I've Moved!

I am so thrilled to announce my new blog address! I'm getting back into the swing of things after having a baby and ready to start blogging again. I have had this particular blog for so long that I feel it is time to clean house. I love order and cleanliness, so having a clean, new blog makes me feel like I've scrubbed my house. Ahhh! It feels so good.

What am I going to do with this blog?

Keep it, of course.

I have a jumble of so many years we spent together as a family... yes, I so wish I could sort through it all and delete the meaningless, embarrassing or just plain bad posts, but that would be a waste of time.

So.... come visit my new, clean house..errr. blog.

So without further ado, here it is...

Purposely (psst... click on the name to get you there :))

Out for a while...

I will be out for a while... with baby due in a month, blogging will just have to wait. I am enjoying reading so many other people's blogs though... so many creative people out there! I hope to come back with my own creative ideas to share as well, but if not, it is no great loss to the blogging community :) the only loss is to our little family journal kept here :(
For that reason, I do hope to begin my recordings when I have a bit more time in life- for now, my precious children will get my all!

I'll Fly Away- February Hymn

I'll fly Away
Some bright morning when this life is o'er
I will fly away
To a home on God's celestial shore
I will fly away

I will fly away oh glory
I will fly away
When I die Hallelujah by and by
I will fly away

When the shadows of this life have gone
I will fly away
Like a bird from these prison walls I'll fly
I will fly away

I will fly away oh glory
I will fly away
When I die Hallelujah by and by
I will fly away

Oh how glad and happy when we meet
I will fly away
No more cold iron shackles on my feet
I will fly away

I will fly away oh glory
I will fly away
When I die Hallelujah by and by
I will fly away
Just a few more weary days and then
I will fly away

To a land where joys will never end
I will fly away
I will fly away oh glory
I will fly away
When I die Hallelujah by and by
I will fly away

Tall Men Riding- folksong

I grew up in El Paso, Texas and moved to San Antonio, Tx by the time I was 18. The life of cowboys and ranches, sagebrush and cactus was a thing very familiar to me. My father was a man deeply interested in history, so our family outings were normally climbing the Franklin Mountains of El Paso to explore the geography and desperately search the earth for little signs of times gone by. Occasionally, on rare occasions, we would stumble upon an arrowhead or piece of ancient pottery- a treasure to us.

This folksong was a reminder of bygone days.



Oh, the high hawk knows where the rabbit goes,
 the buzzard marks the kill
but few there be with eyes to see the tall men riding still
We hark in vain on the speeding train
for an echo of hoofbeat thunder
And the yellow wheat is a winding sheet
for cattle trails plowed under

Hoofdust flies at the low moon's rise
and the bullbat's lonesome whir
Is an echoed note from the longhorn throat of a steer,
in the days that were
Inch by inch, time draws the cinch,
till the saddle will creak no more
And they who were lords of the cattle hordes
have tallied their final score

This is the song that the night birds
sing as the phantom herds trail by
Horn by horn where the long plains fling
flat miles to the Texas sky
And this is the song that the night birds wail
where the Texas plains lie wide
Over the dust of a ghostly trail
where the phantom tall men ride
 
Written by S. Omar Barker (read his story by clicking his name)

Audrey's Birthday Coupon's

During our crazy Missionary Convention week, we celebrated my sweet Audrey's Birthday. She turned 8 years old- and a sweet 8 year old she is! Coming after the wake of Christmas, we normally don't have full-blown parties for the kids, but we do try to do special things for them to celebrate. This year, along with a small family gathering, I had an idea for a special  gift shared by a friend who does this for kids during Thanksgiving.


Coupons!

If I were a scrapbooker, this would have been gorgeous, but for me, just getting them done on regular white paper was just as effective.
I compiled a list of things she would appreciate:
1 Day off School
1 Day of no chores
1 Day off making bed
1 Date with Dad
1 Date with Mom
1 Go to Work with Dad Day
1 Manicure and Pedicure with Mom

They were a hit- two of which got redeemed the very next day (no school, and no chores). The only catch is they can only be used one time and my responsibility is to fulfill it that day- so I had to prepare myself to follow-through no matter what.

Cute follow up: Today, she redeemed the "Manicure and Pedicure with Mom" coupon. I told her we would do it as soon as school was over. So, she waited patiently (which for her is huge!). She then got all the stuff together and I was getting prepared to paint her nails, she looked at me funny and said, "No, Mommy. I'm painting your nails!" Now, that's a coupon worth putting back into her book!
 I loved the pampering- bumps and all.

