Show & Tell: My Post-Partum Link Party

Because I've been in my post-partum stay-close-to-home mode (translate that to: "I've been spending a lot of time reading on the computer while feeding and snuggling with my son"), I've got a lot of links for you this time. (And, unashamedly, as a proud mom, I'm showing off a few recent pictures of my kiddos.) Enjoy!

FEATURED ARTICLE

• KNOWING GOD'S WILL- Randy Alcorn gives excellent advice about discerning the will of God-- that it's often more about who we're becoming than what we're doing.

CONCEIVING & HAVING BABIES

• Eighty-five cent pregnancy tests - SERIOUSLY! 85 CENTS!!! If you're trying or hoping or think you'll need them, this price is incredible! They also have a good price on ovulation tests, if you're so inclined.
  
• Mars Hill's summary of birth control options: Mark Driscoll's sermon on this issue is worth listening to... but this summary also includes lots of great reading material and links (at the bottom of the page) worth perusing if you're reading up about or making decisions about family size, sex, abortion, and birth control.
• Jobs will wait; babies won't.
• Doug Wilson has written a very interesting (and I think, very balanced) article about Birth Control
  
• Martin Luther King's niece, Alveda, speaks about abortion. She writes, "King once said, 'The Negro cannot win as long as he is willing to sacrifice the lives of his children for comfort and safety.' How can the “Dream” survive if we murder the children? Every aborted baby is like a slave in the womb of his or her mother. The mother decides his or her fate."
• The Haze Continues to Lift: Catherine's thoughts on having had an abortion 10 years ago
  
• Planned Parenthood's slogan says "Every child a wanted child". Although their approach is entirely wrong, the slogan is something we can all agree on- every child is wanted (if not by the bio mom, there are hundreds of adoptive parents waiting in line).
  
• Ted Turner calls for a two-child-per-family limit.
  
• Having more than two children is selfish and sinful?
  
• Three Kids? You Showoffs! Big families are now a growing status symbol among the very rich. This article (though it is seemingly written in support of larger families) contributes to the problem by perpetuating the idea that it must be expensive to raise children.
• The "What Ifs" of Adoption
• Breastfeeding videos: These links can show you what a good latch on looks like, and help you hear and identify problems in latching on/breastfeeding. What a great resource for nursing moms!
• In whose best interest is this, exactly? Stories from a foster-to-adoptive mom about visits with biological parents during the waiting period until the adoption is finalized. (Very insightful and worth the read!)
  

MARRIAGE

• Complementarian Singles: How Can I Prepare For Marriage? A great article about God-honoring singleness as you wait
  
• Be content when he is home; Be content when he is not. A great word on contentment for wives whose husbands travel or work a lot. (Be sure to check out her reading list at the bottom of her site-- GREAT recommendations!)
• How a Wife Should Respond to Her Husband: Bethany shares helpful notes for wives from a marriage conference
  
• When Blending Families, Mix Well. Terry shares from her own experiences about blending a family in a way that honors God, strengthens the marriage, and solidifies the family unit.
• Why it Kills to Keep Up with the Joneses
• Shacking Up- why couples who live together fare worse once married (this is an insightful interview with Mike McManus, a man I met almost ten years ago, who runs "Marriage Savers"-- a non-profit organization focused on marriage).
  

RAISING & EDUCATING OUR CHILDREN

• Why do parents need to be united in their parenting?
  
• Third-culture kids: This is what you end up with when you live overseas-- children who don't really identify fully with their "first" culture, or their "second" culture-- so they end up forming their own. John Piper put out a list of great ideas about how to relate to and serve "TCK's".
• Raising Missions-Minded Children
• How long should a homeschool day be?
• Good old-fashioned homeschooling: Why having too many options can actually harm the homeschooled family... and why a return to simple home schooling may be in order when we feel overwhelmed or stressed.
  
• Finding support as a homeschool mom
• Washington Post: The real cost of government-run schools- it is shocking how much money is spent per child with such a poor outcome in government schools. No business would be able to continue running if they had such lousy returns on the investment.
  
• Ever considered: What if public schools were abolished? A fascinating (and I think, realistic) view of what would happen in our society if government no longer meddled with the education of America's children.

FOOD

• Bakeshop Blueberry Muffins
• How to Make Cinnamon Sugar (and chocolate cinnamon!)
• List of all label "aliases" for MSG- for those of you who are allergic or try to avoid it
  

BLOGGING/WRITING

• Five tips from C.S. Lewis about pithy, worthwhile writing (and talking).
• Twelve ways to improve your blog
  

MISCELLANEOUS

• Heterosexual Roommates: Now that homosexuality is so rampant on college campuses, dating couples and boy/girl casual friends are asking, "so why can't we be roommates?" So now it's "pick your own roommate", male or female, on some college campuses.
• Divided We Stand: What do religious conservatives do without a political candidate "of their own"? We're about to find out.
• Is it OK to Look? The truth about pornography
• CPS investigates because family has "too many kids", and- *gasp* -their kids "do dishes"- Folks, the government's intrusion into our lives as citizens are getting more and more absurd.
  
