Kindred Kaleidoscope

Homeschool Focus: Missionaries

2013-04-01T20:45:00.000-07:00

My children & I were blessed to get to meet the missionary pilot & his wife who took over in Equador after Nate Saint & Jim Elliot & the other missionary men were killed. I was so inspired by these missionaries who were willing to give up their lives to show God's love to people who had never known that kind of love. I was even more inspired by the missionaries families willingness to not only forgive the Indians, but also to befriend them &a have a relationship with them. Such a powerful example of forgiveness!

This is a picture of the five missionaries that went into the jungles of South America to show the love of God to the Auca Indians who knew nothing but killing and being killed.

If you have not heard the story, I encourage you to check out these resources:

I have seen all three of these DVDs &a they are all very moving. "The End of the Spear" is a Film based on the story of what happened between the Aucas and the Missionaries. Though not everything in the movie is true. "Through the Gates of Splendor" is a documentary by Elisabeth "Betty" Elliot ( Missionary Jim Elliot's widow). "Beyond the Gates of Splendor is a documentary by Steve Saint ( Misssionary pilot Nate Saint's son). I highly recommend these three videos for anyone interested in learning more about the story. (Viewer discretion is advised for ages 13 & under.)

For younger children I recommend watching this movie to begin with until they are old enough to handle the others:

This is an animated movie of the missionary story that begins when the five boys were in school. My kids watched this and said it was not scary at all :) It also has a cd-rom that includes a pdf printable activity book with comprehension questions.
Our whole family enjoyed this one! This story of love, sacrifice & forgiveness will live in our hearts &a not be forgotten.

"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep, to gain what he cannot lose."--Jim Elliot

Creative Ways to Celebrate the True Meaning of Easter!

2013-03-13T19:55:00.002-07:00

I have been searching for more ways to incorporate the true meaning of each holiday & why it is I choose to celebrate it. Easter, for our family, is no exception. This year the kids asked if they could come with us to "The Stations of the Cross". Below are some of the stations we visited...

The kids writing a note to Jesus. <3

Feeling how heavy a cross similar to the one Jesus had to carry up the hill would have been. (It was really heavy!)

A yearly tradition for our family.

Resurrection Eggs:

Here are what I put in each of the eggs & the document I created to tell the Easter story:

The kids LOVE this activity! My youngest loves to take each thing out of the egg, pretend to eat the cracker (& freak Mommy out;) & especially loves the shiny golden egg that is empty which symbolizes- HE is Risen!

See the Light Art - Easter Project

I pinned lots of great ideas for Easter onto my Pinterest Board-Check it out below:

My Easter Pinterest Board

Valentines Day Ideas!

2013-02-09T22:11:00.000-08:00

I love any reason to celebrate! Whether it be a birthday, wedding or holiday. What better way to celebrate God's love than with some fun Valentine's Day ideas!?! I have collected a bunch of ideas from different blogs to share with you and most are inexpensive. Yahoo!! These are just a few of my favorites. Scroll down to the end of this post for even more ideas!

http://www.made2bcreative.com/blog/?p=3985

http://www.juliabettencourt.com/crafts/conversationheartscraft.html

http://www.parents.com/holiday/valentines-day/printables/free-valentine-printables/?socsrc=pmmpin130125HnCSweetCoupons#page=3

http://www.marthastewart.com/274260/valentines-day-cards/@center/276974/card-making-center#873601

http://theteacherwife.blogspot.com/2011/02/v-day-preparation.html

http://whipperberry.com/2012/01/crayon-heart-valentines-with-lifestyle-crafts.html

http://pluckymomo.blogspot.com/2013/01/12-no-candy-valentines.html

http://www.recipebyphoto.com/squeeze-bottle-pancake-art/

http://www.recipesquickneasy.com/homemade-mini-heart-pizzas/

Check out my Valentines Pinterest Board for more ideas! :)

Recommended Book List:

2013-02-09T21:17:00.001-08:00

Books I have Read that I Recommend:

Redeeming Love
Heaven
Power of a Praying Wife/Parent
Passion & Purity
Holy Discontent
One Thousand Gifts
Creative Correction
The Love Dare
Love and Respect
The Scarlet Thread
Her Mother's Hope/ Her Daughter's Dream
A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23
Sitting at the Feet of Rabbi Jesus
The Case For Christ
Accessible Apologetics
Bathsheba: The Wives of David Series
Changed into His Image
Making Brothers and Sisters Best Friends
Jesus Calling
Managers of Their Homes
I Kissed Dating Goodbye

Books My Husband Has Read that He Recommends:
Every Man's Battle
Power of a Praying Husband
The Man in the Mirror
Family Driven Faith
Redeeming the Time
Raising a Modern Day Knight
Evidence That Demands a Verdict
Wild at Heart

Currently Reading:

Family Driven Faith

Raising Maidens of Virtue

Lies Women Believe and the Truth That Sets Them Free
So Much More

On My List to Read Next:
Queen of the Home
Large Family Logistics
What Did You Expect?
It's Not That Complicated
Her Hand in Marriage

Do you have any books that you love or recommend?

Modestly Beautiful!

2013-01-31T02:22:00.001-08:00

Modesty had never really been on my radar. I knew what I thought was appropriate and what I thought wasn't, but never really looked into it any further than that...Until now. With all of the pornography ingrained into our culture, I have been studying and researching what makes men want to look at those things & what can we do to help them? While the answer does not entirely fall on us, I believe a man's heart needs to be pure and focused on the Lord. The Lord made the answer very clear to me as to my part. As I have been reading, studying and interviewing different people I have discovered one very helpful thing that we as girls/ women can do to help our brothers...How we dress. Men were created very visual beings. It may surprise some of you the thoughts that go through a man's mind through out the day. Some of them surprised me. As a good friend of mine pointed out to me, "You don't know what you don't know." That is until the Holy Spirit convicts you, or illuminates you, you don't know that you are doing something wrong. I never thought the way I dressed was making anyone stumble. I had always been appropriate, nothing too revealing, or so I thought. But in my journey I discovered there were some fatal mistakes I was making. Spiritually fatal, that is. Each discovery opened my eyes further to see that I was a stumbling block to my brothers in Christ and even to other women's husbands. Here are some of the resources I received on this journey that I would like to share with you. They have helped me a great deal to create my own family standard of dressing modestly. A friend of mine studied Scripture to see what it said about nakedness. She found that every scripture on nakedness was a woman's thigh showing. After I found the "Modesty Survey" I realized that ANY cleavage showing was a stumbling block for men. So my friend made up a catchy little tune," Neck to knee, no one should see!" I thought it was cute and that is the standard my family tries to live by. Also after reading research about how men's eyes immediately go to a girl's crotch when she wear pants, I did a screeching halt. I surely don't want anyone but my husband looking at that area or anyone looking at my daughters in that way except their husbands, so trying to wear pants after knowing these things really convicted me. We now wear skirts or dresses 90% or more of the time. My daughters have also chosen to do this on their own. Even after I told them it was o.k. for them to wear pants because there were no more clean skirts until I did laundry, they insisted on finding a dress to wear instead. These are our families own personal convictions. Not every family will have the same journey as we did. I just want to bring to light some of the truth we have learned to educate and encourage fellow sisters to be mindful of their dress.To do further research, read below for some more resources on modesty.

