Snip-it

I love coffee. I work at a coffee shop. I really enjoy talking and relating with people. I'm around hoards of people at work. I am supposing my job fits me well.

I am still saving to purchase a new camera to replace my broken one.  I have about $500 saved up thus far but I'm shooting for $700... should have it in about a week. WOOHOO!! I am contemplating getting one of THESE Cannon cameras, within budget... not sure yet, though. Thinking I should get some advice from an expert before finalizing my decision! It's bound to be an upgrade no matter what I end up getting.

I really enjoy taking photographs. Especially of my children... who doesn't!  I also enjoy setting up for, taking and remembering pivotal points in life by snapping a "story" picture.  A picture says a thousand words, right?  I think so.  After buying a more "spendy" camera I may decide to invest in a better picture editing software... again I would have to do some research or seek out professional advice first, as well as take a class on how to best use it but as of now I frequently use the free version of Picnik to do minor editing and absolutely love it.

I am so in awe of the men and women who are our military and their families.  They are our heroes. We pray for you often and are thankful beyond measure for your sacrifice.  Only God knows your sorrows and sense of loss, lonliness and the destitution that you must face at times... we love you and are thankful to you for your service to our country. God bless you!!!

Homeschooling is going so awesome. My husband as always is a godsend and organized the rest of our school year by printing out daily/weekly workbook schedules for my girls AND putting them into handy dandy notebooks ta boot!  He rocks. We have been flying through school books and I feel my oldest is more than ready to do the mandatory state test this year. It's pretty much a no-brainer to pass those tests, but a timed test is still daunting for anyone, especially a 3rd grader. She'll do great!

I was home schooled 5th through 12th grade. I graduated a year early, though so essentially I only did 3 years of high school, then went and got my diploma and my GED.  Before homeschooling, I attended a Christian school for K-4th grade. I am still in touch with some of those students I went to grade school with in Montana!  Such awesome memories and it's completely sweet to still be in contact with them. Daily, we met in a 4 roomed square schoolhouse complete with bell steeple, built in the early 1900's. It was in the middle of a large field of long brown grass and felt like a little country schoolhouse.  It WAS a little country Christian schoolhouse! Great memories---Torn pants on the swing and trying to hide it the rest of the day by keeping my legs smooshed  together. Haha--- running a race with the boys, oh, and kicking them, too... playing four-square, jump rope contests, show and tell... ha!  My 3rd grade teacher with the most awesome-est name ever: Mr. Wolfshorndl... wow, not even sure I spelled that right.  But I sure do remember his name!! Do you remember making shapes with a string and your fingers?  A friend and I totally did that together for show and tell one time. We. We're. Awesome--- The downtown two story library and all of it's eerie-ness, along with doing an origami class there once... I also tried dried seaweed once from a classmate who was Asian and LOVED to snack on it. My friend and I walking on a frozen swamp and me falling through... Anyways, I could go on and on about fun and amazing memories from that time in my life. What are some childhood memories that YOU might have that just make you stop and smile when you think about them? I'd love to hear about them!!

Some online sites I love to visit are my friend Brooke's Sweet Bee blog for vintage fashion inspiration and Fabulessly Frugal for recipes, deals and coupons... in fact one of my most favorite childhood breakfasts were posted on Fabulessly Frugal recently!  German pancakes. Right here.  It's fabulously yummy!

One of my fave photographers Amber Fischer is having a Valentine's Photo Booth shoot this Saturday. I am excited to be able take my kiddos in for one of her brilliant photo creations!

So that's a snip-it of who I am, where I've been and some of what it is I like to do.
Now it's your turn to tell me a little about YOU!!

A snip-it's view into of the world of a child's mind and the chuckles I get daily from hilarious things I read or witness while schooling my children:

One of My Second in commands assignments in Science while studying her environment:

Name one thing that you can
See.
Smell.
Hear.
Taste.
Feel.

Her answers:

Name one thing that you can
See.    trees
Smell.    flowers
Hear.    birds
Taste.    sap    grose
Feel.    bark

