I will miss you being there to cuddle Justice and listening so closely to Faith's stories.
I will miss them getting to have their Papa around!
I will simply miss your love Dad. Your love!
I love you soo soo much!
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Friday, June 17, 2011
Parenting challenges
Parent challenges are always coming my way. The new challenges are the ones that surprise me most. They throw me off and I ponder what the best ways to combat them are. Some things seem simple enough. Direct disobedience for example is so easy to discipline. Whereas obedience with a bad attitude is hard.
My most recent challenge is Faith and her attitude. I ask her to do something and she says ok and rolls her eyes or the other one now is sighing as she is walking away. Is she seriously 4 going on 14!!! That's what it really feels like. Now at fourteen you would think this would be easier to deal with because there is a good old spanking or groundings, taking things away, etc... More options. At this age all I can do is spank her and I don't think she is even trying to really do these things. In fact the last time she did roll her eyes at me and I told her I had to spank her for it she said "Why do I keep doing this". She knows it's wrong and ungodly. It's like she just doesn't know how to even control that fleshly attitude! It's actually sad!
All the while tho I am not ok with my daughter portraying that attitude to me or anyone else in authority over her. People say kids will be kids or it's just a phase! Well I will be honest I say that's a cop out to being a better parent and training them in the way they should be. If you let them continue in that "phase" they will be that person and think it is ok! I can't have my daughter sighing or rolling her eyes at her aunts, grandparents, Sunday school teachers. I can't let her think that is acceptable for one minute! So this is my new parenting challenge. I must now direct her to have a godly obedient attitude. I think the best way kids learn is by an example no matter how young or old they are. I need to start thinking about ways I can show her obedience to our Lord through my actions and deeds. Maybe this way she will see how it ( a godly obedient attitude) is put into action. I pray soon she will be reflecting it and wanting to have that sweet spirit about her!
If you have any other advice please leave me a comment. Most of you that read my blog are wiser and been through these things. So I am open to advice. Thank you and God bless!
My most recent challenge is Faith and her attitude. I ask her to do something and she says ok and rolls her eyes or the other one now is sighing as she is walking away. Is she seriously 4 going on 14!!! That's what it really feels like. Now at fourteen you would think this would be easier to deal with because there is a good old spanking or groundings, taking things away, etc... More options. At this age all I can do is spank her and I don't think she is even trying to really do these things. In fact the last time she did roll her eyes at me and I told her I had to spank her for it she said "Why do I keep doing this". She knows it's wrong and ungodly. It's like she just doesn't know how to even control that fleshly attitude! It's actually sad!
All the while tho I am not ok with my daughter portraying that attitude to me or anyone else in authority over her. People say kids will be kids or it's just a phase! Well I will be honest I say that's a cop out to being a better parent and training them in the way they should be. If you let them continue in that "phase" they will be that person and think it is ok! I can't have my daughter sighing or rolling her eyes at her aunts, grandparents, Sunday school teachers. I can't let her think that is acceptable for one minute! So this is my new parenting challenge. I must now direct her to have a godly obedient attitude. I think the best way kids learn is by an example no matter how young or old they are. I need to start thinking about ways I can show her obedience to our Lord through my actions and deeds. Maybe this way she will see how it ( a godly obedient attitude) is put into action. I pray soon she will be reflecting it and wanting to have that sweet spirit about her!
If you have any other advice please leave me a comment. Most of you that read my blog are wiser and been through these things. So I am open to advice. Thank you and God bless!
Thursday, June 16, 2011
He is worthy of Praise!!!
I just have to share how GREAT God was to me today. As I reflected on my day today today I just became overwhelmed with thankfulness to the Lord for blessing my day the way that He did!!! First I woke up to a semi clean home. Kitchen in order so I was able to make my girls a favorite breakfast item toast and homemade jam. (Not made by me I am not that domestic yet although I plan on trying this summer) I was able to make my husbands coffee and allow him to sleep in which he never does! I enjoy him getting extra rest because I know he needs it. I was able to get the kitchen all cleaned up and pour him his coffee before I left for work.
