December 3, 2009 - Chilli Corn Salad
When we went on our HUGE 2008 Vacation, we got to stay with our good friend, Sprittibee and she made us a wonderful dinner that included an amazing Corn Salad. It has become a family favorite now... its almost addicting... :P
1 bag of frozen corn – thawedDirections
1/2 red chopped
1/2 onion chopped
1/2 of a 1 lb. bag of sharp cheddar grated cheese
1 1/2 tbsp chili powder
3 tbsp Mayo or Miracle Whip
1 bag of frito corn chips
salt to season
Mix corn, pepper, onion, cheese, and chili powder well. Add in Mayo, but only enough to lightly cover everything, not drown. Crunch up the Fritos, and add right before serving or to each individual servings since the chips will soften.
A simple tasty salad that will compliment any dinner... we had BBQ chicken, mashed potatoes, and green beans with our corn salad last night. We had it with mexican when we went to Sprittibee's house. It's awesome with anything really! ;)
Dec. 3, 2009 - Book Review: Mom NEEDS Chocolate by Debora M. Coty
At the time that the FIRST WIldcard blog tour for Debora Coty's book posted, I hadn't received a copy. I posted the first chapter, book summary, and author's biography in my blog tour post, but not a review. (You can click on that link to read the first chapter of the book.)
They sent me another copy of the book, since the first one was lost in the mail. I hadn't expected them to do so, but I am grateful they did. This little hardcover book is refreshing. To be honest, I hadn't known what to expect ... other than that it wasn't fiction.
Mom NEEDS Chocolate contains 60 short chapters with humorous anecdotes from the author's life which she uses to make a spiritual point. Each chapter begins with a Scripture verse and a quote. It ends with a prayer, and 3 Faith In Action questions to help you apply the spiritual lesson of the chapter. The short chapters both make me smile, and encourage me spiritually. Debora has been very real in writing this book, and I can relate to her stories like being the sugar-holic in the airport surrounded by healthy eaters.
The title of this book caught my attention when it was offered for review. What chocolate lover could resist that title? But this book is more encouraging and comforting than even dark chocolate could be. Debora has taken sixty different spiritual lessons and dipped them in the chocolate of humor to encourage us. The short chapters uplift better than a chocolate treat savored quickly in the laundry room while hiding from the kids. Although, you could probably enjoy your chocolate and a quick chapter before the kids need you to tie their shoes, wipe their noses, or answer a math question.
I was blessed by Mom NEEDS Chocolate.
Trusting In Him,
April
Dec. 3, 2009 - "In Our Culture"
I swear if I hear one more main stream American Christian refute God's word with a statement that includes the words "in our culture" as an excuse for their disregard for God's word, I may just scream!
I hear it all the time. That's a nice idea, but it won't work in our culture. That was for a different culture, not ours. Is God's word His word or isn't it? It reminds me of my children saying, "I can't do that." and my answer is, "you are absolutely right, with that attitude, you can't."
Philippians tells us that we can do all things through Christ, even those that are counter cultural. My God is a God of the impossible. The bottom line is that we are comfortable as Christians in this country. We don't want to get dirty. We don't want to be inconvenienced. We don't want to be counter cultural.
I thought this morning of the women that God used throughout Scripture: Rahab, the harlot; Ruth, the Moabite; Esther; Mary Magdalene; the woman at the well. These women give me so much hope, that God can use my sorry, broken, messed up life to further His kingdom. He can use me to change the world, or at least my little corner of it -- beginning in my home with my children. He can do this and He will, but only IF I am willing to take a stand, to do things that just don't "work" in our culture. If I am willing to be counter cultural, if I am willing to be inconvenienced, if I'm willing to put self aside, then He can do amazing things through me.
What about you? Are you willing to be counter cultural? Do your children, home, family come first after your relationship with Christ? Are you willing to set aside our culture and all it deems important, status, education, career to change the world, one soul at a time starting with the precious ones God has entrusted to you?
My Christmas challenge, the best gift you can give your children is to come home and to be the mother God has called you to be. If you're there, check your priorities, just because you're physically home, doesn't mean you are "there" for your children [this is an area where I constantly have to check myself]. If not, re-align your priorities, it's the very best gift you can give.
God loved us so much that He gave His only son (John 3:16) what are you willing to sacrifice for your family?
Blessings, MaggieRaye
Dec. 3, 2009 - Unit Study $5 Friday
Good morning, friends! Wow - the $5 Friday Sale is off and running! We started it a bit early this week, as it is going to be a wild Friday here and we needed to make sure that this special $5 Friday sale was not lost in the shuffle. Happy shopping, and thanks!
http://bit.ly/2opSxW
Dec. 3, 2009 - Creative Christmas Letter Ideas
Wow! The Homeschool Minute readers totally rock!
