Our new dietary adventure

It's been a while, I know! We have been all consumed with our school days and I have been trying to keep up our home, while keeping current on appointments, fully potty-learning our 20 month old, and baby preparation. And sneaking in a bit of rest! I think we may have gotten into a groove here and just as I say that, I am sure things will change again!

The other thing I have been working diligently and researching on is our diet. For the most part, we ate what I would consider a better than Standard American Diet (SAD). Mostly organic when available and little meat, whole grains, and little dairy. Yet despite my children not being chronically sick, something had never seemed right. Particularly with my middle, X. I knew I was dairy allergic and have been off dairy for quite some time. When I have trace amounts, I suffer immensely for it with terrible belly aches and feeling sickly for days. However, recently, after eating, especially bread, I would being the same type of suffering. I knew I wasn't eating dairy, I was baking myself. But somehow I was still experiencing these symptoms of allergy. Or at least intolerance. Nothing I needed an EpiPen for! (Unless bees are involved!) So I began researching probiotics. I found the brand I would be happy getting for our family. I have pretty high standards when it comes to supplements. They were $65 for 90 capsules and you had to take 2 per day. That is only a 45 day supply for one person. I have five, almost six people. Spending $325-390 per month on just probiotics seemed insane to me. I want the best for my family, really honest, I do. But I just can't justify that financially.

By the grace of God, Husband came home and brought an invitation to gluten and allergen expo and along with two wonderful ladies from church, we went to learn more and find companies catering to this growing populous of people with these allergies. I needed to do something for my family. We listened to a speaking who spoke on Healing Foods. She is from a company called GRUB out of Charlotte, NC and she helps people who need information on healing their bodies with food. She showcased her Water Kefir kit and explained the probiotic value in it. She talked about her children and how she knew she needed to make changes. She talked about the tell-tale signs of allergies, intolerances, and sensitivities to foods. A light bulb went off in my head! I have been inadvertently poisoning my children because of my own ignorance and lack of knowledge. No one has ever told me these things. All along I have been focused on meat as the main aggressor to the body and eliminating our meat intake when really, we should be eliminating what is hurting us! I bought the kit, began our kefir journey, and the following week, cleaned our kitchen and pantry of all dairy and gluten products and am slowly restocking our shelves. I am learning along this process.

The evidence of the necessity is making this lifestyle change so worth it. My middle child, who I suspected had some things going on, has been my proof and feeling great after eating myself, has made it all the better. I have always described X as having sensory issues. He hated sheets, clothes, socks, shoes, water, anything that might cause his skin any amount of discomfort. The simplest things would drive him crazy and he has a personality that feeds it too. One day he could eat carrots, not problem. The next the sound of chewing carrots made him not want to eat them. He has never in his life had a solid bowel movement. And he bites his nails until they bleed. All of these things could easily be thought of as sensory disorder and I know that if I brought it to our pediatrician, she would have diagnosed him with that very thing. In just a bit over a week of eliminating dairy and gluten from our diet and consuming the water kefir, that my children call "Magic Spicy Drink" and would drink entire jars of if I would allow it, I have noticed a HUGE change in my body. I feel cleaner and lighter. I feel more awake and able to function clearly. I don't hurt after every meal! In X, I notice so many changes. He is sleeping all night. He is sleeping with pajamas and blankets. He is much more agreeable and joyful, which has been my prayer for a long time. He has eaten so many new foods, finding he loves sauerkraut and tacos for the first time! What I noticed just yesterday as he was bragging on himself, the child has stopped biting his nails! I didn't even really put the two together. I looked it up online and found that it is one of the signs of Celiac Disease. I told him about a year ago, if he would stop biting his nails, I would paint them. I am not a person who allows or thinks boys should pain their nails, but I made the promise because I never thought I would see the day. Last night, after baths, I had to actually clip his nails for the first time and then I painted them his chosen blue color. That will be taken off before his sleep over at his ultra-conservative grandparents' house on Friday or I will never hear the end of my insanity! I am just so proud of him! He played with a large group of children yesterday and showed kindness and compassion and love. This is a new child! Last night I made a HUGE offense! I allowed them a coconut milk ice cream sandwich as a special treat. They loved them! X woke this morning with a hurting tummy and such incontinence in his bowels that he actually had a pooping accident and was mortified. I feel terrible because when I looked at the box, it clearly said "Contains Wheat." What have I done? I got comfortable not checking labels at Whole Foods and slipped and now we suffer for it and begin again! The great thing from this is I know for sure what the problem has been this entire time! For almost 4 years I  have been hurting my baby and didn't even realize. I have been nourishing their bodies with what I thought was healthy food, never allowing candy or commerical dairy but all along, putting toxins in through offenders of the over-processed life we lead for convenience sake. At this point, we will remain dairy and gluten free. Husband thought it would be terrible because he loves cheese and bread since we cannot eat out, I have been cooking wonderful meals, simple but wonderful, and he is in food Heaven. He said if I continue to cook like this, he wills stay gluten and dairy free forever. Not only at home but even when he is eating out with co-workers, he is following the lifestyle change.

