Tuesday, December 15, 2009 - Latest baby updates on facebook...
Posted By Amy Verlennich
Just to let you know... I will be giving the latest updates on our new facebook group... so feel free to join and hear the latest on when the newest addition (who WAS due the 13th) will FINALLY decide to enter the world! :)
Sunday, December 13, 2009 - Post from the Past: free SHMILY time ideas
Posted By Amy Verlennich
Post made December 8th, 2008
Some of you have written asking for some ideas at little or no cost for The 12 Days of Christmas. I understand COMPLETELY what it's like to be "strapped for cash", especially this time of year as gift giving is in full swing.
Here are some FREE ideas for you to love on your hubby...
Massages are a great gift to give! You could even make a coupon to give to him in the morning (so he would be looking forward to it all day) or mail it to him at work. To take it a step further, you could even make this a gift for the entire 12 days, picking a different body part to focus on each night (uh... I don't have to tell you what to save for last right?) A good massage is at least 30 minutes. Sometimes it may seem longer to you than it really is, so be sure to look at the clock by your bed before you begin so you don't cut your sweet husband short!
Breakfast in bed with a smile (and nothing else but a smile).
Making coffee every morning and greeting your hubby with a cheerful "good morning". How we start our husband's mornings have a HUGE effect on the rest of their day, as well as how eager they are to come back. (I know that I wouldn't want to come home to me some days!) Make it your goal to be cheerful each day for the 12 days. Start his morning with a happy wife. If you work outside of the home and leave before him, then having the coffee pot with coffee and a sweet note would be a thought too.
Pray for him each day. You could use The Power of a Praying Wife for this as well. Whatever you choose, and regardless if your husband prays with you or not, get out of bed each day with your knees hitting the floor before your feet do. Pray for the man God has blessed you with. Thank Him for your husband. Even if you're struggling in your marriage, ask God to give you the strength to get through the 12 days with love and compassion and to renew your marriage. You might be surprised what happens when he finds out that you're praying for him every day. Cover your husband in prayer each day... it may seem crazy, but YOU will become a better woman for it.
Hmmm... this next one... well, it's REALLY simple and may get one of the biggest reactions from your sweetie... but if you can't afford to get some "blessings" to wear... you can always do what God intended from the beginning! That's right... NO panties. Be sure to whisper it in his ear at the grocery store, church, or before he leaves for work.
One of my personal favorites (and my Beloved's)... Clean Lovin'.
Take a marker and write SHMILY somewhere on your body for him to search for.
Ice cream in bed together naked... one spoon. For the ice cream lover, you could get the pints of ice cream and have ice cream in bed every night. Don't worry about the diet... this is only 12 days... get fat on each other's love!
Some "Christmas socks" you wear... and that's it!
12 pair of sexy panties... one for each day.
Mistletoe (need I say more?) You could used this throughout the 12 days as well by having it show up in various places in the house... or various times... and it could mean more than just kissing. Write up a note and let your hubby know... you may want to even make it a "treasure hunt" by hiding it in various (obvious) places... and then follow through when he finds it!
Three bows (or other wrapping ribbons for all over your body and hair) and place strategically on your body for him to "unwrap".
Remember, the whole idea here is to do what HE would like you to do. Some men may like to take walks. Some may like to stay home and watch TV. You may bless your hubby with a coupon that says he can watch his favorite sports team uninnterupted, or it may be by letting him read a book. Find out what it is that HE would appreciate... and then do it!
I was going through the photos on my camera card today and I found some pictures of sage rats from our property in Oregon. Of course my rat in my avatar and in my header doesn't look anything like these guys, but you don't find too many cartoon sage rats on the internet.
I kind of miss these little guys! We had enabled a large colony of them by feeding them scrap veggies that we threw out into our compost pile. Not a lot of it ever turned into compost, at least, not there in the pile itself. The sage rats were so cute as they nibbled and scurried about.