~CM

Then God Clothed Them

By John Piper © DesiringGod.org

What does it mean that God clothed [Adam and Eve]? Was he confirming their hypocrisy? Was he aiding and abetting their pretense? If they were naked and shame-free before the Fall, and if they put on clothes to minimize their shame after the Fall, then what is God doing by clothing them even better than they can clothe themselves? I think the answer is that he is doing something with a negative message and something with a positive message.

Negatively, he is saying: You are not what you were and you are not what you ought to be. The chasm between what you are and what you ought to be is huge. Covering yourself with clothing is a right response to this—not to conceal it, but to confess it. Henceforth, you shall wear clothing, not to conceal that you are not what you should be, but to confess that you are not what you should be. One practical implication of this is that public nudity today is not a return to innocence but rebellion against moral reality. God ordains clothes to witness to the glory we have lost, and it is added rebellion to throw them off.

And for those who rebel in the other direction and make clothes themselves a means of power and prestige and attention getting, God’s answer is not a return to nudity but a return to simplicity (1 Timothy 2:9-10). Clothes are not meant to make people think about what is under them. Clothes are meant to direct attention to what is not under them: Arms and hands that serve others in the name of Christ, “beautiful” feet that carry the gospel to where it is needed, and the brightness of a face that has beheld the glory of Jesus.

Modeling Modesty

The mention of the word modesty conjures up images of women in petticoats and bonnets. It has become an outdated notion instead of a desirable trait. Christians are wise to remember that modesty is biblically mandated. It is an attitude that starts in the heart and works outward.

As we narrow our look at modesty to the issue of clothing, it is easily observed that when women of the world head out in the morning, they are not concerned about appearing modest. Instead, most women are heading out hoping that they are in vogue, in fashion and not wearing last year’s styles. Many clamor to be in step with whatever Hollywood has trotted out.

Does God care how we dress? Yes, He does. He cares about every aspect of our lives. We are called to holiness, holiness in what we do, what we say, where we go, how we act, how we think, what we listen to, what we read, what we sing, and yes, how we dress. Scripture bears this out. Read Ephesians 5:8-10, 1 Thessalonians 5:21-22 and 1 Peter 1:15 for starters. May God give us both the desire and the wisdom to live lives that are holy in every aspect. A lost world is watching. -Mary K. Mohler

Modest Dress: The Heart of the Issue Surrounding Clothing, Sexuality & Biblical Femininity

http://www.largefamiliesonpurpose.com/2011/02/modest-dress-heart-of-issue-surrounding.html

Our family had always tried to dressed as modestly as we could in our pants, however I wondered why some Christian families had all of their ladies wear dresses or skirts. I couldn’t find a scripture that said, “Thou shall always wear dresses or skirts”, and yet we continually saw beautiful, conservative families dressing this way exclusively and intentionally. We’ve watched clothing trends moved towards less and less material especially for women and even worse, less and less clothing for young women and girls – and disappointingly, the church is less and less a haven of refuge from these trends.
Finding pants for our girls that were even moderately conservative was becoming nearly impossible. Then in 2007 some dear friends of ours suddenly made the change themselves to wearing only dresses and skirts – and I had the opportunity to inquire as to the reasoning behind this.

This friend loaned me a book she had recently read that changed not only the clothing they chose to wear but also their hearts in many ways. The book, Dressing with Dignity, by Colleen Hammond (written from a Catholic perspective, which we do not endorse, but there’s little reference to this in the book), gives an abundance of practical how’s and why’s of truly dressing and behaving modestly. There is a link to this book on our “Recommended Books” list. It is a smaller book, concise, persuasive, very informative in practical information. This was an opportunity for us to tie what we had been doing casually to some great Biblical principles, physical realities, and emotional needs of our girls while at the same time setting a great example for our boys, and protecting the eyes of men around us. We do not want to stir up inappropriate thoughts or behaviors on the part of men or boys, or provoke emotional or physical actions towards our girls. There is a difference between dressing attractively and dressing to attract (not that dressing to attract her husband is a bad thing when a girl is married!). We are preserving our girls’ innocence while they are learning to accentuate their grace and beauty. (Dressing modestly does not mean frumpy!) Our family has also been so pleased to discover several other invaluable blessings after our transition to modest clothing! *smile!*

Before learning some reasoning for wearing only dresses and skirts we were trying to find pants that weren’t too tight in the bottom, too low on the hips, or shorts that weren’t “short-short”. One of the reasons for wearing dresses or skirts exclusively is that when a woman is wearing pants a man’s eyes fall to a woman’s crotch. This isn’t necessarily intentional; it’s just the nature of men “to look”.

“Advertising agencies quickly prepared marketing research to find out the reaction of men to a woman wearing pants. Do you know what they found? Using newly developed technology, they tracked the path that a man’s eyes take when looking at a woman in pants. They found that when a man looked at a woman in pants form the back, he looked directly at her bottom. When he looked at a woman wearing pants from the front, advertisers found that his eyes dropped directly to a woman’s most private and intimate area. Not her face! Not her chest! (DWD, p. 49)”

And when we’re talking about wearing dresses and skirts I mean long ones, not mini ones. When women wear slacks, short dresses or skirts, or ones with a long slit, men’s eyes follow the lines he sees right up her legs and complete the picture in their imagination. (Women’s eyes do the same thing, but since women don’t have the same type of temptation their imaginations don’t complete the picture like men’s do.)

