my blessed life

0511.  a yummy weekend breakfast eaten at leisure 0512.  a weekend morning spent with my family at a kids' craft clinic 0513.  watching the extreme concentration on my kiddos' faces as they worked hard on their task 0514.  watching father and son, one teaching, the other learning 0514.  sharing with them the joy of accomplishing their craft 0515.  listening to the talk the rest of the day about that fun of that simple experience 0516.  the surprise gift of a warm-enough-to-go-to-the-park-day in January 0517.  our puppy's first park outing 0518.  the fun of trying to walk a wiggly, over-excited puppy on a path 0519.  unexpected puppy kisses:) 0520.  my sweet girl and her beloved puppy 0521.  the blessing of a faithful husband and a loving father to our children 0522.  sunshine after days of rain 0523.  the joy of time spent with kindred spirits...

Where has January gone?!  It has absolutely flown by for me!  And by the looks of my calendar for February already, that month is likely to fly by as well, even with that extra day:)  I'm almost a little bit scared of how much we've got going on this month. I am happy to report that I was much more successful with my weekly plan this past week, too.  I realize my plan wasn't too detailed, but maybe keeping it simple is what made me successful...heehee  I'm just glad to have had a productive week and I look forward to another productive week. Monday: -Co-op classes -Work on reports/displays for our Presidents Fair -Housework: clean bathrooms -Dinner: Bean Soup Tuesday: -School -Work at the church -Dinner: Biscuits & Sausage Gravy, Eggs and Bacon Wednesday: -School -Girl Scout meeting -Dinner: Chili Thursday: -School -Continue working on reports/displays for the Presidents Fair -Dinner: Easy  Tuna Casserole -Going to a friend...

I recently received a subscription to Kinderbach to review.   Kinderbach is an online music program primarily for ages 3-7.  The great thing about their in-home program there is no need to have a musical background or training to teach this to your children.  You don't even need to have a piano, a simple keyboard will do nicely. I have tried a few different ways of teaching piano to my kiddos.  When they were still preschool ages they attended a group music class that was fun, but I don't think they retained much.  Mr. B can hardly remember it.  When The Princess was in 1st grade I asked my sister to give her lessons once a week, just the beginning basics.  That went okay, but she wasn't really into practicing much and I wondered if I had started her a bit to early.  The next year I invested in some beginning piano books recommended by a friend who teaches music intending to teach them myself (I took 3 years of piano as a child and know the ...

Another week in the books!  Overall, it's been a good one.  I can't say that I haven't had some of the usual struggles with my son, but we're working on it. A couple of weeks ago when I talked with you all about how I was doubting myself I was amazed at your response.  It truly overwhelmed me--and encouraged me--that I am not alone in my struggles.  Thank you , all of you who commented, for being honest about your own daily trials with homeschooling.  Your words really lifted my spirits!  Often when you are at home alone with your kiddos a lot, you can feel as though you are the only one having a rough day (or week!).  It helps so much to know that I have kindred spirits who can empathize with me.  It really does mean so much! So this week we marched on! Our week kicked off bright and early on Monday with our co-op classes.  The kids are really loving them!  I have fun, too.  Once again my kids did me proud in their Bible T...

I found a version of these on Pinterest (LOVE that site!) and just had to try them!  They turned out really great and really weren't hard at all--perfect for a weekend breakfast. Baked Egg Boats 1 sourdough baguette, cut into 4 sections 5 eggs 1/3 cup heavy cream 4 slices bacon, fried crisp and crumbled 1/2 cup shredded cheese (I used Colby-Jack) 2 green onions, thinly sliced (or onion powder if you've got picky kiddos) Salt & Pepper, to taste ***** Preheat oven to 350F. Cut a deep "V" through the tops of the baguette pieces until about a 1/2" to the bottom.  Partially unstuff the baguettes.  Set aside. Place the eggs and cream into a mixing bowl and lightly beat together.  Whisk in the bacon, cheese, onions, salt and pepper. Divide and pour the mixture into each baguette "boat" and place onto a baking sheet. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown and set in the center.  Allow to cool for about 5 minutes before serving....

I tried butternut squash for the first time ever this week and I really did like it!  It's kind of a lot of work peeling, seeding and cutting one up, but it was worth it--and they're super good for you, too.  I really enjoyed this soup recipe that I adapted from one I found on Pinterest. Butternut Squash Soup 3 tbsp. butter 2 tbsp. olive oil 1 cup chopped onion 2 cloves minced garlic 1/2 tsp. dried sage 2 to 2-1/2 lbs. butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into cubes 4 cups chicken broth 1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper 4 slices of bacon 1/3 cup cream salt and pepper to taste ***** Melt the butter and olive oil in a large heavy pot over medium heat.  Add onion and saute until soft, 4-5 minutes.  Add garlic and sage and saute one minute.  Add squash cubes and saute 5 minutes.  Add the broth and cayenne pepper.  Cover and simmer on low for about 25 minutes.   In the meantime, fry the bacon crisp and drain on a paper towel; set as...

If you make a weekly plan, how did yours go last week?  I was just looking over my weekly plan from last week (which I made and promptly forgot..just keeping it real, folks) and I think I got about 50% of mine accomplished.  I guess that's not too bad, especially since I forgot to look at it once I made it.   How things really went: we didn't make it to the library until today, I didn't get the sheets changed, I took The Princess to sell Girl Scout cookies on Wednesday instead of Thursday because I found out at her meeting on Wednesday that her orders were due THAT day (oops!), Wednesday's dinner never happened (thank goodness for those Christmas gift cards for Subway), I blew my special Saturday morning breakfast because I ran out of eggs and working in the garage or cleaning my car never even entered my mind after I typed those words.  Oh, and I did get caught up on the laundry and the kitchen got cleaned...but of course that all needs to happen again now. ...

 We've recently been enjoying the products we received from We Choose Virtues .  They graciously sent us their Virtue Clue Cards , Teacher's Handbook , Family Character Assessment and Kids of Virtueville coloring book . We Choose Virtues is not a short-term study but rather continuing lessons in positive character traits that are reinforced throughout each day.  You introduce the virtues one at a time and then reinforce them through catch-phrases, capturing teachable moments and demonstrating them. I was immediately impressed with the Virtue Clue Cards .  They are about the size of a business card and come in a set of 12.  Each card shares about a virtue, for example: *I am Attentive*, then it tells you what that means and what that does not mean.   On the back of each card is a challenge, for example on the *Attentive* card it says "choose to go the whole day without someone needing to remind you "Listen!" or "Don't forget!" .   T...

This week has had its moments, but it's really been a good week!  I like those! Monday was Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, of course, and was a school holiday for us.  I hadn't intended to take the whole day off, but I was still getting the house back in order after a weekend of company so it was a laid-back day.  We did watch Dr. King's speech on Youtube and did a couple of fun printables about him. Tuesday brought back our regular schedule (whatever that is, right?).  We got every thing done on my lesson plan, so that is always a successful day!  One highlight from this day was the conclusion of our *bean seed project*.  In science we are studying botany with Apologia's Exploring Creation with Botany and are really enjoying it.  For the 12 previous days we had been charting three bean seeds, each in a ziploc bag with a wet paper towel.  However, one was placed in the refrigerator, one was hung in the window and one was placed in the close...