The Kissing Hand Back to School Crafts

OK, so I know that a lot of you are back to school already, but we've got a week to go.  And, oh what a push it's been to get everything finished that needs to be finished.  I'm sure you can relate.  Or not.  Whatever.

Our nephew is heading off to kindergarten this fall, and his little brother is starting preschool (they call it 3-school where they live, which is descriptive, I guess, but it always throws me for a bit of a loop when they call it that.  Here (and everywhere else I've ever lived), it's preschool.  Just preschool.  And then sometimes they call the 4 yr old classes pre-K, I think to make themselves feel important.  Anyway...).  Big month in the D household.

Ua had some separation difficulties when he was in 3-school, and I know his mom is feeling a little apprehensive that it'll continue in kindergarten.  And I am no stranger to school and separation issues.  My poor little AKD cried every.single.day of kindergarten for about the first 2 months.  It wasn't pretty, but I didn't know what to do to ease his anxiety.  If I had known then what I know now...but I digress.

So I sent the boys a couple of back to school crafts based on The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn.

The Kissing Hand is a lovely story about Chester the raccoon starting school for the first time.  He's not sure if he'll like it and is feeling anxious and worried about how it'll go.  His mama reassures him, and then shows him a family secret: the kissing hand.  Mama lovingly kisses Chester's hand and tells him that whenever he's missing her, all he needs to do is hold his hand up to his cheek for a kiss and to remember that his mama loves him.

It really is a sweet story, just perfect for little ones who are separating from their parents for the first time or trying something new.

I sent the boys a copy of the book, then had them make shrinky dink kissing hands to keep with them at school, attached to their backpacks.  They made extras for Mom to keep with her as well :)

To make your own, follow the instructions here to use recycled plastic OR use blank shrinky dink material--you can find it at craft stores or online.

I also sent this free printable Kissing Hand poem that I found on Pinterest. 

Source: teacherspayteachers.com via Scarlet on Pinterest

 

It reads:

Here's a special thing to do

When I am scared of leaving you.

Hold my hand, then kiss it here.

The kiss will help to keep you near.

It will help me through my day

So I can work and learn and play.

Just print, cut out, and glue to one side of a piece of paper.  Next paint the child's hand, and place it carefully on the other side of the paper (or just trace the child's hand).  Cut out a red construction paper heart and glue it in the center of the handprint.

Have fun making your Kissing Hand crafts, and best wishes for a terrific school year!

Taming the beast

My first and only canning experience as a child left me with a fear of pressure cookers.  There's just so much potential for serious bodily harm.  But today...today, I faced my fears and tamed the beast.  I'm telling you, I'm knocking out fears left and right.  Pretty soon I'll be ready to park the Suburban in a parking garage.  Or not.

I'm fuzzy on the details of that first canning session: I just remember it being hot, sweaty, steamy work.  I remember my mom being flustered and overwhelmed.  I'm pretty sure a few of the jars actually broke in the canner, and some of the tomatoes had worms.  Ewww!  I don't even remember actually eating any of those tomatoes that she canned, although I'm sure we must have.

Needless to say, this was not an experience I had any interest in ever repeating.

I've been canning applesauce for a few years now, using a water bath, but last year I decided I wanted to try canning green beans.  Due to green beans' lack of acidity, they require higher temperatures to can successfully, and that means a pressure canner.  My parents graciously gave me their pressure canner (I think they didn't want to repeat the tomato canning experience either), but our garden didn't produce enough green beans at one time to make a full load. 

And let's face it, if you're going to muster up the courage to face a childhood fear, you want to make sure the potential payoff is as big as possible.

We didn't even plant green beans this year, so I thought I was safe from the pressure canner for another year, until a friend mentioned that her family had 4 grocery bags full of green beans and no freezer space.  Did I want any?

It was fate, I just knew it.  Time to look that pressure canner in the eye and show it who's boss. 

I said, sure, I'll take some.

