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(Our family in 1997)
There are days when I struggle to be the 60-year-old mother of three active and involved young adults, aged 19, 19, and 21, but as my husband and I look back over what the Lord has done, we marvel at God's grace and mercy! We can't imagine life without these young people!

There is great joy in what the Lord has done for us... for you see, we were married for almost 19 years before we had the blessing of a child! The reason? We had not obeyed God's commands, and we suffered consequences that would reach over many years. In some ways, those consequences still continue today, though forgiven.

I will tell you the sad story.

The early 50s, when we grew up, saw increasing prosperity. After the terrors and hardships of WWII, families in the U.S. were focused on getting that new dishwasher, television, and maybe, even two cars. Women were leaving home for the job market in record numbers to have the extras.

(My family)
Then in the 60s and 70s, rebellion and 'free love' on college campuses exploded onto the scene. Most parents were totally unprepared to deal with it all, and thus, by default, didn't. Busy with earning a living, many parents were out of touch with the social pressures their young people faced, the anti-God stance in schools, and the growing fractures between generations.

(We are in the couple in the middle; not too serious about life)
My husband and I both had parents who loved us, but their generation generally did not find it easy (or were unaware of the need) to discuss deeper issues with their young people.

While on campus, we 'married' ourselves (without family or friends) in a chapel before 'God' on the I.U. Bloomington campus, and I lived in the frat house from Thursday to Sunday night. Life was all partying or studying. This was not at all abnormal during those years ('69-73) in the middle of the sexual revolution, the Vietnam War, Woodstock, and and the devaluation of life with the Roe V. Wade decision (1973).

Immediately out of nursing school, my boyfriend (now my husband of 38 years) and I lived together as did many, but certainly not all, of our classmates. We finally did get properly married, much to my mother's relief. We were 21 and 22.

Upon graduation as an RN, I worked in open-heart surgery at a large metropolitan hospital. Occasionally, when there was a need for extra personnel in the abortion area of that hospital, I would be called on to assist as were other surgical nurses. Even after being raised in a private Christian school environment (and calling myself a Christian), I was unable to apply the things I studied in my catechism class to real life decisions. I was for all practical purposes "dead in my trespasses and sins."

"And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—" ~Eph. 2: 1
I am ashamed to say that we had an abortion several years into our marriage. We had bought into the worldly view of living for ourselves, careers, money, and things.

Two decisions forever changed the direction of my life~ 1.) breaking God's protective commands regarding the sacredness of marriage (having sex before marriage) and 2.) disregarding the sanctity of life (participating in and having an abortion). I didn't know it would affect my health, my fertility in years to come, or undermine our own self-respect or our respect for each other.

Nevertheless, God faithfully lead us to a solid Bible-believing church, and I finally accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior at 29. By this time, I was really suffering emotionally. The pain got my attention. You can't tell me that abortion doesn't mess you up! I had already had several miscarriages and knew there were other things wrong.

The worst were flashbacks to assisting in a surgical abortion one day at the hospital where I found a perfect, tiny hand less than the size of a dime stuck to the side of my gloved hand. It is terrible to remember it. I ran out of the OR and refused to go back. It has taken years for those scars to heal. I learned the value of human life in a split second. It wasn't tissue to me anymore; it was a baby!

Now slowly my perspective changed. My whole being desired to be a mother, to bring forth new life within our marriage and before God. And we could not! Years went by with several more miscarriages. We did two home-studies in order to adopt, one Korean, and one local, but the Lord chose to close the doors. These are stories in themselves... Many, many people at our church and other friends were praying for us.

After 8 years of pursuing medical help to conceive (Clomid and surgeries for endometriosis), and then 4 years off, I got a call from a surgeon I worked with who told me about a new procedure called GIFT (gamete intra-fallopian transfer). I was working nights, 7 days a week, to afford the earlier procedures since insurance wouldn't pay for infertility treatment. I felt the clock ticking the years off my life...

After much prayer and many tears, we decided to go ahead. The first GIFT produced 2 tiny heart beats seen on ultrasound at 4+ weeks. One was in the (wrong) fallopian tube... the damaged tube! We had a tubal pregnancy which is dangerous, but both babies failed to grow. It was so discouraging: over $11,000 and nothing to show for it, but stress and grief and high levels of drugs (Metrodin, Lupron, and Pergonal).

I was determined to continue since there was a 36% chance in those days of delivering a live baby. We were told there was no other way.

(I clung to the verses of Isaiah 54: 11-15, especially verse 13)
The second attempt went perfectly in every way. Twins! We were SO excited! My middle quickly got big, but in the fourth month I realized I was not growing in measurement. I was getting smaller!

(Two babies)
A hastily arranged ultrasound revealed that one of the little lives I carried had died several weeks before. We saw a separate sac with little bones, and were told our second baby might miscarry, too. We were crushed, and I was in anguish. I was guilty of all those earlier years, and just knew I was being punished.

I almost forgot about the life within me as I focused on the loss. "Why God?" Satan almost destroyed my joy, except that Jesus is greater! "Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour." (1 Peter 5: 8)

Later, even though our other baby would be fine, I felt such frustration because if we didn't want an only child, we would have to go through another of these uniquely stressful procedures with all the costs, shots, and stress leading up to it. Then once the procedure is over, there is the waiting for that determining ultrasound to give you the news, good or bad!

Having a baby can easily become an idol! I had to get over it so I could focus on having a joyful heart for my husband and new son. It was the will of a loving, sovereign God, and His comforting presence was very real.
"... give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you." ~1 Thessalonians 5: 18

Finally, the day arrived, and the Lord in His mercy gave us a beautiful, healthy son. My aching arms were filled, and we dedicated him to the King of Kings for His glory!

I can't describe the joy and wonder of it all. We had been married 19 plus years!!

My doctor said I was 'jump-started' with all the hormones, so we did a third GIFT to give our new son a little brother or sister. We were blessed with adorable, healthy twins exactly two years later. We praise God for His abundant grace and mercy!

Now I value life!

It has been a long road to forgiving myself for assisting in and having an abortion, but I found the Lord has welcoming arms to forgive us when we come to Him in repentance. We are sinners, but by His grace, we have hope... and now can see His guiding hand in it all. Thank You, Lord, for birthing in us new life, spiritually and physically!
"... I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live." ~Deuteronomy 30: 19

The takeaway: We have been able to share with our children (appropriately, through time) the curses we had brought upon ourselves. That has protected them, to a large degree, from repeating the same mistakes which we made. It is a blessing to tell them of the mighty things that the LORD has done for us while we were yet in unbelief and of the restoring power found only in trusting Christ Jesus. Today we enjoy a rich relationship with each of our children by the grace of Almighty God. I share this with you to encourage and strengthen YOU that no matter where you find yourself, our gracious God is always at work. Never give up hope, dear one.
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For 38 years now, I have been first a wife, but also a teacher of our children in the home. Now a new season is here, and with the blessing of my husband, I write DeepRootsAtHome as an encouragement to myself and others. (Titus 2: 3-5) What I share will be varied and practical…focused on being a good steward at home, of our time, and our relationships…but I also love to do things that bring beauty and order to our hectic lives and reflect God’s creativity. Oh, may we learn how important our jobs are as we become older women of God to speak into the younger woman! The habits of the home in one generation become the morals of society in the next. As William Ross Wallace said: “The hand that rocks the cradle, rules the world.” 10 May, 1996 Washington Times.

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Holy Spirit Led Homeschooling, The Modest Mom, Raising Arrows, The Better Mom, A Mama's Story, Time-Warp Wife, Deep Roots At Home, Raising Homemakers, Women Living Well, A Wise Woman,

It's a well known fact that a child's ability to remember things is second to none. The capacity to soak up their influences is the motivating factor behind our government's resolve to get them into the classroom at an increasingly young age. Once they're out from underneath their parent's control, the state has a no-holds-barred approach to indoctrinating our children with immorality and socialistic propaganda. This explains why the 4-year-olds in our province are going to school and being taught to question their gender, and why books like Heather has Two Mommies is perfectly acceptable story-time material.

It wouldn't be so bad if it was truth and righteousness our government was so concerned about instilling into our children. But then, if it was really God's Word the government looked to as their moral compass, they probably wouldn't be so quick to snatch the future of the nation away from their parents as soon as possible. Proverbs 22:6 was written to Dads and Moms; it is our duty to train up our children in the way that they should go, not the state's.

This reason, coupled with the desire to see our children's salvation and a life-time of blessing from the Lord, ought to make Scripture memorization and biblical instruction fundamental to the everyday life of a Christian family (Psalm 119: 9-11; Deuteronomy 6: 6,7; 1 Peter 3:15). If our children learn to abide by God's principles and commandments concerning marriage, economics, and life in general, they will become the leaders in a society that is craving for morality, prosperity, and stability.

What we think are the basics of life (i.e. arriving to a job on time and sober) are becoming extinct in a culture that's lost its way. This give a distinct advantage to the child who has learned to abide by God's formula for a happy and peaceful life:

"Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful, but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in his law he meditates, day and night." Psalm 1:1,2"He who heeds the Word wisely will find good, and whoever trusts in the Lord, happy is he." Proverbs 16:20"... His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who has called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust." 2 Peter 1: 3,4If we want to give our children a good life, we must give them God's Word. It is the key to salvation and the pattern for success. No amount of toys, allowance money, clothes, or candy can produce righteousness or an outstanding member of society. We cannot save our children; that is an act of God's grace alone. But we can hide God's Word in their hearts and take comfort in knowing that it will never return to Him void (Isaiah 55:11).

My husband and I, both unbelievers at the time, decided to end our fertility after having two children. Our reasons…we had one of each (a boy and a girl), my health had not been good during our pregnancies, our marriage wasn’t the greatest, and honestly, the whole “stay at home mom” thing wasn’t all that fun!

Fast-forward one year after the vasectomy...

The Lord had opened our eyes to Him. We were heavily convicted to reverse what we had done. It was not an easy process but by many miracles the Lord worked through the hands of a doctor to fix what we had decided to break.

“I praise you Lord for I am fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139:14).
Being fixed didn’t necessarily mean more children. Fixed meant that our marriage union had been restored to the way God had designed it. To be able to give yourself completely to one another defines the “oneness” that God speaks of in Genesis. “The two shall become one.” (Genesis 2: 24b)

God in His timing did decide to open my womb. Nine months after the reversal we found out that we were expecting. This third pregnancy (and first reversal miracle) brought such joy to my heart. Along with the joy also came major health issues. This was one of the many reasons we had the vasectomy to begin with. However, I looked upon the complications so differently this time around because God had really opened my eyes to His purposes for my life. I was created by Him and for Him AND for His glory. He made the reversal happen, and He chose to create new life within me. I honestly was not bothered by my severe high blood pressure. I knew that God was taking good and perfect care of me.

Needless to say the gift of faith in Him that He had given me carried me through that very difficult pregnancy. When we made it to delivery, my blood pressure had rocketed to new levels - 220/130. The hospital stay was one to remember as they tried to pad the bed and strap me down anticipating that I would start having seizures.

Luke Isaac was born by cesarean section (just as the first two had been). He was healthy and absolutely beautiful! Luke, one of the gospel writers in the New Testament, was a physician. Since the Lord worked through a physician to heal my husband, we decided to name our baby boy, Luke. Isaac means laughter. If you had told us when we had gotten married that we would have had more than two children, we both would have laughed!

