Visible Pain

We live on a small post.  I'm not good with numbers...but it's small.  This past week a majority of the 173rd deployed.  It is a very visible pain.

The Lord saw fit to keep Timothy behind and we couldn't be more grateful for that blessing!  We just surpassed his one year mark returning home from his last deployment and if you haven't heard already, we are expecting baby #4!

It has been really hard to watch everyone go.  It has been even harder to watch the families left behind struggle through the first few days.  My heart hurts for them.  Tears have been shed for them.  It seems everywhere you turn there is someone else who's husband just left. 

In our three deployments I don't think we have ever felt the weight of a deployment like we do now.  For the first, we were only dating/engaged and I was no where near his post.  The second..I was in OK, he deployed out of TX.  At that time, I only knew one other woman who's husband deployed.  Our deployments overlapped for a bit, so we spent a lot of time together for a while.  :)  The most recent, back in Texas it was more of a reality.  There were many other ladies of the church that we went to who's husbands were military and they had either just come off a deployment or were going into a deployment within the next year. 

This past week not everyone was deployed, but out of the friends we have made so far, and the soldiers that have been coming over on the weekends...they have all gone.  All but one...and he leaves within the next two weeks. :( 

Again, I'm not great with numbers, but with the Unit that just left, and another Unit that is already gone, and one more about to leave, I would say it's safe to say that a majority of the post that is left are wives and children.

Even the chapel was more barren than normal this past Sunday and there seemed to be an unspoken weight that surrounded the morning.

In PWOC we have been going thru the Basic Series by Francis Chan.  This past week was the video on Fellowship and what God intended it to be; demonstrated in the early church.  There was a topic interwoven through the morning though that was obviously only orchestrated by God Himself.  Lonliness.  In a post this small, so far away from everything that is "familiar", a lot of women tend to pull into themselves and struggle with isolation and lonliness.  Add on top of that a deployment. 

For me, this truth seemed to cry out this past week.  The pain that is so real to this post became much more evident.

The pain is visible in the faces of the wives left behind. The wound is deep. In the last five days alone three new faces/names of women have been laid heavy on my heart as the Lord has revealed them to me. They are hurting. They are struggling.  They are crying out psalms of desperation.  Some are Christians.  Some of them are not.

Again I looked and saw all the oppression that was taking place under the sun:

I saw the tears of the oppressed—
and they have no comforter;
power was on the side of their oppressors—
and they have no comforter.  -Ecclesiastes 4:1

My heart wishes to take their pain away.  How can I possibly be a friend to all of them?!  How can I possibly serve all of them?!  But as another friend said recently in her blog, "I am not their Savior."  He is.  Such a great reminder that nothing I do for these women is as great as what He can give them.  Generally speaking, I can provide dinner, a playdate, and a listening ear.  He can provide a peace that surpasses all understanding (Phil 4:7).  He IS the great comfortor.  He is the great sustainer!

The Son (Jesus) is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him.  He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. (OUR SUSTAINER!)  And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him,  and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross. -Colossians 1:15-20

There is nothing greater than to be securely held in the arms of our Creator!

I just pray that we would be able to create a fellowship with everyone the Lord leads our way; leaving them more deeply aware of the Savior that He is.

For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being,  so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love,  may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge —that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. -Ephesians 3:14-21

 Even though my husband is here, I believe my heart will continue aching and I will be praying just as ferevently as the rest for the next 9 months to pass quickly!

A Project of Epic Proportions {Contacts}

Just in case you are wondering what this is all about you can check here for the Challenge and here for the Supplies!

We will actually be putting a section together this week!  I will randomly be choosing a section to organize; there is no rhyme or reason for it.  I wanted to start with a section though that I knew I could complete.  With that said we will be putting together the "Contacts" section of our binder this week!  Where you place this section in your binder is completely up to you!  I will probably put all my sections together and then arrange them how I want them.  (So thankful for the writable tab dividers so I can change my mind however many times I want!!)

I am going to link you up to a few specific documents that I choose to be most useful, but I will also give you some general links to look at if you want to search out something different.  There are also a few documents that I created myself, to meet my needs, that will be available for download as well.  If nothing you see fits your needs, you can easily make your own!   

Just a "few" other generals before we get started...When you find a printable you like I suggest downloading it to a folder on your computer so you can access it in the future.  For some, you might also choose to print out a few extras and put them all in your sheet protector so you have a few extras ready to use when needed.  Most printables are as you see them, and can't be edited.

