Christmas, Christmas, Now is Here!

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Christmas, Christmas, now is here!
Festival most glorious;
Bringing joy beyond compare;
Blessed mirth and gladness.

Singing praises unto Thee
Heavenly Father holy,
Who bestows abundantly
Goodness, grace and mercy.

Jesus came this Christmas night,
Friend so true and precious.
From the shades of gloom to light,
Early He has sought us.

When this Holy Child is nigh
Guiding on this journey
To our homeland shore on high
He will lead us surely.

Peace, oh blessed peace is here,
When His spirit holy
Strengthens us in faith sincere
Doth our Christ-Child lowly.

Tho' life's stormy winds may blow,
And the world may scorn us;
Naught can mar our rest, we know.
We have peace of Christmas!

Oh To Sing A New Song!

Checking my to-do list again and wondering if everything will get done in time for our Thanksgiving dininer guests tomorrow.
Running to the store to get one more ingredient.
Checking my list again!
At times, I feel a bit overwhelmed and maybe a teeny bit panicky.
I've even stomped about and grumbled under my breath a few times.
Sometimes feeling a little overworked and underpaid!
As I was running my last few errands, I was reminded of those less fortunate than myself.
Here I am, perfectly healthy, a cart full of groceries, all of my children home for the holiday, a husband with a job, a warm home and an enormous amount of material blessings and I only seem worried about whether the house is clean and I have everything on my to-do list done!
That's it!
It's time I start singing a new song!
So, I think about what I've been given. It is Thanksgiving, after all!
And when I think of what I've been given, I don't think so much about the material things or the warm home or all these earthly gifts, tho, I am so very thankful for these!
Tears come to my eyes when I think of how selfish I can be when I realize that I would still have Everything even if I had nothing of this earth to my name!
God has given me everything in Jesus!
I am thankful for all this food, for our family, health, home, friends, a car to drive, clothes to wash, rugs to clean, walls to scrub, my baby's dirty face and paint on her clothes, a country to live in that still honors thanking our Lord, the freedom to be all that God created us to be but most of all I am thankful for the grace that has been freely given to me.
It's been freely given to all and I pray everyone will come to know of God's most precious gift!

"O sing unto the Lord a new song"-Psalm 98:1
"Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands. Serve the Lord with gladness: come before his presence with singing. Know ye that the Lord he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations."-Psalm 100

May you all have a beautiful, blessed Thanksgiving Day!

George Washington's Prayer for Our Country

Almighty God: We make our earnest prayer that Thou wilt keep the United States in Thy holy protection: that Thou wilt incline the hearts of the citizens to cultivate a spirit of subordination and obedience to government, and entertain a brotherly affection and love for one another and for their fellow citizens of the United States at large.
And finally that Thou wilt most graciously be pleased to dispose us all to do justice, to love mercy, and to demean ourselves with that charity, humility, and pacific temper of mind which were the characteristics of the Divine Author of our blessed religion, and without a humble imitation of whose example in these things we can never hope to be a happy nation.
Grant our supplication, we beseech Thee, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
~George Washington

May God continue to bless America on this election day!

Thirteen Names of Virtues by Benjamin Franklin

This is straight from Benjamin Franklin's Autobiography!
Words of Wisdom!

Thirteen Names of Virtues:

1. Temeperence.
Eat not to Dulness,
Drink not to Elevation.

2. Silence
Speak not but what may benefit others or yourself.  Avoid trifling conversation.

3. Order.
Let all your Things have their Places.  Let each Part of your Business have its Time.

4. Resolution.
Resolve to perform what you ought.  Perform without fail what you resolve.

5. Frugality.
Make no Expence but to do good to others or yourself: i.e. Waste nothing.

6. Industry.
Lose no time.  Be always employ'd in something useful.  Cut off all unnecessary Actions.

7. Sincerity.
Use no hurtful Deceit.
Think innocently and justly; and, if you speak, speak accordingly.

8. Justice.
Wrong none, by doing Injuries or omitting the Benefits that are your Duty.

9. Moderation.
Avoid Extreams.  Forbear resenting Injuries so much as you think they deserve.

10. Cleanliness
Tolerate no Uncleanness in Body, Cloaths or Habitation.

11. Tranquility
Be not disturbed at Triflles, or at Accidents common or unavoidable.

12. Chastity.
Rarely use Venery* but for Health or Offspring; Never to Dulness, Weakness, or the Injury of your own or another's Peace or Reputation.

