Our B-day present to my Dad

My dad has always jokingly pouted that my mom has never knitted him his own blanket.  She has made everyone I know under the sun at least one.  So, she had suggested that I crochet him one for his 66th birthday.  Of course, My mom picked out the colors so it would match their living room.  So ,here it is…..

My quilt doesn’t do it justice, either.

I love the border I found on the internet somewhere.

Here is the pattern that I used.  This only took me a week to complete.  No, I didn’t work on it 24/7.  That would be impossible for me with homeschooling 5 boys and maitaining my everyday duties.  In other words, this afghan goes fast!

Grammar Land

I wake up pondering every morning to see what freebie/goodie I will seek at Homeschool Freebie of the Day.  ( I know my life is sad ~ LOL) Today I was so excited about this freebie that I had to share.

Grammar Land is a book that teaches the different parts of speech as a novel.  What an intriguing and unique way to teach the 8 parts of speech.  Of course, I am not going to print the entirety of the book, but just the chapter that deals with the part of speech we are working on at that moment.  Cool, huh?

So, hurry over to and download Grammar Land to your computer.  I believe its free for today only!

Our Anniversary ~ 12 years

We were so blessed to have my parents come into town to watch the boys all day and night this past  Sunday.  We had a spectacular day and evening filled with lots of reminiscing and just enjoying each others company.  This tends to be a rare occasion with 5 boys and Daddy working 2 jobs.  So, we took advantage of the situation to say the least ~ We were gone from 10:30 a to 11:30 p.  Yes, we were party animals, but dead ones.  LOL!  I missed my nap, too.

James planned the whole day out ~ I was just a passenger with no idea what was going on.  Our anniversary is always his occasion to plan.  He always has something unique and adventurous planned.

Here was the agenda for our 13 hour date….

9:00 a ~ went to worship with the boys

10:30 a ~ dropped off the boys and headed to Dallas for a wonderful mexican brunch. It was to die for!

12:00p ~ went by James work to pick up some frames for my Mom.

1:30p ~ Went to Target, but didn’t find anything

2:00p ~ browsed thru half price books.

3:oo p ~ enjoyed snuggling on the couch with several books of interest at Barnes and Noble.  I bought the books Nutrition & Health in the Bible and What the Bible Says About Healthy Living. Both look very interesting considering we are changing our eating habits as a family.

5:30p ~ went to dine at Dream Cafe. I had a delicious Stuffed Acorn Squash dish which consisted of brown rice with pecans and currants topped with goat cheese.  A green side salad was included.  It was so yummy!

7:30p ~ James purchased play tickets at Theater Three for us to enjoy the comedy, House. It was so enlightening to watch a live performance without kiddos. It was a nice change to not have one of our family members in the midst of the drama as one of the main characters. LOL!  The stage was in the middle of the theater.

Lastly, we drove to Central Market so I could pick out some flowers, but the party animals were too late.  They closed at 10:00.  So, we settled for plan B and I picked out a beautiful bouquet at Tom Thumb.  In fact, they still look gorgeous today on my mantle.

We had a fabulous day!  Thank you, James for making my day so special.  I love you tons!  Also, thank you Dad and Mom for watching our precious boys. We wouldn’t have been able to enjoy our day without your kindness and willingness to make our day special.

Easy Veggie Marinade

This weekend we had an over abundance of squash and zucchini from our garden.  I came across this yummy marinade for grilled veggies.  It was so tasty, better than the T-Bone we had along with it.

Easy Veggie Marinade

1/2 c olive oil

1/2 c lemon juice

1/2 c soy sauce

Mix, pour over veggies and let marinate for the day.  Grill on med heat for 10-15 min.

Our Science for 2008-2009

As I mentioned before, we do topical studies instead of trying to incorporate history, geography, science, and health each week into our daily schedule.  However, on Fridays I like to do Nature Studies or some sort of science experiment.  I found this free science curriculum that we will use loosely.  Hopefully, I can get most of the books at the library.  We will study the principles of each topics, too.  I will do word studies by using the 1828 dictionary, looking up key words in the concordance, and then seeking God’s Word to see what God thinks about each topic/or word.  Also, another helpful tool is the  Encyclopedia of  Bible Truths by Ruth C. Haycock.  I love to see the Holy Spirit work in the boys heart and for them to reason from God’s Word and not from man.  It’s truly one of the greatest blessings of homeschooling, imop.

Check it out here.

Looks fun and interesting, huh?

Update~ Letting the Lord lead

Day one:  I had an exceptional day yesterday.  I managed to wake up earlier than the boys and start off my day with Jesus.  With His help, I was able to accomplish the following tasks with a cheerful heart….

homeschool boys ~ all 4 of them

clean toilets

catch up on all the boys laundry ~ YIPPPEEE!!

vacumn entire house

and to work on my afghan I am crocheting for our living room.  See here.

