Struggling...UGGHHH!!!!

So this is what I am struggling with, here we go....I became a Christian at the age of 17. I always loved learning and I loved school. It always gave me something to look forward to. The thing I hated about school was the cliques and the peer pressure, which I succumbed to quite often. I did attend a public school and most of my friends were Christians and that is how I become one. I wanted want they had. But I swore that my children would never have to deal with the cliques and bullying. When I met my hubby, I told him the two things I wanted in the world was to be a SAHM and to homeschool my kids. My oldest daughter had developmental delays and the special ed preschool wanted her to go to Kindergarten 1hr and half away. I refused and decided to homeschool her in Kindergarten. Let's just say it didn't work out. I have a TYPE A personality and she has the whatever attitude. She is very smart , but doesn't like school work at all. So I sent her and my son to school. The Lord has been dealing with me, about homeschooling. This will be my children's 3rd year at public school. I worked at the school last year and it was horrible. The school kids were so disrespectful. The kids and teachers bullied each other. I feel if I would homeschool they would miss out on so much. But the thought of sending them to school this year makes me sick. Not sure what to do...I just want answers.

Completing him Challenge #7

My Husband's Vision

So this week on www.womenlivingwell.org ,this week's challenge is to ask our husband what his vision is for the future. 1 year,5 years or even 10 years from now. My husband's vision is to be COMPLETELY debt free in 6 years...that even includes the mortgage. So I need to help him with this..not by working outside the home, but to make sure that I purchase things for my family that stay within the budget. We downsized our home 4 years ago. We now live in a 1100 sq ft home (there is five of us). We took out a 15 year loan on this home. That means that we can't go to fancy vacations, so Disney world will have to wait. It means that I drive a 2000 dodge caravan. I can't always go out when my friends want to or buy things for my children they want. Am I complaining?...no. I know that he wants out of debt so we can enjoy life and travel later on. He works 60 hours a week to make this vision a reality. I have learned to submit to my husband's vision...Yes I said the bad "S" word. Actually submitting can be a wonderful thing. Knowing that my husband's vision , is also the will of God, makes me know that things are worth waiting for.

Completing him challenge week #6

The Way To A Man's Heart is Through His Stomach.

Wow..I can't believe we are on week #6 today. It's funny..I didn't even know what this topic was and I already had planned to make my hubby's favorite dinner tonight. The challenge this week is to make your husband's favorite dinner with dessert and his favorite drink. My husbands favorite dinner is a BIG Crock pot full of rice pudding. I know what you are thinking...Rice Pudding is NOT a dinner. But when he was growing up , his mother would make just a big stockpot full and that would be their dinner. And he begs for it all the time. I'm not so much a fan..but I make it and eat it to please him. So I already had it in the crock pot this morning before I even read this challenge. Also his favorite dessert is no-bake peanut butter/choc oatmeal cookies. And while he was working last night, I made him a big batch. Wow God knew this challenge before I even did! So my hubby favorite drink...coffee!!! My husband works night shift..so when he wakes up here around 3pm. I always have a pot of coffee waiting. I love to spoil my hubby. I enjoy so much cooking for him. I plan on blogging this week about problems in marriage. I see so many of my friends marriages ending in separation or divorce.  Just at this very moment I have 3 friends going through this. It breaks my heart. But I also know that my God can restore anything. Have a great week and may you keep your hubby's belly full!

My New Favorite Place!

So this is the deck my hubby worked so hard on for about a month. You have to understand.,he works almost 60 hours a week and for the past 4 weeks every free moment he got, he worked on it. So here are the pics. I love coming out here for mommy-time...sometimes when I need a five-minute timeout , I come out here to regroup. I am hoping that when my children chose (someday) to sleep in, I can enjoy some quiet time and coffee out here.

Homemade Laundry Detergent

I thought I would post the recipe for homemade laundry detergent. I have been using it for about a year and love it. And I also love the money its saves!

• 4 cups of water.


• 1/2 bar of cheap soap, grated.I use Fals Neptha..some also use Ivory soap

• 1 cup washing soda (not baking soda).

• 1 cup of Borax (20 Mule Team).

• 5-gallon bucket for mixing.

• 3 gallons of water.



First, mix the grated soap in a saucepan with 4 cups of water, and heat on low until the soap is completely dissolved. Add hot water/soap mixture to 3 gallons of water in the 5-gallon bucket, stir in the washing soda and Borax, and continue stirring until thickened. Let the mix sit for 24 hours, and voila! Homemade laundry detergent.



Of course, who'd post a recipe without trying it out first? I made and washed several loads of clothes with the homemade detergent. And I, like many before me who've traveled this road, couldn't tell the difference between store-bought and homemade.



Total cost per load? In the neighborhood of 2 cents. Store-bought detergent, depending on what you buy and where you buy it, can cost about 20 cents per load -- 10 times more.

Marriage Challenge week #5- Priorities

     This week's challenge is to ask our hubby about the top 5 priorities that he feels is most important. First of all if you are wondering where this marriage challenge came from here is the website. http://www.womenlivingwell.org/ . Feel free to jump in and start anytime. It will be such a blessing to you as well as to your marriage. I know I have been discovering how much our marriage means to us and to God.

