Thousand Square Feet

Life Lately

2012-01-13T08:17:00.001-06:00

Oh, my goodness! It has been 1 1/2 months since I last wrote anything! Life has been sooo busy! The before-Christmas rush included the death of my grandmother and subsequent funeral. It was rather sudden but not totally unexpected since she lived to the wonderful age of 96. It was and is still very sad and I often have to remind myself that she is no longer around which seems really . . . weird. Every Christmas, since . . . well, always, we have spent December 26th with my grandmother. This was the first year we didn't. I did make a trip out to her grave stone and said a little hello. That day wouldn't have been the same if I hadn't. But I rest in the knowledge that I will see her again when I, too, get to that glorious place called heaven where she now lives and worships her Savior. It was always her desire to live with her Jesus and I am so glad she finally is. It still doesn't make the tears any less, though. And I don't think I can ever listen to "O Holy Night" again without crying - it was her favorite Christmas song. We sang it to her the day she died and again at her funeral.

I also spent many hours sewing Christmas gifts (on my grandmother's old machine, which made me think of her often) - aprons and doll clothes. It was a lot of fun and is one of my favorite Christmas traditions - staying up late, trying to get the gifts done.

Jason's cousin and family moved from Tennessee to close by so we took some time to spend with them. We love having them around and are enjoying getting to know them better.

We also met with a designer to help us with the design of our country home. The draftsman we are using just wasn't able to fully understand what we wanted and needed but our designer? She was awesome! She listened to what we said and was able to incorporate what we wanted with what she knew we needed. She was able to give out many ideas for us to think about and in the end, we LOVE the design of the house. The plans are now at the draftsman again for him to make the technical drawings so we can finally have working blueprints to hand out for pricing. We also sat down with a contractor and are going to see what it would cost for them to do the contracting and some of the major work, like the concrete, framing, electrical, etc. Everyone is waiting for those blueprints so we are a little antsy since spring is going to come sooner than we think. We still don't know if we are definitely building this year but we are sure hoping. We will not make foolish financial decisions just to regret it later - if we need to wait another year, we will. But, it has been our intention to build in 2012 so we will see what happens.

December is also the time of year that we take the kids to the optometrist and, for the first time ever, the dentist. We went to a pediatric dentist and it was a fantastic experience. We did discover that Pepe has a crowding issue and because of that needs some fillings and needed to see the orthodontist. We just took Pepe and his brother AJ to the orthodontist this past week and we learned that Pepe will be getting a retainer and partial braces in the next 2-3 weeks. It was not at all surprising but certainly unexpected at this stage of the game. I didn't realize they did braces at such a young age - he is only 8. But with all the photos they took and the explanation, I fully understand why this action needs to happen now. Pepe says he is okay with it so I hope it all goes well.

Now that it is January, I am trying to finish up the year-end books for the farm. But, we bought a new-to-us computer and that required many hours of work on my part to install all the programs we use, network the computers and printers, and make sure everything was running smoothly. I hate how much time it takes to do all that stuff but it was necessary. The old computer was SO. VERY. SLOW that it was frustrating, in the least. We have now moved that one downstairs and they kids can use it for their computer games. Works out great, actually. And the paperwork is almost done.

And one last bit of exciting news - for me, anyway! I bought a saxophone! It has been a dream of mine, for at least the past 15 years, if not longer, to own a saxophone and learn to play. I was given some inheritance money upon the death of my grandma and I wanted to do something special with some of it. The saxophone is a used one and not one of the big 5 in brand name but I am thrilled with it anyway. I also got a bunch of music with it so I am having fun playing. I have never played any instrument well (I took piano as a young child and classical guitar for one year as a college student) but the saxophone is one instrument I adore and will play it for a long time. Jason even suggests taking lessons so when that man says to do it, I will. We just need to figure out the timing on that one.

That is the past 1 1/2 months in a nut shell. Now we are trying to establish routine again since school has started. I am contemplating building our next kitchen cabinets, studying some of the Psalms for my personal devotions, off sugar again for a year, trying to fly with FlyLady and wanting to incorporate TaeBo back into my day. But more on all that another time. Today we are off to the Kitchen, Bath and Renovation Show being held in the city and I gotta get ready! We will talk again soon! :)

Faux Mantel Over a Half Wall

2011-11-21T13:20:00.001-06:00

Since we live in a bi-level house, we have a half wall that divides our living room from our entrance. I love the open concept home but I wanted to have a wall behind my fireplace to create a mantel. I was not about to frame out a wall so I lived with a fireplace and no wall for a number of years. This past summer a friend of mine gave me a wooden frame that may have been intended to be a glass fronted cabinet door. However, it did not contain any glass but neither did it contain any holes for hinges or knobs either. She said that I would come up with something to do with it and she was right.

After a while, I realized this would be the solution to creating a faux mantel! I do actually have a photo of the frame in the "before" state but it is on an SD card that has mysteriously disappeared! ** Edited to add that I found the card so here is the before! **

I ordered some mirror to be cut to the correct size then got to work painting the frame. Ever since I heard about Rustoleum's Heirloom White spray paint, I knew I had to try it somewhere and this was the perfect project. I gave that frame a nice coat of paint and, once it was dry, sanded down the edges slightly to give it more of an antiqued look. After a layer of clear coat, it was ready for the hardware.

I followed the same technique I used to create my trapeze frames, using eye hooks and cable wiring and crimps. After the eye hooks were installed, I inserted the mirror using glazier points stuck in the back. What a neat and tidy way to hold that mirror in place. When it came time to find the rafters that the mirror was to hang from, we ran into a little snag. We knew that the rafters ran in a certain direction over our entrance. What we were not aware of, however, was that right over the fireplace, the rafters ran in a different direction to accommodate the roofline, making it impossible to hang the mirror where I wanted it. Well, difficult, not impossible.

My dearly loved and super wonderful hunk-of-love husband crawled into the attic for me and held 2x4s in place in the exact location I wanted to hang the mirror, creating studs! (This is not a finished attic, this is a hop-from-rafter-to-rafter-and-dig-through-the-insulation kind of attic!) Once I installed the eye hooks in the newly formed studs, the mirror was ready to hang! I love the new look! I love the abundant decorating possibilities! I love the new "wall" it creates! I now have a fireplace mantel complete with mirror! Let the decorating begin!

As for decorating, well, I used to have 2 of those apothecary jars flanking the candles. However, my sons thought playing frisbee was an indoor sport and the one jar was the casuality of such foolishness! Grr. For now, this will have to do until the Christmas decor comes out!

As usual, linking up to Sandra's Party!

Christmas Aprons

2011-11-17T14:52:00.001-06:00

Someone suggested to me I should sew some Christmas aprons - so I did! I am not into the cutesy Christmas fabric choosing, instead, the beautiful classics that remain timeless. I found some gorgeous fabric and was able to create a couple of really elegant aprons. These are not your traditional quickly-sewn looking-a-bit-boring Christmas aprons. These are filled with details typically seen on skirts, with the darts and pleats, but they are worthy of the beauty of the fabric and I am thrilled with the results.

This first one is a new style for me. I call this the "Ali Apron". I remember sketching this out many months ago and I finally made it into reality.

The box pleats at the bottom of the apron were quick to make, thanks to a little pleat tool I found at the thrift store about a year ago. I found it again recently (my "sewing room" is a disaster!) and it makes quick work of making any type of pleats - no measuring required.

I knew I wanted to accent the apron with a large fabric flower so I did - it adds such a charming flair!

With all these details, this is most certainly not your get-down-and-dirty-in-the-kitchen kind of apron but a I-am-the-hostess-of-a-great-Christmas-party-and-I-want-to-look-great-while-keeping-clean kind of apron.

The second one I made was made in the Anne Apron style, with the pleated skirt. This is probably my favorite type of apron to make (at least it was - with each additional apron I make, that opinion is possibly changing). I love the elegance of it and how it actually looks more like a skirt than an apron.

Once again, the classic Christmas colors of red, white, green and gold are so beautiful and this style of apron really showcases it. The bolder fabric stands out while the more muted red and gold is a nice surprise under the pleats.

With the extra long tie, this apron can be tied in the front or the back.

I am going to be selling my aprons at a craft show here this weekend so we will see how it goes. Regardless, I think I may have to buy some more Christmas fabric but I just might wait until it goes on sale in a little while! Do you have a Christmas apron? What kind of Christmas fabric appeals most to you?

** The very best part about sewing these aprons was that I could do the whole thing on my new-to-me 1954 Elna Supermatic sewing machine, gifted to me by my grandmother. My new Brother sewing machine grumbles incessantly when sewing through anything thicker than 2 layers of cotton. This machine, while sewing through 5 layers of fabric to attach the box pleats, didn't so much as hesitate. It was a wondrous sewing experience! I am smitten with my new machine! **

Sharing with:

http://shabbyartboutique.blogspot.com

Packing!

2011-11-13T21:29:00.001-06:00

Only one week left to go before collection week (Nov. 21-27) here in Canada for the shoe boxes collected by Operation Christmas Child! What a lot of fun it has been to shop and pack those boxes. Generally, we make one box per child but this year the grandparents in our church were challenged to make one for each of their grandchildren so I am making 10 this year, 5 of our own and 5 at the request of the grandparents. At the very end of October, we took the kids out for a night of shopping - SO MUCH FUN! We hit up the dollar store and Walmart and then went out for supper to cap it off!

I thought I would share with you what we put into our boxes and a bit on my philosophy behind why we choose what we do and where we buy our things.

First of all, I like to buy plastic shoe boxes but not from the dollar store. I buy ones from Walmart or London Drugs - something that is a bit less likely to break super easy. I own the dollar store ones for my shoes and so long as you don't use them much, they work fine. The lids also don't tend to close well but for shoes that is just fine. I also own the ones we bought this year for shoe boxes and I love them. No, they are not indestructible but I find them to seal better and handle use better. My theory is that a plastic shoebox will last much longer than the cardboard ones and can be used by the mom as a food storage container or something of the sort. We may have Tupperware here in spades but you can guarantee that the recipients of these boxes don't.

Besides your commonly bought things like toothbrushes and soap (in a plastic bag) and washcloths, combs, hair accessories, and school supplies like markers, crayons (in a plastic bag), pencils, sharpeners, erasers, notepads, coloring book, etc., I also like to put in some clothing. We always check out the clearance racks in Walmart or Superstore and you can find really cute shirts for about $3; less if you are watching really carefully. I would never put a shirt in the box that I wouldn't put on my own child so I check out the style or color or message of the shirt carefully. I don't do, "Oh, that is good enough!" I want to honor them with great choices, not just good enough!

I love to make little bandana skirts for the girls. Super simple to make and a new article of clothing for them. You just take two bandanas (dollar store ones are fine), one for the front and one for the back, sew them together at the sides, make a casing for elastic, insert the elastic and you are done! No hemming or finishing of the seams is required since you are working with bandanas that are finished on all edges. These are fairly thin skirts but perfect for the warm weather where the recipients live.

Sunglasses are a must and the dollar store is perfect for these!

I made sure to include purses in each of the girl's boxes. If I can't find purses, I put in cosmetic bags. Every little girl likes to have a purse, right? The dollar store is fine once again - I personally have a cosmetic bag from the dollar store and it has served its purpose well. In the purses we put all the hair accessories or jewelry (the girls made beaded bracelets for them).

Some things the boys like to include in their boxes (if we can find them) are slingshots, harmonicas, marbles, hats, toy cars, a game of some sort like jacks, magnifying glass, etc. We don't usually include socks since they are likely to wear sandals instead of shoes and socks would get really dirty if they are used at all.

This year I included some fun band aids in each box - cannot go wrong with that! I was also able to find a really cute pair of flip flops for $1. In the future, I will be shopping year round and watching out for sales so I can include shoes in each box. I have already picked up extra school supplies for next year from a bargain store that was going out of business.

We also put in a little bit of hard candy for the kids. I bought individually wrapped Jolly Ranchers and some candy necklaces and put some in each box, in a plastic bag, of course.

I do not include any Barbie-like dolls. I find them to be expensive and I don't buy them for my own girls to play with. I think there are better dolls out there or better alternatives like Strawberry Shortcake or My Little Pony. That is just a personal opinion. I do think every little boy should have a stuffed animal and every little girl needs a teddy or some sort of doll. I will be making a couple of rag dolls this week so that my 5-9 year old girl's boxes each have a doll.

We have just about finished shopping and packing the boxes though a couple things remain like pencil sharpeners. These I refuse to buy at the dollar store since I always find they either don't work or break easily. I need to make a trip to an office supply store and buy a multi-pack - those seem to last longer.

Later on this week, once I have everything we need, I will be sure to show you some of the boxes and talk a bit about the letters we write and how we pray for the kids getting these boxes.

Are you participating in Operation Christmas Child this year? What special sorts of gifts are you sure to include in the boxes to make it special? I invite you to join in - you have one week left to do some shopping so if you haven't started, better get a move on!

Latest Crochet Project - Puff Stitch Toque with Ear Flaps

2011-11-11T11:25:00.001-06:00

Baby girl Ari needed a new toque for winter so I did a bit of shopping on Etsy and found a pattern that didn't use the traditional single or double crochet stitch. I liked that it looked different. Though it does require more time and more yarn than most other hats I have made, I love how it turned out. It is sooo thick that her little head will never get cold, the puff stitch is lovely to look at and with the sizing, it should fit her for about 3 more years!

If you crochet and are interested in your own, you can buy the pattern at this etsy shop!

Lamp Redo - The Base

2011-11-02T10:59:00.000-05:00

A bit over a month ago I found the perfect lamp for the nursery makeover I am working on - it was a $5 thrift store find. It was a beautiful lamp - well, it had potential. I could imagine a different color base and a different color shade and I knew it was the one.

And like all things around here, it takes a bit of time before I am either:

A. Able to start a project

B. Able to finish a project

C. All of the above, all of the time!

So, sometime between then and now I spray painted the base silver. I was hoping for a chrome color - you know, a nice shiny silver. I wasn't finding the spray paint I wanted so I went with this one from Valspar.

I love the way it turned out. A very soft, dull silver but with much potential. Today I finished the base while the kids were doing chores. I took some charcoal craft paint and a sponge brush and dabbed some paint on the brush then proceeded to dab most of it off so it is almost a dry-brushing technique. I then rubbed the brush in each of the recessed areas on the lamp.

I would paint three stripes at a time so the paint wouldn't dry too much before I was able to wipe it off.

Then using a paper towel (or in my case, a paper napkin), I wiped most of the paint off, until I liked what it looked like. I wanted it dark in the depth of the recessed area and lighter on the outsides, if that makes sense. Since this is a very heavy lamp base most likely made of resin, it is not a smooth surface, so the black paint gets into all the little nooks and crannies of the lamp, which I love. Gives it an antiqued look. Very different than the chrome look I originally wanted but I like this even better! So, I continued to rub black paint over most of the lamp and then wiping it off, making sure there were no definite lines anywhere. It needed to blend but if some areas were darker than others, that was fine by me.

I love how it turned out! It gives so much definition to the details of the lamp and gives it a beautifully antiqued look. So much better than the brown clay look of before. I sealed it with a satin spray sealant and now the base is complete. Next step - the shade (which I stripped down to the wire so that will be interesting to redo!)! I cannot promise it will happen anytime soon but I do promise to show you the process and the end result!

Why A Shoebox?

2011-10-29T23:17:00.001-05:00

Every year around this time we start talking about boxes. Shoe boxes, to be exact. And rather than talking about which shoes we wish were in those boxes, we talk about how we can fill them with toys and pencils and washcloths and soap. This is that time of year that Operation Christmas Child is in full swing encouraging us to pack a shoe box full of toys for some deserving child in another part of the world. This has been an annual event for our family for a number of years and I thought I would share why we find this so important to us.

We believe that what Jesus teaches us in the Bible is the way we should live our lives. One thing very clearly stated in the Bible is the need to care for the orphan. Another is to be a cheerful giver. As parents these are not only things we aspire to, these are mandates we try to teach to our children. We have so very much here in our house. We have everything we could possibly need and a whole bunch of the wants, too. However, if we follow the teachings of Jesus, we need to look outside of our home to see how we can minister to those around. And we do that as frequently as we can here in our neighbourhood. But if we want to make a difference outside of this town, we need to think a bit differently. We cannot invite an orphan from Haiti to our house for supper. But we can give them school supplies and some basic toiletries and maybe a shirt and socks and the opportunity to hear about the wonderful news that Jesus is head-over-heels in love with them and died to prove it! A shoebox is not only a box filled with possibly the first and only gift a child may receive, it is the chance to hear about the greatest gift ever given, that of Jesus Christ. And we believe everyone should have the chance to hear that. So, each year, we take the time to make up some boxes to send to some children in another part of the world who don't get the things they want and probably lack much of the things they need. It is such a small thing on our part to make up some boxes of crayons and pencils and candy but the rewards for those children may be eternal.

It is such a fun event to take our family of 5 kids and let each of them pick out the treasures they want to send to another child. Admittedly for the younger ones, they think they are picking out their own presents and often tears fall when we tell them it is not for them. However, as we have done this for a number of years, the desire to give grows in the kid's hearts until it comes out and overwhelms you with their generosity. This past week my eldest son, 8 years old, bugged me for a number of days to bake cookies with him. His plan was to sell the cookies at the end of the driveway to raise money for Operation Christmas Child and the shoe boxes his Sunday School class will make (not only do we have the opportunity to make the boxes here at our house, the Sunday School at our church uses the kid's morning offerings to make shoe boxes - rather than mom and dad paying for the boxes as happens here at home, all the money they bring to Sunday School comes directly from the kids' "Give" jar!). You must remember that it is the last week of October here in the prairies of Manitoba and the weather is nippy. I wasn't so sure anyone would be stopping by or that he would sit out there longer than 15 minutes before deciding it was too cold. But he wouldn't relent. So, this past Thursday we baked Peanut Butter cookies together, he and I. His brother made up some iced tea. He set up a table, wrote up a sign and sat out at the end of the driveway for 2 hours, first in shorts then in pants (eventually all the kids joined him so who could resist 5 cute kids selling cookies)! And God proved faithful to his giving heart - he raised $15 by selling 30 cookies at $0.25 each (and a couple glasses of iced tea). He was so excited and cannot wait to bring that money to Sunday School tomorrow. And in the next week or two, we will take the kids on a shopping date and pick out some great gifts we know will bless some wonderful little kids in another country, kids that God has already chosen to receive the boxes we will make. I will be sure to tell you how the shopping goes!

