SRKindredSpirits

A few days ago, I stopped by my kids elementary school. While waiting, I was seated beside a kid in my son's special needs class. When a staff member asked the kid a question, he simply screamed, then turned to me and smiled. I'm sorry - (not sorry), but what that kid needs is a good slap on the mouth.... I don't care if your kid is Autistic, has ADHD, has Aspergers, is slow, hyper, or any other thing. Kids need to learn how to act. They need to realize they really are not that great. The world DOES NOT revolve around them! I have a special needs kid and I know that life is difficult for him, its hard for him to understand simple things, and to communicate, but we have taught him to use his words, to respond to people, and to simply be a good kid. And you know what?!?!? We get compliments almost everywhere we go with him. Just this week, his Endo Doctor told him that out of all the kids she sees in her practice, no other kid has ever been so polite and well behave...

One thing that you always read when it comes to kids toys and minimalism is how to get rid of them or why fewer toys benefit your kids . But you never hear about how many toys are too many? I asked myself the same thing a lot through the years, and while I know minimalism is different for every one, I thought I'd let you know what works for us and how we handle our kids toys. Our two girls ages seventeen and nine, share a small room and closet . We have a set of bunk beds, and they each have their own desk, and folding chair. There are five (six cube) storage organizers in their room, along with a saucer chair, a clothes basket, and a guitar. The 17 yr old has outgrown toys obviously and now collects books!  Below is a list of every toy my nine-year-old has. We have condensed all her toys to fit in either a shoe box, a fabric cube, or a small drawer, with the exception being the barbie toys in a tub. There are 4 clear plastic shoe boxes that hold a little puppies ...

"He never saw it coming. It was the night of Dave and Ann’s tenth wedding anniversary and if asked how their marriage was doing, Dave would have said a 9.8 out of 10 and he even guaranteed Ann would say the same. But instead of giving a celebratory kiss, Ann whispered, “I’ve lost my feelings for you.”  Divorce seemed inevitable. But starting that night, God began to reveal to Dave and Ann the most overlooked secret of getting the marriage we are looking for: the horizontal marriage relationship just doesn’t work until the vertical relationship with Christ is first." This book was a fun and a good read in more ways than one... couples often think of marriage as husband and wife. But a great marriage only works if it's vertical - husband, wife and God! The book was divided into four parts... Going Vertical, Conflict and Communication, Intimacy (which was my favorite), and Living Vertical.  I have always found it odd that many Christians think that it's wro...

  Dressing Your Truth is a makeover and beauty system that is about expressing and honoring your authentic nature. Dressing your truth is based on the idea that our personality, features, energy and strengths or weaknesses can all be used to categorize each of us into one of four types. Type 1: The Bright and Animated – Extroverted, ideas-person. Fun. Type 2: The Subtle and Soft – Introverted, nurturing. Blended. Type 3: The Rich and Dynamic –  Extroverted, entrepreneurial. Loud. Type 4: The Bold and Striking –  Introverted, perfection-oriented. Direct. Each type is associated with a specific energy pattern and certain traits about how they move through their world. The overall theory is that by coordinating how you dress with your energy type, you can look your very best. Each energy type is reflected in nature. Type 1: Nitrogen Think of the energy of air (upward, light). The type 1 person is bright, animated and has a gift for new ideas ...

YOUTH Lash Revitalizing & Conditioning Mascara is a 2-in-1 lash conditioner and mascara that lengthens, volumizes and lifts to help create longer, fuller, and healthier looking lashes. Are you looking for a Mascara that feels as good as it looks? Do you want long, beautiful lashes? Do you have sensitive eyes? Are you confused by the clutter of mascara in stores? This one checks all the boxes.   Why I love it: Specifically formulated with our unique Lash Protection Complex: patent-pending Muscadine Grape polyphenols & multi-patented Vital Repair+ to help strengthen lashes, and protect lashes and roots against environmental / free radical damage. Made from naturally derived mineral pigment to provide a glossy looking black finish. Features an innovative 2-sided brush to help create a natural, elegant look: Shorter bristles grab close to the root, boosting volume and lengthening beyond belief. Longer bristles create definition and lift ev...

Theology From the Spring - by Jacob Taggart  My hubby and I love nature. I love the sound of a stream, with the leaves rustling overhead.... and wh en we are surrounded by Gods beautiful creation, we feel, completely, and utterly free! You see, for us, there is  no clear line between religion and nature. And though I don't fly fish, I still benefited from this unique look at spring creeks as they reveal the truths of the Gospel.  Pastor Jacob A. Taggart takes his readers on a voyage to pull them out from behind their screens and back into the world that reflects the One Who created everything. He uses divine truths that make sense of the beauty and chaos we see within the created order.  For me personally the book was deep, and a little hard to read. But then again, I'm not a theologian or an avid reader!  Overall, whether you are searching for God, or you are a seasoned Chrsitian, this book  can still awe and inspire you by bringi...

