Was It Worth It?

Well, I am on the other side of my trip to Denton now. I battled a bladder/kidney infection right before I left. I cleaned the Suburban on the inside throughly.... which was very satisfying... I left the kids with David, (or...was it David with the kids.... :-) ), and headed out. It was a lot of work to get ready, it took time out of David's productivity, cost money.... So, was it worth it? Did it really go as well as I had hoped? Absolutely. It was well worth and way beyond all the effort that went into me going. I had a blast, but more than that, it was real. Real bible teaching, in-your-face bible teaching, exhortation that I needed to hear. (All humbly yet boldly put forth.) Every part of the conference was timely for me. There was not one moment that I wondered if I should have come, or was this really for me. I never even had a moment where I kind of turned my ears off because the speaker was getting into some foolish jesting about things that are not to be jested about or expressing less than ideal attitudes about husbands, etc. I don't know if those reading know me that well, but that is very rare for me. I am a pretty thick-skinned person most of the time, and am pretty good at spitting out bones in messages and getting the meat. But I usually find myself spitting bones a lot! It was rather nice to be able to just enjoy the fare set before me and not have to examine and pick off trash before eating. :-) It was rather refreshing! I had a great time of refreshing and have come home with new resolve and vision. I was also just greatly encouraged that what I am doing here at home is important and valuable.

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Hi, Ho, Hi, Ho, It's Off To Denton I Go...

Okay, maybe the guys who made the "Hi, Ho" song famous were not excited,.... but I am. :-) Tomorrow I leave with several ladies from our church for Denton to a Revive Our Hearts Conference. Am I excited? Yes, I am!

Nancy Leigh DeMoss will be the speaker, someone I highly respect and look up to. I am looking forward to hearing what she has to say this weekend.

Wow, the moon is so pretty tonight. I would love to try to photograph it. But, without a tripod it turns out a bit shaky. (Lets see,.....find Prayer list......add.....tripod.) Anyway, I think that it would make a really good picture tonight. I might try it anyway, we'll see. I still have some laundry to fold before I leave for the conference. (Did I mention that I am excited about that?)

Organizing...

I have made some big strides in organizing in the past few months. As you can see from the pictures posted, there have been some interesting projects going on. :-)

In August I set up: a new filing system, (The pic on the left is the works-in-progress picture and the one on the left is the result.), a new bin system, (an idea I borrowed and modified from my friend, Molly that has a bin for everyone in the family, and I added catagories like, give away, sell, give back, etc.),

and a new, well, modified laundry system. While all the projects mentioned above are wonderful and are working well, I think the one that has made the most difference and is the most pleasant to use is the bathroom cupboard. My only regret is that I didn’t take a before picture of that cupboard. It was hideous and the difference is striking.

I also did a bit of decorating. The wall behind our woodstove is much improved! It was hard to get at an angle to take the picture that the pipe wasn't in the way. :-( But maybe it gives the idea.

I am working to stay on top of things better. I feel like I’m stepping up to the next level in this home management course that the Lord is taking me through. :-) Oh, I am far from perfect and not even totally satisfied with things, but I can see progress and that spurs me on. :-) I am determined to win.

Happenings in a Quick Nutshell...

Hello again!

Once again I have pulled out my trusty, “I haven’t posted in a while” template! Oh, well! :-)

Much has happened at our place since I last wrote. A new shop has been built for David, we are in the process of building porches, I have my dishwasher installed, we have been to my youngest sisters’ wedding in OK, I've made more advances in managing my home, started learning Spanish, got my ears pierced, etc, etc.

While things have been going on in the above mentioned areas, much has been going on in me, too. I have felt a call to pray more and a growing in listening as the Spirit prompts me to pray.

We are now hosting a cell group in our home. It has been enjoyable. Right now we are not studying anything in particular, but are just enjoying each others' company and fellowship. This week we did some activities with the kids. The guys made toolboxes with the boys and the girls made cornsnakes with the ladies. (An altered version of bean bags. We used old kid socks and since I didn’t have many beans, we used corn to stuff them. They ended up being long and skinny, like a snake, so I called them cornsnakes!)

