Thursday, November 29, 2007

Words of a Housewife


This is a beautiful poem by Chelsea Peterson posted on LadiesAgainstFeminism - http://www.ladiesagainstfeminism.com/artman/publish/Biblical_Womanhood_and_Christian_Living_14/Words_of_a_Housewife1003009.shtml

Words of a Housewife
By Chelsea Peterson
Nov 21, 2007 - 11:11:03 AM


Words of a Housewife

God, I want to do great things for you,
And speak to all the nations!
God replies:
That’s well and good,
But for now
Fix your children’s complications.

Lord, I want to straighten up the world,
Feed the hungry and fulfill someone’s wishes!
God says:
Fine, but for the present,
You need to wash the dishes.

Lord, I want to preach, proclaim your name
And bring salvation to the earth!
God says:
Good! Then teach your children
And preach my name to those you’ve given birth.

At the end of the day,
I think of all I’ve done.
But as I look it seems,
I’ve accomplished nothing for the Son!
God I had no time to witness one on one,
I couldn’t join my church group,
They said I missed out on lots of fun.

My household is the only thing
That managed to be cleaned,
My neighbor is the only one,
Besides my family I could feed.

The only ones I’ve read Your Word
Are those within my home.
God I’ve done so very little
And I feel so all alone!

God says:
I’ve seen the way you cleaned and cooked
And taught your kids My name.
Tomorrow morning at eight o’ clock,
I’ll watch you do the same.

The work you do at home,
Though no one really sees,
Is helping to raise little ones
To grow and worship me.

My ways are not your ways,
I don’t expect you yet to see,
But the precepts that you’ve taught your children,
Will help others bow the knee.

Your children will reach out to others,
Your example in their mind.
They’ll do great work for Me
And their children will respond in kind.

The hand that rules the world,
Also rocks the cradle.
Because of you, your children love Me,
All their hearts are stable.

Though your house is your domain,
Your tasks seem rather plain,
Your efforts will reach the multitudes,
Though from humble work they came.

Upcoming Menu


What's for Dinner
Originally uploaded by Kelly Ferry
Friday - Tacos

Saturday - Homemade veggie soup (should be great after a cold day at the parade - plus makes good use of the leftover turkey bones waiting in the frig)

Sunday - Fried Chicken, Mac & Cheese

Monday - Spaghetti

Tuesday - Gwyn's Chicken Casserole

Wednesday - Salmon Stew

Thursday - Meatball Subs

All subject to change due to time, temperament, and attitudes!!! :-)




Note: "Some people carve their turkeys and hams in the kitchen, and just lay out a platter of meat, and some do their carving at the table. Either way, make sure to save those ham bones and turkey carcasses. Put the turkey in your biggest stockpot, fill it up with water, and toss in a roughly chopped onion, a couple of chopped up carrots and some celery. Add some garlic, (fresh, dried, whatever) snap a lid on it, and bring to a boil. After it boils, skim the top, then reduce the heat to a simmer. Check it periodically and add water if you need to. Simmer this for as long as you can, 24 hours is what I do, and it makes the best stock, but 8 or 12 hours is fine if that's all you have. Let it cool once it's done, then pour the stock through a strainer in to a large container with a lid. Place in the refrigerator overnight, to allow fat to rise. In the morning, skim off the fat, then you can divide your beautiful turkey stock in to smaller containers for the freezer. This keeps wonderfully for a year, and is great for making Chicken or Turkey Noodle Soup, other soups, making gravy, or even adding to mashed potatoes or anything that needs a flavor boost. Also, chicken or turkey stock has incredible health benefits, and is wonderful to have on hand for cold and flu season." Taken from The Place of H blog...

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

The Velveteen Rabbit




We started The Velveteen Rabbit today. We all curled up in my bed and read the first half. We are hoping to read the last of it tomorrow and then go and see the play on Saturday. It should be a fun outing!!

Preparing for Christmas


christmas ribbon
Originally uploaded by blossom lover
Preparations are well under way in the Quinn household!!! Everything starts off tomorrow so we can be ready to really start our Jesse tree on Friday so we can start our first ornament on Saturday - December 1st. Does that make any sense? Regardless, Christmas starts around here tomorrow!!! :-) I love the Christmas season. It is my very favorite time of the year. I inherited it bad on both sides - from my mama and my daddy. I remember my mama hiding presents in our dryer and my daddy snooping around the house looking for his goodies. My mama was a champion shopper. She loved it just as I do. She would have really loved the Black Friday shopping days we have now!!!

