Lighthouse Keepers

Writing lists, setting calendar reminders in my phone, planning things ahead of time...these are just a few things I do to help me prepare and organize my day-to-day tasks. I don’t prefer last-minute planning; it makes me feel stressed. I like to have goals to accomplish and to check them off when I’ve reached them. I like to organize my time and schedule accordingly. I’m a list-maker like I’ve already stated. I like structure and smooth sailing. Don’t throw spontaneity at me. I don’t like having the boat rocked. Don’t you think God knows all this about me? He wouldn’t throw me for a loop hole knowing I would feel stressed and overwhelmed, right? WRONG. November 9, 2016 is a day that all my organizing/preparing was ‘thrown out the window’. Our precious son was born at 2:27pm on November 9 - a whole 5 weeks EARLY according to ultrasound dates, etc. My iPhone calendar was filled with things to do each week BEFORE baby Carter was to arrive. I wanted to get...

"What on earth am I going to make for supper?" I'm pretty sure I'm not the only who has had this thought at 5pm :) I’ll let you in on a little secret, I don’t enjoy cooking. Oh, I’ll do it because it is definitely the healthier choice for myself and my family; and in the long run is less expensive. So, one way I have learned to “cope” with this, thanks to my amazing sister Sherry, is to cook for 2 weeks in one day! It’s a lot of work but so totally worth it! Things like this work different ways for different people. Here are a few things that have worked for us that we have learned along the way! 1. Start with a list .  If you have any sort of OCD this is the way to go. All ingredients listed, color coded, underlined, whatever works for you! Or you may be more free spirited and go with a simple straight forward list like this. Once you have all your ingredients together then its time to get started! 2. Prepare ingredients in bulk w...

Preserving food is a very cost effective way to store up food for times when produce is not as plentiful. In the culture and society that we live in, canning and preserving our own food is not even a necessity like it used to be. We can buy pretty well any type of food we want at any time of year. If you have the privilege of being able to grow your own garden, then growing produce that can be canned and preserved for winter, can help cut the cost of buying certain groceries. Storing up excess produce from the garden if you have one, or even bulk from a local farm or farmers market, is a great way to be to feed your family better food during the winter at a lower cost. My husband has challenged me to try and only buy the type of produce that is available in season. I don’t think that I’m up for that challenge. I’ll admit it, I’m too spoiled. The part of the country that we live in, reminds me of a few Biblical accounts where storing up food was necessary. God gave Noah the...

I don't know about the rest of you but I love Christmas! Its seems that every year, about the same time as the furnace kicks on , is when I start feeling excited. Christmas is coming! I know that many of you get overwhelmed with the holidays because there is often much to prepare. I'd like to try to offer a few tips and suggestions that might help to make things less stressful and therefore make the holidays more enjoyable. For the meal... Who says you always have to have a Turkey Dinner for the holidays? It is delicious but there's so many other things that are just as good. Try to think of a meal where you can do some of the prep work a day or two ahead of time. Or have a pot-luck. Maybe have it for supper and then have some of the guests help with the preparations or even bring it already prepared. I think everyone has one or two meals that seem to always turn out well. Why not make that? Even if its beans and rice! Snacks are always a favourite. Choco...

Preparing for the next season is something I enjoy. I like to think of how blessed we are, that we can enjoy 4 seasons in one year. Each one of them is so beautiful in their own way. Such variety, such beauty, and the sights and smells are so unique in their own time. Right now I'd like to just briefly share how I like to prepare for winter before it gets here.  "She is not afraid of the snow for her household:  for all her household are clothed with scarlet." Proverbs 31:  21 First of all, it's important to prepare myself, because so much of life is a matter of mind set. I need to think of ways to make beautiful memories during the cold and cloudy season of winter. Not that it's always that way, because there are also beautiful sunny days where the ice and snow make such neat patterns on the windows. The trees are so laden with ice. If we just take time to look around, winter is beautiful. I need to have that mind set. To prepare projects, ...