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Last weekend I finally completed what I had wanted to start before we moved, pictorial routine charts for the younger children.
As we all have new chores and I am really trying to get the younger children to be self directed in the mornings, so hard for them especially after the move to know what to do with their time.

I spent a couple of hours cutting out and colouring (my favourite part) these simple charts for them to use each day.

I found some old pictorial chores and ideas from a long time ago that were not too large and photocopied them again. I simply choose the ones I wanted to use and then cut them out, put them into four piles, one for each child according to what they needed
I then used a thicker grade parchment look paper and folded it in half, A4 size that is. I drew on the front a simple picture with crayons. I love these crayons, they are cheap 50 cent crayons and are the best I have ever found. They colour beautifully and dare I say it I may like them better than our bees wax one, well maybe!
I then laid them out on the inside of the card and placed them in order for morning, lessons  lunch, Dinner chores and cleanup and evening preparation. I then glued them in very easily.
We also added in some exercise and free reading and I have reintroduced a ' service of love' that each child is asked to do everyday for another person. If they cannot think of something they come to me and I give them an idea or they can do an act of love for me, like a job I need doing or helping with someone etc.

So far the children are doing very well with these as they can look where they are up to and know if they have free time.
It also helps me to know if they need help with anything and I can guide them to the chart without an argument about doing something.
If it is on the card they that is what needs doing, no debate about not being told about!

I think as we need new chores we can just glue a new picture over the old one, but the structure will remain the same. Simple and easy I love it!

Blessings to you and your homes,
 

It all began with the sharing of some wonderful news for our family!

Then came....
The Accusations!
The Judgments!
The Hateful and hurtful comments!
The criticism of our family, our Faith, our values and our family size!
Our supposed lack of contentedness with where we are now!
The assertions based on....well....... we can't work it out really.

Where does it come from?
Why would they act that way?

They know so little about us. They know nothing of the years we have been gone from anything resembling a close relationship that may have been a product of the past.
They know nothing of our own hardships that we have endured over the last years.
The traumas we have suffered, the financial struggles, the choices we have made when we had none to choose from, the separations and how that has affected each one of us, the heartbreak of medical problems.
They know nothing of these events. They have chosen time and again to not be part of our lives, they know not how these situations have affected us...... and yet they judge!

They judge our lives based on their own perceptions of us, based  on their own responses to how they think we should live our lives, rather than through the eyes of love, rather than through the eyes of Jesus who truly does  know our thoughts our motives and our hearts.

In fact it all brings back to mind the time we shared other good news and were summarily treated with spite, vindictiveness and malice.
Something I have a hard time understanding. The level of commitment to such negative feelings is beyond my power of comprehension.

And it leads me to wonder how I/we react when we see people with whom we know even just by sight in our own lives, let alone on a more personal or intimate relationship.
What I mean is - when I see that lady at the shop who never seems to smile, that man at church who always has a kind word or action for others.
Is what I see an indication of their lives and how good or bad it is? And does this influence how I think of them and, yes, even the way I treat them.
Do I judge based on my own assertions of what I imagine their life must be like simply from my very slight observations of them and they way they look and act?
Do I dare to presume I know their troubles or good times and then think I am justified in my treatment of them in a certain way?
Do I treat them as I would want to be treated?

Or is it that some people will always see the good in others, will always try to help, will quickly ask forgiveness for a wrong committed and look for an opportunity to 'go the extra mile' for another in need.
While others will ALWAYS see the reasons why it is unfair that someone else has that house, that opportunity, that relationship or any other thing that their own life is lacking.

Because frankly we only ever see part of the story. Even with very close friends or family they can not know all the ins and outs that go on in our lives and more importantly in our HEARTS.

You see God has a plan for each one of us and he gives us challenges that are for each one of us alone.
How dare we suggest that just because we only see the outward appearance of a seemingly content and gracious person that obviously they have not had to deal with any problems in their lives.

HOW WRONG YOU ARE!

What might be a major struggle for them may be only a slight discomfort to you!
What may be a daily battle with an 'opportunity' does not even come into your horizon!
The things we see are not everything. What we behold as we look at someone is but a section of who each person fully is and but a fraction of their complete  lives.

To judge others by what we see of their lives, and the things we THINK we see and THINK we know is entirely wrong.
You can never understand all the emotional, physical and mental stress that others have been through - unless you have been through the exact same thing with the exact same set of circumstances they have.
Even if they lay it all out on the table, visible for all to see, you can not see or feel the intensity of the internal struggles or emotions that go along with a life and a persons particular circumstances.

