Star Wars Color by Number Multiplication Page

Hey everyone!  I haven't blogged in a while since things are quite busy here, but I couldn't think of a better way to share this fun image I created!  I know how hard it can be to find great, educational activities for your kiddos during the year (and especially over the summer!).   It may well take your child less time to color this than it took me to create it (haha!); I hope they enjoy it!

Let me know if there are any problems with it!

(And yes, I created this by hand, but since it's technically a copyrighted franchise, I won't be selling it ;-P )

Great for middle or upper elementary kids who are multiplying double digit numbers.

Happy summer!

They say being present is too hard in these times

I've heard people say that bullying is a problem these days and it needs to end.
         
             When my son was being bullied on the bus, I took the boys cookies and talked with them and
             told them we wanted friendship.  The bullying ended.

I've heard that people don't talk to each other enough and that kids are always on their phones.

            Every morning at quarter to seven, my son waits for his school bus.  The kids run around and
            laugh and talk.  They talk to each other and they talk to me.  They tell me about their lives and
            they tell me about their favorite things.

I've heard that kids these days don't ride bikes around the neighborhood or get to know their neighbors.

           Do you want to hear about David and Savannah next store who always brighten our day when
           we get a chance to spontaneously spend time talking on the front lawn?  Do you want to hear
           about Jonah who just started riding the bus and every day asks to come over to play?  Do you
           want to hear about the older boy who took my son under his wing and spent half an hour
           leading him on a bike ride throughout the neighborhood last night?



I keep hearing these "truths" mentioned in conversation as though they are fact.  The certainly aren't facts in my life.  Want people to be neighborly?  Be a neighbor.  It's just that easy.

Making Hash Browns and Learning About Process

It had been on my mind for weeks to make hash browns.  I kept seeing recipes calling them delicious and delectable, crunchy and satisfying.  Though I'd never been particularly fond of them in the past, I suddenly had an urge to try my hand at making this side dish that others found so tasty.  It helped that I had a few potatoes in the pantry that needed a recipe to call their own.  With an unexpected quiet time yesterday afternoon while three of my four children slept, I started grating potatoes.

I love to eat.  I also really enjoy making the food I eat.  Or at least, I used to find it enjoyable--before I had children.  Now I have less time and more interruptions and cooking is something I often loathe.  Really?  We have to eat dinner *every day*?  Who says?

Because I have learned that daily dinner means daily dirty dishes, I often make a point to double or triple a recipe.  Since my kind husband doesn't mind having leftovers (and my children simply don't know any different), I usually get away with only cooking half the week and having left overs the rest of the week.  It's wonderful.  Truly.

Sometimes, though, a recipe does not lend itself to doubling.  I want to believe that all I have to do is multiply the ingredients, but sometimes that's just not the case.  Yesterday, I got out the largest skillet I own (which is *huge*) and put in all the potatoes I had--four.  The recipe called for two.  And, truth be told, the recipe called for two normal sized potatoes, and mine were like twice the size of a regular potato since, well, that's just how they come in the 20lb. bag from Costco.  I suppose it's more efficient to pack fewer big potatoes into the bag than a whole bunch of small ones.  Way to keep things efficient, Costco.

But, I digress.  The point is, I was practically quadrupling the recipe.  The grated potato was supposed to be sprinkled at the bottom of a buttered skillet and left to cook until brown on one side, and then turned over to cook on the other side.  My grated potato did a wonderful job of cooking on the bottom, but the moment I tried "turning them over" I realized that my dream of deliciously crunchy hash browns was definitely not going to come true.  At least, not with those potatoes.

There were far too many pieces of potato to simply "turn" them over, and very quickly I was left with a mixture of about 1/4 cooked, brown, crunchy potato and 3/4 not-at-all cooked, soggy, non-edible potatoes.  What was supposed to take about 10 minutes of baking time took half an hour, and I was pretty much left with what could be considered extremely buttery mashed potatoes that, with some bites, had a slight crunch to them.

I decided I should be more particular about which recipes I try to double (or quadruple for that matter).  But I also decided this was a great metaphor for some parts of my life.

For how many years, and in how many situations, have I tried to get to my "end goal" through short cuts?  I have a beautiful picture of how I want life to be, but I often try to get to it haphazardly and with little care for the process.  It's not surprising that when I screw up the recipe, I don't get the same results I was looking for.  Know what I mean?

 I can't expect things to work out just like I hoped when I am sloppy and careless about how I get there.  I'm thankful that God has been gracious to bless me even in the times when I've been undeserving and "sloppy" in my process.  And I'm glad to know that even as I strive to be a better runner in this race set before me, He will always forgive me when I stumble.

Christians and Life: On the Topic of Abortion...

My heart has been breaking lately, seeing articles like this one about Kermit Gosnell's trial...the grotesque images of what happened in his clinic in Philadelphia...  My mind has been on those tiny hands and feet of each of those lives he cut off from this world.

