Making it our home while here.....

All about Chickens and their eggs

2012-01-16T17:41:00.006-06:00

We have learned alot while doing this whole homesteading thing. One lesson has been about these little beauties. I wish I could relay to you how much I really like chickens. I love the different varieties, shapes, and sizes. I am really getting interested now in the different shades of color their eggs can be. I am looking at adding Lavendar Orpingtons and Marans to my little flock to get some more color variation in my eggs.
Speaking of eggs.......
I really like it when we are getting eggs. However, for the last 2-3 months we have not been getting a SINGLE egg. I was ready to throw the whole batch out and start with new chickens. Our first problem was that I got a whole new batch of chickens in Nov. 2010. They and my older chickens all started a serious molt in about October. That slowed down egg production. Then came the shorter days and my egg production STOPPED. I wanted to scream. The whole time my husband was telling me it's ok, this is natural but all I could think is I am paying for feed.
We made the decision when we first started with chickens, about 6 years ago, that we would not use an artificial light. We just think that if God wanted them to have a break then we should give them a break. Chickens need 14 hours of daylight to lay.
I tell you though when you hear from other blogs and friends that they are eating farm fresh eggs in December it makes you want to go stand in the coop with a flashlight for a couple of hours. ha ha
But then all of a sudden it's like God flipped a switch in these little beauties and you go out to the coop to see this......

On, Jan. 9th, we got our first egg. I was singing the praises.

The next day we went out and got 4, and then 5, and then 6 and so on and so on. As of today, a week later, we have gotten 44 eggs. I still stand in amazement of the working of the hands of God through His creation on the farm. I am giddy with excitement at the site of this full egg basket. I am also going to try and keep a calendar record of how many eggs the girls lay and when. So that next year, I can reflect and know that it wont be long until my girls start laying.

How could I have ever doubted them?!!

By the way I want to leave a link to my oldest daughter's blog. She amazes me daily and I hope that she can encourage you too.
http://pressingonphil314.blogspot.com/

"He spreads out the northern skies over empty space; he suspends the earth over nothing. He wraps up the waters in his clouds, yet the clouds do not burst under their weight. He covers the face of the full moon, spreading his clouds over it. The pillars of the heavens quake, aghast at his rebuke. By his power he churned up the sea.... By his breath the skies become fair.... And these are but the outer fringe of his works; how faint the whisper we hear of him! How then can we understand the thunder of his power?" Job 26:7-9, 11-14

I am linking this post up to the Barn Hop #45

When and Why did you decide to "homestead"/farm?

2012-01-07T19:34:00.006-06:00

This was the question that was posed to a group that I am in on Facebook. I have quite a long answer, so I decided to blog about it......

My husband and I have been married for almost 22 years. The first 5 were tough. We were so young but we made it through. We were saved by the grace of God when our oldest daughter was about 2. We then proceeded for the next 15 years to live the "American Dream". You know the one where you make more money to buy more stuff. That was us. My husband was a local building contractor and he built the best, most beautiful houses for others and for us. We would build a house, sell it and then build a better one. We always had a nice house, in a nice neighborhood, with the best car in the driveway. Then May of 2004 hit us......

Let me start here by saying that my husband joined the Army at 17 years old in 1986. He served 3 years in Germany and then came home and joined the Ms. Army National Guard. Even though he was making plenty of money he still stayed in the following years, one, because he loved it and two, because he always felt we needed the retirement plan. Well, in 2004 his number was called. We always knew it could happen. He was called up for an 18 month deployment to Iraq. For most that means you go in and tell your employer you'll see them in 18 months and they have to honor that. Not so, for the self employed.

For us this meant he had to hurry to finish the houses he had started and then figure out what to do. We were some of the few families who made more at our real job than we would during deployment. So we ended up selling our really nice house, selling my husbands really nice truck, and down sizing big time. We rented a small house out in the country on 10 acres. All I can say is the bug got a hold of us big time......

While my husband was gone both of us started reading about all of the things we could do with this land. Neither one of us had ever lived in the country. It was freeing in a sense and so peaceful. When he came home from Iraq, we weren't quite sure what we were going to do for a job. He really didn't want to start from scratch in the building trade (it was so tough the first time) and about that time the housing market took a nose dive.

God was so good to open up a position full time with the Guard and it has been a blessing for our family. We moved about an hour and a half away from our home town and bought a small house on about 8 acres. It's not quite the beauty that we had become accustomed to but it is my favorite house!! My children say really??? when I say that but it's true. We have done lots of work to it and have lots to go.

