Spring

My oh my it is spring already. Yes, I know it feels nothing like it at the moment for those of us dwelling in the land of perpetual winter, but it’s here! And with spring comes all the wonderful things such as dirt and flowers, farm animal babies, and Resurrection Day…

Here’s just a snapshot of some spring happenings over here…

my sweet sister Lillie turned 16 this past week… what a beautiful day it was! She so loved the encouraging words of her friends, laughter, food, and simple graces that were shown to her throughout her special day… and I am totally loving her green headphones…

the 5 chickens whose Chicken Mama takes such egg-cellent care of them are doing fabulously. We’ve been thoroughly enjoying the 5 eggs a day, and now cannot imagine life without our fabulous girls.

I am so thrilled to announce that we’ve recently added 2 more feathered foul to our happy homestead…

Yes, I am ever so slightly in love with these two ducks.

They’re names are Puddle and Ginger, and we absolutely adore them. We think that Ginger (yellow) will be your standard white duck with the orange bill, but Puddle (brown) is a mystery, though we are pretty sure she’s either a Mallard or a Rouen (Ruen? Roun? Something like that… :) )

I launched a photography site this winter to help keep my portfolio “out there” and so far so good! I am simply excited to have taken 1 more step.

 

What’s been happening around your home lately?

Party Time

I am nearly 19. crikey. And my next youngest sister is nearly 16. One of the best parts about having a birthday so close to my sister’s is that the party lasts from the end of February to the middle of March. So this year, to prepare to celebrate our consecutive birthdays, we made tissue paper pom-pom things and hung them from the various tall places in our house. And I do have to say, they look simply lovely.

and in case you were wondering, yes, that second to last pom-pom was made by the boy, and since it was smaller, we put it on a stick in a flower pot. love!

Were these hard to make? Not at all!

Here’s the instructions we used:

(Thank you to Audrey from Oh So Pretty for the instructions!)

Here is what you'll need:
+ 10 sheets of the same color tissue paper (Most people suggest 8 sheets but I found they turned out best with at least 10 sheets.)
+ Scissors
+ Monofiliment or fishing line (for hanging the poms)
+ Bendable wire (I used 24 gauge)

And here are the simple steps for pom making:

1. Stack 10-12 sheets of tissue paper. I bought paper at Paper Source on the plaza. If you haven't been there I suggest you check it out...tons of great stuff to choose from!

2. Make 1 1/2-inchwide accordion folds, creasing with each fold.

3. Wrap your wire over center of folded tissue; twist until tightly secured. With scissors, trim ends of tissue into rounded or pointy shapes.
4. Separate the tissue layers, pulling away from center one at a time. Once pulled apart evenly, fluff the sections until you are happy with the fullness.

5. Tie a length of monofilament to wire for hanging.

TIPS:

+ I found the poms look better when you cut the rounded (or pointy) shape pretty deep instead of just the ends.

+ The first pom I made was a dud. I made it too big and didn't cut the rounded ends very deep and it turned out poorly. I made some adjustments on my second pom and they all turned out great after that.

+ To make a smaller pom follow the same steps but simply cut down your tissue paper to a smaller rectangle or square.

+ I made a multi-colored pom using 4 sheets each of 4 similar colors (a fun alternative to a solid colored pom).

So really, all you need are these 4 things:

And wa-la! So pretty!

 

 

To top off the afternoon, my amazing mom made cake. Carrot cake. Yum-o!

Party on!

The Glory of Christ

 

Pondering and rejoicing in this truth today…

The Christian Gospel is about “the glory of Christ,” not about me. And when it is- in some measure- about me, it is not about my being made much of by God, but about God mercifully enabling me to enjoy making much of him forever.

-John Piper, “Seeing and Savoring the Glory of God”

Grace Like Snow

Merry Christmas, dear friends…

may you all be blessed with quiet moments with Christ, happy laughter with family, and an amazement at the grace that flows down.

Blessings to you, and peace this Christmas.

pause

 

pausing to count blessings amidst this crazy christmas season and the 13 inches of snow…

 

108. christmas lights in the living room

109. snow up to my knees

110. the puppy running through the snow… then falling asleep in the livingroom sunshine

111. a snow day after icy roads

112. pasta salad for lunch

113. the trees all outlined with white

dear jk

Here you are. Wow. It’s been a road, hasn’t it? But just wait a minute- before you hop on that school bus, trek through camp, and start that quilt, I’ve got a few pointers and helpful insights to help you down the road.

