Are You Prepared?

One of my best friends, Colt, is my sharer of economic doom and gloom. He explains to me what is going on in the economy. He answers my questions when I read the stuff in the news and I don't understand it. Mentally, I have a hard time understanding economics and I can't tell you much about what is going on, because I just don't really know, but I do know it is bad. I know our economy is crumbling. I think everyone has known this for awhile, but how many of us are prepared for it? I know that most of my blog readers, including myself, would not be ready in a crisis. No one wants to think about this...not even me. No one wants to think about long term power outages, which would be the worse case scenario, in this situation. Even I know that America is going to fall. We don't know when, but it could be soon.

We all live in this country and feel it is the strongest and wealthiest, but it's not. We are billions of dollars in debt. Most of our soldiers are overseas, when most of them should be here on our grounds. They can't keep us as safe, if they are not here. The media covers a lot of it up, so we don't realize how bad it is. We can't continue to live with this false security. We have to stop being so naive. At the same time, those of us who are Christians, must have faith in God for our provision AND meet Him halfway, at the same time. I am not saying to go all out crazy like during the Y2K scare. Even Backwoods Home Magazine said Y2K probably would not happen. I am not saying something terrible is going to happen, tomorrow. At least with Y2K, people had a time-line to get ready for the possible power outages. With this, we have no time-line. Eventually, I think our country will fall, just like Rome and countless other countries.

I occasionally read www.survivalblog.com It has some good stuff on it. The thing they are talking about right now is threats of Bank Runs. This is where people run to the bank to get their money out ....their fake money, that is, but they can't because it was never real in the first place. So, the first thing you should all do is go to the bank and get a lot of your savings out, go home and hide it in your house. Leave some in your account, depending on how much you have in there in the first place. This week, I am going to get half of our money out. Please don't hide it under the mattress, you guys! :) The first place I would look if I was a thief would be there or in your dresser. Think of somewhere creative and put it there. Even Dave Ramsey (the financial peace/debt-free guy... www.daveramsey.com) says to keep your emergency fund ($1000.00) in your home, not your bank.

Some places in the southeast, are running out of gasoline, and those who have it are selling it for $5.00 a gallon, or more. Right now, there is a Global Lemon Shortage! I rely on Lemons for medicinal purposes, and I just like them, a lot! Did I know the shortage would happen? No! Would I have stocked up on them, and dried them, or froze the juice? Probably! My point? You do not know what tomorrow will bring! I know the Bible says not to worry about tomorrow, but at the same time, people stocked up for times of famine, in biblical times.

The second thing to have is at least one gun and plenty of Ammo. Unfortunately, for those of you who live in the city you cannot hunt for your food. But, you will have to protect your homes from raids. This will be hungry, in-sane people, who have been to relief organizations only to find that no one can help them. For the kids and I, we have 2 guns and not much ammo. We would need a lot more ammo to hunt, as we don't have any food stored up, unfortunately. We would need to protect our home, as well, but not to the degree that you people would need to.

I hate the thought of losing power, in a worst case scenario, where the economy falls, and eventually there is no power. Fortunately, we would probably have somewhat of a warning that power would soon be out. It's not like during a storm, where you suddenly lose power, or a tree falls on power lines and you have no knowledge of it and boom, your power is out. You don't want to be the ones driving around looking for food and water at Wal-marts or other grocery stores, just to find that it is all sold-out. I know when there is a storm, I always fill pitchers and the bathtub with water, in case the power goes out. Did you know, I read on survival blog that a woman didn't know that she could flush her toilet without electricity? All you need is water to flush the toilet! If your tub is full you could flush your toilet for awhile!

In Idaho, we have a lot of power outages during the year. I have some things I need to stock up on before winter. Affording it all is the problem. I have all my wood and hay in (for this winter, anyway). No problem, there. I have a wood stove for our main heating. We have a wood cook stove to cook on if we lose power this winter. The kids and I have to collect branches and kindling, before the snow comes, to burn in the cook stove, though. Other than that, the thing I worry about the most is refrigeration and water. No one wants to have pitchers of water setting on their counter all the time in case the power goes out. I have a nice water tank that was in our horse trailer, that I have on my to-do list to clean and fill and put down in the basement, for an emergency. We can't drink from it but we could use it for washing dishes, cleaning, etc. In the winter we can melt snow, but we have nothing for summer time. We are on a plateau, with water downhill from us, and it would be terrible to have to haul it up, but we would do it, to survive, obviously. I have nothing for emergency refrigeration. I wish I did.

Some basic things I need to stock up on are LOTS of: candles, matches, ammo, batteries, certain tools and food. The list goes on and on! I have two wonderful first aid kits, from the army worth hundreds of dollars, so I am good there. Are you? I need to stock up on basic herbs and things I know work for infection. Garlic Oil, Vinegar, Honey, Cayenne Red Pepper,Lemon, Cinnamon and antibiotic cream. Other than that, I need basic Chamomile, St Johns Wart, Echinachea, Dandelion, Mullein, Yarrow, and others that I regularly use. Unfortunately I didn't dry it this year. I should have but I got lazy. I can easily buy the first 8 things I listed, though.

