I’ve talked about eating healthy and I also talk about canning.. so just what exactly do I keep in my fridge anyway?

In keeping with the “fun and random” feel for today, I’m not going to bore with just a straight list of refrigerator staples. But what is it about MY refrigerator supplies that might be different than yours? Well, let’s see…

1. Lots of canned jellies and jams, salsas, sauces and relishes. – Perhaps the most obvious thing when you open my refrigerator and peek inside, the tray of half pint jars on the top shelf grabs your attention. I like jam, and my favorite home made jam is the Peach Chipotle. NOM NOM.

2. Miracle Whip, NOT Mayo. - No, we don’t make our own, yes, we buy it. But the key words here are “NOT MAYO.” Yuck. I seriously dislike Mayonnaise. ICKY. But I do like Miracle Whip. Especially on a bologna sandwich. (But these days that will be Kosher bologna, thank you–the ingredients list on regular balogna grosses me out!)

3. Several different kinds of mustard. – Though we have MW, ketchup and mustard, all three.. I’m really more of a mustard person. I like yellow mustard, spicy brown mustard, hot mustard… YUM.

4. Bragg’s apple cider vinegar (Ick.) – I don’t personally touch this stuff, but Big Daddy drinks it for health purposes. I have, however, used it in a sweet and sour sauce.

5. LOTS of produce. – Since we’re a part of an organic produce co-op, we always have a lot of produce in the fridge. Sometimes some of it is pretty interesting – fresh fennel anyone? Right now I have some kale waiting to be turned into kale chips!

6. Turkey bacon, turkey bacon, turkey bacon. – We usually have pork bacon, too, (it’s a favorite of mine,) but Big Daddy prefers to have turkey bacon with his breakfast so we keep lots on hand.

7. Eggs..Soon to be eggs from my own chickens! You might think of eggs as staples for baking (and they are) but honestly I don’t bake that often. On the other hand, I LOVE breakfast food. Scrambled eggs, fried eggs, french toast. YUM. Breakfast for supper is a favorite, with a full spread of pancakes, eggs, bacon, home made biscuits, gravy and fruit!

8. Tea, milk and water. – I don’t buy a lot of juice, soda and other drinks. We do buy some but not enough to say it’s always in our fridge. Not even close. We usually save that for when we eat out. If we bring it home we drink way too much of it.

9. Cheese, all kinds of cheese. – Cheese is another favorite. We’ll have sandwich cheese, shredded cheese, block cheese, string cheese, cream cheese… cheese, cheese, cheese.

10. Very few leftovers. We don’t eat them, so I try hard not to cook more than we’re going to eat so they don’t go to waste. That means more cooking for me, but less waste for us. It’s a trade off.

How is that? Different than yours? Do we have a lot of common? What will we find in YOUR fridge?

Linking up with Top Ten Tuesday at Many Little Blessings for the Ten Weeks of Ten with iHN.

Thank you for reading! You can use one of the links below to share or comment. Posts may contain affiliate links. More information and disclosure can be found on the blog page. Blessings! ~Amber

The post A Peek In My Fridge (Just for Fun.) appeared first on A Classic Housewife in a Modern World.

Motherhood is a full time job, 24-7. There are no vacations, no sick days off, and no coffee breaks. Even if you do get away for a day, you’re still the mom. If you get a call that your kiddo needs you, you’re there.

The same is true for the homeschool mom. Even when school isn’t in session, you’re still a homeschool mom. Everything ties together. If you don’t get the supper dishes cleared off the table, you might get a late start to breakfast and then you might get a late start on school. There’s always a ripple affect. Even when you’re out and about  you see things through homeschool mom glasses “Oh, we should study that in history. Oh, look at that bug, let’s look it up when we get home.” Am I right?

And if you add in the really hard stuff.. like trying to discipline, parent and educate almost in the same moment, or trying to figure out to engage and succeed with a struggling child.. well, it’s a lot of work! Most homeschool moms I know will readily tell you that it IS a lot of work, but that it’s just worth it. AND IT IS.

But dear homeschool mom, we have to fill up if we’re going to pour out into our kids. How can we stay encouraged – even in the middle of the really hard days – as we homeschool and raise these little ones?

