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Pumpkin Dump CakeOne of my friends made this for our Pumpkin Party earlier in the month. It was SO yummy I had to get her recipe. I am hoping to make this today to share with my mom who arrived yesterday to spend Thanksgiving week with us. :^)Pumpkin Dump Cake 1 can pumpkin (29 oz.) If you are looking for a new yummy Thanksgiving recipe you might want to give this one a try! Happy Homeschooling, Jamin Homeschool blog awardsI was just looking at the list of Nominees and realized I have had a really disconnected year with all my knee surgeries, rehab and stuff. Seems I don't recognise any of the nominees in any given catagory. Who I am so out of touch! Either that, or you all have been changing your blog names on me. LOL How strange it all is to me. Do you know who these fellow homeschoolers are? I sure hope they have as much fun as we did.Congratulations all you nominees. I plan on doing some visiting to get to know you. (o: Vote For Best Homeschool BlogsWell, we homeschool and we blog so I think we probably read homeschool blogs too, right? It's time to vote for the best ones! Go to The Homeschool Post . Click on the VOTE button on the right sidebar. Scroll down to see the 25 categories of nominees and VOTE! Here are some of MY personal favorites: Raising Arrows A Pondering Heart Walking Therein Feelin' Feminine A City on a Hill Gleaning the Harvest The Mango Times A Dusty Frame On the Road to Manhood Penny Raine Heart of Wisdom Lots Going On & Horse updateWell, the men got home Saturday night about 11:30pm with the horses. They had driven about 12 hours that day and were worn out!Once they got home, the fun began. The horses were only coming to our house for the night, then we were moving them on Sunday to our friend's who will be boarding them for us until we build our fence. So.......at midnight, in the pitch black of night, we are unloading the horses and getting them tied up for the night. The plan was good, but we didn't count on a halter breaking, a horse on the loose, ropes around ankles, etc. Finally, after much excitement, both horses were safely tied to trees (with enough rope to bend their heads to eat), and we were able to get into bed about 2 a.m. We were tired! Sunday we took them out to a friend's house, where they had plenty of room to run and an abundant amount of grass to eat. They seemed very happy. We are checking fencing prices and getting those plans in the works ASAP. Collin said he didn't like the fact that his Christmas present was at someone else's house! It may seem like we did this thing backwards - getting horses before we built the fence - but the lady who had them only had a few days to keep them before she would have to find a new place to rent, so we had to bring them here to save them from being homeless. Other than the exciting horse news, Ted (my 16 year old) started his new job on Monday. He was a little apprehensive, but once he got there, he was fine. He is working for FOX, here in town, and they have two news shows; one at 4pm and the other at 9pm. Ted actually ran the studio camera for the 9:00 show. He is going to learn so much while working there. The great thing is that he has landed a position that usually college students have to intern to get. This position is not usually given to a 16 year old, as a permanent job. We're very proud of him. This week Collin and I are volunteering at the church, taking up Samaritan's Purse shoe boxes. I bought my first turkey today. Sorry to disappoint all of you wonderful homemakers, but I bought a pre-cooked Hickory Smoked Turkey. All I have to do is heat it up!! I'm so happy! More on the menu later. Hope all is well with you! Blessings my friends, Debbie Caramel without the messHomemade Caramel without the mess
Good for a lonnng time in the pantry!
