Have you ever found yourself in a situation where a need arises, yet the prospect of fulfilling that need seems either difficult or close to impossible? I would like to share with you my own experience related to that.
Our family is always busy. Certainly not a strange phenomena for a family of 10. Teenagers are going one way, adolescent children are itching to go and learning that their time has not yet arrived, preschoolers/7 year olds are busybodies and wonderful noisemakers (hankering for a philosophical conversation about simple things), and toddlers keep you on your toes and remind you of all the non-childproof areas in your home! Suffice it to say, all of this activity consumes much of my time and allows for little extra minutes. (and those minutes were happily spent with my 25 year old sister who was visiting! Great fun!)
While mulling over the week's plans, it seemed to me that Friday would come quickly, and that my energy level would likely be near its exhaustive state. Wednesday presented a dilemma. It was a birthday eve for our Sammy and a cake would need to be made. Also, it was grocery week, and in our house of 7 ravenous boys (and a hungry, growing girl), it occurred to me that dinner would be very challenging since the refrigerator contents was beginning to wane and would require great innovation to create a satisfying meal (I used to be innovative..sigh). It's always feast of famine in our house!
This is when I prayed "Lord, you know my needs for the week, and you will certainly provide." He has been so faithful in times past, and this has allowed me to take my needs to Him often. I asked Him how in the world I would find the energy to plan the needed meals for the week as well as make a cake. My prayer was interrupted by fighting boys (surprise), so my day went on as usual.
Well, God began to put His plan into action. I love how there are so many threads used to weave together a beautiful tapestry of God's goodness (to borrow an Edith Schaeffer idea). So many intricate details and people are part of the things He does for us! Let's get back to the story.
My 3 older boys went to a gathering at a friend's house nearby. A summer cookout with lots of food and boys both. My husband took 3 of our younger boys out for ice cream and a visit to grandma's house. My daugher (who was a bit under the weather), our baby and I remained at home...a quiet home without all of the guys. We had a nice evening.
Around 9:30, our older boys arrived home with two items that were specific answers to my prayer mentioned earlier. One of these items was a HUGE chocolate brownie cake (I could easily adapt this into a "shark" themed birthday cake for my little boy), and the other was a bag containing 2 ziploc bags of grilled hot dogs and buns enough to cover the dogs. These were the leftovers from the cookout. I was astonished.
God had provided a birthday cake and dinner! Not only that, my time was freed up to tackle other things that have been waiting in the wings for weeks.
So, the moral of the story is "Cast your cares on Him, for He cares for you." Not only that, but "He supplies all our needs through Christ Jesus our Lord."
I love that.
Have a blessed day! I'd love to hear your "blessings provided" story as well.
Happy birthday, Samuel Oliver (5 years old today). You are my child prodigy and sweetheart. Thanks for keeping your older brothers straight.
Blessings to you, dear reader!
Camy
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Yummy Recipe Idea
Pizza Rolls
So, my grand idea of cleaning the kitchen for one hour per day (see previous entry), crashed royally. That story is a whole new blog entry in itself, so stay tuned (LOL). However, I had to jump in really quickly and share a great recipe idea, as well as one of my favorite websites:
Keep in mind that there are other homemakers doing the very same thing. You are the unsung heroes who make home a refuge and haven.
Vickilynn Haycraft at Real Food Living blog, posted a delicious recipe (pictured at the beginning of the blog entry). It features the cinnamon roll idea, yet converts its sweetness to savory. It sure looked great to me! I also thought it would be a great make-ahead meal for those of you looking for options there.
The possibilities are endless for this food roll. You could add convenience by using prepackaged frozen bread dough. Canned pizza dough would also be ideal.
It is my desire to make wonderful meals to nourish my family. However, I have not always been in the season to do so. Health issues, schedules, other obligations and such can at times put things on the backburner, so to speak.
I pray you are in a good season of life at this time, and if not, that you are seeing God's hand in your circumstances. Have hope! He will see you through it all.
Is there just one, simple thing you can do today to make your home a nicer place to live? How about:
1) Decluttering a hotspot or doing the Flylady Home Blessing (see Flylady).
2) Wash your windows, either on the inside or outside, or both! Or, just wash that one window that has dust, fingerprints, and smears on it.
3) Make your bed.
4) Help your children tidy their rooms.
5) Freshly cut flowers or even weeds! I usually send my daughter outside to search for selected flowers and weeds to make a nice arrangement. We use various size mason jars to display our bouquets.
6) Make a nice meal or batch of cookies to nourish your family (and to distribute a pleasant aroma throughout your home!)
Just do one thing today that is different from what you do everyday.
