Tales of a Homeschool Nothing ~ What's in a Name?

Before you had kids, did you already have names picked out? Did you pictured what they would look like & how they would behave?

When you were expecting your children were you able to pick out their names then or did you struggle to find the perfect one? Were you one of those that never questioned the name you chose or did you wait to meet your miracle in the hopes that their personality would help determine a moniker?

What about pets, do you find yourself going with the same ole boring names? Or do you try to have a one of a kind pooch?

I named my oldest when I was still in high school before I ever met my husband. I knew I wanted a little boy named Austin Tyler and we would call him Ty. Well, I got my Austin but his middle name is Dale after his daddy & grandpa.

When I was expecting Austin, Justin & I settled on Makenzie Leah if we ever had a girl. Her middle name is a tribute to my grandmother Cora Lee & Justin's grandmother Grace Leigh.

We struggled for 7 months to name Logan. Nothing sounded right & we just couldn't agree on anything. Finally, Logan Reece just seems to roll right off the tongue.

Looking at my kids today, they "look" like their names. I couldn't imagine calling them anything else. I'm sure you feel the same way about your kids.

Does it REALLY matter in the long run?

Romeo & Juliet knew that a name wasn't nearly as important as their families thought. But a name & circumstances were what tore them apart.

"What's in a name? that which we call a rose By any other name would smell as sweet;"

In the state of NC, it is a requirement to name our homeschool. I had a hard time with this. I wanted to find the perfect name for our family. Something that would tell our story, something that would express our beliefs, somewhere that our kids could be proud of graduating from. 

I kept returning to Isaiah 40:31 "But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint."

This is one of my favorite Bible verses, but it just didn't seem right for us. Then something came to me. I told Justin to pray & tell me his thoughts because I wanted God to show both of us. 

Music is a big part of who I am & how I express myself. It always has been. Its nothing new for me to get a song stuck in my head for days or to listen to the lyrics & dive much deeper than your average person would with its meaning.

When I realized that I had a song stuck in my head that I haven't even heard in years, it stopped me in my tracks. I asked Justin if he had given any more thought about our homeschool name. He didn't have an ideas, but he just couldn't get away from Grace.

ding ding ding - We have a winner!

I had clung to 1st Corinthians 15:10 sometime back, "But by the grace of God I am what I am", so this became the verse that represented our school.

So Grace of God Christian Academy was born.

Oh, by the way, that song that was stuck in my head..... 

And just for the fun of it....HERE is a post I wrote on names a few years ago.

Chinese Chicken with Noodles & Egg Rolls

Yet another hit for supper tonight! Well, the kids didn't care for the noodles, but that's ok. Everything else was delish!

I just haven't been in the mood to cook lately. I haven't been planning my menus & I haven't been very frugal when shopping. Oh, that needs to change!

So, its 5 o'clock & NOTHING is planned for supper. The hubby asks me what I have planned. Um....... yeah. So I go scrounging through the cabinets. The beginning of the month gets a little hairy because I usually haven't went to the store on my monthly shopping trip yet.

Hmmm, chicken? Again?

Sure, why not?

I cooked chicken tenders with Grill Mates Spiced Brandy Marinade. I added Apricot preserves (instead of Peach) to the marinade.

I found a bowl of Sesame Teriyaki Noodles (which was an individual bowl - but I knew the kids wouldn't eat them so no worries), added carrots & mushrooms and popped it in the microwave.

I also threw a few frozen chicken egg rolls into the oven.

And viola! Supper thrown together without much thought but was still yummy enough for Justin to agree to take it for lunch tomorrow.

Your Turn

Ok guys. I need a little help here. I have committed to a monumental task! I have signed up for the Ultimate Blog Challenge for the month of July. Everyone who is participating has agreed to post every single day in July. Where you wondering WHY I was blowing up your notifications?! Yep, this is supposed to increase traffic to our blogs.

My regulars know me. You know what I write about. You know my passions. You know my comfort zone. You know my beliefs.

The newbies that are just stopping by, you might still be trying to figure out just who I am.

I want some honest feedback.

Is there a topic that you want me to address? Is there something that I talk about too much? You can tell me, I won't get mad. But just for the record, if you tell me I talk about homeschooling too much, I can't cut back on that. It consumes my life!

Thanks in advance for the feedback! All love!

What's Good for the Goose...

I consider myself a pretty reasonable person. I try not to judge people. I try to treat everyone equally. I have my own set of beliefs that I live for & if the need arose, I would die for. I am passionate about what I believe. I can respect your opinions & your beliefs as well. But don't be surprised if I tell you that I don't agree with you. It doesn't mean I think less of you. It just means that I am outspoken.

What I don't have any tolerance for is stupid people. I'm not talking about people who do something without knowing better. That lack of knowledge is ignorance. But doing something even though you know better is pure stupidity. I also don't handle double standards very well. What is good for one person should be good enough for another.

Now that you know where I stand (some of you already knew me enough to know that), I want to open up a can of worms that has many people upset these days.

I'm not a true fan of Paula Dean. I don't watch her show. I don't even know the name of her show. I do, however, own a baking dish with her name stamped on it that I absolutely love.