Many people look at this move as drastic or over the top. Many see it as jumping on some new craze bandwagon. Many just think it's ridiculous! In the South, it's usually the latter. This comes from a place of uneducation and ignorance. No one is setting out to offend you with their food choices. What I have found is this is the line of eating to live or living to eat. In our home, we choose to Glorify our Creator and in doing that, have always said that food is our biggest expense as food is the source of health and glory to the King in keeping the temple of the Holy Spirit clean. God did say that all food was clean that you could find on the earth. However, I challenge you to explore the source of the foods you eat. Are they from the earth or from a factory? Are they in their natural state or altered for faster production and fiscal gain? Are they as God created them in the first 7 days of the world's existence or have they been genetically, hormonally, and unnaturally altered? If we could find raw dairy and raw dairy products, we would happily consume dairy because I know with my allergy, I can easily consume raw forms of dairy just fine. But we live in a state where raw dairy sale is illegal so we omit it! If I could grow my own wheat from a non-GMO source, soak it as it once was done, and be sure that the handling process was done as it was 100 years ago, we would eat bread. But I can't do that at this point so we omit it. We can find organic, grass fed beef and chicken so we consume those things!

The bottom line is this: I live for my family. They are my full time job. You do your best work at your job to keep your job. If I am not doing my best work here, then I should lose my job! I love my job and I feel it's the best job on the planet and there is NOTHING I would rather do. I research a lot to be sure I have the best information and am applying it the best ways. Gluten and Dairy free is not for everyone. I don't think you should eliminate things from your diet unless they are aggressors to your body. I happen to believe that anything processed is an aggressor to any one's body and we truly don't know what it feels like to feel healthy and good because from the womb, we have been poisoned unknowingly. I do feel, however, that everyone should do an elimination diet for 21 days and slowly add foods back in to find out if they have been feeling sick and never truly knew. For every person, this process will look different. For us, it's been easy to go cold turkey. If we have cheats, we'll never make the entire jump. For some it may be a slow process. Clearly, I am making mistakes along the way and we are learning from them. This is what life is all about. Be an advocate for yourself! Stand up and be proud of your choices and knowing that you are doing what is going to give you the best life possible. As a mother, no one is going to advocate for my child but me and I must defend them in all ways possible. I have been entrusted with these little souls and the responsibility to raise them in the ways they should go. I happen to believe this is the way to a healthy life for my family and I educate my children on the reasons why. Just so you know, they don't feel they are missing anything so far. But we haven't been to eat at any one's house yet. We may have to decline any invitations for some time!

Pet Responsibility

For a while now, J, has pleaded his case for having a kitten. Husband has shot the idea down time and time again much to J's sadness. So I had a long discussion with Husband about teaching responsibility, instilling compassion, and how even though we may not like things when our children do and are delighted, that transpires over to us. J and I sat and made a proposal for Husband to review. This included: the kitten would be a birthday present, we would seek one from a shelter to be sure we are giving a home to a needy pet, it would be very young, have short fur that is not white, and lastly, all of the responsibility for this kitten would be J's which involves particularly, cleaning the litter daily and sweeping the floor if litter was on it. He would also feed and water his kitten. J's specific requirements were that the kitten would be grey and have some stripes. 

After presenting the proposal to Husband, he relented saying it could be a birthday present but that he wanted nothing to do with it because he "doesn't like cats!" I believe this is a nature vs nurture inheritance as his dad is the same way whereas I grew up with a cat and prefer house cats to house dogs! Husband prefers no house pets but is a dog owner! Cats are easy and low maintenance but dogs are needy creatures. 