• Olympics-- Shut Up and Compete: Randy Alcorn weighs in with thoughts about the upcoming Beijing Olympics, in light of human rights violations and the persecuted church.
• Feminism Run Amok on the Soccer Field
• Did Jesus Spend Saturday Night (before Resurrection Sunday) in Hell? John Piper says "no."
• The "Poison" of Computer Gaming-- [Are you all noticing more and more families being negatively affected by this? I sure am! I'd love to hear from you if you have thoughts about video/online games and what our response as Christian families should be!]
• Why I Left Greenpeace: from one of the founders- this is a great example of what can happen when our zeal trumps our love for truth
  
• How to help your grieving friend: practical ideas from a hurting mom
• Listeners' Bible: Free mp3 downloads of John, Philippians, and Ephesians
• Barak Obama: A wolf in sheep's clothing, says Voddie Baucham-- a candid examination of Obama's record on abortion
  

GOOD FOR A LAUGH

• Tim Hawkins: GPS for life

I've received lots of "thank you"s over the months for these show & tell posts, so full of links and reading material. But then I know these are overwhelming for some of you. I have to confess, I love seeing all the "out-clicks" on my sitemeter after posting one of these posts... it's so neat for me to see these great articles all being read and (hopefully) useful for you. It is a passion of mine to point people in the direction of good information/resources that will help women and families to honor God more.

Please feel free to e-mail me if there are particular topics you'd like to see more links about, or if there are articles you find that might be worth including in my show & tell posts in the future! Additionally, if there are things I could do to make these links more useful for you, let me know!

Thanks-- and happy reading!

Show & Tell: The Mother "Load" of Links

Goodness gracious, ladies. I have a HEAP of links to share with you. You'll just have to browse and pick from them because there are just too many (I think I must've been compiling them from the past month, er, um... year). But do pick some. They're all so good.

First up, Heather wrote this post: My (Mis) Perceptions which aptly sums up some things I've been thinking and feeling lately... about the way we get settled in our opinions and views.

*** Also, I've updated my songs down at the bottom of this page, so there are some great new songs (I kept some of the same ones though!) and a couple of mini-sermons for you to listen to as you browse! ***


BEING WIFE & MOMMY: links on wifelihood and motherhood--

• The modern view of motherhood: Kelly sounds off after reading this celebrity quote: "After three months with a newborn and a toddler I was happy to go back to work."
• "Yes, He's Still Nursing": breastfeeding facts and encouragement (I'm about four weeks away from re-joining the ranks of nursing moms!)
  
• The Cost of Raising Children: The problem with these sorts of figures (which are actually lower than what is often quoted in parenting magazines) is that they don't take into account the fact that my 3.5 year-old son is now wearing clothes that his big brother wore two years ago and that his soon-to-be-born brother will wear in another two years or so. My 21-month old daughter is reading books that have already been enjoyed (and continue to be enjoyed) by her older siblings. These types of costs are one-time costs, no matter HOW many kids you have. If you have two, they can be used twice (even if you have one boy and one girl, there are many toys and things like strollers that can be used by both genders), and if you have seventeen children (like the Duggars), there's no telling how many times things can be used!
  
• The Business of Being Born- a new documentary that's coming out about childbirth and modern hospitals-- really seems like an interesting film (headed up by Ricki Lake-- remember her?! ) Read one blogger's review of the movie.
• Cultivating Wise Habits- Amy reminds us to be careful with what we do and don't do, and particularly in the habits we form.
  
• Life With Boys- Renee always has such fun insights from her life with 11 children. Here's a fun and right-on post about life as a mommy with little guys running around.
• Marriage: An Idol?- Is it wrong for a single woman to desperately WANT marriage?
• Bible Story Books: Al Mohler's recommendations for children's Bible books.
• WORDS OF LIFE: Gina shares some penetrating questions about how to measure our words against Scripture, as we speak to our children, to our husbands, and to the world around us.
  
• Adopt Or Have My Own?- Candace @ Boundless thinks through this question posed by a reader.
• Watching Your Child Grow Up... on the Internet: "modern" moms and their technological dilemnas (what a sad commentary this is on how feminism has changed families in America!)
  

THE BODY OF CHRIST: links on faith & Christianity--

• The "State of the Church"- WOW! June has put together some fascinating statistics about the American church.
• Persecution Ought Never to Strike Us as Strange
• Families Worshiping Together: John and Noel Piper share their thoughts on weekly church and how to involve your children in this time.
  
• Finding the Perfect Church
• EXCESS: Sara has some challenging words to help us to examine our lifestyles, and where we spend our money, time, and energy! (If you don't regularly read Sara's blog, you're missing out-- what a gem!)
• HEALTH & WEALTH teaching- WOW~ John Piper's view on prosperity gospel "preaching"
• Church Gets Fined for NOT Hiring Gay Man as Pastor- Folks, be on your guard-- this is where things are heading... when a church can't abide by Scriptural guidelines without being taken to task by the courts, we are in serious trouble.
  

ABORTION: links on the murder of babies--

• TERM-inology: examining late-term abortion & partial birth abortion
• KNOW THE FACTS ABOUT ABORTION: John Piper encourages us to be informed about abortion and gives some helpful links so that you can "get informed"!
• How I Became Pro-Life- This former pro-choice athiest shares her VERY interesting story.
  
• When Abortion Is Just "A Choice"- many abortionists would have you believe that most or all abortions are out of desperation (and many are), but there are those who abort simply because they can.
• How much of America has been aborted? Sallie shared a great visual that gives you a picture of how BIG abortion is... how many of "us" we've murdered carrying out this "right" called abortion.
  
