Recipe Tuesday

I know it's not Tuesday but let's pretend. Plus you may need today's recipe for the Halloween Movie marathon you have planed for this weekend. If you are like me, I hope you are, and have a love for popcorn. I really love popcorn. I like to eat it while I am reading my text books for school. This could be the reason I am not losing any weight, well that and the fact that I sit on my butt reading the online version because I am to Cheap to spring for the hard copy. Today I just wanted something easy to eat and to snack on so I thought of the bag of popcorn in my cabinet. Then I had an idea. A wonderful, truly awful idea Kettle Corn. Do your stomach just jump for joy? Mine did. Today's recipe is super easy and it comes from http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/kettle-corn/detail.aspx . Have you been to Allrecipe.com yet? I love to get lost there sometimes I pretend to have dinner parties, or sweet romantic dinners for two, but I usually go for kid friendly. I like that you can look up things based on ingredients for all that fresh Zucchini I have been picking, or the eggs I love to buy from my farmer friend. Here is the recipe.

Kettle Corn
Ingredients

• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup unpopped popcorn kernels

Directions

1. Heat the vegetable oil in a large pot over medium heat. Once hot, stir in the sugar and popcorn. Cover, and shake the pot constantly to keep the sugar from burning. Once the popping has slowed to once every 2 to 3 seconds, remove the pot from the heat and continue to shake for a few minutes until the popping has stopped. Pour into a large bowl, and allow to cool, stirring occasionally to break up large clumps

 Here is my Kettle Corn

 Turns out it is a little difficult to take a picture in a bright yellow kitchen of popcorn in a glass bowl.

Everything turns yellow the popcorn, the bowl, the table. One day I will take a photography class

Have you ever heard of the three kernel test? I haven't so just in case you have not either I am going to share with you. When you are heating the oil put 3 pieces of popcorn in the oil when they pop the oil is ready. I wish I had know about this earlier. I have spent years trying to determine if the oil/butter was ready. Butter is good to pop the corn with but it is a little temperamental. I recommend sticking to oil but not Flax seed oil because it make the house and pop corn smell like dead fish. YUCK. I am eating the Kettle corn now and it is yummy. I may eat the whole bowl because the boys are currently pretending to take a nap. Rob is at work. They will never miss this wonderful sweet treat. Plus to be fair to my greediness I made 5 dozen cookies yesterday and between the boys they are all gone. So you are right it doesn't help, and now I feel guilty enough to save some. Maybe. I hope you enjoy your kettle corn as much as I have enjoyed mine.

I hope your weekend be filled with cute costumes, spooky movies, Kettle Corn, Love and Laughter. Be well my friends.

Bible verse

I have been thinking about this verse since Sunday after my RCIA class and today I would like to share it with you.

1 Corinthians 12

New American Standard Bible

The Use of Spiritual Gifts

¹ Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware. ² You know that when you were pagans, you were led astray to the mute idols, however you were led. ³ Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking ^[a]by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus is ^[b]accursed”; and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except ^[c]by the Holy Spirit.
⁴ Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit. ⁵ And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord. ⁶ There are varieties of effects, but the same God who works all things in all persons. ⁷ But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. ⁸ For to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, and to another the word of knowledge according to the same Spirit; ⁹ to another faith ^[d]by the same Spirit, and to another gifts of ^[e]healing ^[f]by the one Spirit, ¹⁰ and to another the ^[g]effecting of ^[h]miracles, and to another prophecy, and to another the ^[i]distinguishing of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, and to another the interpretation of tongues. ¹¹ But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills.
¹² For even as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ. ¹³ For ^[j]by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.
¹⁴ For the body is not one member, but many. ¹⁵ If the foot says, “Because I am not a hand, I am not a part of the body,” it is not for this reason ^[k]any the less a part of the body. ¹⁶ And if the ear says, “Because I am not an eye, I am not a part of the body,” it is not for this reason ^[l]any the less a part of the body. ¹⁷ If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? ¹⁸ But now God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body, just as He desired. ¹⁹ If they were all one member, where would the body be? ²⁰ But now there are many members, but one body. ²¹ And the eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you”; or again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” ²² On the contrary, ^[m]it is much truer that the members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary; ²³ and those members of the body which we ^[n]deem less honorable, ^[o]on these we bestow more abundant honor, and our less presentable members become much more presentable, ²⁴ whereas our more presentable members have no need of it. But God has so composed the body, giving more abundant honor to that member which lacked, ²⁵ so that there may be no ^[p]division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. ²⁶ And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is ^[q]honored, all the members rejoice with it.
²⁷ Now you are Christ’s body, and individually members of it. ²⁸ And God has ^[r]appointed in the church, first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then ^[s]miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, various kinds of tongues. ²⁹ All are not apostles, are they? All are not prophets, are they? All are not teachers, are they? All are not workers of ^[t]miracles, are they? ³⁰ All do not have gifts of healings, do they? All do not speak with tongues, do they? All do not interpret, do they? ³¹ But earnestly desire the greater gifts.
And I show you a still more excellent way.