Here are some of the FABULOUS creative Christmas letter ideas that our readers submitted via email:
- Last year we thought of television show titles that seemed appropriate to events from our year. Here are a few of the entries:
Lost – While we’ve never actually seen this show, it could aptly describe K and C’s teeth. K lost 4 over a period of three months. C, not to be outdone, lost her first shortly thereafter.
The Office – OK, another one we’ve not actually seen. But it doesn’t really matter, because Dh no longer goes to the office. 2008 saw a dramatic increase in his consulting business, so we’ve returned to the land of the self-employed. We’re thankful that God has blessed his business so much more than we deserve.
Extreme Home Makeover – We had our own version of this show, just without the lights, cameras and one-week deadline. We spent most of the year working on the remodel, changing our small, awkwardly laid out two bedroom home into a larger, open three bedroom with room for D to work and the kids to do school work or head off to their own rooms. With the remodel, R has learned more about the Albuquerque area dumps than you’d ever want to know. And while the country is struggling financially, D and R have attempted to single-handedly keep the area Home Depot and Lowe’s in business.
(I'm leaving out a huge section of her Christmas letter, but I love how she ended it... -Nancy)
It’s a Wonderful Life – Finally, no holiday season would be complete without this timeless classic. Ours is a wonderful life, thanks entirely to Christ’s love and His ultimate sacrifice. Praying that His love changes your holiday and your lives!
Submitted by Robin
- For the past 12 years I have continued my mother's tradition (started when I was in kindergarten!) of writing a poem at Christmas. All of the year's highlighs (and some low-lights) are chronicled using a 4-line stanza format (first two and last two lines rhyming), with about 8 stanzas total. Usually the first stanza is standard Christmas-greeting fare, and the last sums up with a view of the True Meaning of Christmas. Usually each family member gets a stanza, and then a couple more for general family events. Folks look forward to them every year -- I think my parents' friends would cause a ruckus if she ever stopped this tradition!
Submitted by Ellen
- I'm a big fan of trying to be funny which usually involves poking fun at ourselves. Here are ideas I have used over the years:
-Last year was an impromptu description of our family by the 8 year old. He was making a newspaper (his own idea) and I wrote down as he dictated. How he summed up our family was HILARIOUS! "Daddy likes to snuggle, likes Joel love, and likes to go to church." I also included 16 random things in the pattern of a facebook note that was going around last year.
-A comic that illustrated each member of the family followed by a paragraph summary.
-A 'Most wanted' including AKA, wanted for, description and last seen. Ex. the baby was charged with disturbing the peace. "Since his appearance Joel has repeatedly and without remorse violated noise ordinances. Victims drop charges after he smiles at them."
-Our year's story in the pattern of "Twas the night before Christmas" or to the Gilligan's island theme song.
-The year the boys were in Fiddler on the Roof, the letter was paragraphs themed according to song titles. ex "Wonder of Wonder, miracle of miracles"
-Top ten lessons learned, then paragraph explanation. Ex "Free library is a contradiction in terms. (fines b/c we ck out 30 bks at a time) "If you take the cheapest flight, be prepared to find out why."
-Thank yous from our family devotions. With little ones this is hilarious. "Thank you for a good trip. Thank you that we won the revolutionary war."
-On a heavy travel year we copied a map with stars where we had been and short paragraphs telling about our travels.
-Best and worst of the year, and aspects of the year. ex best and worst of working at home ;-) best field trips, best verses
-Once upon a time - a fairy tale about the King Queen and 5 children. Story about disturbances in kingdom - too much water used for bathing, mysterious odors etc... A sage is consulted and concludes castle is infected with adolescence. Solution? Time and 3 potions- Compassion Growth formula, Backbone Strenghthener, Sense of Humor.
-ABC's of Christmas. A word beginning with each letter and a one sentence explanation.
-"Our Space" done like a Myspace with a profile pic and description of each family member.
-This year is questions heard around our house, with answers mom says or just thinks and keeps to herself. ;-)
What a fun walk down memory lane!!! My favorites are the comics, Most Wanted and the fairy tale. Some years are better than others ;-)
Submitted by Betsy
- This is the third year we have written letters - and it is a blessing to us -and hopefully to those we send the letters. We create 2 letters - one for our personal friends & family and another for our church family, since my husband is a pastor. Our church family sees us so regularly - we don't feel the need to update them on what is happening with each of us.
