Monday, January 31, 2011

My #1 Beauty Secret

I was reading some blogs and stumbled across one that shared some beauty secrets...and while we all have certain products we love and recommend from time to time, I have a revolutionary secret...I know this works, because I have seen it in the life of a VERY BEAUTIFUL woman...I found it in a Bible Study Booklet called Successful Living by John and Janice Walsh, Volume 1... but really, it is timeless from the Word...So, here is that secret....

For they shall be...chains about thy neck. Proverbs 1:9
These authors go on to share that there are two basic human desires...the desire to be honored and the desire to be beautiful. The authors say that most men want to be honored and most women want to be beautiful, and I would agree with that. They go on to share that in 1 Peter 3:4 a woman's true beauty is found in the inner person she is...They say, "If she is rebellious, her resentful and obnoxious spirit will eventually come to the surface and be displayed for all to see. If, on the other hand, she is as peace with those in authority, she is storing up a wealth of inner beauty. This too will come to the surface and in time make her an even more attractive person." They are saying that a woman becomes more beautiful as she submits to the various authorities we have in our lives.

So back to that beautiful woman...I am sure that most people would not even notice her, but she is THE MOST BEAUTIFUL WOMAN I KNOW...she loves God, her husband, her children, friends...and continually points others to God and His Word. The inner beauty of who she is are the outer ornaments that grace what she looks like. Her face is peaceful, loving, tender, kind, joyful, and more...She is gracious, careful with her words, understanding and compassionate, yet stands firmly on the truth. She trusts and submits and has a proper attitude towards authority...and she IS beautiful...
Just think, this could save us a FORTUNE in beauty creams!









Monday, January 24, 2011

Mmmmmm

This week DD got to look at the letter M for his letter of the week school work...there is a post down below about that...but he got to make a Mosiac M and write M & m...wish I would have thought ahead to give him m & m's...but no go there...Since we were studying the rectangle this week too, he did get to have a Hershey's bar...first we talked about ALL of the rectangles in a Hershey Bar, then we made an M out of it, then DD got to share it with everyone...so he did have a little bit of a treat. Probably the thing he had the best time with was marble painting...I am not sure if the colors will show up well,He chose those colors himselt...I am thinking about making Valentine's Day cards from them for him. It turned out very nice, I think.






Saturday, January 22, 2011

Tracy's Album

Here are the pictures from the album for my friend Tracy who is moving away...we will miss her...dearly...
A couple are mixed up in order...but too much code to figure out how to move it. Tracy's favorite color is purple and I made this VERY girlie for her...I hope she loved it!


Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Preschool/Kindergarten Fun

As I was thinking about school, I decided to search around a bit at the place where I got our preschool lessons. We are using a Preparatory Letter of the Week Curriculum that I found online. I love this program 1. because it is free 2. because it uses books from the library 3. because it is all laid out and 4. because it is fun. I thought I would share some links...this is what we are using now...it says for ages 2-4...DD is 4 right now and we are using it...

http://www.letteroftheweek.com/Preparatory.html

Then step two says it is for age 3 and is this
Step three says for ages 3-6 and is this
and step four is for ages 4-7 is this

DD loves this program...he gets excited to read the books suggested for each week...carries them around, looks at them over and over before bedtime. We have all of his work from each week in a letter folder...each letter has its own folder. DD loves to look through those and see the work he has done. With this, we also have a great book called Art Across the Alphabet by Kelly Justus Campbell. I have really loved using this book as a supplement to add in art activities to go with each letter. These two resources have really helped me so that DD gets his school done too...and with five in homeschool...it would be VERY EASY to just let him go off and do his own thing...

(Steps three and four are under construction and are not all the way done yet. I have no idea when they will be done.)


Monday, January 17, 2011

The Creative Juices are Flowing...

I've been working on a new project...and those creative juices are getting all over the place in the form of ink and glitter and bits of paper. I will be posting pictures soon...but it is so much fun to be creating an album again...been awhile since I have made one...

