The Sparrow's Home: Life is hard. God is good. We need each other.

Printable Truths

June 6, 2016 by Susan 4 Comments

7 FREE printable truths that are frugal with color. Encouraging words and Bible verses to plant truth in your heart that won’t break the bank in ink usage.

When I was in college, my roommate and I had a giant sign on our closet door that said, “ALL Things”. And when we needed a little pick-me-up, we would play The Donut Man song and sing along with him, “I can do all things, all things, all things…I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me, Philippians 4:13” while marching around our apartment.

I still like to have encouraging words hung up around the house. And it’s nice to be able to change them every once in a while, which is why I like searching for free printables that I can use.

The problem is, it seems that when people are designing them, they don’t take into account the HUGE amount of ink that their beautiful designs take to print out. Whole pages covered with saturated color. Lovely on the computer, but not the pocketbook.

I love printing out Bible verses and other encouraging words, but don’t want to use so much ink!

Recipes That Use Up A Lot of Eggs (Bonus Pudding Recipe!)

June 2, 2016 by Susan 35 Comments

A collection of recipes for how to use up eggs. Desserts with eggs, dinner recipes with eggs, you name it! Use up an abundance of eggs in delicious ways. This collection of recipes will give you lots of options for when you find yourself with too many eggs on your hands. Sweet, savory, breakfast, lunch, or dinner, and perfect for customizing to your taste. Plus, a bonus recipe for the best pudding ever!

Backyard chickens are fantastic entertainment. They run like little old ladies holding their skirts up, and they always assume another hen has something better than what they’ve got.

Aside from all this free entertainment, they also provide us with a multitude of fresh eggs.

I frequently find myself looking for recipes that use a lot of eggs.

Today I thought I’d share some of the best ones I’ve found and tend to go back to time and again.
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Smashbooks

June 1, 2016 by Susan 22 Comments

A few years ago, Minnesota hosted the “Winter That Never Ends”. By the beginning of March, we began dreaming of a sunny vacation. Greg pointed out that with us homeschooling and him working from home, we had the freedom to be anywhere. We talked about how nice a condo in Florida would be, if only we could afford it. And then I remembered.

“Honey, your mom lives in Texas. Texas is warm.”

And so we went.

We made our home in Waco for two and a half weeks, one of which I designated as Spring Break. I wanted to take full advantage of our new environment for our schoolwork the rest of the time. And I wanted to do something creative. We had done lapbooks several times, including one before a trip to Disneyworld, but I felt the boys may have outgrown them.

Have you heard of Smashbooks?

They are essentially a type of scrapbook, but less structured and made on the go. Unlike a scrapbook that you make after an event, a smashbook you put together while you’re doing it.

Smashbooks can be in a regular notebook, plain scrapbook, or binder.

And having the word “smash” in the name made it more appealing to my two boys. 🙂

Do You Know About Arnica?

May 31, 2016 by Susan Leave a Comment

Have you used arnica? I don’t know of anything else that can do what it does. It has a prime spot in my medicine closet.

Let me tell you all about it.

Arnica has been used medicinally since the 1500’s. It’s a perennial with yellow-orange flowers similar to daisies. It’s the dried flower heads that are used in medicinal preparations. I think the dried flowers smell a little like chamomile.

Arnica is the best treatment I know for minor injuries that may cause bruising or swelling.

And living in a house with three males…we have plenty of opportunity to use it!

Obeying God’s Call

May 26, 2016 by Susan 4 Comments

When you obey God’s call, he can do things through you that you never thought possible. He gave my introvert husband a burden to speak publicly, no kidding!

My husband is a born introvert. He has said that his worst nightmare growing up was the possibility of having to be in front of a group talking.

You wouldn’t guess that these days, though.

Four years ago, the camp directors at an annual Midwest Family Camp that we attend asked Greg if he would consider teaching a class.

Although somewhat unsure, he felt God’s call to do it and he agreed.

He decided to teach on Creation vs. Evolution, a topic that the men’s group at our church had been studying for some time.

Since that first class, God has really opened a door for Greg to minister through this material. He has presented in 9 states at churches, camps, conferences and at a Bible college.

Cashew Chicken Salad

May 25, 2016 by Susan 4 Comments

I consider myself a bit of a chicken salad aficionado.

I’m compelled to order it if I see it on a menu.

Thanks to a friend’s referral, the best I think I’ve found in a restaurant is the Tarragon Chicken Salad at Bruegger’s Bagels. (It’s served on whole wheat bread, not a bagel, BTW). Here’s how they describe it: Diced chicken, almonds, red onions, cranberries, lemon tarragon mayo, tomato & lettuce on wheatberry bread.

It’s delish!

Whenever I’m hosting a shower, or having friends over for lunch, you can expect chicken salad to make an appearance. Often, I’ll make a chicken pasta salad.