Owlhaven

Encouraging (and fun) links

Owlhaven — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 15:00:41 +0000

… for parents wondering if they can carry on

...if you’re wondering how you could simplify your life

World’s Greatest Beans giveaway

Owlhaven — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 15:08:37 +0000

As many of you know, my ‘baby’ sister is currently living in Ethiopia doing medical mission work. Each time she comes to America on furlough, knowing what a coffee nut I am, she brings me some of THE best coffee in the world. It’s an Ethiopian brand called To.mo.ca, and it is sooooo delicious.

I’ve posted before about the work that Bring Love In does in Ethiopia. The founders, Levi and Jessie Benkert, had the idea to bring widows and orphans together into family units, to provide the orphans with mothers and the widows with support to live and raise these children. It is a fabulous idea, one I am so excited about. I hope that if you haven’t already, you’ll go to their website and read about their work. Adoption is a solution for some kids. But we need to be thinking of more ways to help orphans that don’t involve them having to leave their country of birth, and this is a wonderful example of how this can look.

So– what do To.mo.ca and Bring Love In have to do with each other? Well, some people who are fans of both have brought them together. A website called World’s Greatest Beans sells the coffee and donates part of each sale to Bring Love In.

To bring some attention to this new business, I’ve been authorized to give away three pounds of this yummy coffee! Here are three ways you can enter the drawing.

1. Go follow World’s Greatest Beans on twitter and come back here and tell me you did so.

2. Like World’s Greatest Beans on Facebook and come comment again.

3. Pin this post on Pinterest or like this post on Facebook (use the buttons below)and comment AGAIN to tell me you did so.

Yes, if you want three entries, you’ll need to comment three times! But the winner of this giveaway gets THREE pounds of coffee, so you can see, it is totally worth it. I’m going to give you a full week to enter this fun drawing. Even if you’re not a coffee fan –, yes, I GUESS we can still be friends… –I hope you’ll consider using social media to tell folks about this great way to bless widows and orphans in Ethiopia. It is very worthy work!

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Father’s Day: Relentless Love

Owlhaven — Sun, 16 Jun 2013 07:50:13 +0000

I’m so grateful for my hubby, who watches over our children with unwavering love and wise protection. I’m grateful for the young men, my daughter’s husbands, who are proving themselves strong and capable daddies of my grandchildren. I’m grateful for my daddy who loved me all my childhood, and always made me feel smart and capable. And I’m thankful for my second dad, Ron, who had the perseverance and patience to wait for me to love him. All of you are models of God’s relentless love. Happy Father’s Day! You bless me with all you do.

You have bought me back with the riches of your amazing grace and relentless love.

Owlhaven — Sat, 15 Jun 2013 15:47:45 +0000

The winner of the $100 Shell gift card is Margaret Smith. Congrats, Margaret!

At Created for Care today

Owlhaven — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 17:00:30 +0000

It is the cry of my heart to serve the Lord. I want to be used in a big way, to meet the needs of those around me. I want my life to make a difference in the world. But tonight a phrase in a song twists and jabs my heart unexpectedly… (Read the rest of my post at the Created for Care blog)

Stitch Fix #3- help!

Owlhaven — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 20:06:53 +0000

I’m so spoiled to have been able to order another Stitch Fix. I wasn’t intending to do so, but several of you kind folks signed up to try the service for yourself, which gave me referral credit money to spend. Thank you so much! (Here’s Fix #1, and Fix #2 if you missed them.)

Last week I got a fix that was a total dud–I should have shown you the items, but I just didn’t love anything enough to even make the effort to take pictures. I briefly considered one dress, but my hubby took one look at it and got a look of panic in his eyes (that ‘what the heck do I say now?’ look) and so I knew even that one would not be a keeper. It was kind of a bummer because it ate up $20 of the referral credit just to look at those items, but I still had enough credit that I decided to ask for another box.

Here’s what I got this time–this batch turned out to be much more my style. Click on any of the photos to enlarge them and get a better look.

1. First up is this blue dress. It really is too short as a dress for my taste, but I loved the color against my face and it fit well. So I tweaked it around a bit to see if I could make it work as a tunic. I liked it with black leggings and black boots, except then the sleeveless part felt odd, so I put on a jean jacket, which was cute, but it totally took away the summer vibe.Hm.

Next I tried it with my skinny jeans, and added a brown belt and brown jewelry, which I ended up really liking. I think I MIGHT also try it with a knee length black pencil skirt underneath, to see if that would give more coverage but still have the skirt feel. Or, ya know, lose 20 pounds so I don’t feel self-conscious about my legs. But even then I think the length is maybe too ‘young’ for me worn alone.

2. Next up is this mint cowl neck tee. It fit well, the color was good on me, and I liked the flowy motion of the style. But it had kind of an elegant-business-lady vibe (see my face trying to project that?) and I’m just not sure that’s me. Plus, the color is so pale I’d probably stain it instantly. The white shorts in the photo are already giving me fits, and I don’t really want to be fussy and worried about my clothes.

3. You can probably tell by the expression on my face that this striped top feels like me. (Makes me laugh how much my face gives away whether I like something– also, I’m so awkward in front of the camera– yikes!) Anyway, I’m not sure if in a store I’d have gravitated toward these horizontal stripes –scary! But the fabric is uber-soft, the fit is just right. and the style looks good with jeans or shorts. It just feels like something I’ll pull out of my closet to wear over and over again. Bonus– the fabric feels very sturdy, so I don’t think it will pill up as quickly as some t-shirts do these days.

