Notes From Home

This announcement concludes the final week in our giveaway! Many thanks to all 0f the ladies who have participated! We had many wonderful suggestiongs and this has greatly helped us see what our readers would like to see in upcoming issues.  Some of suggestions given were already planned for the summer issue, so you may look forward to seeing them in there!

Now, the winner is… comment number 74, AbbyDee!! Congratulations! Thank you again ladies for taking the time to tell us your thoughts.

Answer any one of these questions:
What would you like to see for boys in the magazine?  OR

My husband does woodworking projects for dads in the magazine, does your husband have a request of what he’d like to try?  OR

If you haven’t seen our magazine, tell us what you think constitutes a good homemaking magazine. You can answer this question  if you have seen it and want to make suggestions on future projects!

Please only answer one question above! 

Congratulations to Shawna Wright, she won our bread making basket!!
Blessings today!  Theresa

Cathy Goodspeed won this weeks drawing!  We will send her our Bosch DVD, Bread Made Easy!  We still have a Bread Baking Basket and Pressure Cooker to hand out!  Isn’t this exciting!  Ok, this week’s question!  What is the most important staple/supply in your storage for unplanned emergencies; what is in your storage and can you offer advice to others on how to plan?  Let’s help each other big on this one!  With so many weather disasters right now it seems like a good question. 

Have a wonderful day!  It’s warm here today and we have been out in the garden.  I planted a new rose yesterday.  Believe it or not I had to read a whole book on growing roses before I could get one to do well.  We also planted our vegetable garden and some lilies and daisies.  And here is a picture of my tulip plant that I never thought would grow.  I had two miscarriages two years ago only a few months apart and planted one tulip for each lost baby.  It bloomed yesterday morning with the other not far behind.  Yellow.  I couldn’t even remember what color they were it took so long!
Jessica takes beautiful pictures, she took this one last night. 

Have a wonderful day! 

I love to post the funny things my children say… these are the things you write in your ‘funny sayings by the children.’  Zoe got stung by a bee and was just beside herself.  She apparently got a close up view of the little beast before it got her.  She said, “It got under my sleeve and I brushed him! He pulled out his stinger and I didn’t want him to pull that out, and he stung me.  I was crying and he just stung me anyway!”  I asked her if it was a wasp and she stopped and with her eyes full of tears and said “NOOOOO, it was a bee!”

So cute… I love the warm weather today.  Snow is in the forecast tonight and tomorrow LOL!  Blessings,  Theresa

Good morning ladies!

On this lovely morning we have last week’s winner and prize to announce!  Our prize for the week is Healthy Recipes from the Heart of Our Homes by Phyllis Stanley, and goes to commenter number nine, Diana!  Congratulations!  

We posted last week that we would be asking a different question each week for the remainder of the giveaway, so we hope that this is going to be a fun one and give some of our readers an exchange of sharing!

We want you to post your favorite recipe, and this can be anything!  Whether it’s your family’s favorite quick bread, yeast bread, summer salsa, dinner or salad.  Whatever you want!   To add a little more zing to the week, if we try your recipes, and if we find one that really, really like, we will publish your recipe (only if you want and with full credit given of course!) in the summer issue of Seasons at Home!  If you own a web biz we will include a link to your site with your recipe. 

Have a lovely day homemaking!  We are looking foward to hearing from everyone!  

This is Evie our 10th!  What a blessing to be called ‘mother.’   I had to think of all the wonderful sorrows and joys I go through, and those to come.  I have times where I feel smothered and have to snap back to the blessing of this title.  Mother means ‘available’ at all times.  I sometimes don’t feel worthy of that great responsibility.   My daily worth (if any) comes from my constant companion in Whom I can trust all my fears, failures, joys, success, and sorrows to.  This morning I received several handmade cards and even a little handmade “book” from my very sentimental 8 year old boy, Jordan.  I hope you had a happy Mother’s Day, I did.
Many blessings!  Theresa
We have a winner!  We will email her first then post!
 

We would like to change the question for the giveaway.  Are you game?  I love to hear your feedback on how you are enjoying our issue, but I think we need a change!  In fact next week, there will be a different question!  So respond to this post and you are entered into our giveaway!

Here’s your question!! What’s in your garden?  Or What are you planning for your garden?

Another week has passed already! We apologize for being a little late getting this post on here. We do have a winner though, this week’s number is 6! MamaAmy is going to be receiving a lovely Tea-for-One gift set!

 This post starts the third week of the giveaway, so leave your comment on THIS post, “What Do You Think of Seasons?”, and tell us what you think of our magazine. One number will be drawn from all of the comments collected this week, Monday-Saturday, and we will announce the winner and prize next Monday! You may leave comments each week, but only one comment per reader, per week please! 