        So you may be wondering why we need to ask him about what are his priorities and what is most important to him. Such as...a clean house, clean laundry, making his lunch for work, taking care of the finances or sex. My husband once told one of his friends, "If my wife ain't happy...nobody is".. I had to laugh and though that can be true at times. I think "If the husband ain't happy...neither will the wife or kids". You may be wondering why I would say that. Well it says in God's word, that the husband should be head of the house. Did you ever work for a boss who was horrible and never happy?  I have and it leaves the employees drained and with no motivation. Well the boss is head of  the company..just has a husband is head of the house. So our goals should be to make our husbands happy so that the house runs smoothly (most of the time LOL) and in turn our house will be pleasant to live in and for others to visit. I know one of the things my husband loves is when I pack his lunch for work. He tells me that he loves what I give him and the ideas I come up with ,when he does it himself it's just not the same. So ask your hubby what top 5 things make him happy that you do and do them JOYFULLY!! You'll be glad you did.

Marriage Challenge week#4- admiring my husband

So the challenge this week is to admire my husband. So today's blog is about him and only him and the 10 ten reasons why I love him. (I wish I was as witty as David Letterman when his does his top 10 on his show , but don't get your hopes up..being spontaneously funny is not a strong suit for me LOL)

10. His Determination: he will finish something no matter how he feels, for his family. For example, my husband works the night shift. He would come home and sleep 4-5 hours and then get up to work on our new deck and then go to work. I would tell him not to worry about it and he said that he wanted to get the deck done so I could enjoy it.

9. He's Loyalty: He would do anything for his family no matter the cost to him.

8. He's trustworthy: I trust my husband no matter what. When there are women out there who tell me that they don't trust their husbands, I honestly can say that I trust him 100%...there is never any fear that he would cheat on me or leave me. I know that I know..ya know? (okay that was kinda witty HA HA)

7.His Love for me: He loves me unconditionally. When I run into his friends from work, they always say..."Your husband talks about you all the time..He loves you so much..Your lucky" I know I am:)

6. His love for his children: He loves to be with his kids..for example,the last 3 years he missed July 4th because he had to work, but this year..he took off to be with his family so we could enjoy the festivities together. (Despite missing the holiday pay, he said that he didn't care)

5.His sense of humor: If you know my husband, he actually is a very serious guy. But when I am feeling down or just having a bad day , he is always there to lift me up.

4. He is a great provider: my husband works in a distribution center ...he loves warehousing work and actually went to technical school for it. He works where there is no air-conditioning and in a very fast pace environment. He works 12 hour night shift, shifts. And he does it so I can stay home to be with my children.

3. His selflessness: He will make sure that everyone is happy before his own happiness. Like when he gets a "nice paycheck" he will always ask me if there is anything I want from it , when he could easily go off and spend it on his self. Though I tell him there is nothing I or the kids need..he usually ends up giving me a little something that I have been eyeing at the store. In our household there is no " since I work this is my money" He says it's God's money first and then OUR money.

2.He's a dream giver: You may be thinking what does that mean? Well when Rich and I were dating, I said that I wanting to be a stay-at-home mom more than anything. Now here I am with 3 kids and I'm a stay at home mom. He said he still remembers me saying that and that he would do anything to keep me home. I did go back to work for a few months for 3 hours a day to  work at my kids' school but I just didn't feel right. He said he wanted me to quit because things just ran smoother when I was home. So I did.

1.He's a Man of God: there is really nothing more to say about that...He just is:)...So there you have it the top 10 reasons why I admire my husband:)

To be modest or not to be...that is the question.

1 Timothy 2:9 ESV
Likewise also that women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire.

Okay so when I saw this I had to laugh....a barbie nun. I think that is the first time I saw this. Modesty. When I used to think of that word I would cringe..The above picture is exactly what I thought when I thought of modesty. Wearing long sleeves..showing NO skin. But that is not what it is. I decided to blog about this because I am seeing so many christian women dressing inappropriately. I'm not saying you can't wear shorts or tank tops but you know what I am talking about. Cleavage, daisy dukes , going bra less..you know you seen those women out and about. If you have to pull up your blouse every time you bend over, you shouldn't be wearing it. Regardless if you are married or not , you are a child of God. Men are visual humans. Yes it can be flattering to have a stranger give you that 'eye' or find you attractive. But what is that doing to your husband or future husband. There are certain areas of your body that you must keep for them. So as a Christian woman what are we to wear? Well that is when you must seek the counsel of God. I myself, choose not to wear a bikini, wear spaghetti strap tank tops, halter tops, short shorts. When it's hot you will find me in shorts that are inch above my knee or mostly Capris. Tank tops with me are fine, as long as I can wear a regular bra with it and it not show.  I wear summer dresses as long as they are fingertip length and they are high neckline in the front and the back. Remember we are supposed to be Christ-like, do you think that we could be ministers of the gospel wearing daisy duke with everything hanging out? Also we are mothers...we are supposed to be setting an example for our daughters. My daughter is almost 9 and I still pick out her clothes. She can wear what she wants but I have the final say and I will until she leaves my house. Mothers with sons..this also applies to you. You are setting the example of how a woman is supposed to dress who has a true relationship with God. If your son comes home with a girl wearing a tight outfit...what would your first impression be? I want my son to look at his future spouse for her love of God,not for her body. So as you put on your summer outfits this year...please remember to dress for the Lord. And leave the sexy outfits for the bedroom;)