A Patchwork of Blessings

Winter Wonderland

We have had plenty of snow so far this winter.  The norm in Utah Salt Lake Valley is about 11 in by the end of Dec, our total so far is 21 in.  I thought I would share some more pics.  The kids love everything about winter, except that they now have the additional duty of shoveling the drive, we all helped shovel the 8 inches we got on Christmas Day.  The kids convinced Art to help them build an igloo, they are up to row 4.  We will add pics as it progresses.

Happy Elves

Just wanted to take a few moments to share some photos from our family album.  We had a very wonderful Advent and Christmas.  Very busy as usual, but many fun, happy memories.  Just some holiday decorating and cookie madness. Here's hoping for a Happy New year!

2 December 2008 - Daybook Entry

FOR TODAY Tuesday, 2 December 2008...

Outside my window... snow topped mountains, almost pink with the sunrise.  Cool morning, about 45. 

I am thinking... about Christmas.  We have the house decorated and most of the gifts are ready to be shipped, just a few last minute stitches, before I'm done.  I decided to make most of the gifts this year, and have enjoyed making each one.  It was like taking special time with that person, as I made each gift. 

  
I am thankful for... our Air Force family.  We spent a wonderful Thanksgiving with some very special friends.  We have been very blessed with wonderful people at every place we have been stationed and have amazingl friends all over the world.  We are very thankful for each and every one.

 
From the learning rooms... Jesse tree readings (faith), life cycle of the frog (science), math, and reading.  

From the kitchen... breakfast -- cinnamon scones & warm cider

      lunch -- potluck/leftovers

      dinner -- Balsamic Garlic Chicken, risotto, and green beans

I am wearing... red fleece top, black workout pants, tennies, hair in a messy ponytail.  

I am creating... our last Christmas gift, a quilt.  No other hints!

I am going... to ice skating with the kids.  They take a 6-wk "Learn-to-skate" session and this is testing week!

I am reading... more home organizing books, HouseWorks by Cynthia Townley Ewer.  Preparing for the new year!  I need to re-work my household notebook and am trying to garner some new ideas. Also, Making the Cut by Jillian Michaels, it is a pretty hard core workout book, not sure I am that dedicated/determined right now.  

I am hoping... for snow, actually.  We haven't had any in the valley for a while.  The mountains around us have snowy peaks, but a dusting would be nice.

I am hearing... quiet.   The kids are still sleeping and the dog has gone back to sleep.  

Around the house... just maintaining.  I have done a thorough cleaning over the past few weeks and now we just need to keep it up.

One of my favorite things... candles, Harry & David's Peppermint bark and flannel sheets.

A few plans for the rest of the week: Advent Reconciliation Service at the chapel, finishing my Christmas decorations, and planning a winter menu.

Here is picture thought I am sharing...

 Remember to visit  The Simple Woman blog for more daybook entries.  

Have a wonderful week.  Chelle

The Election is done, now the hard work begins.

My heart is sad over the election results and sometimes that leaves me at a loss for words, and sometimes I just have to think long and hard to come up with the right ones.  Today, I was lead to a wonderful article that said what I haven't been able to put into words.  The Creative Minority Report article, "Thy will be Done" does just that.

This was my prayer yesterday, "Lord, Thy will be done", as this article pointed out, Christians have been at odds with popular culture many times and that our job is to persevere in faith.  Enjoy the article.

God Bless.

Fall Creations

I love fall and since quilting has become my newest passion, I had to bring the two together!  So here is a peek at my fall projects and some of my home decor.  Enjoy!

My 1st project was a table runner with 3 maple leaf blocks.  I have since started a second, with 5 leaves, to give as a gift.  Here is how it started!

Next the fabrics that will become my new fall lap quilt. I have already started piecing the top together,I am getting excited.  Hopefully when the weather turns this weekend, we will have a new lap quilt to snuggle under. 

Our home all decked out in fall's finest!  Pumpkins, apples and cider, oh my! I hope your fall season is full of bountiful blessings!  Chelle

A Simple Woman's Daybook -- Sept 29, 2008

Remember to go to The Simple Woman  for all the other entries and links. 

A Simple Woman's Daybook entry for 9/29/08

Outside My Window... Indian Summer has come to our valley!  The sun is warm, coming up over the mountains, and not a cloud in the sky.  All the leaves are changing, but our temps for today will reach the mid 80's.  

