We interrupt this program...

I KNOW I said I was taking a blogging break, but I just couldn't resist jumping on the bandwagon at The Homeschool Blog Awards. This week the assignment is to list our homeschool schedule. I am so excited about this homeschool year. Yes, it's true that lately I am going back and forth between panic and exultation; but I think that's normal for those of us homeschooling moms who are of the mere average ability (versus my dear friend Mrs.Darling;). Please tell me I'm normal!

Home schooling has now become an adventure for me. To be sure, I'm normally NOT an adventurous person. I don't do roller coasters, or climb mountains, or ride rapids, or... well, I quess I'm somewhat boring;) But the attraction of homeschool is that I get to choose the heights and depths my kids can reach with their learning. We can explore anything we want to. I have always enjoyed learning new things myself, and we definitely learn together. Can it get any better than that?

And while I'm at it, I have to thank the previously mentioned Mrs.Darling for helping our little homeschooling boat not to sink early on. Her prodding and pushing (LoL) and incredible help have encouraged me to hang in there when the going was tough; let's see, that would be atleast the first two years;) Some people may be able to homeschool without someone else offering support and encouragement, but not this mom. So thank you dear friend for keeping me on my toes.

Now, down to the nitty-gritty.

Here is our (tentative) schedule for the fall:

6:00 AM Breakfast with Dad, short family devotion (hubby leaves at 6:30)
7:00 AM Get ready for the day, Morning Chores

8:30 AM Start school with Bible and Memory Time

The Boys will be doing CLE for Math, Abeka for Language Arts, and Reading and Spelling a variety of different sources. Monday afternoons, we will be part of a newly created co-op that will meet every 3rd week in our house. The classes/activities covered in this co-op will be the following: Writing with spelling incorporated, a Book club, Art, PE and educational games.

For History we will be continuing our unit study on World Explorers, which incorporates just about every subject in some way. Science will be experiments (which my boys love!) and studying the Human Body.

Other Electives (which I love!) which we will be incorporating: Languages (Spanish and ASL), Architecture (this will be SO fun) wood-working, wood-burning, pottery, and other art forms. I'm sure I'll come up with more, LoL.

On top of this, I'm considering having my kids in choir, band, and PE classes at a nearby Christian school. This would mean I have to commit to being outside our home much more than I usually prefer, but I know it would be something the boys would enjoy, so I'll probably go with it.

As for the Princess...still working on that;) I'm considering Time for learning, but whatever I use will have to be done in conjunction with her speech learning techniques. Like I said, it's going to take more thought.

This schedule will be revised somewhat no doubt, but it's a good beginning.

I also plan to turn the ringer down on the phone during school hours (a neccessity, believe me) and I am planning on using homework (to be done during the kids "free" time, not mine) occasionally. There are so many ideas running around in my head right now, but I'll share more of that in future posts. Just thought I'd warn you now;)

Now back to my previously scheduled blogging break:)

And the winner is...

I LOVE having contests, but I HATE having to pick only one winner.

Fortunately, the Princess thinks it is great fun. So she did the honors. And the winner is:

Congratulations KAMA! If you'll email your shipping information to me at mykidsmom.greengables@gmail.com I will send you your prize.

I also wanted to say thank you to everyone else who entered, and to those who linked to this giveaway.

Have a wonderful day!

Just one more day...

Just a quick reminder that there is just one more day left in my Veggie Tales giveaway. I'm so pleased that so many have left comments (for this little old blog anyway;). I plan to make the rounds later today to all the blogs that have posts concerning this contest, so I'll be sure to enter you twice.

In other news...

I will be taking the rest of this week through next Monday's holiday off of blogging, so I can concentrate on getting things organized for the beginning of our home school year. I will still be stopping by my favorite blogs though, you can't get rid of me that easily:) And I will, of course, be announcing the contest winner tomorrow morning.

Have a great day!

