New Projects

My new life doesn't leave a lot of time for projects (or blogging for that matter), but I have started a new one.

At a meeting over the weekend I got "booked" for another "speaking" gig about teaching the faith to kids.  The theme for the evening, including the actual talk to be given by the real speaker, is on prayer.  Therefore, I need to collect/create/organize activities surrounding the theme of prayer to show people so that they can be spiritually built up (by the real speaker) and then sent forth with a way to apply it with kids (my deal).

Oh, and I have seven months to work on it.  Love it.

Then I look to my lesson plans for the week, and what chapter are we covering in 5th grade religion this week?  Prayer.  (BTW- it is impossible to teach prayer using a textbook.  Just sayin'.)

Then, while laying out plans for Catholic Schools' Week I was reminded of this hand/prayer/memory trick thing that we ended up using a version of for the whole school kick-off.

Then I found these super cute cutouts for $1 and thought of a great way to make a praise bulletin board for my classroom.

Then one of my CCD teachers showed me this adorable craft that they wanted to make to go along with a song they had learned about prayer.

And then, (yes, only then) did I get the picture that God did not want me to wait until August to plan these activities.  He wants to do them now.

And so, I am brainstorming and pulling together a theme and thinking of activities.

Everything falls neatly into teaching the kids different kinds of prayer, which I find easy to remember using the acronym ACTS- Adoration, Contrition, Thanksgiving, and Supplication.  Big words, but worth teaching.

So here is a little taste of the start of the ideas:

There will be much more to come- coloring book, crafts, songs, projects.
In the meantime, got any ideas or requests for me?

Family Craft Time

I come from a family with a lot of talent.  I could tell you all about the skills, training, and abilities of everyone, but instead, let's talk about craftiness.

I blame my mom, who can make just about anything.  We picked up a lot of her skills, and between her and 4-H, my sisters and I are fairly well-rounded crafters.  We all enjoy finding a project and then figuring out how to make it ourselves.

I just didn't realize that my brothers would be the same.

The scene:  A couple of days before Christmas.  We are all at home, with nowhere to be, a rare occasion.  My mom is warming the house and filling our stomachs by deciding to bake approximately 97 dozen cookies.  I commandeer the dining room table because I have not even started my Christmas cards and I had several Christmas gifts to work on.  However, I was soon joined by everyone, starting with...Steven.

He wanted to give a friend a bags set for Christmas and had already done all of the woodwork.  He needed the bags made, and instead of asking Steph or me or someone else to sew them, he decided to make them himself.  Go Steven.

His first attempt at sewing, and he did a great job.  I didn't get a picture of the final product, but it will provide endless hours of bag-throwing fun.

Stephanie coached Steven, but didn't do it for him, so while she was helping, she also made some jewelry.

Emily didn't really "craft," but she was addressing her save-the-dates with beautifully time consuming awesome handwriting, so it was more of an art, I guess.

 And Luke was stuffing the envelopes.

Aren't they cute?  This is a surreptitious shot of his proposal, and the text reads, "He said 'Will you make me the happiest man in the world?' She said, 'Did you ask my dad?' 07.05.13 Save the Date."
True Story.

I had some serious crafters' block while trying to create my Christmas cards.
Here are some of the rejects.

So, I put that off for another time.

And made some jewelry.

 And fixed a dress for Emily by getting rid of the 80's puffed sleeve.

 And gave my brother a tattoo.  (That was actually him, and that is actually the stamp I use to sign my cards- note the example in the background.) Apparently, you can't leave them alone with anything.

 And then Luke decided to play with a mini blow torch.  Inside.  And was shocked when he caught something on fire.

It is probably a good thing that all-family craft time doesn't happen that often.

Christmas With Us

So, I clearly have fallen off of the blogging wagon. But I do have Christmas pictures, so that is what you are going to get. This year the odd thing happened that all of us, sisters, brother-in-law, and soon-to-be-brother-in-law, were all free before Christmas. We got to spend the weekend, Christmas Eve, and part of Christmas Day together with very little running around. We were just home, enjoying each others' company, playing games, flying a remote control helicopter into the tree, drinking moonshine... you know, normal family stuff.

 Let's start with the nice family picture that we took of the seven of us:

Oh, wait, my sister still hasn't shared that. Instead, here is our view of her setting up for the family picture.

 We tend to be as compliant as toddlers when it comes time for family pictures, so I can't wait to see the candids from that one.

Emily and Luke aren't married yet, so the only form of affection they are allowed to show in the house is a handshake.  And an awkward one at that:

 Just kidding. They like each other.

Then we tried to take some sister pictures, which turned into a competition because we all part our hair on the same side.  Problems, problems.

 We opened some Christmas gifts up a little early, namely pajamas on Christmas Eve, and these lovely face masks, which the boys put on and then proceeded to pretend to be terrorists.

Stephanie and Steven bought lots of moonshine on their honeymoon, and they brought some home for us to enjoy.

And for one last random picture, here is Luke getting some work done.  With a purple headband on his head.  There are no words.

Tune in for the next post, which will be all about the craft projects that we all, and I mean ALL, worked on over Christmas Break :)