Feeling Thankful

So it's already November! I absolutely cannot believe how quickly this year has gone by.

And it's not just an adult thing--my kiddos keep saying the same thing. It makes me a little sad that they feel the years speeding up already. I think it took me a little longer as a child for that to sink in.

No doubt it's a sign of the busy lives we lead. I sometimes long for quiet days with no appointments or obligations. Days where our time is truly our own and we can take our time doing whatever we want. Reading books, baking cookies, taking walks....

As homeschoolers, we do have much more control over our time. But it's almost impossible to not be caught up somehow in the busyness of life in 2016. It's a fast-paced world we live in here in the United States.

Which is perhaps why I feel a deep longing to savor this Thanksgiving season a little bit more this year. It just seems that focusing on the gifts in my life is more important than ever. With so much dissatisfaction in our nation, so much entitlement pervading our lives, so much complaining everywhere you listen, it leaves a bad 'taste' in one's soul if one lets it.

I believe the remedy for this sickness is gratefulness.

So, my friend, don't rush past this season of thankfulness (which should really be all year round). Instead let it invade your life. Take a few moments every day to stop and think of all of your blessings--all of the gifts in your life. It's so easy to take these for granted. I'm so guilty of that. I don't want to be guilty of it anymore.

So in the morning I will brew my coffee, light my 'honey pumpkin' candle, and sit down for some quite time with God to start my day. Hopefully I'll pause during my day to remember to be thankful. Thankful for my children--even when they're pushing all my buttons. Thankful for laundry, for dirty dishes, for a house to clean up. Then, as the day comes to a close, I want to pause once again with my children and add another leaf to our garland. Leaves with verses of thanksgiving. And hear what they're precious hearts are thankful for.

The Making of an Egyptian Death Mask

We are learning all about the ancient world this year with Story of the World I and loving it! We've been learning a lot about Egypt, of course, which is completely fascinating. Most recently we have studied the New Kingdom of Egypt, which includes the story of King Tut. So we decided making an Egyptian death mask in the style of King Tut's would be a fun project. First since it was too cold at the time to paper mache in the garage (it probably would have frozen instead of dried-ha) and it was too messy to do it in the house, we decided to pick up a couple of cheap craft masks at Hobby Lobby. Next we cut out cardboard shapes to complete the shape of the death mask, attaching them with hot glue. Vince even put a little detail on the *beard* with the hot glue per The Princess' request. Then the kiddos started to paint them with this metallic gold tempera paint. It worked okay for the cardboard, but would not coat the plastic of the mask. We thought maybe a second coat ...

Door Hanger Chore Charts

My kids have had a chore chart for a while. It's one of those magnetic boards and they share it. However, it's not by their rooms and often they (and I) forget to update it. Plus it's a little bulky. When I saw the concept of a door hanger chore chart on Pinterest, I loved it! It was compact, right there were the kiddos could see it coming out and going into their rooms, and it costs almost nothing to make. I headed over to one of my favorite stores: Hobby Lobby, of course. They have these little wooden door hangers for .79. I also grabbed a couple of packets of decorative buttons for $1.99 each. I already had the clothes pins and the paint so those cost me nothing. I began by painting the door hangers (I used tempera paints because that's what I had). Then I grabbed a fine point Sharpie and the clothes pins and started writing chores on them, making sure to write them correctly so they will ...

Fun With 4th of July Crafts: Part 3

I love my new patriotic front door wreath!! I had fun putting this together, although I must admit this is more of an adult craft than one for kiddos. I was inspired by this article in Family Fun magazine. I didn't have quite everything I needed for this one, but all I had to purchase was a few sheets of scrapbook paper and some double-sided tape. Then all I had to gather up were some scissors, regular Scotch tape, a ruler and some cardboard. First I cut four (5"x 6") pieces of each paper. Then by placing a piece of double-sided tape on one of the short ends of the papers, I rolled them into cones, pressing the seams together well. Then I cut a 10" circle out of cardboard and began to stick the cones on it. I used another piece of double-sided tape to stick the cones on, arranging them in a circular pattern. Next I used regular Scotch tape to attach them on the back to the back of the cardboard. After getting all the cones on, I was ready for my centerpiece. He...

my blessed life

Search This Blog