Love had her first violin recital and she played beautifully! It was funny to see her reaction as she listened to some other kids her age play. I wasn't sure if it was making her nervous, but she didn't show any signs of nerves at all.
To date, she's been having one-on-one lessons with her
instructor and will soon begin playing in a group with some other kids.
We
are so very proud of how far she's come in such a short time and what makes it
even more special is to see her enjoy playing. She loves to learn new songs and
to play for her family. Whenever visitors come over, she's eager to pull out
the violin and given mini-concerts.
We kept our week of homeschooling during the week of Thanksgiving low key. On Monday we did all the reading-based subjects and left math & science for Tuesday.
On Wednesday, we watched a video on the first Thanksgiving showcasing William Bradford. He was the 2nd Governor of the Plymouth Colony for the Pilgrims.
To kick off Thanksgiving, the girls made a shoefly pie. These pies were made by the women in the colonial times. Molasses was a plentiful product that they had around in those times and made for an easy dessert. When the women would sit the pies on the window sill to cool, the sweet aroma of the molasses would attract flies, hence the name "shoefly pie"!
"Sho' fly don't bother me"!
We had a blessed Thanksgiving meal at my parents house and spent time with my hubby's side of the family late into the evening. It was a beautiful day.
God is faithful to His children, providing for them in every possible way. I give Him the glory for being all powerful, all knowing, and forever faithful.
Great is His faithfulness... Happy Thanksgiving!
Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father,
There is no shadow of turning with Thee;
Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not
As Thou hast been Thou forever wilt be.
Great is Thy faithfulness!
Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see;
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided—
Great is Thy faithfulness,” Lord, unto me!
Summer and winter, and springtime and harvest,
Sun, moon and stars in their courses above,
Join with all nature in manifold witness
To Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.
Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth,
Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide;
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,
Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!
We had a ball on Sunday watching the younger men compete against the older men in the family at a game of Flag Football.
This was the 2nd annual event and with each year they've become more and more entertaining. My brother-in-law spear heads the event and did a really job entertaining us.
It ended up being a very cold evening, so I watched the game from my car with my cousins and we laughed, cackled, and cheered them all on. My husband's team won again this year.
What was so funny to us girls as we discussed in the car was how serious the men took this game. We tried to think of one event that would motivate us to spend 2 hours out in the freezing cold, running up and down a field and we couldn't think of a single thing!
We're asked the question, "So, who does Trey look like?" quite often.
My best response is to whip out some old pictures of Love and my baby brother, Marcus. Babies change a lot in their first years, so its still too early to tell who he'll end up looking like. For now we laugh at the similarities to these baby pictures...
My Oldest Brother, Ryan holding my Baby Brother, Marcus
A friend asked me if I felt old and I happily replied, "not this year, ask me again next year".
There's something about reaching 35 that I think will make me feel as though I'm getting older only because then I'll be just 5 years away from 40. I know they say that 30 is the "new 20" and 40 is the "new 30". Maybe that is all is all true.
For now, I'll continue to still feel young in my early 30s... teehee.
I'm still opening my birthday gift... my 3 kids.
As I relish in the blessing that God has granted me in my children, its like opening a birthday gift that keeps giving everyday. Yes, there are of course those moments when one sister can't help but annoy the other sister and it seems my day is full of resolving their sisterly quarrels, the moments of giggles, neck-hugs, and "I love you Mommies" outweigh every frustration that I have as a Mom.
I smiled to myself just the other day as the girls washed their own hair and packed their own clothes as they headed off to Grandma's house. They are growing up so fast those little two girls.
Its nice saying I'm a Mom of 3.
I don't feel older and I don't feel like a mother of 3 either. Before becoming a Mom of 3, when I thought about a Mom with 3 kids you think of someone with their hands full of activity and not able to do anything without a kid on their hip. Some say that when you have 2 you can divide and conquer with both parents, but when you have 3 you're outnumbered. Well, with my mini-me mommies, I sometimes feel like a first time Mom.
My oldest just washed her first load of laundry all by herself and she was excited about it. It was just divine to think that I can just hand off the laundry and someone else will do it! (we're still working on the put away and hang up task)
Two of them are for those that enjoy some down home cooking, Collard Greens & Bread Pudding.
and, the third one is one that I dusted off from my recipe box that proved to be another family favorite (Chicken BBQ Calzone)
I didn't take any snapshots of these dishes, but if you try them out they will sure to be a hit in your home as well.
