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Taco Soup

Posted on 2008-Sep-5 at 11:08 by Kim Wolf<>< - 5 Comments - Post Comment - Link

Believe it or not...IT'S SEPTEMBER!! Those cooler temps are on the way! I LOVE fall...it's my FAVORITE time of year!! Along with those falling temperatures that invite us to pull on our favorite sweaters, collect pumkins, go on hayrides and build bonfires comes my desire to make wonderful, hearty soups and stews! One of our family's favorite cold weather soups is Taco Soup!! Oh...it is yummy, stustaining, it's even attractive to look at in your bowl. I hope you enjoy it!!

Blessings from Ohio, Kim Wolf<><

TACO SOUP

1 lb. ground beef or chuck
1/2 med. onion - finely chopped
1 lg. bunch of fresh cilantro - finely chopped
4-6 jalapeno peppers (depending on your taste buds & stomach lining!) - finely chopped
2 15-16 oz. cans kidney beans (UNdrained)
2 14-15 oz. cans whole kernal corn (UNdrained)
1 15-16 oz. can black beans (optional)
2 15 oz. cans tomato sauce
1 pkg (1-1/2 TB) taco seasoning
1 c. water

~ Brown beef, drain; add onion, peppers, 1/2 of the cilantro and cook until onions and peppers start to get tender.
~ Mix everything together in a dutch oven OR crockpot.
~ Heat through in dutch oven for 45 min. - 1 hour OR in crockpot for 2-3 hours on low.
~ Top with shredded cheddar or colby-jack cheese, sour cream and corn tortilla chips crumbled like crackers.

Benefits of the new day and perspective

Posted on 2008-Sep-4 at 2:17 PM by Amy W - 0 Comments - Post Comment - Link

And so dawned a new day.
Thankfully yesterday is but a pale distant memory.
Add snicker here.
Well, it’s enough of a memory.
Today was a much more FANTASTIC 2^nd day of school.
I thought to try my schedule for Mr. Conductor one more day before trying a revamp and I’m glad we did.
Today was great. We did everything on the schedule and had so much fun together. Plus we were done in 45 minutes and he was off painting his latest masterpiece with his new watercolors while I worked with the girls. In order to work without much interruption with Mr. C, I assigned Sassafras to read one of her assignments to herself rather than doing it with her. It went well.
The only blip is that it seems I have misplaced one of Maiden’s grammar books. I didn’t do the frantic search like yesterday- just a quick one- but fruitless all the same. We decided to make it a matter of prayer and pray that it shows up within the next day or so----- or my memory becomes equally clear as to where I may have put it . . . . . .
That could be a bit of awhile.
No matter- today was a good day. We enjoyed our learning, had great discussion and just plain fun doing it.
It is my hope and prayer that we have many more days like today than days like yesterday.
To do that one needs to have perspective.
Perspective.
It starts with me- if I wake up in a lousy mood it’s a pretty safe hypothesis that we’ll have a lousy day.
If I sleep in and don’t get up ahead of the children and have my coffee and quiet time . . . . . well, it’s just not good, people.
Today could possibly have gone down yesterday’s road if I’d let it- what with the missing grammar book and all that.
But it didn’t.
It was icing on the cake to have Mr. C do so well- but I was also prepared to let him run off if it was necessary.
There is only so much one’s sanity can take.
I continue to learn that even in the small every day stuff it is necessary- no VITAL, for me to go to God’s strength first and not go “own my own”. I work with the children to make it a habit to commit our day to the Lord first and ask Him to help us to accomplish all that He desires for us today.
We are never suppose to go it on own strength and then go to God when we’re burned-out and strung-out, gasping for air and begging for mercy. That’s backwards. He is our strength even in the mundane day-to-day-ness of each 24 hour period.
He’s my strength when we’re just starting the day and we’re eager to crack our books and get started.
And He’s my strength when I’m juggling teaching 3 school levels and the doorbell chimes along with the ring of the phone.
He’s my strength when we stretch one meal to two- including leftover for Mr. Steady’s lunch.
Just as He’s my strength when Mr. Steady takes the wrong container of leftovers to work and it throws off the dinner plans.
He’s my strength when Mr. Steady and his brother take turns driving to work to both economize on gas.
And He is my strength when Mr. Steady reveals to me that he put the spare tire on his car because one tire was so bald he thought it would blow-out.
Amazingly enough- I have no idea what kind of strength I will need for each day but I do know this---
What I have on my own will never be enough.
Not ever.
And so being the ever practical sort- I find it best to lean on and invite God’s strength at the beginning of each new day.
Sure I’ll still have those bad days- those Oh-I-just-want-to-go-back-to-bed-and-start-over-or-just-skip-it-and-sleep-through-it days. I’ll have those days when I “forget” to commit the day to the Lord and ask for His strength to lead me through.
And I will fall completely flat on my face.
Good thing God makes each day new.
Thank you Lord for the chances and opportunities each new day brings.
Bless the Lord, oh my soul, and forget not His benefits. Blessed be the Lord. Who daily loads us with benefits. Psalm 103:2, 68:19

