Passport to Summer Fun

Last year we did a "craft camp" with a few families from our homeschool group and church.  We had a great time but were limited to the number of people that we could include because we took turns meeting in each other's homes.  This year we decided to try something a little different so that we could invite more friends to join us in our summer fun!

I was inspired by this Simply Homemade post and Heather @ WellCreatedLife's Summer Passport Printable.  I loved the passport to fun idea and I liked the ability to involve more of our friends in our summer activities.  I proceeded to create a facebook group for the purposes of planning our group's summer activities.  Here is the idea:

This group is for the purpose of sharing activities together this summer. People will take turns planning (and posting) events and whoever can come can come.
We will kick things off with a craft day so the kids can make their own "passports" and then us moms can help them put "stamps" in them as we do different activities throughout the summer.
Here are just a few ideas of things that we could do:
hiking, VBS, swimming, zoo day, camping, beach day, road trip, bike ride, blueberry picking, library programs, fishing... and so much more!
Feel free to start planning events when you're ready! I'm looking forward to getting together with you all soon!

If you are looking for something less involved here are a couple of great summer fun printables:

HelloBee's Summer Fun List

Ami's Summer Bucket List Printable

JoyEverAfter's Summer Fun Circles

Many more on Pinterest

Looking forward to lots of good times with our friends this summer!  What fun activities will your summer plans include?

 

Proverbs 17:22 - "A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones."

For the Love of Books

I have a huge love of books.  Especially when I can get them cheap at yard sales or Goodwill.   Almost an addiction.  I can't help myself.  Really.   I have stacks of books that I am waiting to have the time to read.  Someday I will either gift them or get around to reading them.  ;-)  Anyway, I thought I would share with you a few of our favorite titles.

 

I saw this picture on Great Homeschool Conventions' facebook page the other day.

Isaac's Faves:

The Brothers Karamazov - by Fyodor Dostoevsky

Mere Christianity - C.S. Lewis

Orthodoxy - G.K. Chesterton

Wani's Faves:

Anne of Green Gables

Chronicles of Narnia

Hunger Games

Professionalizing Motherhood

Nate's Faves:

Harry Potter (only the first two)

Moby Dick 

The Magic Treehouse books

Nate the Great

*Nathaniel Willy Scared Silly

Joe's Faves:

Creepy Crawly Calypso

*Josiah's School Fun Day

Christine's Faves:

Chrysanthemum

*Kangaroo Christine

 *A couple of Christmases ago I got on Amazon and searched for children's books with the kids' names in the titles.  I was so happy with the books that I found.  So perfect!  Joe's book is even about a boy in a wheelchair.  Precious! 

This picture and quote I found on Free Range Learning's facebook page.

Well, that just scratches the surface of the reading we do here.  What are some of your favorite books?  I am always looking for a good read!  ;-)

Srawberry Pickin'

We had the pleasure to spend the morning with some wonderful friends at a local farm this morning.  The kids romped up and down the rows of strawberries picking the ripest (after some coaching) berries and enjoying the beautiful day.

  

 Do those strawberries look delicious or what?  I can't wait to make shortcake... and smoothies... and jam... and pie... and muffins... and I don't know, something else yummy!

Here is our whole group: four mommies, one "auntie", four girls and nine boys! 

Bags, bags and more bags!

I've been waiting since early fall to post these!! I did not want to spoil the surprise for my friends and family who received them as Christmas gifts!

I got most of my fabric on sale at Hobby Lobby or JoAnn's - I don't think I paid full price for anything... as usual! ;-)

This is the "One Hour Bag" from Rick-Rac.

This is the Japanese Knot Bag from Helen Heath.

This is modified from Lula's Reversible Shoulder Bag and Tiny Happy's Shoulder Bag.

These were made from Better Homes & Garden's pattern: Simple Six Pocket Tote

These boys' messenger bags were for my nephews and I used this tutorial from Snazzorama. This was easier than I thought and I'll probably be using it again.
After making several bags I started modifying and making up my own patterns. Here are a few of those bags.
This one was made with scraps from another project and a pair of jeans that had a whole in them. The back pockets of the jeans are actually the inside pockets of the bag. Or the outside pockets if you wanted to use it reversible.
I have really enjoyed putting my creative and craftiness to good use making gifts this year. And I love sharing it on the blog for others to see and maybe even learn from. I have tons of blogs that I love checking for ideas. Sometimes they'll have giveaways of their projects and others' as well. One such giveaway is being held on Our Dandelion Wishes. Check it out!

