More Cuteness

How much can ya handle?

Enjoying the morning sun.

Smile for the camera!

Wow, that took a lot of effort!

So cute!

She's always got her head on Spice's back side.

This is Sugar's one black spot.

Spice's dark stripe down her back.  She also has "knee pads" on her front legs, but I can't get a shot of it.

Introducing...

Sugar and Spice. Twin baby girl goats born this afternoon!

Sugar still not fully out yet.

Cuddling already.

Learning to walk.

Happy Farmer Boy!

I know those things are supposed to be around here somewhere!  Did you bring the map?

Based on gestation time, Cream was due starting on Saturday.  We started noticing signs of labor two weeks ago, and I've been taking her to the milk stand daily ever since.  I've read that the udder gets very tight just before labor, so that's what I've been checking.  At milking time yesterday, the udder wasn't tight, so I wasn't expecting babies today.  I went outside around 115 to let my hair dry in the sun.  Goober Gus had been out playing near her pen and I asked if there were any new babies, to which he replied No.  I sat down to talk to Tony on the phone and heard Cream make a noise so I walked over and sure enough, Sugar is about to be born!  I hung up so I could take a picture-the first one above is actually the 2nd picture, but it's a better one than the first.  Cream was very attentive, licking the goo off, when she stopped, layed down and plopped out Spice.  14 minutes between photos, so not much time between deliveries.  She then took turns cleaning each one and letting them try to walk on their own.  She's been quite good with them, actually.  I gave her some shredded beet pulp with maple syrup, then she got fresh beets, banana peels and carrot shreds.

This is a series of firsts on our farm:

• first pregnancy to occur in our possession
• first set of twins
• first time to have 3 generations together

We're very excited, and feel so blessed that God has given us animal mamas that have easy pregnancies and births!  Time to go check the little darlings again.  Sugar was having a bit of a hard time getting any milk, and Cream was still delivering afterbirth, so I want to see how she does now.

1 Thessalonians 4:11-12

that you also aspire to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you, that you may walk properly toward those who are outside, and that you may lack nothing.

I've seen this verse on various homesteading blogs and upon first reading, it sounds like all we need to do to witness to others is 1) lead a quiet life, 2) mind our own business, and 3) work with our hands.  From there, outsiders will look in and wonder enough to ask questions.  That's how I've seen it until I read it in my Bible, the NKJV.  Notice the 3rd word also.  Also means we do these things in addition to whatever was written just prior.  That would be this.

⁹ But concerning brotherly love you have no need that I should write to you, for you yourselves are taught by God to love one another; ¹⁰ and indeed you do so toward all the brethren who are in all Macedonia. But we urge you, brethren, that you increase more and more;

I believe the statement to "increase more and more" refers to the growth of the body of Christ.  This cannot happen if we are not sharing Christ's love with those that have yet to receive it.  For me, that means I don't have an "out" for not doing this, as I had started to believe when first reading these verses.  It does indicate that one way this can be done is for the body of Christ to love one another, and perhaps thus cause a non-believer to wonder why anyone would do such things.

How do you see it?

Weekly Wrap Up Jan 22nd

Disclaimer.  No names have been changed in these actual events, but I do have the "victim's" permission to share the stories with you!

Last Friday night we made fried cod and french fried sweet potatoes for dinner.  There's a billboard in town for the restaurant at the casino and it's a huge plate of beer battered cod with fries and a lemon wedge.  Makes me want to head right over every time I see it!  But I don't.  It'd be fried in vegetable oil, and the tarter sauce would be made with soybean oil.  Two no-no's around here.  So we made our own.  Except I forgot the tartar sauce and malt vinegar.  What was I thinking??  It turned out alright, but the coconut oil wasn't hot enough and the fries were limp.  We had enough to do it again, so we made more on Sunday.

Having discussed it we decided to make sure the oil was hotter, and to use a metal strainer to put the cooked fish in, instead of just on a plate lined with paper towels.  My darling husband attempted to put the sweet potatoes in directly from the bowl and they all fell out at once, causing the oil to boil over and start on fire!  With God's protection, it didn't flame up very high, and we were able to put it out with baking soda.  After reheating the oil we cooked everything to perfection!  The metal strainer kept the batter crispy even as the fish cooled.  While I got to cook it in coconut oil, there was not any way to obtain tarter sauce without soybean oil, so I had to compromise.  All mayo in this town is made with it, and all tartar sauce.  A few days earlier I had made my own mayo, but something just wasn't right, so the chickens got to eat it.

