What's In My Teapot?

Today was an exceptionally ordinary day, and the fact that I can make that statement causes me to be extremely grateful, for it means that we are all well and that there is no major holiday on the horizon (two things to be thankful for in January!) The only problem is that ordinary does not always beget creative writing, which could explain why things have been pretty quiet around here! I was excited when I announced in this post  that the third Tuesday of each month would be a random review, but today I felt a bit at loose ends with it all. I taught school, folded laundry, got the ironing done, pulled frozen spaghetti sauce out of the freezer and popped it into my slow-cooker for supper, washed a high chair tray three times, read stories to the children (repeating the same book several times), and worked at expanding Elasa's wardrobe by cutting out two dresses. Where, in all of that, lay inspiration for a fascinating review? After supper, knowing that the time had com...

Advent    [ad′vent′] noun In religion, the term advent is defined as the celebration of the coming of Christ. An example of advent is the four week period of time leading up to Christmas, the birth of Christ. Advent is defined as the beginning or arrival of something. An example of advent is the start of a new season. I have been  intrigued   with the idea of celebrating the Advent season leading up to Christmas for several years now. I think it began with those beautiful wooden Advent Calendars. You know, the ones with little wooden doors to open each day and with beautiful pictures on the front. The expensive ones. Wesley & I saw some exquisite ones at the Christkindlmarkt   last year on our anniversary trip and confirmed them out of our price range. This year I determined to make my own Advent calendar and thereby start a new tradition of incorporating some traditional scriptures and carol...

I am not an artist. Nor do I consider myself to be particularly creative. To be honest, my tendency towards neatness and order has a way of stifling the creative tendencies in my house because... well...  creativity is messy !!! Maybe this is why The Artful Parent , by Jean Van't Hul, has me so intrigued...it speaks to something that I want more of and it gives me hope. Could a non-artistic person like me be an artful parent ? Browsing through this book and seeing the pictures and interesting projects has given me the confidence to say, "YES!" Here is a quote from the book: You can invite art into your home with your actions, your words, your attitude, and the activities you offer. You can do it by having the space to do art, making art materials available, and introducing new concepts and activities. The author also says, I define an artful activity as any that's full of art, beauty, and creativity. As parents, there are innumerable ways we ca...