Happy New Year!

A couple months ago, I was in a habit of walking every day at sunrise. Even when it was hard to get out of bed, I never regretted it once I was out, and I always regretted it if I didn't. Then the rainy season really took hold, and a cloud-covered sunrise is just not as inspiring, so I fell into laziness. Even as I visited a sunny state for the holidays, I found myself giving in to sleep, using insufficient rest as an excuse. Sure enough, every day I regretted it, but nothing could motivate me out of that bed!

I decided last night I would start off the year right. This morning I finally got to the park with a hill I've been wanting to walk to see the sunrise. It was just a short walk, but one should never underestimate the power of seeing the sun peek over the horizon, or the crest of the hill in this case. Let me share.

Ducks on a misty pond

Fog behind trees before sunrise

Mountain in the distance just before sunrise

Sun peeking over the top of a mountain at sunrise

Cholla plant illuminated by sun

Fallen tree in misty pond

Hummingbird overlooking misty pond

Cottontail munching a green plant

Jackrabbits enjoying breakfast at sunrise

I try not to set resolutions because I struggle with perfection. (Although I often resolve to be more intentional in certain ways.) Instead, I set goals. This year, I'm rebooting many goals I've already had, like walking at sunrise and sunset, writing daily, and meditating morning and night.

Last year I was determined to appreciate the natural rhythms and celebrate feasts and festivals from around the world. I can't recall (must've been effective), but I think my word for 2019 was rhythm, or maybe ritual. Even though I made great strides, I fell quite short of my vision. As I was watching the last sunset of 2019, the word savor popped into my head, and I knew that had to be my word for 2020.

My word for 2020 is savor

I believe if my focus on savoring, perfection and FOMO (fear of missing out) won't take hold. I can relax into the rhythm of the year. I have a dear friend who experienced a lot of the same sense of missing out on what mattered because there was too much going on. We have committed to helping each other stay the course this year as we homeschool our children together.

I've also become accountability partners with two other dear friends who write. The three of us are going to encourage each other to finish our outstanding projects and keep going with new ideas. As a boost to my yet-to-be daily writing habit, I've decided to start writing letters again. I picked up half a dozen new pen pals and stocked up on holiday clearance note cards last week. I also have an excuse to pick up some real stationary again, a habit I forced myself to break years ago because I wasn't using it. Yay for new office supplies!

My focus this year is going to be getting the most out of every experience, not having the most experiences. That will be hard for me, but I know it is the right thing to do right now.

I don't know if you set resolutions or create goals with the coming of the new year. I don't know if you have traditions for welcoming the new year or saying goodbye to the last one. I don't know if you had a good last year or a bad one. There's only one thing I do know: I hope you carry hope into this new year.

Happy New Year!

'365' one-a-day-challenge

Featured Photo of the Week

In case you missed my first post, here it is:

Irresistible Ideas For Play Based Learning has issued a challenge: '365' one-a-day-challenge.  I took them up on it, starting today!  You can find my photo album on Kandid Katie's Facebook page.  There are a lot of fun albums linked on Irresistible's page, so check them out!

'365' one-a-day-challenge

Featured Photo of the Week

In case you missed my first post, here it is:

Irresistible Ideas For Play Based Learning has issued a challenge: '365' one-a-day-challenge.  I took them up on it, starting today!  You can find my photo album on Kandid Katie's Facebook page.  There are a lot of fun albums linked on Irresistible's page, so check them out!

'365' one-a-day-challenge

Featured Photo of the Week

In case you missed my first post, here it is:

Irresistible Ideas For Play Based Learning has issued a challenge: '365' one-a-day-challenge.  I took them up on it, starting today!  You can find my photo album on Kandid Katie's Facebook page.  There are a lot of fun albums linked on Irresistible's page, so check them out!

'365' one-a-day-challenge

Featured Photo of the Week

In case you missed my first post, here it is:

Irresistible Ideas For Play Based Learning has issued a challenge: '365' one-a-day-challenge.  I took them up on it, starting today!  You can find my photo album on Kandid Katie's Facebook page.  There are a lot of fun albums linked on Irresistible's page, so check them out!

Build a Monster

I joined a busy bag exchange group on Facebook.  I decided I wanted to finally start making the cloth quiet books for my kids that I've been planning, so I made pages for all my trades.  The first one I completed was for the preschool group.  The activity is a create-a-face monster made of felt.

I sewed the monster's head onto the page.  (I used muslin, but any cotton - any fabric, really - would work.)  I backed the page with a piece of felt and another piece of muslin.  I would like to have bound the edges, but the muslin I got was ridiculously thin and was trying to disintegrate.  Instead, I did a couple of messy zigzag stitches around the edge to hold it together and minimize fraying.  I made all the monster faces out of green or dark purple felt.  I used light purple thread for contrast.  I also did not take care placing the stitches because I wanted chaos to go with the monster theme.  (I apologize to the neat and orderly monsters out there.)

