Category: Ponderings
Why I Want to Go to the 2:1 Conference
Do you have a shelf to put your brain on? I do. I call it my “thinking shelf”. It is full of notebooks and binders filled with my thoughts. I don’t journal, as that would take steadfastness and routine. I am working on keeping a schedule and persevering to complete the tasks I begin, but it doesn’t come natural. So I don’t journal.
No, this shelf is more random. When the thoughts start pouring into my head, I try to capture them on paper and then (hopefully) put them in an appropriate binder. I have binders on my “thinking shelf” organized pretty much like I have my blog organized. I have herbal notebooks, soapmaking, quilting, ponderings, homeschool–all filled with ideas.
I would love to have the time to bring all these ideas to fruition, but right now these ideas are seeds. I have stored them away, hoping to plant them one day.
Over the past few months I have been blogging, the Lord has allowed me to take out a few of these seeds and plant them tenderly in the soil of Ponder the Path. It has been so exciting to see the first tender shoots appear. Seeing life spring forth from the ideas you have planted.
There have been times though, that I want to plant more, but I must be patient and nurture the tender plants that are before me. There are times I get discourage as I wait on the plants to bear fruit, but then I remember that I must wait for the plants to become strong or they will not be able to bear the weight of the fruit. There are even times when I look around at what others have planted, and I long to see the growth in my own garden, but I must remember that they have planted long ago. They have nurtured and cared for and learned to tend to their gardens.
Why I want to go to the 2:1 Conference?
Titus 2:1 But speak thou the things which become sound doctrine:
As a wife, a mother, a sister, a daughter, a friend, and now a blogger, it is very important that the seeds I plant bring glory to the Lord. As I become an “aged woman” (and what a blessing it is!), I want to make sure that my behavior becometh holiness, that I am a teacher of good things, and that I don’t blaspheme the Word of God.
Proverbs 27:17 Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.
Blogging is a new realm of teaching for me, and I need to be sharpened. I need to be challenged and encouraged by other “aged woman” (pardon me for calling you all “aged”–you look beautiful!).
So I am praying that if it is the Lords will and timing, I would be able to attend the 2:1 Conference this April.
High Five Moms Podcast: Finding Peace During the Holidays
This time of year, you often hear the word “peace” mentioned more than any other time of year. But is peace really experienced more often? Is peace during the holidays even possible?
Five moms have joined forces to discuss “Finding Peace During the Holidays”!
Right click to download this episode.
Fostering Love Between Our Children
This week my oldest daughter has been writing “thankful” post on her blog. One of the post that she wrote was about being thankful for her sisters. My oldest daughter is 17 and the younger two are 9 and 6, so there is quite a bit of age difference between them. The younger girls love spending time with Kendra. Any time she is working on a project, they are begging to help. It makes me happy to see that the younger girls want to spend time with their older sister, but it blesses me even more to see their older sister taking the time to nurture the relationships with her younger sisters.
This is one of the greatest goals I have for my children. I remind them over and over that their siblings are not the friends they have picked out for themselves, rather the friends God has picked out for them. They are to be BEST FRIENDS FOREVER (eternally!).
As our family grows and the dynamics change, we have had to adjust our training but our goal remains the same. Obviously, my 17 year old will have a different relationship with the 14 year old whom she has grown up with, than she will the new baby. However, we expect them all to love each other with a deep unconditional love.
5 Ways We Foster Love Between Our Children
1. We require them to speak kindly with each other and about each other. Our children are not allowed to call names, make fun of each other, put each other down, talk negatively about each other, or scream at each other. Some of these things may seem like harmless kids play, but they can have a lasting impact on the relationship. I am a kidder myself and find myself often making smart remarks in jest. However, a couple of children who are more sensitive to these kinds of remarks. I have had to really work on making sure that my words are edifying to those around.
2. Our children are to honor one another. This should be done both in word and deed. Some ways we show honor are not embarrassing your siblings, choosing them to be on your team, building them up, not telling personal things about them. In other words, edifying our siblings.
