WFMW: Edible Easter Tomb

I love Easter. Indeed, it is the greatest day in all of Christian history. The day that death was overturned, sins were permantantly removed, the viel torn down joining the holy of holies with the rest of the temple. Jesus didn't just die- He ROSE again!!

One Sunday when I taught the preschoolers at church we had this AWESOME activity. We gave the kids little balls of dough, such as pillsbury biscuits in a can. We had them roll their dough into a "tomb". We then gave each child a small marshmellow and told them that we were going to pretend that the marshmellow was Jesus. We had the kids put "Jesus" in the "tomb" and then baked the tombs for a couple of minutes. When the biscuits were done cooking we gave each kid their "tomb" back and had them crack it open to find Jesus. The heat melts the marshmellows so when the kids broke open the dough it was empty. We then used that time to explain how even though Jesus was put in the tomb He didn't stay there. It was such an awesome and simple visual for the most complex and important event in history.

This tips work for me! Join Kristen at We Are THAT family for more Works for me Wednesday tips!

Knock Off Wood

I love to create things. LOVE. Whether it be gluing, sewing, sawing, planting, decorating, or hammering. I love it.

I have only worked with wood once, when I built kind of sort of helped my dad build a book case for the corner of my room. Which, turned out very well, might I add. I loved working with wood though. There is something empowering about taking a saw, hammer, drill, and raw wood and turning it into something functional.

Ana at Knock Off Wood makes amazing creations. The best part is she FREELY posts the plans on her blog for everyone else to make them too! Anyone who has a craftroom label of stuff you can make just for your CRAFTROOM is evidence enough of how awesome they are.

Seriously, when I move into my own place I'm not buying any furniture. I'm making it ALL. Like this awesome entry bench and shelf. And this  would make a great little wrapping station, don't you think? I can just imagine putting rolls of wrapping paper in one of the bottom drawers, maybe keeping one of the top shelves full of sale items in case you need a last minute gift. Get a dowel or a bar that you could put in the back of the open space and hang spools of ribbon. Then you would have all that surface area to wrap. Oh, the possibilties are endless! I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this kitchen island. Doesn't it make you want to make dinner for your best friend and have them pull up a bar stool and chat with you?
What about this adorable bench and table for kids?

Go check her out! What would you make?

WILMM: talent

Why I love my man reason #12

My boyfriend is crazy talented. Not only in math and all that logical crap but with photography. He's taken several photo classes and done very well. He enjoys it as well. I've told him multiple times that he should be a photo major but he keeps telling me that you can't support a family with a photo major.

My girlfriend, Marlene, got married yesterday morning. It was a very short and intimate ceremony, but nice. She and her (now) husband(!!!) will be moving to Arkansas at the beginning of April and wanted to get married before they left. We went to the courthouse and in the presence of 4 witnesses declared before God and man that they would be faithful and true to one another for the rest of their life. It was beautiful.

Because their wedding was so small, they were on a budget, and Marlene is shy, there was no reception, cake, or photographer.

I recently purchased a Nikon d5000 and while I am no photographer, my boyfriend is. My boyfriend and I went with Marlene and Thom to a beautiful little setting. I told them how to stand and he took the pictures. And some of them are absolutly gorgeous. I'm so glad he was willing to take the pictures because he is precise and detailed and doesn't get frusterated if the picture doesn't turn out the right way the first time.

I am so thankful that he was so willing to come take pictures for over an hour and a half and never once complained. He really is the best. :)

WFMW: how to keep a good sitter

I don't need a baby sitter. I am one. Baby sitting is something that parents tend to worry about (and with good reason!). Here are some tips on how to KEEP a good sitter once you've found them.


1. Pay your sitter a fair price. Remember that while you may want to be as frugal as possible this is still someone else's form of income. A good sitter interacts with your child and cares for them. A worker is worth his pay. I charge a flat rate of ten dollars an hour. I feel that that is a sufficient amount of money to compensate for the time I could be doing something else. What is minimum wage? Anything less than that is just demeaning.

2. Whenever possible, tell your sitter what time you will come back, and then stick to it. Sitters have a life outside of watching your children. Nothing is more frustrating for me than to have a family tell me they will be home at one time and then get home hours later. Just because they got home later doesn't mean that I don't have to be at work any later the next day.

3. If you have your baby-sitter driving your kids all around town, give them some extra money for gas. Even if it's only five bucks.

4. Along those lines, never ask your sitter to buy anything for your kids (dinner, school supplies, dog food, etc) without giving them the money first. You never know how much money your sitter may have and if they are in college they're probably on a pretty tight budget.

5. Be ready to pay your sitter. You would be amazed at how many times parents have asked me if I have change for their cash. Pay them when you get home. I baby-sit for a family weekly and sometimes she will just keep track of my hours and pay me at the end of the month. It works for that family. Then I baby-sat for another family that never paid me. And didn't up until two months later. Only after I called twice and then had to go pick up my check. Needless to say I won't be going back there.

