Thursday, October 31, 2013

American Girl class: Felicity2: Week 2

We had a fun and fancy American Girl class this week! We discussed Felicity Learns A Lesson, the second book in the series. Then we had fun making a mob cap and decorating a straw hat. I got the directions on how to make a mob cap here. I gave each of the girls an 18" round piece of white fabric, and they hand-sewed a ribbon into it with a yard needle. These hats go pretty quickly!
 For the straw hats, I had to order them online. A few years ago I had gotten them at Hobby Lobby, but they don't carry them anymore. I wanted to make this craft last week, but these hats hadn't arrived yet. I gave each of the girls a 2 yard piece of ribbon. I bought a few picks of flowers at Hobby Lobby and let them each choose a few for their hat. We hot-glued the ribbons, flowers and leaves to the hats. We discussed how the flowers were in the back so that when you walk, the people behind you can see them. The hat was worn to shade the face outdoors in colonial times. (Felicity wears a similar hat on page 18 of the book.)

  Love seeing the girls wearing their hats while eating gingerbread for snack! The gingerbread recipe can be found here. It was delicious, very gingery and we even had whipped cream on top! The girls loved it!

 Here is the whole class in their pretty hats-- so Victorian and fancy! (Sorry this pic is blurry-- this one was better than the others!)

The 2:00 class working on their mob caps...

This girl showing off her cap! (usually worn for cleaning and keeping the hair clean.)

 Love to see them wearing the caps!
While we were waiting for the hot glue guns to warm up, I had the girls work on a copywork page. I made the page using this website and printed the pages out! They copied the same phrase that Felicity worked on in our book. 

 The class modeling their mob caps and straw hats...
 Showing the back of the hats, which is prettier! I hope we will begin to work on our cross-stitch ongoing project next week! We didn't have time to get to it this week.

It was another fancy Felicity class! The girls are really enjoying Felicity!


Isaiah 40:8
The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever.”

Matthew 6:28
“And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin.

Luke 12:27
“Consider how the wild flowers grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.

Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Wordless Wednesday: Carving Pumpkins!

(Well, almost wordless!)
Last night we carved pumpkins! Rebekah had carved one at her youth group last week, so she helped Mallory with one. Caleb and Bethany chose the design together, and Caleb did a majority of the cutting. It was a fun time, and Daddy roasted pumpkin seeds! We liked how they both turned out!
 cleaning out the guts...
 drawing and carving...
 Mallory did a little cutting too...
 The girls chose a cute cat face!
Daddy helped Caleb with some of the details...

Bethany and Caleb with their pumpkin...
The line -up outside (with Rebekah's VeggieTales Bob pumpkin too!)

2 Corinthians 5:17
Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.

Matthew 5:16
In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

2 Corinthians 4:6
 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,”[a] made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.

Monday, October 28, 2013

Music Monday: "Love take me over"

Steven Curtis ChapmanThis is a new song by Steven Curtis Chapman and I love it! It is upbeat, and I love the message that I need His love to take me over! I like the idea that I can only show love when I really know how loved I am-- by God! God is love, and when we know Him, we can know His love in our lives. He can take us over so we can show love in a supernatural way-- when we don't "feel like it" or feel the person "deserves" our love. God in His grace can help us show love to that other person. His love is powerful! I hope you know God and His love. To know more, you can follow this link.

Love Take Me Over

Steven Curtis Chapman


I hear the clock beep, pull me out of my sleep
Tell me there's a day ahead of me
Trying to wake up, sipping on a hot cup
With the little lady in green

And I'm praying ‘bout the man I wanna be
Saying, God, please take all of me
And fill me up with Your love

Love, take these words that I'm speaking
Love, take these thoughts that I'm thinking
Love, take me over
Love, fill up all of my space and
Love, stand right here in my place
Love, hear this prayer that I'm praying
Love, take me, Love, take me over
Love, take me over

This is what I'm sure of, I can only show love
When I really know how loved I am
When it over takes me, then it animates me
Flowing from my heart into my hands

So I'm praying, Father, help my heart believe
That right now You're singing over me
And fill me up with Your love

Let your never-ending, never-failing, all-consuming love
Take over me

So I am praying, Father, help my heart believe
That right now You're singing over me
And fill me up with Your love

Love, take everything that I'm doing
Love, like a river, flow through me
Love, take me over
Love, fill up all of my space and
Love, stand right here in my place
Love, hear this prayer that I'm praying
Love, take me, Love, take me over
Love, take me, Love, take me over
Love, take me, Love, take me over
Love, take me over



Publishing: © 2013 Chappy Campers Music (BMI) (admin. by Primary Wave/Wixen Music). All rights reserved. Used by permission.
Writer(s): Steven Curtis Chapman


You can listen to the song on YouTube here. 