However, hopefully we can all relate a little to an other's plight so we can be there to support, encourage, uplift and pray with those we have been blessed to know in these circumstances.
For it is a blessing God has opened up to us, if we find ourselves in this circumstance. An opportunity to give of ourselves that will ultimately be a blessing to others BUT to us as well - But only if you grasp the opportunity to be that someone.

So next time you see someone who seems to have it all together or even someone who looks like they do need a hand, why not look at them through the eyes of Love and ask......
What would Jesus Do?

Blessings to you and your homes,
 

'Our Lives are not determined by what happens to us,
BUT by how we react to what happens to us.
Not by what life brings us,
BUT by the attitude we bring to Life!'

This is  a thought r which I think we need to focus on in our daily lives and the challenges we each have throughout the day.
Perhaps you are lucky and rarely have a day that brings some sort of trauma or stress, and even if you are, can you or I say that we have responded in  a way that is uplifting and encouraging to all those around us.

For it is not just for others that having a positive and gentle response to life's challenges is a good thing BUT it really effects us in so many ways- physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually if we can bring an attitude that is willing to move on, to shake of the past and look for the positive in the situation, rather than to dwell on the negatives.

Of course looking for the positive can be VERY HARD indeed. Been there, done that!
But again it solves nothing to keep going on about how unfair or upsetting an event or situation or relationship was or is.

We each have an opportunity every day, perhaps many times a day to be a blessing to others as well as ourselves.

How will we respond today?
What will our attitude be?

May you each have a most happy and  joy filled day.....whatever happens.
Remember it is up to us, and we can make a difference!

" I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" Philippians 4:13

Blessings to you and your homes,
 

A morning routine is something I think is vital in our home!
We actually have a few parts of a morning routine but the one I think is the most important is our Breakfast  morning routine.
We have over the years not been consistent with our breakfast routine BUT when we are the benefits are evident in the way our days proceed are well worth the effort.
Sadly there have been times when we have not participated in this morning routine and I feel when we don't we have a  lack of family closeness. The same thing if we miss our  family time of an evening routine too.

The main part of this is to actually sit down to breakfast together as a family or if Daddy is already at work with Mummy and the children.
I must admit this was a lot easier when we were not grain free as the staple breakfast menu was usually cooked porridge withe warm drinks even in the summer! If we did not have porridge we had boxed cereal.

This actually made the process easier as we could have it all ready together and sit together.

However we still mostly try to do this, even as we are trying to cook a hot breakfast or have smoothies.
One of the essentials in having a clean start with this routine is to set the table the night before- complete with the books.
This allows for a quicker start without scrabbling for plates, mugs and other bits n pieces for breakfast.

As we are almost at the end of the meal that is when we start THE BOOKS!

The books you ask? Oh yes this is one of the most important parts of the routine.

At this point I start to read from the books~
*The first being from one of our Children's Bible Story books. Our current one is My Big Book of Catholic Bible Stories.
*Next I read about the Saint of the Day from The Catholic Parent Book of Feasts or if no saint is in this book from The One Year Book  of Saints
*Our Next book is The Book of Virtues or The Moral Compass mostly or I have used other books in the past both Catholic based or uplifting Christian
* We also use Our 24 Family Ways, (although ours is a first edition and has a flip top stand to place on the table) as a guide for family behaviour and expectations.
* After this one of the children will pray for our day, bringing family as well as private concerns and petitions to The Lord, then we say our Grace after Meals and go off to the next part of our day......Chores.

This I believe truly sets the tone for our day together as a family!

Blessings to you and your homes,
 

I often wonder in our society what has happened to the role of parents as guides and protectors of their children!

Have we given this responsibility to others and just assume that our children are being cared for? Do we know the standards and goals of those to whom we trust to guide our children? Have we truly looked into how they interact and care for those in their care?
Are we so used to others telling us that 'it's OK,' it has been approved by such and such an organisation that we negate our own responsibility's to ensure that we provide ONLY the best for our children.

It is OUR responsibility as parents to be right on top of what our children are being exposed to, not only with books, movies and schooling but in the relationships that they have as young children.
It is our right and obligation that they are only exposed to the VERY BEST that life has to offer them as they are growing and learning in this society of ours.

We need to help them develop their gifts, talents and goals of who they are and the moral obligations we have to them can not be placed in others hands. WE need to constantly assess 'is this the right place or information for my child at this given stage in their development.'
For what is acceptable reading, movie watching and relationships for a three year old is quite different for a 6 year old or a 14year old etc. Therefore it is important to continue to develop close relationships with our children to help them deal with the world and all it would throw at them.

