Hi Everyone
Just wanted to let you know my latest post on Molly Green is up.  This month I'm talking about Indonesia and a wonderful homeschool missionary family - The Wilds!

CHECK IT OUT HERE!!!

April Special

April is here and with it comes a fun special to all my blogging friends!  I'm offering a free quick reference guide and a bottle of lime for every new sign up this month!  Purchase a premium starter kit and receive these great freebies from me - plus be in my downline so I can give you support as you start your essential oil journey!!!

Lime is delicious and along with the great things it does for your body it is super yummy in sparkling water and of course in homemade guacamole!

The quick reference guide will answer a lot of your questions about the oils in your starter kit and give you the tools and information you need to confidently use your oils!

SIGN UP TODAY!!!

Places I Write

Hi Friends,
Just wanted to make sure you were all "in know" on what is new in the writing world for me.  I currently blog here, but I also blog for a great magazine, website, company called Molly Green.  If you've never heard of them - you need to!  Molly Green has a lot of amazing writers who contribute to one great website.  It's packed with resources on everything from recipes, gardening, homestead life, and homeschooling too!  Check them out - mollygreen.com

I write for Molly Green on a few different topics:

• Homeschooling Around the World: These are articles with some fun ideas on how to introduce a new country to your kids each month.  I try to give you ministries your family can follow, crafts, recipes, and a bunch of other fun ideas too!  My most recent article was on India - check it out - Homeschooling Around the World - India
• Heartbeat of Home: This is an article written for the Molly Green Magazine.  In this series I simply give you some ideas on making your dinner time more impactful, full of memories, laughter and heritage for years to come.  Check it out - Heartbeat of Home
• And every once in a while I write a random post.  Here is one of my random posts: Pancake Mix

If you keep up to date on my Vintage Burlap Barn blog you'll notice that several of my posts recently have been about our adoption.  There are a couple of fun new adoption writing journeys the Lord is taking me on and I'll keep you posted with details on those as soon as I am allowed to talk about them!  

Thanks for following my blogs, reading and giving me a place to dump my thoughts!

In His Love,

Jenny

Beautiful Feet

Well, it finally happened - the question I had known would be coming from my adopted daughter.  Tonight I was rubbing Kallie down with cream before bed, this is one of our favorite things to do together.  I spend the entire time praying for her asking God to heal old wounds that I was not there to see.  I talk about how I love her beautiful feet, I pause at the awful round scars on her legs that I will never know why she has, I tickle her tummy and her neck, and I thank Jesus that I get the honor of calling Kallie my daughter.  

As I was rubbing Kallie tonight she asked “Mom, why is my skin black and your skin white?”

Now of course I knew eventually this question would come, but truthfully I hadn’t prepped and planned out something to say.  I threw up one of those quick “Lord let my words be Your heart” prayers and proceeded to share.  I explained that if we all had white skin and brown eyes and brown hair there wouldn’t be anything special about any of us - we would all be boring.  But because we are all created different there is something special about each of us.  I explained that she is the ONLY Kallie in the entire world and she is beautiful and special just the way God created her. She started talking about how Dad has blue eyes and I have brown, how my hair is dark and Haylie’s hair is light and in her small little world she saw all of our differences our uniquenesses as beautiful and special.  

My pastor has this great quote - “In Christ we should have unity not uniformity”  I love this quote and as I sat rubbing down the last of Kallie’s little back and shoulders his quote ran through my mind.  God has never been interested in uniformity.  His uniqueness in what He creates is clear from the dawn of creation, from those He chose to play major roles in His history, to the disciples He chose who came from diverse backgrounds.  The Lord is not interested in us all looking the same, acting the same, and behaving the same.  He’s given us each unique gifts, passions, and callings in life - but there is one common thread in each of us - the love of Christ.  

He knew me, knit me together.  Just as I have my favorite spots on Kallie memorized, He knows me too.  He knows my feet are not beautiful like Kallie’s, He giggles with me at the silly scar on my shin from the fall I took in the parking lot at the grocery store not too long ago, and He sees each of these stinking grey hairs that continue to grow in no matter how many times I color them!!!  He knows me and loves me for my uniquenesses - after all He’s the one that gave these uniquenesses to me.  

As I finished rubbing Kallie and our conversation wrapped up I told her how glad I was that NO ONE else looks like she does that she is unique and special and I am so blessed to get to be Mommy to the one and only Kallie in the entire world.   At which point she looked up at me - gave me the biggest smile ever - wrapped her little arms around me and said “Yep, I’m your only princess Kallie!”

Friends, I hope this story encourages you.  I hope you remember tonight that you are the only YOU and you are a child of our King, beautifully made, loved and adored - and yes friends you are royalty too!

In His Love,

Jenny

Valentine's Countdown

Hi Friends,
I'm so excited today is February 1st.  This is without a doubt one of my favorite times of year!  I love Valentine's Day.  There is NO GREATER love story than that of our Savior sacrificing His life for us because of His great love for us.  Because of Jesus love I feel like we as Christians should really celebrate this holiday too- forget cupid, and candy, and all that love struck stuff.  We celebrate Valentine's because we have been loved with an indescribable, uncontainable love!

Each year with my kids I do a countdown to Valentine's Day starting on February 1st!  This morning my children woke up to our kitchen table decorated for Valentine's Day, yummy breakfast, and a large envelope attached to each chair.

Of course the coffee mugs have to match!

These are felt envelopes I found at Target in the $1 section!!!

Really isn't anything to fancy - it's a plastic table cloth and some cute paper goods to kick of our February 1st right.  I spent a total of $12 on this table and made some super fun memories for the kids this morning!

The felt envelopes I found at Target in the dollar section, but you could put notes in regular envelopes on the wall, decorate some paper bags, or just leave a note at each persons spot at the table each morning.  Inside our envelopes each day my kids will find a small printed card that has a Scripture verse that speaks on the topic of love and on the back I write a quick little note to each of the kids.  My notes range from things I love about them, ways I pray they love Christ, or my love of fun or comical memories I have of them.  Every once in a while I'll slip a candy in the envelope too.

The best part is that with the envelopes set up on the back of chairs - EVERYONE gets in the card making mood and before you know it our envelopes are bursting with cards, crafts, and coloring pages that the children have made for each other. It is the sweetest thing ever and hands down one of my favorite holiday traditions!

And because I love you all - I'm going to share the 14 day printable cards with you so you can simply print and write notes for your own kids too!!!

Click here for the 14 day Valentine's Printable

Do you have any special Valentine's Day traditions?  I'd love to hear what they are!

In His Love,
Jenny