Shortly after Luke was born, we were warned heavily against having more children. My husband and I had already been down that road and decided we were not taking charge of our fertility ever again. With that being said, we were told that we should find out what was going on. What was causing these very high sporadic blood pressures that would typically begin around week twenty in all three of my pregnancies? Our OB referred us to another Dr. for some lab work. Our OB had indicated to us that twenty years prior she had delivered a baby, and the mother had very similar issues during pregnancy. This particular patient though went into a coma right after delivery and died three months later. My OB discovered that her patient had a very rare tumor known as a Pheochromocytoma. I of course thought my OB was crazy to even suggest I had a tumor that acted up only when pregnant. But since we were going to remain open to children, it was worth us checking into.

Wouldn’t you know it! After some testing, we soon found out that I did indeed have this rare and life threatening tumor. Three months after Luke had been born, I had surgery to remove the 5cm tumor that was encapsulated in my right adrenal gland. The reason my blood pressure started rising around the twenty-week point was because the baby then had enough weight to apply pressure to this adrenaline releasing tumor!

Indeed the Lord saved my life through childbirth!!! “Yet she will be saved through childbearing.” (1 Timothy 2:15) If we had not had the reversal and our third baby, we would never have discovered that I had this life threatening tumor.

Three months after the tumor was removed we found out that we had been blessed again with baby number four and a complication free pregnancy! After baby number four-came number five and after number five-came number six! Number six is scheduled to make His appearance the first week in August.

Ellie (2nd born) and Marah Joy (4th born)

Connor (1st born) and Luke (3rd born)

Lucy (5th born)
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make straight your paths.” (Proverbs 3:5-6)

Malachi Jacob (6th being knit in my womb)
His name comes from Malachi 2:15…Hasn’t He made the two of you one? Both of you belong to him in body and spirit. And why has he made you one? Because he was looking for godly children.

Has it been an easy road? No. Are my pregnancies a walk in the park? No. Do I get scared sometimes and question? Of course I do! But the facts remain…God’s Word is true and never changes. He restored my marriage by literally pulling us both from the slimy pit. He made us whole (as He created us to be). He opened our eyes to His blessing of children. May He continue to give me the faith to offer my life as a living sacrifice to Him and His Kingdom!

*Note: The Dr. we used for our vasectomy reversal was Dr. Leverett. He does reversals as a ministry and at low costs. You can find more information as his website: http://reversals.com/
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Angela is the wife of her best friend Ken for 11 years and the mother to six children, four of which are post-reversal blessings! She enjoys being a homemaker and delights in finding new things to craft, bake, or sew. Occasionally, you can find her posting at Angela's Sewing For Sanity.

Like any area of life, homeschooling can quickly become a complicated monster. You can sometimes find yourself battling through the darkness in search of homeschool sanity.

We’ve been in the homeschool mentality for almost 10-years. When our oldest child was two-years-old the Lord did a whammy on my heart and introduced me to the world of home education. Boy, was I thankful, I’d get to stay home with my children everyday and learn and grow with them. I knew that I was made to homeschool our children.
That sounds poetic, and truly-many days are an overflow of blessing, but honestly there are seasons in which we all need a reminder to homeschool with joy and purpose. None of us want to be the un-showered mom who is still reheating her one morning cup of coffee in the microwave at 2 o’clock in the afternoon.
Sometimes, I’m that mom.
Here are 6 Ways to Keep Homeschool Sanity for those less-than-perfect ruts.

1. Take it day-by-day: You can only live this one day well. If the spelling book is screaming at you-reminding you that you’re 2-months behind-remember who is boss! You’re are in charge, not the curriculum. If pressure mounts about tomorrow and what you still have yet to do, refine your focus onto today. I’ve had to remind myself on more than one occasion to live in the moment —that’s the best place to dwell.
2. Homeschool year-round: After a few seasons of trying to maintain a traditional schedule, we finally moved to a year round routine. This has allowed us greater flexibility, and has additionally strengthened our homeschooling experience. By homeschooling year-round we’re able to keep our life and school intertwined without too much of the hard-line differences between “school” and “life.” And if those complications arise, see number 3.
3. Take a mental health day: Does today feel crazy? Did the laundry goblin ransack your laundry room and spill his carnage out into the hall? Taking a mental health day for the benefit of your family is prescribed! Develop your children’s life skills in the morning by having them roll socks; then expand their cultural horizons in the afternoon with a bowl of ice-cream and a family movie marathon. You have permission to put your feet up, too!
4. Don’t compare: This is a trap. Susie will always start her 5-year-old in Latin first, and most likely her son will have all of his school work independently completed by 9 a.m. I’m not Susie, and my kids were made for me to parent. The End. And this non-comparison business goes for comparing children in other modes of education as well. Your home is just that, home. Like it, learn in it, live it!
5. Do something different: If I need a change of flow for myself, and a field trip is not in sight, I may load the kids in the van at 8 a.m. for an impromptu morning romp at the playground. I also like to invite a few other homeschool families over for a massive fellowship day—it’s okay to change things up a bit. We have these fellowship days at least twice a month, they're vital to our homeschool health!
6. Remember what is really important: It’s easy to find ourselves caught up in the academic success that homeschool affords. We must remember to keep our eternal focus. I listed in the Reasons Why We Homeschool that raising our children in a Christ following, family centered, atmosphere was our purpose; to bring these young souls up in His ways. Jesus is what is really important. The salvation and training up of our children in the way they should go. All the homeschool benefits are just the cherry on top.
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Jamerrill Stewart is the wife to one and mother of five. You can find her most days authoring Holy Spirit-led Homeschooling where her family is living the life of faith. Also, join her Christian Homeschooling Community on Facebook.

When a child is first born, he enters the world with an amazing curiosity, given to him by his Creator, that enables him to learn what he needs to learn. He is curious about everything, even before he is able to express it. From the instant he is born, his brain has already begun to process language, sights, sounds–the whole universe. He is heavily engaged in a living education.

He continues learning, driven by his insatiable curiosity, all through his toddler years. His parents, if they are involved much in his life, are his teachers. Educated or not, they talk to him, explain things to him, answer questions for him, take him places, expose him to different experiences–they teach him every minute of the day. His environment is his teacher. His experiences are his teachers. Everything around him is his teacher.
Then, about the age of 5, they tell him, “you’re going to go to school so you can learn”. The confusing message begins right there…this child has already learned more in his 5 years than he will learn for the rest of his life! He is removed from a living, breathing environment where he can touch, see, hear and taste everything at his own pace and interest, and is plopped down in a confining room with a bunch of other kids. They are definitely taught…taught to be quiet when they have questions, taught to stand in a straight line outside the bathroom (because that’s a very important life skill), taught to work faster or slow down, depending on what everyone else around him is doing, and the list goes on.
All the while, he is being conditioned to think that his teacher is the only one in his life who has anything intelligent to impart; that “school=learning”, and that learning starts at 8 and is over at 3. Education has taken on a different meaning.
Worse yet, as he gets older, it becomes fashionable to dislike school, therefore disliking learning. Not all kids adopt this loathing of learning, but it is typical.
Still worse, these older children, being forced to conform to the average curriculum, work at an average pace, and study the average subjects, are robbed of the ability to indulge their natural gifts, talents and bents. Many would-be, brilliant entrepreneurs are drugged and labeled.

“If the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, by the way, how can we presume that a child can learn anything in the public school system which is absolutely devoid of God?”
Some kids do thrive in a classroom setting, I’m not saying they don’t. But so many children have lost tremendous potential in their own areas of expertise because they were forced into a mold they didn’t fit. And while there are some very basic concepts that everyone should learn, those concepts are not learned the same way by everyone. Reading, math and communication–in my opinion the bedrock of a good education, will either be a delight to the student, or a misery, depending upon that student and the way the subjects are presented to him.
Inspire him to love to learn–that is the pivotal point of all his learning experiences to follow. How is a person educated? By following their God-given curiosity and love of discovering things. It’s when that natural love is squelched that we lose the real potential for education. Does it take a certified teacher to teach? Absolutely not. It takes nothing more than the ability to lead a child to answers…period.

• Can I take my child to the library? Can we read together? Then I can teach, and I can teach well.
• Can we discuss things?
• Can we find the answer to questions that come up?
• Can we visit other people with expertise in different areas of subject?
• Can we ask someone who knows what I don’t know?
• Can we take a trip?
• Can we go to a museum?
• Can we learn how to think about the experiences around us?
• Can we learn how to communicate well?
• Can we study God’s Word, which the beginning of all knowledge?

Dear Brad,
I can hardly believe it has been five years since you slipped a ring on my finger and I slipped one on yours.

Five years since we promised to love and cherish each other as husband and wife until death separates us.

Five years since I was sure I had just lived the best day of my life.

But five years later, I know it was just the beginning of a love story that only gets better with time.

We added the roles of "father and mother" to "husband and wife" eleven months after saying "I do." You said you were nervous about holding a baby since you had little to no experience with newborns. But as soon as Charity Sofia entered the world at home in our bedroom, you embraced her like it was the most natural thing in the world. You were born to be a Dad.

19 months later, God gave us Judah Paul. I'm so glad you have a son. There's just something about watching you with our boy that takes my breath away. He is your shadow, your copy-cat, your biggest fan. The way he claps his chubby hands together and jumps up and down, races to find his shoes, and grins from ear to ear when I say, "We're going to see Daddy at work!" tells me you're his hero. I hope he grows up to be just like you and treats his future bride just like you treat me.

One year later, our third child was born to Heaven at 11 weeks gestation, shortly after we had excitedly announced to everyone that we were expecting again. By God's grace, we made it through that physically and emotionally painful week in the hospital. You knew Jesus could comfort me in a way that you couldn't so we cried over His Word together when I didn't have the courage to read it myself. I can't wait until we can see our Baby together for the first time when the Lord calls us to trade this life for the next.

Half a year later, we found ourselves expecting again but our joy quickly turned to sadness when we rushed to the hospital, convinced I was miscarrying again at 9 weeks. "I see a heart-beat!" Those words of life and hope would be repeated to us dozens of times by an ultrasound technician throughout the rocky pregnancy that included 20 weeks of bed-rest and moving in with your parents. At 34 weeks, I went into labor and our dear Anna Grace was born healthy and strong at 5 pounds, 2 ounces! We had been the objects of God's undeserved mercy and grace and were absolutely overwhelmed with joy by our precious miracle.

Our lives are busy and our days are full, but somehow you always manage to make me feel like the center of your world. Every day, in a thousand ways, you tell me how much you love me and though I often take it for granted, I couldn't imagine life without your sweet gestures and affection:

... "I love you," whispered in my ear each morning before you head to work,

... washing dishes in the evening together and putting off getting our dishwasher fixed because we enjoy the bonding time too much,

... curling up to you after the kids are in bed and hearing your deep voice read out loud to me,

... watching the kids shriek with delight when you run around the house with them on your shoulders,

... kisses planted on my cheek in the kitchen when you set your lunch box on the counter,

... witnessing the births of our children, and rejoicing over the blessings that God has entrusted into our care,

... driving into town when I'm pregnant to pick up a specific flavor of pizza from a specific franchise because it's the only thing I crave even though it's full of gluten and you won't be able to eat a slice yourself,

... coming home with my favorite coffee when you've "just gone to get gas,"

... forgetting and forgiving all the times I'm grumpy, whiny, and discontent,

... giving 110% at work all day and coming home to lovingly greet your wife and patiently listen to three excited children who have a hundred and one things they want to tell you as soon as you step inside the door,

... even though I find mowing the lawn therapeutic, you always beat me to it because you're a true gentleman. Same goes for shoveling the driveway, taking out the garbage, and emptying the compost,

... praying with and for me, leading family worship, long talks involving our deep, mutual interests: homeschooling, politics, entrepreneurship, and economics,

... you excel where I shy away, especially in positions that require leadership and efficiency,

... how you always call and ask, "Can I bring supper home?" exactly when I'm feeling overwhelmed and way behind on everything,

... how you send me an email every day from work asking how my day's going and and never forgetting to end it with: "Love you!"

