Spring Break Projects!

Yesterday Lily and Rowan and I worked on new dresses for their dollies.  They both helped some, watched some, listened some, and took breaks to do other things while I sewed and ironed.  ;)  I didn't get any photos of Lily, but she was very anxious to do as much of the sewing herself as I would let her.  Sewing is not my most favorite thing, but I hope that my girls will learn and enjoy it, so I tried to keep sighs and negative comments to a minimum.

Rebecca and Gwen model their new dresses.  Gwen's was sized incorrectly when I printed out the pattern, so it turned out a bit, um, flirtier that we were expecting.  You can get away with that when you are an 18" doll, I guess.  The free pattern can be found here.

I think children from large families have such hard lives.  No one pays enough attention to them.  I know they must feel sad and lonely much of the time.  Do you think Eli would agree?

This is his 'Cheeeeese!' face.

Oh my goodness, he makes me smile.

This morning I prepared a special breakfast of honey-nut cheerios.

I am always so impatient to buy flowers by March.  Last Friday was a gorgeous day, and I went ahead and bought some annuals for my front porch.  Saturday and since have been cold, cold, cold.  Yesterday I thought my poor little flowers might like some outdoor afternoon sun, even though it was cold, so I set them out.  This morning I suddenly realized that I forgot to bring them back in last night!  I rescued them and though they look a bit rough, I'm hoping they'll revive.

I am redoing Keely and Annes' room, and I couldn't settle on art for Annesley's side, so I decided to create some for her.  I printed out lots of things that she likes and decoupaged them onto an $8 canvas.  I thought decoupage was fool-proof, but turns out it can be goofed up.  The pink ink from the 'Keep Calm and be a Princess' page ran everywhere!  I'm going to try to salvage it by adding some pink paint elsewhere and then covering the whole thing in glittery stuff.  Annesley likes it, so I suppose it's a success anyway!

I have just discovered the treasure trove of free printable art to be found here!  I picked up this frame several weeks ago for $3.  The stand on the back was completely missing, but I knew that it would look nice on a picture frame stand.  The butterflies image is from the NYPL digital library.  I love it!  This spot needed a little color.  And I am kindof into butterflies right now.  :)

So, this week has been full and fun, and it's not over yet!  Tomorrow we'll get ready for dinner guests and try to savor our last day of break.  Hope your week's been great, too!

First Day of Spring Break

Can I just say....YAAAAYY!!  All you homeschool Moms out there know that you get just as excited about breaks from school as your kids do!  And I should qualify:  breaks from 'normal' school.  I have some sneaky ideas to get school in this week disguised as fun.  Shhh.

Baby feet!

Last night as I was getting my boots to head to church, I pulled a toy out of one and thought, I love being a Mom.  I am trying to see each day with thankful eyes, loving these little people and accepting their messes as part of the small, small price of having a house full of people to share life with.  The Lord is so good to me, so faithful.  All last fall I felt like I was drowning under the weight of homeschooling, of mothering, of homemaking.  I am so very happy to say that the Lord has lifted me out of that difficult funk, and is granting strength and grace each day.  I still struggle, but He is helping me and walks with me.  Praise and thanks to Him!

Baby eight and baby one are good friends!  She won't like me calling her my baby, but she still is, in my mind.  :)

Today, we are going to do a lot of whatever strikes our fancy....or at least that's the plan.  The girls want to try their hand at sewing some clothes for their American girl dolls, and I would like to get some kids in the kitchen to do some baking with me.  I confess, I have to 'gear up' for kids in the kitchen.  I often feel so pressed for time that I don't allow helpers as much as I should. But today, we will bake.  I still keep a list on the inside of one of my cabinet doors to remind me who has had a turn as a kitchen helper.  It's right next to the list of whose sheets I last washed.  Lists are my friend!

We had a wonderful visit with my Mom-in-law last week.

I hope you enjoy your day, too.

Christmas Day hot chocolate 

A couple of days ago I was in the boys' room, helping straighten beds and pick up toys when Sam and I had the following conversation.  

Sam:  Mommy, you need to get dressed.

Me:  I am dressed, Sam. 

Sam:  No, Mommy, you need to go get dressed.

Me: Sam, what do you mean?  I am dressed.

Sam:  You need to go put on your make-up.

Me:  (Trying not to smile) Why do I need to put on make-up?

Sam:  Because, you just do.

Me:  Why?

Sam:  Because I like it pretty.  

Me:  Don't you think I look pretty without my makeup?

Sam:  No.  

This little talk was equally hilarious and humbling.  We all need a little straight talk from a three year-old sometimes.  :)

This 'n' That

It's been busy around here with projects, school, field trips, and friends. Here are some pictures of what we've been up to.

