Videos of the girls singing.

Christmas Photos

Fun Day!!

Since it is my birthday, we decided to take the day off from lessons and do something fun. We baked cookies together!! The girls and I made sugar cookies. J and I made peanut butter cookies. They were super yummy!!!

Website Spotlight Thursday

I would like to spotlight. . . Starfall website. This is a great website for little ones who are just learning to read. Katie used it when she went to school before I started homeschooling and now she loves working with Amilynn.

Blog Spotlight Monday

Today I want to shine a spotlight on a blog called. . . Art Projects for Kids.

This is a great site to visit when you have run out of ideas on what to do with you children for art class. Kathy is an art teacher and has broken down her projects by grade level. I can't wait to try some of these with my children.

Mexican Potato Casserole

I found this recipe on the Full Bellies Blogspot and thought that I would give it a try. It is pretty simple and I like things with only a few ingredients. If I see a recipe with more than 10 ingredients more than likely I will never make it. LOL . . .I like simple.

Mexican Potato Casserole
4 medium potatoes, with peel
4 Tablespoons butter
1 envelope taco seasoning
1 pound lean ground beef
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 cups salsa
1 cup chopped peppers (red, green or yellow) *I omitted the peppers since my kids don't like them
*1 cup grated Monterey Jack cheese

Cut potatoes into bite-size pieces and place in greased casserole dish.
Melt butter...stir in taco seasoning.
Pour over the potatoes and stir to coat well.









Bake uncovered at 425 degrees Fahrenheit for 40 minutes.
Stir...bake 10 minutes longer.
Brown and crumble beef; add onion and cook until soft...then drain.
Stir in salsa and chopped peppers.
Pour over potatoes.
Top with grated cheese.
Bake uncovered for 10 minutes.









The verdict. . .the girls didn't care for it very much, of course J would not eat any, but Kurt, C, and I liked it well enough. I will probably make it again. It is nice to have something new and different to break up the same old, same old things I always make. I am glad that I found this recipe.

Nosy (and Lazy) Cat

This cat is funny.

Today John was doing his math in the living room and Garfield got curious.

He wanted to do math too!!

Then he realized just how boring math can be!! About 4 minutes later he was asleep.

AHHHHH the life of a cat.

Website Spotlight Thursday

The website that I am spotlighting today is. . . the Crayola website.

This is a great site for children. They have crafts ideas and games to play. You can print out coloring pages. They even have a resource page for educators and a parent page. It is just a lot of fun!!!

Wordless Wednesday (well, only a few words)

My children are not always the nicest to each other. So during this very rare moment yesterday I had to get some pics.

Blog Spotlight Monday

As promised (and only a day late) I am going to post a blog spotlight every Monday and a website spotlight every Thursday. Remember if you would like me to spotlight your blog or website please leave me a comment and I will be happy to shine the spotlight on you!!

The first blog I want to spotlight is. . . A Year of Crockpotting!!! A new post everyday about what you can make in your crock pot!!

I LOVE this blog!! I also LOVE my crock pot. I really enjoy being able to put a few ingredients in it early in the day and let it do the work and come back at dinner time and it is done. Especially with our busy schedules on some days it is so hard to plan a menu when we are all coming and going.

I also like it that she is doing all the experimenting. She will post how it turns out and whether her family enjoyed it or not. I never realized all the different things that you could use a crock pot for!! Thank you, Thank you for creating this blog.

Christians are like Pumpkins!

I read this many years ago and forgot to post it sooner.

Being a Christian is just like a pumpkin!

Let me try to explain, I brought this pumpkin here to help me illustrate what I mean. (Proceed to carve the pumpkin.)

First, God picks you from the pumpkin patch and brings you in from the field. The Bible says He selects us out of the world. We are in the world, but no longer of the world.

He then washes all the "dirt" off the outside that we received from being around all the other pumpkins. All the outside influences of our former life must be cleaned up. Old things are passed away and all things are become new.

Then, He carefully removes all the "yucky stuff" called "sin" out from the inside. Look at this! Yuk! Sin will not have such internal power. He then changes us from the inside out by the Power of His Word. That's why it is important to go the church and learn about God's Word.

