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Gratituesday: A Real Vacation

August 2, 2010 by Laura 38 Comments

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gratituesday

We are just pulling back into town after a five day (LONG) trip to Michigan! Matt performed the wedding ceremony for one of the sweetest couples on earth, which is what took us so far north.

I will admit it:  I was not looking forward to the trip. I was looking forward to the wedding and I was looking forward to staying with our friends in MI…otherwise…I was sort of dreading the getaway.

I don’t like spending money on gas and hotels. I don’t like sitting in a van for hours. I don’t like compromising what we like to eat for days on end. I just like being home. I’m a stick in the mud when it comes to travel…and this summer has been FULL of travel!

I now completely and totally take back everything I ever felt about traveling. Before we left, I talked myself into relaxing and calling this a “VACATION”. Why do I have to talk myself into these things? I pre-wrote posts and set them up to show up on my blog each day without me needing to be on the computer. I got the house clean, packed food, made an inexpensive hotel reservation for our stop on the way there. 

And then I relaxed.

You can’t see me right now…but my face is beaming. I just spent HOURS of car time talking with my husband. Do you know what hours of time talking to your husband will do for a gal’s disposition? We NEVER have enough time to just talk…and oh we just talked and talked. The boys were fabulous riders and only argued a little bit about whose turn it was for the laptop. ;)

We not only enjoyed a wonderful wedding, but we were able to spend time with people we haven’t seen in years. We stopped along the way and did some things we’ve never done. Wow, it was absolutely awesome!

I’ll tell you more about all the wonderful fun as soon as I unpack my camera. And catch up on laundry. Okay, I’ll share the fun before I catch up on laundry, because you’re likely to not want to wait that long. ;)

For now, I’ll just tell you how grateful I am for an incredible getaway filled with joy and memory-making for our family. It truly was a vacation.

(Ooh, and it just so happens that this Gratituesday is my birthday! Friends are coming over for lunch, which is a perfect welcome home for us!)

What are you thankful for this Gratituesday? Write about it on your blog, then come link up with us here. If you don’t have a blog, be sure to leave a comment letting us know what you’re grateful for!

If you are linking up a blog post for Gratituesday,
please copy and paste the following sentence into your post! Thanks!


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Gratituesday: The Date

July 12, 2010 by Laura 26 Comments

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gratituesday

Everyone else had plans.

Malachi got to go to a birthday party. Asa and Justus got to go to yet a different birthday party. Matt was working.

That left just Elias and Mama. When does that ever happen? Mama with just one boy for an entire evening?

And so, I told Elias that he should use this opportunity to take me on a date. You should have seen his cute little eight year old eyes! And eye brows. And grin. You would have thought I had offered to buy him a toy store.

He didn’t say a word. He just wore that cute little joyful face and he just nodded. I could see the wheels turning inside his head, “Where should I take Mama? What should we do?” (And yes, he really does call me Mama. The older boys, and even Malachi have started calling me just “Mom” now…but Elias still says Mama. Yum, I love it.)

He decided to take me out to the China Buffet. We ate. We went back for seconds. We picked out desserts. We talked about silly stuff and serious stuff. We talked about what he might like to be when he grows up. We got tickled because we had the EXACT same fortune inside our fortune cookies. 

Daddy had slipped him a little cash to pay for our date, so Elias covered the bill. It was SO precious!!

I am going to work hard to make this happen with each boy as often as I can. Alone time with the kids is hard to come by. We’ll have to be intentional. But now that Elias has had his turn, the other boys are asking constantly about when it will be their turn to take me out. Since they’re so motivated, I think it will be easier to make it happen.

And hopefully, Matt will occasionally still be able to wrestle down the competition and take a turn himself. :)

What are you thankful for this Gratituesday? Write about it on your blog, then come link up with us here. If you don’t have a blog, be sure to leave a comment letting us know what you’re grateful for!

If you are linking up a blog post for Gratituesday,
please copy and paste the following sentence into your post! Thanks!


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Gratituesday: It’s (almost) FINISHED!!! And I’m Giving One Away!