Recently I took some of our children to see the new Avengers Movie.
The children I took had been awaiting this release for some time. We had enjoyed a couple of related movies previously ~ Thor and Captain America and the children wanted to see Avengers as it had these characters in it.
Now I don't know much else about the other "Marvel' movies and we don't have the comics or anything but these stories appealed to us as a family.

We  have some fairly strict rules for movie watching in our home and some of the age limits that apply to these.
For instance Rogan who just turned 12 has only just started watching the Lord of the Rings Trilogy.
This has been an event he has looked forward to as a almost coming of age to more 'grown up movies'
As part of our process of guiding and caring for our children we have either previewed  movies (and books) before hand or thoroughly researched it on IMBD and perhaps discussed it with others whom we trust have similar ideals as us. Even then we have a policy that if the move starts to go in directions we are not comfortable with we will stop the movie immediately, or the children leave the room as I fast forward to preview again.

While at the Avengers which is an M rated movie I was surprised to see very young children at this movie.
Our youngest to attend was Rogan and still our children wanted either me or their Dad to be at the movie with them. Not only because we enjoy sharing these experiences together but for the younger ones for the moral support we could give them if needed.
 I really was surprised to see that there were dads with their six year old sons walking in together and there were lots and lots of very young children present.
Now although I was very impressed with this movie I do think it is not for very young children.
It is full of action and violence and does have scary alien looking 'people' in it.

What I was astounded by was the fact that parents were not only bringing their young children (well some children were without adult/older sibling companionship) but that these children seemed quite immune to the violence and 'frightening scenes'.
One pair of dads who brought their little boys came quite late and seating was virtually gone. So they sent the little boys to sit alone together in another row by themselves while the dads sat together! Does this surprise you?
This was so shocking to me. What if one of them was frightened? Who could they gain comfort and reassurance from? Were they so attuned to this level of violence and story telling that they were quite comfortable with it? This idea in fact was to me was more upsetting than if they were scared.

For me what follows just goes to show that parents are not 'thinking in this vein very often at all.
The  trailers for this movies were Dark Shadows, Men in Black 3, Prometheus, Battleship and Snow White and The Huntsman, all of which were M rated trailers.
Now I truly dislike these types of movies intensely. The lines between good and evil are often muddied and the characters are often 'bad character who supposedly are misunderstood and really are good'

We have a standing policy at the movies that trailers we know nothing about are not to be watched. The children not only close their eyes but cover their ears as well to not let anything that is not 'pure, noble of uplifting' be entered into their minds.
Old fashioned perhaps, but certainly one to which I believe we should adhere in the total care of our children, not only physically but spiritually and morally too.

From my position I could not see any of the little children avoiding watching or listening to these trailers!
What were their parents thinking? These are very adult themed movies with not only violence but what I call adult content as well.
Does the innocence of children mean so little to most adults? Sadly I think that in our society it does. It seems that we don't protect the innocent from potential harm, either physically or emotionally either. It seem that it may be too much effort to go outside the norm of society and stand up for the protection and care of children.

So as to my initial question about where has all the parental guidance gone? I think many parents give it up willingly to those whom they are told are experts in the field of child development and thus know far more than they do about what is best for their children. Thus allowing those to be the ones filling children's minds with their own agenda and goals. This just makes me feel so sad and perhaps a little concerned for the future of our society.

In an effort to combat this plague overtaking our society I would entreat parents to know your own agenda. 
What is important in your own lives?
What are the goals for your family?
Are you willing to sacrifice to pass on the moral, spiritual and emotional guidelines to your very own children?
Do you value your children enough to be the primary caregiver of wisdom, understanding, and love that they may strive to be all that they are capable of?
I pray you do!

What more can you ask than to help develop the children of the future by loving, guiding and caring for the precious souls that are entrusted to our care?
There is on thing..............BE THANKFUL for that opportunity and do your very best to achieve it!

Blessings to you and your homes,

 

Isn't this a wonderful reminder of  how to live our life!

✯.* 。.✯.* * ✯~ BE SOFT ~✯.* 。.✯.* * ✯
Do not let the world make you hard. Do not let the pain make you hate. 
Do not let the bitterness steal your sweetness... 
Take pride that even though the rest of the world may disagree, 
you still believe it to be a beautiful place. » .¸¸.✯


Blessings to you and your homes,
 

I admire JR Miller and his writings. They have such a wonderful truth about them.
So today I would like to share this thought on Gentleness~ I agree with this thought wholeheartedly and pray that I am like this in my own life.

