I was brought up to believe that I could do whatever I set my mind to do. And I still believe that way. Only what I have set my mind to do is not probably what others would have had me do. I have absolutely no regrets in the decision that Jeff and I made over 20 years ago for me to be at home with our children. No regrets about that at all. However, I do have regrets about some other things..time wasted on television, not spending more time in Bible study with the older ones when they were young, cultural influences that were allowed, etc. But, I truly believe that my job is the most important job that a mother can have....to stay and home and daily see to the needs and training of her own children. I am so very thankful that God has allowed me to have this career. It is definitely challenging, thought-provoking, tedious at times, and joyous always even in the midst of challenges.
Below is a link to an article I found on Doug Phillips blog. This is written by a 37 year old single career woman. She is regretting much. Cut and paste this link to read the article.
http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/article5662099.ece
Family
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Are You Washed?
It has been our family's practice for many years to meet together each evening for family worship. During this time we read Scripture, sing and pray. We are now attending a church where the hymns are not very familiar to us and we are missing some of the standard gospel hymns from our Southern Baptist upbringing. We typically sing from an old Baptist Hymnal during our home worship. Tonight we sang an old favorite "Are You Washed in the Blood?" Are you?
Have you been to Jesus for the cleansing power?
Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?
Are you fully trusting in his grace this hour?
Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?
Are you washed in the blood,
In the soul-cleansing blood of the Lamb?
Are your garments spotless?
Are they white as snow?
Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?
Are you walking daily by the Saviour's side?
Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?
Do you rest each moment in the crucified?
Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?
When the Bridegroom cometh will your robes be white?
Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?
Will your soul be ready for the mansions bright
And be washed in the blood of the Lamb?
Lay aside the garments that are stained with sin,
And be washed in the blood of the Lamb.
There's a fountain flowing for the soul unclean,
O be washed in the blood of the Lamb.
Have you been to Jesus for the cleansing power?
Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?
Are you fully trusting in his grace this hour?
Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?
Are you washed in the blood,
In the soul-cleansing blood of the Lamb?
Are your garments spotless?
Are they white as snow?
Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?
Are you walking daily by the Saviour's side?
Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?
Do you rest each moment in the crucified?
Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?
When the Bridegroom cometh will your robes be white?
Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?
Will your soul be ready for the mansions bright
And be washed in the blood of the Lamb?
Lay aside the garments that are stained with sin,
And be washed in the blood of the Lamb.
There's a fountain flowing for the soul unclean,
O be washed in the blood of the Lamb.
Monday, February 9, 2009
What Do You Do If Your Dough Won't Rise?
In the previous post, I pictured a few pans of rolls and bread ready to put into the oven.. The rolls didn't rise as much as normal and wound up being as hard as rocks. So, what to do with these rolls? Give them to the boys for skeet shooting practice, use them as weapons for the spooks that come out at night and dig in our garbage cans or I can just cut them into cubes and doused with a mixture of extra vigin olive oil and Spike Natural Seasoning.. and toast them in the oven. I have 4 pans of CROUTONS for all of the salad that is in my fridge. What we don't eat, I can simply put in the freezer.
Or I could have sliced and toasted the rolls, then put them in the blender to make bread crumbs to top casseroles.
This disaster-diverting frugal tip was brought to you by Anita's Kitchen....where mistakes always happen but can be turned into tasty treats.
Or I could have sliced and toasted the rolls, then put them in the blender to make bread crumbs to top casseroles.
This disaster-diverting frugal tip was brought to you by Anita's Kitchen....where mistakes always happen but can be turned into tasty treats.
What a Week!
Busy Hands Busy Minds is really an excellent title for my blog....We are always busy...even without leaving our home!
This week we finished our study of New England. My goal was for the children to do some fiction and non-fiction reading about New England to get a feel for the region, explore the geography through learning the capitals and location of each state, and sample some typical foods for the region. This week we will cover the mid-Atlantic states of New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Delaware. Our studies will mainly focus on New York and Pennsylvania and our cooking will be mainly Amish. I love reading about the Amish. It is so easy to romanticize their lifestyle, though. I know they do not live easy lives, but how blessed it would be to simply shut the world out at times.
