Joshua Daniel Roberts

Joshua Daniel Roberts was born February 26th around 9pm. He waited a week longer to come out than expected, but was born weighing 8lbs, 5oz! I am enjoying my time with Amy and Joshua and the rest of the Roberts in North Carolina this week. Cozette and I were able to fly over Wed to Monday and are appreciating the beautiful rain and sunshine over the ocean. When Derek returned from his business trip, Amy and I were able to sneak away for some Target therapy and a lot of cake at Chili's! I was told by Nathan, he's 5, that I need to learn how to make Cream of Wheat the next time I come out and Caroline has agreed to climb in my bag so she can come over and ride my horse. I would like to pack them all up and bring them back with me, Caleb is my little cuddle bug and I will miss my morning hugs. Today was daylight savings, we lost an hour in the night, so being a bad influence, I talked them into skipping church to go to the beach house for some dolphin watching and sand castles. Derek might forgive me :) I fly home tomorrow and will miss my North Carolina family. I can't wait to see my babies at home.

How to Forgive When You Don't Feel Like It - from Doni's blog.

This book is one my SIL told me about. I will probably buy it after reading this list. So I copied this from her blog to share with myself on days I need it!

“How to Forgive When You Don’t Feel Like It” by June Hunt

I thought I’d share this list with you because several people have asked me for a copy of it. If it resonates as truth in your heart as well, you may want to invest in the book.

* Forgiveness can take place with only one person; reconciliation requires the involvement of at least two persons.

* Forgiveness is directed one way; reconciliation is reciprocal, occurring two ways.

* Forgiveness is a decision to release the person who harmed you; reconciliation is the effort to rejoin the person who harmed you.

* Forgiveness involves a change in thinking about the offender; reconciliation involves a change in behavior by the offender.

* Forgiveness is a free gift to the one who has broken trust; reconciliation is a restored relationship based on restored trust.

* Forgiveness is extended even if it is never earned; reconciliation is offered to the offender because it has been earned.

* Forgiveness is unconditional regardless of a lack of repentance; reconciliation is conditional based on repentance.

(Page 122)

I also love the picture that the book The Shack (by William P. Young) puts on this topic. I would quote from it, but out of context with the story, you wouldn’t get the full of scope of such powerful words. Refer to pages 224 to 226.

Managing my home part 2

Ok, so a few hints for scheduling..
1. Babies don't schedule very well and expect them to mess up your schedule about every 1/2 hour
2. If you plan to get up early to have "you " time, go to bed at a decent hour. A sleepy mommy is a crabby mommy!
3. Allow yourself and your kids some down time and be FLEXIBLE for your own sanity.
4. Limit your computer and phone time, it seems those two things change my day schedule worse than any other, I have to turn off my phone for school time.
5. Allow for a morning snack to re-charge everyone!
I think my main schedule has stayed the same, but I find myself tweaking it to make it more realistic.
I have been expecting a set-back and today was one of them. Due to my lack of energy and Braxtyn's cold we are loosely following it. However, in light of what the day could be, we still finished school and are ready to run errands.

UPDATE: The garden is planted! I am hoping for more rain this weekend and a a great corn drop this year. Daniel dig trenched for me that will allow for irrigation type watering that will conserve water and keep the corn moist. We did the same type of thing for the cucumbers, melons and squash. Tomatoes, peas and potatoes are growing slowly but steady. This morning we ate fresh eggs and sausage from our animals. Can't wait to add fresh veggies to the table!