Recipe Fun Friday- Pumpkin Waffles

Our rainy weather has tricked my mind into thinking that the Autumn season is upon us. And with that season usually comes a craving for everything pumpkin, including pancakes and waffles. So I thought I would try out this recipe from the Family Fun website.

I happened to pick up several cans of organic pumpkin at grocery outlet for 50 cents. I didn't realize until I went to use it for this recipe that it was pumpkin mix, but it did just fine. The recipe only called for 1/2 cup of pumpkin, but I doubled that because we like them to have a stronger pumpkin taste. I also used olive oil instead of butter and trimmed it's amount by about 1/3 less.

They were very good with a nicely balanced pumpkin and spice taste. I added whipped cream for the picture, but we just used syrup.

If you would like to join us in Recipe Fun Friday, stop by Nikki's and link up.

DON'T FORGET to enter my Veggie Tales giveaway!!

EDIT: Is anyone else having a hard time getting their paragraphs to space on blogger? It's driving me absolutely crazy!!!

In case you're waiting for a new post

This week we're getting a reprieve from the record-setting temperatures of last week. It has rained for three days now. Which is not usual for Oregon at this time of the year.

I feel somewhat mixed feelings about this. On one hand, it makes our diagnostic testing that much easier. If it were sunny outside, I would be much more tempted to let the kids out to play.

On the other hand, last week we finally saw some new produce from the garden (not counting the mounds of cucumbers). I had given up on having any bush beans this year, but a few plants seem to have made it after all. And some of my tomatoes are slightly orange in color. I'm not sure how all this rain is going to affect them.

The kids did spend some time on the trampoline this afternoon. And came in soaked to the skin;) They want to work on the clubhouse, but I convinced them it would be hard to hold onto tools in the rain.

The Princess is not testing, although we have started back to work on our letters and sounds.

Other than that, she's staying busy painting, making cookies, and her newest fun activity: mopping with the "big" mop. She's taken to it like a natural. Lucky Me:)

I've had some kind of stomach bug for the last 4 or 5 days. It's not the flu, or that other thing (pregnancy;). So I'm thinking of doing some kind of cleansing diet of fruits and veggies and lots of water. It couldn't hurt anthing at this point;).

Can you tell I'm posting just for the sake of posting? LoL We're having a good week, just not a neccesarily post-worthy week:)

*DON'T FORGET to sign up for my veggietales giveaway!

It's time for a Veggie tales Giveaway

If you like to talk to tomatoes, If a squash can make you smile.
If you like to waltz with potatoes, up and down the produce isle...
HAVE I got a Giveaway for you!

Okay, I admit I changed the words a tad bit;) There are so many Veggie tales videos floating around my house, I'm not even going to bother to count them. My children are getting older, but they still enjoy them. As do my husband and I.

So when I came across this Veggie tales set, my first thought was to spread the veggies around... as in have a blog giveaway. Here is a picture of the items included:


1 Large Pirates who don't do anything Book

Jonah Movie Soundtrack (CD) *This has a variety of music styles, some I like, some not so much. Just thought I'd throw out a little disclaimer;)

Penguins! The cheating scales of Bullamanka (VHS factory wrapped)

To enter this give-away, just leave a comment. If you mention this give-away in a blog post, you'll be entered twice. That means your name will go into the paper bag twice;) I'll announce a winner Wednesday of next week (8/27/2008).

This contest is limited to the United States and Canada only. Good Luck!

Odd and Ends...and Awards

My computer is still acting quirky, but it seems to be working with me right now (temporarily I'm sure;) . As great as these modern day inventions are, they can be terribly aggravating at times. My husband had to work over-time this week-end, so checking out the computer was at the bottom of his to-do list (mine too).

