Author Archives: ~~Rhonda

Living in a small town, I share my life with my husband Russell (married in 1977), five children (one still at home), and six cats (one indoors, the others outside).

I teach an online class called “The Christmas Notebook” which is about all things holiday prep. The many facets of celebrating Christmas comprises one of my favorite hobbies. Other favorite things include gardening, reading, cooking, and scrapbooking.

prayers for Japan

While we are not able to get our minds around the enormity of what has happened in Japan, we can trust that our God is bigger than and Master of anything that happens in His creation. We are praying for the people of Japan and for those who are there to help. We were glad […]

the first smell of spring

The first whiff of these daffodils gave me all kinds of springtime happiness. DH put a bud vase of daffs on my desk. What a nice surprise on Monday morning! “The flowers of late winter and early spring occupy places in our hearts well out of proportion to their size.” ~Gertrude S. Wister I so […]

menu plan monday ~ march 7, 2011

The first daffodils opened Sunday morning. Welcome, Spring! So glad to see these first few blossoms…heralds of what is to come. I tried to keep this week’s menu pretty easy. We have a lot of schooling to do and several activities planned. Monday Homemade Pizza Tuesday Chicken Stir Fry Rice Wednesday Pork Chops Baby Baked […]

book and binder storage

I’ve tried several ways to store the books and binders I use for homeschooling our daughter. I had them on the counter…no good. They were in the way, it looked cluttered…I had to shuffle them to find what I needed. I set them on the floor, against the drawers next to my desk area. But […]

more time in the garden

Wednesday, DH and I were able to get out into the garden for a bit. It was a little cool, but sunny. The light purple crocus are up, but the day was too cool for them to open, so they were just peeking out. The daffodils are leaping sunward. These are ‘Von Sion’ daffodils. The […]

menu plan monday ~ february 28, 2011

We are thankful we came through the storms last night without mishap. We were up till after 1:00 a.m., though, keeping tabs on the weather. We were ready to dash to the basement if need be, but, needed not. We were grateful our oldest daughter was home with us, and not at her apartment where […]

am i willing?

To open our school day, we have a Bible reading schedule we follow, a devotion at least once a week, and the Westminster Shorter Catechism to memorize. Via email each week, our pastor’s wife sends a copy of the next Sunday’s worship bulletin to those who have asked to receive it. Sometimes I peruse the […]

spring is greening

Sunday afternoon DH and I toured the yard, looking for bits and pieces of spring. Here is what we found. Lots of daffodils coming up. The green spikes are so refreshing after months of brown and gray. And white. Yes! Lovely, green moss on the bricks in the veggie garden. Come hot summer weather, this […]

menu plan monday ~ february 21, 2011

Can you believe we had temps of 70 yesterday? Here? In February? It was enough to coax a few crocus from the ground. So great to see! Monday Spaghetti and Homemade Sauce Homemade Rolls Green Salad Peas / Corn Tuesday Hearty Lentil Soup Cornbread Wednesday Chicken Wraps (We use tortillas instead of pita bread.) Celery […]

that potato and hamburger soup with the french onion dip in it that mom used to make

I looked all over the internet and did not find a recipe for this soup that my mom made during my childhood. So I’m putting it out there. We loved it as kids. And it’s easy to make. It never really had a name. We just called it “that potato and hamburger soup with the […]