crayon wreath

good morning!

last week i was itching to do a project with my youngest{who's 5}.

i stumbled upon this adorable crayon wreath that i thought would be so fun, cheap and easy to make!

yes, cheap.  

because it matters.  :)

we started off with a large cardboard box.

i used a platter from my kitchen to trace a nice circle.

you know i couldn't free hand a perfect circle!

then i traced a plate for the smaller circle, and started sawing it out with a knife.

{hank was not involved in this although he tried}

sorry about the blurry pics...i'm still campaigning for a new camera.  

hubby, not. so. much.  :)

next, i had some scrap twill fabric that i simply ripped into strips and started hot gluing to the cardboard.

hank and the said wrapped circle of cardboard..
he couldn't wait to get to the gluing part!

ok! then we began gluing.
i added the glue, and i let him put on the crayons.
well, some of them. {after he dumped all the boxes out and got all the crayons mixed up}
oy.
i decided to go in the rainbow pattern.
just because. :)

progress.
my daughter laid out all the crayons in order so it would go faster. :)

once all the crayons were on, i followed a simple tutorial from Tatertots and Jello to make the rosette flowers.
then we just hot glued them on.
i think the girls and i {might be} addicted to making these in any size, shape, and color.
seriously. they are so fun and adorable.
the possibilities are endless for what you can do with them!
oh, and they are cheap!
love cheap.

tadaaaa!!!!

i love jute so i used some braided jute to hang it with and for one of the flowers.

having the attention span of, well, a 5 year old, hank ducked out early and started shooting with his $.75 camera from the thrift store.

yes, friends, we don't buy toys, we buy people's old stuff{wash it first} and the kids love it.

hours of enjoyment!

now i think you should make one.

it's guaranteed to brighten your day!

hank{being the philanthropist he is} decided to give his wreath away to a very special friend. 

i love that he is such a giver.  :)

now we are going to make a new one.

who knows where it will end up.  :)

i only spent around $5 to make this fun, festive wreath{if that}.

it was super fun, easy, and the time with the kids is priceless.

what you'll need to make your  crayon wreath:

*cardboard{or any flattish wreath form}

*scissors/knife/box cutter

*crayons{i needed 3 boxes @ $.45 a piece from walmart}

*scrap fabric to wrap the cardboard with

{or spray paint}

*hot glue gun and lots of glue sticks

*fabric to make rosettes

*buttons to embelish{optional}

*ribbon, jute or fabric to hang it.

i couldn't resist adding jack in here with his vintage polaroid form the thrift.  $.75! woo!

i have already claimed dibs on it when they tire of it.  :)

have a wonderful day, friends!

xo,

 "For I am persuaded, 

that neither death, nor life, 

nor angels, 

nor principalities, 

nor powers, 

nor things present, 

nor things to come, 

Nor height, 

nor depth, 

nor any other creature, 

shall beable to separate 

us from the love of 

God, which is in 

Christ Jesus our Lord."

Romans 8:38-39

infinite grace

hi, friends!
i seriously cannot believe that it is thursday already.
*blink* and the week was almost over.
it has had it's ups and downs.
tears and laughter.
we have been really blessed to have an evangelist at our church every night this week.
even though {i hate to admit} i wasn't feeling going every night{due to selfish reasons...tired, lazy, overwhelmed},
but once i'm there, it is such a blessing to take a deep breath and just soak it all in.
it is like recharging your battery.  seriously.
he{the evangelist} has been preaching on grace this week.
boy, do i need grace.
every day, every hour, every minute.

grace: getting what we don't deserve...an undeserved gift or unmerited favor.

i'm pretty definitely sure that i don't deserve God's grace, but He is always there, offering it freely to me.

i am such an unworthy recipient.

all my righteousness is as filthy rags{He said so}.

yet despite all my lack of worthiness, He paid it all.

this week he has driven home the fact that there is nothing that i can do to earn my salvation in Christ.

when Jesus died on the cross, He finished the work.

completely.

simply, He paid it all.

when i trusted Jesus as my Saviour over 20 years ago, i became a new creature in Him and there was nothing i could do to earn, keep, or lose my salvation.

if that were the case, i would be hopeless!

have i had doubts?

yes.

there have definitely been times i remember wondering how He could love me so much and forgive my shortcomings.

but He does and He can.

His Word says so.

He cannot tell a lie.

and so i trust.

trust that He has saved me.

trust that He will keep me.

trust that His grace is sufficient.

when i confess my shortcomings to Him, He is always there with His grace.

like a big blanket covering my sinful, prone to wandering soul.

thank you, Lord, for grace.

anytime.

anywhere.

no matter what.

