Wow, has it been a month already?

I didn't realize that it has been a month already! Time really does fly by. We have had so much go on around here since I last blogged.

We have moved into our new, old, house and we are settling in quite nicely. It is an old house, built in 1950, and had actually been moved here several years ago from somewhere else. We aren't sure of it's original history. We love this house. We love the city that we are in. It is small, quite, nice neighbors. Great small town living at it's best. The children are loving it too. There is a great park area just around the corner from us that they love going to.

We have started homeschooling and the children are loving that as well. There have only been a few days that they have given me trouble, but all in all, we are enjoying it. There is much to be said about having your kids with you all day everyday. I really felt like, although they are young, that I didn't know my children as well as I wanted to. There were too many outside influences for our children, and we didn't like where they were going. By homeschooling them, we have limited the outside influences and are more in controll of what they see and hear on a daily basis. We are not controll freaks at all, it is a personal choice that everyone is entitled to. We are having much fun with school work and craft projects. We did a Winter unit study this December. It included reindeer, Santa, the origins of the Christmas tree and ornaments. They kids made home made ornaments to hang on the tree and had a blast with it.

I have been busy teaching the kids, organizing the house, and researching for our new adventure... Urban Homesteading. It isn't something new by any means. Urban homesteading... To live in the city, neighborhood, or the like. To have a small area of land, for example- we have less than an acre lot. To have a vegtable garden, animals for meat and eggs. To be as self sufficient as possible. I intend on learning how to can our veggies so that we can have the fruit of our labor last as long as possible. I also want to learn how to can meat, so that we can make use of the meat sales at the grocery stores and buy more in bulk. I am absolutly astounded by how much information is out there on this subject. Try google and you will see what I am talking about. It amazes me every day at the new stuff that I learn. I have been working extra hard over the last week in the yard. Raking piles and piles of leaves. Trying to get the yard ready to make our planing beds. We hope to have our seeds planted by mid February. I was told by my neighbor that a good rule of thumb is to have them planted by Good Friday. I asked my mother in law about the planing that she did on the family farm as a child, and she agreed that the Good Friday thing is true. So, I have a lot of work to do still and I am praying whole heartedly that this doesn't flop for me. For those of you that know me, I don't do well with failure. Especially when it is something so close to my heart. And this deffinatly is close to my heart. I keep thinking of all the money we will be saving on our grocery bill every month.

To add to your garden education..wink.. I read about Victory gardens. Back during the world wars, the government asked for everyone to plant their own garden, due to the "regular" food was being shipped overseas to the military. So many people started gardens during that time. It wasn't uncommon for whole towns to plant one garden, one that all of the towns people would eat from. This help the war effors tremendously. So, this Urban Homestead idea really isn't that far fetched.

So, as you can see... my life is going to be very busy over the next few months. Getting settled, teaching the kids, growing a grand garden, and learning all about home making from the olden days. I am taking us back to the "Good ole days" type philosophy around here. If you want to know more, just ask and I will do my best at answering all of your questions.

God Bless,
Jamie

giveaway notice...

Hey, I just wanted all of you to know that there is an awesome giveaway that you really need to check out. go to www.safethusfar.blogspot.com Great giveaway for those of you that are interested.

Thanks,
Jamie

The Mother Letter Project...

I was reading on one of my favorite blogs Saturday. I love reading blogs during my "free" time. As a mother, I am always thinking and reading up on ways to make my day go easier, less hectic. Also, how to handle my day with grace and honor. So, when I read about The Mother Letter Project, I immediately, without hessitation sent in my letter. I really suggest you go to this blog, read about how to submit your letter.

