mom of 2 girly girlz

Art Class: The Study of Asian Art

2012-01-26T10:48:00.000-06:00

In our girl's co-op Art class yesterday, they studied Asian Art. Their teacher, Mrs. Kuhns, brought a special gift her great uncle gave her - a kimono from Japan. She let some of the girls try it on and told the story of how it was made from silk and at least 70 years old. She also brought with her some Asian figurines on a stick - some were at least 100 years old. They were all given a figurine to sketch then paint with water colors. She also read to them a story from "Chinese Fairy Tales" while they painted. I think they all did a fabulous job and I loved how their final paintings turned out - all unique in their own special way...

Field Trip to Tulsa City Hall

2012-01-25T17:04:00.001-06:00

Photo by Abby, age 9

Our homeschool co-op had a great field trip meeting Tulsa's Mayor, Dewey Bartlett, yesterday at the Tulsa City Hall. He has such a busy schedule but was gracious and made time to talk with our kids...

At one point Mayor Bartlett said, "If any of you have any problems with Tulsa, call me and we'll talk about them." Then one of the little boys in our group said, "But I don't know your phone number!" So Mayor Bartlett gave him and the rest of the kids his business card and said to call him anytime ;-)

Mayor Bartlett also encouraged the kids to dream big and asked them to write him a letter with their dream for Tulsa. My girls did theirs today as part of their school work.

Dear Mayor Bartlett,

Thanks you so much for letting my Co-Op group come to visit you! We all really enjoyed it. I appreciate that you are concerned about my dream so here it is! Some of my friends and I work together and make crafts and sell them for the good of orphans in Uganda (Africa). Perhaps you have heard of Project Hope Worldwide? This non-profit organization built an orphanage here because the plight of orphans in the area are grim. My dream is that this ministry, which is called Girly Me Missions, would be very successful and raise a lot of awareness. If you could possibly do anything it would be GREATLY appreciated!

Sincerely,
Mackenzie
Age 12

Dear Mr. Mayor,

I came to your building with Heritage Homeschool Co-Op yesterday. This is my dream for Tulsa: I think there should be more homeless shelters for the homeless people and they will give food away and blankets and stuff.

FAITH
HOPE
LOVE

From, Abby
Age 9

And here's a few pics we took after our field trip driving around downtown. We love to look at the interesting architecture of the buildings and people watch ;-)

Photo by Abby, age 9

Martin Luther King, Jr. Lesson Plans and Links

2012-01-15T07:44:00.000-06:00

Lesson Plans:

Citizen King (pbs.org)

Commemorate the Life of Martin Luther King, Jr. (scholastic.com)

Martin Luther King, Jr. (atozteacherstuff.com)

Martin Luther King, Jr. and Me: Identifying with a Hero (readwritethink.org)

Martin Luther King, Jr. (enchantedlearning.com)

Martin Luther King, Jr. (historychannel.com)

Martin Luther King, Jr. Lapbook (Squidoo)

Martin Luther King, Jr. (Mr. Donn)

Martin Luther King, Jr. Teaches Many Lessons (Education World)

Martin Luther King Jr.'s speech at Glenville High School Preserved (cleveland.com)

Dining Room Makeover - African Style

2012-01-13T17:01:00.001-06:00

Steve and I built our house 13 years ago and have not done a whole lot to our dining room over that time. Surprising because every other room in our house has seemed to change totally every 3-4 years or so. We loved our red, French Country room for a while, but over the last few months we discussed changing it up a bit. We came up with the idea to decorate it with an African theme since I went there in December 2010 and Steve went this past July. We also volunteer for Project Hope Worldwide, an organization that has built an orphanage and school in Lira, Uganda. Our whole family just really have a heart for Ugandans so we thought what better theme to choose than African? ;-)

I could kick myself for not taking a before pic of the room with furniture in it. These two will have to do...

Notice the "lovely" Sound of Music collector plates flanking the window. I am selling them so let me know if you're interested! ;-)

I digress! Here's a before pic with the furniture emptied out...

The color theme we came up with...

I actually enjoy the challenge of decorating on a small budget so I tried to recycle some of the things we had with new coats of paint and new fabrics. We decided to keep our dining room table since it was still in great condition and just paint it and recover our chair cushions. A huuuuuge THANK YOU goes out to my hubby, Steve, for doing all the large bulk painting and for painting our table and chairs. I have no idea how he puts up with me and my crazy ideas.

And here's the finished room...

I did a color wash on the upper part of the walls and a zebra stripe on the inside panels of the lower part of the wall. I decided the wall surrounding the zebra stripe was too plain so i did a dry-brushed effect with glaze to that, too.

This is Tracy, the inspiration for our room. You can read about Tracy's story here.

Oklahoma & Uganda time ;-)

Painting by our 9-year old, Abby

One of my favorite parts of the room are the canvases - which replaced my Sound of Music plates ;-) I made them on ArtsCow.com and they are mostly photos Steve and I took on our trip to Uganda. Brings back such great memories!

This is Anna, one of the orphans we sponsor through Project Hope Worldwide...

Another pic of Tracy ;-)

My plate racks used to be shiny black so I spray painted them a rust color to match the room more...

This valance used to have a scalloped bottom and was covered in a red and white toile fabric. Steve cut off the scalloped edge for me then I recovered it & added the fringe...

After Steve painted our table turquoise, I gave it a dry-brush glaze in brown. I was a little nervous to try this effect but I think it turned out pretty good! ;-)

A little explanation on my table centerpiece...I received the mosaic candle holders from my in-laws for Christmas.They fit perfectly in our new room! The red runner is actually two wooden, square place mats laid side by side (found at Wal Mart for $4 each). Then I put leftover fabric from the chairs inside a picture frame. The place mats are also from WalMart - $2 each! Shhh! Don't tell!

I was born in Germany and my parents brought this globe back with them when we moved to the States. I've always loved it but especially now in this room...

A drawing of my girls by Gary Wing Portaits. He does amazing work!

And that's the finished room. A lot of work but a lot of fun, too! It's one of my favorite projects and now one of our favorite rooms in the house.

Christmas 2011 Wrap Up

2012-01-08T13:28:00.001-06:00

Steve and I have been busy redecorating our dining room and I've fallen behind on blogging. So here's my Christmas 2011 Wrap-Up - better late than never ;-)

We had a great time celebrating Christmas with family and friends this year!

Of course, we always love to decorate for Christmas. I was in Uganda the first 2 weeks of Christmas last year so I didn't really decorate that much. This year, Steve says it looks like Christmas threw up in our house ;-)

Our girls held a Christmas Party at our house with a few of their friends and their dolls. They made all the invitations, planned all the food, games, and crafts and pretty much did everything themselves. They did a great job and I think all the girls had lots of fun...

The girls had a blast at their Annual Christmas Tea Party with The Girls Club. They did a cookie exchange, decorated an oversized sugar cookie, played games, sang Christmas carols, and ate yummy snacks. This is one event they definitely look forward to every year!

The Friday before Christmas, my Mom came over and we celebrated with her. We had a very "traditional" pizza dinner ;-), the girls performed Christmas songs for us, and we opened gifts. We opened gifts from my aunt in Washington and the girls also exchanged their gift to each other that night, too...

The next day, we went to Oklahoma City to celebrate with my family. First we went to my sister's where we had a yummy lunch of crock pot potato soup, decorated a birthday cake for Jesus, and had fun dancing with Dance Kids on the Wii...

Then we went to my dad and step-moms - a few miles away from my sister's. The girls had fun making t-shirt scarves with my sister, Rachel...

Photo by my sister, Anna

We had dinner together, visited, and opened gifts. It was great to see everyone, especially my relatives from San Antonio!

The next day was Christmas Eve. Our church had a great Candlelight Christmas Eve service...

Then the girls prepared milk, cookies, and letters to Santa in hopes that he might come that night...

Looks like he came! Whew! ;-)

Christmas morning...

That afternoon, we went to Steve's Aunt's house in Claremore for a delicious lunch and catching up with relatives...

The next we celebrated with Steve's family at his parent's house in Sperry...

My favorite part of opening gifts there is always the homemade gifts that Steve's mom and the kids make for us. They are always so special to me...

So Christmas is now over and it's time to start a new year. Looking forward to all it has to offer and all the fun memories we'll be making with friends and family! Happy 2012!

