Leaf Puppet Craft

Looking for a fun Fall craft to do? This is a neat activity to do with kids using pretty Fall leaves! Oh, and it's easy too! We did this with a 2, 4 and 6 year old (and Grandma's help) Check out what we did...

Collect leaves and press them in a flat book for a couple of days.

Cut whatever size you want of the Peel and Stick on a roll from Wal-Mart. It's basically contact paper.

Cut the stems off of the leaves and place them on the sticky paper. Make sure the leaves are far enough from the edges and other leaves so you can press the top layer and bottom layer together.

Cut a bottom layer as close to the same size as possible. Lay it flat on the table stick side up of course :)

Take the leaves on the sticky stuff, and place them on the sticky paper.

Cut out the leaves with a centimeter edge of sticky paper.

Time to create the puppet! Glue eyes, a stick nose, and twine mouth on your puppet.

My son was not into craft time, so he did his own thing :) ~Julia

Hearts for Adoption: Do We Have Room?

Does our family have room for one more? Does yours? My husband and I have been talking for a few years now about the idea and reality of adoption. What would this look like in our lives? Where do we even start? We began praying and made the decision to open the door. We started by saying "God, we don't know if you want us to adopt, and we don't know when or how, but prepare our hearts for whatever you want us to do."

Our lives are full. Our hands are full. I cannot physically have any more children, and I have been more than fine with that. When that door closed, I felt at peace and assumed our family was complete. I have not experienced baby withdrawal, I don't miss the days of diapers and late night feedings. Part of me feels totally content in saying I don't need anymore kids. I am totally content with the size our family is now. We could totally fit into a small compact car if we needed to! But seriously, that's not a good reason.

I cannot shake the burden that has been placed on my heart. 

I cannot ignore the fact that too many people, 

too easily find an excuse not to adopt. 

I'm not saying that everyone should, but too many people don't. 

Sometimes I look into the eyes of my own son, and think, 

if he were the little boy without a mommy and a daddy, 

living in a home that may or may not be loving and stable,

that may or may not be showing him the love of Jesus, how could I look away? 

How could I not reach out and take him in? 

The truth is, there are lots of other little boys like him, 

waiting for a mommy. But at his age, he is becoming "unadoptable." 

Fewer and fewer people 

want a boy his age, with his baggage, with his history.

We have opened the door. We are a loving family. We have extra rooms and extra beds. We have extra seats in our van. We have plenty of food in our pantry. We have closets full of clothes and toy boxes overflowing with toys. By American standards we are doing ok, by the rest of the world's standards we are rich! We have a wonderful church family and extended family that loves the Lord. We already have three, what's one more? I'm already cooking meals for 5, why not 6? I'm already homeschooling 3, why not 4? When there are so many kids around the world, in desperate need, thousands stuck within our own foster care system, how can we look away?

What I've Learned:

Adoption is Beautiful  ....Yet Messy

The Results are Perfect  .....Not Easy

The Process is Risky  ....Yet Required

A Biblical Mandate

A Call

A Heart Cry

Adopting a child out of foster care can cost as little as $200.

They are covered for life by medicaid.

What I'm Thinking:

Who Will Say Yes, When So Many People Say No?

What I'm Reading:

Adopted for Life

Choosing to SEE

Questions I've Heard:

*How will this affect our family?

*What will people think if we adopt a child of a different race? 

(Will people judge and assume? Is it what's best for the child?)

*How much will it cost?

*Will the child transition well into our family?

*What if they don't like us?

*What if they are resentful?

*What if I don't think they're cute?

*What if my other children are resentful?

*What if they were abused?

*What if we have a hard time bonding?

*What if they are challenging?
*What if they try to harm me or my kids?
*What if they act out towards me and make up lies?

What I Know:

*God calls us to care for orphans.

*There are over 100,000 children in foster care in the US, waiting to be adopted.
*Over 3,000 here in my home state of Michigan.
*I personally, only know of a couple people that have adopted, only 1 that has adopted from foster care.
*Too many people have only heard the horror stories.
*Children in need are children in need. No matter where they come from or what their limitations may be.
*We were all adopted into the family of God.

What I've Resolved:

*Even if we face heart wrenching difficulties, we are being obedient.

