tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-96729085762559342024-03-13T12:48:46.132-07:00With Great JoyStacyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02291035676569127788noreply@blogger.comBlogger1119125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9672908576255934.post-38264971985634399182020-01-04T15:02:00.004-08:002020-01-04T15:02:58.410-08:00Open House: Saturday, January 4<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HvOMVB6h5XI/XhEYDDEqBPI/AAAAAAAAByw/1MbtUWZsX_sd7o2xhtHzJLEAxnvR-DmeACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/IMG_0109.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HvOMVB6h5XI/XhEYDDEqBPI/AAAAAAAAByw/1MbtUWZsX_sd7o2xhtHzJLEAxnvR-DmeACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/IMG_0109.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At the Christmas tree farm this year</td></tr>
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<i>Outside my window...</i> It is gray and raining. Isaias is doing some football drills. Isaac just took the dog for a walk. <br />
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<i>Around the house... </i>The boys and I just wrapped up a game of Settlers. The girls are in the living room, discussing the Bates family (I know this because I just walked past and overheard "Carlin.... Tori and Bobby....") and coloring as they discuss. ;)<br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"></span><i>In the school room....</i> We are on our December break, planning to start slowly back this week, but I'm waiting until Ella returns to community college to fully begin again. I want to revel in the time she's here with us at home, without the stresses of school upon her.<br />
<br />
<i>In the kitchen...</i> I just made some chex mix, sliced up some cheese and summer sausage, and called it lunch. I have no idea what we're doing for dinner tonight. (Leftovers?) I did meal-plan this week, but I forget right now what meals I have planned that I haven't yet made. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Decorating the tree together</td></tr>
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<i>I am thankful...</i> for Mark's hard work for our family... for the opportunity to take Isaac out to practice driving today... for Ella home on break.... for this wonderful break (Mark had two whole weeks off), which ended up being really restful. We played lots of games, completed a couple of puzzles, watched movies together, ate a lot of good food, caught up on sleep, and celebrated well.<br />
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<i>I am wearing...</i> jeans, a long-sleeved green t-shirt that says GRATEFUL on it, my hair up in a messy bun.<br />
<br />
<i>I am creating... </i>I have been memorizing 1 Peter- and am just
through chapter one, but before I head into chapter two I've decided to
do a verse per page in my journal, so I've been handlettering out each
verse in my journal with watercolors and markers. That's been a fun and
creative pursuit for me. I've also just finished doing a verse on a
chalkboard for the kids at our church.<br />
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<i>I am reading...</i> (This is ALWAYS my favorite prompt!) I did a lot of reading over break. I finished Francine Rivers' <i>A Voice in the Wind</i> this morning. I read it years ago and loved it and though I don't generally love re-reading books, it's been long enough that I had forgotten a lot of it and enjoyed it all over again. Prior to that I read a Lawana Blackwell book (another of my favorite authors), and some novels by Laura Frantz and Lori Benton. Next up: <i>Something Needs to Change</i> (David Platt). I'll list here what everyone else is reading, too, since we just had this conversation at the dinner table last night:<br />
Mark: just finished <i>Deep River</i> (Karl Marlantes), now reading D-Day (Stephen Ambrose)<br />
Ella: just finished <i>An Echo in the Darkness</i> (Francine Rivers)<br />
Isaac: What IS he reading? I currently forget. <br />
Isaias: Sherlock Holmes<br />
Adelia: Hardy Boy books. She prefers the Hardy Boys to Nancy Drew. <br />
Audra: The Moody Family book series (Sarah Maxwell)<br />
<br />
<i>I am watching...</i> Mark and I just finished Little Dorrit on BBC (from 2008). Prior to that we watched The Mill (2013). As a family we watch <i>Bringing Up Bates. </i>The boys enjoy watching <i>Dude Perfect</i>.<br />
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<i>I am thinking... </i>about starting school again next week, and am thinking how- so many years into homeschooling- I am not as inventive and motivated as I used to be. I am tired. I love it and value it (and mostly I value these relationships with my kids), and it's important to us, but it is hard. And it's a lot. But we keep plugging away and I'm still thankful to get to do it. <br />
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<i>I am listening to...</i> In the evenings Mark is reading aloud <i>The Voyage of the Dawn Treader</i> (second time through the Narnia series). The podcast I listen to most often is <i>Relatable</i> with Allie Beth Stuckey (Love her.) I also love Christy Nockels' <i>Glorious in the Mundane</i> podcasts, but she doesn't post often. Mark got me two cds for Christmas (yes, we still buy cds): Christy Nockels (<i>Into the Glorious</i>) and Ben Rector (<i>Magic</i>), so I am listening to those. I would love to find a good audiobook that we could listen to when we start back to school. I love long winter afternoons with the kids by the fire listening to a good hearty audiobook. Any recommendations? <br /><br />
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Okay. That's an awful lot. I'd love to hear back from you.... any good books you've read? Or that your kids have read? Movies or shows you're watching? Songs/podcasts you love? Meals you're making?<br />
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Blessings to you and yours,<br />
~Stacy
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<br />Stacyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02291035676569127788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9672908576255934.post-79764849945033457852019-10-27T21:57:00.000-07:002020-02-21T15:00:14.902-08:00Another birthday<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I'm sneaking into this space today to write.<br />
<br />
We
celebrated Isaac yesterday. He is 16. I cannot even begin to tell you
how strange this is. SIXTEEN?! Where do the years go?<br />
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Isaac
was my cuddly, sweet, little chubby-cheeked boy. I used to call him my
"budders". He would climb up into my lap or beside me and chat with me. He
used to wear this old denim jacket and a red cowboy hat and cowboy boots, wherever we went, like it was his uniform. He used to sit in the living room and build something (a puzzle or Legos or blocks), and sing at the top of his lungs. He laughed a lot. He was
always imagining something.<br />
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Now he stands several inches taller than me. He stands beside me and I look up to him. He reminds me so much of Mark. He has the same kindness, the same thoughtfulness, the same sensitivity. He is gentle in spirit. He's also hard on himself. He is hesitant to try things unless he knows he'll succeed at them.<br />
<br />
I see traces of that little-boy-Isaac in him still-- he likes to talk--- but especially when it's just one-on-one. He still has an incredible imagination. He pours it into a story he's writing- just one- that he's been working on for years, complete with maps and timelines and character sketches and drawings. He draws well. He has a great sense of humor. He is so smart. He likes to listen to political podcasts. He still builds Lego creations. He loves to listen to music. He is kind. He feels and thinks deeply. He is compassionate toward others. <br />
<br />
I love him so much. He is truly one of my favorite people. We try to hang out together, just the two of us-- heading for coffee and the park or a walk-- every week or so, and I love hearing him talk about the things he's interested in; about the things he's reading and listening to, about the things that affect him. He is my friend. I know him so well, and yet I'm still studying him and learning who he is, too.<br />
<br />
This is what I think every single day: it is a worthwhile investment to invest in your children. I have loved these years of parenting. I always wanted to be a wife and mommy and it is a wonderful, fulfilling job. I am so grateful for the years I have spent here, in our home, caring for our children. They grow up to be pretty amazing people.<br />
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Happy Birthday to my budders. <br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>(Photo taken yesterday, on his birthday. We'd just finished playing a game of Settlers and they were sitting beside me.)</i></span><br />
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Stacyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02291035676569127788noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9672908576255934.post-55439168571166032832018-11-21T08:48:00.004-08:002018-11-21T08:48:53.846-08:00Printable Thanksgiving/Fall Coloring PagesHello, sweet friends! <br />
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Last week I sat down and made these coloring pages for my girls. Then I had the idea to make them available as a free printable on Etsy. Come to find out, Etsy doesn't let you list things for free. So I put them up for the lowest price I could, which is 20¢ for the two pages shown here. (If you are wanting something for your little ones to do, here's a project for you.)<br />
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The link is here: <a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/WithGreatJoyshop">WithGreatJoyshop</a>. (I've never done this before, so if there are any problems and you are unable to download, will you please let me know? Thank you!) <br />
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Hope you are all doing well. <br />
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Happy Thanksgiving to you!Stacyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02291035676569127788noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9672908576255934.post-5013110157467762272018-04-14T16:15:00.003-07:002018-04-14T16:17:49.139-07:00Cinnamon Knots | a recipe<div style="text-align: center;">
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Hi sweet friends,<br />
<br />
I just posted a picture on Instagram and had requests about it, so here's the recipe for those of you who are interested.<br />
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First off, I was inspired by <a href="https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/easiest-cinnamon-crunch-knots/">this recipe from Half Baked Harvest</a>. I adore that blog, AND her cookbook, so if you're not familiar with it, consider yourself in for a huge treat when you go peek. :)<br />
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I tweaked her recipe, and here's what I came up with:<br />
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<b>Cinnamon Knots</b></div>
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1 1/2 cups of warm water<br />
2 1/4 tsp. yeast<br />
2 T sugar<br />
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Dissolve sugar and yeast in warm water and leave it for 10 min. </blockquote>
