Simplify

I have been purging some of my worldly goods lately. It seems that every year I go through "post-Christmas cleaning" rather than "spring cleaning". There's something about bringing the new IN that draws me to clean OUT the old. In doing this, I'm always surprised how much STUFF we have. I tend to be a bit of a minimalist, but still -- we have so much STUFF! Several years ago I came upon the real answer of "what do we do all day long?" The answer is -- we move STUFF around. The washing to the dryer to the clothes hamper to the drawers or closet to the laundry hamper and then all over again! We move food. We move goods. We move paper and books and toys. We move sheets and blankets and then put them back to rights. We move furniture to place more STUFF in. We move ourselves here, there, and everywhere. We move plants only to dig them up and move them to our kitchen stove. We even move information now in vastly different ways then 20 years ago!
Over this past year I've learned a valuable lesson --- people are more important than STUFF. As tempting as it is to want to keep our stuff nice, to move it around, to enjoy getting new STUFF -- in the end, it's just STUFF! Relationships with people are what really matter. Do yourself a favor as I have (and continue to do!) -- simplify your life by removing all the STUFF that you really don't need or use. Give it to someone who will. Recycle what you can. When all else fails -- throw it away. It's liberating and freeing to rid yourself of unneeded STUFF. To simplify your home, helps simplify your life. Spend time on what matters. Cherish each moment with your children and husband and family and close friends. Take time today to move some STUFF out of your life, and usher RELATIONSHIPS in.

Another set of shelves!

Every time Joe builds us a set of shelves, I'm certain that we'll never need another. But alas! Books tend to find their way into our home and our hearts. A portion of this holiday vacation Joe has spent woodworking to make his 8th set of shelves for our home! This set is specially designed for Isaac's room with an extra large top shelf to hold his growing number of Bible Quizzing trophies. We're so thankful for Daddy's willingness to work hard so that we can have nice things!

Merry Christmas from the Kronz Family!!

We wish you a beautiful and blessed Christmas!

My Precious Daughter

When I consider the many gifts God has given me in my lifetime, I consider this as one of my greatest. What a privilege it is to share life alongside a sweet-spirited, spunky, precious, generous, and amazing daughter.

Advent Reading

Each Sunday evening this holiday month, our family has been celebrating Advent by lighting a candle and reading about it's symbolism and meaning in our lives. The boys do the Bible readings (Old Testament prophesy along with New Testament history), Joe lights the candles, I read about the candle meanings from previous Sundays as well as this Sunday, and Isabelle reminds us of all the candle names (Prophesy candle, Bethlehem candle, Shepherds' candle, Angels' candle, and finally the Christ candle). We follow this time by reading a children's picture book about various Christmas traditions and the meanings behind them. These are precious traditions and (I'm hoping) the stuff that memories are made of!

Treasured Friends

How blessed I am with the gift of beautiful and endearing friendships!! Here I am with my precious friend Jacque, sharing a spontaneous after-church brunch of whole-wheat pancakes and enjoying the dear gift of her family's fellowship! What you can't see is that I'm standing high on my tip toes to even be this tall next to her. Smile.

Kronz Sandwich

Nearly every Sunday afternoon our family gathers to watch "the shows". We are true homeschooling nerds in that the only t.v. we watch is Sunday afternoon PBS home-improvement television (This Old House, Victory Garden, etc.). We usually do this with a big bowl of popcorn and with only a short amount of quiet. What usually occurs (after the popcorn has been feverishly devoured) is the kids "hop-on-pop" (code words for -- Daddy's taking a nap and lets wake him up!). This involves all sorts of gymnastics and wrestling on the couch to see who gets to be on top of Joe the most. Almost always it involves tears as one or more of the kids gets knocked or accidentally kicked. In spite of this, they always come back for more!! Eventually a "Kronz Sandwich" is formed. Screaming, yelling, and laughing ensue and I usually exit because I can't stand the noise! Today however I grabbed the camera to record this for posterity sake!

A Wonderful Christmas Present!

This morning I hugged my best girlfriend of 25 years in my own kitchen and said the words, "You're here!! And you're going to stay!" I'm happy to announce that after over 3 years of praying that a job would open up in Boise, the Coose's (after a long and arduous journey) are moving approximately 24 minutes away -- door to door!! We're privileged to share this morning with their children - Sarah (8) and Thomas (4) -- while Dyana and Andy do some much needed shopping prior to moving in this afternoon and tomorrow. Welcome to Idaho!!

