Guess what I did with the trash can??

Not only is this a great way to use the cruddy, old trash can. It can be used annually for it. Year after year, remembering the great grace of our Lord as you reap the rewards of gardening. Include the whole family - after all it will take at least 3 of you to actually dump the can when the time comes!

If you read often, or have looked at my other blogs, you will notice I love to cook and garden. It's really something to grow stuff and then be able to eat it. I am in awe of this. So, when I saw this idea from Heavenly Homemakers, I knew I just had to do it. This is a container garden in a whole new direction---move over topsy- turvy hanging tomatoes!

You actually beat up your container a little more , add some holes, dirt, and seed potatoes and you've got mashed potatoes galore. (Yes, there is definitely another day's blog......)

Anyway, here are the complete directions: love to hear if anyone else tries it - I will include pictures as it grows!

Planting Potatoes in a Container

Lately the 3 blogs have been too much for me to handle so I am concentrating mainly on this one and adding whatever the Lord puts on my mind for that day. However, I will also still share recipes and garden on my other blog: Proverbs31 Cooking

May you be blessing in all you do today--T

Flag Day Freebies....Homeschool....Pic of the week

Flag Day is this Sunday. I always remember this because it's my parent's Anniversary (51 years!!)

Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad!!

And here are some great home school freebies for you.

Home school Helper offers a free mini unit study on the flag.

Here is a USA flag fact sheet.

Here is a Pledge of Allegiance activity sheet.

US flag.org offers a lesson in folding the flag.

You can take a virtual tour of the Betsy Ross House at this link.

Read about Betsy Ross's life here.

Did you know you can cut a star in one snip? Betsy Ross did, and you can learn how here.

Here is a really great timeline of the American flag.

Learn about flag rules and regulations.





Sage in full bloom. Yes, it really is this color!
Stop by Everything Sage for information and recipes using Sage!





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The Homeschooler's 23rd Psalm

The Homeschooler's 23rd Psalm
Saturday/June 6, 2009: Daily Focus

"I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep" (John 10:11).

The Lord is my shepherd,
I shall not want.


He maketh me to live on less sleep:
He leadeth me through the noise of many voices.

He restoreth my soul: He leadeth me to teach
The right lessons each day, for His name's sake.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of undone
Laundry and kitchen messes, I will fear no evil:
For thou art with me, my teacher's guides and
Answer keys, they comfort me.

Thou preparest a table before me in the presence
Of threatening school officials and critical family members:
Thou anointest my head with heavenly wisdom, my cup runneth over.

Surely educated and godly children shall follow after me
All the days of my life: and I will dwell again one day
In a clean house with the Lord forevermore.

Praise God, we do have a good Shepherd who leads us through every homeschooling problem and provides for our every need. Best of all, our Shepherd knows us and promises never to desert us when the wolf comes seeking to destroy (John 10:11-13). As we listen to the Shepherd's voice and follow Him, we are sure to receive a great reward, as we reach the peaceful green pastures of Christ-like, educated children. "And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away" (1 Peter 5:4).

Father, how I praise You for leading my children and me in the path of homeschooling. Without You, we surely would be confused and lost. We come to You again this day and pray for Your continued blessings as we follow You. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Top 10....Don't Give Up!

Are you having a tough day homeschooling??? Before you throw in the towel read this great list from Camille Kendall at TOS.

Top 10 Reasons Not to Give Up!

1. If you stop homeschooling and enroll your children at the school down the road, you will have to have them all up, dressed, fed, and outside waiting for the bus by 6:45 every weekday morning with their books and school supplies in tow. Personally, with seven school-age children living under one roof, I don't think that is humanly possible.
   
2. If you stop homeschooling, you will have to graciously endure comments such as, "I knew that homeschooling thing was a totally hare-brained idea. It's good to see you finally came to your senses and decided to do the rational thing." Of course, such comments will come repeatedly and enthusiastically from those unsympathetic relatives who have offered so little help and encouragement all along.
   
3. Those same dear relatives will also offer the following words of comfort: "Now your kids can finally be normal." Gack! Now there's one compelling reason to NOT give up! Visit your local shopping mall on a Saturday night, take a long look around, and ask yourself if you really want your kids to become "normal."
   
4. At our house, homeschooling means our children have a diverse people group influencing and shaping their lives--70-year-old grandparents, 90-year-old WWII veterans, middle-aged farmers, college professors, trapping buddies, young cousins, and children of family friends. Giving up and going the more "normal" route would mean limiting their peer group primarily to a knot of same-aged friends with little life experience, diversity, or wisdom.
   
5. If you give up and send the kids away to school, who will feed and take care of the chickens? And the horses? And the cow? And the family dogs and cats? Who will check the boys' trap line every day, and who will tend the bees and cultivate the orchard? Who will help with the 4-5 loads of daily laundry, and who will cut and split firewood for the fireplace? Do you really want to take ALL THAT RESPONSIBILITY on yourself?
   
6. If you give up, just think of the educational opportunities you will miss. Already in my homeschool "career," I've mastered advanced algebra, discovered the difference between world history and the history of Western Civilization, contemplated Plato, recited Samuel Taylor Coleridge, conjugated a verb in a foreign language, learned a few basic principles of economics . . . oooooooh, this is just way too much fun to give it up!
   
7. Babies are beautiful; toddlers are terrific; pre-schoolers are precious; elementaries are exciting; pre-teens are precocious; high schoolers are absolutely fantastically amazing. Do you really want to miss even one single stage of this incredible journey?
   
8. I can't think of anything more intensely sanctifying than living together in the crucible of shared family experiences. In this context, none of us can escape the reality of our own sinfulness, and none of us has the opportunity to go too long without the correction, compassion, and/or encouragement of a brother or sister or parent or child. Each of us is challenged by those around us--those who observe us constantly and who see us without a facade--to align our practice with our faith, to love our Lord and our neighbor "not in word or in tongue, but in deed and truth." Call it Extreme Sanctification: Homeschool Edition. Where else will you find so many daily opportunities to run to the cross, to repent and to rest in the sufficiency of the work of Christ, if you give up homeschooling?
   
9. Homeschooling is an investment not only in your children, but in their children, and in their grandchildren after them. It is an investment in your church and your community, and in the churches and communities and countries where your descendants will live and have influence as adults. Imagine the long-term "returns" of continued investment over a lifetime--and don't give up!
   
10. What would you give this homeschool labor up for--what would you have instead? A clean, quiet, orderly house? A career and a sense of relevance in the broader culture? Another income for your financially-strapped family? Time to develop underused talents and pursue suppressed dreams? I would have given up homeschooling for all of these and more at different points in the journey, but God in His good providence thwarted me. Now, with two adult children and more on the very brink of manhood and womanhood, what encouragement can I offer to NOT give up? Persevere, for the rewards truly will far, far outweigh the costs. Words cannot express the joy and the humble amazement that is mine when I look at the children God has given me and consider the men and women they are becoming--nor can words convey the depth of gratitude I feel for God's allowing me--even constraining me--to participate in His purposes for them.

Thanks for stopping by!


Please check out my other blogs while you're here:
Proverbs31 Wisdom
Proverbs31 Cooking