A New Season (+ A Lilla Rose Sale)

The seasons have changed around here.

Summer has turned into fall with it's crisp cool air and falling leaves.

Baking is now something to do that's fun, heats the house and smells lovely.  Apples, Pumpkins, Hot Chocolate...

My baby bump now distinctly shows that we'll be having a baby (hopefully) before the end of the year.  Nesting will probably be coming on soon...

Our boys have grown and learned many things over the summer and are soaking every bit of information into their little minds.

This blog has been empty for awhile.  Maybe with the cooler weather and less activities it might get a little more attention.

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Before I go I wanted to share with you all a big sale going on at Lilla Rose!  From now until Sunday you can get up to 15% off your order.  10% off every item and 15% off select items under the keywords black, brown or orange.

Shop here!

My long break is (hopefully) over!

It's been over a month since the last time I posted here.  I've missed it but there has been a lot going on and priorities to keep straight during my unexpected break from blogging.

We've had vacations and trips, extended stay guests, summertime activities and normal life to keep up with.  On top of those things I'm also experiencing morning sickness - yes, we are expecting our third baby! As you can image I've been tired and just over all not feeling up to much.  These last few weeks have been a bit better and I'm pretty sure I'm ready to get (slowly) back into blogging again.

I've been thinking and praying about what to do with this little corner of the web. Should I keep trying to stay around or just say good bye for good and stop being so inconsistent in my posts? Should I change the vision and maybe just post on 1 subject all the time (that could be easier on my maxed out brain!:))?  I'm still not completely sure but, for now I'm hoping to make some changes, nothing too big yet. One thing is that you'll only see me around once maybe twice a week at this point.  I'm hoping to sit down and pre-shedule most posts and have them written up days in advance to help lower any stress last minute posts can cause me. :)

As my life changes you'll see changes to my posting, which I know is already expected. We'll see if having 3 babies, 3 and under will have me stopping or continuing on. :)

Thanks for sticking around and always reading the things I get up on my little corner here.

Blessings,

His Strength Keeps Me Going

I want to be real here, I'm just as human as the rest of us.  I have shortcomings, fears and weaknesses.  I have a hard time expressing myself in person but writing out my thoughts is much easier for me.  That's why I love to write, but fear can sometimes get the best of me even in writing.  But, I am real.

I'm just a learning wife and momma to 2 boys.  I don't have much skill or experience in being wife and momma but I love my man and my boys with everything in me, I try my best to care for them!

Everyday I spend hours caring and cleaning.  

My laundry is always getting behind and my dishes end up getting piled up too often.  

Dinner isn't always on time and sometimes it's just a fast meal made. : )

I'm always working on refining my schedule to make it more helpful for our family as things change so much with growing children.  First a newborn needs to be held and nursed often then they begin to roll, then crawl and then walk.

Some days I don't even touch my computer until nap time comes around and even sometimes that only lasts 15 minutes.

I'm just like you, in the early stages of Motherhood with little ones all around me. Barely keeping up with housekeeping but loving it.

You know how I make it through everyday?  The Lord grants me grace and strength when I'm weak and tired.  His loving arms carry me through this journey and looking to Him keeps my heart uplifted!

I want you to know that I am real.

P.S. - Sorry for how quiet it has been around here lately.  I had all sorts of plans but then I was struggling with managing my time well and then sickness hit our little family.  We seem to be at the end of it and hopefully life will resume it's normal self again (if there's such a thing as normal...).
 

I'm Back!

I love the ocean...

I unintentionally took last month off of blogging but I'm hoping to be back to normal posting again soon.  Travel, pregnancy - morning sickness, still (I'm 20 weeks! Yay!), caring for my family, & home have kept me busy but I should be posting more soon!  Thank so much!

Tabitha : )

This Week's Favorites

I found some really neat information, recipes, and sites this week. :)

Homemade Pop Tarts - These look really good and could make a really healthy alternative to 'traditional' pop tarts. Filling them with homemade sugar free jam would be really great!

Cantaloupe Preserves - I think this would be a great 'new' thing to a all time favorite! You could possibly still enjoy cantaloupe now even in the out of season times. :)

Peanut Butter and Jelly Oat Bars

Peanut Butter Bars

Grocery List - I have been looking for a good grocery list and this one is perfect for my needs.

