Joanne Heim

The world according to Audrey

"Mom, I'm not a kid anymore so you need to stop treating me like one."

That's what Audrey said to me this afternoon when I told her to go rest after school. She was tired after her first day back at school and said she wasn't feeling great. Rest certainly seemed like a smart choice to me.

But then she told me that she's not a kid anymore and to quit treating her like one. (She told me with a TONE, I might add.) Definitely a moment to count to 10 before responding. I tried to be calm and loving and explain that, yes, she is in fact still a kid--and will be for quite a while yet. But the whole evening went downhill from there.

Then she hit me with "I can't wait for Dad to come home." (With another TONE.) My response? "Me too!"

Isn't it amazing how quickly a glorious morning can sometimes turn into a gloomy evening? Some days it's just good to go to bed and wake up to a brand new beginning...

McCalls 5419

Here's what the girls wore to school today--new play dresses I made this weekend from McCalls 5419.

I made Audrey's first and followed the pattern exactly. It fits Emma pretty well too, so I made one for her next. But this time I modified the pattern a bit. Audrey's swings out kinda wide--a little too triangle-y, if that makes sense. So I folded the sides of the pattern in a bit to make it have a straighter skirt. And I put in a regular hem instead of bias tape on the bottom (because I ran out!). And I like it better.

After seeing Audrey in hers again this morning, I think I'll redo hers to make it a bit straighter too. I suppose a more fluid fabric would hang less stiffly and be swishy-er, but I really love 100 percent cotton prints. So I'll stick with the modification.

This was such a simple pattern--two pieces, two seams, and bias tape. If you're looking for a summer play dress or tank top, I'd recommend it!

(You can click on the photo and then enlarge to see how the bias tape edge and straps look.)

O what a beautiful morning!

I took both (yes, both!) of the girls to school this morning, put a load of laundry in to wash, and took Daisy for a walk. (We have been so bad about walking--gotta, gotta get back into the swing. I love it--even in the cold--but somehow it's just not been happening.)

It is a glorious morning here. Blue, blue, BLUE skies like you only see in Colorado, warm but not hot, green grass, tulips blooming in every yard, trees flowering like they really mean it and want to do their very best.

I usually plug in my iPod when I walk--Alistair Begg sermons, rowdy praise music, Beth Moore teaching. But I left it at home this morning and walked in the quiet. And it was nice. Somehow in the quiet I saw more. A kitty cat tail sticking through the fence while the kitty hid in a shrub until Daisy dog passed by, squirrels playing chase, rabbits nibbling fresh grass or stretched out in the sun napping, flowers budding, geese flying overhead. I noticed more. Colors especially--all kinds of greens, pure whites, blue blues, pale pinks, hot purples, mellow oranges.

I'm so glad God created color. Can you imagine living in a black-and-white-and gray world?

I'm not sure if there really is a connection between our ears and our eyes, but there was this morning. The glorious-ness of creation is almost overwhelming some days and it makes me wonder how heaven can be more wonderful than this. I'm not sure how we'll bear it.

Quick Monday update

Audrey's still running a fever--totally up and down all day--and coughing like mad. No school tomorrow for sure. I'm wondering about taking her to the doctor. We'll see how she is in the morning.

I've sat here for a while and my mind is totally blank. BLANK. Nothing to say that wouldn't bore you to tears.

So I'll spare you and just go ahead and say goodnight!

S is for she finally put up another ABC!

After a totally unintended break, the letter S is up for The ABCs of Living Simply on the Free Downloads page.

According to Emma

"This is what the Heim family mostly does: Sit around in our pajamas and knit!"

Well, we do a lot of other stuff too, but that's what we're up to this morning.

Poor Audrey still isn't feeling great and when we finally thought to take her temp last night it was 102+. She's coughing and running a fever again this morning; Emma's sniffly, and so we're not going to church. Audrey will be home from school tomorrow (school policy means no going to school if you've had a fever within 24 hours) and we're all going to rest today.

