daybook

#27 for 2010
Hosted by Peggy @ The Simple Woman's Daybook

Outside my window ...

It is dark and not so oppressively hot as it has been.

I am hearing ...

Praise You in this Storm by Casting Crowns ...

I absolutely love that song.

I am wearing ...

blue plaid jammie pants and a yellow t-shirt

I am going ...

to get in bed before midnight tonight!

I am hoping ...

for some good advice from homeschooling moms in

answer to my questions on my other blog.

I am noticing that ...

I am finding it harder and harder to find time

to blog these days and I really miss it!

I am thinking ...

about, and looking forward to, our long weekend

and a much needed break from the scenery around here!

I am reading ...

all about Beowulf as I prepare to teach it this Friday in co-op.

I am creating ...

a few plans for LB's birthday party sleepover ...

I think I may have let her invite too many girls!

On my mind ...

school and my interaction with my kids.

I am remembering ...

how thankful I am that Mama's scan came back clear

and that she will get a little more time off before she has to start chemo again.

Counting my blessings ...

homeschooling my kids (after today, I need to remind myself that this is a blessing!), wonderful new friends that God has brought into my  life, D getting to ride to the coast with my parents and spend last weekend with Ronnie's mom - all by himself - for the first time, being part of the dedication service for our new hymnals on Sunday and hearing our pastor speak on the importance of music in a worship service, sharing the 5th Sunday lunch with our church family.

A quote for the day ...

"Faith must trample under foot all reason, sense, and understanding. "

— Martin Luther

From the learning rooms ...

aside from the everyday, mundane stuff, we are also studying the skeletal system in Anatomy and should finish up our first unit in history by the end of the week.  I am hoping to do some "fun" history activities and notebooking next week.

From the kitchen ...

it is pantry/fridge clean-out week and I am hoping to stay out of the grocery store all week.

We may have some odd meals, but at least nothing will be wasted.

Around the house ...

I need to catch up on laundry so that we will have clothes for the weekend!

A few plans for the rest of the week ...

amazingly, we have no plans other than church and co-op on Friday morning ...

that is until we head south on Friday night!

One of my favorite things ...

days that I don't have to leave the house!

Pictures to share ...

frying quail eggs ...
 this pan will only hold 3 chicken eggs at one time

I finally finished my scarf!

Thanks for stopping by ...

I hope you have a wonderful week!

new recipes

I have never been very good at following directions.  I tend to like improvisation.  Because of this, any time I try a new recipe, the outcome is always a toss up.  This week I tried two new recipes and both turned out great, though both got a bit of my personal touch.  Whether you follow the recipe exactly, or make it your own, both are worth trying.

The first recipe is called Lazy Lasagna and I claim absolutely no credit for it.  The recipe comes from Katharine over at Just a Thought.  She is always posting great recipes (not to mention great posts about other things), so I encourage you to take a moment to visit.  I am sure that this recipe would have been perfect exactly as written, but since I don't use jarred spaghetti sauce (I can my own tomatoes, so I prefer to use them), I decided I could just make my own, like I normally do.  It would have worked fine if I had realized that I was out of tomato paste BEFORE I started cooking.  I did follow Katharine's suggestion and use ground turkey instead of ground beef and honestly couldn't tell the difference.  The results tasted great, but took longer than it should have because I had to wait for Ronnie to stop by the grocery store on his way home from work.  Still, the dish itself was delicious and got rave reviews from all of my family, kids included ... which, not surprisingly, is unheard of with my experimental dishes.  I was thrilled and will definitely be adding this to my arsenal of menu choices, though I do think I will reduce the amount of pasta, since counting carbs is a big deal at our house these days.  Thanks for sharing, Katharine!

