There was a time when I felt overwhelmed by all the babies! I had 5 babies/toddlers and life seemed so tense! There was disciplining, sicknesses, feeding everyone, gardening, disciplining, canning, cleaning, laundry, dishes, homeschooling the eldest, and more discipleship! My head was spinning, as I was just trying to find time to take a shower and/or read my Bible and give my husband the attention he needed.

It was about this time that the Lord gave us twins! I remember saying, “Lord, I am VERY contented with 7, thank You very much! If you chose to close my womb now, I’d be contented, indeed.” A short time after, the Lord gave us Maddy, a stillborn at 20 weeks. All of a sudden, we were in shock! We had taken our fertility for granted, because things always seemed to go so well. Then, after Maddy, there was Michael, a miscarriage at 16 weeks. We didn’t want anymore! We didn’t want the pain that came with the losses!

Well, after some time had passed, God did bless us with another. She is 4 years apart from the twins. Oh how God is good in His sovereignty! See, we had lost focus because we let the business, the stresses, the here and now get in the way of our view…the bigger picture. It’s easy to do this when toddlers are pulling and tugging at you every which way. It’s always time to nurse and grocery shopping is a nightmare!

Be diligent with discipline and you will see the fruits of your labors as the quiver increases….*if* God chooses to increase it, and lastly, don’t take your fertility for granted. Love each of those sweeties…take time to read to them and play with them, and enjoy them. Not everyone is able to have a precious baby. God knows what’s best for YOU.

Tags: Family, Mama, selflessness

The Basic Pantry

Below is a list of basic ingredients that will make up a well-stocked pantry. You probably have most of these items, already, in some form or amount. These have been found to be most helpful for the wife that wants to stretch her husband’s hard-earned dollar the most.

Spices

• Basil
• Organo
• Cumin
• Salt
• Garlic granuals or powder
• Thyme
• Cinnamon
• Crushed red pepper
• Thyme
• Ginger
• Mustard powder
• Allspice
• Cinnamon
• Salt
• Pepper
• Onion powder
• Chili powder
• Sage

Staples

• Vegetable or canola oil
• Shortening
• Corn starch
• Baking powder
• vanilla
• Baking soda
• Flour or wheat berries
• Sugar (powdered, granulated & brown)
• Yeast
• Bouillon
• Maple syrup
• Vinegar
• Powdered buttermilk
• Powdered milk
• Eggs
• Mustard
• Oats
• Mayonnaise
• Hot sauce
• Lemon juice
• Ketchup
• Cornmeal or corn for grinding
• Soy sauce
• potatoes
• Split Peas
• Vinegar
• Various dried beans
• Various pasta
• rice

Handy to have on Hand

• Canned or frozen vegetables
• Barley
• Creamed soups
• Raisins
• Pickles
• Parmesan cheese
• Plain yogurt or sour cream
• Cream cheese
• Cheeses
• Celery
• Onions
• Carrots
• Peanut butter
• Tomato sauce
• Unsweetened cocoa powder

If you do not have the majority of these items, I recommend you purchase them little by little, perhaps one or two items each week or two.

Tags: kitchen cares

Eph 5:22 – Wives, be subject to your own husbands, as to the Lord.

Eph 5:24 – But as the church is subject to Christ, so also the wives ought to be to their husbands in everything.

Col 3:18 – Wives, be subject to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.

1Pe 3:1 – In the same way, you wives, be submissive to your own husbands so that even if any of them are disobedient to the word, they may be won without a word by the behavior of their wives,

1Co 7:3 – The husband must fulfill his duty to his wife, and likewise also the wife to her husband.

1Co 7:4 – The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does; and likewise also the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does.

1Co 7:34 – The woman who is unmarried, and the virgin, is concerned about the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and spirit; but one who is married is concerned about the things of the world, how she may please her husband.

Eph 5:23 – For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, He Himself being the Savior of the body.

Eph 5:33 – Nevertheless, each individual among you also is to love his own wife even as himself, and the wife must see to it that she respects her husband.

Ro 7:2 – For the married woman is bound by law to her husband while he is living; but if her husband dies, she is released from the law concerning the husband.

Ro 7:3 – So then, if while her husband is living she is joined to another man, she shall be called an adulteress; but if her husband dies, she is free from the law, so that she is not an adulteress though she is joined to another man.

Pr 12:4 – An excellent wife is the crown of her husband, But she who shames {him} is like rottenness in his bones.

Pr 19:13 – A foolish son is destruction to his father, And the contentions of a wife are a constant dripping.

Pr 19:14 – House and wealth are an inheritance from fathers, But a prudent wife is from the LORD.

Pr 31:10 – An excellent wife, who can find? For her worth is far above jewels.

Heb 13:17 – Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with grief, for this would be unprofitable for you.

Jas 4:7 – Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.

Ge 2:18 – Then the LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him.”

Tags: Bible Truths

The “P” word! And you are wondering… oh no, is she going to start talk politics? Is it going to be more talk about Sarah Palin? Nahhh! I want to talk to you about price books. Yup… price books. What? You don’t know what a price book is? Get yourself a fresh cup of java and I’ll tell you all about it. It’s not too difficult, but I always like a good excuse to enjoy a cup of coffee with a friend.

A price book is a notebook of sorts, in which you write down each item you purchase and at what store. I also like to write down the cost per ounce so I can compare easily. You can categorize the book by store, product, or categories, such as cleaning items, canned foods, etc.

Amy Dacyczyn (pronounced Da cision), author of the Tightwad Gazette, gave me this idea and it has worked well.

The idea behind the price book is that you can accumulate the cost for each of your most common items, thus determining where the best prices can be found. When something is on sale, you will know if it really is a good deal. You eventually get a sense of what is good and what is not.  I have used it to create goals for how much I spend on meals. My goals might be $3 for each breakfast and $3 for each lunch and $9 for each dinner. Your mileage may vary. At least with a price sheet, you will know where your money is going.

Another aspect of using this price book is that you can see seasonal trends for items. Produce are not the only items that fluctuate in price for the season. Turkey, ham, potatoes are just a few items that fluctuate according to the season or time of year.  You will learn when the best time is to purchase these items. Stock up! Plan ahead!

I have provided this price book for you in a .pdf format for your own use. If you prefer it in Excel, which can also be opened in Open Office, click here. Feel free to print, copy, distribute. I simply as that you not remove the copyright information and website at the bottom of the page.

Other reading on the topic can be found at the following:

• The Dollar Stretcher
• Get Rich Slowly
• No Credit Needed

Wait, I’m not quite done, yet. There’s another part of this picture. I have found a great little free program, which installs quite easily, wherein I can take all my data and set it up on the computer. The program can is simply called Shopping List and can be found here.

This program allows you to put in all your grocery items by categories. I will add an item so that it will say, for example:
Eggs Albertson’s 5doz. $8.19
Eggs Costco 5doz. $7.79
Eggs Walmart 5doz. $8.22

In this way, I can compare at a glance and make my shopping trip according to where I can get the best prices.

After I have all my information in, I can drag the items I need to shop for into the right hand area, as you can see in the image. This is my master grocery list. When it prints, it will list everything, including prices and the locations to shop (as I just described), as well as the prices by category. Plus, it will calculate the total at the bottom, so I know what to expect to pay when I go out.

Happy planning and shopping!

Tags: kitchen cares, Organization