Mitten Strings for God - Chapter 7

I began this study back in 2008 when my children were much younger.  I never finished.  This morning I woke up very early and was looking for something to read.  I picked the book back up (it's been in my to read shelf all these years) and was reminded how much I loved it.  I also reread my old posts and was thrilled to read of our daily lives.  One day I will look back on my current days and will enjoy reminiscing like I did this morning.  

So lets see what I can do in 2017...

Chapter 7 in Mitten Strings for God is on Play.  

Play is much different in our home than it was in 2008.  

Our current favorite ways to play...

Artie - playing hearts with the men at Evans Training Center or basketball with the boys or ping pong with everyone

Kelly - watch a movie or reading a book

Currently Artie and I have been watching college basketball while the South Carolina Gamecocks made it to the Final Four for the first time in school history. 

Emily - playing with Chloe, shopping in stores and online, and hanging out with Lane

Stephen - video games and basketball

Bobby - running 

Terry - chatting with many friends on his phone, playing football or jumping on the trampoline

Looking back when I was their ages, my favorite play time was time spent with Artie.  Terry is just the age I was when Artie became my boyfriend (8th grade). We wrote notes and snuck around and talked on the telephone (which was attached to a chord and hanging on the wall!).  We went on so many dates - to the mall, the movies, out to dinner, to play putt putt.  Our funnest times were just hanging out at his mama's house cooking tacos with jalapenos and watching movies.  (this picture is probably 10th or 11th grade)

Katrina Kenison (the author) says "Children need time that is utterly their own." I believe that is true for all of us at any age.  Spring break begins here tomorrow.  I'm looking forward to having some free time that we just can't experience as much during the school year.  The neighborhood kids all come and play basketball and football.  Boyfriends and girlfriends will be in the mix of plans.  I'm looking forward to some spring time weather and meals.  It's time to wear flip flops and capri's.  It's a beautiful time to be alive!! 

Mitten Strings for God - Chapter 6

Book study with Dawn from By Sun and Candlelight...

Chapter 6 - TV

Ok, ok...I know it's been a long time since I've been working on my book study, but Dawn, who is leading the study hasn't finished either, so I decided to keep working on it. :-)

TV....

What a loaded topic to me. I have this love hate relationship with the TV. I am addicted.

One of the best things we ever did during the first year of our marriage was to get rid of cable TV. Artie loves sports - any sports - all sports. He can watch golf, bowling, horse racing, anything with a ball, boxing, you name it and he enjoys watching. He realized that watching a big game every night (and with cable there is always something sporty on - EVERY NIGHT) wasn't the best way to begin our marriage. We were able to take that time and get to know each other - more deeper than ever before (we dated 10 years before we were married, so we already knew each other better than most people do).

We've had cable on and off over the years. This is a currently off season. It's just too tempting for the children. Troy likes to get up in the middle of the night and watch TV - and have you seen what is on in the middle of the night??? The kids shows/teen shows are just never ending. So, our nice little 4 channels on regular TV are there but mostly we watch videos when we watch.

Just like Dawn,


"I LOVE the idea of no TV. Or I should say, I LOVE the idea of less TV. I have nothing but respect and admiration for people who have no interaction with media at all. But, call me a child of the 70s ~ I simply can't imagine having no access to TV at all."

I've mentioned getting rid of the TV to Artie (the easiest way to deal with the addiction, not having to daily work through not letting it be master of me) many times over the years and he always looks at me like I want to cut someone's head off. :-) It's a funny conversation because I love TV and movies much more than he does. But hey, football is always just around the corner...


I am so inspired by watching Livie Walton or Sara from the Sara Plain and Tall Series. I love to sit down to a good movie and just get all caught up in the characters or scenery (I just watched Pearl Diver this weekend - it was a beautifully filmed movie).

Artie is gone to the lake for his friend - Jack's - birthday party. He will be gone all day. I rented West Side Story to watch with the big kids tonight. It's been years since we've seen it. It is Troy's all time favorite musical. It will be new to Emily. I think she will probably love it too. It's fun to rewatch movies with the younger children that the older ones so enjoyed.

