Anzac Day Plans

Each year we celebrate Anzac Day in our home.
Not all years are the same but we do have a few themes we try to do together regardless of what else is happening.
We nearly always attend the Anzac Day march in honour of the fallen who have given their  life for the ideals they held dear.

'Greater love than this no man hath, that a man lay down his life for his friends.' John 15:13

I cannot think why anyone would not want to commemorate these brave soldiers and others who have gone to their death to defend the defenseless and protect us from evil.

Traditionally we make Anzac Cookies- really was there any doubt 😏 We have two recipes- this is our trusted and true long time recipe 

ANZAC COOKIES~

1 cup of rolled oats

1 cup plain four

3/4 cup of sugar

3/4 cup dessicated coconut

1 Tablespoon Golden Syrup

1/2 cup butter

1 1/2 tsp of Bicarb Soda (Baking Soda for non Aussies)

2 Tablespoons of boiling water

1. Mix oats, sugar, coconut and flour together

2. Melt syrup and butter together

3. Mix soda with boiling water and add to melted butter and syrup

4. Add to dry ingredients

5. Place tablespoon of mixture on greased baking tray

6. Bake in slow oven 150-160 degrees C for 15 to 20 mins

This is a THM recipe 😊

We also make damper preferably in the camp oven if there is not fire ban.

The children have often dressed up  in their favourite military outfit and played games of tactics and spying for hours.

Naturally we have crossword puzzles, word search  and colouring pages to do while I read bits and pieces of information for them to learn.

We will probably also draw poppies using Art for Kids- which we love for the younger ones and perhaps from a real poppy for the older ones.

We hope also make a felt poppy for decorating the table

Copy work will also be done and this is a lovely piece to print out and have on the wall to memorise as well.

We have a few books to read that we own :

The Poppy – Andrew Plant

The Story of the First World War for Children -John Malam

Lest we Forget – Kerry Brown

Digger - Mike Dumbleton

We also like to watch a movie or two-

We tend to be a  little 'liberal' in our translation of what can be termed an Anzac movie (essentially a war movie as there really aren't any specific to Anzac Day) so for us we have-

War Horse

Five Children and it

The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe

The Sound of Music

A Little Princess

Bednobs and Broomsticks

Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang

The Railway Children

Battle of Britain

For older viewers-  (definitely parental review)

Breaker Morant

Gallipoli

The Lighthorseman

Here is a list of Australian war movies ( I have not previewed any yet but simply sharing)

Naturally we will need to have a game of Two up  ( be warned the video contains in my view a couple of swear words)  and this one with live action is good to see it in action

I have lots of other preparations in my notes for the school year but thought this would be a good thought provoking post for anyone interested in celebrating ANZAC Day.
To finish off here is  the -Ode and Last Post - We will remember them

Blessings to you and your homes,

 

Comfort Food is Good Medicine

I spend a lot of the my time in our kitchen.

After all this is the area where a major part of our lives is directed at.

We all tend to want at least three meals a day, plus often there is a snack involved at least once a day, not to mention the various drinks etc that also tend to come out of the kitchen environment.

Of course there is a  huge difference between simply eating and being presented with a atmosphere of dining pleasure.
Food prepared with love and care that is presented in a way that says you are special has many more health benefits than plonking the food on the table, or sometimes not even that.

Studies show time and again that proper digestion is achieved not only with healthy food but a pleasant environment and time to actually eat without rushing and allow food to pass through the system at it's correct rate.

I am a big believer in making food from scratch.
Not only does it save you money but it allows personal satisfaction in being able to provide a dish that not only gives the person preparing it joy but also the recipients who are eating it also with a sense of worth.

Naturally when preparing food from scratch you can tailor make that food to the personal preferences and desires of the family or guests.

Some of the foods we eat carry very strong childhood memories! Food that was served in a way that appealed to the senses in some way. Or perhaps at a time of year that triggers fond memories of that event - traditions that happened again and again over a number of years.

I also love the idea of providing from our own backyard the food we give to those who eat at our table. There can be nothing better than the satisfaction of providing a gift of love in a beautifully prepared meal from the time of planting or growing to the now ready to eat phase.