The girls and I will continue to homeschool through all the holidays, just as we did during thanksgiving - learning, cooking, cleaning, crafting, gifting.... When the boys come home from school, we will just add them in. So, here are our school plans - starting from the outside decorations and glitter to the real heart of the matter.

Thursday - Nov 29 - begin shopping for school/Christmas supplies (we need lots of ribbons and such for crafts and then baking goodies too), (presents are almost finished!!) :-)
Begin reading the Velveteen Rabbit,

Friday - Nov 30 - Begin our Jesse Tree - setting it up and teaching the girls what we are doing. This will be our first year doing the Jesse Tree. I am very excited about it all. The girls will make a notebook of our studies.
Finish the Velveteen Rabbit.
Create our Advent Cookie Countdown Ribbon (and just for those of you counting - that will be 150 cookies for all 6 kids!!!)

Update - the Advent Cookie Countdown got scratched. It was gonna cost way to much. We will just continue with our other plans. ;-)



Saturday - Dec 1 - First Ornament on the Jesse Tree (continuing adding an ornament a day though Christmas) Day 1 - Sun - God's creation of the universe,
Velveteen Rabbit at the Little theater.
Luminaries along the sidewalks in our neighborhood with carriage rides down our road (we need to get our outside decorations up before this!!!)
Get to eat the first cookie from the Advent ribbon!!

Sunday - Dec 2 - First day of Advent - getting Christmas tree

Dec 3 - studying trees,
Making a popcorn Christmas tree and a Breakfast Bread shaped like a tree,
Decorating our tree
We will add in carols, poetry and art work on each day that fits together

Dec 4 - Continuing with our tree study -
Making a Flaming Tree Cake,
Reading the Tree Night Book,
Making some outside decorations for the birds

Dec 5 - Wreaths and Candy Canes - the legend of the Candy Cane, decorating with wreaths and candy canes on the tree

Dec 6 - Poinsettias - legend, decorating, poinsettia cookies

Dec 7 - Holly and Berries / Gingerbread - making a Gingerbread house

Dec 8 - Christmas Parade

Dec 9 - 2nd Sunday in Advent

Dec 10 - St. Nicholas - a study on the man

Dec 11 - Studying Angels and Gabriel
Begin reading One Wintry Night, by Ruth Bell Graham, reading one chapter a day until the day after Christmas - the book ends in the crucifixion

Dec 12 - Studying Mary

Dec 13 - Studying Elizabeth

Dec 14 - Studying Joseph

Dec 15 - free Saturday

Dec 16 - 3rd Advent Sunday

Dec 17 - Studying Zacharias and John

Dec 18 - Studying Bethlehem

Dec 19 - Studying the Manger

Dec 20 - Studying the Names of Jesus - Immanuel, Son the the Most High...

Dec 21 - Studying the Prophecies and their fulfillment in Jesus' birth

Dec 22 - Quinn Family Christmas

Dec 23 - Last Sunday of Advent

Dec 24 - Christmas Eve - Quinn's Chili
Christmas eve presents

Dec 25 - Christmas - Jesus!!! - First day of Christmas
Clary Christmas

Dec 26 - 2nd day of Christmas - The Old and New Testaments

I know that there is a lot of disagreement on wheather the 12 days of Christmas really were used as a secret code for the Christian church. Regardless, I think they are a wonderful way to help refresh the children's knowledge of the things of God. It should be a fun study.

Dec 27 - 3rd day of Christmas - The Three Theological Virtues: 1) Faith, 2) Hope, and 3) Love (1 Corinthians 13:13) - This shoud be fun - Brenda just got finished studying this in her Mere Christianity devotion book


Dec 28 - 4th day of Christmas - The Four Gospels: 1) Matthew, 2) Mark, 3) Luke, and 4) John, which proclaim the Good News of God's reconciliation of the world to Himself in Jesus Christ.

