When things get in the way...

....of serving God.

We are still alive I have just been so busy. And every time I sit down to blog my mind is filled all the things I want to say but not sure where to start.

So I will start with the AWFUL PILLS! I went to a neurologist in June for my headaches and trying to get to the bottom of it. I was desperate for relief. He did an MRI and found no explanation. So he suggested I start taking Topomax daily for migraine prevention. I started taking this medicine and the only side effect I noticed was lack of appetite. As time went on I was more emotional than ever before and having more anxiety. The thoughts of wanting to die and depression slowly set in. I was too afraid to tell anyone....not even my husband. I was ashamed that I would even think that way. It wasn't until September that I realized it could all be a side effect of the topomax. I did some research and learned this is also used for an anti depressant and for those who aren't depressed it can have a reverse effect.

There was a list a mile long of all the side effects and an unreal amount of suicides and suicide attempts by people who took this medicine. I immediately stopped taking it in but it took about 10 days for those bad thoughts and feelings to go away. Once all the medicine was out of my system I felt like ME again. Looking back I cannot believe the things that went through my head. It was THE HARDEST 3 months of my LIFE!
I would rather have headaches everyday!

Then our van broke! We needed a starter and we didn't have the money to fix it. Thanks to a generous family member we got it fixed and the next day the struts broke and it felt like we were on a roller coaster riding down the road. It wasn't good to drive like that so we had to borrow the church van for a couple days until we could get the struts replaced. Thanks to our church family we got that paid for too.

Our van is so old and has so many miles but we cannot afford a new one. We serviced the transmission for $250 but it still smells awful every time we drive it. Something is going bad and I fear it won't be long until we cannot all go to church because we can't fit in his car. Oh but wait, his car is falling apart too. Battery is dead now and its parked.

We also have been picking up and dropping off other kids for church squeezing our children in the back so we can fit everyone. We are praying for God to provide us with a new van one day soon so we can bring more people to church. We want to do more for God but its so hard when we don't have the means.  I hate money and how it can destroy families but if we had more to give to the ministry we would. There are so many things we would love to do like go on mission trips but its financially impossible. My dream has always been to live in an RV and travel the country singing and Chris preaching. Homeschooling on the road. It just seems like fun!

We will just keep praying and trusting God to provide a way for us to do more for Him.

People Always Ask Me....."How do you do it?"

Raising four boys is not easy. I was not trained. I am learning as I go. I tell my oldest son Jacob he taught me how to be a mother, he was my practice child. I didn't know what I was doing with him. 

God shows me everyday things I need to

Shhhhh.....

I have decided that I need to say less and do more. God gave us 2 ears and one mouth for a reason. We should listen twice as much as we talk. I believe our tongues get us in a lot of trouble I am trying to control what comes out of my mouth
so if it seems that I have been missing on the blog it's because I am trying to choose my words wisely and not say anything unnecessary. I want to make sure that what comes out of my mouth or what I post on here is only to help someone else.

Proverbs 13:3

He that keepeth his mouth keepeth his life: but he that openeth wide his lips shall have destruction.

 Proverbs 15:2

The tongue of the wise useth knowledge aright: but the mouth of fools poureth out foolishness.

Proverbs 15:28

The heart of the righteous studieth to answer: but the mouth of the wicked poureth out evil things.

Proverbs 21:23

Whoso keepeth his mouth and his tongue keepeth his soul from troubles.

 Ecclesiastes 5:2

Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few.

Our tongue is so hot God put it in a pool of water behind ivory bars!

Simply Modest Swimdress

We recently were given a FREE week in a condo courtesy of one of my blog readers. Before we went to Orlando, FL I wanted to find something to wear that would be

Jaron's yearly check up in Boston

Jaron and I flew to Boston Friday June 14th for a check up with his surgeon, dentist & speech therapist.

It was an early start waking up at 4am and heading down to Atlanta airport at 5am to beat rush hour traffic. We made our flight on time at 8:45am but we were too excited to sleep!

{Superman was right outside our window}

We landed in Boston at 11:15am and got in a taxi for the short ride to

If I could turn back time...

I would not marry anyone else. Chris is the man God had for me. I prayed for God to send me a husband before I met him. I truly believe he was sent to me by God. We fell in love

In the storms...

Sometimes storms come in my life that I may not understand. 

{6 weeks with a headache everyday}

I have learned...