WORST CASE SCENARIO:

I encourage everyone to learn about, identify in the wild, experiment for yourselves, and USE herbs. Read about them. Have a good basic book for identification with good pictures in it, of wild, edible and medicinal herbs and plants. Dandelion is the most abundant herb available to everyone! It cures, heals and it is highly nutritious. I would not go a winter without it in dried form. In a worst case scenario, what would you do if you did not know what herbs are poisonous, or even how to identify them? What berries? What mushrooms? Learn it and have books that you can have on hand to read in case there is a long-term power outage! Would you want to die because you were starving and ate the wrong thing? Of course not! Some good books are: Practical Herbalism by Philip Fritchey, The ABC Herbal by Stephen Horne (this is an herbal book all about children and I highly recommend it) and Edible and Medicinal Plants of the Rockies by Linda Kershaw. She might have others for whatever region you live in. If not, find something else for your region. You need a good first aid book and medical book. Could you become pregnant after a long term power outage? I would have a good mid-wifery and natural child-birth book handy. Also, baby products....diapers, wipes, and things like that...use your head... Your best asset is your brain and resourcefulness! :) Have you ever thought about what women used for feminine hygiene a long time ago? What would you use after your supplies ran out? Have lots of old flannel sheets put away. Stock up on cotton material, and don't throw it away. Keep old towels for rags. I took a big stack of jean material (hot pink, red, black and blue) to the thrift shop and now I regret it...what would I use to make clothing once my kids ran out? Jean material is so durable! What was I thinking??? :[ Who cares if it's hot pink! Do you have enough thread and needles? I don't! What about when you have a cold and need to blow your nose? What happens after there is no Kleenex or toilet paper? Do you have washable handkerchiefs sewn up? I have about twenty of them made from old, soft, flannel pajama pants, flannel pillow cases, and old, soft shirts that I liked. They are a whiz to sew up and they last ages. We love them for when we are sick. We put dabs of peppermint, spearmint, eucalyptus, or clove essential oils on them, and keep them in bed with us to breathe better and blow our noses on. We never buy Kleenex. Do you have a favorite shirt that you don't want to throw away? Cut it up in squares, sew wrong side out leaving a hole, turn it right-side out and machine or hand sew the opening. I have about 10 or more ready to be sewn up, in the near future! Don't even ask what I would use for toilet paper....the indians used Mullein leaves and God knows what else....

I do not know how to make soap, which is something I would need to know. I do not have a wash board. A good initial stock of cleaning supplies, and hygiene products would be good, but what about after it's gone...would you know how to make soap? Shampoo? Laundry Detergent? I need a good soap making book...would you have the ingredients that you needed to make soap?

As far as food goes...I don't even want to think about it, because we have no reserve. I don't even care to think about the cost... same with gasoline. We could never afford what I know we would need but at least I know about wild edibles and can hunt. I know how to fire a gun! If you live in the country, two good animals to have are chickens and rabbits. In an economic crisis, these would be easiest to feed through the winter! No gas, no hay...larger livestock would probably die during the winter.

I know I am missing tons of things, that I could write in this post, but you guys get the idea, I hope.

I don't mean to scare anyone and I don't think you should go overboard unless you and your husband feel you need a 1-5-10 year supply of things you would need. I recommend this and wish we could afford to do it, but we can't. We have subscribed to Backwoods Home for a long time, and I know we should have been stocking up all this time, but we haven't. We need to start, though. The economic future looks very bleak and I am not one to freak out, but I want to stock up, and probably will finally start. It never hurts to learn things, either...like soap making, first aid, animal husbandry, etc.

My Little Girl is Growing Up

ZANE AND ABBIE HELPING MAKE LASAGNA FILLING
Unfortunately, these were the best pics...the rest were more blurry!

A BIG SMILE FROM MY LITTLE GIRL! SHE LOVES COOKING!

HERE SHE IS AGAIN!

I just wanted to jot some things down about Abigail, today! She has become quite the little home-maker, mini-mommy, cleaner/organizer and definitely a big joy in my life and our home! It's a little hard watching her grow up. She's only three but has always been very mature for her age, so she helps me a lot and really surprises me with the things she knows and can do! Of course, she would not normally be this way, to this degree if I had not diligently trained her and taught her how to do things and made her a part of my everyday life (every part of it). She has finally stopped disobeying all the time and that is mostly because I have worked one on one time into our schedule and she isn't restless during school time!

This morning and yesterday morning she made her bed all by herself, beautifully! :) I didn't have to ask her, spank her or force her to do it, like I have had to in the past 6 months. She understands why she has to do it. I have explained to her, that I do not have time to make it for her because I make Sheldon's bed and my own. She understands that Katie (our cat) might sleep on her bed during the day and if the bed is not made that cat hair might get in her bed and I will have to waste time and energy washing it. My cat is very clean, and doesn't shed hair much. In the fall she does and it's fall right now, so I explained this to her.

