Alex's 5th Birthday!!

Charlotte says "Mom, I am so glad we are taking school off for some of the summer. I can be so productive." I look at her with curiosity "What do you mean Charlotte?" She gets this serious look on her face and says, "Well, I can write and do research all day. We just really aren't productive when we are doing school." I just smile and shake my head in agreement.

 We are finally almost over this sickness that has lasted several weeks. Toby got it yesterday but it seems to be milder with him. He did run a 103 fever and vomited once but he doesn't act as sick as the rest. I want off the vomit comet!! Hopefully Jason won't get it.
  On the funny side we had some really cute things said during the whole thing. I don't know why being sick makes you say the funniest things but man did they have us rollin. We had kids waking up in the middle of the night talking about crazy stuff and Andrew was entertainment on several occasions. Yesterday I was in the laundry room transferring clean clothes to the dryer. Daniel and Andrew were with me and Andrew asked if he could help. I let him after I got over my initial thoughts of "This is going to take even longer". He loads a few things and we close the door. He looks at me and says so sincerely "Mom, thank you for sharing your dirty laundry with me!" It was so adorable and worth every second extra that it took.
  We also have had a major event happen a couple of days ago. Summer finally lost her first tooth! She has been wanting to lose a tooth for so long. It was precious. She was on top of the world. I am so glad `that this tooth came out quickly without any major pain. She just pulled it out and said "Look Mom, it came out!"
  So now that we are soon to be on the mend, we are looking forward to seeing friends again and getting outside(in the coolest part of the day of course) to soak in some summer time.

Rejoice or Mourn?

  My family will come together over the next two days to remember my Grandmother and her life. It has stirred many thoughts within me. I realize that anytime someone passes on from this side of eternity that we will question our own mortality. Is what we believe REALLY the truth?? How do we KNOW it's the truth? Does it even matter? Maybe we just all go into the grave and pleasantly "sleep" forever more. Just a meaningless vapor in this tornado of life. Is our belief in science? That based off of scientific evidence there is no God and no eternity afterwards. DO we realize that we are basing our decision solely on the genius minds of pure vapor particles? Do we even know what genius is? If everything is meaningless then all our beliefs, decisions, hypothesis, and IQ tests are meaningless as well. Because whatever comes out of this meaningless body will be just that, meaningless.
   Maybe, just maybe, we realize that this logic is flawed(because we are obviously not meaningless,right?). What IS the truth and how do we find it? If we can't trust those who claim no creator, then who do we go to? Where can we find solid evidence of where we came from, why, and where we are going? You guessed it, that book that everyone says is silly and not "academic" yet has lasted and proved itself for the last 5-7000 years. The Bible. Simple and complex, easy but hard, eternal and undeniable truth. This Truth has lasted and been confirmed throughout history. People come and go with their philosophies and ideas but the Bible has remained true and steady. It's foundational. So, if you want to know the foundation, if you want to know why, read it. You aren't a genius. The creator is. And because of that, we can trust that what he has said, done, and will do is truth. It will not die because he is eternal.
   All that being said, I am so glad that I have hope. I will rejoice for my Grandmother because I believe in the truth. I don't believe that she just ceases to be. This hope is given to us through faith in Jesus Christ. He says "I am the truth, and the life. No one goes to the Father except through me." There is no other way by which man can be saved. I am so thankful that I have a hope. I have a reason to live AND Die!! No, I will not mourn, I will rejoice that she is being made whole by her creator.

Links missing

This morning I wanted to upload another file and realized that my other files were dead links. So sorry!! I am in the process of uploading them again.
****Well, they somehow have dissapeared. I will create them again and post them as soon as I can.

Pulp Cookies

I can't believe we made cookies out of left over juice pulp. We  made them out of peanut butter, honey, eggs, a little flour, cinnamon, vanilla, salt, and LOTS of left over vegetable pulp(spinach, parsley, carrots, and apples.) I basically just eyeballed it until I thought it might work. The kids loved it. Now I don't feel so bad juicing. This also makes a great snack for the kids. I have been looking for something new because of Kaitlyn's braces. Yay!

Beach Trip

This weekend I will be going with my Mom, Grandma, and Sister to the beach. I am looking forward to a time of fun and reflection. For the last 2 months I have really been wanting to take a trip to the beach so this is a nice treat. I am going to get pictures as well, I know the kids will want to know everything that happened. We are supposed to go to the Opry too and I am really looking forward to that!

The sweetest reminder of Christ's sacrifice

Today I was cooking lunch with Kaitlyn. We were going about our business when Andrew comes in singing "Mary did you know that your baby boy would save our sons and daughters?" over and over again. We hadn't listened to that song in a long while. We did learn it as a family several months ago but to hear it out of the blue today warmed mine and Kaitlyn's hearts. He sang it loud and proud without fear or doubt. Even though we read the account of Jesus' crucifixion today I don't think he understood how that song related to it. He forgave me, saved me, and loved me despite my nailing him to that cross. Thank you Lord for fulfilling your word/promises through the person of Christ. Thank you that we see you even in Psalm 22, long before you were pierced, spilled out, mocked, and beaten. Before they cast lots for your clothes, gave you bitter drink, and long before you cried out "My God, My God, Why have you forsaken me?" Thank you for your final proclamation "It is Finished!" But most of all, thank you that it didn't end there. That you arose, claiming victory over sin and death. Power to pay the debt that I could never possibly pay. Power to change, heal, and overcome. Thank you that you are still working in me and through me until I can be with you, complete and whole. Thank you that one day I WILL be complete and whole by the power of the risen Christ, Son of the Living God.

Some Pics of the kids

Fitted Table Cloth attempt #1

Well, I am not sooo happy with my fitted table cloth. I ran into some problems with the casing that makes it look really sloppy but I CAN prevent it in the future(I hope). I made it for when we go on picnics. It should fit around a small/medium size picnic table. It has a draw string on one side. This is going to be great for my sewing table. Once I get some pretty fabric I will start on it.Sorry for the bad lighting!

Kite flying and Bible study CAN go together!!

A day of kite flying, Bible study, and fun! Here is Daniel sitting in their flowers.

 

Getting ready for Bible study.

