Thursday for Friday

I have always loved Fridays. It has meant different things through the years. But mostly, Friday always means happiness.

When I was in my youth, Fridays usually meant the beginning of a wonderful beach trip with my siblings promised by our father. We would wait *patiently* for him to finish his nap and then GO!

When I was in my late teen years, Fridays meant a fun weekend to be have with friends.

When I was a newly wed, Friday was always a movie and eating out combo (date night was not a normal term in those days for me)

When I was a young mom, Fridays meant house cleaning days. I was trying to live my newly changed life on other week days!

When we first decided to homeschool our children, Fridays had been mostly quizzes and tests days.

Now that we are homeschooling our last child, Fridays have become a welcoming break from the more strict routine of the previous weekdays. We will watch movies at home when the works are done and eat pizza or home made burgers and fries for dinner. Oh, and ice cream for dessert (ice cream is only served during weekend nights. It has been a "rule" since our first child could eat)

Fridays have always been a synonym of relaxation, easy-peasy days, most of the time, at least.

But for some reasons, our Fridays have become busy lately. Saturdays, too.  I somehow seem to be able to pack these two days solid with lots of to-do's. I feel it and I don't like it. I have noticed our weekends literally just zoomed by, every week!

Today, not sure how it happened, I felt like it is a Friday. I did a lot of errands but somehow in my mind, it felt like a Friday. So I rolled with it. We got our homework done. CC is over now so I mainly just do light review and Language Arts and simple math with P since he is still in the lower elementary level of learning. I spent the day like half Thursday and half Friday, if that make sense. I really like it, and tomorrow I would have a half Friday half Saturday kinda day, I assume.

I guess the weekend seems to last longer when I feel this way? Hmmm... we shall see.

Weekend means family time to us. Perhaps that's the reason I wish to have it last a little longer...

Anyway, I will try this Thursday for Friday mindset for a few weeks and see how we like it (mainly for P and me) and may report back here. :)

Happy weekend!

P feeding a giraffe on a Friday zoo field trip.

Our Marriage Santuary

I have always wanted to make our bedroom our marriage sanctuary.

When we were in the condo, our room got the most uses out of all the rooms by EVERYONE. Not that I minded but I really wanted to make this room just for me and my love.

After we moved into our new home, I decided to work on this room right after I set up the kitchen area. Since red is my favorite accent color and due to the off white/light yellowish painted wall, I chose the color burgundy (or maroon - depending who you talk with) to be the main accent color for this room as well.

Because I have been de-cluttering these last couple of years, it did not take very long to have it all put together.

Like many projects, there are always some details that would get dragged on for a while before the project can be truly finished. We have a few of those in this room as well. Over all, though, I have achieved the goal for this room and I love how it turned out. It is not fancy but it speaks "us".

Robert made an exciting comment on the orchid and the shutter, saying how he'd never thought such simple combination can just give the room a romantic mood. He is so sweet and encouraging in everything I do. ♥

It remains the cleanest room in the house thus far.

Every morning I thank God for the house and the marriage sanctuary and the peaceful (and wonderful) rest that came with it.

 This is what it looked like when we first moved in - it looked so small and dark that I thought our bed would never fit in there with room to walk around.

This is the shutter/orchid look that Robert praised me for. Looking at this picture makes me smile, remembering how all these items came to us. The shutter was a freecycle find, the tablecloth was from a cloth exchange, the head board from my friend Sarah G and the orchid was a gift from our Realtor when we moved in.

Here is the (almost) final look of the same room. Yes, the bed fits and there are room to walk around. :)

This Week

This week has been quiet a strange week for me. I have planned to use it fully and have found myself being distracted (again) even with a written agenda.

On early Monday morning, a friend's husband's motorcycle accident took me (and all our friends) by surprise. He is out of critical condition now (praise God!) but the road of recovery would take some times.

The accident reminded me that we do not own our destiny. God alone knows all the ins and outs of our lives. He promises eternal hope to those who truly are repented and walk in His light.

Since my thoughts are some what scattered at this point, I will just close this short post with this:
I am glad I belong to Him and that I am saved by grace alone and not by my work.

Emmanuel.

