Welcome to Domestic by Design! Have you subscribed yet to receive free updates by email or RSS? You can also find me on Twitter! Mark your calendar for Monday, October 4th, when the official launch will be underway! You'll find a new look and some great giveaways...spread the word!

Happy Friday and happy October!  A friend and I used to celebrate the start of a new month together, because of the fresh new beginning offered to us.  Today, I’m hoping it means that fall will be here to stay.  It is October, after all.  I grew up wearing pants and long sleeves in September. And I’d be lying if I didn’t tell you that I miss my beloved Maryland right now.  (And you have been reading all along thinking I probably have a Southern accent!) So many fall-time memories have risen to the surface as the cooler air has slowly rolled in here in east Tennessee. It has made for therapeutic, longer runs (that and a very testy 14-month old!).I have just a few good posts from this week for you, because you’ll need the  brain space to digest at least two of them.   One is even from today.  I’m just that good– getting you the latest, greatest material to read. Or a little late getting my ducks in a row. Either way, my personal favorite is a tie.  Can you guess which two?

Lastly, I’m a little shaky with anticipation this morning, because the big day is Monday (gulp).  Don’t forget to pass the word along.  Will you tell 5 people (or more!) you know that might enjoy reading the blog about it? My design should be ready today (I know you’re wondering if it really is going to go up – but I am not the one designing, so it’s out of my hands!).  So pardon any glitches that occur over the weekend as we get it up and running. 

There will be a giveaway each day next week, so be sure to stay tuned!! In fact, if you subscribe, you will receive an update automatically.

SHAMELESS PLUG – There is a blogging conference for Christian women at the end of the month, Oct. 21-24.  My desire to go just bloomed a few weeks ago, but funds to make it there just aren’t available.  A woman who can’t go is giving her ticket away to one winner on Monday.  If ya really love me, go enter for me!  It’s allowed!  I already have one college blogger friend (who I haven’t seen in the 7 yrs since we graduated) who has entered for me countless time, on her own volition because she wants me to be there.  Just overlook, shake your head, or laugh over the number of entries I have done.  Hey, it can’t hurt! 

Have a wonderful weekend!  We’re off to a hot air balloon festival tomorrow.  Tara is having a difficult time wrapping her mind around balloons that are big enough to have a basket underneath to ride in.  She loves balloons. 

Learning to Manage Money is Great for Your Marriage – You will soon learn that I am a HUGE fan of budgets.  With good reason…finances have NEVER been an issue of conflict for Blane and me thanks to his wonderful invention (another post!)

One Voice – Can I really add words to this post?  Often, Sara articulates similar thoughts I am mulling over but would never be able to articulate as eloquently.  Her writing, especially as of late, has ministered to this fragile heart.

Introducing Herb Remedies Month and My Thoughts on Meeting Joel Salatin – I delve a bit into my view on politics in the upcoming series, 12 Steps to a Nourishing Diet (starts Oct. 11!), but it’s really unavoidable, and you’ll see why.    All this to say, when you read this post about Joel Salatin, you’ll walk away understanding more about Blane and I, because we share perspectives with Mr. Salatin.

Blood.  Sweat.  Tears.  Okay, maybe not blood, but sweat and tears have definitely gone into this blog.  I am working soooo hard to get things ready for the *official* launch date: Monday, October 4th.  Mark your calendars!  Sound the alarm!  In the meantime, a new design will be going up possibly as early as this weekend.  So please bear with me as we work any glitches out.

What do I mean by official blog launch?  There’s a lot that goes on behind the scenes on a blog.  This blog in particular is intended not only to pursue other women toward holiness, but also to be a means for me to bless my husband by being a financial asset to our family.  So I’ve been working on things for my new store (exciting!) that you’ll see go up by the 4th.    I’ll also be working between now and then to promote the site,  hopefully drumming readership.  I’ll be asking for your help as the time gets closer!

I’ve been laboring over blog posts, in prayer, how to best articulate my vision for this blog …I’m excited and nervous.  What if people are offended?  What if I can’t build my readership?  Oh, the fear of man strikes again!!!

There will be several giveaways which will include (but won’t be limited to) some ebooks I’ve been working on.  In the words of Tony Horton (P90x), “Get ready… ’cause it’s comin’!!!”

On to this weekend’s reading for you.    Grab a nice warm cup of whatever you like to drink a warm cup of and get comfy! Have fun reading and have a restful weekend!

Parenting

Mommy, Am I Beautiful - Tara and I have been watching (and re-watching) the video featured here and have been working to memorize the song.  What an important concept.  Moms, what are you teaching through your modeling about what beauty really is?

The Secret to Your Child’s Success – LOVE this.  I can’t tell you how many tears I’ve cried this week grieving over the current status of Tara’s heart.  I am crying out for wisdom to be gleaned by my daughter (and son and others, for that matter).