A really neat 2011 Planner

Natural Tick Repellent Remedy - the ticks have been really bad here for us this year, I'm hoping to try some of these on our dogs. I really dislike using the chemicals on them that you can buy at the store. I don't want my babies playing with them after they've been applied so I'm hoping one of these will work. : )

Homemade Natural Soaps

I hope you have found some favorites this week!

The Family Budget Workbook - Book Review

The Family Budget Workbook
Gaining Control of Your Personal Finances
by Larry Burkett

Financial expert Larry Burkett introduces the ultimate family money management workbook. His sensible, realistic plan for getting and keeping your finances under control includes easy-to-use worksheets that make following the plan as easy as possible.

ISBN: 978-1-881273-20-2
Publish date: August, 1993
Page Count: 130
Dimensions: 8 x 11
Format: Paperback
Weight: .68 LBS

Introduction
1. Getting Started
2. Where Are We?
3. Short-Range Planning
4. Budget Problems
5. The Guideline Budget
6. Budget Analysis
7. The Control System
8. Begin Now (Forms)
Form 1 - Monthly Income &: Expenses
Form 2 - Variable Expense Planning
Form 3 - Budget Percentage Guidelines
Form 4 - Budget Analysis
Form 5 - Income Allocation
Form 6 - Savings Account Allocations
Form 7 - Individual Account Page
Form 7 - A-Checkbook Ledger
Form 8 - List of Debts
Form 8 - A-Impulse List
Masters for Duplication

About Larry Burkett:

LARRY BURKETT (1939-2003) was a well-known authority on business and personal finance. He wrote more than seventy books, including non-fiction bestsellers like Family Financial Workbook, Debt-Free Living, and The World's Easiest Guide to Finances. He also had a worldwide radio ministry. Larry founded Christian Financial Concepts and served as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Crown Financial Ministries®. He is survived by his wife, Judy, four grown children and nine grandchildren.

My Review:
I liked how this book was easy to read and apply. It's filled with easy to apply suggestions and fill in sheets. Diagrams in each chapter make it really easy to understand by seeing exactly what the author is explaining. The first 42 pages of the book are filled with examples and how to organize and put together a budget for your family. We have been using Mr. Burkett's system for controlling our finances for the last 3 1/2 months and have notices quite the improvement. We understand what is going where, why and how better after taking several of his suggestions and applying them. His book has really opened up some confused things for us and helped us get more organized financially. I think we are being more faithful and prudent with what the Lord has blessed us with by reading this book and applying it. Mr. Burkett has a gentle but firm way to show you how to gain control over your finances - it was really good for me. : ) I'd recommend this book if you need a little help gaining ground. It's easy to change things up in it just a bit for you own unique situation.

* Disclaimer - I received this book free from Moody Publishers as part of their Blogger Review Program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

Thankful for My Many Blessings Tuesday #1

"Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise.
Be thankful to Him, and bless His name."
Psalm 100:4

I'm going to try to post 10 things or more every Tuesday that I'm thankful for.

1. My Husband and his love for me.
2. My Son - Little Mr. T - his beautiful eyes, chubby hands, adorable smile & contagious laugh!


3. The rain and sunlight, making the grass grow.

4. Family and friends - the ones we love & cherish.

5. Baby toys on the floor.

6. Food on our table.

7. Clean air to breath.

8. A house to live in. Warm in the winter, cool in the summer

9. A happy smile after nap time.

10. Piles of laundry - they seem to never quite be done, more like rolling hills, up & down, up & down......

What a you thankful for this Tuesday?
If you want I think it would be fun and a blessing to others if you posted them on your blog and left a link here so the rest of us can read them too.

♥ Tuesday Blessings To Everyone! ♥

"And let the peace of God rule in your hearts,
to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful."
Colossians 3:15

Something Every Parent Should Have - Arnica

If you haven't heard of Arnica yet or don't use it I would highly recommend it! It's amazing! Arnica is a common Homeopathic remedy that is really neat. My family has used it for years and we've really been thankful for it at times. It's just a matter of time that someone will get that big bump on their forehead or smash their fingers in a door. My family and I were first introduced to Arnica when one of my younger sisters accidentally walked in front of a swinging child and got kicked in the eye. She had already done it one other time before so we knew what would happen ~ she'd have a black eye for a couple weeks. But it didn't happen this time, our host ran up and asked to put this gel around her eye (not in it : )) and she NEVER got a bruise or anything. We've been using Arnica ever since. We keep it in our diaper bags, vehicles, & multiple places around the house.

