iPhone dump...

I ordered my new calendar starting in January 2013 from www.maybooks.com.  I was able to customize it and I love it!  Why have an ugly notebook?!  :)

I woke up Sunday morning and my heart was SOOO heavy.  I feel like the Lord woke me up to pray for 3 certain things he brought to my attention and He wouldn't seem to let me quit thinking about.

1. After watching on Fox News funeral from the embassy bombing in Libya this past week (picture below), it made it a lot more real when I got a text from a friend Cherie whose son is a marine and she had received word that her son's camp in Afghanistan had been attacked the day before and she had no idea if her son was ok.  She knew that 2 were killed and others injured and she was hoping and praying she didn't get a knock on the door that afternoon that her son was killed.  My heart was so broken for them and it hit me really hard.  Thankfully Sunday morning she received an email from him saying he was ok but one of his sergeants was killed.  
2. You all know my mom's best friend Karen had a heart cath last week that resulted in a stroke and she is recooperating still in the hospital and having reality checks with the amount of therapy she is going to have to do to get back to normal.  I can't imagine and know that she is having a hard time despite knowing God is in control.
3. An old friend of ours Sammy Nuckolls was charged this week with 13 counts of video voyerism  and was sent to jail for 10 years.  Jay and I went to Israel with him several years back and it has been hard to watch all of this happen.  I do believe that he has a serious problem and should pay for the hurt he has caused so many.  I know that a lot of families/friends of ours are hurting because of his actions and my heart breaks for them.  Sin is a harmful thing and the repercussions are sometimes far and wide, unfair as it may seem.  Praying for a repentant heart for him and the victims will find peace and rest in Jesus, the only one that can fill the void.

Saturday night Jay got out his guitar and we had a little worship session together with the family.  And even after the kids came and went, Jay and I sang for an hour longer.  It was a sweet time and one that I hope we have many more of.  Not to mention he was super cute playing the guitar!

I took a nap on Saturday afternoon in my bed with this sweet girl and her preciousness was just too overwhelming...

Brayden made me this and was so proud of his creation... :)

Saturday night we had steak night...a favorite by all!!!!  Perfect way to end a busy Saturday!

Sunday after church Karis went to Mari-Morgan's house, Brayden went to Ethan and Eli's house so Lucy had her buddy Story over.  Of course they had a ball playing all things girly!

Lucy making Story a picture...

It is GORGEOUS here today!  After the past day of rain we have had it has brought us a cool front and it is wonderful!!!!  Hoping it stays around!

Here are some videos I had forgotten to post over the past week.  The first one is Brayden performing at Curriculum night...

IMG 3964 from Amanda Lemonds on Vimeo.

This one is funny because Lucy and Jake LOVE to play Just Dance.  However this one song says, "Booty" which we don't say in our house (we say bottom).  I didn't realize it and Lucy hears it and has a panic attack each time he says it.  SO funny!

IMG 3800 from Amanda Lemonds on Vimeo.

Master bathroom/closets overhaul

This last week I spent a lot of time starting my Spring cleaning.  I usually start with one room and clean everything in it...baseboards (some painting if needed), wipe down doors, cabinets, reorganize all, vacuum, clean fans, blinds, windows, light fixtures etc.  I started with my closet and took everything out and reorganized all of it.  However I noticed a BUNCH of black scuff marks on the walls and that bothered me so I thought I would do some touch up paint.  However, I didn't realize that it wasn't the same color because the paint looks different when wet.  So I was left with a bigger mess ugh!

So my few hour project turned into a 3 day project.  I had to go to Walmart and buy new paint and paint the whole thing.  Then the next day I was able to put everything back in it with pretty walls.  :)  

My makeshift bracelet/necklace organizer.....

Then I did Jay's closet...

My bathroom was this color and it is 5 year old paint job and I don't like the color anymore so I decided to go ahead and paint it too.

I painted it neutral khaki just like my closet and I even let Karis and her friend Ellie "help" me do this section.  Of course I had to paint over it but she had so much fun.

