Extended sale!

We really enjoy these dvds. If you would like to try them, now is the time! They've just extended their sale for 2 more days!! 

{This Moment}

Following Soule Mama's idea...

                                                                      A Friday ritual. 
                                 A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week.
            A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

This Moment

Soule Mama's inspiration... 

{this moment}

A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. 

Mom's Night Out movie review

It's not very often that we go to the movies in our house. It's just not something that we put very high on the priority list and I certainly don't get to do it very often with just friends....in fact, its not really very often that I do ANYTHING with just girlfriends. It's not that I don't have them (although I am known to have a pitty party for myself occasionally and think that I am going solo on this insanity ride of motherhood) because when I really think about it... I have some great ones. My problem is the location of my closest friends ranges from sea to shining sea and some are so far away we have continents between us. And lets face it, as moms we just don't take the time for ourselves. We do so much for everyone else. Between the laundry and dishes, and making sure there are lunches packed and carpets vacuumed, food made for church potlucks and tutu's made for dance recitals... we don't have much more to give... especially to ourselves...

When I got the email for a chance to go to an early screening of the new movie "Mom's Night Out "coming to theaters May 9th, I didn't even care that it was on a week night or that we had to drive over an hour north (something I usually avoid like the plague). I called the first friend I could think of and we made it a plan to have our own MNO!  Woo hoo! :)

It's amazing how much we all need a bit of time to ourselves... and I'm not talking about those stolen moments of hiding in your bedroom reading a book for a few moments out of the day (yes I am guilty of this) or the few second of quiet you *should* get behind the closed door of a bathroom (usually with people knocking at the door or little fingers coming in under it!)... I'm talking about getting to have adult conversations, Relaxing in a chair without someone climbing on you. Eating a meal that you don't have to cut up for someone else or share with a picky eater.

Sitting there in the dark theater with my good friend and a big thing of nachos (cause lets face it, I had dinner ready for the family but ran out of time to feed myself!) the movie began to roll and I felt like it was playing a view of my life... only with the charming actress Sara Drew playing me! I mean it, it was kind of scary the things that were like me, right down to her sitting at the computer to write her blog and finding she suddenly had nothing to say....


This movie was a breath of fresh air to say the least! I honestly went into it thinking that this movie would be your stereo typical movie about moms gone wild with no accountability and how they down play the importance of motherhood and have no care for being a Godly wife or mother.... but that couldn't have been farther from what this movie was about!




This movie was real... it was honest... it was so stinking funny  (mostly because we could all relate to what they were saying/doing) 
and this moving was motivational.

 I personally walked out of that theater a better person and ready to be a better mom when my kids get up in the morning.


How many times can you say that about a movie? This movie was about moms, but it showed the side of the dads too and would be a great date night movie, family movie for all ages (my 6 and 9 year olds would love it!) and of course... MOMS!!! It had the undertones of a great Christian film without the preachiness that one might expect. It told it like it is and inspired me to want to be a better mom not just for my kids but for me. It reminded me that even tho I feel somedays like the worst mother ever, and sometimes I feel like I am getting nothing done and failing at everything.... I am enough... and that God put my girls with just the right mom for them....I think we all need that reminder sometimes. And we all need a Mom's night out from time to time to make us appreciate what we have and who we are...

So go see Mom's Night Out on May 9th! The story is great and the cast is amazing!! Make it a priority to go on opening weekend and tell our entertainment industry that we need more movies like these!! There are so many ways to support Christian entertainment and to be an example in a world that will try to tell you that you aren't enough and that you have to be everything to everyone. There's only one that can be that and He loves you just the way you are!

" Life isn't about a parking space. 

Its NOT about God taking 

all our problems away

and giving us a PERFECT life. 

Its about finding 

Meaning & JOY & PURPOSE.

In this- in the crazy-in the chaos"

-Moms' Night Out

Seahawk love

Considering I am from around Pittsburgh, its just a given that I am a die hard Steelers fan, but one can't help but get caught up in this overwelming feeling of Seattle pride for the Seahawks after their Superbowl win on Sunday. Just to log on to facebook or walk thru the grocery store in our sleepy little town you can't go far without hearing people talk about it. It really is infectious!

