hee, hee.

Michael: "So, Aaron, how did it go today with your friends?"
Aaron: "It got a little dicey."

WHAT?! Where on earth did he hear that?!! And, it actually DID get a little dicey, making it even more hilarious!

Works of God Monday

I am praising the Lord for His steadfast love and His truly amazing grace. I am learning so much through my kiddos - especially Aaron, whose curiosity, questions, experimentation, tantrums, moments of genius, waffling back and forth between obedience and disobedience, "forgetfulness" and insightfulness have my head spinning.

Today, especially, I am praying for wisdom and hanging on tight. I know that before I know it, he and Evan will be gone and I will miss these crazy days. I am praying that God will guide me in my guidance of my boys. I'm so grateful that God has given me the opportunity to be a mom!

We had a fantastic Thanksgiving, a great time with family! Really, really happy that my Uncle Gary was able to make the drive down from Northern MI - we hadn't seen him in far too long. Here is a great picture of my grandma and all her kids. It was a very, very good day. I was also able to spend tons of time with my parents this weekend - mom came over all day Wednesday, they were here for Thanksgiving, and then we went out shopping on Friday. Saturday, I took the boys over while Michael worked on a few projects. More on that tomorrow...

So, what is God doing in your life, your family? How is He at work in your heart? Let's praise God together for all He has done and who He is!

"Therefore encourage one another and build one another up..." 1 Thess. 5:11

In the Mister Linky widget below, simply type your name in the top box, or a short description of the work that God has done, and then in the second box, paste the link from your specific "Works of God Monday" post. If you don't have a blog, use the comment section! Feel free to use the image from the top of this post if you like.

Giveaway Winner!

And the winner is...Shelley, who guessed $19.99 - the correct total is

$22.79

Which works out to 180 loads of laundry and 196 diaper changes. I'll be doing 180 loads of laundry at around 5 cents a load and the diapers are 7 cents each. Pretty great - although SOME of you had guesses that I would have liked EVEN MORE!

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

What was I saying about extras? (and a giveaway!)

Last night after Michael came home and the kiddos were in bed, I took a trip to Rite Aid and Meijer. I got a fabulous deal on these diapers and the laundry soap, and I also picked up a few freebie items. Let me here say that it was a good idea to go it alone - I had to run each bottle of detergent through as a separate transaction and my coupon scanner was having issues, so...it took me 20 minutes to buy 9 items. What? Good thing there was no one behind me in the self-check lane.

There are 6 bottles of detergent here, the Clorox Greenworks brand, 30 load size, normally 9.99 (which I would never pay!) and 2 boxes of size 3 Pampers, 100 count. (ok, one is 96 count) I am so thankful to God for providing this spectacular deal on diapers. Cheaper than washing my cloth ones, and plenty to give away, since I already have 2 identical boxes in Evan's closet waiting to be used. Hurray!

Makes me laugh: the detergent bottles. "95% Natural" uh, okay, why advertise? I've been using Seventh Generation Blue Eucalyptus & Lavender detergent, which I love, LOVE and buy through a co-op for a better price, but there is no WAY I could pass up this deal. Praise God for His provisions!

Now, may the guessing begin! The person to guess the closest to the correct total spent on 6 bottles of detergent and 2 boxes of diapers, including tax, will get a prize in the mail that will include a coupon for a free box of organic fruitabu stretch island smooshed fruit product (like fruit leather) and some surprises, custom-chosen depending on the winner. Guessing ends at midnight tonight (EST).

Totally off-topic, I am having a Black Friday Pampered Chef sale this year. If you have not been receiving my sorta-monthly "Pampered Chef News" emails and would LIKE to be on my email list, send me an email with your email address and watch your email for the details of this sale. Hint: it will NOT get better than this, ever.

Works of God Monday

Happy Monday - it's been a jam-packed day, so sorry I haven't had a chance to post WOGM yet! I'm so happy that God continues to allow me to see HIM at work. Here are some of the things I'm thankful for this week. It's Thanksgiving, so I'm making a list of ten. Join me??

