Get Your Books Into the Gutter!

RAIN GUTTER that is! :)
No, this is not my basement, but this is an example of what I hope to be doing soon.

My children LOVE books. The first place the beg to goto when we get to Goodwill is the book section. They could spend HOURS there. But I have found at home, that my children have SO MANY books, that they have become overwhelmed and just don't realize WHAT is there. Mostly because they are all shoved together on a shelf, they can't SEE what is there. I notice that when I leave a book or two lying around, one that I want them to read, then they will pick up the book, thinking it is NEW and ask me to read it to them. It is not new, it was just not able to be seen because of the way it was stored.

These rain gutter book shelves are a GREAT way to allow your children to SEE the books they have. You might just notice Junior picking up more and more books to read or ask you to read. I plan on taking a BOOK shelf every month and spreading them out on gutters like this. Then switching out with another shelf and so on and so forth.

Free Easter Notbooking Pages

Here are some free Easter Notebooking Pages. You have to sign up for their newsletter (FREE) in order to get the free pages. But hurry, the FREE part ends at the end of the week. After that, they are available for purchase.

If you sign up for their newsletter you get a FREE download EVERY WEEK!

They also have an Easter Unit Study (not free).

And for those of you who do not celebrate Passover, I HIGHLY encourage you to. It has become my children's FAVORITE celebration. I want to say we celebrate Passover not because it saves us (for we are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ). It is AWESOME to see how even in the Passover (celebrated by Jews for years before Christ and even by Christ Himself) all points TO THE CHRIST. I highly suggest you look into getting a Christian version of the Haggadah. They have FREE ONLINE VERSIONS, just google it and find one that fits your family.

There is a Passover and Jesus lesson book at Homeschool E-Store.

And with garden time here, I found Garden Notebook pages as well as a Garden Unit Study.

(I am still working on typing up my Learning 2 Love for the week, if anyone is interested.)

Cute Snippets From Daily Life

MM: (very enthusiastically) Mommy, is it real?
Mommy: Is what real?
MM: Is Jesus really coming back?
Mommy: Yes, He is sweetie.
MM: (big smile, jumping up and down, turning around in circles) YEAH!!!!

AA: Mommy, we were watching Charlie Brown study a lot of hard words to spell them and he studied all night and was really tired and then he was spelling all these really hard words and then he came to a word he couldn't spell even though it was the type of dog he had it was the word beagle but it was understandable that he couldn't spell the word beagle because Daddy can't spell it either.
Mommy: (note to self... talk to AA about what a run on sentence is, and fun-lovingly playfully tease beloved about not being able to spell beagle)

MM: (just as excited as can be) Mommy, LOOK! A CROSS!!!
Mommy: Yes it is honey. Do you know what happened on the cross?
MM: Jesus DIED!
Mommy: That's right. Do you know why He died?
MM: Because He had nothing better to do.

Beloved: (singing to the children's church) Peter and John went to pray, they met a lame man on the way, He stuck out his palms and asked for alms and this is what Peter did say......
Beloved: (after song is over) Does anyone know what lame means?
Little Boy: (raises his hand very enthusiastically, the only one with his hand raised, when called on replies) It means boring!

AA (to EE): (mumbles something) Do you know?
EE: No I don't.
AA: Let's ask Daddy. He know EVERYTHING.

Saturday Sweethearts: Doin' It All For My Baby

My husband LOVES to take pictures. He doesn't get much time to, but that doesn't change the fact that he would love to if he had more time.

Lately at work, he has not been able to be as creative as he would like. He shared with me the other night how sad that made him and how he really needs an outlet to be creative.

So I hit the thrift stores in search of props for him to use with his pictures. (You know, like the bunch of flowers and petals they have at Walmart and Kiddie Kandids.)

Then, I put together his make shift studio (which is just PVC pipe and sheets sewn like curtains to go on the PVC pipe). It was taken down shortly before we put our house on the market (August) and just stayed down since the move. I set everything up for him to be able to take pictures this weekend.

I encourage you to think about something that your husband likes to do, but is unable to because of time (or maybe even because of lack of support from you). Think about how you can encourage him in this area and then make a plan to accomplish it.

Maybe he needs more time to be able to do something he loves (like play golf). Let him know that should he want to play golf next weekend, you would make plans with the kids so he could have the free time to play golf. Maybe he would like to paint, encourage him to get out his paints and paint! And of course this is an activity that the kids can get in on too.

Whatever it is he would like to do, think about how you can make it happen and then MAKE A PLAN to make it happen. While it may be true that if momma ain't happy, ain't nobody happy, the same is true for our men. I know that when my beloved is sad, we are all sad. But when he is happy, BOY are we all happy!!! :D

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Remember, THESE ARE IDEAS FOR YOU (not your husband). YOU are to romance your husband! I was inspired to do these Saturday Sweethearts based on a book called Romancing Your Husband by Debra White Smith. PLEASE get a hold of this book and read it. It is a really good book and will really change your life. :)

Magazine for Girlhood

In Great-Grandmother's day, before "teenagers" and "adolescence," there was
a special time in a girl's life that followed Babyhood and Childhood.
It was the cherished time of Girlhood...

Beautiful Girlhood Magazine

Isn't that just a BEAUTIFUL thought!!! Oh ladies, I highly encourage you to check out the beautiful magazine designed for our daughters and teaching them godly characteristics that will help them not only be a good wife and mother (which we all want for our daughters), but will also help them to be a beautiful woman of the Lord (which I know I sometimes forget about with all the other training I am doing).

Friday's Fun: Vintage Games - Spell Down

Divide your party into two groups (or for homeschooling or family play, just put them in a line or circle). Ahead of time chose several words to use, but don't make them TOO difficult (no more than 8 letters). Instead of one person spelling the word given, each person can only spell one letter. So go around the circle or down the line, each person giving one letter for the word, given in the correct order for the correct spelling.

