Fran's Quilts

I have been a member of the Five in a Row message boards for 8 years now.  Never before, nor, am I convinced, will I ever again find another place where so many caring, compassionate, wonderful moms come together and genuinely care about each other and share in so many things.  Not only do we share in the day to day challenges and blessings of being homeschool families but we have also rejoiced in births, marriages, and test scores as well as cried and held one another up through divorces, sicknesses, and deaths. 

The latest journey we've walked together was watching our dear friend, Fran, battle, overcome, battle again, and ultimately pass away from breast cancer on June 16th.  We rejoice that she knew Jesus as her personal Saviour and is now cancer-free, walking the streets of gold with her Lord.  We cry for those she left behind, her husband Ed, daughters Emma and Eden, as well as step-sons and countless other family and friends.

For the past few years, as we have lost fellow FIAR sisters or even worse, little ones, a group of us have made quilts for the family members left behind as a way to show our love and support.  Those who have been the recipients of these quilts have said that they are among their most treasured possessions and have been such a bleesing to them.  Each of us who participate make a quilt square (or donates money to help pay to have the quilts made) and sends it to one central person who either puts them together or has someone do it and then delivers the finished quilt(s) to the family. 

I am honored to be that central person for Fran's quilts.  I have a dear friend who has been blessed with amazing quilting skills and I am only about 2 1/2 hours away from Fran's hometown so another dear FIAR sister and I will be hand-delivering the quilts when they are finished.  We are making one for each of Fran's two daughters as well as one for her husband.

The squares have been arriving over the past few days and let me just say, I have cried just pulling them out of the package and seeing the time and love put into each one.  It is such a blessing to me to be a part of this ministry, I can't imagine what it's going to be like to actually see and hold the finished product.  I look so forward to meeting Fran's family and handing over these quilts of love to them.  There will undoubtably be lots of tears that day.

Here are the squares I have received so far.  As more come in I will share pictures of them as well.  In fact, be watching for pictures of the entire journey from piecing the squares together to delivering them to the family.  This is such a special project I don't ever want to forget a minute of it.

These are from Robin in California.  They represent The Salamander Room.  How unbelievably awesome are these?  I want to quilt like Robin when I grow up!  Amazing.

This one is from Melinda in South Carolina.  It represents Night of the Moonjellies and actually has glow-in-the-dark 'moonjellies' on it!  Very, very cool Melinda!  I've already had to test it out in the dark!  LOL

These are from Jennifer in Virginia.  The yellow and green one actually has rabbits on it and is for Peter Rabbit.  The green and blue one is for Fran's husband, Ed's, quilt.  Girl!  For the first time ever making quilt squares you did AWESOME!

These are from Laura F. and are for the book Papa Piccolo.  These are so cute Laura!  I love them!

This one is from Christi in Virginia and is for Ed's quilt as well.  It represents the thankful tree that Fran put up in November so she could have a reason to start celebrating the Christmas season before Thanksgiving!  My how she loved Christmas!  I think she and I were kindred spirits.  I've cried three times today alone looking at this square.  Very nice job Christi.  Very nice.

The BEST Potato Soup EV-EH!

Oh. My. GOODNESS!  This is SO YUMMY!  And I even use ingredients to try to keep the millions of calories down to just a few hundred thousand and it's still scrumdiliocious!

Ok, so I know it's not the time of the year one would normally make a big pot of potato soup, but we had company tonight and an unused bag of potatoes, so soup it was.

This recipe came from combining a couple different recipes from 'healthy' cookbooks together and tweaking it just a bit, so I guess you can call it my own. 
For our growing family of 6 I have to double the recipe just to keep everybody happy when they go back for that second bowl.  However, I'll just give you the recipe as is and you can do with it as you please.  Double it.  Triple it.  But I would never suggest halving it.  Trust me, you'll be sorry if you do!  And if your family enjoys and can spare a couple hundred thousand calories, please, feel free to substitute whole-fat, regular versions of the milk, butter, and cream cheese.

Ok, here goes...

Christy's Potato Soup

5 lbs. potatoes
8 oz. fat free cream cheese, softened
1 stick lite butter
1/2 c. chopped onions
1 can cream of chicken soup
3 c. water boiled w/3 chicken boullion cubes
2 c. skim milk
cubed ham (add until your heart's desire)
salt & pepper
(You can also fry up some bacon and break it into pieces into your soup if you'd like.  YUM!)

*Peel and cube (not too small) potatoes.
*Cook potatoes and onions until tender.
*While potatoes are cooking, boil water and add bouillion cubes.
*Drain potatoes.
*Return potatoes to pot and add all other ingredients.
*Boil low/simmer until desired thickness and butter and cream cheese are completly mixed in.
*Serve with shredded cheddar cheese sprinkled on top.
*ENJOY!

Blog Walking

As a member of TOS's Homeschool Crew we have been visiting other crew member's blogs over the past few weeks, getting to know each other and encouraging each other on this journey we're all about to set sail on.  As usual, I'm a bit late getting in on things (hey, what can I say, I'm a busy momma) so I thought I would highlight the past few week's walks (that I'm now running to catch up with!), leaving out only those blogs that appear to be more of a business in nature and not a personal blog. 

If you have a few minutes, please feel free to cruise on over and visit some or all of these fellow homeschooling mommas!

