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I have the fun opportunity to work with the 8 and 9 year old girls in our church for a program they call Activity Days. Basically, we get together after school twice a month and hold activities for them that help fulfill goals in several areas, with the ultimate goal of earning their Faith in God award when they turn twelve.
I adore this job, adore these girls, and am newly motivated to do more and be better at it. I have been working with another woman from church who is AMAZING. So amazing that she didn't much need/want my help with the activities. However, she has asked to be released from this job because she is also the director of our church's Girls Camp...and even super woman has her limits, right? I will miss her example of love and service to these girls, and I am happy to have had the chance to watch her in action. Now, until I have a new teaching companion, the planning falls to me. But I am excited about this!
So, this week I taught the girls how to do Doodle Collages...basically artwork that they can use to capture an event or use for goal-setting. We reviewed and listened to a talk entitled, What Have I Done for Someone Today? from a recent General Conference. I created a doodle collage prior to the activity to show the girls how to do it, and mine was generated from quotes and ideas I got from listening to this talk. In it I tried to set goals for being more motivated to be kind and to serve others. The girls made their own collages, and they were super cute. I should have taken pictures of it all, but I failed to. One of those times when you were enjoying the moment and failed to document it. So imagine 10 cute girls sitting around my kitchen table making their collages and setting goals to be and do better. I am humbled by them and their positive attitudes.
Anyway, here is my collage. It's not much, but it gives you the idea. I like the idea of maybe creating something like this to give my girls as a card for a birthday or something, perhaps filled with things they did or accomplished that year. Just a thought...for another month.
p.s. My husband thinks this collage looks like it came straight from the 60's...a little too psychedelic for his tastes. I was just trying to be bright and colorful for the girls! Promise!
As promised...the bunny bean bags! I found the idea for these over at Two Straight Lines. I improvised a little, but these remain similar to hers. I had enough felt in my supplies to make these without needing to purchase anything. I was able to eek out eight of them, so we made two bags to put them in and are giving a little Easter surprise to our neighbor's cute granddaughter. She and Grace are only three weeks apart in age, so we are hoping she will like them as much as Baby G does. I hope to teach Grace to do a bean bag toss into an Easter bucket with these.
It makes me wonder about what other animals I could create with this felt bean bag idea.
I have been thinking a lot about emergency preparedness lately. I suppose many of us have been in light of recent natural disasters around the world. We have been trying to increase our awareness and preparedness a little bit at a time over the past couple of years. But, it's a slow process. It was not feasible for us to afford to go out and get our year's supply of food, 72 hour kits, and everything else all at one time. So, we have slowly but surely been trying to prepare a little here and a little there.
We have put together our year's supply of food in our cold storage room. We have a years supply of rotatable foods as well as a year's supply of 5 - 25 year storage items. There are some gaps in these supplies, but for the most part we have what we need in that department.
We also acquired a generator this year. B still needs to adapt it to use propane rather than gasoline. But, there is a certain amount of comfort in knowing we could generate enough electricity to heat our home and cook our food in an emergency. And hopefully we would be able to bless the lives of others with supplies we have collected. And if we cannot generate electricity, we also have a sun oven. I have no clue how to use it yet, but we have it. So, in the event we aren't personally destroyed in an emergency and only suffer the lack of available food, water, and electricity...well, we should fare well enough.
Here in Utah it really isn't a matter of if, but rather a matter of when we experience an earthquake. So it never hurts to be prepared. Trust in God, but also be prepared.
But, with all the earthquakes and disasters occurring in recent months, I have been very much concerned about our 72 hour kits. What do we grab if we need to evacuate the house in 10 minutes...or ten seconds? Where do we put these things? How do we decide what to put in them? Well, I set a goal to get a better handle on our 72 hour kits, and the following is our solution. We devoted one entire closet in the house to be the home for our most basic emergency supplies. We now have our packs full of emergency supplies that would provide emergency food, water, shelter, and first aid supplies for at least three days. We just acquired the MREs to put into our packs, and I feel much better now knowing we have the food and water part taken care of. Here's a look at the closet and our packs. Ah...beautiful, but HEAVY!
(This picture kind of makes me think of the story of the three bears, in our case, four bears...Once there was a closet filled with 72 hour kits. The papa bear's pack was too heavy. The mama bear's pack was, well, too heavy as well. The Sister bear's pack was far too heavy for her (she was just a skinny little bean!), and the baby bear's pack just wasn't filled yet. Ah, those poor little bears! It will be a challenge to scamper out of their house under those packs, but they'll be glad they have them!)
And here are some of our MREs. I took them all out of their boxes, labeled them, and packed them into Zip-lock bags. We could get a lot more in our packs that way. We tasted a few of the meals, and I have to say that they weren't as terrible as I was thinking they would be. In an emergency, I would be perfectly happy to have them.