1. Jesus' sacrifice on the cross for me - making a personal relationship with Him possible. And then His grace extended to let me watch Him at work and be a part of it. Amazing. Awesome.

2. A fabulous husband, just perfect for me, with whom I am still madly in love (for almost 6 years of marriage!!) and having tons of fun. LOVE HIM!

3. Michael's job, in construction, with plenty (and overtime - bonus!) hours. This is definitely a work of God.

4. A safe, warm, (becoming more beautiful - bonus!!) home.

5. Healthy children.

6. A godly heritage and fabulous family on both sides. We are SO BLESSED.

7. Clean water.

8. Godly friends.

9. Plenty to eat.

10. Extra everything! And freebies!

So what are you thankful for today? It can be one or ten things, or more! Would you consider posting and linking here? Let's praise God together for all He has done and who He is!

"Therefore encourage one another and build one another up..." 1 Thess. 5:11

In the Mister Linky widget below, simply type your name in the top box, or a short description of the work that God has done, and then in the second box, paste the link from your specific "Works of God Monday" post. If you don't have a blog, use the comment section! Feel free to use the image from the top of this post if you like.

I feel your pain, Mr. Potato Head.

Aaron came up with this

new look for Mr. Potato Head

all on his own.

The teeth for a nose are painful enough,

but the feet in the mouth?

I can totally identify.


BTW, as an update, it's so fun to watch Aaron growing up. He turned 3 in August, which means he's 39-and-a-half months, and he's getting more interested in actual creative endeavors to do by himself like Mr. Potato Head and his jumbo Lego set. I'm sure his play will continue to be imaginative. He's so much fun.

Homemade Fruity Stevia Drinks

OK, so I love the Vitamin Water 10 and the Sobe Lifewater drinks that are fruity and delicious and all natural. It's nice to know that when I'm out and about there are options besides paying for water or drinking soda! However, I only drink them occasionally because

1) water really is better for me

and

2) the drinks cost BIG MONEY

Since we got back from Colorado, our tap water has been tasting weird to me. Or maybe it's the dishwasher leaving strange odors in our cups. At any rate, I experimented, and here's what I came up with for an at-home treat.

2 cups 100% juice (I have used only the Juicy Juice so far - more exotic flavor blends, ha ha)
6 cups water
4-5 packets Stevia in the Raw (and if you haven't tried stevia as a natural sugar substitute, you need to!)

Mix well (I use my brand new QuickStir pitcher from Pampered Chef, wahoo!) and chill. Add juice or stevia until the blend is right for you. It's no Sobe, but it's flavorful and a nice, healthier alternative beverage. Of course, water is always the very best option.

Nutrition Facts per 8oz:
30 cal, 6.5g sugar, 30% of your daily vitamin C and trace other vitamins.

patching pants

I wasn't really taught how to patch things. Not because of any fault of my mother. She taught me what she knew about patching, but mostly it was for items to be used gently.

My husband works outside, and he works hard. He works with sharp things, and he works on his knees. A lot. He has lots of work pants, but recently I noticed that ALL pairs of pants had holes somewhere. I had tried to patch the knees of his pants before with those iron on patches and some zigzag stitches, but what might work for occasional-wear patches did NOT work on his oft-used pants. But I didn't know any other way to do it, so he wore holey pants. No big deal in the summer.

Then, while I was in Colorado, I noticed my sister in law patching one of my nephew's pants, on the outside. DUH, I thought. I could do that, too.






So here's what I did.

First, stacked up all 5 pairs that needed help. 3 grey, 1 green, 1 denim. Then, I found some pants that were beyond, way beyond repair and used those as my patching material. The patching material was thinner than the work pants, so I made a double layer. Then I went ahead and pinned the patch in place, covering way more than the ripped area.



