Five on Friday (on Saturday): the last day behind...hopefully.

Thanks for continuing to read this week, despite my being a bit tardy.  Here are my top 5 for this week:

1) Like multi-tasking?!?  Here's a way to fix your hair and get fit at the same time...  Let me know if you have any "moves" to add to the list.

2) Social Media is a part of our lives and like most things can be positive and negative.  This article was both convicting and encouraging.  The changes she lists are some that I've been seeking to implement in my own life in recent weeks.

3) Gift tags made from tissue boxes, and (cute) wrapping supplies from the dollar store...you must read this one too!

4) In light of Thanksgiving coming up, Ann had a good (re)post this week that I have read previously and enjoyed again.  Why Every Day Begs to be Thanksgiving...

5) Maybe I'll just re-name this series, Four on Friday plus a link to Sally's blog. :-)  Her post this week on Training it (selfishness) out of our children was excellent.  In order to train, we must model...this is where the post gets convicting.  I had a conversation with my mom about this earlier in the week and then read Sally's post.  She is so much more eloquent than I am.  For example:


Jesus reminds us, “I am humble and meek, learn from me.” Learn from me–has he ever said that in any other scripture? Learn from me–if I the teacher and Lord bowed, then you should also do so.

So modeling servant leadership, speaking gently, loving others generously, giving up your time, your body, your convenience, your patience–if he did it, over and over again with the disciples, to show them how to live in service of others–he had compassion on them, then so we must do as mothers. It also means you must be spending hands on time with your children, not leaving them to one more dvd or cartoon or game boy adventure action software, but you have to plan, give attention to this, to build this into their lives.

Five on Friday: Better late than never, right?

This is being posted much later in the day than I had anticipated, but we enjoyed my husband being off today for Veteran's Day, and we also have family in town for a few days.  My original list included 8 posts/websites to share with you, but I managed to get it down to 5! :-)

1) These tights are just too cute.  I just about started making some as soon as I finished reading the article.  My little lady might be wearing tights everyday of the year...

2) Sally Clarkson's post this week regarding bedtime routines was hugely encouraging to me.  We have always had a routine with C, but I was especially thankful for the reminder to continue spending this precious time with her and as she begins to talk, taking the time to listen.  "Though it did require a commitment of heart and time on my part, as often we were ready to put the day away for our 'own' time, I see now that this giving and ending with love meant so much to all of our children...Routines are often difficult to establish, but, when cultivated, they become a habit that gives life, love, and security.  It is still a gift to me that I now get to share the sweet fellowship best friends, my children when they are home, to tie together all the loose ends, in love and peace."

3) Speaking of listening...here's a good article on The Ministry of Listening.  And, lemme tell you...I've never really thought about listening as a ministry, but lately God is giving me PLENTY of opportunities to practice it.  I am a very driven person, so I'm all about being productive and crossing things off my to-do list.  Listening is HARD for me...but it's GOOD for me, and it's a blessing to those around me.  

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4) This might be the article that I want you to read most, even if you skip the rest.  

5) Finally, it seems folks are all in a tizzy about Christmas decorations going up too soon.  Well...I like it, and the way I see it, we should be celebrating Christmas and Thanksgiving EVERY day of the year, so why not stretch out this focused season a little longer?!?  This is a great article with practical tips on Creating a Home of Thanksgiving all year long.

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Five on Friday

1) This post echoed the groanings of my own heart as of late in whether or not by my "multi-tasking" (normally a good thing) I'm really WITH my family.  I may be present in body, but notsomuch in mind.  I've been making it a point to close the laptop, leave the phone in another room (where I can't hear it), and really focus on playing with my daughter without so many distractions.  This is hard.  My type-A personality wants to be productive ALL the time, and I often forget that nurturing her little soul is one of the most productive things I can do right now.

2) 12 Simple Ways of Cooking for Christmas -- these menus look delightful and I love that there are all kinds for various events and entertaining opportunities, gift giving,  fun with kids, etc.

3) Need a gift idea for a mom-to-be?  Check out these adorable gowns, appropriate for before, during, and after giving birth.  A little pricey, but super-cute!

4) We had Baked Pumpkin Oatmeal for breakfast one morning this week...OH yum!  My daughter LOVES it and keeps asking for me to make it again.  We enjoyed ours with milk poured over top and sprinkled with brown sugar.

5) Finally, Halloween is something that we have pondered more specifically since our daughter was born.  We are still figuring out how we as a family will handle this "holiday."  This article is thought-provoking, albeit long.  Still not sure where I/We are on this yet, but we will continue to read, study, pray and ponder.

