Worth Watching

Oh, wow. 

{tears}

Do you have 15 minutes to go watch something?  I just finished watching an adoption story.... twice.  Once alone, once with Ella.  I *loved* this adoption story, and how the character of God is revealed through it. 

In an effort to "hook" you to go watch, this is a family (The Via family) in the process of adopting a little girl, Chloe, from Uganda.  They find out that Chloe is not granted a visa, so she is not able to come home to them.

So they decide to bring home to her.

Go here to watch.  (Follow the link, watch the video (4:58) at the top of the page, and then watch the video at the bottom (10:09)).

Loved this.

~Stacy

Paper dolls!

{ Updated, from the archives }

Today everyone wanted to play a game that Audra (5) didn't want to play, but she was content doing something else, by herself, just as long as I came up with the ideas.  ;)  I suggested that she could get out some paper dolls, to which she said, "Can you draw me some?"

It was then that I remembered these:



Four years ago we went on a family vacation (that included several hours in the van) so I put together some travel games and these coloring books for the kids.

The doll pattern (above) is Sarah's from The Small Object, so I can take no credit for it. You can find it here.  I just added some details (hair, bows and outfits) to her original pattern to make more dolls.

I'm so grateful to have found Ginny's post at Small Things~ for the coloring book idea, and for the idea for the scaled-down version of the doll in order to create your own doll.



When Audra asked today if I could draw some paper dolls, this was what I thought of, and I was trying to remember if I still had any master copies of these... (I tend to save things like this), and mentioned to Ella, "Honey, do you remember those coloring books with dolls that we colored for vacation that one year?"   She was up in a jiffy and came back with some blank ones (from that trip) that she hadn't completed.  Audra spent HOURS drawing these (and cutting them out) today.

Voila:  Paper dolls!

twins!  :)

Then Isaac wanted to photocopy some pages and do some, too:

Ella was working on them later tonight.  (And if I can sneak in some time tomorrow, I'm going to do some myself!) 

Good links

This photo has nothing to do with this post but I'm posting it anyway.  Mark took it on Mother's Day.  I'm so grateful to get to be a mama to these five.

Good morning, all.   It's just after 8 and Ella is sitting next to me reading Return to Gone-Away by Elizabeth Enright. My Bible, journal and reading materials are all in my room (where Audra is still sleeping after crawling into bed with us early this morning), so I'm composing a post instead.  Adelia and the boys are playing in the boys' room.

Some links for you:

• I really liked this post on friendship.  Katy Rose writes of authenticity, spurring one another on and this:  "Relationships thrive when thoughts of care turn in to acts of care."  I want to be this kind of friend.
• I liked this post on homeschooling over at The Busy Mom blog, which reminds me of another post I read recently by this same author called Raising our Sons to Seek After God.
• This is my new favorite salad dressing.  NOTE: the original recipe listed makes something like a gallon of dressing, which is clearly more than you'll want to make.  Here is the scaled-down recipe:

Greek salad dressing
3/4 cup olive oil
1 cup red wine vinegar
1-2 cloves of garlic*
2 tsp oregano
2 tsp basil
1.5 tsp pepper
1.5 tsp salt
1.5 tsp onion powder
1.5 tsp Dijon mustard
(optional: add feta cheese to the dressing)

*the original recipe calls for garlic powder but I just ignored that and put the real stuff in.

I've been chopping up romaine, cucumbers, tomatoes, red onions, peppers and feta and adding some of that scrumptious dressing and eating it regularly for lunch.  YUM.

Blessings to you for a wonderful day!

~Stacy

Link

This post made me cry this morning.  In a good- yes- that is so true sort of a way.  I am always so encouraged by Katie's ministry and the stories she shares.

Link

This post encouraged me today.

(Maybe it will you, too?)

Blessings to you and yours,
~Stacy

Link

If you've not yet read this post, you must:

The story of Katie's adoption

Wow.  There are no words.  Just tears and awe at the way God works to deliver the orphans.

I love this, from the post:

Before this, God had made it clear that I was to pick up the pencil and write what He was doing. Now it seemed to us that He picked us up as though we were the pencils, and continued to tell the story using our lives.

Good read

This was the best blog post I read all week.

Go read it, and then go see your kids-- really see them.



{Thank you, Tonia~ for the link}

Good link

The Global God Who Gives the Great Commission is an excellent message from Louie Giglio, from the 2011 Desiring God conference. If you've not heard Louie speak, you should.  Mark and I watched/listened to it last night while we worked on a puzzle. Compelling.  (The truths he shared, not our puzzle.)

Choose this instead of that TV show you were planning on watching.  It's far more important.

Meal plan printables

When I had the idea recently to post our dinner plans on the fridge, the first thing I did was Google "printable meal plans".

Here are a couple I found that I thought were cute, if you're interested.  They're free, and easy to download and print!

*
Meal Planning Form
There are two options here from The Project Girl.  I like them both.  The first one covers breakfasts, lunches, and dinners and has room to list ingredients bottom of the form if you want to do your planning/grocery list all on one page.  The second one is also cute- the meal section isn't divided up for breakfast/lunch/dinner, and the shopping list remains.

This Week For Dinner
This one from Thirty Handmade Days is for dinners only- in two options: bright or pastel.

*

Very cute, both of those.  I wanted dinners only, so I didn't choose the first one, and as for the second option: my printer does black and white right now because I'm too cheap to buy color cartridges.  So I quickly made my own, inspired by hers.

Oh, and I'm happy to share my Very Basic Meal Plan Form if you want simple, and your printer also prefers black and white.  Let me know if you'd like me to email it to you.

Wise words from another mother

I love the most recent post up by Elizabeth Foss, called How do you do what you do?. It's packed full of wisdom, and I think you should head right over there to read it!

Some of my favorite things in this post?

• {this quote} "Generally, I have a grounded sense of why I'm here. I live to love my God and my family. I'm not easily distracted by what's going on 'out there.'"



• Her thoughts on their non-negotiables, such as naptimes, meal times, and going-to-bed times (same here!)



• {this quote} "I am no longer afraid to say 'no' in order to preserve order and maintain sanity. I am quite content with my community of eleven at home and in my heart. My focus is on them."

Or how about this one?

I'm a hands-on mom. I love to hold my children or to sit next to them and read aloud. Talking to them about big ideas or little mysteries is a happy thing. I'm fond of books and truly enjoy sharing them with the loves of my life. We are all blessed because I genuinely love education. When I face homeschooling, it's not with a sense of dread or duty. I truly delight in it (most days). That's such a blessing and I know it! I'm very grateful for the gift of that joy.

Love it!

Have a wonderful Thursday, dear readers!

A must-read

I'm still wiping away my tears from reading this beautiful birth story.

Bring the Rain link

You must watch the video in this post.

If you're not familiar with Angie's blog or the story of Audrey, you may want to read this first.