Casseroles and Tacos

Have you ever had a crazy idea that turned out to be such a blessing? That’s what has happened this month to a friend of ours and me (Katie). We have launched a project which has actually proven to be a blessing in each of our personal lives.

That friend is Andrea from Our Supper Stories.  I was nearly in tears when I first read her blog a few months ago. The similarities between our stories are so incredibly striking, as well as our purpose, passion and desire to listen and share stories.

Andrea and I began communicating. A lot. When we first met on Instagram , we had so very much to catch-up on as we seemed destined to be friends. It was during one of those communications that the words, “let’s begin a podcast”, flowed through the wifi waves which connect the 2,129 miles between us. What a leap of faith and one that we know the Lord led us to take! Our own stories seemed so similar yet so different. In fact, we felt this recipe of similarities and differences combined into just the right flavor combination. Although neither of us knew where to begin, Andrea has taken the reigns of learning the ins and outs which has resulted in podcast success. Thank-you, Andrea, for all of your research, wisdom, and podcast groundwork.

We invite you to listen every Tuesday morning to CASSEROLES AND TACOS PODCAST for conversation about life’s stories, food and our appreciation for what Jesus has done in our lives. From easy stuff like our favorite shoes to hard stuff like dealing with pain and hurt, we are here….just sharing around our table. We have saved YOU a seat! Pull up a chair, friend. Invite another friend to join us.

Then, join the conversation on CASSEROLES AND TACOS Instagram page.

We believe that by sharing stories of heritage and life, the world **can indeed** become a place of reconciliation and peace. When we listen to one another, especially around the dinner table, we can share life and build community.

One person at a time. One relationship at a time. This is Jesus’ model for building relationships and is pointed out by our May 1 podcast guest, Katie’s cousin, Renee. She reminds us that doing something great is in the seemingly small acts of love and service. Take a listen to this episode and others either here on podbean or here on YouTube .

Pull up a chair, friends. Whether you listen in your pajamas or on your way to the workplace, always remember that “Love is the best ingredient.”

❤️ Love from Katie and friend Andrea

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Dashed Dreams

I hadn’t planned to tell you this story today, but….

Everywhere I look lately it seems this idea presents itself to me in some form or another… **Katie, you can make all the plans you want and that’s jolly good but your Father is in charge. Just don’t forget that, honey.**

 

Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.  Proverbs 19:21

We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps.     Proverbs 16:9

 

This is the story that we have never told publicly but maybe it is time.

Years ago, when our now-big boys were young ones, Mr. Patient was the co-leader of an annual summer mission trip to another country. He joyfully led large groups of all-aged folks to a city where the group members helped by encouraging the local people and church members, playing with children in an orphans’ home, building homes for local folks, you get the idea. They were willing to participate in the Lord’s work in whatever way they were needed. This trip was, and still is, a big event for many groups of people in this middle Tennessee area and beyond. Mr. Patient absolutely relished leading this trip each year despite the mounds of planning tasks involved. His own daddy even joined and quickly became a favored member of the group due to the joy that radiated from him as he joked, hugged and loved all with whom he came in contact.

Mr. Patient had been involved in the Lord’s work in three other countries prior to his leading this particular group. But, it was this trip and the folks with whom he worked in that location which were so very close to his heart and soul. He adored the local people of that area, especially the children, and had become close in heart to a set of siblings. These children were cared for in a local orphanage–well-cared for, I might add. Their needs were met and they were happy. But, they did not have the mama and daddy that God designed children to have. They “took to” Mr. Patient (and his daddy, “Pop”) like a kid takes to candy.

In the months and years prior to Mr. Patient’s mission trips/work, I had been desiring more children in our family. We were not preventing pregnancy and were praying that the Lord would provide us with more babies. Adoption was not forefront in our minds. Until….

Continue reading “Dashed Dreams” →

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12 Things We Don’t Allow our Children To Do

We’ve been parenting for over 25 years. Mr. Patient and I have three adult children, three little children and two in heaven. This fact means we know a lot and we know nothing, depending on the topic or whom you ask. 😉

Every family dynamic is different and this makes for a colorful world. What a bore if we were all the same! Our Heavenly Father made our families and situations unique. A grand arrangement is that we can all learn and share from one another. Recently Mr. Patient and I received various questions regarding how we manage certain family and child situations and issues. Apparently more than those who’ve questioned us are interested in our responses. Almost 400 folks have viewed our YouTube videos of “12 Things We Don’t Allow Our Children To Do” (parts 1 and 2).

 

 

The topics we cover include

  • manners
  • respect
  • complaining
  • whining
  • lying
  • bedroom usage
  • electronics usage
  • dating
  • materialism
  • picky eaters

 

We welcome you to give these videos a look-and-listen. Make sure to subscribe to our channel, please, so we can continue to improve it.

We’d love to hear your comments on these topics and how you handle these situations in your own homes.

