Nice day to snuggle up in a blanket and read

Which is what I plan on during later today.  If you are in need of a good book sugestion head over to She reads for a good selection of several good Christian fiction.  Christian fiction has gotten better and better and not everything ends up in a nice neat little package (just like real life).  They feature give aways at times and if you belong to book club they provide you with extra resources to help you.  Check it out.

Errands that need to be done

Today I will have to perform several errands that are not very pleasant to do.  One is getting my picture for my license.  Ugh, I don't feel like I photograph well to begin with and NO one looks good in these pictures.  Of course if I am careful and obey the law maybe no one will see it.  But then there are always those rare times when I have to show it as an ID and I just sit and grimace as they look at this totoally awful picture to make sure I am who I say I am.
Next errand is the annual sign up of benefits at my work.  I don't sign up for anything because we use my hubby's insurance but I still have to go to the office hand in my papers and have them make a copy of my insurance card. (my job is a rare job where they give me a little bit every month because I don't take the insurance.  They need to make sure I am covered though and just not opting out to get the money).   
These I consider nuisance errands, errands that are just annoying but need to be done.  There are errands that I find enjoyable like going to the fabric or craft store to get the items needed for making that special something for someone, buying presents for birthdays, Christmas shopping and even occasionally grocery shopping when I am gaithering the ingrediants for a special meal or treat.

If you want to start a study on Thanksgiving here are a few places to start.  Here is a sight that explores what was really eaten on that first Thanksgiving.  This is a site that offers a scavenger hunt that your children can do.  And this site  has some Thanksgiving themed online games .
    

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

My review of this book is here

Cherry Cheesecake Murder by Joanne Fluke

My review of this book is here

Holidays

Now that he holidays are upon us I have noticed that more and more of the emails I have been getting are dealing with different crafts, food, decorating ideas to do with each of the holidays.

One site I try to visit everyday I have already listed here but it never hurts to plug a good site.  Homeschool Freebie of the day  has a great freebie today.  It is a pdf e- book of what other homeschool families do for the holidays.  The direct link is  here.

When my two older kids were younger I made this game.  They spent hours playing this game and became quite good at it.  We used marbles for the tokens that you move. 

Yesterday was the anniversary of the dedication of the Statue of Liberty.  Here is a paper craft you can print out and glue together to make your own Statue.

Hope everyone has a great day.

Rainy Days

It is dark now when I drive home at 6:30 a.m. from work.  This morning it was raining and the glare was pretty bad in places tha I had a hard time seeing where the lanes were.  I dislike when that happens. I really don't like driving home in the dark when  it is suppose to be light ( according to my body clock anyway).  Sunday is the time change don't forget to fall back an hour.

Got this in my email today Car schooling.  This is a great resource whenyou are always running around to all those lessons, clubs and whatever (I use to joke with my hubby that I don't know why it is called homeschooling as we were always in the van, times have changed though since I only have one I don't do as much running around but still do a good bit.)

What a weekend

This weekend was a tiring weekend emotional and physically.  My Husband was home which was a good thing.  We spent some good quality time together.  We have decided to do a Bible study together on 1 Corinthians. will post more on that in later posts.  My youngest daughter had a bit  of a sore throat over the weekend.  She gets them quite often but they won't take out her tonsils because she doesn't get strep throat enough during the year so she has to suffer through sore throat after sore throat.
Then my oldest daughters boyfriend of two years broke up with her.  She didn't see it coming and was devasted.  This is her first boyfriend so it was really hard (not that every break up isn't hard).  I was trying to console her but I kept thinking of all the cliche things that people say and I didn't want to say any of those things  because they really don't lessen the pain so I just sat and listened.  I will just pray and be there for her.

The homeschool freebie tha I found today is this site.  It is a site that takes you through the process of building a castle and makes a great unit for studying middle ages. 

Unit Study on Book Of Virtues

I was cleaning out my email and I came upon this link to a free unit study on The Book of Virtues by William Bennett.  It looks excellent and the lady who put it together did an excellent job.  The unit study can be found here.  It is a little ways down the right hand side under Book of Virtues. 

Chili weekend

No that isn't a misspelling in the title.  I thought I would post my chili recipe in this post as the weather has turned and I turn to this recipe often.  My family loves this chili and it even has a place in our Christmas celebration as it is what we eat whieldecorating the Christmas tree.  I guess it is considered Cincinnati chili as it is little different than what most people think of when they think of chili.

Mindy's chili
I am just guessing at the amounts as I just kinda eye everything

Elbow macaroni  depending on how soupy you like you chili 1 cup to 2cups
1 can of chili beans
1 envelope of onion soup mix
hamburger  again depend on how much you like 1pound  (I usually use about 1 1/2 pounds as we like our chili meaty)
one can of tomato juice (the large cans found in the juice aisle)

put macaroni on to cook (cook till tender).  meanwhile brown hamburger.  I open both cans and add a bit of chili powder and the onion soup mix to the tomato juice.  drain macaroni and mix all ingredients together.  Add chili powder to taste.  Simmer until heated through.  serve with crackers.  Is even better the next day.





