From Tiny to Teen

Are you looking for something special to read this Christmas?  Here are three fantastic choices.  

When my review copies arrived my children couldn’t wait to get their little hands on the beautifully illustrated picture books titled God Gave Us Christmas and God Gave us Love.

God Gave Us Christmas is a sweet story of a little bear cub that asks his Mommy to help him find Santa.  Instead she suggests they look for God.  On their journey together Moma bear points out God’s light through the northern lights, His power that is able to move glaciers, the morning star, a surprise flower that bloomed unexpected.  With each discovery Moma bear points her cub to the real reason for celebration: the birth of Jesus.  God Gave Us Christmas is clever and delicate at explaining that Jesus is more important and exciting than Santa.  This is accomplished without denying Santa’s existance, but recognizing him as a reminder to be generous and caring to others.  The illustrations are very impressive.  You can find this book at: http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9781400071753

God Gave Us Love is another special book for little ones.  I thought the cover to this book was adorable.  This story is about a little cub who struggles to understand how love can be shown even when it isn’t necessarily felt.  Grandpa bear teaches the little cub about the types of love, and addresses te fact that sometimes love is a choice simply because it’s the right thing.  Grandpa bear explains that God’s love is unfailing and shown to us in many special ways.  This story teaches children that God is love and He made us to love also.  I thought the author captured all the questions a child could have concerning love and placed them into a wonderful, well-written story.  For more information on God Gave Us Love you can go to

http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9781400074471

Seperate or together these books would make wonderful gifts for children on your Christmas list.  My children and I have read and re-read these books several times already.  These books are so beautifully illustrated that I am keeping them on top my children’s book shelf standing tall so their covers are displayed. In my opinion, the price for God Gave us Christmas and God Gave us Love is very resonable for the quality of the story and illustrations.       

For the grown up ladies on your Christmas list take a look at Treasured.

Treasured: Knowing God by the Things He Keeps is written by Leigh McLeroy.  She is inspired by a cigar box she inherited from her Grandfather.  It seemed like an odd thing to receive at first, but as she examined the items her Grandfather kept, she began to know him more.  In this way she discribes the objects that God might keep and what they might symbolize about his personality and character.  Objects include a fig leaf for His covering, an olive sprig for new beginnings, and many others.  One of my favorite objects that might be treasured by God was a Shepherd’s harp string showing that he cares about the little guy and can use unexpected people to accomplish extraordinary tasks. 

 In Treasured, Leigh McLeroy weaves bible stories, scripture and personal experiences together to make a pleasantly layered devotional.  Treasured also contains a personal reflections and discussion section that would work well for group study and application.  

You can read more about Treasured at http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9781400074815

*This book was provided for review by the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group.

 Happy Reading!

 

 

 So . . .you haven’t heard from me in a while.  Lately, my life has done what life tends to do . . .it caught me by surprise.

As a child I always hated change.  Everything about it upset me.  I’m really not any different now, I’ve just learned to function in the craziness that swirls inside of me when change approaches.

This time it came without warning.  That makes it the very worst sort of change.  Surprise change has the capability of changing so much more than just your circumstances or your environment.  Surprise change changes who you are.   

Lately there has been some buzz in the homeschool community about divorce.  I can say that this is a real and powerful attack of the enemy and, in my life, it came all too close.

From August to October my family faced its greatest test ever. 

In September the kids and I moved into a new home.  I hate packing, moving and  boxes, but I filled them up with our belongings and made arrangements to move yet again.  It’s my 4th house in the last 2 years! 

Everything in my life seemed to be crumbling and I really thought it could never be fixed.  In October God worked a miracle.

The Lesson:

Before we moved to our new house, my daughter Chloe made the proud discovery of this little creature outside:

 

 

I’ve heard things about poisonous caterpillars in Oklahoma so we got online and looked up her new friend.  He was a Giant Leopard Moth.  Being a homeschool family, we took advantage of the discovery and investigated further.  We learned all about him and kept him in an empty parmesan cheese container. 