I took part in our annual church parking lot sale last Friday and Saturday. They divide off parking lot spots, and then you have your own sale within that spot. There were around 20-25 of us I think. It reached 104 degrees on Friday!! I took a break in the afternoon to go to my girlfriend's house which has air conditioning. We were both trying to avoid migraines. But on Saturday it was around 100 again and we just stuck it out; and drank lots and lots of water!
By the way, I know some of you have high temps as a way of life, but we Oregonians just aren't used to them (or properly equipped). And I think the asphalt in the parking lot was heating us up even more. In spite of that, we did fairly well. So I now have money for my home school curriculum.

And speaking of home school, we will be busy with our diagnostic testing for the next few days. I will be doing it with the boys at home. This will help give me a general idea where to place them in the new curriculum I'm using. I'll be posting more about that in the future.

Now I need to take care of some awards that were given to me in the past week. I am a bit embarrassed it has taken me so long to post these, it's just been one of those crazy weeks. And I'm a little clueless when it comes to doing anything more than writing a post for my blog. Then add in my computer's quirkiness...

So without further ado:

Brandi has given me the Super Commentor Award. I think that means someone actually likes my mile-long comments I leave all over the place;) Thanks so much Brandi! The creator of this award is Mamarazzi at Dandelion wishes. Brandi is a newer blogging friend of mine who home schools her six children, which automatically makes her one of my heroes! She has an awesome blog picture of herself dressed in black standing by a kid's desk, a.k.a. Super homeschooling mom(I christened it that:)

I'm passing this award to Nikki (Notes) because she is probably my most long-term, faithful commentor. If there isn't a comment on one of my posts from Nikki, I seriously think about sending in the mounties (who aren't even American now that I think of it,LoL). Nikki is a young wife and mother of 2, and reading her blog brings back a lot of memories of when my kids were young. And we all know that it doesn't require a comment to keep us posting, but it makes it that much sweeter:) So thanks Nikki for always stopping by. I enjoy our blogging friendship.

My blogging friend Kaye has also given me an award.

This is the Arte Y Pico award given to writers "that inspire others with their creative energy and their works." I appreciate all the times you've linked to my posts Kaye, and this great award. Any chance that I can give it back to you? LoL I mean that as in I wish I had given it to you first:) Kaye's blog is Mrs.Nespy's World bargain finder on my blog roll, but she actually has 2 newer blogs. Riding Bicycles is her more personal blog, which I love because I like to learn more about my blogging friends (and her little guy is really cute!). Silencing the Stones is her blog to share her spiritual journey. I don't know how you do it Kaye (3 blogs), but you do it well!

I also want to mention that I've gotten cereal super-cheap and that wonderful kid's soap (can't remember what it's called) for free recently with links from Kaye's blog; she does a great job of digging up all my deals for me, LoL.

I'm passing this award to Niki at the Organizing Blog. Niki's blog used to be Minimalist Mommy, but she is now more officially the Organizing Blog. But she still shares her creative ideas and adventures with us. I'm not sure if she's able to post this with the more business-like set up of her site. But I just wanted her to know I was passing it along to her, she definitely qualifies for this award.

I'm also going to pass it along to Mrs.Darling at Dishpan Dribble, although she needs another award like a hole in the head, LoL. I hope that's a saying everywhere (a hole in the head) because otherwise it sounds really strange...even to me. Mrs.Darling is a real-life friend of mine, and the one who pestered ... um... I mean encouraged me to start blogging. She blogs about just about anything under the sun, and then some;) And, yes, she is a real person for any unbelievers out there, LoL.

One more thing... HAPPY (belated) 29th BIRTHDAY Kaye! Are you really that young? LoL I'm old enough to be your much older sister! hahaha I hope you had a great day!

It's starting to rain outside...thank goodness! I will absolutely deny saying this in the future;)

Have a wonderful Monday~

News Bulletin ...

If you're wondering why I am AWOL today, it is due to an evil computer virus;) I'm quessing that's what it is, since my computer keeps shutting down on me, often when I'm trying to post things. I really should have seen it coming as it's been acting quirky for the past week, but I thought maybe it was Blogger (that's right, always blame someone else).

