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?!?!

One of Those Days

Have you ever had one of THOSE days? You know, the kind where nothing goes right & everything goes wrong? The kind where you swear that the world is ending & you just want to hide beneath a rock? The kind where you envy Job because he didn't have it nearly as bad as you do?

Yeah, well, I've never had one QUITE that bad either. BUT, it sure feels like it when you are stuck slap in the middle of the chaos.

I am there today.

The day started out normal enough, nothing too crazy, nothing out of the ordinary. Then within a 2 hour span, I became the maddest I have been in a long time.

I have a slight anger management issue. I really try to control it, but entirely too often it ends up controlling me.

Hey, have you read Unglued by Lysa TerKeurst? Nope, me either! I have started it though & I really need to finish reading it. I think it would help me out.

Pour Makenzie was obviously having one of those days today as well.

We are building an ant farm. PLEASE tell me WHY I am bringing more ants into my home? I already have enough of them!! - Oh yeah, I thought it would be "fun" to watch them build tunnels & hopefully instill a Bible lesson into my kids with it! So anyway, we brought in a few cups of dirt (mistake number 1 - do it OUTSIDE). Makenzie wanted to pour the dirt into the jar. I asked her to wait on me just before she proceeded to turn the whole cup over COMPLETELY missing the jar & landing on my counters and floor. I shooed her & Logan out of the kitchen so I could clean it up & calm down.

Then she decided to go outside on the front porch to paint. I asked her to please be careful & watch Logan. If he made a mess, she was responsible (she didn't want to wait until he laid down - maybe she will wait next time). He decided our front porch needed a new ORANGE coat of paint.

Ok, Makenzie, get a bucket of water & clean it up.

When she picked the bucket up off the counter, she mistakenly grabbed the dish towel beneath it. Not a big deal in most houses. But then again, most people don't gather fresh eggs everyday & lay them on a dish towel beside the sink to dry. Yes, in case you are wondering, fresh eggs break just as easily when dropped on the floor as store eggs.

After I put my shoes on to head to the local Library program, I walked into the kitchen to find Logan sitting on the dinning room table holding Makenzie's cup from lunch upside down & declaring that it was empty as she was trying to clean it up. Yes Logan, NOW it is empty.

Needless to say, I need to sweep & mop. Hmmm, maybe I should wait until bedtime that way it will stay clean a few hours.

I had a friend comment on my rant on Facebook asking me "if this was a science lesson or a life lesson?" I wanted to respond with "What lesson?! Are you crazy?!" But then I was reminded that it was a life lesson, because as we prayed at lunch, we asked for forgiveness for being angry & not showing compassion. Its funny how God works like that!

I'm also thankful that I am not the only one with anger issues.

I stayed up well past midnight last night helping a friend decompress from her nightmare day. That conversation started something like this..."Have you ever screwed up so bad that it can't be fixed & you feel so alone?" With a slight chuckle, I reminded her just who she was talking to here!

As she told me about her ordeal & how it escalated, I found myself sympathizing with her. I know what its like to be in over my head and know that things are getting out of control but feel like there is no way out. I know what its like to become defensive & have all logic fly out the window. Then I also know what its like to  come down off of that adrenaline & realize that things were even uglier than I thought while it was happening.

I gave her good sound advice that I knew she already knew when she promptly informed me that she disliked my honesty! We laughed. That's ok, my dear friend. We'll both feel better when things get back to "normal".

*inside joke because I KNOW she is reading this! Hold onto that cereal bowl idea though, there may be another time! In the meantime, maybe we should schedule our date nights to include reading Unglued. LOL*

Tales of a Homeschool Nothing ~ 2013 - 2014 Curriculum

Hello out there in blogger world! Are you soaking up the sun every chance you get just as I am?

With all of this glorious hot weather & these lazy pool days, I really don't want to start thinking about school. But C'est la vie. Think, I do & plan, I must soon.

So let's talk about what curriculum choices we will be using for the upcoming year.

 Let's start with the obvious here. This will be our 4th year with Tapestry of Grace & Story of the World. Do you KNOW what that means? (come on history cycle users, help me out here...) I DON'T HAVE TO BUY HISTORY ANYMORE!!! **happy dance**

That's right TOG is on a 4 year cycle. So next year I start back with teaching year 2 (which I have already purchased!) Oh, don't worry, I'm sure I will find something to use that , um, extra money on.

We love using TOG. I even found the Pop Quiz CDs at The Homeschool Gathering Place while we were in Raleigh last week. WE have also been blessed to be able to get copies of SOTW on CD. This is a great alternative to me having to read everything!