After our nature walk and picnic lunch last Friday I thought it would be good for the boys to take a field trip to the animal shelter to see what it means to adopt a pet that wouldn't have a home otherwise. I honestly didn't expect them to have any kittens. We have been before and although they had young cats, they've never had baby kittens. Low and behold, they had a litter of three WILD WILD WILD kittens. They were climbing the cage and yelling so loud for attention. I felt bad for them but knew immediately that I was not going to have a wild kitten in our house! J was set on one of those kittens! Then I heard a wonderful raspy meow down a few cages and there was a cute and calm little grey kitten with black stripes. I mean little!!! I deterred J's attention that way and he was smitten! The man that worked there let J hold him and J fell in love! It was explained that we needed to talk with daddy and make sure we had permission and we needed to get supplies. The shelter was closed over the weekend so if we were allowed, we would pick him up the following Monday. J called Husband at work and pleaded his case about how the kitten would be his early birthday present (since his birthday is in October) and how this kitten was his perfect kitten. Husband said he'd rather I just brought the kitten home so he didn't have a say in it at all. So all weekend, J and I gathered the proper kitten supplies and each time we purchased something, I reminded him of how this was the only gift he was getting from Mom and Dad for his birthday. Kittens are free to adopt from our shelter because they have no vet care and you are responsible for their shots and spay/neuter. The supplies came to about $40 including the shots we will do ourselves. The vet bill for an initial visit was $47 and then I had to make the appointments for rabies and his neuter for later in the year. Hopefully I stumble upon on a rabies clinic and the vet is reasonable with the neuter. I would prefer to declaw as in humane as people feel that is but he's doing well so far with me clipping his nails and not scratching so we shall see. Husband doesn't think I should declaw which I feel is his ulterior motive for putting the cat outside at some point! If we have a cat, it will be indoors! I don't like the germs and such cats bring home and I don't want to have to explain why the cat ended up dead to my sweet hearted child who adores him! 

After a week of having this super adorable, super tiny kitten, I have to say I am impressed! He is already a part of our family. J loves him and checks on him all of the time. I made a chart for him and he daily does his pet chart without me having to ask. He has been told, very seriously, that if he neglects to care for this kitten, the kitten will be given away. Husband is serious about that! And would have zero remorse. So, I encourage him to stick with it! In J's excitement, he called my mom and told her all about his kitten and when she asked what she could send him for his new kitten, he said, "Well, how about money so I can buy food and litter for my kitten?" 

I believe six is a magical age where reason and understanding really ignite. J will be turning six soon and I see these new traits coming out in him. He's becoming a boy now and less of a baby. Although he's so tall, it's been a while that he physically looked like a baby, but he held a lot of baby personality to me still for a while but I am noticing it is about extinct. I am enjoying this new season with him and having sound conversations about life. He is a joy to my heart and I adore him! This kitten endeavor has opened my eyes to a child's excitement. 

A Woman Post Only!

Ha ha! "No Boys Allowed! Girl's Club!" 

Well really, it's true! What do guys know about bras? I have discovered, possibly behind the curve, the most comfortable bra on the planet! I was skeptical at first but after battling with pregnancy breasts that are heavy and need extra support from increased sensitivity I decided to give it a go! I couldn't see spending $40 per bra for a regular fully supportive to when in a few months I will need the same support with nursing capabilities. I have tried many nursing bras and none have given the support I really desire and need to combat back pain. 

At a regular big box store, I believe two of these bras run $20 or so. Not too bad. But at BJ's Warehouse, you get 3/$20. Awesome!!! One white, one nude, on black! So I bit the bullet and bought a package. Best decision ever! So good that I just went and bought another pack! 

What is this magical device that has saved me from the bra demons? 

It's the Genie Bra! It is some magical lamp of sorts that you get three wishes granted! At least if you buy them at BJ's you get three of them in a package. I encourage you to try them. I live using them for everyday and for my yoga practice. I cannot speak for any of their other products as I have not used them. The only "complaint" I might have about these bras is that they aren't concealable under a spaghetti strap style top. The average bra at Victoria's Secret costs $40. Here you get 3 for $20. Quite the deal! 

Baby needs to save money

As I am preparing for a new baby, I am making a list of the thing I need. Thinking back to my first time making a baby registry, I WISH someone had told me what I am about to tell you:

BABIES NEED VERY LITTLE OTHER THAN THEIR MAMA! 

As a seasoned mama, take my word for it! I use less and less things for baby! Redirect your funds to quality items you do need, that I find I couldn't really do without especially having other children.

