Baby Vance can only be saying one thing.....

"Grandma, I really miss you and I want you to hold me!"

Obama~Nation

A funny play on words today in our home. After reading our daily chapter of Proverbs my little ones wanted to know what abomination meant and how to pronounce it!

1. Extreme hatred; detestation.

2. The object of detestation, a common signification in scripture.

The way of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord. Prov.xv.

3. Hence, defilement, pollution, in a physical sense, or evil doctrines and practices, which are moral defilements, idols and idolatry, are called abominations. The Jews were an abomination to the Egyptians; and the sacred animals of the Egyptians were an abomination to the Jews. The Roman army is called the abomination of desolation. Mat. 24:13. In short, whatever is an object of extreme hatred, is called an abomination.~1828 Noah Webster Dictionary

We explained the meaning to them and also how to correctly pronounce it. They repeated it over and over trying to get it down correctly but their mouths wouldn't cooperate. One of the older kids must have been paying close attention because she said, "Hey, listen to what their saying!! Obama-Nation! Could the meaning of abomination and our Obama-Nation have any similarities?

IRR-Internal Road Rage

IRR, this is what happens to me when I approach one of those Round About deals in the road. I'm not sure why I can't wrap my brain around them.  There are a few things that tend to throw me off.  Like for some reason, I have it in my head that when I want to go down the road to the left of me I should turn left. Right?  No, I have to reroute my brain to the new idea that left means go right,  then straight, then right, all to just wanting to go left!!  How does anyone come up with an idea like this? I've decided that there are people out there with way too much time on their hands. Or, and this is much too painful to accept; that it's just me and my elevator doesn't go all the way up!  My husband says it's just me, but I refuse to accept that!  Where I come from, left is left, right is right, and straight is straight.  Maybe it's just a case of Dumb and Dumber!  Hmm, I wonder which one that makes me?

No snow? Just use toilet paper!

The imaginations of a 4 year old!

(Busily helping with the holiday decorating!)

Daddy admonishes his children

He rounded up all the kids that were home at the time for one of his "you need to know this" moments! I like to call them 'light bulb' moments because he seems to suddenly be inspired to share his wisdom and knowledge with his family at times when you least expect it! The children are quite used to times like these and I honestly think they look forward to them. This time there was a story included so he had their full attention!

"And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth. And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded. And the Lord said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and nothing will be constrained from them, which they have imagined to do.~Genesis 11:3-6

Why did they do this? "Lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the earth." This, was done in disobedience to the command to replenish the earth. They however thought that they would stay together, live together, and die together. To "unite" and pursue anything which theyimagined to do. Here we have, most likely King Nimrod in command and having his own agenda. The agenda being to clam universal monarchy, in order to unite for their common safety, he conspires to keep them in one body, having them all under his eye, he might not also in the future fail to also have them under his power. But, it is God's prerogative to be universal monarch, King of kings; Lord over all. So, in following chapters we see how God handled the situation.

Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech. So the Lord scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city.~Genesis 11

"In Matthew Henry's words, "The project of some to frame a universal character, in order to a universal language, how desirable soever it may seem, is yet, I think, but a vain thing to attempt; for it is to strive against a divine sentence, by which the languages of the nations will be divided while the world stands."

Simply put, they brought on themselves by their open rebellion to God what they feared most. The Lord scattered them. Do we see a pattern here in our day. Could not the building of a "one world government" be compared to the tower of babel. We can see where things in our society are moving. Towards a one world everything. United in thoughts, desires, goals, etc. THIS my friend is not God's intentions. "And they said to one another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them thoroughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime they had for mortar."

Brick for stone, and slime for mortar? Herein lies daddy's lesson to the kids. What a difference there is between men's building and God's. When men build their 'world' or 'Babel,' they use bricks made from slime and mortar. But when God builds his kingdom, he lays even the very foundations of it with sapphires, and all its borders with pleasant stones. He cautioned the children against this. To be diligent and always focused so as not to become a 'builder' of men and man's work in this world but in God's only. Like Nimrod there are 'hunters' who hunt for the hearts of men in order to move their agenda forward for their own purpose and desires and not for God's. They [the hunters] want the glory and the honor. All we need to do is look around. There is a reason we are referred to as sheep in the scriptures. Sheep are in need of a shepherd. One whom they can look for all things. Children, be careful who you give allegiance to. There are bricks everywhere in the world, and more are being made even as we speak. What makes these 'bricks?' The media, the fashions of the world, the schools, both private and public, the colleges and universities, even in our churches you will find bricks. What do bricks have in common? They are all the same color, size, and shape. They are held together with slime and they break easy. Could the slime and mortar used in the bricks be compared to our thoughts, ideals, goals, and even to how we dress and look. God's desire is that we become as stones. Not easily broken. Individuals, different colors, shapes, etc. (Thoughts, goals, ideas....) Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report, if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.~Phillipians 4:8. In this world we are not to engage in "follow the leader" games. Unless that leader is the Lord. Let the Lord build the house and do His work in you. And be weary of wolves in sheep's clothing who desire your heart even though intentions may be honorable. Always follow and stay focused on the King of kings, and Lord of all.