Nutcracker 2011

2011-12-24T13:05:00.001-06:00

We recently saw the Nutcracker at the Tulsa PAC with our friends, the Simons - our annual Christmas tradition going on four years now. This year, we were able to purchase tickets that allowed us to arrive an hour early to watch the dancers warming up before the show, then we got to go backstage and see the set close up. We had great seats for the performance and had so much fun - it's one of our favorite things to do at Christmas!

A Little Christmas Fun

2011-12-24T12:36:00.001-06:00

* Our family's been elf-ed!

* Portable North Pole: In just a few easy steps, you can create a personalized video from Santa Claus for your children, friends, family members or colleagues by providing a few little details about the person.

Here's a video from Santa to my daughter, Mackenzie, and here's Abby's video. So fun ;-)

"Shake Heaven" - Christmas Remix

2011-12-21T21:12:00.001-06:00

For my girls - because they love this song ;-) ...

Harriet Tubman Links and Videos

2011-12-19T08:25:00.002-06:00

For my daughter, Mackenzie, who is writing a research paper on Harriet Tubman - wanted to have all the resources in one safe place ;-)

LINKS:

Harriet Tubman (Background & activities on brainpop.com)

Harriet Tubman (Enchantedlearning.com)

Harriet Tubman (GardenofPraise.com)

Harriet Tubman (KidsKonnect.com)

Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad (Timelines, quizzes, character sketches, poems & crossword puzzles)

Harriet Tubman: Civil War Spy (Natl. Geographic Kids)

Harriet Tubman (pppst.com)

Harriet Tubman (Scholastic.com)

Harriet Tubman (Wikipedia.com)

VIDEOS:

Popcorn and Christmas Movie Night?

2011-12-18T00:08:00.000-06:00

Check out these great videos ;-)

Ugly Christmas Sweater Party Pics

2011-12-15T09:21:00.001-06:00

Our homeschool co-op recently had a Christmas Party for the parents, which was great fun because we rarely get together as couples. And what made it even more fun was that we all had to wear ugly Christmas sweaters to attend.

I couldn't find sweaters quite ugly enough for Steve and I to wear so the girls helped me make ours.

Here's some videos that gave us inspiration for crafting our outfits...

With supplies from Dollar Tree and shirts from Goodwill, we went straight to work! (And I'm proud to say that we spent no more than about $7 p/shirt!)

Steve's jacket before...

And after...

Isn't it a beaut?!?! We actually liked the jacket so we just pinned on all the decorations so he could wear it again later.

My "beautiful" vest, on the other hand, needed a few more touches. Just a little too plain...

With glue gun in hand, embellishments were added. And here's the final product...

I think the large sparkly butterfly is such a nice touch and makes it over-the-top beautiful - I mean ugly ;-)

Here we are sporting our new finds. You know you want one ;-)

Our girls went to Steve's sister's house during the party. It was the night of the OU/OSU bedlam game so everyone dressed in support of their favorite team. Go pokes!

Here are the terrific hosts of the party, Nicole and Rick. Don't you just love his added chest hair. It made us want to gag, yet we couldn't look away! ;-)

Here's pics of our fun night. As usual, the ladies were busy gabbing while the guys watched the game.

(Special thanks to Cheri for the pics!)

It was a super fun party and we hope to make this a new annual tradition ;-)

Creative Ways To Display Christmas Cards

2011-12-15T08:12:00.000-06:00

I recently made a new Christmas card display holder and thought I'd share how I made it. It's super easy!

Materials:

Canvas

Scrapbook paper

Scissors

Mod Podge

Acrylic Paint

Foam Paint Brush

Ribbon

Stapler

Instructions:

1. I chose a long, rectangular canvas that I thought would fit well in the space where I wanted to hang it. Then I base-coated it in black acrylic paint...

2. I found this great Christmas Subway Art Print on Tatertots and Jello. In fact, they have a ton of fun and cute printables on their posting. I printed it off on cardstock in a size that fit well on my canvas. I then glued it to bright yellow scrapbook paper, creating a small border and bringing out the yellow in the star on the print. Then I Mod Podged it to the center of the canvas...

3. I did a google search for "Christmas tree outlines" and found this one that was simple and easy to cut out. This time I printed it twice on the back of scrapbook paper, cut out both trees, then "aged" them by dry-brushing black paint to the outside edge. I thought they didn't quite stand out enough on the black canvas, so I glued them to the yellow scrapbook paper then cut around the edge, leaving a slight border. Then I Mod Podged both trees on either side of the Christmas Tree Subway Art Print on the canvas.

4. Next, I wanted to dress up clothespins that would hold the Christmas cards so I simply traced around them on scrapbook paper, cut them out, then Mod Podged the paper to the clothespins...

5. The last step was to attach the ribbon. I love this wide, shimmering ribbon I found for half off at Hobby Lobby. I cut three long strips about five feet each and stapled them to the backside bottom of the canvas, making sure they were equally spaced. Then I took a shorter strip of ribbon, about 1 foot long, and stapled it to the top back side of the canvas. This created a place to hang the ribbon on a nail, Command hook, or wreath holder...

And here's the final product...

I not only use it to display cards but also my favorite Christmas photos of my girls from years past. It makes me smile ;-)

Here are some links with other creative ways to display Christmas cards...

3 Easy Ways to Display Holiday Cards (Kaboose.com)

4 Ways to Display Christmas Holiday Cards (myLifetime.com)

Creative Ways to Display Christmas Cards (CreativeHomeStyle.com)

Displaying Christmas Cards (About.com)

Displaying Holiday Cards (HowStuffWorks.com)

Heritage Homeschool Choir Christmas Presentation

2011-12-13T12:11:00.000-06:00

A Little Christmas Crafting

2011-12-12T21:25:00.001-06:00

The girls and I have been having a lot of fun making gifts and decorations for Christmas this year!

Here's a craft that Abby made. She took Mod Podge and painted it all over a candle, then she rolled it in Epson Salt. The salt gives it a sparkly "snow" appearance then she topped it off with a bow. I think it turned out great!

Mackenzie has been crocheting away making doll clothes, scarves, and blankets. Her mad skills amaze me...

And I made this Christmas banner to replace the Thanksgiving one I made last month. I'm so proud of myself for completing this project BEFORE Christmas arrived. Woo hoo! ;-)

Here's a little tutorial in case you'd like to try it out.

Supplies needed:

Scrapbook paper
Mod Podge
Cardboard
Scissors
Ribbon
Ornaments
Clothes Pins

1. Decide what you want your banner to say. I chose "Peace on Earth" but other options might include...

* Joy to the World
* O Holy Night
* Let It Snow
* Silent Night

Typically a short phrase or Christmas song title works best.

2. I printed out my phrase on shimmery, gold scrapbook paper - 2 letters p/page then I carefully cut them out.

3. I cut my cardboard pieces & scrapbook papers to be about 11" x 6". Then I Mod Podged a thin layer of glue around the edge of the cardboard then pressed it onto the back of the scrapbook paper, making sure it was flat and smooth.

4. After it was dry, I Mod Podged the letters onto the scrapbook paper boards.

5. Next, I traced around clothes pins on scrapbook paper, cut those out, then Mod Podged the paper onto the clothes pins - just dressed them up a bit ;-)

5. The I took a length of jute, maybe about 7 feet long, and tied a small loop at one end. I decided I wanted to hang the banner across the windows in my living room so I put Command hooks in place then put the beginning loop on the left hook. I stretched out the jute to the other side, made a loop, then hung that to the other Command hook. Working from the middle out, I hung the letters on the jute with the clips. It took a bit to figure out the spacing but I managed ;-) I also tied ornaments where the spaces fell in my phrase. After standing back and looking at it, I thought it needed a little more decoration, so I added ribbon knots on the end loops and on the clothes pins.

This was a fun and easy craft to make. Now I may have to keep making banners for each holiday! My poor husband says, "Stop the madness already!"

Field Trip: Tulsa Festival Ringers

2011-12-10T16:41:00.001-06:00

Our homeschool co-op went to see the Tulsa Festival Ringers at the Tulsa Performing Arts Center a few days ago. It was a great concert and the set was amazing. It was actually the backdrop to "A Christmas Carol" which is actually currently playing at the PAC. Here's a few pics and videos from the performance...

Afterwards, we had to do our yearly tradition of going to see Santa at Utica Square - not exactly something the girls enjoy doing any more but they do it for their mean 'ole mom because she wants a picture. They get a cookie so it's kind of a trade-off ;-)

There's so many fun things to do at Christmas time, it's hard to fit it all in!

