Mostly what my time WITHOUT Facebook was about.....

I have gotten a lot of things done over the past 30 days.  I don't blame Facebook for preventing me from getting all these things done, it was just the catalyst to help me figure out the priorities in my life.  My God and my family MUST COME FIRST!  My home needs to be a comfortable, neat place for my family to function in.  I have changed my views and feel as though a cloud has been lifted.  I feel like I am seeing things for the first time since I began to stay home with Claire 6 years ago.  I think I didn't know how to be a "stay at home" Mom.  I was all about what I could do and where we could go.  Well, HELLO, you need to stay home and get stuff done every now and then and not rush from place to place.  That has been nice.  I have also let a few volunteer things go and added some other volunteer things.  I am now the coordinator for the Women's Ministry at our church!  I love my new role, I hope that God provides me with all that I need to be successful and grow our ministry to provide a safe fun place for women to learn about the love of God.  I will also continue my Tuesday morning bible study.  This fall we are going to do "The Power of a Praying Wife", again, something I need to work on!:)  I am also taking the Monday Disciple class.  I love that it is offered during the day and I love that by June 1 I will have read the entire bible....something I have never done before!  I have focused on my family for the past 30 days, trying to improve our lives one organizational skill at a time.  I pray that God can guide me as to where Facebook fits into my life.  I do love it, I have missed it, mostly seeing what everyone is up to, but I have not missed it too!  The relief of not checking in is unimaginable!  I miss my friends and relatives that I only hear from or see on Facebook, but you all are so sweet...most of you have checked in and missed me!!!:)  I will be back, a little less maybe, but I'll be there!  That is my experience.  I have loved it and feel so happy!  I have accomplished tons of stuff that was LLOOONNNGGG overdue!!!  Thanks, FB sabbatical!  I needed you!

Both Freezers CLEANED OUT!!!

I also cleaned out both freezers.  WE NEED A BIG stand alone freezer!!!!  I am using 2 separate side by side freezers and didn't think they held much....well they didn't, in the condition that I had them in....but now!!!  WOW!!!  I organized them so that all the meat is in one, one shelf per type of meat.  The frozen breakfast food is all together and the frozen veggies are all together!  I love this new found skill I have of figuring out how to be more efficient and organized at the same time!!!  I also threw out a few things that looked questionable!  Feels good to know what you have and what you need to replenish!

All Drawers in the Kitchen are CLEANED OUT!!!

I spent a little time one day re-organizing ALL the drawers in the kitchen!  WOW!!!  I found stuff I didn't even know I had!!  Can you believe it???  All cleaned out and man, it feels good!!!:)  I didn't take pictures of all of them, you'd be bored.  If you wanna see them, just ask, I'll show you.  Not really that thrilling, just something that had needed to be done for a while now!

We went on a Week Long Family Beach Vacation!!!

For several years now, we have taken a week long family vacation to Galveston with my parents.  We originally stayed in a house we found on the internet, but quickly realized that you really need to SEE the house before you rent it, they aren't always as good as the photos on the internet....which lead us to find Pointe West in Galveston http://www.pointewestgalveston.com/.  It is a family friendly resort that has elevators and WE.LOVE.IT.!!!  (we needed the elevators with my Dad, now we just go because he loved it there!)
We do a WHOLE LOT OF NOTHING....this is our schedule while we are there.....breakfast, beach, lunch, nap, pool, dinner, sitting outside, bed...EVERY DAY for 7 whole days!!!  WE LOVE IT!!!!!  Here are some pictures from our time there:

This year we even got to go crabbing!  The kids loved that!  We released all our crabs.  They were too small to cook.  We went shopping too!  The Mall of the Mainland had TONS of great back to school deals for the kids!  We ate out a little, but mostly we stayed in and cooked easy meals.  Our sweet niece joined us, but only for a few days, as she had a terrible allergic reaction to sun screen and had to go home to go to the doctor!  Next year, Sarah!!!  We want you!!!:)

Planned and Implemented a Pantry Re-Do

OK, I have been working on this one for WEEKS!  Maybe even MONTHS!!!  It was supposed to be my "fall project" but I just couldn't wait!!!  I researched and researched and visited blog after blog to get EVERY idea out there and FINALLY got all my "stuff" together and DID it!!!  I didn't take before pictures, but trust me, it was a M.E.S.S.  Here it is NOW!!!!

I love it!  Please notice that you could walk ALL THE WAY to the back without tripping over something!!!  WAHOOOO!!!!  I am in LURRRRVVVEEEE!!!!:)

I Got the Kids Ready for Back to School and Soccer!!!

Claire started FIRST GRADE *gasp* on Monday, August 23.  It was NOT nearly as tramatic for me as last year was...  She loves her teacher and LOVES riding the bus and LOVES the fact that she sits with a Kindergartner!!!  HELLO BIG first grader!!!  Here is her on the first day of school!  PLEASE NOTE that she is in TOTAL control of her wardrobe choices and hairstyle choices......

The kids ALSO started playing soccer, so we have been going to practice twice a week.  We have our first games on Friday, September 10!!!!  Here are our little players....

They love playing and enjoy running.  It is their first "team" sports and they are learning to play against others!  It is fun to watch!

Yep! Sometimes I Did NOTHING. AT. ALL.

