The Heart of the Home seeks to equip women as they study God's Word and encourage them to treasure God with all of their heart (Matt 6:19-21), and guard their heart (Prov. 4:23), by recognizing that they are the heart of the home.

Today is a beautiful calm gray rainy day.  I love rainy days.  Everyone seems to settle down when the roads are quiet.  Even the birds are still.  It makes me want to curl up with a good book and a cup o joe or hot chocolate.  Of course, I am 'curled' up , or rather surrounded by hundreds of books here at my job.  Yes, I am still working in the library.  It's officially been 2 years as of last week.  I did however make a move in March to a smaller library when the manager position came open.  I love the new job, and the new position :)    But, that's not the biggest change that has happened this year. 
   All summer my heart was heavy about our 'homeschooling'.  After graduating two children and seeing them off to the wild blue yonder, I had felt confident that having only the two youngest, and girls to boot, left at home, that school would be a cinch and like little house on the prairie... only in our case... little log cabin/mobile home on the lake.   But something was missing.  The girls were 'bored'.  I was tired of it all and quite frankly tired.  ugh.  My health isn't the best and it was beginning to show in our school day.  I found myself more and more wanting to get others to teach them , anything.  From music, to sewing, to art, you name it.  Don't get me wrong, we enjoyed our time together and were happy as ever... but , not much learning going on. 
    Praying and searching, exploring options, talking with my husband and my girls.... all summer long.  End of summer came and I sat down with my son, now home from his second year in college.  Finding him confused and anxious was no surprise.  I had seen this before when my oldest daughter came home from her sophomore year in college.  Questions, so many questions, doubts, and confusion led to mere frustration.  I began to realize that the 'real' world, while still is the home, church, community - not a public school or institution, was bigger than my little cabin on the lake.  I had missed something in their schooling.  Yes, we are a tight family.  Yes, our faith is strong.  Yes, our love is deep.  But, somehow the children were not prepared for some of the challenges that would come their way. 
to be continued.......

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I've been busy at Anita's Antics and have neglected my "homeschool" blog.    I haven't forgotten about you though!

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I think it is only natural to think about people that you used to know at some point in time and wonder how they are.

For some it may be lost loves or family members. For others like myself, it is lost friends.

I do not know why it happens, but life takes strange twists and turns and before you know it you have lost touch with someone you love.

There are a few people that I have considered to be very close to my heart. I have been blessed to have a best friend at every stage of my life. But for whatever reason, I allowed life to separate us.

I do often think about my special friends who I feel blessed to have known. I wonder if they have families of their own and what their children might be like. In fact I do hope that one day I will have the opportunity to be reunited with them.

MyLife is a great place to start my quest to find my lost best friends. It is completely free to join MyLife.com and begin searching for your lost loved ones today.

Unfortunately, my search came up empty. But I am not going to let that stop me.

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There are a neat paint freebie available this week.

The first is a special paint that turns any surface into a dry erase board. I think this is the coolest thing I've seen in a while.

There are just so many ways that this could be used. I'm thinking it would be a great way to make a message board in the kitchen.

Hmmmmm..... The possibilities are practically endless.

Sign up for you free sample of Dry Erase paint.

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Last week was challenging, as we had an early frost.  We tend to be at least 10 degrees less than the low temp in town, but Tuesday, it was almost a 20 degree difference.  With a boatload of tomatoes on the vines, I didn't want to lose the crop, and picking them green would mean some ripening, but alot lost.  We got the area covered with tarps, and managed to avoid losing much.  The worst damage happened when the dogs got in, chasing a bunny, no doubt.  They got on top of the tarps, and took out some pepper plants.  Ugh!  Still, we managed to make it through the chill.  Things in the forecast look better for the next few weeks, so hopefully we won't have any more frost this month.

I've been able to harvest plenty of ripe, or nearly ripe, tomatoes in the last week, and have turned toward making salsas and sauces to freeze.  My canning skills are still a little lacking, but it's not too difficult to boil tomatoes and onion, seasonings, peppers, etc.  Give them a whirl in the blender, and voila!  My tomatillo crop got hit by the frost, although I do still have some production.  A friend recommended a mix of tomatillo and tomato for a tasty salsa, and I have to agree.  I have a plentiful supply of habaneros, and have been boiling a couple into my salsas.  Not near the bite that the uncooked pepper has.  Just enough! 

The frost took out my pole beans, as well as any remaining cucumbers.  That will about do it for the season.  We're working on an area that may be devoted to onions and such, but I haven't had much time to put into it yet.  I tried to get some broccoli and cabbage going, but I guess that bunny took care of that crop. 

We have 7 remaining turkeys.  The first of the 8 became the first to grace the dinner table when it developed a problem with its leg.  It was only 14 lbs after it was cleaned, whereas the broadbreasted bronze we had a couple of years ago was 30 lbs.  That one had nearly 2 additional months to fatten.  I have to say that it turned out quite well, and had very little fat.  It's a different result than with a store bought bird.  We have at least 3, possibly 4, Toms out there, and I'm interested to see where they weigh in and whether they fit in the oven. 

Soccer is still busy.  Two more JV games to go, and less than a month of season play for AYSO.  Plus baseball...ds is practicing with a group of highschoolers, and serving as bat boy during their games.  Mom is looking forward to a little break! 

That's the news from the ranch...cooler mornings, lower power bills, and lots of domestic activity as we preserve what harvest is left.  Loving the restful resting place we call home!

Blessings!