The second dish came from one of my new(er) friends, Rosanna.  It is called Comforting Chicken Noodle Soup.  Yes, I know that I live in Mississippi and I am aware that it is summer, which means that we voluntarily live in an oven, but my youngest son asked me to make chicken noodle soup, so I figured that was a good enough excuse for making soup in the summer.  (As a side note, my Mama expressed her confusion about why it is taboo to eat soup in the summer anyway and I have to agree with her ... we eat most of our food hot anyway, so what does it matter if it is soup?  Good question, Mama!)  Anyway, back to the soup.  I'll give you the recipe first and then tell you how I personalized it.

Comforting Chicken Noodle Soup
8 cups water
8 chicken bouillon cubes
6 1/2 ounces medium egg noodles
2 cans cream of chicken soup
3 cups cooked chicken
1 cup sour cream

Bring water to boil with bouillon cubes.  Add noodles; cook uncovered until tender - about 7 1/2 minutes.  Do not drain.  Add cream of chicken soup and chicken.  Heat through.  Remove from heat; stir in sour cream.

Again, I am sure that this recipe would be just fine on its own, but I have started making my own cream of chicken soup, so I used that and instead of water and bouillon cubes, I just boiled the chicken and used the broth (after it cooled, with most of the fat removed).  Other than those things, I followed the recipe just as it is written, except that I added some of the hot broth to my cold cream of chicken soup and stirred it in a separate bowl until it was smooth before adding it all back into the boiling soup on the stove.  Again, the results were quite tasty ... even my hubby, who HATES to eat soup in summer, liked it.  He and I had a preview tonight, but it will be the main dish for lunch tomorrow and hopefully the kids will like it, too!  Ideally, this is where I would thank Rosanna for sharing her recipe, but since she doesn't blog (or read them, as far as I know) I'll have to settle for actually thanking her face to face the next time I see her ... though I do think I'll send her a link, just as a teaser! ;-)

Just for the record, as much as I enjoy cooking and trying new dishes, it always seems that I make a bigger mess when I cook something new.  I'm not sure why that is true, but I do know that I must thank my wonderful husband for cleaning up my mess while I put all of LB's clothes in her new dresser tonight!

daybook

#26 for 2010
Hosted by Peggy @ the Simple Woman's Daybook

Outside my window ...

It is raining ... which is unusual for this time of year ... normally our rain comes late in the day in the form of thunderstorms.

I am hearing ...

D playing in his room.

I am wearing ...

my favorite jeans and a green/brown/white striped shirt.

I am going ...

this morning ... to speech, the library and then Sam's. 

Tonight, I am meeting a friend for supper before our Mom's meeting :-).

I am hoping ...

that JW finishes copying his speech homework before we have to leave for class.

I am noticing that ...

time is running out before the first co-op class and I had better get busy studying!

I am thinking ...

about my Mama and the tests she is having done today.

I am reading ...

I will be starting Beowulf for the British Lit class I am teaching.  I can't say that I am really looking forward to reading it again, but I am looking forward to getting past it so we can get on the the fun stuff!

I am creating ...

some fun stuff for the kids for school ... we've been covering composition books with scrapbook paper to personalize them (and using them for journals, etc) and I am working on a place for each of the kids to keep their own pencils, scissors, etc in our school area.

On my mind ...

school schedules ...

 eliminating the things that are distracting us and keeping only what is

 necessary until we get into a better routine.

I am remembering ...

that I am going to have to pay a fine when I go to the library today ... yuck!

Counting my blessings ...

JW getting to spend the day with my brother's family yesterday ...

 love how much he loves to play with his cousins and it was worth a day off school

for him to get to enjoy a full day doing "boy" things!

Words that I am pondering ...

from our Sunday School lessons on Philippians:

"Our role is not to look at our circumstances but to turn to the God who controls our circumstances.

Our hope does not lie in a reversal of circumstances, but in the One who transcends every situation.

Our part is not to wallow in circumstances, but to look for lessons and the victory that God has for us as we live through our circumstances."

From the learning rooms ...