Now we still need to round up all of our sleeping bags, extra flashlights and candles, tent, extra fuel, and clothing and shoes. Other things I need to fill the closet with are diapers, wipes, and a few more foods I could get a one-year-old to eat. Additionally, we would like to get all of our important documents reduced and put into one small photo album. So, even though we have quite a lot done for our 72 hour kits and emergency preparedness closet, we still have a lot more to do. So, that is one of my new goals...finish that closet! Any ideas?
Okay, I haven't posted anything because I haven't been able to complete the word art project yet. However, I thought I would post my Easter preparations so far. Now I should explain to you that I am not one of those women who has a different wreath to put on her door each time the season changes or another holiday emerges on the calendar. I do not have labeled totes in my attic with decorations for Christmas, Easter, Valentines, Halloween, Thanksgiving, St. Patrick's Day, Flag Day, you get the picture. I have Christmas decorations. Period.
But, I remember each holiday growing up, and my mom would make an effort to put up some little decorations or posters on the walls that reflected the holidays. They were simple affairs, tasteful. Just a minor detail, but I remember them because she marked the holidays by them. One of my earliest memories is of one of those posters on the wall when I was three. I just remember the colors, not the picture itself. But, still.
So, I am making an effort to make a little more to-do about Easter. I do not have bunnies frolicking around and eggs in bowls and nests and...does it occur to anyone else how WEIRD Easter decorations can be? Bunnies and eggs. Strange correlations, right? Anyway, I only have one decoration up. I found a blog that had some free copies of vintage Easter postcards. I downloaded those and then put multiple cards to a page. Then I cut those out, attached them to ribbons, and attached those hanging from a larger ribbon over the windows in my dining room. It turned out something like this:
And here is a closer view of the cards...
I should have taken this picture in the morning when the sunlight is coming through the windows in a lovely way. It is really quite a happy circumstance to meet these sweet little images in the morning. Grace loves them.
Anyway, here is a copy of the cards in the event that you would like to print some out for yourself. I also used them for Easter cards for my Activity Day girls from church. I also plan to use some of these as tags for my girls' Easter baskets. There are all sorts of things you could do with them. I enjoy using vintage prints because they are sweet and sentimental and evoke something beautiful and winsome. I had mine printed on just plain white card stock, and they turned out perfectly.
Also, I made these little flash cards for Grace. Since she will be nearly 17 months old when Easter rolls around, I thought something for her basket that we could use to teach her words would be nice. Again, the vintage prints are whimsical, and I love that. They are sweet and quaint, and I think every little girl should grow up seeing lovely and wonderful things. For an older child, these could be made into a matching memory game. But, for now, I just printed one set (again, on white card stock) and cut them into squares.
And soon I will be posting the bunny bean bags I am making for G's Easter basket. I have them nearly finished, but still need to sew on the bunny tails. So, that will give you some Easter-ific-ness to look forward to! I have a few more ideas up there in that crowded, confused place called my brain. But, I'm not entirely sure I'll have time for them to all come to fruition. But, this is a start!
Okay, so I found a project. Not that I have any lack of projects on that to-do list in my brain. However, as I was pondering what new assignment I might give myself and strolling around some inspiring blogs, I came across a project that should be easy, fun, and hopefully under $20. You may have seen this artwork featured on Young House Love. Just framed words. I'm not in love with what this particular piece says, but it occurred to me that I might challenge myself to come up with an image of words that might be simple and powerful for my family.
I have a narrow wall in our dining area in need of a bench and some artwork. The bench, my husband must build, so we'll have to wait on that one until he has more time. The print currently occupying the space is ill-framed and too small, even for that small wall. However, a long, vertical frame with word art might just be the thing to brighten, fill, and add interest to the wall. And this would be very inexpensive to change up in the future if I decide to print up a different quote, poem, etc.
Now the challenge is to find just the right words. Isn't that always the challenge, though? I am rarely in possession of such a gift. Do I use something of my own creation? Go with something from a classic novel or treatise on nature? Should I wax scriptural? I am now officially on the look-out for the right words...and the best printing option for an 11 X 34 inch quote.
Well, my baby is sick this week. Sigh. That certainly curbs my plans for creating fabulous valentines this week to fill our family valentine box. I have only created a few things so far, so I'll share those now and we'll see how much I get done the rest of this week. I may just end up using some of the cute downloads available out there in bloggerville if my week continues to be a hands-free one.
First of all, I created these cute valentine coupons. I just printed them on white card stock, cut them out, pulled them together with a decorative brad, and tied a ribbon around them. Maggie adores gifts of time, like a date night or a trip to Maggie Moo's. So I plan to fill her coupon books with things like that. And, since Captain Thoughtful most likely will not get his valentines made for this year (shocker!), I'll give him a book of coupons to fill out for Mags as well.
This one I made using vintage clip art from this site.
These are more simple coupons, but also cute for a little girl.
Also, I sewed up some funny little animal valentines from some leftover fleece and felt I had. One for each of the girls. Since I didn't have a pattern or anything, they turned out kind of goofy. Additionally, I had a grabbing, fussy munchkin on my lap as I was sewing. Hmmmmm. Still, it's a valentine in the box, so that's good.