 I am not concerned with all my pages looking similar.  Mine were created solely for purpose and not beauty. (Plus I'm too cheap to waste my colored ink. haha.)  If you want that consistency in your binder there are a few sites that I will link you to that have a common design on them.  With that said, I would also keep in mind if the design you are going with is one that is only going to need to be printed a handful of times, or, like for the calendar section, are you going to need a new sheet daily/weekly.  I have seen a few mention using the sheet protectors like dry erase boards as well.  So you might be able to print one page, and write on the sheet protector, so you can re-use the print off.  I have not tested this yet!  A lot of the sheets we will be using today are pretty basic, but later when we do the calendar and menu section there are some elaborate design choices!

Moving forward!

Taken from A Bowl Full Of Lemons here is a list you can consider when trying to figure out what numbers need to go in your contacts section:

Family

Friends

Neighbors

Doctors

Dentist

Vet

Insurance

Schools

Take-out

Work

Local Businesses

Coaches

Kids "friends" Parents

Gas, Electric, Water, Cable, Cell, Mortgage #'s

In my Contacts section...

Emergency Info page.  When deciding on this page consider what info you want on it.  I've seen a few where it has your Doctor's/Dentist's/etc phone number to call in case of Emergency as well.

• Finding Home has one available for download on her page.  Just click on the "Emergency Contact Information" and it will pull up the document.  You can print it off right from there or download it first. 
• Life Your Way has one as well.
• Our Portion  I created my own page for this.  Mainly because living overseas we have twice as many Emergency Numbers.  We have on-post and off-post.  And none of them are 911.  ;) 

Babysitter Information Sheet.   I am always scribbling notes to our babysitters (the three/four times a year we get to go out with bedtime routines, meals to eat, etc. This will be wonderful! I plan on printing a few and sliding them all in one protector for future use! I decided to go ahead and add this under my Contacts Section right next to my Emergency Contact page and that way if there is any problem while we are out and about they can just turn the page and know who to call, what our address is, etc.

• Life Your Way

Phone Directory. 

• Life Your Way - This one is simple and to the point.  I will be using this for all of our local contact/friend's numbers.  The ones that aren't necessarily in my address book.  We just have cheap little pre-paid phones and there is no Sim card or anything to it.  If, for whatever reason, it breaks or gets lost I don't have to stress about loosing all those numbers.

Phone Book. I highly doubt this is an option for you, but since our phone book for post is about 10 pages total I plan on hole punching the entire thing and clipping it in right behind my Phone Directory.   If there are certain places of business you seem to frequent I would consider just writing their number's on your Phone Directory too.

Our Homes.  Taking the lead from my parents I have created a page to record all of our addresses and the dates we lived there.  I previously had these written in our address book and it has come in handy a few times.  Certain applications, IE for buying a home, will want your last two/three places of residents, or something like that.  I simply can't remember them all.  This will be the first page of the Address Book Section.

• Our Portion.

Address Book.

• Again, Finding Home.
• Life Your Way.
• Organized Home
• Our Portion.  Again, I created my own simply for one little thing that I wanted an area for.  Since I'll be using this like an address book, but without the A-Z Tabs, I wanted an area to write what letter/letters I'll be using on that sheet.  IE.  We know a lot of "Bs" so I will probably need two or three pages for them and can just write the "B" in the top right corner.  On the other hand we don't know too many "X-Y-Zs", so those can all go on one sheet.  I can add more as needed but still keep it in Alphabetical Order. 

In considering the list above from A Bowl Full of Lemons the only other link I anticipate you might need for this section would be for Take-Out Numbers (I normally just saved these into my phone back in the states and we don't do a lot of take out over here.)  Finding Home or Life Your Way. 

We will be working on the Medical Section Next and that is where I plan to keep all of my Doctor's/Insurance phone numbers so I don't plan on putting them under Contacts.

So what do you think?  Easy enough, yes?  Let me know if you have any questions!

Homemade {Strawberry Lemonade}

If you remember about a week or so ago, we went to a local Strawberry Field to pick some of the amazing goodness right off the vine!  To be perfectly honest, we aren't HUGE strawberry eaters.  (Don't judge!)  I knew we would eat some of them, but probably not all.  I had plans to make a jam.  Finally got the pectin I needed, and a recipe from a friend, but then realized I had no jars to put it in.  I'll be working on that these next few weeks! 

Onto the next best thing...Strawberry Lemonade!!!  I have been using Pinterest more as a "Google" lately and after looking at a couple links I was able to find this great, yet very simple, recipe.

What you need:

A small container of fresh strawberries.  (I just filled one of our bigger breakfast bowls full.)

1 cup freshly squeezed Lemon Juice. (I used 6 lemons to get 1 cup of juice, but they were LARGE lemons.  I would also buy one or two extras just in case you have any....uhummm..spillage...uhummm)

1 cup of white sugar

6 cups of cool water

Wash the strawberries and cut off the green part.  In a blender add the strawberries, lemon juice, and sugar.  Blend till nice and smooth.  (I don't own a blender..again..no judging, but I do have a Bullet so I just did half at a time.)  Pour into a pitcher and add 6 cups of cool water.  Mix well and pour over ice to enjoy!!