The last few weeks have been busy for me too as I have been sewing up a number of these fuzzy guys in time for the big game!

To celebrate the Seahawks big win, I am offering 10% on all purchases made today and tomorrow (Friday, Feb 6th) in my shop !  Just use the word "SEAHAWK" as the coupon code at checkout! :)

And not to worry, I have the Pittsburgh fans covered too! :) There's always next year! 

Be sure to check out my other new creations! 

Bumsak- Review

It's always so exciting to open your email and see the words "You Won!" If your inbox is anything like mine, you get a lot of emails trying to trick you into buying something with enticing titles... but this was an actual, legit email telling me I had won something from a contest I had entered! And not just any something... but a chair from Bumsak!!

To be honest, had never even heard of them until I happened on to someone else's share on Facebook about this giveaway. From what I understand, they are a new company and they were doing this as a fun giveaway for the new year. I never in a million years thought I would actually win!!

Living in a smaller house means having to get creative with the way we put our furniture and having two growing kids means that we are needing more sitting space! The days of two little monkeys sitting on thel ittle Dora couch to watch tv are over....and while we will always cherish snuggle time, there are times we just want to relax on our own too! So, to win this was just perfect for us!!




Within just a matter of days, we had this delivered to our house! My kids were so bummed that it wasn't bigger....

Until we got it out of that bag (which took a little work but it was fun!).... and it began to grow...

....and someone seemed to think that it was just for her! lol (That is the bag itself, without the cover of our choice on yet)




The bag isn't quite the color that I thought it would be. It's much darker than the sample color that was on their site. I wrote to them about it and they offered to send me another one but I really do love the color so we just opted to keep the one we have.  If you look on their website, be sure to run your curser over all the colors... there's a number of samples that seem to be grey and they really aren't. That little glitch in their website is the only complaint I would have about this company at all. The chair itself is AMAZING!!

The feel of the cover is really great. It has a nice quality to it, not like your average bean bag chair would. The seams seem to be strong and the animal hair (which is just a natural part of our lives... wonder why? lol) brushes off of it much easier than I thought it would. As for the filler? It is so QUIET!! I remember having a bean bag chair as a kid, that the dog later took over, and we couldn't hear the tv when she was trying to get comfortable! lol That problem is no longer with this chair! The Bumsak chairs are filled with high quality foam, not those styrofoam beans that we are used to!  And the next best thing about this chair? They are made in the good ol' US of A! Now what's not to love about that?! If I hadn't won this chair, I would still say it is well worth the money and has made a great addition to our livingroom!

 Kid tested- Animals approve!

Disclaimer- I was given this chair by Bumsak as part of a giveaway. I was not asked to write this review nor was I compensated for it, I just like to share good products when I see them! :)

Serendipity

Thanks to the generosity of a friend, and the newest treasure to be added to my insanity of crafting tools, I have been doing a lot of research on how to get started in the new-to-me art form of weaving. Along the way, I've found some amazing blogs, chat groups and other resources, not to mention some wonderfully patient people in some of my other crafting groups that have been great about answering questions and pointing me in the right directions for more information about my particular loom. I am still terribly overwhelmed but feel like I am at least moving in the right direction now! :) It's amazing how many weavers there are out there and like knitting, is not the dying art that I thought it was! It seems to me, you just have to know where to look! :)

While getting started in my search, I threw out the question to one of the Waldorf groups that I belong to and I asked if there were any weavers in the group. That thread led to a conversation with a gal (who I consider to be a lost long friend now, although we've never met yet!)  about how I got into spinning and how this loom came to be mine. She made a simple comment about wishing she'd be gifted a spinning wheel someday with an "lol" and the conversation went on its way about more fiber related topics. As soon as I saw her comment it was like there was a large floating light bulb hovering above my head and the electricity just made it's connection. If I had been a cartoon I imagine it would have been a comical moment! :) 

You see, I had bought some vintage books from this gal, and she had purchased some wood toys from me... and we had conversed about Waldorf groups in PA after she noticed my picture of downtown Pittsburgh thinking that I lived there too (I had taken it on a recent trip)... so I knew that she was from PA also so I took a stab in the dark and asked what part! The stars aligned and she was about 1 1/2 hours from my mom! Perfect! Again, a cartoon moment would have been a view inside my brain to see the gears turning and another light bulb moment! 