May I here recommend leather-weight needles? I broke two #16's before I had that bright idea. Anyway, I started to sew the patch. I used the largest zigzag with a stitch length of 2, and then I went around the whole thing with a straight stitch to reinforce further.

PS - I love my sewing machine! It's a Riccar that mom bought for me at a garage sale! YAY!


I then turned the whole thing inside out and this is what I saw. Now some of the pairs were more unsightly than this, what with my attempted patch jobs and multiple lines of stitches overtop of an iron on patch - that mess would have irritated the knees. And goodness knows I do not want my husband to have irritated knees.




So, I got out my trusty sewing scissors - Gingers, thank you Mrs. Behn - they are still the best graduation gift ever!! and carefully cut around the edges of my patch, leaving a bit of pant left but cutting away most of the excess.


Until the finished product looked like this on the inside:


Now, one pair of pants took me less than 30 minutes to do from start to finish. I say much less stress than schlepping myself and two maybe-cranky children over to the Salvation Army (because I am not paying full price for pants that will get paint, tar, mortar and all manners of ickiness all over them) and hoping they have pants in the right size with no pleats and the right kind of pockets and loops for my hunky construction worker husband.


Not to mention, this used up an old pair of pants that wasn't good for anything else, and extended the life expectancy of 5 pairs of work pants. For free(ish - I did break 2 needles, after all). So this is my homecky moment for last week. And I'm relieved that my mending pile has drastically decreased. Michael is relieved that he has pants to wear to work that won't freeze his knees. And so we're all a bit happier.

Works of God Monday

We've had some interesting things going on here, I'm not going to lie - it has been hard. But no matter what happens, GOD IS GOOD - all the time. And He is always at work. I wanted to share this last week, but time got away from me, and it never happened.

Last Sunday, and all of last week, we had the Herbsters here for evangelistic meetings. We did not make it to a whole lot of the meetings for a variety of reasons, but on Sunday morning, they sang "All of These" which has been a favorite of mine ever since I first heard it sung by two of my all time favorite people - the Habings. (That's Deb on the clip!)

As I heard the song again last Sunday, (I was hearing Brett and Deb's voices, somehow) the Lord brought to my mind all that the Habings have been going through just in the last years, their testimony throughout, and how much God has taught me through their lives, about how much they taught me about who God is and more about what genuine, honest Christianity looks like. And yet, I'm kinda hoping they don't catch wind of this post, as they dislike this sort of thing. I can see the glare, actually.

Honestly, it wouldn't had to have been the Habings, but it was. God used them in a huge way in my life at Northland - they were just what I needed fresh out of high school in all my pridefulness, all my "wisdom" and self-directed living. (God is still working on all of those nasty sinful elements, BTW) They pointed me UPWARD in a way that was refreshing, full of love and humor, and I am so grateful that God put them there.

This song has become a sort of prayer for me - that I would continually be learning more of God and that God will continue to change my selfish desires into a desire for people to see more of God, and glorify Him. So last Sunday, I was overwhelmed by emotion as I pondered all of this (sorry if it is disjointed!) and was reminded again of God's goodness.

All of These
How vast His grace, How great His faithfulness,
How deep His Love, How rich His mercy,
How high his thoughts, How sure His wisdom,
And all of these, He gives to me!

So I will praise Him, with every breath,
For He has rescued me from certain death,
Now this life I live, I live in Him.
Oh let His glory shine, while mine grows dim.

How just his ways, how good his discipline,
How pure his truth, How kind His goodness.
How calm His peace, How long His patience,
And All of these He gives to me!

So I will praise Him, with every breath,
For He has rescued me from certain death,
Now this life I live, I live in Him.
Oh let His glory shine, while mine grows dim.

How great his power, How grand His majesty,
How true His will, How high His glory,
How strong his might, How real his triumph,
And all of these He gives to me!