It goes without saying, yet I will say it, save your money on artificial food and give your baby the best, BREASTMILK! Human babies were made to consume human milk! If you are struggling, see a lactation consultant and join a local Le Leche League! I am very active in ours and am so happy to help others! I struggled with my oldest, J, our entire 18 months with low milk supply, slow weight gain, infrequent bowel movements, and generally high needs. Our second child was a breeze! Our third we struggled immensely with allergies and elimination diet. Through them all, we persevered because we never gave ourselves another choice! To us, there isn't one. 

Save your money on a wipe warmer and use your arm or leg. Seriously! I always change my babies on the floor or on my bed and before I change them, I pull two or three wipes out and drape them over my bare arm or leg. By the time I have undressed, de-diapered, and checked out the present, the wipes are perfect body temperature and baby is perfectly happy. 

FOR NEW BABY WITH A STARTLE REFLEX: make diaper time and bath time much more pleasant and swaddle baby's arms. During a change, I always tuck a blanket tightly around baby's arms and chest and tuck behind them. This keeps their arms from flailing and them from screaming because this mama can't handle a screaming baby! It makes my heart shatter! During bath time, use a hand towel to cover their body and pour water over them to keep them warm! Again, no screaming! I often opt to bathe with my snuggle bug! This encourages milk production as well as skin to skin contact and the relaxing water environment baby grew in for 10 months! It can be wonderful therapy for baby and a nice calming time for mama before bedtime after the older children have gone to bed.

Needs:

1.) car seat. We all need one. Save your money though and buy a convertible car seat. Yes, the buckets in lovely patterns have some appeal and being able to break your back carrying them seems great! However, the average infant seat is outgrown before 12 months so why spend double the money when you can buy one seat from infant to booster? 

2.) a good front carrier that won't break your back. The ergo baby carrier is my top pick! It's perfectly ergonomical for you and your baby. The wraps are nice but they make me sweat and I don't like to be hot! The investment also eliminates your need for those pesky infant car seats. Just snuggle baby up out of his/her seat at Target and baby will fall back asleep to your heartbeat and warm touch. If you need, you can nurse baby in the carrier while doing all of your grocery shopping! The Ergo has a nice hood that snaps us for privacy and people never know I am nursing while on the go! Www.babysteals.com often have them for about $50 which is up to 1/2 off! Snag one up when you can!

3.) Aden and Anais swaddling blankets. You typically get 4 for $35 and they are marvelous! They swaddle baby nice and snug while not making baby sweat. They also double as awesome nursing covers while out and about. I typically tuck mine into my bra strap and baby is happy!

 

4.) diapers! This may surprise you but I advocate disposables AND cloth! I love Bumgenius for cloth! Www.cottonbabies.com always has great deals! I make my own cloth wipes out of flannel and my own wipe spray for them. Using disposable wipes makes a mess when you forget one in a diaper and you have an extra item to toss away. Cloth just folds in until you wash! Cloth is amazing but there is a definite learning curve! If you go this route, invest in a diaper sprayer. 100% breastfeeding babies have water soluble poo so you need not pre-rinse but once you intro solids, you'll be happy for the sprayer!  

I also endorse disposables as long as you are buying environmentally friendly ones free of chemicals that harm your baby! We have tried many different kinds and have fallen in love with Honest diapers and wipes. Www.honest.com The patterns are adorable, they deliver to your door, and are the best quality diaper I have ever used! Plus, they don't reek of the awful chemical smell. 

5.) onesies! The only onesies I use for my babies are Carter's. They are the only ones that fit my babies. And they have some forgiving stretchiness to them. If you find a brand that works for you, don't mess with what works! Be brand loyal! I have wasted money trying to be cheap! If buying new is cost prohibitive for you, as it is for me because I don't believe in buying new things, visit your local Kid 2 Kid and buy used, save the difference! I'd love to tag along with you ;-) 

That's all! 

"Wait!" You say! "What about cribs, themes, paci's, and bottles?" 

We don't believe in many of the modern baby items. We co-sleep with our precious little babies. Visit www.drsears.com to gain an understanding of safe co-sleeping. Our breastfeeding relationship flourishes best this way and mama gets the most sleep this way! Our babies never have had their own room! With our first we made a beautiful nursery and he never slept there for even 1 minute! It quickly turned to an office and we have never gone down that road again! Who likes to sleep alone? We were not created to be alone! J slept in a twin bed against our king bed until he was almost 3, when X was about 1, and they began sharing a room together. Now, all three boys share a room and no one would have it any different! J sleeps on the top bunk and X and M sleep on the bottom full bunk snuggled together! Rooms are a place for sleep and rest.  We do not allow toys in there or play in there. We have many other rooms in our home for those things! 