This recipe makes a little over 1/2 gallon.  As I have never made homemade lemonade of any kind, I was a little nervous with how "frothy" it looked, but it tasted delicious!  Just make sure you shake/stir well before each serving as it tends to separate in the pitcher.  In our pitcher there is probably only enough left for one more glass, and we made it yesterday!  It's a perfect summer treat!

The only thing I would like to do different next time is find a use for all the lemon peel/meat I threw away!  I felt like I was wasting something that could have been put to better use.  If you have any great recipes/ideas to help me with that I'd love to hear!

Never A Good Time

There is never a good time for your computer to go on the fritz.  Tuesday afternoon, our computer decided to do something like this....

(Pic Credit)

I normally don't have a good "working" relationship with computers in general.  I've owned 3 desktops, and this is our 2nd laptop.  During the two years I worked at a bank, I went through 2 computers as well.  The "blue screen of death" and I are well aquainted; unfortunately.

This time it was a virus though.  It completely incapacitated the computer and it wouldn't allow me to restore to an earlier point, or connect to certain websites to try and fix the problem.  I've had similar problems in on our old laptop, but I was always able to restore to an earlier point and time; therefore saving some of my stuff.  No such grace this time.  One of Tim's friends who is good with computers was even over at the house and he said there was only one option.

I had to wipe it COMPLETELY! 

We lost 6 months worth of home videos which I hadn't burned to a DVD yet.  I lost about 20 recipes that I had recently typed up; about half of which didn't get printed since our printer has been tempermental lately and I'm not sure I can even go back and find the original source on some of them.  I lost more documents that I wrote up myself for the Home Management Binder I've been working on.  I lost my "Blog Stamp" that I just made and have been using for pictures.  (Threw together a quick one, but don't like it.)  And Tim lost all of his I-tunes music/videos.

It hurt a little.  Cried myself to bed while my husband held me.

That was about two days ago now.  It still hurts a little, but I also know it could have been much worse.  Thankfully, Tim bought me an external hard drive the last time he deployed so ALL of my pictures are stored on it.  I really try not to keep a lot on the desktop, just in case something like this happens, but I just hadn't gotten around to backing them up on the external yet.

In about 24 hours though I had most of the drivers reinstalled, and about 4/6 other programs that we use.  Now, I'm just trying to re-do one thing at a time without stressing about it.

Now that we've been hit, we know it's only a matter of time before it happens again.  After doing some asking around and research I think we are both convinced we need to buy a Mac next time around.  Hopefully this one will last till next tax season!!!

That Was Easy {Breakfast Granola}

Once again, another recipe I put off for no reason really.  I'm SO glad I finally did it!  It's super cheap, fast, and oh so yummy!  I used a recipe that my friend posted on her blog.  Here's what you need:

 

1 cup Quick Oats

1/2 cup slivered almonds

1/2 cup shredded coconut

3 TBls Vegetable Oil

2 TBls Honey

 

Preheat to 350.  Mix the Oats, almonds, and coconut in a bowl.  Mix the Oil and Honey in a separate bowl and pour over the oat mixture.  Stir it around to coat all the oats.  {I have been mixing my oil and honey in a small measuring cup.  I have also been using local honey which seems to be thicker so I'll pop it in the microwave for a few seconds to make it easier to blend with the oil.}

Pour onto a baking sheet with sides.  A jelly roll pan works well.  I have also been lining mine with Parchment Paper just in case.  Bake for 10 minutes.  Stir it around, then bake for another 8-10 minutes until browned.  Let it cool and store it in an air-tight container.

 

I doubled this recipe the first time I made it..with a little less almonds since that's all I had.  It was amazing!  The boys and I have been eating this for breakfast with Stonyfield's French Vanilla Organic Yogurt (the only yogurt you can buy in the "bulk" size at the Commissary, but I'm not complaining!)!  Ryan even requested it for breakfast the other morning, finishing off the little we had left!

We already made a second batch, and we tripled the recipe!  Honestly, the hardest part is not to eat all of it off the tray when it comes out of the oven!  SOOOOOO GOOOOOOD!!  (Thanks again Krystle for another great, simple recipe to use!!)  Just typing this up is making me hungry and I think I might go eat some right now!

A Dozen Reasons Not to Use Color Catchers

Have you heard of the Shout Color Catcher Sheets?  I can't remember where exactly, but I did hear they work amazingly well. 

(Picture source)

I had at one point thought about trying them out because it can take me anywhere around 20 minutes just to sort the laundry!  (Granted I only do laundry once a week; normally anywhere between 6-10 loads.)

It has become VERY clear the last three weeks that these are currently not an option for me!  The following are the "treasures" that I found in our laundry baskets the last few weeks.

