What we're up to!

There have been some major changes in our lives in 2011, so I thought I'd do an update on what we're up to these days.  There are some big changes going on with our house itself, but I'll save that update for later in the month when all the work is done-exciting! The biggest change in our lives is our oldest son, Nick, left to go live in Minneapolis for six months!  This is part of a new job-he will be selling cable and phone services there.  It is really strange having him so far away for such a long time, but it does help that Jeff is from Minnesota (Mankato), and has lots of family in the Minneapolis area, as well as his Mom, brother and his family in Mankato, about a 1 1/2 hour drive from where Nick is.  So it is a comfort knowing he has family close by.  He actually chose Minneapolis over Nashville for that reason.  I have a feeling it is going to be a long six months-especially for his little brother Chad, who adores him. Update 4/24/11: Nicholas is home in Utah!  The job/situation just was not a good fit for him.  We are glad he's home,  especially his wrestling buddy Chad!

We also had a big loss a few months ago-our 17 year old miniature schnauzer Raley passed away.  We had him for 11 years, and he was honestly the best dog.  Up until his last day, he was still full of energy and fun.  The great thing is he was so in love with everyone, but especially the kids.  He adored the boys' rough and tumble energy.  It was great because Nick was about 8 years old when we got Raley, so they were best buddies for years, and then we got Chad as Nick was becoming a teenager, and Raley had another round of loving on a boy!!  He loved us girls too, but there was something special about that 'boy and his dog' bond.  Raley also loved his sister Iris, our other schnauzer.  She is having a rough time being without him, but it is getting better.  The house sure is quiet without him, and we miss him a lot.  This picture was taken the day he died-Iris (in sweater) knew something was wrong, and kept smelling him.

I've already blogged about another big change-Alyssa driving!  She is gone all the time now, driving herself  everywhere she needs to go.  So Chad and I are often home without a car, which is okay because we need to get our schoolwork done!

The rest of us are just doing our normal stuff-homeschooling for me and Chad, Jeff working his two jobs (which we are very thankful for!), and our activities outside the home. I did read the Bible in 90 days, which was awesome! We are looking forward to Spring coming (it is still snowing and cold here, which is normal for Utah), and surely more changes to come!

Bible in 90 days update-I DID IT!!!!!!

Wow, I can't believe I read through the entire Bible from cover to cover!!  I ended up finishing on day 89 even!  It is a great feeling, and I completely suggest this program to anyone and everyone!  I believe the next group starts in July, and here is the link for more information:
Bible in 90 Days General Information
When I started this program just after New Year's, I was skeptical.  My thoughts were that I didn't see how you could retain much when you were reading so much each day.  It is about 1 1/2 hours of reading a day.  I also didn't think I could find that much time seven days a week.  Well, I feel God carried me through this program, because life still happened-still all the sicknesses, emergencies, stresses, and I found the time.  Usually it was in the evening, instead of watching TV.  I struggled a bit in the Old Testament with concentration, but once I really got into a habit of reading every day, no matter what time it was, it was natural.  I know that I have no excuses now in finding time for Bible reading and study.  As far as retaining the information-wow!  I learned and retained so much.  I have never read through the Bible before, but I have tried many times with 1-year programs, and never made it past a few months.  I think reading this every day without taking any breaks, it was like I was reading a story that all came together.  Obviously, there wasn't time to study what I was reading, but now I know what I want to go back and study.  I just can't say enough great things about this program, and I am thrilled to have completed it.  Thanks so much to  Amy at Mom's Toolbox who put all this together, and my leader and mentor Heidi at Reviews and Reflections!  My husband Jeff was also a great help, as he would come home after a long, hard day to have me disappear into the bedroom for a few hours to read.   

The Bible was not the only thing I read during this past three months; I did read a few fiction books and my study books for the groups I am in.  Along with the Bible, though, I read a little 99 cent book called 'Know Your Bible'.  Before each book in the Bible, I would read the summary in this book-it had unique things to look out for, who wrote that book, the timeline, and other interesting facts.  I would suggest using that book also.  My life the past three months can definitely be summed up by one word: reading!!  It was great though, and I'm just so excited to have done this. I have been doing the happy dance all weekend long!! Feel free to ask me any questions, or go to the general information link above to check it out yourself for the next round this summer!

The Bible in 90 Days-Day 63!

Wow!  I have read more than 2/3 of the Bible since January!!!  That is so incredible!  I have been a Christian for many years and have never read all the way through the Bible, and now I'm doing it in three months!  I hoped I would stick with it, but really wasn't sure, with my illness and all that life seems to throw at me/us/everyone.  It has been a great experience.  I just started reading Daniel.  I've enjoyed the prophets, but I'm excited to get into the New Testament. 

I would definitely suggest this program to anyone interested.  It is a lot of reading, seven days a week, and always seems to be on my mind, but it's a good subject to have on your mind, right?  I really feel as if I'm retaining the information and putting it all together much better than when I have tried the Bible in One Year plans.  The way the program is set up with the teams is great, so you can be encouraging others and be encouraged by others who are going through it with you.  It sure makes you realize that you can find the time to read when you set a goal like this! 27 days to go!!

Bible in 90 Days-day 36!!

