Experiencing Jesus

Sailing the ocean on a bright morning with the wind in your face, wandering under forest canopy while sunlight filters down, lying on a warm dunes beneath a full moon watching shooting stars, drinking in the lush beauty of vineyards on a hillside in early autumn -- these experiences are far closer to what it is actually like to experience Jesus than mere talk of him could ever be. -- Beautiful Outlaw 

What a true statement! Being one with earth and all the things living in nature are a true experience of the beauty of God. For our family being in nature and truly taking it all in is a wonderful form of worship. We feel closest to God when we are experiencing His creation in its purest form. I am so thankful for the many encounters we have had with God in nature lately. It's truly amazing to me to watch my kids thrive and need to be in the beautiful creation of God in order to be fully joyful. For my kids being in nature and experiencing its wonder is showing them just how all things work together for good. I mean ALL things not just how bad situations are going to help bring good to their lives. When I say all things I mean how our earth helps to nourish us and how when we treat it the way we should it treats us well. Or how what we eat helps our bodies become and stay healthy. When I think back to what I use to think the scripture that says all things work together for good meant it is very different from what I believe it to mean now and I am so glad my belief and knowledge has changed. My outlook on all things has completely changed because I understand fully how literally all things work together for good. Thank you God for opening my family's eye to your true beauty. 

Ways to Cut Spending and Environmental Impact

         We live on a very limited income and honestly some days I'm not sure how we do it. We don't buy a lot of extras. We live simply and simply live. That's kind of been our motto lately and we love it. We do some things that help cut our spending buy hundreds of dollars and helps keep our environmental impact to a minimum.   Here are some ways we do that. 

1.  No Paper Products 

   We don't buy paper products to just throw a way. We only use real plates and cloth. Yes we do dishes all the time but we don't have as much trash and I don't feel like I'm throwing my money away with each mess I have to clean up (which is a lot with littles). 

2. Cloth Diapers

   We use cloth diapers and wipes. Again I'm not throwing money away with every diaper I change or changed since both Avalynn and Treyton are potty trained. Using cloth diapers and wipes has saved us so much money. Now I don't have our exact savings but on average a family can save about $2000 from birth to potty training per kid by using cloth. I've spent maybe $200 on diapers in the last 3 1/2 years and I don't have to buy more for a 3rd kid if and when that happens!

3. Make All Cleaning Supplies

   We don't buy cleaning products at all. For one all the chemicals make me nervous with littles in the house. For two they are expensive without using coupons. I make all of our cleaning supplies myself. So easy by the way. Vinegar and baking soda are the best things I've used to clean everything and if the kids get ahold of the spray bottle I don't have to be worried they are going to be poisoned. 

4. Home Cooked Meals

    We eat at home. For us to spend $30 to eat out is about 3 meals (if not more) at home. We try to buy local as much as possible. Going to the farmer's markets helps us find really good organic fruits and veggies at a very good price. Buying local and at farmer's markets is easier in a bigger city but small towns have these things too you just have to look for them. Planning meals helps us know what we can have for dinner. We don't plan each day just because we never know what that day is going to be like and if we will really feel like spending a lot of time or a little time in the kitchen. Having a plan that is flexible has helped us stick to our meals that we have ingredients for. 

I love that we are saving money but we are also helping decrease our "footprint" on the earth. Yes I realize that sounds very "hippie" and I'm okay with that. We are a little one the "hippie" side whatever that really means. 

   What are some ways you are saving money in your day to day life?

Wordless Wednesday: Fun in the Sun

Passion Found in Motherhood

In the 3 years almost 4(hard to believe) that I have been a Mommy I have had a passion for all things motherhood. I truly believe God gave me my children to help me realize my passion and the thing that I was meant to do as a career. I love helping moms in every stage of the game. I have been devouring all kinds of books and information on the maternity crisis in our country. I want to help change the view of birth for moms from something they fear to something they look forward to experiencing. The birthing process is a truly Holy experience and I want moms and dads to see and experience that part of it.  In August I get to go to a workshop to help me learn more about supporting pregnant and laboring moms. This will be the beginning of my doula career. As a doula I will help educate moms on the risks and benefits of procedures, help calm nerves of mom and dad, and help with comfort and anything mom needs during labor and delivery. I cannot wait to help laboring couples achieve the kind of birth they desire. If you are pregnant or going to be soon please feel free to ask questions and talk to me. I love answering questions about all thing motherhood. If I don't know the answer I will find it for you. 