3. Our children are to put others before themselves. Just two nights ago one of my youngins had a large pixie stick she had won at the pizza palace. Another youngin had used her tickets to buy playing cards for everyone to enjoy. When it came time to eat the pixie stick, I gently reminded the owner of the pixie stick that it would be nice to share with her sister who didn’t have any. She gave her a small amount. We then had a short chat about putting others before yourself. I asked her how she would feel if she were her sister. She quickly evened out the candy and even let her sister pick which one she wanted. It made my heart sing!
4. We teach our children to stick by their siblings side. Normally, we try to fellowship with entire families and the children have learned to play together as a group, with children of all ages. Sometimes they do pair up with children closer to their own ages and inevitably one of the younger ones hear, ‘You can’t play with us. Your too little!”. I have tried to teach the kids that their siblings are their best friends first, and if someone doesn’t want to play with them, then you don’t need to play with that someone. There are times when the older kids are wanting to do an activity that the younger kids can’t do so we gently find something to keep the smaller ones busy. But as a general rule, we discourage exclusion.
5. We teach our children to think of their siblings as training for their own homes. One day, Lord willing, our children will marry and have children of their own. The loving relationships they build with their siblings today will help them build solid loving relationships with their spouses and their own children. Learning to be patient with young children, learning to put others first, learning to honor each other–these are all things that will carry over to other relationships in their lives.
Resources for Training
This last year has been a roller coaster of a year for us. Any time there is stress in a family, it is easy to get off track and let things slide. This can quickly lead to disorder and a lack of peace and love in the home. I have been seeing this for a while and have been praying for guidance to get back on track. As we were doing our Bible time during school, I remembered 2 books that I have had since the first year I started homeschooling eleven years ago. They are written by Gregg Harris and are entitled 21 Rules of This House and Uncommon Courtesy. These two books were gems buried in our library.
We have just started reading them again (first time for the younger kids), but they fit in seamlessly with the things we already try to teach our kids (or would like to). It is amazing how far a little courtesy can go in building healthy families.
I don’t know about you, but there are times that I want to teach my children something, but just don’t know what it is called. I can’t pinpoint what it is that they are doing wrong and what to call what they should be doing. This summer I purchased a copy of Proverbs for Parenting. This is great resource because it is divided up into categories, then it has a list of verses that fit into that category. Great little reference guide!
One last book I will mention is one that I read several years ago called Making Brothers and Sisters Best Friends co-written by siblings Sarah, Stephen, and Grace Malley.
Closing Thoughts
I don’t want anyone out there thinking that my kids are perfect, never fighting, never arguing, never getting on each others nerves. That’s just not the case. There is plenty of sibling rivalry going on in our house. We are a work in progress and praise God, He has extended His grace on each one of us.
We are all learning–I am learning to train my children and they are learning how to love each other. I don’t think this learning will ever be complete this side of heaven. But this is what we strive for.
A goal.
And my goal is for my children to love each other, forever.
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Make sure and check out the other moms as they write about fostering relationships between their children!
Andie @ Happy Andersons
Stacy @ A Delightful Home
Brandy @ The Marathon Mom
Keri Mae @ The Happy Home
Being Thankful and Finding Peace
In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.
1 Thessalonians 5:18
As I was preparing to write today’s post, I was thinking back over this last year of my life. It has been a time of struggle for me, both physically, emotionally, and even spiritually. There were many times that I just didn’t “feel” like being thankful. It just seemed like one thing after another would come up, and none of them deserved thankfulness. However, here in Thessalonians, Paul tells us that it is God’s will for us to give thanks in everything.
In EVERYTHING!
When my child is sick, I am to give thanks.
When my husband is gone, I am to give thanks.
When the world seems like it is crashing down all around me, I am to give thanks.
When you are in the midst of a trial, this can seem near impossible. I know, I’ve been there. A place so dark you just can’t see anything to be thankful for. Let me share a couple of other verses with you from my study.
Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
Phillipians 4:6-7
Here Paul tells us not to worry, but to pray with thanksgiving. And if we do this, the peace of God will keep us, even though our human minds just can’t understand how it works. I love this! I NEED this!
When I am going through a time of storm, I must remember to have a thankful heart before the Lord. He will fill me with His peace, even when there is no peace to be found.
Start thanking God today in everything, not because you “feel” like it, but because it is God’s will for you.