This won't be a long post, but I just wanted to share a question... Something my mind has been pondering for a long time, and perhaps something you should be asking too.  Yes, those of us who are "pro-life", we are waging war, but I wonder if we haven't had something to do with how far this war has come.

This question is for Christians--those people claiming to follow Christ, to live as he lived and who are called to seek his will.

Has this war come to such a front because we have lost the value of life?  

Oh yes, we quote our Scripture that talks about its holiness and uniqueness.  I do not mean to say that we don't know what our faith teaches.  We do know.  And His Spirit in us reminds us of the preciousness of our own life and those of others...

But our lives are busy.  Cluttered.  We are consumed with bettering our selves and our children.  Consumed with the newest fads and latest technology.  We have more to think about and do than ever before.  Our lives are like a whirlwind blowing from one locale to the next.

Is it right for us to live in America and preach our choice--our choice to live in what manner we want, and yet to point fingers at others and tell them that in this particular area, they can't?  They can prioritize choice in anything they want, except this.  In all other ways, god is self.  But in this one, no, our God says "don't kill the babies."

Yes, I am pointing the finger at you.  And me.  All of us.  We write, we talk, we live day to day going from one choice to the next.  I'd wager a guess that more of our Facebook statuses are about the choices we've made, will make, or are unsure about making, than we do about how highly we value our lives.

We've done it.  We, too, have accepted the lie that choice is King.  We cannot fight the battle of abortion on choice.  We do not choose when life starts.  God already did.  We cannot choose if it's important. God has already made it so.

Our battle is in the value.  But it's no surprise the war has gotten as far as it has, because we have been confused... we have thought it was of choice.

What if we started to live like we really valued life?  Ours.  Theirs.  Everyone's.  What if I valued life itself, this gift--this amazing thing that God has given that enables me to live and move and have my being--higher than I value choice.  I wonder how this war would change.  I wonder if eyes that were blind would see.  I wonder if we would change, and let go of our hold on choice as King, and let our Savior reign instead--breathing in joy and thankfulness for the simple things--of life and love, and of the true JOY it can bring when we savor it.

In essence:  We won't show them God by telling them what the Bible says.  We will show them how God values life when we value it.  1 John 3:18, "let us love not with words or speech but with actions and in truth."

Metamorphosis

I know the word, metamorphosis.  And of course, I knew, in theory, that a butterfly becomes such after first being a caterpillar, and then forming a chrysalis.

But watching the process happen in my own home was something entirely different.  Watching our itsy bitsy caterpillar grow to two inches in the span of only two weeks was miraculous.  And after hanging upside-down in a J shape for half a day, suddenly our caterpillar started disappearing all together.  I was amazed.

(And here's an interesting video catching part of this process....)

I had jumped at the chance to "raise" a baby monarch because I thought my kids would enjoy it.  I didn't realize how much I would enjoy the process as well.  I think in the end, it was I who was mourning when the butterfly took flight, not my children.  I felt somehow connected to its life, and then I had to watch it fly away.  The only remedy to my disappointment that I can think of is to mark it on the calendar...next year, I'm going to find another egg.

Etsy 100 GIVEAWAY!! :)

Hello out there friends and fans!  I'm hijacking the blog for business-related items for the next week or so in order to celebrate getting up to 100 items on my Etsy page!  It took a whole lot more time and effort than I expected, but now I'm enjoying being in the triple digits!  To celebrate this achievement, I'm hosting my first giveaway.  :-D

There will be two items that you can try to win, and I'm going to let an awesome website called Rafflecopter do all the work for me!  There are a few ways to get "points", and each point will gain you added advantage in the winners pot.  At the end of the giveaway, Rafflecopter will choose two entries at random.  And the best part?  I'll even ship you the item for FREE! :)  A gen-u-ine  giveaway!  Can you tell I'm excited?

So, here are your options.  Do note that some of the options for getting points you can do multiple days in a row.  Might want to keep that in mind if you really want to win! :)   (Reversible bow ties are a $12 value and the Satin Flowers with Ostrich feathers are a $15 value.)

Good Luck! :)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Didn't know I had an Etsy page?  Go check it out!! :)  Crafts By Libby

Out on a Limb (Or stem, as it were)

In recent weeks our family acquired two baby monarch butterfly eggs.  At this moment, they are both in chrysalis form--it's been an exciting process to watch!!  One particular part of the process keeps hanging on my mind, as it seems it could be a metaphor for so many of life's adventures.

I suppose it wasn't a part of the process, exactly.  It was more a simple moment in the process.  Every couple of days I had to change the milkweed leaves out so that the caterpillars had enough food for their exponential growth.  On this day, one of the caterpillars had eaten itself onto just the stem of the leaf.  For a solid three inches of stem, it had consumed all of the leaf substance previously surrounding that area.  All that remained was stem and caterpillar.

I keep thinking about life on a limb....  pondering how my life might be compared to this caterpillars... bent on nothing but consumption?  Risking injury to get what I want?  Pushing until there's nothing left?  Needing new direction?  Thinking about the present, without too much thought to the future?  Focusing on one area without seeing the big picture?

