Frugal Friday: Dishwashing

Orginally posted 9/2/10
At the house we lived in before, I used to love my dishwasher. I almost never did dishes by hand and I loved it! Then we moved to our new place which has an old dishwasher I don't like. I started doing more dishes by hand. Then a thought dawned on me:

Washing dishes by hand is usually cheaper for me

It's pretty easy for me to find dish soap cheap, but it's a lot harder to get dishwasher soap free or cheap. Plus, by doing dishes mainly by hand, I get to train my little helper (and keep her entertained):

So two benefits to washing more dishes by hand: cheap soap and cheap labor/entertainment. Cheap labor/entertainment is a finer thing!! :)

Check out Frugal Friday for more great money saving tips!

My Baby is 2 Today!

**Sigh** My "Baby" Lily is no long a baby. It's been a while since I've looked at her baby pictures. How far she's come! :)One of the rare moments Lily actually was sleeping peacefully

Happy in Alabama!
Modeling a sweater made by Mommy

One of the latest (in D.C.)

So, today we had cupcakes and ice cream. Saturday is the official party. Too bad she had a fever today. :(

It's amazing how fast the time flies. If you're a mom of littles, remember to treasure them! I'm already missing holding a baby in my arms. These precious gifts of God are only on loan for a short time and then they'll grow up and be on their own. I hope you remember to treasure your precious gifts this week!

A Case of the Sickies

Photo By LittleMissPip

I hate it when my children aren't feeling well. I'm so very glad that things are pretty much back to normal now... just the usual whininess that accompanies teething. Teething+cold=unhappy 20 month old. Add in a 3 year old with a bad cold and you get the idea of my week last week.

:) But I'm thankful to say that we survived and I've been reminded to be thankful that our family is generally healthy. Health can easily be taken for granted and I'm so thankful that we don't have long term, chronic challenges around here.

What are you thankful for this week? Check out Gratituesday for inspiration!

It's All About Love

Picture is from ChristianCrafts.net

My husband and I don't celebrate many holidays. We just aren't holiday people and we try to have fun together all the time. But as my children are getting older, I think we'll try to incorporate some holiday type ideas more often and try to use them as opportunities to teach our children principles.

Sometimes I think my 3 1/2 year old is too young to understand things. However, children will usually surprise you with just how much they do understand. Even if they're just copying you right now, you're laying foundations for the rest of their lives. So here's how I have been using Valentine's Day (a Hallmark promoted holiday) to teach my children.

1. First we talked about how today is a day to think about love and how we love people
2. We talked about how God loves everyone. We then played a "game" with me asking "Does God love..." and inserting a name of someone we know. She would enthusiastically say "Yes!"
3. I sang the John 3:16 song that we have on cd. My daughter sang along by singing "The bible tells me so." Different song, but it works too. :)
4. We talked about how we're going to color pictures and do things for Daddy to show him that we love him.
5. My daughter is at the innocent age where she will blurt out "I don't like..." a person she doesn't feel so loving towards. I explain to her that even if we don't like someone, we still need to love them because God does and He wants us to love them too.
6. We talked about how even when we're bad, God still loves us and the same goes for other people as well. Even when they do bad things, we still love them.
7. Although she's too little to do a lot of crafts for Valentine's Day, I did pick up a little candy heart necklace kit we'll do after lunch today. She loves crafts. :) We'll probably make valentines for people we know as well for a craft today.
8. We talked about how God loved us so much that He sent Jesus (His Son) to the world to be with us. She doesn't understand the weight and meaning of it, but it lays a strong foundation now that we can build on as she grows older. It's important for both children and adults to store the Word in their hearts so we have the truth to keep us strong and to fall back on.

So, even though she's young, I'm trying now to instill truth and love in her now. Children are little sponges and soak it all up to use later. I hope you all have a wonderful day in God's love today! Are you doing anything for Valentine's Day?

Early to Bed, Early to Rise

Early to bed, early to rise, makesa man healthy, wealthy and wise. -An old proverb (no idea from where) that my mom said to me often in my adolesence :)

I am not a morning person. It has aways been very difficult for me to wake up. I used to feel really guilty about it, but I tend to be very groggy in the mornings. But I've found a groggy mommy= a grumpy mommy. My mornings usually didn't start out well.