Soon after coming home, my husband bought our children their first horse. Then came a handful of chickens. With the chickens, came the desire to live a more self sustained existence. It has been a slowwww process but it is a process nonetheless. Now, we grow a huge garden, ofwhich, we can and freeze the surplus. We have 27 chickens and 2 roosters. I get to gift friends and family with a ton of eggs in the spring. We raise 2 feeder pigs every year for our freezer. We cull our extra roosters for our freezer. We have just gotten our first cow, MaeBelle. She, Lord willing, will be our milk cow in about 18 months. We have our first St. Croix ram and hope to get him a couple of ewes in the Spring. The men in our family took a bee keeping class last spring and added 2 bee hives to our little farmette. Hopefully, we will be harvesting honey this spring/summer. We hope to add meat chickens to the homestead this year and a couple of steers. We also hope to add a rotational grazing system. The new challenges and experiences here on the homestead are never ending and we love every minute of them.

It may not be the "American Dream" but it is the dream we never knew we had until the unexpected happen. We are so thankful for the unexpected!!!

*****I will be linking this post up to Barn Hop #44*****

XOXOXO

2011-12-24T17:18:00.003-06:00

It's been over 2 months and......

2011-12-13T11:09:00.017-06:00

Things have been crazy busy around here the past couple of months. We have been dealing with a rather personal medical issue and then it just seemed like one thing after another and here we are.
The farm animals have been growing and life is just moving along.

Out of 15 turkeys we had 5 to live. I just could not imagine processing any of them after having such a hard time keeping them alive. We ended up sending one gobbler and 2 hens to my mother's and keeping 1 hen and 1 gobbler. However, we have decided to go ahead and process the one gobbler and take the remaining hen to my mother's. We are just not turkey people. One thing is they will not stay in confinement and we do not have fences high enough to keep them in. The other thing is they are a huge mess when they get on my porches. I know that sounds petty but it is what it is and I like clean porches when I rock in my rocking chair and overlook my little farm. :)
They are beautiful though!

Here's Phoebe. She is still our favorite farm animal and we love her!

Ramsey is doing his funniest move here. He is sniffing the air. Cracks me up everytime.

MaeBelle has been growing by leaps and bounds. She is still just as tame and loves us. Don't you love the hot pink halter?
And there's a snippet of one of our little pink pigs. They seem to be filling out overnight. They are still just sweet, sweet, and I can't imagine processing them but Lord willing, they are going to get nice and fat and we will be ready for them to leave. :)

Our chicken who had babies, have all grown up. Six out of the seven babies lived and 3 of them were roosters. Needless to say, we needed no more roosters around here. So 3 of the roosters were processed for our Thanksgiving dressing. They served our family well.

Here's the main man getting the water ready to plunge the chickens in to loosen their feathers.

This is our "make do" killing cone.

One thing that is taking up a big chunk of our time is our little local homeschool group started a boy's basketball team. We were looking for something more local for our son to participate in sports wise. We feel sports are very important for him. Learning to be part of a team and leadership skills are invaluable but we will still want to keep the integrity of our homeschool lifestyle. This has been a blessing.

The Scott County Flames
Our Peyton is #4. They aren't winning lots of games but they are having a great time. :)
Here's a snippet of our Christmas decorations.
Our Tree

And the stockings were hung by the chimney with care......

This would be my all time favorite nativity scene. I love it!! It sits on top of my grandmother's original singer sewing machine. I need to put that thing to use.

The kids got together with some of our local homeschool friends and made gingerbread houses. It was a ton of fun and we all had a great time.

I am linking this post up to Barn Hop #40.

Very inspiring girl of mine......

2011-09-28T16:03:00.001-05:00

My 19 almost 20 year old daughter writes some of the most beautiful and awe inspiring notes. This is her recent work that she has been working on for about 3 months. I would love for you to read it. I only wish I had her maturity and wisdom at her very tender age.

https://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#!/notes/katherine-leanne-spencer/do-not-conform-be-transformed/10150332000308232

......MayBelle.......