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This meme was started by Shannon of The Peer Review.  Here's the "basics" according to her website:

Loving My Husband Friday is for taking the time to focus on the positives of marriage. A time to build up your marriage and your spouse. Focus on something you love about your husband, something he did to encourage you this week, or just a tip on how to keep your marriage strong. Let your husband know you're bragging on him...everyone loves praise and accolades. Try to spend the rest of your week focusing on all the great traits of your spouse...especially when you're tempted to focus on the bad! And don't forget to pray for your husband and marriage as you write your post.

Has it really been three weeks since my last "Loving My Husband Friday"?!  So much has happened, and my hubby has been so helpful in the midst of it all!  Thank you, Sugar Pie! 

• My aunt & uncle passed away.
• I flew to DFW to be w/ my 'extended' family for a few days.
• My hubby stayed behind to care for our children and to work while I was gone.

I love my husband for being willing to send me to DFW to be w/ my 'extended' family and for being willing to put up with  take care of our children for several days (including a weekend) in my absence.  Thanks again, Sweetie!

You can read all of my Loving My Husband Friday posts by clicking here.

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Have you heard abut NASA's plans for early tomorrow morning?

Apparently Nasa is planning to send a rocket to the moon. But this time they are intending to actually hit the moon!

Does this seem a little strange to you? I mean do we really have a right to fire a rocket at the moon and damage it all in the name of science? And what if their plans go wrong? And how will this change the moon?

I understand what they are attempting to find out with this little experiment of theirs. They are hoping to find water beneath the surface of the moon. I for one am very curious to see how this goes and will be watching tomorrow morning news about how we attacked the moon.

You can read more about it here. And there is an interesting video called "Planning the Assault: Why Bomb the Moon"

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Don't forget about the Homeschool Blog Awards for this year! 

Spread the news!



(Click on the button for more info!)

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Have been thinking about Chris Klicka this morning. I remember when he came to speak at the OCEANetwork Conference a few years ago. In farewell and blessing, we (all the conference attendees gathered in the sanctuary) sang him this song. It was beautiful, and poignant, and I'm glad the Lord gave him a few more years after that on this earth, to be with his family and friends. Still, it is a comfort that for him, "to live is Christ, and to die is gain."

Praying God's peace for him and those who love him.

My Jesus, I love Thee, I know Thou art mine;
For Thee all the follies of sin I resign;
My gracious Redeemer, my Savior art Thou;
If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, ’tis now.

I love Thee because Thou hast first loved me,
And purchased my pardon on Calvary’s tree;
I love Thee for wearing the thorns on Thy brow;
If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, ’tis now.

I’ll love Thee in life, I will love Thee in death,
And praise Thee as long as Thou lendest me breath;
And say when the death dew lies cold on my brow,
If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, ’tis now.

In mansions of glory and endless delight,
I’ll ever adore Thee in heaven so bright;
I’ll sing with the glittering crown on my brow,
If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, ’tis now.

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Fall is in full swing!  A Southern wind on Tuesday became a North wind on Wednesday, and morning lows dropped from upper 60's to mid 40's in two days' time.  Brr!  Possibilities of a low in the 30's this weekend is a little bit of a concern, as my tomato plants are loaded with green tomatoes.  Just a little early to be quite that low.  Yikes!  We'll see what happens.  The garden has wound down in many respects.  Squash are almost completely done, and cucumbers are nearly so.  Tomatoes will keep going until the frost hits.  My melon are mostly done, and the corn crop was a total dissappointment this year.  Pumpkins, too.  I'm hoping my pole beans do well.  There are loads of blossoms, but I had a hard time finding any for the festival.

Speaking of the festival, last week was busy, but fun.  We entered 72 items in the fair...an average of 9 per person participating from our household.  Much of our produce did well, with 13 yo son earning first place ribbons on all of his entries.  5 yo son picked a watermelon, and got a grand champion ribbon on it.  I got lot champion ribbons on my yellow pear tomatoes and on my "Long of Naples" winter squash (28.2 lbs.).  13 yo entered the big (31.2 lbs) watermelon, which got a first.  10 yo dd earned several ribbons with her sculpey clay artwork, and with her decorated cake.  I entered some of my last year's poems, one of which received a second and a reserve lot champion.  The judge's remarks indicate that he/she wasn't all that taken with most of them, as the one ribbon-winning entry said, "At last...continuity"...oh, well.  The poems with Christian reference seemed to receive the worst marks and comments.  The ribbon winning one, "The Quiet Sounds of Evening".  Gotta laugh, though...many of my poems are a little disjoint because of the manner in which they come together, reflective of a busy Mom who must grab the moments as they present themselves.  New strategy next time I enter more than one item:  package and print them all differently so as not to cause the judge an attitude if they dislike one or more.  Grin!

Fall in our corner of the desert means birthdays, and we have two coming this month.  We will also be watching our flock of turkeys fatten up for Thanksgiving and beyond, Lord willing.  One of the hens had a limp, and perhaps hurt its leg.  We butchered it yesterday.  14 lbs. after cleaning it.  2 years ago, the hen we had for Thanksgiving dinner weighed in at 30 lbs. after it was butchered and cleaned.  It had nearly 2 more months to fatten up, though.  Turkey cooking tomorrow, and a little time to wait before the next one. 

Soccer is still busy, kicking back into gear after the Fall Festival break.  14 yo dd has 4 games to go before the high school JV season is finished.  The other kids have games through the first week of November, and then playoffs for the older 2.  Busy, chilly weeks ahead.  And, that's the news for now from the ranch!  Blessings!

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