The Creative Mind

There once was a pile of scrap wood, laying in a dark garage. 

It was cold on the cement.

Sometimes a little spider would creep around, running across the back of the pine, tickling his knots.

The wood didn't really like it.

He wanted to be something.

There once was a little girl that had a love for all things miniature.

Little rugs, little thimbles, little tables.

Little flowers.

Little people. 

All things little - she loved them.

There once was a storm.

There was heavy wind and hail.

Several branches were stripped of their dignity and knocked to the ground,

their fate was "mulch."

There was a creative mind...or two.

There were hammers and nails and saws and glue.

There was a whole lot of love for the stacks of pine,

the branches...but mostly...

for that sweet little girl.

It took a little time, a whole lot of patience,

some sanding and some reworking.

In the end, 

the sleepy stack of wood 

the fallen down branch

became something new.

something lovely.

The little girl's heart swelled,

the creative minds were satisfied.

“He who works with his hands is a laborer.
He who works with his hands and his head is a craftsman.
He who works with his hands and his head and his heart is an artist.” 
― Francis of Assisi

Also...a little tree painting for your Saturday. 

Some day I may learn to paint something besides birch trees...

It's just that I haven't found anything I love quite the same 

as these tall , stately, romantic creatures. 

Happy weekend!

It Will Be Christmas

We're decking the halls...bringing out the lights and wreathes, the handmade elf (on it's way to becoming a family heirloom) the snow globes and the ornaments of all shapes and sizes and glittery color - but more importantly we are preparing our hearts for the birth of our Precious Savior and what the gift of His life truly means for us....

  

Last year my Grandma Grace sent us her lovely nativity scene so it is our new tradition to first unwrap all of the delicate pieces...each one like a present all their own...and then we talk about what it would have been like that dark night so long ago...was it windy and cold or warm and balmy? Was the sky sparkling with diamond like stars or was it calm and quiet and dark .... if you listened closely could anyone hear the angels singing to the shepherds or was the choir song only for their ears? 

Christmas ... what a beautiful nostalgic time of the year. 

 “Christmas can be celebrated in the school room with pine trees, tinsel and reindeers, but there must be no mention of the man whose birthday is being celebrated. One wonders how a teacher would answer if a student asked why it was called Christmas.” 
― Ronald Reagan

We made the decision last year, when funds were quite tight, that we would use an artificial tree for the first time. I do miss going to the Christmas tree farm and finding the oh-so-perfect fir for our house, the cold noses and the mitten hands and the smell of earth in our house. But...thinking on the positives...this year I didn't have to pay for a tree at all, there is no mess to clean up...I don't have to try and wrangle 8 gloves on  8 little hands (that's a task in itself)... and the tree is still "tree like" in spirit although deep inside, I'm sure he knows he's a fake. 

The kids drank their customary cup of hot cocoa while the daddy figure twisted on the lights :)

  

Such a good man. This year we have been so blessed with extra work for Zac. He has worked a couple of side jobs stringing lights on rather large houses...with rather high roofs...risking life and limb ...for a rather pretty penny. We are blessed - the extra work has made it possible to give Brady a pretty special birthday gift in the next couple of weeks, paid for our Christmas and someone else's...God always shows His love for our family in such unexpected ways.

I gave each child their ornament for the year - they were elated and I was pleased with myself. I write the date and their names on the bottom of each ornament in hopes that when they are older they can take their own box of ornaments with them to their own homes. It's a sweet tradition and it's always fun picking out an ornament that represents their year or their personality. 

 “Our hearts grow tender with childhood memories and love of kindred, and we are better throughout the year for having, in spirit, become a child again at Christmas-time.” 
― Laura Ingalls Wilder

Since Trinity got to top the tree last year...Brady called "dibs" on the honor a few weeks ago ... he didn't forget. He said it would be Tristan's turn next year, then Finn's...and around and around we go until his turn again in the year 2017. 