To give you a little info about the project... A husband and wife have decided not to buy Christmas gifts for each other this year, instead they will send any money that they would have spent on each other to Africa to help the children. Also, they decided to make each other gifts this year. So, his idea... The mother letter project. You see, she is a mother with small children, and he wants people to submit letters of encouragement to her. How great of an idea is that??? I am swooning right now. You have a couple of weeks to get them to him. And, as an added gift, he will send you a copy of the completed letters after Christmas. So, you could say that it is not only a gift for his wonderful wife, but to all of us. I am so excited that a husband really loves his wife enough to do this for her.
www.motherletter.blogspot.com/
Have a blessed day... Jamie

Home, sickness and friendship

I am getting more and more excited as the days pass. We have found a house, or as we have deemed it, our HOME! We intend on moving the first weekend in December. Along with moving, we have decided that we will homeschool the kids. From what I have read, the local schools there are not very appealing to us. It is in a different county than where we live now. Yey us!! I have been so giggly about it over the past week, planning the decorating, planning the school curriculum. I find myself really enjoying all the God is calling me to do.

The children have all been sick this week. On Monday it was Hannah and Dale,along with my husband. Tuesday was Hannah again, then Wednesday they gave me a break. So, Thursday it was Lilly's turn. Beleive it or not, I actually prefer that they all get sick together. Otherwise, it seems to drag out for a month or so. So, this way, totally works for me. The girls helped me make homemade chicken noodle soup tonight. That seemed to have made everyone feel better. Well, today at least.

On a different note, although I haven't called her yet ( horrible friend I am) Becky seems to be doing great. She is really researching all of the medicines that they have put her on, and also her *disease. I am so proud of her. She isn't letting this thing bring her down. She seems like she actually has a sense of humor about it... wink.

Again, thanks to all of you that continue to pray for Becky, her family, myself along with my family. We are all so grateful for your thoughts and prayers.

Praise God!!

So, my friend had her procedure yesterday. As most of you know her as Becky. They told her that in fact she did not have a heart attack, she has Post Partum Cardiomyopathy. You can read her blog to get the more in depth description of what it is. www.mycrazylife-mommy2alj.blogspot.com/

I want to thank everyone that has prayed for her, you cannot imagine how much it means to her. She told me last night that so many people have called and came by the hopsital to visit her that we will have to rent the Civic Center when she dies. She has such a great personality. I love her.

If I find time to blog again this afternoon, I will. Until then, I have some Tackle it Tuesday projects to do. I am so excited about getting some of these things done. I have been putting them off for too long now.

Jamie

Praying for a friend...

I have a friend. One that I had gone to school with for middle and high school. After we graduated, we went about our own lives, getting married, having children. You know, just life. During the last few years, we have had some communication with each other. The typical "Oh how your children have grown." type thing. Well, within the last several months, I have really come to grow in my own life, and have done so with the help of this friend. She is such a great inspiration to me.

She has gone through so much for such a young age, more than anyone else that I know. In going through all of this, she never led her own path, she ALWAYS let God lead her. That is such a big thing to me. Such a big thing. I have asked her, how she can go through the constant trials and never doubt God's will. She simply states, it is his will, his plan, his timing. It is crazy for me to try to tell God how to do His job. She is so right.

I am so guilty of trying to do things my way, and tell myself that I shouldn't bother Him with this little thing, or that. That is why He is here for us. We need to lean on Him during the bad and praise him during the bad, along with the good times as well. We all too often let the days go by without really thanking Him for all of the things in our lives. We need to be grateful that we get to wake up and experience all that life has to offer, good and bad.

So, I got the feeling that something wasn't right with my frend, so I e-mailed her. She answered back a few hours later...My feelings were right. She was in the hospital. She had a heart attack and didn't know it. At 31 years old, a single mother, a pre-school teacher, and no health insurance. I immediatley told my husband that I needed to go to the hospital to see her, he read her message and said to me, "Go now!" To be honest with you, I only skimmed the message, after reading the opening line..." I am in the hospital, I had a heart attack" I only skimmed from that point on. I got to the hospital last night right at 8:00 pm, just at the end of visiting hours, but they let us in anyway... I took another friend with me. We went in the room, and she giggled. Wheww! She was in awe that I came to see her. She was waiting on me to message her back... how funny. In all of this, she is still. Still in God's arms and in his plan. That just blows my mind!! She knows that He will take her to where she needs to be. Again, his will, his plan, his timing. What a great servant she is. An absolute inspiration to me.