The other day Abbie totally amazed me! She asked if she could put a new bag in the bathroom trash can. I have never taught her this...I guess she just watches me, a lot. Anyway, she left and brought me the bathroom trash. I threw it away and then she proceeded to get a big trash bag out from under the sink. I didn't realize what she was doing with it. I was on the phone with my husband. She took it upstairs and came back with the Diaper-pail trash bag (it is just a trash can, not really a diaper pail, but we use it for one). She had taken the upstairs diaper trash out and brought the full bag downstairs to me. I just stood there with my mouth open! :) You guys, she is three years old! I told my husband and then I went to check in the bathroom and upstairs to see how well she had put the new bags in. I was amazed, again. The bathroom trash can had a new bag in it and the diaper pail upstairs was perfect, as well. I told my husband that I couldn't believe it! :) I had never taught her this... my boys would never be coordinated enough to do something like that, at her age.

Abbie has also learned very quickly, recently how to fold every type of laundry...that is pretty detailed for a little girl to know! :) I do the big bath towels and my clothes. She knows how to do it, but they are just bigger than she is, so I don't think she should do them, yet.

As far as cooking goes, she always cuts the butter in little pieces for me, for pie crust, graham cracker crust, or biscuits. She stirs everything and really does a good job helping me. A lot of times, her or Zane, keep the scrambled eggs moving for me in the morning, while I am doing other stuff, so they don't burn. They get cereal bowls, spoons, the cereal and milk out when they know we are going to have cereal.

This morning Abbie unloaded the dish washer, and then fed the cat, while Zane was playing upstairs. She thinks helping is more fun than playing in the playroom! Can you believe that?

Why am I writing all this about her? Just to show you that 2 and 3 year olds CAN and SHOULD be trained to do everything adults have to do. I see so many kids who cannot do anything and don't do anything, but make huge messes in the house. My kids clean their own messes up. I WILL NOT help them clean it up. Sheldon makes messes and I do help them by going through the house and putting things on the stairway, to go upstairs later. I will not clean the playroom for them. Our playroom is completely organized, meaning that every toy has it's place. Even Sheldon knows where they go. I will sometimes guide Sheldon through the playroom cleaning-up process. That's how he knows where things go. But, I will not help the older two to clean it up. When they tell me they are done, I go check it and make sure everything is put away right. If there are things in the wrong places, I remind them where they go, and I will usually put it away for them, while they watch me....or they do it.

Why do I go to the trouble of teaching them? It's so they become efficient in everything. It's so our home runs smoothly. It's so our home is orderly and thus glorifies God. God is a God of order! Look at the seasons, sun and moon, animal patterns and everything else that He has created. It is orderly....we know that winter is coming every year. In the winter we know and are comforted by the knowledge that spring WILL come! It will be warm again. It is the same for kids. They need order. It is one form of security that is tangible for them. They do not yet have the security that the Lord provides to believers. Kids need to know that they will eat, bathe, brush their teeth, clean/help/do chores, be a part of their parents life and not just a cute little accessory! That they will have shelter, and a kiss and hug from their mother and father. That they will be loved for who they are and trained to be useful, efficient, competent and prompt adults. Whatever you are, is what your kids will be. Train them to be better than you!!! Do the things that your mother didn't do for you. Teach boys and girls to cook, clean, organize, work with their hands, be creative and resourceful. To be frugal, selfless, loving, giving and kind. To minister to others, and to love serving the Living God. No parent is perfect but we can all strive to do things better for the next generation! If you lack order and organization skills, work on them...if you don't have time, make time. What are your idols? They are standing in your way. Don't bow down to them. I like my computer time. When I was in the camper, I didn't have a computer, so it was nice when we moved here, to have it. Sometimes, it is my idol, and that is so terrible. So, I have limited my time on here, and it works great. What are your idols? Are they television, trashy novels, the computer, shopping, eating and being a slob on the couch, scrap-booking, talking on the phone (for crying out loud....get off of it)...your kids are drifting away while you share the latest gossip, tidbits or whatever, and they feel like you ignore them. Why do you think they act up when you are on it? I know....I am on the phone quite a bit, but it is mostly with my husband. I really don't talk to my friends much on the phone, these days. I wish with all my heart that I didn't have to talk to my husband on the phone, but I have to. It sucks and I hate it. I really hate being on the phone. I know my kids hate it, too. I like talking to friends occasionally, but really, I have my life to live and I refuse to waste it away on the phone! :)

Well, that's my speal for the week, you guys! :) I love you all...........and now it is getting cold in the house and I need to build a fire..... :( Ugh, I really don't like when it gets cold. Spring comes every year, though, right? :) And dear friends, your kids grow every year, too....please re-evaluate how your time is spent. I have been doing that all summer and I can see good results in my life and my kids! :) Well, I hope this was encouraging to someone out there! Love Rachelle

Goings Ons

PAINTING WITH WATERCOLOR!

SHELDON FINALLY UNDERSTANDS THAT YOU DO
NOT EAT THE PAINT! :)

TWO OF THE JUICE LID SUN-CATCHERS
A SUN AND A BUTTERFLY

OUR LITTLE GRASS GARDEN FOR KATIE
THIS IS ON TOP OF OUR WOOD COOKING STOVE

Well, we have been busy here in the Phipps home. James went to the field (in Korea) for two weeks, so no phone calls for me or the kids to look forward to. Actually, this is the first time my husband has been to the field...they didn't do that stuff in the 160th... In case someone doesn't know what I am talking about...going to the field is where you go out and play war, paint your face up in cammo, and do other stuff like that...eat MRE's (Meals Ready to Eat), and get stinky and muddy...