This morning, with trepidation (or perhaps "trembling in fear" is a better description), I consulted my Blue Book of Canning and the pressure canner instruction manual I had downloaded eons ago, asked my husband for a consult on the weight configuration, and then set to work.

I put my helpers to work, too.

Seriously, I couldn't have done it without them.  OK, I could have, but it would have taken me twice as long.

And...

Success!  Eight pints of green beans ready to enjoy when the weather turns cold, and 4 more packages in the freezer.  Actually, it was pretty easy.  That popping sound (the one that lets me know the jars are sealed)?  Pure delight.

Special thanks to my parents for giving (lending?) me the canner, 4-H Mom for giving me the beans, and my Facebook friends for your (virtual) moral support, especially my brother, who oh so helpfully suggested that the pressure canner was more afraid of me than I was of it.

Tell me: have you ever used a pressure canner?  What was your experience like?

Summer in a Bottle

With summer marching unswervingly toward its inevitable conclusion, do you ever wish you could bottle it up--all that sunshiny goodness--and save it to release in the cold of winter?

Well, yesterday, I did just that.  I took some ripe tomatoes from my garden, added a few other things, and bottled up some sunshine, otherwise known as salsa, to eat all winter long.  Mmmm, yummy.

And here's how you know I'm not a "professional" blogger.  I forgot to take a picture of all of my ingredients laid out so prettily.  I was too excited to get going...

Anyway, I used this recipe because it seemed really easy and doable compared to some of the other recipes I found.  I halved the recipe because I didn't have enough tomatoes to do the whole thing, and 2 gallons seemed like p l e n t y of salsa to last us a good long time.  In fact, I'm thinking a jar or two of this salsa might just end up in my favorite brother in law's Christmas stocking.

Simmering away...

I peeled my tomatoes using the blanch and shock method (place whole tomatoes in boiling water for 30-60 seconds, then immediately plunge into ice water (the tomatoes, not you)--the skins will peel off easily using your fingers).  The recipe didn't say anything about seeding the tomatoes, but I did end up seeding them--I wasn't fanatical about it or anything, though. 

 

Here's a handy tip for seeding tomatoes.  Cut them through the y-axis, halfway between the stem and blossom end--that way you end up with a cross section through all of the seed cavities and it's easy to just scoop them all out.  You probably all knew that already.  Took me a few tomatoes to figure it out, though.

 

I would recommend using a food processor to chop the vegetables, except for the tomatoes.  Not only is it easier and faster, but you get a nice fine chop that way.

Now...to use up the commercially-prepared salsa that's in the fridge so we can dig in to this yummy stuff!

a beating and pumpkin escape artists

 I put MC and Roger to work this morning beating the dust out of the rug we keep in our mud/laundry room.  We vacuum it regularly, um, semi-regularly, but had never given it a good beating.  Just look at all that dust!  This is a perfect gross-motor job for a child with heightened sensory needs.

 Finally, we have pumpkins.  I'm hoping at least one of them will hang on long enough to turn orange.  True to form, the pumpkins have escaped the garden space.  This year, we have pumpkin vines where they have never been before.

 This one climbed up a handy nearby red pine tree--I put an arrow on the pic so you can see how high it's gone, and actually, that's not even the top.  The garden itself is about 4 feet off the ground at this point--that little vine is probably 30 feet off the ground.

And, yes, there's a pumpkin up there!  I'm wondering if I need to put up a

Watch for Falling Pumpkins

sign.  Good thing the little apes (they don't have tails so they can't be monkeys) are good climbers...

Back on Track and Full Cycle*

If making an accommodation is the kiss of death to a home improvement project, there's nothing like a hard deadline to get it back on track.  With guests arriving in just 3 days, we need to get all of the mud/laundry room stuff out of the guest room and back where it belongs pronto.

