FREE Thanksgiving printable to make your own thanks GIVING tree to help you focus on gratitude !

Just saw this this morning and wanted to make sure you didn't miss out on this great FREE printable from Ann Voskamp author of "1000 gifts, a dare to live fully right where you are" .




Go to her blog "A Holy Experience"  to get this free printable to make your own thanks GIVING tree.  A great exercise for the whole family.  A chance to be creative and focus on being grateful during this often busy but beautiful season of gratitude.  Ann is a mom of 6, wife to a farmer and best selling author so you may want to stick around and see what else she has to say..... I am always blessed whenever I read her stuff.

Felt Christmas Tree Advent Calendar & Kids Felt Play Tree in one!

I wanted to share this quick easy tutorial for a handmade felt Christmas tree advent calendar. It is similar to one I saw at Pottery Barn. No sewing machine needed.  I attached the simple pockets on the front with hand stitching while watching TV.  You can of course pull out the machine if you feel so inclined.  

 On the back side I made a play felt tree for the kids to decorate over and over.  I even had them cut out the shapes of the felt ornaments themselves using cookie cutters and chalk to trace.  You can of course do it yourself and make them much more elaborate.

I first saw this idea here at I can Teach My Child

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You will need some green felt for the tree, and other colors for the decorations on the back, needle and thread, chalk, ruler, scissors, felt decorative stickers, and a sharpie.  I like to use a rotary cutter and cutting mat with ruler but you don't have to by any means.

The first step is to measure out your tree size.  Cut out a square that size and fold it in half. Now take your chalk and draw the outline of half a tree since your fabric is folded in half.  Cut along that line.  You should have something like the photo below.

Now  use your ruler to mark out your squares using chalk.  I marked in each square how many pockets fit on each row.

Once you measure those out, you can fold your fabric accordingly and cut the advent pockets with a rotary cutting tool and ruler.  If you don't have one you can just cut them out with scissors.

  Then simply attach the pockets to the tree with your needle and thread!

I then randomly added the felt stickers where ever I liked, and marked the date on each box with a sharpie.  You could use cool felt number stickers but I was in a hurry and couldn't find any locally.  I could not get the above photo to turn (though I turned it several times!) so sorry for it's sideways view.

 In each pocket I placed one of the tickets that will have the activity for that day. I simply write the activity on the back.

 I found that printable for the free Christmas "tickets" HERE from Miss Cutie pie goes 80s.  These make really cute gift tags too!

There is a great list of activities here at Baltimore Mommies or you can type in winter bucket list into a google search for a whole array of options.

And that is it!  You can EASILY whip this out in a few hours. 

Have fun and let me know how it turns out! 

FREE Download the COMPLETE Chronicles of Narnia Audio Books!

Free audio download of the Chronicles of  Narnia!!

I saw this and had to share it with you all!  You can download a free MP3 version of all these stories HERE or listen online from Ancient Faith Radio!  I LOVE C.S. Lewis!  His books are so full of adventure, character building, insight and wisdom all in a fun package.  Hope you enjoy them!  I am so looking forward to my oldest son having these to listen to at night!  I was planning on reading the books with him, and some nights my eyes are tired and this is a GREAT option!

These stories make wonderful travel entertainment as well!

To download into an MP3 format it is not as simple as the subscribe to this podcast Itunes button.  That doesn't seem to work, but here are the directions that do work.  You need to click on the title ie (Narnia - The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe 1-2 )  Then when it opens right click on the "direct link".  It will allow you to save it in downloads as an MP3 file by clicking "save link as".  I just rename it with the book name and chapter numbers.  Once that is done with all the books you can open Itunes then click on file, then click on add file.  Then look under downloads and choose the files you want.  Now in Itunes they will show up in the "recently added" folder.  Now click on them and drag them to a new folder you rename with the books name.  Hope that helps!

Thanks money saving mom!

Great lunch box printables for National Encouragement Day!

Just wanted to remind you all that National Encouragement Day is tomorrow Wednesday September 12th.  This a great time to let your kiddos know how much you appreciate them and leave an encouraging note!  Homeschooling?  Leave a note on their desk or by their place at the table.   Sending you kids to school? Drop a cute little note in their lunch box.  Throw a note in the mail to a friend or family member.

