Children's History Program

Dear Homeschool Families!

Join the Cleveland Metroparks for this great history program designed for children aged 8-12 years old, but siblings are welcome!   The programs are on Tuesdays or Wednesdays from 1-3PM.  The homeschoolers will visit:

May 20  Yoder's Amish Home  
Cost:  $9/person

June 17  Amazing Apiary Adventures with Amalia Haas
Cost:  $5/person or $20/family

July 23  West Side Market/Ohio City Farm
Cost:  FREE

August 19  Lake Farm Park
Cost:  $4/person

September 16  Ramseyer Farms
Cost:  $9/Student; $7/Adult

October 15  Hale Farm & Village
Cost $5/child; $10/adult

Sign up begins promptly on March 12, 2014 at 9AM.  Sign up once for the six month program, space is limited.  If interested, please contact the Metroparks at (440) 786-8530 to register your children.

"By wisdom a house is built, and by understanding it is established; by knowledge the rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant riches."  Proverbs 24:3-4

Fresh Hope, Pass it On!

Dear Friends,

I thought I would share with you, after talking with a friend and thinking you never know who may need this information?  Nanci, is one of my sweetest friends :)  I met Nanci at Cuyahoga Valley Church.  She has written a book, Fresh Hope Cleveland, after battling breast cancer.  It is a book of resources, but more than that!  Praying that if you know someone suffering from cancer, illness, etc you check out her book and find wonderful information and inspiration to share with those suffering!

She offers wonderful tidbits of information!  As homeschoolers we are always watching our pocketbooks and Nanci offers some great resources.  Nanci is "Beauty from Brokenness".  Please feel free to sign up for her blog:

http://nancigravill.wordpress.com/resources-in-fresh-hope/

I am honored and blessed to call her friend!  Friends are a blessing and gift from God :)

"There are “friends” who destroy each other, but a real friend sticks closer than a brother."  Proverbs 18:24

Viva Italia! - "Genoa"

When we knew we were visiting Italia, I told my husband that I wanted to visit Genoa.  Why?  It is Cristoforo Columbo's birthplace.  You may know him as Christopher Columbus :)  We were studying Columbo and wanted to share his childhood home with the kids.

We took the train to Genoa

Yes, we are still in EATaly

French crepes?  No Italiano crepes ;)

One of the best meals I enjoyed in EATaly!!!

Everywhere was just beautiful!

You could tour his home for $5 Euros, we decided not
to though, very small home

Old Harbor Marina

C Colombo Airport, we stayed within walking distance for our trip home

Loved every bit of our trip, but it was time to go home and see the kiddos :)  How we missed them and what we had to share!!!!

"I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth."   3 John 1:4

Meet Me in the Garden - Our Garden!

Are you a gardener or interested in becoming one?  We are just the average backyard, grow your own veggies/flower type gardeners.  Nothing on a large scale.  Each year we try to improve upon what we did last year.

Here are some photos from our garden last year:

What we learned last year.  The groundhog who is able to get through the chicken wire you see below!  Sounds crazy, I know, but I saw him fly through.  I guess they are a lot of "fluff"?  

What did we grow?  Lettuce, spinach (not so well), peas, pie pumpkins, zucchini, tomatoes, butternut squash, etc...

They say that 1/3 of your harvest goes to pests, 1/3 to disease and then the last 1/3 the gardener gets to enjoy :)  So, if the 1/3 to pests can be knocked out, then you are doing GREAT!!!!

Even if you do not have a lot of space it is amazing what you can grow.  If you do not receive a lot of sun throughout the day, do not fret.  In fact some veggies prefer only a few hours of sun:

Lettuce
Spinach
Peas
Beans
Root Vegetables
Chard
Scallions

With any type of vine, it needs tons of space to spread out!  Our pumpkins climbed up the fence :)

Pumpkin growing on the chicken wire

Where to purchase seeds at a discount?

