Columns

When homeschooling, I liked to try fun and interesting ways to teach my kids. I think looking back I had mixed results but I always enjoyed trying. I did have one experience though that produced disastrous results.

I started with good intentions, as always. We were reading the book Homer Price, a wonderful book that I highly recommend. I read it as a kid so I was over the moon to introduce it to my kids. As with most elementary age homeschooling materials, there are several different lessons to reinforce the concepts.

For Chapter III, The Donuts, the curriculum suggested we fry up donuts with oil in the kitchen. What a fabulous idea! I should probably mention at this point that I am not the most talented cook by far. In fact the kids offer to cook for me when they come home. But I am getting off topic.

State’s names and how they were acquired have always been an interest. Let’s look at a few states in today’s article and if you are interested. They may be completed in increments for a later date.

Alabama – After the Alabama River and the Alabama Tribe of Indians whose name means “Plant Gatherers”.

Alaska – After the Aleut Eskimos name for “Great Land”.

Arkansas – From a Basque word meaning “Good Oak Tree”.

California – By early Spanish explorers after a legendary gold laden island.

Colorado – From the Spanish word meaning “Colored Red”.

Connecticut – After an Indian word meaning “Beside the Long Tidal River”.

Delaware – After the first Virginia governor Sir Thomas West, Lord De La Warr.

Florida – Named by the Spanish explorer Ponce de Leon who discovered the peninsula on April 12, 1513 “Flowery Easter”.

Georgia – In honor of King George II of England.

In the captivating and impactful book, “Captive in Iran,” two young women, Maryam Rostampour and Marziyeh Amirizadeh, had passed out Bibles to twenty thousand people in Iran. They knew the dangers, but felt it was worth the risks.

Years before, both women had a powerful conversion from Islam to Christianity, and both were passionate followers of Jesus Christ.

Converting from Islam to Christianity can be punishable by death in Iran.

At one point, Marziyeh was asked in a demanding tone, “You have an Islamic name. Your parents are Muslims. How can you be Christian?”

“With the Lord, anything is possible,” she replied, silencing the questioner.

Despite the known risks of being Christians in Iran, Maryam and Marziyeh also hosted two secret home churches in their apartment — one for young couples and another for prostitutes.

However, in 2009, Maryam and Marziyeh were arrested and imprisoned in Tehran’s notorious, brutal Evin Prison.

Hello Folks!! Hope everyone is doing well out in reader land. I know we are doing well over here on Hwy 84 East at MNC. Time is just flying by and here it is time for me to write about our happenings here at MNC. I’ve been so busy I didn’t have time to interview a resident this week, but we will catch up on that next week.

One of the reasons I’ve been so busy is our beloved Transportation / Ward clerk Mrs. Linda Sue Peoples has had a stroke and is now in Therapy in Shreveport, so I am driving residents to their appointments in Linda Sue’s absence. Please pray for her and her family as they take this journey. She is doing well, I was fortunate to visit with her yesterday and attend therapy with her. She’s really doing well so far, but has a road ahead of her that we know she will conquer. We all miss her terribly and can’t wait for her to be well!

So my oldest is twenty-three. Wow-I just can’t even. But I am trying to go with the flow and not even think about how old that makes me. He recently came home from the military and is in transition phase. He is waiting for his apartment lease start date and his job to begin again. So he is living with us-a discussion for another time. He runs frequently and likes to have a buddy. Enter his mama who just walks for a living.

“Hey Mom-why don’t you be my accountability partner so when I get up at 6:30AM every morning to run you can go with me but I know you will just walk because….” Here my kid stalls, not sure how to proceed. I help him out a bit. “Ummm….so you want me to go with you to town and you will run and I will walk? At 6:30 every morning?” He grins sheepishly, “Yes Mom, if you don’t mind.”

An early morning awhile back Mr. Powell and I noticed a huge silvery full moon just setting to the west of Mansfield as we headed to our coffee group at the Female College Museum. It caught us by surprise and we both commented on how spectacular it was. Mr. Powell said he thought it was “The Snow Moon” so named because it’s the last full moon when there’s still a chance of a snow. That just HAS to be true because he knows these kinda things.

Chocolate Crinkles

Do you have your Game Box out, ready to challenge friends and family to a fun afternoon? Or have you decided to just spend the winter days curled up with a good book? Either way, you are going to want to treat yourself and the others to a sweet treat.

Chocolate Crinkles are a great way to do just that. It’s an old recipe that has stood the test of time and is still a favorite for children and adults alike.

The beauty of this recipe is the dough needs to be refrigerated for a few hours before baking. Just mix up the batter, place it in the refrigerator the day before. Then get everything else you need to do done ahead of time, in preparation for a day of fun.

The morning you plan for a game or quiet day, just bake the cookies. Then they are ready when you are!

Chocolate Crinkles

Ingredients

1/2 cup vegetable oil

4 oz. unsweetened baking chocolate, melted, cooled

2 cups granulated sugar

While reading earlier articles and thinking about assembling them into some kinda book form this writer remembered that he had an unfinished portion on ‘Patriotic Questions’. The twelve that were discussed in the earlier article used all of the available space then so be patient as we finish the rest.

14. Name the 13 original states: N.H., Mass, R.I., Conn., N.Y., Penn., Del., Maryland, Virg., N.C., S.C., and Ga.

15. Who was the oldest delegate to sign the Constitution? Benjamin Franklin at 81.

16. What did the Emancipation Proclamation do? Freed the slaves in the Confederate states.

17. Who was Susan B. Anthony? Fought for women’s right to vote.

18. Who did the United States fight in W.W.II? Japan, Germany, and Italy.

19. What was the main concern during the Cold War after W.W.II ended? Communism.

20. Name the U.S. Territories: Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Northern Mariana Islands, and Guam.

Should I give my kids an allowance? How much should it be? Should they do chores to get their allowance? So many questions, but what are the answers? Here are four things to consider.

1. Decide why you want to give your kids an allowance. I gave my kids an allowance to teach them how to manage money. I made them give 10% to the church and set up savings accounts and made them put 10% into the bank. I also taught them to choose a toy that was about $10 or so, and put some money into a separate fund for that, which I kept for them. We would count the money as it grew, and when the balance hit the desired amount, we’d celebrate by going to the store and buying the toy.

My kids were young elementary school age-I would say about five and eight years old. There are very few volunteer opportunities for kids that age, because of insurance liability I have been told So when a mom at our church assured us she had an outreach opportunity for children of all ages (with adult supervision), I jumped at the chance.

The site was Union Gospel Mission in Ft. Worth, TX. Interestingly enough, this homeless shelter had an amazing side story (much more amazing than mine I can assure you). The story was turned into a book which was turned into a movie. I’ve read the book, after touring the shelter. The book is fantastic, and I would wager that the movie isn’t too shabby either. But (what a surprise!) I digress.