My favorite picture. Look at those cute little cheeks!
Of course, this one looks like me.
Wisps of grass are in the way, but I think he's smiling!
This would be Bluejane.
This one was feeling a bit more brave.
Here's Kekoa.
Stand tall and proud little guy!
Finally Eyebright!
Now that I have my posts written about Josefina I can start thinking about Kirsten! We won't start meeting again for American Girl until January. But, I am determined to have everything planned out and prepped before we start this time!
1. Swedish Meatballs
2. Swedish Crackers with Lingonberry Jam
3. Swedish Rice Porridge (Skansk Grot)
4. Rye Bread and homemade butter. (Have girls make the butter in a jar.)
5. Potato Soup
6. Pepparkakor Cookies
Whew, so there is the plan! Now for the shopping and cutting and prepping. Then I am ready to go!
Dec. 10, 2009 - American Girl Club Josefina Weeks 4, 5 and 6
Posted By jaminacema
The hard part about trying to post about the last 3 weeks of Josefina 6 weeks after we finished the study is I CAN'T REMEMBER what we did! LOL I have been SO busy with unpacking, homeschooling, Thanksgiving and Christmas I just keep putting off posting about the end of Josefina. So I finally went back and flipped through the pictures I took and this is what it looks like we did the last 3 weeks of club! I am not going to try to put it all in order. It's all just too blurry!
There was one activity we did that I know the girls really liked. I think it's in book 4 where they take the blankets they have woven to the market and sell them. I wanted the girls to get an idea what it was like to have to trade on the barter system. So I brought a bunch off odd things to represent other things and had them trade. We broke the girls up into 4 groups. One group had paper cups that represented sheep. One group had paper napkins that represented blankets. One group had a mix of things. Mirrors, jewelry, crafts. (Whatever I had in my craft cupboard!) and the last group had money. The girls had to go around and trade with each other and try to get a good "deal". They had to decide how many blankets a sheep was worth and how many craft items were worth a blanket. Etc. The object was to end up with something from each group. After the finished we talked about their experience. Was it easier for the group that had money? (I had gotten some BIG coins at the dollar store designed to be hung on a schoolroom wall.) How did they decide the value of the different items? It was interesting to see their thoughts and hear their ideas.
The crafts we did for the last 3 weeks of Josefina were:
coiled pots, whisk brooms and memory books We also made geography notebooks and weavings.
Coiled Pot These are made with air dry clay. Super simple. Just make coils and roll them into a pot! These were lots of fun. I also provided glass beads for the girls to decorate their pots with.
Whisk Broom For this craft I cut up the larger brooms I got at the dollar store to make the smaller ones! LOL Our finished brooms were the type of brooms (right side) that Josefina would have used not only to sweep the floor but to comb her hair too! The girls had fun combing each others hair when they finished these.
Memory Book In one of the books when Josefina's aunt comes to visit she tells them about the memory book she keeps to help her remember their mama who died a year earlier. To make our book we used brown craft paper for the cover. The girls colored a picture on it and then we crumpled them up to make them look old. We folded over white paper for the inside and held it all together with yarn.
Here are the girls coloring their memory books.
The Geography Notebooks are something we did the same night we made the brooms. Since the brooms took about 2 minutes to make we had extra time. So I printed out a map to mark where Josefina lived and then some worksheets about New Mexico. We will add pages for each of the girls as we study them.
Weaving was an ongoing project we worked on a little every night. Not only did the girls work on their cardboard weavings, but I also had a small lap loom for them to try out.
My daughter giving the lap loom a try.
The lap loom was a hit!
The girls had a lot of fun with the cardboard weavings too.
My daughters finished project now hangs proudly in our new schoolroom!
So that is what I remember about Josefina! LOL I have learned my lesson for sure, I have to blog as I go! If only there was more time in the day!