Frugality

Don’t Buy Stuff - If you haven’t visited Laura at Heavenly Homemakers yet, you are missing out!  She has so real and has such a great sense of humor!

27 Quick & Crunchy Home Remedies for Pimples – This falls under frugality, right?!  I’ve been having “issues” with my face breaking out a lot over the past few months (my hubby blames it on hormones), so this was timely for me.  I like her wit!

Biblical Womanhood

Oh Foolish Woman, Stop Throwing a Tantrum – Piercing.  Enough said.

Health

Mothering “Under The Influence” of Hormones – This is a must read!  The author shares from her own hormonal imbalance, reminding us that our hormones are *supposed* to be balanced.   AND that there are things we can do to correct them if out of whack.  If you struggle with ongoing depression, this is a must-read.

Well, we are off to Atlanta today for a family wedding this weekend.  I’m looking forward to spending some good quality time with lots of extended family on Blane’s side.  It’s always fun (and interesting) because there are so many cousins – there will be 12 kids – on top of all the adults.  Tara has been eagerly anticipating our time with them by reminding me of all of their names and that they will be there.   

I’m looking forward to heading to Whole Foods and getting some good, non-ultra pasteurized cream so that I can make two  batches of homemade ice cream for Tara’s birthday on Monday.  She has asked for chocolate cake AND ice cream.  How can a mama deny such a request?  I can’t believe she’s about to be three.  She has been telling people that she’s “this many” (holding up two fingers), “but about to be this many” (holding up three fingers), “on August 23.”  Come back on Monday for a little tribute to her and the story behind my pregnancy and birth of her.

We’ll resume the Mission of Motherhood series on Tuesday.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Homeschooling Inspiration

It’s that time of year when many of you have either started or are getting ready to start the school year at home.  I am in process of beginning my first year of homeschooling – though it will be much less involved than those of you with older children.  Still, it has served me to get ideas for the future and for inspiration now….and I want to pass them on to you with the hope of helping and encouraging.

Best Ways to Organize a Homeschool Classroom – If you only get to read this post, this is the one to spend your time on!  Once again, Ann Voskamp offers inspiration and insight into something so practical.  I LOVE her homeschool room and I imagine that it is most mom’s *dream* room.    I think you’ll like it.

The Homeschool Advantage: Relax, You’re Already a Teacher – This is a great reminder to us moms, as we are already teaching all the time, whether we realize it or not.  We are not of the camp that school at home should be completely unstructured, though some do it that way and that’s fine.  But what I have been learning is that there are a plethora of informal teaching moments throughout my days with the kids.  I love it and I’m trying to take advantage of it.

Crafty Corner – This is part of the Totally Tots website.  They have TONS of helpful online resources for education at home.  This page has some neat projects to do with our kids.

Parenting & Family

Susanna Wesley’s Sixteen Rules – “Susannah Wesley was the mother of 19 children, including John and Charles Wesley, the founders of Methodism. Although she faced much adversity, she dedicated her life to instilling Christian values into each child. Susannah’s sacrifices paid off; her children went on to change the world.”

Tara and I are so excited to spend time today with some  friends we lived next to during out time in the army.  Blane is off today, too, so it’s just a happy day around here!  As usual, I have some excellent posts from around the blogosphere for you to read.  I hope you’re encouraged and that you have a wonderful weekend!

Parenting

The Power of a Focused Mother – This goes with chapter 4 of The Mission of Motherhood this week.  It is a great, short post about sacrifice for the glory of God.

My Story. Part 1 – You will cry reading this post.  I did, anyway.  Even if you don’t, you will be encouraged.  Have I been vague enough as to it’s content to get you to read it??

Loving our Husbands

Serving Our Husbands Through a Nourishing Diet- Part 1 and Part 2 – I could not have said it better, particularly because the author is a veteran wife of 33 years, seasoned with much more wisdom than this young wife of 6 years.  If you don’t consider yourself “passionate” about health & nutrition and really lack a desire to learn about it, I urge you to read these posts.  If you get a chance, go back and read through why I do what I do when it comes to health and nutrition.  Maybe it will serve as a primer for you to get started in thinking about these things a little more.

Well, I better run.  I think Brant decided he wants to take a bath.  Our bath tub is really low and this wouldn’t be the first time he’s fallen in head first (no water in it of course) because he’s reaching for toys.    “See” ya next week!

We’re off to a couples shower for one of my husband’s cousins this weekend.  It will be a fun time of celebrating with them while enjoying each others company as we make the long  trek there (about two an a half hours).  Tara is excited about playing with her cousins and I’m looking forward to getting away for a bit.  What are up to this weekend?  I’ve got a few good reads for you, whatever you have planned.Godly Wife

Capture My Thoughts – This is a great post about taking our thoughts captive when our husbands irritate or annoy us.

