Hearts in Service

It's that time of year when I have to sort through all the curriculum choices that are out there and figure out what I want to do with the children for next year. I have a headache! I find I have two problems. The first is I am very limited financially. I don't have hundreds of dollars to spend on curriculum. Secondly, I have children who do not learn well in the traditional way so I don't want to purchase a bunch of textbooks and workbooks and set them down at a table. It won't work that way and if I'm going to do that, I might as well put them back in school. So I always find myself torn between what's easier for me and what's best for them. So far the only thing that I have set in my mind are math, history and science. Math-U-See has been an excellent program for my kids and I'm sticking with it. KONOS unit studies work well for my children. They are designed to go through 8th grade but I can certainly tweak them, make them more complicated, an

We've been working on narrative writing. I gave the children a topic sentence and an ending sentence of a paragraph. They had to finish the paragraph. It was actually fun to see what they came up with and it allowed them to show their creativity. Here was the topic sentence: I'll never forget the day I met Tucker C. Throckmorton. The ending sentence was: Every time I see a chicken now, I think of Tuck. The kids all agreed that Stephen's was blog-worthy. Stephen's paragraph: I'll never forget the day I met Tucker C Throckmorton. He was the best male I ever met. Now he is dead and his leg is on my plate. He was a good boy. Now he is deep-fried and smothered in breadcrumbs. Poor Tuck. Every time I see a chicken now, I think of good old Tuck.

Oh, give us pleasure in the flowers today; And give us not to think so far away As the uncertain harvest; keep us here All simply in the springing of the year. Oh, give us pleasure in the orchard white, Like nothing else by day, like ghosts by night; And make us happy in the happy bees, The swarm dilating round the perfect trees. And make us happy in the darting bird That suddenly above the bees is heard, The meteor that thrusts in with needle bill, And off a blossom in mid air stands still. For this is love and nothing else is love, To which it is reserved for God above To sanctify to what far ends he will, But which it only needs that we fulfill.

Yesterday, I was in the mood for a soft, chewy cookie. I found a recipe for applesauce cookies. They were delicious so I thought I'd share. Applesauce Cookies 1/2 c. butter 1/4 c. shortening or margarine 1 1/2 c. sugar 1/2 c. brown sugar 2 eggs 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla 2 c. applesauce 4 1/2 c. flour 2 tsp. baking soda 1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon 1/2 tsp. cloves 1/4 tsp. nutmeg 1/2 tsp. salt raisins (optional) chopped nuts (optional) Cream together the butter and sugars. Add eggs and vanilla. Mix in applesauce. Sift together flour, soda, salt and spices. Add to the wet ingredients gradually, making sure to mix well. If you are using raisins or nuts add them in at this time. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto a greased cookie sheet. Ignore how disgusting my cookie sheets look. They are about 10 years old. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-13 minutes or until firm to the touch. Transfer to a wire rack and cool. Store in an airtight container. Makes about 6 dozen.

This fun quiz was at 50's Housewife's blog and I decided to participate. This is what it said about me which I think is pretty accurate. You Are Bare Feet You are a true free spirit, and you can't be tied down. Even wearing shoes can be a little too constraining for you at times! You are very comfortable in your own skin. You are one of the most real people around. You don't have anything to hide. Open and accepting, you are willing to discuss or entertain almost any topic. You are a very tolerant person. You are accepting and not judgmental. You should live: Somewhere warm You should work: At your own business, where you can set the rules What Kind of Shoe Are You?

This is a very rustic-looking bread that is terrific for toast. It's made with rolled oats as well as flour. This recipe makes 2 loaves. Oatmeal Bread 2 cups milk 2 Tbsp. butter 4 Tbsp. brown sugar 2 tsp. salt 1 Tbsp. salt 1 Tbsp. active, dried yeast 1/4 cup lukewarm water 3 cups rolled oats 6-8 cups all-purpose flour First scald the milk. Remove from the heat and stir in the butter, brown sugar, and salt. Let stand until lukewarm. Combine the yeast and warm water in a large bowl and whisk together. Stir in the milk mixture. Add 3 cups of oats. Add enough flour to obtain a soft dough. At this point if you are not using a mixture, transfer to a floured board and knead until smooth and elastic. Otherwise mix with a mixer until smooth and elastic. Cover and let rise until double, about 2-3 hours. Divide the dough in half and form into 2 rounds. Place on a greased baking sheet. Cover and let rise about 1 hour. After the loaves have risen, score the tops with a sharp knife.