Ideas For Church Nursery Mini-MakeOver

2011-10-11T19:22:00.000-05:00

Our church has two lovely rooms being used as nurseries - one is for the toddlers to play in and one is for the nursing moms and sleeping babies. Both received a new paint job a few years back (the reason I am not painting now) and the nursing room received a few new rockers and cribs as well. However, the layout of the nursing room leaves a bit to be desired, as does the decor. I have decided to do a few things to *hopefully* add a bit of functionality and style to the room. Here is what I have planned:

This wall has a large unnecessary shelf on it. Really, it is just taking up space. It doesn't contribute much of anything. I will take this shelf down and, instead, put the new change table I made on this wall.

Above the change table, I will put a large silver-framed mirror. I don't know about you but when I am nursing a baby, it is bound to spit on me, my breasts are bound to leak and my breast pad is bound to be askew. I would like the opportunity to look in a mirror before entering the general public to make sure I am presentable. A mirror in the room affords that opportunity. Plus, it will look much nicer than the random baby decorations you see around the room! Beside this change table, tucked between it and the wall, will be the "diaper genie". Right now it is in the center of the room and really doesn't need to be seen! The doors and drawers on the change table can hold the diapers and wipes plus all those other things sitting on that shelf.

This is the current change table set-up. Notice there is no space on the change table to put your wipes, diaper creme, baby powder, etc? Not very helpful. Those boxes under the change table hold diapers in various sizes and extra wipes and will get moved to the new change table and hidden in the doors/drawers. The white change pad will go on the new change table and this old table will get moved out. I anticipate using it as a shelf in the young kids Sunday School class. See the"diaper genie" out there for all to see? Yeah, it will get moved and be much less conspicuous. Notice also how the two rockers don't match. On the other side of the room, there is another blue rocker. I will bring both blue rockers to this side and put a side table between them. On the table will be a table lamp and maybe some b&w photos of babies. We will see how big the table is since I have to find one yet. I notice that when bottle-feeding a baby, there is no place to put the bottle except on the floor or on the "diaper genie". A side table will take care of that. Oh, and see that giraffe wall-hanging in the corner? It is covering up a large panel box. Right below it on the ground is a large painted canvas. It is the right size to fit over the panel box. Maybe I can repaint the canvas and put some sort of saying or verse or something there? I am not sure.

This side of the room has too many pieces of furniture! Hopefully I can eliminate some but we will see what happens. Above each of the cribs I will place 4-16"X20" fabric-covered canvases covered with this fabric:

I am thinking the brown and blue in the fabric will go well with the brown and blue rocking chairs. It will also work well with the wall color, I believe. I am not sure how it will work with the striped curtains but they are not on the same wall so we will have to see once it is all done. I will be taking down that shelf and picture and contemplating options for that corner. I will also move the two matching cribs to the same wall and bring the odd crib to this wall. The window also needs a treatment to go over top of this one. See, with sleeping babies, you want the room dark. This curtain has the ability to do just that but it certainly looks - well, it doesn't look that pretty. If I can get a nice thick double-rod, I would hang this curtain behind a nicer looking decorative one. We will see what happens.

Finally, we have this wall with two cribs. Like I said, the two matching cribs will go on this wall and the odd crib on the other wall. I want to see what they will look like without being square up against the wall. Maybe that will eliminate the boxy feeling of the room. The brown rocker will come between these two cribs. The fabric canvases will go above these two cribs as well. Above the rocker I will hang a tall narrow shadow box that I have made. In it will sit a vase and in the vase will go various different decorating pieces, depending on the season. I wanted something to go a bit more vertical in this spot. I will also remove the halogen lamp.

I also have these really beautiful rose hooks that match the red color in the fabric. I just have to figure out where they might fit. They would be a great place to hang diaper bags or purses.

Ideally, if I had tonnes of money (since I am doing this all out-of-my-pocket), would make matching sheets and blankets and dust ruffles for the cribs. But, this will have to do for now. I hope to implement these changes this week and show you the difference next week.

If you have any ideas or suggestions for me, I am all ears. Remember, this is not in my home and I need really economical solutions!

Plain to Pretty Pine Buffet

2011-10-08T18:43:00.001-05:00

** AFTER **

I was given this pine buffet numerous years ago by a dear friend of mine (you can still purchase it here). She was moving across the country and she knew I always liked it so she gave it to me. I loved the bun feet and the doors/drawers placement, even though I did find it a tad plain. I used it for a number of years as a change table. Then when we needed more drawer space, it went into storage and has sat there for a year or two. Well, this week I pulled it out and did a number on her. Hard to believe it is the same thing, huh?

** BEFORE **

First, I needed to reinforce the drawers. It is not a super well built cabinet but it was repairable. The dowel joints were loose so I pried apart the ones I could and reglued them. To add some excitement to the front of the cabinet, I added shelf trim to each of the doors and drawers. Those were glued and nailed to the front. The moulding certainly adds a bit of interest.

Once the mouldings were done, I sanded the buffet down and painted it white - "Powdered Snow" by Behr, to be exact, in Satin finish. I love the warmth and creaminess of the color - not cold and stark at all. It took 3 coats before I was happy with the coverage. Since I used the Behr Premium Plus Ultra, the primer was in the paint so technically it was one coat primer, 2 coats paint.

Since this buffet will once again be used as a change table (not for me, in case you were wondering!), I needed to add another piece of wood to the top. The width of the buffet top is only 13" - quite narrow for a change table. I bought a pine laminated project panel - 3/4" x 16" x 48" - and, after sanding it smooth, stained it with MinWax Ebony stain. Once attached, this will make the top wide enough to accommodate a change pad.

Once the buffet and top were dry, I attached the top to the buffet with gorilla glue, a few clamps, and screwed from the inside. That top will not budge.

Since the moulding I added covered up the holes for the knobs on the doors, I drilled new holes in the center of the doors. Sparkly new knobs were added as the final touch to this furniture makeover (though I still need to add the poly to the paint/stain - I will leave that for next week). Since the screws for the new knobs were too long for the drawers/doors, I had two options. Either I could cut the screws shorter or I could make blocking to go on the inside of the drawer/door. I chose to make the blocking since I thought it was the easier way to go.

Over all, I am thoroughly pleased with the transformation. I had intended to distress the buffet but I wasn't confident in my ability to do that. I am glad I left it as it is. I had also planned to paint more on the inside of the buffet but decided to leave it plain pine. I know this isn't a building project like my bathroom cabinet or my porch swing or my Adirondack chairs but I did use a few tools so I think it qualifies as a building and painting project.

Just one more look at the difference:

** BEFORE**

** AFTER **

Tools used:

compound mitre saw - cut the mouldings, cut blocking for knobs
air nailer - attach the mouldings
glue and clamps - repair the drawers, attach the mouldings, attach the top to the buffet
cordless drill - drill new holes for knobs, drill holes in blocking, attach top to buffet
palm sander - sand down buffet prior to painting/staining

I am linking to these parties:

Build{Hers} Club at Sawdust & Paperscraps

All Things Furniture at Perfectly Imperfect

The DIY Club 31 Days of Paint Projects

(On October 11)

PS: Please excuse the poor picture quality on most of the photos - my hubby took my SLR and left me with my sons tiny little digital. I will replace the photos with better ones when he returns!

My Latest "Building" Project

2011-10-02T14:24:00.000-05:00

This next Friday Sandra at Sawdust & Paper Scraps is hosting another Build{Hers} Club Party and I am hoping I have a project to submit. This is not really a building project but it does require the use of some power tools so maybe that will be enough to qualify. Whatever the case, it should give me the push I need to complete this project, provided everything goes smoothly, which I know from experience it probably won't!

Here is a sneak peek at what I am working on!

I promise that no matter how far I get, I will show you my progress this next weekend and explain a little about the new room project I have going!

Blogging At FabGab - Come On Over

2011-09-30T11:36:00.003-05:00

Sometimes I have the privilege of blogging over at FabGab so come check out my latest post all about the Father being an active participant in my life, something I have been learning as I have been studying John 15.

What We Expect From Our Children Regarding Chores

2011-09-26T17:39:00.001-05:00

A couple of weeks ago, I cancelled school for the day and insisted we clean up the disaster the house had become. We had a designer coming over early that afternoon and I wanted some sense of order before then. The kids were unbelievable, really, in their desire and dedication to help. RJ kept asking what else she could wipe. The boys would ask what else they could do to help. It was amazing since I expected them to complain with each and every task. Chores are no one's favorite thing to do. But something great happened that day. The Lord taught me that they are capable of much more than I think. They are capable of doing much more than I have asked of them in the area of chores. I have only been expecting so little of them, that is what they were giving to me. They would complain about each and every thing I wanted them to do in regards to cleaning. Clean their room? Grumble. Tidy the entrance? Complain. Pick up the toys? Claim extreme fatigue. It was ridiculous. But on that morning, their attitudes were cheerful and helpful and I knew they could do more than I had expected. It had already been on my mind, the whole subject of what they could contribute to the maintenance of our house but that day, my eyes were opened to the possibilities. I did a little online research and discovered some moms that give their kids LOTS of chores to do everyday. Like a full hour of chores. We are not at that point. But I did up the chore chart a whole pile and came up with something that has worked well now for 1 full week. Sure, it will get tweaked just a little as we go along but they now have chores every morning before school that could take a full half hour. This morning my five year old tidied up the dining room and swept and mopped the kitchen floor while the 7 &8 year old boys were busy cleaning bathrooms and mopping those floors. They can do it! It just has to be understood that you expect no complaining (a cheerful attitude would be great but I will take no complaining), you expect it to be done to the best of their abilities and you expect it to be done in a timely manner. THEY CAN DO IT!! And I make sure to praise them for the great job they are doing. Is it done just as well as I would do it? Not always. But are they trying their hardest? You bet! Now, depending on the day, I have the kids washing kitchen cupboards, wiping down bar stools and dining room chairs, wiping down my appliances, dusting, changing sheets on their beds, washing towels and bedding, washing windows, and other age-appropriate chores. Since those chores all happen before school starts, there is also the understanding that after school is done, they must tidy their rooms before they are allowed to play with friends. That keeps their rooms from turning into a disaster that takes days to sort out. My house is looking tidier and cleaner and I am able to get other chores done because of the help they are contributing. I am so glad the Lord is teaching me to expect great things from my kids and then to pray that they would have great attitudes and a good work ethic! What a great lesson for me (and them) to learn. How does the whole chore thing go over in your house? What kinds of chores do you expect from your kids? I would love to hear from you!

3 Days As An Early Bird And How Is It Going?

2011-09-17T17:16:00.001-05:00

Great! Really, really great! That first night, the night before waking up at 6am, I ended up being awake for an entire hour at 3 in the morning! Wide, wide awake! I was truly excited about getting up at 6am. Yeah, I never thought I would say those words. Well, unless something really great was going to happen like leaving on a safari or a cruise or something. But I was just getting up. Yeah, I was just getting up to spend time with the KING OF THE UNIVERSE!! You cannot get any greater than that! I know He came to join me. I could feel His presence with me in my living room and I was in awe! The Creator of the world was sitting with me. WOW!! I read the Word. I studied the Word. I spent time in prayer. I wrote in my thankfulness journal. I even worked out! And I went on with my day. Admittedly, I was tired before 10 that night but it forced me to go to bed at a reasonable time so I could get up the next morning and do it all again! And the words on the page jumped out at me. My desires and the Spirit are enemies of each other. Did you know that? Enemies!! No wonder doing the things of the Spirit can be so hard sometimes since we are enemies! But it also says that the Spirit is life! LIFE! He wants so badly to give life to me. On my own, I am dead! I am selfish. I am mean. I am not a nice mom! I am a rude wife. Trust me, the list goes on! But in the Spirit, with the Spirit at my side, I have life. And I am gentle. I am patient. I am kind. And that list goes on, too! I have noticed these past few days that the Spirit really can change my behavior, he can change my heart. When I would have gotten angry at my son breaking my very favorite steam mop, I was gentle instead. I noticed. My son sure noticed. This is what life in the Spirit can do. Was I a terrible mother before? No. But isn't it worth getting up at 6am and spending time with my Savior, my Redeemer, knowing that He gives life and sharing that life with those around me? Sharing that loving kindness? Totally, totally worth it!

Night-Owl to Early-Bird

2011-09-14T21:23:00.002-05:00

If you know anything about me, you know that I am a night owl. I love to stay up late. Midnight is my friend. I also love to sleep! Sleep and I go hand in hand. A nap is a wonderful treat and I relish every Sunday afternoon because it is a GUARANTEED time for me to nap. A long uninterrupted guilt-free nap. Now, if you take time to think about it, being a night-owl and loving sleep can only mean one thing - sleeping in in the morning. It is very easy for me to sleep uninterrupted until 8am. I can often be found in bed when my kids awake. Rarely, seldom, if ever, am I awake before them. After all, I need my 8 hours minimum to be happy. All of that is about to change. A month ago - well, maybe two months ago - I stumbled upon a blog called Inspired to Action. I haven't taken the time to explore all that the blog has to offer but I do subscribe by email. It has been filled with many great posts that really get me thinking: about my Lord, my family, my kids, my contribution to their lives, and myself. I noticed that she wrote something called "Maximize Your Mornings" where she talks about getting up FOR your kids instead of getting up TO your kids. When the first thing you see in the morning as you open your eyes is some cute little ladies standing beside your bed, you are certainly getting up TO your kids, not FOR them (and when I say for them, I don't mean because they peed their bed, or are sick or are scared or are cold or are thirsty or any of those other million things that our kids may need and you need to get up for.). She explained that getting up for your kids is about getting into the habit of rising earlier than them so that you could spend time in the Bible, in prayer, maybe exercising - just getting prepared for your day before their day begins. It never sounded so appealing to me. So, starting tomorrow, I will be getting up at 6am as part of the Maximize Your Mornings Challenge. Yeah. I even chose that time. What was I thinking?! I have been practicing for the past couple of weeks by going to bed between 10:30-11pm and rising around 6:30. It has not been easy. One day off, one day on kind of thing. But tomorrow I jump in with both feet. To keep me accountable, I have a group of 12 women from all over the US that will be expecting an email from me at 6am to say that I am up. And they will be there to encourage me every step of the way. There is even a Bible study for us to follow (it is a free Bible study that anyone can download - it is on the Fruits of the Spirit - check it out here)! How great is that?!

I am expectant. I am expecting the Lord to meet with me. I am expecting to grow in my faith as I read His Word each and every day (no weekends for sleeping in!). I am expecting to enjoy time in prayer (she has 2 really great prayer calendars - one for your kids and one for your husband). I am expecting answered prayers. I am expecting that I will exercise at least some of those mornings. And I am hoping that I will be able to spend a little time crafting as well. My expectation is that I rise at 6, spend time with the Lord until 6:30, work out until 7, craft until 7:30 then greet my kids when they awake having been up myself for 1 1/2 hours. Yikes. If you know me, you know this might kill me. If it doesn't kill me, it might make me stronger. And that is what I am counting on. So, for my last night of freedom, I am going to make some killer hot fudge sauce, slather it over some icecream, watch TV and fold laundry. At 10pm I will wash my face, brush my teeth and hop in bed. I will probably read a chapter or two in my novel and then lights out before 10:30. After all, 6 am is only 7 1/2 hours after that. We will see how tomorrow goes. If I survive . . . There is always nap time, right? :)

Our School Schedule and What to Do with the Youngest Kids!

2011-09-14T09:19:00.000-05:00

I have had a few questions regarding our school schedule and what I do with the non-schooling kids while I teach the rest. So, hopefully this answers some of those questions.

IDEALLY if everything goes as planned, which it seldom does, this is what our schedule looks like:
7:30 kids wake, make beds, get dressed, eat breakfast
8:00 chore time
8:30 read aloud time when I read to the kids
9:00 Pepe & AJ start on their Phonics, Math, Spelling books while I teach RJ (if the boys are working hard, they will be finished long before 11)
11:00 Pepe and I do composition
12:00 lunch (um, ya, like I said, if it is an ideal day!)
1:00 Mondays and Wednesdays the boys and I do Science, Tuesdays and Fridays we do Geography. We should be done by 2 or 2:30

I school from September 1 to May 30 and we finish all our curriculum during that time.

Thursday we don't do school since we are at a homeschool co-op every Thursday morning.

Some things I would like to work on:
1. Get the kids up at 7 so we can get more chores accomplished and start school a bit earlier.
2. Organize the chores just a bit better for the kids so they are more involved with that. Right now, Mondays the boys clean the bathrooms, Tuesdays the kids strip the beds of sheets and the boys put the clean sheets back on, Wednesdays the garbages are collected and after that I keep forgetting. There is much more that can be scheduled in.
3. Work scripture memory back into our day which will work if we implement #1.

What do the littlest girls do while I teach the others? Well, Ali has her own preschool book that she works in whenever she wants on whatever page she wants. It is not structured for her but if she is at the table and wants some help, I will take the time to explain what to do. She just likes to be a part of the group. I have also printed off pages of printing practice sheets so she can work on her printing. She usually stays for just a little while and then is off playing with Ari. We do school downstairs and that is where all the toys are so they are usually in my sight the whole time. They are not allowed to go upstairs while I am teaching since that usually means they are doing something they shouldn't - or making a mess.

Sometimes, life presents other opportunities for learning so we will take the time for that. Character is far more important to me than book learning. Sometimes the house is a disaster and no one can walk for 3 feet without tripping on stuff so we take the time to clean. Like today. Since a designer is actually coming over later on to help us think through our blueprints to ensure we haven't missed anything, I figure the upstairs should at least be presentable.

Any more questions, just let me know!

Tie-One-On Bib (Perfect for that Little Man!)

