Verse of The Day: When I'm Weary & Worn Out

It's after 2 am.  My body is tired, but my mind is wide awake.  Full of emotions.  Mostly stress.  It was a good day.  A great day, really.  But there is just too much on my plate right now & I'm having trouble juggling it all.  Of course the only time I actually think about this is when my head hits the pillow.
So I browse Amazon.  Scan Facebook. Peek at Instagram.
Anything to avoid figuring out the real issue.
Then, I see this verse on one of my home screens.  Now I can find calm & rest my body for awhile.  Tomorrow, I'll attempt to figure out what's bothering me.

Christmas Cheer: Simple Gift

Here's a very simple gift for anyone on your list. 

We won big at our town Christmas Celebration (I'm talkin' grand prize kind of big.  It blessed our socks off, folks!).  It was such a great surprise that we chose to turn some of that money back into blessing others. 

I purchased some $5 gift cards from the local coffee shop.  I also asked for a cup for each card, because I think it makes cute packaging. 

We stopped at another local store to buy some candy for filling. 

 

 

The basics

 

Put the envelope in first.

 

Fill with candy and snap the lid on. 

 

Some of the cups have ornaments or other things in them.  After looking at these I wish I would've bought more candy for filling (or eaten less while we were filling them).  I also wish I would've bought candy canes to stick in the straw holes.  That's what I did a few years ago, and it really adds a nice touch. 

 

As a bonus, the kids got to help with this project.  What kid doesn't love playing with candy, right?  We did color sorting, patterning, adding, multiplication and division.  Oh, and a little taste testing.  For quality control, ya know? 

 

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Cheer: Neighbor Gift

 

Here is a simple neighbor gift I saw online a few years ago.  I wish I could remember where I first saw it, so I could give credit to the original poster. 

This simple gift has helped simplify our neighborhood Christmas giving, but is still a hands on project made with love. 

 

When we first built our home 8 years ago, we had just a handful of neighbors.  We also had just one child back then.  Making cookie platters and buying cutesy gifts was a breeze back then. 

Now, we have over 20 families in our neighborhood!  So not only does it get more difficult, it also gets more expensive.  I didn't want to quit gift giving all together, because it's something I enjoy doing.

 

I'm sure you don't need instructions, but I'll just outline what I did real quick.

 

Supplies:

Wrapping paper

Tape

Ribbon

Scissors

Cardstock

(a few years ago I hand cut & laminated all of the tags in the shape of gingerbread men. This year, I just chose cardstock & my big straight paper cutter).

 

What I Did:

I started with a blank word document & typed:

"WE HOPE YOU ARE GETTING WRAPPED UP IN THE HOLIDAY SEASON"

-I also added a family picture & the year, but that's totally optional-

I printed the tags on cardstock.

Hole punched them (or you can make a little slice with your scissor and send the ribbon through).

Tie it around the roll

add a piece of tape to secure it.

Curl the ribbon.

Put on a Santa hat and deliver these door to door singing We Wish You a Merry Christmas.  Or, make your kids do it.  It's character building.

Choosing Christmas Cheer

Christmas time usually leaves me frazzled, anxious, worn out & disappointed.  But this year I don't feel any of those things!  I am so in love with this whole Christmas season & celebrating the birth of Jesus.

 

 

  I'm most thankful that I had another year of making memories with my little family.  Praise Jesus for these good times!

 

Here is what's working for me this year:

• I chose not to make platters of cookies for all of the neighbors.  I did however do simple neighbor gifts (I'll post this soon!).
• The 2 cookie platters that I did make were filled with 2/3 store bought goodies and 1/3 homemade cookies... that were from a mix... yes, I really did that.  & they were lovely and appreciated all the same.  -Am I really the same person who wrote a few years ago about cutting out processed food and only making all natural?  Yeah, well, uh... that girl had a 3rd baby and needs a break right now.
• I chose not to worry about putting a price on gifts & trying to keep it even for everyone. Shopping is so much more fun when done from the heart and not the wallet.  Hopefully this doesn't backfire and leave anyone comparing (or complaining).
• We are not exchanging gifts between us siblings.  This is kind of sad, but it cuts out A BOAT LOAD of stress!  Those brothers of mine are already spoiled, and very difficult to shop for!
• We are lightly homeschooling through the holidays.  Rather than taking a week or two off and trying to get back into routine, we are just lightly schooling through it all.  In all honesty, I think we are getting MORE done, when I am more relaxed and not pushing the schedule.
• I'm throwing out random acts of kindness every.single.place I can.  I don't want to reveal too much, because that would suck the joy right outta the whole shebang.  I do want to encourage you to just bless someone, anyone, in anyway you can.  Whether you get to stick around and see their reaction or just imagine what their expression was, it feels SO good either way. 

Oh and here's a silly one:

• We put the great big over sized Christmas tree downstairs and let the big kids load it full of ornaments just as they wanted to.  The basement is off limits to the toddler, so she and the tree are both safer that way.
• We bought a smaller (6.5ft x 3ft) pre-lit tree for upstairs.  I only placed one ornament on it. Um, because I bought the ornament, came home, hung it on the tree, and it hasn't moved yet! 

All of these little cut backs have made it easier to put my time, money and energy  into the things I feel more passionate about right now.  What can you do, or are you already doing, to go LOW STRESS this week and next? 

The Work Place

My home is my work place.  I am here more than anyone else.  I am in charge of more physical duties here than anyone else.  I am not complaining. I take pride in this.  God has provided me a beautiful home, and a husband who allows me to be a housewife.

This year we took a leap of faith by also extending my duties to not just at home mommy, but full time homeschooling momma as well.
This is just about pure joy! 
Along with adding full time homeschooling to my job title, it also added a lot more STUFF to the house. 
I mean it..A LOT MORE!  Books, printer paper, cardstock, colored drawing paper, construction paper, reading books, text books, teachers manuals, workbooks, pens, pencils, art supplies (this is huge), science supplies, craft supplies.  It just goes on and on!
It didn't have to be this bad.  I just let it get this way while I was shopping for the perfect things to help the kids to learn.