I found some great little printables for loved ones young or old!  Your hubby would probably appreciate a cute little note in his lunch too.  So check these out and print some off and be ready with a quick little dose of encouragement. 

These are my favorite!  Print them off from get buttoned up



Found these little lovelies here at paper coterie,  Hope you enjoy them!


How about these cute little notes from moms by heart

Even if you don't have a printer or can't get these printed for whatever reason make sure to jot a sweet little note of encouragement to the ones you love!  A 3x5 card with a cute sticker and a sweet note will do the trick!

Love Dare - Love Takes Delight. Choosing to love rather than being led strictly by emotions.

I have had some crazy days lately that have kept me from blogging as much as usual... Yesterday while trying to transform a little corner of basement hall into homeschool space I  encountered one of the most trying days of motherhood.  It involved a 1/2 gallon of paint poured all of my floors that was being danced in, and 5 paint gallons in my washing machine (fortunately only minimal spillage in the machine) by my 3 year old, a few piles of poo that my 2 year old gifted me in his room only minutes earlier, and general mayhem that would have stressed even Gandhi out!  I didn't cry but that was only because I was too mad.  In my shocked state of panic I forgot to take pictures for you like any good blogger would have.  I wish I had photos now to share the insanity with you, but your imagination will have to suffice.  This paint and poo party came on the heals of a 3 day naughty fest the involved, emptied sunscreen bottles, empty lip gloss, watermelon in bed, stolen peaches from the neighbors yard, bathroom flooding complete with a bevy of cleaning products and hand soap thrown in for good measure, and so much more!  All the doing of my 2 and 3 year olds with the 3 year old at the helm!  Now that I am on the other side it makes a good story, however it did not make for a good afternoon!

The culprits!  It is amazing what feats of naughtiness these 2 innocent looking creatures can accomplish given 5 minutes alone!

I am currently doing the Love Dare as presented by the movie Fire Proof  toward my husband and kids unbeknownst to them.  Sorry to say my kids don't know because I am really not doing that great of a job of it toward them!  My husband is reaping the benefits but never reads my blog or is on facebook so he has no real idea.  Reading today's "Love Dare" (found free on the K Love blog) reminds me why it is so important to do this!

 True love, whether familial or romantic, is all about choices not feelings.  My emotions can get so out of whack after just a few choice moments of mischief on my children's parts that sometimes I forget all about the whole "firm but gentle" thing and go straight for the jugular!  I am so grateful to serve a loving and GRACIOUS God who quickly forgives me, gives me never ending grace and can understand my weakness.  What I love even more than that is the fact that He can enable me to do more than is humanly possible if I will just allow Him to help me through days like yesterday.  I love that He is the power that I don't have.  I will ALWAYS come up short.  I will always have weakness' that overwhelm me, discourage me and embarrass me, but even more important I have a God who is on my side cheering me on, lifting me up, encouraging me and offering me the strength I need to be the parent I want to be.  I don't always call on Him when I should, choosing to let my emotions run me instead at times, but I am grateful that He is always willing, able and there.

I love this quote from today's "Love Dare" (found here)
"In other words, love that chooses to love is just as powerful as love that feels like loving.  In many ways, it’s a truer love because it has its eyes wide open."
I want that!  I want to be loved this way and to love this way.  It is a humble, gentle, others centered way to live that showcases how He first loved us.

Today's dare is simple.  Choose not to do something you normally do so that you can choose to do something with your spouse and/or kids that they want to do.  Leave something undone if necessary to focus on what would bless them and do it with them.  Enjoying them!

I am thinking a tea party with the kids complete with treats, and some time outside in the evening with Josh instead of opting for the TV.  He loves our little yard and his raised beds and really enjoys messing with them so I will make sure to get out there with him tomorrow

You can find the whole "Love Dare" in it's complete form in the KLOVE blog reprinted with full permission for all of us to benefit from.  Great way to practically love your family or friends!  Hope you join in even if it is just for today's dare! No act of kindness is a waste.  

Free Fruit of the Spirit Devotional and Fun Printables to go with it!

