Endurance

Dear Friends,

I have been thinking a lot about endurance lately.  There are many people I love, including myself that need encouragement right now so I decided to write a love note of sorts, to us all.  Someday, we will all to sit at the feet of Jesus and praise Him.  O, What a reunion that will be!

Initially, here are a few scriptures to ponder.

Hebrews 12:1 Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. (NKJV)

Hebrews 10:36 For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise: ‘For yet a little while, and He who is coming will come and will not tarry.  Now the just shall live by faith; But if anyone draws back, My soul has not pleasure in him.’ (NKJV)

In a world that wants everything right now and wants to throw everything away, the concept of endurance has been lost.  What does endurance mean?  How can we apply this to our lives?

In order to increase the endurance in our lives, we must learn to work hard.  Not all things in life come easy.  In fact, I would venture to say that most things that are worth accomplishing require a lot of hard work to attain.  If it were easy, it would not be so valuable. Both verses above state that endurance comes from doing the will of God.  Do you know what His will is for you?  When did you last study and apply His will for your life?  We must be constantly reading and studying to know what His will is for our lives.  For me, this time in my life is one that is very hard.  It is hard to raise children, transition some to college, and be caring for aging family members.  These are all things that he calls us to do in his Holy Scriptures.  God never promised us that the road to heaven would be easy, in fact just the opposite. Think about all the challenges that have taken place throughout the centuries, in the name of Christ, starting with Christ himself.

Another thing that we need to increase our endurance is patience.  We live in a world that wants everything now, but really they wanted it ALL yesterday.  As Christians looking to His will, that may mean we need to make a different choice than the world.    ‘But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.’ Matthew 10:32-33 (NKJV).  If having whatever you want NOW distracts you from seeking God first, then you must learn to be patient for endurance to come.  Ask yourself these questions:  Is whether I get this now or later going to make any difference on the day of judgement? How will getting this now glorify God?  How will God be honored if I practice patience in this decision? Sometimes it is just spiritually heathy to practice patience.  ‘But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control, against such there is no law.’ Galatians 5:22-23 (ESV)

Finally endurance requires never, ever quitting.  Ralph Waldo Emmerson once said, ‘Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising up every time we fall’.  Life is going to provide us plenty of opportunities for falling.  It is what we do with those opportunities that create endurance, or not.  There is only one perfect one and that is not you or I.  In my life, imperfections help me to realize how reliant on Christ I must be. God basically promised us that we will sin (John 3:23) it is what we do with that sin that creates endurance.  Do we wallow in it, beat ourselves up, talk about how we are such a failure and will never make it to heaven OR do we pull ourselves up by our boots straps, repent, pray fervently, and go on doing better today than we did yesterday.  Believe it or not, the latter is much more effective for spiritual growth.  We see both responses in Jesus small group of apostles.  There was Judas and Peter.  Both responded to sin in their lives in a different manner.  So which are you?  Judas? Or Peter?

There are probably many other facets to endurance.  These are just three:  Working hard to do things that are often difficult, being patient in life and never, ever quitting, no matter what.  Let us all keep our eyes on the goal…HEAVEN.

In Christian Love, Suzie

So Much New

Throughout our lives, there will always be change.  Our family has gone through our share of changes this past year. Sometimes it takes my breath away with all the change...like a whirlwind!

In September, my mother moved from her home in California, to live in the house next door to ours. It was somewhat traumatic as she sold my childhood home but it has been a wonderful experience having mom right next door.  She has never really gotten to spend much time with my children and now they are there all the time.  It is a very special time for our family.  We  knew the day would come when her eyesight would be so frail that she wouldn’t be able to do the things that most of us take for granted and that gives us an opportunity to serve her.

Another big change is that I have entered the work force.  I am now a licensed RN and practice at a local hospital. It is very bitter-sweet.  I will always be a Titus 2 woman.  I love being at home!  My schedule allows me to work 3 night shifts a week and be home the rest of the time.  Because of this change, we are doing some non-traditional home schooling (is that an oxymoron?).  The children are taking several classes each through www.landryacademy.com and their remaining schoolwork, my DH and I are sharing the teaching responsibilities.  It is quite a change for all of us.  The children are doing well with the added responsibilities.  I am the one that is having just a hard time with my ‘babies growing up’.  I believe that my DH is very wise in creating a ‘distraction’ of sorts for me as we empty nest.

Lastly, for this post, but certainly not least is my newest pet additions.

Our chickens have their own oasis!  We ordered fifteen rare breed hens from www.mypetchicken.com in February and this is their home.  We gave a few away to friends and have 11 left.  Unfortunately, or maybe fortunate, one of our hens was a rooster.

Meet Zabra - a Silver Laced Polish Rooster...isn't he BEAUTIFUL!

Now meet the hens

These are the ones I call my 'old biddies'.  They are hens that give me eggs and we have had for a bit.  They are mostly rescued or hand me downs.  From left to right Blackie, an olive egg-er, she lays an army green colored egg, Autumn is a Rhode Island Red, Bambi is an Americana and lays a turquoise colored egg but not every day, and lastly Mrs. Feathered is a Production Red, laying a brown egg every day.