I was trying to be as positive about work as possible because I was really not looking forward to cleaning for 5 and 1/2 hours. I promised myself that I would come home for lunch today so it wouldn't feel so painful haha! As I was working I was able to listen to christian music on the surround home stereo system which always makes it nicer to clean! The first half went by very fast which was wonderful because I was off to have lunch at home with my family :)
I came home and the girls were still up and not down for their nap yet so we all ate some good old hot dogs and chips and as I was getting ready to leave I had to go outside for a minute. We use our front door very little so I was very surprised to find and aluminum cover plate and a card with my name on it :) An amazing card left from a friend and a huge plate of chocolate chip cookies!!! YUMMY! After taking a few cookies I had to be on my way to work.
I stopped at a gas station on the way to grab a pop. While I was there a lady was paying all in change. Unlike most people I was unusually patient with it which even surprised me. As the lady was getting close to finishing counting her $8 of change. My heart got softened towards her situation so I put back one of my pops because they were on a special it was a really good deal to buy two instead of one. I figured I would have one extra dollar to give her. So as the lady was finished I tapped her shoulder and said here ya go and gave her 1 dollar. I know I was thinking the same thing really Chelsie only one dollar but I knew God could use that one dollar. I really thought I only had 3 dollars in my hand after she left I checked and had 3dollars still after giving her 1 dollar. I was able to get the deal on the pop. As I finished up I looked outside to the big ole boat of a van she was driving. I went to her and asked her if I offended her and assured her if I had more to give I truly would. She was still very thankful for the dollar. I told her to just keep pressing forward because from personal experience I know things always Always get easier! It may take time but it will get easier. She gave me a warm smile said thank you and I was on my way. My heart overflowing because for the first time in weeks I was able to be an encouragement to someone else! I needed that as much as she did.
So I went back to work and finished up. I was on my way back home still thinking about the lady and was able to praise the Lord that that morning I was able to fill up my gas tank to full and not worry because Scott had just got paid. Our van was completely empty but I didn't even have to worry one bit about filling it up.
I got home and the house was calm and still tidy thanks to Scott. We knew we had a lot to do that night as we needed to plant our garden and still eat dinner. So we got the chicken ready for Scott to grill and I finished the rest of the meal with sides. We were able to eat and get down to the garden and start working on it before the meeting. We hadn't been able to plant because the rain had been so much a any day we had wanted to think about it the night before had been a down pour. So we got a lot done before the meeting but still had a lot of it to do. After the meeting our plot advisor got our group together and told them they were going to help with our concrete jungle is what she called it. I thought that was cute. Before I knew it they were all on there way and they were breaking up the dirt and putting seeds in the ground. My job was to tell them where to put the seeds and label stakes for the ground so we knew what was where. We were finished in no time. We had amazing advice on what to plant where to plant it and how it would grow. Since we have never done this it was amazing to get the help. After we were finished my plot advisor walked up to me and said someone wanted to give you this so you can buy your tomato and pepper plants. Wouldn't you know it $20!!!
See what God does. I gave just a little bit and the Lord provided for our garden in the form of labor and help and money even; for more crops for a later result of more food! How Great is our God. I just had to share the blessing of seeing God's hand in my whole day. I hope it is a blessing to you and that the Lord will show Himself in your life today! God bless!!!
I was trying to be as positive about work as possible because I was really not looking forward to cleaning for 5 and 1/2 hours. I promised myself that I would come home for lunch today so it wouldn't feel so painful haha! As I was working I was able to listen to christian music on the surround home stereo system which always makes it nicer to clean! The first half went by very fast which was wonderful because I was off to have lunch at home with my family :)
I came home and the girls were still up and not down for their nap yet so we all ate some good old hot dogs and chips and as I was getting ready to leave I had to go outside for a minute. We use our front door very little so I was very surprised to find and aluminum cover plate and a card with my name on it :) An amazing card left from a friend and a huge plate of chocolate chip cookies!!! YUMMY! After taking a few cookies I had to be on my way to work.
