Reading Classics

One of the things I have enjoyed the most about homeschooling is getting to chart our own course. While there are a lot of responsibilities that come with being in charge of my child's schooling, there are also tremendous privileges. This year, I am fulfilling my own secret desire of reading many classics.

I have the best mom that any child could have had. She is a reader! She would read anything we brought to her and she would do all the voices. The problem is that I was an unfocused child who lacked self discipline and I wasn't patient to endure an entire classic over a month or so. I feel out of place sometimes when people talk about classic story lines because I have simply never read most of them.

So this year, I've made a goal to read a classic to our daughter each month. We have celebrated with watching a movie version of it at the end. Even without the movie reward, our daughter has been so eager to read each page. She is clearly her father's child because she has such a long attention span.

What about you, have you read many classics? Any that you would recommend?

Menu Plan Monday

Can I tell you that I am actually excited about posting my menu and doing some cooking this week?! After a few days on a retreat and NO cooking, I re-energized and ready to hit the kitchen. Aside from all meals being provided for us, we also enjoyed the fellowship we had with other Chaplains. We feel like we have a clearer picture of what God has for us in this ministry that He has called us to.

Here's our menu:

Monday- Chili with cornbread (make double batch for small group)

Tuesday- Turkey, Feta, Spinach stuffed peppers, fruit salad

Wednesday- Small group potato bar, baked potato with chili, sweet potato with smoked turkey

Thursday- Bourbon Chicken, brown rice, stir fry veggies

Friday- Military Ball

Saturday- Cajun Chicken Pasta , spinach salad

Sunday- Tostados made with homemade refried beans


What's your week looking like?

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Opening and Closing Doors

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The past few weeks have been a little up and down for our family. We have seen photos of precious children waiting in our state for a forever family. It's overwhelming to see the amount of children that need homes. There have been times our heartstrings have been pulled and we have pursued these children.  ~DOOR OPENS~


Not long after that, our agency had a fruit basket turnover and the continuation of what we had started seemed to cease. There was restructuring in the office and we were shuffled around in the mix. Our name was no longer known and our profile was lost. ~DOOR CLOSES~


We became hopeful when our friends brought home a beautiful little boy from a private agency much like our daughter was adopted from. It would be a financial leap for us and use most of our emergency fund that Dave Ramsey helped convince us to have. We were willing because afterall, most of it would come back on our taxes next year. ~DOOR OPENS~


We printed off forms full speed ahead until we read the tax law changes and saw where that money is no longer refundable. ~DOOR CLOSES~


Just yesterday I contacted a representative with the Child and Family services in our state. She deals with straight adoption cases rather than just fostering. We are inquiring if there is expedited options for military or if we can work with a state that does expedite military cases. Within just a few minutes, I had a return email from this very busy lady. We are expecting a phone call any moment today to discuss how we can bring children into our family while living this crazy military life. ~DOOR OPENING?~


Adoption always seems to have ups and downs or rather the opening and closing of doors. It plays on the emotions and creates heartache at times. My hope is solely in clinging to a Sovereign God who before the foundation of the world, set all things in order. He's using my Good Morning Girls study to remind me of just how much he is in control. He has ordained for this season and the body that is surrounding me at this time to bring comfort. 


Would you pray for us that we would see Him more clearly in the open and closed doors?

Menu Plan Monday

I love showing hospitality by having friends over for meals. I think it's a great way to be Jesus to someone and it keeps us transparent by exposing how our family operates before, during and after mealtime. I have to be honest though, there are times it can be exhausting! Our small group has grown exploded! So it seems I just got the dishes done from last week and I'm already grocery shopping for this week's study. I'm certaintly not complaining, but I am tired this week.

It's times like this that meal planning is crucial! To let you in on a little secret, I actually planned out my whole month of January last month so our "food life" doesn't get affective by my tiredness this week. What a blessing menu planning can be!

Monday- Chicken noodles with Peanut Ginger sauce (I'm modifying it a bit to include brown rice noodles instead of linguine) In light of the Chinese New Year, we are also going to take time at meal time to pray for the persecuted church in China.

Tuesday- Post-Wide UMT gathering. We are supposed to bring football cookout food so we are bringing Turkey Italian Sausages grilled with onions and peppers.

Wednesday- Small group- Asian night- making Mongolian beef with rice and possibly chicken satay

Thursday- Leftovers or out to eat

Friday- UMT training retreat for the whole family!

Saturday- UMT training retreat for the whole family!

Sunday- Chili and cornbread with citrus fruit salad for dinner after we return



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Healthier Fruit Pizza

There are some sweets that I have a love/hate relationship with. I love the way they taste. The way they smell. The way they satisfy my sweet tooth. But then there's the hate part. I get an extreme sugar high which leaves me tired and lethargic feeling. The taste rarely outweighs that yucky feeling, and I hate that!

I served this tasty dessert last week at small group. It was pretty well received and satisfied our desire for something sweet after dinner. The leftovers were good in the fridge for the next few days too!

s

Sugar cookie dough

Slightly adapted from this recipe. I halved it and had to add some half and half in order to get the dough to form together well. I was having trouble with it being too crumbly. I would also melt the coconut oil before trying to form the dough. Press it into a pizza pan and bake.

Icing 

One 8 oz. pkg. cream cheese softened

about 1/4 cup of honey (or to taste)

Mix these together and spread over the cooled crust

Garnish with fruit of your choosing and slice like a pizza.

I'm linking to Gratituesday,

                      Tempt My Tummy Tuesday,

                      Tasty Tuesday 

                     Finer Things Friday

                       

Menu Plan Monday

Last week was a success for us again. I did some rearranging in the menu in order to satisfy different appetites. I have found that if I stay flexible and be willing to have hamburgers on a different day then  planned, it keeps us from wanting to eat out. Here's what this week looks like...

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Monday- Cheeseburger soup with homemade bread and apple slices

Tuesday- Crockpot Beef tips, egg noodles and green beans

Wednesday- Small group, spaghetti and meat balls

Thursday- Hashbrown Quiche with smoothies

Friday- Spinach, Chicken and feta quesadillas with carrot sticks and orange wedges

Saturday- Southwest chicken salad with cilantro lime vinaigrette

Sunday- Mexican chicken soup (Rescheduled from last week, we didn't get to it)


As you can see, tonight we are having soup with homemade bread. I received a bread maker for Christmas and just this week made my first basic loaf. I'm looking for more whole wheat recipes. Do you have any you could share? :)

Homeschool Reset Button

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We all have those days where the math fact sheet is taking way longer than usual to complete. The normally fun spelling game is not catching their attention and your enthusiasm is at an all time low.

In our home, if you fast forward this scene, you would probably see the scenario ending with frustrated crying from both student and teacher.

Let's face it, some days the school mojo isn't flowing. We sometimes bring what just happened in the kitchen into the school room and it isn't helping our teacher/student relationship.

Instead of forging ahead and forcing something that just isn't happening, why not hit reset?

~ Leave the school books behind and take a walk together. Fresh air always helps.

~ Do some exercises and breathing techniques to calm and get some blood flowing to the brain.

~ Stop everything and read a book to your child. Children really feel special when they are read to.

~ Switch up the order of your school day. Who says math always has to come first?

~ Have a "do-over" day. Enter the school room all over again saying surprised hellos. This usually brings a giggle.

~ Assign a reflection activity like journaling or drawing. It can quieten the mood.

~ Pray! I've heard a million times, you can't stay mad at someone you are praying for.

What are some strategies that help you when you need to lighten the mood in the school room?

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