Thursday, December 31, 2009

Jungle Jammies

I had about a yard of flannel  left over from making The Biscuit's quilt. So I decided to make The Little Man some jammie pants.


Jammie pants are one of the easiest things to sew. Even if you don't sew much, you can whip these puppies out in a few hours. Just find a "Simplicity" pattern in the size you need.


These came out so cute that I want to make some for the whole family. I even found a coupon for 50% off ~~woo hoo~~


So the next time I drag myself into town I'm hoping to buy enough to outfit the whole fam. And I will definitely take pics!


But for now: The Little Man and his Jungle Jammies



 



Isn't he just the cutest?


Blessings.

Friday, December 25, 2009

Merry Christmas

Happy Christmas to all & to all a good night.



 


For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 


Isa 9:6


Blessings.


Monday, December 21, 2009

Count Your Blessings

It's that time of year.


House fires.


My friend became a statistic yesterday. Her home burned to the ground in a fire started by Christmas tree lights.


Her husband left early in the morning for work & everything was fine. They were just getting up, about 7, when they noticed the fire. It started in the living room & the 3 year was asleep on the couch. My friend ran in, grabbed him, ran back down the hall & shoved everybody out a window. In just that time the whole house was in flames.


They have 6 children but the 2 oldest boys weren't home. She had her 16 yr old, 9 yr old, 3 yr old & 8 mth baby.


Praise God they got out. They even got their dogs. They lost everything else.


They didn't have shoes or coats.


Our community has already rallied around them. They have been given clothes, shoes, food & cash.


She said the flames were still burning & people were making calls to find them clothes.


Two local farmers have offered them housing until they can rebuild.


God shows himself in such amazing ways.


This just hit so close to home for me. A house fire is one of my biggest fears


Would I be able to get everyone out?


What would we do? Where would we go?


Such frightening thoughts. But the truth is, we are totally dependant on God. He will see us through. He is our rock & our salvation.


Praise him for his kindness & mercy.


I am praising Him today  so thankful that they all are safe & sound.


Blessings.

Friday, December 18, 2009

Christmas Projects

Yesterday we finally went shopping for the fabric to make The Biscuits quilt. It is going to be his Christmas present.


I went into the shop with an idea of what I wanted. I had the panel for the center & needed to find co-ordinating fabric to finish the top & something for the back.


I was thinking real traditional. Maybe green & brown gingham. Maybe a little cow print. I even had some in my cart. Then....


We found these great jungle prints & the cutest flannel with jungle animals on it. So my traditional quilt went out the window & this what I finished up this morning.



 


Close up of the panel



The back piece



 


 


What do you think? I am pleased. It is totally different than I had planned but I like the jungle theme.


And to go with our jungle theme, here are the hats & scarves I made for The Biscuit & The Little Man




These were so easy. And a total after-thought. The Little Man liked this fabric so I bought 1/2 a yard thinking I could make him a scarf. The scarves are no-sew. You just cut them out of fleece. I still had a good sized piece of fabric left so I started brain storming. I dug thru the kids stuff & found a fleece hat with the fringes & figured out how they made it. It was just panels sewn together with the fringed top & they just gathered it together at the top with a loop of fleece. Duh. I can do that. So I did. Out of 1/2 yard ($2.49) I got 2 scarves & 2 hats which I have put away for Christmas.


Altogether they may have taken 10 minutes total. Love, love, love when the Lord gives me inspiration! My daughter & I are thinking of sneaking back to the fabric store & buying more fleece to make a scarf & hat for each of the older boys & a scarf for Dad. (He's not a big hat fella)


Although going to the fabric store is always dangerous. You never know what projects I can think up while staring down all those racks of calico...


Blessings.


Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Dog Sled

The Little Man came up with this all by himself. He got the "sled", he got the rope & he "hitched" her up. He just needed a little help to entice her to go .


I love my boys.



Blessings.

Friday, December 11, 2009

Thursday, December 10, 2009

Gingerbread Village

We made a gingerbread village yesterday.


Yes, I cheated. In the interest of sanity I bought a "kit". We just, assembled, frosted & decorated.


Everyone made their own (except The Biscuit ) & we had fun doing it.


It is one of our Christmas traditions & I have to admit it gets more enjoyable as the kids get older .