Joyous Home is relying on the feedback of our new magazine.  You may also suggest what you would like to see in upcoming issues!  Thank you for your help!  If you didn’t purchase Seasons, you may read our rules on how to participate located on our site! We look forward to hearing more from everyone!   Theresa & Jessica

 I recently read something and I had many thoughts on it.   It said that young mothers are being done a great disservice being made to believe they can ‘do it all.’   Well, what is ‘doing it all?’  First I believe the Lord gave us all different personalities, abilities, measures of faith, and this list could go on and on.   What do you do with your day?  Do you sit around thinking about what you could do with your time, do you get onto group chats and discuss what you can’t do?  Do you spend an large amount of time listening to other people tell you what you could be doing?  Do you blog all day?  Do you {eeek} watch TV during the day?   Are you enrolled in countless activites for your children?  To get anything done, you must spend LARGE amounts of time at home.  I’m at home, tending my family and children and we all run our business.  We get things done.  We spend time to the fullest!

Taking care of children is a priority.  It cannot be ignorned at all.   But did you know your children can help you, at a certain age, run a business?  Did you know that your children can help you with dinner so you can finish that dress?  I like to think of my ‘doing it all list’ as things I’d like to learn as the Lord allows time.  I can tell you what, I’m NEVER bored.  I fill my time so full that I can confess it’s hard for me to rest.  I’m always busy.  Do you know that this habit has caused suspicion among women neighbors?  I’m a friendly person, but I’m not into standing in the street and talking about the doings of the neighborhood.  This has caused a certain amount of assumption about who I am among these women.  I am thinking of a verse!  I’m going to go look it up and I’ll post it. 

One thing I won’t be part of is a group of women claiming the Titus 2 ministry {please don’t be offended, I believe this is a small portion of groups out there} that sit around to console each other on what they can’t do during the day.    That isn’t encouragement!  That is depressing!  We are to spur one another on in being busy in the home!  A group that shows how to stay busy is up my alley.  My husband can help me with my bible study, I don’t need to be in a woman’s bible study group for that.  While it’s nice to have the fellowship of other women, I won’t saturate my time with it.  We can allote fellowship and hospitality just as much as alloting time to sew for our family, make homemade {from scratch} meals, learn a new life skill to teach to your daughters.  I’d like to encourage young women to not be afraid to say NO to that new group for toddlers, the new opening for help at church.  EVALUATE.  How can the Lord not bless you when you are tending to the most important thing He gave you, family and home.  One of the most frazzled times in my life was when I felt I had to minister to the church over my family.  I was a wreck, not completing their homeschool and neglecting time with my spouse.  I’m 41 and I’m still in the baby years, with our youngest being 3 months.   
Have you really read what the Proverbs woman did?  She was a busy woman at home.  She made and sold things.  She clothed her family {She seeketh wool and flax and worketh willingly with her hands; She is like the merchants’ ships; she bringeth her food from afar; She riseth also while it is night, and giveth meat to her household and a portion to her maidens; She considereth a field and buy it…Prov.31 } 
Read on yourself and tell me where it exempts a young woman from being too busy.  So, young mother, you cannot get that dress done in 2 days.  It’s going to take you 2 months, praise the Lord you are busy! 
In all love ladies, the Lord knew why we should pay mind to attending all things of the home.  We are busy or we are in danger of being busy bodies.       
Evaluate your time.  Our time is meant to be JOYOUS and filled with good things, praise, busyiness, trials, suffering, learning and a daily growing in the Lord.   And you know, perhaps you can enjoy that quiet tea party with your little ones when your home finds your feet there. 
So what is your day like?
In all love and grace, Theresa

I realized that the only way for me to truly have un-interruped time with the Lord was to rise early.  This was many many years ago when I only had two children.  Now with 10, my home is rarely silent.  Yes, we have a quiet time where the children are required to play quietly or read for an hour.  That’s not enough time for me!  My children rise at around 6:30 am.  If I get up at 4am, I have 2 1/2 hours of silence.  I love it. 
I cannot stand ‘worldly’ noise.  I was reading in A.W.  Tozer, one of my favorite chapters in the Pursuit of God.  He quotes:  “Whoever will listen will hear the speaking heaven.  …..Religion has accepted the monstrous heresy that noise, size, activity and bluster make a man dear to God…..To a people caught in the tempest of the last great conflict God says, “Be still, and know that I am God,” and still He says it as if He means to tell us that our strength and safety lie not in noise but in silence.”

I love that chapter.   We just can’t hear the Lord in constant noise.  He wants to talk to us, He is never silent.  I feel safe in that!  Whether it be radio, activity, T.V. {not often in our house, we haven’t had cable in 6 years}  Try a noise free afternoon and see where the Lord takes your thoughts.  Mothers’ need this!  Praying continually is easier when silence rules more often. 

Have a wonderful day listening, don’t talk too much, just listen.
Blessings, Theresa