The Langford Life

Big News!

2012-01-29T18:40:00.000-08:00

What a way to get back to blogging! Last week was a really hectic week with a full schedule, sick kids and a sick mommy. My inbox was overflowing with emails I had no time to read and my blog posts were hanging in a draft status with no pictures due to a still missing USB cable for my camera. Not good!

I cautiously peeked at my inbox tonight when I got everyone tucked in and found a wonderful email from the Homeschool Classroom telling me that I won the last ticket giveaway to the Titus 2:1 Conference. Eeeek!!!

I can't wait to get there. I know I am going to be so blessed just to have some "iron sharpening" time with some other homeschooling bloggy moms!

31 Days to Clean Review ~ Day 2

2012-01-24T19:30:00.000-08:00

I have often thought of my home (not the house itself) as a living breathing thing. The space where we are together as a family has a life and functions much like a body with us its members and prayerfully, Jesus its heart.

I have always focused more on the people than the dwelling and I believe that is as it should be. However, it is an unavoidable truth that the dwelling will affect its occupants.

Mary Challenge: Start looking at your domain as something to make come alive! What can you do today to bring life to your home, your children, your husband, and your sphere of influence?

On a very practical level, I can open window blinds and doors, let the light in. I can bring plants indoors. Plants naturally filter the air and can help eliminate toxins given off by our furniture and flooring thus, improving the mood of all in the house.

I can add scripture to every room of my house. Jesus said, I am the way, the truth and the life. I have had a cabinet of scripture plaques for some time. A big thank you to my husband for hanging them. This also decluttered that cabinet :)

Martha Challenge: Kitchen – Clean out and scrub down the refrigerator and freezer. Try using 2 tablespoons of baking soda per 1 quart hot water to wash interiors.

Here we go: This one is pretty self explanatory – clean out the fridge and freezer.

Cleaning out the fridge is also a good time to eliminate some of those processed foods that have crept in over time. As we are also revamping our diet, this is the perfect time for a purge.

Be sure to check the dates on everything and toss out anything that has gone bad. Replace baking soda boxes that help to eliminate odors.

In addition to the one mentioned in the challenge, our basic “go-to” cleaner in the Langford home is vinegar and water mixed together in a clean spray bottle. Add a few drops of sweet orange oil for a clean, citrus scent.

(Pictures coming tomorrow)

31 Days to Clean Review ~ Day 1

2012-01-23T12:45:00.000-08:00

I was super thrilled with Day one of the book, especially the challenges. There is no cleaning involved. That may sound a bit lazy, and maybe it is but it is perfect for me. I need a day or so to really wrap my mind around any new concept, or any old concept that I have been avoiding.

I also loved that the first chapter, like many of the other chapters in this book was short enough to read through in just a couple of minutes. Really, if we are reading a book about cleaning, we need more time to clean, not read.

MARY CHALLENGE

It took me more than a few minutes to make my list of reasons that I want a clean house. In fact, I made my initial list, left it then, came back and added to it. Here is what I came up with:

~I want a clean house because:

~I want to feel comfortable practicing biblical hospitality;

~I want my home to be a haven and a sanctuary for my family;

~I want my home to be visually peaceful;

~I want to be calm and peaceful for my family in a way that I can only be when I am not stressed about the state of my house;

~I want my husband to rest in the fact that he can always invite someone over with no notice and not be ashamed of his house;

~I want to set expectations in my sons for their future wives;

~I want to set an example for my daughters and teach them how to keep a clean and comfortable home.

WOW!! That is a lot of information to formulate into one mission statement. I did think for a moment that I would rather be cleaning :)

Here is the Langford Clean House Mission Statement:

I will work diligently to provide a clean and clutter-free home for the health, peace and confidence of my family.

MARTHA CHALLENGE

This was SO much easier! Scanning through the Martha challenges was pretty simple. Most projects required cleaning supplies and tools that I already have on hand.

If you are taking this challenge with me, don’t run out and buy too much. I will be sharing some daily recipes for chemical free cleaners that do a fantastic job of cleaning your house, cost less money and do not require you to sacrifice your health due to chemical exposure.

Thanks for coming along on this journey with me!

Joyful Parenting Review ~ Day 5

2012-01-21T10:23:00.000-08:00

5. Today I will pray to speak only STRONG words, words that make these children feel strong. Grace words. Grace is the only non-toxic air. All other words I breathe are death words.

Strong words, grace words are so important to us because we truly believe that the power of life and death is in the tongue. We can speak both blessing and cursing over and into the lives of our children. We as parents must choose to speak blessing and grace. Our children will thrive in an atmosphere of grace.

Speaking only strong words is not just a practice but a habit we are developing with several measures and action steps to insure our success.

1. Whenever we feel that we will say something toxic or weakening to our children or, as husband and wife, to each other, we simply stop. We say nothing. There is no shame in silence. There is no pain or toxicity in silence.

2. At least once a day, we bless our children. Spoken blessing is powerful! I highly recommend the book Imparting the Blessing by Ligon.

3. We praise our children at every opportunity. Sometimes praise for the smallest accomplishment or progress is the springboard to great achievement.

4. We pray for each of our children daily, out loud, by name. Not only do they know that we love them enough to mention them to our Father but, their faith increases as they see our prayers for them answered. They even begin to ask for prayer in specific areas.

5. When we mess up, we apologize and ask for forgiveness. It is humbling to ask our children for forgiveness.

6. As husband and wife, we hold each other accountable for the words spoken in our home. We also hold the children accountable for the way they speak to each other. Everyone has the right to say, your words are hurting me. This can be delicate territory as sometimes, the truth hurts but, it can be spoken in love.

May our children breath in the clean air of grace and flourish under the blessing!

About a year ago I read Ann Voskamp's blog for the first time. I fell in love with her writing style and her heart that shines through her words. After consuming every part of her blog in just a couple of days, I happened upon her Parenting Manifesto of Joy. I read it several times and then printed it. I posted a copy in my office near my computer so I could read it every morning before I wake my children. The above review is based on one point of that Manifesto.

Frugal Friday ~ The Thrifty List

2012-01-20T19:42:00.000-08:00

I don’t recall ever being in a thrift store or at a yard sale until I met my husband. He introduced me to a whole new world of thriftiness before it was cool! Now, I am a thriftaholic. I plan my thrifty shopping trips around the Goodwill half price weekends and prime yard sale time is a whole other season all it’s own in my house.

Our kids even get in on the action. Yard sale shopping is called “treasure hunting” because you never know what treasure you will find. Our oldest daughter did all of her Christmas shopping this past year at a weekly indoor yard sale at our homeschool co-op.

The only problem I have ever had with yard sale and thrift store shopping is getting so caught up in the “stuff” that I forget what I am really looking for. I get home and then remember a great craft or repurposing project that I could have bought the materials for at just pennies if I had remembered.

My new plan is to keep a running list. I keep one on my fridge for the items we run out of in the kitchen just in case someone makes an extra trip to the grocery store. The list is easy to access in the kitchen with a pencil nearby and easy for the person running out to the store to rip off and take along.

I am hoping the same thing will work with my thrift store shopping. I have posted my list on my hand-dandy organizer from 31 Gifts. This organizer hangs right in front of my computer where I find most of my crafting and repurposing ideas on Pinterest.

You can order one of these great organizers from my friend Tracy's website here.

Our computer is also located in the center of our home and the desk has a supply of pens. This should work!!

Whenever I see an item that I could make or am reminded that there is an item that we are in need of for the house, I just add it to the list. When I go to the thrift store, I have a specific list of items I am sure to check for. If I find them, great! If not, they stay on the list until the next trip.

12 Habits in 12 months in 2012

2012-01-20T15:39:00.000-08:00

My husband came home the other day and announced that Dave Ramsey said “resolutions are for losers who plan to fail.” Thanks Dave! He further informed me that “Dave said” we should set goals and put time constraints on them if we plan to succeed.

I began thinking about resolutions. This is the first year that I really haven’t been motivated to make any. In previous years I have written down my resolutions, decorated the pretty paper and posted them on the fridge.

This year, however, I just wasn’t feeling it. Perhaps this is because those resolutions never make it past Valentine’s day. Why is that? I believe it is because, for all of our effort in the first few days or weeks of the year, it is too easy to fall back into old habits. And there is that word again…habit.

I sat through a wonderful workshop at a homeschool conference a year or so ago given by Sonya Schafer of Simply Charlotte Mason. The workshop was called “Laying Down the Rails.” The seminar related children’s regular habits and behaviors to the rails a train runs on. Once those rails are laid, the train will naturally follow them.

In order help our children be successful, we should not only instruct them but help them form new and healthy habits. Eventually, with repetition, the new habit becomes the rail.

At 5:45 this morning, it hit me! I don’t need resolutions, I need new habits. I don’t just need to break my bad habits, I need to replace them with beneficial, healthy habits. This makes sense. You don’t just tell your toddler “no,” you redirect him.

I remember reading a long while back in some bible study or other that it takes 21 days to form a habit. When it comes to changing behavior, I consider myself a slow learner. So, why not allow 30 to 31 days.

One new habit per month in 2012, this is my proposal. Surely, with the extra 10 day allowance, I can manage one habit per month! Here is where I began:
First I listed the twelve habits that I would most like to develop in 2012. Then I prioritized them and here is the list I came up with:

Rising early
Staying Home
Keeping a Schedule
Exercising Regularly
Daily Blogging
Daily Cleaning
Promptness
The opposite of procrastinating…whatever that is? Diligence??
Menu Planning
Tracking calories/food choices
Using only Strong Loving Words
Purposefully Nurturing Relationships

I know what you may be thinking, “Rising Early first?” Here is my logic. It seems to me that if I can only get out of bed earlier, my day will begin earlier thus allowing me more time for the other habits I want to develop. Makes sense, right?? I think so!

This post is coming a little late but, I have already been working on this habit. My mom is helping me. She is picking me up at my house at 6:00AM most mornings and driving me to the gym.

My wonderful husband is waking my kids and getting the chore routine started before I get home. Things are going quite smoothly around here.

Here is the challenge:

1. Make your own list of prioritized 12n12n12 habits.
2. Share your list by linking to this post for accountability.
3. Share your progress and follow the progress of others on twitter #12n12n12
4. Don’t give up! If you fall off the wagon, get back up again. New rails take time to lay down!

Please use the button below in your posts so others can find you.

Green Pest Control ~ A Battle Tale

2012-01-19T12:43:00.000-08:00

I do not like bugs. No bugs of any kind do I like. Anyone who knows me, knows this. I run from bugs and scream like a little girl when they are after me. Of course, they are after me. It is a known fact in the bug world that any bug who can bite or sting me will be elevated to insect royalty. There is a bug bounty on my head!

Knowing my aversion to the little creatures, God blessed me with my best friend. Her husband, Brian, is a pest control guru.

One of the most common insects I deal with in my house is gnats. I love to buy those big bags of ripe bananas from the grocery store for 99 cents. Unfortunately, a few little critters always come home in the bag.

Once upon a time, the gnat army executed a well planned and orchestrated attack on my kitchen. What seemed like several thousand of the best of the extreme warrior gnats hid in the perfect bag of bananas that I was sure to pick up on my stroll through the produce section. When I got the bag home, they swarmed out like a wave at my head.

I did everything I could to fend them off, but it was to no avail. I even tried my old trick of luring them into the microwave with a ripe banana, slamming the door and nuking them.

Of course, I always thoroughly clean the microwave after resorting to this battle tactic.

It didn’t work this time. I was outnumbered and being overtaken.

They were winning the battle on all fronts. I knew I had no choice but to call for reinforcements. I called Brian, knowing that he would bring out some big-gun chemical to eradicate the invaders. I typically avoid chemicals at all costs but this was a matter of life and death.

Much to my surprise, Brian shared with me his secret gnat weapon – apple cider vinegar in a jar!

I ran for my recycle or repurpose bin where I was collecting empty yogurt containers to start my garden seeds in. I pulled out a few containers, filled them halfway with vinegar, covered them with foil and punched small holes in the top.

I spread gnat traps like land mines throughout my house, with a heavy concentration in the kitchen. Slowly but surely, they were all lured into the traps by the sweet smell of the vinegar.

The next day I had yogurt cups full of drowned gnats. Victory was mine!

I then created the ultimate gnat trap – a repurposed glass jar with screw on lid with holes punched in the top. It sits safely hidden on my kitchen counter with just enough vinegar to attract any new little pest brave enough to stow away in my bananas.

...and I lived happily ever after.

Joyful Parenting Review ~ Day 4

2012-01-18T05:45:00.000-08:00

4. Today, when stress mounts, I pray to dismount it with gratitude. My stress management plan will be verbal thanks. I can feel only one feeling at a time, and I choose to give thanks at all times. Fight feeling with feeling!

This one has been the biggest life changer for me and the key is one simple word – VERBAL! Gratitude must be shown outwardly and expressed verbally.

When we appreciate something someone has done for us or given to us, we say thank you. We speak our thanks. We do not assume that they will know that we are thankful. We do not expect them to read our minds. The same should be true when we are thankful for the gifts and mercies of our Father.

When we speak our thanks not only do we impact ourselves but those around us. As mothers, we have the opportunity to speak life into our children. When they hear us being thankful, even in difficult and stressful situations, it is life-giving and even life changing for them.

By this simple practice the culture of our home is transformed from one of stress, doubt and faithlessness into a culture of abundance, joy and gratitude. Giving thanks allows me to be more joyful with my husband, children and all those I come in contact with.