2011-09-13T20:56:00.001-05:00

I found this fantastic green plaid fabric at the local MCC and there is yards of it! I knew immediatly it would make perfect bibs for the moms at the Crisis Pregnancy Center! I just had to think of a way to make the bib say "boy" so I did a little internet searching and came up with this! The bib is completely reversible with the other side being all green plaid to match the tie.

Perfect? No! But perfectly adorable!

The Wheels on My Bike Go Round and Round!

2011-09-07T16:34:00.000-05:00

I finally had an excuse to buy a bike helmet. Yeah, I actually wanted one. Wierd, I know. But I figure since I insist my kids wear one I should, too! Jay didn't think I should since that would mean he should and he wasn't. But, now I NEED one! I even found one that has hot pink on it. It was destined to be.

See, I have decided to ride 10km for a worthy cause on October 1 as part of Ride for Refuge, a fundraising bike ride in support of the displaced, vulnerable and exploited. I am SO excited about this! Mostly, I am excited because we are raising money for the Crisis Pregnancy Center here in Winnipeg. This is the same place I have been donating handmade hats and bibs. See, something happened while I was making those gifts - the Lord awoke a desire to continue helping this ministry in a practical hands-on way. We help many ministries here at our house but mostly we just give money. It is not so practical to help our friends in Ethiopia or in the Philippians or in the many other countries. So, for them we give our money and our prayers. With this ministry, I can help in a tangible way. So, this time I am getting on my bike and cruising the highway. Do you remember the very first time you heard your baby's heartbeat (if you have children)? Even with my 5th pregnancy, I would still laugh delightedly at that sound - reminded me of galloping horses. I even bought a monitor that I could use at home to listen to the heartbeat. I would put on those headphones, turn on the little machine and close my eyes and just listen. That was the life of my child I was listening to. It was magical. It was glorious. And there was no denying it was life. Some of these women that come into the crisis center don't understand that the child they carry is a living being. Some are torn apart in the decision of whether to give life to the child or end it. But if they could just hear the sound of their child's heart, the difference it could make. That could save lives. That could change their world! So, I am riding on behalf of those children and those moms - I want to change their worlds. Raising money so dopplers can be purchased and heartbeats heard and lives saved is why I am riding. Will you help me in this cause? I have a personal goal to raise $500 and I am about 32% of the way there. You can easily contribute by following this link to my personal page. Or maybe you want to get involved yourself and raise money for some worthy cause in your area. Check out this link for rides in your area (Canada) or this link for the United States. Whatever the case, bless you consider riding for refuge. And think of me on October 1 (and October 2!)

School is In!

2011-09-06T16:15:00.000-05:00

This summer was, by far, the busiest summer ever! I think it went by way too fast but I sure enjoy getting back into the school routine. I am less likely to be found pulled in various different directions, my days take on a more monotonous routine and the laughter seems to increase as I am with the kids a whole lot more. My kids are outdoor kids so from the moment they wake to the time they hit the pillow at day's end, they are running around outside. Which means, in summer, I see them only when they come begging for food only to have them run off again as soon as the last bite is down. Fall really puts a damper on their play time! Anyhow, we have been back at this school thing for a week already and so far, so good!

Here is a quick run-down of the curriculum we are using this year. The three oldest are using Abeka for their Phonics, Language and Math, doing Grades 1, 2 and 3. It is what they are used to, I had all the supplies and it works. Is it exciting? Not really but the kids know what they need to know. I really enjoy the Phonics program Abeka puts out and I find it to be an effective way to teach kids to read well. Pepe continues to do composition with Excellence in Writing. We jumped in where we left off so these past couple of days have been a bit tougher for him. He will get back into the swing of things and, I think, will actually enjoy it as time goes by. Science continues in the Apologia books - this time it is Swimming Creatures. I love this course of study and I am excited about the lapbooks they will be making for it. I did not make them but bought them instead. They aren't as visually stimulating as I like them to be (use more fonts, people!) but I think the end result will be great. As much as she wanted, RJ is not doing science with us this year since we are building on last year's knowledge. She is, however, joining us for Geography as we gallop the globe with Galloping the Globe. We will use this curriculum for the next 2 years. Today we colored a general map of the world and labelled the oceans then we will dive into studying various countries from the different continents. We will not be lapbooking but creating a binder full of notebooking/lapbooking information, making it much more fun and interesting than writing notes but something that can be added to through the years. It will be divided into the various continents effectively organizing it. The first country we will study is Ethiopia (we have dear friends there) and I look forward to learning with them. I just ordered a bunch of books from our library (comes to me in the mail then I return them in the mail - completely free since we don't have a local public library in our municipality!) and I look forward to checking them out. Then, of course, I intend to make authentic (as much as I can) meals to go with each country! Injera and wat - sooo good!

So far, the boys have been fairly independant in their math/phonics work and I have worked one-on-one with RJ. She is only 5, kindergarten age, but we are attempting Grade 1. She is loving it and doing really well. I won't push her too hard but I will push her a little. She is a very determined and a total go-getter so I can see her excelling! Time will tell. Today in geography, though, it was fun to watch her learn with the boys. As I was quizzing them on their maps, AJ was a total goof making RJ laugh. I can see him being the class clown (now that 3 of them are in the class) and I love the laughter. So long as they are learning and helping each other out, I think it will be great!

Well, my time is more limited then before so I better run and clean up the kitchen! Thanks for stopping by!

Depression-Era Sideboard

2011-09-03T13:17:00.000-05:00

When I picture the entrance of our new house, I have always envisioned some sort of buffet or sideboard holding a beautiful lamp, a couple of decorative items placed strategically here and there, welcoming our guests to our home. I have looked on Kijiji every now and then but didn't see anything like I wanted. Until a couple of weeks ago. When I saw this, I knew it was the one! The guy said it was his grandmother's and he thinks it is late 1800's but it looks more depression-era to me, meaning th 1920's-1930's. Whatever the case, it is perfect. Well, it will be once I work on it. The middle two drawers don't open without being pried from below and the doors on the sides don't close. The stretcher at the bottom is missing as well as the knobs. Some of the veneer on the sides is chipping as well. But, if you can just imagine it all prettied up, it is perfect!

I found a similar one for sale on Kijiji in its finished state! I didn't need the visual but hubs sure does. Now he can see that it is not, in fact, junk! Now I just have to figure out if I want it a traditional white color or maybe do something crazy! Time will tell since I don't intend to work on it for at least a year. Should give me plenty of time to mull over ideas, wouldn't you say?

Blessings

2011-09-02T16:16:00.000-05:00

Do you ever wonder if you are blessed? Maybe another way to look at it is this: have you been given gifts, undeserved and unmerited? Every time (well, okay, maybe not EVERY single time but you know what I mean) I look at my children or my husband, that is exactly how I feel. Overwhelming blessings! I am rich, very rich indeed! These past few weeks have been crazy busy with harvest, taking kids and meals to the field and often getting the kids into bed before Jay comes home. And just as the harvest has been plentiful, in spite of the extreme dry conditions, so have the blessings! I wanted to share 2 with you! A couple of years ago my dad was part of the construction crew that did a huge addition on a nearby church. In order to do this reno, they removed all the outer bricks on that area of the church. No one wanted them so dad took them home. For what purpose, we still don't know but that is his deal! Now, that church is expanding again and my dad is part of that construction crew once again. As soon as I knew he would be doing it, months before they even started, I told him I wanted those bricks. I would come and collect them myself but I wanted those bricks. One day a couple of weeks ago my dad calls and asks if I still want them. Yes, I certainly do. Then find a hard hat and a couple of pick up trucks and come get them. So, Jay and I stopped everything, drove 1/2 hour to get a few bricks. They were heavy and the trucks can only hold so much. Just as we were putting the last bricks in the second truck, my dad comes over and tells us the head-honcho guy said we could use a trailer they had with electric lift to take the bricks home. Since Jay was supposed to be on the field, he went back the next day and got 2 trailer loads of bricks. Mind you, they were so heavy the electric lift didn't work until he had thrown 90% of them off but he was gracious about it all. So, now we have this huge pile of bricks waiting for some great purpose on our new house. I am thinking pillars for the porch and landscaping around the back patio. What ideas do you have?

Secondly, I don't know if you remember but the back part of our new 5 acre property is a swamp! About a dozen ducks and other marsh birds make their home there in the spring and well into summer. The rushes tower over my head and the whole area is mosquito haven. I am sure we have mosquitos out there long before anyone else does. This year, due to the extreme dry and high temperatures, all the water was gone by about the middle of July (which should be an indication of how wet it actually was to take that long). We took the time to laser measure the whole yard, finding out just how high the high spots were and how low the low spots were. We knew we would have to bring in many, many truckloads of dirt to raise the low-lying areas. We talked endlessly about ways to deal with the water. Then, early this week, Jay tells me this: "Your father-in-law is doing an amazing job of filling the hole." I assume he is talking about the mini-Grand Canyon that now exists at his barn thanks to all the clay required to fix the lagoon (and a bunch brought to our place to build the new driveway.). He corrects me by telling me dad is raising the low spots on our yard. WOW!! As a farmer, every fall, after harvest, they dig the drainage ditches and other ditches to ensure water flows well after spring thaw. He doesn't want that soil on his field since it is a clay-soil mix with a whole lot of sod and weeds in it. My FIL is a very particular (and excellent) farmer. So, all that soil is ending up filling up our swamp! And it is a TONNE of dirt. Free dirt. Can I get a "Thank you, Jesus?" and I really mean that! I am in awe of the way the Lord provides.

Since the beginning, the Lord has been telling me that this yard is a gift to us. It is not for everyone, it is a gift to US. This yard was specially chosen for us in spite of all the quirks. The Lord, in his infinite grace and generousity, continues to affirm to me that this is a gift. And he continues to provide for this gift. What a great and awesome God I serve!

My Birthday Princess & Clothes for 18 Inch Dolls

2011-08-11T23:55:00.001-05:00

This past week we celebrated (minus daddy who was dealing with a major catastrophe at work but with Nana) the 4th birthday of my princess Ali! What a little bundle of sweetness she is (with a whole bunch of attitude thrown in!). Ali is my snuggler. She LOVES to snuggle and cannot get enough. If she is upset, snuggle with her and her baby, read her a book and she relaxes immediately. She loves music and dance and is absorbed with watching herself in the mirror! It is hilarious to watch her watch herself sing and dance! She is the least adventurous of the bunch preferring to stay close to mom and dad. She is a momma's girl, that is for sure! She has learned lately the art of crossing her arms when upset and pouting a big pout. Though it is very cute, it is certainly not appropriate. She wants so much to be a big girl but is still a little girl at heart. She loves to be a helper and will often accompany me (at least for a little while) to do just about anything - baking, weeding, laundry, etc. She is my fashionista, being particularily opionated about her clothes, my clothes and the clothes of her dolls. I will often hear her say she likes my shirt but doesn't like my pants or some such thing. At the core of her heart, she wants to know that she is beautiful. She is sensitive girl who is learning how to respond to a "no" with something other than crying, a sure sign she is learning to handle her emotions. I see a lot of myself in her so, with that in mind, I try to assure her that, yes, she is beautiful, yes, I do love her, and, yes, I love to spend time with her. She has asked numerous times when she will be a mom and I can see her thriving at just that someday far off in the future - taking on the awesome responsibility of being a wife and a mother. I look forward to seeing her continue to grow in confidence and the assurance that she truly is a princess, daughter of a King. Happy Birthday, my sweet Ali, I sure do love you!

When I asked what she wanted for her birthday, she said a baby. Now, you must realize this girl has many babies. With 3 girls in the house, the last thing we really need is another baby doll - we have plenty! So, I thought maybe some clothes for Kara, her 18 inch doll she received at Christmas, would be a good idea. So, I got sewing! Oh, what a lot of fun that was. I stayed up way too late way too many nights but I am thrilled with the results. With the numerous patterns I have accumulated (some free, some bought) I can tell I will be sewing again soon. Especially since older sister RJ is exceedingly jealous of the new clothes Kara received. Her girl Candy needs some, too! I told her to wait for Christmas! Without any further ado, here is what I made, using only fabric and notions I already had (except for a couple of zippers I found at the thrift store)!

This is Ali's favorite dress for Kara! It is called the Katie dress and the free pattern can be found here.

Ali does not like this dress at all! Remember, she is opionated when it comes to fashion! I am trying not to be offended! The pattern is found here.

Another really cute dress! I love the polka dots! Free pattern is from here.

This is my favorite outfit so far on Kara! Ali is learning to like it! I think the fabric is perfect for this style of tunic, especially with the slight shimmer it has. I love the ruffles and the turned up cuffs. It can be made shorter or without the ruffles so I will have to try that eventually. Also, the jeans have front and back pockets! So stinkin' cute!! Tunic pattern is here and jeans pattern is here.

Lest you think all I did was sew clothes, I also crocheted Ali a hat and a headband, both of which she loves. With that girl, you just never know! Whatever the case, I had a blast making all those clothes and I look forward to the next 3 complete outfits I get to make for Christmas! As for now, I am heading to bed!

Linking up to these parties:

This Week . . .

2011-08-05T22:03:00.000-05:00

1. The patterns I won in a blog giveaway arrived and what fun it was to peruse the box full! 24 brand new women's clothing patterns all in my size! Some I will probably not use, like the hospital scrubs, but some I am really excited about - numerous skirt patterns, a cute Asian-inspired top (I love Asian tops!), some coats, lots of dresses, too many to mention! Now to figure out which one to pick first!

2. I paid $12.44 for a $199.99 light fixture! For the longest time, I have pictured a light in my head. Not sure if I saw one somewhere on-line or on TV but I had this vision of a light fixture in my head that would be perfect for the powder room in the new house. I wanted something rectangular, with a sheer black shade and lots of crystal drops. I have looked in many big box stores over and over but never found exactly what I wanted. I found others that would work okay but not the EXACT one. Then, the other week, I wandered through Canadian Tire when I saw it! The exact fixture I wanted. I was ecstatic! When I got close enough to see the price was $200, I said out loud, "No way! I refuse to pay $200 for a light fixture. I will wait for it to come on sale." So, wait I did. Then, yesterday, I looked in the flyer and my light was on sale. 40% off. That brought it to, with taxes, $134.39 (regular $223.99). Then, to sweeten the matter even more, I have been stocking up my Canadian Tire money for such a moment sometime in the future when I would find that perfect item for the new house. I didn't know what it was but I have been saving for quite a while. (For those of you unaware of what Canadian Tire money is, it is a reward system earning you money based on your purchases. Jay figured out that Canadian Tire has one of the better points systems out there.) Well, that moment had come. I had $121.95 in Canadian Tire money bringing the total price of the light fixture to $12.44! Woo hoo! That is patience and persistence paying off!

3. The 3 oldest kids have been attending a 5 day camp (well, they only found out about it on Wednesday so for them it is a 3 day camp) at a friend's house. They are singing songs, learning Bible verses, spending time in prayer and learning how to tell others about Jesus. I firmly believe that it is the parent's responsibility to teach their children about the Lord and about life, not leaving it up to the Sunday School teachers or DVBS leaders or whatever. And I do. I take that aspect of life seriously. But when they have the opportunity to spend 1 hour with others that are confirming what we are teaching, teaching in the same spirit and manner, then I encourage them to go and learn. And we talk all about it when they get home.

4. I made 19 half pint jars of Raspberry Red Pepper Jelly, thanks to the recipe from here. I picked the raspberries from the plants here on my yard and bought the remaining ingredients from the store. Maybe someday in the future I will grow all the peppers, too, but that didn't happen this year. I love the gorgeous red color and the taste is a wonderful sweet/spicy combination that would be perfect with crackers and cream cheese. Just a small reminder - don't walk away from your stove for any reason when you are trying to bring your fruit to a boil. It will most likely boil over the moment you step back into the room but just before you are actually able to stop it. Not that I have any experience with that! :)

5. Harvest has started. This is a wonderful time of the year full of busy schedules and running here and there. Every day involves numerous trips back and forth from one field or another dropping off a couple kids and picking up a couple more while delivering food to their hard-working dad. I know that MIL would gladly feed her son but I see it as my joy and my privilege to bring my husband supper, even if it means packing up all the kids and sitting and waiting at the end of the field for him to arrive. There is something to be said for being a part of the harvest. We truly see how the Lord is the only one who can give the increase - all we can do is plant. The rain and the sun come from the Lord, the plants grow only at his command, and we are honored to be able to reap a harvest of plenty.

6. I bought a few more crochet patterns and sewing patterns on Etsy. A certain little lady turns 4 next week so I best get busy making some gifts. I guess that is what sitting and waiting at the field is good for - crocheting! I will be sure to show you what I make next week. Anything fun happen for you this past week?

Bloomin' Daylilies

2011-08-02T10:28:00.004-05:00

During the summer, I tend to take a quick daily walk around the house to see what flowers decided to bloom. I have numerous perennials planted all around the house but my very favorite flower to photograph has to be the daylily or hemerocallis. There is just something about the way the stamens protrude, the petals curl back and the ruffles bunch up on the edges that draws me. They are SO easy to grow, requiring next to no assistance, and though each individual flower only lasts one day, giving them their name, there are so many blooms bursting forth each day that the blooming season lives on. They come in a huge variety of color and their green grass-like leaves add great texture to the perennial bed. Daylilies are a must-have for the flower garden, especially when you see flowers like this:

"Canadian Border Patrol" daylily

"Daring Deception" daylily

"Edge of Darkness" daylily

"Strawberry Candy" daylily

"Blackeyed Stella" daylily

"Moonlit Madness" daylily

The very best part is that each of these plants has grown large enough to divide into 5 or 6 more plants giving me plenty of plants to move to the country while still leaving one to grow here. Now I just have to wait until they stop blooming. Do you have a favorite flower growing in your garden? Do tell!

