The Button-Down-Dress-Shirt Dress

As you know, I ADORE reconning things I don't use and making them into something I do use. Just as socks become baby leg warmers and t-shirts become diapers, this time a men's button-down dress shirt became this:

This dress looks amazing, but it is really quite simple to put together. The full instructions for this dress are found HERE.

Ty has a shirt just like this (this one was given to us by a former co-worker of his), so my husband and daughter went to church yesterday in matching apparel! How fun!

My Personalized T-Shirt & a Giveaway!

Several years back I had a shirt screen printed for my husband to the tune of $30. Now, you know me...always trying to find a way to do it myself for cheaper. I do love to patronize home-based businesses, but there is something terribly satisfying about making something yourself and saving money while you're at it!

I had seen THIS SHIRT and thought it would be fun to have a shirt with a somewhat obscure word on it that describes me.

(For those of you without a medical dictionary handy, the official ACOG definition of a multipara is a woman who has given birth 2-4 times. A GRAND multipara has given birth 5-9 times and a GREAT GRAND multipara has given birth 10 or more times. The grand multipara term was whispered around me during my ER VISIT last September, which made me giggle since I knew exactly what they were talking about in such hushed and serious tones.)

I wanted to design my own grand multipara shirt, but didn't want to pay for the screen printing of it if I could do it at home. I had heard you could buy printer paper that could be used as iron-on transfer sheets (what will they think of next?), so I searched all around and finally found these at Office Depot. (The price at my local store was MUCH cheaper than on the website!)

(I could have used the dark t-shirt transfers, but I knew my design wouldn't require it. For truer color on a shirt that is somewhere between light and dark, you'll want to use the dark t-shirt transfer sheets.)

Before I move on, I'll give you a quick overview of what you need to make your very own personalized t-shirt:

A T-Shirt

Iron-On Transfer Paper (light or dark)

A word processing program

printer
scissors

iron

pillowcase (to place underneath shirt when ironing)

I bought t-shirts from Hobby Lobby for 50% off their already ridiculously low price. They have this sale quite often, so keep your eyes peeled. (Janelle @ Blessed Nation Ranch let me know that at the CraftsETC site there is a 10% off coupon code: twitter09. You also get FREE SHIPPING if your order is over $25!)

I wanted to dress the shirt up a bit before doing the iron-on. One of the easiest ways to do this with a t-shirt is to lettuce-edge the sleeves and hem-line. You can do this with a regular sewing machine by using a close zig-zag stitch, but it is much easier and nicer looking to use a rolled hem stitch on a serger and stretch the t-shirt as you go.


(thankfully I already had hot pink thread loaded in my machine!)

Here's a closeup of what the sleeve looks like finished.


And the entire shirt finished.


You can add ribbon and buttons and fabric paint for an even fancier shirt. Embellish to your little heart's content!

Next, you create your design on the computer. Use a simple word processing program and totally personalize your t-shirt with colors, fonts, pictures, and/or wordart. I recently did a shirt for my daughter with a picture of her guinea pig on it!

Here's the design I created...

Once you have your design, do a test print on regular paper. Make sure you print in MIRROR IMAGE. This feature is found under PROPERTIES and then ADVANCED in your printer dialogue box:


If you don't print in mirror image, this WILL NOT work! Doing a test print on regular paper is important to make sure you do not waste the transfer paper.

Once you are satisfied with your design, print in mirror image onto your transfer sheets. Cut around your design trying to make the edges a bit rounded (they stay down better if you do this) and cutting as close to your design as possible.



It is important to note here that there are directions in the transfer paper package. Follow these directions PRECISELY! I am giving very rough instructions here based on the paper I purchased. Other transfer sheets may require something a bit different.

Now comes the exciting part! Take your cut out design and place it where you want it on your t-shirt...

iron according to directions, let cool a sufficient amount of time and then...

The moment of truth!





Your very own personalized t-shirt!
(or rather, MY very own personalized t-shirt!)


Now for the GIVEAWAY!!!