2011-09-19T06:31:00.004-05:00

Here's a quick video clip of our...... drum roll please....... MayBelle. It took us a while to come up with a name but it's perfect for her. She is just the most fun cow. If there could be such a thing. We are currently working on halter and lead rope training. She is not loving the halter but she does tolerate it. :)

I also want to tell you about a great giveaway over at Life on A Southern Farm. They are giving away another 3 hole Hen Pals nesting box. We currently have the 6 hole nesting box and love, love, love it. I hope I win the 3 hole, as well. :)

I will also be linking this post to the Barn Hop.

Sometimes Dreams and Plans do Come to Fruition.....

2011-09-03T20:04:00.012-05:00

After years of research and careful planning the day has come.......

Checking things out.

The horses were quite curious as to what we have managed to bring home now.

My honey brought the kennel in the barn and you would have thought the little girl would have run out after her long ride but no. She was timid.

Here's the man of my dreams trying to coax our new little addition out of the kennel. I tell you that kennel is getting quite the work out and it has yet to see a dog. :)

Whew, she finally came out and immediately started sniffing out her surroundings. She is a curious little thing. So far she seems very bright eyed and energetic. She is only 5 days old but was with her mom for 4 full days. Lord willing, she has gotten a good start and we will have no problems.

If you look real closely you can see the sweetest little tongue. Oh, she just melts my heart. By the way, she doesn't have a name yet....... Any suggestions? I always wanted a Jersey Cow named Butter Bell but she doesn't look like a Butter Bell. Our short list right now is Heidi, Bell, Elsie, and Anna Bell.

Oh, wow, isn't she just beautiful? I can't tell you how excited I am about this little missy.

As many of you know, we are all into self sufficiency and preparedness. Well, most of the animals have been things that my husband has been really excited about. For the last 2-3 yrs. I have been researching keeping a family cow. I have really wanted one, but for a good tame family cow, they are quite expensive. So it has always been on the back burner. Then today, we drove about an hour away and picked up this little beauty. She is half Jersey and half holstein. She will eventually be our family milk cow. It will take probably 2 yrs. but in the mean time we will be training her to be the best most gentle milk cow ever and I could not be happier!!! This little farmstead is really starting to take shape.

***** Don't forget to give us your name suggestions******

Castrating our little piggies....

2011-08-22T15:44:00.009-05:00

I really debated long and hard over doing this post. I would much rather be doing a post on new window coverings or something but this is real life on the mini farm. We are what I am calling Google farmers. We have no real knowledge of this life but are winging it all with the help of lots of Google searches.
As many of you know, we are all into raising everything we eat. That includes animals. We have been raising pigs for the last two years. However, in the past we have always made a point to get females because we didn't want to mess with castration. This go round we could not find a single female feeder pig. What a dilemma!!! My honey, Mr. I wanna be a real farm man, decided I can do this. So we brought home two of the cutest little pink pigs that were MALE.

Well, today was the day. After, much research the boys dug in. The pictures aren't great because I didn't even go out there. My Lindsey took all of the pictures. She is a girly, girly, girl but will get all in the middle of anything the boys have going on. It's too funny.

First, they caught the little pigs and put them in the pet carrier to hold them while waiting. They then laid one little pig in an old wheel barrow and held him tight. They cleaned the sac with soap and water. Little pigs are dirty, dirty and we do not want infection.

They are proceeding to make the first very small slit in the testicular sac of one of our little piggies. My son has a very tight hold on our little man.

Here they have already cut the very small slit and are pushing the testical through the slit.

Here's the testical out of the sac. They are about to make a clean cut to seperate the testical. (I know TMI) UGHHH!

They did this on both sides of both pigs. After finishing with each pig, they cleaned the whole sac with iodine to ward off infection.

