I am a wife and the mother of two beautiful adult daughters and a wonderful new son-in-law. I am a seminary student and also do some part-time freelance writing, editing and graphic design work. My interests include reading, photography, baking (mostly bread and chocolate), and studying God's Word.
It’s Friday! Here are my 5 favorite fall foods. Just because.
1. homemade apple pie, made from freshly picked Harlson apples and all the cinnamon you can find in a 5-mile radius…
…and made-from-scratch pie crust, mostly because I have an affinity for eating raw pie dough. It’s a strange disorder I inherited.
And now I’m gladly passing it along to my children.
We save enough dough to make the actual pie. Usually.
Mmmmm. Can you smell the cinnamon?
2. Honeycrisp apples — so sweet, so juicy, so uniquely Minnesotan!
3. Candy corn — and those cute little candy pumpkins. Yum!
4. Chex Mix — salty, crunchy, and nearly as addictive as candy corn!
5. “Simply Apple” apple juice — a new discovery this year. I don’t even like regular apple juice, but this is more like cider — only pasteurized. It is so delicious!
Here’s the recipe I use for made-from-scratch pie crust, which rolls out wonderfully when sandwiched between two sheets of generously floured wax paper, and it makes a deliciously flaky crust for nearly any pie.
Pie Crust
2 cups flour
2/3 cup shortening
1 tsp. salt
5-6 tablespoons ice water
Combine dry ingredients and use pastry cutter to mix. Add water and use fork to blend. Makes shell and top.
I goofed. This month I got so busy posting about Laurel’s expressiveness, posting photos on Facebook, posting about the Dead Sea Scrolls, and posting about the apple orchard trip that somehow I skipped blogging about our first day of school!
So without further delay, here are my lovely students at the park on the first day of school.
classy sistersLinnea turning......into a second grader! Gasp!Laurel taking off...in Pre-K!
We — and by that I mean my husband — shortened the school table and purchased new chairs for all three of us. I could not be happier sitting in any other chair. Yes indeed, I am sitting in a child-sized chair. But it is from Pottery Barn, and it fits me better than our dining room chairs, thank-you-very-much. I also booted two little desks out of the room entirely, which frees up a lot of space and makes the entire room more pleasant to occupy.
On the first day, I gave the girls some lovely new picture books by Tasha Tudor, new Ticonderoga pencils, and little round boxes of M&Ms — because doesn’t everyone deserve chocolate on a regular basis?
Oh yeah, I also gave them some of those silicone shape bracelets that are all the rage right now.
God keeps bringing Psalm 145 to my attention lately — a timely reminder to pass on to my children all that I know about the one true God.
First, as part of our homeschool curriculum this year, I purchased a fabulous new family Bible story book by Starr Meade called The Mighty Acts of God.The author’s note for parents explains that the book gets its name from Psalm 145:4. “One generation shall commend Your works to another, and shall declare Your mighty acts.”
Meade goes on to explain that the purpose of telling stories of God’s mighty acts isn’t for entertainment value or good moral examples. The purpose is to make known the wonder of God’s great character. What a great verse Psalm 145:4 is for parents and grandparents!
One way of declaring God’s mighty acts is by talking about them, and another is by writing about them. Psalm 102:18 says – “Let this be written for a future generation, that a people not yet created may praise the LORD.”
Over Labor Day weekend, our family had the privilege of seeing the Dead Sea Scrolls at our local science museum. How amazing to see those ancient words of God that He miraculously preserved in jars inside of caves for two thousand years. What a mighty act of God! And how thankful I am for those men of long ago who obediently and diligently wrote those precious words down on scrolls so that my generation could see them and praise God!
My daughters also were quite inspired by seeing the Dead Sea Scrolls, and they were eager to create their own scrolls at home. (We just glued parchment paper to wooden dowels to create them.)
