There's No Place Like Home

Reading List 2012

December 29, 2011

I know I have so much to catch up on…we had such a fun December, and I really want to remember all of it so I will post again soon.

In the mean time, Colby gave me some planning time today, so I’ve been evaluation, praying, and planning all morning. I’m so thankful he knows how much I need time like this!

Here’s where you come in…I making my reading list for this year, and you guys were such a big help last year, I thought I’d ask again. What should I read this year? Here are the categories I want to cover (and my book ideas in parentheses):

1. Marriage (Sacred Marriage by Thomas)

2. Education (When Children Love to Learn by Cooper, Education the Wholehearted Child by Clarkson)

3. Parenting (The Shaping of a Christian Family by Elliot, Beautiful Girlhood by Andreaola, Reclaiming Adoption by Cruver, Piper, Smith, Phillips, and Kovacs)

4. Fiction (Safely Home by Alcorn, Mark of the Lion Series by Rivers)

5. Personal Learning/growth (Half the Sky by Kristoff and WuDunn, There is no Me without You by Greene)

6. Ministry (Generous Justine by Keller, A Long Obedience in the Same Direction by Petterson)

7. Spiritual Growth (Crazy Love by Chan, Calm my Anxious Heart by Dillow, A Praying Life by Miller – Still on my list! And Idols of the Heart by Fitzpatrick

8. Hobbies (You can Farm by Salatin, Barnheart by Woginrich, The Feast Nearby by Mather)

9. Health and Wellness (Nutrition and Physical Degeneration by Price, Primal Body, Primal Mind by Gedgaudas, and Wheat Belly by Davis)

Any thoughts? What are you reading?

Frazzled

December 7, 2011

Ellie Jane insists on ‘helping’ me put all of our groceries on the belt in the checkout line. Today at Whole Foods, she helped one of those huge glass jugs of olive oil right onto the floor. It shattered into a gazillion pieces and left a gallon of oil for me to slip and slide my cart right on through.

John was up all night, so this incident happened on about 4 hours of sleep. It was really just the cherry on top of a long, tiring week.

So this week, I have acted “frazzled” more times than I’d like to admit. I keep coming back to this little article I read on Desiring God a few weeks ago…

“Frazzled mothers will act frazzled. When this happens, our own sinfulness does not detract from the power of the gospel, it illustrates why we need it.

Do not use your own mistakes as an excuse to wallow about what a bad mother you are. Repent, seek forgiveness, get it right, and move on. Believe. Be forgiven. Extend that forgiveness, that belief, that joy, to your children.

As you go about your daily transformations, set your heart on the truth. Mimic the gospel in what you do. Bring peace, bring order, bring joy, bring laughter. Bring it because it was brought to you.

Give, because it was given to you. The gospel is not too big to fit into little situations. It is too big not to.” - Rachel Jankovic

Dad

November 24, 2011

Today, there are so many things that I’m thankful for…

But I’m especially thankful for my Dad. He gave the 2 greatest gifts he could have given.

He showed me who my Father is and what He is like.

“See what kind of love the Father has given to is, that we should be called children of God, and so we are.” 1 John 3:1

And he helped me find my Isaac.

Thank you, Dad.

Happy Birthday! I love you so.

School

November 23, 2011

My plan was to document all the fun we have doing ‘school’ this year week by week, but obviously that hasn’t happened! So one long post about it will have to do. We’ve all learned a lot since August and I think it’s all worth remembering, so here we go!

I decided to start doing some preschool stuff with Ellie Jane (and John by proxy) for several reasons. I wanted some more structure in our days. We want our kids to love learning, and what better way to instill that in them than starting early having lots of fun learning! Also, Ellie Jane has always been literary - always loved anything that has to do with words – she recognized and could say all her letters at 18 months, she talked early, she’s always been obsessed with reading, her books are her favorite possession, etc. She may not be able to kick a ball without falling, or run in a strait line, but buddy she can ‘read’ verbatim any book she’s got up in her room – with voice inflections and everything! (Hilarious, by the way!) SO, all that to say I wanted to take advantage of her eagerness.

We’ve been very loosely using Before Five in a Row – which is one of the beauties of this little curriculum. It can been used as a guide to do as much or as little as you want with it. Really, we’ve just been reading tons and tons of great books, and learning new concepts along with those books.

Each morning after breakfast and “High Fives” (chores), we start school with Bible Time. We’ve been reading through the Jesus Story Book Bible – one a day – and talking about it. We work on our memory verse – that I’ve learned we do best with learning one a month if I want them to really stick. Then we pray together. It is such a sweet time – I love hearing the kids learn how to pray. We’ve been using Window on the World during our prayer time. Ellie Jane loves to pick out which picture we’ll pray for that day. It’s also been a great way to familiarize the kids with a map of the world. Ellie Jane prefers praying for the pink countries

We usually read our book of the week next (With Five in a Row, you read the same book 5 days in a row, and focus on different aspects of it each day). We’ve read some great books… Ask Mr. Bear, Jesse Bear What will you wear, Katy No Pocket, Play with Me, Blueberries for Sal, Caps for Sale, plus lots more that go along with those books.