 

Here is Summer and her friend Bethanie. Alex is chilling out beside them in the shade.

 

Here is Daniel and Emmi. They are so cute!!

 

Here you can see them flying the kites.

Time4Learning

We were able to have a full month on Time4Learning in exchange for a review. So here goes. My little kids didn't want to get on at all after they saw my 6 year old on. They wanted another similar website instead. In the beginning I tried getting Alex to use it but the navigation system is set up where it's a little more difficult for younger kids. So I can't give a review for those 2 ages. My 6 and 7 year olds used it a little bit but between being sick and school break(we have a different school schedule and we ended our year in early Feb.), they didn't use it as much as I would have liked. One thing that I really liked was that it helped my 7 year old understand multiplication. He went through all of their available multiplication tutorials/practices for the available grades(a grade above his own) and he enjoyed that immensely. He just wanted to learn and I reminded him about the site. It really is a great tool for home schoolers. I wish that I had signed my older 2 up for it just to see what it was like for them. I believe that they would have enjoyed it. Unfortunately it is quite expensive for us. It would be about $64 per month for my oldest 4. For those of you that have been thinking about it and don't mind the cost, I would encourage you to try it out. They have put a lot of work in it and it is worth the money if you have it. Thanks Time4Learning for allowing us to try out your product!

GreenShake how to and Ninja review

Borner Mandoline Review

Fun outside

We had a great weekend, apart from being sick still. We went to the state park and did a mini hiking trip. The kids had such a great time. Here are some pics we took.

Kaitlyn with her hiking stick

All the kids except for Daniel. He was with us behind the camera.

Charlotte posing.

Andrew after getting caught fighting with the bushes.lol

Daniel having fun in the leaves.

Summer taking a break.

Alex taking a break.

And of course the crazy parents. Jason was actually bouncing me up and down and that's why I look like that.lol

Homemade Raw Butter!

We did it, yay! This is so neat. Here are some pics we took during the process. First you take the cream off of the raw milk. Blend it in your food processor for 10-15 min. Separate the solids from the liquid(buttermilk) and rinse thoroughly. You could add salt but we are just going to add it as we use it. I don't suppose it will last very long in the frig but I don't see it lasting longer than 2 days here anyway.lol

Daniels Crazy Hair!

This was Daniel this morning. Think he needs a haircut? We've all been roughin it over the last week due to the sickies. I was supposed to cut his hair right after he turned one but..well...we have been soo busy. I can blame it on that but really, I just love his hair.

Raw Apple Cinnamon Pecan Muffins

Dough:
2 cups Flaxseed(you can try ground or whole but I like about 1/2 and 1/2)
1/2  cup raisins soaked
1 Apple for blending with raisins
1 apple grated
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 -1 tsp salt
1 Cup Pecans soaked
a hand full of raisins mixed in to mixture. Adjust to taste.

Topping:
handful Pecans
Honey
pinch of salt

Using food processor, grind pecans
Using blendar, blend raisins, apple, and a little raisin water until smooth.
Combine all ingredients in bowl.
Using cupcake liners placed in a muffin tin, press dough into liners and then take out of liners and place on dehydrator trays upside down. Dehydrate a couple of hours. Prepare topping. Chop pecans and mix with salt. Turn muffins over and sprinkle mixture on top. Drizzle honey over them all and dehydrate until preferred dryness. We like it after just a couple of hours.

Missions Week

At the wrap up of my church's Missions Festival I find myself shameful in the area of evangelism. There was a time when I was on FIRE for missions, I wanted to BE a missionary. I went to Moldova, Russia with a few adults from my church. I went to El Salvador and Virginia on a missions trip. My heart was captured, especially for the people of Russia. When I went to college I sank into a dark depression, quit, and gave up hope of ever becoming anything useful. Even though God brought me out of that pit I never regained my passion for missions, even on the home front. I became fearful because I was uneducated and inarticulate. Since then I have tried to live my life to honor God. I always give him the credit when anyone tells me in the store that I have a nice family, etc.. People ask me how I do it and I always say it's by HIS grace BUT that is not enough. Why should I keep his goodness to myself? It's a command to proclaim, as in the words of Marco DeFelice. I am beginning to pray that God would put a passion in my heart to proclaim the truth, here in my own little limited town.

Numbers

I am really enjoying reading it. I love getting to know my God! All those people who tell you it's boring, forget it. Just read it and focus on seeing God and discovering WHY we need Christ.

Time4Learning

I've been invited to try Time4Learning for one month in exchange for a candid review. My opinion will be entirely my own, so be sure to come back and read about my experience. Time4Learning is an online educational program that can be used as an online homeschooling curriculum or for afterschool enrichment. Find out how to write your owncurriculum review for Time4Learning.

Growing and Dying

Today I have been thinking a lot about the processes of life we go through. God has truly blessed us in so many ways, even down to the very end. The excitement in our youth about the days to come Then the joy that new birth brings. We get to watch our children go through those same things, with joy and fulfillment like no other. Then we watch our parents pass, the deterioration that happens as our bodies age. We see in our aged parents the regrets and satisfaction from various decisions that they have made. We can rejoice with them and honor them by listening to their advice and carrying on the wisdom they give us. This too is a blessing. Even though we have sorrow, joy comes in the morning. One day, if our parents believe in The Truth, we will rejoice again with them.

What a great week!

We have had a very eventful week here. It started off pretty difficult with our heating unit going out. We ended up having to replace the unit but found out on the same day that we were going to get enough money back from our tax returns to cover the expense. I am so grateful to God for providing for us(like I should have ever doubted, right?) Then today Jason got to take the day off to start our 4 day weekend. My Mil will be keeping the kids tomorrow night. I am super excited to spend time with him. I know I have been terrible about photos but the camera I got from my Dad has a battery life of 10 minutes and my other one just stinks. I know I need to invest in another one soon. These moments won't happen again. So here's to a great God and a blessed weekend!