I have one already cut out, ready-to-go smaller version of my iron-on transfer that I will give away to a winner chosen at random from my comments section! Just leave me a comment on this post and on

(the date my Emily made me a GRAND MULTIPARA!)

I will let Random.org choose a winner!

(by the way...this is my first ever giveaway and I so excited!!!)

Children ~ What You Mow Down Might Be Flowers

A year ago, the children and I planted some wildflowers in a corner of the yard. I have an incredibly brown thumb, so when I didn't see anything coming up that resembled flowers, I assumed our lovely bermuda grass had choked them out. The rest of the summer, we mowed over the spot and that was that...or so I thought.

This year as my oldest son was preparing to begin the mowing season, he mentioned that he thought he saw something that might be flowers growing over in the corner of the yard where we had planted the wildflowers the year before. He asked to not mow that spot and see what sprang up. I agreed, rather doubtfully.

A couple of weeks later it was quite clear they were indeed flowers!

"The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way. But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared. So the servants of the owner came and said to him, 'Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?' He said to them, 'An enemy has done this.' The servants said to him, 'Do you want us then to go and gather them up?' But he said, "No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, "First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn."'"

Matthew 13:24-30

Blake mentioned this parable the other day when we were discussing our wildflowers and this little "sunflower" plot:

"Are there really sunflowers growing in that mess?" I asked him. Letting it all grow up a bit before making a judgment call lest we uproot the "wheat" was his wise advice. Time will tell the truth.
I was sitting here tonight mulling over our flowers and how much this little story applies to parenting. Last mowing season, I was swift to mow down what appeared to be weeds. I didn't take the time to be certain about what I seeing. I just went in with both guns blazing and totally missed out on the wildflowers that year.

We have a tendency to "mow down" our children. Perhaps it is because we feel we know exactly what they want and the motives behind what they want before they can even get a complete sentence out. Maybe there have been trust issues in our relationship with them and we no longer fully hear them nor believe them. It could just be we don't take the time to let them finish their sentence because we have other things on our minds and other issues to take care of. Sometimes we just flat out ignore them.

"So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God."

James 1:19-20

How often are we slow to hear, swift to speak, and quick to jump to angry conclusions? How many times have we jumped all over our children without the full story because we interrupted them with our own perceptions? Has there ever been a time when we realized later we were wrong...very wrong?

Maybe it wasn't even something that caused an angry reaction in us. Maybe it was just an irritation to us or one more whiny voice in the soundtrack of our lives. Whatever the "reason", how often do we mow over our children and miss the flowers?

I've purposed to stop cutting my children off in mid-sentence no matter how confidant I am that I know exactly what they are going to ask me. I've purposed to really listen and try to get a full understanding of what they are saying and thinking before I make a judgement call. I've purposed to stop "fixing" everything by mowing it down and spend more time cultivating and tending the little seedlings the Lord has entrusted to me. Sadly, I've probably missed a few flowers along the way. (and I am all about flowers!) That's why I just keep praying my heart's prayer, "Thank you, Lord, for giving me these precious babies. Please don't let me warp them!

Mamas, Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Stunt Men

My 3 year old is a man of few words. Real words, that is. He is a man of action. He has a sound effect for everything and acts out the rest!

Recently, at a friend's house "Super K" (as we have fondly nicknamed him) walked down the stairs and pretended to fall. He did that whole Joey Lawrence "Whoa" as his body wobbled back and forth with wildly flailing arms. Our friends bought the act and raced to catch him. Daddy and I just stood off to the side watching our little actor miraculously gain his balance and scamper on down the steps. Special effects are his forte.

It is not uncommon for these words to be heard in our home,

"Get down, K!"

"Do not hang upside-down off the couch, K!"

"Do we have to bring the cowboy hat AND the gun AND the rope to church, K?"

He just oozes boy!

