Everyday Minerals | Makeup Review

I have always loved mineral makeup (Bare Minerals) but would go through seasons where it just didn't work for me, it wouldn't last all day due to my oily/acne prone skin. So I would switch to Mary Kay, Almay, Neutrogena, & other over the counter products. I would go back to Bare Mineral's often but would end up disappointed.  

Justin and I have recently being switching to using more natural alternatives for things we put on our body (those posts coming soon) and I switched back to mineral make up. Back in the fall I ordered my first order of Everyday Minerals after reading about them from a few websites. 

Things I love about mineral makeup in general:

- the weightless feel when it is on

- the even coverage

- the fact that it conceals well (pimples and under eye circles) 

- the color match

- a little goes a long time (it lasts awhile) 

Things I love about Everyday Minerals:

- all the above

- they have different type of coverage, I use the intensive and it LASTS ALL DAY!!!

- It is more cost effective than the above mentioned product

- they let you try it free (you pay shipping) or when you order you can get $5.00 samples for free

- to see that offer click here - 

- you get emails with great savings if you want more stuff 

The one thing I don't love is that color matching is hard. But I tried all the samples close to my color range (they have lasted me FOREVER) and went from there :) 

If you have never used mineral makeup you do need a few certain tools, a concealer brush, a kabuki brush/or foundation brush, and and another brush to brush on the finishing powder. There is a slight learning curve but I am sure there are many internet tutorials out there. 

Because I think a picture tells more than words I am going to show you a before and after of me. I used a concealer, intensive base, & finishing powder mixed with lucent powder to give me a shimmer :) 

don't judge - self portraits are hard and I look goofy - I am really putting myself out there

(the yellow is just from the terrible lighting :) ) 

This  makeup really evens out my splotch red skin tone and covers my blemishes well. This photo was taken right after I put it one, once I have had it on awhile it really does look better :)

If you are looking for new makeup I highly recommend Everyday Minerals!

Here's the plan | Preschool @ Home

I have had a little more time to think and plan and things are beginning to come together. We are not starting here until September and will probably go through November. Baby #2 is due in early December so we will take December and January off and maybe February. 

Here is my lesson plan book & a few of my resources:

The only "formal" curriculum I will be using will be Handwriting Without Tears PreK Book. After reading various reviews and speaking with people I felt like it would be a good fit for me and Kyla. I am looking for her to show a few more signs of readiness before we begin but I think she will really enjoy it once we get started. 

I am also going to be using Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons. It was given to me and I have heard great things about it too, we we are going to give it a shot!

Above and beyond that there will be weekly trips to the library for story time and to check out books and play on the computer. Puzzles will be put together and games will be played. You can see my post of manipulatives here. These will be things we will be using daily. Thrown in with small unit studies (i.e. milk comes from cows, let's go to a dairy and see cows being milked. She thinks milk comes from the grocery store :) ). I also have plenty of the cheap work books to work on counting, cutting, coloring, dot to dot... you get the picture. 

Since Kyla is still young my hope is that her and I can get into a schedule of sorts and begin to take steps toward more intentional school in the next 2-3 years. This is what my lesson plan book looks like, it has 8 squares to go with my toddler/preschool schedule.  I plan to schedule at least 3 days a week.

There are two things that will happen daily, Bible & Calendar time. I am still working on my calendar wall, it will include the day of the week and the weather. During that time daily we will review catechism questions from the A Catechism for Boys and Girls (you can download it free here or here) (here is another great resource, Truth & Grace Memory Books) and review scripture memory. We will also read for a story Bible (The Big Picture Bible, Read Aloud Bible Stories, My ABC Bible Verse, The Jesus Storybook Bible, or Leading Little Ones to God). 

In a nutshell, that is how preschool will look for us! Thanks for looking!

This is linked up to the Preschool Corner, for other WONDERFUL preschool/homeschool ideas click below!

Are you weary?

I don't know about you but I think being a parent is the hardest job in the world! I am sure you would agree, there is no responsibility like molding a child's heart. As a Christian parent I must continually and consistently correct, rebuke, reprove and train my child (and myself) in righteousness. Ya know what, that is TIRING! 

I find great comfort in Galatians 6:9

"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up."

If you need some encouragement as you press on, check out this post on the Girltalk blog. 

For God's glory and my daughter's heart, I will not become weary!

Preschool @ Home

I have been looking forward to writing a series of posts on what we are doing at home for weeks but we have been swamped here with life!! Even though things have been busy I have been getting ready for "school" let me assure you I use that word lightly considering my kiddo is barely 3, but she is eager and ready to learn and enjoys activities and other such things. My biggest goal with "school" is to get us on some type of schedule for doing life together. Right now we fly by the seat of our pants, hopefully come September we will have a routine of sorts. 