Laurel writes in her scroll.Linnea uses hieroglyph stamps on her scroll.We wrap each scroll in felt to help preserve it.our jar of scrolls
Another way to pass along truths about God is through song. And that’s actually another way God brought Psalm 145 to my attention. While my husband was leading worship music at church a few weeks ago, he found this fantastic song for a Sunday morning offertory. Our very talented friend Mia sang “The Lord is Gracious and Compassionate” beautifully. It’s one of those songs that you can’t help but sing along to, and the words are right from Scripture. Many are right from Psalm 145. Listen to this version from Vineyard Church and you’ll see what I mean:
Putting Scripture to music usually helps greatly in attempts to memorize it. So when the fall Sunday School classes kicked off at church this week, I suppose I shouldn’t have been surprised to discover that my oldest daughter’s weekly memory verse comes from Psalm 145. It’s verse 9: “The LORD is good to all; He has compassion on all He has made.” She came home from class with it already memorized, thanks to that song she’d heard over and over!
What’s more, my youngest daughter and I have been studying the seven days of creation in Genesis this past week, so “all He has made” has been at the forefront of my mind. Her memory verse isn’t from Psalm 145, but it dovetails nicely into this message of God’s mighty acts. Luke 18:27 says, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.” Preserving words on paper for two thousand years would be impossible for man, but it was possible with God!
So, as we dive deep into a busy new school year — teaching the next generation about God — I am thankful for the fresh encouragement in these ancient words of Psalm 145. When I am tempted to be angered by my children’s attitudes or behaviors, I cling to those words “gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, rich in love.” Lord, help me respond to my children the way You respond to Yours!
I am so thankful that God is good to all and compassionate on all He has made. I am thankful that He provides for my needs and watches over me. He is worthy of praise for ever and ever!
Psalm 145
A psalm of praise. Of David.
1[a] I will exalt you, my God the King;
I will praise your name for ever and ever.
2 Every day I will praise you
and extol your name for ever and ever.
3 Great is the LORD and most worthy of praise;
his greatness no one can fathom.
4 One generation will commend your works to another;
they will tell of your mighty acts.
5 They will speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty,
and I will meditate on your wonderful works. [b]
6 They will tell of the power of your awesome works,
and I will proclaim your great deeds.
7 They will celebrate your abundant goodness
and joyfully sing of your righteousness.
8 The LORD is gracious and compassionate,
slow to anger and rich in love.
9 The LORD is good to all;
he has compassion on all he has made.
10 All you have made will praise you, O LORD;
your saints will extol you.
11 They will tell of the glory of your kingdom
and speak of your might,
12 so that all men may know of your mighty acts
and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.
13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
and your dominion endures through all generations.
The LORD is faithful to all his promises
and loving toward all he has made. [c]
14 The LORD upholds all those who fall
and lifts up all who are bowed down.
15 The eyes of all look to you,
and you give them their food at the proper time.
16 You open your hand
and satisfy the desires of every living thing.
17 The LORD is righteous in all his ways
and loving toward all he has made.
18 The LORD is near to all who call on him,
to all who call on him in truth.
19 He fulfills the desires of those who fear him;
he hears their cry and saves them.
20 The LORD watches over all who love him,
but all the wicked he will destroy.
21 My mouth will speak in praise of the LORD.
Let every creature praise his holy name
for ever and ever.
By the way, the girls and I have been reading The Mighty Acts of God aloud, and it’s really well done. I highly recommend it.
While our oldest daughter has been quiet and reserved since Day 1, our youngest has been, well, much louder and much more expressive. On Day 1 in the nursery at the hospital, one of the nurses told me, “Wow! She’s a pistol!” We spent the next 4+ years fully realizing just what that nurse meant!
If you saw these photos last summer, you know our expressive one makes lots of faces in the backyard. Truth is, she makes lots of faces wherever she roams. Here are some that I caught at the park our first day of school.
1. If sending out invitations, hand-written and hand-delivered adds a very special touch.
2. If eating on the patio with two dolls, two female relatives and too many mosquitoes, make it short and sweet. What’s more, be especially thankful when the mosquitoes land on your doll instead of you.
Linnea: “Ha-ha! Linn keeps tricking the mosquitoes!”
3. If serving things that your 4-year-old guest particularly likes to eat, expect to discover some unexpected food allergies.
Laurel: “My Strawberry Shortcake doll is allergic to bread, so can I eat hers? Strawberry Shortcake is allergic to vanilla wafers… Strawberry Shortcake is allergic to chocolate…”
4. If hand-washing the dishes afterward, try not to break the dishes or your sister’s heart.
Mom: Careful, Laurel! Don’t toss the dishes into the sink. They are breakable.
Linnea: And especially because it’s my tea set and I would be horrified!
