Adventures in Crochet: My Pretty Pink Sorbet Tee Top

Stop the presses! I not only just finished another actual crochet GARMENT, but I actually like it! Okay, I LOVE it! So today this post will be short. It will simply be me showing you the finished pictures of my Pretty Pink Sorbet Tee Top and chatting about how the construction of it went! So if you are a fan of crochet, or are just curious to see how the top looks--keep on reading!

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Pattern: Peach Sorbet Tee Top from Expression Fiber Arts
Yarn: Cotton Fair "Pink Pop" by Premier Yarns (3 skeins)
Hook: F (3.75)

I snagged this top for free in one of the free pattern Fridays that Expression Fiber Arts offers in their newsletter. I looked at the design and thought it would be something I could see myself actually wearing. I am so glad I snagged it! The design is very very simple--two pieces. You make identical pieces for the front and the back, and then simply seam them together. It can't get much easier than that.

Mom of a Teenager...oy!

Just an announcement that I'm officially the mom of a teenager.

How did that happen?

How did 13 years just go by in a blink?!

Where is my little precious smiley bald toddler?

Who replaced him with this big half grown puppy caught between childhood and adulthood?

Oh, what kind of adventures I imagine we're getting ready to have...

Puberty.

(gulp)

Girls.

(Oy!)

Becomming a man.

(sob)

Oh my. Yes, the adventures are going to be fun (and a bit scary). I'm so glad that I get to experience them with you, my darling boy!

ps. I'm so sorry you got sick on your birthday! I promise to make it up to you next week!

*****

Welcome 2019!

It's 2019! Can you believe it? I know we all thought it was going to be a year when we lived on the moon and had hovercrafts and robots! It's amazing how far technology has come--and yet how much life in general remains the same. With this new year, I'm sure everyone has plans or goals they want to achieve. I have friends who started Whole 30 and Whole 60 to kickstart their path to better health. Many people I know are taking the Marie Kondo challenge of decluttering and simplifying their home. We kicked off 2019 by doing a smidge of renovation--nothing major, just fresh paint on the walls of several of our rooms, and changing out fixtures. It has given new life to our home of 13 years! Isn't it funny how once you do it, you can hardly remember what it looked like before? I know we are loving the changes we've made.

Saying goodbye to 2018...and a peek into goals for 2019!

Can you believe that tonight is the end of 2018? This year seems to have just vanished like a cloud of smoke. 2018 had quite a few challenges, but also new opportunities. New decisions made. Changes. And 2019 is set to be full of them as well!

Mary Poppins Returns: Wholesome and Refreshing {a Movie Review}

As parents, we work hard to monitor what movies and TV shows our children watch. When we were little ourselves, we knew that we were good as long as it was a Wonderful World of Disney movie. You know what I’m talking about—remember how it would come on every Sunday night? Oh how I loved all those movies—Pollyanna, The Parent Trap (the original of course), The Love Bug, Davy Crockett, The Apple Dumpling Gang, The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes, The Shaggy Dog…the list could go on and on. Those movies were great family entertainment. Unfortunately, movies today do NOT have the same level of wholesomeness—and it seems Disney is one of the worst offenders these days. Because of this, we have only taken our WHOLE family to the movie theater three times to watch new movies—preferring to preview them ourselves to make sure they will be okay. I mean—children’s movies---DISNEY movies rated PG-13? Come on! Last night, we took a chance. Last night, my husband treated the WHOLE family to the new Mary Poppins Returns movie, hoping and praying that it would be everything we ADORED about the original—especially the wholesome goodness. I am here to let you know that we found a rare diamond in this world of trash! Today, I decided to give you just a family review of the Mary Poppins Returns movie. It’s not sponsored by anyone or anything. I simply just wanted you to know that this movie is WORTH your time and money!

Is Puke an Inconvenience or a Problem?

I can't believe that it's already been over a week since my last check in--but here we are, on our journey home. I'm actually typing this still about 5 1/2 hours away. We are almost 2 hrs behind our schedule because of an unfortunate inconvenience...puke.