So Audrey's watching Disney and working on getting lots of fluids in, Toben's reading the paper, and Emma and I are camped out on the couch in our pjs, knitting and listening to some Chris Tomlin and Kirk Franklin and everyone else on my iPod.

Wishing you all a happy and HEALTHY Sunday!

Glimpses of my day...

I think she likes it!

Happy Friday night

I could blog, but instead I'm going to put on my pjs and go snuggle with the girls and watch the Disney channel. I just love that Hannah Montana!

Confession

My house is a pit.

The floors under the table are crumb-y, the kitchen floor has spills that have left spots, the bottom of my shower is grimy, the dust-bunnies along the edges of the rooms and under the couch are mating and reproducing like--well, rabbits. There's laundry neatly folded in the basket that's been waiting to be put away since Monday, the bathroom mirrors are splotchy with water marks, the windows have puppy nose prints and the sliding glass door has little girl hand prints. The kitchen counter is crumb-y and even sticky in places. The TV is dusty, there's litter on the floor outside the litter box.

In short, it's a disaster.

Confession number two? I'm not going to do a thing about it today.

Audrey is home sick with a sore throat, sniffly nose, and feeling tired and worn out. And I'm going to hang with her and work on her costume for the play that I've been promising to start for the past ten days.

So I'm not sure if that was good for my soul, but here's to keeping it real!

Girl Scout games

Here are a couple of the games we played this weekend at camp. My video skills are a little (okay, a lot!) lacking, but I think you'll get the idea!

The Rhythm Game

Here are instructions with words to help learn the motions:

Here's a demonstration. After you get the hang of it, go faster and faster and faster...

The Cup Game

Here are instructions with words to help learn the motions:

Here's a demonstration (and I know I appear headless in the video, but I'm really all there!). It's best to play around a round table with as many people as you want. And be sure to you PLASTIC cups!

Did anyone notice I got my nails done? After breaking six in one day last week while cleaning the girls' closets, I decided something needed to be done. So I went on Monday morning and it only took 45 minutes from start to finish. And they just look so pretty, if I do say so myself!

Late start

Today is one of those rare mornings we have a late start at school. So here it is, almost 8 o'clock, and we're still in our jammies, just finishing breakfast. And we don't have to leave for school for more than an hour.

No one slept in. My kids just don't. Emma was up at 6:30, Audrey at 6:45. I didn't set the alarm, but woke up at 5:40 anyway. Somehow it's not so bad to get up early as long as you wake up naturally instead of having the alarm go off.

As much as I'm enjoying a non-rushed morning, it's throwing a kink in the girls' day. I can hear Toben upstairs sending the girls to their rooms, because extra time is translating into extra time to bug each other. They tried to play some games, but ended up fighting about which one to play first. Argh.

Why can't we all just get along?

Some days it's just like that, isn't it?

Makes me think that I'd better do some long, hard thinking about a summer morning routine. Because wide open time doesn't always get filled with nice things.

On a happier note, after I take the girls to school I'm headed up the road to Kimberly's house for the day. She's been doing a bunch of fun embroidery lately, so I've packed up all of my embroidery books and patterns to share, as well as my sewing box to organize. (The Girl Scouts used my big box of embroidery floss this weekend and it didn't quite get put back the way it was!)

I'm looking forward to sitting on her couch, enjoying the tranquility of her home, and holding her baby.

Then I'll head home to pick Emma up from school. Audrey has play practice for a while after school, so Emma and I are going to have a little date. Something seems off with her lately (besides a sniffle) and I've been praying for God to show me what's up with her. Seems like some time spent one-on-one will help.

I should go jump in the shower...happy Wednesday!

MOPS in Broomfield

This morning I had the awesome privilege of visiting a church in Broomfield and spending the morning with their MOPS group.

We talked about Philippians 4:4-9 in the context of marriage--about rejoicing in the Lord and finding our joy in him, about what it means to be gentle, about turning worry into prayer, about letting God do the job of guarding our hearts, about changing our thought patterns about our husbands, about putting into practice what God teaches us.

