This makes me smile...

I love my morning coffee.

Ramblings on snow, candy, and crafting marathons

Yesterday we woke up to see this outside:



So I have to say that I was completely unprepared for this very unexpected three inches of snow that I found on my decks this morning. My poor fall decorations were completely covered in snow and blown around. And my pillows are still not defrosted from the deep freeze they found themselves in at 7:00am this morning.

Of course, the kids were completely over-joyed. All morning they talked about how they couldn't wait to go outside and play in the snow. Wouldn't you know that I hadn't even bought their snowsuits or snow boots yet. I figured I had another month before I would need that particular winter apparel.

So, off we went to Wal-Mart. Upon arrival home, we bundled up and headed outside. I had to remind myself of the post I wrote yesterday about stepping out of my comfort zone and getting dirty and cold for the sake of fun 'cause I really didn't want to go out in the 32 degree weather!

And isn't it ironic that last night was trick-or-treating in our neighborhood. It was very strange combining snow and Halloween. I was rolling on the floor laughing when dressing Lily. She had so many layers on under her Little Red Riding Hood costume that she looked like "Little Red on Steroids." Ian's batman costume was much easier to conceal the five layers hiding beneath it.

My sister and her daughter, Allie went with us. Our friends Bern and Carmen and their three kids also went. We only stayed out for an hour because it was miserably cold and windy. And my fingers and toes were numb. And I musn't forget about my numb legs. Oh, the things one will do for chocolate...

This is everyone minus Carmen and I who were taking the pictures. Oh, and Bern is hiding behind Raphy the lion and Miriam the fairy - you can only see his left leg and his orange hat!

Oh, and I mentioned earlier in the week that I'm devoting my blog posts this week to family topics and pics. I'm getting some much needed rest before I start my crafting marathon next week. My project? Christmas gifts. And some other random things. So stay tuned and I leave all you crafty folk out there with some eye candy...

Conquering the Hibernation Bug

The following pictures were taken on Monday. Monday was cold. At least by my standards. It was in the 40's, and if you know me well (which some of you do) you know how big of a sissy I am when it comes to cold weather. Just the thought of going outside when the temperature is below 50 degrees gives me the goose bumps. In fact, the only thing that keeps me from picking up and moving south is my family.

The kids and I went outside for a short walk. Just to get some fresh air. The sun was out, and I felt bad keeping the kids inside when it was so sunny (even though I dreaded going out into the cold.) We finished our walk, and I got a little spontaneous. I grabbed the rake from the shed and raked up a big pile of leaves. Then we played. For an hour. And I had fun. And I didn't even notice being cold.

I'm happy that I ignored my initial inclination to hibernate in the house all day. We had so much fun together. I laughed. The kids laughed. We had a great time.

I think I need to step out of my comfort zone a little bit more for the sake of fun. Now that I'm a "grown-up" I have a hard time letting loose and getting dirty. But getting dirty (and cold) can be quite fun.

The Simple Things

I decided to devote my posts this week to family. Yesterday I wrote about the impact of our attitudes as mothers on our family and home. I'd also like to share my thoughts on ways that we as mothers can make our family members and home life feel important and special.

Have you ever heard the song "How You Live" by Point of Grace? If not, you can see the video and listen to the song here. The song basically talks about how you shouldn't wait for the "right" time to make life special and to really live life. It's a very inspirational song.

Today I'd like to discuss dinnertime. Dinner is such an important part of the day at our home. It's when Brad gets home, and we finally get to sit down and eat together. Our children are still young so we rarely have a dinner when we're not all together. I try to make it a point to be at home with dinner ready when Brad gets home. Sounds pretty old-fashioned, huh? Well, I'm not saying that everyone needs to do this, but I know that when Brad arrives home to dinner on the table (or at least close to it) it makes him feel appreciated.

What are some things we can do to make dinnertime special?

Saturday night, we had a candlelight dinner. Not Brad and I alone. Rather, Brad, Ian, Lily and I. I've done this in the past and the kids love it. It was still light out at dinner time, so we pulled all the blinds shut and lit the candles. Then we enjoyed a warm, cozy special dinner together. It was so simple. There wasn't any particular event to celebrate, just the desire to make our dinner feel special.