*  The Dollar Tree 4 packets/$1 (limited selection)
*  Catan's $0.33/packet (limited selection)
*  Marc's - discounted 40%

Now is the time to be purchasing your seeds, before they are sold out for instance at Marc's.  For more of a variety in seed selection, you may want to visit a greenhouse, such as Petitti's?

Can I help you get started?  Gardening is FUN and it is a great learning experience for the kids to know where their food comes from and how to grow their own :)

Enjoy fresh, cooked or baked - Bon Appétit!  Any questions, please let me know.  I LOVE spending time in God's garden, enjoying all He has provided for us from the colorful fruits and vegetables to the beautiful and fragrant flowers!  Our Lord created all for our enjoyment :)  Thanks be to God!

"And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food."  Genesis 1:29

March Moms' Meeting

Hi Moms,

Our February meeting was great!  Love helping others, making new friends, seeing others make new friends.  Join us and renew in Homeschooling.  Casual atmosphere with blessings of help and support!

DATE:  Monday, March 3, 2014

TIME:  7PM

Please feel free to bring a snack to share!

Hoping Y-O-U will join us!  Please email Kim, DecadentChocolate@gmail.com if planning on attending and address and directions will be sent.

"Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others."  Philippians 2:3-4

Viva Italia! - "Piece-a Pizza & more"

Buon Giorno Amicas!

The food……the good, the delicious and the really???  Just about every meal we had in Italia we enjoyed!  

Prima colazione aka breakfast was pretty standard - cappuccino, blood red oranges/juice, chocolate croissants, etc, yes, life was rough :)  I came home craving all three of those items :)

Regular orange juice and Blood Red Orange juice

So many restaurants offered al fresco dining - nice!!!  Love my husband's t-shirt.  It actually says Rusyn, from part of our heritage (Carpatho-Rusyn from the Carpathian Mountains in Slovakia).  The Cleveland Botanical Gardens has a garden dedicated to us :)  If you notice on my first post, hubby's jacket (Faconal on the back) is French, so people were talking to him in French - Merci'!  He confused everyone - is he Russian? French? etc...

My love for all things lemon, yes we have a Meyer Lemon tree we bring in each winter :)

 We really enjoyed this dish!!!

REALLY????  You said what?
Eating in Italia is not what you would expect, when you sit down at a ristorante, there is a sit down charge, so only a couple times did we do that.  Also, there is no free water with your meal, only purchased bottled water.  Bread is another story, they will bring bread to your table like we do in the US, but then a charge will show up on your bill - really???

Our favorite lunch place in Florence, Forno, this dish is called Sfoglia - yum!!!!  Kinda like quiche, and we ate there a couple of times.  The place was packed, reasonable and fast!

Manga!!!  Italia is a feast for the eyes :)

In Venice, yes, eat what is fresh - fresh caught seafood

Through the University he received per diem, but to 
make things economical, we would purchase fresh fruit 
to enjoy as a healthful snack :)

Now, drum roll please……the Pizza!  My friend who had visited Italy many years ago, mentioned to try their pizza.  I will say, the United States revolutionized the food so many enjoy today!  When I say ham pizza, what do you envision?  When I say sausage pizza, what are you visualizing?  Hit reformat hard drive.  The crust was really great and when we returned home we tried to replicate it and hubby comes pretty close.  Maybe you have been over and enjoyed our version?  Ok, now are you as shocked as we were?

Sausage Pizza - hotdog?

Ham Pizza

"Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see."  Hebrews 11:1

Tetelestai 2014

This is an amazing group and an outstanding performance!  Very heart wrenching and appropriate for Eastertide.

Fridays and Saturdays the performance is at 8PM
Sundays the performance is at 2PM

They appreciate donations, to keep performances FREE and alive!!!  Please contact me and maybe we can meet at a performance (DecadentChocolate@gmail.com)  Kim :)

St. Barnabas Catholic Parish
9451 Brandywine Rd, Northfield, OH  44067
February 28, March 1 & 2

St. Paul Lutheran276 East Bagley Rd, Berea, OH  44017
March 7, 8, & 9*
* Sign language specialists will interpret these performance(s).

