I'm Back :o)

I am back from my extended bloggy break. I not only took a break from here, but we took a break from school too. I have to say, it was so nice :o) We had family in for Thanksgiving and we were all able to get together for 3 nights in a row! We ate, played games, and just enjoyed one another.

We have done a modified school week this week, very modified, as in just math for book work and some DVD's from the library. This week got cold and it was nice to just stay in our cozy house and watch movies. We watched a National Geographic on Grand Central Station, a movie about the Great Wall of China, and a Frontline about Mormonism. Very interesting stuff :o)

I am making Christmas gifts this week too. Simply Susan had a Quilt wall hanging tutorial a few months back and I used some Christmas fabric to make one. It is turning out so cute! I will take pics next time.

Simplifying Laundry

I am SO loving my new laundry system!!! I just can't say enough about it! In a previous post, I told you about my new Home Management Binder. I have just completed my second week with my laundry system. I only have to wash Monday-Thursday for all 8 of us. We always have clean clothes and I am not stressed having to laundry over the weekend, which = more time with my family.

Here is another "good problem" to have. We just plain have too much stuff! This past week was kitchen week and yesterday I cleaned out all the bottom cabinets in my kitchen. Wow! For example, I condensed this:

To this:

This cabinet and drawer are right next to the sink. I have about 10 regular dish towels here and 4 of the bigger size that I like to use for laying wet dishes on after washing. In the drawer, there are about 10 dishcloths. I may have gone overboard :o) Just in case I got rid of too many, I did keep some back in a grocery bag. I will re-evaluate on Tuesday, when I wash towels. If it works out, the bag goes out!

Ahhh....so freeing! Simplifying. I will be weeding out our clothes also. I am on no time schedule. I will do it as I go with the laundry. We simply have too much. When you have a hard time shutting drawers, finding hangers, etc...just because all the laundry is clean, then you have too much!

I thought of another idea too. Since I have no laundry to do on Friday, I had scheduled Fridays to clean the laundry room. I decided to make that my sewing/mending day too! Since I will have a clean laundry room, I will have room to sew!! No more dragging my sewing machine upstairs to the dining room; I now have a place. Our house is somehow getting bigger lol.

Why didn't I think of all this 15 years ago?

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to all you moms out there! My daughters and I attended our home church's (Bible Baptist Church) Mother/Daughter Luncheon today and had a good time. The lunch was good and there were ladies that gave testimonies about their mothers. We also had a Spring Fashion Show (more about that later). After quickly changing back into my regular clothes after the fashion show, I walked into the sanctuary to find my 14 year old daughter up on the stage ready to give a testimony about me! She, my husband, and the pastor's wife have known about this for weeks! She said some very kind things about me, thanking me for being a patient, loving, teaching mom; I only wish that I were those things all the time. I fall short.

Now for the fashion show. Have you ever read any of the Amelia Bedelia books? Amelia Bedelia takes everything very literally. Our fashion show included a nylon dress, seersucker dress, Sundress, etc... I was a "tea length dress".

My daughter took this pic at the "show". I am holding a red teapot and passed out teabags on my way down from the stage. She took this one too, to be able to better see my "tea length" dress. I took an old jumper and sewed on the teacup ribbon and various teabags and packaging. Notice my teabag necklace? I cannot believe that I walked in front of 100+ people wearing this! It was a lot of fun!

Been Busy!

A Woman Sewing in an Interior
Whew! I have been busy! We are getting ready for our vacation to Williamsburg! The girls wanted new colonial dresses this year but funds did not allow. I told them if they could find enough material in our many sewing tubs, then I could make new dresses. They did it! I did not realize how much material I have accumulated over the years! The only thing that I had to purchase were the zippers and some lace and here is what we have:

Years ago, my pastors wife taught me how to sew. What a blessing she was! She gave me a gift. I pray that I can be a blessing to other ladies, as I am now a pastors wife myself. No one told me it would be difficult! I have stumbled along the way and have a long way to go. Only by God's grace...

It will be nice to get away for a little while with my family. We are eager for some fun, education, meeting new people (we are going on a large family retreat), and some plain, old "down" time with just us. BUT, there is no place like home :o)