holiday with my family.  This post is part of my "best of 2013" series.  This recipe would make a perfect Christmas morning breakfast!!  Have a Merry Christmas!

I make this egg quiche for supper quite often.  It is so simple and you can mix it up by adding different cheeses or using ham or sausage instead of the bacon.  When I make it, I double the recipe and make 2 quiche's to feed our family. {I think I could start tripling it since my boys have such hearty appetites!}  The original recipe came from Nancy at Homemade Blessings.  I recently made it with a little bit of "help" from my favorite helper!  Here's the recipe....

1/4 - 1/2 pound bacon~cooked and crumbled
1/2 cup onion
5 oz shredded colby-jack cheese
3 oz shredded parmesan cheese
9" deep dish pie crust
4 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup half and half

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Add cheeses, onion and bacon to the pie crust (I use a refrigerated ready-made pie crust).

Mix eggs and half and half.(I also add some pepper)

 

Pour egg mixture over cheese mixture.

Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes.  Reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake an additional 35 minutes.

Enjoy!!

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!!


This post originally posted on 6/22/2011.

Frugal Living~Saving Money

I'm taking the rest of the year off to spend the Christmas holiday with my family.  This post is part of my "best of 2013" series.  Have a Merry Christmas!

source~google

Since I became a stay~at~home mom 6 years ago, I've found a few ways to save a few dollars here and there.  My thinking is even if it only saves me a few dollars a month, it adds up to a lot of money over time.  Hubby brings home the paycheck and I find it my job to get creative sometimes to make it stretch.  I'm not complaining about this role, as I desire to be a good steward of what God has blessed us with.  Here's a few things we've done to save money.

Get rid of the cable/satellite dish.  We actually did this before I quit working, and we really don't miss it at all.  We never really watched much TV, so it was actually quite a relief to get rid of this bill.  With the exception of missing NASCAR (our 14 year old loves racing) and a few holiday movies at Christmas time cutting the dish was one of the best things we did for our family.  We still have movie night every Friday which leads me to the next tip....

Use the library.  We get movies for our family night from them.  Our library is part of a group in Wisconsin so if our local library doesn't have a movie we want to watch, we can place a hold on it and it will come from whatever library it is at.  We get lots of books each week, and we also get magazines and music CD's.  Free entertainment!

Save gas by making fewer trips.  I will admit this is an area I am still working on.  Try to do your running on only one day per week.  Get your banking, errands, shopping, library, etc. all in one morning or afternoon.  It will not only save you gas (for our big van this equals big savings sometimes!) but saves you time also!

Stay out of the stores!  When I just run in for eggs or milk, I inevitably find something on sale I just need to buy.  This does NOT save me money!  I am doing once~a~month shopping right now to help in this area.

Go down to one vehicle.  Ouch....did I really just say that?  We have two vehicles, but going down to one is something we've discussed.  I'm still praying that this could happen in the future.  I know this wouldn't work for everyone, but for many (including us!) it could happen with a little creativity.

Get rid of or seriously cut down on cell phones.  Again, did I really say that?  In a world of smart phones and i~everything, we opt out of this.  We have a tracfone that we add minutes to every three months.  We use the cheapest minutes we can.  We use this cell phone for our long distance calls (we don't have a long distance plan on our home phone~another way to save money!), and the few times we need to call someone when we are out.  I am astonished at the prices some people pay for their cell phone service~and the fancy phones.

Think outside the box!  We get our milk, eggs, and butter from a convenience store here in town because they are cheaper than the grocery stores.  We also use dollar stores for some items we know are cheaper there.  I don't care if things are brand name or generic as long as I know they are good!

What are some things you are doing to save money?

Blessings,

Christmas 2013

I LOVE Christmas.  I may have told you that a time or two!  I love the baking, carols, decorating, time spent with family, reading the Christmas story, church services, and they way people just seem to treat everyone better during this time of year.  I love Christmas!

I had lots of Christmas posts planned for my blog this Christmas.  I had posts started, and I had posts swimming around my head just waiting to write them down.  But instead of writing them down, I've spent the past week or so enjoying my family.

You see, it didn't make sense to me to spend time writing ways to enjoy your family, then neglect mine because I was spending that time on my blog.  While I love that I have readers and followers on my blog, my family comes first.

We have cookies to bake, widowed family and friends that we deliver those baked goodies to, a family Christmas Eve service to prepare for {Thanks to Amy at Raising Arrows for this wonderful resource}, family and work parties, caroling, traditions to follow and memories to make with our kids.  We slow down on homeschooling this week, and then take off until after the new year.  I just want to slow down and enjoy the Christmas season and focus on the reason for this season.

For the rest of the year, I will be posting a sort~of "best of 2013" series.  These are the posts that have been the most popular this year.  Forgive me if you've read them already. 

Join me this Christmas while we just enjoy our families and focus on the little babe born so long ago. 

I pray you will enjoy your families and your Christmas holiday.

From our home to yours,

Have a Blessed Christmas!

 

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!!



Winner Of Homestead Blessings~The Art Of Breadmaking

The winner of the Homestead Blessings~The Art of Breadmaking DVD is.......

Jamie H.

Congratulations, Jamie!

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!!

Black Friday Sale At Lilla Rose!

 

Lilla Rose is having a HUGE Black Friday Sale!!  For two days only, November 29 and 30, you'll receive 20% off ALL ITEMS!! 

 

PLUS.....

 

25-50% off select products!!!

 

AND.....

 

FREE SHIPPING on all orders over $50!

 

This sale is only November 29 and 30, so head over to Lilla Rose and start your holiday shopping!  Lilla Rose hair clips make a great gift!  Start shopping for mom and sisters, then don't forget your nieces, babysitters, piano teachers, or Sunday school teachers.  When you've checked those off your list, start shopping for yourself!! 

 

 

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!!