So I will praise Him, with every breath,
For He has rescued me from certain death,
Now this life I live, I live in Him.
Oh let His glory shine, while mine grows dim.

words & music Craig Curry

You can buy the CD here.

We know God doesn't need any of us to do His work, but in His grace, he does choose to use us - what a gift - to be able to be used by an all powerful God to accomplish His plan!!

So, has there been anyone God has really used in your life to help grow your relationship with God? Someone who has been an instrument for change in your walk? Share it this week - or share some other blessing - just remember to look for the works of God, and to share how He's working in you with those around you.

"Therefore encourage one another and build one another up..." 1 Thess. 5:11

In the Mister Linky widget below, simply type your name in the top box, or a short description of the work that God has done, and then in the second box, paste the link from your specific "Works of God Monday" post. If you don't have a blog, use the comment section! Feel free to use the image from the top of this post if you like.

perspective

I urge you to go read what Richelle has posted today. It was a challenge to me, for certain.

Life Lessons at Meijer

1. the cup holders in the blue carts are not the most reliable.

2. that is what I get for paying for coffee made by someone else. The first 3 sips were awesome.

3. snaps to Meijer for hiring a zealous cart getter who works most morning shifts. I wish he'd leave a cart or two so I don't have to follow the people coming out of the store in order to claim the cart before he snatches it up. Seriously, it would be a hilarious short film, my trying to get a cart before he can.

4. Meijer is a great place to learn that toys can be lost forever, light bulbs break when you drop them, and mommies tend to be a little testy when you move the cart down the checkout lane by pushing off the shopping belt. Also it is fun to push the buttons on the self checkout screen, but this can also make mommy a little bit upset if she doesn't want to have 7 transactions.

5. the penny horse is awesome. And when disobedience reigns throughout the store, not riding it is a very effective consequence.

I had a fun morning at Meijer. No, really, I did. Except for the cart moving thing, but possibly because it caused injury to my digits. I love having a curious, questioning 3 year old, and his grinning little baby brother. I love the smiles on fellow shoppers' faces when questions are asked so loudly that they can hear us clear back in electronics. I love "1-2-3, Jesus loves ME!" sung at the top of the lungs.

I'm soaking it all in.

Works of God Monday

I'm up early this morning, getting ready for jury duty, getting ready for the sitter and praying that God calms my heart and does a work in my mind this morning - He is able to turn this into a great blessing for everyone involved and I am praying that I am open to His leading.

I'll share blessings from the week later - too much to do yet this morning! I just didn't want to forget to post or miss out on hearing from you!

How have you been seeing God at work this week? How is God blessing your family, working in your life by encouraging, convicting, providing? Please share!

"Therefore encourage one another and build one another up..." 1 Thess. 5:11

In the Mister Linky widget below, simply type your name in the top box, or a short description of the work that God has done, and then in the second box, paste the link from your specific "Works of God Monday" post. If you don't have a blog, use the comment section! Feel free to use the image from the top of this post if you like.

civic duties

So I've got jury duty come Monday, 8am. I'm conflicted - I love the USA, the way the jury system is set up, and yet, I'm majorly conflicted. I certainly don't "feel" like going, but I am obviously going to do it.

I guess I just wish they'd called 3 years ago, when I was childless and more easily able to perform my duty as a citizen.

But, sometimes, great blessings are born of inconvenience. Starting the calling now for childcare...

behind

1. I'm behind. In everything. Laundry, dishes, home-pre-school, blogging. Sleep.

2. My behind is not getting any smaller. Rats.

3. I'm hiding behind the computer screen right now, willing the child of 15 months to please, PLEASE stop crying and take a nap.

4. But we were behind schedule today, so it may be completely my fault.

5. Or I need to go check and make sure he has a clean behind.

going.

BTW, photos of our trip to Colorado are here, if you are interested.