Saturday night was exciting too.  It was late, we had accomplished a lot, and were each relaxing while reading email.  I could see Purrsy watching for something and realized she was playing Cat & Mouse with a live mouse.  I knew between the 3 cats it wouldn't get away alive, but we watched the show.  Tony tried to help them, and that caused the cats to back off.  While he was trying to redirect it to them, it almost ran up his leg and he squealed about like I would have.  I laughed pretty good over that, since he teases me about it when I do it.  Actually I think he thinks it's cute.  They did eventually eat it, but I'm surprised the mouse hadn't died from heart failure!

That was all last weekend.  More happened this week, I'm sure, but all I can think of right now is going to bed.  The juniper trees are blooming and I've been miserable since.  I have pictures of all the work we did last Saturday, so come back later and check for updates!

Friday Favorites

January in Arizona.  That's my favorite thing this week.  Warm sunshine, bright blue skies.  It happens every year and I love it!  I know it's going to get cold again before Spring hits, but it's sure a nice break.

They way my son does everything like his Dad.  He doesn't need glasses, but Tony does.  One day he asked Tony what the back of my shirt said, so Tony read it.  He wanted to read it to (he doesn't read yet) and when he couldn't do it, he said, "Wait, I need dad's glasses"!  Is that hilarious?

Hot mustard.  I love it.  We don't eat Chinese food much, but I treated myself because my head is all stopped up and I thought the hot mustard would loosen something.  Not sure yet if it did.

Winning blog giveaways.  I've won 4 in 6 months.  The first one was a set of Chico reusable produce bags.  The very next day I won a book called The Town That Food Saved.  In December I won an eBook from Frugal Granola called Herbal Nurturing.  I used it to make lip balm and sinus rub for Christmas gifts, found a rememdy for Tony's migraines in it, and made bath salts from her recipes.  Last weekend I won a HomeSchool ePlanner from ListPlanIt through Simple HomeSchool.  My husband keeps asking why I don't enter giveaways for cars. 

Speaking of giveaways, Frugal Granola is giving away a VACATION!  Check it out here.

Wellness Wednesday, January 19th

Call Me Mrs Potato Head  I mentioned that I was trying to go 'poo free.  It's not working so well for me.  I love the curls that appear when I'm not using shampoo, but I don't like the texture and feel of my hair.  I can't run my fingers thru it.  I decided I'd buy one of the shampoos that don't use any of the damaging or questionable ingredients, but my local stores don't carry any.  I'd use that to wean my scalp off the harsh chemicals.  Being desperate I started looking around the house for anything that would take the oil away without stripping my hair or drying my scalp.  I tried our produce wash from BioKleen.  It worked a little, in that it removed the oil build-up, but it took away the curls.  So now I'm on the hunt for any of the products at the Skin Deep database that have a 2 or lower rating.  I'm still going to aim for no 'poo, but it appears I'll need to wean my scalp from it.

AZ Sun in January  For as long as I can remember, there have been unseasonably warm days in January.  Happens enough that I started paying attention, and we get nice warm weather in January and then it gets cold again for a while.  What does this have to do with wellness?  The sunshine is a nice emotional boost, and likely a good immunity booster too, but for someone like me with seasonal allergies, it's a reminder that blooming things make me sneeze!  I've read that after improving my overall health, I'll be able to combat the allergies and maybe not even suffer any longer.  It's cause enough to keep taking fermented cod liver oil.  It's probably the only dietary change I've made that isn't pleasurable.  I take the orange flavored capsules, so if I have my drink ready to go and swallow it fast enough, I can't taste it.  I have to take it before bed though, to keep from "enjoying it" again throughout the day, KWIM?

Helpful Links I use the internet a lot.  A lot lot.  Is that proper English?  I want to share with you my recent hangouts in regard to health and wellness.

I purchased the eCourse at Anne's Health Place and am even keeping up with the lessons.  The course is called When You’re Too Tired: A Woman’s Practical Guide to Overcoming Fatigue  and lessons are delivered via PDF once a week.  For the month of January the package (16 chapters) is only $7.99.  I don't make anything by referring you, I just think it's worth a look.

I also worked on and completed Breaking the Sugar Habit from Lisa at WellGrounded Life.  I appreciated the fresh approach to sugar addiction so much that I emailed her my delight.  Here's her response:

 Dear Kelly!

Thank you so much for this wonderful (and thorough) response-- it means so much to me that you took the time to write. I love that you found such value in the workbook.