Our Newest Christmas Tradition

2011-12-05T21:16:00.000-06:00

Our family recently attended "The Bethlehem Walk" at a church in Tulsa. When we first arrived, we checked in then went to the sanctuary where we sang Christmas Carols. We were placed in groups of about 20 people so after our group was made, we went to a different room where we actually got to take place in THE Christmas story. We were given names and "official" papers that we had to keep in our posession in case we were "confronted" by Roman soldiers. We then progressed on our way to "Bethelehem" to be counted in the "census".

Because women were counted as second-class citizens, we had to walk in the back and the men in the front. I think they liked that a little too much ;-) The women and children also made the taxed amount due higher. Along our lit path, we came across shepherds, the wise men, angels singing, live animals, Roman soldiers harassing us, and we even got to walk through a "Jewish village". We finally came across baby Jesus, then it skipped 30 years down the road as we saw the cross where He was hung. But then we saw the tomb was empty and an angel announced that Jesus had risen indeed! ;-)

After the walk-through, we went back into the church where they had a large space that looked liked another Jewish village. They had authentic food to try out, crafts to make, and hot chocolate to warm us up from the cold outdoors.

It was such a neat experience - we will definitely have to make this a yearly tradition!

Co-Op Christmas Party 2011

2011-12-04T12:39:00.001-06:00

Our homeschool co-op had our annual Christmas party a few days ago. My girls had fun the night before making pretzels dipped in peppermint chocolate and topped with all kinds of sprinkles. Messy, yummy fun...

And here's pics from our fun party. (Most of the photos are courtesy of my friends, Cheri Burt & Jennifer Wedemeyer.)

Field Trip: Tour of the Nina & Pinta Replicas

2011-11-29T15:30:00.001-06:00

Our homeschool co-op just had a field trip to visit replicas of the Nina and Pinta in Muskogee, OK. I can't even imagine what it would be like to spend months on the waters and never see land - gives me a whole new appreciation as to what sailors had to endure by traveling the treacherous oceans long ago, and even still today.

Here's some info on the ships and pics from our fun day...

Nina and Pinta Replica Info:

Nina and Pinta Visit Muskogee (KRMG)

Replicas of Columbus' Ships Land in Muskogee (Tulsa World)

Replicas Of Historical 'Nina' And 'Pinta' Sail Into Muskogee (News Story Featured on Channel 6)

Ships Come In (MuskogeePhoenix.com)

Pics from our Field Trip:

I have also posted links and videos here if you'd like to further your research on Columbus and the three ships that made the trek to the Americas ;-)

Learning the Books of the Bible

2011-11-29T07:28:00.001-06:00

LINKS:

Books of the Bible Game Idea

Books of the Bible PowerPoint Presentation

Books of the Bible Printable Bookmarks

Books of the Bible Downloadable Activity (TeachingWithTLC.com)

Craft: Books of the Bible Wreath (DLT-kids.com)

God's Book: About the Bible

How to Teach the Books of the Bible

Levels of Bible Skills

Teaching Children the Books of the Bible

VIDEOS:

Reminiscing About Uganda

2011-11-28T07:15:00.000-06:00

I took my girls and one of their friends to see the Ugandan Orphans Choir at a church in Tulsa yesterday. Of course, we love anything in support of Uganda - and this was great timing because exactly one year ago today, I found myself on a plane headed for Uganda. I never thought I'd go to Africa but I'm so glad I went. I remember being scared to death and even wondered if I'd come back alive ;-) I think going to a third world country teaches you so many lessons - you can't help but come back a changed person. I was reminded of...

* How important family is,
* $$$ can't buy you happiness,
* It's better to give than to receive,
* Never take electricity, refrigeration and public sanitation for granted,
* We are majorly spoiled in America, and
* "Godliness with contentment is great gain" (1 Timothy 6:6)

Most of all, it challenged my faith and trust in God and reminded me that He has a plan for our lives. We can either accept it and take part in it or create a false happiness that does not bring joy or fulfillment.

Ahhh - I digress ;-) Here's a few pics and videos from the concert - such sweet voices and amazingly changed lives...

I did leave my heart in Uganda and hope I can go back again someday ;-)

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-11-27T16:01:00.001-06:00

We had a great time making fun memories with our family this Thanksgiving.

We had my mom over Thanksgiving Eve for a ham dinner...

Thanksgiving morning, our family did the Owasso YMCA Hog Jog. Steve ran the 1-mile run with Mackenzie and Abby ran the 5K with me. Both girls did great and had a fun time. I mostly did it so I could eat more for lunch ;-)

Then we went to Steve's parent's house for a delicious Thanksgiving lunch. It was a pretty nice day out so all the cousins had a great time playing outside and jumping in the leaves, which has become a tradition every Thanksgiving now ;-)

I didn't get to see the rest of my side of the family but I'm posting their Thanksgiving pictures anyway ;-) I'll see them in a few short weeks for Christmas!

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving - we have much to be thankful for ;-)

Christopher Columbus Links

2011-11-26T20:06:00.001-06:00

Our homeschool co-op is taking a field trip this week to visit replicas of the Nina and Pinta in Muskogee, OK. It sounds like a great exhibit but I thought the girls and I better brush up on our knowledge of Christopher Columbus and the ships that made the voyage to North America...

LESSON PLANS:

Beyond Columbus: Teaching the Lessons of 1492 (EducationWorld.com)

Christopher Columbus Activities and Quizzes (BBC Channel)

Christopher Columbus Activities and Games (Mr. Donn)

Columbus Day Crafts and Activities (EnchantedLearning.com)

Columbus Day (History Channel)

Columbus Day Lessons and Teacher Resources

(LessonPlansPage.com)

Columbus Day PowerPoints (Mr. Donn)

VIDEOS:

Christopher Columbus (Biography Channel)

Sweet Voices, AwEsOmE Kids

2011-11-23T12:23:00.001-06:00

Our homeschool co-op sang to the seniors at the Owasso Community Center today. Such sweet voices ;-) I just love the families in our group...

We Are Family

2011-11-21T19:47:00.001-06:00

We recently had a family reunion of sorts as we had family come in town from Colorado, Washington, and OKC. It was so good to see everyone as it has been many, many years since we've all been together at the same time. We had lots of fun celebrating birthdays, playing games, watching dancing and piano playing performances, chatting, and of course, eating...

Piano performances by my Aunt Jeanette and Uncle Bill - sure wish I had their musical talent! Warning: our piano needs to be tuned REEEEEALLY bad!!!

My Aunt Jeanette wrote this song for her wedding many years ago. I think it is so BeAuTiFuL!

Such fun memories & reminds me how thankful I am for the family God has placed me in :-)

Annual Branson Trip - 'Tis the Season

2011-11-17T17:26:00.001-06:00

We recently took our annual trip to Branson with Steve's family. We always go this time of the year and celebrate birthdays for Steve's mom and sister, my nephew, and our oldest daughter, Mackenzie. Here's a few pics of us hanging out at our condo...

One of the kid's favorite things to do is to send notes to the people staying below us. They love to keep an eye at the end of their chain and see if anyone wrote them back, which they usually do ;-)

It's also always our tradition to go to Silver Dollar City and see the Christmas lights, shows, and parade - definitely puts us in the Christmas spirit...

And before we head back home, we always have to stop off at the Grand Village Shops (a.k.a. "The Christmas Village"). We love to look around at all the Christmas trees and pick out an ornament to take home...

Let the Christmas celebrations begin!

Thankful Banner Tutorial

2011-11-16T07:30:00.000-06:00

I recently had a "Craft Night with Friends" and made this "thankful" banner.

I got inspiration for my banner over at the "Centsational Girl" blog. Here's a pic of her cute creation...

I recreated my version of this banner all with supplies from Hobby Lobby - and all were half-price or 40% off, mind you ;-) ...

~ Cardboard (found in the clearance section)

~ Artificial leaves (found in the Thanksgiving/Fall section. These leaves are actually quite beautiful and realistic - not the "fake", "cheap-looking" kind)

~ Scrapbook paper

~ Mod Podge

~ Foam brush

~ Jute

~ Ribbon

~ Pumpkin & leaves picks (for the end pieces of the banner)

~ Duck Tape

~ Glue

~ Scissors

INSTRUCTIONS FOR ASSEMBLY:

1. This first step really made my brain hurt - way too much thinking involved ;-) I do not have a die-cut machine (which I would really, really love to receive as a Christmas gift from my family - hint, hint. Just sayin'). So I found a letter font that I liked in my Print Artist software that I've been using for ages now (hint, hint - could use an updated version of scrapbooking software. Ha! Who knew I'd get in my Christmas Wish List on this post, too?!) The part that hurt my brain was figuring out the pattern to spell out "thankful" using brown & orange paper, putting 2 letters p/page to save paper, then printing it in reverse on the backside so it wouldn't show through on the colored side...