Just today, I had this conversation with him:


K: Tent?
Mama: You want to make a tent?
K: (nods his head excitedly as he points to the sheet he's pulled from the linen closet)
Mama: OK, well you have one end of the sheet on the couch. You'll need something to hold the other end up.
K: (shoots an ever-so-subtle-wheels-turning glance at his baby brother who is sitting in the exersaucer)
Mama: No, K, you cannot use your baby brother's head to hold the tent up!

About a year ago, he began noticing things like motorcycles, mountains, football games, and fast cars. He points wildly until we tell him,

"Yes, K, someday you can ride a motorcycle (with a helmet!),"
or,
"Yes, K, someday you can climb a mountain (with a helmet!),"
or,
"Yes, K, you can play football (with a helmet!),"
or,
"No, K, you cannot drive like that, but you can have a car like that (as long as you wear a helmet!)."

This is a child who just plain scares his mama. He's a sweet little guy, but boy does he like adventure! I imagine when he is a man, this mama will just have to rest in the Lord as her son goes galavanting off into the jungles to spread the gospel and eat dung beetles.

This is probably just all part of God's plan for this little boy's life. That's what I get for naming him a name that means "ancient and enduring protector." Protectors must be fearless.

I'm also convinced his daddy's special prayer for him has a lot to do with it as well:

"Even if his words are few, may they be words that glorify and honor You, Lord."


So, this little boy is just practicing for the day when he will be required to navigate danger in order to protect the Truth. Now that's my kind of stunt man!

Going Back

Today, I went back.

More than 16 months later, I went back to the town where my daughter died. I drove 2 hours, fueled by prayers.

I arrived on the doorstep of Sarah's house this morning at 10:30. It was not the house I left on February 10, 2008. As we walked out the door that day to be driven home in our grief, my husband told her husband, "I don't know if we can come back here." Sarah's husband replied, "Then we'll move." And they did.

Today, I avoided thinking too much. I avoided going by the old house. I avoided looking at the hospital sign. I did not leave town the way we left before. I begged the Lord for a totally uneventful, absolutely enjoyable day and that is what He gave me.

I did not sit on Sarah's couch...I don't think I ever will. That couch isn't for me and Micah. It just wouldn't feel right.

I did not scrapbook. That would have been too much to add to this already difficult equation. Baby steps...baby steps.

My oldest daughter who feared the visit (to the point of asking if we could leave Micah at home with Grandma instead of taking him) found herself not wanting to go home when the time came.

Tonight, back at home, I lay down to nurse my 5 month old son in the bed I spent countless hours nursing my precious Emmy in. As I pulled my little guy in closer to me, I looked up at Emily's sketch and wept.

I miss her more than words could ever sufficiently describe. I ask the Lord to make sure she knows just how much I love her. I want her to know that when I get to Heaven I will hold her and rock her and tuck those tiny fly-away hairs behind her ear.

Someone once said you can never go back. While you can never go back to exactly the way things were (even though I have asked for this many times), you can go back. And when going back involves something deeply painful, the way this going back was for me, it isn't so much about going back. It's more about going forward; healing one step at a time.

Today I healed another section of my grieving heart. I did something hard. I did something that has scared me for a long while. I did something that required me to take the old memories and allow myself to add to them with new ones.

I went back...I went forward.

A Big Ole Batch of Dough & What We Did With It

On Monday night we hosted my mother-in-law overnight when she found herself stranded here by a storm. I happened to have some leftover hamburger meat, so I decided to make a family favorite ~ Stromboli. When I went to the recipe box to look for the dough recipe I usually use for it (the butter roll dough recipe that came with my bread machine that has since been abandoned for a Bosch mixer), I changed my mind and went with a recipe that I have simply labeled Big Ole Batch of Dough. (do not try this with just any mixer...it REALLY IS a BIG OLE BATCH OF DOUGH!)

Big Ole Batch of Dough

In mixer:
6 c. hot water
1/3 c. oil
1/3 c. honey
2 Tbsp yeast
6 c. whole wheat flour

Mix & let sponge 10-15 mins.

Add:
1 1/2 Tbsp salt & enough unbleached flour to clean the sides (approx 7 cups)

Knead 5-6 minutes.

