Change Without Leaving Your Bed

Change is inevitable, as we all know, however, I have found it is how you embrace change that really matters. This is about a different kind of change - an inner change of thoughts and attitudes.   I can be lying in bed and a little thought can whisper something negative, i.e. "I'm never going to have energy in the mornings because I'm so old", ...then..."What if I'm so old my husband doesn't want me anymore"....then..."What if he finds someone else?"....then....more ugly thoughts based on nothing!  Then I am mad at myself, mad at my husband and this has colored my whole day!  Yikes!  All before setting one foot out of bed!  Nothing has happened except that I opened my eyes!  Has this happened to you?  The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 10:5 that we must take EVERY thought captive - "We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ."  Now, instead of getting all upset, I work my way back though those ugly thoughts and see the truth.  My husband has never showed any sign of wanting anyone else and has actually always been pretty loving, and once I set one foot out of the bed, energy comes.  I pray and ask God to help me to take captive EVERY thought and bring it under His Word.  How quickly I can get on the roller coaster of life without anything in my world really changing except my thoughts!   So, I've ridden this roller coaster of emotions all from one little thought about not having energy as soon as my eyes pop open!  Now, I replace that one little negative thought with one positive one and, volia!  Now my day is colored with a positive outlook.  All from taking thoughts captive and not allowing the enemy to whisper his little lies to me.   Now on to more creative avenues...

I have started the Charlotte Mason method in my homeschool and it is working out beautifully.  I thought Ben, my 7 year old, and I were going to have to part ways, particularly in math.  I started this approach a week ago and it has made a HUGE difference!  I am having to unschool me!  We are spending lots of time outdoors and alternating subjects like math and language arts with Art Appreciation and Music and Dance.  Wonderful fun and he is enjoying school again!

We are getting settled in our new home and are enjoying being so close to church and Gene's work.  I planted flowers and have made a little outdoor room on our porch.  Home!  More coming, but it's a good start.  Vegetable gardening with our neighbors this year and it is going to be great!  There is also a small orchard here so looking forward to apples, peaches and, I think, pears.  Lots of canning in my future!   Cabbage is already planted and growing.  My neighbor is going to help me can sauerkraut.  I love sauerkraut! 

Our garden spot and apple trees

Our Front Porch

Swing

Living Room

Ben and Grace having school

Cafe Table for Lattes and Tea

Gracie

As part of our homeschool now, we are having lifeskills classes.  Ben just made muffins:
1 3/4 c. Flour
1/3 c. Sugar
2 t. baking powder
1t. ground cinnamon
1/4 t. salt
1/2 t. ground nutmeg
1/4 t. ground allspice
1/8 t. ground ginger
1 egg lightly beaten
1/4 c. milk
3/4 c. Almond Joy Coffee Creamer by Int'l Delights
1/4/ c. vegetable oil

Combine the first 8 ingredients.  Combine egg, milk and oil:  stir into dry ingredients just until moistened.  Fill greased muffin cups with batter.  Bake at 400 for 20-25 minutes. This was based off of another recipe but we tweaked it and made it our own.  The original recipe called for 3/4 cups of milk and 1/2 t. cinnamon, 1/4 t. nutmeg, and 1/8 t. ground allspice.  We LOVE the Almond Joy creamer and it really gives the muffins a wonderful flavor!  The original also had you filling the muffin cups partially, adding apple butter filling, and covering with more batter.  However, I didn't have apple butter, so we are going a la carte!  You can also add the topping of 1/2 c. chopped pecans and 3 T. suger, but we left that off also.  No nuts!

My ETSY shop is doing great!  Not sure if I'm opening a physical shop here yet or not.  There is a really cute shop here, but right now it's full of stuff!  I'm now on Pinterest so you can follow me there also.

Until we meet again, may God bless you richly in all you do!
Kim

An Interview With God

I just watched this video called “An Interview with God”. Something that really stood out was “a person is not rich who has the most , but the one who needs the least”. That really struck home with me. Also, something to the effect of we spend so much time worrying about tomorrow that we live neither in the present nor the future. We have scaled down our life a lot since I lost my job, almost a year ago. But I have experienced how God does provide our DAILY bread.

My goal for 2012 is to live in the present moment – not to gulp down my coffee, but to sit and enjoy the smell and taste of it. To see my children as the gift they are and, when they interrupt my spinning or knitting, to stop and play with them. Too soon they won’t ask me to play or read to them or hold them. I want to take a walk and just enjoy the beauty that is around me. To look at my husband like I looked at him when I first met him. To not take forgranted that he will be here tomorrow. To enjoy the talent that God gave me to create beautiful fibers and yarns and not look at it ever as a job, or a chore. To love the Lord and respect the choice that He made to die such a horrible death for me. To not ignore Him in my day, but include Him on everything. To take care of my body and not bring disease on myself by lack of exercising and bad eathing habits. To just enjoy life and be content with what I have for the day.