So I apologize for the absence of this weeks recipe fun entry (Nikki and Angela), and also for the extra delay of posting my awards. The award presenters (Brandi and Kaye) are probably about ready to hit me over the head with them by now;) I really do apologize for the inconvenience. Hopefully I'll be able to figure out what's going on over the week-end.

And hopefully this entry will post to my blog:) Have a great weekend!

Happy 9th Birthday

This post is dedicated to my middle child who was born 9 years ago today. Although today is a Wednesday, nine years ago it was a Friday; as in Friday the 13th;) He was also the 13th grandchild for my in-laws. Both of these circumstances led to his grandpa nicknaming him Lucky.

Any parent of more than one child knows that your children can be drastically different from each other, each having their own unique personality and talents. On my blog, I have nicknamed him the Artist because he can visualize things so well and put them down on paper or other media, such as clay or lego creations, often in 3-D. When we were studying bees this Spring in homeschool, he made this to go along with our theme.

My son's real name isn't used here on my blog of course, but I am going to go so far as to say the meaning of his name is "laughter". While I didn't choose his name for that reason, it has come to epitomize his personality as he continually makes us laugh with his funny antics and remarks. He can tell a story better than most adults I know, with wonderful descriptions of things I wouldn't even think to describe.

Last of all, he spoils his mother (that would be me;). My most simple wish is his command. No, I didn't train him to be this way. It reminds me of those big football players that you used to see come on the tv screen to be questioned about a game, and the first thing out of their mouths would be "Hi Mom!" It was a little goofy, but also endearing. I keep reminding myself that one day he will transfer that attention over to some lucky girl; until then, I plan to enjoy it:)

So to my dear little guy who is growing up much too fast:

We love you Lucky. Happy 9th Birthday!

A day at the Fair

I feel as if I've gotten right in the path of a giant snowball, and now I'm rolling down the hill! A strange comparison (considering we don't get much snow in these parts)? Well, I am a transplanted northern girl after all;)

I insisted on going to the fair, I just couldn't resist the fact that it was free. And I knew they would have tons of fun. They did. But I'm not sure I could survive both the fair and my son's birthday party being on the same day again!

Did I mention I am participating in a huge garage sale this Friday and Saturday? It's not at my house, which would be easier, but I'll get much more traffic at this location. I thought I was ahead of the game in being prepared. But I didn't see that big snowball coming!

But enough of all that.

We had such a great time at the fair. Yes, if I had it to do over again, I would go. They had so many wonderful booths and displays! Pioneer Village was a favorite, with all the old-time shops and Native American displays. They had a tee pee set up that the kid's could go into and listen to a storyteller. A gifted storyteller by the way; he even kept the attention of my 2-year-old nephew!
One of the displays was a old-time boarding house. An elderly woman sitting in a rocking chair on the porch was making dolls. She literally starts with a piece of wood, cuts it herself (at home), then adds clothespin arms, and wraps braided yarn around their head. Oh, and she makes their clothes of course;) I was simply enchanted with these little wooden dolls, which she was selling for $2! I bought the Princess one that had red hair, then went back later because I wanted one for myself.

The boys building with magneatoes at the Science Lab exhibit. They told us you can buy them on Amazon, but I was afraid to look; I might not be able to resist the temptation!

Learning about road safety. They were given a driver's license afterward.

Some of America's finest (both kids and soldiers;)

You couldn't pay me to go on this hang-gliding ride; I just know I wouldn't survive it to spend the money! My husband usually does these rides with the kids; I go somewhere else so I don't have to watch;)
Does anyone else love all those freebies you get at the displays?

Home Depot had a great set-up where you could sit at picnic tables and the kids could decorate these tiles with markers. It was located under some shade trees, so it was a nice reprieve from the sun. They also gave each child one of those heavy-duty (bright orange) kid's workshop aprons; they'll be great for when we do our homeschool art classes.

