Preacher's Wife

Home Again...

2008-09-01T07:12:00.002-04:00

Image found here.

I am so glad to be home. We went on vacation last week to the Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge area. I wasn't able to post about leaving last week because something was up with Blogger and I wasn't even able to get on my blog.

Anyways... We are all rested up and had a great time. It did rain a couple of days while we were there, but that was okay because we needed some rest.

Hopefully I can post some pictures of our vacation over the next couple of days. I don't have very many because I failed to charge my camera batteries and the thing just went out on me while I was snapping some photos.

Recipe Fun Friday

2008-08-22T10:18:00.002-04:00

Today is Recipe Fun Friday again. I tried out a new recipe last week and it was a hit with my family. It was really easy to make, too. That makes it even better.

I got the recipe from an email from Kraft foods. It is called Grilled BBQ Chicken Wraps. The recipes calls for Kraft products but I used whatever I had. I grilled these on my George Foreman Grill. Instead of grilling the whole wrap on the grill, I just put them in a skillet until the cheese melted a little. It worked out great this way. On the side, we had Mexican rice and nachos. Yummy!!

If you want to see more recipes, head over to Nikki's blog.

Ingredients:

1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts
3 Tbsp. KRAFT Zesty Italian Dressing
1/2 cup KRAFT Original Barbecue Sauce, divided
4 large flour tortillas (10 inch)
1 cup KRAFT Shredded Cheddar Cheese
1 tomato, chopped

PREHEAT grill to medium heat. Brush chicken with dressing. Grill 6 to 8 min. on each side or until cooked through (170ºF), brushing with half of the barbecue sauce for the last few minutes. Thinly slice chicken.
SPOON remaining barbecue sauce down centers of tortillas; top with chicken, cheese and tomatoes. Fold in opposite sides of tortillas; roll up burrito-style.
GRILL, seam-sides down, 8 to 9 min. or until golden brown, turning after 5 min.

Look What We Found....

2008-08-21T12:00:00.000-04:00

We have lived in our home for over 6 years. We had no idea there were about 20 peach trees on the property. Well, actually, its the church's property. We live on 2 acres that the church gave us and we are surrounded with 32 acres that belong to the church my husband pastors.

I can't believe we have lived here this long and didn't know. The trees were loaded with sweet South Carolina peaches. Yes, there is a difference.

My son and another minister in our church went up to the trees Monday and loaded up 2 wheelbarrows full. They said there was at least 20 more wheelbarrow loads up there. Wow!!

What to do with all those peaches. Make jellies, jams, preserves, cobblers, and pies of course. So far I've only managed to can 7 half pints of peach preserves.

These brave guys endure the mosquitoes, chiggers, and bees up there to get these sweet peaches.

The Fruit of My Labor...

2008-08-21T06:30:00.000-04:00

Canning is NOT for wimps. I canned all day Monday and part of the day Tuesday and it is absolutely exhausting.

A friend of mine brought over a bushel and a half of apples Monday and we went to work peeling, and coring. My fingers cramped up and my fingernails are still stained. But the results are so worth it. I canned 3 quarts & 12 half pints of apple butter; 1 quart, 4 pints, & 6 half pints of apple jelly; and 7 quarts of apple sauce. I will be so thankful I did this come winter time. ;)

Washing the apples

Again..

Apples cooking. The aroma was heavenly!!

In action..

The set up

Pressing the apples

The apple sauce

All of the goodies

A close up of the goods

My Royal Ranger

2008-08-20T21:31:00.003-04:00

Last Wednesday night at church, our Royal Rangers commander gave out merit badges to our boys. Now, my son eat, sleeps, and breathes Royal Rangers. It is just right up his alley to camp and make fires and tie knots and all that other stuff they do. He was awarded 4 merit badges...The Book of Matthew, Ropecraft, Firecraft, and Toolcraft. I am very proud of him. Here he is in his Royal Ranger finery. Ain't he cute!!!!