13.
 Humility.
Imitate Jesus and Socrates.

He writes as follows:
"My Intention being to acquire the Habitude of all these Virtues, I judg'd it would be well not to distract my Attention by attempting the whole at once, but to fix it on one of them at a time, and when I should be Master of that, then to proceed to another, and so on till I should have gone thro' the thirteen." 
"I us'd also sometimes a little Prayer which I took from Thomson's Poems. viz
     Father of Light and Life, thou Good supreme,
   O teach me what is good, teach me thy self!
   Save me from Folly, Vanity and Vice, 
   From every low Pursuit, and fill my Soul
   With Knowledge, conscious Peace, and Virtue pure,
   Sacred, substantial, neverfading bliss!"
  
Great advice for me!  I am always trying to master too many things at once and it does NOT work!
I think I will try to listen to Ben's advice!
Thanks, Ben!

*Yes, it means what you think it does!  I looked it up in the dictionary just to make sure!

The Capsule Wardrobe

So, now that I'm de-cluttering, and having so much fun doing it, I decided I need a capsule wardrobe.
A wardrobe of a few basic pieces of clothing to mix and match for a variety of daily outfits.
I have always loved the idea of this and even came close to accomplishing it quite a few years ago
but somehow I kept accumulating more clothing without getting rid of any!
Leads to clutter that constantly needs organizing!
And staring at a closet full of clothes on Sunday mornings trying to figure out what to wear is NOT fun!
I am SO tired of that!

I got rid of more than 40 pieces of clothing!
I know, it is so ridiculous!
And I still have to go through footwear, coats and accessories!
Honestly, it is SO exciting to see the clutter LEAVE!
You HAVE to try it!

The basic capsule wardrobe consists of basic pieces in neutral colors that suit you;
navy, black, brown, gray or shades of white (cream, ivory, tan etc).
I'm going with black, brown and ivory.
I took everything out of my closet and piled them on my bed.
Then, I took my favorite pieces and tried to come up with as many outfits as possible.
It was amazing how many different looks I got from a few pieces!
I added different shoes, bags, scarves, etc, to make the outfits more exciting.

It is so much easier to pick out what to wear now!
I even used the camera on my phone to snap a few outfits in case I get brain fog!
Love it!

Here are a few examples of a basic capsule wardrobe:
The first one is from www.nicolelsinclair.com
and the second is from www.simple-ways-to.com
I hope it simplifies your life a bit like it did mine!
Have fun!
P.S. I am working on the kids clothing now in the same way!

Let Us Be Therewith Content

OK, so we're doing Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover and it got me thinking of all the 'stuff' we are always buying and accumulating. Dave calls it a case of 'stuffitits!"
WHY?
Why do we need so much of everything?
It just clutters our home and causes stress!
I recently read an article that stated that over 80% of the world's people live on less than $10 a day and here we are spending money like crazy on stuff that we don't need! (By the way, that means most of us are considerably RICH compared to most of the world!)
So, I continue to ask myself, WHY?
Where are we going with this? 
What's the sense of it all?
Frankly, I think I would be so much happier if I didn't have to organize, store, clean and keep track of SO MUCH STUFF!!
I know I would have a whole lot more time for more enjoyable things, that's for sure!
My plan is to get rid of stuff and re-train our whole family's thought process from 'more' to 'enough'!
We have EVERYTHING and more!
We are rich in every way!
We have SO much to be thankful for!
Yet, we are always looking for 'more'.
Hmmm. It's not right. I no longer want to live in the state of 'wanting'.
I want to live in a state of 'contentment'.
I want to 'lay up my treasures in heaven', instead of piling them up on the floor and in the closets and stuffed in bags and boxes and shelves!
I am excited!
I will be getting a clean house,
and a less cluttered mind,
and a contented heart!
Hooray for CONTENTMENT!
Who's with me?
Anyone?
"...and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee." He. 13.5

Summer Notes to Myself

Ahhh, summer!
Lazy days and dreamy nights!
I am SO ready!
The formal school year is over and thoughts of summer outings, fun projects and relaxing days fill my head!
And since I'm a list maker, I made a little list with notes to myself of things we can do to make this a FUN summer!