It's looking pretty good.  Most of the stuff is back--now we're just waiting for the hooks.  And the shoe bins (can't mop the floor because we don't have a mop head (who knew a refill mop head would be so difficult to find?)  Can't put the rugs back in until the floor is mopped.  Can't put the shoe bins in until the rugs are back).

And speaking of laundry...

When I was first married (and in college, and in high school, and, well, for as long as I've been doing laundry), I would do laundry whenever I had a full load, every week or two (ah, for those blissful, carefree days, when I had the time to do a load of laundry whenever I wanted...).  After the arrival of the first baby, I instituted a laundry day once a week.  Seriously, how in the world does an 8 pound helpless itty bitty generate so. much. dirty laundry?  And that worked well for me. 

When the next one arrived, I moved to doing laundry 2 days a week, because myword, if one produces double, two make the dirty laundry quadruple.  And that worked well for me.  Until recently.  And by "recently" I mean over four years ago when our youngest joined the crew.

It seems like ever since then I've been struggling with the laundry.  I never, ever it get all done on laundry day.  More often than not, in order to dry a new load I have to find an empty laundry basket in which to dump the clean clothes that have been sitting in the dryer getting wrinkly since last laundry day.  And woe to all of us when I forget and leave a wet load in the washer for 3 or 4 days.  Yikes.

I know that lots of people out there do at least one load of laundry every day, and I've tried that.  But ohmygosh, I don't want to have to deal with laundry every. day!  I honestly don't know how they can stand it--it made me bonkers. 

And I've noticed a little something about myself over the years.  The more loads of laundry I need to get done in a day, the more likely it is that I will actually complete them all, washed, dried, sorted, folded, and put away.  It looks a little something like this:

I know.  It seems a little strange to me, too.

Oh, wait.  You weren't thinking it's strange that I drew a graph were you?  I meant that it's strange that the more I have to do, the more likely it'll all get done.  So basically, if I try to do one load of laundry every day, there is very little chance that I will ever be caught up.

So I've come full cycle (I mean circle) in my laundry washing schedule.  I'm back to washing laundry just once a week.  And I have been pleasantly surprised to find that it seems easier to get it all done.  All I can say is, it's working for me.  For now.

*I made a punny!  Sorry, just couldn't resist.

Overwhelmed

My friends, I am feeling a little overwhelmed today, and I anticipate the feeling to continue for quite a while.  There is just so much that still needs to happen before the kids return to school in two weeks.

I know it'll all get done, but in the meantime, I am forced to take these few weeks one day at a time.  I can't, for instance, do what needs to be done tomorrow right now, as much as I would like to be able to.  It would be such a blessing to be able to work without stopping for a few days to earn a few days of rest, along with peace of mind, knowing that everything is set, but no.  Everything needs to happen at its appointed time, and I must keep my eyes open for small pockets of rest, and rest in them, in each day, each hour.

It is so hard to rest, knowing that there is still work to be done.  It is so hard to rest when my mind races ahead to the next task, the next day, the next week.  Knowing that there is not much margin of error in these next few weeks.  Wondering if I can keep the tight schedule.  Wondering what I will need to let go if I can't.

It rankles, to be at the mercy of time, when I so desperately crave control.  My lists, my schedules, those I can control.  Time is one thing that I cannot. 

So, my friends, off I go into this wild and crazy adventure of the next few weeks.  Wish me luck.

And I wish you well in all of your journeys, one day at a time.

There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under the heavens:

a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot, 
a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

Home

My dear friends, after spending around 60 hours in a moving vehicle in the past 2 weeks, it is good to be home. 

The children are complaining about chores and errands, being hungry, and just about any other thing you could think of (and a few you probably couldn't think of), getting on each other's nerves, yelling, screaming, and hurting each other, throwing down-on-the-floor screaming-and-thrashing tantrums (and not just the little one) and yet, even in the midst of all that, it is so very good to be home.  Finally.

We began two weeks ago with a road trip to visit my brother and his family in Colorado.  We spent a few days in the Denver area, then headed south to Canon City and the Royal Gorge, stopping to summit Pike's Peak on the way.

