Update

It's been a while since I've posted anything. We have had some changes in our family and such since my last writing. My dear hubby's paternal grandfather passed away in May at the age of 90 years old. We then got the news we had been wanting to hear for awhile, we were able to move to another neighborhood with less crime and a better school zone. We were even able to find us a new church home to become active in.

normal?ha!

Webster's dictionary defines normal as "According to a rule or principle." (1828 edition). For many people that definition is fine and dandy. However this week, our family learned that for us we have to have a new definition of normal.
Before our youngest son diagnosed with medical problems including cardiological and pulmonary problems this past week, our normal pretty much seemed like most people's definition of normal. Now we have a new "normal" for us.
Our new normal includes trips to specialists, new medications, new routines, new people who are part of various groups and agencies, rearranging of schedules to accomodate things and asking a ton load of questions about what our son has. { We do know this much: he has reactive airway disease, a hole in his heart and some other lung problems that is preventing him from growing like he should. We will know more once he has more testing done)
Does this new normal hurt us? No it doesn't. Our family is learning to cope with this change in our lives.

Snow day

Today has been bitterly cold. It has been spitting snow most of the day. This got me to thinking about all the references to snow there are in God's Holy Word. There are three references that come to mind.
The first is in the book of Job;
"Hast thou entered into the treasures of the snow? or hast thou seen the treasures of the hail"
Job 38:22 (KJV)
A lot of people wouldn't consider snow and hail "treasures" but they are. God allows us the treasure of their beauty in the dark days of winter and the moisture they bring to the barren Earth. Moisture that in the spring will replenish God's Earth and bring forth new life in the green leaves, flowers and buds.
Snow is considered pure and white. This should be our hearts and our life styles. We have all come short of the glory of God but we can become like the snow, pure and white. David writes of this in Psalm 51:7;
"Wash me and I shall be whiter than snow" (KJV)
It is wonderful that our Heavenly Father allows us the mercy to be "washed" in His undying love and forgiveness. How would the world be different if we as Christians "washed" our fellow man that same way God "washes" us? I do believe that things would change for the better if everyone put this practice into effect.
Jesus promises us that even if we have sinned, He is ready and waiting for us to ask to be forgiven. Isaiah tells of this in Isaiah 1:18 ;
"Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow" (KJV)
So the next time you have a "snow day", give thanks to our wonderful Father for His blessings of not only snow but the promise of eternal life.

A typical day at our house

I thought that I would write about a typical day at our house. Not that we are a "typical" family like the Cleavers or the Nelsons. We are more like Malcolm in the Middle.
So here is a glimpse into my daily life with my beloved family
Our two year old son comes into the room and says "daddy, daddy" while going around the dh's side of the bed, By now the baby who is 10 months is usually awake and wanting to be taken out of his crib.The dh is out of bed at this point and I'm just starting to wake up some more. Everyone is up at this point and our four year old comes out wanting breakfast. Diapers are changed and the kids are dressed while my coffee is brewing(the dh doesn't do coffee). After coffee and breakfast the dh takes a shower and gets ready for his day. I get dressed then. One of us will straighten the kitchen and wipe off the dining room table.
Than we "help" the kids clean their room and make their beds. The two oldest ones like helping the dh and I make our full size bed. Then we straighten up the house, read books, play and other things until lunch time. We have lunch and clean up after lunch. We try and give naps after lunch but some days that doesn't happen. Oh well!
Then the afternoon is pretty much the same routine as the morning. We have supper. then it's baths,and bedtime for everyone. We're usually done done with our day around 10:00 pm. or so.
Are there days that the kids argue, fuss and fight? Of course there are but aren't there days we all feel that way? Just remember that we all have bad days and our children are no different. For a great article on this visit The No Greater Joy website and look for the following article :http://www.nogreaterjoy.org/topics/child-training/attitudes/article-display/archive////bad-days/?tx_ttnews%5BbackPID%5D=7. Shalom does a great job encouraging moms of little ones with her views on this exact problem. I decided to take her advice on a particularly bad day and guess what? IT WORKED!!! The dishes sat a little longer but hey everyone felt better afterwards...

denise

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to everyone. This blog will be all about getting organized for the new year since that seems to be a popular resolution. There are a ton of great sites on the web to use. I actually sat down and drew up a chart that listed all the members of our family and went from 6:30 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. broke into half hour segements. I then filled in the blanks (kind of like a MOTH schedule) and typed it up in Word using the tables feature. I am going to get printed on to heavy paper and am actually thinking about having it laminated to save wear and tear on it. If you think this will work for your family I suggest that for a day you write down everything that you do. Even if it doesn't seem important-this will help you see where you are wasting time and energy. Be sure to make sure that you leave some free time for those unexpected things that op up. Any special notes can be typed up underneath the schedule for referencing to. Also a master chore list is helpful so you can do your housekeeping in some kind of order
A good dayplanner is also needed if you truly want to get organized. I picked mine up at Wal-Mart for less than $10. It has a calculator, fill in yourself calendar section, including diary pages that break down into half hour increments from 8 am until 5 pm with extra blanks before 8am and after 5 pm., to do list section, personal information section,notes section, an address book (write your addresses in pencil to erase when the information changes) and a notepad. The company that made mine is called Plan Ahead.
Till next time...

Let's Get Organized

I hear a lot of mommies say " I just can't get organized!" I have come up with a chart that you can with my blessing use an example of how to organize your day, If you have more people in your family just add another page with the number of columns that you need. Just replace what I have in my boxes with what your family needs. If you need to add more hours do that also. It is just an idea for organizing your day to day life

Hodgson Daily Schedule



Set table
TV time
TV time
TV time
5:00p

Dinner
Dinner
Dinner
Dinner
Dinner
5:30p


Bath Time
Bath
Bath
Bath
6:00p


Dinner Clean Up
Free Time
Free time
Free Time
6:30p



Free Time
Free Time
Free Time
7:00p



Free Time
Free Time
Free Time
7:30p



Story
Story
Story
8:00p


House Cleaning
Bed Time
Bed Time
Bed Time

The First Entry....

Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.
Psalm 127:3 (KJV)

Yes, our children are a gift from the Lord, even on the days we feel like they're acting like the Devil himself. When we became mommies we didn't know quite what we were getting into. We all had questions about it. Even after having four blessings of my own, there are days I have to admit I want ask God "Am I doing a good job? I mean could I be doing a better job?" All I can do is trust in our Heavenly Father to show me the right way.




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