This Little House

Countdown to Cambodia: 16 days

2011-12-21T09:34:00.000-08:00

I know I have not been posting consistently the past couple of months. We have just been living life to the fullest here-very busy as always. Working, learning, laughing, playing, praying, seeking what the Lord has for us.

One thing I haven't posted very much about here is a little trip to Cambodia that is coming up. I am going with a medical mission team, sent by my church, to Phnom Penh, Cambodia for 9 days. This will by my first mission trip and I am so excited to be used by the Lord in this way!

The past 6 months have been full. Our life has been incredibly busy. Our teenage daughter is now a freshman in high school and has been active in the school musical, went to her first homecoming dance, is busy making friends, and working to keep her grades up. I am continuing to homeschool the Littles (5 1/2 and 7 in two weeks). Rob has been working hard at his job, and has been an incredible source of strength and support for me as I homeschool and prepare for this trip.

Preparing for the trip has involved many things. I needed a new passport and crazy immunizations. We have had many meetings with the mission group to bond and exchange information about the trip. I sent out sponsor letters and watched as the Lord moved in people's lives. I have never done anything like this before and the process so far has been humbling and has grown my faith more than I ever expected. I am already in awe of Him, changed forever, and I haven't even gotten to Cambodia yet!

As the days count down in these final two weeks there is a sense of quickening. Emails are flying among the group with lists of supplies needed and received, information about the trip itself, airplane seats and itinerary to share with family, and prayer requests for those suffering from sudden illness, injury or stress.

Amidst all of the Cambodia flurry, Christmas is coming in a few short days. It has arrived much quicker than I anticipated this year! I am finding myself struggling to focus on my Savior, His birth and making sure that my girls don't get lost in the "presents" mania that our society encourages, but rather get lost in His Presence and what the birth of Jesus Christ means for us. Salvation, forgiveness for our sins, mercy, love, hope.

I heard myself talking with friends the other day about our Christmas plans. We were discussing that our church was having a Christmas day service at 11am and I found myself saying, "I don't know if we will make it to church that morning. It's just too much and will make our Christmas morning too crazy with opening all the presents and breakfast." Later that day it really hit me. What was I thinking? How did my priorities get so out of whack? Christmas is about Jesus. Period. The rest is all fluff and hype that the world has convinced us is more important. I forgot that for a second. Lord forgive me!

After sitting down and talking it over with my husband and family, we are doing things a little differently this year. It's nothing big, just rearranging the days that we are celebrating. It was an idea that one of the other moms that I was talking to that morning suggested and it stuck with me. We will do the family dinner and opening presents on Christmas Eve, then get up Christmas day and have a nice breakfast and go to church. Afterward we will go to grandma's house and hang out together. It will be so nice.

Next comes my middle child's 7th birthday. January 3rd-three days before I leave for Cambodia! She and I planned a small celebration with 2 of her friends to go rock climbing on Dec. 30th. I am relieved to have that all planned out and set. I would be in such big trouble if I somehow forgot her birthday!

I am writing all of this because I believe that the Lord wants me to share my journey with others. Part of that journey involves prayer and right now I need some prayer support! My heart wants to focus on preparing for this mission trip and to spend my time in prayer, fast, and pack. However, my life is so full with other very important activities that must happen before I leave. My girls are also nervous about me being gone and ask a lot of questions every day about it. I have things planned for them for while I am away to help pass the time for them, but I know there will be days that they will be sad and miss me. Please pray that God's peace will be upon them. That they will remain healthy and that Rob, my mom and step dad will also remain healthy as they are all going to be caring for my girls while I am away.

I am so grateful for this opportunity to be used by God in such a tangible way. I don't know exactly what is coming while I am in Cambodia or when I return home. I am walking by faith for probably the first time in my life. It's scary, thrilling, humbling and amazing all at the same time. My hope, beyond God moving in the hearts of the Cambodian's we will be working with, is that my children will remember their mom going to Cambodia by faith and in obedience to the will of God, and that it will awaken in their hearts a desire to walk by faith, in obedience to Him also. It's taken me a long time to get to this place in my walk with the Lord and I pray that it won't take them as long!

Blessings and have a very Merry Christmas!

Love,
Kim

Week 4: Honeycomb, evaporation, beans, and caterpillars!

2011-09-28T08:25:00.000-07:00

Bible

Proverbs 16:24 Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones

This week our focus was on speaking goodness into each others lives. One of the activities involved 2 spoons, some honey and some garbage. Each girl got to choose between eating a spoonful of honey or garbage. Hm, I wonder what they picked:-)

Math/Calendar/Weather

This week I implemented a new way for Ava to get her math done on her own without as much prompting from me. I was inspired by another, far more organized, MFW mom - Mary Lou (thank you!). I put together math packets for Ava to grab each day out of her math folder. She takes one with her to the breakfast table and works on it while she eats breakfast. The packet includes:

Number of the Day 1/2 sheet

A "Today's Date Is..." page that I made

A worksheet from the Complete Book of Math

She is able to start this packet over breakfast and then while I am cleaning up the breakfast dishes she finishes it up and then goes about her morning chores. This works out really well because she wakes up fresh and ready to do school every morning, and I can say -"get your morning packet" and she knows exactly what to do without any further direction from me. I can be in the kitchen doing breakfast and dishes, close by to answer questions, yet she is also learning to work on her own. It's a win-win!

Science/Exploration Day

We spent a lot of time outside this week due to the unusually warm weather we were having. Although both girls enjoy science, I think Sophia especially loves this part of school.

Here are some picture of our adventures:

We started an ant hill

planted our bean seeds

found a new fuzzy yellow friend

fuzzy yellow friend's new home

Interesting things about our caterpillar:
He loves apple tree leaves
He buried himself in the dirt a few days after this picture was taken.
Now there is a little bit of silk on the dirt around the edge of the glass.
Is he dead?
Hibernating for the winter?

We aren't sure. I am not sure what type of caterpillar he is either. If you have any thoughts, please let me know! We are in wait and see mode right now...

These are our beans after one week!!

We also learned about evaporation and will be keeping a close eye on our water level over the next week

On Exploration Day the TM said to draw some illustrations from p. 2 from Things Outdoors. This selection discussed rain, clouds and evaporation. We were having a lovely, partly cloudy day, so we went outside to draw.

We discussed evaporation and I asked the girls to copy the word and draw a picture of what evaporation looks like. This is Ava's picture:

And here is Sopha's picture.

Our next experiment was the Cloud/Rain Model

Patiently waiting for water to boil...

Ice cubes to make "cold air" clouds

drum roll please.....

Ta Da! We have tiny droplets of "rain" forming under our "cloud" Very cool!

Read Aloud

This week we read among other things:

Alice and Wonderland

Selections from Prayers and Poems

God's World News

Ava also finished her Animal Tales book

In other news...

Dad took the girls to Grandma and Grandpas to pick more apples and tomatoes!

Aren't they beautiful!

More soccer was played...

I lounged by the pool for a few end of summer sun beams...:-)

...while Ava was being bendy in Tumbling

And we went on a really cool field trip to the Mounted Police facility

The horses were BIG

and a little stinky:-)

but the girls had a blast! At the end Ava said she wants to take care of horses when she is older and Sophia made a new friend!

Another busy week done:-) See you next week!

Blessings,

Kim and the girls

Week 3 First Grade and Kindergarten

2011-09-15T07:49:00.000-07:00

Bible

Proverbs 21:23 He who guards his mouth and his tongue keeps himself from calamity.

The first questions the girls asked was: What does calamity mean? I looked up the verse on Blue Letter Bible Calamity in Hebrew is Tsarah meaning straits, distress, trouble.

Well, yikes! The girls looked worried. We talked about how God wants us to be careful what we say because our words have the power to hurt others and to hurt ourselves. What a wonderful lesson for two sisters to learn!

Sophia working on her play dough letters

The girls learned that the Bible is comprised of 66 separate books. We gathered 66 skinning books and stacked them up. Then we separated them into an Old Testament stack of 39 books and a New Testament stack of 27 books. The girls counted and compared the stack with how tall our Bible is:-)

The also learned what a Table of Contents is and how to use it. In a couple of weeks we will begin memorizing the books of the Bible!

Science and Nature

We started our week with a nature walk hunting for pretty flowers with brightly colored leaves to press. We also collected flower petals to make ink out of.

The pressing and the ink making turned out ok. We will be checking our pressed flowers in a couple of weeks. The ink really just ended up looking more like dirty water, but they sure had fun destroying the pretty petals!

We also did a bean experiment this week to learn about the components of a seed. We used pinto beans. Early in the week they observed and drew pictures of the dry pinto beans.

We discussed what they are made of: The outer covering or Seed Coat and the two halves or the cotyledons (they struggled with pronouncing that one!) and then the tiny plant inside.

We then soaked our beans and placed them between two wet paper towels and wrapped the whole bundle up in tin foil. Then we set our packet on the window sill to wait, and wait and wait!

After 2 days we checked the beans. They were wet, a little larger (swollen from the water) and the outer shell was separating from the bean. All of this was interesting, but not terribly dramatic.

Then we waited a few more days...or rather, mom forgot all about checking that little tinfoil packet on the window sill for 4 more days:-)

I took a peek at it yesterday and was thrilled to see that big changes had occurred! I got the girls and we sat at the kitchen table for the big reveal. I reminded the girls what the beans looked like six days before by showing them a dry bean. Small, hard, oval, brown.

Then we opened the foil and voila! We had bean sprouts!!! They gasped and squealed enthusiastically to see the change that had taken place. So cool!

Here are their science journal papers:

Ava's

Sophia's

Their work area

Other activities

We rode our bikes into town to Jamba Juice. The ride was a great opportunity to practice road safety and get some outside exercise on a nice sunny day while we still have them!

The girls chose Skittles smoothies and I tried the new Pumpkin Smash. We all really liked the Pumpkin Smash smoothie, although Ava's favorite was the Skittle smoothie:-)

Soccer games started this week! Both girls are playing this year so Rob and I are running back and forth between games. We all had a lot of fun! Sadly, I didn't take very many soccer pictures this week. Hopefully I will be more on the ball next week!

Tumbling and swimming happened as well, but no pictures to post. I will try to remember to take some this week. Ava is becoming quite accomplished at gymnastics doing her first round off this week and completing both forward and backward walkovers, among other things. Sophia just started her swim lessons up again and is loving every minute in the water!

I hope you all are enjoying this late summer weather!

Love,

Kim

Cambodia Here I come!

2011-09-09T18:21:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone!

   I am so excited to share with you all a new adventure I am going on. I have a tremendous opportunity in front of me. Horizon Community Church (my home church) is sending a medical team to Cambodia. Cambodia is a desperately poor country where access to medical help is out of reach for most of the people. The team will be going to serve these wonderful people with medical and dental help and the love of Jesus Christ. I will be going with the team in January 2012.

According to Ken Huff, the missionary we will be working with in Cambodia, one of the leading causes of child slavery is the inability to pay medical bills or the selling of children to raise the money for needed treatment. Providing this type of help does more than any other single method to help eradicate this atrocity.

   Many illnesses that are very treatable, like diarrhea, are fatal in a country like Cambodia. Simple infections are life threatening because of a lack of proper care. We will be able to bring some relief in the name of Jesus.

    The team will be leaving January 6th 2012 and returning the 15th 2012. The flight is 23 hours there and about 25 hours back. Our destination and home base will be in a province outside of Phenom Penh. We will be serving five different villages in the field. In each village there is a church that we will be working with. Every believer will be prayed for and every non-believer (most of those we will see) will receive the gospel message from our Cambodian partners. Once we leave, the church then will have a connection with the patients we have seen.

   Our focus will be simple, to bring the healing power of Jesus Christ through hands on medical treatment, prayer and the truth of the gospel.

   Not everyone can go but all are called to help.    Please pray for the missions team, their families, and the people of Cambodia. The deadline is fast approaching when the first portion of funds will be due to cover the costs of airline tickets. If you are feeling led to give financially to the mission team's efforts, please do so. My goal is to raise $2000 to cover the cost of my trip, with $1300 being due by October 20, 2011. Thus far $675.00 has been sponsored! That is so awesome! Missions trips like these are not possible without prayer and financial support from friends and family like you and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your sponsorships!

    I am so excited to see what the Lord is going to do for the people of Cambodia! Thank you for partnering with me along this journey.

               Thank you and God Bless!

                           Kim Spalding

The end of summer is looming as we prepare to ring in the next new season.

2011-08-02T22:08:00.000-07:00

All of us at Yellowstone in front of Old Faithful. What a super fun summer trip!

We have been off from school for a few months now. The girls and I needed the break, and we have used this break to the fullest doing all kinds of really fun things. However now, we are all getting a little tired. A little cranky, a little bossy. Ok, let's be serious. A LOT bossy!

It's time for us all to get back into school.

Slowly, slowly the wheels have started to turn in my sun exposed, play overloaded, television warped brain. I can almost here the squeak of the rusty wheel:-)

So, I am dusting off book shelves and books too for that matter. We have hardly opened a one this whole summer *gasp*

I am looking up paint colors on Home Depot's website to put a fresh coat of paint in the school room.

I am dreaming about workboxes and white boards and timelines.

I am planning first day of school activities and thinking up new ways to make it extra special for my Littles this year.

I am preparing to send big sister off to high school in a few weeks with volleyball tryouts around the corner, extra practices and registration days looming!

Soccer, tumbling, creative dance and swim...Oh my!

And we haven't even started school yet.

Truly, truly, my favorite time of year is the end of September, early October. I dream about those weeks when all this craziness is behind us and we are into the groove of school and activities, spending time in God's Word every day while we learn to walk with Him.

I love that season of hunkering down and settling in for the winter after playing hard outside and inside all summer. Summer is fun. Play is fun, but cozy autumn days by the fire with something yummy baking in the oven is just about the best thing ever.

So, eagerly I dream and I plan. I organize and I clean. I prepare for the coming year, praying over my children, my husband and all of our friends and family too. I thank God for this season of preparation and pray that I will use it wisely and not squander the time with idle worry and stress.

I will trust in the Lord for all of my needs and for those of my family. And I know that, although I dream and plan and organize and clean, I do this so that I may walk a little more by faith, knowing the Lord has it all figured out and I will be prepared to follow wherever he leads.

In Him,

Kim

my plans vs. His Plan

2011-05-24T08:36:00.000-07:00

"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29: 11- 13

I like to plan. I used to think it made me organized. However, now I understand that it makes me feel in control. Hm...

Funny thing about my plans: they often get "messed up". Of course by "messed up" what I really mean is that my plans don't always jive with God's plan. That's when things get "messed up".

I used to get very upset by a change in my plans. I would resist with all my strength and move on in my own direction determined that it was the right way, only to come up against wall after wall of resistance. Sometimes the Lord would allow it. He allowed me to have my way. Sometimes everything was fine, not great, not terrible. No harm came to me or my family. At least not that I could see right away. Other times, there was a great deal of pain and trama that took us a long time to recover from.

But here's the thing: I have never regretted "giving in" and leaning into God's plan for me and my family. I have never once regretted doing things His way instead of my way. Oh don't get me wrong, I have worried and fretted about it plenty! However, once I put my trust in the Lord and seek His will, there has always been peace, sureness and blessing.

I still make plans. A lot of them. however, over the years I am learning to listen to His voice. I recognize it more often now. Sometimes, I still get really invested in doing things my way without seeking His will. During those times, He is there. He sends friends and acquaintances to me to remind me of His will and to seek Him. He points me to His Word and reminds me of His plans for me and His love for me. Sometimes, despite all of His gentle nudging and guidance, I stubbornly try things my way and I fall flat on my face. When I seek Him and His forgiveness, He picks me up every time, loves and forgives me and shows me the way. Then I grow and mature in my love and faith in Him.

You see even when we fail (and I mean epic fail!) God loves us and uses those experiences to illuminate His love for us and His plans for us which are infinitely better than any plan we could come up with on our own.

I am so thankful for that!

In Him,

Kim

Graduation Day!

2011-04-24T00:00:00.000-07:00

"The earth is the Lord's and everything in it, the world , and all who live in it." Psalm 24:1

The Lord put on my heart a while ago to have a celebration at the end of our school year. And so today was our first ever Kindergarten Graduation Day! (We get to do it again next year with Tigger). It started out as this small little idea and then, well, it seems God had other plans for us:-)

Initially, I decided to have a graduation day for several reasons:

1. I needed some incentive to organized the school work the girls did all year long.
2. I wanted the girls to be able to see how much they have accomplished and grown.
3. I wanted them to share with the family all that they have done and are proud of.
4. I wanted them to know how proud Dad and I were of them.
5. It gave us closure for the year, so that now we are all ready to move on to the next thing.

To prepare, I went through all of their lessons and put them in a binder for each girl. I had started out doing this at the beginning of the year but got out of the habit and by the end of the year all of their lessons were paper clipped together and stuffed in the binders. Then I pulled out their best art work and put it up on the school room walls. We also had up all the words to remember badges and the memory verse for the year. I put up for each girl, their 7 days of creation art work, 100's chart, life cycle paperwork and few other things that reflected their work from the year.

Then, we invited the grandparents over, prayed, had brunch, and invited them to sit for the show. Oh, also this morning I sat down with the girls and we came up with a name for our homeschool that they love. This is something that has been on my heart all year to do. We chose Stars of Grace Academy. That was so exciting. For the first time in a long time both girls agreed completely. They want to make t-shirts this summer, How fun!

Winnie recited all her Words To Remember for the year (all 26 lessons), sang the Days of the Week song, the Months of the Year song, the B-I-B-L-E song and the Water Cycle song. Tigger was supposed to sing with her, but got cold feet at the last minute:-) This was so weird and unexpected. It really showed the maturity difference between the two girls and how far Winnie has come this year. At the beginning of the year I could hardly get her to speak up to just me when she was reciting things. Today she sang out loud and proud!

After the singing and me talking about My Father's World and how awesome it is, we let everyone walk around and view the girls work and look at their binders. The girls were so proud of all that they had accomplished, it was such a wonderful moment for Winnie. Her confidence soared, and she just seemed to grow up right before my eyes. sniff, sniff. It was kind of awesome and I am so thankful to God for allowing me the opportunity to homeschool my kiddos, teach them about His love for them and this beautiful world He has for us and about Jesus sacrifice for their salvation.

As I said at the beginning, I initially had my 5 reasons to hold a Graduation Day, but, again, God's plans for me and the girls were a little different. As usual, His plans involved our hearts instead of my task list. My heart is so full for my girls and our school, and so was my husbands. I love that he was there today, he signed their graduation diplomas, and considers himself the "Superintendent of Schools". It's been a hard road of several years of prayer to get to this point and I just want to hold on tight to it. At the same time, I also want to shout from the rooftops that God is amazing and so good and patient and awesome and loves us more that we can possibly know.

It was such a wonderfully sweet culmination of the year's work. My hope and prayer is that this is an encouragement to you. Maybe someone can use these ideas to create their own end of year celebration!

In Him,

Kim

For God's Glory

2011-03-15T22:50:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine stopped by the house tonight to drop off some items for our bible study tomorrow morning. She was supposed to bring them to the study, but found out that her favorite Aunt had passed away and my friend and her family are flying out to Chicago tomorrow morning last minute.

When she stopped by the house I was so thankful she was able to come in for a minute so we could talk. I listened to her, hugged her, let her cry and talk, and did my best to encourage her. It can be really hard to know what to say to someone who has lost a person close to them.

Then, God reminded me of my Dad. I lost him almost 7 years ago suddenly and it was devastating. I shared with my friend about my dad's death and how my mom, my brother and I all dealt with the loss. I shared with her my sadness at not knowing for sure about my dad's salvation because he and I had never spoken about it. I shared with her how we all laughed and reminisced about old times with dad at his funeral, and made every effort to continue talking about him even when it made us cry. I shared with her about how Pastor Roger did an alter call at my dad's funeral and a couple of hands raised. God was being glorified at my dad's funeral!

I asked my friend about her Aunt, their relationship, her mom and their relationship, her family and whether or not they new the Lord. I reminded her that God uses all thing to glorify Him. Then as we were talking, God showed me how He used my dad's death to glorify Him.

When my dad was alive, he and my mom only went to church when I was very young. After I turned 9, we moved and my parents never went back to church and my parents walked away from the Lord. I rarely spoke with my parents about God, even after I was married and my husband and I began going to church together. Our conversations were very surface level about God and church and mostly between my mom and I. I was a baby believer and pretty insecure about my knowledge of the Word and sharing it.