Keep in mind that there are other homemakers doing the very same thing. You are the unsung heroes who make home a refuge and haven.
Blessings!
Blessings to you all!
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Order in the Kitchen
Summer has presented a quandry to me. My kitchen is a mess!!!!! Why is it that my house becomes absolutely and totally "high maintenance" when summer arrives. Besides the humidity and dirt that comes in the house, our activity level changes, and I am usually not in a cleaning routine.
Well, I'm hoping to tackle the kitchen this week, in the spirit of Flylady. I urge you to take a peak at her website if you haven't already.
It is my aim to spend at least 1 hour per day cleaning and organizing. I liked this link for organizing: http://http://www.wikihow.com/Organize-a-Kitchen. It's very simple and to the point.
So, I must now depart and go to the kitchen to clean up the mess from supper.
Hope you are all enjoying your summer! We sure are.
Blessings,
Camy
Well, I'm hoping to tackle the kitchen this week, in the spirit of Flylady. I urge you to take a peak at her website if you haven't already.
It is my aim to spend at least 1 hour per day cleaning and organizing. I liked this link for organizing: http://http://www.wikihow.com/Organize-a-Kitchen. It's very simple and to the point.
So, I must now depart and go to the kitchen to clean up the mess from supper.
Hope you are all enjoying your summer! We sure are.
Blessings,
Camy
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Long, Overdue Update
Wow....it has been such a long time!
Just a few, short bits of news: our baby is now 10 months old, my twins are now 16, and I have celiac disease. Exciting, huh? LOL!
My access to a computer is still limited, yet the desire to write still festers. I will try hard to make a new entry soon...with photos :o).
Blessings,
Camy
Just a few, short bits of news: our baby is now 10 months old, my twins are now 16, and I have celiac disease. Exciting, huh? LOL!
My access to a computer is still limited, yet the desire to write still festers. I will try hard to make a new entry soon...with photos :o).
Blessings,
Camy
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Hi Everyone!
I'm so sorry about the delay in posting. I wanted to share the details of our new baby's arrival with you all.
He arrived on April 27 at around 6 am. This was a very different birth for me (and my husband..LOL). This was different from all of the other births in many ways.
First of all, it may be worth mentioning that I am 41 years old. No spring chicken. And this can certainly affect pregnancy and childbirth in "interesting ways." My blood pressure wanted to creep up towards the end of the pregnancy, and this interfered with my ability to relax. Sleep was limited factor, and anxiety became a prominent and annoying friend. Needless to say, I spent a lot of time praying when my heart felt like it was beating out of my chest and I literally broke into cold sweats from anxiety.
As labor commenced, I could not relax through the pain, and announced to the nurse at the hospital that I wanted the epidural. My first ever epidural. My husband paused and looked at me. Always wanted to accommodate my wishes, he said "Whatever you need."
The epidural immediatly took the edge off the pain, yet I could still feel contractions and had a "hotspot" where the anesthesia didn't take. I like this because I knew when to push. However, my labor slowed down immensely. I normally get to the hospital and give birth within an hour. This time, it took 6 hours. I know many of you have much longer labors!
Little Silas James, 8 lbs. 9 ounces & 21 1/2 inches long, arrived as I was standing in the bathroom. I caught his head and announced to the doctor (who was waiting outside the bathroom) that he had crowned. The absence of pain (from the epidural) made this a very pleasant experience. I even offered to cut the cord and give the baby his bath, since I felt so wonderful. LOL!
It's funny how natural childbirth was so important to me with all of the other children. Actually, I had wonderful births, for the most part, with a tolerable (most of the time) level of pain. This time was entirely different!
Silas is now 4 months old and weighing in at a hefty 17 1/2 lbs. He is a big boy! I still have no photos to share...Sorry! He is a joy to us all.
Had to share!
Blessings,
Camy
He arrived on April 27 at around 6 am. This was a very different birth for me (and my husband..LOL). This was different from all of the other births in many ways.
First of all, it may be worth mentioning that I am 41 years old. No spring chicken. And this can certainly affect pregnancy and childbirth in "interesting ways." My blood pressure wanted to creep up towards the end of the pregnancy, and this interfered with my ability to relax. Sleep was limited factor, and anxiety became a prominent and annoying friend. Needless to say, I spent a lot of time praying when my heart felt like it was beating out of my chest and I literally broke into cold sweats from anxiety.
As labor commenced, I could not relax through the pain, and announced to the nurse at the hospital that I wanted the epidural. My first ever epidural. My husband paused and looked at me. Always wanted to accommodate my wishes, he said "Whatever you need."
