providencelodge-Newsday

I need to learn to knit. 

 I have a rapidly growing love of all things hand knit, 

especially socks. 

 I tried to convince my daughter to learn to knit, then she could knit socks for me, 

but that hasn't worked so far. 

(chuckling)

 I guess I am just going to have to buckle down and get it figured out. 

 In the meantime, we were blessed by a sweet lady who made socks for us. 

 I had the opportunity to meet this industrious woman, Betsy, 

whom has become a great inspiration to me, and I am sure, to you too after you read this.

 Betsy was in the process of knitting 160 pairs of mittens and hats 

for the under-privileged children of a local grade school!!! 

 Not only that, but she knit hundreds of hats that she sent to Japan after the devastating earthquake that wiped out complete villages, including the one her son was teaching in.  (He survived)

Betsy lovingly knits and knits, then gives all that knitting away. 

 Her generosity is exemplary, 

her industry enormous, 

and her spirit, sweet and gentle. 

 What a godsend she must be now to thousands of recipients of her knitting!  

Betsy reminds me of the Proverbs 31 woman, 

of a woman I would like to be like.

She is a keeper at home, 

yet blessing people all over the world by "working willingly with her hands."

Betsy "reaches forth her hand to the needy," as she mails  home made goodness 

all across the states as she hears of needs.

This is a gracious woman!

Hand knit socks are simply the best.  

But, wearing them has been made even sweeter knowing the kind heart who made them.

And, as I do wear mine nearly everyday, 

I am reminded at the sight of them to make steps towards being kind, 

gracious, industrious and generous 

like the knitter.

Thanks, Betsy, 

for being such a wonderful example, and of course, 

for the fabulous socks!

 I hope telling you about Betsy inspires and encourages you too.

Happy Knitting!

It has been snowing since I arrived home from Anna's.
We are glad for the snow pack, which means a green summer.
The children are loving hours of sledding and making of snow forts each afternoon.
Meanwhile inside, I am planning yummy things to eat,
a favorite pastime of mine.

My thoughtful daughter Anna bought me the Lodge Cast Iron Cookbook. 

 If you love your cast iron like I do, 

ya'all need this book. 

So far, we have tried three recipes, and they have all been OUTSTANDING.  

This morning, I made the Breakfast Fritata for the family. 

 Anna had made this for me when I was visiting her.  

I knew my family would love it as much as I did, and sure enough, Jim said,

"MMM can we have this EVERYDAY for breakfast?!"

Sausage, spinach (they didn't even notice or fuss), eggs, milk, feta, diced tomatoes, salt and pepper.

Very simple. 

 The ingredients are common for us, so I had them all on hand.  

Little cleanup since it is a one dish meal, love that, 

and all the children ate it happily. 

 Really, really love that!

For the actual recipe, you'll need to get that book. :-)

Happy cooking to you!

Honestly, I have not had the greatest success in encouraging my children to be best friends; 

even though "Be kind and loving to each other" is without a doubt the most quoted phrase 

of any in our house.

 I am, therefore, always on the lookout for new ways to promote loving kindness within the family.  

I do have a new idea, 

and I am excited about it. 

 I am not sure what, if any, the results may be, but we are going to try it.

  

Today is the first day of February, a good day to begin, 

as my desire is to display love to one another in a variety of ways throughout the month, 

not just on Valentines day.  

The big idea is a Lovingkindess Mailbox.

It all started when I was looking up fun stuff to make with cardboard on Pinterest.  

There I saw a cardboard mailbox, and bam!  The whole idea struck me.

Yesterday, the younger children made us a mailbox. 

 I wrapped it in paper to help improve the looks. 

 (chuckle)

Next to the mailbox is a stack of 3 x 5 cards and a bunch of Valentines stickers.

Here are the rules:

1. Each day, everyone in the family must write a nice note to one family member and stick it in the mailbox.

2. You must write every person  in the family before you repeat a note to a person.

3.  Mail will be handed out every day at dinner.

The children were enthusiastic about getting started., and 

I am interested to see how things turn out at dinner tonight!

Please ,do tell, what do you find helpful to promote kindness in your family?

Awaiting your ideas,

After two weeks of quiet rest visiting our daughter in New Mexico, 

it was time to make the long trip home.

The children fairly tackled me in the airport, and I loved every minute of it.

Although I cried more than a little leaving Anna,

 I am glad to be back home in our log home 

with my wonderful husband and the sweetest children ever.

They (Brian and Rose) managed the house, school, and the children very well without me.  

All was in order when I walked through the door.  What a blessing!

It as been snowing steadily since I came home.  

10 inches of new snow graces the ground and leaves us happily snowed in.  

A little mishap with the Beast (our snowplow) has left us unable to get the road open.  

Oh well, we are quite content.  

At the moment, I am surrounded by the children, 

who are cutting up cardboard boxes to make castles, cars, and some unidentified objects. 

 Rose just made some fabulous pizza in the wood cook stove.  

The kettle is singing merrily on the stove, 

the dog is laying on my feet,

all is well.  

I loved being with Anna, but at the same time, 

I  agree with Jane Austin- 

--Especially in a snow storm.

From our warm and snuggly home to you,

Grace Be upon You!

What does a homeschooling mama do on vacation? 

 That which refreshes and inspires,

 provides rest and relaxation, 

and,
the things she rarely gets to do at home.

I rarely get quality time with my daughter, Anna, who is married and lives 1500 miles away. 

 That is mostly what I am doing.  

I did, however, bring a whole suitcase of sewing along with me on my vacation.  

It is a need at the moment,
to dress the rapidly growing 7 yr old young lady at our house. 

  I really enjoy sewing, 

and it is something I usually do not take the time to do at home.

Bethany is growing tall and slim. 