Since I was going for chaos, I picked a wacky, mustard-colored, animal-print fabric for the storage bag.  I put a button on the bag to keep the pieces in and attached it to the page with a sparkly orange ribbon.  The bag holds the three eyes (well, two sets and one single eyeball), three noses and three mouths I created to stick on the monster face.

Most of the members are not making cloth quiet books, so I added one or three buttonholes, whatever their preference, so that the page could be joined with other quiet book pages of other mediums on a ring or in a three-ring binder.

I also included directions:

In case you can't read that:

MONSTER FACES!

Includes: Monster Head, 3 Eyes, 3 Noses, 3 Mouths and Attached Storage Bag

Get creative and get scary!

Optional 2-person Game:

The first person designs a face with one of each part without telling the second person what it is.  The second person creates a face, trying to guess what the first person designed.  The first person tells the second person how many parts are correct and how many are wrong.  The second person tries to guess again, and the game continues until the second person guesses the correct combination of eyes, nose and mouth, counting how many tries it took.  The players switch roles, and the player who guessed with the fewest tries wins!

'365' one-a-day-challenge

Featured Photo of the Week

In case you missed my first post, here it is:

Irresistible Ideas For Play Based Learning has issued a challenge: '365' one-a-day-challenge.  I took them up on it, starting today!  You can find my photo album on Kandid Katie's Facebook page.  There are a lot of fun albums linked on Irresistible's page, so check them out!

Happy Mother's Day!

Many people believe Mother's Day is unnecessary for any number of reasons: it was created to sell stuff; mother's are/should be celebrated every day, so setting aside a special day is silly; it just doesn't matter to them.  There are many more, but those are the ones I've heard the most.  I don't agree with that sentiment.  I joke that I like any day that celebrates me.  I could justify my desire to celebrate by saying I don't insist on anything but love handmade trinkets that mark the day.

The truth is Mother's Day is one of the more special days of the year for me.  For me, Mother's Day exists to celebrate the most life-changing and life-enhancing part of my life: motherhood.  Motherhood is the greatest blessing God has given me, after salvation, of course.  I cannot put into words what being a mother feels like, what childbirth feels like, how the heart grows bigger with each passing day.

At times I think I don't want to leave this earth and go to Heaven because I will no longer experience being a mother.  But then I think - or the Holy Spirit reminds me - that Heaven is far greater than we can imagine, far greater than the experience of motherhood.  And then my head wants to explode trying to imagine that feeling.

I love being a mother, and this day is about celebrating that gift.

I can't possibly write this post without acknowledging the ache I feel for mothers that have lost or who never were.  Mothers who held their children and mothers who didn't because they were lost or were never made.  I wanted to acknowledge one friend who has lost and has tried for years to become a mother, but I didn't want to hurt her.  I feel like she needs to know she is a mother, even if she hasn't yet held a child in her arms.  I'm sad that she hasn't known this feeling, but I know God has greater plans for her.  It's hard to have faith in these situations, but that's exactly what faith is for, the faith that breeds hope.

Well, I don't want to end on a sad note, so let me share with you the wonderful gifts from my family.  Ellie painted a puzzle, Mikey colored a picture of an owl, and Mike cooked me breakfast and gave me a Willow Tree statue that I stared at during every prenatal appointment with Angela.

"Angel of Mine - So loved, so very loved"

"This piece is inspired by the memory of holding my children when they were really tiny … holding them so close that it involves all of your senses … the scent of the fuzzy head against your cheek, the skin-to-skin warmth, the realization that you can love another being so very, very much. I wanted to capture that sensory memory that every mother has from when she held her newborn infant — an innermost quiet joy. The sentiment has a lullaby feel to it. When I finished carving this piece, I liked that the composition and the form as a whole seemed to work from all viewpoints."
(from the Willow Tree website)

'365' one-a-day-challenge

Featured Photo of the Week

In case you missed my first post, here it is:

Irresistible Ideas For Play Based Learning has issued a challenge: '365' one-a-day-challenge.  I took them up on it, starting today!  You can find my photo album on Kandid Katie's Facebook page.  There are a lot of fun albums linked on Irresistible's page, so check them out!

'365' one-a-day-challenge

Featured Photo of the Week

In case you missed my first post, here it is:

Irresistible Ideas For Play Based Learning has issued a challenge: '365' one-a-day-challenge.  I took them up on it, starting today!  You can find my photo album on Kandid Katie's Facebook page.  There are a lot of fun albums linked on Irresistible's page, so check them out!

Astronomy Day 2012

Saturday, April 28 was National Astronomy Day 2012.  As you probably have noticed, I have a habit of photographing the sky.  So, in the spirit of Astronomy Day, and celebrating the coinciding good views of Saturn, I'm sharing the exciting shot I captured with my little point and shoot.