In Ask Mr. Bear, the little boy goes into the woods to ask Mr. Bear a question, so we spent a morning in the woods playing…

(About to start our hike into the woods. I said, ‘show me your happy face!” Ha!)

We found a creek in the woods -

Ellie Jane got a couple toes wet. John on the other hand…Don’t know if you can tell from this picture but he was soaked from head to toe…

Play with Me is about a little girl who goes to a pond looking for a friend. She sees all these little animals that she wants to be friends with but when she gets close to them, they run away. So she decides to sit very still by the pond, and as she waits, the animals all come out to play with her. So we took school to a pond for a day.

We went on a scavenger hunt for pond life…

We explored around the pond…

The kids sat very quietly by the pond. But, much to Ellie Jane’s disappointment, no snakes or rabbits, or deer came out to play

We did find some ducks though!

We’ve also worked on some other things. Ellie Jane learned how to spell her name…which is much more fun to do when the letters are made of cookies!

I got together with some other moms of preschoolers this summer and we did an activity bag swap. So we’ve used the activities a good bit throughout the year…

We’ve spent tons of time in the best classroom – outside!

We’ve done all kids of fun crafts and projects…

Shaving cream painting to make leaves for fall -

Handprint pictures…

Right now we’re working on making a book about the Thanksgiving Story. I’ll post pictures of that ~~soon~~ eventually

We’ve all learned a lot over the past few months. I had a few goals for the kids at the beginning of the year. It’s neat to look back on them and see that the kids have actually met them!

John has learned to sit still (sort of! for a few minutes at least). He’s learned to talk, to color and not eat the crayons, to listen to whole books, to ask instead of grab, etc.

Ellie Jane has learned to listen to the teacher , to write a couple letters, recognize lowercase letters, imaginations – I no longer have to prompt all her playing, and we’ve taken big steps in conflict resolution.

They definitely have tons more to learn in these areas, but it’s good for me to look back and see concrete growth. Especially in areas of character.

I’ve learned that it’s good for me to have a plan, but it’s better for me to hold my plan loosely. I’ve learned that Ellie Jane does not like to be in the spotlight. She doesn’t like to be singled out. Which is good for me – my pride wants her to show other people what she’s learned. Even just show Colby. But she likes to do things in her own time, and that’s fine for now. I’ve learned that the day is smoother if we all have a little alone time in the mornings before we start school. For us, this is room time for about 20 minutes. It’s good for all of us! I’ve learned that John likes to wander. He paces around the house, exploring and checking everything out. Ellie Jane and I can get a lot done while he does this. I’ve also learned that the kids like to do things together – John copies everything Ellie Jane does. I’ve learned that character is much more important than academics. That means if it takes all day to learn how to ask instead of grab, or use words instead of whine, then that is better than learning more about the weather or shape recognition.

(Just being honest here – I’ve also learned that Elmo comes on from 9:45-9:55 and that 10 minutes is a perfect time for me to regroup!)

So, I’m so thankful that I get to be the one to see my kids learn all these things. I get to see the lightbulbs go off in their little heads. I get to see them learn how to interact with others. I get to see them figure out how to draw a person -

(Ellie Jane’s first family portrait. Apparently John was an afterthought )

So here’s to lots more learning and growing!

(More to come…we’ve done a really fun preschool swap this year too. I don’t want to forget about it either!)

Daddy Dates

November 16, 2011

Ellie Jane and Colby have made a habit of going on regular Daddy Dates. It is one of her favorite things in the world! I love hearing her talk all week about looking forward to her special time with her daddy. Most of the time, they just do something simple and spend time together, but occasionally Colby will plan something extra special for them.

These pictures are old, but this summer Colby took her on a really special daddy date for her birthday…

To the movies! This was her first time to go to a movie – she told me they had a really big TV! They saw Winnie the Pooh, and while she enjoyed the movie a lot, the real treat to her was…

the POPCORN! and CANDY! and LEMONADE! Oh, she talked about it for weeks!

Then, (as if she hadn’t had enough sugar for the month) they got a special birthday sunday at Johnny Rockets – and they sang to her too.

What a sweet time they had

A few weeks ago, Chickfila had a daddy daughter date night, so Colby took her.

She gets so excited about getting dressed for her dates – always picking a dress, and recently always making sure I braid her hair

At Chickfila, they had flowers for the girls, waiters to bring the food, and special questions for the dad to ask the daughter. Oh, and a crown for the girls – her favorite!

So fun! They had a ball.

