Tuesday, December 18, 2018

The Picket Project


I cannot believe that it has been more than 6 months since I found a little furball of cuteness in the middle of the road. Today, we have a full grown jackrabbit who has made herself quite comfortable in our house, roaming about freely and enjoying our company (for the most part.. lol)


Christmas preparations have been a source of interest for her lately.  I mean, come on, there's a tree in the middle of my living room.  I'm sure from the mindset of a wild animal, she has to think that tree was placed there just for her.  She's heard the phrase "Picket, don't eat Christmas" quite a bit since Thanksgiving.  She's gotten better about it as time goes on but for the first few weeks after the tree went up, she was constantly trying to nibble on it. lol


While she does enjoy the tree, she was not too thrilled when Mom came home from PetCo with a Santa dress and decided to place it on Miss Picket. 


She looked very cute in it, I have to admit.  Getting it on her to start with was surprisingly easy. I small cherry tomato to keep her occupied while I gently laid it on her back and attached the velcro on the chest and voila.


However, I believe these will be the only photos of Picket's Christmas outfit as she got smart to what that red fabric is and will have nothing to do with it now.   Maybe if I try giving her a bit of banana, she might be willing to allow me one more opportunity (She'll do anything for banana lol) but I guess I'll just be happy with the photos I did get.. lol


For the most part, Picket just runs around, coming and going as she would like.   She still occasionally jumps on my lap for a small bit of petting and she loves to give me kisses when she's in her hutch before she goes to bed at night..  Our nights are often filled with laughter when she gets a hair up her bunny bun and starts her Binky 500s through the living room, making sure she hops right in front of us, demanding our attention.


She's also found a new favorite spot.  We keep a toyboy in our dining room, which Ashleigh fills with stuffed animals.  Picket can often be found hiding in the toyboy amid all the other warm furry animals. Other times, she pulls the animals out of the box, scatters them on the floor and hops down and "plays" with them.. Playing for Picket often involves grabbing them with her mouth and tossing or rearranging them as she sees fit.


Someone asked recently me about owning a hare as a pet. They said they liked the unique looks of them as opposed to the cute fluffy rabbit and was interested in having one as well and wanted my opinion in regards to having one as a pet.  My opinion on this matter is that, in my experience, a wild creature should never be kept as a pet just for the sake of having one as a pet.  Picket has adapted well for being inside, free roaming as she wants, and she seems happy enough.  But she does let us know that she is not a pet in any way, shape or form and should never be confused with a domesticated pet rabbit.  They are no where near the same creature.  For one, hares are very temperamental and will always hold on to their wild nature.  The other day, Picket attacked my leg because she couldn't see her food and assumed I did not feed her.  They are also very  high strung.  I'm fortunate that Picket bonded with me when she was tiny, so I can pick her up relatively easy (unless she's mad at me) and put her against my chest without too much risk of injury to myself (lol) and she will usually relax and snuggle with me but this is pretty unusual for hares.  And while she will interact with the rest of my family, they cannot handle her without risk of needing a trip to the ER for stitches.


There's not a day that goes by that I don't appreciate the creature that Picket is, but as said, she's NOT a pet by any means.  She cohabitates with us, she tolerates us, and I do believe that she loves us in her own way.  She has a safe home, even when she goes "as mad as a March hare", which I know will be starting in Feb/March next year.  But I am always reminded that she is a wild animal and will always be a wild animal and cannot expect her to be anything other than what she is.  Everything else is just a bonus :)


Until Next time :)


Sunday, December 16, 2018

Weekend Meal Planning


Was the week before Christmas.. 
and here at my house... 
Easy meals were required.. 
Because Mom's an exhausted lil mouse..


Okay, so I'm not Clement Clark Moore in any way shape or form, but the my little verse still rings true.. Easy meals are the necessity of life this week because I am just too tired to think of anything else right now.. LOL



Sunday -  Smoked Sausage and Cheese soup

Monday- Patty Melts with Tater Tots

Tuesday - Pasta Carbonera with Salad and garlic bread

Wednesday - Chicken Cornbread Casserole

Thursday  - Lemon Chicken with Rice and Broccoli

Friday -  Meat Loaf with green beans and salad

Saturday - Moroccan Lentil Stew with Naan Bread (10)


Sunday, December 9, 2018

Weekend Meal Planning


We're in the last few weeks of 2018. Hard to believe that December is almost halfway over.  We've managed to get the majority of our Christmas shopping out of the way, except for what will go in the stockings, the tree is up and lit, and the Christmas decorations are outside. 