Works of God Monday

We are back from our whirlwind trip to Colorado. We were there eight days, but it certainly seems like it went muuuuuuch quicker - and too quickly! It was a great time of fun and catching up and relaxing with the Muth family as well as some friends from college who live in the area. We are so blessed to have great families, and we are very thankful that God allowed us to take this trip! We praise HIM for providing for us and for safe travels.

We are all healthy still, which is fantastic - and DEFINITELY a work of God!! On our way back through, we were able to spend some time at the IKEA store in Canton, which was a long day but worth it! We scoped out some future wish list items, and bought a few light fixtures for last minute changes before appraisal time. Can you believe - a wall sconce for $3.99?? God's provision! We are so thankful!

Much more to share, but I'm still in recovery mode from our trip, so I'll save the highlights for a different post. Thanks so much for your prayers!

So, how have you been seeing God at work this week? How is God blessing your family, working in your life by encouraging, convicting, providing? Please share!

"Therefore encourage one another and build one another up..." 1 Thess. 5:11

In the Mister Linky widget below, simply type your name in the top box, or a short description of the work that God has done, and then in the second box, paste the link from your specific "Works of God Monday" post. If you don't have a blog, use the comment section! Feel free to use the image from the top of this post if you like.

Works of God Monday

So, I'm in Colorado, soaking up the time with family - and I've pre-scheduled this post - so I can only tell you the works of God that happened before we left! This trip is kindof a leap of faith - we believed God wanted us to go, that seeing our family was among the Most Important things to do in this life. Since the tickets were a great deal and since it's been almost 2 years since we've seen the family, we stepped out trusting that this was the step to make, and that He would provide. We don't always - actually, very seldom - do we do this kind of leapage.

Anyway, before we left, as of Thursday, we had $160 in extra funds that God had provided through various surprising means. PRAISE GOD for His provision! And we are also praising God for providing through other ways too - extra hours for Michael, more earnings from my business, etc. Just another confirmation to us that this is the right time for our trip!

So, how have you been seeing God at work this week? How is God blessing your family, working in your life by encouraging, convicting, providing? Please share!

"Therefore encourage one another and build one another up..." 1 Thess. 5:11

In the Mister Linky widget below, simply type your name in the top box, or a short description of the work that God has done, and then in the second box, paste the link from your specific "Works of God Monday" post. If you don't have a blog, use the comment section! Feel free to use the image from the top of this post if you like.

tolerance

It's rainy here today, and will be for at least the next week. I love fall rains - fall in general, really, and I'm a little sad that probably all the trees will have shed their leaves by the time we return.

As I was driving around town this morning doing a few last minute errands like picking up cash and dropping off a Pampered Chef show order, Aaron asked about the windshield wipers, so I was explaining their function, and we talked about rainbows (he noticed the shape the wipers were making and commented on it) and Noah, and then I got to thinking about something rather odd.

I was stuck in traffic for a few minutes and I started to observe the different speeds of wiper action on the vehicles passing me and next to me. It is a light drizzly rain for today, and the speeds were quite varied, which I found oddly fascinating. Thinking further about it, Michael and I have very different levels of tolerance for droplets of rain on our windshield. I tend to want the blades to clear off the rain as quickly as they land, and Michael doesn't mind them so much. Both options are fine, as long as the driver is comfortable, and can see enough to drive safely.

It's not like we sit down and have a discussion about how fast the wipers should go before we enter our vehicle for a drive. It's so totally not a big deal. Not at all as big of a deal as oh, say, having gas in your tank or following the rules of the road.

How often do I make a big deal out of things that aren't? I'm praising God that I've seen the Holy Spirit do a work in my heart in the years that I've been a believer, slowly mellowing me and opening my eyes to a Biblical perspective on this - but I still have a looooong ways to go.

Especially, um, with my children.

Especially, um, today.

I've been getting ready for this trip with grand aspirations of leaving a clean house to come home to - and this morning, while I was packing up the last minute items, everything was going not exactly perfectly.