So, I had a productive day, but didn’t complete all my tasks on my list, but felt completely at peace with His will.

Day two ~ today

I woke up not feeling well.  I have had this chronic illness that I am dealing with, but I am getting better everyday.   (It’s another struggle that I will post about later)  First, I homeschooled the boys, worked on all the laundry(boys), boiled chicken and made chicken stock for the freezer, and just tried to take it easy due to the achy feeling that I have been dealing with.  The boys and I will watch a movie together while I work on my afghan tonight.  Daddy works 2 jobs so he doesn’t come home until later.  No regrets on not be able to check off my to-do list.  Will try to catch up tomorrow, of course, if it is His will for me to do so.

Of course, I forgot to mention that I did the usual attending to my children ~ fed, change diapers, bathed, and gave lots of kissed to Sparkie throughout the day.  The younger boys are not feeling themselves due to allergies. A little TLC is in order!  Of course, I don’t mind.  (:

So, that’s my success in a nutshell.  I am at peace.  Oh, my ~ it’s such a wonderful feeling to walk hand and hand with our Savior.

WFMW ~ learning hymns

This was not one of my brilliant ideas, but my dh suggested this thought and it has worked marvels for our family.  We have family worship/prayer/bible study each morning.  Of course, the idea scenario would be for Mommy to sing in a lovely, beautiful voice while playing the piano during our worship time, but that is by far not the case in our home.  LOL!

However, we have a karaoke machine.  My dh bought awhile back several Praise and Worship karoke CD’s.  He suggested that we play the karoke CD and sing a long each morning to learn the words to the hymns.  We are truly worshiping and learning the words at the same time.  Of course, the little ones are jumping, dancing and trying to sing a long, too.  It has been a blessing to our morning family worship.

Rocksinmydryer has gazillions of other tips to guide you in your everyday life.

My struggle…

Yesterday,  we started loosely our new school year.  We spent a lot of time putting together our notebooks, so it wasn’t a typical school day for us.  For the most part, it went exceptional well except I didn’t get my chores done.  Your probably thinking so what?  I want so much to think and believe that!!!!

I know what I need to do, but lack the courage to implement God’s will for my life or be content with His plan.  I know I did what He wanted me to do, but it’s not want I wanted to accomplish.  I realize that it was much more imperative for me to home educate my children than to clean the toilets and vacuum.  Not to mention that  I did manage to do 4 loads of laundry, clean out the school closets, organize all the school supplies, and write and mail 2 letters.  Also, I spent time with the Lord early in the morning and cooked, fed, and attended to my children yesterday.  And why do I feel so miserably discontent???

Because my list of things to do is Jill’s list of things to do not God’s list of things to do.  It’s a very different list.  Also, I beg to differ with Him.  However, His way is going to be my way.  Tough adjustment for me.

I am diligently seeking, asking, and even begging the Lord each morning to tell me what His will is for my day, not what Jill’s agenda is.  This is going to be so hard!!!!!!  I will keep you posted each day for the next week on how my day is going and I pray that I am more content and at peace with God’s list of things to do.  I might even take pictures of my house.  EEEKKKS!

Please pray for me to seek the Lord’s will each day.  Also, please leave a comment if you struggle with this same annoying habit and I will add you to my prayer list.

WFMW ~ how to maintain a “cool” mom status

It’s official!  My boys 10 and 11 1/2 are embarrassed of me!!!  I can’t imagine why? The nice taxi mom that I am dropped my boys off at Sports Camp yesterday and was quickly forbidden to NEVER, NEVER-EVER honk if you forget to tell them something of relevance ~ like where the correct gate is to get into the basketball court.  Now, my ds was at a distance and I didn’t want to scream and get a sore throat.  So, I beeped and motion to go to the other gate. It definitely wasn’t a long drawn out HONNNNNNk or anything!  WELL, EXCUSE MEeee!!!!  You would have thought I gave him a wedgie or something.  Also, I was informed that it is uncool to wave to your parents.  OKEY ~ DOKEY!  So, if you want to be a “cool” mom you must never honk or wave to your children when you drop them off at their destination in public.  And if you want to swallow in my self pity with me ~ leave me a comment on how you survived the preteen years, not to mention the teenage ones.  YIKES!!!

I’m sure Shannon has more tips to save your dignity and self worth at Rocksinmydryer.

Best Pancakes ever……

Today I made yummy blueberry pancakes for breakfast!  I must admit they were out of this world.  I tweeked the recipe to make it more Nourishing Traditions (NT), and it was a hit!

I tripled the recipe so  I can freeze extra for a later date.

1 c. whole wheat flour

1T baking powder

1T flaxseed (optional)

Mix together in bowl.  Set aside.

1 c of milk

2T of buttermilk, kefir, or whey (you can use sour cream)

2T melted butter

1 egg

honey or sweetener to taste

Fruit (optional)

Mix and then combine with wet mixture.  Mix well.  Then prepare pancakes as usual.