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Jon and Candy Summers share:
Christian Home Educators Fellowship—Faithfully honoring God and serving homeschooling families for the past 26 years
This newsletter includes the following:
1. CHEF Information and Activities
2. Special Opportunities
3. Needs and Services
4. There’s No Place Like Home October 2009 Newsletter
CHEF INFORMATION AND ACTIVITIES:
CHEF 2009-2010 activities are listed on www.chef-missouri.com.
For those of you who are new to our email mailing list, you may read recent email newsletters on the website at www.chef-missouri.com (click on TNPLH Newsletter) or www.theresnoplacelikehomesummers.com/.
CHEF’s 16th Annual Private Family Wallyball, Racquetball, Ping Pong and Tennis Party, Saturday, November 7, 2009, 6:00 p.m.-Midnight at West James Courts, 1330 Harvestowne Industrial Dr., St. Charles, MO. $6 per person ($42 maximum/family). Children 2 and under free. Come join us for a night of great fun, food, and fellowship. Wallyball is volleyball played in a racquetball court. Please bring a main dish, salad, vegetable, dessert, or snack to share with everyone. There will be electrical outlets for crock pots. Please bring your own racquets as West James Courts has a limited number for loan. No black soled shoes allowed. For new homeschoolers, this is a great opportunity to meet other homeschooling families.
Directions: Take Hwy. 70 west to First Capitol Dr. exit. Go south (left) on Hwy. 94 about six or seven miles. Turn left at Central School Road/Harvestowne Industrial Dr. (two stoplights past Jungermann). West James Courts is on left side of street behind The Bedroom Store. Please mail checks payable to CHEF, c/o Jon Summers, 236 St. Louis Avenue, Ferguson, MO 63135 by November 1. You may also pay at the door, but please let us know that you are coming by calling 314-521-8487.
CHEF’s 22nd Annual Spelling Bee, Friday, November 20, 2009, 9:30 a.m.-1:00 p.m. at St. Louis County Library’s Florissant Valley Branch, 195 New Florissant Road S., Florissant, MO 63031 (about 1 mile north of Highway 270). Cost is $4 per child. Registration deadline: October 23, 2009.
Any student, grades 1 through 8, can enter. Parents and children may work together to study for this event, improving vocabulary, memory, and etymology (the study of word origins). Older students will find this to be an advantage as they further their studies in any field.
You may register online and pay using PayPal (see registration form at www.chef-missouri.com). Just email the form back to Anne Belley, listing all students participating and whether or not you can help out by being a judge or a pronouncer. We do need parent participation. Please note that you will not be working in your own child’s grade and that a Scripps pronouncer’s guide will be provided. Thank you!
Send money through PayPal (under services/other) to
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. Please include an extra $0.50 to cover Anne’s PayPal fees for receiving funds. Anne will acknowledge receipt of the fees and then email you the spelling list for your child’s grade, as well as the rules for the spelling bee. If for some reason you are unable to download the registration form from the CHEF website, you may request a registration form directly from Anne via email.
Or, if you desire, simply mail in your form and check payable to Anne Belley, 939 Prigge Road, St. Louis, MO 63138.
Feel free to call Anne Belley with any questions at 314-741-8704 or email mailto:
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.
 
CHEF’s 16th Annual Spectacular Christmas Ball, Saturday, December 12, 2009, 6:00 p.m.-Midnight at St. Francis Xavier Church’s gorgeous ballroom. $6 per person ($42 maximum/family). Children 2 and under free. Our ball will include English Country dances that the whole family will enjoy. Please feel free to dress in ball costumes or your Sunday best clothes. This will truly be another spectacular holiday event as always. Our family looks forward to seeing all of you there. All are welcome. Please bring 2 two-liter bottles of ginger ale and a finger food for our buffet.
Please dress modestly. Parents, we realize how difficult it is these days to find modest apparel for daughters; however, we ask that you make sure that your daughters do not wear low necklines or spaghetti strapped dresses. If anyone comes in inappropriate clothing, we will ask that the young girl wrap a shawl or jacket around her shoulders. Jon and I are busy with details and conversations all evening so are somewhat oblivious to the few dresses we hear about each year.
Therefore, if you see any dresses that are inappropriate, please let us know so that we can ask the young girl to wrap a shawl around her shoulders.
Mail checks payable to CHEF, c/o Jon Summers, 236 St. Louis Ave., Ferguson, MO 63135 by December 7. You may still pay at the door, but we would like to know how many people will be attending.