I love trees that have themes or are color coordinated - but the more time that passes my favorite trees have become the ones that my kids decorate...the bunched up ornaments, the felt dinosaurs and the soccer balls and teddy bears, the bells and snow balls and all of the "baby's first Christmas" I have been given. After the kids are in bed at night and it's just me and the sparkling tree and a cup of tea, I look at the ornaments and smile and think of their little chubby hands running to the tree and almost throwing on all of the sparkle..hurrying to find out what the next ornament coming out of the box will be. I love the joy and delight and just thinking of it in the evenings makes me cry...like EVERY ...SINGLE...NIGHT! I just love my littles and this time of year. I didn't even have the heart to rearrange the tree....much. 

And then, as if Mother Nature knew that our tree was up...she brought in 8 inches or so of snow. So, we have been crafting and crafting and drinking cup of tea after cup of tea...cheese toast and apple slices...listening to Christmas Carols and wrapping gifts for others (some for ourselves. ) Trinity and I made little paper gingerbread men sprinkled with cinnamon...a fun cheap craft that we can hang from twine around our windows. 

We also dipped hands in paint, laid them flat on a paper...and then once the hand was dry each child was able to decorate their own "squad" of snowmen. I had some fake snow that they glued to the bottom of the paper...once again...a cheap craft that kids love. You can also do this idea on an ornament but it's a little bit trickier.

The stockings are hung ...I am loving Trinity's presents that she put under the tree. She spent about a hour in her room and came out with notebook and masking taped gifts for all ...I'm assuming little trinkets from her room? I love her giving spirit - not just during Christmas but all year long. Zac also loves to give gifts...there are a couple of cabinets in our house that are off limits to myself - my stocking is almost always stuffed beyond capacity. I've been known to give him a hard time about this in the past with "that's not in the budget" and "lets keep it simple and send money to homeless kids."

He says "yes" to sending the homeless kids money but "no" to my wanting him to not spend money on me. He likes to spoil me ... and i'm fine with that. Hey, someones gotta take care of me...might as well be a hunk. No complaints here. Make me a bath while you're at it.

 In case you are wondering, the giant star that you see is a paper star that I actually hung in that corner sometime ago...but I kept it there thinking it would just look like a reflection of the smaller star in front.

And what would be a snowy day without some sweet treat of sorts? I had some organic frozen peaches from Costco in the freezer so I mixed the kids up a cobbler...cinnamon oat goodness. 

Finn helped himself. And yes...I did try to dress him several times. He prefers to be "free." 

We made ornaments...which obviously requires great concentration and the tip of your tongue to be sticking out...as if it centers your mind or your balance or something special like that. 

Luigi learning to cook - working on those "life skills."

 “Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before! What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store. What if Christmas...perhaps...means a little bit more!” 
― Dr. Seuss, How the Grinch Stole Christmas!

 Here are our ornaments, catching some sun. I think they turned out cute, colorful , and childlike which is exactly what I was after. I think ornament making will have to be put on the "tradition" list...but next year we will need to start earlier so we can actually use them as gifts to others.
 

 It's still snowy outside but we are warm inside, waiting for our hero to come home (aka husband, father) and give us word of the outside world :)  I think he has a special surprise in store for the two older kids so I will stay in while Finn naps and sip tea and admire my tea (okay okay...and maybe fold some laundry while I'm admiring....) and I will think on my gifts that God gives to me everyday with my heath, my wealth, my little loves...a warm home with luxuries like heat and pots and pans, a cabinet of food, slippers and sweaters and black olives and soap and even paper towels when I'm not being "green" ... and I will thank Him for His Son and will try to not take my blessings for granted. 

“And when we give each other Christmas gifts in His name, let us remember that He has given us the sun and the moon and the stars, and the earth with its forests and mountains and oceans--and all that lives and move upon them. He has given us all green things and everything that blossoms and bears fruit and all that we quarrel about and all that we have misused--and to save us from our foolishness, from all our sins, He came down to earth and gave us Himself.” 
― Sigrid Undset

