My week in (mostly) pictures!

These are two of my favorite girls, my daughter and her best-friend:
This is what happens when you let them in the kitchen to make cookies and a lot of teenage antics and giggling are taking place at the same time:
This freaky, gross visitor was spotted on our front lawn this week. I am guessing he was about 5 feet long (my hubby says 3 feet). In case you are unaware of this, I have an absolutely nutty fear of snakes so when he slithered off into the neighbors driveway, I was NOT unhappy about it!
And simply because this made me laugh so hard I almost fell out of my chair, I thought I would share this little goodie:

Happy Friday!

**For anyone who is interested, I posted a headband tutorial below--cute stuff!

Hooray for Headbands--sent June 20

Photo copyrighted by Heather Bailey 2006

Thanks to Heather, you can make these adorable, easy headbands using this tutorial! Depending on your use of fabrics, you could create these to be casual, playful or a little more dressy. Your girls will love them and so will you!

California Mix

My grandma gave me this recipe when she visited a couple of months ago. It is one of her famous "a little bit of this and a little bit of that" recipes!

My hubby loves "California Mix". It is a mix of cauliflower, onions, garlic, and peppers, in a vinegar brine. OK, I realize that sounds, well, not so great, but if you like spicy, peppery goodies, this one is for you! One added extra is that this is so easy to make! You can add more of the things that you like and delete anything you don't. If the spiciness sounds like too much, just reduce the amount of jalapenos and red peppers.
You need:

1 large head of cauliflower, separated into florets
1-2 handfuls of baby carrots
1 white onion, chopped into large pieces
1 sweet red pepper, chopped into large pieces
mushrooms (I threw a couple of handfuls in)
1/2 to 1 sliced jalapeno per jar
3-4 cloves of garlic per jar
1 dried red chile per jar
1/2 to 1 tsp. dill seed per jar
1 bay leaf per jar
Brine mixture (see below)

Boil the cauliflower and carrots in water for 3 minutes and then drain.
Place the dill, jalapeno, red chile, garlic and bay leaf in each jar, and then arrange the veggies on top.

Bring the brine mixture to a boil:

6 cups water
2 cups white vinegar
3 TB salt

Pour the brine over the veggies in the jars and place lids on tight. This is best when it sits for a few days. Store in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

Each morning during my Bible time I have been focusing on one particular aspect of who God is. My desire is that He will become bigger in my mind and therefore I will see Him as more able in my life, all of this is an effort on my part to trust Him more.

Yesterday's theme was "God as healer". Here is a small part of what I wrote about that:

God heals. Physically, emotionally and spiritually. He is able in all areas. God knows all about our bodies, our spirits, our hearts, individually, relationally. He is not only the doctor but He is also the cure.

Believe me when I say that these words were on my mind when I was riding next to my son in the back of an ambulance yesterday afternoon.

He had been helping me pit some cherries when all of a sudden he said he needed to sit down. Then he said he couldn't see. Then he said he couldn't breathe. My effort to help him to the couch became an effort just to get him safely to the floor because he went unconcious and rigid in my arms.

911. Ambulance. Hospital.

He spent the afternoon hooked up to monitors, EKG's, and IV's. Apparently all is well. He was dehydrated and he had a quick heart rate which led to him passing out. Fairly normal stuff.

During this whole episode, I had a very odd sense of peace. Odd for me, that is. Normally this would have sent me through the roof, visions of cancer, brain tumors, disease and death. But I think that in God's goodness He is meeting me halfway in my desire to know Him better and trust Him more. Because I have been focusing on His greatness--and not on the problems and situations in my life--He is becoming greater in my life.

You would think that I would have woken up feeling thankful this morning, but instead I am aggravated. Aggravated about everything. For me, this is where I desire most to trust God more, in my emotions, the ones that so easily take me down.

"Lord, please help me to remember that You heal. Physically, emotionally and spiritually. You are able in all areas. You know all about my body, my spirit, my heart. Individually, relationally. You are not only my doctor, You are my cure. And most of all, thank you that Micah is fine. Thank You for proving Yourself trustworthy and sure. Thank You for today"

My God who was healer yesterday, is healer today and tomorrow too!

These are my "Sloggers" and I should have posted them yesterday. I bought them at Target to use as gardening clogs and I LOVE to wear them because they are so comfy! If they weren't orange and funny-looking I would wear them as everyday shoes, but I think my kids would be embarrased and my hubby would disapprove!

