Candid Diversions

Life with Tigger and Fen

2012-01-26T12:00:00.001-05:00

Tigger, my occasionally reluctant scholar, really worked hard on her schoolwork this morning. She had a fantastic attitude and worked steadily to finish several different subjects. (I'm sharing this partially to remind myself in the future that, yes, it does happen this way sometimes.)

Fen missed his playmate and Sweet Pea just wasn't filling the gap. When Tigger finally finished her last subject, Fen was standing right there at her elbow.

"We better go play!" He said with a little cheer. (Subtext: before your mom gives you anything else to do.)

"We better go play!" Tigger echoed him.

"Okay!" He shouted back, as if it were her idea all along.

Never a dull moment, folks. Never.
(Picture: Tigger & Fen last September at Cumberland Falls.)

Words for Wednesday - On Ideas and Intelligence

2012-01-25T10:09:00.000-05:00

source

A man is not necessarily intelligent because he has plenty of ideas, any more than he is a good general because he has plenty of soldiers. - Nicolas Chamfort

And it is probably not coincidence that, on the same page of my commonplace book, I also wrote down this quotation:

There is nothing more frightful than ignorance in action. - Goethe

Top 10 Tuesday - Books in My TBR Stack

2012-01-24T11:16:00.001-05:00

Since there is no prescribed theme at The Broke and the Bookish this week, I thought I would share my current "to be read" stack with you:

1.The Creative Habit: Learn It and Use It for Life by Twyla Tharp.

2.The Lost Art of Reading: Why Books Matter in a Distracted Time by David Ulin.

3.The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains by Nicholas Carr.

4.The Accidental Creative: How to Be Brilliant at a Moment's Notice by Todd Henry.

5.God Is Red: The Secret Story of How Christianity Survived and Flourished in Communist China by Liao Yiwu

6.Busman's Honeymoon: A Lord Peter Wimsey Mystery with Harriet Vane by Dorothy Sayers

7.Wyndham Case (Imogen Quy Mysteries) by Jill Paton Walsh

Waiting for me at the library and almost guaranteed to jump up near the top of my stack:
8.The Confession: An Inspector Ian Rutledge Mystery (Ian Rutledge Mysteries) by Charles Todd.

And two from my extensive "not in yet" holds at the library that I am eagerly anticipating, that will assuredly jump to the head of the line whenever they happen to come in:

9.Death Comes to Pemberley by P.D. James

10.Crossed by Ally Condie

So many books, so little time...

This post is linked to Top 10 Tuesday at The Broke and the Bookish. The titles in this post are Amazon affiliate links. Action taken with these links could result in compensation for me.

Happy Birthday to Philip!

2012-01-24T09:48:00.001-05:00

There are many mysteries related to marriage and here's one that hits me every January 24th:

One of the best days of my life came four and half years before I was even born.

I don't claim to know how that works. I just know it's the truth.

Happy Birthday!

Sunday Thoughts

2012-01-22T08:21:00.000-05:00

O burning mountain, O chosen sun,
O perfect moon, O fathomless well,
O unattainable height, O clearness beyond measure
O wisdom without end, O mercy without limit,
O strength beyond resistance, O crown of all majesty,
The humblest you created sings your praise.
-Mechtild of Magdeburn 1207-94

(Psalm 30 ESV)
I will extol you, O LORD, for you have drawn me up
and have not let my foes rejoice over me.
O LORD my God, I cried to you for help,
and you have healed me.
O LORD, you have brought up my soul from Sheol;
you restored me to life from among those who go down to the pit.
Sing praises to the LORD, O you his saints,
and give thanks to his holy name.
For his anger is but for a moment,
and his favor is for a lifetime.
Weeping may tarry for the night,
but joy comes with the morning.
As for me, I said in my prosperity,
“I shall never be moved.”
By your favor, O LORD,
you made my mountain stand strong;
you hid your face;
I was dismayed.
To you, O LORD, I cry,
and to the Lord I plead for mercy:
“What profit is there in my death,
if I go down to the pit?
Will the dust praise you?
Will it tell of your faithfulness?
Hear, O LORD, and be merciful to me!
O LORD, be my helper!”
You have turned for me my mourning into dancing;
you have loosed my sackcloth
and clothed me with gladness,
that my glory may sing your praise and not be silent.
O LORD my God, I will give thanks to you forever!

Weekend Links - January 21, 2012

2012-01-21T10:58:00.000-05:00

1. Mary over at Owlhaven wrote a post that really encouraged me: Crackpot. I encourage all my mom friends to read it. Our hope can't really be in our mad parenting skillz. (The z makes it sound cool, don't you know) Our hope has to be in the One who created us and our children.

2. Here's an inspiring post for all of us living in our tiny houses: Tiny House, BIG Space.

3. I love this Carousel art. Gorgeous!

4. Here's a great post on marriage: You Never Marry the Right Person. Real love, love like Jesus' love...that's hard. It's work. And it is so worth it.

5. This struck me as funny and true: Correlation or Causation? Like Mark Twain said: "There are three kinds of lies: lies, d*mn*d lies, and statistics." For our time we have to add: "And charts that supposedly 'prove' something."

6. Did you hear that Hostess is declaring bankruptcy? Think it's because Americans are eating healthier? Maybe not: The Truth Behind the Possible Twinkies Bankruptcy. (H/T: The Common Room)

7. These sorts of articles are fun to contemplate every now and again: How Much is a Homemaker Worth? Short answer: if you had to pay us, you couldn't afford it. And I don't care what numbers they come up with in their article.

8. Got any unused curriculum sitting around? The Happy Housewife is hosting a Used Curriculum Sale on Wednesday, January 25.

