Happy Birthday Gideon...

My Giddy John turned 8 yesterday.

We started the day with cereal (not sugar kind, I've changed our old tradition of each kid picking out a birthday cereal of their choice, we had too much sugar lately and I couldn't do it with cake and ice cream coming up) Sub sandwiches for lunch to which the kids thought they were from Subway with all the choices for toppings and then the birthday dinner was Lasagna, home made french bread and green beans from our garden. We made ice cream cone cupcakes with hot cocoa ice cream. It was a wonderful day. Kevin was home early because of bad weather and we were thankful to have him here. He was even home for lunch as he and a co-worker were working in our area. I tried not to get another toy to have around the house and got Gid a lasso and steer head to stick on a bale. He seemed a little indifferent but come summer I have a feeling I'll have a real roping cowboy. Here are my two 8-year olds today. Tomorrow, Rebekah turns 9 so as tradition goes we take a picture of our two 8-year olds. We enjoyed Kevin home again and will have him at least two more days!!!! Our driveway is impassable and will be for awhile so he can't go to work! Yeah!!! He spent part of the day mudding the downstairs bathroom. We've entered the New Year together toasting with water kefir and goat's milk and are now trying to get children in bed.

Painful Periods (and Question Marks)

Here is a great article for you women out there who are still experiencing monthlies. This is from heavenlyhomemaker.com but you can click the link here and it will take you to the article. Painful Periods (and Question Marks)

More of the program...

"Angel" Lena again!
Emily and some girls singing a song.

Emily and Jordan played some duets of Christmas songs.

Moriah was the angel who came upon the shepherds.

Isaac and Gideon here with some other shepherds and little sheep.

Christmas program...

Rebekah coming in on a donkey. She was Mary in the Christmas program.
"Mary and Joseph"

Lena the "angel"

The "angel" again!

We haven't had a Christmas program at our church the last two years. In 2008, we had the whooping cough and strep at that time of the year and another family in church had whooping cough too and they have 9 kids so that pretty much wiped out the program back then. Last year I'm pretty sure weather had something to do with it and also no-one to direct. We have a few more kids in our church this time around and someone willing to put it on. We have a new pastor and his wife took on the task and did an amazing job. They had one practice the day before the program and it was a very well done affair. I probably enjoyed it as much as I did because my little Lena was an angel (which we all know she is anyway, but she was adorable).

Miscellaneous life...

Here is Dakota who came in one day to take a nap. Lena laid her dolly by him and covered them both up. If the door is opened, in comes the puppy and lays down in the middle of the living room. We think he discovered it's the only way we'll let him stay. Once he starts to wander we put him out.

Lena has learned to dry the dishes. She likes to dry the dishes and did quite a few of them one day. She is never without a cheesy grin when a camera is pointed at her.

This is today. Lena loves feet, especially mine. I was sitting down with my foot under my leg. She came up to it hanging over the chair and hugged it and snuggled her face into it. She has done this as long as I can remember. She frequently holds my toes while she sucks her thumb and I'm preparing a meal. It is strange and endearing.

I have not gotten any cleaning jobs yet but have not given up. Kevin has hung two signs in the town where he works. We will see what happens. I am not that anxious to work anymore than I do but a person does what a person needs to sometimes.

We are studying the Medieval time period in history and are reading a book called Shakespeare Stealer. A boy who has not been treated well his whole life (seems to be a recurring theme of this time period with a setting of England) is expected to steal a play of Shakespeare's by copying down all the words while he listens to the play (he was taught a special kind of shorthand that no-one else knows). He does it but it is stolen and now he's involved in the theater and is beginning to like it and to make friends. We added a bit of geography today to the lesson and it has inspired my boys to make their own maps of the British Isles and label with colored pencils. I love it when learning inspires more learning. Most days my kids put the school away and they are done!

Praise God for a beautiful day, for macaroni and cheese made with Velveeta, for a cleared out driveway (was a little interesting driving on it and the township road yesterday), for kids who want to be up at 6:30 a.m. to get to their school, and for all those blessings that I don't always recognize.

Cleaning needed?...

Do you know of anyone or yourself who needs a little help this holiday season? Emily and I clean once a month but are in need of some holiday money so if you are interested, give us a call. We are available most days until Christmas. Our usual routine involves dusting, wiping down and oiling woodwork along with kitchen cabinets, vacuuming, cleaning bathrooms, and washing linoleum. We can wipe down doors and frames, change light bulbs and wash light fixtures. If you know someone short on time and in need of some extra help, we can do it. We charge $25 per hour. It is a super deal as you get two people working the whole time. Most house cleaners are $20 per hour per person cleaning. It usually takes us 3 hours for a basic house doing the first things I mentioned. A house needing a little more care will take up to 5 hours. You supply the items you most use to clean your house and have your vacuum bag changed and running and we can do the rest! We can come work with you or on our own.

December concert...