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Add:<br />
3 1/2 cups flour<br />
2 T melted butter<br />
1 tsp salt </blockquote>
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Knead for a few minutes in your stand mixer (or with your hands or a wooden spoon.) </blockquote>
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Roll the dough out flat in the shape of a big rectangle. </blockquote>
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Spread some softened butter across the dough and sprinkle brown sugar and cinnamon over the butter. (Maybe 3-4 T of softened butter, about 3 T of brown sugar and then just shake the cinnamon over that.) </blockquote>
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Fold the dough in half, pressing the dough down with your fingers or the palm of your hand. (I also rolled my rolling pin over the folded dough again to press in the sugar mixture.) </blockquote>
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Cut into strips. (I used a pizza cutter.) </blockquote>
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Taking one strip at a time and pinching the ends with your thumb and forefinger, twist the strips and literally tie a knot into the middle of the strip. The remaining dough (the ends, around the knot) you will just sort of scrunch around the knot as you're lying it onto the pan. Use parchment paper or a silpat, and leave a bit of room around each one, like you would for cookies. </blockquote>
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<br />
Cover your knots with greased plastic wrap and let rise for 45 min to an hour. (I turn the oven light on and stick them into the oven so there's no draft.)<br />
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Before baking, mix and sprinkle over the knots:<br />
2 T melted butter<br />
1 tsp cinnamon<br />
1/4 cup brown sugar<br />
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Bake at 375 for 10-12 minutes or until golden.<br />
<br />
For the glaze:<br />
1 cup powdered sugar<br />
2 T cream cheese, softened<br />
1 tsp vanilla<br />
2 T orange juice<br />
a bit of milk (around 1 T)<br />
<br />
You can skip the orange juice for a more traditional glaze. ;)</blockquote>
Happy baking/eating! :) <br />
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PS: My sister texted me asking, "What are those blueberry looking pastries you posted on Instagram?" :)<br />
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I know the lighting or the filter made it look like they were fruity but they weren't. HOWEVER, rather than spreading the softened butter + cinnamon + brown sugar mixture, you could spread some berry or peach jam (YUM. <i>Trust me. I have done this.</i>) And follow the recipe from there. I'm personally not a big fan of cinnamon with berries so I would skip the cinnamon and only sprinkle butter & brown sugar over the top, but there you go. They will be messier but delicious. :)<br />
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<br />Stacyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02291035676569127788noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9672908576255934.post-73111774499647629442018-02-14T08:40:00.001-08:002018-02-14T08:47:29.399-08:00Roll to the MiddleThe other night I was feeling crabby at Mark.<br />
<br />
The details aren't important, but when he pulled back the covers on his side of the bed, I was upset and he knew it. (He had walked in a few minutes earlier and asked if I was mad at him. I'd said no but my eyes and body language said otherwise.) As he settled into bed beside me, I was turned away from him and was spending my time silently musing over all the reasons I was justified in feeling hurt by his actions.<br />
<br />
I half-expected him to reach out to me, cautiously settling his hand on my waist-- because he usually does, but I also knew if he did that I would shrug his hand off. (He probably guessed that would be my reaction, too, which is maybe why he didn't.) <br />
<br />
Minutes passed, and as I lay there I thought of some lines from the song by Sara Groves called <i>Roll to the Middle</i>. I'll include the lyrics here if you're not familiar with the song:<br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>We just had a World War III here in our kitchen</i><br /><i>We both thought the meanest things</i><br /><i>And then we both said them</i><br /><i>We shot at each other till we lost ammunition</i><br /><br /><i>This is how I know our love</i><br /><i>This is when I feel it’s power</i><br /><i>Here in the absence of it</i><br /><i>This is my darkest hour</i><br /><i>When both of us are hunkered down</i><br /><i>And waiting for the truce</i><br /><br /><i>All the complicated wars</i><br /><i>They end pretty simple</i><br /><i>Here when the lights go down</i><br /><i>We roll to the middle</i><br /><br /><i>No matter how my pride resists</i><br /><i>No matter how this wall feels true</i><br /><i>No matter how I can’t be sure</i><br /><i>That you’re gonna roll in too</i><br /><i>No matter what, no matter what</i><br /><i>I’m going to reach for you</i></span></blockquote>
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And I had the thought, "<i><b>One</b> of us should roll to the middle; relent, reach out to the other right about now.</i>" (But I didn't want it to be me, of course, so I remained seething on my side of the bed.) <br />
<br />
And then it occurred to me: Mark was <b>already</b> "rolled to the middle"; he was facing me, available for conversation, it was <b>me</b> with the walls up. So I bit back my pride and rolled over and reached out to <i>him</i> and we began talking. And all became well again.<br />
<br />
I love that last verse of the song: <i>No matter how my pride resists, no matter how this wall feels true, .... no matter what, no matter what, I'm going to reach for you. </i><br />
<br />
I'm so thankful to be married to this man who is always sure to have rolled to the middle first, who is quick to reach out to me. He is so good to me, and is a constant reminder to me of God's tender love and mercy toward me, who is so undeserving of it. <br />
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Stacyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02291035676569127788noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9672908576255934.post-35625961610827620672017-11-08T21:15:00.000-08:002017-11-09T07:34:18.609-08:00Grief in Two Parts<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I love this season. <br />
<br />
My Ella, a kindred spirit of mine in all things, including her mutual love of this season, told me recently that one of her friends said, "<i>Why do people even <b>like</b> Fall? Everything is dying. It's just dead leaves everywhere. It signifies death.</i>" <br />
<br />
Later, when I was alone and I recalled that conversation, I realized that this season <i>has</i> signified death for our family.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
~ </div>
<br />
It was late summer when I found out, to my great joy, that I was expecting another baby. I whispered the news to Mark and we were cautiously optimistic (cautious, because <a href="http://withgreatjoy.blogspot.com/search/label/miscarriage">our last two pregnancies have ended in miscarriage</a>. Optimistic, because what were the chances of that happening AGAIN? We have been content in this place, surrendered to the idea that I would likely not get pregnant again. So unexpected news felt like a great gift.) We decided to keep the news to ourselves for awhile (and not even tell the kids) because we wanted so much to protect their hearts. Some of the most heart-wrenching moments in my life are those that followed the telling to our children of our first loss: that the little baby brother or sister they were so eagerly anticipating had died within me.<br />
<br />
And so we waited, and God gave us the strength to hope and He quieted my fears and I was really sick and we were counting down the days to the first ultrasound after which we would then get to reveal this amazing news to our kids.<br />
<br />
The day for the ultrasound arrived, the appointment time came and I eagerly put on the gown and settled in to hear and see our baby. Except as the technician moved her wand over my tummy, the room was silent; the screen was still. My mind rushed to explain this: <i>Maybe she just doesn't have the right angle yet. Maybe she still needs to zoom in.</i><br />
<br />
I looked at Mark in the dim room with questions in my eyes-- <i>he'll know if we should be worried right now</i>-- and he was focused, searching himself.<br />
<br />
Still I hoped. Until the truth was spoken aloud, I hoped. And then I was crushed. I can't even think of that day without the tears falling. I was so <i>stunned</i>. I had <i>so</i> hoped. <i>Why, when we were so content, would God offer this sweet gift to us, allow us the joy of hoping and dreaming about this little life to join our family, and then retrieve that gift? </i> <i>For the<b> third</b> time?</i> <br />
<br />
We walked quietly out of the room, down the hall, through the office where minutes before I had filled out paperwork and cheerfully anticipated good news, opened the main door and stepped outside. We hesitated then, just outside the door. I sucked in air and said something to the effect of, "<i>I can't believe we are here in this place again</i>." And then we walked the rest of the way to our vehicle. It was only within the quiet of that space that I felt the freedom to cry.<br />
<br />
Mark drove to his work to wrap things up for the day and come home with me early, and I had about half-hour in the car by myself. I remembered then Ellie Holcomb talking about the story behind her song <i>Find You Here</i>. She said that when her dad found out he had cancer, her parents invited all their friends and family over for a night of worship. Right there in the thick of the dark news. And that it was a beautiful night of proclaiming Jesus in the midst of the hurt.<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>It's not the news that any of us hoped that we would hear<br />It's not the road we would have chosen, no<br />The only thing that we can see is darkness up ahead<br />But You're asking us to lay our worry down and sing a song instead<br /><br />You say that I should come to You with everything I need<br />You're asking me to thank You even when the pain is deep<br />You promise that You'll come and meet us on the road ahead<br />And no matter what the fear says, You give me a reason to be glad</i></blockquote>
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<i>Find You Here</i>, Ellie Holcomb (first two verses)</div>
<br />
So as I sat in our vehicle and waited for Mark to join me, I sang. I sang and sobbed right there when my pain was raw. I certainly didn't feel like singing, but I forced myself to. That song, and <i>Praise the Lord</i> (the Imperials).<br />
<br />
And then we drove home to tell our kids the news I never wanted to have to tell them again. Stacyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02291035676569127788noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9672908576255934.post-87418338281348773782017-11-05T06:23:00.001-08:002017-11-05T06:23:49.593-08:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I never meant to stop blogging. I've always been fond of this quiet little space here. Over the years it's become a file cabinet for me-- a place to store favorite recipes, memories, photos, ideas, school plans, book lists, struggles and joys. Like my own little bullet journal, but less listy and more chatty. <br />