Of bad beginnings

Posted on 2008-Sep-4 at 8:42 AM by Amy W - 3 Comments - Post Comment - Link

And so it begins.
We have officially begun our 3^rd year of homeschooling.
The girls are studying early American History and Mr. Conductor will be spending these first 9 weeks studying about farm life.
We successfully completed our first day back to school.
I say successfully because yes, we did complete everything for that day.
Other than that it wouldn’t rank real high on the Success-O-Meter.
In fact, we all agreed it was the worst First Day we’d ever had.
Everyone sprang out of bed, got dressed and started school.
Breakfast was behind because the special First Day Coffee Cake was taking extra long to bake. In hindsight I should have offered them a mini-pre-breakfast treat.
The first 2 hours went well. The girls were rolling right along- Sassafras was almost completely done and Maiden had knocked out quite a bit of schooling. Mr. Conductor was, however, deciding that my version of school and his were not compatible and promptly left the table after completing half of what I’d planned for the day. He was disgruntled and let me know it.
Then Sassafras went to get her reading book (that she’d taken off the school shelf last week to get an early start on) and could not find it. We then spent the next 45 minutes tearing apart the bedroom in a desperate and ultimately futile search. Now, the book was found- but not in the bedroom—instead it was found after the room was purged, sitting back on the school shelf with a very nice bookmark proudly saluting me. The book search and subsequent bedroom purging did not improve my mommy temperament- in fact it did quite the opposite. Sass was suppose to have cleaned etc. her room and an initial quick inspection made it look like it was- but then our searching upheaval- which included taking off her mattress and setting her bed on its side, lead to a gi-normous hidden cache of miscellaneous (and some forbidden) stuff. And I use the term stuff lightly. That 45 minute search included 1 large trash bag, 3 boxes for the temporary storing of stuff and the hauling upstairs of the vacuum cleaner for a total clean sweep.
And so- to find the book pristinely sitting on the school shelf after I’d threatened with the Mom Voice demanding repayment and retribution for items found in the cache was completely unnerving and did not bring the sweet relief it would have had it been found sooner. After that harrowing 45 minutes and me sitting there in my dirty, nasty- sweaty disgust, well let’s just say it was a bit hard to get back into “school’ mode.
And yet-
We did finish and I believe we were all relieved.
Very relieved.

Glorious Weather

Posted on Thursday, September 4, 2008 at 10:55 AM by Catherine Ann - 1 Comments - Post Comment - Link

I love, love, love those first cool days of Autumn, and this is the second gloriously cool morning we have had!

I had to remind myself of Charlotte Mason's habit of declaring a "holiday" on those really lovely weather days, because this is, after all our first "official" week of school.....but, how could I resist 3 pairs of blue eyes begging to go outside and play this morning?

So, out we went, Mom with a cup of tea and her notebook (still finishing up those curriculum and lesson plans- which will change time and time again as the year goes by); and girls with quilts and other things to create their little home with.

