Corduroy

Last week we read the book Corduroy! We had so much fun doing activities that went with the story!

Our first day plan was changed by some snow - so we ended up making a teddy bear out of snow and playing with buttons while enjoying Teddy Graham cookies!

Another day we headed to the Build-A-Bear store at the mall. We'd never done this before and I wasn't too excited about adding more stuffed animals to our toy family, so came up with a creative solution of enjoying the experience and sharing it with someone else. Plus, I found a coupon on the box of Teddy Grahams which made it a better deal!

Emily named her bear Pinky and Rachel named hers Ellie! They were very pleased with the results! Rachel's favorite part was giving her bear a bath!

While at the mall - we enjoyed riding the escalator - just as Corduroy did!

The next day, we took the bears to their new home! We delivered them to the local Ronald McDonald house. Emily wanted to give hers right to a little girl - but the two youngest girls staying at the house that day were over at the hospital when we were there. I hope the bears were a fun surprise and sweet blessing during their time of difficulty.

Emily pointed to the page with all the lamps and beds and said she wanted to see a store like that - so we visited a furniture store. The sales people caught wind of why we were there and we found teddy bears hidden under covers and on beds. They played along like it was Corduroy himself. And, just as we were leaving - a salesman approached us saying that if we liked that book, we'd probably enjoy Goodnight Bear and Goodnight Bunny - books written by Margaret Wise Brown but not found until after she died (I think). Anyway, his wife was the illustrator of the books! Obviously, we had a very positive experience here and the little ladies enjoyed their visit!

We felt corduroy and talked about saving money with these neat banks we got for Christmas! It was such a fun week!

Easter Dresses

I know, this is extremely early to be talking about Easter dresses - but since I found cute fabric and had time in CO - I made them one snowy afternoon!

A long time ago, I bookmarked this pattern and have been anxious to use it! After finding cute fabric at Hobby Lobby - I was ready to go!

A few little updates...

Thanks for all the great post ideas you shared recently - they are simmering in my mind and I'll be posting as I can on those topics.


We leave tomorrow morning for a loooong drive home - we have had such a good time in Colorado and are anxious to see Daddy!


It has been so fun to meet several of you during my visit in the Springs!


Heather: Thank you for the wonderful family photos and for the great experience of working together with you - we love the pictures and memories! Any of you who may ever need a photographer in the Springs area - I highly recommend Heather!


Paula: Thanks for meeting up at the mall and sharing a wonderful little store with us and your sweet family! We were so blessed by being with you.


Lynn: Thank you for your faithful service in Emily's Sunday School class while we were here! I appreciated your sweet smile each week!


Phebe: You can imagine my surprise when I was recognized in the Wal-Mart restroom! I was a little sheepish as I had gone in there to give some discipline! So nice to meet you and your very sweet little ladies! Thank you so much for kindly introducing yourself!!


Amy: It was fun to meet Isabelle and enjoy Odyssey with you!


Rebecca: A long time friend - neither of us live in the Springs any more yet it was so nice to have a chance to visit even for a short time. You are a kindred spirit!



Several of you have asked how my Dad is - Carrie recently posted a little update - but here are a few observations of my own.


He is feeling good and seems, to me, to be his normal self!

After x-rays and meetings with a great doctor - they do not feel that radiation would be beneficial to him right now - his bones are strong enough as they are!! This is great news for a marathoner! Yes, he is planning to run a marathon this June!

Here's how I look at it: he's much younger than most patients with this diagnosis and much more physically fit and strong. I have this analogy in mind ~ you have a savings account with quite a hefty amount in it. Something comes along that is expensive and must be paid. But, since you have it in your account, it is not the end of the world to cover it. My Dad has a lot in his "account" stored away - his age, physical shape, attitude and strength. So, even though this has cost him - it hasn't depleted him the way it would some.

Speaking of his attitude, it has rubbed off on me. I could hardly talk about his diagnosis before we left to come out to Colorado, but I have caught his content and positive attitude! One of his x-ray technicians asked if he had considered a support group. My Dad was thoughtfully quiet for a moment not sure what to say to which the tech responded, "Oh, not for you! For the other people in it!" My first response to that was, "well, you've already done that for me, Dad!"


With all of that good news, the diagnosis still remains that his case is incurable. While doing everything they can, it does not feel like enough and will not cure his cancer. We are thankful for this time where he is feeling pretty good and able to continue working, running and enjoying life.



We appreciate your thoughtfulness to be thinking of and praying for all of us. And, we are so grateful for the encouragement we are feeling right now. Thank you!

Restoring Order

In a continuing thought from yesterday - I have been feeling like things in my life are out of order.

For one who is used to having many systems and much order in place - I have let many of these things slide in recent weeks (before our trip). I am eager to get some of these systems revamped and some of them whipped back into shape.


And, like so many things - it is somewhat overwhelming to think of the enormity of this task. Being away from my house for a bit has allowed me to simplify my days and sort of step back and take a look at what needs to change in my home - what needs to be reinstated and what needs to go!


Some things I am planning to do away with:


* Shopping at multiple stores. I have realized how much time this sucks out of my days. And, by using coupons and watching sales - it really will not effect my grocery budget all that much. I plan to choose one grocery store to call my main store and shop there every other week. I used to do this and it worked great, then I got sort of pulled into running around to get the deals at multiple stores. It simply is not worth it to me in this season.


* Doing all the drug store deals. Again, I am going to choose one store (probably CVS, though it may rotate one week or another if there is something I can use at a different one) to go to each week and get the deals I can or what our family can use of give away.


* Outside commitments. When I return home, the only commitments I will have are taking Emily to ballet once a week, nursery once every eight weeks and taking cookies to the childrens shelter once a month. Right now, this is all I can manage. I need to be home and my family needs to be home - and we will be.