This was not the State fair, but the County fair, so it wasn't quite as large. I somewhat dread the State fair because it's so huge, and very, very loud. We also saw exotic animals, agricultural displays, and much more. My poor overworked camera lost power half-way through, so I don't have as many pictures as usual. It was a wonderful, busy (did I mention very hot) day:)

*Note to Kaye and Brandi: I will pick-up those awards once I figure out how to put them on my blog;)

Off to the County Fair

Today we are going to the County Fair with my sis-in-law and the cousins. I have a birthday party to prepare for still (and a cake to make), but this is the day the kids get in free. And the rides are half-price. Which means they'll only cost half a fortune instead of the full fortune;)

The Birthday party is at my hubby's parents house, and will consist mostly of family. My son actually requested this over the choice of a friends party. I didn't argue with that;) I am going to attempt to make a themed cake, so wish me well. I'll be putting pics from the party and highlighting my sweet middle child tommorrow, technically the day of his birth.

Have a wonderful day~

A week of Summer vacation in pictures

Have you ever had such a busy week that you really were not able to mentally digest everything til it's over? Well, the past week felt that way to me. When I looked back on it this weekend, it seemed like just the sort of week that Summer vacation should be. I suppose I'm getting sentimental with the school year drawing near, but I wanted to put to memory some of our activities from this week, and what better way to do that than with pictures?

Berry picking with Grandma and Aunt S. (who would shoot me if she knew I posted this picture;)
The first Hermiston watermelon of the Summer. These watermelons are the King of watermelons, they're always perfectly ripe and sweet (yes, I'm an authority on watermelons, atleast when it comes to eating them!)

The boys clubhouse is progressing; so far they've stuck to hitting nails, and not each other;)

A peek at some produce

The Professor in a favorite reading hideaway. He reminds me of myself when I was a kid, always with a book nearby.

We made more jam. This is raspberry, strawberry and blackberry combined; it's the best batch yet!

Ginger has turned out to be a perfect match for our family; the kids love taking her for walks and playing catch. And she's much friendlier than a tarantula!

I may just have a slightly green thumb after all.

Also of note this week: The Princess had her first piano lesson. I figured since she practices all the time, she might as well take lessons:)

Just a few more weeks of Summer vacation left... enjoy it while you can!

Are you ashamed?

Last evening we took the kids to a favorite restaurant as a treat. While waiting for our food, I decided I might as well get the inevitable restroom trip with the Princess out of the way.

As she clicked the lock into place and set down on her "throne", I heard the words to the song "Jesus loves the little children" start up.

An older lady walked into the restroom, then into the other stall. Which didn't phase the Princess any at all.

Jesus died for all the children, all the children of the world...

Jesus is coming for all the children, all the children of the world...

I have to admit I was a little embarrassed. Was it because my daughter was serenading another person during a preferably private procedure? Or was it that I was embarrassed at the message she was sharing?

While I pondered this, this passage from the 18th chapter of Matthew came to mind:
At the same time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me.

Recipe Fun Friday- Make-ahead Meatballs

This week I started my pursuit of the perfect freezer meals. Since meatballs are so versatile, I thought they would be a good starting point. Most of the recipes I found used bread crumbs or crackers as a filler, so it was a little bit more work to find one that used my favorite secret ingredient: oatmeal. Gotta get those whole grains in somehow;)

Anyway, this recipe has evaporated milk in it, which I had never used in meatballs. They turned out quite moist, my hubby said they were some of the best he has ever had. I used ground turkey instead of hamburger (my family is used to that) and I doubled the recipe. I should warn you that after it was mixed, the mixture was a bit runny; I couldn't form them like I usually do. So I dropped the mix by tablespoons in a pan and baked them. They turned out quite nice that way. And after a day in the fridge, the uncooked extra mixture had thickened a bit. I used the meatballs in several meals, then I put enough for about 2 more meals in the freezer. It really was a small amount of work for something that will be an easy (and convenient) addition to future meals.

