Project 365, week 1

Trying to simplify a little today. Saw this link on Ali Edward's blog about the "Four Laws of Simplicity." It was great to read-- very inspiring in a hey-I-can-do-this kind of way.

I started on this process earlier today by taking down my Christmas decorations (including my tree). I think this is the longest that I've ever left it up! As I went through my stuff I decided that whatever didn't get put up/out this year, would be gotten rid of. Easier said than done, however. Do I get rid of the old stockings that I made when we first got married and when each baby arrived (even though I made new ones this year that we didn't use)? And what about the tree skirt that my mom made me over 10 years ago (that I don't really like anymore)? There's way too much guilt that comes with possessions, don't you think? So, these items I did pack up with my stuff-- I figure I can deal with them next year. But I did get rid of some other stuff-- ornaments and the like. And that, along with a clean house, feels really good.

So, I decided with the new year that I would participate in Project 365-- take a picture every day this year (which, now that I think about it should be Project 366, because it's a leap year.) So here are my pictures from the first seven days 2008:


I started off the New Year with some new-year-cleaning. I tackled my kitchen-- organizing and wiping down cabinets, etc.


Sage, at the bottom of our basement stairs waiting patiently for me to go with her upstairs.


Jonah & Cameron watching TV in the evening.


My scrap table.


We took the kids tobbogganing on Saturday morning and one of Austin's friends joined us. I just love their faces when they're sledding-- I never have to ask them to smile!


This one I took through Sage's bedroom window. I love the spray of snow.

An aside: I don't have a "snow setting" on my camera. I'm just wondering what settings I should use on my camera (ISO, WB, etc.) to take better pictures outside in winter. The snow always looks blue and their jackets look grainy. Any advice would be very much appreciated.


And today's shot-- back to school. I didn't realize how well my boys' jackets and backpacks coordinated with each other! :)

Something to think about...

I saw this quote on Ali Edwards' blog today and it struck me:

"Language does have the power to change reality. Therefore, treat your words as the mighty instruments they are - to heal, to bring into being, to remove, as if by magic, the terrible violations of childhood, to nurture, to cherish, to bless, to forgive - to create from the whole cloth of your soul, true love." Daphne Rose Kingma

A good reminder of the power of words (& tone) in my life. How people's words affect me and how my words affect others. Especially the precious little people God has placed in my life.

So, today, will my words bring death or life (healing, encouragement & love)?

January kit

Here are the layouts (& cards) that I created with the January kit this month at MSS:



















Thanks for looking!

A list for 2008

Instead of new year's resolutions this year, I was inspired by this blog, to create a list. But instead of a life list, like she did, I thought I'd like to make a list of things that I'd like to do in 2008.

So here it is:

1. Lose 20 lbs (and keep it off!)
2. Go on the Women’s Retreat at church
3. Go on a spa day with Darlene
4. Install new carpeting and paint my basement
5. Do something creative with the canvases I bought
6. Go on a car trip with my family
7. Sleep in a tent with my kids
8. Get a new swimsuit
9. Make a new advent calendar for next Christmas
10. Be on time more often
11. Volunteer regularly in the boys’ classes
12. Sign up for Tae Kwon Do with Austin
13. Make crafts with Sage
14. Do the mosaic puzzle that I got a few years ago
15. Plant sunflowers in my garden
16. Go away for a night with some friends
17. Have friends over for supper
18. Join a couples’ Bible study/care group
19. Send notes of encouragement
20. Be more on top of things
21. Say no when someone asks me to do something (at least once!)
22. Get a new bike
23. Go to reading time at the library with Sage
24. Walk to school more often
25. Get a new winter jacket with matching ski pants
26. Take my kids ice skating
27. Go to a movie at the theatre
28. Take a picture everyday (Project 365)
29. Scrapbook
30. Go on a date with Cameron—just the two of us
31. Learn how to download songs from iTunes
32. Spend time with my kids one-on-one
33. Learn how to use my camera better
34. Go to a movie at the drive-in
35. Spend more time outdoors
36. Plan another 5km Walk/Run/Ride for the Congo
37. Participate in #36 by running
38. Organize my house
39. Play the piano
40. Simplify

#40 is my word for 2008. I talked to Cameron about it last night. Right now, for me it means to make decisions on what we need and don't need in our lives right now. But I'm sure throughout the course of the year, it will evolve. I'm kind of excited to see what it teaches me.