Thanks to everyone who played "Let's Get Real Monday" yesterday! My favorite post was Imelda's--oops, I mean Susie's--who owns over 50 pairs of shoes! I never would have guessed this about her and now I feel an even greater connection to this blogging-friend! Susie, I aspire to be like you! ;)

In other silliness, my daughter and I went to Denver this weekend and we discovered a great place called the 16th Street Mall. We have lived here for almost 8 years and never knew this place existed in spite of the fact that most tourists do! We were both reminded of New York City--which we both LOVE--and we got a kick out of this guy who was playing his guitar to gain a little spending money. Does he look like Jesus in a terry-cloth bathrobe or what?:

Ah, the things you can see in the city!

Have a great Tuesday!

Let's Get Real Monday!

First and foremost I have to say that I love shoes! Always have, always will! When I graduated from high school I lived with my dad and I worked full-time, but he charged me no rent. Basically I ended up with about $150.00 per week of "fun-money" that I spent mostly on shoes and records, records and shoes! Creepers, sling-backs, espadrilles and Converse were my footwear of choice and as you can see in the picture below I have passed my love of Converse on to my daughters:
Unfortunately, we have one pair of Converse missing from the picture because my oldest daughter is away at camp for the week and she took her bright green pair with her! My teenage girls like to use their Converse as artistic canvases:
These are my favorite Converse (well, look-a-likes):
And if I had an extra $46.99 floating around in my purse, I would by these in a heartbeat:

So cute!

If you have played along please leave your link and/or a comment!

Friday Challenge for "Let's Get Real Monday"!

It is that time again! Once a month I post a theme and I cross my fingers hoping that someone will play along with me on the following Monday. This is all in an effort to be a little silly and get to know all of you a little more--in a really fluffy way, that is! This month's theme for "Let's Get Real Monday" is SHOES!

I can discover a lot about a person by the shoes she wears (also by the books she reads!). The style, the color, the brand and even the price of the shoes can all be indicators of who you are--really! So, on Monday post some shoes, any shoes! Your favorite shoes, shoes you wish you owned or had the guts to wear, sensible shoes, or even a pair of Elton John's shoes. A poem about shoes, a shoe picture collage, or pictures of other people's shoes--it all counts!

Please leave a link or a comment on Monday if you are participating!

Have fun!

Training them up...

Snap the Whip by Winslow Homer

"Each child can be trained in the way he should go, but not every child can be trained to go in the same way. Each child can be trained to the highest and fullest exercise ofhis powers, but no child can be trained to the exercise of powers which are not his. Each child can be trained to his utmost possibilities, but not every child can be trained to the utmost possibilities of every other child. Child training has the fullest scope of the capacity of the particular child under treatment, and child training is limited in every case by the limitations of that child's capacity."

--H. Clay Trumbull

If at first you don't succeed...

Try, try again!

In early spring I told my son that if he weeded and turned over the dirt around our maple tree, he could pick out the flowers for that spot and maintain it all on his own. He has been surpisingly diligent in weeding and watering his small garden plot, and he likes to keep everyone posted on the progress of his plants.

Well, the deer in our neighborhood have not cooperated with his efforts as they have trampled, eaten and pulled out many of the flowers he planted. So yesterday I took him to the greenhouse so he can start all over again with new flowers. Hopefully this time, armed with our bottle of Deer Ro-pel, he will be more successful!
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Right after writing this post I looked outside the kitchen window to find that the deer have chomped off each and every one of my roses (approximately 100 of them!) and Aubry's petunias! I guess we will be following Micah's example of "if at first you don't succeed...!"

The nearness of God

**First I want to say that I appreciate the comments from yesterday's post! I needed to be reminded that often God uses wilderness experiences to prepare us for His purposes. While these times feel very dry and even frustrating, God is faithful to allow us to be thirsty and then He fills us with Himself to quench the thirst. Thanks for the reminders!

--One of the seminars at the homeschool conference was called "The Nearness of God is My Good" by Marcia Somerville. Much of this post was inspired by her encouragement.

But as for me, the nearness of God is my good;
I have made the Lord God my refuge,
That I may tell of all thy works.
--Psalm 73:28

If the nearness of God is my good, then why do I so easily substitute other things and people in God's place, things like husband, kids, hobbies, learning or friends. All of these are blessings but none of them are meant to provide the fulfilling, life-sustaining intimacy I can have with God.

Part of my problem is that I forget that God's nearness does not necessarily mean that I am intimate with Him. It is true that He is with me at all times, He knows and He loves me, but there is action on my part that leads to the intimacy that I desire. This is comparable to being near my husband day in and day out, but never talking or sharing my life with him. Simply put, intimacy would be lacking.