From here, the sky is limitless! You can roll out into pizzas, you can make calzones, you can do just rolls and loaves of bread. OR you can do ALL those things because this is a BIG OLE BATCH OF DOUGH! lol

Anyway, we chose to do 3 strombolis and about 3 doz cinnamon rolls!

For strombolis, you roll out some of the dough into a rectangular shape. For the stuffing, you simply add tomato sauce and some Italian seasoning to hamburger meat. Spoon the meat down the center of the rolled out dough,

sprinkle on some shredded cheese, and then cut slits all along the sides leaving the ends intact.

From there, you fold up the ends, and then criss-cross the side pieces. The picture below is prior to baking and with LOTS of help from the littles. If I can do it with 4 extra hands and not be bothered by the fact that it isn't perfect, so can you!

Bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes and ENJOY!

I don't have pictures of the cinnamon rolls, but all I did there was roll the dough out in the same rectangle shape, melt butter and spread it over the entire rectangle, mix cinnamon and sugar and spread over the entire rectangle, roll up lengthwise, and cut using thread.

For those of you who don't know the thread trick, this is a very handy way of cutting cinnamon rolls! Take a length of thread (any kind) and slide the center of the thread under the rolled up dough. Bring the ends of thread up and criss-cross over the top of the dough, switch hands and pull thread out and all the way through the dough. You end up with nice, uniform "cuts" this way.

I froze them on a pan and threw them in zippy bags for later. When you are ready to make them, you just put them on a pan and let raise overnight (remember to give yourself plenty of raising room). The next morning, bake at 350 degrees for about 20 mins. Glaze if you like.

YUMMY!

The Gift that Keeps on Giving

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, our guinea pig DID leave the pet store with a parting gift...2 to be exact. So, joining mother Inca are Aztec and Maya (cuz Mayan just doesn't sound right).






The blessed event occurred this past Sunday. Meg awoke to a rather loud Inca-oink and upon further investigation, suddenly cried out (so that the whole house came running), "There's something in Inca's cage!!"

Daddy's first thought was THE CAT! My first thought was A MOUSE (although I have no idea why I thought that. Maybe because she followed the first exclamation with, "And it's moving!" and the only thing I could think of that could possibly wiggle its way into the cage would be a small rodent.)
So, we all stand around the cage trying to see inside the blue igloo Inca calls home (we did have one family at church warn us to be on the lookout for any strange structure resembling a pyramid suddenly appearing in the cage lest the guinea pigs decide to take their ancient roots a little too seriously ;o)).
It became quite clear that Inca had become a mother in a matter of seconds to 2 little piglets. We also learned something amazing during all of this (because we are homeschoolers after all and EVERYTHING is a lesson of some sorts!) Guinea pigs are born hair-on, eyes open, ready to run around almost immediately! We were not expecting such large and alert babies! (For a point of reference...the above pictures were taken the day after they were born!)

Grandma Megan and the other great aunts and uncles are quite thrilled to say the least!

The Toddler Tornado

Palm Sunday Tornado 1920

I wasn't feeling very creative this morning, so I thought for this week's Wednesday's Walk I would dig deep and take you back...way back to my old blog and a post from March of 2006 entitled "Everywhere I turn..." It is a post about my now 4 year old and the havoc she managed to cause as a one man toddler wrecking crew. Later, she and her brother would become "Thing 1 & Thing 2", but this was long before her brother was able to join in the fun. And, there is of course, a moral to this story, a lesson to be learned. If you've read The Me Time Myth, you will recognize the attitude that brought me to the writing of that article!

So, without further ado, I bring you:

Everywhere I turn...
there is a mess that my toddler made! She is the cutest little thing that ever was, but a day with her is like a day with a tornado (an adorable tornado, but a tornado nonetheless).

As I survey just the room I am sitting in, I can see a shoe on top of the computer desk, the index box full of names and numbers laying on the floor not so full of names and numbers anymore, and baby dolls left unattended about the area. She has systematically colored on EVERY SINGLE PIECE OF PAPER she can find and now she is unloading the bookshelf. I am afraid to see what she has accomplished in the rest of the house!

