A Nautical Boy's Room

Designing my son's nautical room on a pea-size budget. 

Step 1: Find a cheap french provincial dresser on Craigslist, a thrift store, or garage sale. This one was $20.00. 

Step 2: Take all hardware off.

Step 3: Pull out drawers, sand down dresser and drawers

Step 4: Paint the dresser and drawers, let dry

Step 5: Install same hardware or new ones to your liking :)

Before

After

Step 6: Hang an antique shipping crate as a creative shelf :)

A "Mary" Mom Amidst a World of "Marthas"

A "Mary" Mom Amidst a World of "Marthas"

According to the bible Luke 10:38-42 Martha and Mary were sisters. One day, Jesus came to visit them. Mary sat at Jesus's feet and visited with him while her sister Martha slaved away cooking and cleaning. Martha became angry and outraged and asked the Lord to tell Mary to help her. Martha expected Jesus to tell Mary to help her, but instead, he said that she should be worrying about more important things. Mary had chosen what was better.

It's difficult, especially in this day in age where living the "Martha" way is more acceptable than the "Mary" way in society. The constant pressure of having clean floors, empty sinks, folded clothes, and floors destitute of toys weighs heavily on a mom's shoulders.

Though, this doesn't mean that you have to neglect all of your "Martha" responsibilities, but in a way, can be more lenient about these less pressing matters.

I encourage you to become more aware of your inner "Mary." Take time for the more pressing matters in life as Jesus said. Pray more, spend more time teaching your children about God, read to your children, and spend quality time with your husband. And if you have to complete your "Martha" tasks, do them with a "Mary" attitude. And remember, in everything that you do, there is always time for prayers and always an opportunity to teach something to your children. :)

Turning a Cute Vintage Apron into a Modest Skirt!

             A Cute Vintage Apron Transformed into a Modest Skirt 

A very simple mommy project.....it can be no sew or require a simple straight line stitch with your sewing machine.

Step 1: Go to a thrift store, garage sale, flea market, or grandma's attic to acquire a cute vintage apron.

Step 2: Decide if you want a no-sew apron skirt (one that just ties tightly in the back) or one that requires one straight line stitch in the back. This is what we did.

Step 3: For sewing, measure the waist of your child and then measure the length of the top of the skirt accordingly. Fold over one side of the apron to the other keeping the tie on the outside.

Step 4: Pin and sew a straight line. Take pins out and tie a bow.

Step 5: Now you have a pretty and modest skirt in 5 easy steps. :)

Assumption of Mary

Assumption of Mary

Today we celebrate the Assumption of Mary which remembers her death and bodily assumption into heaven. In remembrance of this holy day, I found a beautiful coloring sheet from the website http://www.biblekids.edu. Here is the link....enjoy.

http://www.biblekids.eu/Church/Assumption_%20of_%20Mary/Assumption_%20of_%20Mary_coloring/Assumption_%20of_%20Mary_3.GIF

Jesus Loves Me So Much He Gave Me....

Jesus Loves Me So Much He Gave Me....

This morning, we decided to make hearts dedicated to Jesus. We wrote His name in the middle of the heart and came up with things that He has given to us that we enjoy. I bet you can guess if this heart is my daughter's or son's? Anyways, it was a nice reminder of the things that we take for granted. 

The Creation Song

This is a cute song that I made up to teach my kids about creation :) Enjoy!

To the tune of Old McDonald had a Farm 

There is a Creator, his name is God

Yes there, yes there is

In six days He created the universe

Yes He, yes He did

And in this universe he created the earth

yes He, yes He did

And on this earth, He created the ocean 

yes He, yes He did

( fold your hands together and sway them back and forth)

with a whoosh whoosh here and a whoosh whoosh there, here a whoosh, there a whoosh, everywhere a whoosh whoosh

There is a Creator, His name is God 

Yes there, yes there is 

And beside this ocean, he created the trees

yes He, yes He did

(raise arms and sway from side to side)

with a swish swish here and a swish swish there, here a swish, there a swish, everywhere a swish swish

There is a creator, His name is God

Yes there, yes there is

And above the trees, He created the birds

yes He, yes He did 

(flap arms up and down)

with a chirp chirp here and a chirp chirp there, here a chirp, there a chirp, everywhere a chirp chirp

There is a creator, His name is God

Yes there, yes there is 

And alongside this bird, He created humans

Yes He, yes He did 

(point to yourself)

with a blessing here, and a blessing there, here a blessing, there a blessing, everywhere a blessing. 

There is a Creator, his name is God

Yes there, yes there is

A New Use For Formula Containers

   A Creative New Use for Formula Containers

I always wondered how I could reuse formula containers instead of throwing these spacious holders away. One day I decided to tear the paper off and reuse them to organize my children's art supplies....they turned out great! :) For those of you that are wondering what font I used, it's called JF Ringmaster size 100 located from  http://www.dafont.com/search.php?q=jfringmaster

A Special Bedtime Ritual

A Special Bedtime Ritual 

In our family, reading in as essential part of our daily activity. That's why it's not a surprise that books are part of our nightly bedtime ritual. After our nightly prayers, my son has a book already selected and laid out on his bed for me to read to him. Sometimes if mommy is extra energetic and motivated, I might read more. After performing an array of character's voices and answering questions about the story's plot, it's time to unwind the bedtime ritual. Sometimes I will sing a song.....and sometimes he or she will fall asleep mid chorus.... or maybe they are pretending to fall asleep because my voice sounds so horrible (LOL!) After the story/stories some nights I do something extra special... I tell them at least 10 reasons why I love them. In my opinion, this is the most special bedtime ritual of them all. 

How do I have the time and energy to spend this allotted amount with each child?

My husband and I currently have two children and we take turns with each child. This way, each child has a night with mommy or daddy to pray, read, sing, and talk. Eventually, as our family grows, we will have to probably gather in one room. As for now, this ritual works great. 

Creating JOY in Your Life!

My family has adapted the Duggar philosophy as far as creating JOY in our lives. As stated in their book "A Love that Multiplies," the only way we can obtain true JOY in our household is if we put Jesus first, Others second, and Yourself last. 

This mnemonic device is not only important for children to adapt, but just as important as we, the parent, to ritualize. If the parent doesn't ritualize this philosophy, there is no way we can expect our children to adapt it as well. I start each morning with quiet prayer time before the kids wake up and once they are up, the first thing we do is kneel down by our crucifix downstairs and recite a prayer meaningful and understandable to their age (2 & 4). 

"Good morning dear Jesus this day is for you.

We ask that You bless us in all we think, say, see, and do."

As a gentle reminder, we have a poster hanging on our fridge of the JOY philosophy.