We would pick four leaves off the tree out front every day to feed Chloe’s new friend affectionately named "Sparkles".  Sometimes Chloe would forget to feed Sparkles and I would creep outside in the dark hoping neighbors wouldn’t wonder why I was picking leaves off my tree in my pajamas.  I was amazed when he was still alive a month later.

 

We had just moved in to our new house.  I don’t think it had even been a week when we realized that Sparkles was not moving.  At first I hoped he was building a cocoon.  Maybe this would be a bigger learning opportunity than I had expected.  I wasn’t that lucky.  Sparkles was really, truly, dead.

I comforted my daughter, feeling her frustration at all the losses she was experiencing with a big dead caterpillar capping off the chaos around her.

That night it hit me that Sparkles had probobly died because he was away from his tree.  It was his food source and what was familiar to him.  He needed it to survive.

A few weeks passed and Chloe and her neighbor friend made a new discovery.

 

This is "Luna" the Luna Moth.  She was the biggest caterpillar I had ever seen in my life.  She was nearly 3 inches long!  She made a cocoon the next day and very quickly flew away, mature and healthy.

So how does all this fit into my crazy life circumstances?

I’m glad you asked.

My family had drifted from our tree, our source of life- God.  We were "serving" Him, "doing ministry" for Him and saying all the right words.  We were even feeling it at times.  However, we had become caught up with meeting the needs of others and pointing them to the tree so much that we rarely got around to eating from it ourselves.  Our very survival was at stake.  We had grown stale and apathetic and we were starving without realizing it. Eventually our marriage became as lifeless as Sparkles.

In the time apart from my husband God restored our love.  In late October we were reconciled.  God formed something new between us, something stronger and more beautiful.  He formed our love into a Luna experience.  It’s larger, more mature, and vibrant in color.  We became ready and eager to soar to new heights and experience new dimensions of ourselves and each other.  We remembered our source of life and fed ourselves with all He had to offer us.

It’s never too late I guess. 

If you are a Mom and wife struggling with the dynamics and disappointments that family can sometimes throw our way . . .get to "the tree".  Climb into the lap of God and ask questions.  Pray.  Seek Him through His Word and believe that something better could be around the corner.  Curl up and rest.  Cocoon yourself in His presence and wait for him to refresh you and teach you how to fly!

God is getting ready to do big things in my family.  The attack failed and I’m better equipped to protect against future advances of the enemy.  That’s my life lesson from a caterpillar.

 

 

I couldn’t choose just one favorite picture.  Here are my top picks for each of my four kids.  Sorry for the digital look you’ll see, but for resizing this was the best I could get.

 Caibry as a baby.

Nevie playing in the creek.

Baby Sadie.

Chloe in our backyard. 

                                       I think she’s beautiful.

I’m having a contest at one of my other blogs that I thought might interest some of my readers.  I’ll be giving away one copy of Blue Like Play Dough.  It’s an excellent book for mothers written by a homeschool mom who is the real deal.  Read the description below and head over to Novelized to enter my give away contest.  See you there!

 

Summary: 

In the everyday stretch and squeeze of motherhood, Tricia Goyer often feels smooshed by the demands of life. In Blue Like Play Dough, she shares her unlikely journey from rebellious, pregnant teen to busy wife and mom with big dreams of her own. As her story unfolds, Tricia realizes that God has more in store for her than she has ever imagined possible.

Sure, life is messy and beset by doubts. But God keeps showing up in the most unlikely places–in a bowl of carrot soup, the umpteenth reading of Goodnight Moon, a woe-is me teen drama, or play dough in the hands of a child.

In Tricia’s transparent account, you’ll find understanding, laughter, and strength for your own story. And in the daily push and pull, you’ll learn to recognizes the loving hands of God at work in your life… and know He has something beautiful in mind.