2. Whew! After that step, I cut the letters out then set them to the side.

3. I decided on a pattern for the background of the letters and cut those into panels (mine were about 7" x 10" - large enough for the letters to fit on and still have the background showing).

4. I also cut the cardboard into panels a little thinner and several inches shorter than my scrapbook paper. (You'll see why in Step # 7.)

5. With a foam brush, I put Mod Podge all over a cardboard panel then placed it on the lower part of a scrapbook paper panel. I did this to all my panels and allowed them to dry before moving on to the next step.

6. After making sure my panels were in my chosen pattern, I Mod Podged the letters in order. I did this by putting the Mod Podge on the back of the letters first, then I pressed them onto the tops of the scrapbook paper, making sure to smooth them down firmly but gently. I then top-coated it with another layer of Mod Podge.

7. After everything was completely dry, I put a thin layer of glue along the upper part of the backside of the first panel. I pulled out a long strand of jute, leaving about 8 inches at the beginning. Then I placed the jute at the point where the cardboard and paper meet (on the backside) then folded the paper over and pressed it down firmly. The glue holds the letter in place on the jute.

8. I then added my first leaf, wrapping the stem around the jute and making a little "swirly" at the end. I also added a little ribbon strip tied to the leaf stem. I repeated this process until it spelled out "thankful" - and I am always "thankful" if I can spell out a word in a craft project without misspelling it ;-)

9. I then came upon the dilemma of how to hang my creation and I chose - what else?! Duck Tape! I simply Duck Taped the ends (I left another 8 inches of jute after the last letter) to the top of shelves I have hanging over my kitchen window.

10. Last step was to tuck in the pumpkin & leaves picks on the ends and voila! My finished project...

It was really simple and fun to make and brain surgery was not even involved. You can totally make this so get out your supplies and get crafting! ;-)

Thanksgiving Links and Videos

2011-11-15T11:22:00.001-06:00

Thanksgiving Crafts:

Free Thanksgiving/Fall Kit

In My Heart Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving at TipJunkie.com

Thanksgiving Bible Crafts

Thanksgiving Countdown Calendar

Thanksgiving Handprint Tablecloth

Thanksgiving Printable Placemats

Thanksgiving Printables

Thanksgiving Tables for Kids (Martha Stewart)

Thanksgiving On-Line Games:

On-Line Games for Thanksgiving (Funschool.com)

Silly Turkey (Starfall.com)

Thanksgiving Dinner

Thanksgiving Fun and Games (homeschooled-kids.com)

Thanksgiving Games (AKidsHeart.com)

Thanksgiving Games (DLTK.com)

Thanksgiving Games (PrimaryGames.com)

Thanksgiving Games for Kids (Kaboose.com)

Thanksgiving Lesson Plans:

A Cornucopia of Fun

Amanda Bennett Thanksgiving Lapbook

Free Math Thanksgiving Math Worksheets

Host an Authentic Thanksgiving

I Am Thankful Mini-Book (Scholastic)

Jamestown Settlement

Plimoth Nation

Thanksgiving Activities (Enchanted Learning)

Thanksgiving Activities and Links (1+1+1=1)

Thanksgiving Activity Pack (ages 3-6)

Thanksgiving Freebie Cornucopia (Currclick.com)

Thanksgiving Ideas for Children's Ministry

Thanksgiving Lapbook Links (Squidoo.com)

Thanksgiving Lesson Plans (pbs.org)

Thanksgiving Math Worksheets

Thanksgiving Story Cards (iMOM.com)

Thanksgiving Worksheets (SuperTeacherWorksheets.com)

The First Thanksgiving (Scholastic.com)

Turkey Trivia Quiz

Thanksgiving Stories, Audios and Videos:

Thanksgiving Music

Thanksgiving Songs and Activities for Children

Thanksgiving Stories (ShortStoryTime.com)

The Night Before Thanksgiving (audio)

The Thanksgiving Stone (audio)

The Thanksgiving Tale of Tobias Turkey

Understanding the Science of Thanksgiving (audio)

We Are the Music: Native Americans

"This is America Charlie Brown, The Mayflower Voyagers"...

"The Thanksgiving That Almost Wasn't"...

Because of You, Unknown Soldier

2011-11-11T13:19:00.001-06:00

Because of you, I am here

Because of you, I am able to live freely

Yet I do not know you

And I have not done anything for you

But there you stand, ready to fight

And there you are prepared to die

For me

You've fought before

And you'll fight again

For someone you don't know

So thank you, Unknown Soldier

Fighting for me

I'm here because of you

And I owe my future to you

~ By Courtney Tanabe

30 Days of Thankfulness in One Post

2011-11-11T12:45:00.000-06:00

In no particular order after #5 ;-)

#1 - Jesus loves me this I know

#2 - My husband, Steve, whom I'm still crazy in
love with after almost 20 years of marriage

#3 - My girls - the two best gifts God has ever given me

#4 - My family I was born into

#5 - The family I married into

#6 - Our homeschool co-op

#7 - My favorite Mexican restaurant

#8 - The opportunity to go to a third world country

#9 - Good health and the opportunity to work out with friends

#10 - Movies worth seeing

#11 - Craft night with friends

#12 - U2 - yes, I STILL love them

#13 - Chai tea with pumpkin spice @ Starbucks

#14 - God's creativity expressed in nature

#15 - Organizations making positive change

#16 - Kids making a difference

#17 - Companies that give back

#18 - All the men and women that serve our country so that we can be free

#19 - The imagination of a child

#20 - Pastors, like Mark Driscoll, that tell it how it is
and don't try to "cheeze up" the Gospel message

#21 - Positive influences for my girls, like Beckah Shae

#22 - The blessing of vacations

#23 - My grandparents - the two most influential
people in my life. I miss them so much and look
forward to being with them again someday.

#24 - The opportunity to "school" my girls at home and learn together

#25 - The happy memories of my childhood

#26 - The promise that God is in control

#27 - The gift of life and making every day count

#28 - Pinterest. My newest blessing - I mean, addiction

#29 - Date night with the girls

#30 - Date night with my man ♥

Never Be Too Big To Play

2011-11-04T18:25:00.000-05:00

Years ago, our girls turned our upstairs loft area into a "shanty" and it became their play area for when they played "Little House on the Prairie". I love that they still love to play that, although it's not near as often as it used to be.

Today, Mackenzie had a friend over and Abby didn't. Abby decided she wanted to play Little House and she asked me if I'd play with her. Well, I'm embarrassed and sad to say I just don't "play" very well. It's always been hard for me to get into that "imaginative" mind set. Plus, I just always have a million things to do - just like any other mom. Abby snuck into my closet and found the most "pioneer-ish" dress she could find, which was just a floral dress I haven't worn in years that was taking up space in my closet. She said I could be Ma and to put the dress on and just go barefoot. Thinking of all the things I needed to be doing that afternoon, I honestly wanted to tell her I didn't have time to play. But then that dance scene from the movie, Courageous, popped into my mind.

So guess what I did today?

I had a tea party, "washed" clothes on a wash board, took care of "babies", pulled vegetables from our "garden", and read poems from a Pioneer Primer...

Even though I felt kind of silly, we had the best time and it reminded me of what's important in life. My To-Do-List is never ending but my time with my girls is very limited and fleeting away all too fast. I pray that I don't loose focus on what's really important and that I make time for the little things in life.

Field Trip to the Cherokee Heritage Center

2011-11-03T07:30:00.000-05:00

Cherokee Heritage Center

Tahlequah, OK

A Cherokee Indian Village representing the 1700's...

A Cherokee Indian Village representing the late 1800's - early 1900's...

Halloween 2011

2011-11-02T20:20:00.000-05:00

Nate Saint - the Jungle Missionary

2011-11-01T20:52:00.002-05:00

The girls and I have been reading the story of Nate Saint, a young missionary who was speared to death by the Waodani tribe in Ecuador in 1956. I thought I would post some resources on Saint to help us learn a little more about his amazing faith, motivation, and perseverance in serving God.

NATE SAINT RESOURCES:

Beyond the Gates of Splendor
(Video by Steven Curtis Chapman)

Nate Saint and Missionary Aviation Fellowship (MAF)

Nate Saint Fit to Fly... For God

Nate Saint (Wikipedia)

Spirit of the Jungle Blog

(Warning: End of the Spear has graphically violent scenes not necessarily appropriate for children's eyes.)

