Puzzle Pieces

Ever heard Mr. Gungar speak about the difference between men's brains and women's? He said men have boxes and only pull one out at a time. If they are thinking about one thing and need to change to another, they must first switch boxes... Well, I'm like that with life. I do so want to be perfect, but it's hard to focus on more than one area at a time. There's marriage, raising children, keeping house... And I want to do them all right, but I find myself focusing on one box at a time and feeling like a failure in all. I was challenged by a book I was reading today to see it more like a puzzle that I am fitting together piece by piece to make a beautiful whole. I want to be a good wife - so I choose today to greet my husband at the door with a kiss; to raise my children intentionally, so I will giggle with them and hug them today, and say yes because I can instead of "not right now" because it is easy and mindless; to keep home - so I will take the time to wipe those sticky spots from the cupboard door, and start that extra load of wash; to keep Him first, so I will live to Him in this moment and glorify him by a moment by moment life of praise to God.

 

The faces of our days :)

Holiday Fun with the Children

Make a glittery mess with this the morning that the Kirby salesman visited. He asked us if we had had a glitter party. Well, sort of. I let the children brush the pinecones with glue themselves, and then sprinkle on the glitter. They've been begging to do it again.

Another day we did this with gluten free gingerbread dough. They each got a bag with the tip cut off to squeeze on their own icing. So sticky and fun!

 Yummy holiday treats!

Gingerbread popcorn! Pretty tastey!

Change of plans today

So today started out like any other day. I had laundry and housework to do, but around 10 am I got a knock at my door, and before I knew it, I had a Kirby sales man in my living room. My day took a rapid turn. For the next hour+ I listened and watched as he demoed the machine.  The amazing thing can pick up a lot of junk even from a brand new carpet! But that's beside the point. I couldn't afford it's $3900 price tag, or the $2000 one with today's special discount. Well an extra special deal just for me would actually let me have it at $1200 and finally, just the machine without any warranties at $750, but even that I turned down. The young man demoing it finally finished and called his boss to pick him up, but was told it would be a minute. That minute stretched out to over an hour and a half. During which time I learned that the kid sales man (18) who shares my son's name and birthday is a self proclaimed atheist. A hurting young man whose dad left his 14 year old mom when he was just a baby. He's already spent time in jail as well as living in his car. Pray for John. He's been turned off by the only Christians he ever knew, but deep inside I think he still doubts his conclusion that there's no God.

Immune-boosting Elderberry Gummies and other stuff from our home

Our little cutie is growing like a weed, and generally so very good natured and sweet.  Usually, if he's crying he's either wet, or hungry or tired. Fix that and he's back to smiling and talking.

Starting first grade with this young man!

 

She's growing up too.

 So a couple more before and afters of this place. Here's a view from the kitchen before paint and carpet(after ripping out the old.

Here's the same view, as wide as a 50 mm will let me take it.

from our bedroom door(the blurred edge to the right is the door jam.) Like my "new" couch? :) $30 dollars at the Restore around the block from here!

 Next some pictures of this evening's project
With cold and flu season here, I'm doing immune boosting gummies and "flu" tea, not flu shots. My dear mumsie sent us the cutest little silicon gummy bear mold. We made our first batch of gummies tonight and the children loved them.

Elderberry Gummies
1/2 cup fruit juice
1/3 cup elderberry syrup
1 Tb honey
3 Tb gelatin
Soak the gelatin in the fruit juice and then add the rest of the ingredients and heat on low till dissolved. Pour into mold and cool in fridge(or freezer if you have a small mold like me and want to do multiple batches in a hurry before your stuff sets up in the pan)

Here's what was left of my batch after we had all tried them :)

Here's some information on why elderberry - source

Photo Credit elderberries image by Alison Bowden

 

Elderberries have a long history as a folk cure for a variety of ailments. Currently, scientific studies are being conducted to test the accuracy of these health claims. While some uses haven't been proven yet, elderberries in the form of elderberry syrup have been shown to boost immunity, decrease mucous production during colds and fight 

the flu.