A recap of 2007

In our church service this evening, we were asked to draw a picture as a family depicting our past year and where we saw God's fingerprint in our lives.

That one took me a little bit to think about. Our year wasn't overly exciting. Not a lot of ups and downs like some families shared. I wasn't quite sure what to draw.

But then I thought about what God has shown me this past year. And what stood out to me was this: faith at home. How I was going to lead my children spiritually in our home. And for us, this meant incorporating family devotion times, praying together, sharing high/lows of the day/week and blessing my kids every night before bed.

And then I thought about my word for 2007, which was joy.

And I'm not sure if I became a more joyful person in 2007, but I do know that I've found a lot of joy in spending time with my kids in doing the above-- sharing my faith with them.

So I think that's something pretty cool about 2007.

Here's a photo collage of our past year-- we've truly been blessed:

Happy New Year!

Holiday Wrap Up

I can't believe the holidays passed by so quickly! Here 's what we did...

For Advent, a friend of mine from church lent us a book called Jotham's Journey, which is a book designed to read one chapter a day until Christmas. Austin especially enjoyed it. We finished it up Christmas eve.



For the first time ever, we let the kids open their gifts from us on Christmas eve after our church service. The kids all loved their presents (so good!), especialy Jonah, who got some more cars from the movie Cars for his collection.



On Christmas day, we drove to Winnipeg in the morning for gift opening and brunch at my mom's. Both of my brothers and their families were there this year, which was great!

Living in Nanaimo, my SIL Cheryl doesn't get to enjoy snow like we do, so we went outside and sledded with the kids.





And indoors, we enjoyed a puzzle, a game of cards and each other's company.



On Boxing Day, we went to my MIL's for Christmas with Cam's family. The highlights there were listening to the kids perform...

and the snowball fight outside later.

My twin brother Chris, his wife Cheryl and my mom drove out to Morden to visit us on Thursday. It was nice to spend more time with them. (Was sorry that it ended on such a sour note, though!)

We had friends over Thursday and Friday evenings. I just love having people over during the holidays!

Yesterday, Cameron and I took the kids to the outdoor rink to go skating.

We sure had fun over the holidays. How about you?

Merry Christmas!

Sorry I haven't updated in a while. I got a bit of the flu last week and didn't feel like doing anything except lie on the couch and watch Kim Possible with my kids.

I'm feeling better now, though, and am very thankful!

We're not doing too much today. I took the kids to run a few errands in town and we ended up going to Walmart and Superstore to try to find some black tights for Sage. Unfortunately, we were unsuccessful. The stores were crazy!

A little last minute cleaning & stuff this afternoon, then we'll go out for supper before attending our church's Christmas eve service. After the service, we told the kids that they can open their gifts from us.

Then tomorrow morning, we'll drive to my mom's in Winnipeg (about 1 1/2 hours away) and spend the day there. I'm reallly excited, because both of my brothers are out, with my SIL and nephew. We haven't all been together since Xmas 2005, so it'll be good.

On Boxing Day, we'll go to the farm and spend the day with Cam's mom, sister, brother in law, nephew and nieces. That should also be a great day.

Then my twin brother and his wife are coming to visit on Thursday.

What a week-- should be good!

I'd like to wish you all a very merry Christmas and a 2008 filled with joy & peace!

J.A.M. Christmas program

Yesterday morning, in church, our preschool kids, J.A.M. (which stands for Jesus And Me) put on their Christmas program at the front of the church. Both Sage and Jonah participated. They were so cute! Sage loved singing on stage and Jonah did a super job of playing Joseph (except for the few large yawns he had-- mental note: put them to bed earlier next year the night before the concert!) and he delivered his solo line perfectly!

