Cooking With...

Because of rain here our soccer games got canceled today. It has been a great day to get a few things done and spend some time together. I decided to recruit this young man to help with supper. He is great at making some meals and one of his favorite meals is Sloppy Joes. 

 Cooking with Isaac is always fun! He likes to add a "secret ingredient". This time he added spicy ranch dressing which is his favorite salad dressing.

While he was preparing the sloppy joes and getting some tater tots ready to go in the oven I was chopping vegetables to roast in the oven. There is something about cooking together that makes life sweet! I enjoy cooking for my family but when I include the children in helping me it is lots of fun! I know when the day comes for Isaac to leave our nest he won't go hungry. LOL!

Last night the younger three children helped me prepare something for breakfast. We put it all together then set the delay start on the oven, when we got up breakfast was ready! I will be sure and have the camera ready next time another child is helping so I can share. Loving my life as mommy and wife!!

15 Years Old

We celebrated Sarah's birthday this past weekend with grandparents! On Friday Bryan's parents (Pop and Gigi) came up and Gigi brought us some delicious lasagna and butterfinger cake! YUMMY! Then Pop, Gigi, Bryan, Elijah, Timothy, and Joanna went to watch Sarah in the play she was in (more about that later). Then on Saturday my parents came up and we all celebrated Sarah's birthday at lunch. I fixed some of her favorite foods. She and I made a cheesecake for us to enjoy. On Saturday night my parents stayed and was able to attend the play that night. 

 Pop and Gigi got Sarah a set of luggage for her birthday. She had asked for this because she is always ready to go somewhere. She was able to pack the biggest suitcase and take it to 4-H Round Up...perfect timing!

 My parents got her clothes, which she asked for and needed. She took these to 4-H Round Up.

 Sarah was playing the piano while Bryan and Gigi sang along. It was very special!

 Here is the cheesecake we made for Sarah's birthday! It was a caramel pecan cheesecake and very delicious!

Here is Sarah with Pop and Gigi. We are very blessed to have the grandparents come up for birthdays and celebrate with us!

Sarah is one special young lady! I know God has something special for her and He is going to use her to do great things for His Glory! She loves an adventure and a good book. Sarah is such a blessing to me and a great help around the house. She is learning to care for others and one day care for her own family. I love this girl and very thankful that God made me her mother.

Camp Family 2018

While at Kids Camp the children worked on a musical performance and presented it at church on the Wednesday night following our return from camp. They did a great job! Here is our family in our kids camp shirts on the night of performance. I love my family and very thankful for the times we have together. We are truly blessed!

Enjoying the Beautiful Weather and Flowers

 Not sure where our spring went or did we even have that season this year?. LOL! Really, I feel like we went from super cold weather right into summer hot weather! Anyway...the trees are in bloom and the flowers are blooming with color! Here is a few of our pretties in the yard. The plants in the front did bloom not long after I took this picture and are beautiful yellow lilies!

Joanna likes the honey suckles. These are growing along our driveway and she has enjoyed picking them and having a "taste". Can't believe this girl is growing up so fast!

Mother's Day 2018

I took this picture one day about a month ago. The weather was beautiful and Timothy asked if we could eat lunch on the picnic table out back. We enjoyed it so much! This is me...M-O-M! I wouldn't want to be doing anything else! I know that most people probably think I am crazy for being a "stay at home mom" and especially crazy for having five children. I have never for one minute wanted to do anything else! This is a special calling from God and making an impact on eternity! Yes, we have those days that are very challenging but God gets us through those days too!

Here we are at the soccer fields! The children have just finished up their spring soccer season. They like playing and sometimes they all have a game so we are at the fields a lot! I took this picture while we were waiting for Isaac and Sarah's game to start. These two had a game later that evening. I am one blessed woman! Mother's Day is every day for me! I did enjoy my Mother's Day...