I am thinking... about Art's retirement again.  The date is set for 1 July 09, we will be leaving Utah at the beginning of May.  Our plans (at the moment) are to buy a travel trailer.  We hope to spend about a month "on the road", as we travel to Massachusetts and then live in it for a few months while we scout out our new home.  

I am thankful for... our scripture study group, 20 wonderful people, sharing and learning together.  We are using A Quick Journey through the Bible  by Jeff Cavins.  It is my first time leading/coordinating such a group and it is such a wonderful journey.

 

From the kitchen... breakfast -- warm pumpkin bread and pears

lunch -- Mexican soup and corn bread

dinner -- grilled flank steak with garlic potatoes & green beans

I am wearing... my favorite comfy jeans, apricot long sleeve tee, red crocs and my hair up in a sloppy pony-tail!  All about comfort today, fighting a sore throat/cold virus.

I am creating... quilts and gifts for Christmas.  My fall quilt is coming along nicely, I am sewing the blocks into rows at the moment.  Hopefully, I will be done by the time it turns cooler.  My 6 gifts are at various stages, I plan to work on them throughout the week.

I am going... to be getting lots of rest and fluids today, I hope to fight off this cold bug!

I am reading... Christ the Lord, Out of Egypt by Anne Rice

I am hoping... for the cooler weather to come, we have gone 28 days without running the A/C.  I would really like to keep it that way.   

I am hearing... pitter-patter of not-so-little feet, getting their morning chores done, before we start school.

Around the house... finish decorating for Fall, all done except for the dining room, going through the kids clothes, and making up meals for the next month.

One of my favorite things... Sunday morning brunch!  I love when my husband makes waffles.  YUM!

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week: trip to the dermatologist, a fall hike at Snow Basin lodge, quilting class and possibly basket weaving!

Here is picture thought I am sharing... Happy Fall Y'all!

The Last days of Summer

The end of summer is coming, as September marches on.  I love waking in the morning to the cool crisp air.  No need for A/C right now, and that is so nice.  Last week while running errands, I noticed that our local farm stand still had U-pick strawberries, and since I missed the beginning of the season, I wasn't about to let this opportunity slip by!  So off we went to the fields.  All the berries were little, but very sweet. The kids and I picked 5 1/2 lbs, and we were delighted.  Over the weekend, I made freezer jam, and then cleaned and froze the rest for smoothies.  Here are a few pix of our adventure.  

I have even more plans as fall approaches, I hope to start a new fall quilt, find apples for picking and try a batch of pumpkin butter.   We were able to order some fresh cider from our local dairy, so warm cider in the evenings this week while we enjoy the sunset. 

I hope your end-of-summer brings you blessings. 

Following the path to the fields!The berries were small, but we had lots of fun hunting!

A Simple Woman's Daybook -- Sept 8, 2008

Please be sure to visit The Simple Woman for all the other day book entries.

Outside My Window...Clear, crisp morning, the sun is peeking over the mountains and tinting the sky pink, no clouds or chance of rain, high mid 80's, right now low 60's.

I am thinking... about the strawberries we picked last week and how I need to get them in the freezer today!

I am thankful for... these last few wonderful days of summer.  Our daytime temps have been in the upper 70's and the nights in the 50's.  A whole week without A/C, and counting!

From the kitchen... South of the Border Quiche w/ warm tortillas and salad

I am wearing...grey gym short, black tee, tennies and grey fleece.

I am creating... My Christmas planner, using ideas from FlyLady and  OrganizedChristmas.com.I have started all my different lists (gifts, meals, power cleaning, shopping, parties).  This week I will focus on budget, and decide on the gifts I will make.

I am going... to make it to the gym at least 4 mornings this week!

I am reading... I am in between books right now.  I just finished the Twilight series and just don't feel ready to jump into anything else, yet.  Although, I was asked to join a book club meeting that will discuss Breaking Dawn, so I may just start re-reading it at a slower pace.

I am hoping... for more wonderful weather.

I am hearing... quiet, the kids are sleeping, all is very quiet for a Monday morning.

Around the house... Switching out some of our summer stuff, both kids had big growth spurts this summer, so new jeans and the like are needed.  

One of my favorite things... sitting on the patio in the cool crisp morning, with a hot cup of coffee, and watching the sun rise over the mountains.