But, guess what I'm doing...I'm sitting here typing. Yep, that's right...I've escaped into the world wide web and I am hiding here until the storm calms.

Seriously though, how often throughout the day do catastrophes happen that could have been avoided had we just been paying attention? I keep thinking someone owes me free time, but they never seem to pay up, so I just take it (often at the most inopportune times). And then I take too much free time and neglect my other chores and the next thing I know I turn around and the house is a mess, there's nothing ready for supper, school didn't quite get finished, and we have to be somewhere in 30 minutes! I turn into one grouchy mama and start bossing everyone around trying to get them to do in a matter of minutes what I should have been doing throughout the entire day. Then my melodramatic 8 year old runs through the house hollering, "It's a MADHOUSE, A MADHOUSE!" (no, he's never seen Planet of the Apes, but all it takes is one time of mama saying it in jest and it becomes his favorite phrase in times of stress ~lovely~).

So, my remedy for this is twofold:

#1--Watch the Weather

If the tornado is nearby and a storm's a brewin', then it is probably NOT a good time to run away w/ the internet, my sewing, my scrapbooking, or any other form of escape I may desire.

#2--Don't Go Overboard

Set the timer and head for my hideout, but when the bell rings, I have to come home. This way I'm never overdoing it.

Welp, there went the timer...

;o)

This post linked to:

Act Natural! (and guess who's sitting up?!)

Influenced by Lynnette's call for "dorky" pictures (I had a friend in jr. high who LOVED that word! Makes me think of her every time!), I pulled out some pictures taken quite recently featuring my darling daughter, Megan.

A little background might help...

The first picture was taken because my kiddos were playing on the NASA site and came across a page where you paste your face into an astronaut suit that dances. They were trying to come up with "space faces". This was one of Meg's "spacey" faces. (looks more like a mug shot! ACK!)



Later, we went outside and I was trying to get some nice outdoor photos of the kiddos. Blake tried to do some serious poses involving a stick that was supposed to be a sword and a mean expression that looked more like smile (this is a kid who just can't do grumpy...he tries, but it ALWAYS comes out happy) Finally, he gave up on the theatrics and settled for using the stick as a prop.


Lia and Keian also managed to pose nicely for mama...




Then came Megan. I tell her to smile normal and she gives me this:



I tell her to act natural and she gives me this: (which by the way, is pretty natural for her! If I could capture the cackle that goes with this look, I would. It would frighten some of you!)

Finally, after snapping picture after picture hoping to catch her with a more "normal" look on her face, I got this one!



PERFECT!

And...



That's right! Baby boy is sitting up quite well on his own these days! And boy, does he think he is big!

A Surprise Concerning my Header Photo

Yesterday, we met an old friend and some new friends here in the city for a trek about the local gardens. If you remember, these gardens are where my "washer woman" photo was taken.

I wanted to find her again and take a picture in a different season just to compare how the seasons affected her. I was not as impressed by her with all the green foliage at her feet as I was by her stance amongst the decaying foliage of that autumn day just prior to Emily becoming sick. She seemed less noble.


I got a bit closer to her and that is when I realized her laundry basket wasn't full of clothes, nor was it empty as if she had just hung up the wash. My "washer woman" wasn't washing anything at all.

Do you know what was in that basket???


FLOWERS!

For a long time I have needed her to be serious, standing against all odds. I have needed her to embrace her job as a wife and mother despite the death and decay about her. I have needed her to keep going, keep moving, keep being.

Yesterday, there was a paradigm shift.

While I still embrace my wifely and motherly roles, while I still stand amidst trials, while I am still a thinker and an analyzer, it is time for another side of me to emerge. My basket mustn't always be full of laundry. There are flowers to be gathered!