Remsen Christian Church
1500 Remsen Road, Medina, OH  44256
March 14, 15, & 16

Ss. Robert & William Catholic Parish
367 East 260th Street, Euclid, OH  44132
March 21, 22, & 23

Clyde Ministerial Association
at Clyde High School–1015 Race Street, Clyde, OH  43410
March 28, 29, & 30

St. Patrick Church
313 North DePeyster Street, Kent, OH  44240
April 4, 5*, & 6*
* Sign language specialists will interpret these performance(s).

Ridgewood United Methodist Church
6330 Ridge Road, Parma, OH  44129
April 11, 12, & 13

Benedictine High School (HOLY WEEK)
2900 Martin Luther King Jr Dr, Cleveland, OH  44104
Thursday, April 17 (8:30 pm)
Good Friday, April 18 (8:00 pm)

For more information or to host next year's performance, please visit their website:  http://www.tetelestai-cpam.org

CHRIST has Risen; He has Risen indeed!!!!

Sometimes after the performance they will serve refreshments :)

"And he said to them, "Do not be amazed; you are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who has been crucified. He has risen; He is not here; behold, here is the place where they laid Him."   Mark 16:6

Viva Italia! - "The Natives"

Three old friends arm in arm, would we do this in America? (Italian Riviera	It was fun to the see the native Italianos!!!  These are some of my favorite photos :)  Nothing can tell a story about a country's culture like the people?  Beautiful!!! Lovely lady we rented a condo from!  (Vernazza)
Traffic jam in Vernazza - pretty much a one lane road, the van had to move about 3-4 times!	Adjusting the beach area due to tides (Italian Riviera)
Wow, three 50# bags of flour? (Vernazza)	Making a delivery in Venice, that's right via boat!
Love this photo :)	Watching the sights from inside (Venice)
Gondoliers in Venice	Lovely Italian Ceramicist
Two Italian Ladies looking out their appartamento	Road Construction, paver by paver
The polizia look official!	I enjoyed watching this boy play with his umbrella (Florence)

Italy offers something for everyone :)  If you have an opportunity, it is worth the travel!!!

"Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people whom He has chosen as His heritage!"  Psalm 33:12

Get Ready, Get Set, Mark Your Calendars!

DATES:  MONDAY, July 28 - Friday, August 1, 2014

It is one of the BEST weeks of the Year, so mark your calendars and make plans to 

join us!

There are morning and evening sessions and so many activities/sports your children may choose from:

Our Children's Ministry Director, Denise, and
Scotty (all the kids LOVE him!!!)

Art, Flag Football, Dance, Basketball, Martial Arts, Soccer, 

Oh and there is a Mom's Camp and a Dad's Camp, so it is FUN for the whole family!

Enjoy not only the AWESOME FREEEE Sports Camp, but also the always FUN Friday Night Family Celebration AND a Special

Sports Camp Celebration Night @ The Q

Where Everyone is Greeted :) - We're glad YOU came!

So what does the week look like?  You are greeted by friendly helpful volunteers in the parking lot and then once inside as well.  We receive over 1,000 children, so this is run like a well-oiled machine :)  There is a check in station inside with security measures.  Each morning begins with an opening, music, dance, a mini BLAST presentation and our amazing leader Denise and more  The energy is high and the kids are excited!!!  They also have an opportunity to enjoy friends or make new ones.

We began on the beach, had a visit by The Cat in the Hat and enjoyed Christmas in July!

Bounce Houses!!!

Tshirts sell out quickly!!!

Looking forward to seeing you there!!!  Interested in serving?  We are always looking for volunteers and all volunteers are background screened and enjoy a fantastic homemade lunch or dinner each day:)  

**  I will post the registration link when it becomes available!!!

"Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever."  1 Corinthians 9:24-25