Tin Can Lid Angel

One year, our family (or maybe it was my sister's and my idea) decided to decorate the whole tree with angels. Mostly homemade angels. We collected and saved as many tin can lids as we could and made these, among other things. Another year I made a bunch for myself, and developed bursitis in my thumb from the overuse of pliers and tin-snips! I even had to wear a wrist splint for a couple months! I must have been a bit compulsive in my crafting that year!

This is not a great child's project as you can imagine, but I like them. They're thrifty and shiny and reflect the light on the tree.The first one I saw had a tiny gold glass Christmas ball for a head, but I've never been able to find them, so I've resorted to jingle bells. The first angel held a miniature music book, but I'm too lazy to create one on the computer, so I also left that off too. (Are you seeing a pattern here?)

To make this angel, choose a can top or bottom of any size with no printing on it. I prefer lids that are all gold or silver and not white on one side. Cut the top red lines for threading the head on. Make sure the strip is thin enough to fit through whatever hole is on the bell or ball or bead. String your head and then bend a curly loop at the top for a ribbon to hang the ornament.

Cutting on the green lines will form the arms. Using a needle nose pliers, curl each arm toward the center of the angel. Cut "feathers" on the bottoms of the wings and bend the tips of the wings forward a bit. Using the pliers, grip the lid on the dotted lines and fold the portion between the green and dotted lines backward, forming the angel skirt.

The great thing about this project: if you mess one up, you didn't waste anything! Retrieve another lid from the recycling and try again!

I Make Stuff

 I wish I remembered more about this pillow. Was it from pioneer girls? A kit from mom? I know I made it when I was pretty young and it was one of many sewing projects over the years. It brings back memories of hours and hours spent in my parents downstairs laundry room sewing, cutting, and stitching. I loved the peace and quiet and the thrill of a completed project. I especially liked the praise. "You MADE that? YOURSELF?" Yes, I did. Thank you very much.

I did not spend time in front of the TV or in any kind of organized sport growing up. I don't know much about movies from the late 70's or 80's, nor do I recognize characters from popular TV shows. I'm not great at sports and I abhor sweating.  Not me. 'Cause I was busy making stuff.

I made clothes for me and clothes for my sisters and clothes for my barbie. I made stuffed bears and pillows and stitched wall hangings. I dried flowers, used petal porcelain, painted. I gardened and arranged cut flowers. I decorated cakes and quilted. I tried anything and everything.

Now, things are a bit different. I can tell you a bit more about movies and TV shows. I've even been known to work out once or twice. Hobbies have changed as craft fads come and go. My project pace has slowed. I have other things to do. Like cleaning. And laundry. But I still prefer to make stuff.

Now head on over the river and through the woods to MamaBear's blog and check out other fun ornaments.

No postage due. Not me.

When on vacation recently I REALLY DID write sweet notes to all my small group ladies to let them know I was thinking of them. I did not however hand them through a vehicle window to my father-in-law while driving through town because he was going to the post office. I did not ignore the sweet little voice in my head telling me to call him and tell him that those precious notes needed stamps. Nope. I did not figure carelessly that he would look at them before mailing them and I could pay him back for postage. Nope, wouldn't do that. I did not (really I didn't) ask him later if he mailed them without stamps. My husband did. We did not have a conversation about it, wondering if the bar code where the stamp should be was a prepaid stamp-code-thing.

I did not have to visit the post office the next morning and wait in line for thirty minutes, all the while with a crabby old lady behind me who constantly whined about waiting. I did not have to wait all that time only to be told that the stamp-code-thing was not a valid stamp. I did not ask the postal lady to go looking for my postcards. Nope, not me. She DID look. Very graciously. But my cards were long gone. I did not almost cry out of embarrassment from the thought of twenty postcards to my Bible Study ladies arriving postage due.

I did not post a pre-apology on Facebook. Nope, not me. My friends were gracious and said any note I send would be worth paying for.

But the cards did not arrive postage due. (For real.) And I am not at all upset about my unneeded apology. Not me!

The Year was 1994

I  returned home from Moscow just in time for Christmas and then 1994 began. It was our senior year, we had completed most of our high school requirements (thus the reason I was able to "skip" school and travel for over three months,) and we were trying to decide what direction to go next. College? Job? It would have been nice if Mom and Dad just would have told us what to do. But we needed to learn to make our own decisions. We prayed. I got a job at a florist in town. It was a perfect fit for me while I decided what to do with my life.

