Some Lego Love for Mother's Day

     My Lego-loving son has been making several creations in honor of Mother's Day.  (Sorry I can't show them all to you.  He's entering a contest.)  This was my favorite.  He knows how much I love a picnic, especially on Mother's Day. 

I just love the patchwork quilt and picnic basket.

Also notice that my husband and I are drinking coffee.  :)

Happy Mother's Day!

Planting a Garden in the Mountains

We recently enjoyed a week in the Appalachian Mountains on the family farm. One of my sons' favorite activity was planting the garden with their Papa. 

 

Making rows the "old school" way! 

 

 

Taking a water break.

 

 

What a gorgeous day for garden planing!

 

 Pretty special day...My boys planting garden with their Papa in the same soil their ancestors planted garden in 150 years ago....



I'm a Lucky Mom!

 

A note my sweet boy passed to me....

I think I'll keep it forever.  



Funny Friday~An Interesting Visitor to the Shire

Seems that CP30 has managed to find his way to the Hobbit Hole.

My Latest Read: Do Hard Things

     This has happened to me more than once--- more like 50 times.  It started back when my boys were still in preschool.  Often parents of teenagers would say to me, "Just wait.  Enjoy them now, because when they're teenagers they'll hate you." OR....When people ask how old my kids are, and then say (as they roll they're eyes), "Oh, you're in for it now, with a teenager in the house.  We all have to go through it." 

     I decided years ago that I would never say to myself: Okay, my boys are teenagers.  They are going to be rebellious, impossible and think I'm dumb.  These things could happen---hormones and growing up are a fact of life--but I just wasn't going to EXPECT it to happen.  What I wanted to expect was the opposite.  I anticipated a growing relationship with my boys and a time when they matured and deepened their lives by serving others and growing closer to the Lord. 

     In fact, on the day our oldest turned 13, my husband and I put our hands on his shoulders, looked him in the eyes and told him that today, he was a teenager. We explained that to much of the world this meant a time of being carefree, rebellious and irresponsible. (We also told him "teenager"was a term that has existed less than 100 years, but that's a rabbit I'll not chase here.)  We told him that what we saw ahead for him in his teen years was a time of maturity, responsibility and having a Christian testimony.  That was a year and a half ago.  We know we still have a long way before the "dreaded" teen years are over...but so far, we are loving having a teenager in the house!   (And plan to keep on loving this stage!)

 



     I say all this to lead up to what I really want to share.  I just finished reading Do Hard Things  by Alex and Brett Harris.  I was soooo excited when my oldest son won this book a while back for answering a question in youth group. (He read the first part of the book, then he told me I'd love it...I'm just now getting it back to him!) I had seen it advertised and had really been interested in the premise of the book---rebellion against low expectations for teenagers.  I HIGHLY recommend this book for all teenagers and their parents.  (It inspired me as an adult to "do hard things" as well!)  The Harris brothers say: "The teen years are not a vacation from responsibility...they are the training ground of future leaders who dare to be responsible now."  Can I get an AMEN? 

     My oldest son and I have a bit of an inside joke when it comes to "Do Hard Things".  Just the other night at church, when the youth were helping clean up after a meal, he came to me and said, "Mom, give me something easy to do." 

     I said, "Oh, no, son.  Remember, we 'Do Hard Things'."  We have fun joking around, but he gets it.  :)

 

 

Check out The Rebelution Blog by the Harris brothers for more information and inspiration on how you and your teenager can "Do Hard Things".

Laundry Room/Mudroom Quick-fix

There was a spot in my laundry room/mudroom that has been bugging me.  We have this great bench for hiding diry shoes, etc. and hanging up jackets---but it was just lacking something.  The big open area at the top (and the peeling paint/nail holes) were just begging for SOMETHING. 

 



 

Blah, right?

 

 

 

I had a shelf up in the attic my dad had made.  It was in my son's room at one time, but no longer worked.  I thought I'd paint it--but once I held it up to the wall to see how it looked I decided to leave it the color it was.  (My momma has always told me you need a spot of red in your home.)

 

My great husband hung it securely for me.  I decided to take the sports trophies from an overcrowded shelf in the hallway and add them here.  I added some crates for gloves, hats, etc.  (One for each boy.)  I put the soccer ball in the center.  It is both decorative and practical, since they use it often.

 

 

 

I think my boys really like it.  I know I do--and that empty spot no longer cries out to me everytime I do laundry.  (And I just LOVE when I re-decorate for free!!)

 

 

 



One of Our More Popular Elective Courses...

LEGOS!!!

Although not an "official" subject in our homeschool...it is a very important part!  What better way to be creative and use thinking skills?  (I overheard my son doing mulitiplication to figure out how many bricks he needed for his wall.) 

These are pictures of a huge building project my oldest son just completed for a "Star Wars Building Challenge" Lego Contest:

The contest was to come up with an addition to "Jabba's Palace".  My 14-yr.-old created a hangar.

This is the place out back where everyone hangs out until their aircraft is ready.

Check out the girl with the purple hair!

Look through the door and you can see the waiting area.

Now to wait and see who wins the prize!

2 Lego Projects

This is a Lego Table I made for my boys last Christmas.  I purchased 2 rolling carts, had plywood cut to fit on top, painted the plywood, placed non-skid shelving paper on top of the carts, put Lego plates onto the plywood, then placed the plywood piece on top of the carts...and ta-da!  I have not finished labeling all the bins.  My boys can easily fit a chair in the open spot--everthing they need is within reach. It would be great if we could fit every Lego into these drawers, but as you can see from the picture they have bins full of Legos.

     The other day I noticed my son was very quiet for several hours.  I would look in his room occasionally and see him standing over his Lego table.  Later, he came to me and said, "Mom, I want to show you something."  Lo and behold this is what I saw: 

I just love the crosshatch pattern on the roof.

He explained to me this was for a Lego contest. (He had just received his Lego Magazine the day or two before and had found out about the contest.)  The challenge from Lego was to build a scene from any of the Lord of the Ring movies. He constructed "The Prancing Pony".  (A Tavern Inn from The Lord of the Rings, Fellowship of the Ring) He took it apart before I could get more pictures.  The top floor of the inn lifts off to reveal the sleeping quarters for guests.  There is a barn outside as well as a chicken coop.

Here is an aerial view.

Inside the Prancing Pony, guests are having a chat by the fire.

 If I were forced to throw away every toy my boys own and leave only one...that decision would take me about 2 seconds: "Take everything else, but leave the Legos!"