December 8, 2007 - Free Christmas Ebook!

Just dropping in to say that I have a free ebook out on my site. Spread the news and come download your copy here:

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September 17, 2007 - It is time....

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August 29, 2007 - Midweek Update

Today was one of those days…. you know, one of the ones that you look around and you wonder to yourself - how on earth am I supposed to do all of this? “All of this” meaning, be a keeper of the home (and a joyful one at that!), homeschool and fit in some time for sewing! 

Needless to say, no sewing got done today. A reasonable amount of schoolwork was done, and a small amount of housework. Dinner was cooked as per plan in Monday Meanderings, enough for tomorrow night as well. So I guess I did achieve something today…..

But, you know how it is. I still didn’t feel like I got enough done! For now I need to remember what my grandmother used to say:

“Tomorrow is another day…”

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August 26, 2007 - One more thank you

to Tiany and all the sponsors of the Homeschool Open House 2007! It was so much fun! I haven’t quite made it to everyone’s house yet, so I am glad that Tiany is keeping the links up permanently. Every now and then I will grab a cuppa, have a break and visit someone else’s home….

I was one of the first 100 on the list, so I got to sign up for 3 free issues of the Homeschooling Today Magazine! I hope they will be able to send it to Australia because I would love to see a *real* homeschooling magazine, LOL! It will probably tempt me to get a subscription… So, thank you to Homeschooling Today Magazine for being so generous to us!

Also a big thank you to Crystal from Biblical Womanhood for donating her latest ebook to ALL of us who participated! I’ve had a quick look through it and it looks fantastic. Thanks Crystal!

Don’t forget my ebook with simple notebooking pages for use in your homeschool. It is free to EVERYONE, not just those who participated in the Open House, so tell your friends

Go HERE to download it!

Tiany is going to have a Christmas Open House later on this year, so make sure you check back at her site from time to time. I’m sure it is going to be great fun!

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August 24, 2007 - Frugal Friday - Using Up Old Jeans

Hosted by Biblical Womanhood

I got two pairs of old jeans given to me by a friend. I had thought of making them into jeans skirts, but I decided that a mat for the kitchen was more urgent… so, I started cutting….It went from this:

To this:

To this:

What I did, was basically cut as many 6″ squares from the old jeans as I could. I was able to cut higher on the front of the jeans than on the backs because of the pockets. (AFTER I threw the scraps away I found a good idea for using jeans pockets…. bother!) Then I got some fabric that I had bought a while ago for a little over a dollar per meter and which I have a LOT of, and cut 6″ squares of that as well. I cut 5″ square of batting (again, cut your batting into squares or rectangles as you go, then you have a pile when you need them), and got a nice little pile:

I then sandwiched the layers together and quilted the blocks with a simple line of stitches from corner to corner. One day I will do a tutorial on this so it is a bit clearer. It is a great beginners project. I sewed all the squares together leaving the raw edges out, snipped the raw edges and put it through the wash. You can see how nicely the raw edges have frayed in the picture of it hanging out on the line.

Now it is in its rightful spot under the sink, catching spills and keeping our feet warm! All from a few scraps of jeans and fabric…

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August 20, 2007 - Monday Meanderings

I am joining in on Tiany's Monday Meanderings. See my main blog for this week's plans:

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August 18, 2007 - A Peek at My Week 18 August 2007

We had a lovely, busy week…. Here’s a little peek:

 

~*~ I had school all planned out for two weeks, a fortnight ago. It turned out to be such a blessing as both these past weeks have been so busy. While I tried to keep on top of things in the house, the children worked at their own pace, ticking off their work as they finished. When we needed to do things together, we sat on the couch and did them. Ooops, we forgot to do Latin….! Well, we did practice our vocabulary all week. We now say “oremus” (“let us pray”) before every meal :)

 

~*~ Early on in the week I went to my neighbor’s house to have a cup of tea. She showed me a lot of sewing she had been doing for her next grandbaby who is due soon. There were gorgeous little outfits, singlets, t-shirts, booties, etc, etc! Another neighbor was there too and we decided we really should get together one evening a week and just keep each other company while we do our craft/sewing. They both want to learn how to quilt, so I offered to teach them. I would really enjoy that. It is also a chance for me to reach out to the neighborhood, so I am looking forward to that.