A New Driveway

2011-08-01T10:02:00.001-05:00

Is anyone else in awe that it is August already? Time keeps slipping away so very quickly! With a week like last, it is no wonder. We were so busy, going somewhere every day, which is not the norm for us. One major event of last week was the building of a new driveway out at the country property. This is something we had been debating since last year. The reason we wanted to move it is this: the original driveway is narrow and if we want to not have to shovel the snow in the winter and would like instead for dad's large tractor mounted snow blower or blade to move it, we needed a wider driveway. That could have been as simple as adding on. But the other, greater issue, was where we wanted the house to go. We have plans for it to be in a certain spot and weaving the old driveway through the yard to get there just didn't really make that much sense. It made more sense to make a completely new, wider driveway farther down the road. So last fall, all the trees that would be in the way were cut down. Then this spring, Jay doubted the wisdom of moving the driveway. After we cut all the trees. They were already growing back but still, we cut them all down, moved all the branches, hauled all the wood away. It was a lot of work. Then we stopped. And Jay thought. And thought. And thought. Jason is a thinker, in case you didn't know. At times it drives me batty and at times I am very thankful for his thought process. When he makes a choice, he doesn't usually change his mind. I know that I really wanted the driveway to move even if it meant more work but I thought it would work best for the yard. I had to give up that desire to allow Jay the freedom to make the best choice all around. If we left the driveway, I could live with it. There are many more important things in life to wonder about then a driveway! If we moved it, that would be fantastic. So, on his own last week, he came to me and said we are moving the driveway and getting an excavating company to build a new one - we had planned to do this ourselves! I was so EXCITED!

Spot for new driveway before cutting trees.

Trees are cut and stumps are being removed

Old driveway

Digging up old driveway

Moving dirt to new driveway location

Watching the action

New driveway crosses the ditch

Old driveway removed

So, that all happened on Thursday morning. Then Thursday afternoon and Friday morning, they hauled clay to form the long driveway to the house. First they removed the topsoil because a driveway built on topsoil is bound to be a mushy mess once the frost leaves the ground in spring. Forming a driveway on the clay out of clay ensures a hard driveway unaffected by frost. So, truck after truck hauled clay. (The clay was free since we were taking it from the same hole they were making to fix the lagoon at Jay's hog barns.) The dozer packed it between every load. It is a good foot higher than the ground around it, 350' long and about 25' wide! Lots of room to get large equipment in! Lots of room to drive! Now, we just need to let it dry out and harden then before winter we will bring in the rocks and the driveway will be done, for now! What a thrill!

Hauling and packing clay

Crafting for a Cause

2011-07-24T00:12:00.000-05:00

I really love to create things. Usually I say that creating allows me some sanity in this insane life I live! It allows me to focus on something other than the kids. Now, please don't take that the wrong way! I love my kids dearly, they bring me MUCH joy and happiness, more than any craft I will make. Crafting, however, allows me to use a different God-given gift. Most of the time, I have many helpers as I craft! When I sew, someone offers to take out all the pins. When I crochet, someone helps tangle the yarn. So, all in all, crafting is a family affair! :) Anyway. This week, I was crafting for a totally different cause and it made me so GIDDY! I had so much fun and I can see it continuing in the future. This week I was crafting for the Crisis Pregnancy Center (CPC) here in our capital city. See, a dear friend of mine, who I look forward to getting to know even better, has a passion to help these brave and courageous moms. She puts together these large gifts full of baby essentials, like diapers, wipes, clothes, bibs, burp cloths, hats, etc. Lots of people pitch in to donate items, she packs them up and sends them to the CPC. They distribute them to the moms who are blessed to have these gifts that they may not otherwise receive. What a ministry! This week, she sent out an email asking for more items for the gifts. After that email, it hit me that I have a lot of baby blankets sitting in my closet from when my kids were babies. I asked if gently used was okay and she said that was great! So, out came all the blankets, I sorted through them and found 10 large flannel blankets that are in great shape and have lots of baby-wrapping life left in them. They are now all washed and ready to head to her house. Then I looked at all the blankets that had seen better days - some had holes, some had stains, some were way too small to wrap a baby properly. I suddenly thought I could use that fabric to make bibs. She needed bibs. I could make bibs. That night I went out to the fabric store and found some charming cotton fabric in the remnant bin and bought it as well as some diaper flannel for the bib backs. I would use the old blankets as an inner layer in the bibs to make them extra absorbent. I found a really easy pattern here and this is the result (5 bibs total):

Then, while we were on vacation earlier this month, I brought along some yarn and was busy crocheting hats for the CPC following the pattern you can find here. I was able to crochet 3 1/2 hats while we were gone. It makes great use of the driving time and the TV watching time! I finished the 4th hat this week while at an appointment with Pepe. I just needed to add some flowers. I decided to try adding zipper flowers instead of the usual crocheted flower so this morning I headed to the thrift store and found a bunch of brightly colored zippers. This evening I whipped together the flowers using my own imagination and the final result?

Oh. My. Goodness! They are so very cute! These little ladies will be so stylish with their cozy little hats!

Now, earlier this week, when I told hubby that I wanted to sew some bibs for the CPC, he asked if I had time for that. Though I was a bit offended by the question, it really is a good one. Do we make time in our schedule to minister to others? We are so quick to give of our money but are we willing to invest our time and energy to help those that really need it? I pray that I will continue to invest my time in this avenue. It has always been dear to my heart and now I know of a tangible way to be involved supporting these women that give life to their babies and take on the challenge of raising them and loving them. So I ask you, have you ever crafted for a cause?

The Beginning of Something Good?

2011-07-22T20:25:00.000-05:00

Ari is 2 1/2. That means it is high time she learn to use a toilet rather than a diaper. I was purposely waiting for the summer to train her since it seems so much easier to train her when she can romp around in just underwear or a dress and underwear. I have tried earlier with little success. I tried a week ago and after sitting on the potty forever, doing nothing, she said she wanted to sit on the toilet. After sitting there another forever listening to me read stories she finally peed! On the toilet! Of course, there was much singing and clapping and praising this accomplishment. We did have to scrounge for a treat (mini-marshmallows) since my potty-training reward arsenal was empty. Not much happened after that. I slacked. Yesterday I bought gummy worms for the treats since I am determined to use what is left of the summer to train her. Today, just as supper was ending, she looks at her diaper (the only thing she is wearing) and says, "Daddy, pee!". Daddy asks if she wants to pee on the potty and she says, "No, toilet." So I trot her off to the toilet, place her in position, wander off to get the treats and while I return, she pees on the toilet. Just like that! Quick, easy. No waiting forever. PLUS, she recognized the need before hand! That is huge! We just may be at the beginning of something good. Something real good!

What I Did Today . . .

2011-07-18T20:44:00.000-05:00

This heat (35.5C/95.9F on my thermometer) just saps my energy, I tell you! I just want to curl up in bed with a good book. However, that is not likely to happen anytime soon! So, instead, I headed out to the country property to meet the gas line guy that marked the locations of the gas line on our yard. We plan to move our driveway in the next couple of weeks and make a new wider one in another location. Important to know where the gas main is, wouldn't you say? While there, I hilled our potatoes and felt like someone was watching me. Well, not really, but these guys had their eyes on me the whole time!

They are so CUTE! In case you don't recognize them, they are young merlins, a type of falcon. Their parents made their home in an old crow's nest at the top of one of our evergreen trees right next to the garden. These babes watch our every move. I am not completely thrilled that they are making their home on our yard as they are birds of prey and do eat other birds I would rather have on our yard so we will see. Maybe we will take down the nest in the future or maybe they will be less prone to making a home on that yard once there is more activity. Right now, it is fairly quiet there.

I came home to see one of my new daylilies blooming - such. a. beauty! This one is called "Jamaican Me Crazy"! I love the name and the flower is gorgeous!

Finally, I abandoned all things creative in favor of all things boring and necessary - I was cleaning the house. I purged -- get this -- 19 pairs of shoes! 19 PAIRS! WOW! That is a tonne! Some went in the garbage, some are going to a friend and a whole pile are going to the thrift store. It took a bit of time trying on the shoes on the various kids to see if they actually fit anyone, if they were in good shape, and if they were just too cute to part with (those ones are going to a friend). Yes, a couple pairs were mine. Yes, I do have a shoe fetish. Yes, contrary to one of my tank tops, you can have too many shoes! Hopefully my entrance will be a little easier to maintain now.

Now, I will whip up some to. die. for. hot fudge sauce and lay low with some icecream and that book I mentioned earlier! I earned it. Well, maybe not, but the cleaning can always continue tomorrow. It promises to be even hotter then! YIKES!

Featured at One Pretty Thing

2011-07-16T00:46:00.000-05:00

In case you missed my apron tutorial featured at Sawdust and Paper Scraps earlier this month, One Pretty Thing has added it to today's Daily DIY! Check it out here!

Happy Birthday, My Love

2011-07-15T10:44:00.000-05:00

This past Sunday a very important event occurred here at our home - my dearly loved husband reached the ripe age of 35!! I, for one, am exceedingly blessed that he was brought into this world 35 years ago. He has changed not only my life but many others because of his presence here on this earth! If I would use words to characterize him, I would say he is steady. Stable. Predictable. Loving. Giving. A servant. Hard-working. Efficient. A saver. A hands-on kind of dad. A thoughtful husband. Content with very little. A Godly man. I love to watch him play with the kids, the way they climb all over him and run to him when he comes home. If they haven't seen him in a few hours, they greet him as though he was gone for a week. Every night when he comes home, they are exceedingly overjoyed that daddy is home. He has stolen their hearts! He is the kind of husband that will fold laundry when I have gone out grocery shopping and would rather clean the kitchen then watch TV knowing that a clean kitchen makes me happy. He is constantly thinking about how he can serve and rarely takes thought of himself. He shows me he loves me each and every day through little things like writing me notes or phone calls in the middle of the day or big things like making supper when I have been sewing all day. He is a precious man and I am so blessed that he chose to marry me. So, yes, I am thrilled that Jason was born and that the Lord brought him into my life. I sure hope we can celebrate many, many, many more birthdays together. I love you, dear!

Since we had just gotten home from being gone for about a week, Jay was quite happy to keep the celebration low key. We didn't even have cake! But, I insisted we go golfing together and he loved that! I even improved over the Father's Day attempt. He was a little miffed that I went golfing on Father's Day and he didn't so taking him golfing for his birthday was to make up for it. :) Plus, Jay's version of golfing success is whether or not we come home with more golf balls then we started with - he is always looking for them in the bush! However, with that standard, we failed miserably as we both lost more than we found! Oh, well! We still had lots of fun and maybe we can go again later this summer! After all, we still have two more Buy 1, Get 1 coupons to use!

Lydia Apron in Shades of Blue & Brown

2011-07-14T16:41:00.000-05:00

With temperatures soaring to 34C-36C (93.2F-96.8F) this coming weekend and into next week (so they say), I am determined to stay inside and work where it is cool. We have not had temperatures like this for a number of years so the heat is really quite welcome so long as we also get some rain! I REALLY need to clean and purge but I also have another apron pattern to create! The apron I finished today is another in the Lydia pattern but in shades of blue and brown instead. I absolutely love the swirl pattern and find this apron to be elegant and sophisticated! As usual, it is available for sale in my store!

More Items for Project 2012

2011-07-11T07:00:00.001-05:00

As I mentioned yesterday, we took some time off and headed out to Fargo for a few days with the kids. It was a really fun time! So low key. With the van full of people and suitcases, we knew any house shopping would have to be for small house items. Well, we found a couple of great deals! First off, I found the sinks for our new master bath! I was waffling between vessel sinks and a drop-in sink that did not have the faucet holes in it (like these ones for our kids) but when I found these, I knew they were perfect.

They are not too deep plus they were almost 1/2 price. They were in a non-descript cardboard box with a red sticker that said $69.99. There was no picture on the box so I opened it up. I was so excited! I knew these were the perfect sinks. They had three left so I took 2!

Then we found the tiles for the kitchen backsplash. We will go with white subway tile and some small glass tiles as accents. They were on a great sale and a steal when you think of what they would have cost up here in Canada! I love shopping in the USA!!

At the rate we are going, we will have everything bought long before we build the house and won't even have to take out a loan! HA! Not likely! But it sure is fun to buy things we will need at a great price, keeping the cost of building the house as low as possible without sacrificing great style!

The Lydia Apron

2011-07-09T16:18:00.001-05:00

We just got back from a week away and I was thrilled to buy myself a stack of fabric! I love the colorful selection I found and I am excited about creating new aprons. So excited, in fact, that I already made a new one. I am calling this one the Lydia apron. The other apron I have created I named the Anne apron after my 96 year old grandmother. This newest creation is named after my other grandmother, who passed away 8 years ago from Alzheimer's Disease. She was a spunky little lady who I saw all the time since we lived just "next door." She was always cooking or baking something in her little kitchen and I can imagine she might have worn an apron something like this. So, with no further ado, I give you the Lydia apron!

This simple but charming apron has two darts in the body of the apron to give it some shape while the wide contrasting ruffle adds some flare! The waistband matches the ruffle but the white lace trim adds some extra drama! This apron will be available in my shop later on today. Remember to check out the sidebar link to my shop to see all the aprons currently available! Thanks for stopping by!

And, just because I can, I am linking up to these parties:

Guest Posting - Come On Over!

2011-07-06T09:00:00.002-05:00

Sandra from Sawdust and Paperscraps is having Christmas in July this year! She has invited bloggers to guest post on different gift ideas and she has graciously allowed me to join! So, come check out my featured gift item complete with tutorial!

New Items in My Etsy Store

2011-07-02T11:34:00.000-05:00

I have been busy sewing the past couple of days and added a few new items to my Etsy store. Just click on

the link in the sidebar labeled "My Etsy Store" and it will show you some of the items currently in stock. If you then click on the photos of the items, it will take you to my store where you can get full listing details.

I am going fabric shopping this next week and I look forward to coming up with more color options and new styles so check back often! Remember, any local shoppers can pick up their purchases at my house for free!

Latest Thrifting Treasures

2011-06-30T07:00:00.001-05:00

I love our local MCC thrift store and frequent it occasionally (I rarely come home empty handed so I need to limit how often I go - less during the school year, more during the summer). The kids and I biked over yesterday and these are the three treasures I found:

First off, I love footed glass bowls! I have a growing collection. I found this dainty crystal version for $1 then carried it around the store knowing that if I put it in the cart, little Ari was sure to break it. I imagine serving jam in it at a beautiful brunch! I usually make a nice brunch on Saturdays - maybe I will up it a bit and use my really pretty dishes to serve all the food!

Secondly, I found 2 boxes of 4 1/4 x 4 1/4 inch arctic white wall tile by Dal Tile. One case is unopened and one case has only about 5 of the 100 missing. They were $10 per box - new they would have been $0.28 per tile so about $54 for both boxes. Not a massive savings but certainly a deal. I am not sure where they will go but maybe in the powder room?

Finally, this beauty I had seen the week before and I was hoping was still there. I hesitated then and thankfully, no one bought it. At $8, this was the best deal! I told Jay we must name the dress form as that is just what you are supposed to do - he gave several options and finally came up with "Lacey". I liked that one so Lacey she is! She is in need of being recovered but for now, she works just fine like she is. Obviously I couldn't take her with me on the bike so we had to make a return trip to get her and the tiles.

All in all, a successful shopping trip!

Any great thrifting finds you have found recently? Do tell!

One Very Fine Lady

2011-06-27T08:47:00.005-05:00

This past weekend I had the pleasure of helping my grandmother celebrate her 96th birthday! Can you imagine? 96 years! She was born in 1915 as the second oldest (oldest daughter) of 15 children. From the time she was young, she was always a very hard worker and helped to take care of the rest of her family. She is a very resourceful and crafty lady, still sewing her own clothes and baking her own buns to this day. I have many fond memories of my grandmother. It was her encouragement to use her sewing machine that cultivated a love of creating with fabric and thread. She always had scrap fabric by the machine and was never concerned about what we did with it or how we sewed. We learned by trial and error because of her generosity and patience. Shortly after she married at 20, she learned she would never have her own children. 20 long years later, she adopted my newborn mom and a couple of years later, adopted my mom's sister. She is a godly woman who loves her family dearly and gives and gives and gives. She is generous and patient and a woman of prayer. I love her dearly and enjoy being with her. I don't go to see her often but really should - she cannot possibly have that many more years left and I would love to listen to more of her stories. So, happy birthday, Grandma! I love you!

PS: If family history has anything to do with it, Jay and I could be married for a very long time! His grandfather died at 94, I believe, and he has 2 great-uncles that are in their 90s - one just turned 97. My great-grandmother on my dad's side of the family lived to be 104. My grandmother just turned 96. Maybe Jay and I will live to be married for 70+ years - that would be so awesome! Then again, we both know that the Lord gives life and the Lord takes away - family history really doesn't make that much of a difference! ☺

3 Times the Fun

2011-06-26T09:15:00.006-05:00

What do you do when you have lovely arching willows, a roll of rope kicking around and far too many tires left on your property from the previous owner? Why, make a tire swing . . or two . . . or three!

(And, yes, I am well aware that there is still garbage standing up against that little shed - some of it was removed right after this photo and the rest will go, too! It is just a small indication of the many random things we have found all over this yard! It is like a treasure hunt except it is not treasure. So, I guess we can call it a garbage hunt!)

A Family Affair

2011-06-21T08:50:00.004-05:00

Mom asked me if I wanted fall-bearing raspberries at our new place. Absolutely! I love raspberries and having them both in summer and in fall? A no-brainer! No problem, I could dig some of hers. Correction. I had to dig ALL of hers. Didn't really seem too many while we were digging. So, I bag them up in two large bags and drag them home. That was Sunday. Yesterday, I loaded up the kids and the raspberries and headed out to the country to plant them. My father-in-law was kind enough to come till up the garden for me to prepare for the raspberries. He went home and I got to work. While I was digging the trench, this is what the kids were doing:

Big helpers, huh?

I guess they got tired of hanging around and doing nothing because when the trench was dug, I had a couple of eager helpers. RJ hauled the raspberries to his side and Pepe laid them all out so nicely.

I planted them while the kids ran off and amused themselves in various manners. First row finished. 40 plants. Not too shabby. Repeat whole process for row #2. 80 raspberry plants and we only finished the first bag. Now to water them. Oh, I should mention that though there is technically running water at the country property, we have not yet managed to get the pump working this year so watering the raspberries means hauling 5 gallon pails of water out of the well and carrying them over to the garden. Repeat 10 times. I am sure the effort will have seemed worth it when I am eating those wonderfully juicy and plump raspberries but for right now, I just want a nap!