Rather than making the effort to spend time with God, I throw out a few requests, read a few verses and I call it good, never expecting or even wanting anything from Him until times get hard. Then I turn away because God has become so small in my life that I don't trust Him and I even blame Him for my circumstances--completely forgetting that the nearness of God is my good.

If I am not availing myself to my God on a daily basis, seeking His filling, His peace, His leading, what do I, as a wife and mother, have to impart to those around me? If I myself am starving and without food, I can not give nourishment to the people who depend on me. Basically I become ineffective in the act that I most want to accomplish in my life!

I wish I could say that there is an easy 10-step plan to achieve intimacy with God, but there is not. I believe that the solution is not so much an action, but rather a response of my heart, a turning and yielding to God on a daily basis--waiting on Him, learning from Him and resting in him. This will lead to the peace and trust that I long for. Because my image of God will become bigger, I could rest in the fact that He is in charge of my life. I will able to say with conviction that "The nearness of God is my good!"

Homeschool conference

"Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead."
Philippians 3:12-13

This past weekend my husband and I attended our state's homeschool conference and we had a great time! God renewed our vision for homeschooling and He refreshed us for the task of parenting our kids. I am honestly a bit overwhelmed with all the information we took in, and it is definitely going to take me a few days to sort through all of it, but I am grateful that God was so gracious to me and that He met me in the "dry place" that I have been in lately.

For the past few months I have felt stuck in neutral in my walk with God. I have been starting each day with the "list of do's" in my life rather than starting my day in the place where God wants me to: resting at His feet.

This is one of those times where my head is so full of wonderful things that I am anxious not to lose one single drop of the things He placed on my heart. But I am also aware that I need to rest in God and let Him do a work through me.

God is so good and so faithful to bring beauty from the ashes we make of our lives--even when we create those ashes from our own sin, striving and frustrated efforts. All He asks is that we turn to Him with our whole hearts!

I hope to write some more about this later in the week, but right now everything is still swimming around in my head!

Have a great Monday!

Quilted Notecards

Quilted notecards are easy and they can be made in many different ways; you can be creative with these! It would fun to make a few of these to keep close at hand for writing quick notes of encouragement or give them as gifts in sets of five.

You will need:
White notecards (mine measure 4-3/4" X 3-3/4")
Wonder-Under (interfacing that can be found at Walmart)
Coordinating Fabric Scraps

First cut your fabrics into strips (mine were 1-3/4 inches wide). Cut a piece of Wonder-Under (5 1/2" X 4")and iron your fabrics to it. (Read the Wonder-Under instructions carefully because there is a right-side and a wrong-side to it!)

Then VERY CAREFULLY tear off your Wonder-Under backing. (Be careful where your fabrics intersect--this can tear apart fairly easily). Then add a zig-zag stitch over the fabric overlap. Adding rick-rack instead of a zig-zag stitch would be cute too.

Cut the fabric piece close to the size of the notecard. Then iron the fabric to the notecard and trim the edges flush with the card. (Wonder-Under can leave a sticky spot on your ironing board so ironing on an old kitchen towel might be a good idea.)

My inspiration for these cards came from Linda!

Enjoy!

A few pictures...

A "To Do" List

Young Woman Sewing by Mary Cassatt

"Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. "And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates."
--Deuteronomy 6:4-9

Books read for the Summer Reading Challenge:

1. Breathing Lessons by Anne Tyler
2. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle

"She had found her father and he had not made everything all right. Everything kept getting worse and worse. If the long search for her father was ended, and he wasn't able to overcome all their difficluties, there was nothing to guarantee that it would all come out right in the end. There was nothing left to hope for."
--Madeleine L'Engle

My goal is 12 books so I have 10 more to go by August 31!

Camping and fishing...

My husband, the great outdoorsman, loves to camp and fish. I, however, don't have the same natural inclinations, I am more of a "hotel" girl. The solution to this clash of personality has been RV camping: a shower, a toilet, electrical outlets, and a solid roof over my head make camping the things for me. Well, almost.

When you buy and RV, the salesman likes to say things like, "This coach will sleep 8 comfortably", when what he really means is,"If you don't mind squeezing 8 people into a room the size of a bathroom and calling it comfortable, this coach is the one for you!" Our family of 7 only fits comfortably if we kick the boys outside into a tent, which leaves me insisting upon keeping a window in the RV open so that I can hear if a bear comes to gobble them up! (It could happen, you know!) Now, if you leave the window open, the wind in the middle of the night will seem extra loud and because you are camping in the mountains, the temperature will drop dramatically in the RV as morning approaches. Add to that the broken toilet, the water faucets that won't produce water and a refrigerator that won't stay cold, and you end up, somehow, with a pretty nice weekend.

