Many Sides of Amy: Chef

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The Homekeeping Notebook: What's in it!

I sort of debated sharing what's in my notebook, in my last post. I thought it would be fun to look back at someday but decided that wasn't really the point of the post. But apparently some of you really wanted to know.

So here it is. But I'm sharing on the condition that you realize this: what works for one family might not work for another.

AND. I said it in the last post, I'll say it again. What makes all this happen is not the binder, it's the mom. I will humble myself enough to tell you that when I was a young(er) mom ;) I would make beautiful lists and charts and not understand why my life didn't fall into beautifully organized bliss. It was because I needed to get up off my rear, quit looking at my beautiful lists and charts, and get some real work done.

Say it with me: a homekeeping notebook is an extension of your brain, not an extension of your hands. It does not actually do the work for you. Creative-type people (like myself) that enjoy making these books would rather make them then go do what's in them. It's a Pinterest generation fail.

Some of these pictures have an envelope covering the page because I don't really want the whole world to know all of my business. ;)

Lastly: Children must not ever be allowed to touch the notebook. It's mommy's master plan and without it, she will not survive. The end.

Ok I'm going to try to keep this as simple as possible. My Notebook:

Minus Kate's finger this time. I took these while she was napping. But they're all super lame pics. Sorry about that.

First:

My Supplies

This is a must so I can always find a pen when I need it. And it's also my hidden place for things that disappear like scissors and good erasers. And it's a great place to hide the matches.

Pencils

The good pen in the house

Scissors

Highlighter

Sharpie

Erasers
Stick-it notes (I'm obsessed and use them for everything)

Matches

Washi tape (I use it to tape paper invitations inside my cabinets)

My Calendar

This is NOT for appointments. It's my homekeeping calendar.

I have two calendars. This one and my Google calendar on my iPad.

The Google calendar is all my appointments, recurring (like weekly Bible studies) or not (like doctor appointments). Jake also has a Google calendar and we each have access to the others calendar, so we can see them overlap and know at a glance what's coming up and if either of us have plans on any given day.

The paper calendar I use for my personal, homekeeping notes like, which days a school lunch is ordered and for which kid, days special bills are due by, deadlines to send out birthday party invites, library book due dates, etc. Stuff I need to see and be reminded of but that doesn't affect what appointments are on the calendar. Does that make sense?

School Pocket-Folders

I have one of these for each of my kids' schools. It holds school schedules, important papers from teachers, a class newsletter (only until the next one comes out), etc. I also keep a stick-it note with the "official" arrival and dismissal times, PE days (because tennis shoes must be worn), and the morning bus drivers' phone numbers.

Scripture

The first two tabbed pages are just for inspiration. One is scripture. And I'll probably change it out occasionally. These are verses that have always inspired me as a wife, mom, and homekeeper. And I'm working to memorize them. I want these to be the first thing I see in my notebook when I flip to my tabs.

Job Description

I covered this one up because I think it's so personal to every woman. It's very specific.

It's listed in categories:

Wife

Mother

Home Manager

Ministry

Myself

What are the bare bones things your husband needs/wants from you? We are going through the Dynamic Marriage course with our small group so I have a literal list of my husbands needs, and I've written it out here. (Another reason it's covered) :) I look at it as often as I can to be reminded how I can best serve him.

What are your primary goals as a mom? That could be as generic or personal as you want it to be. But whatever you want to look back 20 years from now and say... Write that down. Its easy for me to slip into survival mode. But I want to parent on purpose.

If keeping the house clean, organized, and functional was an actual paid 9-5 job, what would the job description be? Just because we live in our workplace doesn't give us a pass to live in a sloppy house. How would you want it to look when you got home from a long day? Make it that way for your family! And write out those goals here.

What does your ministry require of you, physically? Write it down. And do those things. Be the best 4th grade sunday school small group leader you can be!!

I highly recommend every woman read "Taking care of the 'me' in mommy". If you don't take care of yourself, you can't take care of your family. Now, I'm the queen of dry shampoo and letting myself wait too long to be recharged. So I'm not saying make yourself priority one either, it's still the bottom of my list. I'm just saying - there's a balance. Take care of yourself.

Cleaning (Daily)

Every morning, no matter what day, I try to do this cleaning routine. Try. :)

Dishes/Unload the dishwasher

2 loads of laundry: washed, dried, put away

Clean the counters and tables

Sweep

Tidy the whole house (everything in its place)

Make all the beds

Vacuum the living room

Some of these used to night routines, but I'd rather spend time with Jake than obsess over the last 3 dishes in the sink or the mystery crumbs under the table.

Cleaning (Weekly)

I'm not sure how clear these pics are so I'm writing it again.

Dust

Vacuum all carpet/rugs/stairs

Mop

Bathrooms

Microwave and fridge (ours get nasty fast)

Windows/mirrors/TVs

Clean out the suburban

Change any dead light bulbs

I'm gonna talk about this weekly cleaning more in a minute.

Cleaning (Monthly)

Vacuum the couches

Clean the fans

Clean the walls

Ceilings and cobwebs

Vacuum the suburban

Not Just Being Busy: My Homekeeping Notebook

I'm always incredibly and genuinely shocked when my kids start school, go up a grade, have a birthday or say something increasingly intelligent for their maturity level. As if I thought they would be babies forever. "She's in 2nd grade!" "He looks so big!" "Did she just say that?" *gasp!* Like I didn't see it coming since the day they were born. But I am. I'm shocked. 5 kids in school this year. Whew.