*Even if we adopt a child that carries painful baggage and resentment, we're offering them love.

*Even if they come with unknown limitations or challenges, it's no different than the unknowns you face having a biological child.  

*When we feel a void between us, bonding takes time.

*I acknowledge that though a child's life experience may have been painful and the adoption process it's self may even be traumatizing, I will not quickly blame every difficulty they face in life on the adoption process.   

*Adoption means, no strings attached, you are part of our family.

*Favoritism or special treatment of our biological children will have no place in our home.

*We have been called to advocate for adoption. This may mean we will adopt soon, or maybe not for several years. But we will speak out and do what we can to shed light on an otherwise dimly light and intimidating subject.

*Our family is not perfect, but we are covered in grace and filled with Jesus.

*We have love to spare.

Some Resources:

www.togetherforadoption.org

www.lifesongfororphans.org

www.adoptuskids.org

www.wellspringlutheran.com

www.bethany.org

www.shedoesjustice.com

Pinterest: Parenting//Adoption//Fostering
www.houseofroseblog.com
www.purecharity.com

Printable Pumpkin Activity Pack

We created this pumpkin pack last year and got lots of great feedback in addition to enjoying it with our own kids! Almost 20 pages chucked full of games, coloring activities, letter tracing and handwriting, cutting practice, history, grammar, recipes, jokes, stories, crafts and more! And best of all... it's free!! Print a copy for yourself, and pass the link on to a friend. Teachers, home educators, moms, grandparents (and anyone else for that matter) will enjoy completing these projects and activities with your kids of all ages. 

Just click here to download: Free Pumpkin Pack

Watch Natalie and Noah demonstrate the art of frosting cupcakes:

Spiritual Gift Assessment for Kids

How can I help my kids prepare themselves for career choices, and equip them with good decision making skills? Is it possible to start doing things now, while they are young, that could better prepare them for those big life decisions? Is it really possible to know a first grader's spiritual gifts and how do I find them? These are all questions I have been contemplating myself, and here is why...

My Story

I grew up as a pastor's kid, very much involved in the church. I was very ambitious (the kind of kid that would completely annoy my current self). I was probably way too confident for my years, which I just imagine annoyed a few people, though if it did, no one ever told me! 

I served in the nursery at a very young age, which lead to reading "The Babysitter's Club" books and actually starting a "Babysitter's Club" with some of the neighbor girls. We took babysitting classes together, passed out fliers and went to work for many families on our street. Because of being in small churches, I was given opportunities to sing and play music, even leading the congregation at a very young age. I read a lot, and wrote many "books." I painted pictures and designed wedding dresses. I gave haircuts and cleaned my friend's rooms. My first jobs were helping at a day care and a home interior store. I did flower arranging and painted the walls of our home. I wrote "plays" and performed in our church Christmas productions. I decorated the church building and published a monthly "magazine." I was pretty convinced that any and all of the these ventures were legit and met a high caliber of greatness. Was I super mature for my years and completely competent at any of these things? No, not really. But I was given opportunities. These were all things I did before the age of 12.

• Are you giving your child opportunities? 
• Are you letting them help and pushing them to step up?
• Are you giving your child a part to play at home or church, even when it may be an inconvenience to you, slow you down or create more of a mess?

       

Looking back at the bigger picture now, I see how God used every opportunity I was given to shape and guide me to the place I am today. I am now a youth and music pastor's wife, I teach our three kids at home, I organize children's ministry events and run weekly kids programs. I sing and play music for adults, teens and kids. I counsel teens and host women's ministry events. I paint the walls of my house (over and over again), I paint murals on the walls at church,  I decorate, I sew dresses for friends, and help people arrange their homes. I'm not writing a list of accomplishments here to brag. Most of these things are not brag worthy, and aren't anything special to the untrained eye. But I take delight in them.

• Take a look at your own life, what kinds of things are you involved in now, that you also took delight in as a child? 
• What hurts or struggles did you face as a child that have allowed you to connect with someone you otherwise would not have connected with?
• What skill did you learn as a child that you still use today?

What I have discovered is that God does not waste anything!

Every heartache, every trial, every opportunity and every skill that you've acquired, can be used for God's glory and is equipping you to help someone, connect with someone, be something and go somewhere that God wants you to be. 

