Week 3: Created To Be His Help Meet

Chapter 3: A Thankful Spirit
'A wise woman sets a joyful mood in her home. Through laughter, music, and happy times, she creates a positive attitude in her children. She knows that a lighthearted home relieves her husband of stress.'

Yikes, another chapter directed at me!!! I've really got to work on my poor-me attitude and get myself a merry heart!! :D There is so much good wisdom in this chapter, I will be quoting a lot of it. :)

'Discontentment is not a product of circumstances; it us the state of the soul.'

'Thankful people have a view of life that begins somewhere deep in their soul, and outside circumstances just can't mar their joy. To them, life is a wonderful, continuous dream come true. All of life is blesses, and they see themselves as being in a continual feast.'

Joy begins with thankfulness. Quite often our attitudes hang in the balance; by making a a conscious choice, we can tip our souls into dark moods of complaining, or into thankfulness and praise. It is amazing how much your mouth controls your soul. You can smile with your mouth and say, "Thank you, God; thank you, husband; thank you, children," and your spirit is directed into gratitude with joy following. Thankfulness is how you think; joy is the abundance it produces.'

'Most people have practiced hitting the notes of bitterness, sourness, hurt feelings, and frustration so long that their soul finds the discordant notes easily, almost without thought. But you don't have to keep on practicing discord; you can practice joy and thanksgiving just as easily, and certainly with more pleasure. Every day, every right response makes the fingers of your soul find the notes of joy and thanksgiving easier and easier...'

'Learn to enjoy life. Be thankful. Smile. When you catch yourself becoming irritated or disturbed at circumstances, stop and laugh at the little things that steal your peace. Count your blessings and learn to be appreciative.'

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law" (Galatians 5:22-23)

'Phil 4:6 tells us to "be careful for nothing," which is to say, don't worry and fret about everything being just perfect, but be content with what you have.'
WOW, that is exactly what I need to remember and start doing!!! I'm a total perfectionist and I often get frustrated when things don't go perfectly!!! I am working on this and praying that God helps me become a content and thankful help meet!!! :D

another awesome deal!!

So, my girls love the Signing Time dvd's and ask for them every day!!

I am signed up to get emails on discounts and specials. Well, I got one and they are having an after Thanksgiving deals on their website, check it out.

Today's deal is get 50% off any orders over $25. I wanted to get vol 1 for my girls and my mom wanted to get vol 2 for my sisters, so we put our order together and saved!!! :)

Together we bought 26 dvd's for $294.27!! woo, hoo :D

Thanksgiving

Spent a good day with Mat's parents and stuffed ourselves and played Sorry, girls against boys, both won a game and then played Canasta and the girls whooped the boys!!!! Fun times :)

Thankful that we get to go down to my parents for a couple days for Thanksgiving!!

Now I'm going to clean the house, pack, put up Christmas decorations, make dinner, then get ready to leave for parents house. :)

Week 2: Created To Be His Help Meet

Chapter 2: A Merry Heart
"A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones"
(Prov. 17:22)

Yikes, this one is going to be a tough one for me already!! lol
I've always had a hard time being happy with what I have and catch myself getting upset/angry over little things that bug me so.

Proverbs 15:13 says, "A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance..."
'Everyone is drawn to a smile. Who and what you are is reflected in your face.'

This is very interesting, I found out later, that when Mat and I saw each other for the first time, he was drawn to me because he liked my smile!!! :D Which is ironic, because I've never liked my smile and don't smile much, because of it. lol

'Everyone is drawn to a smile and wants to be a friend to someone overflowing with goodwill.'
I have never been a cheerful person and wonder that maybe this is why I don't have a lot of friends or even a best friend. I tend to hold people out at a distance, because I have been hurt by people I considered a friend and hate being deceived or hurt.

'Being pitiful, hurt, discouraged, and even sickly is one side of a "bad marriage" coin.'
I need to work REALLY hard on this one, I'm discouraged daily and probably act pretty pitiful, at times. I am quite the perfectionist and tend to want/expect things to go perfectly or in a certain way and when it doesn't I tend to think that I did something wrong to cause it.

I really like this next part. 'God's will is for a wife to have a merry heart, a cheerful countenance and a glow that will refresh the most stressed and tired husband on the planet. Bubbling cheer goes a long way to maintain or even restore a marriage. Make a decision to break the "poor me" habit.'
This is the type of woman I want to be, not just for my husband, but also for my girls!!

