Loving Laundry

I have had many readers ask me about how I manage laundry in our household with three little ones running around. I must say that it has taken me several years to learn from trial and error how to get on top of my laundry. I have been working at making laundry a simple event that is organized and efficient. On any given day our family goes through, 5 shirts, 5 pairs of pants, 10 socks, 4 pair of underwear, and 6 cloth diapers, not to mention any accidents that require extra shirts, underwear socks or sweaters. So here is how I do laundry, hopefully this may help some of you:)

Note: laundry in our household fluctuates depending on the season, winter seems to be less and fall, spring and summer there tends to be more and how many chidlren are in cloth diapers at the same time.

1. Have Laundry Days. I do my laundry twice a week, Monday mornings and Friday mornings. I have found that doing it more often is too much and I can’t do it any less, this is the minimum amount of time that I could get away with. I really did not like when I tried to do laundry depending on how many clothes were in the basket but it seemed as though I was doing a load every day or every other day. Having the two set days has helped to keep it at bay. We cloth diaper as well so I do a SMALL load of cloth diapers on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. I always hang the cloth diapers on the drying rack so we save on the drying.

2. Start First thing in the morning. The sooner you can get done the better. Some people like to make it a family event or involve their children and I believe that I will one days involve my kids but because they are so young right now it is much easier for me to do it on my own. Next year in homeschool I am going to teach Judah how to do laundry but for now its mommas job and I want to be fast and efficient so that I can spend more time with my babes! I try to start my first load at 7am and when I do this I can usually be done by noon and fold it all from 1:00-1:20pm during nap/quiet time.

3. I do 3 loads on Mondays, 1 dark, 1 light, 1 cloth diapers. I do 4 loads on Fridays 1 dark, 1 light, 1 towels, 1 cloth diapers.

4. Once a month I wash all the bedding (sheets, pillow cases, duvet covers) on Monday mornings, (unless someone wets the bed which usually happens at least once a month:)

5. When springtime comes I hang out my laundry and it saves us “loads” 🙂 on the hydro bills. However, if it is raining on a day when I would hang out the clothes I still do them but use the dryer that day. Otherwise it throws my entire schedule off.

6. There are NO laundry baskets in any of the kids rooms. All the laundry goes directly into the laundry room. (this may not be feesable for everyone, our laundry room is on the same floor as the bedrooms) I find when there are many baskets it makes for more laundry and my kids throw things that are not dirty in them. I also like having all the laundry in one room because I do not have to go collecting it the morning of, nor do I find any surprises in the baskets:) I also know how much laundry needs to be done because I can see how full the basket is getting. Jim and I also have a basket in our room but that is all. Less is more when it comes to baskets!

Enjoying laundry and serving my family in this arena is something that I have grown in. I used to whin and complain about it all the time but now I laugh and enjoy this time. God has given me peace and joy when it comes to laundry. I love to serve the Lord and in this season of my life I am going to be faithful with the laundry piles that build up in my home. I am thankful that we have clothing, that I have little ones who are growing and I get to continually wash their little socks and t-shirts as I watch them grow before my eyes, I love that we have amazingly efficient laundry machines and I don’t have to do it by hand, there are SO many things to be thankful for in laundry.

At this point I find it more frustrating to try to involve my kids in the process. It become tedious and I am easily irritated and they get bored and restless, so I have decided that I work more efficiently if I do the laundry alone. However, I am also looking forward to the day when I will teach my little ones how to do their own laundry and who knows maybe one day one of them will do the laundry for me:)

May you be blessed as  you serve your husband and children by cleaning their clothes. May the Lord wash you with His word today. Bless you!

A Time of Rest…

Our family was blessed these past few weeks with a wonderful vacation in Florida. It is something that we do every year, Lord willing, and I am amazed as how the God refreshes us during this time.

I believe that there are so many important things that come when we take time apart from our routine. You certainly do not have to go to Florida to experience the Lord’s refreshing but I do believe that there is value in stepping out of our normal routine if only for a couple days and getting a new perspective on things. God wants to take us to new places, to have new perspectives, ultimately to give us an ariel view of our lives so that we can see the bigger picture.

As I was running one morning in Florida, the Lord was speaking to me about giving me eyes to see what He is doing in the earth and how to be part of His plan. I was feeling so “stuck” in my own little world of being a mom, keeping our home in order, and feeling isolated and disconnected at times.  As I began to focus on Him and His word I began to see how my role fits into His master plan. Each of us have a part to play.