School Pics 2011

2011-11-01T17:52:00.000-05:00

Taken by the amazingly talented homeschool mom and photographer, Leslie Everett with LE Portraits. (Photos were taken at Soiree - the best place to have a party in Collinsville, OK)

Abby, 9, 3rd grade;
Mackenzie, 11, 6th grade;
and their mean teacher
(a.k.a. slave driver)
;-)

Tulsa Run 2011

2011-10-29T20:00:00.000-05:00

For the past few months, I've been training for the Tulsa Run with a group of friends from the Y. It's been quite a challenge getting my runs in but overall it was a great training with a great bunch of women!

Pre-Tulsa Run Party...

All the ladies from our group
(Photo courtesy of Brandi Simons)

The 5K-ers
(Photo courtesy of Brandi Simons)

The 15K-ers
(Photo courtesy of Brandi Simons)

Our fearless leaders
(Photo courtesy of Brandi Simons)

Silly games may have been played
(Photo courtesy of Brandi Simons)

I broke a sweat! Whew! Getting too
old for these "young gal" games! ;-)
(Photo courtesy of Brandi Simons)

Sitting on balloons
(Photo courtesy of Brandi Simons)

Not sure what Holly is doing ;-)
(Photo courtesy of Brandi Simons)

The "official" Owasso YMCA Running Group gear...

Pics from the Run (Most were taken by Mike Simons). Pre-race...

During the Run...

Post Run...

And a funny comparison...

Tulsa Run 2009

Tulsa Run 2011

Here's a little video I put together with pics from our training and from the Run...

Now to decide if I should go on and do the Route 66 Half. Whew! I get tired just thinking about it! Decisions! Decisions!

Field Trip to See the Arabian Horses

2011-10-29T14:48:00.000-05:00

Arabian & Half-Arabian Championship Horse Show

Expo Square

Tulsa, OK

And here's a video that was produced by the AHA U.S. Nationals of the tour our co-op took :-)

Such a fun field trip and one we look forward to every year!

Kids Helping Kids in Uganda

2011-10-28T22:46:00.000-05:00

For the past month our homeschool co-op has been participating in a campaign called "Change for Change". The kids raised money which was to be donated to Project Hope Worldwide, a non-profit organization that has built an orphanage in Lira, Uganda. We gathered today to collect everyone's money. It was so neat to hear the stories of the different ways the kids gathered their change...

* One teenager donated a large portion of the monies she has made recently from babysitting,

* Two sisters have been making beaded bracelets and selling them,

* One boy had his change jar out at a garage sale,

* One family walked around their neighborhood asking for donations,

* One little boy said his mommy just went to the bank and asked for some money ;-)

Here's a video the kids watched this morning that showed them who they were helping take care of...

And this is a video of the kids above before living at Calo Me Lare...

I took those photos when I went on my trip to Uganda last December. It's so neat to see them now living in a nice, clean home with lots of new brothers and sisters. Today they have new clothes to wear, healthy food to eat, a school to attend where they get the best Classical Christian education possible, and most of all they are loved on by the house moms and administrators and are learning of God's love daily.

All the kids were so excited to help the precious, innocent children half a world away. And I am excited to announce how much they raised! Drumroll please....

$615!!!

Wowsers! That's a lot of money and will help the orphans so much! I'm so proud of those kids and all of their hard efforts!

If your homeschool co-op, Scout troop, Mom's Club, youth ministry, sports team, or any other club or ministry is interested in participating in the Change for Change campaign, please e-mail Kelley Compton at kelleycompton@projecthopeworldwide.org.

Scarf Tutorials

2011-10-24T08:36:00.001-05:00

My 11 year old daughter, Mackenzie, and I love to wear scarves so when I came across this video on the Money Saving Mom's website, I knew I had to re-post it for later reference ;-)

Making scarves from t-shirts has become really popular lately. I just came across this great post on "My Blessed Life" that has 10 t-shirt scarf tutorials. My girls recently had a craft date with some friends and they made some super cute scarves from old t-shirts...

It was so fun and I think they turned out great! They are a fun way to recycle, too!

Fall Fun at the Shepherd's Cross

2011-10-23T14:02:00.001-05:00

One of our favorite things to do in the fall is visit the Shepherd's Cross Pumpkin Patch in Claremore. The farm is run by Dr. Diane and she loves to share her passion about farming and how farming is related to the Bible.

Here's a video about Shepherd's Cross - the first minute is advertising...

And here's pics from our tour...

Such a great farm and fun activity for the Fall. Now we look forward to going back in the winter to see their Living Nativity - it'll be here before you know it!

Update on the Girly Me Missions Sale

2011-10-22T20:42:00.000-05:00

In a previous post, I wrote about how LifeWay Christian Resources heard about Girly Me Missions, the ministry my girls and some of their friends are in. They contacted me because they wanted to come and film the girls in the group and do a story on them. They wanted to turn their story into a video that will be shown at next summer's LifeWay CentriKid nation-wide camps. Soooo...

The film crew arrived yesterday. They were young and energetic and made the girls feel very comfortable. They interviewed them as a group, then individually...

Then they bought everyone pizza and we had a pizza party for dinner that night. The girls had so much fun ;-)

The film crew wanted to film the girls "in action" so we invited them to visit their booth at the Owasso Harvest Festival and Chili Cook-Off the next day. The girls have been working very hard for the last few months making lots of crafts to sell including fall-scented candles, Duck tape items, crocheted items, jewelry, Christmas ornaments, Fall decorations, and baked goods. They had so much fun selling their crafts and telling people about Project Hope Worldwide, the non-profit organization that their profits were going to.

They set a goal for how much they wanted to make at the sale and because of the donations of several generous people, they were able to exceed their goal! :-) We also had BEAUTIFUL weather for the entire sale (unlike last year when it was cold and rainy). When the sale was over, the girls gathered together and said a little prayer to God to thank Him for the nice weather and for helping them exceed their goal.) An hour after the sale was over, it started pouring down rain! Mackenzie said, "I need a t-shirt that says, 'I truly witnessed a miracle!'" ;-)

This entire experience has been really fun for the girls and I'm just so proud of all of them. They have such sweet spirits and have a true love for serving others and helping those in need. I am amazed at their motivation and their selflessness. I can't wait to see where God will lead them next!

Loves and Tolerances

2011-10-20T10:29:00.000-05:00

I loooove to go to concerts while my poor hubby tolerates them with me ;-) We got to see two great ones within the last few weeks. First we saw Third Day, one of my favorite bands. Peter Furler and Trevor Morgan were their opening acts.

Trevor Morgan

Peter Furler

Unfortunately, Third Day didn't sing my favorite song but here it is anyway ;-)

Then a few nights ago, we saw the David Crowder Band in concert - also one of my favorite bands. I'm kinda bummed that they are breaking up after this tour but you can't blame them for wanting to spend more time with their families.

Their opening acts were pretty great, too, including...

Chris August:

Gungor:

John Mark McMillan:

Here's John singing with kids from Uganda, another one of my loves ;-)

They were great concerts and I'm thankful my hubby puts up with me to support the loves of my life ;-)

Field Trip to the Philbrook Museum

2011-10-20T07:49:00.000-05:00

Philbrook Museum

Tulsa, OK

Field Trip to the Pensacola Dam

2011-10-19T20:03:00.001-05:00

Pensacola Dam

Langley, OK

Fun With Science

2011-10-18T21:58:00.000-05:00

Tulsa Geo Science Tour

We Were Made To Be Courageous

2011-10-14T07:30:00.000-05:00

The moms in our homeschool co-op had a MNO last night & we saw "Courageous" at the movies. All I can say is WOW! EVERY parent should see it. It'll make you laugh. It'll make you cry. It will make you want to be a better parent and spouse. And if you feel like you've already messed things up as a parent, if your child is still alive today, there's still time to make things right. The choice is ours to live a life of regret or a life of joy and thankfulness.

Here's the trailer for the movie...

This is a great video of the importance of fathers...

The video of "Courageous" by Casting Crowns...

You can see more great videos on the "Courageous" YouTube station here.

This is the Resolution that was mentioned in the movie - very powerful words...

THE RESOLUTION

I do solemnly resolve before God to take full responsibility for myself, my wife, and my children.

I WILL love them, protect them, serve them, and teach them the Word of God as the spiritual leader of my home.

I WILL be faithful to my wife, to love and honor her, and be willing to lay down my life for her as Jesus Christ did for me.