5 Ways to Stay Encouraged for Homeschool Moms

1.)  Read Good Books

There are all kinds of really good books for homeschool moms, or just mothers in general. (I made a list of some good books for homeschool moms a couple of weeks ago.) There are books for moms on all the various paths of life– raising sons, raising daughters, unequally yoked, living with learning disorders, and all sorts of things. How do you find good books worth reading? Ask your friends, friends in similar circumstances for good, solid books that will lift you up and encourage you.

2.) Surround yourself with good friends

People were made for relationships. Even solitary people need a few. More than that, we need really GOOD relationships – people who are like minded, that will encourage you, sharpen you as iron sharpens iron, teach you and be there for you. Especially in my early days of homeschooling, I was so thankful for some more seasoned homeschool moms that God put in my life. Even as a veteran homeschooler now (veteran!?), I am still thankful for my wise, godly women, homeschool friends. These ladies get me, and I get them, and we can encourage each other and bounce ideas off of each other and travel this road together. Because we’re busy homeschool moms, we may not see each other every single week, but when we get together, there is such a good time of encouragement. =)

3.) Attend a homeschool convention or retreat

Why this one? Because it’s like visiting with your homeschool friends times ten. There is so much encouraging and teaching crammed in! Homeschool conventions are also a great place to get  your curriculum at discounted prices and saving money always makes you feel good as a homeschool mom. Earlier this year I had the privilege of attending the Apologia Real Refreshment Retreat in Baltimore. I was again blessed to be able to attend the Teach Them Diligently convention in Nashville. They were both amazing! And in July, I am AGAIN BLESSED to be able to attend the Teach Them Diligently Marketplace and Apologia Refreshment Retreat Sampler. I am really looking forward to it.

I understand that making travel arrangements and finding the funds to get there can be hard. If there’s not a Marketplace within traveling distance, find some kind of convention that is! I never understood how good it is to go to something like that until this year when I finally did!

4.) Write down the good things.

Some days are hard, hard, HARD. On those days the good days can seem so far away! That’s why I’m telling you to WRITE DOWN THE GOOD THINGS. Start a journal! Instagram them! Start a blog! Something! Focusing on and remembering the good is key to not letting the hard things get you down. Paying attention and watching for the good things (to write them down, share them on Instagram, etc,) also allows you to really recognize, enjoy and savor those sweet moments. Homeschooling is hard. But it’s not ALL hard.

5.) Focus on God; Keep perspective.

The previous four tips all tie together in this last one. Perspective is everything. Reading good books, listening to wise friends, attending good conferences, savoring the good moments — these can help you keep perspective. Remember that God does want you to do your best, but He doesn’t expect you to be perfect. God does want you to teach your kids to write, but He’s the one that will call them to be a writer – or not. God is with you, and He gives grace, through the good days and the hard days. We won’t have it all together, and we won’t be perfect, and we also can’t so it on our own in our own strength. Take it to God, and lean on Him — because HE has it all together, HE is perfect and HE can use us to do this.

Are you in need of some more encouragement? This post and many more are part of the Teach Them Diligently Summer of Encouragement Link Up series! You can read More about How to Stay Encouraged While Homeschooling HERE.

Also, don’t forget to check and see if you can find a Marketplace near you! They have locations all over the United States. Learn more about the Marketplaces here.

Image Background Source: Woman With Red Apple by Petr Kratochvil

Thank you for reading! You can use one of the links below to share or comment. Posts may contain affiliate links. More information and disclosure can be found on the blog page. Blessings! ~Amber

The post 5 Ways to Stay Encouraged for Homeschool Moms appeared first on A Classic Housewife in a Modern World.

In my life this week…

What a busy, but in the end very good, week! I began the week just sick and miserable. Monday I thought I was going to need a root canal! But then it became apparent I was working on a pretty serious sinus infection and that was causing the tooth pain. By Thursday I felt much better and was able to attend and lead our small group of Summer Bible Study Ladies through the first chapter of Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World. It went great! The icing on the cake Thursday was winning a ticket to the Apologia Real Refreshment Sampler at the Teach Them Diligently Marketplace (for which I already won a ticket, too!) It’s official — I’ll be going to both in Dallas in July. See you there?

Friday and Saturday evening brought Vacation Bible School at a friend’s church, including a sleepover with a VBS friend for Drama Queen on Saturday night, a birthday party bash at a friend’s house for Princess on Saturday night, and way too much sugar.

