I started Christmas shopping … yay! I got the girls more Tegu blocks (this, this, and this) because they love them so much and make such creative things with them.
I’m so thankful to have such good readers. True and Brave go through books so fast. I didn’t like to read until middle school, so I’m always so impressed with their reading abilities, and how much they enjoy it. They always have a book on hand.
Glow has been extra feisty of late, but it gives us lots of teaching moments to teach her selflessness and how to love others.
“Our hearts were never designed to follow, but to be led.” From this article, it’s so countercultural, and I definitely want to read this book.
Ben and I have had more tension between us this week. We are typically on the same page about everything, so this is a different for us, and we are learning how to love each other (and reconcile) well through it.
Dear France, I have been praying for comfort, peace, and strength for your country.
This week I’m reminded of how much I need to run to the cross for comfort and strength, and not rely on my own self and thinking.
Once Soul and Glow are done with their schooling for the day, they get to play while I work with the older two. Yesterday, I came down to check on them to see this wild set up. I just watched them play a bit and they are so funny (and creative). My favorite parts were seeing Soul use her Tegu blocks like a microphone (btw, these are by far their favorite toys and they are requesting more pieces for Christmas), and then Glow trying to go inside the basket (so hilarious!). I think they were playing some game show of sorts, so Glow was trying to do a “challenge.” While the mess was everywhere, I love seeing them exercising their imagination and had to bust out my camera to snap a few shots.
Then there’s Brave and True, staying on task with their school work. Next week though, we all get the week off, and we are so excited to work on fun art projects and do lots of baking … hip hip, hooray!!!
We are excited that we have one week left until Thanksgiving break! It’s definitely a challenge to homeschool, and I think teaching a classroom of 30 is easier than my 4, but there are a lot of blessings and grace in it. We are all having to learn how to love each other well, and even ask each other for forgiveness multiple times a day. Besides all the educational lessons going on, there are an over abundance of heart lessons too.
Do I ever find balance as a mother? Nope, not really, but somehow everything that needs to get done, gets done. Sure, we may all be yelling to keep everyone on task, and I get resistance from time to time, but I think that’s normal. At least, I hope it is.
I am thankful that the three older ones can help out now. They put away laundry, empty the dishwasher, sweep up the kitchen, can serve breakfast and lunch, keep their bathroom tidy, and (for the most part) clean up after themselves (though sometimes it’s like pulling teeth to get that to happen). These things help me out a lot, and I want them to learn how to be responsible for themselves, and also help out others. It’s a group effort in this home, we all have to work together.
So here’s to the weekend when our house is (pretty much) clean and we all can chillax a bit. I’m so happy it’s Friday!
I’m so thankful to have been able to experience 34 years of abounding grace. My ugly mess is covered by His blood. Jesus in my place; that’s what it’s all about.
Yoda and Leia were just walking in Dagobah, when suddenly Darth Wah-Wi-Shi popped out of nowhere! Then, he trapped them in a cage in his Death Hideout.
Yoda tried to break the cage with his lightsaber, but he couldn’t. Leia tried to shoot the cage to get out, but the blast came back towards them.
Back at headquarters, Nancy Drew, Molly Drew, and Rosie the Riveter were waiting for Leia and Yoda to show up for the team meeting. They waited, and waited, and waited, but they never came. Leia tried to use her comlink to get to them, but only a buzz came back to Molly’s comlink.
Nancy and Molly have solved lots of mysteries together, so they decided it was time to solve another … the mystery of the missing Leia and Yoda! They canceled the meeting and set out to solve the mystery.
They knew that Leia and Yoda were probably in Dagobah, so they checked there first, and that’s when they found a clue … Yoda’s comlink! They knew it was Yoda’s because it was the oldest comlink model, and Yoda is the oldest Jedi. He’s 900 years old!
Nancy exclaimed, “Yes! A clue!”
Rosie yelled, “We can do it!”
They followed the trail of Yoda’s feet and uncovered the Death Hideout. They couldn’t see any doors or windows, so Nancy, Molly, and Rosie put on their invisible sunglasses. They got out their magnifying glasses too.
All at once, they saw a door with a keyhole! They did not have a key, but good thing Nancy had bobby pins with her. She used it to open the door, and voila … they were able to go in!
They heard cries for help, so they followed the noise. They came to the cage and saw Leia and Yoda! Rosie the Riveter grabbed the cage door and tore it apart!
Yoda and Leia got out, but Darth Wah-Wi-Shi came out of nowhere and started fighting with Yoda! Leia and Rosie took the droids, while Nancy and Molly were looking for a way out.