 

~*~  We made friends with another homeschooling family, with five children, this week! They live in the country about a 40 min drive from us. We enjoyed the drive to their place and the scenery. Along the way I pointed out the various types of trees we passed. I asked the children if they knew the names, and soon they were picking out certain types. We talked about deciduous and evergreen trees…. So we had a bit of school along the way! LOL! We saw sheep and lambs…. And the yellow blooms of Wattle Trees… so Spring must be on its way.

 

We had a lovely afternoon with our new friends. We saw their veggie garden, chickens and school room that was in a lined outdoor shed. Their eldest children were the same age as ours, and after a while of initial shyness, they all made friends, so much so that by the end of the afternoon they didn’t want to leave!

 

 I was struck by the simplicity in which this family lived. They had a modest home of three bedrooms, small living areas and a large block of land. There was hardly any clutter around, and from what I gathered they are pretty structured in their lifestyle, unlike us! There were some beautiful braided rugs on the floor that made the house look so cozy :) It renewed my resolved to try my hand at a braided rug one day. It was made from clothes that they had grown out of. So,… I must add that to my list of to do’s!!

 

~*~ We were blessed to be able to go and see the Watoto Children’s Choir this week! Robyn was one of the organizers, and we were allowed to go to the lunchtime concert especially for the schools. As the children came out of the buses in rows and the teachers were counting them all, I was pleased that I only had my three to count and keep track of!! We joked that they had to walk in a single line too….

 

We really enjoyed the concert. The children sang beautifully and were such a testimony of what God was doing in their lives. Their gorgeous smiles and the joy that radiated from their faces really touched my heart.

 

It was the first concert our children had been to, and they weren’t sure what to think at first! It was quite loud and very full, so they looked a bit uncomfortable to start with. But soon everyone started to clap and dance along to the music and they got into it a bit more. They agreed afterwards that they really liked it and were glad we had been able to go.

 

~*~ It was one of those weeks when the vacuum cleaner came out of the cupboard and stayed out…. In other words, I never quite got the whole house vacuumed! I did clean and rearrange the school/sewing room so that it was a bit more user friendly, and I actually also managed to do some sewing! I made a little rag rug for my kitchen floor, which I will share about next Friday since I made part of it out of old jeans :)

 

~*~ Oh yes, I also brought about 16 shopping bags of clothes/books/household bits and pieces to the thrift shop! It is great to have that pile out of the guest room (now I can start making another pile!). I really want to keep working on decluttering my home and trying to make do with less. I’m sure that one day when we are able to buy our own home, we will have a smaller one than we are now renting.

 

So that was my week at a glance :)

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August 17, 2007 - Free Ebook!!!

When Tiany started hosting the Homeschool Open House 2007 , I was so excited to see how many people were giving away freebies to bless other homeschoolers. I wanted in on this too :) I have started on many ebooks, but not finished any. This Open House really pushed me to actually make a simple ebook and finish it! Thanks Tiany for the motivation!

You can go HERE to download the ebook.

Thanks again to Tiany and all those who participated in the Open House. I have been really blessed by the ones I have read so far (still working on that list!). Can't wait till next year's! LOL!

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August 10, 2007 - Frugal Friday - Making "Free" Quilts

I've entered the Frugal Friday thingo from Biblical Womanhood.com for the first time! Check out my post and the link to Crystal's website here:

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August 7, 2007 - Kitchen Training Day

Yesterday we had a great day together. School flowed just nicely, and we all did some work in the kitchen.

We had been given a huge jar of chocolate mousse mix a while ago, and I decided to ask Daniel to work out how to make it. He looked at the instructions on the back and managed to make a HUGE batch of it! LOL! That's what I get for letting him make it independently :) Still, it was good because we have enough for a few days of desserts and gave a few servings away too! The kids all decided it was absolutely yummy!

Elizabeth made sugar cookies. She is getting quite good at that. She does it all except put them in and out of the oven. She also taught Matthew how to make Hot Chocolate Mix. Matt's been asking when he gets to be in charge of a recipe, so I thought this was a good one to start him with. He has to learn to measure, mix and sift ingredients. No chopping or cooking involved :) He decided it was really hard work! LOL! Wait till he learns a harder recipe!

The boys have been unloading the dishwasher for years now, as on of their daily morning chores. Yesterday I started teaching Elizabeth to load it. I rinsed and showed her where to put the dishes. She was pleased that she was helping me out in the kitchen.

