The Simple Woman's Daybook ~#123~ 5/31/11

For Today . . .

Outside my window . . . beautiful sunshine & blue skies; thick, leafy, lovely maple trees, birds singing.

I am thinking . . . about how my brother & I will work things out w/my mom's care.

I am thankful for . . . the great day we had, yesterday. It would have been perfect if DD#1 could have been w/DH, DD#2 & I.

From the kitchen . . . yummy grilled food from yesterday.

I am wearing . . . jeans, DD#1's old volleyball t-shirt from her Senior year. :-)

I am remembering . . . how lovely the cemetery where our oldest DD, my daddy & DH's mom are buried looked yesterday.

I am hoping . . . for God's grace in answered prayer, as always.

I am creating . . . a peaceful, Christ-centered home.

I am hearing . . . radio, Maggie growing at a something outside the window.

I am noticing . . . that I am not the only one who is just now getting out my little kitchen/herb garden for this year! Between all the rain & work, I can't believe that I'm just now getting everything out.

Around the house . . . getting my little kitchen/herb garden out, general cleaning, that never-ending laundry. Do you ever feel like your laundry basket has an endless bottom like Mary Poppins' carpet bag?

One of my favorite things . . . a great sermon like this past Sunday.

Plans for this week . . . family time, work, I think I'm on the worship team this week, doing some homeschool assessments, time w/my mom, getting Maggie groomed.

Pondering these words . . . "Many know Him [Jesus] only by heresay." ~A. W. Tozer. We need to know Jesus for ourselves!! There's no comparison in KNOWING ABOUT GOD and KNOWING GOD for ourselves. {from Sunday's sermon}

Scripture thought . . . "Now to Him Who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work w/in us, to Him be glory in the church & in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever & ever! Amen." ~Ephesians 3:20-21

Here is a picture thought I am sharing with you . . .

Isabella ~ Princess of Wales from Braveheart. She's one of the most beautiful women I've ever seen.

Read 100's of other Daybooks at Peggy's Simple Woman's Daybook!

Blessings from Ohio . . . Kim<><

Happy Memorial Day . . .

. . . Remember why . . .








Thank you, to those who gave all.

Happy Memorial Day!

Blessings from Ohio . . . Kim<><

The "Ahhhh" of Beatrix Potter

When my girls were little, I was so happy that some of their favorite books & art work were that of Beatrix Potter. One of the reasons was utterly selfish; it was so that I could have an excuse to read the books & admire the homey pictures. '-) I so enjoy the feelings of quaintness & home that her stories invoke.

Ahhhh . . .

I'm sure that some of the "homeyness" of her writings & art came from her own family life & living in her beloved "Hill Top House."

Yep, I could feel "homey" there, too. :-)

I admire her representations of everyday life . . . makes me wonder how much of her art of the various home interiors were actually the modified interiors of Hill Top House? How quaint & cozy.

Then, there are personalities of her memorable animal characters ~

Walt Disney must have taken a cue from Beatrix ~ Always giving her animals human characteristics so that children as well as adults could relate & enjoy . . .

. . . Staying current in the news . . .

. . . Hard work first, leisure second . . .

. . . Dear, mischievous Peter & Benjamin. Those silly bunnies, seems they always had to learn the hard way.


But as most of us mamas try to do, Peter's mama was right there to make it all better . . .

And as with Benjamin Bunny's mama, to try to steer our children in the right direction . . .

I think that if I could take Alice in Wonderland's shrinking potion that I would love to spend a day in Mrs. Rabbit's quaint little home. A sweet portrait of home-life, indeed . . .

Other sweet home scenes are the pillow fight in Mamma Tabby's home . . .

. . . and Appley Dappley doing her "shopping" in someone's well-stocked cupboard. Always looking out for her family. '-)

Oh, and then, there's one of my favorites: Mrs. Tiggy Winkle. The ever-hard working, wise, able to make lemonade out of lemons: Mrs. Tiggy Winkle.



Wouldn't you just love to sit at her table, have a cup of tea & chat for a while? Hmmm . . . I think I just might do that.

"Thank goodness I was never sent to school; it would have rubbed off some of the originality." ~ Beatrix Potter.

Blessings from Ohio . . . Kim<><

Famous Homeschoolers

Do you homeschool? Considering homeschooling your precious children? From one who homeschooled for 16 wonderful (mostly '-) ) years, you will NEVER regret it.

But every-now-&-then, we need a little "ammo" to help calm the nerves, the misgivings or the sheer rudeness of "well-meaning" family & friends. In my humble opinion, the BEST ammo for you is the information I gave you in my 6-part thesis "The Biblical Basis for Homeschooling Christian Children," the 2nd just might be this awesome (some renowned, some fun, some a little infamous ~ depending upon your side of the political isle) list of Famous Homeschoolers . . .

Actors and Entertainers

Hanson ~ Pop music band/Christians

• Alan Alda
• Barlow Girl
• Charlie Chaplin
• Christina Aguilera
• Dakota Fanning
• Frankie Muniz
• Hanson
• Hillary Duff
• Jacob Clemente
• Jennifer Love Hewitt
• Jordin Sparks
• Justin Timberlake
• LeAnne Rimes
• Louis Armstrong
• Mitchell Musso
• Taylor Swift
• The Jonas Brothers
• Whoopi Goldberg
• Yehudi Menuhin

Athletes

Tim Tebow ~ 2 time Heisman Trophy winner/pro football player/Missionary/homeschooled his entire school career until college

• Michelle Kwan
• Jason Taylor
• Tim Tebow
• Tamara McKinney
• Serena Williams
• Venus Williams

Artists

Ansel Adams ~ world renowned master of black & white nature & train photography

• Claude Monet
• Grandma Moses
• John Singleton Copley
• Andrew Wyeth
• Jamie Wyeth
• Leonardo da Vinci
• Rembrandt Peale