Another fun thing we like to do is watch movies of the books we read. This year we read and watched...

The Little Princess - girls
Peter Pan - Emily
Taming of the Shrew (still waiting on the video to come in) - girls
Mother Teresa - Brenda (biography study)
The Gospel of John - all Christmas study
Rhythm of Resistance: Black South African Music - Troy (working with public school)
Little Red Riding Hood - Emily
Charlotte's Web - Emily
Hiding Place - Brenda (biography study - Corrie Ten Boom)
Holocaust: Ravensbruck and Buchenwald - Brenda (Corrie Ten Boom)
Saving Sara Cain - Kelly (Beverly Lewis)
Prince of Egypt - all - Bible study
The Gift of the Magi - all - Bible study
Nativity: The Life of Jesus Christ - all - Christmas study
The Nativity Story - all - Christmas study
Biography: Life of Mary - all - Christmas study
Close to Jesus - Life of Mary Magdalene, Joseph of Nazareth - all - Christmas study
Legend of the Candy Cane - all - Christmas study
The Legend of the Three Trees - all - Christmas study
The works of Beatrix Potter - Emily (artist study)
Cinderella - Emily

It seems to enhance the story so much when the movie is viewed after the book. It has never failed yet that the children like the book much better than the movie!! Right now we are waiting until we read the Kit (American Girl) books before we go and watch the movie. :-)


This summer, we have enjoyed watching movies together as a family more. It has been fun to have Artie watching the Hardy Boys mysteries with us - something I watched growing up. We have enjoyed all having dinner around the TV with the windows open and the breezes blowing in. It will be fun memories added to our summertime. It's been a nice break through the blazing heat outside!!!

Favorite All Time Movie - Legends of the Fall

Worst Movie I Ever Saw - Silence of the Lambs (that was years ago, and I'm still mad that I was dumb enough to watch something like that!!)

Favorite TV show - the Walton's (was there any wondering?)

Favorite TV people - Lucy and Ethel

Favorite TV place - Mayberry (we got to visit one year on the way home from our summer vacation) - more fun memories

Favorite Reality Show - American Idol

Looking Forward to Returning - The Unit and 24

Worst TV shows - all those "eat um' up" shows like CSI, it's not enough now that someone has to kill another person, you have to delve inside their dead body or hear of someone eating them. I'll pass on all those thank you.

I'm looking forward to watching the Olympics coming up. It's getting close. The whole family usually watches that together too when we can. We are especially looking forward to the wrestling and gymnastics which the boys participated in this past year. We are hoping to go and see the Olympic Gymnast Team perform in a nearby town after the Olympics are finished.

Mitten Strings for God - Chapter 5

Book study with Dawn from By Sun and Candlelight...

Chapter 5 - Simplicity

I'm so far behind in my book study. I am hoping to catch up a little bit by bit. This is such a good book, I don't want to drop it!!


Simplicity!!! I think that has become over the years one of my favorite words!! If I could just have a little more simplicity in my life…

Here are a couple of my favorite quotes from this book...

"we are the ones who make our own lives more complicated than they need to be. We set the bar too high, take on too much, turn small doings into big ones."

"it can be a challenge just figuring out where to draw the line."

"In simplicity there is freedom ~ freedom to do less and to enjoy more."


Ways we work towards simplicity in our family...

~ use cash only - if the money isn't there for it, we don't do it :-)

~ pare down and give away - there is always a bag being filled to take to Goodwill to thin down all our "STUFF"

~ have family outings (all or just a few) for presents - Artie, Brian and Troy, all attended their very first professional football game together for Artie and Troy's birthday. That will be remembered long after any toy or game they could have gotten. We've been to tea houses (girls), plays and water slides (celebrating 3 birthdays in our family and 1 in our close friends who went with us). There have been picnics for Mother's Day and circus tickets hanging on the Christmas tree. For Emily and my last birthday, we all went horseback riding. Who really needs more stuff? Many of these memories will last forever.