<br />
And then our camera broke, so I had no access to photos except for the ones on my phone, which aren't great photos.<br />
<br />
Readers kept reading but stopped commenting, and while that shouldn't matter and I wish it didn't, it <i>does. </i><br />
<br />
And life is busy, and time is short.<br />
<br />
So I eventually stopped.<br />
<br />
I joined Instagram, (yes, seven whole <i>years</i> late to the party) thinking maybe I'll do that instead, (and upon getting there my first thought was, "<i>Oh. So THIS is where everyone went.</i>" I really was dumbfounded; I hadn't known it was such a thing. I understand the draw of it- short, snippets of life caught in photos. But honestly it's not my favorite format. I like words over photos. I prefer a blog post to an Instagram post. <br />
<br />
Anyway. This isn't a post to officially announce that I've stopped blogging. <br />
<br />
And it isn't a post to say that I'm officially back to writing here in this space.<br />
<br />
But suddenly I have three topics percolating in my mind and I may just write them. I don't know if anyone will read or comment, but I want to put those words somewhere so it may as well be here, adding it to these files.Stacyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02291035676569127788noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9672908576255934.post-2800683829982532112017-08-16T08:43:00.000-07:002017-08-16T08:43:23.257-07:00Discussing CharlottesvilleImagine with me, if you will, a woman with rich brown skin and tight black curls, aged and graying, narrating the story of her people to you. We'll lean in to hear her recollections of the time after the war: <br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Union soldiers occupied southern towns to keep the peace but didn't do much to protect black people from new groups of mean white, like the Ku Klux Klan, who threatened us all year long. To stop black folks from voting, Klansmen marched in front of their homes wearing white sheets over their heads, shooting out the windows and burning homes to the ground, or worse, dragging black folks out of their homes to lynch them. The law didn't do a thing to stop it. Shoot, some of the men wearing the sheets <i>were</i> lawmen. It was their way of "keeping us in our place", wherever that was supposed to be. They couldn't stand to see us trying to be equal to whites. They were convinced that they were somehow superior to black people. My grandmother used to call it "the Sickness." Whatever it was, it was just plain mean, honey. Lord knows how those folks could fix it in their minds to do the things they did to us back then. It's a miracle we made it through. </blockquote>
-from Kadir Nelson's <i>Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americans</i><br />
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<i>~ </i></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mark, holding our Adelia for the very first time</td></tr>
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Charlottesville. <br />
White Supremacy.<br />
KKK.<br />
Racism.<br />
<br />
These were the topics of our dinnertime conversation last night. It's a difficult and emotional <br />
thing to look across the table at my brown-skinned children and have these conversations.<br />
<br />
We spoke of the evil that is prevalent and active, of "the Sickness"- as Kadir Nelson's book puts it. We talked about the history of the black people, of Martin Luther King, Jr. and peaceful protests. <br />
We talked about cycles of poverty. <br />
Of fear. <br />
We spoke of how God is the ultimate Victor, not Satan nor evil or darkness, not in the end. <br />
We spoke of how it might feel for a black person in the wake of this evil and others: One of our kids: "<i>They must think, 'Will this ever change? Will this ever get any better? When will this be done?'</i>" We spoke of skin color and the beauty of it. <br />
We tried to answer their questions: "<i>Why would a white person kill a white person if their hatred is toward black people?</i>" "<i>Is it only white people who are racist?</i>" <br />
We spoke of how much we oppose this. Vehemently. That it angers and saddens us. We shed tears. We spoke of standing for what is right in the midst of people who won't.<br />
We spoke of the courage and the strength of black men and women who have borne the weight of this for years and are still bearing it. And of the self-control so many possess in the face of hatred and violence.<br />
<br />
And we prayed together.<br />
<br />
<i>Lord, help us to know what else we can do.</i><br />
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<i> </i>Stacyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02291035676569127788noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9672908576255934.post-11763758867976208102017-07-10T15:39:00.000-07:002017-07-10T15:39:23.205-07:00Two Books You Might Like to Read this Summer<br />
I distinctly remember being a girl fresh out of school for the summer and being able to spend my time <i>any way I wanted</i>. What <i>I</i> wanted was to curl up the on the couch with a good book to read. I loved the luxury of being able to read to my heart's content. <br />
<br />
I still do. <br />
<br />
I don't get hour upon hour of reading time anymore, but libraries and bookstores are some of my favorite places, I have stacks of books everywhere in my home and always by my bed, and I'm usually in the middle of at <i>least </i>one book. I also love to pass along good book recommendations. So, here are two for your summer reading pleasure:<br />
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First up: <i>Wolf Hollow</i>, by Lauren Wolk. <br />
<br />
I spotted this book on a library display last week while I was there with my kids, perused it briefly-- which means reading the back, the inside flap, and at least the first few sentences. (Sometimes I'll also flip halfway through the book and read a few lines, to see if it catches my interest.) It did. I brought it home and finished it in a matter of hours. I could not put it down. Then I immediately wondered how I hadn't read this yet? (<i>Am I the very last person to hear about this book?!?) </i> <br />
<br />
I <i>loved</i> this story, and the characters within it. This is considered a middle-grade reader, so it's an easy read, but the content is rich and the writing truly beautiful. <br />
<br />
Our narrator is an almost-twelve-year-old girl named Annabelle, and you will love her. She is courageous, kind and compassionate. I don't want to give anything away, so I will say only this:<br />
<b>Do not miss this story.</b><br />
<br />
I am scrapping all other read-aloud plans for the immediate future and reading <i>this</i>, all over again, to Mark and the three older kids. (My two youngest (8 & 9) will not be joining us for this one, due to a mean classmate who is frighteningly cruel and I just think their hearts are still too tender for that.)<br />
<br />
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~</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
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Secondly: <i>The Secrets of Wishtide</i>, by Kate Saunders. This is told first-person by an older widowed woman named Laetitia Rodd, "Letty". Letty's brother Fred is a criminal lawyer, and turns to Letty for her help in solving his case. Letty is such a likeable character, and I really enjoyed this story, and think you will, too.<br />
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Are there any books you've read recently that you'd like to recommend? Do tell. <br />
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Stacyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02291035676569127788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9672908576255934.post-44477480159581843502017-07-08T12:01:00.002-07:002017-07-08T12:01:27.681-07:00Life (around our home and garden)Hello, dear friends. I hope you are all well. (Today it seems I have time to put up a blog post!)<br />
<br />
We finished school over a month ago. I say "finished" which really means <i>I was all done</i>, so I ended with the little girls and supplied the older three with a list of what I wanted them to complete for the year (mostly math lessons). Last time I checked, one of them had finished their list and the other two are nearly there.... and I'm okay with that. <br />
<br />
I have yet to do our end-of-the-year evaluations or testing, so I need to do those sometime soon.... but for NOW I am enjoying rest and summer and gardening. And the older kids are enjoying sleeping in. Our teens (Ella and Isaac) really love to stay up late, talking to us and snacking and then head to bed and reading for another hour or two, and then sleeping in until afternoon. It's summer so I am happy for them but am wondering how they'll transition back to real life in the fall. <br />
<br />
Ella finished Driver's Ed in June, so she's happily driving us all around town with her permit, when she's not babysitting, which she loves to do. <br />
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Here is what else has been going on around the home front. We planted our garden late May. Here's a photo right after planting:<br />
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(<i>I'll try to get an updated picture because it does NOT look like this now at all.</i>)<br />
<br />
Each of the kids chose a crop this year again:<br />
Ella | carrots + romaine <br />
Isaac | cucumbers + lettuces <br />
Isaias | beans <br />
Adelia | sugar snap peas <br />
Audra | flowers<br />
<br />
They are responsible for caring for their little sections of the garden and as they harvest (and as I use or enjoy their harvest), I will pay them. <br />
<br />
In addition to what the kids have going, I added tomatoes. They have been my favorite to plant for the past couple of years, so this year I went all out and purchased several varieties to see what grows well and what I like best. In addition to my standard choice of Sun Gold cherry tomatoes, I also potted two of each of the following varieties:<br />
<br />
Cherokee Purple (Heirloom)<br />
Brandywine<br />
La Roma<br />
San Marzano<br />
Early Girl<br />
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(For whatever reason, in my (very limited) experience, tomatoes seem to do better in pots than directly planted in the ground, so my garden is full of pots of tomatoes. I had placed some pots in other areas around our patio and back garden, but the ones in our garden space were doing so much better that I've since moved all of the pots into our garden space. It's a wee bit crowded in there but I'm hoping they'll all thrive now.)<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My first bouquet of peonies this spring. I love them so much!</td></tr>
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<br />
I decided this year that I wanted to use our back garden (which in previous years has been planted with corn or pumpkins or squash) as a cutting garden, so I did a bit of research and decided to go with zinnias and dahlias this trial year. Here's a picture of our back garden space all ready for planting (props to Mark, for throwing up walls to hold the dirt):<br />
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I purchased my zinnia seeds from Johnny's Seeds in early April, ordering:<br />
Benary's Giant Lime<br />
Giant Dahlia Flowered Mix<br />
Queen Red Lime<br />
Oklahoma Pink<br />
<br />
