More Pics

We had a visit from the Masked Reader this month!

I purchased some Stamen Apples at the orchard this month. I made these cinnamon apples with it (the cinnamon comes from the hard little candies)



Here is one of Beth's meals this month: Chicken Crescent Wreath with rice in the center.

October Pics

We went to an orchard at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The views were gorgeous! This is a view of Sharp Top (part of Peaks of Otter).

This is me and Ben with our straw man :o)
I don't know about my Mom...trying to pick up a date at the apple orchard!!!
This is a family picture. Neal was feeling a little under the weather that day. ;o)
This is a picture of Neal's cousins: Raeann, Larry and Jessica. They spent the day with us.
Ben had his face painted. It was supposed to look like fire. I wish my friend Angie lived closer. She is an awesome face painter!
Beth had a Maple leaf painted on. She did a pretty good job on this one.
Suzi had bathtime outside this month. The kids had fun! Suzi .... not so much!

What I just Heard...

Beth: "Mommy?"

Me: "Yes?"

Beth: "I just spilled some salt on the stove."

Me: "Clean it up."

Beth: "Should I throw a pinch over my shoulder for good luck?"

Me: "Only if you want another mess to clean up."

Ben: "Ooooohhhhh, I thought you were supposed to pinch your shoulder!"

What Do You Do...

...when you're bored? Well, we weren't exactly bored, but I was tired of hearing my voice on our answering machine, so the kids made up a new message. I wish I could play it here for you, but here are the words to the tune of "Rain Drops Keep Falling on My Head:"

Rain drops are falling on my head

that’s why we can’t come to the phone right now

it’s sad

really, really, sad

sooooo

please leave your number at the tone and we’ll call you

because we’re freeeee, nothings worrying meeeeeeeeeeeeeee.

The kids sang it alternating the lines. It took many tries before we were somewhat satisfied with the results. :o)

What's New?

Just staying busy with regular stuff. :o)

We had a good weekend. I already talked about the play on Saturday...that was fun. Sunday was a great day at church. We had excellent speakers, both Sunday AM and PM. Our men had a retreat this weekend, so we heard from both of their speakers. Sunday morning we listened to Dr. Jeff Myers share his heart. (Myers Institute and Passing the Baton) He has a real burden to train our next generation to take a stand for Christ and be godly men and women. Sunday evening we had another speaker from Passing the Baton, and he was really good, as well.

After church we went to the home of some friends of ours. Their son's birthday was last week, so he had a lot of the youth group over for a fellowship time. We had a nice time of fellowship with some of our friends, as well. :o) It's always fun to eat and talk!

I started another handwriting job on Monday, and I'm already behind. I took 1,000 envelopes this time and have until next Monday to complete them. But, tonight I have church, tomorrow Neal and I are going to hear Josh McDowell speak. He is doing a seminar for parents called "Why Belief Matters." Friday afternoon/evening we're watching the children of a friend of mine. Saturday we have out of town guests that we'll be spending time with. Sunday -- church. All fun stuff, but I have to fit handwriting in somewhere. Soooooooooo....

I guess I'd better get to it!

Crazy For You

That's the name of the Gershwin musical that Beth and I, along with a few others from our homeschool group, went to see this afternoon at Liberty University. Liberty has a wonderful Theatre Arts program. Next month we'll go see The Rainmaker and in December we'll see Seven Brides for Seven Brothers.

Here's a synopsis of what the play is about:

"Crazy For You" is an adaptation of the George and Ira Gershwin 1930 hit "Girl Crazy." It is crammed with standards like "I Got Rhythm," "Embraceable You," and "Crazy For You." Delight in the adventures of a stage-struck playboy in a Nevada mining town -- where romance, mistaken identities, and show-stopping musical numbers all add up to irresistible fun.

It was a lot of fun!

Beth

Beth's new hair cut. Isn't it cute?!!!

Squished Frog Dessert

Or at least that's what Beth calls it!




1 can crushed pineapple (mostly drained)
1 small box pistachio pudding mix
1 8 oz Cool Whip

Mix crushed pineapple and dry pistachio pudding mix together until well blended. Fold in 8 oz of Cool Whip. Refrigerate and serve.

(Oh, another name for this delectable dessert is Frog Guts Pudding...take your pick!)

Baked Chicken Supreme

This is the dish that Beth made the other day. My friend, Perri, asked for the recipe, so here it is:

4 cups cooked chicken, cut into bite-sized pieces
4 cups thinkly sliced celery (she put in one celery stalk)
1 cup chopped pecans
2 cups mayonnaise (she used lite)
4 T. chopped onion
4 T. lemon juice
1 cup grated mild cheddar cheese
salt and pepper to taste (it doesn't need salt)
2 cups crushed potato chips
1/4 cup chopped pecans

Toss chicken, celery, and 1 cup chopped pecans together. Puree mayonnaise, onion, lemon juice, cheddar cheese, salt and pepper together in blender. Combine chicken mixture with sauce. Put in 9 x 13 casserole dish. Top with potato chips and 1/4 cup chopped pecans. Bake at 450 degrees for 10 to 15 minutes. Serves 8.

