Happy New Year

There is something very exciting about a new year. For many I think it is about putting the last year behind and having a fresh start. All the things that did not turn out the way we thought they would, all the things we messed up on, all the undone “things”, broken resolutions all of it, we get to put it behind us and get a fresh clean New Year!

We start this New Year setting new goals and making new promises or resolutions as we like to call them. We start the year off with such great intentions, loosing weight, spending more time with the kids, being a better wife and mother, reading the Bible through cover to cover, never missing a church service the list goes on and on. However I think we are often setting ourselves up for failure. Don’t get me wrong, I think goals and the evaluation of our life is important but we must do it correctly. God must be at the heart of each of those goals. We must seek what he wants for us in the coming year and ask God to help us reach those goals. I have slowly learned that the goals God has for me are far better than any I would set for myself.

1. Philippians 4:6 “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. Seek the Lord daily in all things.” Make sure you are not filling your life with things that do not glorify the Lord or have his will for you in mind.

2. Matthew 6:33 “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” Seek God this year first in all you do and you will find that everything else will follow. Being in Gods will is the best place to be, He desires to make you happy and only wants the very best for you.

3. Ephesians 5:22-24 “Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing.” Set your goals with your husband, in doing so he can help direct you in areas that Lord has shown him you need help in and he can help keep you accountable.

4. 1John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” You do not have to wait until the first of the year to have a fresh start, if you are a born again believer each day can be a fresh clean start. Simply go to the Lord sincerely and seek his forgiveness.

I pray that each lady who visits our site this year will have a very happy Christ filled New Year.

Menu Plan Monday

I have been absent from Menu plan Monday for several weeks and have missed it! This week is pretty simple as I continue to use up what is in the freezer and pantry.


Monday Lunch Chicken salad and fruit
Dinner bean tostadas and Spanish rice

Tuesday Sandwiches and fruit
Dinner Spaghetti, salad, and French bread

Wednesday Lunch Quesadillas
Dinner New Years Eve dinner at church

Thursday Lunch grilled cheese with ham
Dinner Bavarian pork chops, scalloped potatoes, and corn

Friday Lunch left overs
Dinner Pizza and salad

Saturday Lunch
Dinner Vegtable Soup and rolls

Sunday Lunch Chicken Pita Pockets from Menus For moms
Dinner homemade waffles, scrambked eggs, and toast


Chicken Pita Pockets

6 Pita bread pockets (preferably whole wheat for health)
1 lb. sliced chicken (from freezer) (approx. 1 lb. or 2-3 pieces)
1 sliced red or green* bell pepper
1/2 sliced red onions
4 oz. sliced mushrooms
shredded lettuce
1 chopped tomato
1/2 cup sandwich peppers or relish
6 tbsp mayonnaise or other condiments as preferred
If your pitas are not ready to stuff, prepare them by cutting a sliver off of the widest side. I find that they stuff without cracking if I steam them or heat them in the microwave briefly to soften them. Prepare each pita as preferred using any combination of the above fillings.

Want to see what others are having this week? Visit Organizing Junkie

Changing to Sonlight

At least partially. Sydney has been using Sonlight for several years in everything except math and English and I used it with all three when Syd was in third grade. I have to admit that was one of my favorite years to homeschool, that and when we used Five in a Row. We all still laugh about the book King Georges Head Was Made of Lead.

We stopped using Sonlight the year I had to work full time in nursing. I just could not seem to work full time, take care of the house, and homeschool with Sonlight. That year we changed to Switched on Schoolhouse. I did not particularly like it but having the lessons plans done and no grading allowed us to continue homeshooling while I worked and Scott was in college. After two years of that I noticed a big decline in the kids reading of books and their handwriting. We then started using Bob Jones Homesat. I have thoroughly enjoyed that and so have the kids but the history is boring to them and moves at a fast pace while cramming in so much info they find it hard to remember much a few weeks after taking the test.

So with all that in mind the boys will stop using BJU in history and litterateur and start using Sonlight. They will both use the same set for this year and then next year Ray will move to the American Govt./Civics. Sydney has taken two years with it and enjoyed the books immensely with only a few exceptions. I have chosen to leave out a few of the books they suggested because of content such as A Tree Grows In Brooklyn. Most of the other stories and writing assignments have been thought provoking and enjoyable for her and hope that the boys will feel the same way.