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+12&version=NASB

Maybe you have already read this verse, maybe you haven't either way it is a good reminder that we are all part of one body, together we create one, that each of us have different talents and weaknesses but that we are all equal. This verse calms me, calms the very core of me. Jesus tells us that we are all special put without one another we are not. That we need each other to be complete. I think this is incredible  Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.
¹⁴ For the body is not one member, but many. I think this is about all the different religions and christian churches too. I think sometimes we as humans get wrapped up in what we are that we forget that we are all one. I mentioned in a earlier post how I got caught up in a discussion on facebook with a friend of a friend. It ended badly. I (I am by no means perfect. I am very flawed.) tried to be respectful and do the research so that I could answer his questions. The person turned to attacking my beliefs because they are different then from his own. I in turn got upset and posted some insanely long reply about everything he had attacked me on. Then I refused to answer his questions any further. If we could all spread joy instead of hate the world would be better. I am learning and I will be learning for a long time no one religion can be learned over night. I enjoy doing the research and having a friendly debate but please do not attack me, or anyone else for that matter. I believe that God calls us to where we need to be. He brings us to learn and grow in him in the best way he knows we need. You do not have to believe the same way that I do. We are all different. Maybe we can grow and learn together. I may need you and you may be surprised by me. Together we are one body.


I hope that this week is filled with kindness, joy, Love, and Laughter. Be well my friends.

Ideas for November

Today between trying to convince a three year old that learning to read is both fun, and important, convince a seven year old that finishing his "school" work early leaves him the rest of the day for playing, and reading, I am printing out next months unit studies we are going to do two A Thankful Thanksgiving and 25 Days of Thanksgiving lapbook, I am reading Sakuntala and Indian play, I am making dinner crock-pot potato soup, and finally I am looking for some great ideas for a whole month of Giving Thanks. It is a lot more multitasking then I can really handle so as long as you don't look into the fact that cleaning is not on the list for today I think we will be fine on this little adventure. Besides it is all of November school work for both boys, so everything works out nicely.

 I found a neat craft here http://thecraftingchicks.com/2010/10/thankful-tree.html called the Thankful tree. You gather some pretty branches and put them into a vase decorated or not (I am going to buy some pretty autumn leaves from hobby lobby, and maybe some ribbon. Maybe I will buy some pretty ribbon and tell the boys in my life That Moms are girls and we like pretty things to look at.) then you print out leaves, or buy some already printed leaves and have the whole family write what they are thankful for on a leaf and tie it on the the branch with ribbon or tape or maybe just glue it. I love the idea that the whole family does this together. I will take pictures when I get everything together. Maybe I can be Thankful for the Whole month of November.

The units studies and lapbooks, I am excited to start these. Everyday is a bible verse about being thankful, and everyday the boys will get to think of things that they are thankful for for 25 days. This is the lapbook. The unit study is about pilgrims and the first Thanksgiving. I am looking forward to doing both of these with the boys. Here is the link to where you can find them http://www.currclick.com/product_info.php?products_id=43106&it=1&filters=0_30558_0_0_0_0_0
http://www.currclick.com/product_info.php?products_id=25801&it=1&filters=0_30558_0_0_0_0_0
Right now Currclick is having a trunk or treat sell where you can find deals for up to 75% off on a lot of wonderful unit studies and lapbooks. http://www.currclick.com/index.php

Back to Sakuntala for me. I hope you have a wonderful week filled with love and laughter. Be well my friends.

