Learning to Live Life...De Die in Diem - Homeschool Blogger

Here is a super supper recipe I made...

Thu, 17 Jan 2008 16:47:00 -0600

A few weeks ago I received my Kraft Food and Family magazine. I love looking for and trying new recipes, and altering them to fit my family. As I was perusing this issue I came across a yummy looking dinner. It's called "Simple & Creamy Tortellini Alfredo". We tried a few night ago and man it was good!! I made some changes to suit our tastes however, I bet the original version is just as delicious. The recipe is as follows: (My changes will be in red) (I increased the recipe because I have a larger family)

Prep Time: 5 min

Total Time: 30 min

Makes: 6 servings, 1 cup each

· 1 can (14-1/2 oz.) fat-free reduced-sodium chicken broth

· 1 cup water

· Increase water to 2 cups if using more pasta

· 2 pkg. (9 oz. each) refrigerated cheese tortellini

· 2 pkg. (38 oz. total) Organic, Spinach and Cheese Stuffed Ravioli

· 4 oz. (1/2 of 8-oz. pkg.) Cream Cheese, cubed

· 8 oz. Cream Cheese, cubed

· 1 cup frozen peas

· 1 ½ cups frozen peas (still frozen is fine)

· 3/4 cup Finely Shredded Italian Five Cheese Blend

· 1 cup Finely Shredded Italian Five Cheese Blend

· 6-8 slices Bacon, cooked, drained and crumbled

· ½ tsp ground black pepper

· ½ tsp dried basil (you could use 1 tsp fresh as well)

POUR broth and water into large saucepan; stir. Bring to boil on medium-high heat. Add tortellini. Reduce heat to medium-low; cover. Simmer 8 to 9 min. or until tortellini is tender. (Do not drain.)

ADD cream cheese and peas; stir. Heat 2 to 3 min. or until cream cheese is completely melted, stirring occasionally.

STIR in shredded cheese and bacon.

Healthier alternative...use Neufchatel Cheese (1/3 less fat than cream cheese) also you could try turkey bacon.

I paired it with a Spinach Salad:

fresh baby spinach (1 pkg washed and de-stemmed)
5-6 hard boiled eggs
1 cup fresh sliced mushrooms
1-2 Roma tomatoes, chopped
shredded Mozzarella (as much as you like)
Creamy Poppyseed dressing

I hope if you try it you will like it as much as we did...let me know.

Blessings,

~Renee~

Happy Winter...

Thu, 17 Jan 2008 15:41:00 -0600

I just wanted to drop in real quick and send a hello. Life has kept me busy with many projects. Praise the Lord for that. The winters here are kinda long (for me at least) and keeping busy, helps. Our Christmas was super yet very simple. A few days before Christmas, my dh's First Ssgt knocks on the door and brings us a huge box of Christmas Dinner goodies. That was so very thoughtful of them to look out for us like that. (We were really touched, we felt so blessed) There was a catch though...he had 2 boxes because another family had declined theirs, and he wasn't taking these 2 boxes home with him...so we "had" to accept. The funny part was because of the Lord's grace this year we were blessed enough to buy our family quite a feast prior to ever realizing were were getting a dinner box. So now we had 3 meals, all ready for Christmas! So anyway we thought for a second about what to do and decided to call our church office just before they closed (this was the Friday before Christmas.) We talked to the Assistant Pastor and asked if they knew of any families that needed a Christmas meal. He didn't quite understand but said yes bring the food to the Christmas Eve Service. Well we did, (both boxes) and ended up also serving in the children's ministry that night (because they were short handed.) It turns out there were 2 families in need at the church, and the pastors didn't really connect the 2 situations until they saw the boxes and the families they went home with. Then they realized as did we that the Lord was at work in the backround (as usual.) And I believe the whole situation increased the faith of our pastors who work so hard yet get so busy and sometimes miss God's backround work. It was such a blessing to just slip out of church that night knowing the Lord is so sovereign. That really made our Chirstmas!

New Years was fun as well as we were invited to our friends property to go sledding and to have a nice dinner. The kids had a blast rocketing down that steep hill. I of course being a mother, just about had a heart attack watching them!! The week after, my dh left for a short week long trip to another stateside base to attend an AF conference. We missed him, however we were thankful it was short. We also recieved a ton of snow the week he was gone (that I had to shovel) and 2 of our 5 children came down ill with some stomach thing! Sigh! It's always interesting when they leave! Any military family can attest to that. LOL!!