We try to pick one of the Christmas Hymns - and put one verse of the hymn at the top, and then we use our introduction paragraph - to encourage thoughts of the true meaning of Christmas - based on the hymn we used. For example - this year we used the hymn, O Come all Ye Faithful - so we encouraged those reading our letter - to come and adore , and behold the Lord of lords. We then pick out a verse of scripture related to the hymn, and have it at the bottom our letter.
Our second paragraph is a personal note to personal friends & family about our family or to our church family we put a summary of the encouraging work of God in our church. My husband then writes a handwritten note to each church member - and I take care of writing a personal note to our friends/family outside of church.
We too enjoy receiving notes and even cards- when they have a personal note in them. Just thought I would send this . I am fairly new to Old Schoolhouse, but what a blessing it has been to me. Thank You.
Submitted by R&K
- Our annual Christmas letter wraps up the year's events in the form of a Dr. Seuss-inspired rhyme. It's always really fun to put together, and now that our children are learning to rhyme words, it's really become a family tradition!
We’re recounting ’09, a year chockfull of blessings
As we eat our fill of turkey and dressings.
So how do we wrap up this year, grand and merry?
Guess we’ll just start with the stuff back in January.
Submitted by Brandy
(This was a fabulous full page poem. I absolutely LOVED it, but didn't want to give away her whole letter. ~Nancy)
- In our Christmas letter, we always try to sum it up evangelistically. We've taken all the time to write it, why not use it to try to draw others to Christ, or point them towards the "Reason for the season"? I'm sure many of TOS readers are more eloquent and much better writers but examples from our past Christmas letters may better explain:
1) A church in the US found a valuable print by Albrecht Durer dated 1493 hanging in their chapel. The members could not believe they were unaware that it was there. What about us? Are we unaware of something valuable right under our noses? Jesus isn’t hiding. The truth that God came to earth is plainly announced in the Bible, reflected in our art, and in songs throughout history. But we are still unaware of the significance of Christ’s birth. This Christmas, join with the wisemen and shepherds. Give praise to Jesus, God who became Man. Wise men today worship not only the Child of Bethlehem but the Man of Calvary.
2) It is such a precious feeling when someone slips their hand in yours. Old or young makes no difference. That little bit of intimacy is unmatched. How often do you reach up for your Heavenly Father’s hand? He will never push your hand aside or refuse to take hold. God’s hands are always there. Just reach up and take hold.
Submitted by Barbara
- One year we did our family letter as a crossword puzzle that we made on one of the free sites online. It was a big hit.
Submitted by Kena
When I was 6 months pregnant--for our first child-- our letter came from his point of view. We didn't know if we were having a boy or girl, so we just said "Baby D". The next 2 years it also came from him. Friends and family loved it! It was a fresh take. Not just a letter from mom: "so and so did this, so and so did that". It's become that in the past few years as my boys have grown. I'm determined this year to make it unique in some way again! Thanks for the inspiration! - Joie
We really had fun one year and sent out a Mad Lib as our Christmas letter! I included our e-mail address for people to send us their version of our Christmas letter with their words filled in, then I would send them the actual letter with the correct words. It was kind of a fun way to write about our family that year. I was thinking it might be fun to do it again! :o) - Yvonne
I don't have the time or energy at Christmas, so I picked another holiday. We happened to choose Valentines Day. I figure people get lots of Christmas cards they don't have time to read, so if I'... See Morem going to take the time to write it, I want somebody to have the time to read it. People are surprised and seem happy to get a Valentine's card (We try to keep it short and sweet, but include a picture, greeting, some kind of thing we've learned to appreciate through the year, and keep it low on the boring details.) - Jennifer
I have to say my favorites are those that are 'real' and funny. I don't like those that seem like mini resumes of accomplishments (bragging). I rather hear how the Lord has blessed a family/person than how advanced a reader a child is, but that is just my preference. With that said, my Christmas letter is not really a... See More letter at all but more of a newsletter. I call it The Santiago Fun-Times, and people always tell me they love getting it because it's funny. I format it like a newspaper (one sheet, front & back) and have sections like The Sports Section (My husband is a coach) and 'Arts and Leisure' where I write real things about our family but in short articles. It's fun to write & read & I need to get started on it. ;-) -Jasmine
We've done the newspaper format (with a variety of articles from different "reporters") as well as a "menu" outlining a smorgasbord of appetizers, entreés, and desserts from which our readers could "taste" a year's worth of our family's activities. - Paula
We started doing Christmas letters the year after my oldest was born. That first letter was a simple summary of our year as a new family. We change it up every year. One year the highlights were summarized in a seasons theme (winter, spring, summer, fall). Another year, we did a top ten list. We did an acrostic of CHRISTMAS. Last year we did a multiple choice quiz and that was the one that got the most compliments so far. This year the theme was TWO because events in our lives were doubled. - Anna
I really appreciate you all taking the time to write in and share these awesome ideas. Readers on the FB page are already saying how much these suggestions have helped them!