The epidural immediatly took the edge off the pain, yet I could still feel contractions and had a "hotspot" where the anesthesia didn't take. I like this because I knew when to push. However, my labor slowed down immensely. I normally get to the hospital and give birth within an hour. This time, it took 6 hours. I know many of you have much longer labors!
Little Silas James, 8 lbs. 9 ounces & 21 1/2 inches long, arrived as I was standing in the bathroom. I caught his head and announced to the doctor (who was waiting outside the bathroom) that he had crowned. The absence of pain (from the epidural) made this a very pleasant experience. I even offered to cut the cord and give the baby his bath, since I felt so wonderful. LOL!
It's funny how natural childbirth was so important to me with all of the other children. Actually, I had wonderful births, for the most part, with a tolerable (most of the time) level of pain. This time was entirely different!
Silas is now 4 months old and weighing in at a hefty 17 1/2 lbs. He is a big boy! I still have no photos to share...Sorry! He is a joy to us all.
Had to share!
Blessings,
Camy
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Quick Update
Please accept my apologies for the lack of entries.....many of you know that we have gotten rid of our home Internet service. For our family, the Internet is quite the temptation, and it will often occupy our thoughts and thus leading us into certain temptation. It is hard to say "no" to it, and we then use much of our precious time viewing Mortimer Snerd and Davey & Goliath on Youtube (not to mention an old clip of The Six Million Dollar Man battling Bigfoot...it's a 70's thing). The Internet is now accessible to us at the library, where it is well-controlled and contained (grin).
But alas, my blogging days are a challenge due to this relocation of Worldwide Web. I appreciate your patience as I attempt to drag myself to the library to keep in touch with you all. At this very moment, my little John (5) is sitting next to me in a chair and reading a large, oversized comic book. He's my buddy today.
Just wanted to tell everyone that my pregnancy is going blessedly well. We have about 4 or 5 weeks to go! Our whole family is very anxious and excited to welcome our little baby boy into the "outside of the womb" world. God has blessed me with a heavenly pregnancy...and for that I am so grateful.
Winter is trying to hold on, but the 3 foot snowbanks in our front yard are meeting their demise (the sun). We are all renewed and energized by the prospect of spring.
So, that's about it for now. My time is short today. May you all be blessed and encouraged!
Love,
Camy
But alas, my blogging days are a challenge due to this relocation of Worldwide Web. I appreciate your patience as I attempt to drag myself to the library to keep in touch with you all. At this very moment, my little John (5) is sitting next to me in a chair and reading a large, oversized comic book. He's my buddy today.
Just wanted to tell everyone that my pregnancy is going blessedly well. We have about 4 or 5 weeks to go! Our whole family is very anxious and excited to welcome our little baby boy into the "outside of the womb" world. God has blessed me with a heavenly pregnancy...and for that I am so grateful.
Winter is trying to hold on, but the 3 foot snowbanks in our front yard are meeting their demise (the sun). We are all renewed and energized by the prospect of spring.
So, that's about it for now. My time is short today. May you all be blessed and encouraged!
Love,
Camy
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Don't Have a Phone Conversation in the Bathroom
If you were a random passerby walking near our home, you might hear quite a variety of sounds. Those audible noises can range from utter chaos, mother-gone-mad (embarrassing, but true..LOL), rough housing boys, complete silence (rare), and hysterical laughter (often mixed w/ crying). Yesterday we experienced an "hysterical laughter day (w/ crying mixed in) scenario on the range of possibilities.
S0, dear daughter Rachel (7 1/2 years old) decides she would like to phone her grandmother to have a conversation (usually a one-way conversation ;o) about her own Christmas gift desires. This after she had already given her an extensive list the day before (laugh). Anyway, out of the corner of my eye I noticed Rachel chit-chatting away and walking into the bathroom as she did so. This was one of those "Momma has a red flag moments, but doesn't call it out" type deals.
I lazily chose not to reprimand her, and ignored my own uneasiness regarding her having the phone in the bathroom. In my experience as a mother of many, the bathroom is one of "those" rooms. It has water, waste receptacles, bathroom tissue, cosmetic/personal care products, and important household plumbing. These items are not ideal for children....LOL...and they often need supervision near them, especially when the children are under age 10. You can tell this story is headed to a big finale, can't you?
Suddenly, the bathroom door literally flies open and hits the wall adjunct to it. Rachel is standing there, horrified. "I dropped the phone in the toilet!!!" she exclaims with utter horror. We all stop what we are doing and stare at her. This is when the hysterical laughter breaks out...by the way, I am not the one laughing!
The boys are almost rolling on the floor in stitches of belly-rolling guffaws. They begin imitating Rachel's conversation with her grandmother: "Hey, grandma...this is what I want for Christmas..FLUSH!" They can hardly contain themselves and repeat this over and over. Rachel is not humored in the slightest, and only more troubled by what she has done.