Also, I snaked an idea from someone's Etsy shop and made my own eye chart valentine. This will be for B from all of us girls. I don't have a photo of that one yet, but I'll post it when I do. Tonight we will be busy putting together valentine's for Maggie's class party. So, these offerings may just have to be enough. Well, that's not true. I have one more project to make heart pins for the girls to wear to school and church. I'll get those made today. I had another idea for some hand-painted cards, but I think little Miss Fever here in my arms will usurp the time set aside for making those.
I have so much to do this week. Regional arts festival submissions for Maggie's school, a thank-you luncheon to organize for activity days, the ever difficult task of entertaining a particular one-year-old. And Valentines Day, with all that entails, is just around the corner. I have done a bit of blog-stalking this morning as I've held the sleeping baby G in my arms. I dare say, the creativity out and about in the blog-o-sphere is uncanny. There is nothing like a holiday to bring out evidence of this in full force.
Last year we started the tradition of having a family Valentine box. In the days and weeks leading up to Valentine's day, everyone was invited to make cards and gifts for other family members, and sneak them into the box. I confess that I did most of the valentine-ing, though Mags kicked in a few of her super-cute six-year-old offerings. B failed on all counts. Boo! On Valentine's morning I made a nice brunch, we cracked open the box, and we read our valentines. We also opened a few small gifts contained therein...think Christmas morning, only mostly just the cards and proclamations of love. It was so much fun!
Last year we had a homemade box decorated by Mags. It was splendid and has a permanent, cherished place up in my closet. This year, though, I got a nice fabric covered box with a lid...to better facilitate receiving the valentines. Additionally, we can decorate it each year with a different ribbon creation, and hence use the same box over and over again. Yeah! I had planned to make a few valentines for my family to help fill the box, but I had nothing spectacular in mind. Nothing special. Then looking at all the valentine offerings people are making and giving, I begin to feel inspired. I have decided that my next assignment will be to make one extra-special valentine for each of my three darlings here at home. Something above and beyond the average cards I will still make. Something really worth opening Valentines Day morning over brunch. Something to make them say, "Wow!"
I'll post pictures once I figure out what the "wow!"-makers will be. Any ideas?
Let us clarify one thing straight at the beginning. Less is often the very definition of more. Less of one thing means more of another. There will be times during this project where less blogging = more happiness for my family. During those times, I will be here less often. I do not intend to live within the procured existence one can find in blogs. This is merely my method of accountability and a measure of progress.
And so, in the very spirit of less is more, I begin these challenges to myself by first setting things in order.
Order is bliss. Consider this my statement on the affects of one's surroundings on their state of mind and its ability to unify the disparate elements of daily living into a well-functioning, efficient, productive whole. In other words, I speak of housework. If my kitchen is clean, I am happy. And if other rooms extending throughout our quarters are likewise clean, tidy, and in all general aspects without undo clutter - my happiness increases. Exponentially. My goal is to be more...well, any number of things, really. However, before I can produce for myself additional assignments in pursuit of these goals, it is a duty incumbent upon me to clean this house! Less mess = more clean. Simple math, my friends.
I find myself flying along pinned to the coattails of a busy winter season resplendent with holiday activities and parties and house guests and church work. After enjoying those events, though, we find ourselves in the aftermath. Moving through family life unorganized, unfocused, and unproductive.
Today I begin with goal number one, to be more...clean, as in tidy (though a shower would also be nice). That's right, I'm cleaning this house, baby. Top to bottom, with the exceptions of the basement, which is B's and the garage, which is also B's. Those are no-fly zones when it comes to my organizational skills. I try to walk through them with blinders, and with a wincing sigh I shut the door on those areas and dispose them from my thoughts. I can only control what I can control, and nothing more.
When that is finished, I will check in with another assignment to myself.
I don't want to be someone else, I only wish to reclaim myself. Shake the air. Crack the sky. And hope the dust of monotony and tedium will dissipate.
I can declare, vow, promise, proclaim, announce, blazon, say I am going to do any number of things. Set out a lofty resolution list that should leave its mark of transcendence upon me. Write it on an index card at the beginning of the decade and tape it to my wall.
But I'd rather not.
I already know who I am. And I'm thirsty for that girl. I want more. Not materially, and not different from myself. More of myself. I am creative, but I want more of it. I am educated, but I want to know more. I love my family, but I want to do more for them. I want to be myself, just the better part of myself.
And so begins The More Project.
Rather than a few overzealous goals set out in resolution form, I have a different plan. As often as I am able, I will seek for ways to do something more. These assignments to myself may be minute, perhaps appear trivial. But they will be my effort to begin living on purpose.
By seeking in small and simple ways to reclaim my spirit, I hope to slowly, quietly, steadily reset my course.
Be...more.
p.s. My husband thinks this collage looks like it came straight from the 60's...a little too psychedelic for his tastes. I was just trying to be bright and colorful for the girls! Promise! 