I'm a pretty neat person, although all of this stuff is starting to control me!  Another resolution of mine, is to get on top of the clutter!  I'll post little pictures of before and after's, or long drawn out blog posts explaining the process to you.  Either way, I'll let you know how I get out from under this STUFF!

Maybe while my hubby is home for Christmas break I can take the time to reallllllly organize.  Or maybe not, because I'll be too busy cleaning up after him snuggling and enjoying his company while he's here. 

Show me the mother and I'll show you the child quote

At the suggestion of a friend, I just started watching Army Wives.  I really didn't need another show to watch.  I'm good with just Parenthood.
 {I love the story lines, even when they make me cringe.  (um, hello Julia?  What are you doing?!).}

I'm only a dozen-ish episodes in on Army Wives (watching on Netflix) & towards the end of one of the episodes I hear the line:

'Show me the mother and I'll show you the child'

 

O.M.GOSH

 

 





 

That just kept echoing in my head days after I heard it.  It made me think about how similar our children are to us.  Good and bad.

My oldest daughter is compassionate and shows great patience (with everyone except her little brother).  I like to think she gets those traits from me (I'll be honest, the little guy tests my patience sometimes too!  We still love him!). 

 

On the other hand, my daughter says nasty things about junk food... in front of people who are eating it!  Of course, she wouldn't know how bad junk food was, if it weren't for me telling her! 

And it's not that I want her to think junk food is good.  She needs to know the truth.  I realize though, that while explaining healthy food choices to her, I have failed to teach her how to still be respectful of the dietary choices others make (and honestly, we make sometimes too). 

 

Then I realize, maybe I too am too quick to judge.  And that is a classic example of:

'Show me the mother and I'll show you the child'

 

So as a resolution (not a New Year's Resolution, because those stress me out), I am going to keep letting this phrase echo through my head and use it to shape myself into a better mother.

 

Motherhood is like a cupcake

Motherhood is like a big fancy $5 farmers market cupcake. 
At first glance, the price tag seems outrageous.  But, it also appears remarkably beautiful.
Once you take your first bite, the taste inside is more amazing than you ever thought it could be. Just like how the deeper you go into motherhood, the more rewarding it is.

Ahhh, But cupcakes are so messy.  Cupcakes leave frosting in the corners of your mouth.  The real good ones even temporarily stain your teeth.  They leave a trail of crumbs, just as our precious children do, too.
Cupcakes are a big beautiful mess, just like motherhood. 
It's a big beautiful mess, worth embracing.

Devoted December: Kick Off

Welcome!  Thank you for stopping by.  Would you join me for Devoted December?

 

This picture represents where I will be devoting my time this December:

Jesus (He is the reason for the season).     Celebrating Advent.     My family.

That beautiful advent tree is a handmade gift our family just received from my very favorite Grandma June.  Isn't beautiful?  And it lights up too! 

Where did Devoted December come from?  Well, I kind of like playing with words, and to me, Devoted December just sounds good to the ears.  So that's what I'm going with.

Basically it's this: I am taking the month of December to just be more devoted to whatever it is I commit to doing. 

Easy Peasy, right?  You betcha!  You can do it too!

 

I don't want to look back at things I've done and realize that I've merely accomplished them.  I want to be proud of the work I've done and feel like I've done it well.  So to do this, I am devoting more time into the areas that I think need the most attention.

 Of course, with that comes spending less time in the areas that don't matter diddly-squat to me! Such as, Facebook!  I love connecting with y'all, I swear I really do!  But I want to do it intentionally, not just because I'm bored and have a few free minutes to swipe my finger along my phone.


I realize I'm probably alone in this, as you all seem to really enjoy your time on Facebook.  I enjoy it a good plenty, but overall it just makes me feel guilty.  There is always something more meaningful that I could be doing.
Here is my back story to just one of the reasons why I have always struggled with Facebook.
Several years ago we had a great playgroup through Meet Up.  I met up at minimum once a week with someone from the group.  Most weeks I'd even meet up twice (back then, it didn't feel like too much).  This was back before the days of my littles being in school, things were easier.  I felt so much more connected.  I enjoyed the company of other moms.  I needed the encouragement and the friendship.

 Then we moved the group to Facebook, for some valid reasons.  It was cheaper (free!), and it was easier since most of out members were on Facebook anyway.  The down side is, almost instantly the group fell apart.  It took the personal connection away (it wasn't just the move, there were other factors, but they stemmed from drama on FB too). 
I know many of the moms preferred planning playdates on Facebook, but it just didn't work super for me.  Over time, I noticed the group got larger in numbers, as it was easy and free to join.  The actual playdates however got smaller.  The conversation at the playdates got less and less deep as we were all strangers who had this false sense of friendship (since we were technically "friends"... on FB).  Then the playdates became practically non-existent.  As far as moms nights, Facebook works perfectly fine for those.  It is actually helping connect even more moms than before! 

I have been having a tough time wrapping my mind around this ever since it happened (I'm ready to let it go, NOW!).  I realize we are growing, our children are aging, and we are all settling into a different season of life.  I just wasn't quite ready for that.  I wish I had devoted more time to the new friendships I was making then.   I  miss those days. 

To wrap it up:  I will limit my FB time, and try my best NOT use Facebook as a substitute for REAL LIFE, FACE TO FACE TIME. 

Before and After: 5 Minute Tidy

We are running late- we have exactly 15 minutes to get everyone dressed, out the door, and to storytime across town. That seems like plenty of time, but not when you have 3 kids going three different directions and a house to clean up quick.