Family & Parenting

5 Simple Ways to Create Amazingly Memorable Traditions – I love these practical, easy ideas!  Read the next link for the details on the author’s “Pajama Run.”

How to Make Your Kids Forget You’re Mean – cute idea with lasting impacts!

How to Raise a Spoiled Child – A satirical little piece that deserves reading.

Natural Living

The Story of Cosmetics - VIDEO! This is a great follow-up from my posts about household cleaners, and a great teaser for upcoming posts about body care products.

This is a special weekend for Blane and me.  We celebrate our 6th anniversary on Saturday!  We will actually be officially celebrating over Labor Day Weekend when we can get away sans kids.  This weekend, we get to enjoy another BBQ with friends.  I love summer time BBQs!I am so thankful for this man whom God has provided to be my leader, protector, provider, and lover.  He has been a wonderful husband to me and in so many respects, we have had a fairy tale kind of romance.  Don’t get me wrong, we certainly have our disagreements, grate on each other at times, and have our differences.  But from day one of getting to know Blane, he has sought to die to his own desires in order to love and serve me and Christ loves His bride.  He takes his responsibility as one who will stand before the Lord for an account of how he led me very, very seriously.  In purity he pursued and courted me, and in purity he has led me as my husband.  He is not perfect, but he is pretty amazing!

It all began about seven years ago, when he came home from optometry school on spring break.  You see, I went to college in his hometown (where he also went to college) and his mother discipled me (don’t get any ideas, she NEVER pushed anything!).  Myself and another young woman she discipled were invited to go to dinner with the family one evening about a week before my spring break  during my senior year (we are two years apart, but he was only a year ahead in school).  I walked into the house, saw him walk across the upstairs family room and thought, “Man, he’s good looking!”  Though we had met once before and both were totally unimpressed with one another, that night something happened.  We talked a lot about my recent experience in Colorado and the evening went by too quickly.

The next day I called my friend who was at dinner with us and was excitedly trying to spit something out when finally she said, “Kelly, just say it!”  I blurted out, “I think I met the man I’m going to marry!”  Do you know that she started laughing at me?!  I told her that it was easy for her, who, already in a courtship was NOT courting her mentor’s son!

That week, I just so happened to be invited over every evening to do something with “the family,” until I went home for spring break.  Blane emailed me asking some pretty intense questions (theological) and from what I knew of him, this wasn’t something he did with just any girl.  When I came back from spring break, he was still at home.  His mom invited me over (to spend more with with “the family”) and he wanted to “chat.”  He told me that we are both pretty analytical and knew that something was going on.  He told me that what he knew about me, he liked.  But that he still didn’t really know me.  He asked for my permission to come home on the weekends to get to know me, to which I responded with a quick but reserved, “yes!” (while in my mind, I was screaming and jumping up and down!).

Two months later, after being asked a myriad of questions and getting to know one another, he sat me down and proceeded to affirm me and communicated that I had the qualities he wanted in a wife .  He wanted to proceed in courtship to determine if it was the Lord’s will for us to marry.  He also gave me a letter that expressed essentially everything he said. While I wanted to respond, “This is what I’ve been praying for!” he asked me to spend time in prayer about it before responding.  So I did and in the meantime, shared the letter with older, wiser counselors in order to proceed with wisdom.

Seven months later we were engaged and then 15 months after our initial re-meeting of each other, we were married. To describe all of the workings of the Holy Spirit in that time would take way too long, but it was a very sweet time of trusting the Lord, growth, and blessing.

So, happy anniversary my love!  And have a wonderful weekend, dear readers!

Money/Finances

The Savings Are in the Details - Planning a summer vacation?  This is a must read with a very practical tip!

How to Save More Money at Whole Foods – we don’t have a Whole Foods nearby since we moved, but the same principles would apply to Earth Fare, which we do have near us.  Like WF, Earth Fare offers a 10% discount when you purchase by the case.

Mothering

Where’s Kristin? – A cute, encouraging piece on being “in the middle” of motherhood.

For the Young Mother:  Ministry, Guilt, and Seasons of Life – This is a wonderful reminder for those of us with littles!

Motherhood and Identity: Comparison and the List You Need to Tape to Your Forehead – This is great! I love Kat’s practical, witty posts about mothering!

Health

New Study Says 85%  of Kid’s Juices, Snacks Could Contain High Levels of Lead – Another reason to avoid juice!  Tara has had juice maybe five times in her life (I don’t mention this to boast but to make a point – we are absolutely committed to eating nourishing foods).  She drinks water and raw milk.  Period.  This article only confirms the need for us to be responsible for our own health instead of relying on the FDA.  They are not trustworthy!