And yet,

“…when a woman dresses with dignity, men tell me that this appeals to their chivalrous nature. Her femininity helps them to elevate their thoughts (not to mention their eyes). It allows them to uphold a woman’s honor, to respect truth and beauty, and to grow in their role as a ‘gallant knight’ (DWD, p.14).”

God’s Word speaks very clearly about our responsibility towards one another, and on being above reproach.

“You have heard that it was said to the ancients, ‘Thou shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that anyone who so much as looks with lust at a woman has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” - Matthew 5:27-29.

“Be careful, however, that the exercise of your freedom does not become a stumbling block to the weak.” - 1 Cor. 8:9. (also Rom. 14:13b; 1 Cor. 10:23, 24, 27-32.)

“I am saying this for your own good, not to restrict you, but that you may live in a right way in undivided devotion to the Lord.” - 1 Cor. 7:35.

“If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching…” - John 14:23.

God’s Word is not to be taken lightly. We cannot say that we have made Him Lord of our life, and yet keep certain areas of life for our own pleasure. You may have heard it said, “He is lord of all, or He isn’t lord at all.” Christians belong to Him, we are purchased with the price of His Son’s life. We show Him love through our obedience, and we are held accountable to what we have learned. God was bringing revelation to my spirit, and initially I didn’t like it, and I didn’t want to “sacrifice” my clothing style likes for obedience. But God surprised me. *smile*

As I contemplated the reality of making this change in lifestyle, I shared with my friend four of my main concerns,

“Isn’t it uncomfortable; don’t you feel dressed-up all the time?” According to her testimony initially, and now from what I’ve found - not at all! Wearing dresses or skirts doesn’t necessarily mean dressed up formally. We girls in the family began searching out a style of dresses and skirts that was “us” – pretty but casual, comfortable, feminine, and attractive – not frumpy. We buy all of our clothes used, so we began frequenting our favorite used-clothing stores every week looking for dresses, skirts, and shoes for all our ladies. Initially we found 1-3 items at a time for one of us. We couldn’t afford to just go out and replace my and our 3 daughter’s wardrobes suddenly; it took a year or two to really grow a new wardrobe and find what types of dresses & skirts we were comfortable in. The Lord so blessed our decision towards modesty this way! We have found plenty of real nice clothes for each of us, and doing it used was very affordable. *smile* We are more comfortable now than we ever were in pants, and we feel much more feminine (more on this down below).
“How do you clean a bathroom in a dress?” My friend replied with a smile and in her practical way that I love, “The same way our grandmothers did.” And she was right. With comfortable skirts or dresses it’s just as easy as it is in pants. With the right skirt or dress on (not too full or too long), it’s no big deal, actually.
“How do you stay warm in the fall and winter?” We wear what we refer to as “dress pants” and/or warm knee-high socks or tights. Our littlest girls wear cute bloomers, or white stretch pants/shorts (because white goes with all of their dresses), or Capri sweat pants or stretch pants. The older girls also have white stretch pants or shorts, or other thin cotton Capri pants, like brown ones to wear under their brown skirt, grey ones for under denim if they’d like. I wear either a pants slip that goes to my knees, or white Capri or long stretch pants. We all have tights, and we have knee-high boots, and warm under tops that also help, and sweaters & sweatshirts. We’re very warm!
“How do little girls play easily and modestly?” They always have some sort of “dress pants” on. We do keep one pair of jeans and one pair of shorts for each of the girls for when they ride bikes in the yard and when they go boating in Puget Sound in the summer. They can’t climb in and out of the boat into waist-high salt water wearing a dress. Swimming shorts are pretty modest, and wet suits are worn when they’re swimming, plus life jackets. It’s not exactly “skimpy” attire when we go boating in Puget Sound! *LOL* No matter how hot of a summer day it is, Puget Sound is C-O-L-D. And boating is almost exclusively with just our extended family, so we’re not too concerned about it right now. We start our baby girls into full time dresses when they learn to walk around age 1 because dresses don’t seem very conducive to crawling.

When starting out on our search for a whole new style, I really had no idea what to look for! So I’ll give you an idea of what my favorite wardrobe includes now. For every day wear I love cotton, stretchy fabrics best. I’m also comfortable in soft cotton, corduroy, and twill fabrics. I love an Eddie Bauer, J Crew, or Gap look, fairly tailored but not confining, sometimes a little sporty, yet still very feminine. My favorite dresses are the tee-shirt type dresses (like in the photo below), and dresses with an empire waist, which sits on the rib cage rather than low on the hips. Skirts need to have some room to move around in so they’re usually a fuller style with gathers or tiers, and short slits in the back or front. I love tiny floral patterns for tops or solid colors, beige and denim skirts that go with most any top. We had to find a new shoe style, too, and I had no idea what that would look like at first. We began patiently shopping at the used clothing stores so that buying several pairs of nice shoes for each of us wasn’t expensive at all. I learned that a Merry Jane style shoe goes with any dress or skirt (not black patent leather necessarily, but the style of a Merry Jane), slip on flats, smaller, dainty tennis shoes, sandals, or a nice tailored boot. I wear cotton knee high socks mostly as they go with Merry Jane style shoes or tall boots for warmth, sometimes I’ll wear tights but I don’t prefer them, and ankle socks with tennis shoes. Our girls dress very similarly in clothes and shoes.

For Church I wear very similar clothes but not the sporty look, and I try not to wear denim as it just feels too casual with everyone else dressed up. I’ll wear a more fitted strait skirt because I’m not taking care of daily tasks and activities, or dressier fabrics like rayon for dresses. I sometimes wear heals, although for me it’s harder to carry babies and toddlers wearing these right now, not to mention balancing when I’m expecting a baby *chuckle* , so I usually stick with low heals if any.