Trama in the garden...

I know I said I would be busy doing school work but I took a break to water the garden. What I found is unspeakable, totally horrible, but I am going to share it with you. The cat, my Husbands Cat, has found a liking for Rats. Now I never know when I am going to find them dead in the garden. Last week I found the head of a rat, this week the back half of one. I have to clean them up so the boys won't mess with it. It is gross, very gross. I wanted to puke! My heart is racing right out of my chest. I think I need a sedative to calm down. I am forever traumatized.I did take some lovely pictures, and I did find some lovely squash ready to be picked. So one to the garden update.

This is what I picked today.

Hello Squash!

I love this kid.

He is cute.

He is still cute too.

I love him too.

We had a wind storm. It beat up the squash beds.

It is still going strong even though it is beat up and sad looking.

I don't know what kind of squash this is. It is happy.

Melon. Yum Yum Yum

A bigger Melon. I hope they make it to full size.

The boy's beans.

Acorn squash in the boy's bed.

Another squash bites the dust.

Baby Kale! I hope it gets big.

Surprise purple Asparagus. We thought this didn't make it but God is good.

Look! Look! A baby pie pumpkin.

We have a lot to learn when it comes to gardening. I am glad we are getting some squash. When these plants are done we are going to be making some changes in how we garden. We watched this amazing movie/film that changed how we look at the soil.  http://backtoedenfilm.com/  I want to encourage you to watch the film on this website. It is about the importance of trusting God, and mulch. I am simplifying it but it is an exciting movie on how to garden. You'll see as we get ready to set it up early next year. We will put it in God's hands.

I hope you have a wonderful week filled with love and Laughter. Be well my friends.

Pictures or not.

I thought about taking pictures of the garden for an update. When I took the camera outside in the cold 47 degrees to do so I remembered that I charged the battery. When I came in to get the battery it was sitting next to the charger not charged at all. So that is why I haven't posted a garden update. That and a twenty page power point I have to do for science class. I do not understand a power point presentation for an online class. I would rather write a full paper then try to figure out what to put into a power point. My husband is going to help me set it up soon. I asked what the point was and he starts talking about careers and meetings. I do not have a career unless homeschooling kids count. I know I need to learn how to do a PowerPoint presentation for our weekly family meetings what's for dinner, who gets what chores, schedules, and whatever. It's not like family really listen to me when I sit them down for a family meeting. I can see it in their eyes Wha wa wa. . . I tried talking louder, and quieter but I know I am the charlie brown teacher. They all (Even my husband) just stare at me, then when I am nearing the end they all say Ok, that sounds great. The question was what should we do for Thanksgiving. Sometimes being the CEO of such a large company is a bit of a lonely job. Power point might just be the way to go if I used interesting pictures and drawings. No, I am not really all that creative. The point is if you don't see a garden update then I am reading the Aeneid, or writing a paper about the heroic qualities compare to other Greek heroes or I am stilling trying to figure out the power point on Ecotourism in Belize. A week and a half left of forestry. . .


I hope your week runs smoothly and is filled with love and laughter. Be well my friends.

