Gregg Riding a "big guy" Motorcycle

Daddy teaching Gregg to ride a 'big guy' motorcycle. Our boys LOVE it when our [almost] yearly trip to Colorado comes around. They spend hours upon hours dirt biking. The dust and dirt is endless for days.

Trying Hard to be Serious Here....

Totally NOT What I Expected to Hear

Nor was it something I was "wanting" to hear.  A bit ago the younger girls and I had a very nice, quiet dinner together as dad and the older kids were in town helping a friend put a swing together.  I took the wonderful opportunity (as I try to often but rarely succeed) to pick their brains and start an "intellectual" conversation.  As it was it went something like this:

So, we are going to go around the table and I want to know something that each of you learned today.  (Meaning with their school work)  And this is what I heard through excited shouts as they each tried to be the first to share.

I learned that Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise are throwing a $100,000 birthday party for their daughter....Oh, and Jon and Kate plus Eight are working through their problems 'behind' the scenes.  And did you know Kate Hudson is Goldie Hawn's daughter.  (actually no, I didn't know that.)  Another child pipes in with:  Bummer, and Mel Gibson is getting divorced.  Yet another child babbled something off about Angelina Jolie getting booted or something or other.

Man, what's this all about.  How do they know these things without having a  TV.  WHERE does this come from?  Seriously, I boot up the computer and  the YAHOO home page is only up for a few minutes at a time so how do they take this all in?  Now if only I could get them to apply this effort to their studies!!

Update to this post.  My children informed me that this post is NOT finished!!  They are absolutely right.  So in all fairness, the conversation did turn to them sharing things that were of actual worth.  Here is how it went.  

One child learned that a man named William Penn named the state of Pennsylvania.  Another child informed me that Captain John Smith was captured twice, once by the Turks and once by the Indians.  My 6 year old retold the story about Joseph and all about his life in Egypt.

Now this is more of what I was looking for!!  Maybe next time we won't have to go through the dramatics before getting to the point!!

Amish Friendship Bread

AMISH FRIENDSHIP BREAD

 

Sourdough Starter

 

5 ½ cups all purpose flour

2 cups plus 1 tablespoon sugar

1 (1/4 ounce) package active dry yeast  (1 ½ teaspoon bulk yeast)

2 cups warm water

2 cups milk

 

Combine 3 ½ cups of the flour, 1 tablespoon of the sugar, and the yeast in a large bowl.  Gradually add the warm water and beat with a wooden spoon until smooth.  Cover with a loose piece of cheesecloth or plastic wrap and let stand in a warm, draft-free place for 1 day.  Follow these steps to finish the starter.

 

DAY 1:  Do nothing to the starter.

DAY 2, 3, and 4:  Stir the starter gently with a wooden spoon once a day (10 strokes).

DAY 5:  Add 1 cup of the flour, 1 cup of the sugar, and 1 cup of the milk to the starter.  Stir with a wooden spoon.  Re-cover the mixture and set in a warm place.

DAY 6, 7, 8, and 9:  Stir the starter gently with a wooden spoon once a day (10 strokes).

DAY 10:  Add the remaining 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar, and 1 cup milk to the starter.  Stir with a wooden spoon.

 

You’ll know the starter  is done when it has a pleasant, sweet taste; the mixture is creamy, there is no flour taste.

 

Divide the starter into three 1 cup containers and give to three friends with these instructions.   (When I received my batch, it was in a freezer bag.  Instead of stirring the starter batch in a bowl, it was squeezed in the bag.  We also dated the bag so that you would know which day corresponded to the date). 

 

 

FRIENDSHIP BREAD

1 c. sourdough starter

2/3 c. vegetable oil            

2 c. all purpose flour         

3 eggs

2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 tsp. vanilla extract

½ tsp. salt

½ tsp baking soda

1 (5 oz.) box instant vanilla pudding mix

1 c. chopped nuts

 

 

Preheat the oven to 350.  Combine all of the ingredients in a large bowl and mix well with a wooden spoon (do not use metal).  Pour the dough into 2 well greased and floured loaf pans and bake for 40 to 50 minutes.  Cover with foil toward the end of the baking time to prevent burning.  Bread is done when a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.  Let pans cool for 10 minutes and then remove from the pans and cover loosely to cool completely.  You can substitute a bundt pan for bread pan; cooking time is the same.  

I have included a picture from the web to show what it should look like.  I've never made it before but it has been on my "to do" list for some time now.  So I googled the recipe today and printed it which makes me one step closer to doing it. Now all I need is a good swift kick in the behind and it just might get started!!

Why Study Latin?