It's easy to love your spouse when everything is going smooth, and you feel deep in love. But do you love your Spouse in the middle of a disagreement, or when there's conflict, and you think, how did we get here? What happened? My husband and I had our first big, and only major blow-up argument about one month after we got married, which ended in one of us calling the other a name, and not speaking to each other for 3 days straight... (which is not a good thing when you are remodeling your house and end up with a bathroom floor that neither of you like, but were both too stubborn to tell each other!) Looking back, our argument was really stupid and was over a piece of mail. It all happened because instead of talking to each other about what we expected from each other, we assumed the other person would just know.  Let me insert here, the first 6 months of married life was hard for us... (We were two very independent ppl with homes of our own, and used to doing ou...

Who I Am with You - By Robin Lee Hatcher  Published by Thomas Nelson I normally don't read very many fiction books.... but this one caught my attention.  I loved Andrew and Helen’s relationship, and the way Andrew kept trying to work on their marriage even after he knew the truth about Helen's betrayal. And, that they could completely and fully forgive each other and have a great marriage. I also loved the relationship between Jessica and Ridley, and how it started out as a friendship! There was a lot of trust there, which I loved as well. When they encountered road blocks they didn’t fight or attack each other, they just trusted each other. This book is hard for me to review, as I really liked it the story, but I didn't like the time jumps. I thought both stories were good and well written, but it was confusing jumping between the two. For me personally, I would have rather had two books, the series should have started with Andrew and Helen'...

We've lived in this house for over 13 years and while making over the pantry has always been on the to-do list, it never quite got to the top......  Up until now, my food storage consisted of: Kitchen cupboard - snacks, drink mixes, and cereal China hutch bottom - Shaklee Life Shakes , protein bars, and vitamins A big boxy thing on one side of a coat closet - dry goods and canned food Shelves in the garage - home canned food and extra canning jars Garage floor - pop, and water bottles It was all use able.... just not ideal.  The problem was that I had food in 5 different places, and I couldn't find anything in the big boxy thing, because everything always fell over and I couldn't see what I had. It was frustrating. Here's a pic of the closet/pantry before. It also had the sweeper, cleaning things, coats, shoes, hats and other random stuff in it. I wanted to make the whole closet into a pantry, so I could have all the food in one place, ...

Recipe 1 1/2 cup cauliflower florets 1 1/2 cup dried macaroni 1/4 cup butter, 3 Tbsp flour 1 tsp mustard powder 2 1/2 cups whole milk Pinch of cayenne pepper Sea salt, to taste 1 1/2 cup mature cheddar cheese, grated 1 1/2 cup colby jack cheese, grated 1 1/2 cup havarti cheese, grated 3 Tbsp breadcrumbs Sprinkle of thyme leaves Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil. Add the cauliflower and cook for 5 minutes or til tender. Remove with a slotted spoon and refresh in a bowl of ice-cold water to prevent it from cooking any further. Drain well. Put the macaroni into the boiling salted water and cook according to packet instructions. Drain, refresh under cold, running water and drain again. Mix the macaroni, cauliflower and a bit of butter together in a large bowl. Preheat the oven to 350* F.  Heat the rest of the butter in a pan, and stir in the flour and mustard powder to make a roux. Gradually add the milk, beating continuousl...

Sometimes you just have to say goodbye to toxic people. To detach. A family member, who is a toxic person, will take advantage of the fact that you are family – a bond that is supposed to be enduring, loving, and respectful – to manipulate and hurt you, because we are conditioned to believe that if we end relationships with them, that we are “bad” and no one wants to be or feel like they are an inherently bad person. Toxic extended family members cause a lot of stress. It is hard work just to be around them. Many times you are always on edge, cautious, trying to live up to their ideals, yet always failing. Their manipulation, drama, neediness, criticism, jealousy, and other negative traits drain you emotionally and make you feel bad about yourself. All of these things affect your health both directly and indirectly. We spend years sacrificing our mental and emotional health in abusive relationships under the notion that we “have to” because these people are our fam...

Our youngest daughter has been wanting a hamster for a few years now, and since we got rid of all the animals this past year, I thought it would be the perfect Christmas gift. And since we try to practice a somewhat minimalist lifestyle and the kids always end up with too many gifts, I thought a hamster would be the perfect gift... something she wanted, something small, it would help teach her more responsibility, it is relatively quiet, and it would have no toys to add to the clutter! I should have questioned the idea when the new cage came 2 weeks before Christmas and it wasn't the right size...  I had to buy a different stand for it to set on, so that was an extra $40, but I thought we'd make do.... it just takes up more space and it don't look near as neat as the last hamster cage I made out of a bookcase a few years back.... Then I went all out buying new water bottles, running wheels, snacks, food, running ball, bedding, treats, chew toys, etc.... it ended...