• What CAN unborn babies feel? This is a FASCINATING article about fetal pain, and it has strong implications for abortion "rights".

POTUS 2008: links about the Presidential election (potus= President Of The United States)

• The Five Stages of McCain- an interesting analysis of the changes many have gone through in the last month or so, when considering McCain as a candidate
• What Has Obama Done? Chris Matthews asks this not-so-difficult question to someone who ought to have had a ready answer... it's almost painful to watch.
• Election '08: Idealism Vs. Pragmatism- Terry gives some great analysis to the choices we'll all have to make, both now and in November in the voting booth.
  

MISCELLANEOUS: links that are totally random & totally (in my view) worth your time--

• Reflexology Foot Map- tells you where to massage for which ailments/parts of your body you want to target. I had a killer sinus infection last month, and Doug worked wonders just by rubbing where it told him to. (This isn't anything New-Agey... just an amazing way our bodies work!)
• Make Your Own Laundry Detergent. And spend pennies to the dollar. Seriously.
  
• What I Learned From Watching Sex & the City- One student shares his views on modern sexuality and what Christians' response to our culture ought to be.
• Spring Cleaning? Cost-saving tips for cleaning your home!
• Dating-- Mark Driscoll tackles this issue (and many other interesting ones, like Birth Control, in his series on Nine Christian Misconceptions) with straightforward biblical truth. I really like his style-- I have been listening to him a LOT lately.
  
• Make an adorable toddler dress from hubby's old dress shirts!
  
• DEMOGRAPHIC WINTER-- PLEASE watch this trailer for this film. The "overpopulation" myth has long been debunked, but the fact that traditional families are fading has serious implications for our society and our world. Check out this article about "Demographic Winter": Low Birth Rate Kills Economy, Society.
• I HATE LEFTOVERS: Practical tips for not letting food go to waste.
• Chicken Pocket Sandwiches- here's the recipe for the food I referenced on my pre-baby preparation post the other day.
  

LEVITY: links to make you laugh--

• DOs and DON'Ts with Babies- pictures included.
  
• How to Get Rid of a Stoner Son- for those of you with drug-using adult-escents in your home (or those of you who just want to giggle).
• THE GIANT HAIRBALL- I'm not kidding; I wish I was. You've got to see it to believe it. (Warning: don't click this one if you're eating!)
  

As always, happy reading! This may or may not be the last one I do for a while, seeing as how I've got a baby due in, oh, about three and a half weeks. ;-) We'll see. Regardless, these links should keep you nice and busy!

Show & Tell: All About Variety

Sometimes I pick a "theme" for my show & tell posts... well, this one is all over the map. Pick the things you want to read about, and skip the things you don't... but these are all things that are interesting to me... hopefully some of them will catch your eye, too! ;)

• HEAVEN: I want to go THERE! - a personal account of how reading Randy Alcorn's "Heaven" greatly increased one Christian's desire for and excitement about Heaven.
  
• When controversy strikes over worship styles: CappuccinoMom writes about it in a post called Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs
• The familiarity of an idea: how we go from rejection to acceptance of new ideas as they become more familiar. She's talking about cloth toilet paper, but I think it can go for any number of things: family size, cloth diapering, homeschooling, etc.
• Bill Cosby on parenting & education
  
• An abortion counselor on how she counsels Christian women who come to her for abortions: "God knows what's in your heart."
  
• Still trying to decide what Christmas gift to get for the Christian men in your life? GirlTalk compiled a list of books that Christian men would likely love to read... (I should confess: I skipped over this post, thinking it wasn't a good list, and then my loving husband forwarded me the link as a little hint, hint. So perhaps your husband would like it too.) ;)
• Looking for quality children's books? This blog may give you some new ideas.
• What kind of toys should we buy for boys? And for girls? Shouldn't they (at least sometimes) be different?
  
• Modesty Check: A Titus 2 woman gives us a great way to check our motives and dress modestly.
• How homeschooling instills leadership. Independent learning, creativity, and faith are all strong positives that come from the homeschool environment.
• Big Brother at School: Don't leave your children's education to the government-- how 19th century Democrats addressed this issue of government involvement in public education- and some things we ought to think about now.
  
• "I prefer someone else's kisses": how premarital sexual experience can harm one's chances for marriage, or one's happiness in marriage. Just something to think about.
• The beauty of routine when a new baby enters the family: though this is a controversial issue, I can't say enough how thankful I am for having a basic routine with each of my babies... it makes our lives more predictable and makes everyone in the family happier when there's a general order to things. You can see more of my thoughts on this in the comments of the linked post.
  
• The dreaded "Christian Table": One waiter shares his thoughts on how Christians often come across to waiters/waitresses... something to keep in mind! (Personal note: I can still remember hating to get the Sunday afternoon shift when I waited tables in college... many times, tables of six or more --obviously having come straight from church, with dress clothes and bulletins in sight-- would leave horrible tips and have terrible attitudes. Once I got 86 cents as a tip from a table of seven people... we, as Christians, need to consider that we are indeed watched, particularly on Sunday afternoons, and use that as a time to honor, rather than dishonor, the name of Christ by how we interact with those who wait on us.)
• They ARE a handful: Kelly shares about the responsibilities and rewards of children-- and how people applaud women who work themselves to death for the good of a beloved cause or candidate or company, but pity mothers who are working heartily to raise godly children.
• Are large families and ministry incompatible?
• Ever asked a kid, "what do you want to be when you grow up?" Elisabeth Elliot challenged me (and Amy) with some thoughts about that question.
• Victoria doesn't keep her "Secret" very well: Where do we as Christians draw the line?
• Some things to consider during the holiday season

FREE BOOKS:
Two ways to get free books... no joke, folks. FREE. BOOKS.