LB is learning a hard lesson about neatness and what happens when you won't take the time to do your work right the first time.  We are starting our new Anatomy and Physiology book this week ... I am really looking forward to this class ... I always learn more in science than they do!

From the kitchen ...

LB helped me do the weekly menu yesterday ...

we didn't plan anything fancy but I am planning to try a new recipe for Lazy Lasagna on Thursday.

Around the house ...

we finally got LB's new dresser moved in on Sunday ...

now I just have to finish getting everything put in it!

A few plans for the rest of the week ...

homeschool meeting tonight, Keepers tomorrow afternoon and church tomorrow night,

then not much until a family reunion on Saturday.

One of my favorite things ...

new friends!

A picture to share ...

the kids noticed this rainbow in the clouds on the way to church Sunday night. 

Some of the colors had faded before I was able to take the picture, but it is still a beautiful sight.

daybook

#25 for 2010
Hosted by Peggy at the Simple Woman's Daybook

Outside my window ...

the sun is shining and it is going to be another hot day ...

I think the forecasted high is 99 degrees.

I am hearing ...

LB and JW talking ... D is still asleep.

I am wearing ...

a navy and yellow knit set that Mama gave me years ago. 

I'm not one to give up on a garment just because it has a little age on it!

I am going ...

to take JW to his first speech class of the year and to the fruit stand while he's there.

We'll all be going to my Daddy's birthday dinner tonight.

I am hoping ...

that our local fruit stand has some really good peaches for a reasonable price!

I am noticing that ...

I am not as organized as I would like to be for the beginning of the school year.

I am thinking ...

about our school year and all the things I want to accomplish.

I am reading ...

the book of Romans and lots of school books.

I am creating ...

I have begun crocheting my first scarf.  I am finding the whole process of crochet very relaxing.  My goal is to learn how to make a doll blanket for a shoebox I am working on.

On my mind ...

plans for the kick-off we are working on for the Operation Christmas Child collection season.

I am remembering ...

the fun time we had with friends from church this weekend and how much we appreciate those friends.

Counting my blessings ...

I'll say it again ... AIR CONDITIONING!

and ... friends willing to lend a helping hand, new adventures, speech classes, hand-me-down furniture

Words that I am pondering ...

"In order to lead, we must first learn to follow."

From the learning rooms ...

new adventures and some new plans for organizing all the "stuff" that comes with homeschooling.

From the kitchen ...

sandwiches for lunch and spaghetti for supper at my parents' house. 

I am also working on a plan for LB to contribute more to both the menu planning and the cooking and cleaning in the kitchen.

Around the house ...

the new-to-us chest of drawers is in the boys' room and almost full.  Today, I'll tackle getting LB's room ready for her "new" grown up dresser - complete with a mirror!

A few plans for the rest of the week ...

hanging out with my family tonight, Keepers tomorrow, the first meeting of our new homeschool group Thursday evening, and, what I hope is a quiet and uneventful Saturday!

One of my favorite things ...

Ronnie helping me make plans and set goals for school.

A couple of pictures to share ...

D showing off the carrot he drew all by himself!

LB with the first rag she has completed ... so proud!

i should have prayed this prayer this morning ...

Lord, please keep Your arm around my shoulder and Your hand over my mouth.

For those of you who know exactly what I am talking about ... I am sorry that I didn't pray this before I came today and the next time you hear me talking too much ... feel free to remind me of this post!

i am protected

The house is clear.

The perimeter is safe.

The phantom commandos are (very quietly) 

in control of everything ...

except maybe this small boy ...

they did have him subdued with a movie for awhile but in their words ...

he keeps bustin' in on the best part of the game!

 

I think it is time for the cookies!

daybook

#24 for 2010
Hosted by Peggy @ The Simple Woman's Daybook

Outside my window ... it is humid and miserably hot.  This is the kind of weather that makes one incredibly thankful for an air-conditioner.

I am hearing ... LB playing with the dog.

I am going ... to Keepers this afternoon and then church tonight.

