To do list for this weekend...

Well my list isn't very long but there is much to be done. The cold weather has come if I like it or not. I have been putting off getting the house ready for winter long enough so now is the time. My fear is if I don't get it done the snow will be flying before I get done.

• Get plastic up to windows
• Haul in fire wood
• Clean all winter blankets and quilts
• Clean winter jackets
• Find the kids some winter boots (Bug a Boo needs jacket too! Oh when do they stop growing?)
• Put flower beds to rest for the winter
• Last mow for the year
• Tune up for both vehicles
• Put away kids pool
• Put away lawn chairs
• All summer outdoor toys put up

Well that is all I can think of for now. I'm sure there is more (LOTS MORE!) My brain just don't seem to be working right now. I got little sleep last night and was up early with DH. He had to be to work at a really ridiculous hour this morning.

Hope you all have a wonderful and warm weekend!

Wednesday Rambles...

This week is going by so fast! Probably because I had Monday off work. What a blessing that was. I got a lot done around the house. This has been bothering me lately so I was well pleased that I could get so much done. A few weeks ago I bought a 1/2 bushell of Cortland apples to make 2 apple pies for a funeral dinner at church. It was cheaper to buy them that way. Anyway, I had enough apples left to make Dh an apple pie for his birthday as well as 2 apple crisps and 5 pints of spiced applesauce. We also ate some apples here and there. So Monday I baked one apple crisp and made and canned the 5 pints of applesauce. I also baked and froze some Butternut squash that was given to us. I cleaned the kitchen and canning supplies. Rearranged my cabinets a bit. Bug a Boo helped by doing laundy and helped to fold it. Dh wanted his hunting gear cleaned for Saturday (the first day of bow season starts here). I'm hoping we can get a few deer this year. I would love to can some as well as make some good jerky.

We have been making some headway in school this week as well. I went to Staples yesterday and bought some workbooks to ready Bug a boo for here state test this year. She is doing better than I thought. Praise the Lord! Little Buck read his first sentence last night! It was great! I pray he loves to read someday. Bug a boo would rather not read if she didn't have too. She is making good headway though, For which I am truly thankful. We just finished our mini unit study on Christopher Columbus yesterday and will have a test today. We have started a study about the United States. Currently studying the flag and the 13 original colonies. I am having a lot of fun with this considering I hated History in school.

We finally found someone in our area selling firewood. We are getting 3 cord this week and then another 3 to 4 cord next week. I am so thankful to get it at the price of $50 a cord. It isn't extremely cheap but it is cheaper than some places. I have seen it as high as $75 a cord. God is good!

The weather is turning much colder this week. We were in the 70's Monday but are only hitting low to mid 60's today. Tomorrow it is suppose to rain and be in the 50's. There is snow forcasted for next week. I am praying it holds off a bit longer. We still need to get the plastic up to the old windows in the house. I still need to prep my flower bed for the winter as well. I'm chilled to the bone just thinking about it.

It's that time of year again!

For colds and coughs that is. Yesterday, I had to take time off work because Little Buck was sick. He was running a low grade fever and had a runny nose. I stayed home so I could make sure he took his medicine and drank lots of water. Today he woke up with a horrible cough. I felt so bad. I wanted to take today off too but was unable. I sent him off to Papa's house with some tea bags and honey. Bug-a-boo has strict instructions to make sure he drinks some hot tea with honey today plus lots of water. Medicine at noon! When we got to Papa's house he had to show him how his cough sounded. Poor little guy! I gave him extra kisses and hugs to last the day with instructions to call if need be.

Although, I stayed home to watch after Little Buck yesterday I did get much need work done. The break away from my normal schedule was great! I loved being home and getting stuff done. While Little Buck rested and watched movies, Bug-a-boo and I cleaned the living and dining rooms. I also wanted to get to the kitchen as well but didn't get that far. It needs a good ole scrub down. I'm planning on Saturday for that if nothing comes up. That will make a full day of hard work scheduled but it all needs done. With all the cleaning yesterday that we got done I still have a long list of things that need done before winter. I just need to see who can help do what. Without planting a garden this year, we are relying on the farmers market. I have to make sure I plan that into my schedule for Saturday. I need to buy some apples and butternut squash to can or freeze for the winter.

Next Tuesday is Hubby's 38th birthday! I started making his card yesterday. It's a first for me. I have never made cards or any of that sort of thing before although I love crafts. This is something new for me. Now I just need to finish that up and find that special gift for him. I think instead of a cake I may bake him a deep dish apple pie. I'll need to add Vanilla Ice cream to the shopping list this week.