A Day in a Post...or..What One Does When Her Husband is Away

  So, pinterest has been my friend lately. It isn't that I've been using a lot of the ideas I've been finding...but browsing all of the craftiness has been inspiring me to be creative - to get back into my "Alyssaness."
  Today was a good day...a good mama day. It's the evening and my little are all tucked in and I feel like I did my job...well. It's one thing to be a caretaker - to take care of their simple needs (that don't always feel so simple) ..the food, the brushing teeth, the reading lessons and the addends and sums and differences. Sometimes it's just about all I can manage...the simple/grinding sometimes pleasant sometimes not stuff. Then there are days where I just do the simple stuff because I don't feel inspired or energetic or creative or I just have the "I don't want to's." I admit (not readily) that often I don't push myself enough to be more than a caretaker. A mama is just more...it's the truth...a mama does more than just "be". A mama listens to their hearts, a mama is patient and consistent, a mama holds hands and reads stories and giggles. A mama dances in the kitchen and takes the time to fill their bellies with nourishing YUMMY good food...a mama teaches her babies about God's love and how much He loves them...how He knew them and pieced them together and made them exactly the way He wanted them to be. A mama takes time...sometimes for things that are boring or tedious or not on the schedule. A mama praises and encourages - a mama points out flowers and airplanes and birds and butterflies. A mama find rolly pollys. A mama cherishes more than the just the physical child but the child's heart, the character, the mind.
 I heard once that the mother is the spirit of the home -and I believe it. Generally, it's up to the mother what kind of family life there is, what kind of food everyone eats, what kind of hobbies can be pursued - like in the movie My Big Fat Greek Wedding "the man may be the head of the home, but the woman is the neck...and she can turn the head which ever way she wants it to go." A woman decides the tone of the home.
 I've been praying for love...lots and lots of love and patience and kindness. I've been praying for respect for my kids....to speak to them the way EVERYONE deserves to be spoken to. This morning I woke up, and I was just so excited about the day and what could be done. And so it began...here is our day in pictures. :)

  School work first..the kids knew their spelling lists already so we went ahead and did spelling tests two days early...stickers on charts and smiles all around and a new list started. Bible Memory...same story. The kids knew their verse early so stickers on charts and smiles all around. Then math and reading and a you tube video on Dr. Martin Luther King....and I decided that was enough. On to better things ... like pear deliciousness. Trinity and I found a recipe online and we cooked up snack. It was pretty yummy and simple (don't you just love recipes that use ingredients that you already have on hand?)

  We made a pot of tea and all sat down together ... fun conversation and another opportunity to work on manners. We used this recipe - it was tasty and perfect and light to go with our English Breakfast.

  Trinity and I had found a rather large canvas at the thrift store this past weekend and so we decided it was time to brave a project that we had found on pintrest. This project made me fall in love with my hot glue gun all over again...it's a good love. To do this project you need a whole bunch of crayons (we ripped each crayon paper down about a quarter of the way), some tacky glue or hot glue, a canvas, a piece of contact paper and a hair dryer. We cut a heart out of contact paper and stuck it to the middle of the canvas. I put a little hot glue on the top of the heart.....then we turned on the old blow dryer and melted the crayons just enough so they would start dripping down the canvas.

  After all the crayons were partially melted we peeled off the contact paper and painted in our heart with blue acrylic (the heart on pinterest was white but ours didn't really show up since our crayons didn't run all the way down the canvas. Bug monitored Squirrels progress while stealing some of mama's leftover pear goodness (please note I didn't clean up our snack stuff before going on to the art project...I'm learning to let a mess just "sit. Three cheers for me are in order here.)

  This was Trin's first time painting with acrylics and she totally caught the painting bug.

  After the paint dried I wrote in the word "love" --- also not something done on the pintrest one. It was a fun project but the blow dryer was a little too powerful and caused some of the wax to mix together and kind of spatter all over the place. Thankfully I had put a drop cloth down...and now that I'm actually typing this out I realize I could have turned the dryer on "low." Oops. I still really like it.

  I found a place for it next to my "black and white" wall (another work in progress...I hope to have the entire wall covered in black and white prints of our family.)

  After the painting and lunch and clean up Trin asked me if I could please teach her to paint a tree. So, on to another project and she did very very well. Brady is modeling our family art gallery --- he is currently into making ghoulish expressions in his photos (he finds it humorous and laughs his head off at himself.)

  You can kind of see her tree in the corner there...isn't it good?!