 So slim that nothing that is long enough for her stays on her!

While here in New Mexico with Anna, I bought this book:

...Which has over 20 patterns in it,

 including  patterns for a peasant blouse, capri pants, and summer pjs. 

These were all items on my list, so this proved a very cost effective way to go about it. 

I bought the book at Hobby Lobby, 

with a coupon, of course.

So far, I have finished two blouses and one skirt, 

with another skirt just awaiting some trim detail.  

A third skirt is cut out and next on my list.  

The patterns are simple and take less than 2 hours per garment to complete. 

 I am so pleased with the results 

that I hope to continue to round out her new wardrobe when I get back to Idaho.

Anna lives so close to good shopping that we have been out and about several times. 

 We both found plenty of modest, feminine articles at Rue 21 in the mall.

 Rue 21 had long floral skirts, 

solid maxi skirts, 

and this lovely long romantic skirt that I quite liked.

Anna, Rose and I often find pretty blouses and great deals at this store.

Although we love to thrift shop, 

surprisingly, the mall can be a great place to find nice pieces for creating a wholesome wardrobe. 

We both liked several items at Maurices, 

one very nice long black skirt on clearance nearly came home with me.

Also,we have found Pinterest very helpful for gaining ideas

as well as helping each of us to create an individual style
which will then help us to put together a cohesive wardrobe.

This is how I plan-
For Bethany, I would like to make three basic skirts like this:




 -in Navy, Brown and Gray.
Paired with the same colors of shoes and tights,
this will form her wardrobe basics this year.
I will be shopping for lightweight cardigans of the same to extend through spring and fall.
I am sewing up several cotton blouses in a variety of colors: pale pink,
purple(her favorite) white, cream, red, light green, and peach.


Added to these will be four multi-colored skirts 
and 3 capri pants: one tan and two light denim.
To finish it all off, traditional hair bows, one of each basic color-  navy, black, red, and white and pink.
Underthings need to be thought of, several pair of bloomers,



as well as two sets of light weight PJ's and a nightgown.
(nightgown will be peasant blouse plus length).

Here is the Pinterest look I desire to create for Bethany:




Are we having fun yet?
Most definitely! 

Here I am in New Mexico at my daughter's house.

Thus far, vacation has been super easy to take to.

We went to bed early, we got up late.  

We sat on the sofa sipping coffee in our jammies, then leisurely enjoyed a lovely breakfast fritata.  

My room has chocolates, roses, lots of pillows to keep me company at night, 

a humidifier, magazines, and a super cozy afghan that Anna made for me. 

 Anna knows how to spoil a guest!

Scott and Anna have a beautiful home.
Soooo romantic!



Note the airplane pillow Anna made for Scott.  All the little details in the living room point to the military life, which is blended nicely with Anna's soft and gentle style.



Love this platter that was a wedding gift from some of Scott's family.

  Anna has made lots of cute pillows that give her home a sweet appeal and comfy-ness.

She has taken great delight in making a home that is warm and welcoming to their many friends, 

whom they have over often. 

Today we shall have a visit with some children whom Anna has grown very fond of, 

and I will get a kid-fix.

I am still working at getting her very shy dog, Zoey, to take to me.

Zoey did come near to me today and sit for a moment just out of reach and look pitiful at me. 

 But, when I spoke to her it scared her to death and she retreated to her special hide-away.

I am gaining on her, however, and am confident to make a friend of her while here. 

 Just a moment ago, she looked at me and wagged her tail, so we are making progress.

(chuckle)

Snap chat, email and a phone call a day is keeping me up to speed with how things are going back in Idaho.

Brian is chugging along through school with very little trouble.  

The children are sleeping well and having fun with daddy at home.

It is a beautiful sunny day here.

Anna and I are still chatting away, sipping tea, making plans for the week ahead, 

and looking forward to seeing all of Anna's life here.

Blessings to you this day!

All the way from New Mexico,

The airlines tickets were made, by my thoughtful husband months ago, 

and the time has come, now, 

to go on the long vacation to see our daughter in New Mexico.

Mama leaving home for two weeks has created some anxiety, 

to be honest, mostly in me, the mama. 

 How will I sleep without being smooshed in between Olivia and daddy??? 

 Who will I snuggle with? 

Will I be terribly homesick without my sweet children and loving husband? 

I wasn't worried about the children, you see.  I know my dear sweet husband is very capable 

of managing the household and caring for the family. 

 He is even planning on carrying on with the school work, 

and I have no doubt he will do it well.  

But, what am I , a homeschooling mama with 7 children still at home,

going to do with myself for two whole weeks????  

Can even I jabber on that long???  

(My friends say no doubt!)

Silly though it may sound, those have been my worries.

But, instead of worrying, I threw myself headlong into packing and preparing to leave.

There is lots of organizing to take place in order to feel like I am leaving the house in good order.  

Chore chart to be made,

a menu to be planned and posted. 

A schooling schedule to be made out and details of each students progress noted, 

groceries taken care of, 

daily instructions for Rose, the cook, to be written out, etc. 

Then there was packing to be done, and a home to leave clean and organized...

more organized than I usually keep it, 

so that things would be easier for Brian while I am gone.

I love planning and organizing, so this was great fun.

 After a full week of planning and packing, we got up at 3 am and drove to the airport.  

After a quick goodbye (better on my nerves) 

this mama was loading on the plane and zooming across the sky, on her way to see Anna! 

 Anna's husband is in the military and will serve over seas for at least four months this year. 

 It is during his time away that I most desired to be with Anna, 

to help her pass the time and be a little less lonely, so the vacation is 2 fold. 

 Mama gets to rest and Anna gets company.

For the next two weeks I will be posting from New Mexico

about what a homeschooling mama does on vacation.

Until then,