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Dec. 5, 2009
States I've Been To
Posted By Sagerats in More About Me
visited 16 states (32%) Create your own visited map of The United States I have no idea if anyone is truly interested in why I've been to certain states but my children may want to know some day.
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Dec. 5, 2009
God's Accuracy
Posted By Kim Wolf<>< in Homeschool
God's accuracy may be observed in the hatching of eggs.
For example: -the eggs of the potato bug hatch in 7 days; -those of the canary in 14 days; -those of the barnyard hen in 21 days; -The eggs of ducks and geese hatch in 28 days; -those of the mallard in 35 days; -The eggs of the parrot and the ostrich hatch in 42 days. (Notice, they are all divisible by 7, the number of days in a week!) The lives of each of you may be ordered by the Lord in a beautiful way for His glory, if you will only entrust Him with your life. If you try to regulate your own life, it will only be a mess and a failure. Only the One Who made the brain and the heart can successfully guide them to a profitable end. God's wisdom is seen in the making of an elephant. The four legs of this great beast all bend forward in the same direction. No other quadruped is so made. God planned that this animal would have a huge body, too large to live on two legs. For this reason He gave it four fulcrums so that it can rise from the ground easily. The horse rises from the ground on its two front legs first. A cow rises from the ground with its two hind legs first. How wise the Lord is in all His works of creation! God's wisdom is revealed in His arrangement of sections and segments, as well as in the number of grains. -Each watermelon has an even number of strips on the rind. -Each orange has an even number of segments. -Each ear of corn has an even number of rows. -Each stalk of wheat has an even number of grains. -Every bunch of bananas has on its lowest row an even number of bananas, and each row decreases by one, so that one row has an even number and the next row an odd number. -The waves of the sea roll in on shore twenty-six to the minute in all kinds of weather. All grains are found in even numbers on the stalks, and the Lord specified thirty fold, sixty fold, and a hundredfold - all even numbers. God has caused the flowers to blossom at certain specified times during the day, so that Linnaeus, the great botanist, once said that if he had a conservatory containing the right kind of soil, moisture and temperature, he could tell the time of day or night by the flowers that were open and those that were closed! Thus the Lord in His wonderful grace can arrange the life that is entrusted to His care in such a way that it will carry out His purposes and plans, and will be fragrant with His presence. Only the God-planned safe life is successful. Only the life given over to the care of the Lord is fulfilled. [Author Unknown] "The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, & His understanding no one can fathom." Isaish 40:28 Blessings from Ohio, Kim Wolf<>< |
Dec. 4, 2009
Bye Baby Bunting, Dear Man's Spotted Something
Posted By Sagerats in KentuckyLife
Tonight as we were driving away from the house Dear Man perked up at the wheel and said, "Guess what I saw, right there? Right there!" He pointed excitedly at the road in front of the car.
The family started guessing, thinking it must be something unusual for us to see, "Opossum. Racoon. Turtle." We called to him. No, it wasn't any of those. So we started calling out more familiar creatures, "Cat. Dog." No, not those either. "A bunny!" Dear Man said with delight. The whole family just sat there for a moment--thinking--and then I said, "You know I don't think I've seen a bunny in forever." The family began to try and figure out the last time we had seen a bunny. It was in Kansas, in July, at the Dodge City camp ground we stayed at. A couple of bunnies had been trailing along behind a gaggle of geese. I'm sure this is a rather odd conversation if you only see rabbits occasionally, but when we lived in Oregon we saw cottontails and jackrabbits on a daily basis. To think that all this time we've not seen a rabbit at all and until that moment didn't even realize we had been missing them! No wonder Dear Man had been so excited by it. I'm sure one reason for not seeing very many bunnies is because we live in town, but we've done some traveling around the countryside and haven't seen any there either. Are bunnies rare in Kentucky? |
Dec. 4, 2009
Featured Blogger ~ PearceFamily
Posted By HomeschoolBlogger Company Blog in Featured Blogger of the Week
 It's time to get back to Featured Blogger again! It's been a nice break and it was nice to have Amanda Bennett on the HSB home page for two whole weeks, but there are so many other bloggers to meet! This week I want to introduce you to the PearceFamily of Planted Oaks and Little Acorns. This fun family takes time to enjoy life and homeschooling. We've been talking about preparing for Christmas here on the Porch but how about preparing for a baby? Lori is one blessed mama! Her oldest daughter gives her a pedicure before the new bundle of joy arrives. What a special treat! Have you joined the workbox craze? Then meet another mom who has fallen in love with this way of doing homeschooling! She has a whole category dedicated to workboxes. Now here's a fun idea for blessing other families this Christmas! Give them 12 days of gifts that fit with the 12 Days of Christmas song. Lori blogged about it in 2 separate posts, days 1-4, and days 5-12. Go wish the PearceFamily a Merry Christmas! Tia Linschied Senior Editor of HSB |
Dec. 4, 2009
Homemade Liquid Dish Soap
Posted By Kim Wolf<>< in Homeschool Kitchen
First of all, let me share w/you a section about "Soap vs. Detergent" from the book, "The Naturallly Clean Home" by Karyn Siegel-Maier. This information helped solidify my conviction to make my own house cleaning products. FYI...my own comments will in brackettes [ ].