I’m so thankful for Colby and his commitment to spend special time with each of our kids. The impact a dad has on his daughter is immeasurable. I pray she always sees him as the wisest, most loving, and most fun man in the world – at least until he (as she says) “helps her find the right man to marry!”

Quick Menu

October 12, 2011

We’ve had a couple great meals over the last 2 weeks. Last week, this included:

- Chicken Satay, pineapple “fous-cous”, grilled pineapple, and roasted broccoli (preheat oven to 500 with the pan in the oven. While it’s heating, toss broccoli with coconut oil and about 6 cloves minced garlic, some salt and pepper. Pull pan out and dump the broccoli on it. Roast in over for about 10 minutes until it’s bright green with some brown/black places. I shake the pan every few minutes)

- This new Roast recipe – yum!

- This BBQ Chicken - this was a hit all around

- I made this baba ghanoush to snack on with raw veggies and we all enjoyed it.

The other days we had old recipes (Creamy spaghetti, breakfast).

Here’s the plan for this week:

M: “Hobo packs” – the kids thought these were awesome and the grownups enjoyed them too! I just put sliced raw sweet potatoes, sliced raw carrots, and onions in a piece of foil with a bit of coconut oil. I mixed some grassfed ground beef with a steak seasoning mix I have, and a bit of coconut aminos (soy sauce sub). Then I put about 1/4 lb of beef in each packet, sprinkled the whole thing with salt and pepper and Sealed them up tight. Then I grilled them over Med/low heat for about 30-35 minutes. We had them with broccoli and they were awesome!
T: No-tortilla chicken soup – Can’t remember where I got the original recipe, but this what I’ve adapted it to for us.

1 onion, diced
3 carrots, sliced
2 celery ribs, diced
Saute in coconut oil for a few minutes
Add into pot:
4-5 c homemade chicken stock
1 pkg of Enchilada sauce (I get mine this one at Whole Foods. It has 1 or 2 ingredients that I wish it didn’t have, but it is so good – I think it makes the soup)
1 T each cumin and chili
Simmer for a bit – 20 minutes or so.
Then add:
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
Cooked and shredded chicken – I usually roast about 3 bone in, skin on breasts at 350 for 30 minutes, then shred them.
Simmer for about 30 minutes.
Serve and top with lots of diced avocado and fresh squeeze of lime juice.

I think this soup would be great over cauliflower “rice”, but I forgot to make some

W: Pork roast, roasted acorn squash, sauteed kale and spinach
Th: Paleo Chicken Pot Pie – Colby just got me this cookbook. This recipe is from there, so if it’s good (it looks really good!) I’ll post the recipe
F: Colby and Ellie Jane are going on a daddy date, so John and I will probably happily eat leftover s:)
S: I don’t have a plan for Saturday…we’ll see!
S: Breakfast

So, that’s what we’re eating. How about you??

The counsel of the wicked

October 12, 2011

Earlier this year, we worked on memorizing Psalm 1:

“Blessed is the man
who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
but his delight is in the law of the Lord,
and on his law he meditates day and night.
He is like a tree
planted by streams of water
that yields its fruit in its season,
and its leaf does not wither.”

So the other day, I asked Ellie Jane to go get her shoes. She said “I can’t.” So I asked her why…

“Because they’re in the counsel of the wicked, Mom.” she replied.

Funny girl.

Our ballerina

October 6, 2011

Ellie Jane has been playing ballerina since she could walk. It is well established that she loves all things pink, twirly, and sparkly. So ballet fit the bill just right.

As a side note, I saw this on Pinterest the other day and it was written about our Ellie Jane…

Anyway, when Ellie Jane turned 3, we signed her up for ballet class. It is all she has talked about for months. So the first day came, and she was in her full gear by 6:30 am (and she has tried it all on everyday, at least twice a day since we got it).

We went over to show Mimi and Granddaddy before class…

And (made her) take a few pictures…

But as it got closer to class, in true Ellie Jane fashion, she got more reserved and cautious.

By the time he teacher got their to have them line up, it was all she could do to hold back her tears!

I finally got her to go, but when I picked her up she burst into tears. Our sweet little girl likes to be really comfortable in situations before she enjoys them. She likes to know what to expect, who’s going to be there, what she has to do, etc.

So for the first 3 weeks of class, with the help of a few treats to actually get her to go to class, she just watched everyone. There were lots of tears before each class, and I basically had to peel her off of me to get her to go. Then one day, she woke up from her nap and said “Mommy, I’ve decided I’m not going to cry anymore at ballet class.”

And there you go! There have been no more tears, and she looks forward to it every week.

Dothan in September

October 6, 2011

We spent a few days in Dothan before Colby’s crazy schedule started. We got to spend a lot of good time with Doo-da and Pop and with all of our Grandparents.

Colby’s parents live back in a little bit of woods and the kids love being able to run around! We went back and forth to grandparents house on this little road -