We traveled to Alabama and was able to visit with Bryan's mother on Saturday and attend church with my mother on Sunday. Then we were able to spend some time with my parents before heading back to Tennessee Sunday evening. Made lots of memories and had a great time! We are blessed with great mothers and our children are blessed with some awesome grandmothers!

Psalm 19

We have our family worship at night before bed. Bryan decided to let each of our children lead family worship one night. On Elijah's night he shared Psalm 19, which is one of his Bible Drill verses, Psalm 19:14. This young man is paying attention to those verses he has memorized for Bible Drills. If he ever sees one of those verses somewhere he is quick to point it out. When our children have memorized verses for Bible Drills it means more seeds being planted in their lives. For us it's part of  "training them up in the way that they should go.." Proverbs 22:6.

Vine and Olive Plants

I recently came across a few pictures that I has glad to know I have. Let me remind you that 4 1/2 years ago we lost our home to a fire... which means we lost all of our belongings except what we were wearing at the time. The items we lost that upset us the most is our pictures and home videos. The other items can be replaced but those are things we will never get back. I say all that to let you know that when I come across pictures from years ago I get so excited! Get ready, I will be sharing some of those pictures in upcoming post.

The first picture I wanted to share is this one of the kids and I in January 2013.

Here we are in April of 2017. Four years later!

I am sure you are wondering where did I get the title for this post... I am so glad you asked. In Psalm 128 verse 3 the Bible tells us:

"Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine
In the very heart of your house,
Your children like olive plants
All around your table."

Why We Homeschool

It would probably be good for me to talk about "Why We Homeschool" once a year. Because its always good to remind ourselves why we do what we do. These pictures were taken a couple of years ago. When Timothy and Joanna are done with school work they have some of the best times together. Even the other children enjoy taking a few minutes in between subjects to have fun together. They are only little once. One day the older ones may be off at college and won't have this time with their younger siblings. Very thankful they get to enjoy this time now!

Our first and biggest reason is because that is what God has called us to. Bryan and I made the decision to homeschool after much prayer and seeking the Lord. It sure wasn't the popular thing to do. Matter of fact we have been the "odd" family in all of our places we have served in the ministry because we homeschool. When people first began to find out that we felt lead to homeschool their first question was usually "How long will you homeschool?". To be honest when we started homeschooling our oldest we thought we would homeschool until each child was in the 3rd or 4th grade. That oldest child is a Sophomore this year and not once has God released us from homeschooling. God has reminded us often that we are doing exactly what He wants us to do.

Another reason we homeschool is for the spiritual foundation we desire for our children to have. There are days that we struggle and it is a joy and blessing to be able to stop and pray with that child or children that is struggling. We can plant scripture in every part of their day. The curriculum we have chosen to use is biblically based and the children are even learning scripture while completing school assignments.

(Elijah, Joanna, and Sarah)

There are many more reasons why we homeschool but I will only share one more. We homeschool for the relationships it gives. How awesome it is to see our children be able to build a relationship with each other and when there is an opportunity they get to build relationship with grandparents. If for some reason we need to take off and be with family we have that flexibility.

(Isaac spending time with my dad while he was in the hospital)

Fun With the Younger Three Children

Back in June while Isaac, Sarah, and Bryan were at Youth Camp the rest of us had our own "Camp". The younger children and I decided to do some fun and interesting things. Each day we went over some of the verses that the others were learning at Youth Camp, The book of Philippians. Then one day we made these delicious oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. 

The cookies were very yummy!

Timothy and Joanna cleaned up their John Deere gator ride. Looks like she is being bossy but I really believe she is waiting her turn to wash. :)

We made this Tic-Tac-Toe board out of a cut of stump and rocks. I let them paint the wood and rocks. Lots of fun to make and play!

Then our last activity was to make Tye Die shirts. We picked out the colors they wanted, purple for Joanna, green for Timothy, and blue for Elijah. It was exciting to watch their faces light up as they unrolled those shirts and saw the patterns. I thought they did a great job!

I always enjoy spending time with just these three. They are lots of fun and love doing new things! I am a very blessed mother!