... how you pat your stomach after dinner and say, "Honey, that was a meal fit for a king," even if it was one of my experiments gone wrong,

... I love how I fit perfectly inside your embrace when you wrap your arms around me and say, "Let's just hug for a few minutes," while I'm cooking dinner...

... the interest you take in this little blogging hobby of mine and how you happily take the time to edit my posts and compile my eBooks even though you could be doing so many other things,

... the way you put your family first, the way you mean what you say and say what you mean, the way you have never once raised your voice at me in anger, the way you make us feel safe, secure, cherished, and treasured.

How does that saying go?

You're the peanut to my butter, water to my ocean, glaze on my doughnut, spring in my step, twinkle in my eye, blue in my sky, cherry to my sundae, flip to my flop, milk to my cookie, sweet in my dreams, beat of my heart, cheese to my macaroni, best to my friend, love of my life.

Sweetheart, if the Lord tarries, I hope to spend dozens and dozens and dozens of half-decades with you. Each day, I'm more in love with you than the last and these past five years have been the best ones of my life. I would say "I do" all over again in a heartbeat.

5 years ago, I had no idea marriage could be this glorious... I can't wait to see what the Lord has in store for us for the rest of together.

I love you.

Your wifey,

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Linking to: Raising Homemakers, Deep Roots At Home, Raising Arrows, Time Warp Wife, A Wise Woman.,Walking Redeemed, The Better Mom, The Modest Mom, A Mama's Story, We ARE That Family, Raising Mighty Arrows, Hearts For Home, Frugal Homeschool Family, Moms The Word, Hip Homeschool Moms, Trivium Tuesdays

Things were so much simpler back in the days when everything was hard. You poured your sweat into the soil and fought for a crop that would see your family through until the next harvest. There was no struggle for excessive cash flow as needs were basic and lacked extravagance. The Industrial Age had not yet left its indelible mark and the frenzy of electronics hadn't swept in complicating everything with it's simplification.

But more specifically, birth control was not yet in vogue.
Responsible planning now means you snatch up a great house in an area where the resale values are good. It means you systematically pay off the two SUVs that transport you and your spouse to white collar jobs. And you postpone "starting a family" until you're completely settled, financially stable and feel ready to cash in the carefree life for kids.
Now don't mistake me... I'm all for being responsible. I've worked hard for 14 years to instill core values into my children that will give them a foundation for wise decision-making. But I'd have to say I'm a proponent for responsible preparation rather than planning. While that may seem very much like splitting hairs, there is a huge difference. Especially when it comes to fertility.
Married at 20, I gave birth to my first child just a week before my 21st birthday. While most eventually celebrated the pregnancy with us, that quick conception was our introduction into the world of naysayers. We almost instantly learned it wasn't "wise" to just let things happen. A little slow in catching on, we were prepared the next time! Soon after our son was born we responsibly got some tiny little pills that, if taken correctly, would prevent a repeat of our first senseless mistake.

Our first three boys when they were 7, 6 and 4 Those little pills were a big fail and within 5 months I was expecting. This time there were two sacs, though one stopped developing fairly early and few people knew. It little mattered that we had heeded all that advice and done our part to resist growing our family... the news of even one was not generally well received. Not willing to be played the fool a third time, we re-strategized and settled on the depo-provera shot as our weapon of choice. Certain we were now bullet-proof, we settled comfortably into life with our sweet little boys. For about a year, that is, until a missed cycle and an overpriced plastic stick confirmed we had again put far too much faith in our plan!
The voices of protest were silent that time, as the pregnancy ended in miscarriage before we'd been brave enough to announce our news. I was beginning to have serious doubts about the wisdom behind our planning. Our best efforts weren't keeping me from getting pregnant, and worse, we'd now lost two babies. I had a sneaking suspicion that chemical prevention methods had a hand in those misfortunes. So we turned to non-chemical options with similar results... and our family grew by three in the following 4 years.

Sweet Hannah, child #4, at age 3! Our fifth child was also from what began as a twin pregnancy. Feeling mildly panicked because I'd now conceived multiples twice, my then-husband scheduled an appointment for a vasectomy. The surgery took place just 6 weeks before our daughter was born and I honestly hadn't protested. I was exhausted, not only from five successive pregnancies and seemingly perpetual nursing, but from the rash of unkind remarks and jokes at our expense.
Would it surprise you at all to learn that even post-vas I conceived? It certainly shocked us, though all three times ended in loss! Some people require only a gentle nudge to catch on, while others need to be body-slammed. Apparently we were numbered among the latter! I'm happy to say that at some point I did finally realize God wasn't terribly in love with all my planning. And that I am totally in love with every single one of my children! Even the ones I didn't think I wanted! He was teaching me to simply open my heart to His plan and embrace the beautiful little people He'd loaned me. And that simple exercise has been a wonderful preparation in accepting His will in every other area of my life!
{In a difficult turn of events, my first marriage ended. I remarried and promptly conceived twin boys, who turned one in June. The voices of my past still make me tremble, so if I bravely whisper an announcement one of these days, just know it has been a life-long battle to surrender control of my plan to His will!}
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Kasey is the cherished wife of Robbie and the mother to seven children: Micah, Nikolas, Alexander, Hannah, Abigail, Levi, and Quinn. The grace of God carries her from one chapter of life to the next, and His faithfulness through homeschooling, motherhood, and homemaking, is often the subject of her writing at Walking Redeemed.

1. Bible
There is only one thing needful in a child's education: the Lord Jesus Christ. Reading, writing, and arithmetic are all very important, but of what eternal purpose do they serve if our child's soul is lost? Don't get me wrong; we can't save our children. Their salvation rests solely upon the grace of God. But instructing our children in the paths of righteousness is a parental commanded uttered from the mouth of God that we must obey - for our sake, and more importantly, so that our children would be given every opportunity to enter into a saving relationship with their Creator. (Ephesians 2:8; Proverbs 22:6; Deuteronomy 6:6-7) How To Produce Godly Children is one of the best articles I've ever read on the subject.

Not to mention, that Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works (2 Timothy 3:16). It is here where our children will learn God's pattern for society, how we are to live and work, and all that makes for a peaceful and joy-filled life.

2. Reading and Writing
God has chosen to reveal Himself in His written Word which we are commanded to read. From the plumber who writes out a bill, to the pastor in the pulpit, to the mother who reads bedtime stories to her children, reading and writing are life skills used every day by people everywhere. These are the greatest gifts you can give your children. With them, they will be able to discover the Word of God for themselves, engage in every other secondary subject (science, history, foreign languages, etc.), and accomplish necessities like writing out checks, following a recipe, and filling out health card forms, etc.

3. Mathematics
Though perhaps not consciously, people use math skills everyday in construction, cooking, banking, and grocery shopping. Basics like adding, subtraction, multiplication, and division allow the homemaker to be a prudent spender (and saver), and enable most men to land a job and excel in the workplace.

4. Their individual, God-given gift
If your daughter is naturally fascinated with horses, run with it! Delving into something she loves can be the most effective means of teaching her about everything else she thinks she's not interested in. You can't learn a lot about one subject without learning something about the others.

What about all the other subjects and how do you teach them so that it sticks?

As much as I hated it, I aced biology in school merely so my grades would stay high. Ask me to name the parts of a dissected frog now I'll give you a blank stare. I had no purpose for it. I knew how to memorize something just long enough to pass a test.

Show me an ultra-sound, on the other hand, and I could probably tell you the gestational age of the baby. I know what the purpose of a placenta is and what it looks like, why I need a rhogam injection each time I get pregnant, what a molar pregnancy is, and what happens when the body miscarries a child. I know these things because I love babies. I've experienced the miracle of childbirth and have grieved at the loss of life inside my womb.

History, Science, Handwriting, grammar, music, art - I would love it if each one of my children excelled in these subjects, but I know they'll survive if they never manage to sing on key, speak French fluently, or understand the recessive genes in fruit flies. These facts are merely useless trivia that will be forgotten soon after the assignment has been handed in unless they know why or how it relates to real life. Focus on their God-given strengths and they'll learn something of all these things in the process.

• Can she develop her math skills by calculating how many square feet a pasture for five thoroughbreds needs to be? At $X per eight feet of fencing, what would the total cost be? Could she describe the thrill of winning her first race for a creative writing practice? What new words from the thesaurus could she learn how to spell to replace the ones in her story to make it even more exciting? Does she know how often the horse is mentioned in the Bible or what it is compared to? How has man's use of the horse shifted over the years? Could she make a historical timeline that documents the major changes? Is it possible to watch a foal being born at a nearby barn? Have her look at various horse paintings by different artists. What style does she gravitate to? What influenced the artist's rendering? Could she go riding for a few hours every week or help muck stalls for exercise?

It's only natural for a parent to want to protect their children from harmful influences. We make sure our toddlers don't go for walks in the evening down the street by themselves.We keep poorly rated movies out of our house. We don't let them play with fire or knives, or experiment with drugs and alcohol. All of these things are well and good, but I wonder, how much thought do we give towards one of the most effective forces in a child's life - his friends?

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To a large degree, we become like the people we hang around with. We tend to choose our friends based on how much we have in common with them. We feel comfortable confiding in people who share the same taste in music, clothing, lifestyle, and worldview. We share our experiences and rub off on each other. The natural leader of a pair will encourage the other to go one step further, for better or for worse.

In the life of a young child who is still in the process of forming their worldview, there are few things as persuasive as the opinion of someone their own age with whom they feel a deep connection. This is why it is utterly important to teach our children what the Bible says about the kind of friends we should have, and perhaps more importantly, the kind of one we should be. The best time to instill these qualities into their impressionable little hearts is as soon as we can, before their allegiances are already concrete.

5 traits of a good friend 1. They speak the truth in love. A good friend will caution a child against something they know he/she shouldn't be doing rather than joining in on the "fun." Proverbs 27:6 2. They help in times of trouble. A good friend will not cut off ties with a child because of a crisis that leaves him disfigured, scarred, or financially incapable of the lifestyle he enjoyed before. Instead, a good friend comes alongside a fallen comrade and helps him get back on his feet. Ecclesiastes 4: 9, 10
3. They give good advice. A good friend makes himself familiar with God's Word and is able to offer a righteous recommendation or instruction when called upon for their opinion.Proverbs 27:9
4. They stand by you. A good friend is in the relationship for the long haul. They don't move on after an argument or squabble. Instead, they continue to show themselves friendly, refrain from gossiping or speaking evil about the offender, offer or receive forgiveness, and get on with the friendship - barring all grudges. Proverbs 18:24; Proverbs 17:17
5. They refine you. A good friend is concerned about spiritual growth. They are not comfortable with an easy, stagnant life, but engage in discussions about things that are relevant to the advancement of Christ's Kingdom work in your life and the world. Proverbs 13:20; Proverbs 27:17

God also warns us about the kind of people we are to avoid:

4 traits of a poor friend
1. They are immoral and have no regard for other. People who are living in open sin and rebellion are those that need to be ministered to, not made friends with. I Corinthians 5:11
2. They change like the wind. Be wary of those who are quick to change their minds - especially in regards to issues that serious consequences. Proverbs 24:21, 22
3. They are angry, often. Don't make friends with those who have no control over their temper or are prone to violent assaults. Proverbs 22: 24;25

4. They are irreverent toward God and His Word. A person who has no place for the Lord in his heart should not hold any sway over ours. Psalm 119: 63; 2 Corinthians 6: 14-15
What traits do you encourage your children to look for in a friend? How much involvement do you have as a parent in choosing who they hang around with? How much is too much? I'd love to hear your thoughts on the topic!

