Large Family Homeschool Life – Week 21 of 2024

Lovely spring days and tasty new recipes made for a delightful and nostalgic week.

Read all of the Large Family Homeschool Life posts!

MONDAY

I woke up around 7:30 am feeling well-rested despite the little girls sleeping in our room last night because they missed me. I had been gone speaking at the Teach Them Diligently homeschool convention. I really enjoyed getting back to doing events, and I learned a lot too! I got to hug Tricia Goyer, Heidi St. John, Jennifer Pepito, Kim Sorgius Jones, and Anna from Just Makin’ It Work. Plus, I got to meet lots of readers and listeners of Raising Arrows! So fun!

I also was inspired by Dr. Ben Carson and Ginny from 1000 Hours Outside! It was all sooooo good, and I’d encourage you to attend next year!

This morning, I realized I need to find a new dog walking route. I’m beginning to feel uneasy about the woods on the path I usually walk. The city recently broke up a homeless encampment and I have a feeling there are people living in the woods. There have been some odd occurrences, and I just don’t feel comfortable walking alone by those woods. Boo Hoo – I loved that walking path!

For Morning Time, we read from Leviticus in The Child’s Story Bible:

We watched some videos on Ancient Egypt and then talked about Rosh Hashanah and ate apples and honey. We finished up Morning Time by reading from The Golden Goblet and The Long Winter.

After a quick lunch, we tidied up the flat surfaces in the house and made our home welcoming for a friend who was coming over with her 11 year old daughter. They spent the afternoon here. The girls played while my friend and I sat at the kitchen table and drank cinnamon coffee with cinnamon roll creamer and caught up on the last 4 months since we’ve seen them.

That night, the kids played with neighbors in the cul-de-sac. I noticed a red finch is building a nest in my new fern. I’ll try to let them be.

I took the 19 year old to a late dinner of pho. We all fell in love with pho years ago when we used to make it with friends. You can find our homemade recipe HERE, and the restaurant we chose had a very close rendition! YUM!

I took her out to eat because she seemed like she needed to talk and get out some big feelings she’s been having lately. We had a wonderful discussion and I think it did both of us good to get out of the house and chat.

When I got home, the younger kids gathered in my bedroom to talk to me, and ended up staying until 10:30! They would have stayed longer if I would have let them, but we all needed our sleep.

TUESDAY

This morning was overcast and windy. There are storms and a cold front moving in. I had breakfast on the deck and then headed to Weight Watchers.

When I got home, we did Morning Time. We read a book on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. As I was reading, I kept mulling over putting together a Biblical Holidays Online Guide similar to my Celebrating the Church Year Online Guide. I’ll have to keep researching and praying about it! (And even more confirmation…Jesus in the Biblical Holidays arrived in the mail today!)

We also read in Story of the World and mapped Africa for geography. We ended with The Golden Goblet.

My brother-in-law showed up to paint the cabinets in my mom’s apartment in the basement. We are getting close to being ready for her to move in!

It started to rain and then hail! The kids ran out to grab ice from God’s ice maker!

For lunch, I made a salad and started some Cinnamon Rolls from Hope Helmuth’s Mennonite Family Recipes.

A friend recently had surgery and requested I bring over some cinnamon rolls, so I was happy to oblige!

My 19 year old called to tell me the Check Engine light came on in her car on her way to work. She’s worried because she and I are supposed to be driving to visit her boyfriend this weekend. She’s going to have it checked out on her way back from work, and hopefully it’s no big deal.

I snagged a couple of books from the library – The Little Book of Cottage Core and The Cottage Fairy Companion.

I watch Paola’s YouTube channel from time to time, so I’m excited to check out her book! I also took a moment to read in The Coddling of the American Mind – a book I picked up last week at the library. There are so many books on my end table! I may have a problem.

For dinner, I made Waikiki Meatballs and rice. This is one of the very first meals I made my husband when we were dating! I got the recipe from the owner of the greasy spoon I worked at in high school. She gave me a bunch of recipes when she found out I was getting married! To make it easy on myself, I used frozen meatballs from Aldi. I found the original recipe online! Funny how the lady who put it online commented that she was given this recipe when she first got married!

My 19 year old and I took the cinnamon rolls to our friend while the kids played outside. My friend said these were my best batch yet! They have a caramel frosting and are super soft!

When I got home, a neighbor stopped by to invite all of us to a s’mores block party on Memorial Day! How fun!

I spent the evening with my older girls after the younger kids headed to bed with their nightly round of Adventures in Odyssey Club. Funny story – my friend who came over said she still likes to listen to AIO at bedtime because it reminds her of her childhood!

WEDNESDAY

I had breakfast on the deck with the children after walking my dog. Then, we dove into Morning Time. We worked on Leviticus in our PictureSmart Bible and talked extensively about the priest’s garments and breastplate. The kids were super interested in the stones and inscriptions, so we looked for pictures that would help them visualize it better. Then, we read a chapter in The Long Winter and a partial chapter in The Golden Goblet because my brother called to update me on my sister-in-law’s cardiology appointment. He and I don’t get to talk real often, so it was nice to chat with him!

