Family Brings Joy

My Attempt To Describe Depression

February 26, 2013 By Shan 13 Comments

coked to the side familybringsjoy.com Depression is raw.

It’s debilitating…paralyzing.

Sometimes, I think to myself, “I should be used to this feeling,” not that it would change how it feels…how horrible it is.

Depression seems to slow time down while Joy speeds it up. Oh how I wish it was the opposite.

looking away familybringsjoy.com When I am experiencing a bout of depression I feel helpless.

I feel stopped, plugged up, held up like there is no progression.

Like there is nothing I can do BUT feel…and it’s sad.

Chemical depression is not always due to outside influences. It just happens, no matter what circumstances I’m in.

I have so much to be grateful for. God has blessed me immensely, yet I feel sad…then the shame wheel starts rolling. Boy does that make it worse! It’s honestly better to not think. Ha! For me that is impossible. My mind continuously thinks.

The only thing that brings me hope is knowing this will pass. My history shows that it won’t be here forever and I am so counting on that. I wish it would hurry and be done.

I wish it would hurry and be done.

be done depression
We would not know joy without sorrow,

Filed Under: Other Emotions, Photography Brings Joy

Right Frame of Mind

February 22, 2013 By Shan Leave a Comment

I’m up early this morning. Youngest girl is going on a field trip. She was so excited. We pulled on her skinny jeans, slid on shoes and tied her scarf. I should have taken a photo. After preparing her sack lunch with a peanut butter sandwich, Cheetos, Oreos and G2, she was off. DH took the kids to school on his way to work. Thank you hubby.

I’m going running this morning. After scrounging up my layers of running clothes, including sliding on my compression socks and shoes, I decided to watch an inspirational video to get me in the right frame of mind. This one was perfect. I felt compelled to share it with you, my lovely readers today.

Doesn’t that put everything in perspective?
I think so.
Have a beautiful Friday my friends.

Sincerely,

Sending You Love Via Video

February 14, 2013 By Shan Leave a Comment

Found this fabulous FREE printable by falala designs. It’s perfect for today.

love never fails.

And for your entertainment pleasure…hubby & I made a video just for you!

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

Happy Valentine’s Day,

Filed Under: MY Family Brings Joy, Photography Brings Joy, Values Bring Joy

Grandparent’s LOVE – A Valentine’s Day Mantel

February 13, 2013 By Shan 3 Comments

Valentines Mantel 2013 familybringsjoy.com

As usual it’s been a work in progress. Meaning I finally added the finishing touch yesterday.

I’d like to call this “Grandparent’s LOVE.” I decided to add photos of our grandparents in the window frames to feature them. This is a great opportunity for family history discussion within our family. Two couples represented are my grandparents. One couple is my husband’s grandparents. The other two couples are my great grandparents. {Just for the record, I’m not playing favorites. I found these photos quickly and they were the right size to fit on the heart doily} The legacy of enduring love exudes from these grandparents.

Great Grandparents familybringsjoy.com

I am blessed to have one of these grandmother’s living in Arkansas looking and acting as young as ever. I am grateful our children are able to spend time with her. There’s nothing like the love of a grandma. We love you so much Oma!

Valentine Mantel collage1 familybringsjoy.com

I also wanted to feature some of my kids previous handmade gifts of love. My son made the clay heart with the arrow going through it years ago. My youngest daughter made the clay heart inside the small lantern. I think it’s important to display items our kids have made us. This shows them how grateful we are for their works of art, but also encourages their creativity. I’d much rather have a handmade gift than a store bought gift from them.

I found the 2 free printables on Pinterest. You can find them on my Valentine’s Day Pinterest board. I added them to frames I had on hand. The heart photo album is the one I have blogged about in the past. And of course you can see my Stringed Heart Sculpture I just blogged about in the previous post.

Valentines Mantel collage2 familybringsjoy.com

I added the wood “You are the…” board I gave my husband as an anniversary gift one year. The Generosity board I purchased in the past and felt it went with the theme. {I’m also trying to teach this concept to my family. } Last, but certainly not least, is the Christus I glazed at a church activity around 18 years ago. Christ is the epitome of LOVE. He almost always is on my mantel, if not there, then somewhere in our living room where I can see him. The only money spent on this mantel was for the heart doilies and supplies for the Stringed Heart Sculpture. It’s so much fun shopping from home and using what I already have. You should try it.