July 5, 2010 by Laura 545 Comments

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I am SO excited to tell you that the project I’ve been working on for hours and hours lately is ALMOST (but not quite) finished!!! The only pieces left are the final tedious editing and perfecting of details. In the meantime, I’ve decided that I’m dedicating this Gratituesday to tell you about it because seriously, you have NO idea how excited and thankful I am to be almost finished with this project and to almost be able to offer it to you!

Many of you suggested that perhaps I was working on a book…not an ebook…but a book, book. Oh, how honored I was to hear you say that you’d be so excited if indeed I was working on a book! Thank you so much.  That’s not what I’ve been working on, but someday…someday. It is a goal of mine…one I’ve shared with only a few people. But others in my life have encouraged it…and now you are encouraging it…so yes…someday. When God tells me that the time is right and when He opens all the right doors. Thank you so much for your encouragement. You truly humble me.

What I HAVE been working on though is a little tool for you to use with your kids. And by little tool, I really mean a 240+ page tool. Not at all little, actually. I began this project back in 2008. I had the idea to share with you in ebook form something that had worked very well for us when we had a bunch of little preschool aged fellas running around. It was something that we came up with to help us teach our kids the preschool basics…but more importantly…it was something we did as a family to serve other families and individuals around the community.

We focused on one alphabet letter each week and did all kinds of fun activities centered around that particular letter. But our main focus each week was thinking about people or families we knew whose name began with the letter we were studying. Toward the end of the week, we had a special surprise for several people. For instance, during Mm week, we delivered Mini Muffins to the Millers, to our friend Mark and to Mrs. Moses. We included a nice card explaining that they were a part of our Alphabet Blessings project and thanked them for letting us serve them. Usually we were all able to sit down and enjoy a nice visit together for a few minutes.

It was a HUGE joy to do this as a family and we have so many wonderful memories of our years doing this with our little guys. It was, of course, also a wonderful way to help them learn their letters and letter sounds!

And so, in 2008, I began putting some of these ideas into an ebook for you. Within the past two years, the little ebook grew into something much more. So much more in fact, I got completely overwhelmed with it and felt like it was too huge to ever finish. I would work on it for a while, then put it aside feeling like I would NEVER be able to get it done. It had evolved from a small ebook idea into a complete comprehensive curriculum package full of ideas, worksheets, Bible work, picture tutorials…..oh so much.

My husband is the reason this project is almost finished.  He saw it for what it was…saw how many hours I had put into it…saw how close it was to being completed. He encouraged me to finish, he said he would help. And now here it is, with over 35 recipes, more than 65 crafts, experiments and other projects, Bible lessons and memory verses! It’s full of pictures and instructions. It’s full of games and challenges.  And most importantly, it’s loaded with ideas to inspire you and your young ones to serve others together.

learnyourletters

By God’s grace and with the help and encouragement of my family…this downloadable curriculum kit is almost complete.  I am overwhelmed with gratitude.  That is why I am sharing this on Gratituesday.

While I’ve never mixed Gratituesday with a Giveaway before…I’m so excited that today I’m breaking my rules!! :)  If you are interested in winning a Learn Your Letters, Learn To Serve Curriculum Kit, leave a comment letting me know of your interest! In addition, you are welcome to leave additional comments if you tweet, facebook or blog about this kit and the giveaway. 

Thank you all so much for your encouragement as I have plugged away at this project. The giveaway will end and the Curriculum Kit will be offered for sale in just a few days…just as soon as the final tweaking is completed. Can I just way…WOOHOOOOOOO!!!! Thank you Lord!

Just so you know, this curriculum kit is not just for homeschoolers. Not even close! My intent was to make it usable for any and every family with young children…or for teachers, grandparents…anyone! There are SO many more details to share…but I’ll wait and share them once it is all complete and in my shop! I’ll even be offering a small sampling of the kit for free, just so you can have a taste of what it’s like.

In addition to leaving comments for chances to win this giveaway, please do let me know what you’re grateful for either by commenting or by blogging and linking up with us here!

THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED!! :)  YOU CAN PURCHASE THE CURRICULUM KIT HERE!

Heavenly Homemaker's Club Members: Access your homepage and all your fantastic resources here! Not a member yet? Please join us!