And I'm thrilled you'll be sharing about the workbook on your blog. Thank you! If you don't mind, please direct folks to this page www.wellgroundedlife.com/ripple so they can hop on to the weekly email program and will receive a link after they sign up for a few bonus resources (the break the sugar habit workbook being one of them).
Also, if you'd like to share a little bit about my upcoming course, Designed for Wellness...I'd be so grateful. Here is a short description and course link:

Lisa Byrne's signature course, Designed for Wellness will begin January 29, 2011. This 12 week program is an online, multimedia course for busy moms who want to take their health and life to a whole new level through whole-person approaches to nutrition and wellness. Dealing with issues like stress, overwhelm, exhaustion, weight gain, mood swings, cravings, and scattered focus...this class delivers a process to discover personalized strategies for wellness in a practical, concrete and uncomplicated way. Check it out if it you want more details! (www.WellGroundedLife.com/dfw )

Again, Kelly-- so grateful for your reaching out to me-- it has made my day!
And please let me know your blog's url so I can check your online home out too!
Warmly,

Lisa

She gave a mini stress cure course last summer that I just recently completed, and I found it enlightening too.

Mental and Emotional Health Check  I'm noticing a bit of improvement in my energy level and/or ability to focus on a project.  Saturday I had a huge project list (huge for me anyway) that I thought would be put on hold since Tony had what we think is a migraine headache.  I worked on what I could while he rested in a darkened room.  By late afternoon he was feeling better, and I still wanted to finish up my projects, so we tackled them together and got it done!  Getting some of these things off my mental checklist feels very freeing and it drives me on to continue as I can.  I gave myself permission not to expect perfection, nor that energy level all the time, but rather to appreciate it when I have it and take advantage of it.  I think one secret to Saturday's success was ordering pizza for dinner.  Saved time and energy, but probably didn't contribute much in the way of nutrition!

Thoughts?  How do you keep a "sunny disposition" in the short days of winter? 

The Sound of Music

It's my all time favorite movie, despite the fact that I think musicals are stupid.  Now is that a contradiction or what?  We've got it on VHS and Goober Gus chose to watch it this afternoon as our nap time movie.  He watches, we nap.  I'm glad he likes it, mostly because it means a family tradition will be carried on.  I think one of the reasons I like it so much is simply because of childhood memories watching it.  We saw it in the theater in the early 70's, with my Grandma and parents, and then after that NBC played it on TV annually.

Today I fell asleep as the children were crying at the dinner table because Maria had "covered their sin".  That connection just hit me-aren't we grateful that 'love covers a multitude of sins"?  I can remember hearing them sing shortly after Maria has tuaght them, but then I was totally out until the Captain returns with Baroness Scraeder.  I tried to just keep my eyes closed and rest more, but listening to the movie gave me a deeper revelation of the powerful sway music has over our emotions.  I'm always touched by the scene that softens the Captains heart, but listening instead of watcching deepened that.  Maria is true to her beliefs and doesn't let social status or class keep her from saying what the Captain needs to hear to open his heart again so that he can love....the children as well as Maria as we soon find out!

I tear up upon hearing Edelweiss, whether in the movie or elsewhere.  My brothers in law played it at our wedding.  Right now Maria and the Captain have just revealed their love for one another while singing Something Good.

The whole story is romantic, full of love, awe, wonder, intrigue, fulfilled dreams, and standing up for what's right.  I think another reason I can bypass the fact that it's a musical and let it be at the top of my favorite movie list is that people don't spontaneously break into choreographed song and dance.  The songs are sung and dances danced as part of normal life.  It's believable.  Hope you've enjoyed my little review and my favorite song from the movie!

Jeremiah 29:11-14a

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,” declares the Lord,

Weekly Wrap Up Jan 15th

Is January really half over already?  Winter is supposed to be a time of slowing down, doing less and resting, isn't it?  Guess I just need to learn to accept the marching on of time...

I found a web site this week that I didn't include in Friday Favorites because I haven't used it enough to know if it'll really be a favorite.  I like the concept, need to see if it works in reality.  It's called Recipe Nut.  The site states,
I've used it several times to save a recipe, but have yet to search for a new one there or refer back to the ones I've saved.  I like that I can keep all of the recipes I want to use in one place though.

I was glad to hear that our AZ Governer, Jan Brewer, signed emergency legislation to prevent the Westboro Baptist Church picketers from getting too close to the funerals of the victims of last Saturday's shootings in Tucson.  Can someone please explain to me how this (picketing a funeral) honors God?

