A Little Excitement and a Blessing

When plans don’t go according to plan… make new plans.


I can't believe I let Friday get away from me without posting about our week.

We have had a wonderful week. We've been busily, studying trying to stay ahead since Jamie has Bullriding school in April. We will be having take off a Friday, so we can make the trip to Oklahoma. I was excited when we got the notice about the deposit we sent. I'm not sure who is more excited me or Jamie. I'm just excited about the thought of being within 40 miles from Chick-fil-A. :)

We've are on Module 3 in Science, we experimented with water density earlier in the week. Quite a bit of fun with that experiment.

For History we have finished up the Revolutionary battles in the Northeast. Being a southern family and living within driving distance for day trips, we always visited places of history. Jamie mentioned to me, he thought the war was in Georgia also. I giggled, and told him it was and reminded him of the Kettle Creek Battlefield we visited several years ago. Our book divided the battles up in sections, so this caught him off guard a bit.

I've been anxiously awaiting my seed catalogs. Several have arrived the last few days and I've been dreaming of a garden. Although, we really don't have any room here for a garden, we are planning on container gardening this year. Since we are in a new growing zone, the waiting to plant is going to drive me nutty.

From what I can see, the original owner of this house did not plant anything except for a few irises beside the garage and used containers for a couple of annuals. With the catalogs coming in the mail, I've been using the National Gardening Association's website for plants to use in the front yard. I need flowers and plants! A house just isn't a house without beautiful plants and flowers.

On Friday, we were suppose to go to Miles City for a fellowship with the church where we have been visiting. But things didn't work out as we had planned, so we went bowling in town. We had quite a bit of fun just hanging out and doing something we all like to do.  Sadly, it's been a while since we've been bowling. We all did pretty well considering it's been several years since we've been. I loved watching Jamie and his shy self after he threw his ball. He would puts his hands in his pockets and not look around at other people.  He is very much like me and can't stand the thought of other people watching him. My sweet husband bowled like he always has ~ by beating us in both games. My little Canon camera I've had for 5 years is on its last leg. You can tell it in all the pictures from last night. These are the best three that we got.

I'm thankful our plans did not work out as we expected, because God blessed us with a needed item. Our landlord called and asked me if we would like it, and I quickly said yes. That item was delivered yesterday afternoon. I love how the Lord always provides!

Jambalaya

An quick and easy take on Jambalaya.

I have no clue why I have not posted this recipe sooner because it is one of our favorites and it is so yummy!  I've mentioned before we love spicy foods; the spicier the better! This is no different, I add extra seasoning when I can't get the Andouille Sausage. Of course, living in the middle of nowhere I can't get it so I have to settle with a turkey sausage. The only thing I do different with this dish, there is no shrimp or celery added like most recipes. I know what you are probably thinking...What, that can't be Jambalaya? Well, we are not big seafood eaters and the stringy celery, my husband and son do not like. This makes a HUGE pot and the recipe can definitely be cut down.

This was our Valentine's Day meal along with Lane's Chocolate Cake for dessert.

~Jambalaya~

1/2 cup butter
1 large onion, diced
1 large green bell pepper, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1  can tomato paste
3 bay leaves
3 tablespoons Creole seasoning
4 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
2 cans diced tomatoes
7 cups chicken stock
3 cups cooked andouille sausage, sliced
3 cups cooked chicken, cut into bite-sized pieces
4 cups uncooked long-grain white rice

Melt butter in large stock pot. Saute onion, green pepper, and garlic until tender. Add chicken and sausage and brown. Add tomato paste and cook to brown slightly, stirring constantly. Stir in bay leaves, Creole seasoning and Worcestershire sauce. Add tomatoes and chicken stock. Stir in rice and bring to a boil and reduce heat and simmer for about 20 minutes or until liquid is absorbed.

I also make this in the crockpot and let it cook for about 5 hours and then turn the setting over to warm. If you make this in the morning and leave the house, you can always leave the rice out and add cooked rice before serving.

Spreadable Butter

Don’t buy spreadable butter! Make your own instead. It’s cheaper and you know the ingredients inside your butter.