Wordless Wednesday: Sibling Love

Celebrating and Dreaming

Well we have had two speech therapy sessions, a birthday and lots of fun the last few weeks.
This week has been crazy busy with trips to the zoo, the farm, The Great Cloth Diapers Change, doctors appointments and just normal day errands. It was a great way for us to celebrate Earth day week. We decided we were going to take the kids to the zoo for Treyton's birthday but it was going to rain all day on that day so we went early. Both Avalynn and Treyton love to see and learn all about the animals and it was Earth day weekend so we got all kinds of goodies. We also took a little trip out to a new friends farm. I can not wait for the day that we have our own farm and are living out our dream in a very sustainable way. Our kids thrive on being out in nature and playing freely. Yesterday they were able to play with chickens and baby lambs and bossing baby goats around because they were being mean to the week old lamb. I love to watch them pure joy on their faces when they get to climb a pasture fence gate and run as fast as they can in the pasture. Climbing a fence gate is apparently easier then climbing anything at the park. Avalynn and Treyton were climbing with no fear at all and were completely free to do so. That kind of freeness is so refreshing.

Treyton turned two! It's hard to believe he is already two. My sweet hard headed little man is growing up way too fast. In just two therapy sessions we have already seen so many improvements in his talking. He now prolly says between 10-15 words. That is a huge jump from the not even 5 he was saying 2 weeks ago. It is so awesome to hear him actually use words. He still doesn't really like to use them all the time but that will change I'm sure. Treyton has also decided that he is too big for diapers. He really hates having to put one on the go to bed but I don't want to have to change sheets everyday so he wears it.

Avalynn is still doing preschool type things just not as structured as wee were being. The more I read and learn about "unschooling" the more I love it. We are basically letting Avalynn decide what she wants to learn and when. If she doesn't want to learn till she is 7 that's cool she doesn't have to learn till she is 7. She has already expressed that she want a sewing machine and hot glue gun for her birthday so she can learn how to make things. So come September my then 4yr old will be learning to sew and use a hot glue gun properly and safely. Avalynn loves to learn about animals but not from books she wants to see it and play with it. Yesterday she was chasing chickens trying to pick them up. She can point out which ones are roosters and hens and which ones lay different colored eggs. It's awesome how fast she has learned these things. So for us unschooling is how we are going to be learning.

Tony and I have started learning how to make soaps. It is very fun. However not as easy as we thought it was going to be. We are not giving up though. Tony is still loving coffee and making beer. He is getting really good at making beer and really enjoys it. He will also be heading out to camp pull a shot in June for a week. He is beyond excited about 30/30 giving him this opportunity. I'm still learning everything I can about breastfeeding/lactation process and childbirth. I'm also loving learning about sustainable living/homesteading. It's truly amazing how far our world has come from these practices and we as a family are wanting to get back to this simpler way of living. Simpler doesn't always mean easier or less work and that is what we are looking forward to.

Being a mommy

So many decisions to make when you're a mommy. From how to feed your baby to what kind of diapers to use to how you are going to educate your kids. Some are very small things but some are very very big. Being a mommy is very hard especially now in the "Pinterest age". Mommies are being tricked into believing that all moms are doing all these amazing crafts and making all kinds of yummy food everyday. I'm here to tell you that is definitely not the case. There are days at my house I can hardly keep up with making a PBJ and you know what that is perfectly fine. My kids aren't going to remember the spotlessly clean house and the crazy perfect crafts or the food that most of the time they don't/won't eat. My kids are going to remember me playing silly games and loving on them when I think I need to be doing something else "productive". My most important job is being mommy. My dishes and all the toys on the floor can wait. This lie that mommies are told that they have to be perfect at everything and do every little activity they have pinned on their craft board is making mommies have major "mommy guilt". Mommies don't buy into it! Remember you are the best mommy your kids could ask for. You mommy are what your kids want. Your attention and time is the most important thing to your kids. Yes all the other stuff can be fun but we shouldn't feel like we aren't having fun when we aren't doing huge art projects. Those simple moments are the most fun. The unprepared and impromptu activities are the memory makers. Find those simple memory makers and lets not stress about the rest.