One of our yearlings is getting close to kidding.  Her earliest due date is Jan 22nd.  She spent a month with our buck, so I've calculated the date based on the first day she was there thru the last.  She's been showing signs of labor (maybe I'm using the wrong terminology) such as her udder enlarging and periods of mucous discharge.  I started training her to the milk stand last week.  She's got a longer walk to get there because she's in a pen with Yodelady who refuses to give up nursing even though she's now 7 months old, so I lure her up with a banana peel or some such treat.  When she gets about 40 ft away she remembers what's up there and runs to the stand.  She came to us at 2 months of age and already had horns-this will be my first time milking a horned goat.  I don't foresee any problems, but am watching out for it.  It does make it a challenge to walk her by holding her collar.

Our son likes to help bring wood into the house for the wood stove.  He's also becoming fascinated with numbers and uses them a lot, albeit incorrectly or vaguely.  He told Tony tonight, with an arm load of wood, that he better hurry and open the door because it was getting heavy, it was about seven eight.  That's how he says things.  He'll ask, "Do you know how much I love you?  About 1080."

My weekend reading will come from Kate at Kitchen Stewardship.  She's done a lot of research on grains and all the controversy surrounding eating them.  I'm really only aware that there is a debate, and not too informed about just what the debate is, or why.  Looking forward to becoming more educated on the topic.

Anyone use Dr Bronner's products?  I was going to buy some castille soap tonight until I read this rhetoric on the label.  Read the print (you'll have to enlarge it) to the right of the "not animal tested" logo (a bunny).  What are they talking about??

So these are the highlights of our week.  Kinda boring huh?  Oh, check out the 2011 goals box at the bottom of the blog.

Friday Favorites

Another new addition to my blog is Friday Favorites where I will post my favorite things from the week.  This will be anything from websites I saved, to posts from other bloggers, to a favorite photo or any other item I really enjoyed.

While searching for a To Do list to add to to my weekly planner I came across this site and just love their work!  It's called Trillustrations and has so many lovely printables for adults and children.  The one I'm using for a weekly To Do list is here.  To print it, click the picture, then after it loads at photobucket, click once more to enlarge and copy to any program that allows picture files and print.

I almost forgot LeeLou Blogs.  I like that she makes blog themes and not just backgrounds.  Not to mention how beautiful her work is!

Favorite spontaneous laugh:  Wednesday morning I walked out of my room to see our kitten (well she's a year and a half now, guess she's not a kitten anymore) watching something on the back of the couch.  She pounced on it so I walked closer to see what it was.  Wrong time of year for bugs so I was really curious.  Then I saw it.  The shadow my husband was casting.  His desk is right in front of an eastern facing window and he was filing his nails-so the shadow was rapidly moving back and forth.  Once he realized what Purrsy was doing he made fun shadows for her to chase.  Have you ever done that?

Favorite view in the morning:  The bright eyes and big smile my son has when he gets to climb in bed with me and go back to sleep!

Welcome to Wellness Wednesday

I've decided to dedicate Wednesdays to posting about our wellness adventure.  This week will be about my mental health and what I've done recently to improve it.

As a quick background, I love to learn.  I don't necesarrily like a traditional school setting, but I love to learn.  A couple of years ago I spied a book title at the library that intrigued me called, The Way They Learn, by Cynthia Tobias.  I thought it might prepare me for helping Goober Gus learn his ABC's and numbers.  Instead, I learned a lot about myself and Tony.  According to this book there are 4 approaches to learning called the Gregorc Mind Styles.  The styles are:

1. Concrete
2. Abstract
3. Random
4. Sequential

Each chapter opened with 5 questions/statements that define the major characteristics of that style.  I answered 5/5 in one style and 4/5 in the other 3!  I thought to myself at the time, "No wonder I like to make a filing system, but I hate to use it!"  I love setting things up, making the plan, getting the details down, but I'm horrible at the follow through.  You can imagine the chaos that creates in my head, each style trying to dominate when they're all fairly powerful!

So lately I've been trying to settle into a routine, thinking that will satisfy me in more areas.  The detail is there, but doesn't have to be on a strict schedule.  I also want to shift my focus from what "I" need to do, to what I can do to enrich the lives of my family.  I can feel the Concrete-Sequential style freaking out because that means giving up some control.  December was a perfect time to let go of any patterns or routines we did have to see what would happen naturally, without any type of plan.  One word.  DISASTER.  Finishing homemade Christmas gifts on Christmas Eve.  Not even starting those gifts until the weekend before.  Wrapping presents into the wee morning hours.  Yes, I hear that's the way many people do it, but there's no enjoyment in it for me that way, and what's the point of making gift giving into a chore?  No menu plan, so we ate more junk and felt it.  No activity plan, so we didn't get to experience as much as we could have.  No well thought out Christmas photo to share with family and friends.  Need I go on?

