Faith, Home, & Family
Have you finished your Christmas shopping? I haven’t! ugh… We had better get busy, as Christmas is less than 2 weeks away!
Today through December 19th, Christianbook.com will be having a “Last Minute Christmas” sale. Over 1,800 resources will be on sale up to 96% off!
Tacos are on the menu here every week. Some of us have taco salads, instead of using tortillas. I prefer a the salad. Some, like my husband, have tacos and a taco salad. lol At least he’s getting plenty of veggies!
These Cheesy Ranch Pork Chops from MyFreezEasy were so easy to make. The family loved them! They were so good. These will be a regular on the menu now.
This week I will be spending all my kitchen time getting ready for Thanksgiving!
What are your plans for Thanksgiving Dinner?
Now…. to answer the question that I get asked about a hundred times a day……….What’s For Dinner?
Saturday – quick & easy- Dinner at a wedding
Sunday – soup & sandwich day – Cheeseburgers, tortellini
Monday – chicken or turkey – Chicken Fajita Bake (from MyFreezEasy), rice, beets
Tuesday – pizza/pasta – Spaghetti with meat sauce, garlic bread, salad
Wednesday – Taco Night- breakfast for supper – biscuits & gravy
Thursday – pork or venison – Thanksgiving Day!
Friday – venison – Thanksgiving leftovers!
Check out my newest recipes!
For more ideas, visit Menu Plan Monday
*This post contains affiliate links. If you click the link and make a purchase, I will receive a small commission.
We left the hills of Kentucky this past weekend to travel to the big city of Cincinnati for a family wedding. Our niece, on my husbands side, got married. We used to live outside Cincinnati, but we haven’t been back in several years.
The wedding ceremony was at an old church downtown.
The church had not been used in 25 years, according to the website. Another church purchased it and finished the rehab just a couple of months ago.
It looks like the outside was kept as the original. The inside was a combination of the original and the new. It had the most gorgeous stained glass windows.
And an amazing ceiling and columns. They had painted the bottom part of the walls black. They surrounded the columns with metal, lights, and speakers. Hung a large, retractable screen in the front.
It’s so awesome that they rehabbed an old church so it could be used and enjoyed again. Only it left me feeling sad. Sad that they painted the walls black, and added so much modern “stuff”. Just my opinion, of course, but I can’t help but think how much more awesome the church would have been if the walls weren’t black and they had found another way to incorporate the technology.
The ceremony was beautiful! Then we ventured back into Kentucky to an event center for the reception. We had never been to this Kentucky city before. So we got a little, shall we say, lost while trying to find it. I was reading the map on my phone, but it’s not my fault that my husband drives faster than the gps can spit out the directions! lol
The reception was a lot of fun! I meant to take the place card, but forgot it on the table! At least I got a picture of it, though.
They had a maid of honor, a matron of honor, and two best men. They all gave speeches, as well as the father of the bride, my husband’s brother. So there was a lot of toasting and glass clicking. Thankfully, they offered a non-alcoholic champagne version to drink. That’s what I, my husband, and our kids drank.
They had a dessert table that included chocolate cakes, several different kinds of cookies, several different kinds of pies, candies, and a few different gluten-free desert options. They removed the wedding cake from the table before they turned us loose on the desserts. I’m not sure if they ever served wedding cake, as we left before the party and dancing was over. It was pretty, though.
They had these to-go boxes on the dessert table along with a sign encouraging everyone to take some with them. It’s a neat idea, and gave us something to snack on for the almost 3 hour trip home.