Everything I have been told is to relax and have fun, so that is what we plan to do. I plan on lots of trips to the library, books being read, games being played and life being lived. My goal is to be intentional with life, for example Kyla now knows the stop sign is an octagon, now we are working on the fact that the octagon has eight sides :) 

Enough rambling, what I am wanting to share with you today is what we are using for manipulatives and how it can be done on the cheap! 

The above photo is our school area, it has three plastic clip boxes I bought from Dollar General for $3.00 a piece, I will put 3 different activities every few days for Kyla to do.  Currently there is a peg board (which she got as a gift), wooden beads and cord (hobby lobby for cheap), homemade geoboard (all I had to buy was thumbtacks, I got the wood/paint from my parents), and the Melissa & Doug Pattern Blocks and Boards (which I got for 12.99 from TJ Maxx with Birthday Money, regular retail is $14.99). 

Although we are not ready for school (or should I say I am not) she has LOVED and spent HOURS playing with these four various activities. 

Here is the rest of our manipulatives:

I spent the most on the counting/sorting bears and the pattern cards, but she had b-day money so we bought them ($30.00 for both), there are multi-sized pom-poms for counting and sorting, foam dice (9 pack for I think 2.99 from Mardels), homemade lacing cards from a pack of foam ($4.99 for lots of foam from Hobby Lobby and cord I bought to use for the lacing cards and wooden beads - $1.99), Pipe cleaners, beans to spray paint later to use for counting, letter & number cookie cutters (I already had). Some things you don't see that we will use is homemade play dough and colored cheerios or fruit loops.

I made the geoboard from this post ours is 8x8 size, Kyla loves it!!

  

Here is a shot of our school area, that will be changing to a family bulletin board that will include scripture memory, who we are praying for, catechism questions, and probably a mission statement. I think the colors and shapes will be moved around and a calendar and maybe something else will be added. She knows letters and numbers but I think it still will be helpful for awhile. 

If you have any thoughts, suggestions or what works for your preschooler I would love to hear it!! 

Happy Schooling!

Reading

As of late I have been enjoying reading again! The busyness of the summer and life has kept me from reading like I want to but nonetheless I am attempting to plod through a few books. I updated my currently reading and have read lists at the bottom. I mixed a few fiction books into the mix back in May. I finished Gospel Powered Parenting last week and it was one of the best reads on parenting I have read. I thoroughly enjoyed the challenge to keep the gospel in the center of my parenting. It has caused me to think deeper and harder about the gospel and how it intersects with my life and Kyla's life at every moment. How does the cross speak to her unkindness, what does the gospel say to me about my laziness. One of my top parenting picks, hands down! One side-note: it is written and geared toward fathers as spiritual leaders but we moms have something to glean out of it as well. 

A friend loaned me The Joy of the Word Filled Family a few weeks ago and I have enjoyed reading a chapter or so a day (it is a pretty thick book and could be intimidating). It has encouraged and exhorted me to be Godly and Word filled so that my family too may be filled with God's word! I am also reading How People Change to become better equipped so that I can grow in godliness and point others toward that path also! I will keep you posted on how they both end up!

A few on my next up list are: 

Love that Lasts 

(we are going to be taking a few couples through pre-marital counseling with this book) 

When People are Big and God is Small

Disciplines of a Godly Woman

Mary Pride's Complete Guide to Getting Started in Homeschooling

Grace's BBQ Meatloaf

I am not a very good "cooker" (cooker is what Kyla calls me). I don't mind cooking I hate the mess it creates! I am also not a very elaborate person by nature so if  a recipe has more that 10-12 ingredients (or things I cannot pronounce for that matter) or more than a few steps I am out! However Grace over at The Mommy on The Bus Says... posted this recipe a few months ago and we have had it many time since and honestly I love it! It is in my oven now and my tummy is growling as I share this with you. (need I add I do not like meatloaf, usually) :)

Hope these few ingredients, simple steps and yummy meal bless your family too :) 

Grace's BBQ Meatloaf 

BBQ Meatloaf
--1/2 cup KC Masterpiece BBQ sauce
--1 lb. ground beef
--1/2 cup chopped onion
--1/4 cup plain bread crumbs
--2 T parsley
--1 egg
--salt & pepper

--Combine all ingredients. Mix lightly to blend. Form into loaf. Place in shallow baking dish 

(I-- Kara use a loaf pan).

--Bake uncovered at 375* for 40-50 minutes. Remove from oven, let stand for 10 minutes.