I have learned...raising my children in this sinful world is hard to be set apart.

We want the world to see something different in us.

What about me!?

We went to the funeral home for a viewing and it was Jonah's first time (he remembers.) He was totally traumatized! When he saw the body he said "is that him?" And I said "yes but he's not in his body, his soul left and

The WINNER is...

I thought I was going to die....

I woke up last saturday 6th and had some toast with nutella on it then I ate a few prunes. Chris had been up all night the night before so he was sleeping. Around 8:30am my stomach started hurting and did NOT let up at all for SIX HOURS!

The pain was so bad I almost

FREE ENGRAVED STONE

I want to share a free gift with one of my readers. I will keep this giveaway open for 2 weeks and draw a name from the ones who comment on this post. I got one of these cool

Family Devotion

We try to make time every night to read the Bible to our children and teach them something from God's word.

Buggy Science Day

I got an email from the local homeschoolers group about this science day they were having and I thought the boys would love it so I signed them up. I only paid $5 per child and we

Spelling City

We were given a free month to use Spelling City and our boys LOVE IT! Everyday after completed their core subjects with homeschooling they log into their spelling city and do their assignments. I have my own teacher login where I can make my

Stomach {VIRUS}

OMGOSH this has been one of the worst weeks ever! All our boys were sick with this awful stomach virus that has apparently struck the whole country!

Throwing up and diarrhea is NO fun! Jaron started

And the winner is....

Please send email your address to me at tcote22@bellsouth.net so I can ship this package to you.

My First Giveaway! {FREE STUFF}

UPDATE: ONLY 7 MORE DAYS UNTIL I ANNOUNCE THE WINNER!

As some of you may already know my husband works at Wrigley's and we get a lot of free gum!

 

I wanna share some of it with ONE of my readers.

 

If you comment on this post I will put your name in a drawing for SEVERAL packs of gum and some peanut M&M's he brought home too!

{Mars Co. bought out Wrigley's so they give the employees CHOCOLATE sometimes}

Febraury 18th I will put all the names in a bowl and let one of the boys draw a WINNER!

So far I have over 20 packs and I will continue to add more until I draw a winner!

I am doing this to generate more readers and get my blog out there for the world to see. I want to learn how to make this a business I can do from home. I am just not sure where to start. Any suggestions???

If you want to get your name entered twice you can share my blog on your facebook page and let me know about it.

 

Just click below on the word "comment" and be entered to WIN!!!

 

$$$aving Money$$$

I have recently started to make our laundry soap and dish washing detergent. I love to find ways to save us money and this is a pretty big one with a family of 6 and as many clothes as we wash~OH YEAH definately a BIG DEAL!

Of course I got the idea from Pinterest and I want to share it with all of you!

It seems much more possible when you know someone personally that does this and it works. With FOUR boys we have some muddy stuff come through our laundry room but this stuff works just as good as Tide or anything else.

I found these ingredients at my Walmart in the laundry soap isle.

Fels-Naptha Soap Bar $0.97
Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda $3.24
Borax $2.98
You need a 5 gallon bucket with a lid too

Put 4 cups of hot water in a large pot grate the whole Fels-Naptha bar with youe cheese grater and add it all to the hot water. Stir continuously on medium heat until the soap is Melted. (about 45 minutes.)

fill up your five gallon buck halfway with hot water.
add the melted soap mixture,
add 1 cup Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda,
add 1/2 cup Borax
and-mixed really good.

Add more hot water to fill the bucket and stir it good

Put the lid on the bucket and let it sit overnight. It will turn into a gel. I just stirred it up some more and it was fine. All you need is 1/4 cup for each load if you have a front-load washer and 1/2 cup for a top load. This is very cheap soap!

I figure about $.06 per load!

But I still have borax & washing soda left so I used that to make my dishwasher detergent too!
I mixed 1 cup borax
1 cup washing soda
2 packs of lemonade flavor ( no sugar)
Put them in air tight container and it only takes 1 tbsp. per load.
We are saving so much money per year this way.
These days with gas prices rising almost DAILY~ every penny counts!

Oh I almost forgot to mention my new floor cleaner too!
My swifter wet jet broke last year and I hated not being able to refill that bottle anyway so I invested in a Rubbermaid one with a washable (reusable) pad and refillable bottle. LOVE IT!
Sometimes I use vinegar and water to clean the floors or baking soda & vinegar. I also add some peroxide sometimes. All these ingredients are so cheap and without all the harsh chemicals.
Actually vinegar is a good cleaner for the shower & toilet too. Peroxide is awesome for just about anything.
I plan to finish off the glass cleaner we have and make my own, so check back to see how that works out.

