Oct. 20, 2009 - A Time of Refreshing
My Faith: These last several weeks have been rich in Bible teaching, encouragement, and strengthened friendships. I spent several days in NC enjoying a women's conference with four wonderful friends. Here we are!
The title of the conference was "Embracing the Call to Womanhood." I'm not sure what to say was the highlight for me, it was all so good. Ruthie Lengeman's topic on "The Father's Love" was so refreshing for me. She said, "God wants us to stop striving to get what we already have - His Love!" Dorcas Stutzman challenged us to live from our spirit not our soul. Our soul is selfish and inward focused. If we walk after the spirit we will truly live. Marianne Stoltzfus made us laugh and yet she challenged us in so many practical areas - our relationship with our husband, and our mother-in-law, and she gave us lots of tips to bless those who enter our homes. Praise and worship during the weekend was indescribable. Vivian Stoltzfus concluded the weekend with a call to joyful living.
This past weekend I spent with my Mom and sister in Virginia. We attended the "Revive our Hearts" conference by Nancy Leigh DeMoss. She challenged us to satisfy our thirst in Christ, live a life of brokenness, be quick to forgive, and prepare for the coming marriage supper of the Lamb!
This morning I attended our church's ladies tea time and was privileged to hear Ruthie Lengeman share. She's a woman I admire deeply and I love to learn from her.
So much of my life is spent "pouring out" but these last weeks have been a time of "taking in." I feel so blessed to have a family who let me go on these short trips - and they managed very well here at home!
My Family: I finally tackled a project that I thought I would do several months ago. The girls mentioned their desire for a new look for their bedroom. I promptly told them that if they tear off the wallpaper I'll paint. So last week we tackled the job. Here's some before, during, and afer pictures. We're still waiting for the new brown carpet to replace the red carpet that's been in that room for over 30 years! And the girls are eager to decorate the walls and windowsills as they collect things that match the new color scheme of their room. They were thrilled and I was delighted to see their ideas and let them make the room the way they want it. It made me quite busy for several days but it was worth it!
Nick was a great help when it came to tearing off wallpaper. In fact, he had so much fun that morning that he said, "I'm having so much fun, I'm not even going to stop for lunch!"
Our Home School: Well, we've reached the end of our first quarter of school! Time is flying. The girls are enjoying their Spanish class with their cousins and taught by their aunt. I would like to add some art instruction, but haven't found the time yet. We'd like to go through the book, "Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain." Hopefully one of these days we'll have time to start that. Emily is getting ready for the volleyball tournament next week. She's enjoyed the evenings of practice with her friends. And, of course, the girls are working hard on their Bible Quizzing memorization.
My Hobby: Every time I think I might have time to do some scrapbooking something else comes in the way. Oh well!
The Kitchen: We're having sweet potatoes from our garden for supper tonight, along with a chicken casserole - yum! Sweet potato souffle is one of my husband's favorite foods. He'll be thrilled.
Blessings, Marilyn
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Sep. 29, 2009 - What is normal?
My Faith: We were so challenged on Sunday as we heard a representative from World Missionary Press share how God's Word is being distributed around the world and changing lives. We then had lunch at my Mom's with this couple from WMP and he continued to regale us with stories through lunch and into the afternoon. Jim and I had been feeling weighted down with "the cares of this world" and hearing him talk helped to refresh our perspective on what's really important.
My Family: I took Nicholas for his first dentist visit this week and received bad news. He has a lot of decay on his teeth and will need multiple fillings. The dentist said this is unusual for a 3 year old and he really has no explanation for me. Of course I went home and took a real mommy guilt trip - was it my fault, didn't I brush his teeth early enough, often enough, thoroughly enough, did I let him have too much refined sugar in his diet, and on and on. We're finally reaching the end of 30 months of braces for Emily and Angela and the monthly payments that went along with that and now we have this. Oh well, nobody ever said that kids are cheap, right!
I'm taking off for a couple of days! Several friends and I are going to North Carolina for a women's conference. I am so excited - ready for a break - eager for girl conversation - looking forward to learning and growing in the Lord!
Our Home School: Here's your vocabulary word for the week: Normal - conforming to the type, standard, or regular pattern. In the middle of my homeschooling extra children I mentioned to my girls my desire to return to normal life. They then said, "now this feels like normal." It's true, I guess, when we do something long enough we establish a new regular pattern and we have a new normal. I've often wondered if there is anything like a normal day in homeschooling life! Anyway, this week is feeling like normal, we're back to doing school with just ourselves! It feels good.
