I apologize for not keeping this blog updated. The craziness of the holidays have really gotten in the way! My goal for next year is to update 2-3 times a week.
In the meantime, I wanted to wish anyone who reads this a very Merry Christmas!
Thursday, December 21, 2006
Monday, November 13, 2006
A Busy Week Ahead...and Cold Relief
My mom is coming for a visit this week! Yay! She hasn't seen our new house yet (we moved here in January) and I'm so excited she is coming.
I have been busy cleaning and planning some last minute errands in preparation. One unexpected thing that has come up is that Keith has a cold. It's a typical, fall, head cold but he is miserable, I can tell. So far I'm planning to make some homemade chicken noodle soup. Does anyone else have some proven remedies?
I have been busy cleaning and planning some last minute errands in preparation. One unexpected thing that has come up is that Keith has a cold. It's a typical, fall, head cold but he is miserable, I can tell. So far I'm planning to make some homemade chicken noodle soup. Does anyone else have some proven remedies?
Friday, November 10, 2006
Frugal Friday: Pack a lunch for your husband!
I pack my husband's lunch about 95% of the time. This is saving us a minimum of $4 a day (one of the cheapest meals around his workplace). Most of the time I fix last night's leftovers but sometimes it's simply a sandwich, chips, dessert, and a drink. I am blessed in that my husband is easy to please and will eat anything I pack!
Thursday, November 09, 2006
How did I get here?
My first entry into the blogsphere! Woohoo!
I thought this was a great time to explain how God called me "back home". I grew up in a family that taught me that I must attend college and "make something of myself". As such, I attended college and graduate school. I have a Master's degree in Early Childhood Education and taught for 4 years in the public school system (1 year in a private school). All was well, but I dreamed of the day when "my prince would come" and I could have babies and become a stay-at-home mom. At the time, I bought into the mentality that being a stay-at-home mom was acceptable whereas being a stay-at-home wife was simply strange and virtually unheard of.
Fast forward to October 20, 2003: the day God brought my prince to me. Until that time, I wondered if God wasn't making me an "old maid". lol We were married on October 23, 2004; both of us at the ripe, old age of 27. :)
We enjoyed our newlywed life. We would each leave for work in the morning and come home, telling each other of our day's adventures. Life was fine for a while until I started to feel guilty. Guilty when I couldn't get the laundry finished. Guilty when I neglected lesson plans to spend time with my new husband. Guilty when dinner was late because I had to stay late at school for a meeting. Guilty when I had to leave him to go attend PTO meetings. I began to feel like I was just mediocre. A mediocre wife and a mediocre teacher. When I worked hard to be the best wife I could be, my teaching suffered. When I worked hard to be the best teacher I could be, my home (and husband) became neglected and suffered. I truly felt like I was burning my candle at both ends: trying to be a great wife and a great employee. It wasn't working.
It was around this time that I found a lot of resources on the internet about becoming a keeper at home. I began to wonder if this was the step God wanted me to take....and how would I ever get my husband's consent? lol Sure enough, when I first presented this idea to him, he was dead-set against it. He didn't see how we could "make it" on one income; he thought I should work full-time until we had our first child. I began to pray that if this was the road God wanted us to take, He would show us clearly. Of course, that is just what He did. He did it in the form of a new job offer for my husband that required us to move. Because my husband requested it, I did apply to different school districts in the area but my heart was heavy at the thought of going to work--again--at the end of the summer. Around this time, the Lord had been working on my husband's heart also. Finally, one day he said that he felt the Lord was telling him that my husband needed to trust Him fully...and step out on faith by letting me "come home". I was thrilled but still wanted to know...for certain...this was where God wanted me. Guess what the ultimate sign was? I only received one call to interview for a position. I had a Master's Degree and 5 years of teaching experience and only ONE call for an interview? By the time this principal called, it was late summer, and my husband and I had already decided it was the Lord's will that I stay at home so I turned down the request for an interview. When I turned it down, I felt an incredible sense of peace in my heart.
