Back from trip, reading, cleaning and striving for simple life....

We are back from our Thanksgiving trip. We had a wonderful time! We went to Nashville, TN.

It is a tradition in our family to head down there every Christmas season.

We went to Opry Mills mall....got some good deals....and saw Santa at Bass Pro....they always have a great Santa.

We were going to camp but the weather turned cold here and we had to winterize the camper before we had a chance to go so we stayed in an inexpensive hotel outside of town. It was clean and sufficient for our needs.

We saw ICE....a world carved by ICE...this year was the last year for the theme of Grinch. It is loads of fun but it is a little on the pricey side. I would gladly give up this part of the tradition but the kids won't dream of it. So we do without in other ways to be able to see ICE.

We always eat dinner at the Rainforest Cafe. We don't have one near our home so this is always a treat for the girls. They love it when the animals come "alive" and it "storms" in the restaurant. It is only once a year and it is something that thekids really look forward too. They understand that Nashville and the things we do there is all part of their Christmas presents.

We also visited Trinity Broadcasting Network's Trinity City. It was beautiful....and everything there is free...the movies....the tours....everything. Thank you Jesus that they are able to bless families in that way.

With all of the fun we had it is still so good to be home. Even the girls seemed to sigh a comfortable sigh when we walked through our door.

Home....there is no place like it.

Once we got back home, I dug in the fridge and got out the leftovers of our 23lb Tom Turkey. I chopped it up in the food processor and added mayo, a little garlic powder, salt, pepper, and relish. It made a yummy turkey salad. I then baked up some fresh rolls and opened a can of pork n beans. We had a nice dinner together and everyone ate their full. I made enough turkey salad to last us for several lunches this week.

Today I am going to take the leftover dark meat that I didn't use in the salad and mix it with some frozen mixed veggies and cream of mushroom soup and back it in the oven with a cracker crumb topping. I am going to pair it up with some dressing from Angel Food Ministries. (Once again I give a shout out to Angel Food Ministries! If you don't order your food from them....you should!) We will also eat the leftover rolls from last night's dinner. I will wait until later in the afternoon to cook though because after our large breakfast of sausage, gravy, biscuits and eggs we are all full to the brim.

Our church only has Sunday evening service so I will spend today getting caught up on a couple of household tasks and resting. I do have a baby shower to go to today but other than that I will be able to devote my entire day to my family and God.

House cleaning: Each week I change the sheets on the beds. I recommend that you spray your mattress and pillows with Odo-Ban (I get mine from Sam's Warehouse). And let it air out all day long then put your clean sheets back on in the evening. I have this thing about clean beds. I get the willy nillies when I sleep in a hotel bed or in anyone else's bed but my own because I don't know if they take the same pains that I do to keep the bedding clean and germ free. :-) Before we left for Nashville, I stripped the beds and sprayed them and let them air out while we were gone.

Another one of my "things" is the bathroom. I cannot stand a dirty bathroom. Now this is an ongoing challenge at my house with two kids, a hubby and me. I seem to be the only one that feels this way about the bathroom so I am constantly picking up and cleaning up behind my family. I keep the sink, counter and toilet clean with a general cleaner such as Lysol or PineSol. Then I spray these two with Odo-Ban which kills germs like you would not believe. Our tub is a bathfitter tub so I have to be careful about what I use to clean it. Once I am finished cleaning I take a lint free cloth and shine the faucets. The floor of my bathroom is old tile and even when clean it can look dirty. Plus it is white so it is constantly dirty. I take bleach water and pour on the floor and let it sit then I mop it up.It is the only thing that keeps it clean. Also about once a month I have to get on my hands and knees with an old toothbrush and scrub the grout between the tiles. But I know that my bathroom is clean and germ free. That makes me happy.

What are some of your Pet Peeves in your house? We all have them. The certain areas that simply must be kept clean or we loose our marbles.

