Home with Tracy

It was a day like any other day. There was nothing unusual, other than I was a little lazy and not getting everything done that I thought I should be getting done. And then the phone rang. I knew it was my grandma calling because of the ring tone. We started out our conversation as we normally do. And then I heard words I never, ever, thought I would hear. My youngest brother took his own life. I was in shock. I didn't know how to respond. He was in his mid twenties. He was married. He had an eighteen month old little boy. He had a little girl who was a couple months away from being born. My heart instantly broke. The next day we started on our ten hour drive back to my home town. It is always a little difficult for me to go back to my home town because I don't have the best memories. My father still lives in the house that I lived in until I was three. And even though I wasn't allowed to go back there from the age of five until I was eighteen, I still reme...

This year I have put in more time planning than any other year. I have struggled the past couple years with preparing for the school year due to my lack of planning. This year I wanted to be different. I wanted to start strong so my kids start strong. I did a lot of research and found the curriculum that I think best fits our family. Here is what we are studying this year. Third Grade - Bible - Who Is God? - He will be using the notebooking journal. Grammar - Easy Grammar 3 Reading - Explode the Code books as well as he will read 2 chapters minimally each day. Math - Saxon 3 History - Mystery of History I Geography - A Child's Geography Science - Exploring Creation with Astronomy - He will be using the notebooking journal. Spelling - Sequential Spelling I Second Grade - Bible - Who Is God? - She will also be using the notebooking journal. Grammar - Easy Grammar 2 Reading - Explode the Code and Reading Eggs program Math - Saxon Math 2 History - Mystery of Histor...

This homeschooling year I have taken more time to plan. It is something I struggled with doing in the past. Part of our homeschooling curriculum is Apologia Exploring Creation with Astronomy. I bought the text book and lab kit as well as a notebooking journal for my oldest. They also offer a junior notebook. My oldest is in third grade. My other children are in second and kindergarten. Since they are newer to reading/writing I thought the notebooking would be too much. I decided to search for something else for them. I knew I could find something that another homeschooling mom had done. Can I just tell you how much I love homeschooling mom blogs! While searching I came across the site A Journey Through Learning . Their website is full of lapbooks. They have several for the Apologia Exploring Creation curriculum. They also have the option of black and white (so your kids can color them) or full color. They each come with detailed instructions. I bought the Exploring Creation with As...

In the past few months I have been trying to shop smarter, healthier and prepare better meals for my family. I have been trying to get away from processed foods. We planted a family garden. It has been a wonderful experience for the entire family. My children, who would not touch most vegetables before, excitedly go to the garden to pick fresh veggies to eat. They each actively participated in planting. They actively participated in helping maintain the garden. They loved watching what they planted grow into food we could put on our table to eat. The beginning of this year I discovered a co-op, Bulk Natural Foods . They have several pick up spots in Tennessee. I'm not sure what other States they have pick up spots in, but you can check out their site to see if it is near you. I order organic dry beans, natural white flour, wheat flour, natural peanut butter, organic dried fruits, fresh produce from local growers. There are too many things for me to list! It is also reasonabl...

There are times when I worry. I worry about things I have no control over. I worry about things I don't need to worry about. I pray that my worrying will stop. And then ... God blesses me with giggles. I was deep in thought.               Wondering.                    Thinking.                         Worrying. It had been a couple of days of my stomach turning and my mind just being filled with questions. It wasn't huge worries. It was just day to day worrying about day to day things. I couldn't stop my mind. I couldn't stop my stomach from turning.  God knew. He knew my thoughts. He knew my worries. He knew that I didn't really have any reason for either.  God blessed me with giggles. I was sitting in the van on the way back from a long day out. I...

This recipe has already been doubled because I like to freeze them for snacks and breakfasts. It is adapted from this recipe from Money Saving Mom. The recipe posted below makes 5 dozen muffins. This is the first time my husband really liked the muffins, so I made sure I wrote down exactly how I made them. 8 eggs 2 cups pumpkin 2 cups sugar 3 cups oil (I use butter oil, also known as Ghee) 3 cups natural unbleached flour 3 cups wheat flour 1/2 cup wheat germ 1/2 cup ground flax seed 4 tsp baking soda 4 tsp baking powder 2 Tblsp pumpkin pie spice 1 tsp salt 1 package chocolate chips Mix together eggs, sugar, pumpkin and oil until smooth. Add in dry ingredients and mix well. Stir in chocolate chips. Fill paper-lined muffin cups 2/3 - 3/4 full. Bake 14-16 mins at 400 degrees. They came out so light and moist. It has taken me a few attempts to get them the way my whole family would like them and it was well worth it. Hope you enjoy them.

My husband had been gone at a conference for three days. It was three long days of everyone in the house being sick. When he returned, I tried to sneak away to our bedroom so I could watch a video I just received, Tea with Michelle Duggar . I was sitting in my bedroom watching the video and I had my Bible next to me so I could look up verses Michelle referenced. It wasn't long before my time alone ended and I was joined by my twins. About five minutes into their arrival, Michelle referenced a Bible verse. I picked up my Bible and began looking up the verse. While I was reading, my son got up and left the room. My son is a very active five year old and cannot sit still for long, so I figured he was just bouncing on to the next thing that would catch his attention. Just a moment later he returned, sat down beside me and handed me his Bible. He asked me to turn in his Bible to where I was in my Bible. (I should tell you, he cannot read...yet.) At that moment, it dawne...