Springboard American - making money while doing fun surveys

I talked about how mostly our Christmas was free this year. Yes, you saw that right free. I try to do surveys and such throughout the year and get gift cards and such to buy gifts. I love Springboard America because they actually pay out money. This is one site that I actually enjoy most of the surveys as well. So if you are interested please comment with your email address and I will be happy to send you a invite. Please be sure to use a junk email address for all your freebie and survey site stuff. It is a great way to help your money stretch. :)

In Case You Think I Have It All Together

My morning has consisted of trying to get the kids to do their chores. We gave out new chores last night and even had the talk of no playing games until chores/school is done. So, usually when new chores are given out the kids do great for a few weeks but this time didn't even make it a day!!!!
  It is lunch time and so far my no yelling policy is out the door. I've had to tell them several times what to do. The baby won't sleep, the 2 yr old has been screaming about EVERYTHING! The 16 yr old is in a grouchy mood. While trying to do some reading with the struggling reader in the house it was like everyone lost their mind. See where I'm going with this. I do NOT nor have ever had it all together. But ya know what I'm doing the best I can and God loves me. Hey, that's what really matters, right.
   So while I'm writing this blog post everyone is hopefully finishing up their chores. Two yr old is eating lunch so he's FINALLY quite. Quite the word my struggling reader was having trouble with this morning. Mmmm, funny huh. Not so much to me right now. But I KNOW without a shadow of a doubt one day I will miss this. All of it! So, I'll sit here in pure exhaustion and rock this little baby because I know one day there will also be a last baby.
   No mother has it all together. Even though we like to portray we do but that's the beauty of forgiveness. I told my 4 yr old sorry for yelling at him. His response? "I love you, mama". Yes, as mommies we will mess up but our kids will forgive us. :)

  This actually makes me think about how God must feel with His children always throwing tantrums and getting into trouble. Wow, how He must feel!! Dear mamas , I understand how hard it is. But it IS worth it for His glory and honor. Totally worth it!!

Great places for great fashion

I know if you're a mom like me shopping is hard to come by. You can still look fashionable while ordering online. There are many sites online to look at. I love Pinterest for this because you can find sites that put outfits together for you. Poshmark that I blogged about last is a good one as well. :) We've gotten tons of cute stuff from there. Schoola is one that has great clothes for your kids. And don't forget to check out Amazon. We tend to forget Amazon for clothes but don't count them out as well as Kohls. I personally think I get better deals shopping online. Please reply and add the sites you like to shop fashionable, affordable clothes on.

Schoola!!! Get $20 free worth of clothes and money for a school of your choice!

Here is the link to get started.
https://www.schoola.com/?ref=sm-3X6mjkLC2
I have gotten all my free stuff so far and it was good condition stuff. :) Hey, free clothes and money to help schools.

Beech Nut baby food

 I usually make my own baby food for my kiddos but this season has found me very busy and just not much time for it. We still try to when we can from fresh fruits and veggies and Maddie is 7 months and while still nursing a lot loves her food. LOL.
    We are pleased with Beech Nut baby food. They had made great strides to move to more natural organic baby food and I am very pleased with that. I was not compensated for this review, lol, just feel health is very important and love to let other parents know the companies that really satisfy my family and our needs.
   Please share the products you love for your little ones and are pleased with the strides they've made to make it more organic!
   