Question about the Ark of the Covenant/Temple

We know that the ark of the covenant is somewhere, right? It has to be if we are going to build a new temple. Could it be possible that Aaron's descendent's are still around? God ordained them to be the priests forever, right? When the new temple is built, won't they have to come forward? Can you tell I've been reading Leviticus? lol I don't know how the new covenant fits in with the old but if there is someone out there that does know, enlighten me! :)

Dance Central for Xbox Kinect

I wish I could give a great review of this game but I haven't even played it. I went to the store a couple of weeks ago to possibly purchase it and they had a demonstration of it that you can play. I could not believe the images before my eyes. Just in the song selection list there are explicit images that I would not want in my house. The words to some of the songs are just...horrible. How could I bring this into my home? No way!! As much as I would love to exercise this way I had to turn it down. I am hoping that someone will come out with a family friendly dance game for the kinect. If anyone knows of one, let me know!

Swissmar Borner Mandoline Review

This just came in the mail yesterday. My previous mandoline had to put retired so I ordered this one hoping that it would serve me well. I really like it so it far.
Pros:

• Cuts like butter, really it does
• Fairly easy clean up
• Safety storage. There is a little safety lever that you have to push in order to get it out of the compartment. This is a huge benefit for me.

Cons:

• I would have liked to have it elevated a bit more. It doesn't have a stand that it sits on so it is a little awkward.

Overall, it is far better than my last one! I would recommend this to anyone wanting to make chips, fries(the fries are a little smaller than McDonald's fries), and julienned/sliced veggies.

Homemade Sour Cream and Raw Food Ramblings

Today I am going to go to 14 carrot and pick up some raw milk. I am excited because I am going to make sour cream! I have never made it from scratch. We use it a lot to replace Mayonnaise on sandwiches and such. I thought about making some homemade tortillas tonight as well but I don't know if I will be that adventurous.lol Jason loves %100 whole wheat tortillas so I just might surprise him.

On another subject, I am reading a book by Weston A. Price called Nutrition and Physical Degeneration I have been doing the raw food thing for so long and my body has enjoyed the extra time to heal, but I have been reading about many people who claim that this is not sustainable. It has me questioning. Don't get me wrong, this is not a complete change, I'm not even saying I will change. But, if there is something I need to add to my family's diet so that we will feel better, I want to pay attention. So I will do the research and come to some conclusions. I have a 3 month window to do the research in. I committed to an experiment recently and I want to finish it out. I had set out for it to be a 6 month experiment but we decided 3 would be more attainable. The experiment is whether or not I can gain muscle on a predominately raw food diet. If I change anything by reading Mr. Price's book it will likely just be adding in some dairy as condiments, bone broth every now and then, and maybe some meat once and a while. We will see. I don't know what he says about grinding your own wheat and whether or not that's ok. I know that my kids prefer my bread over store bought though. Yay! It's fun experimenting!
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Well, I went to buy some milk but they were all out. This will have to wait till Friday I guess. Bummer.

Ani Phyo's "Love-The-Chicks Pate"

This recipe was ok. I think one of the problems that many people might have with this recipe is that it misguides you into thinking that this will taste like scrambled eggs. Not even close. So, if you don't go into it thinking that's what your going to get, you'll be fine. I made the base pate and added tomato, onion, and yellow pepper all wrapped in a romaine lettuce wrap. I also tried it on my buckwheat crackers. It is very filling. It really needed something though so I tried to put a little nama shoyu on it and that worked. It was awesome then. We have alot left over in the fridge so I guess I will be experimenting with it. I thought about trying to put it in nori sheets.  If you're looking for a pate that's hearty and NOT humus like, this is it. Otherwise, stick to the humus.

New Meal Planner

I am so excited about a new meal planner Jason is creating.

• It will give me the ability to schedule meals on certain days
• Because many raw food meals take several days to prepare, this planner will create an event for the number of days needed, which will allow me to get reminders, etc...
• I get to customize it the way I want! yay
• It will be web based which means I can access it anywhere
• I *think* I will be able to drag and drop recipes on the day that I want. 
• It's free
• Eventually, I believe we will be able to have a community that can access each other's public recipes.

I love my husband! 

Laughter!

This is Toby and Daniel playing around yesterday. It was very welcomed after dealing with sickness all day and night. Kaitlyn was sick till midnight and thankfully noone else came down with it last night. I am praying we have seen the last of it. Enjoy!

From Jan2011

Sweet Potato Chips

"Raw" Sweet Potato Chips

You will need:
3-4 Sweet Potatoes
3/4 Cup Lemon Juice
1/8-1/4 cup Olive Oil
Salt to taste
Use a mandolin on the first setting(thin) to slice the potatoes. Combine all ingredients and mix it really good. I would let it sit for 10 minutes and then mix it again. Place on dehydrator trays(It's ok if you don't use teflex sheets). Dehydrate for 1 whole day or more. They are so good, the kids devour them. Here they are all stacked together. This was about 4 trays worth of chips.

2010 Reflection

As I was analyzing this past year I have to admit that I was disappointed. What happened to that "This will be the best year of my life!!" mentality? I had failed, miserably. With a new resolve to make THIS year the best year ever I told Jason how I felt. He looked at me and said "Are you kidding me? This year has been the best year you have had in 15 years. Think of all the ways that God has worked in your life, the things he has brought you through, the progress you have made!"
At his point I had one of those AHA! moments. Wow, I was looking at this year singularly. Sure, there were things that I would have loved to change but he was right, God has brought me to a new place. I know that I have new places to go to, that I MUST go to but I am so grateful that I am not in the places that I have been. Dark, hideous places. He rescued me from them, still bringing me up to see light. Jason made the comment yesterday regarding people who say that they are too far gone or don't have any hope "If you are so far down in the pit that you can't see the light, the least you can do is stop digging. Start trying to climb out, even if it's a little bit at a time. Eventually, with God's help, you can see the light again." This was me several years ago. Every day, every hour I would cry out "Why can't I see the light?" He is faithful, he pulled me out inch by inch. I can now look at this next year with gratitude for his sustaining me thus far and hope that he will sustain me always. Happy New Year!!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

What Really Matters

John Taylor Gatto wrote a great article that I have been looking over I wanted to quote him on a couple of things and share my thoughts.

A lot of things don't matter that are supposed to; one of them is well-funded government schools. Saying that may be considered irresponsible by people who don't know the difference between schooling and education, but over 100 academic studies have tried to show any compelling connection between money and learning and not one has succeeded. Right from the beginning schoolmen told us that money would buy results and we all believed it. So, between 1960 and 1992 the U.S. tripled the number of constant dollars given to schools. Yet after 12,000 hours of government schooling one out of five Americans can't read the directions on a medicine bottle.

