Thankful Thursday- July 5

On this day after Independence Day, I am very thankful for the freedoms we have in this nation; that millions have fought for, hundreds of thousands have died for and upon which this nation was founded.  I hope and pray that these freedoms will not continue to be taken from us.

I am thankful for all those in the military who defend our nation, and that while we are able to barbecue and enjoy our families, they are keeping watch, having our backs, and fighting against a foe whose only goal is to destroy our very way of life.....

I am grateful for my husband's 23+ years of service, his fighting in 2 wars, but most importantly, that he is home with us on this holiday and able to do the "ordinary" things like tend our little garden.

These are the little things that we Americans tend to take for granted, because we have always known freedom.  Being able to barbecue

or swim to celebrate the holiday.

I will be sure to take a moment to read the Declaration of Independence with my children, be proud of what it stands for, the freedom it represents and how much sacrifice has been made to attain and secure those freedoms for the past 236 years.

God Bless America and those who have fought for her freedom!  We all have much to be grateful for this day.

I'm happy to be linking up today with:

Red Oak Lane, Raising Mighty Arrows, NOBH and A Thankful Woman's Book of Blessings

Wordless Wednesday- July 4

Happy Independence Day everyone!  May God bless America, now more than ever!  :-)  My almost wordless post today is a craft that my kiddos made to celebrate the holiday.  May we always appreciate the freedoms that generations have fought to preserve and protect!

Happy Birthday, America!  :-)

Linking up today with:  Judy H-J's Thoughts, Mama to 4 Blessings, Create with Joy , What is a Mom, Living Well Wednesdays, A Mother's Heritage and NOBH.

Try a New Recipe Tuesday- July 3

Welcome to my little recipe hop!  I hope you will share a recipe and visit some of the many delicious ones that are posted here each week.  :-)

The other day I saw the ripe bananas on top of the fridge and thought they were definitely calling me to make something with them.  :-)  I came up with a recipe for Chocolate Chip Banana Bread that is a combination of bits and pieces of others I have seen along with my own tweaks and additions.  And, if I can say so myself, it was really delicious.  :-)

I made 4 mini loaves (I have 4 kiddos!) and there was enough left over after filling those to make a few muffins with it, as well.  If you are making it in one large loaf, I would adjust the times accordingly, probably almost doubling what I did for the mini loaves.

Lisa's Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
Preheat oven to 325
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
4 ounces butter, softened
1 1/2 cups mashed bananas
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1 cup chocolate chips

Cream butter and sugars together.  Add banana, eggs and vanilla.  Mix well.  Add in dry ingredients, followed by chocolate chips.  Fill loaf baking pans about 1/2-3/4 full.  Same thing with muffin cups.

Muffins- bake for 20-30 minutes (until a toothpick comes out clean)
Mini loaves- 20 minutes covered with aluminum foil, followed by 20-25 more minutes uncovered (judge again with toothpick)

Enjoy!  :-)


Linking up this week with Kids in the Kitchen, Tasty Tuesday, Tempt my Tummy Tuesday, Domestically Divine Tuesday, Raising Mighty Arrows, Addicted to Recipes, Homemaking Wednesdays, Living Well Wednesday, NOBH, Judy H-J's Thoughts and Wisdom Wednesday

Make Life Meaningful Monday

VBS.  There is nothing like seeing children wholeheartedly and innocently praising God in song and learning about Him during the week through art, games and fellowship with their friends.  :-)

My children participated in VBS at my parents' church last week, with the final assembly on Friday night.  Here is a photo of Kiddos 3 and 4 getting ready to head over to the performance:

and several from the show itself:

I had to include a photo with Kiddo #2, who volunteered as a helper/aide during the week and did a super job. (we're doing a good job smiling even though it was close to triple digits, lol!)

I am very proud of all 3 kiddos, who did a fabulous job!  And, of course, I am thankful, as I mentioned in a post last week, for Kiddo #1, who helped me run errands and get much done while the others were at VBS.  I enjoyed his company and how much we laughed and had fun together.  I am also proud of how eager he was to take photos of his siblings at the show.  :-)

Michelle is off this week, so there is no Make Life Meaningful linkup, but I am happy to be linking up today with Modest Monday, On, in and around Mondays and Inspire Me Monday in addition to Wisdom Wednesday and Living Well Wednesday.

Homeschool Mother's Journal/Weekly Wrap-Up June 29

The month of June is gone.  Wow.  Is it me or does the time just go by faster and faster?

This week was VBS for three of the kiddos at my parents' church.  Kiddo 3 and 4 attended and Kiddo #2 volunteered as a helper/aide.  I am very proud of him.  He has such a gift with children!  :-) 

They have a closing performance Friday night.  I am really looking forward to it.  Be sure to come back and see the pictures.  I'll have them posted here on Monday. 

