Tina The Storyteller

Sometimes I can wish that I weren't but at the end of the day, that's part of my role here.  I'm the one that has to come up with really good nonsensical rules and then devise the worst punishments ever for the slightest infraction.  I also have to cook up the grossest most disgusting menus from the most expensive food that I can find and then force my child to choke it down in order to get her dessert.  I have to wash and fold the clothes so that I can hear little voices whining about having to do everything when I loosely interpret slave labor and require that those that wear the clothes put them away.  I'm the one that has to come up with educational and healthy activities on days when anyone in their right mind would much rather be spending another day in front of the screen watching movies that could rot your brain out.  I'm the one that has to limit the amount of junk food that my kid eats so that her teeth don't fall out before their time. I'm the mo...

Some of you may remember that I've been wanting a couch.  I told you about how I had my eye on this couch It's from Ikea, got great reviews, but then I started measuring everything and it just kind of drifted away.  I still had my heart set on a new couch as our old one is literally falling apart. Sometimes I move it and there are nails underneath it.  Has anyone ever had something like that happen before? It's weird.  And the fabric is shredding itself after so many years of use and a few years of our abuse. I have been dropping in to a little consignment shop near one of those indoor play areas for kids.  I found a little green loveseat that was well below my price range, but it was decidedly feminine in build.  Today when we went, Hannah told me that it was like sitting on Mama Bear's chair from Goldilocks.  I thought this could be a problem. Luckily, there was another couch in the shop that I had been thinking of.  It's plaid and it's als...

Fresh-Brewed Life is an updated release of a book by the same title that Nicole Johnson released about ten years ago.  The focus of this book is encouraging women to create activities and spaces in their lives that will cultivate their relationship with God.  My favorite part of Fresh-Brewed Life was the instruction on journaling.  I have been an off and on journal keeper for as long as I can remember.  It is something that I have always enjoyed doing, but with Johnson’s instructions, it has opened up a new light for my time with pen and paper.  Instead of recording daily events, I now use that time to record my conversation with God.  Another helpful portion of Fresh-Brewed Life is about friendship and a recipe or party plan to help celebrate friendships.  The book is loaded with not only great, encouraging information from Nicole Johnson but beautiful quotes from other authors as well.  As an e-book it is very well done, easy t...

We home school, but Box Tops products are still a vital part of our schooling.  Mainly because they are great products that we use to learn a few things. When MyBlogSpark offered me the chance to receive this:   I said, "YES!" When the package arrived, there was a box of Betty Crocker family size milk chocolate brownies, iclips with cute cupcakes, two notepads, Box Top pencils, a neoprene lunch bag and a cupcake bag!    I pulled out my trusty Baker's Edge pan and called in our budding cook. She's got on her apron and she's ready to do some learning. Learning to measure ingredients. Cracking eggs. We crack eggs into a bowl in case any shells might fall in and then we don't have to pick them out of the batter. Mixing is a very important skill.  Almost as important as tasting.*  MMMM brownies! They get a big thumbs up.   I do collect Box Tops and pass them along to friends who have childre...

I shared a bit about reading the Bible in 90 days.  If you have any suggestions for next week, leave them in the comments.  Hope it's loud enough.

Sometimes as parents, we make mistakes.  And sometimes, if we're lucky we learn a thing or two from those mistakes. Two weeks ago, Hannah had a dollar to spend.  And me thinking that I didn't want any more junk in the house suggested that she buy a fish with the money.  We had a little fish tank from our last fish and I thought, "What a great way to spend a dollar and they won't be something that I have to take care of very long. Here is my mistake.  Hannah does not put value on things associated with their cost.  She loves just as deeply something that is free as she does that costs hundreds of dollars.  She will play with a free toy that came from the fast food restaurant just as much as she will play with something that we saved up for months to get.  I made the mistake of thinking that was just associated with toys. As the first first died, she was okay, but as she went to bed a little over tired, she cried herself to sleep because her little...

So, my challenge is to give all of you a little face time.  I'm going to try and vlog or video blog once a week for 9 weeks.  The challenge to you though is coming up with things you want me to talk about!  Leave me a comment, send me an email, or just let me know when you see me!  If I don't get any suggestions, then I'll have to come up with things all on my own and you may very well end up with me reading children's books, which might not be such a bad idea after all!  My first one will be some time next week, so get your ideas in to me soon!

