Posted in Blogger Friend School

It has taken me way too long to get this assignment done. ~Goals~. Just the word intimidates me a bit because I don't want to set the goal out for others to see then maybe not accomplish what I have set out. Nevertheless, I know I must complete this assignment.

 Boy, that's not very brave I know....just being real ladies.  I do have fears and at times anxiety or maybe the thought of not measuring up to someone elses standards or even my own get the best of me...only for a moment then I am reminded all the sudden of a scripture.  I believe that the Lord even reads my blogs as I write them . I know that may sound silly but hey, I believe it.

The scripture that popped into my mind is Philippians 4:13."I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me."  He often brings this one to mind becuase too often I find myself saying "I can't". Well He lets me know I can. I can accomplish these goals because He will, He does give me the strength to do so. So here it is, my assignment.

1. Stick to a daily devotion and prayer time with the Lord alone. I do this only sometimes and not as often as needed. I mean I read the Word and study and watch preaching on TV, I pray in the morning as I wake up and in the evening before going to bed. This is not what I am talking about. I mean setting daily devo time and no matter what sticking to it.   Reward: A closer walk with the Lord.
2. Set a schedule for school, cleaning, laundry, cooking, etc. and stick to it. I have the hardest time doing this. I have written that thing out so many times I know it like the back of my hand  yet sticking to it is something different all together.   Reward~ Less stress
3. Get more organized in my home and in the homeschool room. I'm talking color coded folders and such . Only one junk drawer and have a set day to go through it once a week. Reward~ Less stress
4. Use my Home Management Binder .
5. RELAX reward~ less stress
6. Sleep more. I don't get enough sleep. I sleep between 3-5 hrs per night and sometimes less than that. There are those days that my body just shuts down at 8 p.m. and I sleep until 8 am the next morning. That happens about once a month or so. So I guess what I need to do is set a bed time for not only the dc but for myself also  and stick to it. Reward~ more sleep less stress
7. Finish reading a whole book before moving onto the new one.
8. Go on more field trips (inexpensive or free is even better) with the children.  Reward~ seeing the dc have fun
9. Go outside more- with the children. Reward~ Enjoying the great outdoors
10. Learn to say "no" more often if needed. Reward~ less stress
11. Don't overwhelm myself with taking on more than what I can accomplish in a day. I mean I know I can do all things but I don't have to push it.  Reward~ Less stress
12. RELAX Reward.......yep, you guessed it...Less stress.

Okay, so there it is. A few of the goals I see that I need to accomplish and with the strength that Christ gives me, I can do it .

Be blessed

Stacy

Posted in Blogger Friend School

Part A: Share your favorite Christmas/Holiday cookie recipe.

First off I really don't have a holiday cookie that I bake :( However, I love to bake choco chip cookies ~year round~ my sweet children and their friends all love to eat them as well. So they are the fav around here for now. I first got the recipe from the back of a bag of chocolate chips I purchased. Sometimes I add a little less flour. I usually make a double batch beacuse one just doesn't last long enough around here plus my hubby likes to take some to work with him and share with his workers as well.

Choco chip cookie recipe

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2  teaspoon baking soda
• about 3/4  teaspoon salt (sometimes 1/2 teaspoon)
• 2 sticks (salted, sweetened) butter, softened
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 1/4  teaspoon vanilla extract ( I use imitation)
• 2 large eggs
• 2 cups ~any chocolate chips (semi sweetened). I actually use nestle or generic brand from wal mart) Occasionaly I replace the choco chips with white choco chips or add nuts. I have tried a few of the other chocolate chips but I like the Nestle or Wal-Mart brands the best so far.

preheat oven to 375° F. ( this will vary depending on you oven)

Put baking soda, flour and salt together in bowl. Stir with spoon to mix well. In seperate bowl (large) beat butter, sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract and mix until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well. Slowly  add the flour, baking soda, and salt mixure to this and mix well. Time to add in the choco chips. Then I spoon them (me and the kids) onto the baking sheets. I do use wax paper on my baking sheets. It's easier to remove and allow cookies to cool and add the next batch to the cookie sheet to put in the oven.