My challenge now is to keep Nicholas entertained in the house as the weather gets cooler. His attention span isn't very long and it doesn't take him long to turn the house upside down. Yesterday he wanted to finger paint. It kept him entertained for about 15 minutes and I have some new art work for my refrigerator!
My Hobby: I don't have time for my hobby right now but Emily is having fun working through a class with Jessica Sprague at www.jessicasprague.com . Here's a beautiful layout she did.
The Kitchen: I've probably bought less than 10 loaves of bread in the last 10 years. I bake all of our bread. It's less expensive, healthier, and tastes better, too. But through the crazy busyness of the last month and a half I had to cut corners somewhere (I've come to grips, a long time ago, with the fact that I'm not and I don't need to be "super woman!") and baking bread has gone by the wayside for now. So I'm buying bread. The children like it though - something different. One of these days I'll bake bread again!
Blessings, Marilyn
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Sep. 14, 2009 - A Willing Spirit
My Faith: This past Saturday I was really struggling with several things. I felt prompted (by the Lord, I know) to pick up a book I've been reading, "Having a Mary Spirit." When I opened it and saw the title of the chapter I was ready for I couldn't believe it. The title was "A Willing Spirit." That was exactly the issue I was struggling with. God is so good. In his gentle way he corrected me. And he gave me several verses from Psalm 51 that I'm clinging to and praying this week, "create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me ... and grant me a willing spirit to sustain me." I know that he will answer my prayer. I know from past experience that he will give me what I need to do what he has asked me to do!
My Family: Yesterday - a picture perfect day - warm sunshine - blue sky - a beautiful pond - a large group of believers - 11 sincere, dedicated young people - beautiful music - words of blessing - testimonies spoken from the heart - these were the ingredients that made up the day that our two oldest daughters were baptized. It was such a privilege and a blessing to see them make this decision and to publicly commit themselves to following God for the rest of their lives.
Our Home School: Our one-room schoolhouse is still in operation. My sister-in-law has been hospitalized for the third time. She's been through an awful lot - but that is her story to tell.
We woke up to a beautiful day this morning which was good for everybody's spirits. School went well. This afternoon I was blessed beyond measure by my mother-in-law's sisters and her niece. They came to work in our yards. They helped me cut down my perennials and in no time did a job that I usually dread and takes me quite some time. The things that people have done for me these last weeks may seem small to them, but they're big to me. Friday morning when our field trip was cancelled and we had bad news from the hospital and I had no idea what I was going to give 9 kids for lunch - a friend called and said she'd like to bring lunch. She'll never know how much it lifted my spirits. It's a reminder to me to reach out to those around me who are facing a difficult time. And even if what you're doing seems small it means so very much.
We enjoyed our little field trip to the September Farm Cheese Shop on Thursday. Here's some pictures.
My Hobby: Well, fall is just around the corner and hopefully I'll have some long afternoons to work on digital scrapbooking - until then - I'll just dream up layout ideas in my head - when I actually have time to think my own thoughts that is!
The Kitchen: I tried a new recipe on Saturday - Blueberry Bars - they were delicious!
I cup butter, softened 1 1/2 cup sugar
4 eggs 1 tsp. vanilla
3 cups flour 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt 1 (21 oz. ) can blueberry pie filling
In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt; add to the creamed mixture just until combined. Spread half of the batter into a greased 15" x 1" pan. Spread with pie filling. Drop remaining batter by teaspoonful over the top. Bake at 350 for 40 - 45 minutes or until golden brown.
Glaze: 1 1/4 cup powdered sugar 2 Tbsp. lemon juice 1 Tbsp. butter, melted
In a small bowl, combine the glaze ingredients until smooth. Drizzle over warm bars. Yield 4 dozen
Blessings, Marilyn
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Sep. 9, 2009 - A Merry Heart
My Faith: "A merry heart doeth good like a medicine." A merry heart was my medicine this past weekend. We went to the mountains with some long time friends. I was sick as a dog the first night we were there - just de-stressing from the previous week I guess! Anyway, it didn't take me long to feel better, thanks to all the "laughter medicine." You know, God is a relational God, he created us to have a relationship with him. He also created us to need others. He didn't create us to be islands, living independantly of others. I'm so grateful for the wonderful friends he has blessed us with.
