Peep...peep...peep...we have arrived...peep

We have seven chicks as of this morning! This is the first time that we did not use an incubator to hatch the chicks...we thought since we are "farmers" - way out here in farm country we should get with the rest of the community and try it the good ole farm way...using a hen of course! What a joy it is to watch the mother hen "hide" her chicks from us. We are really looking forward to watching the mother hen take her little chicks on walks...peep!

Problem Solved

So we have been with out an oven for several months now....I do have an oven but there is a part that we need to get it fixed. We've ordered several parts that we thought were the right one but they weren't so I still am without an oven to bake anything...ho-hum!

One of our favorite treats is cookies...and I love to make them! Our favorite cookie has craisins and white chocolate chips in the mix and boy have we been missing them.

I came up with a solution to our cookie woes...I've been making no-bake cookies and decided that adding a few ingredients would make them similar to the ones we love...they were not exactly the same but good enough to pass the "no cookie left" test!

Here's the recipe if you ever find yourself without an oven or in a hurry....

No Bake Cookies...with added ingredients

2 cups sugar(we use turbinado)

1/2 cup butter(use real butter)

1/2 cup milk

1/4 cup peanut butter

*Cook above ingredients to boil for one minute.

*Add following:

5 TBLS cocoa powder

3 cups oats or wheat flakes

1 cup chopped nuts(we have used almonds or pecans and like pecans the best)

1 cup craisins or raisins

*Stir until consistency is drop-able from a teaspoon

*Add 1 cup white chocolate chips...these will melt so if they are from the freezer they will not melt as much

Drop by teaspoon fulls onto wax paper and cool. Store in airtight container! Enjoy with milk, tea or coffee...

Thanks for stopping by...ta-ta

Garden Update....

Thought that a garden update would be fun for all of you!~

Aren't these humming birds daring...I was so close to them...And my son was even closer! Don't you just love the sound they make?

I looked up from my spot in the garden, I was "thinning the carrots" out and I laughed so much as our little guy had finally discovered the power of a hose...he had so much fun soaking big brother!

No, the carrots are not covered in dirt...they are actually purple carrots! We really like this kind as they are very sweet!

Thanks for stopping by...if you garden then I wish you happy gardening - if you don't then I wish you a happy "farmers market" shopping day!

P.S....the cow picture was taken with Shaina in mind...smile!

Exfoliate...Exfoliate...Exfoliate...

Before I dive into my post for the day I want to send a special message to a really special family whose school year began today....It is our deepest prayer that your lives would be enriched during the school year, that our Lord would give you wisdom and help you to accomplish what is expected of you during this school year, that you would see the Lord's hand in everything you learn. May you just be so blessed this school year...our hats are off to you excellent students and excellent teacher! http://mylifeonataffypull.blogspot.com Click on the link to meet these outstanding students...you will be so inspired and maybe you who do not home school will be encouraged to look into home schooling!

Okay, so times are tough on all of us these days...some tougher financially than others. I was talking with our neighbor and she told me to use used coffee grounds as an exfoliate!!!! I thought she was a bit nutty...but as usual I love the weird and unusual things of life and tried it - it worked like a charm. I began to think huh if it works on my face that well what wonderful things could it do for the rest of me? As most of you know we garden long hours and I have grown to love gardening barefoot...however the dirt doesn't like to leave my feet, but rather gets embedded in my toes and skin...so I tried the coffee grounds and low and behold I had clean feet again...hurrah!

Another use for coffee grounds is scrubbing the pans that you left on the stove all night because you thought you had cleaned everything...and were to tired to really investigate if you had or not...or truth be told discovered it after dishes were done and you had some tea and just wanted to read and thought "oh, bother I'll get it tomorrow". Yes, and by tomorrow morning the food you cooked had become one with the pan. But the coffee grounds did a great job (I really do not like sponges...I used to but became enlightened by a dear friend)...

Don't drink coffee...no problem places like Starbucks and Tully's Coffee who are really big on "green things" and "recycle" will give you their old coffee ground neatly packaged in a "garden compost" bag...

Happy Exfoliating...stay smooth!

Oh, What To Do...What To Do...

Oh, What to do on a hundred degree day? Can't very well stay in our little, sweltering hot, non-air conditioned(miss that so much), box so here is what we did today....

We started the day with family worship and reading the Word....then my dear husband took us out for lunch so I wouldn't have to fix lunch in the hot box....I was so thankful at his thoughtfulness!

I took the picture of the hay bales to show you all what I see every time we go to town...isn't it delightful! I really do love living in the country...just wish our living conditions were "normal"...

We then headed off to a more secluded part of the lake we live near, knowing that our regular spot would be packed and might be hard to keep track of all the children. Just look at the fun we had...it was a great day ending in a fun camp-out for the children!


This made everyone laugh...here little man is working hard on his "shelter"...those of you that know us will understand the "laugh" as we are big on survival and shelter....apparently our littlest has been listening to our conversations in his three years of life...

These huge drift woods made marvelous boats - who needs Walmart for floaters when the Lord provides.

Little man is helping with our neighbors horses...what fun for a youngster his age!

Nightie-night all!!!!!

Great Accompishment..Great Garden..Great Fun

Here is our little man learning the fine art of making chocolate milk....just look at that "I did it" grin! He made chocolate milk for his sister and brother and was so happy to deliver it to them..what a Great Accomplishment!

