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Tag Archive for Family Stuff

My, How Things Change!

Posted by html404 on January 12, 2012
in Family Stuff, Farm Stuff, Uncategorized

Well, things have definitely changed around here weather-wise. The weather men were right! Take a look at these from our doorways, but first a before picture of the fields behind the horse barn:

Before

After

It’s suppose to continue snowing all day. Looks like we may end up with 4-6 inches….maybe. The children have been out to play, but I did not get any photos of them yet, thought my daughter was going to and she didn’t so that is on my agenda! After all it is the first snowfall of 2012 and the latest snowfall we have ever had in the Chicago area! Fun in the Snow!

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MLK Day – January 16

Posted by Brande on January 9, 2012
in Articles, Community Issues, Downloads, Education, Family Stuff, Giving Back/Charity, Monday Motivation, News Worthy, Organization, School

In just a week it will be Martin Luther King Day – Monday, January 16th. There is valuable information on this site not only about MLK, but how others can volunteer or serve those in need.

http://mlkday.gov/plan/library/communications/posters.php

Take your children on an educational tour about a man who made a difference and encourage them to change the world by making a difference too.

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That’s My Girl: A Revell Blog Tour

Posted by html404 on January 7, 2012
in Books, Family Stuff, Parenting

That’s My Girl is a book written parenting expert Rick Johnson, founder of “Better Dads”. This book maps out how dads can develop a healthy, closer relationship with their daughters, and gives moms insight into the important role a father plays in the life of their girls, including her relationship to her father.

The father-daughter relationship is very important in a girls life. According to Mr. Johnson, this is the one relationship that determines how she feels about herself, what kinds of men she is attracted to and how she expects to be treated by other men. I know as I read the pages of this book, I couldn’t help thinking about my relationship with my Dad, who passed away 6 years ago. He was a good provider, active in our lives as little girls (I have 3 younger sisters) but once we hit preteen and teen years he became much more distant.

I agreed with some of the things Mr. Johnson shared, but other things I didn’t. There are always exceptions to the rule and there is the God factor. I believe certain areas of my life could have been disastrous, were not because of God having my back so to speak. I loved the stories he shared about his teenager daughter. She was a character!

Mr. Johnson does a thorough job of showing Dads how to help map their daughters future. Overall I believe this book is a good resource for fathers especially, but mothers will benefit as well.

“Available January 2012 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.”

Faith and Family Reviews received the following product in exchange for writing a review. While we consider it a privilege to receive free products to review, our reviews are our honest opinion and thoughts of the product.

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Fun with Food Fridays

Posted by html404 on January 6, 2012
in Family Stuff, Food and Treats, Fun Stuff, Photography

Introducing Fun with Food Fridays!

We have had fun taking pictures of food lately with our new camera. I know, a tell tale sign that we have been taken by the shutter bug. These are intermixed photos taken by my daughter and I. Here is our fun with food:

Carrot Cake by Theresa

Cream Cheese Brownies by Virtuous

Pizza by Virtuous

Spaghetti in Steam by Theresa

Off Brand O’s by Virtuous

Center of a Cantalope by Virtuous

Pumpkin Stem by Virtuous

Honey and Garlic Mixture by Theresa

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Bad Day, Wonderful Husband

Posted by html404 on January 5, 2012
in Family Stuff, Photography

Yesterday I had a really bad day. Called my husband bemoaning my situation and what does he do? First he has an hour drive home, then he had an appointment at our old house about some work on the kitchen, but he still took time to stop and get me these:

Taken by moi

Taken by Virtuous

Taken by moi

Roses! Sigh. My favorite. Bad day, wonderful husband. He made my day. Really.

My husband got me roses the first Valentine’s Day we were together. I was working in Halifax and they were delivered to my door, while he was in Florida! Then on visits between Canada and the States he quite often had a rose on the seat of the car when he picked me up from the airport. Romantic man, eh? He doesn’t get me flowers often, but when he does he always surprises me. He said my sad, weary face yesterday lit up when I saw the roses. 🙂 Then he told me he loves surprising me. Awww….While he and the roses brightened my day, I was not totally alleviated from my rough patch as the situation stayed on my mind late into the night and is still on my mind today. However, I do smile every time I look at these and stop to smell them, and I did enjoy taking pictures of them….except doing the top view because I am not tall enough to look down through the lense to get a decent photo!