The Gospel for Real Life IV

The Gospel For Real Life

Ransomed! - Chapter Seven

The Bible teaches that Christ shed His blood and gave His life as a ransom to redeem us from the curse of the law. To understand what it means to be ransomed we must understand the word redeem. “Redeem is to buy back or secure the release of someone from slavery or from captivity by the payment of a ransom.” Thus ransom is the price paid to redeem someone from captivity. All who trust in Christ are set free from their condemnation and the curse of the law because Jesus paid the ransom (70).

We are under the curse of the law because we cannot possibly keep the law. We need to remember that the law is not to curse us but to lead us to Christ (Gal 3:24). Christ became a curse for us, as our substitute. “God established the curse for breaking the law and it is God who ordained the remedy for the curse. Jesus bore the curse in our place and paid our ransom price (74).”

We are ransomed to receive the blessings of redemption. “By redeeming us from the curse of the Law, Jesus opened the way for us to inherit the blessing of obedience to it, blessings that He earned for us by His own perfect obedience. These blessings will reach their ultimate fulfillment at the resurrection” (76-77). Not only are we no longer under the curse but we are also redeemed from the bondage of sin (78). Since we have been ransomed we should continually seek to put to death, by the spirit, the sins we are in bondage to.

Reconciliation – Chapter Eight

“Reconciliation by definition, assumes a previous state of alienation and hostility caused by the offensive actions of one or both parties (84).” In our case it is our sin that has separated us from God and has caused us to be God's enemies. It is through the death of Jesus Christ that God reconciles us to Himself (84-85).

The good news of reconciliation is that it is permanent and eternal. Because Christ accomplished our reconciliation we will always be accepted by God (87).

Right Standing With God – Chapter Nine

“The most important question we all face is: How can a sinful man or woman come into a right relationship with an infinitely holy and just God? The only way we can have a right relationship with Him is to be perfectly righteous – as He is righteous (92).” We know it is impossible for us to be perfectly righteous, so how do we attain a right relationship with God?

God requires perfect righteousness, He also provides it for us through Jesus Christ (93). The work of Christ that declares us righteous is called justification. We are declared righteous based on the real accomplished righteousness of Christ, imputed to us because of our union with Him (94).

This justification comes about by faith. We are united to Christ by faith and His work is applied to us by faith. Exercising faith involves renouncing any trust in our own good works and relying on the perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ (97-98). “We come to Christ empty-handed claiming no merit of our own, but clinging by faith to His blood and righteousness, we are justified (98).” This right standing with God is based on the work of Jesus Christ today, tomorrow and throughout all eternity.

Paul's Great Exchange – Chapter Ten

Paul exchanged his social status and religious credentials for the righteousness that comes from God through faith in Jesus Christ. He sought to rid himself of His good works because He found something more valuable, that is the righteousness of Jesus Christ. He exchanged his own righteousness for that of Jesus Christ.

What this means for us is that we should do the same. We need to throw our own good works overboard and look to Christ as a means of our salvation and our way of maintaining favor with God. We must remember that God's favor rests upon us not on the basis of our works, but on the basis of the infinite merit of Jesus Christ (112). Good works are not a means to ear God's favor. “The more a person counts as loss his own righteousness and lays hold by faith of the righteousness of Christ, the more he will be motivated to live and work for Christ (113).” 

Happy 4th!

She is three!

I didn't set out for these to be her 3 year old pictures... but there is a few I just adore! 

Three has been wonderful but so challenging, she is attempting to spread her wings and retest her boundaries. Independence is a great thing when earned and exercised respectfully. I am reminded that this is a season and an opportunity to point her to the cross when she cannot obey and to remind her that she needs God's help to obey and follow mommy and daddy. We often ask her if was she is doing is pleasing to God, when the answer is no we remind her she cannot please God without Jesus' help. We also let her know that mommy and daddy can't please God without His help either and we often need to ask God for help. I rest totally in the fact that God is working the Gospel in her life and I rejoice to see the lightbulbs click :) 

Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps | Works for Me Wednesday

As I always do, I debate, I go back and forth between convenience and living naturally, from spending money to living frugal. Well I have resolved to attempt to wean myself off of commercial products and use more natural alternatives. 

Here comes this little gem:

I have been reading about Dr. Bronner's Magic soaps for awhile and have seen their funny bottles all over the place. You can use this marvelous bottle of soap for so many things, hand soap, body wash, shampoo, dish soap, detergent (laundry and dishwasher) & cleaner. Many of the homemade "recipes" you can make with this soap includes other helpful things you have around your house. Today I am going to share my new all purpose cleaner. I was using vinegar and water but I wanted something "more" this to me is more like 409. I choose Dr. Bronner's Baby Mild because I can add my own essential oils to scent things like I want but I can use this on Kyla and #2 as well as for everything else. 

