Flowers for a Family

For those of you who heard the rumors, they are true. Somewhat. Yes, we are expecting a boy. No, I am not pregnant. We are adopting a not-so-little (6-year-old) boy from Taiwan. I plan to tell the story at mamacurls.blogspot.com over the next few months because we are only a month into this process and it has already been an amazing journey. This post is not to tell the story, but to ask for your prayers and love. This little boy needs a home and family and we would love to welcome him into ours. To raise funds to cover the many costs associated with his adoption, my daughters and I are making paper flowers like the one below. We can make these 3" beauties into lapel pins or hair clips and the colors are limitless. If you can bless us by praying, ordering flowers, or sending this along to your friends, we would be so grateful!  You can place your order at http://curlsandgrins.weebly.com/cards--announcements.html. Thanks so much!

Flowers for a Family

For those of you who heard the rumors, they are true.  Somewhat.  Yes, we are expecting a boy.  No, I am not pregnant.  We are adopting a not-so-little (6-year-old) boy from Taiwan.  I plan to tell the story on my blog over the next few months because we are only a month into this process and it has already been an amazing journey.  This post is not to tell the story, but to ask for your prayers and love.  This little boy needs a home and family and we would love to welcome him into ours.  To raise funds to cover the many costs associated with his adoption, my daughters and I are making paper flowers like the one below.  We can make these 3" beauties into lapel pins or hair clips and the colors are limitless.  If you can bless us by praying, ordering flowers, or sending this along to your friends, we would be so grateful!  You can place your order at http://curlsandgrins.weebly.com/cards--announcements.html. Thanks so much!

Gearing Up for Year 1 of Tapestry of Grace

In the midst of summer travel and fun, I am gearing up for our family's first year of Tapestry of Grace.  The upcoming school year will be completely different from previous years, and not just because of Tapestry of Grace (that's another conversation).  In some ways I'm sure I have gone beyond necessity, but I am an organizer who has gone too long without organizing.  This has been my list of things to accomplish this summer:
Set up record keeping system: I found Homeschool Tracker to keep track of grades, attendance, and other school related information.  It's simple to use and free.  That's a great combination!  
Sort books: I went through all of our school books and divided them into three categories: use this year, use in the future and sell/give away.  While doing this, I also listed all of the books for this year in Homeschool Tracker.
Order books: After reviewing our library, I ordered books that we needed for our upcoming year.  In addition to the Tapestry of Grace curriculum, I ordered math and supplemental language arts materials.
Learn Tapestry of Grace (my favorite step!): I spent a couple of days perusing my new materials and becoming familiar with how the system works.  I wrote out lesson plans and made folders for each week and put the necessary materials in each week for each child.
Assemble supplies: My girls and I made a list of everything they wanted/needed in terms of supplies.  We sorted through what we already had and then went shopping for everything else.  Each child assembled her binders and put the supplies away in her drawer.
Order books (part 2): Today I ordered all of the literature we will use for the first few weeks of TOG.  I had three browsers open - my local library, my almost local library and Amazon.  I searched the libraries first, then ordered the book at Amazon if neither library had it.
Wait: Now that I have everything together, I will enjoy a week off before we start.  We are all eager to begin!

Women of Faith Over the Top

I just found out that I have the priviledge of attending Women of Faith's Over the Top event in Kansas City!  Here's a little preview of what we will experience November 4th and 5th:



Wouldn't you love to join me at the Sprint Center for an amazing weekend full of laughter, tears and everything in between?  We will be seeing Patsy Clairmont, Sandi Patty and Marilyn Meberg, three of my favorite regulars from prior Women of Faith conferences, Lisa Whelchel, one of my favorite TV personalities from my childhood, and Amy Grant, the artist of the first cassette tape I ever owned.  I look forward to hearing from Deborah Joy Winans, Andy Andrews Brenda Warner and Mandisa also.  With a lineup like that, a great time is guaranteed!  Click on the banner below for more information!

It's {Not} a Man Thing

I should know the routine by now.  My husband, in the middle of working on our 1970 Chevy Pickup, asks me to go to the parts store.  I strongly dislike making trips to the parts store for a multitude of reasons. I like working on projects with my family and I want to keep working.  I also like fixing and building things.  As a matter of fact, our girls are often there helping or observing too. Oh, and I DO NOT like the blatant disrespect shown towards women at parts stores and home improvement stores.  Here's how it often goes: I walk in, ask for the needed part, and some dumb comment comes out of the mouth of the store employee.  The other day it went something like this:

I walked into a home improvement store looking for an overflow hose for the radiator.  I went there because the part store didn't have it and suggested this home improvement store.  I pulled the hose out of the bag and showed it to the guy at the store and explained that I needed the same length hose for the truck. 

Him: We have a latex hose. (as he pulls out a hose that looked as sturdy as latex gloves)
Me: Will that hold up under the heat?
Him: Don't you have a latex oven mitt? {offense number 1}
Me: No, I don't have an oven mitt.
Him: You should go to the parts store.
Me: I did. They sent me here.
Him: This hose will work, but why don't you call your husband and ask him if what he thinks? {offense number 2}
Me: Because I pulled the hose off and I need to know that I can trust what I put in it's place. {not exactly the truth, but close enough for this guy} 

In a funny coincidence, my husband gave me this power screwdriver and bit set yesterday.