In our homeschool this week…

We are still doing school over the summer, but school was rough at the beginning of the week, needless to say. Things picked up by the end of the week.

We learned about:

We finished the second book in the Apologia “What We Believe Series,” Who Am I?, and we began working through the book, The Young Peacemaker. (Oh that is going to be SO good!) We studied early Japan in history, and we are wrapping up our Apologia Zoology notebooking for the chapter on marsupials.

School was fun because:

We’re expecting the Maestro Classics “Mike Mulligan” in the mail soon, and I felt the need to order a new copy of the book since ours has certainly seen MUCH BETTER DAYS. It’s been well used. The cheapest copy on Amazon was actually a “travel kit” with stickers and some other things. That arrived in the mail and the kids were very excited  — it’s always exciting to find an Amazon box on your door step.

For art class we:

We didn’t get to actual “art class” this week.. but earlier this week I set up a youtube playlist for Little Prince with some origami tutorials. All three kids have had fun with origami this week. Princess also drew a portrait for a friend and both learned to make friendship bracelets. We’ll get back to art class next week. =)

My favorite thing this week was…

Friday evening while the kids were at VBS, my husband and I went up to the church for worship rehearsal since James was on “worship duty” this week while our pastor (and worship leader) is out of town. Before everyone else arrived for rehearsal, I had a lot of fun playing my husband’s guitar while he practiced on the pastor’s guitar and running through the worship songs with him. I am really loving and enjoying what God has been doing in our lives lately. =)

My kiddos favorite thing this week was…

VBS, sleepovers and parties!

Things I’m working on…

Around the house:

Well, I have to catch up on housework after being sick, but that’s a given. I’m also tackling a project dresser that I think is going to turn out AMAZING and I can’t wait to finish it and show it to you.

For the blog:

I have a couple of reviews in the works for you! Stay tuned to hear about our experiences with Lilla Rose clips and Maestro Classics! I’m also working on a couple of bigger projects – including a relaunch of Princess’ blog. Also coming soon, another ebook and some other collaborative projects. Lots of stuff in the works!

A photo, video, link, or quote to share (silly, serious or both!)…

As we were finishing up the last chapter in Who Am I, one line really stood out to me. I love it. I want to hang it up on the wall or something. =)

“It’s not what you do that determines who you are,
it’s who you are that determines what you do.”

For more Homeschool Mother’s Journal posts head over

to So You Call Yourself a Homeschooler and browse around!

Thank you for reading! You can use one of the links below to share or comment. Posts may contain affiliate links. More information and disclosure can be found on the blog page. Blessings! ~Amber

The post Homeschool Mother’s Journal ~ Projects, Parties and Playing Guitar appeared first on A Classic Housewife in a Modern World.

As I sit here writing this on Father’s Day, I meditate on the biblical instruction to honor our parents, to honor our father and our mother, and our role as wives and mothers in teaching our children to do that.

It’s no mystery or secret that our children learn by example. By every action, word and tone, we set the example for our children of how to respect (or not respect) people – especially their fathers. As we live together and spend more time together with our family members than with others, it’s these examples that our kids see.

Am I showing our children how to honor and respect their father best? That is my goal, but I often fail when my temper gets the best of me.

God is working on me and my temper, it’s not an easy task. But God is able. =) I do know that I have watched James grow from being a good husband and father to a great husband and father. And I know that I want to be the best wife and mom that I can be, and part of that is honoring my husband and teaching my kids to honor their father as well. I trust God to help me do that.

Teach your children by example. Honor their father, show them how to do it.

Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise), “that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.”  Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. Ephesians 6:1-4

Marriage Minute

Photo Credit: Hands Together by Vera Kratochvil

Thank you for reading! You can use one of the links below to share or comment. Posts may contain affiliate links. More information and disclosure can be found on the blog page. Blessings! ~Amber

The post Marriage Minute ~ Honor Your Father appeared first on A Classic Housewife in a Modern World.

Sign up as a free member to get instant access to this download pack. Already a member? Free and paid members will find this added to the download center. Very cool.=)

There’s also a membership giveaway! Oh, and a $50% off coupon. Lots of goodies. All the details are in this post on Notebooking Pages. Check out the info and get your free patriotic printables.

Thank you for reading! You can use one of the links below to share or comment. Posts may contain affiliate links. More information and disclosure can be found on the blog page. Blessings! ~Amber

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