Where is the MOTIVATION?

Pin It I still have to get dressed... and it is 9:00. Someone could show up at my door at any moment and that still doesn't motivate me to comb my hair. Hopefully, my next post will talk about how amazingly accomplished I am. Not today.
My resolve today, when it is so hard, is to write down three simple things and just do those. Simple things that I know I can get done.
Here they are:
- 2 loads of laundry
- Bonus timesheets
- My devotions

$$ Money, Money, MONEY $$

Pin It Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover has taken over at our house in the last month. I ordered the book and talked Justin into reading it two mornings a week. It has taken us a month just to read through the myths and obstacles, but now we have go to the game plan. We (me and with Justin's approval) refocused our budget and got some fire under our buns and today we paid off our first two big chunks of debt. Our goal is by December 31st of 2012 we will be debt free. We will still have a house to pay off, but that will give us something to work on in the next couple years.
In just a few weeks we have had so many new revelations about money. God doesn't want it to consume our life, he wants us to be able to give it to others freely without concern for our own well being. We are so excited to slowly get to this place. We want to teach our kids to have a biblical view of money and have the freedom to spend more time with them because we have been good stewards with what God has given us.
If you haven't read this book, GO PICK IT UP. It is such an easy read and will motivate almost anyone to put every penny they have to the freedom of being debt free.

Drug Choice of a Stay-at-Home Mom

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To put it in the words of my sister Laura "I have a sickness." There is something about canning, and you know this if you do it, that is like a drug or addiction. I hate it and love it at the same time. I hate that my kitchen is constantly a mess. I hate that I have to weed my garden to have anything to can. I hate that my fingers and ring always look dirty. I hate that the bottoms of my feet are always sticky. BUT... I love that I have FREE FOOD (this is the core of my addiction). I love looking at my jars on my counter. I love hearing the POP of a seal. I love hanging out with my sisters when we have to circle the wagons for a big load of something. I love giving them away. There is nothing like the delight of giving a jar to someone that appreciates the blood, sweat and tears that go into a quart jar.
Most of all... I love that they last. My mom pointed this out to me as we tried to analyze our love of canning. The clean laundry is now on a dirty child. The clean kitchen is dirty again, the rugs that were shaken this morning and the swept floor need to be done again. The dirty diaper that was is the trash is now... well, I won't say where, but the canning jars... THEY ARE STILL CANNED. A present day miracle. And, Lord willing, I can go down and stare at them for a few more months, to remember, remember that I actually got something done one time.

The Lovely Latte

Pin It I got a few requests for this Pumpkin "dream" Latte so here it is.
1 1/2 to 2 C. brewed strong coffee
4 cups milk
4 Tablespoons canned pureed pumpkin
2 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1/4 to 1/2 cup sugar
3 Tablespoons vanilla extract
Whipped cream

Add everything besides the whip to the slow cooker and whisk together. If unsure about how much coffee or sugar to add, start at the lower amount and you can always add more. Cook on high for 2 hours.
I doubled this recipe both times I made it because I made it for a pretty good size group and a double recipe filled up my crock pot nicely.
Have at least a bottle of whip cream per person... that was my special addition.

Pissy Haircuts

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I am not great at cutting my boys hair. I do it because it is cheap, I can do it when I want, and deep down I feel like I have must have inherited some cosmetology gene from my mom… so I must know what I am doing. Next issue… the toddler. It is one thing to be Edward Scissor Hands with an adult who actually sits still, but with a 2 and 3 year old? Third challenge… the potty training son. I guess standing on the chair naked and dreaming about the bath to follow was too much for him. The stream of pee landed directly on my feet, almost nowhere else, then it slowly flowed into all the recently cut, fine hair covering the floor. What do you do as a mom with peed on feet and a half finished hair cut? I can't send him off with a mullet so the show must go on. Ohhh, cleaning up pee-hair, with hairy hobbit feet at 9:00 at night is definitely a new favorite "dying to self" moment.

