Exciting News for 2013!!!

I am really excited to announce that I have been chosen to be part of the Review Crew of The Old Schoolhouse Magazine. The Old Schoolhouse Magazine was first introduced to me by my friend Lori, she began home educating way back before homeschooling was fashionable.  lol. She has 1 college graduated daughter, 1 daughter in college and 1 senior in high school left. Lori has been a wealth of knowledge over the years and I'm so glad that she introduced me to The Old Schoolhouse Magazine.  The magazine is REAL, with REAL people and not full of just happy homeschooling articles. They share the good, the bad and the ugly of home education. You will read the magazine and come away with ideas, hope and blessings. Not a feeling of failure or envy of what others are accomplishing.

I'm thinking that January will be the first month of reviews. I am pretty excited!

Our 2013 is starting to take shape on our calendar. We have some fun 4-H activities coming up like our Christmas party, cupcake decorating and a sewing class. I know I have a boy, but every boy/man gets holes in his clothes and needs to learn to sew.  I'll being hanging out in the class too, maybe I can pick up a few tips. I'm also teaching some gluten free cooking classes at a local college. 2013 will be here before we know it! What do you have planned for the new year?

Moe

Just some thoughts...........

With the passing of the election I've come to have a hymn playing in my mind, my heart and my soul and I am comforted..........

"Our God Reigns"
How lovely on the mountains are the feet of Him
Who brings good news, good news;
Announcing peace, proclaiming news of happiness:
Our God reigns, our God reigns!

Our God reigns!
Our God reigns!
Our God reigns!
Our God reigns!

 

 

Moe

Thanksgiving & Christmas FREEBIE

Use the following code to get FREE notebooking pages from currclick. freehomeschooldeals4thanks at checkout
Currclick is one of our favorite homeschooling websites. We take classes from them and also get some really great lapbooking and notebooking projects there too.

 What are you planning on doing for Thanksgiving in your homeschool?

Moe

Book Review TOO MUCH STUFF

Too Much stuff
by Kathryn Porter

Well this book was a real eye opener for me. So much of what I have read before on this subject talked about being born a certain way; organized, messy, etc. Now I see that all those labels are just excuses for the way we act.

The book is set up for general reading or a group study format with questions at the end of the book for each chapter to learn more and for reflection.

Not once during the reading of Porter’s book did I feel shameful, beat up or paralyzed. It’s easy to be overwhelmed when reading a book on the topic of clutter, but Too Much Stuff made me look at my “stuff” in a whole new light. No Rough Tote or Sterelite container was ever going to solve my clutter problem! Our 12 year old son went through the book with me. Unfortunately he has picked up my clutter habit over the years. Reading the book together has been a turning point for both of us . My son would give a shout out at the start of each chapter as to who had what clutter issue, him or me. We use to love to go to yard sales, now every time we pass by one he yells out

“CLUTTER SALE!” Once while we were traveling we saw a really neat looking shed with collectibles and such for sale. We both wanted to go in and look around, but he said “Mom, I really want to go in there, but I think that place is full of clutter!”

A quote from the book that has stuck with me is, “But this is why: when you cling to your possessions, you hoard your heart from others. You bury it in the stuff around you. Loved ones believe the stuff is more important to you than they are. They wish you could love them as much as you love the clutter.” WOW! That statement says so much.

Thanks to Kathryn Porter and Too Much Stuff, my son and I are now official CLUTTER Warriors. We still struggle with “Drop it” and “Leave it,” but it’s coming along.

Too Much Stuff will help you to answer some of life’s nagging questions such as:

“Can I get rid of gifts that loved ones give me?” “How do I get paper clutter under control?” “What collections can I keep?” “Why can’t I keep a clean house?”

“How can I get beyond the saboteurs?”

Check out Kathryn Porter’s book Too Much Stuff: Winning the War Against Clutter

published by Beacon Hill Press.

As a side note here, my son and I were able to toss out, give away and sell more than 30 bags of our clutter!! We have a way to go, but it’s been a very freeing experience. The hardest part of all of this was letting go of cards and letters from loved ones. I finally tossed out all the condolence cards that were sent to my parents upon the death of my sister Coreen 43 years ago. I was a toddler when she died suddenly and for me those cards were the only tie I had left to her. But really what were they doing for me? Nothing but taking up space. For my son, it was gifts. He kept every little thing that was given to him, for fear of offending the giver if they asked him about the gift. He even kept little trinket items. He is learning that if someone gives you a gift, you can do whatever you please with it. If you can’t use it, then pass it on to someone who can be blessed by it. It’s a daily struggle for both of us, especially walking in the door from a long day and just doing the “Drop it” and “Leave it” cycle.

I hope that you will be blessed by reading this book and I would love to hear how you have grown through reading the pages of Too Much Stuff.
Moe

I received a copy of this book from the author in order to write the review.