Directions: From Hwy. 40 or 44, go north on Grand. Make left on Laclede (at St. Louis University) and then an immediate left into parking garage. If there is anyone at the garage gate, just tell them that you are going to St. Francis Xavier. From garage, walk north on Grand to church. Enter church on left side. St. Francis Xavier is at the corner of Grand and Lindell (3628 Lindell) just down from the Fox Theatre.
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SPECIAL OPPORTUNITIES:
[This information is communicated to you only as a service to our families. The information contained herein is not screened or verified by CHEF. Please be discerning at all times.]
Robert Blackburn, Jr. (homeschooling dad and an adoptive parent of two daughters from China) shares: I am one of the Missouri State Coordinators for the Christian Alliance for Orphans (CAFO), a new alliance with the mission of igniting and equipping individuals and churches for effective, Christ-honoring service to orphans. You can find out more about CAFO at www.christianalliancefororphans.org. We would like to invite your church or association to be a part of Orphan Sunday on November 8, 2009. Our objective is to stimulate 1,000 locally-led, grassroots events all across Missouri. These events can be anything that a church might choose to highlight God’s call to care for the orphan: sermons, special music, prayer gatherings, Sunday School lessons, bulletin inserts, etc. The possibilities can range from a simple testimony of an individual touched by adoption to a full service with every aspect pointing the congregation to God’s call to “defend the cause of the fatherless” (Deuteronomy 10:18).
See www.orphansunday.org for a tremendous array of free resources and event ideas. There are downloadable sermon notes, bulletin inserts, Bible studies, prayer guides, videos, and many more resources, all free to use as churches are led. There will be a web and satellite streamed concert that afternoon featuring Steven Curtis Chapman, Geoff Moore, Dennis Rainey, Jim Daly and others. Please prayerfully consider joining us on that day.
Hotel Pigeon Forge invites your homeschool organization to the 20th annual Wilderness Wildlife Week in Pigeon Forge, TN on January 9-16, 2010. Celebrate with us a series of outdoor-themed activities designed to connect our visitors with the wide, wonderful world of the Great Smoky Mountains. Visitors will enjoy the expertise of more than 100 experts as they share their knowledge of all aspects of the great outdoors through more than 50 guided walks and hikes and more than 175 hands-on seminars and lectures. Music lovers will enjoy tunes performed by authentic Smoky Mountain musicians at our Appalachia Fest concert. Call us at 866-896-2950 for our special homeschool rates. See www.hotel-pigeonforge.com for more information.
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NEEDS AND SERVICES:
Sharon Jeffus shares: Does anyone know anyone needing to rent a house, even with option to buy, long or short term? I’ll be happy to email a picture. It is perfect for a family. You can fix it up. Over 2 acres just outside of the little town of Salem, Missouri. Contact Sharon Jeffus 573-453-6364 or email mailto:
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.
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THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE HOME OCTOBER 2009 NEWSLETTER:
THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE HOME WEBSITE
They say that a picture is worth a thousand words. So have you checked out the latest pictures on our weblog at www.theresnoplacelikehome-summers.com? You will find 43 pictures of fall home decorations, more pictures of fall table decorations, and even more pictures of the Great Pumpkin Patch in Arthur, Illinois.
Pictures will also accompany many of the following ideas contained in this newsletter and will be posted on our website at www.theresnoplacelikehome-summers.com. Consider making this website your home page. That way you will see the latest pictures on the blog and website each week.
Next Newsletter: We hope to send out our teachings on Honoring and Obeying Parents sometime in the next few weeks.
PLEASE NOTE: The Dangerous Book for Boys by Gonn and Hal Iggulden
I am sorry that this book was sold at our conference! After just a superficial perusing of its contents, I was greatly dismayed by the presence of evolution, foolishness, crassness, and the promotion of sorcery, witchcraft, and darkness. It is hard to ascertain such things in just a few short moments of examination at the conference, especially since we expect the materials at the conference to meet our Christian criteria. However, the only consolation is that this book’s character was revealed to us so that we could warn you of its content and request its removal from future conferences.
As always, this discovery confirms my staunchly held conviction that all reading material must be thoroughly examined by fathers before allowing children access to content that would expose them to evil. Fathers, since God holds us ultimately responsible for the condition of our flock, we must be diligent to examine pastures before our flock grazes on detrimental fodder. Be ever vigilant, brothers, to make certain that you protect your children, for we will one day stand before our Holy Father to give an account of our stewardship.
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LOVE YOUR WIFE (from Jon)
It amazes me just how little things make all the difference to my wife. Candy and I frequently talk throughout the day on the cell phone, sometimes for business, other times for relaying messages, but for the most part, for sharing what the other is doing that day. At times I call to ask how her day is going, to tell her to look out the window at the sunset or the moon rising above the horizon, to turn on the radio to hear the broadcast the boys and I are listening to, to tell her I prayed for her, to ask if there is anything she needs from the store, or to tell her just how much I love her. It keeps us in touch all day and lets her know that I am thinking of her, that I care about her even when I am away, and that I miss her. How simple, yet how very important!
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HEART TO HEART
I JUST LOVE BEING A WIFE AND MOTHER
[Reprinted from There’s No Place Like Home book and written many years ago]
As I was straddling a rafter on my parents’ barn addition while helping Jon hammer the tin roofing in place (and having the time of my life, I might add), I started thinking of all the fun I enjoy as a wife and mother. There are never any dull moments because my daily activities are so diversified that life at home is truly an adventure!
Then I reflected on a conversation I had with my neighbor. Months after my neighbor’s second child was born, I noticed that she was still home each day. Happy that she would stay home with her children now, I expressed my hearty enthusiasm. Unfortunately, she was just home on leave and would soon be returning to work because as she frankly explained, “I could never stay at home; I’d be terribly bored.” I was so sad then for her and her children, but now in retrospect, I laugh out loud.
My job description, and that of all stay-at-home moms, could read as follows: child caretaker, teacher, executive director, management expert, decorator, psychologist, counselor, nutritionist, accountant, doctor, nurse, pharmacist, dentist (we pull out teeth), chef, fashion designer (thank God it is we who select our children’s clothes and dress them and not our husbands), barber (haircuts), hairdresser, tailor, maid, operator, chauffeur, shoe salon attendant (constantly putting on our children’s shoes), photographer (our kids will look back and say, “Where was mom during my childhood? She’s never in any of the pictures”), plumber (the first time Jedidiah went potty by himself he used half the roll of toilet paper to wipe himself so …), painter, gardener, entertainer, activity coordinator (would the family go anywhere if we didn’t schedule outings?), comedian, missionary, opera star (you know how I love to sing), dancer (and dance), librarian, architect (Lego and block expert), artist, actor (farmer, cowboy, clown, customer, airplane, train, dog, elephant …), mechanic (okay, so this is stretching it a bit but I did fill the radiator with water, charged a battery, and told the certified mechanic that I thought the lifters were causing the racket).
After tabulating all my titles and singing my version of “And I’m a woooman—da dadada da,” I had to laugh because I remembered that my neighbor is a secretary who sits at a desk all day. Who was she kidding? Absolutely no one. The Deceiver kidded her.
So saddened by the thought I almost fell off the rafter—shoo-wee it was time for me to get back to being a carpenter. I just love being a wife and mother!!
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FALL BULLETIN BOARD
Through the years the children always loved my bulletin board creations, and even now, they look forward to seeing what’s new for the season. Although I liked the black and orange construction paper I used last year, I could not find the black color, so used yellow instead, but quite frankly, I liked the black with the orange better. I could have cut out my own colored leaves, brown squirrels, turkeys, and owls from construction paper, but for just a few dollars at Bradburn’s Teacher Store, I have a host of them for our fall activities as part of my fall bulletin board display.
Each contains a description of a fall tradition. Some of the activities include the following: Keep a journal of the seasonal changes you see; Decorate October’s blank calendar pages; Make a leaf book of the different shapes of leaves in our neighborhood, label them, and then color them their fall color; Collect acorns; Write a story about fall, create felt finger puppets, and then tell your story to us using your finger puppets as props; Memorize a fall poem; Make fall cookies with me; Go apple picking; Make applesauce; Caramel apples; Hot apple cider; Wallyball; Horseback riding; Create leaf place cards for table; Select pumpkins; Roast pumpkin seeds; Fall bike ride; Pere Marquette; Bonfire; Hayride; Roast marshmallows; Fall hike; Western party; Watch mysteries; Make a thanksgiving book of Bible verses, poems, articles, pictures…that all describe thankfulness, also include thoughts of your gratitude to each family member for what they do for you; Let’s sing some fall hymns and other songs like “Over the River and Through the Woods” … Isn’t learning fun? I just love teaching my children!
Bradburn’s carries marvelously fun bulletin board additions for each season, so if they have gingerbread, mittens, or snowflakes, purchase them now for your winter bulletin board displays. I usually use these cute cut outs for displaying our seasonal traditions. It gives us all great things to look forward to and reminds me of what we still need to enjoy before the season ends. Time flies, so make certain you plan the things your family loves.
Note: When the children were younger, I would let them choose a leaf off a large construction paper tree, and then when we completed the activity, the child would place the leaf on a pile at the bottom of the tree.
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FALL FINGER PLAY
The following is a finger play that I have done with my children since they were toddlers: Whiskey, frisky, Hippity hop. Up he goes, To the tree top! Whirly, twirly, Round and round, Down he scampers, To the ground. Furly, curly, What a tail! Tall as a feather, Broad as a sail! Where’s his supper? In the shell, Snippity, crackity, Out it fell!
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FALL CRAFTS
 Adorable Goodie Bags: For adorable little goodie bags, I traced around our fall leaf and acorn cookie cutters, which I had placed on brown construction paper. On each leaf, using a fine tip black magic marker, I etched around the edges of the leaves to give them depth, drew in thin veins, and then wrote one name for each of my family on each middle vein of the leaves. Still using the same marker, I colored the top of each acorn to resemble the lines of real acorns and then drew a smiling face on each one. Then I pleated the acorns with our scrapbooking tool. These I glued on little orange paper bags I had purchased at Michael’s. The bags serve as their place cards at the table, for each bag has glued on its front a personalized leaf on the top at a diagonal with an adorable acorn glued to the right just below the leaf. Each year I fill these bags with delightful little goodies from Nagle’s variety store.
Pine Cone Picture Frames: To encase a lovely picture of our family standing on Lees Bluff overlooking the beautiful fall foliage, I painted a wooden frame a pretty fall color. Once dry, I attached pine cone flowerets with hot glue. These I created by holding the pine cone horizontally and then clipping between the wooden scales to make a pine cone floweret.
Glittered Pumpkins: I have always loved glitter, so Sonia and I covered plastic pumpkins with fall colored glitter to adorn our home with its sparkling color. First, we placed the pumpkins on paper plates and then, using a paintbrush, we quickly covered their surface with craft glue. Next, we sprinkled the desired colored glitter on another paper plate and held it over our pumpkins while we slowly poured the glitter upon the glue covered surface. Tapping the tip of the stem, we dislodged the glitter that was not attached. Once dry, we used these beauties for table and kitchen decorations.
 
Silk Twinkle Light Garlands: These look so stunning when lit that it is well worth the little effort involved. Select a smaller count twinkle light strand. Count all the lights so that you know how many silk flowers you will need. Select inexpensive, but richly colored silk garlands. Lay out your twinkle light strand on the floor in front of you. Remove the silk flowers from their plastic stems. Lay them in back of the twinkle lights. Using a hot glue gun, squirt a bead of glue around the base of the twinkle light. Quickly push the multiple sets of silk flower petals over the twinkle light and down to the base. Repeat with each set of petals on each light bulb.
Fall Cards: Simply trace around fall shaped cookie cutters like leaves and acorns on fall colored construction paper. Cut out the shapes. Glue the arranged shapes on parchment or construction paper folded in half to create the card.
Pine Cone Turkeys: This craft is simply made by pushing richly colored pipe cleaners into pine cones. Select pretty pine cones that sit well on their sides. Bend a red pipe cleaner to resemble a turkey’s head and push into the front of the pine cone. On the back side of the pine cone, push orange, yellow, and red pipe cleaners looped to resemble a turkey’s tail feathers.
Indian: Cover a toilet paper roll with construction paper. Decorate to look like Indians and Pilgrims. This was Adrienne Burns’s idea, which we used at our craft day together.
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DISCIPLING OUR SONS AND DAUGHTERS
One of the most important lessons we should impart to our sons and daughters is how to manage their time. Since Sonia and I are now taking care of my parents two full days each week, it is absolutely necessary for me to organize my diminished time efficiently. Allow me to give an example of one of our weeks.
My first priority on Monday was making certain that Jon’s sermon was typed and ready for him to study. The next most important task was cooking for the boys for the two days we are gone, which includes both lunches and dinners. So I spent all day Monday working on Jon’s sermon. On Monday afternoon, I had Sonia gather two packages of cubed steaks, five pounds of ground beef, two pounds of stew meat, and a rump roast from the freezer, which I let sit out on a cookie sheet for several hours to thaw and then placed these in the refrigerator. Sonia started on the week’s wash and ordered DVDs for my parents. We both worked on preparing our dinner and dessert. After dinner, we worked some more and then played games and read. (Except for Jon helping Josiah with math between each lawn job, our schooling was done at night, when we read the Bible, theology and history books.) When everyone went to bed, I worked on the newsletter.
On Tuesday morning, I dredged the cubed steaks in seasoned flour and began browning in batches. After each batch was done, I removed them to a 13x9 pan and replaced with more cubed steaks until all were brown. Then I browned onions, which I placed over the cubed steaks. While this was browning, I started my meatloaf. After all the cubed steaks were browned, in that same Dutch oven, I browned stew meat for Tex Mex Chili.
The boys always call ahead to let me know when they will be home for lunch. I had an hour, so I divided the leftover pork shoulder into three portions. For their lunch that day, I cut up some of the pork and added it to the leftover wild rice with some drippings for gravy. I then chopped up the second portion to be added to beans for a dinner for them. The third portion I shredded, scraped the drippings off the bottom, added some hot water to soak for a few minutes and then stirred in barbecue sauce. When this was all mixed, I placed it into the oven to cook at 350º for an hour so it would be completely ready for one of the boys’ lunches that week.
While I was heating up their lunch, I prepared a pot of navy beans for one of their dinners and then finished the Tex Mex Chili. After lunch, I finished the three meatloaves. Then I removed the barbecue and the cubed steak from the oven and replaced it with the roaster of meatloaves.
While all this was going on, Sonia was working on our websites and learning how to put on the Spelling Bee registration form. When I was done in the kitchen, I traded places with Sonia so she could make bread and a few desserts while I finished Jon’s lesson. During the cooking, Sonia was also busy getting all of our laundry done for the week.
Later, we joined together to gather recipes for the shower we were giving for a friend. Sonia then checked to see what supplies we needed. From there we made out our grocery list. Afterwards, we checked the bridal registry to see if there was anything we wanted to purchase and made out a list of stores we needed to visit. We then gathered the decorations for the shower—twinkle lights, tulle, silk flowers, silver trays, tea lights, sugar cubes, teabags... Afterwards, we prepared dinner and dessert. After dinner we played games and read. Then I worked on the newsletter and weblog.
On Wednesday, I took care of the Father/Son paperwork and phone calls to the Lodge. I then worked on other CHEF details. Afterwards, I polished the silver while Sonia air fluffed tulle. Next we cleaned the house so it looked nice for the boys while we were gone. Later, Sonia did the business’s book work while I endorsed and recorded the business’s checks, paid our bills, paid my parents’ bills, and then transferred monies into our account for our shopping expenses. Sonia then worked on emails and the website while I prepared our dinner and dessert. After dinner, we played games and read. After everyone was in bed, I worked on the newsletter and weblog.
Before we arrived at my parents’ home on Thursday, we deposited checks at the bank, shopped at two stores for shower and wedding gifts, and picked up the DVDs Sonia ordered for my parents. After we arrived at my parents’ home, we cleaned, cooked, and did their laundry. We later shopped at six more stores.
On the way to my parents’ house on Friday, we picked up hair coloring for my mom, groceries, and then their prescriptions at the pharmacy. That day we bathed my mother, cut and dyed her hair, massaged each of my parents with lotion, prepared their meals, and decorated their house. We left at seven p.m. and headed for more stores. From seven thirty until nine thirty, we shopped at five more stores. When we arrived home, we showed the boys everything that we purchased. Afterwards, we washed the dishes and cleaned up the kitchen, played games and read. Then Sonia worked on the websites. After she was done, I worked on the newsletter.
In addition to taking care of all of our customers, the boys also go to my parents’ house once a week to bathe, shave, and massage my father and take care of their yard, so they, too, must manage their time efficiently.
All fathers and mothers have a multitude of tasks to accomplish each day, yet often children are totally inept at running their own homes because their parents failed to teach them how to prioritize and how to use their time efficiently, which is not only essential for daughters in managing their own homes, but also for sons in managing their business and families. These lessons should begin as soon as our children can talk, and they should continue throughout each day as we walk with our sons and daughters when we rise up, when we lie down, and when we walk along the way. We must show our children how to prioritize, tell them the reasons for our daily choices, let them see our lists, encourage them to make their own and give them plenty of practice by enumerating each week’s tasks and allowing them to prioritize the order of completion. More than anyone else, homeschoolers should be producing the best managers in the world. Let us encourage one another to be faithful to our calling.
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PROFITING FROM THE WORD by A.W. Pink, Chapter 3: The Scriptures and Christ
“It is not until man is made thoroughly displeased with himself that he begins to aspire after God. The Holy Spirit first works in us a sense of our ignorance, vanity, poverty and depravity, before He brings us to perceive and acknowledge that in God alone are to be found true wisdom, real blessedness, perfect goodness and unspotted righteousness.”
“‘Search the Scriptures for…they testify of me’ John 5:39. Apart from scriptures, He cannot be known. To know Christ was the supreme longing and aim of the apostle Paul.”
“Concerning the bread which God gave to the children of Israel during their wilderness wanderings, it is recorded that ‘some gathered more, some less’ Exodus 16:17. The same is true in our apprehension of Him of whom the manna was a type.”
“An individual is profited from the Scriptures when they reveal to him his need of Christ. Man in his natural estate deems himself self-sufficient. The most religious people of all, the Jews, had no sense that they were lost.”
“The more the Spirit deepens His work of grace in the regenerated soul, the more that individual is made conscious of his pollution, his sinfulness and his vileness; and the more does he discover his need of and learn to value that precious, precious blood which cleanses from all sin.”
“He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me; and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.”
“He is the Friend that sticks closer than a brother, to help in every time of need. He is the great High Priest, who is touched with the feeling of our infirmities. He is the Advocate with the Father, who pleads our cause when Satan accuses us.”
“Is it your chief joy to get alone and be occupied with Him? An individual is profited from the Scriptures as Christ becomes more precious to him.…Where real and daily fellowship is cultivated the Christian will be able to say with the Psalmist, ‘Whom have I in heaven but thee? And there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee’ Psalm 73:25.”
“An individual who is profited from the Scriptures has an increasing confidence in Christ…trusting in the Lord ‘with all the heart’ Proverbs 3:5. Nothing pleased the Saviour more than the firm reliance which was placed in Him.”
“As Christ becomes more real to the heart…confidence in Him is deepened…that all He has promised He will perform. Abraham…furnished an illustration of what a deepening confidence in the Lord signifies…he turned his back upon all that was dear to the flesh…he went forth in simple dependence on Him and dwelt as a stranger and sojourner in the land of promise, though he never owned a single acre of it….when called on to offer up Isaac…he accounted that God was able to ‘raise him up, even from the dead’ Hebrews 11:19. In the history of Abraham we are shown how grace is able to subdue an evil heart of unbelief, how the Spirit may be victorious over the flesh, how the supernatural fruits of a God-given and God-sustained faith may be brought forth by a man of like passions with us.”
“Nothing more pleases, honors, and glorifies Christ than the confiding trust, the expectant confidence and the childlike faith of those to whom He has given every cause to trust Him with all their heart. And nothing more evidences that we are being profited from the Scriptures than an increasing faith in Christ.”
“An individual is profited from the Scriptures when they beget in him a deepening desire to please Christ. ‘Ye are not your own, for ye are bought with a price’ 1 Corinthians 6:19.”
“Is Christ Himself becoming daily more precious to us? Is our faith in Him growing so that we confidently trust Him for everything? Are we really seeking to please Him in all the details of our lives?”
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IN THE LIBRARY
Autumn: Poems, Songs, Prayers: Printed in 2001 by Reader’s Digest Children’s Books, Autumn is a sweet little book praising God for His wondrous creation. It begins with a poem by E. Rutter Leatham: “Thank you for the world so sweet. Thank you for the food we eat. Thank you for the birds that sing, Thank you, God for everything.” This is followed by a poem by Matthias Claudius: “We plow the fields, and scatter the good seed on the land, but it is fed and watered, by God’s almighty hand. We thank Thee, then, O Father, for all things bright and good, The seed time and the harvest, Our life, our health, our food.” The book’s cover is especially clever with its see-through window, filled with movable falling leaves, to the opening page that depicts children raking leaves as they fall. This is a very simple book, but one in which my twelve-year-old still brings out for me to read to him each fall. (Josiah is now 14 and still enjoys this book.)
Brambly Hedge Autumn Story by Jill Barklem: My favorite fall book is Brambly Hedge Autumn Story, which tells a story about how mice make fall preparations for the winter by gathering the last of the nuts and berries. The illustrations are just adorable and have been a favorite fall tradition since my first child was very young. For truly, one cannot possibly go wrong with a book about adorable mice named Lord and Lady Woodmouse, Primrose, Mr. and Mrs. Apple, Wilfred, Dusty Dogwood and Lady Daisy who live in the Brambly Hedge. And as if that isn’t enough, there are baskets and walking sticks, tangly hawthorn trees, toadstools, thistledown carpet, snuggly cloaks, cupboards, clean nighties, hot acorn coffee, and comfy beds.
It all begins in the blackberry thicket with, “It was a fine autumn. The blackberries were ripe, and the nuts were ready, and the mice of Brambly Hedge were very busy. Every morning they went out into the fields to gather seeds, berries and roots, which they took back to the Store Stump, and carefully stowed away for the winter ahead. The Store Stump was warm inside, and smelled deliciously of bramble jelly and rising bread, and it was already nearly full of food.”
It then ends with, “Ease your whiskers, rest your paws, Pies and puddings fill the stores. Sweetly dream the night away, Till sunshine brings another day.”
I also love the delightful pictures that accompany this wonderful tale, especially the one of the Store Stump and Primrose’s bedroom.
This is a must for every child’s library!
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ECONOMICAL DOG BEDS
Many years ago we were given a secondhand bedspread that we used on the boys’ bed for many years. I never really liked it, so when the stuffing became dislodged and lumpy, I was delighted that it was time for something different. I thought that the dogs could use this bedspread for comfort while traveling in the back of our truck, but Sonia had a much better idea. She made four dog beds out of the bedspread, two for this year and two for next. By cutting the fabric into quadrants, she packed each with stuffing and sewed up the ends. They look great, and the dogs love them.
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COME GATHER AT OUR TABLE
This cooler weather stirs up such a deep longing for baking that I just revel in being arm deep in flour. Today I baked three loaves of wheat bread, buns for one of the boys’ lunches, an oatmeal cinnamon loaf for their breakfast, an apple dessert for dinner, and oatmeal cookies. I just get so excited about surprising them with lovely goodies when they arrive home that I smile with every knead, punch, and pinch of the dough! The following are some of the recipes I used for this week’s baking. Baking bread is so comforting to my soul—I hope it comforts yours, as well!
Wheat Bread (this is a very basic but delicious and very easy to make bread recipe)
3 c. wheat flour
3 c. unbleached white flour
2 t. salt
½ c. oil
½ c. honey
2 ½ c. very warm water
1 T. yeast
In very large bowl, place 2 cups of wheat flour, salt, oil, honey, and warm water. Thoroughly mix. Add yeast and mix. Then add 1 cup wheat flour and 2 cups white flour. Slowly add the next cup of flour as you knead the dough—in the bowl or on a flour-covered counter. Place in oiled bowl. Turn so that the top is coated with oil. Cover with damp warm towel and let rise in warm place for about 1½ hours. Punch down. Divide in two. Place in oiled bread pans. Let rise again for about 30 minutes. Bake at 350º for about 30 minutes.
We purchase our yeast in bulk, and so keep some of it in the freezer and some in the refrigerator. If you do this as well, you will need to use hot water to compensate for the cold yeast. By the time I mix my hot water with the other ingredients, it is then very warm when I add my yeast.
Sometimes I will make one of the loaves into cinnamon bread. To do this, after I punch down the dough, I roll it out in a rectangular shape to about ¼-inch thickness. Then I cover the dough with melted butter, sprinkle plenty of brown sugar on top and lightly sprinkle on cinnamon. I then begin rolling the dough up from the shorter end, pressing somewhat firmly as I roll. Then I fold under the ends and press into the bread pan and bake.
Apple Bread
To make this, I just took one of the halves of dough and rolled out to about ½-inch thick oval. I then took scissors and made a cut at each end of my oval and five cuts along each side of the oval. I brushed the middle of the dough with butter and then placed chunky homemade applesauce in the center. Afterwards, I took each strip and twisted several times and brought to the center so that all the strips met at the center. (I pinched them together as I worked.) I brushed the dough with butter and sprinkled with brown sugar. Bake at 350º for about 30-40 minutes.
Cinnamon Rolls (this is another good recipe)
1¾ c. milk
1 stick butter
1 t. salt
3 T. honey
2 T. yeast
2 c. wheat flour
2 c. unbleached flour
Place milk, 1 stick butter, salt, and honey in a saucepan. Heat just till warm. Do not boil. If the milk is too hot, let cool to warm before adding yeast. Add yeast and flour. Knead. Cover with towel and allow to rest 10 minutes. Roll out to about ¼-inch thickness. Brush entire surface with melted butter (1 stick). Cover with plenty of brown sugar and a little cinnamon. From the long end, roll up. Cut into 1-inch slices. Place in greased 13x9 pan. Brush tops of rolls with the leftover melted butter. Bake at 350º for 30 minutes.
Oatmeal Cinnamon Bread (this also makes a good loaf of bread without the sugar and cinnamon)
1¼ c. warm milk
2 T. butter
2 t. yeast
1½ c. wheat flour
1½ c. unbleached flour
1 c. rolled oats
1½ t. salt
3 T. honey
Heat milk with butter. Dissolve yeast in warm milk before combining with other ingredients. In large mixing bowl, mix all other ingredients except about 1 cup of the flour so that you can add this as you knead. Then add your milk. Knead dough, adding flour as you knead till smooth. Place in oiled bowl, cover with damp, warm towel and let rise in warm place for 1 to 1½ hours. Although this dough puffs up, it does not double in bulk. Punch down. Roll out in rectangular shape to about ¼-inch thick. Cover with melted butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Start at short end and roll up into log and press into oiled bread pan. Cover with damp warm towel and allow to rise in warm place for 30-60 minutes. Bake at 350º for 35-40 minutes or until done.