Next for the new hens, who have not started laying yet.  These are all 'rare breeds' It was so much fun deciding what breed of chickens we had as we had ordered an assortment of day old babies. You don't get to pick which breeds they send you...its just the 'leftovers'.. 

This is Buttercup-She is a Cecilian Buttercup

This is Queenie, a White Crested Blue Polish and behind her is Mars who is a Buff Brahma

The dark brown one is Brownie, a Partridge Cochin.  The white/grey one in front is Rainy.  She is a Blue Orpington.  The tan colored one is Peaches.  She is a Buff Polish and the one behind everyone is Fluffy.  She is a White Cochin.

I don't know what it is about chickens but I can sit on the stump in their coop and talk to them and all my cares go away.  It's like a little piece of tranquility!

I so enjoy my chickens, can you tell.  I believe it is one more blessing that God has given me to take care of myself during this time of transition..

May God provide you with blessings that assist you through the changes in your life.

GOD IS SO GOOD!

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights...

James 1:17 NKJV

We Are All Going Back To School

Our family has not been exempt from the current economic downturn, and so this fall, we have all returned to school.  Yes, I have joined my children in an educational journey.

Prior to being a mother, I was a nurse.  I thought my years of nursing were over when I had children.  Being a mother was everything I dreamed it would be and more.  I cherish time spent with my children.  The are growing up very rapidly and soon will be going away to college, yikes!  On top of the financial help, I think this journey will help me transition to an empty nester.  Shortly, I will have my license reinstated and return to work.

David began an external pre-engineering course at the local vocational school this fall.  He goes away to school every day  for two science and engineering courses.  He is continuing his home studies as well.  I miss him a lot but the independence and self teaching is very good for him.  He is learning a lot of time management skills, ie:  he has a lot on his plate!

I have had several well meaning people assume that the children be put in public school since I am going back to work.  Let me comment that public school or homeschool is a very personal decision for each family and ours has decided that public school is not an option for our family.  I know that sounds kind of strong however, we feel that sometimes the easiest decision is not the best one.  We are committed to seeing our children succeed in their education and life.  My dear husband has become more involved helping with Naomi and Joshua's school work.  It is good that he and I are working more as a team in many areas of our home.

Even though life seems so chaotic right now, I am thankful for many things: all the freedoms that we have in Christ and our country, the Word of God that guides each and every decision that we make and for family and friends that support us in our decisions, even though they may not agree with them.

May You Have a Thankful Day,

Suzie

 

Bountiful Baskets

Since our last post, we have discovered a fruit and vegetable co-op  called 'Bountiful Baskets' . It is a frugal way to purchase fruits and vegetables.

Every week at 12:00PM CDT we go online to www.Bountifulbaskets.org and purchase 2 baskets. (You can purchase up to 3 baskets. For our family of six, 2 baskets is plenty)  Each basket costs $15.00. When you send in your order, you will receive a receipt in your e-mail telling you when and where in your local area, you can pick up your basket. This co-op program came to our local community a few years ago. Check the website to see if there's a pick up location in your area.

The contents of our basket changes every week. We usually get our basic fruits and vegetables such as lettuce, apples, bananas, etc. Other then that, the items in your basket are mostly seasonal totaling $30-$40 when bought locally. We are always learning how to cook new delicious foods every week. 

You can also purchase add-ons which are large quantities of in season fruits and vegetables. The prices are very low. For example, 2 weeks ago we purchased 20 pounds of Roma tomatoes for $12.00. With these tomatoes we made fresh homemade salsa. See recipe as follows

Black Bean and Corn Salsa

8 cups tomatoes, peeled, chopped and drained

2 1/2 cups onions, chopped

1 1/2 cups green peppers chopped

1 cup jalapeno pepper, chopped

6 cloves of garlic

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp pepper

1/8 cup canning salt

1/3 cup vinegar

2 tbsp lemon juice

2 tbsp white sugar

1 15 oz. can of tomato sauce

1/2 cup tomato powder (dehydrated tomatoes blended into powder)

2 can (or equivalent cooked from dry) black beans

4 cups frozen corn

Mix all ingredients in large pot.  Lightly boil.  Pack hot salsa in sterile jars.  Process in water bath 10 minutes.  Makes 7-9 pints to 4-5 quarts

But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, long suffering  kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, 

self-control. against such there is no law.

