My children - Mommy and Me Monday

Today is Monday. It is the start of the week. We had a very busy weekend, so I decided that we would all stay in pjs and work on cleaning the house and maybe get a little schoolwork done too.

I have been meaning to teach one or both of the oldest kids to wash the dishes. Well I was washing dishes this morning and my oldest daughter came up and asked me if she could help. So today she learned how to wash dishes.

She did a pretty good job and I think that this will be a regular chore for her from now on. Since we had the camera out, my other children wanted pictures too.

Then, I started thinking about how we have taken fewer pictures with each child. I have often wondered why.

Do you have more than one child? Do you feel that you took more pictures of your first baby than the other baby or babies? I welcome your comments! :)


I'm linking up with Mommy and Me Monday. 

http://www.reallyareyouserious.com/

MDA Lock-up.

 My husband (through his workplace) is participating for the second year in the MDA Lock-up. It is a really fun day. They come and "arrest" my husband at his job and then take him to "jail". There they take his picture and feed him food and have him call people that he knows to help him raise money for the Muscular Dystrophy Association.  You can donate money to help him get out of "jail" or donate money to make him stay in "jail". If you are interested in donating, please click on the link below to help him raise money and stay out of "jail". :)

MDA Lockup

Thank you very much.

Goals for June 2012

I have decided to come up with a few goals for June. Tomorrow (or today depending on your time zone) is June 1st. For the month of June, or longer, I plan on giving up soda, partaking in the 30 for 30 challenge, and reducing our fast food intake.

I am a self-confessed soda addict! I love it. I drink at least 2 or 3 sodas a day. I know that this is wrong. I know that it is terrible for my health and my teeth. I know that it is just empty calories and that I am just basically drinking high fructose corn syrup. Those are the reasons why I am choosing to stop drinking it. I was successful in stopping in the past, for several months actually, and then I tried to slowly add it back in my diet and quicker than I expected it was back to epic proportions!!

My friend posted this on facebook http://www.icanteachmychild.com/2012/05/30-for-30-challenge/#comment-26880. It is a challenge for the month of June to play with your kids everyday for 30 minutes. It really convicted me. I have four beautiful children and I rarely actually sit down and play with them. I do help them figure out what to play and watch them play, but rarely play with them. I remember when I was a kid, how I always loved it when my mother would play with me and give me personal attention. This is something I really want to succeed with.

Oh and now we come to fast food. Unfortunately, due to laziness and/or the failure to adequately plan meals we are regular staples at McDonald's and other fast food restaurants. My husband is well known at Little Caesar's Pizza. I think that they may even know our regular order. I want to start cooking healthy meals at home with my family. It makes me feel so wonderful when I sit down at our table to a home cooked meal that I prepared for my family.

Do you have any goals for the month of June? Please share in the comments! :)

Linking up with Our Good Life  http://www.ourgoodfamily.org/2012/06/3in30-challenge-link-up.html

http://www.considertheliliesblog.com/2012/06/homemaking-link-up-9.html  Linking up with Consider the Lilies.

Do you know the difference between right and wrong?

I was reading the most recent issue of Focus on the Family's magazine, Thriving Family. Like most mothers, I constantly worry about my children and if I'm leading them in the way that they should go. This particular issue had an article that I was very surprised to read. Apparently, parents are no longer teaching their children the difference between right and wrong. The article included a quote about how the only thing young adults had to go on was their gut feelings on whether something was right and wrong.

  The Bible tells us in Proverbs 22:6, "Train up a child in the way he should go, Even when he is old he will not depart from it." We are instructed to teach a child the way he should go, the right way.

My mother always took the time when I was young and in to my teen years to make sure I understood when I was wrong and how to make amends. This is our job as parents, one given to us by God.

What are your thoughts? Is this a surprise to you as well? I welcome your comments. :)

Relaunch 2012

I haven't blogged in over a year. A lot of things changed in my life: We bought our first home. In July of 2011 we moved into a 1500 square foot foreclosure that needed a ton of work. In hindsight, it might have been a bit too much for first time homebuyers, but not nearly as bad as some of the foreclosure that we saw. The yard was ridiculously overgrown, the house smelled that every animal known to man had lived there, and none of the windows seem to have been installed properly. We had our fourth child. Our second son and fourth child was born in January. He is truly a blessing and I honestly don't know how we ever lived without him. We joined a CSA. We joined a Community Supported Agriculture Farm. There will be much more on this later as I plan to devote the blog to this almost exclusively this summer. Those are just a few of the changes in our busy blessed lives. Jessie

Currently

We have decided to try our hand at homeschooling next year. I'm very excited and extremely nervous as well. I am not a self-starter, never really have been. Part of me feels like I'm not the type of person for this job and another part really wants to be. I also wonder if God isn't going to use this to make me the type of person that He wants me to be.

Guest Post on A Proverbs Wife Blog.

I recently guest posted about adultery in marriage on a wonderful blog that I follow.

http://aproverbswife.com/2010/08/overcoming-adultery-in-marriage.html