Vocabulary Spelling City

I've been given a Premium Membership to VocabularySpellingCity.com for a candid, personal, online review.

VocabularySpellingCity helps students study word lists using 25 different learning activities such as Sentence Unscramble, Handwriting Practice, WordSearch, and FlashCards. Parents can create their own spelling lists, find published lists already available on the site, or use any of dozens of free teaching resources on topics such as Synonyms and Figurative Language. Be sure to come back in three weeks to read about my experience.

There might be more free memberships available for bloggers. If you're interested, find out how you can review VocabularySpellingCity.com.

Wood Shop & Mess Free Fingerpainting!!!

The boys got these wooden toys for Christmas and they loved putting them together. We waited until the next day to paint them because the glue had to dry first.

And then I found this great idea online and wanted to try it out! Mess free fingerpaint. Justus was dying to get up and paint with the boys but he would have had it all over him. So as soon as they finished I squirted paint in 1gal baggies and taped it down to the counter. Jonah & Justus LOVED it!!!

There was no mess and sat still for atleast 30 minutes playing and making shapes and letters until......Jonah decided it would be cool to scratch a hole in his bag so he had orange paint on him and I had to trash his bag. Guess I could have taped it but I panicked. LOL

Basketball!!!

The boys have been playing basketball with i9sports and they LOVE IT! It's only on Saturdays and they are learning so much about the game. It's fun to see the out there with all the other kids having fun.

Field Trip to INK

We stayed out New Years Eve entirely too late. Enjoying fireworks and a bonfire with family we didn't get home and in the bed until 11:30pm. But our boys are usually in the bed by 8pm so waking up new years day was later than usual. We wanted to take the boys on a field trip somewhere indoors because it rained all day. I had a reminder email about INK~Interactive Neighborhood for Kids giving homeschool families 1/2 price on the 1st tuesday of the month. So we mustered up the energy and packed our lunches for our first "field trip".

Come to find out there was a mistake in the email reminder. It's actually homeschoolers 1/2 price day on the second Tuesday of every month!!! But the lady was nice enough to give us the discount anyway.

{Christmas} Happy Birthday Jesus!

We had a great Christmas! We all got more than we deserve. I have been too busy to blog. I did get a new camera and cell phone so here are the pictures we got of the boys opening gifts.

Sewing

So one day I was looking in my closet and saw a piece of green material someone gave me a few months ago. That was it~I knew it would make a good skirt~so I got out my sewing machine right then and made one!

{That started my skirt making adventure that I cannot seem to quit}

I have been making and altering skirts for a couple weeks now and I love it!

My mom cleaned out her closet of all the clothes she can no longer wear so I decided to give them all away  to girls at church that needed them.

She gave me an orange one that matches our youth shirts so know I'm on a mission to find some orange material to make more for all the girls at church.

I wonder if I could sell them in an online store? I would never ask anyone at church for money but I might think about making other things to sell online.
I really need to figure out how to make money on this blog. I read so many others that do but I just don't know where to start. I wish someone would help me learn to advertise.
Or I could sew things and try to sell them on here. I don't know....any suggestions???

Giving Thanks!

I have so much to be thankful for~here's a few things:

• my husband
• our 4 boys~Jacob, Jaron, Jonah & Justus
• our house
• plenty of clothes
• food to eat
• our church
• Jesus dying on the cross & raising from the dead
• the King James Bible
• privilege to homeschool our children
• all my friends
• God's grace & mercy & forgiveness
• all our family members
• a working vehicle
• gospel music
• Heaven~no more headaches
• heat & A/C to keep us comfortable
• a hot shower
• eternal security
• our military
• natural remedies
• a comfortable bed
• generous friends & family

I am sure after I click "publish" I will think of more things I should have added....but these are some of the things I can think of while fighting a terrible headache. We had a great day with my mother & step-dad. His brother & wife too. I cooked apple pie from scratch, mashed potatoes & green beans. They made turkey, sweet potatoes, deviled eggs, stuffing, brownies, banana pudding, green bean casserole & rolls. It was all so good and we probably ate too much! I think my headache is from this cough/congestion I've had for almost a month. Might see if I can go to the doctor tomorrow. It's probably progressed into a full blown sinus infection now. So please pray for me to feel better soon! And hope you all had a happy thanksgiving!!! {May God Bless You}

Library Books!!!