Summer is still here, but for a lot of us we are starting to think about the coming school year, planning curriculum if we homeschool, thinking about supplies, schedules, etc...  While I have been checking out other homeschool blogs for good ideas I came across this great free "Fruit of the Spirit Devotional" from Raising Arrows.  It is for young kids and is a fun way for kiddos to learn more about godly character.

My favorite part is that it comes with these great printables from mamas learning corner.

Like this fruit of the spirit daily check list.  What a fun way to "catch them doing good"!

 and this cool basket of fruit to make and add to as you study each trait.  Each day you color and cut out the fruit marked with the trait you are learning about and paste it into the basket.  FUN!

Hope you are inspired for the coming year and looking forward to all the fun coming your way as you keep the learning up.  I will be posting more back to homeschool links and organization tips soon!  Have a great freebie to share?  Let us know about it!

Day 5 of the Love Dare - Love is not rude.

This challenge unfortunately can be a hard one if you are tired, overworked, stressed, or impatient (AKA a mom :) ).  Being rude means saying or doing something that is unnecessary that causes pain, frustration, or anger.  The full text of the book and the dare for day 5 are HERE from KLOVE for free.

The challenge today is to not only not be rude, but ask your spouse (or whoever you are doing this with) 3 things you do that make them uncomfortable, or irritated with you.  You cannot be defensive or angry when they answer.  So I suppose this works on your humility as well! When I read day 5  I thought ok don't be rude.  Well, Josh is out of town today so that won't be too hard...then I read the actual dare!  OUCH!! It will be awkward to ask when he doesn't know I am doing the dare.  Oh well, I committed to the full 40 days so I have to do it.  Hope it goes well.  And by well I mean that he can stop at 3 things, and I can keep my mouth closed in response. :) I would consider that a success!  I need to work on this with my kids as well.  It is easier to not be rude to a stranger sometimes when your kids are knowingly pushing your buttons and you are tired or stressed rudeness seems imminent.

Lord, I want to be truly loving.  In all the practical aspects so please help me not to be rude!  Help me to see where I am rude and work on it.

I also read this GREAT post on 50 ways to inspire your husband.  There were a lot of great things like plan a fun date night, tell him specifically how he is a good dad..., but my favorite was to ask him about his dreams and pray with him about how to get there together.  I love that idea!  I do care about his dreams and we are a team.  It is a great idea if I would love it done for me and I would!

Hope you all are brave and take the dare with me!  Let me know how it goes and I will try to do the same!

I am working on getting a post together on the recipe for the homemade raw muesli breakfast cereal we eat every morning.  Thanks for being patient!  The photo part is always what takes me so long!

Love Dare day 4- Thoughtfullness

Had a great weekend away in Santa Fe visiting my sister.  My husband watched the kids over the weekend and that was such a blessing!  My sister and I had a great time! I could stay up late, sleep in (ok so my eyes popped open at 6 out of habit anticipating little footsteps), go out to eat at a restaurant.  It was GREAT!  I missed my little tribe though, so it was great to get back to them all.  I had some car trouble and was blessed to have a group of bikers, yes 5 bikers to be exact, in full biker get up on their way back from a bike show stop to help.  PRAISE God!  I made it home 5 hours after I left and had such a grateful attitude when I made it safe and sound!  I used the drive time to revisit an old classic on my iphone and listened to Anne of Green Gables the whole way.  It was great!  I love that series!  So wholesome, so sweet and so fun.

As you guys know I have been working through the 40 day Love Dare from the movie Fireproof.  Basically if you are not familiar with it it is a 40 day challenge of ways to love your spouse.  It is a great way to put their needs first and see God move in your marriage.  My past three days have gone well.  It is not all easy but worth it and a great exercise in self discipline for me.  Today's dare is about THOUGHTFULNESS.  Not just doing avoiding the negative things we do but thinking ahead to be a blessing. A great challenge.
Find the whole text and day 4 dare HERE for free on KLOVE  I hope you join in on the dare and challenge yourself to stretch yourself to love out of your comfort zone.  Let me know after you read the full dare from the above link what you plan on doing for your husband.  I try to include the kids in the dare by doing things for them as well so I will see what I can come up with. I am still thinking about what I can do for mine.  I will call and see if he needs anything, but I want to think of something on my own that is thoughtful.  Good luck!
Love to hear how it is going if you are doing the dare as well!