Then, my dad died. I dove deep into the Word as a way to cope with the loss and I shared everything I read with my mom and anyone who would listen. Every day mom and I spoke I would try to encourage her with something I had read in the bible or something I felt the Lord telling me.

A year and a half later my mom met a recently widowed man and they fell in love. He and I disagreed about God, and church and I stood my ground with my mom about them being unequally yoked. I prayed and had others praying about their relationship and asked mom to ask him to leave his church before she agreed to marry him. He agreed! However, he still held on to his beliefs. They were married soon after. I continued to pray.

Together they agreed to find a church they both loved. I prayed and God brought them to a lovely little church that preached the Good News about Jesus, just down the street from their house. They began attending and soon my mom became a member of the church. Her husband was not ready to renounce his previous church religion yet, but still continued to attend and grew to love the church that he and my mom went to together. The Holy Spirit was moving.

A few months ago my step-dad joined the church. I truly believe he is saved and knows the saving grace of Jesus. He is a very different man than he was 5 years ago. We talk about Jesus and the bible all the time. I love it!

My grandmother is also attending church with my mom after not attending church in years. She and my mom both attend weekly bible studies and are growing in their walk with the Lord. We are a totally different family than we were almost 7 years ago, and that is because the Lord took my dad home a little sooner than any of us expected, but right when He expected.

I shared all of this with my friend and it was she who pointed out all that God had done for my family since losing dad. I really hadn't seen it all put together until then. It took my breath away. He is so good.

My friend isn't sure where much of her family is at with their walk with the Lord right now, but she is sure of one thing: she will be talking about Jesus with them on this trip. She will be sharing how much He loves them, and maybe she will even take her older sister to church. God is already moving in my friends heart and I can't wait to see Him glorified.

Home Education

2011-03-08T07:17:00.000-08:00

I wanted to share a post a just read on A Heart Like Water, a blog I frequent from time to time. The quote is by John Holt. It is about home education and it really speaks to my heart on the matter.

"I don't see homeschooling as some kind of answer to badness of schools. I think that the home is the proper base for the exploration of the world which we call learning or education. Home would be the best base no matter how good the schools were. The proper relationship of the schools to home is the relationship of the library to home, or the skating rink to home. It is a supplementary resource." - John Holt

Have a blessed day!

Lesson 22: Ff Frog I Will Use My Tongue Wisely

2011-03-05T07:49:00.000-08:00

What a week! The Lord has given us many opportunities to practice our words to remember. We are a family of talkers. We process our thoughts and feeling verbally. So you can imagine the trouble we all get into on daily because we do not choose to use our tongues wisely.

We have been plugging along in school consistently since September with only the normal breaks in schedule: Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year. Praise the Lord everything has gone better than I ever expected. So much so, that we ended up way ahead of where I thought we would be at this time, which is great!

I am so thankful for the wiggle room in our schedule. The past 2 weeks we have really gotten off of our routine and therefore school has been taking longer than normal to get done. The reason?

I think it's several things.

1. It's been gray, cloudy, rainy, snowy, and cold since December with only a few days scattered throughout with some sun. We know we live in the Pacific Northwest and that this type of weather is to be expected up here; but we still get tired of it come March.

2. We worked hard the first 5 months of the year. Now we are all ready for a little break.

3. We are almost done and the girls and I are bored with the routine and are ready for something new!

Thankfully, we have the time now to relax and end the year in an easy-breezy fashion. Then we will take a break from formal school-type activities while I get reorganized for the next year. A good friend of mine has offered to help me organize our school room and gave me some great ideas (thank you Karen!) and now I am so excited to get started.

So these next few weeks we will be doing school, but we also will be focusing more on playtime, character building, and establishing good habits.

Blessings,
Kim

Butterfly and a new desk

2011-02-28T13:25:00.000-08:00

Last week was Lesson 21- Bb Butterfly. God Can Make Me New!

As mentioned in my previous post it was a really fun lesson and a fun week. We had family visit, snow, a field trip to Bob's Red Mill, and lots of fun learning about Butterflies and how we are made new in Christ.

Here are the girls being silly at Bob's Red Mill

Our tour guide showed them how wheat is threshed and winnowed.

Today we wrapped up butterfly week with a discussion about how God can make us new.

We will capture a caterpillar when Spring is here and hopefully get to watch one transform into a butterfly. But for now, our mummy cocoons, and drawings of the butterfly life cycle will have to do. The girls seemed to really enjoy this unit.

Sophia's Life Cycle diagram

Ava's Life Cycle diagram

Finally, Ava got a new 1st grader desk today. She is so happy and can now write more comfortably.

She likes having her own space and a place to keep her books and school supplies (they go inside the desk.)

Today we started our 22nd lesson: Ff Frog. More on that next week:-)

Blessings!
Kim

100 Days of School!

2011-02-23T17:04:00.000-08:00

Today we had our 100th day of school! What a fun day it was.

This week we are on Lesson 21: Bb Butterfly - God Can Make Me New. I think we may spend a few extra days on this lesson because the girls like it so much and there is a ton of information. We are learning about the life cycle of a butterfly, where they live, and what they eat.

We did a scavenger hunt yesterday. I wrote several words down on the white board that began with the letter Bb. Then told the girls to go and find these items around the house. Of course they turned it into a race:-) I loved that when they couldn't find an item on the list they improvised and found a different item that started with the letter Bb.

Here are some pictures of the fun things we have done so far this week, and of our 100th day activities.

No, Sophia is not a mummy. She is a caterpillar in a cocoon.

Here she is busting out of her cocoon

Ava Caterpillar feeling pretty silly, while Sophia Butterfly wrapped her cocoon.

Ava busting out of her cocoon!

Free your inner butterfly!!

Lakely is investigating the paper shreds.
Hmm...what to do with all the torn up TP?

Bury Mom!

When it started hailing outside we were inspired to...

Make 100 tissue snowballs and
put them in 10 piles of 10 snowballs inside:-)

Then, we had to...

get into position

For our snowball fight!!!

30 seconds of mayhem followed by 5 minutes to set up the fort.
Totally worth it!

Other 100th day activities were:

1. Counting 100 popcorn kernels by 2's, sorting them into piles of 10, then popping and eating them. (side note: 100 kernels = 1 rounded tablespoon. 400 kernels = 1/3 cup.)

2. They also counted out 100 dried beans and then glued the beans on a piece of paper in the shape of the number 100 (see picture at top of post.)

3. We ended our day with breakfast for dinner. That's right, we made the number 100 using poached eggs, bacon and pancakes. Yum!

**We will be continuing our Butterfly lesson and I will post about it next week. There are so many other fun activities that we have already done over the past few days that I would like to share and great books we have read.

Here is one final picture of the girls enjoying their popcorn and a cup of hot cocoa after the "snowball" fight:-)

Blessings!

My evangelists

2011-02-12T08:40:00.000-08:00

Let me start with this: I've never been comfortable evangelizing. At least not in the formal sense of the word. I think that is why I find what is going on with my girls so cool!

God amazes me every day in so many ways. Homeschooling my Littles provides me with an ongoing view of the way the Holy Spirit is working in their hearts and lives, every day with people they encounter along the way. Not only that, but the Lord is also opening my eyes so that I can see Him working in my oldest daughter's life as well.

Each week through our curriculum, My Father's World, my little girls learn more about God's character, His love for them, and Jesus' love for the whole world.

Each week, my girls go with me to where I work at a local athletic club. Two days/week I drop them off at the childcare area and then go and park my car and walk in by myself. One day/week we park at an off site employee lot and walk in together. It is during these walks that my girls have the opportunity to tell others about Jesus. And they do it with gusto!

Last week, we walked in with a wonderful lady. The girls asked her question after question. It went something like this:

Ava and Sophia, "Hi!"

My friend, "Hi girls. How are you today!"

Sophia, "Did you know that Jesus died for our sins?"

Ava, "Did you know that we can't hide from God?"

Sophia, "What church do you go to?"

My friend, "Well, I don't go to church."

Sophia, "Why? You should come to our church!"

My friend smiled and looked at me. I just smiled and shrugged:-)

The conversation continued along these same lines all the way into the building. I'm sure my friend will not soon forget that walk!

Yesterday, we again parked off site. As we were getting out of the car the girls spotted another coworker of mine. They squealed with delight and tripped over each other to run, give her a hug, and start in with the questions:

Ava and Sophia, "Hi!"

My friend, "Well, good morning girls! "

Ava, " I like your flower." My friend had a purple flower in her hair.

My friend, "Why thank you Ava. It's my daughter's. I'm borrowing it."

Sophia, " Did you know that when we get grumpy, that makes Satan happy?"

My friend, "What was that?" glancing at me.

(Sophia repeated herself more clearly)

My friend, "Oh really?"

Ava, "Mm hm. Satan, likes it when we argue. We don't want to make Satan happy. Satan was an angel. He thought he was better than God. No one is better than God. God kicked him out of heaven and a bunch of other bad angels went with him."

Sophia, "Is your house built on rock or sand?"

My friend, "What do you mean Sophia?"

Sophia, "I want my house built on rock. Then it will be STRONG" she shows her muscle arms.

Sophia, "I don't want it built on sand. Then it will go CRASH!"

My friend, "Ok Sophia." With a grin she looks over their heads at me. I smile and shrug.

After I had been at work a while, My friend came up to me and said, "Julie (another coworker), just told me she is feeling grumpy today. I told her that Sophia said when we are grumpy that makes Satan happy and we don't want to do that!"
***

My oldest, Paige, recently had an opportunity to go serve the homeless community in our city. It was an amazing experience that God has been preparing her for her entire life. Her maturity and willingness to wash their feet and listen to them talk just blew my mind. She was able to see them as people, just like us. She was not afraid. She was not grossed out. She was excited to be there and to wash feet. She said that was why she came.

God's timing is always perfect and this was no exception. On the way to the event, Paige confided in me some struggles she was having. It was really hard for me to hear what she was saying because it broke my heart and surprised me. I didn't have a lot of time to react because we were almost at our destination, but God kept me calm, and allowed me to only show her love and concern. Then I sent her out into the world to serve others.

When she came back from this experience, she was changed. It opened her eyes up to how good she has it and how much other people suffer. God used this experience to ignite an ember in her that had burning low for some time. Paige wants to be a doctor, she wants to help people. We are not sure yet, what that will look like when she grows up, but this experience confirmed to all of us that she is on the right track.

Our oldest's journey has not always been easy on any of us. She's the first pancake. All the decisions we have made for her have been firsts. Along with that comes a little fear and trepidation. We always want what is best for her, and we want desperately for her to grow up and decide to choose for herself to know and love the Lord.

I know that she is of an age now, where that choice is hers. We cannot make it for her. We have done all that we can to make sure she knows Jesus, knows His character, His love for her, His heart for her. Now I have to turn her over to Him. After all, she's been His all along.

My role has changed subtly. I'm still mom. Dad's still dad-the head of the house. The leader. However, now we are slowly letting her make her own choices with our guidance, but not always our insistence. She has to grow the muscles of discernment, faith, prayer, turning to God on her own. She is still pretty weak, but she's getting stronger. I can see it.

Several wonderful women have reminded me to pray for my oldest. I recently heard that message again loud and clear. I dusted off a book a friend gave me a while ago called, "Praying God's Will for My Daughter" by Lee Roberts. It is a book of simple, straightforward prayers sorted by topic. I have found it to be very helpful and effective.

And so I find myself in this new season. Feeling very blessed and loved by God. He doesn't have to show me all of this, but He does it anyway because He loves me. I am a little afraid. It's all that unknown business that keeps me coming back to Jesus, on my knees in prayer. I know He's got us. I know He loves us. And really, that's all I need to know right now.

Just ask my girls.

"Goodbye" "Hello"

2011-02-03T08:37:00.000-08:00

Last week, Miss Ava announced that we were having a "Backwards" day. She put on her hoody backwards and was trying to walk around backwards everywhere. It was funny and led to many an interesting mishap when she would pull the hood of her hoody up over her face.

Yesterday, she announced that it was "Opposite Day". I was instructed to say the opposite of what we normally say. So, when they came inside from playing I heard,

"Goodbye Mom!"

And I was supposed to respond,

"Goodbye!"

Then when they left to go outside again we said,

"Hello!"

Oh boy. It didn't take long for my brain to hurt.

This was Phia's outfit for opposite day. I think she was going for the opposite of matching:-)

Hello!

Kangaroo's-Week 17-I am safe in God!

2011-01-30T07:49:00.000-08:00

Did you know that an adult Kangaroo can hop up to 30 feet? That's one BIG hop! We finished up our Kangaroo week with a hopping competition.

The girls, armed with colored chalk, took turns hopping from a standstill and then marking their spots. Each of them hopped about 3 feet.

Then they tried running jumps to see how much farther they could go. It turns out about to be about 4 1/2 feet.

We then measured 30 feet, which was all the way across our street!

Next, we played a rousing game of hopscotch (still hopping:-))

We learned that Kangaroo babies are called Joey's and that a Kangaroo momma keeps her Joey safe in her pouch. We asked, "Would a Joey say to it's momma, ' Momma, I don't want to be safe in your pouch' I want to run around and do whatever I want. I am not afraid of the wild animals!'?" We agreed that no, if a Joey could talk, he would never say that. He would want to be safe in his momma's pouch.

We discussed how sometimes we say to God, "God, we don't want to follow your rules. We want to run around and do whatever we want. "

Then the girls and I discussed what can happen when we do not obey God's rules. When we are not IN God, we can get hurt, or hurt other people with our harsh words and actions. God has rules in place to keep us safe because He loves us. When we are IN God's Word daily, we are safe. Just like the momma Kangaroo has rules for the baby Joey to keep him safe because she loves him and wants was best for him. A baby Joey is safest when it is in it's momma's pouch.

The girls learned that God loves us and knows what is best for us, and that we are safe when we are in God.

Now, on to Week 18 and Zebras!

Listening To God in Difficult Times-Bible Study

2011-01-24T15:17:00.000-08:00

Last, year around this time I received a phone call from my dear, dear friend Lainie. She told me that she felt the Lord calling her to do a Kay Arthur bible study of the book of Hebrews and that she had come across a few friends who felt they were being called as well. She then asked me if I would like to join her.

Although God had not specifically said to me to go study Hebrews, I was definitely feeling led to do a bible study, so I happily said yes!

What followed was almost 6 months of massive spiritual laundry getting thorough sorted, washed and dried, folded and put away- in me. It truly was a life changing event. Lots and lots of tears, frustration, confusion, more tears, then, slowly realization, clarity, renewal, refreshment, and pure joy and elation! It was that dramatic. I have several witnesses who can attest to the process, and I was not alone in my journey. Everyone was deeply affected by this study.

Fast forward to the present: January 2011 arrives and I receive an email from my dear, dear friend Lainie. She tells me that she has been feeling pulled to do a Jeremiah bible study called, "Listening To God in Difficult Times" and would I care to join her?

Hmmm...let's see. This time, I hesitated for about a minute. I now know what "doing a bible study" really means. It's not just sitting down and filling in the answers in a workbook. It's the Lord doing an amazing work in my life. And I can feel my Lord saying, "Kim, it's that time again." And to be quite honest, I am full of nervous anticipation!

It's one thing to stumble blindly into the tempest and come out the other side closer to God and a better person. It's quite another thing to see the tempest coming and knowingly walk straight for it, all the while remembering the battle that raged from the last one.

However, having been through it once, I have a deeper understanding of how much my God Loves me. He is true, and full of grace. He knows where I am at and what I need and what the others in this bible study need and where they are at. Although it might be a rough ride, he is right there with me the whole way, holding my hand and keeping me steady, leading me through the darkness. And in the end, He is there to dust me off, hug me, love me and bless me so that He can use me to bless others and show others who my Jesus is.

So, I know that if God sends Miss Lainie-pants to come a knockin' on my door with a bible study itch, then most likely, I'm itchin for a bible study too and we are both going through it together!

It all starts up again tonight. I am so excited to see what God is going to do and to see the Holy Spirit at work.

Blessings,
Kim

Decision made

2011-01-17T14:13:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago, Rob and I were driving home from one of our outings without the kids (gasp!) when I asked him his thoughts about school for next year. There was a short pause then,

Rob: "I thought we had already decided this."
Me: "We did? What was the decision?"
Rob: "That you would continue to homeschool, until you didn't want to do it anymore."
Me: "Really? Are you sure?"
Rob: "Yes, Is that ok with you?"
Me: "Absolutely!"

So, it looks like we are in this for the long haul, and I couldn't be happier. I know that there will be many challenges along the way, but as long as Rob and I are united then i know we are in God's will and therefore, under His covering and all is well with our little world!

Now, to finish MFWK. We just started Lesson 16 /Pp/ Penguins. We talked about how the daddy penguin takes care of the baby penguin for such a long time without food and protects him from the cold. The girls were really struck by the sacrifice of the father for the child. What an awesome segue into how much our heavenly Father loves us and that He sacrificed His son for us! He loves us that much!

Thank you God for the opportunity to teach my girls at home about your love for them. Amen.

Cookies and The 12 Days of Christmas

2010-12-20T06:09:00.000-08:00

8 Maid's A Milking, 9 Ladies Dancing...

This weekend we were invited to a cookie exchange party with our Lifegroup friends (a small couples group that meets once a week from our church). It was for the mommies and children to come with cookies to trade and decorate sugar cookies while we were there. The daddies all got together and went bowling. My girlfriend who planned this shindig also planned for the kids to perform the 12 Days of Christmas with each child being assigned a "day". What a cute and fun idea!

This was a focused group. They take their cookie decorating very seriously!

The big girls hard at work.

The participants were 2 1/2 to 7 years old. I was amazed at how all of the children were so polite, using "please pass the..." and "thank you.." regularly. Also, no one had to be reminded to use their inside voices. What an awesome group!

Being a part of this small group has blessed us richly. I am so thankful that God saw fit to put us all together with our unique giftings, abilities, and experiences to share with each other. Not only do we get to hang out and do a lot of fun things together (the Fondue party, Operation Christmas Child, summer vacations, movie nights, trunk or treating and many others), we also have an opportunity to grow spiritually, discuss God's word, and lift each other up through real life challenges and celebrations. Our children are growing up with friends who love the Lord.

How awesome is that?

Thank you Jesus!

Halfway there!

2010-12-16T19:28:00.000-08:00

We just finished week 13 and I realized we are halfway through our school year already! It feels really good to see all that Ava and Sophia have accomplished in such a short time. At this rate we will be finished with Kindergarten by the first part of April. I'm not sure what we will do when we finish up. Maybe get a head start on first grade? Rob and I will be praying for God's direction for our girls and school for next year.

I feel the Lord nudging me to move Ava along faster through the worksheet portion of the curriculum. She just really wants to do more. So, I am going to let her work at her own pace with my supervision for a while. I will be watching carefully to make sure she is doing quality work and that we aren't skipping over anything and that she is having fun. Lord willing, my work schedule will be one day less this next session starting in January and I will be working in the afternoons instead of the mornings. The plan is to switch to a morning K program because that is when I feel at my best, and I want to give the best of me to my kids, not my job.

Sophia has suddenly taken an interest in reading. She is sounding out the short words like "sun", "can" "cut" "mom" "dad" etc. She's been sounding them out over Ava's shoulder for weeks, but hasn't wanted to do any of the worksheets until the last couple of days. What fun it is to watch her eyes light up when she realizes that she is reading!

Here are a few pictures from some of our latest projects. Blessings to you this Christmas season.

During week 12 we learn that Jesus Died for our Sins. One way for the girls to remember this is to remember that in the Old Testament people used to sacrifice animals like goats to recieve forgiveness for their sins. One of the activities for the week was to try goat milk. We did. Sophia loved it. Ava- not so much:-) Rob didn't want to try it so, sneaky me, I slipped him some when he thought it was cow's milk. He wasn't a fan either:-)

Week 13 we were back to cow's milk again as we learned that God's Word Helps Us Grow!

One of the activities was to make butter from whipping cream.

We poured 1 pint of whipping cream into a mason jar. Screwed the lid on tight and started shaking! It was supposed to only take about 20 minutes, however it was more like 40 minutes before it became butter.
We then drained off the whey and what was left was yummy sweet butter.

We toasted some amazing Trader Joe's organic whole grain bread and went to work spreading our soft butter and some raspberry preserves.

Yum! It tastes great and we all took part in making it. What a great lesson for the girls!

Also this week the girls spent some time counting buttons and writing the number 13. They found that it took a lot more than 13 buttons to cover up the number 13 that they had written.