A few notable things about the whole process were, our pigs did not squeal much like we had seen in videos. My son even wore ear plugs just in case but they really weren't that bad. I don't know if it's because ours are more tame or what. Also, there is little to no bleeding and now the pigs are back in the pasture running around like usual. One is a little slower and stiffer but I am amazed at how well they are doing. Praise the Lord!! God is merciful!!

~~~O give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; for His lovingkindness is everlasting. 1 Chronicles 16:34 ~~~

Old McDonald had a farm......

2011-08-13T21:55:00.012-05:00

Today, we added the second of two pretty pink pigs (Large Whites) to the farm. We got the first one last week. The big draw back on these little sweeties is they are male...... Which means one day this week my honey and my boy will be castrating little piggies. They have never done this themselves before and I will be doing some serious praying!!
In the past we have kept our pigs in a pen and have fed them out before processing them.
We are excited to have this portion of pasture fenced in and our little piggies are now out rooting it all up. Our goal is to have everything we raise here and everything we eat, to be free range grass fed. Here are all of the reasons why: The Amazing Benefits of Grassfed Meat

And here's our little Ramsey. He is definitely becoming all male. I don't really like that part but I guess that's what you have to have if you want to breed sheep. UGH......

And here is the true Old McDonald had a farm or what we affectionately know it as, Mr. Ronnie's farm. We love it!!! We fenced in a pasture right behind the garden area and we now have the turkeys, pretty pink pigs, Phoebe (pot belly), and last but not least Ramsey our St. Croix ram living back there.

We don't intend on keeping them all together forever. We plan to put the pink pigs in their own pasture behind the barn in a few months. Most of the turkeys will be making it to the freezer in October/November. Ramsey will also get his own little pasture, as soon as we get the ewes in the Spring. However, having them all together right now really works, not to mention, it is so entertaining out there. You can see our Retriever/ Lab mix, Daisy, wishes she could join in on the fun. We have been giving them all of the rotting left overs of the garden. They are loving it. This evening they got some watermelon, pears, and muscadines. As soon as I get everything I want out of my garden, which is going to be real soon, I hope to put the little pigs on the garden spot for a couple of months. I want them to root up all of the weeds, to their little hearts content. I am hoping that will help out our weed problem, which has been TERRIBLE this year.

I plan on linking this post up to the Preparedness Challenge and the Barn Hop over at Homestead Revival, one of my all time favorite blogs.

Getting prepared

2011-08-08T17:58:00.003-05:00

If there were ever a reason to get somewhat prepared for things to come this might be a good one. We have been on a track of getting ourselves more and more self sufficient and more and more we see that it's the right track to be on.

~~The prudent sees danger and hides himself, but the simple go on and suffer for it. Proverbs 22:3~~
~~ The sluggard does not plow in the Autumn; he will seek at the harvest and have nothing. Proverbs 20:4~~

Busy Days of Summer and Rendering Lard

2011-07-29T10:34:00.012-05:00

Rendering lard, why would anybody in their right mind do this? Well, when we process the pigs they always send us home with nicely wrapped packages of lard, such as below. In the past I have promptly thrown it in the garbage, not wanting to tackle this project. However, the more I read about "Good Fats", I thought why not give it a try. I have to tell you it is a long process. I should have started earlier in the day. I just did not realize.

The lard starts out a nice white and pink color when first going in the pot.

You put little chunk pieces in a stainless steel pot on the lowest stove setting. Stirring often the lard will slowly begin to cook down.

Then it starts to turn a grey color as it is rendering down. You will be left with small pieces of cracklin. The end result of hours of rendering. I could not wait on it all to render down so I finally just filtered out what I could and ended up with 3 pint jars. I poured the lard through a cheese cloth several times to ensure a clear end product. The jars sealed themselves during the cooling but I still think I am going to run them through the canner for a little while. It's beautiful and I can't wait to make a pie crust!! Today, I am rendering more lard. I am starting wwaayyy earlier and using a smaller pot. I hope that speeds up the process.
The turkeys are now 12 wks. old and are just so interesting looking. I thought they might be bigger by now but they aren't. Lord willing by Nov. they will be a good size.

Here are the turkeys walking across the backyard during a good downpour. They just absolutely refuse to stay in the acreage that we fenced in for them. We need to clip their wings but I don't know that that will help.

Our days are full right now on the mini farm. We have been canning pickles, freezing peas, squash, and zucchini. We are also really busy with all of the animals around here.