Yes I said clean up the house quick.
It is my rule to keep the house looking nice for when my husband comes home. Some of you may think I'm crazy, he probably thinks the same thing too.
Since I knew that he would come home while we were still gone, we did a quick clean up. 

Here is a before and after of my 5 minute tidy.

Facebook Stalking: #UpsideDownChristmas

This came through my Facebook news feed.

  The picture was pretty, and I could tell it told a story.  I clicked it, listened to the beautiful background music as I read the words.  I then thought to myself "Yes, Yes, YES!"  Would you read it too, please?
#UpsideDownChristmas 

  Within our little family we had a Christmas Revolution a few years ago, and it has produced a multitude of blessings.   Here are a few, just off the top of my head.  I know there are so many more.

• Fewer toys to trip over on the floor
• Less hollering at the kids to clean up those same toys- multiple times a day
• Fewer dollars spent on meaningless things
• So more dollars may be freely given to charities in need.
• Less stress when the credit card statement comes and money is already tight from the increased heat bill during cold winter days. 
• Less time shopping, although it is one of my loves, shopping out of obligation is something I despise
• Less time bickering over discussing what is the "perfect" gift to give to give to relatives we hardly know, because we only see less than a handful of times a year. 
• Christmas day is spent playing games as a family, being together, enjoying each other.  It's not spent in separate areas of the house playing with our new "things" by ourselves.
• MORE TIME TO FOCUS ON JESUS.  He is the reason, for the season. 

  My hope is that someday all of our Christmas celebrations are *truly* about Jesus.  I love getting together with our families.  But when it becomes about "having" to get together {and no one ever has the time, so we're often just squeezing it in quick}, it doesn't feel like it's about Jesus at all.  That just feels like a burden. 

Please my friends, do not be burdened by Christmas.  Not in a materialistic way, anyway. 

Design on a Dozen Dimes: Ikea Shelf for Cars

I'll start with letting you know, this little project would've been cheaper, had we made the shelves ourselves.  That was our (my husband's) intention.

 

We were at Ikea back in the spring and I really wanted these Ribba Ledges. 

 I told my husband how cute they would be for books and cars.  I told him I wanted 2 for each kid.  To which he responded "No way, look at how expensive that would be.  I can make those way cheaper, and we already have the white paint". 

 

True.  But I know that well meaning man.  I knew by his tone that these shelves weren't getting made. 

Nevertheless, I agreed, like a good wife should.  Well, I made a deal really.  I think we may have even shook on it.   I told him that if the shelves weren't built by the next time we came to Ikea that I was going to buy them.

 

I won.. sort of.. I mean I got the shelves, but sure paid a lot more than I wanted to. 

We got these two long ones for the boy, then put a small one for books in my oldest daughter's room.

Homeschool: Binder

This cute binder was at Target, & happened to be with the 70 percent off school supplies.
It was sooo me, but I didn't really have a use for it.. I bought it anyway..
I have got to quit doing that.
Thankfully I was able to come up with an idea.
I'm using it to organize worksheets that I come across online or wherever.  I have it separated by which kid it's for and the subject. 
It's also a great place to put holiday worksheets that I print out ahead of time.
Because let's face it, scrambling to get Thanksgiving worksheets the week of Thanksgiving is just too stressful. Besides, usually when I do that I end up with something that really isn't the right age level, or the content I want to be teaching.  It's painful for all of us. Especially that overworked printer of mine.

Do your kiddos do fun worksheets for the holidays? If so where do you find them?

How do you organize random worksheets?

On The Cheap: Discounted Produce

Our grocery store has a rack of heavily discounted produce that is nearing the end of its prime.
A lady at church encouraged me that there are a lot of great bargains to be found on that rack.
I was skeptical, because when we moved here 8 years ago my husband told me  that food was rotten & for animals...
Bull honky, Mr. Awesome.
  Over the last month I decided that I am an animal! And even though he may not know it, he is eating "rotten animal destined food" too.

I scored almost 7 lbs of perfectly fine bananas for $1.33 rather than the regular price of $4.83.
We go through a good amount of bananas here, so this was a great find.
I've also gotten organic tomatoes for cheap cheap cheap.

I know it's only a $3 savings this week, but we are a family of 5 healthy eaters on one income and every little bit adds up!
If I had saved $3 a week on our groceries since we had moved here, I'd have over $1200 in my vacation fund.  Okay, so there's no vacation fund.  But it would be a nice chunk of change to spend on something fun.

*These bananas were promptly peeled, split in half & stuck in the freezer for smoothies.  Bananas are a great flavor neutralizer for smoothies so you can load the blender up with all kinds of goodies (kale, spinach, blueberries, strawberries, etc.) & enjoy!

How do you like to save on groceries?

Design on a dozen dimes: Framed Poster on the Cheap

This is something I did over the summer, but I think I forgot to share it. 

-Or maybe I already did share it, and this is a repeat... Any other bloggers forget what they've already blogged about?-

I ordered a Minnesota Twins, Target Field Poster off of Amazon for less than $10.  I'm pretty sure this frame came from the second hand store for about a dollar. 

This is for the boy's room.  It fit in nicely with his baseball theme.

  

 

Facebook Stalking: An Old Crush

Alright, this title is a little misleading.  I'm not truly a Facebook stalker, at least I think there are people worse than me out there. I hope.

Out of pure curiosity, I typed an old crushes name into the search box, to see where he's at now.

His profile picture shows that he's put on some weight.  No biggie... Me too... After all, I think we were 15 the last time I saw him.  What shocked me was his cover photo.  It shows that clearly he is a DEMOCRAT! 

Oh man, thank God that little crush never went anywhere serious!  hahaha. 

Lighten up people-  This post *is* true, and funny... and I'm sure you've been there too.  Feel free to laugh.

Confessions from a b*** dial

A few years ago I was in the kitchen, listening to the baby crying and throwing things, feeling frazzled, & trying my best to cook supper for my little family.  It was probably hamburger helper.. that was tough stuff back then!