So, without further ado: Our gingerbread village







Blessings.

Sunday, December 6, 2009

Bake Sale

Our church is raising money to drill a well in Africa.


We have a missionary family in Zambia who is collecting funds to drill wells for villages.


Most people in this country take clean water for granted but it is a luxury many people do not have.


It takes $2500 dollars to drill a well that will provide water for 20 families.


So today we had a Bake Sale. All of the Sunday School children brought goodies & during our 'coffee hour' (between Sunday School & Church) we held our sale.


We sold out of every thing. At the end of the day there were 2 cupcakes & a couple pieces of fudge left. Everything else was gone.


We made over $100! Woo Hoo. That is 1/15 of a well.


Not bad for a small, rural church in 1 day.


And it was fun, too!


Blessings.

Friday, December 4, 2009

Burnin' down the house

I woke up at 5 am this morning to my house full of smoke (and NO my smoke alarm did NOT go off )


I stumbled down the hall, fully expecting to find the living room ablaze, but all the smoke was coming from the kitchen.


There was black, acrid smoke pouring out from the pot on the stove.


I turned off the burner & pulled off the lid. The contents were black & smoking.


By this time my 13 yr old had come out to help. He turned on the ceiling fan in the living room.


I took the whole pot outside & set it on the walkway.


We opened the windows in the kitchen & double checked everything.


Then we retreated to the least smokey bedroom and shut the door.


The Little Man slept thru the whole thing. My daughter had The Biscuit & was trying to shield him from the smoke.


I never did get back to sleep.


What did I burn you ask?


The canner pot full of turkey broth. I had been cooking it down for the last few days. Last night before bed I filled the pot again & set on the stove on low.


I know it was on low & I double checked before bed. It was still on low when I turned off the burner.


So I am a little freaked out because the burner (electric stove) must be malfunctioning & I can't help but do the "what if?"  thing.


What if we hadn't been home?


What if I hadn't woken up?


What if? What if?


My throat hurts from all the smoke. My house stinks.


I am so amazingly thankful for the Lord's protection.


And the fact that we are safe & still have a roof over heads on this 12* morning.


Blessings.

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Limited Edition

Today we drove down to California to pick up this


Limited Edition. (Edie to her friends )


A 16 year old, registered Haflinger mare. And my new horse!!!


She rides. She drives. She is gorgeous, gentle & friendly.


The children can all ride her.


She can pull my wagon.


I am so stinkin' excited I can hardly stand it .


My husband is THE BEST.



 


Blessings.

Sunday, November 29, 2009

Another quilt giveaway!

The folks over at   mariemadelinestudio.com are having another quilt give away! They have 2 beautiful quilts up for grabs. Check it out!


Blessings.

Saturday, November 28, 2009

New Trailer


We finally bought a trailer! It is an older 2 horse. We have been trailer-less for quite some time now & we finally decided to do something about it.


It is just too hard to live the farm life & not have a trailer. Every time you want or need to do something you have to arrange to borrow a trailer or get some body to do the hauling for you. It's annoying, time consuming & makes you feel like a pest.


We have had our eyes on a super nice, aluminum stock trailer but we would have to make payments on it. Right now, we don't want to be making payments.


So we found this little trailer, in real good shape & made a good deal on it. No payments!


Now we can haul goats, pigs, cows, horses or whatever and not have to worry about it.


We are getting the light hook ups & a brake box put on the Suburban on Monday.


And then we should be using it to bring home our newest farm member.....(to be continued)


Blessings.

Thursday, November 26, 2009

Not for the faint of heart...

So you want to know about farm life?


Which part? The happy, fun, greeting card picture part?


Or the part that sucks? Because today it sucks. Sorry if you don't like that word but it suits.


Our sweet, cute, adorable, fuzzy little baby rabbits pushed their way out through the feeder slot in their cage today. They were loose in the barn and our cats ate them.


My children went out to do chores and found bunny carnage.


I just got to spend 10 minutes picking up fuzzy little bunny corpses & shoveling various internal organs into an old feed bag.


And then I got to come in and explain what happened to my 3 year old.


I just want to cry.


Farm life is not for the faint of heart. Sometimes it's just not for anybody.


Sometimes it just plain sucks.