I made it one of my New Year's goals to get up earlier. I hoped to be up by 7AM reguarly by the end of January and today I was up around 7AM! Woohoo!!

I do not by any means want to make anyone feel guilty for not getting up early, especially if you're a mom of little ones. There a season for everything and moms with little ones are in the season of snatching any bit of sleep they can!

My youngest daughter is 19 months now and she and her sister are reguarly up at about 8AM everyday. I would often sleep until they woke me up each day, but I often woke up grumpy and groggy and our days were starting off on the wrong foot. I decided to make it my goal to be up and awake and ready to go before my girls got up. I knew it was time to discipline myself in that area.

If you're trying to make a habit of getting up earlier, here are a few of the things I've found that helped me:

• Know yourself. I soon figured out that I love sleep so much that I needed something tangible to get myself up. Just getting up early "because" wasn't enough of an inducement. I needed a reason. My husband and I started reading the Bible together in the mornings. This accountability was enough to keep me heading in the right direction.
• Take it slow. I started by setting my alarm at 8:30. When I had that down, I'd make it 5 minutes earlier. Every day or two I would try to make the alarm time 5 minutes earlier. Now my alarm is at 6:50 which is a real accomplishment for me! :)
• Stanard, noisy, turn off alarms don't work for me. I have been known to turn them off in my sleep without even remembering it. I now set my cell phone alarm, put it on vibrate and put it under my pillow! LoL. Sounds weird, I know, but it's really working for me!
• Plan on snooze time. I set my alarm 10-15 minutes before my target wake up time. I know myself, I will hit snooze a few times, no matter how hard I try not too!
• Have a morning ritual. Because I'm groggy in the mornings, I need a routine to remember what to do in my morning haze. I've found it really helpful to go downstairs to the kitchen and fix warm drink (hot lemon water or tea). The action of making something helps to wake me up enough to pay attention when my husband is reading the Bible. Otherwise, I'm still in a fog!
• Early to bed..... It's true. Going to bed early enough makes it much easier to wake up on time. I am, by nature, a night owl. I can seriously stay up half the night. I learned in college that it's easier to stay awake all night, rather than getting just a few hours of sleep. :)

Ok, I think that's it. As hard as it was at first, I'm very happy that I've been getting up earlier. I get to spend time reading with my husband, I have a warm drink to get my stomach ready for the day, I'm a nicer mommy and it feels good to be on a schedule rather than just getting up "whenever." If you're able to wake up earlier in your season of life, I highly recommend it!!

What works for you? What tips do you have for non-morning people (like me) trying to wake up earlier? Share with us! You can check out Works for Me Wednesday for other great tips!

Mom Monday: What Kind of Mom Do I Want To Be?

I've been reading through Life as Mom's e-book "Organizing Life as Mom" recently and she posed this question: What kind of mom do I want to be?

That's an interesting question, isn't it? My first thought was "a good mom." That's kind of vague. As I thought about it, I realized that everyone's definition of a "good mom" is probably different. I think the concept of being a good mom is obscure and out of reach and creates an unachievable extreme that can cause frustration and failure.

So, maybe I don't want to be a good mom after all. Then what kind of mom do I want to be?

I think I want to be a mom that "loves her children." I want to be a mom whose children "rise up and call her blessed" because of her wisdom and steadfast service. I want my children to remember me as a mom who made mistakes, but was quick to ask forgiveness. I want my children to remember me as a mom who pointed them towards God, instead of trying to cling on to them. I want to be a mom that guides her children, instead of forcing them around.

At the end of my time on this earth as a mom, I want to be able to say that I choose to settle for being "just mom" instead of striving in my own strength to be "super mom." I don't want to try to be perfect, I want to allow God's strength to be made perfect in my weakness. I want to be "just mom" allowing the strength of God to work through me so that one day my children may rise up and call me blessed.

How about you? What kind of mom do you want to be?

Mom Monday: Why I Don't Tell My Daughter Santa is Coming

Photo by jdanvers

My husband and I don't really follow many of the "traditional" American Christmas celebrations. Some of our reasons are "religious" and some are not. We don't do a lot of decorating simply because we don't feel like it. We don't do a lot of gift buying and giving (we mostly make them) because we don't have a lot of money.

