Sick Times Call for Homemade Soup

I had big plans for our homeschool this winter...

A vision to create bright spots in our schedule to keep these long, cold days interesting.

Places to visit, topics to study, interests to explore.

Dark grey winter wasn't going to get us down.

...........

Then my Nola fell ill with a fever.

She's been battling fevers for days.

Soren joined in the illness as well.

So my plans will have to wait.

I have been tending to sick kids lately and not doing much of anything else.

Sometimes homelife is vibrant and full of activity.

But during times of illness everything slows down, becomes melancholy and quiet, and you must be content with just the basics.

I have learned that even in these times, a rich and pleasant atmosphere is still attainable.

A bright, peaceful home is still waiting to be cultivated.

Sick times don't have to be sad times.

"The welcoming atmosphere we provide for our family, the care we provide in times of illness, and the efforts we take to promote wellness- each daily action reveals in miniature an aspect of God's nature. The often tedious and mundane tasks of homemaking become acts of worship, our ordinary movements works of art." - Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth

As is our typical custom, we look through our bookshelves for something that can relate to what we're experiencing.

"The Land of Counterpane," by Robert Louis Stevenson, is well known. You probably have it on your bookshelf, too.

(Remember, counterpane is an old-fashioned word for bedspread or quilt.)

Sheets become plains, and pillows become hills in this poem about a child who sets up a land with his toy soldiers while he's sick in bed.

So, between keeping bathrooms scrubbed and sanitary, and washing bedding, I like to sit and "rest" with the kids to read to them and keep them company.

We made a little makeshift hospital in our living room.

Each child claimed a comfortable spot and covered it with their own bed pillows and blankets.

On the piano bench that I placed between them I keep tissues, cough drops, and water bottles in full supply.

Also, it's important to remember the cleansing effect outside air can have in a house.

While the children watched old black and white movies downstairs, I opened a window in each of their bedrooms allowing a cross breeze to "clean the air."

Even when it's winter, and twenty degrees outside, there's no reason why this can't be done for just ten or fifteen minutes.

The goal is to change out the sick air with fresh air, not make the house ice cold. I promptly closed the windows after several minutes and the rooms warmed back up again in no time.

I noticed their appetites since becoming sick have been substantially dimmed.

They will take a few bites of something and tell me they're not hungry.

I decided to make homemade chicken noodle soup in an effort to get some nourishment into them.

I like making chicken noodle soup myself instead of buying canned soup. It's very simple to make and far more nourishing and flavorful.

I start by slow cooking chicken in my dutch oven.

I simply mix together a can of cream of chicken soup with a packet of Italian seasoning to make a sauce...

While that is cooking on low, I chop up onion, carrots, and celery to cook in a skillet of butter...

After about twenty to thirty minutes of cooking the chicken and vegetables on low, the chicken looks like this...

And the vegetables are soft and fragrant...

Once the chicken is cooked through, I cut it up right in the pot.

Then I add the vegetables, along with the butter drippings, as well as a carton of chicken broth and 2 cups of uncooked egg noodles.

Raise the temperature on the stove. Cover the pot, and bring to a gentle boil.

There's no need to pre-cook the noddles. That wastes a pot when they can cook just fine along with the soup.

Once it reaches a boil I bring everything down to a simmer and cook until the noodles are soft but not overdone.

(Of course, add water, salt and pepper according to your liking.)

This can simmer on the stovetop for a while, so I like to set the table and clean up my cooking mess.

Warm homemade biscuits go really well with soup.

I know every wife has her own go-to recipe for biscuits. But I am not a fancy person, and tend to do everything simply. This is all you need for very basic homemade biscuits...

This recipe will make eight small biscuits. Enough for one average sized family for one meal.

~ 1c. flour

~ 1 tsp. baking powder

~ 1 tsp. sugar

~ 1/4 tsp. salt

~ 1/4 tsp. cream of tartar

~ 1/2 stick of butter

~ 1/2c. milk

As with any baking, you want to mix the dry ingredients together first. 

Then cut in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

Make a well in the center and add the milk all at once.

Using a fork, stir until just moistened.

Make eight little balls on a greased cookie sheet...

Bake for 8 or 9 minutes at 450 degrees.

This is what the biscuits look like when they're done.

(I was getting ready to place the biscuits next to the lemon bars on each child's dessert plate.)

I like to break apart my biscuit into my soup, and eat it with parmesan cheese on top...

 But the kids like their soup with just the cheese, and the biscuits on the side... 

However you enjoy it, this makes a very nourishing meal for children who've been battling illness.

These are the tasks I busy myself with when the weather's cold and grey, and my children have come down with fevers.