Have a great weekend!!

Five on Friday: talk about random...

1 -- This is my cell phone:

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We have a pretty close relationship.  But after reading THIS article, and doing some serious evaluating, I've decided I don't want to be a parent who is "missing entire chunks of my child's life because of overworked thumbs."  So, we've decided to "see other people" -- interpreted: I will be seeing a lot more of my family and a lot less of my phone.

2 -- Sally makes the list again this week with her post, Choosing Joy, Choosing to Overcome.  Just to tempt you: "...godly character comes into play when we determine to make a choice to be an over-comer-one who will turn towards every obstacle of life with a heart of faith.  We have the choice and opportunity to accept our own "portion" with faith and fortitude that says, 'By God's grace, I will live this life, this moment today, with courage, strength, grace, and joy.  God is my strength.  God is with me.  God will guide me, and God will lead me through.' "  

3 -- My mother passed along this little delight...

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Top 10 Pumpkin Dessert Recipes from Taste of Home.  

Yes.  Please. 

4 -- Sherri over at the life of a wife always has colorful posts which I love.  This one on Bold Front Doors was beautiful.  I'm quite taken with the purple door, myself. 

5 -- And, finally, this video came to me through facebook in the grief and support poured out following my friend's eternal home-going.  It was too good to keep to myself. 

Five on Friday: the not version...

So...this has been a busy week.  Extra children at my house on Monday; mini-vacation (with NO internet access) Tuesday morning through Thursday morning; unpacking/laundry/repacking/cleaning Thursday afternoon; more packing and last minute details on Friday; vacation beginning Saturday.  

Because of that, I have not been looking around on the internet as much as normal, so I don't have a Friday Five post for you today. :(  So sorry.

I do, however, have 2 things to share with you.  

The first is that I will be taking a break from blogging next week to spend time with my family.  

The second is that I'm about 12 posts away from my 100th post.  I think for my 100th post, I shall have a giveaway.  Stay tuned for details surrounding that and how you can enter/what you can win. :-)

Thanks everyone for reading my posts and offering feedback and encouragement.  I really do enjoy keeping this blog and I'm glad that some of you out there enjoy reading it.  :)

Five on Friday

First of all...I can't believe no one got the movie quote...  Guess I'll be needing to have a movie night at my house soon, huh? (complete with web-cam for those of you at a distance)  This movie has a LOT of good lines in it...  And I tend to quote them all the time.

Okay -- on to the 5...in no particular order...

1) Laura, one of the contributors at Tidy Tangle, posted about Toddler Lessons: Faith, HERE.  It's a short post, but the example she used really hit home for me.  "We have such faith in God as our provider and in his sovereignty, but the world makes us question "where is God?" and "is He going to do what he promised?"

2) THIS post, an abbreviation of a Tim Keller sermon entitled, Praying Our Tears, was sent to me by my mom.  Since I didn't get around to looking at it until after 11pm one night, I was struggling to get through the paragraphs, so I decided to try listening to the actual sermon.  It grabbed my attention, and I was alert for the whole thing.  It really is excellent.  I might be becoming a TK groupie...  The point is that if we are to honor God with our tears, grief and suffering, we need to expect, invest, and pray our tears.  The sermon is just over 30 min long, and about 1/3 of the way through it starts over again for some reason, so it appears longer than it actually is.  It really is worth listening to if you can make the time.  HERE is the direct link to the sermon.

3) Passionate Homemaking makes it to the top 5 again this week with a post entitled: Impacting Your Child's Blueprint. (click)  A blueprint?  What's that?  "We all have one -- it's the mindset that shapes our thoughts and actions for all of life.  Blueprints are set at a young age, often by a child's first impressions on an issue."  This is a good reminder to look closely at what we're teaching our children (even unintentionally) about things such as self-worth, body image, technology and God, as well as the book learnin'.

4) Sally Clarkson hits the top 5 again this week with a post entitled: Home is about the life, not about the Perfection. (click)  This is an excellent reminder for those of us who struggle with perfectionism, and also good to remember to "live in the moment" and sometimes it's okay to make messes and let go of the neatness and order...  "A home is a place of life filled by a mother whose life is contagious because of her sparkle in the midst of messes, her laughter in the midst of duty, her song pervading the whole place - the music, feasts, art, joy of life..."