One of the most controversial (apparently) is that we don't tell our kids that on Christmas Eve Santa is coming down an imaginary chimney and leaving a bunch of loot for them that the elves at his workshop in the North Pole made for them.

Believe me, I'm not condemning anyone who feels at peace before God to tell their kids about Santa. I feel that I cannot because of personal convictions. I've always tried to be as truthful with my children as possible. I want them to understand for an early age that honesty is very important and that they can expect honesty from me as well. I want them to trust me and see an example of honesty in my life. I don't always succeed perfectly in this, but it is my goal.

I've felt for a long time that having my children believe in Santa would be dishonest. Whenever we come across Santa, I try to make it clear to my 3 year old that he is just "pretend." I'm not going to try sheltering my children from Santa altogether or act like Santa is evil, because I don't think it is. I feel that it is a harmless societal tradition that actually started out because of a great man with a giving spirit. I do plan to teach my daughter about Saint Nicolas as a part of history when she's old enough to understand.

I don't want my children to be crushed and heart broken when they finally realize that Santa is not real. I think children are so crushed because their parents (who they trust completely) told them Santa was real. I just don't feel comfortable leading my children into that kind of falsehood.

Don't think that if you tell your children about Santa that I think you're a horrible parent. I just want to encourage those of you who are in the same boat as me. I also want to encourage those of you who do tell your kids about Santa to have a little understanding towards those parents who don't. My husband and I are constantly dealing with questions and accusations that we are depriving our children of an important part of childhood.

When it comes to traditions and things like this where there is no clear scripture on what to do, please, give each other some grace and accept the personal convictions of others without attacking them. Fighting amongst ourselves is definitely not the way to love each other with brotherly love.

I hope you have a wonderfully blessed Christmas season whether you tell your children about Santa or not! Just out of curiosity, do/did you tell your kids about Santa? Why or why not and have you had to defend yourself in your decision?

Mom Momday: Selfishness

I used to think I was a very mature person. Everyone thought I was older than really was and I was usually ahead of my peers when it came to practical things like finances and school. So, I thought I was mature and I was "ok."

Then I got married and had kids. And I still thought I was okay. I was even a little proud of how I gave up my plans for a career and plans I had for my life. I thought of myself as truly selfless.

I stood in front of the mirror the other day, pining over the loss of my pre-baby body when I had a revelation that hit me like a ton of bricks. Almost the entire 4 years of my marriage I have been selfish, self centered and immature. For someone who believed the exact opposite for so long, it took a minute for all this to set in.

I've finally realized that all these years I've been spiritually immature, complaining, focused on how much I gave up, constantly thinking "if only..." etc. and I am heartily ashamed. I am so very thankful that God's given me this understanding that I can learn and grow and work at becoming a mature, selfless person in the image of Christ.

I heard a message about loving the truth and the speaker talked about how we have to not only love the truth about God and others, but we have to love the truth about ourselves, even if it's painful. Loving the truth about ourselves will keep us walking towards God, becoming more like Christ everyday.

God desires to change the un-Christlike things in our lives, but we must first acknowledge them, repent of them and ask God to help us change. It is a process, day by day and it's usually not a fun process either. But it is most definitely a profitable one.

Thanks for letting me share my heart with you and I hope to encourage you to be open and honest with God and love the truth He reveals to you, even if it's not pleasant. May God bless you this week as you move closer to becoming transformed into the image of Christ!

Mom Momday: Raising Polite Kids Part 2

Last week I started writing about raising polite kids and some of the things that have worked for me. Here are a few other things I have found to be helpful.

4. Don't respond to demands. I hear "I want" and "I need" and "Give me" all day long from my 3 year old. It's to be expected. I don't expect her to be a perfectly polite, mature citizen of our society. It's my job to help train her to become that.

Sometimes, rather than correcting her impolite demands, I simply don't respond to her. Usually she will realize her mistake and ask me politely. At this point, I've taught her the correct way so many times, she just needs a little reminder. We're getting there.... slowly. :)

5. Let it go sometimes. Especially in public. Children go through shy spells and don't want to speak to people they don't know well. Rather than spending an embarrassing amount of time trying to force my daughter to say hello or thank you, I will try a few times, demonstrate the right response and then move on.

It's really a "pick your battles" type of thing. If she's just being shy, I let it slide. If I can tell she's just being obstinant, that's when discipline is dealt.