1) Invite swimming company-slice up watermelon and make homemade iced tea lemonade.
2) Visit the local Farmer's market-grill up local veggies for Saturday night BBQ and make fresh berry shortcake for dessert. Invite company.
3) Freeze fruit and yogurt into popsicles.
4) Organize a summer craft box for crafting outside at any given time.
5) Visit the local parks, large or small-keep a cooler in car for drinks and snacks, a pair of binoculars for bird watching, a blanket and a ball.
6) Make homemade ice cream
7) Go to the beach! Make homemade natural sunscreen, make sure baby has her sunhat, construct a 'beach' tent for shade!  Bring lots of water and snacks, and a great summer read!
8) Sign up for the library summer reading program and participate in all the summer programs that they offer!
9) Organize the 'lawn' games-bocce, whiffle-ball, horseshoes, volleyball, etc.  Invite company for a tournament.
10) Give the kids ideas: make a fort, put on an outdoor play-make tickets-invite an audience-make popcorn, paint rocks, make flower crowns, set up a lemonade stand, help your mama with a few chores in the morning, etc.
11) Have a  midsummer night dinner party-tell everyone to wear white, string white lights in the tree branches, light candles, have the hubby grill fish and vegetables.
12) Go camping-bring bikes
13) Eat breakfast on the front porch, sing praises with the birds!
14) Bring the kids fishing out on the boat.
15) Have hubby bring ME out on the boat.
16) Visit the local botanical gardens-pack a picnic!
17) Go to the 4th of July parade, decorate t-shirts, see the fireworks!  BUY fireworks!
18) Visit the local fairs.
19) Go golfing, play tennis, rollerblade, jumprope, play hopscotch and four-square.
20) Work on a summer project-create a new garden spot, build a fort, help out a neighbor, etc.
21) Make summer pies! Peach is my favorite! Serve with homemade ice cream or real whipped cream!
22) Dig in the dirt! Plant a few vegetables, a few new perennials.
23) Let the local Robin build her nest in the hanging flowering basket-watch her babies grow up!
24) Have a midnight snack outside and watch the fireflies, gaze at the stars, count our blessings!
25) Hang up a hammock, make outdoor summer pillows, hang a breezy canopy, enjoy the outdoors!

Here are some local summer events we would like to get to:
~Library programs
~Hamburg Family Fun Fest-June 13-15
~Fireworks at Kensington MetroPark-June 16
~Michigan Philharmonic Symphony 'An American Salute' free concert at Kensington MetroPark at 8:00 pm-June 22
~Outdoor weekly concerts in local towns.
~Howell Balloonfest-June 22-24
~Local waterski shows-Silver Lake, etc.
~Fowlerville Family Fair-July 23-28
~Colonial Kensington-Kensington MetroPark-August 11-12 Free
~Rodeo-Gaines, Michigan-July, Coldwater, MI- August 10
~Howell Melon Fest-August 17-19
~Selfridge Air Show-around 3rd weekend in August

If you have any other ideas, I would love you to share with me!
I hope your summer is blest with family, faith and friends!

God's Helpers

 

 

 

 

God's Helpers

God could not be in every place
With loving hands to help erase
The teardrops from each baby's face,
And so He thought of mother.

He could not send us here alone
And leave us to a fate unknown;
Without providing for His own,
The outstretched arms of mother.

God could not watch us night and day
And kneel beside our crib to pray,
Or kiss our little aches away;
And so He sent us mother.

And when our childhood days began,
He simply could not take command.
That's why He placed our tiny hand
Securely into mother's.