9. Underground Architectural Marvels and Oddities. Fascinating.

10. Balance: The Downside and The Upside of Having a Large Family. So true!

11. You can now Reply to Comments in Blogger. I've changed my blog comments so that I can do this now. I've already replied to some of you. {smile} I hope this enables better conversations 'round here.

12. Just in case anyone is wondering what to get me for my birthday (a mere four months away...): World's Largest Emerald Up for Auction.

I've got more links but that's enough for one day.

Pins of the week:
Check out these bunk-beds!

Source: 2.bp.blogspot.com via Karen (Candid Diversions) on Pinterest

I love the idea of turning Scrabble tiles into letter magnets:

Source: kinderpendent.blogspot.com via Karen (Candid Diversions) on Pinterest

Now I need to watch yard sales and the thrift store for Scrabble games that I can bust up. These are so much cooler than those garish plastic letters. (Which, yes, if you're wondering, we have a set covering the front of our fridge.)

So: what did you stumble upon this week?
This post is linked to Saturday Stumbles at Simply Staci.

Quick Takes Friday - My 3rd Attempt

2012-01-20T15:54:00.001-05:00

1. No one - and I mean not Sweet Pea, not Fen and definitely not Miss Lili - has taken a nap today. This is not normal and not appreciated by yours truly. Naptime should be inviolate. Why do they fight it so? How can they not understand the decadence of societal approval for laying down on your comfy bed in the day time?!

2. And, before I forget, I really want to say thank you to anyone who has been praying for my family since the recent illness and death of my uncle. All the prayers and encouraging words have really blessed us.

3. Sometimes Philip has to launch from his tutoring business straight into "Parenting Advice". One student he has right now is really struggling. Turns out that one significant problem is that this student's not getting nearly enough sleep at night. He gently suggested the family turn off the TV an hour or two before the student needed to be in bed. And then, you know, the student should GO TO BED. And it's not that this kid's guardians don't care. They do. Which is why this child is living with them. But it didn't occur to the adult that Philip deals with that kids need more sleep than adults and that the lack of sleep can affect school performance. Somehow this whole discussion just made me sad.

4. We are trying to pack up some superfluous belongings in preparation for a move. Sweet Pea is worried by this because some of our things are going to be stored at my sister's house. What if Aunt Princess doesn't give our stuff back?!

5. Polly and I were looking at pictures online of the Golden Globe Awards. (The dresses, specifically). We admired some but there were a few that were, shall we say, unfortunately less than modest. "Don't those women have any self-respect?" She asked me. "Does she know you can see right through her dress?" It goes without saying but I'll say it anyway: I really hope she keeps this attitude throughout her adolescence.

6. We just got our first copies of Philip's new game: Kingdom of Solomon. This one was a lot more work to get produced but I think he is proud of the product. It looks great to me. (But, of course, I am not unbiased.)

7. Speaking of games, this is our current family favorite. It's easy to learn and, wonder of wonders, I've won both times we've played. Polly and Tigger really love it. The pictures are cool and have a lot of interesting depth. This is actually one of Philip's birthday presents. And yes, as some of you know, his birthday isn't until next Tuesday. We may make the girls wait to open their presents but Philip doesn't wait and we've all enjoyed this one.

So, there's my seven bits of randomness. What's up in your world today?
This post is linked to Quick Takes Friday at Conversion Diary.

A Day in the Life

2012-01-19T21:21:00.001-05:00

In which I share a "typical" day with you:

7:40 - alarm goes off. Philip's already gone (which I vaguely remember because he kissed me good-bye)
7:45 - I am up. Awake? Not so much.
7:50 - I pour a bowl of Special K cereal, a cup of coffee, and open my Bible
7:53 - that was a nice 3 minutes. Fen's here now. Sweet Pea gets up as soon as he comes in the door.
7:55 - Baby starts crying to get up
7:56 - pour bowls of cereal for the Littles, get a cup of milk for Baby, sit down to eat / read my Bible again
8:01 - cut up a banana for Littles. Fen is trying to eat his cereal with the largest spoon (a serving spoon) he could find
8:02 - Tigger is up. I "finish" my Bible reading, cut a grapefruit in half for her
8:05 - call for Polly to get up. This is unusual because she usually bounces out of bed in the mornings
8:07 - turn on the computer while everyone else eats breakfast. Make my bed.
8:10 - sit down at computer with my coffee to "check mail". Fen stands at my elbow talking and coughing. Then he informs me he has to go to the bathroom right now.
8:19 - put my contacts in while waiting on Fen to finish up in the bathroom. Give Fen 3 jelly beans for effort.
8:21 - back to computer
8:28 - up from computer
8:29 - kitchen is a disaster area. The big girls have mutilated 2 grapefruit.
8:31 - change the baby's diaper but decide to leave her in p.j's since it is so cold this morning. Put her back in her bed because she is super-grouchy.
8:34 - start tackling the clothes pile by my bed
8:37 - Tigger puts on Mickey Mouse Clubhouse DVD - crisis! There's no sound! Wailing ensues.
8:41 - I fix it. They watch. I'm back to the clothes pile
8:46 - finish the pile - I can see my floor! - and head to the kitchen
8:51 - sit down with my current book (Bright Young People: The Lost Generation of London's Jazz Age)
9:03 - finish the chapter I started last night before bed. Kids are still watching DVD.
9:10 - I put together a packing box and fill it with some items for our as yet theoretical Spring Yard Sale
9:17 - fold and put away my clothes from a small basket of laundry
9:21 - sit down at computer and find out my preferred presidential candidate is probably dropping out of the race today. Heart sinks. Kind of want to hit something. Not a good feeling. Attempt to be philosophical - maybe this time I'll get to be depressed about our country well before election day instead of on election day. Hooray. Remind me in four years not to vocally support any candidate for office, OK? My support must be the kiss of death.
9:30 - DVD is over. Fen immediately tackles Polly. Sweet Pea begins fussing about something. I tell the big girls to start their school work since the baby is asleep and they can't do their usual Morning To-Do lists.
9:35 - Polly starts school, Sweet Pea is still fussing, Tigger is still stretched out on the couch. "Too tired" to do school.
Click that "read more" button to find out how the rest of our day goes -

