Amy's Writing

Amy has been using English For The Thoughtful Child this year for grammar and writing. It covers much of the same material that we did last year in 1st Language Lessons, but with more writing. This is a story she wrote this week.

The Horse

by

Amy Gillham

The horse is pretty. Her name is Emma. Her master is kind. She lives in a nice home and pulls a wagon.

One day she went to Oregon. On her way she bumped into a big rock and damaged the wagon. She couldn't go around it. She tried climbing it but that did not work. So she took a different route and they reached Oregon safely. The End

A Breakfast Hint

Yesterday I tried something that I've thought of doing several times. To help breakfast go more smoothly, I mixed up a little something the night before. The kids really like muffins, pancakes, and waffles for breakfast, however, they usually take more time than I'm able to give ( and sometimes more mental awareness!). So last night, instead of making the muffins the night before, which would have had me stay up later, I mixed the dry and wet ingredients separately. The wet ingredients went into the fridge, the dry got covered and sat on the counter. This morning all I had to do was mix the two together and pop in the oven.

If you missed FishMamma's helpful breakfast hint. It was a great one too and you can read it here.

Sorry there hasn't been much of any depth here lately. I've actually been working on writing about our church journey. It's been good to contemplate where I've been and where God is taking us now. But it has been a lot harder to write than I expected. Partly the days have been busy with school, gardening, and life, and partly I've been forced to think through some things more than I anticipated. This is good, but doesn't lead to much writing. For now, I hope you enjoy the breakfast hints!

Evan's Creative Writing

A few weeks ago Evan attended a student writing intensive put out by the Institute for Excellence in Writing. It was taught by Andrew Pudewa, who although he is a national speaker and teacher for classical education, just happens to live in our neck of the woods. Evan was challenged but had a lot of fun. Mr. Pudewa tells lots of jokes and is a very entertaining and captivating speaker. We have been using his approach a little this year, and will now incorporate more that we learned at the writing intensive.

The writing intensive is geared for 3-5 graders. If you are looking for a way to teach writing or incorporate a more classical model you can buy the same class that Evan went to on a DVD and do at your own pace. For Evan it was very beneficial to be with other kids for a few days and see that what I require him to do at home is really not too much compared to what Mr. Pudewa expected. He was required to do a paper a day. He could either write out a final draft in pen, type it or pay for someone else to type it out for him. It was great, I got both bathrooms cleaned, and several loads of laundry folded and put away!

This has been an area of huge growth for Evan. When he was in 1st grade, he would just cry over having to write (actually just copy) one sentence! Here is Evan's final (and favorite) paper: his own creative story.

The Demise of the Fetts

By

Evan Gillham

Obi Wan Kenobi and Yoda flew into the Jedi Temple and found that a difficult mission was awaiting them. They immediately took off and flew to Tatooine to look for Jango Fett who was a bounty hunter. Jango was “wanted” because he had been killing many Jedi. They spotted him at the Mas Espa Cantina while he was having a drink. They snuck up behind Jango Fett, but he whirled around with his blasters ready. “The Dark Side of the force I sense in you!” declared Yoda.

Jango activated his jet pack and fired his missile at Yoda, but Yoda quickly jumped out of the way just in time. Jango fired a burst of plasmic energy bolts at Obi Wan, who deflected it back at Jango with his light saber. And that was the end of Jango Fett because the bullets went flying back at him which pierced his armor, and killed him. While Boba Fett was watching, he screamed, “I shall have revenge!”


Five years later, Boba Fett, who was the son of Jango Fett, quietly snuck up to the back of the Jedi Temple. He planted and activated a holographic projector which projected an image of a Sith Lord. He did it because he wanted to trick the Jedi. When they noticed it, they ran out of the temple toward the frightening image.