I'm always a little surprised at some of the things that come out of my mouth. I do prepare and study a lot in preparation, but sometimes I say things I wasn't planning to say! And much of the time, it's exactly what I need to hear. And it's always interesting to hear what stands out to others--I love the conversations that happen afterward. In fact, I hung around for almost two hours after I was done today, visiting and listening to what these precious women had to say.

I shared quite a bit about the path that Toben and I have walked--especially through the hard valley of him being diagnosed as bi-polar. I was amazed at how many women commented on that--and how bi-polarity or other mental health issues have touched so many lives in a relatively small group.

One of the things that I have prayed is that God would use what we've been through to bless others--and he continually answers that prayer. Today was a good example of that, as I hope I was able to encourage some of these women who are just beginning to walk the path of dealing with a husband's mental illness by testifying to God's faithfulness in leading us through. It's such a hard place to be--and at times it seems like there's no light at the end of the tunnel.

I don't have all the answers by any means (there's that lesson from Beth Moore's Stepping Up again!), but I remember so well just needing someone to listen and give me a hug. And too, I know that God's power for Toben and me was unleashed by the prayers of so many people lifting us up to the Father. So I'm committed to praying for these women who shared with me today--that God would work his good, pleasing, and perfect will in their lives, that he would provide them with strength and encouragement for each day, that they would grasp how wide and long and high and deep the love of God is for them.

Just stopping by...

...to say that I'll be sure to post tomorrow. For now, I'm just home from Brownies and need to finish preparing for the MOPS group I'm going to visit tomorrow morning (and fold that last load of laundry still in the dryer!).

Hope you all have a relaxing Monday night!

Joanne

Back from camp

We're home! We had a great weekend at camp and got back in time to have a nice long afternoon at home. The car's unloaded (oh my! you woulda thought I was going for a month as full as the car was with stuff), the laundry's sorted, clothes are set out for the girls for the week.

Here's what the girls made:

It was so fun to see them as they wondered how in the world they would make pajamas from one pattern piece and a huge piece of fabric. They cut out patterns, cut the fabric, and did all the sewing themselves. Then when their pants were done, they appliqued their shirts with butterflies to match the butterfly print on the jammies.

They all wore their new jammies to dinner last night at the dining hall and were so excited to show them off to the other campers.

Here's the back of our cabin:

The cabins have huge living rooms, so we moved the couches and set up a table for each girl with her sewing machine and all her supplies. We left the middle of the room open to spread out fabric and to take breaks to dance around.

There was a group of older girls at camp on Saturday morning, and they taught us some fun games--the cup game and a rhythm game played by slapping the table in different patterns. We played those a bunch, made friendship bracelets, button bracelets, did hair wraps, and watched High School Musical 2. We made cookies, ate cake, and made s'mores.

It was fun, and I'm ready for a shower and bed!

Lists

I don't know about you, but I am a list girl. I love lists. I have one for groceries, one for Costco, one for Target or Walmart, one for books to read, one for projects to complete, one for the yard work that needs to be done, one for the garden I want to plant with the girls this summer. And probably a few more.

I spent much of today running errands and crossing things of my list. But my head is still full of lists--lists of things to pack for Girl Scout camp this weekend, lists of project supplies to take along, lists of groceries to pack for dinner tomorrow night, and a list of things I absolutely cannot forget to pack.

Can't remember what I've told you, but Audrey's troop is going camping for the weekend. Only four of my seven girls can make this trip, so it's a small group. Each girl's mom is coming too. And because they're such a small group, and because I can easily get my hands on four sewing machines, we're going to learn to sew.

Instead of planning a busy camp weekend, we have only one goal--to make pajama pants in order to earn a sewing badge--and to relax and have fun. I've packed all my nail polish (how does one woman have 30 bottles of nail polish?!) for pedicures, embroidery floss for friendship bracelets and hair wraps, and even some movies to watch at night (with popcorn, of course!)

I usually come home from camp totally wiped out and not at all prepared for the coming week. I decided that I'd really like to come home rested and relaxed this time. Especially since there's a Brownie meeting on Monday after school and I have a speaking engagement on Tuesday morning.

