Grateful for Grace

Fact and Fantasy Answers

by GfG on January 27, 2012

{Still time to enter the If the Shoe Fits, Buy It $75 giveaway!}

I shared some goals I had for this year, mixed in with some fantasy. I will expose the fact and the fantasy now.

Learning to sew a girl’s basic skirt. Fantasy: Never, ever gonna happen. I really wish I could suck it up and take on sewing, but… not gonna do it.
Reading at least two books my kids love that I haven’t read yet. Like…ahem… Eragon. Fact: I have asked each kiddo to choose a favorite for me to read. I’m excited about getting to know some of their favorite characters.
Doing all of the school I am supposed to do every day that has lesson plans. Fact: Yup. When I say all of the school and every day, I mean for normal days. Sometimes “stuff” happens (sickness, a ministry opportunity, etc), but I have to make school a priority and stay on task (aka: avoid Facebook, email, internet in general as well as sweeping spontaneously). I have found an app that helps me accomplish this and makes me giddy at the same time.
Planning a weekend away with My Sweetie. Fact: It’s in the works. Wahoo!! We haven’t gotten away for a whole weekend in waaaaay too long.
Keeping my closet clean. Fantay: This is as fantasy as Fantasy Island. The actual goal is to keep it clean enough to walk on the ground. Every few days anyway.
Talking friends into letting me adopt their baby and surprising My Sweetie with him/her. Fantasy: Not a friend in sight would agree to this. Clearly, I have some selfish friends.
Making Indian food once a month from scratch. Fact: I do want to do this. Yikes! Not much time left if I want to stay on track with this. I have a crockpot Chicken Tiki Masala on a list. Guess what’s for dinner on the 30th?
Deciding what curriculum I want to use and buying it all before May. Fantasy: This is so very much fantasy that it makes me laugh. I am terrible at making decisions. I think.
Posting here about easy memory making crafts and/or activities once every week or two. Fact: I hope they encourage you in growing in gratefulness for the time you have with the children in your life.
Removing the mucus membranes in my nose so I don’t have cedar allergies anymore. Fantasy: Sadly.

What goals do you have for the year?

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Best Bath Ever

by GfG on January 26, 2012

{Still time to enter the $75 If the Shoe Fits, Buy It giveaway!}

I saw something on Pinterest (you may have heard of that time sucking happy place) and knew it was something I just had to do. It was one of the easiest memory makers ever.

I thought the kiddos might implode with happiness when I threw the glow sticks in the tub. The hilarious part was that after I said, “I want you to take a bath in the dark tonight” and shut the door, a stunned silence hung over the bathroom for a full ten seconds. The seconds, people! That’s like three days in grown up time. When I threw in the lit sticks, the giggles were delightful. Yup, a memory made with Mama looking pretty stinkin’ awesome. Love those kinds of memories. ;-)

Add in the fact that the sticks were a total of $5 and you have a winner.

Why not try this little activity for your kiddos?

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If the Shoe Fits, Buy It Event 2012 {giveaway}

by GfG on January 24, 2012

Today, entries start for the international holiday, If the Shoe Fits, Buy It! It’s one of my favorite holidays, though bittersweet. Honoring my mom by shopping and/or donating for others to have shoes is a delight. (Why shoes?) I’d trade every single pair to have my mom back…

Our last 4th of July together. I asked for a photo of just the two of us.

Can’t you just see her heartache?

…but that’s not an option, so let’s press on with the event.

There are three main ways to participate in this international holiday (a holiday favored by women, strangely). You do not have to spend money. Entries must be received by Friday, January 27 at 11:59pm. Any one of these activities also gets you entered in the giveaway:

1) Buy a pair of shoes on January 25th, or in honor of my mom and email (gratefulforgrace at hotmail dot com) me a photo of the shoes. Any kind of shoes, for anyone (though my mom was partial to buying for herself and her daughters).

and/or

2) Donate to Soles for Souls in memory of my mother (Georgia Lagarde). You can have me listed as the person notified or you can forward your confirmation email to me.

and/or

3) Donate five or more pairs of shoes to a Soles for Souls station (or similar organization). Please email me a photo of the shoes donated. (You will get an entry for every 5 pairs donated, just FYI.)

You have to do one of these 3 before you can earn other entries, but after you do one, you can get your name in the hat more. If you know you are doing one, but plan to do it on Wednesday, go ahead and click it so you can open the other entry options.

Start sharing on Facebook, on your blog, on Twitter, via email… by word of mouth (gasp! how old fashioned!)… about this event and two things happen:

1) I am blessed by others considering joining in on honoring my mom’s memory and

2) You gather more entries for the $75 shoe giveaway

Remember Soles for Souls gives a pair of shoes to someone in need for every dollar donated. What a bargain!

What kind of shoes do you have in mind? Practical? Trendy? Flats? Boots? For someone else? For you?

My goal for the event is 100 pairs of shoes (bought + $ donations + donated shoes). My goal for Wednesday is to buy a cute pair of shoes and talk about Mom. Sis and I will spend the afternoon together, so the odds are good. I will post the photo collage of all the shoes bought as well as the donation tally on Sunday.

Click on the [click to continue] box in blue below to enter via Rafflecopter!

Let If the Shoe Fits, Buy It 2012 begin! (and may husbands worldwide accept it without complaints)

[click to continue…]

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iPad Apps for Homeschooling

January 23, 2012

Our family received an iPad for Christmas. It is not mine. Ahem. I’ve been told to say that. Repeatedly. More than one set of grandparents sent Christmas money and My Sweetie and I decided it was the best use of the funds. The kids were stunned Christmas morning (one of my favorite verbs on Christmas [...]

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Training vs. Righteousness

January 22, 2012

“Teaching our children to be well-behaved, good citizens is proper as far as it goes. But we must never mistake this training for Christian nurture or discipline, nor should we mistake their acquiescence to our social mores as true Christian righteousness.” Elyse M. Fitzpatrick & Jessica Thompson in Give Them Grace, p 45 Pin it [...]

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Why a Four Day School Week?

January 20, 2012

I am a fan of a four day homeschooling week. Why? Well, several reasons. All of them good, naturally. I believe that working diligently four days in all your subjects covers plenty of material. I admit that I tweak our Tapestry of Grace planned weekly lessons to fit in four days and I did the [...]

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A Place & A Home

January 19, 2012

{Learn how to win a $75 gift certificate to an online shoe store AND bless me by participating in If the Shoe Fits, Buy It!} A while back on a Sunday at church I became overwhelmed with emotion. It wasn’t the LORD. Sorry. It was of thoughts of home. It wasn’t heaven. Sorry again. The [...]

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It’s (Almost) Time to Buy Shoes! {giveaway}

January 18, 2012

An international holiday is coming up next week. Next Wednesday is If the Shoe Fits, Buy It Day. Yippee! You haven’t heard of it? Short Story: My mom had quite the thing for shoes (as seen in this post I wrote just one week before she died), so, in her honor, I encourage others to [...]

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Letter to Myself 15 Years Ago

January 16, 2012

Dear Mama of Only Mere Hours, The day has arrived. Your firstborn child is in your arms. I know you are a bit loopy from the anesthesia and other drugs from your unplanned c-section, but the emotions flooding you are real and not narcotic induced. The love is unbridled and uncontainable right now. That won’t [...]

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Which One Are You?

January 15, 2012

In reading a letter from a missionary couple our church supports (and I just love!) in Ethiopia, a particular sentence stood out to me about what their goal is: … making radical disciples, not just cultural Christians. That’s it! Those are the phrases I’ve been looking for lately. In learning about grace and what it [...]