I, like Cheryl Lowe get asked all the time why my children ages 9 and up study latin.  And since I am NOT good with explanations or writing I thought I would post here; in Chery's words why we study latin in our homeschool.  Her explanation is perfect so thankfully there is no need for me to add to it.  

By Cheryl Lowe

     Have you ever wished you had a good answer for those people who ask why you would spend your valuable education time studying Latin when you could be spending it on something more “practical”?

     There are three reasons Latin has long been considered the one master subject before which all others must bow.

     First, Latin teaches English better than English teaches English. “The study of one’s own language,” says classicist Charles Bennett, “is achieved incomparably better by the indirect method of studying another language ... It is because translation from Latin to English ... is so helpful to the student who would attain mastery of his own language ... that I find the full justification for the study of Latin.” In other words, education based on the study of the child’s own language is inferior to one based on Latin.

     Second, the mental discipline Latin instills in students makes it the ideal foreign language to study. Latin originated with the Romans, and their character pervades the language they created. The Roman, says R. W. Livingstone, “disciplined his thought as he disciplined himself; his words are drilled as rigidly as were his legions, and march with the same regularity and precision.”

     Latin is systematic, rigorous, analytic. Its sentences march “serried, steady, stately, massive, the heavy beat of its long syllables and predominant consonants reflecting the robust, determined, efficient temper” of the Romans themselves.

     Latin is clearly superior to other languages in this regard. Like English, modern languages are “lax and individualistic,” reflecting the modern temper of those who speak them. Thinking that you can get the same benefit out of studying them is, in Livingstone’s words, “like supposing that the muscles can be developed by changing from one chair to the other.”

     Third, Latin is the ideal tool for the transmission of cultural literacy. Latin is, in fact, the mother tongue of Western civilization—a language that incorporated the best ideas of the ancient Greeks, and which then, after the conversion of Rome, put them into the service of Christian truth.

      Rome fell into ruin, but the dying language of the disintegrating empire was infused with new life. Harnessing the power and precision of the old Latin, Christianity transformed the tongue of conquest into the tongue of conversion, and Latin became the very language of the Christian faith for over a thousand years.

     Christian Latin takes the intellectual discipline of classical Latin and adds another element: simplicity. Although the basic grammar and vocabulary of Christian Latin are the same as the classical, Christian Latin authors emphasized the transmission of Christian truth, striving for clarity and simplicity above all else. Because Christian Latin is easier to read, it is the perfect gateway to the more difficult classical Latin of Caesar, Cicero, and Virgil.

Another Great Speech by Ron Paul

Ron Paul on the State of the Nation

Could it all be a bad dream, or a nightmare? Is it my imagination, or have we lost our minds? It's surreal; it's just not believable. A grand absurdity; a great deception, a delusion of momentous proportions; based on preposterous notions; and on ideas whose time should never have come; simplicity grossly distorted and complicated; insanity passed off as logic; grandiose schemes built on falsehoods with the morality of Ponzi and Madoff; evil described as virtue; ignorance pawned off as wisdom; destruction and impoverishment in the name of humanitarianism; violence, the tool of change; preventive wars used as the road to peace; tolerance delivered by government guns; reactionary views in the guise of progress; an empire replacing the Republic; slavery sold as liberty;

We have broken from reality--a psychotic Nation. Ignorance with a pretense of knowledge replacing wisdom. Money does not grow on trees, nor does prosperity come from a government printing press or escalating deficits.

We're now in the midst of unlimited spending of the people's money, exorbitant taxation, deficits of trillions of dollars--spent on a failed welfare/warfare state; an epidemic of cronyism; unlimited supplies of paper money equated with wealth.

A central bank that deliberately destroys the value of the currency in secrecy, without restraint, without nary a whimper. Yet, cheered on by the pseudo-capitalists of Wall Street, the military industrial complex, and Detroit.

We police our world empire with troops on 700 bases and in 130 countries around the world. A dangerous war now spreads throughout the Middle East and Central Asia. Thousands of innocent people being killed, as we become known as the torturers of the 21st century.

We assume that by keeping the already-known torture pictures from the public's eye, we will be remembered only as a generous and good people. If our enemies want to attack us only because we are free and rich, proof of torture would be irrelevant.

The sad part of all this is that we have forgotten what made America great, good, and prosperous. We need to quickly refresh our memories and once again reinvigorate our love, understanding, and confidence in liberty. The status quo cannot be maintained, considering the current conditions. Violence and lost liberty will result without some revolutionary thinking.

We must escape from the madness of crowds now gathering. The good news is the reversal is achievable through peaceful and intellectual means and, fortunately, the number of those who care are growing exponentially.

