Remembering Mildred

I've known a lot of "Mildreds" in the church all around America.  It seems like every area has a "Mildred" participating in the service projects, teaching Sunday School, or cooking for the potlucks.  I met Mildred in Saltville, Virginia, just before my husband and I were married, more than 20 years ago.  Her husband, Buck, had passed on a short time before, and she was running his Drive-In with the help of her children and grandchildren.

Buck Maiden opened Buck's Drive-In in Saltville, Virginia, years ago.  I don't know what year it opened, but people we knew there talked about going when they were kids.  It is off the beaten path and little-known by the outside world, but the parking lot is packed on a Friday night after a high school football game.  People who have moved away from the area will drive hours just to go back and get a Buck's hot dog or milkshake.  Buck and Mildred lived in a little house behind the Drive-In, and when Buck left this world, Mildred kept the staple of the community going.  It has always been one of the most popular places around.

When my husband and I got married, my husband was preaching at Mildred's church, Main Street Christian Church in Saltville.  The first time we went to eat at Buck's, Mildred would not take our money.  She said our meal was "on the house."  Each time we went back, it was the same.  "I know preachers don't make a lot of money," she said.  "I can do my part to use the business God gave me to help provide for my preacher."  One time we tried to sneak by quickly when Mildred was not there.  We took our money out to pay for our meal.  "Oh, no!" said her granddaughter.  "Grandma won't let me take money from you.  Her preacher is not allowed to pay here!"

While we did not want to take advantage of Mildred's kindness, I will admit there were some days in those early days of our marriage when the grocery bill was tight.  We would get a little tired of the beans-n-weenies or the ramen noodles. We would head down to Buck's Drive-In, and Mildred would always feed us.

In the years since we've left Saltville, we've ventured off the interstate and stopped by Buck's many times when we were traveling through.  We've taken friends and our kids.  I'd like to think we've given enough business back to make up for all the free meals we ate, but I know Mildred never wanted us to pay her back.  What she gave, she was giving to God.  I daresay we were not the only hungry people she fed.  She was a member of the priesthood of believers, using her livelihood to serve God because serving God was a way of life for her, not something she just did on Sundays.

Whatever you do, do it from the heart, as something done for the Lord and not for people.

Colossians 3:23 CSB

When I went to Buck's Drive-In this past weekend, I found out that Mildred left us in 2015.  She is greatly missed, but Buck and Mildred's legacy lives on.  This weekend, I introduced my youngest to the best hot dogs (or corn dogs) this side of the Mississippi, as well as an important part of our family history.

For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat; I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink; I was a stranger and you took me in.

Matthew 25:35 CSB

Come, you who are blessed by my Father; inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.

Matthew 25:34 CSB

MREs - They're What's For Dinner

Being married to a Sailor/Marine (Navy Chaplains serve both Navy and Marine Corps), it seems my cabinet space is frequently taken up by MREs.  Yes, everything in the military is named by acronyms.  That's "Meal Ready-to-Eat," and my husband is sustained by them during certain exercises.  These handy meals are packaged in a sealed, heavy plastic pouch that is water proof and will not attract wild animals.  They do not have to be refrigerated, and they come with a handy little chemical heater so that our Soldiers and Marines can have a hot, nutritious meal right in the middle of a jungle or desert.  There's a fair amount of variety, too.  Mmmm, hot beef teriyaki, cheese tortellini, or pasta alfredo, just like Mom used to make.  Or not.  But, hey, you can survive on them.  And each one comes with a tiny bottle of tabasco sauce to drown out any other flavors.  They tell me you can eat anything with enough tabasco sauce on it.

My husband, as I've said, has lived off these little gourmet dinners for periods of time, and I've had one or two at Jane Wayne Days or family days.  So I thought, I need to clean out these cabinets, and if the kids are going to live on Marine bases and have their dad gone on Marine deployments, they should sample Marine cuisine, don't you think?

Here's Daddy, showing them what's in the packs and how to activate the heater pouches just by adding water.  It doesn't even have to be clean water, since it never actually touches the food, so you can just grab it from a mud puddle if you have to.  Daddy doesn't often get to eat one of these at a dining room table with a tablecloth and chairs!