Our children often like to help us out, especially the younger ones. When they get older they might be less willing to help out. Little ones love to follow us around and copy us. We need to take advantage of this eagerness! I know I haven't taken advantage of it enough in the past. Often it was just much quicker for me to do something than to train one of my children. And yet now I can see the training is paying off as the children are able to do more and more things on their own. I want to build on that training slowly, because I know there are way more things they can do to help around the house. 

I don't just want to train them for my sake, but also for their own. It is part of their education. They need to have practical skills as well as academic ones. 

I'd love to hear about how you train your children in your home. If you have any blog entries or articles you have written, please leave a comment and a link to them. I'd love to read them and I'm sure others would too :)

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August 5, 2007 - Tag - I'm it :)

Mama Duke has tagged me, and I am finally getting around to it...!!!

Rules:  8 random facts or habits about me.

1. I have lived in 7 countries.
2. I would love to live in a country that has snow at Christmas time - and lots of it!!!
3. When I eat M&M's I have to eat two at a time and they must be the same color
4. I read The Chronicles of Narnia and the Little House on the Prairie books right through once a year.
5. I love cats.
6. My ancestors were Protestants who fled from persecution in France, to Holland,  in the 1500's.
7. My favorite color is blue.
8. When I went to High School I ate the same thing everyday for lunch: two slices of bread with cheese spread (I was skinny then, maybe I should do this again!!).

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August 5, 2007 - Of Songs and Church and Re-entry....

We went to church this morning. We've been to church three times since we got back, ... which means that we've been to church three times in the past 3 years! Not very good attendance, I'm afraid! Seriously though, we are looking for a church now that we're back from the Middle East and want to take our time. We won't ever find a "perfect" church, because there isn't one! But we need to find one where we can fit it as a family.

There are a few funny things about church after not having gone for so long. First of all you don't know any of the songs. Except for the one during the children's talk which is "Jesus Loves the Little Children"....and which your eldest son is too embarrassed to sing because it is a little kids one :) (yes, he's at that age...!) Then it is all the "rituals" which were once so familiar and normal, and you now look at with different eyes. At the last church service our youngest son wanted to know what the bags were for that they were passing around :) Uh oh, we're bringing our kids up as heathens! Thankfully we will get back into the swing of things and get to know people and the customs again. It is almost like adapting to a different culture.

When we were overseas we adapted to the culture there as much as we could. We were patient with things that we thought were silly. We were willing to learn. When we come back to our own culture, we often think it will be easy, we'll just slot back in. But no... things have changed while we were gone. Someone is sitting in our spot at church! Not just that, but they have changed the seating arrangement. The songs are new! The worship is done differently! Why are they reading out the prayers instead of just praying ad lib? I can't find the toilet anymore!! How easy it would be to criticize. 

We need to treat our re-entry into our home country with as much patience as we treated our adaptation into the new culture we just came from. After a while we will no longer look confused when we walk into a shop and see the huge variety of choices. After a while we will no longer look confused at church when we sing and partake of the Lord's Supper (do we eat and drink together, do we wait...?). After a while we will no longer look at the money and wonder what the 20 coin looks like. After a while we will learn the songs. After a while we will make new friends. After a while we might even dress like everyone else :) And then the culture that we adopted over the past years will slowly fade away.....

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August 3, 2007 - I'm so excited!!!

Tiany's Homeschool Open House is going sooooo well! She has more than 100 people participating! I don't know about you, but I've been looking at lots of blogs and leaving as many comments as I can! This is so much fun!

I just love to hear about how other homeschoolers plan their year. I love to pick up ideas from them. That is the best part of this Open House. Just at a click of my mouse, I can have a peek into over 100 homeschools and see what God is doing in their lives. I've already picked up quite a few ideas that I want to try. I keep telling myself to write down where I got the ideas from, but of course I've looked at so many blogs the past few days that I have forgotten! Oops!

I've also had confirmation of what we are doing.... that we are not the only ones with our particular style of learning! It is always nice to know that you are not alone in this world! LOL!

Thanks to all of you who have visited my blog in the last couple of days, I'm so glad you were able to drop in! Thanks to all of you who left comments. If you asked questions, I answered in the comments section. And thanks again to Tiany for hosting this wonderful event!!! Oh - and if you haven't joined in yet, you still can!!! The Homeschool Open House is still on till the 15th!