Of course, it could all be a bad dream, a nightmare, and that I'm seriously mistaken, overreacting, and that my worries are unfounded. I hope so. But just in case, we ought to prepare ourselves for revolutionary changes in the not-too-distant future.

Cowboy Gregg

I think having 9 daughters and only 3 sons can leave a "blog" a bit unbalanced!!  Here is Gregg playing with the new guns we got him.  I just thought they were so cute so I had to share.  Of course, another reason for the "unbalanced" blog is because my boys threaten me with my  life whenever I even think about putting pics of them up.  But I think I'll take my chances anyway!!

Robyn Playing America the Beautiful

I love to listen to Robyn playing the piano. She just has a way of putting

her whole heart and soul into the music.

From Garden to Dessert Plate

This was a big hit. They loved it. We've had this rhubarb plant for quite some time in our garden but for some reason I just never paid much attention. Until today that is and the girls and I whipped up this extremely easy rhubarb crunch for dessert.

3 Cups Dried Rhubarb

1 cup white sugar

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 cup packed light brown sugar

1 cup quick cooking oats

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup butter

• DIRECTIONSPreheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking dish.

1. In a large mixing bowl combine rhubarb, white sugar, and 3 tablespoons flour. Stir well and spread evenly into baking dish. Set aside.
2. In a large mixing bowl combine brown sugar, oats, and 1 1/2 cups flour. Stir well then cut in butter or margarine until mixture is crumbly. Sprinkle mixture over rhubarb layer.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 40 minutes. Serve hot or cold.

Simple School Room

I have to say that I LOVE having a handy husband.  I wanted a high shelf for our bed (school) room so I could keep our daily school work handy and out of reach of little hands.  So here are the pictures from start to finish.  And this is what our little one room school house looks like.  It is my bedroom and here I keep only the material we are currently working on.  So only 1 long shelf is all that is needed.  The rest of our books, supplies, etc.  are kept on a huge wall in our living room.  

The kids love to "help"

I thought it would be cool to hang baskets from the underneath of the shelf.  Another way to keep things organized and yet out of the way.

Our School Room/Bedroom

Delightful Mary Pics

I wasn't a blogger back when Mary was a baby and these

2 pictures of her are my favorites. We were in a fabric store

and she was admiring this frilly scarf and then her daddy got

it down and wrapped it around her. The other picture she actually

fell asleep while trying to eat this apple. I don't even believe she

had any teeth yet but it kept her quiet and soothed her until we got

done with our shopping.

Where did MOMMY X 12 Go?

Yes, that's what I would like to know. Here lately it seems I am only a full time momma to 5 little girls. Where on earth has time gone? Everyone of my children over the age of 13 are all on auto-pilot and do their own thing. I have to say I am very thankful for mealtimes, school time, and scripture studies in my house because that seems to be the only time I get to talk to them!! I suppose that's not entirely true but sometimes it sure feels like it. (We still manage to have our midnight talks quiet often when the little ones are sleeping) Below is a little poem I am sure you all are familiar with. I have had this hanging in my home for years until one of the children knocked it down and it broke!! No matter, the words are embedded on my heart and will remain there.

Babies Don't Keep

Cleaning and scrubbing

Can wait till tomorrow,

For Babies grow up

We've learned to our sorrow

So quiet down cobwebs,

Dust go to sleep,

I'm rocking my baby,

And babies don't keep.

Christie Singing Someone To Watch Over Me

Imaginations Run Amuk

If they aren't climbing the walls (literally) then they are free falling onto my bed.  One of the many reasons I rarely make my bed.  Since we do our school in my room they get to spend a lot of  time in there.  Apparently too much time because their imagination starts getting the better of them!!  One of these days I'll post a picture of one of their back flips or front flips on the bed!!

Kombucha Anyone??

I have plenty and I share!! Here I am "cooking" up some kefir lemonade (recipe in 'recipe link), dairy kefir, (also in recipes) and KOMBUCHA. Ever heard of that? The benefits of all these drinks are incredible. But right now our focus is on the Kombucha. HERE is a link to read all about it. And HERE is a link to order a free Organic Kombucha Culture. I have included some photos of our next batch being made. Here's to your health.