1. Lego Ship
2. My Bible (Two weeks in a row.  I normally keep it on my nightstand.  It was there on Saturday and on Sunday when I went to get it for church, it was gone.)
3. A Pen
4. Dirty Tissue
5. A sock that was ripped in half. ??Really?? (My hubby's contribution)
6. Empty Gatorade bottle
7. Clean Tissue
8. Tennis Ball
9. Basketball
10. Football
11. Glow sticks
12. Embossing Glitter (Thankfully still in the jar with the lid closed!)

Most of these I'm 99% sure were Blaine's doing.

 

A Project of Epic Proportions {The Supplies}

I'm not going to lie. This project is expensive! And I'd much rather put the money towards fabric, or something prettier (which I do have plans to beautify these later!), but I know that this is what is needed. I believe it will be an investment worth making!  Besides, I have been giving the craft room, soon to be homeschool room, some overhauling and I made around $70 in selling some excess in the last two days! 

I will be ordering most of my supplies from Amazon.com up front for three reasons...#1 There isn't a large selection to choose from at our PX  #2  Paper in Europe is a different size. (Learned this the hard way and am currently having to chop all my printed pages!)  Meaning that pretty much any accessories I find on the economy will also be sized differently. and #3 Purely for my sanity.  Even if each section is completely organized I can hopefully "throw" the binders together and go back and work on each section as needed.  If you don't have the money up front though I would still continue with the challenge this week and then figure out what you can afford and buy what you think is needed most at this point.

Your challenge this week is to look at your Brainstorming list, organize it, and shop for supplies!  Similar to what you would do back in high school/college when writing an essay or an 11-Step Paragraph.  Decide how many main categories and sub categories you want.  How many binders do you want?  What do you need to make that section most functional?  You can look at my list from last week to see how I broke it down.  I'm certain I will be rearranging a few things once I get it in front of me, but your list should help to get you a good start on what supplies you will want to get.

Your number #1 item will definitely be a binder! 

These can get expensive all by themselves. I've seen 3" Binders from $12 all the way up to $22!!! I would check your local Good Will/Thrift Stores for some that you can find at a cheaper price. I didn't have such luck at our Thrift Store, but I did find these online for $6.99 a piece!  For two of my binders I'm also going with a 2" binder.  This could easily be something you only buy one of for now and save the money for the others.

Item #2: Sheet Protectors!!

Sheet protectors can also get expensive.  Tim and I seem to run through these like crazy.  The ones I saw at our PX were around $4.00 for 10!  There are tons of options on these, but I have found the main difference is the "weight".  The first ones shown are the Heavy Weight and are $12.97 for 100. The second ones I have pictured above are Economy Weight and are $9.97 for 100. Not too much difference in price, but the Heavyweight ones are stronger, not as flimsy, and should last longer.  I have some of the Economy weight ones I will probably use those in my Recipe Binder.  I will be putting a lot of my long-term information pages in these, but there will be a lot of papers that I will also just whole punch and throw in there.

Item #3:  A Printer! 

If you don't have an printer at home you can easily save any documents to a USB or disc and take them to your local Library or Office Supply Store.  Our printer has been quite temperamental lately and only decides to print some of the time.  (Not a good time for it to decide to do this!)  So I might be making a trip to our Library on occasion to get some of these pages printed.

Item #4: Dividers!

This is where it can get a bit confusing and having your outline will really help you to decide what you need!  I decided to go with Colored Dividers for my main categories, and White Tab Dividers for my Sub Categories.  I also decided on the 5 Tab sets for my main categories, and 8 Tab sets for my sub-categories.  The goal is to have to visuals in deciphering/aiding in separating each section...color and size of tabs.  (You're probably thinking I'm a bit crazy right now with the amount of thought that I've put into this.)  I also choose tabs that are Write-On!  I really don't like the plastic tabs where you slide in the little piece of card stock; they never seem to stay put!  The Write-On tabs aren't permanent either.  So if you decide you need to rearrange your binder you can just relabel your tabs!

These are the 5 Tab Colored Dividers for my Main Categories. I need 4 of them at $5.44 each!

Here are the 8 Tab White Dividers for my Sub Categories. I'm a little concerned about the long-term durability on these, but since I need 5 sets...the price of $3.03 a set beat the other ones I found for around $9 a set!

If you are adding a calender section to one of your binders you might want to get a set of these for $5.13.

Item #5:  Accessories!

These next two I'm super excited about!  Since I'm putting in a section for our budget and we use the cash system I'm getting these.  There are 20 pages for $5.33!!  I doubt I will need that many pages but I think these will be vital!  From the reviews I read a lot of couponers use these for their large, printed coupons.  You could add some to your coupon section, try to sell your excess to an avid couponer, or just split them with a friend!

