A New Springtime

A Pottery Barn Look on A Dime

 I saw this wonderful organizational system on the Pottery Barn website. It looked so neat, orderly and effective. So I wanted to try and recreate it on a smaller, less expensive scale. I have a monthly planner book which works great if I open it often enough.  I think if the calendar is in a spot that is more visible I will be more apt to look at it and remember the days happenings.

 I just love the look of everything in Pottery Barn but I must say it is a bit pricey for my pocket book. I found this large dry erase calendar at Wal- Mart for under $7.00 and this cute little bulletin board for $2.50 at Target.

   

The next items all came from the $1.00 section at Target. They aren't really my primitive country style but considering the small area that they are in they don't really stick out. Black and white it is pretty neutral even with the modern circle design it still works.

    

These magazine organizers were a buck each. They are holding my planner, my address book, my memo pad, homeschool catalogs, some manila folders with curriculum plans.

    

I just love the look of this white wash tub.It is just the right size for the desktop to store pens, pencils, scissors, etc. I could not pass it up for $2.50. I used my mugs inside to hold everything in place. It gives the the area a modern country feel and at the same time it is functional. 

 

These folders are so awesome. I got a pack of three with the labels for $1.00. The labels are perfect and will help me to keep my paperwork organized without looking like clutter and confusion. To top it all of this adorable frame ties everything together and again only $1.00.

Here it is all together: a small scale, inexpensive, Pottery Barn look on a dime. The total cost under $25.00. Works for me!
 
 
 
 
 

Making Progress

 Our bulbs are making wonderful progress and I am so excited! I cannot wait to see the blossoms. It is great  having an indoor winter garden.

 

 I am also so glad to be on break. I am trying to make some progress myself on some of the organizational projects around my home.  As most of you know, it is hard to get to some of the extra tasks done while homeschooling or any other full-time job a mom may have. I am trying to take advantage of this time off. One area that really needed some attention was the craft bins that are under my bed. I put them there about a year ago because I don't like to go into the basement. It's unfinished and an eye sore.

 When we needed to make room for the Christmas tree, I ended up clearing out a big cabinet in the dining room which held craft papers and other school books. The books, I was able to transfer to another bookcase but the craft stuff I half hazardously put in the bins.

 I didn't like going into the bins because they were too disorderly. I decided to get some of those small food storage containers to solve the problem.

These little containers are perfect for separating small items. I have 10 of them and the cost was 2 for $1.00. In them I put:

• bobbins
• spools of hand quilting thread
• spools of machine thread
• pins and needles
• bells, pom poms & barret making clips
• rotary cutters
• ribbons
• snaps, hem tape
• fabric markers
• scissor sharpener

I also have other things in the big bin such as my label maker, my mini paper cutter and a plastic shoe bin filled with paints.

  

 The other bin I have is full of papers and photos. I decided to recycle the boys nerf gun boxes and use them as organizers in the another big bin. I cut the two boxes which gave me four areas to use for different items. For a fancier look, they can be covered with fabric or contact paper. Maybe this could turn into a project for another day. Each box holds particular items. They are divided into: photos and photo accessories( circle stencils, scrapbook ideas,etc.), wooden objects, scrapbook paper and stickers and  lastly miscellaneous things such as pipe cleaners, Modge Podge, etc.

   

This really makes a difference when I am trying to find something or sending the kiddos up to get a particular item for a craft project.

 

  I feel much better knowing that the clutter monster under my bed has been tamed.

 

 My bed is lifted up on risers which allow me to put these bigger containers underneath. This makes for easy access and uses otherwise wasted space. I am able to cover it with a bed skirt so it is hidden; all together I have four bins. The two I didn't mention are filled with fabric and the other one with shoes. Making progress always feels rewarding and the benefits are worth it. Now when I need something I won't waste too much time trying to locate it.
 
 

Joy to the World the Lord Has Come

 We were blessed to finish our advent season with the committal service for Ezekiel. It was such perfect timing and brought the time of preparation to fulfillment. On his prayer card, we had the prayer of Saint Francis which ends with..."in dying we are born into eternal life."The word, "born", really stuck in my head. Advent was a time to prepare us for the birth of Christ and even though EZ was not actually born in the way we usually think of, he was born into eternal life! Knowing this we celebrated Christmas to it's fullest.

 

Merry Christmas from our family to yours!!

    

  We are truly blessed and we give all praise and honor to Jesus Christ our Lord!

 
 
 
After the presents and h'orderves we enjoyed a Christmas dinner together.

