http://www.motherofpeace.co.uk
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Disarmed.
http://www.motherofpeace.co.uk
Friday, June 27, 2008
A time to be still.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
fLYING KITES
Monday, June 23, 2008
ThankFULLNESS
Part of The Thousand Gifts list @ Holy Experience
Just click Gratitude on my labels list for more posts xx
THE SIMPLE WOMAN'S DAYBOOK
Outside my Window...
A new Rosebush just bought and planted in. Pictures tomorrow maybe ;)
Golden marigolds, blue and purple sweetpeas just bursting into bloom and my favourite, translucent blue delphiniums bobbing their heads in the breeze.
I am thinking... The girls are playing in the sandpit and the baby just fell asleep, which gives me a few moments to myself :)
In the kitchen... Ploughmans! Perfect English summer food. (i.e) Fresh baguettes, with mature Cheddar cheese , pickle, chutney, onion, ham and salad, fresh from the garden. Mmmm! Simple, easy for littles to eat , healthy = it works for me ;)
I am creating... A pink gingham Summer dress for my 10 year old.
I am wearing... Blue jeans and a chocolate brown Cotton top.
I am reading...The bible, children's picture books with my girls, the poems of John Betejamin with my 10 year old.
I am hearing...my baby snoring softly. My husband playing guitar in the other room. My oldest daughter scratching around, cleaning out and feeding her rabbits for the night, my middle two girls chatting in the sandpit at the far corner of the garden.
Around the house...There is a big pile of laundry in my big girls bedroom that I'm trying to forget about for a few more moments heehhee!
One of my favorite things...Sharing a coupla glasses of wine with my husband in the garden on a beautiful Summer evening.
A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week... Try to remember to build as many memories as I can with my girls, to make every interaction a blessing. Not to let other things take priority.
Here is a picture thought I am sharing with you...
a LEAF bOO BROUGHT IN FROM THE GARDEN ON fRIDAY. aPPARENTLY, ACCORDING TO bOO, IT IS A MAGICAL, JEWEL, SPARKLE LEAF.
i THOUGHT IT WAS BEAUTIFUL AND TOOK A PICTURE!
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Some children's books we love
Beautifully illustrated prayers for even the littlest ones.
Make Way for Ducklings (Viking Kestrel Picture Books)
A fun heartwarming classic that I love to read just as much as my kids do!
The Snail and the Whale
Mary, Mother of Jesus
A carefully written portrait of Our Lord's life through the eyes of his beloved Mother.
Pumpkin Soup
The characters in this book are so wonderful, the pages are very creative in design too.
This Is the Star
Amazing illustrations and beautiful poetic text describing the Nativity Story.
Unicorns! Unicorns!
Another beautifully illustrated book ( we love our illustrations :) Telling of the Story of Noah's Ark.
Saturday, June 21, 2008
:)
Deep Peace
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Purity of heart
To see the best in another,
Ignoring other's flaws,
And acknowledging my own,
Seeking sincerity,
In my own thoughts, words and deeds,
While assuming sincerity in the words, thoughts and deeds of others,
Purity of heart...
Simplifying instead of analysing,
Encouraging instead of criticizing,
Reaching out in friendship to all,
Excepting the imperfections and limitations of both myself and others,
Knowing I can do nothing in myself,
But turn my eyes to the kingdom first.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Monday, June 16, 2008
Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap...
but by the seeds you plant."
~R.L.Stevenson
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Happy Father's Day!!!
Lie in my head, ( I hope they stay too)
Thankyou very much,
Your love really does touch.
FROM EMMY
Lord I thank you for...
pICTURE of bluebell AT THE TOP by my daughter Emmy
Homeschooling, holistic living, Simple living, and other random thoughts :)
A time for everything right !
I've come to realise that in this season of my life when my children are small I have to concentrate on the being part a little more than I realised. Which is strange when you consider how many practical needs, small children have.
And Preschoolers love to do it's true. Whether it be rolling down a grassy hill, trying to pull out all the cd's in the rack or raid Mummy's makeup bag ;0)
...They like to keep busy.
However I'm kind of coming to see that whether homeschooling or not, kids, especially young kids are too over scheduled these days. There is so much pressure to organise activities for them, get them enrolled in different programs or simply make them fit into a ciriculum.
I remember as a child it was the small, intimate moments, the pauses, stillnesses and happy interactions with other's that made memories special.
A plant needs space to grow, and children do too. An Inspiring Home for Learning, #6
And I also remember I used to feel so guilty that my children were missing out because our pace of life was so much less active than other's. Less well, um, organized anyhows ~ smile :).
This was due mainly to 3 pregnancies in a row, ill health, on my part and no car for half the time. Yet God had a purpose.
