Homeschooling...

If you are considering homeschooling, here are some books that I have found very helpful both in terms of encouraging me and in helping me understand where to start...

 Informative book that gives a great introduction to the Charolette Mason philosophy.

 

John Taylor Gatto taught in the New York City system for almost 30 years.  His books just plain make incredible sense.  He really just exposes the fact the educational system is broken.  He points out some of the reasons why and the frustrations of this fact.

 This is an excellent resource to have on hand to help you in selecting books to read with your child. 

This book talks about providing your child an education that challenges him/her to be self-taught so to speak, allowing him/her to truly be engaged in his/her learning which includes a lot of interest studies. 

This is a great FIRST PLACE stop.  Cathy Duffy has reviewed TONS of curriculums and picked which ones she feels are of the highest quality.  She lists pros and cons with each one she has listed.  You can also find much of the information on her website.  What is really helpful about the book are the surveys at the very beginning, in the first 3 chapters, that help you narrow which type of homeschooling philosophy might work best for you. 

Simply Music

The girls take piano from Miss Florence at the Joyful Noise Studio (which by the way is in the running as one of Columbus Parents' best music studios in the Columbus area)!!  We LOVE it!  The program is amazing and I really just love Miss Florence!  She is so incredibly patient with the girls....and me! 

 Anna always crosses her feet while playing!

My Little Chef

Kate is a foodie!  She enjoys trying new things and cooking right alongside me.  She is finding her way around the kitchen and has become quite comfortable to try things on her own.  It is so fun to teach and then watch her as she learns.  It didn't surprise me when she chose a cooking project for her first 4-H project this year.  She is doing amazing and is halfway through her book.  She loves making breakfast and lunch for us, and sometimes even dinner.  Her favorite recipe so far was the biscuit pizzas and also the tuna melts.  Lunch and dinner has become such a special time for the three of us to spend together just laughing and talking and listening to Pandora.  Oh...and definitely taste testing along the way.  The other night the girls helped me make Rachel Ray's Chicken Parm with homemade marinara sauce.  It totally rocked!  Here is my little chef busy at work...

 Nachos

 Tasty Tuna Melts

Chorizo Dip

Do you love the dip at the Mexican restaurant but have no idea how they make it?  That was me.  I have tried to find a recipe in the past but couldn't find the perfect one.  Well gals, I found it!  Eat your heart out...it is amazing!

Hot Chorizo and Cheese Dip
Printable Version with Picture
Printable Version
*Note: if you aren’t familiar with chorizo, it is a pork sausage that is usually cured and requires cooking prior to eating. The outer casing is easily (and should be!) removed prior to cooking. Chorizo is usually located by the other sausage-type meats in the meat section of the grocery store and it can range from mild to spicy so choose the flavor that suits your taste buds best! In a pinch, I’m guessing that another spicy-ish pork sausage would work in place of the chorizo.

*Makes about 2 cups

INGREDIENTS:
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup minced yellow onion
8 ounces chorizo, casings removed and diced
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups milk
8 ounce cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 cups (6 ounces) medium cheddar cheese, grated
1 small can diced green chiles
1/2 teaspoon salt

DIRECTIONS:
In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent, about 2-3 minutes. Add the diced chorizo and cook, breaking up the chorizo into smaller pieces if you like, until it is cooked through, about 5 minutes. Pour off all but one tablespoon of fat from the pan. Add the flour and stirring constantly, cook for 1-2 minutes. Gradually whisk in the milk and combine well. Cook over medium heat until the sauce is thick, about 4 minutes. Add the cream cheese to the pot in tablespoon-size pieces and stir to combine as the cream cheese melts. Reduce the heat to low and add the cheese 1/4 cup at a time, stirring until each addition is melted before adding more. Stir in the green chiles and the salt.
Serve warm in a bread bowl or with tortilla chips.

Recipe Source: adapted from Joy of Cooking
From: Mel's Kitchen Cafe

A Little Bit of Random

Why is "church" such a difficult subject?  Scott and I have been around the block about 4 times when it comes to finding a church home.  Maybe even 5 times.  I guess it might depend on how big the block was.  Anywho, I have friends who are walking the same road.  The journey around that block can be so tiring, especially when you have children in tow.  So what's the deal?  Why does it seem so difficult to find a church home for so many God-fearing believers?  Are we being too picky?  Hmmmm....  Are we being too inward focused?  Hmmm...  Or could it be that there so few churches that are truly CHRIST focused?  Gospel focused?  WORD focused?  I once had a pastor tell me he wanted a balanced church.  At the time I have to say I agreed wholeheartedly with me.  Not too much to the left, not too much to the right....(I don't mean politically.)  Anyhow, as I am learning more and more I am not sure a balanced church is Biblical.  At some point you have to draw some lines in the sand and the balance will be lost.  It's just the fact of the matter.  In the meantime, I just feel for those who are searching.  May the Lord guide you and keep you!