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Caedmon turned four months old Friday and is wearing 9-12 months clothes. I think he is a little bigger than the other three boys at this age! He is so very precious, rarely fusses and gets lots of love from his parents and ALL of his siblings.
Look at those chunky legs!! We don't get to see them much because it has been so cold. Can't wait for it to warm up so he can go without pants and socks. Love those precious little toes.
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This weekend was incredibly busy. Devin was in Memphis all day Saturday. Jeff and the middles worked outside cleaning out some flower beds and just looking around. Jackson picked two crocuses for me. It's hard to believe that just the week before we were in 9 or more inches of snow, while here at home we are expecting 70 degree weather today!
While they were all outside, I baked....and baked.....and baked some more! I baked three loaves of bread, five pans of rolls, two buttermilk cakes, one recipe of buttermilk cookies, and several dozen applesauce muffins. And baked a 13 pound roast and made turkey salad. Delicious and now I have lots of food prepared for the week.
Here is a picture of bread rising. If you have never made your own bread you are missing out on a blessing. I love seeing a countertop of rising bread or bread freshly pulled from the oven. And it smells heavenly!!!
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James has an out-of-town trip again, so Lauren and Chase are heading up here this morning. She has five weeks left until her due date and seems to be doing well. She is getting antsy to get everything ready for the baby. Their church blessed them with a new stroller/car seat combo yesterday along with a few other items. She was very excited. Devin and Kaelan are going down to her home later this week to help her get some things completed before the new baby arrives. Pray for her to continue to be healthy and to have an uncomplicated delivery. Her asthma has not been as bad with this pregnancy, praise the Lord. After delivering Chase without an epidural she is making sure that she has one this time. I pray that her delivery goes as easy as my last one!
Everyone is busy with chores, so I need to get busy as well. Hope to have more time to post this week.
This week we finished our study of New England. My goal was for the children to do some fiction and non-fiction reading about New England to get a feel for the region, explore the geography through learning the capitals and location of each state, and sample some typical foods for the region. This week we will cover the mid-Atlantic states of New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Delaware. Our studies will mainly focus on New York and Pennsylvania and our cooking will be mainly Amish. I love reading about the Amish. It is so easy to romanticize their lifestyle, though. I know they do not live easy lives, but how blessed it would be to simply shut the world out at times.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Caedmon turned four months old Friday and is wearing 9-12 months clothes. I think he is a little bigger than the other three boys at this age! He is so very precious, rarely fusses and gets lots of love from his parents and ALL of his siblings.
Look at those chunky legs!! We don't get to see them much because it has been so cold. Can't wait for it to warm up so he can go without pants and socks. Love those precious little toes.
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This weekend was incredibly busy. Devin was in Memphis all day Saturday. Jeff and the middles worked outside cleaning out some flower beds and just looking around. Jackson picked two crocuses for me. It's hard to believe that just the week before we were in 9 or more inches of snow, while here at home we are expecting 70 degree weather today!
While they were all outside, I baked....and baked.....and baked some more! I baked three loaves of bread, five pans of rolls, two buttermilk cakes, one recipe of buttermilk cookies, and several dozen applesauce muffins. And baked a 13 pound roast and made turkey salad. Delicious and now I have lots of food prepared for the week.
Here is a picture of bread rising. If you have never made your own bread you are missing out on a blessing. I love seeing a countertop of rising bread or bread freshly pulled from the oven. And it smells heavenly!!!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
James has an out-of-town trip again, so Lauren and Chase are heading up here this morning. She has five weeks left until her due date and seems to be doing well. She is getting antsy to get everything ready for the baby. Their church blessed them with a new stroller/car seat combo yesterday along with a few other items. She was very excited. Devin and Kaelan are going down to her home later this week to help her get some things completed before the new baby arrives. Pray for her to continue to be healthy and to have an uncomplicated delivery. Her asthma has not been as bad with this pregnancy, praise the Lord. After delivering Chase without an epidural she is making sure that she has one this time. I pray that her delivery goes as easy as my last one!