Wordless Wednesday...

2008-08-06T09:43:00.002-04:00

The Finished Apron

2008-08-04T09:56:00.003-04:00

Sorry it's taken so long for me to get this picture up. I've had this apron finished for several weeks now. I think it turned out really nice for my first sewing project. I will greatly enjoy using this sweet little thing.

We're working on a skirt right now, which will not fit me. You see, I'm new to sewing and I didn't know that patterns were not usually true to size. According to this pattern I bought, I should have a 24" waist line for this skirt. What?!? Who has a 24" waist line?? Of course I will measure myself and sew accordingly next time. Maybe I can find some skinny girl to model the skirt for me so I can take a picture and show you what I made. LOL!!

Recipe Fun Friday

2008-08-01T08:03:00.003-04:00

Today, at Nikki's blog, she's hosting a Recipe Fun Friday. I love new recipes and I love to cook, so I thought this would be fun.

My family and I found this new BBQ restaurant in town called Jim & Nick's. The food was just delicious. They brought out these cheese muffins and we just couldn't get enough of those things. They are in the form of a muffin but they're really like a biscuit.

Hubby liked them so well, that he came home and found a recipe on the Internet. I tried it and they do indeed taste just like Jim & Nick's. This will definitely be a family favorite of ours from now on. I served them with homemade vegetable soup. They would even be good at breakfast.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups self-rising flour

1 cup sugar

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

3/4 cup milk

1 egg, beaten

4 Tbsp. butter, softened

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. vanilla

Mix all ingredients together, pour into greased muffin pan and bake at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes or until done. The will make 12 standard sized muffins. It would probably make at least 24 if you did mini-muffins.

Head over to Nikki's blog for more great recipes.

The First Day of School

2008-07-28T12:26:00.002-04:00

It's that time of year again. We've had our 'summer break' and we're now ready to begin school again.

I feel quite refreshed from our time off and am eager to get back to business. The children are ready as well. They are so excited about our new curriculum this year.

We began this morning with Bible reading and prayer and then proceeded to our favorite subject...History!!! We're starting out with early American exploration, so this is very exciting for us all. After we finished history, we went on to Handwriting, Language, Spelling and Math. We've decided to do History the first part of the week and do Science the latter part of the week. I feel this will work better for us and we won't have such choppy lessons. We'll just do more of each of these subjects each day.

So here are my students eager to start the day. Jacob is our 6th grader. Madison is our 2nd grader. And Gracie is 4 years old so I tell her she's in Gracie grade. LOL!!

And here they are hard at work. I just love my little busy bees!!!

Happy Birthday Jacob!!!

2008-07-22T05:00:00.000-04:00

I can't believe it!!! My first born is 11 years old today. It seems like just yesterday we were bringing him home from the hospital. Time surely does fly.

These past 11 years have been the best and fullest of my entire life. I never knew how much I could love someone until I looked into the eyes of my little boy. I can still remember how the midwife placed him on my stomach as soon as he was born. I can still remember holding him for the first time and hearing his cries. I couldn't have asked for a better baby. I never had a minutes trouble out of him. He slept all night at 5 days old. Talk about a dream come true!!!

Not only was he a sweet tempered child but he was just cute as a button. He's got those dreamy eyes and dimples in his cheeks. He's such a joy to have in our family, always eager to help me and to look out after his sister. Those two girls adore him.

Soon, he'll be a man. I can only pray that I have and will continue to raise him right.

Of course you know I made a video montage for him. It's a little long but it's really sweet to watch.

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

The Absentee Blogger...

2008-07-21T06:00:00.002-04:00

Hey, remember me??? I used to blog here fairly regularly. I've been on a roller coaster for the last month and I think I may be getting off soon. Hopefully I'll be able to post more really soon.

Over the past month, we've been to Florida twice and to Kentucky once. We've attended 4 campmeetings. I am so tired.

My garden is also producing quite well so during my times when I've been home, I've been freezing and canning.