Mother's Day 2015

I LOVE being a mother! I am very thankful that God changed my heart when I was 19 years old and now I am following His will and not my own plans. His ways are definitely much better than ours!!

My parents came up and was able to spend Mother's Day with us. I am very thankful that I get to spend Mother's Day with my mom. I am blessed to have her as a mother!

Here is me and mom. Now below are Mother's Day pictures from 2011. I love looking back and comparng pictures. :)

Here is me and my 5 blessings in 2011. They have changed so much!

Here is me and my mom in 2011. Memories are great! I pray that God will help me to be a Godly mother and be the mother that my children need. I want to lead my children to know God greater, know Him in a personal way, hear His voice, and follow Him all the days of their lives. 

Kinderkitten Cookies

Elijah is my child that loves to help in the kitchen! (Can't believe that in two weeks he will be 6!!)

Matter of fact he has informed me that if we looked at a house to move to he would make sure the kitchen was big enough. :) He is so thoughtful!!

He also loves to look at books and be read to. One of his favorites is a book that someone gave us YEARS ago, Kinderkittens; Who took the cookie from the cookie jar? 

The book has a cookie recipe in the back and of coarse Elijah wants me and him to bake these cookies.

What a great opportunity to spend time with him!

Wanted to share the recipe with you and the pictures of our cookies and my cookie baker. :)

Timothy and Joanna were quick to be our first taste testers!!

Kinderkitten Cookie Recipe

1 cup unsifted flour
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup finely packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 3/4 cup of uncooked oats
1 cup raisins or chocolate chips

Mix together flour and baking soda in a mixing bowl. In a larger bowl, blend together butter, sugars, egg, and vanilla. Add flour mixture and mix well. Stir in oats and raisins (or chocolate chips). Drop the batter by teaspoons onto an UNGREASED cookie sheet. Bake at 375 for 10-12 minutes or until cookies are light brown. Remove the cookies with a spatula and place on a rack to cool. Enjoy!!!

Trying to get a picture of...

 the three little ones...

 is not as easy a task as I may think!

 These are priceless...

 funny...

 and sooo cute!!

These three are such a blessing and joy to our family!! They are in their matching PJ's, which Elijah has already outgrown. :)

Beginning Steps to Eating Healthier

Back in September I did a post about how I wanted our family to eat more healthy. You can read that post here. So since then I have been gradually moving toward this goal. It has been a step by step process and by no means are we the "Healthiest Eaters". :)

I wanted to share some of those first steps we have made and what our next few steps will be. I also will share with you about a great website that I have discovered along the way, how my family is adjusting to these steps we are taking, and some of what I foresee my struggles being.

I shared in my post in September that we mostly drink water, but I am encouraging that we drink LOTS of water. I found these water bottles for the kids. Each kid has their own and I am asking that they drink a water bottle full each day of water. Isaac and Sarah's bottles are 32 oz. or 1 Liter, Elijah and Timothy's bottles are 16 oz., and then Joanna's is about 12 oz.. At first they were a little overwhelmed but they are quickly catching on. The rule is that once they finish their water bottle then they may have apple juice for supper (This has caused us to drink less apple juice) and if not they have to finish their water bottle at supper. The kids drink a glass of milk with their breakfast.

I also shared in my post that I was going to try and offer more fruits and veggies during the day. Bryan and I have said many times lately that we eat more fruit and veggies now than we ever have!! :) My goal right now is to serve a fruit with breakfast and lunch and then have a fruit for an afternoon snack. Then my goal for vegetables is to serve atleast one at lunch and atleast one at supper. For lunch the other day my sweet Sarah made us a vegetable tray with bell pepper, baby carrots, and grape tomatoes on it. I was so amazed at how well that went over...we had eaten all of it!! I will let her do that more often. She also has asked to make a fruit tray, that sounds like a winner. :) Bryan has been steaming some broccoli and adding some seasoning to make some very delicious broccoli (will share that recipe soon). I have discovered that I can make my own ranch dressing and we are loving that (will share that recipe too). We have discovered that we love oranges for breakfast!! :)

Since I got a wheat grinder for Christmas I am trying to use wheat flour more often in my recipes. I have found some very good recipes and made a few recipe discoveries myself. I am so looking forward to sharing those with you. In my search I have discovered "Heavenly Homemakers" website. Check it out, I think you will enjoy it too.