My Family: We've been going to the mountains with the same 3 families for the last 18 years or so. We now have a combined total of 19 children. We play games, eat good food (and too much of it), take long walks, have lively discussions, and stay up 'til the wee hours of the morning. This year the children kept seeing glimpses of a black bear around the cabin. Nicholas was quite excited. He had his toy gun along and he was sure that he could shoot that bear. He even told me that if he meets that bear in the woods without his gun, he'll tackle it down. How such a little guy could believe that he is so big is beyond me!
Our Home School: We are still operating as a one-room schoolhouse this week. Today instead of doing our regular written spelling tests we had a spelling bee. Here are the enthusiastic spellers. Emily won!
Tomorrow we're going to a local cheese farm to watch them make cheese. And on Friday we're planning to take a field trip to the Haycreek Festival. The Festival is held annually with demonstrations of lots of early American crafts, a civil war encampment, and all sorts of activities and entertainment.
The children have thoroughly enjoyed sharing school days with their cousins, but the teacher will be glad to return to normal life. Actually the preschoolers will probably suffer most when we return to normal. Nicholas has so enjoyed playing with his cousins at Mawmaw's house every morning. For me to school 9 students was only possible because I didn't have the little ones.
Can you imagine trying to do school with these wild little animals around!
My Hobby: Here's a layout I did last year about our conversations at the
mountains around the breakfast table.
If a table could talk what would this one say - first of all, it would have the solutions to all the problems in the world. It could share secrets, hilarious jokes, and, oh, the theology and politics it could share with you would be amazing! If that table could talk ...it's probably good that it can't.
The Kitchen: Tonight's supper menu: creamed sausage and bisuits, peas with brown butter, and applesauce. Comfort food for a rainy night.
Blessings, Marilyn
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Aug. 31, 2009 - One Room Schoolhouse
My Faith: Yesterday our Pastor preached an excellent sermon on II Peter 1:3-11. Verse 3 says, "His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness." God will give us everything we need to do the tasks He has called us to. He will give strength, grace and patience for each challenge that comes into our life. It was a comfort to me as I face a challenging week ahead. Our Pastor challenged us to look at all the ways that God has shown himself faithful in the past and realize that He will continue to show Himself faithful today and tomorrow. God has never been unfaithful. He always keeps his promises.
My Family: One of the blessings that my children have experienced this summer is spending quantity time with their cousins. It's a wonderful thing. I remember my cousin saying to me when she asked me to be a bridesmaid in her wedding, "friendships change over the years, but once a cousin always a cousin." It's true, there's something really special about a cousin relationship. I especially enjoy seeing my girls enjoy their friendship with their boy cousins the same age as them. It's such a good way to learn how to relate to the opposite gender. My cousin Ed was my best friend. We had a wonderful relationship. We were only 6 weeks apart in age. Unfortunately, he died of cancer at the age of 18. But even in just 18 short years he impacted my life for always. I'll always be thankful for the 18 years we had. Now my daughter Emily enjoys a great relationship with her cousin who is just 6 weeks older than her. Here they are!
Our Home School: Just one week ago we were reminiscing with my sister about the 3 years she spent teaching in a one-room Amish school. I mentioned that I've thought that it would be fun to do that after my own children are all through school. It's hard to imagine life without home schooling. Who will I be when I'm no longer a home schooling Mom? But that's another subject! Back to the subject of one-room schoolhouses. Just one week after making that comment I find myself with a one-room schoolhouse. Little did I know. My sister-in-law is again in the hospital. Three of her children are living here. The other 4 are living with my in-laws next door. And I will be home schooling 5 of them, along with my 4 - for one, maybe two weeks, who knows. So I have 9 students in grades 9, 8, 6, 5, 4, and 3!!! What a challenge. I won't try to do every subject. We'll just do what we can do. The kids think it's fun and I'm sure we'll make good memories. The only reason I feel able to do this is because I feel so strongly like this is what God is calling me to do for now and I know without a doubt that He will, as the apostle Peter says, "give me everything I need" to do this task. I also know that God brings challenges into my life to build character in me. I really want him to add to my faith: goodness, knowledge, self-control and patience as it says in verse 5 of II Peter 1.
Here the girls are working on a history project. The 3 stooges are learning web design - look out. I recently bought a CD titled "Web design for kids...and curious adults." They're having fun with it. A kind neighbor brought a big pot of soup for our lunch!
