What I Wore Wednesday: Simple Comfort Edition

Okay, I think that the What I Wore Wednesday thing is just plain old fun. I have two (in real life!) friends who have been doing this weekly, and at first I thought, "what??" Then it became really fun to see it each week and to follow the links to see what other REAL WOMEN wear...not the ones in magazines or catalogs or on TV...but the everyday woman who goes to work, teaches, stays at home, whatever.

I took five of the days this week to do it. Most of the time I had a hard time remembering...it's enough for this mama-of-five to take a quick glance in the mirror and make sure my hair is brushed! This little exercise has been good in teaching me to take a few extra moments for myself in the mornings and to dress according to my tastes (simple!) and comfort (cotton!).

(excuse all the weird faces I make in these photos and the poor lighting!)

Thursday:

shirt ~ Kohl's

necklace ~ from Cozumel

skirt ~ American Eagle (thrift store!)

flip-flops ~ Rainbow's




Friday:

Brown Cami: Target

Orange v-neck: Target

Necklace: Superhero

Jeans: Landlubber (thrift store!)

Yellow Wool Flats: Target

Monday:

Shirt: Old Navy

Necklace: Lisa Leonard

Jeans: Levi's (thrift store)

Suede Slippers: Target (thrift store...never been worn!)

Tuesday:

Green Tank: Old Navy

Brown Yoga Skirt: Old Navy Outlet

Flops: Rainbow's



Wednesday:

Ruffled T-Shirt: Target

Skirt: I made it (Simplicity 4881)

What is your typical daily uniform?

Path to Manhood

My oldest son Sam turned twelve in August. It's crazy to me that my first-born is growing and maturing at such rapid rates....wasn't I just rocking him to sleep in his little room while I sang him worship songs?

As the month of August approached, Mike and I began talking about how to honor Sam and the fact that he is moving away from childhood and into manhood. We have never really believed there is childhood, then a weird time of "teenager" and then adulthood around twenty. We have always wanted to begin the journey of affirming our son's manhood around the time of his turning twelve.

We also realized that we want him to be affirmed by other men too...men in our home group, our church leadership, and even Boy Scouts. It's important for these young men to be in authentic community and be encouraged in their masculinity and leadership from older men.


Good friends of ours also have a son named Sam who was turning twelve too. So Mike paired up with our buddy Tim, and they planned an overnight camping trip for the the four of them to South Mountains State Park in NC. They loaded up backpacks and hiked 1.7 miles in to a primitive camping area near the top of an 80-foot waterfall!


After lots of hiking, exploring, cooking food over the campfire, and a chilly night's sleep, Mike and Tim did a morning devotional with the boys and gave them each a silver compass...a life-long reminder to them to look to the Lord as their guide. Their names were engraved on the top and on the back each had a Scripture verse.


This ended up being a wonderfully meaningful experience and will be a tradition that we will most certainly seek to continue with our other three boys. Building up our boys into men is such a humbling task...may we mamas seek Jesus for the strength to let go, release, and empower our sons to lead and to take risks and to do great things.

We mustn't hold them back, coddle and (s)mother them as they begin the young adulthood years...we need to cut another "umbilical cord" and let them rise up to the tasks and opportunities that God gives them.

I am not saying this is easy, but we must ask for the grace to do this thing...this thing of trusting God with our sons to walk the path to manhood.

Replacement Parts

We live in a hyper-disposable culture. We are quick to throw things away, quick to buy new, and too easily want the "quick fix". I am always amazed at the amount of appliances that I find at thrift stores and garage sales...if something doesn't work quite right, throw it out and get a new one!

Our parents' or grandparents' generation always tried to fix or mend their broken, worn items. They would never toss out something...you looked for ways to repair it yourself or would ask a friend to fix it or called the repairman. If all actions failed, they would save their money for a new appliance or piece of furniture...they didn't make these decisions lightly!

In our current day, our goods are so cheaply made that they can break or wear much more quickly than in the past. We have a mindset to just toss the broken because we can afford to replace it. I really try to buy quality appliances within my budget, because I hate to see all the waste of thrown-away electronics and can't imagine what it would look like to see all of these things in a landfill!!

Recently the black piece that you see on my Kitchen Aid blender above completely got worn down to the nubs and the motor couldn't turn the blade and mix things anymore. I was very disappointed because I use my blender regularly and really didn't have the money to replace it. What to do? I began to google "Kitchen Aid replacement parts" and up come many websites with the exact part that I needed! Instead of buying a whole new blender, I only had to pay about $6 for the replacement piece! I went ahead and bought two!

Enter our coffee maker. This broke around the same time as the blender. It would leak coffee all over our counters. We tried a few different things to try to fix it, but it kept leaking. So we put it in a stack of other things that we were getting rid of and began to use our coffee press. Making do. But I have people over to our home regularly and love to serve coffee. Instead of buying new, I looked in a few thrift shops for a decent coffeemaker to no avail. We were finally at the point of deciding to buy new. Had we already forgotten the lesson of replacement parts? Mike looked online and found a new basket for the top...for only $12! He ordered it and now we are back in business!

