Jason has lotion on his face (right in front of his ear)...which, if you know Jason, he is SO NOT the lotion type, which is what makes this so cute and funny. He's been working outside in this freezing weather and caved in to my advice and finally had to use some lotion (which he would deny)....and then it gets photographed. I tried to "picnik" it out, but it just didn't work. Sorry, Babe, it's forever recorded in cyber history that YOU used LOTION.
We had a very blessed Christmas surrounded by our family, and as a special treat, at least for us here in the South, it began snowing on Christmas morning just like the movies!
I know this fake smile makes terrible pictures, but I could just eat it up!
Here are the kids with Jason's parents
The princess wore tennis shoes...
These are my precious nieces, Maggie and Audrey
And Baby Jacob (my nephew) finally got PawPaw rocked to sleep!
As we approach the celebration of Christ’s birth, I am reminded of the words of John Quincy Adams. On July 4, 1837, he spoke these words:
“Why is it that, next to the birthday of the Savior of the world, your most joyous and most venerated festival returns on this day? … Is it not that, in the chain of human events, the birthday of the nation is indissolubly linked with the birthday of the Savior? That it forms a leading event in the progress of the Gospel dispensation? Is it not that the Declaration of Independence first organized the social compact on the foundation of the Redeemer’s mission upon earth. That it laid the cornerstone of human government upon the first precepts of Christianity, and gave to the world the first irrevocable pledge of the fulfillment of the prophecies announced directly from Heaven at the birth of the Savior and predicted by the greatest of the Hebrew prophets six hundred years before?”
This John Adams quote was taken from the Chuck Baldwin article linked above. When you read the founders' quotes, you get the overwhelming feeling that they all knew they were making and living out history. This was not just another rise of a nation, this was something BIG. Something blessed by the Hand of the Almighty and destined to further the Glorious Gospel to the nations of the world.
I don't pretend to put myself in the same class as the brilliant minds of the days of our founders, but I have that same gut feeling right now. Something big is in the process of happening. God is working. Nations are being dealt with. Only this time, it isn't God's hand of blessing and the birth of a nation, it is God's hand of judgment and the humbling of a nation.
Patriotic headsare already beginning to roll. There is a great possibility that I will be deleting my blog in the near future. While I believe this to be the absolute truth, this is not a blog post meant to depress anyone, unless you don't know the Saviour. If you are living with no Hope, without salvation and the promise of a home in Heaven, you should be depressed. But, thanks be to God, even in the midst of the undoing of my beloved country, I can still praise the Lord and have peace in my soul. If you don't know Jesus, this Christmas season would be a great time to look up and see from Whom your blessings flow!
"Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the
I love being a homeschool mom. I really do. It's not all fun, and it's not easy, but I honestly love it. It is one of the most rewarding ventures of my life. Having said that, let me make one thing clear: I HATE MATH! For one thing, I'm more the Language/History type; but the main reason I hate math, is that I'm the "I've just explained this clearly to you, now why in the world do you not understand it!!" type.
When I found this clip of Ma and Pa Kettle explaining Math, we all gathered round and laughed so hard. We have always loved Ma and Pa Kettle, and thought we had all their movies, but somehow we had missed this one. And just in case you're wondering, this is a perfect example of what it's like to try to teach Math to someone who already knows all the answers (translated: "to your oldest child").
Just in time for the holidays! I started my Amish Friendship Bread fermented base yesterday. It will be ready to bake on December 18. I'll share the starter recipe first. After your starter is ready, there are many bread recipes that can be used, however my favorite one has vanilla pudding in the mix. It makes the most delicious, moist muffins ever! These are so wonderful, and make great gift basket stuffers. They also freeze well. I usually bake several batches and wrap them individually, then put them in a ziploc bag and they keep for a long time. (well, I say that...ours never last long around here!)
For the starter:
1 (.25 oz) package active dry yeast 1/4 c. warm water 1 c. all purpose flour 1 c. sugar 1 c. milk
Step 1: In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in water. Let stand 10 minutes. In a 2 quart glass, plastic, or ceramic container, combine the flour and sugar thoroughly. Slowly stir in the milk and then the yeast mixture. Cover loosely. Consider this Day 1. (I use a Corning Ware mixing bowl and cover my bowl with a plate).
Step 2: For Days 2 thru 4, stir the starter with a plastic spoon once each day.
Step 3: On Day 5, stir in 1 c. flour, 1 c. sugar, and 1 c. milk.
Step 4: Days 6 thru 9, stir once each day with plastic spoon.
Step 5: Day 10. Stir in 1 c. flour, 1 c. sugar, and 1 c. milk. At this point, you will have enough for 4 (1-cup) starters. Use each starter to make a batch of bread, or to give away to friends with instructions, or save 1 and start the process over again beginning with Step 2.
