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!!

 

 

 

Down Syndrome and Speech/ A Parental Approach

  I try not to fear the challenges we face as a family when it comes to our son with Down Syndrome. He is already doing so well and I know that repetition and modeling are  the keys to success in his life. Having the larger family is an advantage for him because he naturally gets both.

 I try to take each stage of development he goes through one at a time. It is a bit easier for me knowing what a child's development "should " be like due to the fact that I have had seven other children. I know his development is much slower but i do not let it bother me because I see a progression even if it is slower. That is basically the norm with kids with DS.

 I don't want to say that I don't have expectations but I try to watch with a realistic eye. By this I mean; I know the delays and I do not fear them. I accentuate the positive and look for the smallest progress. Because even something small is big to him and to us!

 Our son thrives on encouragement, as we all do but for him, that is his world! To see his family excited, ecstatic about the slightest of feats makes him thrive! Before anyone  with degrees in speech or special ed. it was simply humble parents who raised and trusted that their children were worthy and they nurtured them without professions to their highest potentials.  I am not knocking these therapists, their services can be very valuable and should be considered. At the same time as a parent we need to be confident that we can also pray, research and help our children to thrive in these areas.

 

 

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.

 

 

 

Summer Salads on My Mind Giveaway

I am doing my very first giveaway and I am so excited! I think it is a great time of year to eat healthier foods because they are so much more available.    In a few weeks many people will have veggies growing right in their own back yard or frequenting there towns farmer's markets!

 Fresh salads are easy to toss together and can be filled with wonderful ingredients grown locally or picked straight off the plant or vine!

There are so many different ways to make salads and this great book by William Sonoma has some great ideas! Not only does it have the salad recipes but it also has recipes for dressings, too!

Sharing recipes can be a great gift  idea for a family member or friend. I like to write my favorites ones on some pretty stationery and  give together with a few of the yummy ingredients in a pretty bowl or basket.

Salads are a great way to bring friends together on a sunny summer afternoon! A few simple festive flags as to decorate the middle of the table in the dining room, on the front porch or  the back patio.  I want to spend some time catching up and sharing my blessed life with some of the women I don't get to see during the busy home school year.

Two of my favorite colors during the summer are navy blue and kelly green. They make me think of sailing and a life at the beach! I love watching sailboats when we go to Mystic Rhode Island for a few days each summer.

I hope this summer brings with it many opportunities to gather my thoughts and some friends to share my home and some fresh delicious food! I want to give away these items to help another to do the same:

• Food Made Fast, Salad by William Sonoma
• a galvanized hanging chalkboard ( write a welcome greeting for family & friends)
• an adorable salad bowl or strainer ( Kelly green)
• a coupon/receipt organizer ( navy blue)
• a notepad to jot down ideas
• a pack of note cards and envelopes (can be used as recipes card or invitations)
• 5 festive flags

All of these a ideas are just suggestions of course, this giveaway is a gift just for you to make and create your own special summer memories!

I will run this giveaway until Wednesday of next week, and the names will be folded and put in the salad bowl and randomly picked by my daughter.

I will announce the winner  Thursday,  June 11, 2015. I will mail it off to the winner that afternoon.

To enter all you have to do is leave a comment telling me your favorite Salad and your favorite summer colors and why these colors are your favorite.

 

 

 

Lovely Laundry

Lately, I have been able to find joy in the "mundane" chores in my life. I remember reading a blog several years ago and the author saying that very same statement but at the time i just couldn't wrap my head around it.

I guess that is a growing process that comes with being more content with my state of life. Folding some fresh smelling laundry can be a meditative, calming activity these days!

I like to think of my children, my home and my husband and how blessed I am having my faith as well! Each piece of cloth, each towel or napkin becomes a prayer or an offering to God for the gratitude I have in my heart !

Neatness and order are important in our home especially with our large family. Everything has a specific place so the clutter is kept to a minimum.

I love wonderful scents for our home, and I am sort of a soap and candle addict. I shop at Marshall's for the higher quality hand soaps. They have wonderful  decorative bars and hand pump soaps and they are always very reasonably priced.

Making loveliness out of the mundane is a gift from above. I am glad God has given me eyes to see that now! I hope that you enjoy your laundry today and if not today maybe tomorrow or in a few years from now!

Jesus, The Faithful One

Jesus the Faithful One

Our Jesse tree is covered with ornaments and our Amaryllis is about to blossom! We have tried to focus even more on stillness and peace but in the midst of a busy world it can be difficult. Yet, even the smallest effort toward Christ counts because in reality, He is the faithful one. He is the Prince of Peace, the Stillness in the Choas, the Promise Fullfilled.

Arrival, a Poem

The seasons are changing, warmth is yielding to cold, its bitterness feels like a sting, an awakening of the mind and spirit. Alertness, preparation are the works of this time... waiting for sacredness to arrive.