I used this recipe and altered it slightly. 

Alice's Wonder Spray All-Purpose Cleaner 

(altered)

• 2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 1/2 cups  hotwater
• 1/4 cup castile soap (Dr.Bronners Baby Mild) 
• 10-15 drops essential oils (Tea Tree Oil)

---

1. Mix the vinegar and borax in a 16oz spray bottle.
2. Fill bottle with the water and shake to dissolve the vinegar and borax.
3. Add soap LAST and then scent with essential oil.
4. Use as you would any all-purpose cleaner. This mix can get quite soapy so you might want to have a cloth wet with just water handy to "rinse" with.

I cleaned my table, kitchen counters, sink, stove, and bathroom counters/sink with this and it was great! I will keep you posted on the other fabulous Dr Bronner uses as I get in a routine with them :) Stay tuned! 


That's what Works for Me Wednesday 

The Gospel For Real Life III

The Gospel For Real Life

The Empty Cup – Chapter Five

In chapter five we learn that the cup that Jesus refers to is a reference to God's judgment. The cup is referring to the wrath of God. The wrath of God sounds harsh to us, we don't think of our sinfulness as warranting the degree of judgment inferred by that expression (49). We must realize that the wrath of God arises from His intense, hatred of all sin and is the tangible expression of His inflexible determination to punish it. God's wrath is His justice in action. Do you ever wonder why God is so angry because of our sin? The truth is our sin, regardless of how small or insignificant it may seem to us, is essentially an assault on the infinite majesty and sovereign authority of God. All sin is rebellion against God's authority, a despising of His Law, and a defiance of His commands (50). We will never see sin aright until we see it as against God.

The Cup of God refers to the wrath of God. It was the cup of wrath that we should have drunk. Jesus as our representative drank the cup of God's wrath in our place. He drained it to its dregs. He tasted the last drop. And He did it for us as our substitute (51). The largest part of His suffering was the very real forsakenness by His Father, for our sakes God turned His back on His own dearly loved Son. Jesus was made sin for us, He knew no sin. He was the sinless sin-bearer. He was officially guilty as our representative, He was personally the object of the Father's everlasting love and delight (52).

We can use the word propitiation to describe what Christ did on our behalf by drinking the cup of God's wrath. Jerry Bridges uses the word exhausted to fully explain propitiation and truly capture the essence of what Jesus did on the cross. Jesus exhausted the the wrath of God. It is not merely deflected or prevented from reaching us; it was exhausted. Jesus bore the full, unmitigated brunt of it. God's wrath against sin was unleashed in all its fury on His beloved Son. He held nothing back. Christ exhausted the cup of God's wrath. For all who trust in Him there is nothing more in the cup. It is empty.

God the Father sent His Son on a rescue mission, Jesus came voluntarily and gladly. The glory of the cross is this, justice and mercy are reconciled; wrath and love are both given full expression – and all of this so that we might experience the unsearchable riches of Christ. What great humility and gratitude this should produce in us: humility that we were the cause of our Savior's unimaginable suffering, and gratitude that He so willingly and lovingly experienced God's wrath that we might not suffer it ourselves (56).

The Scapegoat – Chapter Six

The scapegoat is one who is made to bear the blame for actions of others or for events he did not cause (57). The greatest scapegoat of all time is Jesus Christ. In the Old Testament sacrificial system, two goats were to be sacrificed. The first was to be a sacrifice to God, this symbolized our Lord's propitiatory sacrifice on the cross for us. The role of the second was to bear the sins of the people and to take them away into the desert. The death of the first goat symbolized the means of propitiating the wrath of God through the death of an innocent victim substituted in the sinner's place. The sending away of the second goat set forth the effect of this propitiation, the complete removal of the sins from the presence of the Holy God and from his people. Since both goats represent Christ, we may say Christ became our scapegoat, bearing the guilt of our sins in His propitiatory sacrifice and by that act bearing them away from the presence of His Holy Father (58-59).

The bible uses a few illustrations of the scapegoat. Psalm 103:12 says our sins are as far as the east is from the west. This illustrates the infinite distance that our sin is removed from us because of what Christ did. Isaiah 38:17 says God put all of King Hezekiah's sin behind His back. This relays the idea that the sin is seen no more. Isaiah 43:25 says God blots out sin and remembers them no more. He gives us a clean slate, even better than a clean slate... He throws out the slate. Micah 7:19 says God will hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea. This completes the idea that the sins are to be rid of and completely forgotten.