He carefully removes all those seeds of doubt, hate, greed, and fear. He replaces them with the seeds of faith, hope and love. After Jesus is invited inside, you begin to experience the changing power of God's love in your life.

Then He carves a new smiling face. Our countenance is changed by the power of His presence in our life. We then become so grateful. It can even show on our face!

Now we are going to light this candle inside. Look! This pumpkin now reflects the light from inside out. So too, when Jesus, who is called the Son of Light, lives inside of us, He shines through our life for all to see. We can let His light reflect through us to reveal His presence. "Let your light so shine before men that they may be able to see your good works and glorify your Father, who is in heaven."So you see, we Christians are really like this pumpkin! We will never be the same with Jesus inside of us. We can say like this jack-o-lantern, "Thy presence, my light!"

Fun Friday!!

Chicken Taco Soup Recipe

Jean has requested that I post the recipe for my Chicken Taco Soup, so here it is!!

1 chopped onion
1 (16 oz) can chili beans
1 (15 oz) can black beans
1 (15 oz) can whole kernel corn, drained
1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
1 (12 fl. oz) can or bottle beer
2 (10 oz) cans diced tomatoes with green chilies, do not drain
1 (1.25 oz) package taco seasoning
3 whole skinless, boneless chicken breasts

OPTIONAL:
shredded Cheddar cheese
sour cream
crushed tortilla chips


Cooking Instructions
Place onion, chili beans, black beans, corn, tomato sauce, bear, and diced tomatoes in a slow cooker. Add taco seasoning, and stir to blend. Lay chicken breasts on top of the mixture, pressing down slightly until just covered by the other ingredients. Set slow cooker for low heat, cover, and cook for 5 hours.

Remove chicken breasts from the soup and pull apart or cut into small pieces. Stir the shredded chicken back into the soup and continue cooking for 2 hours.

Serve with the desired toppings.

I usually just use whatever kind of beans I have on hand (kidney, pinto) and plain diced tomatoes. We love this meal and it is so easy to do!!!

Mondays!!

Today started a new chapter in our lives. Kurt is retiring from the military and has started a new job. He has had a few months of leave time so he has been off work and home with us since we started school this year.

I was a little nervous about how the children would behave today during their lessons.

It turns out that I didn't have to worry. They did a great job. They got up just like they have for the past several months and got right to work just like if Kurt were here.

I definitely feel blessed today.

Dinner is Done!!

Well to be honest it is cooking, but my part is finished. My part was actually finished at 10:00 this morning when I put the ingredients in the crock pot.


I LOVE chicken taco soup!!! Not only does it taste very, very good, but it only takes about 5 minutes to throw everything together. AND three chicken breasts feeds 6 people--well--5 people. J is my picky eater who does not eat much variety. I could make a very short post on what J WILL eat. Plus there will be left overs for lunch tomorrow!!

Kurt doesn't have to grill, I don't have to cook, we don't have to have sandwiches, LOL!!!! Dinner is Done!!!

Silent Sunday

I Need A Vacation!!!

Today C and I were talking about how busy we have been lately. Between school work, appointments, basketball practices and baseball practices we don't find a lot of free time. We were kind of going back and forth about who had what going on and C said that he needed a vacation. I said I needed a vacation. You know what he told me?
"Your the mom, you DON'T get a vacation!"
What?!?! I don't get a vacation? How unfair is that?!?

Wordless Wednesday

K's Dance Class

All of children are in extra-curricular activies. K really likes to dance. In the past she did ballet and jazz, but this year she decided she wanted to take the lyrical class. I love to watch the girls dance. The way they move and the choice of music is so beautiful. A really enjoyed playing while K danced.

Mondays!

C is really enjoying Teaching Textbooks math this year. He can put in a CD and listen to the lecture for the problem set he is doing then when he is done he puts the CD back in and checks his work.









J is doing his new math. We started out the year with one math and it was a struggle every day. He did not like math.

Now we are using Teaching Textbooks and he does it on the computer. He LOVES math now!!!

K enjoys her new desk. We purchased it from another home school mom who didn't need it anymore and K loves it!! Now she can do her lessons in her own room.

She has her Wordly Wise out. This is her least favorite subject.

A really likes doing her lessons. . . and she can do them in her pajamas. LOL

Today she made the best B's I have ever seen!!