Based on this principal I have even added a gratitude list to my children’s Daily Notebook.

About a year ago I read Ann Voskamp's blog for the first time. I fell in love with her writing style and her heart that shines through her words. After consuming every part of her blog in just a couple of days, I happened upon her Parenting Manifesto of Joy. I read it several times and then printed it. I posted a copy in my office near my computer so I could read it every morning before I wake my children. The above review is based on one point of that Manifesto.

Weekly Scripture Memory: January 16-23

2012-01-18T05:09:00.000-08:00

Romans 6:5-6

For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin;

This is our new scripture memory box. Definitely one of my new favorite things!

Read a post about how we use this box and work on scripture memory here.

Weekly Recipe ~ Missy's Banana Bread

2012-01-17T19:42:00.001-08:00

This Banana Bread is great for breakfast or with a cup of hot tea in the evening. It is so easy but there are a few key ingredient modifications that make it irresistible!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 Cups Flour
2 Eggs
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
3 ripe bananas
1/2 cup walnuts

Yummy Modifications:

1. I use fresh ground hard red wheat flour.
2. I use REAL butter, no margarine!
3. I use unbleached natural raw sugar or sucanat.
4. I use VERY ripe bananas (almost mushy)like these:

Directions:

Cream butter and sugar together. Mix in eggs and vanilla. In a separate bowl combine flour, baking soda and salt. Combine dry and wet ingredients. Mix in bananas with mixer until smooth or desired texture. Stir in walnuts. Transfer to greased loaf pan and bake on 350 for 50-55 minutes.

The finished product is delicious. This is one of those quick and easy recipes that is perfect for coffee with company. While baking, the bread makes your house smell warm and inviting. Enjoy!

31 Days to Clean Review

2012-01-17T15:53:00.000-08:00

I recently had the privilege to read Sarah Mae's 31 Days to Clean. I did not do all of the suggested activities in the book. I wanted to read the book first to see what I might be getting into.

Each day provides a chapter to along with a Mary Challenge and a Martha Challenge. I was really worried about committing to the challenges of this book because I like to think of myself as more of a Mary than a Martha. Translation: I like to read and write much more than I like to clean :)

After some consideration and reworking of my daily schedule with the new year, I think the 31 Day challenge is completely doable.

Will you take the challenge with me? You can get your own copy of the book by clicking the link below. We start on Monday, January 23rd!

Click here to visit Sarah Mae.

January 30 Day Focus

2012-01-16T17:36:00.000-08:00

Fruit of the Spirit: Gentleness
Character Trait/Habit: Diligence
Composer: Telemann

Poet:Rudyard Kipling

Artist: Degas

Hymn: I Surrender All

Go here to see how we incorporate each focus point for the month.

In addition to the ways listed in the previous post, I have now incorporated many of these monthly focus ideas into our daily notebooks. To see some printable sheets and all of the pages included in our daily notebooks, check out next Monday's homeschooling post.

Joyful Parenting ~ Day 3

2012-01-16T17:10:00.000-08:00

3. Today, I will not have any emergencies. There are no emergencies! Only amateurs hurry.

It took me a few times reading this one to get it, really get it. I got caught up in the thoughts of the emergencies that I have each day. You know, the ones that leave us running breathless through the house and speeding down the freeway late for every appointment we have.

My mind seemed to want to argue with this whole concept. There was flood of “what about this” and “isn’t this considered?”

Finally, I got it. Nothing happens in my day that my Father doesn’t know about. He is aware of all that is happening and He is in complete control of it all. He knew that as soon as I was ready to walk out the door for a doctor’s appointment, the baby would have one of those massive blow out poops and need to be cleaned up and completely redressed. He knew that the three year old would sneak out the front door to go play with the chickens with no shoes or jacket. He also knew I would panic when I realized he was no longer playing in the clean socks. He knew about the call I would get in the middle of the night that my husband was hurt on the job.

If I truly believe that He is sovereign then, why hurry? If my Father has is already on the scene protecting my children, caring for my husband and showing me favor then why rush?

Homeschool Monday ~ A Schoolroom...or Not

2012-01-16T06:42:00.000-08:00

I have attempted to write a post about my favorite school rooms and my own personal school room for a while now but it just hasn’t happened. Most folks who know me know that I do my best to live outside of the proverbial box in every way I can. It occurred to me that it wasn’t absolutely necessary to have an actual school room with school desks. What if my kids would be more comfortable in other areas of the house? Would it be more convenient to have them doing school where I could also be doing dishes or folding laundry while answering questions? Don’t be deceived, our house is not huge at all but, with a toddler, three school age kids and all the housework that comes with a family, I often wish that I could be in several rooms at once. With that in mind, I finally took the plunge and pulled my school room apart and moved my kidos to the kitchen table. Don’t get me wrong, I still have a good bit of schoolroom envy. In fact, here are a couple of my favorites.

This is the Murphy Academy schoolroom complete with giant whiteboard, networked computers and some fancy lighting.

This is Edie's from LifeinGrace.com garage transformed into a schoolroom.

I still get the urge to go IKEA shopping when I look at those rooms but, I have finally realized that it would just be money wasted if the whole “room” thing doesn’t really work for me. When I was a new homeschooling mommy, all I wanted was a school room. We lived with my parents the first year we homeschooled and our entire school spaced consisted of a corner of my mom’s dining room where my two oldest sat at their little two seat children’s table and a 5 shelf bookshelf in another corner. One of the things I looked most forward to in moving into my newly remodeled house was my school room. We have made it work for 4 years now but only because that is what I that I needed to “properly educate” my children.

For a few weeks now, the older children have been doing school at the kitchen table where I can teach and do dishes at the same time. I have one small bookshelf where the kids keep the things they need to do school each day.

I love it! Our school room has been transformed into some multi-purpose space. It is part playroom but it also now houses our computer which was moved out of our office. This has also proved helpful. I can now do the family accounting, blogging and anything else that I need the computer for without being tucked away in our office.

Our office has also been transformed. This is my favorite part!! The old office is now our library! EEEKKK!! My own personal library complete with organized and cataloged books. I have in heaven!! I admit it. I am one of those weird souls that gets a strange endorphin release from seeing shelves lined with books, that are MINE!

Anyway, the point is that your school space, and your entire house for that matter, should work for you and your family no matter what the norms are.

Blogging on Purpose: Why I want to go to the 2:1 Conference!

2012-01-13T17:12:00.000-08:00

God’s timing is amazingly perfect. I find myself standing in awe of Him yet again, just marveling at Him. God doesn’t just give us the answers we seek, He gives them at the exact moment we need them.

I have been praying and seeking God’s guidance, for what seems like an eternity now, about several areas of my life, some more important than others.

First, I have asked my Father for a while now to give me strong friendships and community with women who not only encourage me but challenge me and stretch me.

Second, I have been asking God whether or not I should blog. I have worried that blogging was just another one of those time wasting activities that took time from my home, children and husband. I love blogging as an outlet for me but when the rubber of time meets the road of my schedule, is blogging really good stewardship of my time? Also, if I am going to blog, I want some purpose for it. I am not one to run around wasting time on things and activities that have no Kingdom value.

Finally, with regard to the second question, I asked my husband “should I blog or not?” His response shocked me. “Absolutely,” he said “you should definitely blog!” Really?? I had no idea he had any opinion at all about me blogging, much less that he felt so strongly about it.

He asked me if I felt ministered to by the blogs I read regularly. Of course, I do. He asked me if reading blogs of other like minded women gave me that sense of community that I felt I was missing. I realized that it did. Then came the big question, “Don’t you want to offer the same thing to other women who might be in a similar situation? Isn’t that a worthy ministry?” Wow! There I sat on my bed with my mouth hanging open. Several answers all wrapped up in one with a pretty red bow! I was thrilled but I needed a more specific purpose. I had more questions and I got answers.

My blog has always been about my family, our life and all of the things we do, large and small that make us who we are. How could that really minister to anyone? As I was reading an old post I had written about "Worship as a Way of Life," it hit me. Our life is and should be worship. Every tiny thing we do in the day to day should declare the glory of God. I was hit in the face with Colossians 3:23

And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; 24Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ.

There was my purpose! We are doing life to the glory of God and sharing it.

I wanted to spend my whole day writing posts, redesigning my blog and linking up with others. I wanted to make reservations for every blogger's conference around and sign up for every “bloggy help” service available. Unfortunately, neither my schedule nor my budget would allow for any of that. Imagine my surprise when I saw this post waiting in my inbox from Amy at Raising Arrows. She is offering a chance to win a free ticket to the 2:1 Homeschool Blogging conference for simply posting about why you want to go. So, here is my post:

I want to go to the blogging conference because I now have a purpose and a clear vision for my blog, I am an information junkie and I want to consume all that I can to improve my blog in the shortest time possible and I am just dying to attend my first ever blogging conference!

Joyful Parenting ~ Day 2

2012-01-02T20:17:00.000-08:00

2. Today I will transfigure all things into beauty, and I will refuse to see anything else.

This one was difficult for me. I am not an overly negative person. Typically, I am a “glass half full” kind of girl, but it’s not always easy, as a mom, to find the beauty in the juice spilled on the kitchen floor or the chocolate stains on the couch. We can’t always see the artistry in the masterpiece drawn on the bedroom wall or the loveliness of the finger prints on the windows. Temper tantrums of toddlers don’t always sound like a symphony to our ears and the arguments of brothers and sisters are far from the sounds of sonnets recited. The endless strings of “Mom, I need ….” never seem to make us catch our breath in wonder and awe but there is beauty to be found in each one if we choose to see it.

The juice may have been spilled by a six year old now independent enough to pour her own drink when the doctors said that she would never live, much less walk. The chocolate stains may be from a little boy with growth issues who now taking in more than is required calories for the day thanks to some Nestle Quick. The masterpiece on the bedroom wall may be better than any poster you could have offered the 10 year old boy to decorate his room because he is incredibly gifted. The fingerprints on the freshly washed windows may be from a girl who can’t stand to miss a moment of what is going on with the animals outside.

There is a precious beauty in it all.

Find the Ann Voskamp's complete Parenting Manifesto of Joy here.

Joyful Parenting ~ Day 1

2011-10-20T08:01:00.001-07:00

About a year ago I read Ann Voskamp's blog for the first time. I fell in love with her writing style and her heart that shines through her words. After consuming every part of her blog in just a couple of days, I happened upon her Parenting Manifesto of Joy. I read it several times and then printed it. I posted a copy in my office near my computer so I could read it every morning before I wake my children. Recently, I put a copy on our daily clipboard so I could flip to it at any moment of the day and remind myself of my ultimate goals with my family.

I thought we could take some time over the next ten days and share our thoughts about the 10 points of the manifesto and how we can bring joy to our parenting.

"1. Today I will make our home a house of prayer. I will pray at set times. I will invite our children to come move into an interior space that lives with God."

Don't we need this? Isn't this absolutely essential for us and for our children?

In order to make our home a house of prayer, we must pray. Our prayer life cannot be suffering and dried up. I think of prayer somewhat like a phone conversation. If you are calling someone that you rarely speak to, there is a lot of time in the beginning of the call in just introducing yourself, catching up and sometimes making apology for how long it has been since your last call. It is not this way with people you call frequently. When I call my best friend, I never have to say who I am, she knows. I don't have to ask how she is doing, I know. I can tell by the tone of her voice how her day is and if she needs me and she can do the same. There is no awkwardness. Sometimes we don't even have to say hello. Our lives feel like one seamless conversation. I can pick up thoughts we had a few days back and the conversation keeps on going without reminder or review. This is how it can be when we are constantly in communication with our Father. He invites us to this relationship and our children see it and feel it.

Even when the conversation between us and our Father flows throughout the day, we still need special times to meet with him; planned times where distractions should be minimal. Though my husband and I talk our way through the day, we see each other each evening and we discuss all of the issues around the house as the needs arise, we still need time away together where we can really focus on our conversation. For us to have this time, we must plan it and be intentional about it. We know that every night when the children go to bed, we will purposefully take some time to recap the day, talk about tomorrow and just be with each other. We need this so much more with our Heavenly Father.

When we are purposefully and actively in conversation and communion with the Lord, the space around us changes. When we invite our children to follow in that example, our home beats with new life; fresh air that is life to us all. Our spouses and children can feel the difference in our homes. People who visit can feel the difference in a house that lives with God.

May the air that our children breath be saturated with God and may the fresh breath of air that greets our visitors be the gentle wind of the Holy Spirit.

Weekly Scripture Memory

2011-10-10T11:11:00.000-07:00

2 Corinthians 10: 3-4

For though we walk after the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds;

Read a post about how we work on scripture memory here.

Recipe of the Week

2011-10-06T13:21:00.000-07:00

Aunt Robin's Homemade Veggie Pizza

Ingredients:
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
Minced Garlic to taste (we use about 1 TBSP)
Sun Dried or Roma Tomatoes
Mozzarella Cheese
Chopped Spinach
1 each Yellow, Orange and Red Bell Pepper Chopped
1 cup Tomato Sauce

Make a basic bread dough like the one found here. Roll out to a pizza crust thickness to fit your pan or baking stone. Brush dough with olive oil and minced garlic. Spread tomato sauce over crust. Cover with spinach and chopped veggies to taste. Sprinkle with mozzarella. Bake at 400 for 20 minutes.

Enjoy!!!