I WILL bless my children and teach them to love God with all of their hearts, all of their minds, and all of their strength.

I WILL train them to honor authority and live responsibly.

I WILL confront evil, pursue justice, and love mercy.

I WILL pray for others and treat them with kindness, respect, and compassion.

I WILL work diligently to provide for the needs of my family.

I WILL forgive those who have wronged me and reconcile with those I have wronged.

I WILL learn from my mistakes, repent of my sins, and walk with integrity as a man answerable to God.

I WILL seek to honor God, be faithful to His church, obey His Word, and do His will.

I WILL courageously work with the strength God provides to fulfill this resolution for the rest of my life and for His glory.

As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. – Joshua 24:15

(You can actually purchase a print of the certificate as well as other resources from the movie here.)

I already knew my husband, Steve, was an awesome Daddy, but this movie reminded me how thankful I should be (and am) that he is involved in our daughters' lives. He takes them on dates, tells them daily and often he loves them, he hugs on them and gives them helpful advice. He tells them he's proud of them and spends time every night after work going over their studies, talking about their day, and playing with them. Every Saturday morning he takes them to Panera for breakfast. He has an active, vested interest in their lives and they will never doubt that their Daddy loves them. He is the spiritual leader of our house and the girls will always know that God loves them and cares for them even more than their earthly daddy does.

I thank God for men of courage who are willing to step up to the plate and take on the responsibility of being a dad and to lead their family in the ways of the Lord.

Bible Verses on Being a Good Father

Deuteronomy 6:6-9 - "These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates."(NIV)

Malachi 4:6 - "He will turn the hearts of the parents to their children, and the hearts of the children to their parents; or else I will come and strike the land with total destruction."(NIV)

Psalms 127:3-5 - "Children are a heritage from the LORD, offspring a reward from him. Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are children born in one’s youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them. They will not be put to shame when they contend with their opponents in court." (NIV)

Proverbs 3:32 - "For the LORD detests the perverse but takes the upright into his confidence." (NIV)

Proverbs 10:9 - "Whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but whoever takes crooked paths will be found out." (NIV)

Proverbs 17:27 - "The one who has knowledge uses words with restraint, and whoever has understanding is even-tempered." (NIV)

Proverbs 22:6 - "Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it." (NIV)

Proverbs 23:24 - "The father of a righteous child has great joy; a man who fathers a wise son rejoices in him." (NIV)

Ephesians 6:4 - "Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord." (NIV)

Joshua 24:15 - "But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD." (NIV)

Colossians 3:21 - "Fathers, do not embitter your children, or they will become discouraged." (NIV)

Date Night With the Girls

2011-10-09T20:54:00.001-05:00

Steve and I enjoy taking the girls on date nights and for this month's date night, Steve had a fun time with Abby at the mall...

We're a little late on the band wagon, but she has recently decided she wants to "get into" Lego's. So Steve bought her first set - thankfully, they actually have some cute ones for girls ;-)

Playing shaving cream with Dad...

Mackenzie and I did something we don't normally do on a date night but I just thought it would be fun since she's getting older. First, we got pedi's (it was her first one)...

Next, we had dinner out...

Then, I surprised her and we stayed the night at a little Bed & Breakfast I found in Jenks called The Victorian Lady B&B. They don't typically allow children to stay there because it is filled with amazing antiques but they made an exception for us :-)

We reserved one room but ended up being the only guests that night so we had the entire house to ourselves. We had so much fun looking at the antiques, staying up late talking, and watching movies. Then the next morning, the owners, Deena and Michael Glass, fixed us an AMAZING three-course breakfast. It was soooo good - we even bought their cookbook with their secret recipes so we can try them at home.

I think both girls had a fun night out and Steve and I always enjoy our individual time with our girls - sweet memories that we'll always remember :-)

Oklahoma's Largest Classroom

2011-10-09T16:29:00.001-05:00

Tulsa State Fair

The Countdown Is On

2011-10-04T17:41:00.000-05:00

I love love love Christmas music but I try hard not to play it until the Christmas season begins. At our house, it begins every year when we go to Branson with Steve's family in November so I will just have to wait a little longer until I can start playing it. My family knows it's a pet peeve of mine to play Christmas music before then so they like to torture me and play it at home as our dinner music or they set it up to come on automatically when I turn on my car - even in the summer time. Yep, I'm loved.

A lot of new Christmas albums came out today and I did happen to purchase one. Not to worry - I will not play it early ;-) I bought David Crowder Band's "Oh For Joy". I only listened to half of the first song and knew we'd love it. Here's some more albums that just came out that I will probably have to purchase soon...

WOW Christmas 2011

Toby Mac - Christmas in Diverse City

Various Artists - When LOVE was BORN

Kutless - This Is Christmas

Matthew West - The Heart of Christmas

And here's some of my old favorites...

Third Day - Christmas Offerings

Casting Crowns - Peace on Earth

MercyMe - The Christmas Sessions

Sarah McLachlan - Wintersong

The Time-Life Treasury of Christmas

Josh Groban - Noel

I'd love to know what your favorite Christmas music is! Please leave me a comment so I can check it out and possibly add it to my blog! :-)

"Waiting for Tomorrow" - By Mandisa

2011-10-02T22:41:00.002-05:00

Maybe tomorrow I'll start over

Maybe tomorrow I will finally change my ways

Said the same thing yesterday

Don't know why I'm so afraid

To let You in, to let You win

To let You have all of me

I can't live my whole life wasting

All the grace that I know You've given

'Cause You made me for so much more than

Sitting on the sidelines

I don't wanna look back and wonder

If good enough could have been better

Every day's a day that's borrowed

So why am I waiting for tomorrow?

Why am I waiting for tomorrow?

Maybe today I'll start believing, yeah

That Your mercy really is as real as You say it is

It doesn't matter who I used to be

It only matters that I've been set free

You rescued me, You're changing me

Jesus, take everything, yeah

I can't live my whole life wasting

All the grace that I know You've given

'Cause You made me for so much more than

Sitting on the sidelines

I don't wanna look back and wonder

If good enough could have been better

Every day's a day that's borrowed

So why am I waiting for tomorrow?

Oh, I'm making this my moment now

To grab the hand that's reaching down

To save me, oh, You save me

And I'm making this my moment now

To grab the hand that's reaching down

To save me, oh, You save me

I can't live my whole life wasting

All the grace that I know You've given

'Cause You made me for so much more than

Sitting on the sidelines

I don't wanna look back and wonder

If good enough could have been better

Every day's a day that's borrowed

So why am I waiting for tomorrow?

Why am I waiting for tomorrow?

I'm gonna grab the hand that's reaching down

And I'm not gonna wait until tomorrow

Oh, tomorrow

Celebrating a Friend's Birthday in Big D

2011-10-01T20:23:00.002-05:00

Our sweet friend, Emily, is turning nine and she invited the girls and I to celebrate with her this weekend in Dallas - how could we refuse?! ;-)

We took a little jaunt south and checked into our hotel. We had fun that night swimming, playing in the fountains, eating pizza & yummy deserts, playing Apples to Apples, painting our toe nails and just having lots of fun girl time...

The next morning we celebrated Emily's birthday at the American Girl store. After a yummy breakfast and some delicious cake, we did a little shopping and had fun looking at all the cute doll displays...

The girls had a blast and made some fun memories they will remember forever :-)

Field Trip on the Tulsa Transit Bus

2011-09-27T21:35:00.000-05:00

Our homeschool co-op took a fun and unique field trip today. The kids received coupons to ride the city bus in Tulsa for the Summer Reading Program so we took the bus...

to Woodward Park! We learned about the Tulsa Transit bus system, ate a picnic lunch, fed the squirrels and toured the Linnaeus Gardens.

It was fun riding the bus with friends and something I don't know that I would have ventured out to do on our own ;-)

Harvest Festival at Silver Dollar City

2011-09-27T20:47:00.000-05:00

Our family just spent a fun day at Silver Dollar City in Branson this past weekend. I love going this time of year because they are having their Harvest Festival and everything was decorated for Fall. Our little Miss Abby has become quite the daredevil so Steve and I had to take turns riding all the "fast and scary" rides with her. Mackenzie is more into the "atmosphere" and shopping ;-) We had a great time and look forward to going in November for their "Old Time Christmas" celebration!

Kids Inspiring Kids

2011-09-26T07:15:00.001-05:00

About a year and a half ago, my girls started a ministry called Girly Me Missions. They did this totally on their own and out of their passion for helping orphans in Uganda. Girly Me Missions has grown to be a group of ten girls who craft and make things, then sell their items at local events. All their proceeds go to Project Hope Worldwide, a non-profit organization that has built an orphanage in Lira, Uganda.