Irish Dance, Starring Christie

I May Be A Fish Out of Water

but I still know my way around on the ground!!  For the first time in 22 years I don't have a beginning reader.  Oh sure, a couple of little ones still have to read aloud to me but we are down to only about once or twice a week.   I am finding just how simple homeschooling can become when you don't have to read all the directions in a workbook, or read their schedule to them.  Even a simple recipe can be followed with a true "reader!"  Some of the things I have found since I 'jumped' from the water are my kitchen, laundry room, shower, (kidding on the shower), and even the sewing machine is in use again.  All because a child learned how to read!!  Now I'm not saying I don't miss the snuggling, the correcting of letters, explaining of pronunciation, (actually, we're not beyond these things yet, thankfully) etc. but I am finding that even an hour or so saved during the day has brought about positive results.  (Like more blogging!)  I have about 1-2 years again before I have to break out the phonics books.  I have to be honest, I have loved every moment of my homeschooling years but the 'phonics' portion of it has bored me to tears.  But it's all part of what I call a "necessary nuisance"

Happy Birthday Beckham

Here is our family's latest birthday star.   Our first grandson Beckham Kelly Mckendrick is a big 2 year old now.  Here are a few pics from his backyard birthday party.  The cake was a little frightening for him.  I think he was waiting for it to blow up.  Love you so much Beck.

Egg Lovers Only

We are blessed with an abundance of fresh farm eggs at our house. Each week we get 4 dozen. I am excited to utilize them as much as I can in order to keep my grocery bill within reason. Please feel free to entertain me with your ideas of what you would do with 48 eggs every 7 days.

Wordless Wednesday-(a day late)

As Jesus was present with His disciples in their storm of life, so He is with us in our storms of life.  He does not forsake us, leaving us to struggle alone and to drown.  He is with us to hear our pleas for his help.  He is there to answer us in the midst of our troubles.  "Call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me."  Psalm 50:15. Yesterday this is what the sky was looking like as I was on my walk.  A storm was coming our way and I got to thinking about them and how just like the weather, we too have storms that are more personal and how blessed we are to have the Savior in our lives to help us weather them. 

This Oughta' Fill Em Up!!

Normally our breakfasts' are quite simple.   Such as cream of wheat, oatmeal, toast and fruit, kefir smoothies, etc.  But this morning I thought I would try an experiment.  MOM always says that a hearty breakfast will hold a child's tummy all morning long.   So here's to MOM, lets see if my breakfast of eggs, sausage, and bread pudding will keep little tummies from growling during morning lessons.  Recipe for bread pudding under picture.

Ingredients:

2 cups whole milk (or 2 cups half & half)
1/4 cup butter
2/3 cup sugar (white or brown, depending on taste preference)
3 eggs
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups bread, torn into small pieces (I used my leftover whole wheat bread)
1/2 cup raisins (optional)

Directions:

1. In medium saucepan, over medium heat, heat milk (or half & half) just until film forms over top. Combine butter and milk, stirring until butter is melted. Cool to lukewarm.

2. Combine sugar, eggs, cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla. Beat with an electric mixer at medium speed for 1 minute. Slowly add milk mixture.

3. Place bread in a lightly greased 1 1/2 quart casserole.

4. Sprinkle with raisins if desired. Pour batter on top of bread.

5. Bake at 350 degrees F for 45 to 50 minutes or until set. Serve warm.

If you make the sauce to put on top of your bread pudding, adjust the sugar in the bread pudding recipe, change it to 1/3 cups sugar (the sauce has the other 1/3 cup in it).

Bread Pudding Sauce-(this looks really good but we have never used it.  The kids just drizzle honey over top with melted butter)

Ingredients:

1 cup whole milk
2 Tbsp. butter
1/3 cup granulated white sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 Tbsp. flour
dash of salt

Directions:

Mix everything together and bring to a boil for 3 - 4 minutes, stirring constantly. Set aside for 5 minutes, then pour on warm bread pudding.

Homeschool Freak of Nature

Pioneer Woman cracks me up.  If you want a new twist on "the run of the mill homeschool articles" then you have to read this post.  Here is a portion of it and if you like what you see go to her website and read the rest.  You won't be sorry you did.

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Yes, I'm a Homeschooling Freak of Nature

I homeschool my punks. And well into my fourth full year of homeschooling, I sometimes completely forget the fact that homeschooling, to so many people, is a foreign, unnatural, and sometimes shocking concept. I forget that before I made the decision to homeschool, I always pictured homeschooling parents as denim-jumper-wearin’, no-fun-havin’, no-social-interaction-gettin’ fruitcakes who rap their children’s  hands with switches if their cursive writing doesn’t have the proper slant. And most of all, I forget that every time I post photos of my school-age children sitting on horseback and holding calves’ legs in the middle of a weekday, my readers just might wonder if these poor kids ever go to school.  For full article go HERE

Scrapes and Outdoor Fun go Together!!

Nothing is better than being outside on a warm sunny day.

But eventually someone gets an 'owwy!' Welcome to summer and to the beginning of scrapes and cuts.

As you can see though they jump back fast without any problem at all.