Reality check

I have recently taken a big step back from a lot of television watching. In fact we have actually turned off television service at our home all together. I have been content to purchase what shows I am still willing to watch on itunes and then I don't have to deal with advertisements for other shows that I don't feel are right or filthy advertisements that bombard you at every commercial break. I am not saying this so that you look at me and think how strong I am. I am not strong at all. It is tempting to get bored and pull up something totally inappropriate on the Internet and rot my mind with it. It is only by God's strength that that influence in my life has severely limited my tv watching habits. This being said, one of my favorite programs is "19 kids and counting." I have always admired a family that raises their kids with a biblical worldview and are actively training their children to have a servants heart. If this means that that family is willing to have many children, I am very happy that they have made that decision and I pray that God continues to bless and lead their lives. The first time I was aware of families that had this desire was when I was younger and my Mother's cousin and his wife were having a child nearly every other year. (it seemed) After talking to my Mother this past summer I believe they have only had 9 or 10, but still that fact brought up the topic of overpopulation in the world with some folks in my life that had objections. Last Thursday I was on face book and because I am a fan of "19 kids and counting's" show page I had a post on my news feed about the latest episode. I usually do not read the comments thread under the post but for some reason i did that day. There was comment from a young man accusing the family of overpopulating the world and being like Andrea Yates ( a woman who could not cope with her life and decided to kill her children.) After feeling sad over such a viscous attack. I quickly realized that this family walked into this reality TV show knowing that there were going to be people who didn't understand where their hearts are and would judge them with a set of standards that the world believes is true. There are approximately 3,700 abortions each day in this country (the equivalent of the loss of 9-11 every single day.) I have heard that the birth rate in the United States works out to an average of 2.3 children per household. I have heard that in order for population growth you need 2.5 per family. Based on information that I heard from Summit ministries a year ago Europe is at an average of 1.3 per household and a society that is considered dying out is one with a birth rate of less than 1.5. Most of Europe is around that figure. So what is the harm in one family having 19 kids? No harm at all as far as I am concerned. In fact, my personal feeling is that I would rather they have that many kids than have some people who can't be responsible for the one that they have brought into this world and have no time or desire to raise it.Our foster care system is flooded with kids that have parents that don't care enough to live a life that is dedicated to raising their children. That is just my argument to the whole overpopulation subject. That is my two cents. Thank you for listening to me vent.   

I need organization, my house feels like it is swollowing me!

I returned home from a summer away from my home and realized that the house, even though we may have spent a total of three weeks actually in the house all summer, was in great need of organization. Bags, chairs, school supplies, and many other things just dropped here or there because we weren't here long enough to actually clean up more than dishes or things that would make a bad smell before we came back the next time. Most times we drove the 3 1/2 hours home on Saturday night only to turn around and drive back up after church on Sunday. Now I am getting that organizing bug. I looked at my living room last Wednesday and decided that there had to be a better system for the school supplies than just having books and boxes of manipulative's, etc. littered all over the floor. I started pricing shelves that I could put books and baskets on so that I could get most of it up and in an orderly place. The local store had the cube organizers, that you buy fabric boxes for, on sale for $40! That was nuts in my opinion. At the most there was only six cubes and I couldn't see paying that much right now. Today I got the bright idea to stop at Family Dollar to check what they had. Guess what? A six cube shelf was $25 and instead of paying $6 for one fabric box, I paid $5 for a package of three. Now I do understand that the $40 shelf might be a bit deeper than the on I bought but you know, I'm okay with the difference. Anyway this is just the start of my organizing endeavor. Stay tuned for more to come.

The new shelves are still pretty full but at least no books are on the floor anymore and we have easy access. ;)