PS: Thanks, mom, for helping me dig the raspberries. Thanks, dad, for tilling up the garden, and thanks to my little helpers for your hard work helping me plant them! This really was a family affair. Now if only someone with plumbing experience (dad) could get the pump to work, that would really make me happy. I might even share the raspberries!

A Father's Day to Remember

2011-06-20T09:35:00.002-05:00

I don't usually hang out with my dad on Father's Day. It's not that I don't want to. It is just that there is usually no time. This year was different. This year, I had this brilliant idea that my sister, my brother and I should take my dad golfing on Father's Day. If you know anything about how I golf (or the rest of my family, for that matter!) or if you know anything about the personality of my family, you know that a golfing experience would certainly be . . . painful? Hilarious? Pathetic? Memorable! Certainly, above all else, it was memorable! Since this was only my second time golfing, I was BY FAR the absolute worst golfer . . . on the entire course, I am sure! But I managed to come home will only a few less balls than I lost in the woods (it helped that I also found 3 to balance the numerous ones I lost), I never threw my clubs in frustration, I am showing no signs of having infected myself with poison ivy (it was rampant in the bushes where my balls always ended up) and I had a lot of fun! I love my father and am so glad that I was able to spend time with him yesterday. I have given my share of ties (my father is the largest tie-collector I have ever seen and enjoys a really nice tie!), written a few notes, but I think this year I will remember for a long time. Maybe, just maybe, when his memory is no longer good and he forgets this day ever happened, he will let me golf with him again. That is probably the only time he would repeat yesterday's . . . adventure! I love you, dad! Thanks for the memories!

Fledged

2011-06-17T11:53:00.007-05:00

I wandered outside this morning, gazing at the lilacs in bloom, watching the butterflies flit from one blossom to the next. I meandered over to the birdhouse that was still holding all those black-capped chickadees yesterday. In fact, I took a photo of them, all growing up and crammed together.

This morning I saw one peeking his head out of the door. I wasn't sure if it was one of the parents or one of the chicks. Without hesitation, it took a jump out the door and started flying. As soon as I saw the wobbly path it took, I knew this was a fledgling! I was watching the chick fly for the very first time. I ran inside to grab my camera and watch nature in action! The first chick I watched fledge was a fairly good flyer, considering this was the first time. It flew from bush to tree to bush and back again. Mom and dad were busy squawking at him/her, though I wasn't sure if it was to cheer it on or out of paranoia! I was certainly nervous for it. We have a neighbour cat that loves to hang out in our yard and I was going to do whatever it took to protect this little flyer.

As soon as that one chick was out of the nest box, another chick made its way to the door. It sat for a long while at the entrance just checking out the world.

Mom/dad would come and feed it little green worms and continue feeding the other chicks that were now scattered throughout the lilac hedge. Finally, this last little chick made the jump and flew/fell in the nearby flower bed.

It was certainly much smaller than its siblings. I watched it for a minute or two hopping around on the ground and determined it was not ready to be out of the safety of the box. I got some gloves and scooped up this adorable little guy and put it back in his nest box. Mom/dad were grateful, I imagine, and continued to feed him. But, he was more determined to leave than I imagined and about 1/2 hour after putting him back, he was out again. Still hopping on the ground. So, I gave the glove to Ali and let her hold this sweet little baby.

After a few pictures, we put it on a branch in the lilac hedge. It was safer there than on the ground. Mom/dad are sure to find it.

I can only think that sometimes this is how the Lord feels about me. Sometimes I take a jump into something I am not ready for. He watches and waits to see what happens then swoops in to protect me from danger. He watches over me like a hen gathers her chicks under her wings (Matthew 27:37) This has certainly become much more vivid today!

So Far in June . . .

2011-06-16T14:13:00.007-05:00

June has been a fun month full of good times. Some of the things we have been up to include:

Helping daddy in the chicken barns

Church Picnic

Zipping on the zip line

Cheering on the big kids

Watching Pepe excel at baseball

Watching RJ excel at soccer

And to think of all the things I wasn't able to get pictures of like the BEST fireworks ever right here in our little town, a date to see the Titanic exhibition (fascinating, really!), the AJ in soccer and AJ & RJ in baseball (more to come and so will the photos!). I love summer and all the fun things it entails! Now, for the second half of June!

Hatchlings!

2011-06-01T19:36:00.004-05:00

Remember those black-capped chickadees that made a home in one of my birdhouses? Well, I knew there were eggs in there but today I noticed the mom and dad spending very little time in the house and a tonne of time gathering insects to bring to the house. That could only mean one thing - babies!

If I counted correctly, there are 10 little babies in that tiny nest! How a bird 5 1/4 inches long and weighing only 11 grams manages to lay 10 eggs is beyond me! Just in case you wanted to know, an average brood is 6-8 eggs so our Mrs. Black-Capped Chickadee is a bit of an overachiever!

I just love the tufts of feathers sticking out of the back of their head! So adorable! And, I am guessing, very newly hatched!

School. Is. Out!!

2011-06-01T08:00:00.000-05:00

Yes, the Falk Academy of Learning is official out for the year! Yippee (insert happy dance here)!! Well, to be truthful, AJ has a couple of pages left in his math workbook but none of it is new information and therefore very independent work. Both boys have been finished with their Language and Phonics for about 3 weeks and geography was finished about 2 weeks ago. Science was completed today as we finished the last couple of pages in Apologia's Exploring Creation with Zoology 1: Flying Creatures of the Fifth Day (which we all loved - next year it is Swimming Creatures of the Fifth Day!). These are the two lap books they made that accompany that study.

I bought them through knowledgeboxcentral (I think) and though it was great for me as it was the first lap book we did, I won't buy the pre-made ones again. I have a specific way I like to do the lap books utilizing the space the best way possible and as many different fonts as necessary to make it artistically fun to look at. I also cannot stand when the text box has been left around the text or when all cutting lines and folding lines appear the same as a solid black line (for me, solid lines are cutting lines, dotted lines are folding lines).

Back to the point! Though I am glad that school is done for now, I really enjoyed teaching the kids this year. It is certainly a stretching experience, mostly in my character development, but I am so thankful yet again that I have the freedom to teach my family throughout the day about more than just school subjects! We are able to have great talks, lots of laughs (admittedly, some tears), fun activities and a whole lot of together time. I always say that we will take this homeschooling journey one year at a time but I am positive we will be embarking on this journey yet again come September. After all, I received their geography curriculum for the next couple of years this week and I am excited to start prepping it!

So, what now? Well! Let's see, there is major organizing/decluttering/cleaning that needs to happen, some painting, a few beds need to be built, a bunch of sewing to complete to name just a few summer projects. I MUST learn to manage my time better. I am a terrible time manager and yet I still manage to accomplish a good deal. Not as much as I would like but enough. Imagine all I could accomplish if I would manage my time better. A few things I would like to see happen that are seriously lacking right now - quiet time for me each morning, a time to workout each day and time to craft/create each week plus a better cleaning routine. Those are things that are of utmost importance to me so this summer I must learn to manage my time! I some tools to help with that so we shall see how that goes. But, for the remainder of this week, I will just marvel at what we accomplished this year and do a bit of cleaning. Maybe we will take a day to spend in the country doing some more tree-clearing there. That is, if it stops raining!

Any plans for your summer?

Not So Brilliant

2011-05-31T08:00:00.000-05:00

Some people have the very mistaken notion that I have it all put together! They often refer to me as superwoman and think I can do no wrong! Well, let me just put that myth to rest right now.

First of all, I made a fantastic chicken dish for supper and some super wonderful twisted breadsticks but do you think I made any potatoes or rice or noodles to go with that saucy chicken? Nope. None. So, we had chicken and biscuits (in case you think that vegetables were lacking, green peppers and pineapple were part of the chicken dish).

Then, after sports were over for the night, I drove the 1/2 hour to the grocery store to do grocery shopping. We are seriously low on milk and dishwasher soap (2 ESSENTIALS in a household with 5 children) plus other necessary items. I first stopped at a friend's place to bring her an orchid as she recently lost her grandmother. Between her house and the grocery store it suddenly hit me that I may not have my wallet with me. So, I pulled over and sure enough. No wallet. I had taken it out of my purse to place an order online and not only forgot to put it back, I forgot to check to see if it was actually there before leaving the house. 2 dumb moves. So, I came right back home without any groceries. In the pouring rain. It reflected exactly how I felt. I was sure glad I discovered this before loading up a cart with food! Maybe later this week will be better for me!

Family Fun Night

2011-05-30T11:08:00.011-05:00

Since Jay was noticeably absent last week, he figured we needed to do something a little more special for our weekly Sunday afternoon/evening family night. Off to the zoo it was! Spring at the zoo is a wonderful time! The temperature was seasonably cool and cloudy which made it perfect for animal viewing! Zoo babies abound! This little guy was so very adorable!

Peacocks were busy showing off for all the peahens!

My very favorite part of the zoo is the wild cats!

(someday Jay will take me on an African safari- someday!)

After the zoo, it was supper time so we picked up some subs and headed to the adjacent park for a picnic supper. There happened to be a football in the van so we all participated in a little catch.

I had to tackle Pepe to the ground - he beaned me in the head with the football - I think it was on purpose! Everyone was trying to save Pepe from me - gotta love it!

Finally, we went to very-newly-opened Children's Nature Playground.

They had large beds filled with tulips! It was so beautiful!

Earlier in the day Jay promised Slurpees to everyone so at 8:45 at night, on the way home, Jay stopped to buy MONSTROUSLY huge Slurpees for the kids. The boys shared one, the girls shared one and Jay and I shared one. Needless to say, the volume and energy level in van was at an all-time high as the sugar and caffeine kicked in! We had such a wonderful time with our family! I know I really would like to have more children but it was so very wonderful to take them on this adventure with every child being so very independent. It was a new and wonderful experience for us!

Do you take time each week to focus on your family? What are some of the fun things you like to do?

All By Myself

2011-05-27T10:40:00.005-05:00

Well, not really by myself, just by myself with 5 kids! No, Jay has not flown away to some great destination, he is not "out with the boys", he is just working. A LOT! By the time the end of Saturday rolls around, he will have put in close to 80 hours this week! That's 2 weeks worth of work, people, in 6 days! Needless to say, I hardly see him and the kids don't see him at all. He leaves around 6 or 6:30 in the morning and comes home around 10 or 11 at night. We talk until about midnight and then fall asleep just to start all over the next day. I know, this is normal for some people. For you ladies out there that have truckers for husbands, I tip my hat to you. This "single parenting" stuff is tiring! And for single moms out there, wow! That is all I have to say! You really do this all day, every day! Day in and day out! So, what is Jay busy with? Working at the hog barn in the mornings (that's after doing the chicken chores very first thing in the morning), some field work if the soil is dry, then catching chickens (it is REALLY good money and with house building coming up, a nice monetary boost) in the afternoons/evenings/nights. While he is gone, I still teach school, take the kids to their sports, built a bat house, planted some garden (potatoes & corn), make food, do laundry, paperwork, all those fun things. I miss my hubby! So, each day I pray for grace and kindness and loving words for my children and strength and energy for my hubby. This past week, I realize how overwhelmed I am with love for my children. I am totally head-over-heels in love with my family. I love the sparkle in their eyes. I love the way they look. The way they move. I am greatly and exceedingly blessed to call them mine! Thank you, Jesus, for surpassing all expectations and bestowing greater blessings on me than I ever deserved. Now, please bring hubby home safely. I sure look forward to Sunday when we can all be together. And, if the weather changes drastically and doesn't rain for the next 4 days like it says it will, we will go to the zoo together on Sunday and just be together. As a family. For family day. Yeah, I cannot wait!

♥♥♥ My encouragement for the day! ♥♥♥

Lapbook of Jordan

2011-05-23T11:16:00.000-05:00

This is the final lapbook we made for our geography course this year. The boys enjoyed this one especially because Jay was able to tour some of the locations we talked about when he went to Jordan a number of years ago. Jay brought back a keffiyeh and a Jordanian newspaper so both were quite amusing for the kids.

I discovered the boys really enjoy learning about the countries of our world, the peoples that live there, the land that fashions it, the languages spoken - all those fun things. Because of that, next year we will study more of the world using the curriculum called Galloping the Globe. I ordered it this week along with some of the additional resources needed. We will be doing a lapbook/notebook approach this time, using a binder and dividing it into the continents. We will study a few countries on each of the continents and will try to include those countries where we personally know missionaries live. What a great way to study this wonderful world God created! And this time, RJ gets to join us on our geography journey. Yes, I know she is only 5 but she already begged to join the boys this year as they studied geography. Why hold her back when she is so eager?

To find all the lapbooks on this geography course, click the country names below:

As always, just email me if you want the file for any of the lapbooks I have made - I will gladly share with you!

Lapbook of Saudi Arabia

2011-05-21T11:00:00.000-05:00

Here is the lapbook of Saudi Arabia the boys made:

Find additional lapbooks of the Holy Land here:

Kindness from a Brother to a Sister

2011-05-20T21:15:00.003-05:00

Sometimes I wonder about the heart of my children. What are they really like? What are they really thinking? In particular, do they really care about each other? So many children today are downright mean to their brothers and sisters. Or if they are not mean, they just don't care about each other. Many times the way they treat each other causes me to wonder and other times I have no doubts. Today as I was working in the country, AJ (6), Ali (3) and Ari (2) were playing together. Ali was pulling Ari in the wagon and AJ was pushing from behind. I am not entirely sure what happened but somehow Ali ended up falling down and hurting herself. I was close enough to see the entire thing transpire but I was in no hurry to run over and comfort her. I wanted to see how AJ would react. Did he cause the injury? Would he comfort her? Would he apologize? What I saw was proof that that little mischievous boy has a great heart inside (which I always suspected but liked the confirmation!). He knelt down in front of her, looked her in the eyes and asked if she was okay. She said no, that she hurt her hands. She held them palm up for him to see. He gently grabbed one, looked at it and kissed her palm. Then he gently grabbed the other one, kissed it and told her it was all better. She smiled, got up and went on playing! My mother's heart just swelled with pride! What a kind child he is! What a great affirmation for me! I have always told people that he is a mischievous boy who likes to make people laugh but a very sweet child. He proved that today! As he meandered over to where I was, I knelt in front of him and told him that I saw what he did. I told him that not only was he so kind to his sister but that I was so proud of him. He smiled his super cute missing-two-front-teeth smile and said, "Oh, I didn't know you were proud of me!" You better believe it, little man! I am very proud of you!

Lapbook of Iraq

2011-05-20T10:38:00.004-05:00

We are finished our geography course for this year and it has been a blast! The boys have really enjoyed studying the Holy Land as presented in A Child's Geography - Explore the Holy Land by Ann Voskamp. We finished the study of Iraq last month already but I never got around to posting pictures of the lapbooks. Here is Iraq:

As I mentioned earlier, if you are wanting the file for this lapbook, just send me an email. I will gladly share it with you! Tomorrow, I will show you our lapbook of Saudi Arabia.

Not Bad For Two Hours of Work

2011-05-18T16:28:00.003-05:00

BEFORE

Since school was completed rapidly today and the weather was nice and my hubs got the chainsaw ready for me, it was off to the country for just a couple of hours this afternoon. (I would have stayed longer but the 3 older kids all have baseball tonight! Yeah!!) And, I must say, I feel I got a whole lot accomplished! Can you tell the difference? I am so glad to see all those caragana gone and I will be thrilled when all the rest that still remain also disappear! It looks so much tidier!

AFTER

Hold Me

2011-05-16T10:00:00.000-05:00

The alarm clock showed 2 something in the morning when I heard her cries. She was making her way upstairs and into our room, dragging her blanket behind her. The small mattress we keep under our bed for just moments like this was already beside our bed from a late night visitor the night before. I gently laid her on the mattress and wrapped her in her blanket, hoping just the closeness to mom would be enough to ease her to sleep. She remained restless, crying out occasionally. I gently picked her and her blanket up and snuggled her in close beside me in our bed. I wrapped my arms around her and almost instantly a huge sigh escaped her little lips. She fiddled with her blanket, finding just the right spot to hold and seemed to settle. We snuggled for a little while but I suspected she would not fall asleep in my arms. When I asked her if she was ready to go back to her bed, she said "Nya." (yes). I picked her up and cradled her like the baby she no longer is and she allowed me to carry her back to bed. As I was passing through the living room the bright light of the full moon shone on her face and I saw her twinkling brown eyes. She was enjoying this moment with mom. When I brought her to her room and laid her on her bed, she quickly buried herself under her blanket, ensuring nothing was sticking out and fell fast asleep. I couldn't help but think that sometimes I am just like that little 2 year old lady. Sometimes, life gets too complicated. Things aren't going well and I cry out. Nothing is making me happy. Everything in me is full of turmoil. I need Jesus to hold me and wrap his arms around me, just like I held her. Sometimes, being close isn't good enough. I need to be held in those arms of love until the peace returns and I am able to go on. And I am so glad that Jesus is always ALWAYS there whenever I need him and he knows just how to hold me.

Roadside Treasure

2011-05-15T19:25:00.004-05:00

We were actually ready on time for church this morning (a small miracle!) that we biked. Oh, and the weather was sunny and warm which was another bonus. On the way home from church, I insisted on driving home the other way around the crescent since I needed to stop in at a friend's place. As I continued home (the others had gone on without me), I passed a driveway with a bunch of garbage at the end. As I was driving by, I realized that "garbage" was a french provincial desk!! It is in need of some love and repair (the one drawer front is separated from the drawer itself, it needs repainting and general tightening) but how can you leave a french provincial desk on the side of the road? Especially when it is free? So, I went to the house and knocked on the door, ready to ask if it really was garbage and if it would be okay if I took it. No one was home so I biked home and returned with Jay's truck. The neighbour helped me load the desk and now I have this great new project. Will I keep it? I have no idea! But I can certainly test my furniture-refinishing skills now! Oh, the possibilities! I must admit, this is my first "plucked from the garbage" roadside treasure but it just may have fueled a desire for more! Jay, in all his wisdom, reacted well when I told him of my new find: rather than question the need for more furniture to redo, he simple hugged me and jumped up and down squealing, imitating my reaction! What a great man!