The weather was perfect, the wildflowers were blooming, the butterflies were everywhere and the kids had smiles on their faces. I even bought my first fishing license and spent some time fishing with my hubby.

We came home a day early, mostly because of the broken refrigerator and toilet. The refrigerator I could have dealt with, but you can forget it if you think that I would go behind a tree to go "potty" and use leaves for toilet paper. There are just certain luxuries that I insist upon!

When we arrived home, my hubby and I did a crazy thing: we went online and made more camping reservations. I guess it is because we had so much fun!

Happy camping!

Gone fishin...

See you next week!

Summer Reading Challenge

Books read for the Summer Reading Challenge:

1. Breathing Lessons by Anne Tyler

"Are they going to let me just walk off with him? I don't know beans about babies! I don't have a license to do this. Ira and I are just amateurs.' I mean you're given all these lessons for unimportant things--piano-playing, typing. You're given years and years of lessons in how to balance equations, which Lord knows you will never have to do in normal life. But how about parenthood? Or marriage, either, come to think of it. Before you drive a car you need a state-approved course of instruction, but driving a car in nothing, nothing, compared to living day in and day out with a husband and raising up a new human being."
--Anne Tyler

My goal is 12 books so I have 11 more to go by August 31!

Blogging about blogging,,,again!

**This post is a part of Carol's "7 Days of Blog"!

7 HABITS OF HIGHLY INEFFECTIVE BLOGGERS (and my suggestions for changing these habits)

***All of these are from my own personal experience! ;)

1. Being too concerned about creating the perfect post.
--Be creative and take a chance! Did you write a poem, an opinion essay, a short story? Post it and you will probably find yourself being encouraged

2. Obssessing over your comments and stats
--Comments and visitors are wonderful, but a lack of either one is not a reflection on you, your personality, or your writing style. If you have a few regular visitors and commenters, enjoy!

3. Comparing yourself to other bloggers
--I would love to have a more intellectual, thought-provoking blog, but, in reality, that is just not "me". I admire bloggers like Kim and Sparrrow, who consistently challenge my walk with Christ, but I have found that in trying to be like them, I fail. My number one goal for my blog is to encourage stay-at-home moms to love their job and to find fullfillment in their high calling.

4. Posting what you think people want to hear as opposed to what is really on your heart.
--Your blog is yours alone. Use it as a forum to share what is on your mind, what God is doing in your life and what is important to YOU!

5.Investing time and energy into your blog that really belongs to your hubby, kids, friends, work, church, housework or community.
--Blogging is fun and encouraging, but remember that there is a real world out there. People need you.

6. Feeling compelled to post every single day because if you don't, people will stop visiting your blog.
--Blog as much or as little as you want to. Your time is valuable and there is more to life than having a big blog-following.

7. Using your blog as a forum for complaining or bashing people.
--As in real life, people don't want to hear anyone whine on a consistent basis. Asking for prayer and sharing struggles are good things, but be sure to share the good things in life too.

Basically, have fun with your blog but don't take it too seriously. And remember to be exactly who God wants you to be in the blogosphere as well as in real life!

Andrew Wyeth

One of my favorite things about recieving my Smithsonian Magazine each month is reading about the featured artist. This month's article introduced me to Andrew Wyeth. Looking at his art is like looking at a snippet of life, full of emotion and breath:

"Alvaro and Christina" by Andrew Wyeth

"I conceived this as a portrait of the whole Olson environment, and I painted it the summer after Christina and her brother, Alvaro, had both died. I went in there, and suddenly the contents of that room seemed to express those two people--the basket, the buckets, and the beautiful blue door with all the bizarre scratches on it that the dog had made. The Olsons were all gone but powerfully there nonetheless."
-Andrew Wyeth, Aubiography

Here are some more pieces by Mr. Wyeth:

"Groundhog Day"

"Christina's World"

"Trodden"

To read more about him, click here.

Blogging about blogging

**This post is a part of Carol's "7 Days of Blog"!
Three years ago I received a camera as a Mother's Day gift. I used it occasionally to take pictures of my kids, but generally it sat on the shelf. Then I started blogging.

When I first discovered blogs, my favorites were the ones with lots of pictures. I suppose this comes from years of magazine reading or possibly from a short attention span, but either way, I took my camera off the shelf when I started a blog of my own. Then I started taking pictures of almost anything, anywhere, at any time.