The days of youth slipped quickly by,
Life's sun rose higher in the sky.
Full grown were we, yet ever nigh
To love us still, was mother.

And when life's span of years shall end,
I know that God will gladly send,
To welcome home her child again,
That ever-faithful mother.
--George W. Wiseman

May Day Baskets

I found this phota at www.childmode.com

Oh, my goodness! Is it May already?
I just remembered that I always wanted to do a May Day basket!
And I think, traditionally, it is supposed to be done on May 1st, isn't it?
And, here it is, May 1st!
I guess the tradition is to make a basket of flowers and surprise someone by hanging it on their door, fence post, tree branch, light post, mailbox, etc.
Now is my chance!
The day hasn't passed me by yet!
I am so excited!
Here is one site that I found that gives you an idea of how to make one.
http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/celebrate-may-day-10-diy-may-baskets-170237

It will be our homeschool project for the day!
If I'm on the ball, I will take a picture and post it on here, or facebook, or Pinterest.
But, I'm warning you right now, DON'T HOLD YOUR BREATH!

Have a lovely May Day!
And May your Day be blessed!

Sheep and Lambs

I took the children to the petting farm yesterday and we fell in love with the lambs frolicking in the farmyard.

Our one-year old squealed with delight! We were all squealing with delight!

They were so adorable~frolicking without a care in the world!

We were just so happy to be there at the farm on a sunny Spring day watching these darling little animals play!

A mama sheep was in labor! We will be heading back to the farm today to see if her babies were born!

I came across this poem as I was looking for something appropriate for Easter. It is from an old book I picked up from a used book sale years ago~"Poems for Red Letter Days"

Sheep and Lambs by Katharine Tynan Hinkson

All in the April morning,

April airs were abroad;

The sheep with their little lambs

Pass'd me by on the road.

The sheep with their little lambs

Pass'd me by on the road;

All in an April evening

I thought on the Lamb of God.

The lambs were weary, and crying

With a weak human cry,

I thought on the Lamb of God

Going meekly to die.

Up in the blue, blue mountains

Dewy pastures are sweet:

Rest for the little bodies,

Rest for the little feet.

All in the April evening,

April airs were abroad;

I saw the sheep with their lambs

And thought on the Lamb of God.

Have a beautiful Easter!

Health Tip of the Week!

Health tip of the WEEK (of the MONTH, of the YEAR!):
CUT OUT THE SUGAR!
Sugar is slowly killing us!
It is destroying our immune systems causing disease that sneaks up on us when we least expect it!
It is zapping our energy and making us fat and lethargic!
It interferes with brain function, hormones, sleep patterns, mood, etc, which will in turn interfere with how we will react to stressful situations (and we all know that stress is a killer!)
It affects our relationships and how we interact with eachother!
We are at great risk of losing our health and vitality, our viv and our verve, our joy and our happiness, OUR LIVES, when we feed our bodies this poison!
And the precious children! Oh, how they suffer the consequences of the poison in our food!
There are chemicals in our water supply, chemicals in the food, toxins in the air, etc, etc.
And there is sugar!
Disrupting the body's ability to function properly on top of all of these other assaults taking place!
It reacts as a poison in the body!
It would do a body good to stay away from it all together!

Oh, great!
I am about sure, Laura!
Give me a break!
There is no way to stay away from sugar! It's everywhere! What do you want me to do? Be one of those mom's that don't let her kid eat anything fun!
Don't be ridiculous, Laura!

So, is this what you're thinking?
Probably.
A good way to start eliminating sugar is to not have it at home.
Don't buy it at all!
Stop baking with sugar.
Stop buying the packaged junk!
Leave the pop and juice jugs at the store!
Forget about buying the little sugar-loaded cups of yogurt, puddings, jell-o, candy, cereal!!
Now can you start seeing where it is sneaking into our lives everyday?
It is in almost everything! (And another killer is fast food! It's loaded with sugar and chemicals & slowly destroys all bodily functions!)
So Just stop buying it! (Believe me, you and the kids will be much happier without it! Just wait and see!)