If you have never looked into Sonlight you can do so here. It is not for everyone and some of the books are questionable but just like anything you are the parent and you can pick and choose what to use. Another book I will be using with the boys is called All through the Ages by Christine Miller, it is a compilation of book titles in each time period. I will choose extra books from it to supplement the reading and to give Ray some more challenging stories to read. We will also use our transparency projector and butcher block paper to make large maps and a timeline to hang on the wall, they will then fill in the map information that goes along with each story. To us it helps to have a visual of where all these places are in relation to each other and helps them with their geography.

We have always desired for the kids to enjoy learning and not simply the memorization of facts, all though that does have its time and place. I truly feel that sliding back into Sonlight with the boys will be a great move and make school more enjoyable for us all and I have found when the enjoy it they remember more. There is nothing that can compare to curling up on the couch with a good book, even if it is a school book.

Look Ahead

"It is better to look ahead and prepare than to look back and regret."

Jakie Joyner-Kersee

Cleaning out Patterns

Well, I have come to a very big break through in my addiction. After much contemplating I weeded out some patterns that have never been used from my collection. Some of these are ones I bought and decided not to make and some are ones people gave me and for various reasons I cannot use.

I have decided this year to really get rid of a lot of the excess I have around the house so I will also be cleaning out my art cabinet later this week that holds all my craft notions, scrapbook stuff and who knows what else. I am ashamed to think of how much money has been spent on things I never got around to using. I may even go through my fabric stash actually that should be stashes.

Anyways if you are interested in some good deals be sure to check out my Etsy shop and my e-bay shop. If you find several things and want to work out a deal let me know, I really want these things to go to people who can and will use them and I want to get them out of my sewing area quickly.


Again be sure to check my shops often because I will be adding stuff frequently over the next few weeks.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to all! I pray that you enjoy your time with family and friends on this glorious day that we celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior.

The Nutcracker at Bass Hall

Yesterday we did one of my favorite Christmas events. The boys and I went to Bass Hall to see The Nutcracker presented by Texas Ballet Theater.

We went to the afternoon school performance and enjoyed it very much. The costumes were lovely but the music was by far my favorite part. It was shortened... a lot less than an hour total; however no complaints especially because the tickets were free. Bass Hall is always very gracious and treats homeschoolers to free performance just like the area school districts.

The hall was decorated for Christmas and looked very elegant. I wanted pictures of the boys by the tree but they felt like they were too big for that and the docent seemed intent on ushering everyone out quickly, maybe next year.

The only thing that would have made it nicer was if Scott and Sydney had been able to go; they both had to work.

How about you and your family, any yearly favorite events or shows?

Thank You Karen...

I was totally spoiled by my sassy apron partner Karen! I received So much fun Stuff from her. Thank you Karen!

My package included an apron, two cookie cutters, two pot holders, a dish towel, a wooden candy cane, hot chocolate, and sprinkles.



This candy cane is now hanging on the knob of my china cabinet making it look very festive!

I also got this cute apron that is called a French flea market apron. I can hardly wait to make some cookies using the recipes and goodies she sent me!

Tag I'm It

I guess I live a pretty repetitive life because Sydney came out this morning and told me she tagged me with what would prove to be a difficult tag. I asked her what the rules were and here is what I got:

~ The Rules ~
*Post the six to ten things that you do on a daily basis
*Link to the person who tagged you.
*Tag five other people
*Leave a comment on the blog of the person that tagged you letting them know that have posted this to your blog.
*you must tag at least one person who's blog you have either just found within the last week or some one who's blog that you don't know very well!

1. Drink a cup of coffee
2. Shower
3. Prayer time and Bible reading
4. Get kids up
5. Eat breakfast
6. Check e-mail
7. Start laundry
8. Check my e-bay and Etsy listing
9. Week-day- remind kids to start school week-ends remind them to do chores
10. Sew for fun or work on orders.

There you go.... 10 of the same daily things I do and that's before lunch. I guess you could call my life boring or repetitive but I prefer to think of it as full, organized, and consistent.

Who I tag: This is much harder than trying to list 10 things I do daily!
1. Anyone who reads this post and wants to play along.
2. Mrs. Susan
3. A Pondering Heart
OK, I only have 3 for now.

Where Does A Homeschooler Do School?

Anywhere they want to

Home and Resting

Her wisdom teeth are gone! Everything went very well and the staff treated us wonderful. The consent form I had been fretting and upset over was simple and today they were very sweet about it.

Sydney went back around 9:30am, they let me stay in while they started the iv and then I was sent back to the waiting room. Sydney was very calm and that helped me! Truly, you would have thought they were taking mine out as tense as I felt.

Within 20 minutes they came and got me to sit with her while she woke up. Syd was pretty disoriented and one of the side effects of the medication is crying so seeing her like that was not easy for me but God stepped in, calmed me, and reminded me that the worse part was over and he had been there all along!

