"New" Table and winners!

I have had a little table by our couch ever since we moved here. It is not the most practical thing, as you will see, and it certainly isn't child friendly. One of my "soon-to-be-accomplished" goals is to get our home much more child safe - we have a homestudy to look forward to, and hopefully fairly soon! :) So this little table really needed to go:



Yesterday we stopped by an antique shop that had some very unique items (and sometimes just a little pricey...). I probably still payed a little more than I should have for this little table, but I fell in love with the unique shape - and it mimics my coffee table. So I made the switch:



Unfortunately (or maybe fun??) this table is a project... I really need to strip this paint off and then see if the wood is worth refinishing. Maybe just paint it again after all, but I would like the finished wood look. See how chippy it is? It seems like it really wouldn't be that hard to get it off.  Anyone have any tips on stripping paint?

Now for the winners of the cds!!

I counted up the total entries (including my Facebook friends!) and put them in order according to timestamp. Here are the randomly picked numbers:


So Marie (from Facebook) and Rlta, you are our winners!! Rlta - I don't have any way to get in touch with you, please drop me an email at charitree (at) gmail (dot) com so I can get your cd on it's way!! :) (and if I don't hear from you in a couple of days, I'll need to pass the prize on to someone else...)

Thanks everyone, for entering! It was fun to hear from you - especially those that don't comment much. ;) (Stephanie, we had some fun times didn't we!? :)  Laura, I'm so glad you enjoy my book reviews!) It was fun to do a little "surprise" giveaway... I may have to do one again soon! :)

The FINISHED Finished Object!

Yay! The cupcakes are done!




We had lots of help from our friend, Debi. This was my first time working with fondant. It was fun... it isn't necessarily the best tasting stuff, but they sure turned out cute!! :) Unfortunately, the papers didn't work out quite as well as I thought they were going to... they pulled away a bit from the cake. But they are still cute! :)

Finished Object Friday

I don't know about for you, but for me? this has been a whirlwind of a week! You see, my sister is graduating tomorrow. (Yes, with homeschooling you have lots of options...) :) She also thinks she is going to college this fall - the jury is still out on whether or not we are going to let her go! :)

Anyway... I'm making cupcakes for her graduation reception tomorrow.


Nope. They aren't decorated yet. If I have time, I'll post a quickie picture when they are! In the meantime, I really like the cupcake cups! A lot of cupcake papers will fade out and become oily when you cook in them. These stayed nice and colorful. Here's the package...

And yes, at that price the ought to work! :)  And why they sell packages of 32?? when a mix makes two dozen? Oh, the mysteries of life! :)

But I want to give you a chance... do you have a project to share that's DONE? :)

Sing a song!

Children like to sing! No surprise there! And those of you who teach children (at home, church, or school) know that songs are one of the most effective ways that children learn.

Gracie singing and signing "Teach Me Your Way"

We use songs so much in our children's work at church. In fact, some of their songs of choice ARE scripture. They have learned more scripture than they would have learned just by rote memory. Our kiddos have learned the Ten Commandments by singing them. No, they haven't learned them the conventional way - but they know them and will remember them! In fact, it is one of their absolute favorite songs to sing! (and BOY does it get stuck in your head!!!) :)

They insisted we sing the 10 Commandments Song at VBS. I was glad to comply!

I am passionate about good music for children - especially Scripture songs. I love Steve Green's albums for kids, as well as the Teach Me Your Way albums from Homestead Heritage.

More recently, however, I have discovered Seeds Family Worship. These albums put a more "modern" twist on Scripture songs, and they aren't just for children. They really are geared for the whole family.

Here's a peek at one of my favorite songs:


That's not the end of this post though... I would like to give a Seeds of Faith cd to two of my readers. If you would enjoy this music, just leave a comment and include the words "ENTER ME" in it. That's it! :) I will pick the winners next Tuesday! :)

Also, I'd love to hear about some of your favorite teaching songs! How has music helped you learn?
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PS~ This is not a promo. Seeds Family Worship doesn't even know I exist. I just like their songs, got a good deal and wanted to share!! The cd I bought for the give-a-way actually comes with two identical cds. So I am splitting up the packet to send one to two different people. :)

Sir Rowan and the Camerian Conquest

 Some books have a reputation. Actually reading them may not even be necessary to know whether they are actually worth the time to read them or not. I had heard about Chuck Black's books, and entered them into the library where I worked. I read high recommendations about them as well - and the reviews were not unfounded.

