The Homemaking Party

Hey friends! Hope everyone's having a happy week. It's been a great week for us---but tonight I'm sleepy and ready to relax with some writing and reading. Isn't this a gorgeous tribute to our veterans? This is Dickens Place in Bella Vista, Arkansas---the lane leading down to our city library. I love it!

Jamie and I voted Friday morning. What an honor to be given the right to vote for our candidate of choice. I'm thankful!

Best of all, our six year old son, Liam, was baptized on Sunday! He was so happy to be baptized and he's such a good boy---wanting to serve the Lord and brighten days with his sweet smile and disposition. I'm thankful for him, too!

Thanks for stopping by the Homemaking Party! I'm looking forward to seeing what you've all been up to!

The Homemaking Party: Introducing the #NaNoMuffin

Welcome to the Homemaking Party! Do you know what this is? It's a #NaNoMuffin---my traditional midnight snack enjoyed during the first few minutes of each year's #NaNoWriMo event!

Are you familiar with NaNoWriMo? It stands for National Novel Writing Month. I'm not actually writing a novel this month---but I am finishing up my women's devotional and preparing it for publication before Thanksgiving! I figured joining NaNoWriMo would be good motivation to get me writing more each day.

I hope everyone is having a beautiful week!

An Evening at the Maple Leaf Festival in Carthage, MO

Earlier this month, our family had the opportunity to travel to Carthage, MO with a friend who was ministering in music at the Maple Leaf Festival. My husband played the drums for her and our son Michael played guitar. The rest of us {minus the other two older boys} spent some time in the city park while waiting for the music to start.

We fell in love with the Victorian era fountain and pretty scrolled metal park benches. It was a sweet place to hang out---a place I plan on visiting again soon!

Lynzie and I took a zillion photos like this, trying to get the sunbeam just right behind us. It's fun being silly with my girl.

Since Lynzie was all decked out in a Steampunk outfit, we decided she needed a photo on this Victorian-esque park bench.

The band was excellent and everyone really enjoyed the worship music. I may have done a little bit of bragging on my guys in the band. Ha!

Ok...one more sunshine photo. It was fun!

While the olders were hanging out with the adults, the littles enjoyed some inflatables. Here's Kynthia having the time of her life on an enormous inflatable slide.

There was something fun for everyone---I even took a minute to try out the ball toss. I wasn't so great at it...

I'm thankful for fun times out with family and so glad the weather has cooled enough to get outside without melting into a puddle!

Hope you're having a great week. Thanks for stopping by the Homemaking Party. I'm excited to see what you've got to share!

Happy Homemaker Monday

Happy Monday! Hope you all had a happy weekend. We did, but boy did it go by fast! Here I am with a few of my sweet friends who held a birthday party for me Friday night!

The weather.....
It's been warm today and yesterday and today is super breezy! Our porch is covered in leaves and there are many limbs down. I think tomorrow is supposed to be the last day we hit 80º and then it will likely cool off more.


Right now I am....
Sitting at the table listening to my two oldest teens work on their government lesson together. They're using their youth pastor as an example of someone who chooses the common good over her own self-interests. That's pretty sweet!


Thinking....
I'd really like to spend time writing my book this evening...but I'm so sleepy! I wonder if I can escape for a little nap...


On my reading pile....
I'm reading Sixpence House: Lost in a Town of Books by Paul Collins. It's his memoirs on moving to Hay-on-Wye, a city of approximately 1,500 residents and 40 bookshops!


On my TV.....
We're still watching Murdoch Mysteries on Acorn TV online. I so love this show! The costumes and nods to history are pretty fun.

Something fun to share....
Saturday was the annual Bella Vista Arts & Crafts Festival. Selah and I go every year---it's a tradition we always look forward to. We get up early and ride the hay wagon from the parking lot to the opening gate and take our time browsing booths. We each pick a souvenir. This year, she chose a small handmade cloth kitten and I chose this pumpkin made from a vintage chenille blanket. The design goes all the way around but I like how this view makes it look like it has a smiling face!


