And then he was free

Back in June, we brought a jar of tadpoles home from our vacation at our family's cabin. 

The little black tadpoles morphed quickly and were promptly released as uber-tiny peeper frogs.  The much larger brownish-green tadpole has been morphing all summer in the aquarium on the dining room table.  It's been fascinating for us to watch him.  (Even Blossom4 called, "Fahhh, FAHHHH," when we'd peer into his tank.)

(Photo Credit to Blossom1)

Since yesterday was the last warm day we'll probably have for a while, we released him (ahem, his name is PolyFrog), even though he still had his tail.  He took off swimming and jubilantly hopping on golden submerged leaves. 

Since my childhood rang with strains of "Bullfrogs and butterflies, we've both been born again..." I've always thought of tadpoles as representatives of salvation.  While I think that those are good examples, they are not perfect examples.  This little guy's morph process took months.  Salvation is a change that comes in an instant, at the moment of the heart's surrender.  That's the miracle God does in us.  It's like no other phenomenon in nature.  And, it's a beautiful work I continue to pray for my lost loved ones to experience. 

Even a 4 yr old needs a good hot meal

I love it when the Lord gives a moment of inspiration. 

Leading our children in devotions is something that is important to me.  I want them to know that it's normal for a Christian to feed their spirit.  Actually, recently I told the Blossoms that the dean of our Bible School always explained it this way,

"Some people feed their bodies three hot meals a day, but then, they feed their spirit a snack.  Feed your spirit good hot meals!" 

Being that we regularly eat regular wholesome meals, it was a good lesson for the girlies.  Nourish your spirit well!  Don't just snack spiritually! 

Today, I watched Blossom1 and Blossom2 read their Bibles after breakfast and I realized that Blossom3 was tired of waiting for me to have a little time with God so that I could then read her Bible to her.  I suddenly remembered the fabulous free audio feature on my (highly recommended) Bible app, "YouVersion."  I led her to a comfy chair, handed her my Kindle and pushed play.  She happily listened chapters of Luke being read while Mommy had some time with God.  When I was done, I sat down and read her Bible to her.  (I still like the one-on-one time.)  We then continued with the rest of our girlie devotional time. 

I hope you see my heart here... sharing this isn't a means of bragging about our home life.  The moment of inspiration (from the Lord!) reminded me how many terrific tools we have at our fingertips to help us in our pursuit of Godliness.  The time the girlies and I have with God is something that is constantly being adapted to suit their ages.  The important thing is to use the tools we have and just keep at it.

A Magic Basket

Back in the day, all my creative paper-crafting supplies fit into one shoe box.  My sister, who was my roommate at the time, dubbed it "The Magic Box."  I've since applied the concept of all supplies in one place to other things.  My cleaning bucket is also marked, "The Magic Bucket."  Although, it may be in the hope that the magic would work and I wouldn't have to clean the bathroom.  (I digress...)

Going into the school year, I made one small change that's made a world of difference for working with three children at different times, with different needs every day.  I call it, (Drum roll, please), "The Magic Basket."

I decided I was tired of sitting down to work with one of the Blossoms, only to jump up for a pen, a highlighter, the stopwatch or some other such miscellaneous item.  The Magic Basket is my brilliant solution.  Since we have about 40 days of school in, I can safely say that it is working wonderfully for me. 

I snagged a small basket from the Dollar Tree and stocked it with the following:

- mason jar of pens, highlighters and dry-erase markers
- small notebook
- every size of sticky note that I'd ever need
- index cards
- dry eraser
- pink eraser
- small pencil sharpener
- timer
- stopwatch
- tape
- cough drop
- tissues (though they weren't in the pic)
- small white spanking spoon (also not shown)
- white out
- extra ponytail holders
- extra clippies

The Rugged Mountain Man pointed out that this was a great idea, until Blossom4 gets into it.  I store this in a drawer when not in use.  When it is in use, it is right by my side.  So far, so good.  Maybe this little solution could work for you.

One Shirt Alert: Avon

It's another one shirt alert!  I realize that this one's a little chilly for tanks, but I'm still getting a ton of use out of these jewel-toned beauties. 

https://www.avon.com/product/51219/lace-accented-tank-pack

For $29.99, you get FOUR tanks.  The purple, pink and teal tanks are one shirt wonders!  (The white is a little too see through for one shirt wear, but still wonderfully usable for layering.)  They are vintage soft and also a bit thin (which explains the white see-through problem), but still great to wear by themselves.  I love the flattering neckline, the lace accent on the shoulders and the perfect length.  Since I've been using them for layering, I'm able to get so much more use out of stuff that was sitting in my closet.  (I'm doing a happy dance right now.)  I did notice that the sizing was a complaint in the reviews.  My sizing seemed just about on.  They are made to be a bit more fitted.  Honestly, I'd be afraid to order up since I think the neckline would be too low and gapey.  My summary on these shirts is this:

If they had these in 5 more colors, I'd buy one of each. 

Seriously.  That's how much they've helped my wardrobe... and that's getting them at the tail end of summer too.  I can't wait to use them next summer!

One word of advice:
Don't wash in the same load as your husband's cargo shorts that have a (dumb) patch of Velcro on the pocket.  Yes, it does stick to the lace accent.  Yes, the lace looks icky after that.  The happy ending is that the fuzzy lace has relaxed a bit in the washings since then, making it more wearable again.

Sizing: Good
Price: Good
Neckline: Perfect
Length: Good
Color: Rich
Buy Again: Definitely

 

Then, they lived here.

I had to laugh.  I was trying to follow Jamerrill Stewart and www.freehomeschooldeals.com on Pinterest because she posts a lot of free Kindle books and free is right up my alley.  In the process, I found this:



This sums up how it's been lately.  I'm working with the girlies and they are good little Blossoms, but my day is taken up with school and cooking and such... I feel like the house hasn't been deep-cleaned in years.  <Don't judge.> 

A clean house is important to me because I know it's my job to take care of the house and I want to do all things with excellence. 

Every day, I'm striving for excellence in housekeeping as well as in everything else.  Oh, and Blossom2 and Blossom3 are on a paper-snowflake making kick.  So there are tiny pieces of miscellaneous paper

EVERWHERE.

I think I start to twitch as they are joyously making another paper snowflake.  (I haven't figured out what triggered this new kick, but they are seriously enjoying it.)  (I also haven't figured out what I'm going to do with the stack of 25+ paper snowflakes and additional "pretty" scraps that are lying on the printer... gifts from my loving Blossoms!  I told them it was too early to hang them on the windows.  I'm sorta glad I did, as we wouldn't be able to see the fall foliage outside at this rate.)  I think the thing that makes me twitch is the fact that the vacuum cleaner is in the shop right now.  Oh, the irony.

I noticed the overwhelmed feeling makes me sigh and promptly taints my outlook about everything. Even when I accomplish one huge thing every day (of educating our children patiently and faithfully), I brush that aside come afternoon, because all I can think of are the thousand things that still need to be done.  I finally took it to the Lord because I know the desire for excellence is good and right.  The overwhelmed feeling isn't good and right.  I think it means I'm carrying burdens that weren't meant for me.  I heard the line from the old song this evening, "Oh, what needless pain we bear... all because we do not carry, everything to God in prayer."  I carried it to the Lord.  He will show me what to do.  Until then, I'm going to continue doing the best possible job on what I can manage - a great homeschool, prompt, healthy meals for my family and a moderately tidy home.  Just don't stare at the corners of the floor when you use the bathroom here.