Only three more weeks of meals (and two extra days) to plan and we will be in 2019.   Christmas is easy - we've already decided to make homemade tamales this year, but the rest of the meals are always a ton of fun to try to figure out something that we haven't had a in a while.


Sunday   Black Pepper Chicken (4) Teriyaki Green Beans (3)

Monday  Chicken Pot Pie

Tuesday  One Pot Fajita Pasta (11)

Wednesday  Country Fried Steak with Gravy, green beans and mashed taters

Thursday  Sloppy Joe Potatoes

Friday  Southern Fried Pork Chops with gravy, au gratin potatoes and salad

Saturday  Shopping Day - Dinner at Chic-fil-a 


Thursday, December 6, 2018

Beloved: 365 Devotions for Young Women (A Homeschool Crew Review)


This is it.. My final review for the year 2018 and the timing on this one couldn't be more perfect.  The girls and I have been reviewing Beloved: 365 Devotions for Young Women published by Zondervan and this review falls just in time for being able to order it and have it in hand before the start of the new year.





This beautiful hardcover book overs a full year of short devotions focusing on teaching young women how to navigate living in today's world.   The cover features simple floral artwork with rose foil accents and a font that resembles a cross stitch sampler.  The book measures 5.2 x 1.2 x 7.4 inches, making it compact enough to pack in a purse or suitcase when travelling without taking up much room, making it convenient to use year round.  Each  on page devotion includes three blank lines inviting the reader to make notations, prayer lists or other notes they feel inspired to jot down each day.   An attached ribbon to mark your place is also a very nice touch.


Written by Lindsay A. Franklin, each day of the year is given a page that first begins with a verse of scripture followed by a short devotion on a large array of topics such as doing the right thing, avoiding entering situations with preconceived notions  (such as that relationships with mother-in-laws are always full of stress), forgiving those who wrong us, and knowing when to use caution in certain situations. By focusing in on God's word and the lives of sixty different women found within the scriptures - such as Ruth, Esther, Abigail and Mary, Beloved: 365 Devotions for Young Women guides girls ages 13-18 as to how God instructs them to live their lives and to show them that God values them with high regards.



How We Used It

While both of my girls are slightly outside the targeted range of this book (Ashleigh being 10, Alyssa 19), we did look over the book together, read a few of the devotions and had some really nice discussions in response to what we read.  We didn't start at Day 1 and work through, but instead skipped around because I quickly realized that I wanted to instead restart this book anew on January 1st as part of our "girl time" each night.  By skipping around, it will allow for us to revisit those devotions we read together dispersed between those we haven't read rather than starting over.


Both Ash and Alyssa were very receptive to the short devotions in this book.  I had to laugh because before we started, when the book first arrived, Ashleigh said he didn't want to do it, thinking it was a school book.  I told her fine, she didn't have to do it, but that she would not be allowed to interrupt myself and Alyssa when we held devotion time.  The next morning, I found a note taped to the front of the book from Ashleigh asking to "Please let me in.  Love, Ashleigh".. LOL

 With both girl on board, it was very easy to include this book into our nightly routine.  Each night we
spend 10-15 minutes together having a pow wow in Mom's bed without the guys.  The devotions takes us less than 2 minutes to read allowing us to spend the other 8-12 minutes discussing what we read and how we can apply that to our own lives.

As said, we did skip around a bit in the book, taking a sampling of various pages.  I also took the time to read a number of the devotions on my own.  Unlike many other devotions that skip around each day to various sections of the Bible, or that focus on the authors own personal experiences and how they use the scriptures to help them in their own lives, this book instead spends sections  at a time focusing on a particular woman in the Bible and different aspects of her life.  Even unnamed women of the Bible, such as the Shumamite woman that Elisha encounters, is given multiple pages (the Shumamite woman is given 10 pages). I liked this a lot, as it feels almost like doing a Character study and gives the reader a better understanding of her life rather than just a small glimpse before moving elsewhere.


We have put the book aside temporarily while we read through the book of Luke for Christmas as well as focus on the Advent season, but I am looking forward to picking it back up on January 1st and starting at Day 1. It's a great way to not only spend time with my girls but to get them into the habit of spending time with the Lord each day.

#hsreviews #devotions #DevotionsForYoungWomen #Beloved #books #reading #bookstagram #christianity #faith


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Beloved: 365 Devotions for Young Women {Zondervan Review}


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