6. Leave your baby-sitter options. If you don't want your kids to watch tv or play outside while you're gone, that's fine. But leave them options and ideas so that they know what to do when you are gone.

7. Be approachable. Ask how the night went. If your kid has had a rough day, ask if anything happened during the night. It's very hard for a baby-sitter to tell a parent when their child was disrespectful or disobedient. Open up the lines of communication so that the baby-sitter feels comfortable sharing that information with you.

The families that I love to baby-sit for do these things. And because I know what to expect and they are so helpful I am more willing to keep my schedule open for them.
These tips are what have worked to keep me with the families I am with! :)
Check out Kristin for more Works for Me Wednesday tips!

WFMW: packing/travel tips

I just got back from a weekend away, am going away again this weekend, and am leaving for Ireland in about three weeks. I have done my fair share of packing and traveling in the past.

Here are a few of the packing trips that work best for me. :)

1. Roll your clothes, especially pants or jeans. It really does make a big difference.

2. In the past I have used freezer sized ziplocks to pack my shirts. I fold them up like you would normally and put as many in a bag as I can. I seal the bag almost all the way across but leave a little bit unsealed. I sit on it then and squish out all the air and make it as flat as possible. Then I seal it all the way. It's sort of like vacuum sealing a bag shut- but a heck of a lot cheaper and with only using ziplocks.

3. Layer dryer sheets throughout your bag so that your clothes smell nice and clean, not musty, when you unpack.

4. If flying, pack a change of clothes and important hygeine type things like deoderant and a toothbrush in your carry on...just in case. I also pack pajama pants, or yoga type pants, that I change into on the flight if it's a long one so that I'm more comfortable.

5. Stick unmentionables and socks into shoes to save space (and embarrasment if they decide to search your bag!).

6. Downey Wrinkle Releaser spray is a must pack item. It's easy to use and works quite effectivley on wrinkled clothes.

7. Pack jewlery into sandwich sized ziplocks to avaid tangling and misplacing. (Can you tell I like ziplocks?)

8. Again, if flying, tie colorful ribbon onto your bag so that when they come off the belt you can spot it easily. I've also seen people use brightly colored duct tape to "decorate" their bag.

9. I always pack two trash bags when going away for long periods of time, especially when I know I won't have washing facilities. I put my dirty clothes in one bag and then when it is time to pack up to leave I put any extra clean clothes in the other. This makes for less laundry when I get home.

10. Pack a good book! What vacation or getaway is complete without a good book in hand?

I'm taking my laptop with me to Irleand. This will be the first time I have flown with my computer. Any good travel tips??

Join Kristen at We Are That Family for more Works for Me Wednesday tips!

1,000 gifts list 250-260

250) orange poppies sprouting up through a crack in the concrete

251) black and white photos

252) flourishing flowers

253) new carpet squishing under bare feet

254) sight of boyfriend changing his oil

255) packing and planning for trips

256) birdfeeder full of seeds

257) pretty toes

258) lots of people at funeral celebrating Kay's life

259) building a family tree

260) amazing architecture

"There is no event so commonplace but that God is present whithin it, always hiddenly, always leaving you room to recognize Him...see [your life] for the fathomless mystery that it is. In the boredome and pain of it no less than in the exciemtnet and gladness: touch, taste, and smell your way to teh holy and hidden heart of it because in the last analysis all moments are key moments, and life itself is grace." Don Stephens

WFMW:easy format for a family tree

I really enjoy learning about my family. I've been blessed in that my mom's side has a LOT of information regarding her side of the family tree.

Trying to format a family tree is not very easy though, and since I am very much a visual learner I wanted to see it all laid out.

I googled around and stumbled upon My Heritage. I really like it because you can set up your family tree, you have the option to add notes about birth, death, military, kids, random comments, ect. There is also a search option, so, say you've traced your family back a whole bunch of generations and you want to look at a particular person. Instead of having to remember which side of the family they're on or how far back you can simply start typing in the name in the search box and any names that match will pop up.

Also, if you enter in someone's information and another person who has used the website has a match or similiar entry a little green circle will pop up by their name. You can click on it and compare to other people's family trees if they're not blocked.

This website has worked for me and I love it!

Join Kristen and check out more Works for Me Wednesday tips!

school

I am in the process of transfering right now. A very long process of transfering. It seems as though every body else in the process of transfering too. On top of budget cuts and the impactedness of colleges I just checked online to make sure that everything that I had done was all in the clear. And I found out that even though I ordered my transcripts from a certain school they never got to one of the schools I applied to. And wouldn't you know it, the deadline was today. I thought I was going to throw up. I cried instead.