***~~~***

I will leave you with this last little snippet of happenings around the homestead. We have a small game chicken, who we lovingly call bird, because she looks like a bird up next to regular size chickens. Anyway, we had not seen her in weeks and thought that a predator must have gotten her, as she comes and goes as she pleases, out of the pen. Well about a week and a half ago we found her and 7 baby chicks in the barn. We promptly put her in the chicken tractor. I would have loved to let her walk around the yard with her babies but from past experience we knew that she would be too vulnerable to predators. Lord willing, when the babies get bigger, we can let them out to run around together. I am thankful that we have some chickens with the natural instinct to set and care for babies.

Have a great weekend!!!

Turkeys

2011-06-28T08:21:00.003-05:00

My daughter is turning into quite an awesome photographer and she tooke these amazing pictures of our turkeys. I love this one.
They are growing so nicely. I am amazed at how much more friendly they are than the chickens, who we also raised from day one.

And Ramsey just loves them. They are buddies.

Have a great week.

How do you spend Father's Day on the mini farm......

2011-06-19T16:56:00.007-05:00

You drive 3+ hours to Louisiana to bring home a 3 month old sheep in a pet carrier. ha ha

This is the beginning of our St. Croix sheep breeding program. He is a registered St. Croix sheep. His name is Ramsey and he is finally home. He is just another step in our overall plan to be as self sufficient as we can. We hope to breed for selling and whatever we can't sell, process for our freezer. We decided to go with St. Croix sheep for a number of reasons but mainly we were looking for a heritage breed. Heritage breed animals do not have a lot of their natural instincts for breeding and mothering bred out of them. The St. Croix is also on the threatened list. So we feel good about helping to conserve the breed. They are also extremely parasite resistant, which tends to be a big problem with sheep. We want to do things as naturally, as possible and would prefer not to use commercial wormers. They also thrive on pasture.We are really hoping these two become fast friends. That is until we get Ramsey a girlfriend or two or three. We did not realize at the time that St. Croix sheep are such a rare breed. There are no breeders in Ms. and the ones that we found in Louisiana had already sold out of all of their ewes. So it looks like it will be next Spring before we get our ewes. We are on the waiting list now for next Spring. However, after we get our ewes, we will be the only breeder of registered St. Croix sheep in Ms.

I couldn't leave you without a picture of Phoebe. We got her her own swimming pool and she spends a good bit of time wallowing in it. This is one spoiled pig!

The end of May already, here's what's been keeping us so busy

2011-05-28T12:19:00.009-05:00

~~Now he who plants and he who waters are one; but each will receive his own reward according to his own labor. For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, God's building. 1 Corinthians 3:8-9~~

This is the biggest cause of our busyness. Our very large garden. It rained and rained and rained and we were about 2 weeks late even getting our garden planted. Now that it's in the ground, it quit raining. UGHhhhh So for now we are water sprinkling it. It's not coming up great but my tomatoes look really good.
We are doing a lot of this......

My girls are doing their fair share of weeding, as well. Lord willing, we will have a bounty for all of this work. Working in the garden and putting up the harvest is one of my favorite parts of homesteading. Oh and by the way, the outfits below are not something we would ever wear outside of the garden! We like modesty!!

Our newest advenuture is beekeeping. My husband and son took a beekeeping class a few weeks ago. My son is hoping this will be a little side business for himself. He is so excited about it and loves his bees already. He has been in his hives every other day so far.

Here are the girls working hard.

My boys in their bee suits.

Smoking out their bees so that they can release their queen.

Another major project at the Spencer Family Farm is raising 15 Bourbon Red Turkeys. We have had them about 3 weeks and let me tell you, it has not been easy. We did not realize that turkeys are not the smartest of animals. We got them as day olds and thought it would be like the many chickens that we have raised in the past. However, turkeys we soon found out will starve to death standing beside their feed. They have to be taught to eat. Which we did for over a week. It has been tough and we have lost 3 but they are all eating well now and it seems they are doing good.

We plan to keep 3 hens and 1 Tom for future breeding. We are giving 2 to my mom and will process the rest for the freezer. They are so cute but aren't growing as quick as chicks either.

Here's Mrs. Phoebe. We have moved her to the big pasture to free range too. She has lost so much weight since having a bigger area to run around in. We are so crazy about this little missy. She gets two eggs at the end of everyday and now she is in the habit of running when she sees me heading to the chicken house. Who would have known that a pot bellied pig would be so much fun?

The girls are busy laying in their new Hen Pals Nest Box. I have to say I love this thing and the girls do too. We are getting about 20 eggs a day.

They also love the big new area that we have fenced in for their free ranging.

I hope you all have a wonderful Memorial Day and remember those that have given their lives so that we could have freedom!!

Spring Around the House and Camping

2011-05-03T09:45:00.015-05:00

Spring has sprung here on the homestead...... With it, has come some terrible storms and some of our family and friends have been effected. I encourage everyone to pray for those affected by the recent tornadoes.