We sat there while she told us what had happened. I was amazed that they don't know how this could have happened to her, the fact that she didn't know she had a heart attack, and what they plan on doing next. The doctors told her that it had to have happened about 3 weeks ago. She can't remember having any symptoms 3 weeks ago, other than a bad headache. She is scheduled to have a heart catherization this afternoon at 3 pm. I will be praying for her. I pray for her children. I pray for God's will, his plan, his timing.

Please, if you feel the calling, lift her up today. I will attatch a link (if I can figure out how to do that) to her blog. Read it for yourself and you will see just how inspiring she can be. http://www.mycrazylife-mommy2alj.blogspot.com/

God bless,
Jamie

House hunting

We have found a very cute house that we really like. It is an old country house, that we would love to make our home. We continue to pray about our finances. We have money coming in every week and need to really be vigilant about paying all of our bills on time. We are still trying to play catch up on a few of them, but all in all, our money seems to be getting it done. Slowly, but at least they are getting there. We need to come up with about $2500 in order to secure getting the house. Please pray for us, we are really needing to get out of where we are now. I will keep the blog updated when I get further into this process. I am praying that we are in a home before Christmas. I feel like my children need that.

Thanks for taking time to read this, you don't know how much it means to me. Just to be able to write things down and not feel judged is wonderful for me. It is a great help to my sanity. Ha ha.

Tackle it Tuesday

So, my project for today is getting my girls' room in order. We have let their room go over the past few weeks, so Mommy is "cleaning out". A much needed task. I am most excited about this for some reason. Maybe I am just tired of having to guess what I am stepping on in there. The entire floor is covered with toys, clothes and who knows what else. Wish me luck, I pray that I don't find anything that will make my stomach turn flips. I guess I really should have taken a picture before I started, so that I could post it for all to see, but that would embarass me too much. Anyway, good luck with your Tuesday projects.

How do you lead a lost child?

As some of you know, I have a child, 16 girl, that came to me when she was 6 years old. She is my husband's child from a previous marriage. She lives with her mother and where she lives, we are about 25 minutes away from her. Due to certain happenings, we have had a strained relationship at times, and at other times, we are her "best friends".

We have always dealt with the problems of a divorce. The hurt, the pain, the anger, the hardship of having to take your child "home" from a weekend with you. We have dealt with the pain and anguish of our children that we have together as well. They don't understand why she can't just stay with us, they adore her.

Two years ago, she came to live with us. We enrolled her in our local middle school, and she way thriving. We can never seem to get on a good path because her mother always seems to have issues with whatever we try to instill. We were accused of being too hard on her, too many rules, not enough trust in the child to make the right choices. Just as we started to make headway, it happened. The mother jumped in, and stirred the trouble pot and off we were. Just as quickly as she came to be with us, she was gone. The mother didn't just stop there. She made as much trouble as she possible could for my husband. She even reported him to the child support recover agency, stating that he didn't pay her the support during the time that the child lived with us. Yeah, you read that right.

So, now 2 years later, the child is growing into young adulthood and seems to be at a cross roads in life. Go one way, the right way, or go down the wrong path. How do you direct a lost child, when you don't have any day to day access to the child? How do you keep that child encouraged to make the right choices when you really want to be in their face everyday holding them accountable for the choices that they are making? How can you be the parent that you need to be, when you have spent years on the sidelines? We have been on the sidelines, not by choice, but by being forced there by the mother. No matter how many times we have tried to talk to her about the child, and what we feel she needs, she answered by telling us that we have no say in the matters. We cannot control what rules are set forth in her home. I understand that, but when it comes to the well being of your child, and obviously she isn't making wise choices, you re-adjust and alter the rules set forth. Not every child is the same ,so the rules that are put together for one child, may not be the same rules that you will use for all of your children. Each have their own personalities and learning styles.