The baby at the time was my little boy, he had just become a toddler and was into e.v.e.r.y.t.h.i.n.g.  My daughter was supposed to be doing homework, but she sat at the table with tears in her eyes because she couldn't read the directions and didn't know what to do. 

I'm shouting out random things like "Put that back.. no-no... don't touch.. sweetie, sound it out.. & honey, could you please help? (alright it was more like "damn it, can't you help me with these kids?? I'm just trying to cook a decent meal!!!)".  So all hell is breaking loose, as it often did back then. 

The phone rings.

I read the caller ID... Crap, it's another mom that I really look up to... She is so full of kindness and I could really use some of her positivity right now..
 So I scream at the top of my lungs... "Everyone quiet!"

And in the most sweetest voice ever, with a smile on my face, I say:

 "Hello?"

I wait a moment, and say it again.. "Hellooooo?" 

I heard her voice.  "Hey, how was practice?"  & one of her children says "fine".  "Fine? What did you guys do?".  I realized I was the victim of a butt dial.. Or pocket dial, as them proper folks like to call it. ;)
I'm so embarrassed to admit it... I listened to almost their whole conversation... The way she drilled him for a few more answers, without really drilling him.. the kindness in her voice.  I loved it all.
When I could tell they were nearing the end of the ride home, I quick hung up the phone. 
I know this seems silly, but that phone call changed me.  I consider patience one of my best skills.  I consider myself a caring mother and I really do take time to do things with my kids that other parents don't enjoy.  But I was in one of those phases where everything was hard, and I was really down in the dumps about it.

Fast forward to later that year, we found out my oldest daughter was dyslexic.  Once we knew that and how to work with it, homework went much better.  She now actually enjoys school work and reading.  This girl asks for books for birthday presents!  That floors me!  At the time, homework was such a struggle, and I really believed in my heart that she just may never recover.

That whiny toddler that could tear a room apart in under a minute, is now my 6 year old little man.  He doesn't cry nearly as often as he once did!  And he is one of the neatest people in our family.  He prides himself on a clean room.. Who would have ever thought?

Parents of little ones:
The point here is, seek out positivity. No matter what it is that you are going through right now, it will get better.  That's a promise.  Pray through it.  I know that raising these little people is hard work!  But hey, you can do this!  You were made for this.  In those early years and on those tough days, remember that nap time or bed time is only just a few hours away.  You can make it! 
Don't be so hard on yourself.
No matter how many times you get the advice to 'sleep when they sleep', I know you won't always do it.  I didn't either, there is too much to get done, right?  Well how about instead of sleeping when they sleep, you at least take a moment to breathe... just breathe. If there is one regret that I have from my mothering experience so far, it would be that I didn't take more time to breathe.  To just relax, to slow down. 

Seek out positivity.

It will get better.

Pray through it.

YOU were made for this!

Breathe.

 

 

 

Coming soon: Calendar Clutter

A beautiful moment

I'm so thankful for God's grace.   Today was a complete opposite of yesterday.   I realized it this afternoon.  
I was in the kitchen, wearing an apron {like all good housewives do} with my hands covered in flour as I rolled out gingerbread cookies. In the other room I hear the baby playing happily in her playpen.  I know the little boy is laying on the floor coloring. He's at the feet of his big sister, who is laying across the couch reading her Junie B. Jones book out loud for her younger siblings to hear.
Life is precious. Moments like these are the things I live for.  Praise you God for this moment of happiness.

Life of a {homeschool} Teacher

We started our day with geography. All of the kids really love that subject.  Things were going splendid!  I could see the little light bulbs turning on in their heads and knew that they were learning.
My husband called at lunch break and I bragged to him about how wonderful class was going.... That was my first mistake.
JINX'd it!
From that point on two of the students in my class kept arguing with each other. I scolded them, and then they got along so well that they were laughing and making so much noise it drove me crazy!
Ps. They're siblings.

I feel so bad for another little girl in my class. Everytime I turn around she's in the recycling bucket pulling out everything she can & eating it. I suppose that's normal, she's only 1.
Ah, the life of a teacher. . Homeschool teacher, that is.

Daily perspective through handwriting

Just a quick daily dose of perspective from this homeschooling momma.

This is what my kindergartner did with his handwriting today.

My first thought: Why can't he follow the rules! Surely a public school teacher would have had him redo his work & he would have forever been tagged as the weird Bible loving boy who didn't follow directions.

Second thought: My boy is Christian!  A rule-breaking-overachieving-Christian!!

Many great things have been done by people who were (according to the majority) breaking rules. 

...there are no rules here - we're trying to accomplish something.Thomas A. Edison

Live one day at a time emphasizing ethics rather than rules.Wayne Dyer

The Pain Inside

10 days ago I was helping my husband and my brother get a massive lawn mower loaded on to a trailer.  When I say massive, I mean massive.  It was heavy and we were pushing with all our might (at least I was!).  Some how, in the shuffle of getting it up there it got turned funny (this was probably my fault) and we had to back it down a ways to straighten it out.  The weight of the mower on the lift gate and the trailer not being secured on the ball, caused the whole thing to pop up.  The mower, along with the lift gate landed right across my feet. 

OUCH! 

I'm pretty sure I yelled more than just ouch... It was dreadfully painful.  Now, I'll admit have an abnormally low pain tolerance, *especially* for someone who has given birth twice. Seriously though, this legitimately hurt like heck.

I instantly had thoughts of broken feet, never walking again, etc., etc.

The amazing thing is that I prayed for healing, and within an hour I was up and walking. 

The kicker is that for the last 10 days the feeling in my feet has been so "off".  When I bend my feet I feel the pins and needles feeling.  When they're in anterior position I feel nothing, in a very weird way.  When I'm walking, each step is painful, but not excruciating, just uncomfortably painful.

