Friday, April 9, 2010
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Laundry Madness!!! (and management)
***No children were harmed in the making of this laundry managing development process***I've been saying I was going to post this for a while now, so I'm finally getting around to it! :)
One of the biggest things to manage with a large family is the laundry...not complaining, simply stating a fact! I struggled for years at how to simplify the process. My family continued to grow and therefore, so did the laundry! We finally developed a solution that has made the whole thing so much less of a never ending battle for our family and wanted to share. Albeit, we do have a rather large laundry area in the unfinished part of our basement, so for those with less space, you may have to tweak accordingly, but here it is...and yes, I DID wait until it was all caught up and the bins weren't so full they were spilling over into each other to take this picture! :)
We've taken plastic storage bins and labeled them with colored construction paper squares. I also wrote the name of the color on each square so that depending on the age/reading level of each of our children, all can participate and learn....even the 3 year old! These are the "dirty" bins where the clothing gets separated. When full, the whole bin can simply be dumped straight into the washer.
We've taken plastic storage bins and labeled them with colored construction paper squares. I also wrote the name of the color on each square so that depending on the age/reading level of each of our children, all can participate and learn....even the 3 year old! These are the "dirty" bins where the clothing gets separated. When full, the whole bin can simply be dumped straight into the washer.
On the opposite side of the room there are plastic storage bins labeled with each family member's name. As the laundry gets removed from the dryer it is placed in it's "owners" bin. The older kids are responsible for folding and putting away their own laundry. The younger ones (and mommy & daddy)....well, let's just say our dressers/closets aren't used as much as before. ;) I do cave and fold it all once it becomes so full I can't find anything anymore! lol!The only thing that has made the laundry process for our family easier than this has been the over-sized washer and dryer we had to purchase when our old ones kicked the bucket last year. They cost a little extra, but we went with the HE Maytag Bravos series and the capacity is amazing! Really! I can have ALL the bins overflowing and get it all caught up in a single day! (oh yea, and they are both see-through which has provided hours of entertainment for us all! lol!)
So there you have it. One of the sanity saving survival tips of a large family.
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Children In Families
God forbid, if your children were ever orphaned, where would you pray they would go?
Escaping the Greenhouse!
This has become a blog chain of sorts! :) I read it on a friend's blog who read it on another blog...and now I share it with you.
"In a greenhouse, a seed is planted.It is nurtured under the right temperature.It's given the correct amount of light, until a seed cover pops off and a tiny plant emerges....Healthy, strong and growing under the influence of the house it is in.The only problem is the greenhouse has not prepared the plant for adversity.In our community I see so many kids, my own included, that are raised in the greenhouse conditions.Perfect amount of schooling. Perfect amount of socializing. Perfect amount of church. Perfect amount of friends and only "like minded friends".We pay for our kids to go to the best violin teachers, voice teachers, piano teachers.Then they will, Lord willing, get married to someone who has been raised in a greenhouse right down the road under the same perfect conditions.They start their own greenhouse and are happy.Of course, they're happy. Their whole life has been about being comfortable in their greenhouse.My heart breaks when I think about all the trouble we go through raising our kids in the right conditions, teaching them Bible verses, making sure they know all the right truths. BUT...They never feel inclined to make a difference in the world.Sometimes it is lack of passion.Sometimes it is lack of knowledge that there is a lost and dying world right outside their greenhouse. But more often, it is our fault as parents. We are passing down our laziness. We struggle to LIVE out our faith so our kids will struggle. Yes, they will thrive in our greenhouse and most of them will pass on a great greenhouse life to their children, but we have to pass on a love for ALL of God's people. We have to be willing to stand with our children and help a lost world. We have to pass down a passion for the orphans of this world, the homeless and the widows.Yes, we have to grow strong plants for the next generation but we cannot forget the passion of Christ. Teaching our children to love and be keepers of the home is what I am about, but I also want them to be about the orphans and the needy that are NOT growing in a greenhouse. I can only teach that when I come out of the greenhouse and go with my children into the battlefield. It is all in vain if we raise up an army and our army is never sent to the battlefield but only to the greenhouse next door."
