Hearts for Home Blog Hop- November 7

Welcome to the Hearts for Home Blog Hop!  I am thrilled to be a co-host with 20+ other awesome bloggers!     :-)

The most clicked on post from last week was:

Six Crucial Prayers to Pray for Your Children from Women Abiding

Three of my favorites (they were all wonderful!) include:

Exploring the 13 Colonies: Free  Study from Education Possible

How To Make Copywork More Enjoyable at Homeschool With Love

Free Printable 2014 Blog Planner at My Joy Filled Life

Were you featured this week?  If so, congratulations and help yourself to one of our "I was featured" buttons to display on your blog.

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Are you ready to share your posts this week?  Let's go!  Use the form below to enter your links.  Posts can be anything that shows your heart is for your home: homeschooling, homemaking, parenting, marriage, faith, family, crafts, etc.  Please just kindly link back to this blog or display our Hearts for Home button in your post or on your sidebar.

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HOME TO 4 KIDDOS NEEDS YOUR SUPPORT!

We were nominated in 2 categories in the Homeschool Blog Awards and would MUCH APPRECIATE

your vote.  You can vote once in each category per day per device.  Just click on the circle next to "Home to 4 Kiddos" and click vote.  We were nominated in both of the categories below:

www.hsbapost.com/best-homemaking-andor-recipes-blog-2013/

www.hsbapost.com/best-super-homeschooler-2013/

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Wordless Wednesday

I love fall in Pennsylvania.  The colors are so magnificent.  Sometimes photos don't even seem able to do them justice.

HOME TO 4 KIDDOS NEEDS YOUR SUPPORT!

We were nominated in 2 categories in the Homeschool Blog Awards and would MUCH APPRECIATE

your vote.  You can vote once in each category per day per device.  Just click on the circle next to "Home to 4 Kiddos" and click vote.  We were nominated in both of the categories below:

www.hsbapost.com/best-homemaking-andor-recipes-blog-2013/

www.hsbapost.com/best-super-homeschooler-2013/

Linking up with: Judy H-J's Thoughts, Mama to 4 Blessings, Create with Joy, NOBH, Musings from a Stay at Home Mom, Tina's Wordless Wednesday,Judy @ CoffeeJitters and Wordless Wednesday at Wordless and  Living Well Wednesday, Modest Mom,  Homemaking Wednesdays and Crafty Spices, Look What We Did and Do Small Things With Love and Wordless Wednesday Bloggers and A Sorta Fairytale and Friday Flash Blog Hop

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Try a New Recipe Tuesday- November 5

Welcome to Try a New Recipe Tuesday!  I so enjoy seeing everyone's recipes each week!  Spread the word!  :-)

My daughter surprised us with butter cookies and she even cut them out with adorable animal shapes!  They are linked up in the first spot below.  She'd love if you would take a moment and see them.  :-)

Now onto today's features:

Pizza Sandwich Dippers from Everyday Southwest

Grandpa's Old Fashioned Chicken and Homemade Noodles from Featherbee Farm Project

Back to Scratch: Perfect Pie Crust from Covenant Ranch Trucking

HOME TO 4 KIDDOS NEEDS YOUR SUPPORT!
We were nominated in 2 categories in the Homeschool Blog Awards and would MUCH APPRECIATE your vote.  You can vote once per day per device.  Just click on the circle next to "Home to 4 Kiddos" and click vote.  We were nominated in both of the categories below:

www.hsbapost.com/best-homemaking-andor-recipes-blog-2013
www.hsbapost.com/best-super-homeschooler-2013

THANK YOU!

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Kiddo's Special Butter Cookies

This week, just in time for Try a New Recipe Tuesday, I'm posting kiddo #4's delicious butter cookies. They were really good and a great surprise!  :) (and she offered to type this entire post herself! She's talented AND sweet!)

Cookie dough
3 sticks butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

In a large bowl, beat the butter, sugar, egg, vanilla, and salt.

Gradually add the flour; beat until well mixed. Refrigerate the dough for 1 hour. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Separate the dough into 4 pieces, then roll out each piece on a lightly floured surface to a 1/4-inch thickness. Cut or mold the dough into desired shapes.

Place the shapes on a greased cookie sheet. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until the cookies are light brown.
                                     
(optional frosting)          Vanilla Frosting
                                     3 cups confectioner's sugar
                                     1/3 cup butter, softened
                                     2 teaspoons vanilla
                                     2 tablespoons milk

                              

In a small bowl, combine butter and sugar         , 

                then vanilla, then milk.                                                         

   (ENJOY!)