She was pretty fuzzy on things until around 2:00 when the medication wore off and the pain set in. She has pain medication and an antibiotic so for the most part she is now resting some what comfortably.

Thank you for all your prayers!

On Our Way Out

We are getting ready to leave for the dentist so Syd can have her wisdom teeth pulled. She is very calm and seems to have no apprehensions; I pray it stays that way. I will let you know how it went later today, if you think about it please pray that all will go well and that an infection does not set in.

Sassy Apron

Sydney and I participated in the Sassy Apron Swap this past month and had a great time! This was a first for both of us and we had a great time.

At first I had a hard time picking fabric because I kept thinking about some fabric I had at home and wanted to find something close to it. Finally I came to the conclusion that since that fabric kept coming to mind that I should just go ahead and use it. Part of me felt like I needed to go and buy something just for the swap but in the end I was glad I use the gingerbread man fabric.

The theme was holiday/winter so this fabric fit perfectly to me and my partner likes to cook/bake. I also sent a gingerbread man cookie cutter and Christmas tree ornament. I truly had a great time putting this together for her and hope to participate in another swap soon.

Please excuse the crooked photo, it was late when I got one of my kiddos to snap it.

The Loss Of Wisdom

The loss of wisdom... teeth. Last Wednesday I took Sydney to meet with the oral surgeon and he confirmed what we knew, she needs to have her wisdom teeth pulled. She only has the bottom two so that will ease the pain some and they will be using anesthesia so she will be unaware of what is happening.

Please pray that Sydney's mouth heals quickly and with very little pain and that no infection sets in.

One thing we did not expect was that she has to take a pregnancy test prior to having the surgery. I understand the risk and liability they are up against and that in today's society they have to cover themselves however I expected when we explained that Sydney has chosen abstinence until marriage they would understand instead the nurse looked pretty perplexed and proceeded to tell me I would have to sign a refusal waiver. I smiled and said okay but it just seems unfair. When the nurse took me up front to schedule the surgery she very loudly stated "she will need to sign the refusal waiver", as if I was a problem parent and not cooperative.

How would you have handled it? Would you have paid for a test that insurance does not cover especially when you knew it was un-needed? Any ideas how we can turn this into a positive when we go in for the surgery and sign the waiver?

Rays 16th Birthday

Rays 16th birthday was last Monday and we had a great time of celebration! I meant to get a post up that day but I had to be careful of what I wrote because everything planned was a SURPRISE!

Ray is not one for surprises, although he loves to give them, so I was unsure how things would be receive by him.

When Scott got home he told Ray to get dressed the three of us were going out. Ray had several guesses as where but they were all wrong which was pleasing to us.

We took him to Texas De Brazil which is located downtown very close to our favorite library so at one point Ray thought we were taking him to the library for his birthday.

Once we got close to the restaurant and he could see the flaming torches on the wall outside the restaurant he knew, his face lit up and he smiled sooo big. It was worth the planning and cost just to see his face outside the restaurant; once we got inside his smile turned to a look of being overwhelmed. The restaurant is huge and everything in it seems over sized and grand, it is overwhelming to me too.


Scott and I have been several times but this was Ray first time and he truly enjoyed it! Ray is very much a carnivore and since we had to almost completely stop eating red meat earlier this year because of Scott's gall bladder Ray has often mentioned "missing Meat".

We had made reservations so we were seated quickly and when making the reservations they asked the occasion so our hostess and wait staff knew it was Ray's birthday and each told him Happy Birthday.

After Ray had his fill of food they brought him his birthday slice of cake and although he insisted he had no room for it he managed to get it down.

When we arrived home Ray was in for another surprise, his sister and brother had decorated the house and had his gifts on the table for him. We each got Ray one of the books in the Eragon series so he now has all three and a bookmark that has the dragon on it.

I truly could not have asked for a better night with everyone especially since I know we did what we set out to do, make a wonderful memory for Ray to cherish. You see Scott and I had purposed a few years back that we did not want to just get the kids gifts for the sake of having something to open, we wanted to give gifts that would include/create a lasting memory.

While we were eating Ray looked at me and said "I think this is my best birthday ever, I will never forget tonight". He then went on to add the night with us in a very grown up restaurant was better than any gift. I smiled and asked any? His reply was "yes, I have everything I want for the most part and this is something that will last forever". All I could think was perfect!


Be sure to stop back by later in the week for my post on giving memories not gifts. I hope to give you some creative ways to give gifts that create lasting memories.