Praises for today...

• Little Buck didn't have a high fever this morning
• The living and dining room are clean
• Bug-a-boo's willingness to help
• A boss that understands when I need time off for sick kids

Prayer for today...

• Little Buck to get better
• The rest of the family to stay healthy
• Scheduling to work out
• Hubby back to get better soon
• Cold weather to hold off a few more weeks

Hope you all have a blessed day!

Heavy Heart...wasted time

I have such a heavy heart this morning. I have many prayer requests that I have lifted up to My Father. I never thought being a daughter, sister, wife, mother, aunt, cousin, sister in law, daughter in law, friend, receptionist, school teacher, co worker and homemaker (and the list goes on) could be so hard. I have been really struggling in the past few months with what I am suppose to be doing. Life is so very hard. It is so hard to know what you want to do but knowing that is not what God wants for you. So here is where I'm at right now. I'm married to the love of my life, we have 2 beautiful children. I work full time (35-40 hours a week) for a Christian Landscape Company 20 miles from home. Hubby works there too! I home school both kids. Our daughter is in forth grade and our son is in K5. Life is great, Right?? Not so fast Junior. Here is the problem...my schedule... I have hardly enough time to get the housework done and spend time with the kids other than school time.

My Schedule

6 am...get up and shower

6:20... wake DD

6:25...Dress for work

6:30...wake hubby and DS

6:40...help DS get dressed

6:45...breakfast for all (cereal)

6:55... make lunches for hubby and I

7:05...get school stuff around for kids

7:15... on the road to drop kids off at my parents and drive to work

7:55... Devotions at work with co workers

8:10...start my day at work

12:15... Lunch

12:45...back to work

4:30...pick kids up

(4:45...run around in town if needed)

5:00...Home- look at mail

5:10...Start dinner

5:45...Sit down to dinner and talk with family

6:45...clean up dinner dishes (soak in sink)

7:00...school with kids (what they didn't get done at Grandma and papa's)

7:45...dishes

8:00...Read to kids

8:20...Ready kids for bed

8:30...kids in bed

8:45...ready myself for bed

9:00...watch TV with Hubby

9:30...Reading (devotions and prayer)

10:00...BED

To look at my schedule it don't look to bad. I really just want more time in a day. I know there is some open time here and there. In those cases I am either helping the kids do work or picking up the house. DD does all the laundry for us and that is a BIG help. I still fold it and we both put it away. At work I have a lot of "wasted time". I think this is what is waying so heavy on my heart lately. I feel like I could be more productive than I am. I do use this time to pray and read. I do a lot of research on the Internet for school and this is also time I use to check my email and read blogs.

My husband use to be an over the road truck driver. After much prayer God blessed him with this job working at the same company with me. This is great! We have worked here together for about a year. God is good! DH said he is "getting the itch" to drive again. UGH! God has been working on him I believe in this area. He told me yesterday he was having "flash backs" of him sitting in a rest area and truck stops in the mid west and west coast talking on the phone with me. I don't think it's Gods will for him to be back in the truck again. I pray for clarity there.

Boy just writing my feeling down has made me feel a bit better. Thanks for reading my feeling for today!

Praying for...

• clarity for DH
• Peace, wisdom and clarity for me
• Understanding
• wood for the winter
• school to go smoothly
• patience
• our pastor and his wife
• our deacons and their wives
• Life Adventure club (starts on the 25th)
• work to be done on time

Praises...

• wonderful neighbors willing to give of their garden
• Parents giving from their garden
• pay raise (unexpected)
• parent's who are willing to watch our children
• Wonderful church family
• safety in our travels everyday

Hope you all have a Blessed day!

Jolene

It's been a while!

Sorry for the long vacation. I have been so busy. I didn't mean to be gone so long. Sometime life just happens. When I started this blog I didn't know just what I wanted to achive here ( I'm still not sure.) For now I'm just going to share life with you all. There has been many things on my mind as of late that I want to share. Now I just need to find the time to get them written. I will be sharing how God has blessed my family and continues to bless us each day. I want to share the many recipes I have and the deals that keep coming my way. How God has blessed my family this year with fresh produce even though we didn't plant a garden of our own.

Until next time~ Jolene

Makeover...are you kidding me???