I chose to keep walking.  I chose to keep pushing on through the pain.

 

Many times I think about my feet, and how from the outside they look perfectly fine. It shocks me.

I have a friend who asked for prayers because even though she is happy, bubbly and one of the most cheerful people I know, she's hurting on the inside.  I was humbled to hear her ask for prayers.  I was proud of her.  Yet I couldn't help but think "wow".  It surprised me, because she hides it so well. 

I think a lot of people hide a lot of things.  And you know, that's okay.  We don't need a world full of Debbie-downers.  But hey guys, we also don't need to battle this world alone.   YOU ARE NOT ALONE.  When it gets too much to handle and you need prayers or help, just ask.

 

I am thankful for this incident, because it has been a constant reminder to me that we don't know what someone else is battling.  Just because they're well put together on the outside doesn't mean there isn't some sort of pain on the inside. 

 

I have a different pain inside than just what happened to my feet.  And the pain inside changes as I have different worries about my children, my marriage, my home, our government, and life in general.  I'm not a constant worrier, but when I use to worry often, it wasn't pretty!  I am thankful that I have a God to pray to.  I am thankful for true friends that I can be open and honest with.  I'm thankful that I don't have to do this all on my own. 

 

Today my pain is in the form of a useless worry.  It's useless to worry about, because there is nothing I can do to change it.  Tomorrow we take our almost 1 year old baby girl for another check-up with her cardiologist.  Baby and cardiologist should NOT even be in the same sentence as far as I'm concerned.  This check up is what they call "the big one".  Yes, that's really what they call it.  They predict that at this appointment they will be able to tell if  heart surgery in her near future, or if we can space out her check ups more and she can go on living "normally" without medical intervention.

 

I know that this is all in God's hands.  And I know that God doesn't waste our pain.  Just like the trailer incident, my pain wasn't wasted, it taught me a very hands on valuable lesson.

 

Ps.  I am pretty sure that the trailer landing on my feet also served as a punishment for my selfish thoughts..  more on that later... maybe... or maybe not... ;)

 

Changing seasons, a season for giving

 

Here in Iowa we are now in the season of fall. The colors of the leaves on the trees are absolutely beautiful here. The temps are cooler, and judging by the 2 blankets on my bed last night, It's clear the seasons have definitely changed
But this is fall, not winter. . And surely not Christmas, right?

I'll be the first to admit that I think it is ridiculous that the stores already have Christmas stuff out...
I think that it's ridiculous because they're putting the stuff out in hopes of gaining more income by extending the holiday season.

If you promise not to make fun of me, I'll let you in on a little secret... Here in our household we are actually really excited about Christmas already!
We went Christmas shopping this past weekend and wrapped the presents today!

For the last several years we quit buying our kids massive amounts of Christmas presents. And some years we didn't buy them anything at all. It's one of the best decisions we have EVER made.
Every Christmas the kids would get new toys and then spend the next several months fighting over them, and then the several months after that not even touching them.
So one year we decided that instead of getting our children presents, we would let them go shopping and pick out gifts for Operation Christmas Child.
I seriously believe that they have more fun picking out toys and packing the boxes for another kid then they do open up their own Christmas presents on Christmas morning.

Through this our kids have learned to be more caring and thoughtful of others. They have also learned to be thankful for what they have. And from my standpoint, as the momma, the house is sure a lot cleaner without extra toys at Christmas!
We end up spending about $20-$25 for each box that we pack. $7 goes towards shipping the box.  Which is pretty cheap considering when I send Christmas presents to my brother and his family in Virginia I spend about $20-$30 just on the shipping! You know,  depending on how close to Christmas I get to the post office and how quickly I need the packages to arrive there.
I know we would spend more than $75 on Christmas presents for our 3 kids. 
  These OCC gifts are more than just new things for the kids to play with.  These little boxes may end up being the only gift these kids ever get in their whole entire life.  Each box is also a way for these children to learn about Jesus.
I encourage you to look into Operation Christmas Child and if you feel led to, do what you can to help their ministry.

Making Peace Makers

It is my intention to raise kind-hearted, Godly children.
We are using the book The Young Peacemaker, by Corlette Sande to help our children learn how to respond to conflict.
As we worked through our first lesson today, I realized that many of the quarrels I've faced as an adult were the result of either myself or someone else not following the guidelines for resolving conflict.
I'm sure this is something we all learned in Guidance class as elementary kids.  I do questions though, at what point do grown men & women decide they no longer need to play fair?  And why?

18 inch doll PJ shirt & tu-tu

The fashionista (formally known as, The Princess) has been wanting to learn how to sew for years. But life gets busy, you know?  Well we decided this week we would just go ahead and tackle her first sewing machine project!

Because it was her first project we started off simple. We took a onesie that no longer fit her baby sister and hemmed it into a PJ shirt for the doll.

Thrifty and fun!

After that we stitched up a little piece of elastic and tied tons and tons and tons...and tons more of tulle around it to form a tutu!
 

Success!  & the mother daughter bonding time was a beautiful success too!

 

What I Heard Wednesday: 8-21-13

Homeschooling is going fabulous!  Really, I'm not just saying that to spite all of you who think I'm in over my head. 

Now, granted this is only day 2 and things could (and I know they will) get tougher, but so far we are loving ever minute of it! 

So I'm telling the boy as we're creating a mini book that he needs to cut very carefully on the lines.  His response to me in his laid back, 'I'm so cool' voice:  "Yeah, so I can sell this thing to uncle Jeremy".
  Yes son, those were my thoughts exactly!  Uncle Jeremy would love to have a mini book all about Jack, who has a pack on his back that says QUACK!


The highlight of my day was when my princess came running up the stairs first thing in the morning and asked if she could start her math!  Isn't that just music to a  momma's ears?  Lovely!  She is such a great independent worker and I really appreciate her having a genuine love of learning.  She is such a joy to be around and just radiates kindness wherever she goes.  Love that girl!