Last Evening of 2012

Here I am again, in the last evening of the year thinking about writing posts again.

So much have taken places since my last post in May. It would be impossible for me to try to retell all of them in one single post.

Starting afresh would be easier.

So I decided to create a "Hope To Complete" list to start off 2013 and will weave into the future posts of what big and small events/changes occurred from the past seven months.

So, until my next post (that means tomorrow),

Happy New Year's Eve!

Our Lives

It has been a great many days and weeks since my last post. The lack of posting only meant one thing - We have been super busy.
Every now and then I would say to myself: "time to write a post" then something else would pop up and there went the momentum of writing. Because it is the busiest time in my life and because I am not sure if anyone is still reading my blog, I have decided to take a break from blogging until I catch up with life a little and then perhaps I will return to this little space of mine in blogland.
Lest you worry, I AM taking pictures and journaling my life still, just in a little different format. I am digi-scrapbooking again. So, life is preserved, just not so open.
Heaven knows I have so many ideas and projects gone through my mind almost on a daily basis. Again, priority rules and it is time to say: "I am taking a break and will be back soon, hopefully."
Thank you for stopping by and checking up on me, my blog friends. It has been fun!
Here is the last slew of photos. Enjoy!
Until next time... God bless!

 Peter is in his next level of building - obstacle layering or whatever you want to call this... Love it!

 This only means one thing... Spring is HERE! Yay!

 Christine's last Soiree! Here is the dress I mentioned in my other post. It was a beautiful dress and she wore it well.

 All the beauties!

 Joshua's fruit creation. He has the patience and an eye with 3-D art.

 Peter the little Chinese boy... He found the hat and wore it for half a day. :)

 This is how we sometimes take our naps. This was a posed nap, though. :)

 New Juicing recipe - "The Sunset"...

 Tasted great, too!

 "Apples" of my eye. ♥

 Peter and his "Stairs".

 ABC time.

 More "Stairs" - he builds stairs with anything that resembling a stair case. lol!

 He is grouping! Yay!

 Cheapest grade eggs I got from the store vs. Free Range organic feed eggs from someone's backyard - I definitely can taste the difference!

 Flower centerpiece from a Scholarship Banquet. Lovely! Great idea of using the glass and glass pebbles.

 Strategy Club - Chess Time!

 Lantern Love!

 Bamboo Love!

 Peter building again! The structure is quite intricate this time...

 Went to a baby shower (I love bridal/baby showers - a new chapter in one's life), isn't this a genius idea to hold the paper plates and napkins?

 Another cute idea - leaves of friends wall hang instead of a guestbook that you may never look at again.

 Orange - my new favorite color and this napkin ball totally jazzed up the backyard.

 I would love to get this plate holder wrought iron one day. Such elegant display of food.

My sweet daughter making cookies. This reminded me of her first batch of cookies she made with her Daddy. I am going to miss her dearly comes September. ♥

Swamped and Sobered

The title of this post is a perfect description of my days lately.  Although I dislike the feeling of overwhelming, I have to say the busy days did keep me on my toes.
I have been visiting with my mom almost daily since my sister is on vacation. It has been wonderful to hear stories of my mom's life. She has lived quite a life. Escaped from two wars and raised nine children sure produced a very absorbing life.
On the home front, I have been busy rearranging furniture and creating samples for my March card making class. I am also in the process of re-organizing my filing system - however slow the progress has been. I stayed up late last week for Christine's Mock Trial competition and that did not help with my February goal of early to bed and early to rise. All of these tasks/event along with other little circumstances in our daily life engulfed the month of February.
However, when I am busy with a purpose, I found myself assimilating life deeper. I found myself eager to see what God wants me to learn.
One of the sobering lesson I learned through this busy month was how much my family got neglected. I did not realize how much they depend on me to be "presented". One example was that I got to a point I was so busy that I forgot to pack my hubby breakfast and lunch! It happened two days in a roll. I thought he was able to handle it so I kept on slagging on my job. He then gently reminded me how much he appreciates and likes my packing of his lunch. Boy, did I snap out of that fog and quickly refocus my priorities!
So, I am setting my March mini goal - priorities. I want to use this month to really search my heart and truly listen to what the Lord is saying to me through my family.
The first mini goal, believe it or not, is to re-establish my menu plan. A seemingly simple task (that I have stepped away from it since the end of last year) but procures such huge blessing on my family.
The second mini goal I would like to reach is to create an home maintenance list. Yes, I know the whys and hows of housekeeping but the bottom line of an orderly home is to maintain it, not cater it.
These two mini goals will keep me hopping through March for sure. :)

Goofing around. :)

Five seconds of "hailstorm" made some boys' day!