I enjoy Paula Deen's recipes. They are very tasty! The Chicken BBQ Calzone recipe is from www.allrecipes.com. I love the recipes from this website because they are pretty simple, but tasty. To get the most out of any recipe, I typically read 3-4 variations of the recipe by searching the internet and reviewing comments from people that have tried the recipe out. I usually modify the recipe based on the ingredients that my family enjoys. When you review comments, people will provide good suggestions on what to modify or how to use certain ingredients to get the most flavor out of the dish.
Collard Greens (Paula Deen's recipe)
Ingredients:
1/2 pound smoked meat (ham hocks, smoked turkey wings, or smoked neck bones)
1 tablespoon House seasoning, recipe follows
1 tablespoon seasoned salt
1 tablespoon hot red pepper sauce (I just used regular Crystal Hot Sauce)
1 large bunch collard greens
1 tablespoon butter
If you're like me and you've never made collard greens before, you can find them in the fresh produce section of Walmart or any grocery store and the I found some pork neck bones in the pork/meat section.
Directions:
In a large pot, bring 3 quarts of water to a boil and add smoked meat, house seasoning, seasoned salt and hot sauce. Reduce heat to medium and cook for 1 hour.
Wash the collard greens thoroughly. Remove the stems that run down the center by holding the leaf in your left hand and stripping the leaf down with your right hand. The tender young leaves in the heart of the collards don't need to be stripped. Stack 6 to 8 leaves on top of one another, roll up, and slice into 1/2 to 1-ince thick slices. Place greens in pot with meat and add butter. Cook for 45 to 60 minutes, stirring occasionally. When done taste and adjust seasoning.
Serve with favorite dish as a side.
House Seasoning:
1 cup salt
1/4 cup black pepper
1/4 cup garlic powder
Mix ingredients together and store in an airtight container for up to 6 months.
And, last but not least here is the Chicken BBQ Calzone Recipe,
1 cupshredded mozzarella cheese
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
Fry bacon in a large skillet over medium-high heat until crisp. Remove from the pan to drain on paper towels; crumble. Add the onion and shredded chicken to the hot bacon grease in the pan. Fry over medium heat until onion is tender. Stir in 1/3 cup of barbeque sauce, and remove from the heat. Mix in the cooked bacon.
Roll the pizza crust dough out onto a greased cookie sheet. Press out to an even thickness, and then cut in half. Divide the chicken mixture between the two pieces of dough, spreading on only half of each piece to within 1/2 inch of the edge. Drizzle the remaining sauce over the filling. Sprinkle the cheese and cilantro over the top. Fold the uncovered portion of dough over the filling, and press the edges together with a fork to seal.
Bake for 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until browned to your liking. Cool for a few minutes, then cut each calzone in half. Each serving is half of a calzone. These can be served with additional barbeque sauce if you like.
The kids had fun today touching snakes!!! yikes!!!
Animal Control made a trip to our church for the homeschooled kids to showcase the snakes and reptiles that they've captured in the Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania County area. One of the officers is a collector of snakes and taught the kids a lot of valuable information. He taught them the dangers of venomous snakes and tried to make them comfortable with the non venomous snakes.
Many of the kids got a chance to touch a snake for the first time (myself included).
Lea, the courageous, was eager to touch every reptile that was taken out while my Love literally got up from the table to brace herself each time they brought one out.
I was so proud of Love for touching just about everything.
Take note that she's in a "stance" position, just to prepare herself in case she has to run!
We ventured to Jamestown this time around for a field trip to experience what it was like for the English settlers to travel to the coast of Virginia and setup the first permanent colony.
Love trying the armor out for size
Before studying about Jamestown, we read about the attempts of
the English to establish a colony off the cost of North Carolina. This was all
new to me. It’s called the “lost colony” at Roanoke Island and it’s located in the
present day Outer Banks area. Several attempts were made by the English to setup
the Roanoke colony, but they found themselves to be “unwelcome visitors” to the
area as the Indians eventually fought back to claim the land that they had
occupied for a very long time prior to the English showing up. A number of
Englishman died in this fight and eventually they gave up and headed up further
north to colonize in Jamestown.