I'd love for the girls (and their moms!) to come home rested and relaxed too. Audrey usually falls apart after coming home from a weekend away, and other moms have told me that their daughters do the same. School is getting busier with the end drawing near and they've had lots of homework, play practice, and a project or two to anticipate. They could use a break!

So even though it's only Thursday, I'll just go ahead and wish y'all a happy weekend.

Made it home safely

And landed in what the pilot called a "snow event." No kidding. It is 30 degrees and snowing. My tank top and sunburn looked a bit out of place at DIA--in fact, a woman stopped me to tell me so!

Yesterday it was 83 degrees here in Denver while I was driving to the airport. Crazy. Here in Colorado, 24 hours can mean a totally different season.

Sitting at the airport...

...waiting to get on the plane. We had a great meeting this morning, followed by lunch poolside at the Biltmore. We even had enough time to soak in some sun after lunch. I love to be warm...

Toben got a Blackberry and was so excited to take this picture and then email it to me. Thanks, babe!

Quick update

Made it to Phoenix yesterday in time for dinner with some of the people Toben works with, and we're heading out in a bit for a meeting this morning about a writing project I'm going to do. Then lunch and back to the airport to fly home.

There's lots I want to tell you about--the last session of Stepping Up at Bible study yesterday morning, some exciting closet cleaning/clutter busting with the girls, and I know there was more but my mind suddenly went blank--but it's going to have to wait...

Have a happy Wednesday, everyone!

Hair on fire

That's what my friend Janine says when she's getting ready to go out of town. And, yep, it's true for me. I've been cleaning and laundering today. And I opened Audrey's closet and had a fit this morning, so I've been cleaning closets too. That means other things just didn't get done like I'd hoped. But no one comes upstairs during Bible study!

I'm headed to Phoenix tomorrow and still need to pack, finish getting the house ready for Bible study tomorrow morning, change the litter box (ah, my exciting life!), and get a shower and wash my hair. Fun stuff.

So I need to be responsible and do that, instead of putting up another ABC and blogging. I am taking my computer and hope to have some time tomorrow night to say hello.

Joanne

P.S. Thanks for all your great comments on yesterday's post. I've loved reading them!

Sing for joy

I love the song "Bless His Name" by Jeremy Riddle. Love, love, love it. We listened to it again this morning on the way to church and I was struck by the first line which says, "Come, let us sing for joy." I usually feel pretty joyful when I'm singing along with it at the top of my lungs and have always taken it to mean "come, let us sing [because of] joy"--that our song is a response to the joy we feel.

But I've been feeling a little bit tired and blue and this morning I prayed specifically for joy. And in singing this song, I heard the words in a whole new light--"come, let us sing [in order to receive] joy." If I want joy, I might need to worship to get it.

Our church is currently doing a series on worship and today's sermon was on the importance of hearing. As I was thinking more about it, I was struck by the fact that worship is something we do for God, but also for ourselves. Because worship can change us. From wherever we are to joy.

In worship we hear others testify to God's goodness and power and mercy and grace. And in singing ourselves, we hear ourselves testify to it. And the more we sing it, the more we hear it, the more we believe it, and the more we are changed.

Come, let us sing for joy
Let us shout aloud to our King
Come, let us worship God
Lifting holy hands, bless His name

Lord, we come to meet with You again
To worship with one voice in adoration
You deserve our every praise
That echoes in this place
You’re the worthy One

Lord, we come with gratitude that flows
From deep within our souls
We rejoice in You
(And) We will glory in Your name
With a shout our lips proclaim
The praises stirring in our hearts

Every creature in Heaven and Earth below
Bless His name, bless His name (4x)

I *heart* Saturday mornings

Well, Joey the cat decided that 21 minutes past the usual alarm time is considered sleeping in. So at 5:51 he began to play with his toy and spin the little ball around and around. Darn cat. I got up, turned the toy over so he couldn't play with it, and went back to bed.

He gave me precisely 28 more minutes and then jumped on me and started batting at me with his paw to get up and feed him. So I did. And I didn't really mind because I love Saturday mornings and don't really want to sleep through them.

