In the world, but not of it....

This post articulates so well the exact reasons that Charlie & I homeschool. I absolutely love the inspiring and convicting way she has with the written word. Please read and be encouraged today!

Love, 

♥Julie♥

Baked ravioli w/meat sauce....

One of our favorite quick & easy meals is posted on our recipe blog! Hope you enjoy it!


♥Julie♥

Count that day lost...

"If you sit down at set of sun
And count the acts that you have done,
And, counting find
One, self-serving deed,
one word'
That eased the heart of him
who heard
One glance most kind
That fell like sunshine

where it went_
Then you may count that day well spent.
But if, through all the livelong day,
You've cheered no heart, by yea or nay_
If, through it all
You've done nothing that you can trace
That brought sunshine to one's face_
No act most small
That helped some soul and nothing cost
Then count that day as worst than lost.

~George Elliot

~Today~

Today, I am....

~Sitting on the front porch with Claire & Lily (Drew is still asleep) wrapped in quilts, drinking hot cocoa & watching the baby calves play in our front pasture.

~Going to load up the kids in a bit and take them to McDonald's for a $1 menu breakfast...I ♥ the sausage burritos and a Dr.Pepper or  a large sweet tea...bad for me, I know but oh, so good!!


~Putting away winter clothes (except for jackets, it still gets chilly here for a bit) and dragging out the spring apparel. Making a list of what we need and (want) to add to what they already have. This sounds like a chore I would hate to do but actually I love it. I love to pull out Lily's hand me downs from Claire and see what she wore and remember her in those cute little outfits and envision Lily in the same clothes. :)

~Writing a church newsletter and working on a bible study for teenage girls....lol, we'll see how that turns out!

~Laying out everything for PE tomorrow....if we are having anything?? Oh, I hope so! We so enjoy & miss being with everyone in our homeschool group! :)

~Finishing lessons for the week so we can take tomorrow off! (making more "bird nests" with the girls...finishing our math unit and reading more about that delightful Ingall's family! (The Long Winter)talking about baby calves and doing some research! (I love homeschooling and the way you can just spontaneously learn about whatever you see that looks interesting!)

~Breakfast for supper tonight! The Pioneer Woman's yummy Migas!!!! If you haven't had these, you don't know what you are missing! Fried corn tortillas, eggs, peppers, onions, fresh tomatoes, pico de gallo, cilantro, and I top mine with monteray jack and sour cream! Oh, yum! (If the recipe is not on her site, I will try and post our modified version later....it's in her new cookbook!)

~I will be washing fresh eggs half the morning, lol. Seriously, I have about 2 dozen to wash and about 6 dozen in the refrigerator. ....anybody want some eggs???

~Thinking about Easter outfits...no idea.

~Hanging laundry on the clothesline!

~Folding more laundry...lol

~Playing outside in this beautiful sunshine!

~Scrubbing floors (can I skip this part??) :)

~A hot bubble bath and some Word of God before bed.

~Falling into bed tonight to read more, "The Mission of Motherhood" notes coming soon.... I hope!

~And to go to sleep next to the most wonderful man in the world. :)

~Waking up again in the morning and starting another blessed day...


Ya'll have a great one, too!!


♥Julie♥

~painting in the sunshine~

We have had a great few days of sunshine so we have been taking school outside quite a bit! This is our "Art Appreciation or Picture Study" class! LOVE homeschooling!!!!!♥

♥Julie♥

sweet baby boy...

 

Oh, how I love our sweet baby boy! Andrew, you are mama's ♥!

Family snow days....

                3 sweet children trying out snow ice cream!! It was a hit! (My secret is to use half and half or whipping cream, vanilla and sugar) Yum!

*Top pictures: Blogger won't let me post captions for some reason. Anyway, top pics:

~Daddy & Drew checking out the snow!

~Claire & Lily hitting mama with snowballs!


All of the rain & snow meant that Daddy had almost 2 weeks off of work. So, we took advantage of it and enjoyed every.last.second of the snow!! Hope you enjoy the pictures! More to come....