Recipe Tuesday

Pumpkin Spice latte Recipe from Betty Cooker

Ingredients
Lattes

2  cups milk

2  tablespoons canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)

1  to 2 tablespoons sugar (to taste)

1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

1    tablespoon vanilla

1/2 cup hot brewed coffee       

 

Garnish, if desired

Whipped cream

Dash pumpkin pie spice

2 cinnamon sticks

In 2-quart saucepan, heat milk, pumpkin and sugar over medium heat until hot (do not boil). Remove from heat. Stir in 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice, the vanilla and coffee. 2 Pour into 2 large mugs. Garnish each with whipped cream, dash pumpkin pie spice and a cinnamon stick

Tips:
Allow the Pumpkin-Spice Latte to cool, and serve over ice for a cold version.
If you do not have pumpkin pie spice at home, make your own by combining 1 tablespoon of ground cinnamon, 2 teaspoons of ground ginger and 1/2 teaspoon of ground nutmeg. This will make about 2 tablespoons of pumpkin pie spice mix.

http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/pumpkin-spice-latte/a1ef6f8d-3c99-4b9d-86e4-25bdb1c46846?ESRC=16030&WT.mc_id=partner_facebook_Bettycrocker


When this recipe showed up on my Facebook news feed I knew I had to try it for myself. I love pumpkin spice lattes from Starbucks but I don't like to pay $5 for a cup of yummy so it is rare that I get to sit back and enjoy a treat just for me. This morning I decided it was the day to give this recipe a try. Let me tell you that the only that would have made it better is whipped cream on top. I added a full cup of coffee instead of just half a cup. It was a lovely way to start my day.

I hope your day is filled with your favorite coffee flavors,love and laughter. Be well my friends

Meal Plans

I need to go grocery shopping. Which means I need to make a list. I also need to plan two weeks worth of meals. Unfortunately all of the above falls to me. The boys in my family don't care and never have any input in what we eat until it is on the table or when I should be making dinner. I am looking for easy meals. I have two weeks left of Science and ten more weeks of my Literature class which means the next two weeks are filled. Twenty page power point on deforestation, two labs, a discussion board post on forest products, and a final covering science and a 1200 word essay on the Aeneid, read the Aeneid, a discussion board on Sakuntala, read Sakuntala. If you can't tell my next two weeks are full, very full. So what is for dinner?

Two weeks of meals:

1. Rosemary Chicken in the crock pot, with rice and a green vegetable
2. Chicken and Cheese Enchiladas
3. Tomato, Basil and Cheese Baked pasta
4. Baked Potato soup-slow cooker style
5. Huge pot of Chili that makes three meals
6. Not to worry I will freeze the leftovers to have later
7. in the two weeks. It will be vegetarian Chili
8. Another Roast Chicken with mashed cauliflower, and corn
9. Chicken noodle soup
10. Lentil soup
11. Vegetable soup
12. Curry Pumpkin soup
13. Butternut Squash Bake
14. Broccoli-Potato Soup with greens
15. Pork fried rice, with stir fried vegetables
16. Pumpkin, Barley, and sage soup

Lots of soup for the month, but soup is easy and mostly does not require a lot of meat. We are trying to lower our meat intake down to about 5%. Basically just enough so that my husband doesn't feel deprived. We watched a documentary called Forks Over Knives and it changed the way we eat. It recommends a whole food diet and we aim for that but I really like to cook. . .Most of the time anyway. It is in the works, just small changes that improve our over all health. As soon as I finish up my science class we will start family walks again. Which might help my waist line slim a little but then again it will be just in time for the holidays. I need to learn to tight rope walk, or juggle, or just plain multitasking. I will get there someday.

I hope your week is filled with crisp fall mornings, hot chocolate, Love and Laughter. Be well my friends.

Lessons learned October 9, 2011

Lessons learned a weekly debrief
October 9, 2011

I know I am a day late on my Sunday lessons learned. I hope that you will forgive me.Saturday I got into a discussion about the meaning of Jeremiah 10 with a friend of my sister in law on facebook. I did a crazy amount of research so that I would sound like I knew what I was talking about and that I made my point very clear. Which turned into a debate over Christmas. It has reached an out of control level of craziness on my part. I am compelled to answer and research and answer again. I got to read large parts of the bible because I always read ahead and further after the verse given to me. I find that the meaning of any verse when taken out of context can mean anything you want it to mean. When you see the whole picture it becomes clear, and beautiful. I found this article that said everything about Christmas trees and it is worth reading. I am posting the last few paragraphs because it sums up the whole article.