What we do is have no sugar Monday through Friday.
No brownies, no cookies, no ice cream, no juice, no fruit-flovored yogurt, no package cereal, etc.
Not even bakery made with raw organic sugar, sugar cane natural (Sucanat), or any processed sugar.
We will make dessert when friends or company come over on the weekends that may have sugar in them but I will always cut the sugar in half (or more-and I will NEVER bring white sugar into the house at all!) or use a natural sugar substitute like fruit, honey, or stevia.
I made a pumpkin cake for my friend's birthday that had a bit of honey in the cake and crushed pineapple with butter, cream cheese and milk in the frosting! It was very moist and delicious!
Maybe I will post the recipe soon!
Honey has a lot of nutrients and is favored over sugar but can still cause the body harm if overconsumed. It should be treated as a treat, not an everyday indulgent.
I love our local Michigan raw honey that I get from the Country Life co-op www.clnf.org.
There is nothing like it! It's wonderful!
I use it to make granola or granola bars and a teeny bit in my tea on the weekends and for a special dessert.
We will use a bit of honey in homemade chocolate milk for the children when they come in from the snow and cold and even a bit in plain yogurt but we try to keep it to a minimum.
Since we do not have sugar at home, we don't mind if we or the children have it away from home, if it is offered, and on special occasions! The problem lies in the fact that sugar is consumed in huge amounts on a daily basis. Every day is NOT a special occasion!

I encourage you to look up any information regarding the affects of sugar on the body and any recipes for natural, sugar-free food. (Please, NO FAKE SUGAR! It is even more of a poison than processed sugar! Any food that is man-made & processed is not food!) You know what I'm talking about~if we cannot pronounce the ingredients, we shouldn't be eating it!

Here are a few ideas for sugar-free snacks!

No-sugar snacks & food ideas:
1) Fresh fruit
2) Apples or bananas with peanut or almond butter
3) Popcorn
4) Hardboiled eggs
5) Plain yogurt with berries, mashed bananas, etc
6) Cheese sticks
7) Veggies~plain or with hummus, artichoke dip, avocado dip, etc.
8) Celery with peanut or almond butter and raisins
9) Raw nuts & seeds (with dried fruit & dark chocolate chips on occasion)
10) Mini crustless quiche cups made in muffin tins

Little Blessings

I know, so much time has gone since I've last written.
Always in my thoughts, though!
Holidays have come and gone.
We had international company for Thanksgiving; our dear Australian friends whom we met when Shane was in prep grade (kindergarten) way back in 1996!
Yes, it's been that long. Our Aussie baby is 15 years old already!
We had the most wonderful time sharing our American Thanksgiving with them and exploring and enjoying our little piece of earth in our neck of the woods!
I was a bit worried that our way of living would be just too simple for our special guests especially when they would be visiting The Big Apple after their stay with us!
They absolutely loved it here in Michigan and the daughter of our mother/daughter guests is planning on moving here this coming summer!
A special bond took place 15 years ago and there God was, bringing us back together once again!
It really was that special!

Christmas was beautiful and full of blessings and gifts!~One being that our college son was home for a few weeks and we thouroughly enjoyed him and his buddies coming and going!
I loved it!
All of our children home under our roof again!
I know it won't last forever and I am treasuring these small blessings!

Our baby is walking already and growing way too fast!~From college kids down to a baby is keeping us busy and out of other peoples 'hair'~which is a blessing in itself!
Really, it is!
I do pray that God will grant me the wisdom to love each child the way each needs to be loved as they are little masterpieces with their own special needs and growing way too fast!

I guess my own needs our quite simple these days!
I try to enjoy the little and big jobs and challenges of being a mother and wife, knowing that soon our children will be grown and out of the house!
I wish to play a role in giving them a happy childhood!
~One full of love, faith and strong relationships with God, family and others!
Of course, I know I cannot even begin to do this on my own, so I continue to pray that God will graciously guide me.

I am thankful to have this tiny bit of time to write and reflect on these small blessings!
Sometimes I just need to "Be still!"

Blessings to all!