After 12,000 hours of compulsory training at the hands of nearly 100 government-certified men and women, many high school graduates have no skills to trade for an income or even any skills with which to talk to each other. They can't change a flat, read a book, repair a faucet, install a light, follow directions for the use of a word processor, build a wall, make change reliably, be alone with themselves or keep their marriages together. The situation is considerably worse than journalists have discerned. I know, because I lived in it for 30 years as a teacher.

Last year at Southern Illinois University I gave a workshop in what the basic skills of a good life are as I understand them. Toward the end of it a young man rose in back and shouted at me: “I'm 25 years old, I've lived a quarter of a century, and I don't know how to do anything except pass tests. If the fan belt on my car broke on a lonely road in a snowstorm I'd freeze to death. Why have you done this to me?”

 Scary huh? And yet, as home schoolers, I feel some of us have come into the same trap. We "school" at home. We don't teach the basic skills needed in life because we are too busy trying to teach what a set of teacher instructions tell us. I know I have fallen into this trap out of fear that one day my kids will be labeled dumb and it will all be my fault. I think that this doesn't necessarily mean that we dump all curriculum and be unschoolers, although every family is different. I think that this means that outside of our "school" time, we still need to be learning. Just because we finished a checklist doesn't mean that we should shut our brains off. We need to be learning about our society, it's history and science. We need to understand the written word and how to communicate. However, there are some fundamental skills that need to be taught that our curriculum doesn't cover. If we say no to our kids when they ask us to look up some info on a certain fish just because we already did science that day, then we are teaching them that learning is only done at a specific time and structure.

People who do very well in schools as we've conceived them have much more than their share of suicides, bad marriages, family problems, unstable friendships, feelings of meaninglessness, addictions, failures, heart by-passes that don't work and general bad health. These things are very well documented but most of us can intuit them without any need for verification. If school is something that hurts you, what on earth are we allowing it for?

Does going to school matter if it uses up all the time you need to learn to build a house? If a 15-year-old kid was allowed to go to the Shelter Institute in Bath, Maine, he would be taught to build a beautiful post-and-beam Cape Cod home in three weeks, with all the math and calculations that entails; and if he stayed another three weeks he'd learn how to install a sewer system, water, heat and electric. If any American dream is universal, owning a home is it – but few government schools bother teaching you how to build one. Why is that? Everyone thinks a home matters.

Does going to school matter if it uses up the time you need to start a business, to learn to grow vegetables, to explore the world or make a dress? Or if it takes away time to love your family? What matters in a good life?

This rings true for me. I did very well in school, straight A's. However, when I got out, I didn't know how to function. I did get a job, two in fact. But I was stuck there. I didn't know how to relate to people(I wasn't home schooled.lol) and I second guessed EVERYTHING that I did because someone else didn't tell me to do it. I didn't trust myself enough to make a decision. How sad. We question the material that public schools are teaching but few of us question the basic ideas behind them. I will always wonder if I am teaching my kids everything they need to know.  I think success would ultimately be achieved if I taught them to have a  veracious desire to learn what they need to when they need to. That way, the gaps that I may leave will always be easy and fun to fill.

Children are so funny

My children are very interesting to study. They are like little puzzles. Just when you think you've got them figured out they throw you completely off. We are studying what's called "A Thomas Jefferson Education". In many ways, it seems like kid's would LOVE it. Not mine, nope. They WANT me to do what we normally do. In trying to figure out WHY, I have learned alot about each of them. One of them wants to be told what to do, she's just like me in many ways. Give me a goal and I will try my best to reach it. The other one could go either way but she truly loves learning. In talking with them last night we made them write down goals that they want to accomplish. At first, they were just writing down stuff that they wanted to do but Jason quickly pointed out that goals without dates are just wishes. So then they became more realistic in their list making. What's interesting to note is that some things that they had on their lists were things that I tried to get them to do before but they complained. Now when I leave the choice up to them, they WANT to do it. We will see how things progress. I have a feeling we will be revising those goals.lol This whole experience has been good for me. I have wishes, not goals. I need to add dates.

Green Bean Casserole

I have found a great recipe to take with me for Christmas. I can't believe it turned out that good.

I made a "pocket" out of a recipe I have. I just put in some veggies mixed with miso and Nama Shoyu. It was great. Here is the Green Bean Casserole as well. Then I made some sweet potato chips. Those are the best chips ever!!

Here we are last night making raw food cookies with icing. I made green, orange, pink, and yellow icing. The kids loved it even though the "icing" wasn't your normal consistency due to it being raw. I was chintzy on the coconut oil as well.

Here is a christmas tree one we made

Reviewing Thanksgiving

It went really well. We had a few snags along the way but the most important thing, spending time with family, got accomplished. I will say this much, I do not want to do this again. What I mean by that is I want to live closer to my family so that I don't have to depend on them for everything. It's just too difficult for them to have to make sure we are taken care of on top of getting Thanksgiving ready. My pies turned out awesome. The rest of the food was great but it didn't stay good long. I think it was because of all the traveling. Thankfully my Mama Sue took care of me and made some soup ;) The weeks before Christmas I am going to be experimenting with some recipes to see how long they keep. I tried to take pics but my camera went dead :( I have some pics that other people took of the family that I can't wait to get my hands on!! Oh, Daniel took his first steps yesterday. I can't believe it! He is soo cute. I am so proud of all my kids. The girls are so neat, helping with cooking and wanting to grow up. Summer is such a little girl, and the boys are just plain awesome. Love you all!!