Renovation Peeks...

Two years ago, my husband and I bought a fixer-upper with the intentions of fixing it up in 4 months *ahemm*. 23 months later, we are still one bedroom away from being done- that doesn't include any decorating I would have liked to do. Did I mention we live frugally? Well, that includes decorating as well. When I decorate, it is usually revamping what I already have, but that is for later posts...

We have a baby due in about 3 months, so the master bedroom is our number one project here at home. Since I can't help this time (being pregnant), my husband has to do the work bits at a time when he is home from work... can he get it done? (I hope so!)

The bedroom Today...

 The bathroom... the ladder is where the toilet should be (and the sink)

My son- in the shower. (Yes, it will be a shower when we can figure out how to tile it- that will be our first time to try)

Learn to train a dog to train a child?

I just got done reading a sweet little book called Footprints of a Pilgrim the Life and Loves of Ruth Bell Graham. In a journal entry she once wrote regarding child training :

"Every Parent should read at least one good book on dog training. Odd how, in a day when children are notoriously disobedient, dog training and obedience classes are increasing in popularity. Basically the rules are simple.

1. Keep commands simple and at a minimum. One word to a command and always the same word. Come. Sit. Stay. Heel. Down. No. (I talk my children dizzy).

2. Be consistent.

3. Be persistent. Follow through. Never give a command without seeing it is obeyed.

4. When the dog responds correctly, praise him. (Not with food. remember, don't reward children materially for doing well. Your praise should be enough.)

Its a fine kettle of fish when our dogs are better trained than our children."

Wise counsel, Mrs. Graham! 

Plan of action Part 3

The price of ministry... long bleeps in things like blogging :). Last week was a pause in life as our church hosted its annual Missions Conference... and then the predicted sickness we all had from a lack of sleep. *sigh*

Now, we are back in the saddle. The next, but not final plan of action I have in dealing with my children's disobedience is for me to re-read my parenting books. I am a firm believer that not all parenting books are created equal- its good to read books, but a total waste if the books are not cross- centered and biblically sound. So, I have been very particular over my parenting book selections. Here are a few of my favorites ( I am on the lookout for others that are of the same quality, but these have enough good "meat" to provide that not very many more books are needed.).


1. The Duties of Parents by R.C. Sproul ( You can read it online Here.)

2. Don't Make me Count to Three! by Ginger Plowman

3. Wise Words for Mom's by Ginger Plowman

4. Shepherding a child's Heart by Tedd Tripp

On my list of books that are on the same caliber and will be read in the very near future are

1. Age of Opportunity by Paul David Tripp

2.The Shaping of a Christian Family by Elizabeth Elliott

Plan of action Part 2

Yesterday marked my determined effort to bring order back into the home. I spent some time (not very much time, as you can see by the pictures) writing out some charts. (If I have some time, I will make them pretty- but when your desperate, torn, wrinkled paper and a pen work just as great!) The first two are things that must get done before leaving their room in the morning. No clothes, no clean room, no food.

I also have distributed all of the major housework (with crossed fingers and a prayer- too advantageous of me? We will see.) The first chart is all of the things that they have to mentally check out before leaving the room- or things they have to do before bed at night- I have one or two last things to add to that one... no leaving my room and no talking...*sigh*



 This next chart was extremely helpful as well.  I had strayed from writing out their daily school "to-do's", but that has not been well- especially for my middle one- who conveniently forgets what I tell her to do. So I slapped those subjects on the dry-erase board yesterday- and she loved it! I would have thought she would be discouraged to see all she had to do... but no! She loved marking out each item completed one by one- and with a giggle and a grin.

 Did it work? See for yourself... If I could have taken a hundred pictures- I would have- with a singing heart! They all did (even the heaviest chores) it with such eagerness and joy. What a turnaround!

I was reminded of this verse, " Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice."

I Chron 16:10 

The Lord is interested in the smallest events of our lives and he desires to intervene if we call out to Him.

A plan of action

On the girltalk blog, the women have encouraged other women to join either their FAM (Fast a Meal) or their Five am club (Getting up early for prayer). I cannot fast a meal because I am pregnant, but I can fast some sleep and that is what I have begun to do as one of the first steps in my plan of action to bring peace back into my home. As I have been studying and seeking God for His grace and help, I was encouraged by these two scriptures:
"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." Gal 6:9.
Being a mother is a high calling. It is not only a task to bring up children...in my case, educated and disciplined children, but more importantly than that daunting task, is to raise children who love their Savior. It is easy to give into discouragement and failure, but I can have peace as I remind myself of what scripture says and patiently teach my children scripture in the midst of a chaotic season.