Gratituesday: No Place Like Home

June 21, 2010 by Laura 6 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see our disclosure policy.

gratituesday

I’ve been traveling, so my post today is short and sweet. :)

I love family reunions. I love the chance to reunite with grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and other loved ones. I love meeting and holding new babies. I love meeting new spouses of my cousins. 

I love laughing and crying together with family. I love sharing memories. I love making new memories.

We’ve had a wonderful time this weekend traveling and loving on extended family members.

Now I’m home…back to my favorite place on earth. I’m back home to my husband…back home to the garden and the laundry and the mail.

I’m back home…and there’s just no place like it. I am so thankful.

What are you thankful for this Gratituesday? Write about it on your blog, then come link up with us here. If you don’t have a blog, be sure to leave a comment letting us know what you’re grateful for!

If you are linking up a blog post for Gratituesday,
please copy and paste the following sentence into your post! Thanks!


Join us for Gratituesday at Heavenly Homemakers!

Heavenly Homemaker's Club Members: Access your homepage and all your fantastic resources here! Not a member yet? Please join us!

Gratituesday: The Teenager

June 7, 2010 by Laura 30 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see our disclosure policy.

gratituesday

It finally happened at my house. We have a teenager.

Please feel free to say lots of nice things like, “Wow Laura…you don’t look old enough to have a teenager.”

How is it possible that I can now share snow boots, flip-flops and sweat-shirts with my son? Although probably not for long. The kid is growing faster than he can eat. Almost. 

Did I mention how cool he is? ;)

I will admit to feeling rather clueless as we have delved into this new phase of life. And for sure, we have had some moments where we’ve known without a doubt that our son is growing up and trying to figure himself out.

So many people that hear that Asa is turning 13 this week have been saying things like, “Good luck!” and “Oh wow, brace yourself!” As if having a teenager in your house means that our lives are about to change drastically. Really? Does it change that much? Surely he isn’t going to suddenly turn into a monster that is horrible to live with! Yeah, well what do I know? I’ve been the parent of a teenager for exactly eight hours.

We may be in for some trying years, but may I just take a moment to brag about my son? My teenage son? 

He is delightful. He’s fun to be around. He’s talented. He’s great with little kids. He’s a great big brother. He’s super helpful to Matt and me. He’s smart. He’s responsible. He’s thoughtful. He’s kind. He’s respectful.

He loves the Lord.

Being a teenager is a time of struggle. It’s a time of figuring out who you’re going to be and what you will allow God to do in your life. We’ll take this stuff day by day, praying with Asa as we go. 

Today, I’m thankful for my teenager. I am one blessed mama because of Asa. Here’s to the next few years of teenagerhood!

What are you thankful for this Gratituesday? Write about it on your blog, then come link up with us here. If you don’t have a blog, be sure to leave a comment letting us know what you’re grateful for!

If you are linking up a blog post for Gratituesday,
please copy and paste the following sentence into your post! Thanks!


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Gratituesday: Ministry of Music

May 24, 2010 by Laura 22 Comments

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gratituesday

I love music.

I think it is wonderful that God gives us music and song to express ourselves. We have our kitchen radio tuned to our local Christian radio station and it’s on almost all day long. I LOVE it.

I love praising God while I’m cooking. I love singing with the boys when they’re in the kitchen with me. I love listening to the words and letting the music minister to my soul at all times during the day. I love beautiful melodies. I love hearing God given talent. I love music!

My current favorite song is All of Creation, by Mercy Me. Every time this song comes on, I feel like dancing for Jesus in a field of lavender wild flowers. Shucks, I’d settle for a field of prairie grass. And I’d just let the tears stream down my face while I spend time with my Father in the middle of his creation. Doesn’t it just sound lovely?

purpleflowerssm.JPG

I’m so thankful God gave us the gift of music. Through song, we can experience God in a beautiful way. I just love it.

What are you thankful for this Gratituesday? Write about it on your blog, then come link up with us here. If you don’t have a blog, be sure to leave a comment letting us know what you’re grateful for!

If you are linking up a blog post for Gratituesday,
please copy and paste the following sentence into your post! Thanks!


Join us for Gratituesday at Heavenly Homemakers!