Learning How To Take Care of Your Family

I've always said to others I talk about Young Living with that we need to know how to take care of ourselves and our family. But it has hit me like a brick wall the past several weeks!
      My daughter started with severe pain in her abdomin almost 4 weeks ago. A couple days later she started throwing up and since then she's done nothing but throw up. She's 16 and fairly healthy for the most part. After a couple days throwing up and being in pain we took her to the doctor. I was doing all the things I knew to do. He suspected maybe appendix like we did. He scheduled a Ultrasound to see.
   As most of you know I'm a mom to 11. I can't just up and run here and there. So
found someone to sit with the kids and off we went first thing that morning to get ultrasound. When we arrived we were asked if she was told to drink so many ounces of water. Um no, we were told she shouldn't eat or drink after midnight. So they gave her some water to drink while we waited. We finally got called back and the ultrasound tech asked us what was going on. We told her and she said she was not going to be able to see what needed to be seen on ultrasound and my daughter needed a CT. UGH! So , got in touch with doctors office and they ordered a CT even though they said you could see what needed to be seen on a ultrasound.( Mind you folks we are self pay, we have a Christian share health insurance). So then they said she needed to drink this drink and come back in like a hour. Okayyyyy.... so , I run home nurse the baby and go back. CT is done. Nothing shows up on CT. So the doctors office chalked it up to a bad virus. Which I knew it wasn't. I KNOW what to do for a virus.
     So another several days goes by and still throwing up. No better. We go BACK to the doctor and she is referred to a GI doctor. Said it is her gall bladder. So when we see this doctor he sends her for a Ultrasound. So, we already have done CT, blood work, and urine. Now, we are going back for what was originally ordered. She goes for her ultrasound. NO stones show up. So, the doctor seems stumped. He schedules more test and gives us our options which are mostly surgery. So we pray and pray some more.
   Decided to go to the doctor I go to for my thyroid issues. She seemed to think gall bladder probably too but checked for h pylori. Gave her meds and supplements to stop throwing up and to support the gall bladder. I had to call several times to get any help because she is still throwing up. They were suppose to call her in a different med last night for the throwing up and when we called to see if CVS had it... NOPE. So, surely it would be done today when I went to get groceries this morning.. Went by there, they didn't have a order. So..... talked to the doctors office again and went BACK to town. This medicine was $150!
    During all this the only thing she has really kept down totally is NingXia Red. It is a juice type thing from Young Living that has tons of nutrients, vitamins, and such. I honestly believe that is the ONLY reason she is not in the hospital. I have used several supplements and oils. I say all this to say I am super thankful for the research and knowledge I already had because we have been so lost as to what to do. Please learn ways to take care of your family naturally. I want to say so much more but I also want to not judge anyone we have had contact with during this whole journey started. Just please pray for our daughter to be healed and pray for wisdom for us and the doctors.
    I realize we live in a sinful world. We are going to get sick no matter what we do sometimes but knowing how to take care of someone you love is so very important!! After going through all of this I'm thankful I have my Lord and Savior to fall back on and I know He has big plans for my daughter. I'm thankful he left things here that we can take care of our families with!! To see your daughter throw everything up is horrible so when we realized she was keeping NingXia Red down I was so happy. God bless you all. We truly appreciate everyone who is praying.

How Did We Get So Selfish

  I have been thinking about this for a couple of days now. How as a society did we get so selfish? Like, when did it start? Reading history with my children it was not always that way. People looked out for each other, valued life, and saw marriage as sacred. It is very sad that all that has vanished.

  I am on a Christian moms page on facebook and someone asked the other day if it was better for a couple to stay married and miserable or separated and happy. First, that is just a sad question to begin with. Do you really think many years ago, the time before women's rights and all this political correctness people thought this way. And then even sadder were some of the answers. All we have to do is look to the bible for that answer. After all isn't it God's infallible Word! The Bible gives clear answers to this question. When we say our vows it is meant for a lifetime. But the bible gives specifics of the only reason for separation/divorce and that is abuse or cheating( and in the instance of cheating I think in some cases it can be reconciled).

  If a woman OR man for that matter is not happy in their marriage the first thing they should do is hit their knees in prayer. God did not design marriage for our happiness although that is a beautiful side effect. God designed marriage for His glory. No person on this earth can make us totally happy. ONLY God can feel that void. Hit your knees and then get in the Word. And then in our society we are always taught it is the other persons fault. To blame someone else for our problems. It is not our issue but many times if we start examining ourselves we will see not so pleasant things. So next I think I would work on myself and try to put your spouse first in your life. Many times this day and time people have too much going on with work and various things outside the home. It was NEVER meant to be this way. Your home comes first! If we start to put others first we will be surprised the change IN US.
 
