The Peer Review

Brown County State Park

2014-10-26T12:22:00.000-04:00

We spent several days at the beginning of this week at Brown County State Park in Indiana. The fall colors were beautiful!

Chasing God by Angie Smith

2014-02-25T10:32:00.000-05:00

This is the second book I've read by Angie (You can read my review of I Will Carry You here). In Chasing God, she shares her journey of moving from chasing God to abiding in Him. Her writing is very conversational and readable, although at times she wanders of topic. It feels like you are sitting in her living room, listening to her story.

Angie shares how she spent much of her Christian walk trying to do all the right things and get everything just right. Yet, she felt like she was missing what everyone else had. What she found was that she wasn't going to find God chasing after him desperately. He was there, waiting for her to rest in his love.

I resonated with much of her sentiments. I, too, often feel like I'm missing something that everyone else has. I often feel like maybe my faith just isn't strong enough. I especially loved when she shared that I don't always have to feel like God is close to me. Even when I don't feel like He's right there, I can still have faith that he is. Although Chasing God wasn't deep, theologically, it caused me stop and think about my relationship with the Lord. I recommend that you read it for yourself.

Rating - 4/5

First Line - "One can hardly deny the appeal of a good chase."

Last Line - "My Lord, and my God ... here am I."

I received a copy of Chasing God free for review. All opinions are my own.

Snow Fun!!

2014-01-05T18:07:00.000-05:00

We were hit with a big snow storm today. We took a little time this afternoon to go out and enjoy ourselves! Tomorrow the highs are supposed to be below zero, so we will be hunkered inside for a few days!

A selfie!

These two pictures were taken four hours apart.

Peach Picking

2013-11-06T12:47:00.001-05:00

I found some pictures of us picking peaches from the end of August. You must look at these pictures while singing Peaches by The Presidents of the United States of America ... at least that's our theme song for anything involving peaches!

Thoughts from the Laundry Room

2013-11-05T11:56:00.000-05:00

As the mother of 6 children, I spend a lot of time folding laundry. I often find myself thinking and contemplating while I work. These are some of my musings.

Everything is a matter of perspective.

As the weather has turned cold, I'm in the midst of switching out clothes. Over the years I've passed clothes onto my sister and she in turn passes clothes back to me. So, I have totes full of clothes for my little man to wear - many that have been passed down through 5 older boys (his two brothers and two cousins).

As I've been folding the laundry this week, I keep being flooded with memories of my two older boys. It's funny how seeing those little clothes can transport you back in time and you can just picture exactly how they looked back then. More, I keep remembering what I was thinking at the time. I remember how big I thought those boys were when they were wearing those 3T clothes. I have to shake my head at myself now, because I now realize how little they were back then.

Joe (almost 1) and Caleb (2 years 9 mo.)

When Caleb was Alex's age, not only did I have one year old Josiah, but I was also expecting Rachel. He was my big kid. I look at little Alex now, who looks so much like his oldest brother, and think he's so little. He's my baby. Next to his almost full grown teenage brother, he's tiny. The size of my almost three year olds isn't any different. But my perspective has changed drastically.

Perspective is important - but sometimes our perspective is skewed. Unfortunately, we can't always know when our perspective is off. We view everything in life through our own experience and knowledge. Sometimes we allow our own perspective to affect the way we treat others. We make judgements. We look down on others. We lack grace. We allow our perspective to destroy others. When, maybe, we are just looking at things wrong.

Alex (age 2 years 9 mo.)

My perspectives have been slowly (and sometimes not so slowly) shifting over the last few years. As I look back at the way I've looked at things in the past, I see they were not only unloving, but also ungodly. As I move forward in this life, my prayer is to see people the way God sees them. I want my perspective to be God's perspective.

Let all we do be bathed in love and grace. Let us be there to pull others up, not push them down. Love God. Love others. Let us see others how he sees them.