I'm not sure that all of these would apply to me.  I am sure that one could probably derive many more "wonderings" about life based on this simple picture.  It's just such an interesting image....plentiful milkweed, and there hangs the caterpillar, alone, on the end of the stem....

Just pondering.  Guess it's been one of those weeks, just to wonder about life and what we're all really doing.  (And what are we supposed to be doing....?)

Chalk Mats to GO!

Chalk mats are a huge new trend--actually, chalk anything.  Chalk banners.  Chalk mirrors (or, used-to-be-mirrors).  Chalk placemats.  Chalk tablecloths.  I even saw a chalk dress!  In an effort to make our upcoming travel a bit more fun, I set about making some quick to-go chalkmats for my kids.  I wanted a pocket so they could keep the chalk with the mats, and also some type of closure.  Oh, and I wanted them small enough to fit in their laps!

And, while they might not be the nicest looking chalkmats around, I can happily say I completed my task in less than half an hour!  I just grabbed some random scrap material (an old pair of jeans and an old  armrest cover), and voila!  Fun activity to go.  Check it out! :)

Bridesmaid dress *makeover*

Six years ago this summer I was toiling away in a sky-high apartment in Cambridge, MA, working on my bridesmaid's dresses.  I had decided to make the dresses, so that they could match my wedding gown in style.  I had also decided to make the dresses out of cotton, instead of satin, thinking that when the wedding was over, the girls might be able to wear the dresses to another event.

In the process, since I'm not an expert seamstress by far, I had decided to first make a dress for myself--that way I knew what I should keep the same about the pattern, and what I'd like to have changed for the girls' dresses.

Outside of trying the dress on right after I made it, I've never worn it since.  I noticed it this past Sunday in my closest and decided, "heck, why don't I do something about this dress to make it a little more wear-able...?"  Since I've been sewing more of late, I thought I'd take a stab at making some creative changes.  I figured, what's the worst thing that could happen?  I'd ruin it?  It's not like I was wearing it anyway, so what would that matter?

Since I didn't care too much if my project failed, I didn't put much effort into making my lines clean.  Now that it's turned out half-decent, I'm just hoping that the people in the pew behind me at church aren't staring at my poor sewing the next time I wear this on a Sunday morning.  From far away, I think it looks cute enough to wear.  Maybe if my bridesmaids have their dresses still collecting dust in their closets, they could do a dress revamp of their own. :)

Most of the important things I changed dealt with the bodice--it was way too bulky up top to feel comfortable, and it came too high on the back.  I cut on both sides of the "straps" to make them thinner, but still wasn't satisfied in the end.  I ultimately decided to add two little loops to draw in the straps to make them more comfortable.  In the back, I simply cut out a huge chunk of fabric, folded down the zipper and sewed.  I also trimmed the length so that it lays just below the knee instead of just below the calf.  I think it still could have used a little more off the bottom, but I was getting kind of tired of the project by that point....  (My moods are so easily shifting!)

Sorry the pictures aren't so great---I often have trouble taking pictures of myself!

Stay Safe, Little Birdie

I noticed something strangely unlike basil sitting in a pot on my porch yesterday....  That is, I noticed its dissimilarities to basil right off, seeing as how only basil was supposed to be in that pot.

Turns out, it was a small robin, still speckled on its breast showing it's young age.  The poor thing tried to fly out of the pot once my children neared its hideout.  We then watched it hop across the road--almost being run over by two separate cars as it clumsily moved to and fro.  Thankfully it made it to the porch of the neighbor, and we promptly followed it.  We watched it try desperately to gain higher ground, but its wings only sputtered.  What a precious sight.

We left it in a bush right off our neighbor's porch.  I only hope that it's still alive today, despite the many dangers that abound for a fledgling robin on our street.  If only the cats next door recognized the beauty of it as much as we did.

The Grass Withers....

We've had a dry start to summer here; I see brown in all directions.  We hope for rain, but so far, not much has fallen.  The land is dry and hard.  The grass crunches as I walk on it.  Yet, the flora press onwards.  Those plants that are able to weather the drought continue in their process of growth and repopulation.  One plant is a favorite of my husbands.  He loves the form the seedlings take just before they are whisked away to new ground.

Isaiah 40 verse 8 says, "The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever."

My daughter, the spy-in-training

Yes, I am the proud parent of a spy-in-training.  What, you don't believe it?  Why not?  Do you not think my children competent, capable and talented human beings?  Is it that I could not have produced such suave and masterful offspring?

Or is it possibly because the oldest of my children is a meager four years old?

Well, I'll have you know that I have the pictures to prove it.... my newly-turned two year old is training hard to become proficient in being covert....

Here's the trainer getting ready for the session...

And she's off--obstacle course ahead!

"Oh yeah, that was nothin'"

and now, to avoid getting captured...

"Lost him.  No problem!"

 Training an agent sure is hard work!