Fall is in the air...

I feel like I am coming out of a fog... Micah turned three this past August, Hannah is about to topple over into the first year of her second decade, and everyone else is mashed in the middle... Days are more defined and less like really short months that escaped without notice.

I have always wanted to be one of "those moms". You know the type, they celebrate every holiday with fabulous decorations, unit studies and lap books on the history behind the holiday, art and songs about the holiday. For the last 11 years I have barely made mention of "special" days except to flounder through a woefully inadequate reason for why Daddy doesn't have to go to work that day.

I am still not one of "those moms" but I have found that holidays and seasons are a great opportunity for bringing my children together with their friends and sharing some form of creative endeavor. I am becoming increasingly aware that if we, as parents, are going to continue to limit our children's exposure to TV and computers, iPads and video consoles, we are going to have to give them other outlets for using their time. I have also realized that they are more apt to engage in these alternate activities when it is an experience that they can share with friends and/or their friends also enjoy it and it is something they can talk about when together.

All that to say, we are planning a trip to the park following the Symphony this week. I have organized a picnic and a nature hike culminating in an art project inspired by fall leaves. We will be water color painting some leaves I am drawing, I have ideas of how to use them later but I will share those after I post the finished projects. For now, the works in progress... Only 100 more leaves to draw...

A new birthday idea...

There have been a whirlwind of birthdays recently, my girls are each enjoying the festivities, and I have been trying to figure out how to give a nice gift to our girls' friends without spending way beyond budget.

We like crafting in our house. There are a lot of kids who make a lot of noise within these four walls, crafting usually produces busy hands and quiet moments. :) Since we enjoy the crafty endeavors we undertake so much, we also like to share our love of creating with our friends.

Just this weekend our girls were invited to two different parties, and after asking the moms of the birthday girls, we came up with some creative and fun ways to share our love of crafts with others, and utilize much of what we already had on hand to make the gifts.

The first party of the weekend came upon me too quickly and I missed the photo opportunity, but believe me, the stack of brightly colored fabrics tied with a bow were really sweet. This little girl also needed some pins and a few needles and embroidery floss. My girls also made necklaces and duct tape hair bows. I am excited to see what kind of creations the newly gifted fabric will turn into!

The second party of the weekend left me unsure of my creative gift-giving skills. We did purchase a frame and print a picture of our girls with their friend, but we needed something else... So, I made a craft kit from things we already had at home. It was very simple, and as I hand wrote the instructions, I think there were all of four or five steps. I hope she enjoys making these sweet butterfly pins, and then wearing them!

Butterfly Pin Kit Contents - Felt Butterfly pieces in pink and purple, buttons for wing embellishments, a needle case with 3 needles and some pins, two skeins of embroidery floss in coordinating colors, floss bobbins and two pins to affix to the finished butterflies.

Up close, waiting to be sewn together.

 What do you do for birthday party gifts for your children and their friends?

Fall leaves and handsewing...

Our little co-op of sorts keeps meeting each week, the children are so very patient with me, and I love watching my littles enjoy their friends and learn useful skills at the same time. This week we were sharing a handicraft to make a fall leaf garland, just in time for the weather to dip into the 50's at night and 70's in the daytime.

I worked all week to cut out all the little darling leaves in a variety of fall inspired colors, finally having to call in a friend to help me finish before my 19 students converged at 10am on Friday.

Here were all of our tools for the day - felt, scissors, yarn, large eyed needle.

I was too busy rethreading yarn onto needles, or helping kids get untangled, or assisting the littlest of the group to take any pictures during the process... but it was a great time, everyone finished one full garland section of ten leaves and took a second one home to continue practicing the straight stitch (age span from 3yo to nearly 11yo).

Not wanting to forget and allow spring to come without putting the garlands up on display, I cut the excess yarn and tied them together and up they went.

Up close, you can see the straight stitch employed for this project.

Ten leaves was the perfect number for a nice swag of each section of garland.

Up for all to enjoy - and the children are already making plans for winter, and spring garlands!

Simple, profitable fun. :)

New experiences...

In the midst of a rather mundane Wednesday, a child's piercing cry and pleading look grabbed my attention. A visit from a neighbor (who just happens to be a pediatrician), a visit to the doctor's office and X-rays to confirm... Our family's first broken arm. The break is thankfully minor in the grand scheme of possibilities, but it happened to our most reserved child. She insisted on going to AWANA last night, yet cringed at all the attention when people noticed her sling. So, she asked me to make it less noticeable, she requested me turn it into a "purse". And here is what I came up with... Until 3:30am. She seems pleased. :)

Ordering my days...

The last few weeks we have lived in survival mode. Organization and planning has been a last priority, just making do has reigned. So, today after being with the Church, I sat down to work on restoring order... starting with my menu. Next is school work, I haven't checked it in three weeks... I think I will need coffee for that endeavor!

Off to the pumpkin patch...

After a late morning snack, we trudged out to the local Methodist Church Pumpkin Patch and grabbed a few Fall inspired photos... with twenty of our closest friends... Here is what we came away with:

A cozy group shot...

Almost 11, she has these photo shoots down...

A natural looking photo didn't come naturally, but I was thankful when it finally came...

First one to be photographed, she set the bar high...

Sweet smile...

You get eyes when this one doesn't smile...

But if you want a smile, you get no eyes...

He knows he is cute...

I am so cute it is scary...

One last photo before we pile into the car...

And now, we can check the "Pumpkin Patch Pictures" off the list... Yea!

For everything there is a season...

For everything there is a season, 
and a time for every matter under heaven:
a time to be born, and a time to die;
Ecclesiastes 3:1-2a

That sums up my last 11 days. Two dark hospital rooms. Two different seasons. A week and a half ago I held my father-in-law's hand as he drew his last breath. Tonight I stood by and cheered as my dear sister-in-Christ's newborn infant wailed her first precious cry. And God's Word rang in my thoughts, the seasons of life so aptly displayed. I stand in awe of the Creator and the mighty works of His hand!