On my to do list....
This week I'll start teaching a third literature class at our homeschool co-op so I've got to prepare for that. I also plan to work on my devotional some more and I'll also need to make up a menu and grocery list for shopping on Thursday.


Looking forward to this week....
This Sunday the 23rd is my 37th birthday! My family has some fun planned for the day time and then we'll attend the annual hayride and bonfire with our church family that evening.

What have you been up to this week?

Make sure to visit Happy Homemaker Monday at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom.

Pumpkin-Shaped Sugar Cookies for Sweeties

Welcome to the Homemaking Party! 

Every mom or grandma has that list of things they want to do for the little ones while they're still little. One thing on my list was to make pumpkin-shaped sugar cookies with candy corn eyes. It sounds like a simple thing, but it's a tradition my mom started with me when I was young and it's a special memory I have that I wanted to pass on.

I was in grade school back in the days when we could bring snacks on our birthdays and have a little party. As a homeschooling mom with a daily teaching schedule, I can now see how that may have been an inconvenience to my teachers to have their schedules interrupted without notice. Still, in "those days", teachers had the flexibility to stop lessons for a party and mine always did. {Did I just ramble on about the sad state of US education? Oops...sorry...back to the story.}

Anyway, my mom would make these pumpkin-shaped sugar cookies for me to bring since my birthday is October 23rd---just a week before Halloween. Our family doesn't celebrate Halloween now, but that doesn't mean we can't still enjoy a cute pumpkin with candy corn eyes!

Our family attends homeschool co-op on Wednesdays so I always pack the kids a lunch. Today they'll be treated with these sweets and my mom's tradition will have finally carried on to my kids. It took me 17 years, but here's one I'll finally be able to cross off the mom to-do list!

Thanks for stopping by the Homemaking Party. I'm excited to see what you've all got to share!

Linking with:

Homemaking Party @ Classical Homemaking

Whole-Hearted Home Wednesdays 

A Wise Woman Builds Her Home

Homemaking Link Up @ Raising Homemakers

Inspire Me Wednesday @ MamaBuzz

Wow Us Wednesdays
Coffee and Conversation

Happy Homemaker Monday

I'm a very happy homemaker now that fall has arrived! I've been baking, drinking flavoured tea, and doing the massive seasonal clothing swap! Fall is here and I love making my home a peaceful place in which to relax!

Today I'm participating in Happy Homemaker Monday. Here's what's going on in my world this week:

The weather.....
Thankfully, we're finally seeing some cooler weather! My air conditioning has been off for four days now and baking is only warming the house up by a couple degrees. We spent the late afternoon and early evening outside yesterday and coats were essential! The leaves are just starting to turn and fall. I've not noticed any chimney smoke in the air yet---but I'm sure it's on its way!

Right now I am....
My husband took the older kids to evening church and I stayed home with the youngers who've been in bed for hours. I've been working on my devotional book that I'm hoping to publish Thanksgiving week. It's almost time for my husband to come home and we're planning to watch Murdoch Mysteries and have popcorn. We always put everyone to bed early on Saturday and Sunday nights so we can hang out.

Thinking....
I'm thinking of time I can set aside this week for writing. I'm really feeling an urgency to get this book out so I'm trying to balance that with the reality that I'm a homeschooling mom of nine children and can't lock myself away for hours every day to author books!

On my reading pile....
I'm currently reading Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass for a Victorian Sci-Fi and Fantasy class I'm writing. After that, I plan to read my friend Sherri Beth Johnson's new book, Valynn. I finished the first in her series, Georgiana, last week and really loved it!

On my TV.....
We don't have TV service but do watch things on Netflix. Lately my husband and I have been enjoying historical shows and are really into Murdoch Mysteries. We also like to watch Time Team, a British archaeology show.

Something fun to share....
Well...would you like to see the first draft of my book cover?

On the menu for this week....
I've really been craving Mexican so I know I'll be making Taco Dip. I make a big 13x9 pan of it and we eat it with chips for dinner. I've also got chili on the menu, as well as chicken and dumplings and BBQ chicken.

