Saturday's Mail Call from Daddy and Mama's New Jumper...

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The children got letters from Daddy yesterday
and Ally got her birthday card from him.
The children were excited to see
a picture of Daddy, that he sent,
of him holding a picture that Will had drawn...



We also received a postcard from him
a couple of days ago...


When the children saw in the photo
how much Daddy liked to receive
pictures drawn by them,
they were compelled to send him more.
So they sat at the table
to draw Daddy some pictures...



It always thrills my heart
to see my children drawing.
I love to see how they see and express things.
Here was Beth's picture for Daddy...

It was a picture of her and her daddy.


Carolynne drew a picture of Daddy, too...



Will drew a picture of the whole family...


They are excited to send them to Daddy.
Ally was able to sit down and write him a letter, too.
They sure enjoyed getting those special letters
from their Daddy!
"Children's children are the crown of old men;
and the glory of children are their fathers."
~ Proverbs 17:6

This has nothing to do with their letters and pictures
but I was thrilled that Saturday afternoon/evening
I was able to finish my new jumper...


I hope to replace most of my wardrobe with these
and perhaps a couple of other homemade dresses.
We're going to try to work on Ally's new dress this week.

7 Day Prayer Plan for My Beloved...

In participation with
the Valentine's Prayer Pledge,
below is a 7 day prayer plan
that I've had in my prayer journal
for my beloved.

My plan is to use this
and another plan that I have,
combining and changing them,
as the Lord leads,
along with my regular daily prayer.

In this prayer plan
there is Scripture that pertains
to the request.
Praying Scripture is praying God's will
and is very powerful.

Side note: I do not know
where I aquired this list
(it was years ago).

7 Day Pray Plan for My Beloved

~ Sunday ~
Pray that he would become
a holy man, a man of prayer,
mature in the Lord,
growing in his knowledge of God.
1 Thess. 5:23; Col.4:12;
Eph.6:18; 1:18-19; 3:16-19

~ Monday ~
Pray that he would learn
to take every thought captive,
to not be conformed
to the world's thinking
and to think Scripturally.
That he would learn
not to depend on
his circumstances for happiness
but on God alone.
Romans 12:2; 2 Corinthians 10:15;
Habakkuk 3:17-19

~ Tuesday ~
Pray that he would have new strength
in the midst of his busy schedule
and that the Lord might
infuse him with strength.
Pray that his self-image
would be a reflection
of the Lord's thoughts towards him.
Isaiah 40:31; Ephesians 3:14-19; 1:17-19;
Romans 12:3; Psalm 139

~Wednesday ~
Pray he would become a called man,
not driven,
with well thought-through
and prayed-through goals in life.
Pray the Lord would give him
wisdom to lead his family
physically, emotionally,
mentally, and spiritually.
1 Cornthians 9:24-27;
Ephesians 1:17-19; James 1:5-7

~ Thursday ~
Pray he would stand firm
against schemes of the devil
and resist Satan in all circumstances.
Pray he would not be deceived
into unbelief and sin.
Ephesians 6:10-18; James 4:7;
Galatians 6:7

~ Friday ~
Pray the fruit of the Spirit
would be exhibited more
and more in his life.
Pray he would learn to love
as God commands.
Galatians 5:22-23; 1 Corinthians 13:4-7;
Romans 12:8-10

~ Saturday ~
Pray the Lord would
protect him, guard his courses.
Pray he would learn
to manage his time well.
Proverbs 2:8; Ephesians 5:15

A Child's Tender Heart...

Friday evening, before bed,
Beth (4 years old) said to me,
"Mama, I don't want to go to hell".
Oh, how that blessed my heart...
so much was said in that statement.
I saw how her heart was tender
to the things of the Lord.
Will was eager to help his sister
understand how not to go to hell.
We spent some time together
explaining the Gospel to her.
She said she wanted to pray
and climbed up into my lap
and asked me to help her.
So we prayed together.
What a blessing it was!
I am not judge of what age
is the age of understanding...
only the Lord knows that.
But it was such a blessing
to see that she was interested
in spiritual things...
in the Lord Jesus Christ.