I love the idea of easily spreadable butter. I remember  not too long ago trying to make grilled cheese sandwiches and having to set out the butter or (I'm hanging my head in shame)...pop it into the microwave for a couple of seconds at a time. I'll explain why my head is hanging in shame in another post, one day.

I began researching how to make spreadable butter  sometime last year. The first batch I made, I couldn't get over the fact of all the oil that was being added to it.  Every time, I used that batch all I could taste and think of was the oil. I decided spreadable butter, was probably one of those things I was just going to have to buy.

Last month, I decided I was going to try making this again, so I dug around the internet to see if I could find something else and I did, water and oil... Who knew? :)

                             You can definitely tell when my photographer is at work today...

~Spreadable Butter~

2 sticks butter
up to 3/4 cup oil

 Depending on your taste and want you may use up to the whole 3/4 cup. Using your mixer is going to be your best friend for this, unless you are in need of an upper body workout.  I use cold butter so I can keep a watch on the spreadableness :) to keep from having to add all that oil.

In a mixing bowl add butter and beat on high until fluffy. Continue mixing while slowly adding the water and oil.  I check my butter using a rubber spatula until I get what I want.


Remember you may not need all of the water and oil.

When chilled the butter will be spreadable and it will soften quickly.

Experiment ~ Water Density

When I was growing up, I liked science. I had a wonderful Science teacher in junior high and then it went down hill from there. Biology was just okay until dissection started; I loved the hands on work but I still did not have a love for Science. I think the effort that was not put into teaching has a lot to do with my dislike for Science.

When I first started teaching school, I had my heart set on kindergarten and first grade. When I was unexpectedly put into fifth grade, I was heart broken because I could not share a love for Science and Math like I could for History and Grammar.  I taught using the Abeka curriculum and if you have any experience with their Science, then you will understand... I had to get creative with experiments that were not in the book.

Anyway, I knew I was going to have a hard time with Science when it came to teaching Jamie. I am so thankful I don't have to come up with all the experiments that we do but at least what we have worked on makes Science interesting for me.

Today, we experimented with the density of water. We had a good time with this experiment.

Things you'll need:

Salt
Tall glass
1 &1/2 cups water
1 Egg
Spoon
Teaspoon

1. In a tall glass add the water. Gently drop the egg into the water. What does it do? Remove the egg with the spoon; let as much water drip off the egg and spoon in the glass.
2. Add a teaspoon of salt. Stir until the salt is dissolved. Add the egg. What does it do?  Again, remove the egg carefully.
3. Continue with step two until you have added 5-6 teaspoons of salt and the egg begins to behave differently. If you need to continue adding salt do so.



**We began seeing a difference with teaspoon #4 and with #5 and #6 the egg began to do what it is suppose to do. We also added two more teaspoons to watch how quickly they effected the egg.


This experiment was taken from the Apologia  General Science book.

A Little About Church

This post has been playing through my mind for several weeks and I  really didn't know how to word it. I began writing this by just writing my thoughts down and hopefully I would be able to piece them together and make sense out of it all.

I would like to thank my husband for helping me put my thoughts together. He has a way with words...Toto, I don't think we're in the Bible Belt any more.

I was raised in church; we were there anytime the doors were opened for services. The church we attended was a rather large church at one point. I don't really remember attending any dinners, or fellowships, I honestly don't think there were very many. As a teenager, I attended the weekly teen visitation and any activities that were planned.  We were what many would have called faithful.

The church was not perfect, in fact it was polar opposites. There were ups and downs just like in every church across this nation. If someone was not happy with things, they had the free will to leave, if they chose.

When I was a senior in high school, we moved out of the area and had to find another church. After being raised a certain way, I was finally exposed to what my husband calls the real world. We were no longer in a church that required a dress code for activities. We were no longer in a church that taught complete separation of the world. What an eye opening experience for this girl!