Galatians 5:22-23

Blessings as you add more fruits to your life

-Naomi

Opportunity

This week has been an interesting one.  We arrived home from vacation to find that we had two funerals to attend, one today and one tomorrow.  As I pondered the two people who we would be remembering, I contemplated how different their lives and deaths were.  One was an older man who had a long chronic condition that lasted for several years.  The other was a younger lady who just happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.  It has made me think a lot about the subject of opportunity. No matter what type of opportunity, physical, spiritual, financial or other, it never lasts forever.  There is a window when it is open and then it goes away.  Procrastination is when you put off your opportunity to the point that you lose it.  Procrastination is not a good habit to have.  I think of the parable that Jesus told of the 10 virgins in Matthew 25:1-13, where 5 of the virgins were prepared but the other 5 were not.  When the bride-groom came, the 5 ill prepared could not get their lamps going because they had not prepared for a lengthy wait and thus were not able to go into the wedding feast. Those who were prepared got to go into the feast.  Verse 1 says that this parable is a likeness to the kingdom of heaven.  As long as we are alive, we all stand somewhere on the 'opportunity spectrum'.  If you have not obeyed the gospel, you can study the safety chain here.  It is just a group of verses that you can read and teach yourself how to become a  Christian.  Now is an opportunity to do that.  If you are a Christian, your opportunity comes from a different perspective  It is your responsibility to share the gospel with others.  Often that window of opportunity is rapid and short lived.   I think of the chorus of an old hymn that says, You never mentioned Him to Me, You taught me not the light to see, you met me day by day and knew I was astray, yet never mentioned Him to me. Often times we go about our daily lives and never talk to anyone about their souls. Is that the person that on the day of judgement will say, Why didn't you talk to me about Jesus?  As we ponder this, let us talk to someone about their soul today, it may be the last opportunity that you have.  

And He said to the, "Go into all the work and preach the gospel to every creature,  he who believes and is  baptized will be save; but he who does not believe will be condemned." Mark 16:15-16 NKJV
Blessings for many opportunities today, Suzie

Apologia Biology Module 1

This year, we are studying Apologia Biology for our science curriculum.  We have a couple other families that are doing the labs with us on Friday afternoons and today was our first lab.  We invested in this wonderful microscope and digital camera so we could share with you all our discoveries.  It was very exciting learning about our new tools of discovery.  Look at what all we saw.

This is an inner cheek scraping of oldest son, 40x with Methylene Blue contrast.

This is Millie the cat's hair at 40x

This is a grouping of youngest son's sloughed off skin cells from his head (frequently called dandruff) at 40x

This was our basic sewing thread, 40x

We all got to learn about the microscope, how to prepare a wet slide, mount it on the microscope stage and bring our objects in to focus.  It is going to be a great biology year.

O Lord, how manifold are Your works! In wisdom You have made them all.  The earth is full of Your possessions- Psalms 104:24 NKJV

Blessings as you ponder God's Wonderful Creation! Suzie

Homeschool Priorities

If you have home schooled for any length of time, I am sure you experienced what I did last Friday night.  It was our annual back-to-school night for our local home school group.  We all brought our covered dishes, ate, visited, caught up on the summers' events and then settled down to look at all the activities that are being offered in our home school group this year.  WOW!  What a plethora! Band, co-op, volleyball, soccer, Keepers and Contenders Clubs, moms meeting, field trips, etc.  You name it, and it could be done with this group.  All of it is very wholesome and good things for our children to do.  Many of the co-op classes are God-centered, Soccer includes scripture memorization, and all volleyball practices start with devotional and prayer.  These are all really good things.  I got caught up in it all these things last year just about drove myself and the children crazy doing all these 'good' things.  There needed to be a different way.  When our term ended last year, I determined to figure out what the purpose of all the good things was. The first question we asked was 'so why are we doing this thing called homeschool?' Dear husband and I reconsidered our homeschool priorities and decided on the following parameters for our extra curricular activities this year.

1. All extra curricular activities will take place preferably in the afternoon, and evening if necessary.  Most evenings need to be kept for family and Bible study.

2.  God's Word is primary, next,  musical instruction outside of the home will take priority over all other extra activities.

3.  We will not participate in any activity where amount of time required is left open ended.  We have had a couple of activities in the past that were like time robbers.  Just when you thought you had prepared for that activity, you needed to spend more time preparing something else for it. 

4.  We decided that we need to do things in small groups with other friends, rather than in large crowds (ie: co-op classes).  This would provide  more flexibility.  Thus, we decided to do a small group for Biology Lab.  There are only about five children...nice!
5.  We also decided to do away with curriculum that required a lot of teacher preparation.  That is time that I was taking away from my children to prepare their schoolwork.  

Then I went to work on a master schedule.  To give you an idea of what it looks like see the pictures below.

Now let me explain that a master schedule is a guide, I don't let it master ME!  It is simply an organized way for me to keep track of where we need to be at different times during the day.

I did a lot of thinking and researching over the summer as I really wanted to know the value of giving my children extra curricular activities. Was this important?  Why was this important?  I went to a book called Home Educated and Now Adults, a book of research done by Brian D. Ray, PhD.  The copy write date on this book is 2004 and the people participating in the study were all recent  home school graduates, which means these children were being home schooled in the 1980's and 1990's when no one really knew what homeschooling was and there certainly wasn't many other home schoolers around to do activities with.  My big question was, 'Are my children going to grow up to be normal, productive, Christian, citizens able to interact in everyday society even if I don't subject them to every type of social situation imaginable?"  The resounding answer supported by research is, yes!  In fact, they will be better prepared.