I think this next item will also make a huge difference!  They are pocket tabs that you can add to one of your category dividers.  I plan on using one for my coupon section so when I get back from grocery shopping and I have a few extra coupons I can slip them in here until I have more time to sit down and file them away.  The best thing is that the pocket closes so nothing falls out!!  Right now I just have a regular brad folder with the side pockets.  I will slide any extra coupons in a side pocket and they will always fall out!

I will probably also use these to hold our passports/shot records.  I am also adding a Birthday/Special Events section to one of my binders, I think under the Calender section.  My mom used to have book specifically for holding cards for each month's events.  These will be great for holding cards and hopefully I can get back to sending them out on time!!   These are definitely on the pricey side at $8.15 for a pack of 5.  (I need 3 sets!  Ouch!)

 

If you don't already have a coupon book, but want to add a section you can use the ones listed above or buy some of these.  They are made to hold baseball cards, but work great for coupons!  You can normally find them in Walmart up in the front by the baseball cards!

Hopefully some of these items will help you decide what you need in your binder!  You might want to make a trip to Staples/Office Depot/Wal-mart just to see what's offered before you settle on buying anything.  (I say this bu I, myself, avoid errands as much as possible!) My shopping trip was through Amazon on two different nights.  I probably spent a total of about an hour and a-half, maybe two hours, on trying to find the right products for this project.  Hopefully the above links will save you some time!

Let me finish by saying that you can make this as simple, or as detailed, as you want.  I am obviously going with the more detailed version!  If you want to keep it simple, all you need is a binder, sheet protectors, and a printer.  If you wanted, you could make your own dividers with any extra cardstock you might have laying around your house.  Then you could just buy the pack of tabs that you can attach to a sheet protector.  There are tons of ways you can go about this, I've just shown you what I have found and will be using.

Happy shopping and let me know if you find something worth looking into!!

{All pictures courtesy of Amazon.com}

***Since getting my supplies....I think I overestimated the size of the 3" Binders!  Although I could probably fit everything I need in one---it is not something that I want to have open on my table everyday.  God put two 1 1/2 inch binders at $0.50 a piece at the Thrift Store this week just for me!!!  The size is much better!

One thing I'm quite disappointed with are the dividers..all of them for the most part.  I definitely love the sturdiness of the plastic ones and I love that all of tabs can be re-writable...but I can't see any of them!!!  After I put my pages in sheet protectors and then in the binders, the tabs are hidden by the sheet protectors and I can't see where anything is!!  Two solutions....my friend found some Xtra Wide Tabs Sheets that will stick out further than the protectors.  Look for these!!  Option #2 You can get the tabs that stick right to your sheet protector.  I don't think either of these are the re-writable ones, but will probably be looking for something different for the long haul.

To Deploy or Not To Deploy?

That has been the question of late!

If you remember, the morning after we arrived in Germany we were informed that Tim's Unit would be deploying in June.  Around March time frame they announced that not everyone from the Unit would be going.  Before they could say who was going, and who was staying, they needed to receive their mission specific orders so they would know who they needed to take.

For the last two months we have received a different answer almost every week.  One week it even changed three times within 24 hours!  As a result, Tim's B Bag (his duffel with some of his gear) was loaded onto the connex and shipped to the desert with everyone else's.  The next day he was told there was miscommunication about the MOS needed and he wasn't going.  That was about three weeks ago and since then the "message" we have gotten is that he is not going.

All the other soldier's have received their shots and cleared medical.  Tim didn't go.  All the other soldiers who are deploying started wearing their multi-cam uniforms to work last week.  (Nauseating to see in itself.)  Tim didn't.

While we are grateful for the opportunity for him to stay home we have struggled with alternate feelings like we are skimping out on a duty.  It is strange to have all of Tim's soldiers deploying; yet he is staying behind.  Don't get me (us) wrong.  We want Tim to stay.  We want to be a whole family unit.  Yet, there is something about being part of the Army and being called to a mission that brings up within you a sense of honor and duty that makes you want to serve as an active participant.  (At least for us!)  It has been a new/different circumstance that we are still trying to find a way to balance out our thoughts/feelings about it.

I know that there are a few other families that have been counting on Tim staying behind so that if something comes up they will have someone to call.  With Tim staying behind we hope to give the support to the other families that I/we received in abundance in Texas during Tim's last deployment.  While the situation has been different I know that the Lord is in charge and He has a plan and a purpose and that we can be a useful tool to serve those here in hopes to bring glory to Him.  We are coming to understand that our role in this deployment might be different than the last few.

All that being said...Another soldier came by the house at 12:45 PM this past Saturday and informed Tim that he is back on for deployment.  By the time you read this we are about one week out from them leaving.  This past week we have been doing our best for preparing for another deployment, but still with no 100% confirmation and no forward movement (from what it seems).  The only other thing we found out is that he would be in charge of a gun-truck, instead of working on vehicles.  This piece of news in itself gave myself a little throw-back to his first deployment and I could feel my heart starting to race thinking about it.  Throughout the week my mind would wonder, creating visions, bringing fear, and having to pray myself back to the reality of the moment.

