Living simple...Simple Living- It's fun!

Disclaimer: This blog exists to 1) keep our friends and family updated on

the "day to day" of our lil family, and 2) as documentation for us of the

sweet memories we are making, things we are learning, etc. ( I do plan

to print the "blog book" annually as a keepsake for our family)

SO- My point in saying that is to let you know that this is by no means

EVER intended to be a place to "show off"- or "appear" to be something

that we are not. Ha- I don't think I have said the word "show off" in years!

Anyway...my point- we are who we are :-) just trying to listen to "the voice

of Truth" and be who He has made us to be... we(people, families) are all so different-

isn't that what is so beautiful about The Lord's creation! Diversity!

God has unique plans for each of us and they too, are so different! So, we

don't have to walk around feeling "judged" or "different" or _________.

We can be confident in who the Lord has made us! And enjoy who the Lord

has made others to be as well.

Now, for the fun stuff! Here are a few snapshots of our "simple living" :-)

Need flower arrangement + tight budget = get creative
can of beans, scrapbook paper, and modge podge
Clippings from the bush in my back yard

$3.99 Spring Bouquet from Aldi ( taken apart and cut)

VIOLA! Pretty flowers on a budget!

(compliments to my friend Colleen)

SIMPLE things that make me smile...Charis wrote

the letter "A" all by herself. This photo is not staged!

Why buy a vacuum cleaner when you have

an 11 month old baby who eats everything

off the floor!! :-) I often find AK "getting her

own snack"...please don't call Child Services!

We use old baby jar lids for "paint plates"

She loves to paint outside!!

Tonight we had breakfast for dinner!

and we ate off the same plate :-)

(cheap, easy, and mess free)

Wed night we had a picnic at the park.

WE are loving the warm weather. So excited

about Spring! Oh, and when the picnic was

over all I had to do was shake the sheet :-)

I am all about "easy clean up"

Great way to spend "Hump Day"

AH! I love Thrift Store shopping. Mom and I

went on Monday....and found some treasures.

Glass plates .25 each

Vintage wall art $1 each
Old Silver butter dish $1

Red heels $3

"Thankful for Cheerios"

"I LOVE CHEERIOS?? NO!! BUT, I HAVE LEARNED

TO BE CONTENT!"

"I have learned to be content"...was racing through my mind as I rushed to get everyone fed for lunch. The baby was screaming loudly due to it being 45 minutes after her usual lunch time and big sis was hanging on my legs fussing and crying about the chaos..So...I am scrambling through the kitchen in what I call "the heat of the moment" and it seems like everything I touched spilled, broke, or fell in the floor (no kidding) CHAOS!! Oh, and did I mention I myself was hungry?? At one point, I actually considered joining the girls in the floor kicking and screaming... SO here I am in the kitchen... and all I can feel is HUNDREDS OF CHEERIOS crushing under my feet, and finding their way in between my toes! Ah! I literally wanted to scream! Kids crying, stomach growling, house destroyed, heart racing- needless to say it was an intense moment! Well...we survived and I finally got them fed and in bed for nap and I returned to the war zone to clean up the aftermath- I was washing dishes (mainly little pink sippy cups, bottles, purple bear plates and little yellow spoons- WHEN SUDDENLY IS STRUCK ME... "the longer I wait to clean these cheerios, the bigger the mess will be" (by this point I had crushed the cheerios in a thousand little peices...like sand!) SO, I decided to get out the quick vac and take care of the issue- and that is when this moment turned from a "frustrated duty" to a "grateful pleasure"- What do I mean? what changed? Did I somehow begin to enjoy the thousands of cheerios crunched on my floor and wedged in between my toes? Did I enjoy that I was using "my precious time" while the girls were napping- to clean up their mess?

NO! To be honest, I still do not enjoy millions of cheerios on the floor or 20 dirty pink sippy cups for that matter...BUT WHAT I DO ENJOY is having a kitchen full of my 2 babies. I enjoy watching sweet Charis run circles around the bar, I enjoy watching her give AK CHEERIOS to help her stop crying (even if it means she spills the whole box- bc that is what happened). I love watching AK learn to feed herself...I love being with my children...I love watching them learn and grow and discover new things. I love reading them books at naptime, and seeing their excitement when daddy walks in the door...I love being a mommy...

