Our family's website, PeacefulHome.net, is in the process of changing hosting companies and is currently inactive. Our plan is to move this blog over once construction is complete. Please stay tuned for updates!
Last year I discovered the Sandra Boyton Mom's Family Calendar. My children have all grown up with her books and love seeing their old "friends" on the wall. And I'm not alone. It has a 5/5 star rating!Why we love it:"Running 17 months, from August 2009 through December 2010,
MOM'S has an oversize, vertical grid with five columns across the top (one for each family member) and the days of the month running down the left side. There's plenty of space for everyone's activities, and Mom and Dad can see who's doing what with just a glance,. Includes a drop-down storage pocket, 500 stickers, and write-on, wipe-off magnetic phone list for the fridge."
Since there are 10 in our family, we each share a column (and all but a couple days a year that works just fine!). I write on it with an extra-fine point Sharpie, putting the child's color-coded initial in front of the activity (look out, I'm color-coding again).
Don't have 5 in your family? Use the extra column(s) to record other events like extended family members' birthdays!
Have you ever extracted a promise from your child to clean-up an activity only to come back in the room later to a huge mess with the mess-maker no where to be found? This makes my blood boil, so I'm always looking for ways to avoid this situation since a mama with boilin' blood does not a Peaceful Home make.All of my children have their special "loves." A blanket, a Barney, a chicken, a dog. Those items that no bedtime can be without. Now when one of my little darlings want to play with a special toy with many pieces, work a puzzle, or do a messy craft, they have to offer their "love" in exchange.I'll put the sacrificial blanket up high in the pantry to be returned when the activity is cleaned up. It's so cute to see Brigitta walk up, holding out her blanket and say, "May I please play Disney Castle?" Things are more often cleaned up with out reminders.True confession time: One night at bedtime, we couldn't find Brigitta's blanket. Yup, you guessed it. A couple hours later, Emelie walked in the pantry and came out asking, "Why is Bitta's pinkie up on the shelf?" Whoops!
I made up a batch of these cookies for a Ladies' Tea this past weekend. They looked so festive! I can see the possibilities for making them work for many different holidays by changing the Jell-O color. I took them scrapbooking where Stacia and Kate asked for the recipe, so here you are, ladies:
JELL-O® Pastel Cookies
3-1/2 cups flour
1 tsp. CALUMET Baking Powder
1-1/2 cups (3 sticks) butter or margarine, softened
1 cup sugar
2 pkg. (4-serving size each) JELL-O Gelatin, any flavor, divided
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
PREHEAT oven to 400°F. Mix flour and baking powder; set aside. Beat butter in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until creamy. Gradually add sugar and 1 pkg. of the dry gelatin, beating until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla; mix well. Gradually add flour mixture, beating until well blended after each addition.
SHAPE dough into 1-inch balls. Place, 2 inches apart, on ungreased baking sheets. Flatten with bottom of clean glass. Sprinkle with remaining dry gelatin.
BAKE 8 to 10 min. or until edges are lightly browned. Remove from baking sheets to wire racks. Cool completely. Store in tightly covered container at room temperature.
Stumpfs Notes: I divided my dough in half before adding the Jell-O. I added strawberry to one half, lime to the other. I mixed these up in the food processor and they were quick & easy!
It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas! Bryan and the children went to Dull's Tree Farm today to cut down our tree. We'll decorate it on Monday night. It was too cold out for the little ones, so I took one for the team and stayed home to nap. Tough job, tough job.
The next couple weeks, as things seem busier than usual, I'm striving to keep things simple here at home. Dinners that cook themselves, paper plates if necessary, a few minutes each evening cutting clutter and tidying up to keep the house in OK shape.
Tomorrow I'll roast a couple chickens. Most of one will be eaten for dinner. The other will be used in menus throughout the next month (like this week's chicken fajitas). Part of my plan to free up some more time.
This week we'll be enjoying:
Monday - Roasted Chicken, Buttered Rice, Salad, Rolls
Tuesday (Homeschool Group, Horse Judging) - Franks & Beans (crockpot), Cornbread
Wednesday (AWANA) - Frozen Pizza, Mac 'n Cheese
Thursday - Chicken Fajitas, Chips & Salsa, Corn
Friday - Bible Study
Saturday - Sandwich Rolls
Find more menus at
orgjunkie.com. Our menus for the year can be found at our website. Breakfast menu is here; Lunch is here. What's on your menu this week?
This came in an email tonight from our Pastor. Please send a prayer for comfort to those left behind.
From the Aquila Report:
Sudden and Powerful Storm Takes Lives of Two Bristol, Virginia Women, Members of St. Peter Presbyterian Church
Written by Don Clements
Friday, 04 December 2009 14:17
Two women, both members of St. Peter Presbyterian Church in Mendota, Va., were killed in an auto accident caused by a powerful storm this past Wednesday night, December 2.