Preschool - Letter A

2013-08-03T12:37:00.000-04:00

This year I'm doing preschool with Sarah (age 4) and Alex (age 2). We are spending the first 26 weeks going through the alphabet one letter at a time. We started with "A" this week. We spend about 60 minutes Monday-Wednesday-Friday, and 30 minutes Tuesday-Thursday doing preschool. I've printed and laminated A LOT of activities from Confessions of a Homeschooler. I considered making my own stuff, but decided not to reinvent the wheel. I figure that I can reuse them over the next couple years as my two youngest move through preschool and kindergarten. Pinterest has been invaluable in planning our preschool activities! I also bought them both a couple of cheap workbooks from the dollar store for them to do while I work with the other kids.

Every day we do a Bible story and song. These stay the same all week. By Friday, my goal is that they can tell me the Bible story (and Sarah was able to this week). Sarah is also working on writing letters at some point during the week. This week she used a dry erase marker and marker board.

Bible Story: Adam and Eve
Song: Ants go Marching

Day 1 - Read Berenstains' A Book
- Read "A" section of My First Picture Dictionary (Pictureback(R))
- Fingerprint Ants
- Ant activity pages from Confessions of a Homeschooler
- Applesauce snack

Day 2 - Read Amelia Bedelia and the Baby (Amelia Bedelia (PB))
- Make Apple A's (found on Totally Tots)
- "A" page in Cuisenaire Alphabet Book (Grades K-4)

Day 3 - "A" pancakes for breakfast
- Read Apples by Gail Gibbons
- Read "A" pages in Museum ABC
- Apple Activities from Confessions of a Homeschooler

Day 4 - Today was Dad's day off, so we spent the day with him. We did make Alligator A's (found on Totally Tots) in the evening.

Dad 5 - Read How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World (Dragonfly Books)
- Make mini paper plate apples (found here. We used crayons instead of paint - and they did them independently. Ours didn't look quite so nice, LOL.)
- Make an apple pie, using the recipe in the back of the book

And, yes, Sarah does wear clothes for multiple days in a row. Less laundry, right?

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First Day of School - 2013

2013-07-29T21:54:00.001-04:00

Today was our first day of school.

Jada - 3rd Grade, Caleb - 8th Grade

Josiah - 6th Grade, Rachel - 4th Grade

Sarah - Preschool

A picture of all 6! We've taken their picture in front of this little tree for the last several years. The kids keep getting bigger ... but the tree does also, LOL.

Previous year's 1st day posts ... I can't believe, looking back, how much they've changed:
2012, 2011, 2010, 2009

Fourth of July HIke

2013-07-17T17:56:00.000-04:00

We had no plans on the fourth and the kids needed some pictures for their 4H projects, so we decided to take a small road trip to find a nature preserve an hour or so away. We ended up finding it, along with a rock outcrop that was really cool. The kids were using my camera to take pictures for 4-H, which left me with my phone's camera. It's hard to believe that these areas were here in Northern Indiana.

The girls posing at the top of Hanging Rock, overlooking the Wabash River.

Caleb. It's hard to tell in the picture how high we are, but you can kind of see the treetops as we are above them.

Just a few miles away is the Hathaway Nature Preserve. It was beautiful and peaceful. We got to view several small waterfalls up close and personal.

We enjoyed a small picnic next to one of the falls.

May and June Recap

2013-07-16T21:53:00.003-04:00

Our summer break is quickly coming to an end. We've had a busy, but relaxing summer. The last few months were consumed with summer camps, VBS, 4H projects and our oldest becoming a teenager. We have two weeks to breathe and then we begin another year of school. Here's a few phone pictures from May and June.

The girls driving at Cedar Point. We took the older four and had a blast riding coasters all day. The favorite of the day was Millennium Force.

Jada getting dropped off at camp. She didn't know anyone else, but showed no fear and had lots of fun.

While Jada was at camp, the rest of us went canoeing. It was my first time and I'm looking forward to going again!

Rachel's turn for camp. She was lucky enough to have her close friend in her cabin with her ... but she still thought a week was a little too long to be gone.

Caleb and his best friend ready for their week of camp.

Jada enjoying a little pool time at Aunt Kristen's.