Please note: These are actually grocery store roses and are doing wonderful so far. My husband is really picky about flowers and hates it when the roses do not open up! Then again, so do I!

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Not Me Smile!

Posted by html404 on January 5, 2012
in Family Stuff

My oldest captured this photo of her little brother….I am left wondering what it is she caught him doing! Thought it looked like the perfect, “It wasn’t me smile” or “Not me smile” for short.

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New for 2012

Posted by html404 on January 3, 2012
in Business, Family Stuff

It’s a brand new year. A fresh start. A bright outlook…well, that is a matter of opinion and choice, isn’t it? For me, it is bright. I have faith in God’s awesome power and provision. I have confidence that 2012 is going to be a great year. And no, I have not always started a new year with such an optimistic attitude. But as DC Talk’s song Nu Thing states, “God is doing a new thing…”, I believe it and am determined to live by it far better than I have in the past. The past can drag us down. It’s always better to embrace change and new beginnings.

So what is new for 2012? Here are a few things on my list, don’t forget to share your own in the comment section:

No significant snow fall. We have had no significant snow fall yet this winter, which is a first. All we’ve had is snow flurries.

Weekends off. I took the last two weekends off, which is one of my New Year’s Resolutions. I tend to work, work, work and work so much that I turn myself into mush. Mush? My definition is of mush is that I just need to veg out. I veg out by reading or watching movies or taking lots of naps. Yeah, I do. I have made the mistake in the past by working all my weekends and I am determined to take more of them off this year. This won’t include classes that I will be assisting with or any events we will be vendors at because our essential oils business requires availability to a greater extent than my VA business or blogging.

A new certificate. Yes, I earned a new certificate. I was a new student to the NSC Defensive Driving Course over the weekend. Due to my car accident in October, I opted to take traffic school. It was my first time to do so, but I am glad I did. It was good to refresh my knowledge of the laws of the road etc. I actually did learn a couple of new things too. I also nearly fell asleep in certain parts….zzzzzz….

A new cell phone. My Blackberry died last week and I bought replacement on Friday night….an iPhone 4! I was eligible for an upgrade with my carrier contract and got a great deal. The iPhone is so cool, but there is a learning curve. Though I must say it is easier to figure out than my Blackberry was. My kids love my iPhone and most of my apps are free educational ones for kids! Yearning for an iPad now…..

A new camera. Woo-hooo! The unveiling of our new camera is coming tomorrow. My oldest is ecstatic to start her photography career. Our family now calls us the “paparazzi”. 😉 This camera is awesome! It is fun just clicking away! As our photography skills improve, a new camera will offer better quality photos for this blog, family memories, and hopefully open up other opportunities as well. My daughter and I are thankful for the paid opportunities the Lord brought our way in December to justify this purchase. Here’s to hoping and praying for more in 2012!

A new vehicle. No we haven’t found anything yet, but we have been slightly occupied with other things – holidays, work, getting our roof fixed and our gable put back up, my mother-in-law’s fall which resulted in a fractured shoulder and surgery last week. We are still using her car and the pressure is off to get it back to her now that she has been rendered immobile while her shoulder heals.

A new client. A couple of weeks ago I got a new client, which is looking like it will result in regular increased income, Lord willing. I am learning new things, which is daunting as well as exciting. This all came about because I had been in contact with a VA company months ago and because their business had increased they contacted me again to see if I was still interested!

So far those are the new for 2012 for our family. I am sure we will experience new adventures as the year goes on but this is a start….a mighty fine one if you ask me. 😉

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A Look Back at My Rock Star – Wordless Wednesday

Posted by html404 on December 28, 2011
in Family Stuff

A year ago….

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Surviving a Job Loss

Posted by html404 on December 27, 2011
in Blog Stuff, Business, Family Stuff, Farm Stuff

As many of you know, these days I wear many hats. Not only am I a wife and homeschooling mother to eight, but I also run two businesses, with a fledgling farm waiting to burst forth from the side lines.