The kids started AWANA (Approved Workman are Not Ashamed). It's a Bible club that is pretty popular here out West. They have it in the East but it doesn't seem to be much of a focus there. Kids around here love it, and my kids really seem to be enjoying it. They learn verses and play competitive games, etc. I bought each of my kids canvas totes for their books and decorated them with names in glitter pen, and appliques. On the backs I sewed on patches and name tags from my husband's old uniforms. The Army went to a new uniform design in 2007, so I had a lot of old uniforms down in the basement, to get the patches off of. I also put different Army pins on them. WAY cute!!! I will put a picture on here of them all.

In art, the kids planted some grass in an adorable pot that I got at a garage sale, and decorated the inside of the pot with fake cat-tails, silk flowers and two fake robins on sticks. The grass has come up...it will be nice to see it in the winter when we have 3 feet of snow! It is also for our cat, Katie, to eat/munch on in the winter, as she likes fresh grass. I know that sounds weird/gross, but she really is a super clean cat! :) We just put the pot up by her cat-food! :)

We also made juice-lid sun-catchers. You take old tin lids off of concentrated juice cans, place a pattern on top (we got the patterns out of the Art book we got from Christian Liberty), and then pound a little nail in all around it, wherever the pattern says to, with a little hammer. Then you put them on strings and hang them in the window! Cute, cute!

We are still doing well on our schedule. We have found that some chores do not need done weekly, but instead, by-weekly...such as dusting, and mopping (we take our shoes off, so it takes awhile for our floors to get mop-worthy).

I went into the ER last week with pain on my left side (which I have been having at certain times of the month now, for 6 months). I thought it was an Ovarian Cyst from the very beginning, and each month the pain got worse. I had read that cysts will go away on their own, so I waited. Well, this month, the pain was unbearable, and making me very tired and feverish. They ultra sounded it, and said that I had a cyst that had just ruptured, so hopefully I will no longer have pain when I ovulate. So, to say the least, I have not been getting up at 6:00am, like I like to. It's been 7 o'clock recently, when I get up, which isn't bad, but forces me to do my Bible Study, devotions and prayer some other time. I am really hungering for that time with my Lord, in the morning. Maybe now that I feel better, I can be better about getting up.

My neighbor, Leeah Davis, started a Bible Study. She lives just down the road. We are good friends already. We are doing a Beth Moore study called "Believing God." It is a real eye-opener and very thought provoking. She wants us not only to believe in God, but to BELIEVE Him. To believe that what He says in His Word is true...that He will and can do what He says He can do. It's a really good study, so far. There are five main points right now that she is trying to ingrain in our brain... 1) God is who He says He is 2) God can do what He says He can do. 3) I am who God says I am. 4) I can do all things through Christ. 5) God's Word is alive and active in me! I recommend this study if you have trouble believing that God loves you and cares for you, and has good plans for your life. I think sometimes that God's definition of "good" is sometimes not ours, and so, sometimes when we think something bad is happening in our life....to God, it is good, and is happening for His reasons and for His plans. I know, that is so hard...and I struggle with seeing the good in bad situations, too..........sometimes, I see NO good in the situation! I know God does, and He has higher plans than we do! See my post titled God's Plans, from June, for more on this subject. This study has been good for rounding out my faith. I sometimes feel that my faith is like a circle....and that sometimes it looks like a moon that you think is full at first, casual glance and then when you really look, you see that it is missing a large sliver...making it not full, after all. Sometimes my faith feels like a half moon....I think I am past crescent-moon stage, though! :)

Abbie is doing well in preschool. She likes to cut and paste, especially. I have a 12 inch stack of worksheets that we got from a preschool that was going out of business. Last week, I stapled them together in little stacks of 4 sheets. Each stack has a cutting and pasting sheet on it, a sheet to color, a sheet with number practice and a sheet with letter practice. She does these everyday, plus Bible with us and Art on Mondays (sometimes more). I am still not very good about loving art....so that's why we do it on Mondays....I'd like to start doing it Mon/Wed/Fri, so we'll see! :)

Sheldon spends his day getting into stuff, and I have been having a hard time making a time in the day to do something productive with him. He gets bored easy, and makes raids in the fridge, or the pantry, writes on Zane's school when no one is looking, or gets into stuff in the bathroom. He likes to find my eye-liner and write on the mirror with it. Yesterday, he found my eye-liner sharpener and found out what happens when you stick your fingers in there! I had three bloody fingers and you know how babies don't like band aids. It was a mess! I need prayer for finding things for him to do, and carving out time for one-on-one with him, since he is no longer nursing!

Well, that's our most recent news, I think! :) The weather is getting cold fast, and I know this week will be our last of warm weather. I am thinking that we will have snow by the end of October. Just a hunch. Well, take care and God Bless! Rachelle

Italian Hot Chocolate

ZANE AND ABBIE DRINKING ITALIAN HOT CHOCOLATE!