I am so glad to have my computer back.  It just took a bit of time to get all of my files from the external back on the laptop, but it is now good to go!  Yay! :-)

It was nice for the kiddos to have a week of VBS and swimming in their grandparents' pool with virtually nowhere else to go.  I did get a lot of errands done and was very busy during those morning hours, but I really enjoyed the time with Kiddo #1.  We did a lot of laughing and I really loved his company and help with what I needed to get done.  I mentioned that and some other wonderful things for which I am thankful in my Thankful Thursday post here.

My other posts this week included the amazing NASA photos that my children were able to have taken.  You can see the others in Wordless Wednesday.

This past Tuesday, I hosted my recipe linkup with 26 recipes posted so far!  I shared my Beef Noodle skillet.

I am really learning to cherish the ordinary, everyday moments that are so truly special, but so easily overlooked.  I shared about them here in my Make Life Meaningful Monday post.

What I am reading: continuing with my Proverbs online Bible study, A Mother's Rule of Life, and various books on gardening/canning/homesteading, etc.  :-)

What I'm praying for: a church friend whose father's funeral was today, those who are sick and suffering, our nation (now more than ever), our freedom of religion and conscience, my husband and his unit as they finish up their training and come home this weekend.....

A quote or photo to share: "Man's life comes from God; it is his gift, his image and imprint, a sharing in his breath of life. God therefore is the sole Lord of this life: Man cannot do with it as he wills."-- Blessed Pope John Paul II

"We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Avarice, ambition, revenge, or gallantry, would break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other."
John Adams

"Every step we take towards making the State our Caretaker of our lives, by that much we move toward making the State our Master."
Dwight D. Eisenhower

Kiddo #4 and Smokey, one of the two kittens my parents got for Christmas.  Isn't he just the lovebug?

Linking up with Homeschool Mother's Journal and Weekly Wrap-Up

Thankful Thursday- June 28

I am thankful for many things this day.

I am thankful that my hard drive was able to be backed up before it crashed, thus saving all of my precious photos and homeschooling documents/resources. (that is why there will sadly be no photos in this post, as the computer is "in the shop" getting a new hard drive)

I am thankful that my husband was able to get a phone signal on Wednesday and speak to me and each of the kids.  We are so looking forward to seeing him on Sunday, God willing.

I am so grateful and full of hope when I witness things like I did when dropping off the kiddos at VBS.  One of the group leaders, a boy of just 16, had his Bible open and was reading to the kids and explaining things to them before the day even started.  That was so amazing to witness and it filled me with joy.  I immediately went and told him mom (she is one of the women running the program) just how proud she should be.  She certainly was!  :-)

Related to the VBS, I am very proud of Kiddo #2 who, for the second year, has volunteered to be an aide/helper.  He does have a gift with children (I see that when he helps his brother and sister with their schoolwork, too!)

Wednesday night I was invited to a friend's house for a Thirty-One demonstration party.  I am grateful to have such a wonderful group of friends.  We attend church together and most of the women there and their families also attend our annual family retreat.  We have grown in faith and fellowship together these past years and I am thankful for such a wonderful community.  It was certainly great to have the chance to spend the evening with them all.  My parents watched the kiddos since my husband is away and it is much appreciated.

I am thankful, also, for the special time that I have been able to spend these last few days with Kiddo #1.  While his siblings have been in and/or helping with VBS, he has accompanied me on various errands to stores, the bank and the post office.  Not only has he been extraordinary helpful, we have been able to have some special time to chat and laugh together that I truly cherish. 

I really enjoy writing these posts.  It is almost therapeutic to write a list of gratitudes. We are given so many precious gifts, and we need to take the time to reflect upon and recognize them in our lives.

Linking up with Theresa at Red Oak Lane, Raising Mighty Arrows, NOBH and A Thankful Woman's Book of Blessings

Wordless Wednesday- June 26

Ok, again, it will be almost wordless, lol!  :-)  We recently participated in NASA's MoonKam project!  (and are excited about the extended mission that will start in August).  Children were able to request photos of specific coordinates on the moon and the NASA moon-orbiting satellite took each photo and they were sent to us when complete.  Here are a sample of the photos my kiddos requested.  Check out the ones with the Earth-rise in the background!  The others were the coordinates of where some of the landings were in the 1960s.  Too incredible for words!  :-)

I cannot add the other photos as my laptop crashed tonight.  :-(  Thank God, I was able to get everything backed up to an external hard-drive in time.  Just the thought of losing all of my precious photos was devastating.  But, emergency averted.  Yay!  :-) I hope everyone has a happy Wednesday!  :-)

Linking up today with Judy H-J's Thoughts, Mama to 4 Blessings, Create with Joy , What is a Mom, Living Well Wednesdays, A Mother's Heritage and NOBH.