9:56 - Finally make Tigger start school - listen to her poems and scripture. I sharpen two pencils for her.
10:06 - sit Tigger down with her Math paper
10:09 - I am tidying up the living room. Sweet Pea and Fen are (miracle!) playing nicely together.
10:11 - Help Tigger with a Math problem (bad sign: it's the first problem on the page. She sat here for 5 minutes without doing anything other than write her name on the paper)
10:15 - dump some Baking Soda in the bathroom sink, continue picking up toys (Brio trains) in the living room, help Tigger with Math again, listen to Polly read some interesting History facts
10:20 - wipe out the bathroom sink, sweep the bathroom floor, grind up the grapefruit rinds in the kitchen sink garbage disposal, sit Tigger back down at her Math paper
10:32 Tigger finishes her Math sheet, struggles through a timed Subtraction facts sheet. Polly is still working on History.
10:37 - listen to Polly's History narration, help her write it down. Tell Tigger to start her Phonics sheet.
10:43 - Polly starts Math.
10:48 - Sit Tigger back down with her Phonics paper. Direct Polly back to Math. Fen and Sweet Pea have spread toys all over the floor. I file some school papers and (finally!) get dressed.
10:52 - I do Scripture and Phonics review with Sweet Pea. Direct Tigger back to her Phonics paper - she has finished exactly one problem on the sheet.
10:59 - Sweet Pea starts playing phonics games on the computer. (Starfall) Fen watches this.
11:00 - I put together 2 more packing boxes and pack 2 shelves of books
11:12 - Tigger finally finishes phonics while I stand right by her. I send her outside with recycling after this.
11:18 - I start Tigger on her handwriting paper. I sharpen 2 more pencils.
11:19 - get Baby up from nap and play Bristle blocks with her for a few minutes
11:27 - Polly finishes Math, I help Tigger with handwriting.
11:30 - Philip is home! He taught a half day of 7th grade language arts today. I send Tigger & Sweet Pea to get dressed & make their beds.
11:31 - Send Sweet Pea back to get dressed. Again.
11:34 - Sweet Pea is back out. Only 1/2 dressed. Polly is taking a shower & getting dressed. I'm packing up some of my breakable plates & china.
11:48 - send Tigger & Sweet Pea back to make their beds. Again. Polly's bed is made, she's reading her Bible now.
11:51 - give the girls a basket of laundry to put away.
11:55 - I sit down with a magazine. The Baby is emptying Polly's school box but Polly comes running to rescue it.
12:08 - everyone starts meandering toward the kitchen. Everyone wants something different for lunch.
12:14 - We give Lili her first ever cup of chocolate milk. This is a success.

12:47 - Lunch is over. We clean up Baby & Fen. We put those two plus Sweet Pea in the girls' room for a nap. They're listening to Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel today(Sweet Pea's favorite). The big girls are watching a DK Eyewitness DVD about the human body. I sit back down with my magazine.
1:26 - The big girls and I start Science.
1:35 - Sweet Pea and the Baby are up from their nap. Fen is sleeping. The big girls and I are working on Science projects and Sweet Pea plays Starfall on the computer again.
2:08 - Philip wants Polly to stop school work and come help him test a game. Yes, this happens frequently around here.
2:50 - I've been reading political blogs (Which I should really stop. Immediately. Tomorrow.) Must fight against "Doom. Doom and Gloom. Doom, I say!" feelings. Philip and Polly are finishing up their game. Tigger has started playing with legos in the living room.
3:02 - I'm hanging up clean dresses in the girls' closet (which is in our living room. Don't ask.) Philip starts a load of laundry because dirty laundry is starting to creep up our basement steps and it may try to open that door and take over our house next. Tigger and I return to Science and finish up an activity. Polly is now playing on the computer.
3:17 - Baby opens the door and goes into her room without us noticing. We find her in there patting on Fen and trying to climb in his bed. Miraculously, he is sleeping through this. We take this as a sign and put her back down. (Note: she usually takes 2 naps a day. She had a good morning nap today but she did not fall asleep earlier this afternoon.)
3:21 - Philip leaves for his tutoring job. I sew a button on Sweet Pea's dress coat.
3:30 - Things I have said to one of my children in the past few minutes:

I don't speak whine.
When you talk like that all I hear is, "please put me to bed".
Stop whining. Now.

All of that while I swept the kitchen floor. I'm guessing Baby didn't eat much breakfast because I sweep up enough Cheerios to fill a bowl. Mercifully, the whiner gives up about now because I just can't put her in her room because of the sleeping Fen & Lili.

