Thursday, February 27, 2014

American Girl class: Caroline Week 6

We had another great American Girl class this week! This was our last week of Caroline-already!?! We discussed book six in the series, Changes for Caroline. After we discussed the book, we began our craft. I had mom helpers there with sewing machines-- even MY Mom came to help too! It was fun to have a "Grandma" come to help! The girls liked meeting her.

We made cinch bags with fabric and ribbon. I bought two varieties of fabric, and roughly followed the directions that I found here. The pieces were approximately 12" X 18". I precut the fabric and ironed it (and this was a big deal, because I do NOT like to iron!) so that it would be easier to fold. The girls folded in all four edges and pinned them. Then they brought it to a Mom/ Grandma helper and they got it sewn. Then they took it back to the table and folded & pinned in the short sides again, to make a pocket for the ribbon. That was sewn too. Then they folded the fabric right sides together, pinned it and we sewed that. Finally, they turned the bag inside out, and inserted the ribbon. It was a great project! (The pinning made it take longer than five minutes, as the above link says it will take.)

Pinning the fabric...
 Eating snack and finishing the bags...
 For snack, we had strawberries in "cream" as Caroline did in our book. She had wild strawberries, which would have been smaller. We had whipped ream in a can-- something Caroline would not have had...The girls LOVED this snack! (I had some too- yummy!)

The 2:00 class pinning their bags... (sorry the pic is blurry)

 the snack- the first mom (it was me) left the berries whole, and the second class mom cut them. They were fine both ways!
 Pinning...

Here is the finished product!


We also discussed the Independence Day holiday and it's roots. I brought an old lap book that we made, and the girls looked at that after I read a few facts.

We will have standardized testing in our area next week, so there will be no class. But after that, we will begin Josefina-- I am looking forward to that!
-------------------------------------

Matthew 10:9-11

 “Do not get any gold or silver or copper to take with you in your belts no bag for the journey or extra shirt or sandals or a staff, for the worker is worth his keep. Whatever town or village you enter, search there for some worthy person and stay at their house until you leave.

Matthew 25:14-29

The Parable of the Bags of Gold

 “Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them. To one he gave five bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one bag, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. The man who had received five bags of gold went at once and put his money to work and gained five bags more. So also, the one with two bags of gold gained two more.  But the man who had received one bag went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.
 “After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them.  “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’
“The man with two bags of gold also came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with two bags of gold; see, I have gained two more.’
“His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’
 “Then the man who had received one bag of gold came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. So I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’
 “His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed?  Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.
 “‘So take the bag of gold from him and give it to the one who has ten bags.  For whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

Monday, February 24, 2014

Music Monday: "I Can Just be Me"

Music Monday: "I Can Just be Me" (by Laura Story)

This is a new song off of Laura Story's new CD, God of Every Story. I love this song and the idea that I can be "ME" with God, I can be my true self. I can come to Him with all my needs, my ugliness, my tears, joys, whatever... and He will be my Father, take me in His arms and show me His love. I don't need to try to have it all together. I don't need to be God, that's His job. I need to do my best, and let Him do the rest. There are times that I try to hold it all together, or feel like a failure, or feel like I don't belong here... just as the lyrics say. I hope you enjoy this song as much as I do. (You can read about/ listen to another song from this CD here.)


"I Can Just be Me" by Laura Story
I've been doing all that I can
To hold it all together, piece by piece
I've been feeling like a failure
Trying to be braver
Than I could ever be
It's just not me

So be my Healer, be my Comfort
Be my peace
‘Cause I can be broken
I can be needy, Lord, I need You now
To be, be my God
So I can just be me

I've been living like an orphan
Trying to belong here
But it's just not my home
I've been holding on so tightly
To all the things that I think
That satisfy my soul
But I'm letting go

So be my Father, my mighty Warrior
Be my King
‘Cause I can be scattered, frail and shattered
Lord, I need You now to be
Be my God so I can just be me

‘Cause I was lost
In this dark world
‘Till I was finally found in You
So now I'm needy, desperately pleading
Oh Lord, be all to me

So be my Savior, be my lifeline
Won't You be my everything?
‘Cause I'm so tired
Of trying to be someone
I was never meant to be
Be my God, please be my God
Be my God so I can just be me
So I can just be me

-----------------------------------------------------------
You can listen to this song on a video here.


Exodus 15:26
He said, “If you listen carefully to the Lord your God and do what is right in his eyes, if you pay attention to his commands and keep all his decrees, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord, who heals you.”


Jeremiah 8:18
You who are my Comforter in sorrow, my heart is faint within me.


Ephesians 5:19b-20
Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Thursday, February 20, 2014

American Girl class: Caroline week 5

This week in American Girl class, we discussed book 5 in the series, Caroline's Battle. We had two crafts this week which related to the story somewhat...

