An awesome homeschool room

Today on my interiors blog, I did a post on one of my most FAVORITE homeschool rooms. If you are interested, you can check it out here:

Fieldstone Hill :: ditto :: an inspiring study.

dreamy, I tell ya!

Chasing a dream

...............In the rare event {wink. wink} that any of you have been wondering "where has Darlene gone from blogland??", I have been meaning and meaning to write this post.

The short answer: nowhere!
The long answer: I am chasing a dream.

For a while now, I have been blogging every day, Monday through Friday at my new interiors site, Fieldstone Hill Design. I couldn't be more excited about this opportunity and dream, and I am enjoying it so so much. It is a wonderful way for me to contribute financially to our family, and it has been fostering the creative side of my spirit in a way that has not been fostered in a very long time... since I lost my voice in 2003 and had to walk away from a singing career. Fieldstone Hill is actually an answer to prayer for me, and I feel like I am spreading the creative wings that God gave me so long ago.

But, it makes me sad that I am no longer posting as much at this site. Why? Because I have grown to love so many of you guys! It makes me sad that I am not connecting with all of you as often. This site is really more about who I am as a child of God; who 'Darlene, the soul and spirit' is. So, therefore, I feel like all of you know the true Dar. And it makes me sad that I am not "hanging out with you", my friends, as often.

Nevertheless, God is calling my devotions elsewhere for this season. And since my first three 'jobs' are mommy, wife, and homeschool teacher, now followed by voice teacher and interior designer... I am not making the time to post here quite as often. But........

Even so: I am not going anywhere. I love y'all too much! I will just be posting more sporadically.

Love you guys! And I hope you will hang out with me at Fieldstone Hill Design as well. And if design is not your thing... I will see you here too!

Free Jesse Tree Advent Devotional

If you have not yet heard about this, prepare to be blessed.

If you have not yet heard about Ann Voskamp, prepare to be brought closer to the Lord.

{*download the devotional today because the readings start tonight!}

to the depths of a beautiful, raw, and honest soul

I love the heart of this blogger.

I met her at Relevant.
She gave me a gift {literally and figuratively}.
And we laughed together {head back. open mouth. laugh loudly}.

Her Walk with the Lord is not a "pretty", fit-in-a-box kind of walk.
It is a stunningly beautiful and honest walk.
It has too much suffering, if you ask me.
And it blesses me. Deeply.

With Truth in the questions.
meet Genevieve.

My first week!

Hi dear friends!

Well, this was my first full week of posting at my new blog, Fieldstone Hill. Did you get a chance to visit me there??

If you didn't, would you mind? I would really really love your encouragement. And, if you are really feeling the love, could you let me know you stopped by, or follow along?



Cause, I could always use encouragement when I start a new thing. How about you?
Thanks, bloggettes!!!


click on the button below:

God. Thanks for coming.

Sarah Mae said it somewhat like this... as she dismissed us with the last words of the very first Christian blogging conference ever:
"Thank you to all of you for coming to Relevant.
And thank you, God, for coming too."

Hundreds of women. All of us were a bit surprised that He came.
and now, I think we are all musing:
"What else did we expect?"

You see. Not only did God show up, big time, at the Relevant Conference; He came wielding a sword, and  lovingly pruning the wrong-stuff from our Hearts.  He used the amazingly beautiful, humble, and talented vessels of our Speakers to speak in clear and mighty ways.

Mighty ways.

How I wish you had all been there.... because words {in my hands, anyway} are inadequate to describe how it all went down.

But, no doubt about it. Our Lord spoke in that place.
And He spoke to me: Pruning at my selfishness. Pruning at my attempts to seek validation from everyone but Him. Pruning at my pity-parties. Pruning at my bad habits that turn into sin. Pruning at my false idols.

Pruning at the times I pushed my children away, because mommy just needs "one more minute."

And I am so glad He came to the Relevant Conference.
And I am so glad I heard Him.

May He give me the power to Act. and Obey.

and, if you did not get to come. and if we are all blessed enough for Relevant to see another year. and, if you want Him to join your blogging experience:
I surely do hope to see you when I go.