Thanks for walking this life with our family as we share IDEAS and GRACE with one another. We appreciate ya’ll ❤️

 

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Walking in March 2018

Katie here….

Oh my word, ya’ll! How can March have journeyed past me without one little post or addition to our home-on-the-web, this HERITAGE WAYS website. I am so sorry for not checking in with ya’ll but I’m here now…. giving a little update of life with us. Maybe you’ll understand why I’ve been covered up with …… well, life and stuff.

A few buttercups and a dab of snow

Our plans are still on track as we prepare for our HERITAGE HOMESTEAD JOURNEY. Actually, this whole path we are on–from last summer until we plant our Roma tomatoes in new soil — is the HERITAGE HOMESTEAD JOURNEY. The whole thing. You see, I do enjoy journeys just about as much as reaching destinations. (I think I need to go back and re-read that sentence since I’ve let my nerves get a little hairy over the busyness. Thank God for my Mr. Patient to ground me and those hairy nerves.)

**YouTube News**

We’ll start here as it seems we’ve been having just so much fun sharing life on YouTube. The community is growing and, for that, we are grateful. Our goal is to have various content on the social media platforms, so you are sure ’nuff invited to head over there and subscribe so you’ll be able to follow our journey. We want to walk life with you! Please subscribe, comment, and share the videos! It is the next best thing to sitting down at the same table and sharing a pot of dark roast coffee with raw cream.

 

It appears that our playlist about HOME EDUCATION was the most popular last month with our HOME TOUR: PREPARING TO SELL playlist coming in close-second. We were honored to participate in SUPER SIDES SATURDAY COLLABORATION with some great cooks, as well as, host our own collaboration, HOMESCHOOL DADS’ PERSPECTIVE.

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**Instagram News**

IMG_5651The big deal this month was our SPRING GIVEAWAY! We love turning heads toward folks who are using their God-given talents to handcraft some beautiful works of art, whether they are consumable or enduring. This fabulous giveaway featured David and Denise from Robinson Design Studio , Stephanie from @my_steps_are_oiled , Claire from @grapevine_homestead and Bubba and Wendy from Lucky Buck Jewelry. This giveaway was a huge hit and rightfully so! Congrats to Instagram winner @jubug24 !!

I would be amiss if I didn’t mention Continue reading “Walking in March 2018” →

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Walking in February 2018

Hey ya’ll!

Thanks for being here and walking life with us! We love the community that is building here and on Instagram and YouTube. We even show up on Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest sometimes. Please share us with your friends on your social media sites. We sure would be appreciative.

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To make walking life with us a bit easier, we will summarize at each month’s end what has been added on this home-on-the-web that month. This should make navigating our additions much simpler and faster for ya.

So, in February of this 2018 we added a page in our RECIPES section entitled Using Leftovers and Cleaning out the Larder and Freezer (by popular demand), as well as, some more SANDWICH recipes. One of our blog posts even chats about USING LEFTOVERS when I made a sweet treat with items in our pantry.

Our sweet littles were thrilled to make their first sale of their hot pads. This gave us the opportunity to tweak shipping costs and design just the right package deal that would benefit both them AND you! Thank-you, again, Mrs. Barbara!!

Make the kids’ day, ya’ll, and place an order for hand-made with love, care and attention a package set of Cotton Woven Hot Pads.

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We are always excited to share with you those who are Continue reading “Walking in February 2018” →

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All the Branches

 

A man doesn’t plant a tree for himself. He plants it for posterity. Alexander Smith

 

Hi friends! Just chatting a bit with ya today….

 

We are very happy that you’ve chosen to stop by the front porch of our little home-on-the-web. We are simple folks. Or, at least we are at heart. Unfortunately we have allowed ourselves, now and in the past, to get caught up in the busy-ness of life and all those activities that the world tells us we must do in order to be…to be happy, to be successful, to be liked, to be intelligent, to be spiritual, all the other “to be”s. Are ya’ll the same? Maybe not. I hope not, actually. I hope for your sake that you’ve managed the beautiful art of enjoying peace and proper pacing of life. We’re still working toward that, by the grace of God.

 

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This (almost) spring finds us continuing to downsize our worldly possessions, organize what we are choosing to keep, and simplifying our lives by selling our home and hitting the road in an RV with our three youngest children. (I think the simplicity of this endeavor is up for debate, however.) We call this RV life, our HERITAGE HOMESTEAD JOURNEY, as we are asking the Lord to show us where He wants us to set-up/build our homestead after our RV living has ended. Since we are about to a live in much smaller quarters, we won’t have the ample space to show hospitality that we have so enjoyed doing for almost 30 years in a solid, concrete foundation home. Showing hospitality will begin to look different for our family.

 

This is the RV layout we would like to purchase.

 

In a strange twist of Seeking Simplicity, we have found ourselves Continue reading “All the Branches” →

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