Homeschool Mother's Journal/Weekly Wrap-Up August 17

The last one before vacation!  :-) (we leave on Saturday and I promise to post pictures from the beach!)

Other than packing everything but the kitchen sink, lol, there were some other things going on this week. (and I'm not kidding about the packing.  We rent a place with a kitchen as to save on the cost of a family our size eating out every day, but that means remembering to bring absolutely everything!)

On Monday, the kiddos had their music lessons.  Kiddo #4 wowed her teacher with playing the beginning of Beethoven's 9th by ear.  It really amazed me.  She heard it and then sat down and played.  Just as simple as that.  I posted the video of her playing here.

On Tuesday, we picked more "goodies" from our garden and made a salad with the tomatoes, basil and cucumbers (with some added mozzarella and olive oil, too!)

I also hosted my weekly recipe linkup.  I shared my vegetable lasagna in a white sauce recipe.  You can see my recipe and all of those that were shared here.

Wednesday was a fun day.  After the kiddos and I went to church, I took them out to lunch and then we went and did some last minute vacation shopping (sneakers, etc.)

On Thursday, Kiddo #4 had a playdate with friends.  They are a lovely family from our church with 6 children, 4 of whom are girls.  It was girl heaven-- they had a tea party and then all sewed little crafts.  Kiddo made a little purse.  They were all just too cute.  :-)  Kiddo also had her sewing lesson on Thursday.  She finished a surprise gift for her brother's birthday (I cannot say more than that since they read the blog, but I promise to post a picture of it after the special day!) and she also started a stuffed animal for herself.  Kiddo #1 had his Civil Air Patrol meeting.

I posted some photos here of the kiddos' beautiful flowers that are now blooming.  They started them all from seeds and are thrilled that they are now beginning to bloom.  Just Kiddo #3's marigolds have yet to bloom.  I think they will in the next couple of days.

I have also worked on our curriculum for next year and will post all about it in the next couple of days.


What I'm reading: "I Surrender: Thoughts on making Christ the center of your daily life," Various Bible readings for an online Bible study, my canning recipes, lol, and whatever else I grab off of the pile on my nightstand.  :-)

What I'm praying for: our nation, our military, those who are unemployed or who are ill and suffering, a good and safe vacation, a fun and successful school year with my children....

A quote or photo to share: "Today I’m pledging to cut the deficit we inherited in half by the end of my first term in office. If I don’t have this done in three years, then there’s going to be a one-term proposition.”--Barack Obama

Wow, the deficit has been tripled in his 4 years, not cut in half.  In fact, the deficit is more now than in the first 41 Presidencies combined.  That is too staggering to even imagine.  Enough said.

Beach, here we come!  :-)

I hope everyone has a great weekend!  God bless!  :-)

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

Thankful Thursday- August 16

I am thankful for so many things.

Today, I find myself being thankful for beautiful flowers on plants that my children started from seeds

salads made from veggies in our garden

the chaos of packing since that means that vacation is only a couple of days away

and a very sweet older woman at church today, who came up to me in my car in the parking lot just to tell me how beautifully she thought I proclaimed the Word of God.  I was asked to read on my way into church, as the person who was supposed to lector (read) today wasn't there.  I prayed for the Holy Spirit to help me since I hadn't prepared in advance.  I asked the Lord to please let everyone hear the beauty of His Word through my voice, and that it be steady, clear and have the proper emphasis and inflection.  I have been blessed to have been lectoring since I was a teenager, but always second-guess myself.  God always sends someone to let me know that I have done Him proud and for that I am incredibly thankful. (for those who are wondering, I read Revelation 11:19; 12:1-6, 10, Psalm 45:10, 11, 12, 16 and First Corinthians 15:20-26.

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

Wordless Wednesday- August 15

Well, almost wordless, lol.  Here is a video of Kiddo #4 playing the beginning of Beethoven's Symphony #9 by ear.  She heard it and then sat down and played it.  It absolutely astounded and amazed me.  :-)

Kiddo #3 wanted me to include a video of him mastering his 3-4-3 C scale with both hands.  ;-)

Happy Wednesday, all!  Linking up today with Judy H-J's Thoughts, Mama to 4 Blessings, Create with Joy , Living Well Wednesdays, NOBH and Favorite Things

Try a New Recipe Tuesday- August 14

It's that time again!  :-)