Just a taste: Relevant 2010:

{Go visit these amazing folks! You will love their blogs.}
Top to bottom, left to right: 1. my sweet friend Flamingo and me  2. me, the darling Angie Smith and Flamingo  3. Lynette (so excited to hug this lady), Traci (precious girl with adorable accent!!), Myra, Kimba, me and Flamingo  4. Claudine, me, Carisa, Jill (I cannot believe I finally got to meet you! this lady is precious!), Jolanthe, Melissa, September, and Lynette  5. Sami (I guess we were separated at birth), Angela (never stopped smiling. love her!), Flamingo, Courtney (has the gift of encouragement!), and me  6. me and Lynette  7. me and Laura(what a spirit of wisdom!)  8. Traci, Cyndi (hi Cyndi!), me and Flamingo  9. me, Todd from Selah, and Flamingo

But, now I gotta brag on God a little.

I know I have alluded to this on my blog before, but, this year money is very tight.
We are counting on God to be our provision in all ways.

We are leaning on family.
And friends.
and we are being resourceful.

and, of course, sensible folks as we are,
Matt and I decided not to exchange Christmas gifts this year as we head into this blessed season. We are even leaning on help from our precious loved ones for gifts for the boys.

but. can you believe it?
God apparently wanted my husband to have a VERY cool Christmas present {one I could not possibly wait that long to give to him.}.
um. seriously.
At Relevant, they gave away an iPad, people.
and GUESS WHO WON IT!!! aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

little ol' me.
for my little ol' precious wonderful amazing husband.
for Christmas.
a little early.

from God.

{now that is one darlin' and happy man, no? Love you, baby.}

you really do love to make us smile, don't you Precious Father?















{if you are hopping over from Relevant, then here is my brand-spanking-new, dream-come-true decorating blog, Fieldstone Hill, I was telling you about. Oh, how I would love it if you would hop over and give me some encouragement!!! Wish me luck blessings, girls!!!!!!!!!!!!!!}

Am I really at a blogging conference?

Flamingo and I are here!!!!!!!!
We are at the Relevant conference.

People. It is WONDERFUL. In fact, it is sooooooo much more than I thought it would be.
I can't wait to tell you about it.
But right now, I gotta go. Todd, from Selah {otherwise known as Angie's husband} is singing in just a few!!!!!

AAARGH.

I wanted to do a post.
but silly Blogger won't let me post a single picture tonight.

Aaargh.

So. Instead, I would just like to say:

"Hi."


now wasn't that profound?

Getting very excited.

Are you going to be there?
because.
I am getting. really. excited. to. go. to. Relevant!

A few bloggers that I frequent are going to be there.

She will be there. {in fact, she will be my roomie. I am guessing we won't sleep much.}

She will be there. If you don't read her blog, you should. Amazing.

She will be there too. Another must read. Her story is one of triumph.

and so will She. Yippee!! Love me a good decorating blog.

Not to mention,
some more that I frequent:
Jennifer from Beauty and Bedlam
Carisa from 1+1+1=1
Stacey from the Blessed Nest
Jolanthe from Homeschool Creations

Soooo.
Why is little old me going????
Well..............

1. my wonderful friend Flamingo called me and said "Let's go!!!"
and
2. What better way for me to launch my Online Interiors business and blog, people!!???

did I mention that I am excited?

Fun taggy game

I have been brain-dead.
Pouring every ounce of myself into getting our homeschool started off on the right foot.
So, I was very happy that Carrie tagged me, and gave me a post subject by tagging me.
Not to mention. I really like Carrie. 
You will like her too when you hop over to her blog and give her some love.


So, I am supposed to answer her 8 questions, pose 8 new ones of my own, and then tag 8 other bloggettes. As usual, I am not quite following the rules, though.
Here goes:
1. What is your favorite Bible verse? How did it become your favorite? (If you don’t have a single favorite, please share one of your faves.) hmmmm. depends on the season of my life... I usually have one or two that I cling to like a baby-blankie. Currently, I am hanging on to this one:
"But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD,
whose confidence is in him.
He will be like a tree planted by the water
that sends out its roots by the stream. 
It does not fear when heat comes; 
its leaves are always green.
It has no worries in a year of drought
and never fails to bear fruit." (Jeremiah 17:7-8)

2. What is currently on your nightstand? Are you reading a good book? Are you into Sudoku or crosswords? Do tell! Body Shop hand cream; a decanter with fresh water; pencils for highlighting; 2 library books (all half finished): one about Charlotte Mason technique, one about the special angle of teaching boys; other books (all half finished): The Hurried Child, Beth Moore's So long Insecurity, and Living a Beautiful Life by Alexandra Stoddard.