Everyone is busy with chores, so I need to get busy as well. Hope to have more time to post this week.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Duplo Mania
The older children take turns playing with Jackson throughout our school day. Yesterday Kaelan and Jackson were playing with Duplos and decided to see how tall they could make a stack of them. Then Kaelan took pictures to document. She is getting the hang of blogging!!
This view is from the floor looking up toward the ceiling.
Monday's Dinner-New England Clam Chowder
I told you yesterday that I really like to incorporate cooking into our school day, especially when studying history or geography. Today's cooking lesson was New England Clam Chowder. Our recipe comes form Exploring History through Simple Recipes: Cooking on Nineteenth-Century Whaling Ships. Whalers in the 1800s would look forward to returning home for this dish. This is the most traditional New England meal. The word chowder in New England meant both a social event and a meal. This recipe is much thinner than the canned variety, but was good. We served in typical New England fashion with biscuits on the side.
New England Clam Chowder
small onion
1/4 pound salt pork
2 medium potatoes
1 1/2 cups water
1 6 1/2 ounce can minced clams in juice
1 8 ounce bottle of clam juice
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 1/2 cups milk
1. Cut salt pork into 1 inch pieces.
2. Peel and chop onion into 1/4 inch pieces. Set aside.
3. In saucepan, cook salt pork pieces over medium heat. Turn pieces with spatula and cook 10 to 12 minutes until browned.
4. Peel potatoes. Slice 1/8 inch thick. Set aside.
5. Add chopped onion to the saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally.
6. Add potato slices to saucepan. Cover with 1 1/2 cups water. Cover and cook over low heat 10-12 minutes until potatoes are very tender.
7. Add can of clams. Do not drain. Add clam juice and 1/8 tsp. of pepper.
8. Cook over medium heat until steamy.
9. Add 1 1/2 cups milk. Heat 5 minutes over medium heat.
New England Clam Chowder
small onion
1/4 pound salt pork
2 medium potatoes
1 1/2 cups water
1 6 1/2 ounce can minced clams in juice
1 8 ounce bottle of clam juice
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 1/2 cups milk
1. Cut salt pork into 1 inch pieces.
2. Peel and chop onion into 1/4 inch pieces. Set aside.
3. In saucepan, cook salt pork pieces over medium heat. Turn pieces with spatula and cook 10 to 12 minutes until browned.
4. Peel potatoes. Slice 1/8 inch thick. Set aside.
5. Add chopped onion to the saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally.
6. Add potato slices to saucepan. Cover with 1 1/2 cups water. Cover and cook over low heat 10-12 minutes until potatoes are very tender.
7. Add can of clams. Do not drain. Add clam juice and 1/8 tsp. of pepper.
8. Cook over medium heat until steamy.
9. Add 1 1/2 cups milk. Heat 5 minutes over medium heat.
Monday, February 2, 2009
Back to New England
Today we head back to the New England states in our KONOS study of the states and regions. There were several things that we haven't completed and lots of recipes still to prepare. More whales, finishing up Seabird, Carry On, Mr. Bowditch, cranberries, clam chowder, Boston baked beans and lots of writing and notebooking. Back to real life!! Oh, and a huge mound of laundry as well.
Some of my favorite resources for this unit are Red-Flannel Hash and Shoo-fly Pie by Lila Perl, the Exploring History through Simple Recipes published by Blue Earth books and the States and Capitals Songs from Audio Memory. These three resources will be used throughout this unit. Can you tell I like to incorporate FOOD? And if you can sing it, it sure is easier to memorize.
Some of my favorite resources for this unit are Red-Flannel Hash and Shoo-fly Pie by Lila Perl, the Exploring History through Simple Recipes published by Blue Earth books and the States and Capitals Songs from Audio Memory. These three resources will be used throughout this unit. Can you tell I like to incorporate FOOD? And if you can sing it, it sure is easier to memorize.