I love it when daddy sits the children down for these inspired moments. He just seems to draw their minds and spirits in sweet communion and inspire in them a desire to do what is right and good.

Baby, it's cold outside....

And we are ready for it!! Coats, mittens, hats, boots, and scarfs all rounded up and washed. Wood is being split and loaded into our wood shed and fires are already being lit! But am I really ready for the cold Wisconsin winter? NO....

But I am thankful to those in my family who work to ensure our winters are warm and comfortable!

The kids love helping the guys unload the trailer. And they do it cheerfully! (Most of the time) The trick though is to gather the wood before it gets cold, otherwise there isn't much excitement in unloading!

Thanks daddy for all your hard work.

"Many hands make light work"

I'm thankful too that daddy takes pity on his poor wife who loathes going growing shopping. But more so in the winter so another part of his winter preparations is to see to it that both our freezers are full, and our pantry. In doing this it makes his life easier too because if we need something or run out of something he can stop by the store on his way home from work since he is in town anyway and pick up a couple items rather than doing an all out grocery run. Which is never fun!!

No thumb suckers around here!

This kid has other ideas....

Cooking with kids!

"Now it was time to check the oven to see if it had cooled enough to cook the pies. Mama had a special way to tell when it was cool enough!"~Little House by Boston Bay

By the time we finished reading this chapter my girls were quite decided on making pies!

They made blueberry and cherry. Needless to say everyone really enjoyed them!

What does your 'desk' say about you?

Or in our case, a couple of dining room tables.

This 'desk' says that it belongs to the guys! I'm wondering why the drill.....

This 'desk' has the girls' name all over it. Who can study without the sweet smell of a candle, a stuffed unicorn, and a pretty green necklace!

So what does it say about ME? It says I've not been diligent in forming the habit in them to put their belongings away when they are finished using them. Guess what changes are about to be made around here?

How much milk is too much?

You can never have too much!! I love feeding gallons and gallons of this wonder drink to my family. A minimum of 20 gallons a week goes into the little bodies in my house. We are so blessed to be able to get some of the best raw milk around and at a low cost of just 1.50 a gallon. (Another family we know here graciously gives away their extra milk so as not to have to dump it. I know these are blessings not to be taken for granted. We won't live here forever I'm sure and our milk is something we would really miss.) Go HERE to read on the many benefits of going raw.

Raw milk tonic

1 1/2 C. milk

1/4 C. cream

2 T. molasses (this too is really good for you)

2-4 egg yolks

Whirl together and enjoy warm or cold.~Nourishing Traditions

Homemade ice cream

smoothies-a great way to use the cream

Warm some milk up and add honey. It really does calm an overly active child.

Making butter is another benefit of raw cream. Using the deep yellowish cream from summer milking provides an extremely nourishing butter.

Egg nog is delicious too when you use half cream/half milk. And you don't have to wait until Christmas to enjoy it.

Add a few tablespoons of cream to your hot cereal. (and eggs if you have extra)

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Buttermilk is another favorite. Mostly used in smoothies and for soaking my whole grains.

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Whey is another benefit that comes from our milk. So easy to make. Go HERE for the benefits of using whey.

Whey

2 quarts raw milk

Place the milk in clean glass jar and allow it to stand at room temperature 1-4 days until it separates. Line a large strainer set over a bowl with a clean dish towel. Pour in the separated milk, cover and let stand at room temperature for several hours. The whey will run into the bowl and the milk solids will stay in the strainer. Tie up the towel with the milk solids inside, being careful not to squeeze. Tie this little sack to a spoon placed across the top of a container so that more whey can drip out. When the bad stops dripping, the cheese is ready. Store whey in a jar and cream cheese in a covered glass container.~Nourishing Traditions

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Kefir is another favorite. HERE is the recipe for it and some health benefits.

How about you? Have any favorite ways of using milk you'd like to share?

Wordless Wednesday~Don't cry over spilled......flour!

Four little gifts that have greatly blessed my life...