So why did I stress out so badly as a high schooler? I legitimately just wanted to do what God wanted me to do. I wanted to choose a college major that utilized my God given strengths and aligned perfectly with His will. I got stuck on the crazy cycle of stressing and over-thinking God's will for my life: choosing a career path, a college, who I was going to marry, how many kids I wanted to have, what kind of car I should drive and ultimately, what I wanted to do with my life! I had convinced myself that by making one wrong decision, my life would be doomed to a miserable existence, stuck forever on the wrong path. This all landed me in the ER of course, when I was hit for the first time with the fun little reality of stress induced acid reflux and stomach ulcers.

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Please don't make the same mistakes I did:

1. OVER-THINKING Spiritual gift assessment tools are great, and taking tests can be fun, but I did so many I got caught up hard core in over analyzing myself to the point of self obsession. Instead, try seeking the insight of someone else that really knows you!
2. OVER-COMPLICATING God wants his children to follow Him. He wants you to do His will. He is not purposefully trying to confuse you. He has equipped every believer with the personality traits, talents, life experiences and even interests, to perfectly fulfill His specific plan for their life. When a believer surrenders those life experiences, talents and interest over to God, their gifts are evident because God equips and enables us to do things we could never accomplish on our own!
3. OVER-ANALYZING The subject of spiritual gifts can get quite controversial, and though the Bible does talk a lot about it, there is a lot of debate out there. The debate is over what the specific gifts are, weather there are specific gifts, are the lists found in the Bible exhaustive, are there others not mentioned in the Bible, are some no longer needed or in use. It can get confusing and overwhelming, but it's not supposed to be! Don't over-analyze it. Study God's Word, allow Him to lead you, be in constant fellowship with Him and other believers that know you well and can be open with you about the areas they see God working in your life.

I Am Indecisive

I had a hard time making little decisions as a teen, let alone big ones concerning what I was going to do with my life. I had so many interests and passions, so many things I enjoyed and things I desperately wanted to be a part of the rest of my life. I wanted to be a Fashion Designer, Counselor, Wedding Planner, Artist, Photographer, Social Worker, Musician, you name it.  Because I couldn't make up my mind, I jumped around to 4 different undergraduate colleges, only to end up with a general studies associate degree (just a few credits short of a BA). Don't get me wrong, I have great memories from those 4 unique college experiences. I held a 4.0 grade average and enjoyed all my classes. I racked up thousands in student loan debt, only to finally admit to myself that what I truly longed for was to be in full-time ministry as a mom and a pastor's wife! Though I didn't (technically) need any of the college courses that I paid for, the classes I took in Social Work and Biblical Counseling have continued to benefit me to this day. The awesome thing about God's plan, is that all those interests and passions I had, are all things I really get to do on a regular basis, just being me.

If your heart's desire is to please God with your abilities and passions, then chances are, that is exactly what is going to happen. It's not complicated!

I was so afraid of choosing a path that would limit or restrict me from doing what I really wanted to do, that I forgot to trust that part to God. God had been shaping me and preparing me for something my whole life, and I honestly thought I could mess it up that easily. What about you? What about your kids?

• How has God shaped or guided your life so far? 
• What things are you doing now that bring you joy and please God? 
• What kinds of things are your kids doing that bring them joy?
• Have you encouraged them to use that delight in a way that honors God?

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In a day when fewer and fewer college graduates are actually utilizing their degrees, where the job market is extremely competitive, graduate level degrees are what set you apart and the price of education is through the roof... I know I'm a little concerned for my kids, and they're all under the age of 7! I thought I had pressure, what on earth are my kids supposed to do?

Help Your Kids Out

Even at a young age, our kids have interests and talents that can be discovered and trained! As they grow in the Lord and start to show fruit of the Spirit's work in their lives, we may start to see their spiritual gifts emerge. I've been thinking on this topic for a while now, and how to make this simple for other parents and myself, to keep a yearly progress report of traits we've noticed in our kid's lives. Wont it be great, years from now, when your teenager turns to you and says "I have no idea what I want to do with my life!" You can pull out records of their interests and gifts that have been evident throughout their life. You could turn to them and say, "well Sweetheart, at a very young age you demonstrated a remarkable ability to anticipate needs. Your strengths were assertiveness and compassion. Even at the age of 7, you would go out of your way to help others. You have always done well in math and science. I think you would do really well in the health care field!"