Lilacs in bloom

  When do I officially start feeling like spring has arrived in Wyoming? When my lilacs bloom, of course. Lilacs are my favorite flower. I love many but lilacs make me think of my childhood. My Grandmother had a large (at least large to me at age 10) lilac bush in her front yard. It had a space inside where it was hollowed out. I would imagine that it had vegetation in the middle of the plant at some time in it's life, but it seemed that it was getting ready to be the best fort ever! It had a spot in the side where I could easily slide in and hide. It was a great hide out for when we needed to hide because we had smashed berries from the neighbors bush all over the porch. Grandma didn't seem to notice that the lilac bush "giggled" as she called for us to spray off the porch and clean up our mess.  I can remember relaxing in the middle of that bush and drinking in that smell. 
  When I was 11 my Grandmother suddenly passed away. We lived in her house for a little while to take care of my Grandpa. I would go sit in that bush and think about how much I missed her. You would think that lilac would not be all that comforting if it reminded me of that time in my life but it still is. When I would sit there and think about how much I missed her I would also think about how blessed I was to have her for 11 years. My younger Sisters would not remember how fun it was to be at Grandma's house. They would not be given a dollar once in a while to go to Village East and buy a bag full of penny candy. I was so fortunate to know my Grandma and to have lasting memories. 
  When I grew up and was planning my wedding I had my heart set on having lilacs in my bouquet. Unfortunately at the end of June lilacs were out of season in Mid-Michigan so I couldn't have my wish. We then decided to find lilac scented candles for the reception centerpieces. I kept the candles and for years after had the smell of lilacs in our apartment and in our first home. When we moved to Wyoming we settled in a town full of lilacs. In fact I have a large lilac bush in my back yard. When the spring rolls around and the lilacs start budding out, I feel that old sense of comfort coming back again. This time when my children pick a lilac and bring it in the house for me, I am not sad. I am reminded again how thankful I am that I had a wonderful loving Grandmother. I also am thankful that God gave my children a wonderful Grandmother too. 
  When something in life reminds you of someone or something you lost, turn it into praise. God blessed you with that person or thing for a time and give thanks that he did.

Neglect, it's a sad thing. :(

Yes dear blog, I have neglected you. You have become like many of my wordless books that have only one or two entries. I'm sorry I have left you alone for so long. My loyalties have fallen elsewhere and I am sorry about that. I will attempt to spend less time with Facebook. (I know that name makes you very jealous, I'm sorry.) I will try to talk to you more. There are so many good things going on in my life and I have not told you about any of those things.  I'll start now.

-We are finishing up year two of Home Schooling, and we are doing so well. I can't imagine my kids being anywhere but with me every day. Yes sometimes it is difficult and i just want some quiet time to myself but the benefits far outweigh the disadvantages.

-We will be living in our camper for the summer. Yes, that's an interesting development. No, we are not having money problems. Brad's job is going far enough away for a few months that he would not be able to come home on weekends. For that reason we will be going with him. If I have a choice of being with my Husband or being away from him, I choose to be with him. We have also decided that we will be continuing school through the summer. Why waste good quiet time if we don't have to?

-My health is much better now than it has been in years. I have been working on loosing weight and so far I have lost 35 pounds.  I have another 30 to go but I am already noticing how much better I feel. My arthritis is not acting up as much as it has in years past. I have had arthritis since I was 26 and it think this has been the easiest year in terms of not having severe flare ups in my knees and hips. I still get sore but I don't get so sore that I can't move comfortably, and that is a great blessing.

Well that's just a few of the things that are going on in my life. I may not have a super exciting life but I am very blessed and thankful that God has given me so much. I will try my best not to neglect you anymore, Blog. I know that you get lonely sitting here on the internet watching other Blogs getting so much more attention. Please forgive me. :)

Love,
A

Wheat bread

I have finally found it! The best wheat bread recipe I have found, so far. I have tried many and my trials have fallen short, until now. I worked with the local bakers at the Menonite grocery store in our town for about 6 months. Those girls can bake! My goal was to find a recipe that was just like their's. That means a lot of time rising. Yeah, it takes a while but I was willing to put in the work to be able to bake my own wheat bread. The big bonus was going to be if my family would eat it also. While looking through a online store that I buy a lot of e-books for homeschooling from I stumbled across an e-book called Wheat Bread Tutorial http://www.theoldschoolhousestore.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=307_314&products_id=10299

This wonderful person has gone through every step of making wheat bread, and has included pictures of every step. Yes, you must purchase the e-book for $10 but the local store in my town charges $3.95 for a loaf of good wheat bread. Therefore, I have already saved that amount by making my own bread just in the first month. Well, that's all for this post. If you want to makesome really good wheat bread for your family. Go ahead and download this resource. Trust me it is well worth the cost and the work. Yum!

Excuses my Son uses to distract himself from his spelling words....... (during 20 minutes of observation time.)

( I wrote this back in September. I enjoyed how this turned out I wanted to post it here. I was sitting next to him on the computer typing as he was talking. Who knew a 7 year old could come up with so many distractions? LOL!)


1) I miss the trampoline we had in Michigan Mom, Who did we give it to???


2)I wonder how they make hot dogs.


3) Can little spiders bite us?


4) We woo woo, We woo woo............


5) Mom this desk has a shelf under it. Cool, I can put my feet there.


6) Hey did you know Dad broke a bullet on Red's bullet press?


7) Hey the furnace kicked on, I think there is a wrapper in the vent I have to get it out.