We don't believe in mama substitutes that many find in paci's. None of our children have ever taken a paci despite my pleads during all night nursing marathons and I have written them off! While we don't really believe in bottles either, asking a sitter to spoon feed breastmilk to our baby is unreasonable. We don't leave our babies until they are at least eating solids which in our house begins at about 9 months on average. I have an electric breast pump but prefer to use a manual one. Since I have struggled with my milk supply and don't pump often, pumping is frustrating and stressful for me and I have to pump as often as I can over a week to plan to leave baby with a sitter so I have enough milk stored up. We use glass bottles, Lifefactory are our preferred but Gerber makes them quite cheap and Target has them! 

While we do have some other baby items, none of them are necessities! We have a jumper for a prewalker who is at least ready for foot pressure, so I can have supper going and entertain baby. We also have a high chair which we just got and have never had before! It will be neat to have a baby use one this time around. We got a 4 in 1 so we could use it on the go and at home! Clothes are necessity but never in excess! Our babies live mostly in onesies! Socks are a nightmare because they never fit our babies! We have infant Robeez that we love and use all of the time. We also use them with our babies when they start walking. Hard soled shoes can actually be a detriment and our pediatrician recommended leaving our babies barefoot as much as possible. The Robeez give them the sense and feel of barefoot while protecting them with a moccasin type bottom! 

I make several item that I just desire to have and it calms my nesting problem too! I make my own burp cloths, the Aforementioned cloth wipes, wet bags, bibs... I am interested in making some nursing gowns for sleep also that have buttons or snaps so that when I don't need access, I feel modest and covered! 

I have a few items that are purely wants but that I love: 

Tommee Tippee bibs. They have a neck that is thicker and keeps cheese from drool and milk dribble from forming in your baby's neck! Bibs are great for saving your baby clothes for another child. Sometimes it takes months of storage for milk stains to appear! 

A baby food maker and storage pouches. I love these! Baby Breeza has one that I really want! I have always made our baby food for on the go situations even though we don't spoon feed but instead encourage table solids when baby can grasp and eat alone (baby led feeding). 

Baby soap and lotion. Water is plenty to clean your baby and coconut oil wonderful for lotion. But already having three boys that need a good wash, two with sensitive skin and one with skin bumps, I have to be very picky about soaps and lotions, but we do need them! I have found a brand, gone away from it because Target stopped carrying it, and gone back since I found I can buy it through their website direct. We LOVE LOVE LOVE 'Say Yes to Carrots'. As a wash, Dr. Bronners is our preferred wash but its not tear free and with babies, that's okay but toddlers are movers in the bath! 

Honestly, I cannot think of anything else! There are entire stores devoted to baby items and while these items are all nice, most are a marketing technique boasting convenience to get you to spend your money! You don't need them! You just want them! Nothing is as satisfying to your baby as you are. So prop up your feet and snuggle your baby, for the days are long but the years short and you'll regret allowing your baby swing to monopolize your baby! 

Monday, fun day...what will it hold?

This coming Monday August 5 we begin our homeschool year with our oldest, J, in 1st grade, our second, X, in pre-school, and our third, M, in a toddler program. We chose last year to use My Father's World and have really enjoyed it so much! It is designed to be a complete curriculum meaning there's nothing to add. I found it lacking a tiny bit for our standards and our child's capabilities. Last year we added some readers and Singapore math at the first grade level. He did swimmingly and we were surprised that we finished kindergarten so quickly because we had planned to spread it out over two years, if need be since we started J a year earlier than he would be allowed in an institutional school environment. The first grade curriculum is suppose to be complete as well but again, since we were advanced last year, we decide to add some supplements to it. We will be using Horizon Math 1st grade to really reinforce all he learned with Singapore last year. We will also be using Spectrum Spelling since its important to us that our children have good spelling skills which enhance reading skills. We are also adding leveled readers in and some printables that I have been collecting through the summer and will continue through www.freehomeschooldeals.com. I also made my two "school age" boys binders for their daily tracking of their work, reward charts for reading an completion of their work, calendars, book reports, nature walk check lists and journal, and other daily review items like colors, shapes, letters, and numbers. 

