Fair Weather

"He answered and said to them, "When it is evening you say, It will be fair weather, for the sky is red; and in the morning, It will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and threatening. Hypocrites! You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times." Matthew 16:2-3

Making the Cut!

On Wednesday, I officially made the cut! For those of you who don't know, I have been growing out my hair to cut to donate. I decided to us Pantene's program www.beautifullengths.com for a couple of reasons. All the hair they provide to those in need is free, and I only needed 8 inches! So my growing time was shorter and/or I wasn't going to have to go as short when I cut it off! I was a little nervous, but ready for a change. Dan was too! He was counting down the days which is a little different since he usually wants my hair longer!?




Here is my new look! It probably won't look like this when I do it(since I don't "do" my hair!). It is not as drastic as I imagined, but I think it is a good transition haircut. Thanks Ann! And didn't Jake do a great job with the picture taking?!

Jacob is currently reading the poetry of Sara Teasdale. Most of her poems are appropriate for Valentine's Day since she mainly wrote love poems. This poem comes from a book titled Those Who Love - a collection of her love poems.

Night

Stars over snow
And in the west a planet
Swinging below a star -
Look for a lovely thing and you will find it,
It is not far -
It never will be far.

So for Valentine's Day, my wish would be that you would see all the lovely things around you!

Lego Contraptions

During a recent trip to the bookstore we purchased an
overpriced LEGO Contraptions Kit. However, once we
made it home, it was well worth it!

Obedience

This quote from Charlotte Mason's Home Education Vol. 1 resonates with me.


"The Whole Duty of a Child––First and infinitely the most important, is the habit of obedience. Indeed, obedience is the whole duty of the child, and for this reason––every other duty of the child is fulfilled as a matter of obedience to his parents. Not only so: obedience is the whole duty of man; obedience to conscience, to law, to Divine direction.

It has been well observed that each of the three recorded temptations of our Lord in the wilderness is a suggestion, not of an act of overt sin, but of an act of wilfulness, that state directly opposed to obedience, and out of which springs all that foolishness which is bound up in the heart of a child.

Obedience no Accidental Duty.––Now, if the parent realise that obedience is no mere accidental duty, the fulfilling of which is a matter that lies between himself and the child, but that he is the appointed agent to train the child up to the intelligent obedience of the self compelling, law-abiding human being, he will see that he has no right to forego the obedience of his child, and that every act of disobedience in the child is a direct condemnation of the parent. Also, he will see that the motive of the child's obedience is not the arbitrary one of, 'Do this, or that, because I have said so,' but the motive of the apostolic injunction, "Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right."

Children must have the Desire to Obey.––It is only in proportion as the will of the child is in the act of obedience, and he obeys because his sense of right makes him desire to obey in spite of temptations to disobedience––not of constraint, but willingly––that the habit has been formed which will, hereafter, enable the child to use the strength of his will against his inclinations when these prompt him to lawless courses. It is said that the children of parents who are most strict in exacting obedience often turn out ill; and that orphans and other poor waifs brought up under strict discipline only wait their opportunity to break into license. Exactly so; because, in these cases, there is no gradual training of the child in the habit of obedience; no gradual enlisting of his will on the side of sweet service and a free will offering of submission to the highest law: the poor children are simply bullied into submission to the will, that is, the wilfulness, of another; not at all, 'for it is right'; only because it is convenient."

I failed to grasp this concept growing up. It was external consequences that kept me "in line". So now, my question is how to apply this in my child rearing (cause it is not happening!).

January in the Midwest

I thought about just leaving a big blank space here to symbolize what has been going on lately. It is that very gray, blah time of year here. Definitely a major component of Seasonal Affective Disorder. Some may disagree on whether or not this really exists, but one January in Indiana will convince them of its validity.

I did come across something that is worth sharing: www.catalogchoice.org
It is a free site, where you can sign up and then request to STOP receiving so many catalogs. It is helpful to have a copy of the catalogs you don't want on hand. Just a small way to cut out mailbox clutter and help the environment. However, global warming isn't sounding so bad at the moment.

Rachael's Chicken Dish

When I was preparing dinner last night, I got to this step and thought that is looked very pretty! So, I took a picture. It tastes awesome too!

1 can crescent rolls, 1 can cream of mush. soup, 1 cup milk, 1 1/2 cups cheese, 3/4 chicken breasts cooked and cup up.

Mix 1/2 cup cheese with soup and milk in saucepan until cheese is melted.

Mix chicken with remaining 1 cup of cheese and roll into crescent rolls.

Place in 9 X 13 pan. If there is leftover chicken & cheese mixtures, spread it around crescent rolls. Bake this at 375 until brown (at least 15 min.). Add cheese and soup mixture and bake another 10 minutes! Enjoy!

I did double the recipe except for the sauce and we decided it was good, but I will
definitely double the sauce part too!