There were a number of very pleasant unexpected heart changes for us ladies as well when we made this transition. Women move and act differently when wearing a dress; I think all women would acknowledge this. We began to feel and act more feminine, prettier, and even more submissive to the head of our home, my husband and the children’s daddy. I always knew that my husband enjoyed seeing me in a dress every Sunday, but it never occurred to me to wear a dress all the time as a blessing to him. This alone would have been worth the change! *smile!* After all, I’m the only wife he’s ever going to have – I desire to dress to please him. It’s good for a woman to fill her husband’s eyes and thoughts with pleasing sights to help him never be tempted to look else where. Bob was thrilled with our new style, and was happy to fund our wardrobe change! Now, I wasn’t neglected by him at all when wearing pants, but now I receive extra special attention and flirtations from the man of my life! How fun is that to feel like my appearance is so pleasing to him, like when we were first courting! When I’m wearing a dress, I do not feel like trying to be the head of the home, either. I didn’t realize that I had that tendency before we changed our clothing style, but I really did behave that way – and Bob felt it. This may seem like an over exaggeration, but our marriage has really been blessed by changing over to dresses and skirts, and most all of the friends we’ve met who have made this change in their own families (hundreds of families we’ve met now) have said the same thing! It’s truly a deeper heart issue, the way we dress. And Bob and I are so pleased to introduce these feelings, behaviors, and protective innocence in our girls at a young age.

Once learning of the Biblical importance and moral responsibility behind protecting men and boy’s eyes and thoughts, and our girls’ hearts, we did make the change pretty much “cold turkey”. Once we found a couple of dresses or skirts for each of us to wear to start with, we wore those only, and we continued to shop for nice used clothing every week until we each had a complete wardrobe for each season. Thankfully we began this process in the spring season of Washington so we did not need a bunch of warmer items immediately, just some basic summer dresses. We gave away all of our pants, shorts, women’s Spedo one-piece bathing suits, and even desired to give away our pajama pants. We eventually found very pretty night gowns, cool ones for summer and warm flannel ones for winter that are just as warm as pajama pants were – and we feel so pretty! My parents purchased for our girls’ new bathing wear from the only place we knew of at the time, J Crew, who makes darling shorts and tee shirt outfits out of stretchy, quick-drying swim fabric. Yes, swim pants, not the most modest but far more so than the more common bathing suits today! It was a start. Since then we’ve learned of a couple of places that sell very cute dress-style bathing wear and we hope to buy those some time in the future. These swim items are not inexpensive, but it is the one thing that we’ve chosen to save for and invest in new for the children as we feel it’s important for them to have this option, and we do all go boating all summer long with the grandparents. However, once the girls all have swim wear that first year the younger girls have items to grow in to and we no longer need to buy for them all, only for the oldest daughter who then passes the items down.

We were so pleased that all of our girls eagerly embraced the change to wearing dresses. Girls seem to generally have a natural delight in dresses; it’s like their hearts just resonate with this femininity. So it’s nice to run with that natural feeling beginning when they’re young ladies or younger; before the masculinity of the culture gets a grip on them.

Finally, I would love to share with you some of the websites where we’ve found great dresses, skirts, night gowns, dress pants, knee high socks, and maternity clothes online! We’ve actually rarely needed to buy anything new because the Lord has provided abundantly through the used clothing stores, but once in a while there’s the need to purchase a specific item new. For example, nightgowns for our girls, as women’s night gowns for our older girls do not fit them right. Below is a list of places where we’ve found very nice clothing items. A couple of which we’ve purchased from, and friends of ours have purchased from some of the other sites. The web sites vary in price and style, so I encourage you to look through several of the sites if you’re shopping.

New Creation Apparel – long skirts, and maternity long skirts!

The Kings Daughters -- Well made (seems finished with overlock serger), long, wide variety of dresses, pinafores, jumpers, slips, aprons, variety of fabrics to choose from ($29-39/piece -- mostly $30).

Lilies Apparel – High quality, beautiful, huge selection of styles and fabrics, similar prices to above site, everything from dresses, maternity, jumpers, bloomers, socks, etc. You can order their catalog to be sent to you.

Meant To Be Modest – skirts ($10-17), bathing attire ($40-70).

Katies Mercantile – lots of things.

Ringger Clothing – dresses & jumpers ($50 average).

Practically Pretty Design – Nice quality, girls’ dresses $45.

Jumpin Bloomers -- ($12-16 each); nightgowns ($15-21 each); FREE shipping!

Works Of The Heart -- This appears to have great quality, too (seems finished with overlock serger) and has cute styles ($35/dress or so).

Hannah Lise -- Jumpers ($21), Dresses ($52-64) pretty & long.

April Cornell -- Dresses $54 each, but modest and pretty (I've heard a rumor that they're going out of business?)

Target – leggings ($6.99).

Laina Line -- Bloomers ($16-$22), and a few dresses.

Hanna Andersson -- Bloomers ($18); other dresses $42+ each.

Lands End -- Girls' Cap-Sleeve knit Jersey Dresses ($19.50)

God has so blessed our family, our marriage, and He has renewed mine and the girls’ attitudes towards modesty and femininity. I am completely confident that He will do the same for you if you ask Him to! *smile!* It’s been so nice, surprisingly comfortable – I so much more prefer dresses now than pants any day, and we have peace knowing that we’re following the Lord’s instructions in dressing modestly. We asked the Lord to change us to fit His will, and He was so faithful to do so! What a blessing!

My Modesty Pinboard

CHRISTmas Traditions! Keeping Christ in the Holidays...

2012-12-15T16:34:00.000-08:00

Is this what Christmas is all about?

Do you ever find yourself feeling rushed, stressed or even empty during the holidays? I know I have many times in the 13 years my husband and I have been married. Rushing from one families house to another and stressing about what presents to get whom and the commercialism of the holiday season is not what it is all about. It took us a few years to realize what we were allowing into our family were not traditions we wanted. We learned that we needed to make some changes, compromising by rotating holidays with family and lowering expectations about gift giving. We also wanted to make the Christmas season about Jesus (the true reason for the season). God gave us the greatest gift of all in Jesus Christ, His son, and we want to honor Him. Although Saint Nicholas is a historical figure (Read more on that HERE), he is not the meaning of why we celebrate Christmas. Here is a list of some of our family traditions during the holidays. Please feel free to leave a comment and let us know your traditions and what special things you and your family do during the holidays.

(This year was the most stress-free, low-key Christmas seasons we have ever had...I really liked it! Next year we hope to incorporate the Jesse Tree and I would LOVE to get The Christmas Angel, too!)

1. Christmas decorating-We start our Christmas season by decorating the house. We put up a Christmas tree, Christmas village, nativity scenes, & even mistletoe! (artificial)

2. Advent- My aunt made my family an advent calendar; the same one we had growing up! It is made out of cork covered with felt & my aunt found miniature ornaments/jewelry to hang on the tree. The kids love putting the ornaments on the tree. They take turns every year putting the star on the tree.

