Snow 2010...and ice cream!

After 2 other failed attempts, we finally have snow on the ground! Not even enough to cover the grass, but enough to sled, make snow balls and just have fun playing...and make snow ice cream.

If you live in an area that gets snow, try this easy recipe for snow ice cream...

Mix cream and vanilla...(I actually used french vanilla creamer because I didn't have regular cream). In a chilled bowl, layer snow, sprinkle with sugar ( I use Splenda) and then repeat layers. On the top slowly add the cream/vanilla mixture and fold into the snow/sugar layers...gently until blended. You have to work quickly, but gently until it's mixed well. And of course you must eat immediately! Enjoy.

Going Rogue...

Rogue, as an adjective means no longer obedient, belonging or accepted and hence not controllable or answerable. There are many more definitions for this word, but I think this is what Sarah Palin's new book Going Rogue is referring to regarding her. One of the things I love about Sarah Palin is that she will not be controlled if it goes against what she believes...she is bold and confident enough to stand her ground. I think she is a warrior...she is warring for the future...she knows we are in an ongoing battle. Not just a physical war, but a spiritual one as well.

I recently bought this book and began reading. Before I even got to the political part of the book, the first couple of chapters tells of Sarah and her family growing up in Alaska. Since Alaska is not a state we hear much about, I thought the girls would enjoy reading at least these chapters with me. Sarah really makes growing up there sound quaint and interesting and she paints a charming picture of her parents and grandparents and how they helped make her the person she is today.

I didn't think the girls would want to read the entire book and about the politics of it all, but they are really enjoying it so far. The other day I walked in and Shelby (my 13 year old) was sitting there reading the book by herself. She really likes Sarah Palin and thinks the book is fascinating and now said she wants to read the entire book.

You never know what will really captivate children. We try this and that hoping something will catch their interest. As my girls grow and mature, it's fun to see them developing into the young women that God has created them to be. He has a purpose and plan for each one of us...my job as a mom is to give them the opportunities and guidance so they find the right path. With our family being so involved in politics you have to figure at least one of our children will pick up that interest. Guy keeps saying Shelby will be the one to become President...or at least another Sarah Palin...maybe. I wouldn't mind my daughter being defined as 'rogue'. I want her to stand her ground on what she believes...be unashamed and not be controlled by mainstream, politically correct puppet-masters. Be strong, bold... and yes... Rogue!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! Hope you had a wonderful and blessed Christmas and New Year celebration! We have recently moved to Charlotte, NC and took the month of December getting settled into our new home. We really love it here and are glad to finally get back to a 'normal' life...whatever that looks like.

I love beginning the new year with the Tournament of Roses Parade...I've watched that since I was a little girl. It amazes me how much they put into all the floats...the structures covered in beautiful flowers, seeds and natural items. Just amazing...and I can only imagine how wonderful the frangrences are as the floats come rolling by.

Like most things in life for a homeschool mom...it sparked an idea for a project with the children. I've actually had this art project in the back of my mind for years, just never had the opportunity to put it into action. The parade this year brought this idea out of my head and into a tangible format. I didn't want to bombard the kids with heavy schooling right off the bat but rather do something fun to ease us back into the routine, so we started with 'bean art'. Yes, bean art. If you google bean art, you will find a lot of posters and photos of beans...which are pretty cool. Someone even created a portrait of Larry King...all with beans! Amazing.

Usually when I present projects like this to the kids, they grumble, but then go along just to make me happy. They get into the project for a while, but get bored quickly and end up not finishing what we started and then I'm left to clean up the mess. Yesterday was a total surprise for me. They started the project and LOVED it! My 13 year old even said at one point, "mom, this is a good lesson in patience." I also heard them complimenting each other on their work. (Words to warm a mother's heart...lol) The other lessons in this project included planning and art design because we drew a design with pencils before we added the beans, plus all the other eliments of art. The girls created smaller pictures, while I worked on a large one. (I've realized if I do a project with them, they enjoy it more and stick with it longer than if I just assign it and let them go it alone) I thought they would do one and quit, but they enjoyed it so much they each ended up with 3 finished pieces. I found little 3.5" x 3.5" frames at the Target dollar spot...a package of 3 frames for $2.50. So they did pieces to fit these frames. My girls are also into photography, so the photos you see here are all ones they took. Who knew beans could be so beautiful?
After this project was complete, we learn how to quick boil beans and make bean soup...yum! And they also made a bean identifying chart, looking up on the internet the different kinds of beans and writting about the characteristics of each one, including what they taste like and how to best cook them.