I didn't even put the spaghetti and meatballs on a nice dish (although I could have.) The candlelit dinner was a last minute decision (the food was literally already on the table when I decided to pull out the candles) so I didn't fuss with the details. No one noticed.

But... You could make dinner special by using your special dinnerware. Why save it for just the holidays? Now, I personally only pull mine out for Christmas dinner, because I have to store it wrapped up in the basement. However, if you have easy access to your China or special dinnerware, why not get it out once a month?

I've also been on the lookout for a special plate to commemorate special events or days. For example, this "special" plate could be used on birthdays. The birthday boy/girl would get to use the plate. Or if someone accomplished something, they would get to eat dinner from the "special" plate.

What about having sparkling cider with your dinner? You could buy those plastic champagne glasses if you have young children so you don't have to worry about broken glass. Sparkling cider is so yummy and it's something that most people don't drink everyday. My mom always served it on New Year's Eve, and I always loved that part of the night. Why wait for a special night? Why not tomorrow?

These are just a few ideas. I'm sure that you all have ideas of your own, and I'd love to hear them. So feel free to share. And have fun making your family's dinner time special!

It's All About Attitude

As mothers we set the tone in our homes. Yep, it's true. And a little scary and a bit overwhelming. I believe that we are the one single person that has the most influence on the atmosphere in our home. You know that cliche, "When momma ain't happy, ain't nobody happy"? Well, can you relate to that? I sure can. My mood affects my children, it affects my husband, and it affects the well-being and stability of our home.

Of course, our husbands also impact our home. It's important that they are the leaders of our homes. The are to be the spiritual head, under the authority of Christ. They are to lead in love and with spiritual authority. They are not to lord over their wives and children, but they are to gently and lovingly lead decisions, discipline, etc. They are to treat their wives with respect and they are to love their wives as Christ loves the church. That's straight from the Bible. Look at Ephesians 5:22-32 for Christ's view on a husband/wife relationship. Husbands play an important part too.

I have clearly seen the impact of my mood and attitude on EVERYONE in my home. If I wake up in a less-than-cheery mood, my whole day can quickly slip down the slippery slope. And some days it does. However, when I'm feeling down or in an otherwise negative mood, I'm always conscious of a small, still voice (the Holy Spirit) prompting me to stop what I'm doing and pray before I go any further. When I ignore this voice, I usually fail. When I heed to this voice, I can definitely feel Christ working in me through the day.

I have days when I'm so frustrated with my, at times, very interrupted life. Some days it seems as though I can't even clean the toilet without being interrupted by my kids. And that frustrates me. However, when I show my frustration to my children, I know I'm not being a Godly model of a mother. When I yell at them because their natural childish instincts and habits grate on my nerves, I'm not being a Godly mother.

I've come to terms with the fact that I absolutely 100% cannot do this mothering thing on my own. In order for me to be the mother Christ intends for me to be, I must surrender my selfishness over to Him DAILY. I must decide that each day is HIS, not mine. This can be difficult because humans are, by nature, selfish beings. We want to plan our day on our own terms, not someone else's. If I say I want to have all the dusting done by 9:00am, then I'm irritated when it doesn't happen.

But it's not all about me, is it? It's never been all about me, and it became even less about me when I became a mother. But it needs to be about Christ. It needs to be about loving Christ, seeking Him ALWAYS. Not expecting perfection of ourselves, but relying on Christ to make us into the spirit-filled, loving, gracious beings He intends for us to be.

I'm so thankful that God is so forgiving of my imperfections. I have many. I've had moments of failure as a wife, a mother, and a person. However, my failures do not result in Christ ceasing to love me. Instead, He mercifully and graciously waits for me to come to Him and cry out to Him for forgiveness and lovingly supplies all the strength and help I need.

I'm making a decision to work on my attitude and mood. I'm making a decision to give my day over to God in the morning. I'm making a decision to lean on Christ for strength and wisdom to not just "make it through" motherhood, but to truly enjoy this season of my life. I'm making a decision to accept that I will still have failures, but to learn from those failures and use them to catalyze the appropriate change.

So, how has your attitude been lately? Are you caught up in this world and your own desires? Are you living in frustration, like I have been? Are you feeling weak and down-hearted because you just can't seem to get this whole motherhood thing down pat? Are you feeling guilty because you've yelled at your kids one too many times?