Jordan right after the Sr. High's performance.
The Sr. High Symphony

Emily and friend after the Jr. High Concert

The Jr. High Symphony

The girls had their concert on Sunday signalling and end to the first semester and a break from practices until Jan. 12th when the 2nd semester starts. We feel that the symphony has made both girls better violinists. They have a group experience and excellent training with the conductors and guest conductors throughout the year. Emily's experience is a little more varied than Jordan's in that her conductor is more eccentric. He has a different way of handling Jr. Highers. Emily's stomach would be tied in knots before going to practice the first few weeks but now she is used to him and knows he won't call on her or pick on her or yell at her. We look forward to the next semester and even next year. Caleb has enjoyed the tales Emily brings home and wants to be in Symphony now. I hope it motivates him to practice a little more. He has such potential and energy that if it was channeled the right way, it could be to all of our advantage.

Coupon craze...

This was one of my best coupon shopping trips. I actually saved $91.90 with coupons. Again I couldn't imagine paying $90 for all of this let alone $155 which is what it would cost without coupons.

More than free! Five items were more than free. They actually took the extra off my total. Light bulb 4 packs are $2.44 (coupons totaled $2.50 off, bought 2) Airwick 40 hour candles were on sale for $2.99 (coupon for each one $3 off, bought 3). I made $0.15 on these items.

More than 1/2 price! Scott toilet paper (cost $3.99, coupons for 2.50 off each), TGIFridays skillet meals (loaded with junk but nice when mom is gone and kids need a meal) (Cost $6.29, coupons for $4 off each), Seventh generation dish soap and 2 Seventh Gen. disinfectant sprays (cost $2.49 each, coupons for $2 off each one making them $0.49), Vaseline intensive moisture lotion (2.99 each, coupons for $2.50 off each one), Ritz crackers (on sale for $2 a box, coupons for $3 off making it $0.50 a box), Glade candles, spray, and candle holders (5 of them at $2.50 each, coupons and gift cards totaling $8.50 off, final cost $0.80 each), Suave men's shampoo (cost $1.84, coupons for $1.50 off x3), Energizer 4 packs (cost $3.54 each, coupons for $2 off), Duracell 4 pack (cost $5.39, coupons for $3 off).

A really good deal! Diapers ($6.50 in coupons) Triscuit ($2 in coupons) Qtips ($1.30 each in coupons) Ziploc containers ($2.50 off both) Hershey's kisses ($3 off all three), Duracell 20 pack ($3 off)

Some of these things I'm putting in Christmas gifts. Isn't this just great! I love saving this much money!

This is time-consuming at times but I feel it is worth it. My kids are loving watching me save so maybe it'll make them frugal someday. I got the coupons from www.target.com, www.coupons.com, www.valleydealseekers.com, www.redplum.com, www.seventhgeneration.com and from the coupon inserts from the Saturday morning edition of the Sunday Minneapolis Star Tribune (I buy three of them at $0.75 cents each per week) I bought all these items at Target. Remember Target takes a target.com coupon and lets you use a manufacturer's coupon with it, usually doubling the amount off. Also, I stock up on certain things if they are a really good deal and then I don't have to think about them for a very long time. In our house, we consume, consume and consume! I wish is were so much less than it is.

Food issues anyone?

While my hubby enters his 7th week of avoiding bread, sugar and anything containing these things, he finds himself much improved in health yet always hungry! He'll try adding it on again by eating a cookie here or a bite of something there but usually regrets it within two days. I have joined him in his fight against eating such things though without the diligence he has shown. This morning, because I was quick to get out the door, I ate turkey with a bit of mayo (not really allowed but gluten-free) and piled with homemade sauerkraut. Surprisingly, I felt great afterwards. Lunch is a bowl of veggie soup and a large hamburger cooked with onions (with mayo again) and piled with even more sauerkraut (I LOVE this stuff). It is not your ordinary sauerkraut! We have eaten a five gallon bucket of it since August 23 this year. I am in the process of making another. I got some great, large heads in my Azure order this month. I ordered a case pack and am hoping it makes a 5 gallon bucket plus a few heads for our eating enjoyment. Kevin eats sauerkraut nearly every meal too.

Remember some months back when I said I wouldn't make the mistake and buy another case of avocados?!? Well, we are hooked on them so we order them most every month and the first thing Kevin says when he gets in the house after I got home with the Azure order is: "Did the avocados come?" He likes them that well too.

I did enjoy a couple pieces of cheesecake at a friends party last night but not without some discomfort after. They sure tasted good :) While at this party another person I know who can't eat gluten products was saying how she thinks her husband and son may be sensitive to bread stuff too. It seems to be such an epidemic with many people; finding out your health issues are related to bread and other wheat products! I always bemoan the fact that why do we have to eat like this and why does it seem other people can eat whatever they want!?! Kevin thinks most people do have issues but mask them behind medications and such.

Meanwhile, you will still find us in McDonald's once in awhile and you'll still find a frozen pizza in our freezer once in awhile and chocolate of some kind :) We are not completely bonkers but for this week my kids have eaten rice cooked in home made turkey broth, dried black beans soaked overnight and cooked with a bit of salt and garlic (mmm) and home made veggie soup made with home made beef broth, yogurt from our goat's milk, soaked oatmeal with raisins and honey, apples, pears we canned this summer in apple juice, natural peanut butter and home made jelly on home made bread, etc. When I make rice and beans that way it makes about 5-6 meals of food so lucky kids, huh? Only a couple mind the beans otherwise they are great about eating it especially if a piece of fruit follows behind.