The heater bag smells pretty bad when it starts working, so it's a good idea to take it outside.

The heat and mosquitoes here in NC may not be as bad as in the deserts where our Marines are enjoying this fare, but they are bad enough to chase this family back inside to eat dinner.

As far as the younger three are concerned, well let's just say they won't be asking for MREs for their birthday dinners.  They were pretty good sports about tasting all the different meals, though, and they had fun with it.  It's a good thing Mommy had some chicken nuggets in the oven, having foreseen the small MRE appetites.

The oldest was the only one to finish his meal and eat some of someone else's.  (The closer he gets to the teenage years, the harder it is to find anything that he WON'T eat!)  He's planning on raiding Dad's stash for his upcoming Boy Scout camping trips & hikes.

Happy Trails!  :)

Chocolate Challenge

So how do you homeschool?  Do you like a nice, structured curriculum with lesson plans already laid out for you, or are you a free spirit who likes to wing it?  I must admit I tend to be the former.  I like structure, schedules, calendars, and lists.  I love lists.  I am a huge list person.  Just give me a list of what my kids need to be ready for the standardized tests each year, and we can work through it and I know I have no gaps and my kids have what they need!  The only problem is, it's a little boring.  Lately I have been hugely turned on to UNIT STUDIES and LAPBOOKS and all kinds of fun things like that!!!

Not that I think I could use unit studies exclusively.  Some people do and love it.  Some people are very creative and thoughtful and are able to work all their math and science and vocabulary and spelling words into interesting unit studies so that their kids hardly realize they are having school, they are having so much fun learning.  Not me.  I like LISTS of vocab and spelling words.  Math workbooks that go in a nice, organized order.  I like workbooks.  Have I mentioned I don't want any gaps?  I'm deathly afraid of gaps.

Well, amazingly enough, there seems to be a balance somewhere in between.  Oh, I still have my nice, organized workbooks.  Can't get enough of those.  But I can have the kids do all the even questions and skip the odds and get some of them done in half the time.  (Of course, if they miss too many, they have to go back and do them all.  This also helps ensure they study and make sure they get them right the first time!)  I can skip a few quizzes if I know the kids have mastered the material.  Or if we come upon a section that seems to be mostly review, we can just take the quiz and then move on.  My rule of thumb is generally that the kids have to score at least an 80% before we move on.  If they haven't mastered 80% of the material, we probably need to spend some more time on it.  Skipping some of the busy-work, however, opens up hours that we can spend on those glorious unit studies and lapbooks.  Incentive helps, too.  If I promise the kids a fun day or a field trip when they finish a certain amount of work, they finish it in a record-short amount of time!  With a good grade!

I've probably mentioned that my boys are hands-on learners.  And my girls like crafts and cooking.  And I'm a book-learner and a list-maker, so I have to adjust a little.  All this brings us to what we have to show for our school-time today.

Not much, it seems.  We started with 8 kids (a few homeschool friends joined us) and 5 trays of homemade chocolates.  This is all I could manage to get into a picture.  It didn't last long.  I believe the memories will, though.  We began Download 'N' Go's Chocolate Challenge unit study.

History, vocabulary, a little math, biography, geography - it's all in there, neatly organized with almost no prep time on my part.  Internet links, videos, recommended books, even coloring pages for the little guys.  Doing it with friends just added to the enjoyment.  We started our chocolate lapbooks.  As a little extra, I printed off the "Chocolate Challenge" title and each child's name in LetteringDelights.com's "Assorted Chocolates" alphabet, and they used these as the titles on their lapbooks.

And at the end of Day 1, we made our own chocolates.  If you've adored the little molded candies at showers and parties but thought they would be too difficult to make, let me assure you they are one of the easiest things to do with your kids.  You can purchase the candy molds and the small candy melts in chocolate, vanilla, or a variety of colors at a craft store like Michaels.  (Or you could just melt a Hershey bar.)  You simply melt the candy and pour it in the molds.  A few hours in the fridge and it's ready.  Um, but if you decide to do this project with 8 kids ages 3-11, be prepared for a fair-sized mess to clean up!

Happy Homeschooling!