2011 Year in Pictures

January: Snow!  And the completion of the Harry Potter Lego set from Christmas.

February: A valentines party with homeschool friends and a Mother/Daughter party at Chick Fil A

March: Ashlyne's gymnastics class meet- She placed first in three events and in overall.

April: Easter

May: Warm weather and the end of baseball season

June:  Kathryne stars in Frog and Toad at the Community Theater and we participate in Kidshine again.

July:  The beach

August: Rachel's 6th birthday

September:  Big Read is totaled when a tree falls on us.  On a happier note, Ashlyne loses both front teeth and can sing, "All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth."

October: Windy Hill Orchard trip and pumpkin carving

November:  I go to  the midnight premier of Breaking Dawn.

December:  Merry Christmas!

And More Plans for the New Year

I love to plan.  Sometimes I love the planning lots more than the follow through.  I've had more free time the last couple of days since the Christmas decorations are down and the house is finally clean.  So, I've been planning.  One goal I have this year is to get back to basics- to start doing again some of those organizational things I've done in the past that really helped me but that I've let slip away.

Several years ago I read Managers of Their Homes and Managers of Their Chores.  Even though even I am not quite as structured as the books suggest, I did get some valuable information from them.  For instance, I schedule our homeschool days out in blocks.  I don't have an every 30 minute breakdown.  And we really work more in routines than in a timed schedule.  But, the basic concept is there.

 Another great idea I got from Managers of Their Chores was breaking down all the required household chores into what is needed for daily/weekly/quarterly chores.  From that, you can assign chores to various children.  I had a nice chart done like this several years ago.  But, as in all things, we are in a different season of life now.  I am more physically limited.  My children are older and are more capable. And, I have different priorities.  So, I've redone our master chore list.  If you are as crazily bit by the organizing bug as myself, you can see it here.

Now, I'm all set for the new year.  If only I can execute as well as I've planned.

New Year New Goals

Lamentations 3  ²² Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, 
   for his compassions never fail. 
²³ They are new every morning; 
   great is your faithfulness. 
²⁴ I say to myself, “The LORD is my portion; 
   therefore I will wait for him.”

I love new beginnings.  A new day, a new month, a new season (except winter), a new school year, a new calendar year all make me feel new.  I get the chance to re do, to re plan, to re think things.  I'm a great fan of new year's resolutions- not because I think we can't change any other time of the year, but because I love that clean slate feeling that comes from hanging up a new calendar and knowing I have a fresh new set of twelve months.  What's done is done.  It can't be undone.  But, I can start new and fresh for the new year.  

This year, I'm tracking all of my goals on SparkPeople- a resource I've used more or less consistently in the past.  Even though it is specifically a weight loss/fitness site (which I need), there is a place to track any goals you list.  So, I've listed all my goals for the new year on my SparkPeople profile to check up each day and week.

I'm using this verse from Luke 2 to help categorize my goals for the year:

⁵² And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.

In wisdom (personal growth):

1.  Read 5 classics for the year.

2.  Read 5 devotional/doctrinal books for the year.

3.  Attend homeschool convention in March.

4.  Develop more resources for Teachers Pay Teachers website.

In stature (physical growth):

1.  Exercise 5 days a week.

2. Go to bed earlier- by midnight.  (I know this may sound late, but I am a night owl and tend to read at night and not go to sleep.)

3.  Get up by 8am every morning.

Favor With God (spiritual growth):

1.  Read through the Bible twice in the year.

2.  Pray daily and regularly using ideas from In Constant Prayer. (This was a great book about praying the hours that I read this past year.)

3.  Complete one in depth Bible study.

4.  Memorize 4 Bible chapters throughout the year- one per quarter.

Favor With Man (social growth):

1.  Blog 5 times a week.

2.  Read and respond to blogs 5 times a week.

3.  Get together with godly women in real life once a month.

Bible in 90 Days: Coming Soon

Reading through the Bible in 90 days will begin again two weeks from today.  I plan to start reading on Monday, January 9.  It's not too late to let me know if you'd like to read along with me.  You can find the information post here.  And you can still look for other mentors at Mom's Toolbox.  I plan on posting details for reading on Monday, January 2 (and some resources to help you).  Let me know if you'd like to read along.