While the Jedi were outside, Boba Fett planted a bomb in the counsel chamber, and quietly snuck back into the courtyard. Then suddenly, the entire Jedi Temple blew up. The hologram ceased and everyone beheld Boba Fett who was trying to quietly get back to his ship. Boba Fett and the Jedi began to fight fiercely. Boba fired his missile into the throng of Jedi killing one council member and three younglings. Because he also threw a thermal detonator, Boba Fett was able to escape aboard his slave I attack ship.

A new temple was built and Boba Fett was eventually killed by Han Solo.

A Great Deal!

If you love to garden I just found a great deal for you. Taunton Press puts out a wonderful gardening magazine called Fine Gardening. Right now if you subscribe for $30 you'll get a gift certificate to White Flower Farm for $25. It's like getting the magazine for free if you normally buy plants!

C.J.'s Birthday Party

"I'm 2! Aren't I cute!"

"Not as cute as me!"

"I don't care who's birthday it is, I'm the star of this show!"

Party Helpers

Party Pooper

Chocolate Stout Cake

I made this cake last year for St. Patrick's Day and my husband liked it so much that he asked for it on his birthday! It is so delicious! I might make just half the recipe this year since we won't have as many guests as we did last year. However, if you really want to impress someone, making the whole recipe as a three layer cake will do the job. I put my suggestions on making the cake at the end. The recipe is from Epicurious.com.


CHOCOLATE STOUT CAKE
"I am a lifelong chocoholic and have eaten many a piece of chocolate cake," writes Elizabeth Means of Williamsburg, Massachusetts. "Never before, though, have I enjoyed anything as much as the chocolate stout cake at the Barrington Brewery in nearby Great Barrington. If I could get a copy of this recipe, I would be eternally grateful."

The dark beer known as stout gives this cake an intense, not-too-sweet flavor.

Cake
2 cups stout (such as Guinness)
2 cups (4 sticks) unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder (preferably Dutch-process)
4 cups all purpose flour
4 cups sugar
1 tablespoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
4 large eggs
1 1/3 cups sour cream

Icing
2 cups whipping cream
1 pound bittersweet (not unsweetened) or semisweet chocolate, chopped

For cake: Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter three 8-inch round cake pans with 2-inch-high sides. Line with parchment paper. Butter paper. Bring 2 cups stout and 2 cups butter to simmer in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add cocoa powder and whisk until mixture is smooth. Cool slightly.

Whisk flour, sugar, baking soda, and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt in large bowl to blend. Using electric mixer, beat eggs and sour cream in another large bowl to blend. Add stout-chocolate mixture to egg mixture and beat just to combine. Add flour mixture and beat briefly on slow speed. Using rubber spatula, fold batter until completely combined. Divide batter equally among prepared pans. Bake cakes until tester inserted into center of cakes comes out clean, about 35 minutes. Transfer cakes to rack; cool 10 minutes. Turn cakes out onto rack and cool completely.

For icing: Bring cream to simmer in heavy medium saucepan. Remove from heat. Add chopped chocolate and whisk until melted and smooth. Refrigerate until icing is spreadable, stirring frequently, about 2 hours.

Place 1 cake layer on plate. Spread 2/3 cup icing over. Top with second cake layer. Spread 2/3 cup icing over. Top with third cake layer. Spread remaining icing over top and sides of cake.
Makes 12 servings.

Bon AppétitR.S.V.P.September 2002Barrington Brewery, Great Barrington, MA

* I used 9 inch pans. The recipe overflowed when I used 8 inch. I also used dark chocolate chips (60% coco or more) instead of chopped bittersweet chocolate. Both tasted great, but the chips are easier! I needed to cook the layers 40 minutes instead of 35.

Meal Plan Monday

This is my first entry for "Meal Plan Monday". I have used meal plans in the past at various times, and really need to get into the habit again. This is a fun way to do it also! You can check out more meal plans over at I'm An Organizing Junkie.