4. Next up is this adorable brown print dress– I squealed when I saw it because the pattern and the flow of it is totally me! I really, really love it. Do enlarge the photos to see it better. But again, the length on this dress, though longer than the blue, made me uncertain. It came with a completely separate black under-slip, which is nice for coverage, especially because the skirt is very light and flippy. I can totally see myself wearing it out on a date with my hubby, but at church I’m afraid I’d be tugging it down and feeling self-conscious.

So again, I tried it tunic-style with my skinny jeans. I’m not sure if that truly looks OK. Is it too long and too flippy to pretend to be a tunic? And is the crossways pattern on the skirt flattering to my hips? These are the questions I’m asking myself. I really, really love the pattern, and really want to make the dress work, but I’m just not sure. What do you think? I’m seriously thinking about keeping it for my 17yo daughter. The colors would be gorgeous on her, I could still admire the dress , and she’s 5 inches shorter than I am, so the length would be perfect on her.

5. Finally, they sent me this adorable short sleeve white sweater. My 8yo took the picture, and I could see her lowering the camera about to cut off my head– thus my funny knee-bend pose. This type of layer would be useful for a TON of different outfits– I’ve been needing something along these lines for awhile. It fits great, and is a nice sheer layer– so much fun.

So what do you think? Which looks best on me?

If you think you’d like to try Stitch Fix for yourself, click here. If you order a fix, a referral credit will go to me– thanks!! And if you recommend Stitch Fix to your friends, you can get credit as well.

So whaddaya think? What should I keep?

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Needed: your parenting-with-humor stories

Owlhaven — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 16:57:17 +0000

When dealing with a cranky kid, one of a parent’s best tools is humor. During my growing-up years, my dad would respond to a long face with an old HeeHaw song. His ridiculous rendition of Gloom, Despair, and Agony on Me could make the crankiest kid crack a grin. And once he had us laughing, everything felt better. I’ve used that song a time or two myself.

At other times if someone at our house is unhappy over a situation, I’ll wildly exaggerate the situation to help put it into perspective. For example, if a child is complaining about a job assignment that feels unfair, I’ll tell him that he’s exactly right– I always give him the most work, and he has the worst life of anyone in the universe.

Occasionally after I exaggerate something, I’ll see from the child’s response that I’ve exactly spoken his true thoughts, and we have an opportunity to talk through those feelings. But more often my purposefully ridiculous statement will bring a smile to the child’s face and (hopefully) some perspective to his head.

Sometimes it’s possible to lighten a mood by acknowledging a child’s strength in a humorous way. For example, if a child is arguing non-stop, I’ll tell him he’s always been fabulous at arguing, and he’s doing a great job practicing for his career as a lawyer. After he cracks a smile, I remind him that unfortunately this moment isn’t the best time to practice. And that truth spoken while we are both smiling is usually taken much more graciously.

How have you used humor lately in your parenting? I’d love to hear some success stories.

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Mikarose for maternity

Owlhaven — Tue, 11 Jun 2013 00:58:47 +0000

I’ve loved the look of Mikarose dresses for awhile– they are modest and stylish, which is a hard combination to find sometimes. Recently Mikarose graciously gave my two expectant daughters a chance to try out a couple of the styles that are good for maternity. Amanda is due in July, and Erika is due in September.

Amanda says: “When I found out that there was an opportunity to try, in exchange for a review, one of the lovely dresses from Mikarose, I jumped at the chance. I had known for several months that we had a wedding to attend when I would be 8 months pregnant and I was expecting to have trouble finding something appropriate that I could enjoy wearing….” (Read her complete review.)

Erika also wondered about finding cute things to wear: “Summer dressing is very much different when you’re pregnant. Last pregnancy, all of my obviously pregnant months were during the cold winter. It was fine and dandy. I just never wore a coat (well, maybe a couple times when it snowed!). I rocked the layered look with sweaters, scarves, skirts and leggings. It wasn’t horribly difficult to keep feeling cute and stay a comfortable temperature at the same time… But I’ve been kind of dreading this summer…” (Here’s the rest of her review.)

More pictures are on the girls’ blogs, so be sure to click on over to see. Big thanks to Mikarose for helping my lovely girls answer their maternity wardrobe questions. And just a heads-up, Costco is featuring Mikarose dresses in some of their stores this summer, so check it out!

Sunday

Owlhaven — Sun, 09 Jun 2013 13:00:55 +0000

Praise the Saviour, He has won
Our sin defeated through His blood
Now exalted, Jesus reigns
Hail the King, praise His name

Five Minute Friday

Owlhaven — Sat, 08 Jun 2013 15:57:14 +0000

I’m a day late but today I’m playing along with Lisa Jo Baker’s Friday writing game. This week’s word is ‘Fall’.

~~~~~~

I think about the word ‘fall’ and the image that comes to my mind is being there for my preschoolers under the monkey bars at the playground, and catching them just as little sweaty hands give way. Sure, there’s only bark at the bottom of a three foot drop, but I see the worry in their eyes when they get just a little too far away from the edge and so I’m there to catch.

I know that precarious ‘out there’ feeling as an adult too, feeling like I’m over an abyss and I can’t quite find my footing on my own. God knows I’m safe, that it’s all going to work out in the end, but I can’t quite see how I’m getting to the other side, and so I’m worried.

But there’s Jesus with His arms outstretched, understanding my fears, ready to catch, flooding my heart with His beloved words, reminding me ‘never will I leave you, never will I forsake you’, promising mercies new every morning, reminding me of the future and the hope He has planned for me, telling me how much he loves me and my precious ones.

And I relax and let go and it turns out that falling is actually joy when I’m falling into His arms.

He’s got me.