. from our house to yours .

 

. seasons .

i really like that there are seasons of life.  i most definitely don't always like the season that i am in at the time, but sometimes i love it and don't want it to change.  right now i'm in a season that i cannot wait to get out of.  this past week i've been stuck in a rut and am trying to peel myself out and doing so in whatever way i possibly can.  i've missed some sleep.  i've missed some meals.  but life goes on. 

i'm typing this because i am a real person.  i didn't want to.  i didn't want the parents of the children i take care of in my home to think that i'm a crazy person.  i'm not crazy.  i'm human.  just like all humans make mistakes, all humans have struggles.  all humans deal with life in their own ways.  so, yes, i struggle.  but in the same note, i try my hardest to not let my struggles, my grumpiness, or whatever it may be to interfere with the lives of my children, whether they be my own or the 4 others that i get to love on every day.  sometimes i fight the frown through the smile.  ever heard the saying "fake it till you feel it"?  that's what i've lived by the last week.  i'm just in a fog.  just in a pit that i know i'll get out of in a matter of time. 

my ruts typically come about because i stay home.  i stay home all day, every day.  every single day, monday through friday.  if you don't know what that's like, try it and see how you feel by friday.  if i don't take care of myself, take one night a week to just go out with a friend, or have "me" time, satan uses that to drag me down.  and he drags me down fast.  this rut that i am in is a little different, but i know that the same changes will effect my mood, my patience, and my overall health just the same.  tomorrow i have a day off.  and i'm looking forward to it.  i do absolutely love my job.  absolutely.  i have been so extremely blessed to have this opportunity to take care of other babies in my home.  but everyone needs a break at some point.  and the "me" time comes when i make time for it.  having friends has been key for me.  just finding someone who will pray with me, laugh with me, talk to me, and know what i need. 

if you are a stay-at-home mom, you know about ruts.  and we all get out of our ruts in our own ways.  but i take one day at a time.  one hour at a time sometimes.  and with prayer and the right words, it'll happen.  the next seasons of my life is sure to be great.

. Christmas artwork .

since i have other children in my home, we do crafts pretty regularly.  this is one of my new favorites though. 

 
  
as soon as they dry, i'm going to put them in black frames and have them on display.  such a sweet remind of how precious these times are when they are small.  this is definitely a piece of their artwork i will hold onto.

speaking of artwork ... i still have not figured out how i am going to store all of their artwork that i do keep.  i have one big tub in my closet that has everything in it, but it's running out of room.  i've thought about just taking pictures of each piece and keeping the picture.  that would definitely save room.  i can't keep everything and i'm not the most sentimental person either.  but one day, i just may want to be able to look back on these things.  

so, how do you save artwork?  how do you choose what you save and what you don't?  you just may start seeing more artwork pop up on my blog from now on.  just a warning!   

handprint ornaments

we made these handprint ornaments today and i absolutely LOVE them. 

i mixed 2 cups flour, 1 cup salt, and 1 cup water.  mixed it well until it formed a dough, then rolled the dough into balls.  this amount made 4 baby sized handprints.  i flattened out the dough into circles and pressed their hands into it. 

they baked for 3 hours on 200*.  before i baked them, i used a pencil to make 2 holes in the top for ribbon.  take a look ...

when i had everyone's handprints done, i still had some extra dough, so i made this..

i love them!  and now they are all 3 front and center on my tree ...

 
 
 

 
 
 

. ballerina birthday party .

saturday we had karsyn's 4th birthday party.  well, actually it was the first of 3 she is having.  what a spoiled girl.  she's big into dancing and ballerinas right now, so we had her party at the local dance studio where she attends classes. 

 


sweet baby had a blast.  she loves dancing like sissy does.  i'm pretty sure everyone had a great time except the birthday girl.  she insisted on practicing her attitude for her tween years.  i'm just glad the party went on. 

 
 

it was a great party and we are so thankful for the friends that came.  karsyn got lots of barbie stuff which is her favorite thing right now.