My Peacefully Chaotic Life

So today we started back to school. Homeschool that is. The FlowerChild was so excited she could not eat breakfast. After her attempt at breakfast she rushed to get her books so we could get started. It is so great to have her enjoy learning! I could tell she had been off for a couple of weeks as we had to review some. But she got back in the groove pretty quickly. Hopefully tomorrow will go even more smoothly. I actually like the idea of homeschooling year round because it does keep her on a schedule. And she seems to respond well to staying on that schedule. It seems like the grouchies and misbehavior creep in more when she is off schedule. She is one of those children that has to stay very busy and occupied both physically and mentally. Which means she keeps the whole family very busy and occupied both physically and mentally, ha! The FlowerChild soaks up LIFE!

Wow, what a busy time it has been ! I have completely let the days slip by with no posts. We have had a nice time the last few days with friends. Let me share with you a few of the blessings I have had. On New Year's Day we went to a friend's house where she had a delicious meal prepared. She is a fantastic cook! I ate two things there that I had never even heard of. Her grandmother had made them so I guess the good cooking must run in the family! One was spiced figs. Now those of you from the South are probably like me and have grown up on fig preserves (YUM!). It was like that without the syrup and there was a spicy flavor kind of like pumpkin or apple pie, you know the nutmeg, cinnamon taste. They were so good! The other thing was candied cucumber. It was cooked with red hots. You would not know it was even cucumber looking at it because it was little slices without any seeds. Now I know it sounds strange but it was really good! It was a wonderful relaxing day and after we f...

The first day of the year has already come and gone. Did you eat your blackeye peas and greens with hamhock? I had mine! I checked that package 3 times just to be sure it said "ham hock" and I did not have some kind of counterfeit pig part! I also did not do any laundry today because the old saying is that you will wash your luck away. Which is why you eat blackeye peas. Or maybe it is that you will wash your money away. Which is why you eat the greens. Ah, well, I don't believe in luck and I don't have any money so it shouldn't matter! I think there is something about not sweeping, too. You know....maybe these are convenient stories those 'old wive' came up with to have at least one day a year where they did not have to do laundry or sweeping (brooming, as my girls say!) and the family would be happy to eat whatever they fixed! There is also the saying that whatever you do on New Year's you will do all year. Well, in that case I can't complain as ...

So does your chaos ever stem from having only one bathroom? We have a large family and lots of overnight company, sometimes as many as 3 or 4 extra at a time. (Friends who know me in real life are wondering right now "Where does she put them?!") So sometimes it is a constant in and out of the bathroom when everyone is getting ready. At other times it means ducking in while someone is in the shower and hollering at them "It's me, just need to brush my teeth"...get the hairbrush...whatever the case may be! Although, mind you, we don't do that to company! We don't put on airs around here and we do like to make folks feel at home, but that would be a little too much of the family treatment! But have you noticed how the mirror is all fogged up when you go in the bathroom after they get out of the shower? Now you could smear it up with a towel, stand there with a blow dryer and risk electrocution in the steam, purchase those anti-fog wipe things, or....clean ...

Well, I promised a friend I would blog about our Christmas traditions. It isn't anything fancy but here goes. Worshiping Christ/ Loving Others Obviously we want our children to understand exactly what Christmas is all about. So leading up to Christmas much of our Bible reading centers on His birth and the surrounding events. It is nice to center our homeschool time around it, too. There is always a program at church that we take part in so that gives the opportunity to talk about and reinforce spreading the gospel. For weeks prior to Christmas the children make special things (this year it was fans) and pack goodie baskets up. We go caroling to shut-ins or people that just need some encouragement and leave them a basket. We also carol at the nursing home. When we can find an Angel tree we also like to pick children's names that are the same ages as our children and get them presents. Christmas Tree: Long, long ago in a distant land: When we were first married we had a (used) 6 ...

I have had such a busy day! I had an organization bug hit me... I literally worked all day in the girls' room and I am not done. I pulled everything out of their closet and their chest-of-drawers and made a big pile in the middle of the room (which happens to be their bed!). Then I went through all of their clothes and all of their toys, discarding, sorting, finding better ways to store them. It was a true challenge not only because of the sheer magnitude of the job but because I had all 3 of the little ones here to help! I think they are coming off of a Christmas high because they have been grouchy today! Something about all those sweets and presents and twinkling lights. Reality is setting back in! We even had the dreaded " She looked at me!" shriek today. (Ha, I just had this vision of what it would be like in Wal-Mart if all the adult shoppers acted like that...can you imagine the scene? the tug of wars over loaves of bread, chasing each other with the brooms, throw...

This is a great creation I came up with that really stretches your meat. I have used leftover turkey, chicken, or canned chicken in it. I have not tried it with ham (Tiffany, you and I both found good deals on those spiral hams! :o) but I think it would probably be good. I also think it would be good with ground beef. So here it is. Give it a try and let me know what you think! Soft flour burrito shells 1 can cream of chicken soup 1 can cream of mushroom soup Shredded cheese of your choice Chopped meat of your choice Mix soups and heat. Add cheese and meat. Lay one burrito shell in the bottom of a round casserole dish so that it creates a bowl shape. You want it to stick up a bit larger than your dish so that it crisps up nicely. Spread a little of your mixture across the bottom of the shell. Then continue to stack, alternating burrito shells and the cheesy meat mixture. End with a burrito shell and sprinkle some cheese across the top. Bake at 350 or so until bubbly and edges are bro...