If you've answered yes to any of the above, I encourage you to give it over to God. Decide right now that you want to be the Godly mother that God intends for you to be. Then cry out to God. Ask Him for His power and strength. Seek Him daily through His Word and prayer. Remember that God does not expect you to be a perfect mother and wife. If He expected you to be perfect there would have been no need for Him to send Christ as our Saviour. Remember that He loves you, despite your failures, and He desires to walk with you through your season of motherhood.

Captured Moments

Well, I'm tired. And my brain is temporarily out of order. I picked up some new fabric today, and I desperately wanted to start making some Christmas gifts but cannot even pick myself up out of this chair to do it. We ran errands all day. And we all got our flu shots. Which could explain my exhaustion. Not from the vaccine. From pinning Ian down while he got his.

Instead I've been sitting here in front of the computer searching for more Christmas projects to add to my already too-ambitious list.

Oh, and I received my new camera today. Thanks to my mom and dad and an early Christmas gift. So I can finally give my dad his camera back. I've given it quite the work-out. I'm sure it will appreciate a short hibernation before it's whisked off to the deserts of Wyoming.

Of course, I immediately had to play with my new toy. Took many pics. A few I wanted to post tonight, but I can't get the software formatted to my computer. And my genius husband who normally does that techy stuff is working. So it will have to wait.

So I leave you with some random images that I've captured over the last couple of weeks.

SMILE!

Have a great weekend!

It's that time of year again...

... for pulling out the crochet needles and yarn. It must be the cool crisp air and the impending freeze of winter that calls my crocheting-self out of slumber. The soft rich warmth of yarn beckons me to create something warm and snuggly out of its cozy fibers.

Lily needed a scarf so when I saw Lion Brand yarn on sale at JoAnn's, I let Lily pick out a skein. Of course she picked something pretty and pink. That is her signature color, after all. I could hardly wait to get my hands on it. So after everyone was in bed Monday night, I pulled out my crochet needles and set to work.


Lily tried it on Tuesday morning. She loves her soft cozy scarf. Handmade by her mommy. And it fits her perfectly. Small, petite, and pretty just like her.

Homeschooling Babble...

Thought I'd share some things I've been using with my kids.

We're studying the letter "E" this week. I had the kids make puppets out of brown lunch bags. You can get the template here. I cut out the templates to save time. I also printed them in color for the same reason.

As I already stated, I cut out the templates the night before. Then I put them in an envelope that had the letter "E" written on the front. This is their "E" envelope, and you can talk about how the word "envelope" also starts with the letter "E." I also included little slips of card stock in their "E" envelopes that had words written on them. Half of the words started with the short sound "E" and the other half were just random words. I'll tell you what I did with these a little later in this post.

Have your kids glue the pieces onto the brown bag according to the directions that are included with the templates. We then gave our elephants names that began with the short sound letter "E". Lily named hers Emily, and Ian named his Ernest.

I then had the kids get their little slips of card stock out of their "E" envelopes. I told them that their elephants only eat words that begin with the letter "E", uppercase or lower case. They had to sort through the words, and when they found a word that started with "E" they "fed" it to their elephant.

Lily had a hard time recognizing the letter "E" when she looked at the whole word. So I covered up all the word but the first letter and held the letter right next to the "E" on the envelope, and she was able to recognize "E" much better.

The kids had a lot of fun "feeding" their hungry elephants, and this activity was a great way to reinforce "E" identification. You could also make different animal puppets and use the same concept. For example, mouse for "M", lion for "L", tiger for "T", etc. Then make word tags and feed the animals like we did for the elephant and "E."

I also wanted to tell you about a great website that we use. You might have already heard of it. It is starfall.com. It is great for letters, phonics, and reading. This is a favorite at our house.

And for all you that have preschoolers that you must distract during school time, here is a great sorting activity. You will need pony beads in assorted colors, a container with different compartments (or small Dixie cups), and a hot glue gun.

Decide which colors you want to include. Then get a bead of each color and glue one color per compartment or cup using the hot glue gun.

Then get approximately 10-20 pony beads of each color you used in your container (cups) and put them into a snack-sized baggie.

Give the baggie and the container to your child, and have him/her sort the beads according to color.