Have you been throwing your cold, leftover, coffee out? We discovered how to make Italian Hot Chocolate with the cold coffee left in the coffee pot! Even Zane and Abbie like it! I can't afford the roadside latte stands or Starbucks coffee, unfortunately, but this does the trick for me! :) You can also make iced coffee at home, I have heard, but don't know how to do that yet! :( I think they put Icecream in the Frappucinos, that I like. With Fall coming, though, the hot coffee/chocolate mix in this recipe satisfies my sweet tooth, and wakes me up! :) We really like the Kirkland brand coffee from Costco!

ITALIAN (MOCHA) HOT CHOCOLATE (Phipps family version):

3 cups cold coffee (use a measuring cup because the marks on coffee pots are not always accurate).
3/4 cup Ovaltine Powder, or other instant Hot Chocolate Mix.
3/4 cup half and half or milk
1/8-1/4 cup powdered sugar (optional)
dash Cinnamon and vanilla extract

Add all ingredients to a medium saucepan. Whisk and simmer until hot. Ladle into cups, and top with Whipped Cream or a handful of Mini Marshmallows. Makes about 4 small coffee mugs full.

The Italians make a much thicker Mocha Hot Chocolate and thicken it with cornstarch, but us Americans make it much thinner, even at the Espresso stands! :) Enjoy!

Herbal Beauty

I love herbs, essential oils, wild-crafting herbs, and studying natural/herbal medicine. I especially love making my own little beauty recipes! Here are some of them:

CORNMEAL FACIAL SCRUB:

1/4 cup stone ground cornmeal
1-2 teas honey
2-3 drops Essential Oil ~ Rose, Lavender or Ylang-Ylang is nice. I use Aura Cacia essential oils, as they are 100% essential oil, unless otherwise stated on the label.
A dash of Lemon Juice
Enough water to make a nice paste

Mix altogether and store in a baby food jar. Keep refrigerated for longer storage. You can also add fresh, finely chopped, gathered (or bought) herbs such as red clover blossoms, wild rose petals, pineapple weed blossoms, or yarrow leaves (do not use Yarrow if your skin is sensitive to it).

Wet your face and lightly massage scrub into your face in circular motions, especially around nose and hairline. Rinse with warm water, dry your skin well, and follow up with a Bentonite Clay Mask.

BENTONITE CLAY MASK:

Bentonite is volcanic ash. Taken internally, it absorbs heavy metals, toxins, etc and is expelled out the body. Used on the skin, it attracts toxins through the pores and binds them to itself. If you have trouble with acne, you can use it to pull the toxins closer to the skin, faster than if you were to let them come up on their own. I love Bentonite Clay. I have trouble with hormonal acne and use this mask recipe every month to ease the pain caused by it.

I don't have an exact recipe for it...I just put the ingredients into a bowl and add little bits of water until it is perfect for a mask!

About 1/4 cup Bentonite Clay Powder
Water
A dash of Grapeseed Oil...I buy it from the health food store. It is very cheap. You can also use Sweet Almond Oil or Jojoba Oil.
A dash of Lemon Juice
1/2 teas or so of honey
2-3 drops Essential Oil...I like Rose or Clary Sage

Mix, adding water until it is a thick paste. Store in the fridge for longer storage. Spread on your face after you have washed and dried it, and let dry until just crinkly. Rinse with warm water. Your face will feel lovely. Do not use Bentonite more than 3 times a week if you do not make it with some sort of oil added like I mentioned above. It is a bit too drying for the face without a high quality skin oil.

I love to put about 2 Tablespoons Grapeseed oil into my evening bath water and 5-6 drops rose essential oil (my favorite). Use less of other essential oils. Most Rose essential oil is only 1/5 rose and 4/5 Jojoba Oil. Pure Rose Essential oil is $50.00 for 4 ounces!!! :[ So, if you can afford that, use only one or two drops! :) Anyway, after soaking awhile, I wash my face and skin with the cornmeal scrub, rinse and then dry my face well, and spread the Bentonite Mask on nice and thin and rub it in for 2-3 minutes. It will not dry, as your face will sweat some in the tub! :) I just rub it in good and rinse! You will feel like you have been to the spa! :)

That is my evening pampering bath! :) I love it....and a good devotional book and a few candles makes it especially nice! You can use any essential oil that you like in bath water! I have Ylang-Ylang, Rose, Clary Sage, Lavender, and I have used Orange and Eucalyptus when I am sick! Your local Health Food Store should carry a good variety of oils! Some are expensive, such as Pure Rose and Sandalwood. Others are more affordable! A good book that my husband bought me is The Essential Oils Book- Creating Personal Blends For Mind and Body, by Colleen K. Dodt

There are also other books in this series that I want...The Herbal Home Spa, The Natural Soap Book, etc. They are by Storey Publishing, and have a variety of other books by different authors!