A few weeks ago I was contacted by an Event Producer with Lifeway Christian Resources who said that she heard about the girl's story. (I think she heard a news clip that was played on Air 1 and K-LOVE this past summer. You can hear it here.) She told me how Lifeway puts on fun summer camps for kids, called CentriKid Camps, which are held mostly in southeast United States. Their website says, "CentriKid is a five day, four night camp for 3rd–6th graders to experience the time of their lives and learn more about the message of Jesus Christ! From the future sports star to the young scientist to the rising chef, every kid gets to participate in exciting activities of their choice. Church groups bring kids to camp where they’ll take part in Bible study, recreation, track times, and worship." She went on to tell me that for next summer's camp, they would like to feature a different kid or kid ministry that is making a difference in this world and they have chosen Girly Me Missions to be one of the ministries they feature! We were so excited because sometimes the best way to reach parents is through kids and this could bring some much needed attention to the dire need of orphans in Uganda.

Soooo... Lifeway is sending out a film crew in October to take some footage of the girls. They will arrive on a Friday and film them having a meeting and crafting at our house. Then they will come back the next day and visit them at a vendor booth they are going to have at the Owasso Harvest Festival and Chili Cook-Off! I am so proud of these girls and their sweet hearts. None of them are doing this for their own attention or personal gain. They are sincerely a part of this ministry because of a passion they have and they have found a way to make a difference. I am so amazed by them because when I was their age, being a part of a ministry like this was probably the farthest thing from my mind. I started taking care of my family when I was young, but I don't think I ever paid attention to what was going on outside of our own home.

Over the years, it has become very important to my husband and me to focus on building godly character traits in our girls. While we mess up continually and we have MANY areas to improve upon (well, I have many areas that need improvements, anyway!), we try to make it a priority to focus on others. One way we do this is every morning when we pray together, we ask God to show us ways that we can be helpful to others. It's funny how we have found that when we are looking for ways to serve, it often times brings us so much joy that we forget about our own problems - or at least it reminds us that our own difficult times are nothing compared to what other families are going through.

It makes my heart smile to hear of other families and kid ministries that are reaching out to others - like my girl's sweet friend, Makenzie, who has a ministry called "Punky Monkey Missions". She also crafts and sells her things and her monies are donated to charities, as well. And my amazing friend, Katie, who has a ministry, called ELEOS. Her family actually goes out into her small community and seeks out needs and finds ways to meet those needs. They are currently feeding over 30 families a week and meeting other physical, spiritual, and emotional needs of these people, as well. Simply amazing!

Apparently, Girly Me Missions is inspiring other kids to find ways to serve, as well. Recently, a friend told me her girls were now making bracelets and raising money for the orphans in Uganda. She said, "The girls woke up this morning going straight to 'work'. They're taking great pride and have BIG plans for them." And another friend recently told me, "I have had a heaviness on my heart lately on doing more volunteer work or something I could do with my daughter." She is now actively seeking out ways that their family can serve others and I know that whatever they end up doing is going to be a blessing to many. Kids inspiring kids. I love it!!!

For ideas on teaching your kids about caring, sharing, and giving, visit the Project Hope Worldwide blog. Look for the article entitled, "Teaching Children About Philanthropy" and you'll find lots of links and resources to help your family get involved in your community and beyond.

Here's a few of our favorite songs that talk about serving others ;-)

Brush Creek Bazaar 2011

2011-09-24T20:59:00.000-05:00

One of our very favorite things to do every Fall is to go to the Brush Creek Bazaar in South Tulsa. We love to see the beautiful grounds and shop for new fall decorations. The girls conspired with Steve and talked him into taking off work and surprising me at the Bazaar. Now that's true love to put up with us three girls at a craft fair. The things he does for us! ;-)

Our favorite booths this year were Riley Kate Designs (she's a friend of mine that makes hand-crafted jewelry and frames - you have to check her out), CC Couture (super cute clothes for women), and Backwoods (my girls favorite because she sold adorable doll clothes at great prices).

Shopping was hard work so we had to take some time to swing on the BIG tree swing. And yes, I took a turn, too. The girls "made" me ;-)

Here's a few pics from our fun day...

Fall Crafts for Kids

2011-09-15T22:38:00.002-05:00

Autumn Crafts (dltk.com)

Awesome Activities for Autumn (FamilyFun.com)

Fall and Autumn Crafts for Kids (ArtistsHelpingChildren.org)

Fall Craft Ideas (Squidoo.com)

Fall Crafts (BusyBeeKidsCrafts.com)

Fall Crafts and Activities for Kids (Danielle's Place)

Fall Crafts for Kids (at AllKidsNetwork.com)

Fun Fall Crafts for Kids (Apples4theTeacher.com)

Fun Fall Crafts for the Whole Family (Kaboose.com)

Fall (Autumn) Crafts, Decorations, and Printouts (Enchanted Learning)

Kid's Fall Crafts (Martha Stewart)

9/11 Lesson Plans

2011-09-08T11:39:00.000-05:00

(Please use discretion when viewing with children.)

ACTIVITIES:

9/11 Lapbook

9/11 Printable Bookmarks

Flag Mural

Freedom Bracelets

Patriotic Crafts (Artists Helping Children)

Pencil Flag

September 11 Lapbook

USA Activities for Kids (ABC Teach)

USA Crafts (DLTK's Kids)

US Patriotic Activities and Crafts (Enchanted Learning)

LINKS:

10 Years Later (History.com)

9/11 Interactive Timeline

Broken Arrow 9/11 Survivor Reacts to Death of Bin Laden

Helping America Cope (free download)

Remembering 9/11 (National Geographic Magazine)

September 11 Through Children's Eyes (Library Think Quest)

The Day That Changed America (Scholastic)

Youth Remember 9/11 (PBS Kids)

PHOTOS:

9/11 Remembered on VII The Magazine

Remembrance and Reflection

Timeline and Images

VIDEOS:

The Mysteries of Life (BrainPOP)

A Quick Jaunt to Stillwater

2011-09-04T08:44:00.000-05:00

Our family recently took a quick road trip to mine and Steve's alma mater, Stillwater, and had dinner at Eskimo Joe's...

The clothing store added a new addition to it...

The girls wanted these shot glasses for their American Girls.
"But Mom, they are the perfect size!" :-)

We opted for cute Joe's bags instead ;-)

Then we took a walk around the campus. As my friend and old roommate, Karin, says, "You can never start indoctrinating too soon!" ;-)

It was a fun day & we look forward to going back for homecoming this Fall! :-)

Watch Party for "The Pioneer Woman"

2011-09-03T16:18:00.000-05:00

My sweet friend, Kathy, recently hosted a small watch party for the premier of Ree Drumond's new show on Food Network, The Pioneer Woman.

Check out the yummy food we ate for our brunch...

Mini Blueberry Muffins

Cinnamon Crescent Rolls

Crackers & Cream Cheese Topped with
Sweet and Spicy Cranberry Sauce

Monkey Bread

Apple & Egg Casserole
(Sorry, I don't remember the "official" name for it!)

Gluten-Free Taco Salad

Poppyseed Salad

Here's a clip of The Pioneer Woman's first show...

I enjoyed the first episode but I just can not cook like her. I think I probably gained 10 pounds just watching her bake with all that butter and grease. It was still entertaining and I will probably try some of her recipes for "special" occasions.

Thanks for hosting, Kathy! You're the hostest with the mostest. I loved seeing your new house and if your entry way bench seems to have gone missing one day, it wasn't me ;-)

Another New School Year

2011-08-24T20:52:00.002-05:00

I can't believe we're starting our 6th year of homeschooling - not a bad record for someone who NEVER thought they'd homeschool :-)

Here's Mackenzie on her first day of 6th grade...

Sporting her new zebra striped glasses ;-)

Mackenzie's Curriculum:

Answers in Genesis (Science)

Building Spelling Skills

Daily Language Review

Daily Reading Warm-Ups

Grapevine Studies - Old Testament Overview (Bible)

My Father's World - Exploring Countries and Cultures (covers Bible, Geography & History)

One Year Mother Daughter Devo

A Reason for Handwriting

Teaching Textbooks

And here's Abby on her first day of 3rd grade...

