How history repeats itself

As we were reading history today, I was reminded that history does repeat itself.  Read this quote from Mystery of History, Volume I, Creation to the Resurrection, Lesson 24:

"Problems at home often make a country lose power against its neighbors.  That's what happened to Egypt after the reign of Tutankhamen (King Tut)."

Does this sound like America today?  Due to our leaders inability to work together and negotiate, we (the United States of America) look weak to all of our neighbors and our enemies.

These words spoke volumes to me today.  The boys and I had a lengthy discussion of how we (U.S.A) are looking very weak and how it could be solved.  They absorbed everything I said very well.  If only we can grow a whole generation of kids smart enough to know that negotiations are a good thing, and that no way does one side get everything and the other side just settles for it.  We have to have strong leaders on BOTH sides that are thick skinned enough to take one on the chin and come together to NEGOTIATE, NOT GIVE AWAY THE KINGDOM TO THE OTHER SIDE.  We have strong leaders on one side in our capital, but when it comes to strong leaders on the other side, the weak leaders are too embedded with the other side to give the strong leaders a chance.  They will in turn, call the strong leaders, that are willing to stand up to the other side, names and smear them to all of the press.  This shows weakness on their part.

If the above it too vague for you, let me clarify.  We obviously have strong leaders on the Democratic side.  But, the Republican side of the aisle is weak.  Not all are weak, only the ones that embedded with the Democratic side seem to get a say in anything.  The true strong leaders of the Republican party are not allowed to stand up for anything.  And when they do, the embedded leaders of the Republican party call them names and smear them in the press.

Therefore, until we are able to get these strong leaders in the right position, by voting the weak/embedded name calling ones out of office, we (the USA) will be considered a weak nation to other countries and to our enemies.

I love homeschooling!  How many other kids in public school, or even in private school can have a discussion with their teacher about politics or how the world views us?

I am helping to raise strong leaders for our country!

Have a great day!
Sherie

Almost Wordless Wednesday

Awe, look at the new sleeping mat I got for the dogs.  WAIT!  That is MY new kitchen rugs I got for me, not them!  LOL!

Meet Pepper and Spice.  They need a haircut, but I don't have time to do it right now.  They are Lhasa-Poos.  They are a mix between Lhasa Apsa and Poodle.  Pepper has more Poodle, Spice has more Lhasa.

Have a GREAT day!
Sherie

Tithing Tuesday

Today I am starting a new series called Tithing Tuesday.  It seems that if I wait until I am at church on Wednesday night to write out my tithe check, I will inevitably forget to do it until the offering plate is being passed around and then its too late to get it written.  So, I have started taking Tuesday and writing my check out.  Yes, I recommend you write a check.  That way you have a record of how much you have given for tax purposes.  I have a client that one year, got tired of waiting on the check to clear the bank, so they would get cash out and put that in the offering plate.  Guess what, they forgot to write down how much they gave a few weeks out of the year, so they didn't get the write-off because the church had no idea who gave that cash.

How do you tithe?  Well, according to the Bible you are supposed to tithe 10% of your income.  Yes, you can tithe more.  God will never say, ummmmm no this is too much.  LOL!  No, whatever you tithe, the church will use it to further the work of the Lord.  If you give more than your 10%, then they will have that much more to help further it.

Why tithe?  Its part of God's word.  I always like to do what God tells me to do.  And this is definitely one of those things in the Bible that God directs Christians to do.

Let me tell you, He will bless you for tithing.  I am a testimony to that.  In fact, just a few weeks ago, I had tithed on a Wednesday night.  On Sunday night, my husband asked if I had written many checks.  One of the ones I told him about was the tithe check.  I guess he was not prepared for me to tithe that week, because he asked me why I did that.  I told him that God will bless me because I tithed.  You know what?  The Very Next Day, my phone rang.  It was a tax client that owns a business. she was asking me to start doing her payroll.  You know what?  That was a blessing from God!  He was rewarding me for being faithful in my giving.  You Can Never Out Give God!  So, my little $100 tithe check turned into a client that will bring in $150 every month.  So, my little tithe check has now grown by another $15.  Another $15 that will Will further God's work in our community and across the globe.

Am I rich because I tithe?  Heavens No!  But, the Lord has blessed our family enough that we don't suffer and we don't do without.