We can benefit from the work of the scapegoat when we are penitent and exercise faith. Penitence is a sincere and humble acknowledgment of one's sin. To practice faith would be to trust that our sins were transferred to Jesus. As we continually grow in our relationship with God we should be more sensitive to our sinfulness which should lead to us exercising penitence and faith. We should rest in the expiatory work of Jesus, knowing that he has removed and put away our sin. 

The Gospel for Real Life II

The Gospel for Real Life

The Pleasure of Obedience – Chapter Three
The pleasure of obedience seems a concept so far from our grasp because we know how radically sinful we are. But for Jesus, there was pleasure in His obedience. Not only was Jesus outwardly sinless by action, but also inwardly by thought. This is not so for us, many times we act very proper on the outside, but sin in our hearts. What is key about Jesus is that He not only obeyed the Law of God, He always desired to do so. Obedience that is not delighted in is not perfect obedience.

So what does that matter for us? We can no longer continue to only look at Jesus' death we must revel in His perfect life. Why is this, because Jesus not only died for us, He also LIVED for us. All that Christ did in life and death, He did in our place as our substitute. There are two ways Jesus' perfect obedience applies to us. The first is that He came to do what we, because of sin could not do. It is this perfect obedience to the moral will of God that is called His active obedience. He actively obeyed the Father's universal moral will, which we call the Law of God. The second way this applies to us is that Jesus suffered in our place, that is His passive obedience. Jesus obeyed the Father's specific will for Him by suffering under the penalty of sin. This wasn't just at the cross, this was also by laying aside His divine glory and assuming a human nature when He came to us as a baby. In a sense Jesus reaped what we have sown.

The difference that this should make in our lives is that Jesus assumed our obligation and liability, obeying and suffering in our place. Jesus was appointed by God the Father as our legal representative. It is only because He lived and died as our representative that His work becomes beneficial to us. We can accurately say that when Jesus lived a perfect life, we lived a perfect life. When He died on the cross to suffer the penalty of sin, we died on the cross. All that Jesus did, we did, because of our legal union with Him. All that Christ did was credited to us, by faith, because we are united with Him.

Justice Satisfied – Chapter Four


We often think of justice in human terms and it is often tainted by sin. We need to remember that God's justice is perfect. Justice may be defined as rending to everyone according to one's due. Two things to note about God's justice, it is certain and it is inflexible. It is certain in the idea that it is coming, it is inflexible meaning, we get exactly what we deserve – nothing more, nothing less. God does not exalt His mercy at the expense of His justice. In order to maintain his justice, all sin without exception must be punished. We often want God just to let us off, that cannot be so. People think that God will somehow relax His inflexible justice and pardon all of us by mere sovereign prerogative. What is important to know is that God by the perfection of His nature cannot do that. He cannot exalt one attribute (mercy) at the expense of another (justice). Justice must be satisfied.

So where is our hope? As we looked at in chapter three we know Jesus served as our legal representative in life and death. Just as Jesus fully obeyed God's Law in our place, He also suffered its full penalty in our place. Jesus bore the full brunt of God's justice and He received the full punishment that was due to us. Jesus fully and completely satisfied the justice of God on our behalf as our substitute.

As believers we must steadily keep in mind that Christ has satisfied the justice of God on our behalf. Never again should we fear the retributive justice of God. We must not allow the accusations of Satan or the condemning indictments of our conscious to bring us under a sense of God's unrequited justice. Instead, we should by faith lay hold of the wonderful truth that God's justice has been satisfied for us by our Lord Jesus Christ. (46)

The Gospel for Real Life

I have often said one of my favorite books is The Gospel for Real Life by Jerry Bridges. This book is life changing and I do not say that lightly. Jerry Bridges challenges believers to put the gospel where it rightly belongs, in our every day life! I reading through it for the second time as I am leading our summer ladies Bible Study. I am excited to see how the gospel will not only continually shape and alter my life, but the lives of the women involved in the study. My hope is to blog a brief summary of each chapter to encourage you to seek to interact with the gospel in your life every single day and in every aspect of your life.  All these comments are either direct quotes or summarized thoughts from the book. 

Unsearchable Riches – Chapter One

Unsearchable riches are found in the gospel, however we set the gospel aside at the moment of salvation and seek to be disciples. What we forget is without the gospel we cannot become true followers of Jesus Christ. Instead of living victorious lives many believers live defeated and in desperation.  Why is that, “One answer is that we have a truncated view of the gospel, tending to see it only as a door we walk through to become a Christian… we fail to see the gospel as the solution to our greatest problem – our guilt, condemnation and alienation from God. Beyond that we fail to see it as the basis of our day-to-day acceptance with Him. As a result many believers live in spiritual poverty.” (14-15)

The gospel is the good news that directly addresses the bad news in our lives. Because of the gospel “we can begin each day with the realization that I am accepted by God, not on the basis of my personal performance, but on the basis of the infinitely perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ.” (18)

Why the Cross – Chapter Two

Before we can ultimately understand the good news we must begin to understand the desperate need that we have as a result of our sinful condition.  Between God and mankind there is a huge spiritual debt that must be paid, the payment is found in the cross.