We've been here in our rental house for almost a year, and I finally accomplished the removal of the navy/baby blue/pink/gold wallpaper in the kitchen and breakfast area. What a job! I managed to get the first coat on a couple of weeks ago, and I'm still looking for a window to get the second applied. Then we can put the baseboards back on, hang curtains, and generally have a home-y kitchen! I can't wait!

Something very exciting also happened a few weeks ago. Noah became a communicant member at our church! This just means that he made a public profession of faith before the church and may now partake of communion with the body of Christ! So exciting, and so wonderful to see the Lord working in his life. I have some video, but no stills, unfortunately. This is the stained glass in our sanctuary.

Sam has been very busy being a three-year-old boy. This involves lots of running, imagining, playing with sticks, and other important work.

My hubby had a birthday last week. We had fun celebrating him. And eating his cake. :)

Back to the kitchen project: I have searched and searched for affordable artwork to hang on my newly painted wall. I spotted these pretty frames for $12 each at Big Lots a few days ago, and I'm going to print two butterfly images from the web (on nicer paper), and have them dry-mounted for framing in the frames. I think it will be just what I've been looking for. I love red, by the way. Kevin says I need to branch out, and tried to talk me into using purple in the kitchen decor, but I just couldn't do it. :)

The kids and I enjoyed a field trip to the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City last week with our CC Community. We did tours in the morning, and different workshops in the afternoon. So much fun. I want to go back now, with Kevin, to spend more time looking. Keely's class created Chinese landscape 'scrolls', and Rowan's worked on Native American art.

This precious Elijah makes me grin.  Sink baths are the best.  

Babies are the best.  

Still here!

This is by far the longest time I've gone between blog posts!  It's okay, though, and I am enjoying the approach of laying 'secondary' things down for a while when life gets too busy and more important things are pressing.  Instead of giving you an exhaustive list of what's happened at our home since November (which would probably be too tedious for anyone, anyway!),  I'll just hit a few high points and share some photos.

Keely's Challenge group competed in a small science fair. Keely worked on her project from the beginning of December until mid-January. She did a great job and we were so excited when she won second place!

We have a slew of birthdays around here during December and January. Annes is now five, Joe is seven, Sam is three, and my little Elijah is one. Sniff. After Christmas, Kevin and I decided to change the girls' room assignments. We have done this several times, to allow different girls to get to know particular siblings better. We also try to consider the dynamics that exist between particular pairs of sisters. Sometimes we try to avoid pairing a struggling older sibling with an impressionable younger one, sometimes we take the potential conflict head-on to help facilitate growth in a rocky relationship. This latest pairing is Row and Lily, and though we have had some bumps, these two are having a blast together. I'd say having a blast together about 67% of the time, bumps the other 33%. :)

To those who say I have to always have a baby in the house, I admit it. It's true. This is our new baby, Bella. She's been equal parts fun and work, but the kids might tilt that ratio toward the fun! She's a sweet doggie, and the kids were delighted and shocked when we presented her as a late Christmas present!

We had some extensive sickness here lately, and now that we are all better, I recognize that the illnesses were a blessing in the sense that I am just happy to be able to carry on with normal life and homeschooling, instead of struggling with the stress and weight of it all. Hope you are all well, and are keeping your eyes on our precious Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!

Fall Photos

 

 

 No fall decor is complete without...Mater. 

  I'm glad I got a picture of Sam's addition to the centerpiece.  I came through the dining room later and he was gone. 

  Last Saturday was our church's fall party.  Here's my artistic friend Mary Jane getting ready to paint some faces. 

 Sam gets ready to exit the bounce house.

  Hay scramble!

 Oh, and as you can see, Keely took most of these pictures.  Thanks, Keels!

 Our pastor, Wade, on the left, and Kevin playing a friendly game of beanbag toss. 

Chili cook-off tasters hard at work!  

I love hanging out with our church family!  We are truly blessed with such wonderful friends in Christ to walk with. 

Pumpkin Patch Pictures

We made a spur-of-the-moment decision to go to the pumpkin patch last Friday, then went to the local cider mill for our annual cider doughnut and cup of cider. This year we had it chilled instead of hot, because it was such a warm day. 

I think the fall color peaked about two weeks ago, but there are still some colors to enjoy, and a growing pile of leaves to play in in our backyard.

We marveled at the variety of colors, shapes, and sizes of the pumpkins and gourds. Aren't you thankful the Lord made such beauty for us to enjoy?  He could have placed us in a grey utilitarian world, without the capacity to appreciate or create beauty.  But that's not who He is. 

Eli's fine baby hair was really blowing in the wind, which looked hilarious. 

Winter is an etching, spring a watercolor, summer an oil painting and autumn a mosaic of them all.

Stanley Horowitz