Is Tithing a fix all, solve all?  No Way!  You AND your spouse (if you are married) have to be on-board and budget together. We don't sit down every week in a budget meeting anymore.  We used to, when we were working together to eliminate our debt.  But, now we sit down every few months and make sure we are on the same track and thought process with our finances.  Let me just say, when we do sit down and discuss our finances, mountains are moved.  We are very determined people and we like to get things done.  (Next week, we will discuss budgeting, debt, and fitting the tithe money in there as well)

I encourage you to tithe.  You will not regret it.  Don't expect great blessing the first week of tithing.   God has something special in store for you.  And it may take some time in order for you to reap the blessings.  But, as long as you stay faithful in your faith, continue to tithe, and live a pure life, God will Bless You for it.

Let me just say, if you haven't asked the Lord into your heart, please do so.  You Must first be a Christian before the blessing begin.  Tithing alone will not get you into heaven.  Living a pure life, full of good deeds, will not get you into heaven.  But, praying and asking God to save you from your sins and cleanse you of all of your bad deeds, WILL get you into heaven.  And, if you mean it (God knows your heart), God will help you with anything you may have going on in your life.

I am not perfect.  I am FAR from perfect.  But, God is helping me work towards being perfect in His eyes.  I will never be perfect, Only God is perfect.  Nobody will ever be perfect.  But, if you ask Him into your heart and you are going through something (Alcohol, Drugs, Pornography, Lying, Adultery, etc), seek help through your church.  They have or know of programs that can help you.  It takes a heart that is willing to change.  And God knows if you have that heart or not.  He may be speaking to you right now.  So, ask him into your heart and then pick up the phone and call your church to ask for help in your situation.

Have a GREAT day!
Sherie

Living History

Have you ever been to a bridal shower and had to wrap somebody in toilet paper to create a dress?  Me too!  So, when I read about making mummies, this is what I pictured.  Well, when you are dealing with 7 & 8 year olds, it doesn't alway turn out the way you have pictured in your mind.  LOL!  But you know what?  We had fun, no matter what!

I love to make history come to life.  I don't remember doing this in school, EVER!  I remember history being B-O-R-I-N-G!  But, when you bring it to life it embeds history in your mind and you don't forget it (like I did).

So, off we went into the boys room and they picked out the stuffed animal they wanted to mummify.  The first animal my youngest boy wanted to mummify was a whale.  I was like, ummmm no.  That would take all of the toilet paper we have in the house.  LOL!  They then chose small animals to mummify.  Shphew!

Here are the result of the mummification of stuffed animals.

Yes, I have a mess in our office/classroom.  I'm getting ready for a yard sale, but its has rained every weekend this summer, so this stuff is just sitting there.....

Yes, it is 90 degrees outside and my youngest has on long sleeves.  I'm allowing them to pick out their own clothes these days and so we are experimenting with what matched and what doesn't.

Yes, we used A LOT of toilet paper.  But you know what?  The frugal mom in me made them pick it all up and put it in a basket and they had to use it every time the went to the bathroom until it was all gone.  LOL! 

Back to history, I LOVE how Mystery of History has an activity after every lesson.  It really brings history to life for everybody!

I hope this gives you some ideas as to how to bring history to life for your kids!

Have a GREAT day!
Sherie

Astronomy Update

We are still on Venus.........

I have to say, we are all sick of Venus!

 But, this is our last book for this planet, and we will be moving on to Earth!

 This is the book we are reading now. It has quite a bit of detail in it, so we are reading 1 chapter per day.

 

Do you utilize your library?  We LOVE our library!  We take a trip to the library every week.  The boys get to check out 15 each.  And let me just say, they loooooove to check out books.  And I am happy to say, they read most of what they check out.

We are using our library to do our Astronomy Unit Study.  If you are interested in our previous updates, here is the link.  http://www.genesis129trailblazers.blogspot.com/search/label/Astronomy

I hope you have a GREAT day!
Sherie

Psalm 19:7

I LOVE my Bible studies in the morning.  I Always get something out of what I am reading.  Today, this is what I got out of reading and I had to share it with you.  I hope you get the joy out of knowing God is in Total Control as I do.



"The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple;" (Psalm 19:7 ESV)

Reading the Bible transforms me and it can transform you. That’s what this verse is saying. “The law of the LORD .”