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August 1, 2007 - Homeschool Open House 2007

Tiany, over at Less of Me ~ More Of Him, is hosting a Homeschool Open House! It sounded like so much fun, I just had to join in :) I can't wait to read what others are doing in their homeschool because I know that I will learn something from them.

READ MORE HERE

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July 31, 2007 - Count Your Blessings Monday

Hosted by Down on the Farm

 On Saturday night my dh and I went to his 20th School Reunion! It is amazing to think that 20 years have gone by since he graduated from High School! Of course I didn't know him back then and I was very interested to see all the people that he had gone to school with. I had seen photos and heard many stories of his exploits at boarding school :)

We went for a tour of the boarding house and the school. It is an old school, est. 1807, and we all spent a bit of time in the archive room looking at photos, etc. There was a mini museum with items like medals that were donated, and also a couple of "boating hats" that they used to wear in the "old days"! 

After the tours we all had dinner together at an upmarket little restaurant. By this stage most people had well and truly started drinking... and by the time we left early (11pm!) many were swaying on their feet....

As I looked at all dh's classmates and talked to many of them, I thought how blessed I was to have married the pick of the bunch! I love him so much and am so thankful that I was blessed to be able to marry him. He works hard so that I can stay home with the children. He never complains when I am behind on the housework. He loves me just as I am, faults and all! 

My husband, my blessing.

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July 30, 2007 - A Busy Weekend

Our weekend was busy and just flew by! I was so tired today.. I had an extra long nap :)

Our good friends were here for the weekend as it was their last before they headed back to the States. The kids and I had made their son, 11, a special lapbook to take with him on the plane. We had lots of fun making it and we hope he will have lots of fun reading it!

The children made little joke books, a "spot the difference" picture, funny Fairy tale stories, comics, codes and messages, and we put together photos and made a small photo album of our time together over the past years. Oh, and to top it all off, the latest Star Wars Magazine! Here are some photos of the inside:

 

I also went to visit Robyn in hospital after she had her hip operation last Wednesday. I'd spoken to her a few times, but hadn't had a chance yet to visit. It was good to see her. She was looking pale because of her low blood pressure and low iron levels, but was sitting up having lunch. Despite being in hospital, she was positive as usual, and full of what God had been telling her over the past few days!  She is in pain, of course, and still has a long way to go, but she is coming home tomorrow and is doing as well as can be expected. Thanks to all of you who have been praying for her.

A new week ahead and sooooo much to do! One day at a time, thank goodness, is all He asks of us :) Have a great week everyone! 

 

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July 26, 2007 - Discouragement & Encouragement

Over the past couple of weeks, as I have tried to get back into a routine with school and home, I have felt myself becoming discouraged. I had it all so nicely planned! But we are struggling to get into that "nicely planned" routine! I know that part of this is a discipline issue, and part is just living life. No day will go the same as the day before, and we need to take each day and let it flow. My routine is just a guide, not a rigid "have-to-live-by-or-else"! Now that that is clear in my mind I can get on with the next issue :) - my blog & website!

As I was not seeming to get everything done that I wanted to get done, I did what the natural thing was and tried to see what I was doing that took up a lot of time, and then asked myself if it was a necessary part of my life, or just a distraction. One of these areas was my blog and website and the time I was spending on the internet. What was my purpose for this site and should it really be part of my life now?

Just the other day I was reminded about a verse God gave me at the beginning of the year:

"What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight;

what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs"

Matthew 10:27

 God had been whispering lots of thing in my ears over the years, and each time I said to myself, "I'm not ready yet! I'm not old enough to be a role model! I can't do it!!" 

Finally I took the plunge and I was beset with doubts. I got my domain names, started blogging, started writing, and started proclaiming..... and little voices kept saying -"You can't do it! You don't have time! You should be doing other things!"

I did have encouragement along the way too, however. Robyn, my older woman, was excited to hear about what I was doing. She also has been a keeper all her life, and I was encouraging her to join in with me to be our "resident Older Woman" on this site! After thinking and praying about it, she realized that this was a way to share all the things she has learned over the years. She has no daughters, and as yet no grand-daughters, but she hopes one day she will have the latter. She was wondering how she could leave a legacy to them, and was so excited to think that this may be a way in which she could do so.

