Christmas

  I love this time of year! The christmas tree is up and the house is decorated.  The little ones had so much fun putting baubles on the tree - non breakable ones of course. Jess does the glass ones whilst the kids have their rest after lunch. Although this year, she was at uni so it was left to me.

  I haven't looked properly at our decorations for the last few christmas'. They bring back memories of where we got each one...the christmas shop in Mittagong, or the little  shop we found in Launceston. It seems where ever we go we find these little shops, chock full of christmas wonders, and now with the internet the world is my oyster........

  With the big day only a few days away, I have last minute sewing to do for stocking stuffers. We are giving the school aged children pencils and textas in their stocking this year, so I thought that I would make pencil cases toy go with them. Just simple rectangular bags, quilted with button closures. The boys also want "super capes" to play super heros in the backyard, so I will be doing them tonight.

  My christmas cooking is almost finished, I think I have made a least 10 doz. fruit mince tarts! Andrew does love them. The pudding is ready to be steamed tomorrow, and the turkey and ham should be delivered on thursday.

  Christmas can seem like a lot of work, but when I think about the childrens faces as they watch Andrew and I do a nativity play with puppets on christmas eve, or see their eyes sparkle as they watch the christmas lights display at our local park, it is all worth it.

  Merry Christmas from my family to yours,

  God Bless,

  Jenny
 

 

God made the little boys for fun, for rough and tumble times of play;

He made their little legs to run and race and scamper through the day.

He made them strong for climbing trees, He suited them for horns and drums,

And filled them full of revelries so they could be their father's chums.

   Edgar Guest

I love.....

I love being a mother. I love being pregnant, giving birth, breastfeeding, cuddling babies, toddlers and even 18 year olds! I even love changing babies nappies, and giving them baths.

  I love to look at  my childrens faces and marvel at their similarities and differences. I love their zest in the morning when I can barely wake up.

  I love to watch their first tentative steps turn into bold cartwheels in a few short years. I love to watch them love each other. I love it when they want another baby as much as I do.

  Children are wonderful!

  God bless,

  Jenny

Growing Up

It seems like just yesterday I was looking into the eyes of my newborn baby daughter with her shock of fuzzy brown hair. Now, as she prepares to try her wings out, flying from home into the wide world, I find that my own outlook on life has changed.

  I remember being that teenager, looking forward to university days and what lay beyond. Now (many years later!), I am the mum, looking at life from an older point of view. Still excited about what adventures lay ahead, but also realising how quickly the last years have gone by, and how precious the time is!

  I realise that I need to make the most of every moment with my other little ones, because soon they too will be trying out their wings and flying from the nest.

So I am going to enjoy the potty training, learning to walk, the  getting into mischief part of life. I am going to enjoy teaching my little ones to read and write, teach them their mathematics and all about God, because I know that these days will all too soon be gone and one day be just precious memories.

  Enjoy your children at whatever stage they are at.

  God Bless,

  Jenny

A Simple woman's Daybook

Outside my window....  the sun is shining and I can hear the children playing in the yard.

I am thinking...  that  I wish I were a morning person. I love early morning sounds!

From the learning rooms... Nicholas' reading is coming along so well. He is learning ee sounds.

In the kitchen... Bread is cooking for lunch. Yum

I am wearing... my usual denim skirt with a long sleeved shirt. My ankle is still bound up from when I sprained it, so I have joggers on to support it.

 I am creating... soap!

I am wondering... how to make our lives more full filling without just making us busy.

I am reading... " The Mom  You're Meant to Be" By Cheri Fuller

I am hoping... that the chicken pox has finally left our family.

I am looking forward to... Andrews holidays..7 whole weeks!

Around the house.... Emily and Nicholas are playing Trio and Jacob is playing with Duplo. Katie and Beth are playing an imaginative game outside, and Benjamin is joining in any way he can.

  From the creative mind of  The  Simple  Womans Daybook.

Spring....

  "All through the long winter, I dream of my garden. On the first day of spring, I dig my fingers deep into the soft earth. I can feel its energy, and my spirit soars."
                                                          -Helen Hayes

Seasons

All seasons in life present their own challenges.  As I sit here typing I  am looking out the window, rain is falling and the mist is closing in. It is really quiet beautiful. Inside on the other hand, I have house full of house bound toddlers, and an 18 year old with the chicken pox! The prospect of six more cases of chicken pox all under the age of 8 is entirely underwhelming, and I am tempted to just go back to bed! But of course I can not do that ( mores the pity), so I will bake a batch of choc chip cookies  in an attempt to appease the masses,  ( it usually works) and then as Elizabeth Elliot says, I will do the next thing.

  God Bless,
  Jenny

Family Life

Family life is constantly changing.  As individual members grow in creativity, spiritually, emotionally, and physically, so our family dynamic is changing day by day and  month by month, even minute by minute.