Well I will add another post on top of this one to share an ultra yummy recipe I made for dinner the other day. It was healthy, tasty and all my kiddos ate every bite! My 3 yo son even said, "mom my favorite part was... the meal." LOL!! Well you had to have been there. We thought it was really funny. One last thing... at the end of the month I will be undergoing some intense dental surgery and I would love your prayers. I hate needles and dental pain. LOL! Thankfully my sweet dh will be taking leave to take care of me and the family while I recover. For those that knew I was severly ill over the last few months-- I am still in recover mode but I am doing better, taking a high end multi vitamin has helped a lot! (Of all things.)

Blessings and take care,

~Renee~

Merry Christmas

Sun, 23 Dec 2007 11:59:00 -0600

Hey there,

It's been another small break in blogging due to health issues. For many months I have been fighting a severe Staph infection, and the antibiotics have been fighting both me and the infection! LOL!! It's been a rough road at times. Anyhow, I wanted to upload my winter/Christmas template, and type a quick note to wish everyone who reads this a Merry Christmas, and many blessings. The Lord is so good... whatever comes our way in life the Lord is faithful to take us through it and use our circumstances good and/or bad to shape and mold us. He also allows us to come along side others who might be in that same situation down the road and offer peace and grace to them. What a blessing!

~Renee~

Fall Fun

Wed, 10 Oct 2007 16:17:00 -0500

After a visit from family I am ready to blog once again. I thought I’d share some photos of the beautiful fall foliage around here. It’s is so awesome to watch the Lord at work in nature. The kids and I did some studying on the color change in leaves and find them to be all the more fascinating. I have some great links to websites we have enjoyed learning from... (always use discernment when surfing)

· Answers in Genesis: Article-- Do Leave’s Die?

· Kid Explorers—Why Do Leaves Change Colors in the Fall?

· Enchanted Learning—Fall Worksheets

· Ed Helper—Autumn Theme Unit

· Fall Poetry—Fact Monster

Here are some photos of the kids and the fall color around the area. Enjoy...

Blessings,

~Renee~

Feeling Lead to Blog Again

Tue, 2 Oct 2007 18:16:00 -0500

Well it’s been an even longer time of no blogging! I have been feeling led back to this so I am planning on easing back into blogging. For now I have updated all my graphics to reflect the season, curriculum additions, etc and hopefully start fresh. This last year has been filled with activity and growth especially on the homeschooling front and our family’s faith in Christ. My husband and I have been working our way through the bible verse by verse and it has lead to such great conversations and growth. Over the summer we took some great day/field trips which I hope to include on here asap. I am keeping this short this evening so that I may go and bake some cookies with my girls as we prepare for a visit from family.

Blessings in Him,

~Renee~

One More Thing

Thu, 16 Nov 2006 18:33:00 -0600

Today I found a great link over on the Washington State Blog for kids to learn about the "First Thanksgiving!" We checked it out and found it to be a fun supplement to our studies this week on the Separatists and Wampanoag nation. Here's the link if you wish to check it out.

http://teacher.scholastic.com/thanksgiving/

~Renee~

It's been a while

Thu, 16 Nov 2006 18:21:00 -0600

Long Time No Blog�

I know it�s been quite a while since I last blogged. I felt I needed to take a bit of a hiatus from things, kind of like a fast from computers, phones, and TV. I felt it building up over the course of the last three years, as they were challenging. I was spiritually and emotionally spent. During my hiatus my husband and I took up reading the bible and lifting up our day in prayer together every morning before sunrise. It has been a wonderful time to connect with each other as well as our Heavenly Father. He has begun to fill us up again, deep inside. It�s like taking a long drink of cool water on a hot day. It�s been very refreshing. We also finally found a church home where we feel God�s magnificence and glory abundantly.

Homeschooling has been going fine. We surge some days and others we barely get anything beyond the basics done. This was an area I could feel was over taking me emotionally. I felt cornered and hopeless. I felt that our homeschooling journey would not be successful, with three little ones under three in tow. My oldest two have been great and very patient through it all. I basically had to give it all over to the Lord and claim His promises that �He would work out all things for the good of those who love Him.� Every morning I have to trust that He will fill in the gaps and allow me to overcome my perfectionism in this area. If I keep it in perspective, and look at the big picture, they are learning a lot. We have our basics, which I can take as much time on as I want, like bible, grammar, spelling, reading, writing and math. If they don�t get it we can keep trying until they do get it. When we can�t get to history and science, I have them open up good resource books and just look through and read them. We watch science and history shows, and discuss that period of time and look up the things that sounded interesting as a way of filling in the �gaps.� Best of all their characters are flourishing. They have so much honesty and integrity; it fills my heart with joy. That�s not to say they don�t have their days, because they do. LOL! So when I look at it like that, I feel much better. Boy is it ever hard to let go of the �traditional school� approach, and just adopt a more natural approach. My dear sweet husband gave me great wisdom in this area� he said, �You have to let go of the expectation.� He thought I was going to hang up the phone on him! LOL! Actually�it made me think, and pray.