Choose thankfulness and be filled with the peace of God!
Make sure and check out the other moms as they write about being thankful!
Andie @ Happy Andersons
Stacy @ A Delightful Home
Brandy @ The Marathon Mom
Keri Mae @ The Happy Home
Cooper’s Story – More Detailed Info on Club Feet part 1
I have started to get traffic coming to my website looking for information on club feet, so I have decided to write out Cooper’s story in more detail. I am hoping that it will be of some help to others out there going through the same situation.
As believers, the Lord allows us to go through difficulties so that we may minister with love and understanding to others. I thank the Lord that He has given me an opportunity to tell our story. It is my prayer that those who need to hear it, would.
I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.
Psalm 139:14
My husband and I didn’t know that Cooper had club feet until after he was born. I had a sonogram done when I was approximately 6 months pregnant, but for some reason they didn’t catch it then. I must say that I am thankful they didn’t.
I guess there are pros and cons to knowing before hand. I just know myself, and I know that my imagination would have taken me to every worst case scenario. I would have worried over things I had no control over.
I had an excellent birth at home. I remember bringing Cooper up to my chest to nurse him when I noticed his little feet were bent. As I think back to those moments, I just remember thinking to myself that he must have been squished up in my womb. I don’t know why, but I just assumed that his feet would straighten out on their own (just like their squished up noses and ears do).
I heard myself say, “oh, his feet are crooked”, but in my mind I still didn’t register that something was wrong with them. I don’t know if it was all the hormones rushing through my body, or if it is true that a mother’s love is blind, but I really couldn’t see or comprehend that my child was crippled.
The night that Cooper was born, my midwife was very kind and reassuring. She kept telling us not to worry that we would just wait and see. The next day she brought me some papers she had printed out that explained what club foot was.
It was at that moment that it hit me…this was more serious than I thought. It seemed almost instantaneous. Thoughts started swirling in my head. Cooper would need to be seen right away so that treatment could begin as soon as possible.
Diagnosis
This is Cooper right before his first casts. He always kept his feet snuggled up close to his bottom.
We took Cooper to a pediatric doctor within a few days of his birth. I remember being upset at the nurse because she kept trying to stretch out his feet to measure him. I told myself that I was going to have to stand up for him even though I don’t like rocking the boat. I told her firmly that he had club feet and to please not stretch them out.
The pediatric doctor agreed with our self-diagnosis and referred us to a pediatric orthopedic doctor. My husband had briefly did a bit of research on club foot and treatment options. It seemed like the best treatment option would be the Ponsetti method. There were only two doctors on the website listed for Texas. We were doubtful that our insurance would cover one of these doctors. As it turned out, one of the doctors listed was the only one our insurance would cover…and he was located in Houston, 1 1/2 hours away!
Ponsetti Method
Cooper with his casts on.
The Ponsetti Method of treatment uses casts to gently turn the feet. Each week, plaster casts are applied from the baby’s toes to their thighs. Before applying the casts, the doctor gently massages the baby’s feet, loosening them up, then stretching them slightly to the desired position.
Note: It is best if baby is as calm and relaxed as possible. I tried to always make sure Cooper was fed and changed before hand. I don’t think if hurts the baby at all. But when they are this little (2 weeks old), having someone mess with their feet and legs startles them. Also, the cast are cold when applied and heat up as they set, so this can unnerve a newborn as well.
The casts are changed out each week, moving the feet a little more each time. At the end of 5-6 weeks, the feet should be in a straight position with the toes pointing down. At this time, the baby will need to have surgery to cut the tendon in the back of the ankle. This releases the foot so that it can move up to a flexed position.
After surgery, casts are applied for 3 weeks as the tendon heals. Once the final cast are removed, the baby is required to wear braces (think hiking boots with a bar between them) to keep the feet in the correct position. Initially, the baby will wear the braces 23 hours a day. After a few months, baby will cut down on the amount of time spent in the braces until he only wears them at night to sleep.
Removing the Casts
The casts that were applied to Cooper’s legs were plaster casts. Our doctor had us remove his casts at home each week before we arrived at his office. I am not sure why, I know some doctors will have them cut off at the cast clinic. At first I didn’t like removing them myself, but it quickly became a routine.