One last note. I started this blog this past summer, got busy and frustrated with uploading pictures and quit blogging. I realized yesterday that my 16 year old daughter is old enough to help me...and she enjoys working on the computer. So part of her schooling for this year will be to help me keep our blog updated. Maybe we will get more on here this way. Take some time out this week to try bean art. Frames $2.50, a bag of 15 bean soup $2.50, some poster board and glue...a great art piece for $5.00.

A few days in Orlando...

We had plans to do several day trips while staying in Orlando, FL. We wanted to go to St. Augustine and do some other things we had never done before. When we arrived at our resort tho, there was so much to do and we were so tired of being on the road, we ended up staying right there and only left the property for groceries.

We stayed at the Marriott ????? Resort that my mom traded using her time share she bought many moons ago. There were activies going on all day and night and they had a fantastic pool and activity center.

Other than all the walking we did around the resort property, mom and I also tried out the yoga and pilates classes. We are both so out of shape. I loved the aqua fusion class. It's a mix of yoga, water arobics and pilates. It was really nice and not too hard on your body. If you can find some water weights, it's the best way to go and using a noodle was a good workout as well. These classes really inspired us to get movin' more.

Guy came down for the week to stay with us and we all enjoyed playing ping pong, shuffle board, pool and walking the beautifully landscaped resort grounds. The girls and I also sang karaoke one night. We really need to find a song or two to practice before we do this again.

Friday night Shannon came down to visit and we met her new beau, Asher. Very nice guy and is so good to Shannon.

Tomorrow off to Miami for the cruise!

Etowah River, North Georgia

It's such a beautiful drive from Louisville to North Georgia...through the green rolling hills with grazing horses of Kentucky to the curvy, narrow mountain roads of Tennessee and North Georgia. While visiting Guy's brother and his family, we took all the children to the Etowah River where we walked along a nice boardwalk path lined with Mountain Laurel blooms and wildlife until we came upon the river pools filled with tadpoles, in between the rocks and rapids. The kids love playing in the water pools there, sliding down the rocks and hoping from one rock to the other. From what we were told, the water was unusally high in the river due to all the recent rains. This made the rapids more powerful and exciting.

Ben and Abby slid down a rock into a water pool and Shelby followed. For whatever reason, Shelby got stuck in the under current and could not pull herself out. After seeing her bob up and down in the water a few times, we were able to get Ben's attention and he pulled her out. Only God knows just how close she was to drowning. I have never been so scared. All the adults were on another rock about 100 yards away with only the raging water and more rocks between us and her...there was NO way we could get to her. I felt totally helpless. Thank the Lord for a 6'1" older cousin and Abby who sat with her afterwards while Shelby caught her breath.

Even with all the trama and anxiety of the day, it was wonderful to spend time with family that we had not seen in about 3 years. The kids have all changed so much and are growing way too fast.

Panama City Beach, Florida

Mother's Day weekend was a treat. After not seeing my husband for 3 weeks, he came to Florida to see Tiana and I. We spent the weekend at Emerald Beach where my mom has a condo... go here if you need a place to stay in Panama City Beach, FL... http://emeraldbeach1028.shutterfly.com/.

It's a great resort and very near Pier Park with lots of restuarants and shopping. Tiana and I spent 2 days between the pool and the beach. When the water was calmer and the yellow flag was flying, we would dig for sea shells...for hours. Oh the treasures we found. We decided we would only keep the near perfect shells and we found plenty...Olive shells, scallop shells, cats paws, augers, jingle shells...so fun!

Me relaxing by the pool on Mother's Day!

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Here is Tiana sorting her finds.

She is OBSESSED with sea shells right now.