herbalscents

nothing makes it better like your two year old crawling into your lap and saying “Mama, I love you too much.”

I’ve never been a decorator. My mother isn’t either…nor is my grandma. So, it isn’t something I learned growing up, and it most certainly doesn’t come naturally.  When I first read about decorating with scripture, I loved the idea, but passed it off as something I would never be able to pull off.

God has me leading the Tuesday Night Women’s Bible Study.  We have studied Obadiah and currently are studying Joel.  Each week we have a memory verse.  I can’t memorize anything unless I see it a gazillion times over and over.  So, I made cards for myself and the other ladies in my group, and I figured while I was at it, I should try to make them cute.  These I stuck on the wall above my desk.

Then I started paying attention to other things I have done. Christians in China have a special place in my heart. This says “Remember those in bonds as though you are bound with them. Hebrews 13:3″ It’s actually one of my favourite wall scrolls.

I then mentioned to my mother in law that I was trying to learn to decorate, and to do alot with scripture. So she gave me this in reference to 1 Cor. 13:13

In the same spirit of my memory verse cards, I made some larger cards, and framed them.

(Psalm 127)

(Philippians 4:8)

And I have to admit, Christmas has gotten me in the mood for thinking about the names of God.

Turns out that this was something that I can do. And it is extremely refreshing to see God’s word through out my day all over the house.

I’ve been doing a lot of thinking lately, and I have come to realize that I have not been the best helpmeet to mu husband.  He has been going through a difficult season at work — which has caused him to have to spend extra hours at work, and instead of working to make our home a place of refuge where he can relax, I began to resent his job for it.  But I cant take my frustrations out on a position, so he got the brunt of it.

This is not what I was called to do.  I was called to be a help to my husband, not to be a contentious wife that makes him feel like he has to find a housetop corner for retreat (Proverbs 21:9)

As I was writing this post, it occurred to me, why was I writing a blog post about failing to be a good helpmeet when I was fully aware of three things?

1. Bryan really likes to have breakfast
2. The entire family woke up late and Bryan was late for work
3. Bryan went to work hungry

His office is less than 1.5 miles away…Why didn’t I just get up, make him breakfast and take it to him?  So I did precisely that.

(the grapes were Rachael’s idea)

An egg sandwich isn’t much, but it’s a start.  So, I have now taken my first step to trying again to be the helpmeet God designed me to be.

This post is linked up with

I started trying to potty train my daughter when she was 16 months old. For some reason she wouldnt go in the potty, but she started potty training her doll. Then I had my son when she was 20 months. So we stopped for a while. I figured she needed to get used to the baby, and that was more important.
We started potty training again shortly after her second birthday. We did the timer until we acctually caught a “pee-pee” and something clicked and she has peed in the potty ever sense. We did the same thing for bowel movements, and she had woken up with a dry diaper every morning since she was about 14 months, so she was completely potty trained at 25 months…or so I thought.

Then, one day, I told her she couldn’t do something and she got mad and pooped herself (something she still does if she’s sufficiently mad at me). I hasnt realized that the “mad at mommy, and messing self” were related yet and thought it was an accident. So I said “uh oh! you had an accident, lets get you cleaned up.” That one time was all she needed to regress entirely. I tried everything I could think of, the timer again, sticker rewards, getting in trouble, making her rinse out her training pants…nothing seemed to help. The only time she was potty trained was at night. I had to move the carpet shampooer into the bedroom closet because I was using it every day — sometimes several times a day. Then, two weeks ago, I was eating some homemade chocolate and she walked up to me and said “mama, I want chocolate, please chocolate?” I looked at her, and had an idea. “No. Edward poopoos in his diaper because he is a baby. Babies can’t have chocolate, they are too little. You poopoo in your panties, you must be a baby, so you can’t have chocolate. Only big girls who poopoo in the potty can have chocolate.” She glared at me and melted to a flood of tears. I stepped over her feeling somewhat like a meanie. The next day, we had no misses.  Every time she has a bowel movement she gets 5 chocolate chips, if she misses, she forfeits all chocolate chips for the rest of the day, and we’ll try again tomorrow.  In the last two weeks, we’ve only had 1 miss — because she was mad at me.  So, it took us until she was 32 months, and a bribe, but finally I think we are making some progress.

This post is part of a link up with I originally somehow manage to link the wrong post, if you got directed to the birthday post, I’m really sorry!  I got into a disagreement with the linky tool and didn’t realize it.

