The Big White Farmhouse | intentional living, little by little

October 28, 2011

{giving} Sponsor a Child through Compassion

Her name is Peace. 14 years old and from Kenya. She stared at me from my computer screen, gorgeous and serious. I knew she was the one.

See, I woke up this morning with such an intense sense of gratitude. Gratitude for my home, for my husband and his job, for my healthy children. And then a quote I stumbled on this week came to mind:

“When a poor person dies of hunger, it has not happened because God did not take care of him or her. It has happened because neither you nor I wanted to give that person what he or she needed.”

– Mother Teresa

Powerful, right? And humbling too. I think it has something to do with my “Fall Cleaning”. Bags and bags of unneeded clothes, toys and dishes are sitting in my dining room right now, waiting to be sent off to Goodwill. I look and I can’t help but ask myself…Why all the excess?

Funny how God prompts you in the silence. In those early (and I mean early…I’ve got three crazy early birds in this house!) hours of the morning, I knew exactly what I must do…so I clicked on the Compassion website, just to take a peek. And I found her. We share the same birthday. She is almost the same age as my sister. Instantly, I felt the nudge. Peace. My sweet sister halfway across the globe.

I don’t have all the answers. I still don’t know what is “just enough” and what borders on “too much”. But I do know that I want to be attached to people, not things. So maybe today I made the first step. Maybe Peace will show me the way.

October 27, 2011

{i want to remember} – 10/27/11

Sometimes life gets so busy that I forget to notice and appreciate the little things. Here are some of the things I am loving this week:

I WANT TO REMEMBER… how J “shares” his food with me. It’s usually him taking food out of his mouth, but hey! Sharing is sharing, right?

I WANT TO REMEMBER… how much fun we are having with school. Just when I think everything I’ve taught has gone in one ear and out the other, M will say, “Hey Mamma, there are Chinese kids on Sesame Street. Just like in Ping! I wonder if they are going to the Great Wall of China!” (True Story!) My Mamma heart soars with pride.

I WANT TO REMEMBER… how the boys are really into forts right now. Anything can be a fort: beds, the table, even J’s high chair! I think my tentative Christmas gift for them just became permanent.

I WANT TO REMEMBER… the lessons learned from this blog post. Such a powerful post…definitely a must read.

October 26, 2011

{chit chat} Middle of the Week Thoughts

Happy Wednesday! My brain is all over the place today, so I thought I would share a few things:

SCHOOLING. We are reading Madeline this week and learning a little about France. It’s been a bit of a challenge coming up with some “boy activities” – most of the adorable things I’ve seen online have been pretty girl-inspired. I’ve decided to devote all of next week to a beginner’s look at the human body (the link to Madeline and the human body: remember how she had to have her appendix taken out?). I found some really fun crafts and activities too, so it should be a blast.

BAKING. Like I mentioned on my 27 Goals List, I’m trying to get in shape and lose a little more of the lingering baby weight. So why in the world did I make this delicious Pumpkin Crumb Cake (half-eaten slice pictured above)? It’s so easy and good for both dessert and breakfast (not that I know that for certain…ahem). The recipe is from barefoot in the kitchen and can be found here.

CLEANING. I have been on a simplifying mission this week. Goodwill, get ready! With the boys’ birthdays and Christmas coming up, I want to make sure we only have what we absolutely love in our home. All the extras are going.

PONDERING. This quote I found on Pinterest:

Source: None via Terry on Pinterest

Just because I chose to mother first, doesn’t mean my life is over once they are grown. Or I missed out on what could have been. It just means a new season has begun! Julia Child didn’t start cooking until she was in her 40s, right? There’s hope for me too.

What are you up to this week?

October 24, 2011

{learning} An Autumn Scavenger Hunt

For the past two weeks, we took a break from Five in a Row and did a Fall Unit. It has been much more open-ended and unstructured, which has been fun. When I was planning the school year this summer, I hoped it would serve as a time where we could enjoy the changing seasons, while giving me a little break in the process. (Hurray for no homeschool burnout!)

One of the activities we did was a scavenger hunt in our back yard. The boys used their gathering bags (also talked about here) and searched the woods for everything on our list. I will be the first to admit that I am not exactly a “woodsy” kinda girl, but I do try to get the kids out there. ‘Cause what boy doesn’t love to explore?