Pumpkin Spice Latte and Sugar Cookies

Pin It THE HOLIDAYS ARE COMING! We are headed to the farm to bring Justin and the lovely ladies he works with some Pumpkin Spice Latte (thank you Racheal Neal for posting this) and pumpkin sugar cookies. I can hardly handle the cuteness of it all. This latte is seriously one of the best treats in the world and you make it in a crock pot! I don't know... there is just something about making something in a crock pot that makes me feel more frugal and industrious.
Kind of like the sugar buzz that is sure to follow this adorable combo, I am on a holiday cooking high. Bring on the fetivities.

Menu Planning

Pin It Mom Bartlett had surgery last week and just arrived home today. After checking up on her it dawn on me that I need to get some meals over to her. I love my father-in-law but he only has two signature dishes... and you only can eat venison steak and pancakes so long. So I needed to make a set-in-stone menu plan this week because I am just going to make a bigger portions and bring them some. Plus Jack has some vomiting virus and I don't really want to be running through the aisles of Wal-Mart with my queasy son.
So here it is:
Monday: Cheeseburger soup and banana bread
Tuesday: Oven Stew and mashed potatoes
Wednesday: Stromboli and grapes
Thursday: Chicken Fried Steak/broccoli / and baked potatoes
Friday: Chicken and sausage alfredo and green beans
Saturday: Tacos
Sunday: Italian pulled beef sandwiches
There it is. Now, if I can just get Abigail to release her death grip on my leg I can check to see if my banana bread is still mushy in the middle.

Watching my every move. Starting her cooking classes young.

Bartlett Family Plan

Pin It Saturday night of our weekend away was dedicated to writing out our family plan. This is our last piece of homework from our "Entrusted with a Child's Heart" bible study. So here it is:
1. Love and obey Jesus (Matthew 22:37
2. Work now, rest later (prov. 26:14; prov 28:19)
3. Speak the truth (Leviticus 19:11; Prov 12:22)
4. Honor and obey your parents (Eph 6:2; Ex 20:12)
5. Have a grateful heart (1Thess 5:16-18; Eph 5:19-20)
6. Give the Lord your firsts (Ezekiel 44:30; Malaci 3:8-10)

Weekend Away

Pin It Ahhh... the morning after a weekend away. Motivated and ready to get to work this week. My mind and body are rested and ready to CONQUER. I am a little scared of my list of "to-do's", but plunging ahead nevertheless.
Our weekend consisted of two VERY nice rooms. One at Homestead Resort in Glen Arbor (I had never been there before… SOOO CUTE) and a bed and breakfast in Mackinaw Island. We drove all over the northern part of the state and stopped in a bunch of quaint, little Michigan towns. Our proudest moment was when we realized we hadn’t fought the whole weekend, but an hour from home we may have struggled with that claim. It was the darn Lions game that came between us.
We stopped at Blackstar Farms and for $5 tasted 5 wines and took home our glasses. Something we have been meaning to do since we dated. Then we drove through Elk Rapids, Charlevoix, Petoskey, and Harbor Springs, all beautiful vacation spots for another trip. Next, the tunnel of trees and stopped at the Legs Inn (a very weird Polish/Native American restaurant). This could have been a “fight Spot” as my recently pumped breast milk spilled between, under, and all over the seats of Justin’s car. He handled it well and saved the day by sacrificing his golf towel for the clean-up. Very Romantic.
In Mackinaw we drove across the bridge, walk around town, worked on our Family Plan (from Entrusted with a Child Heart, that is for another post), bought chocolaty snacks for way too much money, and slept in until 8:30.
My favorite part of the week: The quiet moments. Sitting at the breakfast table looking out at Lake Michigan; Devotions on the balcony of our room; silence in the car. When we were first married I would have hated these moments, begging Justin to talk with me about anything and everything. Now it is a treat, a gift from God to be able to have a complete thought without a beautiful baby’s cry or a request for help from two busy boys.
Now off to my list. Relaxation is over and canning and cleaning are waiting.

The View out our room in Glen Arbor

Blackstar Farms

July already?