With our house being dissheveled for about a year now, I am nearing my total wit's end!!  Seriously!  Most of the furniture in the house somehow ended up being my mother-in-law's and we were left with bare bones.  It is killing me that things aren't in order.  The basement is in disarray.  Connie still has things tucked here and there, along with mutliple boxes in the basement.  Kate has a new room but it really isn't "her's" because it lacks "her touch" since we haven't been able to paint it a color she likes yet, or think about accessories.  Anna's room now needs some finishing touches to truly make it "her" room and not a shared room.  The living room is majorly lacking something.  The floor needs finished in the dining room area.  Window treatments are in serious need all over the house.  And I am going MAD!!  HA...aka CRAZEE!  It is so overwhelming to me.  I want everything done NOW.  I don't want to wait.  Everything seems like a disaster.  It is part of being a mom and woman, we want our house in order!  Yet at the same time we need to remain on budget, which is small!  :)  Too easily my eyes, heart, and mind are distracted by all the things around me that seem in a disarray.  Nevermind, all the things that are IN order.  Two girls who are happy, healthy, and confidant, growing in the grace of Christ's love for them.  A husband who knows my heart's desire and works so hard to provide for our every need and some wants along the way.  He cherishes me and the girls.  I know beyond a shadow of a doubt his devotion and love for me.  I am confident of Christ's grace and mercies that are new each morning, sustaining me through this journey this side of heaven.  So, what does it matter if things are sitting in boxes because there is no where to put them?  What does it matter that half the floor isn't finished yet?  What does it matter that finishing touches are lacking?  We are a family...just the four of us, plus Cash. The rest is just details!

I am getting anxious/excited about next year and our curriculum lineup!  We are going to be doing My Father's World: Exploring Countries & Cultures.  We will also be using Apologia Astronomy for science with our co-op, art and artist studies with our co-op, and Spelling Wisdom (maybe with something else).  I am going to continue using Language Lessons (Primary for Anna and Intermediate for Kate) and Progeny Press literature guides.  I also want to add in Christian Liberty Press's Nature Readers - TOTALLY AMAZING!  Can't wait!  I want to incorporate more writing into next year, along with more hands-on REAL math!  I am getting so excited and yet we aren't even finished totally with this year!  Homeschooling is so much fun and I have big plans...at least in my head and heart! 

Speaking of math, I make it no secret math is not my strong suit.  I always got really good grades in math but I just don't really understand the why and how of math.  I have learned so much about numbers this year in teaching the girls.  Yeah..I know it's sad since they are in 2nd and 3rd grade.  Oh well...I love what we are learning and that I can learn/re-learn right alongside them.  Well, back to the topic.  I have to take some courses to keep my teaching license up-to-date and I am taking a Math Instruction course for grades 4-6.  So far I have only completed 2 lessons but I am loving it already.  It is igniting a desire within me to remember to make math FUN, ALIVE, and to let the girls APPLY it!  We have the perfect learning environment since we are at home.  I just have to think outside the box a bit.  I can't wait to see what else I learn and how it will change things for us this next year. 

Here are some oddball yet completely amazing facts I have learned this year about our body.  Each lung has 300,000,000 airsacs in it, meaning you have 600,000,000 air sacs (alveloi) in you.  Isn't that an amazing number?  Can you even truly fathom that number?  Did you know you take about 20,000 breaths per day?  This equals out to 7,300,000 breaths a year.  Isn't that amazing!  Did you know if you take all of the DNA out of your cells and line it up it would stretch to the sun back over 70 times?  HELLO!  God is so amazing!  I can't believe people want to deny Him.  I have been so incredibly blessed teaching the little people at co-op this year.  They are so excited about learning and I am always amazed by what they are able to retain.  We have made jello cells, paperbag lungs, and blood so far this semester.  It has been a blast!

