Handwriting

We've been busy as bees working on school work, which is going well for both girls.

Learning

I thought that besides recording what my girls and I are crafting, that in the future it would be good to look back to see what I am learning in life. What is God teaching me. I don't journal much. I do take notes a lot though. I journal in that fashion of taking notes of what I read in the bible, what comes up in prayer time, what my pastor says, and/or what I need to work on, namely a sin that I need to address in myself.

Job 23:11-14
11"My foot has held fast to His path;
I have kept His way and not turned aside.
12"I have not departed from the command of His lips;
I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my necessary food.
13"But He is unique and who can turn Him?
And what His soul desires, that He does.
14"For He performs what is appointed for me,
And many such decrees are with Him.

These verses are a great challenge in that I don't think I treasure God's Word anywhere close to "more than my necessary food". I have committed to reading more and have noticed that in doing so I want to read even more, that is huge for someone who is a non-reader for the most part. God's given me the desire to read. And so, that is cool.

On another note, I think it is interesting that though Job faltered in application with the sovereignity of God, he always comes back to it and affirms it. The sovereignity of God is huge, can any one who understands it, accept it everytime, is that your first response to bad news? I used to beleive in open theism. Maybe because that is what I was taught when I was younger and just accepted it. I heard this said not too long ago, "Get your theology right before disaster hits." I think I have done this in that I understand alot better, but I'd add to what that man said in that I need to get the Word in my heart in meditating on them day & night.

Washcloths

I took a really bad picture. Already gave it away so I am stuck with this one.
The green is variegated and called: Green Twists.
Yellow is actually called cream and looks like a white-ish butter color.
And the only color that looks like what it is the white.

Apple Pancake

Using a cast iron skillet for this yummy treat will make the edges and bottom crunchy. It will rise up above the edges but after it sits for a few minutes it will go back down. Serve while hot with confectioners sugar and maple syrup!

10" cast iron skillet
4 T Butter
1/4 c Brown Sugar
1 large Apple, cored & sliced 1/8"
5 large Eggs
1 c Flour
1 c Milk
1/2 t ground Cinnamon
Pinch of Salt
Confectioners sugar

Preheat oven to 400. In a 10" skillet, melt butter & 3 T brown sugar. Add apples, and cook 5 minutes, stir occasionally.

In med bowl, whisk eggs, flour, milk, cinnamon, salt, & remaining sugar. Pour batter slowly over cooked apple mixture. Transfer to oven til golden brown, set in center, and puffed around edges, about 15 minutes. Sprinkle with confectioners sugar and serve hot.

For great tips on cooking and caring for cast iron please visit the Black Iron Dude.

Taking care of my oldest

My oldest (who will be 16 in a week) got her wisdom teeth taken out this morning. Her face is still numb but is wearing off and getting tingly so she blogged a bit while she is still feeling up to it. Lizzy made her an adorable mini "Magnadoodle-thingy" (easel) and a mini painting of an apple to go on it that says "I hope you can chew soon." Her little easel is here.

I really enjoy having both of my girls home!! One of these days my oldest will be off to college. She is in her Sophomore year of high school this year. I cherish the time I have with her.

Mrs Spaghetti

This is my first year homeschooling, actually it is not homeschooling, but is cyber schooling. My 10th grader does her classes online but my second grader has me as a teacher. She has complained about not having classmates since the first week of school. Shortly into the school year she made up a classroom of kids. I have somewhat tolerated it except when it interfered with school.
On Friday I was Mrs Spaghetti and "Samantha" raised her hand to ask to use the bathroom, then "Johnny" did the same. That is when I said that we could not have anymore interruptions. Inside I was laughing a little. Where did she get Mrs Spaghetti from?
I was wondering if anyone else out there had any issues with similar disruptions. We go to outings frequently, meet with friends, and are at church twice a week where she sees other friends. I am thinking of visiting a friend who uses the same school that we do. I think it will be great for Lizzy to see her friend, Julia, in her typical school day. Does anyone have any advice? Thanks. Jnet

Garland

A few years ago I punched out a stack of flowers with a 3" flower punch bought from a craft store for around $10. My daughter and I then sewed them together on the sewing machine. The pictures were taken an older camera and aren't that sharp. But below you can kind of see that we only sewed the centers of the flowers. It held up really well inside. I'm not sure how it would for an outside party. Make sure you change the sewing needle before using with fabric because the paper will dull the tip pretty fast.

Word Filled Wednesday

Click on "All" above to see it all.

2 Timothy 3:16-17 (KJV)

16All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

17That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.

The purpose of Word filled Wednesday is to share God’s word (no famous quotes or other literature — only the beautiful word of our Father) through photo’s & a Bible verse!

Hair Ribbons

Pom-pom bows can be made easily and will out-last the ponytail. I made these 6 years ago and they still look great. To start you will need ribbon. I used grosgrain and satin ribbon for most of the bows I made. You will also need pony-tails or clasps, and jewelery wire. For tools: you will need scissors, wire cutters, needle-nose pliers, and fray check.
1. Folding: These ribbons shown here were folded 4" wide to make 2 folds or loops on each side so that would be around 20" altogether.
2. Fold centers: Although this step is a pain, if you do not fold down centers and are using grosgrain or a heavy ribbon you will notice that the center is too chuncky when you secure it with the wire and it will not lay nicely.
I made 2" bobby pins, you can see one in the center under "Supplies". When you are holding your ribbon it goes easier if your wire is ready.
(It would have been great if I had 3 hands. If you have something like a clasp or clamp tool it may be very helpful in this step.)
3. Twist and trim wire to 5/8".
4. Turn sharp end downward toward bulk of ribbon to prevent someone from getting poked or scratched.
5a. When making more than 1 color you'll need to make each color a bit smaller than the bottom one. I didn't want the silver to stand out that much so I made it the same width as the blue layer.
5b.After you figure out how you want it to look, stack it and add a ponytail or barrette, and secure it with another piece of wire. Trim your ends and use fray check. I've noticed that some fray-checks leave a white residue so always test first.
6. Last step is to cover the wire with a scrap of ribbon and sew it where no one will notice.

Making a Cell

I never imagined that cell making could be creative, fun, and yummy. But here we have the 3 basic parts of a cell: cell membrane, cytoplasm, and the nucleus.

1 cup Lemon or Pineapple Jello (room temperture)

2" of a banana

1 ziploc sandwich bag

8" of string or yarn

Pour the 1 cup of jello into a bag, then add the banana. Have your little student identify the 3 parts of the cell. For fun you can split the banana to make 2 nuclei to show cell division. Use the string to place the banana pieces on different sides with the jello sort of equally divided.