a Buck for Ben!

Hello everyone!  I wanted to use my blog today to spread awareness of a condition called Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB for short). 

 

In a nutshell, EB is a connective tissue disease causing blisters in the skin and mucosal membranes, with an incidence of 1/50,000. Its severity ranges from mild to lethal. It is caused by a mutation in the keratin or collagen gene. People with EB lack these protein anchors, so when there is any friction on the skin, the two layers rub against each other and separate, resulting in painful sores and blisters.

In it mildest form the blistering is confined to hands and feet. In its severest form the whole body is affected, wounds heal extremely slowly, there is significant scarring, physical deformity, and disability. In its severest form EB is fatal in infancy.

Benjamin Joseph Wiley, Jr. was born on Oct 27th, 2011. Though it had been a normal, healthy pregnancy and delivery for Ben and his mom, it was immediately clear that something wasn’t right: baby Ben was missing the skin on his hands and his left foot, and had blisters in his mouth and on his lips.

Up until about 6 months ago I never even knew this condition existed, and then I came across a facebook page called, 'Honoring a EB Soldier, Ben Wiley Jr.'.  I saw a picture of this precious little boy, and he stole my heart instantly, but the pictures also broke my heart because he suffers from EB.  As I learned more about EB through his mother's posts I came to realize not only how this boy suffers each day, but just how expensive this condition is.  The money involved in cleaning the open wounds and blisters, keeping them covered appropriately, preventing infections- it's staggering! 

 

 

As a parent myself I simply could not imagine what Ben Sr and Sirena, Ben Jr's parents, go through each day.  My mother's heart wants to help them through daily prayer, but also through raising funds to help ease the burden of the cost involved. 

"A Buck for Ben" has come about as a way to raise money to help this amazing family. 

I know times are tough, financially speaking, and not everyone can afford to send $50, $20, or even $10.  But most people CAN afford to send just one dollar!  Yes just one dollar, one buck for Ben Jr.  It would leave only a teensy-weensy dent in our wallets, but would impact this family tremendously if we all could pitch in and help.  One dollar- One Buck- that it! 

Would you please consider helping them?
Please help them by praying for them each day, please visit their facebook page to learn more about this horrendously painful condition.  As an adult, I couldn't imagine the pain of open wounds and blisters.  But as a child, who doesn't understand why he is in so much pain, and who still has to endure the pain each day, it just breaks my heart.

Please click on the link to their facebook page:  https://www.facebook.com/BenWileyJr/  and become a follower by liking their page.

 

Please pin this image if you're on Pinterest

(and repin weekly or daily for more exposure)

 

And please visit the new blog: http://abuckforbenjr.blogspot.com/  to find out how you can help, and how you can donate your Buck for Ben.

Thank You!!

A Lower Debt Resolution (with a budget worksheet for you!)

 

Yes, I'm adding to the Resolutions posts in blog land.  It makes me wonder how many others have posted on their New Years Resolutions, probably quite a few. 

As I was thinking about what my resolutions were, I also began to wonder what the word really means.  So I used the handy Merriam-Webster online dictionary to look it up.  Resolution means "the act of determining". 

But I also like the meaning of the word Resolute-

"marked by firm determination. 

Bold,

Steady." 

This year is different than past years, as far as debt resolutions go.  In past years I wasn't determined to stay out of debt.  Even as I write that it sounds odd, almost like I don't mind being in debt, which is definately not true.  I hate being in debt.  This past year has taught me just how much I hate even the word debt.  Our debt prevented us from being a blessing and a help to others.  It took peace from our lives.  It caused a sense of chaos in our lives instead of a calmness.  I'm through with living that way.  I'm not blaming anyone else, I know full well that I was not a good stewerd of the money God entrusted to us.  Things are going to change.  I am resolved!  I have firm determination!  I will be bold in attacking this debt, and I will be steady!

We plan to have our credit card debt paid off in March, and once eliminated we are determined not to use it again like in years past.  This past year we would see something online that was "such a good deal" so we would put it on our credit card telling ourselves that when the bill came we would pay it right off.  Or we would be at the store and see something that we thought we "needed" but didn't have the money for, telling ourselves we would pay it off with the next paycheck- but we never did.  And that folks is the beginning of the end.
We have discovered this past year that the "really great deal", and the item that was "needed" weren't necessary at all, and only brought discouragement.  We are done with discouragement!  Debt=Discouragement!  If you're discouraged over your debt do you have a plan to be done with it once and for all?

Over the next month I will be sharing our plans for staying out of credit card debt.  One thing I'm going to share right now is a link to a great budgeting tool.  I printed mine off and will be using it regularly.  It's the Freddie Mac Monthly Budget Worksheet, take a look and see if it'll work for you too.

