Field Trip - Oak View

Yesterday we joined about 75 other parents, children and toddlers to tour a Historic Site called "Oak View". We had 3 programs after everyone arrived and the children had "met" the local pet goats. "From Field to Fiber" was where the children learned how hard it was to pick and de-seed cotton, saw a cotton gin and model, and learned about the boll weevil. "Artifacts" was really fun for the children to discuss and try to figure out some "weird" artifacts (our girls had an old-fashioned pre-electricity curling iron that was heated in the fire and the boys had a "boot jack" which I had read about but never seen. "Changes Over Time" was not as hands-on as the other two programs but the children enjoyed it and learned a lot from a mural depicting all of the changes to the area over the past 400+ years. The guides in all 3 programs were absolutely some of the best and after the programs we picnicked near a duck (goose?) pond in the pecan grove and then toured the main house, plank kitchen, herb garden and carriage house on our own. Lots of fun. My 5yo dozed off on the way home so what did I do then? Let him nap a little then we went to the pool for our (probably) last splash of the summer since it closes Monday and we have plans for the weekend.

Good recipe for those "On the Go Days"

Crockpot Lasagna

1 ½ lb ground chuck
(or Italian sausage)
6 oz can tomato paste
29 oz can tomato sauce
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp salt
1 cup water 1 tsp minced garlic
1 small onion, chopped 16 oz cottage cheese
32 oz mozzarella, grated
1 box lasagna noodles (the flat ones work best)
Brown meat and drain. Add onions, garlic, tomato paste & sauce, spices and water then mix well. In separate bowl mix cottage cheese and mozzarella cheese.

Layer in the crockpot:
1) ¼ of meat sauce
2) Noodles, break up some to fit around the edges of crockpot
3) 1/3 cheese mixture
Do this 3 times. Make sure top layer is meat sauce. Cook on low setting for 4-4 ½ hrs.
It makes a full pot of a regular sized crockpot so if you need to freeze ½ it freezes well.

Thanks Megan and Rachel!!!

Booookkkssss!!!!

Bookahaolic that I am I just snagged four books at a great price and got to see an old friend to boot! She posted the books for sale on a homeschool loop we are both on and we met mid-way today. She teaches piano, just graduated her daughter last spring and they have a great horse boarding and training facility. And what books did I get? Some great creation books that have been on my "wish" list for quite a while - "D is for Dinosaur" (book and video tape)
"Life Before Birth"
"Dry Bones and Other Fossils"

and my favorite - "Dinosaurs by Design" !

Missionary Monday

Young and in love. With each other and with Jesus. That's how I think of our two friends in an ancient land in modern times. They are striving to reach out to old and new alike in a country that heard the gospel from St. Paul himself. And yet the country of Macedonia has forgotten what the words mean. They have so many Christian terms in their everyday lives but as our friends speak to them about the true gospel message they don't understand. They light candles and give money to "Christian Saints" without any clue as to who they were; they strive to "be good" to be sure of getting into heaven without any idea that God's Only Son has already paid that price and we could never be able to do so; they greet each other at Christmas with "Jesus is born", "truly he is born" and yet have no idea why Jesus came to earth; and so our friends do what they do best - welcome others into their home, run a type of coffee shop, and try to take every opportunity they can to share the wonder of scripture, the joy of salvation and the truth of forgiveness. Pray for Brian and Mandy (and their soon-to-be-born first child) today. And they would want us to pray for their unsaved friends and neighbors - Ivan, Slavitsa, Igor, Irena, Kosta, Kate, and many others. Praise for those who have accepted the gospel message and the beautiful baptismal services in the river. Praise for the health of the baby and the good response by the community to the coffee house (after a brief window smashing!). Praise for these young people who could be home earning lots of money and accumulating wordly wealth who have chosen instead to lay up treasures in heaven!

