A peek into the nursery...

Rosalind's room is perhaps my favorite in our home...and the one that I had the least hand in decorating.

Years ago, Poppy made the crib. Despite being used by almost a dozen children already, it's still beautiful. Nonny made the lovely quilt hanging above her bed-and it sets such a charming, little girl tone for the whole room. Even the matching material for the baby bumpers was a gift.

Her toys are all stored in the basket at the end of her bed. On the other side of the room sits her beanbag (from Grandma) just perfect for reading to her dolly (or being read to, of course). The rest of the room is clear for playing in... except when I need a bit of room to scrapbook, iron or fold laundry.

Above the reading corner hangs a beautiful, perfectly real-to-life drawing of Rosalind's little feet cradled in Joshua and my hands from Amber. Dried baby roses, a willow tree figurine and her sweet "princess dresses" add the finishing feminine flare.

So here, at long last, is a peek into the Rosebud's room.

The Law: Book Review

In this masterpiece Frederic Bastiat clearly and concisely champions the cause of liberty and limited government. Though written over 150 years ago, its message still rings true today.

Bastiat begins his discussion by defining the law.

"What then is law? It is the collective organization of the individual right to lawful defense. Each of us has a natural right- from God- to defend his life, his liberty and his property.... It follows that a group of men have the right to organize and support a common force to protect these rights continually "

The purpose of the law is simply to do what each man has a right to do individually on a larger scale. To protect justice. That's all. Period.

As the book continues, Batiat lays out a compelling argument. Each citizen has the God-give right to life, liberty and the work of their hands and to defend these rights against infringement. However, individuals may not plunder others for their own benefit or even to help others.

And just as you and I may not plunder our neighbor, so the government may not plunder. Anytime the law permits the taking of goods from one set of citizens to be used to benefit others: whether the legislators, the merchants, the poor.... it is perverting justice and permitting legalized plunder of the people.

According to Bastiat, there are only three ways to settle the question of legalized plunder:

1. The few plunder the many.
2. Everybody plunders everybody.
3. Nobody plunders anybody.

He clearly proposes the third as the only just, logical and peaceful choice. Even when plunder is proposed for "philanthropic purposes", Bastiat contends that it defeats liberty and extends far beyond its limited scope. We see this today.

And if the government undertakes to provide education and food and prosperity to the citizens, who is to blame when the children can't read, the poor go hungry and the economy staggers?

It is not the duty of the law to provide charity or fraternity or education. The purpose of the law is to defend justice and liberty.

Bastiat ends The Law with a passionate appeal to us to "reject all systems and try liberty. For liberty is an acknowledgment of faith in God and His works."



photo by creationc

Translator needed...

I know "num" means yummy and "na nu" thanks, but I need help with "A-bu-ji-na DOW-sie". Any ideas?

Check out more fun pictures here and here.

Hand-made gift boxes

After searching for hours for just the perfect gift or lovingly making one, sometimes the wrapping has to be special too.

Not only are handmade boxes fun, but easy to make and so customizable. Simply choose paper that matches the mood of the gift or the personality of the recipient.

To make a 7x7x2 1/2 inch box you will need:

2 pieces of 12x12 card stock
1 piece of decorative 12x12 paper
Double stick tape
Ribbon or other embellishments.

Trim one piece of card stock by 1/4 of an inch. This way the bottom part fits smoothly into the top.

Then, using a ruler and dull point make a crease 2 1/2 inches from the edge along all four sides.

Tape the decorative paper to the other piece of card stock and crease as above.

Next, make a diagonal crease in each corner.








Fold the tips in and tape them to the sides.








(opt) Finish by tying the outside corners of the box with matching dmc floss. Tie with ribbon, add a gift tag and voila, you're done! Works for me!

Just a few more...

The happy couple getting ready to head out...

Joshua and Mac-- the oldest and youngest of the Christensen kids. :)

The Hansen clan. :) I have such a wonderful family!

Rosalind with Nonny and Grandma. Don't they look way too young to have grandchildren?!

Mr. & Mrs. Stephen Christensen....

The long-awaited wedding day finally arrived. Rosalind now has another awesome aunt. (Though I'm sure that wasn't the first thought running through Steve's mind as they were pronounced man and wife.)

It was wonderful to get to spend time with family and witness the lovely ceremony. Jenny was such a gorgeous bride and she and Steve are such a perfect match!

Here's a family picture... the wedding's not complete without one, right? The Boyd Christensen family just keeps growin'! :)

Goofing off...

The trip up to Missouri was long, but good. Rosalind sat in her car seat for almost ten hours and fussed for perhaps 15 minutes. I was getting tired of sitting, but how could I complain when she was being such an angel?!

We arrived at my family's house about 10 last night and stayed up quite late talking. Rosalind had a great time in the morning with her aunts and uncles. Here she is goofing off with her Aunt Kathryn!

Menu plan for the week

Since we'll be getting in late Sunday night after an awesome weekend with family, I thought it'd be nice to have our menu plan all laid out in advance. I was so excited to browse the store ads this week and find that just about everything we needed was on sale. :)

Eggs- 1.29
Chicken legs (59 cents a pound) 3.66
Pears (99 cents a pound) 1.13
Fells naptha soap (for homemade laundry detergent)- .99
5 pounds potatoes- 2.99
Unbleached flour- 2.42
Butter- 2.54
Salad dressing - 1.78

Total: 18.31

So here's the menu for the week.