Meatball Subs with sweet corn on the cob and fruit salad (yummy, yummy:)

Meatball soup

I had to include this recipe for Cream of Mushroom and Rice Soup. I tried to wait another week to make this (I really did), but I had baby bella mushrooms that needed used up. Don't ask me why I made soup twice during such a hot week. And don't let this picture deceive you; the truth is, mushroom soup isn't very photogenic;) This was SO good. But I did need to add a pack of onion soup mix to it because it was a little bland. I also used a different mixture of wild and long grain rice. And if you're calorie conscious like I am, you can used fat-free half and half and only a third of the butter. It still had a creamy mushroom taste.

I'm afraid that Nikki's starting this weekly recipe post has unleashed the inner experimenter in me; my family is starting to feel like guinea pigs.

Very well-fed guinea pigs;)

If you'd like to join us in Recipe Fun Friday, stop by Nikki's blog and link up. And while you're there, make sure to enter her first Giveaway. I think I get extra points for mentioning that, which means Angela has an even better chance of getting that blanket, LoL:)

My rules for thrifting

I am a thrift store addict. I don't say that flippantly. Whenever I drive by a thrift store, I feel an almost undeniable urge to stop. Just for ten minutes or so... right.

So I've had to set some firm rules for myself. Which I follow most of the time;)

Rule #1 Don't go unless I have the money budgeted for the trip. That's right. The thrift store is my worst place for impulsive buying; this and that is just so cheap compared to the regular store. But just so cheap still takes money to buy; I've never seen them giving stuff away yet (although I occasionally see items that they really should give away rather than sell because they're in such bad condition; on second thought, they really should just pitch them).

Rule#2 Ask myself "Do I absolutely need it now?" followed by "Could I wait until I come across another one of these?" It's true that there is the occasional item that I've never seen before, but for the most part I come across most items from time to time. And sometimes if I wait, I get it cheaper somewhere else, or maybe even a nicer version of the same thing.

Rule#3 I adhere to a new-to-used ratio. I figure that if I pay approximately 25% of what an item (in definite good condition) would originally cost, I've gotten a good deal. No, that doesn't mean that I'd be willing to pay $25 for a leather jacket that originally cost $100; I'm too cheap for that:) But when I came across a dollhouse shelf (still in it's box) that originally sold at Target for $80. , I was willing to pay $20 for it. I also am willing to pay $5 for a good pair of jeans (no stains or wear) for my boys; I admit I balked at this at first, until I found out a pair of new LEE jeans cost around $25! That GoodWill price tag looked pretty reasonable after that;)

One of the areas that I struggle with prices the most is books. I love books! Children's books, homeschooling books, how-to books, cookbooks; I suppose I could just say books in general:) All of these have gotten quite spendy at our local thrift stores. A cookbook regularly will run you $5. Some children's books as much a $3 (yes, used). I still buy some of them, but the higher price definitely has put the breaks on any high-volume book buying. One thing I do try to keep in mind is that they are still usually way below original price, and books hold up very well. And if you're getting a large Taste of Home cookbook in like-new condition (I have gotten 5 that way) $4. is a pretty good deal!

Some tricks for supporting my habit;)

Tip #1 I buy items to resell on Ebay or Craigslist; this allows me to pay for the things that I want to keep for myself. An example of this would be the kids pirate ship play structure I paid $10 for, then sold for $25 on Craigslist. The turnover was fast and easy. Collectibles such as Precious Moments and some Collectors plates do well also, if you can find them cheap enough.

Tip#2 I take on little side jobs that may not do much as far as paying the household bills, but it does give me a little money for thrifting. I've baked cookies for other people's office parties, done bulk mailing, babysat, ect.