Latest Kijiji Purchase

2011-05-10T20:00:00.001-05:00

Remember that nice dark brown french provincial dresser & nightstand set I bought? Well, the lady selling it is clearing out her mom's estate and recently posted another gotta-have set on Kijiji! As soon as I saw it, I knew I needed to make it mine! It is an antique empire revival claw foot settee and the matching chair!

The details are just amazing!

The settee has been stripped right down to the frame and requires some regluing of the frame. It is not in perfect condition but is beautiful as it is. The chair still contains some of the upholstery but is in the process of being stripped. The frame itself is in better shape than the settee. An antiques appraiser told the seller that they are from Europe and over 100 years old. From my research online, they are made out of mahogany wood. The price for these two lovelies-in-waiting? $50 for the set! I know, a steal, I think! The boys have already been suggesting various different fabrics and all are some sort of animal print! They know their mom too well! This will certainly be a labor of love as I will have to figure out how to reupholster it without knowing how it was done originally. I also have to figure out how to redo the seat with webbing and springs. I love the challenge that it presents and I am thrilled to have them in my hands. I think I will wait until I find the perfect fabric but, like the boys said, I will probably lean more towards the fun and modern as opposed to the traditional. A long while ago I bought MANY packages of silver nail heads for really, REALLY cheap with no known project in mind. I think this just might be that project!

So, help me out, if you can. Any suggestions on how to reweb the seat cushion area? Suggestions on how to reglue the frame? Suggestions on fabric? If you had these frames, what would you do with them? I would love to hear from you!

French Provincial Furniture Makeovers

2011-05-09T08:52:00.001-05:00

It seems that I have finally figured out my own style when it comes to dressing (romantic, dramatic style - my shoe collection sums it up!)

but I am just starting to learn my decorating style. And, it leans towards the traditional, romantic, dramatic style, just like my clothes - go figure! I really, really love the lines of French Provincial(FP)furniture! The curved legs get me every time, the hardware makes a romantic statement with its flourishes and all the curves are divine! My hubby was so so gracious to make two trips into Winnipeg on the same day to pick up two different sets of FP furniture. One is a 6 drawer dresser with mirror and nightstand (circa 1965 - $85)

and one was a 9 drawer dresser with a 3-way mirror and nightstand (circa 1995, solid wood, dove-tailed drawers - $75).

Right now they are taking up a small chunk of space in our garage but I have visions of the beauties they will become (really, they are gorgeous already) once they are painted and sitting in the girls room. I am pretty sure both sets will end up in the girls' new rooms but Pepe is gunning for a set of his own! I have seen some great FP makeovers in blogland so I thought I would share them here with you! The possibilities are endless as to the paint colors you can use, as shown below!

How about this fabulous black dresser with silver pulls? Head on over to Chrissy's Collections to see the surprisingly feminine interior! LOVE the idea of painting the inside a different color than the exterior!

What about a pair of deliciously pink side tables? I am loving the curved drawer fronts and the crisp white hardware. Natalie, of Natty by Design, did a great job transforming these into something memorable!

Feeling like blue is more your color? Kari at Beautiful Inspiration Designs did a fantastic job with a dresser she has had for many years.

What about a heavily distressed turquoise tallboy? Kim from a Brush of Whimsy really showed what you can do to transform a beautiful but bland dresser into one that stands out and is sure to be remembered!

Kim must really like the French Provincial look because she also transformed these end tables! It really is amazing what you can do with a little paint and some elbow grease! She also lined the drawers with some fun paper so be sure to head on over to check it all out!

So, what is your favorite furniture style? Any furniture makeovers in your future? I would love to hear about it!

(PS: Just for your info, I started this post one month ago - it really just takes me that long to get it all finished up! :)

New (Feathered) Neighbours

2011-04-27T13:07:00.003-05:00

A little more than 2 years ago, I built a couple of birdhouses out of recycled barn board rescued from an old hip-roofed barn at my in-law's place. For 2 years those houses have sat empty and I wondered if they would ever be occupied. This past winter, for the first time in the 8 1/2 years of living here, I saw Black-Capped Chickadees on our yard! I think they have been absent this long since this is a newer development and the trees are still small and few (well, we are trying hard to remedy that on our yard). So, imagine my complete surprise when I saw these friendly little feathered friends entering and exiting my birdhouse with tufts of grass! The neighbours have finally moved in! It has been fun to watch them and talk about them as we were studying birds in the "first semester" this year. The classroom has now entered the outdoors and it makes learning that much more fun! I will be sure to document the nest building, egg laying, hatching and growing of the newest members of our neighbourhood, to the delight of the kids and myself!

According to my limited research, the female is responsible for the building of the nest and does it alone. However, watching the two chickadees coming and going, I can assure you that the male is doing his part to ensure a nice house for his wife! Yes, I say wife, because the kids refer to them as being married! What an absolute delight to watch creation as orchestrated by the Lord! There is little else that speaks to me the way nature can. I will unashamedly sit for hours on end (if allowed!) and watch the birds flit to and fro and be completely mesmerized the whole time! I am so thankful the Lord made birds, big and small!

Easter at Nana & Papa's

2011-04-23T18:08:00.008-05:00

Easter is such an important celebration around here as we remember the death and sacrifice of Jesus, the Christ, our Savior and our Redeemer. That redemption, of course, is only possible because of his resurrection and I look forward to tomorrow when I can say with utmost certainty (well, I can say it all the time, not just tomorrow) that HE'S ALIVE and I'm forgiven!! Amen and amen!

Part of the celebrations of this weekend included a trip to Nana & Papa's place, who happen to be my parents. They live about 40 minutes away so we don't get over there all that often but it is always a whole lot of fun when we do! That Papa sure loves to tease our kids and they sure love to play with him!

After a wonderful meal, Papa hid the Easter bags and the kids went hunting!

Maybe next time Papa should hide AJ's bag in a slightly lower location :)

After the treats were found, eggs were decorated! I don't have any photos since I was busy helping the boys to make tie-dye eggs and the girls to make sparkle eggs (Papa sure picked some great decorating kits and was helping out the whole time!). Then after the eggs, the kids needed a play break so Papa's motorcycle became the jungle gym for a bit! I am sure there will need to be a bit of polishing after all those little fingers were all over it!

Then the Easter bread (Paska) had to be decorated. Traditionally, when my dad was a little boy, the paska was baked in tin cans instead of bread pans. That way each child received their own round mushroom-shaped paska. This year my mom indulged the memories of my dad's childhood and baked him and each of the grandkids their own paska in a tin can. They each iced the bread and sprinkled it full of sprinkles. I must say that eating it is the best part!

After everyone else had gone home, out came the water and the kids chased Papa (or Papa chased the kids) in a water fight! So much laughing and running! Papa is such a big kid at heart and it makes the kids love him even more! The memories they will take with them through life will always be of a Nana and Papa that loved them very much and showed it in such fun and memorable ways. Thanks, mom and dad, for showing the love of that Risen Savior to our children each and every time we see you! I love you!

Mortgage Free!

2011-04-19T13:44:00.004-05:00

So, apparently, after a brief discussion with my hubby yesterday, I discovered we are mortgage free! Umm, doesn't that kind of milestone deserve a party or a date or some sort of celebration? No, he says, that costs money! :0) I don't even know when that accomplishment was reached but sometime in the past 8.5 years, we paid off the debt on this house! (Pats herself on back! Okay, pats hubs on back - he earned the money!). Now, don't get me wrong, we are not debt free. We have always paid our credit cards, never carrying a balance on them, we have bought all our vehicles with cash and we don't believe in borrowing or financing for things like furniture or TVs (as a matter of fact, we don't believe in buying new TVs!) or whatnot. We do have still a bit owing on the new country property we bought plus we have an agricultural investment that is still owing. The nice part about that one is that it pays out (very occasionally in this market) and is a tax deduction - the best kind of debt to have, next to no debt. So, anyway, I am celebrating with a tall glass of cold water the fact that our house is paid off! Yippee!

Spring Cleaning Tip - Window Screens

2011-04-12T11:06:00.003-05:00

Just a quick spring cleaning tip that you may already know about. If not, here is a really quick and easy way to clean those window screens that may have accumulated dust, dirt and grime over the winter.

1. Remove screen from window and wet down in the bath or shower. I usually just pour a container of water over the screen to dampen it.

2. Find a bath pouff and some body wash. Dampen the pouff with water and pour a small amount of body wash on it.

3. Rub all over the window screen, on both sides for good measure. It will suds and get all soapy.

4. Rinse.

5. Let dry. Reinstall in the appropriate window. Enjoy clean screens with little work!

Now I am off to clean the windows while the screens dry!

(Yes, mom, though it does appear that my house is always in a state of chaos and filth, I do clean occasionally! And if you were to come by in about 15 minutes, I can promise the windows will be clean. However, I cannot promise they will be clean a moment after that! :) )

The Truest Education

2011-04-11T21:00:00.002-05:00

A sweet friend sent me this quote from a blog written by Ann Voskamp, the author of the book we are using for geography this year. I have stopped by her blog every now and again and she is filled with a knowledge and understanding of things way beyond her years! You can check out her blog at A Holy Experience.

Today, as every Monday, she is talking about encouraging gifts of thankfulness, teaching gratitude to our children and learning it ourselves. It really is a skill that is in short supply but so easily taught, so easily benefitted from, in various ways. The part that stuck out to me the most was this:

"Because what will the math really matter if they are bitter? If the house is immaculate — but my attitude a mess? If they can count — but they don’t know how to count all things as joy? If we get the lists done, but have lost happiness in Him? How can any grammar skill outweigh the fact they don’t know the language of grace and thanks? What good will it be if they can recite all the major British battles — but they don’t know to see beauty? What am I teaching our children if I’m not living simply, quietly this: “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things” (Phil. 4:8). Focusing on what is beautiful, good, true –isn’t this the truest education?"

Wow! The utter power of a grateful heart. I am blessed with the opportunity to share with my children a grateful heart throughout the day (and, I confess, I fail more often than not). We can, and do, stop the academics to work on the attitude of the heart. I would much rather my child grow up to be kind and compassionate, grateful and gentle, willing to be a servant and a leader than to have them excel at all things academic and fail at all matters of the heart. I know, one is not exclusive to the other. I realize that gratitude (and all those other Godly characteristics) can be taught whether your children are in public school or not. I am just more acutely aware of the responsibility placed on me as their whole education rests in my hands. I must be sure to emphasize that which is best, not only that which is good. What a great reminder for me in my homeschooling journey.

To read the full post Ann wrote, you can find it here.

A Gift for a Friend

2011-04-10T20:52:00.006-05:00

Once upon a time, a long time ago, the Lord allowed me the privilege of meeting a sweetheart of a girl, a beauty who I immediately called friend! Her smile is wide, her heart so big and her hugs tell you she cares about you. Lately, she has been going through a tough time and it makes me sad. I really wanted to let her know in a tangible way that she is loved and cared for in the midst of trying times. I wish I could just pop over for a hot cup of tea and show her I care in person but the distance prevents that. So, I made her a little gift. Something to brighten her day. Something pretty that she can wear and remember that, no matter what, there are those in the world that love her and think she is amazing.

I bought myself a hostess apron of this style (black and white in color) a few years ago at a Hobby Lobby. Ever since, I told myself I wanted to make a pattern from it and make some more aprons. This seemed like the perfect time. Then, when we went to Fargo a couple of weeks ago, the Hobby Lobby is where I turned for fabric! The choices they had were amazing and I am kicking myself for not buying more, seeing how wonderfully this apron turned out. It is SUPER easy to make and requires only 2 pattern pieces. Next time I have some more fabric picked out for this project, I will be sure to tell you how to make your own, with pictures as a guide. For now, you will just have to look at the outcome!

Linking up to the DIY Project Parade!

The Power of Reading Out Loud

2011-04-04T14:06:00.002-05:00

I just finished reading out loud the wonderful story "The Hobbit" by JRR Tolkien to my 6 and 8 year old boys! They loved the story, were fascinated by it and would have preferred I read all 300 pages in one sitting! We finished it over the course of one week, which is a lot of reading out loud, I assure you! My throat is more parched than usual and I will insist on a few days break before starting on the Lord of the Rings trilogy! Now, I love to read myself and I love to read to the kids but usually I find that my thoughts are something like this: "They can read themselves so read themselves they shall." And those thoughts are correct, in and of themselves. I ensure our shelves are stocked with books they enjoy and are able to read, like the Boxcar Children series or Magic Treehouse series or The Littles series, etc. My oldest is able to read these with great ease and enjoys the stories. However, as it was pointed out to me at a recent homeschool conference, it is vitally important to read out loud to your children in great quantities for many years, even if they are able to read to themselves. Most people think that if children are able to read, they are also able to write. Good readers equals good writers, correct? Simply untrue. The speaker, Andrew Pudewa, ensured us that it would be better to read nothing than to read than which destroys your soul, and there is a lot of that available. You cannot get something out of a brain that is not there, adult or child. I want my child to speak and write with reliably correct and sophisticated language and in order for that to happen, I need to somehow get that reliably correct and sophisticated language into their brain! As I learned at this conference, the #1 influencing factor on children's language development is media! We all know that media (TV, radio, internet, billboards, etc.) will develop a language in our children but it is most certainly not reliably correct or sophisticated! The #2 influencing factor on language development is a child's peers. Fascinating, really, how peers influence the language a child uses. A child that is in charge of a number of children younger than themself will actually use language above their age level in order to maintain that sense of authority and control. A young child that is in the company of older children will actually raise their language level to the level of the older children simply because of emulation. The worst possible environment for a child's language development is many children of their same age. In that situation, the langauge pattern will actually sink to the lowest common denominator because no one wants to stick out as being different! I find that fascinating, don't you? And our schools clump all children the same age together all day. No wonder their language is what it is! The #3 influencing factor on language developement is parents or other busy adults. We have no time to carry on conversations that matter with our children. Finally, the #4 influencing factor on language development is books. However, children that read books to themselves usually read fast (especially if they are good readers) and skip parts that are boring or uninteresting. If they find a word they don't know, the skip it. If they find a word they cannot pronounce, they skip it. If they find a paragraph that is boring and doesn't further the plot, they skip it! All this skipping causes the child to miss the syntax of the language. So, essentially, nothing in a child's world is providing them with reliably correct and sophisticated language. The solution? Read out loud to your child. Auditory language is mandatory to building verbal and written language. So, read out loud in vast quantities, regardless if your child is able to read to themselves or not. Read books that are above their comprehension level. They may not get everything (in response to my question, "Are you understanding everything I read?" in reference to The Hobbit, P replied, "Of course not, I am only a kid!") but it will cause them to develop comprehension. Read something challenging like Twain or Austin or Bronte, Lewis or Tolkien. Read, read, read, and someday your child will be able to speak and write using reliably correct and sophisticated language. Besides, don't you remember that grade school teacher reading books out loud to you? Isn't that a fond memory of yours as it is mine? Jay remembers when his grade 5 teacher read The Hobbit to him. And aren't those memories and time spent with your child reason enough to read? If that isn't enough, the conversations garnered by reading those books sure are! So, go find a great story, a classic story, and get reading!

New Finds for Project 2012

2011-03-31T21:10:00.005-05:00

Yesterday we got back from a two-day trip to Fargo to do a little shopping for new house stuff while catching up, relaxing, talking, etc. I thought I would show you our newest treasures! First off, we bought our front door! It is so very exciting to know that this is the pretty door everyone will see upon entering our home! It is a beautiful steel door with an oval window and zinc accents. And at $199? What a steal! This picture is not the exact one but so very close!

Won't it look so fabulous with this entrance set I bought a long time ago? I am in love!

Secondly, we were able to pick up the faucets for the kids' bathroom. This "Porter" style by Delta was on sale so we couldn't pass it up.

Remember the sinks that are going with these faucets? Oh, it will look so beautiful!

The sink faucets were $49 and the tub/shower faucet? Only $99!

We are good bargain hunters, wouldn't you say? We also picked up 3 of our interior doors since they were only $28.88 prehung! If they had more in the size and style we needed, we would have bought more! Needless to say, the trip was completely worth it and we look forward to more excursions in the future!

A Little Shopping

2011-03-22T12:43:00.004-05:00

Every year, Jay and I try to take a couple of days and head out somewhere without the kids. This is a treat, to say the very least, and it is in no small part due to the very generous hearts of our family who willingly takes all 5 kids for a couple of days/nights. Usually on these short excursions, Jay and I try to take some time to reconnect. Refocus. Evaluate. Plan. Relax. Just be. Sometimes we go somewhere more secluded so there is little to do but connect. With no TV or shopping to distract, we spend many hours together just talking. Or walking. Or hiking. These are treasured times and we look forward to them each year. Sometimes, though, we do something a little more urban and head to the states to reconnect, refocus, evaluate but also shop! That is the route we are going this year. Soon we are going to Fargo for 2 days and 2 nights! We are so excited. As the time draws nearer to house building, scouting out deals and bargains is at the top of our list. We will certainly check out hardware stores and price compare. Being so close to the American border, with the added incentive of getting all the taxes back we spend in ND, shopping in the US is a sensible option for us. Don't get me started on the whole "stay local" jargon - a lot of the stuff sold there is made here in Canada then shipped down there and sold for a cheaper price. I will go where the savings are! Anyhow, part of the appeal of shopping in the states is finding those treasures that aren't sold here in Canada (well, if they are, certainly not anywhere around here!).

First off, Good Earth Sweet & Spicy Herb Tea! Oh, my goodness! That stuff is FANTASTIC! It is a full flavored caffeine free tea that requires no sweeteners due to the natural sweetness it contains. I tasted some a little while ago and am now hooked!

Secondly, Hershey's Dark Cocoa, if I can find it. Another luxury not available in Canada!

Any other treats you buy in the states since they are not available here? I am not so interested in the candies (though Hershey's Symphony bar with toffee and almonds is heavenly) or the pop but other goodies? Do tell!!

Happy Birthday, My Dear Son!

