Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas from my children and I!

Presents under the tree Christmas Eve

Easy Shepherd's Pie (w/roasted garlic mashed potatoes)

This cold weather we've been having called for a good ole comfort-food recipe this week. I decided to make shepherd's pie with my own twist, I topped it with roasted garlic mashed potatoes. A tasty, one dish meal to fill up those bellies after spending an afternoon playing in the snow. Bonus, you could double this recipe and freeze one dish for a quick meal on a busy night.

Kwik Stix Review and Giveaway

My children all love to color, paint and do crafts. A few years ago, we were introduced to a company called The Pencil Grip, Inc.. They have this awesome product called Kwik Stix that my children absolutely love. Recently we tried out Thin Stix Creativity Pack.

Paleo & Gluten Free Buffalo Chicken Nuggets

If you are like myself, I am always on the lookout for tried & true recipes that the whole family enjoys. I love cooking from scratch and do so whenever I can. Today's recipe falls in line with not only "from scratch" cooking, but is also Paleo & Trim Healthy Mama friendly AND gluten free!! The bonus?? It was a hit with my kids!! What is it??

Pumpkin Pancakes

Ahhh yes that time of year.....apples, pumpkin in many forms (coffee & cappuccino anyone?) as well cool, fall nights. We've been itching to make some goodies using pumpkin and one of our latest creations was pumpkin spice pancakes. These were a hit with everyone. The pumpkin isn't strong tasting for those who don't like an overwhelming taste of it. The hint of spices rounded out this yummy breakfast and it couldn't be complete without the dollop of whipped cream on top!

Unique Gospel Tracts and Evangelism Tools - Review

I think many of us over the years have seen our share of gospel tracts. Whether it's one someone handed to you or have seen in displayed in stores, tucked into door handles, etc. Personally, the ones I have seen aren't engaging and I imagine wouldn't make a non-believe eager to check it out, let alone capture a child's attention. I was recently introduced to Gospel Tracts and Evangelism Tools Sampler Pack from Let the Little Children Come. Let me tell you, my children and I were quite impressed!

Italian Veggie Soup

 I love making this over summer because all the veggies this recipe calls for can come fresh from my garden. It's also a warming soup for those cold winter days. This soup freezes well so I will often make a huge batch to have some for a meal, leftovers for lunch and several containers to put in the freezer.

Sugar Cookie Fruit Cup

Have you ever had a fruit pizza? If you have, this is a similar recipe with a twist. If you haven't, let me briefly explain a fruit pizza.

You take a sugar cookie dough (either homemade or store bought), spread it on a greased cookie sheet or pizza pan, bake it, then top with this yummy "icing" (recipe found below). After that, dice up whatever fruit you desire on top of that. Slice then serve! Super easy!

I wanted to kick up this recipe a notch, so I decided to try & make dessert cups from the dough.

Learning to Read Made Easy- Reading Eggs Review

Reading Eggs is a very thorough program for teaching reading & comprehension to young kids. In the past, we've used their free trial to try out the program. My children have always enjoyed how easy it was to use and I loved how fast they picked up what they learned. Recently, we had a chance to review their 6 month online subscription. They also offer a 12 month subscription as well.

National Pregnancy and Infant Death Awareness Day

The month of October is recognized all over for being Breast Cancer Awareness month but many people unfortunately don't know that it is also Pregnancy & Infant Death Awareness month as well. Yes, I realize most places call it pregnancy & infant loss awareness month but if you ask many moms, we prefer the word death rather than loss. We didn't lose our child, they died.

Brinkman Adventures - Review

I remember as a child listening to a radio station in the evenings and hearing Christian audio dramas. Of course this was long before DVD's and the internet! Imagine my surprise to find out audio dramas are still being made today. I admit, we really haven't ever used them much in our homeschooling because I have some hearing impaired children who find it hard to simply listen to audio without being able to read lips. But I recently was introduced to Brinkman Adventures that some of my other children listened to. I had actually never heard of them before since we always shied away from audio dramas. We were given Brinkman Adventures Season 4 to recently review.

My First Letters Workbook - Review

My younger children often want to "do school" like their older siblings so I try to find things they can work on while the older kids are working on their school work. My 4 year old has really been trying to practice writing letters lately so she was excited to receive My First Letters. This workbook comes from Channie's Visual Handwriting & Math Worksheets, which is just one of several workbooks from this company and fellow mom who founded it.