Nature study showed itself quickly- a tiny walking stick that hopped onto one little lady's leg. Then, the hunt was on for other creatures- damsel flies, butterflies, and other things were enjoying the Autumn morning as well.

The other books can wait until afternoon, after all- Living is a wonderful way to learn!

Off to have more tea and read my own books on the porch...

Catherine

OH.....we planted the Fall garden at the new house yesterday! So exciting, I'll tell you about it later...my tea kettle is calling!

The 100 Species Challenge

Posted on Wednesday, September 3, 2008 at 3:01 PM by Catherine Ann - 0 Comments - Post Comment - Link

We are going to participate in the 100-Species Challenge as part of our Nature Study this year. The rules and other necessary information are below. It would be great fun if some of you would join us!

Blessings,

Catherine

The 100-Species Challenge

1. Participants should include a copy of these rules and a link to this entry in their initial blog post about the challenge. I will make a sidebar list of anyone who notifies me that they are participating in the Challenge.

2. Participants should keep a list of all plant species they can name, either by common or scientific name, that are living within walking distance of the participant's home. The list should be numbered, and should appear in every blog entry about the challenge, or in a sidebar.

3. Participants are encouraged to give detailed information about the plants they can name in the first post in which that plant appears. My format will be as follows: the numbered list, with plants making their first appearance on the list in bold; each plant making its first appearance will then have a photograph taken by me, where possible, a list of information I already knew about the plant, and a list of information I learned subsequent to starting this challenge, and a list of information I'd like to know. (See below for an example.) This format is not obligatory, however, and participants can adapt this portion of the challenge to their needs and desires.

4. Participants are encouraged to make it possible for visitors to their blog to find easily all 100-Species-Challenge blog posts. This can be done either by tagging these posts, by ending every post on the challenge with a link to your previous post on the challenge, or by some method which surpasses my technological ability and creativity.

5. Participants may post pictures of plants they are unable to identify, or are unable to identify with precision. They should not include these plants in the numbered list until they are able to identify it with relative precision. Each participant shall determine the level of precision that is acceptable to her; however, being able to distinguish between plants that have different common names should be a bare minimum.

6. Different varieties of the same species shall not count as different entries (e.g., Celebrity Tomato and Roma Tomato should not be separate entries); however, different species which share a common name be separate if the participant is able to distinguish between them (e.g., camillia japonica and camillia sassanqua if the participant can distinguish the two--"camillia" if not).

7. Participants may take as long as they like to complete the challenge. You can make it as quick or as detailed a project as you like. I'm planning to blog a minimum of two plants per week, complete with pictures and descriptions as below, which could take me up to a year. But you can do it in whatever level of detail you like.

How Did You...

Posted on 2008-Sep-2 at 01:49 by Kim Wolf<>< - 1 Comments - Post Comment - Link

...find out about homeschooling?

We found out when we met the Gregg and Sono Harris family. They used to live in Dayton, Ohio and they led me to the Lord, introduced me the that handsome man in the pic who would later become my husband and told us that they homeschool their son. Yep...the cute little kid in the pic is Josh "I Kissed Dating Good-bye" Harris when he was about 8 years old! He was my little buddy and the 1st homeschooled kid I'd ever met.

... KW

Back from Vacation!

Posted on 2008-Sep-2 at 12:49 by Kim Wolf<>< - 0 Comments - Post Comment - Link

I always feel pushed and pulled in both directions when it's time to come home from vacation...ESPECIALLY when we have been to one of our favorite places!

We LOVE going to Lakeside, Ohio - on Lake Erie - every year. A family that is some of our best friends has a cottage in Lakeside that we go to every year. And...every year...even though it is one of the hardest places for us to leave...it's always so good to walk into our own home. Isn't it funny how the Lord gives us such a heart for our homes? The whole way home I am internally whining because we have to leave the cottage and our daily walks along the lake shore, the fun vacation food (diets DO NOT EXIST on vacation!), sight-seeing, cool lake breezes even on hot days...and then as soon as I walk into my home I'm so glad to be here!

