PrincipledMom™

Summer's been busy with school planning, trips to the library, sunny afternoons in the sprinkler and learning to ride bikes (yes, my 4yo son is now a part of the two-wheel cycler set!).  For school this year I am planning a sort of mish mash, but that's nothing new I don't think. I will use some NP Lessons and anatomy from GACE and make some of my own using the NP overviews. (It's not as hard as it sounds, I promise. If it was, do you think I'd be doing it?)

Aside from that, I am taking this year to really my put my family first. I have been dealing with some very personal issues that I just don't feel comfortable sharing in such a public forum, so please understand. No one is dying or divorcing or anything so dramatic as that, but it is personal and trying nonetheless.

 And truth be told, my heart simply isn't in the blogging right now. It may be in the future. I may start a whole new one or pick up where I left off here. I hope the archives will be of some help to you. Thanks to all of you who read, whether you comment or not. It's been an exciting project. Now my focus has to turn more toward home, where my heart truly is. God bless you all. And please read all my other BPA blogger friends. They are such blessings to me.

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Due to personal reasons I have to put the brakes on my handmade books business for the forseeable future. I am giving you all one last chance to get a one-of-a-kind book by moi at a good price. Color choice is mine (to use up my materials) but you may specify light or dark colors.

Optional hard cover binding:

Elizabeth: 5X7 coptic stitch $25

Soft over books:

Mimi: 4X5

Jane: 5X7

Any of these above books are $20, which includes shipping and cute wrapping.

I will take orders only through about July 15, so place your order now. I accept Paypal at hawthornefive at hotmail dot com and please contact me at that address, as these are not Etsy listings but personal ones here.

If you have The Easy French or the Noah Plan Third Grade Lessons and are willing to trade for handmade books, please let me know and we can negotiate a fair price.

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Today is Israel's 60th birthday. What a miracle this little country is! To celebrate this momentous occasion, there is lots of activity at the Jerusalem Post you can take part in, from sending Israel an E-card to viewing highlights of the last 60 years. You can also check out celebrations happening all around Israel.

 Our city has a sister city in Israel: Tiberias. This isn't really public knowledge I guess but I was glad to learn about it at last year's A Night to Honor Israel. If there is one planned anywhere in your area, consider going. It is a wonderful night to show solidarity with the American Jewish community and Israel as well.

Please take time today to pray for the peace of Jerusalem. For more info on how to get involved with Israel, visit CUFI or ICEJ.

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Some of you have been asking about the baby. He's two months old already. WOW! Time flies.

How cute is he? He wakes each day with lots and lots of smiles, smiles so big his eyes become little slits. He's cooing little sweet nothings to us and loves to snuggle.

 Here are my other little blessings:

Sophia has just completed her 3rd year of piano class. Next year she will start private lessons and she is really excited about that. She loves to write and is almost daily writing stories, songs and poems. She is a gifted communicator who loves to share Jesus.

Jack and baby brother:

He can't get enough of the baby. He loves to hold him in his lap. Jack wants to be a drummer when he grows up, so any time he has access to anything resembling a stick we have to endure the rhythmic banging. Actually he's pretty steady with his beat, so who knows...

Gabrielle is 10 now. She loves art and we are really into Art Academy Live and their affordable art lessons, so she is learning to draw from their instructors. She also helps me in my bookmaking studio. Her cheerful help at home is invaluable to me.

These are the reasons I do what I do every day. It is my joy to call them my kiddos and I am a blessed woman.

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Today I had a lovely luncheon with the mothers in my family. The invited them over for a yummy lunch and we had a wonderful time. As I sat aound the table with my mom, grandmother, mother-in-law and sister-in-law I had to smile.

We are all unique women. My sister-in-law is Hispanic. My grandmother is 87 and from a very different generation. My mother-in-law only had one child. My mother is a widow. If we were not related our paths may never have crossed. But with all our differences we share a most common bond--motherhood.

For Mother's Day this year I wanted to cook for my family, as it is one way I express love. Our table was decorated with flowers, candles and other girly things, punctuated with construction paper cards for all from my kids. And there were little expressions of love all around, including glycerine soap and brass bookmarks. Through three courses we laughed and reminisced as we shared tales of our mothering experiences. There were stories of children and all that raising children entails. The day was simply wonderful. (A lunch at home beats a crazy mother's day restaraunt meal any day!)

It was nice to remind myself that all moms everywhere understand the language of motherhood. It is a language of hope, of compassion and of angst. It is bittersweet to raise up children to not be dependent on you anymore. But as moms we are all on some point in this path and it's nice to reach out a hand from time to time and share the journey.

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