"Before the dawn of large-scale manufacturing, liquid soaps were made from saponins, foaming, sudsy substances found in the roots of soapwort, soapberry, & yucca. The typical liquid dishwashing soap bought from the grocery store is made from a petroleum distillate, a toxic pollutant & nonrenewable source. [Dish detergents are a leading cause of FATAL poisonings in small children!!] This product is actually a detergent, not soap. The safe & natural alternative is a vegetable-based soap called castile, a pure soap made from cocnut or olive oil. It is readily biodegradable...Castile soap can be found in liquid or solid form in health food stores &, thankfully, some supermarkets [I get mine in the health food section of Kroger]." Here's my favorite formula: Liquid Castile soap 10 drops lavender essential oil 10 drops rosemary essential oil **Other great essential oils are grapefruit, orange, citrus, eucalyptus, or bergamot. Experiment w/your own favorites. ~Fill a clean, old dish soap bottle, or same size squirt bottle, w/liquid Castile soap. ~Add oils. ~Shake bottle before each use. ~Squirt in dish water & wash. **This is a relatively low-lather soap so don't over-use. 1-2 TB per sink full will do. Blessings from Ohio, Kim Wolf<>< |
Dec. 4, 2009
Making Ends Meet
Posted By Julie in God Breathed
As I watch my children struggle with ungrateful hearts I find the same wicked heart in myself.
It's ugly. I don't like it. God has so blessed our family with a job, a warm house, a healthy family, good friends. But I find myself sometimes staring into the abyss of what once was, how living in debt (although a total lie) was so much easier than trying to live life without it. Why do our hearts ever wander to what is not? Why, when He has proven Himself faithful time and time again, do I still struggle for control? Sometimes I really want to smack myself. Or take my heart out of my chest, give it a stern talking to and return it to it's position within my body. Thankfulness. Gratefulness. Contentment. Peace. Great-Full-Ness.........GOD. "Lord, let me walk with the wise so that I may be wise. Give me a thankful heart. Forgive me when my doubt and unbelief become bigger than you." |
Dec. 4, 2009
Take Our Survey and Get 2 Free E-Books!
Posted By HomeschoolBlogger Company Blog in TOS News
 Take The Old Schoolhouse homeschool survey and you can get these 2 E-Books for FREE!
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Dec. 4, 2009
Molly Makes Merry
Posted By HomeschoolBlogger Company Blog in Schoolhouse Store News
 The Christmas season is almost here--
are you feeling the stress yet?
Don't!
This season we bring all ladies and "Ye Merry Gentlemen" tidings of comfort and joy!
God rest hardworking families
Ideas are on the way
With gifts and food to bake yourself
This Christmas you will say:
"With Molly's help I'll make great gifts
For a perfect Christmas day!"
December's Digest is comfort and joy
Comfort and joy
Molly's Money-Saving Digest brings great joy!
With so much to do and less than a month to get it all done, the December Molly's Money-Saving Digest E-Book shows you exactly how to get those loose ends all wrapped up!
 The special feature for December is:
Comfort and Joy for Christmas  PLUS! During December ONLY, receive the latest E-Book from Sheri Graham, Homemade Gift Mixes (200+ pages!) and The Urban Homemaker's E-Book: Holiday Open House--Open Your Heart and Your Home when you purchase Molly's December Digest!