Pin It I guess there is no time to be on the computer in the summer. We need to soak in every minute of the warm, long daylight. This summer has been amazing. Our house is a perfect place for out three little ones to spread out and play, play, play. Abigail is 5 months, somehow, and almost sitting up and beginning here crawling stage. We love her so much we just cannot get enough. Jack and Spencer call her "pretty girl" when they are talking to her and she has only laughed for them. Jackson talks as much as he can and to whomever will listen. Spencer seems so old this summer compared to last. He can follow directions, he likes to swim in the lake and he continues to try new things, which used to be quite rare for him.
Justin and I are blessed by the busyness of our little ones. It keeps us striving to be better parents at every turn. We are currently in a bible study that is reading "Entrusted with a Childs heart". It is such a good book we have learned so much already.

Here are a few summer glamour shots of the family.

Our beautiful home

Sleeping with papa Barlett

Campout with dad on Father's Day

Me and my boys

Helping Papa horses build our sandbox

Working on...

Pin It I want to be better at a lot of things. My dream list is endless, but here are a few things I am trying to tackle recently.
- hugging my boys every time they eat (they are so precious, why not?)
- flossing my teeth (a tip/scare from an older and wiser sister)
- not being a crab to my hubby (why oh why is this so hard?)
- getting up earlier (yuck, but I have so much to do)
- Praying for my kids and hubby every morning (love this)
- Eating smaller meals (need to slide back into those size 6's again)
- Using gracefilled and fruit of the Spirit words (Is that promoting peace? Are you being gentle, kind? no, no, no you are not!)
I need to write them down so I can check back on my progress. Slowly but surely...

Three Little Paths to Holiness

Pin It Oh my....I had only written those two words and I have already been interrupted. Spencer: "MOM, Jack is knocking down the fort. PLEASE COME." Up from the computer, fix the fort, tell Jack no knocking the fort down, leave the room, come back to the fort to help Spence fix a blanket, finally back to the computer. This is the story of my days and to be honest, I was really struggling with having a patient and loving attitude. How can a human being live like this?
I get up in the morning, feed Abigail, make Justin's lunch, get the boys bottles, change diapers, clean up a little, change a BAD diaper, take someone to the potty, stop a fight during my breakfast, feed Abigail, have to stop to wipe bran muffins off the boys hands, pj's, table, floor, wall. Pick up a now screaming Abigail, nurse some more, finish nursing only to find every cooking utensil and the silverware drawer emptied in the kitchen. When do I find time (interruption: comfort a crying boy who hurt himself on something, pat, pat, on the head) to do my devotions and make sure I have time to a quiet time to pray.
By God's grace, I have realized in the last few days that every season of life is going to look different. I may not get an hour to do my devotions and pray, but I can use the moments throughout the day (interruption: break up a fight over who gets what blanket) to choose righteousness and patience. I can read a short devotion during a quiet moment locked in the bathroom. I can call (interruption: stop jumping on your brothers head, it is not kind) a sister and be encouraged by a short conversation. I need to look for the little miracle moments in my day so that I can have a heart of Joy to fill my home with.
My little paths to holiness:

Abigail Grace Bartlett

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OUR NEWEST

It has almost been a week since Abigail was born and I am just getting around to putting up some pictures. She was born 2/8/11 at 2:34 in the afternoon. She weighed 7lbs and 8oz and was 21 1/2" long. She was the biggest and the longest of all our babies and definitely the hardest to deliver. We found out almost 5 weeks ago she was breech and even though she was covered in much prayer she never flipped and decide to come into the world upside-down. We delivered her at home with a midwife. This was our first time having a homebirth and everything went better then we could have ever imagined.
The boys love her. They ask about her when they wake up from their naps and take turns holding her and getting her a pipe when she cries. Our home seems filled to the brim with joy as our new family of five fills every corner.
The adjustment has been very interesting. I lost quite a bit of blood after the delivery and my hemoglobin level dropped well below what was average. I have been babied by my mom for the last week and this week I am continuing to take it easy as my boys go to their grandparents and cousins houses for a few days. Abigail and I are already enjoying some special mom and me moments.
We have learned quite a bit with this new little one, most of all to trust our Saviour and be grateful every moment for our health and the health of our beautiful children.

