~Life~

Hey y'all

It has been much much too long since I have written. Not that I haven't had anything to write I have truly just been so busy about my home and spending time with dear friends that I haven't had the time. The Lord knows when things are to be done and I think that the season of not writing was honestly just a much needed break that I was suppose to take. I am sure some of my post would not have been edifying. It's been a wave of change these last few months and with me and change well lets just say the testing is long sometimes!

So on to reality we go. What's been going on with our little family. Well we started school back at the beginning of September. It's going much better than I thought and I really am so glad the Lord led me to the ACE curriculum this year! It has seemed a bit slow but I can tell it has really helped Faith sharpen some of her skills in a way I wouldn't have known what to do.I am so blessed to give my children a christian education at home.

Justice is very busy and almost 4 years old. She will celebrate her birthday in November. I have tried to keep her occupied while Faith does school. She participates in the Bible story time. I am slowly easing her into more activities at the same trying not to distract Faith's learning. She is enjoying her coloring and learning how to write some letters. Today I will be printing out more worksheets for her to practice the letters in her name. She is a little bundle of energy but very very intelligent.

Zane is pulling himself up on everything and scoots around the house everywhere! I know before I can blink he is going to be walking! His personality is showing through that he is going to be busy and happy. He is a very very good baby!!!

Scott has been taking it a bit easier since our pastor has come. It's been such a blessing to have a pastor here and Scott and I look forward to sitting under his ministry until the Lord leads us to do otherwise. He is a great preacher/teacher. It's been incredible having him here even for a short time. Scott is still working at the Yes House and the run for City Council came to an end and we believe it was the Lord's will both for Scott to run and also for Scott to not continue on. We trusted Him for everything concerning being elected. God has His perfect plan and I am thankful  for it!

As for myself I have been homemaking, homeschooling and recently started helping a friend with her China business. She sells China on EBay and has a successful business. I love helping her pack, ship, and unpack the China we receive. It's like Christmas!!! :) I am hoping we get more organized for the months to come. I think if we both had it our way I would live out there and work 24/7 until it was completely organized so our lives would be so much easier! I am really enjoying it and it's great because it doesn't interfere with homeschooling and I can work around the kids. Scott is getting more time with them. All the while the extra income I am making is going strait towards getting our finances in order so we are able to live completely debt free!!! A great desire of mine and Scott's a debt free life.  In May the plan is that she is going to England while I stay back and do the business for a month. We as a family will actually live at her home and take care of her springer spaniel  and I will continue on with the demands of EBay  while she and her husband are away. I am happy I can do this for her because she hasn't been back for 20 years and that is way to long to be away from family and the place you were raised. God is good all the time!!!

So this is the catch up and next time I might be able to just write for fun. Love you all and God Bless

Chelsie~

Run back to His arms!!

I have been beyond blessed with a gracious Heavenly Father! I would have given up on me by now. Honestly I truly would have. I have been so lukewarm in my walk with the Lord! I need his grace more than ever. Life doesn't slow down and it's so difficult to get still and quiet before the Lord. But you know what is amazing God is merciful and He cares so much more than He even has to! Like I said I have been very lukewarm and honestly not in the right spirit towards the Lord or my attitude of service to Him. I am so thankful that God doesn't give up on me and that He meets me right where I am and He ministers to me!

In this post I want to encourage you to cry out to the Lord if you are struggling in the christian life. Ask the Lord to give you a refreshed spirit and to help you to repentance. Yes friends I was honestly this far. I needed to cry out to my Lord and ask Him to have true repentance. I had become so complacent in myself that I wasn't even sure I would know where to start in renewing a right heart towards the Lord and service for Him. The Lord brought me right where I needed to go in His word and He ministered to me on things I wasn't even aware of! Oh my, may I honestly say; what a blessing!!! The Heavenly Father met with me right in that moment when I simply turned to him. All I had to do was open myself to Him and ask Him to meet me. I am so glad He loves me unconditionally! I praise Him for His provision and His never moving hand. Don't believe Satan's lie that you have strayed to far from God and that He won't forgive your sinful state! Remember He has already forgiven all you sins.

Jesus I praise you for renewing a right spirit with in me, ministering to me with your Word, and answering my prayers!

Run to the Heavenly Father His arms are always open! His way is perfect!

Summer Dysfunction!!! A little humor in it all!

I am laughing at my title right now as I sit with my bowl of Cheerios that will probably get soggy because of this post but haha such is life!! Ok so about this dysfunctional summer man oh man I can't tell you how behind and unorganized I am this summer! I can't seem to stay on top of it let alone ahead of it! It's like mass chaos has hit my house!!! This summer has been great but my house is suffering because of it. Notice I said my house not my home! My home is doing fine we are getting along just fine, the kids are taken care of and having a blast with the play dates with friends and outside activities!

On a side note Faith taught herself how to ride her bike two days ago! I am so thankful for it because that seemed about as enjoyable as potty training! I know how much it was scary for me! One of my first memories actually!