Isn't it true? For so many, we think we are doing what's best and what is good, and perhaps in the eyes of our peers or society, we are....but are those the eyes that really matter? It's reminders like this that challenge me more to move beyond my comfort zone, my safe place. To consider more carefully and more deeply the world that extends FAR beyond my front yard. To escape the greenhouse! (and developing the next generation of "greenhouse dwellers"!) Oh to maintain the passion and stamina that will be welcomed with the words of "Well done My good and faithful servant!"! Help me Lord as I try to keep my eyes and my heart fixed on you and your will for my life....that you may be glorified through it all!
"In a greenhouse, a seed is planted.It is nurtured under the right temperature.It's given the correct amount of light, until a seed cover pops off and a tiny plant emerges....Healthy, strong and growing under the influence of the house it is in.The only problem is the greenhouse has not prepared the plant for adversity.In our community I see so many kids, my own included, that are raised in the greenhouse conditions.Perfect amount of schooling. Perfect amount of socializing. Perfect amount of church. Perfect amount of friends and only "like minded friends".We pay for our kids to go to the best violin teachers, voice teachers, piano teachers.Then they will, Lord willing, get married to someone who has been raised in a greenhouse right down the road under the same perfect conditions.They start their own greenhouse and are happy.Of course, they're happy. Their whole life has been about being comfortable in their greenhouse.My heart breaks when I think about all the trouble we go through raising our kids in the right conditions, teaching them Bible verses, making sure they know all the right truths. BUT...They never feel inclined to make a difference in the world.Sometimes it is lack of passion.Sometimes it is lack of knowledge that there is a lost and dying world right outside their greenhouse. But more often, it is our fault as parents. We are passing down our laziness. We struggle to LIVE out our faith so our kids will struggle. Yes, they will thrive in our greenhouse and most of them will pass on a great greenhouse life to their children, but we have to pass on a love for ALL of God's people. We have to be willing to stand with our children and help a lost world. We have to pass down a passion for the orphans of this world, the homeless and the widows.Yes, we have to grow strong plants for the next generation but we cannot forget the passion of Christ. Teaching our children to love and be keepers of the home is what I am about, but I also want them to be about the orphans and the needy that are NOT growing in a greenhouse. I can only teach that when I come out of the greenhouse and go with my children into the battlefield. It is all in vain if we raise up an army and our army is never sent to the battlefield but only to the greenhouse next door."
Isn't it true? For so many, we think we are doing what's best and what is good, and perhaps in the eyes of our peers or society, we are....but are those the eyes that really matter? It's reminders like this that challenge me more to move beyond my comfort zone, my safe place. To consider more carefully and more deeply the world that extends FAR beyond my front yard. To escape the greenhouse! (and developing the next generation of "greenhouse dwellers"!) Oh to maintain the passion and stamina that will be welcomed with the words of "Well done My good and faithful servant!"! Help me Lord as I try to keep my eyes and my heart fixed on you and your will for my life....that you may be glorified through it all!
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Saturday, April 3, 2010
More than conquerors!
From Streams in the Desert - "Isn't there something captivating about the sight of a person burdened with many trials, yet who is as lighthearted as the sound of a bell? Isn't there something contagious and valiant in seeing others who are greatly tempted but are "more than conquerors"? Isn't it heartening to see a fellow traveler whose body is broken, yet who retains the splendor of unbroken patience?
What a witness these give to the power of God's gift of grace! ~John Henry Jowett
Wow! It's so true! I can think of individuals and friends who have been this very testimony to me at times. To look at them and their reaction to their situation in awe and completely seeing the face of God through them. Thank you sweet friends who have offered me a glimpse of His desire for us and for continued hope! I am blessed and changed because of you and pray that when faced with my own struggles, I have and will offer the same to others.
It doesn't have to be catastrophic, life altering struggles that allow us this opportunity either, I am learning. But instead, the everyday ones, probably most often witnessed only by our family. It's so much more than just conquering the struggle, but what our actions display while doing so. For my reaction to daily "struggles" to be one that allow my children to witness God through me....my prayer and my joy!!!
Romans 8:37
"In all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us."
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