Imagine that God is the director of an incredible play, each of us are given a role in which we must perform. According to our gifts and talents he appoints us as different characters in the play. Each of us are given the platform at some point in His play to do what He casted us for. Life is the practice and rehearsal for this play. Each day we recite our lines, plan our costumes and rehearse our part. The final day will come when there will be no more dress rehearsals, no more practicing, we will be on stage doing the very thing we were created to do.

Are you ready? Have you practiced as much as possible? Do you know your lines?

Are you using the giftings that God has given you to be the best you can be?

Perhaps you don’t even know your part in the play…maybe you have never auditioned? It’s time. I encourage all of you to take seriously that which God has placed before you. Don’t ever let up, give up or shut up. See everyday as a rehearsal for what is to come. Let’s make our director proud!

God reminded me of a verse I’d like to share Jeremiah 29:10b,11 Msg “I’ll show up and take care of you as I promised and bring you back home. I know what I’m doing. I have it all planned out—plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for”. Isn’t that AMAZING!!? Let’s trust Him to lead us everyday and allow His plans for us to become a reality!

May you be blessed as you see life from a new perspective, may you embrace your role in the master play! God help us to be faithful with what you have given us!

Growing our Spiritual Muscles

My amazing husband spoke a very profound and powerful message two weekends ago at our home church. I’d like to share with you, something that really challenged me.

The message was talking about growing spiritually and how we need to be a people who are prepared for what is coming in these days. We need to be “spiritually strong” and in order to be strong we need to exercise our spiritual muscles. How are we strengthen spiritually? How do we measure spiritual strength and what qualifies us to be spiritually strong? Is it the length of time that we are a believer? How much we know about the Bible? It is dependent on time or is it a function of learning? NONE of these are functions to measure our spiritual growth. Spiritual growth/maturity is a function of obedience in suffering.

True spiritual growth comes when EVERYTHING goes wrong in your life and YOU CHOOSE GOD! It is SO important how we respond to adversity. It is easy to blame other people or other situations when times of testing come. It is easy to give into our emotions and wrong beliefs and thoughts. It is hard to resist ourselves and seek God’s will in it all. But that is the exercise that truly brings growth and change. Just like intense physical exercise initially damages our muscles so they can get stronger so suffering brings pain and discomfort in our lives in order to bring about growth.

Matthew 16:24-25, Msg. Then Jesus went to work his disciples. “Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You’re not in the driver’s seat. I am. Don’t run from suffering; embrace it. Follow me and I’ll show you how. Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to finding yourself, your true self. What kind of deal is it to get everything you want but loose yourself? What could you ever trade your soul for?

How do you respond in suffering? What is your first reaction or thought when someone else wrongs you?

I have been really trying lately to look at trials and testing through a new and focused lense. I have been trying to see that each is an opportunity to grow my spiritual muscles so that I can prove to be strong. If we are strong spiritually then we are able to bear the weight of what is to come. We need to be a people committed to spiritual exercise and growth.

May you continue to obey in your suffering, as you are tested and tried, in order that you may grow spiritually strong. May your Spirit be strengthed as you endure sufferings and hardships. I pray that the eyes of your hearts will be opened and you will know the hope to which you are called in Christ. Bless you today!

Quinoa Burgers

I used a balsamic and maple syrup dressing and ate my burger over spinach, it was incredible!

This recipe is the best quinoa burger that I have ever had! I have been a vegetarian for a long time and I have tried many different burgers, this one surpasses them all! I was on pinterest the other day and found a quinoa burger recipe. I made some modifications because I didn’t like everything about the other one and came up with the following recipe. They are easy and amazingly flavorfull! I hope you enjoy!

Ingredients:

2 cups cooked quinoa

3/4 cup shredded cheese (any variety)

1/2 cup cream cheese, cubed

1/8 cup rice milk

1 medium carrot, finely grated

3 eggs

3 tablespoons whole wheat flour

1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

Image

Mixture will be sticky, be sure to mix very well!

Directions:

Bring 2 cups water to a boil, add quinoa and reduce heat to low.  Cover and cook for 20 minutes, or until seeds are tender. Remove from heat and let cool. In a large bowl combine the cooled cooked quinoa, cheese, cream cheese, carrot, eggs, flour, cumin, salt, and garlic powder.

I used my non-stick cooktop and it worked really well. Burgers didn't stick and I barely needed to use any oil.

Heat a pan and add a couple teaspoons extra virgin olive oil over medium-low heat.  Mixture will be sticky. Use a 1/4 cup measuring cup, drop mixture into pan and flatten to 1/2 inch thick.  Fry until golden-brown, about 6 minutes on each side.   Makes a dozen burgers.

The Fruit of the Spirit

The Fruit of the Spirit!

