Easy to Make Flower Crowns

For an upcoming birthday party, my daughter and I made flower crowns. (Inspiration found here.) They will be worn by four cousins who happen to have birthdays spread throughout the year, about one per season. Each flower crown was made to reflect a season, the one closest to their individual birthdays.

At first, I wasn't sure how we would make them, but decided to take a trip to our local dollar store to hunt for reasonably priced (cheap) supplies. What treasures we found! There were already made plain willow wreaths of various sizes. My daughter was quite the sport and tried on numerous ones until we found four we thought were sized correctly. Then, we found fake flower bouquets of different flowers. Some supplies I knew we had at home were autumn colored fake flowers, ribbons, scissors, and floral tape.

The following day, my daughter and I sat down with our supplies and made all four flower crowns.

To Make A Flower Crown:
Supplies:

• grape vine or willow wreaths of appropriate size
• fake, silk, or fabric flowers (could use real ones, fresh or dried)
• ribbons (coordinating colors)
• scissors
• floral tape

Method:

1. cut apart all floral bouquets into individual flowers


2. determine the best fit on a head for the wreath


3. tidy the wreath (weave stray pieces of the wreath if necessary)


4. arrange flowers on top of the wreath in a pattern
(leave enough room for ribbons if desired)


5. move flowers, in order, off the wreath (retain the pattern)


6. weave each flower individually into wreath


7. secure, when necessary, flower stems to wreath with floral tape


8. cut length of ribbon (about 2 1/2 times longer than you want)


9. tie onto wreathe using a Windsor tie knot (or a another knot)


10. Done!

Our Flower Crowns

 

 

 

 

 

 

On Sleepless Nights

The first night, she awoke once.

I tucked her back in bed, and all was well.

The second night, she knocked on my door three times.

Each time, I comforted her, and she went back to sleep.

Last night, she was awake at least five times.

I tucked her securely in her sheets,

turned on a night light,

set the fan higher,

cracked open her door,

assured her all was well.

and prayed for rest.

She never sleeps well when the Drummer is away for work.

Though I know she loves us both,

his presence gives her a feeling of safety,

and home is just not home without Daddy.

~ Dorie

"In peace I will both lie down and sleep,

For You alone, O LORD, make me to dwell in safety."

Psalm 4:8

{Click here to read the entire Psalm.}

How Our Daughters Can Be Living a Life of Giving Now

To say life is busy is to notice the sky is blue.  Hardly anyone bats an eye at a full schedule.  It is expected.  Even children have busy schedules in today's society, but as parents, we make the time to teach them and pray for them.  We teach our children about God, how to live, and how to treat others.  Then, each and every day, we pray for them. 

As parents of both boys and girls, my husband and I are blessed to train our sons and daughters for their future roles.  The journey is not always easy, nor convenient, but the Lord is always faithfully directing our steps.

As we go about teaching and praying for our daughters to love their families, be keepers of their homes, and to properly care for themselves, let us not neglect the vital area of ministry. Everyone has someone they can serve outside of the home, even our daughters, and it can be very simple to incorporate serving others into her every day schedule. 

Today, I am sharing some simple ways our daughters can learn to serve others at Praying
Proverbs 31.

Seven out of Ten

7 out of 10
words correct, not bad for a spelling test.

7 out of 10
hits, excellent for a batting average. 
At least I think it may be, not too much of a baseball stats kind of gal.

7 out of 10
weeks, a trying amount of time for a husband to have to travel away from his family.

His travel is over, and I have learned a great deal through it.  A lot about myself, communication, and asking for help. 

However, I think I may have grown the most in is appreciation for my mom.  My dad traveled for work all my youth.  It was hard on us as children, but I never grasped how hard it was for my mom.  Until now.

This past season of life has fostered a larger appreciation for the woman who walks the path of life ahead of me, stops, turns, and offers her hand in help and understanding as I stumble and falter as a mom. 

Today, as I look at my daughters, I hope that I can do the same for them when, Lord willing, they are blessed to be moms.
~ Dorie

How to Love a Ten Year Old Girl

"When can I get my ears pierced?" my ten, soon to be eleven year old, daughter asks.

I sigh.  Over the past year, I have been witness to vast changes in her.  No longer a little girl with mommy fashioned pig tails, she styles her own tresses. 

We are entering a new territory...and I ask...

How do I love my ten year old girl?



Let go of the little girl image.  I may still see her as my little girl, and she has moments when she acts like a little girl, but I can no longer expect her to be a little girl.  She is growing and maturing before my very eyes.

Optimize her experiences now.  There is a lot for her to learn and each day presents new opportunities.

Value who she is right now in this awkward stage between little girl and womanhood.

Embrace the possibilities not with dread, but pleasure.  She is a gift and should be treasured as such.



~ Dorie


Possible Resources for the Journey

for parents ~
Your Girl, by Vicki Courtney
Raising Maidens fo Virtue, by Stacy McDonald

for girls and their parents ~
A Virtuous Girl, by Michelle Zoppa
Beautiful Girlhood, revised by Karen Andreola
A Young Woman After God's Own Heart, by Elizabeth George
The Three Weavers: A Tale for Fathers and Daughters, rewritten by Mark Hamby

for further along the journey to womanhood ~
Uncompromising, by Hannah Farver
What He Must Be, by Voddie Bauchman Jr.