It was amazing to me the wealth of information that one can
dig into as I walked the girls through the age of exploration and then into the
settlement period. Not only is there a ton of information in books, the
Jamestown exhibits were overflowing with a wealth of information. As we walked
through the museum there was just so much to read. We tried to drink in as much
as we could through the museum and then when our eyes had their fill with
reading, we ventured to the replicas of the Indian Villages and Fort area.
There were also replicas of the boats that the Englishman traveled on as they
arrived into Jamestown.
Godspeed, Susan Constant, & Discovery Ships
Church within the Colony
Love learning how to make a rope by winding stray together
A boat being made by burning out the inside of a tree
This walk through history was another beautiful reminder of God's provision over our Country down through the years. As Thanksgiving nears, we can be grateful for God's grace and all the bountiful blessings that He provides day after day.
The kids, myself, and their cousin made a little trip to the nearby George Washington Birthplace for a mini-Saturday field trip. The park was hosting exhibits for the 4-H Club. On site you could visit and talk with a blacksmith, a colonial time cook in the kitchen, and talk with colonial ladies on how to use a spinning wheel. The girls are finishing up the "Farmer Boy" book in the Little House on the Prairie series and many of the skillsets that were presented at the Birthplace were also used in the Farmer Boy book. I just wonder what would it be like to live such a simplified life in today's era.
It ended up being a beautiful day outside. After talking to the Colonial people, we ate our picnic lunch and then ventured out to the water to walk the bridge. The kids couldn't help themselves. They just had to throw something in the water. They started out skipping rocks and soon I found them lugging big logs and launching them into the water!
Thankfully, we were the only ones at the bridge and weren't escorted out by any Park Rangers.
One of my favorite past times is curling up with a really good book and getting lost in it. While at the library a few weeks ago, I happened upon this book...
"Her Mother's Hope" by Francine Rivers
and, I'm so glad that I found it. The author has a pretty inspiring testimony. You can read it here, http://francinerivers.com/about.
Rivers is a really good storyteller. There's nothing like picking up a book and having a hard time putting it down.
I've actually read through this book and am reading the conclusion to the long story with the book, "Her Daughter's Dream". When I worked the only time that I really got the chance to curl up with a book was on vacation and I would push myself to finish it all before we would return home. Its nice to have the opportunity to have some time to spare here and there each day and on the weekends to read.
Many of the characters in Rivers' books go through tumultuous life experiences. What's inspiring is how they triumph and over periods of suffering and pain, they come to know Christ. The author explains in her own biography that the stories that she writes reflect her journey in coming to know Christ.
If you're looking for an inspirational book that will catch your attention and won't let go until the end, this is a good find...
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Line a 9 inch pie dish with pastry.
Blanch frozen mixed vegetables for 3 to 4 minutes. Drain.
Dice chicken and place in a large bowl. Add vegetables, thyme, onion powder, garlic powder, celery soup and potato soup. Stir together.
Pour filling into pastry lined pie dish. Arrange top layer of pie crust, seal and flute the edges. Cut slits in the top of the crust to allow for steam to escape.
Place pie on cookie sheet. Put aluminum foil around the pie crust edges. Bake at 400 degrees F (200 degrees C) for 30 minutes. Remove foil and continue to bake for an additional 30 minutes until golden brown. Remove from oven and let stand for 5 minutes and then serve.
I made up an egg wash (1 egg white and milk) and brushed on the crust, it makes for a nice browning on top.
I didn't take a picture of the inside after we cut it.
Love and Lea are so enthralled by their little brother. It will be interesting to hear what he has to say about them once he starts talking. They are literally like his shadow. Wherever he goes, they want to be there with him.
They love to hold, kiss, rock, change diapers, fetch wipes, wipe on desitin, burp, coddle, and any other job either I can use help with or whatever they can do to be near him.
Its the sweetest thing to see and its an immense blessing to have all the help.
One evening after we finished up homeschooling, I sat him in their room to be occupied while I folded clothes and as I passed by their room they were taking turns being the librarian. I think they read about 20 books to him in one sitting and Trey just sat in their arms just as content as they went from one book to the next.
My prayer is that their desire to help out with caring for him does not fade. I am enjoying all of the help!!
Love had her first violin recital and she played beautifully! It was funny to see her reaction as she listened to some other kids her age play. I wasn't sure if it was making her nervous, but she didn't show any signs of nerves at all. 