I mean, are they cute or what?

And yes, Kate is home with me. I actually signed her up for Mothers Day Out but it was full and I was secretly happy.

*sigh* Summer is ending, school has started, and the busyness just changes to a different rhythm. And while I'm not usually as passionate about it as Jen Hatmaker, I'm welcoming this yearly change of season.

I've said this before, but my friends and I refer to back-to-school time as New Years. It really is. More than the actual New Years, its a fresh start. New school year, new teachers, new classmates (sometimes), new desk, new clothes... And for moms, a fresh start at our routine. New resolutions.

And seriously. After all those weeks of summer, I feel like bionic woman with all but 1 kid in school.

So, it's a goal every year but I'm perfecting it: I want to make the most of my time and be ahead of the game. The Lord has blessed us with a huge house and a half a dozen beautiful and energetic tornado children. ;) Which means I've got a big job.

I'm going to keep this place clean and organized, finish projects, stay on top of the laundry and uniforms, pre-make meals for busy evenings, shop for deals on groceries, be on time every where I go and be the very best home-keeper that I can be. Because that's what I'm called to do.

People at church are always asking me, "How do you do it?" And they're probably just referring to how I got these 6 squirmy children into the building alone without a stroller. But IF they were referring to how I juggle the Spencer Clan, this is it.

This is my homekeeping notebook. It's my brain. And Kate's finger pushing it. Which wasn't really meant to be symbolic, but it sort of is actually.

I've had one of these for years, but I'm always tweaking it. My last one stunk so I'm very excited about this new one. I also tried to do a version of this on my iPad with Evernote. It was a fail.

If you are a mom with more than 2 kids, your house is clean, your husband is fed, your kids folders are signed, you get them to school on time and you juggle the madness in your head, I applaud you. I was not, however, born with a brain that has that much bandwidth.

Oh and this year, we have this.

Schedule and checklists posted on the fridge. I've tried this before too, but again, I'm perfecting it.

But listen. Just because the fonts all match and the washi tape is cute, doesn't make this whole binder/schedule system work. All the Pinterest boards and excel files on the planet don't make all this come together. A mom does.

It takes work. A lot of it actually. I don't care if you have 10 kids in 4 different schools, you homeschool, or have no school age kids but a baby and a toddler or 3: Being a wife, mom, and home keeper is hard work. If I'm not sweating at some point in my day, something's probably falling apart somewhere. It's just the truth. Moms. Are. Busy.

But. Why do I need a homekeeping notebook, charts and schedules? Why not just wing it? I'll tell you.

To stay on top of my game

To be a good steward of my time and energy (of which there is little)

To better serve my husband

To better serve my children

Because I think homekeeping is a lost art

Because God's word says that a wise woman builds her house (Prov. 14:1)

Because I want the heart of my husband to safely trust me (Prov. 31:11)

Because the more efficiently and effectively I take care of my family and home, the more ministry I'm able to be involved in (Because I also believe I'm called to my family first)

Because the years pass quickly

Because all of our busy rushing ends in nothing (Ps. 39:6)

And because I want to live on purpose and be a woman of excellence, not settle for just being busy.

Do you have a homekeeping notebook? How do you find it helps you?

**update: for those who were curious what's IN the notebook, see this post: What's in it!**

The Remedy

I'm a fourth generation homekeeper. It might even go back further than that, but I can at least testify that my mom, grandmother and great grandmother were all wives, moms, and homekeepers. I'm a little old fashioned at heart and I love that there's a new generation of women trying to go back to the way their grandmothers did things. I mean, in my family we pass down things like our recipe for Frito Casserole (except its not the same thing if you don't say it with a southern accent) or how to fry okra. But that's not what I'm talking about. Lots of women are going back to gardening, couponing, using natural remedies, and cleaning with what's in the pantry. In fact, in a world of Pinterest and Crunchy Betty, "going granola" is pretty trendy.

But rather it be old-fashioned, crunchy, granola, hippie or none of the above: as a wife, mom and homekeeper, I'm always trying to keep my family healthy. With as few chemicals and drugs as possible. And on a budget. With the occasional Frito Casserole or run through taco bell. (gasp!) Hey. Don't judge.

Ya know... in this day and age, it's not easy.

You either do no research at all and live in ignorant bliss (which I don't feel is super wise) or every time you turn around, you find out something you're buying or consuming is killing you. Or causing eczema in small children. Where's the balance? There's almost too much information out there, and not all of it accurate.

We just don't live in the same world our grandparents did. We live in a world where autism, cancer, childhood obesity, ADD and even allergies are all on the rise. Just to name a few things. All of my grocery stores carry foods that aren't actually food at all and even the produce is laced with toxins. And while things are labeled "natural" I still have to do my homework because even "natural" products could be harmful to my family. And you can have the internet equivalent of a public stoning just for mentioning rather or not you've chosen to vaccinate your children. No comment.

And while I want to do the very best I can by my family, I try not to obsess over it. I'm not going to let fear control me. We buy some organic food, try not to buy too many processed foods, and cook from scratch as much as I can. I make my own laundry detergent and cleaners (because its cheaper and healthier). And recently, I'm trying to replace our medicine cabinet with essential oils. I make my own lotion, but I'm sure if you look in my bathroom cabinets you'll find something with a paraben in it. (gasp again!) But you know what? I do what I can to walk in wisdom while ultimately putting my trust in the Lord.