On the school front, today is not a holiday for us...we will be working on stuff today...getting a little ahead so we can have most of tomorrow off...it is the "official" goodbye to some really good friends who are moving to Texas...bring the kleenex, because this gal is so precious and dear to us...cannot imagine not having her here...but I am so very thankful for having been able to call her friend for all these years now.

Having a prayer circle group tonight...really enjoying having a group of gals coming over while most of my family is at BSF...we pray...I love that it doesn't take me away from my family or interrupt normal life here. God so beautifully opened this up...and I find that it is so precious. I think even my husband loves that we do this too...he hasn't quite said it in those words, but he talks about it on and off throughout the week.

And, looking a little more ahead...in just under two weeks, the Principessa will be NINE...To have a party or not have a party...that is the question at hand.

Well, off to prepare for our school day...and then WAIT for the family to get up...getting up WAY TOO EARLY is not usually a problem for me...but I love having the quiet time to be able to get things done that I need to do...off to finish my BSF lesson...
Hope you all have a Mighty Monday!


Saturday, January 8, 2011

Dymo Label Manager 260P

I got the privilege of trying Dymo's Label Manager 260P by being a Bzz Agent.
When the box came in the mail, we all gathered around to open it. Don't you just LOVE to get a package in the mail? Then we printed off a few labels. I really wanted to have people try this for themselves, so I didn't go crazy with it. The first place I took it was to our homeschool support group meeting. I shared a little about it and then passed it around. I think that most people just LOVE the look of having labels on things...I use labels in my pantry, craft room and school room. The theory is that when people know what goes into each container or space, then it will be returned there...the practice of that does not always play out that way in this house. I also took it to a family gathering and a girl's craft night. Now that people have had a chance to play with it a bit, I am going to go crazy in my pantry...OR maybe on all the binders in our schoolroom...I cannot tell you HOW many times I have pulled them out looking for the right one. This tool is valuable in so many areas...the office, garage, children's rooms, toy bins, SCRAPBOOKING...really so many things to organize. There is something just so satisfying in having a place for everything and everything in its place! A label also makes it easy to read...uniform in appearance...nice.

I think everyone really had fun watching that label print and then pressing the cut button and seeing their label. The Dymo Label Manager 260P is portable...I carried it around in my purse for several days. While I have not gotten a chance to fully master all of the features of the Dymo Label Manager 260P, it is fast and easy to use. It has 3 fonts and 6 text styles...you can save to memory, print multiple labels and it has a nice sized display, which as we, *ahem* age, is a very important feature! The buttons are a nice size, giving plenty of room for fingers to work without pressing wrong keys.
If you are in the market for a new label maker OR want a little bit of organization for the new year, you can pick this up here
for $65.99. I have a few coupons for $25 off as well...making this a much more affordable tool for your home, office, craft room....the possibilities are endless! Let me know if you would like one...I LOVE mine!
Happy Labeling!
C~

The Word of the Lord

A couple of days ago we were working on our history...we are using RRR (Romans, Reformers and Revolutionaries by Diana Waring)...just beginning a unit called The Seeds of the Reformation and Late Middle Ages. So from the Bible, Diana has a heading that said: Heart of Early Reformation in England and Bohemia and shared Isaiah 58 as one of the verses. This was such a beautiful passage that I wanted to share it with you all...it just speaks to me where I am...makes me think of a little boy so far away that has a family who wants to bring him home...makes me think of a little brown eyed boy who needs to be guided by his Savior and a Momma who wants to see him run to his Abba Father's arms...makes me think of fasting....keeping the Sabbath holy...and the GOODNESS of our Lord...