I stopped at a gas station on the way to grab a pop. While I was there a lady was paying all in change. Unlike most people I was unusually patient with it which even surprised me. As the lady was getting close to finishing counting her $8 of change. My heart got softened towards her situation so I put back one of my pops because they were on a special it was a really good deal to buy two instead of one. I figured I would have one extra dollar to give her. So as the lady was finished I tapped her shoulder and said here ya go and gave her 1 dollar. I know I was thinking the same thing really Chelsie only one dollar but I knew God could use that one dollar. I really thought I only had 3 dollars in my hand after she left I checked and had 3dollars still after giving her 1 dollar. I was able to get the deal on the pop. As I finished up I looked outside to the big ole boat of a van she was driving. I went to her and asked her if I offended her and assured her if I had more to give I truly would. She was still very thankful for the dollar. I told her to just keep pressing forward because from personal experience I know things always Always get easier! It may take time but it will get easier. She gave me a warm smile said thank you and I was on my way. My heart overflowing because for the first time in weeks I was able to be an encouragement to someone else! I needed that as much as she did.
So I went back to work and finished up. I was on my way back home still thinking about the lady and was able to praise the Lord that that morning I was able to fill up my gas tank to full and not worry because Scott had just got paid. Our van was completely empty but I didn't even have to worry one bit about filling it up.
I got home and the house was calm and still tidy thanks to Scott. We knew we had a lot to do that night as we needed to plant our garden and still eat dinner. So we got the chicken ready for Scott to grill and I finished the rest of the meal with sides. We were able to eat and get down to the garden and start working on it before the meeting. We hadn't been able to plant because the rain had been so much a any day we had wanted to think about it the night before had been a down pour. So we got a lot done before the meeting but still had a lot of it to do. After the meeting our plot advisor got our group together and told them they were going to help with our concrete jungle is what she called it. I thought that was cute. Before I knew it they were all on there way and they were breaking up the dirt and putting seeds in the ground. My job was to tell them where to put the seeds and label stakes for the ground so we knew what was where. We were finished in no time. We had amazing advice on what to plant where to plant it and how it would grow. Since we have never done this it was amazing to get the help. After we were finished my plot advisor walked up to me and said someone wanted to give you this so you can buy your tomato and pepper plants. Wouldn't you know it $20!!!
See what God does. I gave just a little bit and the Lord provided for our garden in the form of labor and help and money even; for more crops for a later result of more food! How Great is our God. I just had to share the blessing of seeing God's hand in my whole day. I hope it is a blessing to you and that the Lord will show Himself in your life today! God bless!!!
Friday, June 10, 2011
Changes to the Clem household!
So I recently decided that I needed to get the girl's room redone and it was time to get Faith in her big girl bed. I have had all the bedding for quite some time and just needed to get to it. So I finally got it done. This is not the finished project I do still have some things to do but this is a wonderful start to it :) I still have yet to get Faith's day bed frame painted completely and finish a headboard for Justice's bed to dress it up a bit. Also I have to get their name letters decorated and hung on the wall by Faith's bed. Oh and I have to rehang the curtains that the girls tore down the other day. Here are the pictures. I am very happy with it and the girls love it! Faith said "Mom you made it outside in our room does this mean we don't get to play outside?" How cute are little minds!!!
How cute are those beds!
The tree I love it and it's so fun for the girls because it is just their size!
He is my favorite little decal.
The other side of their room.
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Reflections
Life.....has it's twist and turns, it's ups and downs, it's bumps and ditches. You name it you have experienced all of them. Some people experience them more extreme than others. When it all comes down to it we all go through life's many experiences. These experiences can be very tough. The ones that you have to drag yourself through. I can honestly reflect on these last few months and say I have been dragging myself through life. I do not want to face these tough life experiences. I have no idea why this season has to be a part of my life. I will be honest I don't want to face them. In fact most days I act as though nothing out of the ordinary is going on in my life. Until that point where I get silent and still then I have to face life's trials.