So, I ask the question again, how do you lead a lost child to make the best choices? How do you walk that fine line between being a parent and a friend to your children? I know that I was not made a parent by God to be that child's friend... I am a parent first! I will not always be the "cool parent" either. I only want what is best for my children. I want them to go forward in life and be productive, happy individuals that love their lives and most importantly, the Lord.

This is a round about the "speech" that we gave her last night. Please let me know what you think...

Every time you follow someone Else's way, you lose a little piece of yourself. With every boy friend that you have, you give away a piece of yourself. So by the time that you find your "Prince Charming, how much of you does he get? Every time you have sex, smoke that cigarette, drink that alcohol, you lose a little piece of yourself. Every time you cuss, steal, break the rules, you lose a little piece of yourself. How much of your True self are you willing to forfeit for approval of others? It is not the approval of your peers that you need. It is only God's approval. So what if you aren't one of the cool kids, so what if you don't feel like you have the right style of clothes. So what if they don't like you because you won't break curfew and drink. These are the choices that you have to make in order to grow not only personally, but spiritually as well. You do not have anyone in your life right now to hold you accountable for the choices that you are making. You need to find someone, anyone, that will truly hold you accountable for your actions and choices. Someone that will be in your face telling you the truth about what you are doing, not sugar coating it for you. You are at a cross roads in you life right now, so you need to decide which path you are going to take. You, and only you are responsible for the choices that you make. Therefore, you cannot blame anyone else for the consequences of those choices. Good or bad, they are yours. You take ownership of everything that you do. You were given the same gift that everyone else way, free will. It is what you do with that that counts.

So, I am taking this as a personal task to lead and guide this lost child to make the right choices in life. I will not count myself a failure if she doesn't. After all, like we told her, the choices are hers to make. She holds the power within herself to take the right path. Only she can choose which way to go from here. But, I can be there cheering her on, supporting her, encouraging her.

In love,
Jamie

Southern Academy Homeschool Co-Op

So, although I am sending my two girls to public elementary school. I do homeschool my son, who is 3. He had a blast with his color pages today. He helped me pick out the ones that he wanted to color, and went to town on them. He really gets his feelings hurt when he doesn't stay in the lines, but he is learning. He is doing so well with his fine motor skills today. I think tomorrow I will have him sit to the table and sort beans. He loves working with his hands. He learns just like I do, very hands on.

I want to know is any other moms out there want to get together every week for a co-op of sorts. I know that there are already many in our community, but I don't know anyone in them. I only have the little one, so for me it would be easy to get involved at this level. Hopefully next school year I will have my girls homeschooled too. Please let me know if you are interested in doing this. I think it could be alot of fun and we could do field trips as well.

Thanks,
Jamie

I wanted to show you my little darlings from Halloween this year. Of course not one of them would stand still long enough for me to take a decent picture, but hey, they had candy on the brain...They had so much fun, but nearly froze to death while trick or treating. Hannah and Lilly went as Princesses, and Dale was a ninja. The costumes were not my first choice, but that's what my mom bought for them... L-R Hannah, Dale, Lilly

Easy kitchen ideas...

Hi everyone. I have been baking bread tonight, so my loving husband cooked dinner for us while I was kneading my dough. How sweet is he! Anyway, I got to thinking of the times when my schedule is running a bit too busy and I don't have alot of time to cook dinner. I have come up with several ways to "add" time to my day when it comes to the kitchen.