Place in Oven and bake for 9 to 13 minutes or until golden brown. The time on cooking will also vary depending on your oven so check after 9 minutes until the cookies are golden brown.  Allow to cool for a few minutes then pour a nice cold glass of milk and sit down, grab a few of these cookies and enjoy~ anytime of the year they are a hit in my house.  Here are a few photo's of my children and their cousins having fun making these cookies and then of course enjoying the fruits of their labor.

Part B: Share a memory, story or tradition of baking any Christams/Holiday cookies.

Okay well until about this time of the year in 2002 I didn't even try to bake. Just did store bought for the most part. I had never baked homemade cookies before. I know, thats just awful. Three dc at the time and never baked cookies. I must admit this was about the time God was really beginning to work on me as a mother, giving me the heart I have now in this area of my life. I should say this was when I started yeilding to the Lord and allowing His desire for me to become my desire as well. To be a mother and wife and actually enjoy it.  Anyway, A close family member came by and wanted to bake some of the choco chip cookies. He brought all the ingredients and so we did it, we baked cookies for the first time. My little girl was in heaven. Her and her brothers were having so much fun being able to get their hands into that cookie dough and spooning the dough onto the sheets. When I saw how much more the children enjoyed those cookies, not just the eating part but the time together it was then that these cookies became a tradition in our home. The joy that filled my heart I can not even begin to explain. It is like something just clicked inside of me and I knew that was the beginning of me being able to enjoy motherhood. Baking and such seemed so boring until that day. I thought only grandma's or aunts or anyone other than myself could possibly have fun at this kind of stuff. Boy was I ever wrong . The older the children get the more fun we have when baking together. Of course we have since then tried a lot of other cakes, cookies, even made pralines and chocolate covered peanut butter balls a time or two, however these are still the favorite in our home. I have recently started baking (in a bread machine) the homemade bread and they LOVE it. My children really enjoy making sweets and I enjoy the time spent with them. This may sound silly to you but I will never forget that first time. Here are a few photos from that day in 2002.

Posted in Blogger Friend School

Part A - Share about your family’s laundry.

Where is it kept? In the laundry room pictured below. What is that coffee cannister and cup doing on the dryer? Read on and you will find out. I have two hampers in the laundry room right as you enter the door to the left. I have tried many other ways like each child having their own hamper/basket in their rooms. This did not work for our household. The clothes seem to pile up much faster and instead of putting dirty clothes only in the hamper/basket I was rewashing clean clothes that had never been worn. I am blessed when the clothes actually make it into the hampers instead of on the floor directly in front of them. Anyone know what I am talking about there???

Who does it? Well, we have a chore list posted on my fridge. I printed it out on the pc onto a full page magnet sheet. Each day a different child has the laundry (laundry room cleaning included). I am the only one who washes due to many discolored clothes in the past. My boys (all four..lol) didn't like all the undies being pink in color after one of (nobody knows who) did the washing. Each child has this chore. When it is their turn to do the laundry it includes hanging dry or placing in dryer, folding and placing on hangers. The clothes are then placed on the family members bed to who thay belong. It is then their duty to put the clothes away in their proper place. Does this always get done correctly? Ummm......no. However we keep on tugging at it one day at a time.

How does your family sort it? Sort??? What is that??? No really, I know this is terrible but we sort as we go. The reason for the two hampers is one for whites and the other for colors. However, this never seems to get done so I admit defeat in this area . I try and pick my battles wisely and have decided that this one, well... is not worth the effort of fighting anymore.

Do you wash by hand?  Only if I have to .

Hang clothes on the clothesline?  Can You define clothesline to me? I once had one of those but my husband took it down. He does not like the way it looks! So, we have this large fenced in area far in the back corner of our property. Well was used to house our goats that have since been given away or cooked...I know thats terrible. Anyway, I can hang up to 5 large loads of clothes over that tall fence so this is what I use to hang my clothes on. I suppose that looks better than a clothesline . The days that the weather doesn't want to cooperate with me, I use a rod inside my laundry room and the dryer. Also in the evening I will use my chairs in the kitchen or in the classroom, ...whatever works .