This is a very basic assessment sheet I created, to be filled out year after year and kept as a record of your child's interests, passions, gifts, opportunities and academic strengths. If nothing else, it will be a fun record for your kids to look back on. It may even be a cool way of mapping the areas God has guided them through life and to see opportunities they had for growth. This may also be a good way of reflecting on your child's strengths and pointing them towards certain areas of ministry. Give them opportunities to serve while they are young, encourage them in the areas they excel and lovingly point them away from roles they are clearly not gifted in.

Download the assessment sheet HERE

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Some Resources

Here are some helpful links that may provide you with tools to discovering your child's gifts and talents.

*Please note: I found a lot of these links in my own search for resources on this topic. I haven't explored these sites in their entirety and I cannot necessarily stand behind the doctrine or beliefs of each site in full. But, if nothing else, I thought the general help and ideas that they provide are worthwhile! 

• Uniquely You: Discovering Your Spiritual Gifts
• Alpha and Omega Homeschooling: Unwrapping Your Child's Spiritual Gifts
• Focus on the Family: Spiritual Gifts
• A good summary of what Spiritual gifts are and some tools for discerning them in teenagers
• Give Your Kids the Keys
• A book I have not read, but it looks interesting!
• Give Your Kids the Keys: Questionnaire PDF
• A kid's gift assesment sample test that can be found in the above book.
• Lifeway Spiritual Gift Assessment Tools
• Some good links from Lifeway to spiritual gift assesment tests.
• Early Signs of God's Design
• A Lutheran ministry. Scroll down to the bottom of the page for some pdf links to gift assessment tools for kids. I like how they worded things in their "Early Signs of God's Design" pdf. They use language that makes sense for kids and provide good ideas for questions to ask.

I highly recommend the book, Too Small to Ignore, for great insight into the importance of including your child in daily activities and giving them a role to play at church. They are not the future church, as Wess Stafford points out, they ARE the church! A small group of homeschooling moms and I read through this together and loved it. 

I hope this was helpful and encouraging to you! Please feel free to share your own ideas and helpful advice!

~Sarah

Speech Therapy for Your Child at Home

As our kids are learning to talk they can say some of the cutest things!! We can laugh so hard at the way they say things. But there comes a time when they should be able to speak more clearly. Don't be afraid to help your kids with their speech. If you have the blessing of hearing, you can help your child with his speech sounds. You may not feel qualified, but you can help your child.

If you don't hear them articulating their sounds, break them up in chunks and have them repeat after you. Almost like they are learning to read. Or in my case my son is two and still is not saying much. I have him repeat sounds after me or ask him to try new words. Say apple. If he can say apple, then I ask him to say elbow. If I know he can make those sounds or say those words, then I expect to hear them the next time.  The goal being to help him start to use words instead of gestures.

Getting kids who are having trouble making sounds to watch your mouth is also critical. They need to exaggerate the sound until they can start making it themselves. For example, I have had kids stick two or three fingers in their mouth or use a popsicle stick to keep their tounge down to help them make another. Look in the mirror at yourself  to see the shape your mouth makes and help them replicate that exaggerated movement.

Here are some resources that I have found helpful.

 mommyspeechtherapy.com

•  This link will show you what sounds your child should be making at what time.
• High Quality Worksheets

What has worked well for you?

~Julia

Tooth Fairy Fun! {Free Pattern}

My oldest, Natalie, officially lost her first tooth! I have been preparing for this moment for quite some time, as most of the kids her age have already lost multiple teeth. Natalie has been longing (somewhat apprehensively) to join the toothless club. Find my free pattern for this adorable Tooth Fairy pillow: HERE

Check out my Pinterest board 

full of fun, tooth losing ideas: Tooth Fairy Fun

Find these adorable printables or easy to sew tooth pouch at Howdoesshe.com

For $25 you can purchase a set of these cute record keeping charts at chasingfireflies.com

Find some cute girl or boy version printables at thepolkadotposie.com

I have been listening to the discussion over the going rate for a tooth fairy visit. 5 to 10 dollars these days? Hmmm, well, I really didn't want to set the bar that high for the first one, so I figured if it was a sparkly dollar, it would be just as exciting!