For a long while I have been deep in thought. I've always been plagued by the "need" to analyze everything. Since Emily's death, I've spent even more time than usual (read that as EVERY WAKING MINUTE!) thinking about something or other. Whether this is a coping mechanism so I don't have to feel or whether it is a habit I have gotten into is really of no consequence. The effect is what matters. I have lost the ability to enjoy my down time. In fact, I have lost down time altogether. (My friend, Candi, says I need a TV so I can just "veg"; however, I informed her that we do have a Netflix subscription and I end up choosing documentaries to watch because I like to think...go figure!)

After a long talk with my husband last night, I realized I no longer just sit and be. My family will be enjoying a campfire while I write or read next to them. At night, I research deep theological issues or listen to sermons. I drive in the car and miss exits because I was "thinking". While there is nothing wrong with these things in and of themselves, it is when I choose these things every single time and fill my day to the brim with deep thoughts that it becomes a problem. Sometimes I need to just pick flowers. Sometimes I need to just "be".

Be still and know that I am God.
Psalm 46:10a

I also snapped this photo (not the greatest time of day for a photo...might go back someday and try again) because it reminded me of another important aspect of my life. Look at her face. She doesn't look worried or serious or preoccupied. And look at the boy in her arms...bliss. *sigh*



And then there is this photo...

I am actually excited to see what the Lord has in store for me as I retrain myself to "be still". I am sure He will show Himself to me in ways I never took the time to recognize. There is beauty in the ashes. There is beauty beyond the ashes. It is okay to hang the laundry and fill the basket with flowers on my way back home. :)

This is What I Am Doing Today

pencil and eraser on paper

My husband has returned from his mountain man excursion! He has scads of stories to tell so eventually I will begin a Mountain Man Chronicles here for those of you who are interested in the knowledge he has gleaned. (I hope!)

He spent the past hour and a half dictating his trek into a tape recorder. I was able to listen to some of what he said as I worked about the house. Something he mentioned in his narrative struck me as profound and quite applicable to my life as a keeper of the home.

One of the other mountain men had a saying,


"This is what we are doing today."

If they were skinning a beaver or making sausage or grinding grain, how quickly they got the work done was not of any concern because...

That was what they were doing that day.

How often do I rush through my day from one thing to the next never enjoying any of it? How often is it all about how quickly I can get something accomplished so I can move on to yet another project (and hopefully, quickly accomplish that project as well, and so on and so on it goes)? How often am I looking ahead to the next task before the first task is finished? Much too often, I am afraid.

How much nicer my day would be if I brought it to the simplicity of that statement...

This is what I am doing today.

I have a mound of laundry...this is what I am doing today. Not this plus 50 other things. Just this. If I get some other things done as well, then kudos to me. If I do not, no matter because this is what I am doing today.

Five days a week, or thereabouts, I homeschool. Is it reasonable for me to think I can homeschool AND accomplish 10 other major projects? Ummmm...no. So, homeschooling and maybe one other project (or maybe not)...that is what I am doing today.

Every now and then my husband has a couple of things he really wants me to accomplish during the day. He'll write them on our dry erase board as a reminder to me. When I get them accomplished I erase them from the board. How good that feels! He never gives me more than 2 or 3 things to do and that is what I do that day.

Today I am taking the children to the gardens (where my header picture was taken) to enjoy the summer splendor. After that we will go shopping for swimwear fabric (more on that later!) And lastly, we will finish the day out with a visit to see Daddy. I will breathe deeply and I will walk slowly because this, and nothing more, is what I am doing today.

So, I ask you...

What are you doing today?

"Quiet" Time

Blurry Memories of a Coffee

Once upon a time I got up every morning at 6:30 am, made myself a mug of gourmet coffee, and sat on my front porch reading my Bible. It was a time when I could sit alone in the quiet of nature and drink in the day. Within the hour, my two children would wake up and my day as a single parent would begin (this was during the time my husband was deployed); these early morning hours were precious to me.

Somewhere amidst moves to homes without front porches and babies being born every year or so, I ceased to partake of this morning coffee and Bible time. Lately, I've longed to reclaim something resembling what I used to enjoy...(however, I'm thinking I would enjoy it much more if it wasn't at 6:30! Yes, I know some of you are up MUCH earlier than that...have mercy on this night owl!)