There it is: Pike's Peak!

There we are!  On Pike's Peak.

Did you know that Katharine Lee Bates wrote America the Beautiful on top of Pike's Peak?  So easy to see why she was inspired by this breathtakingly beautiful place.

 While all the others were in the gift shop, MC, Roger, and I were outside minding our own business when a fighter jet from the nearby US Air Force Academy did a fly-by, just about 30 feet above our heads. Awesome upon awesomeness. Hubby had the camera inside, of course.

The next day we headed over to the Royal Gorge Bridge and Park to walk over the highest suspension bridge in the world.

The bridge

The boys, not falling 1000+ feet off the bridge to the canyon floor
MC, Ty-Guy, Roger, AKD, Con-Man

The view from the sky tram of the Arkansas River on the canyon floor

 The following day, we headed back to the gorge, this time visiting the canyon floor by train.

Four of the boys (and some people we don't know) enjoying the open air car

See how narrow the gorge is at this point!  Only 30 feet across, and the walls are vertical, so this section of track is suspended over the river.

Here's a view of the bridge from below

 It was a wonderful time visiting family and seeing some beautiful sights.

On Friday morning Hubby's grandma passed away, so we headed home early to have a day at home to unload and repack for a trip east to her funeral in Michigan.  Diagnosed with Alzheimer's and plagued by dementia, we had said goodbye to Grandma, at least the Grandma we knew and loved, and who knew and loved us, years ago, but that didn't make it any easier to lose her physical presence here on earth.

All in all, we logged about 60 hours on the road to and fro and fro and to again (more about how we survived all that time on the road with the kiddos in a future post).

The incredible beauty of the mountains followed so quickly by a sharp reminder of the fragility of this mortal life has made me thankful.  Thankful to have, for now, this little family I hold dear.  So thankful to be finally home, even knowing that this earthly place is not my home.  Grandma is the one who is home.  Finally.

Thanks be to God.

Amen.

Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one.  

Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, 

for he has prepared a city for them.

Hebrews 11:16

How Great

In loving memory of Hubby's grandma, Lucille

Grandma & Grandpa with 5 of their great grandchildren
July 2009

How Great Thou Art

Lyrics ~ Carl Boberg, 1859 - 1940
English Translation ~ Stuart K. Hine, 1899 - 1989
{lyrics from here}

O Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder
Consider all the worlds Thy Hand hath made,
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,
Thy pow'r throughout the universe displayed;

Refrain:
Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art!  How great Thou art!
Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art!  How great Thou art!

When through the woods and forest glades I wander
I hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees;
When I look down from lofty mountain grandeur
And hear the brook and feel the gentle breeze;

Refrain

And when I think, that God, His Son not sparing;
Sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in;
That on the Cross, My burden gladly bearing,
He bled and died to take away my sin.

Refrain

When Christ shall come, with shouts of acclamation,
And take me home,what joy shall fill my heart!
Then I shall bow in humble adoration
And there proclaim,"My God, how great Thou art!"

Refrain

10000 Reasons

{Click here to listen}

Bless the Lord oh my soul
Oh my soul
Worship his holy name
Sing like never before
Oh my soul
I worship your holy name

The sun comes up
Its a new day dawning
Its time to sing your song again
What ever may pass and whatever lies before me
Let me be singing when the evening comes

Bless the Lord oh my soul
Oh my soul
Worship his holy name
Sing like never before
Oh my soul
I worship your holy name

You're rich in love and you're slow to anger
Your name is great and your heart is kind
For all your goodness I will keep on singing
10,000 reasons for my heart to find

Bless the Lord oh my soul
Oh my soul
Worship his holy name
Sing like never before
Oh my soul
I worship your holy name

And on that day when my strength is failing
The end draws near and my time has come
Soon my soul will sing your praise unending
10,000 years and there forever more

Bless the Lord oh my soul
Oh my soul
Worship his holy name
Sing like never before
Oh my soul
I worship your holy name

Bless the Lord oh my soul
Oh my soul
Worship his holy name
Sing like never before
Oh my soul
I worship your holy name (repeat 3x)
Sing like never before
Oh my soul
I worship your holy name (repeat 3x)

Five Minute Fun: Bowling

Five minute fun is a fun activity that requires 5 minutes or less of parental set-up or guidance, but can keep kids entertained for a long time.  It also uses common items that you probably already have around the house.

