California's Wildfires

Here are a few pictures I took tonight to show you how bad our air is at the moment. You can see it really well at dusk. During the day it is just a haze. We are staying inside as much as we can and we have our air conditioner running to help with the air circulation in the house. Our dogs are also inside with us. Those of you that actually know us, we can't harm our animals either! Many of our neighbors haven't even brought their animals out of this air for whatever reason. I am just glad that today's winds were not as bad as yesterdays.


This information on this link is using data from yesterday. It has evacuated about 750,000 as of today. Here is a link to one of the many news stories being published.
California wildfires: Firestorm 2007

My family and I are safe at the moment. We are about a quarter mile from one of the evacuation centers. Without giving too much personal information about us through the internet, I can say that we will be safe through most of this huge ordeal. The Santa Anna winds are dying down and the humidity index is finally hitting double digits for us. There has been one life lost and about 21 injured. I am so thankful that it wasn't many many more considering the number of households evacuated and the number of houses lost.

Not blogging today or yesterday. We have many fires around our area so we are staying tuned in to the news stations in our area. Southern California has many fires that are destroying many homes and evacuating many people. I will blog again later this week after the fires have subsided. Have a good week to all of you! And to those who are already evacuated, stay safe and our prayers are with you!

An afternoon of fun!

Baby Girl decided she was going to help mommy sweep off the back patio yesterday evening. She sat down her "D" and got to work. ("D" being drink or sippy cup.) It was so cute of her. She thinks that she is really helping out and is really proud of that. Who am I to say that she is really just pushing around the grass?! I let her get her help as much as she wants. She helps with the dishes. She will put the dirty silverware into the bin and put the clean ones in the drawer. Now she won't put the clean ones in their little slotted spot, but she will at least put it in the right drawer! She helps with the laundry. I give her clothes to throw in the wash and she'll drop them in the washer. When we change loads, she will take the wet clothes I hand her and put them in the dryer. She's quite the Mommy's Helper!


Now, I do not know what possessed our son to come up with this idea, but it helps me out too. He is digging out the rocks out of my "garden". This is a planter box made for us to plant in. But you can tell that none of the occupants before us used it as such. Well, I plan to use it! What big plans I have for it too with little to no money! Lol. As the case is most of the time. He even got Daddy to help after dinner and a long day at his work! It's amazing what our kids can get us to do even when we are too tired to do anything on our own!


He was super excited about getting the rocks out! He wanted to keep doing it after his bath. He woke up this morning and that was the first thing he asked to do. He wanted to stay home from school and continue on his "work". That child of mine! He loves to help out in the yard. It's a shame that we are not allowed to plant in most of the yard. If it wasn't for this planter box, we wouldn't be allowed to plant anything! I had to take a picture of my husband in the yard too. He is not an Earth worker. When it comes to putting his hands in the dirt, he doesn't know what to do. And he will tell you that too. He is not shy about it. But he loves to watch me and our kids get in the dirt! We've been in this house a little more than a month now and this is about as far as we've gotten to getting out in the yard! Last weekend, we borrowed a friend's lawnmower and actually got to mow the yard. This yard is bigger than our last, so my hubby mowed it for me. It was a good thing. I probably wouldn't be able to walk for a couple of days afterwards. He was out of breath afterwards himself! The yard is bigger than it looks once you mow it.

Well, I'm off. Today is Friday. It's going to be a lazy day in the house until Big Man gets out of school. Then I may take them to the park. It all depends on how hot it gets today. We went yesterday and it was perfect. I don't expect that again today. I was looking on my weather bug thing and it calls for 80's here today. Yuck. I like it being cool like fall weather is suppose to be. I enjoy the coolness in the air. Anyway, have a wonderful weekend!

In my quest to try and get organized in our new home, I have finally gotten our pantry the way I can use it the most efficiently. I started out using the meager cabinets in our kitchen for the food. I used the pantry in our laundry room for the pans and stoneware that we use plus all extra food that didn't fit in our small kitchen. This did not work the best for us. So rather than try to fit all of our food stuff in the kitchen, I moved it all into the pantry and took the cabinet doors off.





As you can see in the bottom picture, there is an empty space. These two bottom shelves I am going to install a wire basket with a divide in each one so I can put potatoes in one side and my onions in the other. Since onions and potatoes should not be stored in the same place, this will keep them apart from each other. If you look really close, next to the tea containers you can see a clipboard. That holds the inventory for this pantry. I have already marked it with the quantities.

God is leading me to be more resourceful with our goods and to not waste. We have wasted so much that it has wasted our money too. He is showing me where I need the work and providing the links and/or books that shows me how to do what it is I am needing to do. He is amazing that way! Everything in its own time! With my 3rd child on the way, He is really showing me organization in a whole new light. Shows about many children have shown me how to organize in the kitchen. Martha Stewart is a huge help also. She has shown us how to be homemakers and to do things around the house efficiently and appropriately to the materials that our homes are made out of.

I still have 3 more closets to organize and inventory. The two downstairs closets that lead to the garage. One is a clothing closet with hanging rods and the other is a storage closet as it does not have any hanging rods. The other closet that needs to be organized is the upstairs linen closet. It is nothing but shelves. This will be the easiest of them all to organize and inventory. As this closet is also small.

Before I leave you all, I will provide a couple of organizing inspirational links for you to go to. The first one is Laura. Her blog is I'm an Organizing Junkie!. Another one I like to go to to get ideas is Marcia of Organising Queen.

Dear Sisters,

I love homemaking because my time is my own. I dictate how my day will go and that is an awesome thing in this world. Many high paid executives do not have the freedom that I have almost every day.