Lessons from Arts & Crafts (Summer Camp 2018)

For the last several days, we have been enjoying our annual trip to our church pre-teen summer camp in Northern Ohio. This was my 6th year and even though I typically work as a counselor for the youngest girls dorm, I "got a break" and worked as activity staff in the Arts and Crafts class. This class is my second most favorite place to work because unlike most of the other activities that encourage working as a team and don't allow for much interaction, we interact ALL THE TIME with our kids that come through. Our usual job is to help these kids make their imagination become real using various craft tools. 

The Ship Sank

Remember last Friday? When I told you I felt like my body (the ship) was being attacked? That I could feel the invaders? And that I hoped I would be better after a day of rest?

That would be a big N-O-P-E.

Unfortunately, Friday night was pretty dreadful. I was awake--THE ENTIRE NIGHT--so hot and tossing and turning. Couldn't sleep a wink! I took my temperature, but it wasn't high at all. Barely 99. ONE HOUR. I got maybe ONE hour of sleep that night. I woke and just knew. *BAM* I was down.

Draw Near To Me {Five Minute Friday}

I have missed out on the last few Five Minute Fridays, so I'm going to try to finish the year strong! This week, the word of inspiration is...NEAR.

A lot of words come to mind when I think of the word Near. So many scriptures rush to the brain of how God promises to stay close to us as long as we draw near to Him. But I am also thinking more of my boys. Both of them are growing up so fast--one is 7 and the other is 11 with a birthday not too far away. They are navigating this adventure we call life and I enjoy seeing their personalities grow.

One of my sons is a snuggler. Oh how he LOVES to come near me ALL THE TIME. His day cannot begin until he has "mommy lovin's". And he's so soft and warm fresh out of the covers, that I never complain and could hold onto him forever. We have all sorts of lovely conversations. And throughout the day he loves being by my side to help me, or he simply wants me to watch him and be there in case he needs me.

My oldest son loves his lovin' time, but he's getting to be a big old clumsy puppy dog. He's zipping between the need for me and the need for independence. He loves attention from me and being near me, but can't sit still worth a dime. He comes to me for small sessions. But oh how refreshed his emotions are when I give him that one-on-one time he so desperately NEEDS.

We are the same you know.
We need God in similar ways.
Some of us are like my youngest son. Content to dwell in His presence all day long. To never leave His side. Asking Him to constantly let us give it a try--but only if He stays near. But you know most of us--probably the vast majority of us--are more like my oldest. We come near when we feel like we need Him the most. Maybe we are too busy with our lives for any LONG periods of time with God. We are sure we can't slow down long enough to encourage that relationship. But then we remember how much we do need Him, and we drop everything to draw near to Him. And our souls become refreshed. And we can tackle the world again.

I guess the balance is finding a way to do both. Seeking Him first thing every morning. Knowing we can count on Him to help us with anything and everything. Yet boldly going forward with our souls refreshed to tackle whatever this world has for us.

Yep. This is what I am thinking as I ponder the word...
Near.

What Will My Story Be? {Five Minute Friday}

I am currently away in Lake Junaluska, NC worshipping with about 600 brothers and sisters in Christ as we celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles this year. It's been an amazing few days thus far--and I've been thinking a lot about the topics that have been covered by the speakers. Interestingly enough, I believe that they tie in with this week's theme of STORY for Five Minute Friday...

AND START

Story
A Tale
An adventure of some sort. Be it through a romance. A trial. A quest. Or even just the adventure of life.
Stories move us. Stories encourage us. Stories teach us.
Some of the most inspirational stories can be found in the pages of God's Holy Word--the Bible. There are oh so many tales to be discovered. And they teach so many lessons. Faith like Abraham. Patience and Meekness of Moses. Courage of Joshua. The boldness of David. The persistence of Hannah. The cowardness of Jonah. The stubborness of Balaam. The passion of Paul. The Strength of Christ.

All these stories are there for our benefit. I know I learn much from them. The psalms of David can lift me up. His life story and his ups and downs bring me comfort in his humanity.

