How To Use What You Have This Mother's Day

We'd recently discovered 
some ways to use clearance items to celebrate

Valentine's Day
St. Patrick's Day and Easter

 and with Mother's Day quickly approaching 
I needed to remind my family

"Do not buy me anything this year"

(because I really do have enough stuff)
 
and I am

grateful
thankful
happy

to share and celebrate some of the

simple ways we have learned to just...

"use what we have"

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Handmade Art

like the masterpieces the children

create during our studio time

    

        

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A Small Surprise

prepay for a service that she uses often
put a little cash in her wallet along with a note

or you can even surprise mom
by leaving a few pictures on her phone or camera

(Imagine my delight the day that I found this photo of my daughter)

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Chocolate Dipped Strawberries

 

 

 

and I was so proud of my daughter who

"used what she had" to make these special treats

Items used

5 leftover "school fundraiser chocolate" bars
1 small basket of strawberries

Total spent... only 99cents!
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And the first batch were so delicious

I asked her to make more to share with
the other mothers in "our village"

because I have also learned

that it takes many mothers!!

---------------------------

Milk and White Chocolate

Dipped Strawberries w/toppings

 

(sharing this today)

Happy Savings and Happy Mother's Day!

"APFLH" Children's Art Studio- "The Art Within"

It was

"Week of the Young Child"

 April 12-18, 2015 

so we...

opened our studio space

pulled out some art supplies

and spent a lovely afternoon

creating

celebrating

capturing

the artistic expressions within!

 -------------------------------------

 "Feeling Blue"
Indigo Painting

Paint
Paint Brushes
Paper

to create individualized art
inspired by the story...

"Yesterday I Had the Blues"
by Jeron Ashford Frame

click here

 

(to see how we upgraded

this activity experience in 2023)

First Fridays-

A Story. A Song. An Activity.

 -------------------------------------

 "Be Yourself"
Bubble Print Art

Bubble Wrap
Paint
Construction Paper

inspired by David McKee's...

"Elmer"

 

check out our Virtual Storytime to see what

other book we've paired with this activity...

click here

 -------------------------------------

and...

free art time inspiring each of my children

to express themselves in their own way

my daughter chose to paint a "cheerleader" figurine
 

 

 and my son brought out the mini Legos

and designed to his heart's content

proving that time in our art studio

always leaves us all feeling young again!

(click here to check out more studio fun)

For the Love of Reading- Seuss Inspired Experiences

We have a love for words...

the rhythm

the rhyme

the cadence

the chime

It is obvious that words are important to us

And when I was young

my parents double teamed me

to instill

a value

a passion

a love

for reading..

(and words)

My dad let me read to him and said...

"If you can read,

you can learn to do anything"

My mom took me to the book store every Friday

to pick out a new book for my collection

and I became...

a reader

a writer

a lover of words

(and later also) 

an Early Childhood Educator

to pass the love on

And now...

my passion has become to encourage children, 

parents, and educators everywhere to READ!

And to not only read, but to also

extend the experience...

Green Eggs and Ham

make it hands-on,
and have fun!

Clean Green Mud

Our version of Lisa Murphy's recipe

because you never know what you
are fostering in the life of a child!

Need ideas for Seuss Inspired Art?

click here

First Lesson for The New Year... Just Say "Hello"

I entered the elevator in a hurry
barely noticing him

It was the holiday season
the mall was busy and
I had limited time to grab my items and go

So when I stepped into the small space
I saw... but did not notice



Instead...

I shuffled toward the back of the elevator to look out of the glass window
as we went up another level

There were... 

shoppers rushing
sale lights flashing
children waiting in line to give Santa their Christmas wishes

and then...

Beep
Beep
Beep

three beeps followed by an automated...

"Hello"

and as I turned

I saw and finally noticed

a young man in a specialized wheel chair and
a young lady with him talking on her cell phone

and I wondered

how I did not notice him before
why I did not notice him before

because it was so obvious that even though he was experiencing
severe physical challenges, his mind was working fine

and as I looked into his big bright eyes
it seemed as if they were smiling back at me

(and here's where it gets interesting...)

because even though he didn't actually say anything else

I could hear him

as he noticed the look of surprise on my face
and responded...

Yes, I am here

and even though you did not notice me before
I am here
and I forgive you

for stepping

into this space
into this moment

with me

and not bothering to

acknowledge
notice
nod 

or even smile and just say...

"Hello"

 Click to read... A Field Trip Lesson

Our Home Remodel

This past summer we came home to find our house flooded
and what has since unfolded has been one of the most

amazingly scary
shockingly revealing

experiences of my life
(to date)

I have...

talked to God in new ways
heard Him speak in new ways and
seen Him do things I hadn't even dreamed of

and when it was all said and done

I witnessed Him turn our MESS into a MESSAGE!

(thank you Chanea for reminding me again)

The Living Room

Before

During renovation



After

The Kitchen



And I've always believed, but now I know for sure that...

God really did make a man from dust

because I have seen Him take

our dust
our rubbish
our tragedy

and turn it into something beautiful

Romans 8:28

(click here to follow from the beginning)

 (click here to see one year later)

Trick Or Treat? Teaching My Children About Choices

I was surprised when my twelve-year old

asked to go "trick or treating"

with his friends...

at night

alone

and when he returned

(two hours later with a bag full of loot)

my jaw dropped

and THEN...

moments later when he called me into the kitchen

to show me how he had meticulously separated the candy

into piles...

by flavor and brand

I will admit that I was impressed!

and as I looked at

all of those piles

all of those options

the realization hit me

My kid is a young man

and he is already cultivating

skills

dreams

ideas

of his own

(and at some point) 

I am going to have to completely let go and trust that I have

done my job to equip him with good decision making skills

because the day is coming

(and is now upon us)

when he will

venture out

with his friends...

at night

alone

and as he walks through this life he will encounter people

who wish to fill his bag with all sorts of things

some tricks

some treats

some things

that he will find useful

and others that he will not

And so...

-my prayer is that he avoid as many tricks

as humanly possible

-that he be brave enough to unwrap and try some things

(and wise enough to leave others alone)

-I pray he knows the difference and

doesn't try to eat everything all in one night

-I pray his decisions steer him clear of

stomach aches and cavities

-and may he always remember to separate the items

to get a better view of the options laid out before him

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Lord,

one day he will venture out

without me

and I want to

trust

believe

know

that I have prepared him

with the skills that he needs to make

good

wise

prayerful

decisions

with the choices laid out before him...

Choose wisely, son
Choose wisely