Thanksgiving

Well, happy thanksgiving!! We are going to be heading out to visit family this morning and I am looking forward to spending happy time with everyone :) This will be the first thanksgiving where I have fixed so many raw recipes. I am excited! Here's what I made to last me over this long weekend:
Buckwheat crackers
Blackberry jam
Almond Butter
Sweet potato chips(spicy and not so spicy ones)
2 Strawberry pies
1 Blueberry pie
Turkeyless Turkey
Cranberry Sauce
Cranberry Salad
Butternut Squash Salad
Mash Potatoes
Marinated Portebella mushrooms to go on "potatoes"
We mad several pies this week to try including carrot cake, black forest(using strawberries), and apple. Strawberry was my favorite. The best pie I have ever tasted! The Potatoes do not contain nuts but taste awesome(too me). I just pray everything holds up until this evening.lol

Free books

Don't you just love free stuff? My father has given us a nook and we have been using it for school. There are so many great books in the public domain for all ages! Many of them are harder to read but once you get used to it, no big deal. Everybody just trades off when it's their time to read. I have REALLY enjoyed it! No hunting down books, I take them all everywhere. I love the games as well. We are eying the new colored one as well. Eventually we will get all the oldest a nook but that will take some time, and prices need to come down! :) I figure the money we are saving on having to buy books, we can put into getting another nook. Yay! Thanks Dad!!

Wasabi!

I am so excited about finding a wasabi powder without yucky dyes in it! We went to Earth Fare and there it was. I made the paste yesterday at lunch to try it out and it was so good. I decided to water it down a little and pour it over my salad(I used Nutritional Yeast for the "dressing"). It was so yummy. My new fave addition.

Dehydrated Broccoli and Cauliflower

Broccoli
Cauliflower
Nama Shoyu
Garlic Powder
Onion Powder
Put a bunch of broccoli or cauliflower on a teflex sheet, sprinkle Nama Shoyu on it. Dust it with onion and garlic powder. Dehydrate for as long as it takes to get it like you want it. If you want it with a meal as a side, I suggest start it early in the day and watch it. It should be wilted and warm by dinner. The longer you leave it in there, the crunchier it gets. You can then eat it as a snack, which I love!

Recording Results

Well, I was able to record some music from the piano, mix it, and the girls and I sang with it in church. They did a great job. We just did a short hymn. I am wanting to get them used to singing so I didn't want to overwhelm them. I can't wait until we can sing in parts! That would be so neat. I have really enjoyed playing around with it and the software. Too bad I will be gone all this week, won't be able to practice. On the upside, my Dad and Mom(step) is moving back this way after being gone for 8-9 years. I am so excited!! I will update with some pics as soon as I get them. I did want to post some recent pics of the kids.

Kaitlyn








Daddy Daughter Dance









Andrews 3rd birthday party, including his awesome cake that Grammy and Aunt Nana made. Thank you!!

Having fun with the new piano!

Well, I am having a blast with my new piano(CLP-340). I am experimenting with some different software right now. So far, I really like Mixcraft for ease of use but I might change my mind soon. I am very excited about getting some music going and hopefully recording with the kids. Finding the time to set it up has been challenging though! LOL I have to be careful because I will forget what time it is(yeah I know, not ME..lol) Just thought I would pop in and share the joy. ;)

Project List Update

Well, the felt pig was a total flop. I had paid for the pattern and the instructions were terrible. I am pretty good about following patterns so I know it wasn't totally my fault. lol I did sew the cloth diapers so that was good. I tried a couple of recipes but I still fall back to my "normal". I am planning on trying another one today-Eggplant Lasagna. So on to another list.
-Eggplant Lasagna
-Learn how to record music from my DP EASILY
-Get a nap(Daniel woke up EVERY hour last night)

Projects

Current Projects that I am hoping to get done this week:
-Finish felt pig
-Finish Cloth diaper and possibly sew another one
-Try 2 new raw recipes
-Finish one of the books I am reading
Doesn't sound like to much but I have been known to bite off more than I can chew! If I get nothing done except for the pig, I will be happy. Summer really wants this thing and I can't wait to finish it!

Little by Littles

This morning I was thinking about all the things that I "do". I have always been taken back when anyone tells me that I do so much like sewing, raw food stuff, music, and learning new skills. I think to myself "No I don't! I need to do more!" I think the reason why I have this response is that I don't do everything ALL the time. I am not physically capable of doing that! lol My life is a series of "little by littles". Things get done a little at a time. I will take on one thing and something else gets put down. This is just how it has to work right now in my life. Does that mean, because I can't do something to it's fullest right away, that I should not do it at all? Certainly not! Jason always tells me "It's the process not the end goal that is so enjoyable. Take your time." Right now I have a piano that is calling my name, a felt piggie waiting to be sewn together, a diaper body that is half done, a dehydrator that needs to be filled, buckwheat sprouts that need to be rinsed, bathrooms that need to be cleaned, diapers that need to be stuffed, and a little baby that is waking up. Little by little I will get to the most important and go from there. Now where's that baby. I love my life. :)

Salad "Rub"

I just love nutritional yeast! I mix it with salt, pepper and sometimes dried basil. Delicious on my salads. I am a hard core creamy dressing kind of person so it's gotta be good if I am choosing this over it. I am addicted to it. Good thing it's so good for you, lots of protein too. You can buy it at your local health food store in the bulk section. It's NOT the same thing as active yeast!

My Favorite Breakfast

I have been enjoying this breakfast now for quite some time but I haven't posted it on here yet.
1/2 cup rolled oats(I flake them myself to save money)
1 TBL Coconut oil(Garden of Life brand is my FAVORITE)
1 Banana
Almond Milk

Place the oats and coconut together first and stir around. Cut up the banana and mix it in. Poor over your almond milk. The coldness of the milk hardens the coconut oil and you get a crunchier cereal. So yummy!

12th Anniversary

I can't believe that today I have been married for 12 years! I never realized that I would grow to love and respect this man as much as I have. Thank you God for blessing us so richly! We are going to be celebrating this weekend, I can't wait!

July is a busy month!