As most others do, I like to make new plans for the new year.  Tweak things.  Fine tune them.  Or throw it all out and start over from scratch.  There are too many responsibilities for that, but the idea of running away to Italy for a year sure sounds exciting!  It took me the first week of 2011 to even get back into a groove that would free my brain up enough to come up with a plan to appease all 4 styles within, enrich my family, and reduce chaos-something that is desperately needed around here!

As I stood at the sink washing a few pots and my milk pail (this has been totally overlooked for a long time and as I prepare to go out to milk our goats, I realize I have to wash the pail first-major energy drain just in the realization!), I realized that I thoroughly cleaned my desk on Saturday, and it's still clean!  I sketched out a rough plan or routine to see how it all looks on paper, while allowing enough unplanned blocks of time for things I can't forsee and down time.  I've taken out scrap paper, scissors and paper punches two days in a row for Goober Gus to play with. I made him put all of his toys away before watching a movie this evening.  I've kept the dining table mostly cleared.  I took things out of the office supply cabinet-and put them back on the same day!  I've kept up with laundry-well almost on that one.  I'm terrible at folding the clean clothes and putting them away.  I've remebered my supplements more often, and Goobers.  We've eaten good food-even started using the juicer my parents got us for Christmas.  Made soup from the pulp and everything!

I point this all out to say that just this little bit has helped to clear the fog that settled into my head a while back.  I can think more clearly.  If I can think clearly, I can plan ahead and free up more time.  With a clear head I can be proactive with our days and we enjoy life more.  Sounds like steps toward wellness to me!

My clean desk.  Isn't it inviting?!

Want to win a whole gallon of olive oil?

The good stuff?  Grown on a farm that uses no chemicals, but does use integrated farming methods, like brush removal by goats and fertilization by goats, cows and chickens?  Check out the 2011 Weight Loss and Wellness Challenge for more details.

Kelly the Kitchen Kop

No, I'm not her.  She does have wonderful tools and resources though, and I've joined her 2011 Weight Loss & Wellness Challenge.  For some reason I thought it didn't start until the end date (one more reason to eat right and clear my muddled brain) but it started last Monday!  I'm playing catch up tonight, and wanted to share the Challenge with you in case you'd like to try it too.

To your health!

A Plan for the Blog This Year

When I started this blog, it was on the recommendation of a friend as a place to record my private thoughts.  I quickly decided I liked having comments and the privateness never really happened.  I usually just post about what's happening in my life, and not on a regular basis.  The name was meant to be all encompassing so that I wouldn't be restricted by it.  With my 1 year blogging anniversary approaching I've decided to be a bit more routine in posting.  This is my posting plan: (Did you know you can schedule when a post goes live?)

• Sunday Scripture-whatever God has laid on my heart.  Those Scriptures that have deeper meaning in my life in general or for the current season of life.
• Wednesday Wellness-our ongoing efforts to clean up what we eat, what's in our household cleaners and what we use for personal care.
• Friday Favorites-web sites, stories, etc that have caused me to save to Favorites or sing up for email updates, and why I like it so much.
• Saturday Farm Report-wrap-up of the week.  Items of interest that maybe weren't enough to warrant a full post.

I also think I want to participate more in the sites that invite readers to post links to their blog if there's an associated story, and maybe  even host some.

Next task-to see if there's a template to introduce those days so that I don't have to type it every week, or even copy/paste it.

Colossians 3:17

And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Colossians 3:17

12 Days With No 'Poo

My last post I made a list of all the beauty/personal care items used most often by most women.  What I didn't share was that I'd already stopped using shampoo.  Not too long ago, but I did finally try it out.  I want it to work, and am willing to wait it out, but right now-it's just not working.  To see my hair, you probably wouldn't know it, but to feel it...yeah, I can tell.  It feels a little greasy-not so much oily as others have found, and slightly matted, even though it is combed and snarl free.

Tony agreed to try it too, and with his short hair I think it's working just fine.  His hair feels just as soft and smooth as it always has.  I'm wondering if I should get a blunt cut for a while?  I think my ends are dry and that's affecting things.  Sounds contradictory, but that's what's happening.  Now for a few details.

1. Prior to this experiment, I washed every other day.
2. My hair is fine, but I have a lot of it.
3. I'm using about a teaspoon of baking soda to about a half cup of water, every other day.
4. Until today, I hadn't used the vinegar rinse, as I didn't have apple cider vinegar, but tried white distilled today.  I think it made a slight improvement, but am withholding final judgement on that until I've used it again.
5. On Monday I used goat milk soap instead of baking soda, and took a shower instead of a bath.  Can't say either made much difference.
6. One day, I simply put dry baking soda on my dry hair and massaged it into my scalp before rinsing out.  Not sure that did anything either.