Hope things are well with all reading this post. God bless you and yours.

Virginia Tech

I have been grieving over the Virginia Tech shooting. I grieve for the families and the kids, but I am also just really sad for the killer. He needed Jesus. He was in such pain and turmoil. Bitterness, anger and despair just destroyed him. Jesus was the answer. Not a bandaid but the solution.
I have not heard much about his family yet, but I am praying for them also.
If any of the families and friends of the victims run across this page, please know that I am praying for you, too. Jesus is the answer for you, too. Bitterness destroyed Cho Seung-Hui and he destroyed others. Don't let it destroy you. Give the pain and bitterness to Jesus who will set you free. He endured pain and injustice. He experienced the pain of abuse that was totally undeserved or justified. Yet He died for those who abused Him. He laid down His right to require payment and made the payment Himself. He extended forgiveness to us and experienced total freedom from bitterness. He can give that same freedom to us when we come to Him.

Houston

I had a good trip to Houston the 4th and the 5th. I did all my tests on the 4th and then saw my dr. the 5th. All the tests came back good! It was what I expected, but it was still good to hear. My Dr. was also very encouraging. She said that they were anticipating me to stay cancer free, esp. because of how the cancer had responded to the treatment, and had not returned for a year. They were also thinking that one of the proteins that were present with the cancer was going to help with staying free. They will continue to watch me closely, I go back in 4 months, but she said that they don’t expect me to have a relapse.

As you might imagine, I am encouraged and excited by that report! Thank you all for praying for me and please do continue! And join me in blessing and praising the name of our God for the great things He has done!

Farm Kids

We are still enjoying our goat kids! Keilah is living the book, “Hedi,” and just having a wonderful time with her ‘herd.’ She watches them carefully, counting often during the day to make sure that they are all accounted for. I laugh continually at their antics. Earlier was a typical example. (Note the goat on the swing!)

David took the tractor and trailer to the pasture to do some work on the fences. Two of the kids decided to follow him, bouncing along beside the trailer. When he would stop for a moment to open a gate or some such thing, they would jump onto the trailer. After bouncing around all over that, they would hop off as it started moving again and bound along beside it. It was hilarious to watch, although I knew that it was difficult for David. :-) He finally had to stop, get off, catch the little imps and put them back on the house side of the fence. They stood there a minute and watched him leave. Then they threw their heads up in the air, turned and bounded for the house. (Note: The picture shown was taken later when David was just moving the trailer. For some reason it is very popular with all kinds of kids. :-) Believe it or not, most of the goats shown rode the trailer all the way until David stopped to unload some of his pile. That turned into another adventure!)

I did have someone comment on the pictures of the goats in the house. :-) The question was asked how we keep them out now that they have been in.

Well, we have to race them to the door and stick a foot out to keep them from coming in. :-P Sometimes we lose and they get in before us or along with us. Getting them back out is not too hard. The house is not that interesting anyway now that they are a bit bigger!

I’m dreaming… of a …White, ……Easter……?!

These pictures are not from Christmas! These were pictures I took the Saturday before Easter. We had snow mixed with sleet dumped on us all day Saturday. I called my brother in Oklahoma, and was surprised that they didn’t get anything but a few flurries. Jakin was so excited. He kept asking, “Is it Christmas again?!” :-)

The kids didn't mind another chance to play in the snow! Really, I simply couldn't keep them in. :-)

We were blessed and excited to receive some much needed rain recently. It was not, however, without some excitement that bordered on the scary side. :-)

A large storm system moved across our area bringing rain and hail. Some areas had bigger hail than others did. We received some hail that was from large pea to marble size. The hail did affect the orchard- how much it was affected is still hard to tell. There was a small tornado that touched down at Carbon, but from what I have heard, it was out in a field and did no harm. Looking at the sky, we knew that we should be near the storm cellar, so we went to Ma and Pa’s. These top 2 pictures you see are what I took on our way over.