Here we are in July and I am so thankful. This month has a lot going on and most of it is quite exciting! Let's see.. we have Independence of course, then there is my sister's bday, my anniversary, my Dh's bday, my FIL's bday, and there is a possibility that I will find out if my Dad is moving closer to us. Very exciting.
This last month has been very challenging to me. God is working on my heart on many fronts, mainly just dying to self. It is a continual process that I wish could end but self just won't go away until we take that final breath. I have struggled with worrying about the future(today, tomorrow, 20 years from now) and he is teaching me to just focus on today. Notice I didn't say WORRY about today. Worrying is, after all, a sin. It is a commandment NOT to worry. Matthew 6:25 So I have been trying to focus on what I can do today to honor God. It has been very difficult for me but God has blessed me, despite my failures, in that he has comforted me throughout the whole process. He has been there when my mind starts to wonder, reminding me that I shouldn't go that route. I am grateful!
On another note, something really neat happened yesterday. Our neighbor is moving and she decided she didn't want to move all her long term food storage so she divided it up between another neighbor and us. It is a ton of food. We are praising God for her generosity! I just have to find a place for it now! lol Thankfully, I have been working on the garage for a while, cleaning and getting rid of stuff we don't need. Hopefully I will find a good spot.
I will leave with a great little quote I heard yesterday.
"How is your righteousness in the midst of affliction?"

One of those days

Today has been one of those days where it just doesn't seem to be happening...that is...productivity. I am dragging so much that I thought it must surely be Monday! I feel like I haven't gotten anything done. In fact, the only thing I have gotten done is feeling bad about not doing much. I don't know why I feel this way. I guess worrying about Daniel, lack of sleep, and not having my quiet time have clouded the day. I have made bread, cleaned up, and written up a cost comparison worksheet for the grocery store, so I have accomplished some things. I think I need to go spend time with the Lord. :0) Maybe it will get better.

Cost of a Large Family

We are expensive! I think back several years ago at how much our food bill was and I am astonished. Granted, we usually didn't eat the most healthy things but we couldn't afford the best anyway. People often tell me that they can't imagine how much it cost to have a large family. They come to the conclusion that Dh must have a great job. Well, he does, but that's not how we afford them. We are able to afford our family because God enables us to do it. I struggle SO much with food cost. I want so badly to eat "cheap", to be able to walk into Aldis and only spend $100 for the week. But, my health starts to decline rapidly in one week. Depression starts creeping in. The kids go crazy! The best I can do is to find cheap(er) healthy food.
In bulk:

• oats
• wheat
• buckwheat
• salt
• beans
• rice

At Sams:

• Lettuce(organic)-very cheap compare to all stores. I will update with price.
• Spinach(organice)-Same as above
• Nuts-raw almonds, pecans, walnuts. Almonds are not really raw but close enough
• All Fruit
• Most other veggies(Carrots, Celery, cucumbers, tomatoes, etc..)
• Avocados(much cheaper than most places and if you get them unripe, they ripen very nicely on your counter
• Frozen veggies(broccoli, corn, mix)
• Frozen fruit
• Milk
• Sour Cream(we use this for most dressings. We don't buy salad dressing anymore. We mix spices with this to make ours)
• raisins(we go through 2 large boxes that contains 2 large bags of raisins-every WEEK!)
• Organic decaf coffee that is cheaper than the regular decaf coffee at publix
• Diapers
• Wipes
• Trash Bags
• Shampoo
• Toothbrushes
  

Some things we have to get at Publix

• Collards
• Kale
• Corn
• Cabbage
• coconut oil
• pickles without yellow number 5
• Almond Milk
• Zucchini
• Wheat Noodles( I don't have time to make this right now ;))
  

We never buy boxed cereal. We flake our own oats from oat groats and combine it with buckwheaties(dehydrated sprouted buckwheat) and raisins with milk. I grind our grain and make our bread. I don't buy raw bars/breads. I make my own dehydrated buckwheat bread.

I think this post is more for me than anyone else. I do the best I can with trying to save money but sometimes(most times) I still feel like I am doing a lousy job. Do you ever feel that way? Just writing it down helps me to realize that I AM doing all that I can to keep my family healthy without breaking the bank. So on those days when I think "we could live on rice and beans for a little while" I can look back and remember that it's not ALL about the money.

Change

Why am I always surprised when I have to change my schedule to fit my family's needs? I am a very habitual person by nature but I have grown accustomed to change..so I thought. Having many children, especially babies, means being very flexible. This is my prayer, that God would help me to be a person that's okay with habitual change... Does that even make sense?

Martin Luther on the ordinary duties of family life

"What then does Christian faith say to this? It opens its eyes, looks upon
all these insignificant, distasteful, and despised duties in the Spirit, and
is aware that they are all adorned with divine approval as with the
costliest gold and jewels. It says, O God, because I am certain that thou
hast created me as a man and hast from my body begotten this child,
I also know for a certainty that it meets with thy perfect pleasure. I confess
to thee that I am not worthy to rock the little babe or wash its diapers,
or to be entrusted with the care of the child and its mother. How
is it that I, without any merit, have come to this distinction of being
certain that I am serving thy creature and thy most precious will? O
how gladly will I do so, though the duties should be even more insignificant
and despised. Neither frost nor heat, neither drudgery nor labor,
will distress or dissuade me, for I am certain that it is thus pleasing in
thy sight. . . . God, with all his angels and creatures is smiling—not
because the father is washing diapers, but because he is doing so in
Christian faith."

Fun with Friends

I had so much fun yesterday with a friend that has 5 kids(with another one almost here!). They came over and stayed for most of the day. We chatted(a lot!) and tried to get some sewing/cutting done. I didn't get very far but at least now I know what I want to do next. It was so neat to walk into the sewing room and see our girls sewing/laughing. They were having a blast. That moment was so priceless to me. All the little people just played most of the time. No one yelled. Babies cried...a lot. Toddlers(aka... my toddler) didn't want to share. There were lots of hugs and laughs. Such a great day. Thank you Lord for friendship!

Weekly Review`

Wow this week was super busy and super fun! We went to the YMCA only once because we had some other things that needed to get done. We had a very productive week. We got to go to the zoo with my Mil, I finished Kaitlyn's and Summer's skirts, I was able to go to a homeschool Mom's get together, and I was able to attend choir again! Kaitlyn passed the Association drill as well. She is very excited about that. I think I have developed a consistent way to give the kids their piano lessons. I have struggled with this for a while but things seem to be coming together. I have been giving Kaitlyn guitar lessons(and learning myself) too. That is so much fun. Charlotte wants to start violin but that would be too expensive. I just don't have the money to buy both of us one. I would be teaching her so that means that I would have to have one too. I would love to do it but that doesn't seem very likely. I feel bad because we initially told her that she has to learn basic piano first. That has been about a year ago. She told Jason last night that every time she practices she thinks of the violin. His heart melted. Jason and the two older girls went to a Daddy Dinner Dance last night at our church. They got all dressed up(including Jason-in a suit) and wore corsages. They looked beautiful. They took pictures there so I am hoping that I will be able to update with pics. It is good for me to be busy. There is less time for my mind to wonder(worry). As long as I stay focused on God and make sure that the things I am doing are not TOO much, it is a good thing. It was a really good week, thank you Lord.