I started them indoors under a grow light and when they got tall enough, gradually introduced them to the outdoors. Then I moved them for a couple of weeks to these pots until planting into the ground:<br />
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And just this week, snapped this picture:<br />
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(Those are my dahlias in the foreground. I have two (<i>Melody Dora</i> and <i>Claudette</i>) that are SO happy and one (<i>Cafe au Lait</i>) that keeps wanting to die on me, which is of course the one I was MOST excited to see bloom! Gr.) <br />
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My zinnias that are about a foot and a half tall now. Two have flowers already and many are nearly-there. However, according to my best resource on this subject, (this website: <a href="https://www.floretflowers.com/">Floret Flowers</a>, and her beautiful book <a href="https://www.floretflowers.com/shop/floret-farms-cut-flower-garden/">Cut Flower Garden</a>) it's time for me to pinch those flowers and I'm procrastinating because it's <i>so hard</i> to think of removing those precious flowers! I am assured that pinching encourages the plants to begin branching low and will ultimately produce longer stems and perhaps more blooms. It's on my list for this week.<br />
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The other really exciting news around our little backyard garden and farm is that in the nearly-ten years that we've been keeping chickens, we have always wanted to allow one of our hens to be a mama. We can't have a rooster in the city so we never have fertilized eggs, but occasionally we will have a hen (usually one of our Buffs) go broody on us and we've wished we could get ahold of some fertilized eggs for her. Well, this year the opportunity presented itself-- a co-worker of Mark's mentioned that she had eggs and we had a broody Buff-- our sweet old Elizabeth-- and so we jumped at the opportunity. She had been broody for five days already and then we set twelve eggs beneath her. We marked them with an "x". (Note: I cringed at the number Mark brought home because I was a bit terrified that <i>all twelve</i> might hatch and we do NOT need twelve more chickens in our yard (!!!)<br />
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It was a bit tricky because Elizabeth was sitting in the favored nesting box, so the other hens kept trying to wrangle their way in to lay, but she patiently shared space with them and kept sitting. She was such a good mama. She would get up and come out once a day for about five minutes to stretch, drink a lot of water, and eat a bit, and then she'd be back in to settle on her eggs. A few eggs were broken in the process, so we would remove those and any (unmarked) eggs our other hens were laying. <br />
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A chick has about a 21-day life cycle, so when it had been about 19 days of her sitting on the eggs, we began watching more closely. It was at this point that she stopped coming out for food or water at all, and we also closed off the back of the nesting box so that the other hens would stop pestering her. Then we kept running out and checking on her, offering her water and telling her what a good job she was doing, and listening for little peeps. <br />
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On the 23rd of June we heard peeping and saw one little head. A bit later we saw two.... then three... and out of the seven eggs Elizabeth was still sitting on, six ended up hatching. They were adorable, poking their little heads out from her feathers! Audra (8) pretty much camped outside her nesting box for days. Elizabeth stayed put in the nesting box for a couple of days until all had hatched (she kept sitting on #7 for a full day but then eventually got up and left it, and sure enough, when we checked, the baby chick had died at some point within the egg).<br />
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This was her a few days ago: </div>
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It has been so fun for us to watch her with her chicks. I keep telling Mark that I doubt any family has had as much joy as we have watching this whole process. It has been such a delight. She is such a good mama, those first few days, breaking up their food and setting it before them, clucking to them and nudging them to eat and drink and now teaching them to forage. It's my favorite thing to watch how she'll call them her side and they will duck underneath her feathers for safety or at nighttime. And also I love this stage (above) of them climbing all over her. </div>
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One more thing before I end this ever-long blog post: Mark and I were able to get away recently (to the ocean, of course; my happy place) to celebrate our 20th anniversary! I am <i>so</i> thankful for this man. He remains my best friend and I love doing life with him. It is a good thing, marriage, and I am so thankful to God for blessing us with the gift of one another and the grace to live out each day of these past twenty years. </div>
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Love to you and yours! I'd love to hear from you if you're able to say hi in the comments. :)<br />
<br />Stacyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02291035676569127788noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9672908576255934.post-48352424970583000442017-04-06T10:46:00.002-07:002017-04-06T10:48:03.542-07:00Questions Over DinnerOver dinner tonight, Isaac (13), asked us all, "<i>If you could choose your favorite thing to eat for each meal of the day, what would you choose?</i>" So, in between bites of pizza (one of <i>his</i> favorites), each of us answered his question.<br />
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Ella mentioned that we should get out the <a href="http://withgreatjoy.blogspot.com/2014/09/the-new-ungame.html">jar of road-trip questions</a>. (Before we took our family <a href="http://withgreatjoy.blogspot.com/2015/09/road-trip-ideas.html">road trip</a>, I typed out several questions, cut them into strips, folded them up and put them in a jar. A few times during our long days of driving we'd pass around the jar, everyone would pull out a question and we'd all take turns answering it.) We never made it through all the questions, so the jar has remained on our homeschool shelf since then, and it comes out upon request. <br />
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Here are the questions we covered last night:<br />
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<i>What do you think is your greatest talent or ability?</i><br />
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<i>If you are stranded on a deserted island, and you could choose one <b>book</b> to have with you, what would it be? (</i>Also:<i> movie? cd?)</i><br />
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<i>If you were president, name three things that you would change about our country right away?</i><br />
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<i>How do you think you'll know when you're "grown-up"?</i><br />
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<i>If you won $100, what is the first thing you would buy?</i><br />
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<i>Would you rather be a doctor or a teacher?</i><br />
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<i>If you could ask God one question, what would it be?</i></blockquote>
They all loved answering these. The greatest talent or ability one was tough for some of them, but it was sweet to see how the other kids all chimed in to encourage their siblings with what<i> they </i>thought their talents were. I love my kids so much. We're having such a grand time during these middle years. They're my favorite people.<br />
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Blessings to you and yours today!<br />
<br />
~Stacy <br />
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<i></i>Stacyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02291035676569127788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9672908576255934.post-45180183255482850072017-03-13T21:37:00.004-07:002017-03-13T21:37:59.235-07:00LentA black box adorns our table during this season of Lent. On the side of the box is this verse from Isaiah: <i> </i><br />
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<i>He was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities.</i> </blockquote>
On the top of the the box is a small opening labeled "sins", and next to it, some slips of paper, pens and pencils for the ease of writing down our sins. <br />
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We are just trying to be mindful during this season of Lent; mindful of the so-many times throughout each day that we sin. (And then when
Easter Sunday comes, we will take the box that is full of our
scribbled confessions and burn it, celebrating that God took <i>each and every one of those sins</i> to the cross!)<br />
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I was late this year getting this set up and onto the table; our family was hit with influenza and we've been <i>really</i> sick for the past two weeks. But no matter. Late is better than not at all. <br />
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One of my younger girls wanted to write something but didn't want to <i>write it all out,</i> and was worried about spelling everything correctly, so I reminded her that God knows her heart and exactly what she's thinking, and that it didn't matter at all if she had it all written out. I encouraged her to write her name or initial on the piece of paper as she thought about her sin, and she could trust that God knew what was meant to go onto the slip of paper. She was satisfied with that. <br />
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~</div>
Stacyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02291035676569127788noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9672908576255934.post-69747633083980399322017-02-09T15:36:00.000-08:002017-02-09T15:36:45.399-08:00Open House: Thursday, February 9thBy the time we meet for breakfast, most of the kids have been up early and working independently on their own assigned work: math, history and other readings, in addition to their morning chores. <br />
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This morning we had hard-boiled eggs, bacon, and yogurt (with granola) for breakfast. <i>My kids eat a ton. I can't believe how much they eat. </i><br />
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At the table we sang our current hymn <i>All Creatures of our God and King</i>, we read a Psalm together, and we prayed together. We did some memory work; currently our ABC Bible Verses from years ago (review for the older kids and new to the younger girls). We reviewed two poems from previous years and read our new February poem<i>, Forgiven</i>. (Which, in title, sounds <i>much</i> more distinguished than it actually is. It's a delightful poem by one of our favorite authors, A.A. Milne.) When I selected this as one of our monthly poems during the summer months, I didn't know that Mark would also be reading aloud (for the second time) <i>The World of Pooh</i>, which contains <i>Winnie-The-Pooh</i> and <i>The House at Pooh Corner</i>, also by A.A. Milne. This was the first book Mark and I read aloud together, way back when we were dating, some twenty-something years ago, and I enjoy it more with each reading. Mark does such a great job with all the character's voices, and we all laugh out loud at the antics of these beloved characters.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yrZoTTZAwtA/WJzdMLz2gnI/AAAAAAAABls/V62Kx7QeZl0EhLrZCToTbqFdY-yCeE-fgCLcB/s1600/IMG_2902.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yrZoTTZAwtA/WJzdMLz2gnI/AAAAAAAABls/V62Kx7QeZl0EhLrZCToTbqFdY-yCeE-fgCLcB/s400/IMG_2902.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">These robins perch in our trees-- sometimes up to ten or fifteen at a time.</td></tr>
