Homestead Revival - Giveaways! & So Much More

If you haven't ever visited Amy at the River Rock Cottage, you've got to see where she's moved-


Homestead Revival


This kindred spirit in the So-Cal promised land has so much to offer those who are looking to learn about and sharpen their homemaking skills. She offers a world of perspective and wisdom on the food we eat and how we can eat smarter and be wiser in our choices. Her perspective comes with a faithfulness to God, which is to me, priceless in our crazy world.
Amy's taste is simple & wholesome & her blog reflects her spirit, looking out for future generations. She's a constant reader bringing up regularly excellent reads. Go there, her premiere post will tell you so much more!

Go quickly, there are some AMAZING giveaways!

Five in A Row - Reading & Learning

My friend Leslie has been hounding me, I think before we had kids to start Five in A Row. I keep telling her to start a blog about her experiences reading with this program because she has so successfully used it. She tempts me with books about apple pies, coats for little children, animals named Ping.

So I'm venturing purposefully into FIAR (Five in A Row).

I have reserved The Rag Coat by Lauren Mills at the library & will stop to pick up today!

The book talks about a little girl who has no coat and her mother makes her one out of the quilt remnants she has. Based on more in the story, it seems like a good book to promote a child's community & roots, as well as empathy for others.

Meds for Life - Gratitude - a Lifelong Antidote

You know when you get near to the end of an anti-biotic, and you may be inclined just to stop taking it? You feel better right? Will one more pill really make a difference?

I have been feeling the benefits of the gratitude antidote. I have been ignoring the corrupted software on my hardrive & have updated my approach to word-processing. (7 Habits of highly effective family's likens our conscience to a hardrive, ch1 - for more see SimpleMom Bookclub). Some of that software is hard to remove. It won't be removed with a simple program. It will take large doses, and a lifetime of gratitude to clean up the hardrive.

So I need to keep up with my meds-more on the 4 gifts we all have in another post.

48 Coffee

49 pre-cut valentines with sweet scriptures

50 homeschool co-op valentine parties

51 my washing machine

52 my small quiet neighborhood wal-mart

53 church potluck

54 opportunities for friend's-prayers answered

55 friends you know you'll have forever

56 books you've kept that have come in handy

57 time to read the books you've kept

58 success in menu planning

59 a walk on the levy on a sunny day

60 hope eternal

61 that He carried the cross

62 confidence in His resurrection

63 His love that sustains me

It is Monday at the Gratitude Community over at A Holy Experience. Visit there for beautiful spiritual images, & a host of others who are counting One Thousand Gifts.

7 Habits of Highly Effective Families

I am truly enjoying this book, as well as the book discussion over at Simple Mom.net. It's not too late to jump in to the Book Club!

I have found the book to be very helpful already. It's just a tool to help you peel back some layers of the onion. If you find yourself in the same family dilemma's over and over and wish you had a few new tools in your family tool box, this may be the book for you.

The icon in the right sidebar will take you to the right site- just follow the links- there's some really nice folks contributing some really helpful comments.

A few highlights-

First habit -#1 Be Proactive! as opposed to reactive. Within the pages of this almost 40 page chapter, are some wonderful tools to help see ourselves as we're really participating in our own families. There is also a discussion of what really makes each family member thrive. There are also some very thought provoking points about unconditional love, and how it releases others to take accountability for their own actions.

Truthfully, I think its going to be a little more revolutionary than 'just a few more tools'... I think I see a change of perspective on the horizong for this gal.

Pinewood Derby 2010 - Scouting

I don't know who was more proud of the car this day...

Jack & Eric have been working on their pinewood derby car since Christmas.

The race was sponsored by our Boy Scout Pack.

This is 1 of 4 of the dens represented at this meeting.

This is just the Tiger Cubs.

Jack is on the front row, wearing blue jeans & cap.

There were some really nice rides, that all had to meet
specific details for the race.
Best paint job was only 1 of the categories for competition.
But weight specifics were important, couldn't weigh more than 5 oz.



Jack's was a sweet ride. He won all of his heats. An 2nd place over all in his den.

He has one more competition with 'this car' that won 'this trophy'.

A memory we'll cherish.

Food, Marriage, & Athiesm

Did I get your attention?

I have 2 books on my shelf by Douglas Wilson, author of Recovering the Lost Tools of Learning, and most recently I obtained a copy of Repairing the Ruins. I've 'bout memorized the first, still have yet to move on to the latter. However, the interest is revived. Like the time I met John Rosemond, I'd probably fall mute if I met Wilson. You see, 'Lost Tools' is one of those books that changed my life. My perspective on education, the purpose of it & my responsibility in regards to it were profoundly impacted.