I haven't been using essential oils forever, really just in the last few months. But so far, I really love what I've been using. We've used them for eczema, fevers, sore throats, snotty noses, strep, diaper rash, headaches and PMS. And I'm doing some research on how they can help Micah and Abby focus when they're at church and school. Jake still prefers his excedrine migraine and cold medicine. And if something serious crops up, I'm not against picking up some antibiotics as needed. But for the most part, we're trying to take care of business-- medical business-- naturally. With essential oils, balanced with other things like organic apple cider vinegar and raw organic coconut oil.

But.

Not surprising of our culture, I'm noticing a tipping scale. People getting a little obsessive. Looking to oils or even just natural remedies for ev.er.y.thing. Its like a game. "What oil can I use for...?" And dare I even say it, using essential oils for spiritual purposes. I'm not talking about everyone that's using them. But its out there. And I feel that if I'm going to encourage others to use essential oils as a part of their medicine cabinet (because I love them!) I feel a responsibility to clarify what I'm encouraging the use for. Does that make sense?

Now, let me be clear. When I say spiritual... I don't mean psychological. I realize there are real chemical/hormonal/emotional/psychological reasons to use medical intervention via essential oils, pharmaceuticals, or whatever you choose. Depression, addiction, sensory processing disorder... these (and more) are very real diagnoses that are miserable to go through. And there are medicines and certainly oils that help with them, if not cure it altogether.

(Now, what I'm about to say does not apply to someone who is not a born-again believer. If you've not found Jesus, the following paragraphs do not apply to you. But I would encourage you to start a relationship with Jesus Christ because you'll find more fulfillment in Him than anyone/anything else you've ever tried or ever could try. I promise.)

But for the born-again, Bible believing, Spirit-filled, follower of Christ. There is not anything on this planet that should replace us going to our God and creator for our ultimate spiritual fulfillment and healing. He alone should be our all in all.

Can we use the resources He's given us to treat the illnesses of this world? Yes. Absolutely.

Should we use the brain in our heads that He's given us to make wise choices? Of course.

But what do we turn to first?

Are we using these things to give ourselves a sense of power and control over our circumstances?

And to take it a step further, should we be using oils for spiritual enlightenment (whatever you think that might mean) or to achieve a deeper inner peace and self worth?

Shaky ground my friends. Shaky ground.

There is nothing that should replace the work of the Holy Spirit in my life.

I've said it before, I'll say it again. I'm not big on religion. I'm big on relationship. With the true and living God. The maker of heaven and earth. Who see's my heart and knows my thoughts. Who loved me enough to send His one and only Son do pay for my sins. By Who's stripes I'm healed.

I'm not going to get super legalistic and outline what I feel is acceptable and unacceptable concerning... any of this. But can I ask you this? Please don't just read blogs, or trust in something someone on a FB group said or recommended, or listen to someone... who's selling something. Check God's Word. Find out what trusted and Godly friends and leaders think about it. And most importantly, pray about it. Check your own heart and ask the Lord to show you anything in your life that you're putting more trust in than Him. And if it causes you to sin-- and putting anything before Him is sin-- remove it. (Mark 9:43)

Today I was talking through some of this with a close friend. A fellow mom that strives to hear the Spirit of the Lord over the noise of our toddlers. She had a great point and said it so beautifully (as she usually does) with these words. "We want an answer that we ourselves can administer, removing the need for Christ. But we veil it in nobility of doing the natural best thing for our family. He is the cure. The remedy. First. Always." She texted those words to me and I stared at them for a long time. She absolutely hit the nail on the head.*

And listen people, I'm preaching to myself over here. If I'm so consumed with essential oils, "natural remedies", healthy living, organic food, being gluten free, being sugar free, clean eating or any other way of eating... or anything else for that matter... Facebook, emails, getting to the gym, my friends, what my friends think, my job, my parenting philosophy, my blog, my hobby, my home, even my kids... I don't care how good and right it is. If we're putting it before the Lord, its time for a change. Time to repent and rearrange the priorities.

I hope I'm able to communicate through these written words, with no tone or voice inflection being heard, the love with which I say these things. God is a God of love, mercy and grace. But He is also a jealous God with a fierce love that is serious about things that come before Him in our lives. I can't tell you what that means for you specifically. But I can tell you that we are not without measures for checking.

These are perilous times in which we live. (2 Tim. 3:1) Let's seek to do the the very best by our families, watching over the ways of our household. (Prov. 31:27) Let's run the race, not looking to the right or left. (Hebrews 12:1) Let's be of sober mind, testing everything. (I Peter 5:8, I Thes. 5:21) And hey. Lets do it together.

And should the Lord tarry, I'd love to raise up a new generation of sober minded, vigilant, God fearing wives, mothers and homekeepers who know: Christ is the Remedy.

*You can read more of my friend Sarah's beautiful words over on her blog, My Awefull Life

Tis the season?

I think all moms should get a vacation after Christmas. And I'm not talking about the kind where all your kids are home from school for two weeks.

I've talked to so many moms in the last 48 hours that are exhausted from this season. Its only the 13th. And I can totally relate. I told one of them last night that everyone should be very impressed if I haven't pulled out all of my hair by the end of December.

I'm conducting an unintentional experiment with my phone- seeing how many reminders I can pack in without it exploding.