Pumpkin Cheese Ball
16 oz. cream cheese
6 oz. Kraft Roka Blue
6 oz. Kraft Old English
½ t. onion juice
½ t. Worcestershire sauce
2 c. finely shredded cheddar
Large broccoli stem
Combine first five ingredients. Form to pumpkin shape. Roll in cheddar. Top with broccoli stem. Serve with crackers and green apples. For decoration, sprinkle the leftover cheese between the apples and crackers you have placed around the pumpkin.
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PLACES TO VISIT: ANSWERS IN GENESIS CREATION MUSEUM
by Joye Hengst
Joe and I recently had an amazing visit to the Answers in Genesis Creation Museum located in Petersburg, Kentucky (near Cincinnati, Ohio). We heartily recommend this museum for you and your family. This state-of-the-art 70,000 square foot museum reveals biblical truths about creation and God’s plan of salvation. Their slogan of “Prepare to believe” describes the museum’s mission and reason for existence.
The Walk Through History self-guided tour is the museum’s centerpiece. You will see Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, the construction of Noah’s Ark, and loads of scientific information from a creationist viewpoint regarding the worldwide flood, mutations, age of the Earth, etc. Don’t miss the Stargazer’s Planetarium, the Last Adam presentation, and the Dinosaur Den.
One of my favorite venues was the “Men in White Show” in the Special Effects Theater. A girl named Wendy sat by a campfire in a nighttime desert and asked a lot of questions like: “Why am I even here? Does God exist? What is the point of anything?” The Men in White (2 winged angels who zipped around on the big screen) answered her questions. I could totally relate to Wendy and became teary-eyed during the show because I asked those exact questions while I was in college. This presentation reminded me how grateful I am to God for my salvation and how He answered my questions about life. The special effects include rumbling seats and something else that I will leave as a surprise.
Different special speakers each day round out the events. We were blessed to attend Dr. David Menton’s presentation called “Microscarium,” where we looked at one-celled creatures in a drop of pond water from the museum’s grounds under a very powerful microscope. I had never seen live and wiggling paramecium, diatoms, roundworms, etc. Dr. Menton said that although he was an anatomy professor for 34 years at Washington University School of Medicine, he considers his work at the Creation Museum much more important than when he was teaching future doctors.
We invited a friend from Dayton, Ohio to visit the museum with us. He didn’t really know anything about the museum before he got there, and when he saw the cost of $21.95 per person, he was a little shocked. But afterward, he said it was definitely worth the price. (He had expected a kind of junky, second-rate museum and was tremendously impressed with the museum’s quality.)
I also know someone who visited the museum with a friend because they saw the sign on the highway on their way home from Cincinnati and decided to go there to make fun of it. She was not convinced of the Bible’s truth that day, but seeds were planted in her heart by God that will hopefully spring to life one day in the future.
We would love to go back again because we didn’t get to see everything in one day, especially the botanical gardens and petting zoo, because it was cold and rainy. To find out more details about this fun and educational experience, see http://creationmuseum.org/ or call 888-582-4253.  
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Candy and I are happy to announce that Kevin Skaggs will be calling our Christmas Ball this year. Kevin and Carrie Skaggs are the parents of three children and have homeschooled for twelve years. Kevin has worked for the past fifteen years as an electrician/electronics technician. He is also an elder at Arcadia Valley Community Church in the beautiful Arcadia Valley area of Southeast Missouri where several of our CHEF families attend.
Sharon Jeffus shares regarding Training Young Christians in the Arts/The Young Lions: Christians in America usually do not spend money or time getting their children involved in the arts. The perceived importance of the core subjects as the main focus leaves our young people sadly lacking in the areas of visual communication. However, the media’s power of speaking through visual images is of paramount importance today. The “Young Lions” art program has the goal of training young people to create brochures, logos, posters, t-shirts and other work to put in a portfolio to utilize in the professional world. Their work can be used in churches, ministries and missions, not to mention all the Christian businesses that could use a price break when it comes to advertising. Our goal is that these students will learn all the subtle ways to communicate positive ideas. You can encourage a potential “young lion” to contact
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or call 816-318-1907 to get involved. You can donate a scholarship for a potential “young lion.” You can open your church/business to display their artwork. You can commission a piece of artwork from them. Sharon Jeffus also offers these classes on the Internet. Please go to visualmanna.com for more information and ask for a free project newsletter.
Painting ornaments, trimming trees, assembling and decorating the gingerbread houses, baking cookies, caroling, attending Christmas concerts, holiday shopping… and gathering in the kitchen for holiday meal preparations, our affinity for home deepens as Christmas traditions unfold—those precious gifts that comfort and reassure us as they deepen our love for family and home, all while deeply etching more precious memories upon our hearts and minds, binding us more closely together.