Zoo trip

We went to the zoo yesterday with my Mil. We had a blast. Here is our first official family photo since Daniel has been born. I can't express how grateful I am to have such a wonderful family. They have been a joy to me and have saved me from myself in so many ways.

Judgement

I was listening to a sermon yesterday in the car that was very good. The pastor said there was a conversation between two women where they were talking about being judged. They were saying they didn't want to be judged by others. He said he didn't reply to them but thought they were completely wrong. He said everyone wants to be judged, we just want that judgment to be positive. I thought about that and it is so true! We live out our lives with the hope and expectation that others will judge us in a positive light. But if that doesn't happen, it can shake our belief in ourselves. Then I thought about God. Do I do things with the hope and expectation that he will judge me positively? Yes! But it's funny how this relationship is so different than others. The truth is that there is nothing that I can do that would incline him to look on me in a positive light. It's just not going to happen. The only way that he would look down on me and see me that way is if he sees his son covering me with HIS righteousness. All the good things I do don't mean a hill of beans without Christ. Therefore, everything that I do for the kingdom of God must be done with the acknowledgment that it is only by Christ's strength that I can do them. This humbles us instead of making us boast in ourselves, which is what we tend to do when we impress others. This is one of the reasons why Deuteronomy 6:5-9 is important. To remind us our place lest we forget. To remind us of where our strength and source of life comes from. Job 34 is a good passage to read. So today I pray that I walk humbly about with the goal of glorifying God through my thoughts and actions. That they be a pleasing aroma to him but only through Christ can it be so.

Sweet Baby Day

I had a great time yesterday at a friend's baby shower. She is so special and I can't wait to meet her little girl! It was a very precious time. I will try to get some pictures from her because I didn't bring my camera. My mother in law and sister in law were able to make her cake and that was neat! When I got home my mother in law had made me a cake too because she wasn't able to come to my baby shower that the church gave me. It is a beautiful cake that has a bear in a basket covered by a bib/blanket. Then there are flowers above it. She knows that I love bears. The bear even had eyelids! How adorable. Here are a couple of pics of the me and the cake. It was THE BEST cake I have ever tasted!

Children's taste

It always amazes me what children will eat. Jason and I used to be surprised when the kids wouldn't eat a yummy quiche but would turn around and eat boxed macaroni and cheese. Well, we don't eat like that anymore(for the most part) and they continue to shock me. Yesteday I baked some sweet potatoes. I know they love sweet potatoes mushed with honey, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg but I decided not to add anything. I just cut the potato(I didn't smush it) and put it on their plates. They loved it. I can't believe it's that easy. And then to top it all off, I made some raw sprouted buckwheat bread/crackers and dehydrated it. It wasn't done by dinner but I let them taste it. I did't like it as much because when it's not dehydrated it has more of a buckwheat flavor. The kids loved it! They almost devoured a whole sheet. I am guessing their taste buds have changed since we starting eating more real foods but they are still amazing me. Needless to say, don't be afraid to go simple and try out new things with your children! They may surprise you. Charlotte puts red pepper, salt, garlic powder, and onion powder on everything she can(I give her freedom in this area). Here is an easy way to get your kids to eat zucchini:
~Boil enough zucchini(sliced) for your family in a large pan. I peeled mine as well but you don't have to
~Let most of the water evaporate
~Either buy or make some spaghetti sauce and poor over zucchini. Let it get hot but don't worry about boiling it. You can even turn the stove off. Serve. My kids were begging for more.

You can also use this same recipe if you spiralize the zucchini into noodles. I wouldn't boil the noodles though. It's better to either not cook them at all or just add them to the sauce and let it get warm/hot.

Learning how to suture

Jason's coworker gave him a suture training kit and the kids and I are learning how to stitch people up! It's so neat. Here are some pics.

Bike riding again

I gotta tell you, it feels soo good to ride again! Jason and I have been going up to our local park and taking turns riding with the older ones while one of us stays with the little people as they get stronger on their bikes. It is a much needed mini vacation every time I get on the bike. I am not a terribly strong person but I LOVE to ride. Breathing in the fresh air and praising God for his creation is so invigorating. I am looking forward to the day when Daniel will be able to ride in one of our trailers. Then we can all go together! Jason and I both pull a trailer on the back with 2 kids in tow. It's tough but it's so worth it. We went out last night and Alex is doing so good on his bike(with training wheels). I wasn't sure how he would do but he is catching on. Andrew does much better on the scooter so he will still need to ride in the trailer until next year. Summer LOVES to ride. I can't believe it. She talks about it all the time. You would never expect her to like it because she is so sweet and girly. I really enjoy having my girls as my bike buddies. When the older ones get stronger we are going to take them on the tough paths through another local park. Those are very difficult but so much more fun because they are not paved. That might be next year but we will see.

Christ is risen!

I am so grateful to my Lord and Savior! I am reminded often what a terrible person I am without him. How lowly I truly am and how nothing in me has worth apart from him. He gives me meaning and life. He restores my soul when I think that giving up is my only option. Hope has no meaning without him. Life is colorless and empty. It is better for me to be at the lowest valley and on my knees than the highest mountain top standing because in humility is where I see just who I am without him and why I need him so greatly. His death and resurrection has given me life and I am so thankful! Thank you Lord for choosing to save a wretch like me.