My parents house was remodeled that year. Finally the orange shag carpet was gone. The project was completed the week before our high school graduation party. We set out two baskets for graduation cards so that anyone who brought us a gift to share would feel silly....   :)

I worked that year but in the fall, another trip presented itself, and Sara and I spent two months with a hundred or so girls in Dallas, Texas. It was a conference/girls school/training center all wrapped in one. And our best friend Sarah Y. from Iowa, and a few of my friends from the Russia trip were there too. We had a fabulous time, and crammed as much silliness into what little free time we were given. That trip was helpful in my decision on whether to pursue opportunities our home education program offered or whether to go the more traditional, college education route.

We came home, my job took me back and that is how I got this ornament from a co-worker for Christmas. I continued to work part time, taking another short hiatus for a mission trip to Taiwan (again with Sarah Y.) the spring of '95.

That next fall, I decided to live at home while attending a small Christian college nearby, but I'll never regret taking my time in that decision and making the most of the travel opportunities I was given.

Little Russian Lady

Oh yes, the little Russian lady brings back a host of memories. Three and a half months worth. At seventeen I got on a plane headed to Moscow. I had a moment of panic. "What in the world am I doing? I won't see my family for a looooong time."  This trip was the first time my twin sis and I had been apart for more than one night. We experienced everything together. And now  I felt alone. I tried to shrug the feeling, thinking with nervous excitement about the adventure ahead.

I spent three and a half months with over 100 other homeschooled students and a few families on a small ship docked on the Moscow river. We had various assignments. Listen to lectures. Help with weekly meetings. Provide music. Create skits and visit orphanages and public schools.  Don't kiss any boys. Seriously, there was a rule against that, among other things! Make up funny songs laden with inside jokes. Minister to others. Traipse around Moscow. Visit families. Drink tea. Talk about Jesus. Listen to more lectures. All this without my sister.

We had other fun too. Our group managed to fit in a weekend cruise and saw a stretch of the Volga river. We saw pastures dotted with bright multicolored houses. We sang hymns in full harmony on the stern deck on a chilly evening. I still remember the gentle rocking of the ship, and the constant change of horizon. I remember historic sites, and shopping for a fur hat for my dad. I bought fresh roses at the market and hand painted metroyshka (nesting) dolls for my sisters and I bought the little Russian lady. It seemed a shame to be having so much fun without Sara.

When I came home, Sara and I lived life together again, but that trip marked the beginning of many things experienced separately. That's a difficult change for twins. At least it was for us. We had to redefine who we were apart from the other. Our lives took shape. Neither better or worse, not wrong or right, just different. She was in the city, me in the country. She had a job. I had kids and a husband. Our schedules were different. It was hard finding time together. Our adventures were different.

I don't mean to over-dramatize this, but I had a tiny bit of sadness that for ten years, my sister didn't share my journey in motherhood. I feel bad even saying it. It's not like she could do anything about it. But, I think growing up, we both assumed we would go through the same stages of life together, that our kids would grow up together like we did. And that didn't happen. Until now.

I cried with joy when my sister got engaged a few years ago. I think I cried when she announced her pregnancy.  It's just that I am so excited to begin sharing the adventure of motherhood with her. We've already taken stock of baby clothes, shopped for needed items, and picked out paint colors for the nursery together. I can't wait for the play dates and summer beach days. Yes, this is going to be FUN! This is an adventure we'll once again experience, together.

Hey. I just remembered: I have two little Russian ladies. Like twins wearing the same dress, but in different colors. Sara and Kristina.  I think I'll hang them on the tree, side by side.

My Favorite Things

Another Ornament. Another memory.

Today's ornament was a wedding graduation present. It is Spode and was given to me by my parents' friends who were in my parent's Bible study group when I was a baby; I believe it was this Bible study and small group where my parents learned afresh God's desire for a relationship with them.

What I remember most about this family is staying at their house the night before my sister and I were flower girls in a wedding. We were eight. I remember their big house, sleeping in the playroom, rollers in my hair.

I remember pictures in my grandma's terraced backyard, all abloom with flowers. I remember tossing rice from satin roses.

For the wedding we wore white dresses with blue sashes. Satin sashes. Sara and I were two girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes.

Christmas and flowers and little girls. And relationships. With my Lord and His people. These are a few of my favorite things.

A Silent Bell Rings

It's the third day of Christmas Ornaments....

My grandfather fashioned this bell from a chunk of wood he brought home from the Holy Land many years ago.

This bit of a tree represents an ancient tree that held my Savior, first in a manger, then on a cross.  This sliver of wood from the place Christ was born rings silently on my Christmas tree reminding me that the Lord's birth is only one act in a world-wide production he orchestrates, even now. Today.

His work on the cross is done. His work in our hearts continues.