Enjoying the goodness of fresh chocolate milk...by the way the milk used was less than two hours old...mmmmm nothing beats fresh from the cow milk!

One of the blessings of my husband gardening as much as he does...our daughter has made her very own garden. It's growing wonderfully and she tends it just like her father does...with much care and attention to detail! She is growing beans, melon, tomatoes, peppers, peas, flowers and strawberries...It's a Great Garden!

This is our swimming hole for the summer. It's wonderful and seems to be a "secret"...as it is usually not crowded.

It's really fun when the speed boats whizz by and give us fun waves to splash in...it is a great place to have some much needed great fun!

One thing we, the parents, really like is that we can sit in one spot and see the swimming area and the playground...just with a turn of the head...nice!

A Day In The Life Of Us...

For almost eleven years now we have had some sort of garden. This year our garden is so big that its overwhelming to me. Its pert near an acre of garden...weeds...watering...sun...dirt....and I have been complaining a lot.....we garden most of our days here and the garden isn't just a quick hobby - we all spend several hours pulling weeds and watering - it usually takes us four hours to water only half of the garden....thus I've been really fussing over how much we must spend in this tremendous garden....I have seen my children start to complain and grumble at the garden and realized that I must stop...especially as God's word clearly compares complaining and grumbling to that of practicing witch craft...oh, joy!

So instead of complaining I will list some reasons I love to garden...we are together as a family, we are teaching our children how to grow a garden, we are teaching our children how to work hard, I have a tan, we ate our first pea harvest last night, we will have more than enough produce to share, sell and can...there is my list and here are some pictures for you to enjoy!

Yep, I garden barefoot, shorts and a tank-top....and I get covered in the fine...dusty dirt!

Well, I'm off to go help in the garden...have a wonderful day filled with no complaints! Oh, and if you are wondering we have...carrots, beets, cucumbers, peas, four different kinds of potatoes, tomatoes, squash, melons, peppers, bush beans, string beans, corn, fennel, a few herbs, berries...and flowers!

Happy 4th of July

In celebration of some special friends I copied this picture from her blog...so we'd match!

Happy 4th of July to all! We remember those who signed the Declaration of Independence and helped give us our God given freedom...have you read that incredible document? Do you realize that the signers of the Declaration became "criminals" and most of them were hunted down like dogs and killed on sight...just so you, their Posterity, could be free! I challenge you to read the Declaration and memorize it...understand it! The words are foreign to most but it is interesting to note that the Declaration was written in such a way that the simple farmer could read and comprehend it...how far we have come in our understanding...oh, how far! I haven't memorized it but do read it and read it to my children...little by little so we can understand it and not loose our God given right..."for my people perish for lack of knowledge"....

Our celebration started the evening before as we loaded up and drove down to the "Two Rivers Casino" - oh, horrors a Casino...we actually were warned by some locals to not go to the actual Casino but to park along the mountain side...glad we did as we could hear the drunks all the way up on the cliff that we were on...it was a spectacular event - there were boats in the water and loud and enormous fireworks.

On the 4th we went to go see a jousting contest...hmmm my thoughts are these people who put on the jousting could have included the curious audience better and some of them were ummmm quite rude to my 13 year old son...who really didn't need someone being rude to him on this particular day(I'll explain in a moment)...we went home to milk cows and grab some dinner...then it was off again to the little community park...and I mean little...the park is probably no bigger than a small backyard! There was music...could have done without that...and fun on the one slide and four swings...then finally the booming began...it was beautiful and loud! We did sit with people we have been getting to know over the past year here in our little part of the world...but it was bittersweet to us....

The bitter sweetness....we have some very special and dear friends that we have spent many 4th of July's with...and I really have to think of when we didn't spend a 4th with them...it just seems as though it's always been with them...and the last two years we have not been able to spend with them.

For some reason this year seems to be the hardest...I felt so sad and lonely for my dear friend who has a flair of making holidays so special...she always made fun foods, fun activities and it was such a delight to my eyes to watch our children play and enjoy being around one another! I think my oldest son took it the hardest this year as he really missed his best buddies but thankfully the Lord has kept that relationship open and growing.

They are life-time friends....kinds you don't meet everyday...the kinsd you hold on to and cherish as they are so dear and so rare a find....we miss them so greatly...more than I can express!

So our prayer is that the Lord bring us together for other 4th of July's - don't know how or when...but it will be a joyous re-union for sure and that will be something worth blogging about for sure!

P.S....you can visit our friends blog by clicking on the "My Life On A Taffy Pull" picture to the right - you will enjoy it I know!

Everything is big here...except my living space...

Today's post is just fitting as everything around here just seems to be huge...except my living quarters...this nice bull we are borrowing for a "job" that the A-I guy was unable to complete...if you were curious he's done with his job...isn't he amazing...we named him Major while he is here and if you haven't guessed my husband is just in love with him and feeds him a special treat every morning and evening...

Now look at this HUGE grub! Yes, it's a real live grub! My husband found three of them while he was cutting firewood for winter and of course he had to bring them home to the boys...they were thrilled...and well I had to take some pictures of it to share with all of you! I suppose if you were in the woods and very hungry you could put it on a stick and there you have it...instant hot dog...hmmmm I think I'd be a vegetarian at that point!

This is our favorite cow "Ruthie" she's giving you a hello sniff...she's just a sweetie and we all adore here!