Something about not having to watch the clock, sitting on the couch for just as long as I please, looking forward to a day of usually fun tasks just makes me glad.

Today Audrey and Emma are going to watch the Barbie Fairytopia movie that arrived from Netflix. Toben's going to watch the Master's. I'm going to start working on Audrey's costume for the school play. (She's in the chorus and it's a Cinderella-inspired play, so she's getting a sparkly princess dress. Yes, I'll post pictures along the way!)

I also need to go to the fabric store--hooray! (That means, of course, that I will have to get dressed at some point--though the fabric store ladies have seen me in modified pajamas before!)

The Junior Girl Scouts are camping next weekend and I've decided to teach them all to sew. We're going to make simple pajama pants and then applique tee shirts to match. I need to go check out patterns and fabric and start gathering supplies. I have three sewing machines downstairs (one belongs to my sister) and my mom has two machines, so I think we're covered there.

Only four of my girls can make this trip--and three moms are going and we'll have a big cabin with lots of space and a table per girl--so it seemed like a good idea. Especially since we can't really count on Colorado mountain weather in April. We're going to have a relaxing movie night on Friday and cut out our patterns, then sew, sew, sew on Saturday. I really want it to be relaxing, and a time just to kind of hang out and have fun. If it's nice, we'll go on a hike, but just for fun--not to check things off a list or to accomplish anything other than enjoying God's mountain creation.

I'm going to take a bunch of embroidery floss too--Audrey and Emma spent the weekend before last making all kinds of friendship bracelets and I thought the Girl Scouts might think that was fun to have on hand too.

My coffee cup is empty and I need some more, so that's it for now. Happy weekend!

"You haven't made much progress..."

That's what Toben said when he brought the girls home from school this afternoon and found Janna and me sitting in the same spot we were in when he left hours and hours earlier.

Janna and Anne and Jack came for the day, arriving just after 10. We got comfy on the couch and did stay there pretty much the whole day through, getting up to eat lunch and put Anne down for a nap, and then getting right back to our comfy spots.

We listened to music, talked about books, shared what God's been teaching us in our quiet times, discussed worship and revival, chatted about parenting and our kids, exchanged birthday presents (finally--just about a month after our birthdays!), and had a delightful time.

True, we didn't make progress on any projects, but that's okay. We've been known to have marathon crafting days in which we crank out tote bags filled with gifts and goodies for nine people--plus have lunch and sort of watch a movie. Which we both think is pretty fun. But this was a nice change too.

Here's my birthday booty from Janna:

A handmade sleeve for my tall vanilla soy lattes, a little pouch for my coffee money, and a great vintage birthday card. Plus there was a bracelet hiding in the pouch--one just like hers that I've admired. Pretty neat, huh? Thank you, friend!

Just like Anne, well almost

"I've an afternoon to spend in sweet doing nothing...Shall I spend it here where there is a cosy fire, a plateful of delicious russets, three purring and harmonious cats, and two impeccable china dogs with green noses? Or shall I go to the park, where there is the lure of gray woods and of gray water lapping on the harbor rocks?"

I too had an afternoon to spend in sweet doing nothing. I chose the cosy fire (we got about seven inches of snow last night and today) and my one purring cat, a bowl of ice cream instead of russets (though apples would've been healthier), and a snoring dog--and a book. I came across this quote in Anne of the Island and smiled to see one more thing I had in common with red-haired Anne.

I love this particular book in the series and found lots of things to underline again. (Yes, I even underline in novels--can't read without a pen in hand.) At the end Anne has her book of Revelation and realizes her love for Gilbert. And at the end I sobbed and sobbed like always.

::Sigh::

Ever have those days that just kinda get you down? Days when you come face to face with the stuff that has other people down and it rubs off?

We're fine and today was actually a good day, but being aware of some things that others are dealing with is just weighing me down. It's almost a physical sensation of being pressed down by all the cares of people I really care about. Financial trouble. Marriage trouble. Kids struggling. Change. Conflict with others. Missing dogs. (That would be Beth Moore's dog, Sunny.)