There were some benefits to removing them at home:
~Cooper was able to take a bath each week!
~I was able to snuggle him without his cast on, even if it was only a bit each week.
~The cast cutters are very noisy and tend to scare the little ones. Not what you want when you need them to be calm and relaxed.
Thankfully Jamie was with me the first time we removed his casts. The doctor had instructed us to soak his legs in the bath, then start unraveling the cast (as they put on the cast, they left a tab at the end). It took us over 2 hours to get the casts off and Cooper was not happy AT ALL. After a few times, I eventually got it down to about 45 mins-1 hour.
What worked for us…
I went to Walgreens and bought some surgical scissors with a blunt end. On the morning of our appointment, I would take warm washclothes and wrap them around the casts. Then I would cover them with press-n-seal. This kept the moisture in. I left the washclothes on for several hours so that the cast would soften up. Once they were soft, I would start at the top and very carefully cut a notch into the cast. I would then take my hands and tear apart the cast as far as I could. Then cut another notch, and tear a little more.
This method is very hard on the hands, but it worked.
Right off hand, I can’t think of anything I wish I had known, but I am sure something will come to mind. I will try to post a follow up to this with any other tips or info I think might be helpful. If you have any questions, please contact me and I will do my best to help you along.
God bless all those who have been given a special treasure from the Lord!
Cleaning Routines
I am not what you would call a “neat freak”, but I have found that my day goes so much better when the house is clean and in order. I try to be realistic, knowing that I have 6 kids. But because we homeschool, we are all home most everyday. And a house with that many people in it everyday can get very messy and very dirty very quick!
Those who know me and have been to my house know that I don’t keep things spic and span, although I would love to. I do try to keep the house clean and things picked up. Over the years I have come up with somewhat of a routine to help me do this. After reading Large Family Logistics, I am planning on adding a few things to our routine to help me become better in this area of home management.
Daily Routines
When I get up in the mornings, one of the first things I do is start a load of laundry. I try to do four loads of laundry a day, but this varies depending on whether or not I have diapers to wash. I would like to incorporate a wash day for bedding, rugs, and other odds and ends, but right now I usually just wash as needed. As the clothes are finished washing, I usually put them in a basket to fold later during our read aloud time. I call this our Folding Party. Everyone gets to fold clothes while Mama reads to them.
Once everyone else is up and running, the first thing they do is start on their chores. Each child has assigned chores that they do everyday. These chores include sweeping, vacuuming, unloading the dishwasher, taking out the trash, making beds, and picking up their rooms and the living room. After chores are done, we usually eat breakfast (sometimes we do eat breakfast before chores, it just depends on the morning and what we are having for breakfast) and then have our Bible time together.
Some of the new things I would like to incorporate into our day is an afternoon chore time and assigned table chores. We usually do a clean up in the afternoon but it usually consist of me barking orders to get things cleaned up. I am hoping that by assigning afternoon chores it will cut down on the chaos and help train us to be more efficient. The same goes for the table chores.
Bathrooms and Floors
As for other cleaning routines, we usually clean bathrooms and mop on Saturdays. I take the master bath and my older daughter does the other bathroom. We now have a half bath in our house, so I am planning on training my 9-year-old to take that one on. She has been a helper to my oldest daughter for a while so she should be ready for the task.
I am going to have to work on the mopping issue. Our entire main floor has wood flooring with tile flooring in the kitchen and bathrooms. I am thinking about having the “sweeper” mop the wood floors once a week as they don’t get very dirty. Then we can clean the bathroom floors when we do our bathroom cleaning.
Kitchen
I guess I will also mop the kitchen when I clean the kitchen. I try to most of the kitchen cleaning as the need arises. Usually after I wash dishes, I will wipe off the counters, the cabinet doors, the fridge door, the stove top, or anything else that needs attention. I don’t do this every time, but rather rotate what I wash each time so that eventually everything gets cleaned throughout the week. I also try to make sure to throw away and lurking leftovers.
The Most Neglected Items
Time to come “clean”. I don’t dust or do windows nearly enough. I will have the littles run around with a swiffer duster when I think about it. And they love doing mirrors and windows. I just have a hard time making time for these two.