This week, inspiration came from my 7 year old nephew, Con-man.  He's such a creative kid :)  All the grown-ups were busy, so Con-man pulled out some 16 oz paper cups and a playground ball.  He stacked the cups up-side-down in a pyramid shape, with five cups on the bottom, four in the next row, three in the next, and so on.  Kind of like the way regular bowling pins are set up, but vertically, and with 5 extra pins.

Con-Man and Roger setting up the cups

Once he had the cups stacked to his liking, he commenced rolling a soft, bouncy ball toward them from about 6 feet away.  The cups made a very satisfying cracking sound as they were propelled into the air by the speeding ball.  Con-man even added a masking tape bowling lane to the kitchen's wood floor after a while (I think it's still there).

I was a little skeptical that this would keep the kids occupied for long, but all five of them played for almost an hour, and I'm sure they would have continued for much longer had we not insisted they go to bed.

CRASH!

Try this the next time you need a quick and easy way to keep the kids occupied--you might be surprised by how much fun the kids (and you) will have.

Five Minute Fun: Jumping Cups

Do you ever have one of those days?  I mean those days when the children are underfoot and on your nerves?  When they can't seem to leave each other alone?  When it seems like they pick a fight just to have something to do?

Every mama needs a repertoire of quick and easy boredom busters for days like that. 

Enter the humble jumping cup.  It's so simple and easy to make, using items you probably already have around the house, and it's guaranteed to entertain...or at least break the boredom cycle.

(There's a video here...if you read my blog via email, you will need to actually visit my blog to view the video)

All you need to make one are two cups (I used plastic disposables), two rubber bands, and some tape.  You can find instructions and pictures here.

  

First, make four small slits in one cup, equally spaced around the rim.  Use a little bit of tape on the inside and outside of the cup to keep each slit from splitting further.

Cut the rubber bands, and put a knot in each end of each rubber band.  Place them in the slits, making an X in the cup, and ensuring that the rubber bands are just taut.

Like this
{Image Source}

Use more tape to secure the rubber bands, if desired.

Now you can add some decorations to the side of your cup if you wish.  You could have your child draw a picture of a rocket or frog or other flying/jumping thing.  In our house, we made this during an emergency situation, so no pictures for us.

To launch, place your modified cup down over the other cup and let go quickly.  We found that it worked best to press down on the bottom of the cup with our palms, and then when the cup was all the way down, hold on to just the rim with our fingers before letting go.  Have fun!

How to Make Magnetic Tangrams (for travel)

When faced with the prospect of an upcoming mega-(17 hour)-roadtrip, I am overcome with anxiety.  Our kids do fairly well in the car, and we make long drives of about 7 to 10 hours with some frequency, but 17 hours in the car?  That's taking it to a whole new level.  What am I going to do to keep those children off of each other for 17 hours?

 

Inspiration came in the form of a cereal box.  Cocoa Krispies, to be exact.  The box had Tangrams on it, along with a few patterns to try. 

 

 

According to Aunt Annie's Crafts,

The tangram is a puzzle game that originated in China during the 1800s. It rapidly spread to the United States and Europe, and became very popular with both children and adults. Each tangram puzzle has seven pieces, also called tans, cut from one large square—two large triangles, one medium-sized triangle, two small triangles, one square, and one parallelogram. It is a puzzle that requires imagination and creativity.