When Adam & Eve were placed in the garden they were placed with one restriction, not to eat of the forbidden tree.  This involved no hardship, no inconvenience, just simple obedience.  We know the story that the failed to obey and as a result we have the “fall.” The will that was bent towards God is now bent towards evil. Adam serves as our legal representative (this is called federal headship) because of the fall we also have a sin nature and are guilty before God.

Not only do we bear original sin but we consciously and unconsciously, willfully and unintentionally sin every day.  We fail to keep the greatest commandment (Love the Lord your God) and often do not even consider the second great commandment (love your neighbor as yourself). We must understand that our sinful nature affects and pollutes everything we do. 

The importance of understanding our own sin is “not to be measured by our own sense of need, but by what God has done to meet that need… the cross is an expression of God’s wrath toward sin as well as his love to us… God’s holiness demands it (the cross) as punishment for our sins, and God’s love provided it to save us from our sins.” (29)

“It is only against the dark backdrop of our sinfulness that we can see the glory of the cross shining forth in all its brilliance and splendor. And, as we gaze upon the glory of the cross, we will also discover that Christ, in His great work for us, not only resolved our sin problem, but also secured for us those “unsearchable riches” (30) 

I welcome and would love to hear your comments and interactions with these thoughts! Stay tuned for chapter's 3 & 4 next week!

In my heart...

Lately I have been like Mary, "pondering these things in my heart." Thus, the lack of blog action. Not to mention some craziness in life that generally keeps me from the computer. However as I was baking cookies today I had some music Sovereign Grace Music playing and I was moved by the deepness and vastness of God's love for me and the deceitfulness of my own heart. There are very few songs that I just belt out singing when I hear them but this is one of those songs because so much of it is me, my heart, and God's great love!

Just for fun, my Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe (found on allrecipes.com)

Happy Memorial Day!

Wanna See Someone Else's Lapbook

My Friend Michelle has made two lapbooks, one on trains and the other on the body/anatomy Check them out!

While you are there check out the File Folder Games! 

Muncha Muncha Muncha Lapbook

I finally got around to putting my Muncha, Muncha, Muncha Lapbook together. It goes with the book Muncha, Muncha, Muncha. Here is a video of the lapbook and below I will post resources I used and another link to add to what we are already doing. 

The Book!

Lapbook Resources

Resource From the Author

Big News!

Today I am home from church sick! It has been a long time since I have stayed home from church sick. I think whatever I have Kyla may be getting, all she is doing is sleeping and laying around too. So both girls are home today. Sundays are not the same without Church. I am bummed I had to miss today, Justin is going to share some exciting news with our church family... and I am going to miss it! 

So, I am going to share the exciting news with you... 

WE ARE EXPECTING A NEW LITTLE GUFFEY! 

We got to see an awesome little heart beat last week and Kyla is excited to be a big sister... of course she insists I have a baby sister in my belly! :) 

April 22, 1997

Sipping a glass of orange juice this morning I realized today is the 22nd day of April. Which for most means Earth Day, but for me means Life Day. On April 22nd, 1997 was the day I trusted in Christ for salvation. It was the day life changed for me, it was the day I took Christianity seriously. I want to share with you my story of redemption!

Let me back up to the time before that day. Growing up I had been in and out of church, mainly out. I had friends and neighbors who I would go to church with at times, I knew what church was and I had an idea who Jesus was. In junior high I started attending church more regularly. Generally the local FBC church on Sundays and on Wednesdays I went to the "big" youth group at a different church. Through those countless services, Sunday School lessons, and teachers of God's word I began to see who I was and what I needed. I felt a huge void in my life, something that wasn't filled by family, friends, sports, popularity, or any other thing the world could offer. I finally learned that it was God who could fill that void and created that void in my life so that I would know I couldn't live life without Him. Now I was 14 when I accepted Christ as my Lord and Savior. I had thoughts and opinions about life and high school that was already formed based on what was the social norm. I figured I would be one of those girls that would go to an occasional party, have a drink now and again. Date a boy, get serious and probably engage in premarital sex. That was the cultural norm for small town america at the time and I thought it was for me... until God's mighty grace intervened in my life in such a REAL way! 