I used to be one of those moms who beat herself up over the gradual loss of early morning quiet time, especially considering I *used* to do it (someone forgot to mention to me that back then I only had 2 children and they weren't either of them babies). I was just sure the Lord required a perfect offering of

me,
alone,
early in the morning,
reading His Word
and praying...

yet, I could never manage ALL those factors ALL at the same time. I was just sure this qualified me as a bona fide failure.

Recently, my friend Cis and I were discussing this very issue. She had been reading Passionate Housewives Desperate For God by Jennie Chancey & Stacy McDonald and had come across the chapter entitled "Weary Women". The following quote is exactly what has become of my "quiet time":

"I'll let you in on a little secret. I don't have a personal quiet time every morning that is actually quiet or alone, nor do I know anyone with more than two children who does."

You see, quiet time has evolved into something more befitting a mother of 5 earthly arrows. My Bible reading is done with nearly everyone in tow. We all pray together several times a day. I still have coffee, but my littles sneak their fair share of it. And, you guessed it, I'm not up at 6:30 (at least not on purpose!)

I do believe the Lord deserves our first fruits. However, I also believe He owns ALL our fruits and every little thing I do throughout the day is (or should be) an offering to Him. And because He has given me these arrows to raise, I am also in a position that naturally brings about multi-tasking...not only am I getting "quiet" time with God, but my children see His importance in my life every step of the way.

There is a hymn entitled Little Is Much When God is in It that has become my theme song. The second verse of this hymn says:

Does the place you're called to labor seem so small and little known? It is great if God is in it, and he'll not forget His own.
Little is much when God is in it! Labor not for wealth or fame. There's a crown and you can win it, if you go in Jesus' name.

There is not some secret formula involving coffee, a study Bible, and a front porch that makes quiet time more legitimate than what I currently enjoy...

me,
all the kiddos,
mid-morning,
reading from one of the children's Bibles,
listening to and offering my own personal prayers.

Perfect!

One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

feet

I've been a bit sparse these days due to the phenomenon of One Step Forward, Two Steps Back. It is one that has plagued me off and on for years. Lately, I haven't even managed the One Step Forward of the equation...it's been more like Two Steps Back, Sit Down and Lament the Fact That I'm Not Getting Anywhere, Two Steps Back, etc.

There's probably a few of you out there who totally "get" what I am talking about, but for those of you less challenged by daily life, let me elaborate...

Last week was the homeschooling convention. Great fun as usual. With the homeschooling convention comes a buying spree of next year's curriculum and other needful things (and a few wantful things as well!) **One Step Forward**

Nearly a week and a half later, my purchases continue to litter my living room floor. The reason for this is because we use a classical homeschooling model and for months I've been trying to formulate a way to separate all of my resources into a Year 1, Year 2, Year 3, Year 4 format. I had decided on using bookshelves, but I didn't really want them lumped in with my other bookshelves. I also had this wierd Type A thing going on...I wanted all 4 bookshelves to be uniform in size and color. I wasn't too keen on purchasing 4 more bookshelves, so I was desperately trying to make what I had on hand work. Yet, all I had managed to do so far was to go downstairs each and every day and stare at my bookshelves and sigh an overwhelmed sigh. **Two Steps Back**

Many of you have probably heard Elisabeth Elliot's famous quote, "Do the next thing." I've often wondered what happens when the next thing can't be done until you do something else that needs to be done first, but you can't do that thing because there is something else that has to be taken care of prior to that, and on and on and on in a backwards fashion until you've completely lost sight of what that "next thing" truly was.

This is the reason I've not been blogging (or even spending much time on the computer at all) of late. I'm just too busy walking backwards!

After doing this over and over again, I have become sick of myself. Today I decided I had to just DO SOMETHING! If it was the wrong something, I could redo it, but at least I would have done something.

