December Got Away...

How does that keep happening?  I'm trucking along and then it's 2 months later???  I had such high hopes for December...I was so excited to share all the neat things we were doing.  I did continue the focus on memories and I think it paid off.  The Pergo was replaced, the dishwasher was bolted back in place and calm ensued...for 12 minutes.

A quick catch-up:
     We celebrated Willow's tenth birthday.  I don't even know how that happened.  It seems as if she was just born and now she's truly growing up.  I'm so proud and so blessed and it's so bittersweet!

So many crafts, so little time:
    
      We made snowflake candle holders...so cute. (Although, should you go looking for the artificial snow at the craft store 48 miles from your home, keep in mind that you will NOT find it with the Christmas goodies but instead in the Sewing Notion department.  Even the sweet manager who helped me didn't get that one!)  We covered the candle holders in Modge Podge, rolled in artificial snow, allowed to dry and repeated.  Once dry, we mixed some blue glitter with the Mod Podge and painted over the snow.  So cute!  These are the supplies we used:

     We made a lot of ornaments this year.  We painted some plaster bone shaped ornaments and put the dog's names on them.  We also did a fun, easy, momma-loving (translate-no mess) ornament.  I purchased some wooden cut-out, photo ornaments.  I had the girls color them...yes, color them with markers.  Then, they went over them with clear, glitter fabric paint which comes in handy squeeze bottles. 

    Did I mention the Peppermint Rice Krispy Treats? Mmmmmmm...  Make your standard Rice Treat recipe, add a bunch of crushed peppermints and chocolate sprinkles!  Beyond delish!  Perfect for Valentine's Day too.

     We were so blessed to be treated to a Ornament Glass Blowing session by my Mom at a neat studio in town: Glassworks. 

The girls were mesmerized by the studio with it's furnaces, kilns and art glass area.  I, personally, loved this sign:

     We spent a lot of time with family, a lot of time at home and tried not to focus so much on the commercial side of Christmas.  Gifts were fewer this year for the children and they didn't even seem to notice!  I tried to purchase gifts for others from PEOPLE and not stores...etsy and hyena cart helped out!  I even tried my hand at making key fobs!  I got pretty good by the time I'd finished...48 in total!

I'm learning to embrace the moment.  Bit by bit!  As we leave December, I'll leave you with our Christmas picture.  (We didn't do Christmas cards again this year.  We've taken to donating $100 to a charity instead!)

January--I can sum up the entire month in 6 sentences:
     I had shingles.  It is not an elderly person's disease.  It is way more painful than un-medicated childbirth or kidney stones.  I took a lot of drugs and slept a lot.  The children took over the house, the kitchen, the fridge and the television.  I'm still trying to catch up. 

The End. 

Glad to be back!

May blessings abound

Kim

A December to Remember...Day 2

I almost decided, since it's like Christmas everyday at our house, that we would ditch a December to Remember.  Then I adjusted my attitude and off we went...

You see, today was Monogram Ornament day...problem is WalMart and all major craft store chains don't believe that anyone on my end of town actually crafts...and so I was unable to locate the simple wooden letters I needed to complete today's craft without driving 48 miles away.  Yes, I did say 48 miles.  Feel free to deduce from said information that no one in the general vicinity of where I live CRAFTS!  Readjusting attitude With bells on, I simply switched gears and happily picked up the glitter chip board (only crafters and book makers would know what that is...see I DO craft) letters meant to be "Stocking Charms."  (We don't craft on this end of town but we DO adorn our stockings.) 

Even those these were already covered with glitter, we trudged forth as if they weren't.  We added our own cute scrapbook paper and, well, the glitter actually worked for us!  They are going to look great on the tree if we ever recover from the Dishwasher Disaster and actually PUT UP the tree.  These also make great present tags.  What do you think?

(Yes that was an M we turned upside down...please don't tell Willow)  Sweet aren't they?  The wooden ones over at COAH's site are way cuter, but she has access to craft supplies. 

I really do love December...!

Blessings friends!




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Praying today for two sweet friends...

One friend is newly pregnant and struggling with all that another child brings with it.  She is happy to have another "child" but not so excited about having another "baby"! I'm praying peace over her today.  That her heart will overlook that which is scary and hard and cling to the fact that, no matter what, she will adore this child.  God doesn't breathe Life without a perfect plan.  I pray that God might speak to her heart today...  

As one friend awaits the quickening of life, another drives toward the final days of one she holds very dear.  I pray not only a safe journey but also a loving, gentle, quiet passing of her sweet uncle.  This is a man she has looked up to and loved like a father her entire life.  He gave her away at her wedding.  Today, I pray strength and peace over she and her family as they give him away to our Loving Father.  Say hi to my brother John, Uncle Ken.

I was just reminded to go love on my family...




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A December to remember...

I decided that we would work hard to make memories this December.  If I learned anything from the untimely death of my brother, it was to treasure every moment.  That's the goal for December.  So, even with the dishwasher that leaked, that warped the Pergo, both of which had to be removed so that the sub-floor could be repaired but then must be allowed to dry thoroughly before the new flooring can be put down, we WILL have a nice December! Smile! Now!

While working around the dishwasher, which is sitting in front of the stove, we managed to bake cookies even though the oven door will only currently open about 5 inches.  3 burns and a few bad words later...we started the fun!!!  Today is Peppermint Whoopie Pies and Push Pin Snowflake ornaments day!!!