There have been days where our house looked like World War III. Days where fancy-footwork is required to dodge the kid paraphernalia strewn across the floor. Days when, after nearly spraining my ankle for the umpteenth time on dinky cars and mega blocks, I ask my 3-year-old to start picking up the mess. She looks at me and innocently asks, "What mess?" and I bury my head in my hands and weep.

How important is it to teach our children to clean up after themselves? I've often questioned whether cleanliness is a matter of character or part of our individual DNA, whether it should be enforced and to what extent.

See, we have both extremes within our family. Our daughter is naturally... "laid back," a nice way of saying she couldn't find the mess if a tornado tore through her room (which it does on occasion). Our son, although he's just 21-months-old, is a lover of order. He'll automatically line up his shoes in the closet when he comes in from outside; his sippy cup gets placed back on the counter when he's done taking a drink.

When it's time to clean up toys before bed, one inspects every toy as if seeing it for the first time before s-l-o-w-l-y placing it in the bin; the other hustles as if cleaning up were some sort of strong-man competition. One wouldn't give two hoots about leaving her undies sunny-side-up in the middle of the bedroom floor; the other makes a bee-line for the laundry hamper when he finds a dirty article of clothing. One is messy, the other is neat and I'm trying to find the balance.

One theory says cleanliness is next to godliness. The other says cleaning up toys while the children are growing is like shoveling snow while the snow is still snowing. One thing is for certain - the state of our home is never more important then the state of their souls and while a mess can remain unchanged for as long as you leave it there, our children are daily developing and strengthening habits that will effect them for the rest of their lives.

Besides the fact that keeping things in their proper places typically results in a calm, peaceful atmosphere with less stress, hurry, and bustle, tidiness is a trait I want to teach my children as part of an effort to care for their souls. Picking up after themselves is important for 3 reasons (at least):

1. It pleases the Lord. Creation testifies to the orderliness of God's character. Likewise, we also ought to delight in the practice of attending to our duties with watchfulness and care.

Additionally, it is pleasing to the Lord when we are faithful in the little things. Teaching our children to take charge over the ordinary duties of life is helping to lay the groundwork for greater responsibilities. Conscious attention and a cheerful attitude towards "trivial" tasks builds the character required to acceptably serve the Lord in whatever situation we find ourselves in.

2. It honors Mommy and Daddy. It's not a matter of "Because I said so"; it's a matter of, "Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right." (Ephesians 6:1) I shouldn't need to present a logical case to my children on why they must clean up the toys when I ask them to. However important things like safety, making our home look suitable for company, and house rules may be, their responsiveness to my request reflects the attitude of their heart. An obedient heart and a willing spirit bring joy to Mommy and glory to God.

3. It prepares for future usefulness. Some women will accomplish twice as much as others in a lifetime simply because as a child, they learned the importance of keeping everything in its proper place. Their homes appear orderly and little effort is required to keep it that way.

Other women will find themselves despairing in the midst of confusion that reigns over their homes. Throughout life, they will feel hurried and rushed, rarely able to enjoy a moment's peace. It will seem like they are forever trying to put things away but nothing stays that way for long.

Many times I wonder "What's the point? They don't remember!" when I find clothes strewn across the floor, shoes forgotten to be lined up in the closet, books left lying everywhere around our living room except the bookshelf. But I've heard from older and much wiser mothers that consistency is key. Diligently working to teach them the habit of tidiness by many words of encouragement and my own example will prepare them for life of usefulness, purposefulness, and, in the case of the girls, an apt and capable housewife.

And so, I will continue to hand them a wet rag while I clean the floor even if they spread the dirt around more than they clean it up. I'll pass them a dust rag on housework day even if I need to go over the same spot when they're not looking. I'll let them return the toys to the bucket they turned over even if it's quicker when I do it myself. I'll let them help fold laundry even if the stack of washcloths in the linen closet looks precarious and uneven. I'll do it because I want to raise our children to live a life that's pleasing to the Lord, honoring to Mommy and Daddy, and prepared for future usefulness.

Linking to: Homestead Revival, Raising Homemakers, Deep Roots At Home, A Mama's Story, Time-Warp Wife, Far Above Rubies, Raising Arrows, The Modest Mom

Answering "Why do you want to homeschool?" is difficult because it's a lifestyle not conducive to a one-sentence summary. We wanted a place to which we could direct inquisitive minds and remind ourselves of our vision when push comes to shove! Though we can't speak for everyone who homeschools, here's what we might say if you asked us why we want to.

"Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he." ~ Proverbs 29:18 1. We want to homeschool because the opportunities to disciple our children are great. Perhaps they are exceptionally misbehaved, but I find myself giving instruction and administering correction dozens, if not hundreds, of times every day. God has given this responsibility to parents (Proverbs 22:6; Proverbs 29:15; Colossians 3:21; Ephesians 6:4; Deuteronomy 6: 6-9; Proverbs 1: 8-9; Proverbs 19: 18), and we simply cannot be the ones training them up in the way that they should go if we are not with them.

We want to be able to stop in the middle of studying the human eyeball and praise the Lord for His glorious Creation; memorize Proverbs with our children and reference them when we struggle with cheerfulness, obedience, and diligence; sing Psalters at meal times; lay aside our bookwork to visit grandparents; converse with them about anything that's heavy on their hearts; and work to resolve issues as they arise instead of saving them for later.

2. We want to homeschool because we like being around our kids. Most days end by crawling into bed exhausted and emotionally spent, but I am also fulfilled and confident that there is nothing I'd rather be doing then interacting with my own children. On very bad days, it usually just takes a trip to the grocery store by myself to remind me that I really do enjoy the warmth of their giggles, incessant chatter, and questions about everything from how babies are made and what flies eat, to why I put bananas in our smoothie, and why we need four wheels on our van instead of three, more than the uncomfortable silence of being alone.

3. We want to homeschool because we want to integrate life with education. In the middle of the day, I want to teach math at the grocery store, figuring out the price per unit and assessing which brand is a better value; how to round numbers up and down to make easier calculations; how to estimate a bill's total and how to give correct change to the cashier; we want to take them to retirement homes so they can learn history from elderly men and women who are eager to tell someone their stories, and to the Creation Museum in the middle of the year with the whole family.

We want our son to have the time and freedom to cultivate an entrepreneurial spirit, if the Lord blesses him with one, and learn how to run a business; for our daughters, we envision them being able to efficiently and comfortably manage a home with joy. This comes with practice, and practice takes time. Time that we would be hard-pressed to find if they were away from home 8 hours a day.

4. We want them to learn about God's beautiful gift of sex from us and not the crude version from their peers; we want them to understand what the role husbands, wives, fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, church members, and citizens of our country are by being part of a family that does things together rather than having a textbook tell them where their place is in society. We want them to know that family is the basic building block of society, not an artificial, individualistic, age-based structure.

5. We want to homeschool because we want our son to be able release his energy constructively. Most boys don't need the Ritalin they're prescribed; they just need alternatives to sitting quietly at a desk. If he is capable of reading better by hanging upside down from a tree branch, or memorizing spelling words while running laps, or getting excited about mathematical concepts by building a CNC router, then we want him to have at 'er.

6. We want to homeschool because there are hundreds of resources available that cater to the individual learning habits of our children. Each of our children are uniquely created by God; they have different strengths and weaknesses and are an eclectic mix of different learning styles. There is no one-size-fits-all curriculum that is equally advantageous and homeschooling allows us forgo "labeling" by using multiple methods simultaneously.

7. We want to homeschool because it's a proven method of education. Statistically speaking, homeschoolers fare well above average in every area of life from grades and social interaction to political involvement and preparedness for real life. Though numbers are not a deciding factor in our decision, we are encouraged to know that our children don't have to be jeopardized academically by staying home.

8. We want to homeschool so we can be good stewards of the resources God has given us. Because of where we live,the best Christian school in our area would involve over two hours of unproductive bus time everyday (public schools are not an option for us) and statistically speaking, homeschoolers spend an average of $500 per child each year compared to $9,963 per student by the government, yet their education is much more satisfactory in every measurable level.

9. We want to homeschool because we want our children to have the time to involve themselves in ministry. "We can't come/participate because Johnny has school tomorrow and Susie has homework," seems like a sorry reason to excuse ourselves from mowing an elderly couple's lawn, inviting neighbors for an evening tea, singing to someone in a nursing home, baby-sitting for a mother in an emergency, or praying with a young woman at a pregnancy crisis center who needs to know there's hope.

10. We want to homeschool because He who has called us is faithful. We can't even comprehend the grandeur of this task and we'd be lying if we said it never overwhelms us. But we have reason to step forward in faith because it is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed. His compassions fail not. They are new every morning and His faithfulness is great (Lamentations 3: 22,23). We couldn't survive a day of homeschooling in our own strength; we trust the Lord who called us to the momentous task of training up our children in the way that they should go (Proverbs 22:6) to provide us and our children everything we need for both life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3).

Though there are 10,000 more reasons that make us passionate about our children's education and inspire us to keep writing and speaking about homeschooling, this is our own family's conviction, and not a method prescribed for everyone. The Lord convicts different people in different areas and no one but you is capable of answering "Why do you send your children to a Christian school, or public school, or homeschool?"

Do you have a vision for your children's education? How did you come to choose a particular method?

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Looking for more homeschool encouragement? Our brand new eBook, Homeschooling Day by Day is on sale this month for $2.00 (reg. $4.99)! It's 40 chapters of realism, practical advice, and plenty of grace from homeschooling Moms on every stage of the journey. You can read the Table of Contents here.

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Linking to: Raising Homemakers, Deep Roots At Home, Raising Arrows, Time Warp Wife, A Wise Woman.,Walking Redeemed, The Better Mom, The Modest Mom, A Mama's Story, We ARE That Family, Raising Mighty Arrows, Hearts For Home, Frugal Homeschool Family, Moms The Word, Hip Homeschool Moms, Trivium Tuesdays

Most women, myself included, get overwhelmed when they read Proverbs 31. There is no way in this world I could get done in one day what she got done in one chapter. That's why it's important to understand that her picture is a portrait of a lifetime, not a summary of Super Woman's day.

We go through seasons of life where we are able to engage in different things; right now I'm mothering through the little years where all the kids are still in car seats, they all need their shoes tied by an adult, and someone else to give them a bath. They aren't quite big enough to make their own beds, make dinner, or watch younger siblings when Mommy needs a nap.

It's busy, exhausting, and rewarding. I have to remind myself not to compare my Chapter 1 to someone else's Chapter 100. I'm not Martha Stewart. She can keep an immaculate home, tend glorious gardens, and grow every vegetable perfectly because she is at a different stage of life and her priorities are different than mine. She does not have three small children, nor does she homeschool. Of course she isn't any less of a person for that, but it would be silly of me to measure myself against her.

