There Is No Plan B

Quite moving...what do YOU think?

Dinner Time!

This easy one-dish recipe has been a favorite for several years in our home. It is quite versatile and can be made to suit your taste. I usually use whatever I have on hand. Today I made it with frozen corn instead of green beans; one small fresh tomato with one can of diced tomatoes; only one carrot (all I had) and a handful of tiny red potatoes.

Vegetable Beef Casserole

3 medium unpeeled potatoes, slices
3 medium carrots, sliced
3 celery ribs, chopped
2 cups fresh or frozen green beans
1 medium chopped onion
1 pound cooked ground beef
1 teas dried thyme
1 teas salt
1 teas pepper
4 medium tomatoes, peeled and chopped
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (I only use 1/2 cup)

The recipe says to layer everything, but I just throw it all in a huge bowl, mix it together and flop it in the casserole dish (except the cheese). The thyme is what brings back memories for me - it taste like a camping meal that my dad and mom used to cook over the open fire.
It's as easy as that...cover and bake at 400 for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 and bake about 45 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Sprinkle with cheese till melted.Waa-laa...serve with some fresh home made bread and a green salad and they will be begging for more!

Do We Ever Stop Learning or Teaching?

My favorite time of year is approaching...the end of another school year. For most home school families, the days ahead will encapsulate the remaining few lessons of the school year with either excitement or a feeling of franticness! For our household, it is a time to reflex on the year we are about to close and then relax with what the children have learned or scramble to finish those last few lessons in order to complete the book. Although it has taken us nearly 10 years to settle into a comfortable routine, I think the rather unusual path we have chosen has served the children well. Even though they are on opposite ends of the philosophy spectrum, we have managed to incorporate the Charlotte Mason approach as well as the Classical method in our home schooling endeavors. It seems to satisfy the different needs of each child - the one who loves to do dictation and narrate each story, the child who must be outside drawing in their nature notebook and the 'to-do list' child who begs for more workbooks! Regardless of the book, subject or child, the year must come to a semi-stopping point. I say 'semi' because I don't believe that the learning ever stops. How can you see the gorgeous flowers in full bloom and not tell your children the names of each! Can I truly find a frog, turtle, bunny or baby garter snake in my yard and not capture them for just a few hours so we can peer into their lives and transfer the image into our notebooks? Is it really possible to witness an incredible thunderstorm and not sit outside (under the covered porch!) and talk about how awesome our Creator is and then explain the speed of sound? Is the trip to the zoo ever a non-educational event? So I rest my case...we are always learning and/or teaching. Ironically, most of the captured learning in our children takes place while enjoying nature - without a workbook!

Why do I look forward to summer so much? No more lesson plans, 5:30 am alarm clocks and classes to attend with a deadline. But much more than the needed break from those areas is the opportunity to spend relaxed, quality time with my family. Swimming, canoeing, bike rides, late nights with friends, parties, catching fireflies and counting the stars without any regards for a schedule bedtime!

As we enter our last week of school, I'm really thinking of putting away a few more of the 'needed' books and heading outdoors for a memorable way to end the year. Not only are the flower beds bursting with color, the tomato plants have bloomed with several tiny balls that will soon be resting atop our salads. A mama bunny has given us four precious babies for us to observe, as well several frogs, snakes and a bountiful amount of birds.

I am also looking forward to re-reading some of my favorite books this summer to encourage me for the upcoming school year. Three of my favorites are The Heart of Home Schooling by Chris Klicka, A Survivor's Guide to Home Schooling by Luanne Shackelford and Things We Wish We'd Known by Diana Waring. If I have sparked an interest for you and you are possibly considering home schooling, I can recommend two more books that might give you a window into the heart of a learning family: The Homeschool Journey by Michael and Susan Card and The How and Why of Home Schooling by Ray Ballmann. Of course, there are hundreds of books on home schooling, but these are just a few of my favorites that don my bookshelf.

I leave you with a challenge...weather you home school or not, make this summer a memorable one. Relax more. Enjoy your children and get to know what makes them smile. Teach them how to be in awe of God's creation and all the beauty that He gives us. Throw a blanket in your backyard and have a picnic. Visit a different park every week. Focus on a character trait in yourself that needs pruning and seek God's wisdom for improvement. Strengthen your marriage by realizing that you can only change YOU - not your spouse.

Most of all...laugh. Laugh at yourself and laugh with your friends and family. I think the medicinal properties of laughter is extremely underrated. It truly is medicine for the soul!

My Memorable Mother's Day!

Now I am sure - absolutely positive, that you can NOT beat my Mother's Day. It was special beyond words. In fact, I don't even think pictures can do it justice. It was not the typical 'go out to eat, receive flowers or jewelry and take an afternoon nap' Mother's Day. You see, I spent my Mother's Day lying in bed until 3 pm while on drugs. Why? I knew you would ask that!

Because I decided that 43 years was an exceedingly long time to go without ever having a broken bone or any stitches. So, I made up for lost time.