I hope you enjoy this song as much as I do! Do you have any new songs you like? I'd love to listen to yours too!


Zephaniah 3:17
“The Lord your God is in your midst, A victorious warrior. He will exult over you with joy, He will be quiet in His love, He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy.

1 John 4:7-12
Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.8 The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love. 9 By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. 10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has seen God at any time; if we love one another, God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us.

1 Corinthians 13:4-7

Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Thursday, October 24, 2013

American Girl class: Felicity#2 week 1

Yesterday we had our first day of Felicity in our American Girl class! 

I surprised the girls by dressing up in my colonial fancy dress, complete with "petticoat", a "shift", and stockings. My dress also had a cape that tied around my neck. I wore my mob cap and straw hat on my head, and white gloves. It was fun to see their faces and their reactions, (i.e. "Wow!" and "You look great!" and "I love your dress!" I received many other compliments from parents and kids around the co-op too.  

So when the girls came into class, we discussed my outfit and what type of clothing was worn in the 1770's. This is a page which I read from with more information about dressing in colonial times. (I printed the pages!) I didn't get a picture of my outfit yesterday, but it is similar to the picture from 2 1/2 years ago, which you can see here.
 After we discussed Meet Felicity, book one in the series, we began our craft. (I had originally planned to make straw hats and mob caps, but the hats I ordered didn't arrive until four hours after class began! So we will make those next week!) I was unsure how long this craft would take. We had made "Tea Towel" aprons a few years ago and I think they took much longer last time! I did buy thinner tea towels this time, and I think that made the craft easier.

 Each girl got one tea towel, made a pocket in the top by folding over the top of the towel and hand-sewed the edge down. Several of the girls had done hand-sewing at home, and that helped a lot! After they finished sewing with their needle and thread, they each received a 1 1/4 yard of 7/8" wide ribbon. Last time I think I gave them 2 yards, but that was too much. The length was perfect for most of the girls to wrap around their waist and tie!
Here are two girls modeling their aprons (below is my daughter!)...

 For snack we had queen cakes. You can find the recipe here. I found the original recipe in Felicity's Craft Book. One of the moms had a hard time finding currants as called for, so she substituted golden raisins. Also, the recipe called for rose water, and she substituted orange essential oil. They were delicious, and even were fancy with powdered sugar on top. Instead of the usual drink of water, we had hot raspberry tea, and the mom brought sugar cubes! The girls all loved it!
 Eating snack-- you can see a queen cake on the table...
 Another cutie shpwing off her apron, with big sister looking on...

The 2:00 class working on their aprons...


 And some more cuties modeling the aprons!


 I also passed out the geography pages for Felicity, but we didn't have much time to get to them. You can find the U.S. map here (to color the state of Virginia), and the Virginia page here.

It was a fun class and I am looking forward to wearing a different dress and discussing Felicity more next week!


Acts 19:11-12

God was performing extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul, so that handkerchiefs or aprons were even carried from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out. 

Mark 5:26-28

... and had endured much at the hands of many physicians, and had spent all that she had and was not helped at all, but rather had grown worse— after hearing about Jesus, she came up in the crowd behind Him and touched His cloak. For she thought, “If I just touch His garments, I will get well.”

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Craft: Name Plaques

This is a craft idea that I found in a book by Marilyn Boyer (a homeschool mother of 14!) called Fun Projects for Hands-On Character Building. I heard Marilyn speak at a homeschool conference years ago and I really liked her talks. She discussed lots of the ideas in the book, and one that I really liked was about Name Plaques. She discusses that people tend to live up to the meaning of their names. She says it is important that parents know the meanings of the names of their children and work to attach special literal, Biblical and character connotations to them.

Her directions in the book were pretty simple: make or buy a plaque. You can find a motif of your child's name on a card, possibly at a Christian book store. You can also make your own on special paper by printing, drawing or writing with calligraphy. She says to be sure to include a Bible verse with some reference to a character quality reflected in the meaning of their name. To finish the plaque, use your favorite decoupage lacquer.

