Kind hearts are the gardens

Kind thoughts are the roots,

Kind words are the flowers,

Kind deeds are the fruits.

Take care of the gardens,

And keep them from the weeds.

Fill, fill them with flowers,

Kind words and kind deeds.

~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

illustration courtesy of www.allposters.com

"Summer Garden" by Anne Pratt

The Water Horse

First "crop" of okra from the garden! :-)

A Sense of Peace

When passing through the heat and fire,

Three things sustain my mind and heart;

Though still I may not understand,

A sense of peace they do impart.

Beyond all else, I must believe

That what my Father up above

Allows to come into my life

Is based on His unchanging love.

Then this, too, I must remember,

That nothing e'er escapes God's eye.

He is aware of everything.

He even knows before I cry.

And then this, too, I must believe

Down deep within my troubled soul,

That nothings in this universe

Is ever out of God's control.

~Eugene L. Clark

illustration courtesy of www.allposters.com

"The Peaceful Village" by Henry John Yeend King

Testing 1, 2, 3 :-)

Since we began home schooling,

I have administered standardized tests

to the children after each school year.

After the first year, we tested in May. But, in years since, we have tested mid-summer ~ and, found it to be much nicer that way. In May, the children and teacher are a little weary. Taking a good, long month of "summer" first, seems to make everyone a little more fresher and ready for a week of testing. :-)

I have used the Iowa Test of Basic Skills for the past four years. I had to register to be a test administer and then I just simply order the testing materials each year. I use Bob Jones University Press for testing supplies.

After the testing is complete, I mail all of the materials back to Bob Jones where the tests are scored and ranked against students across the country. The results that are returned to me show the children's strengths and weaknesses and also how they are comparing nationally to other students.

It usually takes about 2 to 2 1/2 hours each day over 3 to 4 days to complete the testing.

And when we are all done, it's fun to do something special at the end of the week! :-)

Supper Menus
July 6th-11th

Monday
steaks and peppers on the grill, baked potatoes, lettuce and tomato salad, french bread
Tuesday
tacos, refried beans, spanish rice, ice cream sundaes
Wednesday
crispy chicken tenders and gravy, french fries, fried okra, baked beans, big daddy biscuits
Thursday
out for supper
Friday
hamburgers, baked beans, coleslaw, potato salad
Saturday
breakfast for supper - bacon, potatoes o'brian, pancakes, juice

Happy 4th of July!

My country,' tis of thee,

sweet land of liberty,

of thee I sing;

land where my fathers died,

land of the pilgrims' pride,

from every mountainside

let freedom ring!

My native country, thee,

land of the noble free,

thy name I love;

I love thy rocks and rills,

thy woods and templed hills;

my heart with rapture thrills,

like that above.

Let music swell the breeze,

and ring from all the trees

sweet freedom's song;

let mortal tongues awake;

let all that breathe partake;

let rocks their silence break,

the sound prolong.

Our fathers' God, to thee,

author of liberty,

to thee we sing;

long may our land be bright

with freedom's holy light;

protect us by thy might,

great God, our King.

illustration courtesy of www.allposters.com

"The Glorious 4th"

I've Been Jammin'

Strawberry jammin' that is!

Three pounds of strawberries

and an hour and a half later...

Twelve jars of strawberry jam!

So good on toast and ice cream! :-)

You can find the Sure-Jell recipe here.

Linked to Gooseberry Patch Recipe Roundup.

Welcome July!

The summer is flying by!

I can't believe it's already time

to say goodbye to June,

and hello to July!

What are you doing to enjoy summertime?! :-)

"In summer, the song sings itself."

~William Carlos Williams

Kelli at There Is No Place Like Home

gave me a great idea for a

simple summertime salad.

Taking Kelli's lead, I plated some salad greens and tomatoes.

I cooked up some chicken

and seasoned it

with McCormick's Caribbean Jerk seasoning

and lots and lots of freshly ground black pepper.

I added some freshly grated parmesan cheese and topped the salads with one of our family's favorite dressings ~ Ken's Steak House Sweet Vidalia Onion.

The sweet dressing was just perfect with the spicy chicken.

The family really enjoyed it. :-)
Thanks Kelli!

"Don't hurry, don't worry.

You're only here for a short visit.

So be sure to stop and smell the flowers."

~Walter C. Hagen

Supper Menus
June 29th - July 4th

Monday
spaghetti, garlic bread sticks
Tuesday
caribbean jerk chicken salad, sour dough bread, chocolate cake
Wednesday
kung pao chicken, white rice
Thursday
out for supper
Friday
invited to bbq supper with family, taking sugar cookies
Saturday
invited to 4th of July bbq supper with family, taking baked beans and apple pie

4th 5K

The fourth Saturday in June, means that it is time for the Polish Day Festival and the Polish Pickle Run!

Held in the charming town of Bremond, Texas.

You pick up your bib number from The Bremond Press office building.

The run begins "down town" and winds through through the small town's streets, with plenty of folks out on their front porches to cheer you on. :-)

Hay bales mark the finish line tunnel.

After catching your breath,

a stroll through the vendor booths is definitely in order.

This year, Miss Hollywood was in attendance to see Mom finish. ;-)

I was disappointed that I had to walk some during mile 2,

but I did shave six minutes off my best 5K time

and eight minutes off my first Pickle Run. :-)

I'm improving ~ and that's what counts! ;-)

"For I know the plans I have for you,

declares the LORD,

plans to prosper you and not to harm you,

plans to give you hope and a future."

Jeremiah 29:11

illustration courtesy of www.allposters.com

"Sunlit Daisies" by Ron Jenkins

"Celebrate each tiny goal achieved! Don't think about the big, impossible sounding goal in the future. Think about today and the goal you reached that you hadn't been able to reach the day before. One day, all the tiny goals will get you to the big goal!"

~ Mrs. H. :-)

front yard crepe myrtle

in bloom

Texas Heat Wave

"What dreadful hot weather we have!

It keeps me in a continual state of inelegance."

~Jane Austen

Thank goodness for watermelon! ;-)

Supper Menus
June 22nd-27th

Monday
summer sub sandwich, potato chips, pickles, watermelon
Tuesday (father's day/birthday dinner for father-in-law)
steaks, peppers, zucchini and corn on the grill, baked potatoes and toppings, green salad, dinner rolls, peach cobbler
Wednesday
chicken tenders, mashed potatoes and gravy, green peas, dinner rolls
Thursday
steak and chicken fajitas, spanish rice, pinto beans, tortilla chips and dips
Friday
out for supper
Saturday
out for supper

Father's Day at Heritage Schoolhouse

Mr. H. is pretty easy to please.

All he requested for Father's Day was...

chicken parmesan for Sunday dinner,

the new Mark Levin book,

and a restful afternoon.

He got all three...of course! :-)

Happy 1st Day of Summer!

It's felt like summer here in Texas for weeks now,

but today is the first day of summer

according to the calender. :-)

I have listed some wonderful things of summertime here .

What are your favorite things about summertime? :-)

illustration courtesy of www.allposters.com

"Summer Rental" by Susan Stallman