Today, tomorrow and every day after that is a 'new day' and I want to start right now, to have a merry heart!! <3

schooling plans

So, my friend, Sara, and I got together this morning and ran some errands together and started talking about getting together more often. Which ended up with us making plans to get together a couple times a week to start teaching our kiddos their colors, numbers, shapes, crafts, etc. I left stoked and looking through my stuff that I've researched, noted and put into a ring binder!! :D I want to share this with all my toddler mommy friends, mainly Nicole. ;)

I just found yesterday, magnetic visual schedules from Little Billies. "For the children still at home on most days, this is a fantastic chart (visual schedule) that will help give both mum or dad and the child a clear direction for the day. It will help to assist to build a flexible routine into your home and give your child stability and security in knowing what is coming next." These are awesome and I have wanted to get something like this for awhile now, and probably will!! :)

A great homeschooling website is Hands on Homeschooling. She has an overview and preview of the curriculum and a checklist for ages 2-5. I was so excited to find something for 2 yr olds, I thought they didn't offer anything until kids were 4!! I would love to get the curriculum, but it's late in the year and we don't have much money, so I might not be able to get it until next year.

We are thinking about getting together 2x a week, one day at my house and the other at her house. Sara and I are also thinking about doing sewing projects on those days, too.

This is exciting for me, because I'm a procrastinator and get more things done if I have someone to do it with and it also gets our kiddo's together. :)

an oh-my-gosh moment...

My girls gave me a heart attack today...

I was in our bedroom and I could hear the girls jabbering about outside, mommy's/daddy's shoes and go bu-bye. I could also hear Natalie messing with the door knob, now we have a child safety thingy on the door knob, but Natalie has already figured it out!!

Well, the next thing I hear is 'click' and muffled voices. I look out the bedroom window and both girls are standing on the front step!!!!!! I ran to the door and opened it and all I see is the back side of 2 little girls. Kiley is dressed in just a pj top and diaper and wearing Mat's shoes and carrying her tiger, and Natalie has her pj top and bottom on and wearing my shoes and carrying a lunch bag, given to her by Sara, full of stuff!!!

I couldn't help laughing, they looked like 2 miniature clowns!!! I was wondering if any neighbors saw them and what they thought about it. :O

I brought them inside and got them dressed and sent them to the back yard, which is fully fenced, hopefully they won't figure out how to get out!! I couldn't be be upset with them, because they weren't doing it to be bad, they just wanted to go outside. ;) I really wish I had gotten a picture of it, it was quite comical!! lol :D

Tuesday's Twin Style

Ok, my friend, Nicole, is doing her own meme's, what ever that means. and no, i'm not stalking her blog, she just has so many good ideas! ;) lol So, I thought to myself, if Nicole can, why not me?

Well, here it is, Tuesday's Twin Style, every tuesday, I will be sharing about my experiences as a 'twin mommy'. Hope you enjoy it!!

Today's is short, mainly because I have no idea what to say!! :)

Inseparable, that's how the girls have been since birth and I imagine will always be. You will often find the girls sitting close to each other, quietly reading a book. I think this is the only time they're quiet!! They will sit and read in the morning before breakfast and right before bedtime and periodically throughout the day. They must get their love of reading from my mom!?! ;)

Then the next minute, they will be fighting over the same toy, that they have a double of!! Seriously, that's why I buy 2 of everything!! :) lol

This is all I can think of today, so come back next week to see what I have to say then.

I've been accepted

My blog was accepted into the SheBlogs Network!!

"SheBlogs.org is a Web service that connects women bloggers, including mom bloggers, product reviewers, fashionistas, techies and others, with the public relations and marketing professionals who issue the news and promote the products that women care about most."

Read more about them here.

How awesome, huh? We will see what happens and if I get picked to start doing reviews for companies!!

eye-full giveaway ;)

my friend nicole is having an Orglamix review. I've heard from her that their eyeshadow is awesome!!! I'm hoping to win her giveaway, since we don't have any money and I need some good eyeshadow. ;)
so go check it out, here and win some for yourself :)

Created to Be His Help Meet

Chapter 1-God's Gift

While reading chapter one, I found a few quotes that I found meaningful to me:
"A good marriage, just like anything worthwhile, takes doing the right things every day...every hour...every moment."
So true, we spend little to no time focusing on our marriage, thinking everything will be ok and work out fine, and wonder what happened when everything blows up in our face!!!

