Watch-It Wednesday: Happiness

Grey, drizzly day. Sweats. Cup of tea.

Cosy (that is one word that is just better when spelled the British way) mornings make me happy.

Three Littles cluttering my already-war-zone-looking room. One has a chair set up as a table, and is writing a synopsis for chapters of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Two others have a Lego game in the works - instructions, pieces, and box strewn across the floor. None of them particularly dedicated to their own employment, they are constantly checking in with each other, at times completely halting all pursuits to tell stories based off of the Lego men or instruction-pictures. "King of K5" (although they are now in 2nd grade) explains the word "adjacent" which was just used in the story he was telling. Now they're all back to their proper places - Synopsis Girl checking about when she gets a break, and Game Players rolling the dice.

Littles make me happy.

Cookbooks, pen, and paper cover my bed. Menu-planning and grocery-shopping are on the list today.

The fun of organizing meals and playing working within a budget make me happy.

Phone rings. The funny tune of these new phones we have makes me smile. On the line, a sweet, 6-year-old boy's voice greets me, asking to speak to Little Brother. K5 King jumps up, and returns a few minutes later with a smile and a birthday party invitation. Phone rings again. Again the tune makes me smile. Sweet 6-year-old-friend again. "Hi Sarah, again. Um, Zachary hung up before I could tell him my mama wants to talk to his mama..."

Littles' friends calling on the phone makes me happy.

Synopsis Girl is ready for her break. She climbs up onto my bed, rolls up in one of my fuzzy blankets, arranges my {many} pillows underneath her, and asks permission to pretend she's a cowgirl sleeping in her bunk (as if saying 'no' could stifle the imagination!). Game Players start trying to sing the "Matthew Begats", and ask to hear it on my computer.

Watching the pathways of a Little's mind makes me happy.

Thinking about Easter this past wekeend. Is there a Biblical character you relate to? I relate to Peter. Maybe that's why this song is so beautiful to me (despite the 7-11 ending :).

That Christ is alive makes me happy.

Happy Wednesday!

 

Watch-It Wednesday: An Unlikely Royal Family Tree

Hmmm. I just noticed that the last two "Watch-It Wednesdays" began with the word "no" - don't you think that's rather a negative outlook on life? Therefore, please note the positiveness in today's opening:

Yes! A friend and I have begun memorizing Matthew, and I've finally waded through all the "begats" and finished chapter one! If I'd listened to this song when I was little, maybe it would have been a bit easier!

And that, my friends, is the genealogy of Christ from the book of Matthew! Isn't it great? You can get the book and CD combo on Amazon here. :) It's so encouraging to see the people Jesus chose as His ancestors...yet another reminder of how He loves and uses us regardless of our {manifold} stumblings.

Have a special Wednesday!

 

Make-It Monday: Pillow (and video?)

Happy Monday, everyone! I am sorry for my absence, but life has been...normal. And  by normal, I do not mean slow, structured, or mundane, but insanely busy and full. Why do we even bother answering "busy" to the question "how's it going?" The answer is always "busy" - so really, we should just answer "normal", don't you think? Anyway, I'm back today, with two things for you:


1. Linking up with Kirsteen from Life in My Houseful of Boys - I made a pillow! The actual pillow-case part is knitted, and then I made up a crocheted flower pattern (which I ended up falling in love with!) as an accent. Ta-dah:

Bonus: this was made entiredly out of the scraps yarn I was telling you about a few weeks ago. (So, for example, when I ran out of the brown right at the end of the pillow, I just supplemented it with some of the flower-colored yarn. :)

See? Adds personality. :p


2. Announcing the contest winner from my bloggy-birthday drawing!

To read Lauren's imaginative post, click here.

Have a sun-shiny week! :)

Watch-It Wednesday: Maewyn Succat

No, lest a completely bizarre thought dares to enter your mind, I haven't gone crazy. Let me prove it to you: I know it's Saturday, not Wednesday, I just missed "Watch-It Wednesday" this week (it was Pi Day for those of you who didn't know. I hope you had pie.).

One thing I know for sure, though, and hope you know for sure, is that today is St. Patrick's Day (how could I not, when I woke up to a cute duo of girls wearing BRIGHT green shirts and pinching everyone who dared not wear green?)! Sadly, the spiritual state of Ireland is absolutely no different than last year, so please remember to keep the people of Ireland in your mind and prayers, as your celebrate this day in memory of a man who loved and worked among them. Happy St. Patrick's Day!

 

One Year - Imagine That!

Photo Credit

Do you know what today is? Today is my first bloggy-birthday - isn't that exciting?? One year ago today I
was reallyandtruly introduced to the world of blogger. One year ago today I began the never-ending fun of playing with blog designs. One year ago today I typed my first four-lines-of-a-blog-post.


One year.          115 posts.          Imagination.          Smiles.          Lessons.          Colors.
    

And, of course, YOU!!! :)


In celebration of the fun, I'm hosting a give away! What do you suppose it could be? Come come, you've been reading my blog, what's your best guess?

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You're right - a book!

But not just any book. It's not a romance, not a classic, not a forgotten old treasure, but a book that had me hooked at the preface, nonetheless. A chewing book, according to Sir Francis Bacon's definition. It is, in fact, Anthony Esolen's ten ways to destroy the imagination of your child. In this poignant, witty satire on all aspects of child-rearing - from school to "play dates" - Esolen submits for your review 10 easy steps with which to destroy the imagination of any child. An excerpt from the preface:

"We must, then, kill the imagination. The ideal, of course, would be to cease having children, but that might have some adverse effect upon the long-range economic prosperity, besides threatening certain industries with extinction - the manufacturers of tasteless clothing, for instance, and importers of refined sugar. Since we must have children, we should be sure to subject them to all the most efficient and humane techniques to fit them for the world in which they will live, a world of shopping malls all the same everywhere, packaged food all the same, paper-pushing all the same, mass entertainment all the same, politics all the same. We owe it to them, and, what is more important, they owe it to us...."

There now, doesn't that whet your literary appetite? Wouldn't you like to read such a book for yourself? Well, let me tell you how to enter to win it!


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Mandatory:
~ Post something imaginative on your blog - it could be a story you've written, a quote you read, a photo you took, a video you made...use your imagination! - and leave a comment on this post with the link!

Extras: (one comment for each additional entry)
~ Leave a comment with the title and author of a book that has most sparked your imagination
~ Follow The Lord's Lass
~ Leave a comment with the title and author of one of your favorite "chewing" books

Entries will be accepted until 11:59 pm of Thursday, March 23, 2012. Good luck, and happy imagining!

NOTE: The drawing is open to both U.S. and international bloggers! :)