I'm sure there are other methods of ridding the shower of commercially produced, chemically laden shampoos, and if I don't see better results in the next week or so, I'll start exploring those routes.  I have a recipe for making toothpaste, I just haven't written it down so that I'll do it.  I also found a homemade hairspray recipe while looking for more hair cleaning methods.  Two other things I want to try are homemade deodorant, and the oil cleansing method for face cleaning.  One thing at a time.  Yeah right!

Replacing Chemically Based Personal Care Products with Natural Options

I've sorta been working on this.  I know that there are chemicals in my personal care products repertoire that aren't good for me, but knowing how to change that takes a bit more thought and/or a bit more money.  Last year I learned how to make laundry soap for a bit more than $1 for nearly two years worth of washes, and how to use vinegar and essential oils to replace bleach and other harsh chemicals, so why can't I learn to make some of my personal care items?  I think I can!  I found this list at The WellGrounded Life and turned it into a spreadsheet that I then prioritized.  The copy/paste routine from Excel didn't maintain columns, but I think you can tell from the list what's what.  It's sorted by how often I use the product and then how quickly I think I can replace it.  Notice that there are many that I didn't mark with any priority for replacing-just not there yet!  What about you?  Have any experience with home made personal care items that you'd like to share?  I'll be posting progress as we go!

Personal Care Item Use Frequency Priority


shampoo, 2 I
hair spray, 2 I
toothpaste, 1 I
conditioner, 3 S
body wash, 3 s
body scrub, 3 W
deodorant, 1 W
Soap 1 w
hair gel, 2 ?
mousse, 2 ?
body lotion, 1 ?
insect repellent 4 D
face cream, 6
eye cream, 6
toner,  6
eye liner, 6
eye shadow, 6
eyebrow pencil, 6
foundation, 6
concealer, 6
makeup remover, 6
hair straightener, 6
whitening strips, 6
suntan lotion, 6
sunless tanning lotion, 6
antiaging cream, 6
vaginal deodorant or douche, 6
shaving cream, 6
acne treatment, 6
face wash, 5
perfume, 5
lipstick, 5
lip gloss, 5
nail polish, 5
nail polish remover, 5
mascara, 5
blush, 5
powder, 5
hair dye, 5
priority I=immediately, S=soon, W=when it runs out, D=done
use frequency 1=daily, 2=several times per week, 3=weekly, 4=several times per month, 5=rarely, 6=never

Philippians 4:8

Tony and I talked about making this Scripture our family's theme a few months ago, and with a new year here, I feel it's time to start implementing it.  I will have a new passage posted each Sunday, one that Goober Gus and I will be memorizing in the upcoming week.

Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.

Philippians 4:8

Snow in Camp Verde!

We're in a valley here and rarely get snow.  In 1967 there were 3 feet of snow on the ground, and beyond that it's a sprinkling here and there and rarely sticks.  Today there's about an inch and everything is covered with a pretty snow blanket.  Here are some pictures.

Chickens wondering what this cold white stuff is.

Friends car parked here while they drove another car to a cabin.  They might be snowed in!

Surprised by all the ground being covered.

The brave ones.

The creek surrounded by snow.

Goat pen.

Tried to get the mountains in the background.

Peaches wondering if I had a treat for her.

Edge of the storm.

House on the hill behind the creek.

Snow babies.  They have their pretty white coats to keep them warm!

Following My OCC Boxes

I received an email this morning that the shoeboxes we personally prepared went to Indonesia.  According to the web site,

Twenty-eight percent of Indonesia’s 242.9 million people are 14-years-old or younger. In 2009, 82,392 shoe box gifts were delivered to children in Indonesia, which first received the gifts in 2000. Since then, 980,479 children have received a shoe box gift.

These aren't the kids that got our boxes, but here are pictures of other happy kids getting a box.

Please consider supporting this ministry throughout the upcoming year.  You can shop for little gifts year round and fill a number of shoeboxes on a "shoestring".  Sorry, couldn't resist!  I found a website with instructions for making yarn dolls, and it's something Goober Gus can help me with, so that he's part of the giving also.  Full price yarn is $3 around here and it will make at least 4 dolls.  We'll be on the lookout for yarn at yard sales now too!
 

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!

As Real as it Gets

At least around here for now, anyway!  Just a glimpse into a few real food forays this week. 

These are the ingredients in Amy's Homemade Ranch Dressing.  We mixed up a few bags for Christmas gifts the other day.  It went into plastic baggies with one of these labels and the instructions from Amy's blog.