 

http://www.freddiemac.com/homeownership/pdf/monthly_budget.pdf

The Apron Experiment

Good morning Ladies!


I am such a sucker for a pretty apron.  I could easily spend way too much time browsing for a new one, and for me one apron is just not enough. 

what a cute row of aprons drying on the line

 

My appreciation for aprons came a year or so after I married, at that time I realized how wearing an apron can save your clothes from countless stains while cooking.  At that time I had just the one apron, a basic apron with no bells or whistles ;)   Fast forward to about 5 years ago and when my husband asked what I wanted for Christmas I asked for a new apron, a pretty apron.  There starts my minor obsession with aprons.


I titled this post "The Apron Experiment" for those who don't wear aprons on a regular basis and who don't know the power of an apron  ;)  

I bought this custom made apron from this gal on etsy

"She looketh well to the way of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness."
Proverbs 31:27

I'm sure many of you have read that verse- maybe you even have it memorized.  It's one of those verses that encourages me to get up and moving.  God is really the one with the power to change a life, He can speak to your heart in ways you need.  I give all glory and praise to the Lord when He changes my way of thinking,

or speaking,

or acting. 

But can I tell you that there's also this funny thing that happens when you put on an apron, there's power in a pretty apron that can get you up and moving.  Perhaps it's because it is hard to sit around and be lazy when you have a pretty apron on, you're not doing that apron justice by being idle. 

But can I also tell you, before you can really appreciate the pretty apron, you really need to do two things ahead of time:

1.  Start your day with the Lord.  Like I said, God is the one with the power to change a life, we can't do it on our own, we need the Lord to give us strength each day to have a happy and sweet attitude.  To work hard throughout the day we need God's grace.  To get past our failures and weaknesses we need God's mercies.  Remember they are New Every Morning!  So we need to start each morning by spending time at the feet of Jesus, giving the Lord that time to change us and mold us to want He wants us to be.  A pretty apron won't do anything for us if we skip our quiet time with the Lord.


"My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up."  Psalm 5:3


"I have set the Lord always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.  Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest in hope."  Psalm 16:8-9


2.  A pretty apron also won't do anything for us if we don't put some effort into our appearance.  I know the Lord looks at the heart of a person, but are we really giving our best to our husband, our kids, or God when we look shabby or like we just don't care?  If you work outside the home you put effort into your appearance, well it should be the same if you stay at home.  We should want to look our best for our family, shouldn't we?  Now I'm not saying you need to wear your "Sunday Best", but perhaps take a few minutes to get dressed (in something other than sweatpants and a shabby t-shirt), do your hair, and put on some makeup.  I know from experience, if I don't get dressed and ready for the day first thing in the morning, then I feel lazy and I end up being idle.  Covering up our shabbiness with a pretty apron is just silly in my opinion. 


"As a jewel of gold in a swine's snout, so is a fair woman which is without discretion."  Proverbs 11:22


I know that verse is talking about something different, but honestly that's the way I feel when I try to pretty up my appearance with just an apron.   Under that apron is hair that is messed up, a face that looks tired and without makeup, ratty clothes, etc.  It's like that ring in the nose of a pig- kind of silly, isn't it?

So, who is tired of being idle?  Who wants to change their lazy ways into something productive and worthwhile?  Who is ready to give their family their best? 

I love this vintage looking waist apron- so cute!

I don't find it ironic that the verse immediately following Proverbs 31:27 is this one:

"Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her."  vs.28


When we put effort into our family and into our homemaking, then our family will bless us and praise us.  Oh, they may not show their appreciation every single day but they will look back on their time at home with fondness, with a love for us, knowing that we gave them our best. 

What a cheery and cherry apron.  :)

For the next 2 weeks I'd like to invite you to do this "apron experiment" along with me.  I guarantee you that if you start your day with the Lord, get yourself  ready for the day, then put on a pretty apron, that your day will go so much more smoothly.  Starting your day with the Lord is the single most important thing you can do, but then getting dressed and putting yourself together will make you feel better about yourself.  The cherry on top is that apron!  You'll feel ready to give your family your best, you won't feel so much like sitting around and being lazy, you'll want to accomplish things in your day.  It's an experiment, so give it a try!

Let me know how it goes, I'd love to hear how this apron experiment worked for you!

I won't be a famous blogger!

Hi there ladies!  You may have noticed that I haven't been around for awhile?  My absence has not been completely intentional, I've been a busy wife and mom lately.  We welcomed baby #5 into our home and so my time has been spent taking care of my family and adjusting to life with another baby. 

There was a time, before starting this blog, that I was writing a different blog and my priorities were completely messed up!  I don't know that I wanted to be some famous blogist (probably not a real word but it sounded good), but I was so invested in it that it took up so very much of my time.  I woke up thinking about how I needed to hurry up and get my quiet time with the Lord finished so that I could have a few moments of uninteruppted time to finish my blog post on having a meaningful quiet time.  hmmmm..... 

