I am always in search of the perfect yet, simple, scone recipe. I like the Bisquick ones as they always seem to rise in a more uniform fashion. My daughter {pictured above helping zest an orange} and I attended a baby shower this weekend for one of the teachers at her ballet school. I was asked to bring my well loved orange cranberry scones. I decided I would finally write down the recipe I use and blog it for future reference.
Ingredients: 3 cups of Bisquick 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1 cup dried cranberries (craisins) 1/2 cup orange blossom honey (I used Tupeolo Honey as I had run out of orange blossom) 2 eggs 1/4 cup orange juice (fresh squeezed is best but, Simply Orange works too) Zest of 1 orange Directions: 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine Bisquick, cinnamon, and dried cranberries. Add honey and mix well. The add, eggs, orange juice, and zest - mix until all ingredients are combined - mixture should be moist, if not add a little more orange juice. 2. Scoop out using a medium size cookie scoop onto ungreased cookie sheets. 3. Bake at 350 degrees for 14 minutes or until scones are a light brown on top. Makes 18 scones. Glaze: 1 cup of powdered sugar 3 Tablespoons of Orange Juice (more or less to your preferred glaze consistency) While scones are still warm - brush with glaze. Store scones in an airtight container - best served the same day or the day after baking.
Week four of school is behind us ... here is our week in pictures. {Pictured above Ava Mae dressed as a pirate for Talk Like a Pirate Day - it earned us a dozen donuts from Krispy Kreme.} Devin pitched for the first time for his middle school baseball team. He was so excited and nervous! I was sad to miss but, had girls at the dance school that had to be picked up at varying times. Thankfully, my husband was there and could text me a play by play. :) Devin did a great job and had a good time pitching. It really was a surprise to us as we figured it would be a year before they allowed him to pitch. Loving his baseball team and the sweet boys and parents!
Pictured above, Devin and one of his teammates during prayer after the game. Ava Mae doing a science experiment at Classical Conversations. Our history and science cards from school this past week. And, the last picture is Lexi and Ava Mae on a cool fall morning doing their school work outside on our deck - along with their golden retriever, Maggie.
Just three days after we returned from Latvia, Devin turned 12 years old. We had a low key family celebration as we were all extremely jet lagged and my brain was in a complete fog. {Which is probably why I thought I had already done this blog post.} We ordered Devin's favorite treat - a cookie cake from a local bakery. The cake came decorated in an Atlanta Braves theme.
I was so thankful I had the forethought to get Devin's gift before we left for Latvia. He was so thrilled to receive tickets to a Brave's game. Devin, so proud of the young man you have grown into. You have shown maturity beyond your years this year. When I doubted where God was in this whole adoption process you remained strong in your faith. You were willing to give up everything material if it meant bringing home your new sister. We love you Dev - Happy Birthday!
Three weeks into school and I think we are finally finding our groove ... albeit for me an exhausting groove. You wouldn't think adding just one extra person to our homeschool mix would make things so crazy. It does not help that we also added a new hybrid school program this year that is new to all of us. I felt like this week I could sit down and actually fill out a reasonable lesson plan - which did not include having my middle school student staying up until 10pm at night to complete a paper for school. Hoping the coming weeks will see us all settling into this new routine and getting comfortable. {Probably, just in time for us to have fall break.}
This week, Hope and Devin began their Middle School/High School Physical Education class with our favorite Coach/Teacher ~ Coach JJ! Hope absolutely loved it ... especially the "Capture the Flag" game they played at the end. I am always amazed by that child's athleticism and quick reflexes. Our Classical Conversations classes have been going great ... Devin, Lexi, and Ava Mae are really enjoying their groups and already learning so much! Hope is enjoying her time working in the childcare nursery. She absolutely loves little children and they have even taught her a few songs like "Three Little Monkeys".
Last week, Devin played in his first Middle School Baseball game for JFCA. He is so excited to be on the team!
Hope is working hard on her English skills and loving her new Rosetta Stone that a very sweet family in our CC community purchased her.
So that is a peek into our week ... if you want to see what others are doing in their homeschools - head on over to HomeGrown Learners Collage Friday.
So hard to believe that a month has already quickly passed by since we landed back on American soil. Our first two weeks were a roller coaster but, we have now settled into a more typical everyday routine here. Or, as some may call it "a new normal".
Hope is enjoying making new friends and having new experiences. She is singing in the choir, attending youth group, taking ballet class and art once a week, and getting opportunities to spend time with friends - doing things that teen girls enjoy in their spare time. This past weekend Hope was able to meet her grandparents and a few of my siblings for the first time. Our family all met up at the "half-way" point between Asheville and Atlanta at Black Rock Mountain for an afternoon picnic. Our required social worker visit was a few days ago and we sailed through. Our adoption agency rep was blown away by Hope's outgoing personality and all the skills she has - such as knitting, painting, braiding hair, and photography. Our next step ... we await 2nd trip dates for our final - formal court hearing.
Keep praying as we all adjust to our "new normal"!
We survived the first week of school! Woo Hoo!! And, I should say we not only survived but, everyone was still smiling on Friday - bonus points for that! It was our first week with an almost full schedule {only thing missing was our Monday Middle School/High School PE class for Devin and Hope which will begin on September 9th}.
This year Devin, Lexi, and Ava Mae are in Classical Conversations - they are all doing the Foundations program and Devin and Lexi are also enrolled in the Essentials program. Hope is enjoying her time in the nursery working with the little kids. This is new for us this year but, just what our family needed as we tackle adding a new child to our homeschool mix and finish up required trips for our adoption. We love our community and all the friends we get to attend school with!
We are all back at Timothy this year too ... I am teaching Exploring Creation with Anatomy & Physiology and Knitting for Beginners and Advanced Students. So thankful that Devin and Lexi are both assisting me in my science class and Hope in my knitting class - as my student count in both is high. The kids each have an enrichment class or two they are taking this semester.
Pictured above is our fun science project of the week ... we made models of animal cells out of jello and different candy.
In other news this week, Hope had her check up this week at the pediatrician - everything looks good and she just needed to get 4 shots this go round. Brave girl ... I think I freaked out more than she did. Devin is now on the JFCA Middle School Fall Baseball Team - a goal he has had for the last two years. We are proud of him and he is so happy to have begun practices!