Worship Wednesday ~ On Thursday

2011-10-06T08:19:00.000-07:00

So, my worship Wednesday post has been hanging in draft for well over 24 hours now.

Can all that we do be done worshipfully? Can we make every action of our day an act of worship? This is where I am camping out this morning and where I have been for quite some time. Worship is one of those words that is always tumbling over and over in my mind. What is this thing of worship?

It has been said and I have repeated that worship is a way of life, not just a Sunday morning trek and experience.

A couple of verses will not leave me alone. (Don’t you just love how God’s word is that way sometimes?)

Colossians 3:23 And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; Heartily is literally “from the soul”.

I am fully aware that the context of this passage is referring to slaves and how they work for their masters. I am not at all suggesting that we are slaves of God but he is our master in the same sense that Peter referred to Jesus as Master and we do labor for the kingdom.

Can all that we do be done from the soul and not just as an outward display or duty?

Revelation 4:8 … and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, LORD God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.

If worship is acknowledging who our God is, should everything we do, declare that the Lord is God? Is it possible to live this life, resting not day and night, as a sacrificial act of worship, as unto the Lord?

I don’t claim to be a bible scholar or to have all of the answers. This is just the latest road I am walking down with my Father.

Healthy Green Thursdays ~ Homemade Baby Wipes

2011-10-06T06:24:00.000-07:00

I have come to love making my own baby wipes. This is a skill that my bestie, Brandi, perfected first and I have recently added my own twists to the process.

There are a couple of reasons for making your own wipes: 1) it’s cheaper; and 2) it’s healthier for mom and baby and anyone else who uses the wipes.

Brandi says that she can make the wipes for ½ cent each compared to paying 1-2 cents for store bought wipes. I know that is not a huge savings but, every little bit counts. When you combine that with being able to prevent diaper rash, treat it quickly and safely if it does appear and being able to condition baby’s skin and mommy’s hands while changing a diaper, homemade wipes are a wonderful thing!

To make wipes you will need:
1 roll Viva paper towels (It is important to get these towels or a comparable brand.)
1 Tbsp Baby Mild Castile Soap
1 tbsp Sunflower Oil or Jojoba
1 cup Distilled Water
10 drops tea tree oil
10 drops lavender oil
Secure container with lid that is easily travel with

Here is the contaner we use (obviously, it is wipe making day).

Cut the roll of towels in half and stand lengthwise in a bowl or roll off towels and place flat in container with lid. Mix together water, soap and oils and pour over towels. Close container securely and use as needed.

See my favorite youtube video that demonstrates the process here. I have changed the ingredients to reduce chemical exposure and to maximize benefits to mom and baby.

You can learn more about herbal health and remedies by on the Vintage Remedies link below or on my sidebar. I have been a student of Vintage Remedies for quite some time now and love their teaching format!

Weekly Catechism

2011-10-04T12:18:00.000-07:00

Q. What is the reason annexed to the fifth commandment?

A. The reason annexed to the fifth commandment is a promise of long life and prosperity (as far as it shall serve for God's glory and their own good) to all such as keep this commandment.

Discussion Points for Children:
1. What is the fifth commandment (review)?
2. What does it mean to honor someone?
3. God's promises.
4. Why would honoring your parents be so important to God?

Our weekly catechism comes from the Well Planned Day Homeschool Planner. Check out the Well Planned Day and other student planners on the website by clicking the link on the right side bar of this page or below.

October 2011 ~ 30 Day Focus

2011-10-04T11:22:00.000-07:00

Fruit of the Spirit: Love
Character Trait/Habit: Regularity (Adhering to a Schedule or Routine)
Composer: Vivaldi
Poet:Christina Rossetti
Artist: Claude Monet
Hymn: Blessed Assurance

Go here to see how we incorporate each focus point for the month.

Homekeeping Tuesday ~ Homemade Shower Spray

2011-10-04T07:08:00.000-07:00

Making huge changes all at once has always overwhelmed me. I find that I am a person much more suited to baby steps. I took this into consideration when I decided that to eliminate chemicals from my home. Instead of going through my house with a trash bag and purging every chemical product I could find, I simply wait until I run out of a product and then find a recipe and make a natural replacement.

Today I am out of shower spray so, here is what I am going to replace the chemical stuff with:

24 oz spray bottle (I buy these at the Dollar Store and keep several on hand)
½ cup of vinegar
6 drops Castile Soap
10 drops tea tree oil
10 drops sweet orange oil
Fill with distilled water

This version of shower spray is completely safe, costs less and works perfectly!!

Weekly Scripture Memory

2011-10-03T06:45:00.000-07:00

John 14:27

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your heart be troubled and do not be afraid.

Our memory verse did not come from a curriculum or calendar this week. It came in the mail in a card last week.

I will be attending The Esther Experience this weekend. In preparation for that event, the staff of Living Vessels Ministries has been sending me cards for the last couple of weeks. Last week, when I opened up the latest card from one of the staff members, this verse was inside. I remember thinking how perfect the verse was since my life had been anything but peaceful for the last few weeks. Little did I know that it would get even more chaotic.

Today we are memorizing, reciting and praying this scripture over our home and for my best friend Brandi and her husband Brian. We pray for peace that the world cannot give, peace that passes all understanding that can only be given from the Father.

Read a post about how we do scripture memory here.

Weekly Scripture Memory

2011-09-19T21:34:00.000-07:00

Weekly verse:

For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

Romans 8:18

Blogging Lesson Learned

2011-09-19T21:30:00.000-07:00

So, it has been two weeks since my last post. For those of you who know me, thank you so much for the prayers for my stepdad. For those of you who only know my blog, my stepdad had a heart attack, chaos insued and life is just now settling back to normal.

Lesson Learned: always keep a few posts scheduled to post at future dates :)

I should be caught up in a day or so!

Scripture Memory System

2011-08-31T07:36:00.000-07:00

It has taken us a few years to develop a good system for scripture memory that works for our family. This is basically how we do it:

Passages of scripture are chosen from the weekly memory work in our curriculum, from something going on at church like VBS or a particular scripture challenge or Dad will choose some passage of scripture related to a character trait or other area that our family needs to work on.

The scripture is written on an index card and on the white board in the school room. While we are at the breakfast table, we talk our way through the verse or verses so the children understand the meaning and how it is applied to our life. We recite the scripture together a few times as a family. Then the index card is placed behind the "Daily" tab in our scripture memory box.

Our scripture memory box has 40 tabs in it labeled as follows:
Daily
Even
Odd
One for each day of the week (Monday - Saturday)
One for each day of the month (1-31)

Each day we review 4 scriptures; the daily verse, even or odd depending on the date, day of the week verse and the day of the month verse. As verses become more familiar they are moved to a less frequent location. This idea came from the folks at Simply Charlotte Mason.

After we recite the new scripture together, we make up hand motions for some of the words. We also use voice inflection and develop a rhythmical pattern for the words. Putting this all together creates a multi-sensory approach for the little ones. They may not completely understand the meaning but the words are sticking in their little minds.

The older children will use the verse on the board for copywork during school time.

We will review verses again during our lunch time and at dinner before our family worship time. Sometimes we will review while we are driving if our day requires us to be out of the house more than usual.

This is what works for us now. What ideas do you have for scripture memory with a larger family?

Weekly Scripture Memory

2011-08-31T05:30:00.000-07:00

Our weekly verse is:

I am the good shepherd. I know my sheep and my sheep know me. John 10:14

Check back later today for our scripture memory system, the ideas we incorporate and how it works for everyone in our home from Mom and Dad to the Littles.

Recipe of the Week ~ Make Ahead Lunch Wraps

2011-08-30T12:17:00.000-07:00

This is one of our favorite recipes. They are healthy, full of protein and easy to pop out of the freezer and into a lunch bag. The directions say to warm the wraps in a microwave but we enjoy them cool. If you put one in a lunch bag in the morning, it is completely thawed and ready to eat by lunch. We also add some taco seasoning to the mix to spice them up. Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS
• 2 cups uncooked brown rice
• 4 cups water
• 4 (15 ounce) cans black beans
• 2 (15.5 ounce) cans pinto beans
• 1 (10 ounce) can whole kernel corn
• 1 (10 ounce) can diced tomatoes and green chiles
• 16 (10 inch) whole wheat tortillas
• 1 pound shredded pepperjack cheese
DIRECTIONS
1. Combine rice and water in a saucepan, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 35 to 40 minutes, or until tender. Remove from heat, and cool.
2. Place black beans and pinto beans into a colander or strainer, and rinse. Add corn and diced tomatoes with green chilies, and toss to mix. Transfer to a large bowl, and mix in rice and cheese.
3. Divide the mixture evenly among the tortillas, and roll up. Wrap individually in plastic wrap, place into a large freezer bag, and freeze. Reheat as needed in the microwave for lunch or snacks.

Home Keeping Tuesday ~ Menu Planning

2011-08-30T06:45:00.000-07:00

Menu planning was never a part of our routine until the last couple of months. Once-a-month-cooking makes it almost too easy to just walk out to the big freezer every morning and pull out a bag or casserole pan of whatever sounds good at the moment. Once-a-month-shopping, however, necessitates a menu plan to cover all of the extra side items for dinners and little things that we make a quick trip to the store to pick up.

Until now, I have done weekly menu plans more for the sake of preserving my own sanity. A mom can only answer the “what are we having for _____” question so many times in a day. Plus, I discovered that a simple plan posted on the fridge takes the think work out of the day’s meals.

I am by no means an expert menu planner but here is what we are doing now in preparation for our big OAMS trip coming up in two weeks.

1. Keep a list hanging on the refrigerator or in another easy place to note items as you run out of them.

2. Inventory the items (with amounts) that you still have in your pantry, refrigerator and freezer.

3. Begin working your way backward from a simple menu plan. I like to use the weekly menu plan form from Money Saving Mom. Looking at the plan a week at a time makes it seem less overwhelming. Be sure to list everything you need for each meal in your menu plan including condiments, beverages and specific fruits and veggies.

4. Transfer items from the menu to a grocery list. I have a couple of drafts of this list. The first is messy with lots of tally marks as I add to the number of each item I need. The second is neat enough that I can actually read it in the grocery store.

Additional tips:

*Some moms keep a list of the family’s favorite or most common meals in their home management binder and fill in the menu plan with those meals and leave spaces for new recipes to try. (I’m still working on this one.)

*Plan even those meals that you don’t think you need to plan. This will eliminate the extra trips to the store and take the guess work out of the day.

*Plan your menu based on using as much as possible of what you already have in inventory to save money.

*Save your menu plan to reuse again for the weeks or months that you just don’t have time to plan.

Share your great menu planning ideas in the comments!

Monday's Homeschooling Helps ~ Turn off the Phone

2011-08-28T13:09:00.000-07:00

Several months ago I called a fellow homeschooler in the middle of the day. I was surprised when I got her voicemail and the message politely informed me that if I was calling between the hours of 10am and 2pm I would need to leave a message because the family was busy homeschooling. I admit, I was taken aback.

There have been many days that I have complained that I could not get anything done because the phone is constantly ringing, but it never occurred to me to simply turn the phone off. Why do we think that just because we pay to have a telephone that we must keep it on at all times? I think I feel empowered in some way. I can turn off the phone!

Not only will this help us in minimizing distractions to our school day but it will also allow my husband, who works 3rd shift, to rest better. I think this will be a grand plan all the way around.

In fact, there may be plenty of other times that families may benefit from eliminating the distraction of the phone ringing such as dinner time, family worship or devotions, nap time for littles and special times of fellowship with company.

What about emergencies, you might say? Keep your cell phone on you. Most folks today not only have a home phone but a cell phone as well. Anyone would would need you in case of an emergency is likely to have your cell phone. You can include in your home phone message that you can be reached via text on you cell phone during school hours.

Here is my plan: Today is our first official day of school for the new year. In preparation I have changed our home phone message to say that anyone calling between the hours of 8am and 2pm will need to leave a message that we will return after schooling hours. The message will also say that anyone needing us in case of an emergency should text my cell phone.

Let's see how this goes!

Weekly Catechism

2011-08-28T12:47:00.000-07:00

Memorizing a weekly catechism is a relatively new activity for our family. Honestly, I didn't even know what the word "catechism" meant until about a year ago when I was sitting in a workshop at a homeschool conference listening to one family's plan and process for home discipleship of their children.

I later realized that there was a weekly catechism included in my homeschool planner. With the information so easily available, we began our memorization journey together as a family a few months ago. Memorizing the weekly catechism has been such a blessing in our home that I thought I would share them with you weekly. Here is what we are working on this week:

Q. How is the sabbath to be sanctified?

A. The sabbath is to be sanctified as a holy day of resting all that day, even from such worldly employments and recreations as are lawful on other days; and spending the whole time in the public and private exercises of God's worship, except so much as is to be taken up in the works of necessity and mercy.

Discussion Points with Children
1. What is the Sabbath (If not previously covered or a refresher)?
2. Define sanctified.
3. What is rest?
4. What can be considered worship?
5. What are works of necessity and mercy?