Bike On

"Bike On",  This is my motto right now. I want to try to accomplish a sense of daily exercise and for me right now that is going to be in the form  of riding my bike.

We have a wonderful bike path very near to our home, it only takes two minutes to access it. The Manhan Rail Trail is a paved trail through a beautiful area here in New England. During the warm weather months it teams with human activity and gives a great sense of life and local community.

I enjoy nature and this is also an opportunity for me to take some time out and observe God's magnificient creation from the people I encounter to the flora and fauna that line the sides of the trail.

Another great aspect of biking is that I get to do it with my children. It is time spent away from electronics getting some fresh air and enjoying each others company. I am usually behind them but sometimes I snaek up on them and try to pedal fast enough to get ahead of them. They love this and always enjoy beating me at my own game!

My son even got in on the action and surprised us by taking a different route and waiting for us to get to the point where he was. It is so awesome to engage with my children on this level.

Cycling, nature, family what more could a woman ask for. I love each new stage in my life!

Bike On!

Homeschool Teamwork and Dedication

Homeschooling is a vocation that takes commitment and teamwork. Everyone must work hard and do their part to make the days productive and fruitful. We do have a routine each day and ways of making sure everyone is actually learning. We use some textbooks and some living books (a Charlotte Mason approach). My children are versatile and like to learn in a variety of ways:

• workbooks
• nature drawings/ field guides/ fandex
• drawings/or  pre-printed coloring pages
•  board or card games (educational)
• computer
• hands on activities
•  fieldtrips
• dictation/narration

Since I have 6 different children and each of them have their own curriculum, they have a chart to fill out each day. On the sides are the subjects and across the top the days of the week. Each day they turn this sheet in and I transfer each subject on to my chart.
( fifth grader's desk)

The kids work independently and I am at my desk ready to answer questions when they arise. I also spend my time correcting previous papers, researching options for curriculum, finding worksheets or ideas to go with the subjects they are currently working on.

(eighth grader's desk)

The children know their daily routine and they use their chart as a guide to see what assignments are next in line. Sometimes they share a science experiment or do a project together. Because some of them are close in age it is okay to combine certain activities. Sometimes it is good to let go of the whole "grade" concept.

( 10th grader's desk)

A set curriculum is always a good thing to have but I do not hesitate to be spontaneous if something is put in my path. I am always on the hunt for new learning items. I picked up this book at church last week on the give away table and it is now my son's religion assignment. He reads a set amount of pages each day and is keeping a journal about what he reads.

Nature study has been a part of our curriculum from the beginning. Usually in the spring we are more enthused about it and we set aside a day of the week to incorporate nature walks.
Gathering specimens and things we find along the way are great research starters. Reading, drawing, and writing  about nature finds are all ways to practice spelling, english, art and science.

Everything can become an opportunity to learn something new. There are so many different styles out there and no one way is the best. I am drawn to Charlotte Mason and Montessori approaches. Short doable lessons are actually better than long lengthy drawn out lessons. Children will retain more and their minds will stay fresh in each subject this way.

Homeschool learning gives kids an opportunity to direct themselves and become independant in their skills. They are able to keep track of and be responsible for their daily school routine.  They also have a vast variety of ways and techniques to be able to process the information they are obtaining from their curriculum. It takes dedication and hard work on each family members part. We all learn how to  be independent but still work and pull together as a team.

He Could of Chose a Golden Jeweled Crown

I am in awe of the way God chose to reveal Himself to us and live out His life and then die for us as well. There is such symbolism in everything God does. He leaves us an amazing inheritance and legacy of His love for us.
These branches come from a hawthorn tree right out in the back of my home. When I first saw it, it immediately invoked some very serious emotions in me, for I connected it with the Crown of Thorns.

It truly invoked a sense os sorrow and horror as I began to think of what Jesus had to go through wearing this on his head, made from these sharp, pointed needle like thorns.

It is an awe striking image that comes to my mind as I picture Him standing there with blood dripping from His head for our sins. It fills my heart with such a pounding, that I feel like I am right there in the court with Him knowing I am responsible and ashamed for my crime of putting it on His head.

After I have pondered this mystery for a while, God gives me another meditation. It is one of love and compassion one of understanding and choice. He lets me know that He has chosen to do this for me, for us, and it is all right. He wants me to rejoice in His crown and his humility for all of the times I have not been as such.

He says He has taken my guilt and made me new with each thorn, each step of his way of the cross. How can we not love such a tender God who could of chosen power over " weakness". To me that says everything and reveals to me the heart of our creator.

We will fill our hawthorn branches with the Stations of the Cross as we complete the last two weeks of Lent. This will be a reminder for us of the example we have as our Lord came to earth and took on flesh and gave it all for us. It is all for us: His life, His death and His Ressurection. Our God is an awesome God!