*-What God Wants for Christmas: We LOVED doing this together as a family!

Publisher's Description-
From the creators of Resurrection Eggs Unwrap the true meaning and wonder of Christmas with each gift box in this interactive, kid-friendly nativity. Build a family tradition with every reading of the poetic Christmas story written by Barbara Rainey. Included is a read-with-me guide to share Christ with listening children. The book's captivating illustrations, the six presents each containing a sturdy, hand-painted character in the story, and the pop-up stable scene will take children on the journey to Bethlehem's first Christmas. The surprise ending in box #7 peeks inside the heart of God. Children will enjoy listening to the beautifully produced dramatic audio presentation of the book's story on CD.

Click HERE

* A Storytime Advent Calendar: This is a yearly tradition for our family. We wrap Christmas books and number each one for each day in December, then on that day we open that numbered book and read it before bedtime. This blog is where I got the idea, however, I just wrap the books in regular Christmas wrapping paper and then write the number on the package with a sharpie.

3. Christmas movies- Watching Christmas movies in December is a tradition in our house. While my husband's favorite is "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation", I like the classic movies such as "White Christmas", "Holiday Inn" and some new favorites like "Christmas Lodge" and "Christmas Angel".

4. Christmas Lights & Caroling- We always make time to drive around and look at Christmas light displays. We have a "Christmas Tree Lane" close by and drive through that every year. Then we look online or find out from friends about new displays in the area and try to go to those too. We all love seeing the creativity put into the Christmas displays.
Caroling is also something our family loves to do. We surprise friends or family & show up at their homes caroling. Or we will go to a retirement home and sing for the elderly. Music brings such joy to people. I created a PDF of Christmas Carols for our church's Christmas program this year (we were roving carolers). As a gift to you all, I am giving you a free copy of it! Merry Christmas! Click on the words below to download:

Christmas Carols

Thanksgiving - becomes "Thanksliving"!

2012-11-11T16:23:00.002-08:00

I have been reading a book called "One Thousand Gifts" by Ann Voscamp given to me by a dear friend. I won't give too much away for those that have not read it yet, but it is such a wonderful book. Ann paints a beautiful picture with her poetic words of her journey to finding joy in the midst of suffering. Someone dares her to make a list of 1000 things she is thankful for and she accepts the challenge and so her book is born. It has inspired me to look at the things I have been blessed with instead of focusing on what I don't have or wish I had.
I am so blessed to have my faith that gives me hope of an eternal future. I am so blessed by my husband and all of my children. I am so blessed to have the worlds most amazing, incredible, giving, loving friends in the whole wide world! I am blessed to always have had a roof over my head, food in my tummy and clothes on my back. And so much more!

All of these gifts I have been given have ignited a passion in me to give back. I got my family involved and I will admit they all were reluctant at first but while they were doing each of the activities I saw something wonderful happen! They were smiling and having a great time, and they said they were actually more blessed to bless others! Wow! Is this the same family that grumbled just a few hours ago?

This is a picture of my girls at Feed My Starving Children. An organization that sends dried packaged food to hungry children all over the world. This day was SO much fun! They play fun music and the time goes by SO fast! This organization is so organized too! They have little groups of assembly lines so that the packaging is very efficient. We were able to pack enough food to feed 105 children for a year that day! My girls did the weighing and they rocked! They went quickly but carefully following all the instructions and not once did they complain that they were tired! I want to sign up for 2 shifts next year:) Shhh, don't tell my family ;) lol

We also did Operation Christmas Child. This organization sends shoebox sized packages to children around the world who will not receive anything for Christmas. I just LOVE this idea. Christmas is my favorite time of year. Everything about it excites me, but most of all because it reminds me of the greatest gift of all that was given, Jesus. So to share His love, we decided to fill up a box for a boy (in honor of Nathan). So the girls used their keys that they earned from church to buy a few things for the box and we went to the dollar tree for the rest. It was so special to see my family coming together to find special things for this little boy. With the toys the girls bought, things we had at home in our treasure bag and dollar tree items we ended up with enough to fill 2 boxes! So we decided to fill one for a girl also.

One of the ladies I had met that worked for OCC told me about when she went to deliver these gifts to an orphanage in Russia and the children were so happy because they all had their own toothbrush. About 20 kids were having to all share one toothbrush! I told my husband,"That is just not right! That is just not sanitary! They each need their own toothbrush." So the toothbrushes were the first things to go in the box:)

This was what we put in the girls box: Webkinz, toothbrush, toothpaste, floss, hair ponies, bar of soap, stationary set, bouncy ball, bandaids, sucker and a card from us that said Merry Christmas.

This is what we put in the boys box: Toothbrush, toothpaste, floss, socks, soap, bandaids, hotwheels car, flying airplane, bouncy ball, plastic drinking cup and a card from us with our family picture wishing him a Merry Christmas.

We also sang Christmas carols for the children at Shriners Hospital, and sang carols as we rang the Salvation army bell.

The Manifesto of Joyful Parenting by, Ann Voskamp

2012-11-11T16:17:00.001-08:00

1. Today, I will make our home a house of prayer. I will pray at set times. And I will invite our children to come move into an interior space that lives with God.

2. Today, I will transfigure all things into beauty, and I will refuse to see anything else.

3. Today, I will not have any emergencies. There are no emergencies! Only amateurs hurry.

4. Today, when stress mounts, I pray to dismount it with gratitude. My stress management plan will be intervention with verbal thanks. I can only feel one feeling at a time, and I choose to give thanks at all times. Fight feeling with feeling!

5. Today, I will pray to speak words that are only STRONG words, words that make these children feel strong. Grace words. Grace is the only non-toxic air. All other words I breathe are death words.

6. Today, I will pray to be consistently consistent. I will create safe rhythms that our children can find security in. I will create daily ceremonies because everyday we are CELEBRATING the gift of now!

7. Today, the moment when I am most repelled by a child's behavior, that is my sign to draw the very closest to that child.

8. Today, I will hug each of my children as many times as I serve them meals -- because children's hearts feed on touch. I'll look for as many opportunities to touch my children today as possible --- the taller they are, the more so.