 ABCs of menu planning
Another good post from Flylady. ~ ~ Dear Friends,
Sometimes there is a learning curve [on learning a new habit] and it doesn't just snap into place. Even more so with menu planning, sometimes your Plan A menu plan hits the skids for whatever reason and now you're in a bind. What to do? Plan B. And Plan C even. Don't get trapped in perfectionism and believe that you can never ever deviate from the menu plan! Stuff happens, we are all susceptible. So when that stuff is hitting the fan, you need the insurance protection of Plan B and Plan C. Here's what that looks like. ... Plan B - I think everyone should have a stash of frozen meals in their freezer. We've even got frozen crockpot meals it's by far the easiest, cinchy-iest way to dinner and great in a pinch! Plan C is what I call an emergency meal. This is where your well-stocked pantry saves your biscuitsâwhat you need to make a quick and dirty dinner is right there, in the pantry and you can get it cooked and on the table as quick as lightning because you have to. I've got a recipe here for you to try the next time you're slammed busy and suddenly don't have the time you need to make it. The goal of course is Plan A. But be ready just in case for Plan B and even Plan C scenarios. That's just the way life is sometimes! Here's that recipe I told you about. Get your pantry stocked with these ingredients this week! You'll be glad you did! The Original 911 Emergency Dinner Serves 4 3 cups instant brown rice, cooked 2 (15 ounce) cans of black beans, not drained Jarred salsa (your favorite) CONDIMENTS Shredded Cheddar cheese Sour cream Tortillas In a saucepan, heat the beans till nice and hot. In a bowl, place your cooked rice, top with beans and salsa. Add the condiments of your choice to the top and heat the tortillas to be used as either a bread-type side dish or to allow your family to make soft tacos from their meal. Cool way to wrap gifts - el cheapo!I got this in an email from Flylady (a cleaning help enewsletter) and I thought it was pretty neat. ~ ~
Dear Friends,
You know who you are! Many of us are Fabric hoarders! Here is a great idea that was posted on our BigTent message page. All you have to do is click the link at the bottom. Here is the message that was posted. About 2 years ago we joined the "Go Green" bandwagon. My mom made simple cloth bags in various sizes for wrapping presents. Now we have no paper to worry about buying, tossing and buying again. I think I may make some to give as gifts this year for all occasions... ********* FlyLady here again Any kind of fabric will work for these gift bags. I did a Google search and here is what I came up with. http://www.craftandfabriclinks.com/ezgiftbags/easy_giftbag_pattern.html Not only can you use your Fabric stash but you can use those old clothes you can't get rid of! Maybe even some of those goofy holiday sweaters that MissusSmartyPants has been ragging us about! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8PFJkzcLTlI Have fun but don't get sidetracked! Do your routine first! Get dressed to lace up shoes and then take a few minutes to have some fun being creative. I want to see pictures. Don't pull out more than you can put back in an hour and pick up after yourself! We may never have to buy gift wrap again. LOL I can see it now! Everyone giving gift bags as presents and have Gift Bag Making Parties and Gift Bag Swaps like cookie swaps!
First Thanksgiving Dinner Celebration!Our First Thanksgiving Dinner was Friday and it was AWESOME! We had 40 kids from 18 families attend for a total of 60 people in attendance. (Just a few more than the 53 Pilgrims at the first Thanksgiving!)Here is the day in pictures... Here I am with my 2 youngest. (Oh, come on you knew you would see me dressed like a Pilgrim at some point! LOL My costume was just a black shirt and skirt I had in my closet. Then I wore one of the hats I had made and added a collar and apron made from white felt. Super simple!)  Here are some of the Indians and Pilgrims arrving.  My handsome Indian teenager!  His shirt is a white t-shirt we tea stained and then fringed the edges with scissors. It was super easy! (I boiled about a gallon of water and then seeped 7 tea bags until it was pretty dark. Then I removed the tea bags and soaked the shirt for about 30 minutes. Then I put the t-shirt through the spin cycle of the washer and ran it through the dryer. Once it was dry we fringed the edges with scissors. You could add beads too.) After everyone arrived and got their hats on I spent a few minutes talking to the kids about the first Thanksgiving. Here are some of the kids listening to me talk.  I asked them lots of questions too so they all got to tell what they know about the first thanksgiving.Then we had a story.  The First Thanksgiving By: Linda Hayward Here is my daughter reciting a poem she memorized as the blessing for the food.  The First Thanksgiving When the Pilgrims first gathered together to share with their Indian friends in the mild autumn air, they lifted the voices in jubilant praise for the bread on the table, the berries and maize, for field and for forest, for turkey and deer, for the bountiful crops they were blessed with that year. They were thankful for these as they feasted away, and as they were thankful we're thankful today. Author Unknown She did an AWESOME job. I was so proud of her! The FOOD!  