Greetings!

Welcome to my blog.  I'm very new to this blogging thing, so if you stumble on this, I ask you for your grace as I figure out exactly how to work this thing.  I have such ideas, and am excited to have an outlet.  I just hope and pray that I can help and encourage fellow wives and mothers in a way that others have been so willing to help me in the past and present.  :)

First, I want to say that while I am directing this blog towards wives and/or stay at home moms, that I believe that we all can use some help in finding ways to make our homes more productive and homey.  I would like to share information that I have found out in the past 12 years that looking back, if I had know even a quarter of it, I know not only would I have benefited from it, but so would my family.

I married my husband when I was just a few months over 18 years old.  He was the only man that I dated while in high school, and despite my parents desires for me to go to college, become a doctor, and who knows what else, I just knew that I had to marry this man.  :)  Of course, looking back, I understand what my parents wanted for me, especially taking in the fact that my daughter is now 10 years old, and how quickly I could be facing the same prospect with her.  I believed back then, much like every 18 year old just chomping at the bit to break away from home to become their own person, that I knew all I had to maintain a home with my husband.  I grew up in a family of 4 children, and I was the oldest.  Needless to say, I had a crash course in domestics from a very early age, and I was the resident unpaid babysitter.  Little did I know, when I got married that I was fleeing that environment, only to be thrust into the very thing I was fleeing.

My husband was in the navy.  We were married just over 6 months, when he was deployed for 6 months.  More than half of the marriages in the navy end in divorce.  I am pleased, that while we had several ups and downs, our marriage survived those 5 years with countless deployments.  We have now been married 12 and a half years.  We have endured the same problems that others have, but we have kept our focus on God, and He has seen us through.  We now have 2 children.  A 10 year old daughter, Kathryn, and a 3 year old son, Jacob.  They give us such joy, and we thank God for entrusting us with them.  We rejoice in knowing that they were created and given to us because we are the perfect parents for them.  Not perfect in that we do no wrong, but perfect in that we are the parents that are who they need to grow and become what God has called them to be.  How amazing is it to know that we are just a piece in a much bigger part of God's wonderful plan for us all.

My husband has always been supportive of me staying home and taking care of our house and children.  He grew up in a very dysfunctional family that struggled for as long as he can remember.  He remembers spending his childhood in daycare, his parents working multiple jobs, and much of his memories of his youth are not exactly happy.  He had seen terrible things that most would agree that no child should have to see.  So, it was really a struggle for him to have a desire to get married and have a family.  Obviously, God had other plans for him.  While it took us a few years, we both finally came to the same understanding of what God wants our family to look like.   He wanted me to work in the beginning, which was fine when he was out to sea, but when he was in port, he wanted me to be home for him.  Understandable, but it was a pain.  I preferred to stay home all the time, but I didn't want to do the housework.  I'm not sure if it was just me rebelling against it all since I had already spent half my life running a house.  Finally, God took hold after many many arguments, and hasn't let go.

I now willingly care for my home.  While I may not like every little job that I have to do (I still HATE laundry), I  do so with a happy heart because I know that I am caring for my family.  I love knowing that I am able to be home waiting for my husband to come home to a home cooked meal after a long day at work.  He enjoys his role as provider and while isn't always happy with his job, is thankful that he has it, and is able to care for his wife and children.  We are now content in our family.  We have put God as the head of this family and He has made our paths straight.

Are there days where I just don't want to do the housework?  Of course.  Are there days that I don't do things?  Of course.  We all need breaks.  My husband has off on the weekends, and I think it's okay for a wife to take a day off as well.  Weekends are my time with my entire family.  Not just me and the kiddos.  I may not do laundry on the weekend.  The dishes may not get done right away.  It's okay.

Now, I've been rambling, but I really wanted to share a bit of testimony of what the Lord has done with us.  I pray the same for my readers.  God is good, and He can do amazing things in your families too.  One of the ways I have found to really enjoy my "job" is to find things that interest me.  Too often, housewives are considered to be boring and worthless.  It is quite the opposite.  We wear many hats.  We are maids, cooks, plumbers, repairmen, secretaries, business managers, babysitter/daycare workers, teachers, nurses/doctors, and the list goes on and on.  As a housewife, we have more variety in our jobs than we could ever get working outside the home.  I love to find ways to do things cheaply at home.  While I'm not always successful, I have found several ways that work for me.  I plan to use this blog to share those ideas as well.  I hope my readers will also comment and share their ideas as well.

I want to eventually have a homeschooling section, cooking section, household ideas, etc.  Like I said in the beginning, please bear with me for a bit.  There's a learning curve on this and I'm doing this to challenge myself.  I haven't figured everything out yet.  So, in the meantime, I'm excited to be starting this new endeavor.  I hope you enjoy your visit.  I hope you will save me to your favorites and come back.  I'm really looking forward to this.  Thanks for reading.  :)