Well DH and I have been talking about me getting my hair done. Something both of us would love to see happen. After all, I have wore my hair the same way for 9 years. Yes that's right...9 LONG years. I have had it cut here and there but never was it something I liked enough to keep. Do I like my hair the way it is now? No, not exactly. I love that I can "do" my hair in 3 minutes but I don't like the way it looks. It's too Blah looking for me. It's long (middle of my back) and wavy.

I'm wanting to get it cut above my shoulders and have a perm put in. So...I called around to price having that done because well it's been 9 years since I have had my hair done. I about fell out of my chair when I heard:

Lady: Our prices for a cut and perm start at $70

Me: Did I hear you right $70.

Lady: Yes, Start at $70.

Me: Oh start at $70. Somehow I didn't hear the start at $70. What do you mean start at?

Lady: Depends on how long your hair is.

Me: Oh well after the cut it will be above my shoulders. So how much would that cost?

Lady: I'm not sure. All I can tell ya is we start pricing at $70 then go up by 10's.

Me: Well that explains everything.

So now do I want to spend $70 + dollars to have my hair cut and a perm put in? NO way!!!
Well really I want it but not for $70 + dollars. I'm thinking I can get my hair cut for $15 then just by a home perm and have my mom put it in. It will still cost $30 or so but a lot cheaper than $70+. Do they even still make home perms???

DH says just to go do it. My thinking is...I can feed my family for a week or more for $70. How does one justify spending that kind of money on hair?

The best soup I ever made.

I love soup! I'll eat just about any kind of it. Sorry I won't touch pea soup. I'm not sure why but I just simply don't like it. YUCK! Anyway...I made the best soup the other day. I had a bunch of leftovers in the fridge that needed eaten up. It was cold outside, so it was a perfect soup day. YUMMY! To my big stock pot I added a little bit of this and a touch of that...

• cauliflower
• summer squash
• broccoli
• chicken
• ham
• potatoes
• tomatoes
• some mixed veggies (carrots, corn, peas, and green beans)
• maccaroni

I then added the chicken broth and some water. A dash of pepper and a pinch of salt. I love the way it turned out. I think from now on I will add what bit of veggies left over to a ziploc baggie and freeze for future soup days. What a way to save money and use up those lasts bits of food left on the table.

Let me count the ways!

As you all know Valentine's day is this Thursday. I thought since it's the week we celebrate love, I would share with you all the reasons I love my husband.


I love him because:

• He is a Godly man
• He loves me
• He loves our children
• He takes care of us
• He cries with me
• He snuggles with me
• He plays with the kids even when he is beat from working all day
• He helps me when I need it
• He helps teach our children school
• He has the most beautiful eyes I have ever seen
• He drove 40 miles to buy me an apple pie from my favorite resturant when I was pregnant with Bug-a-boo. (Bless his heart)
• He does things for me.
• He likes to cook
• He gives me back rubs
• He blows me kisses and winks at me outside my office window when I'm having a bad day.
• He holds me when I'm down in the dumps about something
• He gives me butterfly kisses to wake me up
• He loves nature
• He loves for me to hunt with him
• He loves to work in the garden with me
• His smile
• He loves my burnt grill cheese sandwiches ( I can't make them without burning them.)
• He sings to me
• He makes me laugh

Those are just a few things that I love my husband for. I am very thankful for the man that God gave to me.

Hope you all have a great week!

Sickness, Headaches and other rambles

Sunday we stayed home from Church all day. DH was sick with a sinus infection and both kids had runny noses. We thought it was best not to go to church and pass our germs on to them. I like to share but not bad germs! We all rested up and was feeling better by Monday. DH went to work but wasn't totally 100%. Bless his heart! He is much better now. I have been battling headaches for 3 days now. I'm not sure what is causing them. It maybe my hair. I have really thick hair and it is getting long. Time for a cut!

Our weather is unbelievable lately. We are back up in the 50's today but temps are dropping. It's been raining for 2 days now and flash flood watches are up all over. I have never seen a winter like this. We had thunderstorms come through last night and the night before. I'm praying for those hit by the tornadoes.

My van has died. We are not sure what is wrong with it. Dh took it to a auto place to have it checked and they can't find anything wrong. I went to start it yesterday and there was nothing. We thought maybe the kids left one of the doors open a bit. So DH jumped it with the truck and we came to work. After work it wouldn't start again, so we jumped it agian. The guy at the place Dh had it checked said it could be a number of things but nothing was showing up on the test he ran. Dh is going to look at it today when we get home. I really hope it isn't anything costly. That would really blow the budget.