6. Did I mention consistency? :) This will be a long process. As an adult, I'm still learning correct ways to deal with social situations and confrontations. It takes me time to learn things and I make many mistakes. I can't expect my daughter to behave perfectly, but we're always striving to move forward.

How do you teach your children to be polite? Share with us!

Mom Monday: Raising Polite Kids

Raising children can be tricky. I recently had someone comment on how polite my oldest daughter was and it made me think. Is it because of the way I've trained her or is it more because we live in a society that is no longer very polite or kind?

I do not profess to be a parenting expert, but here are a few of the things that have worked for me in training my daughter to be polite and kind in a world where it's becoming the exception to treat others as you would have them treat you.

1. Be polite to your children. From the time my daughter was very young I would often say "Please" and "Thank You." I think sometimes there is a concern in parents that children won't respect our requests if we are kind in the way we say it. I don't think this is true, as long as it's phrased properly. For example:

Put your dishes in the sink, please. vs Will you put your dishes in the sink, please?

The first version is not a question, but a command. The second is said in a question which gives the child room to refuse. I try not to say things in a question so that my daughter won't become confused about what I expect from her.

By modeling kindness and politeness in the way I speak to my children, I'm teaching them by example and also creating a good habit for myself.

2. Repetition. Repetition. Repetition. It's not enough to say "Please" and "Thank You" and "Sorry" every now and then. It's important to use it constantly. Everyday. Children learn best with consistency and often have to be told things many, many times.

It's easy to become frustrated at how many times we have to remind our children of something. But understanding that God probably does the same thing for me (constant reminders and forgiveness of my failure) helps me to have patience with my children as well.

3. Be quick to apologize. This one is hard to do. It's hard to apologize and so much more when it's our children. We have the mistaken idea that apologizing for our failures is a weakness. But this is not the way God sees it! There is great power in stopping to apologize (or repent) for the wrong things we've done, even if it's just a wrong attitude. Only by recognizing what is wrong can we move on into what is right.

The same is true of our relationships with our children. If I've done something that's wrong towards my children or have hurt them, I try to be quick to apologize, showing them that even Mommy makes mistakes. Children are so quick to forgive (we should be also) and this helps them learn what healthy relationships should look like.

Also, rather than an adult having stand over the children and force them to apologize to each other when they don't really mean it, they learn by their parent's daily example that they should be quick to apologize. As a parent, you may still have to point out to them when they've done wrong and help them think through what they should do to make it right. This is training them to do things things someday on their own. Again, repetition. :)

Wow. This post is becoming rather lengthy. I will continue with it for next week's Mom Monday. How do you help your children to be polite and kind?

Gratituesday: 3rd Brithday and Cake Recipe!

I can hardly believe my baby is already 3 now!! I'm so thankful for her and definitely believe that she is a blessing. Parenting can be hard at times (ok, most of the time), but I'm so thankful for the joy and love she fills our lives with. She teaches me so much! We had a birthday party for her last week and for those of you who were wondering, here's how I made her cake.

Dora in the Clouds
I made Dora's face by following the cake recipe and instructions on Nick Jr. I changed a few things, but basically followed the guidelines. I didn't use paste food coloring for her face color. I just mixed the vanilla frosting with some of the chocolate frosting and hot chocolate mix. LoL. I also didn't pipe in her hair. I just smeared it on with a knife and then outlined parts with the light brown face frosting.

The white stuff I made dairy free for a few people who were coming. It was chocolate mini cupcakes frosted with White Mountain frosting (I didn't use the salt or cream of tartar). We just smeared the frosting all over them, which made them blend in nicely. The mini cupcakes were just a chocolate cake recipe I found in my Betty Crocker Cookbook. If you have any questions about the cake, feel free to ask!

Yet Another Reason I Want to Homeschool

I know it's long, but very interesting if you have the time to watch it. I've always wanted to homeschool, this just reinforces and strengthens my desire to do so.

Mom Monday: Wisdom

One of my greatest struggles with raising my children right now is how much t.v. I allow my 3 year old to watch. We don't have cable, but we do allow her to get movies (like Dora, Blue Clues, etc) from the library, plus what we already own. I don't allow her to watch much, but I still struggle with how much is too much.