With X in preschool, we are using Rod and Staff A-B-C, D-E,F and then if we get to it, G-H-I. If we don't, we'll save it for summer bridge work. We used Rod and Staff with J for preschool and feel it really set him up well with solid foundations. It is their kindergarten curriculum but because we feel more inclined to challenge our children than hold them back from greatness, we use it with the ability to modify as necessary. We are also using Handwriting Without Tears Pre-k for helping X to enjoy writing since he currently wants nothing to do with it or coloring. He loves worksheets and such but when it comes to writing and coloring, his laziness takes over! He will also complete a nature journal but in the form of a scavenger hunt. The great thing is he has learned so much passively absorbing all J has been taught so he is more advanced than J was at this age in some areas. The big task is overcoming personality clashes! 

With M, we use Abbeka's toddler program. I started using it when J was 2 and X also used it. We've enjoyed the simplicity yet fun crafts. It is intense with coloring but M loves to color and show me his completed school work. Just like a big boy! 

Why are we starting so early, you may ask? Several reasons: 

1) we never intended to take a summer break. We never really did because we still read and did some summer bridge work. However, I needed the semblance of a break from planned days to reorganize our school room so that it would be functional and easily mobile. I also needed the time to plan this year, having three and being largely pregnant, if I am not well planned, I will be lazy!

2) As our guess date for baby boy #4 approaches, we wanted to be sure that we had a good start on the school year but were able to take off for the birth and bonding time for our new baby. We believe school is learned best by living it out and what better way to learn life skills than have a home birth and help care for a new baby? So we'll take off mid-November and resume in January. This also gives us wonderful baking and Christmas craft time without the obligation of a school day. This is the true beauty of homeschool. We are able to fit it to work in our lives!

We ordered our curriculum from My Father's World directly and this year got the toddler and preschool package as well for the younger boys to have hands on learning fun while J and I finish up with our daily work. They always have great deals at the end of the previous school year so we use a portion of our tax return and order school stuff. This also gives me plenty of time to spread out our spending and find the best deals on supplies and such. It also gives me plenty of time to plan! I love that just a tiny drive to Raleigh opens our homeschool world up to The Homeschool Gathering Place where they have tons and tons of consignment materials, books, new materials, and manipulatives. It's like a dream for me every time I step in there and every day the items change! You should visit if you have never been. 

I am a serious planner and need to have everything in order. We don't have to register our homeschool with the state until next year but this year I have everything in order as if we were registered. I have our attendance records, field trip records, grade book, assignment list, health records and vaccine exemptions. I keep all of these things in what I call, "the master home book." I also keep our budget, grocery list, coupons, contact lists, etc... in there. It's easy to tote along and keeps us all organized. As a mother, it is my desire to provide the absolute best for my children. In my efforts to do that, being organized gives me the peace of mind knowing that if something were to happen to me husband will have a central place to find all of our plans, how our days run, and keep a sense of normal for our children in case of upheaval. That sounds morbid but I feel it's my responsibility as a wife and mother to my family to make sure they are taken care of. This also give husband a place to prove their school progress and records in the event no one is able to homeschool them. 

 

Each year I am sure our homeschool philosophies will change and our approach will surely change with each child. Here at Raising Arrows Academy, we are working to educate our children to a high standard of academics while instilling real and true life lesson applications into them and giving them a complete sense of who God is. Helping them discover their ministry while cultivating their ability to think for themselves in discovering who they are is our main mission. 

The room is organized, flash cards made, items laminated, student notebooks created, student id's generated, work boxes done, backpacks and pencil bags packed and ready...IT'S ALMOST THE START OF SCHOOL at Raising Arrows Academy! Can you tell we are excited???

Planning Vacation on Budget

Since yesterday's post was so heavy, I thought I would post a lighter entry tonight about something that I get super excited about!

VACATION!!!!

When planning a vacation for, what will be, six people, it takes a great deal of thought, finding the best deals, and figuring how to follow a strict budget. That seems so impossible in today's time. I don't want to be cooking the entire time while on vacation or toting large coolers of drinks and snacks but we also cannot spend $60 per meal for a week. Whew!

After much debate about credit cards in our family, husband and I have settled on a happy compromise. ONLY BECAUSE WE ARE FINANCIALLY ACCOUNTABLE! I do not endorse the use of credit cards for those who have spending problems and/or cannot and/or will not pay them off BEFORE they accrue interest!!! We had a BP credit card that we got years ago when the return on it was awesome. Gas prices spiked and having an SUV, it seemed wise. Since then, BP has changed some things leaving us to not have as great of rewards. So we abandoned the cards and were using our bank card where we were earning QuickPoints. Not very quickly, I should mention. In a frugal, single income family, it's hard to earn much!