Hope you all are having a nice day!

Ice, Rain, Snow Day!

I woke this morning to a very icy world outside. I was awaken yesterday morning around 5 am to ice hitting our bedroom window. I love the sound of it! It reminds me of being in a cabin with a tin roof during a rain storm. So relaxing! We had a few travel bands up around for no unnecessary travel. Unfortunetly, I had to travel 25 miles to work. On the flip side of that, I love my job so it was no big deal at least the work part. I had to drive between 25 and 35 mph because the roads were so bad. Good news we made it just fine.

Today most of the ice, sleet and snow from yesterday melted off. We do have a bit of slushy yuck out there. Thankfully I don't have to go anywhere today. I have a long to do list for today for here at home. Laundry, deep clean the kitchen, dust and vacuum all rooms, and if I have time I need to go through all the clothes. Little Buck is growing fast. I just bought him pants right before Christmas that he is almost out of. I guess I just need to realize my baby is almost 5 and at that age little boys GROW FAST.

This week I will also be working on our budget. I alway wait until will file our taxes to do this. If we get a refund we like to pay off as many bills as possible with it. After that is done I know what is left to deal with for our budget. I am trying this year to cut out as much as possible. I would like as much of the "extra" to go into savings. In the real world that don't always happen. I'll see what I can do.

Things I'm Thankful for today...

• My van- It got the kids to my parents for the day and hubby and I to work yesterday safely.


• My boss- For not minding we were a bit late do to the weather. And also for the raise he gave hubby yesterday. SO unexpected but So grateful for!


• For thrift stores- The way Little Buck and Bug-a-boo are growing, I am thankful I don't have to pay full price for clothes.


• I'm also VERY, VERY, VERY Thankful for those men and women who fight for my freedom. God Bless each and everyone one of you! You are always in my prayers!

And so many more...

Please leave my a comment if you have a loved one in the military. I would love to pray for them by name.

Hope you all have a great weekend! ~Jolene

Just a bit of everything!

Well today it's raining here. I have never seen a winter like this before. A couple weeks ago we were in the 60's, Last week we were lucky if we hit 10* and this week it's in the 30 and 40's. I guess I won't complain. I can handle 30 and 40's. It's the 20 and below temps I don't care for.

I have a prayer request. My dear father in law has to go in for an angioplasty on February 12th. He has a 85% blockage in one and 35 % in the other. Please pray for him as well as the family. My husband isn't taking the news to well today as we have just found out. Thank you to all willing to pray for them.

I also wanted to Thank everyone who has left comments on here. I love to hear from you. For Linda who left a comment about "Pa". I live only a few short miles from where he was born, Cuba NY. They have know marking there about it. We love "Little House" and all that comes with it. DH wants to live like that. I'm not so sure yet. LOL !!!

Things I'm thankful for today...

• The warmer weather~ Is spring here yet????
• My Father-in-law ~ Love you Dad!
• My Husband ~ Thank you for working so hard and loving me the way you do. I love You!!!!
• God's Grace ~ What more do I need to say about that??
• I'm thankful that God knows what we don't and that HE is in control when we aren't.

Hope you all have a wonderful day! ~Jolene

Spring Cleaning???

I have been spending time today cleaning. I have started my spring cleaning already this year. I never seem to have time come spring to deep clean like I want. ( My job keeps me from it...I work for a Christian Landscape company. Very busy during that time.) Anyway last week we cleaned the living room. I still need to wash down the walls. Painting them is on my list to do this summer (if I find the time.) Today we have worked in the dining room and kitchen. I redecorated my living room and dining room with items I already had. I love baskets so I placed them all around in useful places. Most of them came from the local Salvation Army or yard sales. I always buy nice baskets when I find them. You just never know when you may need to put a gift basket together. I did find that I need to find a larger picture for above my piano in the dining room. The space just looks bare. I'm not sure if I have something around here that will look right in that space. Hmm!

My kitchen is currently decorated in fruit. Although I love fruit I am getting sick of looking at it. My sis- in - law bought me a sun catcher of grapes with John 15:5 "I am the vine; you are the branches." on it. I love this and the colors of it. Purple grapes and green vines and leaves. Sooooo, I'm thinking on painting the kitchen a sage color green with purple grapes placed here and there.

Bug-a-boo has been doing laundry and dishes today to help out. She is only 9 years old but is such a work horse. She loves helping mom and dad in anyway she can. She is such a blessing to me. I love you Bug! Thanks for all the help you give me!!!

