Yearly Archives: 2016

Greer 2016

This is my first post so leave a reply if you would like! Two weeks ago, our family was blessed to be able to enjoy some time in the beautiful White Mountains of northern Arizona. We stayed in a little town called Greer that has only a couple of restaurants and one tiny grocery store, the Lazy Trout. When we think of Greer, we think of cool weather, incredible storms, and a pretty forest.
Prior to us heading to Greer, we actually had no plans of leaving town over the Labor Day weekend. However, after looking at my school schedule, and realizing that we had taken Labor Day off, we started brainstorming what we could do for the next three days. The thought of heading to Greer came to us instantly, so we prayed about this decision and thanked God for this sudden opportunity to get away for some family fun!
We packed our bags quickly while dad made a flight plan, and then we took off. We arrived at the Springerville airport 40 minutes later and were able to borrow a car, which happened to be an old police car! ☺ Had we driven, it would have taken us 4-1/2 hours!
Once we arrived at our little cabin (called Aspen), we unloaded our things and enjoyed wearing jackets outside ☺! Later, we were fortunate to be able to move to the vacant Willow cabin that overlooked a little meadow. It was so quaint and cozy. After putting our stuff away, we took a walk around the campsite and then walked across the street where we enjoyed the swings and teeter-totter. That night, we enjoyed dinner at Molly Butler’s Lodge!
The next day was our first and last full day in Greer, as it really was a short weekend. That day was filled with walking on trails, painting out in the meadow (which was nice, but the wind didn’t help!), and me getting some experience behind the wheel! ☺ We also enjoyed spending time in our cabin together.
The next morning, we departed for home with joyful hearts after a short, but wonderful stay in Greer!

“Let the field exult, and all that is in it. Then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy” – Psalm 96:12

Katey’s Graduation!

Tonight we gathered to celebrate Katey’s graduation from high school. I had anticipated this milestone in Katey’s life for many years but am amazed at how fast it came!  The ceremony was sponsored by Arizona Families for Home Education and was a fitting tribute to each student and their families for their hard work in training up children in the nurture and admonition of The Lord.  I appreciated the charge given by Congressman Trent Franks to honor The Lord in everything.

As a father, I could not be more proud of Katey as I have been blessed to witness the mighty hand of God at work in her life, especially over the last four years. We made the transition from public schooling to teaching our children at home just four years ago, as Katey was about to begin her freshman year. That decision was met with “Dad, you are RUINING MY LIFE!” as you might imagine.  It was tough, just like we expected it to be, but God, in His faithfulness, began to transform her heart almost immediately.  He took a 13 year-old girl who was concerned only with being accepted by the world, and brought forth a new creation in Christ Jesus.

Now begins a new path in her life as she seeks opportunities to minister to and serve others during her single years.

Join us as we celebrate His work and His faithfulness in and through Katey.

[box]”Look therefore carefully how ye walk, not as unwise, but as wise; redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Wherefore be ye not foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And be not drunken with wine, wherein is riot, but be filled with the Spirit; speaking one to another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord; giving thanks always for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father; subjecting yourselves one to another in the fear of Christ.”

Ephesians 5:15-21[/box]

Oklahoma!

God gave us a beautiful flight Saturday morning as we made our way to visit the Beasley family in Oklahoma this last weekend.

Shortly after arriving, the girls were able to visit a farm and help feed some of the animals while Mr. Beasley and I went to Ardmore to get fuel. After we returned, Mrs. Beasley treated us to the best brisket sandwich I have ever had.

We spent the afternoon playing volleyball, soccer, and Bible Pictionary. Sunday morning we were blessed to be able to join the Beasleys and five other families in a fellowship gathering. We sang hymns, prayed, and shared thoughts from Scripture. It was so nice to meet everyone!

Unfortunately, we had to make our way back to the airport a bit sooner than expected in order to try and avoid some bad weather that was rolling in. Again, God granted us safety and discernment as we made our way back to Arizona.

Although our time was short, we were greatly blessed by our visit. Thank you, Beasley family!

Co-op(eration)

This home-school year has been a lot of fun when it comes to co-op groups. Three families have joined together to provide different educational and social activities that have been a huge hit with our children. We designated every Wednesday of the month for a different activity.

The first Wednesday of the month is an art class; the second Wednesday is sewing, and the third Wednesday of the month is cooking. I don’t know who is having more fun, the girls or me!

We started our cooking course with a class titled “Preparing for Success in the Kitchen.” They learned all about kitchen first aid, tools and utensils, appliances, the use of knives, cooking terms, common abbreviations, equivalents, and measuring accurately.  Then we got into the hands-on cooking classes: “Quick Breads”, “Yeast Breads”, and “Baking Cakes”. They have made Irish soda bread, banana muffins, biscuits, a sweet buttery bunt cake, and red velvet cake. Now c’mon, who wouldn’t like cooking class!

Our most recent class was “Fruits and Vegetables”. The girls learned how to pick ripe fruits and vegetables and how to properly store and freeze them. They were then able to practice different cuts on a variety of fruits and vegetables, from chopping, dicing, and mincing, to roll-cutting, bias cutting, and julienne.

In addition to learning to prep fruits and vegetables, they learned different cooking methods such as baking, boiling, steaming, roasting, blanching, and stir-frying.

We also made garlic and Parmesan roasted green beans, caramelized onions, and baked apples with brown sugar and butter which they got to enjoy at the end of the class with snicker-doodle ice cream. Yumm!

[box] “Then God said, ‘I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food.’”

(Genesis 1:29).[/box]

Praise God for the bountiful harvest that He has supplied!