A Morning To Remember...

We decided to go strawberry picking this morning. On our way we had an errand to do. We decided to take advantage of the opportunity. What fun we had eating fresh donuts with our fresh milk we brought along. The seagulls came so close to us hoping for a bit of a treat. We saw two bald eagles across the bay - they were beautiful!

After breakfast at the bay we headed to the strawberry picking patch...but the u-pick was closed. We were disappointed but still purchased three flats of berries to make jam and freeze...and of course to snack on.

All that sugar makes for a wonderful nap. I love sleeping pictures - they are so sweet and innocent.

Since we did not get to pick berries...my little buttons decided to pick from our own berry patch.

Sweet Little Birds...

Aren't they funny looking! They remind us of clowns with big wide grins painted on.

This nest has been with us since we painted our house a few years ago. Every year we get the pleasure of watching the parents feed and clean the nest and the little birdies chirp chirp chirp - It is the most wonderful thing about the beginning of summer!

All About A Knight...

Well, this has been a big week for our knight. He lost his first tooth last week and just last night he lost the one next to it...his grin is priceless!

My knight loves bugs, bees, worms, spiders...and this snake he found was a real treasure!

Our Favorite Spot in Summer

Oh, the memories this place has given our family...good memories...memories to carry us through the winter blues...

It was very cold and windy in the morning but as you can see the children didn't care about that. The sun did finally arrive after lunch - we all came home with a bit too much sun.

One interesting thing that happened was while I was "sunning" I heard a buzzing sound that got louder and louder. I looked up in the trees and there was a huge swarm of bees rising out of the trees. The swarm crossed over the beach part of the lake and to the set of trees opposite of where we were at...it was very interesting to see them actually move out of one place and move into another.

Something to ponder....

A friend of ours told us this very thought provoking story...

This took place recently...an acquaintance of his went over to China on a business trip. He had smuggled in Bibles and while he was checking into the hotel the suitcase with the Bibles was stolen.

Days later a small Chinese man came up to him asking him to please come with him...He felt that the Lord wanted him to follow this man so he did...through tunnels, back streets, more tunnels and such.

Where they ended up will break your heart...they ended up in a building with stacks of Bible COVERS...did you get that - the covers only...they take any Bible they get, take the cover off, take out the different books and distribute them to different underground groups to share and pass along...as I write this I can think of at least 20 different Bibles in our home...each of us has several Bibles...sometimes we don't even have the "time" to read the Bible on a daily basis...shame shame shame....

So the little Chinese man asked him to come and share at an underground meeting...after he was done sharing the whole group was weeping...when he asked why they were weeping this is what they said "We weep for our brothers and sisters in Christ who live in America...for them to know Jesus the way we know Jesus"...

I was truly convicted of my "lazy" attitude of the word...taking for granted that I can read it any time I want...and go to any chapter I want...and that I have the whole word not just a part.

These people in China only have a few chapters of God's word and they are weeping for US...what have we missed...why have packaged and sanitized the life changing truth and now are in jeopardy of missing all that God has for us...

Are you complacent? Are you reading God's word every day? Don't put it off any longer...go get your Bible and soak in His word...it is good!

My prayer is that the Lord stirs your heart to really know him...get on your face before the Lord...weep and let Him do a work in you...

In Reverent Fear trusting in His way and Worshiping Him...
Keeper

It has finally happened....

It's official...Cowboy is taller than Keeper...he's thrilled! Not by much but he is taller and struts his stuff...so to keep him humble here is a reminder that he is still a shorty....

Jammin' with the children...

I love making jam! It's always a memory making event. This year I made fresh bread to go with the warm jam that didn't "fit" into a jar.

Such a Guy...

Someday a young woman will come along and capture this wonderful young man's heart...she will be blessed as he is very tentative and caring. I will buy her lots of vases as she will be surprised daily with fresh flowers.

I love it that he brings me flowers everyday...he has trained his brothers and sister do follow his example and so it is often that I get four bouquets in one day - am I spoiled or what!

Here is a funny picture I found while sorting through things. This is our "cow" boy at around 5 years old with the robot costume his father and I made from old boxes and some other things...this was his favorite Christmas present this year.

Memories...such a good thing to have.