Then there were the times that I would get so frustrated with my kids when they wanted to play, but I was too busy writing a post about being the kind of mother God created you to be.  hmmmm.......

Or the times I let my housework go so that I could blog about getting into a housework routine.   Do you see the irony in all of this?

Praise goes to the Lord that He opened my eyes!  What a fool I was. 

So I had to stop blogging.

I had to just walk away.

It was difficult to walk away because I love to write, and blogging was my way to write.
But being a wife and mom was more important.

I did not want my children to remember me as a great blogger, I wanted them to remember me as a great mother.

So I deleted my old blog and walked away, it was the best decision for sure!

Fast forward to last year when I decided to take another whack at blogging, but this time a little differently.  I was not going to let it consume me, I was not going to let it take time away from my family.  I truly believe the Lord will not bless you if you allow that to happen.  Don't get me wrong, I think there are great bloggers out there that don't sacrifice their family to do it- I'm just not one of them.  So that is the reason that you may not see me around from time to time.  Are there blog posts that I would love to write but may not get around to?  sure.  Will I ever have a huge blog following?  probably not.  But will I do what the Lord has created me to do by being a wife and mom first?  yes.  And will I be happy doing that?  absolutely!

Thanks to those who have stuck around.  And tell me- how do you blog in the midst of your life??

Spring Cleaning Challenge

Raise your hand ladies if you enjoy Spring Cleaning!  Hmmm.....not very many.  :)
Would it be better if you could win something fabulous like a new GE Washer & Dryer set?? 
Keep reading and you'll find out how you can win.

Spring Cleaning may not be your favorite past time, but isn't the result worth it in the end?  I love seeing my house cleaned and decluttered, but keeping it that way takes ongoing determination.  You have to be determined to keep it clean after the crazy whirlwind of Spring Cleaning.  Spring Cleaning is great to accomplish those jobs that don't get done on a regular basis:  cleaning under the fridge, stove, washer and dryer; cleaning the cupboard shelves in the kitchen,; decluttering bathroom drawers and the cabinets under sinks; shampooing carpets and rugs; etc.
But how do you keep your house clean on a regular basis?  Do you have a routine you go by?  A cleaning schedule that works well for you?  This is what works for me:

Mondays- Main Bedroom
Tuesdays-  Kitchen and Dining Room
Wednesdays- Bathrooms
Thursdays-  Living Room
Fridays-  Laundry Room and Porch
Saturdays- Kids Bedrooms

So on each particular day I will go into that specific room and clean everything in it!  I'll do the dusting, vacuuming, cleaning the windows, changing out sheets, scrubbing the floors, wiping down the surfaces, decluttering, etc.   Whatever needs to be done in that room I'll do.  That way I know when I leave that room it's completely cleaned- at least until next week.  :) 
This is what works for me, what works for you?

And by the way, I mentioned winning a free Washer and Dryer set, join the Spring Cleaning Challenge over at Tidymom.net and you can enter to win these or other fabulous prizes too. 

Homemade Christmas Part 2

Thanks so much for the comments you shared on my last post, I've been looking forward to having a few spare moments to write out part 2 of my Homemade Christmas series.


On my last post I shared what our family has done in the past, and why we are choosing to go towards a more simple Christmas.  There's so much talk about the "commercialism" of Christmas these days, and I see the evidence of that in stores, not to mention commercials on TV geared towards kids and toys.  I make it a point to explain to my children why there is a Christmas in the first place, and I do this starting now in October when their minds start moving in that direction. 

Like I said in my last post I do want our kids to enjoy the Christmas season and all that goes into it, but there's more than just presents involved in making a memorable Christmas for your family.  For example, cookie baking throughout the season is always a big hit in my family.  Our kids love baking goodies in the kitchen, and tasting their treats along the way.  I am going to make it a point this Christmas season to do a good amount of baking with the kids.  They love baking sugar cookies, cutting out Christmas shapes and decorating them how they wish.  I really don't care if they make perfect looking cookies that are decorated the way I would decorate them, I just want them to have fun and remember this time as a special time spent with their mom.  I do plan on taking a trip to the Dollar Tree and buying a few baking supplies- Christmas sprinkles, Christmas cupcake liners, etc.  It should only cost a few dollars but the kids will love all the festive decorations they'll get to use.  I also want to talk to the kids about hospitality this Christmas season, and take some of our baked goodies to others- teaching them that "it's more blessed to give than to receive".   And of course during this goody-baking time, the TV will be off and Christmas music will be playing in the background.  I'll make it a point that we won't be rushed, we will just enjoy the time spent with eachother.