~~ Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much. James 5:16~~

Around the homestead, we are seeing everything start to bloom and green up. Here's a swarm of bees who were attempting to make one of my muscadine polls their home. The day after we took pics. of them, they left. I can't wait to have our own bees here on the mini farm.
Here's a beautiful purple Iris. They didn't bloom much last year but are beautiful this year. I hope to dig up some more from my mom's house and plant them.

This is our "new" to us camper. We camped about 20 mins. from our house because we were trying out this new pop up camper. We have always tent camped and even though we had air mattresses, our girls hated the tent. So this is a step up. A friend of mine was wanting to get rid of it for next to nothing. It has some things wrong with it but I am married to a "Mr. Fix It". So for us it's not a big deal. We love to camp. There's nothing like getting out to the woods and having no phone, TV, etc.

Setting up our outdoor table. This is our prep area for meals.

The love of my life walking his little dog. Snicker Snicker. This was supposed to be Katherine's dog but oh, how he loves Ronnie.

The girls had the occasional photo shoot and waded in the water. I love this one.

I loved watching the kids play cards for hours on end. There is some serious family bonding going on over a game of peanut butter and jelly or spit. Roosevelt State Park has a White Tail Deer Research Facility. The sign said not to stick your hand in but you can't keep the deer from sticking their heads out. Haha

We took a long hike to see the goslings swimming with their parents. It's interesting to know that Canadian Geese mate for life. We love cooking over an open fire on this little grill. Then we sit by the fire and eat smores.

The fishing was not great needless to say, but Peyton enjoyed the catching and releasing.

This is a miracle (smiling), considering this sweet girl doesn't really like camping. She took one for the team!

Our friendly visiting duck came by all through out the day to eat bread or peanuts. :)

We hope to have a couple of camping trips this summer in between all of the work of the garden.

Have a great Week!!!

Trixi

Resurrection Sunday

2011-04-24T03:41:00.004-05:00

For this reason the father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my father. John 10: 17-18

And Jesus said to them, "Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that the repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in His name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. Luke 24:46-47

But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed. Isaiah 53:5

Thank you Jesus!!

Newest member of the Spencer Family Farm

2011-04-10T08:14:00.003-05:00

Here is Ramsey. He is a 15 day old St. Croix ram and he is beautiful. He will be one of the stars of our breeding program and we are so excited to get him home. We will pick him up around the middle of June. There are many reasons why we decided to go with the St. Croix breed but the main reason is their ability to thrive on forage and their resistance to parasites. Here is some other info.: St. Croix sheep

Our intention was to breed 100% registered St. Croix sheep. Well, during the planning process, we did not take into consideration that it would be very difficult to acquire a St. Croix ewe. They are rare in our area. So we are #1 on the list for one next year but this year we may have to get a Katahdin and have a St. Croix Katahdin cross. It will work out fine. Once we get our St. Croix ewes we can always sell the Katahdin if we want to.

Oh, those eyes. They are just magnificent.

This is just another step towards us growing and raising all of our own food free of chemicals, antibiotics and growth hormones.

Barn Hopping.....How does your garden grow?

2011-04-04T06:10:00.010-05:00

I am barn hopping again today. I think I have said it before, I really like the barn hop and getting to see what other homesteaders are doing. Such fun.

Today, I want to focus on my garden..... If you have read around here very long, you know that gardening and preserving the harvest are my passions. I love the garden!! I love the squash and tomato blooms. They just make you happy.

I also love a prolific bounty.

If the Lord wills it, my garden table will look like this in July. I will have tomatoes, squash, cucumbers, etc. coming out of my ears. There will be 5 gal. buckets of fresh produce everywhere. Oh, I love it......

But for now we are still ordering seeds and planning. A good garden needs lots of planning!

(This is last year's bounty)

We already have green beans and onions growing in our raised bed garden. However, Mr. Larry, our very dependable neighbor, comes over every spring and tills my main garden with his tractor. We do not have a tractor with all of the implements and he does. He also loves to be on his tractor. So it's a win, win, situation. We use to till up the spot with a garden tiller. It would take days of back breaking work. Now, Mr. Larry comes down for about an hour a couple of times and we are ready to start planting. He has come and done the breaking up part. So in a couple of weeks he will come back to till and row it up. I can't wait!!

Until then, we will plan. Here is what my 2011 garden plan looks like:

Tomatoes (about 60 plants) I love celebrity but will throw in a few others, as well.

Cucumbers I put up 30 jars of pickles last year and that wasn't enough. I am shooting for 50.

Yellow Squash

Zuchinni

Cow Peas

Green Beans