"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:  Not of works, lest any man should boast "

Ephesians 2:8,9

i hope that you are having a wonderful week, friends.

we have two nights of meetings left and then the weekend.

i hope i can absorb all the goodness and truth that is to come.

i look forward to chatting with you again soon.

xo,

happy birthday, heidi

today i would like to talk about a very special person in my life.
her name is heidi, and she is my one and only sister.
she turns {older than me} today and i want to let her know how much i love her.

you see, as sisters, we have had our ups and downs.
agreements and {many} disagreements.
fun times and trials.
but one thing remains the same.
my love for her.
{even though i am terrible at showing it sometimes}
the Lord has taught me so much about love and i pray that i can show my love for her through Him.

she happens to be 10 years older than me.  :)
that is quite a span of years that has brought it's challenges and blessings.
it has been a source of contention in years past.
it has allowed us to embrace our differences in recent years.
the journey has been a lesson.
and it continues...today.


she is a beautiful person, inside and out.
she loves deeply, and because so, she can hurt deeply.
she is fun.
she is tenderhearted.
she has insecurities{who doesn't?}.
she is an 80's girl at heart.
she loves adores her family.  all of them.
she is a servant.
most importantly, she knows Jesus.

meet my sister...

the butterfly lover{see the earrings?}.

the sports enthusiast{who loves the steelers, even though we live in packer country...i'll forgive her, today}.
:)

the feisty girl.

the perfectionist.

the daughter{sorry, I couldn't find a picture with dad, too}.

the mother.

the goofy one.

the loving cousin.

the church secretary/worker.

the friend{and 80's girl}.

 the auntie.

the  sister.

the beauty.

the mother of the groom.

the proud parent.

the wife.

the family {and dog} lover.

this is only a small sampling of who my wonderful sister is to me and to so many others.
today we celebrate you, heidi, for the unique, awesome person that God made you.
today i'm thankful that you are my sister and i cannot wait to explore the many facets of you that remain unknown to me.
we've got a lot to learn, huh?

happy birthday, sis.
i love you very much.

xo,

embracing the camera

ok, friends.

i have been challenged.

i am going to embrace the camera.

just for today.

for now.  :)

the picture below, i would have to say, is where i feel most comfortable with pics of myself.

i don't like being the main focus, or subject, and i never have.
i am sort of {ok, honestly, majorly} self conscious, and having my children around me all the time takes the focus off of me.
isn't hank cute?

the very good news...

i know that i am God's child, created in His image.
He loves me the way that i am.
He knows the number of hairs that are on my head.
He knew me before i was even born.
He loves me with a love i cannot understand.
He died for me.
all of this is enough.

my hope, joy, confidence, should not be in things of this world, or even my family{especially not my looks}!
i have all that i need in Him. and that is where my confidence lies.
man, things are so much easier that way!
so, all this to say that i am going to be confident in who i am in Him.
because that's all that matters.
i may have acne or weird lines that i don't like.
my hair may look crazy and i may have gained 10 lbs.
but He doesn't care about any of that.


"...for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart."
1 Samuel 16:7

oh, yes.

an even bigger challenge.

God doesn't look at my outward appearance.

He looks at me and sees...

my heart.

now that's a whole other story.

and a whole other {several} posts.

so, here i go.
my head is even in it. woo!
i guess i got a little yappy about my insecurities today.
who knew i could have so much to say about learning to embrace photos of myself?
maybe you didn't really want to know and maybe you did.
i think hope that i'm not the only one who thinks and feels this way.

how do you feel about the camera?

you are created in His image, too.
you are unique.
you are beautiful.
God loves you.

xo,

"Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me."

Psalm 51:10

bits and pieces

well, friends...

i wonder if you will soon tire of my home school posts? 

i hope not, but because that is what consumes most of my time these days and that's all i got.  :)

it's crazy, it's fun, it's chaotic, tears may be shed at any given moment, but it's so worth it.

here are a few bits and pieces of our day{s} of late.

hank and i doing the flashcard thing.
e reads e e e...emil the emu....

i just happen to love this notebook!
elly and i are going to frame it once it is all used up...dual purpose! :)

i love 'pretty' experiments. :)
botany is turning out to be awesome!
i'm learning just as much as the girls and we love it!

in history, the kids were learning about nomads, so we made our own cave drawings.
{aka} ripped brown paper bags, crumpled, then uncrumpled, and painted on.
nothing fancy here, friends.
pssst...they thought it was the bomb.

a lovely thrifted vintage dress that i couldn't resist.
can i get an amen for the thrill of finding a pre-loved treasure {for next to nothing}, repurposing it, and/or giving it new life and some love!?
it doesn't take much to excite me...can you tell i don't get out much?  hahaha....
...but really....ahem.
this sweet dress won't fit either of my girls and i'm pretty sure they wouldn't want to wear it{bummer}, but i'm saving it for something or someone special.
not sure what or who yet, but for now it looks sweet hanging in my living room.

love it!

and last, but not least, a sweet nest that i ordered from jami at freckled laundry.
she makes the cutest things and has a sweet etsy shop, too.
check out her site and tell her i sent you! she is super sweet.
the eggs in the nest above have my kids initials on them.
i really love it.

so there you have it.
a few pictures of what fills our days with giggles, tears, frustrations, and joy.
maybe, someday i'll show you the table filled with school books,  the mound of dishes in the sink,  the laundry piled to the ceiling, the toys scattered all over the floor, the boys running around in their undies, or a picture of me in my bedroom with the door locked.
it happens, friends. :)

thanks for stopping by today.  i really appreciate it!
it has been so much fun meeting so many of you and gaining encouragement and inspiration from you all!
i hope you all had a day full of blessings.

all because of Him,

"Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it."

Matthew 7:24-27