Some of the Joys of Homeschooling!

This month we have done some quite interesting things - other than all of the baking that is adding inches as I speak! For starters, MaKenna and Caleb have planted some herbs for me in little clay pots. They were so excited!

Here is the dirt getting ready for the pots:

Adding seeds and dirt to the pot:

Add the stakes and wait for growth:

After just a few days, here is what we saw:

Then, after a few more days:

They are growing basil, parsley, cilantro, chives and thyme. I can't wait to use some of it!

In other adventures... Science has been elctricity and magnetism, so we got to learn about fuses and do this fun experiment - thankful that the house didn't burn down!

Our experiment involved using an instrument we built for electrical charges and using steel wool as a fuse. We had to basically ignite the steel wool with a charge of electricity and see what happened. Thankfully, the wool acted as a fuse and "shut down" when it got too hot - otherwise, my hands might have looked like our marshmallows!

Trying to get a spark:

Ignite!:

Oh, for joy!

We have also done some experiments using static electricity:

Homeschooling has so much to offer - I couldn't have this kind of fun with my kids otherwise! Add that to my thankful list - getting to be with my kids everyday and we still love each other!

Only in Florida!

Friday night was another cold night for central Florida. And how did the DeVore's handle that? With a cookout, of course! Mark grilled burgers and we had homemade mac and cheese and corn. The funny thing is that we ate... OUTSIDE, on the pool deck, in front of the fire pit, with the fire going! Are we silly or what? It was actually cooler than we look - I was freezing! It was about 50 at this time - not too cold to you Northern people, but to us with thin blood, that is cold!

After dinner we roasted some marshmallows and the kids made smores.

The girls like them more burnt, but the guys like them almost raw - how do you like your marshmallows?

We really had a nice evening laughing and being together - one more thing to be thankful for!

Thankful

As we are entering the season of advent, I have found myself doing a lot of soul searching. The more I read God's Word, the more I realize that I am not doing all that He has called me to do. This year, my heart's desire is to spend my time, money, focus and energies on the things that are important to Him and not get caught in the traps of the world. I am going to do my best to lean on Him and follow this verse:

"And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful." Colossians 3:15

Simple - just be thankful! For faith, family, friends, food, homes, even for shoes, toothpaste, brushes, running water, things we truly take for granted. Do we even have any idea how blessed we are? A friend who went on a mission trip to Guatemala told of the Pastor's son who had outgrown his shoes. There was no money for more, so he had to cut the toes off of his old shoes so they would fit. Do I really know how blessed I am?

If you scroll to the bottom of my posts, you will see an inspirational video that you must see. (I only moved it to the bottom because I never know the content of the other videos youtube will include with the one I uploaded. If there is something objectionable, I will remove it). It just makes you think, you know. So, I pray that you will feel blessed, inspired and giving as we enter the season that we celebrate our Lord's birth.

My turn!

I have been thinking for a few weeks now that I should post on here some of the yummy things we have been making - ever since the great response to the Dinner in a Pumpkin. But, I just haven't gotten around to it. But, I have been inspired by Beth to actually post some of them so you can enjoy them too! I know that I love to try new recipes, so why shouldn't you???!!!

We tried this recipe last week and can't seem to stop making them! I can tell you now that my resolution is going to need to be fasting from these cookies - they are so good! We make them a little more nutritious, though - does that help??

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies (the name just grabs you, doesn't it????)

1/2 c. butter

1-1 1/2 c. sugar

1 egg

1 c. pumpkin (we used fresh, but canned would work too)

1 tsp. vanilla

2 1/2 c. flour (we used fresh whole wheat)

1 tsp. baking soda

3/4 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. each cinnamon and nutmeg

1/4 tsp. salt

3/4 c. chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 300. Cream butter and sugar til light and fluffy. Beat in egg, pumpkin and vanilla. Add rest of ingredients and mix well. (I also added some ground flax - I put this in almost everything!) It will be kind of thick. Scoop the size you would like onto ungreased baking sheet. They do spread out some. Bake at 300 for 22-24 minutes (based on size of your cookies, you may need to modify). It is important that they cook at the low temp for longer than regular cookies. They are kind of dense and cake like. Remove from oven, let sit for a minute or so, then remove to rack to cool. ENJOY!