 I thank God for the mystery of Christmas and that He became a man so that we could have life and live it to it's fullest. As the song says, " Joy to the world the Lord has come, Let Earth receive her king let every heart prepare him room and Heaven and nature sing! Jesus has revealed Himself even more so this advent and I am in awe once again as He has filled my heart with Joy. May you all have a blessed twelve days of Christmas.

 

 

Comfort and Joy

   
 

 I am so thankful for your prayers and the sacraments of the church. I was able to go to confession and receive the anointing of the sick the day before my surgery. I was at such peace before the procedure, I knew it was the grace of God. I had great care and when I woke up I was still waiting for them to start. Yesterday, I was somewhat sore but my mom took the kiddos for awhile and I was able to sleep. Oh, how good that felt. Today I am even better. I am still tired but I get up here and there.

 I was comforted to know that Ezekiel is in the hands of the funeral parlor and on Tuesday morning we will be having a committal service for him at the cemetery.  After death the Church offers: a wake, a funeral mass and the burial which is the committal service. In the case of early miscarriage some funeral homes offer a committal service. This is done by a priest at the cemetery. I am comforted in the fact that this little life will be dignified and recognized.

 I feel Ezekiel is a pioneer. He is a witness to life in the womb no matter how many weeks. I feel God has privileged us with being some of the first to insist that  life be respected and honored in a proper way especially by the medical profession. The ob/gyn's office didn't even know how to issue us the fetal death certificate in this situation. I don't think anyone had ever requested one for an early miscarriage.  I know as Catholic moms we understand the preciousness of life from the moment of conception and I am filled with joy in knowing that God has allowed our family to stand up and speak out for the innocent unborn! I feel like Elizabeth at the Visitation when she said," Who am I that the mother of my Lord should come to me. The moment your greeting reached my ears the babe in my womb lept for joy. I too feel chosen and I  know EZ ,as we knick named him, is probably  also leaping with joy with all the angels and saints.

I hope you all are experiencing the comfort and joy of our Lord as we anticipate His coming!!

More Prayers Needed

 Today we, hubby and I, went in for the second ultrasound. Nothing has changed and there is really no progress, if you can call it that. After waiting two weeks, the ob/gyn's suggested the D and C procedure. I hate to go through this but I think it may be best at this point.

 Last week, I called around for funeral homes who have dealt with burials for miscarriages. By divine providence I talked to a Catholic Pro- life funeral home owner who was familiar with my situation and was even helpful with where we could do the burial. They will even go to the hospital to pick up the remains for us. On top of that there is absolutely no charge. How charitable! Also a wonderful priest offered to do the funeral for us.

 The doctor's office was absolutely no help in this matter. When I explained that I wanted to have a burial, the midwife said,"It is only this big" and proceeded to show me a four inch spread with her fingers. I said," I know and I don't care how small my baby is, a life is a life no matter the size." These people are so weird. They call themselves Women-care. I wonder? How insensitive we have become.

Please pray for me, I am a bit nervous.

A Busy but Good Day

 Today was a busy day. We had a lot to do. I had to drop off my sixteen year old at the high school at 11:00. He is homeschooled but he plays soccer and basketball through the school. He has a tournament this weekend on Nantucket. before he took he graciously helped me rearrange some furniture to make room for the Christmas tree. Thank God for strong young men.

I  still haven't had much happening with the miscarriage, as a matter of fact things have seemed to come to a halt. I have another ultrasound Monday because the ob/gyn's had expected things to be further along. I really don't know what to expect at this point.

I have been keeping busy trying to keep my mind occupied. That isn't too hard to do around here. We still have school to do plus all of the Christmas preparations, as you all know. Today, we decided to finally plant our bulbs. I didn't have anything to plant them in but I came across these cute bowls at the drug store. They were only 0.75 each. The kiddos liked them and they look very festive.

   

Here are the boys getting ready to plant.

The girls got the red bowls and the boys got the green ones.

 It is wonderful to have flowers inside in the winter. Last year, a friend had given these to us as a gift and we were hooked. Watching them grow is so exciting. It gives such a sense of wonder and awe.

Later on in the day, Raphael, noticed something...

   

this lil' fur ball was trying to climb up the kids tree fort.  It made several attempts but kept on falling down. It seemed as though something was wrong with the poor thing. The next thing we knew it was headed toward the window.

It didn't seem to like the snow, I think it may have been a young raccoon experiencing its first winter. I am not sure if it was just immature or sick. Something wasn't right with our furry friend.

 As we were watching him or her, we also noticed the lovely red cardinal. We hadn't seen much of him this year. We moved our feeders and since then his presence has been kind of scarce. But low and behold we got to witness his beauty today!

 

I just love the brilliance of his feathers against the white snow. It never ceases to take my breath away!