I went on a cleaning marathon last week.  I was a bad Mommy and baby gated my children in their room with a few toys while I cleaned.  I felt bad about not having them with me.  I am their Mama, little kids NEED their Mama.  At the same time, I think I have to be honest.  Even thought my house wasn’t as dirty as my brain said it was, there also were lots and lots of little things laying around that are dangerous to a baby that puts everything he can touch in his mouth.  I started to get concerned when I started find rocks in his diaper…and then he was sucking on a stray straight pin.  (scared me silly)

So, I can now honestly say that my house is clean.  I have vanquished the rocks and the straight pins…and I was exhausted.  After I finished cleaning, I was sitting in the kids room just being with them.  Then Rachael announced she was hungry.  Since our main meal of the day is at lunch time, I just made her a peanut butter sandwich.,..which she denounced as not nearly enough food.  After staring in my pantry for a while, I decided that I had nothing that could be assembled into a meal quickly and easily.  So, we went to the store for some macaroni and cheese — something that required almost no brain function.  While we were there, I decided I should toss in some broccoli so I could at there was at least some nutrition in it.  When we got home, i started the water for the pasta, and sautéed the broccoli with some onion.  Once the pasta was done, I tossed the broccoli and onion in with the macaroni and cheese.  It ended up being a huge hit.  Rachael ate quite a bit more than I expected and my husband devoured what was left when he got home.

This last I was following the Compassion Blogging Though the Philippines.  It made me want to sponsor another child.  I really wish I could help them all.   But I cant, and we are already sponsoring children though Gospel For Asia’s Bride of Hope.  I got a letter from one of them today,   Sabdhan is 13.  He lives in India, and enjoys playing cricket and drawing.  He was 6 when tsunami of 2004 hit.  He was lucky, no one in his immediate family died.

Sabdhan wrote me extensively about how happy he was.  His family had been so blessed by BOH’s generosity.  They had given him a towel.  He went on to expound how useful it was.

As I read, I tried to imagine being that happy over a towel.   Off the top of my head, I have probably close to 2.5 dozen bath and hand towels.  Not to mention a drawer stuffed full of dish towels.  And I never once thought of them as a blessing.

I am so glad that I have been able to make a difference in his life.  And that through Bridge of Hope, he gets to hear the gospel.

We had an exceptionally warm winter 2010-2011.   I spent most of it wearing short sleeves and no jacket.  Then February came with the Goundhog’s Day Blizzard.  When we woke up Wednesday morning, there was about a foot of snow, and it was -15 outside.  (To put that in perspective, I’ve lived within 200 miles of my current residence since I was 6, the coldest I remember it ever getting was 4.  Normal winter weather is in the high teens, low twenties at night.)

Spring came, the trees budded (strangely the peach trees didn’t blossom…no one’s did) the grape vines were slow to get going, but eventually they did as well.  Everything did except my knee high pomegranate tree.  When it was still looking like a dead stick in May, we declared it a lost cause.  I was upset, I’ve wanted a pomegranate since I was little.  When saw it at Wal Mart last year, I was thrilled.  Bryan promised me that when we see one again, he’ll get it for me.  I’ve been passively looking for one for over a month.  I havent seen any.

I’ve had a bad week.  The mortgage company messed up the escrow, and had to increase our bill.  Edward is teething and is an inconsolable super grump about it.  Rachael has been whiny, pesty and decided that she no longer believes in being potty trained.  Im behind on housework, laundry, and just about everything in between.  So, in trying to catch up, I was out hanging 2 loads of laundry today.  Out of the corner of my eye, I saw something green.  “green?  the only thing over there is a dead tree”

God reminded me that He’s in control of everything.  My life, my children’s lives, and…my “dead” tree.

I had great ambitions…and I didnt even make it the first week. A cold was going around. All 4 of us got it at one point. Then we were busy on our homestead. Then we got a new stove, and in taking out the old one, discovered that there was some necessary floor repair to be done. Everything all at once, doesnt leave much time for blogging…or doing anything more than the bare minimum. So, I’m a bit behind. But that’s ok, I’m going to jump back in at Day 16 with everyone else.

Bryan and I were talking the other day about the house being so messy.  It helped me to realize that my expectations are completely haywire.   I am expecting perfection, all the time.  And reality says that I cant have the magazine house.  People, including a toddler and a baby, acctually live here.   Spotless isnt going to happen anytime soon.   An all or nothing approach just isn’t going to cut it.

That said, cleaner that what it is currently is definitely possible.  And probably would happen if I would learn to be on the computer less.  It is a time eater.

I discovered that since I have a two year old that can open the fridge door by herself….perhaps I should clean the fridge more often…

Planning a mission statement was really hard for me.  When I first thought about “why do I want a clean home?”, my answer was, “to justify my staying home — after all it IS my job.”  Well, no wonder my heart isn’t in it!  A reason based of a justification has “drudgery” written all over it.

So, I played mean mommy and told my sick toddler that I wasn’t going to read her any more stories until she had taken a nap.  (we are on chapter 6 of Little House in the Big Woods)  And after I coersed her into going to sleep, I curled up to think about “why”.

I want to glorify God in everything I do. 1 Cor. 10:31 says “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”  And I’m pretty sure that cleaning my house falls into everything.  But…how?  Well, as I have young children (7 months and 2 years, 3 months) I need a clean house to keep them safe.  Especially now that Edward’s getting older, and more mobile.  I am less stressed, and thus a better mommy and wife.   And, with a clean house, I can have guests over and actually have them be comfortable in their visit.