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Gratituesday: Ah, Lovely Dirt

May 17, 2010 by Laura 21 Comments

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gratituesdaynov09[1]

Before Saturday, I STILL had not had a chance to get my hands dirty. I hadn’t had a chance to get into my garden at ALL. (You’re shocked at me, aren’t you?!)  I had longed to get out there, but just not had even one moment to think about the garden yet.

Thankfully, Matt had found a few bits and pieces of time during the past few weeks to get our garden areas tilled up and to plant a few things. Ooh, and he even brought us home a big truck load of horse manure. Crazy how excited I was to see him that day. Saturday, we were finally able to both work in the garden together and get several more things planted.

The day was sunny and beautiful. Just ask Matt…I was completely giddy. I was running my  hands through the soil…just for fun. It felt so good.

Yes, in case you didn’t already know that I am a garden geek…now you know for sure. I can’t help it. The garden gives me so much joy.

Wanna take a look at a few parts of it with me? (There’s more to be planted…these are just a few shots.)

lettuceWe have lettuce ready to eat…it is so beautiful!

cornYou can’t see it…but there’s corn in these rows!!

 

peppersAw, cute little pepper plants.

potato_containerOh yes…I did plant potatoes in my trash can again!!

I’m just so thankful for our garden. I love how we can see God in the entire process of watching food grow from a seed. I can’t wait to share more with you during the coming months!

What are you thankful for this Gratituesday? Write about it on your blog, then come link up with us here. If you don’t have a blog, be sure to leave a comment letting us know what you’re grateful for!

If you are linking up a blog post for Gratituesday,
please copy and paste the following sentence into your post! Thanks!


Join us for Gratituesday at Heavenly Homemakers!

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Gratituesday: One Girl

May 3, 2010 by Laura 25 Comments

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gratituesdaynov09[1]

My husband and I felt very convicted after our local Christian radio station made us aware of One Girl ministry. Convicted to pray. Convicted to act.

Brace yourself, but please read here about the sex trafficking going in Nepal. More than 10,000 young girls each year are taken across the border into Indian brothels where they are forced, usually within 24 hours of arrival, to become prostitutes. They are welcomed into the country by being gang raped and beaten. 

Our hearts hurt…our stomachs feel sick after hearing about these innocent girls whose lives are forever changed.

Because our local Christian radio station made us aware of this and urged us all to become involved, we decided to join in to help. When you realize that you can do something to help these girls who are so far away, hope replaces despair. There is something we can do.

There is a place of refuge called Princess Home  which is run by a pastor and his wife. Here, women who have experienced the abuse of sex industry find hope. They are provided with counselling, job training, Bible training…a new start!

By donating just $11, we could make a difference. The money will aid in the ministry at Princess Home. We will also be sent a bracelet, made by the girls at Princess Home. We can wear the bracelet as a reminder to pray for these girls and for this ministry.

We decided to buy 6 of these bracelets…one for each member of our family. The idea of this becoming a family ministry sounded just right to us. We explained to our boys (with careful discretion of course) how girls are being stolen and abused and that we can wear bracelets to remind us to pray for God’s protection over them. The boys are excited about this opportunity and so are we.

I’d like to urge you, if you feel called, to consider taking part in this ministry too. You can sign up to pray for one girl here.  And please know that I would never participate in or encourage you to participate in a ministry that was a scam. You can trust the people at Tiny Hands International.

Today, I’m thankful that we were made aware of this ministry. I’m thankful that we were able to help. I’m thankful that this is a ministry that we can take part in as a family. I’m thankful that prayer is powerful.

What are you thankful for this Gratituesday? Write about it on your blog, then come link up with us here. If you don’t have a blog, be sure to leave a comment letting us know what you’re grateful for!

If you are linking up a blog post for Gratituesday,
please copy and paste the following sentence into your post! Thanks!


Join us for Gratituesday at Heavenly Homemakers!

Heavenly Homemaker's Club Members: Access your homepage and all your fantastic resources here! Not a member yet? Please join us!

Gratituesday: Clearing out some Clutter!

April 19, 2010 by Laura 21 Comments

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Guess what I’m thankful for today? Junk! Clutter! Stuff! Boxes and boxes of stuff!