 God’s Word is to be the norm. It is the standard by which every other truth is measured or assessed.

Notice it says, “The law of the LORD.” Think about how through the centuries men have laid down their laws and rules saying this is the way society should be governed. People come and go but, “The law of the LORD” remains.

It is also “perfect.” That summarizes it doesn’t it?  The word perfect means literally all-sided; many faceted; all encompassing; comprehensive.

“The law of the LORD” is so perfect it “revives the soul.”  The soul is the inner part of you. It’s the immaterial part of you. You’re not just a physical person. There’s also a part of you that is spiritual. There’s a part of you that will live forever. That’s the part that needs to be converted.








I'm praying for all of you who stop by and read my little blog post today that you will be blessed by what you have read and it will impact your life as it has impacted mine.

Have a GREAT day!
Sherie

Giving, its what we do! Try it, you will see the blessings!

Some people look at other’s lives and wonder, “Why don’t I have what they have?” They may speculate on all the horizontal reasons, but I can tell you why. The flow of God’s blessing into their own lives has been plugged up by their stinginess. They are not experiencing the grace of giving. 

One of the most important decisions you make as a believer is to give your tithes and offerings to the Lord’s work. God knows what you give. Every time that offering plate comes down the aisle, He sees you take that huge step of faith, cheerfully giving what you can.

You may say, “How will I get by?” or “If I give to God, who’s gonna take care of me?”

I’ll tell you who—God will! Do you think you can out-give God? No. He may bless you financially, or in answered prayer, or in health and strength. But no one can out-give God. No one. 

Pork Chops

I have had people ask me, how do you menu plan?  That has GOT to be so hard.  Well, here is my not so organized way of doing a menu plan.  I don't necessarily know the meal I will be cooking every night.  BUT, I do know the meat I am cooking. 

You see, I have a system of eating.  I don't like to have 2 beef dinners in a row, etc.  So, here is my list of meats:

Chicken
Beef
Pork
Fish/Shrimp

So, if we had a beef dinner last night, I know we will have pork tonight. 

I print out a blank calendar and start listing it out in order.  Then, on Sunday's I go to the freezer and see what I have left from last week.  So, I know how much meat I have to buy.  I do all of my grocery shopping on Sunday, hence me looking in the freezer.

And then I look on the calendar and I know that this week we will need 2 chicken dinners, beef dinners, 2 Pork dinners, and 1 fish or shrimp dinner.  So, if I have only 1 package of chicken left over, I know I have a boat load of meat I need to buy.  LOL!  I usually have more meat in the freezer, this is just an example.  Although, we are trying to buy better meat, like buffalo, natural chicken (not boosted up with hormones), etc.  We are using ground chicken now, instead of beef for tacos, chili, etc.  Nobody can taste the difference and its much better for you.

Then, every day I go onto Pinterest and decide what I want to make out of the meat for that day.  Today, we are having pork chops, but I can't find a recipe that is meeting my craving.  So, I am just adding some spices to it and baking it.  I included 2 veggies (I need to get better at cooking these from scratch too, but one thing at a time).

 

(I added McCormick's Garlic and Herb seasoning to these pork chops)

 

Directions:  Preheat oven to 350.  Sprinkle a generous amount of seasoning on chops.  Bake for 45 minutes or until done.  (I know all the chefs bake their pork to a certain temp and call it done.  But, I don't play that game.  It is done when it comes out of the oven.  We've had salmonella in the house, I don't want to have it again!)

 

 

I hope you have a GREAT day!

Sherie

First day of School

I'm a little behind in posting this.  My daughter is starting her Senior year in Public School.  Yes, I said Public School.  However, her school is a little different from your typical PS.  She is in a Technical High School, which if you were like me, you would be like, *gasp* a Technical High School?  Yea, its not like that either.  Her school you have to apply to go there in December of your 8th grade year.  Then, they inform you in April if you got in or not.  They only allow 300 kids in each year.  So, if all of the kids stayed at this school, there would 1200 students.  BUT, of the 300 per class some transfer out to other public schools, some are military families, so they transfer out.  Anyway, the senior class ends up with about 150-200 students.  Which does sound like a big number, but when the other schools are graduating 400-500 per school each year, 150-200 is s-weet!