  I am sure many women do not even know how to keep a house any longer or be a good wife and mother because there are no longer Titus 2 women teaching the younger women. There are no mentors and that is so sad but we can regain control of this. We can win the battle if we as Christian women work together. Share our passions and help each other instead of thinking we do not have the time. Yes, there are ALOT of things I would love to do outside my home in my community but at this time my kids need me. They are still little and we have homeschooling and everything else that is included in that but I can do the best I can. Even just this blog has reached people that I never dreamed it would make a impact on. So, pray and seek God's guidance on how to reach out to other moms and wives. Life is not all about us or our desires. My first and most important desire is to serve Christ and serve Him well. God bless you all in the journey. Times are hard but with Him nothing is impossible.

Large Family Hacks Part 3

Sorry I haven't been around lately. Husband hurt his back working and things have been hectic around here trying to get ready to start our homeschooling back. Anyhow I'm gonna finish this series.

Another great large family hack is LIST!
Seriously, list make a huge difference for me. I have a To Do List. Menu list for the upcoming week, which also includes a grocery list. I get lots more done if I make a to do list the night before. I include everything even working out. If it's not on the list it probably won't get done. Like my grocery list, if it isn't on there I probably won't get it.

Next would be a budget!
As you know if you're a large family things can get expensive. A budget is something I used to have down pat. I really need to go back and work on this. Use different things that will help you stay in your budget like coupons, sales, buying second hand,etc.... Be sure to put in your budget a line item for birthdays, holidays, and unexpected bills.


And I will be ending with a great thing to have. It's not really a hack but a God given gift. As a mother in a large family a valuable thing to have is a trusted friend. One who always has your back. Yes, your husband should be your best friend but you need someone who will support you. My bestest is a God given gift. She's been there for me during so many trials. I KNOW God gave her to me.

***Being a large family gets hard but there are things to make it easier. Always following and trusting in the Lord makes all the difference. He will take care of you.

Large Family Hacks Part 2

 Here is the 2nd part of my large family hacks post. Sorry it has taken so long for me to get to the second part but well...I have a large family who needs me. :)

This is 2 tables put together. We searched for a table big enough and couldn't find one we liked. So I loved this table so we bought two. Sooooo......next large family hack-put two tables together so the family can eat together. :)  Here you cannot see the table but this was the only picture I had. :) I have loved this!

The rest I really do not have pictures for. Two of our best investments is our 15 passenger van and our house. Both of which God gave to us. Without Him we would of never been able to afford either. It is amazing to me how God takes such good care of us. After having our 11th and with a few teenagers though our 15 passenger is getting packed, lol. Our house has a basement and thus goes into my next large family hack.

 A room where all the toys can go so they are not pulled out all over the house. We have our playroom in the basement, a few bigger toys like the dollhouse on the screen porch, and then one basket of baby toys and smaller toys in the living room for the youngest ones to play with. Having a place for everything really helps things.

 A good playground and a place to play outside is essential for our family. But really my kiddos just love to run in our front yard so having a big area is not a must , just somewhere for them to get outside. :) Kids need to get outside as much as possible.

(I have two kids humming in my ear on both sides at this time AND a baby crying so I will end this here)

Large Family Hacks Part 1

After having 11 kids I have realized and learned how to make my life easier somewhat. I have learned what is important to make my life run easier. Here are some of the things I would say are my biggest must haves. This will be part 1 as I do not have much time for blogging right now so I will break these up into several parts. Please feel free to ask me questions or add what you feel is your biggest help as a larger than average family. :)

 

