Reclaiming my kitchen!

That's it. I've had it. I'm reclaiming my kitchen!
or more appropriately, my fridge.

The boys go in and take whatever they want..whenever they think they're hungry. It's getting ridiculous...and it's hard on my grocery budget. (my children are far from malnourished!)
The hardest part is remembering snack times, and making sure my oldest three remember not to walk in and take an apple whenever they feel like it.

I've made out a lunch & snack menu for Mon-Fri:
fruit is either apple, banana or orange..or applesauce

Monday-
snack (10am) pb on crackers
lunch (noon) cheese tortillas and fruit
snack (2pm) fruit and crackers, homemade yogurt

Tuesday-
snack-apple slices and string cheese
lunch- top ramen and baby carrots
snack-cream cheese graham crackers

Wed.-
S-pb crackers/cheese n crackers
L- tomato soup or pb and jelly sandwiches
S-fruit/crackers/yogurt

Thurs-
S-raisins/fruit/dry cereal
L- hot dogs on buns, pickle slice
S- string cheese and popcorn

Fri-
S- meat and cheese on crackers
L- grilled cheese sandwiches and applesauce
S- yogurt and fruit

C.H.Spurgeon..Morning by Morning-Aug.17th

August 17th
The mercy of God."—Psalm 52:8.

Meditate a little on this mercy of the Lord. It is tender mercy. With gentle, loving touch, He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds. He is as gracious in the manner of His mercy as in the matter of it. It is great mercy. There is nothing little in God; His mercy is like Himself—it is infinite. You cannot measure it. His mercy is so great that it forgives great sins to great sinners, after great lengths of time, and then gives great favours and great privileges, and raises us up to great enjoyments in the great heaven of the great God. It is undeserved mercy, as indeed all true mercy must be, for deserved mercy is only a misnomer for justice. There was no right on the sinner's part to the kind consideration of the Most High; had the rebel been doomed at once to eternal fire he would have richly merited the doom, and if delivered from wrath, sovereign love alone has found a cause, for there was none in the sinner himself. It is rich mercy. Some things are great, but have little efficacy in them, but this mercy is a cordial to your drooping spirits; a golden ointment to your bleeding wounds; a heavenly bandage to your broken bones; a royal chariot for your weary feet; a bosom of love for your trembling heart. It is manifold mercy. As Bunyan says, "All the flowers in God's garden are double." There is no single mercy. You may think you have but one mercy, but you shall find it to be a whole cluster of mercies. It is abounding mercy. Millions have received it, yet far from its being exhausted; it is as fresh, as full, and as free as ever. It is unfailing mercy. It will never leave thee. If mercy be thy friend, mercy will be with thee in temptation to keep thee from yielding; with thee in trouble to prevent thee from sinking; with thee living to be the light and life of thy countenance; and with thee dying to be the joy of thy soul when earthly comfort is ebbing fast.

The crew..

Mom used to do crosswords to keep her mind sharp, from being on chemo. She was pretty good at them! She'd bring some with her when she came to visit. I tried one, but I stink at them!
When she wasn't in the room..I flipped thru her book, and wrote things in various places, such as .."I love you".."I miss you"..."Kisses"..."Hope to see you soon!"..

Well..when Christmas came around she sent me one with sweet notes written throughout it.

While I was cleaning out my homeschool shelf the other day, I came across that crossword book. I'd been doing pretty well..and feeling pretty good. Then to see her handwriting again..and the words.."To Andee Beth! I love you"...and various notes throughout it. The last page said.."I'll see you soon! I hope!"

13 days --8/6/08

It's been 13 days since Mama passed on.
I've been up and down. More up than down, though. Yesterday was not a good day for me. I cried twice. I can hear her voice in my mind. And then my eyes sting because I realize I won't hear that anymore (here on earth).

Her celebration of life service is on the 30th of this month. And I can't be there. But I'm going to write something.
I haven't even started it yet. That's so not like me..but I can't bring myself to write it yet. How do I put my emotions/thoughts/memories into words? I want to honor my mom, and honor the Lord.

I started a book by Randy Alcorn titled Heaven. It's very good. Totally blows away any preconceived ideas I had about Heaven. I really want to buy a few copies..but they are pricey.

I'm having a hard time getting back into a routine. With 6 little ones, and homeschooling..I just have no motivation to teach. I'm having a hard time in that area...praying the Lord to help me.