~ sometimes we combine birthday celebrations. Emily (January) has celebrated with Granny (Granny) and me (November - I waited a while - until the money was there!!). :-) The little boys are all looking forward to an alligator party this summer where they will get their alligator pool - to help those long hot summer days pass by peacefully!!! :-)

~ shop at the Dollar Store. All our children buy or make presents for each other at Christmas and birthdays. It isn't about the cost of an item, but the heart behind it. Brian loved the big, gaudy silver jewelry the twins got him for Christmas. They were so excited; they knew that it would be just the perfect thing for him. They were a little sad because they wanted to find a driver's license for Troy. Terry got him a play cell phone - cause he knew he'd been wanting his own phone. Was it the real phone Troy had been wanting - no, but Troy loved it because it showed Terry's heart was for him and he knew his desires and passions. Each one picked out the perfect potholder or serving spoon for the grandmother. No just throwing something in a buggy, we had to find just the perfect gift for each special child to give the people they love.

~plan your meals and shop once a week - It is such a help during the day when I know what is already planned for dinner and have all the ingredients in the kitchen waiting for me!!! So much money saved from those crazy days where you have to run out and get McDonald's or pizza because you haven't thought ahead about what's for dinner.

~stock a pantry - This is something I have just begun in the last couple of years. It is so helpful to stock up on things when they go on sale. It's nice to know there is a cake and some icing in there if there is an occasion you haven't fully planned for. Yesterday the boys reminded me they needed to take some thing to school for the Children's Home Drive - they had a list of needed items. I was able to go in the pantry and find several packs of diaper wipes that were on the list of needed items. Not only were they there and ready for me, I got them free from Food Lion with coupons. :-)

~ use a crock pot!!! Simplicity at it's best!!!

~ teach your children to wash their own clothes - Everyone over 8 in our home washes their own clothes. It's almost time to teach the twins!!!

~glory in your efforts - If you have to wash clothes anyway, you might as well enjoy your time at the clothesline. Notice the birds, talk with God. Nobody really likes to do laundry (that I know!!!), but I can find satisfaction knowing I'm blessing my family. We try to teach the children the same principle in there schooling. You have to do it, you might as well make the best of it.

~Do the next thing~ I heard a talk given by Elizabeth Elliot several years ago. Her husband had just died (I think it was the second one, not Jim?) and she was trying to figure out what she was gonna do now. She said she went in the bedroom and open the curtains, then made the bed. She just did the next thing she knew needed to be done. Things get crazy around here often!!! Many times since then I have just worked off the same principle - just do the next thing. Load the washer, is it going? Load the dishwasher. Make sure everyone has what they need for the next day. Just doing the next thing.

~Don't worry~~ Matthew 6:25-34 (New International Version)

25"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?
26Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?
27Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?
28"And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin.
29Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.
30If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
31So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' 32For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.
33But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
34Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

So, how do you all keep things simple??? :-)

Mitten Strings for God - Chapter 4

Book study with Dawn from By Sun and Candlelight...

Chapter 4 - Quiet

Wow, I guess to have peace, you must have quiet too huh?

These chapters seem so intertwined in my mind.

One of my favorite verses and the main character trait I am working on with Emily is...

"And let not your adornment be merely external - braiding of hair, and wearing gold jewelry, or putting on dresses; but let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God." 1 Peter 3:3-4

To be able to quiet your self is such a lady-like quality. It's still hard for me at times, but so well worth the effort.


Here's one of my favorite quotes from this chapter...

"In each day there are long stretches of quiet. I often cook, garden, write and read in silence. Our boys draw, paint, do puzzles and projects - in silence. Before we flick on the car radio or the DC player, we stop long enough to think: Do we want to exchange this quiet for sound?"

What do I hear right now in my house? Cars riding by in the distance, Emily with the hiccups, water dripping in my bathroom (guess I should check on that one!!) :-) , Troy coming in from taking Elmo out.

Do you strive to have some quiet?