My large laundry room is a must have for me. I so love my laundry room and its very functional. This is just half of it. On top of the counter is baskets I put my clean clothes in to fold and sort and underneath are bigger baskets for dirty clothes. Beside the picture out of sight is a cart where I sort most of all the kids clothes and they can just come get their clothes from there or have a buddy help them and put up the clothes( wished it always worked that smoothly, lol).
                                     

This idea I got from Pinterest and it has been a huge help. Every night or morning I bag the kids snacks and they can pick snacks from their bag during the day. When the snacks are gone out of their bag then that is it for the day. I try to do MOSTLY healthy snacks but as you see sometimes they get a small box of cereal. :) (No that is not wine behind the bags but NingXia Red from Young Living,lol)

And a must for me to get anything at all done during the newborn stage is my carriers. I love them and they allow me to get things done and also to go places it would otherwise be hard to go and do. I especially love them while grocery shopping because I usually have several little ones with me as well.

 

More to come later! :)

 

 

To the postpartum mom

First, I want to announce our baby girl is here!!! She was 10 days overdue but came in God's perfect timing. Our first baby that I was overdue with but a lot was going on so God knew exactly when she needed to be born.
   I want to write this blog post to postpartum moms. While I hope it will makes sense because I have so many thoughts jumbled in my mind and also have several little ones running around asking me question. First , I want to say how wonderful and beautiful having a new baby is. But what is not talked about it is how beautiful and wonderful it DOESN'T always feel. Feelings and our mind are strong things after having a baby. I am 2 weeks out from having my 11th child and you just forget how you feel afterwards. (Probably a good thing) While it is a super sweet time and a piece of heaven earth side it is also HARD! HORMONES are horrible and then I have a thyroid issue so that magnifys everything. Also I think the devil really tries to sneak in during this time. What destroys the devil and his message more than a family who loves the Lord so why wouldn't he attack us?
    The most important thing for ME I think during the postpartum period is to keep as positive as I can. Not saying a good cry doesn't help the soul sometimes either but remember how blessed I am and that things will heal and I WILL feel normal again. This time you can feel so lonely and that nobody cares about you. That my friend is your hormones raging. You ALWAYS have someone who cares , even if it is just the Lord. But I am sure you have a husband , or friends, or family who care deeply. Also you are gonna feel very, VERY unappreciated. Trust me on this one. I am there. BUT this is from the devil as well and really we do not strive for appreciation but to be a good and faithful servant. Right? Let me tell you a secret, God knows you are struggling and He sees everything you do. Every hard day, He is there! God is bigger!
    Tips for keeping positive.
-Have a good devotional book!
-PRAY and pray some more.
-Have a positive journal.( A sweet friend gave me a journal and it starts each page with things like What are you grateful for today, etc..)
-Stay in the Word!!!
-If possible have someone help you with things because when you get overwhelmed is when the hormones really go wild. ( Trust me I know)

 Remember this time goes so quickly. I know it doesn't feel that way but believe me YOU'RE GONNA MISS THIS so try to enjoy EVERY moment. Take in every little thing you can. Take lots of pictures because this time can get very blurry. And just be thankful and do the best you can. Rest and enjoy the miracle God gave you. After have many children I realize just how fleeting life is. While I have just had my 11th child , my first born (who were twins) are 18 and always busy doing something, mostly working. I miss the days of just playing with littles. Now I have older ones and younger ones and this season is much harder in many ways. Enjoy this time and remember your feelings are normal and they do matter. God hears you. Enjoy those precious babies!

Things I Have Learned from Being Pregnant Many Times

  First, yes I am still alive. I have just been so busy that I just have not had time to sit down to blog, much less to think. We have had so much going on including the sudden passing of my MIL. This pregnancy has been a stressful one to say the least but God has sustain me and given me encouragement to just keep on keeping on in various ways.

  I am 39.2 weeks pregnant with our 11th child. I have learned so much from being pregnant this many times.

1. Babies will come when they come. God's timing is always perfect(I am telling myself this because I am tired and weary and need to hear it myself). I have mostly always had my babies by now. But this little girl seems to want to hang out and be content inside.