9. Today, my priorities will be all Things Unseen.

10. Today, I will laugh! And I will let the little children laugh! I will create a culture of JOY!

Ann Voskamp @ www.aholyexperience.com

Bean & Black Quinoa Salad

2012-11-11T16:10:00.002-08:00

Thank you to my friend L for introducing this to me! I was a little hesitant at first with the black quinoa, but I like to try new things, so I gave it a shot. This is so yummy! I modified her recipe a little, this is how I made it:

1 cup of dried lentils
1 cup of dried black beans
1 cup of dried garbanzo beans

Put all dried beans in a crockpot. Fill with water & cook on high for about 3 hours. You can also do this the night before.

1/2 of chopped red onion
1/2 cup of chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 red or yellow bell pepper

Dressing:
1/4 cup of red wine vinegar
1/3 cup of grapeseed oil
salt & pepper to taste
Wisk together & pour over cooked beans & veggies. Set in fridge so that flavors absorb together.

Meanwhile cook 1 cup of black quinoa with 1 1/2 cups of water uncovered until all liquid absorbs. Serve bean salad on top of cooked quinoa with tortilla chips-so healthy & so yummy!

Power Foods Recipe- Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

2012-11-11T16:08:00.000-08:00

On a family night out to B & N I found this amazing cookbook with whole food recipes. I was not able to get it that day, but just about every single recipe in this cookbook I wanted to try, so I saved & came back to get it later.
I have really been passionate about finding healthy whole food recipes. If it is gluten-free, vegetarian, vegan, or raw I am very interested in trying it. Although, it does need to still taste good ;)

My hubby & I do our grocery shopping bi-weekly, so I used this cookbook to meal plan for 2 weeks & I feel healthier already!

This is one of the things I made with this cookbook:

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

This was my first time roasting my own peppers. It is super easy & you don't have to worry about preservatives or any other added ingredients. I adjusted this recipe a little.

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

3 red bell peppers

2 cups of garbanzo beans (I used the dried ones & then cooked them with water in my crockpot for 3 hours)

whole wheat pita, toasted

1 garlic clove

1 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp cumin

1 cup of vegetable broth

1 TBS balsamic vinegar

1 TBS fresh lemon juice

2 tsp grapeseed oil, plus more for drizzling

salt & pepper to taste

Wash peppers & place them in a rimmed pan & drizzle oil over top. Place in a 400 degree oven & roast until blackened all over. Turning when needed. Take out of the oven &

transfer peppers to a bowl with a lid & let sit & steam for 15 min. Using paper towel, rub off skins, & then remove stems, seeds & ribs.

Place peppers in food processor. Add beans, garlic, vinegar, oil, lemon juice, paprika, cumin. Blend. Stir in salt & pepper.

Serve with toasted whole wheat pita or carrot sticks.

Avonlea Academy Website!

2012-11-01T17:44:00.000-07:00

Hi Friends,
I have created a website for my children to navigated safe and educational resources online and I wanted to share it with YOU! I have had a hard time feeling comfortable letting my children roam the internet on their own and have installed safe browsers, but I really wanted one place they could go to and find all of the websites they would need. Since there wasn't something like that out there, I decided to create it myself! I hope it is a beneficial resource for you as well. Also, if you have any suggestions or resources you would like to see on my blog, just use the "Contact Me" tab on the Avonlea Academy website and let me know! :)

www.avonleaacademy.weebly.com

Wholesome Family Movie List!

2012-10-28T15:21:00.000-07:00

Hi Friends!
Quite a few people have been asking me for a list of Wholesome Family Movies, so here it is! I am separating the ones you can find on Netflix. Most of the movies are faith-based, & some just are safe & wholesome (no bad language, extreme violence, or nudity...etc). Netflix does change the movies they offer, so make sure to check on the Netflix website for updates.
Disclaimer: Some of the movies listed may be subject to maturity level. It is recommended that you view the movies before showing them to your kids.

My List of Family Friendly Shows/Movies on Netflix for Instant Streaming:

The Secrets of Jonathan Sperry
God of Wonders
Creatures that Defy Evolution
Brother White
The Lost and Found Family
The Ballad of Lucy Whipple
My Six Loves
The Shakiest Gun in the West
Being Elmo
How It's Made
Andy Griffith
What Would Jesus Do II: The Woodcarver
The Adventures of Ociee Nash
Veggie Tales
The Borrowers
The Incredible Mr. Limpet
Father Knows Best
Leave it to Beaver
Eyewitness to Jesus
The Case for Christ
Hello Dolly!
Sarah's Choice
Seven Days in Utopia
Liberty's Kids
Courage Mountain
What If...
Flipper
The Cosby Show
Secretariat
Oliver!
The Secret Garden
The Billion Dollar Hobo
Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm
The Happiest Millionaire
Herbie (The old ones)
Dolphin Tale
Schoolhouse Rock!
Akeelah and the Bee
Flicka
The King and I (older version)
Chronicles of Narnia
Adventures in Odyssey
19 Kids and Counting
Little House on the Prairie

My Favorite Family Movies (Not listed on Netflix):

Time Changer
Courageous
Fireproof
No Greater Love
Anne of Green Gables (all 3)
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers
Narnia
Meet Me in St. Louis
Torchlighters
Swiss Family Robinson
Dr. Doolittle (Old version w/Rex Harrison)
Facing the Giants
Flywheel
The Blind Side
Secrets of Jonathan Sperry
Monumental
To Save a Life
Miss Potter
Felicity: An American Girl
The Treasure Seekers
The Pursuit of Happyness
Temple Grandin
WWJD II: The Woodcarver
Remember the Titans
The First of May
Samantha: An American Girl
Kit: An American Girl

Do you have any that are not listed here?

I'm Back! AND Olympic FREEBIES!

2012-08-01T13:54:00.000-07:00

Hi friends,
Well, it has been awhile since my last post. These last few months have been busy for me trying out my side-business, Pampered Chef. I had a fun time & earned lots of FREE products for my kitchen! Yay! After a lot of prayer & consideration, my husband & I agree that my focus needs to be on this crucial time in my kid's lives. I am first & foremost a wife, mother & teacher. So I will be back to sharing tips on here with all of you! Yay! So glad to be back! :)

Here are the Olympic FREEBIES! Enjoy friends!

Olympic Ring Printing with Pool Noodle

12 Olympic party games & food ideas

15 Festive Olympic Projects

Olympic Olive Leaf Craft

Olympic Ring Pretzels

The Pampered Chef!