Quote for the day

"Mommy," said Isabelle as we're snuggling in our favorite rocking chair downstairs, "We're like two pieces of a puzzle ... we just fit!"

Christmas Baking

Isabelle has waited all year to use the Nativity cookie cutters that have been sitting on the bookshelf with all the Christmas books. She proved herself beautifully today in her rolling and cutting out the cookies all herself! Here is another cherished memory. These children of mine are growing so very fast!

Life is Fragile, Handle with Prayer

I have been privileged this week to walk the road of sorrow with a dear friend who's traumatic birth of her baby girl led to a 5 1/2 day battle for survival. While she lay dying peacefully in her parents' arms, I once again was reminded of that all-powerful realization -- life is fragile. What a miracle it is that we are even here! What a privilege it is to live and breathe and become in this world of God's marvelous creation. And what joy there is in celebrating the reality of God's love when our time on this earth is over. Today .... make time ..... to be thankful.

Quote for the Day

Said by Isabelle (5 1/2 years),
"Mommy, do you know how God formed us to be? He, stitch by stitch and row by row, knitted us together in our Mother's 'wound' the way He wanted us to be."

Oh Christmas Tree!

It's the most wonderful time of the year!! We enjoyed decorating our Christmas tree today after church. This year we spent a bit more $$ to get a really beautiful tree. The kids decorated nearly the whole thing themselves after Joe put the lights on. I'm happy to admit to you all that God is really helping me to relax these days. The whole lower half of the tree is jam packed with ornaments where Isabelle's eye level is. In some places the ornaments hang nearly to the floor with less than an inch in between at some spots! I was laughing with a friend when I shared that 10 years ago the lopsided ornamented tree would have greatly bothered me, while 5 years ago I would have smiled and changed it later, but now ... I just enjoy 20 ornaments in one square foot knowing that someday I'll long to see such a sight!

A Musical Service Opportunity

This Tuesday we were privileged to serve God by serving others as we used the musical gifts He has given us to minister through song. The kids had practiced and prepared for weeks in order to provide a mini-concert to the widows at one of our local churches. They were served a beautiful lunch, had a special speaker, and had my children as their entertainment. We had prayed that the Lord would open opportunities for us to serve others through our music. When this invitation came, we jumped at it. Each child played a few solos and also played a variety of duets, trios, and quartets. I was able to accompany them on the piano. The kids played beautifully and hopefully were ministered to as well by the many words of praise and kindness extended to them by the lovely ladies present.

Homemade Christmas Pancake Mix

This year we are purposing to make our gifts more meaningful by making them ourselves. Josiah has opted to make jar mixes to share with friends and family. Here you see him layering the dry ingredients needed to make my homemade whole-wheat and bran, buttermilk pancakes. The recipe is as follows:
Whole-wheat and Bran Buttermilk Pancakes
1 1/2 cups quality whole wheat flour (I buy Bob's Red Mill Organic)
1 1/2 cups quality unbleached white flour (same as above)
1/4 cup course oat bran
1/4 cup wheat bran
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon (if desired)
1 Tbls. baking soda
Mix dry ingredients using whisk.
Add:
3 eggs (fresh if at all possible!)
2-3 cups of buttermilk (start with 2 cups, then add by the 1/4 cupful until reaching desired consistency)
Mix well and drop by 1/4 cupfuls on nonstick griddle. Eat with fresh fruit, preserves, or real maple syrup. These are delicious AND healthy! This recipe will make about 24 pancakes. Save and wrap any extra in a ziploc bag after cooling. They are easy to microwave and serve again for a quick breakfast. Enjoy!

Quote for the Day

"I can't help playing that I'm a little woman. I'm just SO TIRED of waiting!!"
-- Isabelle age 5 1/2 (and waiting)

Medieval Dinner

The things we do to make memories for our children! Last night the families of our small homeschool co-op put on an authentic (or as authentic as we could make it!) medieval feast. We all dressed in period costumes, ate authentically researched food by candlelight and with only a knife and spoon, and enjoyed a variety of entertainment by the kids who acted as serfs, servers, jugglers, knights, bards, jesters, acrobats, actors, and musicians!
Months of planning and preparation went into this finale! I'm so thankful at times like this to have the wealth of precious and creative friends who work so hard to make learning come alive!