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.~James 1:17

Aubryn

Gemma

Beckham

Baby Vance the 5th

These little grand baby's of mine truly are a 'perfect gift' who indeed bless my life and I sure love them!

EASY Garlic Cheese Biscuits

Today we served up a batch of Garlic Cheese Biscuits. They turned out great. I doubled the batch and there were hardly any left. They went very well with our homemade tomato soup.

Garlic Cheese Biscuits

1 1/2 C. flour

1 1/2 T. sugar

1 T. baking powder

1/2 teas. salt

3 C. shredded cheddar cheese (I didn't double the cheese)

1 C. milk

1 egg

1/4 C. melted butter

1 T. garlic powder

Stir together dry ingredients, then stir in cheese. In another bowl beat together the liquids. Pour into dry ingredients and stir to combine well. Bake at 375 for 20-25 min. Enjoy!

Tomato Soup

4 T. butter

2 T. olive oil

1 onion, chopped

salt and pepper to taste

basil (looks and taste)

1/4 C. flour

3 T. tomato paste

1/2 t. dried thyme

2 cans (14 1/2 oz.) chicken broth

2 cans (28 oz) whole peeled tomatoes in juice

Melt butter, add onion, oil, salt and pepper. Cook until onion is translucent. Stir in flour and tomato paste, cook 1 minute.

To a saucepan, add thyme, broth, and tomatoes. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 30 minutes. Blend to smooth or I put in the blender before heating which reduces the risk of burns. But I only chopped everything fine rather than a complete blend. Heat and serve.

Announcing the birth of baby number 50....

Introducing the newest little member of our mega-family! Elizabeth Keller was born this morning giving grandma and grandpa Smith (the seniors) 50 grandchildren so far. Congratulations Suzie! HERE are the proud grandparents of 50 grand babies!

This is my dear sister in law Suzie. (My husband's baby sister) Elizabeth is her 5th baby and it looks to me that everyone is doing well. We love you!

Happy Birthday to my first born boy!

Today my firstborn son is having a birthday. Which means that not only he is another year older but so am I. Being his mother I'm sure I could ramble on and on about how wonderful he is but I'm afraid it would get quite lengthy! Let's just say that a mother couldn't ask for a better son. He loves the Lord....

Is a wonderful husband~even without the socks....

Is a wonderful father....

An adventurer...

A wonderful big brother....

And a most wonderful son!

Happy 26th Birthday Vance. We love you forever!

Wordless Wednesday~me and my dad

Eggs are on the menu!

This picture pretty much shows the amount of eggs we go through weekly. We purchase 10 dozen eggs a week from a local family who has free range chickens. At only 2.00 a doz. it is an expensive, good for you food that goes a long way. What more could you ask for?

To read about the benefits of eggs go HERE.

Some of the ways our eggs get used~

scrambled in cultured butter

deviled

fried in cultured butter

boiled for salads

breakfast burritos

smoothies

eggnog

fried egg sandwiches

egg on a bagel with cheese

the normal baking stuff

rice pudding

bread pudding

french toast

quiches

frittata such as the one below.

What are some ways you like to use eggs?

We served this with asparagus and cornbread!

Pizza Frittata

(fyi,we doubled it for our family and it barely was enough)

6 oz. softened cream cheese

6 eggs

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. each basil and oregano leaves

2 T. butter

1 1/2 C. chopped green peppers (we used black olives since I didn't have peppers)

24 slices chopped pepperoni

Beat cream cheese, eggs, salt and seasonings. Melt butter in 10 inch ovenproof skillet. Add vegetables, cook and stir 5 min. Add cream cheese mixture and stir well. Cover pan and cook for about 5 minutes or until the center is almost set. Then set under broiler for about 5 minutes until finished.

Some causes of gray hair....

At least for me anyway. Just this week alone.....

1. I found my toothbrush on the book shelf in the boys' room. Yuck! Who knows what sort of creatures have been on those shelves!

2. Somehow one of my laundry helpers thought that daddy's exercise clothes were clean and put them in his closet. A very small closet. It's amazing what can happen to the atmosphere in closed spaces after only a few hours.

3. I found my bra in the toilet after searching high and low for it! This one is anybody's guess.

4. Sometimes we will sit the full grocery sack of pantry items in our pantry. Assuming with a quick glance that there are no freezer or refrigerator items in it. Oops! Bought the roast last Saturday and wondered why I couldn't find it in the freezer. My roast was toast by the time I found it! It is said that 'many hands make light work.' Not necessarily true when putting away groceries.