The conclusion I have come to is that homeschooling is a frame of mind, a perspective.

I will post again as soon as I can. It will most likely not be everyday though. Unless I surprise myself! I�ve updated my blog look to reflect the season, and will change it again next month for winter.

~Renee~

The Military HomeFront--The Balancing Act

Fri, 11 Aug 2006 14:40:00 -0500

I am posting my article for the Military HomeFront on my blog this month because all our writers had so much to share regarding planning and preparation. I�d love to hear your thoughts, or even your experiences. We at the HomeFront would also love to hear from you!

The Balancing Act

A few years ago I jokingly asked the Lord to slow me down as a driver. I typically drove with a lead foot everywhere I went. One day as I was zipping around town, I noticed a speed trap and arrogantly prayed for the Lord to slow me down. �Ha-ha,� I thought to myself as I passed the cops slowly by. Little did I know God took me seriously. A few hours later, on my way home I was slowed way down! No I wasn�t in an accident. I was however stuck behind two oversized terribly slow trucks, and a train approaching which would have us stop all together. I was annoyed, very annoyed. After the train moved on the trucks slowly puttered forward; I tried to pass them every chance I got. They ended up heading for the base, the very direction I was going. The Lord whispered softly in my ear, that I had asked to slow down. Sigh! I should have remembered that later the next year when my husband and I were embarking on our first year of homeschooling. I felt completely unqualified for the journey we were about to undertake. I prayed continuously for patience, creativity, and the ability to learn to lean on Him. We were also praying for another child, we only had two children at the time and our youngest was almost four. In time our Awesome God began reveling glimpses of a plan He had to transform our family like never before. Again...little did I know�.He was going to get creative. We got an answer to one of our prayers. At least we thought it was an answer to only one. We found out we were expecting our third child shortly after relenting to the idea of homeschooling. I remember thinking �Good grief, now I�ll have a baby to slow me down.�

Here I am three children later looking ahead to another year of homeschooling the five I now have, and wondering where the easier days have gone. The question in my mind remains, were the previous years easier, or do they seem easier when you look back and realize they weren�t that bad. You know what they say about hindsight? Keeping this in mind, I march ahead planning our new year. I have learned so much about creatively organizing a large family. I have also discovered more patience than ever before. I once read somewhere��never pray for patience.� I thought that was a silly thing to say. Now I know why it was said. Our Father in Heaven is so very creative in teaching us what we need to know. Homeschooling our two oldest with three (ages three and under) in tow has been a tremendous patience and faith builder. He found a way to reach me the way I would learn it best. It has not been without tears or breakdowns; however it has been vital to my spiritual growth.

In planning our new school year I am tempted to dig out that old trusty �bang head here� sign when faced with the thought of corralling these little guys. However in all God�s grace and mercy He has also taught me that scaling back a bit will not ruin my children�s education or my sanity. For survival I have had to be willing to put school away some days, or only require the basics done. I have had to be okay with that. I can easily drive myself bonkers thinking of all they could possibly be missing out on. In reality they are missing nothing, and learning loads of real applicable life skills. I love the verse� Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed, Proverbs 16:3. I use unit studies as our main curriculum, and it takes some planning ahead on my part. However I tend to over plan, and snowball my reality of what truly is important. A love of learning, and desire to find the knowledge needed. I also tend to try and school during nap times for the little ones. That is not always a practical reality either. They don�t always want to nap. So praise the Lord, I have come up with a way to keep my little marauders busy and learning while I teach the other two. I am slowly building a tote just for the toddler and preschooler. It will contain items like large wooden puzzles, blocks, stringing beads, magnets, alphabet and bible coloring pages, finger and water paints etc. They will only be allowed to have this bin out during �school,� so that they may be supervised at all times with some of the small pieces, and so the bin remains novel.

We do have a schedule that I would love to stick with, however I still need to be flexible to remain productive. In the morning right after they wake up, it�s time to make beds and set the table. During breakfast we have our bible lesson; it starts off the day with our priorities in order. After breakfast we clean up, get dressed, brush teeth and get ready to start school around 9 am. While the children are busy starting school, I do the dishes and throw in a load of laundry. Around 10:30 am I try to put the little ones down for a nap, if that doesn�t work, it�s bin time for them. Our school day weaves in and out of our everyday life, between meals, chores, and play. We may not officially finish until after dinner if need be, however the children have had a full day of fun, learning, playing and working. Some days are truly pleasant, and others I feel I should have stayed in bed. Through it all if I continue to plan school around our lives and refine it when necessary I know I will obtain a precious balance. Above all I pray the Lord�s and my �teaching [will] fall like rain...like showers on new grass.� Deut. 32:2

Tip: When scheduling your school days especially with little ones, always use pencil and never write exact dates to avoid frustration and disappointment.