And To All a Good Night

Christmas Day 2011 is drawing to a close.  I have loads of great Christmas pictures, but these will show you exactly what my house looks like in the aftermath of Christmas.

We open our presents on Christmas Eve, so this was from this morning.  The tree actually has twice as many opened gifts now because we did our present opening with Jason's family today.

This table is laden with every goodie imaginable. We have cookies, chocolate covered pretzels, cinnamon sugar pecans, fudge, and jello squares (in the fridge).

And, I left dirty dishes in my sink this morning.  Yes, I didn't wash them.  And, I'm not ashamed. :-)

Tonight, we've played with Christmas toys, watched one of our DVDs and now are settled in to watch the Packers beat the Bears on Sunday night football.  Tomorrow will be a recovery day, then I suppose the cleaning up will have to begin, so that next week we can get back into a school routine.

But, for now- Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night.

It Happens in December

Every Christmas a strange phenomenon happens at our home.  I forget that I cannot cook.  You see that gorgeous table in the picture?  It's not my table.  But, every year in December, I seem to think it could be.

There's a form of selective amnesia involved here too.  I think it is akin to pain in childbirth.  I seem to forget every year that I still can't cook.  It's as if I think the cooking fairy has come to visit throughout the year.

This year, we've made or attempted to make gingerbread houses, two sets of three dozen cookies, white chocolate snack mix, oreo truffles, chocolate dipped pretzels and fudge.  The gingerbread houses are collapsing.  The oreo truffles fell apart in the white chocolate dip.  I'm afraid to cut my fudge because last year it never hardened. Each time we've done this "cooking"  I've felt on the edge of a nervous breakdown.  Can I just admit that Christmas isn't my favorite holiday?

Next year, all I want for Christmas is a personal chef.  Seriously.

Why Read Through The Bible in 90 Days

If you're thinking about signing up to read through the Bible in 90 days, you might be pondering why this is a good idea.  I've heard critics of the Bible in 90 Days program argue that the reading is done too quickly to really take in what is read, that reading becomes something just to get through, and that the program is competitive.

When I first read through with the program in January of 2010, I wasn't sure what to expect.  I was motivated to read through in 90 days because I had been reading through the Bible in a year since high school and really wanted a new challenge.  For me, reading through in a year made it too easy to skip days.  I'm a very avid reader, and I could easily skip many days and "make them up" later.  So, even though I was reading through in a year, I wasn't developing consistency.  I also was having trouble connecting the stories of the Bible when I read through in a year.  What I read in January in Genesis, I had "lost" by the time I was reading through Revelation in December.  There was no flow, just a disjointed collection of chapters and verses.

Reading through the Bible in 90 days demands consistency.  If I miss a day, there is so much to make up.  I am careful to stay faithful!  Reading through the Bible in 90 days also helps the reader to maintain a steady flow of reading from Genesis to Revelation.  Now, when I struggle through the long hard reading of the law, I can relate that to God's plan for His chosen people.  And when the people fall into sin and are taken into captivity, I can relate the sometimes difficult reading of the prophets to those very laws and how God's people have broken them.  I love the way my reading flows.

I will admit that you cannot read slowly or to study the Bible in this program.  You will be reading through quickly with a large chunk of reading each day.  I have solved this for myself in this way.  In January-March, I read through in 90 days.  Then I take some time to do a more in depth study of a book or a topic for a few months.  Then I read through in July-October again, leaving a few months for more in depth study.

I also admit that there are days that I don't feel like reading, and I just read to be done.  As with any physical discipline, spiritual disciplines are not based on feelings.  I don't do the right thing because I feel like it.  I do the right thing because I know it is right.  Yes, there are days that I don't really want to read.  I'd rather be on Facebook.  Or blogging.  Or reading fiction.  But, when I do read anyway, I am blessed.  God's Word speaks to me.  And, I am thankful that I read.  So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; It will not return to Me empty, Without accomplishing what I desire, And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.
Isaiah 55:11

I don't think this program is competitive.  I do think it works better with accountability.  If you are reading along with others who are going to ask you to check in each week, you'll read more consistently and have a better chance for success.  Iron sharpens iron, So one man sharpens another. Proverbs 27:17

If you are considering reading through the Bible in 90 days with me, please leave me a comment along with you email address on this post.  I am going to start my reading on January 9.