What about my story?
What kind of legacy will I leave for those who follow behind?
Will my life's tale encourage someone? Will it build them up?

This is when the chorus lyrics from a song pop into my head. They are very profound and something I need to be thinking about every day...

I want to leave a legacy

How will they remember me?

Did I choose to love?

Did I point to You enough

To make a mark on things

I want to leave an offering

A child of mercy and grace

Who blessed Your name unapologetically

And leave that kind of legacy

Not well-traveled, not well-read

Not well-to-do or well-bred

Just want to hear instead

Well done, good and faithful one

("Legacy", Nichole Nordeman)

I hope you have a wonderful weekend surrounded by family and friends! If you have a blog, I encourage you to join in our weekly Five Minute Friday posts!

Try Me Now In This {Five Minute Friday}

The word this week for Five Minute Friday is TRY. When you think of the word TRY, one of the most famous quotes to pop in my head is from Star Wars. You probably are familiar with it too. The Jedi Master Yoda tells young Luke Skywalker "Do or do not, there is no try." It's a great motivational quote to remind us that every action we take we are either doing or not doing something. Also that we must remember to say "I will" instead of "I'll try." But you know, that is just one quote that comes to mind with the word TRY. There are several scriptures in the Bible with the word TRY in them. One of my favorites though comes from a lesser known book Malachi. 

What Do You Collect? {Five Minute Friday}

It's been awhile, but I am back with Five Minute Friday, the post where I set the timer and ramble on inspired by a picked word for about 5 minutes. Today's word is Collect...

And Go

Collect Collection
Most of us collect something.  What do you collect?  I collect pens. That's my primary collection I would say. Because I have about 5 million of them.  Okay. Not true. Maybe more like just 1 million.

Independence Day 2017~ A Christian Reflection on the Declaration of Independence

It is hard to believe that we are already at the 4th of July celebrations for 2017. Time just speeds along so quickly. Even though it was 241 years ago, I'm sure that our forefathers of 1776 felt the same way. Time was hurrying them to major events. Their colonies were in the midst of the first "Brexit" and in the heat of war. They were trying to determine what was going to happen next. And so a red headed young man named Thomas Jefferson, with much guidance from men like Benjamin Franklin and John Adams, drafted up their official Declaration of Independence from their former governing body to explain why they believed in what they were doing.

Have you ever read the ENTIRE Declaration of Independence? Not just the part we are familiar with--but the whole thing? I encourage you to do so. It is only when you read the declaration in entirety that you realize WHAT they were saying. What they were truly declaring their independence from and their dependence on. One of the most useful activities I had to do in a literature class in college, was to read the entire text and then write in "language for the common

What Does the Lord Expect of Me? {Five Minute Friday}

Here we are again on Five Minute Friday. I don't know about you, but our sunset was gorgeous! As the sun was preparing to set, my husband was able to roll his last bale of the first cutting for our hay season. He got done just before our Sabbath began and is happy he won't have to go back to rolling on Sunday like they thought. But as I was saying, here we are at another Five MInute Friday, and this week's theme is...expect!

Being a Mom: The REAL story :) Happy Mother's Day!

What does it mean to be a mom? It's more than bringing life into the world. For when all is said and done, that was the easy part! No. Being a mom is more than that. I thought it would be fun to dive into the life of a mom--the REAL story. LOL! Enjoy! *** Sleeeeeep. I need sleeeeeep. 5 times. FIVE TIMES I got up last night because he wanted to nurse. And blew out his sleeper. YAWN. It's only 6am? seriously? sigh. Okay. I don't care if caffeine is a no-go...I will deal with the fall out because I just can't make it today...(5 hrs later) Whhhyyyy did I drink that coffee this morning??! Why???  He won't sleeeeeeeepppp!!! Just close your eyes...close them. Please??!

Mom- A small word for an amazing person {five minute friday}

This week's Five Minute Friday post was themed appropriately...Mom. I am so happy that THIS YEAR, my mom LIVES out here so we can get together for Mother's Day on Sunday. I am so grateful that my boys have BOTH sets of grandparents to grow up around!