The Whoopie pies...well...just crazy delicious!

 And sooooo simple!  Have the children crunch up some candy canes...Lucca LOVED this job!  Mix up a quick batch of Cake Mix Cookies (I didn't roll mine in powdered sugar) and mix equal parts buttercream icing with Cool Whip (don't forget to toss some of the crushed peppermints in too).  Layer the cookies and icing and roll in the crushed peppermints!  Yum...

We also made Push Pin Ornaments...one of the cazillion ideas I have lifted from amazing blogger Erica over at Confessions of a Homeschooler.  (If you haven't read her blog...DO!)

Such an easy, fun, pretty craft.  Picked up some clear pushpins and Styrofoam balls at the dollar store.  The kids dip the pin in glue and then press into the ball.  Add a piece of ribbon with the last pin to hang it by!  They catch the light so well and are so darn cute!  Even Daddy made one...

Looking forward to the rest of the month!  I'm learning that even in the midst of chaos, there can be peace and joy!

Blessings


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Roarrrrrrrrrrrrr......

or was that a chuff?  Well, my girls can certainly answer that.  We've spent the last couple weeks with Download N Go's Terrific Tigers!  The Download N Go format is so easy to use.  If you're not a planner and so assume you could never do Unit Studies, DNG has taken all the work out of it for you!  In fact, you can buy and download at 3AM if you must (I have)! 

It's broken up into a five day format with notebook style and lapbook pages included.  You can choose to print all the pages or just print the lapbook pages.  DNG's are interactive .pdf documents.  As you go thru the pages, you can click the internet links to watch videos, read facts or find answers to specific questions.  My girls LOVE this format.  Quite frankly, I do too.  DNG's have allowed me to cover information that was otherwise getting lost in crazy, busy days.  Knowing it's all organized for me takes the pressure off me and allows me to enjoy (and learn) with my girls! 

We don't follow the DNG format exactly as it's laid out.  We tend to take 2 weeks to complete a study rather than the one it's designed for.  This just seems to work better for us and allows more time to craft and read as well.  Each DNG has a book list at the beginning.  All I have to do is jump on the library's website and order up my books.  For this study, we used allot of books...here are just a few:

My girls adored Mother to Tigers and I think Lucca has memorized The Tiger Who Came to Tea by now (I know I have)!  We even used Tiger Math to work on some graphing for Willow and counting for Lucca!
When Lucca found paper, paints and instructions on how many tiger stripes to paint in her workbox, you'd have thought she hit the lotto!

There is a Tiger Puzzle cut out page on Day One that I would flee from if ever faced with again.  Unless your children have Edward Scissorhand's skills...flee quickly!  Trust me, you'll understand! 

My very favourite part of Terrific Tigers was how well the concepts of extinction and endangered animals were addressed.  My children audibly gasped when they learned there are only 20-30 Amoy Tigers in the wild today and listened intently as they learned ways in which these amazing creatures are being bred and re-introduced into the wild.  They really grasped that these creatures are important and worth saving.  A lesson I think (and pray) they will always remember when confronted with any animal being endangered. 

Finally, our lapbooks:

Whether you are looking for in depth unit studies that can be shared around the table with children of varied ages or simple curriculum enrichment that is safe for a child to do on their own (even on the Internet), you can't go wrong with the Download N Go unit studies.  Priced at only $7.95 each, they are easily affordable whether you buy them one at a time or in a bundle!  Make sure you are a fan on Facebook and you will get the most current specials! 

I am so excited that I get to give a copy of Terrific Tigers away!  I know you will love this study as much as we did.  All you have to do is become a follower of my blog to enter.  Once you Follow Me, then leave me a comment with your email address.  You may also share this on Facebook for another entry to win.  Again, make sure you leave a comment telling me you shared!

Blessings

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Disclaimer: As a member of the DNG Review Team, I received this product, at no cost to me, in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are those of myself and/or my family.




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From the moment she was born...

everyone noticed her eyebrows. It hadn't hit me, until then, that most babies have very light or no eyebrows. Not my Willow. She came into the world brows a furled!

Beautiful.  The most perfect gift from God.  Given at the perfect time, the perfect place and the perfect way.  God named Willow before she was even a twinkle in anyone's eye. He told me she would come to me in Africa...I never dreamt she would be my own biological child. She is named after a verse in Isaiah that says, " I will bless your descendants, like willows by the watercourse.  For they are a generation of great hope."  Willow Hope, almost 10, still facing the world with brow a furled!  Thank you, Lord, for this precious child.

All things bright and beautiful...

I'm trying hard to focus on the things that I find pleasing and beautiful.  Since my brother died, life has seemed so very sad.  There are so many happy, beautiful people and things in my life and those are the images I want to concentrate on.  So this week...photos:

My husband's hands.  So kind and gentle, yet so strong.  With all the scars of his hard life, they have always sought peaceful, loving-kindness.  He taught me comfort and gentleness all through a simple touch.  A touch that has remained constant, steady, loving, reliable and kind...even when I didn't deserve it.  I've seen him hold the hands of dying people and watched him be the first to touch our sweet daughters as they came into the world...all with those hands.  Sure, he provides with them...but, more importantly, he prays with them.  Thank you, Lord, for these precious hands.