3. If you have a Saturday where there is nothing on the calendar (Yeah, I know you’re laughing right now!!), how would you most like to spend the day? Are you a homebody? Are you a compulsive cleaner? Would you go shopping? Meet a friend for lunch? Believe it or not, we often have Saturdays free because I protect them like a hawk. If it is not a major obligation, or it is not more fun than being home with my guys... I usually say no. (I know. I am one of those 'no' people.) We usually spend our Saturdays running a few errands or doing projects around the house. Every Saturday morning, we try to eat banana pancakes and snuggle.

4. I’ve recently finished Dr. Kevin Leman’s book The Firstborn Advantage. Do you think there is anything to “Birth Order?” Do you see any birth order characteristics in you, your hubs, and/or your kids? Oh yes. I totally think this a real thing. Caleb is SO first born. Christian... well, he is the baby. no doubt.

5. Do you plan to grow old gracefully or fight it every step of the way (within reason – i.e. age-fighting moisturizers, covering gray hair, etc.)? easy answer: FIGHT, baby, FIGHT! full artillery, folks.

6. Do you like Starbucks? And are you a fan of their seasonal coffees? love my morning coffee. We get our coffee from a friend who makes her own (lucky us!). I actually don't like Starbucks... sorry, fans. But I love me some flavored coffees or flavored coffeemate.

7. How do you decorate and/or prepare for fall? pumpkins galore. I often bring in a few branches with leaves on them... once the colors have changed. A huge vase brimming with colorful leaves and sculptural branches is just the right thing...
Oh, and I pull out the snuggly blankets for couch snuggling.
8. What is your favorite fall recipe? my farmhouse apple pie. hands down.



I would like to tag the following cool bloggettes as a token to their loyalty and wonderful comment love. I am only tagging five because I am a rebel. (girls. be sure to scroll down for the new questions. AND: If you are not into the tagging thing, then you absolutely must not do this. It would be sad to do a post based on the feeling of guilty motivation. sad, I say!).
Mindy
Flamingo Mama
Wife to the Rockstar
Jenny
and Carrie, if she wants to do it again. (I cannot deny her loyal commenting).


ok. here are my questions (statements? demands?) for you!! Hope to get to know more about you!
1. Tell me the latest thing that made you laugh out loud.
2. What is your favorite thing about the Lord?
3. What thing do you really wish you could buy right now?
4. What is your favorite easy crock pot recipe (if no crockery, then, just dinner)?
5.  True or False: the front of my fridge has nothing on it.
6. Jeans girl, skirt girl, pants girl, or sweats girl?
7. What is God teaching you right now?
8. Tell me a character trait of each of your kids.

Old school

So. I am back to the old school blogging comment system. for now....

I admit that I find it less "professional" in its appearance.

But.
what bugged me most about Disqus was the fact that I could not always link back to the cool bloggettes who left comments for me.

And I love visiting my bloggettes, so, that was SO not cool to me.

So. I hope to be visiting my commenting bloggettes more often!

now.
any self respectable woman is ALWAYS subject to changing her mind.......

What do you think about it?

What do you, my fine bloggettes, think about the Disqus commenting system???
Easy? Hard? Don't care?

just wondering what you're thinking...

Blog-cation

Missing you, bloggettes...
but I will be back to blogland soon; next week-ish.

until we meet again!

Announcing...

My very own Amazon shop,  Shop My Must Haves!!!


I am excited to have a place where you can find all of the Must Haves and other items I brag on. Amazon has everything, doesn't it???

Anywho. If you are digging one of the items I heart on my blog, you can click on the "Shop my Must Haves" tab in the upper left. That will take you to my Shop. How FUN!

You will find stuff under Must Haves, Must Have Kids, Parenting, Faith and Homeschooling... with more to come I am sure!

And if you make a purchase through my blog, they give me a tiny little cut. And we are takin' all the tiny little cuts we can get these days.  Just sayin.