We are looking at Christmas a bit differently this year.  With money very tight, our family, kids included, are coming up with alternatives to normal Christmas toys.  Yesterday, Ben decided he would like as his Santa gift, an art party.  So we are going to invite some of his friends over for an afternoon of creating art.  Gracie is so content with what she has, she isn't in that "I want" stage yet.  Although, she is really enjoying preparing for Christmas.  She and Ben decorated our tree almost entirely by themselves!

Life is good in the ETSY shop.  Lots of sales and special orders!  Ben created his first yarn.  He got my fiber scrap box out and carded up a bat and then spun it!  It's really nice. 

Isn't it pretty?  I thought he did an excellent job.  His second one, I'm actually using as a border for a scarf.  I'll post that as soon as I'm finished.  I'm using his yarn on the ends and I'm knitting with roving for the body of the scarf.  It is very interesting.  Almost looks woven.  I believe it may be a Christmas present.  Not sure yet. 

I made peanut butter pie for Thanksgiving and boy was it good!  You take peanut butter, cream cheese, cool whip and mix that all together and put into a graham cracker crust.  Then top it  with chocolate syrup.  YUM!   Here is the recipe.  It's from Aunt Bees Delightful Desserts; p.158 Miss Crump's Peanut Butter Pie:
1 cup peanut butter
8 ounces cream cheese
1 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons softened butter
8 ounces whipped topping, 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 9 ounce chocolate or graham cracker crust
Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, optional

Blend first 6 ingredients until smooth.  Pour into pie crust.  Refrigerate overnight or until pie is cold throughout.  Garnish with peanut butter cups, if desired.  I swirled a chocolate topping over the top, or you could swirl Hersey's syrup over the top.  Either way, the bottom is what counts and boy is it yummy!

Enjoy the preparations for Christmas with your family.  May God bless you with His peace and comfort.

Kim

Hace Mucho Friooooooooooooooooooooooo!

We just had Spanish class, Can you tell?? 
It is very cold outside!!!  Yikes!  I opened the door to hand Ben and Grace the pig food and was smacked by Jack Frost!
Sitting inside with the heat cranked up and sipping on some Chai tea.  Yummy.  Ben, Gracie and I made Pumpkin Muffins this morning.  I had some leftover brown sugar and cinnamon topping.  So, I put it in my Chai Tea with some fresh cream.  Yummy!

Pumpkin Muffin recipe was very good and very easy!

God has sent me the sweetest gift in the form of a customer.  Her name is Kelli and she is an awesome photographer!  She happened upon my shop in ETSY and voila!   She is a source of encouragement for me right now.  Thank You, Lord, for sending her my way!

Speaking of my shop, I have created some great holiday yarns, and have sold most of them!  This one, will be a particular challenge for someone, but I can't wait to see something knitted from it!

I also had some really great customers come into my shop last weekend.  I am working on a baby bootie and hat set for a little boy.  I need to get started spinning this alpaca I have had for 3 months also!  She should have never told me she didn't need it until Christmas!  I also have some llama from this same customer that smelled like stinky socks, but with a few months of being left outside, I think it's much better now.  I'm considering rinsing it in a lavendar rinse, but then it may smell like stinky feet soaked in lavender!  I also want to delve into that box of Shetland that my mom sent to me and I have a box of Angora goat fiber that my cousin sent!  Wow!  I am so blessed!!!!!!!!!!

I am taking the Fall challenge present by Courtney at Women Living Well.  I have my candle lit to remind us, particularly me, to be peaceful in word and deed.  I have cleared off my clutter area - a countertop in the kitchen, and am working on a filling a big box for donation to Habitat for Humanity!  I hate clutter, but I have so much of it!  Clutter = Chaos and that produces stress and no peace!  So, check out the challenge.  This is a great blog, too.

Grace and Ben are doing great in homeschool.  Grace, in particular, really enjoys it and doesn't want to stop!  UI am using Rod and Staff with her - the ABC series.  She gets to start speech therapy in 4 more weeks!  She told me the other day when we were practicing saying a word, "I can hear it, but I can't say it!"  She is doing much better though.  
Ben is doing his final project in the Thomas Kincaid art class he's been taking.  He put together a still life that says something about him.  Here it is:

Well, I need to get back to homeschool and back to spinning!! 

May God rain down His incredible blessings on each of you!

Kim