look what I found in the kitchen.....

ONE WORD.......NUTELLA!



DVD Review: A Mile in His Shoes

I wanted to review this movie because as a family with no cable, we want to watch faith-based, family-oriented movies. There are some really good actors in this movie. If you or someone you know has a special person in your life with Asperger's syndrome or autism, you will definitely want to see this movie. Our family sat down and watched this film together.

Knowing it was based on a true story made it even more special to watch. We really enjoy true stories. It is an inspirational film that will strengthen your faith and give you hope and determination.

The bugs really enjoyed this fun film.

A Mile in His Shoes

Website: http://www.watchgmctv.com/video/mile-his-shoes#biography

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/A-Mile-In-His-Shoes/270101973014772?sk=wall

Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ev2TOBFetH4

Dove Foundation Review: http://www.dove.org/reviewmasterframe.asp

About Mile in His Shoes:

From the director of "Angels in the Outfield" comes an inspiring story about a special boy with an amazing gift, and the coach who believed. Dean Cain and Luke Schroder star in the gmc movie based in the book "The Legend of Mickey Tussler".

     "Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

~For the giveaway, visit one of the linked sites above and leave me a comment here about the movie. For an additional chance, follow this blog and leave a comment, (or comment if you already do.) Be cure to leave your email so I can contact you if you win. One winner will receive a copy of this DVD! Winner will be announced at the end of February! Good Luck!!!

~~~~~curriculum we LOVE~~~~~

We decided to change it up a little this year with our curriculum. I have always used curriculum that seemed to be alot like traditional school material. Pages and pages and pages of work, nothing really that exciting, not much to look forward to day after day. I started researching a little about the Charlotte Mason approach to homeschooling and realized very quickly that this was the way I wanted to school my bugs. In a couple of words, Living Books! Wow, what a difference this has made in our homeschool. We no longer dread getting started in the mornings with this curriculum. It has really been a blessing!

I first saw it at a homeschool convention in Memphis, TN last year. I was a little scared at first but after praying about it and realizing that we had to make a change, it became clear that this is just what we were looking for.  QUEENHOMESCHOOL! Publisher of books for the Charlotte Mason Style Educator.

So far, my three oldest bugs started the Language Lessons. These books are written by Sandi Queen.

These books each have practice in picture study, narration, copywork, dictation, poetry appreciation & instruction, creative writing, grammer instruction, and more, depending on the level.

We are also using the "Learning to Spell Through Copywork".

This series picks up where your phonics program leaves off. Each volume reviews one phonics rule per week, which is very helpful when there are ones that need a refresher course! They are to copy over and narrate words that follow that week's rule throughout the rest of that week. These books are written by Haley and Sandi Queen.

I have my two oldest bugs doing Words of the Week.

This is a vocabulary program based on a picture study. Each volume is an 18 week program for grades 4 and up. It uses full-color picture study and introduces five new words each week.

One area of our school we struggled with daily was MATH!!!!! Now, after starting this wonderful new way of homeschooling, we have also found a wonderful way to do math.

My second grader just started Math Lessons for a Living Education.

 We are enjoying it so much. Each lesson is very fun and adventurous! By far, one of my favorites.

My two oldest started Life of Fred. I had heard of LOF before but never really thought about it to much. I have a couple of friends that use it in their homeschool and seemed to have had success with it.

My oldest bug started the Life of Fred: Fractions. She needed a little refresher course!

My second to oldest bug started with the first elementary Life of Fred book entitled "Apples".

We are also using the Printing with Pictures handwriting program and the Pictures in Cursive series. These were also written by the Queen family.

We are still using another bible study series, history and science curriculum but in the near future, plan on using the complete Queen Homeschool Curriculum.

Go check it out at http://www.queenhomeschool.com/.

I want to apologize for this post being so long but I have really been wanting to share the new way we do school around here at our HAPPY homestead!

God Bless!





a nice giveway on Ozark Mountain Family Blog!!!

I have been following this blog for a while and really enjoy it. Today I was on the blog and saw where she was giving away a really nice bag and some heirloom seeds. Look how nice this bag is!

The bag measures 12" high, 10" wide and 4 1/2 " deep. She is also giving away nine packages of Heirloom, non-GMO vegetable seeds.

Amish Paste Tomato

Yellow Pear Tomato

Millionaire Tomato

Candy Stripe Tomato

Striped Cavern Tomato

Sweet Red Amish Stuffing Pepper

Sweet Chocolate Pepper

Golden Treasure Pepper

Sweet Dumpling Squash

