How Working Harder Is More Relaxing

I have been spending a lot of time in prayer and Bible study lately, and God has really been showing me a lot of weakness in my life. It hasn’t been a fun process, but has been so rewarding. For the first time I am able to surrender my weaknesses completely to Him instead of trying to fix myself; and the results have been freeing.

Just the other day I texted this message to my husband:

I know I should move laundry, but I’m too exhausted to move (read: lazy)

Then, as I thought about things more, I shared this thought on Facebook:

Why is it that so much of my time is spent being overwhelmed by all the things I have to do rather than getting them done?

More thinking and praying.

Then, by God’s strength, I decided I would do what needed to be done even if I felt tired or didn’t want to.

The first day I was able to enjoy an hour with Samuel at the park. I could be with him fully and not feel guilty or rushed by all the things I had to do.

Last night I was able to spend a few hours in prayer and Bible study without being distracted by all that was left unfinished. Samuel even seems to enjoy scurrying around the house with me getting things done (of course there are many pauses for reading books, bouncing balls and soaking up new discoveries in Samuel’s world.)

While this pace is a bit exhausting, it’s so much sweeter! I can really pause throughout the day without feeling guilty. I can spend more time with Arlen and Samuel at the end of the day because everything is done. I am even sleeping better at night.

I have to admit, I’m a little scared. I don’t want business to become an idol, nor do I want my self-worth to come from what I have or haven’t accomplished. I also don’t want to fall into the trap of placing tasks before family and friends.

Although I am scared, I have hope, hope that through God’s strength I will find a balance and find the true rest and joy that comes only from hard work.

 

Organic Garden 2012 – Step One: Seeds!

I was so excited when I went to the mailbox this morning and found a nice, fluffy envelope full of seeds!  I can’t wait to start my indoor plantings, but I know it’s far too early.  I get so excited when I think about this growing season because I am taking things more seriously than ever before.  I am going to try really hard to keep a “farmer’s journal” so that I can learn from mistakes I make and really know what’s going on in my garden.

The first step for me was planning what I would grow and then ordering the seeds.  I used a fantastic online tool called growveg to plan my garden (they even have a 30 day trial for free). I really like it for the crop rotation features.  I used to keep track of everything on paper, but I didn’t like having to redo everything when I made one small change, nor did I like the fact that paper is easy to lose.  What I really like about the growveg planner though is that I can keep track of succession planting, giving me a great fall and winter harvest.

Once I planned my garden, it was time to order seeds. Here I was faced with a challenge – do I want organic seeds, heirloom seeds or both? In a nutshell, organic seeds are grown organically by a USDA certified farm. Heirloom seeds are open pollenated, hence you can save your own seed.  Both of these things are very important to me, but finding seed that fits both criteria with varieties that grow well in my region can result in a lot of time, money and frustration.

Historically, I ordered all my seeds from Seeds of Change.  All of their seeds are organic, and they carry some heirloom seeds as well. This is the first year heirloom seeds have really mattered to me, and I was sad to see that their heirloom selection seemed to be less than ever. As I searched for other companies that had the heirloom seeds I wanted, Sustainable Seed Company came up over and over again. All of their seeds are heirloom, but I found the opposite problem from Seeds of Change in that their organic selection was slim. As I poked around the website, I became more impressed with the seed they sell.  While not all of their seed is certified organic, it is all organically and sustainably produced. (It can take years for some places to gain USDA Organic status due to the nature of organic farming.) This was good enough for me. I made my order and my seeds are here.