Those of you who deep clean, why is it that we don't realize how gross things are until we start the cleaning?!    For the record, I had never noticed this (and I am a clean freak!) on my ceiling partly because the light is always shining so it is hard to see but take a look at this nasty thing!

GROSS!  There was more dust and dirt where that came from but no longer!  My bathroom, bedroom and closets are spic and span and now it is time to start on another room.  Here's to having a clean house!!!

Newly painted bathroom...

Organizational tips

I am by no means a pro at some of the things I am going to share in this post but I have had a few people ask me about some organizational tips lately so I thought I would share the things that work for me.  I know these things won't work for everyone and you obviously have to do what works for you.  But if you can use these ideas...go for it!  These things have certainly made my life easier!

Ironing

Someone gave me this advice early in my marriage and I am glad that I took the advice.  She told me to iron everything and then as you wash things, iron them and then you will never need a last minute iron job.   So, I spent almost a week one summer ironing everything that needed ironing in my whole house...yep every closet!  Now as I wash/dry/fold clothes, I hang up everything that needs ironing on this rack....

Then every 2 weeks (sometimes a month goes by) I iron everything on the rack.  It sometimes takes me 2 hours at a time to complete it but then the ironing board goes up and no more ironing for weeks and everything in my closet is ready for wearing!

Karis and Brayden's room and playroom are upstairs.  Most of the toys are up there and in order to keep me from going up and down cleaning up all day long, I have these at the bottom of the steps.  One is for clean clothes that need to go up and the other is toys or shoes.  About once a day, I take both baskets up, unload them both and bring them back down again.  It keeps me from getting too far behind too because once they are full, they must be emptied.

Since there are five people in my family, shoes are EVERYWHERE!  I mean I think I pick up shoes as much as I do toys during the day.  So I have a HUGE basket right by the door for shoes.  It saves us from going back and forth to closets all over the house when we need our shoes.  Also it is good for the kids because they can take shoes off at the door, put them in the basket and when they  need them again, they know exactly where they will be (and dirt isn't tracked all over the house).  Of course all of our shoes are not in there, but most of our "mostly used" shoes are in there (especially the kids).  Even all my babysitting kids know where the shoes go and I find them picking them up and putting them in the basket!

Cleaning

Alot of my friends have a cleaning "schedule" that they use so that they don't have clean all in one day.  Although I have tried it, it doesn't work for me.  The reason?  I am a perfectionist and I like for my whole house to be clean at one time.  There is such joy in that for me.  So I do most of my cleaning on one day and then do maintenance throughout the week.  For example, I clean my bathrooms once a week but I do a "wipeover" several times more.  Also I vacuum/mop my kitchen about every other day.  I hate dirty floors and remember I keep 5 kids through the week so my kitchen floor especially gets dirty very quickly! Crumbs are NOT my friend!

Planning ahead

I think the key to being organized is to PLAN AHEAD!  I plan ahead on almost everything.  Especially at night, I lay out all my kids clothes and have them ready for wearing.  Sometimes I even get 5 or so outfits ready and have them stacked and then let the kids pick one out before going to bed.  My mornings are always crazy and hectic so I have to.  Sometimes I even lay out breakfast bowls, lunch items etc. to make my mornings run smooth.  I ALWAYS pre-set my coffee so when I wake, it is ready.  I mean you got to have your priorities right!

Laundry-a load a day keeps stress away!  I do laundry EVERY morning and try to have them folded and put away by lunch.

Cooking

I always plan my meals once a week before going to the grocery.  I know what I am going to cook throughout the week and it makes it MUCH LESS stressful.  Usually mid morning I begin looking at what I am going to cook to see if there is any prep I can do ahead of time to make it easier for me at night.  Alot of times I even will prep it earlier in the day and then have it ready to just put in the oven.  It makes cooking much more enjoyable!  For me, if I don't plan ahead, I am a horrible cook because I am not good at just coming up with something.  But planning makes all the difference!

I try to keep myself on a schedule (estimated of course).  There are certain times of the day that I do certain chores and I know if I keep that up, I won't get behind and can build "rest time" in for myself and keep Lemonds INC. running smoothly haha!

Of course, some of you may have some tips to help me as well!  Please share and hope this helps someone!