School took a little longer today as we added in a few more subjects than we did yesterday.  Truth be told, I didn't want to start school until after Labor day.  But, I have eager learners, and there's no way I'm telling them to hold off on that sort of excitement. 

I have been working on laundry all day.  Literally, the whole day.  I even decided to be an overachiever and change the sheets on our beds.  The baby just had her sheets changed so I did everyone else's while she was napping.
Long story short, I went in to get her from her nap and her sheet was soaked.. and there sat her dry diaper that I got out, but forgot to put on her!  Hey look on the bright side though, now everyone's sheets have been washed on the same day.  I decided not too be too hard on myself, I mean forgetting to change a diaper once in 10 months isn't so bad, and she didn't seem to mind one bit. 

2013-2014 Homeschool Curriculum Choices

      Well folks, we.are.crazy.

Yep, I said crazy. At least that's what people keep asking us, "are you guys crazy?"
 We've got 3 kids ages; 10, 6, and 9 months.  And we've decided to homeschool both of the big kids this year!  *warm smile*.  I'm not one of those moms who can't wait to get her kids back in school each August.
In fact, I'm the mom who is always thanking God for one more day with my kids.  A few years ago I had some unexplained health problems and thought I was dying.  I had funeral plans and everything, pretty dramatic, right?  Well ever since then I've vowed to live each day as if it were my last.  And on my last days, I want to be spending them with my family. 
I feel so blessed that I have a husband who provides for our family so I am able to stay home and raise our children.  We prayed that we'd be able to afford homeschooling, because it is more expensive than public school initially.  God has come through for us on this one in so many random ways.  I'll do a post on that another time. :)

I have spent literally years researching what to use for books & doing online training and research for teaching my dyslexic daughter.  I have just been too chicken to commit to doing it full time.  I'm very appreciative that in the mean time she has had a kind-hearted teacher at the public school who has taken my baby girl under her wing and educated her.
 God has gently nudged me for 3 years, and now I hear him telling me that it's time.  Each time I tell Him "No God, I can't do this" or "Please God, let me be at peace with sending them to school and see what I'll do with all of my free time" (oh, can you just imagine how quiet my days would be), I hear him saying back "quit making excuses, I've got your back".  Well, He hasn't let me down before, and I don't believe that He will now.
 I was blessed to meet with two friends this week, who gave me incredible insight on different curriculum options. 
So, here's the plan, Stan!  I will update this with links when I have time. Right now the kids are in bed and I am feeling guilty for sitting at the computer while Mr. Awesome is nodding off in front of the TV waiting for some cuddle time. Updates posted! 

 

The Boy,  2013-2014, Kindergarten

Language Arts: First Language Lessons for the Well-Trained Mind: Level 1 (Second Edition) (First Language Lessons)

Writing: Each morning we start with our Thankful Journals.  Just jotting down a few things that we’re thankful for.

Handwriting: Handwriting WithoutTears, Kindergarten (this was cheaper to order from their web-site, rather than Amazon).

Reading: The Reading Lesson: Teach Your Child to Read in 20 Easy Lessons  (I cannot say enough about this book, very low distraction, and the lessons are simple and clear), Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons, 1986 Fireside Edition, ISBN 0671631985 (sometimes we use this one too, just to reinforce a little).

Spelling: All About Spelling Level 1 & Interactive Kit.

Math: Essential Math Kindergarten B .  This boy is great at math!  The reason I’m starting with the Kindergarten B is that I want  to review with him, before pushing him on to 1^st grade math.  I am confident that he could go right to the first grade level and do just fine, but math is nothing to mess around with.

Typing: Nothing very formal yet, although we may give it a try for fun.  

 The Girl, 2013-2014, 5^th Grade

Language Arts:  First Language Lessons for the Well-Trained Mind: Level 4 Student Workbook (First Language Lessons)   & First Language Lessons for the Well-Trained Mind: Level 4 Instructor Guide (First Language Lessons) By Jessie Wise, Sara Buffington You do need both the workbook and instructor text, but don't fret, the cost is worth it (and not too high, in my opinion).  It is very detailed and no additional planning is required, just open the text and go! 

Writing: Thankful Journals (The bulk of her writing will be in the First Language Lessons as well, but this is one more way to encourage her to write and have fun doing it). 

Handwriting: Handwriting Without Tears Level 5.  This girl loves cursive so she will be doing both the print and the cursive this year.

Reading: This will be a part of First Language Lessons as well.  But I highly encourage more reading than just what is required in the book.  We will be supplementing her reading curriculum with books from the library, magazines, & really anything I can get her to read.  Right now she’s really into the American Girl books.  We will do unit studies as well as read books that also have a movie we can watch afterwards, because that's pretty fun momma-daughter stuff!

Spelling: Yeah…. About that…   I know this is a VERY important area.  One swipe through Facebook is all the proof you need to know how valuable it is to spend more time teaching our youth to spell.  We will start with the level one and work our way up.  I don’t want to start too high, in case there are things that she has missed.  It never hurts to review anyway.  She will just progress at a much quicker rate than her younger brother with this subject.  Learning isn’t about being at some certain level, but about making progress and gaining knowledge.  Because of her dyslexia spelling is more difficult, but certainly not impossible by any means. 

 Math: Teaching Textbooks Level 5, We will supplement with Xtramath.com, Learning Wrap-Ups Introductory Math Kit , flash cards, Math War Multiplication Game Cards , and practical real-life math any time we can.

Typing: Online Dance Mat Typing

 Both Kids together:

Bible: Dinner Time Devotions as a family.  Each child has their own Bible that they will be held accountable for reading (the best they can).  They do weekly Promiseland at church and we will do activities that relate to what they have talked about at church, as well as online Bible games.