Dandelions

I bought some dandelions at Earth Fare the other day and I have really been enjoying them! For those of you who drink green smoothies, try a handful of these. I have been adding them in with my collards(collards are my favorite). One day I will get a juicer and try juicing them. Here are some nutritional benefits of dandelions(as if I need convincing):
The leaves are richer in vitamin A than are carrots.
One cup of dandelion greens:
-25 calories
-1.5 g protein
-5 g carbohydrate
-19 mg Vitamin C
-7,700 IU of vitamin A
-103 mg calcium.
They also stimulate the liver and kidneys. I have don't enough research on them but I wonder if these would help people with gallbladder disease. I had my gall bladder out about 6 years ago. I wish I had known about natural ways to deal with that. We have a ton of dandelions in our back yard but there are so many stray cats around here that I am fearful of getting worms or something if I ate these.LOL

Reflection

Well, for the last 2 days I have tried extremely hard to work on my thinking in regards to being content and remembering the end goal. It has really impacted me. I can say honestly that during these 2 days I have slipped several times. These times have been moments where life completely feels overwhelming. However, I am shouting for joy because God has allowed me to actually recognize these thoughts and he has helped me to calm down and move forward. These overwhelming feelings use to last several hours but thanks be to God they have been shrunk down considerably! For those that don't know me, stress impacts me on different scales. It cripples my mind and body. I physically hurt. My mind is turned to mush it seems and I can't think straight. Praise God that he is so good and he is the only one capable enough to pierce through the darkness!

On another note, we had our reflection service at church last night. I have been in and seen many plays/productions regarding Christ's death and resurrection. I can say loudly and boldly that this was by far the most piercing reenactment that I have ever seen. They set it up to where the audience(believers in Christ) could participate. Participating in the Lord's supper, singing after it(remember, they sang a hymn after Jesus ate with the 12), and the most powerful of all, nailing our written sins to the cross. The choir sang "Were You There". The choir quietly left and the congregation followed without making a sound. There was no resurrection, no joy..yet. Oh I can't wait till Sunday! The kids told me when we got in the car that we just HAVE to be there Sunday. It makes my heart sing for joy that they would rather go to celebrate Christ's resurrection than to go to visit family to eat candy. I love my family but that's not what Resurrection Sunday is all about! Have a joyful and reflective Friday!

Yummy Raw Sub Sandwich

This is so good and it really hits the spot when I am craving a sub.
- 1 Romaine Lettuce HEAD
-Various veggies to put on it
- Some type of sauce/spread.
Take the head of romaine and cut the bottom piece of and then stand it up on its bottom. Slice it from top to bottom. Take the 2 pieces and take out the very middle small leaves. This is where you will stuff you veggies. I like to put a sauce on first. You could use salad dressing, homemade mayo., mustard, anything. Stack your veggies on. I usually slice my veggies pretty thin so I can put more on. Some suggestions are:
-avocado
-cucumber
-tomato
-onion
-pickles
-red/green peppers
-salt, pepper, red pepper flakes

You could also "toast" your sub by warming it or grilling the lettuce head before you put the veggies on. This might seem crazy to eat a whole head of lettuce but if you just eat a couple of leaves it doesn't give it that nice hearty feel that you look for in a sub.

Light at the end of the tunnel

I don't know about you but I often think to myself "There is light at the end of the tunnel, just keep going". I think this is wrong thinking. It implies that the place I am at right now is not good enough for me to be content at. Paul writes that we should be content no matter what the circumstances. I know that it is ok to look at circumstances and remember that no matter how bad it gets, the light at the end of this tunnel is living with Yeshua. However, I am speaking of looking at where we are at and seeing the "light" as just another place where we *think* we will be happy at. I believe that many mothers face this struggle. We wish our lives away always thinking that where we are at right now is not as good as that place we see way over there. Then when we get there, we rarely embrace it, we just keep looking for something better. I wonder how my life would change if my actions were based on the knowledge that that "light" is not a different place in this life, it is to live eternity with Christ. How would my goals change? Would I take the time to give more money to help the needy instead of saving it to buy something? Would I spend more time on bible study instead of surfing the internet? So for today, I am going to work on being content at where I am at.

2 months into the new groove

Well, it's been 2 months since I had my little one. He is getting so big!! As you can see, blogging is the first thing to go when it gets hectic around here! I am not even going to take time to write out the drama that has occured over the last several months. Thanks to my church family and mother in law, we survived! We have been staying in doors a LOT and it is so difficult to imagine a world of biking, hiking, and nature walks! It seems like such a distant past. I am a little discouraged today thinking of those things(ok, maybe I should stop then, huh) because I know that it might be a while before we can do them. I can't wait till Daniel gets use to the ergo or either big enough for the stroller(our stroller isn't ideal for infants..lol) He is such a cute baby! I will have to upload pictures here. I have uploaded them to facebook. Here's a shout out to all those who CAN get outdoors..HAVE FUN for the rest of us!!

Fear in Blogging

I haven't been blogging because I have been fearful of the safety aspect of things. I heard that there are people out there bashing homeschoolers and it just rubbed me the wrong way. I realize that not many people care about what goes on in our little house but it sent shivers down my spine to think that my name might be on someone's hate list. Over the holidays however I have had several family members mention that they do read my blog when I update and that they miss it. Jason said that I should start back.So I am just going to jump right in.
Christmas was awesome this year. We had a great time with no drama, which was a blessing! Despite being pregnant the drive up to family wasn't bad at all, due to our "new to us" 12 passenger van. January has presented some challenging moments however. I was put in L&D for monitoring because of low amniotic fluid but everything seems to be ok now. They gave me fluids and put me on bedrest. They really don't know what is going on but they will continue to monitor me for my levels and for potential blood clotting issues. Oh boy!! At least I get to see my little one more often! Thankfully Jason can work from home so he is trying to take on the most difficult tasks while I continue to homeschool as I can. We are actually almost done with this year. Because we homeschool year round, we end up finishing early and starting even earlier as the years progress. The kids love schooling because it gives them something to do. They can only take so much of tv and wii before going insane. I am thankful for this :)
On another note, I have found it difficult to get out of those holiday blues that I sometimes fall in. It's been especially difficult since coming back from the hospital. The excitement of it all and then crash-very anticlimactic! Don't get me wrong, I am grateful that he gets to stay in a little longer(I am at 33 wks) but it's still been difficult. I go back in today for another checkup. We will see. I am trying to focus on what it's going to be like AFTER he is here so that maybe the wait won't seem too long. I am looking forward to seeing him and watching how he fits into our little family. The kids are very excited as well!