"Gentleness is a beautiful quality. It is essential to all true character. Nobody admires ungentleness in man or woman. When a man is harsh, cold, unfeeling, unkind, and rude and rough in his manner, no one speaks of his fine spirit. When a woman is loud-voiced, dictorial, petulant, given to speaking bitter words and doing unkindly things, no person is ever heard saying of her, “What a lovely disposition she has!” She may have many excellent qualities, and may do much good, but her ungentleness mars the beauty of her character." ~J. R. Miller

Blessings to you and your homes,

Have you ever soon what should have been beautiful lace that has not been cared for?
The way it is discoloured, worn and has little bits of uneven pattern or even parts that are torn. This is quite a distressing sight to see I think. To see such a beautiful piece of work that was lovingly crafted now in a state of ruin or at least unloved and uncared for.

Even though LACE has a  beauty and Strength , all of it's own, as I have said before, it is a fragile and delicate fabric. It does require extra effort to care for, but it is worth that extra care because of it's beauty and delicacy.

If only we could see this in the people God has placed in our lives.
First off our own family, as charity and love begin at home, yes OUR homes and then in the people around us.

I know you have seen, as have I,  those people around you whose LACE has become discoloured, worn and weary from lives filled with many burdens and cares.

It is a sad sight to see and yet we often miss the opportunity to 'fix' the LACE in their lives. We choose to think that a 'master lace worker' would do a better job, and I would agree with that......However The Master Laceworker has given to us, that job.
He has given to us the splendid opportunity to be 'original lace workers,' in our ability to have the gift of serving and helping these people.
We can give this LACE a new lease of life with our thoughts , words and actions.

I think that we also need to remember that we do not cause any distress to other peoples LACE. That we do not cause any discolouration and little torn parts. That we treat other LACE with infinite and gentle care.
How can we do this you may ask?

 Our words and actions can cause many imperfections  to happen, not only in the fabric of our own lives (lace) but in  the fabric of all those we come in contact with.

This seems such a small and quite a trivial task to be given and yet so many of us have affected others with these 'trifles.' We also have in our own memories the LACE that was torn from someones unthinking or even deliberate attack on ourthe  fabric of life we hold dear.

So I would challenge myself and anyone else who can see the beauty of lace in others to treat the fabrics of those lives with the most utmost care and respect. Giving thanks for the opportunity to share the love of God with them in our thoughts words and deeds.

Joining in with Trish and my other LACE loving friends reflecting on
Philippians 4:8
Whatever is..LLovely, Admirable, Cheerful and Encouraging. ~ LACE
Blessings to you and your homes,

During the week we had cause to need to move firewood from one storage area within the house to  a different fireplace. As everyone else was involved in another task I asked Moran, Myffwyn and Corbyn to take some to the new area. As this was the beginning of the day I asked the girls to put on their aprons to keep their clothes relatively clean. Arwen wanted hers on even though she was still in her pajamas.

Now I know that little children want to be involved in every aspect of home life. They want to do significant jobs, to be important within the structure of the family and yet I am still amazed each time the youngest, in this case Arwen, is so keen to be involved in the activity.
This is not a new aspect for Arwen and I guess I focus more on her as she is our littlest able bodied person. Arwen is not required to do any particular chores within our family. However she is ALWAYS wanting to help and this little wood moving episode reminded me of a similar one last year when she was only one.
As wood chopping and gathering tends to be a very male orientated chore and has been in our home our boys are generally the ones who are assigned to it. They chainsaw, chop, stack and deliver. This is usually Saxon's very special job now with the older boys doing other things, one he really loves, well not exactly.

However our older girls ~ Autumn, Eden and Vellvin are all capable of doing the wood (except for the chainsawing) and have done on quite a few occasions. In fact they actually really like it. And I imagine them as Milly from Seven Brides for Seven Brothers at the beginning of the movie.
I cannot see anything that our girls would not be able to handle in a more pioneer type setting and while  we do encourage the traditional roles of male and female and the type of work that they do we by no means not accept the excuse that because of gender the person cannot do the work.

Our boys are part of our household routine and have been from a young age. They can clean and cook (some more ably than others) and do basic sewing. Rogan even can do more accomplished sewing and craft, but this is a choice of his own.