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After we cleared the table and moved into the living room, we had a grammar lesson, the older three and I, on a white board. They completed several exercises and then we came to our favorite part of the day: reading aloud. The kids scattered across the living room with colored pencils and paper, and I resumed our current read-aloud, <i>Little Women. </i> I told Mark recently that I often feel much more suited to the role of <i>reader</i> than <i>teacher</i>. :) <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I have two dear copies of this book, one illustrated by the lovely Barbara Cooney (pictured), and another by Tasha Tudor. I can never decide which is my favorite, but I have chosen the Cooney for this reading.</td></tr>
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<i>Little Women</i> is one of the few books that I have been longing to read aloud for years, because it is such a beloved book from my own childhood. And this is another one of those books that gets better with each subsequent reading. We're some 400+ pages in and I cried through most of our reading today. When I wasn't crying, I was reading with a lump in throat. Shame on Louisa May Alcott for putting these two chapters one after the other:<br />
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XDlil99v9AA/WJzdC9MEt7I/AAAAAAAABlk/Cd-jR-heUTwWl3mxzvEHYIVMeF4GBVcBwCLcB/s1600/IMG_2906.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XDlil99v9AA/WJzdC9MEt7I/AAAAAAAABlk/Cd-jR-heUTwWl3mxzvEHYIVMeF4GBVcBwCLcB/s1600/IMG_2906.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XDlil99v9AA/WJzdC9MEt7I/AAAAAAAABlk/Cd-jR-heUTwWl3mxzvEHYIVMeF4GBVcBwCLcB/s320/IMG_2906.jpg" width="240" /></a><br />
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And for those of you who aren't familiar with the story, click away, because ***<i>I am spoiling it in the very next sentence.</i>*** <br />
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First, the chapter <i>Heartache</i>, where Laurie proposes to Jo and she-- I can barely type this-- tells him she does not love him. I still cannot get over this, all these years later. I <i>still</i> wish Jo had ended up with Laurie. I will say, with great reluctance, that this time, as I read through the book again, is the first time I have felt <i>any </i>fondness for the professor (but only just a little.) (And I <i>still</i> love Laurie best.) I read this entire chapter with a lump in the back of my throat and with that same incredulity that Jo did not choose Laurie. ~Sigh~ (All my kids agree, by the way.) Oh. Within this chapter, a heartbroken Laurie plays <i>Sonata Pathetique</i> on the piano, so I quickly googled that and we listened to it as we read through the chapter. (Hence tucking Composer Study into our day, too.)<br />
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Right on the tails of <i>that</i> difficult chapter, I read <i>Beth's Secret</i>, which is when Beth tells Jo that she is surely dying. ~sob~ This is when the tissues piled up next to me because I could.not.even read this without several long pauses and in a great sobby voice even <i>after </i>the pauses. Dear, sweet Beth.<br />
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One more thing about this book and that is that Marmee just shines and has such wisdom for her girls that I am grateful to be reading it as a mother. I have already copied several passages into my journal.<br />
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Okay, enough rambling about <i>Little Women</i>. <br />
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The kids headed outside to play in the now-melting snow and then came back inside to finish any independent work and practice the piano. I worked on math with one of the older kids, who was struggling, and did a spelling test with another, and worked on some reading with one of the little girls. And that's a wrap to our school day.<br />
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Thank you to anyone who still reads here at this little neglected-of-late blog. I do appreciate those of you who stop in and really do treasure any comments you leave. </div>
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Stacyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02291035676569127788noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9672908576255934.post-74429938649182010312017-01-09T05:00:00.000-08:002017-01-09T05:00:39.496-08:00Favorite books of 2016 | Read-aloudsThis morning I stood at our sink washing dishes, and I could overhear Mark reading aloud to
the little girls. A
stack of picture books sat before him and he steadily read, one after the other. I
listened to the cadence of his voice, and kept sneaking peeks of them,
there on the couch, the girls all cozied up on either side of him, listening to the stories.<br />
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Reading aloud is one of our favorite things to do. I'm pretty sure that someday, when my kids are grown and gone, one of the scenes I will miss the most is this one: Me, on the couch, with my feet tucked up beneath me and a book in hand, the kids sprawled out beside me or across the living room, coloring or playing quietly while I read. <br />
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We've done a good deal of reading-aloud this year, and here are my three favorites:<br />
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fAhy0rw9THI/WGb-I11PT2I/AAAAAAAABjw/dtAIgzh0UaI_tnk1qxT5WxHc1WlZITJggCLcB/s1600/Treasures%2Bof%2Bthe%2BSnow.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fAhy0rw9THI/WGb-I11PT2I/AAAAAAAABjw/dtAIgzh0UaI_tnk1qxT5WxHc1WlZITJggCLcB/s200/Treasures%2Bof%2Bthe%2BSnow.jpg" width="137" /></a><i>Treasures of the Snow</i> | Patricia St. John<br />
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I remember reading Patricia St. John books as a girl, and this was one of my favorites. As I pondered our read-alouds for the year, God kept putting this one on my heart. I kept scrambling past that thought, because we already read this one aloud, years ago, but God kept nudging me toward this one, and I felt like He might want to use this story in one of my younger girls' hearts, so we began our year with this read-aloud.<br />
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It's a story centering around three children: Annette, her younger brother Dani, and a boy in their village named Lucien. Lucien and Annette aren't particularly fond of each other, and one day Lucien's actions cause an accident that deeply affects Annette, and she feels hatred and bitterness in her heart toward him. Her grandmother in particular encourages her to forgive Lucien, and Annette is faced with a choice of obeying God, in the act of forgiving Lucien, or holding onto the hatred.<br />
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I think what I love so much about this book is how Patricia St. John visually describes this choice. She writes of how Jesus stands at the door of our hearts and knocks, and when we let Him in, light floods in and there's no room for the darkness. But we have to let Him in. I have referred back to this story and the characters within it several times with one of my girls as a way to enter into a discussion about her own heart: "<i>Do you remember Annette? And how much anger was in her heart? What did her grandma say to her? What happened to Annette when she...?" </i> I highly recommend this book, and all my kids loved it.<br />
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<i>The Penderwicks</i> | Jeanne Birdsall<br />
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I'd been hearing about this book for years, and Ella had already read it on her own, but what won me over to finally reading it aloud was not the book itself, but actually a quote I read by the author.<br />
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I am paraphrasing, here, but Jeanne Birdsall decided to write <i>The Penderwicks </i>because as a young girl she loved to read, and after reading all of her favorite books, she longed for <i>more</i> of those types of stories, but couldn't find them. So she grew up and wrote the kind of story she would have loved as a girl.<br />
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That won me over to her as an author, because I remember being that girl, too. Once I had read all the Laura Ingalls Wilder books, then the Anne series and everything else written by L.M. Montgomery, then several Louisa May Alcott titles, with a few treasures sprinkled in there by other authors, I ran out of the kinds of stories that I so loved. Ella has felt the same way.<br />
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So one day I opened up <i>The Penderwicks</i> and began to read, and it was a delightful story of everyday children and their summer adventures. We really enjoyed it. I have yet to read any of the other titles, so if any of you have read the rest of the series, I'd love to hear it!<br />
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<i>Watership Down</i> | Richard Adams<br />
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This was our most recent read-aloud, and it was so wonderful to have no school this past month, because I was able to spend a good deal of time each day reading this, and my kids were constantly pleading for more (<i>which, as you well know, is always the sign of a well-chosen read-aloud!</i>)<br />
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We just really liked this story. It was well-written and the plot and characters well developed. The book is about a small number of rabbits who leave their warren due to impending destruction of their home. They head off to find a new home for themselves, encountering dangers and learning lessons along the way. The rabbits Hazel, Fiver, Bigwig and Pipkin, and the gull Kehaar became dear to all of us as we read this book. The rabbits speak to one another and have their own language and mythology.<br />
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<i>Note:</i> My least-favorite part of the book were the sections where one of the rabbits told a story about one of their ancestors (<i>because, boring. Get back to the plot, already.</i>) But those sections were actually my boys' favorite parts of the book, so go figure. ;)<br />
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*** </div>
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We are currently reading <i>Little Women</i>, which all of us girls love so far. And my boys are being champs about. (I told them that they just got to read of battles, suspense and adventures with rabbits, so they can handle some women for awhile. ;))<br />