Guess what we found today! Okay, so this may not be a big deal to some of you, but I hadn't really heard about it before and I had no idea how awesome it would be when we headed out.  I did a google search on public gardens and up popped Matthaei Botanical Gardens . I think we all loved it, here are some pictures from our short trip A little grove of trees near one of the many ponds on the property Love all the yellow! I remember growing these on the side of the house when I was a little girl One of the water features in the outside gardens. A little moss and succulents with some volcanic rock We had little white roses like these in our wedding Fall is just around the corner But there was still a butterfly to greet us! There were lots of wonderful things to see and signs to read.  None of which were too wordy or boring, but quite informative.  We loved the children's garden and will definitely be going bac...

I feel sure that you've heard the saying "If life gives you lemons, make lemonade."  Well, recently I picked up a pair of wool cashmere blend slacks from Salvation Army and upon further inspection at home, the knees were threadbare, practically holes.  Easy enough to miss, when your knees don't fall in the same spot as the previous owner.  They were inexpensive, so it wasn't a big monetary loss, but I felt like it would be a shame to toss such nice fabric and so I searched the internet to see what I could do.  I found this cute little purse pattern, for free!   You can go check it out by clicking here . It is a great little pattern and I was able to make the entire purse in one rainy day!  Here are some pictures of my threadbare knees purse. Don't you just love those little pleats? And there's even a little pocket inside.  I'm so impressed with myself! Time to fill it up with my keys and such non-sense! And remember, when life gi...

I love how when I'm reading books and learning about things that God has shown other people, God takes that openness within me and uses it.  For instance, the other night I had a dream about finding a house.  The important part was the interpretation afterwards.  My husband helped me along with my quiet time with God about it.  Because the truth is that there are some dreams that are just that, dreams, things your mind creates while you sleep.  But then there are other dreams that can hold great truth, and I think the way that we know the difference is how God interacts with us about them.  There are just some dreams that we can't shake off when we wake up and feel the need to share with others.  This dream was one of them.  And while I won't go into the details with you, I can tell you what God was so generous to show me! I think it's clear that some of my greatest passions have been put on a back burner. I have a great passion for not only coo...

I didn't know about this product until Pssst... sent me an email asking me to try it.  But I am so glad that they did! This is what Land O Lakes has to say about it on their website Land O’Lakes is expanding its line of popular spreadable butter products with new LAND O LAKES® Cinnamon Sugar Butter Spread. Cinnamon and sugar are blended into an all-natural butter for a delightfully sweet taste that you’ll love. The new Cinnamon Sugar Butter Spread is all-natural with no artificial ingredients, so moms can feel good about serving it to their families. Convenient and versatile, it can be used for spreading on your favorite breads and pastries or as an ingredient in cooking or baking. Here's what I have to say..."YUM!!"  I had my suspicions that this product would be butter with very little cinnamon or sugar, but I was wrong.  There is so much cinnamon in this product that I wonder how they did it!  It's so tasty and easy to use.   I was making cinnamo...

The Hour that Matters Most is a great encouragement for a family meal time.   The Hour that Matters Most isn't just an invitation for join your family around the table, it's a practical how-to guide including conversation starters, recipes, conflict avoidance and listening advice.  There is plenty of research shared in the book to encourage even the most skeptical parent to give family meals a try. I keep saying meals, because as the book points out, this does not have to be dinner, any consistent meal for families around the same table will have benefits.  One of the authors even shares that her family met around the breakfast table each day.  I love how the book addresses most of the major stumbling blocks, such as the infamous short order cook syndrome which is so easy to fall into, as well as how to start your own Fix-and-Freeze club to help insure you have an alternative to gulp and go fast food. We normally have dinner together as a family, so the most ...

Can't wait for this movie to come out!  And very excited to hear that Christians are supporting this movie and have been involved in its production.  Check out a bit more about that at  I Take Joy and enter her giveaway!  Hope to see you at the movies!!

Hannah and I went to the movies today.  For the longest time I knew that the Penn Theater had a kids movie on Thursdays during the summer, but because it was the only day that we had a car, other things ended up happening for us.  Well, now that we have a car, those other things happen at other times and we got to go to the movie today!  Kung Fu Panda 2 was playing today, but the theater was the star of the show.  It's one screen in the middle of Plymouth.  It was like walking right into the past!  The theater was dark, comfy and there was no surround sound!  We will definitely be going again next summer.