In other family news this week: Big sister Paige had her Christmas piano performance. She looked so pretty in her new dress and sounded great playing her Christmas music for the retirement home nearby. It was a lovely day.

It's Thanksgiving already!

2010-11-24T20:49:00.001-08:00

We are about 12 weeks into our school year and loving every minute of it!

School has been a complete success. We have had good days and not so good days, but all work has been completed, the girls are learning, and we have fun (most of the time). I am constantly in awe of all that God can accomplish when I am willing to follow His lead. The Littles have bonded and have become friends. Pooh now takes the initiative to help teach Tigger when she needs extra help.

We are learning about God's Creation. What a fun 2 weeks that was! Here are a couple of pictures of the end result:

Also, during our first week of school the girls made plaster casts of their handprints and painted them.
Week 1: We moved on to learning about seeds and the Sun and how Jesus is the Light of the world.
Week 2: Then we learned about the Moon and how We are the Light of the world. We studied the phases of the moon and discussed reflecting light.

Week 3: We found out that I Will Live and Grow in Jesus. We went outside and took a good look at a huge tree in our front yard and discussed how the leaves on the tree grow and stay healthy because they remain part of the tree. Then we picked a leaf off of the tree, brought it into the house to see how it would do apart from the tree. Over the next few days we watched that leaf whither and die. What a wonderful picture of what happens to us spiritually when we choose to be apart from Jesus.

Week 4: If I Stay in Jesus I will have much fruit. This was a difficult concept for them to understand. How do people produce fruit? What does it look like? What a wonderful opportunity for the girls to learn about the Fruit of the Spirit! God provided many opportunities for all of us to practice "Bearing fruit" too. Amen!

Week 5: God Takes Good Care of Me. We studied birds and their different types of nests. We tried to make our own nests, we spotted nests on a nature walk and drew pictures of nests.

Week 6: I don't quit I persevere. This was a big turning point for us. It seems that this week the girls and I got our rhythm going. What fun we had learning about turtles and reading the story of the Tortoise and the Hare. Since this week, the girls have both been able to remember all of the their memory verses and have done a much better job of applying them to every day life.

Week 7: God Made Us Wonderful! We spent this time reading stories about our 5 senses and friendship.
Week 8: Big and small God made us all. Dinosaurs! We went out and measured the length from the biggest dinosaur's head to it's tail out in the field by our house. Wow it sure was big! I had a hard time getting both girls in on the picture. It was also a lot of fun to read about dinosaurs from a biblical perspective.

Week 9: Even the Octopus praises the Lord. They were fascinated by the octopus and all the other ocean animals and how special each one is and how they praise the Lord merely by doing what he created them to do.

Week 10: Jesus Gives My Spirit Living Water to Drink. What a fun week! The girls have learned about the water cycle. They've learned a wonderful song that incorporates all the key components of the water cycle: Evaporation, condensation, and precipitation. We also discuss collection of water into rivers, lakes and oceans.

Our water week provided us with many different science experiments. We learned about surface tension, how water takes on the shape of the container it is in, and how to make a paper boat move across the water using dish soap. They are learning the difference between solids, liquids, and gases.

Along with all of these fun activities the girls are learning to read, write, add and subtract. They are learning the months or the year and days of the week in both English and Spanish. We have gone on many field trips including a tour of Trader Joe's, a trip to the pumpkin patch, and a trip to a gymnastics studio.

So, that is what we have been up to the past 12 weeks or so. I am so thankful for the opportunity we have to be together this year for school. I don't know how many years the Lord has planned for us to do this, so I am doing my best to enjoy and appreciate every moment of this time together.

Getting ready for Fall

2010-08-18T13:00:00.000-07:00

In a few weeks we will begin our latest journey. Homeschooling the Littles! We are all excited to start and have been preparing for a long time. Little steps along the way so as not to overwhelm or over do. Lord willing, we will be all ready to go by our first day.

After much thought and prayer, we chose My Father's World for our curriculum this year. It is such a sweet Christian curriculum. You can check it out here.

This will by my first year teaching Kindergarden. I have been really excited to teach it to Pooh (5 1/2) . She is looking forward to starting school and asks about it often. She has been helping me set up our school area, organize books and supplies and move furniture around.

Tigger will be following along doing K with us, but at her own pace. I am following MFW's recommendations about how to do school with a 4 year old and a K child. One of the many wonderful things about this program is that it adapts so well to teaching multiple children. Tigger is not really sure what school is going to look like, but as I have been preparing she has been watching with interest and has started doing some writing and more "school type" of play. It's so cute.

Praying for a smooth start to a new year!

Pictures!

2010-01-24T15:19:00.000-08:00

Ok, I know it's taken me months to get these on here, but for those of you who care or wanted to know, here are some of the pictures of the painting we did inside.

The not so "Little" painting project

2009-11-22T22:35:00.001-08:00

Holy Moly I'm about all painted out! I've spent the past 2 weeks painting my entire downstairs, vaulted ceilinged entryway and living room, kitchen, hallway, family room, dinette and stairway.

It's totally worth the aching back, neck and feet and the cobwebs in my hair from climbing up high enough to feel my ears pop in order to paint those "hard to reach places" that only I will see.

You see, we've lived in this home for 4 1/2 years. When we moved in we had a 5 month old baby, a 9 year old daughter, a dog and a cat. Six months after moving in I found out that I was preggo with daughter number 3! Surprise, surprise! Who knew? Anyway, that's another story for another post.

My point is that over the past 4 1/2 years I've been a little busy with giving birth, raising kids, homeschooling, working, and trying to keep this ginormous house clean and the yard covered in leaf dropping trees orderly. It has only been in the past 6 months that I finally was able to THINK about maybe covering up the dingy, gray/white walls with something that reflected our family more accurately. You know, lively and energetic, yet warm and cuddly.

So, a few months ago I put myself to the test. I purchased 6 paint samples and painted them all on my living room wall. That way, I knew I would have to choose one and get it done before Thanksgiving when everyone would be here. There would be NO WAY that I would have people over with 6 different colored squares of paint on my wall.

Well, the weeks passed and I found it very difficult to make a decision. I purchased more paint samples. Then I painted them on my kitchen wall. There it sat for a few more weeks. More paint samples were purchased and painted on pretty much every wall in our entire downstairs area...oh, upstairs too, I almost forgot! It was a lot of colors, and not helpful at all.

Eventually, my mom called and said she was coming over with ladders and would help me paint November 9th. So, she informed me, I should probably pick a paint color. She said anything would be amazing compared to the dingy, depressing, gray/white that I was currently living with. Well, that was just the encouragement I needed!

Here are the colors in the downstairs rooms of my house: the kitchen is Spanish Olive green, living room has Cinnamon Stick on one wall (a brown/red), Corn Silk on two walls, and Crispy Ginger Ale on the 4th wall (basically different shades of yellow). The entryway is painted in the same Crispy Ginger Ale and the hallway and dinette are painted in the Corn Silk. There is an accent wall that has the Spanish Olive green opposite the kitchen. Then the Family room is painted Dusky Gold on the Fireplace wall and Crisp Autumn Leaves (brown/orange) on the TV/bar wall.

I am now a fearless painter. I cannot wait to do the upstairs hallway, master bedroom and girls bathroom!

We are all going through a bit of color shock, but it is still so wonderful and invigorating living in color instead of black and white! Everyone is invited to come and visit:-)

Thankfulness at Thanksgiving: New Traditions

2009-11-09T09:03:00.000-08:00

This year I went on line looking for ideas to better incorporate a feeling a Thankfulness into our Thanksgiving Traditions. Thanksgiving for us has mostly been about family, friends, getting together and enjoying each others company and eating a ton of food.

This is all good stuff, for sure, however, as my girls get older, and are arguing more, I felt like this year we needed to spend more time focusing on being thankful for the everyday things.

Thankfully my search brought me to this really cute website Sugardoodle.net. Here, I found a fun and easy way to daily remind my girls to be thankful for what they have and to show their thankfulness with actions. Oh Happy Day!

(also, I want to add that it took very little effort or craftiness on my part which I was extremely Thankful for!)

At the Sugardoodle.net main page, type in "Thankful Thanksgiving" in the search field on the upper left hand side of the page. The Thanksgiving Countdown idea is number 3. There are other wonderful ideas here as well.

Have a wonderful day!

Blessings,
Kim

Look at my beautiful preteen!

2009-11-09T08:40:00.000-08:00

After about 2 years of consultations and check ups, the day finally arrived!

Here she is before. All smiles and excited!
.

Here she is during...Not so much with the smiles, but still excited!

And here she is after! Ta da! Still smiling, but *ouch* it hurts a little more than she expected. Still excited though!

I think it is interesting how getting braces is looked at now as a right of passage for kids. Something many of them look forward to with great anticipation and excitement. When I was her age, it was something we looked forward to with great dread and a little fear. So funny!

Hello again!

2009-11-01T07:53:00.000-08:00

It's been a long time since I've posted, so I'm not sure who is left out there that might actually read this! Life has changed a lot in the past 6 months. My focus has shifted somewhat, the kids have all gotten bigger, my husband has a new job, and I have an additional job. Lots of exciting things going on in the Hundred Acre Wood!

However, one of the most recent exciting events to happen around here lately is that little Whinnie has lost her 2 front teeth! One right after the other! They have been loose for quite a while...I mean REALLY loose. The other night Whinnie came up to me in the kitchen and asked,

"Mom, can I have a paper towel... puhleeese?"

me,

"Sure hon, here you go."

Whinnie,

"Thanks mom"

Then a few minutes later she walks up to me all excited and says,

"Look, my tooth came out!"

me,

"What? Did you pull it out yourself?"

Whinnie,

"Well, Dad helped me..."

Apparently, my husband was walking by the bathroom and saw her trying to pull her own tooth out. He stopped and watched for a minute and then asked her if she wanted him to help her. She said, "Ok" and stuck her chin out so he could get a good grip, and out the tooth popped! It hardly bled and she was SO brave!

She's only 4 1/2 and she's already lost her first 2 teeth. The permanent teeth have started coming in too. They grow up so fast!

Tomatoes, and cucumbers, and peas, oh my!

2009-04-29T07:20:00.000-07:00

For the past few weeks we have been working on relocating our garden for this year and getting it planted. Unfortunately, between the rainy weather and various trips and activities we've had, it has been a s l o w process.

We had what we lovingly referred to as "the mound" in the sunniest corner of our yard. At one point it had pretty plants and flowers all over it, but a year or so ago, we decided to dismantle the mound because our young children could not resist playing on it and the backside of the mound was pretty steep.

Since then, we have gradually been ripping out plants and moving dirt a wheel barrow load at a time. Slow and steady.

We finally got it as flat as we wanted it (which is actually not flat at all but is sufficient for our purposes).

Next we had to move our two existing raised beds across the yard. We did that last weekend. We also had three small dresser drawers that my mom gave us to repurpose as raised beds, so we set those up as well and filled them all with mulch.

After a trip to Home Depot we filled all the beds with a variety of vegetable plants and bordered them with yellow marigolds.

We are still planning to place hazelnut shells or rock around the beds to clean it up and keep the snails and slugs out, but it's starting to take shape!

It's raining again. The plants are loving all of the water! It looks like we got them in just at the perfect time. Now we wait...

I'll post pictures soon...

Kim

The Kim Chronicles-A journey from Depression and Anxiety to Health and Happiness- Part 2

2009-04-17T22:52:00.001-07:00

In my last post, I talked about my history of depression and anxiety. In this post, I will share more about the foods I was raised on with the thought that these foods were healthy choices, and how in truth, these foods can contribute to depression, anxiety, and PMS.

A couple of weeks ago, I was chatting with a good friend of mine about this book she turned me on to called Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon. It's a cookbook, but SO much more. It's really quite amazing how this book and one other called Traditional Foods Are Your Best Medicine by Ronald F. Schmid, N.D. have completely transformed the way I think about food. What began as a desperate attempt to save my sanity, and my relationship with my husband and children, has now turned into baby steps toward a healthier way of thinking about food, making meals and eating. A total paradigm shift is in the works here, and I am amazed at the changes I have seen take place in me during only a few short weeks. In order to better see the big picture, let me tell you a little bit about myself.

I have been dieting and eating primarily lowfat, nonfat, sugar free, convenience foods for most of my life. I was raised on lowfat, sugar free foods (along with fresh fruits and vegetables) because, at the time, that was considered a healthy way of eating. All of my adult life I have shopped with one primary goal in mind: Always purchase the lowfat, fat free, reduced sugar, low sodium, diet version of whatever product I'm buying if possible. I thought that was the healthier choice. Although my weight has been relatively stable, I have also always felt like I was overweight and needed to work out more, eat less calories and fat and just plain be in better shape.

As I discussed in my previous post, I have struggled with mild to moderate depression and anxiety, and severe PMS for as long as I can remember. I took Lexapro for anxiety for about 6 months and noticed moderate improvement. However, the side effects were not fun so it just wasn't worth it to me. I was willing to live with my anxiety in order to not be subject to the side effects of the drug. So, the years went by. I gave birth to 3 beautiful daughters. I became less able to handle my depression and anxiety on my own through exercise and diet and the walls started to close in on me. It happened gradually. My darling husband and I went from being great communicators and loving partners to simply coexisting as roommates most of the time. My erratic behavior, non-existent sex drive, mood swings, intense PMS symptoms and a menstrual cycle that would last a short 20 days took its toll on us. My husband began to close himself off to me emotionally. He still tried, but our communication was strained and I could feel myself disconnecting bit by bit.

Sounds pretty dismal doesn't it? Honestly, I didn't think it was bad at all until nearly 14 years had gone by and I saw myself in pictures, at least the few pictures I could find with me in them. My smile always looked tired, ragged and strained.

Then, a day came when I decided that I had to do something. Life was short and right then, I didn't feel any passion toward my husband, my kids were driving me crazy, and I didn't know what else to do. So, I called my doctor and made an appointment. My plan was to get on some good antidepressants. I went in for the appointment and for some reason (God) they had scheduled me with my old midwife. She could not prescribe an antidepressant, but she did notice that my vitamin D test taken a year earlier showed that my vitamin D was very low. She asked if I was taking a supplement.

Nope. I hate taking pills of any kind.

She then informed me that low vitamin D can directly affect depression and anxiety. It also, can increase my risk of dying from any number of cancers. So, she said, the first step might be to start taking a minimum of 1000 iu's a day. That seemed like a large dose to me since the multivitamin collecting dust in my cabinet only had 400 iu's of vitamin D and said that was 100% of the recommended daily allowance. She said, actually, I could take as much as 4000 iu's a day. Wow, I had no idea!

Taking a vitamin D supplement sounded a lot better to me than taking an antidepressant or anti anxiety medicine. So, I went over to my local grocery store and in the health food section I found a fabulous chewable vitamin D supplement made by Rainbow Light called Sunny Gummies. Yum! They taste like sugary, lemony, gummy bears filled with sunshine. Each delicious drop of sunshine contains 1000iu's of vitamin D. It couldn't hurt to double up, so I take 2000iu's per day now.

As it turns out, that was a life changing decision. Within a week I was feeling noticeably lighter, happier, less grumpy and stressed. I was able to react more appropriately to stressful situations and my attitude toward my husband and children was much better. All that within a week. Within two weeks I literally felt like I had woken up from a long, foggy sleep. It had been years since I had felt that good.

During that time, I also purchased a juicing machine. I had read that drinking fresh fruit and vegetable juice on a regular basis is really good for you. Juicing breaks down the cell walls of the fruit or vegetable making its vitamins and nutrients easier for our bodies to absorb.

After juicing for a few days, I felt energized. I wasn't as hungry throughout the day, and was sleeping better at night.

Another unexpected bonus that came about from these two small changes was that my monthly cycle lengthened. Right away! The very first month it was 27 days! The second month it was 25 days. That is amazing. I've never had cycles that long. In addition, my PMS is markedly reduced. I still feel a little down a few days before I start, but that's it. Sounds good to me!

A couple of weeks after I started taking Vitamin D and juicing, my friend Lainie told me that she had found someone to get raw milk and organic eggs from. Hm, I was intrigued. At that time, I was already reading Traditional Foods Are Your Best Medicine by Ronald F. Schmid, N.D. It had opened my eyes to the fact that pretty much everything I ate was contributing to my depression, anxiety, yo-yo weight, allergies, illnesses, acne and poor vision. Specifically, the lack of good quality fat, protein, veggies, and grains was the problem. What jumped out at me, was that it said I should be drinking only Raw Whole Milk and dairy products made from Raw Whole Milk.

Wow. Wouldn't I get really, really fat? Would I have a heart attack? I've been told my entire life that whole milk is the enemy. The idea of raw milk wasn't a new one to me. I had considered that before, but not whole milk.

This was going to take a major paradigm shift. After talking to my husband about it and receiving a shrug and an "ok" from him, I began buying raw milk and organic eggs from the farm. It took a few days for my family to adjust to the different flavor and texture. My middle daughter went on a bit of a milk strike for a couple of weeks. However, now we LOVE raw whole milk. Whenever we run out and have to buy pasteurized milk at the store, everyone notices the difference and says they miss the farm milk.

Yay!

We are on the road to health!

Kim

Grace

2009-04-14T22:02:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, I was chatting with my good friend Lainie about the kids, food, God, and life. I was sharing with her how Winnie is a rule follower and does what she is told...most of the time. She doesn't cause a lot of problems and in general is a joy to be around. She wants to please others, and likes to do things to help out. As far as our children go, she's been the easiest to raise, so far. I hadn't really thought about how I should pray for her.

My wise friend Lainie pointed out that, when I pray for Winnie, I should keep in mind that she may struggle with Grace.

That insight has been on my mind ever since.

Winnie is a lot like me. I'm a people pleaser, rule follower, hard worker, do what I'm told, kinda girl. I struggle with Grace. I struggle with believing that God's Grace truly does include and extend to me. I am so hard on myself, and I can see that Winnie and Roo too, are also very hard on themselves. I know first hand, the pain and happiness that comes from being a rule follower, list maker, task master. I know where I excel, and where I fall short.

God gave me beautiful, intelligent, amazing girls... who are like me. I now know exactly how to pray for them.

Blessings,
Kim

The Kim Chronicles-A journey from Depression and Anxiety to Health and Happiness- Part 1

2009-04-14T07:51:00.000-07:00

Before I begin my story, here is a snapshot of what my diet has looked like for most of my life.

Skim, store brand milk
Margarine
White Flour
Table salt
Refined sugar
Sweet n low
Fat Free coffee creamer
Coffee, Coffee, Coffee
Processed Cheese, and processed foods in general
Reduced fat Breads
Bagels
Honey Nut Cheerios,
Oatmeal
Fruit and Veggies (not organic)
Chicken, ground beef, pork and a teeny bit of fish (not organic)
Coffee, big time!
Cookies, brownies, and Ice cream

This isn't everything I ate, but I think it provides a good picture. Now, here is my story.
**********************************************************************************
When I sit back and try to pinpoint when I began feeling depressed, I have to go back many, many years. With difficulty, I struggle to remember a time when I didn't feel a little depressed or anxious from time to time. I know I felt that way in high school, and middle school and the later part of elementary school. However, before fourth grade, I don't recall feeling this way.

Fourth grade stands out because that was the year my family moved to a new town. I was devastated. It took me such a long time to adjust, make new friends, and fit in. It was during this time that I began to feel depressed and anxious. It was also the summer after fourth grade that I began to menstruate. I was 9.

To my parents and friends, I don't think I appeared depressed or anxious. Especially not when I was young. Then in high school, my moodiness was just chalked up to hormones and the stress that CAN BE the high school experience. I was a cheerleader, involved in drama and singing, ran track and maintained a low B average all the way through high school. I was a pretty good kid. I rarely got into trouble and tried to do the right thing. However, I was constantly in fear. Fear of letting my parents down, my teachers down, my friends down, not being good enough, pretty enough, popular enough; fear controlled my life. My close group of friends were all very outgoing, smart, confident, funny girls. I didn't always feel like I fit in, but I tried not to let it show. My primary objective was to be liked.

College was the same way. Depression and anxiety were a major part of my life. Chronic dieting and a poor self image were also a big part of who I was. Again, I'm sure if you asked my friends and family what they thought of me back then, they would describe an outgoing, friendly, health conscious person who cared about others. Inside though, I was very insecure, unsure of myself and my decisions, and battling with the fear of letting others down.