5. If you are hosting, keep it simple (and spontaneous) so you can embrace the precious time with your special guests.
Learn to do good. Seek justice. Help the oppressed. Defend the cause of orphans. Fight for the rights of widows.”
-Isaiah 1:17 NLV
Earlier this week the girls and I went shopping for boystuff!
Can you imagine how excited they are to buy boy stuff? You see, as part of our sponsorship of a little boy at Kind Hearts Orphanage in Ethiopia, we are putting together a little care package that will be delivered to Dawit this fall.
So we bought a little toy car, a soccer t-shirt, chewing gum and lots of other little stuff — emphasis on little because it all has to fit in a gallon-sized zip-lock bag.
I had to keep reminding my little shoppers of this noteworthy detail throughout our shopping excursion. They are so generous, and they think so big when they are excited!
The girls also are full of questions about Dawit’s life in Ethiopia and why he can’t just go to the store and buy these sorts of things for himself. Oh, how tender and compassionate their hearts are growing toward this little boy living such a different life half-way around the world! Laurel is so ready to adopt him and be his mama herself. I keep having to explain that he isn’t available for adoption, not to mention that he’s older than she is and probably wouldn’t like her bossing him around!
Still available for sponsorship through Children’s HopeChest are several children at Trees of Glory orphanage. For more information or to sign up as a sponsor, please contact Karen Wistrom at kjwistrom@yahoo.com or hop over to her blog, Family from Afar.
Learn to do good. Seek justice. Help the oppressed. Defend the cause of orphans. Fight for the rights of widows.”
I threw together two little preschool booklets for my littlest one to complete, and I thought I’d share the downloadable files I created. I printed them on cardstock so they will hold up to paint dots, markers, etc.
Laurel gets to pick exactly what she wants to do with hers, but some of the options might be decorating the number cards with a corresponding number of colors or paint dots. For the abcs book, we might decorate it with something that starts with that letter, such as glitter for “g,” buttons for “b,” you get the idea. Stickers are also an option.
Here are PDFs of the abcs book and the number book. Just print, color, cut on the dotted lines, and assemble with a stapler. Or punch a hole in the top left corner and slide a book ring through it.
Laurel will be counting up to the 100th day as part of our preschool plan. She will be making a construction paper chain with these 100 links. They are 1 inch by 9 inches long and maybe I’ll even convince her to do a rainbow pattern with them! She’ll also be adding mini-sized popsicle sticks to a jar each school day, and on the 100th day we’ll go do something fun to celebrate.
9:30 a.m. – oldest works on spelling and handwriting lessons while Mom works with youngest (craft project, abcs, reading a book, or doing dot-to-dot)
10 a.m. – oldest does math lesson with Mom while youngest listens to a book on CD and then plays with puzzle or blocks or Lincoln logs or dress up
10:30 a.m. – snack/recess break
11 a.m. – history lesson (mom reads aloud to both) and/or science lesson
11:30 a.m. – oldest does language lesson with Mom while youngest is free to play or look at books
noon – lunch break and clean up
1 p.m. – oldest practices piano while youngest reads with Mom
1:30 p.m. – quiet time for Mom, oldest reads in her room while youngest rests/naps in her room
3 p.m. – oldest briefly narrates/summarizes her reading to Mom; all enjoy a light snack
3:15 p.m. – errands, chores, various extracurricular activities and dinner prep
5:30 p.m. – dinner and clean up
6:15 p.m. – girls play while Mom and Dad talk
7:15 p.m. – read-aloud chapter book (read by either Mom or Dad)
7:45 p.m. – bedtime chores
8 p.m. – prayers and kids tucked into bed
Whew! It makes me tired just when I type it all out! And since we don’t start this school year until Sept. 1, this is basically last year’s routine, which will need to be adjusted to make room for new stuff, like a reading lesson for my youngest. Every year and every day is different, and I strive to be flexible and welcome God to interupt our day. After all, He knows exactly the number of days planned for us and He is the ultimate homeschool planner, as I blogged about here.
God bless your school year and happy blog-hopping!
Here’s my entry for this week’s I Heart Faces Photo Challenge: Beach Fun. This is Laurel, age 4, at Bahia Honda State Park in Florida. Orange is her favorite color.
Check out more “beach fun” photos by clicking this button:
Starlight Writer 