Happy Thanksgiving.

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Selenium. The wonder mineral?

Selenium. An amazing trace mineral that is so important to your health.


Last night, I was reading the Fall 2009 Beeyoutiful Catalog (if I weren't a moron I would give you a link but I am so I can't). In it is a very informative article about selenium.


Selenium is a trace mineral that is present in the soil. Some areas have abundant selenium but most do not. I have been familiar with selenium & it's importance for many years.


My husband works in agriculture nutrition & selenium is huge factor in livestock health. I have seen it used in ways that border on miraculous. Think I am exagerating?


White muscle disease is a condition that strikes animals who are deficient in selenium. One of it's attributes is rubbery, curved legs in newborn animals. The legs are reduced to useless, the animal is crippled, unable to stand & would not survive without treatment. An injection of BOSE, the trade name of a selenium/vitamin E combo, will reverse the damage in a matter of hours.


I have witnessed this myself. A few years ago we had a set of twin kids affected by white muscle disease. The beautiful, large buck was affected the worst. He was unable to stand or nurse. His legs were curved & useless. A few short hours after a shot of BOSE he was up & running around & perfect! It was amazing.


While most humans do not suffer from white muscle disease, selenium is just as important to our health. Selenium protects us against several types of cancer, builds a stronger immune system, provides anit-oxidant protection & much more.


But the really cool thing I learned last night has to deal with  the flu. Everybody is talking about, reading about, freaking out about the flu right now. The media has everyone whipped into a frenzy over H1N1. People with selenium deficiency are more likely to experience severe lung damage & more severe cases of flu. Areas of the world that are known to be deficient in selenium, such as China, suffer from some of the worst flu epidemics.


Severe lung complications are what cause many flu related deaths; the flu outbreak in WW1, the Avain flu, SARS & H1N1 included.


Adequate selenium protects against the process that is responsible for this lung damage & helps a body have a milder case of flu when infected.


Does this surprise you? Wouldn't you think that the medical profession & the media would be blasting this info everywhere? Giving people the chance to protect themselves & their families? I have my own theories as to why they have not, but I won't go into them here.


But I want to give you the opportunity to protect yourself & your family. Research this. Go to Beeyoutiful.com. Go to WellTellMe.com. Google.


Check this out!


If you decide to supplement with selenium it is important to get a type that your body can actually metabolize. It is important to combine it with Vit E which aids your bodies ability to use it.  Beeyoutiful sells a great selenium supplement. We take one called Sel-Plex from Alltech. I don't know where to buy it though, as my husband gets it directly from their rep. But you could check out their website.


We have taken a selenium supplement for years because my husband has seen the dramatic effects it has on livestock. If ranchers are smart enough to give it to their cows shouldn't we be smart enough to give it to ourselves?


Our entire family had the flu a few months ago. It was miserable & painful & nasty but we were all over it in a few days. With no lingering complications. Did selenium help us? Can't prove it but I know it didn't hurt.


Research this mineral. Getcha some.


Blessings.

Saturday, November 14, 2009

EEEEEEeeek! Skuuuuuuuuuunk!

Okay. So. Last night, my son's dog managed to get skunked. We weren't sure how but she stunk!


FYI: Hydrogen peroxide, baking soda & dish soap will take out the skunk smell.


Fast forward to this afternoon: I went out to the hen house. Checked the water, filled the feeders & collected a couple eggs. In the corner of the coop is a piece of tin that the hens like to lay behind. I reached over & pulled it back to look for eggs.


2 beady little black eyes stared into mine. Oh cr*p!!!!!!!!!!


I ran out of the coop, um, hollering, & yelled to my husband


"There is a SKUNK in the hen house!"


"Now?" he asks. "NOW!"


He grabbed the .22 & made quick work of the interloper. The air was thick with eau de skunk but thankfully nobody got sprayed.


And it only took an hour or so for my heart to start beating again .


Other than that it was a really good day.


We bought a horse trailer. An older Miley 2 horse. It should work well for us to haul everybody.


To celebrate we had lunch in town at Winger's & everybody watched the football game (OSU Beavers).


For dessert we got Pumpkin Pie shakes at Jack-in-the-Box. Yummy.


Now for a relaxing, skunk-free evening at home.