Tomorrow is library day. Every Monday we head to the library here in town and load up on books to read during the week. I am an avid reader. Some people say that they don't have time to read. I simply don't understand that. I will make time. Of course I don't watch TV much at all so that helps. I will also stay up an extra hour after everyone goes to sleep if need be just to read my books. I like to read books about pioneering days and books about the old days. I like Janet Oake and of course I love Little House books and to read them with my kids. I also get my fair share of self help books about canning, cooking, farming, and taking care of my home. I enjoy reading these and get lots of good ideas from them. Today I will spend some time reading to the kids a couple of the books that we haven't read yet this week so they are ready to go back tomorrow and get replaced with new ones. I hope that I am cultivating a love of reading in my kids. It is a way of escape to other worlds, times, people and places. We can learn so much through books....I just love them.

I don't know how people can watch tv all the time. I have friends who it seems that their entire lives are surrounded by what comes on tv each night. They have their "shows" and they don't miss them. I would venture to say that they spend at least three hours a day watching tv...if not more. Now these are working women who are already away from their home for at least 8 hours a day. I just don't understand. I also know ladies who are SAHMs and their tv's never turn off. They are always on. It is a sad thing to see how people have wasted their lives away simply staring at a box. Think about it the next time you are watching tv. Your body goes in a sort of "sleep mode" and your eyes are fixed staring at a box in your living room. Idle hands.... my dear ones....idle hands. Imagine what you can be doing with that time. Why you could be playing a game with your children. Sitting with them while they play the piano. You could be talking to your husband, if you are lucky enough to have one that agrees with you regarding the TV...mine does not. He is one of those who sits and watches that box....constantly. When he gets up I check the chair for an egg....I figure one of these days he is bound to lay one as much as he sits. :-) But I can only choose for myself and my girls....he has to choose for himself. All I can do is pray. He says that my blogging is just the same....but I disagree. When I blog I write and read and learn ways to make my home better. It is not like watching tv....and I don't spend nearly the same amount of time on it either. Anyway back to what you could do instead of watch tv....you could be READING....ah those of you who can't find the time to read.....TURN OFF the TV. Spend time talking with your family, read with your family, BE with your family. Actually looking AT each other instead of at that box. Now don't get me wrong...I watch TV sometimes but mostly it is old movies with my kids and of course this time of year....Christmas movies.

Maybe if we stopped watching tv we would have time once again to visit with neighbors. We would have time to be the wives and mothers that God has called us to be. This world is so fast and so crazy....we need to make it a point to purposefully wind back the clock to a time more simple. I want my kids to grow up knowing the value of hard work, a loving mother who actually cooks for them, cleans for them and takes care of them. A mother who is seen busy at all times. I want them to recognize that it is only through hard work and prayer and reverance to the Lord that it is possible to be happy and healthy. We have lost this in the world today. People think they can just buy their way through. My children will learn to make do....sometimes out of necessity. I want them to know how to take a little and make a lot. They see me making bread instead of buying it, making biscuits instead of "popping" open the can. They see me grating my soap and making my detergent....not putting a bottle of Tide in my cart. They see me putting on the same clothes I have for years or the occasional $3 skirt at the Family Dollar if I have treated myself. They see me putting on the same tennis shoes because I only buy one pair a year....then they see the old pair be used for camping.

Now I am not perfect by no means but I am striving for perfection through Christ. I want them to have the gumption to strive for that when they get older too. Sometimes it is hard because my hubby is very worldly and he is a frivolous man. It is a good thing I guess that God paired us together...without him I would probably be on the extreme side and viewed as too "pioneer". Without me he would surely be in the poor house with his spending and would have a lazy modern way of thinking without me to add my sprinkle of striving for the "old ways".

So ladies make it a point to strive for the simple life. Strive for the hard working way of doing things. Don't take the easy way out. Take your loving mother hands and turn back the hands of the clock of father time to the good old yesterdays of our great great grandparents. Start at home and together we can make a change in this world of push a button, gotta have it now, stare at a box in your living room people.

We have to choose to live this way. Which way do you choose?