These are soooo good - I know that you will love them!

More recipes to come soon - not just goodies, either. We have had some yummy meals lately! Can't wait to share with you!

Girls in Demand

Holly and MaKenna probably spent this past weekend wishing there was 2 of them, like in this picture! They sure were busy enough.

They were called on Thursday to work at the church in the office helping Sister Barbara. How fun and rewarding for them!

They were not even quite done with that when our neighbor across the street called and asked if they were available to pet sit for the weekend. They love to do that and happily agreed! So, twice a day for Friday through Sunday they took care of her dog and bird - fed, watered, let out and spent time with.

Saturday morning, they went with our youth group to Hands on Orlando to prepare food baskets for the needy. That was quite an experience for them!

Saturday night, we received a call from a friend who had a last minute need for a babysitter late Sunday night. They are a great family we have been reaching out to and it was for after church, so they took the job, knowing how much we love their kids and how much fun they would have!

Wow - what a busy time for them, but lots of fun and rewarding memories in the midst of it all!

Friday Thoughts - Hope in the Lord

It seems like everywhere you turn these days, there is more and more bad news. The economy, people turning from God in astounding ways as never before, wars, murders, etc. We all hear it - even my family with no TV- and it bombards our lives at every turn. It is even directly affecting many of us in untold ways.

In the midst of all of that, what has been in my heart for the past couple of weeks is that my hope is not in this world! It never was meant to be. Thank God for that - there isn't much to hope in it anyway. So, last night I was praying for a few specific things and I asked God to give me something in His Word that I could lean on right NOW, in these uncertain times. I opened my Bible and turned right to Psalm 37. In this particular Bible, there is a little one line subject above each chapter and here was the subject above Psalm 37:

'He will not forsake His saints'

Praise God! I began to cry in thankfulness - for answering my prayer and for the promises in His Word. You have to read that whole Psalm for yourself - especially if you are feeling a little hopeless today. Here are a few things that stood out to me:

vs. 3-4 - 'Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness. Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.' - I love the phrase "befriend faithfulness". That just spoke to me. True friends are always there - good times and bad, so I must remember to be faithful to my Lord, my faith, my commitments at all times.

vs. 5 - 'Commit your way to the Lord; trust in Him and He will act.' - What a promise for those who commit their ways to God - He will act! On my behalf!!

vs. 12-13 - 'The wicked plots against the righteous and gnashes his teeth at him, but the Lord laughs at the wicked, for He sees that his day is coming.' - In the midst of the abortion rights, homosexual marriage rights, anti-Christian movements, etc., isn't it encouraging to know that God is laughing at them! Their plots may last for short victories, but God knows who wins in the end, and we should remind ourselves of that as well!

vs. 23-24 - 'The steps of a man are established by the Lord, when he delights in his way; though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong, for the Lord upholds his hand.' - This verse means so much to me, because even after all these years serving Him, I still do dumb things and make mistakes and "fall", but if I delight in the Lord's way, then even when I fall, He is there holding my hand and lifting me back up again. Thank you Jesus.

vs. 25 - 'I have been young, and now am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or his children begging bread.' - that is one of my favorites of all time, because I can know that in spite of any circumstance this world goes through, I can trust in the Lord.

There are so many more great verses in that Psalm, that I could truly even copy the whole thing, but you should read it for yourself.

After reading all of that, it got me thinking about hoping in God. Here are some other verses I found to encourage your soul today:

Jeremiah 17:7 Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is.

Psalm 71:14 But I will hope continually, and will yet praise thee more and more.

Psalm 33:18 Behold, the eye of the LORD is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy;

Psalm 38:15 For in thee, O LORD, do I hope: thou wilt hear, O Lord my God.

So many promises in God's word. I am thankful to know Him today and to know that I can hope in Him, even when everything around me is going wrong. There is great peace in that. He truly does give us peace when we fix our minds on Him.