Looking forward to this week....
This coming weekend is our city's annual arts and crafts fair. Each year, my second daughter, Selah, and I get up early one morning of the fair and drive out to the grounds where it's held. A hay wagon drives us from the parking lot to the fair entrance and we enjoy walking around looking at all the booths. I always let her pick out a treat of some kind and sometimes we each purchase a souvenir. There are always several booth owners who give her presents. Last year, someone gave her a polished rock necklace and the year before she was gifted with a scarf.

Looking around the house....
There are clothes everywhere!! It's always a big event when I get out the seasonal clothing totes. With several children sharing each closet, I can't keep all their clothes in them year round. Whatever is not in season is stored in totes in the garage and making the switch requires lots of sorting, trying on, and washing. My washer and dryer have been going all day and I've still got a huge pile!

From the camera....
Our son, Liam, was supposed to be baptized today but I had a couple of kids who weren't feeling well so I needed to stay home with them. I went ahead and made his celebration cake anyway, as he was looking forward to it, and he placed this car on top as a decoration. He'll have the opportunity again soon to be baptized and I'll make him another celebration cake on that day. He's not opposed to the idea!

On my prayer list.....
A personal prayer is for my three year old daughter, Brenna, who is going in for an echocardiogram on Tuesday morning. There's a possibility she may have some heart issues so we're getting some tests done to find out.

Hope everyone has a beautiful week. I encourage you to make the most of your homemaking this week by focusing on atmosphere and attitude. The most cluttered of homes can be peaceful when an effort is made to keep it full of kindness and joy!

Make sure to visit Happy Homemaker Monday at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom for more inspiration.

My Return from England--Featuring Warwick Castle

Pultney Bridge selfie --- Bath, England

Hello Friends! Wow, it's been awhile since I've hosted our weekly Homemaking Party! I've returned from my England trip and am getting settled back into the regular routine. Some really fun things are in store for the next couple months---namely, I'll be releasing a book shortly!

There were lots of really amazing things to see and experience on this year's tour. I'm hoping to share them all with you over the next few weeks. One of the fun places we visited was Warwick Castle.

They've got a lovely exhibit called the Victorian House Party. The castle and grounds are owned by Madame Toussad's so there are some really amazing wax work exhibits throughout the castle.

Here are my friend Leta and I---punished for bad behaviour!

I feel so blessed to have been able to visit England once again. I'm hoping my husband can travel with me next time!

Thanks for stopping by the Homemaking Party. I'm excited to see what everyone's got to share!

Ideas for Bridging Generational Gaps

About once a month, a local assisted living facility asks for community members to come sing and play music for the residents. Our homeschool group participated last year and my teens loved bringing their guitars or piano music and playing songs the residents recognized and could sing along with.

It's important to me to teach our kids that they can have a big impact on their communities right where they are and in every stage of life. I want them to have the opportunity to learn from and be influenced by people of all generations. We live in a community that, until recently, served as mainly a retirement community for many years. There are a lot of opportunities here for the youngers and olders to mingle. Ministering at an assisted living center or to other people in our community is just as edifying for my children as it is for the residents.  As they see the joy they can bring to people, it gives them the chance to build relationships with them.

There are lots of ways to bridge generational gaps between the young and the aged. The main thing is to get over any preconceived ideas about one another's interests and, instead, open up dialogue. The older generations love to talk one on one so the best way to find out what they're in to is just ask!

Here are some more ideas to help younger people enjoy the wisdom and influence of the older generations:

• Take a nature walk together and collect items for a fairy pot. If the older person has difficulty outside, the younger person could bring all of the supplies to their room, open up a sunny window, and work on the project with them there.
• Cards, board games, and puzzles are always fun and challenging. Pick games that aren't super complicated but will require all players to strategize. These sort of mind builders are beneficial to every age level.
• Prepare a picnic to enjoy together in or out of doors. 
• Bake cookies or make and decorate a cake together. One of my favorite early memories was when our neighbor, Alice, invited me over to make oatmeal cookies. I was only about six years old and I remember she's the one who taught me to sift flour!
• Spend time looking at cloud or rock formations and use your imaginations to decide what they look like.
• Do a simple sport like badminton, ping pong, or bounce a ball back and forth while visiting.
• Visit a lake or river to go fishing or skip rocks in the water.
• Work on a project like repairing a small engine or building a birdhouse. 
• Have a conversation about something special like their father's tackle box or their mother's sewing box. 
• Look through photographs together.
• Do a service project together like preparing gifts or writing cards or making hats and blankets.
• Find some old newspapers or magazines and have the older person talk about events or ads from their point of view.
• Play with Legos or make a model car.
• Cut paper dolls from magazines or make scrapbooks from pretty pictures. My great-grandma loved to do this with me when I was little and I have several of our scrapbooks made from seed catalogs.

