Did you know that September 2nd has been set aside for National Coconut Day? I love coconut, and I really don’t need a special day for it, but I’ll take it.
Continue reading “Special Holiday Meals: Our Favorite Coconut Recipes”
Author: Susie @ Pollywog's Place Blog
Susie is a slightly crazy, homeschooling, gardening, square dancing Momma with a houseful of babies (10 to be exact), and a whole lot of Jesus. She gave birth to seven of those babies (and she has the stretch marks and scars to prove it) and then God chose her to be Momma to three more who she refers to as her 'Unexpected Blessings'. Having a large family means she has heard just about all of the large family jokes... you know like 'You know how that happens, right', or 'Don't you have a TV?'. Many people believe that she must be related to Mother Teresa but she insists she isn't anywhere close to a Saint although she does appreciate as many prayers as she can get sent her way. Even though four of her babies have flown the coop, her life stays really busy. Most days start out early with a cup of her favorite Dandy Morning Coffee and a quick Trim Healthy Mama breakfast before the kids get up and the crazy starts. She looks at every day as an adventure where the unexpected keeps her on her toes. In the rare moment that she finds a little quiet time, you can usually find her snuggled up with a good book, browsing a thrift store, sewing a new outfit, piddling in the greenhouse or garden, or getting a little 'Pin Happy' with To-Do projects on Pinterest. She is extremely passionate about her family, cooking, being a keeper of the home, gardening, and square dancing. She is also on a mission to help others to make healthier changes in their lives, one family at a time. She strives to live by the Proverbs 31 model but she also acknowledges that she is not perfect and is just a sinner saved by grace. Pollywog’s Place Blog began as a way to share her family's journey with family and friends as they've gone through so many life changes. After getting so many questions about parenting, homeschooling, gardening, and recipe requests she realized that she could really use her blog as a way to help others out there who may be struggling with their roles as a mother, especially the single mothers who may feel like they are all alone on their journey. This blog has become a journal of sorts and a way for her to help inspire and provide encouragement to others. She enjoys looking back over old posts to see how far they have come and to motivate her when times seem tough. On Pollywog’s Place Blog, she talks about their life's journey through the adoption process, how their faith in God got them through some difficult and challenging times, as well as the many ups and downs they have faced with a large family and special needs (ADHD, ODD, and Down's Syndrome to name a few). Susie also shares the products that they use in their home as well as tips and tricks that she uses to keep her family running as smoothly and efficiently as possible with some gardening and video tours sprinkled in. Do you ever feel like your juggling so many things that you can't think straight? She has often felt the same way but has come up with some simple routines and schedules that help everyone to stay on track and I think they just might help you too! Under the 'Keeper of the Home' tab, you can find various tips, tricks, and hints to get your house up and running on autopilot. That's not been such an easy task for them since they downsized to a 600 ft square cabin but somehow they make it work and she loves sharing some of the helpful tips and tricks that they've learned along the way. One question they get a lot is about how they feed this army. It's not always an easy task and trying to eat healthily can get quite expensive so she is always looking for ways to save money and stick to their grocery budget. Under the 'Mama’s Recipe Box' section they have a ton of their favorite recipes like Daddy Can't Wait Casserole, Hoe Cakes (one of the most viewed posts on the blog), freezer cooking, and meal plans along with their family's 'Trim Healthy Mama' plan ideas and successes. If you haven't heard of the 'Trim Healthy Mama' plan you should definitely check it out today! Sometimes eating healthy does mean she spends a little extra on groceries so she finds other areas to cut expenses. One way they have found is with their cleaning supplies and health products. She has always been concerned about the chemicals (Did you know that the average household contains about 62 toxic chemicals?) and toxins that are in many household cleaners so she tries to use more natural and cost effective ways to clean. Susie has been homeschooling for several years now and although she does not consider herself to be an expert but she has found a variety of products and services that have helped to make their homeschooling journey a unique experience. You can find links to these products under the 'Homeschool' tab. Susie and her kids have had a ton of fun reading through the Little House on the Prairie series and she has posted some of the unit studies that they have put together for the different books. The family has been trying to incorporate some of the old fashioned morals and values into their everyday lives. As if juggling kids, home, and a home business weren't enough, the family also enjoys square dancing twice a week or more. Mr. Awesome and his dad happen to be the only father/son caller duo in Florida and are pretty well known in these parts. She also manages a couple of other facebook and blog pages for a couple of the local square dance clubs. The 'Kirby's Korner' tab is where they post links to their square dancing activities which is one of the things they do as a family. Susie loves to dress up in her fancy dance outfits and thinks the fluffier the petticoat the better. She also loves to take selfies of her various square dance outfits and share them with others. Did I mention that she met Mr. Awesome through square dancing? You'll have to poke around the blog to see if you can find that story somewhere. If you just want to find a list of the affiliate/referral programs that the family works with you can click on the 'Affiliate Links' tab. These links help to support their blog, their family, and their homeschooling mission at no extra cost to you. If you like to chuckle about the crazy things kids do or the crazy things they do on a daily basis then you really should follow their blog. They also have accounts on Facebook (@kirbyskabinblog and @susieschemfreezone) as well as on Instagram (@kirbyzkorner and @susieschemfreezone). They have been posting to YouTube as well so be sure to check that out. In July of 2020, amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, Susie and Shane welcomed their youngest daughter, Shyanne, into the family. Shyanne has a dual diagnosis of Down Syndrome and Dandy-Walker Malformation w/hydrocephalus. She has gained many followers and supporters from around the world who have joined together to be prayer warriors for this special little girl. You can read more about her under ‘Sweet Shyanne’.