I need to go back to that school and make sure that the transcripts were sent to another school I applied to, of which, the deadline is July so I am thankful. And then I applied to one other school previously so I know all of my transcripts are there.

I have a very bad sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach that I'm not going to be attending school in the fall. And there's absolutly nothing I can do about it.

I feel lost. My friend's around me have graduated, some are getting married. And I'm here. In limbo. Alone. Constantly being reminded of the possibility of not getting accepted anywhere for this fall becuase people are constantly asking if I've heard anything.

And in my head I know that this is just a season. That it will pass. That if I don't get accepted anywhere this semester there will be another semester after that. And I know that I've done everything on my part to make it happen. But deep down, I feel like a failure. I feel like I'm stuck in this rut of life watching everyone run by me as I claw the air trying to climb out of the pit and join them. It's not a pleasant feeling.

So Lord, now would be a great time for you to reveal some big life plan. Now would be a wonderful time to show me what the heck You want me to do. I'm listening. You have my undivided attention. Where are You taking me?

23rd birthday

Happy 23rd Birthday Shannon!

May you always be blessed;

with walls for the wind,

a roof for the rain,

a warm cup of tea by the fire,

laughter to cheer you,

those you love near you

and all that your heart might desire.

WFMW: Paying with cash

In a world where debit cards and credit cards are so easily availabe and regularly used it's easy to spend your hard earned money on junk.

The past two months I have been taking my paycheck (I only get paid once a month, so that takes some budgeting as it is) and I sort of pigeon hole my money. I have money for tithe, car insurance, phone bill, ect. I deduct those monies off the top and pay off my credit card (which I use for monthly reaccuring bills- good way to earn credit without going overboard.) I then get a certain ammount of money in cold, hard, cash. This money is to be used for groceries, gas, entertainment, gifts, ect. Anything that isn't a monthly reaccuring payment is paid for with cash. If I do buy something online I take the cash equivilant and put it in the bank to be deducted from my debit card. No freebies here. I have to make that ammount last the entire month. If I use it up before my next paycheck, it's gone. Of course, if I really need to put gas in my car I will use my debit card, but as far as fun things go my money is out.

I use the remainder of my money and put it into savings for emergency, car insurance, or, as has been the case for a while now, my upcomiong Ireland trip.

I've found that by actually being able to see and feel the money I am less prone to buy junk I don't need/won't use/poor quality/whim buys becuase I have to physically handle the money. It's not just a magical transaction that happens with the swipe of a card.

Paying with cash has been working for me!

36 Days

Guess where I'm going in 36 days!?

Do these pictures help?

Ireland! My passport is here, my flights are booked and all that's left to book is hotels. I am getting very excited!!!

How He loves us

This song pretty much sums it all up, dontcha think?

WFMW: wallpaper remover

My dad is on furlough this week from work. While he is taking his forced unpaid vacation he is working on our (very outdated) living room. This includes stripping the wall paper from our adjacent dining room.

Here is my work for me wednesday: for easy wall paper remover mix equal parts downey fabric softener with equal parts water. spray on and let sit for a couple of minutes, then use a putty knife and scrap it off. If there is still residue from the wallpaper spray again and use the putty knife. Not only does it remove wall paper, it makes your house smell good!

Dear Grandpa

Dear Grandpa,

Dad's on furlough this week and I guess he decided it was time to re-do the living room. I just got done helping strip the wall paper in the dining room. As we sprayed it with fabric softener and water and then scrapped it off I couldn't help but think about how much of your hard work went into creating this space so many years ago, just for your granddaughter to destroy it. It seems sort of ironic, doesn't it?

I saw the pencil lines your hand drew on those wall, long before mom ever married dad, long before I was ever a thought. Perhaps even before mom was ever a thought. I can see you with a pencil in hand, another tucked behind your ear, a measuring stick, a level, carefully measuring, marking, with skill and precision. You always pay attention to detail. Meticulous and sure, your work always comes out top notch. High quality. Because your work reflects your character.

I'm thinking about how happy mom and dad are to be changing that wallpaper and those curtains...oh...those curtains. I can imagine Grandma giddy with excitement as she picked out the wallpaper- and curtains to match. My guess is that her excitement is what caused you to glue the wall paper to the wall and to hang those hideous curtains. I can just imagine her as a young house wife decorating your home. Transforming it into a space uniquely hers. I must say that she did a much better job when you guys moved. I miss her so much, Grandpa. I would hang those ugly curtains on every window in the house if it meant we could keep her for just a little while longer.

I miss you Grandpa. I wish I didn't have to wait until September to see you. In a couple of years here hopefully it will be my wedding that you'll be coming out for. :)

I love you so much. Tell Grandma Verla and Elsie hi for us. Sorry again for destroying all your hard work. Hopefully our work will make you proud when you come see us. :)

love you lots,
Elizabeth