2. EVERY SINGLE PREGNANCY is different. I know people are well meaning but nobody can tell you how YOUR pregnancy is going to be. IF you are like me then you definitely can't go by the textbooks.

3. EVERY pregnancy is a gift. I know when you are big and tired and cannot hardly function it actually feels more like a curse instead of a gift but it is so much of a gift. I could not imagine not being able to feel a baby grow inside of me or feel the baby move and kick. And just know that my body is being used to hopefully raise a human being that will some day make the world a little better place.

4. Having someone you can rely on during your pregnancy (even if it just to whine to ;) ) is an amazing gift from God and very important. And that could person could be your mom, spouse, midwife, friend, sister, whomever God has placed in your life. I am very thankful for the encouragement in mine.

5. Your body changes as you get older so your pregnancies when you are younger will most definitely be different than those of when you get older. Your health changes, hormones change, etc...

6. And I think with each pregnancy I have learned a bit about contentment. Just being content with  where you are. It may not be where YOU want to be( I'd love to be on the other side of this holding my precious little girl) but it is where GOD has you. He may be trying to teach you something.


  I cannot wait to hold our 11th child. To see what she looks like. She brings so much with her. We have had so much change in our life for about a year or since last summer. Her middle name will be Hope and that is what she brings. Hope for better times and I am so thankful God blessed us with this baby. To the tired and weary mom who is reading this, I understand. I understand the feeling of thinking you cannot go on another day but somehow I always do. God loves you and loves your family even more than you do. You CAN make it. Keep praying, stay in the Word, and just keep on keeping on. :) You are blessed!

God's grace

 We've been sick this week! I am not talking some minor cold sick, I mean really sick. Have you ever had 10 kids be sick almost at the same time. Takes a lot of grace from God to get through and I am so thankful for grace! This is the sickest we have been in 3 years. I think partly due to me sliding a little with our immune boosting stuff, but sometime in our lives we are bound to get sick(it's a part of living in a fallen world).
  I am 32 weeks pregnant with our 11th child and to say this week has been hard for me is a understatement BUT God have extended so much grace. I am exhausted and can hardly function but somehow everything that has NEEDED to be done has gotten done. AND since I have done a lot of research for a couple of years and helped others use their Young Living oils with success I knew pretty much what to use (with a little help from others ;) ) and we haven't had to make a trip to the doctor with anyone yet. :) I am pretty sure we have either had  the flu or RSV. And I know for a fact my 3 yr old had a nasty ear infection. I have a tool you can look in their ears and see for yourself(if you don't have this as a parent it's on my must haves list).
 
     God has used a sweet neighbor, friend, and the family we home church with. They brought us groceries and some warm food Monday. Then He used my bestest friend and her church to provide food yesterday. That allowed a little rest and for me to be able to just take care of sick little ones. My biggest helper has also been sick since yesterday but thankfully she has been able to still help a little and push through. For two nights I was on the couch with a couple of really sick little ones. God's grace is the ONLY way I made it through those nights. At your most hopeless times God always shows up. Never give up!

    Yes, I am exhausted. Yes, it's hard and I haven't complained because my poor husband and older sons have been sick with it AND having to work. My husband is the only provider of the family and owns his own business so he pretty much had no choice. He is so strong and I know only by the grace of God he has made it to work and gotten his work done.

 I know this too shall pass but as any mother will tell you taking care of little ones is hard when they are really sick. But another grace thing happened. My husband and I were able to get away last weekend for a anniversary/Valentine's day, before baby comes trip. Therefore I was able to come in this sickness week rested and having had time with the most special person on earth. How Great Is Our God!!

   If you could just say a quick prayer for our family. And thank you to everyone that has helped our family in one way or another. My sweet Annie woke up and was fine this morning but started with hives later on but thankfully Lavender oil cleared that right up. Many blessings to everyone that reads this and I pray you see God's grace in everyday life as well as the rough times.