Moving Update: Still Waiting

A couple months ago I posted about our family relocating and that we were waiting for the family in our soon to be new home to move into their new home. This has been the greatest test our family has had to endure yet. Montana Man has been working in our new town while I have still been 3 hours away with my parents and the kids. We see each other every week to two weeks as our gas budget and days off allow. I came to the point last week where I was angry and felt betrayed by my God for letting this continue. After this anger came mourning and remorse for my feelings and sin toward my Savior, for He knows our plan even if we do not. I have also been very angry at the family still occupying our new home because they have been waiting for what I believe to be insufficient reasons (i.e. waiting for counter tops to be put into the their new kitchen, get a freaking microwave!) To say that this has been frustrating would be an understatement. But we persist and continue to wait for the house that seems to be the only one meant for us.
Side note: We have thought of finding another rental but the market for this particular combination of requirements is basically non-existent.

So! While I have been waiting I have had time to really think on what our goals over the next two years should be.

Goal #1:
Pay off debt completely and build a safety net in our savings as well as any extra we can for a down payment whether it be for building a house or buying existing. Repairing and building our credit as a couple also goes in this category. Becoming financially independent and being able to shape our budget to our means no matter the size is priority, we are still living in a material world at the moment.

Goal #2:
Prepare, prepare, prepare. This means building a food supply for use in emergencies, means of self-defense and acquiring skills of self reliance.

Goal #3:
This is a personal goal. Get down to a comfortable and healthy weight and fitness level. For myself this has been on my mind a lot. We do plan to have more kids and I feel like I was not as physically prepared as I would have liked in my pregnancy. I have a very good amount of time to achieve this through eating healthfully, building my fitness through activity, and self healing.

In conclusion, I will post after we have moved because as of now I have no date.

Notice: The Making Your Home a Haven series will continue after we have moved and settled. Apologies to the few that actually read my blog!

Making Your Home a Haven: The Living Room

Good rainy Tuesday to you all. Or atleast it is where I am! Rain makes it so incredibly hard to make myself do anything, it's so gloomy! But at the same time I love the stuff and love rainy days (it's a love-hate relationship).

Today I am going to try to make my living room more comfortable and presentable. What a task! I am going to share a little secret with you... I live with my parents. There I said it, I do. This is their home and thus all of their stuff and our stuff have come to rest in one household. We officially occupy 2 bedrooms in this house and 1 bathroom, but really our stuff (i.e. the kids stuff) is EVERYWHERE. Like this:

So I will post an update on what I did to make this mess into something someone would love to sit down and relax in. The office/entry and dining room will be next on the list.

We Have the Right to Bear Arms (Even if "They" Don't Want Us to)

It's not secret there is something fishy going on in the Capitol about gun laws. Washington has already disreguarded one part of the Constitution, why not disreguard the part that protects our rights to protect ourselves? Guns are evil!!! They kill people!!! Waaaaah!!!!

Ok, so if someone in these desparate (soon to be more desparate) times decides they are going to break into your home where your children are and steal your property, maybe harm/ kill you while they are at it, what are you going to do? 911, sure, that might help... if they get there in a nano second. Grab a kitchen knife? Pretty sure that puts you close enough for them to grab you! I am not paranoid by any means... but lets think logically here!

I own a gun. I own the gun pictured above. It was a gift to me from my husband and he taught me to use it and clean it, load it and store it. I do not take it out much but if I had the need, it's there. I am at home with my children alone much of the time and along with a dog a gun makes me feel just a little bit safer and gives me peace of mind. Our rifels are one of the things we see as a practical and necessary investment in the homesteading lifestyle.

Starting to look a little low!


This is just part of what we have done and are going to do to prepare ourselves for what is ahead of us. When we have settled in a permenant home we will complete our "emergency" preparations. Right now I keep about 2 months worth of food stock in my pantry. Eventually we will increase that to a years supply as well as becoming proficient at producing our own food (garden, animals and such).

I do not have faith in people, I have faith in God. I believe that He makes it our job to protect our own family and not rely on others to do it for us.

Make Your Home a Haven: Working Joyfully

Last week went well about 50% of the time! Oh, young children make "me time" so challenging! How did yours go?