And, they aren't learning hairdressing, or mechanics (which there is nothing wrong with those careers, I have many friends in both of those career fields and making great incomes).  No, this school has Information Technology, Nursing, EMS, and others I can't think of right now.  My daughter happens to be in the career field of Biomedical Technologies.  Her goal is to become a nurse practitioner.  She is a great student.  She is in all AP, Honors, or Dual Enrollment classes.  I am so proud of her!

A little background on her.  She went to private school until 5th grade.  Then I homeschooled her for 3 years.  Then, she went into the public school system. 

Here is a couple of pics.

Isn't she beautiful?!?

And now, this is what the rest of us did on the first day of public school.

(don't be hatin' on our scores!  LOL!)

 

After bowling, we went for pizza, and then we went to see Turbo!  It was a total blast of a day.  It turns out, we had just finished 30 days of school.  I think we may have another fun day after the next 30 days of school are accomplished.

 

Have a GREAT day!

Sherie

 

Making Models

Our Public Library offers free model making classes for kids.  I just found out about it, so we hightailed it downtown to enjoy this experience.  My boys HAD A BLAST!!!!  Here are a few pics of them creating their cars.

( Our great library assistant, helping us figure out the instructions)

They were sooooo proud of themselves!  I am proud of them too.  Coming in November, we will be going back to make Blue Angel Models.  (and word on the street says that one of the pilots may be there.  We will see about that)

Have a GREAT day!
Sherie

The Perfect Morning

Anytime I can wake up to a conversation with Jesus and a good cup of coffee, you know its going to be a good day.

Yea, I'm a little behind on my reading the Bible through in a Year.

I hope you have a GREAT day!
Sherie

Mystery of History Update

Adding to our timeline!

WE are learning so much during History every day.  Yes, I said we.  There are some things, ok most things, in history I do not remember learning in school. 

 

Yes, I remember learning about the Sumerians and the Tower of Babel.  I remember learning about the Tower of Babel in Sunday School and church.  But, I do not remember learning about the Epic of Gilgamesh. 

 

I found the pictures for our timeline on the internet.  Just a simple Google search and Bam!  It was done.

 

FREE resources, that's what I'm talking about!  LOL!  You  can find so much on the internet.

 

How do you come up with the items for your timeline?  Did you buy the pre-printed pack?  Or do you create your own?  We have a mix of it all.

 

Have a Great day!
Sherie

Astronomy Unit Study Update

We are now past Mercury and are now studying Venus!   I was going to start an art project, but the boys were not very well behaved at the store yesterday, so we moved on from the fun stuff to the not so fun stuff of watching the video of Venus.

I went onto the Public Library's website and searched the catalog for anything on the subject of Venus.  I found a ton of stuff!  So, I sorted through the titles and found 1 video and several books (will post those when we get to them).

This video was a great introduction to Venus.  Although, when it started out, I had to pause it to make sure it wasn't an X rated movie.  LOL!  The introduction was nothing but artwork of the Goddess Venus.  Well, if you've seen any pictures or even any artwork of Venus, you know she is a half naked, if not all naked woman.  I have 2 boys ages 7 & 8.  I was a little concerned.  But, I just forwarded through the introduction and on to the movie/documentary.

Like I said earlier, it was very good.  We will be studying more about Venus in the next few weeks, so be sure to check back for updates!

Check your local library for great resources on study material!

Have a great day!
Sherie

How Is This Comfortable?????

I mean really????  I am not complaining though.  Do you see what he is doing?  HE'S READING!!!!!  My little guy hates anything school, so when he stops and reads on his own, I am ecstatic!

To make it fair, here is my Big guy being studious! 

I love how different they are.  They may only be 13 months apart, but they are like night and day in every aspect of life.

Have a great day!
Sherie

Florida Caverns

We took a trip to the Florida Caverns in Marianna FL.  If you don't know where that is, well its about a 2 hour drive from Pensacola.  We got up early, because it has rained every single weekend this summer in NW Florida.  And almost ever single weekday too.  According to the National Weather  Center, this is the 2nd wettest summer ever recorded (the 1st was last summer, but I don't remember it being this wet.  I think we got all of our rainfall in 1 weekend last year.  This year we are getting rained on every day)

Anyway, back to my story.  We headed out on a beautiful sunny Saturday and got there at the perfect time.  It hadn't got too hot yet.  So, we went into the little gift shop and paid for our tour.  And this is what we saw:

 (I don't remember what any of the formations are called except this one ^.  Its called the wedding cake.  Can you see it?)

