Something I’ve totally missed the mark in (well, I miss lots of marks actually) is seeing my girls, and Ben, as rays that point me to the Son. For those who know me, they know how much I swoon and get all googly-eyed about Ben all the time. I’m very verbal and physical in my affection for him. For whatever reason, I’m not as swoony with the girls. Maybe it’s because I’m with them all day every day. I definitely love them and love serving them, but I do notice it is harder for me to be super affectionate with them. It might sound like I don’t cuddle at all, and that’s not the case, but I think maybe it’s because I’m way overly (borderline crazy) mushy with Ben, so my outward verbal/physical affectionate probably pale in comparison with the girls. I think my love for them comes out in the daily acts of service, but I do need to work on being more affectionate. Maybe if I were with Ben all day long, I wouldn’t be as mushy, but him going to work definitely does make my heart grow fonder.

A few Sundays ago, our pastor taught a sermon on the goodness of God. It made me do a mental check of all the blessings in my life and how far often my awe-ing stops at the blessing. I only see the rays. What needs to be happening more so are seeing the source of the rays, the Son. I ought to stand in that glorious Son light instead of merely looking at the rays. The warmth comes from the Son and not the rays. The rays are the result of the bright Son. So when I get all mushy with Ben, instead of idolizing him and loving him, that needs to be done in a lens that gives glory to the Son. When feeling all super proud about the girls, that needs to be done in a way that moves my heart from just seeing them, but seeing the Son. Enjoying vacations, kicking my feet up at the end of the day, delighting in a good meal… all those things are about Jesus. The excitement and joy stirred in my heart is made to give back the glory to God and to delight in Him. It is not because He needs my adoration, but because He is due it, and that is what’s best for my soul. To find satisfaction ultimately in God alone is what my heart needs most; that’s when I’m most satisfied.

God is the ultimate gift giver. I love when Ben surprises me, but God gave me something far exceedingly greater than anything Ben (or anyone) could ever give and that gift was through His Son on the cross. It’s through that gift that I can freely bask in the Son light and enjoy all the rays of goodness given through and from Him. This alone should stir my heart to swoon over all good and perfect gifts because they come from a perfect Father, who is good. Ben, the girls (even with how overwhelming mothering can get), vacations, family time, my favorite dish, adventures out, ice cream, pretty shoes, all blessings I get to experience day in and day out… all these are rays that ought to stir my heart to see and savor the Son. This is why Ben and the girls make my heart swoon because they stir my heart to fall in love with my Savior more. They are the rays that point me to the Son.

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One of the gifts of homeschooling is that school can be done on the go. I’m a homebody and I think I’m raising homebodies too. We can stay home all week and be perfectly fine with it. Soul cried the other day when I told her we were going hiking, and not because she doesn’t like hiking, but it’s just she prefers staying home. As much as we love the comforts of home, one of the reasons we homeschool is because the world is our classroom. It’s not just learning from books, or being stuck at a desk, but we get the freedom to explore. We can take books on the road and do stuff in the car, but then we get somewhere and collect sticks, make observations, ask questions, etc. We can have a picnic at the beach while I read them a story. Learning wasn’t meant to just be done in a classroom, but everywhere, and all the time.

I’m a trained teacher, so I was used to being stuck in a classroom with 30 students, so I forget to take advantage of having only four, and the ability to go wherever we want (within reason of course). I’m growing in that area. We are getting out more and it’s been so refreshing. The goal has been one adventure day a week and I think that’s good and realistic.

This particular day, I had to go to Venice Beach for a photoshoot to drop off some props I made for it. The call time was 10:30am, and with traffic, it took forever and a day to get there, but we made it worth the drive and spent the day at the beach. The sun played peek-a-boo all day, and while I would get a bit chilly here and there, I don’t think the girls noticed because they were running around, rolling down hills, and burying each other with sand. It was definitely a glorious school day.

On another more serious, I try to be as vigilant as possible with the 4 girls, especially when I’m alone. While the girls were playing, I noticed this older man sort of dressed up, he definitely looked out of place (not beach attire at all), and it looked like he was face timing someone, but instead of the camera turned on him, it seemed like he had the camera turned towards my girls. I kept watching him and the camera seemed to follow the girls, and then when I called them all to stay right next to me, the camera followed. I continued to watch him intently (first, I thought maybe he was showing someone the beach view, I don’t know), and I think he eventually noticed and went away. Something about him immediately raised red flags, so I don’t know for sure what that was, but it was a reminder to never let your guard down and to always be aware of your surroundings.

We won’t let things like this stop of from going on adventures, but it’s a good reminder to always be vigilant. Also, talk to your kids about these things. They know why I called them to me, and so it was helpful that they were immediately obedient when I wanted them right by my side. As their parents, we teach them for their good (even when it doesn’t exactly feel good to them), so in that particular moment, they could see how important it was to be obedient, and as we say, “right away, all the way, with a happy heart.”

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You all know my love for clogs, and I think this peep toe pair might be my new favorite (I really do all of them though). Somehow, the peep toe makes the clog look a little less chunky. Not that chunky ever stopped me from wearing clogs because you know I wear them all the time. I simply think the peep toe gives the clog a slightly more feminine touch. What do you think? Or do you prefer the traditional style?