• Here are some excellent books available FOR FREE online. These are electronic format books by John Piper, Wayne Grudem, Dennis Rainey, and more.
  
• Library GIVEAWAY: Encyclopedia Kevinannica is giving away free books, videos, and music for Christmas. No hidden costs, no switch-a-roo... go check it out!
  

POLITICS:
You all may have noticed... my guy's on the rise (that would be Huckabee!) ;). It's getting exciting to see others agreeing with what I've known for years-- that Mike Huckabee will make a phenomenal President! Here are some interesting recent news items:

• Bill O'Reilly and Dick Morris, an astute political adviser and observer, do a run-down of the current Republican race... it's an interesting segment- and only takes 5 minutes to watch. If you want to get up to speed on what's happening in the Republican race, this is a great video to get you there.
• Huckabee's $327,000 vs. Romney's $7 million. Huckabee is #1 in Iowa, where Romney has long been thought to have the race "wrapped up" (remember? Thompson, Giuliani, and McCain didn't even bother to do anything in Iowa for the straw poll because it was thought to be totally "Romney country".) Now Huckabee's the one to watch, and he's doing it in a fiscally restrained way--( i.e., he's the frugal candidate), which I personally like. I don't want a President who goes through money like crazy, and Romney certainly doesn't seem to know how to get "bang" for his bucks. Huckabee does.

MAKE YOUR OWN/DIY HOUSEWIFERY:

• Make your own cloth table napkins. What a lovely way to cut down on your family's consumption and add a pretty element to your dinner table.
• Dispense with disposables. -An excellent run-down of various ways you can reduce your family's trash through the use of cloth or other reusable materials in your home.
• Some plants you should consider growing
  
• Rag Quilting- I've never heard of this, but I think it's absolutely adorable. If you're wanting a simple, or first-time quilting project, I think this might just be it.
• Redecorating for FREE!- Find new uses for old things... Mary shares some great tips

{Editor's note: if you are a man or don't want to know about personal female hygiene, stop reading now. I mean it. Stop. Don't go blaming me if you read any further and then get embarrassed or squeamish about what you read. Are you still reading? SERIOUSLY? EVEN AFTER I WARNED YOU?!?!? Well, stop. Now. Consider yourself fully warned.}


FEMININE HYGIENE

Ladies, over the last year, I've been introduced to some new thoughts about feminine hygiene products for *that* time of the month, and I wanted to share them with you here. I'm not going to go on and on... but you can read about these things for yourself and get your own ideas.

I just want to say that many of my friends have had decreased cycle strength/bleeding, hugely decreased cramping, and less hormonal/PMS stuff because of switching from the over-the-counter disposable ladies' products to natural products. The bleach and certain chemicals in the disposable products may cause increased cycle strength and cramping, and I have too many friends that have happily "made the switch" with great physical/hormonal results to think that it's just coincidence. Here are some great links to check out:

• A personal favorite of mine-- mess and odor free: The DivaCup
  
• Cloth menstrual pads in three different varieties: Professionally made, personally made (by a homeschooling friend of mine), and homemade. Take your pick.

Health-wise, financially speaking, and environmentally, I think more women ought to consider these options. Maybe you'll agree. ;)


And finally, something fun to end the "Show and Tell": MUSICOVERY- what a FUN way to blast back to your past and hear some old tunes. You can click on the decade, click on your mood, and away you go, hearing tunes you may have forgotten (for me, it was Milli Vanilli and some 80's and 90's one-hit wonders)

Show & Tell: September Highlights

Here are some great links on a wide range of topics that I've found over the last month. Have fun perusing and picking out a few to read/chew on/enjoy!

Children/Pregnancy

• How to Pray For Our Children- Amy wrote an article FULL of biblical passages we can use to pray for the children God gives to us
• Pregnancy, Cancer, and God's Perfect Design- Why our bodies function better when we buck societal norms (as we recently discussed here @ Making Home).
• Sallie Field doesn't speak for all moms- You may have heard about Field's crude remark at a recent awards show that if moms "ruled the world" there would be no ******* wars. This is an informed and interesting response to the thoughtless spewage that comes out of Hollywood in forms like the comment from Ms. Field.
• New Mom Denied Extra Time in Medical Licensing Exam: She asked, and was denied, the option to have special accommodations to pump breastmilk for her infant in the middle of a medical licensing exam. There are so many subtleties and issues to examine in this one; I don't know where to start. (1) Couldn't she have postponed her taking of the test until she didn't need to pump as often?, (2) Is this discrimination against women or would it truly be unfair for her to take regular, 40-minute breaks to pump throughout the testing period?, (3) does anyone else find it ironic that, in this situation, the MEDICAL community is making it more difficult for a woman to breastfeed? I'd love to hear your thoughts about this article in the comments!
  
• Children Are Bad For the Planet- The article begins: "HAVING large families should be frowned upon as an environmental misdemeanour..." and on it goes. (Please note: I will now happily accept all frowns that anyone wants to send our way for our misdemeanor of loving and receiving children into our family... I'd rather have a few frowns than to disregard my own conscience as informed by the Word of God.)
  