                                             Jacob, Bethany and Nicholas at the show

 I love what Edith Schaeffer  says in her book "What is a Family?", that one person needs to take responsibility for the family. To make the family that persons career, his or her life work.  What a wonderful thing to do. To be responsible  for the lives of baby and toddlers, girls and boys, husband or wife.

  God Bless,

   Jenny

There are always jobs to do.......

There are always jobs to do that I just don't like doing, and sorting clothes is one of them. With so many little bodies in this house, there is a lot of  clothing around that either doesn't fit or is the wrong season. Even though it is already the middle of winter, this week I finally tackled the summer clothes!  We are in the process of moving all the boys into one bedroom, so that meant that all of Nicholas' clothes needed to change rooms, plus I needed to take all the summer clothes out and store them.
  I usually take one child at a time, and go through their clothes putting summer ones away and any winter clothes that don't fit. They either get given to another child or stored in boxes. It is such a tedious job but I always feel really pleased with myself when it is done!

 God Bless,

  Jenny

Reflections

 Days go by so quickly, don't they? It seems so often that I get to the end of my day, and all I feel that I have done is housework and homeschooling.  While there is nothing wrong with making sure that the house is running smoothly, and the children need to be educated, some days I wonder if I should have a life long goal, something more to achieve during my lifetime.

  I  asked at my mothers fellowship group last week if  anyone had a goal for their life, something more than  just getting through each day!    I was surprised that most  had nothing specific they wanted to achieve.  So it got me thinking.... what have I achieved?   what do I want to achieve in the future?

  My goals are not for fame and fortune, but at a grass roots level to see my children in heaven with me.  I want to give them a sure foundation in Christ, a grounding in the bible, a depth of knowledge about the bible and its history.

   I also want my to make my family the best it can be. My family is my career. When we first got married, Andrew and  I decided that it would be me who would stay home with any children
God saw fit to bless us with,  and I would be the primary family organizer responsible for picnics, making memories, traditions, celebrations.

  I am also responsible for health and well being. I love reading and studying about organics, self sufficiency, nourishing traditions.  One aim that I have for my family is for us to be as self reliant, and self sufficient as possible in these modern times.  I try to make as much as I can from scratch when I cook and do baking. I love experimenting with hand creams and soaps, lip balms and herbal concoctions that I make myself.

  As I am thinking about life long goals I am sure that in the future I will have more I want to get done  during my life time. But  I hope that I always keep in mind that I am simply a traveller here on earth, my real home is in heaven and one day I hope to hear "Well done, good and faithful servant" from God.

  God bless,

    Jenny

Sauerkraut

I am trying a new recipe this week for sauerkraut. I grew up eating this with potatoes and sausage in typical dutch fashion, but I always hated it. So I am going to try a new recipe for fresh sauerkraut. It is just cabbage and salt packed into jars and left to ferment for 2-3 weeks. It is supposed to be very good for you full of good bacteria, like yoghurt.

Home-made lip gloss

 

 Emily (4) and I made lip gloss this afternoon. She loves watching and 'helping'!
 The lipgloss is all natural,  made with beeswax, honey and sweet almond oil. It is so smooth and tastes great! Just what I need in winter, when those cold winds blow.

Scheduling

Yesterday I had a friend over, and we got to talking about our "to-do" lists, and how we don't feel that we have achieved anything if we don't get our "to-do" list done each day. How very typical for women!
  My friend was telling me that she often feels like she has  done nothing  even though she has been busy all day. She asked how I did it with 7 children.
 I told her that I schedule! Years ago, when I had 3 children I would micromanage everyone for the whole day. I had a schedule for everyone that  told them  where they were to be, down to the half hour. Nowadays I have a more generous schedule and only for myself. By  scheduling myself, I can get all the day to day activities done, from the laundry through to homeschooling, and have time left over for the more enjoyable things in life.
  Because I enjoy a wide range of crafts, I like to make sure I have time to do them each week. So each afternoon I give myself an hour to sew, quilt, make candles, garden, preserve garden produce, or anything else I happen to be into at the time.
  It doesn't always work. There are days when life seems to get turned on its head, but on the days I get something done, I always feel very happy...like I've achieved!

Beanies!

With winter well and truly here, I decided to knit beanies for all the children.  They turned out  quite all right I think.

Books

 I have just finished reading two of  Frank Peretti's new books, Monster and The Prophet. Monster turns evolution on its head, and Prophet tackles  the abortion debate.....very interesting.

I Love.....

*Winter mornings. I love watching the mist roll in, seeing the trees in the distance through a shroud of clouds.

*The smell of bread cooking.

*conversations with my children around the breakfast table. "Mummy, do all mums have the same brain?"

Make your own Pizza Night.

   After a day of grocery shopping we always have an easy meal night. Make your own pizza is on the menu tonight which all the children love. We start with the base which tonight will be tortilla's. Top with tomato paste and a sauce of choice, usually BBQ or steak.

  Next are the meats..... cabanossi,  salami's of various sorts, and ham. Then come capsicum, baby bocconcini, and cheddar cheese. We bake for 15 minutes at 180, then Yum!