I'm responsible for using 24 hours wisely everyday. I use 7-8 of them for sleeping. That leaves me with 16 to manage well. Managing them well means learning how to prioritize and giving the most important things the most attention. In our house, that order looks like this:

1. God
2. Spouse
3. Children
4. House

My husband prefers a good meal to a clean house or an empty laundry basket, so if I have to choose between making dinner or cleaning the shower, the former takes priority.

We believe our primary purpose as parents is to raise our children in the fear of the Lord. It's a hard exhortation to remember when there are crumbs under the table and sticky fingerprints on the window, but if it seems the only thing I accomplish in a day is giving instruction, administering correction, breaking up squabbles, reminding our children of the necessity of their salvation, and teaching them to pray for a clean heart that hates evil and wants to do good, then the most important things have been given the most attention.

I'm told by seasoned mothers whose children have flown the nest that one day you will have time to bake, and sew, sell handmade goodies and keep a spotless house, but you'll probably wish you still had the company of several little people who think you're the world.

To help keep my priorities aligned properly, there are several good things that I just don't do. One day I'd like to do them, but right now I don't have enough time or attention to give them.

1. I don't cloth diaper. I know it's more eco-friendly, and I've heard it's no more work than disposables, but I haven't taken the time to build up a stash. My washing machine doesn't get much of a break as it is and I'm not sure how I'd find the time to keep a clean supply of diapers on hand or the stomach to slosh around poopy diapers in the toilet (or is that not required anymore?) When a pack of 136 diapers goes on sale for $17.99, I stock up.

2. I don't bake my own bread; partly because Brad eats gluten-free and I cannot seem to make a loaf that doesn't taste like a hockey puck, and partly because homemade bread isn't very high on our priority list. I don't eat much bread either. The kids eat store-bought sourdough bread at lunch time. One loaf lasts us a whole week, so the time and effort it takes to make my own doesn't save me any serious coin in the long run.

3. I don't iron. I recently pulled it out for the first time in three years to iron a blazer. Marveling at this new invention, our two-year-old son asked, "Why are you vacuuming your shirt, Mom?" Wrinkle-prone items get pulled from the dryer as soon as the cycle is finished. Sometimes they get hung up on hangers and hung neatly in the closet. Sometimes they lay on top of the dryer until I need to wear them.

4. I don't bath our kids every day. I don't even bath them every other day. We (usually Daddy) bath them when they're dirty (at least once a week, I assure you).

5. I don't use natural remedies for everything. I'm a vaccinated, formula fed kid and grew up taking Tylenol for headaches. I have a long way to go before I'm comfortable knowing what herb to give for what ailment, what homeopathic drops to pour into my baby's mouth when she's teething, and what essential oil to rub into my temples when my head is pounding. I want to though, and I'm slowly learning how, but you'll still find Tylenol in our medicine cupboard.

6. I don't grind my own flours. In fact, my electric grain mill is for sale if anyone is interested.

7. I don't have a large garden. There's not a great deal of room on our city lot. We grow tomatoes, peppers, onions, cucumbers, a few herbs, and whatever happens to seed itself through our compost. It's more of a teaching tool for the kids and it satisfies my gardening itch. I enjoy making Tomato Spice Soup from our produce, but I buy and preserve nearly everything else from local farms.

8. I don't can. I don't know how. It's on my list of things I want to learn. Thankfully, my friend Jill is a great teacher and my Mom is willing to hold my hand and walk me through the process. I'm terrified of things exploding in my face. For the past five summers, I've simply cleaned, cut, bagged, and thrown seasonal produce in the freezer. Gently, of course, so it doesn't get bruised. That much I understand about preserving.

9. I don't dust every week. It's really just a country accent anyway and we're honored when folks take the time to autograph our bookshelves. Kidding. Sort of. I make an effort to dust every Friday on "Housework Day," but sometimes it goes two weeks before it gets done. The kids each get a rag too, which means our carpet is probably due for an interesting homeschool science experiment...

10. I don't sew, knit, or scrapbook. At night, when the kids are in bed and I've got some time to relax, I write. Keeping a blog is the therapy that works for me. It's a fun way to interact and learn from a community of like-minded moms and a bonus to be able to contribute to our family income.

11. I don't coupon. I don't even look at flyers. They go from the mailbox to the recycle bin. I can purchase everything I need from three stores and they're all within 5 minutes of each other. It's quick, convenient, and just one afternoon in town (if you have three children in car seats, you get me).

12. I don't go to the Ladies Bible Study at church. We homeschool.

13. I don't have a phone. I don't want one either. I'm not sure I'd have the self-discipline necessary to give it the same amount of attention I give the non-existent one now. I'm sure it'd be handy one day if I were in a car accident or stranded on the side of the road. I'm relying on the generosity of those passing by and assuming they probably have one I could borrow.

14. I don't exercise. Not deliberately, at least. I've been blessed with a good metabolism and consider giving under-doggies to thirty-five pound toddlers on the swing for half an hour, and chasing our one-speed (fast) son around all day good enough.

15. I don't serve fancy meals. I like to cook a mainly whole food diet, but I don't go all Jacques Pepin on my family. Every morning we have the same smoothie for breakfast. Every afternoon we have the same sandwich for lunch. Snack-wise, I serve simple things I know our kids love. In the evenings, we typically enjoy healthy, low-fuss dinners like Cheeseburger Pie, Taco Salad, or Coconut Curried Chicken. Sometimes we have grilled cheese, or order pizza.

How 'bout you? Are there good things that you don't engage in because you simply don't have the time? What are they? What or who gets the bulk of your attention and what gets the leftovers?

Part 1: Keeping A Growing Home | A Management Series for Moms Part 2: Keeping A Growing Home | Know Your Role! Part 3: Keeping A Growing Home | Making Priorities & 15 Good Things I Don't Do Part 4: Keeping A Growing Home | Time-Saving Home Management Tips Part 5: Keeping A Growing Home | My Daily Schedule

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Last week we had no water. Now the bathtub is full of murky green water that won't drain. The kitchen sink is unusable and the counters are piled high with dishes harboring caked-on food.

My patience is wearing thin. It's becoming a burden to wash dishes in the bathroom sink rather than the "fun adventure" I had convinced the kids it was at first. The rotting pieces of food floating in the adjacent tub laugh at me.

I should make our son a dentist appointment. Do I find a baby-sitter for the other kids or do I take them all with? That would mean bundling them all up, buckling them in their car seats, and keeping them all entertained and quiet while trying to convince our little patient in the dentist's chair that dentists aren't scary. I better just find a baby-sitter. But who's available in the middle of the day? What if it takes longer than I expect?

I can't decide.

Ouch! Lifting our 8-month-old out of her exersaucer reminds me that I need to book another chiropractor appointment. I'm a professional at throwing my back out.

A sore back makes me feel irritable all over. I snap at the kids and beg for peace and quiet. If it wasn't for my sore back and raging hormones, I would be a kinder mother. That's what I tell myself; it couldn't possibly be my fault that I'm grumpy!

My husband phones at lunchtime and I tell him I feel like throwing a temper but am holding it in for the sake of the kids. "I want to act like I'm a two-years-old for just five minutes!"

I tuck the kids in bed for their afternoon naps and sit down to check my email. I've planned my Facebook status. People ask me to be "more real" online? I'm going to give them "real!" I'm going let them know just how awful my day has been.

But first, I check my notifications.

I'm stunned by the message in my inbox sent by a friend:

"In one day we lost a job and a church home, and probably our home in general because of our bleak financial situation we will have to plan on moving soon. I am struggling with faith right now and I could really use some prayer."

Waves of shame and sorrow hit me at the same time. Suddenly my inconveniences seem so petty.

I complain about plumbing problems; she has four small children and is losing the roof over her head.

I complain about having to visit the chiropractor and dentist; she can't afford either if she needed them. She doesn't even know how they're going to pay for their next grocery bill.

I complain about people who get upset with me online; she doesn't even have a church family to support her.

It's easy to complain about no shoes until you see someone with no feet; about over-cooked food until you see a child with nothing to eat.

If I did get what I do deserve, I wouldn't just have no plumbing, no house, no chiropractor or dentist visits, no money, no friends on Facebook, and no church family.

I would have no hope, no Savior, no salvation, no life, no nothing.

Indeed, it is precisely when I don't get what I deserve that I have the most reason to be thankful.

"For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." Romans 6:23
"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 8: 35, 37-39

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Linking to: Hearts For Home

Last week, I wrote something in a Facebook status that shouldn't have been written. It was an attempt at humor, but ended up being more off-color than funny. An older, wiser, godly friend wrote me about it.

Initially, I felt hurt and offended. "It's none of her business what I write," I thought. I didn't want to respond in a reactionary way (it's a sure way to make an even bigger fool of myself, I've discovered), so I mulled over her words for a while before re-reading them again after I had cooled down.

Everything she had written was done in a spirit of love and gentleness. She presented the truth and offered it up with plenty of grace and forgiveness. Like a good Titus 2 mentor, she took the opportunity to teach me "to be discreet, chaste, good... that the word of God be not blasphemed." (v.5) She wrote be because she was taking her responsibility to "be in behavior as becometh holiness, not false accusers, teachers of good things" seriously (v.5).

It wasn't about picking a bone with me. In all the years I've known her, she's never been one to offer cutting, critical, or dissenting opinions, or insist on having the last word. It's out of character for her to be disagreeable or write to prove how much she knows. She is sweet, gracious, kind, wise, godly, and clothed with humility.

The more I thought about it, the more I realized how blessed I am to have someone in my life who, in an era where it's cool to scream "Intolerance!" to anyone who picks up on our sin, cares enough about my personal holiness and spiritual well-being to risk friendship, misunderstanding, criticism, gossip, and being falsely accused of judgementalism, legalism, and self-righteousness. I was floored when I realized what she put at stake out of genuine concern for my own reputation and well-being!

On the one hand we younger mothers often bemoan the lack of Titus 2 mentors; on the other, we get upset when they are courageous enough to do their job. Having a mentor isn't just about receiving practical help, advice, and words of encouragement; it's about desiring to live a holy life that's pleasing to God, which necessarily entails being confronted in our sin at some point or another.
"Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby." Hebrews 12:11"It's just a phase they all go through," we explain as we reprimand our toddler for snapping "NO!" at us again.

"Sarcasm is my spiritual gift," we laugh in an attempt to soften the edges of our cutting words.

"I'm just sayin' it like it it," we confirm of an honest statement, not spoken in kindness.

"I'm not arguing; I'm enjoying a healthy debate," we justify of our need to always have the last word.

"I'm just sharing my concerns so we can pray for her more specifically," we gossip about the details of another's life during prayer meeting.

We are adept at wrapping up sin with pretty bows. Who can argue against a "natural progression" in childhood development, a joke, honesty, a healthy debate, or prayer without appearing to judge another's motives or reeking or self-righteousness? We feel so insured and justified by our ability to reason sin away, and few things are more painful then someone tugging at the end of our ribbons to reveal what's inside and call it by name.

Suddenly the Bible, which seemed to have nothing to say about the sin we cleverly concealed, comes alive with rebuttals to put our accusers in their place.

"Judge not that you been not judged," we quote perfectly.

"How about you worry about the plank in your own eye before pointing out the speck in mine," we ask, referencing Matthew 7:3.

"The Lord knows my heart," we say, as if that's supposed to be comforting.