Faith is growing up so fast! She will be 6 this month and she is showing it too. She is tall and thin like her daddy and she is wanting to grow up so fast hence the self taught bike riding!!! LOL It says alot about her character tho she is going to be a go getter! I like that; it makes me excited to think my child will be independent enough to strive for what she wants in life! I want a confident independent daughter that cares about what the Lord thinks of her and not peoples opinions. My prayer is that that is the type of girl she will be as she grows. As long as I lead her in the way she ought to grow I can cling to God's promise that she will not depart from it!

Ok so I was just checking in and going to rant about my dysfunctional life haha! I guess so everyone out there can know that they are not alone! My car is a mess, my laundry undone, tons of errands to run before tomorrow, and clutter in nearly every corner! I wish Chuck Norris could come kick this houses booty because it really needs it! But you know what I highly doubt he will be heading this way so I better get to it! Have a great weekend folks!

Well OVERDUE in life!!! Reality Check!!!

You know how you get overdue books at the library well that's the way I have been feeling in life. That sense of needing to return life to normalcy yet I can't do it?! It's been overwhelming!  Do I have overdue books at the library you bet I do! Unfortunately it's one of those things that has been put on the back burner for well quite some time! 


I didn't announce my break from blogging to be honest I was pretty sure no one missed it except a few faithful friends from the good ole south :) 


So overwhelming, busy, hectic, and chaotic life...YUCK!!! Doesn't sound like a Spirit filled life now does it! I'm just gonna be real here! Life is tough you have days were you aren't perfect and honestly days when you don't even feel like getting out of your pj's! Yep that was me yesterday I stuck around the house all day yesterday in my jammies doing housework and letting my kids take a much needed break from the hustle and bustle of everyday life! Summer is crazy!!! I know you hear me MAMAS!!! 


So let's reel it in here...Spirit filled life...? Am I walking in the Spirit when I am so busy I can't tell you what my next 30 minutes is going to look like?! No how can I be; honestly, if life is passing me by then I am wasting it! What am I really doing? Existing that's it!!! I know there are seasons for everything but I don't want to stay in a season of just existing!! I want to be making a positive difference in the lives of people that surround me daily!


My husband, am I really being the best encouragement to my husband when I am running life on a whim, NOPE. My kids don't seem to mind it that they can play outside all day and then come in to eat and then back out to play! But where is the quality time in that lifestyle! There isn't! What a shame, what a rut my life has really been in! With God's help not anymore!!! I am glad God helps me to take a deep look at my life to straighten me out! I NEED IT!!! 


So my life; first I need to seek the Lord more earnestly and then I need to attempt to organize this so called life I am living!!! So I don't waste it all. I am not saying I think I need to schedule every waking moment but I do need to at least have a structure to build upon!  Allow myself to walk in a Spirit filled life!


I won't write you my list of what I want my life to look like because it's personal but I am glad that I took the time to get real with myself and evaluate what is really going on in my everyday life! I am praying for a positive change in my life and the life of my church family. It's been extremely hard being without a pastor at our church but it's no excuse for my personal relationship with the Lord to suffer because of it! He is my Shepard. 


Be Blessed everyone I am going to spend some time in the Word and see what the Lord truly has for me today! 

Health Kick HAHA

Ok so about this time every year I get on a health kick! Yes I am laughing with you! I wish I could adopt this lifestyle in it's entirety but I have not found the temperance that comes along with that! This year I have a great excuse I just had a baby three months ago. He is a breastfed baby so what I eat he eats all the more reason to be conscience of what I am taking in; right!?

Ok so I was able to chat with a few nurses today and these ladies were such a blessing to me! The one gave me all sorts of tips to adopt this healthy lifestyle. One that I can completely tackle to if I take the time to prep for the following week! "I can do this!" So I dive right in making my egg white omelets stuffed with veggies. I boiled them in the bag so I can grab one out of the freezer and put it in the microwave and be able to eat something with nutrition instead of a bowl of cereal or better yet nothing! That's what I have been doing the last few weeks and I cannot do that and try to feed Zane. I feel like I am going to pass out! The other thing I am going to try to do is make my own granola bars...these will be healthier, easy, and more cost effective than buying a few in a box. I have to wait on making these because I am missing a few key ingredients that I would like in them. I will post the recipe after if they are successful.

Also while I was meal planning these next two week I incorporated three salads for the main dish! This is alot for my family we are not completely a meat and potato family by any means but we like to have a hefty dinner! I am going to try to change that this summer and make our heavier meals in the afternoon. Anyways I just thought I would share with ya'll. I have about 15-20lbs I would like to lose to feel better about myself and have the energy I need to keep up with these kiddos this summer! If you have any tips on how to kick it into high gear on this healthy lifestyle thingy I would appreciate it! Anything that makes it more simplistic but not boring would be great!

God Bless~
Chelsie

Investment....