New Resource

I love it when I talk to a friend and they have a great website to share!! This new resource that my friend told me about is great. I have to find more time to sit and search through all that it has to offer. Click here to visit this home school site and see what it can offer you.

Praying Mantis

Originally posted to www.nogreaterjoys.blogspot.com in September 2008.

We were surprised to see this praying mantis on our window today. K is studying all kinds of bugs and insects in science right now and has been on the look out for all types of these critters. She was excited to be able to check this one off her list of things to look for this week.

Summers Over-A poem by my son

Summers Over
Summers almost over
To cold to play Red Rover
To cold to play outside
To cold for a bike ride
So cold a snake must hide under a rock
So cold I have to wear three pairs of socks
Lakes are freezing
Kids are sneezing
Down with a cold
Where's medicine sold?
A good thing about winter
Means it is Christmastime
A time to open presents
A time to hear no whine

Our first week of full lessons. UGH!!

Originally posted to www.nogreaterjoys.blogspot.com in September of 2008.

http://homeschoolblogawards.com/
WOW!! What a week I have had!! Starting with last Friday I re-injured my knee and was in a lot of pain Friday night. Saturday I was limping because of the pain and ended up being in even more pain Sunday. Because of the limping I ended up having extreme pain in my hips, back and leg muscles. Even so, I still had to make sure all the children's lesson plans were done for this week and come up with a schedule so that I could give each of the children the attention they need for each subject. (Remember--I started the children on Math, Reading and English in August and everything else was added this month.)
On Sunday I came down with the worst cold I have had in years. I have had a terrible week!! I still sound like a bullfrog when I try to talk and end up in a terrible coughing spell. So to say that we had a smooth first week would be a slight exaggeration. LOL
The children have had a pretty good week even without a lot of hand's on from Mommy, which is a silver lining. Thank goodness the beginning of the year is usually review and not completely new material. They needed very little instruction from me. I do feel a little bit bad for A though as she was so excited to start lessons and ended up only getting about half of what I had planned for her. O-Well. She will get more than enough when I am fully recovered.Even with a week like this it is still a great joy to be able to teach my children!!

Starting School Again!!

Originally posted to www.nogreaterjoys.blogspot.com in August of 2008.

We officially started back to school August 4th. We have had a very busy and short summer, so I decided to start with Math, English and Reading only for the month of August. We are starting out very relaxed and it is working out well. We will start all our other subjects in September. We have had so much going on lately it has been difficult for me to find time to post. I also have not had time to follow my favorite blogs. I hope to catch up on how everyone is doing soon. Blessings to all!!

An emotional end to our first year of home schooling.

Originally posted on www.nogreaterjoys.blogspot.com in June of 2008.
As Soaring Eagles Academy finishes our first year of homeschooling I have many emotions: relief that I survived, relief that the children survived, peace that what we are doing is right for us, joy that we have one year down, excitement for the year to come, faith that we are doing what we were called to do, happiness that I was able to spend so much time with my children that I would not have had otherwise, did I mention relief!! We are all looking forward to our summer break and I will be making plans for next year.
We were at the book store the other day and the boys could not believe that I would actually be making them read over the summer. Can you imagine?!? How dare I expect them to read on their summer break. LOL

Botanical Gardens Field Trip

Originally posted to www.nogreaterjoys.blogspot.com in April of 2008.

Since Kurt was off work today we decided to take a field trip to the Cape Fear Botanical Gardens. It was a chilly day today, but at least we did not get rained on. We did enjoy our walk although it is kind of early for all the plants to be in bloom. It was nice to take a break from our lessons to enjoy God's beauty.The kid's had the challenge of following clues to certain areas that had numbered pine cones and writing the correct number next to the clue. They all came very close to getting them right, but they switched two numbers. Maybe next time we go they will be able to get them all right.

Our trip to the Circus

Originally posted to www.nogreaterjoys.blogspot.com in April of 2008.

The Circus came to town!!! We were so excited when the home school group announced a field trip to the circus. We got together with several other home school families and had a great time. We felt blessed to be able to enjoy this time together as a family.

We all had different things we liked best. I personally liked the mini dachshunds that were trained to do tricks. I really think I liked this the best because we have a mini dachshund.

I hope you enjoy the pictures.