On our way to a basketball game.

Yup. I created all of these cards. Very satisfying.

Card Class :: Late Nights :: Sewing

I held my first card class with the CM product yesterday. It was well received and I was asked to do it again and perhaps open up a mother-daughter card making class.
Making card is not new to me as I used to be a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator. The difference is that with SU I used stamps and techniques heavily and with CM I use lots of their pretty papers, die-cuts, stickers, shape makers and Cricut shapes, and yeah, a dose of creativity. :)

Here are the card samples for this month.  I will be working on next month's class soon.

Here goes the side-way photo again. I just completed all the Valentine bags for our Preschoolers. I might add some glitter to them and will be putting their names under the hearts.

Peter loves it every time when I pull out my shape makers or Cricut machine.  He had so much much lining up these little dots. Such focused attention!

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I have been bad with my resting in February.  Already I stayed up past midnight two nights in a roll. Needless to say, I paid for it the next day when that happened. So I am going to make this my February mini goal of going to bed at 9:30pm or 10:00pm and try to wake up at 6:00am. I think I am a morning bird and not a midnight owl. I love dawn and I would love to get back to rising early again. Wish me luck! :)

Ahh..., my sewing project.  I have been so busy this past week I did not get to touch my project but once. Fortunately it is a beginner class so the instructor is not very strict on the "homework". lol! I did pin the pattern pieces on the fabric, just needed to cut them out at class today. I lost my fabric cutting scissors and I am waiting for a coupon to get a new pair at Jo-Ann's.

A class mate Elena P took a picture of me. Her husband, I found out, was/is the CAP Chaplin at Josh's Squadron.  What a small world!

Now I have to dash over to the kitchen to make some dozens of cookies for the visitors at our church tomorrow.

Have a great evening, all.

Translating

What a surprise it was when I received a phone call from a friend I have not seen for a long time. She was referred to me by a mutual friend of ours that I may be able to help her out by doing a little translating job.

Growing up I had three dreams and one of them was to become a language translator.  I love different languages. To me learning a different language means learning about a group of people.  I have always enjoyed making new friends from different parts of the world.

I still remember when I first came to America, Thanksgiving to me was merely another holiday the American people celebrate and a turkey must be served.  Fast forward to today, after years of homeschooling and learning the American history lessons along side my children (whatever I could retain), Thanksgiving is an endearing holiday to me now. The reason alone of why we have Thanksgiving is enough for me to view this special holiday in a new way, not to mention the emotional attachment every American goes through with that holiday. This is just one of the many things I have come to understand that culture is much more than the language.

The translating job went well and I was encouraged once more that perhaps this dream would eventually be realized, Lord willing.

Math!

Pre-Algebra! Ah...
I have always wished to have a chance to review (or re-learn) Algebra. However, My first two kids' Algebra courses were taken while I had to care for a little one.  This year, I am fortunate to have Christine as a baby sitter while Joshua and I go to his Pre-Algebra co-op class.  I am the only "parent' student there but I don't mind.  I am having such a great time refreshing my love of Algebra, this time with a much quicker and easier understanding of the math.
When we are home, I would ask Joshua for his homework assignment so I could do "my homework" as well. We love it and it creates such a special bond between my son and I through this fun class! So wonderful!

One of the subjects I will be taking in a college when my kids are all grown and left home. It sure will keep my brain from being too rusty by not using it. lol!