Sunday evening, Will shared with us
what he wanted to 'be' when he grows up.
As a backdrop, I just want to mention
that earlier last week, he expressed his desire
to learn about all the countries in the world.
He wanted to read lots of books
so he could learn more.
That being said, he shared with us
that he thinks he wants to be a pastor
or a missionary when he grows up.
I told him I would pray with him about this,
that the Lord will help him be sure.
He has long been quite the prayer warrior
in our family and has a burden for lost souls.
He frequently requests, in church,
prayer for his two younger sisters (4 & 3)
that they will be saved one day.

What a sweet blessing it was to see
the tender hearts of my children.
I love to see glimpses of their untainted faith.
As adults, sometimes we tend to let
our faith be 'complicated'.
What a joyful (and humbling) reminder
to see the simplistic, genuine faith of a child.

"But Jesus called them unto him, and said,
Suffer little children to come unto me,
and forbid them not:
for of such is the kingdom of God."
~ Luke 18:16

"He shall feed his flock like a shepherd:
he shall gather the lambs with his arm,
and carry them in his bosom,
and shall gently lead those that are with young."
~ Isaiah 40:11

T-Shirt Dress How-To...

In my previous t-shirt dress post,
I was asked to share how I made them.
So today I sat down to make another one
so I could explain with pictures. :-)
To create the skirt,
I make the waist about twice the width
of the child's waist.
For example, if her waist is 10 inches,
I make the width 20.
For the length, I measured how long I want it
and then add a couple of inches for seam allowance.
Then I draw my pattern on sewing tracing paper
and make it into an 'A' line skirt (using a yard stick).
I, then, cut the pattern out on the fabric for the skirt...



I have both of my girls lengths on there
and just fold it when I am making the shorter one.
This pattern is placed on the fold of the fabric
(the straight line side)
so when it is cut and you open the fabric,
it will be longer than the waist of the shirt...



Two skirt pieces should be cut.
In the picture above, the shirt is cut already.
To cut the shirt, I hold it up to my daughter
to see where I want the waistline to be, then I cut it.
Here is a photo of how much I took off
of this particular shirt,
though every shirt is different...



I then sew the two skirt pieces together at the sides,
using about a 3/8" seam...



Then I sew a gathering stitch
(on my sewing machine, it is the number 4 setting)
on the top of the skirt (the waistline).
Then I put the shirt inside the skirt
(right sides together)
matching the bottom of the shirt to the top of the skirt...



I line up the skirt seams with the shirt seams
and, then, gather and pin the waistline...



Then I sew the waistlines together...



I, then, hem the bottom
and the new dress is finished...



I sure hope that helps.
They make wonderful little dresses
for lil' girls, older girls, and mamas.


Below are additional t-shirt dresses that I've sewn...
February 4, 2007
March 3, 2007
May 28, 2007
June 15, 2007

T-Shirt Dresses...

I'm not sure if they're just growing too fast,
if the washing machine ate them,
or if I somehow missed a box when unpacking
when we first moved here...
but I noticed that the lil' girls
have been in need of more dresses.
This weekend I decided to make up
a couple of t-shirt dresses for them.
It's been a long while
since I had made any of these
but soon remembered how easy it was.
I hope to make a few more this week.
Here they are in their new dresses...
(they helped pick the fabric)





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The Mama Shepherd...

"Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks,
and to look well to thy herd."~ Proverbs 27:23
{the "theme" of our blog}

I love relating this Scripture
to my role as a mother!
As homeschooling mamas,
how much more are we able
to know the hearts of our children
and able to know what each one
of them needs spiritually.

When we are diligent in noticing
and observing our children,
the Lord reveals a lot to us about them.
We are able to see their character
strengths and weaknesses.
When we are looking well to our herds,
we are prayerfully and actively doing
what we need to do in teaching, training,
and nurturing our little lambs.

This Scripture, to me, is very powerful.
So much is being said/implied in this one verse.
What an awesome responsibility we have
in being the mama shepherd.

May the LORD help me to
do all I can in gently training
the precious sheep He has entrusted to me,
as their Mama Shepherd.