My Hobby: After this is all over we'll scrapbook the memories! Emily and Angela and I are actually signed up to take a Jessica Sprague digital class right now - but it'll keep. We'll save it for some chilly fall afternoons.
The Kitchen: Briana and Alisha helped make Clam Chowder and Cornbread for supper. We plan to make food to go along with the states we study in Geography. This week was Massachusetts. It was a delicious supper.
Blessings, Marilyn
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Aug. 23, 2009 - The Joy of Hobbies
My Faith: I've been reading Oswald Chambers' book, "My Utmost for His Highest." He keeps challenging me to be Christ-conscious rather than self-conscious. This is something I really want. Today the reading said to just simply pray and ask the Lord for Christ-awareness. I spend way too much time evaluating where I'm at spiritually, what kind of mother I am, and so on. I want to focus on Christ and his righteousness, not myself and my "righteousness" which is really just filthy rags.
My Family: I've just come through an incredibly busy week and a half. My sister-in-law spent several days in the hospital. I and several other women canned her applesauce and I also helped take care of her 7 children. And I'm also baby sitting my sister's 4 children for 8 days. Today is the last day. It went very well. But I discovered that being the mother of 9 is very tiring. Every night I collapsed into bed exhausted. The kids made happy memories and that's what counts. It was very special to spend 8 days with their cousins from Ohio. You've all read the saying "if mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy." Well, I usually say "if my children are happy, then I'm happy." Our house was certainly filled with lots of chatter and happy laughter these last days.
Our Home School: Well, Monday is our official start to school. I'm finally feeling ready to start, ready for more structure to our day, ready to tackle another year. I still need to order some science supplies. I'm balking at the high cost. I've come to the conclusion that there's no way to do high school science cheaply.
My Hobby: Webster's Definition of Hobby: A pursuit outside one's regular occupation engaged in especially for relaxation. At this busy time of year my hobby - digital scrapbooking - must be put on the back burner - but just for a time, hopefully. I've pondered often how much priority I should give to my hobbies. Growing up we were encouraged to be busy and we loved to try every new craft that came along. We did latchhook, macrame, crewel, embroidery, string art, counted cross-stitch. You name it we tried it. We spent many winter evenings happily creating beautiful things. In the early years of our married life my favorite hobby was counted cross-stitch. I also sewed quilts and wall hangings. After we began to have children I started scrapbooking. Around the time my children reached school age and I began home schooling I had a conversation with a friend several years older than me. She was a busy home schooling mom. I asked her what her hobbies were and she said she has none. She wouldn't have the time. I was a bit taken back. My hobbies were important to me, a way to relax, and an outlet for my creative juices. I find great fulfillment in being creative. Because I had such admiration for her mothering/teaching skills and her godly character I often thought about her comment and wondered it it was selfish of me to want to continue my hobbies even as I got busier and busier with home schooling and taking care of our growing family. But now at this time in my life I'm glad I continued to pursue my hobbies ( in moderation of course) because now my daughters have come to enjoy those things also and we can do them together. They've spent many hours crocheting while I read books aloud. My two oldest daughters and I scrapbook together and it's so much fun. Just recently someone was telling me about a conversation she had with several older retired women. They told her that they were bored. Everything she suggested to them to do they weren't interested in. I'm sorry, but I can't imagine being bored. I believe if we continue to find time to cultivate our hobbies during the busy season of our lives then when we enter the less busy times we'll have someting to fill the hours, something that can bring us joy and fulfillment.
The most recent scrapbook class I've taken was a Jessica Sprague photo editing class. We learned how to give a photo a vintage look. Here's one I did.
"The very act of creating a work of art breathes life into one's soul, and causes one to feel but a small part of God. ~Anita Eyor
Our God is a creative God and we were created in His image. He has made us to be creative.
The Kitchen: We were invited to my brother and his wife's home last night for supper and to my Mom's today for lunch. So my kitchen and I have had a much needed break!
Blessings, Marilyn
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Aug. 11, 2009 - First week of school
Faith: Yesterday was our first day of school. It really wasn't a very good day. By the end of the day I felt like a failure as a mother. The younger girls fought and I didn't handle it very well, my son was testing me all day and my level of frustration was rather high. Early this morning when I stepped back and looked at the bigger picture I realized that the devil is not happy when families home school and he was trying to defeat us on our very first day.