AND GO

Mom. A word that means so much, even though it's so short. 
My mom was amazing growing up. I always had plenty to eat. Clothes to wear. She was always there for me. She says I was her joy. Her sunshine. I made her smile. She introduced me early on to books. I could say my ABC's by the time I was 2 or 3. I helped her around the house. We went for walks. I demanded to know the names of the flowers--she didn't know, so she had to learn. She made me clothes. Pretty dresses. She knew EVERYTHING. 

Open Wide Your Mouth {5 Minute Friday}

It's time for another week of Five Minute Friday--where I set my timer and get to ramble about a word inspired theme for 5 minutes. Last week, it revolved around the word enough. This week, we have another e word--empty.

AND GO

Empty
What do you think of when you hear someone say they are empty? In my mind, I assume this means that they need to be fed. But fed what? Are they empty in their belly? Are they empty in their heart? Are they empty in their minds?
I know there have been times when I had a deep deep hunger. This usually happens around the Day of Atonement--a Holy Day of God that I observe--which requires a complete 24 hr fast. Boy, do I feel EMPTY as that 24 hr mark nears. And if I could just get anything--even the smallest bite, or smallest glass of water, I knew that my hunger would be satiated. My emptiness, maybe for a moment, less. Or other times where you feel the need that you HAVE to have _____________ or you will STARVE! Desperate to eat anything! Just give me something!
But what about God? Do you treat the desire to seek out His word, His gospel as if YOU are empty? Do I do this? Do I reach for spiritual food with the same desire as physical food? We are supposed to. We are supposed to seek Him out in the good times, as well as the bad times. To be that one thing we crave, as if we were empty inside. For we ARE all empty without Him. And He PROMISES that He will fill us. 
We can read in the gospel accounts of His Son, Jesus Christ referring to Himself as the bread of life and the living water. That if we eat and drink of Him (as in partake in His way of life, commandments, and gospel) every day, it will sustain us forever. We won't be empty.
One of my favorite Psalms reads:

I am the LORD your God, Who brought you out of the land of Egypt; Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it. ~ Psalm 81:10

He promises to FILL our emptiness inside--that emptiness of heart and mind. That emptiness that can wear us down. That emptiness that drives us to try to fill it with something--ANYTHING to make it go away. But the emptiness will continue to grow like an all consuming black hole, unless we choose to FILL it with God. So many broken people out there...who believe that they can live life without choosing God. And so they stay broken. They stay empty. Hungering for something...but they just can't seem to find it.

If only they would look up... He's there.  He's waiting.  He will FILL your emptiness. If only you will let Him.

AND STOP

Thanks for joining me in this week's 5 Minutes Friday post! We are finishing out our Spring Break today and Monday, returning to "school" on Tuesday. I am hoping to have some fun with the boys in the first week back to get back into the groove--but only Tuesday to Thursday because...FRIDAY is the Great Homeschool Convention in Cincinnati! I am so excited to go this year--mostly because for the first time ever, my mom is going with me! It will be great to have her around for picking her brain about things. I am also eager to try doing some LIVE footage of the convention while I am there that day. 
And don't forget that NEXT WEEK (April 17-21) is the first of our 5 Days of Homeschool...Blog Hop with the Schoolhouse Review Crew! I will be sharing my topics for next week's posts on Sunday--so make sure you come and check it out!
Have a simply marvelous weekend, my friends! 