As much as I don't like feeling like this, it is a gift. Because I want to know what's going on with the people around, to be able to pray for them, to be real with them. But it's hard. Yucky, really. Not feeling this way, but knowing that others are hurting. I wish I could make it all better, but can't.

One of those things that God has been speaking to me again and again in the past week or so is that it's okay not to have all the answers. That it's okay to just be quiet, to listen, to say "I'm sorry" without offering myriad solutions. That there doesn't have to be a pat answer for every situation.

That's hard for me. I really like answers.

A couple of weeks ago, I spent some time in 2 Corinthians 4. Despite anything and everything that's going on with me or those around me, "we do not lose heart" as it says in verse 16. Why? Because of the therefores given in verses 8 and 9:

We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed;
perplexed, but not in despair;
persecuted, but not abandoned;
struck down, but not destroyed.

I love how The Message puts verse 16: "Even though on the outside it often looks like things are falling apart on us, on the inside, where God is making new life, not a day goes by without his unfolding grace."

That makes me think of a flower blooming somehow. That though we look at it for a while--stare at it for hours even--and can't see any unfolding going on, we slowly get a peek of color peeping through when we search day after day after day. It can seem to take so long for a flower to bloom (trust me, I go outside on a flower search in my yard every day in the spring!). But when we look at with a time-lapse--when we look back on things from God's perspective, from his perfect timing--we see how smoothly and perfectly it happens.

"So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal" (verse 18). Somehow, I need to know that today, to be reminded that this life is not all there is. That "eternal glory" awaits.

Confession...

Jen asked, and I did go for a walk/jog the other morning despite the windy cold. But then I went and ruined all my hard work by eating an ENTIRE SLEEVE OF THIN MINTS after lunch. Urgh.

Please tell me I'm not the only one...

Books to read at breakfast

Thought I'd share a few of my/our other favorite books to read aloud:

The Chronicles of Narnia series by C. S. Lewis
The Happy Hollisters series by Jerry West
The Boxcar Children series by Gertrude Chandler Warner
My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George
The Trumpet of the Swan by E. B. White
The Little House on the Prairie series by Laura Ingalls Wilder
The shoes books by Noel Streatfeild
The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall

Oh, and the girls like The Magic Treehouse books too!

Anyone else have any to add? Mom, what are some others we read as a family when we were kids?

Going, going...

There's just one reversible tote left in the shop for anyone who's interested...

Ya'll snatched them up fast! I've got some more in the works but it may be a couple of weeks--I need to get a costume made for Audrey's school play first.

The most important meal of the day

Besides having the chicken pox and deciding that my life's goal was to someday be a cheerleader, the thing I remember the most about fifth grade is breakfast.

For that one year we lived in Montgomery, Alabama, and went to Landmark Christian Academy. Dad was attending War College (don't ask, cause I don't really know) and drove us to school each morning in my grandfather's turquoise Cadillac. Mom picked us up after school in our little white Ford Fiesta, and it seems to me that we stopped for Slurpees at the corner 7-11 more often than not (or at least often enough to collect all the collector's cups of the time--Pac Man, Ms. Pac Man, and so on).

(And just totally off the subject, our neighbors had an Atari and I thought that Frogger was the coolest thing ever.)

Anyway, breakfast...

We ate breakfast together every morning as a family that year. And I think we probably read books out loud at breakfast too. Somehow it made the day just start out right.

Around here, breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Because how breakfast goes affects the rest of the day for everyone involved. If the girls eat breakfast by themselves, they tend to argue, pick at each other, or just sit and grumble about whatever they can think of.

But when we sit down together and read a book, breakfast is totally transformed.

We've read lots of American Girl books and recently finished reading The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane. Right now we're reading the first book in the Malory Towers series by Enid Blyton--one of those series that I fell in love with when we lived in England-- boarding school, hilarious tricks played on the French mistress, and lots of midnight feasts.