Recipe for those who might be interested: We had this recently at a get-together and Kevin and I liked it. It would taste good frozen. 1 bag of cranberries, 1 orange. She put the cranberries in her blender and blended them, added the whole orange (peeled and seeded) and added 1/4 of the orange peel and blended that with it and it was tasty. I was surprised it was raw cranberries. It tasted like a jello salad. I thought there were raspberries in it. She may have added a bit of honey. She also grated a few beets, added apple cider vinegar and honey and served that. Kevin and I ate it but not the kids. She puts in twice as much honey as apple cider vinegar (2 TBSP vinegar, then 4 TBSP honey etc.). Good eating to any of you health nuts out there or health nut wannabes. It can be done, it just takes diligence, prayer and denial of self.

Side note on a long post. Kevin had to come back for his cell phone this morning. He heard a preacher say that what would happen if we treated our Bibles like we treat our cell phones; always looking at it, doing things on it, turning around to go get it if we forgot it at home or someplace? Something to think about.

Wedding bells...

Saturday, we attended the wedding of a very dear girl, Lydia. We are happy for her and her new husband. She comes from close family friends. Watching her stand there with her sisters as her bridesmaids brought so many good memories of times spent with them at our house or theirs. Hannah is now married and lives in Texas expecting her first child, Rachel is married with one child and lives in Scotland, and Havi got her first broken bone riding our horse. Hannah came with the birth of Rebekah, Gideon and Moriah to watch the other children. Hannah, Rachel and Lydia came to put up many freezer meals and muffins and bread for us to enjoy once upon a time. Hannah stayed a whole week ministering to us during a pregnancy; baking, putting up my pumpkins in the freezer, mending and numerous other things. Their family has been a huge blessing to ours. When I was pregnant, their son Josiah would see me coming to AWANA and leap across the street and grab the other baby that we'd just had and bring him/her into the church. He's married now and lives in California. We now have a younger generation of children becoming good friends as with 13 in their family we have many kids the same age. Blessings abound!

Home for Thanksgiving...

Ronie and the moving van. Ronie is 14 and laughs and smiles most of the time. She loves life.

Stephanie and I working in the kitchen. Although it looks like I'm just talking:) I did unpack a few boxes. We stayed until Kevin got the refrigerator in the door (it didn't fit) and he got it situated and then we were off.

Ronie and Emily became very good friends. Emily is going to miss the "giggle" sessions with her.
I am not going to miss them! :)

Here they are. The five kids we have gotten to know so well. Ronie with their dog Harley, Traci, Gideon, Jim and Fred. May the Lord guide them to know Him and serve Him someday!

We went to Kansas on Tuesday, traveled into four states, started the journey back on Wednesday and made it home about midnight last night! It was a real quick journey. We helped some friends move down there. We were able to pull a u-haul trailer and fill our van pretty full of their stuff. We took out all but one seat in our big van and brought three kids along to unpack it. Monday, it took quite a few people over 3 hours to pack it and it took a few less people less than one hour to unpack it.

We have had the privilege to have 2 or 3 and sometimes all of the 5 children in our home the last few months. We are going to miss them. This family lost their home in June due to financial issues. They have had a tough time making a go of it and it will continue to be a struggle for awhile but we are praying God will lead them through and show them His ways. They knew someone down in Kansas who helped find a three bedroom house quite cheap. Kansas is certainly warmer than where we are! Utilities should be a lot less. God's Blessings on them all!

Where to begin...

I've had a lapse of time on the computer. I really don't feel we are involved in too many activities but it seems we are never home! For a little over a week we ended up with kids throwing up. It is funny how that works around here. It took about 9 days to go through the whole house.

Monday, Jordan and I with Rebekah headed out to my dentist appointment. I got smart and took along someone who could drive. Jordan drove all the way home (4 1/2 hours) and it was so very nice. As the numbing stuff wore off I was in some pain and it was nice to sit back and read a book. I now have a new crown on my tooth. On the way there we were pleased to stop at a thrift store in Bismarck and find three new skirts and two jeans for Caleb. The skirts were all priced the same ($4) and one of them had the tags still on them. The jeans were only $2.50 each. I've not found a thrift store this cheap for things that looked so new. Jordan has learned to alter skirts that have slits in them so I bought one for myself with a long front slit. I can't wait to see what she does with it.

The puppy, Dakota, keeps us busy. He is quite well-behaved but unfortunately, we are busy and don't spend as much time as we should with him and it is getting colder out and not too many people are eager to spend time out there. He sat and watched two John Wayne movies with the boys yesterday though. I was so glad they took the time to help train and spend time with him.

Jordan and Emily are working hard at their symphony music. Their concert is December 5th. This Sunday, the 21st they have a recital with their violin teacher so they have been working on that piece too. Jordan will play an extra piece at the Dec. 5th concert as she is in a trio with another violin and a viola. I love to hear the music around our house. Moriah is busy learning the piano. I've taken over as her teacher for this first book for now. She has learned 4 notes now. Rebekah has stepped up her violin playing and I am encouraging her to practice, practice, practice.

Please pray for a family we know moving to Kansas next week. Please pray for the finances they need to live there in December. Thank you and have a great weekend. We are planning to!