Beautiful

My daughter came dancing in with much excitement...she had found the biggest and most beautiful moth we've ever seen.

We decided to pin it and save it for her unusual bug collection we started sometime ago...I think this will be number six to add to the collection.

Thanks for stopping by...

Fun In The Sun...

We had a delightfully fun day yesterday! It was "home school" day at the water park near our house. The price was 1/3 of what it would normally be so we took advantage of that.

We have very fond memories of this place as a few summers ago we did the great "summer pass" and spent the whole summer - rain or shine at the water park...and enjoyed every moment!

The only thing I had an issue with is the fact that the web-site where we got our discounted tickets said, "home school day pass". Well that lead me to believe that it would be a day dedicated to home schoolers...boy was I wrong! Bus after bus arrived...and along with it arrived all the arrogance, scantly dressed, very inconsiderate youth that the public schools have produced...our future workers, our future care takers, our future leaders - if you think our country is headed down destruction now just wait till these youth are handed the responsibility of being parents, leaders, teachers...etc...it was a scary eye opener at our societies youth and it was not pleasant in the least bit....very narcissistic for sure. What are we to do? Pray and speak up about the truth...tell them about Jesus before it is too late...

We did have a wonderful time and my children enjoyed themselves more than I thought possible. We all got too much sun and have red noses, we were all dehydrated, we were all hungry and tired...all the signs of a great day in the sun! We ended our day at Dairy Queen.

One of the best things about yesterday is the family we went with has an autistic 11 year old child and we have been praying for his healing. We were both amazed at the progress this young man is making - it was as if we were around a very different boy! We are so happy for the parents as they know they are getting their son back and it's been since he was 2 years old. It's been a lot of hard determination on their part but it has all been worth it.

P.S. - I did not bring my camera on purpose...and after we saw what got off the buses you are glad I didn't take my camera either.

Thank you for stopping by...have a wonderful day!

The Lord Knew...

For years now I've longed for the day I could surprise my husband and daughter with admission to the Christian Heritage Father and Daughter retreats. I've thought about how I could raise the money to send the two of them off to this event, which is usually out of state...but alas the events came and went with me no closer to what I thought would be ideal for them!

The Lord always knows what we need and this is what he did for me...he took our precarious situation and turned it into exactly what I have always wanted...a father and daughter retreat!

You see they are at a friends place working, gardening, plowing and building, side by side and they are bonding in ways I can't even imagine. They both sound happy and joyful and are having the time of their life...together at their own private father/daughter retreat.

Now this isn't what "I" had in mind but it is exactly what was "needed"...what can I learn from this - that I need to continue to present my plans/ideas/thoughts to the Lord and see how he will work them out - realizing it may not be what I had envisioned but it is exactly what I need!

So here is my daughter...wearing camouflage(which I don't really like and wish it was pink...but she needed it to keep from burning and so once again it wasn't what I had in mind but was exactly what was needed) and dirty(see the smudge on her button nose) from all the gardening in the hot sun...and happy, happy, happily learning what it means to be a help "meet" for her daddy so that someday she will be a blessed help "meet" for her beloved husband!

Your Thoughts Please

Hello All! I have a wild idea running around...but would like some input from all of you!

Here is my idea: For the benefit of "copy work" and spelling and vocabulary and ONLY as a supplement and not the replacement of actually spelling and vocabulary work I was going to require the children to copy one-two words from the dictionary every day of school.

Now we are about to jump into our summer schedule so this would be a nice "keeping fresh" exercise.

I do want to know what your opinion is. I will gather the opinions and then ponder and pray about this as I truly want the best for my children.

Hugs to all,
Keeper

Another Abe wanna-be? Regimentals?

Just look at that! I do not like this newest facial hair of my husband...he keeps teasing me about now being able to get his regimentals - very funny! This will only be funny to those of you who have watched the AE Pride and Prejudice..not the newest hollyweird re-make!

P.S. After much pleading it's now back to short shaven!

A thought that I've been dwelling on this week...I read a very interesting scripture that I didn't know as in the Bible...Hebrews 13:4...Marriage is honorable among all... This has been on my mind heavily this week. I've also decided to re-read a powerful book "Created to Be His Help Meet" by the Pearls at NGJ ministries.