Resources

I am still working on this list and will add links....pardon my construction....

The following is a list of resources I have found helpful and encouraging in my life. By posting this list, I do not pretend to have superior Biblical discretion as far as recommending Biblically accurate resources, as I only  graduated from a Bible college with a minor in Biblical studies. I have simply found these authors have good things to say that applied to me.

I may not agree with everything these authors promote, as I tend to believe no single person has complete, 100% correct theology or application. I must examine scripture for myself, letting no other lead me blindly in my faith. I follow Christ and Christ alone.

If an author causes me to hunger for God's Word more, that's good. If an author encourages me to obey God's Word, that's good. But the Word of God must be the final word.

This is not a comprehensive list, just a collection of books that I have read and have felt confident in recommending, one friend to another.

Parenting
Shepherding a Child's Heart-  Tripp
Instruction in Righteousness -  Forster
Creative Correction -  Welchel
Bringing Up Boys - Dobson
Treasuring God in Our Traditions - Piper

Marriage
Love and Respect - Emerson
Sacred Marriage - Thomas


Godly Dating
Passion and Purity - Elliot
I Kissed Dating Goodbye - Harris
Knight in Shining Armour -

Personal Growth
Wild at Heart - Eldredge
Captivating - Eldredge

Devotionals
My Utmost for His Highest - Chambers
Valley of Vision

Fun Reading
Mitford series - Karon

Finding Faith
Surprised by Faith - Bierle
Letters from a Skeptic -
____________

To Read to Children - Besides walking the talk in front of our kids, I have found reading biographies of amazing Christians is the second best of way of instilling faith in them.
Heroes of Faith
Journey to the Cross - Haidle
Child's Story Bible - Vos
Missionary Stories with the Millers - Martin
Wisdom and the Millers - Martin
The Light and the Glory for Children - Marshall and Manuel
The Legend of Valentine: An Inspirational Story of Love and Reconciliation - Bond and Tate

Homeschooling Books I've used
Considering God's Creation - Science
RightStart Math
The Story of the World
Learning Language Arts Through Literature
The Body Book

Sites:
DonnaYoung.org - Homeschool printables and resources
Starfall.com - Reading readiness games

Dreams and Hope Chests and a Little Bear

It's day two of the 25 days of Christmas Ornaments!

Molly gave me this ornament when I was 11 years old. We met at school in fourth grade and became fast friends. The next year her family began homeschooling. My sister and I were so enthralled with the idea of being able to stay at home and learn, that we asked if we could homeschool too! Mom and Dad considered it prayerfully and soon, Molly and my sister and I attended the same homeschool support group. Of course, we didn't really need the support group. We had each other.

Those were letter-writing days. We filled pages. Sometimes dad let us use his metro phone line that was reserved for medical calls. We would talk for an hour at least!  We had sleepovers, and Molly introduced us to Anne of Green Gables. We talked of finding young men as dashing as Gilbert Blythe. We dreamed of what our grown-up lives would be like.

Now we are grown up. We have husbands and children and homes to hold our hope chest treasures. Some things are as we dreamed them and some things are not. Life is like that. But if we could go back and dream again, I'm pretty sure we'd all dream our lives just as they are.

25 Days of Ornaments

I am excited to begin this new carnival and document the many special memories and people represented by the ornaments that hang on my tree each year. Many of my collection were gifts in my stocking as a child. Some I claimed when I moved out of my parents house. Numerous are handmade, each with a memory.

The above, you can correctly assume, is a picture ornament of my twin sister and I. I love the idea of creatively framing a picture of my own children each year for the tree. This year I witnessed the joyous exclamations of my children hanging ornaments of themselves. "Look Megan! It's you and me! We were so little and cute!" "This one is from 2001. I was only two years old then!"

Yes, decorating the tree is a hectic endeavor with children. They step on the lights as I try to determine which strings still work. They bicker over who hangs what and scold each other on proper hanging methods.  I attempt to leave the tree as they have trimmed it, but my tendency is to forever be rearranging as needed.

I could easily envy the perfect tree with each ornament hung just so, gold beads glimmering with twinkling light. Instead I cherish my eclectic country ornament collection. For me, it is a glorious flurry of memories, a collage containing glimpses of family history, friends and experiences. When the chore is complete, the bins returned to the basement, each stray metal ornament hanger retrieved from the carpet, and artificial pine needles vacuumed, I turn off the lights, plug the tree in, grab a cup of hot cocoa and savor the memories, basking in Christmas spirit.

Click on the button on the right sidebar to learn more about how this carnival got started, or to join in the fun click here!