• Marketing PG/PG-13 Movies to Children- Christine presents a compelling case that reveals how the movie industry aims to draw children into higher ratings through series, trilogies, and careful target marketing.
• Education As Discipleship- Voddie Bauchum (This is one incredible man- I had the privilege of hearing him preach in person in 1999, and have enjoyed learning from him ever since) has written a treatise for why to homeschool, particularly in the early years... here's an excerpt:

"Let me be clear; I applaud men and women whom God has called to teach in government schools. These people are front-line warriors and many of them need to be right where they are. However, there is a big difference between sending “fully trained” disciples into enemy territory and sending our recruits to our enemy’s training camp. If we do the latter, we shouldn’t be surprised when our children come home wearing the enemy’s uniform and charging the hill of our home while waving an enemy flag."

• Meaning of Life: Monty Python's hilarious look at labor/delivery in a hospital! (Thankfully, none of my experiences have been anywhere CLOSE to this... but it is SO good for a laugh!)

Family Life

• Christian Family Embraces Organic Farming- I had to highlight this, because we actually bought meat and cheeses from this family for the entirety of our time in America at the beginning of this year. We also got to meet them, visit with them over a potluck meal, and take a hayride tour of their farm... they're a really neat family with a great vision for how to "do" family in a totally different way than many Americans do these days.
• How I Do It With Kids- Causabon's book (a GREAT thought-provoking resource for simplifying your life) provides a funny look at REAL life with kids vs. the perfection that's often presented online! :)
• You CAN Stay Home! - Kelly has written a great several-part series for motivation and ideas about how you can stay at home with your children.

Food for Thought

• Chapter One of "Jim and Caspar Go To Church"- You may find yourself buying the book once you read this online... it's a book written by a Christian and an atheist who attended a variety of denominations and kinds of churches across America and the conversations and insights they gained from each experience. An insightful look at Christianity in America.
• Embryo Adoption: There are an estimated unwanted 100,000 babies in cold storage in deep freeze units around America. Hundreds of these babies have been adopted and born (even after being frozen as a 6-celled blastocyst for FOURTEEN years--imagine asking that kid how old he is... "well, uh, that's an interesting question..."). Seriously, though: GO and read about it. You'll be amazed, as I've been, the more I've looked into this issue. While there are over 400,000 babies currently frozen for these treatments, about 75% of those are still possibly going to be "used" by their parents in hopes of having a baby, leaving approximately 100,000 unwanted babies that will not be used and will otherwise be discarded. But some couples are electing to adopt these embryos... it's an absolutely eye-opening look into ethical issues surrounding IVF and embryo creation for fertility issues.
  
• Vaccines and their ingredients: You may be surprised (as I was!) to learn that aborted human fetal tissue is an ingredient in many mainstream vaccines. Take a look and make an informed choice about these issues from now on.
• Enamored With Skirts- Interesting ideas about not only the wearing of skirts, but the "WHY"s of dressing the way we dress as women!
• A funny video/song about the 2008 Election
• CLICK ON THIS ONE: Randy Alcorn on Faith in Generation X
  

Actual Food, for Eating

• Twice-Baked Potatoes- YUM! I made a big batch of these and froze more than twenty of them (as she points out, no chives if you freeze em!) to have for future meals!
• Make Your Own Spice Rub- for great grilling flavor; sounds delicious!

A final fun link, just because I like it so much:

CHECK OUT THIS FABRIC. IS IT NOT BEAUTIFUL?!?! I can just see it as the lining, collar, and trim on a cute little girl's dress, or as detailing on a beautiful purse. Or to sew into the most happy, fun skirt for Maranatha to twirl and twirl in. Ooh... if only I had tons of money to buy fun fabrics and have them shipped here! :)


And, like always, a final laugh: Mrs. Brigham originally shared this cartoon (at right) about "udderfeeding in public"!

Show and Tell: Unpacking Some O' the Things On My Mind

HOUSEWIFERY & BIBLICAL WOMANHOOD:

• VINEGAR!!! I have been adding in a little vinegar to each load of whites I do, and I am really astounded at how much the "gray" that can sometimes set in (particularly to underwear/bra stitching and the like) just comes right out with a little vinegar added to the wash! Here's a link to a great article about many uses for vinegar: I Heart Vinegar.
  
• Encouragement for any wife or mom: HE SEES.
• STUFF! Overwhelmed with an abundance of knick-knacks, junk, toys, and boxes of who-knows-what? Pop over to Sara's place to get motivated to deal with your stuff!
• What Does the Bible Say About Modesty? An interesting look at the modest heart, by Min The Gap.
  

PARENTING:

• Let me share with you a post full with WISE thoughts on biblical parenting in an age of pop-child-psychology and worldly parenting methodologies. My friend has been burdened by an increase in the use of labels and medication when dealing with good old-fashioned sinful problems in children. I think her post is dead-on, and we Christian parents need more of this truth in our hearts and minds.
• Family Scripture Memorization: (I got this link from another blog, so you may have already seen it, but I just wanted to encourage you to begin doing this as a family.) Take less than 5 minutes a day and read through a passage together, memorizing it one line at a time. Over the course of a month (easy, possibly less), that passage will be written on the hearts and minds of your family. We have begun memorizing Psalm 1 together as a family, and my heart has already been encouraged by the questions and conversations it has spurred on.
• The Contempt Shown to Parents of Large Families- Until we told people that we were expecting our third baby (two years ago), I hadn't experienced this level of interpersonal rudeness over any issue in my life. Now that I'm pregnant again, some of the responses have convinced me all the more that this article is often, sadly, true. Should God give us another child at some point in the future, I find myself wanting to wait to tell certain people about it until we call them from the hospital when he/she is born. And sadly, that's not a joke; I'm entirely serious.
• Having griped about the negative response we sometimes get about the size of our "brood", let me echo Amy's words, celebrating God's faithfulness, in her series, "LIFE WITH THREE UNDER THREE".
  