One way I save or add time in the kitchen is to do as much in advance as possible. For instance, when I purchase ground hamburger meat for Spaghetti or chili, I go ahead and brown all of it, then split the already browned meat up into sandwich or quart sized ziploc bags. Then put them in the freezer. Since the browning of the meat is the longest process for spaghetti, in my opinion, that is already done. All I do is empty the frozen meat in the pot of sauce, if I don't have any ready made sauce available, and start my noodles. By the time the noodles are done, the meat has defrosted and the sauce has warmed through enough for us to eat. Also, I have started using angel hair pasta, so they cook faster than the regular spaghetti noodles.

Another way to save time is to freeze spaghetti sauce that has the meat already added to it. This makes for easy meals, in minutes. When I make spaghetti, I tend to make more sauce than I need and just freeze the left overs. I have also come up with an easy lasagna recipe, shown below. (The picture above this post is my lasagna.) I can throw this together in minutes and bake within 45 minutes. Dinner in a flash. For those of you wondering, I think that as long as you can get dinner on the table in less than an hour, that is pretty much considered a flash to me. Especially when you consider how many people I cook for everyday. Try this recipe, I hope you like it, and please let me know what you think.

Easy Lasagna

1 box Lasagna noodles

2 quarts of Spaghetti sauce with meat

4 cups of shredded mozzarella cheese

In a 9 x 13 casserole dish, first put down a layer of sauce. Then add a layer of noodles, then cheese. Repeat this until you have filled the dish, ending with a layer of cheese. I cover mine with foil until the last 5-7 minutes, then uncover to brown the top. I usually have enough to make 2 9 x 13 dishes with this amount of noodles, sauce and cheese.

Once you have layered all of the ingredients, bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes. You can also cut baking time down to 30 minutes if the sauce is already hot and the noodles are cooked in boiling water on stove top.

I have found that 1 of the 9 x 13 dishes can feed 12 servings, since we usually offer salad and bread with this dish.

I hope you enjoy this, we sure love it. Even my picky eaters will devour lasagna if it is made this way.

Trying to find my light.

As I continue to write online, I have come to see that I am trying to find my light. I was watching a movie today and that was the "theme" for the movie, to find the light. It got me wondering about my own light. What it is for, because we all have a light. It is just a matter of how we chose to use it, how we learn from it. I believe that our God, Jesus Christ gave us our light, and meant for it to serve a specific purpose. All of us have our own purpose, but also the same. We are to serve our God, to do what is right and just. I haven't been very good at this yet. That does not mean that I am doomed to hell for not using my light the way it was meant to. I know that my God, who is faithful and true, will give me time to "get it right".

I have had so many chances to enlighten myself, but have not taken advantage of any of them. Why do we go through life with the attitude that we can do it, meaning life, alone? We have a God for a reason, and we need to be leaning on him, praising him in every aspect of our life. Lift up praise to him when we are doing right, and doing wrong. We need to remember that He has a plan and purpose for us, and we need to seek him for guidance in order to find it. And then, accomplish it.

I plan on aspiring to bigger and better things for myself. I am trying to come into the woman that God intends for me to be. The wife and mother that I was made to be, the steward that I need to be. I am praying that he guide me along my path and speak to me when I need encouragement to stay on it. I pray that I do not falter. Everyday, each one of us has our trials and we need to encourage each other too. We need to lean on each other, and to pray for one another. I am blessed to have friends that listen to my trials and help me to see that they are there and happening for a reason. Thank you to all that help me. I am truly thankful to have you in my life.

On other news, My husband has found another job. He was offered a job in Savannah, so we are staying in this area. He feels like it was God calling him to stay here. Seeing as the job offer came so quickly and also offered more money than what he was making. In this economy, that was a huge blessing. So for now, we are content that God made this decision for a reason. We are praying that he lead us to the home we are supposed to be in. We have been living with my parents since April of this year and feel like it is time for us to move out. We just need God's guidance in where that should be, and also if it is His will for us to move out yet. So, as we continue to pray about these things, we also pray for our personal relationships with our Savior.