March is Slip Sliding Away into Spring Break

I just wanted to take a moment to wish you all a very happy April! Can you believe we have already finished the first quarter for 2017? If you are like me, you are desperately wanting Spring to officially start. We have had nothing but rain though. And that has made a whole host of issues for my poor parents. If you remember, I shared that they had built a house about 15 minutes away from us. Unfortunately, all the continuous rain has started causing a landslide above their new house! 
Fortunately, their neighbor is a geological engineer (a blessing!) and he was able to examine the area and advise them of what to do. Turns out they have a layer of a greenish/white clay that turns to ooze when wet--thus causing it to be super lubricated and slide. So now the race is on to remove the hill of wet earth behind their house before it can move any further! 
My husband is going to stay home, and be hired by my parents to work with his brother and dig it out! My husband and his brother, each purchased a piece of equipment in the last few months for just such a time as this. My parents are so happy to know that it can get taken care of right away. 
My mom will hopefully no longer have dreams of her house sliding down the hill and ending up on the road....LOL
I am very happy to say that this upcoming week is the start of our two week long Spring Break here at the house. It is much needed and will let us regroup. We will continue to do our review of ArtAchieve online art program, as well as our Bible program through Veritas Press. Otherwise, we are going to just take it easy! There is a lot of oddball things to get done here, so I am looking forward to the time to actually do it!
I hope you have a simply wonderful kickoff into April!  Happy spring!

What's Coming Up Soon and Going on Now?

I thought it would be good to give you an update on what is coming in the next few weeks here on the blog, and just a bit about where we are at in our classroom right now. So consider this just a sit down chat from me to you! :)

The links on this blog and in the posts may be affiliate links. Please see my disclosure policy for full details and thank you for your support!

UPCOMING NEWS

This week, there will be TWO reviews from the Homeschool Review Crew going LIVE on the blog.

*Creating a Masterpiece is an online art program that the boys and I have been doing over the last few weeks. We've been using new mediums (for us), and bravely tackling some projects with rather cool results. So I look forward to sharing that either Monday or Tuesday. And the day after I share it, I will be continuing my new extra of a LIVE video review of the product. I will keep you up to date on that--or you can just follow me on my Farm Fresh Adventures Facebook page to see when it's going to happen.

*Bessie's Pillow from Strong Learning, Inc. is a new book, based on a true story of a young 18 year old Jewish girl from Lithuania who escapes to America during the turbulent times in Europe in 1906. I am going to be sharing my review of this book and its study guide either Tuesday or Wednesday.

I have at least two book reviews coming up this week as well.

*Child of the River by Irma Joubert is one of the books I read recently. You might remember that I was incredibly impressed with her first book The Girl from the Train, which I reviewed last year. I was eager to dive into this one.

*The Loyal Heart and An Uncommon Protector by Shelley Shepard Gray are the first two books in her new A Lone Star Hero's Love Story series. I will be sharing my review on both of these books this week as well. Psssst. You will want to find them to enjoy yourself!

Looking ahead to mid-April, there will be another one of the very popular 5 Days of Homeschool... hosted by the Homeschool Review Crew! This year, I plan on sharing about 5 Days of Homeschool Teaching Methods, where I explore five different styles of homeschooling, what it looks like in "real life", and the curriculum which is enjoyed by families in each style. I am tapping into many of my homeschooling friends experiences to help me and I am looking forward to what will be shared. You can check out my posts from the previous 5 Days of Homeschool... blog hops too. They remain some of my most popular!

I also have the Great Homeschooling Convention in Cincinnati coming up at the end of April! I am so incredibly excited about this year's convention! I have many things to be checking out and THIS year, I am even considering going LIVE a few times while at the convention to share first hand what I am experiencing for those who cannot make it.

IN THE CLASSROOM

As for school, we are doing well! Both boys are right where I hoped they would be at this point--and in some areas they are even ahead. We are looking forward to the weather improving so we can spend more time outside--especially for our PE classes.

*We are continuing to use Apologia for our Science studies and just LOVE the second edition of the Astronomy book. We are starting our study on Uranus this week.

*My youngest continues to use the Eclectic Foundations Level B curriculum for his language arts--something we discovered is just what he needs.

*My oldest son is working through Notgrass's America the Beautiful history course, and we've added in the literature portion now. He is working through the award winning novel Amos Fortune: Free Man and I'm using NotebookingPages.com to let him share what he's reading.

*We are also still using Phonetic Zoo Level A for my oldest's spelling--working through Lesson 43 this week. When we are done, we will move back to the beginning--but working through Level B this time. My youngest is five lessons into All About Spelling Level 2 which he loves.