Mitten Strings for God - Chapter 3

Book study with Dawn from By Sun and Candlelight


Chapter 3 - Peace


The first thing I did before I finished the first paragraph was ask Terry to turn off the TV. No one was even watching it. The local noonday news was invading our home even without my knowledge. I have been addicted to TV since 7th grade. I had a TV in my room and spent most of my hours in there with it on. Even if there was nothing to watch, it kept me company. When I went off to college, my TV went with me like a trusted friend. It has gotten better over the years. Most days it is off during school (we had cable removed and that helps a lot), but most evenings it is still on. Just background noise often - like we need background noise in a house with six children!!! I love the sound of quiet - while am I still so often drawn to take a break and sit down in front of the TV?

Emily, Terry and I just got back from a trip to Goodwill. It was a nice and productive (that's Artie's word for the month - PRODUCTIVE!!) trip. Emily got a cute pair of sandals and three dresses. She has been wanting to wear more dresses lately and needed some new (or new to her) ones for the summer. I hope in a couple of weeks we can find a few more and she will be set.

Anyway, while we were walking around the store - it was a peaceful time. Troy and Brenda were home - but they are old enough where I don't have to worry about them while I'm gone. So much of my time is spent rushing to get back home to the children. It was nice to quietly walk around the store and just browse a while. Terry and Emily played with the games they had for sale. Peace can be found most places if we take the time to enjoy it I think.

One of the things we try to do to maintain peace is not to have too many outside engagements - especially in the evenings. With 6 children - it's hard not to have everyone going in different directions. Most of the children only have 1 thing that they are involved with after school - so we don't spend all our time running all over town from this to that. The little boys all take wrestling together - so that is exercise for all three with only one outing. Plus I gain a quiet hour to read!! (I finished my latest Amish book - The Brethren - by Beverly Lewis



and have started Mother by Kathleen Norris)



I am still hoping to get the girls in swimming this summer together - that will probably be in the day time - so again - will help leave our nights peaceful. I plan through my day looking ahead to the night and next day. Tonight Bobby has practice for the Jr. Miss pageant. No, you didn't read that wrong. :-) His gymnastics class is providing the entertainment for the Jr. Miss pageant. So, I've gather all the clothes he needs and everything is ready for him. Artie will enjoy his time with the other children while we are gone. Artie called today and said he has an opportunity to work some overtime tomorrow - so added to today's list is make sure all the clothing he needs for tomorrow are washed and ready for him. Hopefully all in a peaceful manner!!! :-)


Here are some of my favorite quotes from this chapter.


"Just as our children depend on us for three meals a day, they also need us to prepare peaceful spaces for them in the midst of this busy world."

Along with Dawn's favorite quote by Thoreau to love "a broad margin to my life' - the less packed into a day, the better."

"I am learning to leave some space around the edges of our days"

"The impact of just a few minutes of quiet attention can be profound, changing the mood of an entire day, restoring equilibrium to a distressed child, and to a frazzled mother as well."


How do you all foster peace in your life and in your family?

Mitten Strings for God - Chapter 2

Chapter 2 from Mitten Strings for God is Morning.

Morning is a short chapter talking on .... Mornings!! :-)

One of my favorite quotes - "Someday our boys will decide that they have grown too old to climb into bed with Mom and Dad for cuddles before the work of the day begins."

I only have one left who still climbs in bed with us in the morning. I savor every moment of it!!! Terry is the only child who isn't school age and doesn't have the pressures of waking early at a certain time. He almost always gets up to see the twins off to school (7:00) and most days wakes to see his daddy off (6:00). After the joy of telling everyone good bye (he tells Bobby to "run like the wind" when he hears the bus rolling down our street) and asking his daddy to honk the horn when he leaves, he will cuddle back up in our bed and go back to sleep for a couple of hours. It is so precious to me that he loves his family enough to rise on his own and see them for those special moments in the mornings!!!