I saw this car in the parking garage and my first thought was it’s their car. After thinking about it, after I took the picture, I came to the conclusion that it couldn’t be their car. There were other parties going on at the event center, so it made sensee that it wouldn’t automatically be their car, but I didn’t do much thinking before I took the pic. lol So I ended up with a picture of some random car that belongs to some bride and groom that I don’t know. So I thought I’d share it with you. lol
This next picture makes me laugh. I hadn’t worn high heels in years. The last time I remember wearing them was when our daughter got married 8 and a half years ago! I managed to get through the day, though, including walking down city sidewalks, and going down two sets of stairs to get to the reception. When we left the reception, I took them off to go back up the stairs. lol I didn’t feel bad, though! When I was in line to get dinner from the buffet, I saw a woman that had taken her shoes off. So I lasted longer than she did. lol The walk back to the parking garage almost did me in! I so wanted to take the heels off and walk down the side walk in my stocking feet! I would have if it hadn’t been so cold out! I made it to just inside the parking garage before I took them off. lol
Those were some tough pantyhose! When I took them off that night and checked the feet, you could not even tell that I had walked quite a ways on cement with them. lol
I guess you can take the woman out of the country to a city wedding, but you can’t take the country out of the woman!
As part of the Homeschool Review Crew, I have been using Biology 101 from The 101 Series with my 10th grade son. The 101 Series high school science curriculum was started after a homeschool mom couldn’t find what she was looking for from the biology curriculum available. Biology 101 is hosted by Wes Olson, Multnomah Bible College graduate, veteran filmmaker of 15 years, and homeschooling father.
Not a homeschooler? You can still use Biology 101 if your children are in public or private school. These dvds will provide a clear Christian context for all of the information they have learned in their classes.
Biology 101 is a complete high school level overview of biology from a Biblical perspective. These 4 DVDs are full of accurate and fascinating information, with hundreds of captivating visuals and graphics. This high school science curriculum is easy to use, and easy to understand.
Biology 101 divides all life according to the days of creation. There are 7 major divisions in Biology 101: The Introduction – Life Defined and Life Classified, The 3rd Day – plants, The 5th Day – Aquatic Creatures, The 5th Day – Avian Creatures, The 6th Day – Land Animals, The 6th Day – Mankind, and Genetics. These are divided into 11 segments, then divided into 27 individual weeks of study. If you do one segment every week, it will take you about 7 months to finish. This is easily customized to your own schedule. The nine individual segments range from 30-45 minutes each.
Included on the fourth disc is a printable guidebook that puts all the information on the dvds into print, and adds additional information as well. Each guidebook segment includes a multiple choice quiz and discussion questions.
A 12-page Course Accreditation Program booklet is also included on the 4th dvd for those families that want a year-long biology course. This shows what should be completed when, with the suggested hours needed to complete. It has a place to record the actual hours that the student spent on each activity. The Accreditation Booklet averages 5 hours of work for every week.
Using the DVDs and Guidebook, both printable, the activities include making a Biology 101 notebook to record all your work, research and lab reports, discussion questions, fun and easy labs. As well as taking field trips, suggested books to read, and using resources on the web and at your local library The Biology 101 labs and activities mostly use pretty common materials. None of the labs require the dissection of animals. Though one of the suggested field trips is to catch a fish and prepare it for eating.
I have been using Biology 101 as a supplement to my sons current biology curriculum. He has been averaging one segment every week. I printed the Guidebook for my son to use. I am viewing the guidebook and the accreditation book on my computer as I need to. I like that everything on the dvds is in the guidebook. It makes it very easy for the students to review and study the material presented.
The dvds are very well done. The material is presented in such a way that keeps it interesting for the students, as well as adults. I have watched most of the videos with my son. We both have liked the way the material is presented on the dvds.
Replacement disks are available! So if life happens, and one of the dvds gets damaged, you can purchase just that disk and not have to purchase the whole set again. I wish more home school curriculum producers would offer that option! Another great thing about The 101 Series is that you can make as many copies of the guidebook and the quizzes that your family needs. The Accreditation book says you can make copies of the guidebook and the Accreditation program for your family, class, or co-op.
Biology 101 is a full course high school course that can also be used to supplement your current biology curriculum. It’s also great for adults who want to brush up on biology before their kids get to it, or as an educational dvd for younger students, especially middle school science students.
Also available in the 101 Series are Physics 101 and Chemistry 101. General Science 101 is expected to release the end of 2016 or in 2017.
To see what other homeschoolers have to say about the 101 Series, click the graphic below.
