In and Out of the Home Schooling

So this is a very scary year for me. This is the first year of homeschooling. After talking to tons of people my conclustion is to not try and do everything perfect, Dylan and I will get burned out.

I never would have thought that trying something (which I think will be good for our family) would have brought so much criticism and opposition.

Therefore, today I wanted to spend a little time posting what my plans, curriculum, and prayer for the year.

This year's verse that we will be focusing on comes from Psalm 139:14 and it proclaims:

I will praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Your works are wonderful, I know that full well.

I not only want Dylan to feel that way about himself but all that God has made. I want him to view everything he encounters with love.

We will also be using:

• Sonlight curriculum
• Singapore Math
• Handwriting Without Tears

I am also going to be doing an activity book called The Absolute Best Play Days. This is a wonderful book that has activities on all different topics and all different ages. We are going to be doing an activity a week on Monday.

We are also going to begin a home-schooling Judo group. We tried out Judo this week and it just didn't seem like something we wanted to commit to all the time, therefore we decided to just try the home-school group so Dylan can meet new friends. We will be doing that once a week.

We will also be doing the normal midweek church activities and play dates. I am getting extremely excited about moving into this new season of our life!
all things
Now to what I have been doing... I have not started actual "sit down" schooling yet. In concordance with our focus verse for the year, we have been outdoors talking about nature and our relationship with God. It has been a great experience. We will be starting our first day of "sit down" school the first Monday of September.

What about you? What are your plans for schooling this year? Are you excited?

Easier Method to Cooking Down Tomatoes...

I have been a canning and freezing fool! I have gotten a ton done this summer and I have been blessed as you read yesterday. There are a few things that are not my favorite to do when it comes to harvesting and preserving food, here they are in order of my dislike:
3. Getting silks off of corn so that you can cut it off the cob. They just keep appearing!
2. Dicing and seeding tomatoes for sauces and salsa.

And the number one thing I dislike is:

1. cooking down tomatoes for sauces and salsa. It's hot, it's time consuming, and I really, really dislike sitting there stirring.

But alas, I found a way to get around my number one dislike! Here are the steps in preparing them for whatever you are going to make with the tomatoes.

1. Clean the tomatoes thoroughly and let dry.
2. Drop tomatoes in a rapidly boiling pot for 30 seconds and then take them out and put them in a boil of ice water (called blanching.)
3. Skin them (when blanching the skins should just fall right off.), core them and cut out all bad spots.
4. Seed them! That yucky number two dislike!
5. And finally put them on a slow cooker over night on low. Then the next morning take the lid off the slow cooker for about 45 minutes and your tomatoes are beautifully cooked down. No standing in front of a hot stove and stirring... Just sleep! walah!
   

This is a quick shortcut that works for me. For more Works for Me Wednesday head on over to We Are That Family.

GratiTuesday -- A Plentiful Harvest

I cannot get this picture thing to work today but I hope you get the idea! Today I am so thankful for the plentiful harvest the Lord has given us. As we were out in the garden and the heat, it was a bit overwhelming. Though, after a lot of work and prayer and the Lord's hand, we have put up enough food to last us through the whole year- plus!

The other major blessing coming from our garden is the means to give others in need food. Locally, the economy has plummeted. Many of our friends are out of work and struggling. Andy and I are so blessed by the good job he has been given. It was really hard watching our friends struggle and feeling like we could do nothing to help, but through our abundant garden we have been able to bless them as well!

While tending to the garden, I was reminded that the Lord knows our needs. He sees that his children are struggling and he cried with us but rejoices when we are faithful. The Lord knew that we needed this garden and he provided. So while I am thankful for the garden and the blessings of nourishment it has provided, I am also most thankful for a Lord that knows our needs and provides and loves us.

Now I am going to put up my last bushel of green beans for the year... I am at 154 quarts so far do you think I can get to 200? :) Blessings today!

Lesson Learned from Teaching my Kids

Today it hit me that often I am trying to teach my children lessons that I struggle with and if I just learned to listen to what I try to teach my children, I might just be better off. Have you ever had that feeling?