First, dear me at age 7, remember a little while ago on the playground? When you were racing Alex Smith to the swings? And you landed belly first on the swing and swung up and over and face planted the pavement? Yep. Remember how you were so mad about it when you parents thought it was funny? Take a breath and relax and know that you will laugh about this one day. You will. You will laugh long and hard. I promise.

And when you start seventh grade, don’t freak out. I know you’re new at being a believer in Christ and that it looks daunting. But breathe a little. Have fun. Enjoy those great plaid skirts while you’ve got the chance. (And oh! You will laugh one day about your hair style back then.)

While we’re on that topic, know that your hair is really pretty. Really. And leaving it down looks way better than trying to pull it tight- all you get is a frizz. Trust me on this one.

Just know that your sisters will become your best friends ever. And that right now, entering jr. high, you don’t have many good friends. Know that by the end of high school, you’ll have a social life so large school hardly fits- and that true, genuine friends, gifts from God, are right around the corner- literally. Your sisters totally ROCK. Even when they drive you nuts. Get to know ‘em.

And one day when you’re finished with high school (yes! You do actually make it!) you will realize just how important it was to start homeschooling (I heard that gasp- don’t freak out- God’s totally got this one, okay?).

Because when you are homeschooled, you’ll meet the people who become the friends to support you through life- true friends that are gifts from God. Believe me- the wait for friendship is SO worth it. Don’t take the first gal who walks through the door- be willing to wait for the people God’s got lined up for your life. It is WELL WORTH IT.

And I know you are still thinking about that word I mentioned (homeschooling! The thought!). Know that your sisters start doing it, and when you step out in a bit of a leap of faith into the unknown world of homeschool, God totally takes care of everything. He’s got you, girl.

Because the year you start homeschooling another crazy thing happens. This little dude with blue eyes steps into your family’s world and life takes off in a totally different direction.

That crazy thing called adoption- you know, the one your parents have been praying about- suddenly starts and boom! you have a little brother. And life gets crazy, time moves fast, and life, to be honest, gets pretty hard for that first few months of life with the boy. Because adjusting is hard- but know that through all of this, God teaches you a lot- like how much your parents love you. And how God is moving you in a different direction. And you know what? it’s OKAY.

Then you’ll move. And graduate. and and and…. there is so much more I’d like to tell you- to encourage you to learn NOW instead of later, but then I suppose I wouldn’t be where I am today. So you know what? Here’s my long letter summed up in a nutshell:

Trust God- not just a little, but totally and fully.

Love your family- they love you.

Be yourself. It’s okay to be yourself. Know that, okay?

And don’t ever ever ever cut your hair short again. :) Just sayin’.

 

In Christ,

Me

 

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linking up with Emily at Chatting at the Sky today as we write letters to ourselves as teens. And well, being a teen still, I decided to write this to myself through junior high. Emily is releasing a new book that I am reading and WOW is it powerful. It truly is. I totally encourage you to read it!

Graceful by Emily Freeman

Still Here

Hey there all you wonderful people!

Just wanted to drop you a note to let you know that no, I haven’t fallen off the face of the earth, but rather right into the world of college. :)

I am so thrilled at the opportunity that the Lord blessed me with this fall to attend a Biblically based, Christian college. Through some crazy stories that I may have to tell you later, I landed right in the middle of busy schedules, a new car, and lots of books to read. God has been so incredibly amazing and good to me, and I can hardly wait to start classes today.

So just a heads up that things are still going to be kind of quiet around here as I adjust and secure schedules and get into the swing of college.

I also am not sure if you knew, but I am currently involved in a wonderful Minnesota photo contest that has been going on for over a year now through our local broadcasting station. There are some incredibly photos of the state I call home that will inspire and stretch the imagination of new photographers. To take a look, click here! Also, my pictures (which are in the running for being published in their next book) can be found here. Many of them you will probably recognize from my blog, as I often posted here before loading them to the contests.

 

May your Fall season be blessed!

jk

Sunflowers

This year we (accidentally) planted a bunch of sunflowers near the gate to our chicken pen. Well, actually, the birds planted them by throwing the seeds off of the feeder nearby. Near mid July they peaked in gorgeousness, and we had a beautiful view!

 

The sunflowers brought our homestead more than just a cheery view- they also brought back the honey bees! Our entire family was so excited to see all of the bees buzzing around our sunflowers. We were a bit discouraged (and nervous) last year when we didn’t see any kind of bee buzzing through our gardens. This year, though, the flowers were teeming with bees! I am so grateful that the Lord blessed us again with bees!

I was also surprised to learn that not only bees pollenate flowers and vegetable gardens. Did you know that hornets (those nasty little buggers) can do the same? I still dislike them, but hey, at least they are good for something!

 

May you be blessed!

jk