Make your own laundry soap?  Yes I do. Now I have just started this and only made two double batches of this stuff so far. I use a recipe I found at http://www.thefamilyhomestead.com/laundrysoap.htm  by Crystal Miller. There are a lot of recipes that popped up when I did a search but this one had step by step pics HERE so I chose to try it first. LOL, I am such a visual learner. I have tweaked it a bit and added fabric softner after it sits for about 16-24 hrs. I make a double batch, it last longer and like I dsaid before...lots of laundry here. I  believe I will continue as long as I am able to do so. It works great, cleans the clothes as well as the Gain I was using before and I add liquid fabric softner to the batchy after it has turned to a soup like gel. The clothes are soft, clean and smell good. I am also saving a load of money due to the fact I do a lot of laundry here.

So, what is in that coffee cannister on the dryer? it is filled with homemade laundry soap and the cup next to it, you guessed it...is the cup I use for each load. Yes, I recycle as many of the plastic containers as I can. My hubby even uses these containers for his work stuff like nails, spacers for tile and such. A penny saved is a penny earned, you know that old saying . We have a load of these cannisters...I drink way to much coffee.

This is a pic of the soap about 3 hrs after making it. I keep it in a 5 gallon bucket (recylced from my husbands flooring business) next to the washer. I do cover it with a towel and keep a plastic rod inside of it to stir between washes.

Posted in Blogger Friend School

 This week's assignment is to share a piece of your past.  The assignment is to post a baby picture and share a special Scripture that reminds you of your past. Each piece of our childhood years plays an important part of in who we are today.

Slide shows, scrapbooks, photo ecards, and more

The one scripture that reminds me of being a little girl is the first one I memorized. Being brought up in the denomination that I was...we all remembered this verse first and foremost.

"Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost." Acts 2:38

I don't have a lot of memories of my childhood. God has healed my mind and my heart and  each year since I have been able to remember a bit  more about the good years as a child. I know there are many good memories and I thank God for bringing them back to me one day at a time.

I loved my big brothers although I didn't always act like it. Ya know, the normal girl stuff like tattling and whining and such. Singing to the all the commercials even when they would beg me stop. Just so I got their attention is all that mattered to me.  They loved to aggravate and tease me and of course they taught me how to be tough. They let me play GI Joe although I could only be the nurse and somehow the medical building always got bombed first and there were never any women survivors.LOL

My oldest brother has a birthday in just two days. He, even after 34 yrs still calls me "Sissy" and I love to hear him say it. We all loved to spend time at Grandma's house. For years there were many miles between her house and ours and the visits were few and far between. Eventually we moved closer to Grandma's house. A few years passed and we moved too far away to visit more than once a year if even that. 

Grandma and Grandpa have gone on to be with the Lord.  I now live in the same town that they lived in as I was growing up. I moved back about five years ago. Sometimes I will take a different path home just so I can stop and look at the spot where the old house used to stand. The house is gone but those memories, they live on. Today I thank God for the good memories of my childhood. Though they may be few, they are part of my Precious Past.

Be blessed.

Stacy

Posted in Blogger Friend School

This week our assignment is to make signs with our blog name or our pen/real name.

Scripture on my mind this week ;

Posted in Blogger Friend School

"The Internet offers a lot of treasures! It may not be in the form of actual gold, although I’m sure some could find some on the Internet - probably on ebay! Being a Blogger Friend is all about sharing our treasures. The assignment this week is to share your Internet treasures. Below is a list featuring things that homeschooling moms might be looking for: information, support, ideas, or actual items that pertain to our lives. Each one of us holds some or all of these treasures that need to be shared.  Take this list and add your "golden" treasured sites so that we may all share the wealth."