Thanks for reading, and hope that you will come back again soon. I promise to add things that will not only be about our religion, but also about being a stay at home mother, and wife, clearance shopping and coupon shopper. I love to bake, so recipes will be added too. I am trying to learn how to sew, so maybe some postings on what I am sewing. Also, trying to learn how to upload pictures to my postings, so bear with me. Feel free to add me to your favorites, or follow my blog. I love helping when I am led to do so.

I look forward to posting again. Maybe even another one today, if I can figure out the picture thing.

Jamie

New begginings

My husband and I have been talking lately about moving. He has been looking for another job that would give him an advancement, and more pay. So far, he has sent out his resume to over 40 companies all over the south united states. He has heard from 3 of them within the last few days. Two of them are in the Charlotte, NC area, and one here in Savannah. He has a phone interview with one of the companies in Charlotte tomorrow, and also an interview in Savannah tomorrow. He will officially be unemployed in the morning. We have really prayed hard over the last few weeks about where God wants us to be. He, above all things will be the only one to decide where we end up. I really think, as a fleshly person, that we need to be farther away from here. I pray that God shows us very soon where we are to be, and what we are to be doing. I feel him, but haven't heard him yet. I know that he is with me everyday, and hope and pray that he be with my husband as well. I am really praying that he not speak to me about this, but to my husband. He (husband) needs to be the leader of this family, both spiritually and in his everyday leadership. He should be the one that God speaks to. Again, this is my flesh talking, and not quite sure if this is how it will happen. We can only keep praying, and watching our pennies until we hear...

Today the girls got their report cards from school. Hannah had 3 high B's and the rest were high A's with 4 1oo's. Lilly doesn't get actual number grades. She just gets a report on how she is progressing and if she is comprehending what she needs to learn. The "grades" are something like this... 3 means meets or exceeds expectations, 2 needs improvement, and 1 means they are exempt from that at this time... Lilly received a 3 on all of her actual learning letters, numbers, reading, ect... she received 2's on her behavior, socialization, ect... but we knew that she would be a spitfire... I am so proud of my girls. They continue to amaze me everyday.

Dale has been playing a lot lately, with a new suction cup dart gun. If you have a son, a 3 year old son, you know what I am talking about... He doesn't just play with the gun, he lives for this gun. He sleeps with it, he goes potty with it, he tries to shoot the dogs with it. He really loves his suction cup "shooter gun". He has gotten to be such a big boy in the last few months. He is finally growing enough, so much so that he actually fits in his average size 3t clothes, for his age. He has actually eaten meat 2 times this week. For those of you that don't know, my son really only like to eat peanut butter and little debbie cakes. He is an extremely picky eater and will not try anything new. So, for him to eat anything new this week is a milestone for him. I am proud of my little man.

Please continue to pray for us, if you don't mind. We will continue to pray and let God lead us. We are holding his hands and letting him lead the way.

A night at the movies, makes for one determined wife and mother.

There have been a lot of things going on within the last few weeks. Some better than others, and still others are just yet another pothole in the road of life. I am a believer of all things happen for a reason, but those trying times make me wonder what in the world did I do to this earth to make it hate me so much. The other times, the good times, I take such great pride in what is going on in my life. I never took the time to give the thanks to the right place.

My husband and I went to the movies last night with some friends. We saw the movie Fireproof. It wasn't until then that I figured out why my life was unhappy and unfufilled. I haven't been giving God the proper accredidation for everything in my life. Good or bad, they are all there to teach me as I go along, and place me on the right path on this earth. What path that may be, I don't know yet, only God knows, and he isn't telling me just yet.

What a wonderful God we have. He, above all people and things in life, loves me and you without prejudice... forever! Wow!! That kind of love DOES NOT happen everyday. There is truly only one person that will ever love me, or you that much. We can strive to give and receive love of that magnitude, but never acheive it. Only one being will give you that much out of life and ask for only your love in return.