Jeremiah 10 and the “Pagan” Christmas Tree by Dr. Richard P. Bucher
From the foregoing, it is abundantly clear that the "decorated tree" to which Jeremiah 10 refers is an idol, very likely the Asherah. Therefore, it is very superficial Bible interpretation and pure silliness to understand this passage as directly referring to the use of a fir tree for Christmas! If, and I repeat, if those who set up a Christmas tree fall down and worship it as a god or goddess, complete with altars and incense stands, then Jeremiah 10 applies here. Or if someone loves their Christmas tree more than God, then such a thing might also be considered spiritual idolatry. But apart from these exceptions, I think it is abundantly clear that Christians who erect Christmas trees are NOT worshiping them as gods or goddesses, nor are they loving them more than their Savior Jesus Christ. They are simply using the Christmas tree as a fun custom, one that can remind them of Jesus who is the branch of David (Jeremiah 23:5; 33:15), the root of Jesse (Isaiah 11:1). One that can remind them of the tree that led Adam and Eve to sin, but more importantly, the tree on which Christ Jesus died to make atonement for the sins of the whole world (Acts 5:30; Gal. 3:13; 1 Peter 2:24). Christians should know that they can use a Christmas tree with a good conscience. It is unfortunate and wrong when well-meaning Christians call something sin that is not sin, and enslave the consciences of their fellow believers with imaginary sin! Shame on such Christians! Those who continue to believe that the Christmas tree is pagan and sinful, even after having their conscience correctly informed, should not use them. For it is not right to sin against conscience. This is regrettable, however, since there is absolutely nothing wrong with using a Christmas tree.

http://www.orlutheran.com/html/jer10.html

Today I learned who the Chocolate Pilot was. Sometimes I am taken off guard by something so profound that it changes a piece of me. Damian is reading Charlie and the Chocolate Factory for a unit study I checked out every book I could find with the words Chocolate or Candy in the title. I didn't know anything about Berlin or what the people faced after War World II. This randomly chosen book Candy Bomber The Story of Berlin's Airlift's Chocolate Pilot made me cry while I was reading it to the boys. I kept thinking how will I teach my boys to be so giving, and how do I become a better person? I hope that this story stays with me always.

I learned about where Chocolate comes from, a huge pod, from a tree in South America.

I learned that if I jump on our little trampoline with James he will say the Alphabet and count to 20 with me and he thinks it is fun.

I also learned about Confucius through his books The Doctrine of Mean and The Great Learning.

I learned all about Live Oak Trees for forestry.

I read two chapters of my science book then took a test but now I don't know what I read. I am sure it is in the well I told you about in another post. I will need to drop the bucket for the final for the information but today, right now I am tired, and my brain feels full. The learning must go on!

I hope that your week is filled with learning, love and laughter. Be well my friends.

Once upon a time. . .

I have kept sporadic journals my whole life. I still have most of them but all are unfinished and none of them are are dated. When I was younger I thought that dates were relative, that today was only one day in the vastness of life, a moment that would quickly disappear. In fact when I wrote about the night I met my husband; believe it or not, it was not about him at all. I wrote about his roommate who my ex broke up with me for. You see I didn't know my future was sitting in the living room when I dropped my new friend off. This is what I remember time frame wise (you know those people who remember every single detail about this and that down to the second? That is not me, in fact most things seem murky to me.  A deep dark well that I lower a small bucket down into and bring up pieces of a memory. So forgive me my approximate timeline.) it was a dark chilly October night in 2000.  I know it was before Halloween some time.  Maybe a week or two before that, I am sure.

I wonder if this is where the story begins. Does it begin with the ex? Do you need to know that we were together for two years? Or that we were really just friends with benefits because this girl was a little emotionally disconnected? That I was only eighteen? I think maybe it does begin here. So my ex and I decided to try a relationship. It wasn't really working. We were friends and would never be any more then that, at least on my end. Turns out on his side too. He came to me at the end of the summer and told me he had met a girl. That he really liked her and wanted to try and make it work with her. I was stunned and felt rejected. Turns out the girl worked with my estranged mother, and my siblings were being rather rude to her about the whole thing. It wasn't her fault that he didn't love me, or even that he decided it was over between us. So I invited her to meet me for coffee at Shari's. I am from Oregon and Shari's is like Denny's, but better. I loved that place, but it has changed since I lived there. I guess that is what happens when you move away, things change.