Last night I spent several hours purging our house of clutter. It had gotten out of hand and I had given the kids a good week to get stuff picked up. But I had reached my limit! So now there are three, yes three laundry baskets in our garage that no longer contain laundry! The kids will have to redeem items to get them back. I accept Visa, MasterCard, Cash, Dish Duty, Dusting, Laundry Folding and Sweeping/Mopping the Floor. So I'm on a roll. Clean house, meal plan, and a beautiful sunny California Day. I am thankful to the Lord for the burst of energy to get this done, which really blessed my husband. I certainly couldn't have done it on my own strength.

Monday: Bean Burritos, cut veggies, and rice.

Tuesday: Stir fry chicken and veggies and rice.
Wednesday: Taco Soup, cornbread and cut veggies.
Thursday: Oatmeal, nuts, dried fruit.
Friday: Hamburgers, veggies, spicy potatoes.
Saturday: Corned Beef and Cabbage with boiled new potatoes of course! My husband is Irish so we celebrate in style with Guinness and and chocolate cake made with Guinness too.
Sunday: Stuffed pork chops, cranberry sauce, veggies, bread.

Have You Seen The Muffin Man?

We have! Sean woke up at 2:30 this morning. Shift work does weird things to your body. Anyways, while I took a shower, he made us muffins. And he heroically substituted out several ingredients to make these! We've been cutting out sugar for awhile now, substituting Sucanat or honey for baking. I was out of bran, so he had to use oatmeal. And, to top it all off, we discovered recently that Amy is allergic to dairy! So he had to find something to use instead of buttermilk. Then he had to remember to make half without blueberries and half with since our family is a spit personality when it comes to fruit in muffins. Whew! I'm sure it was a lot more than he bargained for when he lovingly offered to make the muffins for me so I could get ready on time! Thanks honey! They turned out great.

Conflict

A while ago I ordered several little booklets from CCEF. Among them was one entitled "Conflict". Based on James chapter 4, this little booklet has so much to say about redeeming conflict as an opportunity to mature in Christ and grow in grace. Since I am giving my copy to a friend today, I wanted to highlight the main points so I could have them handy until I order another copy. You can order one too (for only $2.99) at Christian Counseling Education Foundation.

Timothy Lane writes about 5 preliminary perspectives.
"1. The Bible is a story with conflict as a central theme. Conflict is not necessarily bad. In fact there is a way to do conflict that is pleasing to God.
2. Conflict is an opportunity to grow. James says that without trials, we will remain immature, incomplete, and lacking many godly character qualities.
3. The person with whom we are in conflict is there for a divine purpose. God, who is sovereign, loving and wise, sends people into our lives so that he might work in us in ways that can only happen in conflict.
4. There will be times when we will reach an impasse in conflict. We should not let this be an excuse to stop trying to resolve our differences. But it does remind us that we are limited in our ability to change others."

He goes on to look at James 4. "It answers the questions that beg for answers in the midst of conflict. Its answers are not always the ones we want to hear, but they are exactly what we need to hear."

The cause of conflict is found in James 4:1-3

"What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don't they come from your desires that battle within you? You want something but don't get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures."

The problem is inside us. Our desires turn into a sinful demand. When we try to win at all costs, please to get approval, or avoid conflict (or a person!) in response to conflict, we can probably bet that we are not handling conflict in a biblical way.

Timothy Lane asks some pointed questions to help us look at conflict in a more godly way.
"1.What do I want right now more than Christ and how am I acting to get it?
2.What specifically do I need to repent of? Where do I need to ask for grace? What has hijacked my heart and what do I need to see and believe about Christ?
3.What is your experience as you enter into conflict with me right now? Is it a good experience or a bad one?
4.What would it look like to wisely love the person in conflict with me? Will I warn, encourage, or help?

When you are most conscious of God's love for you in Christ, you are most willing to look at the false love that has replaced your love for him. You are ready to ask specific questions about why you are in conflict with another person. Looking inward moves you outward to see Christ and his grace. The more dazzling his grace becomes, the less attractive your god replacements seem.

Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord and he will lift you up. James 4:7-10"

I hope that this encourages you when you face conflict as much as it has encouraged me.