"The Home-Educated adults in this study were more civically involved than the overall national population" (pg 75)

The last page of the book, labeled 'Final Comment' states, "In summary, the home-educated adults in this study were very positive about having been homeschooled and toward homeschooling in general, actively engaged in their local communities, keeping abreast of current affairs, highly civically involved, tolerant of others expressing their viewpoints, attaining relatively high levels of formal education, religiously active and wide-ranging in their worldview beliefs, holding worldview beliefs similar to those of their parents, and largely home educating their own children." pg. 85

After much prayer and meditation on scripture, we  have done away with a lot of activities and replaced them with activities at home and with family.  Several classes are done as a family (Biology and Writing) and I like how the year is going.  I am spending time with my children.  This is how I always thought homeschooling should be.  I am learning to do my best and trust in the Lord for the rest.  He will take up the slack.

'I will love You, O Lord, my strength, The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer;  My God, my strength, in whom I will trust; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.'

 Psalms 18:1-2   

As you are planning your school year, may you trust in the Lord to guide all your ways. You and your children will be blessed.  Prayers and blessings for a fantastic year,  Suzie

Getting Back Into The Swing Of Things

So I realize that it has been a very long time since I have posted.  Let me share some things that have been going in my life.  First of all, let me say that grief is a really funny thing.  At first I found myself not wanting to do anything then I found myself being over run by activity.  Now I find myself coming into my own, growing in areas that I never thought would be.  This is a recent picture of me with two of my favorite things.  I am a quilter now.  This is me with my long arm quilting machine and my lovely stain glass window that is in my bedroom.  I found the window several years ago when we remodeled and I really love all the beautiful hues of color.  The quilting machine was given to me by my dad for Christmas before he passed away.  It took me almost a year to get it set up and even longer to actually use it.  It is such a blessing to me, now.  Who would have thought my dad could provide me with such a huge blessings.  More than a thing, he left me with an entrepreneurial concept of business ownership.  I am in the process of completing my first paid work.  It is a really good feeling of accomplishment.  This past year, I have found myself losing track of my priorities and we have been crazy busy.  I will talk about this in another post but recognizing that this is grief talking is a huge step in the right direction.

More later as we get going on our school year and all the things that go with that.  We have 2 high school students now, so challenges aboud.  Lots of fun too.

Blessings for a wonderful day,  Suzie   

Changes At Breakfast Time

We have had some recent changes at our breakfast table....the first of which is me being there.  I am not a morning person, or at least I havn't been until now.  We have recently found our family Bible study time being replaced with work, school and extra curricular schedules.  It seemed that we weren't even eating our dinner together in the evenings more than a couple days a week.  Dear husband (who is typically a morning person) decided that we would begin having our family Bible study time in the morning at the breakfast table.  That would be great, except....I don't to breakfast very well, at least until now.  I am learning to like it and honor my dh as well:)  It is amazing how this little change in our day has affected the whole day.  Some of the changes I have noticed have been things like, getting to bed earlier, ease in getting teens up in the morning, and just more pleasantness in general.  One of my challenges has been what to cook for breakfast.  Here are a couple of recipes that I have implemented in our life to make my life a bit easier and this transition more permanent.

Oven French Toast Sticks - makes 4 meals for our family

2 loaves of bread, cut in quarters to make sticks

12 large eggs

1 1/2cups half and half, fat free

6 tablespoons maple syrup

12 tablespoons powdered sugar

2 teaspoons Cinnamon

2 teaspoons Ginger

1/2 teaspoon Cloves

1/2 teaspoon Nutmeg

4 teaspoons vanilla

Cut bread into 4 sticks per slice.  Whisk all ingredients together well.  Dip quarters into mixture, coat thoroughly but not soggy.  Place on jelly roll pan sprayed with non stick spray.  Bake in preheated 400 degree oven (375 for dark pan) 10 minutes.  Turn over and bake 6 more minutes.  Flash freeze.  Reheat in oven 20 minutes, or in my case microwave 6 at a time for 2 minutes.

Vegan Granola

4 cups rolled oats

1 cup almonds

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1 teaspoon Cinnamon

1/4 cup coconut

1 cup sunflower seeds

1/2 cup wheat germ

1/2 cup maple syrup

1/2 cup water

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup pumpkin seeds

Grind together pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds and almonds in blender til crumbly.  In large bowl combine all ingredients.  Mix well.  Place on dehydrator sheets til dry, about 12-18 hours.  Beware, your house will smell like the best Cinnamon Roll you have ever smelled.  I make this available to mix with fruit and homemade yogurt.  

Overall, I like getting up with my family.  It causes our day to be more productive and helps us all to focus. 

The following verse is an encouragement to me.

Go to the ant, you sluggard!  Consider her ways and be wise, which, having no captain, overseer or ruler, provides her supplies in the summer, and gathers her food in the harvest.  How long will you slumber, O sluggard?  When will you rise from your sleep?  A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep-so shall your poverty come on you like a prowler, and you need like an armed man.