Managing my home

I sometimes feel the opposite is true, and that my home manages me. I have been weighted down by more than enough laundry and housework including the outdoor chores that I get to wondering where my day has gone. Wouldn't I love to think I could get up early and get it all done and still be cheery and delightful when Daniel gets home, oh yeah and a healthy dinner too. I'd still like to to think I could wax my eyebrows, paint my toenails, read a book, even take a shower on a regular basis! I'd like to imagine that when someone just dropped by, even if its the exterminator, I'm not embarrassed at the window sill filth, the dust bunnies under the bed, ect ect... Although this bothers me I find myself so out of time most days that I forget until the next day, or it bubbles over and the kids and Daniel get my pent up frustrations through dinner time and bedtime. I would still like to accomplish what seems to be the impossible. Does anyone do this successfully? Should I want to do this successfully or am I asking too much of myself. I've been seeking and praying, asking if the Proverbs 31 women truly exist and how does she exists. Like a metaphor? In my search I have realized that in my own heart there is a desire to accomplish these things and still have joy and peace in my home all throughout the day. So, in light of the fact that I feel like this desire was placed in my heart by the Holy Spirit, I needed to find a way. I spend a lot of time talking to other home school moms that have more children than me and seem to successfully teach them all and still make it to PE class or field trips mostly un-frazzled. I'm not going to pretend that becoming frustrated or discouraged isn't a daily occurrence for any mom. However, I wanted a better way to do this for me. After talking to quite a few of them, it seemed a written schedule and written chore charts were what most of them claimed worked. I thought through some practical ideas and then was given a book called Managers of Their Homes a practical guide to daily scheduling for Christian home school Families by Steven and Terri Maxwell. Upon reading this book I was very turned off in some ways by their biblical approach to scheduling, as though every woman who home schools is called to schedule and that it is a biblical mandate. I DO NOT feel that this is true for everyone. I think there is a danger in these types of rules that can leave mothers and wives empty and desperate trying to attain something that is not their calling. Each of us as mother's must determine what the Lord has called us to do in our homes and ask the Lord for that direction. So, in this book I found that some of the scriptures were used out of context and not encouraging whatsoever. I also realize that the hearts of these authors is sweet and they are trying to share something that works for them in their home. The thing I did find refreshing in this book, was a step by step guide to scheduling my family that spoke to me. Most of the time, I look at scheduling as bonding and restrictive taking away my fun-loving spontaneous personality:) unfortunately my spontaneous personality was making it harder for me to function in a house of four children and lots of chores! So I thought I'd give this schedule a try. For an example, I have scheduled myself and mu kids day into 1/2 hour and 1 hour chunks of time. I've also committed to getting up 1 hour before the kids to give me some "me time". I've been getting school done by 12:00 and all my laundry is caught up, the house stays fairly orderly, due to the new chore list for the kids. Which includes vacuuming, changing sheets and wiping down sinks and toilets as some of their new weekly responsibilities. They are actually enjoyign their new schedule because one thing I'm so excited about is the opportunities to spend individual time with each child. Today, as Noah was teaching Braxtyn for 1/2 hour, Cozy was still sleeping her morning nap and Graham and I sat down for our reading time, he looked at me and said, "mom this is my favorite part of our new days". My prayer had been answered, these are precious moments I get to share with each child. Because my schedule is "mine", I can be as lenient as I want, but I'm finding that when we do these things the same each day the kids are looking forward to their special times together and with me. Yesterday, Noah spent such sweet time with Braxtyn teaching her her ABC's and numbers. I have scheduled 1/2 hour of quiet time for the boys while the girls nap in the afternoons, they balked at first and now they create little beds in different rooms of the house to lay down and play their hand held games, giving me 1/2 hour of rest or reading time. Of course some days we will scrap the afternoon schedule and run errands or do something totally spontaneous to mix it up, but morning school time is very big priority and will likely stay the way it is. It seems the more little jobs each person has, even if its play time with a sibling or being my helper at dinner, the less fighting we've had. So all in all it might sound oppressive, but after trying it I cannot believe how much free time I have!

This is what I've received from using this schedule for only two weeks; bible and prayer time of my own, precious "me" time, a clean house, laundry caught up, special alone time with each one of my kids, a pre-school time with Graham and Braxtyn, each sibling has special alone time with each other, my kids are fighting less and less TV time for the kids. For me, these are things that have been plaguing my days. I have a lot of flexibility after lunchtime in my schedule which is nice to run errands and do fun things and Fridays are open to PE and going to the library. So for us, it allows enough free time for fun and enough structure to keep me teaching school. So anyways I had to share my success and remind myself on days that are hard, why I'm doing this!