Actually, what I’m really, REALLY thankful for is that my junk, clutter and boxes and boxes of stuff are gone. Gone I tell you! Far, far away from my house and out of my life! Shew! What a relief to have hundreds of items cleared out of my house!

Over the weekend, some friends of ours were having a rummage sale to raise money for their kids to go on a mission trip to the Dominican Republic. Over the past three years, I’d been socking “stuff” we don’t use anymore down in our basement for a future yard sale. Ugh, but I really didn’t want to take the time or put forth the effort to have that yard sale. So the stuff kept accumulating in our basement. 

When I heard our friends were having a fund-raising rummage sale, I was SO EXCITED to take the contents of our basement over for them to sell. I didn’t care about the money I could get from my stuff – I just wanted the STUFF GONE!!! And this way the money would go toward something wonderful – a mission trip!

We spent all Friday afternoon lugging boxes upstairs and into our vehicles, then driving them over to our friend’s house and unloading them onto their porch. Check out all the loot that came out of my basement!

clutter1

I felt like all my junk couldn’t possibly amount to much…but when I checked in after the sale, the kids said they had raised a very nice amount to help with the cost of their trip! Hoorah! I got rid of a bunch of stuff…they got money for their trip! 

Beyond all of that, the boys and I also spent several hours clearing out boxes and other recyclable items and getting them down to our recycling center. Suffice it to say that after this clean-out-day was over, we were all quite filthy. Filthy and clutter free!

clutter3Check out how full my van was. Now that’s a lot of boxes!

clutter2Oh, but look what I found hiding under all those boxes. 
Who knew you could build a fort inside a van full of cardboard!

I love that we had such a productive day. I’m so thankful that the weather cooperated, we were all healthy and we could work hard together to clear out all that clutter! Ah, it feels so good! But look out! I’m in clean-out mode now! The kids better hide their favorite toys before I throw them in the next rummage sale box!

What are you thankful for this Gratituesday? Write about it on your blog, then come link up with us here. If you don’t have a blog, be sure to leave a comment letting us know what you’re grateful for!

If you are linking up a blog post for Gratituesday,
please copy and paste the following sentence into your post! Thanks!


Join us for Gratituesday at Heavenly Homemakers!

Heavenly Homemaker's Club Members: Access your homepage and all your fantastic resources here! Not a member yet? Please join us!

Gratituesday: Another Awesome Weekend

April 5, 2010 by Laura 16 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see our disclosure policy.

gratituesdaynov09

Each year our older boys participate in Leadership Training for Christ (LTC), a big event for 3rd-12th graders to examine their talents and leadership abilities. Each year there is a special theme and book of the Bible to focus on. This year’s book was 2 Samuel (tough book to study!), with a theme of “The Rock”.

rock_smallGoing along with “The Rock” theme, Asa (seventh grade) took this picture
and entered it in the “photography” category. 
Framed in black, this photo looked pretty cool.

We were blessed to spend our nights with good friends who live close to the convention center in Kansas City. That may have been my favorite part of the weekend…spending time with people we love and don’t see often enough. We enjoyed a wonderful, relaxing visit on Friday before the LTC activities began! 

Friday night and all day Saturday, our boys (along with hundreds of other kids from the midwest) participated in dramas, puppet shows, choirs and other events that they had spent weeks and months preparing for.

ltc_oneThis is our friend N, pictured with Justus and Asa at LTC.

We got to strengthen relationships among our local church friends. We got to hug friends we only see once a year at LTC. We got to catch up with friends to see how the past year has gone. We got completely exhausted! It was awesome!

ltc_twoOur friend S, pictured with Justus, Elias and Malachi at LTC

Sunday we were back home in time to celebrate our Risen Savior with our local church family. We had a big Easter feast with Adam and BryAnna and a big Easter egg hunt with our church small group in the evening.

It was for sure…another awesome weekend!

What are you thankful for this Gratituesday? Write about it on your blog, then come link up with us here. If you don’t have a blog, be sure to leave a comment letting us know what you’re grateful for!

If you are linking up a blog post for Gratituesday,
please copy and paste the following link into your post! Thanks!


Join us for Gratituesday at Heavenly Homemakers!

Heavenly Homemaker's Club Members: Access your homepage and all your fantastic resources here! Not a member yet? Please join us!
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