Linking up with the Gathering Spot, 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, Modest Mom, Full Plate Thursday and Melt in your Mouth Monday and Show Off Friday and Tuesday's Table and Look What We Did and Titus 2sday,  Mom's Monday Mingle, Monday Mingle, Crafty Spices, Better Mom,Create with Joy, Thursday's Treasures, Tasty Thursdays and Wonderful Food Wednesday and Mondays with Countrified Hicks and Tuesday How to Party and the Tried and True Recipe Party and Kids and Mom in the Kitchen and Family Fun Friday and Clever Chicks Blog Hop andAll My Bloggy Friends and Hearts for Home Blog Hop and Foodie Friends Friday and Family Fun Friday and TGIF Linky Party and Food on Friday andHip Homeschool Moms, A Wise Woman Builds Her Home andGood Tastes Tuesday and Thriving Thursday and Friday Flash Blog Hop




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Free Printable- Punctuation

I am always being creative in making learning manipulatives for my children.  I have found that hands-on learning works much better for my kiddos.

I made matching cards with the picture of each punctuation mark, another card with the name of it and yet another with its function.  Each is in a different color.

Just click here to go to the google document and it is yours to download!  :-)

Linking up with  Homemaking Wednesdays, Living Well Wednesday,Family Fun Friday and TGIF Linky Party, Family Fun Friday and Clever Chicks Blog Hop andAll My Bloggy Friends and Hearts for Home Blog Hop, Raising Mighty Arrows, Titus 2sday,  Mom's Monday Mingle, Monday Mingle, Crafty Spices, Better Mom,Create with Joy, Thursday's Treasures, and Friday Flash Blog Hop

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Homeschool Mother's Journal/Weekly Wrap-Up November 2

Not only has another week gone by, but it is now November.  Wow.

Last weekend was our church's family retreat.  You can see more photos here.  It was an extraordinary and uplifting time for all of the families involved.

Monday was back to the grind, with Kiddos 1 and 2 having their online classes and Kiddo #4 finished two more Christmas gifts in sewing class.  But, we did find time in the afternoon to paint our pumpkins.  I posted more photos of the kiddos and their pumpkins here.

Tuesday was more schoolwork, of course, and we also went outdoors and identified every tree on the street by its leaves.  I found a free printable that had all kinds of leaves on it.  The kiddos really enjoyed trying to figure out each and every tree.  There were so many different varieties just on this one street!

On Wednesday, Kiddos 3 and 4 learned long division!  Phew!  I survived, lol!  :-)  Seriously, it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be and they really have caught on!  :-)  On Wednesday evening, as we were watching the final game of the World Series, Kiddos 1 and 4 made us all a chocolate chip cookie "cake."  Kiddo #1 frosted it and it was cut up so quickly that I didn't get a photo of all of his decorations on it.  It was delicious.  :-)

Thursday was Halloween, of course.  It was a bit difficult getting the kiddos to concentrate on their work during the day, but Algebra and long division were worked on diligently after a bit of coaxing from mom.  ;-)

We do celebrate Halloween, but explain to our children the origin of the holiday and that it was called All Hallows' Eve, meaning the night before All Saints' Day.  I read an excellent article here that explained about children in pre-Reformation England going door to door for Soul Cakes and how many believe that began the tradition of going door to door.  It is a really good piece that explains a lot about the origins of the holiday. 

Our children dress up in wholesome, modest costumes and enjoy walking the same streets that their dad delivers mail to each day. (they tired out LONG before the end of daddy's route, lol)  Hubby and I walked with them and we enjoy the time together.

Kiddo #1 did not join us again this year. He helped his grandfather give out candy at the house.  We missed him, but understand that he feels he is getting too "old" for the custom.  :-)

Our Princess Belle

Eagles Player, LeSean McCoy

and our green crayon (no, we didn't turn him upside and try to color, lol!)

Lots of smiles all around

My posts this week:

Try a New Recipe Tuesday (linkup your favorite recipe(s)!)

Chocolate Chip Cookie Surprise

TOS Review- Rosie's Doll Clothes Patterns

Wordless Wednesday- scenes from family retreat

Thankful Thursday- pumpking painting, leaf identifying and more...

Bow of Bronze Review- My Beloved and My Friend

Field Trip Friday (come share your outings with us!)

What we are looking forward to in the next week:

Lots of 4H activities on Saturday: monthly meeting, toy making and cooking!  :-)

Field Trip the the historic Peter Wentz Farmstead

Reading some new books

Enjoying this beautiful fall weather

Hope you have a wonderful weekend!  God bless!

Linking up today with:  Homeschool Mother's Journal, Weekly Wrap-Up, NOBH, Show-Off Friday, Learn and Link and It's a Wrap, Friendship Friday and Friday Connection and Family Fun Friday and T.G.I.F. Linky Party and Let's Homeschool High School and This Week

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Field Trip Friday- November 1

Wow!  It's November!  When did this happen?  :-)  But it is also Friday....and that means it is time again for Field Trip Friday!  I love seeing all of the wonderful places that you visit with your families.  :-)  I am happy to be joining my friend Jen at Chestnut Grove Academy for her wonderful linkup.

Last week, children were brought on a wonderful camping trip with hiking, teepees and learning how to split wood as well as a trip "back in time" to a 300 year old home, complete with reenactors and displays.

What wonderful memories you all are making with your children!

I look forward to seeing what vacations, outings and field trips will be shared this week....



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