4:22 - Polly has been reading an American Girl book. Tigger & Sweet Pea are still playing legos in the living room. We've been listening to Dave Ramsey all afternoon and the girls and I are talking about how our being debt free (except our mortgage) lets us have some things we want.
4:29 - while packing another shelf of books I find a sadly deflated balloon. This is leftover from Lili's 1st Birthday Party. Which was in September. #housekeeperoftheyearaward
4:33 - I start work on supper
4:56 - My brother-in-law arrives to pick up Fen. We have to get Fen up for this. Lili wakes up too. I get Fen ready to go. He leaves, reluctantly leaving the cup behind that he was using ("I can have it tomorrow?") and after insisting on giving me the full two kisses + big hug good-bye.
5:13 - Supper is now in the oven.
5:20 - Philip is home from his tutoring job. Plus, he picked up more packing tape. I can already tell that this whole "sell the house, move to a new house" thing is going to be quite the adventure.
5:45 - Supper: Chicken enchiladas which are popular with two and a half of our children (Lili likes the filling but not the cooked tortilla, Polly doesn't like any of it). We call this a success in our house.
6:00 - Philip puts a grouchy Lili back in her bed.
6:15 - Supper is over.
6:39 - Baby is up again and playing happily on her own. Sweet Pea and Tigger are back at the legos. Philip & Polly are playing a board game. I'm looking at the new library books Philip brought home.
6:45 - I do an impromptu sort of bunnies on a shelf in the girls' room. We decide on 3 to give away. Ten lucky bunnies remain on the shelf.
6:58 - I'm finishing loading the dishwasher. Sign of the times: all of the dishes do not fit. We almost need to run this silly thing twice a day now. While I'm working on this, Philip is changing the Baby and putting her into clean p.j's. For those of you keeping score: yes, Lili wore her pajamas all day. It was cold outside and we didn't have to go anywhere. Don't judge.
Polly takes out the trash and then Philip and Polly are going to get back to their game. I think I'll sit down.
7:02 - I change into my own pajamas while reading the first chapter of The Creative Habit, a library book Philip brought home.
7:45 - we finish a family game of Dixit. I win (again!). We send the girls to get their pajamas on while we start picking up toys.
7:54 - Family prayer time. Girls to bed for reading time.
8:30 - Girls turn out their light. Philip and I watch Parks and Recreation together.

Then I come here and finish up this blog post. The only thing left in my day is a little more web surfing and - if all goes as planned - and hour or two of reading. I ought to switch the laundry. Or pack some more. Or hand-wash some dishes. (Little hint: I am probably not going to do any of that.)

Looking back, it doesn't seem like much. I didn't go anywhere. Nothing dramatic happened. We didn't even have any major tantrums or melt-downs. I'm not sure where all my energy went but I can assure you: it went. I am done.

It all happens again tomorrow. And I type that with a smile on my face.

Words for Wednesday - On Happiness

2012-01-18T11:56:00.000-05:00

Happiness is as a butterfly which, when pursued, is always beyond our grasp, but which if you will sit down quietly, may alight on you. - Nathaniel Hawthorne

Picture: my sweet Polly way back in '08 at a local butterfly exhibit.

Top 10 Tuesday - Brit Lit Edition

2012-01-17T14:53:00.000-05:00

Not familiar with (or a fan of) British Literature? These are my top 10 recommendations to get you started or to pique your interest:

1. Pride and Prejudice. Jane Austen. Bet you knew this would be on this list! Seriously though, this is considered one of the best novels of all time for a reason.

2. Hard Times. Charles Dickens. Much shorter than many of his other works so you won't be overwhelmed by the sheer length of it. Pointed satire and memorable characters. Or, if you're feeling more ambitious:

3. David Copperfield. Charles Dickens. Semi-autobiographical and very well crafted.

4. Tales from Shakespeare. Charles and Mary Lamb. For your first taste of Shakespeare. This book is accessible enough for children. A great introduction before you tackle the actual plays.

5. North and South. Elizabeth Gaskell. Much easier to get through than Mary Barton and a more cohesive plot than Cranford (although I must admit to loving both N&S and Cranford very much).

6. A Room With A View. E.M. Forster. This is Forster at his best and most optimistic and though I also enjoyed Howard's End, I do not recommend the rest of his work.

7. The Woman in White. Wilkie Collins. One of the finest "sensation" novels. I just finished this recently and it completely held my attention.

8. Treasure Island. Robert Louis Stevenson. So fun. Would probably make a great read aloud, although I haven't actually tried it.

9. The Scarlet Pimpernel. Baroness Emma Orczy. We'll count this as Brit lit even though its author is of Hungarian descent. The hero is the quintessential British hero.

10. Whose Body? Dorothy Sayers. For introduction into the British mystery genre. Some folks might prefer Christie but give me Sayers any day of the week. (I think my favorite might be The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club but that is a bit later in her Peter Wimsey series.)

So, fellow Brit Lit fans - did I miss your favorite?
This post is linked to Top 10 Tuesday at The Broke and the Bookish and also at Oh Amanda.
The images in this post are Amazon Affiliate links. Action taken with these links could result in compensation for me. Opinions are my own.

Sunday Thoughts

2012-01-15T08:03:00.000-05:00

The commands found in Titus 2 have been given to us for an all-important reason that transcends time and culture. That reason is the gospel of Jesus Christ. – Carolyn Mahaney

Titus 2:1-5
But speak thou the things which become sound doctrine:
That the aged men be sober, grave, temperate, sound in faith, in charity, in patience.
The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things;
That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children,
To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.

I don't know about you, but it sure helps me to consider that my job is more than "just" loving my husband or children. The reason for doing this with excellence: so God's word is not blasphemed (reviled). I can (and I ought to) take that charge seriously.

Weekend Links - January 14, 2012

2012-01-14T09:18:00.002-05:00

1. This one has made the rounds on FB and other blogs: Don't Carpe Diem. To which I say: Amen. Some moments of parenting you just want to endure and get through. You do not want to remember them always. You just hope they pass as quickly as possible. And that's OK.

2. Crystal Paine is the well known force behind Money Saving Mom. She makes money blogging. She has many thousands of readers a day. Her success (including a book deal) is astounding. Recently Crystal wrote this: I Gave Up On Trying to Be Superwoman.

3. Anyone else using Spotify these days? We are. But all good things must come to an end: Spotify Unlimited Streaming Ends.

