Marci's Giveaway!

My buddy Marci is having a $60 giveaway over at her blog Down on the Farm--go check it out!
You get to pick your own prize! You have til August 7th--so hurry!

Swan Song

This fall I'll be entering my last year of homeschooling!

In the next few weeks I'll fill out my final plan book

It will be a bittersweet time for me--and I'll be "out of a job"! :)
(I think that this is my 15th year)

I spent some time with a sweet friend of mine who has already graduated her children, and we were talking about this...

I decided during our conversation that I will spend this year "wool gathering" by writing

down some things I would love to work on, learn about etc...if I had the time

Then, next year I'll have my ideas all ready!

Then maybe instead of being sad, I'll have anticipation for this next, new phase!?

But for now, I'll just try and enjoy this final year.

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

Eccl. 3:1

Beatitudes For Homemakers

Beatitudes For Homemakers

by Ella May Miller

*Blessed is she whose daily tasks are a work of love;

 for her willing hands and happy heart transform duty into joyous service to all her family and God.

*Blessed is she who opens the door to welcome both stranger and well-loved friends;

for gracious hospitality is a test of brotherly love.

*Blessed is she who meads both stockings and broken toys and broken hearts;

for her understanding is a balm to her husband and children.

*Blessed is she who scours and scrubs;

for well she knows that cleanliness is one expression of godliness.

*Blessed is she whom children love;

for the love of a child is of greater value than fortune or fame.

*Blessed is she who sings in her work;

 for music lightens the heaviest load and brightens the dullest chore.

*Blessed is she who dusts away doubt and fear and sweeps all the cobwebs of confusion;

for her faith will triumph over all adversity.

*Blessed is she who serves laughter and smiles with every meal;

for her cheerfulness is an aid to mental and physical digestion.

*Blessed is she who introduces Jesus Christ to her children;

for Godly sons and daughters shall be her reward.

*Blessed is she who preserves the sacredness of the Christian home;

for hers is a divine trust that crowns her with dignity.

Hope this was an encouragement to you!

July...is 1/2 over! Yikes!

Well, July is flying by isn't it?

We squeaked a few pics out of our dying camera--so I'll fill you in a bit!

Above is Brad's first tomato--a yellow one.

Our Bingley is getting to be a big boy...he's 7.5 lbs now!

We're proud of our Chippy boy, he's adjusting nicely!

We got a new truck...

I made this yummy Zucchini/Corn Casserole

Brad got his haircut in a flat top

 (my brother used to wear those when he was a kid)

We had fun celebrating a birthday--Happy Birthday Katrina!

It's great to fellowship with friends..

and we've had a lot this month with great Christian friends...

what a blessing!

We went to another party today-a family one--but no pics from it with our camera so crazy!

We are looking forward to church tomorrow--and the fellowship dinner after the service.

I hope you have a wonderful Lord's Day!

This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.

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Hurry--only good til July 18th!

Just letting you know....

I may not be posting very often for awhile...

for numerous reasons.

My camera is broken (pray for me!) Arrrgghhh

I love to take pics and now have no camera!

(alot of my posts were around pics)

And, I have no $$ to get one right now so...

I wait!

And, there's a lot going on and I don't have time to post.

So, I hope you're enjoying your summer!

Make a point to!

A Time for Rain...

Then I will give you rain in due season, and the land shall yield her increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit.

 Leviticus 26:4

We're so thankful that we're getting a nice soaking RAIN today!

We really needed it!

Thank you Lord!

"Every single one of us as Americans need to remember that freedom did not come free. As we get on our knees tonight, thank God we live in a country where people are trying to break into, and not a country people are trying to break out of." -Mike Huckabee

This quote was on our friends-The Smith's-blog

Had to share!

Bumper Crop!

...Of Zucchini!

Brad's garden particularly is cranking out alot of zucchini, although ours is yielding some too...

I also had some leftover bananas that I needed to use that were brown spotted...

So here's the recipe:

Zucchini Banana Bread

Ingredients

1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 egg

1 cup mashed ripe bananas

1/2 cup canola oil

1/2 teaspoon banana extract

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup shredded zucchini

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Directions

In a large bowl, combine the first six ingredients. In a small bowl, beat the egg, bananas, oil and extracts. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in zucchini and walnuts.

Transfer to three 5-3/4-in. x 3-in. x 2-in. loaf pans coated with cooking spray. Bake at 325° for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks. Yield: 3 mini loaves (6 slices each).

What's growing in your garden??

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~it would be a blessing to me!

What Does It Mean?

July 4th....is it about fireworks, picnics, swimming, parties, bbq?

Oh, it's so much more than that. And I know that in the past, I barely stopped to think about it much. But I think of it ever so much more now that the political climate in our country has changed and deteriorated.
Isn't that typical? You don't appreciate what you have until it's gone...
hopefully ours isn't gone forever. Maybe Americans will wake up and take back what this country was founded on!?
I thought this definition of what the Declaration of Independence means from wiki was good:

It says that all people naturally and equally have certain basic rights which come from God, including Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. It says that the most important function of government is to protect these rights. That government has to have the consent of the people being governed and that those people have the right to set up their government in whatever form they think will best protect their rights. That the king of Great Britain and his government were nopt protecting the colonists rights but were taking them away. It then gives a long list of things the British had done to take away the colonists rights, including taxing them without their consent, closing down the colonial governments and sending the army to govern instead, taking away the right to trial by jury, waging war against the colonies and many other things.

Bottom line...America needs to turn back to God.
If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.
2 Chron. 7:14
I leave you today with words from the Star Spangle Banner...

Oh, say can you see by the dawn's early light
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars thru the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming?
And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.
Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?
***********************************************************
Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved home and the war's desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may the heav'n rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: "In God is our trust."
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

Our founding fathers knew that worshiping God was crucial to America. May our current leaders find this truth as well.
May American bless God--so that God can bless America!