What will stay or be reinstated:


* Sunday afternoon/evening planning time. Every Sunday afternoon, I pull out the ads, plan my menu, sort of make a rough schedule for the week and definitely a plan for Monday. This has served us very well and I will continue to do this weekly.

* Cooking ahead for freezer. I used to have cookie dough in the freezer, cooked and diced chicken in the freezer, etc... I've let many of these things ago and they were a blessing to have - so I am eager to get back to this.

* Mother's helper: We have a teenage girl from church who comes over two Thursday mornings a month and helps me with the littles so I can get a few things done. I am there with her - but she usually is in another room where I can accomplish more. I've been sort of torn about this - I feel like I shouldn't need the help, wonder if I should have someone help with the chores rather than the playing since I am the mom, but in the end - this is what has helped me and worked for us, so I want to continue doing it.

* My cleaning schedule. I have a schedule for chores each week that rotates each day - and I've been extremely lax about cleaning of any kind! I want to return to this schedule:

Monday: clean kitchen and water plants
Tuesday: laundry, iron, clean master bath and vacuum
Wednesday: sweep and mop floors
Thursday: clean entry window, dust, clean hall bath
Friday: laundry, sheets, vacuum

* Family Nights: I have found that when I am planning lots of creative things for homeschooling or during the day, that my energy for Family Night planning is low or zero. I'm not sure what it looks like to reinstate this, but it is something I want to do.

What will be added:


* Date night: We have not been good at taking time just for the two of us. And, we agreed on a date night just after Christmas that this is something we want and need. We can't manage once a week practically or otherwise, but are thinking twice a month at this point.

* Family prayer time: It is on my heart to teach my children the benefits and disciplines of prayer - even in a very simple way for their age. I don't know what this looks like yet - but it is something I want to pursue.

* Planning, cultivating and enjoying a garden. Last year our garden was a complete flop - because I did not invest much time or energy in it. I desire this to be different this year - Lord, please help the bugs to stay away from me or make me not afraid of them.

I'm sure there are other things that should be on these lists - but this is all I can think of at the moment. Regardless, it is a great place to start and will spur some other ideas as well I'm sure!

How about you? Are your home systems keeping things in order - what needs to stay and what needs to go?

A Fresh Beginning

I just love the way a new year stretches out before me like a blank canvas waiting to be painted. It has a fresh feel - a feel of a new beginning. It evokes feelings in me of things I want to change, improve, continue, focus on and persevere in.

Words like clean, tidy and organize take on a new desire this time of year and I'm planning a major cleaning out when we return home.

This year, I have been feeling buried and overwhelmed under the weight of mothering littles. The demands that this season has on me physically, spiritually and mentally are taxing to say the least. In addition, it is a season that I don't want to wish away or forget to enjoy.

My list of things I'd like to change or work on this year is mountainous in size - as usual. So, I won't burden myself by even beginning to write it out - that would turn me away faster than anything! I do think it is good to have goals - to not become stagnant, but to grow in where we are in life. Yet - I know that personally, I see so many areas I want to grow in that I feel overwhelmed at my needs to change and grow. That is what God is for isn't it!? He knows how we need to grow and learn and I can trust this completely to Him!

What I do want to do is slow down, live simply, enjoy the little pleasures and peaceful moments in life. I want to grow in my love for God and honor Him with my life. And, of course, I want to continue to learn to love my family and contribute to them knowing our Lord and living for Him.

What does the idea of a new year stir in your heart?

An Adventure in Odyssey

We were excited for an opportunity to met Amy and her sweet Isabelle up at Focus on the Family and enjoy the Whit's End/Odyssey area! If you are ever in Colorado Springs, their visitor center is definitely worth making time for! It would be especially neat if your children were already familiar with Odyssey and the radio programs as mine are a bit young for this still!

First, hop aboard the Imagination Station elevator and transport yourself to the land of Odyssey!

The entire downstairs is decorated like Odyssey - it is so neat!

There is a fun airplane that you can climb in and it leads to a tunnel that comes out in another part of Odyssey!

Toddler soft play room:

Puppet theatre and puppets:

A wall of Odyssey charachters without faces so you can pose as your favorite!

A fun reading area:

A stage and costumes ~ older visitors can enjoy script books and sound effects as well!

We finished up our visit by eating lunch at Whit's End soda fountain!

Little Drummers

My dad used to play drums in a band in the 70's and the little ladies talked him into getting one of his drums out to show them and let them play! Enjoy the pix of our time ~

Katy No-Pocket

Last week, we took advantage of the wonderful library here in Colorado and read Katy No-Pocket. This book was so fun and the ladies really enjoyed it!

In addition to talking about many parts of the book, I made aprons for the girls like mentioned in the book. Rachel calls hers her, "Katy apron!" I raided my moms fabric stash and came up with these:

Wearing the aprons and hopping like a kangaroo!

Visiting the zoo! We didn't see a kangaroo - but lots of the other animals mentioned - and we saw a wallabie instead and saw how they hopped. Rachel - please forgive me - I didn't get a single picture of you at the zoo!

We did tree rubbings and at the end of the week, found our own copy of the book at a thrift store for fifteen cents!

Snow: The inside adventure!

After Emily had a run in with a tree branch and we were all chilled, we headed back inside. But, we weren't quite done with our snow play! We filled the saucer with snow and brought it inside to the dining room table where the littles played for almost an hour!! (That's extremely long for any of my children to stick with anything!)

We dug with spoons, scooped with cups, tasted, made mini snowmen and a snowfort! It was great fun - and, yes, I did have as much fun or more than the little ones did!!