After college, I got married and we moved to Coeur d'Alene, Idano to start our lives together. As exciting as that was, it was also very stressful. I found it incredibly difficult to make new friends and relied heavily upon my sister-in-law, who lived in the town we moved to, for support and friendship. I felt isolated and unsure of who I was. During the long, cold, snowy winters I was depressed and gained weight. Then spring would come and I'd be ecstatic and diet and exercise to lose the 10 pounds or so that I had gained.

I was told I had "seasonal depression" and my doctor offered to prescribe an anti anxiety medicine. I decided not to take him up on that. I had always been opposed to taking medication and felt that I needed to just muscle my way through it. Besides, as long as I could exercise regularly, I was fine. I also didn't see myself as depressed. It's funny because when I think back on those years now, I think of them as some of the best years of my life. I tend to gloss over and forget this struggle that was going on in the background.

During our second year in Idaho, we decided to have a baby. We got pregnant easily, and my pregnancy went well. Nine months later I delivered an 8lb 14 oz bouncing baby girl. It was a wonderful time. And yet, it was also during this time that my depression and anxiety became more than I could handle. My darling girl was colicky, and had a huge appetite. As she grew, she developed a very serious disposition and suffered from chronic ear infections throughout her first year of life. Lack of sleep, maintaining a full time work schedule, and taking care of a fussy baby was taking it's toll on me.

To regain some sense of control, I exercised a lot, ate an extremely low fat, bland diet, took diet pills and did all I could to get back to my pre-pregnancy body. My husband and I also started attending church during this time. As wonderful as that was, it was also stressful for me because I was forced to meet new people. I was again the "new girl" and on the outside looking in. It was terrifying. Thankfully, I had one good friend who went to that church. I depended on her for support. I hated not being more in control of my situation, but I was frozen by the fear of rejection. Irrational as it was, it was very real to me at the time.

I did my best not to let on that I was struggling. I volunteered at church, my husband and I went on retreats with the young married's group, I even did a class on how to be more organized (which I felt completely unqualified to do). We eventually made friends and felt as though Couer d'Alene was home. Then after almost 5 years, my parents moved to Portland, OR and we felt God telling us that the time had come to live closer to family. So, in just 2 months time, we packed up our belongings, put our house on the market and moved to Portland.

This move wasn't as dramatic because we were moving someplace where we already new some people. We had friends who lived here, in addition to my parents, so the risk was minimal. Even still, the first year, was terribly stressful. We were living in a tiny apartment, paying rent and paying our housepayment because our home in Idaho didn't sell. It took over 6 months for our home to sell. I know in today's market that isn't very long, but back in 2000 it seemed like forever.

I was still a chronic dieter. Trying to cut calories, reduce my fat, exercise more and eat less was a way of life for me. I was irritable, stressed out, my skin looked terrible, my hair was thin. My husband and I both look back at this first year in Portland as the most difficult year in our marriage. Our daughter was 2 1/2 and extremely strong willed. She was in trouble at day care all the time, and driving us crazy at home. We had a difficult time finding a new church home, so during the first year we were church shopping. Trying someplace new out every few weeks. I'm pretty friendly and outgoing, but this was still difficult for me.

A year later, we had sold our Idaho house, purchased a new home in the Portland area, found our new church and were settling in. I was dancing in a professional clog dancing group with my mom and 3 other women and having the time of my life. I was fit, but still dieting, and taking metabolism boosters, cutting fat and calories as much as possible. During this time, we were also trying to get pregnant again. It took us five years to get pregnant. I had 1 miscarriage, and was on Clomid for a total of 6 months. We eventually were able to get pregnant through the use of injectibles and IUI. Throughout this ordeal, I went through periods of feeling hopeful and excited, to feeling completely inadequate as a woman, wife and mother. The medications I took effected me physically and emotionally. Each month that ended without me being pregnant caused a cycle of depression, followed by the anxiety of waiting through another month of medicine and tests. This went on and on. Finally, we got that + sign on the pregnancy test! We were so happy. Our daughter was going to have a sibling! Happy, happy, happy.

I was 10 weeks pregnant when we went on a weekend family camping trip with my parents, their friends, and my brother and his wife. It was a fun weekend. We played games, played in the water, the men all went fishing, my oldest got to ride a jet ski with her Aunt and Uncle. It was great. As we were driving home, we all stopped at a rest stop before heading our separate ways. We said our last goodbyes to everyone, hopped in the car and headed home. I only got to say a quick goodbye to my dad because he was busy with the trailer, so he called us on the way home from his cell phone. He and I laughed and talked about the fun weekend. We played the alphabet game that we used to play during road trips when I was a kid. It was nice. I told him I loved him and he told me he loved me, and we said goodbye.

The next day was Monday. After work, I was laying on my bed trying to cool off. It was late June and the first of many hot days was upon us. The phone rang and I let my husband get it. he quickly handed me the phone with a puzzled look on his face. He said it was someone calling from my grandpa's house saying there was a medical emergency. I immediately thought something had happened to my grandpa. He was dying from cancer.

However, the voice on the phone said that my Dad had had a medical emergency and I needed to come right away. I was confused and in a daze and said I would be right there. My husband helped me with my shoes and I began the 20 minute drive to my grandpa's house. As I drove I prayed and I was filled with an increasing sense of urgency. I drove way too fast, and tried to remember to breath.

As I approached my grandparents neighborhood, I could see the glow of red lights even before I turned the corner. There was an ambulance, a fire truck and cars scattered everywhere. I screeched to a halt and got out of the car. As I turned to walk toward the house, a paramedic came quickly up to me, put her hands on my shoulders and told me that my dad had died.

What followed were days, weeks and months of visitors, crying, sleepless nights, trying to take care of my mom, myself, my husband, my daughter, my growing baby and trying to figure out what a normal life was without the presence of my dad.

Were depression and anxiety a part of my life during this period? You bet they were. It got so bad that I considered going on antidepressant/anti anxiety medication while I was pregnant. Again, I opted not to for fear of the affect on the baby and the fact that I would feel like a failure if I had to take medication.

After I had my second daughter I struggled with nursing, mourning my dad. I had post partum depression. I eventually did begin taking Lexapro for anxiety. It seemed to help, but after a few months I went off of it. The side effects were too much for me and my husband.

As time passed, I was able to regain some of my coping skills and was able to truly enjoy my new baby girl and my oldest daughter. We bought a new house, moved, and were just getting settled in when we received a surprise. We were expecting again.

We were shocked. This was not planned. It took us a little while to adjust to the news. Gradually we became happy and excited about our newest child coming into the world. We knew that this was just what God wanted for us. Our 3rd daughter was born 18 months after our 2nd daughter. Two under two. Pretty exciting.

Also, pretty stressful. Since that time, my husband and I have struggled in our marriage. There was a lot of tension between us and communication had broken down to the extent that we only spoke when it was about the kids or out of necessity. We didn't fight much, we just coexisted. I was very unhappy and would nag him and snip at him and the kids. There were good times too, but it felt like they didn't make up for all of the tension.

I figured that this was just a season in our marriage that we would have to get through and that once the kids got older we would be fine. However, as time went on, God placed in my heart a sense of urgency and an awareness that I needed to wake up and pay attention to my spouse and my kids.

Kim

Happy Resurrection Day!

2009-04-12T20:24:00.000-07:00

Today is Easter. Children everywhere colored and hunted for eggs. Many went to church for the first time. Some did not go to church, but instead went to family and friends homes to share a meal and fellowship.

Today, we celebrated Jesus death and subsequent rise from the grave. With enthusiasm and joy we spent time together as a family with our church family and then went to my grandmother's home and spent the afternoon with my Grandma, Mom, Step Dad, and Mother-in-law. We ate good food, laughed, prayed and thoroughly enjoyed each other's company.

I believe this is the first year that we did not mention the Easter Bunny. We put out baskets and colored eggs. We had a little hunt at my Grandma's house. However, the girls knew that it was mom or dad, grandma or grandpa who hid the eggs and gave them their little Easter gifts. It was truly refreshing to be real with them. The cards they received from us talked about celebrating the gift of salvation and forgiveness that God gave us through Jesus Christ on this day. They ate candy, ran around like crazy wild things, and had a total blast.

We prayed for our family and friends that we didn't get to see today. You were in our thoughts and we hope that your day was blessed and full of the joy, happiness and love.

In Him,

Kim

Coming soon...

2009-04-07T22:48:00.000-07:00

Over the next few weeks I will be posting a series about my journey from depression and anxiety to a healthier, happier me. A dear friend, Lainie from Mishmash Maggie, asked if I would write something for her to post on her blog about this topic, and as I began to write I felt the Lord leading me to expand on it and post it here as well.

I know that many men and women suffer from depression and anxiety. Some suffer far greater than I do. My hope and prayer is that whatever your situation is, you can benefit from what I have learned. I brushed my depression and anxiety off for years believing that it was not that bad. But that was a lie. Just because I do not need to be hospitalized, does not mean that I should live with these feelings for the rest of my life. I was doing myself and my family a grave disservice by not doing something to improve my quality of life.

I will begin by sharing my story, what depression and anxiety looked like in my life, how I believe I've been perceived by others, and what caused me to begin this journey toward health and happiness. Along the way, I will be discussing my food choices over the years in order to show later how making a few changes here and there greatly impacted my mental and physical well being. I'm not a nutritionist, but through research and trial and effort I am learning how my body reacts to certain foods.

For the record, I am still very much a work in progress. I have not reached the end of my journey yet, and most likely never will. However, God has placed people, information, and resources in my life at this moment so that I may begin this process of healing. There's no quick fix, but I will share how I very quickly felt the effects of my dietary changes and how that has encouraged me to continue.

I hope if you are someone who struggles with depression and anxiety on some level, that you will be encouraged.

Blessings,
Kim

Oh Mister Sun, Sun, Mister Golden Sun, Please Shine Down On Me!

2009-04-07T22:22:00.000-07:00

Yes, the sun has finally made it's appearance here in the Pacific Northwest. Can you all hear the collective, "AAAHHHHH"? It feels fantastic! It was actually in the 70's today!

Along with the glorious sunshine, however, comes some not so glorious critters.

Bee's, spiders, and...ah, ah-choo! Allergies. These are NOT a few of my favorite things!

I guess that's why I tend to prefer the cold weather over the hot. When it's cold there are no bee's to torment me, spiders to scare the girls, and definitely no ah-ah-choo, allergies.

Even so, the sun is a welcome change from our usual gray cloudy days. I've even gotten outside a bit with the girls to play and do some yard work. Everything smells so good.

We were up to visit friends in Seattle last weekend and got to enjoy the sun with them. As our girls get older we find that traveling is getting easier. These friends also have children around the same age as Tigger and Winnie so this visit was really fun because all of the kids played really well together.

Roo went with Christopher Robin, Toby and K to a comic book convention, or "Comicon" as it's called in the biz. They had a really good time and Roo even got a signed original sketch from one of the artists there. Way cool!

Meanwhile, I got to do a little shopping with Nicole. I rarely get to shop for myself, so this was a special treat for me. I bought a new handbag, necklace and earrings. Go me! I am terrible at accessorizing, so it took a little work for me to choose these items. I know, I'm living life dangerously. Baby steps to coolness, baby steps.

For me, this was the best trip I've had in a while. My new way of eating and taking vitamin D have drastically changed my overall outlook on life. I'm so much more positive, outgoing and energetic. I just plain feel good. I feel calmer, far less stressed out, and I don't get worked up over things as easily as I used to. It's great!

Here are a few pictures of the kids from our weekend:

Winnie and K hanging out on the couch. Aren't they cute!

The girls: Winnie, E, and Tigger. They should form their own girl band. They ROCK!

More picture's to come later. I'm having some technical difficulties uploading the rest of the photos.

Have a wonderful day and enjoy the sun if it's up where you are!

Blessings,

Kim

I'm baaaaacccckkk!!!!

2009-03-16T08:26:00.000-07:00

After a rather long hiatus I'm back!

There has been a lot going on here, but nothing that I really felt led to write about. After contemplating why, I came to the conclusion that I have just been really enjoying life and have wanted to treasure it and keep it to myself for a little while.

Until now...

I feel compelled to share our latest adventure in healthy eating and living.

About 2 years ago I was on a quest to find a local supplier of farm fresh organic eggs and raw milk directly from the farmer. I could find people locally who raised chickens and sold the eggs, but milk was far more difficult. The law in Oregon states that raw milk can be sold, but only through small farms with 3 or fewer cows and these farms are not allowed to advertise that they have raw milk available. Eventually, after reaching many dead ends I gave up the search.

Until now...

Across town, a friend of mine was on a similar journey. Except, she KNOWS people. People who move in more...shall we say..."granola" circles (wink, wink, grin). People who have connections and live the organic way of life and have already figured a lot of this stuff out. So, one day she and I were chatting on the phone and she casually mentioned that she had found a raw milk supplier. I didn't say much at the time, but prayed about it and talked to Christopher Robin. I refreshed my research and educated myself on the benefits of drinking raw milk (non pasteurized, non homogenized, straight from the cows stomach to mine). Then, I read on her blog who her contact was and asked if it was ok for me to contact them. She checked and said it would be fine.
This past Saturday she and I drove out to the farm and I purchased my first 2 gallons of raw milk (just milked from the Jersey cow that morning) along with 2 dozen beautiful fresh blue, brown, and cream colored eggs. Looking out the window, I watched the hens grazing all over the property as the cows walked by. I met the farmer briefly, who was exhausted, but still cheerful after spending the night butchering chickens that they had raised. We'll be bringing one of those home next week I think!

I'm going back tomorrow with Winnie and Tigger to get a tour of the farm and spend a little more time with Farmer Chrissie. I'm so excited to share with the girls where their milk and eggs come from!

Speaking of which, the milk and eggs taste AMAZING! First of all, the milk. I've always purchased nonfat milk from Fred Meyer. Occasionally, we buy the organic nonfat milk sold there or at Whole Foods. I have never drank whole milk. Now, we are all drinking whole milk. The cream rises to the top so we shake it up before we pour it, or I scoop off some to put in my coffee. Today I scooped off a bunch of cream because I plan to use in a recipe. The eggs are so big and flavorful. They taste so much better that the eggs we buy at the store.

I was inspired to make my own mayonnaise for the first time with my beautiful eggs. Everyone in my family loves it and I feel so empowered and capable. I can make my own mayonnaise! I realize a lot of people already do this on a regular basis, but I'm a city girl who has only weakly tried, but never really fully embraced the whole cooking from scratch thing. Now, I'm baby-stepping my way along and it's so fun, easy, and healthy. I love it!

Have a wonderful day!

Kim

Little Bit -o- Braggin'

2009-02-26T08:26:00.001-08:00

First, all the glory goes to God. That's a given, but I just wanted to make sure I said that outloud.

This post is to brag on my oldest daughter. We call her Eeyore or Roo on here...depending on her mood.

I'm so proud of her. She has shown me that she has an amazing stick-with-it attitude and will persevere even in difficult circumstances. She is far more focused and driven than I was at her age.

When she was sick, I gave her the option to stay home after she had a particularly difficult week at school (she was teased and picked on). She said, "No, that's ok mom. I don't want to miss my science class. My partner would miss me and I don't want to let him down. We are working on this cool project..." When I was her age, I took every opportunity to get out of school for the sniffles. I guarantee you that I would have JUMPED at the chance to stay home. But not Roo. God has really put in her determination that exceeds any that I may have.

Even though, this school year has had it's ups and downs, tears and laughter, frustration and success, through it all Roo has persevered and pushed on. She has been determined to make it work. She has achieved some academic success and has found her niche. She thinks of herself as a "brain" and has identified herself as someone who does well in school. Her confidence seems to be growing by leaps and bounds (even though she still is very insecure at times too).

I felt inspired to write this because, I would not have posted this glowing of a post a year or so ago. I am truly amazed at what God is doing in Roo. Despite me! I try my hardest to be the best mom I can be for Roo, but inevitably I fall short. Far short. She's my first and it's all new for me too.

Roo has been on Honor Roll at her middle school all year and her teachers have nothing by good things to say about her. The only thing she has gotten in trouble for is chewing gum in class! I'll take that any day!

We celebrated her Honor Roll achievement the other day with a treat out for ice cream with the whole family. It was loud, rambunctious, and fun. Her sisters thanked her and told her what a good job she was doing. It was pretty cool!

I'm looking forward to many more such celebrations.

Kim

Vitamin G!

2009-02-19T11:58:00.000-08:00

All the credit goes to Andrea for this post. She referenced Vitamin G in a comment on Mishmash Maggie's blog and it really inspired me.

I never thought of my time with God like taking a multivitamin, but it is. I need my vitamin D supplement to keep my moods even and to protect my body from a variety of diseases, and my calcium to keep my bones strong, how much more then do I need my Vitamin G?

On the days that I spend time with God I am calmer, and more centered. I feel more prepared to handle whatever comes my way. I know that I am not out there alone trudging along through life. God is always in me and with me giving me the tools that I need to navigate my world.

Have you had your Vitamin G today?

Again, thanks Andrea for the inspiration!

Kim

Valentine's Day Follow Up

2009-02-18T00:06:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to let you know what we ended up doing on V-Day.

As I said, the girls went to Grandma and Grandpa's house overnight. I guess Christopher Robin and I looked so desperately exhausted that they took pity on us! We dropped the girls off Saturday morning around 10:30 and didn't see them again until Sunday morning around the same time.

It was a very relaxing 24 hours. We did a little shopping, rested at home, went out to dinner and saw a movie (our typical date night protocol). Then we came home went to bed and slept in until...wait for it, wait for it...8:30! Only parents of young children can fully appreciate how late that is to sleep in, and how good it feels.

I must have looked pretty bad before the 24 hour siesta because when I saw Winnie and Roo the next morning they both looked at me with wide eyes and smiles. Roo said I looked very rested. She said I had circles under my eyes before, and now I looked happier and more relaxed. I certainly feel a ton better. I think it was the rest and all the juice I've been making and drinking at home.

Anyway, we had a good time and were very thankful for the much needed quality time together.

Blessings to all of you "Valentine's" out there. I hope you have many nice and restful "Valentine Days" all year long!

Kim

The Juice Chronicles- Part 1

2009-02-17T23:44:00.000-08:00

Last week I bought a Juicer. I researched all of the juicers on the market and narrowed my choices down to just a few. Then after much pain staking research, sole searching and pocketbook checking, I decided on the one I could afford rather than the one I really wanted:-) Isn't that just how it is in life!

At any rate, the one I could afford, seems to be just the one I needed! Imagine that? (God must get such a kick out of me!) I have been having so much fun making fresh juice out of all kinds of fruits and vegetables. Yum!

I thought I'd share a few thoughts about this whole "juicing" thing:

1. It takes a little bit more time than I thought it would, but as I get used to doing it, I find that I'm becoming more efficient and therefore speedier.

2. It's more expensive than I thought it would be. I was really only thinking about the initial cost of the machine itself. However, it takes quite a lot of fruit and vegetables to make one or two glasses of juice. If you buy organic, juicing can be VERY expensive.

3. The juice tastes SO much better than I expected.

4. I find I am far less hungry throughout the day and have far more energy.

5. I feel less moody, anxious, and irritable.

****Hmm, maybe I won't need that anti-depressant prescription after all? I think the money I will save by not needing prescriptions and seeing the doctor less often will make up for the added expense of juicing.****

In case you are wondering, I bought the Breville Juice Fountain Plus. I think it does a decent job of extracting juice and it does so relatively quietly, quickly and neatly. It's easy to clean and the parts are dishwasher safe. A friend recommended the Vita Mix Juicer/Mixer. Yes, that would be my first choice for sure, however, my pocketbook couldn't support that juicer, so the Breville works just fine for now.

So there you have it. Bottoms up!

Kim

Happy Valentine's Day!

2009-02-14T07:08:00.000-08:00

My friend Lainie posted a cool and brief history about Valentine's Day. Check it out here.

After reading it, I realized how far off base our culture is! Maybe I'm cynical (actual, I definitely am) but how crazy is it that on a martyred Saint's day we all celebrate with roses and expensive chocolates or dinners out that cost twice as much as they would on any other day?

(going on a little rant here, but hang in there, it gets better)

Don't get me wrong, I'm as romantic as the next girl. I love getting flowers from Christopher Robin(hint-hint dear) and I also love chocolate, bubble baths, yummy dinners out, and going to see a good movie. However, I do not love the commercialism and capitalism that leads up to all of these activities on Valentine's Day. And, I have NEVER given a single thought to any poor unknown martyred saint while indulging in said Valentine activities. Have you?