5.  This event is a sure fire way to give anyone gray hair!!  Especially when there is a river flowing behind your house!  Our youngest child "went missing" earlier today. We had everyone frantically looking and calling (loudly) her name both inside and out! Panic is setting in and I'm about to go ballistic when all of a sudden here she comes. Strutting up to the door without a care in the world wearing  protective ear gear that we use on the gun range. Looking at us like, "What's wrong with you guys?"  I guess I can't blame her for not answering since she couldn't hear us with her ears covered!  Who would have thought? 

How about you?  What causes your hair to gray?

With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love.~Ephesians 4:2

Curriculum Talk

~I admit to being a slacker when it comes to promptly getting back to the email questions and comments that are sent to me. Mostly they are in regards to homeschooling, large family logistics, and all the things that go along with that. There can be questions/comments anywhere from marriage through nutrition to disciplinary issues and laundry. And anything in btween!! Normally I simply answer individual emails thereby repeating myself often. My husband suggested to me that perhaps I should combine similar inquiries and turn them into blog posts so I can share with my readers the many years experience I've had of being a wife, mother, homeschooler, cook.............and so on and so on! I pray that despite my many weaknesses and failures that there just may be some spark of light somewhere in my life that may bless the lives of others.~

Question~What curriculum do you use/that you have used in the past and have you settled into any particular one for the duration of your schooling?

When I began homeschooling over 20 years ago selections and ideas were limited. So with our oldest daughter and son we used Alpha Omega, then switched to Rod and Staff, and then onto Abeka. So they were mostly textbook students! They were both very good readers and spent much of their time reading during their free time. By the time the next few children came along I found that my time was limited and really and having 3 or 4 children in structured curriculums plus a baby and probably a toddler I simply wasn't able to keep up on the much required paperwork that went along with boxed textbook curriculums. After searching the library for anything I could find on alternative curriculums I landed upon the idea of whole, living books. Fast forward to now! (and another question)

Once your children have graduated, how confident have you become in the choices you have made for their education? I was brought up in the traditional style of using textbooks, cramming for tests and not really learning knowledge. Which to me is facts/verses knowledge. I want my children to have knowledge and not just cram facts into their heads. I know there is a difference, I just can't seem to lay hold on it.

First, let me say that a method or curriculum doesn't necessarily make or break your child's future. Is there one curriculum "above and better" than another? What exactly DOES work? I can't answer that. Maybe what it might boil down to is "What do YOU do in your homeschool that you have found brings academic learning and discipline, while at the same time making it a joy to learn.

For us that has been the living books. Having begun with a more structured textbook approach and switching to whole books has brought us into a new freedom! Now that I am on the "other side" of kids having graduated my homeschool and kids still in. Living books does work! In the beginning I was nervous about it. But here we are after many years of schooling with living books and I've SEEN it work. But, success has come to all my older children, whether it has been from the textbooks or the living books. I am only advocating living books here because it has been this method that has brought the joy back into our homeschool. I personally, really did not like the textbooks. I found them boring, dull, and void of real life. Thankfully, all my children have been avid readers so the textbooks weren't the only books in which my children were free to 'chew' on!

At this moment I have 2 girls in college. Both of them are carrying high GPA's as well as my textbook kids! (again, it's not so much the choice of methods, but it's the joy you find in 'what' you have chosen) These girls were fed whole books. And thrived on them. Here is a summary of my children's educational upbringing.

Reading~I compiled long ago a 'list' of books I wanted my children to study. I use selections from~

A Thomas Jefferson Education

Old Fashioned Education

The Robinson Curriculum

Charlotte Mason/Ambleside~Ambleside online we use as our core and the others I draw from for free reading. They are sorted into 'grade levels' and we simply go down the list. Beginning from a young age there is usually something 'visual' I like to see from their reading. Usually a drawing or a written narration. Something to show me that they actually got something from the book they've read. I've also found basic book report outlines online that we use to measure comprehension. Since, comprehension is our ultimate goal.

Writing~Another must. For grammatical, academic, and imaginative reasons. Once they are around 13 I like to see at least a page of writing once a day. I give them the choice of what to write about. It usually ends up being thoughts from a books they've read. But they have to write. For the reasons listed above. This is normally what I do to begin grammar. Is have them write. After a year or so of writing we will have some formal grammar lessons and learn the 'science' of grammar.

Arithmetic~This goes without saying. Undoubtably my favorite is Rays, but, and it hurts to say this. I don't have the time to use Rays as much as I would like. Rays is wonderful. The reasoning skills taught are not surpassed with any other curriculum. Reasoning, as we all know is KEY in getting through life in all areas. Not just arithmetic. If a child can reason, well, what more can I say. So my second choice is Saxon. For the younger ones I prefer Singapore simply because they do offer much reasoning exercises plus they are in workbook form which little ones like.