~Renee~

Patriotic Friday... A fallen Marines promise.

Fri, 28 Jul 2006 10:29:00 -0500

It�s Patriotic Friday!!

I have not been as diligent as I would have liked lately with posting on Patriotic Friday�s. So, today I am going to take care of it! LOL!!

I found this article and was moved at the love and compassion of this young fallen Marine. Here is the link to the story. (scroll down until you see the story.) When you get the chance to read it, come back and share your thoughts.

To me, this is just another example of the humanity of our troops. To often the media and others see and portray our military members as callous machines. In reality they are loving, caring, and compassionate individuals, who have families. Our troops are people too.

~Renee~

My thoughts...

Thu, 20 Jul 2006 13:55:00 -0500

Okay I know another long stretch between posts. I do apologize. Some of my blogging buddies are beginning to wonder where I�ve been. I suppose I�d better update a little. LOL!!

For starters I have been taking a break from the computer for a while and focusing on potty training my 2 yo, as well as comfort my 7 month old whose been cutting 3 teeth all at once and with the accompanying fevers. Which is really fun (NOT) with all this heat and no AC!! SIGH! It�ll be 100 to 103 this weekend. I think we�ll be at the mall all day!! LOL!!

I have also been taking some time off of schooling the children. For said reasons above, and for some creative time for me. The one thing I have noticed that remains constant with me is that I am a creative person. Without the time and or ability to create I get feeling bogged down, and overwhelmed. Which is what I believe has been happening over the last 2 � years. I have had to leave that side of me alone during 3 pregnancies back to back, 3 moves back to back, and slim finances. The things with the finances holding me back is during 2 of the moves (that were military moves), the packing companies will not allow things like paint, (even craft paint) stains, glues, candles, wax, etc, to be moved so therefore all my supplies had to be tossed. Sniff. Rebuilding my supplies has been difficult.

Over the last year I have gathered a few items, but was already in the day to day �business like� attitude of �I�ve got to get this or that done, there is no time for messing around.� It took me feeling really down and burdened as well as watching how my children love to create to help me realize that part of me was missing. I began to think about the Lord and how creative He is, and since He made us in His image�then being creative in some way is in our design. Why fight it? I realized I was fighting against myself all this time. LOL!! That�s always fun. My hubby is also very creative, he used to write poetry and draw beautiful things. However as life has been happening, he has completely put those things away and believes they are no longer there, it is my prayer that he picks them up once again someday.

So anyway, I have taken the time to repurpose a book shelf for the children, (it�s in my living room, so I wanted it to blend with the d�cor.) I also made 2 necklaces, one for me and one for my daughter. In addition to that I have been making the children a �behavior� type chart. It has pockets, and cards to fill them. Each of the 2 older children will have 6 pockets. Two pockets for their assigned �zones;� one for zones to do and one for zones done. The middle pockets are for school assignments to do, and one for the assignments done. The third pockets are for character; one positive and one negative. We are using the �Fruits of the Spirit� for determining character. If they exhibit things opposite of the �Fruits of the Spirit� then the card is put into the negative pocket. They then have to earn it back and so on. There is a little more to it, but I�ll save that for another post if readers are interested. Just leave me a comment. I will add pictures of the chart when all the cards are finished, as I am hand making them all. I have also been helping out a few fellow bloggers with decorating on my other blog, 7swallowtails. I hesitate to put that out there as I would hate to be scrutinized as to my intentions. I am merely providing help with love, and no expectations for anything in return. Well maybe a smile! He-He-He!

I�ll leave you with my preliminary action plan for the upcoming school year. I have decided that I will school the kids 4 days a week, and use Fridays as a modified day. They will still do their bible, math and grammar, however it will also be used as a make-up day for assignments not completed, or school crafts not done. In addition to that I will use that day for some good old fashioned house cleaning. I do a little everyday; however some of the more detailed stuff needs a little extra time, so Friday will be the day. I know this will help in keeping me feeling more relaxed, and not so stressed during the school year. I will post my schedule in the few days for those interested. I will also post my picks for curriculum for the new school year, and why I choose them. I know that this time of year there are many moms looking for encouragement, and ideas for their new journey of homeschooling. I wish I would have had the resources and support that HSB provides, a few years ago!! LOL!! I pray and hope moms will find what they need on the various blogs over the next few weeks as we all get ready for our new school year.

Have a blessed day.

~Renee~

Here are some photos of what I have done so far�

My daughter's necklace on the left, mine on the right.

Here is the bookshelf...