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