Our Delightful Day

We had such an ordinary day, doing our usual things, but it was such a delightful day. Right after breakfast Caleb started working on his history project for Co-op. His topic is the Civil War. He worked on it all morning, and as he worked he had a smile on his face. I love that!

I will post pictures when his project is complete.

The boys played outside this afternoon and they had such fun playing together. This made me smile.

For dinner we had one of my favorite meals. I don't know why I like it so much, maybe because it makes me think of my Mom and all the delicious dinners we would have at her house on Sundays.

Picante Chicken: Take one cut up chicken and put it in the crock pot. Cover with picante sauce or chunky salsa (are they the same thing?). Cook on low for 8 hours. Serve with rice. It is so easy and tasty!

After dinner I took Caleb to TaeKwonDo. Luke and I went by Kroger and picked up a few items to make Taco Soup (I am craving it with the cooler weather). I realized driving around Bmt, that I just like being with my family, no matter what we are doing.

When we got home Caleb asked if he could please watch Return of the Jedi. He has not watched it yet and has been waiting for a long time. We told him either tonight or tomorrow night and since on Friday nights Aaron and I usually watch a movie together and we didn't want to give that up, he is watching it tonight. (I know he is staying up late, but what can I say, we homeschool. He can sleep in.) Before we started the movie I wanted to put some clothes away I had folded, so Caleb read books to Luke while I did that. He ended up reading books to Luke for 30 minutes, and it just made me glad to hear Caleb read, Go Dog Go and I Love Trains. So we really had a delightful day just being together. I hope you had a delightful day too!

My Cool Guys

What is Next?

Psalm 91:14-16 (The Message)

"If you'll hold on to me for dear life," says God, "I'll get you out of any trouble. I'll give you the best of care if you'll only get to know and trust me. Call me and I'll answer, be at your side in bad times; I'll rescue you, then throw you a party. I'll give you a long life, give you a long drink of salvation!"

Well we are holding on to God. Aaron just found out that he is getting laid off December 31st. He will get a good severance package. Aaron's plan is to attend school full time in January. He should be able to finish his degree in the summer. Then we will see what is next. Where will his next job take us? We will see. Maybe near you! :)

Crock Pot Apple Butter

I ran across a blog called, A Year of CrockPotting, where every day for a year she is making something using her crock pot. One of the recipes on there was for apple butter. At our house we all love apple butter (well except for one). This was so easy to make and so delicious. Here is the recipe:

About 25 small apples or 14 large apples cored and sliced (you can leave the skin on or take it off) I used Gala apples.
1 T vanilla
Put the apples and vanilla in a crock pot and cook on low for 8 hours.

Then add in 3/4 cup brown sugar, 2 Tbsp cinnamon, and 1/2 tsp cloves. Stir and cook for 6 more hours on low. Next transfer in small batches to a blender to get a nice consistency. (Even if you leave the skins on they will blend easily.) This makes a lot, you can keep it in the refrigerator for a month.

This apple butter is so good. We are having a lot of biscuits so we can eat our apple butter.

Popcorn!

October is Popcorn Popping Month in America. I have many fond memories growing up of almost every evening Dad would go into the kitchen and pop the whole family popcorn. And not the microwave stuff, he would make the best popcorn on the stove top. And he would always serve us before he had his.

Caleb read Popcorn! by: Elaine Landau. It is such a fun book that tells about the history of popcorn, how popcorn pops, and lots of interesting information about popcorn. The book is filled with funny drawings and jokes, too.


At the end of the book it gives suggestions for adding different toppings to your popcorn. We tried cheese, cinnamon sugar, raisins and nuts, and my favorite TexJoy.

Caleb's favorite was the plain popcorn, while Luke's was the popcorn with raisins.