One thing that each of us struggle with in our house is SWEETS and DESSERTS!!! My goal is to get to where we are only eating a dessert sweet after one meal and not after lunch AND supper. I think this will be our biggest challenge. :( The first thing Elijah and Sarah ask for after lunch is "Can I have a dessert?" and mommy wants one too. :) I have tried offering fruit instead or getting them to drink more water. I have realized that if I distract them we eventually move on and forget about it. I am also trying to come up with some healthier desserts and sweets, even using less sugar.

Our next steps are to:
Change from bottled oils to olive oil or coconut oil
Change from margarine to real butter
Continue to work on eating less desserts and sweets

Am I the only one who struggles with the sweet and dessert thing or do you too? Please tell me I am not alone! :)

Advise

I received a text from one of the students in our Youth group asking me what was the greatest advise I had ever been given. She was doing a project for her English class.

WOW.... I began to think about this and knew pretty quickly what I would say.

In 50-100 years it will not matter how much money I made, what kind of car I drove, if I had a spotless clean house, if I was famous or not, etc. but it will matter if I made a difference in the lives of those around me.

As a mom I apply this to my mothering but I see that this can apply to others (the ladies I teach in Sunday School, the youth girls in our church, a neighbor, etc.). As a Christian I see this through spiritual eyes (leading others closer to our Lord, leading others to Jesus for salvation, etc.).

I don’t want to just make a difference, I want to make an eternal difference!! Nothing else matters when you get down to it!

As I read the Bible I see over and over again that this is exactly what Jesus and His disciples did....made a (spiritual) difference in the lives of those around them. Our world is full of lies and ways that are so far from the TRUTH that as Christian’s we have to rise up and be intentional about making a difference in the lives of those around us.

I am so thankful that I was asked this question because it did make me think and realize what I need to be doing every chance I get!

What is the best advise you have ever been given?
 
 

He steals my heart!

I never thought I could love all 5 of my children as much as I do! They are just very precious to me and I am so thankful for each of them!!

Elijah is right in the middle of the children in birth order. He has his own personality and is a special little boy in his own unique ways! He can be so sweet and loving to me that I just want to capture every minute with him. I would love to bottle up every minute with all the kids and hold on to them forever!

I wanted to share some pictures of Elijah over the past few months.

Elijah loves to be silly and make the others laugh! He also loves playing with all of his siblings! Every day he will ask "Can Sarah and Isaac have free time?" Elijah wants all of them playing together!

Such a handsome young man! Hard to believe that one day he will be all grown up!

My little chef! He loves cooking and helping cook. If I am in the kitchen he is usually right beside me wanting to help! When we make something he will say "Don't forget to put some momma sugar in there". Melt my heart!! :)

Elijah loves pickng flowers for me. These are some he picked and we had to make them our center piece that week. He loved that he had done something for me!

Eating Healthy!

Last week I took Isaac and Sarah for their yearly check-ups. Everything went well except for a couple of things that makes me realize that I need to do a better job of making healthy meals for my family!

I was not raised on healthy food, so this is all new to me. Bryan and I have never been REALLY bad eaters, but let's face it we could do alot better. Years ago I made the adjustment to turkey meat instead of hamburger meat. Our family doesn't eat out alot, but when we do the kids want to go to the golden arches or BK. Ouch!! Never stopped to realize just how unhealthy these places are.

The past couple of days I have been looking at the food in our kitchen and I am amazed at how much of this and that certain things have. An example is that eggs have 215 mg of chelesterol! Never new that! Also 2% milk has 20 mg of cholesterol. I am going to have to pay attention more and do a better job at this!

