A Peek Into My Day

Outside my window...
the morning sun, peeking up over the horizon

I am thinking...
I would like our government to have a more 'hands off' approach to governing .

I am thankful for...
a God that set the regular rhythms of life -
just knowing that Spring is on it's way makes gray winter days more bearable.

From the school rooms...
something new - lapbooks!
studying the formation of our country, the War for Independence

From the kitchen...
breakfast burritos
leftover homemade pizza for lunch
chicken enchiladas for supper

I am wearing...
my warm, fuzzy, blue robe

I am creating...
crocheted potholders, quilt squares for a farm-themed quilt

I am going...
to baseball practice after I tackle 'Big Laundry Monday' and schoolwork

I am reading...
Deuteronomy
The Duggars: 20 and Counting

I am hoping...
Winter is making its exit, and Spring is making its entrance

I am hearing...
the rustlings of my children beginning to wake to a new day, a new week

Around the house...
the beginnings of Spring Cleaning

One of my favorite things...
fresh green sprouts of Spring flowers, bravely poking through the cold, barren ground after a long winter

A few plans for the rest of the week:
baseball games, continuing spring cleaning, big monthly shopping trip, big monthly cooking day


A big thank you to Peggy over at 'The Simple Woman's Day Book' for the inspiration of the blog post - you can visit her at:

http://thesimplewomansdaybook.blogspot.com/

I Just Don't Get It

I am not really expecting any answers here, but I definitely have questions.

All our married life, we have balanced our checkbook, lived within our means. We have always paid our bills. Including all our medical bills. Even during times when we have had no health care coverage.

Now, our government, who cannot balance their budget, who continually spends more than they have, who doesn't pay all their bills, who every year is going deeper into debt, is going to tell us what we need? They are telling us they are better equipped to decide what's best for our family?

It is a puzzlement.

My Favorite Kitchen Utensil

A meat fork.

In this day and age, with all the high-tech gadgets and automatic watch-a-ma-callits, this simple, unglamorous utensil is one of my favorite kitchen tools. It's just the right length, just the right weight, fits comfortably in my hand. But it is more than a fork.

One night recently, I stood at the stove, meat fork in my hand, poised and ready to stab into the hamsteak I was cooking up for supper. I stopped for a moment, a flood of memories washed over me.

I saw my mother standing in her kitchen, the same exact fork poised in her hand, ready to stab into her juicy pot roast. I still cannot bake a pot roast as scrumptious as Mom's. Oh, and her mouth-watering pork steaks! She would brown them in the skillet, then slow cook them in bbq sauce in a low oven. This handy tool was also used to check the boiled potatoes in preparation for potato salad. Over the years I have received many compliments on my potato salad - learned how to make it by watching Mom all those years ago.

I can see, smell, taste these kitchen memories as though they happened yesterday, not 40 years ago. Amazing how all these thoughts came and went in an instant. No one around me had any idea so much was going on in my tired brain in that split second.

I'm thankful for a God that gives such a wonderful gift - the opportunity, the ability to revisit people, events, places that are special to us. Mom has been gone 6 years now, I miss her very much, especially in those split second moments that appear ordinary and mundane on the surface, but down deep are really moments that are so much more.

'Don't sweat the big stuff' as they say, because it's the little things that make the biggest impact. At times I knock myself out, trying to make big memories for my children - and all they will remember will be a meat fork?!? Guess maybe I should re-evaluate my priorities each new day the Lord gives me.

A Taste of the Tropics

Last week, we wrapped up a unit study on Courage. We took a look at the lives of Bible heroes like David, Daniel, Joshua. That's always fun and always a good reminder of how God can use us where we are if we trust Him.

We also read a book out loud titled Call It Courage by Armstrong Sperry. The main character is a boy who lives on a polynesian island (long before Hawaii was even a US territory!) and was afraid of the sea. He set out on a journey to face and overcome his greatest fears. A terrific read! And to finish off our unit with a bang, we enjoyed a tropical feast. This included fresh coconut and pineapple, plantains and mango and more.



In order to pour out the coconut milk we could hear sloshing around inside, Luke pulled out the big guns, er, uh, the cordless drill!


With three holes drilled in one end, pouring the milk was an easy task. Everyone was quite surprised to see a clear, yellowish liquid draining into the glass.








And then the taste test - yummmmm! Or maybe not. I don't think anyone was impressed with the coconut milk. Maybe it was just an old coconut.




Next, it was time to get really serious. Luke used a saw in order to get to the meat inside. It was beautiful - pure white! We all tried a bite, and agreed that it tasted better than the milk, but wasn't like the coconut we are used to.



An ice cream scoop worked great when cleaning out the shell. Hmmm, coconut ice cream - now there's an idea!


More taste-testing -- although no one wanted seconds on the coconut, the fresh fruits and fried plantain were a hit!






And now we are leaving the tropics behind, heading back to the mainland, moving on to the War for Independence, continuing to look at examples of the courage it took to establish our country, our constitution, our government.

A Sweet Treat From My Sweet Daughter

Caitlin knows how much her mother loves chocolate, so that was the theme for her Valentine's Day cake this year - chocolate, chocolate, and more chocolate! Yes! Triple Chocolate Delight!






And if you like what you see here, check out our new blog site, Creations From Our Kitchen which showcases the many cakes we've whipped up in recent months.

Snow Bears

Anyone throwing a 'Global Warming' or 'Climate Change' party these days? Here is the perfect cake for your celebration.

Caitlin likes to treat our Dentist and his staff to a sweet treat when we head in for our yearly exams. This was what she came up with this year. Very cute! And the report was that it was tasty too!