Where did she come up with THAT? Why not an apple from a tree... or a berry from the bush... Sap? Oh my goodness like she's EVER even tried to taste it.  Maybe it's actually very yummy. Haha...and "grose"... let's just say spelling isn't exactly her strong point... yet. Anyway, there are SO many cute little lovelies I get from correcting, teaching and having all of my kids home with me all day. On days when baby is into everything, tensions are high, sleep deprivation looms, questions are coming to me from five different directions and attention spans are non-existent, I sit down. Scream. Sigh. Pray. Remember why we chose to home school them. It's not because I have to, because I'm following the crowd or even because it's the best way. We home school our children because we feel led to. The Lord has called us to it. Only He knows the ins, outs and in betweens of why. Only He knows what every other alternative would bring in ours and our children's lives if we chose to go our own way(and believe me I second guess our decision to home school every year). Because along with doing what the Lord desires in our lives for our children's sakes, sometimes sacrifice on our parts as parents spares us reaping the concequences of what would otherwise be completely folly.
On days when life is overwhelming, I take a moment to look up, pray and remember to keep my eyes focused, my perspective heavenly and my heart thankful.  It doesn't matter who you are, where you live, your social status, how perfect, pretty, marred or confident you are, whether you're locked in a windowless dungeon because of your faith or on top of the world you can look up and sing:

I have a maker
he formed my heart,
before even time began
My life was in his hands


He knows my name
He knows my every thought,
He sees each tear that falls
and hears me when I call


I have a father,
he calls me his own
He'll never leave me,
no matter where I go


He knows my name
He knows my every thought
He sees each tear that falls
and hears me when I call

-Paul Baloche

A simple gift

I visited the cutest consignment shop this week with a sweet friend and her mother. Children-less no less, which was divine! This shop is in a beautiful barn and chocked full of classy home decor, consignment furniture, books, jewelry, adorable holiday pretties and odds & ends household items! Both new and used. It is a treasure chest! It was a breath of fresh air type of afternoon. I may seem the type to handle stress, noise and busy-ness very well and that mothering and nurturing come easily for me but when it comes down to being comfortable-well, quietness and order call my name.  And as ALL of you fellow mothers know... that is not easy to come by in a household of seven!

My God sustains me... and thankfully, completely covers those places I am lacking in.

~

Books do not always shout out to me from the quiet of their shelves, but on this warm afternoon, this particular one did. 

~ 

A 4th grade Elson reader, copyright 1931. I think the color of it's facade caught my eye, but when I picked it up and flipped through some of the pages I was delighted with the bright pictures and stories of moral character and attitude that are a rare find these days. The book is magical, enchanting and captivating. A perfect gift for my 9 year old daughter who is a gifted reader. It was waiting by her birthday breakfast this morning along with a few cards from the mail and dollar store gifts from her many excited siblings.
~
Happy Birthday, my girl!
Go enjoy some adventures... Happy reading!

My dear children

{Love}an entirely huge understatement-> to paint.

and color for that matter

everything, without so much as the slightest exclusion of walls, doors, baseboards, tables, couches, clothing, arms, legs, faces... anything that appears to be a blank canvas, begging to be brought alive with colorful art.

Therefore making it quite the regular experience for this proud mommy to come into the room and be pleasantly surprised at their ingenuity and imagination

that keeps them busy time and time again-occupied by beautifying shoe boxes with platefuls of paint

{completely of their own accord I must add}

And waxing up mountains of papers, tubes, canisters, coloring books and cards with boxes of crayons

Making fish tanks out of cardboard after reading library books about how to care for pet goldfish

And loving it so much in fact...

they will paint anything. Anything.

Even a used apple juice jug from the trash.

And I love it.

Random Thoughts Thursday

Beauteous, harmonious Fall is here! The weather has been gorgeously crisp, cloudy and cool here in the high desert. LOVE it. Football season starts in a week and a half and we have reluctantly excitedly hooked up cable TV just so we can watch football, sigh... Football is just nostalgic for me, along with LOVING the competitive fast paced game. I remember every Sunday afternoon when I was a young 'un, eating Sunday supper, lazing around our home as a family or maybe a house full of friends, the wafting sounds of the exciting football game being played out in the background finding it's way into every room of our home... yeah, those are just some of my amazingly sweet memories...

On another note...

Lately I've been noticing how hilarious it is when people SLAM other people for things they do(I've witnessed this on facebook especially where it is TOO easy to say things that you wouldn't say in person... know this from experience) and then think adding a smiley face at the end somehow makes it funny or okay??  Being straightforward or keeping your mouth shut is much more appreciated and doesn't make you look so silly. As you judge, so you will be judged... placing personal expectation and judgement on unimportant things that others do is SO not living in true love of them and who they are as an individual.

Sometimes I am just a little weirded out by people I see walking down the street. I am not against them walking down the street doing their own thing and I completely understand that some people are just “different” or don’t have normal physical control over their body or brain, thus over what they do. I have no problem with that.... that being said it still just makes me wonder sometimes how safe they really are to be out on their own or what must be going through their head-like when I see a lady carrying a baby doll wrapped in a blanket and a play stroller down the street, then later see her walking again only this time placing the doll in the stroller and covering it with said blanket to keep the sun out of it’s fake eyes... Just strange. Was she for real or was it just bad timing for me to drive-by at that moment?
But then again, we are all strange in our own way... so like I've said, no judgement placing from me, just observing. Little ol’ observant me doing what I do best and saying writing out what’s running through my {different} little head.