SO, my heart became still, quiet, if you will...And I thought to myself, "what will it be like when there's no cheerios to clean up, when there's no pink sippy cups to wash, and lunch time is quiet? WHen there's no laughing or babbling or crying? These moments, I don't want to wish it away or coach myself with thoughts like "it's only a season". No, I want to embrace every moment (challenges and all) as from the Lord's hand. I know His wisdom and plans are far above mine- and much greater...so, I will not just learn to be content...but I will rejoice! I will not wish for a quiet home or a clean floor... I will be thankful! I will rejoice that He has given me 2 precious children, I will rejoice that He has given me a husband who works hard to keep me home, I will be thankful for the grace to see past circumstances and to see His goodness..." Thank you God for crunched cheerios, and for dirty pink sippy cups...for that means that my little people have been here!"

Monday Madness

I have long designated Monday as my cleaning day each week. This has really

become one of my favorite days, as we are intentional about making no plans

outside the home- or even inviting guests into our home. This day is set aside for

cleaning, tackling the laundry, cooking/meal prep, and attempting to "fill"

every one's tank so we are set up for a healthy, happy, purposeful, and peaceful week.

So...with that being said I am here to say that THIS Monday didn't exactly work

out that way...but, I took a deep breath and tried to make the most of it...Hope you

enjoy!

DISASTER #1- DISHWASHER OVERFLOWED WITH BUBBLES...covered kitchen floor and soaked the carpet to the right in the dining room! Charis enjoyed the bubbles though.

(This photo was NOT staged!)

DISASTER #2- ADDY KATE DECIDES TO THROW ALL HER SPAGHETTI ON FLOOR!!

Thanks Addy Kate!
DISASTER #3- I ATE ALMOST ALL THE PEANUT BUTTER BALLS I MADE FOR WOODY.
They were too good...click here to get the recipe www.passionatehomemaking.com

THE GREATEST LOVE OF ALL!!

Hope this quote encourages you(as it does me) to embrace the deep, deep love of Christ!

"The gospel of justifying faith means that while Christians are, in themselves still sinful and sinning, yet in Christ, in God’s sight, they are accepted and righteous. So we can say that we are more wicked than we ever dared believe, but more loved and accepted in Christ than we ever dared hope — at the very same time. This creates a radical new dynamic for personal growth. It means that the more you see your own flaws and sins, the more precious, electrifying, and amazing God’s grace appears to you. But on the other hand, the more aware you are of God’s grace and acceptance in Christ, the more able you are to drop your denials and self-defenses and admit the true dimensions and character of your sin." — Timothy Keller

Snapshots from 2010/ and today!

Random Snapshots from 2010... and some from this week!

"Summer Lovin"...Charis and her daddy
Sweet or should I say "startled" Addy Kate

As Charis would say..."Two babies"

We enjoyed a 100 ft SLIPPIN SLIDE this summer at Windmill Ridge

Charis was potty trained before the baby came! Yay!

Fortunate to not have 2 in diapers ;-)

Great Family Picture minus Woody making a really weird face..

THIS WEEK AT OUR HOUSE:

We have had a low key week due to Woody being sick...so we have enjoyed

lots of time in our pj's, laying around, snackin on yummy food, taking daddy

Gatoraide, and reading lots and lots of books....and the girls have enjoyed...

MAKING A MESS!!

Look closely to see the noodles ON her head...you should have seen the

FLOOR!!

FREELY FRUGAL

Learning to be frugal has become one of our hobbies. There are several reasons behind this: 1) my hubby's job has been directly affected by the economy, so we are "pinching every penny... 2) We want to learn to live on less so that we can GIVE more 3) We are both very competitive and love a challenge...so this has really become something that we ENJOY!

A great friend of mine introduced me to this fabulous website www.southernsavers.com

and that is where it all began. This is not your typical "coupon clipping", or hours and hours

of visiting different stores all around town to get the best price. The lady on this website

has it down to a science! She is very strategic and does all the work for you.

These are all the things I GOT FREE AT CVS! Yes, FREE!