Today we tried a fun little activity for homeschool. I decided this week that we would focus on the Fruit of the Spirit from the book of Galatians in the Bible.

Mercy and Judah have been learning alot these days about loving each other and learning to serve one another. They are both at the ages now where they have their own STRONG opinions, ideas and thoughts about EVERYTHING and this leads to alot of arguing, complaining and fighting. We read the passage from Galatians 5 and discovered what the Bible says about our actions. We made a “fruit basket” with the fruit of the Spirit in it and placed it in the middle of the kitchen so we can remember to fill ourselves up with these fruit. This activity was a practical way to help me talk with them about the ways in which they can show love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control to one another.

He cut out the fruit and wrote most of the words:)

I gave them the example of how a fruit tree produces its own fruit; i.e. apple trees produce apples. I explained that in the same way we produce fruit according to our words and actions. This fruit belongs to either a “SPIRIT-filled tree” or a “SELF-filled tree”.They seemed to get the concept and I was challenged as well. It really made me think about what fruit I am producing in my life through my thoughts, words and actions. I desire to live a life that demonstrates a consecration to God and his Spirit!

What kind of fruit are you producing in your life? Are there areas that need to be refocused?

May you experience the abundant love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control that are yours in the Spirit. May you walk in the fullness of His plans and purposes for your life today! Blessings!!

Delightful Quinoa Salad

 

Yummy!

This is a delicious and simple salad that is full of nutrients and flavour. Quinoa is a wonderful super food that is a complete protein and is reffered to as “warrior food”! My wonderful friend Lana shared this recipe with me and I want to share it with all of you! It only takes about 30 minutes to make and can be done in the morning or even the day before you want to eat it. There are some days that I like having something pre-ready to avoid the stress of last minute meal prep. I made this salad this morning when the kids were having a snack and the baby was down for her nap.

My little Mercy stirring the ingredients

Ingredients:

1 cup red quinoa

1 cup white quinoa

3 cups water

4 cups baby spinach

1 cup walnut halves

2 tbsp maple syrup

1 cup blueberries (I used blueberries and strawberries, chopped)

1 red apple & 1 green apple, chopped

1/8 cup balsamic vinegar

1/8 cup maple syrup

I mix the dressing in a small container and if we don't use it all I store the leftovers in the fridge.

Bring 3 cups water to boil, add the quinoa, reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes. As the quinoa is cooking spread the walnuts on a baking sheet and cover with 3 tbsp maple syrup, pop in the oven at 350F and bake for 10 minutes. Remove and let cool, scraping off the baking sheet so that they don’t stick. In a bowl, add spinach, blueberries (or any kind of berries), and apples. Once quinoa is done, remove from heat and allow to cool. Add cooled quinoa and cooled walnuts to the bowl. Store in fridge until you are ready to eat it. Otherwise, in a seperate container mix the vinegar and maple syrup. Pour over the salad and mix well. Serve immediately! Enjoy!!

May you enjoy the fruit of your labour today!!

 

Mothers and Daughters

I love my mom!

After having my sweet daughters Mercy and Atirah I have become increasingly aware of the unique relationship between mothers and daughters. Having little girls is so special. As I watch them grow I see so much of myself in them. I love being their mommy. Being a mom often reminds me of my mother as well. I don’t think I truly appreciated my mom to the fullest until I had children of my own. I never really took note of all the sacrifice and service that goes into being a mother. I’m not just talking about a woman who bears a child but one who completely abandons herself to nuture and care for that child. I have been blessed in this life with an incredible mother. She has taught me 99% of what is important in life and has been a constant example of what I one day want to be like!

Today is my mothers birthday! I wrote this blog in honor of her. She is my hero, my wise counselor, and my inspiration. She is a god-fearing woman. I celebrate her life today! All the countless hours of loving me, the sleepless nights, the temper tantrums, the arguments, the hours spent driving to and fro, the millions of meals cooked, the money spent, the time invested. I could never have the words to thank or repay her. I honor my mother and I am humbled to have her in my life. Although I could never say anything that would equate to her service to me the one thing that my heart longs to do is to give my all for my girls. I want to serve, love and mentor them. I want to spend countless hours rocking them to sleep, playing dolls, teaching them about life, kissing their little cheeks, having tea parties, travelling the world, reading them stories, telling them that they are valuable and lovely. Just like my mom did for me.