When discussing family vacation next year, we decided we wanted to do a Disney World trip and have the whole experience. This means hotel, passes, dining package, souveniers, etc... When I priced it out, for the "off season" it came to over $4,000! YIKES! How is a family suppose to afford that? Here is our solution:

We signed up for the Disney Visa through Chase. We've always been happy with Chase so we traded our BP card in for a cute Cars themed Disney Card. Awesome! Next, I have spend countless hours figuring out how we can earn the most reward points possible to put toward our trip. I have mapped out paying our bills online through each company individually. Before I was paying through our bank. The card gives us 2% back on and food, gas, grocery, or Disney purchases. We then get 1% back on every other purchase. This is HUGE for us! Any purchases we make for things we need we are putting money back in our pocket for this trip! AWESOME! Already, after only having the card for a week and only putting $300 on it after paying bills and some other things, we have earned about $7.50. Our plan is to use this card for every single purchase but log it in our records as if it were coming out of our bank account. I am extremely OCD about budgets and financial spending so this works for us! Again I say, if you are not financially conservative, this is likely a good way for you to get into BIG TROUBLE! My estimate is that by the time we plan to go on our trip next year, we will have about $1,000 in rewards. Other perks of this card are the member incentives like free dining plans. Hello!!!!! FREE DINING PLANS!?!?!? This means for our family, a $553.90 dining plan would be FREE!!! Yes, please and thank you, Disney! This does require me to have one meal for our fmaily per day which easily is breakfast since we are not much for breakfast and fruit and bagels suffice. Oh and staying at a Disney resort gives you free parking at the parks ($15/day) and free shuttle service if you so choose.

Here's the breakdown: Room is about $1600 for 5n/6d. The tickets run fairly cheap when you purchase more than one day so they are going to be about $1156 for four of us and the dining package ($554)--$FREE! With our credit card rewards that we estimate to be near $1000 by next fall, we plan to spend about $2000 for a $4000 vacation.

Needless to say, this mama is EXCITED! There is something about Disney with your children that makes you feel all magical inside! We are the kind of family that starts the park at open and we do not leave until close! If we are spending the time and money we are making the most of our trip. This is why the dining plan is so essential on a Disney trip!

Now, the other portion of our plan is to see if we can leave Disney and head to a rented beach house for a week and have a relaxing time there doing whatever there is to do. This requires a bit more work on my part because this is where the deals and coupons come into play to get the most of our vacation for the least money. Ideally, we would plan to make this trip with another family and divide up the cost but that is highly unlikely in our circle of friends because not everyone can coordinate the same dates and such. If you are one of those that can, we would love to go in on vacation with you!!! Beach stays tend to be my least favorite of vacations because it's not vacation when I have to cook, clean, do laundry, and clean sandy boys 24/7! But hey, it's a break from the day to day and after husband's special project vacation prohibition, by next fall, we will be needing a vacation!

God's Standards or the World's? Do you know the difference?

Today I find myself saddened and discouraged by the state and mentality of our society. It makes me so sad that women are facing anti-feminism in the feminist movement and there aren't Godly elders pouring into young women to combat this deception. It saddens me that despite having almost 4 children, I bear no real credibility for my ministry. True feminism is chasing after God's heart cry for women! That is, He created the first woman and named her through Adam, Eve! That very name means "mother of all living." There is a distinct reason for her name! She set the standard for all women to come: to be wives and mothers; to mother her own and mother the motherless. Her standard was to serve selflessly as a living sacrifice to those around her giving up a life of luxury for a life of true love only found at the cross. Titus 2 reiterates this when it states the standards for women in church: loving and speaking of their husbands with high regard and being chaste keepers of their home. Never was it said to travel the world, seek the highest paying job possible, or to give up the things of the Kingdom in pursuit of the world. Why then are we allowing the deceiver, who comes to steal, kill, and destroy, to rob us of great blessing and cast unBiblical judgement upon those who follow their God path in life? Why are we always seeking to prove ourselves as wives and mothers? Why do we allow the people who seek to discredit us stay at home mamas to control us and convince us we are not good enough? I have no idea! I do know I am tired of being told my children will never respect me because I don't seek the world, that I gave up the best in life by having children, that if something were to happen to my husband I would be worthless. Thank God I have wonderful women around me who prove daily in their lives and through their children that these are lies spewed out of flaming tongues. I see children who adore their mothers and are living beautiful lives of ministry and servant hood because of their mother's dedication to her family, not to the degrees, jobs, and money the world has to offer. My children are THE MOST amazing thing I could ever accomplish. Nothing even comes close. The world will be there when my children are grown, despite the fact I have no real desire to travel the world. Honestly, thank you for the concern of what I would do if my husband were killed but that seems like a very personal matter! I pray my husband lives a long healthy life and speak those prayers and blessings over him daily. As a man who honors his mother and father, I am proud to speak the blessing of a long life over him! Life insurance is a great thing, just in case. Before speaking about being a wife and mother, there are several things you should do: first, actually be one! It's astounding to me that people speak against something they have no experience with! Second, seek the Divine and perfectly cohesive Word of God, which nothing shall be added to or taken from. Know your Father's heart before you speak for Him. Last, remind yourself that we should never be discouraging someone from the call on their lives and path they follow SO AS LONG AS it is directed by The Lord in His intrinsic Word. When your life lines up with God's will, no matter what others may say or do, you shall not be moved!