2012-03-22T15:31:00.000-07:00

Hi Friends,
I wanted to share with you the reason I have not had a chance to blog lately. I just became a Pampered Chef Consultant! I am very thankful for the opportunity to work for a great company, get some great products & maybe even earn a little extra income. :) I am trying to earn my incentives for my first 30 days & I have until March 30th to get all of my orders in-I know soon, right? It is easy to get discouraged & take things personally, BUT I am trying to keep my spirit thinking positively & trusting that God will provide. If anything, I am just excited to have these amazing products in my home! I just got my kit yesterday & it was so much fun opening it with my kids. They were so excited too & didn't even wait for me to open some of the boxes. We have spent all day cooking in the kitchen together & trying out all of our new products. This business is giving us the opportunity to spend more time together!

Check out the website link below & place your orders today! When your total reaches $60, you get a FREE product! :)

https://www.pamperedchef.biz/christiemcguire

My Amazon Store!

2012-03-10T14:29:00.000-08:00

I have created this Amazon Store so that you can browse and purchase products that I recommend or would like! :) To browse without leaving this site, just click page numbers 1-5 below the pictures. To be taken directly to Amazon.com click on the amazon.com logo on the bottom right hand corner.
Happy Shopping! :)

Health Tip of the Week- Raw Apple Cider Vinegar

2012-03-08T00:25:00.000-08:00

Raw Apple Cider Vinegar

The only vinegar that can and SHOULD be consumed daily.

Benefits:

Helps clear acne when taken orally and applied topically. If applied topically you dilute it with water, dab it on a breakout and rinse after 15 minutes. If you have any questions about this or would like me to explain it further you can email me.

Promotes digestion. A blocked digestive tract can lead to all kinds of skin problems. It is also a natural cure for constipation.

Super high in minerals and potassium which can help slow down the aging of your skin.

Helps reduce sinus infections and sore throats. Whenever we have a cold coming on our family gargles with this stuff.

Encourages the growth of healthy bacteria within your body.

Can help ease menstrual cramps.

It has been used for centuries as a natural weight loss remedy.

I have had UTI's (Urinary Tract Infections) since I was a kid. The doctors had me on anti-biotics everyday as a preventative but it was of course killing my immune system. I looked up some natural ways to treat it online and started pouring about 1/2 cup of ACV in a bathtub with really warm water about once a week, and for about two years now, have not got an infection since! It really does work!

Found the info for this post HERE

Another Awesome Sermon Featuring Pastor Lance Hahn-"A Better Way"

2012-03-05T19:13:00.001-08:00

This was such a wonderful message that totally hit home for me, especially the parts about fairness. I have asked so many of those questions such as, "Why does God allow certain things to happen? It's not fair..." Pastor Lance explains this so well & what I appreciate is how he breaks down the Bible, which can be difficult to understand, and makes it very accessible to everyone.

Sermon 2012.03.04 "A Better Way" from Bridgeway Christian on Vimeo.

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!

2012-03-02T19:19:00.000-08:00

Today the world celebrates the 108th birthday of Dr. Seuss. For over 60 years, the books written by Theodor (“Ted”) Seuss Geisel have and continue to thrill young readers. In his lifetime, Seuss wrote over 40 entertaining, whimsical books for children which are not only fun, but open the doors to a child's imagination.

Here are some Dr. Seuss resources to celebrate his birthday:

"HORTON HEARS A WHO" CRAFT

LEARN TO DRAW DR. SEUSS CHARACTERS

LORAX LAPBOOK-FREE

FREE- MY VERY OWN DR. SEUSS ACTIVITY BOOK

LORAX PROJECT IN THE CLASSROOM

SUESSVILLE (DR. SEUSS THEMED GAME & ACTIVITY WEBSITE)

THE LORAX SAVE THE TREES GAME

FREE LORAX APP for iPhone or iPad

Description

Speak for the trees, for they have no tongues, with the Official Lorax App! Hold the phone up to your mouth, and talk. The Lorax’s mouth and moustache will move along with your voice.

The kids had fun with this free app! :)

Sneak Peak of "There's No Place Like Space"

The Sneetches

OTHER DR. SEUSS PRODUCTS:

DIY Projects- Pinterest inspired t-shirt craft tutorials!

2012-03-01T15:23:00.000-08:00

T-Shirt Necklace:

I saw this idea on a blog a long time ago and ever since I have wanted to try it out. It is great for when you want to add some color to your outfit but still be casual. It's just as cute as a scarf but less trouble and less hot.

How to make the t-shirt necklace: Take a plain colored t-shirt and lay it flat. Then cut off the bottom seam.

Found this image HERE

Next, cut one-inch strips down the width of the shirt. When opened up they will be circles.

Found this image HERE

Then, take each circular strip and stretch and roll between your fingers.

Found this image HERE

Then take one of the circular strips and cut one side to create a long string. Then take the string & tie a bow around your necklace. Voila! Super-easy!

Here is how mine turned out!

Car (Back Rub) Shirt:

I saw this idea on Pinterest and thought it was so cute! I decided to make this shirt for my husband for Christmas & have the kiddos give it to him. He LOVED it!


Found this image HERE

Start with a plain white t-shirt and fabric markers. Using this picture as a guide, draw a map of your families town. Make sure to put a piece of cardboard or something in between the shirts layers so that it doesn't bleed through.

Here is how mine turned out

Don't forget to add the kids & the toy cars!

Fun and relaxing!

"Faux Crab Cakes" with Tuna & Quinoa & Pear salad

2012-02-29T08:15:00.000-08:00

Tuna & Quinoa "Faux Crab" Cakes


Here is what my mixture looked like when I was done mixing everything in.

Ingredients:

1/3 cup prechopped red bell pepper
2 tablespoons Greek yogurt
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 green onions, chopped
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 1/3 cups panko (Japanese breadcrumbs), divided (we used a brand called Ian's)
2 cans of tuna in water, drained
1 cup of red quinoa, steamed in rice cooker
1 cup of fresh parsley, chopped

Preparation

1. Combine first 6 ingredients. Add 1/3 cup panko and tuna; toss gently. Add whole cup of cooked quinoa to the mixture & stir. Divide tuna mixture into 8 equal portions; shape each into a 3/4-inch-thick patty. Place remaining panko in a shallow dish. Gently dredge patties in panko.
2. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 2 tablespoons coconut oil to pan. Add 4 tuna cakes to pan; cook 4 minutes on each side. Remove from pan; keep warm. Repeat procedure with remaining oil and tuna cakes.