(My beautiful children!)

 

WOW!  If you EVER have the chance to go see this gorgeous wonder of nature, DO IT!  You will not regret it!

 

Would you believe that as soon as we walked out of the caverns, it was thundering.  We barely made it to our car before it started downpouring.  And it rained ALL THE WAY HOME!  UGH!  Florida is no longer known as the sunshine state.  :-(

 

Have a great day!

Sherie

Baked Shrimp Poboys

(I am not a photographer!  This sandwich is goooooood!)

 

 

2 Lbs Shrimp (this is enough for my family of 5)

2 Tblsp Creole Seasoning

1/2 Cup Olive oil

1 Tblsp Honey

1 Tblsp Soy Sauce

 

Mix the Creole Seasoning, Olive oil, Honey, and Soy Sauce in a Ziploc bag.  Add Shrimp.  Coat completely and marinate for 30 minutes.  In the meantime, heat oven to 350.  After marinating, transfer shrimp and marinade to 9x13 baking dish.  Bake for 30 minutes, or until shrimp are cooked through.

 

Broil or toast bread.  Now, fill that delicious bread with shrimp and shredded lettuce.  (In my opinion, no dressing is necessary)

 

Enjoy!

Sherie



Oven Baked Fried Chicken

Oven Baked Fried Chicken

(Please over look the picture, I am not a professional.  But, this chicken is GOOD!)

 

 

In a large zippered bag, mix the following:  1 T Seasoned Salt, 3/4 tsp Pepper, 1 c. Flour, 2 tsp. Paprika.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut 3 Tablespoons of  butter or margarine into the bottom of a a 9x13 pan. Place baking pan in the oven while it is heating up. Drench chicken (I cut up 5 pieces of chicken into tenders) pieces in milk.  Shake excess milk off of chicken and completely coat each piece with the seasoning mix.  Place each piece of chicken in the pan. Cook for 20 min. Turn each piece of chicken and continue cooking for 20 more minutes, or until cooked through.

Enjoy!
Sherie

Astronomy Update

Well, we are wrapping up our Mercury study.  It has been fascinating.  Have I remembered anything we have learned?  NOPE!  But, the Big Guy has.  The Little Guy is not interested at all, but as long as he is in the room paying attention, I really don't care if he retains any of it.  At this point, he does not want to be a scientist or have anything to do with the space program.  LOL!  Now, the Big guy LOVES science and space.  This is why he is like a sponge during science time.

Here is the last of the books we read about Mercury:

This book had so much information in it, we only read one chapter per day.  There were 7 chapters. We even read the chapters about Pluto, even though we are not to Pluto yet.  It was very interesting to learn about the surface, atmosphere, etc of Mercury.

Utilize your library for great unit studies.

Have a great day!
Sherie

History update

I have decided to use my blog as a daily journal entry of how our homeschool year is going.  Some may get tired of my entries.  I'm hoping it will be inspiration to others.

I am a very, very, very frugal person.  Honestly, my husband and I are so frugal, its scary.  We have worked through the Dave Ramsey program a few years ago, and learned to live on less.  Yes, we are pretty much debt free.  Our only debt is our motorcoach and our home.  And after a budget meeting last week, we have a plan to get both of those paid off in the next 5 years.  WHOO HOO!  I'm so excited about that!

After all of that explanation, I am finding more and more ways to NOT spend money homeschooling.  So, today's post is about building a ziggurat.  We learned about how the Sumerians built Ziggurats and this was the beginning of building pyramids. It was also around the same time frame that the people built the Tower of Babel.  And when the Lord created multiple languages.

So, after reading our Mystery of History book, the boys created their very own Ziggurat.  I was expecting them to build a much bigger building together, but they each created miniature version of the Ziggurat.  LOL!  Its amazing how we get an image in our head and then things turn out completely different than what we had imagined.  Here is their creations:

(This is little guy's creation.  He says, look mom its scary because it has an eye.  LOL!)

What do you use for Grammar, aka Language Arts?????