Latin~Another must in our home. For my reasons, you can read HERE.

Copywork~Simple! They get practice in manuscript, PLUS, they get to feed on the thoughts of brilliant minds of the past and present. We also do our memory work from our copywork selections.

And last but definitely not least we add to the above core subjects...

First and foremost is the study of the word of God. And not just reading His word but applying His word in all our areas of life. The scriptures have/are used in our home as a resource in teaching copywork, memory work, grammar, spelling, and most of all, for teaching moral absolutes. The ideas are endless in our homes for putting these in use. The very best living books we have on the planet are found in the pages of the scriptures.

Spelling using McGuffey

McGuffey Readers

Nature Study

Geography~from living books, maps, and globe

History~Living books

Science~Living books

And of course the Arts~Hymns, piano, drawing, painting, etc. artist study, picture study and listening to the great composers as well as studying them. Add in a few life skills and handicrafts you and your family agree is best for your family and you can have a well rounded curriculum.

As you can see, our main core of curriculum is the 3 R's. The same ideas, methods, and for the most part, the same readings our ancestors used. It definitely worked for them and it can work for us. It really is a leap of faith. That is, to throw out those boring textbooks and jump into and trust in living books methods of educating our children. It brings both joy and a simplicity into a homeschool. Not to mention high excellence in academics.

HERE are some literature suggestions I have found to be very helpful and encouraging to me to make the plunge into using living books as our main curriculum. To these I would add one more HERE.

A train wreck is equal to 3 weeks out of the kitchen!

I had nearly forgotten about this event from our past until I read a post over at Yes, They're All Ours.  Her post was titled What to do when you don't feel like cooking supper!  So what would a major train derailment have to do with cooking supper?  Read on!  Busy mom of 10 had mentioned that when you eat meals out at restaurants for an extended period of time one longs for a home cooked meal.

Here are some photos of the dreadful day when our family, our entire town was evacuated for nearly 3 weeks on the morning of March 4, 1996.  My husband had already left for work and I was home with 7 young children. Gregg being only 8 months old.  The loud speakers sounded throughout our streets that a massive explosion was possible and we were to leave ASAP.

I'm thinking, okay, we'll be gone for a few hours so I grabbed only my children and a diaper bag.

WRONG-It was more like 3 weeks.  Seven children, no clothes, no diapers after the first day, no toys, books, nothing.  Only my diaper bag.  As the time wore on we were advised by the railroad to check into a hotel.  Holiday Inn here we come.  All nine of us!  And that is where we lived our lives out for the next few weeks.  We were taken well care of by the railroad.  We were given money vouchers for clothing, vouchers for many restaurants, and permission to purchase whatever we would need in order to get through until we were allowed to go home.  That included toys, books, toiletries, food, whatever would make us comfortable and they would settle with us in the end.  

So the point of this post is, Yes, Busy mom of 10, a good home cooked meal is such a blessing after eating out at restaurants 3 times a day for 3 weeks.  And even then we went home with about 50 voucher tickets for McDonald's meals.  Normally we do NOT do McDonald's but we did then.  Try guessing how many Happy Meal toys we gathered during that time!!  MANY

 Weyauwega Train Derailment 

Wordless Wednesday~daddy/twin moments

Serving Proverbs at brunch!

There is nothing better than a cold, overcast day, a warm living room, hot cocoa served up with a warm pan of Impossible Pumpkin Pie with pure cream. (recipe below) Top this off with our scriptures opened before us as we are gathered around our table studying the Words of Solomon! We have chosen to use Wisdom for Life: A Proverb Bible Study from Simply Charlotte Mason. It is simple to use, to the point, and at the same time allows for in depth thinking from our children. (and me) Serving up something nice for the tummy seems to make our scripture studies sweet and memorable. Most of the time it is simply a cup of cocoa but once in a while a surprise is in order.

2 Timothy 3:16-17~All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.

This is so very simple, not to mention healthy and delicious.

Impossible Pumpkin Pie~this is not doubled. We double it for our family.

1/4 C. melted butter

1/2 C. honey

1 1/2 C. pumpkin

1/2 C. wheat flour

1/2 t. cinnamon

2 eggs

1/2 t. salt

1/4. t. ginger

1/4 t. nutmeg

1 1/2 C. milk

Combine all ingredients thoroughly. Bake at 425 for 15 minutes, turn down to 350 for 45 minutes. Thats it. Very yummy with plain cream whipped or not.