Girly Room!

My baby girl is seven months old! Ah! I guess its about time I posted pix of her bedroom makeover! ;-)
This is the only "before" picture I could find of Christine's room. It had been a music room for Isaac awhile ago - you can kind of see the guitar hooks on the wall. But gradually it just became the catch-all room. We were barely able to walk through the room a few months ago - that is how much stuff had accumulated. Just miscellaneous knick-knacks and pieces of furniture that no longer had a "home" found their way into this room. Finally enough was enough and we tackled it!


It was not a quick project. We gradually got rid of the unneeded items and the "keepers" found their way into better places (closets, the garage...). Then came the painting and trimming.
Finally we completed the transformation of the old music room (turned catch all room) into a adorable girly bedroom for my sweet Christine.

List of craftiness in the room: I painted a rug that we already had to match the colors in the room. I made the bunting valances using the tutorial found HERE - though I skipped the interfacing and used bias tape instead of ribbon.
My friend Lehi sent me a link on facebook for these flowers. As cute as they were I had to find somewhere to use them, so I incorporated the same fabric from the valances and made one to embellish the "C" hanging between the windows.
List of deals in the room: The bedding was bought from a friend for $20 (she had gotten it on craigslist and ended up not using it after all). A few of the accessories I already had, the rest I found on clearance at Hobby Lobby, JoAnn's and even Good Will. The loveseat was free from friends at church. The rocker was Isaac's parents when he was a baby.



Linking up to ThriftyDecorChick's Show Us Your Kids' Room!

My Thanksgiving Happy List ;-)

Psalms 92:1- "It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord, and to sing praises unto thy name, O most High"

I am thankful for my beautiful children. My husband and family. My great friends that I have been blessed with. My life is not always what i thought it would be. Sometimes I feel like I have to remind myself how blessed I am. The struggles are harder to ignore than the blessings are. Sad but true. Anyway, today I am focusing on the blessings.

T-Shirt Re-Fashion!

My girlfriend Lehi and I have been link happy on facebook lately posting crafty sites to eachother often and we finally got together to actually DO one of those creative projects! We had been looking at a couple of t-shirt refashions in particular that had caught our eye.

Some girls had posted about their group of friends getting together and doing the craft together and we thought they had the right idea! So after our kiddos were in bed we got to business following the instructions on this blog (similar tutorial on this one too). We started with 2 plain Ts (pictured above - this is my overly dramatic "before" look ;-), one for wearing and the other for cutting up to make the embellishment. We both got our shirts at Target for $2-3 dollars each.
We cut out dozens of little "flower-ettes", then sewed and scrunched them before tediously attaching them to the shirt.


It took awhile to find the desired shape but I think I'm finally content with how it looks. Though I hope it looks better with jeans than w/ my pj pants! ;-)

Finally.... Girls Weekend!!

Its been a busy weekend/week around here! First - Thursday evening a few of us went to the airport to welcome back my friend, Jess. She has been a nanny to a military family in Germany since the beginning of the year. We have missed her terribly and are very thankful for a visit, albeit a short one. Nate has been anxiously awaiting her arrival and helped make a "welcome home Jess" sign to mark her return. She has been suffering from a cold and serious jet-lag but will probably have adjusted to the time difference around the time she will be returning to Germany for another two months.

Friday and Saturday was our church ladies retreat in Brown County. Even though I was a little under the weather I was still able to enjoy a great time of fellowship and teaching and sharing. It is always good to get together with other women and be reminded that the struggles that we are going through are not necessarily unique. We all share similar trials and God wants us to learn from one another and lean on one another. We heard some great messages on contentment. Something that we all struggle with at times (or all the time!).

And of course there was also our annual girls weekend (but its kind of during the week this time but that's ok! ;-) "My girls" from college and I get together around New Year's usually but Jess was out of the country so we moved our get together until this week. They all crashed on our couches Sat-Wed. We got in some good visiting, got to go out to my parents' farm and try out some new toys, went to the Children's Museum, out to dinner at The Claddaugh (before the St. Patty's Day rush), did alot of cooking, eating and watching chick flicks... you know, the usual. ;-)

As crazy as the last week has been, I'm very thankful for the blessing of girl-time! I love the women that God has placed in my life and don't know what I would do without them!!