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What are you currently reading aloud in your home?Stacyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02291035676569127788noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9672908576255934.post-50254624675981541322017-01-05T05:00:00.000-08:002017-01-05T05:00:08.486-08:00Decorating our tree all over againHave you read the book <i>Night Tree</i>, by Eve Bunting? It's a sweet picture book about a family who heads out to the woods on Christmas Eve to find their tree, but not in the way you might think.<br />
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They find their tree and then decorate it, right there in the woods, with a popcorn garland, apples, tangerines, and balls of seeds and honey. They spread out a blanket and with cups of cocoa to warm them, they sing Christmas carols and wait for any woodland creatures to come upon their tree.<br />
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~</div>
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We took our tree down just a day after Christmas. The pine needles were falling off and Mark and I were ready for it to go, but our kids were disappointed. Audra, in particular, was sad to see all the ornaments and lights taken down and wanted to keep it decorated. It was then that she remembered the book above, which we'd recently read, and had the idea to decorate our tree all over again, but this time-- <i>outside</i>!<br />
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Mark stood our tree up in the garden and we set to work, stringing popcorn, and stringing dried apple slices and craisins, and we made our own seed balls by rolling apples in peanut butter and then in bird seed. And then we ran outside and quickly decorated the tree-- <i>it was <b>cold</b> out there, and we were still in our jammies!</i>-- and ran back inside to wait and watch from the windows.<br />
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It was the neighborhood squirrels who found our tree first, crunching into our popcorn with delight. Then, slowly came some Dark-eyed Juncos, and some Varied Thrushes, some House Sparrows and some Chickadees. A Robin eyed the whole affair from a nearby tree but decided against it. A Woodpecker flew overhead but didn't alight. It was such a fun little activity that I feel sure we'll do it again!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A Black-capped Chickadee, pecking at another seed ball we hung on another tree.</td></tr>
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<br />Stacyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02291035676569127788noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9672908576255934.post-58256921041483079042017-01-02T16:41:00.002-08:002017-01-02T16:41:37.478-08:00Poem for the Beginning of the Year<br />
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I discovered this poem recently and it seems perfectly suited for the beginning of the year: <br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">NEW EVERY MORNING</span></span><br />
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Every day is a fresh beginning,<br />
Listen my soul to the glad refrain.<br />
And, spite of old sorrows<br />
And older sinning,<br />
Troubles forecasted<br />
And possible pain,<br />
Take heart with the day and begin again.<br />
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~<i>Susan Coolidge</i>
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Doesn't that first line remind you of Miss Stacy telling Anne Shirley, "<i>Remember, you can always start everything afresh tomorrow"?</i>
And the last line is one I'd like to remember as various challenges crop up throughout my days with the kids, "<i>Take heart with the day and begin again.</i>"<br />
Yes, please. His mercies are new every morning.<br />
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Blessings to you all for a wonderful year!<br />
~Stacy<br />
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<br />Stacyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02291035676569127788noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9672908576255934.post-84537032401463626812016-12-27T22:02:00.001-08:002016-12-27T22:55:33.299-08:00Favorite books of 2016: Non-fictionIn no particular order, here are three of my favorite (non-fiction) books I read this year: <br />
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_bOCcLW-TYo/WGNDyP3S9kI/AAAAAAAABjQ/NgnSU-llpoUIWhp8E0clFBBiCwRNduhgwCEw/s1600/untitled-1.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_bOCcLW-TYo/WGNDyP3S9kI/AAAAAAAABjQ/NgnSU-llpoUIWhp8E0clFBBiCwRNduhgwCEw/s200/untitled-1.jpg" width="169" /></a><i> Mere Motherhood</i> | Cindy Rollins<br />
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If you're a homeschooling mother, this will be your new favorite book. I think I read this book in one day, and I LOVED it. Cindy Rollins chronicles her homeschooling adventures in a warm, personal, authentic and sometimes hilarious style. Though this is not a homeschooling how-to book, it is packed with wisdom and practical ideas, and you will find refreshment and encouragement within these pages.<br />
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OAFnv7fQQeM/WGNDxCOnZvI/AAAAAAAABiw/jscj4aseIC4v1kiBlWH4MYJypM0xbE0tQCLcB/s1600/2015-07-23-1437682916-2748337-justmercy.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OAFnv7fQQeM/WGNDxCOnZvI/AAAAAAAABiw/jscj4aseIC4v1kiBlWH4MYJypM0xbE0tQCLcB/s200/2015-07-23-1437682916-2748337-justmercy.jpg" width="132" /></a><i> </i><i>Just Mercy</i> | Bryan Stevenson</div>
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I cannot recommend this book highly enough. Bryan Stevenson is a lawyer whose passion and life's work is to defend the poor and the most desperate in our society. Stevenson gives the reader not only an analysis of court rulings, cases, and injustices within our court system, but he invites us to come along with him as he meets with the men and women whom he's defending. He doggedly and compassionately reveals the <i>person</i> behind each case detailed in this book. </div>
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These men and women's stories stayed with me long after I put this book down. It was at times difficult to read. It was infuriating, shocking, and often heart-wrenching, but it was hopeful, too. Stevenson is truly a modern-day hero, and this book is a powerful book and important book. </div>
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<i><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4bB0iudyuaE/WGNDxFOU53I/AAAAAAAABi0/SyeAM_Z68LIOQa5TMRIruTJQ8skadJ8ewCLcB/s1600/41Qw0ItuAgL._SX398_BO1%252C204%252C203%252C200_.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4bB0iudyuaE/WGNDxFOU53I/AAAAAAAABi0/SyeAM_Z68LIOQa5TMRIruTJQ8skadJ8ewCLcB/s200/41Qw0ItuAgL._SX398_BO1%252C204%252C203%252C200_.jpg" width="160" /></a>George Müller of Bristol: His Life of Prayer and Faith</i> | A.T. Pierson<br />
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This isn't the first biography I've read on George Müller, and it likely won't be the last. George Müller is one of my heroes. His faith and dependence upon God and his life of prayer have inspired me from the first time I heard of him.<br />
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For anyone unfamiliar with George Müller, he cared for thousands of orphans in England in the mid-1800's. Perhaps the most stunning part of his ministry is that he never ONCE asked for financial assistance from anyone but God.<br />
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Müller's position before God was this (in his own words): "<i>By the help of God, this shall be my argument before Him, respecting the orphans, in the hour of need. He is their Father, and therefore has pledged Himself, as it were, to provide for them; and I have only to remind Him of the need of these poor children in order to have it supplied.</i>"<br />
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When people would wonder how one man could possibly carry the needs of so many orphans (thousands upon thousands, over the course of his life) he would say, "<i>By the grace of God, this is no cause of anxiety to me. These children I have years ago cast upon the Lord. The whole work is His, and it becomes me to be without carefulness. In whatever points I am lacking, in this point I am able by the grace of God to roll the burden upon my heavenly Father.</i>"<br />
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What an incredible testimony of God's loving faithfulness and provision, that He met every single need that was spoken only in His presence. The (unsolicited) funds poured in or trickled in, but God faithfully provided for His own, and strengthened the faith of Müller and so many more as they saw Him daily providing for the needs that only He knew of. Stacyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02291035676569127788noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9672908576255934.post-37767753082376277262016-12-23T12:47:00.002-08:002016-12-23T12:47:29.146-08:00Merry Christmas!<div style="text-align: center;">
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And just for you? Some of the outtakes:<br />
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We have been enjoying this month off, (well, the kids and I have had it off. Mark, on the other hand, has been working a <i>lot </i>of overtime. But he has had<i> this</i> whole week off, so we are loving that!) God has blessed us with more snow than usual, so my kids are beside themselves with enthusiasm about that. <br />
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We have played <i>so many</i> games this month: Nerts, Ticket to Ride, Settlers, Dominion, Risk, Battleship, Sorry, and probably others I'm forgetting. And we finished our read-aloud (Watership Down; loved it.) Our favorite cookies this month are Soft Molasses Cookies and <a href="http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/classic-peanut-butter-blossom-cookies/a3563f6e-96b0-443f-ae0a-53cef4be6db6">these peanut butter cookies with the Hershey's Kisses on top</a>. Because, YUM.<br />
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We are gearing up for the next few days of <b>very</b>-busy-ness and fun with extended families and are looking forward to that. I am all done with shopping (thank you, Lord) and <i>nearly</i> done with wrapping and I've spent most of today in the kitchen, baking and prepping food for the next two days' gatherings.<br />
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Blessings to you and yours!<br />
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Merry Christmas to you all,<br />
~Stacy for Mark, Ella, Isaac, Isaias, Adelia and AudraStacyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02291035676569127788noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9672908576255934.post-51010971793933249362016-12-06T22:20:00.001-08:002016-12-06T22:21:15.061-08:00December happenings and some recommendations!<br />
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Hello sweet friends,<br />
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A few days ago Audra was wandering about, wondering what she could <i>do</i>, because "<i>no one wants to play with me.</i>" She really is such a blessed little girl because so often she <i>does </i>have someone who will play with her, but when she doesn't, it's a bit rough for her.<br />
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Sometimes all she needs is an idea, though, of the possibilities, so I suggested that she read Christmas books to some of her dollies, and she countered with, "<i>Or I could do school with them!</i>" And then she was off, cheerily setting up her classroom and prepping her lessons. I was so delighted when I next walked through the living room that I snapped a few pictures:<br />