Cry loudly, do not hold back;
Raise your voice like a trumpet,
And declare to My people their transgression
And to the house of Jacob their sins.
"Yet they seek Me day by day and delight to know My ways,
As a nation that has done righteousness
And has not forsaken the ordinance of their God
They ask Me for just decisions,
They delight in the nearness of God.
'Why have we fasted and You do not see?
Why have we humbled ourselves and You do not notice?'
Behold, on the day of your fast you find your desire,
And drive hard all your workers.
"Behold, you fast for contention and strife and to strike with a wicked fist
You do not fast like you do today to make your voice heard on high.
"Is it a fast like this which I choose, a day for a man to humble himself?
Is it for bowing one's head like a reed
And for spreading out sackcloth and ashes as a bed?
Will you call this a fast, even an acceptable day to the LORD?
"Is this not the fast which I choose,
To loosen the bonds of wickedness,
To undo the bands of the yoke,
And to let the oppressed go free
And break every yoke?
"Is it not to divide your bread with the hungry
And bring the homeless poor into the house;
When you see the naked, to cover him;
And not to hide yourself from your own flesh?
"Then your light will break out like the dawn,
And your recovery will speedily spring forth;
And your righteousness will go before you;
The glory of the LORD will be your rear guard.
"Then you will call, and the LORD will answer;
You will cry, and He will say, 'Here I am '
If you remove the yoke from your midst,
The pointing of the finger and speaking wickedness,
And if you give yourself to the hungry
And satisfy the desire of the afflicted,
Then your light will rise in darkness
And your gloom will become like midday.
"And the LORD will continually guide you,
And satisfy your desire in scorched places,
And give strength to your bones;
And you will be like a watered garden,
And like a (AH)spring of water whose waters do not fail.
"Those from among you will rebuild the ancient ruins;
You will raise up the age-old foundations;
And you will be called the repairer of the breach,
The restorer of the streets in which to dwell.

"If because of the sabbath, you turn your foot
From doing your own pleasure on My holy day,
And call the sabbath a delight, the holy day of the LORD honorable,
And honor it, desisting from your own ways,
From seeking your own pleasure
And speaking your own word,
Then you will take delight in the LORD,
And I will make you ride on the heights of the earth;
And I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father,
For the mouth of the LORD has spoken."


Friday, January 7, 2011

Home remedy or Old Wive's Tale?

So, I have a sweet friend in Australia who gave me an interesting home remedy for a chesty cough...She says "You warm a couple of cupfuls of sand in a pot, if it isn't from
the beach, add about half a handful of salt. Make it as warm as you can comfortably
touch. Pour it into an old pillow case and tie it up. Rest the sand pack on your
chest until it cools down. The salt will draw out the moisture."
So, I have been trying it...and it feels like my cough is better...anyone coughing up a lung? Try it and let me know what you think...oh...and sand gets REALLY HOT, REALLY FAST...so be careful!



Thursday, January 6, 2011

Tara's Quinoa Salad

I am making this salad tonight for a family gathering...I love how fresh tasting and delicious this is...a little bit of summer. I got this from my good friend, Tara...I have no idea where she got it...maybe on the back of a package or someone's blog...I don't know...but every time I have it...I think of her...what a sweet and wonderful blessing she is...dear and precious friend in our Lord...and all the fun we had at our homeschool mom's retreat...

1 1/2c quinoa
3c Vegetable broth


2 cloves garlic, crushed and minced
juice of 1 lemon
3Tbs olive oil
1/4c apple cider vinegar


1c cherry tomatoes, halved
1-2c cucumber, chopped
4oz artichoke hearts, chopped
1/2 small red onion, chopped
1/3c parsley, chopped
1/3c cilantro, chopped
1/2c sheep Feta-can be any kind of feta, but if someone has a dairy allergy, they can sometimes tolerate the sheep feta.

1. Bring quinoa and broth to boil for 15-20 minutes ( until broth is absorbed). Put aside and let cool.
2. Whisk together garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, and vinegar. Set a side.
3. Once quinoa is cooled, toss in veggies. Add vinegar dressing mix. Lastly add feta.
4. Let sit for 30 min. to absorb flavors

(My two cents here...this is best when eaten within a day of making...after that, the flavors/texture isn't as good...)


Thanks Tara...
Love,

Saturday, January 1, 2011

Happy New Year!!!





I hope 2011 is filled with God's blessings upon you and yours!