My Glass is Half Full

Husband has had some bad news concerning his job. On Wednesday he had a meeting (he calls into their meetings and listens in) and they let everyone know that effective that day they were taking away premium pay. (He has a certain amount of claims to do each day, whatever he does over that number, he gets paid over and above his salary- that is premium pay.) Well Big A is a super worker and each paycheck he would get an extra $350 to $500 in premium pay. It has been like that for over a year. Needless to say we have gotten used to having the extra money. In the meeting his supervisor asked if anyone had questions and then she asked husband specifically if he had any questions. (I wonder if he was the biggest premium pay earner.) This year his company was bought out by another company that shall remain nameless. Part of the agreement was that they would keep premium pay at least to the end of the year. They said they took it away early because of market conditions. Also, for the past two weeks there has not been enough work for everyone to do. Today they let everyone take off as a vacation day. Back to the meeting, husband's company is in the process of switching all their policies over to a new system. Husband asked if or when they would be trained on the new system. His manager said that they would not be trained on the new system. What does that mean? We think it means that layoffs are coming. We are filled with questions. Can we adjust our budget and expenses to no premium pay? How long will husband have a job? Will we have money for Christmas? Why did I just spend all of my birthday money? What will we do if or when he is laid off?

But I am glad that I know someone who does have the answers. One of my favorite verses is :

For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11

So I am holding on to that verse.
I started to get a little down about Aaron's job. We didn't really talk about it to the boys. But the next morning I was having breakfast with the boys, Aaron was already at school. And Luke said, "Mom God can turn water into wine."
We then talked about this story:
1 Kings 17:8-16 (New International Version)8 Then the word of the LORD came to him: 9 "Go at once to Zarephath of Sidon and stay there. I have commanded a widow in that place to supply you with food." 10 So he went to Zarephath. When he came to the town gate, a widow was there gathering sticks. He called to her and asked, "Would you bring me a little water in a jar so I may have a drink?" 11 As she was going to get it, he called, "And bring me, please, a piece of bread."
12 "As surely as the LORD your God lives," she replied, "I don't have any bread—only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat it—and die."
13 Elijah said to her, "Don't be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small cake of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son. 14 For this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: 'The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the LORD gives rain on the land.' "
15 She went away and did as Elijah had told her. So there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family. 16 For the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the LORD spoken by Elijah.
Then Caleb chimed in and said, "Just like when God multiplied the loaves and the fishes."
So I am putting my trust in my heavenly Father. My glass is half full. I am thankful that Aaron still has his job. I am going look at it as a challenge to tighten our budget and cut down on expenses. I am going to believe for the best for our future. And I know that God will provide.

The World's Largest Zeppelin Airship

Read this article to see why the world's largest Zeppelin airship is in Beaumont. It is similar to the Hindenburg (yes, the one that exploded) except this new one is filled with helium which is not flammable.

Here is the new and improved version that we saw today.

This is the first Zeppelin airship to be in the US since 1937.


Of course we had to read about it, too. We read The Hindenburg by Patrick O'Brien.

The Secret

First thing after school on Monday, Caleb came up to me and said, "I have a secret and I am not going to tell you." Then he kept mentioning it, saying, "I am not going to tell you, no way, I can not let this get out." So I started asking Caleb to tell me the secret and he wanted me to try and guess it. At bedtime he told me one of his friends told him the secret. I started to try to guess the secret. Here are some of my guesses:

He's going to get a puppy.
He's going to build a tree house.
He's going to have a new baby in his house.
He's going to get a new Lego pack.

Then I hit jackpot, I said, "He likes a girl in your class."

Caleb said, "You know even if you guess it I am not going to tell you. I can not let this get out."

Isn't that funny? Well Friday night this friend is going to spend the night with Caleb. Caleb was so excited when his friend's Mom said he could. Caleb said, "You know, he is the closest thing I have to a best friend."

Columbus Day

To celebrate Columbus Day we read Follow the Dream: The Story of Christopher Columbus by: Peter Sis. Then we made models of the Nina, Pinta, and Santa Maria using plastic eggs. We put old playdough inside them to give it weight and to hold up the sail and flag.

*Craft idea from Step-by-Step Crafts for Fall by: Kathy Ross

College

I am proud of hubs. Last week he had to give his first speech, which he gave on parenting. He got a 93 on his speech.

Also, last week he had a test in one of his classes. He went today to class and his professor lectured the class for 15 minutes on the importance of studying and doing their best. The class average on the test was 67 with the highest grade a 96 (the only A on the test) and the lowest grade a 47. Hubs was scared to see what his grade was, although he had studied for the test. His grade was the 96.