The accident happened when a massive tree fell and crashed on a rural highway in southwest Virginia near the town of Mendota, located about a half-hour’s drive north of Bristol, Va. Stories like this happen many times a day throughout the U.S., but seldom do they have such a deep impact on one church.
The two women were driving in a Ford F-350 multi-passenger van along State Route 622. The Highway Patrol report indicates that 39-year-old Theresa Bullen and 44-year-old Deaun Brockmyre died instantly in the freak accident where a huge and sudden downdraft totally uprooted a large tree which came down directly on the van. Bullen was driving northbound when the tree, at least 70 feet tall and two feet in diameter, fell directly across the front of their van. Brockmyre was in the passenger seat. No one else was in the vehicle, and no other vehicles were involved. The ladies were returning home to Mendota from a shopping trip.
Mrs. Bullen leaves behind a husband and nine children; Mrs. Brockmyre a husband and eight children. Both ladies were members of St. Peter Presbyterian Church, a Confederation of Reformed and Evangelical Churches (CREC) congregation in Mendota, one of a couple of related churches in the area. The Reverend R. C. Sproul, Jr., Director of the nearby HighlandStudyCenter, serves as one of the pastors of the churches.
On Thursday, pastors and members of the church were already coming together to help both families cope with their loss. “We are committed to helping these families in any possible way we can and I know both of these families have been a part of our church for a long time and they are confident that they can count on us,“ said Pastor Sproul.
Obituary notices for Mrs. Brockmyre is below, but details for Mrs. Bullen, who will be buried next Tuesday, are still pending. More details will be posted as they are received - now expected by Sunday moring. (Please note that the Eric Dye shown as a brother to Mrs. Brockmyre is NOT the PCA minister by the same name.)
Deaun Ruth Dye Brockmyre: We mourn the loss of our treasured daughter, wife, mother and friend but give thanks in the assurance that our beloved, Deaun is rejoicing with her Lord and Savior. Deaun Ruth Dye Brockmyre, age 44, went to Heaven on Wednesday, Dec. 2, 2009, following an automobile accident. Deaun was loved by many for her sweet gentle spirit and generous heart. She was born in Richmond, Va., and had worked as a nurse and case manager at BristolRegionalMedicalCenter before devoting her time to raising and home schooling her children. She was a member of St. Peter Presbyterian Church and a shining example of faith and devotion. She is survived by her husband, Dr. Andrew Brockmyre, MD; five daughters, Heather Bailey and husband Ryan of Lexington, Va., Isabel, Bliss, Maeve and Ellianna Brockmyre; three sons, Calvin, Christopher and Benjamin Brockmyre; her parents, Dr. Daniel and Phyllis Compton Dye of Bristol Tennessee; one brother, Eric Daniel Dye and wife Mandy Mink Dye of Knoxville, Tenn.; and several nieces and nephews. The funeral service will be conducted at 2 p.m.Sunday, Dec. 6, 2009, at FirstBaptistChurch, BristolVirginia, with R.C. Sproul Jr., Laurence Windham, Wayne Hays and Mark Dewey officiating. The committal service and interment will be at 4 p.m. Sunday in RussellMemorialCemetery in Lebanon, Va. The family will receive friends from 6 8 p.m. Saturday at Akard Funeral Home. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Samaritan's Purse, P.O. Box 3000, Boone, NC 28607. E-mail condolences may be sent to the family at akardfh@akardfuneralhome.com
Akard Funeral Home, 1912 W. State St., Bristol, TN (423) 989-4800, is serving the family of Mrs. Brockmyre.
We don't have a school room, per se. When we lived in our tiny home, I dreamed of a room lined with books, filled with art supplies, a comfy couch or two...You get the idea.When we designed this home, I had the opportunity to put in a school room, but by that point our school style had changed to the point that I no longer wanted one. I wanted to be able to keep the momentum going even while I cooked or did laundry. However, since homeschooling still comes with lots of "stuff," we needed a way to keep everything tidy.We keep many of our supplies in the "nook" off the kitchen. We have cupboard and file cabinets that we bought for $40 when Bryan's company moved. The table is used more for crafting than school, since school really takes place all over the rest of the house - primarily in the living room and dining room.
Since the children don't have desks, we keep all their books in Wal-mart available bins. Some of these bins (the blue ones) are going on 9 years old! The bins make it easy for the children to take their schoolwork wherever they want to work (a portable desk!), as well as making it easy for me to grade or find their work from the previous week. We used these when we lived in our small house (stacked up only taking up 1.5 sq. feet on the floor), when we lived in our "temporary house" when everything was in storage (decorating the living room), and even now (on the shelves) when we have more room. Simple, easy, effective.
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