As some know, I am adding in a new curriculum every month, so we don't break the bank all at one time.  Honestly, last year we were paying $410 per month for the boys to go to private school, so a little curriculum cost is not really going to break the bank, its just nice not to have to spend it all at one time.  And also, it gives the boys time to get used to one subject and then add in the next, and then the next, and then the next. 

Yes, I know this means we will not be finishing all of our curriculum at one time, and I am good with that.  We are homeschooling year round, so we don't really need to finish everything by May 30th (or whatever day public school gets out).

The first subject I started with was math.  Little guy had a real hard time last year with math, so I knew we were going to start there with him.  Well, Big guy kept asking where his math was, so I ordered his a few weeks later.  Then, we added history the next month, then Spelling the next, not to mention the tons of printables I have been using.  (I have got to start saving those links so you can enjoy them also.  I promise I will start saving them.)

But, in the mean time Big guy was needing to be more challenged, so I hit the library.  After talking to him several days in a row, I realized even though he is going into 3rd grade, they had not introduced him to the parts of speech.  So, where do I start?  Where do I start?????  Some how I figured out to start with nouns (I am sure the Lord helped me with this, because I have not found anywhere that says you start with nouns first, then........)

Well, one day Big guy was looking at the books about paper airplanes, and lo and behold on a shelf across from that, were all kinds of books for Grammar (aka Language Arts).  WHOO HOO!!!!!!  I grabbed up the first 2 I found on nouns and called it a day.  Here is what we started with:

I don't know if you have figured it out yet, but I LOVE OUR LIBRARY!!!!!!  I mean, you can find anything there.  

So, on day 1  of Grammar, we read A Mink, A Fink, and A Skating Rink.  And we began the nouns book with what is a noun. 

I found some worksheets about nouns (again, I promise I will start saving those links and sharing them) and we began to work.  Big guy is a very quick learner, so it was no time before he had this book completely read and all of the worksheets completed (correctly).

And then, I was off researching the library online to find our next book.  I have it ordered and will share with you when I pick it up.

All this to say, you don't necessarily  have to have a purchased curriculum to get the most out of homeschooling.  Sometimes, the FREE resources are just what the Lord had in mind when He placed in your brain the idea of homeschooling in the first place.

Have a GREAT day!
Sherie

Astronomy Update

Well, we have been steadily working our way through all of the books I could get from the library on the planet Mercury. 

If you haven't been with me before, we are doing a unit study on Astronomy.  Taking an in depth look at each planet.  Right now, we are focusing on Mercury, since it is the closest to the sun. 

So, we added this book to the study.  Each book we add seems to have something new in it that we didn't know.  We are learning so much, I am really excited!  We don't have very many more books to study about Mercury, then we will be off to the next planet.

See, after looking at several lists of what a 2nd and 3rd grader should know about science, I discovered that at this point, they are just touching on each aspect of science.  Well, we are probably getting more in depth than most 2nd and 3rd grade classrooms on the subject of Astronomy.  But, me and my boys are enjoying it and we are learning a LOT too!

So see, if you are new homeschooler.  Let this be an encouragement to you that you don't have to have an expensive science curriculum.  You can just go visit your local library and find all you need to to learn about science!

God bless you all!
Sherie

Mistery of History

Wow what we have learned!  I am learning right along with my boys.  Yes, I may have heard of some of the stories, but others I have not heard of at all.  It is AWESOME!!!!!!

Since my last update, we have of course learned about creation.  And of course we learned about Adam and Eve, and their sons.  But, then we learned about Jubal and Tubal-Cain.  You know, I think I have read that part of the Bible many times, but it has NEVER stuck!  I had no idea who these two characters were. 

Then we learned about the Ice Age.  We did a little experiment, but it didn't last long enough for me to take pictures, so maybe another time.  The experiment was "how long can you stand the cold?"  Its August in Florida, right?  So, it is HOT as hades outside, right?  Well, this experiment was to take ice and place it on your belly and see how long you could stand it.  Well, my boys couldn't even last long enough for me to get my camera.  LOL!  We did this outside, I was thinking since it was hot, they would last longer.  NOPE!  The said it burned.  Go figure!  I didn't try it, so I still have no idea.

Anyway, how have you explained the Ice Age?  Have you done any cool experiments about this time period?

God Bless you all!
Sherie