My mom and my Mercy:)

There are not many people that I aspire to be like but there is one that I am sure that I want to be like, that’s my mom. She is compassionate and caring, humble, wise, discerning and full of love. She always listens, never judges, prays unceasingly, serves relentlessly and does it with joy! She is selfless and patient, kind and thoughtful, she is a leader and always follows God, she is nurturing and gentle, couragious and strong, a wonderful essence of peace. I wish these traits were genetic because I would love to inherit all of them. She has worked hard and been tried and tested. She has earned her character and integrity. I feel blessed to watch her grow! Her grandparenting skills are outstanding and all my children adore her. She is the woman that the book of Proverbs speaks about. The Bible talks about this woman’s children rising up and praising her and it would be impossible for me not to do so because “charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised!” Provbers 31:30. I will forever sing her praises!

Happy Birthday Momma Bear, I love you and I will spend the rest of my life trying to be like you:)

A Celebration of LOVE

My little lovebugs

Many people have asked me if we celebrate Valentines Day seeing as it is not “christian” holiday. My response: Absolutely!!! Any opportunity that we can get to celebrate LOVE we’re going for it! In our home “LOVE DAY” as we call it is a day when we can reflect on God’s love and remember His beautiful sacrifice for us. We do crafts, read bible verses on love, make hearts shaped cookies, sandwiches, and have a special Valentines dinner. (Heart shaped pizza with heart shaped toppings:) It is a day to reflect once again of God’s great love for us!

Raspberry finger puppets

I remember before I had children I would spend the entire day preparing to celebrate a nice evening out somewhere special with Jim. I would have a shower, dress up, do my nails and often wear heels. Oh have things changed!:) Today I have NOT showered, I am NOT dressed up, the kids made me wear a red shirt, jeans and red socks to be “like Valentines”, nails are unpolished and I will NOT be wearing heels:)

Dinner table

I now celebrate all day with the kids and when Jim gets home from work we have a fun dinner together. I think it is becoming a tradition in our home to stay home with the kids on Valentines evening and to tell the truth, I love it! During this season of my life I have learned to embrace the reality that being home with the kids is a blessing and sometimes it is much easier than trying

Jim bought Mercy her first bouquet of roses, she was so happy, she kept repeating "oh thank you daddy"

to get someone else to look after them or taking them out. I am sure that one day our children will grow up and Jim and I will once again go out of Valentine’s night. (At that point I’ll probably miss being home with my babies:)

Yummy fruit kabobs

I believe that as mothers we walk in a new level of LOVE. A selfless, and serving love. We use all our strength to serve our children and our husbands. We choose daily to let go of our own wants and desires to pursue a higher standard of love. I believe that this is the love we as humans are called to. To lay down our lives for one another, just as Christ laid down his life for us. I know that this is something I need to work on in my own life. Not always being concerned with myself but shifting the focus to others, and asking how can I serve? how can I help?

Getting ready to do a craft

When was the last time you had a selfless love for someone?

We used tape, less mess:)

Today we made these fun mobiles to decorate at the table. They were a great craft idea from our Awana cubbies book. The kids loved it and it was easy, no mess, no clean up! I’ve included a couple pictures so you can see them.

Finished product!

The Bible is full of verses on LOVE. I was read some of them this morning and I’d like to share a few with you.

“God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. Om tjos way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgement, because in this world we are like him. There is no fear in love. But perfect love casts out all fear.” 1 John 4:16-18

Heart-shaped Grilled Cheese

“The fruit of the Spirit is LOVE, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” Gal 5

“And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how high, how long, how deep and how wide his love is!” Eph 3:18

Pizza prep, I used the easy pizza dough recipe and it tastes amazing!

“We love because he first loved us” 1 John 4:19

“We should love one another” 1 John 3:11b

Heart Pizza

May to feel His love today, may you come to know the depth, height, width and length of this deep love He has for you. God loved us and sent His son! This is worth celebrating!!

Happy LOVE Day!

The Weight of Worry

“Look at the birds of the air, they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable then they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?” Matthew 6:26 NIV

If you decide for God, living a life of God-worship, it follows that you don’t fuss about what’s on the table at mealtimes or whether the clothes in your closet are in fashion. There is far more to your life than the food you put in your stomach, more to your outer appearance than the clothes you hang on your body. Look at the birds, free and unfettered, not tied down to a job description, careless in the care of God. And you count far more to him than birds. Has anyone by fussing in front of the mirror ever gotten taller by so much as an inch? All this time and money wasted on fashion—do you think it makes that much difference? Matthew 6:26 Msg

Have you ever worried about you life? What you will eat? Where you will live?  Will you ever get married? How many kids you will have? How will you be able to afford a home?