What About You?
I would love to hear your routines or what works for you. I have heard of the Fly Lady, but have never taken the time to check into her methods. What about 31 Days to Clean? Anything else you find helpful???
Make sure and check out the other moms their cleaning methods!
Andie @ Happy Andersons
Stacy @ A Delightful Home
Brandy @ The Marathon Mom
Keri Mae @ The Happy Home
Homestead Living
On Saturday we arrived here in Wichita…all of us…together! We were hoping to buy a home here. We even had a contract to buy a house with 5 acres, but it fell through after the inspection. I will be honest and tell you that I was devastated. I knew in my heart that the Lord had a plan for us and that the house wasn’t in it. I was just overwhelmed by the fact that we it would be even longer until our family could all be together again.
It was definitely a walk through the valley.
But then the morning came and there was joy once again. My God is bigger and better than anything I could ever dream up. My husband had gone to look for rentals in town. The few that he looked at were awful. They were dirty, too small, too pricey, and all of them were in town. The situation seemed hopeless.
It has been our dream for so long, to buy a house in the country. My oldest daughter is a senior this year we had really hoped that she would be able to experience a bit of farm life with us before she grows up completely. We were hopeful that this move to Kansas would allow us to see our dream come to fruition.
Then in a moment, our hopes were dashed, or so it seemed. Crushed dreams always seem hopeless in the eyes of man. Not with God.
For with God, nothing shall be impossible.
Luke 1:37
After explaining to the property manager our desire to live in the country, he told my husband he did have one property in the country that he had been trying to rent for over 6 months. It was close to the base where my husband works, it had 5 acres of land, the house was just the right size, and because the owner had been waiting so long to rent it, he was willing to cut the price down to meet our budget.
Thank you Lord!
AND
if we really like the house, we can buy it.
So, we are busy unpacking and enjoying our little patch of land. My kids have come in covered in dirt every day. I don’t know if you remember the episode of Little House on the Prairie where Nellie tells Laura and Mary they can’t come to her party because they are “country girls”…well we are proud to call ourselves “country”!
Several weeks ago as we were planning to buy the other house, I ordered two books on homesteading.
The Backyard Homestead
and
The Backyard Homestead Guide to Raising Farm Animals
Having not grown up on a farm, I feel like there is sooo much to learn. We are hoping to start off our homesteading endeavors with a handful of chickens, a few Nigerian dwarf goats, some Angora rabbits, and as I mentioned before, a garden (complete with fruit and nut trees).
The Backyard Homestead’s subtitle is “Produce all the food you need on just a quarter acre”. This book touches on raising chickens and farm animals, but mostly covers gardening, planting trees, and raising bees.
What I have enjoyed about this book is that it covers related homesteading topics. For instance, in the section on growing your own garden, it discusses preserving those foods (canning, freezing, storing). You also find various directions for “other” things you can do, like make cider or vinegar.
There are many books out there that cover these topics in greater detail, but this book seems to tie it all together. It reminds me of a brainstorming section in a book…lets think of all the ways we could “homestead”. I enjoy this because it helps me think about things I might not have thought about before. It sparks new interest and points me in the right direction to get started.
The Backyard Homestead Guide to Raising Farm Animals focuses more on, well, farm animals. It covers them in much more detail– chickens, turkeys, ducks, geese, rabbits, bees, goats, sheep, pigs, and cattle.
As with the other book, it is a menagerie of information that is great to get started with. I will have to dig much deeper when we are planning to actually get the animals, but for now these books give me enough to get started and plan with.
Will keep you posted on what I am learning! I am so excited!!!
Check out what the other moms are reading!
Kerimae @ The Happy Home
Brandy @ The Marathon Mom
Andie @ Happy Andersons
Stacy @ A Delightful Home
*Disclosure: Some of the links above are affiliate links. If you click on them and purchase a product from the company, I will receive monetary compensation.
High Five Moms: Bringing in the Plants (Herbal Recipe)
One of my biggest dreams is to grow a huge garden and be able to supply our family with fresh fruits, vegetables and herbs. I have wanted a garden for years, but for various reasons it just hasn’t happened. It’s not that I haven’t tried. In fact, most years I have tried. I am afraid I have a “black” thumb!