Sometimes I just sat and was.....ya know....vegged out, relaxed, just hung out.  Most of these times I had a 30-40 pound Chocolate bundle of fur on my lap, but I was really relaxing, even if I "had" to pet the bundle of fur!!!;)  It was nice for a change to have time to do that....nothing pressing, just relaxing!

Played Games with Claire

Well Miss Claire has got her game ON, baby!!!  She is a game-a-holic....her Momma....notsomuch....BUT I do play with her.  We played Checkers....the kid is GOOD, and sneaky!  We played Uno, Candyland, Tic Tac Toe and anything else she could find to play!  I don't have any pictures, but she is crazy for games.  We also played a 3 letter word game on Spencer's itouch!  She loved it!!!  Houston, we have a gamer!!!!

Read on my Kindle!

Probably one of my *BEST* birthday presents of ALL TIME has been my Kindle.  I got it this past January 18, also the day my Dad went to heaven, so it is SUPER special to me.  Also, it is special because my *SWEET* husband gave it to me and I didn't expect it....it was a T*O*T*A*L surprise!  I had no idea!  AND. I. LOVE. IT.  I love having books at my fingertips and NEVER having to run to Target to get the next book in the series....I just hit a button and BINGO, there is the book!!!:)  So, in all my "free" time, I have been reading....A LOT!!!  On my reading list:  The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins,  The Undead and Unwed (Queen Betsy) series by MaryJanice Davidson, The Sookie Stackhouse series by Charlaine Harris, 90 Minutes in Heaven by Don Piper.  I also read biographies, Paula Deen, Valerie Bertinelli, MacKenzie Phillips, etc...I like to read them to get and "insight" on their lives.  How about you, what do you read????

I kept up with the laundry!

Any Mom can relate to....laundry...the bane of our existence (exaggerated for effect!).  We do it, every day, and it is NEVER ending....well, without distractions, it is AmAzInG how well I can keep up with it!:)  This is what my laundry room looks like RIGHT now!  WOW!!!  I know, it will be covered in clothes tomorrow, but at least I can see the floor and I have a goal!

Prayed for My Friends

I know what you are thinking....."you mean you don't usually pray for your friends?"  Well, of course I do!  BUT, with my extra time, God found it to put certain people on my heart and send VERY strong messages to me about them and what to pray for them.  Out of the ordinary stuff, not your every day laundry list like health, patience, etc...these were specific people that popped up and specific words I was getting from God about what these people needed to hear.  I am not sharing names, but you know who you are.  I tried to let them know in some way that I was praying for them and they were on my heart.  I love my family and friends SO much and I thank God for trusting their prayer needs with me.  Sometimes I just prayed for you without you even knowing it, I just love that God does that, tells us what our friends and families need when we take the time to listen.

Attack of the Junk Drawers

We all have these, you know, the place where we just "throw" stuff....well the Juenkes have 4, but I am only responsible for three of them....Spencer has his own that I don't touch!;)  So, again, no before pictures, but TRUST ME, they were awful...I threw away more sticks of gum and junk toys from McDonald's than I care to admit.  Pens, erasers, broken stuff, you name it, it was in there....but look at them now!  Pretty as a picture......

Oh, SO much better!  Now, let's see how long they stay this way....I'm working on that!!:)

Organizing the Laundry Room cabinets

I don't have any "before" pictures, I just didn't think to take any, but here are the "after" pictures of the Laundry Room Cabinets....let's just say I got rid of some JUNK!!!  Stuff we have had in this house for 8 years and never used...pulllleeeeezzzeeee....it's all gone!:)

Everything nice and neat, nothing kept that we won't use!  Found about 10 cans of air freshner....really???  Who needs 10 cans????  The "stinky" Juenkes!!!  Also was able to take stock of laundry products and such!  I actually KNOW what I have now...baby steps......:)  Made me feel great!

Thirty Days without Facebook!

So, on July 30 I made a decision.  The decision was difficult to make, but the reasons for making the decision were VERY easy....my husband, my kids, my family and my home.  I needed a Facebook Detox.  I needed to get some things done around my home and be more "present" for my kids, they were home for the summer, after all!  So I did it, I took a Facebook Sabbatical, for 30 days.  What did my sabbatical look like....me not posting and reading Facebook for 30 days.  If you messaged me, I answered you.  If you posted on my wall, I responded to you.  But, overall, there was NO endless time reading posts, looking at friend's pages, etc.  Strictly responding to others inquiries, that was it!  What did I do with all my FREE time????  I'll tell you here!  Here is what I did in my time away from Facebook:

1)  Cleaned out and organized the Laundry Room cabinets.
2)  Organized and cleaned out 3 junk drawers.
3)  Prayed for friends as they were placed on my heart.
4) Kept up with the laundry.
5)  Read on my Kindle.
6)  Played games with Claire.
7)  Sometimes I did nothing at all....
8)  I got the kids ready for back to school and soccer.
9)  Planned and implemented a closet re-do for Claire.
10)  Planned and implemented a Pantry Re-do.
11)  Played lots of games of WWFriends, with my friends.
12)  Went on a family vacation to the beach.
13)  Cleaned out BOTH freezers.
14)  Cleaned out/organized EVERY drawer in my kitchen.
15)  Focused on my new role in Women's Ministry.

I will discuss each of these 12 things in greater detail.  The best thing about my Facebook Sabbatical is that I really didn't miss FB and I realized I can "live" without it and I kinda liked not feeling pressured to update all the time!!!:)