Happy Birthday, Claire-bear!!!! 5 years old...February 15th

Monday, was Claire's 5th Birthday. We just had a little celebration at our house with our little family. Her birthday party will be Sunday after bible study! I'll try to caption these pics but blogger is being difficult so we will see what happens!

Pancakes w/strawberries & whipped cream-Claire's request!Cake made by Claire & LilyClaire & Lily proud of the cake they made!(Yes, entirely all by themselves!!!)

Claire's favorite present! A baby doll that cries and drinks its bottle...she named her, Hannah.

More to come, as soon as I can get blogger and my computer to cooperate! :)

Love is not a fight...

Love is not a place
To come and go as we please
It's a house we enter in
And then commit to never leave

Lock the door behind you
Throw away the key
We'll work it out together
Let it bring us to our knees

Love is a shelter in the raging storm
Love is peace in the middle of a war
If we try to leave, may God send His angels to guard the door
No, love is not a fight but it's something worth fighting for

Warren Barfield - Love is Not a Fight

Monday Meanderings...

~Bible Study: This week, reading this and letting it soak in.

~Memory Verse: 

My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. James 1:2

~Zone: LAUNDRY and MOPPING (just trying to keep these two areas done) :)

~Must do's: 

*Organize school materials!!!! (It's out of control!)

*Switch pediatricians.Take care of insurance.

*Make appointment to get new glasses.

~Something Special for my husband: order the orbital sander he wants!

~Fun things!!!

*Claire turns 5, tomorrow!!!!!! (I am so not ready for her to be 5) So, tomorrow night, we open gifts here and have her favorite supper & cake.. :) This year, she will help me cook. I can't wait!

*This weekend, we are planning a night away!! I really, really hope it goes well and everything just works smoothly for us to be able to go! I am so excited!!!

~Something we are excited about!!

*We just bought a minivan and paid cash for it!!!!!! YAY!!!! It's a used 2001 Chrysler Town and Country, it's loaded with everything you can imagine and it is wonderful......no more trying to cram 3 car seats and all of our stuff into my Nissan Sentra!!! YAY!!! We are loving our new ride and so are the kids!! And, best of all, NO MORE CAR PAYMENTS!!! Can I get an AMEN??  =D

Menu Plan:

Monday- Claire's birthday supper: Spaghetti & Italian sausage, Garlic rolls, steamed broccoli, birthday cake

Tuesday-Roast chicken, broccoli & cauliflower, rolls

Wednesday-Mexican cornbread, beans & smoked sausage

Thursday- Shredded chicken tacos(we are going to follow her lead) w/pico de gallo & guacamole, rice and beans

Friday- Party sandwiches, veggie tray w/dip, fruit tray (Family movie night)

Saturday- our night "away"- ordering in from Roma's....YUM :)

Well, that's our week in a nutshell!! Hope you have a great one! :)

Join us at Sarah's for more Monday Meanderings & Laura's for Menu Plan Monday!

~Julie~

Snow day!!!!!!!!

Snow is very rare here so this was an unexpected wonderful treat!! We did the best we could to exhaust ourselves in the snow! The pitiful snowman was in our front yard and the snow had already started melting when we started building but still had fun, anyway! I will try to post more pictures of snow ice cream later today...I have an Italian Cream Cake to make for a special wedding tomorrow and I have to get started!!!

Blogger is not uploading all of my pictures...it says it does but then they don't show up???? Anyway, I will try again later!!!

ABORTION....

REPOSTED FROM 2007 ARCHIVES BY MY SISTER'S REQUEST...

