WFMW - kids books w/ values

Well... Christmas is coming soon and alot of us are going to be scrambling to buy gifts for our families and I have a suggestion. One of the things I loved doing as a kid (and still) is reading together as a family. One series of books in particular stands out from early on in my childhood. Its the Serendipity books by Stephen Cosgrove. Beautifully written and illustrated, each book tells a whimsical tale that captures the heart of all readers young and old and helps teach children values and build character. You may be able to find them in stores but personally, I haven't seen these in regular bookstores for some time. I do know you can get them on Ebay and Amazon.
That works for me... if you want to check out other great WFMW posts click here.

Sunday Scrapping w/ Sketches

I've been stealing away to scrap a little while almost every day and I got to scrap w/ my girls at our church's Craft Night on Friday (though I ended up talking more than scrapping!). I've got lots of pages to show off!

Check out my fellow Sunday Scrappers!!

FFF - Mix-n-Match Recipes

I love food. I like to cook. Sometimes I get stuck in a cooking rut and don't really branch out from the "usuals". I really like KraftFoods.com's selection of easy recipes. Here are a few that are easily adapted to your family's personal tastes (and whatever you happen to have in the fridge that night!).

Mix-n-Match Potato Casseroles

15min Mix-n-Match Kraft Dinner

Mix-n-Match Stir Fry

Mix-n-Match Grilled Cheese

Mix-n-Match Pudding Pie

WFMW - Sketches

This week's Works For Me Wednesday post is of the crafty sort. I have recently been inspired to use sketches to help create my scrapbook pages. Its a great way to take some of the guesswork out of it and be able to focus on the creative part! You can see in the pix that I just used the sketch as a guideline for the layout and made changes to make the design my own. Here are a few websites that have some great sketches to help get your creative juices flowing! Check them out!

ScrapbooksEtc

Got Sketch? by Valerie Salmon

Ally Scraps Blog

Stickers'N'Fun

WeScrap

Something of Value

I went to the library the other day to hear a woman speak about her spiritual journey while raising a son with special needs. Her book is Something of Value by Carlene Crum. My real life friend (and blog friend too) Sniz told me about it (she knew the Crum family) and thought I might be interested in hearing Carlene's story.
I'd had a really intense week with all of Joe's doctor's appointments and I was a little more emotionally raw than usual, I cried during most of her talk. Everything she said hit home with me. She talked about struggling while seeking and not finding any answers for her son's developmental problems. She shared about God blessing them by putting over 200 people into their life to help with her son's in home therapy over many years. She reminded us that the Bible says children are a blessing - it doesn't say just "normal" children are a blessing. Carlene seems like a sweet, gentle spirit. She was kind enough to talk to me for awhile after the rest of the audience had left. I immediately felt kindred to her and I shared a little about Joe and she gave some words of wisdom and encouragement. I bought her book and am looking forward to reading it over the next few weeks.

Mama says they was magic shoes. They could take me anywhere. - Forrest Gump

This week we got to pick up Joe's orthotics. The first day he only wore them for a couple of hours. Then every day we increase the ammount of time that he wears them until he ends up wearing them every waking hour. Thank goodness he is so good natured, he doesn't seem to mind being strapped into them. I think I'd be irritated like crazy to have to wear those things all the time. I imagine it feels kind of like wearing ski boots - I hated ski boots. So far they are bulky and cumbersome and I'm trying to remind myself that they will help him and it'll be worth all the hassle in the long run. Right?

Sunday Scrapping

This is my TA DA slideshow for the week. As you can see in the pictures I used sketches alot this week. They've been really helpful lately. I've really been pleased with seeing my skills develop as a scrapper. I enjoy learning from other more experienced scrapbookers. If you want to check out the other Sunday Scrappers click HERE!!

FFF - Family Films

Our family is big on movies. But I know its hard to find good movies to watch together as a family. When I was growing up there was a 15 year spread between me (oldest) and my brother (youngest) - talk about hard to please everyone's movie taste! Feature Films for Families is a great company that puts out family friendly movies for all ages and tastes. They're goal is to "strengthen traditional values through entertainment". They're even offering a Free DVD so you can try them out and see if you like what they have to offer. They even have discussion questions to help you teach your children to think critically about media and what they watch.
A couple of my favorite Feature Films for Families movies that I grew up watching are(now forgive me, these are from a long time ago!):
A Little Princess ~ This one is good for younger kids (girls), full of imagination. You may have heard of the Shirley Temple version.
Girl of Limber Lost ~ This is reminiscent of Anne of Green Gables or Little House on the Prairie - and its based in Indiana which I liked.
City Boy ~ One of the first movies that I had a crush on the actor in! Good story too, about choosing between right and wrong.
Rigoletto ~ This is a musical and I can still sing the songs to it! Its kind of a mix between Beauty and the Beast and Phantom of the Opera. But still pretty kid friendly.