Now, for the actual bread recipe:
Amish Friendship Bread
Preheat oven to 325. Prepare muffin tins by spraying and sprinkling with cinnamon/sugar. I personally prefer to use paper cupcake liners, which I also spray and sprinkle.
To the 1 cup starter, add:
1 c. oil 1/2 c. milk 1 c. sugar 2 c. all-purpose flour 3 large eggs 1 tsp. vanilla 2 tsp. cinnamon 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder 1/2 tsp. baking soda 1/2 tsp. salt 2 small boxes instant vanilla pudding
Mix with mixer and poor into muffin tins. Sprinkle the tops with cinnamon/sugar. Bake 25-30 minutes. Remove and let cool for about 10 minutes, then wrap individually with plastic wrap or preferrably press-n-seal (plastic wrap is not good for my Christian testimony).
These are so good and definitely worth the work and wait!
A friend of mine posted this on Facebook, and I just had to share it.
I just love homeschoolers! Just when you thought the world was going to become like Ingsoc from 1984, and people were becoming dumber and more dependent with each generation......BOOM! Homeschooling bursts onto the scene, to the eternal chagrin of the state. Now arises a new generation of independent thinkers who are slaves neither to tradition nor public opinion. This video is a hilarious and clever example of what homeschooling is all about. (watch it all the way to the end!)
On a more serious note, I don't get all upset about Santa Claus. I grew up waiting on Santa every Christmas Eve, and my parents still managed to instill in me a love for Christ and an appreciation for the true meaning of Christmas. Jason was raised the same way. We are both blessed with Godly Christian parents and were raised in loving, stable homes. Even so, we've tried to break any molds that we started out with and raise our children the way that the Lord would have us to do so. We've made many mistakes, had to backtrack many times, and we readily acknowledge that our own children will have many opportunities to do things differently, and no doubt better, by their own children.
Having said that, we actually tried Santa Claus one year when Caleb was a toddler. Maybe it's just my personality, but I honestly could not keep a straight face. I felt like the most ridiculous tale spinner around! Anyway, long story short, we just decided that it would just be too difficult to try to reconcile the tradition of Santa Claus and the birth of Christ as having anything to do with each other. I've posted before about what our Christmas looks like. (Here's a link to KK and Sis quoting Scripture 3 years ago).
After studying out the holiday traditions, we came to some conclusions. First of all, that the Easter Bunny and Halloween both are decidedly and ENTIRELY pagan, and our family would have no part in these holidays. The tradition of Saint Nicholas, from which our Santa Claus supposedly comes, seems to be a harmless tradition. Though the history is sketchy, he apparently was a kind, compassionate person who left surprise gifts for the poor. No problem.
However, I have to admit as I was laughing at the explanations these girls in the video above were giving about the impossibility of Santa knowing the thoughts and whereabouts of all children at all times, and about the fact that, as a man, he could not possibly still be alive, I got an uneasy feeling. Is Santa just a harmless tradition, or is he a creation of the jealous one (Satan....S-a-n-t-a, S-a-t-a-n....um, you can't overlook that) to cause children to love an omniscient, omnipresent, eternal, benevolent being other than the TRUE Omniscient, Omnipresent, Eternal, Benevolent Being Who is Jesus Christ?
I don't pretend to be perfect, and I know that there are many traditions of Christmas that are of questionable origin, and I AM NOT THE SANTA POLICE. I don't mean to come across as a Pharisee, and frankly, I just don't have time to worry about what anyone else does. Tara Stringer keeps me so busy and frustrated that I can't monitor the rest of the world. This is just a little food for thought for parents.
"Today is the anniversary of the second worst attack on American soil in our nation's history. Unlike the 911 attacks and the Ground Zero mosque, the Japanese have not asked to build a Shinto shrine at Pearl Harbor. The Japanese have not announced their intent to break ground on December 7th for such a shrine; nor have they applied for taxpayer funds from a Pearl Harbor Fund for a Shinto Shrine at Pearl Harbor.
The very idea would have been unthinkable. Not anymore. "
To read the rest of this article by Pamela Geller, click HERE.
I'm so thankful for how dedicated Caleb and Madelyn have been to their piano studies. They work hard, and I pray that the Lord will bless their efforts for His glory.
Our poor Bub. Poor, poor Bubbie. That boy gets a lot of teasing. (He gets lots of spoiling too, so don't think we're too mean!) It's just that he's such an easy target, and he's so much fun that we can't resist. Last year, on his 5th birthday, we convinced him that he was going to grow a mustache when he turned 5. And he did!!
So this year, we've convinced him that at age 6, one's hair turns gray. He's very worried. It's a good thing he's a sound sleeper. Those hair color spray cans are LOUD!
So, around 8:30 this morning, if you hear a rumble, it's not an earthquake. It's probably just Bubbie dealing with old age. (I love that boy!)