That being said, today, my mom and step dad have offered to take the kids so that Christopher Robin and I can spend some time reconnecting. It's been years since we've had a date night on Valentine's Day, and since I am a product of my culture, it somehow seems more meaningful that we are getting our date night on this "special" day verses, oh.. say...yesterday, for example. I also can't help but feel a little pressure to do something today that is different from what we would normally do on a date night.

It is that feeling that prompted this post. Why do we put pressure on ourselves like that? So that when we go to work or to see our friend we can say, "Guess what we did on Valentine's Day?" Or, so that we can compare who got the most cards when we are in middle school? Why do we feel the need to show the world through cards or chocolates or extravagant superficial acts of affection that we are loved?

As I ponder these questions, the only thought that is running through my mind is,

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life."

Wow. I've known that for most of my life, but this morning, I thought about it a little differently than I normally do. That is the ultimate gift of love. None of us can even come close. Yet, God is our example, the light up to which we hold our actions and thoughts. He loves you and me always, unconditionally, and gives us His gift of love every day.

God gives us sunrises, sunsets, rainbows and many, many other beautiful and amazing things that he knows are special to each of us. But here is the real deal:

Today, whether you have a "Valentine" here on earth or not, remember that God is your Valentine always and forever and He has a special gift for you. Eternal Life!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Love, Kim

What NOT to ask a toddler.

2009-02-01T13:31:00.000-08:00

Around here, it is common to hear someone say, "Tigger, what do you have in your mouth? Spit it out right now!" She's 2 1/2 and still likes to put things in her mouth.

So, yesterday, while I was sitting on the sofa, little Miss Tigger comes bouncing up to me holding her sippy cup in one hand. I looked at her face and noticed that her cheeks were puffed out and her mouth tightly shut. So, I said like I always do, "Tigger, what do you have in your mouth? Spit, it out!"

She rarely obeys the first time. But yesterday she promptly, and a bit smugly I think, spit out what was in her mouth. Water. In one, long arc it came shooting out at me and hit me in the chest. She then grinned from ear to ear, slurped up the left over water dribbling from her chin, and bounced down the hall on a new adventure. Meanwhile, there I sat with a wet shirt, stifling a laugh, shaking my head.

Ya' gotta love her.

Laundry update

2009-01-29T15:02:00.000-08:00

Some of you have asked how I like the homemade laundry detergent. Well, I like it just fine! My clothes are clean and fresh. The next batch I make I will try some essential oil scents just for fun, but for the first try, I think it was a complete success!

One note: After scooping out some of the detergent to use, I noticed that the holes that were left filled with water. I just used my scoop and kind of mixed up the detergent again and it seems to work just fine. I think I'm using a little more than 1/2 cup per load. It's probably closer to 3/4 of a cup. Also, this is a suds free detergent, which was odd for me at first. I'm so used to seeing bubbles!

Next up: Dishwashing detergent!

Roo's Middle School Experience Update

2009-01-16T07:16:00.000-08:00

As many of you know, my oldest daughter, Roo (sometimes known as Eeyore-which she doesn't like, but is true none-the-less). is in middle school this year after being homeschooled last year. I haven't posted very much about her this year so I thought, in all fairness, I should give her a little screentime.

Middle school has been a very interesting experience for the whole family. As with all things that involve Roo, nothing is easy or straightforward. She's our first. That means that all experiences are new experience for all of us. This makes life very exciting.

So far this year, she has done very well adjusting to her classes and has maintained an "A" average in all but two of her classes (English and Social Studies are her "B" classes). It seems that this is the year for academics to start "clicking" for her. Praise God!

Socially, she has made strides toward making new friends and is learning how to choose good friends who treat her with kindness and respect, verses bad friends who take advantage of her and use her. Making new friends has always been a struggle for her, but I am happy to report that she keeps trying, despite two bad experiences. She is positive and upbeat and seems to enjoy going to school for the most part.

We had a rocky start in the communication department earlier in the year, but recently, I have noticed a marked improvement. She is opening up, and I have learned to quiet my reaction to whatever she has to say. Apparently, me overreacting was not encouraging her to open up...I can't imagine why:-)

Lately, she has been asking to have more time with me, and she is beginning to express an interest in exercise. So, I have started taking her to the gym with me from time to time. She has also asked to go for early morning walks again. I'm thinking that might work out 1 or 2 times a week.

My darling Roo. She has such a caring and compassionate heart for everyone (except her little sisters). I pray that her heart will not harden as a result of difficult experiences, but that instead her compassion would grow. I am so thankful that God saw fit to put us in charge of her upbringing.

Doing the Laundry Dance

2009-01-15T14:17:00.000-08:00

Laundry is a pretty big deal around here. It's on-going, all the time. If you come to my house for a visit, odds are you will hear the washer or dryer going in the background. I almost always have piles of clothes in our bedroom in various stages of being folded, sorted and waiting to be delivered back to their rightful owners. So, when my friend, Lainie, posted on her blog Mishmash Maggie, that she had successfully made and used her own batch of homemade laundry detergent, I was intrigued. Let's face it...laundry detergent ain't cheap!

She posted the recipe along with pictures and a detailed, step-by-step how-to back in September 2008. Let's see, it's now January 2009...hm...it's only taken me 4 months to finally get around to giving this recipe a try. Don't judge me! (grin)

Anyway, here are pictures of my process. I don't think my batch looks nearly as pretty as Miss Lainie's, but if the end result is the same, then I guess it's ok. Here's the link to Mishmash Maggie to get the breakdown "Mishmash Style".

This stuff is so cool! (I know it's lame to excited about soap, but until a few months ago I didn't even know it existed.) I had to look a little while at Target to find it waaaaayyyy up high on the shelf in between two big boxes of laundry detergent. There it was all by it's tiny lonesome:-)

I was so disappointed that the Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda wasn't at Target as well. What's up with that? Anyway, I had to go to Freddies to get this gem.

Good 'ol Borax. I found this at Target on a wall isle next to the Bleach.

I purchased a new cheese grater that I will keep with the soap making stuff. The only cheese grater we had was a Pampered Chef grater and I just did not want to use it to grate soap.

Isn't this pretty? I agree with Lainie, I love that it's pink!
I put the grated Zote soap in a pot along with about 3 quarts of water (as per Lainie's instructions) and this is what it looked like before the soap melted.
This is what the Zote and water mixture looks like after all the Zote has dissolved. I had more suds on it, but skimmed them off before I took the picture.
I just used an old buckeet we had out in the garage. It was just barely big enough. You can see all the suds on top of the detergent. I'm not sure if I'm supposed to leave those or not. For now, I'm leaving them. The detergent sits for 24 hours like this and then when it's done it has the gelatin-like consistency. At least that's what I'm told. I won't know until tomorrow.

*****

Happily, I was able to get all of my products for right around the same price as Lainie did at the same locations. I will be on the lookout for a store that sells all the products at one location, but if that doesn't exist, then at least they are sold at stores where I already shop. It's not like you have to buy this stuff every month. From the looks of things, Iwill only have to replace the Zote bar this year!

This was a fun project to do. I enjoyed knowing that I can make it myself for MUCH less than it costs to buy it at the store. I will let you know how it works for us. Thank you Miss Lainie Pants!

Blessings and have fun "Doing the Laundry Dance!"

Kim

5am thoughts.,,

2009-01-12T05:25:00.001-08:00

I'm up really early this morning...5am. That's crazy early in this house. I didn't sleep well last night, tossing and turning. I think I just had a little too much wonderful "me" time with my 2 bestest girlfriends yesterday. I feel a little guilty! Note to self: Do more of that so that you don't feel guilty about it.

One of my New Year's resolutions is to carve out some time on a regular basis to do things for myself. I love my husband and my children, but I need to love myself too. That's hard to type out. It looks and sounds so selfish, and I suppose it is, but taking care of my own needs is equally as important as taking care of my family. Yet, I have not been giving myself equal attention.

I used to be pretty good at making myself more of a priority. God allowed a season in my life when there was balanced between work, home, children, husband and me. It was a lot easier when we only had one child. However, now that we have three, I have found it difficult to find time to even think about what I might want to do IF/WHEN I am able to carve out some time. I've lost some perspective.

I should preface this by saying that my husband and I prayerfully made a choice when we had children to have me quit my job and stay at home. After one full year at home, I took a part-time job and have worked a variety of part-time jobs ever since, that were flexible enough for me to feel like I was still a sahm, but also allowed me to bring in a little income and get a little grown up time. None of these jobs were particularly fulfilling, but that was ok because my fulfillment came from being a good mom and wife, not from any job.

Somewhere along the way, I started giving up more of things that I would do that were just for me in order to make time to do things that were for the kids. That's not a bad thing, as parents that's what we do, right? We are parents, after all. That means we give up a little of our own stuff to allow for our children to have opportunities and time with us. However, that can be a slippery slope. It's important to maintain a healthy balance, and in my case, I don't have that anymore.

I know that there are seasons in life. I accept and understand that this season of life has been one of me taking care of others. And up until recently, it has been very fulfilling. I felt that I was right where God wanted me to be. However, now that my children are a little older, I feel like God is allowing me some time to start to work on myself again. Just a little bit. Refocus. Clear my head. Bring a little variety to my life. There is probably a much bigger picture here that I am missing that only He can see, but for now, it's enough to know that it's time for mommy to do something for mommy.

As moms, our lives often are exciting due to the many adventures we go on with our kids. At the same time, our lives are mundane due to the regular schedule of events that inevitably occur when you have children. Each day is more or less the same as the one before, and it all has to do with our children, and their activities. None of that is a bad thing. It's just that...I want more. I need more variety. I want something that is just mine. Something that is fun, challenging and creatively stimulating. Something, that will enrich my life, and therefore make me more of a blessing to my family.

So, I guess that might be why I didn't sleep well last night. I got a little reminder yesterday from my bestest girlfriends, that there is life outside of my family bubble. I realized that God has brought me and my family to a place where I can leave my bubble and return without it popping. Now I just need to practice not feeling so guilty about it!

Blessings,
Kim

Winnie is 4 years old!!!!!

2009-01-05T12:27:00.000-08:00

It finally arrived! Winnie's long anticipated and talked about 4th birthday. What a fun, fun day we all had. The party was terrific (except it was a little cold because we were the first party of the day and they had just turned the heater on). According to Winnie, "It was SOOOO fun!"

Here are a few pictures from the party:

The Big slide...Weeeee!!!!!

Bouncy, Bouncy, Bouncy

Everyone got in on the fun. Poppi is King for the Day!

Even the Queen Bee had her moment in the chair

Look out world! Here they come!

What a fun day!

Sorry, I've been on vacation. But, I'm back!

2009-01-02T06:07:00.001-08:00

I realize that it has been way too long since I last posted. My only excuse is that up until this morning, I have been feeling a little empty of words.

We have spent much of this holiday season house bound due to snow storms and cold weather. This meant that a family that is often going in many different directions has been forced by mother nature or more accurately, GOD, to be together in one place for a long period of time with very little external distractions. You'd think that would have given me plenty of subject matter to write about, wouldn't you?

Well, as it turns out, not so much. I've been in something of a haze the past few weeks. It's like we are all moving in slow motion, or maybe time really has stopped!

We have been doing a lot of cooking and eating (oh my poor waistline!), and a lot of reading and tv watching. We've played games, cleaned, organized toys and donated a lot of them. We've visited a little bit with family and friends, but for the most part, we've just been home together.

It's been quiet (well as quiet as it gets with three rowdy girls running loose). I believe this has been a time of rest for us. Many friends that I have heard from over the holidays have said the same thing. A forced time out, a time to take a breath, to recharge, to refocus.

It was difficult to do at first. You know, be still. I'm not good at that. At least not when there are other people around. If I'm alone, no problem. I love to curl up with a good book just as much as the next girl. However, if there is even one person home, forget it. I get anxious and become driven to do, do, do. All I see are all of the projects that need to be done.

So, it took a few days for me to really be still. I drove poor Christopher Robin and the girls banana's while I was adjusting to the stillness. I wasn't the only one struggling though. We all went through a little bit of busy-ness withdrawl. There was pacing, arguing, and whining until finally we all came to accept that we were stuck with each other for an undetermined period of time. Everything started getting better after that.

In one of my previous posts I mentioned that we were planning on going to the snow this year on Christmas day. Well, God brought the snow to us instead! Isn't that awesome! He knows me better than I know myself and he knew that bringing the snow to us would be so much better. The first time little 2 year old Tigger went out in the snow she only lasted about 5 minutes before she was crying and cold. Each time she went out, she lasted a little longer and by the time the snow was melting, 1o days later, we had purchased the proper gear for her and she was having a blast sledding and playing outside.

Without talking about it, Christopher Robin and I worked out a good system for dealing with the snow. I kept the hot cocoa going and was in charge of dressing and undressing the children and maintaining a small amount of order in the laundry room where all the snow stuff went. Christopher Robin and Roo were in charge of everything outside which included, clearing walk ways and playing with the little girls and the dog. I liked that system very much!

Spending several days in the snow at our own home was so much better than driving up to the snow for one day. I am so thankful for the memories we made.

As our rest time comes to a close and we begin to prepare for life to return to it's normal, busy rhythm, I have found that my words are returning to me and I am once again ready to write about our family experiences and my random thoughts about life as a mom, wife, and friend.

I hope your Christmas was a blessed one and that this new year will be one filled with all the good things that God can bring to you.

Kim

Cooking, baking,eating, Oh MY!!!

2008-12-15T17:57:00.001-08:00

For the love of Pete, I can't believe how much baking and cooking I've done over the past few days! It's been super fun, but super exhausting as well. Not to mention that I think the clan may be starting to believe that this is the new "normal" around here. Good food, good smells, mom in the kitchen all the time. Um, NOT! As much as I do enjoy puttering about the kitchen making all this "feel good", "down home" , "comfort food", my belly absolutely does not love it even a little bit!

Oh the stories my expanding belly could tell of all the places it's seen along it's travels from slim to pudgey!

Water? Water? Must. drink. more. water. and. eat. less. sugar!

Help!!!!!! What to do with a preschooler, toddler and middle school child home all at once, stuck inside due to extremely cold temps (it's like 21 degrees outside now and it didn't get much above 25 degrees today). Even so, we did play in the snow for about an hour or so, and I went to the grocery store and bought a ton of said comfort food described above (because one can never have too much of it!).

Tomorrow is another day of no middle school, no preschool, no gym, and freezing cold temps outside. To prepare, I went and bought Tigger this adorable little outfit today:

This will definitely help her to enjoy the freezing, bone chilling, teeth chattering cold that we are experiencing right now.

So, tomorrow, God willing, we will brave the outdoors again and have fun!

Kim

Let it snow!

2008-12-14T09:05:00.001-08:00

It's our first day of snow for the year!!!!! The weather people have been talking about this storm all week, but they said it would come on Saturday. Saturday came and went, and although it was really cold, there was no snow in sight. Sunday morning arrived, and as we all opened our tired eyes with expectations of snow at around 6:00 am, there was still no snow. Bummer...

Then...

The dog started pacing.

The kitty started playing.

Little feet started scampering downstairs.

Christopher Robin gave me a nudge and whispered, "Honey, it's snowing!"

What!!!!! I opened my eyes again (this time it was 8:00 am) and looked out our bedroom window and saw large white fluffy pieces of cotton floating gently down to the ground. Snow!

I quickly got up and before I could make it downstairs I was met by a super hyper, snow-excited Winnie running to greet me with a lightening speed description of all that was happening and that she was going wear her pretty purple dress to church (the sleeveless summer dress) and that, "Mommy, it's snowing outside!" followed by an excited giggle and squeak.

It's been an hour now. Everyone has tummies full of pancakes and apple cider and if you look out any of our windows you will see white. Everywhere. The temperature outside has dropped 4 degrees and the big fluffy pieces of cotton have turned to smaller pieces of floating sugar cubes. Church has been canceled and it looks like the purple dress will have to be worn on another day because...

It's Snowing!!!!!!! Yippee!!!!! Thank you God for brightening up our gray world today with a beautiful, soft white blanket. It's just what I needed!

Have a wonderful day!

Kim

From the mouths of babes

2008-12-12T11:45:00.000-08:00

Winnie is very interested in dying lately. She talks about it every day, several times a day. She says, "I want to die to so that I can go to heaven and be with Grandpa Adkins and Abby" (My parents yellow lab who died a month or so ago). The other day in the car she asked, "Where is heaven?" To which Christopher Robin replied, "In the sky." She's almost 4 and that's the best we could come up with on the spot. Winnie thought about this for a second and then said, "Well, then when I die we'll fly up in an airplane to go to heaven and see Grandpa and Abby, ok?"

We will be flying in an airplane in March to go to Disneyland. I can only imagine the conversations we will be having on the plane!

Santa or no Santa...what do you do?

2008-12-12T09:09:00.000-08:00

As Christian parents, we have struggled over the years with how to treat the Santa Claus story in our household. When we had Eeyore (our first daughter), we were very new Christians and were figuring a lot out as we went and decided to do Santa with gusto because, well, that was how it was done in our homes when we were growing up and we were ok, right?

So, we proceeded with stockings, letters to Santa, stories about Santa, setting out gifts under the tree from Santa, going to visit Santa, and then we'd throw in a few nativity scene's and stories about the birth of Jesus for good measure. All of this seemed to work just fine until...

Miss Eeyore started asking questions, and we were not quite ready to let the whole Santa thing go. So, we continued to promote the story of Santa being "real" in our home. At around this same time, I noticed that while Eeyore was asking questions about the validity of Santa, she was also asking some questions about Jesus too. Suddenly, I realized that what we had thought was innocent and fun, was really opening her and us up to a lot of confusion and explaining later on. Christmas became a time of stress, frustration and a lot of questions and dancing around the subject of Santa. Why weren't we just upfront and honest from the start? I have no idea. She was still so young and I think it was more about me not being ready to give up on the childlike joy of Santa, than her not being ready to hear that Santa was make believe.

Jump ahead a couple of years...we survived that experience and now here we are again with a soon to be 4 year old Winnie and 2 1/2 year old Tigger. This time, we have decided to downplay Santa. It's impossible to ignore him in our society, but we are not pretending he is real at all. Instead, we are talking about Jesus and celebrating His birthday. We do talk about Santa, but I always follow up with what Christmas is really about. We don't go into too much detail yet because the girls are young, but Winnie has started asking the more pressing questions this year and I am so thankful that we have not backed ourselves into a corner with the whole Santa thing.

I'm always looking for new and creative ways to navigate this subject with my children and my family. As the years have gone by and we've experimented with different methods, I have noticed that this is the first year that I feel virtually no anxiety. It feels really good to not jump through the Santa hoops. I always felt like such a liar! Like I was doing my child some grave injustice by placing her hopes in something that is not real when the real reason for Christmas is Jesus who is very much alive and real in all of us.

Not everyone feels as conflicted as I did and I certainly don't think that everyone should toss Santa out the window. I'd love to hear how you do it in your household. There are as many different ways to celebrate this time of year as there are families who celebrate it. So, if you feel led, please share your story here in the comments section. We can all learn a little something about each other and get ideas to try for our own families!

Blessings and Merry Christmas!

Kim

Late night post about a few housekeeping things...

2008-12-11T23:11:00.000-08:00

I keep thinking lately, "Oh, I should blog about that!" However, sadly, the pace of every day life has left me with very little energy or time to blog much lately. So, I thought I'd take a quick moment to take care of some loose ends.

First, I wrote not long ago about coming up with a different and more meaningful way for our family to celebrate Christmas this year. Here are a few small things that we have done:

1. We made care packages to keep in the car and give to homeless people that we encounter during the day. A small group that Christopher Robin and I participate in through church came up with t his idea and we all brought items to contribute to the care package and them put them together one night. Some of the items we put in the bags were: Tooth brushes, small packages of tissue, wet wipes, new socks, tuna and cracker kits, water bottles, chapstick, packages of applesauce, and bible tracts.

2. Getting together with friends to make really amazing homemade caramel apples. Thanks Dee! This was a fun, creative, way to bless our neighbors, friends and family.