I like to over organize, it's a part of who I am, it makes me feel in control of life lol ~ (as if :) Yet I was forced to oversimplify. Forced to let go and totally deconstruct my routine. And I realised that I over valued some parts of my life such as keeping an ultra tidy house and I was missing out on the most important things. What immediately springs to mind as I write this is the washing of the outside of the cup instead of the inside :) I will always consider it a blessing that I had to go through what I did through that time to be given that gift.
As time has worn on a little, our life has pretty much kept to this new way of being first, doing second). As a family we tend to take plenty of rests. We also tend to keep programed activities to a minimum ( my daughter takes piano lessons and goes to a drama group during the holidays, While the little ones go to a playgroup one morning, once every two weeks) Apart from that there are no other programmes.
We also do many of our activities together as a family. Things such as painting, crafts, music time, taking walks, reading, reading the bible and praying. Through this we have shard some very special moments together.
My four year old has started to read and write yet there has been no special program or great endeavor on our part. We simply read aloud a lot as a family and take a lot of trips to the library. Plus we have a very worn book shelf located, maybe unwisely for the books but definatly wisely for the kids, in the children's main bedroom. Many a night I have found all three of the older children asleep with books still open in their clasped hands :) A natural love of books has developed, well... naturally, I think.
Saying that our two year old barley speaks! Well she does, quite a lot actually only it's all her own language heehee:) But that is, I suppose that's the point. Each little plant grows a little differently. Needs a different soil, different climate, different handling. To be honest I don't worry about milestones, children will only talk and walk and read when they are ready.
One idea that has really worked it's way into our world is growing our own vegetables. This started out as a practical solution for trying to feed healthy, organic "ethical" veggies to the girls. Yet it has become a real learning opportunity for the girls, who absolutely love to watch the plants grow. They really tuck into produce they've actually sown themselves from seed too.
The same with sewing. I' have the oldest, most beat up sewing machine ever. But the girls love to watch me sew on it and by watching have picked up so much themselves with little structured effort on my part.
As for developing their imaginations, well a lot of it has been down to unstructured play. Being outside, letting them explore the natural world on walks in woodlands, parks meadows, fields.
Making tents, dens and the like.
I also have a big cake tin full of its and bobs, paper, tin foil, wool, bubble wrap, wrapping paper, tissue paper, pipe cleaners, fuzzy balls, felt, fabric and lollipop sticks and I just let them loose with a pile of card and lot's of glue in the kitchen ( washable surfaces)
Also, have you noticed how babies love to play with lot's of random mismatched clutter. Well I have a clutter box filled with varied things such as building blocks, Lego, play mirrors, bouncy balls, small dolls, cups, saucers, spoons, homemade rattles and such which keeps the baby busy for ages and ages.
See I love to keep order, yet order, a peaceful baby does not always make, lol:)
Another thing that comes to mind actually is cooking. I have always involved the kids in food preparation. My ten year old happily makes meals by herself ( with a little supervision of course) While the four year old can fix herself a sandwich, and the two year old can chop up soft fruit such as ripe pear halves and bananas for a fruit salad with her small blunt kid's knife. All this has helped them take an interest in all kinds of different food. Although as with all kids they'll never turn down a plate of fish n' chips or a bowl of ice cream lol!
Bible time is very important to us too. The girls often make a little alter on our fireplace with candles, holy cards and flowers. It makes them feel like they are really involved. My oldest also often chooses a reading which is special. We also try to include hymns which the youngest ones really enjoy :)
Lastly one of our very favourite things ( and by the way I recommend it for all families, it can end up so fun and silly)is probably music time. My husband plays guitar, the babies grab various shakers, rattles, tambourines, drums, etc, and Emmy sings. It's such fun! A little noisy, but fun. It is also an activity which involves both the youngest and the eldest members of the family. Which is a big bonus for me as I have a big age gap between daughters 1 and 2.
Left to my own devices our family life would have evolved differently. There would have been more structure, planning and scheduled activity. I would have taken control lol! Arming myself with a thousand perfectly bound binders full to the brim with lists, and lists of lists probably heehee:)
Yet I was, (and am) forced to be still. And listen. Just wait. Just be. And life kind of grows naturally out of that quiet place. Our garden is less of a formal garden and more of a country garden I guess. It's beautiful in a way and I could never have cultivated with all the plans and ideas and instructions in the world.
And It's beautiful mainly cause the gardener wasn't me ~ smile.
Mmmmmm, so while I'm on the subject of schooling, simple livin' and the like. I'll just post a few links to some great posts on the subject. There are some great ideas here, Take a little time to visit.
Blessings xxx
The Fadiman Way of Raising a Reader...
An Inspiring Home for Learning, #7
An Inspiring Home for Learning, #6
One Piece Life
Seven Daily Rungs,
http://www.tn-heart-and-hearth.com/Keep_a_Quiet_Heart.pdf : Elisabeth Elliot