The day before????

Pin It This is the problem with going overdue (which we have never done before)... you never know when it is going to be the last day.
I keep thinking, "What should I do today, because it might be the last day before the baby comes."
- Should I clean the bathrooms, because I don't want to be having contractions in a dirty bathroom?
- Should I give the boys a bath because they are going to be at some one's house and I don't want them to be stinky?
- Should I balance my checkbook for the 100th time because I don't want to get any overdraft fees?
- Should I do laundry so that Justin has enough clean clothes?
- Should I just sit and cuddle and read with the boys because I am going to have new little one soon?
- Should I clean out my fridge... it is just plain nasty?
- Should I make a few meals to freeze for after the baby?
- Should I mop the floor again... I just did it yesterday, but it is gross again and I don't want people coming into my house seeing that?
- Should I sit on the computer and whittle the time away in hopes that a big bad contraction will come at any minute?

The real problem is that I am inpatient and I want to see this little one. I also like to have a plan and a schedule and at this point those are impossible. So, as much as I hate to say it, God may keep me asking that question for a few more days because it is refining me. Argggg.

Tot School

Pin It One of my hopes for this year was that I could do a few more Tot School activities with the boys each day. We get the name from a fabulous blog www.1plus1plus1equals1.com. I just love all of the ideas of things we can do.
So I started off getting organized. I put all of our "games", as Spence calls them, in a large drawer that he can open. Now he can pick a game and then go put it away before he gets another one out. I think we have over 15 different activities that include cutting, counting, coloring and our personal favorite... dumping. Thanks a swap of several bags I made with my sister Sarah and friend Holly we have quite a few different options and the boys never get bored.
Spencer is definitely old enough to do a lot of the packs with little supervision and assistant, but Jackson on the other hand, wants to be in on the action and has very little coordination.
Here are a few pics from our "noodle dumping" today.

Breech Baby

Pin It In the last three weeks we have found out that this little one is breech. It was quite a surprise to me since our boys went head down so easy and stayed that way quite a few weeks before birth. I kept thinking when we got to the ultrasound it wouldn't really be breech, but then there was the little head resting right under my ribcage.
We are hoping to have this little one at home so that made a big hole in our plans. Now I was faced with all of the questions like, "Do we go to the hospital? Can we deliver breech? What are the dangers of a breech delivery? Do I need to have a c-section?"
I never thought I would say this at the beginning of all of this, but I am thankful for this trial. I have had to really trust our great Saviour so much more then if this baby would have just been in the normal position. My husband had been a huge source of blessing and encouragement. I have had to give my attitude to the Lord and be thankful for the extra car time to be praying and praising him. I have had to give up my plans and trust the Lord know what we need and at the same time believe that he can flip this baby if he wants to.
Thank goodness for a walk with the Lord at times like this. We will keep you posted on where the Lord places this baby when we go into labor. Keep us in your prayers.

3 weeks or so...

Pin It The belly is definitely showing how much time we have left to go. It is HUGE. I would post pictures, but I know I will look back and wonder why I did that to myself. Just to fill you in on some of the huge belly heartaches... I can barely reach my shoes to tie them, I can't change the boys crib sheets, a normal shirt is above my belly button, and I can't get the bath water high enough to keep warm. That was a little memory jogger for all of you past pregnant mommas and a little sneak preview for those who are looking forward to the big belly days.
Our "due week" is the 20th - 27th. We are going for a date range instead of one day this time because we are never exactly sure on one day and to save myself the heartache of feeling like I am overdue.
Keep my in your prayers. I tend to get a little crabby near the end because I am sick of being tired... and slow... and unable to get up from a lying down position. Also, I want to meet this next little one so badly and see my boys and hubby holding him or her. Hopefully the next post will hold pictures of our new family of five!