We do tend to do lots of the family chores together and even have a buddy system at times of older and younger child, regardless of gender. There is no reason in my estimation for a young man to stand around loafing in the kitchen and watching his sisters, mother, or any female wash up and clean up the mess simply because it is supposedly 'womens work'. This does not cut the mustard with me and I will never accept the excuse "I don't know how to do it from anyone- this is answered with a quick 'well now is the perfect opportunity to learn' or the other favourite excuse for non participation in a job is 'I don't know how to do it' the come back to this one is 'Well now you have a chance to learn how to.......'
Also realising that neither the work a man is generally capable of and the work a women generally has to do does not make one more important or dominant in the relationship or
The role of men and women is different. We have different 'hard-wiring.' We have different 'heart-wiring' that gives the women a different perspective on situations than men.

We have always encouraged our young boys to be young gentlemen. Many is the time I asked our older boys to carry out the washing to the line for me, not because I was unable to carry the load but to allow them the opportunity to learn the value of being a strong man, a provider and nurturer. Opening and closing doors and walking on the curb side of the street are a few of the basics we have taught our boys. This I think helps them to relish the role of strong worker and provider that young men need to have today in society. This helps them to realise that a man is a servant to those he loves.....as Christ was a servant to his followers.

Our girls are encouraged to be feminine in all things, which does not necessarily require frills and lace, it is a femininity of the heart. Our girls can look after themselves quite well but they allow the men and boys in their lives to nurture them as is their role. They have great homemaking skills but they can do many of the outdoor work typically done by the males in our home. Our girls have done their share of building work when we were building, not because they felt the need to prove themselves equal to the men folk, BUT because we  are family and we all chip in where needed to get the job done.
The heart issue of gender roles is the important aspect to concentrate on.
Men should love, nurture,  protect and provide for the women, and girls in their lives. However they should know how to provide for themselves if this situation should occur for them ever.
Women and girls need to nurture the men and children in their lives and realistically this usually happens within the home environment for which they need to be prepared too.

In our society we need to encourage our children in the roles and responsibilities that they will be needing as they grow to maturity and give them the skills to help them achieve this. They will receive little encouragement from mainstream society on this one. So it is up to us to really continually uplift and uphold these ideals ourselves.

I think that it is vitally important to state for the record that although God created men and women different and with different roles to fulfill.......God created them equal in value and importance. However it also needs to be said that  both men and women have a unique and important  role that when worked together is the backbone of the family, and the family is the backbone of our society.

So lets embrace our roles as men and women, rejoice in the differences and encourage one another in the strengths so we can all do to the best of our ability the work we have been blessed to do.

Blessings to you and your homes,

Am I too impatient with my life?
Have I missed too many stitches for my work to be a beautiful pattern.

Our lives are so stagnant and still, as we await so many answers to too many questions.
There arise difficulties within from the constant drain on thoughts and hearts that need to be re-newed.

I wait and work my needle into the pattern and see life passing by with no progress. I falter more and more daily and despair of the rose ever coming into the pattern of my life.

Some days it seems so wearing and grim, my fabric is dirty from too many words said from hearts that are sore.

If only the pattern had more explicit instructions!

But alas I walk by faith and my faith is sorely tested.

I yearn to have a beautiful pattern that has been worked over dilegently, and yet I struggle and fall to often.

Oh Lord help me to work the pattern dutifully to yield the beautiful rose.

Blessings to you and your homes,

The Desires of my Heart:

They seem so simple when I put them to paper.
They have been my desires for years past and I pray for many years to come.

I am sure they are the desires of many other women of my acquaintance, those of a kindred spirit kind.

To love and serve my God, to share my faith with others that they may love and serve God.
To love and treasure my husband, the one God intended for me, whom I have had the pleasure of being married to for over 24 years.
To love and cherish each one of the special blessings, our children, that God has given us to raise for His service and glory.
To create within our home a place of beauty and peace,  a sanctuary for all who enter within, not just our family, but for any whom we are gifted by their presence.
Within our home to educate our children - not just academically for their future but for their eternal futures. Teaching the gifts of hospitality and care as mirrored by my own life.
To share our lives in a spirit of love and harmony with one another that we can help one another to grow and be up lifted
To develop and use the gifts that God has given each one of us and to encourage and use these gifts for pleasure and for service of others.

And yet as much as I treasure these desires, knowing they are placed upon my heart by a loving Father, I know I do not live up to them daily.

I know also that it is the daily living of these that is so important, and once again it is the daily living of these desires in which I fail.

I become distracted by my own 'temporary desires' that do not conform with my heart desires and I focus on these instead of what I know gives me more lasting joy and reward.

These temporary desires come and go depending on how much I listen to my 'heart desires' and I know I need to give them more focus now, at this moment, and not be distracted.

I pray that I have the humility to pray, the wisdom to listen for answers and the courage to follow and thus achieving The  Desires of My Heart.

Blessings to you and your homes,