4. As a Mom to daughters this trend makes me really sad: The Death of Pretty. And this is why Philip and I have never really had a problem with the girls watching princess movies or dressing up in dress up clothes: we would much rather our daughters desire to be pretty than "hot". My husband does a wonderful job of admiring the "pretty" outfits our daughters come up with (and trust me, Sweet Pea is quite the dresser-upper). He gives them compliments and I see how much they mean to the girls. I'm declaring it right now: my girls are not a commodity and my husband and I will do all we can to preserve prettiness in their lives.

5. I'm not sure I agree with this or not but I suspect I will need to be reminding myself of this in the very near future: A Teen Who Talks Back May Have a Bright Future.

6. This is an interesting tutorial: How to Make Your Own Printables. I don't use Picnik but I'm going to get Philip to help me figure out how to do these in Photoshop. (I admit it: up until now I've been too intimidated to do much of anything in Photoshop!)

7. Have you seen the Philosotoddler? My favorite is the first one.

8. Karen Andreola wrote a post about Boys and Jane Austen. She also explains why Austen's novels are not just "chick lit" and the real value they have teaching morals.

9. I agree with Cindy at Ordo Amoris much of the time. Or maybe she agrees with me {wink} Anyway, she has the evidence to back her views up since several of her homeschooled students are grown now. I can't say that yet, although so far my philosophies are working out OK. I really enjoyed her recent post on Language Arts.

10. Brandy at Afterthoughts tackled a big subject this week. This is actually the follow-up post but I found a lot of food for thought here so I thought I would share it: Charlotte Mason, Total Depravity and the Divine Image.

11. I loved this little movie about a bookstore at night:

I wasn't very active on Pinterest this week but I did enjoy this tutorial on making Cool-Whip shapes:

Source: justhavingaball.blogspot.com via Karen (Candid Diversions) on Pinterest

So, what sort of things did you stumble on this week?
This post is linked to Saturday Stumbles at Simply Staci.

Another Scrapbook Page and A Ramble

2012-01-12T13:33:00.000-05:00

I am not in the mood to do much of anything today. It's a rainy, dreary day. Snow is supposedly on the way. Tomorrow is my uncle's funeral. School work was like pulling teeth this morning. (Keeping it real, here.) The Baby and Fen have fought nap time as if their lives depended on it. (Unfortunately for them, my peace of mind depends on them taking a nap, preferably a long one.)

I really want to get out my "real" scrapbook stuff and have a grand old scrapbooking time that includes my new Cricut cartridges I got for Christmas. (Philip gave me this one) But, since today is not really a great day for making a big mess, I made this digital page instead. My favorite things (other than the cute pictures of my daughters, of course) are those little flowers.

Those of you who are sharp of eye may notice that the "ribbon" is once again not going all the way to the edge, something I would never stand for in my "real" scrapbooking but it keeps happening with these digital pages. Whatever.

Anyway, school work is now finished. Supper is in the crock-pot. The girls have turned the living room into dollhouse town. I've just finished a scrapbook page in something like five minutes. I don't think I have to go anywhere today.

The day is looking up.

Words for Wednesday - On Leaving a Trail

2012-01-11T09:45:00.003-05:00

source

Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Top 10 Tuesday - Authors I Wish Would Write Another Book

2012-01-10T08:58:00.000-05:00

1. Jane Austen. Because six completed novels is not enough. The rest of her family was so long-lived, her forty-one years means we were all cheated.

2. Harper Lee. One perfect novel. Just one. I suspect Ms. Lee still writes. Maybe she burns her writings instead of letting anyone see it, but I have to believe she writes.

3. C.S. Lewis. Fiction or non-fiction, I'm not being particular here. (Although I do feel like I'm cheating a bit with this entry because I haven't actually read everything he wrote yet. I'm working on that.)

4. Kate Ross. She wrote four tightly crafted mystery novels before dying. I would have loved to know more about the characters and series she invented.

5. L. M. Montgomery. Because all those novels and short stories are just not enough.

6. J. R. R. Tolkien. Sure, they keep "discovering" new works. But those last few things are majorly depressing. I wish there was something more.

7. Charles Dickens. No, Dickens didn't used to be one of my favorite authors but as I completed my own personal Dickens challenge a few years ago (reading through all his novels), I grew to love some of them. I think Edwin Drood would have been either amazing or dumb and I really wish he'd been able to finish it.

8. Ally Condie - please finish the Matched series soon!

9. Jude Morgan - this author's historical fiction can be very Austen-esque. I'd love to read another.

10. Eric Metaxas - because his Wilberforce and Bonhoeffer biographies are A+.

Bonus mention: Mary Ann Shaffer, co-author of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. Her niece finished this, her aunt's first novel, for her but I suspect the real magic came from Ms. Shaffer and it's sad that there will never be another work from this lady.

So, who would make your list?
This post is linked to Top 10 Tuesday at The Broke and the Bookish.

Miscellany Monday

2012-01-09T18:11:00.000-05:00

1. We went to visit my critically ill uncle in a Hospice center today. Saying "goodbye" (even if it might not be the final goodbye) is hard. And I hate it. And that's all I'm going to say about that for now.

2. We didn't have our usual school day (see above for one reason why) and the girls and I ended up driving around town for an hour and a half waiting for Philip to finish teaching a class. This is one of the annoying things about being a one vehicle family = everyone goes or no one goes.

3. One perk of this afternoon: the girls and I treated ourselves to ice cream at Dairy Queen. It was unseasonably warm and we were getting somewhat unseasonably grouchy. Lili is hilarious with an ice cream cone. Problem solved: sweets to eat and funny baby antics to watch.