Over the years, I have come to accept that not all churches are alike. There are those that are strict on standards and those that are not. There are those who are led by men who will not make a single bit of effort to reach out to bring in new visitors and members, while there are those who will nearly kill themselves to get one person in. There are churches pastored by men whose only goal is to be like a "famous"pastor, while there are others who do not want any recognition at all. There are sermons being preached that teach the love of God, while there are some teaching venomous hate.

In all of these churches there are people sitting on a pew doing nothing. Nothing but griping about the song service, the choir, the length of the sermon, the clothes other people wear and the theme of a get-together. These are the famous pew warmers that show up on Sunday morning and are not seen again until the following Sunday. These are the famous pew warmers who want something different but are not willing to serve or be active in church. They have the option to leave and find another church in their area when they decide it is time.

I knew when we moved here, we would be in an area where church pickings were slim. I also knew that churches out here are NOTHING like they are back home. The preaching and the music is not quite what I  want because of what I am used to. Here, we have to make a choice in staying at a church that does not teach the Bible without adding man's philosophy or drive to another town or city or live stream a church service from another church.

We have been here four months and we have visited four churches of like faith. Two of which are not quite doctrinally sound and one of the other two is a family church (family members make up this church) and the fourth church is 80 miles away. Of these churches only one has made an effort to reach out to my family. Believe it or not the church was not any of the three within a 15 mile radius. You read that correctly, the only church that has made any effort in acknowledging our family is the church in Miles City. This little church has been around for many years and over the years it has had its ups and downs but the people have stayed faithful to the Lord and he has continued to bless them.

When I hear people gripe about silly stuff that goes on in a church, I just want to shake them! I want to say, "How dare you not support your church faithfully by attending the evening services and fellowships. How dare you to criticize the music or the time limit on a sermon or that Mr and Mrs. So and So didn't shake your hand. How dare you to judge what other people are wearing." You have no right to do those things.

We live in a nation where our freedom of religion allows us to attend the church of our choice.  We don't have to worry if our life is going to be in danger when we step foot in the church. Many of us live in a location where we have a church on every corner.  Then there are those of us who will drive an hour to attend church. There will be services that are missed because of weather and a husband's job. Our children will not be able to attend all the youth activities and being able to gather for fellowships will not always be possible. But it's a church that welcomes you in and makes you feel at home.

The statement, "You don't know what you have until it's gone" is quite true when it comes to churches.

A Day Out

This has been a fabulous week! Monday was like any other Monday... slow starting. No one here likes Monday! Tuesday was pretty good. I spent the day putting together my grocery list and menus for the next two weeks. Wednesday was a our Miles City trip due to me having to transfer my license. For all my Georgia family and friends who can walk in a wait and wait and wait in line... There are certain cities in Montana that the DMV is open certain days and you have to have an appointment. Well, the two closest offices fall into this category. I had my appointment for several months. I guess it's a good thing my Georgia license were not ready to expire since I had to wait.

We made a whole day of being out of the house on Wednesday. While we were in Miles City, we stopped at a small Made in Montana store. What neat items they carried! They had everything from pottery to jewelry and drinks, ice cream and frozen meat. Everything was made right here in Montana.

Of course, we stopped in the St. Vincent de Paul's thrift store. I just love that place! It's small and they don't really have a  lot, but they always have something that catches my eye. I found  two antique lamps, two wool sweaters, and a cute little basket. My husband even stumbled across a turkey stool.

I'm thinking about painting the brass bottoms on the lamps silver. For the sweaters, I'll be felting them and using them in a couple of projects. I'm waiting for the perfect place to hang the tiny basket. You may have to click on the picture to see the base of the lamps better.

I knew when I went into Walmart and Albertson's I was going to be spending a lot of money this time around. We had ran completely out of some things that needed to be replenished so I was not shocked at the total cost of groceries. I was a little shocked over the price hike in some of the items we normally buy. Since Christmas, the Wheat Montana brand bread went up a little. On Wednesday, it had gone up a whole dollar a loaf since our last trip. Needless to say, I didn't buy any of that brand. My husband loves sausage, and in the past we had to settle with brands that add MSG until I found a mid-western brand that did not. Even the price on sausage went up two dollars a package. People around here say it's from the oil, but I'm really not sure it's all oil. I honestly believe a lot of it has to do the the government.