 

Source: auntannie.com via Scarlet on Pinterest

 

What a great game to bring along in the car!  It has endless possibilities, and anyone can have fun with it.  For hours on end.  The only trouble was, those cardboard pieces cut from a cereal box would be easily lost.  And tangrams with lost pieces are no fun.

 

Enter my friend, magnetic inkjet paper.  You may remember that I made some paper dolls from this stuff a couple of years ago.  It's paper with a magnetic backing that you can run through your regular inkjet printer.  Good stuff.

 

To make some, just find a printable tangram you like--they're all over the internet.  I chose the ones from Aunt Annie's Crafts, because I wanted my tans to be colored, and I liked how the patterns were as big as possible to print on an 8.5 x 11 page so I wasn't wasting as much of the magnetic paper.

 

 

Just print the tangram you choose onto magnetic paper, then cut it out.  Try to cut as straight as possible--the puzzle will work better and be more fun with straight lines.  You could even go so far as to cut using a straight edge and x-acto knife (which I would love to have, by the way, if you're looking for gift ideas for me).

 

Angelfish

The beauty of the magnetic paper is that now your tangrams will stick to metal.  Use a baking sheet, craft tin, or metal clipboard to keep all those pieces contained.  At home, you can put them on the fridge or dishwasher for when the kids need to be entertained during meal prep.

 

Camel

 

That's it, you're done!  Now all that's left is to start playing.  See what kinds of shapes you can make.  There are all sorts of solutions all over the internet to try to copy, too.  I like this Tangram Zoo, because animals are fun for the kids.  Here are tons of tangram outline solutions.  I also printed off this tangram worksheet to give the older kids a bit of a challenge.

 

Dolphin

Have fun, and happy travels!

A few notes about these tangrams:

• As you can see, the large tans hang over the edge of my cookie sheet in many of the solutions.  For travel, I would recommend the smaller tans (printed 4 to a sheet) so the solutions don't get so big.
• Some of the solutions online do not work with this set because of the way the parallelogram is oriented (even some of the ones on Annie's website).  If you're having trouble figuring out a solution, try turning the parallelogram over, or flipping the whole shape you're attempting to make horizontally.

August Craft of the Month

Well, it's August.  Time for a new craft of the month post.  I actually managed to put together all of the crafts for the rest of the year (*whew* seriously, huge weight off my shoulders!  I have thoroughly enjoyed giving this gift to my nephews, but it was a lot of work, and I'm so glad to be done) and deliver them to my sis in mid-July.  Unfortunately, this means I don't really remember what I gave the boys to do!  I mean, I don't have to think about it anymore, so I'm not.  Thinking about it.

But never fear!  Pinterest to the rescue!  Yay, Pinterest!

August crafts of the month include Shape Sailboats, Aluminum foil river with bottle cap boats, and a TP tube apple tree.  Just click the pictures for instructions.

Source: dltk-kids.com via Scarlet on Pinterest

For the shape sailboat, I instructed the boys to make a background using a couple of different shades of blue paper and tissue paper for the water, and some cotton ball clouds.  If you prefer, you could sponge paint a lake and some clouds.  I think I even told them they could draw some letter m seagulls in the air.

 

 

Source: filthwizardry.com via Scarlet on Pinterest

Doesn't this look like fun?  I got the "Tinnissippi River" idea from Family Fun Magazine, but couldn't find the idea posted on their website (they wait a while to post projects from the magazine to their website, I think so people actually buy the magazine instead of just looking at all the projects online), but I found this picture on Filth Wizardry.

I suggested the boys make sails for their bottle cap boats using a length of drinking straw or toothpick for the mast and a paper triangle for the sail.  The sails can be attached to the boats with clay or playdough.

 

 

Source: happyhomefairy.com via Scarlet on Pinterest

Apples are one of my favorite parts about late summer and fall, and apples are an important crop where my nephews live.  This Apple Tree is so easy and cute, and would be the perfect project to make upon returning home from the apple orchard.  The Happy Home Fairy even includes a template, if you're not confident in your ability to cut out your own tree top freehand.