Another activity I plan on doing this year, that I've done for the past 3 years is to do a countdown to Christmas using Christmas books we've collected over the years.  My mom got us started on this tradition a few years ago and the kids have really enjoyed it.  We have close to 25 Christmas books, if not a few more, that I wrap up each individually.  I then tape a number to each book and each night the kids find the book that corresponds with that particular date, they get to take turns unwrapping them and then we get to read it together.  It's like the advent calendars that are out there that allow kids to countdown the days to Christmas.  I usually need to buy a couple rolls of Christmas wrapping paper to wrap all 25 books, but other than that this activity costs nothing since I already have enough books.  In years past when I didn't have 25 books I would try to buy a few new ones to add to my collection.  I also went to our library and borrowed a few, those borrowed books were the first to be unwrapped so that I made sure they were returned on time.  This activity allows the kids the fun of unwrapping something, but also gave us time together, reading as a family and spending those few moments with eachother.  We would do this at night before bedtime, and read in the light of the lit Christmas tree.

I also have a few different weekend Christmas craft activities planned, one being Christmas card making.  Usually I order photo cards through Shutterfly or Kodak each year, but this year I thought it would be fun for the kids to make our Christmas cards.  This will be a way that will allow the kids to feel involved, but it will also save us some money.  I plan on buying some cardstock in varying Christmas colors, stickers, and other embellishments.  Last year I saw that the Dollar Tree sold a lot of Christmas stickers, so I'm hoping this year will be the same.  I'll probably print up a Christmas verse from the Bible and lets the kids glue it on the outside, and I'll let them be the ones to write a short Christmas message on the inside.  And again, during this time the TV will be off and the Christmas music will be playing.

 
One other activity that I plan on having the

kids help me with is to prepare the gifts we'll be giving to other family members (aunts and uncles, grandparents, etc.).  I found quite a few recipes for making your own coffee mocha mix, orange spiced cider mix, jarred apple pumpkin butter, and raspberry shortbread cookies.  The kids are at an age that they would be great helpers doing these kinds of things, and I know they would feel special being able to help make these gifts for our loved ones.

And I can't forget decorating the Christmas tree as a family, getting out all our Christmas movies and watching them together as a family, playing in the snow then coming inside for hot chocolate!  There are quite a few activities that will allow my children to have a fun and memorable Christmas season without focusing on gifts.


But speaking of gifts, I'm writing out the list of gifts we'll be making and am looking for pictures to include in the post that will give you a better idea of the homemade gifts we'll be making.  That will be the next post in this series, so I hope you'll come back for Part 3 in this Homemade Christmas series.

But tell me, what do you do to make your Christmas memorable, without focusing on gifts?

Homemade Christmas Part 1

I know what you're thinking, "Christmas??", but it's only October- and the beginning of October at that!


But usually I do start thinking about Christmas at this time of the year because I love to have all the Christmas gifts taken care of by December 1st so that we can actually enjoy the month of December and not feel so stressed.


For the past couple years I've been doing my best to have a more simple Christmas.  What I mean is that I didn't want the kids focused just on gifts, or how many presents they're going to be getting.  I want them to enjoy the month of December and all that goes into it, but I want them to also know why we celebrate Christmas, and the true meaning- Jesus Christ our Saviour.

Last year I had heard about the idea of just 3 gifts for each child, along the lines of the 3 gifts baby Jesus received from the three kings.  So all throughout the month of December I took the opportunity to talk to them about why we celebrate Christmas in the first place, then I would explain to them that they would each receive 3 gifts just like baby Jesus.  So on Christmas day they were not surprised that there were just 3 gifts under the Christmas tree for each of them. 


This year I thought of doing things even a bit differently.  I'm not opposed to buying gifts, but I sure dislike buying a bunch of store bought toys just to see them, a week or two later, forgotten about and discarded.  So this year we'll be buying each of the kids one store bought gift and the rest of the gifts we'll be making or putting together ourselves.  I'm actually really excited about this idea, and my husband and I have already discussed the things we'll be making.


We have four children, two daughters (ages 9 and 3) and two sons (ages 7 and 5), and we've come up with gift ideas that we think each will really like.  We also have extended family that we'll be putting gift baskets together for, and I've come up with a lot of homemade items I can make for them.

I'm really looking forward to this Christmas season, to continue teaching the kids the importance of keeping Christ at the center of Christmas, and doing the things that make this season memorable:  cookie baking, house decorating, Christmas movie watching.  I'm looking forward to being creative with the gifts this year and to saving money by not spending so much.

My next post I'll be sharing with you the children's gift ideas that I have in mind.  And if you have any ideas yourselves be prepared to share them if you'd like in the comments section, with a link to your blog or post so that others can read about them too. 
And so that you don't miss the next part to this Homemade Christmas Series why don't subscribe to my blog via email.












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