About the Author:

Tricia Goyer is the author of numerous works of fiction and nonfiction, including Generation NeXt Parenting and the Gold Medallion finalist Life Interrupted. Goyer writes for publications such as Today’s Christian Woman and Focus on the Family, speaks to women’s groups nationwide and has been a presenter at the Mothers of Preschoolers (MOPS) national convention. She and her husband, John, live with their family in Montana .

Head over to Novelized now and enter to win a free copy of Blue Like Play Dough!

To order Blue Like Play Dough visit Random House today.

This week’s Blog Hop is extra fun. Today we are all sharing recipes with our readers. I hope you’ll hop along with me and find all the creative and yummy recipies that will make our families smile. For my recipes I’ve decided to share some really special family recipes.  They include Mrs. O’Hagan’s Augratin Potatoes, Stuffed Cabbage Rolls and Civil War Fruitcake by Mrs. Sherwood Johnston . I hope you’ll love them as much as we do.

A bit about Mrs. O’Hagan: She was the sweet older woman who lived across the street from me growing up. To me, she was the lady with my house key whenever I got locked out (this was a weekly occurance). She would watch out for me in my latch key days and always reported any mischief too. She’s also the lady who who would give me ALL of her left over Halloween candy and pick me up from school if I got sick and no one else could come to get me. She was a great lady with a wonderful heart. I believe that food with history tastes better.  Knowing that this recipe is hers makes it a real treasure.

 

Mrs. O’Hagan’s Augratin Potatoes

 1 bag frozen southern style Hash browns

1 c. onions diced

2 cans of Cream of Potato soup ( I substitute Cream of mushroom sometimes)

1-1 1/2 c. water 1-2 pkg. Cracker Barrel brand Sharp Cheddar Cheese shredded

Mix all ingredients in a greesed 9×13 casserole dish and sprinkle with parmasan cheese.

Bake at 350 for 1 hour.

 *Diced ham makes a wonderful addition to this yummy, cheesy comfort food.

 

My next two recipes also have great history. They were found in a journal belonging to my Great Grandma along with her love letters from my Great Grandpa and detailed geneological family notes. They both passed away prior to my birth, but I feel like I know their personalities through their writings. These recipes were all written in her very own handwriting and copies were made for grandkids. These recipes and special letters are valuable pieces of my family history. (I have no idea who Mrs. Sherwood Johnston is, possibly she was a friend or neighbor of my Great Grandma).

 

Stuffed Cabbage Rolls

1 lb. ground beef                           

12 large cabbage leaves

1/4 lb. ground pork                         

2 tbsp. pure vegetable oil

2 tsp. pepper                                    

1/4 c. brown sugar   

3/4 c. cooked rice                           

1/4 c. lemon juice or vinegar

1 small onion, grated                        

2 (8oz.) cans tomato sauce

Combine beef, pork, pepper, rice, and onion onion with 1 can tomato sauce.

Soak cabbage leaves in boiling water for 4 min.

Drain.

Place equal amounts of meat mixture on each leaf.

Roll up.

Fold ends over, fasten with tooth-picks.

Brown in hot oil in a skillet.

Mix remaining sauce, brown sugar, and lemon juice.

Pour over rolls.

Simmer, covered for 1-1 1/2 hours, basting occassionally.

Makes 6 servings.

Civil War Fruit Cake

3 medium Apples cubed               

2 c. raisins

1 c. brown sugar                            

1 c. white sugar

2 c. water                                      

4 tbsp. lard

1 tsp. cloves                                   

1tsp. cinnamon

1tsp. nutmeg                         

3 tbsp. baking soda (less 3 tsp. soda)

1 tsp. salt                                       

3 c. flour

1/2 c. nuts

Mix apples, raisins, brown and white sugar, and lard.

Cook mixture for 5 minutes.

Cool to lukewarm.

Add dry ingredients and mix well.

Bake in tube pan at 350 for 1 hour.

 Enjoy!