Should someone give an incorrect letter, a point goes to the other team (or if you are doing homeschool or family fun, have them pay a forfeit - I think a GREAT forfeit for this game is to have the person spell the word BACKWARDS!)

HAVE FUN!!!

I am not really able to think of a way to play this game with young children, so I will give a different variation. NUMBERS!

We have been playing a fun little game as of late. You might remember playing it in school. You count upwards towards the number eight. Beginning with Mommy who says:

I ONE the frog.

Child then says "I TWO the frog." This goes back and forth until the child says "I EIGHT the frog." to which the Mommy acts horribly disgusted "EWWWWWwwww... you ATE the FROG!!!"

My girls could not get enough of this. Playing it all the time, with different words at the end: I 8 the rocket, I 8 the table, I ate the banana, I ate the monkey ....

You get the idea.

The Importance of Reading God's Word

If you do nothing else today or this week, you need to READ THIS POST on the importance of reading God's word. It takes less then three minutes of your time, but it is so powerful and convicting (maybe I shouldn't tell you that so you would read it) that you will be so thankful you took the time to read it. It is worded better than anything I could have said on the matter.

Relinquished Life

“I am crucified with Christ.” (Galatians 2:20)

No one is ever united with Jesus Christ until he is willing to relinquish not sin only, but his whole way of looking at things. To be born from above of the Spirit of God means that we must let go before we lay hold, and in the first stages it is the relinquishing of all pretense. What Our Lord wants us to present to Him is not goodness, nor honesty, nor endeavor, but real solid sin; that is all He can take from us. And what does He give in exchange for our sin? Real solid righteousness. But we must relinquish all pretense of being any thing, all claim of being worthy of God’s consideration.

Then the Spirit of God will show us what further there is to relinquish. There will have to be the relinquishing of my claim to my right to myself in every phase. Am I willing to relinquish my hold on all I possess, my hold on my affections, and on everything, and to be identified with the death of Jesus Christ?

There is always a sharp painful disillusionment to go through before we do relinquish. When a man really sees himself as the Lord sees him, it is not the abominable sins of the flesh that shock him, but the awful nature of the pride of his own heart against Jesus Christ. When he sees himself in the light of the Lord, the shame and the horror and the desperate conviction come home.

If you are up against the question of relinquishing, go through the crisis, relinquish all, and God will make you fit for all that He requires of you.

(Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest, 49)
Thanks to Christian Research Network for this.

She works with her hands ...

I am teaching myself to crochet. My sister's mother in law said that the best way to learn was through a booklet, so she gave me a copy of the booklet and away I went. I did a few stitches here and there, but soon put it away in planning for our move to our new house.

Well, spring is in the air, and I was inspired by Rebecca to actually DO something CREATIVE! She has been making the CUTEST things lately. And so I dug out my crochet supplies and started working.
This is actually a pattern for a blanket, but I thought "I need I need something to finish fast and this isn't gonna do that, but HEY, this is looking a little bit like a headband! Instead of doing all 84 rows, I can do a few more and if I were to add elastic to the ends of this, it could be a HEADBAND!!" And thus, my little headbands were born.
The girls absolutely LOVED them and begged Momma to make more and more! :) And the great thing about this is I can customize them to FIT their heads! The ones I have seen in the store just seem too big for them. I am so glad they like their headbands.

Learning 2 Love - Kind

"Love is .... kind" - 1 Corinthians 13: 4

Sorry this late, we have a little sick one over here. :(

So, last week's lesson on patient was VERY difficult, mostly because Momma is so impatient. I wonder if impatience is learned or just part of the fallen nature of man? Hmmm....

This week is Love Is KIND.

Webster's 1828 Dictionary defines KIND (a) as:

1. Disposed to do good to others, and to make them happy by granting their requests, supplying their wants or assisting them in distress; having tenderness or goodness of nature; benevolent; benignant.

God is kind to the unthankful, and to the evil. Luke 6.

Be ye kind one to another, tender-hearted. Eph.4.

2. Proceeding from tenderness or goodness of heart; benevolent; as a kind act; a kind return of favors.

Since the word benevolent was used TWICE in this definition, I looked up that word too.

BENEV'OLENT, a. [L. benevolens, of bene and volo.]

Having a disposition to do good; possessing love to mankind, and a desire to promote their prosperity and happiness; kind.

I must admit that I really like looking up the definition of these words. For so long, I have just ASSUMED I knew what they meant, but by looking them up, I get a better understanding of the word and how to apply it to my actions! It has probably been the BEST thing I have done. And I would not have done it had I not started a blog and if I was not doing the L2L study with my children.

So I described being kind to my children as doing good to others and trying to make them happy by giving them the BEST and granting their request (in other words, when someone wants to do something or asks you for something, give them your BEST in that).

We talked about ways we could be kind to each other. It is amazing to see how well the children are learning kindness. It seems easier to understand and apply. Maybe that is because their Daddy and I have always tried to be kind to our children and each other.


I must admit that is seems MUCH easier to show kindness to one another than patience. We will have to continue to work on patience throughout ... I was going to say this study, but honestly, I think it is our entire lives! I have already seen a lot of kindness these past two days. I am so thankful for this study! I hope you are being blessed by it as much as I am.

And please feel free to share if you are going through with us and what YOU are doing!! :) I know the picture cards are not the highest quality, but they are helpful to my children as reminders and I pray they are helpful to yours as well. Remember you can right click and save as on the image and print it out on cards for your children.

I think I am going to put a smiley face on each child's card whenever they show love in kindness to one another. They brought happiness to the other person in their kindness, and I think it would be good to have a visual reminder of how happy they have made everyone throughout the week.