In our school this week, we finished up Duel in the Wilderness that we started last week. I will add here, that there are a couple of bad words in the book, but if you are using it as a read aloud, then, they're easy to skip over. We came home with several armloads of books from the library on Wednesday. We started  a read aloud about Kit Carson. It's funny how this book has been on the list for several months, but Jamie just didn't seem interested in it at all. Wednesday, he decided on getting it, I'm glad he did because I'm really enjoying it.  Jamie took his first Science test today and he made a 100. I don't think he realized what a huge difference seventh grade level Science is from all the other Apologia books in the past. It's an eye opener for him!

I'm working on the details of a History project, Jamie will be putting together. There is so much history about the battles of the Revolutionary War, and the areas where they took place and Jamie is quite curious about them. Since our curriculum offers the idea of a Battle Notebook, we're going to spin from what it mentioned in the book and go from there. Hopefully, this will all work out.

I finally caught a picture of Jamie studying. He is so much like me and had rather have his finger nails pulled out one at a time than have his picture taken. I had to sneak this one by him.

I finally finished knitting the sweater I started a week or so ago. All I have to do is add the other two buttons and try and figure out a different loop, since a three stitch I-cord is too big for this. I also need to block it again so all the "stiffness" around the hem and sleeves soften up some. I found the pattern HERE and I used the Simply Soft in Persimmon and Dark Sage. I love, love, love this yarn! It is super soft and easy to handle.

In the kitchen this week, SAUSAGE is the new thing right now. I cooked up some pork and chicken to add to our Brunswick Stew that will be put in the crock pot on Sunday morning. I have no clue as to what I am going to cook for supper tonight. I know, I planned a menu, but I don't plan according to day, I plan according to meal. There may be a night I had rather have something quicker to prepare than something that is more detailed. I usually let Jamie pick a meal for Friday and Saturday since it's the weekend. Hopefully, he'll let me know what he is in the mood to eat.

It looks like our spring weather will be coming to an end this weekend. Yesterday and today, the windows have been opened and the singing from all my little birds have filled the house.  I love sitting at the kitchen table working and hearing the voices of those tiny creatures the Lord made.

Have a good weekend.

Homemade Breakfast Sausage

 I found this recipe several years ago and clipped it for a rainy day. Strange, it took several years for me to finally decide to give it a try. I'm glad I saw the price hike on sausage yesterday while we were in Miles City. The two pound package of sausage we usually buy, went from $4.99 to $6.99. Two dollars? Walmart has finally graduated with a degree in Highway Robbery! Sausage wasn't the only thing they hiked the prices up on; Wheat Montana bread, which I normally buy went from $1.50 to $2.98 a loaf in over 2 months. 

Homemade Breakfast Sausage

I was quite surprised at the amount of grease that was in my pan when I fried up some sample pieces. There was none to be found! I had to add a drizzle just to keep the patties from sticking to the pan. Even after the sausage sitting over night in the refrigerator, there was no grease again this morning. I can't help but think about the 1/4 cup of grease I was pouring off the store bought sausage... Sad! 
  
The recipe is for two pounds and since I had never made it, I only made half; just in case we didn't like it. Dumb I know! I really should have made the whole  batch. 

Easy, Easy, don't even think about mixing the seasoning and pork with your hands. ~ Use your mixer!

~BREAKFAST SAUSAGE~

Ingredients:

2 teaspoons dried sage
1/4 teaspoon dried marjoram

1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary

2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
2 pounds ground pork

Directions:

In a small, bowl, combine the sage,  marjoram, rosemary, salt and black pepper, brown sugar, and crushed red pepper. Mix well.

In a mix bowl, place the pork and sprinkle in the mixed spices while the mixer is running. Scrap down sides of bowl and stir to make sure all the spices are mixed in well.

Store in a covered container for up to a week in the refrigerator.

~Enjoy!

Is Character the Answer to Some of Life's Problems?

 A thought provoking question for many. Is character the answer to some of life's problems?