4. This is a pretty petty thing to be grouchy over, but you all will forgive me {I hope}: an amazing older house in our neighborhood went up for sale about a month ago. It. Is. A. Steal. I've had dreams about living in this house. (Four bedrooms! Finished attic! Three, yes three, full bathrooms! Oh.My.Word. I can't even type about it without sighing a little bit.) Leetle tiny problem: our house isn't sold yet. Or for sale yet. {Details, details.} And our realtor to-be informed us that someone else is -sob- closing on that house later this month. I hope they enjoy living in my dream house. {Bitter sigh here}

5. We have recovered from the stomach plague that, well, plagued us for most of last week. We are eating real meals again. And my amazing husband is fixing us Orange Chicken right now instead of our planned quick supper {French Toast} because I am sad and grouchy and he is wonderful and also because who wouldn't rather have Orange Chicken instead of boring old French Toast? (And don't say my girls would prefer the French Toast, because, yes, they would. But who asked them anyway? They prefer any meal where they get to slather something in syrup.)

6. And now, because I have been grouchy enough, I'm going to share a page I made yesterday with MyMemories software (in about 5 minutes, so forgive the quality):

I love that cutie. And now I'm going to go back and fix that "paper strip" at the top that doesn't go all the way to the edge. Ordinarily my perfectionist tendencies would prohibit me from sharing something like this before it was "perfect" but it's a New Year and perfectionism is on my "must go" list.

What's up in your world today?
I'm linking this post to Miscellany Monday at lowercase letters.

2012-01-08T07:51:00.000-05:00

The books or music in which we thought the beauty was located will betray us if we trust to them... These things are not the thing itself, they are only the scent of a flower we have not found the echo of a tune we have not heard, news from a country we have never yet visited. – C.S. Lewis

Revelation 21:22-27
And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it.
And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.
And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it.
And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there.
And they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into it.
And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life.

Weekend Links - January 7, 2012

2012-01-07T10:54:00.000-05:00

Wow, it was hard to write "2012" in the title up there. Of course, due to the plague upon our house this week, Philip and I have barely known what day it was, much less what year.

Anyway, we seem to be on the mend today, so on to some links. {fingers crossed}

1. I thought this was interesting among all the talk of 1% vs. 99%: 57 Members of Congress Among 1%. It doesn't particularly bother me, but I did think it was interesting.

2. Speaking of Interesting: Why Women Need Fat. I don't subscribe to any evolutionary theory, but I don't think you have to in order to see the sense in this article. Our modern ideas of food, body image, and weight are so messed up I don't even know how to begin to fix them. I do wish I could convince some young women that they are designed to be different from men. "Boyish figure" may be a body type but it isn't the only type.

3. I don't think it's any secret that I am not a fan of the "Twilight" series. This post: If Famous Writers Had Written Twilight caught my eye this week. (Bad language warning. I'm serious. Don't read this post if you are sensitive to that sort of thing. If I could go at this post with a little black sharpie pen, I would.)

4. For anyone who has ever wondered how I am able to read so much, this post might help: The Busy Mom's Guide to Finding Time to Read.

As for me, my answer is that I do not "find" time to read. Reading is at the top of my list, not somewhere down at the middle or bottom. I read before bed every single night. I read when my children are napping. I read while they're reading for school. I can read in the car without getting carsick. (I consider this one of my Super-Reader skills) I stay up too late reading sometimes. I watch almost no TV and very few movies because I much prefer a book. That's me. It doesn't have to be you. Reading is a skill like any other: the more you practice, the better you get. But just because reading is somewhere in my top 5 priorities, it doesn't mean it has to be in yours. Find out where reading belongs on your priority list and then make it happen. Because I can assure you: it belongs on there somewhere.

5. If you read just one of my links this week let it be this one: Broken. Traci's beautiful, heart-felt words about allowing Jesus to grow beauty in our broken places really spoke to my heart this week.

Pins of the week:
I love these little matchbox storage "books":

Source: dollarstorecrafts.com via Karen (Candid Diversions) on Pinterest

My mother-in-law and I both love buttons. (She recently made me a button bracelet that I really must photograph and show you!) I love this tip on how to use buttons on a hair tie without sewing (so you could theoretically re-use your favorite buttons):

Source: dreampatch.com.au via Karen (Candid Diversions) on Pinterest

And, speaking of buttons, I love this idea for button storage:

Source: flickr.com via Karen (Candid Diversions) on Pinterest

There are always wine racks at our local thrift store and I've never - since I'm the type of person who never drinks anything stronger than Coca-Cola - been tempted to buy one. But this is a super cute re-purpose.

So, have you stumbled on anything interesting this week? Do share!
This post is linked up with Saturday Stumbles at Simply Staci.

Books of 2011 - December

2012-01-05T16:07:00.000-05:00

I had ambitious plans for today but they (and I) have been laid low by a vicious stomach virus from, well, you can fill in the rest. Miss Lili and I both have it although the rest of our family has avoided it... so far. {ominous music}

So, instead of ambitious blogging, I'll just share my December reading list. I hope to have my "Books of the Year" wrap-up ready soon. Stay tuned...

1. The English Air. Fiction by D.E. Stevenson. A pre-WW2 story about an English family who has a young German relative come to visit. Which is an intriguing and somewhat unusually ambitious plot for Stevenson.

2.Definitely Not Mr. Darcy. Fiction by Karen Doornebos. One of the few "Austen related" books I checked out a month ago that I actually completed. Mostly. This didn't really hold my attention so well and I skimmed through parts. The heroine is a supposed Austen-ite American who competes on a British reality TV show. Hilarity ensues. Or not.

3.How the Heather Looks: A Joyous Journey to the British Sources of Children's Books Non-fiction by Joan Bodger. I loved this travel / book memoir very much. After finding out "the rest of the story" (thank you Google) when I finished the book, I am really happy that this family had this amazing experience in England. Divorce, death, and extreme mental illness destroyed this family in the years after their family vacation of a lifetime. Highly recommended for anyone who loves England or the Children's literature that has come out of England.

