art class

In celebration of Black History month, we incorporated study of Jazz music with our art class. The students then drew a musical instrument - then drew the colors that the instrument created - drew the texture of the sound. This became the background that the musical instrument was mounted upon. It was a very neat project and very different.

snow in WI

There is really nothing more beautiful than snow in Wisconsin. We recently got a very wet, sticks to everything type of snow. It made things just picture perfect.

The best part was this snow lasted only a day or two and then melted away. We have had an unusually warm winter with not much snow this year. It has been nice to not have to shovel as much as we did last winter. The snow is just beautiful though.

sprouting

I have been getting into sprouting as it is so healthy for you and a great way to get fresh 'greens' in the middle of winter. This was one that I was just fascinated to try. This is the Beanie's Awesome Mix - after sprouted and ready to be eaten. I tried them just eating them by themselves - very good; put them on a salad - really loved them that way; and tried this recipe -- click here --- with a few modifications (no soy sauce) - it was fabulous. My husband and I enjoyed it very much - my kids took one look and wanted nothing to do with it. Sprouts are just not for them - which I really don't understand - because I just loved them.

I took a bunch of pictures of the various sprouts I decided to get -- who knew there were so many types of sprouts - until I got into this - I have only eaten alfalfa sprouts. Love them but the variety of sprouts is just fascinating.

I have this one - the French Garden - in my sprouter now. It needs a few more days before it will be ready to munch on. It looks really good though.

I purchased the sprouter from here - and it came with the package of alfalfa sprouts. The rest of the sprouts came from here. Lots of recipes on the sprouting website also. I was just amazed to see the variety of sprouts and to see all the different ways sprouts can be used. Another interesting fact - most sprouts have a fairly long shelf life - you can find out more about that by clicking here.

Happy sprouting!

The Coming Revolution: Signs from America's Past That Signal Our Nation's Future by Dr. Richard G. Lee

This book fascinated me greatly. I love history and feel that if we don't study and understand history we are doomed to repeat the mistakes of the past. Also by understand our own country's history we can understand what made our nation great. This book begins with an introduction to how our nation was settled. He puts forth the argument that the Great Awakening laid the foundation and was the inspiration to the American Revolution. Dr. Lee states that the "Revolution was the moment when the flame of faith that had been lit during the Great Awakening burst forth, helping to shape the character and destiny of a nation." He claims it "shaped the thinking of the patriots in the years prior to the Revolution."

It was a fascinating book to read and think about how much faith in God played a part in our country's past history. The revisionists like to try to eradicate this from all textbooks. Interestingly, my children and I are studying the 1600-1700's currently. This book gave me great insight into the time period. I highly recommend this book for those that want to really have a good grasp on how faith played a role in the founding of our nation.

BookSneeze has provided me with a complimentary copy of this book for review. I received this book for free from the publisher through the Tyndale Blog Network book review (BookSneeze) bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

oh kitty kitty

I have several plants and a bowl of fruit on the kitchen table. Our dear kitty cat loves to investigate. I love the look she is giving me. Sitting there where she doesn't belong, trying to 'blend in', sniffing the fruit while glancing me to see if I notice her. Yep! Busted!

Once she realized she was busted she got up to get ready to flee if necessary but continued to investigate until fleeing was required!

Aren't cats funny!

See the grumpy look. My husband didn't want the dog to sit in the chair (actually he doesn't like any of the animals to sit in the chair) - so he piled it with pillows. The cat was completely put out that she couldn't sit in her favorite spot! She perched on the end of the chair and grumped at me. I felt so bad for her - I moved the pillows. She curled right in.

Paper Angels by Billy Coffey

This is Billy Coffey's second novel. I find I really enjoy his writing style. You can tell he is a man of faith - that shines through. It is nice to see. Andy is the main character in the book and the story begins with him in the hospital. He meets with a councilor who tries to help him piece together why it all happened. It is a great path of discovery.