 

Menu Monday

Monday – Mazidra w/ Lentils, spinach, rice, and fresh veggies
Oatmeal, apples, cinnamon, toast and fresh fruit

Tuesday – Veggie Pot Pie
Family Night

Wednesday – Pasta (maybe spagetti squash?) with veggies
Oatmeal, apples, cinnamon, toast and fresh fruit

Thursday – Chili, Cornbread and veggies
Fruit Toast and Bean Cakes

Friday –Baked Potatoes with Chili on top and veggies
Biscuits and gravy, fried potato, sautéed mushrooms

Saturday – Pancakes
Hay Stacks

Sunday – Waffles
Leftovers

 

Toddler Homeschool Letter S

I’ve noticed that I’m starting to lose energy when it comes to the story and letter review part of the day.  Sometimes Samuel is having so much fun playing I just don’t want to interrupt him.  Other times I wonder if I really have the energy to dance around the room with him while we sing the memory verse song.

I guess that’s part of the beauty of him being so young.  If he really is having a good time doing something else, I don’t have to do story and letter review.  However, this week I’m going to work really hard not to skip it just because I don’t feel like it.  Samuel LOVES singing the alphabet song, reading the stories and dancing around the room with instruments as we review our memory verse songs.  *Picturing his smiles and laughs during that time*  Yes, it’s totally worth it!

Letter of the week: S

Memory verse for the week: “Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well”  Matthew 6:33.

New Toy: I’ll switch out toys from his toy store, but I will make sure to set out his shape sorter.

Mystery Box Items (choose 5 – one for each day): stone, sponge, stamps, stickers, shapes, string, straw, ship, shoe, sticks, square, star, six, seven, saturn

Daily Story/Activity: (This is what we do to start our “learning time” each day) Tell the story Samuel, the boy priest, using pictures.

sing a couple songs, look at letter of the day. Set aside aprox. 15 mins to read as many books as Samuel wants. After doing daily activities, if Samuel needs other things to do, here are some options:

Go for a walk, blow bubbles, color in coloring book, play dough, finger paint, water play, sing “Head and Shoulders, Knees and Toes”, stack pots and pans or bowls, play with balls, finger painting, water painting, get out sensory tub

Monday – LeapFrog Fridge Phonics (each week I will put a different letter in the fridge phonics toy. I don’t usually like electronic toys, but Samuel loves putting the letter in this one and pressing the button. I’m only giving him one letter at a time right now.) We will look at the new toys set out and play with them together.

Tuesday – Gather sticks and play with them inside.

Wednesday – Play with Straws.  We can poke straws through holes cut out of a plastic lid, put a bunch of straws in a cup, stick straws in play dough to build – let our imaginations run wild!

Thursday – Spaghetti Painting

Friday – Read Stories – especially books that have lots of S’s in them or start with S – we might point to the S’s we see.

 

Menu Plan January 16-21

Monday – Whatever Casserole with Rice, beans, Sauce (from veggie pot pie I make), Spinach and Green Beans
Fruit Toast and Bean Cakes

Tuesday – Mashed Potatoes, Garbanzo patties, Veggies
Family Night

Wednesday – Stew and biscuits
Oatmeal, apples, cinnamon, toast and fresh fruit

Thursday – Veggie Pot Pie
Blueberry Pancakes

Friday –Pasta with veggies
Biscuits and gravy, fried potato, sautéed mushrooms

Saturday – Waffles
Hay Stacks

Sunday – Leftover Waffles
Leftovers

 

Homeschool Letter R

Wow, it’s been a while.  With Christmas and sick family members, I’m finally getting back on track with daily plans for Samuel.

Letter of the week: R

Memory verse for the week: “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!’” Philippians 4:4. Periodically throughout the day, we will listen to various songs on this verse like this one.

New Toy: I’ll switch out toys from his toy store, but I will make sure to set out his road.