Weekly Menu

2011-08-28T12:18:00.000-07:00

The goal of this week’s menu is to clean out the pantry, freezer and refrigerator in preparation for our once-a-month cooking (OAMC) on September 9th and once a month shopping (OAMS) on September 14th. This is the first week that we return to our homeschool co-op on Friday and we are working concessions for a college football game on Saturday to raise money for missions. I took those plans into consideration, took inventory of what we still have in the house and came up with the menu and grocery list based on those items. Here is what is on the menu this week:

Monday
Breakfast: Make Ahead French Toast (Recipe from the Raising Olives Blog here.)
Lunch: Burritos and Quesadillas, Fruit, Yogurt
Dinner: Mexican Chicken w/ Rice and veggies
Snacks: Fruit/Yogurt/Homemade Granola/Homemade Granola Bars

Tuesday
Breakfast: Oatmeal
Lunch: Peanut Butter and Jelly on Homemade Tortillas
Dinner: Black Bean Soup w/ Cornbread
Snacks: Fruit/Yogurt/Homemade Granola/Homemade Granola Bars

Wednesday
Breakfast: Mini Banana Muffins/Yogurt
Lunch: Chicken Tenders/Veggies
Dinner: Waffles w/ syrup
Snacks: Fruit/Yogurt/Homemade Granola/Homemade Granola Bars

Thursday
Breakfast: Waffles w/ syrup
Lunch: Make Ahead Black Mexican Black Bean Dip w/ Tortillas
Dinner: White Chicken Chili w/ Mexican Cornbread
Snacks: Fruit/Yogurt/Homemade Granola/Homemade Granola Bars

Friday
Breakfast: Granola Bars/Yogurt
Lunch: Peanut Butter and Jelly Wraps/Applesauce/Veggie Sticks
Dinner: Teriyaki Chicken w/ fried Rice and Veggies
Snacks: Banana Muffins/ Fruit Leather/Peanut Butter Cookies

Saturday
Breakfast: Oatmeal/Yogurt/Fruit
Lunch:
Dinner: The majority of this day will be spent working concessions for a missions fund raiser.
Snacks:

Sunday
Breakfast: Yogurt/Fruit
Lunch: Veggie Soup/ cornbread
Dinner: Leftovers

Many of the recipes for our homemade items will soon be included under the "On the Table" section above.

I print out our weekly menu and post it on the refigerator on Sunday afternoons. This eliminates the constant "what are we having for ______?" questions and also reminds me of what I need to thaw, put in the crockpot or prep for the next day.

Check back on Tuesday for more of the how and why of menu planning!

Worship Wednesday

2011-08-25T05:41:00.000-07:00

This is the easiest post for me to write this week. Being here at the beach and waking up to the sounds of the ocean reminds me of how great our God is.

I saw a blog post yesterday that simply said, "What ever it costs you, Exalt Christ!" As I looked out at the sun setting on the ocean, the waves moving in perfect rhythm and the surf breaking on the beach in a chorus of glory to the creator, He was exalted.

Exalt means to lift up or elevate in position, to glorify or praise. I wondered what about my life exalted my Lord. What in the way that I live each day declares that He alone is God?

Whatever it costs us today, Exhalt Him!

The Esther Experience

2011-08-19T11:53:00.000-07:00

I am so excited to be attending the Esther Experience Retreat scheduled for October 7-9th. There is a small group of ladies from our church going and I am thrilled to get to spend some time with them. Thanks so much to Kristy M. for setting this up! I am also super excited that I will get to spend some much desired quality time with my bestie, Brandi, and some much needed quality time focusing on my Savior.

If you have never attended an Esther Experience event before, let me assure you that you will be blessed!

There is still time to register for the retreat in October. You can do so by visiting the Living Vessels website here.

Patricia Wade is a blessed and gifted speaker with a beautiful heart for God. This is quite obvious in the way her inspired event ministers to women. Read her complete profile via the link below.

I hope to have my twitter feed, facebook and blog all linked up by the time we head out to the retreat. Brandi and I will check in regularly!

Be sure to comment to let me know if you are attending so we can meet up!

Beautiful Girlhood

2011-08-19T10:25:00.000-07:00

I am so excited to begin the Beautiful Girlhood study with my oldest daughter; better late than never.

If you are looking for a wonderfully meaningful way to spend some quality time building character with your daughter, this is it! I purchased Beautiful Girlhood and the Beautiful Girlhood Companion Guide from Pumpkinseed Press at the Cincinatti Homeschool Convention in April of this year and have been waiting for just the right time to begin the study with my daughter. That is why we were thrilled to hear that the B'twixt & B'tween Blog will be hosting a 9 week study through the materials with a posting relevant to each chapter and its corresponding guide chapter.

For Abby and I, our study time will be Saturday afternoon tea time. We have been shopping the thrift stores for weeks to find just the right tea pot and tea cups for our special time together. Girls need special time with mom, especially in large families where individual time is hard to come by.

Our Tea Time outline will serve as my Saturday postings for a while. I'll be sure to include our craft projects, discussion activities and menus so that you can follow along with us.

To purchase Beautiful Girlhood materials, tea party supplies and more visit the Pumpkinseed Press site here.

***Due to the recent chaos in our home, we are beginning this study a few weeks behind so, don't be afraid to jump in and follow along with us!

Frugal Friday ~ Steps 1 & 2 of Once a Month Shopping

2011-08-18T20:47:00.001-07:00

Here we go! The once-a-month-shopping adventure begins. Sometimes I still can't believe we are trying this.

Step One should definitely be discussing the idea of only going into department and grocery stores on one day a month with your spouse. If your husband is not on board, it will never work because he will either (a) go to the store anyway and spend more money than budgeted or (b) he will be very grouchy when he does not get all of his needs on the list and you are not making the weekly or daily runs to the market.

This went fairly well for me. My husband is usually on board for anything that will save us money and he is always ready for something new and exciting. Personally, I think the thought of a complete months worth of groceries stacked in the back of our van was enough to win him over :) He will be blogging about his own frugal adventure in Healthy Home Fitness here.

Step Two is research. First you need a general list of the things you will be purchasing. We generated this list from the grocery list that was already hanging on our fridge and taking a complete inventory of our fridge, freezer, pantry, bathroom, and storage room. I also downloaded a couple of master grocery lists to help remind me of things that I might forget. I found the most useful ones here and here.

We have also begun Step Three which is price scouting. More on that next week.

August 2011 ~ 30 Day Focus ~ a little late!

2011-08-16T05:53:00.000-07:00

Every month in the Langford house we focus on one each of the following:

Fruit of the Spirit
Character Trait/Habit
Composer
Poet
Artist
Hymn

Some of these are Simply Charlotte Mason inspired and some are items that we have built in as a family. My initial lists of artists, poets and composers came from Simply Charlotte Mason.

In preparation for the month, we check out books from library with examples of art from the artist we are covering. We also review biography of the artist at some point during the month or cover a little each day as time permits.

I include some books of poetry by the poet in our book basket for the month and read some of the poems out loud once or twice a week.

Covering composers is simple. At the beginning of the month, we discuss the composer, his style of music and some that we may be familiar with. We find a CD of his music on Ebay, at McKays or the local library and listen to it as we clean or do independent work.

The hymns come from the book Then Sings My Soul. At the beginning of the month, we read the chapter about the hymn from the book. Then we break down the words of the hymn so the children understand what they are singing about before we sing. We then sing this hymn every night during our family worship time for the month.

We work through the fruits of the spirit list in Galatians almost twice a year but this keeps them fresh in our hearts and minds. At one of our meal times, we ask the children how they demonstrated the particular fruit that day or the day before. Dad and I also share some examples. Then comes the hard part, we talk about ways we could have demonstrated this fruit and we did not. Sometimes we have crafts or activities pertaining to the fruit in our workboxes.

For character traits and habits, we use a couple of sources. I love the book Laying Down the Rails by Sonya Schafer and we use the character trait chart found on the Duggar website. Sometimes we work through the lists systematically and sometimes we see an area that needs focus and skip to that one. For Instruction in Righteousness also is also very helpful in providing appropriate scripture for habits and character traits.

Ideally, this post will come on the first day of each new month listing our focus topics, books we are using and planned activities. Feel free to follow along and comment with any ideas you may have.

Here is the list for August:
Fruit of the Spirit: Meekness
Character Trait/Habit: Regularity (Adhering to a Schedule or Routine)
Composer: Pachabel
Poet:Robert Louis Stevenson
Artist: Vangogh
Hymn: Blessed Assurance

Monday's Homeschooling Helps

2011-08-15T07:03:00.000-07:00

I really enjoyed this post over at Raising Arrows this morning. Even though we only have four children right now and only three of them are technically "schooling," we still get this same question.

I like to think of our schooling time as very "one-room-schoolhouse" style. Even though the littles may not be ready for some of the more mature history discussions, they are still in the room and part of the story and discussion. They also may not benefit from some of the more advanced math and science concepts but the exposure is wonderful.

My new favorite example of why and how this works happened just a few weeks ago. Our youngest (3) was playing with some Lauri toys recommended in the My Father's World toddler and preschool packs, the two oldest were working independently and I was reviewing flash cards with the Kindergartner. The baby wondered over and started mimicking the Kindergartner as she reviewed her numbers. When we came to the flashcard number 3, he ran back to his Lauri toys, grabbed a foam 3 and returned all smiles and proudly announced "free, I free" pointing to himself.

For this reason and many others, we like having everyone in the same room while we are doing school. If you are schooling multiple grades at the same time, the older children are getting a review of concepts while the younger are learning them. The younger children are getting valuable exposure to new concepts while the older ones are learning. Plus, it just feels like Little House on the Prairie and that makes me smile.

Big Changes!!

2011-08-15T06:48:00.000-07:00

Please be patient with us for the next couple of days as we are making major layout, design and content changes to the blog. I hope you will like them!

Adventures in Frugality: Once a Month Shopping

2011-08-09T05:41:00.000-07:00

A friend recently told me that, even though she is once-a-month-cooking, she is still spending hundreds of dollars a month at the grocery store. This caused me to do some investigation into the grocery spending in the Langford home.

I was hit in the face with several harsh pieces of reality:

1. My pantry is full of items that are pieces and parts of recipes that were purchased due to poor planning.

2. In reviewing my receipts I noticed that every trip to a store included some sort of impulse purchase.

(We save all of our reciepts in a basket to be reviewed and sorted at the end of the month. Of course, this sometimes piles up and we have a couple of months at a time.)

3. According to Steve and Annette Economides in their book America’s Cheapest Family, 6 of 10 grocery store purchases are unplanned.

4. In the last two weeks, I have darkened the doorway of a grocery store or department store 11 times! That is more than every other day!!

With all of these facts staring me in the face, I decided to take action! After tossing the idea around for a couple of days, I presented it to my husband. I proposed that we challenge ourselves to shop only one day for an entire month. It sounded much more reasonable in my mind than it did when I said it out loud. Now it sounded absolutely crazy but, having verbalized to my husband my preplanned list of pros and cons, I felt in some way committed to the idea.
After talking over some ins and outs for a few minutes we decided to jump off the deep end and give it a try.

For the month of August, we will be blogging all of our prep efforts, plans and lists and countdown to our big shopping day on September 3rd. For the month of September we will be blogging all of the daily issues that pop up, adjustments that need to be made, difficulties and successes as we move toward our next allowed shopping day of October 1st. Our goal is to not set foot in another grocery or department store after that date until the October 1st date. (Even now it sounds insane!)

We will be posting our list of detailed guidelines as we develop them. The ultimate goal of course, is to save money by avoiding the stores, sticking to our budget, planning our meals and eliminating restaurants all together for a month.
You are welcome to jump in on this challenge with us and link up your blog to our regular posts or just read along as we muddle our way through this latest and greatest adventure in frugality!

Frugality with a purpose...

2011-06-09T15:39:00.000-07:00

I have always been a frugal kind of gal. I have been called everything from frugalista to tightwad. I prefer frugalista, of course :)

My penny pinching ways have always been for the benefit of my family. I am of the opinion that if my husband brings in the money, it’s my job to stretch it as far as it can possibly go. One of my favorite ways of accomplishing this has been to make my own laundry detergent and fabric softener. This saves me about $25-30 per month.

Another way we stretch our dollar is to once-a-month cook (OAMC). I get together with some of my favorite friends and cook about 200 meals in about 5 hours. We buy all of the ingredients in bulk so, our savings are significant. I then take about 40 meals home and freeze them and just pull them out daily. If we made dinner at home every night, our meals would cost around $10. If we ate out a meal for our family would be no less than $30. If I estimated that we would eat out twice a week and cook at home the other five days, that would cost $110 per week or $440 per month. Our average OAMC meal cost $4-5 and sometimes less. That costs only $35 per week or $140 per month. That gives me a savings of $300 per month. Plus my family is eating healthier food and we are around our table for precious family time.

Here is where it gets good!! With my $360 per month saved I can feed 14 orphans every month or one orphaned child for 8 years!! I could also save that money and once a year have $4320 for a mission trip. Sounds like a good deal to me!!

John 14:18

2011-05-30T16:17:00.000-07:00

It is no secret that we Langford’s have a special place in our hearts for orphans and adoption. However, the words of David Nasser at the National Worship Leader’s Conference in Kansas a couple of years ago really changed my whole perspective. What he said made me catch my breath and then weep. He said, “There are 150 million orphans in the world. However, if only 8% of the church would adopt, there would be no more need for orphanages.” Wow! That is not 8% of the world but 8% of God’s people who are instructed to minister to the widows and orphans.

James 1:27
“Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.”

Do we not want to offer up to our Father what is pure and undefiled?