Excusing our sin and taking offense to biblical reproof doesn't just categorize us as fools (Proverbs 28:13; 1:5; 12:1; 9:8), it stunts our spiritual growth, and eliminates opportunities to live out the Gospel for our children and all those we meet.

It's not until we begin to grasp God's holiness, our grave depravity, and His extraordinary grace and forgiveness that we can understand and appreciate the biblical institution of mentorship, and seek out a godly role model who is willing to address our unhealthy habits with Scripture and in Christian love so we can become more and more like the God we claim to serve.

What if you could be mentored by 17 Moms? Well, you can through our brand-new, 153-page eBook, The Pursuit of Motherhood! It covers everything from homeschooling, adoption, and infertility, to breast-feeding, special needs children, and leaving a legacy... and it's on sale for $3.99 to help you ring in the New Year with a new attitude! You can read more about it and view the Table of Contents here.

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Linking to: Raising Homemakers, Deep Roots At Home, Raising Arrows, A Wise Woman.,Walking Redeemed,, The Modest Mom, A Mama's Story, We ARE That Family, Raising Mighty Arrows, Hearts For Home, Frugal Homeschool Family Time Warp Wife

This post contains affiliate links.

Photo source: Getty Images
When we were on our honeymoon, I picked up a bacterial infection. I couldn't keep anything down and spent a day in the hospital on IV. The doctors gave me an antibiotic designed to kill the bacteria. I took it as prescribed, but the problem got worse. I sought the advice of a Doctor of Natural Medicine who suggested I take Black Walnut tincture. The infection was gone in two days.

A few months later, Brad lost thirty pounds in three months (and he didn't have a pound to spare in the first place). He saw multiple specialists and had every test under the sun. No one could make a diagnosis. He was eventually told, "Maybe this is your ideal weight. Not everyone is meant to be the same size." Another doctor recommended that he should start drinking Boost to gain weight.

We took a look at the ingredient list and were shocked to discover that the first three ingredients were water, sugar, and corn syrup which made up 47% of the actual serving! That's equivalent to swallowing your vitamins with a 237ml glass of water containing 7 teaspoons of sugar.

Brad wanted to gain the weight back but in a healthy way. He chose not to drink Boost. We quit going to doctors and started doing our own research. For two years, we tried various diets and eventually eliminated gluten, and limited corn, and cow's milk (we still love dairy, just not store milk itself). I started making smoothies full of good fat and kefir for breakfast and he started taking probiotics with his meals. We still have a long way to go, but he's slowly putting the weight back on.

When our then 18 month old son started getting chronic ear infections (at least one a month), we took him to a specialist. He said our son would eventually grow out of it, but in the mean time, we could either choose to have tubes put in his ears, or relieve the pain with Tylenol and Motrin. I knew Tylenol and Motrin would do nothing more than mask the real problem and was concerned with the toxic effect regular doses of ibuprofen would have on his liver and kidneys. A friend of mine recommended I take him to the chiropractor. After a series of four adjustments, he hasn't had an ear infection in over a year.

When our daughter was born 6 weeks premature, I was denied the right to breastfeed our daughter because the nurses said she would burn too many calories if I let her work for it instead of using the tube for feedings like they recommended. My midwife was happy to intervene on our behalf and when I finally got the chance to breastfeed our little girl, she gained four ounces overnight - more than she had gained on the tube since birth!

We were told our youngest baby's life was not "viable" (worth trying to save) until I reached 24 weeks; I hemorrhaged nine-days postpartum after a botched manual placenta removal; our ex-gynecologist had no problem delivering a child in one room and aborting another in the next.

Doctors are but men.

They have helped us on many occasions and to a large extent, we place a lot of faith in their expertise. However, we must be careful not to credit them with an infallibility they do not have, and remember that it's an individual's right and responsibility to choose who they trust with their healthcare.

We've been reminded many times over the past few years that the best men are men at best. Doctors make mistakes, just like everybody else. They don't have a solution to everything, and often their solutions are atomistic instead of holistic. If that's what you like, it's not a problem, but if your philosophy of healthcare has got you believing that we ought to focus on healing the root cause of a malady in addition to providing symptomatic relief, then it makes sense to investigate alternatives to conventional medicine.

It's odd to me that our advocating the use of natural means (which have proven to be effective and superior to conventional medicine several times in our experience) can bring out the worst in people. There seems to be some sort of understood rule that if you don't put all your money on a conventionally trained M.D. from the Mayo clinic, you must therefore be a fringe greenie who will drink herbal concoctions to the death!

We make our healthcare decisions based on a position somewhere in the middle of the two extremes. I'm not comfortable putting all my eggs in a basket I've seen break before, and I'm skeptical of advice that comes from a doctor who doesn't believe all of life is sacred, beginning at conception and ending with natural death.

I don't trust natural "medicine" doctors who believe the power to heal lies within yourself (this philosophy contradicts everything Scriptural), and I don't buy the lie that you can discredit diet, exercise, and proper hygiene so long as you take several handfuls of supplements and chug them down with a bottle of Pepsi.
With conventional medicine now the third leading cause of death killing 225,000 people each and every year as recognized by the Journal of the American Medical Association and half of doctors routinely prescribing drugs they know won’t work, learning to stand up for yourself in any sort of medical situation and not take advice blindly can be a lifesaving skill. An informed patient is no doubt a doctor’s worst customer. ~ The Healthy Home EconomistSo, who do we trust?

That's for you to decide, but these are a few principles our family tries to take into consideration when we have a decision to make regarding our health:

Find a Christian, pro-life doctor who respects your parental rights and invites inquisition. If your doctor ignores your questions, fails to give straight answers, or gets agitated when you don't immediately jump at his offer to write up a prescription, it's time to find someone who treats you like a human being instead of another cog in the wheel.
Get a second opinion, and a third, and a fourth. I feel more confident of a diagnosis and prescription if multiple doctors are in agreement. If four doctors tell me four different things, I don't know who to believe and start seeking the counsel of others who have been in a similar situation.
Seek counsel from seasoned mothers. Is there anything more sincere than a mother's love for child? Mothers who have dealt with a sick child are usually well-studied in all the different options available, and tend to have an empathetic heart to go along with it.
Do your own research. By that I mean, don't believe everything you read online. Study reputable sources, consult with herbalists, chiropractors, nurses, nutritionists, doctors, and homeopaths. Self-educate and become well-rounded so you can make an informed decision.
Trust your intuition. God gave that to you!

Pray! Too often I forget that the miracle worker of Nazareth is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8). God is not limited by time, space, medicine, or a diagnosis. He invites us to touch the hem of His garment when we've spent all our living searching for answers and finding none (Matthew 5:25-29).
Remember that God has all our days planned. I can't explain the paradox of God's Sovereignty and man's responsibility, but it's a comfort, not a curse, to know that even though the responsibility of their healthcare falls into my lap, God entrusted them into our care after He had planned out all their days (Psalm 139:16). Not a hair can fall from their head without His permission (Luke 12:7).
Recommended Resources:

Treating Fevers Naturally by Meagan Vissers, RN, FH. Meagan is a Christian friend of mine who has been trained in both conventional and herbal medicine. The information in her eBook was the answer to my concerns about Tylenol and Motrin's effect on our organs, and gave me a plethora of effective, natural solutions.

Treating Fevers Naturally taught meeverything the doctor didn't:what a fever is and why it’s a good thing; what’s going on with your child when they have a fever; what the difference is in “degrees” of fever; the concerns of fevers and how to deal with them appropriately; the difference in medical vs. natural treatment options; and natural treatments for bringing a fever down and making your child comfortable.

Treating Fevers Naturally sells for $14.97, but the education and confidence it gives a mother in charge of her child's health is priceless.

The Bulk Herb Store. The Bulk Herb Store is a Christian, family-run business that sells a vast collection of organic herbs and teaches people how to use them for practical and medicinal purposes.

I used their herbs to help a complicated pregnancy, and to make the post-partum herbal bath I enjoy after each child is born. Their book, Making Babies, taught me how to make my own herbal tinctures and salves and how and when to use them. I also use their spices and sea salt in my baking and cooking.

Other hugely informative books and videos they carry include:

• Be Your Own Doctor by Rachel Weaver
• Gut and Psychology Syndrome by Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride MD, MMedSci(neurology), MMedSci(nutrition)
• Herbal Antibiotics by Stephen Harrod Buhner
• Herbal Antivirals by Stephen Harrod Buhner
• Herbal Recipes for Vibrant Health by Rosemary Gladstar
• Practical Herbalism by Phil Fritchey
• The Green Pharmacy by Dr. James A. Duke
• The Herbal Drugstore by Linda B. White, M.D., Steven Foster.

Trust Your Intuition by Jenni Wilson, M. H., wife of an M.D. Trust Your Intuition is the combined work of several Christian medical experts (three of whom are my personal friends), and seeks to provide balanced, grace-filled, information regarding both conventional and alternative medicine.

It offers easy ways to protect yourself and family from synthetic medicine and it's negative side effects, help you avoid toxic treatments, and choose natural therapies that have proven to be effective in homes all across the country.

The Maker's Diet by Jordan Rubin, Ph.D., N.M.D. We were thrilled to discover this book shortly after Brad's weight reached an all time low. Most diet books are designed to help people lose weight, but The Maker's Diet is the story of how Jordan Rubin, a once healthy young man in his prime, who experienced the same kind of weight loss as my husband and was eventually given up on for dead by several doctors.

He started patterning his diet and nutrition according to principles he discovered in the Bible, attained his ideal weight, and wrote about his journey in book that has helped people boost their immune systems, improve their physical appearance and digestion, regain their energy, and reduce their stress.

We don't follow The Maker's Diet explicitly, but it was the foundation for much of our diet change and investigation into holistic healthcare.

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Linking to: Raising Homemakers, Deep Roots At Home, Raising Arrows, A Wise Woman., Walking Redeemed,, The Modest Mom, A Mama's Story, We ARE That Family, Raising Mighty Arrows, Time Warp Wife, The Prairie Homestead,

It's time once again for (what passes for... *winks*)
FLEA MARKET FINDS!!! of the week Can I get a WHOOP WHOOP!!?? How bout a YEE HAW!!?? OK too much?... Yeah I thought so too... Sorry...
I'm just so excited about my finds! You see I've wanted this special something something ever since I started seeing beautiful statuary pieces like it around the blogosphere. So I was cruising craigslist (as usual) and there it was! Just waiting for ME!! A HUGE (well at least to me, she's 5' tall) nude maiden *sighs dreamily* Can you say *swoon-o-licious*!!

I'm not certain where she'll end up living? I've... Ahem... actually the hubby has been dragging her around the house... which by the way is no easy task because she weighs 200 lbs! But anyhoo this is where she resides for now. There's still some lichen in the cracks to remove but it's LOVE for me!! 100 well spent dollars! The guy who sold her to me said they'd found her burried in the bushes in their backyard and his wife didn't want it around. When I told him I would be putting her in my livingroom, he thought I was nuts! Lol!

Isn't she fab!?

My second favorite find was this AMAZING 1930's french doll by Bernard Ravca 15" tall. This is in likeness of the 1930's movie star Alice Faye.

Have you ever heard of her? I hadn't (Finally something before my time! *winks*) but back in the 30's she was one of Hollywood's top movie stars. I spotted the doll on ebay and instantly fell in love with her!