Geography: Road Trip USA, I’m pretty sure.  This year we will be focusing on studying the United states,  as well as the presidents.

Music, Art & PE: We are a musical family, the oldest girl loves art, and the man of the house keeps us all active!  But, these subjects will be covered at the homeschool co-op that we joined as well.  I believe science will also be covered there.  We are going to still look for something to do at home, since we like experiments around this house! 

 

I am most uneasy and confused about making a daily plan.  I'm wondering what subjects we will cover when, and what our days will look like.  I want to be sure each child gets adequate time with me, but not too much that they aren't learning to work independently. 
I know we will get a rhythm and things will fall into place.  I am a super organized person, so feeling uncertain in this area is tough.  But, I wont let it get me down.  We will figure out what works for us and go with it!

 

If you have any questions, consult Google, because I'm a newbie!  Okay, really, if you have questions, post them in the comments.  I'd love to hear from you!

 

Thanks for stopping by!

 

DIY: 18 Inch American Girl Knock Off Turns Into a BOY!

About a month ago I took the kids to the American Girl store. My daughter loves their dolls, so I was looking to get a boy one for my son. When I realized how crazy expensive they were, I started searching the internet for a do it yourself (cheaper) option. 
My sweet girl is trying to earn a new doll that looks like her mini-me.
The doll that she bought last year had blonde hair and blue eyes, looking an awful lot like her brother.
so we decided to turn the old doll into a boy doll. This is what she gave her brother for his birthday. He likes it.

I removed the lipstick with nail polish remover & a q-tip.
My sister in law gave the doll a haircut at her salon.
We dressed this little guy in old Build A Bear clothes. The clothes were a little big.  I am imagine preemie or newborn clothes would fit really well.

Cheap, cute & fun! 

Memories for the boy.

It's nearly midnight, I'm exhausted & I want to crash.   But tomorrow my only boy turns 6!! This quick set up took less than 10 minutes and I had everything already on hand.  I know it's not pretty.  I also know my son will love it regardless. Making memories for my children is my favorite thing to do these days.  A week from now he won't care that the streamers were pink & the only gift he had in the morning was bubble wrap on the floor.  He loves that stuff!
  But he will remember that his momma loved him and took time to surprise him with the fun things that little boys love. That's all that matters.... I'm making memories for someday when I'm no longer here to do these things for him. 
I hope he never forgets that he was prayed for and loved.   It's his special day, but I feel like I am the one who received a gift.  My boy.

Organizing clothes

I bought one of these little gems last year for my daughter. It was perfect for organizing her clothes for the week.

Each Sunday we picked out 5 outfits. The Monday outfit was placed on top, and Tues-Fri's were put into the drawers.
Once in a while we would put Monday-Thursday in the drawers, and Friday would be her free day to pick whatever she wanted to wear.

It revolutionized our morning routine and saved so much time!

I also bought one to use in our school room to organize supplies and books. That one ended up not being used as well as I'd hoped.  I bought that one in black so I can use it anywhere else I need to.

They are on sale at Shopko right now & I highly recommend them!

Watch over my family

http://bible.us/97/2SA7.28.MSG

The verse of the day was perfectly fitting for my mood this morning.  

“And now, Master God , being the God you are, speaking sure words as you do, and having just said this wonderful thing to me, please, just one more thing: Bless my family; keep your eye on them always. You’ve already as much as said that you would, Master God ! Oh, may your blessing be on my family permanently!”

It's a scary thing to think I may not always be able to watch over my family. 

Sending the kids off to school leaves me feeling helpless.  I can't be there to troubleshoot any problems they have, or to comfort them from the harsh words they will at some point be told.  

The thought that someday I won't be here at all for them, or for my husband is an even worse feeling.   I don't think I'm so important that they won't survive without me.  But I do think things would be tough for them at first.   I've started training the older kids to fold and put away their own laundry, as well as do their dishes.  I've planted the seed of Christ in them and helped them to develop friendships.  I've taught two of them to be honest in all situations, and I'm still working on teaching the littlest one.  ;)

I believe:
Having a love for Christ
Being honest
Knowing how to be a friend (& being compassionate)
Basic communication & people reading skills
Are a few of the most important keys to a happy life.

Give a little, get a little.

Alright, this crazy thing happened today.

I'll briefly tell you how we got here.

  Yesterday my mom came to visit.  I bragged to her how I sold 4 things online within 2 hours.  She tells me “Well don't you think you priced your stuff to cheap then?  You need to try to get more out of your stuff.  Quit wasting all of Chad’s money.. blah, blah blah”.  I think that’s how it went anyway, right mom?   I explained to my mom, who is exactly twice my age... The more you give, the more you get.  Plain and simple.  She knows this, but she likes to give me a hard time about my crazy spending/giving habits.  Good thing too, or imagine how much worse off I'd be! 

So last week at church the sermon was given by our music director, who talked about his experience with helping a man on the side of the road.

Not like a man with a broken down car on the side of the road, flashers going, just needing a quick jump start or a can of gas.  But a man who was sitting on the side of the road with a cardboard sign crying out for help.

He tells us that the first time he got in this situation he ignored the guy, and it haunted him.  He felt so terrible about it that he vowed the next time he was in this situation, he'd respond better, and he did.

That second time, he blessed a man with a package of socks, just as this guy’s sign had requested.  The man tells him “God Bless”.  They were both blessed!

Today we made a run through McDonalds.  On the way there was a guy in the median with a sign.  I couldn't read it, but as we drove past I saw in my rearview mirror that people were handing cash out their window to this guy.  I was happy to see that not everyone yells “get a job” and flips these people off.  There are still caring people in this world. 

We went through the drive-thru (because who takes 3 kids out of their car seats and into a fast food joint just to order a burger? not I!).  I ordered the guy a couple burgers, some fries and a sweet tea.  mmm.  I love me some sweet tea.  We each only got a burger for ourselves, but I wanted to be sure this guy's belly was full and he was ready to tackle whatever life gave him after we left him.