Go check out her blog, http://ozarkmountainfamily.blogspot.com/2012/02/garden-bag-and-heirloom-seed-giveaway.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+blogspot%2FiDgii+%28Ozark+Mountain+Family%29 and leave her a comment regarding this giveaway and feel free to tell her where you heard about the giveaway! Giveaway ends Friday, February 12th at 11:59 pm CST.

God Bless!

the most delicious soup EVER!!!

This has to be the most delicious soup ever. The other night I wanted to make soup for supper. Not just any soup. Something new. I came across this recipe for Chicken Gnocchi Soup on a blog that I follow. It sounded so yummy. I decided to make it a few nights ago and was very happy with the results. Here is how I did it. I had to double the recipe.

Chicken Gnocchi Soup

1 lb. mini Gnocchi (I used regular)

2 tablespoons butter

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 large onion, finely diced

4 ribs celery, finely diced

4 carrots, finely diced or shredded

3 garlic cloves, minced

3 tablespoons flour

1 cup heavy cream

1 cup greek yogurt (I used plain)

2 cups milk

2 chicken breasts, cooked and diced

14 ounces chicken broth

2 cups fresh spinach, coarsely chopped

1 tablespoon parsley

Parmesan cheese (optional)

Drop gnocchi into a pot of boiling water and cook until it floats, about 2 minutes. Drain and set aside.

In a large saucepan, melt the butter and oil and add onion, celery, carrots and garlic. Saute until the veggies are soft. Add flour, stir and cook about 1 minute. Add the cream, yogurt and milk. Bring to a simmer, then add the chicken.

Once the mixture has thickened, add the broth and return to a simmer. It will thicken again. Then stir in the cooked gnocchi, spinach and parsley and simmer until soup and herbs are heated throughout. Top with freshly grated Parmesan cheese

This was really a good soup. I had my doubts about it at first. I have never eaten gnocchi but to my surprise, I really liked it. So did my whole family.

This soup, like most any soup freezes well. Make a huge batch and freeze for later!

God Bless!

yummy treat

Here lately, we have been making lots of homemade ice cream with our raw cow's milk and raw cream. We usually make either vanilla or chocolate ice cream. The other day I ran across a recipe for Raw Cookie Dough Bites on The Nourishing Home site I follow.

 I thought it might be a treat to make some of these to enjoy with our homemade ice cream. Boy,am I glad we did. They are delicious with the vanilla ice cream. Thought I would share this yummy treat!

Raw Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Bites

1/2 cup creamy raw almond butter
1/4 cup, plus 1 Tablespoon raw honey
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup, plus 1 Tablespoon coconut flour
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
The original recipe called for ground flax seeds, I didn't have any, so, we just left that out.

In a large bowl, mix together raw almond butter, honey and vanilla until creamy and well blended. In a separate bowl, combine the coconut flour and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix well to combine. Use your hands to knead the dough. Fold in the chocolate chips. If the mixture is too wet, add more flour. Scoop out tablespoon size portions and roll into one-inch balls.

Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

You can also use all natural peanut butter to make Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Dough Bites!

God Bless!!!

Homemade French Bread

Today the little ones helped me grind grain and make a loaf of homemade french bread.

They are so curious about things. Earlier they were sorting different colored beans for some of their  school today and I explained that the beans they were sorting could be put in our Nutrimill and ground into powder. I guess they were curious how something as hard as beans could be turned into flour. They have seen me grind grains before but not up close like today. The had fun. After we had ground our grains into flour, we decided to make some french bread for supper tonight. I used a different recipe than I usually do. I turned out pretty good. I am still getting use to how different things taste when you use freshly ground flour. I have had this recipe for a long time. I cut it out of a magazine I used to get in the mail. Here it is....

French Bread

2 cups bread flour

1 cup all-purpose flour

(I used fresh ground soft white wheat)

1 Tablespoon yeast

2 teaspoons organic sugar, I have also used Sucanat

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup warm water

2 Tablespoons olive oil

Combine the flour, yeast, sugar and salt in a large bowl. Stir in the warm water and oil. Mix until it is incorporated. It will be sticky. Pour out onto a floured surface and knead , adding flour to prevent sticking. Knead about 10 minutes and then transfer to greased bowl, turning to coat. Cover and let rise. When it has doubled in size, punch down, divide dough in half and shape into loaves. We made one large loaf but I think two smaller loaves would be best.

 Transfer to french loaf pan or baking sheet. Place bread in cold oven and turn on to 400 degrees and bake for about 30 to 35 minutes or until loaves are puffed, golden and sound hollow when tapped on bottom.

(Personally, how do you tap an extremely hot loaf of bread on bottom!!!!!) Transfer to wire rack to cool slightly.