3. I have been talking to the girls about this time of year being about celebrating Jesus' birth. It also just so happens that Winnie's birthday is January 3rd. So birthday's are a big topic of conversation around the house right now. We sing "Happy Birthday" to everyone in the family every night, and now we sing "Happy Birthday" to Jesus too. Something kind of cool has happened as a result. The lense through which my girls view the world around Christmastime has changed. They now see things through the lense of, "This is Jesus' birthday" instead of, "This is about Santa bringing me presents". The other night as we were driving home, Winnie and Ava noticed all of the lights on our neighbors houses. In the midst of Oooo's and Aaaahhh's, I heard one of them say, "It's Jesus' Birthday!" I said, "That's right. Everyone puts lights on their houses and decorates to celebrate Jesus' birthday just like we put candle's on a cake when we celebrate your birthday." To this I received a chorus of, "Oh cool! Happy Birthday Jesus!" Now that was a totally amazing parenting moment. Thank you God!

4. Finally, we are planning to go to the snow on Christmas day instead of sitting around the house opening presents all day. It'll be the first time we've done this with all three girls and we are all looking forward to it. The idea is to make the day less about the presents we receive and more about spending time together as a family and being thankful for the best present we could ever have. The one God gave us when He sent His one and only son Jesus Christ to be born and to die for our sins so that we could be saved and have eternal life. That's the best gift ever. One we didn't deserve, but one that He knew we needed more than anything else.

Thank you God for your most amazing gift!

Love,

Kim

My first knitting project...complete!

2008-12-05T08:41:00.001-08:00

I posted a while back that I was attempting to learn to knit. Remember that forlorn looking blue ball of yarn?
Well, with the help of Eeyore, my mom and Aunt Susan, and an opportunity from God to strengthen my patience muscle, I finally finished my first project and have started my second.

I was able to finish this scarf after many, many, many attempts and do-overs while driving down to California for Thanksgiving. I love that I was able to get something done while sitting in the car. I'm all about multi-tasking.

So here it is!

God used this small project to teach me a lesson in perseverance and patience. It also was incredibly gratifying to make something out of nothing. I never thought I would knit...way too domestic for me. Yet here I am a model of domesticity. Will I ever learn to never say never?

Have a blessed day!

Kim

Silly Tigger!

2008-12-03T07:30:00.000-08:00

Tigger is my youngest daughter. She is 2 1/2. She was a suprise gift to us from God. To be honest, it took me a large part of my pregnancy to get used to the idea of having another child. To me, it felt like our family was already complete and I couldn't imagine how we would manage with another child. But God knew. He knew what was missing and he knew all along that we needed her. Our family was not complete until she was born.

Tigger is a light of laughter and silliness in this family. Every day she makes me laugh and warms my heart. And it's not just me. Even preteen Eeyore giggles and gets silly around Miss Tigger. So, I thought I would share just a little bit of the silliness that goes on around here.

Upon noticing the enormous lit up snow man in Grandma's front yard Tigger replied, "Come on! Yet's go check it out!" She then walked slowly around it inspecting all of it's parts, " Oooo, nice hat, BIG nose!" and nodded her approval. We then pointed out the two penguins nearby. She sqealed with delight and ran over to take a look. " Oooo, Pinkins!" She said. "Nice hat, BIG nose!" She proudly commented on the similar attributes between the penguins and the snowman. Then, with a sharp nod, she marched off to her other important inspector jobs.

Tigger has only two speeds. Dead stop and full sprint. She runs everywhere. No walking in her world. Not only does she run, but she runs with utter abandon. Everything jiggles and bounces from her curls to her belly, and her squeals seem to fuel her speed. It's hilarious, and usually encourages others to run with her.

Tigger greets almost everyone with an excited, "Hi!" and a wave. Sometimes you even get a hug. Grandma, Grandpa, the family, friends at work, strangers at Fred Meyer all get the same greeting. We always leave the check out clerk smiling and waving like they are a new member of our family. That's Tigger. Everyone feels important and included when she is around.

The flip side to Tigger is that she doesn't share well and let's the world know about it when she doesn't get her way. She has this shreak that can shatter windows and cause everyone to come running only to find her standing in the middle of the room tugging at her sweater with all her might trying to get it off and shreaking while doing so.

When she is done eating, she still sometimes throws her food to let us know. It's quite effective, but messy. Lately, as she is learning to "use your words" more she has moved to this new hybrid phase of throwing her food WHILE using her words and say, "I'm done!" ***sigh***It's progress.

I'm so thankful that God gave us Tigger. Tigger's charisma and charm add so much to our family. I can't imagine life without her.
Don't ya' just want to hug her?

Have a blessed day!

Kim

The Family Road Trip

2008-12-02T07:18:00.000-08:00

We survived! In fact...we thrived! God is so amazing.

This is the first road trip we have taken in years that we made it through without the kids having any major meltdowns, without Christopher Robin and I having any major arguments (well, we did have one at a rest stop over how long we should stop...pretty lame) while totally enjoying our visits with family.

While spending 30 hours in the car, our 3 girls (1 toddler, 1 preschooler, 1 middle schooler):

*Watched the movie Tinkerbell at least 8 times
*Talked about the "froggy owside" (translated from toddler-ese to mean the fog outside)
*Watched the Sound of Music, Annie, Finding Nemo, and Wall-e
*Listened to some Rockin' Music
*Worked on their lacing skills (thank you Amanda for the lacing boards)
*Worked on their drawing skills
*Practiced their manners
*Saw some beautiful scenery

While at Poppi's, Great Grandma and Grandpa's, and Grandma's houses, our girls:

*Played, visited, cuddled, slept, ate, bonded, entertained, and in general had a wonderful time.

Thank you to our family for making this such a wonderful Thanksgiving. We love you all!

Kim

The Griswold's we ain't, but the lights are up!

2008-11-23T09:57:00.000-08:00

The picture doesn't do it justice at all!

Christopher Robin put the outside lights and Christmas decorations up yesterday. Yay! Roo, Winnie and Tigger were so impressed and awed when they came back from their overnight trip to Grandma's house. Now when we come home from Thanksgiving they will already be up and we will get to enjoy them that much longer.

We typically are lucky if we get a string of lights up over the garage. This year we have candy cane lights and an inflatable snowman! Oh yeah, we're movin' up.

We also FILLED our yardwaste can with leaves again yesterday. You can't even tell now because our trees are still losing leaves! However, it still felt good to make a dent in the leaf pile. Even if it was only for a day.

Have a wonderful day!

All it takes is a special bear...

2008-11-20T13:26:00.000-08:00

Lately, Winnie has been pretty spazzy. She'll be four years old in January and she has been practicing being four over the past few weeks. Bossy, hyper, loud, stubborn, opinionated...oh and...super fun, giggly, dancing, singing, helping mommy, and doing all things "By myself!"

I'm leading with this because today was preschool day and it has been pouring rain outside all day. The way things have been going lately, that would be a recipe for an afternoon meltdown followed by repetitive begging to watch Elmo, Clifford, or Curious George and mooching for snacks every 5 minutes. However, something unusual and exciting happened after preschool today: Winnie brought Bailey Bear home for a weekend visit!

At Winnie's preschool each child in her class has an opportunity to bring Bailey Bear home for a weekend visit. Along with Bailey Bear comes a large blue backpack filled with dress up clothes for Bailey and a journal in which Bailey writes about her visit for the next lucky child to read. As Winnie came walking out to the car today, escorted by her teacher, she carried this enormous backpack and was grinning from ear to ear. "Mom, I get to bring Bailey Bear home!!!!!" Winnie squealed.

Well, I could never have imagined the effect Bailey Bear would have on Winnie. She spent 2 HOURS playing with Bailey quietly in the living room. She ate lunch very quickly and insisted that Bailey join her for lunch and then went right back to changing Bailey's clothes and reading Bailey all of her favorite stories.

It's amazing how one small, worn out old bear and some worn dress up doll clothes can completely transform, mesmerize and activate a preschooler's imagination far beyond that of any video game or television show.

I can't wait to see what Winnie and Bailey get to do together tomorrow. Totally cool!

Kim (Kanga-Mom)

It takes a Village... God's Village.

2008-11-16T07:48:00.000-08:00

Late last week we received an email from a friend at church. They were in need of help and sent out an SOS to everyone they new. They were having a work party at a rental house that they owned that had been all but destroyed by the previous renters. Our friends are going to try and sell this house, but needed to get it cleaned up before anyone could come and look at.

I quickly emailed Christopher Robin who said he actually thought it sounded like fun (I love that man!). We then asked Eeyore if she would be willing to babysit Winnie and Tigger for a couple of hours Saturday morning while we went and helped out a friend. She was willing. So we emailed our friend to say that the Hundred Acre Wood Clan would be there.

*******

Now, in our many years of marriage, we have been the recipients of more than our share of neighborly and family aid. Sadly, we have not always been able to reciprocate. I know that God uses us in different ways during the various seasons of our lives, and as our children get older we are gradually noticing our season of life shifting from focusing on ourselves to focusing on others more. So, when we received the email, we felt honored to be able to step forward and do this for our friends. It was our turn to "do unto others". Yay!

It's always a good idea to be neighborly and help each other out when we are in need. However, in today's troubled times, it is even more imperative that we look up and take notice of other people's needs. Helping others is good for the soul. It makes God smile when He sees His creation loving each other through compassion and hard work. Turning our attention to helping others causes us to get out of our own heads and circumstances for a little bit. That is an awesome feeling!

So, we showed up on Saturday morning with a cheerful spirit to work and help our friends. What an awesome experience! The place was totally wrecked, and it was immediately obvious that there was no way our friends could have done this on their own. Honestly, I was not sure that we would get it all done that day. But God had a plan. All day, people kept showing up to help. Everyone, was cheerful, and ready to work. There were muffins and coffee (food bribes are always a good idea:-)). I had to leave earlier than Christopher Robin to relieve Eeyore from her childcare duties. When he came home later that day, he said that more people showed up right before he left and that they were painting the walls. How awesome! God is so good!

*******

I learned from this experience that there is no time like the present to step up and help a friend in need. Small things, big things, it doesn't matter. Everyone is struggling in some way. No one is left unaffected by our current global economic situation. If there was ever a time for this generation to pull together and love each other, this would be the time.

The saying ,"It takes a village" has never really resonated with me. Until now. I would make one change though. I would say it like this:

Yes, it takes a village, God's Village. When He shows up, anything is possible.

I challenge you to help someone today. Open a door for a person at the store, help someone get their groceries to the car, rake up a neighbors leaves, invite a family over for dinner, have friends over for a game night, babysit someones children for them. Just look around. There is need everywhere right in your own neighborhood. Take a moment and step outside of your own circumstances and watch God work His miracles!

Have a blessed day,

Kim

Me, myself, the guinea pig... Days 1 and 2

2008-11-11T07:27:00.000-08:00

I'm running a little experiment on myself. Do you ever do that? My latest is to test the effects of water on my system. I don't usually drink enough water. I drink coffee instead. They're both liquid, I drink them, so what's the difference, right?

There is a big difference. Logically, I'm aware of the many differences that water vs. coffee can have on my body, but I thought it was time to put my body to the test.

Two days ago I started drinking more water. A lot more. I went from 8-16 oz a day to 64oz a day. Amazing! The first day that I drank all that water I also had coffee, but only one small coffee mug, and I didn't even finish it. Here's what happened:

1. I peed a ton!
2. I peed some more!
3. I ate less and felt hungry less often.
4. I felt less tired and irritable the next day
5. I slept better that night.

Those are all really good things. I've read about these effects on the body and many others as well, but it's been a really long time since I last made any effort at all to keep track of how much water I am drinking.

I like this.

Yesterday, day 2, I also drank 64 oz of water. It was a little more difficult because of my work schedule, but I managed to get it all in. I also made a bigger effort to choose healthier foods - fresh fruits and veggies, oatmeal for breakfast, etc...Overall I felt really good.

I still had my cup of coffee though. I held out until almost 11am before I caved! I really want to kick the coffee habit, but I think I may have to go off it gradually rather than cold turkey. One thing I've noticed is that the idea of drinking coffee is much more appealing to me than the actual taste of coffee. My prayer is that eventually my brain will catch up with my tastebuds!

If you have any suggestions, thoughts, motivating stories or general comments for me about this or any other topic, or you just want to say hi and let me know that you're out there and that I'm not sitting here typing to myself. I'd LOVE to hear from you! I'm pretty sure I'm not the only person who has ever tried to drink more water or kick the coffee habit, so please share your experiences here and bless me and others who might be trying to do the same thing. You'll be glad you did:-)

Have a wonderful day!

Kim (Kanga-Mom)

Another crafty project for the not-so-crafty wanna be Kanga-Mom

2008-11-09T21:19:00.000-08:00

Oh my goodness, what was I thinking?

Every year around this time I get the idea to knit or sew or just make something from scratch. Usually, that's as far as it gets. The idea is enough to give me hives!

Last year, I went so far as to go to Michaels and purchase yarn and needles, but that was as far as it went.

This year, I went upstairs and dug the store bag out of my closet and sat it on the counter. There it sat for three days.

Today, I took the yarn out and asked Eeyore if she could show me how to cast on (that's knitting talk for "get started", see how much I've learned!) again because it had been so long since I had tried to knit that I had forgotten. Eeyore knits on a fairly regular basis and took an after school knitting class a couple of years ago. She rocks!

Anywho...

Attempt #1: After several attempts I finally got going. Only to discover that I had made it too tight... so I had to pull it all out.

Attempt #2: I actually got three rows done and was having trouble keeping it all on the needles because I had made it too long...and had to pull it all out.

Attempt #3: After getting another few rows done I decided that the yarn I had chosen was too advanced and that maybe I should start with a more basic yarn. I'm trying to use this really cute, fancy-pants, hairy blue yarn. For this beginner it's really difficult to see what I'm doing because the yarn is so irregular. So, I decided that perhaps I had better switch to a more straightforward yarn...even though it's not nearly as cute! ...so I had to pull it all out again.

That is where we're at right now. After over an hour of effort, I'm back to a ball of yarn!

The Case of the Missing Sippy Cups

2008-11-08T07:14:00.000-08:00

Have you seen these sippy cups? (actual sippy cups were missing at time of picture.)

We recently found ourselves in a sippy cup shortage. At first, we were only missing the occasional stopper. Then a lid would go MIA. Finally we were down to one sippy cup. One! This family cannot survive on one sippy cup! What was happening to them? Was there a sippy cup thief among us? Who could it be?

The suspects were difficult to photograph because they are constantly on the move. This is the best picture we could get of all three of them together:

WANTED FOR QUESTIONING

TIGGER, WINNIE, and EEYORE

After a housewide search, we came up empty handed. We were stumped. The trail had gone cold.

Then one day, the case broke in a most unexpected way. Tigger was upstairs in her room waking up from a nap. As I walked up the stairs to get her, I could hear her repeating in a loud voice, "I cyimb out, I cyimb out!" When I opened the door to her room, this is what I saw:

She was trying to get out of her crib! That night, Christopher Robin moved her mattress down to it's lowest setting. When he pulled out the crib mattress, what did he see? Four sippy cups! The case broke wide open and all three suspects caved under the intense investigation that followed. It turns out that Eeyore and Winnie were giving Tigger sippy cups filled with water while she was taking a nap, or before bedtime. Then, when Tigger was done with them, she would throw the cups behind her crib (This seems like a reasonable thing to do to me. They aren't very comfortable to sleep on, after all.) .

Mystery solved!

Now if we could only solve The Case of the Missing Sock!

Eeyore in her Detective Costume

2008-10-31T08:06:00.001-07:00

She looked so cute! Today they get to wear their costumes to school. I love how she chose such a conservative looking costume this year. She's growing up!

HSM3, Sappy Sentiments, and other Mom thoughts

2008-10-26T18:09:00.000-07:00

I took Eeyore (oops she just read this and insists that she is Roo today so....) I took Roo to see High School Musical 3 this afternoon. It was good. I think I might have liked it more than she did! But, I'm sappy and sentimental that way. I LOVE musicals. Singing, dancing, sports, teenagers with their whole lives ahead of them and full of promise. It all makes me smile. I asked Roo which character she identified with the most and she said the girl who plays the piano and writes music. I thought that was very interesting. Roo does love to play the piano, and it sounds like she is viewing herself as more a behind the scenes person rather than front and center all the time. Very interesting stuff.

As a mom of a preteen, I have noticed that my role as her mom is in a state of transition. It seems that I am more useful to her when I take her seriously and treat her like a mature young lady, than when I'm her mom and tease her and treat her like the child that she is most of the time. I am learning to view her as she is going to be in a few years, while at the same time remembering that she is still only 11 right now and in need of direction, correction, and attention.

Right now, she is still acting a lot like a little girl, but soon, very soon, I will wake up and she will be asking to borrow my make up, worrying about her hair and telling me about a boy she "likes". Until then, I'll take her to HSM3, she'll play with her sisters, and want the latest Webkinz doll.

Tigger's First Dentist Appointment

2008-10-22T12:59:00.000-07:00

Today was Tigger's turn at Dentistry For Kids. She won them all over with her giggles and charm!

She was totally enthralled with the process and loved Dr. James. She let him brush her teeth and count them. No cavities and he said her teeth looked "perfect"!

They even liked our "Brush Your Teeth" song. We sing it to the tune from "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" and it goes like this:

"Brush, brush, brush your teeth
Brush them all day long
Front and back
Front and back
Keeps them nice and strong."

The girls love the song and get very enthusiastic about brushing their teeth when we sing it together in the morning and at night.

Have I mentioned how much I love this dentist? The whole office is amazing!

Have a great day!

We're Walking, We're Walking....

2008-10-22T08:15:00.001-07:00

It's still early, but I wanted to post this real quick...

Roo and I went for another early morning walk today. I'm so proud of her. She remembered to get up and had to come and wake ME up to go! It was chilly out, but we did it and came back to coffee for me, and hot cocoa for her. What a great way to start the day! I'm really enjoying this time with her. God has given me this wonderful opportunity to spend time with her, and to really hear her and see her. No distractions, no pressure. He has met us right where we are and made a way for us to spend time together.

Praise God!

'Tis the season- Challenge

2008-10-21T18:31:00.001-07:00

As most of you know, I love this time of year. However, there is one aspect of it that has brought me many sleepless nights filled with worry, anxiety, guilt. This time of year wreaks havoc on our finances. Is there anyone out there that can relate? It seems that no matter how much we plan and prepare, we end up going over our allotted gift budget. So this year, we are trying a different approach, and I thought it would be fun (yes, I know I'm sick and twisted) to challenge my reader (maybe there are two of you out there, but I can't be sure) to do the same.

God has placed it on our hearts (and my mom's too) to change our focus this year. So, instead of going gift crazy, we are going to switch things up on Christmas day in an attempt to break up our gift opening frenzy, and place the focus where we believe it should be: On Jesus' birth, and on loving each other. Normally, we wake up early to see what "Santa" has brought and then proceed to spend the next couple of hours opening presents, playing with said presents, eating breakfast, calling family, and then perhaps going in for round 2 of opening more presents (yes, it really is that bad). Granted, not all of the presents are from mom and dad, but many of them are. Too many. Each year, we say we are going to cut back because we always overdo it and don't want our girls to get spoiled or expect such extravagant gifts, and each year we do more than we plan. (Again, I know you're out there...can you relate?

I'm certainly not anti-Santa. He's a jolly dude and a fun tradition, but Santa is not what Christmas is about. Santa isn't real. Jesus is.

In our defense, we do not buy much for the girls throughout the year. We save up for birthdays and Christmas. However, it is just getting to be too burdensome to give them everything at Christmas. Also, we are starting to buy them more throughout the year as the need arises while still buying them a lot at Christmastime too. Totally ridiculous and totally missing the point, I know.

So, this year, in honor of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, we are going to celebrate His life by starting new traditions. We are praying for discernment as to how to do that in a way that honors Him and brings joy to our children's lives on this overly commercialized holiday. This will be a big undertaking because both Christopher Robin and I were raised with traditional Santa Claus, presents under the Christmas tree, Christmases, and have wonderful memories of those holidays. And, old habits die hard.

But, God...
Many times, in the Bible, when we (silly humans) are struggling with what seems to be an impossible task, the story is followed with a, "But God". Then, God proceeds to turn all of our misconceptions and preconceived notions and old habit on their heads, and He does His thing. He does the impossible over and over and over again. Because I know this to be true, then I know without a doubt that if we trust in Him, He will make this right.

I trust God and put my faith in Him. I want my children to do the same.

I'm still not exactly sure what Christmas will look like this year at the Hundred Acre Wood, but one thing I do know for sure: God is good. All the time. We will prayerfully consider how he would have us "do Christmas" this year. If you haven't done that before, won't you join me?

Have a fabulous day!