Enjoy, bloggettes. =)

Is anybody there?

Lately, I have been back in the mood for blogging.

Probably because my house is now devoid of females {we miss you Agniya},

and most of the boy conversation in my home consists of grunting... and the favorite response, "I don't know {insert small whine}"

But, even in blogland, I cannot help but wonder:

.....Is anybody there?

c'mon.

give me a grunt, bloggettes

I'm Going!!!!

Soooooo.... are you going to Relevant??????

Yippeeeee!!
I'm Going!!!!

Click on that cute button to find out all about Relevant.
I am SOOO going! Flamingo Mama is going! I really hope you are going too!!!!!!!!! Let me know, bloggettes!!

Welcome, and THANKS!!! Lynette

Hello from our Family!

If you are visiting from Lynette's beautiful blog (and even if you are not!), Welcome to Worth Walking Toward!!

Thank you, Lynette for introducing me to some wonderful new friends! If you do not know about Lynette's amazing story, and amazing blog, check her out here: Dancing Barefoot on Weathered Ground!

I am so glad you are here! And I welcome you to check out some of my favorite passionate ramblings:

• If you want to know more about my faith, see my posts on Finding Him and Bible Study.
• If you want to know more about my favorite past-time, restoring our Historic Home, click on Decorating It and Renovating It.
• And, for fun, check out my recommendations: My Must Haves!
• Other favorites? hmmm. Try Hiding the Uglies and Digi Scrapbooking.

And, If you want to know about my favoritest peeps in the whole wide world, just look around: you will see my family all over the place at this blog address!!

Thanks for stopping by! Be sure to let me know you were here, so I can visit you too (in between changing diapers and loving on my family)! Oh!! And I LOVE me some new followers; somehow it just makes me feel so loved {wink. wink}.

Feeling loved in blogland.

I had some sweet blog friends give me some awards. So cool. So fun. So sweet.

I also have been tagged a couple times. Lots of fun, and I am going to try to post my tags soon, or should I say.... eventually!
Thanks blog buds!!! I love encouragement. You are the best!

My first award is from Kim at Nothing Can Separate Me From His Love.



Thanks, Kim!! I just love it! Does that mean you consider me creative??

Now I am supposed to list 10 things that make me happy and to pick 6 people to pass this award along to. So, here goes. I could have gone on and on, but these are the first that came to mind. In the order that they came to mind:

1. Being with Matt
2. Laughing with my children
3. When my children snuggle with me, sit on my lap, tell me they love me
4. The startling, humbling realization that comes when God has just "used me." even me...
5. Singing around a campfire, or with a guitar, or piano, with a group of people who love to jam
6. Tubing around the lake, until I can't feel my arms
7. New makeup
8. When God speaks to me through his Word
9. Laughing with family, and friends, and just being with them
10. Hot coffee and silence and some time...
11. Saturday mornings at home (ok. I know that is 11. I couldn't stop!)

And I pass this award on to:
1.Meme (this is one funny chic)
2.Happy Mama (great thoughts... that make me think)
3.Stacy (a Blessed Nest indeed!)
4.Laura (nothing short of a poet)
5.Lainey (can I lure you back, oh wise one??)
6.Christine (she is truly Kreativ)

My second award is from Christine at Wash, Fold, Put Away And Repeat.


The rules of this award are:
*Put the logo on your blog or post
*Nominate at least 5 blogs (can be more) that are Uber Amazing!
*Let them know that they have received this Uber Amazing award by commenting on their blog. *Share the love and link to this post and to the person you received your award from.

My Uber Amazing blog buds:
1.Season's Of My Heart (uber amazing woman of faith stories)
2.His Daughter (uber amazing woman of encouragement)
3.Write from the Heart (uber amazing woman of love for the Lord)
4.Jesus-Filled Hope (uber amazing woman of storytelling, faith and Hope)
5.1 Crazy Journey (uber amazing woman of friendship, authenticity, and passion)

And just in case you were not nominated this time... you just gotta know: I love ALL of my blog buds. You rock. Uber rock.

Another kind award comes from Buildeth her House: the Lemonade Award for showing attitude and/or gratitude on my blog! Thank you so much for this very kind award!

And thanks so much to Sarah!!! She was super sweet to give me this award!!