Abby's Curriculum:

All About Spelling

Answers in Genesis (Science)

Daily Language Review

Draw Write Now (Handwriting)

Grapevine Studies - Old Testament Overview (Bible)

My Father's World - Exploring Countries and Cultures (covers Bible, Geography & History)

One Minute Reader

One Year Mother Daughter Devo

Teaching Textbooks

We're excited to start another year with our homeschool co-op. Membership has really grown within the last month and we're now up to 70 families! Abby will be taking PE, Zumba, Homeschool Choir, and Art. Mackenzie will take IEW (Institute for Excellence in Writing), Photography, Science, and Art. They are also both taking Piano and Dance.

Looking forward to another great year of school, field trips, friendships, and fun! :-)

Goodbye Summer 2011

2011-08-20T17:36:00.003-05:00

I can't believe this summer has already flown by and it's time for the new school year to begin! Here's a wrap-up of a few of the last things we did this summer.

We saw Dara Maclean and Jason Castro in concert at the Riverwalk...

The summer swim season ended and their Swim Team finished in 2nd place...

They had a great time at Apple Computer Summer Camp...

We had lunch at the Belvidere Mansion in Claremore then window shopped downtown - one of our favorite things to do together :-)

And had lots of playdates with our neighbor friends...

It was a fun summer but I have to admit I'm ready for some cooler weather and the fall can't get here soon enough!

"Field Trip" to OKC

2011-08-20T14:54:00.004-05:00

This past Wednesday the girls and I took a "field trip" to OKC. We spent the afternoon at the new outlet mall that opened a few weeks ago. The girls had fun looking around at their favorite shops - Justice, Claire's & Children's Place.

And we had a yummy "lunch" at Orange Leaf - the girls were pretty excited to eat yogurt with lots of toppings as a main meal :-)

After we were all shopped out, we drove to Moore for the main reason for our trip - to see Beckah Shae in concert. The girls are HUGE fans - well, I kind of am, too, so when she announced recently that she would be in concert in Oklahoma, I knew we'd be making the trip to see her. The doors opened at 6:30 but the girls wanted to get there extra early to make sure we could get a good seat. So, we pulled up at 5:30 - the exact same time Beckah Shae and her husband, Shoc, were pulling up. You might say the girls were a little excited when they got out of their car and started unloading their gear. Tears may have even been shed. Just sayin'.

My sad attempt at being a "hip" mom ;-)

Trying to wait patiently for the doors to open

"I can hear them practicing!!!"

Kenzie made her shirt for the concert :-)

So when the doors opened we did get front row seats and once the concert began, the girls got to go up front and watch the show right in front of the stage. They were beside themselves :-)

The opening acts were...

Michael Andreaus

Calandra Williams

Emcee One

And these guys are AMAZING! They are brothers called Lil Mike and Funny Bone and according to their website, they are "Oklahoma City's only on-call, full-time, American Indian, little people, Christian hip-hop artists".

These guys have moves that puts Michael Jackson to shame. Here's a video of them dancing with Beckah Shae...

You can see more videos of them on YouTube here.

Of course, we loved seeing Beckah Shae perform.

I love her music because it's dance-y, upbeat, and has a really good, spiritual message. She's a great example for young girls which is one reason I'm glad my girls like her so much - they need a lot more positive influences in their lives like her.

Beckah spoke for a long time about how we really need to be careful what we're listening to (kids and adults alike). She said she's done a lot of research on today's popular music, and looked up Billboard's Top 5 songs recently. She said she read the lyrics to the songs and they literally made her sick to her stomach. The song in the video above, Music, talks about taking the music "back" and how music should be God-honoring.

Here's a few videos of Beckah changing up the lyrics to some of today's popular songs - her way of taking the music back...

Beckah's most known for her song, "Put Your Love Glasses On", which basically means we need to see the world through Jesus' eyes and stop being so judgmental and uncaring. When she sang this song, she invited all the kids to come up on stage and dance with her. They had a blast!

And the last song was "Life", another one of our favorites...

After the concert, Beckah went out in the lobby and signed autographs. The girls were so excited to meet her in person - they were a little starstruck ;-)

After seeing Beckah Shae in concert, my girls are even more in love with her and have been listening to her music non-stop. Just for fun I had to post this video for my girls. It's Beckah's daughters singing "Love Glasses" - so stinkin' cute...

If you or your daughters don't know about Beckah Shae, please check her out! I think you're going to love her, too :-)

Our Craft/School Closet Makeover

2011-08-12T21:28:00.002-05:00

Our girls recently spent three days with their grandparents for their annual "Cousin Vacation" - something they really look forward to every summer. I have to say I kinda look forward to it, too, because it gives me three days to kick it in gear and get some stuff done around the house. This year I decided to tackle our school/game room. We redid that room for them a few years ago - sigh - I can remember the one day it was so clean ;-)

And now look at it...

Just keepin' it real

Why in the world I still have every dress I ever
wore to a formal or wedding in my lifetime, I'll
never know! Actually, now that I think about it,
the fabric from the dresses will be great cut up
in future craft projects! Guess I'll be saving
them after all!

We have a closet connected to our school/game room that was in dire need of a good cleaning. It was quite pitiful - buttons, glitter, plastic gems, scrapbook paper everywhere! Nothing was organized and it was just one big mess! Here's a before picture...

So, with this in hand...

I got to work. Three days later, it finally looked like this...

Ahhh - I love organization. Brings me peace. But I know that my clean closet is short-lived. Don't tell my girls this but I have to say - I kinda like the mess, too, because I know what fun they've have had in there and I know our stuff is being used. So bring on the mess! But first, let me enjoy the organization at least for a few days! ;-)

Okies in Uganda

2011-07-27T20:30:00.013-05:00

My husband, Steve, recently went on a two-week missions trip to Lira, Uganda with a team of eight other people. They worked with children at an orphanage, provided AIDS education and counseling to the locals of Lira, and even got to go on an African safari.

I'm such a sap! Trying hard not to cry in this picture.
You would think he was leaving for a year instead of 2 weeks!

Here's a funny story about something that happened to Steve while in Uganda...Before his trip, he bought some gymnastic rings to take with him because he's kinda fanatical about working out and couldn't take 2 weeks off. These rings work over a door, hanging from a tree, etc.

So one day, he was working out with the rings and pretty soon he had a small audience watching him. They were laughing at the "white man" wondering what the heck he was doing. The man that runs the hotel came over and asked him what he was doing and Steve tried to explain that he was exercising. Of course, he had to go on and tell him why we exercise in America - because we have cars that take us places and we sit and eat bad food all day. So the hotel manager tried it, too, then told Steve he was going to wear shorts the next day so he could work out with him. ;-)

Then the guard at the gate of the hotel came over, sat his big rifle down, and tried it out, too! Several other people continued to make comments or tried to do the rings, as well. One guy told him that he was big and strong and sure to find a wife while he was in Uganda ;-) I guess it was a good opener to some conversations with the locals!

What's funny is that I even tried to talk Steve out of taking the rings (mostly because of the scene it would cause!) but also because of the weight it added to his already heavy luggage. God sure has a funny sense of humor!

I have to say I have one of the most thoughtful husbands ever. For weeks before he left, he wrote us letters to open every day and planned out little surprises for the girls and me to make the time go by easier without him.

He left us his famous Butterfinger dessert...

$ to go get sno cones (one of our favorite treats)...

He conspired with my friend, Brandi, and we had a MNO while the girls stayed the night with their grandparents...

He conspired with another friend, Jennifer, and we went to Cherry Berry for some frozen yogurt...

And the morning of the day he was coming home, our friends Scott & Andrea dropped off bagels at our house (something Steve and the girls do together every Saturday morning)...

Love Abby's crazy bed hair ;-)

I always say he's a much more thoughtful person than I am! I love that guy.

Thankfully, we were able to text or talk on the phone almost every day he was gone - made the distance much more bearable. But we sure were thankful when he came home!

You can see pics, watch videos, and read more about Steve's trip here. It was such a great experience and we both definitely want to go back again someday.

Summer Fun at the Blue Hole

2011-07-15T23:59:00.003-05:00

The Blue Hole

Salina, OK

* Click here to go to their website and here to go to their facebook page.

We recently went to the Blue Hole in Salina, OK with some friends. Their website says, "The main swimming hole is fed by 3 different springs. The water temperature stays between 50 and 60 degrees and is around 15 feet deep." We had such a great time swimming, taking a walk to the rope swing, and just cooling off in the 100 degree (+) weather. Their website says it's 15 feet, but that is at it's deepest point, which you have to swim out to. They also have lots of shallow areas for little ones. Swim shoes are a must as there are rocks everywhere. Your family has to go soon if you've never been! It's a blast!