"If you are a wife, you were created to fill a need, and in that capacity you are a 'good thing,' a helper suited to the needs of a man. This is how God created you and it is your purpose for existing. You are, by nature, equipped in every way to be your man's helper. You are inferior to none as long as you function within your created nature, for no man can do your job, and no man is complete without his wife."
Wow, I can't tell you how many times a hour/day/week that I don't feel inferior in some area of my life!!! I have struggled with my self-identity, who am I, and have come up empty. Right here, it says I am 'a good thing' a helper!!! That's it, I'm a helper, not a ruler and not a slave, but a helper to the love of my life!! 'When you are a help meet to your husband, you are a helper to Christ.' amazing

'When you honor your husband, you honor God. When you obey your husband, you obey God. The degree to which you reverence your husband is the degree to which you reverence your Creator. As we serve out husbands, we serve God.' 'You can only realize your womanhood when you are functioning according to your created nature.'
what more needs to be said? we are important and right where God wants us!!! :)

"A virtuous woman is a crown to her husband" Proverbs 12:4

'A good help meet will have a passion to be of service. Her first calling is to be of service to her husband, then her children, and when time affords, her passion of service will spill over to serving others.'
I have always had a passion to help others, I hate to see others suffering or going through a rough time, and my heart goes out to them. But I have things out of order, I put my girls 1st, obviously, since I'm with them all day, and then Mat or others are put next. Over the past few months, I have learned that I need to work harder at putting Mat first and foremost, then my girls and then others, God willing. I will be praying and striving to set my priorities straight from now on.

I am going to end this with a little bit from the 'Help Meet's Journey', the companion journal for this book.
Gladness is defined in the Bible by its association with:
-joy
-shouting and singing
-rejoicing and thanksgiving
-the voice of mirth and the voice of melody

My hope, for you, is that you got as much out of this chapter as I did and am refreshed and ready to take on a new week with gladness and purpose!!! :)

do I smell jerkey??

It all started when we realized that we have 3 years worth of deer meat in our freezer and there's no way we can eat it all by ourselves!! :o Mat wanted to make it into jerkey, but I said there was no way I was going to do it in the oven, so he talked to his mom. He talked about it for over a month, so mom said ok and bought us one!!! :)


It is a Nesco American Harvest FD-1020 Gardenmaster. We can dry fruits, vegetables, meats, smoke fish, herbs, flowers, make fruit strips, and whatever else you can think of!! I love dried fruit, but it's so expensive!! I'm so excited to start making my own, for a lot less!!! :)

Mat was impatient and wanted to make jerkey so bad that he made some today. It only took him about 30 minutes to get it put together, rolled out, cut and put on the trays.


It only took 5 hours for it to dry!! Here's our 1st batch of homemade jerkey!! YUM :)

what a week!!

whew, TGIF!!! I had quite a week, I got the flu, not sure which one, and was miserable for a couple days. The baby I watch is teething and was very unhappy and fussy, but luckly both bottom teeth are through!! The girls have been clingy, but are doing something new almost every day!!! The girls can count from 1-10!!! It's amazing, it seemed to happen almost overnight!!

We are really, really strapped for money and it's starting to stress us out. We're not even able to live pay check to paycheck!! :( We have been having to use the credit card for food and immediate necessities and it's dragging us farther into debt!! We are banking on Mat's new job and are convincing ourselves that it will be ok after he starts, but that's not till Dec 21st, which is almost 6 weeks away and another 2 weeks before we get a paycheck!! :( We're praying that we can sell the car we were given, to help pay off some of our bills or for something to come up where one of us can make a little extra money to get things paid off. :)

I'm really hoping that next week will be a lot better!! :)

just what I needed to read, part 2

Here's another devotion for the next day, November 10. Taken from "New Day, New You" by Joyce Meyer, a few sections taken out by me.

Let Go and Let God Be God
O our God, will You not exercise judgment upon them? For we have no might to
stand against this great company that is coming against us. We do not know
what to do, but our eyes are upon You. - 2 Chronicles 20:12

"Here Jehoshaphat admits to God openly his total inability to deal with the problem....I remember wanting to give up simply because I was so exhausted from trying to fight my own battles. I went through all this on a regular basis until one day I was being really kind of melodramatic about it, trying to impress God with how miserable I was. I said something like, "God, I've had it. This is it. I'm through. Nothing I'm doing is working. I give us. I'm not going to do this anymore."
Just them, deep inside me, I heard the Holy Spirit say, "Really?" There was real excitement in His voice. That happens because the only time He gets to work in us is in when we become so exhausted that we finally decide, 'Instead of trying to do this myself, I'm going to give up and let God be God'....Why not give up your own effort and do what Jehoshaphat did in verse 12? Admit to God that you...don't know what to do, but you are looking to Him for direction and deliverance."