• For those of you who have asked, I found a website for analyzing your children's MBTI personality types. It helps narrow down the options and is less specific for younger children (since, as I mentioned, it is much more difficult to "type" a young child).
• Radical environmentalism at its worst: saving the earth from children? How about instead being a steward of the earth FOR our children?!
• I'd never heard of this woman or this song until I visited this site... and no, I'm not typically a fan of country music, but this song is EXTREMELY touching and speaks volumes about the value of each precious child, in a very poignant way.
• A mom of seven offers a challenge for birth control proponents: What good thing on the planet is purposely prevented? (An interesting question and discussion... you can read my comments and conversation with the author if you scroll down). I've always thought this is a good question in general to make people think about how they view children.
  
• Okay, now for a little levity: (warning, not for young readers or for old readers who may be offended by a little language)- I can't vouch for the entire site, but this woman is hilarious in her no-holds-barred critiques of baby names!
  

COOKING:

• Musings of a Housewife has shared a PB CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE recipe
• EmmyJMommy shared four of her favorite, delicious recipes (the BREAKFAST PIE & CHICKEN CORN CHOWDER sound particularly good!)
• Tamara (of "Of Noble Character"- which she has- I can vouch for her!) offered up a scrumptious-sounding recipe for Zucchini Bread.
• M4-D Ranch Recipes: This woman has got a wide variety of recipes that sound absolutely delicious!
• A simple pasta sauce recipe to use up extra tomatoes!
  
• Looking for some new recipes or new ideas to add to your weekly menu? Here's a great website that tells you the recipe, what to shop for, all the options you can add in to each meal/recipe, and is FREE: Menus4Moms

ODDS AND ENDS:

• Alex & Brett Harris, those guys who started the Rebelution, have joined the ever-growing camp of Huckabee supporters. CHECK OUT THIS VIDEO they put together of Huckabee's message, from debates, interviews, and speeches. It's the best I've seen.
• HIJACKERS! Post hijackers, that is! Read it and see if you are one! :)
• To spew or not to spew? Everyday Mommy suggests that humorous bloggers should use a little icon to warn readers that they may not want to drink beverages while reading their posts. I second this motion! If your post is going to be hilarious, give us a little warning: PUT DOWN THE DRINKS! (And you know who you are, dcrmom!)
• Why is Hollywood Afraid of Abortions? by Al Mohler
  
• Here's an interesting article about friendships among women. A quote from one of my favorite authors is included in this article: "C.S. Lewis says that we know we've made a friend when we can say to the other, 'What, you too?' "

Lots of links here... I hope you find some good reading among all these random thoughts/links unpacked from my brain!

Homemade Baby Wipes

You may remember that I've been cloth diapering my precious daughter lately. Once you make the switch, and are already washing the diapers regularly, there is absolutely no reason not to also use cloth wipes. But even if you don't switch to cloth diapers (yet!) ;), I would encourage you to considering making your own baby wipes at home. The money you'll save is significant. The environmental impact is nice. The confidence of knowing what you're using to clean your baby's face, hands, or bottom is wonderful.

Here are THREE EASY STEPS to making your own homemade baby wipes:

1. Buy the wipes you want to use. I bought a nice variety of wipes in fun patterns from Zannadu cloth diapers. You can see the five patterns I chose on the left and there are many more options as well... the thing I love about these is how soft they are. (Well, and the fun patterns make them FUN to use!) One side is soft flannel and the other side is micro terry cloth... so they're super soft on tender bottoms but also have some grip to get gunk off skin! If you're even somewhat skilled at sewing, you might even be able to make your own!

I also bought some cheap washcloth-material mitts that they sell here. It makes for easy cleaning, and I wanted to try a variety of options. For what it's worth, these do work OK, but I do prefer the soft ones I got from Zannadu. I tend to use the washcloth ones for cleaning her face and hands.

2. You can use any wipes container you want to. Because I have so many wipes and like to do it in bulk, I double whichever recipe I'm trying and pour it over the wipes in this great container:

That way, I can keep the diaper rash cream and Vaseline (that's the yellow circle container) right there in the container and have it handy when I need it. But lots of wipes-making moms just use the wipes boxes you get from Huggies or Pampers and fold over their wipes inside the case.

3. Make your baby wipes solution and pour it over the wipes inside the box. I use the large plastic cups that restaurants give out to mix up the solution and, so far, have tried 2 different "recipes".

First, I tried this recipe (which works fine):
- 2 cups water
- 1 tbsp oil (olive oil, baby oil, whatever simple oil you want to use)
- 1 tbsp baby soap
MIX WELL and pour over wipes in portions.