Ballet/Hip hop classes

Bible studies

Christmas shopping

Wrapping presents

Christmas productions (2 for one school, 1 for another, and 3 for church. Thankfully my kids aren't in the church ones, but I'm guessing Jake will have to work and I'd like to go to one of them.)

Christmas cards and all that that entails (taking pictures, ordering the cards, addressing and mailing)

$10 for 2nd grade service project by Friday

Canned goods for 2nd grade service project on Monday

Graham crackers for Kindergarten gingerbread house party by Monday

Fruit salad for 3rd grade party on Wednesday

Apple juice for 2nd grade party on Wednesday

Wrapped book for 1st grade party next Friday

Fruit tray for 1st grade party next Friday

Taking meals to friends who just had babies (because I can't imagine doing all this with a newborn)

And all this while still trying to keep up with day to day life with a half dozen kids.

4 of whom just got over strep.

Are we having fun yet?

~~~

So if you are one of those moms running around like a chicken with its head cut off... you are not alone. Go cry in your closet to the Lord for 10 minutes if you need to and dive back into the world of Christmas tree cupcakes, Tamiflu and snotty noses, wrapping teacher gifts, uploading videos of your kid singing Silent Night in the Christmas play to Facebook. Be patient as you wait in the long lines at Target with a crying baby as everyone glares at you. Try to act calm when your 3 year old pulls an ornament off the tree for the 589th time. Take a deep breath and remember the reason for the season.

The Prince of Peace.

Aaaahh, yeah remember Him? Lets let Him reign in our hearts and calm the crazy storms of the American Christmas season. Its not about all the rest of it anyway. Its about Him.

And come January, call me. We can have a girls night out. I'm sure we'll both need it.

21 Days of Gratitude: Day 20

#1) Thankful for awesome neighbors who bring us party leftovers to feed our little troops!

#2) Thankful for extra hands around the house to help me clean for Thanksgiving.

#3) Thankful for Paula Deen and her delicious, butter-filled recipes. ;)

21 Days of Gratitude: Day 11

Its been a long day. I'm tired. BUT.... I'm still thankful. :)

#1) Thankful for my triple stroller on Sunday mornings.

#2) Thankful for friends who are up for carpooling kids to birthday parties.

#3) Thankful for my mom's Frito casserole recipe and jiffy corn muffins- food I can cook when I'm too tired to think. Easy, yummy, southern comfort food.

And I need one more today:

#4) Thankful for bedtime when the whole house gets quiet and I can veg out on the couch with my hubby! Thank you Lord for bedtime!!

Show me Your ways Lord

Hello, little blog, I promise I haven't forgotten you.

Life has been so busy...

September was packed month. Our family took a much needed one week vacation in Florida. I use the word "vacation" loosely but it was a fun family trip. ;) After that my mom-in-law came in town and we had a baby shower for my sister-in-law who's having her first girl. Also, our very dear friend Kory's wedding was in September, complete with all the wedding festivities: bridal shower, lingerie shower, tool shower, rehearsal, etc, etc, etc. We had some close friends stay with us while they were in town over wedding weekend, which was fun. I also had a couple of events to decorate for. (I think I've mentioned it before, but I do some event decorating for the church and for friends). And actually Kory's wedding was one of those events. We wrapped the month up with a big presentation that Ashley and Emily had at school, in which they both did awesome.

Then there's our weekly home-group, weekly women's Bible study, and bi-weekly adoption group.

And all of this in addition to the daily grind of diapers, laundry, dishes, packed lunches, homework, housecleaning, buying groceries, paying bills and other glorious tasks.

*sigh*

But there's this ever present nudge. Calling me to slow down.

At the risk of sounding overly poetic, the cooler weather always seems to blow a fresh perspective over my life. It beckons me to take deep breaths. To look around and be thankful. It makes me want to slow down. Its almost as if the Creator of the autumn breezes knows whats best for me. ;)

Some things you just can't. Its not as if I can tell my kids that we're giving up evening homework for the week so Mommy can slow down. Its not as if I can just bail out on grocery shopping or laundry or going to our best friends' wedding. Things like Women's study and small group are actually things that refuel me, so I couldn't and wouldn't let those go.

But some things....

I recently made a list. Of all the things that take up time on my calendar. Every. Little. Thing. I needed to evaluate and purge. Its not an easy task, but it had to be done. I'm taking a good look at my weeks and organizing them the way a good homemaker should, with the help of an amazing book "Large Family Logistics" (which I'm sure I've referenced before).

~Monday is Cleaning Day
~Tuesday is Laundry Day
~Wednesday is Town Day (don't laugh, I know it sounds very Little House on the Prairie, but don't know what else to call it)
~Thursday is Kitchen Day
~Friday is Office Day

I've got my schedule all written up. With room to breathe. Room for life. And room to do the things around my house that make life sweeter when I push up my sleeves and attend to. If you've ever seen the program Microsoft One Note, its perfect for my new Home Management Book. I've got a tab for each day, complete with meal plans, to do lists, housecleaning schedules, and links to recipes, etc. I've also got tabs for our family budget, the kids' school stuff, grocery and shopping lists, weekend projects, and all things medical.

Today is Kitchen Day and I baked a loaf of Reeces peanut butter cup banana bread. Next I'm making granola bars, pre-baking some meatballs for dinner, and then hopefully a batch of my laundry detergent.

And because I've kept up with all my other "days" this week (and I'm ignoring the pile of mail and emails until "Office Day" tomorrow), today I can open my windows, crank up Pandora, and bake my little heart out. Right now Kate is taking her morning nap and Mabry is hosting a babydoll teaparty while she runs into the kitchen periodically with me to lick spoons.

Life is so sweet when its slow.