A Day in The Phipps Family - 2008

People probably wonder what we do all day, especially since my husband is in Korea. We have seven more months until he comes home and we move. In 2009 our schedule and days will be different because Daddy will be much more included, obviously. For now though, I have found that having a good, flexible and expected schedule in everything, makes for a faster, more productive day. I am into a good groove now, since I moved in, in April, and got everything organized, including the whole entire basement (which I wanted to do in the summer while it was hot). Now that everything that was in that semi-truck trailer (a better word, is "thrown" into the semi-trailer), is in a real home and organized (which I spent all summer doing, literally), it feels great, just to be normal! :)

I am normally a very organized person, anyway. I would get everything done that needed done in the day, and sometimes more. I get a thrill in crossing off stuff on my to-do list. I cannot usually be idle. I will lay on the couch for ten minutes and it is HARD for me to do it. Certain days of the month force me to be on the couch most of the day, and I guess that is nature's and God's way of slowing me down. My friend Linda says I am "a machine", and my friend Lori says I am "so organized". My mom says I am "too organized"! I feel those things are true, but it would do me good to probably slow down a bit, so I try to schedule down-times for myself, during Abbie and Sheldon's nap.

However, even though I am organized, I have never had a time schedule. I was forced to do this though, after I began watching my nephew 3-5 days a week. He and Sheldon are only 9 months apart (Sheldon being the older), so it was a chore to try to get everyone fed and get their naps and play times to coincide. I had to have a schedule out of shear need and MY sanity! It has been a great experience, so I thought I would share what our schedule is, and how it works.

I get up at 6:00 am, now. On some mornings when I know I do not have much to do that day I will sleep in until 6:30 (which is my comfortable rising time, anyway....6:00 is pushing it a little). And sometimes, when I am totally exhausted I do not get up until the kids get up. Sheldon or Abbie climb in my bed for cuddle time, which is a special treat for me and them. Zane loves to sleep so he is sometimes not up until 8:00, but usually 7:30.

But, for the most part, I am up at 6:00. Between 6 and 7:30, I have a set list of things I do. It doesn't matter how much time is devoted to each thing, as long as they are done between that time. I get up and go feed my horse. I sometimes ride her down our easement driveway, to the road, and back to the barn. I jog after that (I am working up slowly to getting to the road without feeling like I am going to die). Right now, I am as far as Lori's driveway, which is two thirds to the road! :) In the house, I start a small pot of coffee, take a quick bath, dress, and read my Bible, and pray while I drink my coffee. On the days that I get up later, I skip riding my horse, jogging and the bath, which are not all that important to me, because I can do them later. For instance, the kids and I ride Hope after school sometimes, and I take a bath at night instead of in the morning. The jogging is not really that important. I am just doing it to build up my cardio, and I can do it if I want to, during naptime.

By 7:30 the kids are up. I help them dress, and they attempt to make their beds. I help them to see where the bed is not made correctly every morning, in hopes that eventually, they can do it perfectly. Abbie is very efficient in making her bed, though! She is a horrible wiggle worm in the night and sometimes the bed is beyond her ability to fix but I make her try. Zane can do it, but I have to help him get it perfectly smooth and nice looking. Sheldon throws away his diaper and that is really the only chore he does in the morning. Mostly he runs around like a maniac in the morning. I make his bed for him.

Between 7:30 and 10:00 am we eat breakfast, do household chores, and morning devotion. While I make breakfast, Zane and Abbie unload the dishwasher. They take turns on who gets to stand on the counter. The other one hands up the dishes, to the one on the counter. Zane feeds the cat and Abbie feeds the dog. We eat and then start chore time, which is a good hour or hour and a half (sometimes more). On cereal/oatmeal mornings we do more chores, than on a morning where we eat Waffles or a bigger breakfast. We only need about 15-20 min to do our morning devotion, which we do after chores. If we do it before chores, it breaks up the routine too much. If we do chores right after breakfast, we have a good break between chores and schooltime to sit together on the couch and do devotions. Ashton usually comes at either 7:30 or 9:30, so we work him into the schedule. He has a 2nd breakfast with us, and then plays while we clean.

We have chores we have to do everyday. Some we have to do weekly, and some are monthly or bi-monthly. The kids help with most of these. I want my kids to learn to enjoy chores, so that when they are older, they will be efficient. When they are littler they think it is fun, so this is the perfect time to teach them. Right after breakfast I load the dishwasher, and after every other meal. At night I start the dishwasher before bed. As far as daily chores go, we have to do one load of laundry everyday. I put a load in right before breakfast. Later I put it in the dryer. Zane puts the dry clothes in a basket and brings them up from the basement. We all, except Sheldon, fold together on the couch. The kids do towels, underwear, and find sock mates. Abbie knows how to fold t-shirts and small pants already. Zane just likes the towels and underwear, so I let him do those, mostly. I have to sweep everyday, but I can sometimes do it every other day. Sheldon's chore is to follow me around with dust pan, as our floor is very big. I throw the dirt away and give the dustpan back to him. We do a weekly chore every morning, as well. Once the snow comes, Monday will be the day we bring firewood up from under the deck (we have a daylight basement with double doors out to the wood pile which is under the deck), and stack it in the house for the week. We have a large area for stacking near our wood stove. We do Art on Mondays, so besides wood, we do not have a weekly chore assigned to Monday. We have to have extra time for Art and clean-up. Tuesday we sweep and Mop the floor and make/edit the grocery list and menu plan, for the next two weeks. The kids get to play upstairs on Tuesdays, while I mop, if they have helped with the daily chores. Wednesday I vacuum the upstairs and balance the checkbooks. I also sometimes do any bill organizing this day. On the 1st and 15th of the month, I do the Family Budget and major bill-paying, and re-lay the budget to James, via instant message....that way we do not spend much of our phone time talking about the budget. I just leave him a long, detailed message on instant messaging that he can read the next time he logs on. On Thursday we dust and wash our three sliding glass doors (inside and out). The kids do the majority of these chores, as these are there favorites. We use lots of Murphy's Oil soap and Windex! :) Abbie loves to dust. I just fill the mop bucket with warm water and MO soap and she has a little cloth that she dips in and rings out and cleans everything with. She even washes the legs of my computer chair which get dusty. She is a wonderful helper! Zane usually has more patience for window washing but he sometimes switches with Abbie, and dusts. He uses a stool to wash the higher parts of the sliding glass doors, and I help him by doing what he misses. I also do any mending or ironing (that is not church-clothes-related) that needs done on Thursdays. On Fridays, we clean the bathroom and even Sheldon gets in on this and cleans the toilet or something else. I also organize school-papers and do the lesson plan for the next week on Fridays. By the way, I don't do the checkbooks, budgeting and lesson plans during the morning chore time...they are just organizational chores that I have to do SOME TIME on that day of the week. I reserve them for a time that is free and quiet for me, so I can think! :) Our home is completely clutter-free, and is at most times ready for company to drop by, which is SO nice! :) I love it!