Don’t forget that classes begin on Monday for Naturally Knocked Up‘s E-Course about preparing for pregnancy.  If you haven’t yet, pop over and look into it!  I can’t wait for it to start!

Happy weekending!  It’s been an extremely busy week for us, but it has been very productive and so full of the Lord’s grace!   I hope to write soon of some things He’s been doing in my life on a more personal level.  I tend to wear my heart on my sleeve and am seeking wisdom as to how much to let my mystery readers into the corners of my heart.

I have been putting away meals for the freezer and it feels so good to have them done!  I decided to go ahead and take some days to do freezer cooking and so far it’s yielded three meals worth of pepperocini beef,  two spinach bacon quiches, two chicken divans (I’m not a casserole kinda gal but decided to try the recipe), about two gallons of chicken stock, and tomorrow I’ll work on two chicken pot-pies and two meals worth of chicken enchiladas.  Not to mention that we ate some of the chicken tonight and I have a leftover cup to do something with.  All of the chicken recipes came from two chickens that I roasted and made broth from!  And with the help of a younger woman I’ve been spending time with, we made a little over two dozen tortillas today.  A local friend has been inspiring to me and she’s been up to the same this week so it’s been encouraging to compare notes an spur one another on.  She made eight lasagnas today!  It’s definitely doable with two little ones running around!  And it’s so rewarding.  My freezer is slowly getting stocked!

Without further ado, here are some quick reads (mostly good deals on various products!) for the weekend…

Parenting

The issue we all face: “Mom Guilt” – a good reminder for those of us who lean  toward being “Type A.”

Health & Nutrition

Man-Made Flavors Are Bad for Your Health -Very simple, straight-forward post about artificial flavors.

A great deal on 7th Generation diapers – We are using disposable diapers currently and these are my favorite.  My deal was not quite as good as this woman’s, but $30 ain’t too shabby for a case!  I just saved $8.98!

Two Gallons of Tropical Traditions Virgin Coconut Oil for $99! – Check out this deal!  Coconut oil is sooo expensive where I live now.  I was spoiled by the military, I suppose.  This is a much better deal than what’s offered at stores around here.

Saving Naturally – This is Stephanie’s new blog (author of Keeper of the Home blog).  It’s really helpful!

I’ll leave you with a glimpse of little ham number one:

Have a wonderful Father’s Day weekend!  A short list of posts below worth reading when you get a chance!  They were helpful and encouraging to me.

I just picked up some free pork chops from Earth Fare which we will enjoy with yummy squash casserole and a salad.  The kids and I will celebrate God’s grace to us in the gift of Blane, a wonderful father and husband.  To help, Tara and I will be making this delicious sounding Coconut brownies and coconut ice cream.  I’ll let you know how it turns out!

Health & Nutrition

Roast Chicken, Chicken Stock, and leftover chopped & frozen chicken…all from one bird! – This is a very helpful post written by a good friend of mine about using one chicken to stretch over several meals!

Family

Preparing for the First Trimester – I loved this post.  It’s right up my alley!  I have sought to be prepared for babies coming, but did not do a good job of preparing for the many weeks of feeling yucky during the first trimester of pregnancy.  I have been thinking through what I need to do to prepare for another (Lord willing!) pregnancy.

Your Expectations of You: Somethings Got to Give – This is not a recent post.  But, it’s worth reading for all of us moms who tend to have unrealistic expectations of ourselves.

Here’s a few articles and blog posts that caught my attention this week that you might benefit from reading over the weekend in all of your *free time*…Happy weekend!  I hope it’s both productive and restful.

Health & Nutrition

Dairy Intolerance Vanishes with Raw Milk – The story of one family’s journey from dairy to no-dairy, back to raw dairy.

Four Simple and Different Methods for Freezing Strawberries – Want to know what to do with all of those strawberries?  This is an excellent help!

Home Remedies for Minor Burns – A great post defining different types of burns and how to treat them at home.

Family Life

Parenting:  When the Heart’s Not in it – Tips from a mom of 8 on how to lovingly shepherd our children’s hearts when their hearts do not seemed inclined to the Lord.

10 Keys to Patient Motherhood – This will bring a smile to your face, probably because you can relate to the author’s circumstances.  Helpful tips to help us to be patient.  Though, I would add that I like to label my sin with Biblical word descriptions.  Helps deal with it instead of giving a false label and never really dealing with the sin.  She uses “frustration” a lot. In my own life, “frustration” can usually best be described as anger.  Just something to think about!

Every Bitter Thing Is Sweet – Okay, this is not just one post.  It’s the whole blog.  You just have to check it out.  Sara is an amazing writer and I like to think that if we ever really meet, we’d be good friends.  I love the way she writes.  I often read thinking, “She is communicating in such an eloquent way what I wish I could spit out!” Who knows if she’d feel the same way! Ha!  This is my favorite personal blog!