~~~

That's not all though. There's more on my heart.

Not only is God calling me to slow down, He's calling me deeper. In actuality, I believe He's always calling me to both, but right now, I'm listening.

"Do you really know how much I love you? And do you live like you know it?"
"Will you obey Me at any cost?"
"I have such great things in store for you if you'll follow me deeper."

He's stirring my heart. I don't know where He's going to take me but I know that's where I want to be. I want to chase Him with reckless abandon. I want to give up all the things of this world to know Him more. I want to focus my eyes on Him and not on the fleeting things of this world.

The pot is stirred. There's no going back.

God thank you for guiding me. Give me wisdom, boldness and discernment to do that which You've called me to do, and only that which You've called me to do.

The wise woman builds her house, but the foolish pulls it down with her hands.
Proverbs 14:1

A mans heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps.
Proverbs 16:9

Show me your ways Lord, teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation, on You I wait all the day.
Psalm 25:4-5

The MANY sides...

I've thought about changing the name of my blog. I've never really been super crazy about it. It feels really self-centered.... or something. Like its all about me. And its not. But the point was this- I wanted a place where I can write the things that are in my heart, on my mind, or happening with my family. I could journal them, but this way family and friends can keep up with our family as well. And "the many sides" seemed to fit well since, as most mothers do, I wear so many hats.

Well, recently I've really been feeling every. one. of those sides. I'm a wife and I'm a mom. I'm an adoption advocate, adoptive parent, chauffeur, chef, crafter, cousin, granddaughter, daughter, daughter-in-law, sister, sister-in-law, friend, home economist, maid, and member of the DS community. And by the grace of God I am, above all, a child of God.

I think I'll keep the name.

The following should probably all be separate posts. But its all in my head at one time on any given day, so that's how I'm writing it.

Ashley and Emily are getting older and more mature every day. At their last doctors check-up, we talked about Ashley and uh... "girl stuff" being just a few years away. Things to watch for, how to handle it. Oh I'm not ready for that phase yet! Can we all just take a deep breath and slow this ride down?!

I've been talking with friends about our hopes and goals in parenting our precious children through the next several years. I don't want to miss even one of the very many teachable moments, training my girls to be ladies. Women of God. These years are so crucial. I want my kids to know they can talk to me about anything. I want to help them grow spiritually. I'm fully confident that I'm raising children in the end times and they need to be firm in their faith, able to rightly divide truth from lies. Sound biblical doctrine from the twisted things the world will throw at them. And I want to rally with other parents who feel the same way, to raise these warriors together. This is not for the faint of heart!

Meanwhile... recently I find that I could spend hours scouring my special needs and Down Syndrome boards online. Trying to figure out if things Micah and Abby are going through are common.

Does anyone else's kids have these screaming/grunting fits? Does anyone else's kids try to escape? Is it "normal" for kids with Down Syndrome to have this difficult of a time potty training?

Everyone talks about how kids with DS are just the sweetest angels who are "otherworldly" and kind to everyone they meet. And don't get me wrong, Micah has a capacity to forgive that blows my mind. And Abby holds no prejudice, she can tell within seconds if someone is a genuinely kind person and will greet people with hugs that come from straight from her heart! But they also get angry, yell, don't want to share, push, hit, and are probably the most stubborn people in this house! (And if you know me, that's saying a lot.) :) Besides some physical and speech delays, they really are no different than anyone else.

But I constantly wonder- should I be disciplining them any differently? Should I be more sensitive? Do they get enough therapy for their needs? Am I doing something wrong?? Could I be doing something more??? *sigh* My mind could be full-time busy just navigating this road of parenting children with Downs.

Then there's the adoption stuff. MAN is my heart burdened in this area. If I had time, I would dive head first into this ministry. I've started a little group for the families at our church. I don't have a lot of time, or resources, just a strong desire to connect people. A desire to support adopting families and to encourage those who are home.

There are millions of orphans in this world. Children with no one to love, protect, and teach them. What will become of these kids? Lets just say the statistics are not good. If Jesus is the answer, and we are his hands and feet, where does that put me? I want to do something! Do you know how many kids are in my own county right now, in the vicious cycle of the foster system? Did you know most of them have to be housed out side of the county because there aren't enough foster families here? I could actually burst into tears right now just thinking about it. *BIG sigh*

As for my babies. I decided to really go full force potty training Abby and Mabry this week. (Because, ya know, I don't have enough on my plate this summer.) But literally- Mabry potty trained in one day. She has not had one single accident (aside from a wet pull up in the morning or after naps, which I don't count). I'm so proud of her! And Kate is so close to walking. Both of them are talking more and more every day. They are such cute, squishy girls and they just melt me with their adorable little smiles and personalities. Even Ashley will say, "Mom, Kate is just so cute, I can't stand it!" I mean, they are little and they have their moments and fits, but seriously, they are sunshine to everyone in this house. I could squish, kiss, tickle and play peek-a-boo all. day. long. AAHH! I love them so much it hurts!