One Week

My doctor gave me one week to lay off my right arm/shoulder before he wants me to go get a MRI.  I am being good about this as I really don't want to take another MRI especially when our medical insurance is still not in place yet.It is such a challenge as I am a right handed person and at times I just plain forgotten I am not suppose to use my right arm. Robert got me an arm sling and insists that I wear it so it will restrict my arm movement to the minimum. 
I am being very cooperative as I want no complication to the shoulder.
At the mean time, slowly but surely, home improvement continues on...

Simplifying

This month is a month of prayer for our household.  There are two important things we are praying for.  Because of that, I need to simplify my life even more.

Our finance has been simplified thanks to the wonderful re-fi that took place right before the work reduction. Praise the Lord for His always perfect timing and provision.

Our errands and outings have cut significantly due to the increased price of gasoline.  We have always mapped our errand routes, now we also map the days we do the errands.

I will post more as the events unfold.  I just could not believe how God works things out yet I should know, because he has performed in my life so many miracles or things I thought were impossible - well, perhaps impossible to me but in Christ, all things are possible.

 I am trying to cut down sugar snacks by making these sweet potato slices.  Amy's picture shown red color but since I did not have yam, I made it with sweet potatoes.  It was a hit with the kids, too.

 I also got back to my monthly menu planning. I have to, in order to make things run more smoothly for the next months. The menu plan has proven to work beautifully in the past so it will work its magic again. I love my "Saving Dinner" cookbook.  I have left-overs for lunch almost daily.

Simplifying my beauty routine is my current endeavour.  The no-poo for my hair is working very well. I have also moved on to using baking soda solution for my facial cleansing and my back and feet care. The result stunned me.  For the first time in my life since puberty, I have a clean, even pored face skin without spending major bucks for it. My heels?  Nice and smooth.  I am so thankful to have found these many great uses of baking soda!

~This post is linked to Raising Homemakers by Emily

Suwanee Soap Give-A-way!

Great news!  If you like home made soap as much as I do, here is a chance to win one!  Just go to Rebecca's blog (Mom's Mustard Seeds) and submit your comment(s) and you are in!
Have Fun!
Oh, be sure to wish Rebecca a happy birthday.  It is her birthday today! :)

Ultimate Blog Party 2011

Today I saw in two blogs I regularly visit have joined the Ultimate Blog Party 2011.  So I thought I'd add my post to the party just for the fun of it.

If this is your first time visiting my blog, Welcome ♥

I started blogging as a means of staying in touch when my oldest son and his family relocated.  Even though it also contains tips on home making, this blog is really all about our lives (hence the blog name). 

Life holds so much for all of us.  I savor all the little moments that took place - whether it was a joyous or sad occasion.  My family is my focus.  I have learned a great deal about the God I serve through the practicality of everyday life as well as the raising of my children.

The Lord has blessed us with wonderful children in His timing.  We have four live children (in the span of twenty years) and we have one gone on to heaven recently.

Please allow me the pleasure to introduce my family to you ~

Daisy ~ My unborn child who taught me that the joy of the Lord is my strength.

 Peter ~ My most energetic child, through him the Lord teaches me patience.

Joshua ~ my young teen who is learning to stand firm on his convictions.  I am encouraged through his effort in his character building.

Christine ~ my gracious daughter, whose beauty is endurance. Thank you Lord for your comfort through her.

Erik ~ my first born, through him I learn of God's grace and compassion.  God is good, forever.

Emma ~ My daughter-in-law.  Emma, thank you for loving my son. ♥

Ezri ~ My first grand-daughter, who is the cutest thing in her Grandma's eyes.

Roxas ~ quiet, but a little smart boy just like his daddy.

Robert and I ~ Life companion to each other.

~ ♥ ♥ ♥ ~

Hair Cut

I did it. I cut my hair and donated it to the Locks of Love.

It is easier to wash my hair now that it is much shorter. My body is healing slowly so I do not want to stand in the shower stall too long.

Emotionally I am still struggling with the loss. My hormone seems to be playing ping-pong inside me all day. I would be fine one minute and get teary eyes the next. It is a very exhausted experience.

In my heart, though, I hold tight to God's promise: He will never leave me nor forsake me.

Thank you, Lord.

This is my third time donating my hair to this organization and each time it blessed me to know that a part of me can be used to help others through a difficult trial in their lives.