You know so many things can take from the true investments that we ought to make! Debt is one of them that steals so much from us! My husband and I are working on being completely debt free! We are seeing small steps being accomplished and since then we are seeing bigger ones and it so encouraging! We will have a bigger debt paid off the end of this month and we are so excited about it! Then we will have even more money to throw at our bigger debts such as our vehicle payment! We paid off the van two months ago and what a weight lifted!!! So that is something new that has been going on. We are also planning a big family vacation to Walt Disney World in Flordia by the time Zane is old enough to remember...without accomplishment on paying off debt we would never even dream of it!

But what I really wanted to write about was the investment as a wife and mother! Oh the Joys and I say that with no sarcasm! Seriously what a joy it is to be a wife and mother when you have your life in order! I can't tell you the joy I have knowing I am able to make my family meals ever night, the laundry that is clean and put away everyday, the cloth diapers that I put on my sons tushie, the dresses I have sewn for my girls, knowing my husband is coming home to relaxation and not chaos, lighting a candle to give the fragrance of home and a welcoming for him, taking my children to the library, park, or on play dates! I seriously can't tell you how blessed I am in this moment as a wife and mother!

God has shown me the importance of investment in my family. Setting the tone for the day and making life not so complicated. I haven't gotten in to slowing down completely. That is difficult with all the priorities with the church and ministries we are involved in.  With that said it is all for God's glory so if those ministries are things He wants me involved in; then they are worth the time they take to do them!

So as I sit here today trying to catch you up on the life  of the Clems I tell you this....Invest in your husband, invest in your children, invest in your life that the Lord has blessed you another day with! I could tell you many ways I have invested in my family different than I did in the past but these few I will share with you.

Start your day with the Word of God and your husband if he is available.
Stay ahead of chaos by making sure the laundry is started in the morning.
Never leave dirty dishes for yourself in the morning: it's added stress to your day!
Take time for your children...listen to what they have to say its really important to them. (If you have a talker like I do then allow them the time to tell you whats going on thru their little mind)
Encourage your children to do their best in everything and praise them when they do a great job.
Read to your children. I just recently purchased a chapter book to read to Faith and Justice at night to get them excited about the adventure in stories.
Pick one day a week and tackle the time consuming things of the home but light the candle first and put on some quality christian music. Try not to spend more than two hours for your kiddos sake.
Put the kids to bed at a decent time so you can take quality time with your husband even if it is watching your favorite show together holding hands and eating popcorn :)

It's important to have a clean peaceful home but more importantly is the investment of time you take with your family! Be Blessed! Here are a few new pictures for you...this is what we have been up to!

There skirts made by mommy!

Drying Zane's diapers

Justice can peddle by herself this spring!

Picnic in the park just Mommy and the kids!

It was beautiful and smelled wonderful with the trees in bloom!

Feeding the squirrel.

Playing at Curious George!

Homemade Detergent!!!

As a stay at home mom I am always trying to find away to be more frugal with our finances...So my newest way that I thought I would try would be to take on cloth diapers I was given! Yes given Praise the Lord they can be very expensive to buy but a wonderful friend of mine gave them to me! I am hoping it goes as planned and I am able to use this set up at least until he is six months. Then I might be able to get some from my nurse at the pediatrician office! She and I were talking and she said she would give me hers! God is truly so good to us! Ok so my newest thing apart from using cloth diapers was to make my own laundry detergent! Yes you heard me right....the detergent you are told to buy for cloth diapers is soo expensive $17.00 for detergent I think not!!! So here it is: and below I listed the recipe for it if you choose to make it yourself!

So I am no expert I checked out other sites. Some say to use borax but I didn't Walmart was out and I heard baking soda does the same thing plus it is gentler on the skin. Since I am mainly using this for my cloth diapers here is what I did for my own soap I think you could tweak it any way you wanted just using these ingredients.

1/2 bar fels naptha soap (97 cents)

2 cups baking soda (around $2.50)

2 cups super washing soda (around $3.00)

Depending on how it cleans I might add more of the bar soap but I don't want to make it harsh on Zane's skin and since I am the one making it I figure I will make it more gentle the first go round. I will up date you!

Most sites that I found use this recipe:

1 bar Fels Naptha Soap

1/2 cup borax or baking soda

1 cup super washing soda

or

Equal parts of these three ingredients

Super Washing Soda

Borax or Baking Soda

Sun Oxi Clean Powder

Five Minute Friday: Balance



Balance is hard to accomplish but possible if we have our priorities strait.

Understanding the true value of time and not letting it slip away into regrets.

Rising early and finishing well in all that you have set your mind to for the days tasks.

Giving of yourself to the people the Lord has given in your life.

Not allowing things to get away from you such as laundry and dishes my two hated tasks! Catching up is harder to do than just staying on top of these tasks.

Taking time for your kids to spend quality time not necessarily a quantity of time: the quality matters.

Being faithful in your time with the Lord brings all things into a balance. I believe the Lord protects your balance of life if you keep Him first.

Lord help me not to rob myself of a healthy balance of life. Help me to be the wife, mother, and friend that I ought to be. Help me to rise early and take advantage of the time I am given.