Beautiful Brokeness

2011-05-02T20:37:00.000-07:00

Saturday night, I was sitting in my living room which was unusually crowded with people. All around the room, sitting in pulled in kitchen chairs, couches, piano benches and the floor and standing in open doorways were the members of the faith family that is our small group. We were all listening intently as our new friend, Kristy O’Leary, shared with us her family’s vision for the plight of the orphans in Ghana, Africa. I watched faces and reactions, as I typically do, and saw hurt, heartache and brokenness. We were weeping and wrapping our hearts around those too far for our arms to reach. When all questions were answered and all concerns voiced, we stood together; hands and hearts joined in prayer. Seconds before the amen was whispered, my head still bowed, I opened my eyes. A tiny flash caught my vision, almost like a falling star until it splashed on the floor. There were more; small wet circles where droplets had landed before the feet of many around the circle. An instant later, feet shuffled and small puddles were wiped away. I cherish that vision. My faith family, sweetly broken for orphaned children a world away.

I wish I had thought to take a picture of us that night :)

Forget the Frock Easter Challenge

2011-04-25T05:03:00.000-07:00

For Easter, our bible study group and 60 other members of our church family chose to feed orphans for Easter instead of buying new clothes.

Almost the whole gang

Our Family (minus Joshua)

The Murphys

The Rhodes

The Johnsons

Stones Rolled Away

2011-04-24T16:00:00.000-07:00

Today, Easter Sunday, as I rejoiced over my risen savior, I also found myself thinking about those women who went early to the tomb of Jesus. I was sitting in our sunrise service this morning when I began to wonder how those women thought they would move the stone from the entrance of the tomb. How would they convince the soldiers to let them try to move the stone? Surely they knew that they would face these obstacles yet, they rose early in the morning and set out for the tomb to properly anoint the body of their Lord.

How different the Easter story would be if those women, when considering the obstacles, would have thought the task before them impossible and not even tried. Christ would still be risen, the world would still never be the same, but those women would have missed the blessing of witnessing the empty tomb. Mary would not have been the first to see the risen Lord. She would not have heard him call her name.

I began to wonder how many blessings we miss because we look down the road God is calling us to walk and only see the impossibility of the obstacles in our path.

What if we simply began to move forward in faith, knowing that our mighty God who is more than able, will make a way?

Would we build houses for orphans, would we feed the hungry, clothe the poverty stricken, begin a revival? Would we witness, first hand, God doing the impossible?

Bunnies, T-Shirts and Feeding Orphans

2011-04-22T10:58:00.000-07:00

Our God truly works in amazing and sometimes, unexpected ways! He can choose to use any circumstance or situation for his ultimate glory. Isn’t it just like God to use the most benign occurrences to do something awesome! This is exactly what happened when we met the O’Learys.

Over a year ago, I found myself riding with my husband and two of our children out to what seemed like the middle of nowhere, to pick up some free rabbits and a hutch that had been advertised on our local homeschool loop. The middle of nowhere turned out to be somewhere near Loudon, TN, about an hour from our house. At the top of a long driveway that seemed to go straight up, we met some very friendly dogs, a couple of cuddly bunnies and the O’Learys. We stayed longer than anticipated enjoying the easy conversation that typically comes when God’s people meet. After loading the rabbits and hutch in our truck we headed home. I remember my husband saying what nice, down to earth people were and what a shame that they lived so far away. We would most likely not see them again.

A few months later on a very cold morning, I was wandering around in a huge yard sale that was happening about 20 minutes from my house. I was paying for an armload of homeschool books when one of the women working there asked if I had picked up some bunnies and a hutch a few months back. It took a few minutes for Kristie O’Leary and I to catch up on the bunny business and then she began to tell me of her families plan to adopt from Ghana. Her story grabbed my heart so much that I found myself reading her blog for about an hour that evening. I reminded my husband about the family and shared the news with him of their pending adoption. I think that was the first time God planted the seed of the possibility of international adoption for our family. I bumped into Kristie again at another yard sale. Again, she recognized me and asked if I had picked up some bunnies. I do so wish that I were better at remembering names and faces.

Recently, we were walking through the Knoxville Zoo and instead of watching the animals, I found myself admiring a family. It was so obvious that this family was one of those precious ones of God’s amazing design; one where he had mixed children born of mother’s body with those born of her heart. A beautiful little girl had just smiled at me as she held her mother’s hand when I heard a voice that seemed familiar say, “Didn’t you come pick up some bunnies?” I nearly cried when I realized I was face to face with the children we had been reading about a few months back.

As we traveled home from the zoo that day I began to feel and share with my husband that these chance meetings were not just coincidence but, divine appointment. That evening we revisited the “From God the Ghana” blog and the new Feeding the Orphans website. We were amazed at what God was doing with this family.
I found Kristie on facebook and just a couple of weeks later, I found myself reading a post of how a mother was moved to purchase Love Orphans t-shirts with the money she would have spent on her family’s Easter clothes. My husband, who had been reading over my shoulder said, “Look’s like it’s t-shirts for us this year!” After talking to our children about the Easter shirt challenge and seeing how excited they were to be able to feed hungry children, God led us to share the challenge with our church youth group and then with our entire church body. We were amazed at the response we got from our church body.

Now here we are, two days before Easter. Two bunnies, a couple of yard sales and 74 t-shirts later, there are lots of orphaned children being fed in Ghana, Africa because of the response of just a few of God’s people in Knoxville, TN.

Through this process, I have learned to look for God in every instant and in every circumstance of every day. When we are willing beyond our abilities, our God is able beyond our limitations.

The Year of New

2011-01-04T03:50:00.000-08:00

The first few days of each new year always feel so clean and fresh like sheets of unprinted paper. The days seem crisp – unused. The reality is, of course, that each day really is new. Though, as the year trails on, days seem somehow tainted by pressures, responsibilities and failures. How amazing that our God makes all things new.

As our family turns the corner into 2011, the year is ripe with possibilities. I don’t recall ever being this excited to see what God has in store.

When I considered the possibility of giving a theme to this year, a name – as we do when most things come to life – God’s precious word, that is alive, sprang in my soul giving a new breath of life to one who desperately needs daily reviving.

“Behold, I will do a new thing;…” Isaiah 43:19

The patiently loving Father regards His child – the refashioning work of the potter’s wheel takes time, the refining process is slow and sometimes painful. In hindsight, the breaking and reshaping – He knows what we need, and when. The vessel, still flawed, but somehow more able – ready for a new thing…

A new use, new work, new day, new season …Behold, I make all things new. Revelation 21:5

Welcome, the Year of NEW!

The Smell of Fall

2010-09-12T11:49:00.000-07:00

When I rolled over and slung feet over the edge of the bed this morning my eyes were barely open. As my husband would say, you could have blindfolded me with a piece of dental floss. I slipped my feet into his shoes because they were closest to the bed, walked mechanically through the living room, clicked a leash onto the dog's collar and opened the front door. That's when it happened!

A familiar scent, so faint that it could have gone unnoticed, kissed my nose. I shut my eyes tighter, leaned against the unfinished porch post and breathed deeply. There is was again, I knew it! As I stood there, the same breeze that brushed across my cheeks swept through the trees and made the smallest rattling sound. This is not the brushing sound of a summer breeze that moves through leaves moist and alive but the sound of leaves drying and tapping against each other before they fall to the ground. This opened my eyes.

The sky was that amazing color of blue that you can only see when the summer haze starts to fade away. It is bright and vibrant, and though all of the greenery around may be dying, this blue reminds you that something is about to come to life. I closed my eyes again and smiled, this time anticipating things to come.

Jars of Clay

2010-05-11T17:50:00.000-07:00

"A Wife for Isaac" was the title of the children's history lesson a couple of weeks ago. We talked about how Rebecca watered the servants camels. Our hands-on activity for the day was to make clay water pots. Fortunately, the discussion went far beyond Isaac and Rebecca.

As the children diligently worked the clay in their hands, they began asking questions about the clay. They wanted to know why it took so long to make the clay take shape. Why did it mess up sometimes and make them have to start all over? Why did the clay dry up sometimes. Naturally, they were thrilled to see that you just have to add some water. They noticed that the longer they worked building up the sides of the water pots, the stronger the pots were.

I was in tears by this point. We talked about how we are clay in the hands of God. We talked about how his water of life makes us pliable. We talked about how our precious Father doesn't throw the marred and broken clay away. Praise the Lord!

Jeremiah 18: 1-4 The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, Arise, and go down to the potter's house, and there I will cause thee to hear my words. Then I went down to the potter's house, and, behold, he wrought a work on the wheels. And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.

Mother's Day

2010-05-09T14:02:00.000-07:00

I have a beautiful mother. She is all of those things that just make you feel warm and fuzzy on the inside. I love her because she is kind, warm and copassionate. I love her because she is smart. I admire her. She is consistent, solid and unwavering. She is one of those anchoring roots in my life. She is bold, confident and brave. I love the way she smiles when I say, "I think I just want one more baby". I love the way she cries with me when I my chidren are sick or hurting. I love how she understands my lonliness when my husband is gone. I love how she was thrilled when we had to move in with her while our house was being finished (This could have been some mild insanity. There were seven of us in that house!). I even love how she cried when it was time for us to go home. I love how she can't keep any sort of plant alive and how she hates to cook. God knew I would need to feel useful for something :)

I have a beautiful mother.

Walking to Nana's

2010-05-02T13:17:00.000-07:00

We are blessed to live just across the field from my mom. It is not unusual, when our school work is done, for the children to ask if they can "run down to Nana's." We always make them call to ask but, that is just a formality. I have never known Nana or Poppy to turn down a visit from the kidos. Last week, Joshua made his first trip across the yard with his brother and sisters. It was one of those priceless moments that you just want to freeze in time. I called my mom so she could be watching and Stacy and I stood on the porch watching them, crying and taking a picture, of course. Stacy asked me if I ever thought that we would be watching four of them walk down to Nana's. I replied that I never knew we would be so abundantly blessed.

Psalm 127:3-5 Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward. As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth. Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them:

Peanut Butter Day

2010-04-14T10:35:00.000-07:00

One of our favoite ways to eat healthier and save some money is to order peanut butter in bulk from our favorite whole foods distributor, Something Better Natural Foods.

The peanut butter comes 9 pounds at a time in a big bucket. Since the peanut butter is all natural, it must be stirred. This is the fun part!

Dad gets to use his power tools in the kitchen. One mixer attachement fixed to the cordless drill and we are in business!

Once the peanut butter is stirred, we divide it into small glass recycled jars. When the process is complete, we have about 9 jars of very healthy peanut butter for about $10!

Miracles

2010-04-14T09:08:00.000-07:00

What better way to renew my blogging efforts than to share my excitement about our youngest daughters birthday.
It is hard to believe that it has been five years since Lily Grace was born. I remember the tears of joy I shed we the doctor handed her to me. I also remember the tears of fear and heartbreak when at our 20 week ultrasound, the doctor told me that my baby most likely would not live. I remember him looking at me and saying that we would take it one day at a time. The doctor told me that if my baby did survive, she would have some severe birth defects and would not live long. I looked at him and asked "she?"

Lily Grace was born just a few months later. She had many more defects that we thought she would have. She spent the first two months of her life in the NICU at Children's Hospital. At four months old she finally had her first open heart procedure. Although, the doctors told us that the procedure could not be done with any degree of success, God blessed our baby and brought her though with flying colors. She continued to amaze all of us, and especially the healthcare professionals evaluating her.

Today, she is a happy, healthy, normal five year old little girl!

Mark 10:27 And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible.

Baking Day

2009-09-05T18:15:00.000-07:00

I Just Needed a Laugh Today!

2009-09-02T10:55:00.000-07:00

The following is obviously not my original work. It was published by the Examiner but, considering the fact that we as a homeschooling family have actually encountered some of these arguments before, I thought it was absolutely hilarious!

Memo: Top 10 Reasons to Criminalize Homeschooling

In an effort to increase the public drumbeat for criminalizing homeschooling, a memo has been distributed containing the top 10 reasons why public schooling is better than homeschooling. Here is an excerpt from that memo:

1. Most parents were educated in the under funded public school system, and so are not smart enough to homeschool their own children.

2. Children who receive one-on-one homeschooling will learn more than others, giving them an unfair advantage in the marketplace. This is undemocratic.

3. How can children learn to defend themselves unless they have to fight off bullies on a daily basis?

4. Ridicule from other children is important to the socialization process.

5. Children in public schools can get more practice "Just Saying No" to drugs, cigarettes and alcohol.

6. Fluorescent lighting may have significant health benefits.

7. Publicly asking permission to go to the bathroom teaches young people their place in society.

8. The fashion industry depends upon the peer pressure that only public schools can generate.

9. Public schools foster cultural literacy, passing on important traditions like the singing of "Jingle Bells, Batman smells, Robin laid an egg..."

10. Homeschooled children may not learn important office career skills, like how to sit still for six hours straight.

Managers of Their Homes

2009-08-27T18:00:00.001-07:00

Another favorite tool that works especially well for large, homeschooling families is the Maxwell's Managers of Their Homes. At first glance it looks like just another home management book but it is so much more. It is packed full of all the tools you need to make your home run much more efficiently.

Managers of Their Homes (MOTH) not only gives you the tools you need to set up an effective family schedule but it is full of examples of how other families do it.

Basically, you learn to break down your day into 30 minute segments. Then you arrange those segments on the same schedule with all the other people in your house. Looking at everyone's schedule this way prevents conflicts like; your 7 year old trying to practice piano at the same time your 1 year old is napping. That is never a good combination around here!