Sir Rowan's story begins with him as a stable boy with quite a knack for swords. He is discovered and trained by one of the Prince's knights and quickly becomes a top tournament knight. However, his pride in his achievements becomes his downfall, and after a brush with death, he realizes how far he has come from the Prince's desires. The rest of the book chronicles his path to achieving the goal that the Prince truly has for his life.

I don't want to give away anything in the story. This book is an excellent read; I was gripped by the story. It is quite an adventure! Mr. Black is an excellent storyteller, and he weaves truths from the Scripture seamlessly into the unfolding drama. The books are marked as being for a Teen/Young Adult audience. I do agree with that, although I think that children in their preteens would enjoy it as well - as long as they aren't too sensitive. (The flesh-eating caterpillars might disturb very young audiences!) :) I loved the discussion questions in the back. They (and the answers following) really helped clear up any confusion I had in what different characters/items in the book represented. I think it would be an excellent book to read and discuss as a family - perhaps even in family devotional time.

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This book was provided for free in exchange for an honest review from Blogging for Books.
Please rank my review here! The higher my rankings - the more books I am eligible for! (The email is only for verification purposes - you shouldn't receive anything you don't want... be sure to uncheck the box if you don't want further emails from Multnomah.)

Just a little...

paint goes a long way! I am wanting to "spiff up" my kitchen a bit. Probably not a total makeover, but just a little here and there. I would like to go with a more vintagey look, but it's hard to decorate when you have so little space. It's also hard to know where to start, but looking at my kitchen the other day, I realized that I had something purely functional that could be given a little pizzaz!

Can you find it?

It's that oak mug tree. I'm not a huge fan of the oak look for the most part (although I don't mind my dining room set...) This was a cheapy tree from wally world and I figured, "Why not go for it?" :) So I did.

Not a huge difference in the big picture, but it is certainly more fun to look at! (This is also further proof I spent time at the "Painted" Parsonage... not sure, but I think something is catching over there... I have this urge to pick up another can of paint...) :)

PS- As I'm writing this post, it is RAINING outside!! Praise the Lord for a summer storm!! Texas has been so dry and HOT this summer. We usually don't get temps in the 100s until August!

Chari Tree Chat

I didn't think it would be too hard for some of you to figure out where we've been! :)  Yes, I got to visit the famous Painted Parsonage!! :)  Yes, I got to go help spoil Baby Weston! Here we are shortly after our arrival:



We enjoyed worshiping at their church and seeing other dear friends!


And of course celebrating the 4th - Weston's first holiday!


Boys and noise!


Lots of fun times!
First bath:


Shopping trips:


We all had a blast together! Visiting, laughing, eating... The boys enjoyed having more people to play with. It was so enjoyable to be in their home. Brittany, as you know, has turned their house into a beautiful home. And it certainly is homey! Such a cozy place! I enjoyed making myself right at home and being able to help Brittany during the first week after Weston's birth. It was a privilege to be there and enjoy the newborn stage! :) Thank you, Brittany (Dave and boys, too!), for allowing us to come visit!!

And of course it was hard to leave! I got in a few last minute snuggles at lunch!


On the way home, we drove through Tuscaloosa and saw some of the damage from the tornado. They are still picking up the pieces of that terrible storm. It was a reminder to me of all the hurt that people have gone through and how they still need prayer as they put their lives and homes back together.



Crossing the Mississippi on the way back west.


The time we spent with our friends, celebrating their new little miracle, has made Mark and I even more eager to hold our little miracle. We spent some of the time on the road working on paperwork, and Mark has been working a bit more as I have been writing this post. There is sooo much for us to do, but it will all be worth it!

Finished Object Friday

I hope each of you has had a good week! Ours has been quite busy, but very fun. We had a wonderful relaxing 4th celebrating with friends. But enough of that... on to Finished Object Friday! 

A while back I bought a jumper that I really liked... however - it was a maternity jumper. After it sat in the closet for  a while, I pulled it out and decided I might as well be enjoying it now! So with a little tucking here and there... a little hemming and a ruffle, this is what I have now:

For reference (since I once again forgot to take a before... I got to excited to get it done...) here is a picture of a similar style jumper:

It has been a cool summer outfit - comfy and fun! :)

(For extra credit... can you guess where the "after" picture was taken? You might have an idea of why my week has been so full!) :)

Now it's your turn! I can't wait to see what you've been up to the past couple of weeks! :)

Happy Independence Day!

“You will never know how much it cost the present generation to preserve your freedom! I hope you will make a good use of it. If you do not, I shall repent in Heaven that I ever took half the pains to preserve it.”

– John Adams in a letter to his wife Abigail, April 26 1777