She still sports her original tag which is actually signed by Bernard Ravca.
About Ravca: Bernard Ravca was a French artisan, who crafted many different costume and character dolls from many different materials, including crepe paper, papier maché, felt, clay and combinations of materials. The needled stockinette faces are perhaps the best known of his dolls, on which detailed and realistic expressions are sculpted onto the stockinette by means of tightly pulled stitching. His dolls were made in France from about 1924 to 1939. In 1939, he came to New York City and continued to make dolls to great acclaim. The most frequently found Ravca dolls are small, 7.5" -10", but he made dolls of many various sizes, including life-sized children and adult characters.

The Ravca dolls were sometimes signed in ink on their bodies and others on their tags. Some pre-1939 dolls had paper tags, imprinted "Original Ravca Fabrication Francaise" or woven labels designating "MADE IN FRANCE". There have been many Ravca-type dolls made over the years, so without signature or tags, it is almost impossible to verify an original Ravca, unless it can be favorably compared to a documented Ravca original.

Her signed tag.

Who could resist that big goofy grin? *winks* Not me that's for sure!

Dolls turned out to be my theme for the week.
I found this little shell art piece at the Goodwill for 99 cents and I added this little Italian doll bust from ebay to it... Now she's living a shell-tered life! Lol!

Now on this next one I don't want to creep you out... but I went to a car show with the hubbs this weekend and found this 1960's Suzie-kins styling mannequin for $10. I've been having a blast trying on different hats and styling her real hair. I purchased her at the beginning of the show and carried her through the ENTIRE show which was a huge conversation starter! I heard "Are you a head hunter?" And "What did she say to make you THAT angry?" Message to self... If you want people to chat you up... carry a mannequin head around with you! *winks*

This little boudoir doll box was an ebay find. She's a little LOT rough around the edges but still very charming don'tcha think? These are very hard to find in any shape so she's a keeper for me.

The wig is a replacement.

The interior.

I found this alter style candlestick lamp at the Goodwill. I love the huge metal moroccan looking plull! And the basket was also a $4.99 Goodwill find. The birdcage and Victorian beaded needlepoint picture of Saint Peter came from a local estate sale.

Cool pull huh?

The cage is an antique brass Hendryx. It'll be going to my etsy for anyone who might be interested.

This antique beaded needlepoint picture reminded me of something my friend Richard would have in his Old Historic House. *winks*

It's hard to see but his entire robe is made up of different colored glass beads. His hands and feet are done in micro petit point. Some poor victorian lady spent a good long time on this one! I'm thinking it would make a beautiful pillow?

This 1920's tin (with handle) of Christopher Columbus and Queen Isabella (?) was a $1.99 Goodwill find.

And last but not least I'd like to introduce you to "Sandi" She's named in honor of my new friend Sandi from the wonderful blog A Cottage Muse who's just about as crazy for boudoir dolls as I am! You can see hers HERE. I begged her to name one of hers Vanna! So maybe you could stop by and tell her you think so too? *wink wink nudge nudge*

Thank you so much for stopping by!
Next week I'll be forgoing the flea markets finds to share with you... An Evening In Paris (my Paris garret livingroom) I hope you'll come back for a visit. And please leave me a comment and I'll do the same for you *winks* As always I LOVE to hear from you! Vanna
I'm joining my friend Marty at A Stroll Thru Life for:

And Kathleen at Charm Bracelet Diva for:

Ann at On Sutton Place for:

Courtney at French Country Cottage for:

And Cindy at My Romantic Home for:

And Honey at 2805 for:

You're a stay-at-home Mom.
You treasure the privilege of being able to raise your own children and manage your home, but sometimes you wonder if there's something you could do to contribute to the family income. Something that has the potential to earn a full-time wage without a huge start-up cost or sacrificing hours away from the first responsibilities God gave you.
You love to write and crave an outlet to express yourself while making a positive impact in someone else's life. You're passionate about a particular subject and desire to explore it deeper so you can minister to others, learn, and interact with a community of like-minded women.
If any of these sentiments resonate with you, you need to start a blog , and my brand new eBook, Growing Your Blog While Managing Your Home | The Ultimate Guide For Christian Mommy Bloggers will show you how to do just that.

Growing Your Blog While Managing Your Home The Ultimate Guide For Christian Mommy Bloggers by Jacinda Vandenberg
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Since the first edition of this eBook in 2012, Growing Home has grown ten times in size and now generates a five figure income annually. I’ve encountered many new challenges and opportunities not included in the original version and decided it was time to re-write it all.
I started Growing Home with the purpose of encouraging Christian wives, mothers, and homemakers in their noble calling. More recently, homeschooling has been added to the queue since we officially started home educating our oldest child last year.
Writing has always been a favorite pastime of mine and I loved the idea of interacting with like-minded women all across the globe. I began as every blogger does: with one reader, one Facebook fan, one Pinterest follower who pinned my posts.
A few years later, with God’s extraordinary blessing in spite of myself and an exceptionally supportive, tight-knit blogging network, at the time of this writing, Growing Home is a community of 30,000 readers and is a significant contributor to our family income.

Growing Your Blog While Managing Your Home The Ultimate Guide For Christian Mommy Bloggers by Jacinda Vandenberg $7.99
PDF version

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I have nothing to boast about. I couldn’t have imagined it this way, not in my wildest dreams! This is solely the result of the Lord’s blessing on the tools He has given me. He’s responsible for it all and He gets the glory!
The goal of this eBook is to share with you the same principles and techniques that God has used to grow Growing Home, both as a ministry tool and a means of income for our family without taking me away from my first responsibilities as a wife and mother.
What Other People Are Saying: "Jacinda Vandenberg's book is fantastic. Everyone is going to want to read it, even if you already know how to blog and manage your home. Coming soon to a theater near you. Very soon, in fact. January 13th. Don't get popcorn grease on your Kindle." ~ Melinda Martin, Professional Blogger and Virtual Assistant. I hope you find in these pages:

• a vision for purposeful blogging,
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Growing Your Blog While Managing Your Home The Ultimate Guide For Christian Mommy Bloggers by Jacinda Vandenberg $7.99 PDF version

KINDLE version

Table of Contents
Introduction Part 1 | Creating a Vision and Maintaining A Schedule
To Blog Or Not To Blog? That Is The Question
Setting Priorities
Time-Saving Home Management Tips
This Is My Schedule, And I’m Sticking To It
Efficiently Managing Your Time Online Part 2 | Content and Design Content Is King

• Originality
• Brevity
• Titles
• Engagement
• Readability
• Hyperlinks
• Photos
• Character
• Professionalism
• Inspiration
• Understanding

• Platform
• Simplicity
• Branding
• Color
• Fancy Fonts
• Whitespace
• Centered Gadgets
• Placement
• Comments
• Image Use
• Navigation
• Call to action
• Browsers
• Recommended Blog Designers

• How to Grow Your Blog
• Link Parties
• Commenting
• Following
• Guest Posting
• Facebook
• Pinterest
• Google+
• Twitter
• Email Subscriptions
• Community
• Giveaways
• Posting Frequency
• Advertising

• Make Money as a Seller
• Make Money as an Affiliate

• Deciding Your Options and Setting Your Rates
• Do’s
• Don’ts

• Dealing With The Nay-Sayers
• What To Do When Someone Steals Your Content
• Legal Stuff
• Affiliate Links
• Comment Policies
• Copyrights
• Disclosures
• Disclaimers
• Taxes

Growing Your Blog While Managing Your Home The Ultimate Guide For Christian Mommy Bloggers by Jacinda Vandenberg $7.99 PDF version

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Praise for Growing Your Blog While Managing Your Home:
"One of the most important things that caught my attention in this book is that, she admits, she doesn’t try to do it all. Oh, how I loved this! Finally someone who was real about what actually happens during their day." ~ Shari A. Miller"Growing Your Blog is a worthwhile read if you’ve ever felt like your blogging was taking over your life, whether you are seriously considering monetizing or not. There’ve been many times over the past few months that I’ve felt maybe I just need to quit…after reading this book, I know I just need a better plan. My priorities have been out of whack. I knew it, but I needed a “blueprint” for turning them around." ~ Homeschooling Hearts & Minds"Growing Your Blog While Managing Your Home offers a great vision of keeping your focus where it should be, without having letting go of your goal to grow your blog." ~ A Diligent Heart"If your dishes have been known to pile high while you aim to type one more blog post, then this ebook is for you... Priorities. Priorities. Priorities. Come on a journey as she shares her own story, schedules, and tips for Growing Your Blog While Managing Your Home. You will be encouraged and inspired by her beautiful simplicity." ~ The Homeschool Village"Growing Your Blog While Managing Your Home is going to be a resource I turn to time and again. I am thankful to not have to use Google to find answers to my blogging questions anymore!" ~ Thankful Homemaker"Jacinda’s book is a great introduction to the how-to’s of blogging for business. It’s refreshing to read a take that is from a decidedly Christian viewpoint. I found the details for advertising, ebooks, and affiliates especially helpful. She is very transparent and shares her own advertising and reviewing rates, which is also very helpful." ~ The Sunny Patch"{Jacinda}gives a ton of information of how to blog while balancing home life helping women to keep a wise balance and does it from a Christian perspective. This is hard to find and why I recommend it." ~ A Wise Woman Builds Her Home"What kind of blogger are you, or do you want to become? If you merely blog for the sake of keeping a family journal then this eBook probably won’t benefit you. But, if you want to step it up a notch then it’s definitely for you!" ~ Raising Mighty Arrows
***A special thank-you to my dear husband for proofreading the manuscript, Lindsey and Richele from Crisp Apple for their tremendous job on the design, and Melinda from Helply Helper VA Services for the many late nights and early mornings she spent editing and formatting my mess into something that looks professional!

After several long weeks of writing, I'm thrilled to announce that my new eBook, Growing Your Blog While Managing Your Home | The Ultimate Guide for Christian Mommy Bloggers is finally here with a special launch week price!

Growing Your Blog While Managing Your Home The Ultimate Guide For Christian Mommy Bloggers by Jacinda Vandenberg
PDF version

KINDLE version

Here's what people are saying about it:
"One of the most important things that caught my attention in this book is that, she admits, she doesn’t try to do it all. Oh, how I loved this! Finally someone who was real about what actually happens during their day." ~ Shari A. Miller"Growing Your Blog is a worthwhile read if you’ve ever felt like your blogging was taking over your life, whether you are seriously considering monetizing or not. There’ve been many times over the past few months that I’ve felt maybe I just need to quit…after reading this book, I know I just need a better plan. My priorities have been out of whack. I knew it, but I needed a “blueprint” for turning them around." ~ Homeschooling Hearts & Minds"Growing Your Blog While Managing Your Home offers a great vision of keeping your focus where it should be, without having letting go of your goal to grow your blog." ~ A Diligent Heart"If your dishes have been known to pile high while you aim to type one more blog post, then this ebook is for you... Priorities. Priorities. Priorities. Come on a journey as she shares her own story, schedules, and tips for Growing Your Blog While Managing Your Home. You will be encouraged and inspired by her beautiful simplicity." ~ The Homeschool Village"Growing Your Blog While Managing Your Home is going to be a resource I turn to time and again. I am thankful to not have to use Google to find answers to my blogging questions anymore!" ~ Thankful Homemaker"Jacinda’s book is a great introduction to the how-to’s of blogging for business. It’s refreshing to read a take that is from a decidedly Christian viewpoint. I found the details for advertising, ebooks, and affiliates especially helpful. She is very transparent and shares her own advertising and reviewing rates, which is also very helpful." ~ The Sunny Patch"{Jacinda}gives a ton of information of how to blog while balancing home life helping women to keep a wise balance and does it from a Christian perspective. This is hard to find and why I recommend it." ~ A Wise Woman Builds Her Home"What kind of blogger are you, or do you want to become? If you merely blog for the sake of keeping a family journal then this eBook probably won’t benefit you. But, if you want to step it up a notch then it’s definitely for you!" ~ Raising Mighty ArrowsYou can read more about it and view the Table of Contents here, or sign up as an affiliate here.

