Planning

I'm a planner. I love to plan. I love to make lists. I love to make Excel charts. I love to check off completed tasks on my lists. Howerver, as we all know life happens and I don't always follow through on my plans and I don't always cross off everything on my list. Some tasks are perpetually being added to my new lists and I hope to one day cross them off...ever have one or two of those tasks?!

Planning makes me feel secure and grounded. More so, planning declutters my mind and helps me be organized and disciplined. I love being organized and I need to be disciplined, but I recognize I have a loooooong way to go to better myself in this area. This however is the beauty in being a Keeper at Home. It is actually my "job" to become a better wife, helper to my husband, mother and housekeeper. Planning helps me in this area.

I've learned of course, to be flexible, knowing that the Lord is the only one who is truly in control of my life. He often sends situations that interrupt my plans all for my sanctification and I am in constant need of being sanctified!

If you have any tips or advice in this area I would love to hear from you. I'd also love to know of any websites, blogs or books that have helped you in the area of planning or organization.

Thanksgiving 2010

My pretty baker making her pie crust.

She loves baking.

Another little baker happy in the kitchen.

Mixing dough.

The finished product...what a pretty pie!

Organic golden Yukons with loads of organic butter, sour cream, milk, celtic sea salt & garlic pepper.....yum!

Me, Monica & Angela & Selah.

Outside fun.

Roasting marshmellows....cinder stained smile!

Lovely young ladies enjoying each other's company.

Both girls love to draw.

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving with family or friends or both! This is our second Thanksgiving that we have spent with dear friends since both my family and my husband's family live more than 2,000 miles away. It's heartwarming to be able to spend holidays with your family, but if you can't, it's a blessing to be able to celebrate special days with family in Christ. I'm grateful that we have many friends in the Lord within our church body.

We spent the afternoon and evening with our friends, the Fernandez family. I baked a turkey, made our famous mashed potatoes, and my daughter made a coconut pie and we bought a pumpkin pie. Our friends provided the rest of the Thanksgiving "fixin's." It was a very pleasant, peaceful evening of food and fellowship. After dinner more friends came over and the children roasted marshmellows outside at a fire pit in the backyard. I completely forgot to take photos. I did take a few and my daughter took a few also, but I don't have a single family shot, a group shot or any pictures at the dinner table. :( Here are the few we did take. Enjoy!

Give Thanks!

"O give thanks unto the LORD, for he is good:
for his mercy endureth for ever."
Psalm 107:1

He is good! How wonderful it is to know that His mercy endureth FOREVER! As a sinner in constant need of the Lord's mercy, this is truly something marvelous that I am thankful for!

Today while we prepare to celebrate the official Thanksgiving holiday tomorrow my children and I are challenging ourselves to spend the day contemplating the goodness of the Lord and thanking Him for all His many blessings.

May your day be blessed!

Bridal Shower Wisdom

Early last month I attended a bridal shower for our elder's second daughter, Blair. It was a joyful time of fellowship. After the last gift was unwrapped and oooed and awed over, a time was opened up for the ladies to share some words of wisdom in regards to marriage. Much of the advice given was truly valuable and I should have taken notes. I don't remember everyone's exact words, but I'll try, nonetheless to share as much as my memory holds.

1. Encourage your husband when he is feeling down or fearful by loving on him.

2. One dear lady whom I admire just said one word, "RESPECT."

3. No matter how busy your day, get the things done that please him, such as having the living room clean (if this is what he wants) so he can have some orderly place to sit and relax when he returns home from work. Prioritize and make important those things which are important to him.

4. Don't over analyze his words towards you. Don't try to think there are hidden motives and thoughts behind his words. You don't want to go there.

5. Be free with your love with no thoughts of restraint.

6. Pray to the Lord to give your husband insight into the areas of vision in which he should be leading. Sometimes upon presentation of certain ideas of vision your husband may not always capture it, but do not be dismayed. Instead of nagging, take it to the Lord in diligent prayer. The Lord will help your husband to understand the vision he needs to have and the vision or idea you presented will become his "own" idea!

7. Be merciful and forgiving with your husband. He is not perfect, just as you are not perfect. If you are generous with mercy, when the time comes when you need to be shown mercy, your husband will be free to be merciful and gracious with you.

I'm sure there was more advice given but this is all I can remember. Since the invitation to the shower asked everyone to come prepared to share some advice or encouragement to the new bride, I was prepared to share a tiny nugget or two, however, I was too shy to do so and thought it best to just gleam the wisdom from the more experienced wives!

I asked my husband beforehand what things I have done throughout our marriage that have been a blessing or encouragement to him. This is what he shared with me and what I had thought of sharing should the sharing have been mandatory and not by volunteering:

1. My husband loves coming home. The warm welcome we give him is the highlight of his day. I have trained the children to view his coming home as the best and most exciting part of our day. When the children see his car coming up the driveway, they all yell, "Dad's home! Dad's home!" We all run to greet him and hug him. I always freshen up and make sure my hair and clothing are in order when I know he will be home shortly. And I always give him a big kiss at the door! "Make your husband's arrival from work the highlight of your day. Greet him as if you hadn't seen him all week." (I'm not sure how this would work out if he works from home!)

2. He appreciates that I have always been kind and loving to his family. "Love his family."

3. He appreciates and is blessed by how I manage his money by being frugal, always striving to buy what we need at the best possible price. "Manage his money well. Be frugal and appreciate how hard he works to provide money for his family."

Anyone care to share a "nugget" or two of their own? I'd love to hear from you! Ask your husband to let you know how you have blessed him. You may be pleasantly surprised at what he mentions. I was so pleased to hear the things my husband mentioned and encouraged to seek out new ways to bless him.