Sometimes I get so overwhelmed by what I can't accomplish.  I still haven't called my neighbor to see if she and her grandson want to come over for dinner.  I still haven't called any of the other neighbors or reached out to them any more than just our Christmas cookie deliveries.  I still haven't gotten more involved at our church.  I still haven't gotten more involved with the PCC ministry.  I still haven't started a Ladie's Bible study.  I sometimes don't read to the girls before bed and just send them to bed without even praying with them.  I sometimes don't even get my own quiet time accomplished.  I am behind on our church's 2 year Bible reading plan. Yet, somehow God reminds me that my salvation doesn't rest in my works alone.  Do I have a responsibility to do my best?  Absolutely...but these things don't determine if I am in or out.  I am so thankful.

Transformation....or Transition

For the last year we have been working on projects around the house such as fresh paint on the walls, installing the bamboo flooring, and a few other things.  It seems like it has been a year of projects! With Connie recently moving out, everything seems like it is all over the place all over again!  Oh well...God is keeping us on our toes!  I have been trying to simplify, purge, and purge some more!  It is easy for me to get my focus off during these times of home projects.  I can easily get into a "I need, I want, I really like..." mode.  YIKES!  Not good!  Inspiration is good, coveteousness is not good.  Anywho, I thought I would give some update pictures on what is going on around here....

Oh Scott...isn't he so cute?  He started pulling up the carpet and pad at 9:00 on a Sunday night.  Really....

 Yes...that is a big open hole! 

 Ahhhh....my hot honey again!

Can you believe Scott and I put this door in all by ourselves?  Yeah....never done it before.  Just imagine...I helped Scott carry that door up the deck stairs.  YIKES!

New floor.  New coffeetable (Thanks Lee & Lydia!)  Rug brought up from the basement. 

NEW ROOM!!

It's A....????

My dear, sweet friend Lindsay is expecting.  She has incredible self-control!  She and her husband have known the gender of the baby for months but have kept it a secret from everyone.  This past weekend was the baby shower, in which they finally revealed the gender of the baby and the baby's name.  It was sooooo much fun...and had PINTEREST all over it!  What fun to see how people take the ideas found through Pinterest and put them into action.  It was so fun!  Here's a little peak...

 Each attendee was asked to vote by either wearing pink or blue.  When we arrived, we either got a 'stache' for a boy or 'lips' for a girl!

 All of the food and goodies had such cute little sayings with them!

 What a NEAT idea!  This was a fruit pizza bar...sugar cookies, cream cheese icing, and then your fruit(s) of choice!  So cute!

 This was "Chips & Lip Dip!"

 aka Pigs in a Blanket....but how cute!

 Team Blue!

 There was even pink and blue water bottles and yes...fun polka dotted paper straws! 

Guest of honor!

Before Lindsay opened her gifts she handed out stacks of envelopes to all the tables.  Everyone was to get an envelope.  Some of them were blue and some of them were pink.  It didn't matter though because they were all the same on the inside.  Her mom and Brandon's mom were given gift bags with their cards attached.  When Lindsay counted to 3 everyone was to open their cards which announced they are having a boy.  The two grandmas' cards had the name of the baby also listed, Eli Xavier!  It was so funny because her mother kept insisting she was having a girl, as she proudly wore her very pink shirt!  It was truly one of the cutest showers I have ever attended, with every minute detail attended to with precision and finesse! 

God is so good!  We met Lindsay and Brandon through our friends Kristin and Ryan.  We were all attending the same church but shortly after we met, Brandon and Lindsay had decided to leave that church and we followed suit soon after.  We found Living Hope and invited them to come try it out with us.  When Living Hope set up a small group ministry on Sunday evenings, Scott and I became facilitators and invited them to join our group.  They did and God grew a deep bond between us.  Many times it would just be the four of us and once the girls would get home from Awana we would settle in around the table for pizza or whatever I mustered up to feed all of us.  Towards the end our favorite was Trader Joe's Orange Chicken.  I am so thankful for the season of having Brandon and Lindsay in our lives on a weekly basis and miss them terribly.  However, I know God is working His purposes in each of our journeys.  They really wanted to get back closer to family and friends so they can live out the gospel and share the love of Christ with the people that mean so much to them.  I pray their families will one day "get it!" 

Our hearts ache for Mali

Dear friends,
Our hearts are aching for Mali.  Please pray for this nation.  We have heard from missionaries who are working with the US Embassy to evacuate as tensions rise between a coup of Malian soldiers and the government.  Neighboring countries will soon close down the borders if things don't begin to turn around in the next 72 hours.  Mali is one of the poorest countries in all the world and is completely landlocked.  Food is scarce and supplies are low.  Please saints, pray for God's sovereign will to bring Him glory first and foremost, raising up our Malian brothers and sisters to exhibit fearless faith.  We pray this would open the eyes and hearts of many for the gospel of Christ.