To play you pass the top around the circle, each person taking a turn spinning it. When it is your turn to spin you get to pick up the word that the top stops on. The object to to get all 4 words...CALL HIS NAME IMMANUEL. I printed out the Bible verse to remind them that Immanuel means "God with us." The first person to get all 4 words yells out GOD WITH US!
We have 40 kids signed up for the party. So we will have them in 4 groups of 10. They will travel through 4 stations. At two stations they will make ornaments and at two they will play a game.
We are looking forward to it! This is a fun way to remember that "Jesus is the reason for the season!"
Friday we are having a Happy Birthday Jesus party with our homeschool group. The kids will be making 2 Christmas ornaments at the party. Here are the samples that my kiddos and I made yesterday.
Candy Cane Ornament Here is what is written on the Candy Cane one.
The Candy Cane
“J” is for Jesus the one and only son of God whose birth we celebrate at Christmas.He came as an act of love to save us from our sins.
The white base color of the candy cane reminds us that he was pure and completely without sin.
The red stripes remind us of the blood He shed to save us from our sins.
The candy is bent into a cane to remind us that Jesus is the Good Shepherd. Turn it over and it becomes a "J" for Jesus!
A simple piece of candy, yet it is so much more.A reminder of our Lord and Saviour!
These are both super simple and super inexpensive to make. The angels cost about $6.00 to make 40 and the candy cane ones cost about $10.00 to make 40. Not bad, huh?
Well after a little over 8 weeks in the new house we are pretty much unpacked. The downstairs is done and we are living in every inch of it! So I thought I would share with you our latest and greatest schoolroom!
This is the main sitting area in the schoolroom. I look forward to many hours of couch time here with my littles reading our Sonlight!
This is my favorite new addition to the schoolroom. I LOVE this painting which I wanted to buy 2 years ago for our other house but I didn't have room for it. A friend had bought it 2 years ago but no longer had room for it so I managed to talk her out of it. :^) On the shelf below the picture are souvenirs from our travels all over the USA. We have had a lot of fun putting it together and look forward to adding a lot more trinkets in the future.
Here is our wall of beloved books and our school table.
The big open space in the middle of the room is my favorite space! Lots of room to get down on the floor and work on things. A true blessing!
And if we need even more space we can spread into the entry way too. The whole space is 18' X 18'. It is wonderful! I still can't believe it is ours!
While I am showing the schoolroom I might as well show you the rest of the downstairs too. This is the family room.
And the family room from the other direction.
This is the dining area and the kitchen. (Laundry room and pantry is off the kitchen through the door by the fridge. The hall leads back to the schoolroom.)
As you can see we have all our treasures unpacked and on display. I guess you can tell I LOVE STUFF! LOL (Except moving it! YIKES! That is a job!)
You can see pictures of our last 2 schoolrooms HERE.
Sunday, December 6, 2009 - Maintaining excitement throughout THE 12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS
Posted By Amy Verlennich
I've received a few great questions from some women over the past few days and wanted to share them with all of you participating in THE 12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS... SHMILY STYLE. I think that it will not only help you to know that you're not alone in some of your feelings and struggles, but to also be encouraged, so stop back over the next few days to see some of the questions women have been asking, as well as some ideas to help you get through THE 12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS!
QUESTION: "Amy, how do you maintain excitement for 12 days of Christmas Shmily time? I tried it last year and frankly it was hard! Hubby was feeling special but honestly I just wanted to be left alone and sleep. Help me get mentally straightened out to try again!" - Jessica
I have to be honest... I struggle EVERY year with this whole thing, to some extent. Now, don't get me wrong, it's so much better than it used to be BEFORE I started the "12 days of Christmas" with my hubby... but that doesn't mean it doesn't go off without some trials, and I honestly believe that the more women that I tell about the 12 days of Christmas in order to bless their marriages... well, do you think that satan is just gonna sit back and watch my marriage flourish? Absolutely not!