2011-03-14T20:40:00.005-05:00

It is so hard to believe my mothering journey started 8 years ago today! When Jay and I were first married (or probably before) we talked about waiting 5 years to have kids. After 3 years, I was just itching to be a mom! Now, you must know that being a mom was my biggest dream - it was everything I aspired to be! So waiting three years was a long time! :) I didn't want to force Jay into anything that he wasn't ready for so, though I told him I was ready at that point, I didn't force the issue. Then, bless his kind and sweet and gracious spirit, a little while later he told me I didn't need to renew my birthcontrol pills - his way of saying we could start to try having a baby. And, to top it off, he didn't even make me finish the unopened package I already paid for, a big surprise for my very money-conscious hubby! Anyhow, shortly after we were pregnant! I had suspicions I was with child so I bought a home pregnancy test and used it in the bathroom of the mall! Classy, isn't it! When I saw the two lines indicating my dreams had come true, I couldn't stop smiling! I went to my inlaws house (that's where Jay was) and he came out to the car to see me. I told him "1 means 'no', 2 means 'yes'." He had no clue what I was talking about. I said it again and then held up the stick! He clued in fairly quickly and was just thrilled with the idea! He knew that his first reaction would be remembered by me so he made sure it was positive! So, that was the beginning of the mothering journey for me. 8ish months later, I delivered our son into the hands of my husband in the warmth and coziness of our bedroom. Besides his initial cry, my dear son was sooooo quiet. He was absolutely content to be held by his daddy while the midwives finished up with me. He had the largest brown eyes and such a quiet spirit. I remember him really crying for the first time that night (he was born in the morning) and I was confused as to who was crying - until I remembered I was a mom and that was my son!

When I held him in my arms for the first time, I had this overwhelming sense that this . . . THIS was what I was created for. This was my purpose! It was a fulfillment of my dreams and it was even better than I could have imagined. I still, 8 years later, wonder when the reality of being a mom will sink in. I am surprised and overwhelmed over and over at the blessing of these children and it all started with my not-so-little-anymore son, Pepe! He has such a gentle spirit (he is still boy and can roughhouse like one!), loves his siblings and shows great tenderness towards them, is responsible, smart, a huge helper, a fantastic reader, is loving and has a love for Jesus that is wonderful to see. He is methodical in his choices, taking much time to think things through, he is hesitant in new surroundings, checking it all out to make sure it is safe. He has such a special place in my heart (as do each of his siblings) and I cannot imagine this family without him.

Pepe, I love you, my sweet 8-year old son, and I am humbled that the Lord allowed me to be your mother. I look forward to the next 8 years and many, many more beyond that! Happy Birthday, son!

Summer Woodworking Projects

2011-02-21T23:06:00.002-06:00

At this time of the year, I always tend to get a little antsy for the warmer I weather I KNOW is just around the corner. We have already celebrated Ari's and RJ's birthdays and Pepe's birthday is in the middle of March, just about 3 weeks away. The day after Pepe was born, it was so nice outside, we went for a walk with him tucked inside my jacket. It was the beginning of spring and every year is the same. Right around his birthday the sun shines, the snow melts and my excitement grows. Usually I cannot wait to get into the garden but this year I cannot wait to kick the vehicles out of the garage and get started on some projects. Next year at this time, we should be in the process of building our house. That is the plan anyway. And there are some things that I can make this summer as I won't have time next summer. The major projects this year are beds. 3 to be exact. Ari doesn't own a bed and will need something when we move and the boys bunkbeds are in rough shape. I want to make them each a new bed. So, the plan is to have Ari and Ali share a room and use the bunkbeds the girls currently use. RJ will get a new bed for her own room and this is the bed I will make for her. Check it out - it is just beautiful! It is called the Fancy Arched Bed and I know she will love it. So feminine! I will have to modify it slightly as the pattern is for a queen bed but I only need a twin.

The boys will each get their own room and I will make them the same bed. It is called the Fancy Farmhouse Bed and I really love the simple yet slightly fancy look of it. I am not sure yet if I will make a matching footboard or leave it with just a headboard. I will have to ponder that a little. Once again, I will change it from a queen bed to a twin.

Next summer will see me creating lockers for the mudroom, shelving and cabinets for the laundry room, office and school room. It will be busy! What I can do ahead of time, I certain will. And these beds will be just the thing to satisfy my building itch! Do you have any plans to build something this summer? Please, do share!!

Happy Birthday Little Lady!

2011-02-20T21:27:00.003-06:00

5 years ago today I remember asking Jay if the child I had just birthed was a boy or a girl. He said he thought it was a girl but he wanted to double check just to make sure - he didn't want to get my hopes up! Well, all girl she is and I am blessed beyond measure to have RJ in our lives! She is this beautiful bundle of energy, wrapped up in more confidence and determination than I know what to do with at times! She is the oldest daughter and as such displays oldest child characteristics in spite of being third in line. She is complex - sensitive but bold, "tomboyish" yet girly-girl!

She will accomplish things before her years as she blazes her own trail, never completely content to follow. She thrives on being with her friends or her siblings, feeling kind of lost on her own. I am so blessed to have her in my life as she brings so much beauty into my days. I look forward to all the great things the Lord will do in and through her as she continues to learn about Him, love Him and follow Him. RJ, I love you, my sweet 5 year-old girl and I am so humbled to be your mom! I look forward to many years of watching you grow and change, becoming the woman of God I know you will be. Happy 5th Birthday, sweetheart!

In House Valentine's Date

2011-02-15T09:59:00.003-06:00

Sometimes going on a date is just too expensive! With 5 kids, we pay our babysitter $7/hour which is more than the norm. But they deserve it - watching 5 kids is not an easy job. So, we do a lot of dates at home. Yesterday was one of those days especially since our main babysitter is on vacation! I thought I would share with you what we did so maybe it will help you to be creative with your in-house dates. First off, we made sure the kids were in bed for 7:30 - earlier than usual. The boys stayed awake until 9 but only came out a couple of times. The girls stayed in bed. After the kids are in bed, Jay always has to go check on the chickens (thousands of them) so that is a half-hour event. While he was gone, I quickly got a few things ready. When he came home, he was not allowed to enter the house until he radioed me on the walkie-talkies to make sure I was ready. He was to go straight downstairs to a candle-lit bath waiting for him, along with chocolate-dipped strawberries and a pretty drink. He had to stay in the bath for at least 30 minutes so I could cook the food for our candle-lit supper. While he was bathing, I cooked up some great Thai food to go along with the theme date I discovered on this website while incorporating my own ideas as well. Once he found me in the candlelit bedroom, we ate some great food, drank some 'bubbly', talked, played some cribbage (a game he loves!) and fell in love with each other all over again! After all, isn't that the point of a date, whether it be Valentine's Day or not? We cannot always go out but if we use our creativity, maybe do a little on-line research for some ideas, and try our best to make each other feel special, in-house dates can be just as fun! I hope you had a great Valentine's Day, whether you were able to get out or not!

Happy Birthday, Baby Girl!

2011-02-12T19:21:00.007-06:00

Today, my baby girl turned two years old! WOW!! It is so hard to think that just 2 years ago I saw this little bundle of joy and energy for the very first time!

She was by far my busiest baby in the womb and she has shown no different out of the womb! No one has given us more smiles than she has, talks more than she has, given more hugs than she has! She is my little sunshine because she lights up a room when she comes in. She has such a special relationship with her older brother AJ and I love how the two of them interact. She loves to be among the crowd and quickly feels lonely without her siblings around. She is helpful, adventurous, loving, spunky, smiley and an absolute delight to have in our family.

I have mixed emotions about this day. Jay and I are talking about having more children once we are in the new house but I have no guarantees that we actually will. So, I look upon her with a bittersweet happiness - my littlest baby is growing up and as of right now there are no more babies around. In the past, when we celebrated a 2 year birthday, there has always been a 6 month old baby in my arms.

In spite that bitter sweetness, I am overwhelmed with joy at this beautiful little child, with delight at watching her grow and learn, with curiosity to see all that the Lord has in store for her in the future but mostly with humility that God has entrusted her to us for now. Happy Birthday, sweet little Ari! My life is better because of you!

Lapbook on Egypt

2011-02-08T16:26:00.005-06:00

At the end of last week, we completed our third of six lapbooks in our Geography course, A Child's Geography - Explore the Holy Land. The boys really enjoyed studying Egpyt: learning about ancient Egypt, about modern-day Egypt and how so many important Old Testament stories actually happened in this fascinating country! I am continuing to learn so many new things myself and I love to create new little mini-books each week. I absolutely love how the author of our text (see below) weaves in stories of the country we are studying, truths from Scripture, and explanations of how the geography of the region shapes our lives and when we mess with that geography as God created it, consequences happen. Now we will take a one week break before heading into our next country of study - Iraq! Once again, if you need a lapbook to accompany the Egypt chapters of Ann Voskamp's A Child's Geography - Explore the Holy Land, send me an email and I will gladly send you the file. (A couple of readers asked for the Israel lapbook and I was delighted to send it their way!) So, this is what the boys' lapbook of Egypt looks like!

Sinks for Project 2012

2011-02-07T13:59:00.004-06:00

As we continue to figure out the house plans, I am constantly looking for deals on the supplies we need/want for our new house. I spend a couple of times a week checking out the local Kijiji ads (same as Craigslist) to see what new or used products I can find. I scored this weekend on a couple of vessel sinks, a particular item I was searching for! The ad stated there were 3 sinks but only pictured one - I was hoping there were at least two the same so I could use them in our master bath. That was not the case but we did find two we liked (actually, all three were great!).

This is my favorite of the three he had and it will be going into the main floor powder room. I want that room to have a lot of drama and I know this sink will hold up its part in the deal. Now I need to keep my eyes open for the perfect faucet. Oh, and this sink, brand new, only cost me $50!

This semi-flush vessel that Jay picked is kinda different. It has the stepped design which is not that uncommon. However, this sink can be mounted on the counter as a vessel or it can be bolted to the wall and hung as a floating sink. We are not sure which way we would go but that is fine since we are keeping this sink for the basement and we have no idea what we are doing down there anyway! Once again, this one only cost us $50!

Finally, I thought I would show you the sinks I found last year on clearance in two separate stores in two separate cities. They only cost me $34.93 each but are so beautiful! They are not vessel sinks but I love the details on them and I love that the faucet will be mounted to the counter instead of on the sink. These will be going in the kids' bathroom upstairs. Now I just need to find some great matching faucets to go with the sinks. I might have to take a trip to my local liquidators, check out a place called El Dorado Trading Company here in Winnipeg (it was a tip given to me by the guy who sold us the vessel sinks - he uses that company and highly recommends it for great but cheap faucets, sinks, etc) or look online at Overstock.com. I love the quest and finding deals on the way!

Learning to Read

2011-02-04T22:07:00.003-06:00

RJ has shown incredible amounts of determination when it comes to schooling. She loves to be right in the thick of it. She loves to work on her books, complains the least (note that she does complain at times), and is absorbing rapidly all she is learning. This week we passed a milestone I suspected we would pass before she turned 5 - she read her first book! Granted it is a book filled with short single-vowel words and is only 58 words long but hey, she read a book! I caught it on video tape and I could not be more proud of her! Today she brought me another book and she read it as well. She does need a bit of help every now and then but she is doing so fantastic for only being 4! It just confirms my decision that homeschooling her at this early age was a good decision. According to school standards, she should only be starting kindergarten in September. I think she would be utterly bored by that point if she keeps excelling at the rate she is going. So, I say, way to go RJ! I am so proud of you! Learning to read is a huge milestone and it will take you many places in life!

Sick . . . Again!

2011-01-27T10:51:00.002-06:00

Last night . . . well, actually it was early this morning, around 1 am, Ali was crying in bed. I went to comfort her, which seemed to work for about 5 minutes. Then she was crying again, complaining of a sore tummy. So, Jay went and brought her upstairs to lie down on the floor beside me. 15 minutes later she quietly says she needs a pail - I quickly grabbed the garbage can (lined with a lovely scented bag) and into that she spewed the contents of supper. She did not get any on herself or on the carpeted floor all around her (one of only 2 carpeted rooms in the whole house!). The next 2 hours saw repeats of this event (though I had gotten an icecream pail after episode #1). Just as she falls asleep . . . finally . . . (because Momma has gotten up every time she made a moan, which was about every 5 minutes, and was very tired) big sister comes up complaining of a sore tummy. So, we get her settled on Jay's side of the bed, with a pail, and she empties the contents of her tummy. Ack, yuck. I don't handle vomit well. At all. Anyhow, she too, kept herself clean. So, while today was supposed to be a homeschool co-op morning with me in charge of the craft time, we are stuck at home with 2 sick little girls. Just a couple of days ago baby girl vomited all over herself and her playpen, just after giving big brother a hug so he very nearly got showered with vomit. How do you clean a playpen? Lots of chemical cleaners, I tell you! We now have her on a crib mattress on her floor with a bed rail on one side and the dresser on the other. We figured the plastic coated mattress, wooden dresser and laminate flooring would be easier to clean than the playpen. After 1 night and 2 naps, she has learned to stay on the mattress to sleep. I guess this is the transition from baby bed to toddler bed we knew would happen sometime soon. We just didn't think it would be for this reason. So, anyway, here's hoping the boys stay well.

Laundry Lessons

2011-01-25T19:27:00.002-06:00

Laundry! Just the word itself usually brings about serious dread! I can always picture the heaps and heaps of dirty clothes waiting (and waiting and waiting and waiting) to be washed, the clean clothes waiting to be folded and the folded clothes waiting to be put away. Laundry was never done. Laundry was an all-the-time every-day stresser. No clean clothes in the drawers, the clothes that were clean and folded were suddenly unfolded and unclean, the list goes on. I wanted to conquer the laundry monster and tame it, control it, bring it back to where I was in control. So, after Christmas we found the usual "Mom, I have no clean clothes in my drawer (and they were right)" situation happening yet again. We spent hours washing clothes, drying clothes, folding clothes and finally, finally (even delaying school just so we could get it done) putting all the clothes away. And since then, since that day 2 weeks ago, I have been completed caught up on laundry. And I like it. No, I LOVE it! Does that mean there is no dirty laundry in the house? No, of course not! We are 7 people, we make a mess. We pee our bed. We throw up. We spill our food. We play in animal "matter". We make a mess. There is dirty laundry right as we speak. But, there is also closets full of clean clothes. And, in these two weeks, I have learned some lessons. Some valuable lessons that I know will allow me to rise above the patterns of the past and follow these new, much better habits. Here are the lessons learned (in no particular order, more so to remind me of the great thing I have going than to tell you what to do!):

Never leave clean, folded laundry out where the littlest members can undo your hard work. If you cannot put it away right away, put it somewhere safe. For me, this is back in the laundry room (which was previously not an option due to the probability that it would be considered dirty laundry and rewashed!)
Do two loads of laundry every day. And, since I have stayed on top of things, that actually means I don't need to do laundry on Thursdays (Homeschool Co-op in the morning and office work in the afternoon leaves little room for laundry) or the weekend! Imagine that! A weekend without having to be chained to the washing machine! It really is freeing!
Get the kids to bring their hamper of dirty laundry for sorting on Tuesdays and Fridays. This prevents them from spilling over the top (remember, we have both boys in one room and the three girls in another - we need to empty them often).
By doing laundry on a regular basis, the 4 laundry sorters are all that is needed. The loads have been reduced to only 4. Before, no joking, with the once every 2 weeksish laundry marathon, we would have 2 black loads, 2 denim loads, 2 pink loads, 1 light blue load, 1 dark blue/grey load, 1 white with bleach load, 1 lights load, 1 color load plus all the bedding and towels (these may actually be on the low side). My 4 laundry sorters were stuffed full plus there were piles all.over.the.place! By doing laundry every day, all the loads stay in those sorters, my many laundry baskets are empty waiting to be used and I can actually walk to the washer/drying without tripping over piles of clothes!
Lost socks are found!
No more complaining there is no clean underwear. No more looking through baskets of clothes on Sunday morning to find clean tights or dresses to match the tights that are actually clean.
The favorite clothes are almost always clean.
When your clothes are washed so frequently, you don't actually need that many! The kids drawers are stuffed full! We needed that much when I didn't actually wash them but now? Now we need to sort!
Jason no longer needs to help with the laundry. I feel more like I am being the wife I should. I see all these household chores as ministry opportunities for me to minister to my husband and kids and when I fall short, I feel like I failed. Yes, I am well aware that should not be the case but now that I am doing what I want to be doing, blessing my husband with clean clothes, I feel blessed in return!
Oh, having a dresser for the clothes instead of cubbies right above the laundry hamper is a much better idea! In our "old" arrangement, most of the girls clothes were in the closet. All dresses and sweaters are hung up, the pants, shirts and pj's were on a shelving unit with cubbies for each. The problem was when they took out the one thing they wanted, 3 more fell out onto the floor and by the dirty laundry. Somehow it made its way into the dirty laundry and I was washing clean clothes. I had bought a long dresser I intended to use as a vanity in the new house. I decided to change out the buffet I was originally using as a change table/toy storage for the long dresser. All the girls clothes (minus the hanging stuff) is now in the dresser and the toys are in baskets in those cubbies previously holding the clothes. Now, if the clothes fall out when they are taking out their clothes to wear, it is no big deal. It is not close to the hamper so I can just pick it up and put it back. Or they can. Yeah, right! Like I said, I can!
The kids can put away their own clothes. The boys have been doing it for a while already! What a huge help! They are 6 & 7 and completely capable of doing this chore. I don't even sort their clothes, I just put them in a basket, put the basket in their room and tell them to put it away. They know what belongs to who. The girls' laundry I still sort into piles. RJ (4) is very good at putting them away, Ali (3) is helpful as well and baby girl Ari (1) is already learning to do it. Monkey see, monkey do, right?! :) It may not be put away exactly like I would do it but it is put away. I can always fix it later!

There! My lessons learned! Maybe you will learn a tip or two. Now, if you will excuse me, I have some laundry to put away!

Beauty School and Riding Lessons

2011-01-25T19:03:00.002-06:00

Sometimes it is the very everyday ordinary things that make the kids ever so happy. The other day the girls wanted to do my hair. I always do theirs, they figured it was time to do mine. So, out came the hair brushes, the combs, the spray bottle, the ponies and the clips. And, just as a little secret between you and me, I LOVE having my hair brushed, just about as much as I LOVE having my head rubbed. Instant happiness on my part. Instant relaxation. So, consider this Beauty School, with no discrimination based on sex (notice my little man joining in!). After probably half an hour of pampering, I had to insist I was done. The excessive amount of water sprayed on my head was making me cold, thus ending the relaxation!