Enough ranting...

WE are gearing up for W day around here... wedding bells will be ringing in 10 days!!! We are all so completely excited but none of us quite so much as the gorgeous bride, my sister, Janna.  She has been longing for this day her whole life and after years of waiting has found the love of her life... My heart is filled with happiness for her and her beloved.  We can not wait for the beautiful time to come! My son can't wait to be a ring "bear" and my oldest is slightly dismayed can't wait to wear her girly flower girl twirly dress and headband, my second in command's face lights up with excitement at the thought of walking down the isle, mommy can't wait to put her darling 14 month old toddler in the prettiest little dress that she got for a steal at Penny's (OH, I must still venture out and find sweet little sandals to compliment!!), my husband is stoked to put together a bachelor party for Lonnie (of which his mischievous wife keeps finding ways to tease him about-heehee), my little angel is elated to dress up and wear her hair down in all of it's glorious natural curls and me... I am just ecstatic, nervously giddy with anticipation at the thought of the whole occasion and what it will entail. Excited!

We have started the 2010-11 homeschool year here at our house and it is going absolutely swimmingly. No, no more floods, just a figure of speech...

Ahem...

We are all optimistic and excited to learn and see new things, begin a fabulous fall routine and become busy humbly serving and praising the Lord in all areas of our work and servitude. Some of the extra curricular activities(which I believe are almost more important than mere bookwork because you learn life lessons, how to relate and treat others, actually tangibly get your hands on what you are studying etc.) we will be attempting to be involved in again this year are: Upwords basketball, singing hymns with wonderful folks at our local assisted living facility, gymnastics, field trips, delving into entomology, painting, watching the NFL(that counts, right???), running races, AWANA, Writing handwritten letters to distant family members, dabbling in zoology, helping neighbors, picking up neighborhood trash, music lessons, trips to the library, Pizza Hut Book-It program and many, many field trips to local businesses and attractions.
Is everyone as organized, dogmatic and meticulous about scheduling, making lists, having a place for everything and for everything to have it's place?

Hmmmmm....

I would love to know how do YOU keep thoughts, to-do's and activities organized without feeling overwhelmed?

My husband is a dear heart. He is a man who truly runs after God's heart with every ounce of his being. I completely adore him.  Marriage just keeps getting better and better!  He has joyously decided that staying home in the morning until 9am and working later, until 6pm, is a needed and a good change for our family(he used to go in at 7:45am) That way, we can start our day off as a family singing, reading the Bible and praying together. It is a welcome change, a long awaited remedy to our sometimes stressful rushed mornings.
It's been almost 4 weeks since our little basement flood and as of now, our house is essentially back in sane working order. Soon I will post some pictures of our newly re-renovated basement! It's good to be home. I {heart} walking through our door into the lovely warmth of my husband's and kid's comforting embrace... I am so blessed!

On our first day back in the books, we had a creative back to school project.  My kids we're absolutely bubbling over in elation about it!  They each were able to paint and embellish a T-shirt of their very own.  We have been having so much fun this week getting back into whipping our brains into shape. Here are some telltale pics

Our Internet has been acting up, or maybe it is my laptop because it has been dropped once and tends to now over-heat, but regardless of why, IT IS frustrating.  We use Internet for everything.  Whether it's to plan our next meal, family outing or schedule an entire vacation, you name it we've used the Internet to do it.  Finding restaurants, writing family, mapping out runs, finding design inspiration, movie times, pics of beach houses for rent, urgent how-to instructions, looking up what turtles eat, keeping track of scheduled events, budgets, bank accounts, national news, watching movies on Netflix, editing photos, looking up the longest time someone went without eating food and yet still lived to tell about it, recipes, chords to worship songs, the highest mountain in the world, words and information in online dictionary's, encyclopedias, thesaurus'... I could go on and on and on here... waiting, being satisfied and learning patience... this is a good thing... this is a good thing.