This week I was thinking about how often I feel grudgingly about my everyday work and become weary from the tediousness. Children and a house and animals all are very demanding and the work is never "finished". Clothes are always in the process of becoming dirty, meals being digested and floors becoming cluttered or hairy with each minute that passes. Somedays the infinity of this situation overwhelms me! It is so hard after a long week not to feel a little down or self pittying, double this feeling if it was a rainy week as well! My heart has cried out to the Lord to give me strength when I want to be weak and to help me be joyful in the everyday work He has set before me. Most of this week I felt better than I have been, He has shown me how great He is! Here are somethings I do to make me enjoy my work and adjust my attitude if I need to!

First, pray. Only Jesus can change my heart.

Second, put on some rockin' tunes! Music is my souls delight and it is the best way I comfort myself when I don't want to throw up my emotions on a human (usually my mother :-/).

Third, take 10 minutes and read an article on a subject I enjoy and then ponder it for as long as I care to. My brain needs stimulation!

Fourth, cook a meal someone else is going to really enjoy! I have to cook either way, I may as well get the satisfaction of pleasing a loved one at the same time.

This is not rocket science, if you have made the commitment to your family and the Lord to raise your children at home and be a good wife to your husband is is not practical to grudge it for the rest of your life! God calls us women to stay in the home (as un-glamourous as that is), and also teach our younger women to do the same. Homemaking is an art, you must learn how to do it not only well but with a joyful heart!

"Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled".
- Titis 2:3-5

Proverbs 31:10-31 are also an excellent picture of what God calls a wife and mother to be, I read it when I am in need of inspiration.

How do you make your work more enjoyable/ tolerable? When you are overwhelmed with your home and children how do you cope?

Have a wonderful week everyone!

Making Your Home a Haven: Week 1

I got this idea from one of my favorite blogs Tammy's Recipes. She did this series a while back and I was inspired by her diligence and am inspired by her honesty about being a wife and mother to 5 children. Her blog is so much more than recipes and it is worth a stop by her site. I will be following some of her challenges but also throwing in some of my own. I have not gotten much feed back on my posts although I know there are people reading it... So! I am challenging you other mommys and wives to join me in this path of self improvement and encourage each other!

This week I am going to start, as Tammy did, with a morning routine. Nothing lengthy, just 5 things. I am not a morning person and I will openly admit that I "waste" a good part of my day and energy on selfish and fruitless activities. I have had a bad case of the "burnt" grumps and I need to let God use me to the best of my ability even if I am not where I want to be right now. Let's see if I can get my mornings to start like this!:

1. Make bed at 6:30... a.m.

2. Make a pot of green tea, not coffee.

3. Eat. Oatmeal.

4. Take vitamins.

5. Bible time with Puzzel Boy.

Seems simple doesn't it? Shocked I picked these things, I mean, how could this be an improvement? Let me share what I am currently doing.

Drag my butt out of bed when I here PB trying to open his door, usually around 7-7:30.
Get him in the bathroom to pee and then direct him to get dressed.
Get him breakfast, and I put a movie on for him... (I am horrible!).
I make a pot of coffee and attempt to drink 1/2 a cup before Mini gets up.
Change and dress Mini, then nurse while drinking the rest of my coffee... (yet more horribleness).
Put Mini in her exesaucer to play while I hop online to see whatevery one else is doing on facebook or I will stay sitting after nursing to watch the rest of PB's movie. (Have I dug my hole yet?)
Maybe I will ferret out something to pop in my mouth that doesn't even begin to qualify as breakfast.
Get dressed.
More coffee.
Make bed... maybe.
Laundry if need be.
Get Puzzel Boy playing with something, usually play dough at the moment.
etc.
etc.
etc.

This is everyday. No wonder I feel dumpy and sad. But I can change, through Christ I can change and He has given me a heart to want to. But what does this have to do with make your home a haven? Well, if I am productive and content then it creates a certain atmosphere in my house that makes others comfortable. We are in uncomfortable and challenging times and we need to be thankful for what we do have not what we want.

So this week, make a list of 5 things you would like to start your day with! Let me know how you liked the results and what your 5 things are :-)