I am wearing ... black shorts and an Operation Christmas Child t-shirt.

I am noticing that ... it has been almost a month since I posted a daybook.  It has been a busy summer.

I am thinking ... about what I need to get done before one of JW's  friends comes to play tomorrow.

I am hoping ... that it cools off some soon.

I am reading ... British Literature, getting ready for co-op to start at the end of this month.

I am creating ... crocheted rags!  I am so proud that I have taught myself how to crochet a few stitches, but I still need to learn more about how to follow larger patterns before I tackle a big project.

On my mind ... school.

I am remembering ... that today is my little brother's birthday.

Counting my blessings ... air conditioning, having no reason to be outdoors today, starting school, co-op classes, friends to hang out with today.

Words that I am pondering ... some questions from our study of Philippians in Sunday School ... the last two weeks we have been talking about the godly thought life.

*How carefully do you evaluate your sources of information?
*How carefully do you choose those that you allow to teach you, or to model behavior for you?

In what areas might you make better choices?
*How do you discern what is worthy of study? Of remembering? Of forgetting?

From the learning rooms ... JW is getting ready to read to me, LB is doing math, and D is doing dot art.

From the kitchen ... anything that doesn't require turning on the oven, it heats the house up too much.

Around the house ... tons of laundry.

A few plans for the rest of the week ... the kids' back to school trip with the Wednesday Night Kids from church ... this year we are going to the Petrified Forest in Flora, MS.  I am sure that it will be lots of fun, but it is going to be HOT!

One of my favorite things ... learning new things.

A picture to share ...

check this out...please!

I have started a new blog (as if I don't have enough to do, already) to record more of our homeschooling adventure.

Got a minute?  Check it out!

Chelsea Academy

Don't expect too much just yet ... we only started our new school year 20 minutes ago!

this pretty much sums it up

I had planned to write a detailed post about the things God has been showing me lately.  I even started it last night and I may even finish it when I find the time, but for now it can be summed up with the Hymn of Commitment that closed our evening service tonight.

Jesus Paid It All*

I hear the Savior say,

"Thy strength indeed is small,

Child of weakness, watch and pray,

Find in Me thine all in all."

Jesus paid it all,

All to Him I owe;

Sin had left a crimson stain,

He washed it white as snow.

Lord, now indeed I find

Thy power, and Thine alone

Can change the leper's spots

And melt the heart of stone.

Jesus paid it all,

All to Him I owe;

Sin had left a crimson stain,

He washed it white as snow.

For nothing good have I

Whereby Thy grace to claim;

I'll wash my garments white

In the blood of Calv'ry's Lamb.

Jesus paid it all,

All to Him I owe;

Sin had left a crimson stain,

He washed it white as snow.

And when, before the throne,

I stand in Him complete,

"Jesus died my sould to save,"

My lips shall still repeat.

Jesus paid it all,

All to Him I owe;

Sin had left a crimson stain,

He washed it white as snow.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Our music minister doesn't generally know what our pastor will be preaching before he chooses the music for each service, which only serves as confirmation that God's hand was moving in the lives of both men as they planned for this service tonight.  Bro. Don's text was from 1 John 1:8-10 and the core of his message was focused on the deception that can overtake both Christians and non-Christians alike and convince us that we are okay ... not in need of repentance.  As he spoke, he reminded us that we all sin and that while we must confess that sin, God has given us an amazing promise for this specific need in our lives.

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins,
 and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9

It is what he said next that caught my attention and has been replaying in my mind ever since.  Yes, it is true that God has promised to forgive us and there is no limit placed on that forgiveness, but we shouldn't view it as free or take it lightly. 

We should never forget what Jesus had to pay to give us the promise of 1John 1:9.

Jesus paid it all,

All to Him I owe;

Sin had left a crimson stain,

He washed it white as snow.

*Song copied from: Baptist Hymnal ~ Jesus Paid It All  Words by: Elvina M. Hall