*Math continues to come along nicely--my youngest is going to be finishing Singapore Primary Mathematics Level 2A soon which is shocking. LOL. Meanwhile my oldest continues to be going through the Grade 5 math curriculum from CTCmath. Both boys are supplementing with the Life of Fred series.

*Using the Student Writing Intensive course by Institute for Excellence in Writing has continued to pay off for my oldest. He's almost done with his final draft of a 3 page report he completed on John Deere, after reading a biography on him. I am tickled pink with his progress and love that the curriculum really breaks the writing process down into such smaller pieces. Perfect for a reluctant writer. Baby Britches is in the middle of working through the IEW writing portion of the Primary Art of Language Writing curriculum. We are on one of our 3rd stories and are currently turning our outline into paragraphs. He does well--but it's not quite his style as it is for Little Britches--so I might seek out something different for him in regards to writing. But I will give it a bit longer before making that decision.

*We also continue to use the Poetry Memorization Course from IEW as well. They nearly have "My Shadow" by Robert Louis Stevenson learned and I'm quite proud of them. They both actually really enjoy reciting the poetry, so I am glad we have this to work through.

We have other oddball things we are working on too, but I just wanted to touch on more of the major subjects. We are also getting ready to take our Spring break! I just remembered that it was coming up. LOL. So two more weeks of school, and then we get a two week break to regroup and relax before finishing out our year.

I hope that you enjoyed this little bit into what's going on and what's ahead. Remember that if you want a more up to date look at what's going on--come find me on Facebook at my Farm Fresh Adventures page!

For This Purpose {Five Minute Friday}

Happy Friday my friends! I can't believe that we are already in the month of March...yet here we are. I have gotten slack in completing the Five Minute Friday posts the last couple weeks, so I want to get back in gear for them starting this week. 

AND GO

Purpose \pər-pəs\
the reason for which something is done or created or for which something exists
When I think of purpose, I think of all the times in the Bible that people were told by God "For this purpose I called you..." One of the main ones that pops into my head is Queen Esther. Did you know that the book of Esther is the only one in the Bible that doesn't mention God? There are some who questioned whether it had a rightful place even in the Bible. Yet all who have read the story, know that God doesn't have to be named, to clearly have a role in the story of Esther.  One of the most important lines to sum up Esther, was given by her relative Mordecai when he stated--after it became known that Haman was going to destroy the Jews and that in her unique position as queen had the power to potentially change the future of the Jews--

"For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” ~Esther 4:14

Mordecai was pointing out that Esther had a purpose. Maybe even put in place by God for such a time. For this purpose.

Could we also have a purpose from God in a situation we are in? Could you be placed in the role you are because God has a plan to use you for something great? Something that maybe only you could do? You never know. I have a friend in Australia who is closely following the health trial that a girl in our church family is going through. Long story short, the 18 year old girl had an accident in the Australian Outback, that resulted in her being pinned under a horse trailer in the over 100 degree sun for 4 hours. Now the girl is fighting for all it's worth in the hospital. Despite the best efforts made by the medical staff over the last few weeks, she just had to have her leg amputated at the hip due to severe infection. But the one thing that keeps showing up--is that the staff is amazed at her attitude and her parents' attitude. They see her witnessing her faith in God's power and protection, despite the continued crisis they face. And the medical staff is talking about it. Talking about how her resilience and the healing she's experienced thus far is a miracle--even in light of the amputation. She is continuing to be a light to the world, even when in and out of an induced coma. Even when faced with a life changing injury. She is still witnessing to the world her faith and complete trust in our God.  Perhaps this is HER purpose, strange as it may seem.  God may be working something in your life...remember, even the Pharaoh of Egypt had a purpose in God's plan...

"But indeed for this purpose I have raised you up, that I may show My power in you, and that My name may be declared in all the earth." ~Exodus 9:16

AND STOP

I hope you and yours have a simply delightful weekend. I will hopefully be able to come back either tomorrow or Sunday and share some fun bible studies we have been doing in the Judges--one of my favorite collection of bible stories in the whole Bible.