It's not always easy to "maintain excitement" for 12 consecutive days, and some years are certainly harder than others! As much as I'm trying to be positive about this year... I have to admit, I've been in a slump with our move to a place where know virtually no one to plant a church with my Beloved. We have had our ups and downs, and since we are VERY passionate people... our ups tend to be "sky high" while our downs are... well, they're down right ugly. Now, take all that, add in homeschooling, kids away from friends, financial stresses and... a baby due soon... well, that just sounds like the makings for a disaster doesn't it? tee hee...
I honestly hesitated this year when I realized when THE 12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS was going to be and when the baby was due... I am literally due the day before I normally start this whole thing (which is my hubby's birthday) and so not only did I realize I was going to have the "normal" struggles of prior years... but having a baby at some point before the 12 days is up certainly means I'm gonna need to get a LITTLE... uh... creative... Not only will hormones be in full swing... but I will have a new little one "sucking the life out of me" (I nurse my babies) and that can be draining as well.
But the more I thought about "canceling" the whole thing... the more I knew I needed to do it... not just for my sweet Beloved... but because I needed to look forward to it as well. I needed to remind myself of all those reasons I fell in love with my husband... and the many more that I've fallen in love with since then.
I think we all know that by doing this... we certainly are blessing our husbands and our marriages... but I realized how I've really taken the whole thing for granted by thinking that I'm doing my husband some great big favor... when, in reality... I am equally blessed by these very special 12 days each year. By focusing on the good things about my husband, I "fall in love" all over again with the man I married... but there is still more...
I GET to serve my husband more intentionally then I normally do. Sure, I wash his clothes, make meals for him (although I don't know if he'd say that's a blessing or not considering the cook HE is), make sure his closet is full of clothing that fits and shoes to wear... but I can so easily fall into the routine of being his wife, that I forget the privilege of being so much more... a servant who acts out of love, expecting nothing in return... THE 12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS makes me focus on my husband's wants, needs, and desires more than ever before and I find myself truly loving making him smile. It's no longer about what he's done for me... what I might get in return... or why he isn't do this or that... my focus is not on ME... and honestly women, that's right where God wants me as a wife all the time.
So, while I know 12 days IS hard to keep the excitement alive... I want to challenge you to really focus on your husband and not yourself... push yourself to go a little further when you feel like throwing in the towel... go the distance because in the end... it will not only be your husband that will be blessed... but you as well.
FYI: I made a booklet to encourage your husband for 30 weeks... in it there are a few things that might help you to stay focused on your hubby as you prepare for the 12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS... and to help you stay that way throughout. You can find the booklet by clicking the following link: 30-week Husband Encouragement Challenge.
The Pride and Prejudice type: Truly an Austenite,
this type is a Romantic at heart, but they
always keep their head and are wary of
melodrama. Lively, clever, and independent.
These people are easily amused by their own
foibles and the quirkly foibles of others.
They lament society today, and dream of the
time when guys were gentlemen and girls were
ladies.
These are made with air dry clay. Super simple. Just make coils and roll them into a pot! These were lots of fun. I also provided glass beads for the girls to decorate their pots with.
For this craft I cut up the larger brooms I got at the dollar store to make the smaller ones! LOL Our finished brooms were the type of brooms (right side) that Josefina would have used not only to sweep the floor but to comb her hair too! The girls had fun combing each others hair when they finished these.
In one of the books when Josefina's aunt comes to visit she tells them about the memory book she keeps to help her remember their mama who died a year earlier. To make our book we used brown craft paper for the cover. The girls colored a picture on it and then we crumpled them up to make them look old. We folded over white paper for the inside and held it all together with yarn.
Since the brooms took about 2 minutes to make we had extra time. So I printed out a map to mark where Josefina lived and then some worksheets about New Mexico. We will add pages for each of the girls as we study them.
I made custom cards here: 
This one I printed out here: 
The directions to make the angel above are here:
Here is what is written on the Candy Cane one. 