Blessings.



(watching the game at lunch)

Saturday, November 7, 2009

13th Birthday

Today is the day. My second born is 13 today. Wow! Where does the time go?


How do they go from this




To this



 


Before your very eyes?


He is my hardest worker. My most wanting-to-please. My outdoorsmen. My hunter. My butcherer. The best big brother. He can knock out a 300 page book in a day. Just for fun. My homebody (he hates going to town). He has his own signature dish -- buttermilk bicuits. He doesn't even flinch while getting stitches. He can shoot a gun. A bow. Throw knives. Light a fire with a flint & steel.


He's awesome. And he's mine.


So, you may ask, what does a young man like this want for his birthday? His passage into teendom.


You'll never guess.



 



 


Meet Samson. Or as my husband calls him: Buck Rogers.


I love my kids.


Blessings.

Sunday, November 1, 2009

The Pumphouse

We are blessed to have multiple out buildings on our tiny farm. One of the most useful is our pumphouse. We don't have a garage so we use the pumphouse for all of our storage needs. It is about 10ft by 20 ft.


Over the last 3 years, it went from storage building to disaster area.  I would do quick cleans & try to make it at least navigable, but, it was a losing battle.


So, since I'm currently not pregnant & The Biscuit can survive without me for a few hours~~it was time.


I set the date for Operation Pumphouse.


My husband & I started in around 9:30 Saturday morning. The first order of business was to pull everything out!


We had the truck right there for Goodwill items, a trash can outside the door & the burn pile within throwing distance. We meant business.


It took us until 4 p.m but we achieved total surrender.


The back of the pick up is FULL of junk lovely items to be donated. The burn pile is a good 5 feet high. And the pumphouse....aahhh, a joy to behold. Acres of space. Everything neatly on the shelves. The floor is dust & debris free. No more mice/frog pooh on everything <<blech>>.


We even emptied a new section of the shelves to be used as food storage. ~~insert happy dance~~


I am soooo glad to have that done. That is a big one to cross off of the 'do-to' list.


Now we just have the kennel, the puppy room, the shop, the garden to put 'to bed'....sigh....it never ends


And for your  viewing pleasure & those of you who are just weird enough to WANT to see inside other peoples storage buildings (and you know who you are) TA DA!



Front.



Side.



Look at all the empty space! (that is the well to the immediate right & our 2 upright freezers in the back. The shelves & food storage are to the left.)


And here is our brand new empty section for food & sundry storage. You can see some of our food stash on the left behind my daughter (she was sweeping ) The space between the floor & the bottom shelves is just right for 5 gallon buckets. How cool is that?


So now you know "the rest of the story".


Blessings.

Sunday, October 25, 2009

Fiesta!

We just finished a 2 week study on Mexico & we wrapped it up with a fiesta. The kids made tortillas (from scratch) & we piled them with meat, cheese, beans, salsa & quacamole.


We also made pinatas & smashed them to bits to get to the candy .


So far we are loving "My Fathers World" curriculum. It's off to Canada next, eh?



 





 


Blessings.

My life...

...as a pack animal...



 


Blessings.

Finally!

Five years after we should have replaced it. Two years after we needed to replace it. We finally replaced our roof! Woo hoo!


It took my husband and me 3 1/2 days, 38 bundles of shingles & umpteen nails but we are now done. Praise the Lord! No injuries, no major breakdowns & no screaming fests . It really went much smoother than I had hoped for. And faster too! If you ever have to roof use a nail gun. Beg, borrow or steal it if you have too. It makes it go so much faster. We were blessed to be able to borrow one from a friend & my FIL loaned us an air compressor. So wonderful!


The new roof looks great. Our only concern is the weather has not been very warm & it takes warmth to make the shingles seal. So we are praying for sunshine or for 6 inches of snow to dump on it & stay there until summer.  Gotta hold those shingles down one way or another.


The happy couple...



 


Birds eye view...


 


Our cheerful "go-fer" girl  (occupying her time between errands with  the latest American Girl catalog)



 


Day one's progress



 


And the finished project


 



 


Some of you may have noticed no pictures of the boys... Well, 2 of them are much too little for roofing and as for the big one...he's not too fond of heights. So he chose to be the babysitter for this project .


Blessings.