Birthday Pictures

I love these two cards. One is purple (my favorite color) and the other has butterflies!

Birthday Purchases

I do love to shop. But I do not always have the money to shop. Today I got to go shopping as I had a gift card to Kohl's and money from Mom and Ann. I am happy to report I had a great morning shopping and here are my purchases.
Two new pairs of shoes.


Two complete outfits. I love jeans and sweaters. Now we just need some cool weather.


I stopped by the local consignment store as well today and got two purses. $20 for two purses is pretty good.

Thank you wonderful family for the birthday presents. :)

On Butterflies, Birthday, and other thoughts

So today is my birthday- I am 32 years old. I wanted to share today why I named my blog Beaumont Butterfly. I do like butterflies but they are meaningful to me too. When I was about 18 years old, at my Dad's church we had a revival with a couple who operated in the prophetic. The husband would preach then after he and his wife would pray for people and would prophesy over their lives. I remember vividly what they prophesied to me. His wife said that the Lord sees me and that I am like a butterfly. That I was not going to stay who I was, but that I would change and become something greater, just as a caterpillar changes into a butterfly. Well about six years later at a different church a woman came up to me and said, "Whenever I pray for you all I get is butterflies." Then she said, "Do butterflies mean anything to you?" I told her about the prophesy I had received and she said that I was no longer the caterpillar, that I had become that beautiful butterfly.

Just two years ago we went to a concert by Michael Tyrrell. He sang a song called Butterfly. The words to the chorus are:

You are a butterfly

Spread your wings and fly

To the other side where love is waiting

Butterfly

You light up the sky

It's your season to shine

Like a diamond in the dark

Release your freedom

You carry the key

It's your destiny

Butterfly

So now I like butterflies and whenever I see them, I think about what God has said about me-that I am like a butterfly. I have a lot of faults and am not perfect, yet God sees me as a beautiful butterfly.

Abraham Lincoln

For school this week we are studying Abraham Lincoln. One reason I love homeschooling is that as I am teaching Caleb I am learning too.

We read these two books aloud with Luke:

Just a Few Words Mr. Lincoln

The Story of the Gettysburg Address

by: Jean Fritz

and

Abe Lincoln and the Muddy Pig

by: Stephen Krensky

Caleb is reading this book by himself:

Abraham Lincoln

by: Ingri & Edgar Parin d'Aulaire

This is an excellent book that tells about President's Lincoln early life.

Some interesting things we learned:

1. He was born in Kentucky to a poor family.

2. He stopped going to school at age six, because he could read and write.

3. His family moved to Indiana in December and spent the winter in a three-sided lean-to made of logs and branches.

4. When he was 9 years old his mother died.

5. At age 10 his father married a widow with three children and his new mother was kind to Abraham and his sister and raised them as her own.

6. He educated himself by borrowing books and newspapers.

7. He loved animals and would speak up if anyone was cruel to an animal- even an ant.

8. He studied from a law book to become a lawyer.

9. He was going to marry a girl named Ann, but she took sick and died.

10. He ended up marrying Mary Todd and she said he was going to become president.

This is a book that every child should read.

Then Caleb is also reading Lincoln A Photobiography by: Russell Freedman.

This is a book for children, but it is fascinating and adults would enjoy it as well. It is filled with photographs from Lincoln's life. In this book Lincoln seems like such an ordinary person so similar to us today, yet also such a brilliant person.

This book says that, "More books have been written about Abraham Lincoln than any other American." I can see why, he is such an interesting person. He truly was a distinguished American and our greatest President!

Chiminea Time

For my birthday Aaron and the boys gave me a Chiminea.

We have fire!

Fall

Fall is the best time of the year, for many reasons: cooler temperatures, pumpkins,

leaves falling, sweaters, mums, and my birthday!

We love our fall decorations!

For a delicious fall meal try homemade Chicken Pot Pie.

Recipe found at http://glamlifehousewife.blogspot.com/2008/09/chicken-pot-pie-and-i-dont-care.html. The pot pie was delicious, but I would not call this a quick and easy recipe at all.

It took all afternoon

Our play room was a complete mess. It took the boys and I all afternoon to clean it up. I wonder how long it will stay clean.