Finer Things Friday-Foam Fingers

I am really excited and a little sad to write this post. My youngest sister Heather is graduating from high school on June 12. Milestones such as this tend to be bittersweet as another sister of mine Julie passed away four years ago and will not be there to celebrate.
Julie and I were very skilled at embarrassing our dear little sister during school events and performances. Well I am keeping the tradition alive.


Tonight my dear husband constructed three large foam fingers. They are amazing! I stamped HEATHER #1 on each. They will be used by my mom my grandma and myself to cheer Heather on as she crosses the stage to receive her diploma.
Celebrating one sister and remembering another is a Finer Thing to me.

Thursday Thirteen- Things I Learned While Camping in The Hood

Well My heart has been tugged and my thinking stretched over the last little while as I have been living among some of the "least of these". Here is a list of things I learned over the past 2 weeks:

1. People told me they could never pack up their family and move to a dangerous neighborhood. I used to say that too. Never say never because that will be where God plants you to grow.

2. It's sometimes hard to give without making people feel like they are a charity case.

3. God's thoughts really are so much higher than my own and He is the one who I want to lift high and give glory to for this mission that my family has taken on.

4. Even though I have not seen any significant change among the people in the neighborhood God can and does work all things for that good of those who love Him.

5. Jesus did not say feed the hungry and cloth the naked if they have it all together and are responsible people.

6. He said love your neighbor.

6. Love is patient and love is kind.

7. There is a serious war going on. The devil and his demon army are out to capture whoever they can and drag them into hell with them. We need to be wearing the armor of God and fighting in the trenches for our fellow man to know Jesus and be set free from the things of the world that are holding them captive.

8. If I am to be called a friend of Jesus I need to talk about Him to others way more than I do.

9. Seriously, television is a huge problem among the impoverished people. I was shocked that folks were out of money to buy food but were paying $112.00 a month for their satellite service.

10. I am rich because of God's blessing in my life and not because of my own doing.

11. God watches over us and protects us. Even though we had drug addicts coming to our door looking for crack and police coming because they thought our tent trailer was stolen, God was so faithful in keeping us safe from harm. None of our belongings were stolen and nothing was vandalized while we were staying there.

12. It's easy to love the lovely. The unlovely who really need to be loved.

13. God answers prayer. I never cease to be amazed at when I look back over things and see how God has answered my prayers. One story that comes to mind is this: Before we left on our "mission" I had been praying that Jesus' light would shine through us. Well the first day we were camped out I was chatting with our neighbor Henry and he said to me "You're religious aren't you?"
I said "Well yes I am a Christian."
He told me that he could tell because people who have Jesus are happy.
Now I am not always a cheerful person folks so that was the light of Jesus shining through me. I am so excited to see God's work and know that He is speaking to and through little ole me.

Thanks again for your prayers and encouragement.

For more Thursday Thirteen Head on over to Happy to be at Home.

Gratituesday- Where Jesus Lives

I really want to share with you all a tear jerking, heart swelling, wonderful blessing. Last Wednesday Hudson and I were snuggled up in my bed in our tent trailer. We were praying and Hudson asked my if Jesus lives in his (Hudson's) heart.
I said "Do you want Jesus to live in your heart?"
He answered "Yes."

I lead my first born, my son, in prayer to ask Jesus to come and live in his heart. Oh what a miraculous moment! What an amazing, precious prayer to pray with ones child.
For the next two days Hudson told us over and over again that Jesus lives in his heart. I adore hearing that phrase come from his three year old lips.
I am abundantly grateful for my son's relationship with our Savior and the joy he has when he tells others where Jesus lives.

For more Gratituesday head on over to Heavenly Homemakers

Menu Plan Monday

Ok I have been so uninspired to menu plan for this week that I thought I would participate in Menu Plan Monday. This will hopefully get my bum in gear for feeding my family this week.

Monday:
Breakfast- Banana Oatmeal
Lunch- Muffin Tin Lunch
Supper- Faux BBQ Chicken thighs, 7 layer salad, bread, rhubarb crumble. (company coming that night)

Tuesday:
Breakfast- Toast and fruit salad
Lunch- Creamy corn potato soup
Supper- Beef dip and raw veggies and dip

Wednesday:
Breakfast- Banana muffins
Lunch- Peabutter Sandwiches and apple slices
Supper- Beef enchiladas with rice

Thursday:
Breakfast- Oatmeal and apple sauce
Lunch- Tomato soup and crakers
Supper- Probably eating out as I have a meeting in the big city.