This is a weak spot for me, I am a very organized/in control type of person and have trouble 'letting go'. I have to be in control and hate to not be able to know what's going to happen or be able to plan for it. Hopefully through this tough time, I will learn to 'let go and let God be God'!!! :)

just what I needed to read, part 1

Only a select few know what I have been going through this past couple of weeks and have been taking it pretty hard. I was reading from a daily devotion book and came across this one, for November 9, and it couldn't have come at a better time!! :) This devotion ,a few parts taken out by me, is taken from "New Day, New You" by Joyce Meyer which my mom gave to me a couple weeks ago, thanks mom!!

Love Does Not Rejoice at Injustice
'It does not rejoice at injustice and unrighteousness,
but rejoices when right and truth prevail.'-I Corinthians 13:6

"Love is grieved at injustice. It always wants what is fair and right. It craves justice not only for itself but especially for others....
We should care about others and their pain, pray for them, and do what we can to relieve their suffering. Love is not unfeeling; it cannot look at unjust situations and just simply not care or do nothing. The worldly mentality of "don't bother me with it, that is your problem" has no place in the lives of Christians.
Obviously, we cannot physically or financially fix everyone's problem, but we can care. We can work with the Holy Spirit to make sure we don't allow our hearts to become hardened by all the violence and injustice all around us.
God is love, and He loves righteousness (knowing you are right with God-acting right, talking right, etc.)...Those who love righteousness are often persecuted for it-Jesus was, and we are not above out Master...Don't hate evil people, just their evil ways. God hates sin, but He loves sinners.
Keep walking in love, hating injustice and unrighteousness, and the favour of God will come upon your life in an astounding way."

WOW, this was just what I needed to hear and it felt like a weight was lifted off me!! I feel so much better about the whole situation, of course it still bothers me, but I now know how to handle it and that God is in control and will help me through this. :)

A Crazy Love Story

After I graduated I moved to Wisconsin and nannied for a family I knew. I loved it there and imagined I'd meet my future husband, get married and live there forever. Well, circumstances brought me back home, and I lost hope of ever getting out of our small town or of finding a husband. The summer of 2004 I prayed and prayed and prayed that I would find a christian guy and get married and start a family, just as I had planned since I was a little kid. While I was taking a shower I heard God say 'You haven't met your husband, because he's in the Army fighting overseas'!! My first thought was 'oh, ok, that explains it' and I felt immediate peace and knew God was in control. I told my mom and she was a little skeptical.

On March 25, 2005 my littlest sister, Rachel, was born in Billings, MT. My Aunt and Uncle lived there and we spent some time with them and then went back home a couple days later. After being home for a couple weeks, my parents decided it was time for me to get out of our small town and move forward with my life. My Aunt and Uncle agreed and offered to have me stay with them.

I started going to church with them and they encouraged me to go to the College and Career, so I could meet people my own age. The first time I went, I don't think I said one word!! At the end of class, Jeff, the Sunday School leader, told me they were getting together later that day to play Ultimate Frisbee and if I wanted to come to call Mat and he would pick me up!! Mat said 'what, why my number?' and Jeff said 'because I don't want to give her mine'. Well, I was not comfortable calling a guy I didn't know, so I didn't! Soon after that I stopped going to Sunday School and just went to the church services. A couple months later my Aunt felt I needed to get out and make some friends. She found out about the College and Career bible study being held at a young couples home, which I found out later was Mat's twin sister and hubby's home!! I told her I didn't want to go, but she said 'yes you are' and that was that! She dropped me off and said I would have to find someone to get a ride home with. So since I had no choice, I went and was like a fly on the wall, quiet and observing. The only thing I really remember from that night was after the study was done a guy, named Mat, got his laptop out and started showing his friends the pics he had taken in Iraq. He had been in Iraq in 2003 and had just gotten back in February!!! He had been in Iraq when God spoke to me that day in the shower!! I couldn't believe it and I knew that day that Mat was the guy God had chosen for me to marry!! :)

After that, Mat started calling me and picking me up for Bible Study and activities and to go to the skate park at 10pm at night. He did it, because he said I was cute and was mysterious, because I was so quiet and I was there one day, gone a month and then magically reappeared. Lol. On August 28, 2005, I went to church with Mat and afterwards, we went to Taco Bell. I took a pic of Mat on my cell phone, then we went to the park and played folf and Ultimate Frisbee. Then we went to Bible study and afterwards, we went up to the Rims and sat looking at the lights and saw a shooting star. My aunt called to check up on me and asked if we were 'officially' dating, I looked at Mat and he said, sure!!

Three days later, we had our 1st date, which was to a Def Leopard concert, which he got into for free, since he was in the military. I said sure, didn't know who the band was and he was shocked, lol. It was also our First Kiss and the only guy I ever kissed. My parents flipped out after hearing about the concert and told me to dump him!! Well, I didn't!! :)


A month into dating, I told Mat about how God spoke to me and that I knew he was the one I was going to marry. Well, it freaked him out a lil bit and I thought for sure he was going to dump me. He said he needed more time to know for sure if I was the one for him.
Three months after our 1st date, I read through "Created to be His Help meet'. It helped me know what to look for in Mat and to know what I needed to do in order to be Mat's help meet.