We've been praying and considering very seriously the possibility of taking in a foster child. So all day yesterday I was hearing a voice say, "you really wouldn't make a good foster mother, you're not even a good mother to your own children." This morning I sat down to have my devotions and I prayed and asked the Lord if I would be a good foster mother. To my astonishment I felt like He was saying, "no." I couldn't believe it. Was He asking us to give up this dream? Then I felt him prompting me to look into His Word. I picked up my Bible, sure that he would direct me to some verse that talks about loving children or taking care of the "least of these." Intead I read chapter after chapter and I began to read about the last supper, the betrayal in the garden, Jesus before Pilot, and finally the crucifixion. And then I read in Mark 15, "Some women were watching [the crucifixion] from a distance...many other women who had come up with him to Jerusalem were also there." And I suddenly felt like I was one of those women - Mark painted a picture in his book of the crucifixion and I was there watching. Then the Lord spoke to me and he said, "Because I died on the cross my Spirit now lives in you, and, no, you cannot be a good mother in your own strength, but I will be a wonderful foster mother through you, I will love through you, just remember: this is not about you, this is about me. I will fulfill my purpose. Let me."
I don't need to try and try to be a perfect mother to my children or someone else's child - I just need to let Jesus love, live and work through me. What a comfort that is. Suddenly it feels so true that "his yoke is easy and his burden is light!"
Family: The girls showed their lambs at the 4H fair yesterday. Here's some pics.
It was very stressful for them, almost too stressful! They really didn't know what to expect, but they learned a lot and I'm sure that next year will be both easier and more fun.
Our church performs a live nativity here on our farm every Christmas. For more information on that go to www.honeybrookchurch.org . For several years we would borrow sheep from some farmer. But it was a hassle getting them here and they were usually wild. So 2 years ago we decided to buy our own sheep. We bought 10 Katahdin ewes and 1 ram. This past winter 20 lambs were born on our farm. What fun we all had with that. After the lambs were born we decided to let Emily and Angela join the local 4H Sheep Club and show their lambs. They learned so much at the meetings. When we bought the sheep we knew absolutely nothing about sheep. After one meeting the girls came home and said about the whole lambing process, "Mom we did everything wrong." Thankfully the lambs (all except 3) survived our ignorance! They learned about sheep diseases, how to feed and care for lambs, and even how to administer the vaccinations! It's been a lot of work but at the same time a great learning experience.
Our Home School: Well we're opening the books this week. It takes time to figure out new curriculum. Emily is doing a History curriculum that is new to her (Notgrass American History) and Angela is doing a Literature/Writing curriculum (Lightning Literature) that is new to her. At the same time, it's fun to do something different. School this week is partly 4H activities and a little bit of book work. Today we took in the 4H Seeing Eye Puppy Demonstration. It was very interesting - something we might try some day.
My Hobby - is on the back burner right now!
The Kitchen - I canned peaches on Friday evening and froze corn on Saturday. Next week I plan to can applesauce and salsa. Starting school and trying to can/freeze at the same time makes this the busiest time of year!
Blessings, Marilyn
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Aug. 1, 2009 - The Faith of a Child
Faith: I'm so impressed when I see the simple faith of my children, and I'm reminded that that is exactly the kind of faith the Lord wants me to have. Yesterday the weather prediction was 100% chance of rain and I mentioned it at the breakfast table. 3 year old Nicholas really didn't want it to rain because he loves to play outside. So he suggested we pray and ask God to "make it not rain." My practical self told him that prehaps someone else is asking God for rain and perhaps we should just let God decide. But he insisted and right there he prayed out loud aksing God to "make it not rain." It didn't rain all morning and into the early afternoon. The girls swam in the pool. Nicholas played happily with the hose. It was a very hot day. Then he came in for his nap. And during his naptime it rained. Soon after he awoke the rain stopped and we enjoyed a beautiful evening. During our family devotions we pointed out to Nicholas how God answered his prayer and he so sweetly prayed a "thank-you prayer." This is not the first time that Nicholas has experienced answered prayer, in fact, it seems to happen quite frequently.
Family: We are enjoying a beautiful Saturday. We slept late this morning and had our traditional pancakes and eggs breakfast. Jim makes the eggs and the children declare that he makes the best eggs. I won't even try to compete! We'll be celebrating Jim's Dad's birthday this evening with family. And the girls will probably spend the afternoon in the pool. Several years ago we bought a 4' deep blue pool from WalMart. It was well worth the money. It has provided hours and hours of fun!