So my journal entry starts here:

When I went to talk to S I was going with an open mind and heart. I got there early (I am naturally a nervous creature) and I started to panic. I mean, what was I doing? What in the world was I going to say to her? Then I started reasoning with myself, "I am going to make things right." I was terrified of what S might say. Then I was comforted by the fact that she was on time. We had a great conversation and we talked about everything. I found myself thinking I am glad it was her. I realized that I wasn't losing him, but that I was gaining a friend in both of them. (Here is some personal reflection about my state of mind at the time. I am going to share it with you because it shows how much I have grown. But it is difficult for me to see how broken I truly was. This part requires no comment. It is merely reflection.) I realized that I was no longer waiting for him to realize that I was nothing and leave. Also I realized what I am. Maybe I can begin to face myself and my mother. I am kind. I am wanted. I am glad I got to meet her. I am happy he found her.(Eleven years later I am still friends with S and I haven't seen him in ten years.)

After our meeting over coffee and conversation I gave S a ride home. When I went up to hang out with her a bit more I met the most important person in my life. He was sitting on their old beat up couch watching a marathon of the Godfather. He stood up when I walked in to say hello. He was wearing an old pair of blue jeans. I remember his blue eyes, blond hair, he was skinny and tall. I remember him, that sweet kid who got nervous when I was around. I think maybe he was the only person who was more nervous then me. The truth is he was only nervous because of me. I was never a nervous wreck around him. Not once. I was at peace when I was around him. This is an important fact that I didn't realize until almost a year after that first meeting.

Now that I look back on our chance meeting I can tell you that I believe in fate and destiny. I tried to fight it, and tried to make it take me down a very different road. Now that I am standing on this side I know I never had a chance. I am glad I lost some of those early battles because I love the life that boy and I have made together. I am looking forward to all the great adventures that are still to come.

Moral of the story is, love finds you when you are not expecting it. Also, I met my husband eleven years ago today, or maybe this week... Okay sometime this month, eleven years ago.

I hope your week is filled with sweet reflection, love, and laughter.

Garden news. . . October 6

So for our weekly garden update I have lots of pictures. Some of them good, some of them okay, and maybe a few that are not. Believe it or not I am not posting all of the pictures that I took of the garden this week. I went a little crazy with all of the baby squash that we have growing. It is exciting to see something growing that we will be able to really eat and maybe we will have enough to freeze some for later meals. I hope you don't mind my excitement. We may not, will not retire here so it is encouraging to grow something in the mist of the worst drought in history, and in clay soil with nothing living in it except for ants. I have also noticed bees flying around and landing on flowers in the garden. I did not take pictures of that yet. It is nice to see the yard slowly transform from the barren landscape we bought to a garden. We still have a lot of work ahead of use in the three years we are for sure going to be here. So I hope you can join us on this journey, and that you might be encouraged to plant a vegetable garden of your own. If we can do it here, so can you where ever you are.Now for the pictures of the garden.

First up is the boys' garden bed.

 Peppers

 I spy a carrot top.

 Radishes popping up

 Jelly bean Tomato

 More radishes they are happy little plants

 Green beens I think.

 Here is a picture of their whole bed. A lot has grown since this picture.

 Now to the squash. I just love this picture.

 This is all from one plant!

 Even with so many squash growing I still love little baby squash

 Almost as much as these big squash. I might start picking them next week or so.

 Zucchini. You are lucky that I didn't post more then this picture of these lovely plants!

 Our melon patch has flowers, I hope that they will fruit for us too.

 They are creeping out into the path

 This is a female flower. The only flower that has the potential to fruit. I hope that is a baby melon.

 We had a storm roll through here and we lost one melon plant.

 We have two grapes growing on this arbor. This grape is happy, the other one is growing slower.