    

Failures

Bound for Life

Our Perspective determines what we notice

I belong to Thomas Nelson Blogger reviewers.  The book that I am reading now is The Noticer by Andy Andrews.

I just started reading this little book yesterday and already in the first chapter two things struck me. 

One is this quote" Why does everyone think that when people say that God will put a person after His own heart where He wants him to be that it means God will put them on a mountaintop or in a big house or at the front of the line?"

As the book goes on to say that everyone wants to be on the Mountain top but if you think about it the mountain tops are usually cold and rocky and no growth but down in the valleys there is all kinds of growing going on,  the top of the mountain does give us a great view but a view is just to give us a glimpse of our next destination, the next mountain.  Then we need to come down into the valley and start climbing the next mountain.  I paraphrased a bit but that's the general idea. 

We always think that the mountain top is the best, being first in line is best.  But where ever you are now is where God wants you to be and it's up to you to learn the lessons that God wants you to learn so you can continue on your destination and start climbing that next mountain.

The next thing that struck me   is this statement.  Whatever you focus upon, increases.  If you focus on what you need, your needs increase.  If you focus on what you don't have you will focusing on other things that you don't have, but if you have a grateful perspective you are happy and have abundance in your life. If you are happy and enthusiastic people like to be around you.  Opportunities and encouragement come from people and if people like to be around you , you get more opportunities and encouragement.  But the opposite is true also, if you are negative , complaining, and disagreeeable other people stay away  then things just get worse and worse.

In the first chapter this book has gotten to really examine my life and see if I am complaining or grateful.  I can't wait to see what the rest of the book holds

Green by Ted Dekker

See my review here

67 days till Christmas

According to my little ticker at the bottom of this blog there are 67 days till Christmas.  I guess along with deciding about handmade gifts we should start planning what we want to do and what we need to buy to make sure we have a stress free Christmas.  Families with a Purpose website has a free 8 week plan to a Frazzle free Christmas that you can download here.  If you need to clean and want a more indepth plan go here.  This site offers a more indepth plan and even has dividers you print out.

Comanche Moon by Larry McMurtry

find my review for this book here

My birthday

Today is my birthday.  It has me thinking that I have lived well over half of my life.  It's fiunny how when we are younger we can't wait to have our birthday's and as we get older it's not such a big deal.  When I was growing up my mom and dad always made sure that I got my favorite meal and a birthday cake.  These days I am content  just to spend the day during things I enjoy doing.  Listening to music, doing things on the computer, reading a good book or watching a good movie.  Spending time with my family if able.  This year it looks like it will just be me and my youngest daughter  but that's okay as I know that I am loved by the rest of my family.

This cute guy was my present from my daughters. They know that snowmen melt my heart.   He was holding a soft light blue fleece blanket that kept me warm last night as I slept.  The picutre was taken by the new camera that my hubby gave me.

Heres hoping everyone has a great day.

A few Pics

Here is what my daughter looked like last week when she came home after hanging out with some neighbor kids (yes my daughter is one of those unsocialized homeschooled kids.  She only has two or more kids coming by everyday wanting her to come out and hang out (I want so much to say play but she's 14 so I guess she doesn't "play"))

The next two pictures are of the newest member of our family.  This is Shanaynay Scarecrow.  We saw her at the grocery store today and she was too cute to leave her there.  Hannah picked her out and named her.

The culture we live in is training us to be impatient

The title of this post was something that Beth Moore said in my Bible study on Esther.  Timing is very important in the book of Esther.  Last nights lesson was on Chapter 5 verses 1-8.  In it Esther is asked twice by the king what her request is and she puts him off because it is not the right time.  We get tired of waiting for things like events, people etc. but the Bible tells us to wait upon the Lord.  When we wait upon the Lord he will renew our strenghth Isa. 40:31.  I am really enjoying my study of Esther. 

This is one of my favorite Worship songs.

It is one of those songs that gives me chills everytime I hear it or sing it.  Don't know why just does.

Snow this weekend

Watched the weather this morning and the weatherman said that there could be snow over the weekend.  Where did our fall go?  And more important  what about Indian summer?  I always enjoy that extra couple of days before the weather turns cold for months.

In my email from The Old Schoolhouse magazine they reminded me that I really should start crafting for Christmas if I want to give homemade gifts.  I am going to make a nice fleece blanket for my grand niece.  The instructions can be found here  from project linus .  They have a pdf file that I keep on my computer.  These are really nice and warm blankets and simple to make. Here is a picture of a finished blanket.

Anything I have Achieved, I failed my way there-Beth Moore

I try to listen to either Beth Moore or Kay Arthur on my way home from work every morning.  This morning it was Beth and in her talk she made the Quote that is the title for this post. 
Isn't this quote true for most of our lessons learned.  I know that I have failed more times than I care to count but if we are faithful and apply the lessons we have learned we will eventually make it.