Natalie had been told by a friend that if you wanted to keep your tooth, 

you have to write the Tooth Fairy a note!

The Tooth Fairy and Santa

Disclaimer: This is my own personal opinion and I in no way look down on anyone else that has chosen to go about things differently! Our stance on the Tooth Fairy is very similar to our belief in Santa. We enjoy the fun interaction and imaginative play that comes along with these memorable childhood traditions, but never do we lead our children on to believe these characters are real. In my opinion, outright lies and deception that play on a child's natural sense of wonder and belief, is wrong. When our kids ask if Santa or the Tooth Fairy are real, we will usually say "no, he's not real, but it's fun to pretend!" I think there is a small part of each of my kids that want to believe Santa is real, which I find adorable. But, I want my kids to trust that what I tell them is true and dependable, which includes what I tell them about Jesus and stories from the Bible. I want them to believe the Bible is true, that it is not just an other made up fairy tale that parents tell their kids when they are young.

Check out my Pinterest board 

full of fun, tooth losing ideas: Tooth Fairy Fun

{DIY} Lego Storage Solutions

I have three kids that are really into Legos.  Now I am trying to figure out how to keep the pieces from being scattered all over. Let me share with you the best options that took me hours to find!!

Super Quick Clean Up 

This is ingenious. They can play with them and then pull the cord and they are instantly picked up.  I know my son won't play with them perfectly in this space, but he may some of them.  I also think this would be better on a smaller scale for each set and also put the instruction booklet in there with them.

The Lego Shelf
I absolutely love this idea!!

Pull Out Bookshelf Playtime

This is great. This bookshelf was converted to pull out drawers by adding tracks from a hardware store. To make it more Lego friendly, you can add the Lego boards to the bottom of the drawer.

Wall Boards
This is cute, but would be really expensive. Each of these boards are $15.

{DIY} Lego Head - Adorable!
www.obseussed.com

Lego Head - Looks great and is very easy :) just buy it

IKEA Tables turned Lego table!

This shelving unit is very easily accessible.  I love how she took something that most of us have and made it Lego friendly by adding shelves to double the space and also using small storage bins. theorganisedhousewife.com.au

Michael's sells these plastic bin organizers. 

You can sort them by color if you choose.

And you can place instructions in the drawers, too.

Of course you can convert a train table

 Ice Cream Buckets and Printed Lego Pictures

 I hope you were able to find some options that you are able to use right away! ~Julia

Create Your Own Amazing Outdoor Play Area

We have to get creative at our house when it comes to having outside play things for our kids. We bought our house before we had kids and didn't give any consideration to what life would be like when they came along. Our subdivision has a rule that doesn't allow any permanent  play structures in our yard. 

Yeah, that was kind of a big thing to miss I know.

So here we are. What are we going to do? Get Creative. My husband constructed our swing set. He got a log from his father's farm and lashed it onto the other trees in our backyard. If you want to know how to be a boy scout and lash, go here.

Now we are on to building your own sandbox. My husband was on Craigslist and found someone who wanted to get rid of their old playground equipment. He took some of the boards that were decent looking and built this sandbox with black landscaping material lining the bottom and corner seats.

Yes, that is a slide on our stairs. We also plumed it to be a water slide. My husband drilled holes in the sides, brought a garden hose to the top and connected PVC pipes to both sides. We added a spliter at the nozzle, so we can have it on or off independent of other watering activities. He also removed some of the spindles and added a ladder off from the salvaged play set and bought new rope for the "climbing" wall.

To top it all off, we added a swing under the deck, so we can swing and watch the kids play. Yes, and sometimes the kids do join us :) I am so blessed to have such a creative, fun and handy husband!!  ~Julia

What if your kids like to run barefoot in the summer? My nephew Reid loves to do that and doesn't quite make it to the pedals by himself. So, his dad attached some older shoes to the pedals and has a wonderful fix for the summer :)

Do you have kids running in and out for drinks all summer long?  Here's another solution courtesy of my brother-in-law, Ben.  An outdoor water faucet!  

He is my hero :)