Our craft was sewing a needlepoint star on card stock. I found a star image here. I traced it and made dotted lines for the girls to stitch on, then copied the image on card stock. We gave each girl and needle and length of thread to stitch with. We found it was different than stitching on fabric. The girls took varied amounts of time doing this. It was interesting to me how some girls were slow and meticulous and others finished it fairly quickly.

We also discussed "The Star- Spangled Banner" and the girls colored this 1814 flag, which I printed for each of them. I also found the lyrics of the song and read them while the girls colored. We discussed the stars on the flag, counting the lower number of states in the union then. I read from the back of the book in the history section how Francis Scott Key was inspired to write the poem, from which the "Star-Spangled Banner" was taken. It is really only the first stanza of the poem!

 Working on the star stitching...
 Eating snack (recipe below)...
 Some finishing stars, some working on the flag coloring...
 The 2:00 class, working on the stars...

 For snack we had Burnt Sugar cake. I found the recipe here. It looked so good! It had a different taste, not as caramelized as we thought, but still good!

 Coloring the flag...
Another fantastic, patriotic American Girl class! I sure enjoy teaching these girls and seeing their friendships develop!

Next week is our last Caroline class before we begin Josefina! The semester is zipping right by!


Genesis 1:16
God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars.

Daniel 12:3
Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, likethe stars for ever and ever.

Philippians 2:14-16

Do everything without grumbling or arguing,  so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.”Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the word of life. And then I will be able to boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor in vain.

Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Valentine's Day party!

Last week we had our 5th annual Valentine's day party with homeschoolers fro our church! WOW! I love that we have a great group of homeschoolers that we can get together and celebrate in little parties with! We had our traditional potluck lunch, traded Valentines, played conversation heart bingo, decorated heart shaped cookies and had a little free time to chat and play. Enjoy the pics!

View our Valentine's parties from 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013 (click on the year.)
 The boys' table...
 Big sister helping her brother read the cards...
 Moms helped read too!



 Decorating cookies...
 YUM!
 Bingo game...

What a fun time with friends! Thanks to the other moms for their help. I enjoy the time to chat with my Mom friends too!

Did you do anything with your kids to celebrate Valentine's Day?


1 John 4
Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.


1 Corinthians 13:4-7
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Monday, February 17, 2014

Music Monday: "Write Your Story"

One of my favorite singer-songwriters is releasing a new CD soon, and has pre-released a great new song that my daughter Rebekah and I love! The song has a great message about letting God take control of our life, letting Him be the artist or the author of our story. That is what I desire in my life, and I hope you do too! God does much better things when HE is in control than when I try to do it alone!

Write Your Story

They say
You're the King of everything
The One who taught the wind to sing
The Source of the rhythm my heart keeps beating

They say
You can give the blind their sight
And You can bring the dead to life
You can be the hope my soul's been seekin'

I wanna tell You now that I believe it
I wanna tell You now that I believe it
I do, that You can make me new, oh

I'm an empty page
I'm an open book
Write Your story on my heart
Come on and make Your mark

Author of my hope
Maker of the stars
Let me be Your work of art

(Chorus)
Won't You write Your story on my heart
Write Your story, write Your story
Come on and write Your story, write Your story
Won't You write Your story on my heart

My life
I know it's never really been mine
So do with it whatever You like
I don't know what Your plan is
But I know it's good, yeah

I wanna tell You now that I believe in
I wanna tell You now that I believe in
In You, so do what You do, oh

I'm an empty page
I'm an open book
Write Your story on my heart
Come on and make Your mark

Author of my hope
Maker of the stars
Let me be Your work of art

Chorus

I want my history
To be Your legacy
Go ahead and show this world
What You've done in me
And when the music fades
I want my life to say

I let You write Your story, write Your story
Write Your story, write Your story

I'm an empty page
I'm an open book
Write Your story on my heart
Come on and make Your mark

Author of my hope
Maker of the stars
Let me be Your work of art
Won't You write Your story on my heart

Chorus
[x2]

Read more: Francesca Battistelli - Write Your Story Lyrics | MetroLyrics 

------------------------------------------------------------------- You can listen to this song on YouTube here.



Genesis 1:16
God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars.

Acts 3:15
You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. We are witnesses of this.

Acts 2:32
God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of it.

Friday, February 14, 2014

Recipe: Ham & Cheese Sliders

Over Christmas, my mom made ham& cheese sliders from a Pinterest recipe. They were wonderful, even though I helped make them! :-D  They were devoured by the family, and I've wanted to make them ever since. I had thought about making them for the SuperBowl, but we planned other meals instead. When we were at Sam's Club, I found a large package of Hawaiian dinner rolls. They fit perfectly in my 9 X 13" pan!