Heart of the Matter is offering a free Lapbook from A journey through Learning if you sign up for their newsletter.  Also A Journey Through Learning is offering a free lapbook on the 17th centruy for signing up for their  newsletters.  My daughter has done several lapbooks and really liked them.  

End of Vacation

Today marks the official end of my vaction as I have to go back to work tonight.   We had a great time these past two weeks. 

The weather here in southeastern Pa is chilly and crisp.
This is a picture of the beautiful mums that my hubby got me for my birthday.  My birthday is not until Saturday but there is a chance he won't be home so he went ahead and got me these.  The picture is taken with the digital camera he also got me for my birthday.  We realized that with all the pictures we took on our vacation and with me blogging regularly a good digital camera would probably be a good idea.  I am still trying to figure it all out.
Here is an article from Heart of the Matter online How God carves a Pumpkin.  This website has a great newsletter that you can subscribe to for free.

Does God Exist?

In the Beginning

My family and I went to see the Sight and Sound production of "In The Beginning".  It was really a great show.  It tells the story of creation, Lucifer's rebellion, the fall of man and the  redemption of man through Jesus Christ.  Sight and Sound really goes all out when they put on the show.  Some of the animals were so well animated that it was hard to tell the live ones from the mechanical ones.  The actors drew us in from the very beginning.  My husband made a comment after that it is amazing how even after man's fall God still provided a way for us to come to Him.  And Satan played right into God's hand.  We were discussing our favorite scenes and each of us had our very own.  
We got a alittle sneak peak of the new show Joseph when one of the actors from "In the Beginning"  came out and sang one of the songs.  It looks like it will be another wonderful show. 

Vacation week two

This has been another busy week of vacation.  Sunday we finished doing the carpets.  Monday we went to Washington D.C.  We took the metro down into Washington D.C.  The first thing we saw ws the Capital Building and the Washington Monument. We then went to the Museum of Art.  After seeing several exhibits
 we went to the Museum of American History.  I posted several slide shows in the side bar.  One is of Washington D.C. and the others are of the zoo.  I put the D.C. ones in order but not the zoo ones.  After the Museum of American History we went down to see the Washington Monument up close and then saw the World War II Mermorial, Lincoln Memorial, Korean War Memorial, and saw the Jefferson Memorial across the Tidal Basin as we were just to tired to walk any further.  We then took the metro back to our car and went to our motel room.  On Tuesday we slept in a bit then got up and went to the National Zoo.  The main attraction was the Panda.  We took alot of pictures and I had to make two slideshows to fit them all in.  We still didn't see everything but came home around 3:30.  Yesterday was stuff around the house getting things ready for the winter.  Today we are going to Sight and Sound Theater to see "In the Beginning".

These two weeks have gone by fast but we have had a good time. 

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Panda
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Cheetah
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Lioness at National zoo
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Our vacation

Our vacation has been very eventful so far.  We had to start it a day late because Dave didn't get home until Monday.  Monday night we went to Dave's mom's house and spent Tuesday with her.  Dave did some work around the house for her and Hannah learned to ride the riding mower.  Wednesday we went to Philadelphia and went to The Franklin Institute.  We were about the only ones there.  We went to see the film about sharks and we were the only ones in the theater.  We explored the space exhibit and the health and fitness exhibit.  Hannah and I walked through the giant heart.  We saw the train exhibit.  The last thing we did was go to the planetarium.  After we left we took Hannah down memory lane by going by some things that we use to go to when we lived in that area.  We took her to past our first apartment in Pa.  We then went back to Dave's Mom's.  Thursday we said goodbye to Mom Detweiler and headed to Valley Forge.  We went to the visitors center and looked at the exhibits then went to see the short fime that they had.  We then went back to the center and bought some souvenirs.  We then went on the driving tour.  It was very interesting seeing all the different places that  had encampments.  We were able to see alot of deer and got some really neat pictures up close.  My husband said that he was pleasantly surprised by how much he enjoyed Valley Forge and Hannah had a good time too.  We headed home from there and arrived home just in time for supper then Hannah was off to youth group.  Friday we ran some errands then went up to see our niece.  On the way there we stopped at Wilbur Chocolate in Lititz and enjoyed see the old candy making stuff and saw how they make the candy today.  Of course we had to buy some.  We found a set of chocolate that looked like hair accessories and bought it for our oldest daughter because she is a hair stylist.  Then it was up to the main event.  We went to see our niece who just had a baby and spent some time with her family including her mom, who is Dave's sister, and her dad and her brother and his wife and her two younger siblings her sister and brother.  We really had a good time.  I made a new slide show of this weeks activites in the side bar.  Saturday and today has been spent cleaning the carpets and rearranging the house which was all my husband.

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This was taken at Valley Forge yesterday. We were able to get really close to the deer. I guess they are use to people and cars. Unfortunately the park is close to the turnpike and a lot of deer get hit there.
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