 

Here he is again all puffed out and sitting pretty! God is so good to give us such sights.

In between all of the excitement I did manage to put up a few decorations but I will save that for my next post. Please remember to keep us in your prayers over the weekend. I really appreciate all of the wonderful comments and prayers. I definitely am being given extra graces to to all of them. Thank You.
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 

 

Keeping Christ In Christmas

 Keeping Christmas focused on Christ is so important, especially these days when everything is so commercialized. I was so excited when I saw these wonderful items that I could buy as gifts that reflected what is in my heart as a Christian. I mentioned before that our advent theme was, " Let Heaven and nature sing, well look at these...

 I found these precious little heart shaped dishes at Cracker Barrel. I was so excited to see the verse, "Let Heaven and nature sing printed on them. God is so good! i got one for two of the God parents. I also found these wonderful crosses. I loved the scripture sayings on them, I just had to get one for myself. The prices were a mere $3.99 each.

    

I was thrilled with how the boxes came out. I put four of the pine cone bird feeders in each one to finish them off.

  

Do you see that little hand trying to get into things? That would be my lil' chickadee!

I was so pleased to see so many beautiful Christian gifts at Cracker Barrel.

  
 
 

 

Advent Happenings

 I am trying to stay focused on trusting in God's will and keeping the advent spirit of waiting patiently. I am receiving many graces from all of the prayers people have been offering up. During this time we always have our advent wreath set out on our dining room table. 

 

I finally found a wonderful advent calender at the St. Joseph's Abbey in Spencer, MA. I love the nativity scene and each day it has a scripture reading. I hung it from a ribbon above our school cabinet.

I have also put out our basket of winter and Christmas read alouds. This year we have two new ones I picked up a while ago while thrifting. One is "The legend of The Poinsettia" and the other one is "Cranberry Christmas".

 

I have also completed one of the boxes for our Godchild. I wanted the theme to be, Let Heaven and nature Sing". I was pleased with the way it came out.

 

Included is a "Kids' Nature" book, a bird feeder (a find for $3.99 at The Christmas Tree Shops), a hat and scarf ( a retro floral print), Christmas socks ( w/ JOY printed on them), 4 pine cone bird treats, and a ST. Francis wall plaque.

To wrap it I used the clear cellophane and made a tag to finish it off.

I like to use everyday ordinary miracles, such as nature, as gifts for my Godchildren. I guess I love to see God in His wonderful creation and I hope to pass that on to them. As we all prepare this advent may we all, Heaven and nature, sing!
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 

Heaven and Nature Sing

Heaven and nature sing, this is the theme for our advent season. We are working on preparing gifts for our family and friends. I am going to make up nature baskets which will include nature and religious books, a bird feeder, bird seed, handmade pincone feeders, two bulbs in a pot, two plaques one of St. Francis and the other of the person's patron saint.

Today we started out by making the pinecone bird feeders.

     

 We collected pinecones on the side of the road. We tied each one with jute.

 

We used skippy peanut butter, creamy, you are not supposed to use the kind with nuts. The birdseed is a blend of different nuts, seeds and fruit.

  

Here are the kiddos getting all sticky.

We are putting them in the cellophane candy bags to make them look pretty and also it will keep them in tact. Each basket is going to have about five or six in them.

   

We did about twelve in a short period of time. I will do a post on the finished baskets when we get one completed.
 
 
 

 
  

Waiting in Joyful Hope

 Thank you for all of the prayers that were offered up for us. I surely felt the grace of God through all of them. Today we found out that our precious baby has passed away. We went in for the ultrasound at about 11:00 today and were saddened to find out that the baby had left us at about 9 weeks. Joe (hubby) and I both cried as we held each others hand. The bond of our marriage grew even stronger as we were of one heart. The angel in the picture is the called,The Angel of Hope. I hope to see our little one face to face again some day in Heaven!

   

 We got to see the our little one and were able to get a couple of ultrasound  pictures.  It  was such a comfort to be able to see the baby. A couple of weeks ago I was inspired with the name Ezekiel. I used to love this song which went, "Ezekiel saw the wheel way up in the middle of the sky, Ezekiel saw the wheel way in the middle of the sky. The big wheel turned by luck, the little wheel turned by the grace of God. It's a wheel in a wheel way in the middle of the sky." It was based on the readings in the Bible from the book of Ezekiel. I looked up the name and it means, Strength of God. How appropriate for the occasion. 

   

   Ezekiel Coleman

 I have decided to try and let things happen naturally. It is really hard at this point to want to schedule any kind of procedure. I was given a script for pain medicine in case I need it. I just don't want to rush into things.  I am trying to be patient and trust in God. Please keep praying for God's mercy.