The Love Dare - 40 days to challenge yourself for your families sake!

Sorry I have been posting less frequently, summer and pregnancy will do that to you!  We have been having a blast at the pool, and the splash park lately.  It has been near 100 degrees for the last few weeks so staying cool is a priority.  We do NOT have air conditioning or a swamp cooler.  The house stays pretty cool in the day, but water is a lot better!  So I have been choosing family fun time over posting!  This pregnancy has me exhausted by nighttime which is when I used to do a lot of posting, but I am here now.

I have been challenged in my own life as a wife and a parent to try the Love Dare from the book Fireproof.

If you haven't watched the movie it is a very inspiring story of a divorce cut short by love.  A long hard love of the will that chooses love when they want to walk away.  I have been wanting to grow in practical applications of love where my husband and kids are concerned.  This 40 day challenge is a great way to focus on the needs of others and not on our own needs.  It is created to strengthen and draw marriages to a deeper place but it is also a great way to practically grow in your relationship with your kiddos or friends.

You can find the whole challenge in book form here at CBD.com, or you can download it from kindle to your e reader or computer, or even get the .99 app from itunes!  You can also find the entire contents of the book with the days dares lined out here on KLOVE  FOR FREE! This is what I am using. You just read a post a day and each day go on to the next post to read the following day's dare.  I read them one night ahead so I can pray and prep myself for the next challenge.

Day 1's challenge is on PATIENCE and you really need to read the whole dare HERE but the short version of the actual dare is to NOT SAY ANYTHING NEGATIVE to your spouse.  I am adding my children in to the dare as well so will be careful not to say anything negative to them as well.  This is a hard one! I have done this one and am working on keeping it up as it is part of what you aspire to do for the next 40 days during the rest of the challenge.  I know that God is blessing my efforts and will continue to bless them! It will get harder before it gets easier.  If your spouse is not loving and you are attempting this to save a dying marriage your struggle will be MUCH greater because it requires something of you when there is no motivation.  It will no doubt be frustrating, and seem too hard to do for someone who you feel is not treating you well.  HOWEVER, God will honor your choice to love the unlovely.  I am not promising it will save every marriage but I KNOW God honors those who honor him! If you are in this place let me know so I can pray for you as you attempt this!

 Pray about it and if this challenge is for you (even if your marriage is great) then go for it!  Let me know if you are joining in so we can encourage each other, and keep each other accountable when it gets hard or we want to quit.  Love is a choice not a feeling.  I am very excited to see how God uses this challenge in my home to draw us all closer to Him and strengthen our relationships.  So who is in? Have you done this before?  Share and let us know how it went!

A Heart at Peace....

So lately I find myself wondering how can I do all the things we moms need to do and keep a light hearted, cheerful disposition with my children. I find myself needlessly irritated, grouchy, and impatient WAY too often with my beautiful kiddos. I can tell that under stress I have WAY less patience.  Unfortunately with 4 kids aged 2,3,5, & 7, homeschoooing, and life on a tight budget....it can feel like stress is a way of life instead of a passing feeling.
So I have really been praying "Lord, help me be the mom you made me to be!  The mom I want to be!"  In response, I feel like the Lord has been pointing out that joy comes from a heart at peace.  Peace comes from trusting Jesus in the details.  Taking a moment to ask myself "what does my behavior say about what I believe."  Am I acting like I truly believe Jesus is with me and "is my ever present help in time of trouble" and that He will always take care of me, or am I acting like I need to protect myself or assert my rights.  Jesus is all about a servant heart, and loves to be our help when we let Him.

For example..at 8:30 this morning I am trying to cornrow my 3 yr old daughter Bella's hair while she protests with all her might (it is starting to feel like a full scale battle!), my 2 year old Cruz who is potty training with the bare bum method poops on the floor just as a friend stops over with her year old niece for a quick hello (LOVE that she takes the time to stop by!), and my son will NOT start his homeschool!  I start to feel overwhelmed, irritated, snappy and unkind.  In this situation there are two ways to look at this.."AH!! Of course I am stressed and if I start to vent my frustration it is only reasonable!"  or I can stop when I notice my mood changing, my stress levels rising and take a breath.  I can ask myself "so what? What if there is poop on the floor, can it be cleaned? Yes.  So what if things aren't going as smooth as I would like them?  Will things be ok?  Are there huge life altering things at stake? No.  Can I trust Jesus for this moment?  YES!!"  I would love to say that I stopped and calmed myself , and shot a quick prayer up, but I didn't.  I let me frustration get the better of me and was just plain old grouchy!