Little Buck has helped out today as well. At 4 (5 next month) it's hard to keep his attention on cleaning. He much rather be taking something apart. You know to see how it works! I think everything he received for Christmas has been taken apart many times by now. I guess it's time to find a hiding spot for the screw drivers. I love you Little Buck!

My love has been working right along with us. You just got to love a man that will clean with you just to spend time with you. I love you honey!!

I hope your day is what you wanted it to be. ~Jolene

Charles "Pa" Ingalls

"What must be done is best done cheerfully." - Pa Ingalls


I just love that quote and wanted to share some of Pa's wisdom with you all. Hope you have a great and cheerful day. ~Jolene

Counting my Blessings

I was just sitting here thinking how often times we forget to count our blessings. Most times we are caught up in trials and everyday life that we forget. I was just talking with a friend the other day about this. She, too, said she forgets to be thankful for all the blessing God has given her in the past few years. She has gone through a lot last year and was forgetting to thank God for the help he did send her way. How many of us forget our blessings? I know for me I don't "forget" them I just don't give credit to God for them. Some blessing I want to share with you are:

• My bible- my husband bought it for me and I love how easy it is to read. I have learned so much this year from it.
• My Husband- He is so understanding, loving, caring, and helpful.
• My Bug-a- boo and Little Buck - they are awesome kids!
• My Boss- It's great having a Christian boss that understands and is a family man.
• My co-workers- All Christians. What an awesome thing to work for a Christian employer and Christian co workers for a Christian based Landscape company.
• My wood stove- Oh how it kept us warm last night in the below zero temps. we are having.
• For lotion- my skin gets so dry in the winter here in NY that you have to love a good lotion.
• Laura Ingalls Wilder- She is such a blessing. Writing down her life story for others to love and learn from. My kids love reading her books and learning from her past.
• Home Schooling- OK there are some days I don't see it as a blessing but I love my kids and only want what is best for them. I love spending time with them and learning and teaching them new things. A book- $3.49 A pencil- $.50 paper $.75 teaching a child to read- PRICELESS!!!
• Coffee- sometimes I just don't function right with out it. I do admit I need to cut back on it a bit.

My list could go on forever but I think you get the idea. How many Blessing s can you count today? Me thousands....

Brrrr...

I woke this morning to a very cold and crisp world outside. It's about 10* out right now but feels like 3*. Just a couple weeks age it was in the 60's here. I think winter has finally come to stay. I love winter but just don't like the cold that comes with it. My favorite time is new fallen snow when everything looks fresh and clean. We only have a dusting right now but that can change fast around here. There is a few lazy flakes falling here and there. Today would be a good day to make a good old cup of hot tea and snuggle in tight next to the fireplace to read a good book. That is if I had a fireplace. I can dream can't I ? Well at least we can get the wood stove going. Hope you all are staying warm and cozy! ~Jolene

Thrift Store Adventure

Yesterday, little buck, bug-a-boo, hubby and I ventured out to a "new to us" thrift store. It was 30 miles away from home in a direction I normal don't go. The draw to get us to venture there was just about everything was free for the day. GREAT I thought, Little Buck needs some pants, Bug-a-boo needs some dress shoes, hubby and I both could use shirts. So off we went...Bug-a-boo and Little Buck love yard sales and thrift stores... they take after me! After making our way in we were instantly disappointed. The organization was terrible. Men's and women's clothes all piled together. Kids clothes everywhere. Clothes piled on the dishes, pots and pans. It really looked like a bomb went off in there. I'm not sure that this is the way the place always looks but boy did it turn me off on going back. I can't complain to much we did manage to find some needed items and again they were free.

Little Buck got:

1. 5 t-shirts
2. 1 sweat shirt
3. 3 pairs of pants

Bug-a-boo got:

1. a sweater
2. 2 pairs of dress shoes
3. a purse
4. a bag to carry barbies in
5. red yarn

Hubby got:

1. 2 turtle necks for work
2. a pair of pants

I got:

1. a 3 piece set make up bag (brand new)

Maybe after the dust settles on there free giveaway day I will go back and check it out. They normally sell clothes for a $1 a bag.

My first post....

Well after reading blogs for over a year I have decided to give it a try. My plan so far is to share my life and happenings with you, things God has taught me, and things we do to save money. I don't plan to blog everyday but hey you never know. I currently work 30 hours a week and home school my 2 beautiful blessings, so time will tell. God, family and home are my top priorities. I am pleased to be here.