Use Care When Operating Heavy Machinery

I was about a mile and a half from home, driving that fun, curvy road, and hardly able to keep my eyes open, when it dawned on me that I probably shouldn't be operating heavy machinery.

You see, I had been feeling out of sorts all day, but at that moment it was utterly apparent that this wasn't any ordinary, run of the mill, not getting enough sleep plus spending too much time quality time with the kids tiredness.  No, this was a medically induced mental shut-down.

The label on my medication warned me this might happen.  It says "this drug may impair the ability to drive or operate machinery.  Use care until you become familiar with its effects."  Oh, and it adds, "may cause drowsiness or dizziness," for good measure.

Gotta love the illustrations!

But I thought I was familiar with its effects, having been on and off of this medication for 5 plus years now.  Apparently not familiar enough.

I started taking it at night, oh, the second day I took it, because it made me feel so horrible (tired, dizzy, nauseous) when I took it in the morning.  But sometimes I forget*, so that day I took it in the morning.  Took me out of play for almost an entire day.  Not sure why it has taken me this long to make the connection.  Must be another possible side-effect: mental confusion.

No fair, that something that is supposed to heal my body throws me for such a loop.  How can a drug that mimics the effects of dopamine make me feel so rotten?  Honestly.

On the bright side, I made it the rest of the way home safely, and the kids and husband were kind enough to let me sleep it off,  While I was out in the medically-induced haze, they even distributed the items I had purchased that morning to their appropriate locations (because it was all I could do to get the frozen and refrigerated items stowed before collapsing in bed).



* I seem to forget with some frequency.  I think it's because I really don't want to take this med.   I don't like what it does to me.  I don't want there to be anything wrong with me. So my subconscious brain decides to "forget."

Growth

A few years ago, I mentioned that it takes a lot of faith to plant a garden.  And it's true, don't you think?  I mean, you put these tiny dead-looking things into the ground, cover them with dirt, and spray the ground with water.  And nothing happens.  So you keep spraying and believing.  It's a lot of work, and the result is uncertain.

I'm familiar with the process of plant reproduction, but when you look at those specks of seeds, it seems utterly ridiculous to believe that, not only will it grow into a many-times-larger plant, but it will also produce yummy food to feed my family.  Ridiculous.

This?
{Image Source}

That was 3 years ago. I'm thinking it was the second year that I had ever planted a garden as an adult. This morning, as I gazed lovingly at my garden, which has already produced yummy sugar snap peas, grape and cherry tomatoes, and zucchini, contemplating the sweet taste of homegrown tomatoes on our BLTs tomorrow, I realized that it's gotten easier. Believing, that is.

Becomes this?

The repeated experience of believing has made it easier to believe.  Exercising my faith has made it stronger.

We ought always to give thanks to God for you, friends, as is right,

because your faith is growing abundantly,

and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing.

2 Thessalonians 1:3 (MOUNCE)

My friends, this is true, not just in gardening, but in every area of our lives.  Exercising your faith will strengthen it.  Each time we trust God, we learn that God is trustworthy.  When we place our lives on God's altar, we learn to see with God's eyes how God is working in us and through us, and as we experience God's faithfulness over and over again, it becomes easier to trust--our faith becomes stronger.

Know this: God, your God, is God indeed,

a God you can depend upon.

He keeps his covenant of loyal love with those who love him

and observe his commandments for a thousand generations.

Deuteronomy 7:9 (Message) 

I know it's hard to believe, but sisters and brothers, I urge you: take that leap of faith.  It's a lot of work, and the result is uncertain.  But I can tell you this beyond a shadow of a doubt, the result will be perfect.

The Home Improvement Kiss of Death

My friends, it's happened.  The home improvement do-it-yourself kiss of death.  We couldn't get the wainscot and trim on the wall fast enough, so we've made an accommodation to allow us to keep our laundry room torn apart while still being able to use the appliances.  Hubby extended the dryer's exhaust vent for me (thank you so much Hubby--I was not very excited about having to hang the vomited-upon clothes out to dry this morning.  In the rain). 

