The House That Cleans Itself Part 2

OK, so over lunch I start reading the book.  It's very good so far.  She begins by drawing a floor plan to determine the flow of the house and in which order you want to organize your house.  Bob drew out a plan last night so I am all set there. 

Now I need to copy it and start planning out the zones. 

The book was so easy to read I ended up reading the first 3 chapters over my salad lunch. The second chapter encourages you to find the Home Base Zone, the area that, if clean, gives you a sense that you can handle the rest of the job.  I will have to think on that one.  It doesn't jump out to me right now. 

The third chapter discusses how to get the whole family on board.  Yay!  A family oriented approach appeals to me!    I have to finish the book and then have a family meeting.  My children already are great cleaners so hopefully they will be inspired to be more organized, too.  Julia is very excited so no problem there.  Bob is generally neat so that shouldn't be any trouble, except maybe those dirty socks that somehow seem to miss the hamper.....

Well anyway, so good so far.  I'll keep you posted.

The House That Cleans Itself

I am starting to read the book "The House That Cleans Itself" by Mindy Starns Clark.  My house is usually in good order but there are times it gets out of hand.  Julia has already read the book and is very motivated to put it into practice.  We have a good cleaning chart but we are not consistent in implementing it, usually because I am not up to it. 

I hope to learn a lot.  I'll let you know how it goes! 

Have a great day!

Freebies and what's going on around here.

Hi everyone,

Life has been very busy lately so I have not been able to post very much. We had a wonderful time in NY with family. The weather was refreshingly cool and comfortable. The Adirondacks were new to me and I really enjoyed the scenery and views. We toured the Adirondack Museum at Blue Lake Mountain and learned so much about the region. (Of course, a homeschooling family has to see at least ONE museum on a vacation!) The Barton Garnet Mine was very interesting, too. They bring you to a large pit with a pond where you may pick up garnet pieces off the ground. That was fun and fascinating! (Check out Julia's blog for lots of pictures and more details of our trip.) I especially enjoyed seeing Amish country in Lancaster, PA. My sweet husband insisted we stay longer so that I could see some beautiful quilts and fabrics. We even visited an Amish farm, saw the barn complete with cows and horses and admired their neat and lovely homestead. Yes, I bought some fabric for a quilt project. Now if I could only find some time to sew....

Peach season is coming to a close in a few weeks, so yesterday, I went to a peach farm and got some culls (rejects) for $10 for 50 lbs. They are huge, the size of softballs and also are freestone. I plan to make some jam today and probably tomorrow. Some will be canned as slices.

As I mentioned before, I was given a grain mill by a friend. I tried to make bread with a standard mixer and it was a hard job. In order to do it regularly, I would need a bread machine to do the mixing and kneading. PRAISE GOD! I was able to get a new Zojirushi bread machine yesterday! It was basically a miracle. I can't go into details. But God is so faithful! Today I also plan to make my first loaves of bread with the new machine. Wahoo!!

Salsa is also on my list for upcoming projects. With tomatoes in season, I would like to can our own salsa this year for the first time. Have I said that I just love to can? Well, I do!

I have been feeling so well lately that I am constantly amazed! What a blessing to be able to function without all the body aches, etc, that are a part of RA. I felt awesome all through our trip and kept up a rigorous schedule without any problem!! See previous posts for more info on my health.

In the next month, a friend and I are trying to finish up a medieval unit study that we did together over the summer. Health issues and the unexpected trip to see family interrupted out study. But this week we plan to finish up the learning part and then give the children time to film a movie set in medieval times. Costumes need to made and the script needs refining but it should be fun and educational! More details to follow.

My plans for the next school year are firming up. It will be very different having only 2 to work with on academics. I will still be helping Julia learn but the dynamics will be changed. Our main text this year is the Bible. After hearing Victoria Bodkin's CDs I am finally freed to follow my heart on teaching my children what I believe is vital. I plan to incorporate an Old Testament and New Testament survey, book by book along with more indepth study for personal application. I am using my own form and Bible notes for the survey. I'll share as it goes along.

I have a culottes tutorial in the works. I hope to post that soon.

