Posted in Weekly Wrapup
 From the Heart: I realized that I haven't been spending as much time with my Heavenly Father as I desire too. He somehow got pushed back in my list of priorities. This week I worked on putting Him back into the drivers seat and spent time in devotions and prayer first thing in the morning as well as tried to converse with Him throughout the day. My goal is that it will become a habit to turn to my Lord for advice before I turn to dh, friends, and family. After all He is the wisest of us all and knows me best. :) On the Homefront: In the garden the peas are over. I am getting some zucchinis and yellow squash. I caught up on weeding and planted some beans and late corn. I found a squash dish that my guys tolerate. I love squash as does one of my sons but the rest including dh could live without it. ;) I made a casserole with the squash, zucchinis, fried hamburger, onion, red mild peppers, garlic, salt and pepper. A sautéed the onions, garlic, mild peppers and hamburger together until the hamburger was brown. I then added the squash/zucchini and sautéed them for a few minutes. I put them in a casserole dish topped with cheese and baked just until the cheese was a bit golden and served. My squash haters even ate this dish and asked for 2nds. We had a cook out last night and roasted hotdogs, Mt. pies, and smores. Yummy! It was a fun way to end our week. :) In the School Room: We aren't officially doing school. We will start back the end of August but the boys are doing some teaching textbooks math each day and we are reading books on WWW I because my oldest wants to learn about it. On Thursday I got together with a friend to plan out Konos for next year. We are doing it together and getting together to do projects on fridays. We will start the last week of August. In the Literary Scene: I am in between books right now. Healthy Living: I need to loose weight but I don't want to diet. I am trying make a lifestyle change in order to loose the extra pounds and keep them off. This includes exercise and eating smaller servings of healthy foods. :) I'll jump on the wagon next week so stay tuned. ;) Weekly Verse: Psalm 121 1 I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? 2 My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. 3 He will not let your foot be moved; 5 The Lord is your keeper; 7 The Lord will keep you from all evil; |
Posted in Polictical Ponderings
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I am so thankful for our country. We have been so blessed and I think that has caused us to take many things for granted. Our freedom is one thing that we take for granted and we are becoming reckless with it. I fear that our complacency is going to be the cause of the death of our great nation. We are supper vigilant about attacks from the outside but our destruction will come from the inside. Not with guns but with changes to the law here and there while we slumber and bask in our complacency. Abraham Lincoln once said, "America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter, and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves." Unfortunately, I think that time is closer than we think. I pray that people wake up and take a stand before it's too late. I don't want to loose the freedoms that we have. The freedom to worship my Lord, the freedom to raise my children as I see fit and to teach them to love and honor their Creator, and the freedom to homeschool (that so many fought very hard for in the 60's/70's/80's). I pray that I'll be able to homeschool my children through highschool. I love being the one to see the lights go on when they get a new concept. I love being able to instruct them in the ways of the Lord 24/7 and tying their faith into many of their subjects. Homeschooling is hard work but I love it. I love guiding and directing my children's education and exploring the world with my children. I love showing my children that learning doesn't happen in a certain building or during certain hours during the day but that learning happens all the time as long as you are alive. My youngest is 3 so I have many years of homeschooling ahead of me. I want to keep that freedom but it appears to be on a thin thread. Our country appears to be moving farther all that it was founded on and as we move farther from that we will loose more and more freedoms. I hope that our nation wakes up before it's too late and our leaders stop lusting for power and pushing for what "they" want and start focusing on what the majority of the people that they serve want. |
Posted in Polictical Ponderings
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Sarah Palin said that she will not seek Re-election in 2010 and that it’s best for Alaska’s future and will transfer the power of governor to Lieutenant Governor Sean Parnell in a few weeks. She feels that this would be in Alaska’s best interests. I am a huge supporter of Sarah Palin and this saddens me but I totally understand. Her children have been attacked mercilessly and her family has been run through the mill. I pray that she will continue to be an advocate for traditional values, polictical reform, and for special needs children. Best wishes, Governor Palin. May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord let His face shine upon you and be gracious to you. May the Lord look upon you kindly and give you peace. I will continue to pray for you and your children. Lt. Governor Parnell’s response |
Posted in Thrifty Thursday
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My tip for this week's Thrifty Thursday entry is to cook double batches and put the extra in the freezer to pull out on those days when life is hectic and you don't know what to have for dinner, or you get home late and don't have time to prepare what you were planning on, etc. It also comes in handy if you are sick and don't feel like cooking. This saves you from stopping by the grocery store last minute and buying a premade meal or doing what I used to do, calling dh and asking him to bring a carryout home because I either ran out of time or was not feeling well enough to cook. Now I just pull a meal out of the freezer on those days. It really isn't hard to double the recipe when you are making it and it really, really pays off to have those extra meals in the freezer. |
Posted in Natural Living
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Here is the recipe that I use to make my homemade laundry detergent. I found a recipe that I loved a few years back and tweaked it to suite my family. Here is the final recipe. Peaceful Meadow's Homemade Laundry Soap 1 quart boiling water 2 cups grated Kirks Castile 2 cups washing soda (Please note that this is different than baking soda) 2 cups borax Put the soap into the sauce pan with the boiling water. Stir until the soap melts. Add the washing soda and the borax stirring until it is dissolved. Remove from heat. Pour 2 gallons of water into a bucket. Add your soap mixture and stir until dissolved. Cover pail and let sit for about 24 hours before using. It will gel but not be a solid gel but more of a watery gel. Use 1/4 cup per load. This is a low suds soap. If you don't see suds do not worry because that is normal. Remember that the ingredients in the soap is what cleans the clothing not the soap. I like to add 1/2 ounce of orange essential oil for scent. Enjoy! :) |
Posted in Spell to Write and Read
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After much research, thought and prayer, I have decided to us Spell to Write and Read with the boys this year. I ordered it this morning and now I wait in anticipation for it's arrival. I'll be using it with my 10 yo, 8 yo, and 5 yo. I'll use it to refine the spelling and reading skills of the older boys and to start my younger one on his spelling/reading journey. As I think about using the program I have mixed feelings of nervousness and excitement. I have been told that it takes a while to get used to using the program but that it's well worth the time that it takes. I am praying that it will be a good fit for our family and open many doors to different worlds for the boys. |
Posted in Konos
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In March we struck out and tried something new. We started doing unit studies. We started with Alaska and the Iditarod and ended with Birds and John James Audoboun. I loved doing the unit studies and it worked wonderfully for the boys. The hardest part was planning them. That was time consuming and overwhelming for me. I struggle with perfectionism and wanted everything perfect. I was afraid that I would leave out some important fact and the child would be struggling the next year. Because of that, I was going to throw in the towel on doing unit studies BUT a friend introduced me to Konos. After looking through her copies and much prayer, I decided to do Konos if I could find the curriculum really cheap. Well, I DID!!!! I am so excited about doing this next year with the boys. It’s very hands on and right up their alley! Tomorrow my friend is coming over and we are spending the day planning for next year. We will be meeting every Friday as a group for hands on activities together or field trips related to our studies. |