Once we were at window #2 and our food was handed to us my husband checked the bag.  We were missing a McChicken.  They asked us to pull around to spot #1 to wait.  While we were waiting I was complaining to my husband that he should just go inside and get his damn sandwich, since it was taking so long.  I know, I get impatient some times… 

About another minute later a guy comes out with a sack and says he was on break watching us out the window and wondered why we were there so long.  He went back to check on it and said they had forgotten about us.  He handed us the sack with a coupon for a free meal! 

So we drive away, dropping the guy off his food and drink.  I wrote a little "God Bless" on the bag, and my husband verbally said it to him.

We get about 5 miles down the road before it hit me.

WHOA!  You work FAST God!  We just gave a meal to this man you created, and you gave a meal back to us.  Bless you, Lord.  You are good!

Now- This story wouldn't be complete without me telling you a little truth, that I wish hadn't crossed my mind.  The guy, sitting there asking for help, was smoking a cigarette.  Now, I tend to believe that if you have the cash for cig's, you have money to handle your needs.  Or you should be saving your money for your needs, not spending it on your wants. But- I knew, it was NOT my place to judge.  And just to be sure I really understood, I said it out loud, "This is not my place to judge God, please don't let me judge him". 
Judgment dropped, and I freely gave.  The man didn't say thank you, in fact all he said was "alright, alright" as I handed him the food.  But whatev, I mean, I didn't do it because I was looking for a thank you.  I did it because God wanted  me to.  He wants us to do good deeds for each other.  Happiness.

 

 

 

Matthew 6:1

Be especially careful when you are trying to be good so that you don’t make a performance out of it. It might be good theater, but the God who made you won’t be applauding.

 

*I'm sharing this story with you because I want you to be encouraged to help others, without reservations or judgment. 

Worry Not.

 

“It’s not only wrong to worry, it’s infidelity.

Because worrying means we don’t think God can look after the practical details of our lives, and it’s never anything else that worries us.”

 

 

These are the words from a blogpost I just read.  I clicked on it from Facebook, because I saw a beautiful picture of flowers.  It is so fitting that I would see this just as I'm headed out the door to snag a clipping of my very own snowball bush to put on the dining room table, in hopes of bringing good cheer into the home.

  God knew that would catch my eye. 

He knew I needed this, as I slept on the couch last night, just sick with worry after an unnecessary, repetitive, attacking argument where no conflict was resolved.  Pointless.  That's easy to see now in the daylight. 

Read the post if you wish, here's the link.

Worry need not have a place around here.  We've got plenty of other stuff taking up space. 

Uncensored

Please let me preface this with saying someone asked me for a raw "real Q" post...

On our way home tonight we were sifting through XM radio when the voice on the speakers said "show me proof God is real, I don't believe it!!!". This was after we learned that a few of our favorite songs actually have really naughty words in them.
We got to talk about non believers and how they sometimes eventually come to believe.  We also got to explain about censorship & how XM just doesn't have it.  
This post does not contain censorship either....
Here it comes....

I was so frustrated today! Down right discouraged & pissed. I tried my darnedest to get a few pictures printed... that's it.

First I went to the digital photo place here in town.  They didn't have bluetooth capabilities, so I had to upload all 1400 pictures from my phone onto their machine with a dinky cable that thankfully I had in the van... because they of course didn't have one.. .
What the crap?  You're a digital photo store..get with the times!  After 25 minutes and several "kids quit touching...insert: each other, the merchandise, the floor, etc" someone else came in and needed the machine so I gave up and went on my way. I'm wondering if my pictures are still on their machine, as it appeared to be saving them.. oy!  They'll either love the pictures that contain no censorship, or be terribly offended by them.

Then I waited a few hours & tried to get my pictures printed at Walmart 45 minutes away.  I used their handy kiosk to bluetooth.   It went smooth for the most part.  It prints me a slip saying wait 11 minutes and another saying wait 13 for my other pictures, then scan them at another kiosk to print.
done.
I went and scanned it right away to call it's bluff.  Nope.. they really weren't   & I was getting impatient as my husband kept phoning me while he was in the car with the two youngest kids.
I asked at the counter & the lady says she shuts the machine off at 8pm.  So if it wasn't done by then I just needed to come back in the morning.

Well lady, this Chica don't do squat in the morning.   & I sure as shit ain't wasting another $15 in gas to go pick up less than a dozen 4x6's.

It was 7:40 p.m. so I decided I would wait another 20 minutes and see if they were finished at 8 o'clock like she suggested to do.
I got to browsing and went back to the counter at 8:04 pm. Shop closed up at 8 o'clock.. Which I knew because she told me but I thought I would ask.
Yep, pictures weren't done yet, so I'd have to come back for them... I apologized, but let her know we weren't from town, so I wouldn't be coming back for them.

By this point, in my head:
  *That lady was worthless at her job & I needed outta there before one of the rude comments in my head slipped out.
  *My husband was ticked I went in there in the first place, so I dreaded returning to the van.  I especially hated to return empty handed after what he says was an hour in there. So I bought toilet paper.
  *Where will all this TP get stored?
  *My pictures would NEVER get printed in time.
  *I kept validating that this is why small town businesses close, Walmart sux & why I pay a company in China to print my pictures and mail them to me.

After we get home my oldest daughter, who is 16yrs younger than me & about 20x's more mature tells me something like this:
"You know how sometimes you lock your keys in the house, and it makes you late? Or something like the pictures thing happens? Maybe that stuff happens because God is protecting you from something worse. So, I think He protected us, ya know?"
My mind shifted.   I felt terrible for my selfishness, bitterness and anger.  
She's right.   No denying a little girls understanding of our great God's love. 

I hope I can remember this the next time this sort of thing happens again, because I know it will.