 This crack is in the middle of our yard. We have a lot of them hidden by the grass. It is from the drought, the deeper clay dries out and causes the ground to open up. All we can do is water, water, water. We found on next to the house. So our water bill will be going up. So we will be praying that it works. Praying for this drought to end. Praying for rain. I guess the frogs that live in these cracks are happy where they are. I would find them new homes.

 Remember the stick in the ground I claimed was a fig. Well this year it has grown branches and a few inches taller. When our grass isn't mowed for a couple of weeks it is taller then this poor tree.

 Bleeding heart amaranth and pie pumpkin plants

 Another sad looking tree, The Persimmon. Around we are growing onions. We did get on persimmon off of the tree this year. The boys shared it and loved it. You can see the vegetable garden behind the little fence. That squash looks nice from here too.

 This is a Pomegranate tree. It has grown but with the drought everything is slowly growing.

 We put this orange tree on a drip system and it just started to grow. It is still small but it is happy. After we got the snow last winter we thought it might not make it.

 This is some kind of winter squash. I let you know more when I know more. They are pretty.

 Pumpkin plant.

 Rob planted two new baby fig trees.

Now all we can do is fawn over them and water and hope.

We also planted the Gogi berry outside and it seems to be doing okay. I didn't feature our pear trees. This winter Rob is going to take out our Bartlett Pear because the fire blight is in the lower branches. It can't be saved. Really the only reason it is still there is because I wanted to give it a chance and I thought it had survived the attack. I am a hopeful soul and I always try to think of the best of everything. Also I can be a little looney and I didn't want to kill the tree. I wanted it to grow. We ordered a mulberry tree which will becoming in December, we are planning to plant another persimmon, a couple of lemon trees, and pomegranate in a hedge row along our fence line. We also want to add a nice deck where our patio is now, and more importantly a sprinkler/water system. We have big dreams and plans. We are going to try to do as much as we can before we have to sell the house. Like I said before we are guaranteed to be here another three years and we could end up here longer then that. It all depends on what the Air Force decides for us. For now this is home.

I hope that your week is filled with lovely fall colors or bright yellow squash flowers, and as always Love, and Laughter. Be well my friends

It's a pirate life. . .

Having boys is like being on a pirate ship, there is always an adventure to be had, fighting, screaming, weird songs, and most of the time a buried treasure. So when homeschool became a chore and Captain Damian no beard would cry and fight and poke out his own eye to wear an eye patch I decided it was time for a break. Then I had a brilliant idea (sometimes I do that. it is rare but it happens.) Pirate Week which turned into two weeks of my kind of learning. Damian was excited to do his lessons every morning, he was more then happy to read all of those seafaring adventures that you find in Classic literature. For awhile the peace was kept among all of the crew. It all started with an email from http://www.currclick.com/ and it had pirate unit studies and as soon as I saw that email I knew what to do. I ordered two unit studies one for both boys.

This is what homeschooling looks like around my house.

Damian working on his unit study. Cutting out, coloring, and answering questions based on his book.

 This is James matching capital letter pirates to their lower case letter parrots.

 These two buccaneers know how to work together.

 My only complaint about the preschool unit study I have is that it focused on counting. Only one letter activity, and a million number activities.

 James filled in the blanks to complete the number line.

 With a little help from his brother.

 This is what Damian's finished lapbook looked like.

 As you can imagine he is very proud of it.

I only wish he had colored the pictures in but it was his decision.

Yesterday we started back with the old curriculum and it wasn't fun. It was work. More importantly Damian regular "school" work is an online curriculum. I missed seeing him being excited about doing his school work, and willing to read classic stories. Most of the time I feel very seperate from his online schooling, really I just check to see what he has done, and how he did. So I downloaded another unit study or two. We are starting Charlie and the Chocolate factory by Roald Dahl which is set up as notebooking. Twenty chapters, twenty lessons in twenty days. I will let you know how I like notebooking when we finish.  James is going back to learning a letter every week or two. This week he starts C. He is making a letter book one page at a time. I do love homeschooling! Now to get Damian to practise piano.

I hope your week is filled with happy learning, love and laughter!