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!