(My best yet CVS trip back in November)

1. Organic Shampoo and Conditioner

2. L.A Looks hair gel

3. Herbal Essence shampoo and conditioner

4. Laundry Detergent

5. Listerine strips

6. Colgate toothpaste

7.Carmex
8. Gillette Deodorant

9. Eucerin Lotion

10. New Philips ipod earphones

11. M&M'S :-)

Just wanted to add this funny picture of Addy Kate

and this one of Charis, trying to dress herself :-)

HOPE YOU AND YOURS ARE WELL!!!!

"Helpful Hints"

Scenario: Young mom arrives at library with her two children. It is raining, and cold. She opens the back door to get out baby #1 to find that baby has pulled off socks and shoes! Mom, stuck bending over in the cold rain, frantically tries to find shoes and socks and put them back on baby. I mean, they couldn't have gone far!..What did she do...eat them??.In the meantime child #2 has ripped all of the pages out of the library book that mom is returning! While holding baby #1 and trying to get child #2 out of the car (with destroyed library book) mom realizes that she FORGOT the diaper bag and she smells something a bit suspicious...She runs through the parking lot holding the baby and pulling the other child- everyone getting soaked...when suddenly the thought comes to her "there must be an easier way".

And that is when the sweet, experienced mom approaches her and offers her a towel to dry off with, a diaper for her baby, and gives her some great practical advice...LIKE: Have you tried using the double stroller to come into the library? Or when its raining just put a onesie with footie's on the baby so she can't take off her socks and shoes. Oh, and have you ever thought of leaving extra diapers and wipes in the car- so you don't need a diaper bag? And, you should never put library books in the back seat with your children....and on and on and on. Suddenly the young mom thinks "Duh! I should have known that"...but really, the experienced mom only new those "helpful hints" because she had so many "bad library experiences" herself to learn from.

My point is, I have had so many experienced women(especially my mom) offer me very simple, and practical advice that has helped me "manhandle" two young children, keep a somewhat consistent schedule, keep smiling faces, public meltdowns to a minimum, and still have time to do what I enjoy. So, "helpful hints" is intended to do just that...pass along simple, practical things that have worked for us. I will be posting under "helpful hints" at random...so stay tuned. And PLEASE leave your helpful hints for us all to read!

TODAY'S "HELPFUL HINT"

You can still exercise!!

I am so fortunate to be surrounded by so many young moms in this season of life and I have noticed a repetitive theme in conversation... moms expressing a desire to remain healthy and exercise but it seems impossible with small children. Well, whether you are a working or stay at home mom- I have good news. You CAN still exercise...It just may look a little different than it did when before you became a mommy.

One thing I have learned to do is exercise WITH my children. Here are some different options.

1. Walk or run with kids in stroller

2. Do lunges with kids in stroller

3. Do crunches while holding baby or toddler on knees (they love this)

4.. Have a "dance party"... This is Charis's favorite. We have moves to her favorite songs and I set the clock and we don't stop til the timer goes off...GREAT cardio workout.

** THis is also a great time to reinforce what you are teaching your children. For us we sing bible verses we are learning, our ABC's, and we practice counting as we do push ups and squats. ** Side note: I usually get my ab workout by laughing

hysterically at Charis's moves...see pic below.

And in case you are wondering we do this during Addy Kate's morning nap...so she doesn't get hurt :-) We can't wait for her to join us!

Charis has the best work out moves...

THE BEST THING THAT HAPPENED IN 2010

WELCOME ADALIA KATE ARMSTRONG! "Addy Kate"
March 13, 2010. 1:33 pm
8lbs. 6 oz
As many of you know in July of 2009 we found out we were pregnant...again! This came as a true shock, as we were not planning to have another baby quite that quick... I have to confess that I wasn't exactly excited when I found out I was pregnant with Addy Kate. #1- I had a 10 month old baby #2- I was incredibly sick for 20 weeks, and #3- it wasn't "my plan". BUT, through the birth of our sweet Addy Kate, and life with her the past 10 months, we have grown to not only accept the plans of God above our own...but cherish the plans of God above our own!
"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts higher than your thoughts." - Isaiah 55:8


Literally seconds after she was born

Holding my baby girl for the first time...and yes, that is my best

friend Traci in the background with a video camera :-)

She's under the covers with me...Look for her little white hat

and her little arm...

Adalia- (Hebrew meaning) "God is my refuge"

Kate- "pure"