The Christmas Dress

Last year, I looked for a Christmas dress for Sage to wear to church and to our Christmas gatherings. I pictured black velvet on the top with a full taffeta skirt in a rich shade of red or burgandy. But, all I could find were sleeveless dresses (in Southern Manitoba-- I don't think so!) So, I settled for a black and red plaid jumper.

Then, this year, after Halloween, Sage and I went to Walmart to check out the leftover costumes. I didn't find anything I liked, so we walked around the store a little.

And there, in the girl's department, I saw it...

The perfect Christmas dress!

So, I bought it for Sage and she LOVES it! :)

Isn't it beautiful?

Explanation for how to make the stars

I had a request for instructions on how to make the Christmas star ornaments that I posted earlier this week. I should tell you that I got the instructions originally from Marcy at My Scrap Shoppe, but I couldn’t find her post to link to here.

That said…

You will need:

A 6x6 inch piece of patterned paper
A ruler, bone-folder, stapler, scissors, hot glue gun and hole punch
Some string or embroidery thread

Instructions:

1. Place the piece of pp on a table (I use my measured-off self-healing mat.) At one inch intervals, use the bone folder to score lines on the patterned paper. (You’ll make five lines.)

2. Accordion-fold the patterned paper along the scored lines.

3. Then fold it in half and staple it in place.

4. At each end of the folded patterned paper, cut at a sharp angle, with the tip being on the outside fold.

5. Open up the star.

6. Hot glue the sides in place.

7. Punch a hole in the top and tie a string and voilà!

Good use for scraps

I went through my box of scrap paper and made a pile of these:





They're fairly quick & easy to make. Austin and Jonah brought one for each of the kids in their classes to school and I gave one (attached to a box of chocolates) to each of our R.O.X. volunteers. So I probably made just over one hundred of them.

A great way to use up some of my scraps!

7 random things about me

I've seen this on a few blogs lately, including my friend Heather, so I thought I'd play along. So here are seven random things about me:

1. When it comes to doing the laundry, I actually like the sorting part of it. I enjoy putting all the colours together, the darks together, the whites together, etc. However, I dislike the folding and putting away. I can put off these tasks for hours (or even days!)

2. I don’t like coffee, tea, or hot apple cider. The only hot beverage that I’ll drink is hot chocolate.

3. If I could buy a brand-new vehicle for me (& only me), I would buy a mini-cooper.

4. I love to read. I try to read everyday. Mostly fiction.

5. I’m usually cold. At night, I sleep in flannel jammies and socks, with three or four blankets covering me. And even then, my back still feels cold. But I wake up warm.

6. I love being bilingual and being able to think in English and French. Sometimes I’ll know the word in French first and then have to translate it into English.

7. My dream job would be to be the voice of an animated character.

So, if you're reading this, feel free to play along, too. :)

Christmas decorating

So, I think I have all of my decorating done for Christmas.



I added these decorations to my front door and God added the snow!

Our tree:



The blue ornaments I bought blend into our tree a little (I didn't think about the fact that we have a blue spruce!), but I love how the red ornaments just pop! Here's the tree skirt I made:



And the stockings:



Cameron thought that they weren't very Christmas-y (i.e. they aren't red and green) but I love how they match my decor. I painted chipboard letters with MM acrylic paint and then stamped with white ink on them:



More decorating in the living/dining room:






And, my advent calendar:



I'm actually a little tired of it. I made it probably nine or ten years ago, before kids. I'd love to make a new one, but they kids love the pocket idea.

I saw this idea online and LOVED it, but I don't have anywhere to put it. So I was thinking of somehow combining the beautiful tag idea with pockets, maybe clear ones, and using small envelopes to tuck the notes into. Oh well, it won't be for this year, that's for sure, so I have a while to work on it before Advent 2008.

There are some things that I've done in the past, like put garland with lights above my kitchen cabinets, but I don't think I'll do this year. I am such a less is more decorator!