Dec 29 - 5th day of Christmas - The first Five Books of the Old Testament, known as the Torah or the Pentateuch: 1) Genesis, 2) Exodus, 3) Leviticus, 4) Numbers, and 5) Deuteronomy, which gives the history of humanity's sinful failure and God's response of grace in the creation of a people to be a light to the world.


Dec 30 - 6th day of Christmas - The six days of creation that confesses God as Creator and Sustainer of the world (Genesis 1).

Dec 31 - 7th day of Christmas - The seven gifts of the Holy Spirit: 1) prophecy, 2) ministry, 3) teaching, 4) exhortation, 5) giving, 6) leading, and 7) compassion (Romans 12:6-8; cf. 1 Corinthians 12:8-11)

Jan 1 - 8th day of Christmas - The eight Beatitudes: 1) Blessed are the poor in spirit, 2) those who mourn, 3) the meek, 4) those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, 5) the merciful, 6) the pure in heart, 7) the peacemakers, 8) those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake. (Matthew 5:3-10)


Jan 2 - 9th day of Christamas - The nine Fruits of the Holy Spirit: 1) love, 2) joy, 3) peace, 4) patience, 5) kindness,
6) generosity, 7) faithfulness, 8) gentleness, and 9) self-control. (Galatians 5:22)


Jan 3 - 10th day of Christmas - The ten commandments: 1) You shall have no other gods before me; 2) Do not make an idol; 3) Do not take God's name in vain; 4) Remember the Sabbath Day; 5) Honor your father and mother; 6) Do not murder; 7) Do not commit adultery; 8) Do not steal; 9) Do not bear false witness; 10) Do not covet. (Exodus 20:1-17)


Jan 4 - 11th day of Christmas - The eleven Faithful Apostles: 1) Simon Peter, 2) Andrew, 3) James, 4) John, 5) Philip, 6) Bartholomew, 7) Matthew, 8) Thomas, 9) James bar Alphaeus, 10) Simon the Zealot, 11) Judas bar James. (Luke 6:14-16). The list does not include the twelfth disciple, Judas Iscariot who betrayed Jesus to the religious leaders and the Romans.


Jan 5 - 12 th day of Christmas - ,The twelve points of doctrine in the Apostles' Creed: 1) I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth. 2) I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord. 3) He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. 4) He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into hell [the grave]. 5) On the third day he rose again. He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father. 6) He will come again to judge the living and the dead. 7) I believe in the Holy Spirit, 8) the holy catholic Church, 9) the communion of saints, 10) the forgiveness of sins, 11) the resurrection of the body, 12) and life everlasting. (All taken from the Internet web site of CRI/Voice)
Star and star pastries

Jan 6 - Wisemen and the Gift of the Magi

We will continue here with the flight into Egypt, the Slaughter of the Innocents, and the Childhood of Christ. After all this we will return to school as normal!!!

This is just a rough draft. I'm sure there will be days where certain things don't make it, but then there will be days when many things are added. Such is life around here!!

Enjoy the Season with your family!!

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Blog Update

I am excited about my blog. Mrs. Wilt (from the Sparrow's Nest blog) has agreed to help me out!!! She is going to give my blog a little makeover. I am so un-computer savy!!! I can't wait to see what she comes up with!!!

Brenda has been having a ball with her myspace page. I think she is learning much quicker than I have!!

Saturday, November 24, 2007

Campfire



Artie fixed a big campfire for the children tonight before bed. It was so cold out, but the fire kept us warm. The boys (and girls) so love to poke around in the fire with little sticks. Brenda and I ran out and got some marshmallows to roast. Looks like by now I would have some ready - but it's hard to keep marshmallows in this house with seven children!!!

I'm not sure why the fire didn't show up in the picture, but I promise there was a fire there!!! :-)

Black Friday


Kmart; Vernon, Conn.
Originally uploaded by XISMZERO
Artie and I headed out at 5:30 this morning (slept in - usually I've left my house by 4:00 on Black Friday). Artie hates shopping!!! So, it's really fun for me to have him with me this one day of the year. I use to go by myself, but as the children have gotten older, the presents seemed to have gotten bigger. He comes to help me load all my goodies in the buggies. Plus, we have outgrown one buggy by a long shot!!!