Anyone else have a creative idea to share? Just leave it in the comments section!
Merry Christmas,
~Nancy
P.S. - You can still read The Homeschool Minute issue on Christmas Letters if you haven't gotten a chance to read it yet. The Familyman has some great things to remember when you're writing your family's Christmas letter.
Dec. 3, 2009 - Bit of history about Advent...
"Advent is a Latin word meaning "the coming." Officially established by church leaders in the 6th century, Advent was originally meant to be a time when Christians reflected on the meaning of Christmas and when new believers spiritually prepared themselves for baptism."
From Stories Behind the Great Traditions of Christmas, by Ace Collins.
I am thoroughly enjoying this book, and learning so much!Interesting note - sixth century church was the pre-Luther Christian church of believers, all worshipping, waiting, and preparing in this season. Imagine!
Dec. 3, 2009 - $5 Friday Unit Study Sale is up early...
Just for those of you night owls - we have already posted the $5 Friday Sale! http://bit.ly/2opSxW
Dec. 2, 2009 - Life in Kentucky - The Game Played for Medical Care
Several times since we've moved to Kentucky we've been asked if we have experienced any culture shock. At first I thought no, not really. I mean, aside from not finding the margarine we like to use, and discovering that the Goodwills don't have color tag, sale day, nothing has really changed for us. It's not like we've moved to Chile. People do talk differently but on the whole they are understandable and the currency is still the American buck, for what's worth.
Then my one of my aunts pointed out that our difficulties with government agencies and official businesses did in fact fall under the category of culture shock. So I'll bore you with some details of this culture shock, in case you are looking to move to Kentucky yourself. It may save you some irritation if you know ahead of time. Call it a cheat sheet to Kentucky life, if you will.
That's the thing here you see, everyone expects that I should know how to play the Live in Kentucky game. While it might be quite plain to you, it's all Kentuckyian to me.
Getting doctor appointments in Kentucky has been quite an experience. Now maybe what I'm about to blog about happens all over the U.S. now-a-days, but it had never happened to us before and we've lived in four other states. What made me so mad was how the receptionist treated me like I should know exactly what she was talking about.
Dear Man had a sinus infection and after it was evident that it was not going to go away on its own, I attempted to get a doctor appointment for him. (Don't any of you leave a comment saying that sinus infections can't go away on their own like we heard from countless people. Yes, they can go away on their own, Dear Man has had several do this, and just what do you think people did prior to antibiotics not more than 100 years ago? I've not read a single history story about people living in fear of getting a sinus infection.)
Moving on . . . so I find out which doctor's offices are ones we can visit on our insurance plan (which was an irritation all its own). I then call several offices only to be told that most of them are not taking new patients. Which is fine. What got me was that those who were taking new patients first had to have some information so they could find out if we were drug seekers. Which I find rather ironic. I mean, if Dear Man has a sinus infection is he not seeking to get drugs from the doctor to cure it? A week later we found out that we indeed were not drug addicts or makers, and we could now schedule an appointment. Except by now Dear Man no longer had a sinus infection. (See, yet again proving my point on that score.)
I tell the receptionist that we don't need the appointment anymore and she informs me that if I ever want to see the doctors in their office we have to have a physical. You can't just call up and say, "Hey, I think I've got a dastardly rash, can I come in and have you confirm my suspicions?" No, can't do that because first the doctor has to see you to make sure you aren't a drug seeker. Which is ridiculous, why can't they see that while seeing the patient when he has an actual need to be there?
Okay, fine, make me an appointment I told the receptionist. Only she can't get me one for two more weeks because we are new patients and they only see two of those a week and they are booked up on new patients that far out. If Dear Man would have still had a sinus infection at the time of making the appointment he surely would no longer have it in two more weeks. He'd be dead from gangrene of the sinuses as everyone was so keen on suggesting.
The receptionist did say Dear Man could go to the ER. I told her that was dumb, who goes to the ER for a sinus infection? This of course won me no points. She then began her litany of it could be more then just a sinus infection, in a way that said because I'm only a housewife I couldn't possibly understand medicine and illness.