My heart is also burdened for the weakened state of women and men in today's world. Women, you were created by a magnificent Creator, made in His image, fearfully and wonderfully molded into a person to bear the image of God through your womb and to bring forth that fruit from your womb. Why then have we become so weak that we allow others to vandalize our wombs? You were created to birth! Unless you have a disease that 1% of the population has OR you have a severely mal-positioned baby (transverse), there is no reason for anyone to rob you or your baby of a healthy birth, with zero intervention, allowing only your body to make the adjustments needed to bring forth your baby. You are not weak so stop being weak! Stop forcing babies into the world, crying for drugs, and allowing people to fear you into traumatic birth situations. Fight for what's yours and fight for your Godly feminism! Own your conception, own your pregnancy, own your birth, own your post birth healing!

Men, you married your wife and took complete responsibility for her, to be her priest and the one who brings her to greatness. Why then are you rolling on your back in surrender to the first person who seeks to harm her in the name of "saving" her? Stand up and be a man! Question every authority you can. Never settle for what doesn't sit well in your being because that feeling of uncertainty, deep in the pit of your belly, the one that asks you to wonder if you just handed your wife to a butcher, is your discernment! It's crying out for you to say, "Stop! We are doing this and you aren't stopping us!" I remember, clear as day, when my midwife calmly said, "well, he's definitely a boy and he's definitely breech. What do you want to do?" Husband looked in my face, as seriously as he's ever looked at me, with authority and complete priesthood over me and said, "we are staying here and you are going to push this baby out, now!" In ten minutes, my breech baby came into the world without one tear and very little pain. And he was perfection! Was I a loud and crazy Amazonian woman? Absolutely! But I did it! Of all three, so far, he was my easiest and least painful birth. Let's face the facts: I am no stronger, braver, better, or more amazing than you! I am you! Because I was created by the same Creator and mothered from the same first mother! You deserve to hold the medal of the mother who stands on the Word of God as strength and faith that allows you to do amazing and unexplainable things! My husband exercised his call to have authority over me and commanded me to do what he knows our God has called me to do because he seeks to challenge me to greatness!

My goal in life is not to raise children to desire high paying, upper level jobs. Although I work hard to school them and challenge them in their studies, I don't even desire them to higher education if they don't desire that. My desire through the perfect will of God, is to raise warriors for the Kingdom, who seek to serve and love The Lord with all of their hearts, be true Godly spouses and parent children with the same values of a Godly standard. If I raise poor missionaries, I care not because I have raised warriors for Christ who fall on their face daily before the throne of a King, knowing they fall short and only He can lift them up and set them on the path to righteousness. I am a far cry from anything resembling perfect and I am more than grateful because I have the profound privilege of falling on my face in humility before my King, seeking greatness in my life as a wife and mother! Is there anything more precious or worthy of seeking than that? Lord, I pray not!

**it is my deepest burden to convey that I stand not in judgement of anyone and their choices if they truly feel they are lead by God in them. It IS my desire to challenge you to think beyond what you have been "brainwashed" to believe by the world around you. Sometimes it takes going against the grain to discover your greatness. It is never too late to seek The Lord in repentance and stand firm in His Word. Daily I face condemnation for my choices and I so pray that in sharing my heart, others will be spared from the hurtful lies I have faced and spent countless amounts of time focusing on them. As I have matured in my life through seeking truth from the Book of Life, I have found peace in where God has placed me! One day, oh how I pray to be a midwife! But until my children are grown and embarking in their own lives I shall remain a steward to them because that is what God has asked of me!**