This was a valuable lesson in prudence, frugality, and eco-responsibility. Being intentional in our purchasing decisions and in how we deal with brokenness and waste takes time and effort...but the reward in savings and stewardship is amazing!

An Afternoon Flower

I was feeling bored and twitchy and not really loving the fact that I have five loads of laundry to deal with. Oh those piles of clean clothes were just begging to be ignored!

So I did what my laundry wanted me to do...leave it be and find something fun and crafty to do! After using portions of this tutorial to make my burlap flowers for my wreath, I have been totally intrigued by fabric flowers (here are nice lists!). Fabric flowers just seem so happy and add a little bit of brightness to a shirt, a cardigan, a purse, or scarf.

After looking around, I decided on this easy-peasy tutorial, and in 10 minutes, I had a lovely little flower to pin to my sweater!



Thanks laundry for begging to be ignored and giving me such a lovely creative afternoon!

Boys, Glorious Boys

I was gifted this delightful book by a good friend. We actually are going to get to meet the author, Rachel Balducci, for dinner in a few weeks to talk about her book, parenting, and wherever else the conversation leads!

Raising boys is an interesting journey. I am daily assaulted with items that they have turned into guns (anything, and I do mean anything can become a weapon!) Every morning my precious four boys meet me with grunting, yelling, stomping, banging, mouth noises (mimicry of transportation, Jedi, and generalized explosions!) strange smells, and weird daydreams about body parts, explosives, and more weapons...

They hate to bathe. They loathe brushing their teeth. And they don't care about wearing dirty underwear, dirty clothes, dirty anything.

They eat constantly. I can't even think about the amount of food I will have to keep stocked during the teenage years. Just the thought of that makes me want to pray harder for a Costco to come this way.

They bounce and wiggle and jump and kick and flail. The energy is amazing. They try front flips and back flips and side flips. They leap way ahead of us on hiking trails and seek to climb to the highest, most precarious point possible.

Reptiles, snakes, frogs, spiders, grubs...all things creepy are grabbed and brought to me with such incredible joy and fascination as if they had just stumbled upon pure gold.

They love fire. Making fires, putting things in fires, and figuring out what will make the fire pop and sizzle and get bigger. It's the whole explosives fascination thing again.

And the noise, oh the noise!! I send my son Will to preschool three mornings a week so that I can have a small break from the crazy amount of noise that particular child generates. Here is the progress report I received on Wednesday:


I laughed so hard! He needs to work on an "inside voice"?! REALLY!? As soon as we find the secret to teaching an "inside voice" to a vibrant, no-holds-barred 4-year-old boy, I'll let you know.

And as wild and untamed as all of their actions and thoughts are, the genuine tenderness and generosity I see in their hearts is worth all the spills, breaks, and high-volume. The snuggles, kisses, and wildflower bouquets make my heart soar. The "I LOVE YOU MOMMY!" that I hear roar from Will's lungs 25 times a day reminds me how blessed I am.

I really wouldn't have it any other way.

A Fresh Welcome

bought a nice fresh porch rug

put together this burlap wreath for the door



Come on in, friends!

Fall Creations

quilted coasters from Colorbrick scraps

quick covers for my faded porch pillows

felt candy corn bunting

How are you sprucing up your nest for fall?

Fall Inspiration

I am staying busy around here!! Busy doing some deep cleaning (fall weather ENERGIZES me!), getting those ceiling fans dusted, mopping, knocking down cobwebs inside and out, putting down mulch, planting mums, and generalized nest-sprucing.

I have found some fun inspiration out there for some frugal and cute autumn decor. I made the above project after seeing it in Woman's Day magazine....just a branch from the yard, a hot glue gun, and some candy corns!

Other ideas in my queue:

Burlap Wreath
Burlap Bunting
Candy Corn Bunting
Halloween Pillows
Preschooler's Fall Activity
Candy Corn Cookies
Pumpkin Sheet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting (this cake is cooling on a rack in my kitchen right now!

I certainly won't make all of these things, but it sure is fun to get inspired to create again after a long, hot summer.

Isn't Fall delicious in every way!?

Nature Therapy

Our family enjoyed 4 days of camping up at Oconee State Park this past week. It was bliss! Cool weather, beautiful hikes, roaring campfires, and good people (part of our Home Group from church came too!) I have also spent a lot of time out working in the yard, watching our chickens, and generalized puttering!

I am always amazed at the powerful, therapeutic properties in nature. God's creation soothes the racing mind, calms the anxious heart, and restores worship and awe and gratitude. His goodness and grace and sustainability can be found at every turn...when you don't feel like you can "see" or "hear" God, all you have to do is walk outside!

It's easy to turn to things like "retail therapy" or entertainment or books for relaxation, but none of those compare to the restorative healing that we can find out in nature. People with mental and emotional disorders find great healing when regular time is spent outside. Children with ADD are calmed and centered. The believers in Jesus find renewed faith when in touch with His grandeur and beauty and power.

"The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge."
Psalm 19:1-2