The church's float in our local parade. Jada is in the white one, with Sarah, Alex and Rachel directly behind her.

Cherry Coffee Cake

2013-04-11T11:14:00.000-04:00

Since I first made this recipe years ago it has been a favorite of mine. The recipe came from a cookbook that was made at my Mom's place of employment that she gave us when we first got married. This cake is moist and delicious and stays good for days. The only change I've made over the years is substituting greek yogurt for the original sour cream.

Ingredients:

3 cups flour 2 eggs, beaten
1 tsp. baking powder 1 cup greek yogurt
1 tsp. soda 1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup sugar 1 can Cherry Pie Filling
1 cup butter

Crumb Topping:
1/2 cup sugar 2 T. melted butter
1/2 cup flour

1- Whisk flour, baking powder, soda, and sugar together.

2- Cut butter into mixture until crumbs form.

3- Add eggs, yogurt and vanilla. Mix well. The batter will be very stiff.

4- Spread half of batter in the bottom of a greased 13 x 9 inch pan. I use a little over half for this layer.

5- Spoon the cherry pie filling over the top. Then spread evenly with the back of the spoon, covering the bottom layer.

6- Drop spoonfuls of the remaining batter on top of cherries. Using two forks, spread the batter over the cherries. You can leave some cherry showing through.

7- Mix the crumb topping. I usually melt the butter in a small bowl, then add the sugar and flour. Stir with a fork until mixed well.

8- Sprinkle crumbs over the cake.

9- Bake at 375 for 40 minutes.

Printable Recipe

Deviled Eggs

2013-04-04T13:07:00.000-04:00

After coloring easter eggs, there is only one logical thing to make ... deviled eggs! These are a favorite in our family. I know that many different deviled egg recipes exist, but mine is slightly sweet. The recipe was developed from combining two recipes from a church cookbook I have from when we first got married, along with a little tip received by my Grandma. We love these eggs, and we dare you to eat just one.

Ingredients:

6 hard cooked eggs
1 tsp mustard
1/4 cup miracle whip
1/4 t. salt
1/8 t. pepper
sugar to taste
1 T. butter, melted

Cut your eggs in half, removing the yolk and placing in a bowl. Place each half of egg white onto a platter or egg holder.

Mash yolks with fork until there are no longer any lumps. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. I usually add 1/2-3/4 T. of sugar, but we like them pretty sweet. You can use less or more sugar to your taste.

I then place a spoonful of yolk mixture into the hole of each egg half. If you want to get fancy, you can pipe them full.

Printable

Josiah is 11!!

2013-04-03T21:01:00.002-04:00

Josiah turned 11 today!

He's funny.

He loves football.

His favorite team is the Bears.

He loves video games.

He never stops moving.

He's sweet and thoughtful.

He hates anything involving work ... including school.

He likes to golf.

He likes to play basketball.

His favorite food is Moroccan Lamb (he had it at Disney).

His favorite song is still "Moves Like Jagger".

His favorite TV show is Adventure Time.

He sometimes runs his mouth when he shouldn't.

He's a homebody.

He makes life more fun.

He's 11!

Wordless Wednesday - Super Egg Hunting

2013-04-03T18:08:00.000-04:00

Organizing Under the Bathroom Sink

2013-04-02T12:19:00.000-04:00

Our Master Bathroom sink is very small and we have little storage. I was not utilizing the area under the sink at all. It was a disaster most of the time, with everything just thrown in haphazardly. The small area limited what I could do, but I had a small lidded container that fit one third of the space perfectly.

My embarrassingly messy BEFORE.

So, I made a quick trip to Walmart and picked up 4 more. They fit my space perfectly. Although, they aren't pretty, they are functional. I accidently got the wrong lids for three of them (that's what I get for trying to shop with kids!), so I need to exchange those for the correct sizes.

A place for everything ... and everything in it's place.

Easter Egg Hunt

2013-03-30T18:02:00.001-04:00

Yesterday we had our annual Easter Egg Hunt at my Mom and Dad's . Here are a few pictures.