Our Homeschool: We're planning to start school on August 10th. Actually our first day of school will be spent at the 4H Center where Emily and Angela will be showing their lambs. We'll be spending quite a bit of time at the 4H Center that week. But we plan to crack open the books as well and get started. We usually start gradually.
My Hobby: Here's a layout I did this past winter with the same title as this blog entry. Maybe looking at a snowy layout on this hot day will cool you off!
In the Kitchen: Angela baked a chocolate cake this morning. I'll make caramel frosting for it after it cools. I mixed up some Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Bars for the youth group snack tomorrow evening after church. Here's the recipe if you're interested. Cheesecake Bars They are absolutely delicious!
Blessings, Marilyn
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Jul. 25, 2009 - Summer Saturday!
Faith: One of my favorite verses is Isaiah 40:11 "He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young." All of us who are mothers are "those that have young." When the day gets rough - remember He will lead you gently!
Family: We are enjoying a beautiful warm sunny Saturday. I'm going to cut up some watermelon for lunch and then join the kids in the pool. The highlight this week for the girls was spending time with their friend Jessica. She lives out west, but comes in here for several weeks each summer to spend time with her grandparents (our neighbors) and then she spends as much time at our house as possible. Yesterday they all wanted braids. We called them the "braids and braces" girls!
Our Homeschool: I finally sat down on Thursday and spent some time planning our school year. I'm going to be using "Cantering the Country" with Briana and Alisha. We'll be studying the Geography and something from History from (hopefully) all 50 states this year. I'm looking forward to it. We used "Galloping the Globe" last year and really enjoyed it. I think the highlight for us was making meals representative of the countries we studied.
My Hobby: I never have enough time to do all the digital scrapbook pages I'd like to do. Currently I've been trying to finish the photo editing class offered at www.jessicasprague.com. It's been a really fun class and I've learned some great new techniques. I didn't do any layouts this week so I'll just share another one of my favorites from the past!
The Kitchen: Our Saturday tradition is chocolate chip pancakes for brunch and pizza for supper - homemade pizza, unless I'm too busy or tired then we'll get takeout.
Blessings, Marilyn
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Jul. 22, 2009 - My first blog entry - I can't believe I'm doing this!
My goal and the purpose of this blog: My goal is to post once a week - I hope that's realistic. My purpose is to share and record the ordinary moments of our lives.
Sooner or later we all discover that the important moments in life are not the advertised ones, not the birthdays, the graduations, the weddings, not the great goals achieved. The real milestones are less prepossessing. They come to the door of memory unannounced, stray dogs that amble in, sniff around a bit, and simply never leave. Our lives are measured by these. ~Susan B.Anthony
Faith: What a tremendous responsibility we have in showing our children how to live a life of faith. My desire is that I would take every opportunity that comes my way to point my children to Christ. I want them to be "God-conscious" not "self-conscious."
Family: We are a family of seven! I've been married to my best friend for 16 years (wow!) Jim and I have 4 lovely daughters, ages 14, 12, 9 and 7. And one handsome son, age 3! What joy our children bring into our lives. We are moving out of the stage of constant exhaustion and sleep deprivation that came with pregnancy, nursing and toddlerhood! Our children are growing up and of course the challenges of parenthood never end, but being able to have meaningful discussions with them, enjoy playing games (not just Memory or Candyland anymore
!) together, read the same books and discuss them, have them help plan activities and family vacations - well I must say my children don't just drain me anymore, more often they energize me!
Our Homeschool: We are absolutely enjoying our summer vacation. We worked hard last year and were in desperate need of a break. Summer is going by way too fast though. I'm just hoping that by the time the middle of August rolls around the girls will feel some excitement about starting the new school year. I should be spending more time than I am preparing for next year, but I'm procrastinating.
My Hobby: Digital Scrapbooking - addictive! The best part is that Emily and Angela are as addicted as I am. We take online classes together. We critique each other's layouts and dish out words of encouragement and advice to each other. It's just too much fun. If you want to join in the fun please visit www.jessicasprague.com . She has all the information you need to make beautiful digital layouts - a fun way to preserve your memories. Here's one of my favorite layouts.
The Kitchen: Homemade bread is in the oven right now. No smell can compare to the smell of fresh baked bread! Yes, I bake all our bread, but I don't grind my own wheat! I love to cook and bake and hope to share recipes here in the future. The girls are doing well with learning to bake, but I haven't had them do too much cooking on their own yet. I want to but I'm struggling with making that happen.
Blessings, Marilyn