Aaaaand, my husband. He has so much going on and he needs to come home to a ~~somewhat~~ sane wife. Who loves him, supports him, and does him good and not harm. In all things. I don't ever want to be so busy with the children and the house that I'm too emotionally checked out to be aware of whats going on in his world. I'm his best friend, beloved, and helpmate. First and foremost.

Did I mention I'm leaving for the Dominican Republic next week? Ashley, Emily and I are accompanying Jake and all the youth kids and leaders on the summer missions trip. Only we'll be staying with Jake's parents. (We've divvied up the 4 littles to some precious friends who are helping us out.) I'm so excited for Ashley and Emily to have a taste of another country, less fortunate than this lavish life we lead. But its been difficult to prepare them because, on one hand, this is Grandma and Grandpa's house. On the other hand, its the mission field. Its it's own unique thing, I guess.

Anyway, my mind is swimming trying to make packing lists and instructions for all four. Micah is his own world of instructions. ABBY is her own world of instructions. Then there's the babies with all of their gear.... Bottles, sippy cups, diapers (just for Kate, whoo hoo!), toys, doses for Tylenol, emergency contacts, medical releases. Then there's the packing for us... passports, copies of passports, books for the flight.... gonna have to weigh the bags to keep them under whatever the weight limit is... I'm nervous about customs with a 7 and 8 year old, just remembering how miserable it was going to Ukraine. And that was just me and Jake. But at least we'll be with a bunch of youth leaders and like 40 high schoolers. That should be fun. ;)

Back to my point. Or was there one? Oh right, the many sides.