4.Death in the City of Light: The Serial Killer of Nazi-Occupied Paris Non-fiction by David King. "And now for something completely different!" This is a horrifying true story about Nazi occupied Paris. The crimes are horrific, never completely explained away, and a chilling reminder that the Nazis weren't the only evil ones around in 1943. This book is only for the strong of stomach.

5.From the Library of C. S. Lewis: Selections from Writers Who Influenced His Spiritual Journey. Non-fiction compiled by James Stuart Bell. Really, really good. I copied large sections of this into my commonplace book and read even more of them aloud to Philip. Excellent resource!

6.The Immigrant Advantage: What We Can Learn from Newcomers to America about Health, Happiness and Hope. Non-fiction by Claudia Kolker. I was actually supposed to do a longer review of this book, which I was sent for review purposes. My main difficulty with this book is that correlation does not prove causation, a difficulty the author glosses over more than once. As to the actual practices of the immigrant groups she spent time with, I do see that there are advantages. I had a more specific review planned and then forgot about it and now my brain is fuzzy. I'll have to review this book again soon.

7.London Under: The Secret History Beneath the Streets. Non-fiction by Peter Ackroyd. As Spock would say: "Fascinating." Next time Philip and I go to London we're going to have to find a guided tour for some of these things.

8.Art & Fear: Observations On the Perils (and Rewards) of Artmaking. Non-fiction by David Bayles & Ted Orland. Another one that I copied extensively into my commonplace book. You will probably hear more about this one in the future from me. (She hints mysteriously)

9.Murder Must Advertise (A Lord Peter Wimsey Mystery) Fiction by Dorothy Sayers. Series mystery and quite a nice one in the series, I think. Love the biting take on advertising and advertisers. Not much has changed.

10.Hangman's Holiday. Fiction by Dorothy Sayers. A collection of unrelated short stories, rather than one mystery.

11.Dancing with Mrs. Dalloway: Stories of the Inspiration Behind Great Works of Literature. Non-fiction by Celia Blue Johnson. "Stories behind the stories". I enjoy these types of books. This one is short and easily read, although there were several authors and stories I could have willingly gone on knowing nothing about.

12.A Jane Austen Education: How Six Novels Taught Me About Love, Friendship, and the Things That Really Matter Non-fiction by William Deresiewicz. This one intrigued me because very few men read Austen at all, much less all of her finished novels. There is some language in this book that I could have done without but that's my only complaint. It is, after all, more of a personal memoir than a book about Austen.

December totals:
Fiction: 4 (mostly mysteries and all set in England - I'm just that predictable)
Non-Fiction: 8

This post contains Amazon Affiliate links. Action taken with these links could result in compensation for me. Opinions are my own.

Words for Wednesday - On Being A Godly Woman

2012-01-04T12:00:00.000-05:00

Since we've been talking about resolutions and goal setting:

The goal "to be a godly woman" or "to walk with God" is honorable but hard to measure. It's far better to be specific. Answer the question, "What does a godly woman do?" and let your answer give you specific and measurable behaviors. - Elizabeth George

And, as a bonus, just in case you have a goal concerning learning to love better (and, really, I guess we all ought to):

Love must be learned, and learned again and again; there is no end to it. Hate needs no instruction, but waits only to be provoked. - Katherine Anne Porter

Top 10 Tuesday - Goals for 2012

2012-01-03T10:55:00.000-05:00

A new year has begun - ready or not. (I am in the "not" camp). I've never been a big one for making resolutions but I am a great believer in goal setting. Same difference, you say? Well, maybe. Resolutions tend to fade out before January comes to an end. Goals can change and be adapted.

Besides, real life tends to sneak up on resolutions. One January 1st I resolved to lose 20 pounds that year. The year: 2010. Yes, the year Miss Lili joined our family. We found out she was coming just a few weeks after I made my losing weight resolution. So much for that. Cross out "lose 20" and write in "gain 30 plus a perfect little bundle of pink and white sweetness". (And yes, I do believe that God has a sense of humor but I also believe He's laughing with us not at us and that makes a difference.)

Here are 10 areas where I have set some goals for 2012. I probably won't always share my specific goals with you, Dear Reader, because some things are between God, me, and my steno pad. You can fill in the blanks.

1. Spiritual Goals. Spiritual growth can't be taken haphazardly. You might make goals for how much of the Bible you want to read this year, setting aside a particular time to pray, or you might choose 12 passages to memorize this year (1 semi-lengthy passage a month is quite within reach). Side note: if one of your spiritual goals is to read through the Bible in 2012 my mom has a plan for that and you still have time to catch up!

2. Household Goals. This is the spot for all those cleaning, organizing, home improvement type goals.

3. Homeschool Goals. Obviously, if you are not a homeschool mom, you will not need this category. But I am. And I do. One of my goals in this area is to read to my Littles every day, because I have been lax in this recently. Their big sisters read to them but I haven't been as much as I would like. In a related goal, I want to choose a chapter book to read aloud to my big girls. We've let our family reading time slip away and it needs to come back.

4. Financial Goals. Budgets, spreadsheets, and statements, oh my. Philip and I have some Big Goals here. We want to sell our house this year. We want to buy another {bigger} house. This means spending some money on fixing up parts of our house (see also goal #2 above), saving up money for a down payment and other things like that. We have some business goals to help in these goals. Yes, we have goals for our goals. We're both firstborns, what can I say?

5. Literary Goals. This is the category I use for what (or how many) books I want to read and also for how many words I want to write. I've set a big goal for my ever percolating novel this year.

6. Health Goals. This is where you'd put in "lose 20 pounds" if you were so inclined. I'm not. But you could also have things like adjusting portion sizes, exercising more, or going to bed earlier.

