Are you still here???

Hello, friends!

I've noticed that I still have over 100 followers here on this blog, but I haven't posted here in over a year! I am hoping you have followed me over to my new home on the web, but if you have not yet done so, please do! I'm here now: See Jamie Blog.

And (hint, hint), this is a great chance and reminder to clean up your blog reader every now and then! I think I'll go do that now! ;)

Where to Find Me!

Hello, Friends!

I still have quite a few blog followers over here, but I don't blog here anymore!

In fact, this week I got an email from a blog friend who said she was glad she found my new blog because she hadn't heard from me here in quite a while and was worried something had happened to us.

So I want to make sure you all know that my blog home has moved!

Join me over HERE!

Daughters

"A daughter is a day brightener and a heart warmer."
-Author unknown

Last weekend, Kathryn and I attended a Mother-Daughter Tea Party for the GA's (Girls in Action) from our church. The tea party just happened to be at our very favorite tea room, Tea Leaves and Thyme. We sat by the front windows, Kathryn's favorite spot. Amanda and her daughter Macy sat with us, and they were kind enough to take our picture.
Kathryn and all of the other GA's received a badge and a Bible verse in a pretty little silver frame.

The weekend before that, Lindsey and I attended a Mother-Daughter Ballet event at church. Every year, the women's ministry hosts a mother-daughter event, but this was the first time either of us had attended. It was a beautiful performance, and now Lindsey is trying to decide if she wants to continue gymnastics/cheerleading, or if she'd like to switch to ballet. After the performance, we had a dessert reception downstairs, beautifully decorated with ballerina-inspired decor. Ken took this photo right before we left the house:

Our take-home souvenir from this event was a pretty little bookmark and a silver ballerina charm, which Lindsey plans to add to her charm bracelet she got at the Father-Daughter Valentine's Dance. After a few years of these events, she'll have it all filled up with sentimental charms. Isn't that a lovely thought?

In our daily lives, we occasionally get on each other's nerves; when dealing with a houseful of imperfect humans, that's just a reality. But we don't have to focus on those times! That's why I so cherish opportunities like these to make special memories with my girls.

Bible Notebooks

I promised a few weeks ago that I'd share more about the girls' Bible notebooks. As I said before, the original idea for this came from The Heart of Wisdom. I hope to gradually implement more ideas from this teaching concept.

We start out on the sofa, a daughter on each side of me as I read one (or sometimes two) day's reading from our chronological Bible, stopping to discuss or answer questions whenever necessary. Most days, we look up something in our Bible dictionary, atlas, or other resource. I like the time with one or both girls leaning on me. {smile}

There are still quite a few things we'll add to our notebooks, but for now the goal is for each of the girls to make at least one Bible notebook page each week. If they feel inspired to do one each day, they can do that -- but so far it's been one each week. Kathryn says Bible time is her favorite subject, and Lindsey seems to be enjoying it, too. I think the pages will get even more creative as we go along, but I'll share what we have so far...

Their first pages (Kathryn's at left, Lindsey's at right):
Lindsey's page from Job (using an illustration she printed out):
Kathryn's version (comic strip concept was totally her own idea!)
Kathryn decided to make her own version of a family tree (left) from our Victor Journey Through the Bible; Lindsey liked the idea, too, so she made one as well (right).I love this as a great way for us all to look back and see what we've studied, and it'll be a nice keepsake for their sentimental Mama, too.

I'll share more once the girls have created a few more pages!