Anyway, on top of all of this, the laundry and dishes in this house require so much care, I feel like I should mention them as a part of our family. Its like some crazy monster... if I threaten to break off a limb or two, he grows back 4 more. Where does it come from?! And Praise God for homemade laundry detergent, I'm loving that stuff. But ya know, every time I load the washing machine or dish washer, I try to remind myself that I could be hand washing all of this. Suddenly I don't mind so much. :)

~~~

I hope this whole post doesn't sound like complaining. I'm just... chronicling all of it. :) These are the many sides of me. Each a completely precious and sacred area of my life. I would never trade any of it away. I just have to find the balance in it all. And daily lay it before Jesus. These kids are his kids. Down Syndrome is no mystery to Him. Orphan care is closer to His heart than it is to mine. And I am doing what he created me to do. When you boil it all down, I'm Amy. Wife, mom, sinner saved by grace.

You shall increase my greatness, and comfort me on every side. (Ps. 71:21)
My flesh and my heart fail;But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. (Ps.73:26)

Adventures in Motherhood: diary entry #8956

Maybe... just maybe... someday I will be ahead of the game. As in... not baking cupcakes at 11:45pm and hot gluing sheep ears to hair clips at 6am the next morning.

And now I've got a whole day ahead of me with its own adventures.

Its gonna be a coffee IV kinda day.

Happy Wednesday.

I think I'm going to.

*Warning, random post ahead*

I've been thinking. (Dangerous, I know.) And I really want to...

~Look into that tracking device for Micah.

~Cover one of the playroom walls entirely with scripture. The wall opposite the mural. I think...

~Replace my dustpan with the end of a snow shovel. It would be so much more practical. How have I not thought of this sooner?

~(Brace yourself) Switch laundry day to Monday.

~Rearrange the furniture in the bonus room. Again.

~Buy an actual exercise video and exercise during nap time. Dancing along with the Wiggles, though great for cardio, and highly entertaining for the kids, is probably not recognized by the fitness community.

~Have Ashley help me cook more. She enjoys it and it would be so helpful.

Yep. I'm going to. I'm gonna do all of it.

Thats my girl

I've become quite Pinterest obsessed recently. How can you not? Its amazing. Not only can you collect all of the things you love from all over the internet (instead of having a bzillion bookmarks and favorites) to see in one place, but the ideas, tips, recipes and tricks are endless! Its got me making my own Febreze, pulled pork with Pepsi, roses out of magazine pages, wall art out of toilet paper tubes, amazing french braids in the girls' hair, and much much more.

Its kind of like crack for crafty people. There. I said it.

Apparently I reference it often because in the car the other day Ashley asked me, "Mom, do you think Pinterest will be around when I'm a grown up?"

"I don't know Ashley, why?"

"Because I want to use it to decorate my house."

Beloved child after my own heart. :)

Tired but good

Aaaahhh to sit and update the ol' blog. :) Something I haven't done in far to long. But come to think of it, there are many things I probably need to do that I haven't in far too long. To all of you whom I owe an email back, forgive me, I promise I haven't forgotten. :)

The truth is, I don't get on my computer much these days.

Right now I type this with a very poor internet connection from the "living room" (I'm chuckling to myself right now that I'm even calling it that) of our humble hotel/suite. We've been here for a week and have one more week to go. Per a friends' suggestion, I'm going to share with you what its like in our tiny quarters. You walk into the very small, said living room with a fold out couch, coffee table, a dresser and TV. Then there is a two person table that connects it to the kitchen: a small fridge, a mini microwave, a sink and two electric burners. There is one door to a full bathroom and another door to a bedroom which has a king size bed, a desk, and another dresser with a TV. Surprisingly there's another full size bathroom in that bedroom.

Yes, its tight with 7 people, but it actually works. Micah and Abby sleep on the floor next to our bed (on cozy palates that I secretly think might be softer than our mattress), Mabry's pack n'play is in the 2nd bathroom (for those who know me, putting pack n'plays in bathrooms and large closets is nothing new! :)), and Ashley and Emily share the fold out couch. So really its not a bad setup. No one is getting much sleep, but hey, we've all got a cozy place to lay down. :)

At mealtime (and yes I've been cooking... creatively...) Micah and Abby sit at the coffee table, Mabry sits in her trayed booster seat on the floor, and the girls sit at the table. Jake and I either eat standing or "facilitate" the kids while they're eating and just eat when they're all done. The kitchen has one pot, one skillet, one spatula and a few dishes. So we've had tacos, spaghetti, hot dogs, sandwiches, and a few meals out. :)

Its not in our town but close enough. Jake is still taking the girls to school every day and I'm just driving the little ones into Spring Hill for school a couple of days a week.

Oh and Florida! Well... it was an adventure. :) Me, my friend, 9 children and a babysitter. We lived. (Because I don't have a great connection here, I've opted to only post the pics of that on FB, so if we're FB friends, you'll have to check them out there.) Lets see.... the plan was to leave out after church on Sunday (Easter). But because something MUST go wrong, Abby threw up all over herself minutes before we had to leave for church. The next few hours after that were, um, interesting. My mom came to my rescue as I waited for my friend to get out of church... and those were a couple of interesting hours that Mom and I don't even want to remember so I'll move along in the story. (Thanks again, Mom) :) So I met up with D'Arcy and we hit the road around lunch time and had what I would consider a fairly successful caravan to Florida. (Side note- Abby never threw up again, thankfully!)

Our week was good, but extremely tiring. Micah really needs to NOT be away from his Daddy that long. He knows exactly how to push my buttons. And he's a professional escape artist who nearly gave me a heart attack... a couple of times. The other kids did okay. Just the usual stuff- the girls wanted to talk my head off 24 hours a day, bicker with one another, and perfect their love/hate sister relationship. The other highlights: we went through more sunscreen than I thought was possible, we watched the tail end of the Royal wedding, Ashley, Emily and Micah are all a little braver in the pool, Mabry and Abby finally made friends with the sand on the beach, and we made more memories taking late night walks to the Sugar Shack.

At the end of the week, I had to drive back a couple of days earlier than D'Arcy. Yes, I was a little nervous driving the 8 hour drive home alone, in my 3rd trimester, with five children, 3 of which are in diapers and the other two not old enough to be considered help when you're traveling. (In other words, if I had to pee, we ALL went in.) But actually, it went surprisingly well. Except for that one incident when Micah opened his door while going 70 through downtown Birmingham. That was a little scary.... ANYway...

I still say I'd rather be busy at the beach than busy at home. :) And I DID get a little start on a summer tan, even with a baby on my hip. :)

Last but not least, baby Avery is kicking my butt. Well... my abdomen I guess. :) She's a strong baby, and reminds me a lot of Emily in the womb. Extremely active but to the point of being painful. I've gained decent weight (though I lost a couple of lbs at the beach, lol, no big surprise there!) but I've been having these weird nauseous/dizzy spells the last couple of days. And the exhaustion is really getting to me too. I think I could sleep 12 hours at night AND take naps and still be tired... just can't seem to catch up. :/

Ok, well, speaking of sleep, its off to bed for this tired momma. We still plan to close on the house May 20th, so please keep us in your prayers. I can't wait to share pics of our new beautiful house when this whole escapade is over!

Step by step guide: how NOT to pack to move

Pre- Packing week:

~Assume that your kids being home on Spring Break the week of your packing will make it easier because you won't have to pack lunches or deal with homework

~When people offer to help, smile and say thanks but never line anything up

~Ignore the weird blood pressure/blood sugar/dizziness/who-knows-what issues you've been having and pretend they'll disappear while you're packing

Night before you begin:

~Feed your husband bad mexican food leftovers for dinner causing him to be up all night with food poisoning. This way he'll be home, in bed, sleeping all day the first day. Double bonus: you can't get into your bedroom/bathroom AND you'll have to keep your children quiet while he sleeps

Day 1 (Monday):

~Be sure to call your friends who wanted to help you out today and tell them that they can't come now because your husband was puking all night

~Ignore your mother's advice to leave boxes where they are after you pack them (so you aren't doing heavy lifting) because you are hard headed and want the room clear

~Be a pushover and allow your kids to stay in the house instead of making them play outside, causing more stress on yourself, more clutter in the house, and keeping your husband from resting

~Leave your sharpie sitting out so your 4 year old finds it and "colors" her face

~Leave the room for 2 seconds with a fully packed but untaped box so your little ones can empty it completely

~Repeat several times

~Let your older kids make forts out of the empty boxes on the porch and trust them when they tell you that they cleaned up

~Don't take a nap, sleep is over-rated

~Forget to plan dinner and spend more than you want to on take-out that isn't even very good

~Spend the evening on the couch with Braxton Hicks, swollen feet and a bottle of water

Days 2-5 to be continued....

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ok, so I'm learning! :) But on the brighter side, I did get both of the two kids' rooms and closets (with the exception of clothes) packed up! 19 boxes packed, check!!! I feel pretty good about that. The goal is to have everything done by this weekend. (We close the middle of next week.) I also need to make the big summer/winter clothing switch for all 5 kids. In the past thats proven to be a day long process in and of its self... and since its supposed to be super nice outside all week and all my kids have in their closets are turtlenecks and sweaters ;) I think I'll do that project tomorrow and resume packing full force Wednesday-Friday. If you've offered to help me out, I've not emailed you to set a time, and you're still serious about wanting to help, please email or call me. :) I surrender, I can't do this alone!

Lastly, we're planning to put our stuff into storage because we are... yes... still waiting to hear back on the short sale. :) So we're looking to rent something in the Spring Hill area for April and/or May. If you know of anything available, please let me know. Thanks!

Ok, time for bed. I'm exhausted!!!

Love is in the air

Warning: Picture heavy post ahead!

So, besides Christmas, Valentines Day is probably one of my favorite holidays. And Easter. And 4th of July. And New Years. Ok, so I like holidays I guess.

This year, we kicked off the "pink" festivities on the 3rd with a batch of pink pancakes for dinner. They were in honor of our dear friends' baby girl, Kennedy Spencer. Yes, I fed my kids artificial coloring for a meal. Life is too short not to have pink pancakes when baby girls are born!

The pancakes were actually quite delicious. Or should I say- Pinkalicious. (Sorry, I couldn't resist. And if you don't get it, you must not have little girls, click here.) :)

Then we had a snow day... or was it two? Anyway, the girls decided they needed a spa snow day, so they took a long hot bath. (Which involved mini water guns, screaming, and more water on the floor than in the tub. Not my kind of spa bath, but whatever.) Then they wanted their nails painted for for Valentines day. Ashley requested red with pink hearts...

and Emily wanted (get ready) clear glitter polish first, then a red heart, followed by pearlescent pink, then white dots for snowflakes around the hearts, and completed with more clear glitter polish.

I didn't notice until looking at these pictures that their fingers and noses look orange. Maybe we need to cut back on the carrots! Gee! lol Ok, so back to Valentines...

Somehow, over the years, giving a Valentine at school changed from being a cute little home-made card cut out of construction paper and white paper doily's into... some sort of commercialized character (often in holographic form) on a card accompanied by either candy, tattoo's, stickers, or some combination of the above. Now, don't get me wrong. My kids love these! And are still treasuring each and every valentine they got from their cutie little friends at school. (The candy was gone in no time.) But this year I decided to bake a cookie for each classmate and make scrapbook paper cards. Cheap, better than candy, and fun. Right? Well, all but the last part maybe...

What I thought would be a quick cookie bake turned into an all day event. First, I got all my stuff ready and figured out I didn't have egg. But then I got resourceful (thanks to some friends' last minute advise!) and used applesauce. Then I went to frost them and realized I didn't have enough powdered sugar to make the frosting. So I got resourceful again, found some chocolate chips and made a chocolate drizzle. The girl classmates still got pink frosting with hot pink sprinkles. It was VERY important. And thankfully there are way more boys than girls, so we were okay. Whew. ;)

And I will say, the girls did a great job cutting out their little papers and writing all their friends' names.

Emily's:

I'm not sure where Emily learned to make those fancy A's. I didn't teach her and I can't imagine she learned it at school. I asked her why she was making her A's like that and she said "I just like it better." Hm. Ok.

Ashley's:

Each of Ashley's had a little picture that had some special meaning for that friend. So cute.

The finished product:

I realized after the party that poor Libby can't have gluten and wouldn't be able to eat her cookie. :( I'm sorry Mindy!!

And as if 3 or 4 dozen cookies wasn't enough (we made enough for Micah and Abby's classes too), the girls' school was having a little contest for best Valentines box. It had to include their name and a scripture. So given that I'm slightly obsessed with scrapbook paper, these boxes were kind of fun to me. :) The paper was really stiff so we had to hot glue it (we used Capri Sun boxes). So the girls designed their boxes, cut out their names and hearts, and I hot glued my night away.

Not sure why they felt the need to make these crazy faces while holding their boxes, lol! Not sure why they are wearing these random clothes that don't match or fit the season either.....

For the record, neither of them won. :/ But I'm okay with that. The winners were super cute and way more creative than ours. Emily's class winner's box was a huge sword made out of boxes and foil with the scripture "above all else, guard your heart". How cute is that?!

So, to further complete the beautification process from their spa day, they decided that they wanted me to curl their hair the morning of their Valentines Parties at school. And because magical things happen when school is delayed 1 hour because of left-over ice and snow, I actually did it. And they both looked adorable!

Behold the super-cute curls:

Emily's hair is super straight and I didn't think it would hold, but it even lasted into the next day! I could tell during her party that when she would turn, she'd give an extra-dramatic twist because she could feel the curls bounce. ;) lol Yep, thats my girl. (You can't really see the curls from this shot, but it was the best one I had.)

And because I've already added a bzillion pictures, I'm gonna show you this one. How is it that I have to wear eyeliner to look like my 7 year old who (obviously) has zero makeup on in this picture?! Look at her eyes! I didn't even use the redeye tool thingy that sometimes (and irritatingly) makes your whole eye black. She's just naturally gorgeous. :)

So how about MY Valentine? Mr. Jake Spencer? Weeeell, he and I are going out tomorrow night. We've got a baby sitter lined up and I'm going to have a romantic dinner out with the hottest guy around. I won't be blogging or posting pictures of our Valentines night. Sorry folks, thats where the show ends. ;)

Happy Valentines Day everyone!!!