Proverbs 6:6-11 NKJV

Blessings for a productive day,  Suzie

12 Reasons to Homeschool Your Children

1. Life is not about filling in the blanks, its about learning to think.
2. Home is where you can provide your children with a Christian World View. It is actually illegal for them to recieve that in the public system, this includes public schools online.
3. God's Word can have a place of honor in your home. It can be read freely, without threat of harm.
4. No one knows your children better than you. Is there a better person in the world to teach them besides you? I should say not!
5. Your children can be confident in their role in your family unit. Activities can be done as a family most of the time.
6. God has blessed you with these wonderful children. They are a gift from him. It is difficult to mold them to His will, if they are gone 8 hours of the day.
7. You will never have to worry about where your child is, what he/she is doing or what he/she is being exposed to.
8. Your children do not need to sit at a desk for 6 hours every day to become an educated person.
9. It is not important that your child learn to be in the same environment with 20 other people their same age. This does not happen in the real world. It is said that if your child can get along with their siblings, they can get along with anyone.
10. Each child learns differently and at a different speed. Your child needs to be taught at his/her own pace, not the pace of everyone around them. Grade levels are really not necessary.
11. You will never have to worry that your child is the victim of violence. Your home is safe.
12. And lastly but certainly not least, educating your child at home will give your child a greater chance of an eternal reward in heaven.

Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God is one Lord. And thou shalt love the Lord thy God will all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. Duetronomy 6:4-7

Blessings as you begin your homeschool year. Suzie

The Four Alls

One of the activities that is suggested by our Tapestry of Grace curriculum is found in the book Knights and Castles by Avery Hart and Paul Mantell. The activity is called the Four Alls. It is found on pages 26-29 of that book. It's named comes from a poem found on those pages.

"The peasants who worked for all,

Prists who prayed for all

Knights who fought for all,

And kings who ruled all

I had trouble finding that many shoe boxes and we also had a Culteral Display night that we were attending with our homeschool group and I wanted the children to learn the concepts but not necessarily do all that 'creative' art, you know the kind that gets all over the house:) so this is what I came up with. A display board activity that included an overall view of the Feudal System of government and specifically addressed each class.

For each class, the children had to find pictures (on google images, please help them search with a good internet blocker like safe-eyes) that represented what that class ate, the houses they lived in, the clothes they wore, and the type of work they did. They all had to agree (among themselves) about the pictures to use. I then had my UG student write all the synopsis' and she decorated it all as well. I had my dialectic student write a description of the Feudal System (found at the top) and a short discussion about why it didn't work. We all worked together to cut out and glue the lettering. It was a fun project and the children learned a lot. When the Culteral Display night was over, we took the pictures off and displayed them in UG students history notebook.

For our display night, we dressed up in the costumes from our Medieval Fair and served a favorite fall soup called Chicken Barley Vegetable Soup.It was nummy (and easy, crock pot recipe)

Here is the recipe.

3 cup chicken cooked chicken pieces

2/3 cup barley

8 cups chicken stock

2 stalks celery, chopped

3 carrots, peeled and sliced

1 can diced tomatoes

3 cloves minced garlic

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 teaspoon basil

1/8 teaspoon oregano

1/8 teaspoon thyme

2 tablespoons parsley

Put all ingredients except parsley in crock pot in the morning. Cook all day. Add parsley. Cook 1 more hour. Serve with bread

Fun stuff. Blessings, Suzie

Strawberry Pie

Fresh Strawberry Pie is a summertime favorite at our house and I especially like it when the berries are on sale. Great buy today at .99 cents a pound. I try to make it at least a couple times each year. Here is what I do.

For the crust, I use a recipe that is very freezer friendly. It make 12 pie crusts at a time. I make it in my Bosch. Here is my dozen pie crust recipe.

1-3# can Crisco, I use butter flavor

1# butter, softened

20 cups flour

4 cups ice cold water

1T salt

3T sugar

In Bosch bowl with cookie paddles blend butter and Crisco. Add flour and blend til crumbly. Add salt and sugar. Now add water making a smooth dough. It may seem a bit sticky for pie crust but you will add a generous amount of flour when you are ready to use. Pull apart into 4-5 inch balls, wrapping in plastic wrap. Freeze. When needed, remove and thaw overnight. Roll out onto generously floured surface. Bake at 350 14 minutes or til lightly browned. Freezer life is 1 year. This make a wonderfully workable dough and a fraction of the cost of pre made pie crust.