We love playing games as a family, so I was excited to receive Commissioned from Chara Games to review.
Commissioned is a historically accurate, Christian strategy board game. You don’t have to be a Christian to play and enjoy Commissioned, though! Commissioned presents the Biblical information, which is the first 150 years of church history, from a historical viewpoint. You do not need to know anything about Christianity or the history of the early church to play.
We’ve been playing this board game as a family. Commissioned is for 2-6 players and recommended for ages 14 and up. I think the high minimum age is because it is a strategy game. If you have a younger teen that likes to play strategy games, I think they could play this game as well. Or an adult and a younger than 14 could play together as a team. That way the whole family could play together. There are a lot of little pieces, though, so younger than 3 shouldn’t play.
Commissioned, which takes about an hour to play, is played in rounds on a two sided game board. Players act as one of 6 Apostles of the early Christian Church, each with its own large playing board.
There are 5 scenario cards to choose from. One of these is selected before the game begins. Each scenario is different, with different goals to be completed in each game. Because of this, the 2 sided game board, and the trial cards that are played during the game, no 2 games are the same.
There is an over sized 12 page rule book with instructions and plenty of pictures that explains how to play the game. I like that a 12 page over sized Commissioned Theme Appendix is included with the game. It explains some of the historical background of the game, the people, places, and events depicted in the game. It has pictures of all of the Trial and Faith cards. It explains each of these cards with the history behind what is on the card. Some have Bible verses to help explain it.
Commissioned is little complicated to learn. However, after watching the how to play video on the website, which is 24 minutes long, and playing a couple of times with the rule book in hand, we had learned how to play. Here’s a short overview video that explains a little of the church history behind the board game, and a little about the game play.
Players take turns as the group’s elder, passing around a staff, and must make decisions affecting the team. Faith Cards are drawn & played, Trial Cards are chosen and completed, the books of the New Testament collected, church members added, new churches planted, and persecution overcome.
Game play continues in rounds until the scenario card victory conditions are met, before the Trial Deck runs out. If the Trial cards run out before the conditions are met, or 5 churches are extinguished, the game is over. Commissioned is a collaborative game, everyone wins and loses as a team.
While learning to play the game, it seemed complicated and overwhelming. Once we learned all the rules, it wasn’t complicated at all. Commissioned is a great family strategy board game that I’m sure we will be playing many more times.
To see what other homeschool families have to say about Commissioned, click the graphic below.
Chara Games has a new game coming soon, 3 Seeds, that looks like a lot of fun.
3 Seeds is a light strategic card game. I will be receiving it soon to play with my family. Be sure to keep an eye out of that review!
*This post contains affiliate links
I didn’t post a menu last week, but I did plan one out. Thankfully! I worked my menu plan and had a pretty easy week in the kitchen. It allowed me to have some extra time to cook for the freezer!
I put two Chicken Fajita Bake dinners in the freezer. I got this recipe from MyFreezEasy and it’s a family favorite.
I made a batch of brownies. I wrapped them individually, put half in a snack bin and put the other half in the freezer. Shhhh…..don’t tell my family. They don’t know they are there!
I made two meals of Bacon Cheeseburger Nachos, also from MyFreezeEasy. Well, I made the meat and bacon mixture. Defrost, heat, serve on tortilla chips, top with cheddar cheese. Yum! I also put one meals worth of cooked hamburger in the freezer. That will be going on the spaghetti this week.
I made a batch of taco meat, and divided it into 2 meals, and froze them.
I made a big batch of french toast. I used 14 eggs, and almost 2 loaves of bread. We ate some for supper that night, with bacon, and I froze the rest. I flash freeze them with waxed paper in between layers. Then I put them in freezer bags and we can take out just the amount we need for whoever is eating breakfast.
Deer hunting season started and my husband got one over the weekend. We process the meat ourselves. This is how I set up the counter for my husband and son when they are cutting the meat. I then take the final cuts of meat and vacuum seal them. I use chucks (those pads they put on beds that absorb moisture) or puppy pads. I use whatever we have on hand. I cover the pads with newspaper. This way all the blood from cutting the meat is absorbed, instead of getting all over my kitchen. Yes, I still sanitize after they are done! But this saves a lot of clean up work.