Since then, I have been FAR from perfect in my role as keeper of the home. I could wallpaper a bedroom with the schedules I have created...my goal in all of them being to "become more organized!" LOL Dinner is still late a lot of nights, I still get behind on the laundry and the cleaning. But my husband is happy and appreciates a wife who is not stressed out when he steps in the door. (Most nights she's not stressed. lol) Financially, we have marveled at the way God has provided for us; He truly does meet ALL our needs. I am thankful for this time God has given me to focus on being a godly wife to my husband and being a keeper of the home He has given us. We pray that in His timing He will bless us with children, but we are resting in Him and trusting His timing for that.
I thought this was a great time to explain how God called me "back home". I grew up in a family that taught me that I must attend college and "make something of myself". As such, I attended college and graduate school. I have a Master's degree in Early Childhood Education and taught for 4 years in the public school system (1 year in a private school). All was well, but I dreamed of the day when "my prince would come" and I could have babies and become a stay-at-home mom. At the time, I bought into the mentality that being a stay-at-home mom was acceptable whereas being a stay-at-home wife was simply strange and virtually unheard of.
Fast forward to October 20, 2003: the day God brought my prince to me. Until that time, I wondered if God wasn't making me an "old maid". lol We were married on October 23, 2004; both of us at the ripe, old age of 27. :)
We enjoyed our newlywed life. We would each leave for work in the morning and come home, telling each other of our day's adventures. Life was fine for a while until I started to feel guilty. Guilty when I couldn't get the laundry finished. Guilty when I neglected lesson plans to spend time with my new husband. Guilty when dinner was late because I had to stay late at school for a meeting. Guilty when I had to leave him to go attend PTO meetings. I began to feel like I was just mediocre. A mediocre wife and a mediocre teacher. When I worked hard to be the best wife I could be, my teaching suffered. When I worked hard to be the best teacher I could be, my home (and husband) became neglected and suffered. I truly felt like I was burning my candle at both ends: trying to be a great wife and a great employee. It wasn't working.
It was around this time that I found a lot of resources on the internet about becoming a keeper at home. I began to wonder if this was the step God wanted me to take....and how would I ever get my husband's consent? lol Sure enough, when I first presented this idea to him, he was dead-set against it. He didn't see how we could "make it" on one income; he thought I should work full-time until we had our first child. I began to pray that if this was the road God wanted us to take, He would show us clearly. Of course, that is just what He did. He did it in the form of a new job offer for my husband that required us to move. Because my husband requested it, I did apply to different school districts in the area but my heart was heavy at the thought of going to work--again--at the end of the summer. Around this time, the Lord had been working on my husband's heart also. Finally, one day he said that he felt the Lord was telling him that my husband needed to trust Him fully...and step out on faith by letting me "come home". I was thrilled but still wanted to know...for certain...this was where God wanted me. Guess what the ultimate sign was? I only received one call to interview for a position. I had a Master's Degree and 5 years of teaching experience and only ONE call for an interview? By the time this principal called, it was late summer, and my husband and I had already decided it was the Lord's will that I stay at home so I turned down the request for an interview. When I turned it down, I felt an incredible sense of peace in my heart.
Since then, I have been FAR from perfect in my role as keeper of the home. I could wallpaper a bedroom with the schedules I have created...my goal in all of them being to "become more organized!" LOL Dinner is still late a lot of nights, I still get behind on the laundry and the cleaning. But my husband is happy and appreciates a wife who is not stressed out when he steps in the door. (Most nights she's not stressed. lol) Financially, we have marveled at the way God has provided for us; He truly does meet ALL our needs. I am thankful for this time God has given me to focus on being a godly wife to my husband and being a keeper of the home He has given us. We pray that in His timing He will bless us with children, but we are resting in Him and trusting His timing for that.
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