I was watching the Fox and Friends show yesterday morning and they had Paul Tough on talking about his book How Children Succeed. Now, I'm not one who faithfully reads parenting books, looking for the pot of gold in training my son. There are few that I have read in the past and walked away learning something.

While I was listening to the interview three things Mr. Tough said stood out to me.

1. Praise Your Children's Efforts ~ What a let down for child to work really hard on something and then not hear a "Good Job!" or "Way to Go!". This is even something adults crave when they work on special assignments for work or even school. I remember the second year I taught school, I was given a page of  praises and encouragements to write on students work. What a life saver that was for me!  My favorite praise to use was "Super Duper Work!". When I was in school, I never heard a good word about any work I turned in, I remember spending countless hours on projects or written reports and never received a Good Job.  We learn from our past they say.

2. Let Your Child Fail ~ Yeah, I know how easy that can be for a parent; standing by watching and waiting for a child to fail at something, so they can learn a valuable lesson. That's easier said than done! In reality our children learn so much from a failing moment. Yes, it is hard to watch them beat themselves up over a simple mistake. But they learn character when they are faced with a moment of failure.

The word GRIT (firmness of mind or spirit : unyielding courage in the face of hardship or danger) was used several times during the segment. I love that word! You don't hear it much any more, but it is a word I want to instill in my son. I don't want him to be lax in his thinking or work skills. I want him to have grit when the time is necessary.

Self Control is something that so many people seem to have lost over the years. Don't believe me, watch your local news. The reason why we have the problems we do today  is self control was never enforced while the children were young. We've allowed some feather-brained psychologist to teach that our children have the right to express themselves without the fear of being corrected. Temper tantrums were allowed to be pitched instead of using the attitude adjuster. I'd like to ask, How's that working for ya?

3. Let Children Fight Their Own Battles ~ As a parent, this is not easy just like watching them fail at something. We want our child to succeed but we want them to do it without any problems. It's only natural. These battle could be anything from learning to tie their own shoe to dealing with a subject like math that doesn't come easy for them.

When Jamie was little, we bought him a bicycle with training wheels. He rode that thing until the training wheels fell off. Once that happened he tried to learn how to ride it on two wheels but he just couldn't get the hang of it. He had a little friend come over and spend the night and this little guy could ride a bike and proudly did so while Jamie stood by and watched. The hurt look on Jamie's face was almost unbearable. The next afternoon, when the friend left, Jamie went out and got his bicycle and was determined he was not leaving the yard until he could ride that bike. It took several hours but he did it. There were moments when I just knew he was going to give up but he didn't. He won that battle.

After listening to the segment, I went to Amazon to look at the book and see if I really wanted to spend money on it. Well, I'm super cheap when it comes to books, if I can't get them for free or almost free, then I usually don't buy them. I either go to the library or I wait for them to be turned into an Ebook and wait for the price to drop. While I was at Amazon I read some of the reviews and one really caught my eye ~ Is Character the Answer? 

That question has stood out in my mind since yesterday morning. Character is something that has to be taught, it is not something that we are born with.  Sadly, our country shows how character has been neglected when raising children. We have people in government who cheat, lie, kill and steal to get where they want to be and it doesn't bother them in the least little bit. We have a country full of crazies running up and down our streets doing all sorts of horrible evil. Why? These people have NO character. People want to argue about poverty or trauma causing people to do the things they do. GET REAL! Poverty has nothing to do with it; neither does a moment of trauma.  People want to blame their sins on someone or something else. They do not want to admit they are the problem. Character can be taught through poverty and trauma that may occur in someone's life.  There are countless men and women in our past who have been raised in poverty or had some sort of trauma in the lives, but they rose above those things and came out on top.

Parents should not allow either one of those things to be the reason they have another Bernie Madoof or Charles Manson on their hands.

So to answer the question, Is Character the Answer?. Other than the Bible and living a Christian life and raising our children to walk with the Lord, yes, character can be the answer.

I am so thankful I have been given the job to train my son to be a godly man, a strong family leader and a loving and gentle man.