I went to my friend Stephanie's house tonight to craft with her for an hour or so and being there reminded me of why hospitality is so important. I love going to her house. Whenever I go, she always makes me feel special. She had candles lit around the house. She made tea and served it in pretty tea cups. She had gorgeous napkins laid out. She didn't spend hours in the kitchen either to do this. She served oreos but had them on a pretty little plate. The best part is that I can take off my shoes and curl up on one of her chairs and just be myself. We talk about all sorts of things and I always come away with a sense of contentment and peace. It is so easy to fall into the trap of having to "entertain" people. How often have I run around trying to make the perfect meal? I've often spent hours cleaning the house from top to bottom and generally making my family miserable in the process. There have been so many times that I feel I have to get up an

We had our bi-annual song fest at church last night and it was a wonderful time of praise and worship! An older lady in our church started putting this together twice a year and it's a time when old and new friends get together to share a song, poem, or testimony. We have a mixture of contemporary and traditional music. I took some pictures to share with you. First of all, I got a picture of Emily in a dress. She hates wearing dresses but she looks beautiful when she does. Actually, she has been sick which is why she looks so unhappy. Dan talking with the guys before the service. Waiting to sing. Mike playing and his daughters and Emily singing. Dan, the rock star. ;-) The men's chorus. The women's chorus. Singing Grace Like Rain . Peace, Peace, God's Peace. Singing a song he wrote. We have so many talented people in our church and it's neat to see how God is using each of them in His own way.

Nathan had to work yesterday and when I dropped him off, Lisa (the caretaker's wife) invited us to come for dinner. Emily was in heaven because her only goal in life at this point is to live on a farm. Of course, I remind her that she is allergic to every last animal on a farm but that doesn't deter her! She is one determined child :-). First of all, look at this view. The farm is owned by a wealthy gentleman from Norway who works in New York City and comes up on the weekend. Brian and Lisa go to our church and are the caretakers. Lisa drove Emily & I around on the gator to see the property. By the way, that's not Lisa in the background. That's Brian. Just in case you were wondering - LOL! First, we stopped to look at the horses. Then we drove down into the woods about a mile to a huge, man-made pond. What a peaceful place! Isn't this the cutest little house? It was shipped, piece by piece from Norway and reassembled here by the pond. Then we went to

Shereen at Waiting for Him hosts Sew Crafty Friday each week. Check out some of the cute crafts the other ladies have been doing. I haven't done a lot of crafting this week. Basically, I've just been plugging away at my afghan. I haven't worked on it in about a month and decided I needed to get moving so I've been making a couple of squares a night. I still have 15 of the smaller ones in the picture to do and then 36 of a larger square which is just one more row of the lavender. Then I have to join them all together. However, I thought I'd show you my progress. The purple came out darker than it really is. It's a soft lavender color. I also made a wreath yesterday and I'm still trying to figure out where to hang it. That's it for this week. Hopefully, I'll get some more things done this next week.

I found a bag of blueberries in the back of the freezer this morning from last summer. So I decided to use them up and made blueberry buckle. I doubled this recipe and put it in a 9 x 13 pan and had to bake it a bit longer. Here is the regular recipe: Blueberry Buckle 1/2 cup margarine 1/2 cup sugar 1 egg, well-beaten 2 cups flour 2 1/2 tsp. baking powder 1/4 tsp. salt 1/2 cup milk 2 cups blueberries Cinnamon crumble Cinnamon Crumble 1/2 cup sugar 1/2 cup flour 1/2 tsp. cinnamon 1/4 cup butter First cream the margarine and sugar together. Stir in well-beaten egg. Sift together dry ingredients. Then add dry ingredients and milk, alternating between the two and stirring well. Your batter will look like this when you are done. Transfer into a well greased 11 1/2 x 7 x 1 1/2-inch pan. (Remember, I doubled the recipe that's why I have the bigger pan. Sprinkle the blueberries over the top of the batter. Mix the sugar, flour, and cinnamon for the cinnamon crumble together and then cut