Fall Into Reading 2011 - Update

Here's my reading list:

1)  Educating the Wholehearted Child
2)  Raising Real Men
3)  Falling to Pieces
4)  The Christmas Singing 
5)  Three Cups
6)  Pilgrim books to the kids in November
7)  All the Christmas books I can get my hands on!

Want to join us?  Click the button for information and get reading!  The challenge ends December 21st.

We Carve Pumpkins

We carve pumpkins.
My husband explains why here.


The Fabulous Fall Link Up

Autumn Fires ~ Robert Louis Stevenson

"In the other gardens
And all up the vale,
From the autumn bonfires
See the smoke trail.

Pleasant summer over
And all the summer flowers,
The red fire blazes,
The gray smoke towers.

Sing a song of seasons!
Something bright in all,
Flowers in the summer
Fires in the fall!"

- Robert Louis Stevenson

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Grasp fall for all it's worth!
Enjoying the season,
Laura

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May I suggest?
Harvest Lane Cottage: Autumn Thoughts...
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Something to Think About... Christmas Preparations

Hello Ladies!
The Maple Leaf Festival is now history for Carthage. What does that mean for me? It means the time is going to go faster and faster until New Year’s Day! I am all for preparing early for Christmas.  What I’ve found is that if I’m not ready by early December, I spend all of December in a stressed out frenzy. That’s not the kind of memory I want my kids to have of me!  Am I jumping the gun? No, I don’t think so. I want to be mindful of my time so that I can enjoy December and Advent with my children. I want the focus to be on Jesus, not on the fuss of it all.

How are you doing? Are you thinking through what you want to do yet? Any presents made or bought or planned yet? Think about what you want this season to be like. Think about what meals you’ll be preparing, what snacks and baking you’ll want to do. Think about the gifts you’ll want to prepare. It’s not too early to start getting it all down on paper.

No idea where to begin? Begin with prayer! Ask the Lord how you can honor Him with the celebration of His birth. He’ll put some ideas in your head. You’ll probably find that you can simplify a lot.

Now is the time to talk with family members about scaling back on gift giving this year before anyone gets caught up in the gimme spirit instead of the Holy Spirit. It can happen to adults, too. We just paint a pretty face over it,  and call it the spirit of giving.

Well, I suppose I’ve given you something to think about.

May God bless you with peace, hope, and focus this holiday season!
Laura

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May I suggest?
Christmas Wishes...

Want to be Knitting Mittens for Your Kittens?

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Hope 4 Joplin

Hope 4 Joplin

If you'd like to help the families of Joplin, you can do so through Joplin Family Worship Center's Disaster Resource Center. We have helped thousands of volunteers to find ways to help in Joplin's recovery. We also provide food, clothing, and household goods directly to citizens of the community who were directly impacted by the tornado by destruction of their homes or loss of their jobs. We are able to do so only because of the generosity of people from all across the country.

There are lots of ways to help.

Go to Hope 4 Joplin to find out how you fit into the recovery picture.

Thank you for helping Joplin Family Worship Center help Joplin.

Extreme Makeover Home Edition is in Joplin Missouri!

7 houses

7 days

Thank you Extreme Makeover Home Edition!

Get involved! 

Christmas Wishes... Want to be Knitting Mittens for Your Kittens?

Want to be knitting mittens for your little kittens for Christmas?  I learned to knit mittens last year by watching a series of video tutorials from Knit Picks. 



The instructions are clear.  My kids loved their mittens.  They're all asking for another pair this year!  Wool mittens are so very warm.  Give it a try.  If you can knit and purl, you can do this.  I buy my supplies at Knit Picks.

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May I Suggest?

My Littlest Kitten Now Has Mittens

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Wrapping Up Christmas