Writers

Louisa May Alcott ~ author of "Little Women"

• Agatha Christie
• Alex Haley
• Beatrix Potter
• Bret Harte
• C.S. Lewis
• Charles Dickens
• Daniel Webster
• George Bernard Shaw
• Hans Christian Anderson
• Louisa May Alcott
• Margaret Atwood
• Mark Twain
• Mercy Warren
• Phillis Wheatley
• Pearl S. Buck
• Robert Frost
• Sean O'Casey
• Virginia Woolf

Businessmen

Dave Thomas ~ Founder of Wendy's (named after his daughter) & adoption advocate/devoted Christian

• Andrew Carnegie
• Colonel Harland Sanders
• Dave Thomas
• Joseph Pulitzer
• Ray Kroc

Composers

John Philip Sousa ~ composer/conductor

• Felix Mendelssohn
• Irving Berlin
• John Philip Sousa
• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Inventors

Wright Brothers ~ inventors of the airplane/bicycle builders/our Dayton, Ohio hometown heroes

• Alexander Graham Bell
• Benjamin Franklin
• Cyrus McCormick
• Eli Whitney
• Thomas Edison
• Orville Wright
• Wilbur Wright

Military Leaders

Robert E. Lee ~ son of "Light Horse Harry" Lee/Civil War Confederate General/devoted Christian

• Douglas MacArthur
• George Patton
• John Paul Jones
• Matthew Perry
• Robert E. Lee
• Stonewall Jackson

U.S. Presidents

Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt ~ master hunter/war hero/26th President/youngest President

• Abraham Lincoln
• Franklin Delano Roosevelt
• George Washington
• James Madison
• John Quincy Adams
• John Tyler
• Theodore Roosevelt
• Thomas Jefferson
• William Henry Harrison
• Woodrow Wilson

Preachers and Religious Leaders

Charles Wesley ~ renowned preacher/founder of the Methodist church

• Brigham Young
• Dwight L. Moody
• Joan of Arc
• William Carey
• Charles Wesley
• Dwight L. Moody
• John Newton
• John Owen
• John the Baptist
• John Wesley
• Jonathan Edwards
• Moses
• Phillip Melanchthon
• William Cary

Scientists

George Washington Carver ~ Christian & Scientist - we can all thank him for peanut butter!

• Albert Einstein
• Blaise Pascal
• George Washington Carver
• Pierre Curie

Others

Winston Churchill ~ England's Prime Minister during WWII ~ Never, never, NEVER give up!

• Booker T. Washington
• Davy Crockett
• George Rogers Clark
• Alexander Hamilton
• Daniel Webster
• Patrick Henry
• William Jennings Bryan
• William Penn
• Winston Churchill
• John Jay
• John Marshall
• John Rutledge
• Sandra Day O’Connor

Famous Homeschooling Parents:

Michael Card ~ talented Christian singer-songwriter-musician/preacher/author/homeschool dad

• Michael Card
• Robert Frost
• Darrell Waltrip
• Paul Overstreet
• Lisa Whelchel
• Kelley Preston and John Travolta
• Will and Jada Pinkett Smith

The Wolf Sisters

The favorite & most famous homeschool graduates at OUR house :-)

Blessings from Ohio . . . Kim<><

Prayer Request...

Please pray for my mom . . .

Thank you SO much.

Blessings from Ohio . . . Kim<><

Popular Homemade Skin Care Ingredients

So many of us like to make our own homemade face/body/skin care, cosmetics, house-hold cleaning items, etc. And we go to the local health food store or grocery & gather up all of our ingredients. But . . . do you know WHAT those ingredients do?

One of the reason I make my own products is because I can control what goes into them & use ingredients that actually WORK for my skin-type or type of cleaning I want to do.

Here's a good place to start (you can probably even add your own) . . .

Witch Hazel ~ is used in so many products. It is a light astringent that also firms the skin, great for acne & cleaning skin scrapes.

Almond Oil ~ very light-weight, great for most skin-types (even oily). Smells yummy.

Castor Oil ~ great for VERY dry skins, VERY emollient.

Coconut Oil ~ very emollient, mostly used to moisturize skin & even hair.

Cocoa Butter ~ very rich, use sparingly, especially in recipes for oily skin. Great for mature skin. Great for body care products.

Grapeseed Oil ~ the "non-oily" oil. :-) Even oily & acne-prone skin-types can use this. Very light & highly absorbable. My favorite oil.

Lanolin ~ from sheep's wool. One of the best moisturizers for human skin b/c it's close to our own oils.

Rose Water ~ lightly astringent. Used for face & hair.

Borax ~ "20 Mule Team Borax" is actually the Sodium Borate you see listed on many skin care items. This naturally occurring mineral cleanses, softens water & suspends soap particles (that's why it's so popular in homemade laundry detergent), won't clog pores, softens skin.

Green Clay ~ great for medical & cosmetics. Mild & all skin-types can use it. Tightens pores, smooths skin.

White Clay ~ most versatile clay. Less drying; great for masks, body packs, powders & bath salts.

Aloe Vera ~ "the kitchen plant" ~ you can break a plant open & apply the juice/gel directly to a burn, skin irritation or other minor wound. Great moisturizer & firms skin as it dries.

Tea Tree Essential Oil ~ what did we EVER do before we found out about tea tree oil?! One of the most important & versatile products in your medicine or kitchen cabinets. Tea tree is anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, anti-viral & anti-septic. It treats, acne, eczema, athlete's foot, cuts/scrapes/minor wounds, sinus infections, asthma, add to your shampoo to kill lice, dandruff, makes the best anti-bacterial house-hold cleaners . . . & on & on.

Blessings from Ohio . . . Kim<><