Evaluation Day

Well we finally had Treyton's speech and overall evaluation today. He is pretty much right on with all of his development except speech. He does have about a 40% delay putting him at a developmental age of 14ish months for his speech. So we are going to be doing speech therapy once a week for an hour at a time in our home. It was so fun watching him interact with the ladies doing the evaluations. It normally takes him a little bit to warm up to any one new. Today he was pretty much instantly drawn to what they were doing. He did most everything they were asking him to do. He is still very stubborn and if he doesn't think it's fun or interesting he isn't going to do it. Talking over the evaluations and what the ladies saw and thought about each thing was amazing. They really got a true read on Treyton today. He played just like he would have if it were just us. Our 6 month goals will be for Treyton to be making more letter sounds and word approximations, which would be like saying tup for cup. We are very confident that he will meet these goals and surpass them.

Wonderful Gift

God knew exactly what He was doing when He had me move to Springfield, MO. I am extremely thankful for the kid that wouldn't stop talking to me while I tried to watch a Colts football game and that never gave up on me even when I turned him down. My life would be completely different had God not placed Tony in my life. I am so thankful for such a loving and supportive husband. He has overcome many things in his life and I am so glad he did! He is a wonderful father to our kiddos. Watching him love them and take care of them makes me love him so much more then I ever thought I could. He works so hard to provide for us. He is teaching me to never give up on dreams because they can and do come true and long as you work toward making them happen. He is showing our kids how to have a passion for something and to go after that passion. That man knows how to make me madder then any other person. He also knows how to make me laugh and smile more then any other person. What a wonderful gift God gave me when He gave me Tony.

My Sweet Girl

Having a daughter that is just like me in so many ways teaches me a lot about myself. Avalynn is a very very smart girl but she is still a wonderful 3 year old. For awhile my sweet girl made me want to pull my hair out. We were having a tough time getting her and myself through any task with out one or both of us very frustrated and on the verge of tears. This girl of mine is just like me only I'm the one who should know how to control and express my emotions with gentleness and calm. Yet I was acting like 3 year old who is still trying to learn what her emotions are and what they all mean. My sweet girl has taught me how to truly be a calm and gentle person and parent. She is watching me to learn how to deal with her emotions so that means I have to actually do what it is I want her to do. We have had great weeks of no freak outs on either end. Yes we both have our moments but we talk through what is happening and say sorry if we need to. It's been a great transition that I am so glad we got to and through.


Avalynn has really been enjoying learning. We have had a wonderful time going over the ABC's. She loves to watch the little music videos all about her letter of the week. She has recently started rhyming words together. She pretends to read the news and likes to "make great music" (that's what she tells me) with her pencil. She has become a very compassionate little 3 year old and I hope she continues to be as she gets older. I'm so very excited that she has such of love for learning. I am very blessed to have such a sweet girl to call me mommy.

Treyton's Next Step

We had our meeting to get everything set up for Treyton's next evaluation. This evaluation will be more involved then the last. We will have a speech pathologist and a developmental therapist come to our house to do the evaluation. I am very glad we are able to have to assessment done in our home. I believe this will make it so much easier to get a true read on where his over all development is at. As soon as we are done with the evaluation we will have a meeting to go over what the assessments the two specialists and our service coordinator have done. This will tell us if we are going to be enrolled into the Early Intervention program further or if we just need to do a few more things with him on our own. In order for us to be accepted into the program Treyton has to have a 30% or higher delay in one of his developmental areas. As much as I would like for us to get a little help with developing Treyton's speech I really hope that we don't get accepted because that would mean Treyton doesn't have a 30%or higher delay and that would be amazing. I am very happy with our experience that we have had with everyone at the Family and Child Connection and Early Intervention office. They have all been extremely nice and helpful. They have worked very fast get everything done for us so that if Treyton needs to be fully enrolled into the EI program we can get it done sooner rather then later. I am very anxious to see what our next evaluation will say but in the mean time we will continue to do exactly what we have been doing to help Treyton to learn to talk.