My Neglected Blog

I must admit, dear readers, that I have been neglecting my blog. In fact, all of my family has neglected their blogs. Looking back, I don't even know where we found the time to blog the entries we posted. We've been so busy these past few months, with school in general. However, blogging is important to us and I will take time this month to rearrange our schedule and set aside time for myself and my fellow bloggers here at home to post.

It's hard to believe that we're in the month of October and I didn't even blog much about our summer and some important events that took place. I'll be posting some photos and small posts about those events since one of the reasons I started my blog was to maintain a type of journal of our lives. Hopefully, I can catch up this month and start blogging on a more regular basis.

Until my next post...May you be blessed!

Our 14th Anniversary

Ready to spend the day with my love.

Lunch with a beautiful ocean view. I had a bowl of lusciously creamy lobster soup, a fresh garden salad, and of all things, fried fish and chips. ( I should have had grilled fish with veggies, but the fish and chips called my name!) The fish was very tasty and I enjoyed my delicious lunch immensely. Food tastes so good when you are happy!

MeMy husband of 14 years.

In front of the lovely restaurant where we had lunch.

Last month my dear husband and I celebrated 0ur 14th anniversary! We spent the day at the beach. We had a WONDERFUL time together. We walked up and down the beach, sat in the warm sand together to watch the waves, and then had a late lunch at a restaurant with an ocean view. Lovely, lovely, lovely! After lunch we took a walk through the quaint downtown. Before getting out of the car my husband surprised me by asking me to stay seated. He then went to the back of our car and brought me a gift! After I opened it, he then went back and brought me another one and after I opened that gift, he brought me the final gift! I delighted in the surprise gifts and appreciated my husband plans to surprise me. I also loved my gifts! One of the gifts was a beautiful silver purse. Receiving a purse as part of my anniversary gift has now become a tradition. Six years ago my husband started giving me a purse as part of my anniversary gifts. I love using and wearing the purses that he chose especially for me...he has good taste too!

A trip to an old fashioned candy and ice cream shop was in order after the gift giving and receiving. I had a small piece of walnut chocolate fudge and my husband opted for ice cream.

We walked around quite a bit talking and looking at the interesting shops and restaurants. We saw a restaurant that we would like to try on our next day out together. Too soon it became time for us to leave for home. It was a lovely romantic day, a special celebration of our love. Te Amo, mi Amor.

31 Qualities of a Godly Woman

By Luke Otterstad

1. She handles herself gracefully (Proverbs 11:16)

2. She loves and embraces children (Psalm 113:9, Titus 2:4)

3. She speaks with wisdom (Proverbs 31:26)

4. She has discretion (Proverbs 11:22)

5. She is able to be fully trusted by her husband (Proverbs 31:11)

6. She desires to be her husband’s most faithful companion and closest confidant (Malachi 2:14)

7. She joyfully embraces being a woman and abhors feminism (Psalm 113:9, Romans 12:9)

8. She can manage her home well (Proverbs 31:27, Titus 2:5, 1 Tim 5:14)

9. She is diligent to accomplish anything entrusted to her care (Proverbs 31:13, 1 Tim 5:10)

10. She is firm in her convictions and desires to teach younger women the virtues of godly womanhood through her example and instruction. (Titus 2:4)

11. She desires for, and encourages men to be leaders in their families, churches and society. (Isaiah 3:12, Eph. 5:23, Titus 1:5-6)

12. She desires to build up and strengthen her home (Proverbs 14:1)

13. She desires to raise and train the next president, not BE the next president (Proverbs 31:1, Isaiah 3:12)

14. She believes children are a blessing from God, not a burden (Deut. 7:14, 33:24, 127:3)

15. She has a humble spirit (1 Peter 3:4)

16. She looks up to, follows, and respects her husband as the leader of the home (1 Cor. 14:35, Eph. 5:33)

17. She has a quiet spirit, and influences others through godly conduct (1 Peter 3:1-2, 4, 1 Tim. 2:12)

18. She desires to be a mother of nations, not a leader of nations (Genesis 24:60)

19. She has a heart to open her home to hospitality and service to others (1 Tim. 5:10)

20. She cares for the saints (1 Tim. 5:10)

21. She is capable and skilled to clothe her family and decorate her home (Prov. 31:21-22)

22. She desires to model the examples of holy women in Scripture (1 Peter 3:5)

23. She has skills to prepare meals for her family and bless others through hospitality (Prov. 31:15)

24. She is able to teach her children with practical, life instruction (Proverbs 31:1, 26, 6:20)

25. She desires to please her husband and do him good all his life (Prov. 31:12, 1 Cor. 7:34)

26. She is able to manage a business from her home (Prov. 31:18)

27. She can be trusted with wise discretion in spending (Prov. 31:16)

28. She cares for the poor and the needy (Prov. 31:20)

29. She clothes herself in modesty and good works and does not desire to attract or distract men’s eyes (1 Peter 3:3-4, 1 Tim. 2:9-10)

30. She has a kind and helpful attitude (Prov. 31:26-27)

31. She is prudent: intelligent, productive, skillful, wise and has understanding (Prov. 19:14)

A woman such as this is priceless: her value is far above rubies. Her husband will exalt her, praise her, love her, give up his life for her, and her children will call her blessed. The man that finds such a woman, is truly undeserving of such an honor, as God has bestowed upon him a blessing only few will find.

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I read this list and decided that I had to post it. It is an inspirational reminder of the qualities, character and deeds of a Godly woman set forth by Scripture that I fervently desire to emulate and call my own.

This was written by a young man, Luke Otterstad, to describe what a Godly woman looks like to his friends. Wow!