My "TO DO" list

I know I am famous for it - my "to do" lists. I admit it. If something is not on the list and I do it, I usually add it to the list just so I can mark it off. Sick, huh? I have "daily" lists and "long-term" lists, "school" lists and "chore" lists for each child, "farm improvement lists", "hubby" lists, "wish" lists. As I began school this week I saw that I had lots and lots of things left undone on my "Summer" list. So I decided that I'm going to make an "I didn't plan it but it happened anyway" list. Things we did this summer that weren't on my lists anywhere and not only got done but were some of the best things we did! Here goes....
- Taught 8yo to make a quilt
- Helped 5yo learn to swim and 8yo learn to dive
- Watched sunflowers grow that the birds had "planted" at the base of the bird feeder
- Learned that the best watermelons are a cross between seedless and seeded
- Made and canned Pumpkin Butter
- Made several new friends and spent time with old ones
- Had lots of fun times with old friends
- Learned how to know exactly when to pick watermelons
- Learned not to plant pumpkins in May!
- Read lots of books
- Learned how to treat a dog's joint ailments and how to properly clip their nails
- Made two new "e-pen pals"
- Rejoiced with two couples over the births of babies and one couple over the adoption of one
- Cried with two friends over the loss of parents and gave out lots of hugs
- Spent extra time with hubby to help grow our marriage
- Helped MIL clean and prepare for her out-of-town company
- Given (by God) opportunities to share Christ's forgiveness and salvation with two neighbors
- Able to share lots of flowers from our garden with neighbors and friends from my 8yo's garden row and hopefully plant seeds for friendships and relationships
- Learned about using two new pieces of software
- Taught 8yo to braid hair
- Taught 5yo to make his bed (difficult because it's in a corner) and floss without help
- Canned more tomatoes than planned, more jelly than planned, ate out of the garden more than ever before
- Taught John 3:16 to my 5yo
- Helped my 8yo review her books of the Bible
- Helped my 18yo prep for college (not just pack)
- Prayed way too little
- Found out that a friend's brother was saved and rejoiced with them
- Rocked lots of babies during VBS and Sunday School (I love it!)
- Saved extra money with coupons that was then able to be given to a worthy cause
- Made a new carrying bag (denim) for 5yo to keep his Awanas stuff in
- Discovered several new recipes that didn't work out well :) !
- Discovered a couple of new recipes that we do like!
- Met a "blogger" friend in person just to discover that she is even more precious than I thought!
- Planned (most of) the major components of school
- Kept the garden and orchard alive during the absolute most unimaginable heat and drought ever seen in this area
- Spent too little time in Bible study
- Broke (with God's help) a bad habit
- Hugged and kissed my family a lot but never too much!

Quote of the Day

Night before last at dinner we were having a little wind storm and the lights were flickering. My hubby looked across the table at me and said "Oh, dim lights make me feel romantic!" Without skipping a beat my 8yo promptly replied "The only thing I like about romance is the chocolates!!" Gotta love her!!

Readin', Writin' and RAIN!!

Today we started school - 3rd grade and Kindergarten. It is so very, very strange to not have middle and/or high schoolers in the house anymore. So I'm re-adjusting to teaching only young ones and we all had fun! My daughter is using strictly Rod and Staff but we take her Science and Social Studies topics for the week and do field trips, nature walks, experiments, map work, etc. based on that for both children. Today my 5yo was mad at me when he finished "math" (number recognition and opposites) and demanded that I give him tomorrow's math, too. Then he wanted to know why we weren't doing "adding stuff together" (like big sister) so we did some basic addition, too. (Looks like another math lover, Matt!) For the 5yo I'm just using phonics workbooks I have here already, we do "finding letters" games where he finds the "letter of the day" everywhere he can including circling it on old magazine pages, he practices his letter on the wipe-off board and on paper, today he painted it with Watercolors ("W"), and he finds me three different groups of things that he has as many of as the number of the day (today he found 7 toy soldiers, 7 markers and 7 puzzle pieces).

We finally got a little rain last night after 3 weeks of temps over 100 and no rain. Today it's very hot and muggy but you can almost hear the plants breathing a sigh of relief. I'm very thankful that both our veggie garden (which is now done) and our orchard are both within easy reach of a water hose or we would have had no garden and lost all of our hard work and money in the orchard. When we started planting trees, my hubby walked off the orchard and determined its dimensions in large part by how far 2 connected water hoses would reach. Good planning by him!