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This little scene reminded me of how I used to do the very same thing when I was a little girl, except that I had <i>imaginary</i> students (all with names and varying personalities, of course!) and I would just teach away in my little bedroom. Who would have thought that years later, I would actually <i>be</i> teaching, and no longer with invisible students in my little room, but my own children, in our little home?<br />
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What a gift. I am so grateful.<br />
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I have also been so tired. Several weeks ago, -- well, probably beginning right around <a href="http://withgreatjoy.blogspot.com/2016/10/when-all-little-things-become-ginormous.html">this post</a>, I was struggling. And then even when the PMS subsided, I just kept right on struggling, feeling overwhelmed and emotional and just... melancholy; like my usual joyful self was missing. I tried to define it in an email to some friends: <i>For
several weeks now, I have been feeling particularly weary and
overwhelmed and sort of like my soul is parched. I have been asking
Jesus to infuse life and breath into my spirit and delight into our
school days. And the words God has put in my mind as I've prayed and
talked it over with my husband are to CREATE and RELATE. I really feel
like God is exhorting me to slow down and spend more time creating with
the kids and on my own, and to take the time to relate and connect with
them, specifically during our school days.</i><br />
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I think that in my efforts to organize and plan a smoothly-running
school year for all five kids, from high school down to second grade,
there are days where it can feel like all we're doing is checking off
the lists of things to do, and the creative side of me feels starved.<br />
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Mark and I are still praying and asking God to reveal to us what it is that we could change or tweak in our schedule to make it less overwhelming, but for the past several weeks I have eased up on some of our schooling and have focused on creating and relating, and that has helped tremendously.<br />
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And then I've just been counting down the days to December, because <b>we take the whole month of December off from school</b>. I always have grand plans that we will bake things for all the neighbors and decorate cookies and do a whole month of advent, etc, etc, etc. But honestly? With family birthdays this month in addition to the Christmas festivities and events and traditions and all the gifts to purchase and wrap, what we mostly do is rest.<br />
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On Monday morning I went to the video store and I rented four movies for the kids to watch, as a way to kick off our Christmas break. This is huge to our kids because we don't have TV, and they get very little screen time. So it's a win for them and for me, because it buys me down time and I feel utterly guilt-free about that. ;)<br />
Last night I did purchase <a href="http://www.stonesoupforfive.com/2016/11/no-stress-creative-Christmas-Advent-study.html">this Advent Study from Stone Soup for Five</a> which you can either purchase from Amazon in book form or as a PDF you can download and print (I did the latter), so today, six days into the month, we began that. I just reviewed the first six lessons at the breakfast table and we'll do what we can do in the next few weeks. What I love about it is that there is a coloring page per day, and my kids love coloring, so today we sat in the living room and while I read Christmas books and our current read-aloud, they got out the Prismacolor pencils and colored.<br />
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Oh, and I must recommend to you my favorite Christmas CD of the season. I am actually not a real fan of Christmas music. After so many years it sort of all sounds the same to me and I just don't love it. (UNLIKE Mark, who has 1200 Christmas songs on his iPod and announced the other day that he listened to 20 different versions of <i>the same song</i>. <i> In one day. All in a row. </i> *shudder* I cannot even.) But this CD? I LOVE. I've been listening to Christy Nockels' music since back in her Watermark days, and for the past couple of months I've been tuning in to her <a href="https://christynockels.com/podcast/">podcast</a>, because I noticed that she was interviewing people like Ellie Holcomb, whom I love with all my heart. And Christy herself is such an encourager, and a wise woman who loves Jesus deeply, and so I newly love her. That's where I found out about her new Christmas album, and I ordered it. And I love it. You can and should purchase it <a href="https://christynockels.com/shop/">HERE.</a> I think you'll love it.<br />
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<br />Stacyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02291035676569127788noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9672908576255934.post-35016378040203818192016-12-01T20:09:00.003-08:002016-12-01T20:09:39.008-08:00Favorite Christmas Picture BooksHappy December 1st!<br />
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We got our Christmas tree last weekend in the pouring down rain. We were all fairly soaked by the time we found the perfect tree, but it was a fun family adventure nonetheless! <br />
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Christmas-decorating in process, later that day:<br />
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When Mark pulls out our Christmas decor bins from the storage room, the kids are always clamoring to locate two things: our nativity, and our Christmas books! We have quite a collection of Christmas picture books and they only come out one month out of the whole year. Here are a few of our favorites:<br />
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<i>Great Joy</i> | Kate DiCamillo<br />
<i>The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey</i> | <span class="st">Susan Wojciechowski</span><br />
<span class="st"><i>Christmas Day in the Morning</i> | Pearl S. Buck</span><br />
<span class="st"><i>The Gift of the Magi</i> | O. Henry</span>Stacyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02291035676569127788noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9672908576255934.post-21074072739995457562016-11-10T20:42:00.001-08:002016-11-10T20:42:16.219-08:00Recuperating with craftsMy kids have been sick this past week, and on Sunday morning my sweet Audra (7) was not feeling well enough to go to church, so I got to stay at home with her. We lit some candles, built a fire in the fireplace, made some tea, and listened to Ellie Holcomb. I brought out some embroidery hoops, needles, thread and felt, and we sat side by side on the couch, crafting together while everyone else was at church. It was quite delightful.<br />
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Audra embroidered her name and some flowers, and then she decided she wanted to make a pillow, so she whipped out a kitty on another piece of felt and sewed the pieces together, turned it inside out and stuffed it and then sewed it on up. Cutie. (It reminded me of <a href="http://withgreatjoy.blogspot.com/2008/04/handiwork.html">learning to embroider with my Ella</a>, years and years ago.) <br />
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Apparently crafting is something we do when we're recovering from sickness, because it was when we were recovering from the stomach flu that we learned to <a href="http://withgreatjoy.blogspot.com/2010/03/finger-knitting.html">finger-knit</a>.<br />
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When the other kids got home from church, they wanted to try it, too (with the exception of Isaac). I'm always amazed at how much time the kids will spend doing such handwork. (I just had to stay somewhat nearby to thread needles and knot ends!)<br />
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This is what I came up with during our crafting session:<br />
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Stacyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02291035676569127788noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9672908576255934.post-10320067160925215802016-11-03T17:02:00.002-07:002016-11-03T17:04:12.070-07:00Update on life around these parts....<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Hello, sweet friends~<br />
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Can you believe it's November? Me neither.<br />
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Last week, with some of her free time, Ella raked up all the leaves in our yard just to get a big pile that she could jump in, and invite the other kids to jump in with her. I love it. It's one thing I appreciate so much about my kids-- they are easily impressed and they love the simple joys of life.<br />
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The last time I posted here it was all about <a href="http://withgreatjoy.blogspot.com/2016/10/when-all-little-things-become-ginormous.html">how much I was struggling</a>, and after that tough week, Mark encouraged me to take the following week off. We did, and it was a good week. We all went to the library and brought home stacks and stacks of new books and Mark and I even got to go on a date. (We ended up
running errands most of the time, but we did stop to have dinner and I
love <i>any </i>time with just this guy.)<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">a goofy photo we took</td></tr>
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We celebrated Isaac's 13th birthday with his yearly-requested
homemade donuts, which everyone is always thrilled about.<br />
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And then I got sick :(. (Sinus infection, achy, feverish, lots of sinus pressure. It's been going on for over a week and I can't seem to shake it.) Whenever we're sick, I figure God is sort of enforcing rest, and so I try to embrace it the best I can. So <i>this </i>week has been a mellow week, too. I've been trying to sleep in in the mornings (if I'm able) and have been leaving the kids to sort of fend for themselves for the first couple hours of each day, and we've done a light week of school. I have been making meals but honestly, that's about it.<br />
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I'm going to close out this post with a list of snippets from my journal of things I'm thankful for. I'm still working through that thousand-gifts list that I began so many years ago (thank you, Ann Voskamp) and even though I'm up into the <i>six</i> thousands by now, I don't think I'll ever stop.... <br />
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6528 | date night</div>
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6530 | read-alouds</div>
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6531 | kind, helpful, attentive kids</div>
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6534 | our home</div>
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6536 | Adelia, this morning, thanking me for reminding her to set the table (which is her morning chore. And which she <i>often</i> forgets.)</div>