WFMW - Gift

I try to give good gifts. Sometimes it works and I suppose sometimes it doesn't. But one gift that I gave recently that I think is pretty good was for a bridal shower. I actually stole the idea from my friend Jules who did it better but I'll blame it on her having more free time than me. Anyway, the gist of it is a dinner date kit. My friend Jules did a spaghetti dinner basket. She got plates and glasses from the dollar store and then etched the couple's monogram onto the dinnerware with etching cream from her local craft store.
Mine was a little simpler and it included the following: two dish towels, a box of pasta, a jar of pesto, a box of garlic breadsticks, a bottle of sparkling lemonade (I wasn't sure if they were drinkers or else I might have gotten some inexpensive wine), and two wine glasses (from the dollar store). I fluffed it all up with tissue paper in a nice basket. You could easily change it up to make a different meal, match the season or whatever you want. And that Works For Me!

Busy Week

Joe had alot going on last week. Tuesday he worked really hard during Occupational Therapy. He sat for 5min on his own and again for 8min. Then later that night he sat unassisted for sixteen minutes. That was really exciting. Not alot of people understand how big a deal that is for him and for us. His progress seems so slow to me sometimes. It does my heart good to see a milestone like this come along. He's been working really hard in therapy.
Wednesday we went downtown and he got fitted for his orthotics. They took a mold of both his feet and they will make the inserts from those. We'll get them back next week. They are plastic inserts that will help keep his ankles from turning in when he stands. We went as a family to this appointment. Nate helped pick out the design. It was fun to have him be involved in the process.
Thursday we spent a few hours at Riley while Joe got an MRI of his head and spine. Children his age have to be sedated for them to lie still enough for the doctors to get a good picture. It was so sad to see him hooked up to oxygen and being put into that huge machine. But he was a trooper and did really well with the whole thing. I was really glad when it was finally over and I could hold my little guy close again.
Friday I took Joe to IU Hospital for an EMG. They tested both his nerves and his muscles. It is kind of complicated and I'm not sure I really understand it well. The first part wasn't so bad, they used a couple of sensors to test how well his nerves send messages. Then the second part he was stuck with a very small needle and then probed around listening to his muscle movement. He was not a big fan of that part, but did really well despite his discomfort. This did not take nearly as long as the MRI - thank goodness.
Well... it was a long, draining week. We will not really know what the results of the tests mean until we see the next doctor (a genetic neurologist) in November. I have stressed alot over these procedures. I am tired from worrying and tired from running back and forth to doctors' appointments. I'm glad that we won't have anything big coming up for awhile. Thank you for your continued prayers.

More Pages

Here is my Scrapping Sunday post. Even though it was a busy week I got some good pages done. Check them out!

Oh yeah... here are two pages that I forgot to put on the slideshow.
These are my boys' ultrasound pages. I wanted them similar but different so I used some of the same papers. What do ya think?

My top 13 WFMW posts

I have found some really great tips and ideas on Works for me Wednesday. Here are my faves of this week!

Pumpkin-less Jack-o-lanterns @ Rookie Mom

Things To Do With Your Toddler @ Like A Warm Cup Of Coffee

Thrift Store Fashion @ The Messy Mom

Dusting Tip @ Cheap Therapy

Baby Step Cleaning @ Country Mommie

Snail Mail @ Baby Tunnel Exodus

Clean Up Games @ Flexible Dreams

Fun Use for Old Dish Soap Containers @ Having Fun At Home

Countdown Chain @ The Natural Mommy

Cheap & Easy Craft @ MzzTerry

Simple Tote Bag Instruction Video @ Life: Frugal & SImple

Decorating Boys' Room With Skateboards @ Shouting For Ha!

Extra Bathroom Storage @ AnnKroeker

For more Thursday Thirteen posts check it out here.

Drama Drama Drama

Something I love but don't get to enjoy very often is the theater. Not movies... but real, live actors on stages... I mean really, who doesn't love a good play!?! Well, I just found an interesting link on MoneySavingMom.com about an upcoming event. Its called Free Night of Theater and its being held in cities all over the US. Participating theaters are offering special performances to the public for FREE!! Can't beat that! Check it out - see if there is some drama happening near you!

More WFMW posts here.