Our Venture to the Snowy, Icy, Cold North Country
OK, so it really wasn't technically THE NORTH, but it was north to us!! Our trip to northern Kentucky was quite an adventure. When the trip was planned, snow and ice were not on the agenda. However, snow and ice there was aplenty! It was so very beautiful!! The interstate was clear; however, Mammoth Cave was closed! Our hotel where we had reservations on Wednesday was closed because there was no power. We found another close by that was under boil water notice which meant all the nearby resaurants were closed. Pray for those who live in that region..I hear that they may not have electricity for several weeks!!
The Creation Museum was great. The older children enjoyed it, but Jackson thought it was scary! The presentation of the Gospel is very clear. If you haven't gone yet, please make plans to do so. My only complaints were that there were NO clearly designated nursing areas and there was only one small interactive display. I am all about hands-on learning and what better topic for hands-on than Creation? The outside exhibits were closed due to the 9 or so inches of snow. There is a petting zoo and other things that younger children would enjoy....but I still feel like they need some hands-on activities inside.
The children enjoyed playing in the snow for about 10 minutes. It was VERY cold! We wouldn't make good northerners. We were quite happy to get home Saturday evening and find much warmer weather.
I am posting some of Devin's pictures. I am so techno challenged that I can't figure out how to upload pics from my camera. Hopefully, I can do that tonight.
Driving north of Louisville... Jeff and the kids thought this looked like a scene from Narnia.
Jackson throwing his first snowball.
I have never, ever had opportunity to go sledding, but this spot looks perfect.
Jackson couldn't resist tromping through the snow each time we headed to the van.
Jeff and Marvin Sanders interviewing Ken Ham.
The Creation Museum was great. The older children enjoyed it, but Jackson thought it was scary! The presentation of the Gospel is very clear. If you haven't gone yet, please make plans to do so. My only complaints were that there were NO clearly designated nursing areas and there was only one small interactive display. I am all about hands-on learning and what better topic for hands-on than Creation? The outside exhibits were closed due to the 9 or so inches of snow. There is a petting zoo and other things that younger children would enjoy....but I still feel like they need some hands-on activities inside.
The children enjoyed playing in the snow for about 10 minutes. It was VERY cold! We wouldn't make good northerners. We were quite happy to get home Saturday evening and find much warmer weather.
I am posting some of Devin's pictures. I am so techno challenged that I can't figure out how to upload pics from my camera. Hopefully, I can do that tonight.
Driving north of Louisville... Jeff and the kids thought this looked like a scene from Narnia.
Jackson throwing his first snowball.
I have never, ever had opportunity to go sledding, but this spot looks perfect.
Jackson couldn't resist tromping through the snow each time we headed to the van.
Jeff and Marvin Sanders interviewing Ken Ham.
Serious.Life Magazine
I wanted you to know about this publication I’m a part of called Serious.Life Magazine. They just published the February issue today, and I am in their Featured Blog Directory. It’s a very high quality magazine… you’ll really like it.
The magazine includes a lot of great content from bloggers you’ll appreciate, as well as great features, photos and other content. The magazine is owned and published by a family who have seven kids, three adopted and one who has Leukemia (www.riggsfamily.com). The magazine gives away a bunch of ads to charities and ministries. Besides great articles on interesting people, there is a lot about family, adoption, personal finance, spiritual life, humor… all sorts of “life” topics.
Again, the subscription is free, and I know you’ll enjoy the magazine, so take a minute to check it out and sign up to get future issues. www.seriouslifemagazine.com
The magazine includes a lot of great content from bloggers you’ll appreciate, as well as great features, photos and other content. The magazine is owned and published by a family who have seven kids, three adopted and one who has Leukemia (www.riggsfamily.com). The magazine gives away a bunch of ads to charities and ministries. Besides great articles on interesting people, there is a lot about family, adoption, personal finance, spiritual life, humor… all sorts of “life” topics.
Again, the subscription is free, and I know you’ll enjoy the magazine, so take a minute to check it out and sign up to get future issues. www.seriouslifemagazine.com
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