I saw this dress at the thrift store, well, where else would have I seen it?! Y’all know how much I love that vintage treasure hunt. Back to the dress… it’s vintage, still had the tags on it, 100% linen, with a label that said “Made in California,” so how could I turn that down?! The off-centered button style did make me pause, I didn’t know if I pull it off, but for all the things I love about it mentioned above, I had to take it home. I figured if I didn’t love it (I’m not one to try things on at the thrift store, but I do bring a measuring tape), I’m sure I could find someone who would. Turns out, I love it. It’ll be perfect for summer and over a bathing suit. Even though it has longer sleeves, it’s so lightweight and airy, that it’ll be absolutely fine when temps reach the triple digits.

on me: dress, vintage (vintage here, new there). birkin basket, space rocket store. clogs, c/o lotta from stockholm. earrings, vintage via ms. tips.

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Bunny Ears Headband

Supplies:
Bunny ear template
Tulle
2- 26″ strands of wire (I used 22 gauge wire)
Headband
Faux flowers
Ribbon
Wire cutter
Scissors
Glue gun
Sewing machine
Coordinating thread
Pins, optional

Seam allowance: 1/4″

Directions:
1. Cut out 4 pieces of tulle per bunny ear using the bunny ear template. With 4 pieces of tulle layered together, sew around the bunny ear leaving the bottom open. Turn right side out. Repeat for the second bunny ear.

2. Gently fold wire in half and insert into one ear, shaping the wire inside to conform to the shape of the bunny ear. Twist the wire at the bottom, and with a dab of glue on the center bottom portion of the tulle (the ear opening), pinch the bottom of the ear together.

3. Identify placement of each bunny ear on your headband, then twist the wire ends around the headband to secure on. Add a dab of glue to one end of the headband to attach the ribbon. Wrap entire length of the headband with your fabric strip/ribbon, continue to glue as needed until the entire headband is wrapped.

4. Using a wire cutter, cut at the base of the flower to take off the main stem, and then glue onto desired spot on the headband. Continue until you have enough flowers covering the top of the headband.

These are such sweet, whimsical bunny ears perfect for wearing this spring and Easter. I only made two because I didn’t think the older girls would want one, but they are begging for their own bunny ears headband. I think a cat version of this would be lovely too.

These Catimini dresses from Childrensalon are so wonderfully playful for spring; the pops of color and pattern are absolutely cheerful. I love how the pink of Soul’s dress looks like a flower, but upon closer inspection, you’ll see it’s a bird. Soul actually tried to claim both dresses for herself, but I had to remind her that she must share. When she first laid eyes on them, she exclaimed, “These are totally my style!” Oh that girl is such a little fashionista and she knows what she likes. Sometimes, she’ll ask me to pick her clothes out, but I get nervous because I almost always never pick what she has in mind, and then she gets mad that I didn’t pick what she was thinking. Thankfully, there was no fighting with these pretty Catimini dresses.

on soul: catimini white bird dress, catimini spotty scarf , & birkenstocks, c/o childrensalon. on glow: lemon pelican dress, c/o childrensalon. sandals, salt water sandals.

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Pipe Cleaner Bunny

Supplies:
Pipe Cleaners
10mm pom-poms
5mm pom-poms
4 mm wiggly eyes
Glue
Pencil

Directions:
1. Place the pencil in the middle of the pipe cleaner, perpendicular to each other.

2. Wrap the stem on the right of the pencil, around the pencil two times.

3. Create a little zig zag with the pipe cleaner to make the feet of the bunny.

4. Wrap the pipe cleaner stem to the left around the top of the pencil almost twice around, and create a slightly larger zig zag (or M shape) with the remaining portion, and shape into the bunny’s ears.

5. Add two dabs of glue right under the ears, place the wiggly eyes on. Then, add a dad of glue between the eyes and on the back for the tail. Add on a small pom-pom for the nose and a larger pom-pom for the tail.

We were working on a video of True demonstrating how to make the bunny, but my camera wasn’t working right, so maybe we will have to figure out another way later this week. The girls had so much fun making lots of bunny toppers and they plan to pass them out to their friends for a little Easter gift. They currently obsessed with using pipe cleaners to make things, so I’m sure you’ll see plenty more shared in the next few weeks.

Supplies provided as part of the Michaels’ Makers Series. Make it the best Easter with Michaels! They have everything from eggs & baskets, to bunney décor and more!

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This week’s learned, links, and thankfulness…

Lots of ongoing lessons on how to rebuke, receive rebuke, forgiveness, and love from my children.

Blessed by this article “Difficult Friendships are Good for You” by my friend Frances.

Want this gorgeous mural in my home.

My dream chair? A Warren Platner.

We need more space for our books, so I told Ben I want one similar to this.

Such lovely vintage gold hoops that want to be dangling on someone’s ears.

Hey size 6ers (in shoes), these crochet mule/slides are perfect for spring!

Thankful we finally resumed our Friday night family night last night after 3 weeks off hanging out with friends.

I’ve been using this retinol moisturizer by Body Merry and love it.

This week I did not wake up early at all. I don’t know what it is, but I’ve been having a hard time getting out of bed lately. Still working on the wake up early for Bible reading time first thing goal. Bad things happen when my soul is running low.

I appreciate the forced vacation from laundry this week (it broke and our new one just came in) and I’m breaking in our new washer as we speak.

The house, front porch, and backyard is mostly clean, so it makes me want to do a happy dance. It’s been a few months since all three have been clean at the same time.

How was your week last week?

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