I love homemaking because yeast, water, and flour make the best smell in the world!

I love homemaking because I get to decorate a corner of God's Footstool in exactly the way I like it with total creative freedom. No other person on earth will decorate in quite the same way.

I love homemaking because my kids get to lick spoons and bowls and smile with whipped cream and sugar on their lips.

I love homemaking because I can sit and read to my children all day if I want with every pillow we own under us.

I love homemaking because my uniform is a simple apron. When I put it on I feel like my grandmother and want to do so many "homey" things for my family.

I love homemaking because I get to keep learning new things to make my home a special place for my kids and my husband. Last year I learned decoupage and tole painting. (Many things from a library book!)

I love homemaking because I get to work in my garden and cut beautiful plants from it to bring into my house.

I love homemaking because I get to listen to beautiful music all day long which causes me to think of my Savior and LORD. My work doesn't even seem like work with Him on my mind.

I love homemaking because I get to cook some of the most wonderful food on a slim budget causing me to give thanks and praise to Him who shows me the way.

I love homemaking because I can go to the library and check out other women's wisdom which inspires me in my own kitchen and home.

I love homemaking because I can stop my kids at any time of the day and say, "Let's pray."

I love homemaking because I can lay on my bed and have great talks with my kids about the LORD and life.

I love homemaking because I get to smell up my house with some of the best smells on earth: homemade bread, apple pie, fried chicken, baked beans, and cole slaw. And that's just one meal!

I love homemaking because I can feel the softness of yarn flowing through my fingers as I knit an aphgan for my kitchen chair.

I love homemaking because I can sit with other women and their babies and compare struggles and trials; then come away feeling so much better to handle my own babies and struggles and trials.

I love homemaking because I can look at each room in my house as a blank canvas to paint a beautiful picture on for my family. And slowly, here and there, I pick up the beautiful treasures at thrift shops or swap meets to make those canvases come alive with love.

I love homemaking because I create the atmosphere all day in my home. If I am at peace, they are at peace. And the King helps keep me at peace because I have spent time at His Throne in the early morning hours learning from Him.

I love homemaking because I have permission to fail while I learn. I have granted permission to myself recently which makes me feel a whole lot better about learning new things and not being afraid to fail.

I love homemaking because I can plan special little surprises for my husband that bring him such delight: homemade pickles that taste like Claussen's.

I love homemaking because I fill little mason jars with homemade jams and watch my kids open them in anticipation for breakfast.

I love homemaking because I can make lemon butter, scones, and devonshire cream for my daughter and all her little friends for "tea".

I love homemaking because all the little girls can dress up in hats that hang in my living room waiting for their next visit.

I love homemaking because when my kids are sick it is no inconvenience. I get to put them right to bed in their pajamas and bring them a "tea table" with a flower, tea, and some special treat to make them smile.

I love homemaking because I get to do things with beautiful fabrics.

I love homemaking because I can gather my kids in my room if I am sick and have them take care of me or just lay next to me and play.

I love homemaking because I get to cut my kids' hair and have them sit on a special stool I designed for them. Then I get the pleasure of looking at their hair for days knowing that I cut it.

I love homemaking because I get to scrub my floors by hand just the way my grandmother did. Then I get to tell everyone to stay off the floor just like she did.

I love homemaking because I get to hang out my clothes on the line just the way my mother did and smell the sweet air in them when they come back in the house.

I love homemaking because I get to stretch a budget beyond measure which gives me great joy to see so much done with so little.

I love homemaking because I get to put a fluffy feather down comforter on everyone's bed and run them out to the clothesline on a windy day.

I love homemaking because I get to smell a freshly bathed child.

I love homemaking because I can put a fresh tablecloth on my table and transform it into a fancy restaurant with a rose in the center.

I love homemaking because there is always a new recipe to try.

I love homemaking because I can cover up "holey rugs" with beautiful handmade throw rugs that someone's grandmother probably made.

I love homemaking because I can cover up stained couches with beautiful couch covers in a rose pattern my grandmother would have worn to church.

I love homemaking because I can sit in any room in my house and it is used to its fullest. No room is for show. Every room is pleasantly occupied.

I love homemaking because no one can make me laugh like my kids.

I love homemaking because I can grab my camera and capture three muddy kids in a moment.

I love homemaking because I can take full advantage of all the seasons. Summer, Fall, Winter, and Spring never get by me. I enjoy each immensely.

I love homemaking because I can bring home some of the best books in the world and know they will get read.

I love homemaking because I know my kids very well and can work with them like no other.

I love homemaking because if I am sick of being inside I can go outside.

And if I am sick of being outside I can go inside.

I love homemaking because I can kiss my kids thirty times a day if I want.

I love homemaking because the weather never affects my plans to stay home.

I love homemaking because it makes me more in awe of my mother, grandmother, and favorite aunts causing me to notice their work in great detail.

I love homemaking because my kids can get really dirty and jump in the tub before anyone's the wiser.

I love homemaking because I am the "LORD's Home Servant."

I love homemaking because no one can run this home like I can. No one knows that man of mine like I do. And no one can tell you about those kids that I live with like I can.

I love homemaking because I have time to light candles, put on soft music, and start a fire in the fireplace.

I love homemaking because I know where my kids are, and that gives me great peace because they are beside me.

I love homemaking because I get to be HOME.

I love homemaking because God called me to this job and I love it!!!!

Love,

Laine, called to be a Homemaker of God

Proverbs 31:10 Who can find a virtuous woman?
for her price is far above rubies.