Honor...Love...Cherish...these are all words I feel I need to re-visit and do better towards my husband.

How is your marriage? Ours is beautiful, but only because we both are seeking to do the Lord's will.

That's all for now...

Hugs

Curds and Whey...

This will give you a great mental picture of "Little Miss Muffet Sat on Her Tuffet Eating Her Curds and Whey..."

What a learning experience we have been on. This will be cottage cheese - which is superior to anything you can buy at the store and very easy (but time consuming) to make!

In the prairie days they would just leave raw milk in a warm place for several days. As you can see we wrapped our pot...nice pink towel huh! Because of the bacteria present in the unpasteurized milk...remember not all bacteria are bad and if there is any harmful bacteria in the raw milk there is also bacteria that counters it so it is safer than anything you can get at the store...(The Untold Milk Story is an informative book and well worth the read.)

The bacteria will turn into soft, white curd. Then I sliced it in 1/4 inch strips to make squares and set on stove and slowly rose the temp stirring gently till it reached 100. Now I left the curds for several hours at 100 and then let them settle for 5 minutes. The next thing I did was to ladle them into a cheesecloth lined colander and drained them for about 45 min. Then I added salt and...wonderful, flavorful cottage cheese!

You can use store bought milk - but why? The process is a lot more involved and uses some chemicals and a culture...If you want to try it you could order the book Home Cheese Making.

Thanks for stopping by.

A Land Flowing with Milk and Honey...

So this is a glimpse of what a land flowing with milk and honey might be.

Because it is spring we are receiving, every day, at least 4-6 gallons of milk. We are making lots of keifer, yogurts, cheese, butter as when spring grass is gone milk production will go down as well.

We also harvested our honey this past week and got 7 gallons from three hives! It tastes wonderful - I've never had anything quite like fresh honey.

Thanks for stopping by - until next post God Bless.

A Big Day...Daddy-O's Birthday!

This great guy turned 43 today...We had ham from our recent slaughter of our pig and milk and our first farmhouse cheddar from our milk - it was interesting!

We didn't have cake as he requested sugar cookies.

Determination

If any of you are so priveledged to know my husband than you are aquainted with his determined spirit...some of you are laughing at this as you might recall the many times you were caught up in a project with him and he was determined to get it done...clearing brush...fixing a roof or getting a room re-done...but at least you got it done in record time....

Determination is a quality not many men possess. Why is that? What has happened to our country, society, families and the list can go on and on....

Our three boys have shown much determination this past week and we are so proud of them!

Last week our oldest accomplished a 100% on his science test. This is a huge accomplishment as this science is a very in-depth curriculum that requires determination and drive to master it! He was rewarded with ice-cream. Some may think that rewarding for a good grade is not necessary but if you knew the struggles and frustration he has gone through you might have joined us in our ice-cream celebration. It was wonderful that he was able to prove to himself that with determination you can accomplish great things!

Just today our "knight" was determined to learn to ride his bike with out training wheels...it took him all of 15 minutes to master it and then he was off down the driveway at record speed! I think he fell once but got back up and kept on going...

And last is our little guy who has accomplished a task that I'm so thankful for...going potty with out being told or taken...this took determination on mine and his part for the past weeks and now he just goes - I'm so thankful for this!

Hope you enjoyed the update! Hugs to all.

Tea for Two

This past weekend our men had a trip to make that would keep them gone most of the day so I decided to make it special for my maiden and I. I'm so glad I forced my self to take a two hour break from "doing" and just be still with my maiden!

We had a tea party and I really actually did not move off of the blanket for two hours. It was delightful. We braided our hair, collected our tea cups and molasses cookies and headed out to the field. We also brought along some books. We talked of all kinds of things. I even think we both fell asleep for a little snooze in the warm sun. This day will be a cherished memory for both of us.

Sweet

Here is a lovely picture of our maiden growing up in our house...enjoy! These are wild lilies that grow around "our" woods...and these flowers, I was told, will be in maiden's wedding someday!

eeeeeekkkkkkkk! Big boys love to tease their mommies....

And this is what my oldest son presented me with...as I opened my door this is what greeted me. I might add that this was being held where my face would be - nice!

Ahhh...little boys love their mommy forever....