After your dough is thawed and able to be worked, roll out onto generously floured surface. Roll 2 inches greater than a deep dish pie plate. Roll up and place in pie plate and unroll. Make any repairs with extra dough that is trimmed from the sides. Place any additional pieces on a cookie sheet and sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon for a tasty treat. Bake as directed. Crimp top of pie plate with a fork and also poke holes in the pie crust to prevent blistering. Bake as directed and let cool completely. Now you are ready to make your strawberry pie filling. Here is the recipe:

3# ripe strawberries, washed and trimmed

4T cornstarch

2 cups sugar

2 cups boiling water

1-6oz. package strawberry jello

Your baked deep dish pie shell

Whipped cream for garnish

Place washed berries attractively in pie crust. Blend cornstarch and sugar in a saucepan. Combine with water and cook until thick about 3-5 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and add jello. Stir until dissolved. Allow to cook but not cold. Pour mixture over berries. Chill for 2-3 hours or more. Garnish with whipped cream.

Blessings for a delicious Strawberry Pie, Suzie

Mars Study

You may note in the side bar in our blog that we use Exploring Creation with Astronomy by Jeannie Fulbright. My youngest son, 11 is really enjoying this learning adventure.

This year, I implemented the notebook that goes along with the text. I has helped the children to be more focused and organized about their science studies. I would highly recommend it.

Lesson 7 in Exploring Creation with Astronomy is all about the planet Mars. For Joshua's enrichment portion of this unit he chose to build a Mars Rover.

I considered having him use Lego's but wanted to get his creative juices flowing a bit more, so we made it an edible Rover instead. He made the list for the store which included Oreo's, Skittles, Hershey bar, chocolate icing, pretzel rods, candy Lego's, Oreo Cakesters, rope licorice and a gold chocolate medallion.

Here is the final result. He had so much fun and made a big mess. We have a small Dremmel tool that I let him use to carve/drill the holes in the Oreos and it took some trial and error, but he finally did it. We had a good discussion about building a strong foundation as well.

Blessings to Joshua on a job well done. Happy Homeschooling, Suzie

Wintery Cold Day

It has been unseasonably cold and we have had temperatures lower than we normally get any year, and yes, we have had snow that stayed around more than a few hours....and yes, my children are loving it!

The boys decided that they wanted to create a snow mountain so they filled an old garbage can with snow and then the next day dumped it out to create a huge mountain.

I really have had to keep a close eye on them as the wind chills have been below zero, yikes!

So, of course when they come in, they are cold and need to thaw themselves out in front of the crackling fire.

One of our family favorites when the weather is like this is called Chicken Tortellini Soup. Here is the recipe.

Chicken Tortellini Soup

6 cups chicken broth

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (or whatever you have to equal 1 cup, diced)

1 cup (or more) thinly sliced carrots

1 large onion, diced

4 stalks celery, thinly sliced

1 tsp thyme

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 or 2 bay leaves

2 cups Barilla Cheese Tortellini (dry)

Boil the chicken in 6 cups water til cooked. Remove chicken from broth and let cool. Discard bones if any. I use my Bosch to thinly slice all my vegetables, all in the same bowl. Dice chicken into bite size pieces. Place chicken back in pot with broth. Add vegetables and spices, cooking til tender about 15-20 minutes. Add dry tortellini and cook 10 more minutes. Remove bay leaves. Serve with fresh biscuits.

You can also dump all these ingredients (except the tortellini) in a gallon ziplock bag and freeze for a future meal. Its just as easy to make 2 as it is to make one. The second one I usually cook as a crockpot dinner, 4-5 hours on high, adding the tortellini the last 45 minutes or so.

For the biscuits, I often use Pillsbury Grands if I have them on hand. I only buy them if I can get them for $.50 cents a can or less. We have had many cans around here lately as I got a great deal on them a few weeks ago, at a BOGO sale. But if I don't have Pillsbury, I bake them from scratch. This biscuit recipe makes 2 dozen, so I refrigerate half of the dough for another time. It will keep for up to a week in the refrigerator.

Angel Biscuits

5 cups unsifted flour (I usually use half unbleached white and half wheat)

1/4 cup sugar (optional)

1 Tbsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

2 1/2 tsp yeast

2 Tbsp warm water

2 cups buttermilk

1 stick butter

Sift together dry ingredients. Cut in butter til pea sized. Place wet/warm ingredients in Bosch bowl. Add dry ingredients and mix. For Bosch users, do not overmix. The mixture will be more wet than what you may be used to, that is ok. Don't get it too dry or your biscuits will be like rocks and too dry and crumbly. Turn onto floured surface and press to 1/4 inch thick. Place on well oiled baking sheet and bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes. Dough may be stored in the refrigerator for up to one week. Makes 2 dozen biscuits.

I hope your family enjoys this meal as much as mine does. It is warm and healthy.

Blessings, Suzie

The Edible Cell

OK, so this is my edible cell that my brothers and I made to eat on family night. It was a science activity from my new science curriculum Exploring Creation with Human Anatomy and Physiology by Jeannie Fulbright.

Mom's note - We are using the notebooks for the first time for both this curriculum and Astronomy, LOVE THEM!!

The filling is lemon/yellow jell-o. Technically speaking it is called the cytoplasm. The mess you see to your right is a mixture of the lysomes (skittles) and the mitochondria (jelly beans). The green twist up at the top is the Golgi body (fruit roll ups) and the tube like thing you see going all thought the cell is the centrioles (Twizlers) If you would like to make one of these yourself here are the instructions:

1 packet of jell-o equals 3 cells.

