SRKindredSpirits

My sister Marla found her man!!! Don't they make a cute couple?!?! Photo credit: Alicia Magnus I wanted to have a small intimate lingerie bridal shower for my sister. Since she lives in Montana, we don't get to see her often. The guest list was small, just mom, sisters, sister in laws, and her two oldest nieces (4 ppl could not make it). I didn't want to have the normal 'how well do you know the bride' games, so this is what I came up with instead... The theme was "In His Time".... "Take Time to Date" When guests first arrived... They could write down date ideas on wide pop cycles sticks and place them in the "Date Jar". "Take Time to Play" We started the evening by playing games. The first, involved each guest, and the bride to be making a veil out of toilet paper. They had 5 min. and we're judged at the end.  Next involved a bottle of sparkling grape juice and a garte...

The best thing I've done when it comes to homeschooling is to ditch the idea that it needs to be like a real school!  We used to have a school room with charts, maps, desks, set hours and breaks, etc.  Then, after 3 years, needed the room as a bedroom (we live in a small house), so we moved the schoolroom to our enclosed back porch. We still used desks and had individual pencil cases, charts, maps, posters, and all the stuff you think you need to have for a school room. We used the back porch as our school room for a couple years, but then turned it into a office for our home business ..... But, I still needed a place for school..... turns out, the best thing I ever did regarding homeschooling was to give it all up.  I gave up the idea of having to have a class room, desks, charts and posters on the walls, set hours, and every other extra thing most people think you have to have to homeschool - including the complete encyclopedia set!!! I got rid of it all! ...

Getting rid of stuff -  Round 2 - Year 3 This year, we signed up for Joshua Becker's Uncluttered Course .  And although we have read most of his books and have gotten rid of so much stuff in our first round .... we still had stuff that needed to go. Here's some of it... 5 explorer loads full to goodwill 1 trailer load of junk to the garbage dump 1 trailer load of scrap metal (I forgot to take a photo) Multiple items sold on Craigslist and online sites totaling over $4,000 And... We had over $200 of returns that we took back to Menards for in store credit Let me say again... we are not pack rat people. It amazes me that we have so much to get rid off... if we haven't used it, don't need it, don't like it, or it has no purpose; out it goes. With a family of 5 living in the country on a hobby farm with animals, splitting our own firewood, homeschooling, and, having a business from home... there is a lot of e...

We've had Nigerian Dwarf dairy goats for over 6 years now and I still love them as much now as I did when we first got them.  Some of the reasons I love Nigerian dwarf goats are: They are small - only weighing in around 30 - 45 lbs. full grown - I can pick them up myself. They are not overly rambunctious. They are not hard on pasture or fences. They get along well with most animals and humans. Their manure is great in flower beds and gardens. They don't need a lot of space. They do not eat nearly as much as a full sized goat. We only need approximately 25 bales of good high quality hay for 4-5 full size goats for all winter. Their milk is mild and creamy... I love using it in baking and cooking with it. The kids love to drink it. They have a great temperament! They are great with people of all ages. They are super friendly and love human interaction. The baby's are so little and so much fun to watch. Our small herd has changed over the years.... so I ...

Somehow life always pushes 'moms' needs into the closet..... the door gets shut, life gets busy, and then years later, mom realizes she doesn't know who she is anymore.  Well, that is my story. Looking back, I was just a baby when my first baby was born....and I became a mom.  I was 17 when I got pregnant.... I had just finished high school and had not even thought about what I wanted to do with my life.... I was living on my own, in a one bedroom efficiency apartment. My goal in life was short term - pay the rent, keep gas in my car, and food in the fridge. I never really wanted to be a mom - it just happened. And after marriage, step kids, divorce , and a second marriage, I went on to have two more kids...... Our oldest daughter had a lot of health problems requiring lots of tests, doctors appointments, lab work and children hospitals over a five year period ( you can read more about it here). Our second child is special needs and has many learning disa...

Enjoy: The Gift of Sexual Pleasure for Women , Dr. Clifford and Joyce Penner This book is from Focus on the Family. It's a good book, but I honestly felt like it is written for someone who is not yet married, or who is in a sexless or unfulfilled marriage. Although I agree with the majority of the authors writings... it simply does not apply to me. You see, I've been happily married for 12 years to an amazing hubby who always puts me first in the bedroom. He is loving, understanding, spontaneous, adventurous, gentle and very respectful of me.  I won the lotto, when it comes to my man ! *Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through Tyndale, book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

Let me preface this by saying- my hubby and I are research geeks. We research a subject until there is nothing left of it.... dead. Never to rise again..... which sometimes can be a good thing, and other times, lets just say, not so much. That's when after I had major surgery (that I had researched for over a year)..... I was completely taken by surprise. I mean, I knew that there would be pain and that I'd need someone to help me, but I honestly never expected it to be this hard, this painful, and this much fatigue. With that said, I did have an emergency second surgery 12 hours later due to internal bleeding and I'm sure that is partly to blame for some of it. The Doctors said having the emergency surgery really set me back.  I was supposed to come home with a pain pump, but they had to remove it during the second surgery.  Anytime, some one has as much internal bleeding as I did, it causes excruciating pain. I also lost so much blood, that I had to have multip...