This is a hard post to write and if you don't want to read it then you don't have to, it will not upset me in the least. After Lily was born I had some physical problems: excessive bleeding with huge clots, extreme exhaustion and fatigue, achiness and swelling in my abdomen. I also had extreme mood swings and horrible migraines. My gynocologist prescribed Yaz to help my symptoms. I took it for over 2 months before the bleeding stopped. The rest of my symptoms never did stop they just got a little better. I also began to be extremely anxious and irritable ALL of the time. I felt like I was losing control and didn't know what in the world was happening to me so after MUCH prayer and some articles we found that come from very trusted sources, we have decided to stop taking the pill. Mainly because there is other birth control that is a better option and I can use it without the conviction that I am doing something wrong. I had began to feel like birth control pills were wrong for me but I wasn't quite sure why it bothered me so much to take them until I read this article. I also read this article written by my cousin, Lacy Crowell. I know that the Lord was putting it on my heart not to take them and I am going to follow his leading. I cannot with a clear conscience take something that is going to starve to death my unborn child. I am telling you this so that you may know the truth they do not want you to know and so that you can make a more informed decision.

While I am on the subject of abortion, I want you to take a look at this post written by Jess at Making it Home. I warn you ahead of time, the links to the post are very hard to read and see, especially the ones with pictures of the aborted babies and the interview with the woman who worked in a lab dissecting the aborted precious babies to sell their body parts. I know that some people will not want to read it but I believe that it is necessary that we open our eyes to the truth. Reality is harsh, people ,but it is a fact of life. We have to educate ourselves and our children. We have to support unwed mothers(not make getting pregnant out of wedlock okay but spport their decision to raise their child or give it up for adopton), working mothers, those with many children and stop showing them disdain for getting themselves in "trouble "again. We have to look at children as the blessing from the Lord that they truly are. Until then, the abortion madness will continue to slaughter millions of innocent lives. Until then, innocent babies will be ripped out of their mothers wombs to lie dead or dying in a cold room with not one person who cares. Babies are our most precious gift from the Lord. No matter the circumstance, they are the most beautiful precious gift. What is wrong with a country that is so callous to human life? What have we become? Jess also has some wonderful suggestions on things we can do to support pregnant women, I plan on trying these myself and changing my attitude "You're having another one?"

I am not going to say anymore. Please read the links that I suggested and pray for these precious innocent babies.

Love and Prayers,

Julie

*For those who believe that I am crazy for discussing my personal life on here, I do believe things should stay personal, but in this case , I feel that I have to bring awareness to this, I have to let women know that birth control pills are not the "easy" solution they are made out to be. So, I am turning the comment moderator on for this post. Leave a comment but if it is ugly, mean or spiteful I will not publish it! Blessings to you and have a great day!

Homeschooling (a list of helpful resources & tips)....

* I have had a few questions about homeschooling: how we do it, why we do it, etc. So, I am going to be doing a few of these and adding them to my sidebar. This one is just a list of websites, blogs, books, etc. that we use to homeschool our children. It is my hope that you may find something that can help you and that you enjoy this little peek into our daily lives!

~To start at the very beginning, I use the Babywise series with our children. (Babywise, Toddlerwise,Preschoolwise, etc.) I find that a schedule works wonders!! I did not say a "rigid" schedule. I could never do that and if you know me, you would be laughing! lol To me it is more of a routine! I understand these books are controversial but we love them!

~ All Sally Clarkson books! Oh, they are amazingly well written and so wonderfully soothing to an exhausted  mother's heart! I can not recommend them highly enough!

~And, some blogs and websites: (There are so many of these! I will have to come back and add to this post again and again!)

*Chasing Cheerios

*No Time For Flashcards

*Donna Young

*Handedness Research (teaching left-handers to write. Claire is left handed)

*Best Homeschooling

*Learning 4 Fun!

*Enchanted Learning

*Free Printables

*ABC Teach(more free stuff)

*Ambleside(CM)

*Charlotte Mason

*DLTK-free crafts, bible lesson plans, etc.

*Growing Minds of Wisdom

*Jan Brett

*Jeannie Fulbright

*Letter of the Week


*Mustard Seeds

*Worksheet Works

*The Learning Page (free stuff)

*Starfall

*Simply Charlotte Mason

Okay, there are TONS more that we use! I will put the links up as I get a chance to do so. Right now,I have laundry to fold and put away, schoolwork to go over for tomorrow and life to live with my precious children!! See you soon!