A website you visit every day:
www.homeschoolblogger.com of course  

First place you look for a book to buy:
online search engine

Favorite Homeschool Support Area:
www.homeschoolblogger.com

Homeschool Site full of information that you use regularly:

http://www.dltk-kids.com

http://www.tlsbooks.com

and many others

Site that you buy your NEW curriculum from:

http://www.christianbook.com/

www.abeka.com

 www.learningthings.com 

Site that you buy your OLD curriculum from:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FreeHomeschool/  pay for shipping only

http://vegsource.com/homeschool/ 

Site that offers frugal tips to save money:
1 Frugal Friend 2 Another

http://www.livingonadime.com/blog/

A site that provides good wholesome recipes:
not sure about the wholesome but find my recipes on http://www.recipezaar.com/ and http://www.bhg.com/recipes/

An informational site that shows you "how to":
not sure

A homeschool family website that you purchase from to support them:
don’t have one ..yet

A charity website that you support:
none

Favorite Graphic site to get graphics for your blog or other things:
I am still learning the graphics part but I have downloaded freebies from http://www.graphicgarden.com/

Site that offers an educational calendar listing important historical events and also to keep you informed on upcoming events (ex: Fire Safety Week):

Just found out through reading a classmates assignment that the Training Hearts site does this

Site that offers homeschool freebies:
www.homeschoolestore.com 

 I am there almost every weekJ I Love freebies. LOL

Site that offers any kind of freebies:

http://homeschooling.gomilpitas.com/materials/Free.htm

http://chartjungle.com/chores.html          ( free pintables)

A blog to read that is always full of humor:

Not sure

A blog to read that is always full of useful information:
http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/homeschoolingmommaof4/

A blog to visit because it is eye appealing and easy to read:

http://www.traininghearts.com/blog/ http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/bubbebobbie/ http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/2peter318/

A blog that you read because it inspires you to be a better homeschooling mom:

http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/bubbebobbie/

http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/homeschoolingmommaof4/

and lots of others!

A site that you would allow your children to visit:
www.aamath.com , www.funbrain.com

List any other sites that you would like to share that have provided you with a wealth of golden information:.

www.donnayoung.org

www.hslda.com

www.homeschoolreviews.com

www.crosswalk.com

Ok so there it is. This assignment was harder for me than I thought it would be. Now I can’t wait to go “gold digging”.  Be blessed.

Stacy

Posted in Blogger Friend School

This weeks assignment from Blogger Friend  School ( click on the graphic on my sidebar for more info)is to use the first letter of the alphabet, and describe myself or things that are important to me. So here goes, hope yall enjoy. I had fun with this one:)

Posted in Blogger Friend School

A. My Favorite place to blog reflected my home:)

B. This is a photo of my home from the side view with flowers and a little bit of landscape. As I stated in my first assignment, "There is no place like home"

 photo removed.

I was not going to share my desk as it is not the most organized blogging spot, but as I read a few of my classmates assignments I changed my mind. So here is a photo of my spot inside. As of right now my husband and children are all tucked away in their beds (only a few feet away from me) sleeping for the night and I am sitting in my comfy chair with my coffee on my desk and blogging away:) Yes I drink coffee at night.

C. A scripture verse this week upon my heart.

Art by ChristArt.com

Have a blessed week.

Stacy

Posted in Blogger Friend School

I got started blogging on my own computer and  saving it in Word in a file. Then through surfing the web I heard of blogging and found HSB. I decided to try it out and found that I really enjoy it. I would say my personal goal for journaling is to try and post daily and at the end of each day to be able, no matter the days issues, to encourage someone else by lifting up the Name of Jesus. In turn this will encourage my soul to keep on keepin on:)

1. My dream place to blog? There’s no place like home Right here with my family. Home could have a view like the photo (dreaming here), just as long as I have the comfort of knowing all my littles (and the hubby) are tucked away in bed, only a few feet away.

2. What time do I usually blog?  I usually like to blog in the evening. Although there are those days I do blog at other times, my usual is in the late evening after the house is fast asleep. 

3. My Favorite drink ?I like Coffee, a  Café Mocha.

4. My favorite book?  By far my favorite book of all times is none other than…..

THE HOLY BIBLE.

4. My Favorite dessert?  I love chocolate. Chocolate cake, chocolate brownies, chocolate bars, assorted chocolates, chocolate ice cream...Okay you get thie pic.