Podcast Episode 10: The Two Frogs Tale
Pip: Welcome back to Pollywog’s Place, where the lessons are ancient, the stakes are surprisingly high, and the protagonists are occasionally amphibians.
Mara: Susie at Pollywog’s Place Blog has a piece up that uses a classic fable to dig into something genuinely consequential — the power words have over the people around us. Let’s start with the tale itself and what it’s actually asking us to do.
The Two Frogs Tale
Pip: The setup here is a question about stakes — specifically, whether the words other people say to us can be the difference between making it out of a hole and not making it out at all.
Mara: The post frames it directly: “We need to see just how powerful our tongue and our words can be. If we speak an encouraging word to others it can possibly be the motivation that they need and help them to get through a difficult time.”
Pip: And the flip side is just as stark. The post doesn’t soften it — wrong words can send someone into a downward spiral. That’s not a metaphor being stretched; the fable literalizes it as a matter of survival.
Mara: The fable itself is the engine of the whole piece. Two frogs fall into a deep pit. The crowd tells them they’re as good as dead. One frog believes it and gives up. The other, who is deaf, assumes the crowd is cheering him on — and he jumps harder and gets out.
Pip: So the frog who survives does so precisely because he couldn’t hear the discouragement. Which is either a beautiful lesson or a fairly grim commentary on what the rest of us are subjected to.
Mara: The post draws that out carefully. It connects the fable to a broader idea about being intentional — making a conscious effort to use words that encourage rather than deflate, and asking for help staying quiet when you genuinely can’t manage that.
Pip: There’s something honest about that last part. Not “always say something kind,” but “if you can’t, maybe say nothing.”
Mara: Right — the post names tongue-control as genuinely difficult, almost impossible at times. It’s not presented as easy virtue, which gives the moral some weight.
Pip: The fable earns its place here because it makes the abstract concrete. Words as life-or-death isn’t hyperbole when you watch one frog die and one walk away.
Mara: The throughline is simple but not small — what we say shapes what people believe is possible for them.
Pip: Worth sitting with. More from Pollywog’s Place next time.
Walking in the GOODNESS of GOD Devotional
I am hoping to make a new devotional for each month this year… that’s a big challenge, but it is something that has been on my heart. For AUGUST, our monthly theme will be GOODNESS. We will be trying to find ways to show a little more GOODNESS through routines and habits.
Last month’s theme was SELF-CONTROL and let me tell you that LIFE sure has a way of putting our lessons to the test but GOD is GOOD and HE has seen us through some difficulties and HE can do the same for you!
Here is the FREE printable, if you’d like to join us:
Continue reading “Walking in the GOODNESS of GOD Devotional”
Podcast Episode 09: Longing For Simpler Times
Pip: Welcome back to Pollywog’s Place, where the weekend itinerary includes battle reenactments, Pioneer Day festivals, and a lamb cake pan acquired off eBay — which is honestly a solid Saturday.
Mara: Susie at Pollywog’s Place Blog has been writing about what it feels like to step away from modern stress — through history, through simpler living, and through the question of whether a happier past is something you visit or something you carry. Let’s start with nostalgia and what it actually does for us.
Continue reading “Podcast Episode 09: Longing For Simpler Times”
Podcast Episode 04: God uses cracked pots
Pip: Welcome back to Pollywog’s Place Blog — where the cracks in the clay are apparently the whole point.
Mara: Susie at Pollywog’s Place Blog has been writing about something that cuts pretty close to home for a lot of people — what it means to feel broken, flawed, and still worthy of purpose. Let’s start with that question.
God uses cracked pots
Pip: The central tension here is one most people recognize immediately — the gap between who you think you should be and who you actually are, and whether that gap disqualifies you from anything that matters.
Mara: The post opens with a verse from Jeremiah 18:4 that frames everything that follows: “And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.”
Pip: So the upshot is: being marred isn’t the end of the story. The potter doesn’t discard the clay — he works with it again. That reframe is doing a lot of heavy lifting.
Mara: The post names exactly what that marring looks like in practice — comparison, the “if onlys,” doubting your abilities. Things like wishing you had more money, were a better mom, looked different. The internal list most people carry quietly.
Pip: And then it pivots somewhere unexpected. It isn’t just that God tolerates your cracks — the argument is that the cracks are actually the mechanism. Light gets out through them.
Mara: That’s stated directly: “His light will shine out brighter and brighter with every crack. So in a sense, the more cracked and broken we become as we surrender our will to His will, then the more He will be able to use us for His glory.”
Pip: Which reframes shame entirely. The crack isn’t evidence of failure — it’s the opening.
Mara: The post also points to the parable of the cracked pot — a separate story linked in the piece — which illustrates the same idea through a water-bearer whose leaking pot waters wildflowers along the path without knowing it.
Pip: Useful without being aware of it. That’s a quietly generous image.
Mara: The closing call is practical: don’t hide the cracks, don’t be ashamed of the flaws, ask for help accepting them. The promise attached is that something more beautiful gets made in the process.
Pip: Broken clay, wildflowers, light through cracks — there’s a whole theology of imperfection sitting in this one.
Mara: And more from Pollywog’s Place to come. See you next time.
You can read the post HERE:
Pollywog's Place Blog 