LAUNCH WEEK: $7.99 $3.99 ! Growing Your Blog While Managing Your Home The Ultimate Guide For Christian Mommy Bloggers by Jacinda Vandenberg
PDF version

KINDLE version

Welcome to the 129th edition of our weekly homemaking link-up party: Teach Me Tuesdays! Each Tuesday, you're warmly invited to link up anything homemaking related from you own blog and mingle with others who've done the same.

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How have you grown your home this week?
Was it through gardening, preserving, baby-wearing, cooking, crafting, teaching your children, cleaning your house, loving your husband, or perhaps through something else the Lord has been teaching you? Encourage other aspiring Proverbs 31 women by linking up below. Share as many posts as you would like! A link back to Growing Home is greatly appreciated. :-)

If you enjoyed this post, you may wish to follow Growing Home for updates via Google Friend Connect, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google +, or have them emailed directly to your inbox.

I hesitated posting this today. I don't want anyone to think that what we're doing with our 4-year-old for school this year is what they should be doing with theirs. Neither do I want anyone to feel as though I'm trying to "cover my back" so the powers that be know we're doing "enough." Nevertheless, homeschool Moms love to glean from each other and it's good to do due diligence and be aware of the various teaching methods and curriculum available. So here's a general idea of what I'm hoping to work through with our four-year-old daughter this year.

Our number one goal in our children's education is to stress the importance of their salvation and the development of Christ-like character. We consider this more crucial than academics (notice I didn't say academia is not important!) because, as Douglas Phillips said:
"If you try to give people knowledge, and you haven't trained them in character, based on faith, they will become intellectual reprobates."To that end, you'll notice a heavy emphasis on Scripture memorization through different methods, Bible-based curricula, and classical read-alouds that reinforce life principles from Proverbs.

Memory work.

Our goal each week is to memorize 1 Psalter, 1 verse from Proverbs for Parenting, and 2 Q&A's from The Mother's Catechism.

Proverbs For Parenting. This is a wonderful tool put together by Barbra Decker to aid in the discipling of our children. She has categorized the Proverbs into chapters that deal with particular sins like selfishness, lying, anger, ungratefulness, etc. If we notice our children are struggling in a specific area, we focus on memorizing proverbs that correspond to their behavior and learning what God says we must do about it.

A Mother's Catechism. I wish I could reference this resource for you, but these ancient Presbyterian catechisms are nearly impossible to come by. However, I'm giving away 15 copies (yes, you read that right) at the end of this post so be sure to enter! It's the Westminster Shorter Catechism made even shorter so that our 2 and 4 year old are perfectly capable of memorizing the questions and answers. This is a great way for them to learn sound biblical doctrine that we pray will stick with them for life.

The Psalter. The Psalter, simply put, is the Book of Psalms for singing. It's a tremendous way for small children to memorize the Psalms. They are set to choral music and we sing the same one after each meal for one week. By then, it is memorized and Charity is allowed to choose two or three to sing again before bedtime. This is the same book we use in Church and our children love it when the pastor has chosen one they are able to sing along with.

Rod & Staff Preschool Curriculum
I absolutely love the Rod & Staff Preschool Curriculum. My mom used it with me two decades ago and I was tickled to see the workbooks hadn't changed at all in the last twenty years. I have fond memories of coloring, cut and paste, and singing jingles to help remember how letters and numbers are formed:
A straight line down and then you're done. This is how to make a one! Around and back on a railroad track! Two, two, two! Around and tree and around a tree; this is how to make a three!

Charity is a typical girly-girl and loves doing crafts, so this curriculum is perfect for her since it involves a lot of crayons, scissors, and glue-sticks! I've heard from other Moms that generally speaking, boys don't do as well with this curriculum because they lack the patience, interest, and fine motor skills at this age to find enjoyment in using all those things.

The set includes six workbooks and a Bible Story book complete with questions and answers. For $21.95 you can hardly go wrong!
1) Adventures with Books: This book aims to teach neatness and carefulness, how to follow simple directions (match with lines, circle, underline, cross out or mark with an 'X'), recognize colors and how to color correctly, practice cutting and pasting, drawing with lines and circles, regonize shapes, and practice words meanings (alike, different, left, right, big, small).

2) Bible Pictures to Color: This book includes 60 coloring pages that correspond to the Bible stories in Bible Stories to Read. Each story includes three questions and answers and a short memory verse.

3) Counting with Numbers: This book teaches your child to identify and write the numbers 1 to 10 and explains what they mean. It also teaches number sequence and basic math concepts like more (greater than) less (fewer than), same (equal to), first, last, empty (zero), full (whole), and one-half.

4) Do it Carefully: This book teaches discriminating shapes, letters, a few sight words, writing letters and your child's name, as well as several consanant blends.

5) Everywhere We Go: This book is basically a review of what has been taught in the previous four. It also introduces character concepts like personal responsibility and courtesy and observations about animals, birds, plants and children that live in different parts of the world.

6) Finding the Answers: This book concentrates on developing critical thinking skills through rhymes, sequence, understanding sentence meanings, making comparisons and associations, learning to follow multiple directions, considering the senses, and gathering supplies to make or repair objects.

Read-alouds One of Charity's favorite things to do is curl up next to me on the couch and have a story read to her (I guess that's probably on the list of every child's Favorite Things To Do, isn't it? :-). We're working our way through the Miller Family Stories, also published by Rod & Staff.
I love these books because the stories are so relatable and each one emphasizes a biblical principle or proverb in a way a child can easily understand. The four Miller children grow up in a Christian home and have experiences very similar to ours. They struggle with obedience, slothfulness, bad influences, lying, snooping into other people's business, gossip, and several other battles we face daily. Each situation is ultimately resolved with an experience that brings sobering consequences or the direction of a parent that leads the children to choose what is right in God's eyes.

Charity is fascinated with pioneers at the moment, so we're reading through Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House Series. Once we are finished the set, we plan to dress up and pay a visit to a pioneer heritage village in our area.

To help expand Charity's vocabulary, I like to read her old English classics such as the stories by Beatrix Potter. This is a fun way to discover big words like "presently," "twitched," and "puzzled," and understand their meanings based on the context in which they are written. A Beatrix Potter Treasury is a fantastic collection of her most famous stories including the tales of Peter Rabbit, Jemima Puddle-duck, and Benjamin Bunny.

Copywork

Charity's fine motor skills aren't quite where they need to be to begin learning cursive, but when she gets there, we'll start by using the set of printables I developed earlier this week based on the 1777 New England Primer.

The 1777 New England Primer Cursive Printable Alphabet Set includes 26 Scripture passages to correspond with each letter of the alphabet as well as the biblical ditties used by the Puritans to help enforce the Gospel message in the tender hearts of our children while they learn to write. You can purchase the entire volume for $2.99 here.

If you have any questions about any of the materials or where to get them (I've included links to most of the resources), feel free to ask! If you're interested in receiving a copy of A Mother's Catechism, enter below for your chance to win 1 of 15 I have available to give away.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

In the interest of full disclosure, I was not compensated in any way for my review of Rod and Staff Curriculum The opinions expressed are strictly my own. Some of the links in this post are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I receive an affiliate commission. I only recommend products I use personally. Your purchases through these links help support Growing Home. Thank you for your continued support!
Linking to: Raising Homemakers, Deep Roots At Home, Raising Arrows, Time Warp Wife, Far Above Rubies, A Wise Woman., Hip Homeschool Moms, Living and Learning at Home, Walking Redeemed, The Better Mom, The Modest Mom, A Mama's Story, The Focused Homemaker, Home Grown Learners, iHomeschool,

Bonjour my friends!
It's time once again for... FLEA... MARKET... FINDS!!!
Which in this instance includes absolutely nothing from a flea market or thrift store... But I did find some stuff that I'm crazy for!... AND I found it with my former blogging and now real life friend Joyce from the blogs Monticello Antique Marketplace (Where she is the manager) and Calamity Janes' Life & Style
We had the best time hitting the streets of Centralia Washington! I have a few things to share this week from that shopping trip and more to come next week. *winks*
But first I want to announce the winners of my blog followers giveaway. Thank you to everyone who left me a comment! You are all so appreciated! The numbers were selected randomly by my hubby. Sooooo...
The winner of group one (the canisters) Is Betsy of My Salvaged Treasures
The winner of group two (the pitcher, journal and frame) is Lana of Lana Austin Motif.
And the winner of group three (fairy vase) is Kim of Moonlight dreams.
Congratulations you three! And please email me at jewlbearvonhoyt@msn.com with the addresses to which you'd like your items sent.
Ok on to the finds! Starting as always with my favorites, which this week was a three way tie. And the theme for the week was "France"... Not much of a surprise if you follow my blog *winks* "Francophile" should be my middle name lol! I found three different couronnes de mariee. "What the heck are those?" You might be asking? Well... they're the interior display pieces from Globes de mariee, which are french brides domes from the victorian period. You can see my other post HERE to find more about them. I can't get enough of these beauties!
This first one makes a perfect display for one of my favorite Marie Antoinette boudoir dolls.

And without the doll.

Marie is gazing fondly at this petite jewel box featuring a picture of the Eiffel tower. An ebay find.

This next couronne is loaded with lots of beautiful porcelain roses and the bridal headpiece.

I love all the pink!

And this third is more of an upright style for showcasing the bridal headpiece.

It has all these beautiful etched glass mirror pieces.

I didn't even notice until I got it home that it had the initials of the bride and groom. An "M" for the groom.

And an "R" for the bride.

I've placed it in my living room for now with another globe de mariee.

This is a shot of my beautiful friend Joyce and I at the Olympic Club in Centralia where we had lunch. It was really cool and loaded with antiques... including us! Lol!

Joyce (Sweetheart that she is) brought a little gift with her for me that she thought had my name on it... A 1920's boudoir doll in a lovely tattered silk dress...

Boy was she right!! Thank you soooo much Joyce! I adore her!!

I found these victorian brides shoes (1880's) in kid leather ($43) while out shopping with Joyce. I love their ruffled fronts.

I added them to this globe de mariee and they fit perfectly! I'd like to also mention that they fit me perfectly! What a thrill! Those victorian ladies were notorious for their teeny tiny feet *winks* Sorry they're hard to see.

Here's a group shot of some of them.

This chippy rusty metal cherub planter ($30) was another favorite find. I filled it with dried hydrangeas

Isn't he a cutie?!

And lastly this pretty boudoir doll with human hair and a net lace gown to add to my collection in the doll armoire.

She has such a sweet wistful expression.

Well that's all the finds for this week. I hope you'll come back next week for more flea market finds. I have some neat stuff to share *winks* Please leave me a comment and I'll do the same. I LOVE hearing from you! Vanna
I'm joining Kathleen at Charm Bracelet Diva for Club G.W.
Sherry at No Minimalist Here for Open House Friday.
Honey at 2805 for Potpourri Friday.
Courtney at French Country Cottage for Feathered Nest Friday.
And Cindy at My Romantic Home for Show And Tell Fridays.
Pamela at From My Front Porch To Yours for Treasure Hunt Thursdays.