Stephanie and Me, Deanna and Sarah

 

Stephanie and I are 9 years apart.  And our daughters our 9 years apart.  I often wonder if they will be the best of friends when they are older like Stephanie and I are? 

Old, old picture…. Me, Trevor, Stephanie and Stephen

 

Sarah and Deanna

Jordan is a guitar playing machine lately…

 

Jordan bought himself an electric guitar in September 2010.  And he has been teaching himself how to play ever since.  In December he decided to try to learn some songs, so he pulled out the Reader’s Digest Christmas Songbook and picked a couple of songs to try.  By the end of December he had worked his way through a great number of songs.  I had him send me a list of what he has been learning:

above all,

shout to the lord,

silent night,

hark the herald angels sing,

deck the halls,

we three kings of orient are,

joy to the world,

the first noel,

o come all ye faithful,

away in a manger,

angels we have heard on high,

i'll be home for christmas,

christmas in killarney,

rudolph the red-nosed reindeer,

i saw mommy kissing santa claus,

santa claus is comin' to town,

up on the housetop,

frosty the snow man,

nuttin' for christmas,

my favorite things,

jingle bells,

jingle-bell rock,

the little drummer boy,

o holy night,

one boy one girl 

That is quite a list for one month.  He says it is  FUN to play guitar now that he can play songs and not just do learning exercises.  He has even taken to trying to teach his sister Deanna once in a while or his friend Josh (when they are willing to participate). 

Last night he asked me to find the sheet music for the song “Hallelujah” by Leonard Cohen.  I look forward to hearing him play this song.  Deanna is going to learn to sing it…. and if Wes learns the chords for it, they could have a great little family band going.  :o)

Happy rabbit trails to you, until we meet again… :o)

 

1.  I made chili on the weekend and it got great reviews.  I never make chili the same way twice.  This time I based it on this recipe (http://www.homemakers.com/food-and-recipes/cowboy-chili/r/8560).

Here is my ingredient list:

2 lbs cooked ground beef (seasoned with garlic, onions, salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper)

chopped celery

chopped onion

finely diced mushrooms

2 large cans of diced tomatoes

1 large can of roasted garlic tomato sauce

2 cans of chick peas (Jordan doesn’t like beans so I use chickpeas)

4 tsp chili powder

1 tbsp paprika

2 tsp cumin

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp black pepper

4 cloves of garlic crushed

1 tbsp oregano

2 tsp salt

3 bay leaves

I think I added a couple of cups of water too, but I am not 100% sure.  :o)

I cooked it all day on Saturday.  Chilled it overnight.  And then let it simmer all afternoon Sunday and then served it with sour cream.  Super yummy!

 

2.  Now that I have a Kitchen Aid, I really want to make bread.  Here is one recipe I found to try.  http://pebblecrossing.blogspot.com/2010/12/basic-whole-wheat-bread-baking-mixer.html

 

3.  I should have made some of this while Sarah and Isaiah were here – peanut butter playdough.  Fun!  http://almostunschoolers.blogspot.com/2011/01/peanut-butter-play-dough.html

 

4.  Discussion topic to do with the kids…. what are your personal core values?   http://ezinearticles.com/?Personal-Core-Values&id=73132

 

5.  Carnival of Home School (I haven’t read one of these in a long time) - http://whyhomeschool.blogspot.com/2011/01/carnival-of-homeschool-week-262-5th.html

 

6.  Busyness:  the thief of family memories -- http://www.disciplelikejesus.com/blog/?p=704

 

7.  Following a guy who actually does stuff -- http://www.alanknox.net/2011/01/following-a-guy-who-actually-does-stuff/

 

8.  Kirk Cameron interviews Alex and Brett Harris, authors of the book “Do Hard Things” - http://www.therebelution.com/blog/2011/01/video-kirk-cameron-interviews-alex-and-brett – I think the kids and I should reread this book and the second one “Start Here”.

 

9.  COOL!   Build a stylish lego table -- http://ana-white.com/2010/12/moms-lego-table.html

 

10.  Make your own “CLOROX ANYWHERE” recipe - http://dealseekingmom.com/make-your-own-clorox-anywhere-recipe/

 

11.  Once a month cooking prep of make your own “cream of” soups - http://www.kitchenstewardship.com/2010/01/27/once-a-month-cooking-prep-cream-of-casseroles/

 

12.  AHEA convention (I think I may actually attend this year) - http://www.aheaonline.com/convention_documents/convention_2011_brochure.pdf

 

13.  The Many Faces of the Month (I LOVE this project idea!)  - http://thepioneerwoman.com/homeschooling/2011/01/the-many-faces-of-the-month

 

14.  More than meals -- http://www.alanknox.net/2011/01/more-than-meals/

 

15.  “Doing Church”  - http://dkevinbrown.wordpress.com/2011/01/07/doing-church/

 

16.  House Church – Mutual Edification - http://eric-carpenter.blogspot.com/2011/01/house-church-mutual-edification.html

 

17.  Real life minimalist Katy - http://www.missminimalist.com/2011/01/real-life-minimalists-katy/  (I read a lot about minimalism lately, it is a very attractive lifestyle to me. )

 

18.  ALBERTA FOOTHILLS WEATHER – January 9 winter carnage -- http://blog.boomerphoto.com/2011/01/09/january-9-winter-carnage/

 

19.  10 SIMPLE TRUTHS SMART PEOPLE FORGET ( I am going to read this to the kids during our tea time tonight.)  - http://www.marcandangel.com/2011/01/10/10-simple-truths-smart-people-forget/

 

20.  Are you trying too hard?  (I haven’t read this one yet.)  - http://heartofwisdom.com/blog/are-you-trying-too-hard/

 

That is it for tonight.  Goodnight all!