Week 1:
*Reaping A Harvest
*Pink & Orange Coffee
*Live, Laugh, Learn!
*Mrs. Mandy's Musings
*The Fantastic Five
*Refined Metals Academy
*Just a Moment in Time
*My Journey
*Petra School

Week 2:
*Second Star to the Right and Straight on Till Morning
*Surviving the Testosterone
*Family Style School
*School Around the Bible
*1628
*Morris Family Madness
*Homeschool Musings
*Homeschooling (and then some!)
*Heartfelt Homeschooling
*following Him home

Week 3:
*All American Family
*Growing Fruit
*Learning to Teach
*Stairsteps Homeschool Academy
*Kingdom Academy
*Living Solo Gatia
*The Cow Queen
*Peace Creek on the Prairie

TOS 4th of July Special

1776 was a spectacular year!  And right now, for all of us homeschoolers, 1776 is also a spectacular, *E~X~P~L~O~S~I~V~E* price!

Starting today, July 1st, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine is having a four-day, Fourth of July celebration sale.  Today only, receive a 2-year subscription to The Old Schoolhouse Magazine, a free Homeschooling with Heart tote bag, and five FREE E-Books for just $17.76! (While supplies last. U.S. and Canadian residents.)

The unprecedented savings continue July 2nd through the 4th.

The sparks are flying at TOS Magazine . . . join in the celebration and savings! Get more details here.

My New Look!

Well, I decided it was probably time to take down the last of the Christmas 'decorations' from around here, expecially since I added them in '08!  That's evidence of how Facebook came along and nearly ended my blogging career.  While I do still enjoy Facebook, my heart has returned home, back to blogging, where I can elaborate all I want about our days and not have to whittle down what I'm trying to say to 420 characters!  How rude is that anyway?  What mom, what WOMAN, can limit what she's trying to say to a measly 420 letters?  Shoot, for me that's usually only one sentence!

So, how do like my blog's new look?  My header is absolutely P~E~R~F~E~C~T for me for two reasons.  One, it is my favorite, FAVORITE color, pink.  Secondly, my favorite animal is the giraffe.  As soon as I saw this design I knew I had to make it mine!  Are you kidding me?!  Pink AND giraffe print together in one pre-made blog header, of which I have no idea how to make on my own?  Naturally I'll be tweaking things here and there; I can never just leave things alone.  There's always a picture here, and link there, maybe a button or two to add.  Such is the life of a slightly OCD blogger-mom.

I look so forward to sharing our days as a homeschool family once again.  That's something I don't think a lot of my Facebook friends really care about reading.  Can you believe that?!  Although, I did do the statistics one day and the majority, well, at least half, of my 401 Friends actually ARE homeschoolers so I guess I really shouldn't let those few comments here and there against homeschooling deter me from sharing about it, should I?

Ah well.  Anyway, when our new school year starts we will have a 3rd grader, a 4th grader, a 5th grader, and... GASP!!... a high schooler!!  How did THAT happen?  I have to tell ya', I'm just a bit nervous, but also very excited!  This will be a whole new adventure for all of us and I look forward to what God has in store for us. 

Oh, I also began babysitting back in January of this year so this next school year really WILL be an adventure.  Two to three days a week we also have a 4 year old and a (currently) 9 month old in our home keeping things lively!  Wanna see a picture of the cuties?

See!  Aren't they adorable?  They are awesome and have quickly become added extensions of our family.  If we are Friends on Facebook then you have undoubtably read some of the halarious things that come out of little Jordan's mouth which I have affectionately dubbed 'Jordanisms'.  I'm sure I'll be sharing how he makes us laugh here on my blog as well.

Our calendar for the month of July is filled so I should have lots of things to blog about, the most exciting (for me anyway) being planning out our next school year.  Yes, I'm a bit late in getting started but I have a pretty good plan in mind.  I just have to get it down on paper and purchase everything we'll need.  (The planning and purchasing is my FAVORITE part of the school year!)

I'll also be doing reviews on various homeschool products for The Old Schoolhouse so be watching for those!

Ahhh.... it's great to be back!

A Priceless Treasure, For Generations to Come!

Why am I blogging about all these give-a-ways from another blog when I haven't even personally blogged here on my own for so long? Well, for two reasons. One, when I blog I receive an extra entry into their drawings and I really, REALLY want to win these things (!), but also because this new Raising Homemakers blog is EXACTLY, so far at least, right in step with my beliefs and convictions in raising our daughters and I want to help spread the word so others can find their way to this wealth of knowledge and together maybe we can make a difference in the lives of future wives and mothers!

Today's give-a-way is a collection of 9 sessions with Victoria Botkin, a true Titus 2 woman. Here is an excerpt from the description of these sessions:

Listen to Victoria discuss subjects like woman's great power, sinful tendencies, obedience vs. submission, independence vs. submission, freedom vs. submission, beauty, dress, makeup, respect, women's rights, hospitality, speaking words of life, managing with grace, pitfalls of perfectionism in homemaking, Hollywood expectations, trials, trust, and cultivating personality. Throughout, she responds to questions and answers from women. This download contains recordings and slides from all nine sessions:

1.All About Eve
2.Biblical Submission and How Godly Women Do It
3.Lessons from the Proverbs 31 Woman
4.All About Love
5.How to Help Your Husband Love You
6.Thoughts on Beauty
7.Loving Your Children
8.Questions, Answers, Slander, & Gossip
9.Review and Closing Remarks

Oh how I would love to have this treasure to listen to whenever I wanted! It would be just like having my own personal Godly mentor; that older, wiser, more experienced wife and mother passing on her years of knowledge and wisdom any time I needed!

Doesn't it sound wonderful? Hop on over to Raising Homemakers and enter to win. Or don't. That would be ok too. The fewer entries the more chance I have of winning! Just kidding. (Ok, not really.)

Set of 10 Homestead Blessings DVDs Giveaway!

Wow! What an awesome resource this would be in training our daughters as well as learning some new things ourselves!

Jump over to Raising Homemakers to enter to win!