Serve warm with homemade seafood sauce and a salad.

This was a yummy dinner, cheap & healthy!

Homemade 1000 Island Dressing:

1 cup of Greek yogurt

1 cup of organic ketchup

1/4 cup sweet pickles diced

1 teaspoon of agave nectar

a dash of red cayenne pepper

Pear Salad recipe:

Arugula & spinach (or any greens)

1-2 pears, sliced
1 cup crumbled goat cheese

1 cup of toasted walnuts
salt & pepper to taste

Leave a comment and let me know if you tried these recipes and how they turned out.

Stewardship & Tithing message featuring Pastor Lance Hahn!

2012-02-28T00:20:00.000-08:00

This ties in to the Money-tip-Monday series I have been doing based on Biblical finances. I was going to share with you what the Bible says about tithing, but after listening to our pastor's sermon, I thought he did a much better job explaining it.

Sermon 2012.02.26 "A Greater Priest" from Bridgeway Christian on Vimeo.

Homeschool Helps-American Revolution Lapbook Resources & Printables!

2012-02-27T00:34:00.001-08:00

The American Revolution

We have been studying about the American Revolution in our homeschool, and I thought I would share some of our resources with you! :)

Our Revolutionary War Lapbook:

We used mostly Homeschool in the Woods' Time Travelers: American Revolution on CD-ROM to make our lapbook.

American Revolution: Time Travelers on CD-ROM
By Homeschool In The Woods

The American Revolution is filled with well-known stories and heroes. Experience it to the fullest with Homeschool in the Woods' "The American Revolution" CD-ROM. Make a haversack or a booklet with this fun, hands-on approach to learning. 25 Lessons may be spread over 5-10 weeks, and include creative writing, colonial recipes, factfile cards, a file folder game, science experiments, notebook timeline, notebooking activities and more. Text and project overview pages keep lessons on track, while masters, photos and drawings make for easy lesson planning. Teacher helps, keys, resource list and "guide at a glance" included. Grades 3-8; 1 CD-ROM.

Here are some lapbook freebies that I found as well. They both have free printables!

Notebooking Nook

Homeschool Share

We have also been watching these videos on Netflix & we are almost finished with them. They have been a great learning tool for all of us. They have made the events and people involved in the Revolutionary War understandable. I highly recommend watching this with your kids!

Product Description-

Caught on opposite sides of the revolution, Benjamin Franklin and his teenage reporters, American colonist James and young Englishwoman Sarah, confront the real, physical dangers of war. As the conflict rages, James and Sarah are compelled to choose between their friendship and their countries, their understanding of good and evil, and the moral dilemmas inherent in war. All the while trying to look after the mischievous Henri, an immigrant French boy whose comical escapades constantly lead them into trouble, as the three bear witness to the highs and lows of the American Revolution.

Starring news legend Walter Cronkite as Benjamin Franklin and including guest starring roles by award-winning actors and real-life historical figures like Dustin Hoffman, Annette Benning, Michael Douglas, General Norman Schwarzkopf, Sylvester Stallone, Arnold

Schwarzenegger, Billy Crystal, Ben Stiller, Whoopi Goldberg, Liam Neeson and many more! The complete Emmy and Humanitas Award-nominated Liberty's Kids is finally available on DVD in one six-disc collectors set!

Here is a slideshow I put together of other children's educational products involving the American Revolution. Click on the picture for more information about it.

Happy Homeschooling! :)

What's For Dinner? - Shredded Chicken Salad & Whole Wheat Quesadillas

2012-02-25T00:39:00.003-08:00

Shredded Chicken Salad & Whole Wheat Quesadillas

I found this recipe through Pinterest & modified it a little. This is the blog that it was originally from & where I got the picture from too. It was gone before I had the chance to take out my camera, that is how yummy it was! Ours looked a lot more green since we added arugula, but this gives you an idea of what it looked like.

2 chicken breasts, boiled & shredded

2 limes, freshly squeezed

1/2 tbsp. cumin

salt to taste

1/4 cup finely chopped cilantro

1 red bell pepper, diced

1 green bell pepper, diced

1/4 onion, diced

1 can black beans, drained

1 bag of arugula lettuce

1 chopped avocado

Toss in a bowl & serve cold with whole wheat quesadillas and homemade salsa! :)

We made homemade salsa/pico de gallo to go with this. Again, this is so delicious that it was gone before I could snap a picture, so I pulled this off of the internet. But it looks a lot like ours. :)

Here is our recipe for our Homemade Salsa:

4-6 fresh tomatoes depending on how red you like it :) (quartered to fit into the food processor)

1/2 cup fresh cilantro (I like cilantro but if you don't, you can add less or omit)

1/4 red onion (quartered to fit into the food processor)

4-6 cloves of garlic (I really like garlic so you can modify this to your liking)

1 green jalapeno pepper with the seeds removed

1/2 lime freshly squeezed

salt to taste

Put all ingredients in a food processor & pulse until desired consistency. Serve cold with tortilla chips.

Buen Provecho!

Family Fun Night-Friday!

2012-02-25T00:14:00.000-08:00

Hi ya'll,
Now that I have fixed the design of my blog, I can focus on more important things. Like Family Fun Night! Yay! If you have read my earlier posts, you know that hubs & I are trying to be faithful in keeping Fridays as "Date Night". Now, that can mean just the two of us or all of us as a family. My husband did the honor of picking a date idea out of our "Can O' Dates" bucket & (after scratching a couple of the ideas we didn't think would work this time around) wound up picking "Karaoke Night"! Whew! Luckily we already had this small karaoke machine. It hooks right up to the T.V. so that you can read the words on a big screen.

So we all grabbed a microphone & tried our best. Though we had some laughter, tears, & off-key singing, it turned out to be a fun & FREE way to have entertainment for the evening and the best part was we were all in it (suffering- HA!) together. Gotta love those times.

We also had an awesome Mexican-style dinner!
I wasn't able to take a picture because it was so yummy, it was already gone before I had the chance to take my camera out! I will post the recipe above in a separate post.

Blog ReDesign

2012-02-24T12:57:00.000-08:00

Hi Friends,
I am in the process of working on a blog redesign. I will start posting again when the new blog design is finished! Thank you for your patience. :)