Around 6 PM last night, Tim received a phone call from someone else and after asking around yesterday, he was told that Tim is NOT going.  (Keep in mind everytime we have heard anything "new" it has not come from the same person.  Not once.)


We've been "going with the flow" so far, but my emotions are starting to catch up with me.  And while I want to believe this, I'm not sure I can!!!  I want to hear it straight from the horse's mouth!  Not sure who that is though.

Sometimes it's so hard to wait for "the next step", to know how to prepare for what's coming.  Yet, I am reminded and comforted by the fact that my God knows.  He's known all along.   

"Do you know how God controls the clouds and makes his lightning flash?"  -Job 37:15

My God who can control the clouds, is more than capable of orchestrating this next season of our lives.  We are prepared to serve in whatever way he leads us, I just wish He would make it clear to the Army what He has already chosen for us!  :) 

The Strawberry Fields

This past Saturday we hooked up with some friends and we headed out to the Strawberry Fields!  There are a few different options around here, but this particular one is no more than 10 minutes away!  So much tastier and cheaper than the store bought ones too!!!! 

The 173rd Battalion Ball

On May 31st, Tim and I attended our 2nd Ball.  The first one we went to was right after his 1st Deployment and we weren't even married yet.  I was completely nervous and uncomfortable at the 1st and we went more for the sake of making an apperance.  We stayed for 10, maybe 15 minutes.

Since then, Tim has either been able to get out of them, or the Unit that he was with never had one.  Generally speaking, if you don't buy a ticket to go to the ball you (hubby that is) is put on duty to work at the ball.  A lot of husbands will go by themselves, but not stay all night, just to get out of the duty.  Sometimes it can be hard/expensive to find a dress/childcare and buy the tickets.  Tim going by himself was an option for us at one point.  The week they were selling tickets they had made an announcement during one of the formations that since the FRG had some extra funds they were going to sell the tickets at a discounted price.  This is where Tim decided to share, OUT LOUD, "I don't care about the tickets!  I've got three kids!  I can't afford childcare."  Or something to that affect.  The next day they came back and said that the FRG would cover the cost of childcare for the whole company.

At that point we kind of felt obligated to go.  :) 

I started searching for dresses.  Everything local was too expensive.  The cheapest I came across was $230 Euro!  That's over $300 US Dollars!!  I had some friends help me out and we went shopping online.  Long story short, I ordered two dresses and one of them fit better than the second needing only minor alterations in the straps.

 

The ball itself didn't go quite as planned.  First...I haven't been able to wear my contacts since we've been here.  I almost immediately start getting a headache once I put them in.  I had recently seen the doctor and he said that my eyes aren't producing enough oil or something.  I had been treating the problem for a week and was hoping that "today was going to be the day"!  Thursday morning I woke up with my right eye all red/swollen from allergies.  Bubble burst for me.  (I snuck my glasses off for the picture though!) 

Secondly...Tim was supposed to get off early on Thursday, and then have Friday off.  That Monday, he got slotted for a class that was scheduled for Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday.  We had originally hoped to get a few pics outside before the ball as well.  Tim didn't get home till about 5 PM and we were supposed to drop the boys off at the CDC between 5:30-5:45.  No time for pics.  Once we did get there everything was running late so we had to stand around for a while (but I didn't bring my camera with me).  Thankfully Tim's Chaplain and his wife were there so I had someone to chat with for a bit.  With Tim having to work on Friday, and Ryan having school we left even earlier than we had planned.  I think we left around 8:30 PM and they had JUST started serving dinner.  We came home got the boys in bed and had frozen pizza.  :)

Ryan was able to snap the one picture above for us once we got home.  :) 

 

I would be lying if I didn't say I was a bit disappointed with the way it turned out.  Maybe next time one comes around we will get to stay for dinner!  I think we will do our best to find an at-home babysitter as well.  As nice as it was to have the FRG cover the cost, we both agreed that it would have been more settling to know that they were at home and in bed.  All in all, our 2nd Ball was much better than our 1st!

That Was Easy! {Homemade Laundry Soap}

There are a few things that I have tried lately that leave me saying, "Well, that was easy!  Why didn't I do that sooner?!  Why did I put that off for so long?!"

Perfect example...Homemade Laundry Soap.

I didn't have the need to make my own for a while as we had gotten a large supply of soap "free" when we purchased a water-softening system for our home in Oklahoma.  I had run out shortly before we left Texas, but knew the movers would not move any liquids, so I just did store-bought the last few months. 