Winnie's First Fall Festival

2008-10-20T08:42:00.001-07:00

Princess Winnie

Isn't she beautiful! Sunday was her preschool's Fall Festival, and we had such a good time. She spent the majority of the time inside the "Bouncy-House" but also participated in the rope swing, bowling for cups, fishing for prizes, pin the nose on the pumpkin and the spider toss. Fun! Fun! Fun! This is Winnie with her Wonderful teacher Mary Lynn:

We decided to only bring Winnie to this event. I know, it's a "Family Fall Festival", but it's so rare that she gets us all to herself that we thought this would be a good time to give her all of our attention. Although we have recently made a decision to do more together as a family, this was one of those times that we chose to deviate from that decision and give her some much needed one-on-one time. We are so glad we did!

Did I mention how much time she spent in the "Bouncy-House"?
And then there was the rope swing:
And most important, time with friends:

It was a good day.

It's Harvest Time

2008-10-19T17:16:00.000-07:00

It's that time of year. Time for the annual pilgrimage to our local farm to pick out pumpkins, ride tractors, go through hay mazes, and ride some rides. It's Harvest Season, Fall Festival time, Autumn. We LOVE this time of year!

This weekend we went to our local Lee's Family Farm and Winnie's preschool Fall Festival! Whew, that's a lot of harvesting in one short weekend, but it was super fun!

Christopher Robin and I have decided that we need to make a point of getting out with the whole family more often for fun events like these. It's stressful, but only because we don't do it very often. Now that everyone is getting older and more independent it is even more important for us to start making memories that will stay with them into adulthood.

I know it's cliche, but it's true: Time does fly. I have 11 year old Eeyore to prove it (yes, she's Eeyore this week...that's another post for another time). She and I went for a walk tonight in the brisk Autumn air and discussed things that were very grown up. She also shared with me some private fears she still has (I do not have permission to share those here), and showed me how she is working hard to get in better shape and take better care of her body. I'm so proud of her!

Sorry about the sentimental post. I always wax nostalgic this time of year.

I Choose Joy!

2008-10-16T17:51:00.000-07:00

2 Corinthians 4:16-18

"Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So, we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."

Today was OMA. I love OMA. It is a women's bible study that I participate in two Thursdays a month. What an amazing blessing this group has been to me. You can find out more about it here:

www.onemothertoanother.net

Today we finished up a wonderful discussion about Joy, one of the Fruits of the Spirit. I left feeling happy, filled up with love for my heavenly father, and for my fellow mommies. Here are a few things that I took away from this study:

1. Joy doesn't just happen. You have to actively pursue Joy and exert a small amount of effort to achieve a Joyful state of mind.

2. Be deliberate about spending time with the Lord. The more firmly rooted we are in Him, the more likely His Joy, can be our strength.

3. Profound praise brings Joy. Dancing, singing, raising your hands to honor Him. You know, all those things that we feel self-conscious about when we do them in public. But, here's what the bible says:

Psalms 32:11
Rejoice in the Lord and be glad, you righteous; sing, all you who are upright in heart!

Psalms 33:1-3
Sing joyfully to the Lord, you righteous; it is fitting for the upright to praise him. Praise the Lord with the harp; make music to him on the ten-stringed lyre. Sing to him a new song; play skillfully, and shout for joy.

4. Our Joy is unstoppable.

2 Corinthians 4: 8-10
We are hard pressed on every side, butnot crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.

5. Joy radiates from within. I was reminded today that no amount of work on the outside will bring us Joy on the inside. It just doesn't work that way. We have to choose Joy on the inside and then it will radiate out for all the world to see and people will ask, "Why are you so happy?" And then we, lovers of Jesus, get to tell them why. Isn't that awesome!!!

So as for me and my house...I will choose joy. It will be difficult, because that is not my natural response, but I will still try to choose joy. Won't you choose joy with me today?

Feel The Burn!

2008-10-11T07:50:00.000-07:00

I started running again two days ago at the gym. I've had a lot of stops and starts over the past year, but I really am motivated and want to get back into running again SO BAD! So, I asked my darling Christopher Robin to put some new music on my ipod and off to the gym I went. As I was panting...no,let's be honest, huffing and puffing is more like it...some tips came to me that I thought might help a new runner enjoy their experience more. Or at the very least, you might laugh a little and forget how tired you are for a nanosecond. Either way, it's a win-win!

Kanga-mom's Tips for a great running experience:

1. Ladies, you always, and I mean ALWAYS, should wear a very supportive sportsbra. Spend the money because the good ones are not cheap. Fashion is not your primary concern here. Immobilizing the girls is. The last thing you want are THOSE distracting you from your fabulous endorphin-filled activity.

2. Good supportive shoes are a must. Do NOT run in high tops, court shoes, or those trendy little fashion sneakers that are everywhere right now. Good running shoes can be expensive, but check out the outlet shops and watch for sales. Try them on and run in the store in them before you purchase a pair. Then replace them ever 6 months if you're running or walking in them regularly. Your knees and ankles will LOVE you!

3. Invest in some sort of audio device. MP3, Ipod, portable cd player, whatever works for you, but find something. This will get you through those tough miles, hills, and the sheer boredom that sets in at some point. I personally prefer fast paced music with a strong beat and do not like listening to people talk while I run. The glorious thing is that you can listen to whatever you want and customize your tunes to fit you. Just do it. You can thank me later.

4. Water, water, water. Drink plenty of it before, during, and after you run.

5. Eating something light within an hour before and after your run. A power bar, an apple, some sort of protein/carb combo that isn't too heavy and will fuel your energy and muscles while you exercise. If you don't you'll hit the wall and won't have any gas left in you to get you past it. After runs protein shakes are my favorite.

6. Stretch. Most people do not do this, yet this often forgotten activity will be what prevents injuries from occurring and will reduce soreness the next day. Slowly and gently stretch your muscles before you run and then again after your run as you cool down.

7. Start slow. Don't go out on your first day and try to run a marathon. Ease into it. Walk first, then run. Start small and then increase EITHER your distance OR your pace, but not both at the same time. There are a lot of good books and online tools available to help you with this process. Here are some links to get you started:

http://www.runnersworld.com/
http://www.therunnersguide.com/
http://www.coolrunning.com/

8. Phone a friend, or go solo, you decide. I like to run by myself so that I can get into "the zone", but if you work better with a friend then find someone who, like you, wants to feel the burn! If you're a people person and none of your friends are crazy like you, get online and look for running groups in your area to join. They're out there, and love new members.

9. Use your time running to mentally refresh. Praise the Lord for His amazing creation, work through your stress, plan out your day, or just space out and listen to tunes. It's all good.

10. Enjoy your endorphin "after-glow". Expect to feel tired, sore, maybe even a little bit sick to your stomach if you over did it, but you will also feel AMAZING! For me, there is no better way to relieve stress, and clear my head than to go on a run.

Have a great day!

Look Mom! No Cavities!

2008-10-02T11:59:00.000-07:00

Little Winnie has never had her teeth looked at by a dentist. This has caused me (Rabbit-Mommy) a great deal of anxiety. You see, my mom worked for a dentist for years, and I've worked for dentists for years, and I have seen what can happen to a child's teeth when they do not see a dentist regularly. Winnie is now almost 4 years old, and try as I might, every time I took her in with me to see the dentist that Roo and I see, Winnie would steadfastly (in a rather Eeyore-ish way) refuse loudly to get in the chair, or even "ride on mommy's lap". No way! So, after the last time, my wonderful dentist suggested this pediatric dentist in town that is amazing. As it turns out, I have heard of this place because they have advertised where I work. It's called Dentistry For Kids in Wilsonville.

So, after waiting a few weeks, I finally called and made an appointment for Winnie to see Dr. James. When we came in for our appointment we were greeted by a very nice Office manager and a room resembling Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium. I kid you not. This place is the dental version of Disneyland. Check it out here: www.dentistryforkidsonline.com

Of course Winnie LOVED it. Here she is:

Tigger had a blast too and played while, every once in a while going into Winnie's room to check on her:

So there it is! My Winnie is growing up and getting braver by the minute. Next thing you know she'll be riding a scooter all by herself. Oh wait, she did that a couple of weeks ago! That's a whole different post:-)

First Fire of Fall

2008-09-21T07:37:00.000-07:00

It's small, it's gas, and it only puts out a little heat, but to me it's one of many "bests" that I love about Fall.

As the clouds rolled in and the temperature began to drop yesterday, I decided to cook up a yummy chicken-vegetable soup. Then, as I considered putting on my slippers, I looked at my long dormant gas fireplace and smiled. It was the perfect day to light 'er up for the first time of the season. The "whoosh" sound that it made when it ignited was loud enough to draw each member of my family into our living room. What a difference a fire makes? Everything feels more cozy, and instead of watching TV, we all decided to....just hang out. How wonderful is that!?

As per our usual "hang out" routine, there was dancing, singing, and tumbling galore. Then, as I worked to slow the pace down before bedtime, I pulled out these wonderful books:

Mrs. Merriwether's Musical Cat by Carol Purdy

and...

Mr. Gumpy's Outing by John Burningham

With Tigger curled up on my left, Winnie on my right, and Eeyore on the chair across from us, I began to read about a cat who keeps time to music with it's tail and a man who let's cows, goats, children and pigs climb onto his boat for ride. It was wonderful and funny.

Then I pulled out The Children's Homer by Padraic Colum. I thought for sure I'd lose Tigger and Winnie right away. However, they both hung in there for the whole first page. Then, one at a time they jaunted off to go take their baths and put on jammies.

Eeyore and I were left alone to enjoy the story of Odysseus and his son Telemachus. I loved reading this book aloud to her. I felt as though we were being transported to another time. Eeyore was also completely enthralled. She wanted to take the book to bed with her to read, but I said no. I want to save it for our read aloud time.

Even though we aren't technically homeschooling this year, at least we can continue to carry on with this tradition that we started last year. Reading aloud as a family. It's a lot of fun. I recommend it to everyone, no matter how old or young your children are.

Blessings!

Cayenne-Rubbed Chicken with Avocado Salsa

2008-09-17T08:33:00.000-07:00

My MIL signed me up to receive Martha Stewart's Food Everyday Magazine. I love recipes with few ingredients that are fresh and quick, and this magazine has never let me down.

This is a recent recipe we tried. Thanks Jen!

Check it out. Yum, Yum!

Ingredients
course salt and ground pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
2 tbsp olive oil
1 medium red onion finely diced
2 tbsp lime juice
1 Hass avocado, pitted and cut into chunks.

1. In a small bowl, combine 1 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and cayenne; rub all over chicken.

2. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium. Add chicken, and cook until browned on the outside and opaque throughout, 8-10 minutes per side.

3. Meanwhile in a medium bowl, combine onion and lime juice; set aside. Just before serving, fold avocado chunks into onion mixture; season with salt and pepper. Serve chicken topped with salsa.

We served this up with fresh steamed green beans and a green salad with apples and candied pecans mixed in.

My whole family loved it...even the little ones:-)

Winnie's First Day...

2008-09-16T14:48:00.000-07:00

"Twas the night before preschool..."

Winnie paced nervously as she lay out the special outfit she picked for her first day of "School". At bedtime she excitedly climbed under the covers, filled with the anticipation of her big day. She woke up at 4 am, then again at 6:00 complaining of a tummy ache. Two rounds of Tums helped, but she was still too nervous to eat the scrambled eggs I made. As we arrived in carline I reviewed the procedure with her, told her I loved her and wished her a great morning. The door to the car opened and I helped her out, bracing for the hugs and tears that I thought would surely follow. Then, as I explained to her teacher that Winnie had a bit of a tummy ache this morning, my darling 3 1/2 year old preschooler marched right on by me and her teacher and headed into her classroom like she'd been doing it all her life. No goodbye mommy, no hug or kiss, no tears (except mine). With other parents waiting patiently in their cars behind me and an upset Tigger in the car, I had to go. So off I drove, glancing nervously back into the classroom just in case she realized she had left me behind. Nope, she was happily chatting with her teacher and hanging up her bag. My shy little Winnie has blossomed into a confident little preschooler. Who knew? She did.

Do you wanna be a Rockstar?

2008-09-12T22:37:00.000-07:00

When the music comes on Christopher Robin and I just kick back and enjoy the show.

Winnie and Eeyore "Break It Down!"

Strike a Pose

And this is the shy one...

Tigger, not to be outdone, pulls out the SPARKLY microphone!

Just another day at the Hundred Acre Wood.

Going Where God Wants Me To Go

2008-09-09T06:49:00.001-07:00

We got kicked out of the home school coop last night! Before it even started. Originally, Eeyore-Roo had been signed up for this group when we were going to home school her and so I also had Winnie and Tigger signed up for preschool. What no one mentioned was that they do not allow children younger than Kindergarten age to join unless they have an older sibling who has joined. So, when we pulled Eeyore-Roo out to go to public school, that meant that Winnie and Tigger could no longer attend the coop either. I was incredibly disheartened. It felt like one of those times when as a teenager you get kicked out of the popular club because you don't have the right haircut or something. It did NOT feel good!

However, after shedding a few tears (thankfully, only a few, not a waterfall full) of frustration over all of the wasted time planning this year and over Winnie's dissappointment when she finds out she won't get to go to this preschool, I prayed. I asked God to give me perspective, show me His way, and to forgive my outburst. I instantly felt a calm come over me. My situation didn't change, but I did feel better about it.

I'm still not sure what, if anything, we are going to do about Winnie and preschool. Christopher Robin and I are discussing it. It is, after all, only preschool. But in the mind of the preschooler it's their whole life, so I want to be sensitive to that. Another good thing that came out of being kicked off the varsity squad of homeschoolers is that it has forced me to consider whether or not I can still be a homeschooling mom with a child in public school. I've tied a lot of my identity up into that little label "Homeschooler" and it may take me a bit to figure out what I am if I'm not a homeschooling mom. I know many families that have each of their children in various forms of education: public, private, web academy, charter schools, homeschool. There are a lot of options out there which gives families today the opportunity to choose the best educational experience for each child. It's awesome! So, I will be praying and seeking God's direction in order to stay in His will and do what's best for our family.

As a result of not doing the coop on Thursday mornings though, I now get to participate in my women's bible study on Thursdays! Yay!!!! That was the one thing that I was sad about missing when I signed up for the coop, so now I don't have to miss it. I treasure my time with these wonderful women and the children. Thank you God!

Feast or Famine and other random thoughts...

2008-09-07T20:18:00.000-07:00

In the past week we've done at least a months worth of things. I'm pooped! We all are. Yawnnnnn.... Do you know how that feels. It's like feast or famine for us. Either we are really bored, no activity, getting in each other's way, or there's too much to do and it all needs to be done yesterday. Thankfully, God knows when we need a rest and grants us that at just the right time. Until then, it's pedal to the metal full speed ahead!

Tigger and Winnie have grown and changed so much this summer. Tigger, our youngest, is a light and a "tension breaker" for all of us. Everyone who meets her walks away happier and lighter than they were a few minutes before. She's hilarious, engaging, open, friendly, and basically just the coolest kid ever! She has all of the confidence and charisma of her older sisters combined (and they have a ton of charisma and confidence). Winnie, our middle daughter, has also grown in confidence this year. She is our more shy and quiet one, if you can even call her that. By most people's standards, she's not quiet or shy, however, by our standards, she is the quietest and most sensitive of the bunch. She still stays close to mom and dad, but is learning to speak her mind and stand up for herself around kids her own age. She is very tender-hearted and cares deeply about others.

I love that 3-4 year old age. They are very concerned about boo-boos and doctors and taking care of themselves and others. Winnie and her friends are forever doctoring each other's "owee's" and checking ears', noses and throats, applying compresses and listening to heart beats. At any given time you can find on our front lawn or a neighbor's lawn a triage center set up with 4 year olds sprawled all over it waiting to be "healed".

At our recent neighborhood end of year bbq the children were all out playing together well past their normal bedtimes, and loving it. There was music playing and our neighbors had strung white lights up in the trees over the top of the street. It was quite pretty and warm out and everyone was having a really good time visiting and catching up on the summer's events. If your neighborhood doesn't do something like this I strongly recommend organizing one. It is so much fun and not too much effort. Anyway...One little 2 1/2 year old boy (whom we know well and is friends with Tigger) came up to Tigger and said, "Do you wanna dance?" Tigger said, "Yeaaaaahhhh!" and the two of them started dancing to the music. They were holding hands and jumping and having the best time! Look out mom and dad, time to bring the chaperone's in!
Oh, they grow up so fast!

First Day of School

2008-09-05T06:41:00.000-07:00

My Middle Schooler...Doesn't she look so grown up!

Roo had her first day of middle school yesterday. Well, actually the first day was Wednesday, but it was only a half-day and orientation for the new students so it doesn't really count (all of this according to the wiser-than-ever Roo).

She loves her locker partner and thinks her TREK teacher is very cool because there are huge flat screen monitors on the desks. She only got lost once and other than that had a terrific day. Phew!

Kanga-mom is hanging in there. Each day I'm relaxing a little more and enjoying the quiet time with Winnie and Tigger. The three of us have been really enjoying each other's company. Winnie, especially, is benefiting from the extra attention. Being the middle child can be tough at times, and with her amicable disposition, her loud and rambuctious sisters often over shadow her.

Winnie and Tigger had a tough time with Roo getting on the bus on Orientation Day. I didn't anticipate any trouble from them and was focused so much on Roo that I completely missed the warning signs, but looking back here is how it played out:

The night before, Winnie was very whiney, weepy, and kept getting up throughout the night with bad dreams. The next morning she had a major meltdown over getting dressed and kept asking when she was going to preschool, and why Roo was riding a bus, and where was Roo going, and when would Roo be back, and "Lions and Tigers and Bears, OH MY!" Tigger was ok until Roo got on the bus. Then the mouth opened and the shreaks came out as she realized she wasn't getting on the bus as well. Oh man, did she steal the show! On the walk home we sang the song, "The Wheels on the Bus go 'round and 'round, " and that helped her to choke back her sobs. Poor thing!

A blessed friend of mine emailed me that morning offering to host the two little ones at a Mom's Morning Out group for me. That was a life savior! Thank you Delayne! I was able to distract the little ones with the idea that they were going to get to go to "Preschool" that morning and that saved the day!

Here are some pics of that morning:

And here's Roo walking excitedly to the bus stop for the very first time!

The past two days have gone really well. No major catastrophes. I didn't even cry! Everything that needed to happen, happened effortlessly. God has answered all of my prayers for this transition and all the glory goes to him. He is faithful and knows just what we need when we need it. All we have to do is listen and obey.

I expect there will be bumps in the road as the year progress. That's how life works. However, through it all I will remember the Lord my God and seek his wisdom first. I will remember that He knows this road we are on. He created it and knew we would take it before we did. Nothing is a surprise to him so I will trust in Him. I will cover my children in prayer every day and I will continue to teach them His ways so that they may choose to trust in Him also.

Have a blessed day!

With anticipation and obedience to the Lord

2008-09-01T09:27:00.000-07:00

This weekend Christopher Robin and I decided it was time make a change in Roo's life. After much prayer and deliberation we decided that it would be best for our entire family if Roo went back to public school. This was and continues to be a very big decision for me. Christopher Robin felt all along that Roo should have stayed in public school, so for him this was not a difficult decision to make. However, he understands painfully well how difficult this was for me.

As Pastor Rogers says, "God is good. All the time." This decision is no different. God is still good. Even as my heart breaks.

I'm staring at the heap of amazing books we were going to study this year as part of our 6th grade Christian Curriculum through My Father's World called Creation to Greeks. I was positively giddy with excitement when I received the box in the mail a couple of months ago. I quickly opened the box and smelled that wonderful smell of fresh, new books...ahhhh. Then carefully took each one out and smoothed my hands over the unbroken hard bound covers. Finally, I came to the Teachers Manual. In that book were all the secrets and promises for an exciting year of learning. I couldn't wait to dive in! Expectantly, I turned to Roo, hoping to see the same excitement on her face. I was disappointed when, instead, I saw her look of resignation and the reticent shrug of her shoulders. She didn't care.

Oh, the burden that came over me at that time. I immediately felt my shoulders slump. I'd carried this weight all last year and recognized the familiar feeling as it settled in between my shoulder blades and in the pit of my stomach. I wanted so badly for Roo to love homeschooling as much as I loved homeschooling her. I wanted her to love learning and reading and investigating all of the interesting subjects we were exposed to. However, no amount of me wanting it was going to make it happen. I'd spent an entire school year pulling, prodding, carrying, coercing, cheering, yelling, threatening, bribing, praying, and crying. All in an attempt to get Roo on board.