I find that bloggers take pictures of the craziest things. I have seen pictures of people's toes, their groceries, their dirty bathrooms and their snoozing husbands. Even I have taken pictures of my laundry, dinners I have made, a new pair of shoes and I have even taken pictures of pictures, simply because I didn't know how to use the scanner until recently. And you can be sure that if I post a picture of, say, a homemade loaf of bread, there are about 10 other pictures of that same loaf, all taken from different angles and distances.

I suppose you could say that I have a unique record of my family's life now, all because of blogging. Who knows, in 20 years the picture of the food we served at my daughter's graduation party may seem special. And looking at pictures of new fabric that I bought may bring back special memories of crafting way back when.

I do know that my camera-addiction is going to last longer than this blog, and I like that I have learned that sometimes it is the smaller things in life that are worth remembering.

I am going to leave you with a picture, of course. A picture of my new shoes. They are the color of a Hershey's chocolate bar:

Happy blogging and picture-taking!

A free quilt pattern from Debbie Mumm!

Debbie Mumm is celebrating the 20th anniversary of her business by giving YOU a free quilt block of the month pattern--for the entire year! So far the patterns are available through June and the rest will be released as the year progresses. You could make this lovely quilt in any combination of colors, according to your personal style. Click on the "first block" to find the yardage requirements and cutting instructions.

Enjoy!

Red and White

 

Lego purses and nincompoops! (AKA Friday Fun!)

A couple of days ago my son presented me with a special treat: a purse made out of Legos. If you have visited my blog for any length of time you know that I am obsessed with making purses, so, in light of this, he decided to make me something I would love! He added a little button on top and a bright flower for contrast. The only drawback is that I can't load it up with stuff and use it! I am positively gushing!
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In response to Laney's question about whether or not "yahoolaganism" is a real word, I am providing a link to an actual dictionary entry. The word originates from Gulliver's Travels (yahoo) and I have expounded on it and created my own form of it to use when describing my wonderful boys. They are truly a couple of "yahoos".

In case you are unaware, "nincompoop" is also an actual word related to foolishness. It describes someone who engages in "nincompoopery", something my boys enjoy heartily. I suppose that some will say that "boys will be boys", but I have to say that, sometimes, "boys will be nincompoops", and I love that boyish quality!

Have a great weekend!

Reflections and struggles...

***ADDED FOR CLARIFICATION: Our daughter has attended a junior college for the last two years (grades 11 and 12) so she not only graduated high school, but also her 2nd college year. Since this post is about homeschooling through high school, I wanted to let you know how we reached our goal!

Since graduating our oldest daughter a couple of weeks ago, I've spent some time reflecting on our homeschooling journey up to this point. I have found that when you embark on a road that is going to last for 12+ years, you don't spend a lot of time looking for the finish line, so when you cross over it can seem a bit surprising.

We initially chose to homeschool when Danika was three years old. It is a path that we feel God has chosen for our family and, at this point, we plan on seeing it through until Aubry graduates in 2018 (GASP!). In other words, we are in this for the long haul. Homeschooling has not always been easy or fun but, in general, we enjoy it and we like the close family relationships that have sprung out of it. The main reason we homeschool our kids is to lay a foundation of God's truth in their lives and we also believe that it is a great way to provide our kids with an excellent, custom-tailored education. Homeschooling is not an answer to all of life's problems, but I know it has made certain things, like the teen years, a little less bumpy than they could have been.

One of our biggest difficulties has been the lack of other homeschooled high-schoolers in our area. For a small-ish town, we have a large homeschooling community but it is very loose-knit and most people have chosen to send their kids to high school. While I respect their decision for their kids, it does leave us with a few hurdles to overcome, the main one being that our girls feel "different" than their peers. Personally, I don't think that being different is the worst thing in the world but I can understand the concerns of my girls. We have had many talks about this subject, many of them tearful but each time we have come to the conclusion that homeschooling was not only the best choice, but also God's plan for us. Now that we have passed over the finish line with one child, I can say with assurance that we made the right decision. If anything, I am strengthened in my resolve that we are on the right path.

I don't write this to convince anyone of anything, but rather to encourage you to follow through if homeschooling is your calling. Nothing in life that matters is easy to attain and the greatest reward comes from doing the job that God places before you, even if it is a tough, demanding one.

Believe me when I say that the prize you receive at the finish line is amazing!

"...Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus..."
--Hebrews 12:2