So we went to K-Mart this morning and were there about 10 minutes after they opened (missing all the rushing in the door!) . In previous years, I've always shopped at Wal-Mart. This is the first year in probably 10 or more that I haven't been in there on Black Friday - didn't step foot in all day!!!

We went prepared with a list in hand - but Artie always finds more while we are there. We found such great stuff - from presents for the children to my granddaddy - whose always hard for me to pick out for. I guess I can't really tell much of what we got since Brenda reads my blog. Guess you will have to wait til Chistmas to see what we got!! :-)

Friday, November 23, 2007

The Big Day

We had such a wonderful Thanksgiving this year!! The girls took on Thanksgiving as a homeschool project. They totally cooked the whole meal - from planning and shopping to setting the table and cooking. It was a great success. Artie was so proud - telling everyone that his girls (only 12 and 7 years old) were cooking his Thanksgiving dinner for him!! I don't think the men at work could imagine them being able to pull that off!

Here is Brenda breaking up the biscuits for the dressing


and with the cornbread. Mimi's dressing turned out sooooo good. Definitely one of my childhood favorites.


Artie carved the turkey - always his job. He likes to sneak in and eat the turkey skin. I told the children they were gonna have to have their own house and cook there own turkey there before they will be able to try some turkey skin. It's all Daddy's here!!! :-)


I think Terry's ready to eat!!!


The girls did such a great job setting the table. After Artie carved the turkey, we ran everyone out of the dining room to prepare. Artie's job was to clean up the little boys and have them all ready. The girls were busy setting the table, finishing up the rolls and changing into presentable clothes (original clothing slightly covered from the day cooking!!). The candles were lit and the gentlemen were invited in.


The girls pose with their table.


What a pair!!!


Just before the blessing. Troy's dying to eat!!! You would have thought he hadn't eaten in weeks. God's been so good to us this year. It was so wonderful to have all the children around the table.


Me and Brenda


Artie and Brian

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

The Day Before....



Thanksgiving plans are well underway. The turkey is thawing (hiding in the oven - our cat is terrible about getting into food thawing!!), the pies are setting up in the frig (Brenda cooked 2 peanutbutter pies yesterday in school), and the living room is cleaned. Still a long way to go, but we've started. I've got Chris Tomlin playing in the background. The Amazing Grace song is definitely my favorite right now - and seems so perfect for Thanksgiving!!

I went to Goodwill today and bought some new dishes and glasses. I got the dishes all mix and match, but all in yellows and blues. They look great together. I also picked up some new drinking glasses for everyone. You might not believe it - but dishes and glasses don't really last long around here. :-) Paper plastic plates are fine for everyday, but I wanted something pretty for lunch tomorrow. I read the best article yesterday on at Large Family Mothering on "we don't cry over spilt dishes". It was a mother of 12 talking about this same thing - she said... "I have found a solution that works, at least for us. I just buy whatever looks "cute" to me at garage sales and the Goodwill--no matter if it matches or not. It is so fun to shop for dishes and mugs now. I came away with 15 new mugs from the Goodwill today for an average of $.20 a piece! They had all sorts of patterns, and the kids helped me pick them out. We enjoy our dinners with an array of color choices, sort of an eclectic "country" look."

ladyofvirtue.blogspot.com/2007/11/we-dont-cry-over-spilt-dishes.html

So, I spent less thank $10 and got 10 plates and 8 glasses. All the glasses have tall stems and look really pretty. The littles are very exciting about the "fanciness"!! :-) Brenda is even exciting and waiting on the dishwasher to finish to get them washed up.

So, we still have lots to do today. We will cook the cornbread and biscuits for the dressing, put the green beans and potatoes in the crock pot, probably peel the potatoes and have them soaking in the frig, clean the dining room and kitchen and then there is the usual meals to fix today and clothes to wash. We'll save the turkey, macaroni and cheese, corn, and bread to fix tomorrow. I think we aren't eating until about 4:00 - Brian's gonna be able to come - God is good!!! (he's also coming today to take Troy out for lunch and spend some time with him)

I'm hoping to do a little shopping tomorrow and a lot on Friday morning early!!! (is there any other time to shop on Black Friday?) I'm working really hard to keep it Black Friday and not turn it into RED Friday!!! Cash only again this year!!! Praise God for teaching us so much about debt and money!!