~Julie~

random pictures... (more to come...)

how my husband provides for our family.....

People often ask me what in the world my husband does...well, this...

He is the one in the yellow safety vest. It's kind of funny because in the first pic, it looks like he's getting a lecture but he's not! The guy pointing his finger is talking to the guy behind him taking the pictures, ha! :) This is a hydro-ax and it cuts down trees. This is what he leaves me early every morning and comes home late every night to do!! He doesn't make a tremendous amount of money but he is a dedicated worker and he is the best at what he does and he provides for us.

If you look closely, you will see the trees where the ax is turned over...that's the side of a mountain right there. This was when Lily was about 4 months old. Charlie turned his ax over (happens all the time) and could have rolled down the mountain. So, you see why every morning when he leaves the house, I must make a conscious decision to leave him in God's hands. So must all wives, I am sure. But, not every wife's husband dangles off the sides of mountains for a living!!!!

Just wanted to brag on my baby a little bit and thought this would be a fun post! A fun peek into our daily life.

Have a blessed week!!

The garden of our children's hearts...

  From Today's Proverbs 31 ministries devotional:

What if we considered our children's hearts and lives as a garden? The principles of sowing and reaping apply as well. Every day we sow into those "gardens" through our words, behavior, and the disciplines we teach them. However, just like a vegetable garden, if we plant carrot seeds, we will reap carrots – not corn. Consequently, if we sow negative seeds of discouragement, we will reap despair. If we sow seeds of impatience, we will reap frustration. If we sow seeds of laziness, we will reap stress.

Conversely, if we sow healthy seeds of good choices, we will reap self-discipline. If we sow seeds of patience, we will reap peace. If we sow seeds of perseverance, we will reap success. Our children's hearts are rich soil prepared by God to receive good seed. As conscientious gardeners, we need to plant those that will reap a harvest in our children's lives and prepare them for service in the kingdom of God.

What if you don't see results right away? That's normal. After a few days, the farmer doesn't get frustrated with slow growth and rip the seeds out of the ground. No. The farmer continues to water the soil, shoo the birds away, and pull the weeds. The farmer protects the seed until it has a chance to grow in its own time.

God designed our children to grow and flouris h with love and care. However, failure can be the weeds in our children's lives. Weeds don't destroy the good seed, they just leech the nutrients out of the soil limiting the growth of the plant. Failure doesn't destroy our children's potential; it just removes the enthusiasm from their hearts.

In order to overcome the pain and heartache of failure, children need a parent who will step in with fresh water and bright sunlight, while replacing the weeds with healthy seed. With this tender care, perseverance and self-discipline will grow and develop. Then in time, our children will produce a harvest of confidence. May we be gardeners who don't give up until the harvest.

Dear Lord, I praise You for Your almighty power and wisdom. Thank You for making me with potential to grow and change. Help me to see that same potential in those I love and to become a gardener of healthy seed in their lives. Help me to see failure as something to overcome, not stop me for a live of obedience. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

*Now, I am off to sow some good seeds!!! Have a blessed day!!

~Julie~

my favorite Christmas present!!!!!!....

order here!!! I love you, baby. Thank you SOOO much!!! :)

homemade gifts....

Some of our gifts (well, most of them) are homemade this year!! I thought I would share a few with you!

This is the girls' gift along with shoes, tights, leotards & headbands, the whole ballerina ensemble! They will be so excited when they open these on Christmas morning! I am praying we get these done....if we do, I will post pictures for you.

Charlie is also making the girls a stove for Christmas and it is super cute! (It kind of looks like this one, minus the clock but now I am thinking maybe we could add one??? lol ) I wish I had a stove like that when I was a little girl....they also are getting all the "stuff" to go with it, rolling pins, baking sheets, aprons, etc.!!

Drew is getting a painted canvas for his room and a cool shelf to put all of his tractors on! The kid already has so many but he will be a collector just like his Daddy! :)

little bit of Christmas randomness for ya...