An even simpler recipe, that has been great for her poor little irritated bottom (a result of the bathroom issues one often faces from changing bacteria when moving overseas) is this one:
- 1-2 tbsp of lavender smelling baby oil
- 2-3 cups of water
MIX WELL. Add wipes to box in small portions, pouring portions of the mixture over the wipes until both wipes and wipe solution are gone.

[I plan to try more entirely natural wipes solutions once I get my bearings here and have better language skills.]


JUST DO IT!
This has been such a surprisingly easy solution to buying wipes from the store, and the cost savings is significant. Even if you just wanted to use this for after-meal face and hand wipes, I believe you'd see savings and enjoy the process as well!

Keeping Track of Cups & Towels

Sometimes it's difficult to keep track of whose cup is whose, isn't it? The more a family grows, the more one is required to come up with creative solutions to manage things that can easily pile up. Not only is it hard to keep track of which towel or cup belongs to whom, but continually washing more than is necessary adds up to bad environmental stewardship. Bath towels, washcloths, and drinking cups are the things that I've been tackling in this last month.

For towels and washcloths, I've bought two of each for each family member. So I'm green, Daddy's navy, Ethan is turquoise, Baxter is royal blue, and Maranatha is purple. And each person has two coordinating washcloths. No more wondering if your facecloth has been used on some little behind! (egads!) And no more running out of towels... everyone's got two. You use one for a few days to a week (the little ones bathe much less often, and you're clean when you use it anyway), the other one's in the wash. Oh yeah, and I bought some lovely white ones to have on hand for guests.

As for cups, I borrowed an old idea from a friend of mine... we have a cutting board that we've drawn little circles on and everyone gets one cup a day (minus coffee cups for adults). That way, there's none of this "no, MY cup was the blue one" business. Kids, you pick your cup in the morning and you keep up with it throughout the day. If you're not drinking from it, back on the board it goes. I wrote names in the middle of each circle and drew a picture for easy identification for the 2-3 year old range that doesn't yet read but can remember, "mine's the one with the smiley face." Here's a picture of it:
Yes, we currently have two empty circles. One will, obviously, be for the new baby when he/she is using cups. The other will serve as a guest spot until any future family members make their debut. And no, just because there are 2 extra spots doesn't mean that's our limit or something. That's just what would fit on the board. :)

Ponder This: Campolo on Consumerism

"Consider this," author and speaker Tony Campolo says. "The typical size of an American house has increased 40 percent in the last 25 years. It's not because we're having more children; we're having fewer children! We need bigger and bigger houses simply to hold all the stuff we don't need. What's even worse is that we're renting out space in storage bins because we can't contain all the stuff we have in the huge houses we have at our dispoal. It has become an insane society as far as surplus is concerned."

- - Taken from "Laying it Down: Learning to Live With Less In a Culture of Excess", by Jesse Carey, in the May-June 2007 edition of Relevant Magazine

Show & Tell: More on Frugality

Oodles and Oodles of frugals for youdles... so let's just dig right in:

• MAKE IT YOURSELF. Causabon's Book, pretty much the most intellectual blog I read, has been writing a series of weekly ideas to save money (or maybe save the earth?... can't tell which cause all the ideas so far have done both... hmm... interesting...) Here's an excellent recent post about why you should make your own whatever. Not, "why you should make your own?" "WHATEVER!" (said in a Clueless, circa 1990's voice), but rather, why you should make your own ___(whatever)___.
  

FRUGAL MAKE-IT-YOURSELF IDEAS:

• Grow your own loofah sponge. Really.
• Any of you use baby wipes? Thought so.
• How about homemade lavendar soap balls to make your next bath extra luxurious?
• Cleaning supplies getting too expensive? Here's a LONG list of earth-friendly (and wallet-friendly) cleaning supplies.
• Here are some homemade and very soothing-sounding cough and cold remedies you can make at home.
  

FRUGAL CLOTHES IDEAS:

• Buy plain socks for your daughter and add the trim yourself.
• Sew clothes for your family to save money.
• Make your daughter's dresses long so that she can wear them for years. (Be sure to scroll down for pictures- Janel has an amazing knack for making precious, wearable dresses for little girls that are useful for years.)
  

FRUGAL FOOD IDEAS:

• MAKE A PRICE BOOK. This is a little notebook you carry with you when you go shopping and where you can write down the normal price per ounce, what a good sale price would be, and where you find the best deals on any given item. What an excellent way to save money on everyday groceries, by having a price guide with you to be able to tell when one store charges slightly more than another! Jenn, over @ Frugal Upstate, will tell you how to make your very own price book.
  
• GROW YOUR OWN. Wanna grow your own food and just need ideas and motivation? Well hop on over to Causabon's book and get some ideas for growing your own food.
• HAVE A FRUGAL DINNER TONIGHT. Frugal State Jenn has a great post with a wide variety of ideas for stretching your dinner budget.
  

OTHER FRUGAL THINGS YOU CAN DO:

• GO CHRISTMAS SHOPPING NOW. Save a little money by doing your Christmas shopping in the next few weeks! Check out Sara's post about her frugal Christmas-shopping methods...
• LEARN A NEW CRAFT, MASTER IT, & USE IT TO MAKE MONEY. Here's a site that links to some GREAT craft ideas.
• MAKE SOMETHING AND SELL IT HERE.
• MAKE SIMPLE CHANGES AROUND YOUR HOME. You've heard it before, but here's a great post to give you the nudge you might need to reduce, reuse, recycle.
  
