Creating a Beautiful Life

Picture taken by Lucy Lamp, flowers done by my grandmother, Kristine Lamp

I have been working on a post updating my thoughts about the Proverbs 31 woman. I hope that any readers will forgive me for length between posts and taking so much time before posting again about the Proverbs 31 Challenge. The hope is that my thinking on the subject will mature until the point that I feel ready to post it.

In the meantime, here are four things that are important to teach children, in my opinion:

1. To live life with joy and gratitude.
2. To be industrious.
3. To love beauty.
4. To love people.

One of the best overall ways to teach these things is to live them and be them yourself. Homemakers who do their utmost in the home, with a loving attitude, will be successful in doing this.

Writing this post, I am thinking of a recent Fascinating Womanhood~Alaska post in which Mrs. Helen Andelin is quoted about doing our very best in the home.

One of the most inspiring blogs I have ever found for creating beauty and routine in the home is Little Jenny Wren. She has been posting on her handcrafted Waldorf doll site more often than on her blog lately, but there are years of gorgeous archives to view.

I Want to Be a Homemaker

 Has anyone seen or read the children's book I Want to Be a Homemaker, by Carla Greene? It was published in 1961 by Childrens Press, and the picture above is one of its illustrations.

In the book, Jane gets a new playhouse and begins to keep house with her three dolls and her dog. With her mother's help, she learns that a good homemaker is a cook, cleaner, nurse, teacher, and artist.

This is a precious book with neat, lovely illustrations (by Frances Eckart) that can influence a young girl's heart and mind. Unfortunately, there seem to be only somewhat-pricey editions available at places like Amazon.com, Ebay, and possibly others. None of them are in great condition, either. If you ever see this book, take a look! Anyone who values Mrs. Andelin's books Fascinating Womanhood, The Fascinating Girl, or All About Raising Children will enjoy it.

When I had just learned to write, my mother and I borrowed this book from the library. I liked it so much I copied it out word for word before we had to return it.

Fun tidbits about the book:

•  Part of the text opposite the illustration above is: "'You have made this little house very pretty. Your children will think it is the best place in the world,' said Mother. 'You are an artist!'" This reminds me of the "Space and Privacy" section in Chapter 1 of Mrs. Helen Andelin's book All About Raising Children.
• My copy has a sticker on the front free end paper that says, "Please remember to wash your hands before you read this book."