When we sit down to read at breakfast, Audrey and Emma get up more easily, get ready more quickly, and set out the book for me at my place. They help each other with bowls of cereal or getting out plates for bagels. We sit down just after 7 and don't get up until 7:30. "Do we have time for just one more chapter?" they ask, echoing Kristen and me when we were little.

Then they head back upstairs to brush their teeth, put their hair in ponies, and then head out the door in a much happier space. I think they'd tell you that it's totally worth getting up a little bit earlier.

The letter R is up...

...for The ABCs of Living Simply.

Whirlwind of a weekend

How is that this weekend has flown by so quickly? I suppose it's because this was a really rather busy weekend for us--not like our usual weekends of no plans at all and lots of pajama time.

Audrey and Emma spent the night with Gran and Papa on Friday; Toben and I went out for dinner and had a whole, uninterrupted conversation about this, that, and everything in between. Then while the girls went to the park, had a picnic, dug in the flower beds, and launched Audrey's rocket on Saturday, Toben and I attended the new member class at church. After attending Cherry Hills for the past year and a half or so, we decided it was time to join.

When the class was over, we picked up the girls, then took Emma and a friend to a birthday party at Build-a-Bear; and when that was over, we picked Emma up and headed to Wade and Kristen's for Tyson's first birthday party. We came home and promptly went to bed.

Church was this morning, then lunch out with friends, then home and into our jammies--finally! I've spent some time with Anne in Avonlea this afternoon and the girls and I watched Disney's 1950 version of Treasure Island. It was good, but not really great. There are no girls in the movie at all--not one--and the action got a little dull in places, so we talked through parts and I worked on a knitted scarf for something to do with my hands besides eat the rest of the Easter M&Ms. (They come in dark chocolate now--oh dear!)

Tomorrow is housecleaning and laundry and grocery shopping and a field trip with my Brownies to the bank to finish earning our Penny Power try-it. And if it doesn't snow as predicted, I think Daisy and I will take a walk--maybe even a little jog?--first thing...

Today...

...it was snowy, rainy, cloudy, sunny, freezing, not too cold, sleety, and everything in between. My body is totally confused as to the temperature. But right now I'm so cold that the only way I know to get warm is to take a long, hot bubble bath. Which means reading some more Anne while I'm at it...

The prayer room that really does exist

I took a spiritual retreat day in the prayer room that really does exist at my church today. It's a big room with cushy benches, tables and chairs, and huge floor cushions. There are stained-glass windows on three sides of the room, with a theme of water and thirst played out in verses etched into the glass. Even the carpet has a wavy, watery pattern.

No one else came in the whole time I was there, so I had the room all to myself and spread out all over the floor.

I followed one of the retreat plans in my prayer book, spent some time going back through my quiet time journal, and asking God for some insight on my next speaking engagement.

I love going back through the past month or so and seeing themes emerge from my quiet time, Bible study, and whatever else is going on in my life. The thing that stood out to me today was this: CONTRAST.

Contrast between life before Christ and life with Christ. Contrast between the law of sin and death and the law of grace. Contrast between being lost and being found, between darkness and light, between despair and hope. Contrast between going through the day in my own self and in my own energy and power and going through the day in God's power and energy and plan. There's a difference in life then and life now. Does the contrast show? Does my life as a believer contrast with the world around me?

Lots to think about.

The other thing that I did was to pull my notes together from the last three video sessions of Stepping Up on the three pilgrim feasts. I like to have notes handy to keep in my Bible from conferences or Bible studies so that I see them on a regular basis and have them on hand, tucked into the page in my Bible where they belong.

This means, of course, that if I drop my Bible, papers go flying everywhere! Because I have a sheet with the twelve sons of Jacob and who their mother was and what their names mean, a sheet on how Christ is represented in all the various elements of the tabernacle, and so on. And now I have one of for the three pilgrim feasts as they relate to the Psalms of Ascents.

Here's the file, for those of you doing the study. Feel free to modify it however it will work best for you and with whatever stood out to you from your notes when you saw the video sessions.