8) I wonder what my skin looks like under a microscope.


9) Mom I can tell that the desk is made of two pieces of wood because there is a split right here and it's on the bottom too.


10) Mom I have to go potty.


11) When I get done with my spelling words can I watch TV? I haven't got to watch TV all week! (Because that was the first privledge he lost for not writing his spelling words and wasting time, LOL!)


12) (one minute after the trip to the bathroom, he's found standing in the living room watching Spongebob.) I was talking to Dani!


13) Can you shoot deer in town? Mom your bow is right there!!!!!!! ( I was tempted, nice 8 point. 30 yards from our front door!)


14) Mom, Libby needs a hug!


15) Momma, I want the heater back on!


16) My pencil makes a cool sound when I roll it on the metal part of my notebook.


17) Mom I like that free candy bucket.


18) It would be cool if there were less pieces of paper in my notebook and I could hook my pencil into it. (?????????)


19) Dad said he could make handmade slingshots!!!! Dad said he would make me one someday.


20) Why did Dani cut a hole in my shirt? Are you going to sew it? That dorkus Dani!!


21) What's that game you play on the computer? The one with bubbles that go Swoop?


22) I would like to listen to some music while I am doing my work.


23) The phone is ringing who is it???????


24) Mom, I need to go get a pad or something, I hate this wooden chair!!!!


25) (Yells out the window) Hi Cindy, I waved at my doggy Cinder's.......


26) Mom, what's this stuff? (points at a can of bag balm)


27) ( He makes "bathroom" noises then laughs at himself.)


28) Mom, guess what Brandon did? He had that little soccer ball from the game and he hit Matthew in the head with it for no reason. And he accidentally kicked him in the bounce house.


29) Mom, guess what you can do with these things? ( A magnet he made at Church that has clothespins on it.) You can put a rubber band on it and pull it back and shoot it at someone.


30) Mom, how's come that stuff you put in your hair is called moose? It doesn't look like a moose.


31) Mom, I can get that wrapper out of the vent with your screwdriver.


32) Mom, why do vaccumes have lights on them? So you don't suck up something at night that is important?


33) We should get the Orick halo!!! (Don't know why, I guess the commercials really appeal to 7 year old boys.)


34) Why does the furnace stop every 5 seconds?


35) Mom what does solicited mean? ( not even on his spelling list, don't know where he came up with that word.)


36) I'm getting excited because Dad said your going to order that airplaine motor starter thing for our planes today, right?????


37) I can't get my pencil out of the metal wire on my notebook!!!!!!


38) There are pieces of eraser on Dad's desk I better get them off so Dad's desk isn't messy.


39) Mom, I would do my work faster if I had music.


40) Mom there are flies stuck on the sticky, icky fly trap. Hhahahahaha!!!!!

May flowers??????

May 10 2010

They always say, "April showers bring May flowers." That statement does not apply to Wyoming. We moved here from Michigan nearly 3 years ago. By this time in Michigan all of my bulbs are in various stages of life. The crocus bulbs are nearing the end and I have tulips and Hyacinths nearly blooming. In Wyoming I am witnessing yet another spring snow. There are signs of life in my flower bed which is only a tenth of the size of the flower bed in Michigan. The columbine, bleeding hearts, russian sage, and coral bells have teeny tiny leaves all struggling to see the light of day. This morning while looking out the window to see the snow flying I looked down to my sad little flower bed. A shock of pink color was poking out of the ground. I was immediatley thinking, "Did I plant anything with pink flowers last year, that would be coming back?" A quick search of my memory and I had decided that the only thing that was pink in my garden that was a perenial was my phlox and that was no where near blooming. I looked closer. (Through the window, of course, because it is nice and chilly out this morning.) Once I leaned forward enough to see all of the pink flowers I realized that they were fake. Where did they come from?? Up the hill from us is the town cemetary. It is nice to live so close because my family likes to take walks up the hill and then take a nice view of the town from the cemetary. The other day when we took our walk I noticed that a lot of the fake flowers that had been on some of the gave site had blown down the hill and rested in the chain link fence. Those who were not caught in the fence were either in the road or blown down the alley across from the entrance to the cemetary. Anyone who has ever visited Wyoming, knows that it can be a very windy place. Last week we clocked the wind gust's at 80 MPH. My Husband is a kite flyer, and he has a wind meter. Plastic and fabric flies really well in high wind. So that alley across from the cemetary that leads nearly straight down to my front yard, delivers little bunches of flowers, even during snow. My seven year old Son thought that it would make Momma's garden look better. LOL! What a sweet boy. He knows how anxious Momma is to see flowers in the garden.