I'm praying and pleading with the Lord that my energy, inspiration, patience, relaxation and going easy on the expectations will continue to reign dominant in our homeschooling endeavor.  Last year was absolutely brutal. I had zero energy or motivation as I had a newborn when we started and my energy only waned more as my health was compromised from having a 5th major surgery(c-section), my horror-mones that we're spiralling out of control and a baby who was anything but pleasant 90% of the time.  God freely gave grace, sustenance and direction but I will admit, this last year since my 5th baby was born has been a dark dreary one, filled with many fears, feelings of inadequacy, failures, unsteadiness, an unsettled heart and the weight of the unknown...
All the while though in the midst of that overpowering layer of heavy darkness, there would periodically be a break in the thick mass of confusion to let the sparkling goodness of God's light drenched wisdom and peace through... and let me tell you against ALL of the encompassing stark greyness, it's contrasting fiery warmness surrounded, permeated and comforted more than ever before.  God used my husband, family, true friends and His Word to speak volumes of grace into my weary heart.  We grow through opposition, struggles and being stretched. God is so good to keep us afloat during the tempestuous unsure time of growth.  He never leaves. Never forsakes. Completely restores.  Always guides. How amazing is our God!?

Monet, Picasso, Renoir, Michelangelo, Van Gogh...

I couldn't help myself... one last post before vacation... then I'm done... for a little while.

I'm sure those famous artists and sculptors weren't followers or imitators. They had innovative ideas, new concepts, able imaginations-and ran wild with them!

My kids...
Color outside the lines, push the limits, find new adventures, explore, create, imagine the possibilities, and look past the edges.

My Kids...
...may or may not become one of the most talented artists to go down in art history but using their imagination to create art unique to it's one-of-a-kind creator, is a marvelous dawning activity for their growing jovial minds. No plans, rules or blueprints-scolding, impatience or eye-rolling. Just a child's hand, free to move about, a vision, permitted to be made into reality by being united with chosen malleable materials-It's a beautiful thing.

"Another name for creativity is courage." -George Prince

"Creativity is inventing, experimenting, growing, taking risks, breaking rules, making mistakes and having fun."

-Mary Lou Cook

The freedom to create opens up a young one's mind to ALL of the diverse possibilities afforded him/her and gives them courageous confidence in their abilities for a life time. I truly believe that to grow mentally and overcome fear of failure you must be free to let your creativity flourish uniquely and evolve at it's own pace.

"It is better to create than to be learned, creating is the true essence of life."

-Barthold Georg Niebuhr

So let your little ones loose, just a little bit, to lead the way, glue those sticks, build that shoe box fort, paint those papers, assemble that list, cut up those egg cartons, sew those buttons, write those mis-spelled stories, construct that blanket tent, twist those pipe cleaners, play their own songs, pile that dirt, act out their own puppet shows, start a new club, bead their own necklaces, pick their own mis-matched outfits, bake that concoction, organize their own room, visit that retired neighbor, and sort those leaves. Let them find, create and make plans of their own as you supply, enable, supervise from a distance and encourage creativity and artistry to the best of your ability!

It's amazing the wonderful things that transpire from simply putting paper, scissors, glue and coloring crayons in front of a child and setting them free to CREATE!

Mommy's little baker

On a recent very cool morning, while I sipped my lovely coffee beaming with pride, my eldest read out loud in the Bible and the rain drizzled outside, my second in command took to some delectable baking (as I guided, of course!)!

Homeschooling, housework and Bible reading-are all intertwined and connected to parenting. If you have children, you are already homeschooling them whether or not you formally "school" them at home.

I am reading a friend-borrowed book called "The successful Home school Family Handbook" by Dr. Raymond & Dorothy Moore. I've only made it through 6 of it's riveting 46 chapters not because of dis-interest but time. I look forward to getting through ALL of it's informative and encouraging content. It's amazing the influence a child's home and family life has on every aspect of whether or not they will be successful human beings in the outside world. How warmly, openly and lovingly their parents accept and treat them in the home directly affects their future relationships and how they approach other people and situations. How rich their relationships are at home, in essence will determine if the child will grow and mature to live a long, positive, fulfilling life! That makes 'relationships' more important than 'workbooks' to me.

An amazing read for any parent.

Now excuse me while I go and nibble on yet another coconut treat!

Coconut Macaroons
courtesy of fratcook

2/3 cups flour

5 1/2 cups sweetened flaked coconut

1/4 t. salt

1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk

2 t. vanilla (or substitute one t. vanilla with almond extract)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a large bowl stir together coconut, flour and salt until well mixed. Stir in milk and vanilla until well mixed. Use a scooper to drop cookies onto prepared cookie sheet. Cookies should be about golf ball size.

Bake for 12-15 minutes in preheated oven, until coconut is toasted. Enjoy the delicious chewy toasty-ness! Bake an additional 5 minutes for a more toasty, firm texture and flavor.

Watercolor

I can't recommend these 'Melissa & Doug' Art Essentials *Washable* Jumbo Watercolor set of paints highly enough! The colors are vibrant. It comes with a wonderfully large paintbrush. The paints are large. Perfect for beginner sweet little hands.