January Happenings, Part 1

Compared to December with all its holiday festivities, January has been a much quieter month at our house. :)  Cold and rainy weather has kept us mostly indoors doing lots of school.  We've enjoyed a wintry theme in our curriculum this month with a focus on hibernating animals, snowmen and snowflakes, and new words like "foraging" and "blubber."  We've also done a lot of work on learning phonograms/ABCs.  Meanwhile, Daddy has been hard at work building bunkbeds during all his spare time at home, which the boys love to be a part of whenever they can.  Here is part 1 of our collection of pictures from this past month!

These pictures were taken at the beginning of January, so much progress has been made since then...but this is a little glimpse of how things are going with Operation Quad-Bunks!

Nathan put red cedar wood on the walls so that the bedroom would hopefully smell nice even when the boys are teenagers. :)

Our bear dens made from graham crackers and icing

Our bear dens made from tables and blankets in the living room as we studied about hibernating animals.

This activity was a HUGE hit with the boys!  They have been building bear dens on a regular basis ever since!

Inside the little bears' bedroom. :)

Just had to capture the post-lunch, real-life kitchen one afternoon.  This is what it looks like when we are trying to bake before dishes have been done and counters cleaned. :)

Snow!

We've had three snowfalls this month, but this second one was definitely the biggest!  Several inches covered the ground, and there was barely enough on the driveway to allow for a little sledding, much to the boys' delight!

Our chicken coop in the snow.

Heading off to the pole barn for sleds.

Isaac's trek down the driveway.

This is what happens when your boys have been cooped up indoors for too long. :)

Playing dress up with Mommy's winter wear.

Happy boy!

Painting snow scenes with a special concoction that we then heated in the microwave to harden.

More den-building.

Playing with "arctic snow" in the bathtub!

They smelled like shaving cream for the whole next day!

And more den building in  process!

Isaac was so excited to conquer his map of the United States all by himself!

Brenda Martin's Plexus Story

I look at this photo and I think, "Who knows? That could be me in another 10+ years, at the rate God has been sending children into our family..." :) (And look at all those boys!!) 

Meet Brenda Martin and family. I love her story about how Plexus changed her health, and therefore her life, allowing her to be the kind of mom she wanted to be to this active brood, instead of laid up on the couch day after day suffering from adrenal problems. I'm so thankful that if I do end up in a similar position to hers one day (mothering a large brood of children), I have the same amazing supplements to help my body function with optimal health! For starters, they're helping me get through day-to-day life with 3 children 3 and under (soon to be 4!), and that is saying a lot! :) :)#KatrinasPlexusStory

And now, here's Brenda's story:
"As a homeschooling mom of 11, helping with our two home businesses, and struggling to make ends meet three years ago, I hit a super low spot and realized my adrenals were exhausted. It was hard to keep positive when I dealt with the exhaustion day after day.

I was doing so many things right with a clean diet of real and organic foods. I started taking lots of natural supplements and tinctures for building up my adrenals, lost some weight with the Trim Healthy Mama plan, all of which helped me some, but I knew I was missing something because I still ended up wiped out on the couch every afternoon and couldn't sleep half the night.

Enter Plexus [Slim] which helped in regulating my blood sugars!! This was my missing link! I realized how closely it's connected to our endocrine system, inflammation, mood, and sleep!

After a couple months, I added the digestive products, Bio Cleanse and Probio5 which gave me a happy gut for the first time in 30 some years! Now I sleep great and wake refreshed, no PMS at all, have strength and stamina all day long, and can think clearer than I have in ages. And this continues day after day, week after week. I still have high stress days where I get a little tired, but I take an extra Slim, get to bed in good time, and I'm back on track again! No more taking WEEKS to recover from a big weekend.

My husband also takes Plexus and no longer has chronic muscle/shoulder [discomfort], sleeps so much better and feels younger! Some of our older children take it too and have results of... sleeping better, improved moods, [skin issues] clearing up, sinus [problems] gone, and digestive improvement. We keep discovering new aspects where Plexus is helping us and we love telling others about it! What a fun and rewarding journey it’s been...!"

Getting Closer!

30 weeks and counting!  We're in the home stretch now!

I'm so thankful to be able to say that this has been my best experience expecting a baby so far.

- Better energy

- Better sleep

- Less nausea

- Balanced blood sugars (meaning no faintness, light-headedness, or the need to constantly eat around the clock)

- Stronger immune system

Plexus for the win! #KatrinasPlexusStory

Upcoming Conference from the Modest Fashion Guild

On behalf of a reader of this blog and someone I've had the privilege of crossing paths with on several occasions in the past, I am helping to get the word out about a unique training opportunity for budding fashion designers!  

The Modest Fashion Guild will be hosting its 2017 Conference on Clothing Design and Entrepreneurship April 21-22 in Austin, TX. 

Here is an excerpt from a pamphlet about the vision behind the conference:

The Idea

We care about quality of design and smart business practices, and we don’t think Christian designers need to compromise their values in order to learn these essential skills. It’s our goal to create a community where innovation thrives and where Christ is at the center of everything we teach and do. 

Through conferences and design challenges, we strive to educate self-taught designers about owning a home-based or small commercial clothing line, and to cultivate a community of creative entrepreneurs glorifying God through their work.

Our strategy is simple: advance modesty in the clothing industry by reaching out to seamstress-entrepreneurs who share our vision and need help starting or expanding their businesses.

The Event

We have assembled a stellar team of designers and business owners to speak at our upcoming conference–April 21-22, 2017 in Austin, Texas. Our amazing group of instructors will be teaching about Finding a Niche on Etsy, Marketing, Crafting a Business Plan, Styling Outfits for a Photoshoot, and a host of other topics.

Speakers include designer Megan MacNeal of Virtuous Prom, entrepreneur Joyce McGowan of E-Jay’s Fabrics, fashion blogger Madison McQuary of Minnie Muse and The Skirtery, and marketing strategist Robert C. Brace.

Attendees from our 2015 conference noted the “casual, family atmosphere”, “engaging speakers”, “relevant topics” and “ability to ask questions” as some highlights of the experience. We are looking forward to offering more of the same in the spring--God has faithfully led us to just the right people and has opened door after door for us in order to host these conferences!

If you or someone you know would be interested in learning more about this event, check out the Modest Fashion Guild website at: modestfashionguild.org

Mercies Anew

Yesterday, I stumbled across this video that was taken back in September when my friend, Rachel Horvath, was here for a visit.  The song is entitled, Mercies Anew, and I thought it contained a timely message for the new year.  Hope it brings joy to your heart today to realize that God's mercies are new every morning and every year!