I believe the answer is different for every family and that's ok. It'll also differ day by day, situation by situation. Use your discretion, because God appointed YOU caretaker of your children. He'll also give you the wisdom to know what to do. All you need to do is ask.

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. James 1:5

How are you doing with wisdom in loving your children and making decisions regarding them? Are there areas in which you feel you could use more of God's wisdom? I encourage you today, mothers, ask God what to do in these situations and He'll give you the wisdom to handle it!

Just wondering, how do you handle the t.v. in your home? And if you're interested, I am running a giveaway for 2 Boz the Bear Christian Preschooler DVDs, which make me feel a little better about allowing my daughter to watch t.v. :)

Review and Giveaway: Boz the Bear

As I mentioned, I often struggle with how much t.v. to allow my 3 year old to watch. Thankfully, I do have some videos that make me feel a little better about giving in to her request for t.v. time. Some of my favorite videos are the Boz the Green Bear Next Door videos!

Boz is a Christian educational character created specifically for preschoolers by Exclaim Entertainment. This is important, because I often feel that a lot of Christian children's DVD's are over my daughter's head. These videos are perfect for her and she loves them!

Each video is about 45 minutes long (usually broken up into 3 "episodes") and focuses on a different topic. You can choose from titles such as "Thank You God for Bananas, Bubbles and Busy Bodies" and "Thank You God for Adventures in Imagination." You can even click the link to go and see the trailers for their videos. Each video demonstrates respect for elders, prayer, catchy song, fun learning and more.

In addition to the videos, you can also get Boz books, free teaching resources, cds, and toys. I love their website because they have a lot of information including games, computer wallpapers coloring pages, "read with Boz" and fun family activity ideas. There's even a special section just for parents to learn about Boz and what he's all about.


Ok, so enough about how much we love Boz. I'm so super excited to be able to giveaway 2 Boz DVD's to one of my readers! I have "Thank You God for Bananas, Bubbles and Busy Bodies" and "Thank You God for Friends and Helpers" to give away! To enter the giveaway you can do any of the following, leaving a separate comment for each:

1. Tell me what you'd like most about Boz
   
2. Become a follower/feed reader or tell me if you already do (left side of the blog)!
3. Blog about this giveaway and leave me the link.
4. Become a subscriber or tell me if you already do (left side)!
5. Follow me on twitter or tell me if you already do!
6. Become a fan of the Christian Frugal Mama Facebook page or let me know if you already are!
   

That's 6 chances to win! The giveaway is open from now until Sunday August 22nd at 11PM EST when I will randomly pick a winner. I will email the winner (so make sure you leave a way for me to email you!) and the winner will have 48 hours to respond. If they don't, I will pick a new winner. Good luck!!

Mom Monday: Heart Attitude

I thought I'd send you over to Heavenly Homemaker's post over here to read some lovely thoughts about heart attitude. It's funny how a seemingly bad situation may not even change, but once our hearts are changed, the situation and circumstances seem so much different.

God can change our heart attitude and thoughts if we want Him to. God can bring us peace and joy in all circumstances. Here's a hint though. It won't change with a "God, change this situation..." prayer or even a "God, change their hearts..." prayer tossed up at Him either. It'll take a humbling of ourselves and a "Place in me a new heart, O God..." prayer that we actually mean. :)

How about you? Do you sometimes need a heart attitude adjustment?

"The Fruit of Her Hands"

In trying to follow Titus 2:4-5, I'm learning so many lessons about being wise, frugal and a hard worker. Here's one of my recent lessons and reflections. Will you join me on this journey of being a Godly wife?

Not long ago, my family and I went blueberry picking. We try to do this every year now since they're only $1.40/lb and I'm obsessed with getting enough to last us all winter. I love frozen blueberries so much that I've been known to eat them out of a bowl with a spoon... still frozen! :)


Picking blueberries is very frugal and a great activity to do with children. It teaches kids about where some of our food comes from and the fact that sometimes you have to work for it. Somehow, food tastes just a little bit better when you've worked hard for it.... just don't forget the sunscreen!

Picking blueberries can also be very hard work, something we all need to engage in sometimes, especially considering the account of the Proverbs 31 woman. This virtuous woman was well known for her frugality and hard work. Today, it can be so easy to forget the virtues of good old fashioned hard work! Grocery stores and candle companies and soap companies, etc.... tend to make us forget all the work the ladies of old used to do.