There's this really neat website here that talks about so much more about Arnica then I can write here in this post. It talks about the different uses and how it first came about. Here's a little bit:

"The active components are sesquiterpene lactones, which are known to reduce inflammation and decrease pain. Other active ingredients are the essential oil thymol, flavonoids, inulin, carotenoids and tannins.

Arnica works by stimulating the activity of white blood cells that take care of much of the digestion of congested blood, and by limiting trapped fluids from bumped and bruised tissue, joints and muscles.

It is known to stimulate blood circulation and can raise blood pressure, especially in the coronary arteries. The plant is used externally for arthritis, burns, ulcers, eczema and acne. It has anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory qualities that can reduce pain and swelling, improving wound healing."

We've found Arnica works great on helping and preventing bruises, Relieving pain from bruises, headaches, lessening redness from bumps and so many other things. My mom often uses it after childbirth and it seems to help.

We always have tried our best to not put Arnica on any open cuts or abrasions as there are many warnings about taking Arnica internally. If not done correctly it can be extremely toxic. Arnica should only be taken internally by a Homeopathic remedy & it works great that way too. Especially for sore muscles. We usually stay stalked up on both Arnica gel and Arnica tablets.

There's this website too that has lots of beneficial information on Arnica.

I'd recommend you read up on it and be prepared for those falls next time around. Feel free to leave a comment and let me know what you find out and how you might use Arnica!

I hope you week's been a blessing and you will have a restful weekend!

♥ Tabitha

♥ Love ♥

I thought I would share some of my favorite scriptures on love today.
♥
The word LOVE appears in the New Testament 289 times
♥
"Jesus said to him, 'You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind."
Matthew 22: 37
♥
"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."
John 3:16
♥
"By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."
John 13:35
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"Jesus answered and said to him, "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him."
John 14:23
♥
"Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us."
Romans 5:5
♥
"Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up;"
1 Corinthians 13:4
♥
"Let all that you do be done with love."
1 Corinthians 16:14
♥
"I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me."
Galatians 2:20
♥
"Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her,"
Ephesians 5:25
♥
"Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy -- meditate on these things."
Philippians 4:8
♥
"Let brotherly love continue."
Hebrews 13:1
♥
"Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God." 1 John 4:7
♥

***I personally don't 'celebrate Valentine's Day. ;-)***

This Week

I'm pretty thrilled today, so far I've been able to keep up, which has seemed to be more of a dream than a reality these last couple weeks! : ) I have my kitchen clean, dishes washed and drying, laundry going well, baby fed and happy, dinner semi planned, & a few projects ready to start. I have of course "everyday" things to do but I'm looking forward to getting some other things done this week. Some of the things on my list include:

Try some new recipes.

Make a few freezer meals.Experiment more with Kefir and try some new recipes using it. Maybe some of the good ones will end up here. : )

Make my baby new diapers (these are pretty important - they should have been at the top of my list).

Read a book on Love that I received for review. It looks really good from the back and the little bit of jumping around reading I've already done.
Get some craft projects done - wedding album finished, cross-stitch Thomas Kinkade lighthouse finished, some birthday gifts, etc.

Get some reading done with my hubby. I love to read and it's so much more fun to read with My Love. Some of these books we've already read together.

Spend as much precious time with my Husband and baby - time flies, baby (almost 6 months) is already rolling over and trying to sit up!!

I probably won't be able to get all these things done this week but at least I have a goal! Goals help me a lot. Keeps me pushing till the end! Every time something gets marked off my list I feel like I've accomplished something!

We are in for some real cold weather the next few days in our neck of the woods. I don't like the look for the high of 8 and low of -4...I'm from California - we don't see temperatures like that. : )

Thank you for stopping by! I pray that your day & week is blessed and is filled with rest!

♥ Tabitha