We came home from the movie, and it was late so we went on to bed. Today however, we discussed what we thought about the movie and talked for a while about what kind of marriage we both wanted. It was wonderful to know that we both wanted (roughly) the same things in our marriage. There were only minor differences. Those, we intend on working on the hardest. Those differences are the ones that will fester and boil over into a whole new problem. We both agreed that we will work together to make our marriage... Fireproof, unshakable, and unbreakable. I really want my husband to be honored to call me his wife, not obligated to. And, vice versa. The same goes for my children. I want them to feel honored to call me thier mother, not just another person that lives in the same house.

So, that is what is going on with me and my family. I hope to be able to let you all know of our progress soon. We are not going to rush this at all. We are going to take this one day at a time. I love all of you, and thanks for reading and supporting me on my journey of faith.

Job huntin', lyin', sewin' and farmin'

Job huntin' / lyin'

Well, the last two weeks have been interesting to say the least. My husband has been looking into getting another job, one where he can advance. He has been unhappy with his current position for the past few months. From what I understand, they are asking him to put his morals on the line with customers, and he is not willing to do that. That is one thing that my husband will not do, is lie to customers by telling them that they need new equipment, when they don't. Just to sell something, not happening. We know as much as anyone, what it is like to be poor and need a new air conditioner. We have been there. Had it not been for him working in the business, we wouldn't have been able to get a new unit. By the grace of God, his company at the time allowed us to put it on their account and pay for it along and along. In this current economy, he cannot see himself lying just to sell something, when most of his customers are feeling the financial crunch.

You know, my pet peeve is lying, but there are times when I, myself, lie. You know we all do it... we tell our friends the little white lie... it goes something like this. "No, that outfit looks great on you." Those lies, I don't have a problem with, because what is worse, hurting your best friend's feelings, or telling them that the purple shirt with lime green spots looks horrid with their skin tone.

Sewin' and farmin'


I have so many things that I want to learn how to do before I get too much older. One is canning, one is sewing, one is crocheting. I also want to have my own garden that really produces food. Not just midget sized veggies that are just teaser veggies. laughing at you for not using the right soil or fertilizers. Anyone that has had this happen, knows the feeling that you get when you go to check on your little babies and see that they have peaked and only have these little itsy bitsy things on them. UGH!! How much of an ego buster can they be? Anyway, I have gone to Walmart and bought fabric and a pattern to make hand made aprons for Christmas presents. I have cut out the pattern and some of the fabric to size, now I just need to get in there and figure out how they go together. Then sew it up and, violot', should have an apron, keeping my fingers crossed all the way. I will keep my canning lesson for another time, maybe late fall... we'll see.

So, IF my honey gets another job, he is looking all over the southeastern states, we will be moving. YES!!! I am so ready to move. I have never lived outside of this county and am really looking to see the rest of our world. We don't even go on vacation, with the exception of this summer when the kids and I went to Atlanta with my sister's family and my mother and grandmother. Who really counts that though, it was still in the state, so I don't.

I imagine myself with the plain lifestyle. Living in a little wooden cottage with a couple of acres and a really wood burning stove. Sewing all of the clothes. Having a "mini farm" with a couple of chickens, maybe a cow or goat for milk, and veggie patch. OH, what a life that would be . My dream come true. Well, one can dream, can't they???

Alright, well, back to my apron lesson. Hope that honey hears something soon from that job n Charlotte, NC... dreams come true everyday, so why can't mine?? I'll keep you posted.

Jamie

Ready to move on...

Something has really been eating away at me lately. I want to move out of Effingham county. I don't know where this came from initially, but it is there nonetheless. I don't want my obituary to read...

Jamie from Effingham county Georgia, died yesterday. She was a stay at home mother, and wife.

That would be a nightmare for me if that happened. I want to get out there in this world and see all that I can. Experience different things, things that don't happen in this county. Don't get me wrong, I love this county. It is my home, and always will be. I just want to know what else is out there. Something is missing from my sad little life. Everyday, it is the same routine. I know that other people must feel like this sometimes, but it is really hitting me lately.