I was hesitant to try it since moving over here.  Not to mention that they don't even carry all the ingredients you need at the Commissary (and there's only 3 to choose from!)  My friend, Marque, though had already ordered what was needed and she shared the wealth!  I went out in search for 5 gallon buckets and was only able to find 2.5 gallon buckets.  But, it actually worked in our favor since we don't have a lot of extra storage space for a 5 gallon bucket and I can pick up the 2.5 gallon bucket!!!

I had previously marked my friend's blog for her recipe to use when I was ready, but since Marque had all the ingredients, she just measured out what I needed, wrote down her recipe for me, and I did the rest.

Even after having it handed over to me like that, I put it off for probably another week and a-half/two weeks.  I like to take my time on projects...especially when trying something new.  I'm always afraid I'm going to miss a step and mess something up.  I had other projects that required my full attention during nap time/after the boys' bedtime, so this one kept getting put off.  Finally, one Monday morning I told myself I'd just do it.  It probably took me about 15 minutes total!!!  Leaving me saying, "Well, that was easy!"

Here's the recipe we used (Keep in mind this is for 2.5 gallons!! So if you have a 5 gallon bucket just double it, or use the other recipe I listed)....

1 bar soap, grated  (A lot of other recipes will say Fels Naptha, but they don't carry that here so we used a bar of Ivory soap.)

1/2 cup washing soda  (they don't have that here either.)

1/2 cup borax

Easy enough...

1. Melt all your ingredients in a pan in 3 cups of water over medium heat
2. Pour into bucket and add water to make 2.5 gallons.  Stir.
3. Let it sit overnight to thicken.
4. Stir.  Fill empty bottle half full with detergent and half full with water.
5. Shake bottle well before each use.
6. Use 1/2 cup per load.

Makes about 180 loads!!!!

I've used it for the last two weeks and it seems to be working great! 

A Project of Epic Proportions {The Challenge}

The Home Management Binder!

Do you have one?  Ever heard of one?  I'm going to introduce you to them, and I am very confident that you will want one!  :)

It's been called different things, but most commonly referred to as the Home Management Binder.  Every person's binder will vary some as far as what it contains, but the core idea will remain the same.  The binder is designed to keep you organized and to keep the major parts of your life in one place to help everything run just a little bit smoother.

I am really excited about this project as I have wanted one of these for the last few years!  I am finding that I can't put it off any longer!  Now is the time!  It has quickly moved from somewhere toward the bottom of the project list to the top!  And I do believe that this is an EPIC project!

Still confused a bit on what it is?  Check here and here, then come back for the challenge!

I've done my research and I'm ready to start!  Taking the advice of one blogger, I'm going to work on this one section at a time per week until I get it done.  I'm REALLY hoping that some of you will do this with me!  I promise most of the leg work is already done for you!  I'll get you to where you need to go! 

Let me share with you a bit about my need for this book and hopefully it will help you understand it's purpose a little better.

I have an address book.  I have a Warner Barracks phone book.  I have a phone roster of numbers of friends/family back in the states.  I have a Calender.  I have a small address book just for online logins/passwords.  I have lots of various documents.  IE Grocery lists, information on traveling in Germany/Europe, information on the Klinikum (the German hospital), Cooking Tips, VAT forms (tax free forms we can use on the German economy, Praying for Your Husband chart, Budget, Orders, Marriage Resources, Thrift Store Consignment Account, papers/craft the kids make and I want to keep, etc, etc, etc.  I also have a Coupon Folder, a messy cookbook, a cash folder, multiple lists of projects/goals and the list goes on and on.  And guess what?!  None of them are in the same place!

I am ready for easy access to the information I need when I need it! 

  

We do have a filing cabinet that we use for a good amount of information, but I really think I'm going to like the binder instead!  Plus, if there is any type of emergency (for whatever reason)  all I have to do is grab the binder and go!

So have I won you over to this idea?!  Do you want one?!  If you want to make a binder your goal for this week is simply to brainstorm! (and maybe to set some money aside for materials.)

  

Think about all the information, loose papers, you have around your house.  I had a whole laundry basket full of stuff that needed to be sorted through.  By laying all of it out it helped me to see what I needed in my binder.  4 Binder's to be exact! (Don't freak out...we'll take it slow!)  Here's what I came up with....

  

Binder #1:

 (I might possibly break this into two folders.  One more for daily use/personal items, one for more "business" files.)

*Containing but not limited to*

1. Contacts.  *Emergency Info, Phone Book, and Address book
2. Calender.  *Birthdays and Special Events list, Monthly Overview, Weekly Goals
3. Medical.  *PCM info, shot records, glasses/contact prescriptions
4. Important Documents.  *Orders, POA, Birth Certificates, Passports, Titles
5. Finances. *Budget, Cash Folders, Bills, Acct Info
6. Projects.  *Short term/long term list, plans, shopping list
7. Blog.   *A place to jot down ideas.
8. Resources.  *On Motherhood, Marriage

Binder #2:

Food!  (This will probably be the binder that takes the longest!)