After I had read the book and worked through the tools. Here is what the finished product looked like for us.

As you can see, there is a different color coded line for each person in the home. Even our baby has a schedule. The children love it because they can always see what they are supposed to be doing. Sometimes, they don't even need direction to move on to the next item on their schedule.

I believe the process took a little more time for me than for most because we really never have the same daily routine. We do the same thing almost every morning until about 10:00 and then everything is different every day until about 7:30 in the evening. So, instead of having just one chart to follow every day, we have a different chart poster for each day of the week. The best part is, when the schedule changes, you just move the pieces of your schedule around and you can still see how each change will effect everyone else.

The Maxwell's are coming to Knoxville for a conference the first weekend in October!

Super Noots

2009-08-24T19:53:00.000-07:00

With four children, there will always be one or even two that simply will not eat anything that is not shaped like a chicken nugget or mac'n cheese. Our oldest daughter in particular would eat almost nothing except chicken nuggets. We tried everything to get her to eat some healthy food with absolutely no success, until now...

Super Noots has been a lifesaver for us! I think I saw SuperNoots for the first time at the local women's expo. I liked it then but wondered if we would really use it. A year later, when we were still not making any headway with Abby's eating habits, I decided to order and try the SuperNoots boards. They worked like a charm!

Basically, SuperNoots are dry erase boards with food group circles on them. As your children go through the day, they move their Noots into the circles. At the end of the day, if all circles are filled in, they get a prize. The SuperNoots board allows parents to reward their children for making healthy choices.

There is also one circle on the board with room for only one treat noot. So, when your child has moved his one treat Noot. The board says, he has no more treats for the day. Woohoo, the board is the bad guy, not mom!

As you can see, SuperNoots boards can be attached to other boards to accommodate all members of the family.

The starter pack also comes with a really cool dry erase shopping list that is made to hang on the buggy and a Snack Pack with snack options for your kids. The really cool part is that everything is color coded. Even if your child cannot read, they can look at thier board, see that they need two more brown (bread) Noots for the day and a green (veggie) Noot and flip through the snack pack and find a card with brown and green. When we bought the system, Lily Grace was only 3 and she was able to use it.

SuperNoots has also been very educational in that it has taught our children the difference in breads, protiens, fruits, milks and veggies.

We love SuperNoots!

My Fearless Boy

2009-08-14T19:17:00.000-07:00

Not only does my oldest son ride BMX style bikes and do things that make his mom cringe, he is also a competitive gymnast. Here are the latest photos from his team party where they boys got to enjoy a rock climbing wall. Caleb was so proud to come home and tell me that he had climbed all the way to the top 11 times.

Here is a shot of the team.

This is Caleb on the way up the wall.

Look at that sweet baby face.

Caleb coming down the wall. Gosh, I am sure glad I wasn't there!

My Father's World

2009-08-14T13:27:00.000-07:00

I know that the official "school year" is just about to start for most of our neighbors but we have been "doing school" for quite a while now. We just couldn't help ourselves! My kids have been so excited about school time ever since the new "box" arrived.
I went to an amazing homeschool conference and resource fair back in May in North Carolina. What an amazing experience. There were tons of homeschool families in the same place. It was absolutely heavenly! In the resource fair, you could find any kind of book, curriculum, teaching tool you can imagine. Even a few other things like this magnet I found for the back of my van :)

Anyway, the conference was more than a shopping excursion. There were more seminars than I could ever get to. I am so glad though that I popped into one seminar called "Keeping your Preschoolers Occupied during School Time" or something to that effect. This one was particularly appealing to me since last year I had even numbers; two preschoolers and two school age. In that seminar I was introduced to Lauri Toys. They are fun, appealing and educational all in one. At the same time, I was introduced to My Father's World.

Keep in mind that up to this point, we used one curriculum for everything. We used Abeka. Don't misunderstand me. Abeka is wonderful. It is strong in all areas and very aggressive. You will have plenty of worksheets, lots of teaching aids and a day full of work. It is just like "real school" at home. Looking back now, I know that is never what I truly wanted. Why should it really matter to my kids where they would spend hours sitting in a desk doing worksheet after worksheet. It mattered to me of course. I would never risk sending them to public school. At least if they were home, they were safe. Plus, the 1-1 student teacher ratio did cut the time in half. However, I still wasn't grasping all of the wonderful opportunities that homeschooling had to offer.

I spent about an hour at that conference in the MFW booth talking to one of the owners and learning why both I and my children would like this approach so much better. It was hands on. Instead of using worksheets, we would use real life activities to learn. There would still be a daily lesson plan for each day, a strong math component and a phonics based reading program but the best was yet to come. I learned what a real "Christ Centered" curriculum looked like. It was not just incorporating christian elements into each subject. Every aspect of the day grew out of the bible lesson for the day. Even the math and science were beautifully woven together into the bible lesson. This is what sold me. We pray that our children can see that Christ truly is the center of our home and family. This was another way to show them.

So far, we are loving it! We look forward to school time each day. I highly recommend My Father's World for anyone who wants Christ at the center of their homeschool.

Thoughts About Facebook

2009-08-11T20:25:00.000-07:00

Now really, how many folks out there actually want to hear about every second of every day of every person they ever knew since highschool? Okay, yes, I am ranting a bit today. Seriously, I have tried to let the whole concept of Facebook grow on me but, it just isn't happening.

My husband has a facebook page that he uses to stay in contact with his youth kids and folks at church. Today, we were sitting in our office talking as he checked his facebook account and I could not help but notice all of the posts to his "wall". There were tons of them, from only a single day!

Now don't get me wrong. I can totally understand posting pictures to share and the occasional update of a noteworthy situation. This, however, was madness! The compulsion to post every feeling of every moment of the day just begs the question "Does anyone ever actually ask you how you feel?" Frankly, I can't believe that teenagers, with all of their insecurities would get caught up in such. Having to post the fact that you are bored and begging others to text you basically screams that no one is texting, calling or otherwise communicating with you. Then there is this business of when one posts on facebook, the post does not only show up on your own wall but on the wall of all of your "friends". They don't even have the option of not knowing how you feel that day and how many trips to the bathroom you make.

When you add all of this to the fact that most of the posts were not even coherent sentences...ugh...

Is it possible that some e-genius out there has figured out that people have this need to be needed and accepted? Has someone figured out that we all want to be the one with all the "friends"? Have they guessed that we all want to believe that everyone is just waiting to see what we are doing today? Could they be feeding our needs with empty synthetic relationships? Oh goodness, could someone be making money off of our feelings?

You may ask, how does all of this fit into the usual bent of my blog. Well, the truth is that someone does care about every second of every day of your life and mine. Every insignificant detail of our existence is beautiful to Him. In fact, He has numbered the very hairs of our heads. May we fill our voids and feed our needs with Jesus.

Dad's Birthday Cake

2009-08-04T12:57:00.000-07:00

Finally, pictures of the cake. It was a family effort. Abigail helped bake the cake and cover it in icing.

Lily Grace licked the spatula.

Caleb sketched the picture for the cake. (He said I didn't do a very good job of transferring the image.)

In the end, Daddy loved it!

You Know Kalli Ann...that Owen

2009-08-04T12:41:00.000-07:00

I am so late in doing a blog tribute to my favorite little Owen girl. Our best friends, Brian and Brandi, had a beautiful baby girl in May. I have been saving pictures of her since before her birth :) First, here she is now..

Her first picture with her betrothed, our son Joshua :) (We are keeping our fingers crossed. It's hard to get good in-laws!)

Finally, her debut.

Our Lily Grace refers to each member of the Owens family individually as "you know Brian, that Owen". So here she is Kalli Ann...that latest Owen!

Birthday Wishes

2009-07-28T07:25:00.000-07:00

Today is my husbands birthday. That makes it a very special day around here! Thought it is not a good picture, here is the birthday boy heading off to the skatepark, his favorite pastime.

We usually don't do big birthday parties with lots of gifts and such. Instead, we like to celebrate with just our family and sometimes a few close friends. We like homemade cards and cakes instead of store bought and we like to be at home. The real excitement is watching the children all day. They each have their own special and top secret surprise planned. You never really know what they will come up with.

Lily has all of her friends lined up at the table waiting for the cake.

Rarely are doors shut around here but, it can be acceptable on birthdays. Caleb's project is obviously super secret.

Here is a picture of the Abby working on her card for Daddy.

As for me, I am trying my hand at my first character cake for the occasion. Plus, I am trying to find all the ways I can to celebrate my husband today. I could write forever and tell all of the ways I admire him as a husband and father. Today, however, I would celebrate him as a brave man who continues to allow our Lord to do a mighty work in his life. I don't know many men with the strength of character to self examine and then invite God to make changes in their lives. I am blessed to have my husband.

Defining People

2009-07-27T06:47:00.000-07:00

Why is it that we as humans feel the need to define people, to categorize them or put them into nice tidy boxes? Personally, I find boxes stuffy and confining. Is it absolutely necessary that once categorized by society, we must bear all of the attributes of that category and stray not from the box of that type of person?

What happens when a person we have categorized does something, wears something or says something that does not fit in the box we have them in?

Here is something worth chewing on...

If you are the type of person who tries to label or categorize those around you, what kind of box are you living in? Do you really know who you are or do you just do what you do because that is the box you live in?

My opinion...we are made in the image of God. There is nothing about my great God that fits in a box.

Things Learned at NWLC

2009-07-25T12:10:00.000-07:00

1) There are many things we don't do cause "we saved"!

2) There are many times when you think you have it all figured out, but in fact, "You got the wrong one"!

3) We don't do that "W" word.

4) You just don't touch Jon's electronics!

5) There are few things in life that Missy gets really upset about...her jeans are one of them:)

6) There are some higher levels of thought that we hope we never achieve.

7) Visual worship is a declaration not decoration.

8) Jackie can bind the popo in Jesus name in 3 states!

9) We know what Larry would look like with spikey hair:

10) We Know what we must do to become great song writers :)

11) Lee's wife Kristy is an exceptional motivational speaker!

Out of Town and Back Again

2009-07-25T11:35:00.000-07:00

No, I did not just quit blogging again. My husband and I had an awesome opportunity to attend the National Worship Leader's Conference in Leawood, Kansas this last week. I was a bundle of nerves of course because we had never been away from our kids that long. Fortunately, we have a great Nana and Poppy who took them to the mountains for the week to keep them busy.
We had 6 other folks from our church that went to Kansas with us that made the trip absolutely amazing! In fact, here they are...

This is the whole crew. My husband, Stacy, Jon, Justin, Lee, Pam, Missy and Jackie. What a blast we had. (While learning of course!)

These are those crazy boys that drove for us, carried our bags and took great care of us ladies. Thanks guys!

I just couldn't leave this one out. This is my brother and sister (or Lee and his girls :)) Much love to you guys!

The conference itself was nothing less than spectacular! Just imagine a huge auditorium full of worship leaders being led by folks like Laura Story, Mac Powell and Michael W. Smith.

Anyway, all is well and we are home again. We picked up Sandy from the vet and we are getting back into the swing of things.

A Style All Her Own...

2009-07-15T20:05:00.000-07:00

I just had to share this one! This is our youngest daughter and her latest fashion statement. This morning she chose a pink satin princess dress, her new pink cowboy boots with sparkles in them (courtesy of the Crowe family), and a pink silk flower in her hair.

I love the way that she feels free to have a style all her own uninhibited by the world's rules of fashion. I hope she is still doing this when she is 15 years old!

Playing With Our Father

2009-07-15T15:06:00.000-07:00

Earlier this week I was talking with a friend on the phone when our conversation turned, as it often does, to the Lord. We were talking about a book I had read that beautifully depicted the Father side of our God. Not the father that guides, privides or chastises but the loving Father that longs to spend time with his children just being with them. We talked about how good earthly fathers often just play with thier children and how our heavenly Father must long to do the same with us. Why do we keep Him at arms length when He so longs to be a part of every aspect of our lives. Do we remember that he wants to sit and talk to us while we cook or go about our daily activities? Isn't he the same God that walked with Adam in the cool of the evening? Can we imagine what they talked about?

Anyway, that conversation with my friend has reminded me to look for my Father God each day and not miss an opportunity to play with Him and teach my children to do the same!
As a family we have always been willing to take a "rain break", but today it was different. My dear husband had been outside on the mower for a while and the kidos were out playing while I was working in the house with the baby. The kids had been running in and out periodically for water because it was soooooo hot out. Suddenly, my oldest daughter burst in the door and announced that it was raining without thunder and lightning. So, without hesitation, we took a rain break. As we were standing out in the rain with the kids, my husband mentioned that God was playing with us.

How awesome it was to take a break and cool off. It was even more awesome to know that our Father sent that rain so we could play in it. The bike ramp became a water slide and our clothes were instant bathing suits.

To Blog or Not to Blog...

2009-07-14T06:49:00.000-07:00

...that has been the question for the last couple of months.

It all started when our oldest son was invited to join the gymnastics team. We quickly discovered that this would require a much larger time commitment than his usual 1 hour per week gymnastics class. In fact, it would require 6 hours per week just for training and that would not include his meets. It would also require a much larger financial commitment. We had to sit down with our son, now 7 years old, and discuss priorities. We decided that we would allow him to be a part of the decision making process of which activities he would continue. We strive to keep our kids active. Until this point, he took 2.5 hours of dance, art, piano, gymnastics and was involved in cub scouts.