My apron is finished and hopefully I can post a picture of the finished product soon. We're making skirts now. That will be really exciting since I love skirts so much.

This week I hope to put up some more veggies from my garden and do some school planning. I had planned to start school already but like I said, I haven't been able to get off the coaster.

So, I hope to be back soon. I really miss blogging.

"Mama...This Is A Hiccup"

2008-06-26T13:50:00.003-04:00

I was sitting in the study minding my own business when my three children burst into the room and said, "stick 'em up!!" My four year old proceeded to say, "Mama, this is a hiccup." I'm sure you can conclude what she was try to say. Too funny!!

My seven year old is on the shoulders of my ten year old. They are wearing on of my winter coats.

Wordless Wednesday

2008-06-25T00:30:00.000-04:00

Sewing Lessons Take 2,3 & 4

2008-06-21T11:16:00.004-04:00

I really meant to do another post about my sewing lessons but life has just gotten the better of me lately. We have been unbelievably busy and the end is not in sight just yet. We were in Florida for 2 nights this past week at a campmeeting and when we came back home, we attended another campmeeting here in town. I haven't been at home very much lately.

I'm really surprised at how much I've learned just making an apron. The first week we cut out the pattern and the material. This was not my favorite part. The second week we worked on the bottom part of the apron and sewed on the pockets. The third week we gathered the skirt of the apron and sewed on the waist band. And this week we worked on the neck strap and the bodice of the apron. Next week, we should be able to finish up the apron and I will have a picture of the finished product.

I really enjoy sewing. My teacher tells me I'm a natural at sewing. Thank you, Lisa!! We plan to work on a skirt for the month of July. This is going to be great since all I wear is skirts. She's also going to teach me how to hem and take up the waist in pants for my husband.

We've tried to snap a few photos of me in action so you can see the proof that I really am sewing. :)

First Fruits

2008-06-16T01:43:00.002-04:00

Over the weekend, we picked a few things out of our garden...

Happy Father's Day

2008-06-15T23:55:00.000-04:00

To my sweetie....the best daddy around. We love you so much. Happy Father's Day!!

Spring Garden Tour

2008-06-14T15:49:00.023-04:00

I'm hopping on the Spring Garden Tour Party bandwagon with The Preacher's Wife. I've been snapping pictures all spring of my beautiful yard that my husband has so lovingly tended. He's just so wonderful. I love him so much. All he asks of me is to water some things when we're not getting any rain. Great guy, right? Well, this is supposed to be about my gardens and not my hubby, so here it goes...

Take a walk with me, if you will, around my yard and enjoy from the air conditioned comfort of your home. Please pardon me if I don't know the names of some of the flowers in my yard. Like I said, I just water them and enjoy looking at them. LOL!!

Note: The caption for each picture is underneath each one until you get to the roses. Blogger would not let me put more spacing between each picture and it's caption. So it looks like they are on top of the next picture. Hope you can figure it all out. :)

Tomatoes when first planted

Tomatoes now

Squash

My huge squash plants

Zucchini

Tomatoes not yet ripe

Okra, Green Beans, Sweet Potatoes and White Potatoes

Side of my house

Front of my house

Front Porch (love my rockers!!)

Bunny and roses

Buttercup Oak Tree surrounded by lantanas

Basket attached to my chimney

I have no idea what this called but is sure is pretty.

I call this pink elephant ears. :)

I'm not sure about these but they look like carnations to me.

???

Hanging basket out back

Hanging basket on the front porch

rose bush

Lovely roses follow...

Iris

Happy Birthday, Madison!!!

2008-06-10T15:57:00.004-04:00

My little blondie will be 7 years old tomorrow. I'll never forget that day in the ultrasound room when they told me I was going to have a little girl. I was so excited and so was my little son. He wanted a sister really bad. I just couldn't wait to buy something pink!!