Today we were discussing being thankful for what we have been given. That included four bullet points:

1. Give thanks to God. We have MANY MANY things that other people do not and we should be thankful that God has blessed us abundantly.
2. Be content with what we have.
   
3. Take care of what we have.
4. Don't waste what we have been blessed with.

I think this is a hard lesson for everyone but as I was talking to Dylan, it hit me that often I am not grateful and content with what we have and I so often want more. I am thankful that God put that little discussion on my heart so that I could remember that it is something that I struggle with also.

Menu Plan Monday and Weekly Plans

I am trying to get back in the saddle again. I love summer and the freedom it brings but I am READY to get back in the swing of fall things. I miss Wednesday night church, I miss routine, I miss Fall- I love fall. So here goes the menu plan for next week:

Monday:
Dylan's First Judo Lesson!
Leftover Chicken, Green Beans, and watermelon

Tuesday:
Chicken and Gravy over White Rice with green beans and watermelon

Wednesday:
Pizza Night!

Thursday:
Shrimp, Grilled Chicken, and Baked Potatoes

Friday:
Hamburgers with corn and oven fries

Saturday:
DP Goulash (This is incredible recipe! The goulash I've ever found that I like!)

Sunday:
Hotdogs and Chips

This is a week of getting things ready for a garage sale, school, and just routine life in general. We are going to be staying home a lot more and making scheduled trips to the store and library. Dylan is also starting Judo. I am so excited for him. I think it is because he is so positive and excited! I am hoping it helps get some energy out. Lincoln is getting big and is a ton of fun to play with. We have been truly blessed this summer! How about y'all if you are still out there from my big blogging break, how blessed was your summer?

Sick and Tired....

I am sick and tired of people thinking that their words don't hurt people. People think since they are being honest, it's okay to say anything. Being a former "diarrhea of the mouth" person, I understand that it is hard, but God has gotten a hold of me and the "honest" things I said. The Bible says:

Let me tell you something: Everyone of these careless words is going to come back to you and haunt you. There will be a time of Reckoning. Words are powerful, take them seriously. Words can be your Salvation, but also your Damnation.

Matthew 12:36-37

Please keep this verse in your hearts and minds as you deal with people that annoy you, you don't agree with, or people you just feel like telling where to step off. Words are powerful and impact people.

A Book by an Inspiring Woman

Dearest friends- I want to pass on a little pearl in the rough. Most of you know that I am part of a little bloggy world and enjoy reading blogs and finding SAHMs just like me. They bring me inspiration on days when I want to pull my hear out. Today I want to share with you a little something about an encouragement I have found and a book she has written with her husband.

Now I would love to tell you that I have finished the book, but that would be a lie. I'm almost there but in all honesty it is really an incredible story of their journey and I just have to read a chapter and sit and praise God. They are such an inspiration!

Many of you know of our debt problem. We went from no debt to in the matter of a few months a crap load (best words I could find to describe). Due to medical expenses, we ended up with $30K in a matter of minutes.

I have looked into Dave Ramsey and I am so on board with his ideas but he just doesn't seem real to me. I have a hard time connecting. About the time that I was thinking about where to go next to find encouragement and support, Marybeth wrote on her blog that she was writing a book with her husband about becoming debt free.

I was excited and ordered the book right away. Now with the book in hand, I have learned so much more than just about becoming debt free. I have learned that God can heal our marriages, God can heal our ill feelings about ourselves, and God will provide, not just with money but love and peace.

Friends, Marybeth and Curt are open with their relationship and mistakes in this book. They are real people that I identify with and have come to love as a brother and sister in Christ.

This book is a go find, not just a walk and find but a RUN and find. If you need healing in the Lord when it comes to life or finances- this is a book for you.

Not only do Marybeth and Curt have an incredible book for you, they also do seminars at churches. So friends, head over to Marybeth's website, the Whalen's website, or Amazon to find this pearl of knowledge.

I cannot wait to get back to this book. Therefore, I am off and you need to go to the above resources!!