The Lord is good in giving us a heart for our homes.

Here are a few pics of Lakeside...

Jenna outside the cottage.

This was in 2000 at Marblehead Lighthouse...just east of Lakeside.

I'll have to scan some more recent pics of our trips. Hope you enjoyed these.

Blessings from Ohio, Kim Wolf<><

All quiet- not quite

Posted on 2008-Sep-1 at 6:07 PM by Amy W - 3 Comments - Post Comment - Link

Quiet here online
BUT
quite noisy in reality.
Very full days here.
Continuing with the squeezing, squishing and gathering all that we can of these last days before school begins again.
Tonight, right now, it is quiet in the house.
The children are outside.
Mr. Steady is tinkering.
These are the days- the unhurried days filled with promise and family.
We’ll have a campfire and eat our supper around it on tin plates.
Mr. Steady will throw in some cedar chips to remind us of Up North and we’ll do a bit of star gazing.
We’ll line the tub with a grit-ring before the night is over.
And tuck in cleaned and scrubbed kiddos for one more night of 30 minute reading before lights out.
Tomorrow we start up our homeschool group for the new school year. Just like in other schools it will be a half day- just wading in and getting use to the new schedule.
The evening will be our very special annual Back-to-School night here in our yellow townie farmhouse.
Alphabet Dinner
School Cones
Daddy Blessings.

Up-Date on Thesis!!

Posted on 2008-Sep-1 at 12:23 by Kim Wolf<>< - 1 Comments - Post Comment - Link

I am excited to say that before we left for vacation that my pastor/dean e-mailed me and said that he really liked my thesis. I also found out that I will be graduating w/HONORS!!! WOOHOO!!! Oh, how I would like to show my high school teachers THAT bit of news! lol

Another cool thing...our friends - whose cottage we were staying at - came up to the cottage the day we left. So, we had lunch w/then before we headed out. The husband of that family is also on the board of directors of the little seminary I'm attending. He said that they had a meeting just before they left and that Joe (our pastor/dean) even commented to everyone about how good he thought my thesis was!!! I am competely shell-shocked! My biggest worry was that it wouldn't be "academic" enough. Maybe I'll post it sometime...but it's LOOOONG. We'll see.

Thanks SO MUCH for your prayers!!

Blessings, Kim Wolf

Praying with Daddy before Bed.

Posted on August 31, 2008 at 10:50 by LindaI - 2 Comments - Post Comment - Link

My Pastor had a sermon on teaching your kids today. It was really good. But the main part was that you are the greatest teacher and he challenged us. Everything we already know but brought about in a fresh way. My husband must have taken the message to heart. He challenged dads to read the bible to the kids. To pray with them.

So we had an awesome day today. Went to Pymatuning. You can look at my blog post about it on my homeschool blog. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/lindai
I cannot get the link think to work on this post. Anyways. When I got home I got the kids in a bath and Justin ran out to Walmart for me. I needed mayo and pumpernickle bread for our picnic tomorrow. He called on his cell telling me to "not let the kids go to sleep until he got home tonight." O.K.
I wanted to throw them in bed a.s.a.p because I was tired! And enjoy me time at night. But I kept them up until he got back.

I thought this is what he had up his sleeve. no I hoped. And I was right.

Up the stairs he came with us to pray with the kids before bed. It was really nice.

Dh works nights as a truck driver. I do NOT want to nag him. But it would be so awesome if he kept up with that on weekends. It was really nice for daddy to pray with the kids before bed. I really enjoyed it myself. It was very family togetherness. Even as simple as it was. Hey, my kids are young. They do not need more then simple.

I have to laugh though. Dh cannot stand how Alyssa names EVERYONE in her prayers. Bless pappy, nana, grandma, grandpa, uncle... yadda yadda yadda. He always tries to get her to say "bless all my family" I will have to give Alyssa a heads up to keep it simpler if daddy is joining us. :)

But I just wanted to share. I thought it was really nice and pray it could be a habit for our weekends.

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