I was reminded this morning of the conversation Robyn and I had about leaving a legacy when I read this post:

Memoirs - Leaving a Legacy 

I was encouraged, because this is one of the reasons I wanted to start this blog. I have often wished I had diaries, cookbooks or notebooks from my own grandmothers. I wish I could have picked their brains on how they used to live - how they brought up children during the war, and afterwards. How they managed their homes... how they were wives and mothers.

As much as I want to bless other women around the world with this website, I also want to leave a legacy for my own daughter and possible grand-daughters. Is this then worthy of my time at this stage of my life? Yes :), because if I wait until the children are gone, I will have forgotten what my daily life was like while they were growing up. I will forget the times when I felt down because I didn't want to wash another dish, or cook another meal, or iron another shirt! I will forget the times when I came to the Lord in tears and frustration and the peace and strength I received afterwards. I will forget the times when we all piled into our bed, cuddled up, forgot about everything that was happening around us, and just enjoyed a book together.

Yes, this blog is worthy of my time. Leaving a legacy is worthy of my time. It is also worthy of yours. Do not be discouraged, dear friends. If God is calling you to spend your time on something specific at this stage of your life, then do it! He will give you strength and confirmation.

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July 25, 2007 - Please Pray for Robyn

Robyn is one of my dear older women. Today she is going to have her second hip operation. She had her first one about two years ago and it was a great success. Now her other hip is going to be done and she is looking forward to being without pain soon. But in the meantime, she has to go through the operation and at least 6 weeks of recovery.

Although she has been in a lot of pain over the past years, Robyn has been such an inspiration to me.  Having bad hips did not slow her down in living life - she still traveled, went on mission trips and was a blessing to many. We met up with her two years ago in Jordan just before her first operation. I remember seeing her walking towards me with the brightest smile on her face while slowly walking with her walking stick. She was in a lot of pain, but it didn't make her stay at home and mope. She went to the Jordan River, climbed hundreds of steps in the Roman Theater and did many other touristy things that are just plain hard work for those of us who are well!

So often things get too much for me and I just want to go and hide (in bed or under it! LOL!). Robyn is my role model - she just goes ahead and does the next thing. 

Please be with Robyn today, Lord. Stay by her side and give her peace as she goes into hospital. I pray that You will guide the hands of the surgeons, that You will be there in the operating theater with them, that You will keep her in Your hands. 

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July 24, 2007 - Count Your Blessings Monday

On Sunday my wonderful dh took the children to McDonalds for brunch and after that to a playground. You know what it is like being a homeschool mum and having the children around you 24/7. Sometimes you just want a break!

While they were gone, the house was so quiet! I had a nice long Quiet Time, and then I started muddling around the house. As the time wore on, I thought, what would it be like to have no children at all? Imagine if I didn't have my three around me all the time, what a quiet, boring life that would be!

When they came back they all ran to me to tell me what they had done. I gathered up my youngest in my arms and said, "I missed you!" I'm sure they didn't miss me, they had a ball and were probably wondering why their Mum was so mushy!!!

It made me realize, however, how truly blessed I  am. Sometimes I wish I had more time to do things for myself, like read, quilt, go out,.... whatever. But in about 10 years my children will probably have all flown the nest... and then I will have all the time in the world... alone,.... quiet.....peaceful..... and oh I will miss them!!!

My Children - My Blessings :)

 

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July 23, 2007 - How long does it take?

Are there things that you put off, and put off, and put off? I have many of these things! Some are things like mending, or decluttering a certain area of the house..... or ironing.

When I was a University student, I used to earn money through tutoring and cleaning houses. One of my jobs also required ironing the business shirts of the husband (the wife worked too, which was why she got me in to clean).  I used to organize myself very well - half an hour ironing shirts, vacuuming, a cup of tea, cleaning bathrooms and mopping. It was a big house. In three hours I got all of this done, plus some window cleaning as well.

I always had those shirts ironed :) Every week :) I got paid to do it!

Fast forward to my current "job".  The one I don't get paid for :) Well, not directly anyway! Ironing my husbands shirts unfortunately is often a last minute thing. I got to thinking about how long it actually takes me to iron a shirt. So I timed myself just now, and it takes me about 2 1/2 minutes to leisurely iron one of my husband's business shirts. 2 1/2 minutes to bless my husband. That is not a lot of time :)

Note to self:  stop putting off those things which take up more of my time worrying about, than actually doing.

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