Tuesday night we had these yellow fin tuna steaks with this Japanse sauce.  I only made the sauce, didn't use the rest of that recipe.  It was so delicious!  We had a little bit of wasabe sauce to go with it too.  Mmmmm.  The recipe for the sauce was for  more tuna than we had, so I used the leftover to flavor a crockpot full of rice to eat for dinner tonight.  I added asparagus to it and that was good enough that my husband had seconds.

The only reason we even had tuna was because we saw it on sale Sunday when we stopped to buy cod for dinner.  Guess we're all in the mood for fish lately!  We baked the cod in lemon garlic butter, and once again had asparagus with it.  Another delightful dinner!

Before dinner tonight, I made this fermented cranberry-apple-orange relish from the GNOWFGLINS blog to take to my parents house for Christmas dinner-the day after.  I modified that a little too-I had tangerines, but no oranges.  It smells and looks fabulous!

After dinner, I started a loaf of whole wheat bread in the bread machine.  Then the 3 of us made granola.  It's a recipe from Amy at Homestead Revival too.  Goober Gus and I have made it before and we love it!  Once that went into the oven the boys went to play and I made coconut/peppermint bark from GNOWFGLINS.  It's YUMMY and has the added benefit of being good for me!  I should have taken pictures, but I really just wanted to get it all done so I could sit down for a few minutes!  Is it bedtime yet?

Operation Christmas Child

This story was originally written in December of 2010.  I have since been back to the processing center one more time with my husband.  We talked on the drive over about how God uses this ministry to reach communities in countries where Christianity is strictly forbidden.  Those same countries allow Samaritan's Purse to bring in shoe boxes packed with gifts for children.  Each child also gets a book in their own language called The Greatest Journey, which is used to take the children through a 12 week discipleship program where they are taught that Jesus died on the cross for our sins.  It is a great evangelistic tool that otherwise wouldn't make it into some of these countries, simply because it comes as a Gift.  I'd like to ask you to prayerfully consider participating in this program, where you can even pack a box online!  National Drop-Off Week is the 14th-20th this year.  Find a drop off location near you here.

A couple of weeks ago I volunteered at the Operation Christmas Child processing center in Orange County, CA.  I spent 3 days (more like 2.5) opening, inspecting, sorting, re-stuffing, taping and cartonizing shoe boxes.  It was fun!  I figured I better make this post now before I forget too many details-life gets crazy when the routine is gone (even when there's very little routine to start with) and I just haven't sat down to do this.

First off, my mom went too, and we drove across the desert on I-10.  Anyone else been on that desolate highway??  We would have preferred to fly, but prices were too high and I'm glad we didn't now that the TSA is allowed to grope you!  On with the story...

The warehouse-those are the cartons that the inspected shoe boxes go in, at least 14 to a carton.  BTW-it isn't heated, and although it was southern California, it was only about 60 degrees inside.  We were told to wear layers of clothes so we could adjust as we warmed up from working.

Pallets of shoe boxes, used to divide the break area from other parts of the warehouse.

Me and Jan, another volunteer from my church.  The first day we were inspectors.  I prefer to call the job, "contraband confiscators" because it sounds more exciting!  This stage of the job requires you to open each box and verify that there are no inappropriate items.  That's the easy part.  Getting everything back into the box was sometimes a huge challenge!  Items we had to remove include:

food of any type (nothing with an expiration date)

chocolate

any liquid

anything breakable

toy money

war related toys (fighter jets, guns, etc)

seeds

pokemon

Harry Potter

There were a few more things, but I don't recall the whole list.  Anything that was taken out was placed in a container and at the end of the processing time, taken to a local charity.  It gets used, just not in the shoe box.

People have to get creative when packing a shoe box, and we found many great ideas, as well as a few humorous ones like this lion puppet with toothpaste in its backside.

On this day I was the taper.  Every box that got processed at our station got wrapped thru the center with tape.  I estimate I taped over 500 boxes in my 6 hour shift.  I was surprised when my hands weren't sore, when one of my friends pointed out that it's probably because I milk goats, so my hands get a daily workout.  Possible?

This is where broken or torn shoe boxes go to be repacked into different boxes.  We also brought a few that were just plain too small for everything inside.  I thought it was a creative name.  The pallets on the floor had triage type names too.

I think this is our first day, that's my mom on the right in red.  Her job was to open the box and look for money.  Each shoe box costs about $7 to ship, so they ask for a donation to help cover that.  All money gets dropped into a locked box at the front of the table.

This is the contents of one of the boxes.  Wet wipes for kids, sidewalk chalk, candy, art supplies, personal grooming items and little toys.  We saw some cute ideas for gifts and ways to present them.