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week: Quilting class, I am planning to start a fall quilt and some other crafts for Christmas gifts.  Attending the Clinic Booster Club meeting, we will be continuing plans for the Christmas Stroll.

Here is picture thought I am sharing... boating at Pine view Reservoir, enjoying the last days of summer.

Back to school

As Sept roles around, many kids are heading back to school, and so are we.  With Art's retirement planned for the Spring, we hope to be done with school by the beginning of April, so we are actually beginning Week 8.  

I thought I would share some of our plans for the year, since that is the question I answer the most.  Caitlin is beginning 6th grade and Connor is in the 2nd.  It is very hard to believe this is our 4th year of homeschooling.  We have done standardized testing at the end of the last 2 years, and Caitlin continues to test at the top of her grade level, so we debated on skipping from 5th to 7th grade, but instead we chose to add language and writing.  Here are the materials we are using for this year.

Catholic Heritage Curricula is our primary source for language, especially.  We also use The Well-Trained Mind for planning and reading lists.

Caitlin -- Grade 6

• Math: Saxon Math 7/6
• Reading Comprehension:  Stories of the Saints Vol II  from CHC & Grade 6 reading list WTM
• Logic:  Mind Benders 
• Spelling:  Phonetic Zoo from Excellence in Writing 
• Grammar, Usage, Mechanics:  Language of God Level E from CHC
• Composition: Student Writing Intensive from EIW 
• Religion:  Faith & Life 6 and God's Merciful Love (Old Testament study) from CHC
• Science: Chemistry, Biology & Physics using Real Science 4 Kids 
• History: finishing Story of the World 1 and start SOTW 2
• Latin: Latina Christiana I 
• Spanish: Rosetta Stone Latin American Spanish  
  

 Connor -- Grade 2

• Math: Modern Curriculum Press B  
  
• Phonics: K12 Phonics program (cont from the end of 1st Grade) 
• Grammar/Language: First Language Lessons   
• Handwriting: Handwriting Without Tears 
• Religion: Faith & Life 2 & 1st Communion Prep from CHC 
• Science: Real Science 4 Kids 
• History: finish SOTW 1, begin SOTW 2   

Our school day usually begins at 9 AM and continues until noon.   We break for lunch and weather permitting, go out for some playtime, then at 1 PM, we finish up, usually no later than 2:30.

I plan out 9 wks at a time, this is very helpful, because Caitlin knows exactly what she needs to do for the week, and can work through the week at her own pace.

We hope that everyone has a wonderful beginning to their school year!

  

A Simple Woman's Daybook -- Aug 4, 2008

Be sure to visit http://thesimplewoman.com for all the other daybook entries.

Outside My Window...The sun has already come up over the mountains, the high today will be 96 degrees.

I am thinking...about the scripture study I will be starting at our chapel this fall. A Quick Journey through the Bible w/ Jeff Cavins

I am thankful for...our Catholic Chaplin -- Fr. David McGuire. He has truly been a blessing to our base community and our family. He will be deploying to Iraq for 120 days and although we will miss him dearly, we know his mission there will be a great blessing. We are praying for his, and all our troops safe return.

From the kitchen...Breakfast - Irish soda bread slathered with butter and raspberry jam
Lunch - Italian wedding soup and cheese panini
Dinner - South of the Border Quiche w/ salad

I am wearing...dark denim walking shorts, cotton v-neck top, pink croc flops, hair back in pony tail

I am creating...or rather re-creating my household notebooks. I have read several posts over the weekend and am ready to dive in and freshen things up. I also want to start the OrganizedChristmas.com OrganizedChristmas.com Houseworks Holiday Plan on 31 Aug.

I am going...to soccer practice this afternoon and then to have coffee with a friend while the kids are at VBS this evening.

I am reading...When Organizing isn't Enough...SHED by - Julie Morgenstern

I am hoping...rain, maybe at the end of the week and a break in the high temps.

I am hearing...dare I say...quiet. Connor is outside bouncing on the trampoline and Caitlin has already started school.

Around the house...focusing on the kitchen, finishing my picnic blanket before soccer games start on Sat., and creating an important document binder to place in the safe.

One of my favorite things...having fresh milk delivered to my door.

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week: VBS for the kids all week, decluttering the playroom, quilting class.

Here is picture thought I am sharing...POP, We enjoyed our visit with you!

Blessing to all -- Chelle