Sorry this is so long-winded. I haven't posted in a while and a lot is going on! :)

Now for the FREEBIES!! Two of my favorite free sites are Behemoth.com and The Homeschool Freebie of the Day. Both of these site post free things DAILY so mark it in your favorites and check back often.

So good to hear from friends, Michelle, Cindy, Victoria and Jacque. If you are visiting, please consider leaving a comment. It's nice to hear from you!

Many blessings,

Botkin Conference: What an Experience

I did a lot of unit studies when my children were younger. I had a form for unit study planning that included 4 "F"s. Here is my review of the conference using these 4 elements (except I changed the Field trip to Friends because the whole conference was a field trip!)

1. Facts-

• A two day conference one hour from home that went from 8:30 am to 9:30 pm. We drove home on Friday to sleep in our own beds and to feed our chickens. A little extra time on the road but so worth it.
• Topics that included defining the home, church, brother/sister relationship, patriarchy, courtship, biblical femininity, honoring parents, state of the union, and hope for the future, among other things.
• Access to quality reading material for purchase.
• 500 like minded people, babies too, in one room.

2. Friends-

• The opportunity to meet and fellowship with like-minded families from all over the country.
• We met a family that lives near enough to get together on a regular basis!
• We also met people we had found online through blogging and got to see them face to face and share a hug!
• Friends we had met before but don't see often were there, too.

3. Fun-

• I found out that the Botkins don't have "fun", they work (as quoted from one of their children). But I think what they really mean is that they don't waste time in useless pursuits that don't have any real meaning. What they do is enjoyable to them.
• We had so much "fun" learning more about what the Bible says about raising our families for His glory. I had "fun" being challenged and convicted by the insightful comments of the Botkins. These things are fun for me!

4. Fundamentals-

• The Bible is the foundation for all the fundamentals. It is the only true guide for raising our children and guiding our own lives. We heard the Word over and over, often quoted by the Botkin children. I was thrilled to learn that some of the things in my heart were really on the right path. I just hadn't been able to express them or maybe put my finger on it specifically. Conviction and not condemnation tugged on my heart and that of my husband over certain issues. It is a call to come up another level. It was also reassuring to see the fruit of the labor of raising one's children in the way of the Lord.
• I was impressed with the sense of humility in the Botkin family. They were very earnest and passionate about their message. We were made to feel as their equals and yet they were serving us the entire time.
• The experience was a fine tuning of our direction; fleshing out more of the details of our journey. It was also an encouragement to persevere. Don't give up or give in. It will be worth it in the end.

Lastly, a thank you to the Botkins themselves for laying down their lives this weekend to serve, encourage and exhort fellow believers. They did it at personal cost as most of them were struggling with illness. God bless you abundantly for all you did for us!

Now if the Botkins do this again, let me encourage you to go and learn. I know that I'll be checking to see if I can be there too.

Blessings,

Gloria

Botkin Conference: We are going, are you?

The Botkin family is hosting the Christians at the Crossroads Conference, in Columbus, GA this weekend. We are going as a family and I am so excited!! I love all their books and videos so hearing them in person will be very special. Check out the link for more information. If you are going, please let me know so we can meet. I would love to meet you!

Blessings,
Gloria

Goals for the New Year

I don't normally make New Year's Resolutions or really even sit down in January and chart new goals. I probably should because I have heard it said, "If you don't know where you are going any train will take you there." I think that was Doug Phillips.
I guess I have a running list in my head of things I'd like to do or do better. But this year I want to write them down so that I can look back to see if I have accomplished my goals.

1. Spend more time with God in prayer and reading the Bible. "More" is an abstact quantity but I do want to be in His presence um...more! :-)

2. Be grateful for little things.

3. Take time to smell the flowers. Do what it takes to enjoy my family and my life in a fuller way.

4. Make new friends.

5. Make a quilt.

6. Learn how to write and publish books.

7. Increase our home business.

8. Establish a regular date night with my dear husband.

9. Have fun!

10. Help my children each learn a new skill.

Well, that about does it. I am looking forward to a great year.
Hope your year is great, too!

Gloria

Check out Biblical Womanhood with Crystal Paine. Lots of other lovely ladies have posted their goals, too.