I posted a few days ago that one of my "Friends" had shared an entry on marriage and wanted to add these two entries for your consideration as well:

More on Marriage            And a Little Bit More

We all strive to grow in every area of our lives, and sometimes it is hard to choose where to place one's focus.  But, as these women have shared, putting your time into the heart of your home is very rewarding and in ways you might not expect. 

Now, how about a great free birdfeeing resource?  Nature Notes From Above (always a great blog for easy nature studies) shared this:

Homeschoooler's Guide to Project Feeder Watch

Oh, please be sure to check out Nature Note's instructions for building your own fruit bowl birdfeeder too!  The finished product is just beautiful and it looks so easy to make.  Though I will confess, there won't be any PB suet in ours if we make it- that allergy hasn't left us just yet. 

Speaking of feeding the birds and allergies.  DH and I had continued to eat wheat based products, even with our son was allergic.  I never used wheat flour in the house because I didn't want the dust in the air to trigger a reaction, but we purchased breads and other items.  And I always felt just a little bad when a loaf of bread would mold and I couldn't throw it out for the birds (wouldn't be safe for DS to play in the yard if I did). 

So, now he is no longer allergic to wheat and I am making fresh bread in our breadmaker very regularly.  Of course, breadmaker bread goes stale fast so I always have a few pieces that I can now throw out to the birds!  We have all kinds of birdies visiting our back deck to see what I've left for them each day- including one greedy Blue Jay who flew off with an entire piece in his beak this morning!

We've had birdfeeders before and my mother maintains several so the kids get to see a wonderful variety of birds throughout the year. (My mom is "Mother Nature" LOL!)  But it's just nice to be able to do such a simple thing as to open the back door and share our blessings with the birds. 

I almost forgot, His Mercy is New has spread the word that there is a contest to win free Usborne books going on!  Check it out.  The contest ends on January 31st so hurry!