Yes, my friends, I have my dryer back, and the incredible mountain of stinky, dirty laundry that had grown up overnight as a result of the boys returning from their little jaunt in the wilderness is slowly shrinking.  I fear what this will mean for the laundry room's eventual completion.  Or non-completion.

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If you've been paying attention, you know that AKD celebrated a birthday this week.  Cakes are kind of a big deal around here, kind of a tradition, so I figured I'd better show you a pic.

Yes, this does look remarkably similar to the cake from 2 years ago.  It's what he wanted.  This time, I had candy rocks, though.

I invited a few of AKD's closest friends over to help us eat the cake.  Oh, and to surprise AKD, as well.

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And!  I'm not done with it yet, so I can't tell you what it is, but here's a photo hint of my next project.  Burlap, ruffles, floral print...what would you do with that?

Vulnerable

I'm so excited!  We have finally started overhauling our laundry/mud room (wow, seriously, looking back at those pictures, the room already looks so much better).  We (mostly I) figured if we were going to reorganize it, we (mostly I) might as well make it pretty, which meant filling in the holes and painting the walls a lovely blue called December Sky.

So, while the Hubs and kids have been away (coming home today, yipee!), I've been disassembling our laundry room, spackling, and painting.  I love the color, but it's a little much to have that little room all blue, so we're going to be installing some white wainscot and trim on two (or maybe three) of the walls.  The accents are silver--it's going to be not just pretty, but gorgeous!

Don't you just love the color?  Well, you actually can't see it very well in this photo (especially with that shadow)--you'll just have to come see it for yourself before you make a judgement.

An interesting insight has come from this project.  The washer is still hooked up, just pulled away from the wall. All I would need to do to use it is plug it in and turn the water switch back to on. But the dryer vent didn't reach far enough to be able to leave it hooked up. In order to use the dryer, I would have to push it back into place, carefully lining up the vent on the dryer with the vent on the wall without bending either out of shape, seal the vent, and plug it back in.  And then, when I was done, I would have to unhook it all again and pull it away from the wall again in order to install the wainscot and trim (which I need to wait for Sawblock to help with).

I feel vulnerable with the dryer unusable. 

Which is really kind of strange, because if I need to dry something, I can just put it on the clothesline.  It might take a really long time to dry, what with the humidity and the rain and all, but it would dry, eventually.  And it's not like I even have a whole lot of people around right now who are making things dirty that would need to be washed and then dried. 

Isn't it interesting how we come to depend on these modern conveniences?  I so totally could get by without a dryer, but without one, I feel a little...lost.  Even though I don't need to do any laundry right now.  I know people who would be lost without their cell phones, or computers, or cars, or any number of things (even things that don't start with a c :), that are not, when you come right down to it, necessary.

It's just that, the dryer, it's a part of how I move through my days; it's a part of how I relate to the world.  It's part of my normal.  And being without it reminds me how easily my normal can be disrupted.  It's a bit unsettling.  If such a little thing can throw me for a loop, what happens when something big occurs?  Something like a brain tumor, perhaps?  Or a lost job?  Or a natural disaster?  Or an unexpected accident or death?

We know that most of what happens to us is out of our control, and while many of us say we love surprises, it's not really true.  We love good surprises, safe surprises.  But what we love most is being in control.

I take comfort in knowing that I am not in control, that I never really will be in control, that I don't have to try to be in control.  That makes it so much easier to turn all of my insecurities, all of life's uncertainties, all of my fears, all of my doubts over to the One who holds my life in His hands.

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?  Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?    

“And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.    If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? 

    But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.   Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Matthew 6:25, 27-30, 33-34

And my dryer?  It'll be back up and running again in a few days, hopefully before everyone runs out of clean clothes.  As for the rest?  God will see me, all of us, through.