To write this blog post I pray it helps me. It's not easy to take the time to sit here and reflect on my life. Sure my marriage is going great like usual, my kids are healthy, the finances are ok. All the basic stuff is fine. It's all the other things that play a factor in my life that are difficult. Dealing with the loss of my amazing Pastor, my Dad's cancer, and my sister in law who I love very much dealing with unsolved health issues again. I care so much for my family and it's so difficult to see and experience so much pain and suffering.
I have just started facing the truth that my Pastor will not be coming back to me. That he really is gone and not just in Wisconsin still battling his illness. He has been gone for over a month and I haven't really gotten to take much time to think about it. This man has been amazing in my life. Like a father to me. He always took the time to help me when I didn't know how to handle life and now he is not here. I can't go sit on his porch and talk about the things that are going on with me or him. I can't hear his laughter one more time. I can't see the wink in his eye. I can't tell him I love him and hear it back. I can't pour out my concerns to him and I cannot get his counsel. He is not here! I miss him soo much. It's such a void that he isn't here! Does this pain ever go away.
I cannot bare the thought of loosing my Dad Richard too. I never let it enter my mind. I try to keep it far from me. I still pray for him but probably not as much as I should because then I would have to think about it. The results from the doctor today were not what I wanted. No progress with four weeks of chemo and the cancer still looks the same. Mom said she didn't ask if it had spread because she honestly would rather not know. I think for her it makes it easier. I don't know how much longer I can talk about him. It gets to hard to think about it all.
My faith is weak when it should be strong. I should be triumphant over all of this. Some things it's just not so easy to be ok with. There is too much right now in life and I cannot bare it all. Some things have been put on hold. I wish I could say it was things that didn't matter but it's not. I have taken a break from homeschooling Faith. We will continue again hopefully soon when the day seems right for it. I just don't have the drive for it right now. Some days I am just happy to be functioning.
Sorry this isn't a better post but I needed this one for myself.
To write this blog post I pray it helps me. It's not easy to take the time to sit here and reflect on my life. Sure my marriage is going great like usual, my kids are healthy, the finances are ok. All the basic stuff is fine. It's all the other things that play a factor in my life that are difficult. Dealing with the loss of my amazing Pastor, my Dad's cancer, and my sister in law who I love very much dealing with unsolved health issues again. I care so much for my family and it's so difficult to see and experience so much pain and suffering.
I have just started facing the truth that my Pastor will not be coming back to me. That he really is gone and not just in Wisconsin still battling his illness. He has been gone for over a month and I haven't really gotten to take much time to think about it. This man has been amazing in my life. Like a father to me. He always took the time to help me when I didn't know how to handle life and now he is not here. I can't go sit on his porch and talk about the things that are going on with me or him. I can't hear his laughter one more time. I can't see the wink in his eye. I can't tell him I love him and hear it back. I can't pour out my concerns to him and I cannot get his counsel. He is not here! I miss him soo much. It's such a void that he isn't here! Does this pain ever go away.
I cannot bare the thought of loosing my Dad Richard too. I never let it enter my mind. I try to keep it far from me. I still pray for him but probably not as much as I should because then I would have to think about it. The results from the doctor today were not what I wanted. No progress with four weeks of chemo and the cancer still looks the same. Mom said she didn't ask if it had spread because she honestly would rather not know. I think for her it makes it easier. I don't know how much longer I can talk about him. It gets to hard to think about it all.
My faith is weak when it should be strong. I should be triumphant over all of this. Some things it's just not so easy to be ok with. There is too much right now in life and I cannot bare it all. Some things have been put on hold. I wish I could say it was things that didn't matter but it's not. I have taken a break from homeschooling Faith. We will continue again hopefully soon when the day seems right for it. I just don't have the drive for it right now. Some days I am just happy to be functioning.