Celebrating enduring love,

Filed Under: Crafts Bring Joy, Home Brings Joy, MY Family Brings Joy, Photography Brings Joy, Values Bring Joy

Stringed Heart Sculpture

February 11, 2013 By Shan 1 Comment

stringed heart sculpture familybringsjoy.com Today I am ecstatic to share with you my latest creation. I call it a Stringed Heart Sculpture. I was blessed with the opportunity to teach this craft at a local boutique on Saturday.

Supplies you’ll need:

- wood. I used 16″ x 16″

- paint.

- string. I used hot pink braided mason line from Lowe’s.

- nails. I used box nails size 4D x 1 1/2

- painters tape.

Instructions:

1. Paint the board. On the second heart I added a border by mixing pink paint and Annie Sloan’s Clear Wax.

2. Cut out a heart the size you want.

3. Tape it where you want it on the board.

4. Add dots onto the paper heart where you want your nails to go.

stringed heart tutorial familybringsjoy.com

5. Hammer nails onto dots.

6. Gently tear off paper and tape.

7. Tie a knot with the string on the bottom nail. Wrap the string around each nail to outline the heart.

8. Cross over to other nails however you want. Wrap around each nail again until all nails have been wrapped around at least once or as much as you want. Be creative, there is no pattern.

Here are some photos from the class:

Stringed Heart Sculpture Class1 familybringsjoy.com

Some class members did smaller hearts. There were a few who placed the hearts at an angle as well.

Stringed Heart Sculpture Class2 familybringsjoy.com

The long haired blonde you see above was very creative and strung hers in a striped fashion. I was glad to find out she was an art teacher AFTER the class was over. Not one sculpture looked like another. That’s what I love about this. Everyone’s was unique!

Stringed Heart Sculpture Class3 familybringsjoy.com

The short haired blonde you see above with me is the very sweet lady who invited me to teach this class at her boutique. She is also my professional photographer who has taken our family’s portraits for 6 years. We are planning on holding one adult and one kids craft class every month. I am so grateful for this opportunity. I look forward to meeting and making new friends while creating together.

Idea credit: Green Wedding Shoes

Crafts bring joy,

Filed Under: Crafts Bring Joy, Photography Brings Joy

Start Your Own Family Book Club

February 1, 2013 By Shan 2 Comments

You know it amazes me where I receive inspiration. Recently while showering I came up with a super great idea.

Here’s the deal. I’m always looking for good wholesome recreational activities for our family. I’ve also been wracking my brain over ways to engage my kids in other activities on their own which don’t consist of TV and computer games. Hopefully this idea will help.

Family Book Club familybringsjoy.com

I introduced Family Book Club on Monday during family night.

This is what we did:

1. We talked about books which are for ages 9 and up. {since our youngest is 9} I looked up some books I thought would be appropriate for all of us to read. {resources further in post} We read the reviews for each book. The 2 older kids chose suitable books they came up with on their own.

2. Each family member wrote their book choice on a piece of paper. The papers went into a bowl.

3. We all rolled a die to see who could draw/choose a paper out of the bowl. The highest number won and drew a paper out of the bowl.

4. My youngest won this time and she ended up drawing her book. It was completely random. Next month she will not write a book choice on a piece of paper nor will she be able to draw a paper. This way everyone will have the opportunity to choose a book and draw a name. It makes it completely random and in my ‘book’ (no pun intended) FAIR. When everyone has a chance to have their book read we will start over again.

5. We set a date for our family book club: February 25th. I plan to have a treat that some how goes with the book.

I found some really good resources online for finding books by ages:

Author James Patterson has a wonderful site called Read Kiddo Read. The site is incredibly easy to navigate through with the following categories:

readkiddoread categories

I also found an article from USA Today where they interview James Patterson. I was surprised to find out he hated to read when he was young. We have that in common. I also hated to read when I was young. He explains what he did for his kids to encourage a love of reading. It is an excellent article worth your time to read. It’s called Inspire Your Kids To Read.

“It’s the parents’ job to find books for kids that they’re gonna love. A lot of parents don’t get that.” James Patterson

Another resource I found was a site called Book Browse: You’re Guide To Exceptional Books. I couldn’t believe how many hundreds of book titles they suggested for ages 9 and up.

****Don’t forget you can always find an audio version of books for you and your kids. This is how I read most of the time. You can read more about how I do that by clicking here and here.

Now, let me tell you that my 14 year old Son was not happy about this idea. He says he’s not reading the book. “It’s too girly.” Honestly, this is no surprise to me. He likes to give us grief so we’ll see what happens. However, I’m looking forward to being able to talk about the characters in the books and have teaching opportunities.

Here’s the book we are reading this month: