The day and weekend flew by so quickly and now the season of Advent & Christmas celebrations are upon us.
But, I want to pause this all for a moment and remember….
and be grateful once again for the gathering of family (both sides visited our home last week!), for the grace of our Lord and for the freedom to mark such a day.
A full heart sings with gratitude!
Our geography curriculum continues to be such an adventure as we make our way through Europe! Famous people and places, interesting facts & information, excellent literature to read….I am pleased with this choice. Winter Promise’s Children Around the World delivers big time. While the curriculum provides for a weekly celebration of each country studied, we choose the ones of interest and which fit our schedule.
So when our study of Germany perfectly coincided with a long-awaited visit from my uncle, who has lived in this country over 20 years, the children and I were ecstatic! We practiced Guten Tags, thought through a few question to ask, and thoroughly enjoyed our time. I wasn’t about to attempt serving German food to a live person from the country, so simple conversation & American fare was the agenda for the evening!
Too busy wrapped up in conversation to tackle pictures of any food….
Several days later however, we did whip up a quick recipe for Blitzkuchen, a German spice cake. SO simple, very light in comparison to American coffee cakes and now declared to be our favorite ‘tea cake’. Yes, of course I’ll leave the recipe!
German Blitzkuchen
1/2 stick butter
1 egg
2/3 cup milk
1-1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
pinch of salt
In a bowl, beat the butter, egg and milk together. Sift all the other ingredients together into the bowl and beat until smooth. Pour into an 8” square greased pan. On the top, drop bits of butter and sprinkle with a little more sugar and cinnamon. Bake at 375 degrees for 25-30 minutes.
And then, what’s a study on Germany without some sausage and pretzels, right!?
{we’ll continue sharing around perfectionism & grace tomorrow :: just a few shots from our family that I am grateful for today…}
Gratitude from our days as a family ::
:: and play together
:: for creativity!
:: for a little girl growing in reading skills
:: for new ways to organize!
:: for the sights & smells of baking in the kitchen
For all this, I give thanks! Participating in A Holy Experience’s Multitude Mondays.
{to answer a question ~ yes, I’ve recently disabled the comments on the blog; a brief explanation here. Please feel free to share thoughts via email however, I enjoy hearing from you! domesticserenity(AT)gmail(DOT)com , replace with appropriate symbols, no spaces. thanks!}
We should have been wearing a bit o’ green as well, right?
The celebration of Ireland in our school studies included some good foods :: Irish soda bread (top picture, and we all decided the recipe is not a keeper :), good ole Irish stew with lots of potatoes (a staple in Ireland past and present) and apple cake! Celtic music played in the background and after dinner we of course took in a bit of Riverdance via video.
My husband took the opportunity to tell the younger children of the Riverdance frenzy that took place in our home about nine years ago :: I can’t deny that it was all somewhat obsessive. We even went to see the tour, which capped a long season of listening to the soundtrack, watching video clips and trying our own feet at fast-paced leg work (um, I am not good at Irish step dancing!). Oh well!
A few sources used in our schooling ::
an interactive tour of the Irish Potato Famine of the 19th century
Ireland hosts the most unhygienic tourist attraction in the world, the Blarney Stone! who wants to hang upside down to kiss a stone!? The children found this hilarious.
this book found in our local library is short, full of pictures and helpful to understand the culture.
Well, top of the morning to you! (a phrase thought to originate in Ireland, but actually it’s from New Zealand!)
The study of the United Kingdom of Great Britain (did you know this is the official name?) ended with a grand tea party as we make our way through the countries of Europe! My, my…I do need to brush up on my geography and world history a bit; though I didn’t admit this fact to the girls, I think they caught on?
Naturally the girls (big & little) were all quite excited about this celebration as part of our curriculum; and the little boys in the house don’t know to not be thrilled about such a prim & proper event. Dad on the other hand? Well, he was a good sport until one of his children asked if we should all try to speak in a British accent…the man does have limitations! Overall, it was a grand time.
Our menu ::
lemon poppy seed muffins with lemon glaze
sweet scones (that turned out a bit flat!) with homemade peach jam
maple ham & cucumber sandwiches
spinach & cheese cups
and lots of English tea!
A few resources that we used through this study ~ famous people, events or places ::
design an English garden (which can be printed out)
read a Beatrix Potter story at this site or check a book out of the library
a few of us will be listening to this audio version of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol
our current read-aloud is about George Mueller, a great man of faith and courage; this version is great for young children as well
One of the aspects that completely sold me on our new geography curriculum this year is the fact that the schedule includes plans to celebrate on a regular basis the countries studied! Should we choose (and we probably will not do them all), each week we’ll gather together to experience the food, customs, games, etc. of a particular region of the world. Winter Promise calls this a ‘cultural celebration’ :: I love it!
The first one was to pause and celebrate our family. Yes, the curriculum called for us to choose our favorite family meal, games, memories and such to be the focus; the children were quite excited. But, deciding on our favorite food was not simple at all and I finally allowed one child to make the final decision.
I guess we are fairly globally-minded already because chicken curry over rice turned up as the choice :) What a fun time of ‘remembering when’ as we recounted the years gone by and enjoyed some favorite games!
Pictures of the table setting or of the people might have been appropriate, right? That didn’t happen. Hmm…it’s all about the food. Oh, well. I will leave you with the recipe used :: maybe it will find it’s way to your family’s table!
Basic Meat Curry (with chop salad)
Saute in deep skillet:
2 T oil
sweet onion, chopped (as much as you’d like)
2 tsp minced garlic
Blend in a small bowl:
2 T lemon juice
2-4 tsp curry powder (depending on taste desired)
Stir curry mixture into sauteed onions and fry lightly 2-3 minutes.
Add:
1-1/2 lb cubed chicken breast (or beef, fish :: for a veggie version try white or black beans)
Stir briefly to coat meat with spices.
Add:
1 cup tomato juice
1 tsp salt
1 cup broth
Bring to boil, cover and simmer 1 hour. Thicken slightly with flour before serving, if desired. Serve over hot rice with chop salad (recipe below), coconut, pumpkin or sunflower seeds, peanuts or raisins. Freezes well. Serves about 4-6.
Chop Salad
Chop into bite size pieces and combine in a bowl:
3 peppers: red, orange & yellow (if I have this, it gets put in. if not, moving on…)
1 long cucumber
3 green onions
1 pkg. grape tomatoes
Mix dressing and pour over all:
3 TBsp vinegar
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
dash of pepper
Stir well and chill several hours.
sharing thoughts, dreams, realities
pausing together to enjoy the stillness of the night
and to create a ‘still’ moment in our full week
birthday celebrations for a 20-year old
flower deliveries, cards, gifts, visits & phone calls
all of us around the table enjoying the requested birthday dinner :: fajitas!
creating!
enjoying the wide-eyed wonder of a little one {Isaiah at 3 weeks}
participating in Multitude Mondays over at A Holy Experience
Often when sibling mayhem of the grandest sort breaks out around here…
I am reminded of times when there is tenderness between the relationships of brothers and sisters in our home. Days where everyone seems to get along without reminders from Mom; laughter, play, and peace.
And the four in our home think of and pray often for the one who is not :: an older sister far away from their daily lives, but not from their hearts. The sweet little prayers that are said, the emails sent, the phone conversations :: oh, they melt me on the inside! Truly a gift, it is.
final stop ~ my husband’s parents both have family reunions Memorial Day weekend!
worship service in the park :: food, food, food (every year they seem to add more!?) :: bounce house, playground and lots of friends to enjoy :: catching up from last year :: snow cones :: meeting new babies and introducing our own :: celebrating newlyweds :: prizes and giveaways :: grieving those who have passed on :: great-grandparents smiling wide & doting on the younger generation :: an overall fun and wonderful time
and finally, we arrived home again earlier this week. home to new floors (yes!), a stack of unopened mail, emails and phone calls to attend to and other stuff like that. but hearts full, spirits rested and memories made…a super week!