This verse in Matthew serves as a continual reminder to me that worrying about my life is really pointless. When I sit back and consider things that I worry about, thinking about them isn’t going to be bring resolve and worrying about them is definitely not going to accomplish anything. I often struggle with faith in God and truly trusting Him with every aspect of my life. I worry about my children, my future, the youth, and our finances. Many days I will sit in my living room and watch the birds eating off the feeders in our backyard. They are well fed, beautiful little creatures. And here I am sitting in the warmth of my home, completely clothed and fed, worrying about my life. What’s up with that??

Why don’t I trust God? Why do I feel the need to take control and make things happen? Why can’t I just wait patiently and watch Him move mountains before me?

I think our human nature likes to be in control. We think we are so smart and have it all figured out. We believe lies that say: “If I don’t take care of it, it won’t get done”, “If I don’t work hard enough I will go without”, “if I obey God now I will have little in my future”, or “if I don’t have a plan or working knowledge of something than I can’t go ahead with it”. Imagine the birds said that? What would happen if all the birds stopped flying around because they wanted to store up their energy incase they didnt get food that day? How silly would that be? The fact that they fly around in faith is what brings them into the provision of God. If they didn’t fly through our backyard they would never find the abundance of seed we have out for them. The same is true of us. If we choose NOT to fly until we are certain of the outcome we will never enter into the promises that God has for us!

I want to fly into the unknown. I want to be a woman of faith. I want the ability to trust no matter what. I want to be able to give credit to God for all areas and situations in my life whether they are simple or difficult. The future is uncertain to all of us. God is waiting for us to stretch out our wings and fly into the open skies, free of any cares that hold us back. “Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you“ 1 Peter 5:7. Imagine trying to run a marathon dragging a 50lbs weight? That is what it looks like to carry our worries with us. Let Go!

I am going to choose to relinguish control of that false sense of control. My sense of control is NOT reality and is NOT biblical. Last I checked in the book of Proverbs 3:5 we are called to “Trust in the Lord with ALL your heart and lean NOT of your own understanding, in ALL your ways acknowledge HIM and He will direct your steps”!

Let’s be woman of faith who trust in God, who lean on Him, and who choose not to have full understanding or comprehension of all of our ways.

What would your life look like if you gave it all to Him?

Don’t trade the freedom that Jesus bought for a 50lb weight of worry. I pray that you will have the courage to let go of that which holds you back and run free from and hindrances. I pray for faith and hope in what is to come. May you enter into His rest and His peace. May you experience the complete freedom that comes from a life surrendered to him. May to trust Him because he cares for you!

AmAzInG aNiMaLs

This week we were inspired by the movie Happy Feet to study not only penguins but 5 different animals during our homeschooling routine. I suppose you could call it more of a unit study. It has been so fun and we are only one day in! We are going to pick one animal each day and learn interesting facts about them.

Judah's new brother, Pat the penguin:)

Through this activity I’m going to be teaching the kids how to put together a “project” that is interesting for others to read about and learn from. Kids of all ages can do this and it can be as simple or as complex as you want it to be. Hope you have fun!!

Looking at images about Penguins

1. We picked an animal. Today was Penguins as per Judah’s request and tomorrow is going to the Blue Whale, as per Mercy’s request, I have no idea how she even knows what a blue whale is:)

2. We researched them online, I went to a couple kid sites and found interesting facts. We highlighted the facts we liked the most.

3. We searched pictures on google images and printed out a few of our favorites. .Judah picked one of a seal about to attack a penguin, I thought it was a bit disturbing but he said “that is what happens if the penguins aren’t careful mom”… LOL

4. We then printed off all the info, and the kids had races to and from the printer gathering their papers.

Breaking for a little snack, I just happened to have penguin crackers which seemed fitting:)

5. We cut out the pictures, boarders and pasted them on the poster board. The kids loved cutting and glueing, although, my counter was rather sticky afterwards they enjoyed it!

6. We then placed them on the board and glued them on, by this point Mercy was really interested so she played while we finished up.

7. That’s it! We are going to bring it to show the grandparents tonight and Judah wants to explained what he learned because now he is an expert on penguins:) haha

First "official" school project:)

It was actually surprisingly fun to do something different, for both the kids and myself. The best part about studying something that we know little about is finding out how much details and thought went into their creation. I was able to really emphasize how amazing animals are and how amazing and creative God is to think of such creatures. Whether your kids are homeschooled or in school it doesn’t matter, exploring creation with our kids is a gift to them! Take some time to learn about something new and then give glory to God for his amazing creation. We are looking forward to learning more about the blue whale tomorrow…apparently this whale has a heart the size of a car crazy?!

May you be blessed and encouraged this week as you walk in the revelation of God our creator!!!