Game night...

Changing habits can be fun! We had another game night. We must play games near everyday now. I must admit though, I was standing instead of sitting to play this game of Monopoly with Em and Gid John because I made about 80 buns with some milk we had scalded. The milk was supposed to be for yogurt. Frequently we heat it too high because we aren't watching it so I decided to not let the milk go to waste (we don't care for the taste of yogurt made with boiled milk). I got something done and played a game. :) Does that count?!?

Daddy, Moriah and Lena playing Connect 4

Isaac, Fred and Caleb playing Horseopoly.

Rebekah and Jim playing Guess Who.

We still have some extra kids in our house. Last week it jumped down from 5 extra to just 2. They both especially like playing games and it's partly due to their always asking for a game that we even play as much as we do. God blesses in many ways!

Oh, deer...

Kevin calls me Wednesday morning about 8:30 a.m. Normally, I delight in his phone calls but I had finally gotten to sleep after being up with Lena since 3 a.m. and the long day of driving the day before so I got to the point, "What are you calling me for?" He said he had some good news and some bad news. The good news was that we have some venison for the winter. I knew immediately what the bad news was: he hit a deer. It remains to be determined if his van is totaled or not! :(

Now, we can look forward to beef stroganoff and stew made with venison. We do enjoy slow cooking the meat with broth. Mmmm. God will provide! Kevin has been laying off all breads and eating mostly meat with veggies and we sure go through the meat so this was a blessing of sorts. I recently got 20 bags of steamer veggies for $0.75 each normally priced $2.02 each. They were on sale 4/$5 and I had 10 coupons for $0.50 off 2 bags and the store doubled each coupon to $1 off! It was fun to get them so cheap when Kevin eats nearly a whole bag in one meal. Coupons.com frequently has those coupons and so does the newspaper.

Getting ready to go...

This is my motto this week. We are always getting ready to go somewhere. Today, it is AWANA. Yesterday, I took a 4 1/2 hour drive to a dentist in the Western part of the state. He is a naturopathic dentist and I had a tooth that needed attention pronto. It has actually been cracked a few years but starting in May the pain has been terrible at times and lately I lose sleep with the pain. I haven't been able to chew on it for months! Dr. J. was able to save the tooth without doing a root canal. It will still have a crown but the tooth will stay living which can be better for you than having it drilled out. I wanted to check it out anyway and see how it was different than having a root canal. I believe the cost was similar and except for the cost of the driving it should be the same. Only, I should have taken someone who drives with me. I laid in the dentist chair over two hours and the numbing didn't take so they did it again and I drove 4 1/2 hours home coming out of the groggy, headache feeling you have after being drilled into. The last two hours was a little challenging. My tooth still hurts but I believe it to be from all the shots I got and the pushing and drilling my mouth went through.

Some may not believe in this and that is OK but I also wanted my mercury filling taken out in a safer way. My dentist already scoffs this idea but I do believe through research I've done that mercury in fillings is not good for you and you absorb that metal in your brain for all your life that you have those fillings. Dr. J. takes precautions that you don't inhale or ingest any of the material during drilling it out. Dr. J. replaced the filling with a body compatible material and the crown will also be non-metal containing material. In case anyone out there has been looking into this you can call or email and get the info. I know there is a clinic like this in the Cities.

Praise report...

We had a great weekend that was made better last night in a gas station on the way home from our outing. We went to a family's home yesterday to fellowship with them and several other families, so nice to be with other families that are quirky like us e.g. home school, home birth, natural remedies preferred, have lots of kids, shun boy/girl relationships at any age but that which is appropriate for marriage, etc. etc. This happens to be the place where God finished Isaac's healing in June. We shared our praise that Isaac was healed and had gained about 9 pounds and had no more problems with that sickness that was his life for nearly two years. At a gas station on the way home several of us went into the rest room and when Isaac came out to the van he was telling us about his BM. If any have read this blog for long you know how much these bm's are my life. I lived to know what they looked like because it told the tale of wellness vs. illness for so long. He stretches out his arm like telling me how large a fish he caught and says, "It was this long." (meaning is BM) Well, Isaac has not had a firm one for near three years now and we were praising the Lord all the way home. While we know God healed him back in June and his bm's weren't diarrhea anymore but they weren't firm either but nothing too bad because it was once a day. We figured it was normal for him. Much to our delight it isn't!!! :) We believe in giving the credit always to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ for leading us through the valley of darkness to still waters. Thanks for all the prayers. Now you can praise on our behalf.

Do everything as unto...

Do everything as unto the chocolate. I keep telling my kids in their school day to do everything as unto the Lord, do it as if you were doing it for the Lord. I had a great coupon on coupons.com for a mixed bag of candy and we have the candy jars sitting on the counter as rewards this week. One candy for 100 percent in math, one if you get done with school by 1:00 p.m. and with no complaining, etc., etc. Well, I had two kids get 100 percent! Unfortunately, that doesn't happen very often but several kids really tried hard because they knew there was candy involved so Jordan and I said, "Is it now, do everything as unto the chocolate?" How many of us will do a better job when there is some external reward or someone is watching? Guilty!

Last day of applesauce...

