Sleep? What's that?

This Saturday is the annual craft fair at our local high school and this means one of two things... less sleep and more coffee (actually I've switched to tea, but that's beside the point.) It's a very exciting time with anticipation of selling my creations, but I may have slightly procrastinated in building a full inventory. Slightly. So for the past week it's been late to bed, early to rise, and less blog posts. :)

BUT to keep you, the reader, satisfied til after Saturday... here are some pics of the most adorable children in the world. At least I think so!

Relaxing Saturday

I cannot BELIEVE that I actually have time to sit down and write a blog post on a Saturday! Absolutely unheard of...

Last night was the annual Harvest Supper at Lee Baptist. What a great turn-out! It was a great time of fellowship with lots of unfamiliar faces that we hope to see in church. :) Caylyn sang her first "solo" which actually turned into a duet with daddy. Our goal is not that she be "cute" but that she be willing to serve the Lord through song and be a blessing to others. Pastor Bickford brought a very encouraging devotional from Psalm 128 titled "How to Harvest a Godly Family". A godly family starts with the fear of the Lord followed by lots of work and training. Godly children don't just happen, they must be turned out and trained. Then shall that man be blessed because he feared the Lord and guided his family. It was a great encouragement, reminder and motivation to me to keep working hard in training and teaching. It's NOT an easy job... but it will be worth it.

But for right now, Chad and the kids are outside splitting and stacking wood, but they are taking it easy and just enjoying their time together. I love that my husband loves to work and has the patience to teach our littles to work, too! I have brownies in the oven, laundry in the washer and am gearing up to peel and slice apples to dehydrate. Yes, indeed, we were given MORE apples this morning!! Our family loves dried apples so most of these will be snacks but a friend told me about making applesauce in the crockpot and I definitely have to try that!

The rest of our day will be full of prepping for church tomorrow, a baby shower (me), crafting (me), resting (exhausted hubby) and just enjoying our day together. We hope that you have a wonderful weekend and enjoy worshipping the Lord tomorrow... we sure will!

This and That

First of all, I've started at least two blog posts and have been interrupted from finishing! So here is a conglomeration under the guise of a specified, individual post.

Last Monday (it was last Monday at the time of the original composition, now it should be "the Monday before last") I pulled out my food dehydrator to make potato chips from a 5 gallon bucket given to us by our neighbors. How's that for a run-on sentence?! loaded it up and flipped the switch. Nothing happened. So I called customer service. After a 5-minute conversation, they were sending me a brand-new dehydrator! Now THAT is what I call service!

Remember all those apples we had? Here's what they turned into...

On Saturday we went down to Augusta so Chad could help his dad put in some windows for a friend. The kids and I spent the day with Gramma and a dear friend. We all had a good time! Sunday was a great day in the Lord's house followed by a coffee date for the hubby and I. :) Thanks to Tim for watching our kidlets!

This week has been the usual chores and "school". We switched curriculums... the ACE was a little advanced and I was adding quite a bit to make it fit the kids. I found this great curriculum for preschoolers. It contains enough activities to teach ABC's and numbers to a child from 2-4 years old! Caylyn absolutely LOVED this activity of putting stickers in each circle. She was quite meticulous about it and would pull a sticker off if it wasn't exactly in the circle.

The curriculum also includes these handy-dandy teaching tools for the days of the week, weather, and seasons. Having a small home, we have to make do for school. Lessons are taught at the kitchen table and these charts are hung on the end of the kitchen counter. Caylyn loves the rainbow and Trent likes the "water" (rain).

After outside play yesterday, I pulled all the kids shoes off and set them on the rug. The sight made me stop in my tracks. What a sight. To think that I've been entrusted with these three little lives (two my own children and one borrowed) to protect them, teach them and train them. What an honor and what a responsibility. I am constantly reflecting on the magnitude of raising godly children in this wicked, corrupt world. We are bombarded by suggestive images, cursing, rock music, and materialism. So for just a moment, I'll look at these little shoes and cherish the innocent little ones who wear them.

Weekend in Review

What a beautiful day! It feels like spring instead of fall... :) We all slept in (except for Chad who was out the door at 4 a.m.), finished our morning chores and are enjoying the awesome weather. Last week I stopped by our local apple orchard and picked up a bushel of McIntosh apple 2nds for $5 with plans to can away as soon as possible. THEN Saturday morning a man in our church brought us ANOTHER bushel (from the same orchard)! I have lots of canning to do this week... can't wait!!!

So here is our weekend in review...

Friday night we headed down to Bucksport to spend the evening with two great families that recently moved up from PCC (Pensacola, FL). Between our three families are 5 kids ranging from 7 months to 3 years so you can imagine it wasn't a quiet evening! I was so busy enjoying the fellowship that I completely forgot to take any pictures! We had a great dinner of chili, salad and cornbread followed by apple crisp (YUM!) and a tour of their church. It's SO great to see other young families dedicated to ministry and serving the Lord. (Plus I have a new craft fair buddy... maybe two).

Saturday, bright and early, Chad and I headed off for our respective Saturday projects. He worked on some roofing for a friend and I went off to the church to work on some projects. Saturday afternoon we loaded up the kidlets for Sunday School visitation and finished the evening with prep for Sunday.

Sunday's are ALWAYS busy (but fun). Chad had the Sunday morning special and he sang "Thou True Vine that Heals the Nations". The message of this song is so powerful that church members were asking the name and page number before he even reached his seat! Here are the lyrics:

Thou true Vine, that heals the nations,

Tree of life, thy branches we.

They who leave thee fade and wither,

none bear fruit except in thee.

Cleanse us, make us sane and simple,

till we merge our lives in thine,

gain ourselves in thee, the Vintage,

give ourselves through thee, the Vine.

Nothing can we do without thee;

on thy life depends each one.

If we keep thy words and love thee,

all we ask for shall be done.

May we, loving one another,

radiant in thy light abide;

so through us, made fruitful by thee,

shall our God be glorified.

Praise the Lord for godly composers who pen lyrics and melodies that are good and acceptable in His sight.

Back to the weekend... I'm so thankful for a husband who lets me take a nice, long, restful nap on Sunday afternoon. :) Sunday evening service was great and we enjoyed dinner with the Bickfords and their company. Overall, a wonderful weekend of encouragement in the Lord!

John 1:7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.

Actions Produce Habits

Two and three years old is a great time to start incorporating chores into the daily routine. Kids love to help mom around the house! Even though mom can do it much faster and better without the help of little ones, it is important to let them contribute. Giving little ones their specific jobs will give them a sense of accomplishment and responsibility... it also lets mom feel that she can work on her own chores in peace!

Here's our plan...

Chore charts. No, I'm not creative enough to this on my own. I had help.

Don't rush! Help them along and don't begin with a full chart. Start with just a couple and add one as day as you feel comfortable. Let the child do the chore in his/her own way with simple instructions from you. After awhile, the child should be able to complete the task without you!

I made jars for each child and a jar for giving to others. When a child does a chore for money, he or she will be given the choice of putting the money in their own jar or the giving jar (with hopes that they will choose the giving jar!). We will tell the children to what need the money will be given when a specific need arises.

We are excited about this new phase in our home. The kids LOVE doing the chores and taking they cards off the chart and putting them in the bag... it's like a game for them and will eventually be a help for me! Happy chore-teaching!