If you like to give, and you really like to give to kids, I encourage you to learn more about this ministry.  It's best to learn now and buy little things all year long than to wait until next year and try to fill a box with full priced items.  All items must be new, so no thrift store or yard sale finds allowed.  However, we saw a number of boxes come through with State Farm coloring books and my guess is those are free from an agent.  I'm going to find out, and collect other similar freebies during the year.  Happy Meal toys (we don't go there anymore, but it's an idea to look into), clearance items, the dollar section at Target-all places to shop whenever you're there.

A few times per year my mom and I meet at an outlet mall that's about an hour away from each of us (we live two hours apart).  It's usually to let her take TJ for a couple of days, but we do shop there also.  My brain wasn't engaged when we were there a few weeks before the main collection week.  We saw lime green gellie shoes for $2, and packs of Star Wars underwear for $3. I ended up spending $6 for underwear to go into my boxes.  I did however, remember to take advantage of the back to school sales and buy LOTS of penny crayons, etc at that time.

Some people wrapped a bar of soap in a washcloth and tied it with a bow.  None of the presents can be wrapped, since the box has to be inspected.  We did find a few that had wrapped gifts inside, and the mission of this outreach is to not disturb the integrity of the box, except for inappropriate items, so once those presents were unwrapped, the paper goes back into the box.  The purpose being that we don't know what God has planned for any of the items in the box.  Many people pray about what to include and it's not our job to interfere with that.  Some boxes had bows on the outside that simply got moved to the inside.  Many of the boxes themselves were wrapped-so that the lid could be removed without unwrapping-and we decided that it's not really a good idea.  The paper gets torn during handling, and then the box is wrapped with packing tape around the center.  It's nice to let your kids draw on the boxes and include a handwritten note to the child that will receive the box though.

I hope this story will encourage you to participate in spreading joy and the Gospel of Jesus Christ next year.  Many of these boxes go to countries where the Gospel is not allowed, but the boxes are.  It's a wonderful way to teach children and their families that Jesus loves them!

It Happened

***After a little time to think, I decided to delete most of this post.  It wasn't very honoring, even if it is true.  Thanks to those that commented.***

 Just a quick note.  It started as a quick one, then I decided to add the Bible reference that sticks out regarding this, so it got longer. 

Our church has been without a permanent pastor since April of 2009.  The interim pastor started about a month after that.  Attendance started to decline, but that's to be expected with changes.  The IP has done his job, but the people want a permanent pastor.  So much so that they're willing to vote for a pastor simply to have one.  Any familiar with the story of the Israelites that wanted a king so they could be like the nations around them?

1 Samuel 8:5-7 (New King James Version)


5 and said to him, “Look, you are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now make us a king to judge us like all the nations.”

6 But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to judge us.” So Samuel prayed to the LORD. 7 And the LORD said to Samuel, “Heed the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them.

8 According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt, even to this day—with which they have forsaken Me and served other gods—so they are doing to you also. 9 Now therefore, heed their voice. However, you shall solemnly forewarn them, and show them the behavior of the king who will reign over them.”



10 So Samuel told all the words of the LORD to the people who asked him for a king. 11 And he said, “This will be the behavior of the king who will reign over you: He will take your sons and appoint them for his own chariots and to be his horsemen, and some will run before his chariots. 12 He will appoint captains over his thousands and captains over his fifties, will set some to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and some to make his weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. 13 He will take your daughters to be perfumers, cooks, and bakers. 14 And he will take the best of your fields, your vineyards, and your olive groves, and give them to his servants. 15 He will take a tenth of your grain and your vintage, and give it to his officers and servants. 16 And he will take your male servants, your female servants, your finest young men,[a] and your donkeys, and put them to his work. 17 He will take a tenth of your sheep. And you will be his servants. 18 And you will cry out in that day because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, and the LORD will not hear you in that day.”


19 Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said, “No, but we will have a king over us, 20 that we also may be like all the nations, and that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles.”


21 And Samuel heard all the words of the people, and he repeated them in the hearing of the LORD. 22 So the LORD said to Samuel, “Heed their voice, and make them a king.”


And Samuel said to the men of Israel, “Every man go to his city.”
 
Do verses 11-18 sound like another nation with which we are all familiar?  If only our king simply took 10% of our sheep!
 
God allowed this to happen for a reason.  I was convicted to be obedient to what I felt God telling me to do, and I suppose that means my obedience doesn't if I don't get my way.  Our family will give him the benefit of the doubt, but we've been feeling separated from this church for some time.  Perhaps this is the final message from God to us regarding leaving?  We shall see.