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Showing posts from January, 2014

Happenings Today...

My 15 yr old is seeing an orthodontist for the first time this morning. My oldest had braces and to tell you the truth, I'm not looking forward to this. :(  But he was born with a condition that makes orthodontia medically necessary so...here we go!  Later, my 17 yr old son is teaching art class to a group of our homeschooling friend's kids. He does the class in the dining room while the moms and I get to visit in the adjacent family room so it is a nice chance for us moms to fellowship.  That's it for today.  It is going to be a full one, so I'm off to start it! Have a wonderful day in Christ! This is the day that the Lord hath made, we will rejoice and be glad in it. Psalm 118:24

Dinner Tonight

Tonight's dinner will be ready around 5:30-6pm. Which is perfect since I just found out my husband will be home from work right around that time.   There are some yummy aromas coming from the "Crockpot Cashew Chicken" I am making for dinner tonight. Googling the recipe will bring up several choices but they all seem to be the same. I used chicken thighs instead of breasts because that is what I had thawed.  :-) The recipe calls for stirring in the cashews right at the end, but I just stirred them in early because I would like their flavor to incorporate into the dish.  I'm going to serve it over rice with minced scallions and parmesan roasted green beans. This is supposed to be similar to a dish on an Aisan menu so I can't wait to try it! I'd love to hear what you're fixing for dinner tonight, if you care to share!

Big Manly Lunches

I am married to a wonderful man who loves home cooking. He has graciously and enthusiastically eaten every creation I have ever come up with from the beginning of our marriage 18 years ago.  In fact, if it hadn't been for his encouragement and enthusiasm, I don't know if I would have had the courage to keep up with my culinary pursuits. But I did and I've improved greatly. Ah, the love of a good man!! Subsequently, I've made my husband 99% of the lunches he's taken to work from the beginning, too. But it is always challenging to think up something different and new. In other words, not boring! :) More often than not, it's been the typical american lunch: sandwich, veggie, fruit, chips, cookies. Sometimes I make him different kinds of wraps. Every so often I would fill a hot thermos with stew or soup. But not as often as I'd like. Tomorrow my husband begins a big hotel remodel and he'll be commuting an hour each way. So tonight I prepared him his lunc

Meeting Homeschool Laws

Depending on which state you live in, you could be over-doing it when it comes to meeting the requirements of state homeschool laws. For example, there are currently 10 states which haven't ANY laws regulating homeschoolers at all. They don't even require a letter of intent to homeschool at the beginning of the school year.  This is the way it should be in every state. The reason I believe that, is because children are given to parents by God. The government would like us to believe that they have authority over our children. But children belong to their parents and are in subjection to them alone by God's design and command. As you think on that, let's glance at learning and education for a second. Education heavily influences who a person will turn out to be. That is why the government seeks full control in this area. Since homeschoolers aren't in public schools (government indoctrination centers) the only control the government can get comes by means of test

Mirror, Mirror

That's what our children are: a mirror of us, the environment we provide, the patience we give, the love we share, the attitudes we carry. My kids are getting older so when one of them (both mid to late teens) has an attitude problem, I first look at my own attitude. If my own attitude checks out OK, I then consider what the cause might be and pray for them.  Teens have a lot hormones to deal with and need a measure of grace and patience. My boys are usually very gracious, obedient and loving.  But as a mother, my goal is to have their hearts. I want to demonstrate that their hearts are safe with me. It's a process of continually building a loving relationship that starts when they are born. Love is not a sugar mama. Love is not trying to make them like you by giving them what they want.  Love is seeking their good will even if it crosses their desires. When you come across a broken fence, seek to mend it quickly.  It begins with repentance on our part as parents. If ou

Vows and Promises

As I read my Bible this morning, I came across a passage on the topic of making a promise or vow to God. After reading it, I am positively convinced that no one should ever vow to God. It effectually calls anyone making a vow to God a fool. And it is taken very seriously. Check it out: Ecclesiastes 5:4-6 When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools:pay that which thou hast vowed. Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay. Suffer not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin; neither say thou before the angel, that it was an error:wherefore should God be angry at thy voice, and destroy the work of thine hands. The word "promise" is used in the King James Bible exactly 50 times and each time it's God doing the promising.  This got me to thinking, what is the essence of a promise?  Why do some people feel so compelled to make promises - whether to God or other people?  I think it is a clear in

What Kids Need

There is nothing that compares with the joy that a child can bring. My heart felt like it was bursting at the seams with the birth of each one of my children. Children  don't bring a set of instructions, but God has written his laws on the hearts of men so that we know instinctively what to do with our babies.   Today I want to share a little of what I have learned over the years concerning loving a child the way he/she needs to be loved. What kids need can be quite different from what a parent wants to give. Everyone knows that in infancy, all babies need nourishment (mother's milk is best!), warmth, attention, enrichment, snuggling, sleep, etc. Every normal parent instinctively wants to provide their children with the best they can possibly give.  One of the needs every child has (beyond food, shelter, clothing) is boundaries. Children don't understand how needful boundaries are anymore than they understand how needful green veggies are. And they can react to the

Warm Memories

In order to live a successful life, you have to live it.  Sounds simple enough. But over the last century, and especially the last decade, media (television, cell phones, internet, blogging, social media sites, texting, email, iPods, kindles) has gone from the back seat to front and center. They are the new normal and they constitute much of the activities the average person spends time on.  The problem is not with the usefulness or relevance of these devices or the services they provide, (as a homeschooling family, we sometimes use the internet for educational purposes) but in how  much time away from real "living" any one of these can steal.  If I'm not careful, I can spend hours reading online because there are so many interesting places to "visit". Pinterest is amazing. I love to read about homemaking, looking up recipes, decorating ideas, etc.  But I have to be careful or else I'll wind up spending too much time.  Thankfully, I don't do any

In The Mood...For Organizing!

The New Year always invigorates me to simplify, organize and cleanse my home of unneeded stuff. For me, I have learned to wait until I am in the mood for this because going through old belongings is riddled with emotion. And if I'm not in a no-nonsense mood, I will be far, far too sentimental when going through all of our stuff.  For me, I have to put myself in the organizing mood - it doesn't happen on its own. In order to get in the organizing mood, I begin thinking about what I want to accomplish a month or two in advance.  I especially consider what season we are currently in and what kinds of things we can let go of.   When we were still having children, I hung on to certain things like baby clothes, toys, furniture, etc. At one point, I even planned on saving our first son's crib for passing on to our grandchildren. But after lending it to my sister who needed it (and subsequently ruined it) I was resigned to let it go.  Besides, most new parents want to pick o