Anyway, on to other news. My honey is thinking of changing jobs again. He will never make a lateral move, if he moves at all it will be for a better position. I am the type of wife that feels this... If your husband isn't happy at the job he's at, but loves what he does, then by all means, change companies... Because, when he is happy, he makes a difference at home. I don't think of it as constantly changing jobs, because he does the same thing everywhere he goes... Its no different than a hairdresser changing salons...

The girls are doing great at school. Hannah's grades are getting better on her tests and she is making friends easily. Lilly has been struggling with her attitude, but I think she is learning boundaries with her teacher. She also makes good grades on her school work. My little man, Dale, is getting used to being the only one home during the days. He still won't help with cleaning his room, but he will help wash laundry, so I can't complain too much. Well, I can, but you don't want to read about that.

Friends are great, they constantly surround me with support and advice. So glad that each one of them are in my life. Have you ever noticed that each one of your friends are there for a different reason. You always have the one to call when you are sick, the one that you call when you want to be wild, one for when you are wanting a girls day at the mall... list goes on. I didn't know if that was just me, or if every one's friend's list was like this.

Until next time y'all. Take care.
Jamie

preparing myself...

School starts back next week, and once again, I am nervous about it. I'll be alright though, I usually am after the first couple of weeks. Lilly's birthday was yesterday, and we had such a wonderful day together with all the children. Celebrating our miracle baby. We started our day picking up Meme and Papa. We went to Old Fort Jackson, then on to Chuck E. Cheese for lots of fun and games. Then on to the mall, to get Lilly's ears pierced, she was excited, but then had a melt down during the process. After the mall, we came home and they swam with daddy, and mommy went on some errands... For dinner we made her favorite... Basghetti...(spaghetti) and pizza. Then we surprised her with Tinkle bell (tinker bell) cupcakes and ice cream... She loved it, she was so surprised by the cupcakes.... and happy. She really had a great birthday. Her party will be on Saturday, so of course she is still excited about it. She isn't however excited about the shots she will have to get on Friday in order to start school... she promises to "try not to cry" when she gets them done. Hannah will have to have one too. She promised "to cry". So, that is about it... until next time...
God bless, and Pray for me.

Jamie

My life as of late...

I am currently laying in bed, t.v. on, but not watching it, with my husband sleeping next to me. We have had such a busy couple of months, he needs all the sleep he can get. I feel so sorry for him, having so much to do, and not getting enough sleep... he'll get to sleep in this weekend, hopefully.

Anyway... so, as some of you know, we have moved in with my parents. We are trying to save money, to put a house next door to them. They are supposed to give us an acre of land to put a house on, and I already have that house picked out!!! Just waiting until we can afford to get it. Kevin, my husband, has been working so hard this summer. He's an air conditioning repair man, so that is to be expected. The children are great, still not listening to me, and still yell and argue with everyone. One can only wish that they will, in time, get the idea of how things should work.

I am still a stay at home mother, and would love to go back to work just to help save money faster, but alas, am too afraid to leave my little one. That, and everything that I have found, well, stinks!! School will be starting again soon, and so will my unending want to home school my children. It always seems to really hit me when school is about to start. Maybe this year will be different, but I don't think so. I still have the drive to home school my kids, but no support system to encourage me to do so. I know that there are women out there that can understand what I am talking about. I will be fine, hopefully!! The girls will be going to a different school this year, so I hope that this school will be better than the last one... it was horrible in my opinion. I am going to see about being the room mother again, so that should help me cope with sending them to public school. My son will be home with me again this year, so I am going to home school him with pre-k stuff. Maybe he will be above average when he gets into pre-k next year. The first week of school is hard for him to deal with. Last year, he was a mess, not used to big sisters being gone all day long, and mommy is no fun!! We'll see how the next few weeks go. I am trying to prepare him now, for what coming. That's all for now. Wish me luck!!

Jamie