• UNSHAMPOO. (Read about it here.)

With so many links, I can't verify that there's nothing offensive on any of these sites, so please exercise caution when following links off of the direct pages I'm linking to.

Blessings & HAPPY READING!

Considering Cloth?

Some of you are going to think I'm totally NUTS- but lately, I've been reading a lot about cloth diapering and I'm thinking of trying them out, now that Maranatha's going through only a few diapers a day. Coming to the place of being open to this idea has taken a process of reading about them, hearing from friends that cloth diapering isn't as difficult as it used to be, and that it's a huge money saver. It's an idea with merit that's worth more than a cursory glance.

If you're remotely interested in cloth diapering (or even just morbidly curious, which is where I was just a few months ago), you'll want to check out some excellent and informative resources I've found:

• NEED MOTIVATION? Once again I find myself thanking Sara for challenging us in these "green" areas (that's green for the environmental perspective, not green for what you may find in the cloth diapers you use because of your environmental perspective! :) Sara has written "Choose Cloth", which will challenge you to think reusable rather than disposable in a WIDE variety of areas! (Ever heard of cloth toilet paper? No? Well then head on over to Sara's place and prepare to have your eyes bug out opened, friend!)
  
• NEED CONVINCING? Here an article that explains that regular people actually still use cloth diapers.
  
• NEED INFORMATION? Here is an excellent website that explores all the ins and outs, all the "why?"s, "how?"s, and "which ones are best?" kind of questions you might ask about cloth diapering. With a variety of articles, this is an excellent resource for finding out all about cloth diapers.
  
• NEED RECOMMENDATIONS? Read these mother-written reviews of various cloth diapering options to get a feel for what products are tried-and-true according to mom.
  
• NEED HELP SORTING OUT OPTIONS? This article, HOW DO I CHOOSE?, is helpful for sorting through all the varieties and options and getting a feel for how to start cloth diapering.

I'm in the process right now of deciding whether to buy and what to buy in this whole area. I figure right now is a great time to start, if I'm going to... I don't have a newborn, so I won't have NEAR as much laundry while I'm getting acclimated to cloth diapers as I would if I were starting with a new baby. What's more, I have a dryer here, which I won't have when we move back overseas, so it will be easier to start here and now than at some later time in some other place.

What say you? Do you use cloth diapers? Have you ever? Would you? Does the idea alone send shivers down your spine? Let me hear from you!

Rosie Defends Duggars' Quiver Full

Did I go to sleep and wake up in some kind of parallel universe, you might be asking? No- it's true. If you've been reading for a while, you might remember my appreciation for this Arkansas family with 16 (almost 17) kids. (Yes, seventeen- and no, none of them are adopted.)

Rosie O'Donnell, often on the exact opposite side of things as conservative Christians, took up for the Duggar family today, when The View's Joy Behar (might I suggest that Joy is not a great name for someone who is so decidedly caustic and sarcastic?) criticized the growing quiver full family for their use of environmental resources. (As a sidenote, I bet that between her home and work life, Joy Behar uses up nearly as much resources as the entire Duggar family, if not more. When you think of all the hair & makeup products + packaging that she uses up, not to mention wardrobe, food items, paper her show ideas are printed on, lighting to make her look her best, gas to get back and forth to all the tapings, award shows, etc... it'd be an interesting study for sure!) Anyway, here's the exchange:

ELISABETH HASSELBECK: They just had their 17th baby right? You know the Duggars? We've shown them on the show before, their sixteenth baby. All the kids begin with a letter J. The oldest kind of partners up with the youngest and they have this incredible system -- the woman can have 25 kids the way she does it her home.

JOY BEHAR: The woman has graffiti on her uterus.

[laughter]

HASSELBECK: I love a lot of kids. I think it’s great.

JOY BEHAR: Don't you think that, that's a little bit- how shall I put this- inconsiderate of the fact that you're using more energy, you're using up more gasoline.

HASSELBECK: No, you use one pot for 17 kids as opposed to 17 pots of water --

BEHAR: Oh one pot– Joint you mean.

O’DONNELL: Joy was saying is it irresponsible socially or ecologically to have that many children?

BEHAR: I think it is. I think that you're using more of the resources of the world. You can adopt 17, that would be morally acceptable, but to give birth to 17 children?

HASSELBECK: I think it's fantastic.

ROSIE O’DONNELL: I do too. But this is Joy who was an only child and who has an only child. So this is her world view.

[...]

BEHAR: It is very hard and very expensive to raise children.

O’DONNELL: But if they can afford it why shouldn't they?

BEHAR: Because, I told you why, they’re snorting up the oxygen.

... And on it goes... Read the full article: View's Behar: Multiple Children 'Snort Up Oxygen'.

RELATED READING:

• FOXNEWS.com: Arkansas Mom Prepares for Birth of 17th Child
• Shara @ monkeybox grew up with Michelle Duggar and writes her thoughts about the Duggars and their nearly-17 children.
• Hear a radio interview with Jim Bob & Michelle Duggar where they describe their lives and how/why they have so many children.
  

(Thanks to Crystal @ Biblical Womanhood for the radio link!)

As always, I'm fascinated when I read about this family. I'm not saying I'm ready for 17 children.... I'm just saying that I can't help but be intrigued, and that I'm encouraged by the way that they cherish children in such an obvious and salt-of-the-earth kind of way.