But first, if you'd like to learn more about Astronomy Day and its events, some of which are still upcoming, visit http://www.astronomy.com/astronomyday2012.

For other clubs and events in your area, use the search function at http://nightsky.jpl.nasa.gov/

For your daily dose of space, visit NASA's picture of the day: http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/

Now...Saturn!

For more viewing information, visit
http://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/three-planets-mars-saturn-venus-at-nightfall-late-april-and-may-2012

'365' one-a-day-challenge

Featured Photo of the Week

In case you missed my first post, here it is:

Irresistible Ideas For Play Based Learning has issued a challenge: '365' one-a-day-challenge.  I took them up on it, starting today!  You can find my photo album on Kandid Katie's Facebook page.  There are a lot of fun albums linked on Irresistible's page, so check them out!

'365' one-a-day-challenge

Featured Photo of the Week

In case you missed my first post, here it is:

Irresistible Ideas For Play Based Learning has issued a challenge: '365' one-a-day-challenge.  I took them up on it, starting today!  You can find my photo album on Kandid Katie's Facebook page.  There are a lot of fun albums linked on Irresistible's page, so check them out!

'365' one-a-day-challenge

Featured Photo of the Week

In case you missed my first post, here it is:

Irresistible Ideas For Play Based Learning has issued a challenge: '365' one-a-day-challenge.  I took them up on it, starting today!  You can find my photo album on Kandid Katie's Facebook page.  There are a lot of fun albums linked on Irresistible's page, so check them out!

'365' one-a-day-challenge

Featured Photo of the Week

In case you missed my first post, here it is:

Irresistible Ideas For Play Based Learning has issued a challenge: '365' one-a-day-challenge.  I took them up on it, starting today!  You can find my photo album on Kandid Katie's Facebook page.  There are a lot of fun albums linked on Irresistible's page, so check them out!

'365' one-a-day-challenge

I am so forgetful!

Featured Photo of the Week

In case you missed my first post, here it is:

Irresistible Ideas For Play Based Learning has issued a challenge: '365' one-a-day-challenge.  I took them up on it, starting today!  You can find my photo album on Kandid Katie's Facebook page.  There are a lot of fun albums linked on Irresistible's page, so check them out!

'365' one-a-day-challenge

Featured Photo of the Week

In case you missed my first post, here it is:

Irresistible Ideas For Play Based Learning has issued a challenge: '365' one-a-day-challenge.  I took them up on it, starting today!  You can find my photo album on Kandid Katie's Facebook page.  There are a lot of fun albums linked on Irresistible's page, so check them out!

'365' one-a-day-challenge

Featured Photo of the Week

This is the reason my brain missed a beat (or hundred) and this post is late

In case you missed my first post, here it is:

Irresistible Ideas For Play Based Learning has issued a challenge: '365' one-a-day-challenge.  I took them up on it, starting today!  You can find my photo album on Kandid Katie's Facebook page.  There are a lot of fun albums linked on Irresistible's page, so check them out!

'365' one-a-day-challenge

Featured Photo of the Week

This has been a great month for skywatching!  Here I captured Saturn and Spica with the moonrise!
For more information, click here!

In case you missed my first post, here it is:

Irresistible Ideas For Play Based Learning has issued a challenge: '365' one-a-day-challenge.  I took them up on it, starting today!  You can find my photo album on Kandid Katie's Facebook page.  There are a lot of fun albums linked on Irresistible's page, so check them out!

Happy Valentine's Day!

I am so late on posting lately.  Since I just took down my decorations yesterday, I'll pretend that's the reason for the timing of this post.

I misplaced most of my Valentine's Day decorations from last year, so I had to buy new ones.  Fortunately, I realized this close enough to Christmas to take advantage of Christmas clearance and buy dozens of heart-shaped Christmas ornaments for $0.10-$0.30 each.  I also hit Jo-Ann, where I got last year's decorations, and picked up a few more.  My mom also got some of Jo-Ann's for Ellie's Minnie Mouse birthday party, so I ended up far from short on decorations this year.  Imagine next year after I find all the lost ones!  Scary!

I didn't really like how the decorations went up this year, but it was still fun to have hearts everywhere.  Plus,  to fill the space, the kids and I made a bunch of decorations that I laminated to reuse next year.  I didn't do anything fun for the kids, like the heart curtain in Ellie's doorway.  Still, the kids loved their goody bags - and the Hershey kisses within - enough that they didn't care.

Wall o' Hearts

Four Corners

Up close of Mikey's hand flowers

Up close of my bug garden, with contributions from Mikey
We drew grass and flower stems on the paper along with some flowers.  Then we stuck on foam flowers and bugs and some other cute bug stickers.

Our spring garden wall in its entirety
I added a few leftover Valentine postcards and the finger puppets the kids made