Whether I am a supporter of Dean's or not is completely irrelevant. This falls back on morals, which is something that many people today know nothing about. I have no clue whether or not she said many of the things she is being accused of. She has admitted to some of it, but I am sure that some of it has been blown out of proportion.

Should she (or anyone for that matter) use racial slurs, call people names, or belittle others? NO! It should never be accepted. But, why have we thrown Paula Dean to the wolves when we (not me) idolize rappers who call each other names & belittle women on a daily basis? Why has society gone crazy over someone voicing their opinion of another race (whether right or wrong) when people are being murdered for their religious beliefs? Why has every big name supporter dropped her like a hot poker when they continue to sing the praises of athletes who use drugs, movie stars who drive drunk, & musicians who desecrate the American Flag by walking on it?

Does this not PROVE how messed up our society is?!?!

Now, if you are reading this & you can HONESTLY say that you have NEVER said anything that would be considered offensive, disrespectful, or racist, then you are one of a kind & you can throw as many stones as you want to. But, I bet that every single one of us, at one point in our lives, has said or done something that we have looked back on & realized "WOW, that was stupid! I never should have done that."

Most of us live & learn. We try to get better everyday. We want to live in a world where people are kind & good. Where we can live along side our neighbor no matter if the choices they make in life differ from the ones we make. Where we can voice our opinions and beliefs to each other respectfully, without judgement.

Until we stop picking & choosing which sin is bigger & which one we can live with, our world will never have peace.

Just remember that you might want to inspect that glass house of yours for cracks before you go throwing stones. I would hate for it to come crashing down around you.

We've Got Ears, Say CHEERS

To celebrate Logan's 2nd birthday, we turned out house into a Clubhouse - Mickey Mouse's Clubhouse! We enjoyed the evening with friends and family.

Logan loves Mickey Mouse and he asks to watch it frequently. Although it sounds more like "Me Mouse".

We grilled Hot Diggity Dogs (hot dogs) and Clubhouse Burgers (hamburgers). We had Pete's Pasta (pasta salad), O Toodle Doodles (cheese doodles), Daisy's Garden Treats (veggies with ranch dressing), Donald's Deviled Eggs, & Goofy Ka-bobs (fruit with fruit dip).

To satisfy our sweet tooth, Mouse ka Cookies (Oreos dipped in red chocolate with added ears), Mickey Cakes (cup cakes from a friend), & Minnie Pops (red velvet & chocolate cake layered with cream cheese icing & crushed Oreos) were pretty yummy!

Of course, we couldn't eat any of these goodies without a little help from our Mouse ka Tools.

I had fun planning my baby's party & enjoyed surprising everyone with the fun food names, but the highlight of my night  was when Logan crawled up in my 91 year old grandpa's lap to play his new guitar. He sat there for awhile, content to play music & talk about cows.

Chicken Pizza

I am notorious for finding a recipe & not following it. Or for attempting to "throw" something together only for it to be a flop. That being said, I really am a decent cook, just not a world class chef. I mean, just look at my family. Does it LOOK like we are starving?

But every now and then, I find something that everyone not only enjoys, but actually loves. Something that just screams PINTEREST!

And tonight's creation was just that! YEAH!!

Preheat oven to 400. While oven is heating , cook chicken until no longer pink. 

Sprinkle liberally with Tastefully Simple Tuscany Bread Dipping Mix (or something similar). 

While chicken is cooking, bake a pizza crust at 400 for 8-10 minutes.

When chicken is cooked thoroughly, shred it and return to heat for a few minutes. 

Sprinkle a little more spices on the chicken.

Take partially baked crust out of the oven & coat with spaghetti sauce. I used our homemade sauce.

Sprinkle with shredded cheese & shredded chicken.

Cover with more spaghetti sauce & cheese.

Finish baking for 10 minutes.

My pizza was a little gooey in the middle. I attribute that to all of the spaghetti sauce.

As you can see, I'm not great with exact measurements. Even though this is a fun way to cook, it usually means that NOTHING EVER taste the same when I try to cook it again!

Anywho, hope you enjoy!!

The Church of Tomorrow...

Yesterday was youth Sunday at church. I'm not sure how long this has been going on, when this tradition got started, or even how widely it is practiced. But since I was a little girl, the youth of the church take over leadership positions every 5th Sunday. This not only teaches our kids the need for serving God, but it also helps them with public speaking.

Our youth is often called "the church of tomorrow". Yes, that may be so, but they are also the church of today. The lessons they are taught & the leaders that they follow, will have a huge impact on their lives down the road.

My favorite preacher (next to my husband, of course) made a special  appearance today. My pastor for the majority of my life, Felman Cheek was our "young" preacher today. After many years of being a pastor and running revivals, he admitted to getting more calls now than ever to preach to the youth.

God isn't through with him yet. There aren't many men like pastor Felman left. Too many preachers and Christians today are wishy washy & don't take a stand for what they believe in. They are more interested in gaining friends and making everyone feel good.

Our youth NEED to hear the truth! They NEED to be taught that the God we serve is not old fashion! The God we serve is still very much alive!

If the leaders of today are not doing that, WHERE does that leave the children of tomorrow?!?!