Tip#3 I resell later. This doesn't apply to all clothes, but it does apply to most of our nice church/holiday clothing. I often spend $5 on a very nice dressy dress for my daughter, have her wear it for a season (be sure to wash in a lingerie bag and hang dry), then turn around and sell it in the next years garage sale for $3-$5. And yes, people are willing to pay that for them. Otherwise, they'd be paying $40 at the department store;)

Between two part-time babysitting jobs this summer, I had accumulated a nice little sum for thrift-shopping. This was only a percentage of what I made, the rest went to pay miscellaneous small bills. Anyway, my hubby and oldest son were in desperate need of pants/jeans; as in on their last pair (my son anyway). This past weekend,between the two of them, I was able to pick up about 12 pair of pants/jeans for $45. All without stains in good condition, including 4 pairs that still had the price tag attached! Honestly, I could of looked 6 months and not found that many of the right size. Such is the way of thrifting.

I also came across something that made me glad I follow rule#2. I have been longing for one of those large family-sized picnic baskets. I know most people seem to pull the cooler-on-wheels to picnics anymore, but I love the old-fashioned pretty baskets. A few months ago I came across such a basket. Just a plain basket with a lid, and I was tempted to get it. But I really wanted a lined one with accessories (picky aren't I?). So I talked myself out of getting it, although that was one of those items I rarely come across while thrifting.

Well, last week I came across my dream basket. The price was $13. But it just so happened to be half-price that day... which made it $6.50! To top that, it's made by Eddie Bauer. No, I don't have to have a certain brand name on items I buy, but even I will admit it often means better quality. This is one heavy duty (albeit pretty) picnic basket.

I'm thinking I kept within my ratio on this one; odds are that it cost atleast $27. at the department store.

I am thankful that I have this outlet to get things that my family needs at more reasonable prices; I truly believe there are so many thrift stores in my area because the cost of living is so high here. Which means even the thrift stores can charge higher prices than many others would.

Don't forget to post your new recipe this Friday for Recipe Fun Friday. My recipes (yes, I have more than one) are all ready to go, complete with pictures. I'm feeling rather smug right now;) LoL. If you'd like to join in, just post your recipe this Friday and stop by Nikki's Notes and link up. I thought I would mention it a little early for those who need reminded (which usually means me;).

Have a wonderful Wednesday~

EDIT: please excuse the messy look of this post. I seem to be having a problem with getting things to space and line up. It could be blogger or my computer.

Back to Great-Grandma's house we go

Today we went for another visit to great-grandma's house to help my sister-in-law pick blueberries. This time I remembered my camera, so I thought I would post a few pictures of her garden and bushes. Great-grandma is 83 years old, but she still plants and cares for the flowers herself (Grandpa does the garden area).

Her many blueberry bushes. These bushes are over 60 years old, and are a mixture of early and late varieties.

She has two long rows of grapes. I'm hoping to get some of these also, but haven't asked yet. Great-grandma makes this wonderful sparkling grape juice. It's very sweet, but absolutely delicious.

What is affectionately known as "Junk guy.

I made sure to get some apples on this trip. I was blinded by the berries on our first trip;)

Here my kids are desperately trying to catch a baby frog from the pond to take home with us. Sadly, the frog eluded them;)

Great-grandma made sure to point out this little statue that she recently acquired. She said it reminded her of her mother. I thought that was sweet, but it also made me sad to think how much she must miss her.

And here is the dear lady herself (with the Princess). I hope I look this lovely at 83.

I admit I couldn't resist getting a few more berries myself. My sis-in-law tried to get me to take more, but I didn't want to appear greedy (even though I am:)

Well, that's how we spent this hot Summer day. I hope you all had a wonderful day as well.

Call me a Freezer Fanatic

I am so happy to be able to announce that I now have another freezer!

Why am I so excited about this? Because it is going to be a huge help this year while homeschooling to be able to pull a pre-made meal (one that is full of good stuff, not preservatives) and pop it in the oven on extra-busy days. I love my crockpot (almost as much as this lady) but there are some meals that just don't do as well in the crockpot. Plus, there is still a bit of prep work required to use that noble appliance.