Click below to download The Pilgrim Feasts:
Download the_pilgrimage_feasts.doc

Off to spend some time in Avonlea, because the other night it was just time to have my yearly visit with Anne and Marilla and Matthew again at Green Gables...

A little applique...

I bought the girls some shirts at Walmart last week--like $3.50! While we watched movies last week, I did some fun applique.

Some great Japanese fabric for Emma and Audrey, appliqued and embellished with some beads (click for a larger view):

And matching birdie shirts for spring:

You can also do applique on shirts you already have--especially over stains. As my friend Jen says, "A whole new shirt or sweatshirt out of something you were planning to throw away!"

**ADDED LATER**

Katie left a comment below asking for some instructions...so here you go!

You'll need:
a shirt, onesie, sweatshirt--something to applique (be sure it's prewashed and dried)
something to put on the shirt--a shape or picture cut from fabric (I like cotton fabric best for this)
package of Heat and Bond Ultra
iron and ironing board
embroidery floss and needle
beads, buttons, sequins

Cut out what you'd like to applique onto your shirt. Following the instructions, apply Heat and Bond to the wrong side of the shape. Then iron your shirt to make it smooth, decide on placement, and iron your applique onto the shirt.

Embellish with embroidery and beads. It's important to do some sort of a running stitch around the outside edge. (Or you can stitch down the edges with a straight stitch on your machine, or even a zigzag stitch.) While I've read in books that the Heat and Bond will hold permanently, it hasn't for me. The first onesie I did came out of the wash with the edges curled and coming up randomly.

For stretchy cotton shirts, I think two strands of embroidery floss is about perfect. Any more and it it gets a little lumpy. Any beads or buttons will depend on the person wearing it--I don't use beads or buttons for babies or toddlers--and the thing you've chosen to applique.

That's it!

Morning songs

One of the things I love about being a mom is waking my kids up in the morning. All too often, they are up and at 'em before I head upstairs, but every once in a while, I get to tiptoe into their rooms and wake them up for school.

My mom used to sing to us in the mornings; and it's something I do too. Here's my favorites:

"This is the day, this is the day, that the LORD has made, that the LORD has made!
I will rejoice, I will rejoice, and be glad in it, and be glad in it!
This is the day that the LORD has made;
I will rejoice and be glad in it!
This is the day, this is the day, that the LORD has made!"

"Rise and shine and give God the glory, glory!
Rise and shine and give God the glory, glory!
Rise and shine and give God the glory, glory, children of the LORD!"

Of course, that one just begs to be customized, so this morning Audrey got the original, quickly followed by this one:

"Rise and shine, it's time to go to school-y!
O, rise and shine, it's time to go to school-y!
Get your booty out of the bed-y, bed-y,
Audrey, my girl, Heim!"

Then there's the one from Oklahoma:

"O what a beautiful morning, O what a beautiful day!
I've got a beautiful feeling everything's going my way."

Or from Singing in the Rain, another one that just loves some improvisation:

"Good morning, good morning!
It's great to stay up late;
Good morning, good morning to you!"

"Good morning, good morning!
It's time to go to school;
Good morning, good morning to you!"

Or from Bullfrogs and Butterflies (anyone else remember that one?!):

"Good morning, good morning, good morning!
It's time to rise and shine.
Good morning, good morning, good morning!
I hope you're feeling fine.
The sun is just above the hill, another day for us to fill
With all the things we love to do
Doodley-do, doodley-do, doodley-do!
Good morning, good morning, good morning!
It's time to rise and shine!"

We are a singing family. Not that any of us sings particularly well. But we sing about everything--the more made up as we go the better. Toben is especially good at rhyming and sings to the girls about everything from doing homework to brushing their teeth to getting ready for church. They laugh and complain and tell him he gets "snaps and claps only"--but secretly they LOVE it!

Week four, Stepping Up

We've been out with family tonight and I need to help Audrey with vision therapy, so no long blogging tonight. But let me just say that if you're doing Beth Moore's Stepping Up, just wait until week four. It's awesome!

I can't wait to have some time tomorrow to transfer my notes from the video session into my Bible and think through it all again...