While praying about how to explain the situation to him in a manner that would allow him to start making Godly decisions, the Lord impressed upon me Ephesians 5:16 Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. This began a whole new discussion about they ways we spend our.
The way we spend our time is a sure reflection of our priorities. I began to consider the things that I put the majority of my time into. Those are the things that are priorities in my life. Then came the moment of truth. Did those things in which I invest the most of my time serve a kingdom purpose? Do those things actually make an impact on this world for the kingdom of God?

I began charting my days to see how my time was actually spent. I listed all of the things I usually do or want to accomplish. When blogging finally made the list, I had to ask myself if it served a kingdom purpose in my life. Honestly, at first I did not think so. Then, last Sunday night, a dear friend was testifying in church service. He said that sometimes he just wanted to scream to the world that he loved Jesus. Just this morning I realized that this blog is one of those ways that I scream out to the world that I LOVE JESUS!

So, with that said, I cannot promise that I will blog every day but I will do my best to testify to the glory of God in my life in this venue at every opportunity.

Halloween

2009-03-05T15:02:00.000-08:00

It know its late but we are still in our catch up phase of posting so here are the Halloween pics.

Halloween is always a fun time for the kidos. This year we had a Power Ranger, Princess Belle and Princess Snow White. I always plan to make the childrens' costumes. I have these wonderful ideas for family themed costumes that never quite seem to work out. Oh well, there is always next year.

We seem to have made a tradition of attending the Hallelujah Hoedown at Trinity Chapel. They always do a wonderful job of having lots of food and fun for the kids.

After the Hoedown when we were already home and in our PJ's our favorite scarecrow showed up. It was our Aunt Debbie!

Let it Snow!

2009-03-04T15:12:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago we got to enjoy a rare treat in East Tennessee, SNOW!! I bundled the kidos up in as many layers as I could get on them and sent them out with thier Daddy to build a snowman. Who knows, with the way the weather is here, it could be the only one they ever get to build.

What began as a simple trip outside to build the snowman quickly turned into screeches and screams as someone started a snowball fight. Nothing says love from Daddy like a face full of snow!

Of course, it didnt take the children long to join in. Even a 3 year old can manage to form a pretty decent snowball.

Finally, all of the hard work paid off and we had a snowman in the yard. Many thanks again to Ms. Faye for sending us all the wonderful hats. We got to use one on the snowman.

Side Buns

2009-03-03T20:07:00.000-08:00

I didn't realize that children in the 3 to 5 age category even noticed the fashion around them or set and noticed styles and trends. Believe me, they do. There is a beautiful little girl at our homeschool co-op named Emma. She is older than our 3 year old screecher but we pass her in the halls and say hello. This past weekend as we were getting ready to go out with our kids to a birthday party our youngest daughter announced that she needed a different hair do. When I asked her how she would like her hair done she replied "Like Emma's hair mommy, you know, in those side buns!" We all busted out laughing. In her tiniest three year old voice this sounded much like sideburns. So, for all of those who can't get the mental picture, here are the "side buns".
Isn't that just the cutest thing!

CVSing

2009-03-03T04:22:00.001-08:00

For many in our country, whether by choice or necessity, frugality has become a way of life in this present economy. I could not believe it when my freshman grammar class had never even heard the word frugal. We got a nice vocabulary lesson that day :) Anyway, its true, we are all pinching pennies a bit more these days. Many of my friends have asked me how we seem to stretch our food and necessity dollars so well with so many in the home and one still in diapers. My oft repeated reply is cooking at home, clipping coupons and CVSing 101 as taught on moneysavingmom.com (see link on my blogroll). The first two are self explanatory, time consuming and worth it! The last is a bit of a puzzle for some.
Though I have directed many friends to the MSM site, they seem to come away either confused or in disbelief. I have promised for a while to show the CVSing in action so, here is my first post.
On Sunday after church, I stopped by the local CVS on the way home to pick up a newspaper and the new monthly Extra Care Bucks (ECBs) book. This is always available on the first of every month and should be tucked away as reference for the entire month of CVSing. I admit, the planning of such shopping takes some time. In fact, I had not been CVSing in a while so, I was nearly starting from scratch with my ECBs.
So here is the concept, you invest a little money in the beginning to get lots of ECBs, combine those with coupons in the following weeks and keep rolling them over. Essentially, you turn an original $20 out of pocket purchase into free toilet paper, paper towels, toiletries and other necessities for months.
Here is how I got started again. I pulled all of my coupons from my Sunday paper, printed all available coupons online (including the ones emailed from CVS) and began scouring the CVS circular and monthly ECB book. I found the items that I could use that I had coupons for and offered ECBs. This usually makes for the best purchases! I had a $5 off of $15 purchase and a $4 off of $20 from CVS to start with. I also had a $2 off of playskool wipes from the CVS website. So, there was $11 off of my first $20 before any other coupons or ECBs. Playskool wipes and Pampers were on sale at CVS this week offering ECBs as well (buy $20 of these combined and get $5 ECBs). There were also coupons in the paper for pampers. You see the deal coming together?? There were several other items on sale that I could use that offered ECBs and for which there were also coupons available. Here was the result of this week's CVSing:

This is a 6 pack of Charmin, 8 roll pack of Bounty, 2 Jumbo packs of Pampers, 2 large tubes of Crest, 2 bottles of Tylenol PM, 1 Secret deodorant, 2 bags of playskool wipes and a 16 pack of duracell AAA batteries.

We got all of this for about $30 out of pocket with $18.99 in ECBs to start out with next week. I know that $30 may seem like a lot but when you consider that two jumbo bags of pampers cost at least that much, you see the savings. Plus we got a lot more! Also, we will not have to spend that much again unless I fall behind and quit turning over my ECBs again. A typical weekly CVS shopping trip costs me anywhere from $4 to $8 out of pocket and we come home with at least this much. I will keep posting these shopping excursions for a few weeks until those interested parties get the hang of it. Happy shopping this week!

Blog Safety

2009-03-03T03:41:00.000-08:00

It never occurred to me that I would need to protect my childrens' names on my blog. However, just the other day I read a blog by a mom who nicknamed her kids online. As I was thinking about how cute that was, it dawned on me that it was for safety as well. Now for me, being on of those people constantly preaching about those stickers in the back windows of cars with the kids names and sports numbers and how that gives predators way too much info about our kids, I felt like a complete idiot for posting so much about them on our blog!! I first considered deleting our blog all together or just not including the kidos. However, I know we would have several readers that would be terribly disappointed with us so, here is our answer. We are carefully going through our archives interchanging our kids names for some nicknames. Those of you who know the kids know they fit.

First, there is the Monkey Man:

He is 7 years old and all monkey. At any given point in the day you can find him hanging from something. I don't think I even notice it so much anymore. In fact, I think he practices his memorization each week while swinging from his top bunk!
Next, there is the Tater:

While some may argue that our 6 year old could only be labeled the "Princess", I respectfully disagree. She is the house trickster, instigator, aggravator, agitator ...you know, a Tater! She and her daddy have even started their own "Tater Club". It is a very special members only kind of club to which only the most skilled Taters are invited.

Next, the Screecher:

All who know our third child know that she is absolutely tiny in body but HUGE in vocal ability! Her one offensive and defensive weapon is her ear piercing screech! This is heard daily around the Langford home, most always when the baby has just drifted off to sleep. After a sleep deprived night, I threaten the worst of consequences on anyone who would make her screech.

Last, but not least, there is our Little Man:

As he grows, I am sure he will show us a better nickname but for now, the only other thing that would fit would be the "Spewer" and that just isn't a pretty thought :)
So there you have it, our newly named crew!

Catching Up

2009-02-09T13:55:00.000-08:00

Wow! I can't belive it has been 2 months since my last post. We were terribly sick for the holidays and it seems that we are just now getting caught up with everything. It seems that when you have more than one or two children, any illness must cycle through the entire family at least twice :) We are all healthy now. Praise the Lord. Just because we were not feeling well, things really didn't slow down for us. I hope to catch up on posting some pictures from the last couple of months in the next couple of days.

All I Want For Christmas is My Two Front Teeth

2008-11-19T12:47:00.000-08:00

I don't think there is any hope of our oldest having his two front teeth back in time for Christmas. I realize that many children lose their two front teeth at the same time. However, leave it to my child to lose them by some very unconventional means! The Monkey Man's favorite pastime is riding bikes at the Knoxville Skatepark with his dad (the biggest kid in my house).

One day this summer while I was enjoying some "mom time" at a friends house learning some new whole grain recipes, I got this call that began with "honey, now don't panic!" Of course, no words induce panic faster in a mother than those. My husband quickly related to me the events that had taken he and Caleb from the Skatepark and down the road to Children's Hospital Emergency Room.

When I arrived in the ER I found my son barely able to hold his head up because of a concussion and his face swollen from having his teeth knocked out. Apparently, my little baby had accidentally "dropped in" to this godforsaken place called the "flow bowl" and crashed at the bottom.

Praise God they were only his baby teeth. Two days later he was back at the Skatepark. Here he is at the end of November still without those teeth!

After his most recent trip to the skatepark, Caleb came home and informed me that he had "dropped in" again. As I ran across the room to inspect for injuries, he mustered all the "coolness" in his seven year old body and told me, " on purpose this time mom".

Update

2008-11-19T10:05:00.000-08:00

Finally an update! Things have been absolutely crazy around the Langford house for the last few weeks. Everyone is home and well and we have been struggling to settle back into a routine. With the holidays quickly approaching, I am not sure how long we can hold back the chaos.

(The Tater can never resist sneaking into a picture. Can you see her?)
The Little Man has reached 7 lbs 10 oz. He is growing so quickly now. He is smiling and laughing constantly. His favorite game is playing peek-a-boo with Lily.

The Screecher got the approval from her doctor yesterday to return to Ballet. She is very excited about that! My husband and I are about mid way through the second sub-term of fall in our classes, so we find ourselves studying more and more. I am pushing the children to make sure we have at least half of our homeschool year done before Christmas and now the Christmas Play begins. I do just love the holidays!

Activities

2008-10-31T09:03:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite parts of the whole homeschooling experience is all of the extracurricular activities my kids get to participate in. Not being tied up in school for 8 hours a day loosens our schedule so that they can do lots more and we are not pushed as a family. We are able to schedule our activities around meal times and family time and anything else important. We also group our activities so that we are only away from home a couple of days a week and to save time and money in gas.

Here everyone is ready for dance classes on Tuesdays. Below The Monkey Man and the Tater are visiting the state veterans home for a scouting activity.

The Monkey and the Screecher also take gymnastics. Our three oldest co-op on Fridays with our friends at Trinity Chapel and the oldest two take piano lessons. It all makes for a busy week but we love it!

Homeschooling 24/7

2008-10-31T08:51:00.000-07:00

Finally, we are all home and healthy. Praise the Lord! Lily Grace is doing well and our little Joshua is 7 lbs 3 oz as of Tuesday. We have been home from the hospital for almost three weeks now and is seems that we are settling back into our new old routines :)

I admit that homeschooling with a new baby has been my biggest challenge. There have been many days when all I felt like teaching was a hands-on unit study on sleep! Even though I could use a lot more of that, the kids didn't seem so excited about the possibility.

Anyway, Dad is being helpful as always. I am terrified of bugs and those creepy crawly things that are so interesting to the little ones. Thus, Dad is always in charge of the hands-on science. Here are the latest pictures of the Science visitor/Entertainment that crawled through our garage. When I stepped into the garage to pick up the laptop case that I was listing on ebay. This little fellow ran across my hand. I screamed, the children laughed and Stacy commenced with the science lesson at 10pm!

Little Man Update

2008-10-18T08:37:00.000-07:00

Through all of the chaos in the Langford house of late, the Little Man is still growing. His next weight check is not until this Monday but we are confident that he is now past the 6 pound mark. He is more alert every day (even in the middle of the night!) and he loves to watch and listen to his brother and sisters.

The Screecher's Surgery

2008-10-18T08:27:00.000-07:00

Our little Screecher's surgery went better than expected. She spent only one night in the ICU and was discharged on Sunday. These are pictures just two days post op. If all goes as expected this will be the last of her surgeries! Praise the Lord!

She is back at home now with her brothers and sister and back to her usual self. She still moves a bit slowly but, that has not kept her from playing and dressing up. Below is a picture of her latest costume creation. According to her, she is Thumbelina's Mommy.

Please Pray for Lily Grace

2008-10-08T19:44:00.000-07:00

Our precious Lily Grace is a miracle that runs around our house in front of us every day. She is a constant reminder of what an awesome God we serve.

When I was 20 weeks pregnant with Lily Grace, we found out that she had significant cardiac defects. I still remember the look on my doctor's face when he said "we'll just take this one day at a time". When she was born in April of 2005 things looked even worse than we had thought. Along with the cardiac issues she had numerous other problems. She had 5 surgical procedures before she was ever discharged from the NICU. At three months old, she finally made it home from the hospital with more equipment that I have ever seen with a baby. She was completely tube fed, she had a central line placed that we used to give her IV antibiotics and she was on a monitor. Three weeks later she was back in the pediatric intensive care and two weeks after that, she was at Vanderbilt Hospital having open heart surgery.

