Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Slow Day























Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Soup Recipes

I've been on a soup kick lately - it has tasted so good, hearty and comforting - plus is supremely easy with the Crock Pot! Both of these were well received by all of us - yay!


 Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup
Started out with this recipe. Here's what I did:

2 c. boiled chicken breasts, cut up (from freezer)
7 c. chicken broth made from bouillion
2 recipes homemade cream soup with only 2 c. water
1 tsp. salt and 1 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. thyme
2 tsp. minced garlic
1 c. onion
1 c. carrot

Added in egg noodles just before serving. Cooked on high in crock pot for about 3 hours. Delicious, though not creamy as I had expected.


Creamy Corn Chowder (just made up from what I had on hand!)

1 can corn, drained
1 tsp. each salt and pepper
2 tsp. minced garlic
2 Tbsp. minced onion (I was out of fresh, but that would be good too!)
sliced carrots
five red potatoes, cubed
1 can evaporated milk
five slices bacon, cooked and cut up
4 c. chicken broth
2 Tbsp. onion

Cook on low in the Crock Pot all day and serve with shredded cheese and yummy rolls or grilled cheese sandwiches. Yum!

What kinds of soups do you like to make?

Monday, October 29, 2012

Open Tabs


A cute little owl snack for our snack turn at CC the week we dissected owl pellets!

I love this article on Being Yourself When Decorating!

These dinnertime placemats remind me of some fun placemats my Mom had when we were growing up!

I want to remember these two printables when Thanksgiving rolls around:
Utensil holder
Cute printables for kids!

I appreciated this article from Kelle Hampton about making Fall what we want it to be rather than what the weather dictates. As a fellow coastal southerner - I can really relate to this!




Apple Fritter Muffins - fallish and delicious!!!

Do you say, "Just a minute ..." as much as I do? Loved this post.

And, continuing the theme on slowing - Joy's post - love.

Ok, and one more - can you tell where I'm at right now? Blogging is not the source of my overwhelmed feelings, but they are still there. This post just really hit me and has been rolling around in my heart and mind.

October 14th - we watched this together as a family live online - w.o.w.

Another great post about slowing and the consequences of busy.



A quiet-craving heart? Yes, a kindred spirit!

This was pure beauty on a not-feeling-good morning recently. 

Still looking for the perfect potato soup - we tried this, it was absolutely divine left over and so warm and soothing to a sore throat! Delish!

Friday, October 26, 2012

Family Night: Super-Hero Fun!


Inspired by this post and this study, I had fun scouring Pinterest for some Super Hero fun! One Saturday afternoon, I spent a little more than an hour prepping all this fun while the rest of my family was out at 4H.

Simple capes were made (use selvage edge and only sew the casing for ribbon at the top!) and sticky back felt helped littles make their OWN crest and initials on their cape. I had them pre-cut, but they got to assemble! Via this idea.

We started with a fun dinner {foodie ideas via Pinterest!}:





After dinner, we worked through the Mighty Men study, colored the coloring pages I had used to serve chips and made capes! "Super" fun! We thought of a bunch of other brave men in the Bible too and talked about where they got their strength and courage - from God!

I'm always on the hunt for Family Night ideas and would love to hear your ideas too!



Thursday, October 25, 2012

Days of Beauty: Slow Day - how?


So, how exactly do we do slow day? Of course, this will look different in every family - I can only speak from our family and inside these walls what slow day is like here.

An important reminder at this moment is that we do have set home hours. I unplug our phone every morning and have a note on the door that we don't answer before 2pm.

I usually try to fix a hot breakfast on slow day - that is a slowing for sure! It doesn't have to be long and complicated though: muffins or leftover sausage casserole. Making a pot of hot tea is simple enough and still appreciated and slowing.

Our morning routine is really very unchanged - we start by reading the Bible during breakfast, brushing teeth, making beds and getting ready for the day. We start school and all is as usual. Sometimes we may go for a walk before or after school. We may go pick up the fallen magnolia cones that are all over the driveway for ten minutes.

As with breakfast, I try to fix something out of the ordinary and warm and slowing for lunch. And, just as with breakfast - it does not have to take a lot of time. Leftover chicken noodle soup from the night before with freshly toasted grilled cheese, leftover quiche from a prayer shower with a little salad - really whatever feels right and like it would work.

Frequently we have a picnic or eat on the screened in porch or go for a walk. We read and linger. Do a puzzle or play a game, or bake something together.



Slow Day is like any new habit or routine - it takes practice and trying things to find out what works. A simple bit of planning has made this exponentially more successful for us. Planning ahead is the key to success for so many areas in my life - when I am working ahead it is building in slow for a future day.

Be watching Monday for a post on planning - just me sharing what works for me. Planning is such a blessing because if you think about how you are removing the last minute stress and worry of being in a hurry. I won't be standing in the kitchen at 12:32 with hungry children running around me asking what is for lunch - I will be ready and prepared.

Even though a day to slow and pull in is what I'm describing, I still plan for this day. I don't make a lot of preparations in advance but just have a general plan and guide. Of course, there is a place for spontaneous and we still have room for that if it comes up. I'd rather be spontaneous and toss out something else I'd planned than have to scramble around and figure something out in a moment of hurry.


Slow Day has been a huge blessing in our home - it is my favorite day of the week. I'm still learning and still wanting to implement more slow but this has blessed us where we are at in the learning and growing.

Would love to hear your thoughts on slowing!

Photos: Except for Slow Day yesterday, all photos this week have been from our visit to the Botanical Gardens and a beautiful nature trail we found there!

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Slow Day