I have found these plaques at several craft stores. They cost a few dollars each. I have a calligraphy font on my computer, so I have the design laid out now and I just type in the name/ verse and print. (I do know how to write calligraphy, but the computer allows it to be more consistent and easier to make!)  I have made many of these plaques over the years for friends' and family member's new babies. The one above is one that I recently made for my new niece. I love that they can have the meaning of their name and a Bible verse related to the meaning just for them-- hanging in their home. I have one for each of my children near their beds and we read it occasionally to remind them of the meaning of their name.



The book that I use to find the meaning of their name and related Bible verse is called The Name Book by Dorothy Astoria. You can find it on Amazon.com here. The names are found alphabetically, each entry has various spellings, language/ cultural origin, inherent meaning, spiritual connotation and a scripture. Our daughter Bethany's inherent meaning is 'house of figs' and the verse is about figs (Matt. 7:16). We decided we liked the meaning of Beth Ann more, which has a nicer verse included (Acts 2:39). So we used the book as a guide for the meanings, but took a little liberty there!

I cut the printed paper and apply it to the plaque with Mod Podge (my favorite decoupage lacquer). It does take several hours or overnight to dry. Then I put a hanger back on it so it can easily be hung on the wall. I enjoy seeing them in my family and friends' homes!

Btw, my name means "youthful" which I have known for many years. I always thought that was part of the reason that I enjoy children and teaching!

Do you have any similar crafts that you've made for children in your life? I'd love to hear about them!


Genesis 3:20
Now the man called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all the living.

Genesis 17:5
“No longer shall your name be called Abram, But your name shall be Abraham; For I have made you the father of a multitude of nations.

Genesis 29:35
And she conceived again and bore a son and said, “This time I will praise the Lord.” Therefore she named him Judah. Then she stopped bearing.

John 1:42
He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of John; you shall be called Cephas” (which is translated Peter).

Monday, October 21, 2013

Music Monday: "Pushing Back the Dark"

Josh Wilson

This is another song that I've heard on the radio, and I just love the lyrics. I some days need this encouragement-- in my depression times to push back the dark. Other people may have other things that are "dark" in their lives-- different areas of sin, darkness or discouraging times. I like the idea that God has a bigger plan that we may not see, that somebody needs the light we have in our lives, and God gives us that light in our soul. We need to shine for God in a lost world! Hope you enjoy this song! It's my new favorite song!

Pushing Back The Dark 

by Josh Wilson

One million reasons why, you shouldn't even try
After all you're just one heart, a single candle in the dark
And there are shadows here, feeding on your fears
That you don't have what it takes
Who are you to make a change

But oh, oh, don't underestimate the God you follow

Whatever you do, just don't look back 
Somebody needs the light you have
Whatever you do, just don't lose heart
Keep on pushing back the dark
Keep on pushing back the dark

The city on a hill, it should be shining still
Every sinner saved by grace, has a purpose, has a place 
Inside the bigger plan, we might not understand
But if we just keep walking on, we will see the Kingdom come, yeah

Whatever you do, just don't look back
Oh somebody needs the light you have 
Whatever you do, just don't lose heart
Keep on pushing back the dark
Keep on pushing back the dark

(Let your lights so shine...) 
Oh, oh, don't underestimate the God you follow
He is the light that burns inside your soul
So keep on shining 'til the whole world knows

Whatever you do, just don't look back
Somebody needs the light you have
Whatever you do, just don't lose heart
Keep on pushing back the dark
Just keep on pushing back the dark, dark

Whatever you do, just don't look back
Cause somebody needs the light you have
Whatever you do, just don't lose heart 
Keep on pushing back the dark
Keep on pushing back the dark, yeah 

When you feel like you're too small 
To do any good at all 
Like a sunrise through the window 
Like a symphony crescendo 

We are waking up again, we are rising from the dead 
We are shining like the stars, we are pushing back the dark 
Yeah, we are pushing back, pushing back the dark 

--------------------------------------------

Publishing: (c) 2013 Meaux Jeaux Music, Rock And A Harding Place (SESAC), Centricity Publishing, Songs Of Southside Independant Music Publishing, External Combustion Music, Songs For Delaney (ASCAP)

Writer(s): Josh Wilson, James Tealy, and Matthew West

---------------------------------------------------------------------
You can listen to this song on YouTube here.