We ended up with one more "big" applesauce day. We've been too busy to do as much as we'd like in a day so we had to settle for three separate days of putting it up. I had two teams today. One team was cutting up apples and cooking them while another was peeling and slicing apples and putting into jars for apple pie filling. We were able to do 39 applesauce and 31 apple pie filling today with so much help! We were done by 8 p.m. and even had a pretty decent meal. Kids were in bed about 10 p.m. with the exception of the oldest three girls in the house. They just went down now. My knees are feeling it with this batch.

We had pita pockets tonight with a friend's recipe. I used ground goat meat mixed with hamburger. First, I cooked up a half of a large onion chopped in some olive oil until soft. I added the burger and cooked like sloppy joe meat. I added about 2 cups shredded carrot (from the garden minutes before), 2 cups (about) shredded zucchini, 2 cups shredded cabbage and cooked this some. I added a bit of basil, oregano, salt and some minced garlic and simmered it some. We ate them in pita pocket bread things with shredded cheese. Sometimes we like ranch dressing on it or lettuce and/or avocado. It gets pretty stuffed and hard to eat with too much in it. Everyone cleared their plates tonight. It didn't hurt that we had apple crisp afterward (two jars didn't seal so we used them right away). My husband raves about this pita pocket mixture.

Thanks to Kate and my mom for the jars. I needed them today. I got a response to my call for jars:) What a blessing! We sure put them to use.

Cute moments with kids: I asked a five year old boy who has been staying with us "Who is in charge here?" He says "Jim is".(His 7 year old brother) I said, "No, not Jim, who is in charge, are you in charge?" He says, "Yes." I try again but say "Who is the boss here?" He says, "You are." There we got the right answer! :)

Seventeen and a puppy...

This morning I did my cleaning job and came home to 17 children at my house! Sounds like a crazy lot to some but I've hardly heard a peep out of them except for a few stragglers who come to tell on someone. My dad from Wisconsin stopped by for about an hour on his way to his sister's to pheasant hunt and dropped off our new puppy. He is so very cute and soft. He's already on his way to being trained. He's kennel trained and leash trained. I think Grandpa Rich has had him 3 weeks now? He's 12 weeks old. The pictures we took so far aren't great but here is what we have. He wouldn't stand still to get one of him by himself. We may call him Dakota. All but one kid wants Dakota and that one kid wants Butter but we have some definite no's to Butter. We have a dog! I'm not sure I'm prepared for this especially a chew-on-everything puppy :)

A bit better...

So I veered from my normal work-oriented day a little but not really until the end of the day, say 9:30 p.m. ?!?!!! After breakfast of eggs, toast and juice we cleaned up and went outside to rake up leaves in the back yard and burn them per Kevin's request. It was probable rain today. After lunch of 1/2 an apple and cheese pizzas on English muffins we went to Mrs. B's this time to pick up apples off the ground for her. She said if we came and helped her clean it up we could have some apples. She's been so good to us over the years, always calling when she had extra apples, tomatoes or anything. The kids had fun playing with the dog Bingo. We got home and I went to mow the extra yard we mow, kind of next door. No-one lives there but she comes out once in awhile and likes the place mowed and neat. Em came and helped me finish it up while I started mowing the leaves in the ditches up onto the road. The kids all grabbed rakes and we raked the leaves in big piles on the driveway and then burned them too. One more job done for winter and before the weather turns cold. Then into the house to get potatoes in the oven, chicken on the grill and apple crisp in the oven too. After supper clean up I took out 7 of my favorite books to read aloud and read 6 of them. The books were (for anyone wondering about a good book to read) Bein' with You This Way by W. Nikola-Lisa, If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Joffe Numeroff, The Gingerbread Man retold by Eric A Kimmel, Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin, Jr., The Little Mouse, The Red Ripe Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear by Don and Audrey Wood and But Where is the Green Parrot by Thomas and Wanda Zacharias. The kids sat interested through each book. It felt good to read like that. We watched a Little House on the Prairie and I was going to go wash apples and get ready to do applesauce tomorrow but I sat and watched the whole thing! Laura bought a goat! No need to say more :)

I am going to keep working on adding more of these non-work oriented moments in my day. Of course I spend all kinds of time with kids working on their school so they aren't lacking for time with mom but it's different than playing a game or something. I promised the kids a craft tomorrow. They were so excited they wanted to do it right then at 9:30 p.m. I plan to make applesauce tomorrow though. If I can get 56 quarts again like on Saturday I will be done with applesauce this year and nearly done canning, which will free up some time:) I will also be out of quart canning jars. If anyone knows of a source let me know. I don't need too many but maybe 30-40 would be good.

Do any of you have an area of your life you need to work on? I am tackling it one little bit at a time. Being less impatient is my goal and being more joyful around my kids.

Second chances...

Do you ever wonder how many times you get to mess up your life without getting zapped out of here? I think that God is going to say, "That's it, you just don't get it. You are out of here." Thankfully, God doesn't work that way. I would have been gone a long time ago because I mess up way too much. I am an impatient person and because of that I come across annoyed with my family. I don't want to be. I want to be joy-filled and joyful. I feel that way but my actions tell a different tale. The many, many, many chores weigh me down. I have forgotten how to play, laugh and enjoy. God has given me an opportunity to keep practicing. We've had some extra people staying with us off and on for awhile. I try to look forward to each day and how I might better serve the Lord by serving others. I enjoy serving new and interesting meals, I enjoy getting all the laundry done in the day, I enjoy going to bed with my kitchen clean but there is more to life than enjoying being caught up for the day and I need to discover that again!