It’s obvious that being a wife and homeschooling mother to eight is a full-time job in and of itself. Then why would I want to add a business…or two…or three…or four to that mix? It happened out of necessity nearly four years ago on January 3rd or 4th when my husband came home to say that he lost his job of 25+ years. What a shock that was!? It came out of no where even though we had been on shaky ground from the end of 2004 when my husband learned his boss of 24 years was selling the business. At that time we had no idea if we would even have a job once the sale of the business occurred and felt we had to do something as a back up plan… just in case.

Rewind a Few Years

I am going to let you in on a little secret, when I had three children three and under, I had a yearning to have a home business and have my husband home more to help out. Ha! It was hard work keeping up with my three little girls and all their needs! But by the end of 2004 we had 5 children and I had just experienced a pregnancy loss at nearly 20 weeks along. I wanted, needed something to help me survive the grief I felt. That is truly when we discovered that I was the “Idea Lady”. There was something inside of me that went into survival mode to keep our family afloat to survive the job loss. So we started an online Christian bookstore in early 2005, but obviously we were not the up to competing with the online giant, Amazon. We did keep at it for the fun and love of our treasured books, but finally close down shop in 2010 due to its lack luster sales and needing more time to grow our other businesses.

The Beginning of Unemployment

By 2008, we were expecting our seventh child when the layoff occurred. We had six months of unemployment and an extension. With the help and grace of God we embarked on starting our second business mid-2008 that would include both of us and use more of our skills and experience as Virtual Assistants. As you all know it takes time to build a business and while our little VA business did not bring in much to start, we were thankful for whatever work did come our way. Most of which came to me, not my husband. He picked up a few odd jobs here and there but nothing every panned out for very long. I also cleaned houses for a couple families to help offset our slow start.

Personal and Professional Growth

We both grew a lot, both personally, spiritually and professionally, while waiting for God to increase our income upon losing a good paying job that provided well for our family’s needs. But to be honest, by late 2009 we were very concerned, unemployment had run out, no jobs in sight and a family member was faithfully assisting us. So when my husband was offered his old position back, with less pay, for a new owner (the third one, if you aren’t keeping track) we felt we had to take it.

Recovering

We are still recovering from that nearly 2 year long period of being without a job, which is why I continue to work. Recovering from a job loss doesn’t magically happen overnight once a person does get a job. It has been an uphill battle. One we are still overcoming, by the grace and strength of God.

Business Today

Thankfully today between VA Clients, blogging and our essential oils business we are beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel. If you were a fly on the wall in our home you would see me online much of the day, emailing clients, writing, checking website statistics almost daily because not only are these stats important to our livelihood but that of my clients. Whether we are bloggers or other business owners, we all like to know how much traffic is coming to our website. There are companies like Omniture (Omniture.com) provide online businesses with website optimization tools necessary to make online marketing a success, which is very helpful.

We are grateful for the slow, but steady growth of our little online enterprises and the part they have had in helping us survive a job loss and slowly gain back the income we have lost.

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Homeschooling and Astronauts

Posted by html404 on December 26, 2011
in Family Stuff, Food and Treats, School

For awhile my kids were really into space and astronauts. This was when they were much younger, but even today my husband and children love to watch the stars and one night this winter they even stayed out in the freezing air waiting for a comet that never appeared. Think we got the wrong time or missed it completely. 🙁

Since they were so interested space I decided to put together a unit study for them. Even today my kids have fond memories of doing that unit study! (It was my older daughter’s idea to do this post!) We went to the library and checked out tons of books on space and then we all sat around and read them throughout the course of a few weeks. We watched a couple movies on space, did complimenting projects and assignments. The children really enjoyed that unit study.

Of course, we couldn’t do a unit study without the food! And since astronauts eat foods for survival, I purchased a couple freeze dried meals for my kids to try. They liked them a lot and thought that it was the funniest thing that you could put ice cream in a bag and eat it without a spoon! 😉

I still have the pink folder with my children’s book reports in it that they did on several of our favorite books on space. In the past couple years the folder has started to fall apart, but we still have the packaging to the astronaut food and the memories are still in my four older children’s minds and hearts of the time that we did a study on space.

Considering the fact that it’s been almost six or seven years since we did that unit study I should really do it again for the sake of my four younger kids. And I’ll have to BuyEmergencyFoods to show my younger kids what astronauts eat so they can experience the fun too!

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