Just in time for Christmas! A link to the free E-Books will be available upon checkout. Are you worried about gift-giving? Get excited about giving to others! Make some spectacular gifts yourself quickly and easily. Enjoy phenomenal tips to keep the holiday season stress-free right into January as you put Molly's ideas to good use! Tucked neatly within the pages of Molly's Digest, you'll find:
Would you like to be more "PC"? You can be practical and cost-conscious this Christmas season when you use Molly's ideas! Be "pleasantly confident" this year when using these inspirational gifts. Discover . . .
"In this edition, you will also find recipes as well as ideas for special days during the month of December. For example, I had no clue that December 8 was a National Brownie Day. Mmmm! Sounds delicious and good to me . . . My favorite article was definitively the "Eight Frugal Family Crafts." It gave me special ideas not only for extended family members but for my own family as well. I really love the Movie Night and the Super Sundaes ideas. Very creative and fun to put together . . . For me, I would love a Book Lovers' Basket or a Scrapbook Box of Surprises--anything to brighten my holidays. Once again, I think that Molly's Money-Saving Digest for the month of December 2009 is wonderful. Thanks Molly for this full year of your wonderful ideas!" -Isabelle Lussier, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
The December Molly's Money-Saving Digest is the twelfth edition and completes the first year of Digests, bringing practical tips for frugal living to you every single month for all of 2009!
Take a Peek inside!
 Let nothing cause you dismay. Enjoy comfort and joy today!
Instantly download the Molly's Money-Saving Digest E-Book.
 Monthly Feature--"Comfort and Joy for Christmas" will be exactly what your family feels when you simplify and minimize. Be courageous this Christmas and eliminate obligation and guilt, consider family gift-giving, agreeing to end gift exchanges or to make homemade gifts--Molly tells you how!
"Above all, relax, refocus, and realize that Christmas is about Christ's birth . . . not about staging a magazine-perfect production and trying to meet unrealistic expectations--financially or otherwise. Take the holiday back--for faith, family, and friends. Resolve to keep it simple and sweet."
So much great information--and that's just the monthly feature! There are so many more great sections to discover in every Molly.
Do you love details? Check out each and every part of the December Molly's Money-Saving Digest right here:
Great gift ideas save you far more than $4.95!
New Molly readers, veteran Molly readers, homemakers, homeschoolers, and moms very much like you have previewed the December Molly--what did they say? "As always, there are money-saving tips and recipes in the pages of the latest Digest. An entire week's worth of menu-planning meals for suppertime are shared, including a terrific recipe for frozen meat loaf. There are a few recipes for making your own candy, along with links for others and how to turn the goodies into great gifts. In addition, there is fantastic idea after idea for low-cost gift-giving--much appreciated in my household this year! . . . And there are ideas for decorating too, such as yummy-smelling cinnamon ornaments, as well as some non-Christmas decorating ideas for your home. I'm going to be referring to this copy of the Digest often as the Christmas season approaches!" -Kimberly Charron, Cape Breton, Canada
"Knowing that this issue was December and would be directly linked to the holiday season, I was so pleased to read that the writing for the Digest would be directed towards Christians with diversity in convictions and beliefs and traditions in mind. With that said I was able to grab the Digest and sit to glean cheerfully from its contents without worrying about whether or not to avoid or pass through any of the writings . . . I got my cooking thinking cap back on in the recipe section and am making my lists for cooking up those extra meals for the freezer. Once I'm in the habit of doing it, boy, does it make life easier in the kitchen on co-op and errand days for us. On a personal note, it always makes me wonder why people only decide to help out others during the holiday season. Is Christ not in our lives EVERY DAY of the year, EVERY month as well? Setting our children up for service projects and helping the homeless and families in need should be a part of our everyday living, not just the last month of the year. I enjoyed reading all the gift ideas, and I think I might even do those year 'round, especially to families with multiple siblings--giving is so much fun! I love the idea of giving for the body, soul, and spirit; wow, what a great concept to teach with as well! All in all, another wonderful Digest full of ideas and encouragement for the homeschooling Christian family." -Katrina Flaws, Murphy, NC