Mystery Box Items (choose 5 – one for each day): ribbon, rat, radish, rocks, red (things), rag, rice, rattle, rabbit, rainbow, rectangle, ruler

Daily Story/Activity: (This is what we do to start our “learning time” each day) Tell the story of the parting of the Red Sea while using Samuel’s felt book.

sing a couple songs, look at letter of the day. Set aside aprox. 15 mins to read as many books as Samuel wants. After doing daily activities, if Samuel needs other things to do, here are some options:

Go for a walk, blow bubbles, color in coloring book, play dough, finger paint, water play, sing “Head and Shoulders, Knees and Toes”, stack pots and pans or bowls, play with balls, finger painting, water painting, get out sensory tub

Monday – LeapFrog Fridge Phonics (each week I will put a different letter in the fridge phonics toy. I don’t usually like electronic toys, but Samuel loves putting the letter in this one and pressing the button. I’m only giving him one letter at a time right now.) We will look at the new toys set out and play with them together.

Tuesday – Roll a ball and knock over cups

Wednesday – Use finger paints to make rainbows. (This will be Samuel’s first experience with finger paint.  I think it will be fun!)

Thursday – Read books (maybe even go to the library to read!!)

Friday – Play Rhythm instruments in the rhythm band

*If it rains this week, be sure and go for a walk in the rain.  Take the umbrella and follow up with a warm bath and nap when we get home.

 

Menu Plan for 01/09 – 01/15

Sunday – Pancakes
Pasta with veggies
Leftovers

Monday – split peas, cornbread and a veggie
Oatmeal, apples, cinnamon, toast and fresh fruit

Tuesday – Veggie Pot Pie with Biscuit top
Fruit toast and bean cakes

Wednesday – Chili, Cornbread or biscuits, Veggies
Grits, Greens, Toast and fruit

Thursday – Pasta with veggies
Blueberry Pancakes

Friday – Leftovers
Biscuits and gravy, fried potato, sautéed mushrooms

Saturday – Waffles
Hay Stacks

Sunday – Leftover Waffles
Garbanzo Patties in taco shells with guac, salsa, lettuce, tomato and cucumber

 

A Plethora of Yumminess, One Plant at a Time

I don’t know if I have shared much about my long-term plan for our home garden. Even though we have about a quarter acre, it’s pretty extensive including fruit trees (apple, pear, maybe plum and dwarf, potted citrus trees for our deck), a greenhouse, raised beds (3 3×10 an 3 4×10), berry bushes (blueberry, raspberry and black raspberry) and a strawberry patch. Even with all of this, there will be plenty of yard left for Samuel to play.

The hard part is the upfront cost of everything. Plants (trees and bushes) can get expensive, raised beds can get expensive, soil amendments can get expensive. So what’s a girl to do? A little at a time, that’s what.

This past summer we prepped two raises beds and we hope to have two more ready for spring planting. I am super excited about the greenhouse my husband got me for Christmas. It is small, and not top quality, but it’s a perfect starter while I learn more about greenhouse gardening. It’s also easy to move which is good for finding the best spot. I can’t wait to start seeds in it!

The other exciting thing is my blueberry bushes! I have been saving up and was finally able to purchase two high bush plants (and just in time to get them in the ground).

What are your big gardening plans? What small steps can you start with now to reach your future goals?

 

January Sensory Tub

This month’s sensory tub is a winter theme. Here’s what’s inside:

Cotton Balls
Glitter
White Feathers
Silver Bells
Snow Shoes
Red Raffia
Mittens
Pine Cones
Scoop
Battery Powered Tea Lights

Samuel seemed to like the lights best. Here is a little video of him exploring it for the first time.

 

Meals for 01/01-01/08

Sunday – Pancakes
Leftovers
Biscuits and gravy, fried potato, sautéed mushrooms

Monday – Pasta, garlic Bread, Salad, Veggie
Oatmeal, apples, cinnamon, toast and fresh fruit

Tuesday – Chili, Cornbread, Veggies
Fruit toast and bean cakes

Wednesday – Split Peas and Veggie
Grits, Greens, Toast and fruit

Thursday – Messy Janes, Veggies (w/rice, quinoa or bread)
Blueberry Pancakes

Friday – Mazidra
Fried Potato, Biscuits, Gravy, Mushrooms

Saturday – Waffles
Hay Stacks

Sunday -