I'm very thankful for our modern conviences, but sometimes homemade blueberry jam just can't be beat by anything you can buy in the store! Sure I could get $0.99 grape jelly, but when Christmas rolls around, all I have to do is pull from my stock of 16 half pints and 2 pints of blueberry jam and I'll likely save a bundle in gift money. I hate buying gifts for people they'll never use, so I often gift homemade things and things from my stockpile. My family really appreciates it!

So, get a little creative and find some fun ways of working hard and saving money. You'll learn and grow from it, your children will learn from it and your wallet will thank you! Check out these tips for freezing blueberries so they'll retain great flavor and texture or I'll try to post my recipe for blueberry jam later soon. Check out Finer Things Friday and Frugal Friday for other great ideas and inspiration!

Taking Time to Enjoy the Season

I learned a hard lesson yesterday about "loving my children." My husband's parents were coming over so I spent much of the morning tidying everything, sweeping, dusting, etc. I let my oldest daughter have a baby wipe to help me clean with. :)

After many trials and frustrations with both the house and the children acting up, when nap rolled around I was good and ready for some serious quiet time! I read my daughter her book and tucked her in when she looked at me sweetly and asked me to lay down with her, which is something I never normally do. For some reason, my heart already wanted to and I almost did, but I told her I was going to go downstairs and wait for Grandma and Grandpa.

I went downstairs and went about my tasks: mopping the floor, making yogurt and so on. These were all good things I needed to do, but within half an hour I realized how much I wanted to spend some time near my 3 year old "baby" girl. I wanted her to smile and snuggle close to me as we rested. But by the time I made it upstairs, she was already sound asleep (see picture above) and my heart broke. I had missed my opportunity for some wonderful bonding time.

I realized that this is a good example for a fact of life: you have opportunities with your children that won't always be there. They will grow up (very quickly) and time won't stand still for you to be ready to love and pour into your children. You have to take the opportunities when they come, for whatever season you are in. Someday the season will change and you won't have those same opportunities the lay a solid foundation again.

I lost my chance to rest with my little girl today and my heartaches over it. If you feel a tug in your heart to do something out of the ordinary with your children, I encourage you to follow it! The house may be a little bit messier, the yogurt may get made 2 hours later, but come on... aren't our children worth it?

It's a Brand New Day

I've been considering for a while now that I should write something, anything to explain my disappearance to those of my followers that may have actually read this blog semi-regularly. The reasons are very complicated and I won't bore you with them, but suffice it to say that I'm doing some "soul searching." Such a cheesy term for such a serious time of life.

In looking at my blog and my life, I'm realizing that I really don't have much to say. Or least not much to say that's worthwhile for someone else to read. There's already so much junk on the internet, I really don't want to contribute to the pile. With all the junk out there, it takes a great deal of time and patience to find the true gems and sometimes I just don't think the time away from our other duties is worth it.

In my soul searching, I've realized that I don't have much to say that's worth telling someone else about. Not yet anyway. I'm a fairly new wife (we're approaching 4 years together) and a fairly new mother (my oldest will be 3 this August) and I simply don't have the tried and true experience and wisdom of an older married mother, yet.

My heart's cry and passion revolves around Titus 2:3-5

"The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things; That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed"

I have long been feeling the lack of a wise, older woman to teach me those 8 things described above and I believe that many other young women crave this as well. It is a rare thing in today's culture that older, experienced Christian mothers pour into the lives of younger women not just in a "spiritual" way, but in a practical real life way. I don't want someone to just tell me to be sober, show me and teach me what that looks like! Of course, young people aren't so good at listening either.

These past few weeks have been humbling, difficult, and heart breaking but also encouraging, uplifting and inspiring. That's one of the amazing things about God. He will show you what a mess you are, but rather than kick you while you're down, He'll give you hope and provide a way to move forward.

From now on, when I post on this blog, I hope that it will be a reflection and encouragement for moving forward. I hope to inspire young women with anything that I learn that fits in with the 8 things listed above for young women to learn. I hope that I'll no longer be adding to the massive amounts of junk that have to be sifted through on the internet.

God bless you for listening to me pour out my heart and I hope you'll walk this journey with me of learning to be sober, to love our husbands, to love our children, to be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, and obedient to our own husbands.