Which brings me to my next verse
" The wicked flee though no one pursues,but the righteous are as bold as a lion." Prov 28:1.
 Why this verse? You might ask. Have you ever been tempted, like I have, to bury your head in your arms in the midst of two children fighting, or a child arguing with you, or the constant tattling, and just go to a happy place? I cannot tell you how often I have felt like just walking away and ignoring it all for my sanity. Why is this wrong? Because I am avoiding the real problem. I can be as bold as a lion and get in there and point my children to the cross- which is not easy and always requires LOTS of time and patience, or I can flee like the wicked would.

So, I will call our for grace and face the day with peace knowing God has His grace awaiting me in this exhausting task. Seeking the Lord first and foremost in the day is my first plan of action becasue peace begins with me. I hope you might be encouraged my this as well. Tomorrow I have my second plan of action to share.

Blogging slump...Family slump

I have had such a hard time getting myself going since my 3 month bout with morning sickness. After the Christmas season, I have found that my previous disciplines, motivation, and family peace have been turned upside down. It's amazing what a few months can do. I am fully aware that my standing with God never changes no matter how undisciplined I or my family get, but allowing laziness, disobedience and chaos reign does not serve to bring peace or joy into a home. So... I am on a mission. I am going to go on a quest to get things back in order and learn all I can possibly can about wisdom in this season. I am going to research scripture, read books, articles and blogs and put them into practice until my family is back in order.
The very first thing I did was to pray and ask for God's grace. The next thing was to enlist the help of my husband. I normally try to give my husband the highlights of our days- good events rather than the negative. I try to keep my frustrations with school and kids between the Lord and myself, and only going to my husband for help when a child is out of my control. At times this is okay... I don't want to constantly be complaining and telling my husband how terrible the kids are- that doesn't serve to give him a great feeling about coming home; but I have seen that not discussing some of the major issues has made that matter worse in their hearts. So...now he is aware.
The biggest blessing of the day has already occurred- my husband overheard a response one of my children had this morning, and he promptly decided to take one of his days off and stay at home to help me homeschooling! What a relief that was to me, not to mention to m kids! They had the joy of having Dad expertly show them a science experiment as well as teach them a few things Mom had not been able to get to.
I would like to post as I go along... and I hope by the end there will be amazing fruit to show for the many prayers and studying I intend to do.

January Hymn 2011- O God our Help in Ages Past

Click hereTo listen to O God, Our help in Ages Past by Issac Watts
Click here to read about this hymn

Christmas Gifts- Coasters

 This year, instead of aprons (which were  BIG hit), I thought I would make a basket of creative items- all handmade (and incredibly inexpensive!). Part of what would go in the basket along with two different drink mixes, mugs (from the dollar store and personalized by me), and marble magnets (which I will showcase in the next blog post),  were coasters which cost me all of $1.00 for 4!
If you are interested in doing these, I've attached my instructions below. Just be aware you need about 2 days to make them.

Here is what you will need:
Polyurethane (whatever gloss you like- I used satin, but now wished I would have used a higher gloss) 
Tile squares (I got mine at Lowe's for 10 cents each)
Any pretty tissue paper, scrapbook paper or napkin you have. (I personally did not like the texture of napkins when I tried it)
Felt pieces or Foam pieces cut into squares the size of the tile
Strong craft glue (I uses E-6000)
Mod Podge

1.First cut a piece of your paper  larger than the tile piece.

2. Add a layer of Mod podge all over the tile piece and sides and then spread your paper over the tile carefully making sure to flatten the bubbles.

3. Carefully tear off the excess tissue. Don't worry too much if bits of side tissue come off, they will be relatively hidden.



4. This part takes some time. You will have to give the tiles 3-4 coats of polyurethane allowing each coat to dry in between. That takes anywhere from 3-6 hours per coat.

5. Lastly, using your strong craft glue, add either a foam piece or felt to the bottom of the tile for cushion.

That's it! Easy as pie and cost practically nothing.

About Antonio Vivaldi

Listen to a kid friendly shows about Vivaldi on Classics For Kids.

I'm Back

After three months of constant nausea and headaches, not to mention the exhaustion my body underwent, I am back on my feet. It is like some mysterious miracle to wake up one morning to discover that you feel great. So now it's the Christmas season and happy planning is underway. This is truly our most favorite season with so many little traditions and plans we have made throughout the years and I am so glad to be able to participate. I can't wait to post pictures of this year's Christmas plans in our home in the days to come.