1. Grocery List
2. Weekly Menu
3. Tips/Good to know
4. Recipes.  To include a section for home cleaning recipes.  IE Laundry soap.
5. Coupons

Binder #3:

Living in Germany!  (Once we move back to the states I will probably condense this section and add it to the first binder, but I figured it has enough to stand on it's own at this point.)

1. Post resources
2. Local Bamberg
3. Travel
4. General

Binder #4:

Owner's Manuals (any and all owner's manuals, receipts, pics of serial #'s, etc!)

1. Furniture
2. Kitchen/Household Appliances
3. Electronics
4. Outdoor
5. Other

I'm still brainstorming on what to do with all of the boy's art projects/papers.  I've seen a few really cute ideas that I'm considering.  I currently file them in 3 ring binders, as well, but I can tell already that it's not going to last that way.  I'm pretty confident that I will also need a section or a binder of it's own for homeschooling.  I'm waiting till the homeschooling packet I ordered gets here before I make anything for it. 

In the meantime, my goal is to organize the rest.  Again, I would LOVE, LOVE, LOVE to have some company on this project!  Please let me know if you are going to do this!  Most of the print offs I will direct you to online, but there are a few things that I will make/have made myself and I can email them to you!

I can't tell you how excited I am about this project!  I really believe it's going to be life-altering!!!

Curtains {Kitchen}

I finished the kitchen curtains!!!!  Yay!! 

The idea process was a little more difficult. I knew I wanted something other than regular panels and I love the look of Roman Shades. Also, there is a track system above these windows, as in the rest of the house, but when speaking with a friend she brought up the fact that if I used the track the curtains would hang down and out to about mid-way of the sink. I couldn't use a tension bar inside the window sill because it wouldn't allow the windows to open. I remembered in Texas that we had a magnetic curtain rod on our front door. I thought I had it figured out and was ready to order one off of Amazon until I went over and stuck and magnet on the window frame and it fell off. My friend, Marque, and I made a trip to Schweinfurt one day and she spotted some sticky back curtain rods. $3.00 for one set! Yes please!! Now the stickies it came with didn't hold well, so I replaced them with the ones you use for the Command Hooks and they seem to be doing great!

The second part I had to figure out was how to get them to go up & down.  All of the DIY Roman Shade tutorials I found required a different rod at the top.  I threw a few ideas around in my head, but again, with the help of my friend Marque, ended up going with sew-on snaps.  I had some other snaps that requires a hammer, but since I didn't want them showing on the front side and I already sewed up all my hems, I went with the sew-on.  I found a small craft store in town and picked these up.

It's not the most convenient way; especially getting the top snaps hooked, but it works!  My MIL also told me about some type of bias-like tape I could add to the back that would allow me to pull them up & down.  I looked at one store and wasn't able to find what she was describing.  That same night I was sweating in my kitchen as I was cooking dinner and the sun was beating through and I became determined to just use what I had and get them hung! 

I didn't get any pics of the back/process.  If you have any questions though, let me know and I will do my best to explain it!  I think they are super cute and they were really easy.

I also used part of flat sheet to add a back to these curtains giving it that finished look!  Just in case you missed the tutorial I linked to earlier this week, here it is again!

Here they are all the way down!  It's so nice to be able to block that sun out while cooking dinner!!!

One snap up....

Two snaps/all the way up!

I'm excited to have done something a little different than just panels!  I'm also excited to have now two more projects done!  (Although, I'm pretty sure I've added about six more to my list!)


Make sure you check back Monday for the start of a MAJOR project that I'm hoping a few of you will join me in!

Photoshoot {Brian & Marque}

I got to do my first photo shoot in Germany!!!  Meet Brian, Marque, Liam, and Kelsie...

Crazy enough, I met Marque on the on-post bus a few weeks after we moved here in January.  Generally speaking, we seemed to keep the same schedules and we kept running into each other.  One thing led to another..(haha), we set up a play date, and wa-la....great friends!  I know the Lord had this friendship pre-appointed for me/us!

Liam is one year older than Ryan and they both love Legos.  Ms. Kelsie, as we call her, is also 3 and loves dressing up like a princess!  Her and Colin have become great friends and there aren't too many mornings that Colin doesn't ask if we can go to Ms. Kelsie's house.  (It's real convenient too since she lives right next to the Elementary School.)  Brian is in the same Unit as Tim, just a different company, and is currently scheduled to deploy sometime this month.

I tried choosing a few of my favorites.  It's always hard to narrow it down!



My heart aches as I know the pain and struggles they will face during the upcoming separation, but I'm so glad that I was able to do these photos for them!! I know they would appreciate your prayers!