Bible in 90 Days Spring Session

As many of my readers know, I've been reading along with Mom's Toolbox for the last four Bible in 90 Days reading sessions.  In this last session, beginning in July, Kathryne who is 12, joined me in reading.  I've so enjoyed reading and mentoring with Amy at Mom's Toolbox.

We'll soon be approaching January, and I am planning to read through the Bible in 90 days again.  And, this time, Amy is doing things a little differently.  This time, she has invited us to host the read through on our own blogs!  This is a big thing for me.  I've never even tried to host a meme- much less something as large as a reading program.  But, I feel very strongly about the impact of reading through the Bible in 90 Days.  So, here I go.  I plan to begin my program on January 9.  For the next few weeks, I'll be posting more about why I think the Bible in 90 Days program is great and why I hope you'll consider it if you never have before.

For now, here are some details:

What: Read through the Bible in 90 days.

When: Begin on January 9 and complete reading by April 7.

Where: Sign up here in the comments to read with me.  Please leave me some way to contact you.  If you'd like to read, but would like to read with someone else, please visit this post at Mom's Toolbox to find another group you'd like to read with.

How:
1.  Read through the entire Bible using any version you'd like.  I'll be posting a link to a downloadable schedule.
2.  For the sake of this program, you need to read, not listen to, the entire Bible.  This is meant to be a reading program, not a study program.
3.  You will need to commit to check in with me at least once a week here on my blog.  I'll have a weekly check in post to make that easy.

Feel free to ask any questions.  I plan to post links to resources and more information by the first week of January.  For now, please pray about joining me this spring.  And sign up in the comment section if you know you're in.

December Molly Digest- Molly Saves in the Powder Room

Every month when I know that the current Molly Digest has been posted, I am excited to read it.  I don't consider myself a very good homemaker, and I'm certainly not a very creative one; but reading the digest makes me feel like a homemaker.  Each issue has inspired me to be more creative and encouraged me to be frugal and to save my family money.  I don't often "gush" about a book or product that I review, but I have been truly impacted by the digests I read each month.

So, enough gushing.  December's Molly Digest is about saving money in the "powder room."  I thought the title was so cute.  We all have a bathroom, but somehow we don't like to talk about it!

My house is older, and both of our bathrooms are sooo small.  Storage is a big issue for us with four children sharing the bathroom.  So, I was excited to see some ideas for storage in small bathrooms in this issue.  I especially liked the idea of repurposing an old dresser as storage.  I can definitely see a way that I could use this in my small hall bathroom. I think I'll be on the lookout for a dresser at the thrift stores.

I've often contemplated making some of our cleaners instead of using harsh chemicals, but I haven't attempted it.  This issue has ingredients and recipes for homemade bathroom cleaners, and there is even a great idea for putting these cleaners and recipes in a gift basket for a gift idea.  Wouldn't that be a great shower gift for a new bride!

Another very interesting article was the one about keeping the air in your home moisturized during the dry winter months.  There are several of us in our family prone to really dry skin and the dry night time cough.  I've never thought of alternative ways to keep moisture in the air (other than a humidifier).  I'm definitely going to try these.

The book review this month was for 31 Days to Clean: Having a Martha House the Mary Way.  I tend to be a Martha, caught up in the need to "get things done", and I confess that I often neglect the better things, like worshiping and seeking God each day.  I'm going to look up this book for sure!

All of these great articles are included this month as well as all the usual great links and printables, a recipe for basic broth, a meal of the month planned out with recipes and supplies needed, a so cute idea for making homemade decorative soaps that my daughter is going to use for Christmas, Tightwad Training Camp, and the pet care article.  You can purchase this month's digest at The Old Schoolhouse Store or subscribe to be a Molly Member at the Econobusters website.