Weekend fun

What a good weekend. Avalynn and daddy stole my phone and took lots of pictures. We colored and watched Lion King or king lion as Avalynn likes to call it a million times. And Treyton stole lots of drinks of coffee.


Treyton's evaluation went well. He is in the concerned area for his communication development all other areas he is at or above his age group. So that means we had the choice to either just monitor him or have a referral to a speech pathologist for another more in depth evaluation. We decided that we are going to go ahead and have the pathologist do another evaluation. We will hopefully hear back from them by the end of the week to get that all set up.

Anxious Week

This week I have been a nervous wreck about Treyton's development evaluation. Every time I think about it I get huge knots in my stomach. Even now just typing the words development evaluation makes me anxious. I know taking him is going to be the best thing for all of us. So that we can all learn together how to help him learn to talk. However taking him also makes me feel like I have failed him in some way. I keep going over in my mind what I could have done different. I know in my heart that I haven't done anything wrong but convincing my head of that has proven to be tough. I love my kids more then any thing in the world and want nothing but the best for them so that is why I decided I need to make the appointment in the fist place. Monday will be the day we find out what more we can do to help Treyton. I have a feeling once we getting started talking he won't ever stop. I am excited about hearing him tell me what he is thinking or to hear him sing me a song. He already does these things in his own little language that I can't understand. I am very ready to hear my little man tell me he loves me with words. He shows me a million times a day already. I am ready to hear him make up stories with his big sister. I am sure they will be very interesting stories. He is already so smart I can't wait to see him become even smarter. I am trusting God with this and I know everything is going to be fine. Please be praying for us on Monday. I'm sure my nerves will be crazy and I'm wanting to be calm so that Treyton will be calm.

Better and better

Today we spent some time at the library and while we were there we talked to a group of ladies that were there doing some worksheets with their little ones. They gave me 2 sets of the worksheets for the kids to do at home. My kiddos are more interested in the light wall and looking at book then sitting still at the library. Well those worksheet were a huge hit with Avalynn. She actually sat and did all of them. She did them all right as well. So with that being said I believe I will be working on making some worksheets for my girl to do. I have also found a free online curriculum for us to use along with our other stuff. This new curriculum has many videos of each letter and stories to go with each letter too. We are still finding what exactly works for our family when it comes to when we do school time and how and what we are doing each day. The freedom that comes with homeschool is that what ever doesn't work we don't have to do. I love being able to change something to make it work for our learning and teaching styles. This journey just keeps getting better and better.

Intentionally Listening

At my house there isn't a lot of time that there is complete quite and I love it. Today I am intentionally listening to all of the wonderful noises that happen in my house. The movies that are constantly playing, the kids playing, yelling and yes sometimes fighting, the sound of a coffee grinder, the music Tony listens to as he cleans up the kitchen they are all the beautiful noises of my very happy home. I sometimes forget to just stop and listen to all of these sounds. They are what happen every day here and in that every day is where we are making our most precious memories. I am striving to become more intentional in appreciating every single beautiful noise and the wonderful moments that make up those sounds. Sometimes all these noises get drowned out by all the things I think need to happen in a day. I am making a conscious decision to stop and enjoy all of these noises because the days go by way to fast and I will eventually miss these every day sounds.

Pictures of our School Days

Just sharing a few picture of our school days.
Avalynn with her drawing journal.
Treyton at the library reading a book.
Putting pennies in the piggy bank.
Avalynn matching letters.
Treyton coloring on our letter cards.