If you have read my recent posts, you know that I have had an influx of assorted fruit lately. Most of this has gone into the freezer in one form or another. It had gotten to the point where I was the only person who could get items out of it, thereby preventing an unsightly avalanche.

When I finally unloaded it, even I couldn't believe how much was inside.

But back to my new freezer. While I would have preferred a huge chest freezer, where to put it would have been a problem. We don't have a garage, so it most likely would have been kept in our backyard shed.

But not to worry. My new freezer is 4.5 feet tall, just perfect to fit inside my kitchen. While it means there is less storage space in it, it also means it's conveniently handy. Overall, I am quite pleased.

Now my biggest problem is deciding which of the frozen meals I want to make first;) I'm planning on making a huge batch of meatballs today, as well as some burritos.

From there on out, the possibilities are endless:)

My Anchor Holds

Though the angry surges roll on my tempest driven soul, I am peaceful, for I know,
Wildly thought the winds may blow, I've an anchor safe and sure, that can evermore endure.

And it holds, my anchor holds: Blow your wildest, then, O gale, On my bark so small and frail;
By His grace I shall not fail, For my anchor holds, my anchor holds.

I can feel the anchor fast, As I meet each sudden blast, And the cable, though unseen, Bears the heavy strain between;
Through the storm I safely ride, Till the turning of the tide.

And it holds, my anchor holds: Blow your wildest, then, O gale, On my bark so small and frail;
By his grace I shall not fail, For my anchor holds, my anchor holds.

Written by William Martin

For some reason, this song has been stuck in my mind all morning. I work with children during both of our Sunday morning services, which invariably means quite a bit of time walking through the hallways (our church is very large) helping people find their classes, so it's possible someone was singing or playing it in one of the rooms. Thus it's finding it's way into my head;)

While I like many of the modern Christian songs that have been written, nothing to me is quite as stirring as the old-time hymns. As a girl of 8 or 9 years I knew almost every song in the hymnbook by heart. The songs of Fannie Crosby and the Wesley brothers were some of my favorites. My father used to read to me the stories behind the writing of many of the hymns, and they fascinated me as well.

If you don't know this song, it may seem almost depressing, talking about the difficulties (figuratively) we go through in life. However, if you hear the music with the words, it is the exact opposite; it is uplifting, and speaks of a strength that is stronger than any strength we as humans could hope to possess. It reminds us that, regardless of what difficult things come to us in life (and they will) we don't have to handle it alone. I love the part that says "And the cable, though unseen, bears the heavy strain between", because it reminds me that when a situation is out of my hands, it's not out of God's.

Recipe Fun Friday- Chinese

This week I made several chinese themed recipes. I'm going to leave the links to the recipes, and also note what I did differently.

The first recipe is Baked Egg Rolls. I left out all the veggies but the carrots, and added 1.5 cups of shredded purple cabbage. I turned them over halfway through the cooking time so that both sides would brown. We liked them so much that I'm planning on making a big batch of them to put in the freezer.

The next recipe is Sweet and Sour Chicken. This was delicious! I don't consider myself a big chinese food fan, but this won me over. I left out the green peppers, and added about a cup of baby bella mushrooms. SO good! *EDIT I used apple cider vinegar for this recipe. The recipe just says vinegar, but I thought the apple cider would give it the best taste.

I figured I might as well try my hand at fortune cookies. I read hints from several places on forming these, as I've been told they're a little tricky to make. Mine weren't perfect, but I was happy enough with them. The Professor had fun writing out fortunes for the insides like "You are going to be abducted by aliens." I bet you never found that inside a fortune cookie before;)

All together now

I really enjoyed trying out these new recipes, and I will definitely be adding them to our family favorites file.

To join Recipe Fun Friday, just stop by Nikki's and link up.

Have a great weekend!