You see, a few years ago, when I decided I wanted to take the leap and get a spinning wheel, my mom was gifted one on my behalf from a friend of hers that had rescued a wheel from a dumpster! Gasp!!! I know, who could possibly do such a thing!!?! Right? Right about the same time, I happened on to mine and while I would have loved to have had the one from my mom, we live on opposite sides of the country! The shipping to get it here would have been more than I paid for mine here!

To make a long story short... I got my mom and my long lost friend in touch with each other via chats on Facebook, they were able to meet up half way and that poor neglected spinning wheel has finally found its way to its forever home!! This gal kept sending me emails of thanks and how excited she was but really I think I was just as excited as she was!! I have felt terrible that the wheel has been sitting in my mom's basement just taking up space but couldn't bring myself to have her get rid of it considering she didn't know anyone that would give it the love that it so truly deserved. So instead... it just sat... The thought that I could pay it forward the kindness and generosity that had been paid to me in the form of a weaving loom absolutely made my day!! 

A week or two later, while checking the mail, we received a mailer that I wasn't expecting... but I recognized the return address label to be from PA... now here's the freaky part...

Inside that mailer was the sweetest heartfelt thank you card and these two vintage books. She already knew of my love of vintage books but she had NO IDEA about my collection of Little Golden books or my youngest's obsession with Eloise Wilken (the artist in the book)... and there is no way of her knowing that we also collect the books in "The True Book" series! As I pulled the books out of the envelope, my two girls were clammering to get over the seats yelling "Let me smell them! Yes, I have done my job when they rate there books on whether or not they smell old!  lol When I told her about it she said that it was Seredipity (one of my favorite words!!) and that we were are kindred spirits... Funny how two people can connect and form a friendship with an entire country between us. 

As I read her reply about us being kindred spirits, it made me think of Anne Shirley from Anne of Green Gables  

"Kindred spirits are not so scarce as I used to think. It's splendid to find out there are so many of them in the world"

Life Lessons from Anne of Green Gables

It all started when... take 2!

I have felt so inspired to write as of late, but am having a hard time putting my thoughts and emotions into words. There just doesn't seem to be enough ways to convey what we have been experiencing lately and the joy and peace that seems to be coming with it. We have been so ingrained to believe that bigger is always better and if you find something great then buy three of them! lol Isn't that pretty much what the world would have you believe? Since moving to this little old house, we have found that bigger isn't always better. I can literally FEEL the difference this place has made in me. Not only have we lost weight (about 20 lbs each! Kids not included), but we have felt a slow down in our outlooks, and a re-purposed view on how we do things.

 If you have been following me for very long, you know that I come from a long line of "makers".I am a firm believer that there is a turning point for us all at some time when the stars align and we actually start listening to the little signs and pathways that God puts before us... one of those "it all started when" moments... Well, I am not sure where this path is going to lead me but I am definitely feeling one of those redirecting "it all started when" moments happening to me right now and I am excited to see where it will go! :) It has been a few years now since I got my spinning wheel in a thrift store and unfortunately I haven't been able to devote as much time to it as I would have liked. You know with the kids, and animals and homeschooling... not to mention the puppet making, gardening and moving... there's not always enough time to go around! But, recently, I've been taking the time for myself (although I will admit it feels selfish) and getting back to the knitting and spinning that I enjoy so much.



A few months ago, we started going to a new church closer to our new house. We have met some of the most amazing people since going there and one of them I am finding has quite a bit in common with me and my crafting obsessions! :0) Well, to make a long story short, she had this loom that she was looking to get rid of and asked if I would like to have it. It took everything in my being not to just jump at the opportunity to get yet another creative tool but I did take my time before saying yes. I began researching it and talked it over with hubby and was still on the fence about it. I am no where near ready to be some master weaver, and I know that this loom will probably sit here for quite awhile before I give it the attention that it surely deserves but how do you turn down a once in a lifetime chance to have a loom like this!?

