Typhoon Songda

We had our first big typhoon. We have lived on this island for about three years and this was the first big one we have had. There have been some smaller ones, but this one was big. I have to say it was a little scary too. The wind was loud! Our littlest guy came and laid down by me and hid under a blanket. We were without power for 15 hours. But praise the Lord no one was hurt and nothing of ours blew away. A lot of sheds were destroyed and trees...whole trees uprooted. I thought I would share some pictures of after the typhoon.

                                                        Some garbage by our fence.
                      That black and white stuff was part of someone's roof.

                                    This is the bottom of a  tree that was uprooted.

                                          The aftermath of the storm in the "jungle".

A Good Read

I recently found a new blog, weird unsocialized homeschoolers. I really liked her blog post entitled Dirty Jobs. You can read it here http://www.weirdunsocializedhomeschoolers.com/2011/05/dirty-jobs.html.
I want to add a few thoughts of my own. I have long thought that our school system should offer trade school for those kids who weren't interested in school. You know, once they hit high school, if they aren't inclined to schoolroom type learning, then why not let them learn a trade? Pare them up with a plummer or electrician, or whatever.  Let them learn the ropes. The tradesman gets free work...a help to him, and the kid learns a trade...valuable to him. There seem to be a lot of kids today who have no interest in school, and who I think oftentimes fall in trouble. Why not put them on a good solid workpath? Anyways it was a great read. I hope you'll go check it out.

A Great Read

Hidden Rainbow is a great read. It is the true  story of John and Anna Olesh. They live in a Catholic village in Yugoslavia. It shares how they become saved after a missionary stops by their home and offers them a forbidden New Testament. A great read. It can be bought from http://www.clp.org/search/results?query=Hidden+Rainbow.

Nature Photos

Delicious Dinner

Well it's time again for a weekly menu. So here goes. This week we get to eat out one night, and it is only going to cost us $10 for our whole family!!! There is a special running and the kids eat free. What a deal!
So here is the rest of the week.

Bruschetta Chicken
and
Fettucine Alfredo

Enchiladas
and
Mexican Rice

Chili
and
Homemade Bread

Soup
and
Homemade Bread

Spagetti
and
Meatballs

Marlboro Man's Favorite Sandwich
(from The Pioneer Woman Cooks)
http://thepioneerwoman.com/tasty-kitchen/recipes/main-courses/the-marlboro-man-sandwich/
and
Onion Strings
(from The Pioneer Woman Cooks)
http://thepioneerwoman.com/tasty-kitchen/recipes/appetizers-and-snacks/onion-strings-2/

Homemade Pizza
(This week we get a pizza and movie night)

And...I am trying a new desset from The Taste of Home Baking Book.
I can't wait to try this one...Chocolate Truffle Cheesecake. I will try to post a picture of it after I make it. I would love to hear what all is cooking in your kitchens this week.  :)

Pictures!

We finally got our new camera!!! Our good camera had broken and so I was using an older camera that we had given to our son. I am so glad to have the new camera. So without further ado, here is the first picture on the blog with the new camera. :)

Our two newest games...Monopoly City and Scribblish. Both are great games and tons of fun. I was hesitant to buy the Monopoly City. I thought it was a bit pricey, but it was fun and worth the buy. Scribblish will have the kids cracking up. My husband was even cracking up. I think scribblish would be a fun game to practice writing for kids learning to write stories.

Rainy Days

It is a cozy rainy day today. I love rainy days. It just makes the house seem so cozy. Makes me want to get a good book and sit on the couch and read. I have been so thankful for the rain, as we are working on finishing our school year, and it's easier to stay inside and do school on these rainy days. We are actually having a typhoon go right by us so that is causing a lot of rain, but it is also the rainy season. So we should see a lot of rain until sometime in June. I was able to sit down with a cup of hot cocoa this morning and work on my menu plan. I really like this planning our meals out. It makes for more delicious dinners. Tonight we are having lumpia and fried rice. A favorite.

I wanted to mention something. I know I talk about our kids a lot, but I never show pictures. I don't like to put pictures of our kids on the internet. I don't do facebook or any of that social media. I don't like strangers looking at our kiddos. That said, I enjoy going to the blogs I read a lot and seeing all the pictures that are shared. So I have been thinking a lot that in a way I would like to share pictures, so that those who follow my blog can see some of what I talk about...like science fairs...with pictures. But I am not ready to post pictures of our kiddos on the internet and may never be. So if you are a regular follower, I hope you understand my reason for not posting pictures of our kiddos out there.

I have been looking longingly at some new dvd's I want to purchase. I want to get Anne of Green Gables and Wind At My Back. I found a website that sells them, but they are a bit pricey. Maybe one at a time. It is harder to find good wholesome entertainment these days, so I think it's worth the money when we find good things to watch...especially when it is family friendly. Do you have any family favorite movies or tv shows? I would love to hear what they are.

                      HAPPY
              
                   MOTHER'S

                      DAY!!!

Delicious Dinner

Sometime ago I had started to put dinner meals up, but I only did it once. So I thought that I would share again. This past week for dinner we had:
Chili...in the crockpot
Beef Stew and Rice
Mexican Lasagna (Enchilada Casserole)
Soup...Alphabet Soup, Cream of Potato, and Bacon and Beans
with fresh Homemade Bread
Brunschetta Chicken and Fettuccine Alfredo
Today I am going to make lumpia...I make a lot and freeze it and we get to have it quite a few  times. It goes great with fried rice. The brunschetta chicken....was SO good and SO easy to make. Delicious. I got it out of the Taste of Home cookbook. Here is a link I found to it online
http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/Bruschetta-Chicken-2
The recipe called for fresh basil, but I used dried, and it was just fine.
Here is a link to the Fettuccine Alfredo
http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/Fettuccine-Alfredo-2
I used a blend of grated cheese as I could not find Romano cheese all by itself.

Wednesday Scriptures

O Come, let us sing unto the Lord: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation. Let us come before  his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms. For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods.

Ramblings...

The winds of change seem to be blowing our way. I am really excited about it all. I can't wait to see where the next two years will take us. Should be fun to see. I had a contest up and going, but have decided to wait on it a bit...I think maybe putting it up on the holiday weekend was not a great weekend to post a contest. So keep an eye out, I will probably put a new contest up in about a month or so. I have really fallen off the boat in homeschooling this week. I need to really get on a schedule and keep to it. Our kids were involved in a homeschool science fair. I was really impressed with how the kids did, not just our kids, but all the kids. I hope to post some pictures from it in the near future. We only have about a year left here on the island. I will miss some things, but I am looking forward to moving on to a new place. I am a military brat who married a militay man, so I am always looking forward to boxing up our stuff and moving on to a new house, and a new place. It excites me. But as our kids are getting older, the desire to find a place and settle down is more inviting. I kindof want our kids to put down roots and have a place to call home. But I also realize that home is where family is. Well that's about it for the rambling. Excited to see what new adventures will be headed our way.