Later that day we delivered some food to a family in Gorman. There was another system watering the earth when we left to go. We got out of it driving to Gorman, but hit it again on the way back. It was a slow moving storm. We got a lot of runoff from both systems. The creek was running when we got home, and our tanks were full. That was really good to see!

Always Obey...

I was visiting with some friends the other day and one friend told this hilarious story about how he learned what sarcasm was. Or I found it to be hilarious anyway. :-)

As a kid he was handling some eggs in the kitchen for some reason and as often happens with kids and eggs, one fell onto the floor and broke. His mom sarcastically remarked, “Why don’t you just step on it?”

He was confused. Why would you step on an egg and make it into a bigger mess? Maybe it was a great cleaning secret? Still confused, but thinking that she must have a reason for telling him to do such a strange thing, he obligingly stomped the egg.

Imagine his surprise when he found himself in trouble, for obeying! She thought he was being a smart alec!

More Goat News

Our baby goats are more fun everyday. Yesterday we had some excitement. :-) When I came in, a kid came in also. The people kids really like the goat kids coming in the house. Keilah just called them all in, all eight of them. How could I say no? Next thing I knew, the whole bunch were in the kitchen, on the couch, in the bedrooms, eating plants, and bouncing in and out of the rocking chair. Jakin was just waking up from his nap. As he was lying there sleepily, he was pleased to have Blanc, the white buck, leap onto his bed. I poked my head in his room to find him grinning from ear to ear at the goat on his bed. Pretty soon people kids and goat kids were running around the house like wild animals. At one point, Keilah had a group of goats in her bedroom. The six does seemed to enjoy playing with her dollhouse. They surveyed the mess and tried to help clean up, but lacked the ability to do much about it.

I did find out how quickly goats can make a big mess- or rather, I almost did.

I was working at the sink in the kitchen. Blanc reared up to see if I was getting his milk. As he was on the way back down, his front leg opened one of the cabinet doors. Since it was open, he poked his head in, just to see. All he really did was sniff. As I was bending to remove his inquiring nose, he accidentally brushed his nose on the lid to my mixer. As it came crashing out of the door, so did a bread pan. I am not quite sure how he managed to bump it, and I don’t think he was either. :-) As I put everything back and shut the door, I just had to grin about the whole thing. If this is how fast and totally unintentionally a baby goat can cause trouble, no wonder grown goats get into trouble. :-)

Raw Milk

I was very interested to find the following information on a friend’s blog.

Posted on Time.com...

"Richard Hebron, 41, was driving along an anonymous
stretch of highway near Ann Arbor, Mich., last October when state cops pulled
him over, ordered him to put his hands on the hood of his mud-splattered truck
and seized its contents: 453 gal. of milk.
Yes, milk. Raw, unpasteurized
milk. To supply a small but growing market among health-conscious city and
suburban dwellers for milk taken straight from the udder, Hebron was dealing the
stuff on behalf of a farming cooperative he runs in southwestern Michigan. An
undercover agricultural investigator had infiltrated the co-op as part of a
sting operation that resulted in the seizure of $7,000 worth of fresh-food
items, including 35 lbs. of raw butter, 29 qt. of cream and all those gallons of
the suspicious white liquid. Although Hebron's home office was searched and his
computer seized, no charges have been filed. "When they tested the milk, they
couldn't find any problems with it," says Hebron. "It seems like they're just
looking for some way to shut us down." "

More from the article....

"What raw milk fans most resent is stepped-up
efforts to crack down on a personal choice that wasn't doing anyone else any
harm. "There are 65,000 child-porn websites," asks indignant co-op member Nancy
Sanders, a pediatric nurse and mother of five from Des Plaines, Ill. "Why
doesn't the government go after those?""

Read the rest of the article here.

Thanks Crystal and Bessie for posting this!