Boosts the Immune System

Help your body fight disease. Elderberries are a rich source of vitamins A and C, which are crucial in helping the body maintain optimal health. Plus, the bioflavonoids in elderberry syrup boost the body's immune system by increasing antioxidant levels and viruses that damage cell walls. A daily dose can assist you in preventing both acute and chronic disease.

Treats Upper Respiratory Infections

Fight your cold symptoms. Elderberry syrup makes colds and other upper respiratory symptoms more tolerable by reducing mucous secretions. Also, elderberries may fight swelling of the respiratory passages, which means less discomfort and trouble breathing and soothe a cough.

Improves Flu Symptoms

Decrease the length and severity of your flu symptoms. Common flu symptoms like fever, chills, sore throat, muscle aches and fatigue may go away faster if you take elderberry syrup as recommended on the bottle. According to a study in the Journal of International Medical Research, patients given elderberry syrup recovered an average of 4 days faster from the flu than those not taking the supplement. Elderberries have even been shown in the labs to help prevent swine and avian flu strains.

Today at our House

It's nap time at our house and here are the threesome getting ready for bed.

 

Sir Edward who happens to share his birthday with the little prince doesn't have a special canopy for his bed like his two siblings :)

Behold the princess! :)

My little Indian in his wigwam

 

Home at Last!

So we've FINALLY moved in! Needless to say, we aren't totally unpacked or anything like that yet. And the kitchen floor is still waiting for its lovely laminate tiling, but it's so good to have place to call our own once more.
Our sweet church family blessed us with a welcome grocery shower and I spent the morning trying to fit it into our pantry! Screwed up a few more cupboard doors(Darren finished that up this evening) and tried to do some laundry. I say tried because I discovered first that the washer wasn't hooked up, and secondly, after washing the first load, that the dryer wasn't either and couldn't be without a new vent pipe. So now the load will wait and hopefully tomorrow Darren can find time to fix it.
Snow is on the forecast, and Darren is to bed early with prospects of being out plowing in the morning. He really hopes to be able to, as we can use the cash after all those moving and remodeling expenses! Thankfully his foot, which he was afraid that he re-broke at volley ball is doing much better. An answer to prayer - because it did NOT seem we needed that on top of everything, an added expense and a hindrance to work.
I got out some school stuff and played word dominoes with John today. He had fun and we laughed over the silly sentences I made up for the words he created.
Here is a picture Faith Yoder took for me after we had started priming the kitchen -

Before

And now the after! The fruit basket is just a part of the abundant blessing our church family poured out in welcome. We had double that much to start with - and THREE pineapples! Yummy! You see that empty gray wall to the right of the sink? That's were I'm going to put my wall art! It's going to say - Today I choose joy
That's because each day's joy is a choice and choosing to see my glass half full instead of half empty helps my life to be not just half full but overflowing. That's how I want to live - full, not empty. I want to splash God's love on others as I come in contact with them, and that includes my little ones.
As you can see the floor is still a work in progress. Below is a photo of some of the progress while in progress :) The tile laminate in the lower right of the photo is what the finished kitchen floor will be.

Here's my start at a home coffee/tea center. I want to give our future guests a warm welcome. :)

Coffee, hot chocolate mix, sugar, and creamer. The tall canisters are thrift store finds repurposed. The ones with the clear knobs were candle holders, and the lids were two for twenty-five cents and happened to fit perfectly. I just took out the votive holders from the top and replaced them. The sugar container used to hold vanilla bath salts(don't worry, I cleaned it well) and the creamer container was part of a Christmas gift from Dara Weaver several years ago. Thanks, Dara.

Repainted some orange Christmas tins - also a thrifted find to make these silverware holders. My drawers are too riskily unstable to hold heavy items.  The curtains below - another thrift find, but perfect.

So there you have it - a peak at my kitchen today. Maybe I'll add some other photos another day.