I will never forget the Friday before her surgery. My mom and I had driven to Vanderbilt for Lily's pre-op work and we were told that the surgery to fix her heart might not be possible. According to the ultrasound done that day, her heart muscle had thickened to the point that it might prevent the surgery. We drove home with a mix of silence and tears. We were absolutely devastated. We prayed all weekend. We were not supposed to have Lily out in crowds but we took her to church on Sunday morning anyway. When we had prayer for her, the entire church was on the altar. On Monday morning when the doctor called out from the surgical suite, he told us that her heart was nothing like what the ultrasound had shown. The muscle was thinned and the procedure was done. Is anything to hard for God?

After that stay we had several other surgical procedures to remove her gallbladder, and fix various other problems with Lily. According to the doctors, nothing was quite right in her little body. I praise God that she is fearfully and wonderfully made.

It has been quite a while now that we have been home and well. Unfortunately tonight we are packing for the hospital again. Lily Grace has congenital scoliosis and other issues with her spine. The most serious issue is that her spinal cord is tethered to her tail bone. Tomorrow, she will have surgery to release that tethering. It didn't sound very serious at first until I realized all that the procedure entailed.

The procedure aside, this time Lily Grace knows what is happening. She knows that she is going to the hospital and they are going to "ouchie" her. I always thought when she was a baby that it would be better if she were older. I was wrong. This is much worse.

Please pray that God in his infinite mercy would spare my baby from pain. Pray that the Great Physician would guide the hands of the surgeon that operates on my precious angel. I pray that she would be healed. I pray that this procedure goes better than we could even dream because we serve a God who is more than able.

Sleep Deprived Update

2008-10-07T01:51:00.000-07:00

Yes yes, it has been a couple of weeks since I posted anything new. I plead sleep deprivation as my only defense :) As evidence, I submit that I am posting this at 4:45 am. Joshua just finished his middle of the night feeding and I could not get back to sleep.

Things are finally getting back to normal in the Langford house. Well, the new normal anyway. At least we have finally found a new rhythm. Joshua seems to sleep through the morning school time and wake up just when the other children are having a snack.

Someone asked me recently how we do all that we do with 4 children. I must say that I have wonderful parents. Nana and Poppy live just down the hill from us and are always eager to get their hands on the grandchildren. I am a blessed woman to be able to call my mom and have her watch the children long enough for me to take a shower or run to the store. Plus, my children love them to pieces! They get quite upset if they go a day without seeing Nana and Poppy. At any given time in the day my children are ready to run down the hill to Nana and Poppy's house. It is quite cute actually. It looks like the intro to Little House on the Prairie complete with Lily Grace falling down to roll in the grass midway just like Carrie.

For those of you waiting for the new Joshua pics, please visit our photographer and good friend LaDonna's blog at www.covertscorner.blogspot.com to see the most recent pictures. We hope to have a slideshow of these on our blog in the near future.

Joshua Day 32 and 5 Pounds!!!

2008-09-24T02:26:00.000-07:00

After one full week at home, Joshua weighed in at the pediatrician's office yesterday at 5 lbs 2.2 oz! On his first visit to the pediatrician last Monday, he weighed 4 lbs 7 oz. He packed on 9 oz in one week!

Here is the latest picture of our little man sitting in his new bouncer that Daddy got him. He seems huge now after looking back at the earlier pictures. More pictures to come...

Cooking Again

2008-09-24T02:11:00.000-07:00

My family is thrilled to have Baby Joshua home. There seems to be a new excitement in the house every day as we watch him change and grow. After being home a week it seems that he is finally awake more often. He seems to recognize voices and and look for the person speaking. What a miracle he is!

In addition to their happiness over Joshua, my family is thrilled that mommy is cooking again. I confess that while we were running between home and the hospital, we ate way more pizza and fast food than I am comfortable with. One night we even ate the dreaded Hamburger Helper. Ugh!! As many of you know, processed foods are my enemy! :) I do so love to cook from scratch and I love the health benefits for my family.

Anyway, my kidos are loving my latest kitchen gadget. It's a tortilla maker!! It is now one of our favorite things to make tortillas, and not just plain tortillas. I ran into an old friend at a homeschool fair and she told me how to make cinnamon tortillas. Believe me, they taste even better than they sound. Taking my friend's idea, my kids eat banana burritos for breakfast. These are cinnamon tortillas with peanut butter, jelly and a banana all rolled up.

These pictures are of the kids eating tortillas with honey drizzled on them for desert. Now that was yummy!

New Additions

2008-09-17T00:53:00.000-07:00

Joshua has not been the only new addition to our home this year. In April, Sandee, our greyhound came to live with us. We were a little nervous thinking that she might want to use our home as a racetrack since that is where she spent the first three years of her life. We were so wrong! We have since learned that greyhounds are large bassett hounds in disguise. They only eat and sleep. This is Sandee in her typical posture.

After Sandee came Phatty J. We took Phatty in as a foster kitty when our friend Missy brought him home from work. We had great plans of finding a home for him. Wrong again. His home was here with us. He fits right in with the rest of the crew, lazy most of the day.

This is how Phatty tells us the water bowl is empty. He also served as a great visual aid when Joshua was in the hospital. We told Caleb, Abby and Lily Grace that baby Joshua was smaller than Phatty J. In fact, Phatty is still a pound or so heavier than baby Joshua.

Finally Home Sweet Home!

2008-09-17T00:38:00.000-07:00

Our sweet Joshua finally came home on Saturday after three weeks and one day in the NICU at Childrens Hospital. After getting the grand tour of his new house from Daddy, his brother and sisters were lined up to hold him.

Big Brother was the first to hold baby Joshua. Caleb can't wait until Joshua is old enough to share a room with him. He has the bottom bunk all fixed up and waiting for his little brother.

Lily Grace was next simply because she is the most impatient. She is still waiting to find out what Joshua does. Apparently, when you are three years old, a baby that only sleeps and eats is not very impressive!

Finally, Abigail got her hands on Joshua. Abigail is a born nurturer. At 5 years old, she is already a big help to mommy.

After all of the excitement, Joshua needed a nap in his own bed. Finally!! We are so thankful to have him at home. It was such a peaceful night with all of our children under one roof. At last, we were not torn between baby Joshua at the hospital and the others at home. Our home feels complete.

Though we are happy to be home, we miss all of our friends in the NICU who took such good care of not only Joshua but us as well. We thank you all so very much for all you do. To our friends Teresa, Dawn, Becca, Wendy, Debby, Sunny, Christy, Brian "The Car Seat King", Anne, Sherry and all of the others who made a difficult time a little easier, we love and appreciate you!

Empty Me

2008-09-11T22:02:00.000-07:00

I have been looking for one of my newer favorite songs to add to my playlist and tonight I finally found it. The song is called Empty Me. As I listened to it, it made me think of all the things we ask God for. I wondered, do we ever ask him to take things away. I know I probably should. The more I thought about it, I realized that sometimes our lives are so full of “stuff” that we really don’t need that there may not be room for God to add the good things of Himself that we do need. How can God give us a humble and meek spirit when we are so filled with pride? How can He speak to us when we never listen? How can he teach us charity when we are self-centered and selfish? I pray that my Father will empty me of all that does not bring Him glory and fill me to overflowing with all that does.

Empty me of this selfishness inside
Every vain ambition and the poison of my pride
And any foolish thing my heart holds to
Lord empty me of these so I can be filled with you.

Joshua Day 20

2008-09-11T06:32:00.000-07:00

As of last night, Joshua weighs 4 lbs 0.7 oz. We finally broke the 4lb mark! Unfortunately, even at 4 lbs, Joshua is still too small for his car seat. Tonight, we go on the hunt for the special 4 lb rated car seat. The car seat he is sitting in is one of the smallest on the market, it still looks huge holding Joshua.

Even though he is still very tiny, Joshua looks like such a big boy without his tape on his face to hold his NG tube. He has done pretty well for the past couple of days taking all of his feeds by bottle. Way to go Joshua! If all goes well, we will be able to bring baby Joshua home on Saturday. Praise the Lord!

Special Delivery

2008-09-09T17:37:00.001-07:00

When we first began cooking most everything from scratch, we quickly realized that we could purchase our ingredients much cheaper in bulk from online sources such as Wheat Montana and Something Better Natural Foods. There is also a wonderful local whole foods market called Three Rivers Market. So, instead of buying the regular round box of Quaker Oats from Wal-Mart for $2-4, we buy 50 lbs at a time for less than 30 dollars.
We were thrilled when our order from Something Better arrived this week. (Special thanks to our friend Nancy for taking it home and then delivering it to us.) The picture below is of our kitchen table loaded down with 9lbs Peanut Butter, 5lbs Wheat Gluten, 50lbs Whole Yellow Corn, 5lbs Spelt, 25lbs brown rice and 50lbs of rolled oats.

We were so excited! The kids always enjoy helping open the large bags of grain and pouring them into storage buckets. Of course, they are also ready to immediately start cooking whatever can be made with the latest order.
I think it is awesome for kids to know where bread and other foods come from. When they see the wheat berry in the field and then in the bag of wheat, see it ground into flour and then eat the bread, they really grasp the whole cycle. Plus, it's lots of fun!

Joshua Days 15-18...Finally!

2008-09-09T17:25:00.000-07:00

Well folks, things have been getting a bit chaotic around here. We went back to co-op on Friday and it seems that we have been running non-stop since then. As of last night, Joshua is up to 3 lbs 13 oz and it's looking like we are coming home this weekend.

Over the last few days, Joshua has had a bath and his Nana has been enjoying feeding him now that he is taking all of his food by mouth. That's right, no more NG tube. Praise the Lord! (Tape free pics coming soon!)

Hats

2008-09-04T18:10:00.000-07:00

I love hats even though I don't often wear them. When my kids dress up, which is almost every day, hats are a very important accessory for my princesses and super heroes. Hats are one of those things that you can pick up at yard sales for almost nothing or at thrift stores very inexpensively. Recently, my aunt's mother sent us about 10 different hats to play with at the same time she gave us our new piano. The children were more excited about the new hats. They have provided many hours of entertainment and imaginative play already. Surprisingly, they have also been teaching aids in our homeschool. Some of the hats look like they are from different time periods or different regions of the world.

We were able to get online and look for hats similar to ours and discuss where they came from or where they were most often seen. What an adventure! Even our dog Sandy got in on the hat action, with some help from Lily Grace, of course.

Joshua Day 13 & 14

2008-09-04T15:09:00.000-07:00

Our sincerest apologies to all of those who had to go one whole day without new pictures of baby Joshua, especially our dear friend Miss Margie! Rest assured, all is well. Joshua now weighs 3lbs and 5.9 oz. We are still gaining more than an ounce per day! Praise the Lord!

Today, we had a very special daytime visit with Daddy. That doesn't happen very often. Joshua was wide awake and already planning his first bicycle ride with Dad. Of course, we have to master eating first :)
The big news of the last couple of days is our new Big Boy Crib. That's right. We are out of the isolette! Of course this will allow for more cuddle time. Mommy is thrilled.

Joshua Day 12

2008-09-03T03:46:00.000-07:00

At 2:00 this morning Joshua weighed in at 3lbs 4.8oz. That is up 1.5 ounces from last night. He is working very hard at taking three bottles per day now. Please help us pray that his weight gain continues and that we will have him home soon.

We were finally allowed to post his name on his monitor beside his bed. All of the NICU babies have these wonderful little name tags. We felt a little bit left out for a while.

Eating still makes him very sleepy. After premies are fed the NICU staff offers the mom the opportunity to "kangaroo" the baby. The babies are so tiny they can be tucked inside mom's shirt to keep warm and allow for a little special bonding time.

Psalm 113

2008-09-01T04:22:00.000-07:00

This morning in my bible reading, the Lord led me to Psalms 113. As I read along I thought, what a beautiful psalm. Verses 5-6 and 9 spoke to me particularly.

v. 5-6: Who is like the Lord our God, who dwelleth on high, who humbleth himself to behold the things that are in heaven and in the earth!

v.9: He maketh the barren woman to keep house, and to be a joyful mother of children. Praise ye the Lord!

Praise the Lord indeed that he would humble himself to look down on a barren woman like me, hear my cries and make me a keeper at home and the joyful mother of four beautiful children.

Baby Joshua Day 9

2008-08-31T16:22:00.000-07:00

All went well with Joshua today. We finally broke 3 pounds!! He is 3 lbs .25 oz. He is finally maintaining his own body temp without any real assistance from the isolette. He got to wear a new duck outfit today. Lily Grace picked it out special for Baby Josh.

Joshua Update

2008-08-30T16:23:00.000-07:00

Thanks so much to all of you who are praying for Baby Joshua. As you can see, he is doing quite well today. His eyes are open and he is much more alert.

We thought everyone might like to see some pictures of where he hangs out most of the day. These are some pictures of his isolette

or as Daddy calls it, his "Space Shuttle".

Today, his bottle feedings were increased to three per day. As you can see from the before and after feeding pics, it is very hard work for such a little guy to eat.

Miracles

2008-08-29T18:12:00.000-07:00

Wow! It has not been even 30 days and here I am actually blogging again. What better way to start off this blog than to announce the arrival of our latest miracle. Joshua Newman Langford was born on Friday, August 22 at 4:00 pm.

At 34 weeks he weighed in at a whopping 3 lbs 9oz. He seemed so tiny to us since his sisters were born at 37 and 38 weeks and were 9 lbs 6oz and 8 lbs 3 oz. The only real comparison we had was our kitten who still out weighs Baby Joshua by a few ounces.

Joshua now weighs 2 lbs 15.6 oz. He will be able to come home when he weighs between 4 and 5 pounds and is eating well on his own.