I will end with this verse as a prayer for you (and for me!):

Romans 15:13 Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.

The Daily Grind and Random Thoughts

Does anyone but me ever feel like you are so busy, but can't really tell what it is that you are busy with? Am I alone in this seeming contradiction that I feel occasionally?

Maybe the problem is that I have become soooo efficient with my life that there is not very much to do anymore - Ha ha!!! That is surely not it! I look at the piles of clothes the kids have outgrown, chores I am behind on, dishes, ministry details needed to be taken care of, etc. and know that that is the furthest thing from the truth. Some days I feel like I just kind of get by, in a busy way, but don't accomplish much. Boy is that frustrating. And now, I take the time to blog and forget about the dishes, the clothes, the chores, etc.!!

So, I could blog about my sickness last week that put me out for most of the week, or the muffins the girls have been making or the cute things we have taught Maggie to do, but I really just feel... BUSY! And this has to be the silliest blog ever posted! Maybe I am just taking advantage of the opportunity to express myself where it feels "safe!!" Maybe I want to make Beth feel like her blog is hip and happening compared to mine!! =D

Either way it is, I guess I just decided to stop for a minute to let all of you know in blogland that I am still around and life is going on, I am just a little busy these days!

I am just thankful that Jesus can help us to enjoy our busyness - especially when my busyness is so fulfilling in being with my children and working at my church in things that God has given me to do. The other things are really just fillers anyway for the more important things.

When my kids were little, I kept a plaque either near my rocking chair or in their room that said:

Cooking and cleaning can wait til tomorrow

For babies grow up, I've learned to my sorrow

So, settle down cobwebs, dust go to sleep

I'm rocking my baby and babies don't keep.

I always loved that poem because it helped me keep my focus on the important things. My personality can get easily overwhelmed with things that seem important, but in the big picture are really not. And, now that my babies are not babies anymore, I strive to remember in the busyness that they are the most important job of my life and to enjoy every part of the journey with them. Teenagers don't keep either!

So, whether you are busy or bored today, I hope that you find happiness and contentment doing it. Thanks for taking the time to let me share my very random thoughts with you! And now, back to work - whatever it may be at this moment!

Get Out and VOTE!

I hope that all of you have made the decision to get out and vote tomorrow if you haven't already! It is an incredible honor and privilege that people die for every day and we should make it count.

Mark and I (with our kids) went to vote Saturday - the last day for early voting here. Here is the line we were in at the North Orange Library branch:

For those of you familiar with that location, we started out in the U-Haul parking lot next door to the library. The line went down the sidewalk along 436, along the parking lot sidewalk and then around the library!

We were there for 3 hours! Sister Mary Reid was there as well, 2 people behind us, and she ended up joining us and we had a nice visit! And yes, it was worth it!

One of the ladies running for the OC School Board was there - I had planned to vote for her over her opponent anyway, but was curious about her views on homeschooling, so I decided to ask her. I found out that she homeschooled both of her kids at different points and that secured my choice!

Can you tell who Holly and MaKenna support??!!

Caleb even made up a little rhyme: Use your brain, vote for McCain!

It was a great experience for them to see Freedom in action and to take part, even if by observation only, in this important decision. Now, we leave it in God's hands, because no matter the outcome, He is the one in control of it all! We vote for Jesus daily in the DeVore house!

So, as a final note, make every effort to get to the polls and make Freedom count by casting your ballot. It is truly one of the most American things we can do.

Prayer for a Nation

I am sure that I am not alone in the fact that I have spent a lot of time in prayer for our nation the past couple of weeks.

The Bible says: "If MY people which are called by MY name shall humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land." (2 Chronicles 7:14)

Isn't it odd that it is His people, those called by His name who are asked to pray and turn from their wicked ways? Why are we not doing that already? As God's people, we need to be on our knees asking for forgiveness and turn our hearts back to Him, completely - not the part that is leftover after we have given our all to other things. He who created us, redeemed us, blessed us, saved us, deserves what is first and best from us - how could we give less when He gave His all???

I will be continuing to pray for our nation over the next couple of days and hope that you will join me.