7. Marriage Goals. I am not saying make your relationship stilted and regimented. I am saying, if you have four children like I do, you have to be deliberate in carving time for your spouse. This might mean setting aside a date night. Or it might not. This might not be the right season for that. Maybe you could read a devotional book together a few nights a week. The point is: marriages are work. So keep working.

8. Relationship Goals. Things like having friends over, staying in touch with long distance friends, or letting your extended family know you care about them.

9. Blog Goals. I've set goals for how many posts I'd like to get up in a week, some things I'd like to do with my CD Facebook page and some link parties I'd like to keep up with. (The grammar nerd in me longs to write that sentence "some link parties with which I'd like to keep up", but I resisted.)

10. Personal Goals. The catch all category (because, really, all of the above are personal goals). Things like crafts you might like to start or finish (or a Pinterest Challenge where you resolve to actually complete some of those things you've so optimistically pinned), a new hobby you might like to try (Gardening?) or an old hobby you need to return to. (This is one of mine: aiming for daily piano practice.)

So, what about you? Are you a Resolution Maker or Goal Setter? Or do you think I've neglected something important? Share in the comments!

This post is linked to Top 10 Tuesday at Oh Amanda.

Sunday Thoughts - Happy New Year!

2012-01-01T00:01:00.010-05:00

2 Corinthians 5:17 ESV
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

Another old year has passed away. The new has come. A fresh start, with no mistakes in it. Yet. (My apologies to Anne Shirley.)

Praying we make the most of the new opportunities we are granted and wishing you all the very best of New Years!

Words for Wednesday

2011-12-28T12:37:00.000-05:00

Truly it is an evil to be full of faults; but it is a still greater evil to be full of them and to be unwilling to recognize them, since that is to add the further fault of a voluntary illusion. - Blaise Pascal

So, as we face the end of one year and the start of a new, let's be honest about what we ought to recognize and deal with in our own selves.

I have a new blog series planned for the new year on goals and goal setting. More on this later.

And, since I'm in a confessing mood, I'll confess that I've fallen slightly short in one of my blog goals this year. I wanted to match my high year for posts (261) but it looks like I'm going to be about eight or nine short. Oh, well. If I were at home right now I'd have plenty to share with you but I am "out of pocket" so my computer time is limited. Maybe next year...

Sunday Thoughts

2011-12-25T07:34:00.001-05:00

Now, a happy Christmas to you all and it will be a happy Christmas if you have God with you! I shall say nothing, today, against festivities on this great birthday of Christ. I hold that, perhaps, it is not right to have the birthday celebrated, but we will never be among those who think it as much a duty to celebrate it the wrong way as others the right!
But we will, tomorrow, think of Christ’s birthday. We shall be obliged to do it, I am sure, however sturdily we may hold to our rough Puritanism. And so, “let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.” Do not feast as if you wished to keep the festival of Bacchus!
Do not live, tomorrow, as if you adored some heathen divinity. Feast, Christians, feast! You have a right to feast.
Go to the house of feasting tomorrow! Celebrate your Savior’s birth. Do not be ashamed to be glad—you have a right to be happy. Solomon says, “Go your way, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a merry heart; for God now accepts your works. Let your garments be always white and let your head lack no ointment.”—
“Religion never was designed
To make our pleasures less.”
Remember that your Master ate butter and honey. Go your way, rejoice tomorrow, but, in your feasting, think of the Man in Bethlehem—let Him have a place in your hearts, give Him the glory, think of the virgin who conceived Him—but think, most of all, of the Man born, the Child given! I finish by again saying— “A HAPPY CHRISTMAS TO YOU ALL!” - Charles H. Spurgeon (You can read the entire sermon here.)

My family wishes you the very merriest of Christmases this Lord's Day!

Weekend Links - December 24, 2011

2011-12-24T08:40:00.003-05:00

It's Christmas Eve - are we excited yet?!

1. Loved this post - How To Protest: A Guide for Occupiers. The best line in the essay is the last:

There are many ways to protest, but the best protests of all begin with wisdom, responsibility, a posture of humility, and a clear purpose.

2. I had never heard of The Mundaneum before this week. I wonder what happened to all those index cards?

3. I love inspiring stories like this one: 21 Year Old Emerges from Coma. We still know so little about the human body.

4. Wonder what Amazon.com looked like when it was launched? Wonder no more: World's Biggest Websites at Launch.

5. Thoughts about Christmas. Brandy's post contains several interesting links about Christmas origins (although I am, of course, not saying I agree with everything in any of these essays) and here are two more: Is Christmas Pagan? and The Pagan Origins of Christmas? Lots of "ponderables", just in case you have time for reading this Christmas.

Pins of the week:
I bought everything I need to make these necklaces (and my two oldest have requested that I make them each one as well):

Source: mytwobutterflies.blogspot.com via Karen (Candid Diversions) on Pinterest

I'm definitely doing a Pride and Prejudice one and I'm trying to decide between a few vintage Anne book covers. I'll share pictures once I get around (ahem) to making them.

I've been picking up vintage bulbs at thrift stores and yard sales. I may have to make a wreath like this for next year:

Source: thompsonfamily.typepad.com via Karen (Candid Diversions) on Pinterest

From the "random images sparks a trip down memory lane" edition of Karen's brain:

Source: 6dollarshirts.com via Karen (Candid Diversions) on Pinterest

My sister and I used to collect Kool-Aid points. We got a pitcher, some plastic mugs, and two bright red "fanny packs". Please try to contain your jealousy. One of the perks of being a preacher's kid was the refreshment ladies saving the Kool-Aid points off the huge containers of Kool-Aid consumed in our VBS.

Ah, good times, friends. Good times.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a fabulous weekend. (And a good night, too.)
This post is linked to Saturday Stumbles at Simply Staci. Go on over there and see her last minute Christmas links.