Sorry this isn't a better post but I needed this one for myself.
Saturday, May 14, 2011
More than Bountiful Basket!!!
If this is what you get count me in again and again and again!!!
This is the basket it varies every time but I am more than satisfied with this time!
Pictured is a 3lb bag pink lady apples, 3 mangoes, 1 Romaine, 7 big ears of corn, 10 sweet onions med size, 3 cucumbers, 1 green pepper, 3 artichokes, 9 roma tomatoes, 1 cantaloupe and 1 pineapple! More than impressed! All that produce for 15 dollars!
This is the Mexican pack oh my this was huge!!! So much stuff!!! All this for 7.50.
This bag took up a quarter of my huge table!
Included avocados, jalapenos, chives, cilantro, 2 hot onions, garlic, mini limes, tomatillos, and long green chilies
12 (6 oz) blackberries ($16)and 2 lbs amazing granola ($10)
Ingredients: Oats, honey, canola oil, almonds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, vanilla.
Beautiful berries!
I cannot more highly recommend taking advantage of bountiful baskets! I took the afternoon prepping my produce. I washed and froze alot of the the berries. I will use most of them in smoothies of on top of cake or dessert toppings. Shucked the corn and froze half of it. Cut up the lettuce. Made a greens sauce with the mexi pack and froze it for further uses like enchiladas. Scott made a salsa at the YES House for the kids. I plan on making another salsa with our other tomatoes or a homemade sauce for pastas. Mango salsa with some of the mangoes and Mexican ingredients. Oh and I am excited to try to make my own homemade spinach artichoke dip :) I am overly excited about produce! haha! I hope you come to enjoy it yourself if it works for you and your family!
Friday, May 13, 2011
Wanted to share
Here are a few things I wanted to share with my friends far and wide.
First is my friendly neighbor's soap website. She is an amazing person!! God really blessed us this time with some awesome christian neighbors! :) So here is her website it is self explanitory. I am passionate about her products they have helped with my problematic skin. She made me a facial bar that cleared up my acne and she also made an oil blend for my excema. She is such a God send! I love all her soaps too! Be blessed check out her products.
http://www.highplainssoapco.com/
Also here is another website you can check out we are just starting this this week. It's called bountiful baskets. Check and see if there is a location near you. If you have any questions with the website feel free to email me. Sidenote: the offers are updated Monday around noon and you must submit your contribution at that time. The pick up times are on Saturday and there is a short window of time to pick up so you must be on time. Here is the website for this one. I have only heard good things about this and I will share my personal experience with you :)
http://www.bountifulbaskets.org/
First is my friendly neighbor's soap website. She is an amazing person!! God really blessed us this time with some awesome christian neighbors! :) So here is her website it is self explanitory. I am passionate about her products they have helped with my problematic skin. She made me a facial bar that cleared up my acne and she also made an oil blend for my excema. She is such a God send! I love all her soaps too! Be blessed check out her products.
http://www.highplainssoapco.com/
Also here is another website you can check out we are just starting this this week. It's called bountiful baskets. Check and see if there is a location near you. If you have any questions with the website feel free to email me. Sidenote: the offers are updated Monday around noon and you must submit your contribution at that time. The pick up times are on Saturday and there is a short window of time to pick up so you must be on time. Here is the website for this one. I have only heard good things about this and I will share my personal experience with you :)
http://www.bountifulbaskets.org/
Sunday, May 1, 2011
~Easter days~
Many of our easter pictures: I wanted to share some of the funny ones with you too!
Unsure??!! What are we suppose to do!?
Justice hey Daddy!
Pretty good smiles but too much light!
Mommy's favorite!
Again Justice looking at Daddy!
Justice still kind of in her own land!
Here Mom here is a rasberry for you!
Precious Faith!
Love you Dad!
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