Today I'm sharing my recipe for Vegetable Lasagna in a white sauce.  It is a hit in our house.  :-)

Ingredients:
12 lasagna noodles
1/4 cup butter
1 medium onion chopped
2 3/4 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tablespoons and 2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
1 1/4 teaspoons salt, divided
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3 1/3 cups milk
2 tablespoons and 2 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley
1 15 ounce container ricotta cheese
1 10 ounce package mixed vegetables (I used a bit more), thawed and drained
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 2/3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt butter.  Cook onion and garlic in butter until tender.  Stir in flour, pepper, and nutmeg.  Stirring continuously, pour in milk, a little at a time, allowing mixture to thicken.  Bring to a boil for 1 minute, then remove from heat and stir in parsley.  Set aside.
In a medium bowl, combine ricotta, veggies, parmesan and 1 cup of mozzarella.  Stir until well blended.
In a 7x11 inch baking dish, layer 1/4 cup white sauce, 3 noodles, one third of remaining white sauce, half the veggie mixture, 3 more noodles, half remaining white sauce, remaining veggie mixture, 3 noodles, remaining white sauce.  Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella.  Cover with foil coated with cooking spray.
Bake in preheated oven 30 minutes.  Let stand 10 minutes before serving.



Linking up 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, Wisdom Wednesday , Favorite Things and Modest Mom

Homeschool Mother's Journal/Weekly Wrap-Up August 10

On Monday, as Kiddos 1 and 2 were volunteering at church (I posted about how thankful I am for their service here), Kiddos 3 and 4 had their piano lessons and did really well!  I am so proud of them.  Kiddo #4 taught herself the overture to Beethoven's 9th Symphony by ear and surprised her teacher with it.  I need to post a video of it so you all could see her playing it.  It is really something else.  :-)

The week continued with more volunteerism, some crafts, reading, power points, baking and swimming.  Of course, that is all around watching the Olympics and celebrating our team's success.  It has been wonderful to watch these young Americans representing our nation and doing it with such grace and dignity.  We should all be very proud, not only of their amazing athletic abilities, but at the very way they have carried and presented themselves.  :-) 

I am also finalizing purchases of books and planning for our upcoming school year.

My weekly recipe linkup was on Tuesday and I shared a garlic herb cheese bread for the breadmaker recipe.  It is really tasty!  :-)  You can see that recipe and all of the others that were shared here. 

Wednesday's post was photos of the absolutely beautiful birds that have visited our backyard.  We actually photographed the most recent one from inside as we saw him helping himself to some of the material from one of our planters. 

On Thursday, Kiddo #4 finished her homemade doll and outfit in sewing class.  Isn't it just the sweetest?  Thursday night also found us watching some preseason football and cheering our hometown team as well as Kiddo #1 attending his Civil Air Patrol meeting.

What I'm praying for: There have been so many who are suffering, due to illness or circumstance who have asked for prayer.  Also remembering those in the military and their families...

What I'm reading: "I Surrender: Thoughts on making Christ the center of your life" in addition to various books in the Bible for an online study, canning recipes.....

A quote or photo to share:

Kiddo #2's sunflower, that he started from a seed many months ago, bloomed today.  :-)

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







Thankful Thursday- August 9

I am always thankful for my children, but this week, I am especially thankful for Kiddos 1 and 2.  They have been volunteering and helping out at church every single day.  They are helping to get the religious education program ready for the fall.  The program serves hundreds of children, so it isn't an easy task.

They have done everything from sorting crayons and sharpening pencils, to getting children's folders labeled and sorted and correlating attendance data and records.  They will be there Thursday and Friday, as well.

The fact that they are doing this of their own volition and with a cheerful disposition is what makes me most thankful.  It is quite a challenge in today's day and age to try to raise children with a servant's heart, willing to be of service, volunteer and help others.

Does that mean that I won't have to remind them to pick up after themselves anymore?  Doubtful.  But, as blessed as I am, I'll take it.  (I'll just have to remember to read this post from time to time to remind myself of that fact, lol!)  :-)

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

Wordless Wednesday- August 8

I am sharing some of the many bird photos we have taken in our yard over the past couple of months.  The first one we just took the other day as we caught the little fella "red-beaked," lol, helping himself to some material from the planter in which we are growing our parsley.  :-)



Linking up with: Judy H-J's Thoughts, Mama to 4 Blessings, Create with Joy , Living Well Wednesdays, NOBH and Favorite Things