February 2006, 5 months into our relationship, I could tell something was bothering Mat and I asked him about it. He wanted to separate for a while and I was heart broken. He wanted to make sure this was God's will for us to be together. We were separated for 1 week and 1/2 day = 180 hours. May 12, Mat gave me a sapphire promise ring. Three days after that, Mat wanted to separate again, he kept getting cold feet, because of previous relationships and being dumped. He wanted to take the summer off, from our relationship, but this time it lasted 11 days!! He couldn't stand to be away from me. I had a difficult time after that, always wondering if he was going to want to separate again.

I joined the Army on June 1st, I didn't think Mat was going to want to get married for at least a year and I didn't have a job and the army seemed to fulfill everything. I was In July, Mat asked when I was going to move the ring, he had given to me 2 months earlier, to my left hand. My promise ring was now my engagement ring and that was our engagement, nothing special, and I've never let him forget it. ;)

August 7th, I was medically discharged from the army. So since I wasn't leaving for basic, we talked and had to decide what to do next. I had no place to stay and no job, so I would have to go back home and i didn't want to do that. So we talked for awhile and decided that we were ready to get married, so we started making plans.
August 8th, a friend and I went to Goodwill and found me a wedding dress for $50!! Mat and I decided to talk to his parents about having the wedding out at their house and when the best time would be for her. She said we should have it that weekend, since Mat's siblings would be there and it wouldn't happen for quite awhile. They had me call my parents and tell them and my parents were shocked and said it was only a couple days away.
August 10th, we picked out and bought our wedding rings.
August 12, 2006 is the day we got married!!! 345 days after we started dating :)


A lot of people thought we were getting married too fast, which we did, we had 4 days to plan and prepare our wedding!! Mat's brother married us, which meant a lot to all of us. :) During the ceremony I had a bee try to sting me, that wasn't the only thing to happen. Mat was so nervous that he was pale and I thought he was going to pass out or throw up, he didn't, but was that way throught the whole ceremony!! When we got to, 'if anybody doesn't think these two should be together, say so now', a horse neighed twice!!!! :o Then right when they were giving our toast's a huge storm blew in and forced into the house!!! It's amazing we made it through the whole wedding without something horrible happening!!

Four months later, we found out that we were pregnant. Three months later we found out we were expecting twins and moved into a new house, since the 2 bedroom apartment wasn't going to be big enough. Two months later we found out we were having identical twin girls!!! The girls were born on August 9, 2007, 3 days before our 1st Anniversary, which we spent in the hospital!!



So this is our Love Story, it's really long, but we have been through a lot and it has helped us get through the rough times in our marriage. Now we are looking forward to the future.

Great Cloth Diaper Hunt extra

This is my third hunt, haven't won anything, and boy I tell you it sure is addicting!! I could get myself into so much trouble if we had money to spend!! :D There are some awesome WAHMommies who make or carry some awesome items from cloth diapers to baby necessities to mommy stuff. If you want/need it, they've got it!! :)
Well, while hunting for the hiding diaper icon on Pea Pie Baby! ,Elizabeth, the owner, had surprises hidden all around her site and I found one!! When I picked what I wanted to get, she made a special discounted product listing just for me!! It was so neat to have a special spot of my own on her site!! Here's what it looks like. :) I will post a pic of what I ordered when it gets here. :)

the BOBA

here's another awesome site, Rump-A-Rooz that carries this one. It also has a lot more pics to show you what it can do. :) I sooo really want one, actually two, since I have twins!! My favorite color is the pine, I should ask mat which color he likes. :)

sleepy wrap giveaway

I was just looking at the BOBA carriers, they look really comfortable and we could use one for another 2 years and they're super cute!! :)
check it and other great giveaways at The Bragging Mommy

what to do?

We have been stretching every dollar and can't seem to make ends meet, and need something I can do at home and make a little extra money. I'm not sure I'm cut out to start my own business, so I'm not sure what I can do. I wish I had a close friend that had her own business, so I could just help her part time and still be able to be home with my girls and make a little extra money. I'm hoping something will come up soon.

an awesome giveaway

Suzie Homemaker is giving away a Gift Package worth over $50 in celebration of our 50 followers! It will contain items from:

http://www.beautyfromtheearth.com/ and
http://www.littledivatutus.com/ as well as other things!

check it out and enter to win!! :)