David and I were discussing this issue. We wondered why there couldn’t just be a label put on raw milk similar to the Surgeon General’s warning on tobacco and alcohol. People are allowed to consume these products that are proven health risks. Why couldn’t they decide to “risk” raw milk?

Blog Writing

I am going to try to be more regular in writing in my blog. I am not able to write every day at this point, but I am scheduling it in to write once a week. That worked well last week and this week. So, check in once a week or so, I plan to have something new each Thursday. :-)
Have a blessed week and may the Lord bless you and direct your path today!

Created to be His Help Meet

I have been reading “Created to be His Help Meet” by Debi Pearl again. I am going slower this time and taking more time to do the studying part of the book. She now has a journal/scrapbook that goes with the book. It is very encouraging and enlightening. I again would highly recommend this book to any married woman or those who plan to become married soon. You can find a copy of Debi’s book here (click on "Biblical Womanhood" on the left side of the page) or from the Pearls here. I have a hard time keeping a copy for myself, I am always giving my books away! :-)

One more note on the Pearls. You can sign up at their website to receive a free newsletter bi-monthly. It is full of encouraging and helpful articles on a wide variety of topics. Anyone with children and a heart to listen to wise counsel will enjoy their publication.

Carrot Pizza?!

n Last night we had pizza for supper. Whole wheat pizza with cheese, greens and, (this may sound weird but it was good), shredded carrots. I have been making it with onions too, but I was out of onions. It is really easy and delicious. Crust, sauce and toppings with no pans to clean up! Better than a one dish meal! :-)

To make it even simpler, last night I used one of my frozen crusts. Homemade frozen crust, I should say. :-) Last time I made pizza crust, I made a double batch and froze 2 crusts. It was so easy to pull the crust out of the freezer a few hours ahead of time and then prepare the toppings.

Now, some may be thinking, “Whole wheat? I’ve tried that and didn’t like it.” So have I. But I have found a type of wheat that makes great baked goods and tastes wonderful. It is called ‘Prairie Gold.’ It comes from Wheat Montana Farms. It is a white wheat that is high in protein. It does very well it just about anything. I have used it in bread, rolls, biscuits, pancakes, muffins, etc. I have marveled at how it makes whole wheat bread. I have had to wonder, is this really 100% whole wheat bread?! I know it is since I made it myself, but it just seems to good to be whole wheat.

MDA

I am scheduled to go to MDA again in April. This time I was able to move my appointments closer together to each other. I will have my tests done the 4th and then see my doctor on the 5th. That will be much easier! I am planning to go down by myself again, but will only have to spend one night in Houston, compared to 3 nights. That will be much easier! I have purchased tickets to fly down and back, so that will cut my travel time down even more.

BTW, health wise I feel like I am doing really well. I have plenty of energy and have a fine crop of hair now. :-) LOL! I have noticed some effects of the chemo, but they seem to be fading as time passes. I just praise the Lord for His kindness and mercy to me.

I would appreciate prayer for the test results and for my trip. And thank you all for your prayers. Without prayer I would not be here today.

Farm Life

More Babies
This has been an interesting and fun week! Our goats now have had 8 kids. We have two sets of twins, one set of triplets, and one only child. They are just the cutest. We are bottle-feeding them all. I carry 8 bottles of milk out 3 times a day. It is a big circus trying to get everyone fed. I’m sure it looks ridiculous! :-) So far, we have Cappuccino and Blanc, Joan, Jill, and Josie, Mystery, and Phlox and her brother. (He is waiting on his name!) Amazingly, we have 6 does and 2 bucks. :-)

Milk
We have milk running out our ears now! We are getting about 4 gallons of milk a day now. One of our goats is giving almost 2 gallons a day. We should have plenty of milk now! I am looking forward to cheese, mostly soft cheese, kefir, and goat butter.