"December's Molly's Money-Saving Digest is perfect for this year. I had already been stressing over how to still celebrate a meaningful Christmas with less money and less time. Molly's Digest has so many great ideas to de-stress my Christmas time. I had to grab pen and paper to write down recipes and ideas. The candy-making section inspired me to try something new. The family gift ideas are a great way to make someone know they are special without having to spend too much. I also thoroughly enjoyed the ideas from readers on new Christmas traditions--at least new to me. Now I can hardly wait for the holidays to begin." -Tisha Cypert, Ada, OK
These reviewers enjoyed over 45 pages of Christmas comfort and joy in Jesus with
great gift-giving ideas, recipes, holiday help, and more--will you? The first twelve issues of Molly's Digest have
paved the way for another tremendous year-- you don't want to miss it! Spend $4.95 and save much more in time and money with superb gift ideas, scrumptious recipes, planning help, and encouragement for making the most of the Christmas season--without losing your sanity and while keeping your focus on the reason for the season, Jesus Christ! Are you still trying to decide if this E-Book
is perfect for you? View a Sample of This Item Right Here Enjoy some comfort and joy this Christmas--
spread a little around too! Be amazed at how far just a little money goes when you buy Molly's Money-Saving Digest today. Great tips, perfect gifts, family memories, and more await you! Simplify, minimize, and get cozy today! Enjoy Comfort and Joy in December! Join Molly daily and follow her adventures in fiscally-responsible homemaking at www.Econobusters.com. And then keep watching for next month's Molly's Money-Saving Digest. |
Dec. 4, 2009
Special Words for Special Needs ~ A Calm Heart for the Holiday Season
Posted By HomeschoolBlogger Company Blog in specialneeds
I love the holidays! Around here it takes some effort though. I have to think through all my decor...can it be swallowed, chewed on, obsessed over or otherwise some danger that will require me to call the poison control guy? Are the meals at my house or somewhere else? Then what about our diet restrictions? If we are going to somewhere else is it safe enough that my little one who runs away will not get out? And so the list continues.
This is not say that I get uptight and overwrought for the holidays. I have done that before and as much as I would like to say it's not going to happen again... I just don't know. I have found a calm that helps me deal with the season. Part of the calm comes from an acceptance of what can and cannot be. My husband and I have collected small Hallmark ornaments for years. The past 5+ years they cannot come out. We tried they were broken. So now we stow them away knowing that a time will come later in our life when we can put them out. I read an article in a country decor magazine that sung to me. The lady being interviewed had two children on the spectrum. She had made all her ornaments out of rolled stripes of cloth, very country looking, and nice when one of her sons flung one across the room! Another one that hurts but is necessary, is that we cannot schedule everything and meals with everyone. In the holiday season it seems that there is a place to be every weekend and many week days. We could get a babysitter but is that truly what the season is about? For us no. We choose what we can do reasonably and then in the end if we have to we are ready to cancel. I don't like be so soft about meal commitments and events. It can be hard for others to understand but I know that my responsibility as a parent to a wonderfully special child comes before my social calendar. As for diet restrictions I make a meal for us ahead of time. We bring a portion of the meal. We quietly load up the kids plates with the good stuff. I also go understanding that we will most likely have some contamination of glutens or caseins. It happens. I am not happy and I do not take that as a reason to break our diet in a big way. We get right back to work doing the best you can and eating the best you can. All of this happens the easiest if I have a grand plan for the month. I mark out on a calendar, we hang on the wall, the whole month. The kids and I go over it repeatedly. As my son says,"If you don't tell me. I don't know and I get icky feeling inside when you jump up and say it's time to go." That was such a perfect insight into how he sees a change in schedule. It isn't an inconvience for him, it is a physically unpleasant response. Be clear about your plans! Your holiday season can be wonderful! Carefully and thoughtfully think about your expectations. Plan the season accordingly. Get the whole family involved in keeping a calendar for events. In the end talk about and live out what is the most important part of the season. I believe if you do that you will feel fufilled and at peace! May the Lord bless your holiday season! Heather lives in West Virginia. She and her husband have been homeschooling their 5 children for 8 years. Due to a genetic disorder their children have multiple special needs. Heather is also dealing with personal health difficulties. Living life to the fullest for the glory of God is their goal! Visit Heather's page at www.homeschoolblogger.com/gfcfmomofmany/ or at Special Needs Homeschooling. |
Dec. 4, 2009
Christmas Ornament Decorating Contest
Posted By Donna
... and our entries are:
snowboard snowman
Pirate snowman
Cutie snowman |
seashells