Then the other day the horse arrived in town and they all got their riding lessons. This is a pretty amazing horse as it holds 5 riders comfortably, though it was the older 4 who raced through the house, giggling the whole time!

Yes, it certainly is the simplest of things that makes the biggest of smiles!

A New Look for A Little Man

2011-01-12T16:31:00.004-06:00

At the beginning of December we learned AJ was far-sighted. Quite seriously, too. The cut-off for "needs glasses" and "doesn't need glasses" is a -3.00. AJ was showing about a -2.5. However, there were other signs that were suggesting he was maybe hiding some sight issues. He would comment that if he made his eyes close a bit he could actually see better. Sometimes he said his eyes were fuzzy. Often it would take him forever to copy what was on the whiteboard but if I told him what to write he would do it quickly. So, when I mentioned all these things to the optometrist, he decided to dilate his pupils so he could see the full measure of his farsightedness. He showed a -5.00 and a -4.75! Wow! That is quite a bit of hiding. So began the search for glasses. Now, AJ is a little man. He has small features. All glasses we tried on seemed to dwarf his little face. We went to at least 3 different opticians to try on glasses. The selection for children is small to start off with then if you take out all the girl glasses you are left with a small handful that are all too big. I decided to check out Zenni online. If you are in the mood for different glasses, give them a try! The selection of children's glasses is huge and by using a photo of AJ and "trying on" the glasses on line, I was able to pick 6 glasses I liked on him. I gave him the final choice of what he wanted. He picked one silver pair of memory-wire glasses and a black-framed pair of prescription sunglasses. I love the look of my new even cuter little man with his spectacles! They are certainly thicker than I was anticipating and so they do make his eyes look much larger. I am really sensitive for him because I remember how much I hated my first glasses. Honestly, they were huge and awful! He has not enjoyed this process one little bit but he loves having his sunglasses. Hey, if he wants to wear them all day in school, I am fine with that! So, we wait 3 weeks then go back to the optometrist to see if the prescription is too strong or just right. As of right now, he tends to look over the glasses or lift them up in order to read without them. Time will tell, I guess. Now I think I need to order a pair or two of new glasses for myself!

Choosing That Which is Best

2011-01-11T23:13:00.004-06:00

Every day a time comes when the kids are all tucked in bed, all the many hugs and kisses are handed out (and then handed out again), the doors are quietly closed and I look forward to "me" time (or to the laundry or the many other things on the "to-do" list to accomplish though, truthfully, I usually just plop onto the couch with a big sigh and wish I could do nothing!). Every once in a while, little Ali asks me to snuggle as I give those hugs and kisses. I usually pause, think of all the things I have yet to do and the very short time to do it in and I say "No. Not tonight, honey. I have to go do the laundry. Maybe tomorrow?" She looks disappointed, starts to cry and I give in. "Okay. But only for a little bit." She smiles as I snuggle in, wrap my arms around her and stroke her hair and her cheeks. If I am lucky, she strokes my hair and gently caresses my cheek. Just a few minutes is all she needs and then I sneak out while she falls asleep. Then the next night it happens all over again. It has become part of our routine. But I am learning. I am learning what is good and what is better. What is good and what is best. Because does the laundry really matter to a 3 year old? She couldn't care less if her pants and shirts match or if they are even clean. What she does care about is if her mommy loves her and to her that means quality time and lots of it. It means a couple minutes of snuggling at the end of the day. She is not here tonight. All the kids are sleeping at Grandma's since we had a late night with a few dear friends, our care group. And I miss her stroking my hair, I miss snuggling with her. I miss her sweet dimpled smile as she snuggles into the pillow, sneaking looks at me every once in a while. I miss that little lady. The Lord is teaching me what is good and what is best and you know what? I don't say, "Maybe tomorrow" anymore. I just crawl in her bed, wrap my arms around her and love that little lady. I am hoping that as she receives love from Jesus through the arms of her mom in those moments of quiet that it will seep into her soul and give her confidence. Give her courage. Give her security in knowing Jesus loves her. She keeps asking, "Does Jesus love me?" Oh, yes, my little lady, he sure does. So much more than I ever could.

Why The Paperwork Is Late

2011-01-05T17:06:00.004-06:00

Dear Sir,

Please excuse the late paperwork. Again. As you may not know, I have acquired a computer virus. A couple of them, actually. Maybe they are best referred to as "bugs". They pop up immediately once the computer is turned on, may disappear a short while later only to reapper intermittently In the meantime, all attempts to do my paperwork in an efficient and timely matter are completely ruined. I apologize for the Crayola pictures on the back side of the faxes - they are somehow mistaken for scrap paper. Be assured, we are trying to remedy the situation. As for the spelling mistakes and other general errors, it is most difficult to be accurate when the screen is blocked by aforementioned "bugs" and paperwork is constantly moved from one place to another or has gone missing altogether. I am well aware that 3rd Quarter reports are just now making their way to you even though 4th Quarter has already passed. Perhaps a raise would be in order to facilitate a system in which the virus is contained to another part of the "office". Once again, my sincerest apologies. I have included for your viewing a photograph of the "bugs" and how they have been hindering my work. I welcome all solutions.

Sincerely,

Your Administrative Assistant

2011 - A Year of Promise

2011-01-01T20:40:00.003-06:00

A Year of Promise. That is really what every year is, isn't it? A year full of possibilities, of dreams, of questions, of wondering where I will be and what will have happened in exactly one year from now and is it at all what I was hoping it would be? I am not one to wax philosophical so I won't but I really do love new beginnings and wondering ever so much about the journey that lays ahead!

I am not as keen on looking back at what as happened mostly because I hate looking at my shortcomings! Exactly one year ago today, I made these choices:

No sweets. That's right - no chocolate, no Kit Kat bars, no cheesecake, no Pepsi, no Saucy Hot Fudge Pudding, no homemade Hot Fudge Sauce to smother my ice cream, no Slurpee's, no homemade iced tea - get the point??!!
Run 500 miles. That sounds a little extreme, however, if you break it down, it is only 1.36986301369 miles per day or 9.61538461538 miles per week. Totally doable! Check out the running woman on the side to watch my progress.
Lose weight! #1 and #2 should help with this. So will Jillian Michaels and Billy Blanks. One of the reasons I love being pregnant is because I don't worry about my weight. If I have a big tummy, it is for a reason. Now I have no excuse (and I don't consider 5 kids an excuse!!). So, by the time 2011 rolls around, I'd like you to see about 15 pounds less of me.
Read through the entire Bible. I see this one as being the most difficult. I tend to get bogged down in Leviticus and Numbers. Something about all those lists. Okay, so if I get through most of the Bible, I will consider this done! After all, just watching the state of your physical being and ignoring the state of your spiritual being is pretty useless. Hell couldn't care less if you are thin.
There you have it. My goals for 2010.

Oh, boy! How did I do?

#1 - Success! A whole year without sweets! Some people say they could never do this! You know what, you totally can! There are sweets people and there are salty people and I am far over on the sweet end of the scale. It is simply a matter of saying no to that sweet option. Not that hard. You could totally do it. Not that I am suggesting you need to but it is a great way of stretching your will-power. At times I felt like this was a dumb decision but it was made and I am stubborn so I persevered and here I am!

#2 - Running. Oh, how I hate running. I actually did run for a few months. And I hated pretty much every minute of it. Well, some of it wasn't too bad but really, on the whole, I hate running. This was the dumbest decision I made (dumber than no sweets) and I really failed. But I am still okay. I still like me. I just don't like running! I also realized that sometimes I may set my goals just a teensy bit high. Maybe just a tad unrealistic. You think? So maybe just setting more reasonable goals (for myself and those around me) would be a really good thing to do!

#3 - Lost weight! I started the year at 142 pounds and am now comfortably at 130lbs! I fluctuate between 129 and 132 but that is to be expected. I am lighter now than I have been my entire married life. I guess no sweets and no pregnancy probably helped! I have now dropped from a size 8-9 to a size 6 and I am no longer wearing medium but size small. For as long as I can remember, my whole adult life, I have been a medium, a size 8-9. It feels really weird to be shopping in the small section or looking to see if they have a size 6. I swear the selection is smaller! But, I am so excited to have lost about 12 pounds and couldn't be more proud of myself!

#4 - Read through the Bible. This is my greatest disappointment and, unlike running, I really feel I failed in this. I admitted when I made this choice that it would be my toughest and it was. Why is it so very hard to take a few moments a day to spend pretty much zero energy (as opposed to running) to read my Bible. I know it is a battle but this is one I really want to win. I will not give up on this. I will read through my Bible in a year one of these years!

That brings you up to speed on how last year's goals went. I am not one to make resolutions. I rarely do, actually. But I will make one this year. Only one. One that is very important to me. READ MY BIBLE! I bought myself The 365 Daily Promise Bible in the New Life Version. It features one of God's promises for every day of the year. Each day contains a OT passage, a NT passage and a passage from the Wisdom Literature (Psalms, Proverbs). Hopefully this year will be my year of victory. Hey, if I can go a whole year without sweets, I can read through the Bible, right? I mean, how hard can it be??!! :)

Now I am off to have a steaming cup of hot chocolate, something I haven't indulged in in over a year and accompany it with some Death By Chocolate Trifle! Mmm, mmm, good!

I'm Dreaming of a Dark Chocolate Cheesecake!

2010-12-30T22:12:00.002-06:00

Only 25 hours and 47 minutes, people! Do you have any idea how long I have waited for this moment? I do! I have waited 524, 113 minutes! Yup, in only 25 hours and 46 minutes (time is a ticking!) I CAN HAVE CHOCOLATE!!!!!!!!! And I am just a wee bit excited! And the first bite of sweets to cross my lips and tickle my tastebuds? I've done a lot of thinking and cheesecake it is. Deep Dark Chocolate Cheesecake drizzled with Raspberry Coulis and garnished with a hint of whipped cream! Oh, I think I shall die, it will be sooooo good. A little dramatic, yes, but you try going an ENTIRE YEAR without sweets and then see how much you look forward to that first delicious bite! Jay was smart enough to buy my favorite chocolates for my stocking - Mini Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, M&M's, Chunky Kitkat, Ferrero Rocher, other dark chocolate goodness (actually only the Reese's were actually in the stocking, the rest I am supposed to pretend I don't know about but I was right there when he bought it!). Oh, I am drooling with excitement! Gotta go pull out the cream cheese from the freezer so I can make the cheesecake first thing in the morning to give it time to chill before MIDNIGHT! I have never looked forward to January 1 with as much anticipation as I am right now (and I am now down to 24 hours, 38 minutes)! What does January 1 hold for you?

Here's Wishing You a Christmas Filled With Love!

2010-12-24T20:58:00.005-06:00

Every year Jason has the privilege of writing our Christmas letter. Here is the 2010 version! I hope you enjoy!

Christmas greetings to you all. As you celebrate the birth of the baby Jesus we hope and pray that you would also all experience the peace, joy and salvation that the grown man Jesus made possible. As I reflect on this past year and wonder about how to share our lives in one short letter I was taken back to last year’s letter and realized that, in spite of the demanding pace of life and the notion that we are all still about the same, much has, in fact, changed. It is very good to stop and think about what has been going on in my life and so this letter is likely far less for you than for me as it becomes an exercise in reflection and to show me how faithful God has been and how grateful I have reason to be. However, we have sent you this because we love you and want to share our lives with you, just as we hope to be able to share in your lives.

Arileigh – Nearly 2 now this whirlwind of a child has lived up to all my fears of being the busiest of the bunch. While I was voraciously anticipating the day that our youngest would be independent enough not to need Chantelle or myself for her every need, now that that has begun to happen I question the cruel irony of my circumstances. What I found as we closed the door of infant dependency was a much more daunting door opening in front of us. The constant infant dependence has been replaced with the constant toddler independence. Even in the time it has taken to write this paragraph I have needed to stop and remove pencil crayons from the one writing on the couch, clean up brown sugar, pancake mix and cheese whiz from the one who had removed it from the cupboard and fridge and was preparing to mix it all in the living, and remove a pen from the hand of the one who was poking another in the face with it. And all of this from the same whirlwind of a child! She has also shown a great aptitude for “talking”, the quantity of which can only be rivaled by her mother! Despite the dizzying challenges we encounter, we cannot imagine life without her and imagine that all this energy will likely benefit her in her newly found TV commercial stardom.

Aliyah – Psalm 56:8 is translated in the New Living Translation as “You (God) have collected all my tears in your bottle”. We believe God actually has a bathtub for Aliyah. She is definitely our most sensitive child crying for reasons from great injustices to just because the sun rose. Besides crying she enjoys babies, books and just sitting around and snuggling. During home school hours Aliyah feels it is just as important that she be doing school as well and can be found deep in thought in her preschool workbook. When the tears do dry for a while and a smile erupts on her face, what a beautiful little 3 year old girl she is, trying so hard to be and do all that her big sister is and does.

RhÉanna – Our fearless leader continues to amaze us in her outgoingness and willingness to try just about anything. Although only 4 she was insistent that it was time for her to start school and is now excelling at kindergarten. She is almost always the first one done her schoolwork and is usually disappointed that there isn’t more for her to do. Although we have tried, somehow she has not received the memo that she is not in charge. We have caught she several times telling her siblings what sort of punishment they will receive for the wrong things she has caught them doing including telling them to go to their room. This doesn’t go over well with the younger siblings, never mind her 2 older brothers who receive this corrective action with about as much enthusiasm as a mosquito bite. No doubt though, the highlight of our year with Rheanna is that this year she made Jesus her forever friend! Just as with the boys, we are thrilled that she has understood His love for her and her need for His help in all she does. We anticipate greatly the things God can do through her.

Adlai – At 6, Adlai has now gotten over the novelty of school and has begun to show his true colors. His comedic and restless character pulls him away from the table any time he can get away with it, and you can find him much more likely building Lego, drawing pictures or just making his brother and sisters laugh. While school may not be the highlight of his day he is certainly showing that he has a great mind for math. Time and time again, this creative boy can be found playing alone creating some great masterpiece out of Lego (then leaving said Lego lying around his room!).

Payton – Our 7 year old gentle giant continues to live up to the firstborn stereotype of being cautious, responsible and a great caregiver. His outstanding ability to read, matched by his remarkable memory leaves him spouting out facts both useful and useless that make me wonder if he was smaller for his age and was in the public school if he would get beat up a lot. As this is not the case, my questions turn inward as I ponder how long it will take him to figure out he is smarter than his dad. His heart is a generous one and often piles of seemingly useless recyclables end up in his bed as he creates treasures out of trash for those he loves. His desire to help in any and all areas has made him quite proficient in the kitchen – he is already making Macaroni and Cheese and Quick Cheese Biscuits with little to no help from mom!

Chantelle – continues to have far more interests than any human can possibly participate in. However, having not yet come to the realization that she is human, she continues to teach, work, and create, in ways that make Martha Stewart appear to be incompetent. I also introduced her to the chainsaw this year (Lord only knows why!), which she handled very well and can now add to her nearly exhaustive list of skills. She continues to home school the kids and does a remarkable job at it although she finds it much more challenging than it may appear to be at the surface. (This may in fact be the thing that breaks her and reveals her humanness) All kidding aside, she certainly feels that the Holy Spirit is using this endeavor to develop a deep character inside of her. Somewhat related to home schooling (so I thought), I heard her say to me that she had successfully gotten through the year without shooting a kid. I told her that was fantastic and I was glad she hadn’t shot a kid either. She gave me that “you’re an idiot look” and repeated what she had actually said “I have successfully gotten through a year without sugar.” Looking back that did make more sense to me and goes along well with the idea that she may not be human after all.

Jason – as for me, it is now been 13 days since I began this family newsletter. I had great hopes of FINALLY getting one of these out before Christmas. Perhaps I should stop setting such ambitions goals. Between work, church, and home, my life is looking more and more like a hamster wheel. That probably explains the shredded up paper lying all over the floor. Now if someone would please come and clean up the turds that we seem to find from time to time that would be great! On a completely different note, after nearly 12 years I am transitioning out of the hog barns and back into the grain farm. It is a slow and ambiguous evolution that leaves me wondering am I really switching directions or will I just be left with 2 full-time jobs. I guess I’m not a real farmer anyway until I am working 80 hours a week. We did, however, manage to get away for a wonderful week with family this summer in Minneapolis. We had such a good time I am already planning our vacation for next decade whether we need it or not.

Kids Say the Funniest Things:

Adlai: “Marshmallows won’t kill you.”

While Payton & Adlai were playing chess, Payton told Chantelle, “I got Adlai’s queen but Adlai got all mad so I gave it back.”

Rhéanna: “When am I going to grow up?”

Payton: “Can someone turn off the angel? It’s making me have bad looks in my eye balls.”

More Memorable Moments:

Payton had surgery for T-tubes…again

Adlai has a new found need for glasses

In classic Rhéanna style she learned to ride her bike much younger than the boys did

Arileigh learned to walk way back in March

We spent many hours in the country cutting down trees and pushing over buildings and making wiener roasts

Payton learned to mow the lawn

If you have ever wondered what Chantelle and I do with ALL our free time here is a statistical snapshot of a few of the major things.

15330 – items of clothing washed in one year

28470 – number of plates, utensils, etc washed in one year

3285 – number of diapers changed in a year (last year’s stat)

22 – the number of children Rhéanna thinks we should have

1/2 - the amount of food that makes it into Arileigh’s mouth

1/2 - the amount of food that ends up on the floor under Arileigh

1095 – the number of times in a year that the dining room floor needs to get swept

3650 – number of toys that get cleaned up in a year

32850 – number of toys or toy pieces that would be cleaned up in a year if they were cleaned up each day

365 – number of days in a year that Jason ponders throwing all the toys away.

600 – number of liters of milk we buy in a year

365ish – number of days in a year we feel incredibly blessed by the life and family the Lord has entrusted to us :)