They found an invisible escape pod, so they called Rosie, Leia, and Yoda over. They all hurried into the escape pod!
While the door was still open, Yoda pushed Darth Wah-Wi-Shi with the force. Yoda had defeated him. They landed in Masonville, and lived happily ever after now that the mystery was solved!
THE END
This year’s story was written entirely by True and Brave (last year’s was too!). I’m totally impressed with what they came up with; guess they do learn something in homeschooling (didn’t feel like it yesterday when I was crying about how they weren’t listening to me).
Brave loves Nancy Drew, so that’s who she chose to be this Halloween. Soul came up with the character, Molly Drew, to be Nancy’s sidekick. Since my kids have a Star Wars obsession going on, two of them had to be their favorite characters from the series … Princess Leia and Yoda. Brave and Soul came up with their own outfits, and I made the Leia and Yoda costumes. I was so tempted to buy it on Amazon, but that sewer in me just couldn’t do it (it ended up being about $12 each making them myself). Once I was done sewing, True exclaimed, “Homemade costumes are THE best!” It made me glad I made them for them.
on me: jumpsuit, vintage from ms. tips (and she was so kind to add in the scarf, so instant costume!). on true: leia dress, handmade. silver clogs, hanna anderson. on brave:dress, vintage from ms. tips. hat, old navy. bag, zara. clogs, hanna anderson. on soul: dress, old navy. jacket, gift from the grandparents. sandals, old navy. hat, gap kids. on glow: outfit, handmade. ears, made by true (for her birthday). light saber found here.
We made candy corns and lollipops and put them on the wall. We started decorating because mommy put a mask on our Clonette doll, so I wanted to teach my sisters how to decorate and make things.
To make the candy corn and lollipops, I got some orange, yellow, white, blue, purple, and black paper. I also used scissors and clear tape. To create the candy corns, I placed the orange, yellow, and white paper on top of each other. Next, I cut out a triangle, and moved the yellow and white portion higher. Then, I taped the white and yellow onto the orange. Lastly, I taped each piece to the wall.
For the lollipop, I placed the blue and purple on top of each other. Second, I cut a circle out and I set the purple and blue circle out. Then, I cut some black paper about the size of my finger, and I taped it to the circle. I taped each piece to the wall too.
I was coloring some white paper green, and then I cut it into a monster shape, and drew a scary face. I taped that up too! To create some ghosts, I got some white paper and cut it into a ghost shape and Glow drew faces on it. I wrote what she wanted to say on it, put the dates on the back, and hung it up.
I made my haunted trees with just any colored piece of paper, scissors, and colored pencils. First, I cut the triangles out of the paper on the stop. Next, I cut out a shape on the side. Then, I cut one triangle on the bottom. I drew designs on it and gave it a name. Of course, that went on the wall too.
While I was doing all of this, Brave was drawing spider-webs! Hi, it’s Brave here to share how to make the webs. You will need black paper, scissors, and a white crayon. First, use the scissors to cut out the waves in a circle on the black paper. Next, use the crayon and put a dot in the middle of the paper and make lines coming out of the dot. Then, make wave-like lines 3 or 2 times with the crayon. Lastly, use tape on the back of the paper and put it up anywhere!
We hope you like the Halloween decorations we made! We are so excited for this Saturday!
– True and Brave
I have a large growing pile of fabric scraps. I refuse to throw them away because I am sure they can be used for something. I have been seeing different types of interesting necklaces made of buttons, beads, and fabric. Then, I figured why not make one out of my scraps...
I think it made my white shirt a little less boring. This was so quick and easy to make.
How to make a recycled scraps necklace (which is very similar to the straps on my braided tablecloth bag):
1. Take your scrap fabric, I cut a .5''-1'' snip and tear the rest of the fabric down for a nice frayed edge. Used 3 different fabrics for each strand.
2. Take 3 of the torn pieces and tie the ends together with a rubber band.
3. Braid the 3 pieces together and tie ends together with rubber band when done.
4. Repeat steps 2 & 3 for more strands. Remember you can make the strands any length you want, if run out of fabric, just weave more into the braid.
5. Once all the strands you want are braided, gather one end of each strand together and straight stitch together with sewing machine. Repeat for the other ends of the strands. Snip off any excess.
6. Gather ends of the necklace and sew together (snip excess) or a ribbon can be sewn at the ends to be able to tie the necklace closed, but I just sewed both ends together.
7. Voila! A nice way to make use of all your lovely scraps.
Sorry if the directions get you a little lost, but it really is easy. I promise. Maybe I should put some in the shop. Please share any other good ideas you may have of things that can be made with scraps. I would love to hear (read) them!
This week’s learned, links, and thankfulness…