On April 22nd, I was debating between going to the revival at the local FBC or to the baseball field to watch some friends play... I was all set to go to the fields. As we were driving into town I asked mom to take me to the church instead. I remember I was wearing a gray t-shirt (softball shirt) and jeans. It was also the big ice cream sundae day at the revival. You know the kind that you take many tubs of ice cream and fill up a small swimming pool! Let me assure you, as inciting as the ice cream was it was Christ that drew me. I had  been dealing with conviction to repent and be saved for a few weeks. Even the Easter cantata that year had really spoken to me! 

To be honest, I have no idea what the preacher preached on. All I knew is that I could not put off what I knew God was working in my heart. I went forward and the pastors wife shared with me the plan of salvation and God called me to Himself. It was an emotional experience for me not so much because I was afraid, but because I was set free. 

I will be the first to tell you just because I am trusting Christ things have not been perfect, nor have I. I, just like you, have a sin nature that is at war with the Spirit the God has given me. But the great news is that God sent Jesus to proclaim victory over sin and death! 

I was baptized in November and became and active member of FBC. God used a solid youth group with a Godly youth minister to teach me that His word is the ultimate authority and that if I stood on that no other ground would be sinking sand! That truth in itself has led to me stay pure for my husband, look for and marry a godly spouse, and seek to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which I have been called. 

I can assure you life has not been easy, nor am I perfect but I do trust in a Sovereign God who is working good for those who are called according to His purpose! Be encouraged if you have trusted in God, like I have, He is working for your good and His glory, no matter the trial or temptation you may be facing. 

Look to Jesus today and live! 

Blog Absent

Indeed times have been slow around the blog. However, I have logged on multiple times to say something, but it usually ended in me closing out the dashboard and walking away. Things are crazy, lots to say,  but not much time to articulate all my thoughts. 

So for today I want to share this blog I have enjoyed following Passionate Homemaking the post today by her guest blogger and this post on The Purpose of the Home are great encouraging reads! 

Be Blessed Friends!

Our Redeemer Lives

30-Day Husband Encouragement Challenge

I love this man!

I do! I love him!

 I adore him, I am thankful for him, but yet I fail to always show that! 

A friend and I are taking the 30-Day Challenge, the Husband Encouragement Challenge

http://www.reviveourhearts.com/pdf/30DayChallenge.pdf

Will you seek to honor the head of your household, not for 30 days but for long as you both shall live? 

I do!

Pray for me, if you decide to join in, let me know so I can pray for you!

Toddler/Preschool Schedule

In my post on the Easter lapbook I mentioned the need of some structure. I finally finished our chart and I am really happy with it! Let's hope Kyla is too! A few things I like about this is Kyla will know what to expect once she learns what each of the pictures means and I will have some sort of routine to follow. I love the idea that it is flexible and not the law! The box next to the pictures I can either use a photo of Kyla and move it when we are onto the next subject or write in what we are doing that day! I did another video just because it was easier and quicker for me!!! 

I would love to hear what works for you!

God-Centered Holiness

Along with my daily Bible readings I am reading some sort of short, thought provoking meditation. In February I read Comforts From the Cross by Elyse M. Fitzpatrick and I just started Holiness Day by Day by Jerry Bridges. 

My reading for today was titled God-Centered Holiness.  

Many believers want to be holy, strive to be holy but we don't experience it daily! We struggle with our sin and we constantly feel defeated! Bridges states, and I agree, our first problem is our attitude toward sin is self-centered not God-centered. We tend to focus on beating sin and claiming victory rather than the fact that our sin grieves God. We don't like sin because we fail... when in reality we should hate sin because it is offensive to God. 

Bridges reminds us that God wants us to walk in obedience not victory! Obedience orients us toward God and victory is oriented toward self. To walk in holiness we must pursue obedience, not victory! The good news is that victory is a by-product of obedience. 

Believer, let focus on honoring God by following him obediently and rejoice in the victory we are granted over sin! When our eyes are on the Savior, they are far from self!

Spring has Sprung

It could be the fact I had the windows open today, or that I wore flip flops, or the yellow jonquils but spring is in the air... and on the blog! In honor of spring I had to get a new header photo and change up the colors a tad. I painted Kyla's toes with Piggy Paint (check it out, it is an all natural nail polish!!) and she wore her new flip flops and I thought a new header was in order! 

Happy Spring! 

Easter Lapbook!