Pray for me to find that joy of life that doesn't include canning 56 quarts of applesauce in one day! Pray for me to see other things in my day besides what there is do get done! I already have my mental list of what to do tomorrow: go to Mrs. G's and pick apples, wash 49 quart jars, make breakfast, lunch, supper, wash last load of laundry, wash down freezers outside, vacuum living room, cut apples for the dehydrator, make yogurt... I want to play soccer with the kids, I want to make home made play dough and play with them, I want to read them about 10 of my favorite read aloud stories, I want to get out Mousercise and exercise and I want to make a fun craft. We'll see how I do tomorrow. I always think "after I do "this" " so I have trouble with the follow-through. I'll let you know how I do :) God Bless and have a good week.

New Stove...

Yesterday, amidst an already busy morning, my stove decided to blow. It gave more like a little pop but it did blow the whole thing; stove top and oven. I was making up two egg bakes; one for the kids staying home to bake for lunch and one for the kids going to town with me to have for lunch. Well, I left the kids at home with no oven because I wasn't prepared to take everyone with me. It worked fine since we have cheese, crackers, and fruit. Their supper was hot dogs on the grill, fruit salad and a lettuce salad. Thankfully, this worked out and was a load off my mind being gone all day.

After the stove blew, I had 15 minutes to leave for town for lessons and for Jordan to teach lessons to her students. I got online and looked on Craig's list and found a "new" stove, wrote the number down and called while at Em's violin lesson. The first stove I called about was 13 years old and only owned by a retired couple. I made an appointment to see it last night and Kevin finished installing the stove at midnight. He had to take the cord off our old stove and put it on the new. It was so clean and neat. You could only describe it as "like new". The first owners were gone 6 months of the year south somewhere. The second owners whom we purchased it from didn't use it much and had an immaculate house. It is so clean, I'm afraid to use it. When Kevin was loading our stove on the trailer I told him to make sure to tell the guys at work that he took it from a customer's house! :) :) :) It was very dirty and a bit embarrassing. Yikes! I have pulled it out to clean it before but not for awhile. The kids dish up food from the stove top and spill all the time down the sides. I am sorry to say but I have other things to do than keep that clean :) Truly, I do not want to start canning applesauce on this new looking stove. I want to go on Craig's list and find a cheaper used one and put it in my garage and use that for canning. I'll try to be careful instead.

We are having an easy day of school and canning apple pie filling. I've done up 28 quarts already this week and the boys want to help me today. I do have sick kids though. My poor Gid John is throwing up. Pray for him and for the rest of us to be spared! We have some extra kids at our house and two of them have been sick too. Gid got sick on Tuesday and is having some sort of relapse after feeling good yesterday. I was hoping for a 24 hour thing. I like them better, predictable! God Bless and Have a Great Weekend!

Home grown...

Home grown meals are an exciting time for our family. We make a really big deal over meals made entirely of our own produce. Tonight we had Snowflake roast (Kevin brought home 2 roasts from our butchered goat) roasted with our own onions, mashed potatoes the boys dug up last week with gravy made from the roast, acorn squash sweetened with local honey and store butter, cantaloupe and watermelon picked yesterday, grape juice we canned last year (from grapes about 11 miles from here), sauerkraut made from our cabbage. It was filling and delicious. The roast was very moist and tasty. Kevin wanted to try it so he would know if he should butcher the other new goat. She gives him so much trouble! I guess she'll be going to butcher! :)

In the picture are our pumpkins and gourds! The boys have been invaluable at helping me in the garden during harvest. One day they cut all the squash, another day they cut all the pumpkins and gourds and watermelon and pulled all the squash and pumpkin plants and disposed of them. Today, they picked all the peppers left and pulled those plants. Each day something gets cleaned up and I get to spend my time washing and preparing it. When I had 6 kids under 7 years old it seemed a long way off until they would be helpful enough to take some of the workload. Any young mothers out there, the day does come! A special treasure for me is their enjoyment of the produce. One day I asked Caleb what would it take to have him pick me a big bowl of raspberries (I was going to get him a candy bar). He said I didn't have to pay him because he was going to benefit by eating them this winter :)

The Marathon...

I feel like I am running a race with no finish line in sight. Last week was another one of those weeks where I ran a particularly arduous part of the journey. Wednesday, AWANA started and after we got home at 9 p.m. Jordan and I got to work cutting up tomatoes for making soup the next day, making up the meat mixture for enchiladas and planning lunch and supper for the next day. Jordan taught lessons all day the next day. When we got home the real race began. About 9:30 p.m. we unloaded groceries and started work. We were going camping the next day so had to prepare that food, load the camper, and can up the food stuff I had started. 14 quarts of tomato soup, 7 quarts of stewed tomatoes, 7 pints of raspberry jelly, crock pot enchiladas, frog-eye salad, cookie salad, zucchini cake, tuna sandwiches, hard-boiled eggs, grapes, one-cup cookies and the hundred other little details later we were able to pull out of our place Friday by 1 p.m. I ended up in bed at 3 a.m. after taking the last jars out of the canner. Tomatoes are too precious to waste for us (thanks again Jan for the bountiful gift, we cherish them). We didn't get enough in our garden to mention so we are still in need of tomatoes for anyone out there who knows someone who is tired of tomatoes :) We could also use a lot of apples!