Several years ago we had a backyard the size of a postage stamp. We were able to use a garden plot on the base, but the location of it made it difficult to get out there every day. The weeds were horrendous and crept up on us faster than we could pull them out. Then we had a bought of extreme heat and we just couldn’t keep up with the watering. We did get some nice produce, but nothing spectacular.
A couple of years ago we moved to Spain. We were able to rent a home with a bit of land. I was so excited, I thought I would finally get to do some real gardening. Because of the weed problems we had experienced before, we decided to try square foot gardening. My husband built some really nice 4×4 planters. We followed the prescribed method, buying the correct soil, mixing and adding everything we needed. I purchased my heirloom seeds and planted them according to each recommended depth.
I thought this might be the year for a really great garden.
I guess all the critters thought my garden was really great. Especially the Cabbage caterpillars. My garden was destroyed before it even got going. I don’t think we were able to eat anything from the garden that year.
So, I am still dreaming of having wonderful garden.
In the mean time, the only plants I deal with are the dried varieties. And since we are coming upon the cold and flu season, I thought I would share a quick herbal recipe with you. This is my go to herbal remedy, the one I always keep on hand and use on all my kids at the first sign of illness. This recipe is an old, old recipe that has probably saved countless lives.
It is a fever reduces, an infection fighter, full of antioxidants, nourishing, soothing, and it taste good too!
One last thing…it’s easy to make!
Triple Threat Cold and Flu Fighter
You will need dried:
25 grams yarrow
25 grams elderberries
25 grams peppermint
25 grams elderflowers
240 millilitres glycerin
160 millilitres distilled water
1. Mix herbs in a large jar. Even though the picture above shows the herbs almost filling the jar, I like to leave at least half of the jar empty to make room for the water/glycerin mixture. Also, it is best to grind the herbs to powder. This can be done in a coffee grinder (dedicated to herbal grinding) or possibly a food processor (although I have never tried it).
2. Prepare menstruum (the liquid substance that will extract the herbal constituents from the herbs) by mixing thoroughly the glycerin and distilled water.
3. Pour menstruum (glycerin/water mixture) over the herbs in the jar. Stir well making sure everything is mixed up.
4. Leave the mixture in the jar for 2 weeks, shaking each day.
5. At the end of 2 weeks, strain the liquid from the herbs. Muslin fabric works best for this.
6. Label and store liquid glycerite.
Congratulations! You have just made a 1:4 herbal glycerite to treat your family with.
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Visit the other High Five Moms!
Brandy @ The Marathon Mom
Keri Mae @ The Happy Home
Andie @ Happy Andersons
Stacy @ A Delightful Home
High Five Moms: Hand-On Learning for Boys
I am really looking forward to reading the other moms suggestions today, especially Brandy…she is pregnant with her 8th son. I know she has to have some great hands-on learning activities for boys. Make sure to visit all the other moms and find out what kinds of projects they keep their boys busy with!
Brandy @ The Marathon Mom
Keri Mae @ The Happy Home
Andie @ Happy Andersons
Stacy @ A Delightful Home
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I am an artsy kind of person, and ever since I can remember, I have loved all kinds of arts and crafts. My daughters have inherited my “craftiness” and are always working on some type of project. This has all be very natural. When I am working on something, I try to include them in what I am doing. If they want to learn something new, I try to at least learn enough to teach them and get them going.
It has been different with my son though. I have really struggled to find projects that would keep him busy and teach him skills at the same time. I usually blame it on the fact that we don’t live on a farm where I can send him out to build a chicken house. Or I blame it on the fact that my husband is in the Air Force and is away from us so much. Whatever the cause, which is probably just my lack of thinking outside the box, I am on a mission to find projects for my boys!
Some of the projects we have done:
Rockets
We have bought model rockets for my older son to put together and launch. The rockets that I have looked at range from almost no skill level to very detailed and challenging. We bought ones that were somewhere in the middle, although they did require some help from me.