It is such a blessing to  know that a family member requests a meal that is one that you have made as just a normal meal, nothing special in your eyes, but to the other person it  is so more than that - it is special. It is a treat to have again , it is comfort food!

Over the years it has amazed me what each  of the members in my family consider comfort food.

Some have been around since before the older children can even remember a time with out them.

Some of the foods and drinks have been added over the years and not every item is loved by all. However  I think there is something absolutely special to be asked to make a favourite treat, some comfort food that not only fills the senses but provides nourishment for the soul as well, by someone you love so much.
Wouldn't you agree?
That is a gift to be treasured every day.

Blessings to you and your homes,
 

Shrovetide- It's almost Lent

Today we are celebrating 'Carnival' in our home. Sadly this is not a very understood tradition in most homes. We have tried to add this to our yearly liturgical celebrations but usually only start now instead of after Epiphany.

Next year I hope to add many 'celebration type activities' to our home during this time to emphasise the penetential aspect of the Lenten season.

This is the frist part of our 'Shrovetide' traditions.

It's a fairly tame celebration really.

We colour in masks and pictures, make home made masks.

Later this arvo we will make Mardi Gras cup cakes

Tomorrow we will Celebrate 'Fat Tuesday" and then we will have Ash Wednesday which is the first day of lent.

These are quite busy organising days for our home. We really try to prepare our hearts by using these outward signs to direct our thoughts to our Lord and the penetential season of Lent.

"The Monday and Tuesday before Ash Wednesday are known as "Shrovetide," from an old English word "shrive," meaning "to confess," a name gotten from the tradition of going to Confession in the days before Lent started. Shrovetide is traditionally the time for "spring cleaning," and just as we clean our houses in these days in prepation for Lent, we also "clean our souls" through confession so we can enter the penitential season fresh,

Shrovetide is the last two days of "Carnival," an unofficial period that began after the Epiphany and which takes its name from the Latin carnelevare, referring to the "taking away of flesh" (meat) during Lent which begins on Ash Wednesday, the day following Shrove Tuesday. Catholics want to eat while they can and get the frivolity out of their systems in preparation for the somber Lenten spirit to come.

source - Fisheaters

Blessings to you and your homes,

Encouraging the gift of giving

Part of our family culture  is to make gifts for each other for Christmas and birthdays as well as for any other special occasion.

This tradition started really when we were first married and as is usual birthdays and Christmas came around on a regular basis. As Stephen was still a student and I worked casually we did not have a lot of money and so the cheapest way to give gifts was to make them.

It was not until some time later that I realised the worth that is in a hand made gift- the giving of your self in thinking of the person and what they like and then investing the time into creating the gift to be given.

As such we have continued on with the making of cards and gifts and I am thrilled to see our younger ones carrying on this tradition.

We happen to have a most beautiful selection of true old fashioned roses that have a truly full fragrance to them. They make the most delicious Rose Petal Jam and candied roses for special occasions.

I have also dried them for herbal teas and pot-pourri  and so it was not surprising and also a little exciting and sweet to see Trahaearn collecting a basket one day and ask for his 'lefties' to go and cut some flowers to make a gift for his sister.

Once he started to collect the flowers he soon had another partner in crime to help him.
I think he and Arwen spent quite a while outside enjoying the time together selecting the flowers they deemed perfect to add to the collection to be given as a token of love.

I have been using my new dehydrator quite a lot lately and while the old one does not work at all I kept the old racks for 'natural'air drying.'

These were perfect for this little project and they were able to put the racks where they could see blossoms drying and still be involved int eh creating process.

Such a quick and simple gift.
A beautiful gift from nature.
A gift from the heart- given with true love and from their own hands.
What more can you ask for?

Blessings to you and your homes,
 

Looking for some fun things to do on St Valentine's Day???

Are you looking for fun family activities?
Well, if you are looking for fun activities to do together for St Valentines Day I am sure you will find some  great activities to do in my new e-book .

The book has decorating ideas to make and keep for future celebrations of St Valentine's Day.
There are special foods to cook, colouring for children, a word search, crossword puzzle, card game to play and a ready made banner to cut out and put up straight away.
All this plus information about St Valentine and more for only $14.99 AUD.

I hope you will consider purchasing this labour of love 💗

Blessings to you and your homes,
 

It's Birthday Time!!

It's been quite a while since I have shared a birthday and I am reminded often by the children why Have I not done 'My Birthday Post'

So here is our Miss Arwen's 8th Birthday

The most decorated part of a birthday in our home is the breakfast table.
After the birthday child has gone to bed we all 'whizz' around decorating the breakfast table, wrapping presents, decorating the seasons table and putting out the stars for the birthday child to walk down stairs to the seasons table in the morning.

 A very excited birthday girl was up early to get a good start on the day.

 It is all ready and waiting for Miss Arwen to arrive

After the hand-made cards are given it is time for the Birthday bag to be opened.
Each child is allowed to make a list of what they would like for their birthday and we try to provide gifts from the list.

 Breakfast is always the birthday child's choice too and we have started to have some interesting choices for this lately.

Arwen wanted Peach and Pies with whipped cream this year.

 I had to run into town for a couple of things and because of the VERY early start our birthday girl fell asleep within 5 mins of being in the car 😊

 "The Sweet Shop Cake" is a family tradition. Each of the  girls has had this except Myffwyn now. Each year the other girls try to convince Myffy and Arwen to have this cake and finally this year Arwen agreed.

It is incredibly hard to stop cream from melting on a cake in an Australian summer and this day was very hot and humid. So although I had planned on making this cake earlier in the day, I a glad I didn't because it would have been a complete disaster by dinner time.

After a long day it is time to blow out the candles and have a sleepover with her special friend who had spent the day at our house.

And now a  small reminder that I have my St Valentine's Day eBook ready for Sale - only $14:99 AUD and $11:83 USD
Please consider buying  this for your family.
It has some lovely traditions to start with your family. Also colouring pages, recipes and activities to do together to bring more meaning to your St Valentine's Day

Blessings to you and your homes,
 

Welcome back and some Feast Day Celebrations

Well.... Hello long lost blog Readers,
No, I know you weren't lost, it was me 😉

The times they have been a-changing in our home. Nothing drastic (well some of it has been) but really its just the fact that life moves on, people grow, interests develop and our family life tends to reflect that. The end results have meant not much energy to invest here. Hopefully that will all be water under the bridge and we can become good friends again.

Maybe now that we are starting back to our 'scheduled' learning for the year I may be able to be more in this space and share what is happening in our lives.

The first week of a learning year is always an easy start with three feast days in a row.
St Brigid, Candlemas and St Blaise.

Naturally we celebrated in regular style for us with good food, good reading and activities as well as sharing St Brigid with a special guest.

We really do go all out for St Brigid- after all she is an Irish Saint and well we are of Irish ancestry. What else can we say!
Oh we did this year after reading more about her take St Brigid as our patron saint of our Homestead as she is patron saint of many farm activities 😊

This year we even churned some butter in the hand butter churner I received for Christmas. The kids loved taking turns at it and with that help it was done in no time.

 Next up is Candlemas and although not as big as St Brigid it certainly does get due attention.
 those amazing cupcakes in the first picture. They are actually meant to look like old fashioned candle holder with candle in it. You know the ones you carry up to bed with you. I think they are pretty darn cute.

 Each year we have our floating candles and doves  and have them lit while we do our reading and colouring.

This year on all three days we had a very, very involved little boy. He was quite pedantic about his colouring pages and towards the end of the week was a little testy about his ability. Not Mr Perfect - oh no!!

St Blaise was our final Feast day and the only edible activity we had were these licorice covered chocolate, which were supposed to represent the crossed candles of St Blaise.

Finally after these very 'light' filled liturgical days I think the children will be quite ready for some very 'boring regular' lessons on Monday.

Thank you for dropping by and visiting with us again.
We hope to be better company this year 💗


Blessings to you and your homes,