We had a great time again fellow shipping with other home schoolers and brothers and sisters in Christ (this time in South Dakota). The boys found some other boys that like sword and gun play and that's pretty much all they did for the 3 days we were gone. Several dads shared their insight into a couple chapters in Ephesians. Another dad share his knowledge of "digging for treasure" in the Bible. There were 2 hayrides, food, campfires, apple dunking and caramel, candle dipping, children's story time, and late night card games. We have been going to this particular weekend for 9 years only missing once when Rebekah at 8 months old had the chicken pox. Today, we are washing up the clothes since everything else is put away!!!! The kids did the job of emptying the camper and getting the stuff put away last night. We plan to do a bit of school today but no pressure since we are all a bit tired. Hope you have a good week. About Wednesday the marathon gets strenuous again but thank the Lord for strength and joy to keep going on.

New room...

Here is the three boys' room after Kevin got the false ceiling removed, sheet rocked it, taped and mudded and then textured the walls and ceiling. He took the carpet out one night and it is ready here to be washed.

Here it is painted Curry Green, with Brownstone floor paint sprinkled with speckles, and Lambswool for the ceiling which is also on the window trim. The paint is almost an exact match to some of the green in the boy's camouflage clothes.

Here it is last night after the boys moved in their beds and other stuff. I found rugs at Wal-mart that have all the colors of their room in them! :) They will like them if the floor is cold this winter. At the end of the bunkbeds is an old "popcorn" table. I used it when I taught preschool as a sensory table. I filled it with popcorn and had all kinds of sand toys in it thus the reason it is called the "popcorn" table. We have filled it with legos this time. It is perfect! The boys had maybe 5-8 different containers with legos and now they are in one place. If they build some great creation they can set it on the top of the legos or under the table and maybe we won't have legos all over the floor. Maybe!

Here is a set of lockers Kevin and I picked up this summer outside the high school where we both went. They got new lockers and were throwing them out so we snagged 6 of them for free. The green doesn't show well with the glare but they really add a nice touch with the red color against the brown and green. Perfect for guns and jackets and backpacks and all their treasures so again they aren't all over the floor.
Here is another corner of the room. Another rug and dresser and then the closet. We wondered if we should make the closet bigger for three boys sharing but decided that would take a little too long and decided dressers and buckets would have to do. This year I bought 5 of the kids a set of 20 hangers in each a different color. So all of Gideon's clothes are on green hangers, Caleb's on blue, Isaac on black. This is so wonderful; I wish I would have done it sooner. One great thing about moving them again is we cleaned out all the clothes that don't fit and decluttered some. The excitement last night over moving in erupted into noisy boys who kept annoyed sisters awake for some time with their chatter.

Happy Birthday...

Kevin! It was Kev's birthday yesterday. I took 4 pictures of him and it kept glaring and I gave up so here is my very shiny husband! Kev wanted to eat at Paradiso so that's what we did. Kids under 8 eat free on Sunday (4 of them) and Kev ate free because it was his birthday! I ate too much! : ) It was a very pleasant time.

The girls are busy with symphony starting last week. Jordan has practice and then Em so it is a long day. Jordan tried out for the Chamber players and got into a piece with two others; a violin and a viola. She is excited and nervous because she got 1st violin in the piece and it is a little challenging. Em is a little nervous because their conductor asked them to memorize a part in one song! He said he'd give away a Dairy Queen Blizzard if they can do it. It's a pretty big orchestra so I'm not sure he means it!?! He is quite the joker; making fun of kid's shoes, if they are home schooled, if they missed a note, all kinds of disparaging comments but it seems to be all in fun.

Last week was busy trying to get school in each day, painting the boy's newly finished room, sewage backing up on one end of the house, plumber coming to work on basement bathroom and clear the blocked sewer system, lessons, symphony, and canning raspberry jelly (mmmm, love it). Kev and I stayed up til 3 a.m. painting the room one night and cleaning up sewage. It poured down in my canning room so Kevin washed down about 100 jars of food and threw shelves that were soaked through and a few other things. It was disheartening at the time. Now that there are new shelves to replace the bad ones, the jars and everything are washed, and the floor repainted it doesn't seem such a big thing. Our basement bathroom has a fully functioning shower (although we won't use it until the bathroom is completely finished). Kevin has a lot of work down there! :( It may be quite awhile before it's sheet rocked and mudded since he does it in his free time.

Cheese...