Matthew 5:13-16

“You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men. “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven."


John 8:12
Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.”

Friday, October 18, 2013

Faithful Friday: Whatever is...

Found this graphic and I liked it...

These are definitely better things to think of-- truth, nobleness, righteousness, purity, loveliness, excellence...



Philippians 4:4-8

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

Thursday, October 17, 2013

American Girl class: Kaya#2 Week 6

This week's class was our last week of Kaya! 

We discussed the sixth book in the Kaya series, Changes for Kaya. After we discussed the book, I introduced my church friend, Mrs. Brown as our guest speaker! Mrs. Brown is one-half Indian, from the Pawnee tribe. She grew up in Oklahoma and talked about where different tribes lived, the various languages and more. She spoke in Pawnee, sang the song, "Amazing Grace" and she spoke a little Navajo too. She showed her outfit, explained how she made almost all of it, and where she got some of her jewelry (her aunt, I think). She also talked about Indian dances, and showed us a little bit of a dance she knew. She talked about types of dances that mostly women do at the powwow, but some men dance too. There was a buffalo dance, a jingle dance, a social dance and more. The girls really enjoyed her talk, and so did I!

She also showed her purses too, which were very intricate and beautiful with all of the beading! Her fan was made with artificial eagle feathers, which she explained. They can't use real eagle feathers to make them since they are an endangered species. 
 After our wonderful guest speaker, we had our snack, which was Corn Griddle Cakes. They were a lot like pancakes and the mom brought honey for the top. The girls really enjoyed them. You can find the recipe here.
 After snack, we made our craft, which was a mini woven basket. I found the pattern and directions to make them here. I thought the girls would like to try some basket weaving, and that pattern was much easier and less time-consuming than any other directions that I've seen. I printed the pattern in 150 % so that the circles were about 4 1/2" across. The girls cut the pattern, traced it onto brown foam and cut out the basket design.
 Then they wove the raffia strips (three each) around, in and out of the basket spokes. I forgot my hot glue, and the regular glue worked ok. Several of the girls had a hard time getting them woven very well, and the hot glue really would have helped. We did have to pull a little bit on the raffia to get it to work.
 I was happy that the girls just kept trying, and several of them finished it in each class. I just love their sweet smiles!
In the 2:00 class, Mrs. Brown spoke again, and I caught her showing a dance wearing her pretty shawl with all of the threads on the bottom, which moved while dancing!
 Eating snack...
 These two girls in black have begun to become sweet friends!
This girl finished her basket too-- love her pose! :-D

It was a fun class, and I am looking forward to beginning FELICITY next week!



Exodus 2:3-5

But when she could hide him no longer, she got a papyrus basket for him and coated it with tar and pitch. Then she placed the child in it and put it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile.  His (Moses') sister stood at a distance to see what would happen to him.
Then Pharaoh’s daughter went down to the Nile to bathe, and her attendants were walking along the riverbank. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her female slave to get it.


Mark 8:18-20

( Jesus asked them )"Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear? And don’t you remember?  When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?”  “Twelve,” they replied.
 “And when I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?”  They answered, “Seven.”

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

WFMW: Organizing

Works For Me Wednesday- Organizing
Some of you that know me well know that I love to organize. I am happiest when my house is neat and organized. With kids, most days I am fighting an uphill battle! But I keep trying...



This past Sunday, our Pastor spoke about how sin can be clutter in our lives. I thought about this, and decided that I really liked this analogy. Sin distracts us from God, separating us from Him and His way. It gets in the way of what God desires for us. Clutter is much the same-- distracts us in our lives from Him and His purposes of being clean and orderly. Clutter can distract others in our home from the work that is needed to be done. I know it distracts my kids when cleaning their room... like finding a "new" old toy or book.

So in an effort to contain clutter in my home, mind and life, I have books that I have gotten at Goodwill or thrift stores that help. But even the books can become clutter! Maybe an e-book would be better...?

I found a few quotes online by Vicki Norris that I like...