No matter the activity, the important thing for all generations is to know that we have true friends and are being loved and respected for the valuable people we are. Spending time in real relationships is important for all ages.

I'd love to hear your ideas for bridging generational gaps. Let me know in the comments below!

Second Regency Dress is Finished!

Sewing is coming along nicely for my Regency "trousseau". Ha! Yesterday I finished my second dress and now I can't decide if I want to wear this one in the promenade or the red one I showed you last week. 

I went with a higher neckline and long sleeves with this one---a morning dress look. I love the option this pattern has for adding a waistband. Even though I don't have a tie running through, it just looks so nice and much less "nightgownish" than some of my previous dresses.

I also chose to do a tie back. Several references say this was the most common way to close up the dress in Jane's day.

I've done so many hand-stitched eyelets lately that they're really growing on me. Only 15 more days until I leave! I'm super excited! 

DIY Vintage Heirloom Stool Makeover

I'd like to introduce you to a dear family heirloom: 

This is The Stool. 

In the early 1950s, in Burns, Oregon, my grandpa George Bradley made this stool for his new bride, Betty Kiggins Bradley. The top was plain wood colored and the legs were painted bright red and later, a rusty red color. When my mom left home (Gresham, Oregon---I think) in the early 1970s, Grandma Betty gave her this stool, as she had no furniture! 

Mom kept this with her when she married my dad. She painted it chocolate brown and did a little repair work: 

It has served all kinds of purposes since! I remember it as a plant stand in the living room and a night table in pretty much every family member's bedroom! When my husband and I were married in Baker City, Oregon in 1998, guess what I inherited?

The stool! This really is one of the most special things I own. How awesome to have such a portable little heirloom! For several years, I had plans on fixing it up, repainting it, just adding my own flavor to it. 

A few years ago,I decided I wanted to "get crafty" so I grabbed The Stool out of the shed and came up with a plan to get it looking presentable. (FYI---I really had no plan...I just kind of did whatever seemed right. Ha! I'm a very spontaneous "crafter").

I brought it in and set it on the kitchen floor, telling little Selah that I was planning to fix it up cute. She put her baby blanket on it and said she thought that was pretty cute. 

It was...but not quite what I had in mind! I wanted to try and take the paint off but, since I was only using the things I had around the house, I had to improvise. I used my Pampered Chef spatula to begin scraping off the top. 

That lasted about 5 minutes and I was sick of it so I decided just to paint over the 3 other layers of paint and hope that it would crackle neat! 

It did! By the way, I tried and tried to pry that nail out of there but it wouldn't budge. I kinda like leaving it there though as my mom put it there and it's kind of been a little joke over the years! I needed to find some way to cover it though! 

After a couple coats of paint, I decided to stop for the night and consider options for the next step. 

The next day, I remembered that I had several yards of some pretty fabric that my friend JoAnn gave me. I decided to make a cute cushion for the top. Using my then 8-year-old Michael's school ruler, I measured out a circle that I hoped would fit.

I'd never made a cushion before so I wasn't really sure what to do---when suddenly, I remembered a Christmas craft project that we did in the 5th grade! Mrs. Neyman taught us how to make mini-pillows and string them together for wreath ornaments. 

I stitched all the way around the circle.

Little Avalon helped, of course! 

Then I filled it loosely with pillow filling. Once I set the cushion on the stool, I realized that The Nail was still very obvious. So, I hot glued eyelet trim all around the top and then glued the pillow on. 

Not bad for a 21st century makeover!