Wow, I can't believe we are at day 36 in this journey!  It has been a great experience so far, and I have a feeling it will only get better.  These initial books of the old testament have a lot of history and laws in them, which can get kind of boring.  So far I have read from Genesis to Nehemiah, and today is Esther and starting Job.  That starts the 'Books of Poetry' of the bible-Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and song of Solomon.  I'm really looking forward to this next week of reading, it should be a nice change from the rules and history.   One thing I am surprised about is the amount of killing/fighting/death in what I have read so far.  I had no idea the magnitude of it.  God would command a king, and an entire village would be wiped out.  I knew that happened, but there is a lot more of it than I realized in these first books of the old testament.  I'm learning a lot about faith and sacrifice.  It is awesome to realize I am more than 1/3 through the Bible!  It hasn't been all easy-I have gotten behind by about 3-4 days a few times now, and it is a lot of work to catch up so I am trying not to let that happen again!

Bible in 90 Days Update-Day 21

It is day 21 of 90 in the Bible in 90 Days program.  We are in 2 Samuel now, and I have  to say I am really enjoying this! Originally I did not think it would be going this well.  I thought it may be too much reading per day to get much out of it, but I'm learning SO MUCH, and remembering so much!  I've never read through the entire bible, and it feels great to be doing it, something I've wanted to do but never stuck with.  Before starting the 90 days, I figured I would get into a routine with a time of day that I always did my reading; that hasn't happened.  I'm still reading whenever I get the chance, pretty much any time of day, but usually in the evening after my hubby has come home and dinner is cleaned up. I have found, however, that I am not getting much other reading done, either fiction or non-fiction, except the few pages I try to read in bed before I fall asleep.  But, not reading my other books for 90 days is completely fine with me to accomplish this goal! I can already tell that I will be getting so much more out of sermons and bible studies because of reading through the bible.

 I already knew the main stories of the books of the bible we've read so far, but never to the depth I know them now.  Some of the chapters (Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers mainly) were rather boring with all the laws and family breakdowns.  Now it is getting more exciting.  Some of my favorite verses from the reading so far:
Deuteronomy 6:5 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.
Joshua 1:9 Be strong and courageous.  Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go. 
This last verse, Joshua 1:9 is written down on a list I keep to read when I am discouraged by my limitations and pain from my disease.  It is very comforting to me. 

Go to http://www.biblein90days.org/ for more information on this great program.

Happy New Year!

January 3, 2011-My first post of the New Year.  I'm hoping to post more this year, I'm thinking shorter but more often.  This past year I've linked up with several encouraging homeschooling Moms who blog, and they have been an inspiration. 

Our holidays were nice and quiet-ahhhh.  We of course would have loved to spend them with our families in California or Minnesota, but it didn't work out this year again.  Times are tough and it is expensive for a family of five to travel!  So, it was just the five of us.  Nick came home from school in mid-December for a 2 1/2 week break!  He just went back to Clearfield last night.  It is looking like he may finish up his certification within the next month or so, then hopefully a job and an apartment will be next for him. 

So, today was back to the regular routine of homeschooling and activities.  I didn't make any resolutions this year, just loose ideas of what I'd like to do better.  With chronic illness, I think I beat myself up enough throughout the year when I can't do what I planned to, so why make it worse on myself with resolutions?  Some things I"d like to improve this year are:

Food/menus/meals: I already started this last year, and I've done pretty well.  I'm trying to make home cooked dinner from scratch most nights.  We stopped eating fast food (except for the occasional big treat) a few years ago, and aside from frozen pizza and leftover nights, I'm trying to not use any prepackaged, processed foods for our dinners.  I'd love to make out menus far in advance, but I buy each week based on what is on sale, so it doesn't work out well to plan too far ahead. 

Budgeting/couponing: I'd like to get a tighter reign on our budget, and keep better track of my savings using sales, rebates, and coupons. I don't want to have to use Credit cards at all (had a few emergencies last year that we had to), and work on using Dave Ramsey's plan to pay down debt and increase savings.  I'd also like to completely pay for Christmas gifts with earnings of gift cards, etc. from rebates, surveys, points earned in various programs.  This past year, I earned about $200, which was just a little short of my goal of covering everything. 

Exercise:  This is a very vague one.  I'm really not supposed to exercise in any way, except pool therapy, which is too expensive. The fear is all the hardware in my neck and upper back and base of skull-there is just way more than there should be, and the neurosurgeon worries something will break.  But, I can handle very short walks or pedaling a stationary bike for short bursts.  So, I'm going to try to do that more often.  My semi-regular diet of steroids puts on about 5 lbs. each round, and in the past few years I've gained about 25 lbs. from my normal weight.  That may be a losing battle, but who knows? 

Reading/Bible: I want to continue reading more and watching TV less.  I'll continue reading one fiction book at the same time as at least one non-fiction book (mostly bible studies).  I also want to spend more time in the bible this year, and I think I'm off to a good start!  I'm participating in The Bible in 90 Days!

Today was the first day.  I'm on a team of several other women and one man, many of us are homeschooling moms. Many have blogs. Some are living in other countries-China and Africa are where two participants live. We have a mentor, who is encouraging us and I'm enjoying getting to know her as well. We check in with each other and are getting to know each other along the way. It is a lot of reading to get this done in 90 days, so obviously not much 'studying'.  What I'm looking to get out of this, aside from reading through the bible completely, is to make a better habit for myself by spending a large chunk of time daily in the bible.  I'm really excited about this!

That's all I can think of at this time, not that there isn't a lot more rolling around in this head of mine!  This year should be an exciting one in our family, with lots of changes, especially for our oldest two, Nick and Alyssa, as they navigate these older teen/young adult years!