Friday:
Breakfast- Fruit salad and toast
Lunch- Macaroni with hidden veggies and tomato sauce
Supper- Spaghetti pie and Cesar salad Bread with Vinegar and oil for dipping

Saturday:
Breakfast- Pancakes and bacon
Lunch- Grilled cheese and ham sandwiches
Supper- Shepherds pie

Sunday:
Breakfast- Out to a dear friend's house
Lunch- Leftovers
Supper- Nachos

Awards!

Wow I left for 2 weeks and received an award in that time. Thank you so much to Keri at The Home Teacher for this Premio Dardos award:
Isn't it pretty? It is for bloggers who distinguish themselves for showing cultural values, ethics, great and fun writing skills, as well as individual values, through their creative writing.
I'm to pass this on to 8 other blog friends of mine (it was supposed to be 15 but I couldn't find that many. Note to self must make new friends) so here goes.
In Random Order:

1. A Simple Walk
2. Balancing Beauty and Bedlam
3. Forever and Ever and Always
4. Homesteader's Heart
5. I Will Go
6. Life in the Jolys
7.Randomly Elly
8.Super Fun Mama

I highly recommend visiting all of these links! Have a happy weekend!

Thank You!

Hello Everyone!
I am at the public library right now so I will be brief. Your comments and prayers bring tears to my eyes. I so appreciate all of you rooting for me and what God is doing. I spoke in church on Sunday about what our family is doing and I was so nervous. I am a much better writer than speaker. However the response has been overwhelming. Thanks again! I am encouraged.

Call to Pray

Ok so I know that I have quite a few followers. I am not sure who actually comes and reads my blog faithfully, but I am calling out for prayer covering. If you have not read about my Inner City Camp Out You can click here to do so.
Now to update you on what is going on. There is a lot of spiritual battle going on in this neighborhood. From depression to addiction to heart break to violence. I would ask that you pray specifically for Henry. He is seeking the Lord but his past sin is holding him back.
Also please pray for Barbara. She is a depressed elderly lady who sleeps all day to avoid life.
Lastly please pray for me. This week there has been a heavy exhaustion over me. I would ask that you pray for it to be lifted so that I can be effectively fighting this battle.

Some other small details about my week:
Monday night- We had two customers come to our door looking for crack. (just to make sure you all know we are not crack dealers but the previous occupants were)
Tuesday night- Members of our church came to visit us and pray for us. One of the women was attacked with an instant major headache as she prayed. We are certain that demons were at work.
Wednesday and Thursday were quite quiet.
We came home for the weekend on Friday night.

We are headed back for another week on Sunday night.
Thank you so much everyone!

Psalm 91

1 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. [a]

2 I will say [b] of the LORD, "He is my refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust."

3 Surely he will save you from the fowler's snare
and from the deadly pestilence.

4 He will cover you with his feathers,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.

5 You will not fear the terror of night,
nor the arrow that flies by day,

6 nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,
nor the plague that destroys at midday.

7 A thousand may fall at your side,
ten thousand at your right hand,
but it will not come near you.

8 You will only observe with your eyes
and see the punishment of the wicked.

9 If you make the Most High your dwelling—
even the LORD, who is my refuge-

10 then no harm will befall you,
no disaster will come near your tent.

11 For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways;

12 they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.

13 You will tread upon the lion and the cobra;
you will trample the great lion and the serpent.

14 "Because he loves me," says the LORD, "I will rescue him;
I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.

15 He will call upon me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble,
I will deliver him and honor him.

16 With long life will I satisfy him
and show him my salvation."

I am claiming these promises for my family. We are off on our God adventure starting now! Have a great week everyone!

A Fantastic New Blog

Since the palace is closing down for a little while I thought I would introduce you to Tricia over at Life in the Jolys.
Tricia's writing is funny, witty and easy to follow. Her stories are totally relate able. So head on over to Life in the Jolys and give Tricia a lot of love and welcome her to the blog community!

Finer Things Friday- Running the Race

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Hebrews 12:1

On Sunday my brave and strong husband Craig ran his first race. He finished 3.5km in just under 22 minutes. (This is totally fantastic since he only trained for 3 days before hand). He placed 103 out of 278 runners.

I was a race volunteer. Let me tell you it was so exciting! There were tons of people there. Our church rescheduled Sunday morning service to be at 4pm so the congregation could be out in the community either helping out or running. The energy was electric.

So there are 2 Finer things here:
1. Cheering on my lover boy as he ran hard and crossed the finish line. It was actually very emotional, I had tears in my eyes.

2. Being part of a church that supports such a large event and encourages it's members to be out in the community serving.



For more Finer Things head over to Amy's Finer Things.

Inner City Campout!