One thing that happened was that Aaron got ahold of a can of bug repellent that had been forgotten this summer in our backpack, which I had removed this morning, which he found lying on our bed, and sprayed it all over our bed including the comforter and pillows. And one of our duffel bags that was packed and ready to go. This happened when I went out of the room for less than one minute to grab 2 tshirts out of the dryer, and after a series of events involving a Bumbo seat, a box of Kleenex, and 3 selfish people.

The bugspray-releasing activity was The.Last.Straw.

What I should have done was not what I did, and I had to apologise to Aaron for losing my cool. My patience level was not what it ought to have been, for sure. My expectations (lofty and perhaps unreasonable) were getting in the way of my relationship with my children.

So, we're still getting ready, we might have to leave a little later than we planned (depending on how nap time goes) and my house will probably not be clean, but I just need to roll with it and chill out. I need to tolerate what doesn't matter. It's not critical for my to-do list to be accomplished - and my training and teaching of my children definitely comes before any expectations I have for "my" day.

Maybe I will eventually learn this lesson, but I'm thinking it will probably take many, many more sessions. God is gracious, to teach us through our children, and through more mundane things like windshield wipers.

oh, the joy

So I saw this linked here - and I could not resist the power of suggestion. Hello, it's FALL! You have to eat pumpkin pie - so why not in the morning, when you have the whole day to burn it off, right?? I made it for my breakfast this morning, baked in a pie plate. (I do not own ramekins)

I now will have to leave the house as not to eat the entire batch.

We leave our house in 2 days for an extended time away - 2 days in Detroit on either side and 8 days in Colorado. We are all super excited to see the family again.

And in completely unrelated news, we are considering a laptop purchase for the Pampered Chef business before the end of the tax year. Anyone ever owned a Sony VIAO? I found one the other day and I think I might be in love with all the features.

Works of God Monday

I'm so thankful for God's Grace today! Yesterday at church we sang a song that we've been learning together as a congregation, and I was overwhelmed as I sang the text with other believers. God is so gracious to us!

His Robes for Mine

His robes for mine: O wonderful exchange!
Clothed in my sin, Christ suffered 'neath God's rage
Draped in His righteousness, I'm justified
In Christ I live, for in my place He died

Chorus:
I cling to Christ, and marvel at the cost:
Jesus forsaken, God estranged from God.
Bought by such love, my life is not my own:
My praise - my all - shall be for Christ alone.

His robes for mine: what cause have I for dread?
God's daunting Law Christ mastered in my stead.
Faultless I stand, with righteous works not mine,
Saved by my Lord's vicarious death and life.

His robes for mine: God's justice is apeased.
Jesus is crushed, and thus the Father's pleased.
Christ drank God's wrath on sin, then cried, "'Tis done!"
Sin's wage is paid; propitiation won.

His robes for mine: such anguish none can know.
Christ, God's beloved, condemned as though His foe.
He, as though I, accursed and left alone;
I. as though He, embraced and welcomed home!

Anderson/Habegger
Copyright 2008 churchworksmedia.com
(you can also view and print this hymn here as well)

I am also thankful for God's provision this month - I am finally seeing some real progress in my Pampered Chef business, and this is a blessing. I have had the best month yet, and I only had 3 shows! I'm praising God for providing this way of helping our family a little bit financially, and praising Him for building the business!

So, how have you been seeing God at work this week? How is God blessing your family, working in your life by encouraging, convicting, providing? Please share!

"Therefore encourage one another and build one another up..." 1 Thess. 5:11

In the Mister Linky widget below, simply type your name in the top box, or a short description of the work that God has done, and then in the second box, paste the link from your specific "Works of God Monday" post. If you don't have a blog, use the comment section! Feel free to use the image from the top of this post if you like.

Aaron & Daddy's Squirrely Adventure

I know he's mine, but he's a really great storyteller.

And about the video - I didn't realize our camera was
able to produce these special effects, let alone that it
was SET to special effects. Oh, well...