Great Start

What a great first couple of days of our home education journey. One of the great things about teaching my kids at home is the flexibility. Avalynn went and spent some much needed time with her Nawnie and Papa so we only had a couple of days that we intentionally did school. She did have lots of fun with her cousins and grandparents. She has learned the letters we've been discussing very well. Both of the kids really loved the library so that will for sure be something we do all the time. I have also found a few museums that we will be go to check out in the near future.

Treyton has actually started to talk more. Of course he does this after I set up an appointment for a screening with early intervention. We are going to still keep the appointment just to make sure we are doing the best we can for him. He has also benefitted greatly in the few days that we have done our letter studies. Treyton thought the library was pretty awesome. He was going back and forth from one room to the other looking at everything taking it all in. I always love watching my kids in a new place that they can take in at their own pace with no pressure.

We are all enjoying learning through everyday things. My kids really love to watch movies. One of our favorites is the Toy Stories. Avalynn told me she wanted a pig like Pig the piggy bank. She has one so I got it out for her and Treyton to look at. We ended up emptying it and putting all of the coins back in. This little piggy bank has entertained my kiddos for a couple hours already and giving them lots of fine motor skills practice. We are also using the songs in our movies to have dancing time. Treyton is learning to jump and getting brave trying to jump from one thing to the other. Of course Avalynn loves to join in and show brother that the couch makes a very good trampoline.

I everyone's new year is treating them well and all of you going back to school have an amazing semester.

First Day of Homeschool

Monday finally came and we started preschool! I've decided that we are going to learn the vowels first so what better letter to start with then A. Of course the day I have to decided to start our homeschooling journey Avalynn is recovering from a cough which is causing major breathing issues for her. So with her not feeling her best I thought we would be very very laid back with school time. Doing this has allowed her to still rest when she needs and to learn pretty much all day. I showed her the letter A that we would be learning this week and told the sounds it makes. We then talked about se words that start with the letter A. She got distracted at this point so a little bit later I asked what letter we were learning and what sound it made. She told me so we went back to talking about the letter A again. We did this type of thing all day and its been great. I'm not forcing my very busy, short attention span children to sit for 3 hours working on school and I love it. Starting a new routine when kids don't feel 100% is not always the smartest way to do things but for us it has worked wonderfully. The 1st day was far less chaotic then I was thinking it would be. Treyton liked that we were playing with chalk on the kitchen table and dry erase markers on their play table. We've been writing on our magna doodles and playing with every letter learning toy we own it was a very nice day. We are all very excited about the rest of the week!

New Year New Routine

I have finally figured out how our weeks are going to look with homeschooling. Avalynn and I are both very excited to actually get started. We are going to be our own alphabet study. We will have a new letter every week, which will be introduced on Mondays. Tuesdays we will go to story time at the library and pick out books that start with our letter. Wednesdays we will learn about an animal that starts with our letter as well. Thursdays will be craft day with the craft involving the letter of the week. Fridays we will go back to the library for story time. We will also review what we have learned during the week. We may add in learning numbers at the same time but I haven't decided on that yet. We will be learning American Sign Language (ASL) for each letter and animal we learn about. Our school time will be for a short time each day. We will be using everyday experiences for learning as well. Our trips to the store will now be learning opportunities. I am making letter cards that we will take with us to play letter search and find. I'm hoping this will keep Avalynn happy and busy while shopping and help reinforce what we are learning at home.

Treyton will most likely be right in the middle of all of this too. I'm thinking that these letter studies each week will help him with his speech. I've done some research and asked a few speech therapist friends what I should be doing and hearing letter sounds is at the top of the list. We have been doing pretty much every thing else that is suppose to help. I am also looking into getting him evaluated by early intervention so that we can make sure that we are doing the best possible thing for him. I will also be talking to our pediatrician about if we may need to get his tongue clip because of the slight tongue tie that he has. I'm really hoping we don't have to do that but it is looking like that is part of our problem. The tongue tie could be restricting his tongue from making certain letter sounds and blends making it harder for him to form words.

We are all looking forward to what this next year has in store for us.