All 14 grandkids.

Best Friends - Sarah and Reuben

Sarah

Caleb

Jada

Rachel

Josiah

Alex

Joe, Micah and Shad put an egg on the ground for Alex to find ... he took off on a run!

I meant to get a picture of my six altogether, but they were to busy to be corralled long enough.

Coloring Easter Eggs

2013-03-29T10:00:00.002-04:00

Yesterday, we did our annual Easter Egg coloring.

Alex

Sarah

Josiah

Caleb

Rachel

Jada

I didn't notice at first, but look closely at what Alex is doing in this picture.

And here's what he thought about it!

From years past:

2011 2010 2009

2007

Wordless Wednesday - Curls

2013-03-27T14:11:00.000-04:00

Waiting for Spring's Return

2013-03-25T18:20:00.001-04:00

Here in Indiana, we've just been blanketed in another layer of snow. Spring has forgotten us. It feels like it will be winter forever. One of the things I love about living here is the change of seasons. When it's time for the next season, I'm ready for it to move on! Each season brings its own set of sights, sounds, and feelings.

Spring. Life bursting forth before our very eyes. Renewal. Hope. Spring breaths life into our very souls. A reminder of the constant renewal given to us by our Father in Heaven. Though we may seem dead, through His forgiveness, we can have new life. A life filled with beauty. A precious gift from a loving God.

Spring holds such a special place in my heart ... year after year. It marks the passage of time by reminding of the hope I have. Showing me that God is faithful, even when it feels like he's forgotten us. Sometimes I really need that reminder.

I'm waiting and dreaming that you will return to us ... soon!

Week in Review - Weeks 26 & 27

2013-03-23T16:15:00.001-04:00

The last two weeks have gone pretty well. One of the biggest events of the 2 weeks was Sarah celebrating her 4th birthday. She had to have a pink cake!

We've finished the first 2 weeks of Sonlight's Core F and we're enjoying it for the most part. I don't think the kids are enjoying the Encyclopedia, and I wish there was a "spine" book in addition to (or in place of?) the encyclopedia. We're loving our first Read Aloud - Where the Mountain Meets the Moon. All 4 kids have read Li Lun, Lad of Courage and Silkworms. The older three also read God's Adventurer.

We've been reading through John. We take turns reading verses aloud, which is a great way for the kids to practice reading aloud and a bit of "public" speaking. Math is still going well ... they all four do their math without complaints. We also have restarted All About Spelling (Jada is about to finish level 1, and Joe and Rachel are both in level 2). We're also working our way through Writing with Ease (Jada in Level 1, Rachel just starting level 2, and Joe about to finish level 2). Now that we have Math under control it is much easier to get to these subjects that were getting skipped.

For Science, Caleb has been studying Simple Machines. The other three have learned at about our atmosphere and about atmospheric pressure. We finished up our week this week by making a barometer. I had trouble finding a clear straw, so we used a white one instead. We also had a lot of trouble keeping gum on hand to use for our project! Every time we'd buy some, a couple of little ones (who shall remain nameless, LOL) would chew it up. (In their defense, I think they probably had some help from the older kids).

Our pathetic barometer. We're expecting some weather changes this weekend - so we'll see how it works!

For Sarah and Alex, we're reading a book through the week and doing activities to go along with it ... kind of Five in A Row style. Last week we read Don't let the Pigeon Drive the Bus. This book is a fun one for kids! We kept things pretty simple last week. We acted out the story, with each one taking a turn being the Pigeon and begging to drive. We also made an adorable handprint pigeon that I found on Pinterest. I didn't have that color of paint - so I mixed green, white and blue until I got a color that was close. Sarah made a really cute one (and I love that it's her handprint - I may just have to frame it!). When I stuck Alex's hand in the paint, he freaked out and tried to wipe the paint off on his pants. Needless to say, we didn't end up with a handprint pigeon from him. We also sung "Wheels on the Bus" and watched a movie of "Wheels on the Bus" on Netflix.