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6537 | Isaac, doing extra in the kitchen this morning</div>
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6542 | our fireplace</div>
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6550 | elderberry syrup</div>
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6555 | Mark playing a loooong game of Risk with the kids, which Audra (!) won after three hours. (Three hours is a long time for a seven-year-old to be invested in a game!)</div>
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6560 | family movie night (We watched the Water Horse, after reading the book this week. The movie was nothing like the book but the kids enjoyed both.)</div>
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6562 | Audra's sensitive spirit</div>
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Love to you all, </div>
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~Stacy</div>
Stacyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02291035676569127788noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9672908576255934.post-61202000684401767552016-10-24T00:16:00.004-07:002016-10-24T14:18:56.045-07:00When All the Little Things Become Ginormous Things<br />
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Hello, sweet friends~<br />
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I am thankful to be here in this space to share a bit tonight. As I type, I'm sitting cross-legged on our bed, wearing leggings, a tank top and a cardigan, and listening to the sounds of Mark scrubbing away at the mildew that has appeared in our bedroom closet.<br />
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Mildew is just one of the delightful attributes of an old home. I am generally quite fond of our house and all its character, but these past months have definitely sapped my affection for it, what with flooding in our basement, plumbing problems, <i>more</i> flooding in our basement, a broken dishwasher (that KEEPS breaking), a broken washing machine, and now this mildew. <i>Sigh</i>. <i>Thank you, God, for our home: for shelter, for warmth, for rooms and beds and running water and all the life and love that resides within these walls. </i><br />
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Last week was a difficult one. I PMS'd <i><b>hard</b></i>. Worse than ever. It was fairly awful. And I was a total wreck. I spent a good deal of time sobbing. And when I wasn't crying, I was angry and irritable and more yelly than usual. I just didn't really <i>LIKE</i> anyone last week. All the little things that I can usually just shrug off or don't actually even notice became Ginormous Things That Must Be Addressed This Very Second, and every single thing seemed so overwhelming and burdensome. What I need during these times (space, quiet, rest, time with Jesus, time with Mark) were hard to come by and that made it so much more difficult.<br />
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My poor family. <i>Really.</i> I was such a mess. Mark is the most supportive, loving, tender, gentle, patient husband. He just waits out the storm, patiently listening to me vent and sob and tell him all the things wrong in our marriage, house, family, children, parenting, schedule, schooling, etc. You name it, I covered it. Completely. And with MUCH drama.<br />
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One morning I was feeling overwhelmed because I'd been dealing with a discipline issue with one of the kids throughout much of our morning. I was emotional and exhausted and it was only breakfast time. Four of my kids were waiting at the table to eat and for me to start our morning time. I walked out to the kitchen with a heavy heart, feeling so fragile and on the verge of tears. I looked at our Morning Time list and it truly felt impossible to speak, let alone cheerily start our day with singing and poems and whatever else was on our list. I just <i>couldn't</i>.<br />
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So I began by praying over our day, and of course <i>that</i> made the tears spill over and it was a good thing-- just thanking God for His mercy and asking Him to help me BE merciful with this particular child; and praying for wisdom and guidance for our day. When we finished praying I still couldn't fathom going through our regular Morning Time routine, so I asked the kids if they would like to share with me what they'd been reading in their Bibles lately; what God had been speaking to their hearts or what they had been learning or what had stood out to them during their readings. (I was happy just to get them talking so I could collect myself and not have to facilitate.) For the next several minutes God ministered to my heart so sweetly through the words of my kids. Each of them shared about what they'd been reading, and I later realized that that was <i>exactly</i> what my heart needed. And how dear is it that encouragement came through the mouths of my kids? I'm just so thankful for this season of life with them, for their sure faith and the growth I get to see in them.<br />
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Other highlights of the week: Getting outside with the kids-- on our nature study walk, and reveling in the beauty of fall around us. And another day when I was able to get out by myself on a trail and ended up crying out to Jesus pretty much the whole walk. And a hot bath one night where I read a few Psalms and let the truth of God's word wash over me.<br />
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I am <i>so</i> thankful to put last week behind us. Mark has wisely decided that THIS week we will take the week off school, and I am so looking forward to it, and also needing that. We're going to rest, sit in front of the fire and do lots of reading aloud, hit the library and bring home new books to cozy up around, meet up with friends to play, celebrate a birthday here (Isaac! 13!) and love well after a week of struggle.<br />
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Blessings to you, sweet friends. Now please hit me with all your best how-to-handle-PMS tips. If that becomes the new normal, we may have to take one week off every MONTH just to survive. Or maybe I just need to move out for a few days each month? ;)<br />
<br />Stacyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02291035676569127788noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9672908576255934.post-30825251481147575852016-10-13T08:24:00.003-07:002016-10-13T08:44:54.292-07:00Poetry and Painting<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AOeknedfZzI/V_-rgPYB2tI/AAAAAAAABbg/8bhZBmr2m9UdM2sDuk2NDj3LneCxTWT-ACLcB/s1600/IMG_3453.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AOeknedfZzI/V_-rgPYB2tI/AAAAAAAABbg/8bhZBmr2m9UdM2sDuk2NDj3LneCxTWT-ACLcB/s400/IMG_3453.jpg" width="377" /></a><b>Autumn Leaves</b><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">by<i> Angelina Wray</i></span><br />
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In the hush and the lonely silence<br />
Of the chill October night,<br />
Some wizard has worked his magic<br />
With fairy fingers light.<br />
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The leaves of the sturdy oak trees<br />
Are splendid with crimson and red.<br />
And the golden flags of the maple<br />
Are fluttering overhead.<br />
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Through the tangle of faded grasses<br />
There are trailing vines ablaze,<br />
And the glory of warmth and color<br />
Gleams through the autumn haze.<br />
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Like banners of marching armies<br />
That farther and farther go;<br />
Down the winding roads and valleys<br />
The boughs of the sumacs glow.<br />
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So open your eyes, little children,<br />
And open your hearts as well,<br />
Till the charm of the bright October<br />
Shall fold you in its spell.<br />
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Stacyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02291035676569127788noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9672908576255934.post-33148146073866758232016-10-10T22:33:00.000-07:002016-10-12T18:04:11.095-07:00Random Photos & This Week's Meal Plan *UPDATED*<br />
<i>*</i>UPDATED to add the Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffin recipe and a link to my (well, my <i>mom's</i>) lasagna recipe (see the very bottom of the post for the lasagna link.) :) It's delicious!<br />
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<i>Hm. Hesitating to post this at all, because these photos appear blurry, yet they weren't so on my phone. Sorry. </i><br />
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Pumpkin muffins with cream cheese are the kids' favorite muffins so far this season. This past weekend I tried two varieties, and you can see what their new favorite appears to be:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DliXyJduwLk/V_x2XBSUsVI/AAAAAAAABac/U5H7v-7ML5IgnPE5JPWEaJGYgAfn3ISsgCLcB/s1600/IMG_3438.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DliXyJduwLk/V_x2XBSUsVI/AAAAAAAABac/U5H7v-7ML5IgnPE5JPWEaJGYgAfn3ISsgCLcB/s400/IMG_3438.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Regular on the left, and chocolate chips added to the right. We began with twelve of each.</td></tr>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: large;">Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins</span> (makes 12 muffins)<br />
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Mix:<br />
1 2/3 cup flour<br />
3/4 cup sugar<br />
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice (or more if you prefer)<br />
1 tsp baking soda<br />
1/4 tsp baking powder<br />
1/4 tsp salt<br />
2 eggs<br />
1 cup pumpkin<br />
8 T butter (I actually used 1/2 cup of applesauce and 4 T melted butter)<br />
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Then take about 4 oz of cream cheese and in a bit of sugar (maybe up to a Tablespoon?). Optional: If you want to add chocolate chips, add them to the cream cheese mixture.<br />
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Fill the bottom of the (greased or paper) muffin cups with a heaping spoonful of the batter, then add a dollup of cream cheese mixture, then add another spoonful of the batter to sandwich in the cream cheese mixture. Bake at 350 for 15-18 min. </div>
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And this is what our window box looks like this season:<br />
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I discovered these small pie pumpkins at the grocery store for a little over a dollar apiece, so I brought five home and set them on the table with sharpie markers and this note: <br />
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Preparing dinner for tonight, which was <a href="http://tatertotsandjello.com/2013/10/slow-cooker-pumpkin-sausage-chili-recipe.html">Pumpkin Chili</a>. I tweaked the original recipe a bit, omitting the green chilies and one can of tomatoes and opting for more pumpkin and some beef broth. It was very good!<br />
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And here's our meal plan for the rest of this week:<br />
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*My recipe for lasagna is in an older post called <a href="http://withgreatjoy.blogspot.com/2007/03/sauces.html">Sauces!</a>Stacyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02291035676569127788noreply@blogger.com8