But times like this morning are learning experiences if we let them be.  By taking the time to examine what we didn't like about our behavior in the day and asking God for clarity on how we can handle the situation better the next time we can at least find a better solution and prep ourselves.  God is a gentle guide when we open ourselves up to His leading.  He won't dump all our failures on us, or overwhelm us with our faults.  He will gently, lovingly  reveal to us areas that He is at work in us. And that is the key.. He is at work in us when we call on Him and let Him be.  We participate but we also trust His process, and timing.  I want that heart at peace.  I want that JOY that expresses itself in GRACE toward my family.  So Lord I pray  help us moms in the thick of it to trust you in the details and let you be our peace.  Peace that leads to patience, joy and kindness.  The things we need to be the moms you made us to be!

What do you do to reign in the grouch inside and give out patience when it seems impossible?

Dance Music fit for the kids!

I love to dance, and my kids love to dance.  We crank up the tunes and dance around for a while.  It is a great way to get the wiggles out, burn a few calories (me :) ), or lighten the mood.  However I have been using Pandora a lot lately and picking stations from artists I don't know much about.  Even though I know the song I created the station around is ok I inevitably end up changing the station as profanity, crudeness, or other inappropriate language comes spewing out.

I was just looking for some fun Christ centered music when I got an email from my friend at stilettos and train sets about a group she loves and recommends called xlr8!.  She is sending me a cd that we are excitedly awaiting but in the meantime we immediately went and checked it out and it is a GREAT CD filled with fun, upbeat, dance worthy music that honors Jesus.  Exactly what I was looking for for the kids.  I would much rather here praise coming from my 5 and 7 year olds than "I am sexy and I know it!".  Evidently my son has picked that one up somewhere and needs to replace it with more worthy lyrics!

You can listen to a full sample of the CD HERE at xlr8kids.net, and purchase it as a download there or at itunes under Children's music and the title xlr8.  
Go check it out and download yourself some healthy tunes to dance to with the kiddos!

100 ways to be kind to your child today!

Happy valentines day!  I was up late last night pinning things on pinterest.  I know all of you know what I am talking about.  It totally sucks you in!  Anyway I saw this and thought it was perfect to share with you on Valentines day!

Click here for the whole loving list!

Make sure you make time to check out this list and pick a few to do today!
Better yet print it off and work off the list checking them off as you go for as long as it takes.
I plan on using 4 different colored pens to check them off.  One color for each kid!

This was an idea originally prompted by Toddler Approved

Hope you have a special day filled with the love from the Father and all your family and friends!

Cleaning and scrubbing can wait for tomorrow...

This is me and Dahlia my now 4 year old when she was little.  My children are now 1,2,4  and 7.

My kids have been sick and yesterday I spent the better part of the day on the couch holding my sick baby and cuddling with my 4 year old while another sick kiddo slept and one played outside.  It wasn't a very productive day and the house had to be cleaned that night, but that time was precious.  Later that night I found this poem on pinterest I didn't see an author and I think it has been around for some time. It gave words to my thoughts.  Sometimes it takes an illness to slow us down long enough to just sit and enjoy our kiddos.  Lesson learned.  I want to savor these special days, because all too soon they will be out on their own and we will be missing them.

The torturer and the tortured! HILARIOUS!

This is not a picture of any literal child at my house.  It is a hilarious photo I found on Pinterest... 


However if the baby on the left was a little 2 year old chocolate baby girl and the baby on the right was a white little one year old baby of the family...
THIS WOULD TOTALLY BE BELLA AND CRUZ!!
Bella "You want your blanket and I am sitting on it so you can't get it. I find that hilarious!"  I see this scenario all the time at my house.  The torturer and the tortured!