When I think about my daughter, my heart swells. I have so much love for her. She is such a blessing to our family. Out of our three children, she has the sweetest disposition. She is always eager to help Mom and Dad with whatever needs to be done. I'm blown away with the talent she exhibits. And she's smart as a whip, too. But I guess the thing that makes me the most proud is her love for the Lord. When we pray as a family, she REALLY prays, with tears and all. She is so sincere. She told me just today that she's been telling people about Jesus. If I fail everywhere else, it doesn't matter, because her relationship with the Lord is the most important.

To the most beautiful blond in the world, Mommy wishes you a very happy birthday. I love you with all my heart, baby!!

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Homeschool Conference

2008-06-05T19:20:00.010-04:00

I can't believe its been 2 weeks since I left for the homeschool conference. Life has been so busy since I got back that I've not even gone through most of my curriculum. It's pretty much been sitting where I left it when I got home nearly 2 weeks ago. I've been wanting to post about it but I've just not had the time. I hope I can do it justice now.

We've been homeschooling for 6 years and this is the first year I've been to a homeschool conference. Boy, have I been missing out!!! It was just great and I had some great friends that I went with. They helped me find my way around because I wasn't prepared for how big it was. The vendor hall was unbelievable. I got to as many vendors as I could in 3 days. I could have used a few more days there but my body probably would not have held out. I was exhausted when I got home and my husband just couldn't understand why. Well......when you're on your feet for three day solid, you'll be a little tired.

I've got a question for you...... How many homeschoolers can you fit on an elevator??? Ha!! You have no idea. An elevator would open and I'd look in and tell my friends, "there's no way we can fit in there." They'd say, "sure, we can fit in there. If we don't get on this one, we'll never get on. They are all this full." When I got on, I looked at my friend and told her I was just a little claustrophobic. Good thing we were only going down 1 or 2 floors. I just knew we were testing the weight limit. Not only was the thing crammed with people. There were also strollers with babies in them and suitcases full on homeschool books that people were taking back to their hotel rooms. That was the only thing I didn't like about the conference. Scary!!

Let's see, what did I do? Well, I went to some great sessions and workshops. And for those I couldn't get to but wanted to, I bought the CD.

Session 1: Why Kids Walk Away from Their Faith (and What to Do about it.) by Dr.
Jeff Myers: This was a great session. I'd like to post my notes here but this post would then be entirely too long.

Session 2: Math-U-See is Math You Understand!
The lady doing this session sold me on this curriculum. This is the neatest math curriculum I've ever seen. I'm so excited about trying it even though I'll have to teach differently. It was pricey since I had to buy all those blocks. But now that I have them, the cost will be much smaller in years to come. Light bulbs were going off in my head during this workshop. I couldn't believe how simple it was. Wow!! I got shortchanged in public school.

Session 3: Adding Sparkle to Your Homeschool by Bonita Lillie
She gave us some great ideas for making our homeschool more exciting and fun for the kids. I hope to implement a lot of these ideas this next school year.

Session 4: Your Child: Wired for Glory! by Paul Tripp
I have to say that this was the best session I went to. He taught us that our children were created by God to live for something bigger than their own lives. Every child shrinks his world down to the size of his own wants, needs and feelings. No human being was ever designed to live that way. We were created to serve One greater than ourselves and to serve others.

Session 5: Education: The Founding Father's Way by Woody Robertson
I really enjoyed this session too. This was probably my second favorite. Here's a summary of this session: Mentors, classics and narratives are the building blocks of our Founding Father's education. With the age-segregated systems of today's schools where children are placed on a "conveyor belt," and academics, education, and life integration are components of manufactured students, individuals like George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and John Quincy Adams would not stand a chance. We learned about the underground movement instigated by secular humanists during the late nineteenth and twentieth century and their application of Darwinian principles to modern schooling which created the public school system we know today. We also learned to regain a time-tested leadership model of education that is fully integrated with Christian homeschooling, both in purpose and application.