  So then there was the kids rest time and I started to clean the kitchen and get to the laundry, and as I was putting away the dishes I started thinking about how I would love a bit of change in the kitchen...so I located the drill and took off the cabinet doors. I know I know ... it's just the way I am. I want to see my pretty dishes, I want depth, I want color...and I live in a rental and can't paint of tear stuff out of the walls - so this was my best option. When the kids got up they thought I had gone insane "you're taking the doors off?" Brayden cried "won't all the dishes just fall out on us?!" I assured him that , no, the doors don't actually hold the dishes in place, the shelves do. He relaxed.

  Then it was time to water Big Ike...

 ...and I was greeted with lots and lots of goodness. Bounty. Yes...I like that word...bounty.

  It's so pleasant having plants...especially ones that give you something almost on a daily basis. It's like if you're a bit lonely, you can just go visit your friend, the plant. Big Ike will greet you with a tangy scent and his weepy branches (my tomato plant is a him, because frankly...I just don't think a female plant should be that large)...and then will invite you on a treasure hunt...where you can lift up his long arms and search and search for bright reds and oranges and yellows. What he gives to you is good, it's a perfect nutritious gift and it's useful...you can walk away and say "I'll be back tomorrow Ike with a drink" and he will most likely welcome me with a gift. Someday when I have a garden with more than one plant I will probably be in a state of bliss all summer...and most likely I won't know *lonely*.

  And then, watching my boys play - rowdy loud play...the kind boys are good at. Oh, and goodness me, what happened to that little bug's pants?! His mother must have been off melting crayons or picking tomatoes or unscrewing cabinet doors or something. Excuse the nakedness dear readers ... kind of comes with the territory around here (and just between you and me, if not being "lude"  wasn't the law of the land...I would ditch my clothes too. It's been warm here folks.)

  Looks like  he also stole some one's hat. No shoes, no shirt, no problem.

  So, to end my rather long day in a post...this is how my kitchen came out. My Aubrey gave me that Audrey Hepburn poster awhile ago (the one you can barely see over the laundry area.) When we were growing up we both had a deep love for all things vintage, and Breakfast at Tiffany's was one of those loves. One  summer school break Aubrey sent me a mixed tape with the song "Moon River" on it...and since then it has remained "my song" between us. Thus...the awesome thrifted poster find. See that microwave area with all the clutter? That's my next project - stay tuned.

  See why I needed to see my dishes? Isn't it all shiny and colorful and full of ... depth? Yes, thanks...I agree.

  And since the day wasn't full enough, Trinity decided to lose a tooth during her watermelon/almond dinner. The boys were all very proud of her and applauded her bravery (Brayden was a little hurt that the tooth fairy wouldn't be visiting him tonight too.)

  Before bed I decided that I need to, errr...water my *stolen* moss as Trin calls it. I didn't steal it...I found it in a forest...that may or may not have been ...a  National one. I just love moss so much...it's so very green and squishy and is the essence of "earth." I let Trin decorate it with pebbles and then sent her off for rest time. I wasn't quite satisfied with the moss display...it lacked....something. hmmmmm.

  Ah...that's it. That's exactly what it was lacking. I can't help myself ... I get an idea and i have to go all in. There I was in the garage at 7:30 pm hacking away a long thick cardboard tube with Zac's saw, and then constructed a roof out of cardboard from our recycling bin. Then I had to find sticks and break them all in little lengths to THEN hot glue (remember my old/new love?) and then a fresh coat of paint and I was mostly satisfied.

The day was full...of just the right stuff. Home baked goodness and tea, naked giggling babies and smart blue eyed boys with special thoughts...fairy villages and new spaces and art ...and lots and lots of love. I am blessed by simple good things in a not so simple life...and I am thankful.
What did you do today?

Craft Tutorial : Paper bag pocket book !

I was looking for kid crafts online the other day...one that I actually would have ALL of the materials for....and found this idea. I don't have the link for the original...but Trinity and I made a tutorial of our own! Enjoy and get creative...frugally!

I let Trinity decorate this one with cut outs from her coloring book and she made up all the words...I wrote them. :) Wouldn't it be cute with pictures of recipes on the pages and the recipe written on the "hidden note"? Another idea is for Valentines day with hidden love notes and heart stickers and flowers maybe cut out of magazines? At Christmas or birthdays it could be decorated with pictures of family or friends with gift cards or dollar bills tucked inside the pockets....heck, a pair of socks would probably fit!