On Saturdays we do a couple monthly chores or bimonthly chores....whichever need done. They include Vacuuming the Suburban and using Armorall on the interior, sweeping the basement and wiping down the washer and dryer, washing and changing everyone's sheets, cleaning the inside of the fridge and freezer before the 1st and 15th Grocery Shopping, organizing the Tupperware Cabinet and under the kitchen sink, wash/steam the upstairs carpets, organizing and cleaning the bathroom cabinets, and every Saturday we iron clothes for church, trim everyone's fingernails and pack the diaper bag, and set out the kids clothes for church. If you have ever had to get 3 kids ready for church, by yourself, you understand why I do it on Saturday. I would never make it to 9:45 Sunday School if I didn't do this.

So, that is our chore schedule. For family devotions we read 1/3 of a chapter of Proverbs everyday, sing hymns or praise songs, pray and sometimes recite memory verses. We also talk about the day and things we need to stay focused on....(getting along, being kind, obeying, doing school work diligently, or anything that is becoming a problem). Sheldon MUST sit still during Bible reading. This is his training time for sitting still and listening to the Bible...a book with no pictures. He must also fold his hands and close his eyes during prayer. We started family devotions when Zane was 2 years old, to teach him to sit still and it has helped tremendously for all of our kids, with sitting still through church (our church does not have children's church).

At 9:45 or so, I lay on the couch for 10-15 min and relax while the kids play in the play room. Ashton is usually asleep by 9:00 am, so the kids must play quietly. At 10:00 am, I call Zane down for school. We work diligently on Bible, Math or Phonics, Handwriting and Science or History, for an hour. During this time I do preschool with Abbie, and sometimes Sheldon. If Sheldon wants to continue playing in the playroom, he can. When Abbie is done doing school, she goes up to the playroom again, and continues playing with Sheldon.

At 11:00, the kids have an hour to watch a movie or play outside. I lay down with Sheldon on my bed and we have a quiet time. Occasionally, he falls asleep and I rest for 15 min or so. Ashton is usually still napping at this point. Around 11:45, I start lunch, Ashton usually wakes up, and we are done eating and cleaning the kitchen by 12:15.

From 12:15 til 1:00pm, Zane finishes his schoolwork, while the kids run around, and Abbie watches/plays with Ashton, or I spend time playing with just her, if Zane doesn't need my help. At 1:00 Abbie and Sheldon nap, I have computer time, Ashton plays downstairs with toys, and Zane has a free time. He plays quietly upstairs, and when I am done on the computer (when I do the checkbooks, budget, etc) he likes to play his computer games.

So, from 1:00 to 3:00, Abbie and Sheldon nap....Abbie naps longer than Sheldon and sometimes he is up by 2:00.

Ashton naps again at 3:00, until his mom comes to get him. After 3:30, our day is unscheduled. If I need to run errands I do it after 3:30, so we do not disrupt the school schedule, and I take Ashton to town so Sarah doesn't have to drive to my house. We get home from errands at about 5:00, usually.

If we do not run errands, the kids have a riding lesson on Hope, we work outside, or play on the trampoline. The kids bathe while I make dinner. We have dinner, I clean up the kitchen while the kids clean up the playroom. I also pick-up the downstairs while they are upstairs. I read aloud to the kids, and have them in bed by 8:15. I take a bath, write on my blog, or read, and am usually in bed by 9:00pm.

That is a day in our life! :) God Bless!

Our First Day Homeschooling

ZANE, ABIGAIL & SHELDON WITH THEIR ART PROJECTS!

CUTE SMILES FROM MY CHILLIN'S

I shouldn't say that this is our first day of homeschooling, because Zane has done "school" regularly since he was three. Officially though, as far as Christian Liberty is concerned, September 1st was his first "recorded" day of Kindergarten. We ordered his books from CLASS, as an early bird special and have been working on them, slowly since March. He has been doing really well. Since he has gotten about 50 pages done in his Math book and his Phonics book, it is allowing us to go fairly slowly, this year. That way, I know he will not get burned out.