Sarah's Pigeon

This week, we read If You Give a Moose a Muffin. We made very simple sock puppets. They both loved these and have played with them all week. I just hot glued two wiggly eyes onto the sock. You could obviously be much more elaborate with these, but my two didn't seem to mind the simplicity.
We also made muffins. Sarah chose pumpkin muffins, and we made enough to not only for a snack, but also for our poetry tea on Friday morning. Sarah and Alex each ate 6 or 7 mini muffins, so I think they were happy with the handiwork! I looked for printables to go along with the book, but couldn't find anything, so I decided to make my own. I made Muffin Counting, where she had to count out the number of muffins on the moose. I also made some sequencing cards to practice sequencing.

Sarah enjoying her muffin.

Sarah's Sock Puppet

Alex trying to figure out his Sock Puppet.

Muffin Counting.

Sequencing.

Sarah cutting and pasting.

Make Your Own Chalkboard

2013-03-19T09:31:00.000-04:00

When Aaron and I first got married, we inherited a bedroom suite from his parents. It included a bed, dresser and mirror. Over the years, we moved up from that full bed to a queen and then to our current king. The mirror continued to hang on our wall. Then, the mirror broke at some point. We stuck it out in our shed.

I thought a chalkboard would be perfect in the short hall leading to the nursery. Then, I remembered that broken mirrror. I decided I would try to remake the mirror into a chalkboard. This was my first attempt at a furniture "makeover". I painted the frame white (it was an oak color, before). Then, I just painted the cardboard insert with several layers of chalkboard paint. A perfect chalkboard!

I added a few buckets from the dollar spot at Target to hold the chalk. A perfect place to be creative!

My Desk Area

2013-03-14T09:56:00.000-04:00

Our living room has a dead corner where the hallway, dining room, and living room all meet. Over the years we've tried different pieces of furniture in this area. Last year, I decided I really needed to have a desk area. I needed a place to organize, plan, and blog.

So, I turned that dead corner into my little area. I bought my "desk" at ikea, when Aaron and I made our first trip there last fall. It's actually a small table with leaves that pop out. I just keep the leaves in, and it makes a perfect desk. I used the step stool Caleb made for 4H last year to store a few more books on the floor. The red case on the floor was from Hobby Lobby and holds various papers, notebooks and my hole punch and paper trimmer.

I have an organizer which holds file folders and other various papers. Even though it's often cluttered, I still love my little corner.

Soft Pretzels

2013-03-14T09:48:00.000-04:00

My family (except for one) loves soft pretzels. I found this recipe several years ago online. My family likes them better that Auntie Anne's or even Jo Jo's (a local pretzel place).

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups warm water 2 cups flour
1 T. yeast
1/4 cup brown sugar 1/2 cup baking soda mixed into 3 cups hot water
2 cups bread flour

1 - Dissolve yeast into warm water.

2 - Add sugar, then flour. Mix well.

3 - Let rise until doubled, at least 20 minutes.

4 - Make pretzels. I made pretzels during summers in college, so I've made a video of my technique. You can just form them into a pretzel shape, though.

5 - Dip the pretzels in baking soda solution.

6 - Place on a GREASED (don't forget this part like I occasionally do!) cookie sheet. At the shop I worked at in college we used non-stick baking sheet liners, so you can use those as well. I think that's why I forget to grease them ... I didn't have to when I made them all those years ago.

7 - Sprinkle with pretzel salt. I use Morton's Kosher coarse salt.

8 - Bake at 500-550 degrees F for 4-6 minutes. A very hot oven is very important for making soft pretzels!

9 - Once they come out of the oven, dip them in melted butter. They taste fine without this step, if you're wanting to keep the calories down. Of course, they taste even better with the butter!

We usually serve ours with cheese sauce or honey mustard. You can also dip them in cinnamon sugar for a sweet snack! We have snacky things for dinner on Sunday nights, and this has become the favorite Sunday night meal at our house.

Sarah is 4!!

2013-03-13T20:48:00.000-04:00

It's hard to believe that my baby girl is now four!!

She's smart.