Gardening 101

Companion gardening is something I've learned from the AZ garden guy and a great lady in Home depot and a little bit of my own experimenting.
So here are my gardening plans:

preparing the soil: We need a lot of nitrates in our dry soil, cow and chicken manure work great as well as fresh caught fish. We mix all the above ingredients into the soil and stir it up.

I break up the garden into four parts for easier watering. Some people do it in rows, I do it in groups, using each plant as a feeding or covering companion for the other.

In one group is the corn and the green beans: Plant the corn to the West end of the garden this will help shade the other grouping of vegetables. to plant the corn put it in a square instead of row by row. Basically plant it in rows and then place a row across the top and bottom. In between each row of corn plant a row of green beans and also above each horizontal row of corn. use as much of the fish parts as possible in this planting.
Plant in the ground by the end of February to the 1st of March
As the corn starts to germinate go out an shake the corn to allow pollination between the corn, this will ensure good corn production:)
When the corn is showing the first sign of silks be sure to take a medicine dropper and drop mineral oil down into the corn silks. This will kill the nastiest white worm that eats all your beautiful corn! As the weather gets warmer make sure to feed your corn more fish or fish emulsion you can buy at the store. Otherwise the dry heat will make your corn tough.
I also plant sunflowers on the outside edge of the corn to keep the birds busy and it looks pretty. Corn should be watered from the ground instead of overhead watering. Although I've done both, the overhead watering misses the middle rows of corn and the outside rows drink the majority of the water.

The second grouping will consist of the following; planted from West to East:
Tomatoes preferably just to the East of your corn, this provides them shade during the hottest part of the day. You must buy Osmocote for your tomato plants! It makes them grow amazing! And be sure to plant the tomato starter plant laying down sideways with only the tip of the leaf showing. This method allows a huge root base and a larger plant. I tried planting both ways last year and the one I planted using this method was enormous and yielded three times the tomato. Peppers can go near your tomatoes but make sure your tomato plant doesn't block the early morning sun! Ok, from here its all about personal preference. I like my carrots and radishes together, it makes the seeds easier to thin out once they sprout up. Use the shorter carrots they grow faster here. I plant a basil and garlic plant near my leafy stuff (except near the peas) to keep the bugs and bunnies away. Just buy onion and garlic from the grocery store and stick it in the ground. Soak your lettuce seeds over night, it helps them prepare for planting. Then I plant my peas next to a trellis with alfalfa over the top. The cucumbers and squash varieties I plant in mounds with lots of compost and deep watering I also cover them with alfalfa to prevent veggie rot. You can plant your squash plants near your beans and corn. The vines will help to cool the base of the corn.
Plant your potatoes in a deep bucket or deep trench (I buy a bag of organic potatoes and just drop them in the ground) and cover with compost and water deeply as you see the green, then when its about 2-3" high stop covering it with compost and allow it to grow. the plant will be very strong. They like peas so if you can plant them near each other they will be happy growers. Okra is another easy one for Arizona, but plant a lot of it and in rows like the corn or in pots, they have pretty flowers and thrive in the heat. pick them when they are small.

* Get some marigold seeds and sprinkle them in rows to divide plants, this will keep bugs and critters out and they are pretty for cutting!

* Plant your pumpkins in July so they are ready for October harvest, but do not plant near watermelons, they like to cross breed:)

* cover your new seedling rows with burlap cover until they are a about 1" tall to keep the birds away

* Don't use horse manure as compost - horses eat Bermuda hay and that makes for Bermuda grass. I have had to weed eat the Bermuda in my garden for two years because of that!

Well that is all I've grown and had luck with, I'm sure there is so much more but these are things we eat and they are so great fresh out of the dirt!

sources: Extreme Gardening by Dave Owens