(This recipe came from our latest church cookbook called A New Taste of Our Heritage)

Chattanooga

Neal and I went on a little "get-a-way" last week to Chattanooga, Tennessee. We left Thursday morning and returned Saturday evening.

It was a business trip for Neal, but I tagged along. He had a class on Friday at TVA (Tennessee Valley Authority). While he was there I prepared my Bible study for this Friday, watched a little TV, and then walked about a mile to a nearby shopping center and looked around.

Thursday night Neal and I met up with one of the salesmen (a great guy that lives in Knoxville)at Sticky Fingers -- a barbecue restaurant. It was really good, and we had a nice time talking to Don. After dinner Neal and I went back to the hotel and got in our swim suits and went to the pool. They had a small, but nice, indoor pool, and a hot tub. It was a nice time to relax and talk.

Friday afternoon when Neal returned from his class, we went out exploring the area. We had planned on going downtown, but we ended up staying in the surrounding area where we were staying. We went to several stores and just "window shopped." I did get an early Christmas present. I've been needing and "wanting" a new soup pot ... at least 5 quarts. We found a really nice 8 qt stock pot that has a heavy bottom and a glass lid. I liked it a lot, so Neal went ahead and purchased it for me. I've already made a big pot of soup in it, and it worked great!

We drove around trying to find a good place to eat. Neal would pull up to a restaurant and then one of us would run in and get a "to go menu." We'd look it over and then we'd go on to the next restaurant that caught our eye. We finally settled on Carrabba's Italian Grill. It was an excellent choice! We ate outside, which made it even nicer. The temps were perfect and we had great views of the mountains. I ordered Pollo Rosa Maria and Neal ordered Chicken Marsala. We each ate half of our food and then swapped. They were both good, but we agreed that the Pollo Rosa Maria was the best. Here's the description in the menu:
Grilled Chicken breast stuffed with fontina cheese and prosciutto, topped with mushrooms and a basil lemon butter sauce.
The meals were served with a side dish and a salad or soup of the day. Neal and I both ordered stir fried zucchini and the soup of the day which was a lentil and sausage soup. They also served sliced french bread with a "Italian Butter" that you dipped your bread in. The entire meal was scrumptious and most certainly one of the best meals I've had in a restaurant in years.
After dinner we did some more shopping and then went back to the hotel for more time in the pool and hot tub.
We had a leisurely morning before we drove back home. We got back around 6:30. It ws great spending time with just my husband, and the kids had a blast with their grandparents!

Food Cooked at our House Yesterday

Homemade English Muffins -- I wanted to post this so that Ruthie could see what my English Muffins normally look like. When she was visiting, I messed up on the recipe and they turned out very flat!


These are Ranger Cookies (you can find the recipe at BreadBeckers.com). They have oatmeal, coconut, chocolate chips (not in recipe) and pecans. Yummy!


Chicken Supreme...this was Beth's "Meal of the Week." Those are potato chips on top! It was really good.


Daddy's plate: Chicken Supreme, mashed sweet potatoes (sweet potatoes from our garden), and broccoli salad. Great job, Beth!

Scenes You Will Not See in a School Classroom

The kids relaxing while I read to them from "Little House on the Prairie." (Suzi doesn't look too relaxed though) LOL

Beth disturbed just a "little bit" during her spelling test. She doesn't mind though!

Symon visiting Ben's school book basket. One of his favorite places to sit and look out the window.

Aaaahhh...the joys of homeschooling!

What Was That??

This was one of Beth's spelling words today...well, not really. I was giving Beth a spelling pretest today and wanted to find out the meaning of the spelling word so I could come up with a good sentence. I thought I knew the meaning, but I didn't want to rely on my "I think I know what it means" version, so I clicked on one of my favorite sites: dictionary.com. I quickly and I emphasize quickly typed in the word so that Beth wouldn't see it from across the room. (I shouldn't have worried about it since she didn't have her glasses on, but I didn't think about it that much) When I looked up I realized my fingers were positioned one letter too far, and this is the word I got.


This is what dictionary.com had to say about my new word.


Here's the *real* word. :o)

Potato Soup Pizza

Since I've been grinding my own wheat the last 4 months, we eat a lot more pizza around here! It is just soooooo delicious! Sometimes we have "normal" pizza, and sometimes we experiment. Sunday we experimented.

We had leftover potato soup, so I warmed it up a little bit so that it would thin out somewhat (I make thick potato soup, and when it's cold it's really thick). I didn't put any sauce on the pizza, I just spread the soup over the entire crust, and then I put mushrooms, crumbled pork sausage, and a little bit of shredded cheddar cheese.

Let me tell ya...it was SO good! The kids even enjoyed it warmed up for lunch today.

So next time you have leftover potato soup....



....make a pizza!