Allow me to paint the scenery for you...My husband finally bought a chainsaw to trim the massively overgrown trees in our front yard. He was quite concerned about safety and kept telling me to watch out and be alert as I was picking up all the fallen branches. Late Saturday afternoon, we had the whole family out front helping us haul all the branches to the back yard while they await big junk day. I decided to take the curbside plastic trashcan and pick up all the small twigs and loose leaves in the yard. This is when it happened. I know you're going to find it crazy, but I am telling the WHOLE truth and nothing BUT the truth. (I do have one regret, though...I wish we were somehow able to video tape this whole incident so that you would fully grasp the gravity of the truthness here!)

Now...hang onto your belt buckle and read slowly so you can understand how this happened. I tilted the trashcan to get it on its two wheels(see the picture? I wanted to make sure you COMPLETELY understood! I know it's ludicrous, but that's what bloggers do - we take pictures. Of everything.) Well, since I am very short, I have to tilt it quite a bit to get it on its wheels so I can push it. (I'm slightly weak, too) So, here is this trashcan, tilted, on two wheels, with the lid swinging back and forth as I push it (getting the picture?) Unfortunately, since it is so low to the ground, the lid actually touches the ground. So here I am, minding my own business, trying to be an awesome helpmate when the unthinkable happens.

This vicious trashcan ATTACKS me.

Behind my husbands back -- without any forewarning, it spews the most hatred action it can conjure up on me...and my forehead.

It sticks it lid out right in front of my feet so that I step on it and then refuses to move forward (who cares that I'm stepping on it and it has no where to go. It was being stubborn and indignant) So, what else am I to do except fall forward, face first, and meet the edge of this devilish opening, and then plummet to the ground with only my legs sticking out of it's mouth. (sorry, no picture for this one)

My husband is still on the 10-foot ladder cautioning me to be careful before someone gets hurt! All I'm thinking is, 'get out of the trashcan, you moron - you look ridiculous!' I could go into great detail about my second and third thoughts and the exciting 90 mph car trip to the emergency room, but it would make this entry WAYYYY too long! Let's just say that I thought it was raining as I attempted to crawl out of the trashcan. It wasn't rain...it was blood pouring from my foreheadThree hours later and I am finally decorated with my first ever, self-inflicted battle scar. As you can see by the awesome picture here, the bruising has already begun!

As my loving husband has put it so gently: "She had a fight with the trashcan...and lost!"

Now I just want to put out a word to the wise. From what I've been told, these evil trashcans are beginning to form a gang and approach people unknowingly and their venom is like nothing on this earth. Please, PLEASE, watch your back AND your forehead!

I don't want to leave you on an ugly, horrible thought, so fix your eyes on this pleasing picture of my beautiful Mother's Day bouquet that I finally awoke to Sunday night! I was blessed with three beautiful cards from my children and a special hand-crafted key chain and bracelet from my daughter!

Oh what joy...it's all about making memories!

Purposeful Living

Have you ever thought about living on purpose? I know that sounds a little awkward - we certainly don't live on accident, right? But there is a hidden meaning in this statement. Purposeful living boils down to purposeful action. How can you live a purposeful life without acting purposefully?

I've been thinking a lot about this lately. I remember hearing a sermon on this topic many years ago. I also read a book a few years back called "Raising Your Children on Purpose." There is more to raising kids than removing peanut butter from our preschooler's hair, sparing the cat from an untimely demise, and talking our teen down from a hormonal high. Proverbs 22:6 says we are to: Raise up a child the way he should go... Rather than raising our children by accident (from crisis to crisis) the Bible indicates we are to raise our children on purpose -according to their God-given purpose.

My kids are now at an age (12, 13 and 17) that the things we say and do have a real meaning for them - good or bad. They don't really remember playing with Play-Doh or writing their names in the shaving cream, but they certainly remember the vacation last year and how upset I was last week!

Remember your momma telling you to be good because you never know who might be watching you? Most of the time, it is my own children. I want to purposely fill their love tank not belittle them because they didn't quite understand today's math lesson. I want to plant a window-sill garden with them and not sigh just because the dirt spilled everywhere. I want to purposely instill in them a Godly moral warehouse and teach them how to hear that still small Voice. How do you do that? Taught not caught? Not necessarily. I think it has to be both. I can teach them to love each other and have patience but I fail if they 'catch' me loosing my patience with my husband. Just because he's a safeguard, doesn't mean I have the right to take my frustrations out on him.

I purposely took my kids to the arts festival today. Why? To expose them to incredible art and the wild arena that art encompasses. With each booth we approached, we talked about what medium was used, canvas versus framed art, what original and duplicate meant and why the price tag was different for each. It was educational, informative and fun. They were amazed at the array of artists and wanted to visit each tent. Since all of my kids draw incredibly well, they were awestruck by the talent before them. Purposeful living.
I don't want to parent from crisis to crisis. I want to know each of my children so well, that I make hourly deposits into their love bank. I want the patience and self-control to listen to the Spirit each time I attempt to make a withdrawal. I know that God created each of them individually and already has a plan for their life. As parents, we need to assess our child's natural talent and gifting and discover their God-given calling. Teach them to laugh often and love much; earn the respect of others while finding the best in the human race; find the best in others and give graciously of themselves.

We have several goals in our family and one of them is that we want our children to be a blessing to others. Sinful parents raising sinful children in a fallen world - this is not going to happen accidentally. It must be purposeful living.