Here's what has been going on in the Fogg household lately. I will try to come back tonight and add pics and post my meanderings for this week (I have a lot of them! lol)

* My hair is DARK now and I absolutely LOVE it!!! Charlie says it looks awesome so that is enough for me! I think dark looks so much better at Christmas time! And, yes, my hair is always brown but this looks a lot better!

*Santa gave me a new printer/scanner/copier and not a moment too soon! My old one bit the dust a couple of months ago! Not fun for this homeschooling mama!! This one is so cool. It's a smart touch and it's just awesome! I love it!!

*We have been making lots of goodies. This afternoon I am going to try and make the VeggieTales recipe for sugar cookies with the girls and let them frost them...can't wait and we will take pics!!

*We have had SO much fun as a family lately!! We took the kids Christmas shopping (a 2 hr. drive) the other day and they were SO good the entire time!! YAY!!!!

*We have an Advent calendar (a gift from a friend) and it is so awesome!! I will take pics and show it to you! Daddy does it with the kids at night. We really do it because it tells the story of Jesus and the history of the Jews and the family of Jesus and we think that is important to know. We ourselves have learned so many things already from doing this calendar but it's also written where we can explain it in simpler terms to the kids! Love it!!

*Tonight we are taking our annual pajama pictures under the tree with our Christmas pj's!! I ususally get them from Old Navy but snagged some $5 pair at Wal-Mart and they were just as cute so......I just went with those!! Pics to come!

Well, that wraps up some of it...I will be back later tonight, hopefully, to share more with you! We are just busy making memories this Christmas!!

Merry Christmas to you and yours!!

Monday Meanderings...

Memory Verse: I am working on the entire chapter of John 15. You are welcome to join me!

Bible Study: RENEW and John 15.

Zone: Kitchen clutter & deep cleaning & laundry room

Train them up: We had an EXCELLENT week last week!! Such beautiful weather and the kids were so well behaved and kind so all in all, it was a great week. This week, we are working on getting back in our routine of picking up after ourselves and putting up our laundry as soon as it's folded! It's the little things that make a home... :)

Husband Encouragement:

Work on "The Love Dare" again..
Write a long "steamy" sweet love letter
Get the house in order and keep it that way!!
Make Charlie a chocolate pie (I'll share the recipe later)


Must Do:

Pay Insurance
Work on budget (again)
Clean out car (as always!)
Keep laundry folded and put away
Cook every night
Take kids outside more every day & do school outside!!

Fun things:

~Charlie is off for a week (paid, yes!!) starting Friday...so this will be a short week for us and we are SO looking forward to that week with Daddy!!!!! We have a date night already planned and some time with family, lots of things that will be super exciting!! Can't wait and pray for NO sickness! =)

Menu:

*Monday:
breakfast: oatmeal cookie bars
lunch: egg salad, fruit
supper: Soft tacos, sliced apples

Tuesday:
breakfast: pancakes w/spiced apples
lunch: leftover tacos or taco salad
supper: Julie's spicy spaghetti, salad

Wednesday:
breakfast: breakfast burritos
lunch:PB&honey on sourdough bread,bananas
supper: Italian sandwiches, pickles,olives, peppers,fruit salad

Thursday:
breakfast: apple spice scones
lunch:crescent roll pizza, fruit
supper: chinese chicken fried rice

Friday:
breakfast: Holiday Gingerbread muffins
lunch: homemade mac & cheese,carrots
supper: Beef Fajitas, Homemade refried beans guacamole, salsa, chips,

Saturday:
breakfast: biscuits and gravy
lunch: nachos
supper: homemade pizza, salad

Sunday:
breakfast: pumpkin scones
lunch: Jambalaya, brown rice, cornbread
supper: leftovers

*I am using what's in the pantry this week and trying to get by with buying very little to NO groceries this week...we will see if I can do that or not!! (I've got more recipe links to put up; I'll try and be back later to do that!)

Have a great week and join us at Sarah's for more Monday Meanderings!