"I think that being organized is intrinsically connected to your quality of life,” she says. “Also, we don’t live this perfect Martha Stewart life. Being organized doesn’t mean that you live in a magazine. That scares people and it doesn’t seem approachable to people.”
At Restoring Order, Norris and her staff prefer to live an “ordered” life versus an “organized” life.
“Living an ordered life is living life on purpose, putting first things first,” she explains. “Think how your life feels when you can find things and you’re not embarrassed to open your garage doors so your neighbors can see ... then you can live in peace. When you order your life, you regain peace, and that’s priceless.”  (emphasis mine)
Here is a blog that I found that I like, with lots of posts on organizing... go check it out!
http://www.neatlittlenest.com/#!

You can find more organizing posts on my blog here.


1 Corinthians 14:33

For God is not a God of disorder but of peace—as in all the congregations of the Lord’s people.

Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord.” And you forgave the guilt of my sin.

Acts 8:22-24

Repent of this wickedness and pray to the Lord in the hope that he may forgive you for having such a thought in your heart. For I see that you are full of bitterness and captive to sin.”
Then Simon answered, “Pray to the Lord for me so that nothing you have said may happen to me.”

Tuesday, October 15, 2013

"Toss-back" Tuesday: Mom and Caleb

Found these pictures of Caleb and I when he was about a year old... such a sweet boy. Enjoy my "toss-back" pics for today!



1 Samuel 3:6
Again the Lord called, “Samuel!” And Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.” “My son,” Eli said, “I did not call; go back and lie down.”

Proverbs 3:21
My son, do not let wisdom and understanding out of your sight, preserve sound judgment and discretion;

John 14:13
And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

Thursday, October 10, 2013

American Girl Class: Kaya#2 Week 5

This week in American Girl class, we discussed the fifth book, Kaya Shows The Way
 This was a very simple pattern that I made by looking online at my friend's posts about making dresses. It is a dead link now... :( 

Here is the basic "pattern": 
I cut each piece of fabric 15" X 22" and folded it in half (so it was 11"). Then each of the girls cut a hole in the top middle for the neck, approx 4" across with a small V in the middle of their own dress. They fringed the bottom on both sides, and a little (4-5 times) around the arms. We tied the dress around the waist with an 18" piece of hemp cord. I had each girl string 4 beads onto the hemp and tie knots on each side before they tied it in the back. It was a fun and easy craft!

Here is what the dolls looked like wearing their "Kaya" dresses.

 It was fun to line them all up and see the differences between the dresses and the dolls...
For snack, we had Bannock. You can find the recipe here. The two classes had different bannock. One of the moms made her recipe to be more like corn bread. Some of the girls liked it. It was a very different snack, and I was proud of them for trying it!

Bannock

The Chippewa took these fried cakes along when the tribe was moving or warriors were hunting. They are, however, best eaten hot.

1 1/2 cups cornmeal
1/2 cup water
4 tablespoons melted butter or bacon drippings
4 tablespoons maple syrup or honey
1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)
3 to 4 tablespoons cooking oil (for frying)

In a bowl, combine cornmeal, water, butter or bacon drippings, syrup and salt.

In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons oil over medium-high heat. Drop batter by tablespoonsful into hot oil. Flatten with spatula and fry cakes until crisp and browned on both sides. Add more oil as needed.

Serves 4 to 6.


  After snack, we talked about Salmon. I gave the girls a page from the internet that talked more about salmon. You can find the page here.
You can find and download info about salmon here: http://library.stjosephsea.org/salmon.htm
Girls coloring the salmon page.
I also read two page layouts from Welcome to Kaya's World. We read the pages about salmon and about how dresses were made from animal hides. Both were very interesting!

 The 2:00 class...

The bummer was that all the girls forgot their dolls, so we couldn't try the dresses on them. The girls still enjoyed making the dress, and looked forward to trying them on the dolls at home. 

Also, some of the moms and I have talked about making moccasins in class. I bought a kit at HobbyLobby and made some for myself. I think it would be too difficult to make in class, since the hour is short, and some of the younger girls would have a harder time with it. If the girls are interested, the kits at HobbyLobby are between $10-13, and they usually have a 40% off coupon in the Sunday paper. I did show the moccasins in class this week.



Ruth 3:3
Wash, put on perfume, and get dressed in your best clothes. Then go down to the threshing floor, but don’t let him know you are there until he has finished eating and drinking.

Ezekiel 16:10
I clothed you with an embroidered dress and put sandals of fine leather on you. I dressed you in fine linen and covered you with costly garments.

Luke 12:27
“Consider how the wild flowers grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.
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