Okay, enough time here, I'm off to wash, cook and clean!!!

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Thanksgiving Homeschool


We found a fun site that Brenda enjoyed yesterday in our study of Thanksgiving.

http://www.plimoth.org/education/olc/navigation.html

We also listened to a great broadcast on Focus on the Family. It talked about how schools now teach children that Thanksgiving is where the pilgrims thanked the Indians in stead of the pilgrims thanking God for all His provision. It sparked some interesting conversations with all the boys when they got home from school.

Ratatouille


Ratatouille 03
Originally uploaded by famalovely
Friday night we had movie night. The children had been waiting for Ratatouille to come out on video. It seemed to arrive in quick time - I was afraid there was gonna be a long wait. Artie was in Charlotte at our friend's Jack and Nikki's engagement party (I didn't get to go - now that Troy's working, I've lost my night time babysitter!!) - so it was just me and the children. We laid out covers and pillows and set in to watch the movie. It was a fun night. It meant a lot that Brian was there to watch part of it with us too.

Our Thanksgiving Meal


Thanksgiving turkey
Originally uploaded by master phillip
Brenda and I just planned out our Thanksgiving meal. Here is a run down of the Quinn Family Thanksgiving. All our favorites...

Turkey
Mimi's dressing
Mashed potatoes
Gravy
Green beans with little potatoes- yummmmmm (Brenda's favorite)
Creamed corn
Mimi's Macaroni and cheese
Rolls
and of course sweet tea!!

with Mimi's Peanut butter pie for dessert. Kinda looks like it's gonna be Mimi's thanksgiving doesn't it!! :-) Mimi and Granddaddy will be eating thanksgiving with my aunt Trisha this year again.

We also just had Thanksgiving with Artie's family Sunday afternoon - it was yummy too. We took mashed potatoes, broccoli pasta, and a soda. With so many of them, we don't each have to fix a lot.

A different Thanksgiving turkey!!


What Part of Thanksgiving are You?

You Are Mashed Potatoes

Oridnary, comforting, and more than a little predictable
You're the glue that holds everyone together.

Saturday, November 17, 2007

William Tell Overture

I can't remember who first showed this to me, but I think it's hilarious!!!! So true, so true. My girls have laughed and laughed.

Chris Tomlin - Amazing Grace (My Chains are Gone)

This is my new favorite singer. Chris Tomlin. He's one of those guys - like Sonic Flood was to me - when you hear his song, you say "Oh I love that song, I didn't know he was the one who sang it" I love this Amazing Grace video. I am wanting to see the movie now.

Saturday, November 10, 2007

WOW!

Brenda is taller than I am!!!!

Friday, November 02, 2007

Friday night

It's been a fun night tonight. Artie is at his friend Tim's throwing horseshoes with his other friend Jack. They are some trio!!

Troy is in Jacksonville, Fl with the Jr. Air force ROTC. He will be there for the whole weekend. He has been so excited about the trip. His only concern is his friend, Cricket, is still in the hospital - so he would be better if she were good and home.

That leaves just the little children and me and Brenda at home tonight. Brenda decided we should have a girl's night and "do hair". I was prepared - I had saved some pictures that were in the last Real Simple magazine of different up-do's and had bought some bobby pins knowing this would come up soon. Wow, the looks we came up with. Brenda ended up with her hair braided all over her head in little braids and tied up with two bandannas - to give her some waves tomorrow. It made me think back when she was little. We always rolled her hair in sponge rollers on Saturday nights for Sunday church. She is laying in my bed now watching Full House - where the girls are still real little. Guess, it's time for me to go and curl up in bed with her and watch more TV.

Thursday, November 01, 2007

Pumpkin Moonshine


Emily and I read the sweetest little book today. I had never heard of it before. It's called Pumpkin Moonshine and is by Tasha Tudor - so you know the illustrations are darling!! I think Ms. Tudor will be Emily's next artist study. The story is of a cute little girl in blue dress and bonnet with a white apron named Sylvie Ann and her dog Wiggy and their journey on bringing home a very big pumpkin. I think I found this book in one of Dawn's posts on October readings - By Sun and Candlelight. Thanks Dawn.