Merry Christmas!

This Christmas seemed to creep up on me all at once. There was a million things I wanted to do this year with Wyatt that I didn't get to and decorations I didn't even get a chance to get up. Nick was a little disappointed with only having the small tree up this year instead of the big one, but it was all we could do in our small space. With having a baby our living space has shrunk. We have her bouncer, exersaucer, play gym, and basket of toys. There was no room for the big tree!

I have to admit I am still adjusting to life with two kiddos. I think if they were closer in age it would be a bit easier. Wyatt being almost five doesn't nap every day, and our dear little Josie doesn't seem to want to nap at all. So, that puts a damper on my to do list each day.

This year, since we had Josie, I wanted to take Christmas pictures of the kids. I am very pleased how they turned out. Who needs to pay tons of money on a photo shoot when you can do it yourself?! For the most part, my kids are very cooperative when doing pictures.



This was Josie's first Christmas, of course, and she was fun. She liked playing with the paper. She would tug at it, but needed help to really unwrap anything. Needless to say Wyatt enjoyed being a helper.

Christmas Eve we went to Candle Light service at our church. Then had Christmas morning with Wyatt and Josie. They woke up about 8am. We opened gifts, then we read the story of Jesus' birth out of Wyatts new Bible. Nick made french toast for breakfast as I preped the turkey to bake. Then my family came over and we had dinner together and exchanged gifts afterwards. It was a great day spending time with everyone.

Hope you had a wonderful Christmas!



In the World, But Not of the World: Plugged In

Wow. It's been a long time since I have posted. I had to take a break due to Dial-Up frustration. It seemed like most things worked okay except for loading my blog. But things have changed. We took a scary step into the world and got Hughes Net and Dish.

We didn't want TV due to content that just doesn't fit into our family values and time it takes away from quality family time, but we had to take cost effectiveness into account as well. It was cheaper to get Dish and Hughes Net's smallest package {Which is WAY faster than our dial up!} than it was to get the second step up for internet that would allow you to stream movies and other programming, such as family friendly shows, news, weather, and sports.

As soon as the satalite TV was set up we went in right away and locked out certain ratings and content so that we wouldn't be tempted to watch things we shouldn't.

 

Galatians 5:19-21 

19 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21 envy,[a] drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

It is a sad thing, but isn't TV consumed with all these listed above? And while we may not actually DO these things, we feel watching them on TV is just as bad so we locked them out. It isn't a perfect solution, things still miss the filters, but we do try. I'm reminded of the song we'd sing in Sunday school, O Be Careful Little Eyes which I find is a great self check for our behavior.

 

Romans 12:2 

2 Do not be conformed to this world,[a] but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

1 John 2:15

 ¹⁵ Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

It is so easy to be sucked into those kinds of things if we are not careful. We have a way of justifying it in our minds to make it "okay". So, to help guard ourselves we set up road blocks to keep us from viewing  programming that doesn't line up with what God would want us to watch. 

We have "cleaned house" so to speak with other areas of our entertainment library as well. DVD's and CD's that didn't match with our beliefs got boxed up and taken out of our house. The hardest part was getting over the money we spent on the the DVD's and CD's that we got rid of. For example, I had six seasons of Greys Anatomy that I paid at least $30 dollars for each. That's $180! Ouch! But, Greys has no place in my life anymore. And really, I haven't looked back!

I would challenge anyone who reads this to take a step back and look at what you watch on TV, what you listen to on the radio, even conversations that you take part in. Is it helping your relationship with God?

No Sew Fleece Scarf

I was at Hobby Lobby the other night and spotted a clearance basket of scrap material in little rolls. I looked through it and found myself a pretty sweet deal. I got a 1/4 yard of grey fleece 60 inches long. I immediately thought of an idea: a no-sew scarf!

It took a total of 15 minutes to do. I could have finished sooner, but with two kids, that's not always possible. This was so easy, if I can do it, anyone can!

First, fold the material length wise in half.

Then cut the end that is not folded all the way down the length of the fleece in about one inch strips. Cutting to about a half an inch to the fold.

Then after it is cut tie the pairs together. I alternated back and front when I tied so that it was fuller.



Ta daaaa!

Not too shabby for a whopping .88 cents if I don't say so myself. I will definitely be keeping my eyes open for more remnants like this next time I go to the store!

Fall Trail Mix

I have a bake sale coming up and really wanted to make a trail mix. It sounded so fitting with the season to do a fall mix. So I started to think of what I wanted to include in it. It didn't take long to figure out what I wanted and I have to admit, it is one of the best I have ever had!

4 cups Golden Grahams

2 cups Peanut Butter Crunch

2 cups Pretzels

1 cup Reeces Pieces

1 cup Chocolate Chips

1 cup Peanuts

1 oz White Chocolate Baking Bar

2 tablespoons Coconut Oil

1/2 cup Powder Sugar

Mix Golden Grahams, Peanut Butter Crunch, Reeces Pieces,

Chocolate Chips, and Peanuts together.

In a small bowl, microwave Coconut Oil and White Chocolate

for about a minute and a half, stirring once until melted. Pour

over dry mixture. Stir to coat.

Sprinkle with Powder Sugar, stirring once again to coat.

Spread onto baking sheet or wax paper to dry.

Store in air tight container.

This makes approximately 12 cups of trail mix. My husband couldn't stop eating it! Such a yummy treat!

  Enjoy!

Cloth Diaper Chronicles

We have come to the end of the road with diapering as we once knew and onto the unknown. I can't say it was a carefree feeling I felt inside, probably more like apprehension and fear when we reached the crossroads yesterday.

{J} is now four months old and I made a goal that when we have only one more bag of disposables left we would convert to our prefolds. {We have still only bought 1 package of newborn diapers ourselves, the rest that we have had were given to us!} We will save the one bag we have left for overnight and when we leave the house. At least for now.

It has been interesting so far. Yesterday, I was beginning to wonder what we were thinking. My pinning technique has a lot to be desired. Nick was on board, but now is starting to have second thoughts. I think these feelings can be attributed to inexperience and lack of confidence. Already today, I have noticed some improvement in my pinning skills. I have to say that the cloth diapers seem to be containing more than the Huggies we were using did!

There were a couple factors in our decision to cloth diaper. First, being cost. Reusing saves money. Period. Second, the land fills will thank us. Is it easier? Not really. There is more laundry involved. There is extra work in rinsing. Then there is storing dirty diapers until they can be laundered. All not so convienient, but over all, it is well worth the extra effort.

The biggest negitive side effect has been bulky butt. Her little tushie more than doubled in size due to the bulk of the cloth making her pants too tight. She also feels wet faster than with disposables. So she needs changed more. My hope is this will lead too faster potty training!

This is going to be challenging. But, I am hoping it will become easier as we go along. We shall see!