I made 4 loaves of banana bread. We ate 2. lol It was over the course of 2 days, though! lol I put the other 2 in the freezer. I have them waiting there until I need a quick snack to serve.
I also made lasagna last week. I get the noodles ready the easy way. lay them out on a baking sheet, and pour boiling water over them. They soften, but are still really easy to handle. And after cooking the lasagna, the noodles come out perfect, not overcooked.
I baked one lasagna that night, and put one in the freezer.
Lasagna is a family favorite. They family was so happy that I made it! The dug in right away, so I didn’t get a picture of the whole pan. lol
We had another family favorite, Skillet Sausage Pasta. I served it with peas and cornbread this time.
I made homemade pizza on Saturday! It was cause for celebration, as I haven’t made homemade pizza in almost a year. My mother was in the hospital for 4 months, starting last December. I didn’t make any then. By the time she got home and got settled in our home to finish recuperating, it was getting too hot to bake.
There’s nothing like homemade pizza! I made pepperoni, it’s hard to tell in the picture, but these are extra large pizzas. I used a whole package of pepperoni on this one pizza, in 2 to 3 layers!
I also made an onion and green pepper pizza. Yum!
I got some baking in over the weekend, too. I made Pumpkin Cinnamon Chip Cookies!
I also made homemade biscuits. I thought it sounded like a good idea to cut them extra thick. Well, I ended up with very tall biscuits! lol I baked some, and put some unbaked in the freezer for future breakfasts.
Phew! That was a lot of cooking and baking! What have you been up to in the kitchen lately?
Now…. to answer the question that I get asked about a hundred times a day……….What’s For Dinner?
Saturday – quick & easy- Homemade Pizza with pepperoni, green peppers and onions
Sunday – soup & sandwich day – Hot Ham & Cheese Sandwiches on Sweet Hawaiian Rolls
Monday – chicken or turkey – Chicken Fajita Bake, rice, green beans
Tuesday – pizza/pasta – Spaghetti with meat sauce, garlic bread, salad
Wednesday – Taco Night- Tacos with all the fixin’s & taco salads for some
Thursday – pork or venison – Cheesy Ranch Pork Chops, baked potatoes, broccoli
Friday – venison – Venison roast, potatoes, & carrots in slow cooker,
Check out my newest recipes!
For more ideas, visit Menu Plan Monday
*This post contains affiliate links. If you click the link and make a purchase, I will receive a small commission.
This week is National Bible Week (November 13-19, 2016) and today is International Day of the Bible (November 14, 2016). And The Beginner’s Bible is celebrating! The Beginner’s Bible Team would like to give you the chance to win a copy of The Beginner’s Bible: Timeless Children’s Stories for your child.
Let’s have a little Bible trivia fun just for Grown-ups from The Beginner’s Bible, the beloved brand of storybook Bibles and Bible resources for little ones.
Are you up for a trivia challenge? Do you think you know your Bible? Let’s play!
[Tweet “Answer #Bible #Trivia Questions for a chance to #win The Beginner’s Bible #giveaway @LindasLunacy”]
Here are the rules:
Three trivia questions will be posted each day for five days. Without looking up the answers, post your guesses in the comments section below. Everyone that responds with all three correct answers will be entered into a drawing to win a copy of The Beginner’s Bible: Timeless Children’s Stories for their family. A winner will be selected from all 5 days of correct comments made by midnight, Friday the 18th, and winner will be contacted on Sunday.
Answer each day’s 3 questions in one comment below to enter. So you will have one comment for each day you are participating.
Answers are posted above!
Congratulations Leela!
*Disclosure: I received no compensation for this post. One winner will be selected from all 5 days of correct comments made by midnight, Friday the 18th, and winner will be contacted on Sunday. Prize provided by sponsor. Linda’s Lunacy is not responsible for prize fulfillment. Open to US residents 18+.