We like veggies and fruits, but not a huge selection is available in the fall and winter. I will try and do more frozen veggies and fruit than canned. All of my kids LOVE salad and I would have never eaten a salad at their age. Matter of fact I didn't eat my first salad until almost 5 years ago. I will try and make salads more of a part of our meals.

So here I go with a new goal for the fall and winter....make more healthy meals and get more exercise. I am sure as I discover new things that I will post updates as I get a chance. If you know of any healthy (and tasty) recipes or websites to where I can find some, please leave a comment and a link.

I want to teach my children to think about healthy food now instead of when they are my age. I better go, I have lots of researching to do!! :)

A Message

This was the message on my computer this morning....

I love you very much!! You are a good, no great mother. I am so glad that you are my mother and daddy’s wife.

Love, Your Son, Isaac Chandler Camp

My Spring Goals

Spring has already begun, can you believe it? I love spring time, the beautiful weather, beautiful flowers, and the newness of life. I have been thinking about goals and wanted to get these posted sooner but better late than never. Here are my goals for the next few months...

~continue reading through the Bible. My long term goal is to read through the Bible this year. I know that there will be days that it will be tough to read but I pray that I will be able to catch up and keep on keeping on.
~walk/jog at least 5-6 miles a week. I really would like to have some exercise for staying healthy and in shape. Bryan is awesome to help me reach goals like this. I plan to do one mile in the morning before he goes in to work and then on the days I can I will do another mile in the evening.
~laugh and enjoy life more. When life gets busy it has been easy to forget to have fun and enjoy this season of life. I have so many reasons to laugh and enjoy life!
~spring clean one room a week. I really think that if I take about 15-20 minutes a day that I can accomplish this or at least get something done. Of coarse I have not done anything so far. LOL!!
~take the kids on at least one nature walk a week. This will be refreshing for the kids and I. My plans are to let Isaac and Sarah take their cameras and take pictures of things we see. Then they can post about our nature walks on their blog.
~to have a block party with our neighbors. Several of the neighbors and I have talked about doing this for almost a year. It has yet to happen but recently one neighbor and I even made more detailed information.
~spend more time away from the computer and more time with the kids. My weakness is to use the computer as my staying in touch with the world. I have PLENTY to do and lots of people to spend time with so I have no reason to let the computer consume me. Another reason I DON’T facebook ....too time consuming. :)
~organize the kids clothes and other areas of our home. I LOVE for things to be organized! I will try and post pictures of what I get accomplished. One thing I would like to organize is our day and things that we will use during our day.

Of coarse these goals will be in vain if God is not in them! First I pray that God will take my goals and show me which ones are of Him and which ones are not. That I will look to Him to help me accomplish those that are of Him and to have wisdom to relinquish those that are not. I am also open to any ideas that you guys may have that will help me to accomplish these goals. Thanks a bunch!!

I feel lost without them.

The 4 oldest children have spent the weekend with Pop and Gigi (Bryan's parents). I have felt so lost without them. They left Friday around lunch and they will be back tomorrow after lunch. They have had so much fun and loved every minute of their visit....but I am soooo ready for them to come back home!! They have never been this far away for such a long time, but I know that they were in good hands (God's and Pop and Gigi's). Joanna has been an only child for a couple of days and I can tell she is missing them.The pictures I posted are pictures of her playing tonight. She is so funny!! Friday night Bryan got a babysitter for Joanna and we had a date! So nice to be on a date with my wonderful hubby! I have also been able to go through the boys clothes and swap out their winter clothes for some summer ones. I was able to pick up a few little items to go in their Easter baskets. We also got to look at birthday presents for the little boys. Elijah needs a new bike and Timothy's birthday is next Sunday so we were trying to find him something too. I also was able to get a few other things done around here. So glad to have had this time but I am missing my little kiddos! I even bought a movie for us to watch tomorrow night for our Movie and Milkshake night!