YOU WILL NEED:

A sharp steak knife

A spoon

A plate

A glass or ceramic bowl

Cooking spray (such as Pam)

A box of yellow colored jell-o (cytoplasm)

A box of unflavored Knox Gelatin

A few jelly beans(mitochondria)

Several skittles (lysomes)

Starburst gummiebursts (Golgi body)

A fruit roll up (endoplasmic reticulum)

Nerds or cake sprinkles (ribosomes)

Twizzler pull and peels (centrioles)

A large gumdrop (nucleus)

Just to let you know we did not follow the instructions completely so ours and yours are not going to turn out the same.

Instructions:

Mix your yellow jell-o according to the package but add 1 packages of unflavored Knox gelatin.

Spray inside of bowl with cooking spray.

pour your jell-o mixture into bowls

let your jell-o harden over night.

Once your jell-o (cytoplasm)

is hardened apply your candies.

Once you have finished putting your candies in your Cytoplasm gently and slowly turn your bowl upside down onto a plate. Wallah! you have your edible cell.

We forgot to spray the bowl before putting jell-o in it so we tried to turn it over on one and it fell into pieces so we just left the rest in the bowl.

Blessings, Naomi

Happy New Year

Happy New Year, Everyone!

For many, this is a time for review and reflection. As I reflect on the changes that have taken place in our family in just one year, I am humbled. As many of you know, my dad went to be with God this year. Learning to live without an earthly father is the hardest life transition I have ever made. It forces me to depend on my heavenly father like never before. We have also 'adopted' my disabled brother who will now be living with us. His name is Andy and he is a great 'kid'. His in the picture above. He is the Vietnamese kid. This has been the reason for all the construction around here, which is now comepleted with the exception of a few moldings here and there. The boys now have a very large space in what used to be the garage. Andy has his own bedroom, now as well. My mother has also been with us since the beginning of December and it has been a wonderful visit. She will be heading home in about a week or two. Please pray for her as this is a difficult transition for her as well.

We rang in the new year with a 42 party with a few couples from church. Mom really enjoyed it. It was something that her and dad would do anytime they got together with family. We proceeded to teach the children how to play, with some success. It is kinda an adult game. After all, I had to be an adult before I was allowed to play:)

I don't traditionally reserve this time only for resolutions, rather, I try to get a little better every day of the year. There are times in my life of course that I feel more consistency than others, however most of the time, I am just trying to do better today than I did yesturday.

I press towards the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 3:14 NKJV

Blessings in the New Year, Suzie

Colonial Williamsburg

On our recent trip to Virgnia, in September, we visited Colonial Williamsburg. It truly was unlike anything our family has ever experienced. It was like going back in time 200 years, to the 18th century.

The Virginia Governors Palace (Governor Dunmore)

Colonial Williamsburg is a archaeologically accurate area of the real Williamsburg of the 18th century. Many of the houses and shops have been refurbished to be much like they would have in the 18th century. Archaeological research has shown them exactly where and what many of the town shops were, who owned them and what they made an sold. Therefore, Duke of Gloucester Street is much like it was in the 1770's in Virginia.

Colonial Williamsburg has an apprentice system in place as well, where artisans are taught to do the craft/skill as it was done in the 18th century, using the same tools as would have been used then as well. It was quite an amazing place!

Here we visited the blacksmith's shop. This was the only one in town in 1770. There was excavation going on beside this shop on property that was owned by the same person. It was the summer kitchen. It was interesting to watch the excavation. The home was on Duke of Gloucester Street and the shop and kitchen were behind. You entered a small gate at the side of the house and then walked through a courtyard to the smith shop. Not only were horseshoes made here but all kinds of tools, shoe buckles, cooking utensils, anything that was make of metal.

There were many different types of hammers and anvils in this shop, all for different purposes. Interesting!

As we walked down the street, we visited a shoemaker, the silversmith, and the millinery shop where you would buy clothing and accessories and even be fitted for your stays:)

As you leave the city streets of Williamsburg, you go into the 'country' where you find a plantation. This man was showing us how to hand hewn a log into a beam for support for a home. He instructed that you would fall this log in the forest and do all this there and then haul this beam to where you wanted. No sense in moving a heavy log before cutting it. It just made sense. This class was to demonstrate the art of building a home with tools of the time period. There was another man showing us how to split pine into clap boards that would be used to cover sides and roof.

Here the men demonstrated the use of a pit saw, which would be used much in building this house.

Other places we visited in Williamsburg were the Capitol Building where we learned much about the conflicts between the people and their government, the Governor Dunmore's Palace and the Courthouse, where we experienced a mock trial.

Overall this was a great family vacation. We also got VERY good prices as it was during home school week. Check their website. I believe they do this two time each year. There were special classes that they offered to us during this time as well. When we first began talking about it, the children (and I too) were not sure what to fully expect. By the end of our three days there, they were talking about coming back next year. That's what I call a successful vacation.