Zane is definitely not a genius child. He is a very average kid, and does really well in Math concepts. He loves to do Art...what kid doesn't?

Christian Liberty holds me very accountable for helping my child get his books done and sent in, which is a major help and a relief. I was a home-schooled child and my parents pretty much "un-schooled" us which for me, was very frustrating. I am and have always been very text-book oriented and loved to do lessons, in any kind of textbook. My mom had no schedule for us, and didn't do lesson planning. None of our work was recorded. It was very disorganized, which is perfectly ok for some kids but it wasn't for me. I was a very willing student and would find my own stuff to study. For Zane and especially for my sake, I could never be a disorganized homeschool mom! I want my children to have a certain amount of expected scheduling. It is not rigid scheduling, down to every minute of the day. It is a relaxed schedule with enough time given to each activity. I read and have been using the ideas in "Managers of Their Homes" and have formulated my own homeschooling schedule. This was extremely needed, as I watch my 10 month-old nephew, Ashton, sometimes 4 times a week. I end up with a Kindergarten, Preschool, Day Care type thing going on when he is here. It was making me very frazzled before Zane started school, so I spent a whole week, last week, just doing school and re-doing the schedule until it was workable. Some of the days, Ashton was here, so that gave me a good insight as to what it would be like on a schedule with him, as well.

Today was our first day on the re-worked and re-worked schedule, and it went oh-so-smoothly! A dream! I was so happy! On Mondays we do an Art Lesson and I hate Art!!! I did art with all three kids and it was a bit stressful but once we got started it was easy....and low and behold it even became fun for me! :)

I will post a picture soon, of Zane's Art project, from today! It's pretty cute....

Anyway, I will try to update on The Phipps Family Homeschool as frequently as my schedule will allow! :) And I will find out the author of the book I mentioned up there....I let my neighbor borrow it, so I don't have it in front of me. Take care, everyone!

LookItHowPrettyIAm and Passin'Hope ~ Feisty Friends

My horse, Hope at Linda's house.

Linda's horse, Look It, nose-to-nose with Hope!

I have a new friend in our neighborhood, named Linda Bumgarner! She is 50-some years old...I will not expose her real age, though I know it! :) Anyway, I can see her house and yard from my house, though she is across the marsh. She has an older (22) white Arabian mare named Look-It, who is quite feisty. Anyway, we have started letting our horses get to know one-another so we can eventually ride on the road together and not have any accidents! My horse, Hope is 19 years old and is pretty reliable if you have horse-savvy. Linda needs boosts in her confidence (Look-It is her first horse, ever) so, I think Hope and I are the perfect match for her! :) Yay....and I have another new friend! We haven't much in common except our love for horses, but we are not letting that get in our way! :)

The other night, I took Hope over there for a "horsie-sleepover" which we thought would prove to be interesting. We wanted the horses to get together while we were not ON them, in case there were any "mare shenanigans" or "territory issues". It proved very successful. We turned them out together and they didn't do much, which was surprising. The horses had actually met previously (two weeks prior), but had never been together in the field. They were separated by fence for their first meeting. This time, Hope stayed the night and some other horses belonging to our other friend Leeah, apparently came up to the fence, which caused squealing and a general excitement. Hope got a nice strip of "just" hair, removed by Look-It's hoof, when we think Look-It and Hope may have come butt to butt and kicked each other. But, other than that, all went well. Linda was very upset about Hope's scrape, but it was just hair and a little blood on the edges and I told her not to even worry about it! I am very relaxed about things like that, and Linda is just the opposite....so I hugged her and told her it was all okay and not to worry about it! It really wasn't/isn't a big deal, but I think she is still upset about it. Hope has had way, way worse things happen to her and the worst (to me) was a Bowed Tendon, which will prevent her from ever doing much more than a light canter which is to me, devastating, as I have wanted Abbie to be able to eventually jump small cavaletti and such, someday. So, any minor cuts, and scrapes are nothing compared to the inability of Hope ever being able to jump again. Maybe in a couple years that tendon will be strong enough to support just Abbie over cavaletti and maybe some 1 1/2 foot jumps, or novice cross-country (called Baby-Green) jumps. Maybe with lots of prayer that can happen someday! :(

So, anyway, I brought Hope home and now we know that we should be able to ride without something terrible happening! I am planning on going over there early in the mornings every chance I get, to ride and converse about horses. I figured I should blog on horsie-happenings around here as I have nothing about my horse on this whole entire blog! Really, she is not just a horse! She is my friend/baby of 16, almost 17 years!!!!!! :) She is extremely important to me and though I don't talk much about her, she has a huge place in my life and a special place of honor in my childhood! She was my confidence...my love...and my heart...my friend! Lord, prolong the days until she passes on, because every year she is getting older and every year, closer to the day when we have to say "good-bye". And I can tell you...it will be like the passing of family, because that is what she is! I can tell you though...if she ever needs to be put down because she will suffer, she will most definitely be honored, and I will have her euthanized. I would never let her suffer, for my own selfish feelings! I have heard of people doing so and James and I actually know someone who did this and it was so sad! :(

Well, anyway, that's the latest on the horsie-happenings! God Bless