Oh, and by the way -- NO CAVITIES!!! Now, that is something to celebrate!

Our TimeLine

I've had some requests for a peek at the Time Line we've put up to supplement our unit studies. As we study people, events and important dates in history, we add a figure to the timeline we hung in the hallway. It is a great tool to put everyone and everything in history into perspective. It helps keep names and dates and places in our minds, helps with memorization. And I especially love the way it weaves all of history together -- Biblical, secular, scientific, historic, etc.


Here is a view from the beginning of the hallway, as you head to the bedrooms:



Here is a view from the opposite direction, looking back toward the living room:



We put the timeline strips on large fabric panels and hung the whole thing from hooks. The little ones are getting a visual idea of how time goes along chronologically, from creation of the world to present day. They have learned about A.D. and B.C. and what that means, and are beginning to understand that abstract concept of how the dates B.C. get larger instead of smaller. Trying to capture a photo in a 3foot hallway is not an easy task, but you can kind of see how it all makes a large triangle, with the beginning of time down on the lower left, following up then to the birth of Christ at the top center, and the moving forward to present day down at the right hand bottom corner.



To make it 'come alive' we add figures each week that coordinate with our studies. Above you can see some of the people we studied during our Early Settlers unit - Plimouth Plantation, Pilgrims, Indians, First Thanksgiving. OK, it isn't a great close-up (I know these old eyes of mine can't read the names!) but it gives you an idea! Each figure has their name and date printed on it.

We bought this set almost 20 years ago to go along with our core curriculum, KONOS, which is unit study based on character qualities. They made some changes and additions through the years, but basically it is the same program we've used all these years. We love it, highly recommend it. Anyone curious can find out more at the Konos website.

A Peek Into My Day

Outside my window...
I see my children building a snowman, a snow fort, a snow chair

I am thinking...
I would like to simplify. Such hard work, but oh, so worth it.

I am thankful for...
a healthy family this winter. Hardly a sniffle, no flu, no fevers.
It could change tomorrow, but I'm enjoying it while it lasts.

From the school rooms...
high seas and tropical islands, courage and bravery

From the kitchen...
Homemade Granola Homemade
Grapenuts
Old Fashioned Molasses Cookies

I am wearing...
denim tiered skirt, white turtleneck w/ striped burgandy blouse, purple fuzzy socks

I am creating...
a little girl's crocheted pink poncho prairie dresses for 3 sweet nieces

I am going...
to clean out the download folder on the computer stay inside where it's warm
and let hubbie go out to play in the snow with the littles

I am reading...
Exodus
How To Homeschool by Gayle Graham Call It Courage by Armstrong Sperry

I am hoping...
in the promises of my God

I am hearing...
some of my favorite music playing in the background:
Steve Green, Nat King Cole, Showtunes from favorite musicals, favorites from Praise&Worship, Randy Travis Inspirational Hymns

Around the house...
floors are swept clean, a bucket of legos was turned upside down,
the machines in Mike's workshop are whirring away

One of my favorite things...
homeschoolfreebieoftheday

A few plans for the rest of the week:
doing my best to stay warm focus in on school schedule for next week


Here is picture for thought I am sharing...

I did my best to soak up the sweetness of my first grandbaby while I could. It'll have to last me quite some time.


A big thank you to Peggy over at 'The Simple Woman's Day Book' for the inspiration of the blog post - you can visit her at:

http://thesimplewomansdaybook.blogspot.com/

An Exciting Week in The SchoolRoom

I love having a large family. Having many children means I get the pleasure of revisiting major milestones and amazing discoveries over and over again. This past week was no exception. Esther and Gabe began their lessons in Cursive Writing. To most of you, that may not sound like much of a big deal, but around here, it is Big Stuff! My girls, especially, think learning cursive is the 'ultimate'. For some reason, they are willing to work painstakingly over their manuscript pages (plain ol' printing) to improve enough to get the 'OK' from Mom. Their printed letters miraculously improve, once we begin working on the loops and swoops of cursive. It is an amazing transformation, and so much fun to see the beaming smiles as the produce letters and words that only a week before were a mystery.

We also hung our timeline once again. The kids and I are very excited! They enjoy seeing the years all lined up and posting the people and events in history that we are studying. Right now, we have figures representing the events of Genesis 1 (creation, the Garden and the Fall), the birth and crucifixion of Christ, and the Pilgrims/Early Settlers. We'll be adding more as we work through units studying Courage and the War for Independence as well as the Presidents.

Fun and interesting stuff coming up!

Laundry Detergent

This morning, Bekah and I made up a new batch of laundry detergent. Thought I'd share my recipe with you. There are several homemade versions floating around out there. I've tried a few, mainly the liquid/gel type. A friend from MOMYS shared this one with me and I really like it. It only takes a few minutes to prepare, and the total cost is about $2. I double the ingredients for a month's worth (that would be about 30 loads).

1 bar of fels naptha soap, finely ground (in food processor)
1 cup borax
1 cup super washing soda
1/8 - 1/4 cup oxyclean (optional)

Mix and use. 1-2 tbs. per load. Works best if you let the powder dissolve before adding clothing (I let tub fill at least halfway first)

- because I don't have a food processor, I grate the soap with an old cheese grater, then give it all a few zaps in my blender on the 'pulse' mode.
- I think any bar soap would do. Experiment with your favorite brands!

Here you see my personal assistant grating the soap:




And then we add the other ingredients:



And voila! There you have it! Ready to tackle the mountain rising in the laundry room!