Questions about Field Trips!!!!

I am trying to think of some fun, educational field trips for my family. Have any of you been on any memorable field trips? Where did you go? What made it memorable? Was it memorable in a good or bad way? Please leave me a comment about all your fun field trips!!!

Website Spotlight Thursday

Today I would like to Spotlight :
This is a really neat website with lots of great things that you can do with your children. There are craft ideas, pages to print, games and recipes. Just go check it out!!!

Blog Spotlight Monday

Today I want to take some time to shine the spotlight on Sandra at Full Bellies, Happy Kids. Sandra is a Christian SAHM and wife to her Air Force Husband. They have 2 children.

I love her blog because she has her menus planned out two weeks ahead of time and she has the recipes listed for all the great dishes she makes.

Like this one: Mexican Lasagna.

If you want to find out how to make this yummy looking dish, just visit Sandra's blog!!!!

Punxsutawney Phil sees his shadow, winter to continue

Being that I was raised in Punxsutawney, I try to follow along with whether or not the groundhog saw his shadow. It is fun to see if what really happens is remotely close to his predictions.

AP--PUNXSUTAWNEY, Pa. – The world's most famous groundhog saw his shadow Monday morning, predicting this already long winter will last for six more weeks.

Punxsutawney Phil emerged just after dawn in front of an estimated 13,000 witnesses, many dressed in black-and-gold to celebrate the Pittsburgh Steelers' Super Bowl victory the night before.

"There's significant buzz from the Steelers win and quite a few Terrible Towels floating from the crowd," said Mickey Rowley, deputy secretary for tourism in Pennsylvania.

The annual ritual takes place on Gobbler's Knob, a tiny hill in Punxsutawney, a borough of about 6,100 residents some 65 miles northeast of Pittsburgh.

The Punxsutawney Groundhog Club announced the forecast in a short proclamation, in which Phil acknowledged the Steelers' 27-23 win over the Arizona Cardinals.

According to German superstition, if a hibernating animal casts a shadow on Feb. 2 — the Christian holiday of Candlemas — winter will last another six weeks. If no shadow was seen, legend said spring would come early.

Since 1887, Phil has seen his shadow 97 times, hasn't seen it 15 times, and there are no records for nine years, according to the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club.

Rowley said the Groundhog Day festivities is Pennsylvania's largest tourist gathering in the winter. And if Phil's forecast proves correct it should bring even more tourists to the state.

"It's six more weeks of skiing," Rowley said.

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