The reason I bring him up: I saw on Veritas at Home a reference to this movie. Most Recently he's appearing in a motion picture ' Collision', which chronicles, I believe, discussion and debate between Wilson & Kitchens, an atheist. I want to devote time to this, because it looks good. Really good.

But then there's also this book In Defense of Food, & this movie Food Inc. That also look good, informative, relevant. And are mentioned by Douglas Wilson on his blog in a bigger picture perspective. He's not a foodie, nor does he discount efforts of folks to care about what they eat and where it comes from. But his perspective & opinion are an interesting angle, since my friend at River Rock Cottage, continues to make me think about food with all of her recent posts(thanks Amy!) The results from her poll have been tallied on where we get our produce.

But then I realize, my attitude has, well been lacking grace. Not lacking so much in thanks, but mercy & grace to those around me. Anger seems to set in. And get ugly. First things first, came to mind....

So I jumped over to Femina, written by Nancy Wilson, Douglas Wilson's wife.

She seems to tap in with a live camera to my home sometimes, and then provides the bit of encouragment & conviction I need. From the perspective of a seasoned woman, older teaching the younger. The title of this blog post is 'Why men don't lead'. Perhaps your grace & mercy are up to speed, and it will only be an affirmation to you in how you effectively appreciate and love your husband. But either way, visit. Her insights are wide in many subjects. You won't be disappointed.

I hear smart people talk about the 'Great Conversation.' I think I've begun to meet folks like that, for instance, Edie at Life in Grace,who is an exceptionally interesting blogger who'll be speaking?/attending formally soon in a WWC(WorldWideConversation). But like living languages, the 'Great Conversation' takes on its own life. Another rabbit trail for another day.

That is just a smattering of what I read early this morning... we had alot of sleepless critters in our house last night. Real life. Not the brainier stuff. The simple stuff.

That's where my efforts need to focus, but sometimes the bigger perspective helps. Keeps my soul up and going. Focused on the Maker of all. The Source of love that will keep me from belittling others with whom I do not agree, in brainier matters, and keep me from forsaking the simple and often more challenging things in life. For even if I could prophecy, it wouldn't matter if I didn't have love.

That's why I'm reading the Daily Devotion. To seek Him who can complete what I can't, meet all the needs that human relationships can't, find wisdom that is true, complete & infinite, and be convicted when I neglect the Word.

So I wander back to the whole point of the Gratitude Community, realizing I haven't started my day right. Haven't been thankful, haven't been a part of HHC (His Holy Conversation). There's always a WWC, and there's alot worth listening to, good stuff, but not more important than prayer, especially thanks. It sets the tone, provides the antidote to my head's spinning over all the other things I can't sort out, make right, participate in, or even understand. His truth is truth. Better to start there.

Simple things I'm thankful for, after an exceptionally early rising...

Thank you Lord,

for the rain, that washes my mind.

for little kids who enjoy snuggling.

Toast and jelly. Kashi, grapes.

Coffee.

Carpools.

'Busytown' videos, for mornings that come waaay too early.

Husband who leads.

It's a start- Bible reading will have to wait, the urgent & important are awake. It would have been first, but this morning officially started in the middle of the night.

Monday mornings, I usually meet friends at the Gratitude Community. Join others who are counting One Thousand Gifts.

** Warning:** Sleep Depravity will cause blog linkage overload!! Read with caution..zzzzz

Bread Pudding with Blueberries (instead of raisins)

Bread pudding... never thought I'd go wack-a-doo, for ... yes, I said bread pudding. But here in Louisiana, it's a staple, a delicacy. We had some recently at a local heavenly restaurant, Lagniappe, with blueberries. Umhmmm, I said blueberries. and that 'heavenly' sauce. 'Sauce' literally. So I went through the recipes, and voila' - c'est magnifique.

I found it in a recipe chronicle book I purchased since arriving in Louisiana, Cajun, A Culinary Tour of Louisiana. This fine cookbook has plenty of delicious recipes that include bread pudding, gumbo, & include numerous local ingredients: pecans, sweet potatoes, crawfish, shrimp, & so many combinations thereof. The photos are wonderful- full of local culture, places famous like, Breaux Bridge & Mulates. Plenty of Plantation photos, the backwater-kind.

So here's a recipe (a good stand-in) for this tasty delictable dessert. Enjoy!