Praise God, there were plenty of great moments. I'm incredibly thankful that she and I got to spend this year together. Our relationship grew. I learned so much about my eldest daughter that I would not have learned otherwise. My love for her grew, as did her respect for me. Her relationship and love for her sisters grew. She, again, became an integral part of this family. A piece without which we could not function properly. As she experienced difficult times last year maturing, and growing, quesioning her faith and the Lord. I was right there any time of day or night, available for her on her time, not mine. I feel like I got my girl back this year, and just in the knick of time.

All of that came at a cost to me, my husband, and our family. My health has been the worst it's ever been this past year. I went against my husband when I decided to homeschool Roo and for that I have asked and received his forgiveness. I began to feel resentful toward my children and my husband because of all that was demanded of me twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. There was no peace for me the entire year. I was working, homeschooling, raising three children, trying to maintain a clean home, enjoy a good relationship with my husband, and God. I felt as though I was letting everyone down including myself, because I couldn't accomplish all that I wanted to accomplish the way I wanted to accomplish it. I prayed and prayed and it was only with God's strength, kindness, love, compassion and patience that I got through the year at all.

So, when I saw that look of resignation in my daughter's eyes I began to wonder about this year. What were my motives? Had homeschooling Roo became more about me than about her? Was the investment that I had made in homeschooling more important than my investment in my child? I had previously thought that investing in homeschooling WAS investing in my child, but now I wasn't so sure. After a lot of prayer and thought I came to the conclusion that I first needed to take it to my husband and ask him what he thought. He thought that I needed to do whatever would make me the least stressed out. God bless' m! He still felt that Roo would do great in public school. We did the whole pro's and con's thing and finally what it boiled down to was that I want to honor my husband and do what's best for our whole family. Not what's best for one child at the expense of the rest of our family.

We discussed it with Roo and lo and behold, she was thrilled with the prospect of going back to school. She's nervous, but excited. Do you know what she said to me? She said, "Mom don't worry! When you worry it makes me worry about you." Wow. That stopped me dead. The last thing I want is for my daughter to worry about me.

So, off to school we go along with the masses. I still plan to home school Tigger and Whinny with some preschool activities. I can't wait! I also can't wait to be the most involved mommy at Roo's middle school. I plan to show my face there so much that Roo won't even realize that we aren't homeschooling! Maybe not quite that much, but I do hope to be very involved.

I'll share more later because I know this has gotten incredibly long. In the meantime, please pray for us. Pray for Roo's safety, her walk with the Lord, that she is a blessing to others, and that she leads others to Jesus.

Lord, I thank you for this past year of homeschooling. For your love, and for all the good that you did in our family and in Roo. Thank you Jesus for showing me where I needed to ask my husband for forgiveness, and thank you that he did forgive me. Thank you for the amazing homeschooling families who have come along beside us to bless us and be a light in our dark moments. Lord, in all things we will point to you. As we head into this new season, we rest in you, gather strength from you and trust in you. We will walk in your ways and be salt and light unto the world. I pray for your covering and blessing over Roo as she enters into the world, and that she will remember that the one who is in her is greater than the one who is in the world (1 John 4:4). Amen

Mama Mia!

2008-08-27T18:48:00.001-07:00

I went and saw this movie last week with my Mom and Mother-in-Law. What a fun movie! As per my MIL's suggestion, I invited my mom to come with us and am so glad I did. My mom and I love to dance...it's a common bond we have and we have enjoyed sharing it my whole life. So, for us, watching any movie that has singing, dancing, romance, comedy and a mother/daughter relationship is a huge hit with us!

I don't remember ever laughing so hard in a movie. This was not the polite laugh, or even the loud, open mouthed laughter that is common in movie theaters. No, no, this was the silent laugh. You know it. The one that starts off with a little chuckle and then builds into something that can hardly be contained. What's a girl to do? The laughter has to get out somehow. In my case it was shaking shoulders and tears. Yes, I laughed so hard I cried. I DID NOT pee my pants though!

Not only did I love the music, but Meryl Streep, Julie Walters and Christine Baransky were HILARIOUS!!!! See the movie just for them. The only thing I didn't like was Pierce Brosnan singing. Just say "No" Pierce, Just say "No. (see previous post)

Thanks Jen for suggesting the movie! I had such a great time!

The Little House Mom who couldn't sew...

2008-08-27T07:35:00.000-07:00

When I was a little girl, and then later as a teenager, and then later as a young adult, my dear mom tried to teach me how to sew. She tried to instill in me a love of sewing. The same one that she had in her. She also tried ( by doing so herself) to show me how to be a good home maker. Unfortunately for me, I was stubborn and convinced that not only would I not be a home maker, but I would hire someone to do all that house keeping stuff, and I would never have children, and I'd marry a man who loved to cook and clean...that is if I chose to marry at all...blah, blah, blah.

Well, if you know me, you know how silly that all sounds now that I am a happily married, homeschooling mother of three daughters. God must have thought I was so funny when I was young adult. I had no clue of the amazing journey he had planned for me. If I had any wisdom at all back then, I would have paid attention to my mother! But, I didn't and that is why I am here today to tell you about....

My latest sewing adventure! Da-da-da-daaaaaaaa....

I am (well, to be honest it's more like WE are) going to make chair pads for my dinette table because I cannot find them anywhere to fit my odd sized chairs. Believe me, I've spent months looking in order to avoid making them myself, and now here I am... making them myself. What's even more amazing is that my Fabric Store Phobic husband went with me into Joanne's Fabrics and helped me pick out the supplies I'd need to make the pads. Isn't he the best?

I thought it would be fun to take you along the ride with me. Here are some before pictures:

The pad and some of the material Rob and I found on sale. What a bargain!

The whole family got into the project. Roo and Whinnie were busy cutting foam and wrapping their own pillows with Kanga Mom and Grandma:

Tigger, not to be outdone, jumped to her hearts delight on the big foam pad on the floor before it was cut up into chair size pieces:

The original Kanga-Mom: The woman who helped make it all happen. I owe her a debt of gratitude for devoting her time to this latest project. Thanks Mom!!!!

Christopher Robin was a big help too. He was being silly for the camera, but he helped keep the kids busy and helped us clean up the mess we made. Thanks Hon!

And now for the moment you've all been waiting for...the finished product...drum roll please...

TA DA!!!!!!

What a fun morning!

2008-08-26T07:17:00.000-07:00

This past weekend we had family in town for a visit and we had the best time. On Friday morning we decided to take a trip to Fir Point Farms in nearby Canby. I've only been there to get pumpkins so I really didn't know what to expect at this "off season" time of year, but we thought it would be fun to check it out.

When we arrived, the roadside stand was open with fresh fruits and vegetables out for sale. The field was mostly bare except for an area where the sunflowers and corn were planted. They were beautiful! The colors were vibrant burnt reds, oranges and yellow and they stood taller than me (I'm 5'1"). The girls chose a wagon to ride in and we headed down the path, not knowing what lay ahead because we couldn't see around the bend very far. It was a fun little adventure with a lot of, "Where are we going mom?" coming from the wagon.We found along the trail a Noah's Ark boat built for the kids to play on with animals painted on the inside and outside walls. The air was crisp and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. We had had rain off and on the several days prior to this one, and it seemed as though it had scrubbed everything clean.

We fed the goats, talked to the chickens and rooster, tried to take home the baby bunnies, and ended the morning with fresh blueberry muffins and an apple outside next to the beautiful sunflowers. It was such a nice morning out!

Where are my slippers?

2008-08-20T08:33:00.000-07:00

Are those leaves on the ground? Clouds in the sky? Where are my slippers? My feet are a little cold this morning. It feels like my favorite time of year is approaching and I am giddy with anticipation. I love Autumn. The cool, crisp air that seems to clear your lungs and leaves you feeling all sparkly inside when you draw in a deep breath. I love sitting at the computer in my slippers and drinking my hot coffee in the morning and not sweating while doing so.

I also love what the coming of this season means. Traditions, holidays, Jesus' birthday, spending time with family cuddled by the fire, reading good books, cooking yummy food that fills the whole house with delicious scents. This time of year brings back happy memories for me of growing up in Christian Valley in Northern California. In this area we would lose electricity a couple of times during the winter and I'd get to play out my dreams of being Laura Ingalls Wilder. My "Pa" would build a fire in the wood burning stove we had, while "Ma" would put a stew on it to cook all day. We'd light a lantern and candles and play board games and eat homemade popcorn (not the microwave kind). We would talk and laugh and I'd go to bed with the stories I'd read that night in my head, and full of my daydreams of living on the prairie. I loved those times. I felt safe, cared for, loved, and the memories we made will stay with me forever.

I suppose it's because of those memories that, as an adult, I love this time of year so much. Now, my family lives close in to town and we rarely lose electricity. We don't have a wood burning stove, but instead a gas burning fireplace. I couldn't tell you where the lantern is (probably with the camping gear covered in dust in the garage somewhere) and I'm running low on my candle supply. However, the memories we are making with our children are just as precious. Because my girls are growing up in Oregon instead of California, we get to watch the most amazing lightning storms. We sit at our family room windows and cuddle under blankets while the fire is lit and count the seconds between flashes of lightening and the deep rumble of thunder. We bring the dog in because he's a big scaredy cat and he tries to climb up on the couch with us (the "no dogs on the couch" rule gets relaxed a bit at these times) and we thank God for the thunder and the lightening and the show that we get to watch. It's better than anything on TV!

Also, because we live in an area that experiences all the seasons with gusto, we get to enjoy watching the fall leaves transition from deep green to light green, light green to yellow, orange and red, before they fall to the ground. We get to watch the field outside our house turn from grassy green to hayfield yellow as the temperatures begin to drop. Even our red Golden Retriever seems to change to a fall color this time of year!

As I prepare my heart, mind and spirit for this new season, I look forward to my morning time with the Lord. During the summer I have been remiss in my meetings with Him, and I miss that time. But, when the weather turns cold and my slippers go on my feet, I can't help but curl up on the couch, cup of coffee in hand, with my favorite book...my bible. It's been decorated by Winnie which made me cry at first, but now I look at with fondness. I grab my journal, my pencil and a blanket and prepare my heart to meet with my Father in heaven. This time of year, I feel closest with Him. Not because he's ever far away, but because I pay the closes attention when the weather drives me in.

Thank you God for Autumn. Thank you for the seasons all throughout the year. Thank you for the memories that we are making with our children and the time we have together now to minister to them and to others. I pray that all who read this will find joy in this new season of the year and will praise you Lord for the beauty of all that you have created. Amen

Scavenger Hunt Anyone?

2008-08-11T07:13:00.000-07:00

Saturday we woke up and everyone was happy healthy and energized. So...my husband (Christopher Robin) said, "Hey, why don't we do the scavenger hunt with our friends from church this morning?" I said, "Really?" (that was Rabbit-mommy talking) "Are you sure the girls can handle being in the car that long and all the running around?" He said, "Sure, let's give it a try." With a shrug I agreed and off we went.

It was a beautiful cool August morning and as we drove to the meeting place the air crackled with excitement in the car. My middle child, Winnie, kept asking nervously, "Where are we going? Are we there yet? Why are we going to church on Saturday?" To which I replied, "You'll just have to wait until we get there to experience this yourself sweetie. Mommy can't explain it well enough for you to understand." Which was true. I had tried several times to explain what a scavenger hunt was, using various metaphors and I just wasn't getting through.

So after what seemed like an eternity we arrived at our destination (5 miles down the road) and we all jumped out of the car and ran to meet the group. There were hugs and greetings for everyone as we learned that friends we hadn't seen in months were in town visiting...yay! We received our instructions: A list of items to "collect" via digital pictures or actually taking them with us if we could, and a suggested return time back to the park for lunch. The winner would get...drum roll please...bragging rights! That worked for us! Our fearless leader prayed and we were off like a herd of wildebeests.

As we proceeded to get back into the car (strap kids into carseats, oldest (Eeyore soon to be Roo) climbing over the other two to get in the back seat, explaining to Winnie what we were going to do next without much success, Christopher Robin and I (now Kanga) began to form a plan. We looked over the list, determined what could be done at home and then planned our route.

We had so much fun taking pictures of the girls pushing each other in the stroller, Oldest playing a video game and walking the dog. We drove to a nearby town with a small airport to take pictures of planes taking off and landing, then we found an old building called The Ox Barn in that same small town. We drove a little farther and found a replica of a covered wagon or a Conestoga on top of an old building and took a picture of that. We collected a grocery store add, a take out menu and junk mail. We took pictures of people riding horseback in parades that were happening in several of the small towns we drove through and we spoke with store owners who were so sweet to give us directions and get caught up in the hunt with us. My husband took a picture of a Starbucks employee holding a Venti cup, while I took a picture of a girl carrying a kayak to the river. I kept reminding my husband that this was about the process not the end result, whenever his competitive spirit would get a little out of hand and he'd try to rush us along. The girls loved getting out of the car at the airport and watching the airplanes take off and land, but this took us more time than just taking a picture out the car window as we drove by.

We had been at it for a couple of hours when we called in to the organizer who told us that people were starting to trickle in, so we decided to call it a day. We didn't get everything on the list because we couldn't fine a Nutria (a small gopher/beaver looking animal that lives along the river in our area). We were the last ones to the park. We soon found out that we were the only team to actually go out and take pictures of the items on the list. Everyone else went home and took pictures off the internet, or from books they had around the house (a herd of deer..which we got out our Christmas lawn ornament deer and took a picture of my husband and oldest holding them) and used those instead of actually finding the items and taking pictures. My husband was extremely irritated by this because he felt that it wasn't in the spirit of the game, and I had to agree, but whatever.

The end result for us was that we had a GREAT time, and it was the first time since having our youngest that we have been able to get out and do something like this. There were no meltdowns in the car or fights. Eeyore was Roo for the day and Tigger and Winnie got along well. We laughed a lot and were excited to see towns we haven't been to before. We got to see parades and festivals going on in the area that day that we wouldn't have been able to see. It really felt like we crossed a threshold that day and gained some freedom for our family. Perhaps a new season of our life has started now that the kiddo's are getting a little older, or at the very least it was a glimpse at what is to come. Happy times, together as a family doing fun things and enjoying the journey as much, if not more than, the destination.

Those Rare Moments

2008-08-10T19:49:00.000-07:00

Lately, I've had a few rare moments when I've been able to see the woman that my oldest is going to become. Every once in a while, I'll "catch" her being especially kind to her little sisters or she'll willingly help me with a chore and offer to do more on her own. It has been such a surprise to me to see this latest transformation begin to happen. I've been praying that God will show me opportunities to lift her up and fill her heart with gladness, and He is giving me a lot to work with.

Recently, I began to form a comparison between my family and the characters in the "Winnie the Pooh" stories. You see, my oldest tends to be the Eeyore of our family. Always a little gloomy and negative and only rarely cracking a positive attitude. At least that's how she is with us at home. To the rest of the world she is cheerful, funny, engaging, intelligent etc. But at home she's our Eeyore. My youngest is definitely a Tigger. Very bouncy, cheery, engaging, funny, and positive. She's always enthusiastic and is the life of the room, but also finds herself into a mess of trouble because she doesn't really think things through. My middle child is Winnie the Pooh. Very even spirited, sensitive to others, caring and kind with a little bit of mischievousness when she gets in a group of other mischief-makers. I'm trying to be a Kanga mommy instead of a Rabbit mommy and my husband is Christopher Robin.

Anyway, as a wanna be Kanga mommy I'm trying to convert my Eeyore child to a Roo. I love how God is showing me ways to lift her up and be more gentle with her. Homeschooling her has allowed me a lot of opportunity to bless her and notice the little things that happen throughout the day. As hectic and crazy as our days can be, and as frustrated as we all get with each other, I'm incredibly grateful and thankful for this season in my life. The rare opportunity to get to have such a direct impact on not only my child's education, but her salvation, her safety, her relationship with her sisters and her relationship with me, is something I will never forget.

As she enters into this pivotal 6th grade year when all kinds of things are happening to her, physically, emotionally and spiritually, I am so thankful that God is with us and that He has allowed me to walk with her on this journey. It's humbling, exciting, and exhausting, but most of all, it's the best thing I will ever do in my whole life.

Tempation to do it all? Just Say No!

2008-07-31T06:43:00.000-07:00

I have a confession to make: I'm a joiner. I just love to join things. Classes, book clubs, volunteer organizations, kids play groups, family events, work parties, neighborhood planning committees. You name it, I want to be a part of it. I tend to feel the same way about my kids. They need to join things, right? I mean, isn't it important to get out and "socialize" and experience new things with other kids? Preschool, Soccer, Softball, Fencing, Dance, Drama, Coop, Babysitting Classes...you name it, sign us up!

Is there a 12 step program to cure a person of the addiction to Join? If there is, I haven't seen it yet. So, here's what I'm working on doing this year. It's a secret that not many other people know about and it produces instant results. Are ready? Here it is:

Just Say No.

Unbelievable isn't it? Who would have though of that? Not me that's for sure. I say "no" only if I'm in the hospital and the thing I want to join can't take place in my room. I'm supermom after all and I have an image to uphold.

Can anyone out there relate? I don't know about you, but often this is the dialogue that takes place in my head:

"If I say "no", the kids will miss out on a great opportunity to grow, learn more about themselves, about Jesus, and about others. If I say "no" they won't be the productive, Christ loving adults that I want them to be when they grow up and I will have been a horrible mom. If I say "no" people will think poorly of me."

I know, I know, it's totally irrational, but this is how Satan gets a foothold in my life. Here's the good news though (you knew there was some good news, right?):

God is good, All the time. Whenever I start going through this spiral of thought, God grabs a hold of me in ways that only He knows I understand. A godly friend's phone call to speak honest and kind words of wisdom to me, some unexpected quiet time to read my bible, a child's meltdown from doing too much, a bout with the cold or flu or other sickness that causes us all to stop. These are sometimes the ways in which God speaks to me. I'm so thankful for all of these things because He loves me enough to protect me from my "joining addiction". He convicts me that the only person, place or thing I need to join, or that my children need to join is Him. In Him, we are complete, we are loved and we are able to become exactly what He wants us to become.

Jesus came and gave His blood to wash away our sins and make us shiny and new. The disciples left their families, their homes, and all that they knew to JOIN Him and tell the world the Good News.

Were the disciples too busy with dance, drama, coop, fencing, softball, book club, or study club, to see who Jesus was? Were they so caught up in doing that they didn't see the Messiah right before their very eyes? Can you imagine if they had been like, "Hmm, Sorry Jesus, but I have a lot going on right now. It's fishing season, and the Fisherman's Club meets every Tuesday night, and then the Boater's Union meets on Thursdays. Monday's and Wednesdays I have to take the fish to market which only leaves Fridays for me to to have some down time. I have to spend the weekends with the kids and the wife or I get in big trouble, so unfortunately, I can't join your crusade to save mankind."

Whaaaaat???? Ridiculous, right?

I woke up this morning with this on my heart which is why I'm sharing it with you. God is convicting me to "Just Say No" as this season of business starts. Already, I'm being tempted to join, join, join by well meaning people who have no idea what my own personal situation is. My promise to God is that I will resist the temptation. When my dd looks at me with bored eyes and is sad because she can't join a certain club, I will pray and ask God to open her eyes and her heart to what is all around her every day. I will pray that God will show me what's all around me and how best to use what I already have to inspire and educate my children. I will pray and thank God for loving me and for being ALL that I need, and therefore ALL that my kids need.

I don't need a 12 step program. I only need God. He is my Everything.

Have a blessed day.

How do you spell "relief"? A N-E-W S-C-H-O-O-L Y-E-A-R!

2008-07-28T07:17:00.000-07:00

Now ask me in December if I still feel this way and the answer will be much different, but right now, it feels so good to be starting school again here! We all have enjoyed the time off (We finished up last year mid-May), but the girls are restless and bored, and we are all ready for a schedule, a routine, some challenge. So, we started our "easing into school" process last week. We did this last year and I loved it so we're doing it again. What I do is start #1 (that's my oldest 11 year old daughter) on her basics first... you know the 3R's. Then once we get our groove with those (usually a week or so) we start adding in bits of the rest of our curriculum. By the time September rolls around we are at full swing and over the first major growing pains of starting school. This method also allows us to finish school a few weeks ahead of our public school counterparts which #1 really likes (she's a little bit competitive and I have NO idea where she gets it:-)) So, we are back in the swing of things and loving it! Praise God!