My first reaction was obvious irritation. I gave her a 1 minute lecture about how it is not smart to have a phone conversation in the bathroom. Obviously, I left out the part about me not calling her about it in the first place! This is one of those "duh" lectures where nothing really needs to be said, and that the event itself taught her the lesson. (But it did make me feel a little better...grin). Rachel dramatically flees upstairs to her bedroom to throw herself down on her pillow and weep, Scarlett O'Hara style. (the boys continue to bust their guts with laughter...yelling upstairs and taunting Rachel even further).
We realize the phone is not operational, due to its fall into the toilet. Thankfully, we have a spare phone available.
Elijah (9 1/2 years old) immediately calls grandma to explain what cut her and Rachel's conversation short. She did say she heard a rather loud screech and then dead air.
As Elijah is walking around the house and chatting with grandma, I notice a crude sign taped to the bathroom door, in Elijah's 9 1/2 year old boy handwriting. This brings the beginnings of hysterical laughter to my mouth:
"No phones in bathroom!"
The whole drama died down after awhile...until my husband arrived home. The boys had to explain and re-enact it all over again. At this point, Rachel had gotten herself together, and was able to listen without crying. She even cracked a little smile as the boys mercilessly teased her.
When all was said and done, Roger (my husband) told Rachel a funny story about the time her brother Greyson actually "fell" into the toilet (head first) when he was potty training. This made her smile and gave her a little ammunition to strike back with.
And so goes another sound on the wide range of possibilities featuring noises emanating from our home....
Merry Christmas to all! May your home be filled with laughter and joy!
--Camy
S0, dear daughter Rachel (7 1/2 years old) decides she would like to phone her grandmother to have a conversation (usually a one-way conversation ;o) about her own Christmas gift desires. This after she had already given her an extensive list the day before (laugh). Anyway, out of the corner of my eye I noticed Rachel chit-chatting away and walking into the bathroom as she did so. This was one of those "Momma has a red flag moments, but doesn't call it out" type deals.
I lazily chose not to reprimand her, and ignored my own uneasiness regarding her having the phone in the bathroom. In my experience as a mother of many, the bathroom is one of "those" rooms. It has water, waste receptacles, bathroom tissue, cosmetic/personal care products, and important household plumbing. These items are not ideal for children....LOL...and they often need supervision near them, especially when the children are under age 10. You can tell this story is headed to a big finale, can't you?
Suddenly, the bathroom door literally flies open and hits the wall adjunct to it. Rachel is standing there, horrified. "I dropped the phone in the toilet!!!" she exclaims with utter horror. We all stop what we are doing and stare at her. This is when the hysterical laughter breaks out...by the way, I am not the one laughing!
The boys are almost rolling on the floor in stitches of belly-rolling guffaws. They begin imitating Rachel's conversation with her grandmother: "Hey, grandma...this is what I want for Christmas..FLUSH!" They can hardly contain themselves and repeat this over and over. Rachel is not humored in the slightest, and only more troubled by what she has done.
My first reaction was obvious irritation. I gave her a 1 minute lecture about how it is not smart to have a phone conversation in the bathroom. Obviously, I left out the part about me not calling her about it in the first place! This is one of those "duh" lectures where nothing really needs to be said, and that the event itself taught her the lesson. (But it did make me feel a little better...grin). Rachel dramatically flees upstairs to her bedroom to throw herself down on her pillow and weep, Scarlett O'Hara style. (the boys continue to bust their guts with laughter...yelling upstairs and taunting Rachel even further).
We realize the phone is not operational, due to its fall into the toilet. Thankfully, we have a spare phone available.
Elijah (9 1/2 years old) immediately calls grandma to explain what cut her and Rachel's conversation short. She did say she heard a rather loud screech and then dead air.
As Elijah is walking around the house and chatting with grandma, I notice a crude sign taped to the bathroom door, in Elijah's 9 1/2 year old boy handwriting. This brings the beginnings of hysterical laughter to my mouth:
"No phones in bathroom!"
The whole drama died down after awhile...until my husband arrived home. The boys had to explain and re-enact it all over again. At this point, Rachel had gotten herself together, and was able to listen without crying. She even cracked a little smile as the boys mercilessly teased her.
When all was said and done, Roger (my husband) told Rachel a funny story about the time her brother Greyson actually "fell" into the toilet (head first) when he was potty training. This made her smile and gave her a little ammunition to strike back with.
And so goes another sound on the wide range of possibilities featuring noises emanating from our home....
Merry Christmas to all! May your home be filled with laughter and joy!
--Camy
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