Something very exciting is going on in the palace. (It's also a bit scary). Let me start at the beginning:
Craig and I own a 4-plex in a rough area of Prince George ( the big city an hour away from us). Another 4-plex across the street from that one came up for sale. We called and there was already an accepted offer on that property. So we prayed and told God that if the offer fell through then we would know that it was Him speaking and we would buy the 4-plex. The offer fell through. We close on the property a month ago. (Exciting eh? Well just wait for the rest of the story).

So one Saturday night Craig came home and was just chatting about "What would it be like to live in that neighborhood?" I was like well there are a million things that would have to work out before we could just move into that neighbourhood. Turns out there are 2:
1. It has to work with Craig's work schedule.
2. We have to have a vacancy.

Well lo and behold we get home from church on Sunday and there is an email from the seller of the 4-plex saying that the fellow in #3 is moving out at the end of April. Due to some other circumstances our tenant is not actually moving out until Friday (tomorrow). So that takes care of the vacancy. Craig will be in school for the month of May. Works with the work schedule. So our family is moving into a 1 bedroom 400 square foot house this weekend to renovate and reach out.
So here is a picture of what I have deemed my inner-city cottage. (The snow is gone now).


So excited right?

Please pray for me!

Specifically please pray for my attitude (renovations, 400 square ft, 2 small children, has the potential to steal ones joy.)
Pray for me to be organized.
Pray for me to have courage and be bold.
Pray for me to follow the Holy Spirit
And anything else you can think of.

I will be gone from blog world for 2 or more weeks. I will miss you!

Also feel free to ask any questions in case you are confused :)

Mother's Day Gifts!

Ok if you are either Auntie Anita, Grandma Lila or Nana stop Reading this post NOW!!!

The rest of you may carry on.

Well I have posted quite a bit about Fimo lately and I wanted to show you the fantastic fun we had with 2 of Hudson's friends making Mother's day magnets.
Here the boys are softening the Fimo by squishing and rolling it.
Next we rolled it out flat and each boy chose a small cookie cutter shape to cut out of the Fimo.
Then they decorated the shapes with various other colors of Fimo.
Here are their masterpieces. They bake in the oven at 130C for 30 minutes. Then I just glued magnets to the back with a glue gun.
These are a great gift for mother's day.

Gratituesday- People who sew

I am not a one who sews. In fact sewing machines shudder and try to become invisible when I get near them. Sewing is not my talent!
I love finding great handmade things that other people have sewn however.
My latest find is this fantastic quilt. ($5.00 at a yard sale).
Look how gorgeous it is! The back is solid navy blue so it is a perfect blanket for Meadow to play outside on.

That is the second thing I am grateful for, Meadow loves to be outside. She loves just laying on a blanket on the grass chatting away to her feet.

I am so grateful that God gave each of us our own talents and that I can appreciate the things that I am not gifted with and I am grateful that God has blessed me to find joy in raising my children.

For More Gratituesday head over to Heavenly Homemakers.

Tot School-Spiders

Ok I need to warn you that if you are afraid of spiders (Elaine this warning is for you) that you should stop reading this post NOW!!!





Ok if you have continued reading then I would like to introduce you to Crawly.
Crawly is a male Tegenaria agrestis. Common Name: Hobo Spider. We found him in our living room, put him in a jar and he became the inspiration for our week long theme. (In the above picture Crawly is devouring a fly who was also found in our living room and put into the jar. Fascinating to watch).

We have read The Very Busy Spider by Eric Carle all week long. It is now on my list of favorite books. It's true just look at Thurdsay's post.

We made a spider puppet. It required a bit more assistance from me than I prefer to give, but turned out to be a fun companion to read with.

We had some Tot Friends over this week and they got to join in the fun as well.


This is a game called Jitterbugs. It's similar to the classic fishing game except magnetized spiders hanging off branches catch the twirling jiggling ladybugs.

Later in the week we made a Very Busy Spider of our own.


And we did let Crawly go free. I must admit I was a little emotional to see the furry arachnid leave.
And that is the story of how an eight legged home invader created an entire week of learning and fun!
For more Tot School head to 1+1+1=1

And The Winners Are...

Wow what a great week it was for giveaways! Thanks so much Laura for hosting this carnival.
And now the news you have all been waiting for:

The winner of the 2 hand made cards is: #22 Jen!

The winner of the Scrap surprise pack is: #4 JenniferB

Congrats winners! I will be sending out emails shortly.

Finer Things Friday- Hand Washing

I really must say that I think it's a Finer Thing when your kids are at an age where peer pressure involves wanting to all wash your hands at the same time and seeing whose hands can get the cleanest.
I pray the teenage years are like this too.
For more Finer Things head over to Amy's Finer Things.