Fresh air in the house...

Washed bedding...

Extra books read...

Homemade supper...

Lit candles...

As I wait for brighter, healthier days I realize our days are bright after all.

We are all content, because homelife can be as cheerful as you make it to be!

And we still have a nice long winter ahead of us to accomplish our homeschool goals.

"When it snows, she has no fear for her household... She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness." - Proverbs 31:21, 27

I hope you're enjoying your winter, friends...

xo,

~ Courtney ~ 

P.S. If that last line made your eyes roll because you can't seem to find anything enjoyable about winter, can I suggest a couple of books that have greatly helped me? Remember, I never use affiliate links because I do not make any money from this blog. These are just ideas for books that have helped me look at winter differently. Maybe you'd enjoy a fresh perspective, too. I'm sure Amazon would have these if you're interested...

How to be Chic in the Winter by Fiona Ferris

The Quiet Season by Jerry Apps

Thanks for stopping by my blog today, friends.

Four Years of Blogging

It has been exactly four years since I started this blog.

It was my New Year's goal for 2016.

So every January since I like to "go back to the drawing board," so to speak, and reevaluate my vision for this blog.

Why am I doing this? and Do I want to keep doing this? Are the questions I ask myself each year.

(A winter vignette on my mantle...)

I had several reasons for starting my blog four years ago...

~ I wanted a place to record family stories and pictures.

~ I wanted a place to document the renovation projects we've accomplished in our old farmhouse.

~ And I wanted a place to write my heart out.

I do not call myself a writer, but I've used this blog as a canvas to jot down ideas, to express my beliefs, and to maybe be a blessing to those who stop by to read.

Several years into my homemaking career, I noticed a pretty blatant trend sweeping through our culture. Women who were home were looked down upon - viewed as oppressed and uneducated. Our work at home was not considered valuable to society. 

So I decided my photos and writings on this blog would shed a positive light on homemaking.

I wanted to be part of the solution!

Why not go against the grain of the culture and try to give homemaking a good reputation?!

That became my vision.

(A winter table for family dinners...)

But I quickly encountered opposition.

I've learned that one cannot write or speak about being happy at home without receiving negative feedback.

I've been accused of being narrow-minded and judgmental. And I've been accused of forcing my opinions on people.

- How dare you write about homeliving and homeschooling. 

- Don't you know you're a nobody? 

- You have nothing valuable to say.

- No one's listening to you.

These are all comments and attitudes I've received.

But, I certainly don't view myself as a judgmental person.

And I've always known I'm a nobody.

I don't write precociously, I just write out of my own experiences.

So, I guess I don't really see that I've done anything wrong.

I've only ever written about positive and uplifting things, and have never used my blog to tear anybody down.

"When you begin to do Kingdom-building work, Satan will go after ya!" My Dad told me once.

Yes, I have definitely felt that.

But that's how you know you're on the right track. Satan leaves alone those who are no threat to him.

Mothers who have sacrificed everything to be home full-time with their children, and who tirelessly train them in the nurture and admonition of the Lord (Eph. 6:4) are going to soon turn loose warriors of righteousness. So yes, Satan is paying attention.

So, do I want to keep doing this?

Do I want to keep opening myself up by continuing to write on this blog?

I recently read this by Nancy DeMoss-Wolgemuth...

"I promise you, what you have gleaned of God's nature and ways throughout the course of your life, however inadequate you may feel, is worth passing on to others, particularly to those following behind you. Wherever you've seen God prove Himself faithful, wherever His Word has sustained you in weakness and provided needed direction, and yes, even wherever you've experienced the consequences of failing to walk according to His Word- there's your story to share."

God gave me that encouragement and "green light" to go forward with blogging just at the right time.

~ This little light of mine

I'm going to let it shine.

Hide it under a bushel? No!

I'm going to let it shine. ~

(A napkin love note from one of my children...)

Going forward, here's what you can expect from me on this blog in 2020...

I publish posts about twice a month. That is a good pace for me. 

This is a blog about home living, so you won't see any political rants or things of that nature.

I like to write and post pictures about decorating, family stories, recipes, homeschool ideas, etc...

And since my goal is to give homemaking a good reputation, you probably won't see posts of me complaining or of my house in chaotic disaray. Don't accuse me of being fake. I have bad days. I just choose to strive for the excellence I know is in me and celebrate that instead.

"God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will excel in every good work." - 2 Corinthians 9:8

As far as forcing my opinions on people... well, you had to make the decision yourself to click over here and read this, didn't you? *wink

I will not tailor this blog to my critics.

Read along only if you'd like.

xo,

~ Courtney ~