Now aside from being treated guilty as a druggie until being proven innocent, a part of this conversation also covered just what happens after the physical. The way the receptionist was putting it, it sounded like that no matter when we called it would be two weeks or more until we could see the doctor, even after we had established that we weren't out for pharmaceuticals to maintain our drug habit. Again I thought this was pretty stupid, and I was trying to ask her what a person was supposed to do if they had something that needed to be taken care of but it was not an ER visit kind of problem. The receptionist was angry at my attempts to find out the next step of the Living in Kentucky game.
That's how the game is played here you see, only one rule at a time and once you know that rule and cover the obligatory steps to accomplishing that rule, then and only then can you know the next rule. Trust me, I've seen it played out from getting library cards to car registrations.
Finally I was able to drag it out of the receptionist that yes, once the physical was done we could call up and make an appointment for the same day for any of our non-ER needs. Whew! Now why couldn't she have just explained all of that from the beginning? I still say it's a stupid way to run a business but if they'd have just explained all the details I would have known what to expect.
So if you ever move to Kentucky I suggest that you make doctor appointments pronto to get that ridiculous physical out of the way. Otherwise you may be waiting weeks to get your owie looked at, by which time you'll either be dead or cured but with a scar that has cancerous properties because everything is dangerous to your health and must be looked at by a medical professional before it can be determined a non-threat.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009 - Catching Up
It sure is difficult to make it to the computer with baby in tow! As such I'm increasingly thankful for my Blackberry in helping me feel "connected." Having only started texting in October it didn't take long at all to master the technique of texting (or emailing) from the tiny QWERTY keyboard with only one thumb in use (and yes, either thumb-- who knew my thumbs were so talented? ) LOL
Anyway, here is a blog entry to catch ya up...
Baby Girl is now 5 months old. Since last month she's learned to roll over... ALL over! Gives raspberries, slobber and all, and has a wonderful sense of humor.
November look back---
DD 12 finished another season of Youth Soccer.
I found a new book to request from the library... hope it is a good one!
We finished off the month by decorating the tree-- and baby girl, too!LOL
DD12 used an old Junior Girl Scout uniform and other things from her
closet, added a hat and was an elf for our decorating festivities.
She is "hugging" the tree here. LOL
Schooling continues, and we've implemented the "mama basket" as well.
Various things I've pulled together to brighten up our homeschooling studies that
I do with her. A new folk songs CD was a special addition to it. I was sure to put in
a set of Brain Quest cards as well. Those have always been a hit through the years.
There's other stuff in the basket, too, but baby girl beckons... time to go tend to her
December 2, 2009 - Christmas Cards Made Quick and Easy!!
This year I'm on top of things for my Christmas cards. I am so excited because I should have all 200 of my cards mailed by the end of this week. You may be wondering how I'm doing it...since I didn't start until last weekend.
I uploaded our family pics, wrote our Christmas letter, stuffed, addressed, stamped, and mailed it as a tri-fold, personalized, color Christmas card...in less than 1 hour....all from the comfort of my own home :-) . . . and for less than $1 a card, including the pictures.
So...how did I do it?
Last week, I received a video that shows how you can get your cards done quickly & easily, too. The video is only 4 minutes long. Take a minute right now and watch it.
http://www.soccoach.com/sendcards/
Then, send a free card to someone you care about...
http://budurl.com/ChristmasCards
***There's a "SEND CARD" banner to get you started. BTW...here's the timeline I gave to some of my associates. You can follow it, too!
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1. Set my budget for cards & gifts (today)
2. Take our family pictures and create my card - by Sun, Dec 5
3. Start collecting addresses and put them in my Contact Manager in my Christmas card group- by Fri, Dec 11 4. Set up my Christmas card campaign and mail - on Sat, Dec 12
5. You can add a gift to any card by editing it before midnight the day you create it. If you want to send a gift to a few people on your list, click Main Menu and "search" on the left grey box.
And...you NEVER left your warm, cozy home!
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You're DONE! and if you followed my schedule, you have 13 more days until Christmas to enjoy receiving Christmas cards from your friends and family.
Blessings,
Kerry Beck
P.S. Your family & friends will be so excited to hear from you BEFORE Christmas :-)
P.P.S. If you know someone who wants to send their Christmas cards, quickly and easily, tell them they can send a free card, too.
http://budurl.com/ChristmasCards
______________________
Copyright Kerry Beck, 2009
You have permission to reprint this article as long as you don't make any changes and include the bio below.
Kerry Beck gives free Advent calendars with daily Christmas projects to prepare you for Christmas. You will discover lots about the Christmas season with her projects.