We had turkey, fish, deer stew, fruit, nuts, cheese, corn chowder, potatoes, cranberry salad, apple sauce, and a lot more! Yummy!!!!Pilgrims and Indians eating together.  Lots of yummy food!  We also played games. Here are a few of the pilgrim girls heading out to play games.  And my WILD Indian boy!  3 Legged Races!  Corn Toss  The Turkey Shoot!  There was also a corn hunt (Similar to a egg hunt except dry corn was thrown in the grass and everyone hunted for it.) and pumpkin races where the kids pushed a pumpkin with a stick, The games were great! And lastly we made our craft (Which the kids LOVED and I didn't get any pictures of.) and then played Thanksgiving Jingo!  It was an awesome day. I can't wait to do it again next year! Happy Homeschooling, Jamin Click HERE to read my post on planning out this party. :^) Thank you, Lord!Well, I made it! I actually slept at the house by myself last night while David and the boys were in Alabama. Sounds silly - I know - but we've had strange things happen here and it gets a little spooky when you're surrounded by woods.I had a good day yesterday. I accomplished many of the things on my list and even had lunch with a great friend, who I haven't seen in a long time. It was great to catch up with her. I got my menu made for next week, bought groceries, rented some movies, worked on some school things, ate corn chowder for supper (yum), and was in bed by 10:30. This morning David texted me at 6:30 to say he and the boys were getting on the road. They had an hour and a half drive to get to the horses. He just texted me at 8:15 to say they were there. It will be a long day back for them, but they will be so excited to be pulling a trailer with our new pets. What's on the agenda for me today? Finish up school record keeping, lesson plans for next week Wash clothes Clean the house Watch a movie (while eating pizza - of course) Print some pictures on my trusty little picture printing machine Hopefully scrapbook Wait on my boys to get home How about you? What are you doing today? Changes and SeasonsThere are seasons of life that are expected and those that sneak up on you. I am experiencing one of those seasons that has caught me by surprise, all of a sudden.My 16 year old son got his first permanent job this week. He's had short term jobs but never a fully committed, go to work every day, kind of job. Starting Monday that will all change. He will work in the evening, which will still give him time to do school and be at home during the day. But our evenings will be different. He has been offered a job in production at our local FOX affiliate, which will entail things like: running the teleprompter, handing out scripts, and various other duties that have to be done before, during and after the evening news. This opportunity is unique in that, he is only 16 and usually the guys they hire for this position are much older. But, because he had experience with shooting football and has known the guys in the news business since he was little, they are taking a chance on him and his age. We didn't want him to pass this up. So, my "little boy" is growing up and entering the grown up world. And this mom is not doing well with it! On a happier note: we are getting into the horse world. My husband and 2 boys are on their way, as I type this, to Alabama to pick up two quarter horses that have been given to us. This will be our first time as horse owners (well David had them as a teen) but, for our family, it will be a first. We have promised our kids horses since we moved to this little farmhouse, and now we are delivering. We've got fences to build and alot to learn, but what a journey! I feel like it's a real blessing to be able to give my kids this opportunity. And, true to the homeschooling mom way, I bought a book on horses, and Collin will be reading it all the way to Alabama! He'll be educated beyond belief by the time they get there! And if I know Collin - Ted and Dad will be begging him to stop relaying all the facts from the back seat, very soon! And I'm at home for 2 days with no one but the dogs. True to myself, I've made a list of all the things I want to do during these two long days. I don't want to squander the precious time away, doing nothing. So, I hope to get some projects done (scrapbooking) and some movie watching, some school record-keeping (I actually enjoy this), and organizing (love this too). I'm about to make my menu for next week and go to the store. I'm considering this weekend to be like a little retreat for myself. I hope to spend alot of time renewing myself and communicating with God. Sounds precious, don't you think? Many blessings to you, my friends. Have a great weekend! Debbie { Last Page } { Page 1 of 5 } { Next Page } |
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About MeLoving God with all my heart! I am a Homeschooling mom of 5 wonderful children. I am the wife of a very successful, handsome, wonderful husband who loves God with all his heart. I love to travel. Our Favorite place: Hawaii!!!! I love to read. My Favorite books: God's Word, Family Driven Faith, Passionate Housewives Desperate for God, and Created to Be His Helpmeet. I have started this blog in hopes of meeting other like-minded homeschooling families. It is also my desire to use this blog to minister to others as God places things in my heart for me to share with you all. Have a wonderful day and thanks for stopping by! Check out my other Blogs Below: Keepers At HomeThe Great Mystery  Links  
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