One of the things we have been working on the past year as a family is getting more sleep. I don't know of anything better to help mornings start on a good note. When school started back we realized that the little boys needed much more sleep. They put in a long hard day in first grade. We are usually beginning to lay them down at 7:00. This is very opposite my normal nature. It has been many a night, especially in the summers that we didn't sit down for dinner until 8 or 8:30. So, the first thing we did was move dinner time up. We try and be eating by 6:00 and that puts us on a good track. They usually go straight from dinner to preparing for bed. After the little children were on a good track, we realized that the older children weren't getting enough sleep either. We begin laying them down at 8:00. They still drag that out some nights an hour or more (brushing teeth, laying out clothes for tomorrow, writing in journals, reading), but at least they are headed the right direction. Just this week, Artie imposed a new bedtime for us - 9:00!! By nature I am a night owl. That doesn't play out well to begin your day at 5 or 5:30!!! I am working hard to work with him - the only real problem is when American Idol is on past 9:00!! :-) I am keeping the TV on listening but closing my eyes and trying to get sleepy. When we were first married, I would stay up hours past Artie - that's when I got most of my house work done - then I would sleep in late in the mornings (that's the way my mama always did it - my daddy worked 3rd shift most of my life). Years ago I realized that wasn't the pattern of the Proverb 31 woman - Proverbs 31:15 - She riseth also while it is yet night - and began changing a lifelong habit!! So, I always rise early, but some days still have mornings when the rush is over find myself snuggling up with Terry under the covers and falling back asleep!!!

Usually on first sight, everyone is greeted with Good Morning. Terry is my favorite to hear him come down the stairs and say Good Morning. Brenda and Emily kinda look like me in the morning - their eyes are barely open - just trying to find their way to the bath room for a nice warm bath.

Our Saturday mornings are my favorite. We usually sleep in til 8 or so (on good days it might be 9 or 10!!!!!!) I usually fix a big breakfast for everyone. A big breakfast here is a gallon of milk, 2 dozen eggs, a pound of bacon, a box of grits and a couple of cans of biscuits or a loaf of toast. I'm still loving my Christmas griddle to cook our bacon and eggs on - it's great for fried eggs (which I messed up for years!!).

Sunday mornings are a big more rushed preparing for church. The more work done on Saturdays to prepare, the better the mornings!!

Mitten Strings for God - Chapter 1

So, Dawn's beginning her book study today at By Sun and Candlelight.


Chapter 1 from Mitten Strings for God is Dailiness.


The author, Kathrina Kenison, discusses the most dear times of our lives aren't the ones where the cameras are flashing (birthday, Christmas) but the daily moments that pass by often unnoticed.

Some of my favorite dailiness activities -

going to sleep beside my best friend every night

hanging clothes on the clothesline on pretty days

getting a good bye kiss from Terry - one on each cheek, one on the lips, a hug, he tells me I'm pretty and then tells me to honk the horn when I get in the car

cereal

helping Brenda and Emily with their cooking

having devotion time with Troy and hearing all his many thoughts

folding clothes on my bed - packing away things that are too little, throwing away things that are stained, placing everything where it belongs, knowing everyone has the things they need for tomorrow

sitting down to dinner together as a family

watching Stephen and Bobby practice their wrestling

reading a good Beverly Lewis book

getting caught up in a good movie

listening to the little children as they read

Here is my favorite quote from the end of the first chapter...

"The daily rhythms of life, the humble household rituals, the nourishment I provide - these are my offerings to my children, given with love and gratefully received."








"

Mitten Strins for God Book Study

Dawn at By Sun and Candlelight is having a book study on Mitten Strings for God. I had previously not heard of this book before Dawn mentioned it. It looked so good, I got a copy from Amazon.

Here are the chapters from the book...

1. Dailiness

2. Morning

3. Peace

4. Quiet

5. Simplicity

6. TV

7. Play

8. Secret Paces

9. Wants and Needs

10. Stories

11. One-on-One Time

12. Surrender

13. Breathing

14. Healing

15. Listening

16. Nature

17. Enchantment

18. Grace

19. Rhythm

20. Truth

21. Helping

22. Discipline

23. Stretching

24. Nurturing

25. Sabbath

26. Spirit

27. Balance

28. Choices

29. Wingbeats

This is the quote that Dawn's mentions from the introduction -

"No doubt some of the notions in these pages will seem simple. But I find it is most often the simple gesture or the small goal well met that reaps the greatest reward. And, in our busy lives, it is often the simple gesture that is overlooked, the simple need that is never satisfied ...

We all know this to be true. But sometimes we forget."