A New Springtime

National Letter Writing Month 2016

  My love for letter writing began as a young girl when I used to receive letters from my Great Aunt Sadie. She would write to me about nature and the wildlife she saw scampering about her yard near her tiny cedar-shake cottage. It was as if I had my very own personal Beatrix Potter.

These special letters also cultivated an appreciation of stationery. The feel of the paper and the pretty designs are always beckoning me! I like to make my own simple cards and envelopes.

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  Making cards can be a very rewarding and relaxing process. The supplies I use are:
  
• card stock
• glue sticks
• washi tape
• stickers
• rubber stamps
• ink pads
• tape
• sharpie fine point markers

The possible choices to create cards and envelopes are endless. The scrapbook and paper craft arts have really grown over the years.

Stationery does not have to be handmade either. There are so many pretty and amazing cards nowadays. They do not have to be expensive either. There are a lot of quality and affordable and attractive choices at craft and dollar stores. It is not the price but the sentiment of receiving a handwritten letter that makes another person's feel special!

I think it is special to make a simple package of goodies and tuck them into the card as well. It can be some snippets of twine, some inked tags, samples of washi and a sticker or two. Vellum sheets taped on either side make a nice envelope to hold the ephemera.

Letter writing can be a joy and an inspiration to others. It is a beautiful way to give something of ourselves. It is an art and a culture to share and pass on to future generations. Happy letter Writing!!

 

 

 

Researching How To Teach My Son with Down Syndrome How to Read

I am praying to be able to teach our son who has Down Syndrome how to read. he will turn five in April this year. I read in this book that when a child with DS  can discriminate  items (match like things with other like things) that is a good time to begin teaching them to read. Our son can definitely do that. he has mastered this skill by using:

• a shape sorter
• matching card games (Dollar Tree)
• color matching putting items of the same color on a colored sheet of construction paper
• matching games (Brown Bear picture card game)
• Melissa and Dough wooden puzzles ( big knobs, smaller knobs)

I am sure there are many other fun ways to encourage kids to recognize like things. the internet is full of ideas!

I like to take my time to read these type of books and I also encourage anyone trying to do this to take notes. Treat yourself to a pretty journal or notebook to make this a personal and important enjoyable journey.

I think a chapter every 3 days is reasonable. After reading and taking notes give yourself a few days for the info to sink in. Go back and read over the notes before going on, highlighting anything that stands out in your mind.

I find it very helpful to discuss what I have read with an interested relative or friend, verbally discussing the information helps me to retain what I have read and get some positive feed back and encouragement from others as well!

"I can do all things in Jesus Christ who strengthens me!" This is the phrase I will keep before me while reading and praying while taking on this task.

 

 

 

Looking From the Outside In

As a mother there are many beautiful moments to take in on a daily basis if I only take the time out to do so!

 

Got Down Syndrome!

  Almost five years ago this lil' boy came into our lives! No prenatal diagnosis and I am kind of glad because it would of been a lot of needless thoughts and worrying on my part.  The love this  precious soul exudes has been extraordinary and a blessing to our family! I encourage anyone who has received a prenatal diagnosis not to be afraid and not to listen to the ill informed advice of the doctors who say, that children with DS are not compatible with life. That is nothing but fear mongering and nonsense.

 Hugs, laughter, caring, and joy from our boy are not only compatible but essential to life! Got Down Syndrome!

Happy Planner/ Plan for the Fam'

In this Happy Planner spread, I tried some very simple water color painting. I outlined the squares with water color pencils and lightly put a very small amount of water on a slim brush and gently painted some of squares. The paper pad is a 12x12 by We R Memory Keepers, Wildflower.  I chose it because it is floral but still in warm winter colors and reminds me of Lent.

Beachy Layout

 

I used the above layout off of the internet as a guide to make my own similar page. I like the way it turned out, it will be a great addition to out Summer 2015 Memory Album!

Planner Party Sept. 11-13, 2015

 There is a craze of planning on the internet lately! some very talented women have found a creative way to bring planning to a whole new level. I have been following Help! Mama Remote, she is a talented lady who shares her love of planning, Bible journaling, etc.

I am trying to set up the weekly pages according to our homeschooling classes, dinner making @ 12:00, and the kids soccer practices and games. I will also include Dr. appointments and special family occasions as well.

The process includes using washi tape, scrapbook paper, stickers, stamps, markers and pens. It can be kept simple or made as elaborate as you want! I t is a great way to use up scraps from previous scrapbook projects!

 These cute soccer stamps have been a fun addition to the spaces where I write in my kids sports dates. I picked them up at A.C. Moore about $2.

That is my spread for this upcoming week, hope you enjoy it! Happy Planning!

 

 

Keeping Track of Soccer Practice

One of my girl's has already started soccer practice for the 2015 Fall Season. Each one of my 6 children are color coded in my planner. That way when I look at that date and time I can easily tell by color who that particular event is for. It just makes it visually easier.

I cannot believe it is already that time of year again, mama taxi service in full swing.

Mini Outings

This summer we had some very close to home mini outings. Just spending some quality time together at a local pond or playground, bringing a few snacks and enjoying a few hours out of the house was good enough for us.

We were blessed with a brand new beautiful play scape at our local park. This one has a great natural woodsy theme!

It is always so rewarding for me to see my older children still helping and actually still playing with their younger siblings! having even older children who have already moved out helps me keep in mind how fast these times go by and how precious each moment with them really is.

Time and life are so precious and I have learned that it doesn't take a lot of money or things to make kids happy, a bit of outdoor space and some good old imagination are what memories are made of!

A blanket, some books, some snacks and some kids make for an afternoon of fun!

My girls are getting older and I am seeing these next five years as some very important bonding times. Just being with them and talking or lending and ear is important for all of us.

Little mini outings are great in spring, summer and fall to build relationships with family. Kids and adults are never to old to spend some time having some good old fashion outdoor playground fun close to home!

 

Creating Planners

 
  I like to use 2 or 3 ring binders for planners because I can easily add or remove papers when needed. They are also great because most of them have a clear plastic pocket on the cover  that can be filled with scrapbook or card stock of your choice. This can also be changed.

I am using this binder for our home school plans, I am breaking it down by child from youngest to oldest. In each section I have a photo copy picture of the book and the breakdown by month. I will write about that in another post.

Each year I pray for inspiration on what I should use as our"theme" mission statement and I use that as a title for my/our planner. This year I was influenced by Pope Francis's Encyclical, Laudate Sii, God Be Praised!

I like to use a smaller binder for my calendar planning in case I have to take it with me anywhere. I usually don't but just in case. It is easier to store and carry this way. This one I picked up at Michael's, it is actually a four-ring binder. I laminated some paper and attached to the cover. My planners are now a matching set. Neat , clean and pretty. The big rubber band is to old the planner shut and it is just a hair elastic from $ Tree.

I hope this gives you some ideas on how simple it can be to make a planner. Have fun and don't get overwhelmed. A post on the inside will be coming soon.