5) And, finally, what Friday 5 post would be complete without a mention of food?!?  THIS sinful recipe comes via Brite via Ree Drummond, the Pioneer Woman.  I'm thinking I just might have to make these this weekend...when there's other people around to (help me) eat them...'cause I have a thing for maple...anything. :-)

obviously the photo was taken by Ree, and NOT me. :)

Happy Weekend! :-)

Five on Friday: Season Premiere

Maybe I should change it to Friday Five...I know it's just two letters but it seems SO much shorter.  Eh...I'll keep thinking about it.  Apparently this was the week for all the season premieres...I don't watch or keep up with much TV, and at best there's one show each season that I'm even slightly interested in watching.  TV just doesn't do it for me anymore.  We usually find ourselves watching the oldies station, when it's on at all.  But, in keeping with the recurring theme this week, welcome to the first episode of Five on Friday!  This is where I will post the 5 most interesting things I've discovered online (or elsewhere) this week.

BUT, before I get started on that, let me just post my favorite pin of the week from pinterest...it's my second favorite season, afterall, which in its own way is just wonderful because it is the prelude to my favorite season.

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SO, while I sit here and enjoy my coffee with pumpkin spice creamer (not quite the same, but it will suffice), here's the Friday Five... 

1) I discovered this week that Sally Clarkson blogs HERE at I Take Joy.  She posted an excellent article this week, entitled The Kingdom of Home (click to read).  Here's a small excerpt to whet your appetite...

When I began to understand that the best and most lasting "work" I would ever do, was to build little souls, in my own home, for the kingdom of God, it gave me grand scope for my life.  Understanding that I would be responsible for accepting them into my arms and their very health from feeding at my breasts; to emotional well-being by attaching deeply to me as an infant; or stimulating their brains by talking with them, touching them, snuggling them and predisposing them to know the love of God by building pathways in their brain formation of love, acceptance, words of life, affection were the beginnings to my understanding of just how profound God had created the role of a mother to be.

2) My friend, Brite, over at Redefining Normal (click) posted about these super-cute and FREE printable  notecards:

click HERE to go directly to the site to print some 

(and don't be surprised if you get one of these from me soon...I'm desperately overdue in writing some thank you notes right now.)

3) It will be interesting to see if I can EVER get through a Friday Five post without including something having to do with food...  This "Lazy Sunday (roasted) Casserole" looks intriguing so I may be making it sometime this weekend or next...

click HERE to go to the recipe

4) Just this morning, there is a great article over at Passionate Homemaking (click) titled "Simple Toddler Learning Activities."  This is a great compilation of fun things to do with your toddler, requiring basic supplies that you either already have or can get very inexpensively.  Check out the post HERE.

5) click HERE to go to Family Circle magazine's website for a short slideshow of some fun things to do with gourds this Fall season...here's my favorite:

Alrighty -- there ya have it!  Any thoughts?  Should I continue the Five on Friday???  Have a great weekend!

Some New Features...

I decided I wanted to incorporate some regular "themed" posts into my blogging.  Being the over-achiever that I am, I at first tried to have a theme for every day of the week, but then I realized 1) I don't (often can't) post EVERY day of the week, and 2) Sometimes I like to be random and I would be SO limited if I had to keep up with a theme EVERY single day.  SO, I found 3 themes that I like and will probably try to post in accordance with those.  But, since I'm making the rules, I can break them, so don't be surprised...

Monday Musings...  This will be for Scripture that I've found particularly meaningful recently, poems, song lyrics, and quotes.  I love quotes and I have a couple notebooks full of them, as well as several books of them. And then there's the internet which makes finding good quotes much easier these days!  Here's one I saw recently on pinterest that is a new favorite...

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Tuesday Tips...  This is where I will attempt to pass on little tidbits to make your life easier.  No real limitations for what the tips pertain to, so....  consider yourselves warned. ;-)

Five on Friday...  This is a pretty popular one (though known by other names).  I will keep account of the most interesting (to me) things I find online during the week and post them all on Friday...well, the best 5 anyway.  No limits here either, so prepare yourselves for the randomosity.  (I think I just created a new word!)

A new feature is that you can now print the recipes that I post on here.  I tried to go back through and add that to previous posts and it will be included in upcoming ones as well.  You can view all of the recipes posted at Eagle's Nest HERE.  Many thanks to Lauren at Only From Scratch for passing along this tutorial to me!

Also...one other thing to note.  I have, up until recently, typed all posts in lowercase.  It was recently brought to my attention that perhaps this is somewhat bothersome to some very faithful readers...  ahem.  SO...back to caps it is...at least, the correct use of caps.  You wouldn't want me typing in all caps all the time, because it would seem like I WAS CONSTANTLY YELLING AT YOU!  see?

I'm always looking for new post material, so if you have any topics you'd like to see covered here, please let me know.  As always, thanks for reading. :)