We are planning on homeschooling. At times I feel overwhelmed, not with the responsibility but with the choices of curriculum and such!! I have realize I get to take it slow and learn as we go. One thing we need is structure, well I say we... it is really me. So I have been working on a routine chart that I will fix for Kyla everyday and we will have a routine. (More about that when it is finished) 

Since I have been thinking about structure I have been thinking about school. (I feel somewhat silly posting this because I know MANY of you that read this are veteran homeschool moms, so forgive me :) ) One resource I ran across a few weeks ago was called Lapbooks. It takes unit studies on certain subjects and you combine it into a book! There are many ways you can do this, I choose to make my first one for Easter. I don't cover math or science but that is okay, the others I make will have it all. What I really like is when the lapbook is based off of a book. I have started one based off of Muncha, Muncha, Muncha by Candace Fleming. We will be learning about vegetables, gardening, rabbits and all subjects will be included. I will start that when we start our garden in a few weeks! 

Here is a short (poorly made) video of my lapbook. It was easier to video than take pictures and then mark what everything is! Sorry I sound sorta spacey :)
(I re-uploaded it, sorry for those of you that saw half of it!)

Here are some great links to get you started! 

This is a great place to start with Unit Studies (click on unit studies)

(also where I got most of the stuff for Muncha, Muncha, Muncha)

Homeschool Share

Basic Idea of a Lapbook 

Cindy Rushton PDF

These two go together, awesome, AWESOME ideas for "schooling toddlers/preschoolers"

1+1+1=1 Blog

Totally Tots Blog

Beware, it can be addicting!!

Welcome Spring!

I say welcome Spring slightly tongue in cheek. Considering God decided to dump about 6 inches of snow in our part of the country it wasn't the first day of Spring I would of chosen but it is beautiful nonetheless. 

Things have been a little slow on the blog because life has been busy in real life. We celebrated Justin's birthday with dinner out and some friends. That weekend they stayed with us a few days and we went fishing at Roaring River. It was cold and rainy but we all had fun and I caught my first trout! We tagged Kyla so she could reel one in.. maybe next time :)

Then mom came for a visit. It is always fun to have nanny in town! Then we went to a youth conference and had to come back early because of the weather. So here we are, snowed out of church and really taking a day of rest! 

Here are a few springy pictures of my big girl! Have a great week!

30th | Us

Here is our family for 3 celebrating Justin's 30th Birthday! 

Thank you Lord for giving me such an awesome man! May he continue to be used to bring you glory!

Monday Musings

It is March, that means the month before April, which is when taxes are do, and who hadn't even started her book keeping (business wise) until today.... ME! So yes I have been at the computer all day working on that, and will probably spend one more day doing that!! 

I really dread this time, we always always owe, once I know the amount though all my stress melts away!

You know those tasks you put off and they keep getting larger and larger, this is one!! When I get this done I will have a monkey off my back... scratch that, KING KONG!

The Lord has really been teaching me a lot lately through the word and other things I have been reading, I am excited to share... just need to find the time! 

Since the move photography has been on the shelf, I think it is about to come off again!

Here is a funny conversation I had lastnight with my toddler in the car on the way home at around 11:00 pm... her = "Momma I want to watch, TV" 

me = "No baby we can't do that, it is too late it will be time to put your pjs on and go night night." 

her(with a pout on her face you could hear) = "momma you make me sad!" 

I finally finished a few books, yahoo! I started Reason for God by Tim Keller and am excited to read it! 

I really LOVE having a bird feeder. I have been amazed at the different types of birds I have seen, this morning I heard a distinct song and had only heard it the day before, I looked and it was a beautiful Meadowlark in the field behind us! So pretty with the bright yellow breast! 

What's fun is even Justin is getting into it!! 

That's all for Monday Musings, and because this post would be better with an image!

Yummy Chicken Salad

I love chicken salad. If we go out to lunch at a "girly place" I almost always order chicken salad! I love when it has nuts and grapes. A few weeks ago I went in search of a yummy chicken salad recipe that had those two things, it was nearly impossible. So I found this Basic Chicken Salad recipe and it was a great place to start. 

I scaled it to 4 servings and it made more than 4 sandwiches but here is what I did.  

1 Cup Mayo (I used miracle whip)

2 T lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon of black pepper (I just added some, unmeasured)

4 cups chopped cooked chicken

Onion (just a little bit, what you think you might like)

2 ounces Chopped Walnuts

2 Stalks Celery Chopped

Handful of grapes halved

I took 4 chicken breasts and defrosted them and then cubed them and boiled. Then I added the cooked chicken to my food processor and shredded it. After that I added the onion, celery, mayo, lemon juice, and walnuts to the food processor and mixed it until it was mixed through and the consistency was how I wanted. (you should add your pepper too, I just forget) Then I add to bowl, add grapes, mix well and refrigerate!

I usually toast two pieces of whole wheat bread for mine, yummy!! 

enjoy!