Mozzarella Cheese made from goat milk. I tried this the other night and the kids really like it. It tastes like mozzarella cheese !!!!! How neat it was that it turned out. You soak it in salt water for the final step and it really needs it. I tasted a middle part and it tasted goaty to me without that salt on it. I took one gallon of milk and it made this small Corelle bowl of cheese. I have a gallon of whey left over. I could have taken the whey and immediately made ricotta cheese from it (book says that's the best time) but I'd been on my feet all day and it was late so next time I make cheese I hope to try it. Unfortunately, Snowball is going to the butcher tomorrow. We cannot control this goat and catch it to milk it therefore, we will have a bit less milk.
Couponing!!! I love it when I get a great deal on a shopping trip and I love to share it with others. One of the things with couponing is I don't use many products that have "junk" in them like dyes, perfumes, disodium EDTA, parabens, etc. Yesterday, I was able to coupon and choose products called free and clear or for sensitive skin. They can still contain some unfavorable substances but I consider them a better choice. Right now, we really need the savings. I paid $21.56 for these items. Without coupons and Target gift cards they would have been $62.13. It doesn't seem that so few products could be that much but I had $10 in gift cards and $32 in coupons. I had 2 coupons for each product (one Target and one manufacturer). I had $4 off the razors (making them $2.50 a piece), I had $1.75 off the shaving creams (making them $0.58 each) and I got a $5 gift card for buying two Playtex boxes plus I had a $2 off coupon for each box making each box $2.50 a piece when they were originally $6.99 each. I had $2.50 off each bottle of Downy or Tide. I tried to buy the cheapest bottle making each one half price but I got home and noticed I messed up. I bought a bigger bottle for one spending $2 more than I would have had to. I always buy the smaller getting the cheapest price because these deals will keep coming around and I do stock up on these things. I don't use the women's shave cream but found they make a great graduation gift when combined with the razors. It isn't any fun to coupon unless you can give them away so I was able to give away 7 coupons yesterday saving them a total of $10.25! :)

We had to come home...

During Sunday night's chapel. Gideon was out first and Riah laid on him and he never noticed! :)
Jordan and Chrissy (who comes from quite a drive from Montana to attend these things).

Caleb and his friend Levin having fun. They went from paddleboat to canoe and back again.

Moriah on the slide.

Rebekah going down the big slide!

This was written Monday night:

Today, we were packing up to leave Family Bible Camp where we had been since Friday noon. We had so much fun I said today that I could just live there. The food which all provided was so very good, the fellowship was wonderful, the activities each day were pleasantly tiring. The family that put on the June camping trip at their farm put this on at a Bible Camp. They provided the food and the boating and jet ski with tubing. They also invited a man to speak who was inspiring. He has had 600 boys come through his ranch he runs as a boy's home with his wife. He didn't speak about the experience of those boys as much as how everything that happened to him was by accident. He was saved by accident, he was only going to the church to be with a girl when God got a hold of him. I just wish someone had videotaped all the sessions or taped them on cassette. He was an amazing speaker. Isaac got the front row seat all four times he spoke and he even coerced someone out of that seat so he could have it. Mr. McNabb didn't speak just one little hour either :)

Well, it is Tuesday and we've gotten up to 7 loads of laundry washed and maybe 7 left. We are picking tomatoes, okra, zucchini, cucumbers, peppers, beans and raspberries. Have a good week!

Pressure is good...

Sometimes in your life when you are under pressure life is good or even better. At various times in my life I have been invigorated under pressure and other times (depending on the pressure) I've collapsed (so to speak). This week I am invigorated (I may crash later :) ) We have had the opportunity to have five extra kids 14 down to 4 stay with us and we eat meals on time, have the laundry caught up, kids all showered, school nearly done and I am sane!!! I am sitting here at noon in my pajamas wearing an apron helping Caleb with Grammar, listening to Moriah decide if it is really true that pink and purple are only girl colors (some kids believe they are), watching kids play with pattern blocks. I've hung out one load of laundry, washed 2 more, picked zucchini, moved our chicken tractor (with help), and helped 3 children get all their school done and am working on 3 more to be done by the time I have to run to town to drop some extra kids off, change oil, do banking, pick up a part for Kev, pick up my coupons, get a few groceries, get home to pick beans, freeze some zucchini, pack clothes and bedding for kids for family camp we are going to Friday to Monday, make up some food for Kev (who is staying home here to milk goats and work on projects around the house). Will I get it done? Probably. Could I do this every day? No! It feels good to feel like I accomplished something though. I tend to feel down when I don't accomplish all that's on my list. With 5 extra kids the house seems cleaner, the meals are nicer and on time, and I have read more books and done more activities with the kids than usual. Isaac just sat down to do his Grammar now. I hope you are all having a good week.

Who needs sugar when they have me...

For some reason this picture keeps coming up sideways. It is Lena on her last night in her crib. Her birthday was the next day.


Happy 2nd Birthday Lena Mae!

Elmo doll from mom and dad and a doll from Isaac. When they were unwrapped they said "hi" to each other and kissed. They have been constant companions ever since.

Every year you get measured by dad on "the door". It is fun to compare how tall everyone was at 2 or 8, etc. Only the last four are on the door that early since we haven't always lived here.

Lena's new bed. She graduated from crib to bed on her birthday. That's our other birthday present when someone turns two. It's more fun for a girl because they have this pretty cottage bed that we got for Jordan 16 years ago. She stays in bed each night. If she wakes up and cries, she usually does not get out of bed but just lays there until we come.