 I have been trying to take the boys to the library once a week to check out books and educational videos. They love learning about animals and math. They are all so smart but it seems math comes easiest to all of them. So we usually check out our maximum 50 items! Jacob and Jaron both love to read and I think Jonah can almost read too! He read the front of a magazine in walmart one day. Jonah loves to look at books and occassionally will sit still long enough to let me read to him. The other day at the library that had "Kids & Kritters". A lady came from the humane society and brought an animal. She read a few books then took out a baby goat to let the boys all pet it.

Justus is saying a few words but not much! He does a lot of squealing and screaming to get what he wants. He will be 2 years old Dec. 1st and it'll be time to start potty training {yeah} I'm so excited! Potty training isn't easy but it's nice to not have to buy diapers. These are cell phone pictures and I finally figured out how to convert them and get them on the blog. I am so sleepy and need to get in the bed. Lots to do in the morning before Thanksgiving dinner. {Goodnight}

Coupons

A while back I signed up all of us to recieve Zaxby's coupons online. So every year on our birthdays we get coupons for free food and on Mother's Day and Father's Day we got cookie coupons. And even though we don't celebrate Halloween we did appreciate the coupons for free food from them. So {since I dreamed Zaxbys} dinner was free tonight and that is about the only good thing that came out of Halloween.

I try to use coupons whenever I can. Raising for boys can get expensive and they are growing fast and eating more all the time. I try to buy generic everything and only buy what necessary. No extras. Coupons have been lifesavers at times and I am so thankful for them.

My camera is still not working and I am sad to say I cannot put my cell phone pictures on here. We have all been sick coughing and stuff but hopefully it will all go away soon.

~[Set Apart]~

So as you know we do not celebrate Halloween in our family. There are many reasons and here are some of the Bible verses that back up our decision.

1 Thessalonians 5:22 Abstain from all appearance of evil.

So we don't watch scary things on tv or dress up in scary costumes.

Ephesians 5:11 And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.

2 Corinthians 6:14 Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?

Revelation 21:8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.

When we claim to be "Christians" we are saying we are "christ-like". And in order to be Christ-like we need to obey the Bible. Not just parts we want to pick out. We apply the whole Bible to our whole lives and when we do that it convicts our hearts about the things in our lives that shouldn't be there.

Don't get me wrong~we are not perfect by any means but we are trying daily to live "Christ-like".  We fail Him every day and make mistakes but He knows the desires of our hearts. Christians are supposed to be "Set Apart" from the world, not behaving just like them.

~Happily Humbled~

We are not rich by any means, but God has given us a home and 4 children. He has taken care of all our needs. Most of the time all our bills are paid and we barely have enough for groceries and gas. We pinch pennies living from one paycheck to the next.

But I am happy to say that being broke keeps us humble and forces us to trust in God for everything. There are times when our faith gets weak and we wonder how or when God will take care of our needs, but then He always shows up right on time every time! We are so thankful that He hears our prayers and uses His people to do His work.

Here just a few of the verses in the Bible that talk about being humble:

Proverbs 16:19 Better it is to be of an humble spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with the proud.

Proverbs 29:23 A man's pride shall bring him low: but honour shall uphold the humble in spirit.

Matthew 23:12 And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.

James 4:6 But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.

James 4:10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.

 1 Peter 5:5 Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.

1 Peter 5:6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:

{Candid Camera}

Being a mother means I put my children before myself and there are lots of times I am behind the camera taking more pictures of them than me. I avoid the camera because I don't always have my hair fixed or make-up on. We do take some but not many. I want to share some of these precious memories. (Just try to look past the messy hair.) I want my boys to have pictures of me holding them and loving on them, having fun with them and taking care of them. They don't notice the weight gained or the messy hair & no makeup. They love me unconditionally for who I am and nothing more.

 Just after Jaron's first surgery in the hotel room.

Listening & Talking to baby Justus in my belly.

I'm not comfortable with my body after having babies and don't usually post any pictures of myself. But my children don't care what I look like and I wanted to take a moment and post this for them. One day they'll read this blog hopefully {and I may or may not be alive} but they will have all these pictures to remember me.