We will continue memorizing important events in history with the timeline cards by Veritas Press. This is a fun way for the kids (& myself) to remember those events. And you WILL be amazed at how much they learn!

Since we are studying Ancient Rome, Ancient Egypt, & Bible Times, I picked up a few art books to go along with it. Draw and Write Through History is filled with art lessons, information, & copywork. They have 6 different books that cover the different eras through out history.

The next easy choice was science. We LOVE Apologia Science. It is one of the few Creationist curriculums out there. I let the kids choose between swimming creatures & land animals this year. They were both good choices, but swimming had my vote as well.

I don't personally use the notebooks. Austin hated it the first year & Makenzie really isn't old enough for it yet.

Hold up! Before you ask. Yes, this is the same Latin that we used last year. Unfortunately Latin wasn't a priority for us last year, so we didn't learn much. Oh well. Let's try it again.

Austin will continue using Teaching Textbooks this year. He still has some of 6 to complete, then he will start on 7. Makenzie will work on Horizons 2. We have never used Horizons before, so we will see how this goes.

We will go back to Easy Grammar with Austin. Learning Language Arts Through Literature just wasn't working for us. He will finish Daily Grams 5 because I didn't enough difference in the 5 & 6 books. Besides he still had plenty of lessons left in 5 to complete.

He will also complete the second half of Jump In by Apologia. This is meant to last over 2 years. I am sort of on the fence with this one. I haven't seen much improvement in his writing this year, but I hate to just give up. I am still praying about Institute for Excellence in Writing's Bible Based Lessons. We tried IEW a few years ago, but he resisted so much. It was our first year homeschooling & I was really trying to pick my battles. IEW was not one I chose to fight over, so we dropped it. I wonder now if he really disliked it, disliked writing in general, or was just pushing my buttons. I don't have a clear answer yet, but I can't get it out of my head, so don't be surprised if we switch to that.

He is also using Wordly Wise 300 again this year. Last year was the first time we used it and he didn't fight it much, so that's a good thing!

Makenzie will be using All About Spelling & All About Reading this year. These are both BRAND NEW to her & me too! (I'm scared! They look so intimidating!) She is still struggling to read, so pray for us both!!

Austin has used Explode the Code before & enjoyed it so I thought I would try it with her this year. They even have an online version that I need to look into.

I have a generic 2nd grade work book for her. She seems to like those. I also found an easy writing curriculum to introduce her to the concept.

So, there you have it in a nutshell.

Come On, Follow Me, This Way

I have a devotion book that is geared toward homeschool moms. I admit that I don't get to read it every morning, or let me rephrase that. I don't make time for it every morning. Funny because my devotion this morning was about time.

Now while that was relevant & I needed to read that, what stuck out to me was several verses before this one.

Ephesians 5:1-2 says "Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us..."

I just could not get past this. I started dwelling on following God & how kids will gladly follow you anywhere. Most of the time, they follow with a merry heart. 

But then, I started thinking about Logan.

He will follow along behind us, but so often, he has his own agenda. He gets distracted by something on the ground. He turns around when he hears a sound. He trips & we have to go to him & help him up. He never really gets in a hurry or understands when I want him where I am 5 minutes ago. When I don't feel like waiting, I pick him up & carry him. Sometimes he is content to be held in my arms but many times, he wiggles & squirms hollering "woose" or "I walk". Then it depends on what I'm doing & where I need to be as to whether I continue to fight him or whether I set him down.

How much does this sound like us?!

I want to follow God. I try to follow God. I know that He is headed in the direction I need to go. But I get distracted so easily. It looks more fun going this way. This path has pretty flowers. Oh, what was that sound? Let's go find out. Oh, ugh, I fell down. HELP! 

God is up ahead of me saying "Come on child." "Come this way." "Will you hurry up?" "What's taking you so long?" "Please come to me." "No, not that way." "I'm up here, remember?" "Don't worry, I'm coming to help you."

Sometimes He gets tired of waiting for me to follow Him & He picks me up. I'm pretty content being in His arms for a little while, but then I want to explore on my own again. Sometimes, He holds me a little tighter so I can't get loose. But then, sometimes, He sets me down & watches cautiously, knowing that I will eventually get to where He wants me, but wondering just how long it will take me.

Does this sound like you?

Hmmm, something so simple. I love when God shines a flashlight on something little & explains it to me in a way that I can understand!

I'm so thankful that God is up ahead of me watching & waiting on me to join Him!!