Considering the lifestyle we are trying to attain and the farming things we are learning and experiencing, I thought it was time for us to read the next book in the Little House series "Farmer Boy". I think it was within a day or so of getting the new/old loom that we started reading it and I was just giddy over the descriptions we were reading about how his Ma would spin the wool and then weave it into fabric to make their clothes. I know I read these books years ago but I am loving the details that it goes into about dying the wool and how soft and warm his clothes were. There was an appreciation for what his mother did for him... something you can't get off a $.99 rack at Walmart. It was such a delight to turn the page and find this drawing...

That will be me someday... :)

Knocking at my door

My arms were full of firewood and I came back to the open door to find these curious feathered friends! :)

Ah the life of free range chickens and turkey! :)

A new way of looking at life...

I didn't mean to let so much time go by... I didn't intend on leaving this space so abruptly...but you see, when you find the secret of life you have to just go with it and not worry about blogging, or facebooking or even take the time to keep up on laundry! When God gives you a place to be and grow and learn you just have to jump in with both feet!

It's been almost 9 months to the day that we got the call that we were moving, and then just a week or so later we were up over our heads in the moving and packing process. Life was such a whirl wind that we didn't have time to really think, rest or even take a deep breath really....it was just putting one foot in front of the other and trying not to trip along the way! It's pretty much been that way ever since! It's been nine months of hard work, hauling dirt, hauling wood chips, hauling rocks (do you see a pattern here?lol). Months of mending chicken coops, building new ones, caring for the animals we moved and the animals we have since adopted and rescued. It's been months of playing catch up with what we had hoped to accomplish in a garden. Planting, and watering and experimenting with new things. Now in the winter months, it means putting plastic covers over garden beds and researching new ways of feeding our outside animals. Months of feeling tired... in a good way... because of the goodness we are accomplishing and because of the constant blessings we are feeling. When we take the time to sit down and compare notes, hubby and I are both just feeling so blessed and renewed in this place that we are dwelling.

How can one not feel blessed to wake up to this view?

We are feeling like there has been a turn in our lives that can only be described as finding the secret of life...

For some time now, we have been inching towards a more sustainable lifestyle... It's no secret that I hate what our food industry has become and want to be no part of it (or at least to the best of our ability!) To feel the way I do about how our food is produced (how the animals are treated and cared for) and the un-needed things that are being done to the plants (GMOs) means making a change. Not a little change but a huge life altering change on a daily basis. It means watching labels and researching our food more closely but it also means that we must start producing more of it on our own. My generation was not brought up to think about where our food comes from, if anything we have been taught that it's out of sight out of mind. And for some that is ok. I truly wish that I could be that way sometimes but once I learn something it's stuck in my head and I can't go back!

It has been over the last few months that we as a family have been really taking a look at our lifestyle, and focusing on where we want to eventually be. We are finding that hard work is actually fun and that we don't need a lot of what we as a society have been taught to think we do. We are learning what it feels like to accomplish something we didn't think we could do ( like stacking a whole cord of wood- just me and my two littles). It is with this life change that we are going back in time if you will. Listening closer to the stories of family/church members who grew up on farms, and reading everything on the subject that I can get my hands on. It has even come down to changing the way we look at our entertainment options. The two favorites in our household right now are Alaska:The Last Frontier and of all things, The Waltons. Hubby and I have a running joke. When we are out working or trying to figure out a new project we just ask the other WWWD? What Would the Waltons Do? lol When he first said it, it made me laugh but now I find myself having that question in the back of my mind more and more... so I think that's what I'll title my posts that are homestead related. It really is a compliment to that show and not so much of a joke. When you actually watch the show, there are a lot of life lessons that could be learned by watching it, and for us it is just a really good reminded of what life is like in a simpler time and what it could be again if only there could be a massive shift in society and a change in the way we all view success...