She's sweet.

She's loving.

She loves playing with her big sisters.

She loves playing with her little brother.

She loves mermaids. She wanted to be one when she grew up earlier this year, but now she says she's old enough to be one.

She loves princesses.

She loves to do puzzles.

Pink is her favorite color.

She loves wearing dresses - sundresses especially - I have trouble keeping her in warm clothes in the winter.

Her favorite TV show is Team Umizoomi.

Her favorite foods are macaroni and cheese and broccoli

When she grows up she wants to be 14.

She is outgoing, yet can get overwhelmed in new situations.

She is funny and super silly.

She loves to cuddle.

She still sucks her two fingers.

She lights up our lives and makes us laugh every day.

I asked her at the end of the day if she had a good birthday. She thought for a second and then replied, "Ehhh. It was all right." So I asked her what wasn't good. She replied, "I only got one pink candle on my birthday cake." Two greens, one yellow, and one pink candle ... the way to ruin a birthday!

See how she's grown, changed and stayed the same: Three, Two, One, Brand New

Laundry Room Shelf Organization

2013-03-12T19:08:00.000-04:00

Our laundry room is a laundry closet. Above the washer and dryer, I have old shelves that I use to store cleaners, toiletries, and all kinds of odds and ends. My shelves were a mess (I didn't take a before shot!), so I knew I needed to do something to organize it better. I have big dreams for this room, but if they ever happen it won't be for years and years and years. So, for now, I must make do with what I have. This summer we might try to paint the walls, but I have a pretty big to-do list for the summer, so I doubt we get to it.

So, on to the organization! I bought these black bins at walmart. I was hoping to find what I needed at the dollar store, but they didn't have the size I wanted. I tried to organize everything into different categories. In case you can't read them, my categories are: Kleenex and bathroom buddies, Laundry, Heating Pad and Light Bulbs, Misc. Cleaning and Chemicals, Cleaning, Toilet Paper, Toiletries, First Aid.

I put the things we need to access frequently on the bottom shelf and reserved the top shelf for things that I don't use as often. I then printed labels, laminated them, and tied them on with ribbon. Voila!

Everything is now organized!

Curriculum Changes

2013-03-11T16:01:00.000-04:00

This is our scheduled week off, so the kids have been relaxing while I've been trying to get things ready for the changes we'll be making in our school next week.

We've been Sonlight users since Caleb was in Preschool. Last year, I was worried about the logistics of using Sonlight with 6 kids. I knew I would have trouble doing 3 or 4 cores. I also heard that Sonlight wasn't strenuous enough for High School and I didn't want to short change my kids. So, I made the decision to leave Sonlight.

Instead, we read our own literature selections and used Story of the World for History. Although we enjoyed our read alouds over the first half of the year, finding some new favorites that we wouldn't have probably read with Sonlight (The Princess and the Goblin, for one), we haven't really gotten into Story of the World that much. I've also come to the conclusion that a super strenuous education isn't a good fit for my kids. A few weeks ago (as we were making math changes) I asked the boys if they missed Sonlight at all. They both said yes.

I started looking back at Sonlight's Cores and decided that we could make Core F work for all 4 kids. Jada is below the recommended age, but I will just adjust her assignments accordingly. So, I made plans to switch back next year. Aaron and I were talking and decided to just go ahead and start now. We often would get behind a week or two on cores, so starting early will allow for catch up weeks and rabbit trails.

I'm really excited to start next week. Core F is a little different than the other cores, studying cultures instead of chronological history. I'm really looking forward to learning more about an area of the world that I know very little about.

We've also changed math programs. All of the kids have switched to Teaching Textbooks over the last several weeks. They're all liking it. Rachel has even done math on Saturdays! My kids have never like Horizons and, frankly, I was tired of the daily fights. Teaching Textbooks also frees me up to work on other subjects (and with Sarah and Alex) while they do their math. Before, between the four of them, Math was taking pretty much the whole morning.

So, those are the changes we are making here. Hopefully the rest of our school year goes smoothly and we enjoy our studies!