Rather than bite off the ambitious goal of organizing 4 bookshelves, I decided to start working on Year 1 (the year we are ready for this coming school year). The house is in utter disarray, and there is an appraiser coming by in the morning, but at least I did SOMETHING! I took care of something that was causing me to have to backtrack. And while it may not be the perfect solution, at least it sets me in motion to move forward for a while.

I've begun looking at many things in this way. What ONE thing can I do to make this problem area less of a problem? Why is this one area ALWAYS messy? Would a basket fix this problem? Maybe I have too much of something and need to declutter. Why am I ALWAYS discouraged when I think about this certain thing? Maybe I have too many unattainable expectations and need to let go of some of those. Maybe there is some sort of stumbling block in my way.

So, my motto has become, "Just do something!" It doesn't have to be perfect or right, but it is so much better than doing nothing and wishing all day long you had done something.

FREE ~ Future Christian Homemakers Handbook

This is one of those freebies that makes me jump up and down! This is literally a step-by-step guide to homemaking for you and your daughter/s to work through. Honestly, *I* need this handbook!

Enjoy!
http://www.futurechristianhomemakers.com/FCHLessonsIndex.html

Favorite Convention Buy ~ Jumping Ship

A few years ago Michael Pearl wrote a series of articles entitled "Jumping Ship." I was so impressed and challenged by the message within, I printed every single word of it off their website, No Greater Joy.

I carried that article around and shared it with every homeschooler I knew. Needless to say, I was thrilled when they decided to compile the articles into a book by the same name. However, I just hadn't taken the initiative to buy myself a copy yet.

At the convention there was a brand new distributor in our area who had a booth. Her price was unbeatable and I picked up a copy. While I was standing there a friend from church came up and I talked her into buying a copy as well!

What's so great about this book? Well, it probably sings a different song to each person who reads it, but I'll let you in on the song it sang to me...

The site gives this description of the book:

There is a troubling trend showing up among some of the "homeschool crowd."
Their children are discontent and rebellious, jumping ship as soon as they think
they can survive without the family—some as young as sixteen years old. Michael
Pearl addressed this issue in a series of NGJ magazine articles in 2006. These
have now been compiled into this book, along with new material and an additional
two chapters covering further issues.

I had seen a few homeschooled children rebel in their teen years and wondered if my children were next. Was it possible there was a reason for their rebellion? Was it possible there was a remedy for their rebellion? Michael Pearl says YES! How he says it is POWERFUL!

Imagine your family as a ship. What sorts of things would give your children cause to jump overboard? How about a ship that stays docked all the time? What about a ship that isn't going anywhere in particular? Or what about a ship that is heading somewhere but the children on board aren't part of the crew in any way, shape, or form?

Everyone wants to be a part of something bigger than themselves. Everyone wants to be going somewhere and have input as to where that somewhere is. Everyone wants to be told they are an integral part of making something work and work well.

My children deserve to be on board a ship that is going somewhere. They should be considered important shipmates instead of slaves kept below decks. They should be standing alonside my husband and I, learning the ropes and rigging, starting to practice plotting courses and learning how to someday navigate their own ship. They should know that this family ship would cease to be efficient and well-run if they ceased to be on board. They should believe that where we are going is of utmost importance and is not some random coordinate we pulled out of thin air.

Jumping Ship is a homeschooling must-read. You cannot nievely believe that bringing your children home to school them is somehow a guarantee that you will win and keep your child's heart. It isn't. You also cannot plan to always be the authority in your child's life and expect obedience where there is no good reason for it. Someday they will see through it all and will lose total respect for you and your, "because-I-said-so's". You will lose them to the world, to another ship that is going somewhere and invites their opinions and input on a regular basis. They will feel they finally "belong" and you will become a speck in the distance.

How sad.

It is because of the Jumping Ship articles that I am much more aware of including the children in family decisions and am continually reassessing our navigational plan. I want the children to feel a sense of belonging. I want them to know the Lord loves them and we do too. I want to sail this ship along until we dock and the children take the helm of their own ships.