Look at what I was presented with today...flowers from my knight!

I love Spring time for this very reason...flowers for children to pick their mothers and anyone else who finds favor with them...

At one time in my life, before precious children, I found these "flowers" pesky weeds and now every time I see one of them I smile as I relish each time one of my children so happily and proudly brought me "flowers"....I will cherish this always!

Happy Easter

The sun was glorious streaming down our property this evening. Hubby and I took a mini walk and took some great pictures and thought you would all enjoy this one.

This is our favorite "Jersey Girl". Her name is Ruthie. She provided the cream that went with our peaches for Easter and we were so thankful.

cheese....

Standing by the cheese press which is used for making hard cheeses.

Turning the cheese and wrapping it back up in butter muslin.

Keifer cheese draining for 24 hours...tangy taste!

Well our lifestyle has taken us down yet another path...learning the art of making cheese! It is quite a process but so far what we've made has been worth it. We've made keifer cheese, mozzarella, ricotta and our latest, as you can see, is farmhouse cheddar. We won't actually get to try the cheddar for one month as it has to cure.

Potatoes are not all brown...

Here is a picture of our favorite potatoes - the "cranberry" and "blue". They both have a wonderful smooth texture and deep flavor! Here I'm getting them ready for baked potato soup. I love using all of our different colors of potatoes for roasting with olive oil as it makes a beautiful presentation...

Music to my ears...maybe not yours...and some other things to see...

So my older son took it upon himself to learn the basics of the guitar. He also decided that someday he would like to have "students" and a studio someday! (we know someone who is very important to my oldest son and this person does this for his living - and is very passionate about it...and shared with my son that he was self taught...and as they say - the rest is history...)
Here is my son with his first students, teaching them the very basics and loving it!

We got chicks and turkeys this week. Our knight bought six chicks with his savings and is learning how to be a good farmer.

Our children think baby chicks and turkeys are such fun and so cute! Ummm no they are not in our house - they have been moved to the barn - they just brought them in so they could show me and get a picture with them.

Something fun to do... a little cloth diaper/bib set for a baby doll! A dear friend gave my daughter a set for her birthday and she shared the pattern with me also. These are a snap to make and would be a great first sewing project for anyone wanting to learn basic sewing!

Thanks for stopping by - enjoy your day! A little something to consider...we just finished "Raising a Maiden of Virtue" from Vision Forum. I read a chapter a day in the morning to the children emphasizing to the boys the kind of lady they should look for someday and emphasizing the kind of Maiden my daughter should strive to become. I highly recommend this book!

Opsy....

Several of you have asked how my husband is doing. So here is an update about him and his wierd skin thing:

Out of all the doctors, four total, that saw him not one could figure out what he had!!!! They were all boggled and perplexed as to what it might be because it looked like so many things rolled into one...eeek!

We never did go to the dermatologists - personal reasons.

He has scarring and when it gets cold the scars are purple in color...does that mean I have my very own "mood" ring in a way?

He is humorous about it and says all he needs now is age spots to complete his collection...

Thank you for praying. I'm happy to have my husband - spots and all!

Lemon Tea Bread

Many years ago...probably 10...a dear friend of mine made this yummie bread and shared the recipe with me. I have not made it for years and decided to re-visit this recipe - glad I did!

1 2/3 cup flour

3/4 cup sugar

1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

3/4 cup milk

1/4 cup olive oil

1 teaspoon finely ground lemon peel

1 tablespoon lemon juice

2 teaspoons poppy seeds

Lemon Drizzle: 1/2 cup powdered sugar, 1/2 teaspoon shredded lemon peel, 4-6 teaspoons of lemon juice (enough to make drizzling consistency)

1. Grease bread pan

2. Combine flour sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and nutmeg.

3. In another bowl combine egg, milk, oil, lemon peel, lemon juice, poppy seeds.

4. Mix in flour mixture till well mixed

5. Poor into pan back at 350 for 45-50 degrees

6. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes then take out and continue to cool on wire rack.

7. After completely cooled drizzle with lemon drizzle and wait 5 minutes before serving....mmmm

This bread mixed up fast and fills the whole house with a wonderful, fresh smell. When made with half whole wheat and half white flour it is even better!

Enjoy!