When we go back, here are some of the things that we will do differently:

1. Make sure to wear comfortable, closed toe shoes

2. Bring snacks and lots of water bottles, maybe even a cooler on wheels

3. Attend earlier in the week. There were some events that you had to 'register' for that were not available to us. The sign ups begin early in the week.

The highlight of our time in Colonial Williamsburg was the wonderful street re-enactments that occurred each afternoon. These provided so much excitement and learning for our children. IMHO there was a bit of literary license that took place but that just provided a platform for discussion among us later on. Above you see the drum and fifer core that marched before the Governors carriage.


Here the Virginia Army is calling people to the town center. The British Army is coming and they need to call for a volunteer Army.

Here the Revolutionary War volunteer army is being sworn in as solders. There is Josh and Daddy, right in the middle.


Here are our two soldiers, ready to fight for their country, and freedom from England. The are equipped with 1 rifle and 2 cider mugs and a bit of hard tack in their pockets.

We were grateful to be blessed with this vacation. Suzie

Construction...and Life

Things have been a bit quiet here and there is a very good reason for that. Our house is under construction and we have all been busy helping. Our little DIY project has blossomed. I am beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel so I can talk a bit about it. We are converting our 2 car garage to a bedroom for the boys and a utility room and their bedroom will be occupied by my handicapped brother who is coming to live with us. We are excited about his arrival next month. He will be an integral part of our family unit.

So we started this project way back in March when we got home from California. We had to empty this indoor garage space into somewhere so....we built a shed. You can see it in this post.

We were grateful that the tree missed it.

We then moved all the 'stuff' into the shed and other nook and crannies in the house. Have you ever had a pantry in your living room? I have! We hired the electrical and framing to be done but all the rest we have been doing ourselves. I think we will be ready for paint next week and carpet on the weekend, yay!

Take a look at all our work...and play:)

Did I mention that we went without a washing machine and dryer for several days:)

When my father went to be with God, we were blessed with several of his earthly posessions that have made this project possible. The drill ds is using was his, a DeWalt of course, daddy always bought quality when it mattered. We were also blessed to be able to purchase my daddy's truck from my mother. We could have never hauled all the things necessary to do a project of this size, without it. When I was a child, my family did a very large addition to our family home, it took 7 years to complete. One day, I came into our addition to find my daddy's hammer laying there. I had no idea that it had been given to my husband by my mother and was shocked to see it, knowing full well who it belonged to. It is amazing to think that in a small way, daddy is helping us to make our addition possible. Ds and I both have shed not a few tears thinking about not being able to share this space with him.


Here I am with the spackle job. Not my favorite, but necessary! I am glad this job is done.

Last but certainly not least is the sanding. Boy am I glad this is quickly coming to an end. Maybe I will be able to see my furniture again, after I wipe some white dust away:) Joshua learned to like the sander. He became a pro by sanding the ceiling smooth so we could texture it.

I hope to get back to blogging soon. My mother and brother are both coming for Christmas. Brother is planning on staying indefinately and mom will go back sometime, not sure when. We are looking forward to both of them being with us. It will be a wonderfully cozy Christmas.

Blessings for all, Suzie

The Puppy Dog Song

While at Roundhouse Camp (see here), the children performed a song that we have affectionately named the Puppy Dog Song. It was a favorite of both my grandmother and father who both recently passed away. I think it helped us all to remember them fondly through this song. It's a catchy little tune with honest words. My mother told me that my 94 year old grandmother used to giggle at it, in her sweet, sweet, way.

The children did a fantastic job! I am so proud of them!

See for yourself!

They worked so hard on this project and it came off without a hitch! They proved that they can work as a team.

Blessings, Mom

Roundhouse

We just returned from a 2 1/2 week vacation. It was fabulous! On of the purposes for our vacation was to attend Roundhouse, a homeschool camp for families who are members of the church of Christ. You can read more about this camp here.

This is the 21st year that this camp has been held. Each year they have a t-shirt made and for their 20 year, last year, this wonderful quilt was made. It hangs above the podium where most of our activites are held. Being a quilt lover, I was very impressed with it. We were not able to make camp last year. The camp spun off from a newsletter called The Home Train thus the name Roundhouse.

This year, the children were able to be involved in the zip line. It was nail biting for me to watch but they all loved it.

Do you see how high up that is?

Roundhouse was mostly about seeing our old friends from years past and making new ones. For me, it was about getting my spiritual cup filled up so that I can make it through another year of homeschooling. My children express that it is truly a place where they feel like they fit in a bit better than in most circles. I glean lots of encouragement for the year to come through moms jam session and workshops. For those who wish, there were all other types of activities including Bible bowl, spelling bee, a crafts fair and activity fair. My children spent a lot of time fishing. They were the go to kids for all the line and tackle needed.

Can you tell we had a wonderful vacation. We also camped on the Piankitank River and spent several days at Colonial Williamsburg. I will post of those outings in a few days.

Blessings, Suzie