Simplicity?

Do the words "simplify" and "new baby" even BELONG in the same sentence? That was my goal for the year 2010 - to purge and simplify. Get rid of all the clutter that is daily bogging me down. I planned to have a bigger garden, can more, freeze more, learn more about baking bread, and hopefully cut down on our grocery bill even more this year. Well. I really should learn that all of this ridiculous planning is not necessarily going to guarantee results. It would be nice, though. :) The past two months I've been to sick to do anything but dream of what I would LIKE to be doing. Oh I have plenty more ideas now for my raised bed gardens, container gardens, landscaping, and organizing since I've had all this time to look at blogs, etc! :) Hopefully soon some of these symptoms will subside and I can get on with at least some of my plans for the year. Today is an absolutely gorgeous day - the temps are suppose to be near 50 and the sun is shining! Maybe we can get some of the yard cleaned up today... maybe. :)

Winter Break

We took a break from the cold (or tried to!) and took a trip to the Bahamas! :) We drove in two days from Newton to Orange City Florida with my parents. On the way down we got stuck in Statesville in a huge snowstorm. The next morning we got up to drive some more, and we didn't get out of the snow until we were in Georgia!! We got to Florida and they were under a freeze warning. At least the sun was out and it was absolutely beautiful. It was so nice to see green plants and flowers growing! We two nights and a day and a half in Delan with a wonderful lady named Katherine. We attended dad's pastor friends church and had a wonderful time. Monday we left for Jacksonville and boarded the Carnival Fascination. We had a room with a balcony! It was so cold we had to keep our jackets and sweaters on outside! We took a day to explore the boat and the kids were absolutely amazed. We went to Freeport, Half Moon Cay, and Nassau. We took a pirate and historical tour in Nassau with Bailey and he loved it! We had the best breakfasts, lunches and dinners! They had a 24 hour pizzeria and you could get ice cream 24 hrs a day as well. :) The waiters made friends with the kids, you could tell they were missing their own children back home, wherever that was for them. The ship was absolutely beautiful, and so was the Bahamas. That is one of the prettiest places in the world to me. It was a wonderful vacation with our family - one that we will never forget! :)

New Baby!

Ok, so it's official. We are expecting baby number 4 September 4th, 2010! Quite a surprise, but a good one none the less. There's going to be some major changes in this household this coming year - and not really the ones I had anticipated! :) I had sort of dubbed this year as the year I was going to "simplify". I had decided, this is it, I am going to purge like there's no tomorrow and get rid of all the clutter that messes with my life. You know, the stuff you push in a corner and say, "I'll deal with that later." Well, so far, I haven't got much done, been too tired and sick to accomplish much! I am still going to try my best to simplify as much as I can this year, if for nothing else, out of sheer need!! God does know what's best for us though - and I am excited to see what all our future has in store.

I'm sure you've noticed by now some changes to my blog, as in having to sign in to see it and such. If you are having any trouble viewing my posts or logging in, please let me know - of course if you ARE having trouble, you probably arent even seeing this post. I'm such a genius. LOL - hope everyone is staying warm on this frigid February day!

Snowed in!

Well, we are on week three of the kids being off of school. This past entire week was canceled due to snow! This is the heaviest snow we've had in WV for a long time. We are running out of new and interesting things to do in this house! I've designated today a cleaning day for all of us - we'll see how that goes over with the kids! :) I am so frustrated at how it seems the more I clean, the more there is to clean. My new years resolution this year is to get rid of more STUFF - the stuff that is just cluttering my life. SIMPLIFY. That's my goal. :) Well, guess I better get at it - this house isn't going to clean itself. Happy snow day everyone!

The Simple Woman's Daybook for November 9th

Outside my window.... Its sort of cloudy today. But still a beautiful fall morning. There's a hint in the air of warming up today!

I am thinking.... about the upcoming Thanksgiving season, and why we have a "season" of Thanksgiving, when in reality, we should be thankful at all times. :)

I am thankful for.... the health of my children, even though we have in the last three weeks fought H1N1, strep, infections and chicken pox. Oh and stubbornness. Is that an ilness??

I am wearing.... well, you got me there. I'm still in my pjs. :) My most favorite, comfy grey pants and a FiberNet T-shirt.

I am remembering... what our services use to be like in the old white church years ago.

I am going.... nowhere today. But lots to do on the list! Hopefully at the end of the day, there will be a clean van, less laundry, and a painted cabinet.

I am reading.... my KJV Bible, and debating on starting "The Shack".

I am hoping.... to get my schedule lined out for my CCCA gym classes and Christmas play practice.

On my mind... Oh my, lots today. Thinking about my mom, who is going today for a Dr's appointment to talk about the brain surgery to alleviate the symptoms of Parkinsons.

From the learning rooms.... not much yet. But I see play-doh and paint in the next few hours.

Noticing that.... it's already warm enough in here to turn off the furnace and open the windows for the day.

Pondering these words.... My favorite verse... Ps. 56:13. SURELY thou will keep my feet from falling.... cause He knows I sure can't do that myself.

From the kitchen... Im thinking maybe burgers tonight. We haven't done that in a while.

Around the house... more straigtening up after my three whirlwinds, disinfecting, and continuing my spree of organizing like a maniac.

One of my favorite things... when one of my children randomly just comes up to me and hugs me. Absolutely thrills my heart and soul. :)

From my picture journal....

Joy

Time Change

Well, the time has changed. It is light at 6:00 am now and dark at 6:00 p.m. Personally, I cant stand this time change. I'd rather have the daylight in the evening... it makes for such a long evening cooped up inside for the kids. We have had such a beautiful fall though, seems like the last few years weren't this beautiful. The leaves just turned brown and fell off. But this year, wow! Every day has been beautiful. The contrast of colors from God's palate is absolutely amazing. There are no two colors that you can pick from nature that don't go together. We've had a wonderful season, with fall celebrations and parties. Now its on to the Holiday season - my favorite time of the year! Well, right now it is anyways. A couple of months ago, Fall was my favorite time of the year. In about 6 months, Spring will be my favorite time of the year! I'm so glad I have the ability to change my mind! :) Hope everyone has a beautiful and wonderful day today! God Bless!

Harvest Season!

Well. Again, it has been quite a while since my last post! I am starting to think that late summer/ early fall is our busiest season! Although I didn't get to be in my garden nearly as much as I had planned this summer, we still had an abundance of pattypan squash, yellow squash, the bumpy crookneck kind of squash, zucchini, tomatoes, onions, and cucumbers! I had so much squash that I didn't know what to do with it! We had it fried, baked, plain, in casseroles, in soups, etc. I finally started shredding it up and putting it in the freezer for casseroles later on this winter. I made 42 quarts of tomato juice for soups, chili, and spaghetti. I also canned some dill pickles, 17 pints I think. Something new I tried this year, peach jam and grape jelly. The absolute BEST grape jelly I've ever had. Beats anything you buy in a store! Oh and also, there's countless bags of sliced peaches, golden delicious apples, and gala apples in the freezer! I love harvest season ...

In the midst of it all, my big boy started second grade and my Angel Adah started Pre-school. (pictures soon.) She is doing very well.. I completely expected the whole crying and "mommy please don't go" thing... but she just walked in and started playing and did fine! Now she gets mad when its not her day to go to school! She loves it! I am so blessed.... At the moment, I am listening to the girls sleeping on the monitor, my window is open and I can feel the warm breeze with the hint of fall in it, and the bugs buzzing and birds chirping... God could not have blessed me any more.