The kids decided they wanted to make MRE’s for lunch and eat them on the deck. They tried several different kinds, and all agreed the Chili Mac was far superior to the others (which most soldiers would agree with!).

The little girls put blankets on the clothesline and played house in them. As they played, I checked over the herbs I planted and discovered something had eaten the apple mint and orange mint a friend had given me! I also checked my blackberries at the back gate, and then planted some rosemary and oregano in the planter boxes on my deck.

Then, I kept the kids quiet while our 23 year old had an interview for a Graduate Assistant position. Sounds like the job is hers if she wants it and gets accepted to Grad School.

I recorded and edited 3 podcasts with videos. This is something new I am trying with the podcast and YouTube channel.

Then, I made a grocery list for the potluck at church this weekend while my 19 year old baked bread. Everyone in our family is making something! I planned the event and I want it to be a success, so we are all putting our best dishes on the table, so to speak.

We had leftovers for supper, and then the boys went with friends to a church event and the girls did their laundry. I took a walk with the 19 year old. Then, I read in my Day in the Life of the Amish book I picked up for a quarter at our local library. It made me realize why people love these posts I do here. We all love to get a peek inside someone else’s home and life! I am inspired by their meals and I even recognized some places mentioned in the book because there are settlements near where I’m originally from!

That evening, my 7 year old asked if she could clean the kids’ bathroom! I was shocked and immediately said, “CERTAINLY!” She actually did a really great job except for not being able to reach the mirrors. (I didn’t bother to mention that to her 😉 )

The 18 year old and 23 year old went on a run together. The 18 year old is preparing for boot camp, and when they got back from their run, I could hear my older children who still live here chatting and laughing in the kitchen around the kitchen table. That makes me smile!

That evening, we turned on the attic fan to draw in the lovely cool air from outside. What a lovely day!

THURSDAY

It’s a gorgeous morning! As I was watering plants, a friend stopped by to drop off some clothes for my boys. She was cleaning out her husband’s closet, and they fit a lot of his clothes. Crazy I have boys who are the size of grown men!

I ate breakfast on the deck and planned my day. I have a lot to do today!

For Morning Time, we did more on our Leviticus sheet in PictureSmart and then talked about the set up of the Israelite camp around the Tabernacle, plus how they would march when the Lord said it was time to go. We also read in The Golden Goblet and The Long Winter.

Then, I took our 9 year old to the dentist. She had a small cavity that they wanted to fill. On our way home, we stopped at a local supermarket and picked up some meat deals I saw advertised in our Wednesday sales flyers. I was able to get 80/20 chubs for $2.99/lb and the $3.99/lb bacon was still on sale as well! I also found some nice looking pork chops!

I took the meat home and then picked up some of the kids to run on post to get the 13 year old some shoes. We found some nice ones on a big sale! Then I headed to Aldi and Walmart to get everyone’s ingredients for potluck.

When I got home, I chatted on the phone with my 26 year old son about the 2024 elections. We always have such great conversations!

Today, was the last day of classes for schools around here, so all the neighborhood kids congregated in our front yard to have a water fight! Then, my 13 year old started up the grill to make burgers. This grill is actually an old school Traeger Ty’s dad won in a raffle! When he passed away last year, his wife gave the smoker to our son and he uses it all the time!

Our son and his family bought potato salad and macaroni salad to go along with today’s dinner. I cut up cucumbers and tomatoes and made a Caesar salad. It was such a feast!

After Table Chores, I took the 7 year old upstairs for her bath and hair-washing. Then I chatted with my mom until bedtime.

FRIDAY

It rained overnight, so no breakfast on the deck this morning. I had my breakfast and coffee at the kitchen table and then we started resetting the house for Home Blessing.

While we cleaned, my brother-in-law finished up on the cabinets in my mom’s apartment. It looks awesome!

After lunch, another elder’s wife and I headed to our church’s headquarters to set up for potluck this Sunday. We took our children and they helped and then played upstairs in the youth room. We set up several tables and chairs, moved a couple of storage cabinets and filled them with items that had no real home.

Next month for Father’s Day, our church is having a BBQ in the park, and in July we are going to do an Ice Cream Social! I’m so excited!

Later in the day, our 19 year old had friends over to craft and the younger kids had friends over to watch a movie and make popcorn.

That afternoon, the 26 year old called to tell the 15 year old that he’s set up a server for all of them to play Minecraft on. The kids are going to enjoy that for sure!

For dinner, we had grilled sandwiches and chips. The 19 year old worked on the grilled sandwiches while I made strawberry shortcake. I got the recipe from the Mennonite Family Cookbook I mentioned above. I made the whipped cream from the cream off the raw milk we’ve been getting.

The kids played outside and the 23 year old and I took a 2 mile walk. That evening, I read in the Day in the Life of the Amish. I am so enjoying this book and it reminds me so much of the years we lived in a very small town and lived a much simpler life. For years I longed to go back to those days.