Hobby Lobby carries quite a large selection of rockets and other items such as engines and launchers. If you check your newspaper, you can usually get a 40% off coupon each week. We have also ordered from Amazon or Estes Rockets.
Although we haven’t done it yet, I think this would be a great project to get a group of boys involved in. It would be so much fun to have a launch day contest. You know boys always love a good contest to get them motivated.
Woodworking
This is one area I am hoping to really get my son started in. He is 14 years old now, and I feel like he is capable to learning some basic woodworking skills. We have let him use a few of the simpler power saws (it still makes me a bit nervous).
My oldest daughter has been good about creating projects for my son to work on. Her latest request was a drop spindle used to spin roving into yarn. He was able to create one with the power sander and a dremel tool.
For the younger kids (even the girls), I have been taking them to Home Depot on the first Saturday of each month. They offer a free woodworking project. I usually let the kids do their hammering and putting together at the store, then we come home and paint and decorate the project. Some of the projects have been so cool that the older kids joined in. I understand Lowes has a similar project day, but we haven’t made it to one yet.
More Ideas Needed???
I am sure we have done other cool stuff, I am just drawing a blank right now. I need your help.
What about your little men? I would love some more ideas to test out on my guys!
High Five Moms: Seasons of Change
To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
Ecclesiates 3:1
When we were in Kansas a couple of weeks ago, I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of trees in the area. I had always envisioned Kansas to be flat prairie land.
Ever since living in Germany many years ago, I have longed to live somewhere with four seasons. I am hoping that by the time we arrive back in Kansas, the leaves will begin to change into the bright oranges and reds that I so miss.
It makes it so much easier to accept change when it is wrapped in such beauty and splendor.
I am reminded of the changes in my own life. How much more I look forward to changing seasons when I anticipate the blessings of the new season rather than focusing on the loss of the latter season.
Since Cooper was born, I have been having pain in my lower abdomen. I have been putting off a trip to the doctor mostly because I don’t want to hear the allopathic solution to almost all women’s health issues — hysterectomy. I would rather keep as many body parts as I possibly can for as long as I possibly can.
This has caused me to realize a few things though.
One, I am not getting younger. For the most part, I am thrilled with this realization. I have no desire at all to return to my youth and the follies it entailed.
However, realizing I am getting older means I may be beginning a new season in my life. And I just don’t know if I am ready for that yet.
For the last 10 years, my husband and I have allowed the Lord to bless us with the children He desired us to have, without intervention from us. In making that decision, I honestly thought I would end up having children until I was well into my 40s. I was sure I would end up with 10-12 kids.
In the last 10 years, the Lord has blessed us with 4 children on earth and one in heaven. I am not saying that I am disappointed in any way, just surprised.
I guess we all have hopes and dreams for our lives and deep down inside we tell ourselves that “someday” they will happen. Like living on a farm. I have always wanted to raise my kids on a farm. I have always known that “someday”, Lord willing, we would get a chance to own a farm.
But realizing your seasons are changing is also realizing that your hopes and dreams may not come to fruition. They too will have to change with the season.
Second realization, my children are getting older. We all comment on how fast they grow up, and they do. But then it hits you, they are grown up.
My oldest daughter will be 18 in less than a year now. And while I look forward with rejoicing to the new season in her life, I can’t help but miss the season she is leaving behind.
The season of club houses, Tamagotchis, and piano recitals is quickly fading as I look forward to a growing friendship with my adult daughter.
Final thought…there are some parts of our lives that carry over into several seasons. Then there are other things that the Lord has ordained for specific seasons.
This has been an especially important realization for me as I sometimes lament the fact that I can’t get all the things done I would like to get done.
Right now I have several young children, including a nursing baby. This season of young children and nursing babies is such a short season and I only have a short window of opportunity to experience it.
There will be time to quilt, and make soap, and write, and work when the kids are all grown. But never again will I get the chance to kiss booboos, braid pigtails, and hold this baby to my breast. This is the season that the Lord has purposed for me and I need to see the beauty in this season before it is over.
Don’t forget to visit the other High Five Moms this week!
Andie @ Happy Andersons
Stacy @ A Delightful Home
Brandy @ The Marathon Mom
Keri Mae @ The Happy Home