Here is the link for the recipe. I have added the recipe here, but it is not my own.

Hot Ham & Cheese Sliders
1 pkg. Hawaiian Rolls, split entire pan of rolls length-wise (don't separate rolls)
18 slices (approx) Your favorite deli ham, shaved
8 slices (approx) your favorite cheese,sliced,  Swiss, cheddar, Colby jack, or pepper jack
5 TbspButter
1/2 tsp. onion or garlic powder
1 Tbsp. Mustard (I used hot and sweet mustard)
3 packed tsp. brown sugar
1/2 tsp. Worchestershire sauce
1/4 tsp. salt
Poppy seeds

Keep in mind, as you assemble to treat it as one big sandwich.  Once you slice the whole pkg. of rolls in half lengthwise (without breaking them apart), lay the bottom half in a preferably 8x11 in. pan, (9x13 works too) and evenly pile ham and cheese all over.  Top with the other half of the rolls.

Prepare sauce by heating in a small pan, the butter, sugar, Worchestershire, mustard, onion or garlic powder, and salt.  Whisk just until it's all smooth and melted.

Evenly drizzle the butter glaze all over the sandwich. Use a knife to spread evenly, if need be.  Sprinkle generously with poppy seeds.

Cover the pan with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes and remove foil and bake 5 minutes longer.  I like the cheese to be gooey and the tops slightly toasted.  Pull each little slider apart to serve. Serve warm and enjoy with fresh veggies and chips!

Let me know if you try it, I'd love to hear your review!

Genesis 6:21
You are to take every kind of food that is to be eaten and store it away as food for you and for them.”

Ruth 1:6
[ Naomi and Ruth Return to Bethlehem ] When Naomi heard in Moab that the Lord had come to the aid of his people by providing food for them, she and her daughters-in-law prepared to return home from there.

Psalm 104:27
All creatures look to you to give them their food at the proper time.

Thursday, February 13, 2014

American Girl class: Caroline Week 4

What a fantastic class we had discussing Caroline! This week in American Girl class, we discussed book four in the series, Caroline Takes A Chance. After we discussed the book, we began our crafts.

For our craft, we made paper dolls, and we also practiced penmanship. I had a hard time finding printable dolls that I liked. Everything I found online was too adult, or too babyish. I know there are Caroline's paper dolls in a book, and I looked for that too. I didn't find it, but I did find some girl doll paper shapes, and those worked just fine.

I then traced the doll on card stock to make a dress. I also cut pieces into a skirt and a top, each with tabs to help them stay on the doll. I had a short-sleeve dress too. Then for the dolls, I gave each of  the girls four pieces of 6 X 6" scrapbook paper. The girls traced the dress and dress parts on the back (double-sided paper would have been better...) and cut them out. They had lots of fun making headbands, belts, etc., out of the paper scraps. I had to stop them or they would have kept creating!


We had mini cinnamon rolls for snack. I found an easy recipe here. We also had peppermint tea to drink. The girls LOVED them!
 For the penmanship page, I used a handwriting font on my computer and made a page with these sentences: "Caroline Abbott lived in Sackets Harbor, New York in 1812. Her father was taken prisoner by the British, and her mother ran the family shipyard. Caroline's friends were her cousin Lydia and Rhonda."
 Writing practice...
 The 2:00 class busy creating...


 Showing off her doll...
 Yummy snack was eaten up quickly!
 Penmanship practice...

Looking forward to more Caroline class fun next week!

2 John 1:12
I have much to write to you, but I do not want to use paper and ink. Instead, I hope to visit you and talk with you face to face, so that our joy may be complete.

Proverbs 10:27
The fear of the Lord adds length to life, but the years of the wicked are cut short.

Mark 13:20
“If the Lord had not cut short those days, no one would survive. But for the sake of the elect, whom he has chosen, he has shortened them.

Wednesday, February 12, 2014

Wordless Wednesday: Family Contra Dance!

This past Saturday night, our local homeschool group hosted a Family Contra dance! It was lots of fun with a caller, live band (piano and violin) and refreshments. We dressed up in our fancy clothes, gathered at the University Ballroom, and danced with old and new friends.

Enjoy the pics!
 
Bethany dancing up the line with Caleb...
 Caleb (in maroon) waiting to dance next...
Caleb and Mallory ready to dance together (Rebekah in red/ black in background)...

Joshua listening to a dance explanation with Bethany, our friend and Mallory.
 Our whole family all dressed up! Nice to have a new family picture!



Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under the heavens:
a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.


Jeremiah 31:4
I will build you up again, and you, Virgin Israel, will be rebuilt. Again you will take up your timbrels and go out todance with the joyful.

Jeremiah 31:13
Then young women will dance and be glad, young men and old as well. I will turn their mourning into gladness; I will give them comfort and joy instead of sorrow.
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