Spring!
The weather has been so nice here lately! Spring is finally here and we are happy to see it. The oak trees are tassling out and putting leaves on. The butterflies are flittering everywhere. The grass is greening up and fruit trees are blooming. The kids are overjoyed that they can forget their coats and shoes and just head out the door. I am really enjoying all of this. Ijust love my life here on the farm!

Babies!

Hello! I am still here, I just have not been blogging!

Goaties!
The latest news on the farm has been the addition of new baby goats! Our "ladies" are having kids, the cutest babies in Texas! We had twins born on March 8. This morning I got out of the shower and kept hearing a kid close to the house and I knew that it didn't sound like on of the kids we already had. Sure enough, we had a new little doe this morning.

We are bottle feeding them so that they will be easier to wean. This does mean more work now, though. :-) Now they all think we are their mothers. "Maaa, maaa, maaa," we hear as soon a we get near them.

As you might imagine, our people kids love the goat kids. :-) They enjoy feeding and playing with them. There are limits, however.

After the first kids were born, we all out in the pen feeding and petting them. I was explaining to one of the goat kids that I didn't mind being it's mother, too. Jakin just frowned and me and made a negative sound. The goat was close to me and I was petting it. Next thing I knew, Jakin was in my lap, and wanting me to agree that I was his mama, not the goat's mama. :-) It was hilarious, but not to Jakin. :-)

Home, Happy and Busy

Hello all! I finally scheduled at time to post an update in blogland. :-)

MDA
As expected, the results of all my tests came back good. That was good news to hear, although I did expect it. My stay in Houston was, however, a bit long to me. I didn't like being away from David and the kids that long. They made it, but didn't really like it either. I am hoping to find a way to shorten the time I have to be down there.

My doctor told me that I need to come back again in 3 months one more time, and then I will need to come every 4 months for the next year.

I will post again later!

Happy New Year!

Hello everyone and a happy and blessed 2007 to you all.
I know, there is a lot to catch up on on here. I will just type as much as I can right now.

MDA
I am at MDA again for testing. So far I have done my PET scan and lab work. I am waiting to get my drink for the CT scan. I haven't decided what flavors to get. None of them are good. They are all white and about the constistancy of thick paint. They have flavors that try to make your tongue think that what you are swallowing is food. "Try" is the word. Berry, orange, banana, and apple are the flavors. All are horrible. I have started a good joke with them, though. I start by asking the nurse for the chocolate flavor. There are varying responses to my request. Some laugh and assure me there is no such flavor. Some nearly bark out the flavors that are availible. All are fun to harras. But the best is yet to come. I then head to the waiting room to begin the process of trying to get down as much of the first glass as possible. I sit down with a self-satisfied smile among other drinkers. As is the normal custom, I am asked by someone in the group what flavor I chose. (Keep in mind that none are satisfied with their choice and are wishing they could trade after the first sip.) After I smile and act very pleased I answer loud enough for several to hear.

"I got chocolate!" :-)

Some laugh right away, some think I may be serious. The best time to give out this information is when a nurse is present, handing a refill to a patient that has had plenty of the discusting drink. It is awful, I guess, but it is so much fun. The poor nurse has to beat a hasty retreat after all the other patients harass her with requests for the non-exisistent chocolate flavor.

It is no fun to drink that stuff, much less go through the test. I figure the best thing I can do is laugh about it, and help someone else laugh, too. I have seen that the way people handle things can really help other people to handle their trials better. Even if it is just a few cups of bariurm.

Merry Christmas!
We had a good Christmas season. A bit busy but peaceful. We had a good time at Ma and Pa's on Christmas Day- along with Cathy, Richard and Rachel,-eating, opening presents and playing games. It was so good to be in our new house for Christmas.

We had a good visit with Emily, Patrick, Emmett and Joshua after Christmas. Lots of silly stuff, lots of fun stuff. We made butter, cooked pancakes, played with make-up, played Balderdash and the Files card game, laughed and goofed around, had a big slumber party, and ended it all with a big pillow fight in the living room. Fun? Oh, Yeah! :-) Love you guys!