I've got some pictures of the things I bought. It is so much better to actually hold the books in your hands and leaf through them than it is to order over the Internet. I got to SEE what I was getting before I spent our hard earned money on it. I'm very excited about our purchases. Everything is different this year except our Science. We're still going to be using God's Design. I really liked it and I see no need to change in that subject.

Part of the stash

Math-U-See

My friend talked me into buying these Lamplighter books and they were well worth the money. We love them.

A little something extra

So our curriculum consists this year of:

History: All American History (of course I'll have living books to read along with this spine)

Science: God's Design

Spelling: Sequential Spelling

Language Arts: Sandi Queen's Language Lessons

Math: Math-U-See

Bible: Besides reading our KJV... An Honorable Boy(A Bible Study for Elementary Aged Boys) and A Virtuous Girl (A Bible Study for Elementary Aged Girls) by Michelle Zoppa

I also picked up some great books for the kiddos to read.

And last but definitely not least, I must tell you about Sweet Potatoes. Yes, another highlight of my trip. We ate lunch here everyday. So if I gained any weight on this trip, it is totally Lisa and Anna's fault. They're the one's who talked me into trying their sweet potato fries. Oh man!!! We're they good!! I unashamedly ate every fry on my plate every day. It would have been a shame to leave one there.

So, if you every make it to downtown Winston-Salem, NC, you must visit Sweet Potatoes and try them out. You won't be disappointed. I even took a picture.

When God Paints...

2008-06-01T23:51:00.012-04:00

A friend sent me this. It was too beautiful not to share.

Sewing Lessons...Take 1

2008-05-30T21:42:00.003-04:00

There are a few things in life that I've always wanted to be able to do. One of those things is sewing. This is something I want to be able to pass down to my daughters. Well, I found someone to teach me. Isn't that great? She just happens to be our piano teacher. I believe that woman can do almost anything. Thank the Lord she is willing to use her talents to bless others.

We had our first sewing lesson today. We just cut out our patterns, pinned them to the material and cut them out. She said this is the most tedious part of sewing. I admit, I was a little nervous cutting on that thin paper. I was so scared I was going to just tear it all up. But I didn't and it went really well today.

We are making an apron. So by the end of June, I hope to show you the finished product. For now, I'll leave you with a picture of my pattern pieces pinned to my material.

Conversation With My Daughter...

2008-05-29T22:58:00.003-04:00

Madison: Look Mom, I drew a cow.

Mom: Wow!! You did a great job. You can draw better than I can.

Madison: Yeah....now I need to draw some milkers on her.

Mom and the rest of the family.....CRACKING UP!!!

Image from allposters

Sorry it's taken so long to get back to blogging. After I got back from the homeschool conference, we started revival and we just ended last night. Hopefully I can post about the conference in the next few day. I really had a blast. I plan to go every year that I can.

Away For A Few Days...

2008-05-21T23:51:00.002-04:00

We've just finished up our 6th year of homeschooling and I've never been to a homeschool convention. Well, that is about to change. I will be leaving early in the morning with a friend of mine headed for Winston-Salem. I am so excited. I can't wait to see all those books and listen to the wonderful speakers. Hopefully, I'll remeber to take my camera and I may get some pics.

I'm really going to miss my family. Yes, I'm leaving hubby and the kiddos behind but the homecoming will be sweet.

Hope to 'see' you all again next week.

Wordless Wednesday

2008-05-21T10:53:00.002-04:00

Spring Piano Recital

2008-05-18T15:32:00.005-04:00

Last Monday, we had our spring piano recital. I am really impressed by how much my daughter has learned in her first year of piano. She says she wasn't even nervous this time, which is good, because one day she'll be playing for our church, Lord willing.

The songs she chose were: "Love is Patient" and "Oh, How I Love Jesus."

She'll get to take the summer off from lessons and we'll start back up in September. I can't wait to see how she progresses next year. I'm just believing the Lord to give her a gifting in this area so she can use this talent for His glory.

Posing at the keyboard

The little pianist with Mommy

Playing during the recital with her teacher beside her