Breakfasts~

Pumpkin muffins (they're oh so yummy and so autumnal!)
Granola with homemade yogurt
Eggs and toast
Cooked oatmeal or cold cereal
Pancakes with applesauce
Scrambled eggs and cinnamon bread

Dinner~

Saturday and Sunday enjoying time with family in Missouri. Hurrah! :)

Monday- Chili with cornbread (Oh! I just love soup season! :)

Tuesday- Shepherd's pie with corn and bread

Wednesday- Chicken enchiladas with salad

Thursday- Baked potatoes, homemade bread and salad

Friday- Shrimp and pasta salad

For more menu ideas, visit Organizing Junkie.

Dolls and giggles

A few days ago a package arrived with this picture of Joshua and his dad enclosed.

His darling cheesy grin and this sweet post from Candace have got me thinking about how quickly the time will pass before Rosalind grows up and begins a family of her own.

It seems like just yesterday we were holding our fragile little princess in the hospital, and now she's nearly sixteen months! Though I wish time would simply slow down, I'm learning just to treasure each new day together.

Here are sixteen of our favorite things to do together.

1. Cuddle: She's especially cuddly first thing in the morning. As I get her out of the crib, she puts her chubby arms 'round my neck and covers my face with kisses.

2. Read books: Rosalind would be perfectly happy if I read to her all day long. Though there are generally other things that I have to do, I love getting to teach her the names of animals and what sounds they make, let her find things on the page and instill in her the basis of a good story.

3. Give her a bath, just for fun: What a delight an inch of water and a few rubber toys can be!

4. "Work" outside together: Which invariably leads to favorite thing #3, of course. :)

5. STEPS: Yes, I know, they're not all that exciting to most folks, but the moment we've reached the top of the steps, she grabs my hand and wants to go back down. Which is why it can take five minutes getting from the car to the front door.

6. Tickle time: Starting with her forehead, we name the parts of her face ending with tickling and giggling when we reach her neck. She loves it and has started pointing to my face saying "eye- nohhhse-eye..."

7. Put away toys together: From the time she was old enough to pull toys out of the basket, she's helped put them away. Now she grins when I say "time to put the toys away" and hums as she drops them one by one into the basket.

8. Play with her doll and teddy: What child doesn't love you playing their toys with them?

9. Work on memory verses: Though she loves all her books, this one is best. I sure don't mind that. :)

10. Dance together: A friend recently told me about music lessons offered to little ones that help them learn rhythm from infancy. Since real lessons certainly aren't in the budget right now, she said "dancing" with your baby will still help instill a good sense of rhythm. At any rate, she loves it when I turn on the Mozart and dance around the room with her.

11. Go to the park: It's our afternoon ritual. When she wakes up from her afternoon nap we head over to play in the sand and on the slide.

12. Look at pictures of family and friends: After moving far from family and friends I realized how important it is for Rosalind to have pictures up of her grandparents, cousins and soon-to-be 18 aunts and uncles.

13. Do the laundry together: After attempting to get the laundry done with her "helpfully" picking up the folded clothes and handing them to me to re-fold, I realized it was not working. Now, she gives me clothes from the basket and we work on learning the colors as I fold laundry. Much better! :)

14. Take a walk: Whether she's in the stroller or pushing her dolly around in her dolly stroller, we love taking walks together.

15. Shopping: As I've mentioned before, this little girl loves to shop! Her new thing is telling each person we meet (whether or not they're half way across the parking lot) "hi" then grinning and saying "bye".

16. Rock her to sleep: Oh! How I love watching her slowly succumb as she lays her head against my shoulder and wraps her little fingers around my arms.

Check out Susanne's blog for more favorite things. :)

Never too little...

There are so many ways even a fifteen month old can help. Sure, it may not actually cut down on the time it takes to complete a project, but incorporating children in this aspect of family life is so important. The extra effort is well worth it!

Ever since Rosalind learned how to make a mess (and that skill comes pretty early ;) she's helped clean it up. Even if it was just handing me pieces of toilet paper she'd strewn across the floor, we've begun working on the important lesson: if you make a mess, clean it up. As she grows and blossoms, I want her to know the importance of responsibility. Though I'm there to help her, she shouldn't expect someone else (i.e. me) to constantly clean up after her.

Not only does training her to put her toys away teach responsibility, but instills a sense of order and peace in the home. Keeping things picked up makes play time much more enjoyable. There is no longer an array of toys strewn across the floor to distract or be tripped on. The blocks are much more fun when she's put away her Noah's ark. One toy is much more exciting when there aren't a dozen others vying for attention.

In addition to putting her own toys away, we've been working on areas where she can help contribute to the family. I'm not advocating forced child labor or anything, but strongly believe that even the littlest children can and should take part in the tasks required to make family life run smoothly.

Even a fifteen month old can:

• Load small clothes into the dryer
• Bring Papa his shoes in the morning... and put them away when he gets home
• Help take out the trash (or at least walk hand in hand to the dumpster)
• Add flour or sugar to a batch of cookies...

Of course, helping should be fun, not drudgery. Growing up as the oldest in a large family I saw the huge difference in response depending on how I portrayed "clean up time". If I viewed it as fun, the little ones did too. Now working side by side with Rosalind gives me the opportunity to show her that having a good attitude makes work fun.

Learning to help also teaches her that she is an important and useful part of the family. She loves it when I place the basket by her side and let her put the clothes in the dryer. Once it is loaded, she walks around and pulls the dryer door shut with a look of "All done mommy, aren't I a big girl?"

Work is a normal part of life. God created us to work, to take dominion and to rejoice in His creation. As we train our children to work joyfully beside us, we are helping equip them to be godly men and women.