Onions (red)

Eggplant

Okra

Peppers

Watermelon

Cantaloupe

Honey Dew Melon

Pumpkins

Gourds

Zinnias (We planted these last year and they were so amazing!!)

Marigolds (around my tomatoes)

Sunflowers

Catmint (I am planting this to ward off squash bugs. Here's a great article.)

This year I am planning to plant more heirloom varieties, as I want to save more seed this year. Here are some great companies to order seed from:

Baker's Creek Heirloom Seeds

Heirloom Seeds

Victory Seeds

Oh, and as a side note, Herrick Kimball, has a new blog Agrarian Nation. It is just as good as all of his other writings, go check it out.

On being prepared, Preparedness Challenge #1

2011-03-19T14:01:00.016-05:00

Amy from over at Homestead Revival is doing a preparedness challenge. Well, you don't have to ask me twice. I am all about a preparedness challenge.

Thus says the LORD: “Stand by the roads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls. But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.'~~ Jeremiah 6:16

I believe in lieu of recent events in Japan, it is probably a very wise thing to look to the ancient paths a bit. We have been on a path of self sufficiency and preparedness for quite a while but have probably really accelerated that path in the last few weeks.

For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are but the beginning of the birth pains.~~ Matthew 24:7-8

We believe that we are in these beginning of birthing pains. So if you are to believe what the Word says it might be a good idea to be a little more prepared for those things that are to come. I would say that your first step needs to be knowing the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal saviour. Here is a good place to start: http://www.allaboutgod.com/the-roman-road.htm

Next, here's something that we have been doing and I highly recommend it as a first step. We are accumulating a homesteading library. Right now the internet is an amazng wealth of info. in the homesteading dept. but if there is no internet we need a back up. Here are some books that we have and I highly recommend for the prepared minded or homestead minded.

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=surviving+off+off+grid

This book answers a lot of the how's and why's of living a life prepared. My husband and I have devoured this book, it is so good. I am going to order several copies for friends and family!

http://www.amazon.com/Encyclopedia-Country-Living-Carla-Emery/dp/1570615535/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1300626398&sr=8-1

This is a great reference book for everything homesteading or living in the country. This book was one of the first in our homesteading library.

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_1_20?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=foxfire+complete+set&sprefix=foxfire+complete+set

This is an old, old set of books. They were written by a group of students who were interviewing old mountain people of the appalachian mountains. I enjoy them not only for their wealth of knowledge but also for just the plain neatness of them. I only own 3 volumes but hope to eventually own all 11.

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_29?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=back+to+basics+readers+digest&sprefix=back+to+basics+readers+digest

This is another set of books that I just love. They are a great reference tool of everything homesteading.

http://www.amazon.com/How-Build-Animal-Housing-Stanchions/dp/1580175279/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1300627379&sr=1-1

This book is a great reference tool for building housing for all of your animals. We are going to work on a pig hut from this book next!

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_2_14?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=storey%27s+guide&sprefix=storey%27s+guide

These are the Storey's guides. They have a book for everything from raising sheep to raising pigs. They are very informative about each specific animal.

We have many, many, more books in our homestead library but this is a good start for those who are wanting to get started on the track of preparedness. If you have any suggestions for me, please let me know. I love a good book!!

Finishing up the coop

2011-03-13T07:08:00.014-05:00

Looky, looky, what came in the mail Friday...... Oh, is it not glorious.

It's a brand new, nice and shiny 6 hole nesting box system for my chicken coop. It was made by none other than the farm man from over at Life on a Southern Farm. I can not tell you how happy this little beauty has made me. I have wanted one ever since I first read about them. I love their blog and I love that they make these on their farm. The quality is amazing and I urge you to check them out!!

Oh, and the farm lady also makes soap. Look what she stuck in the box with my nesting box. It's her clean linen fragrance and it smells sooooo goooood. You can't really see it but the soap has a chicken on it. I don't think I will ever be able to use it, it's so pretty. Thank you so much.

Now down to the nitty gritty. Here is my hard working man putting the siding on my chicken coop. He did a great job.

My hard working little man helping to put siding on the new chicken coop. He is learning a lot with all of these farm projects. I just hope he still wants to do them on his own farm one day.:)

Here the girls and boys are checking out their new spread. They were not sure about all of this.

Here's that amazing nesting box in her permanent home. I hope our girls love this little gadget as much as I do.

This is the new roost area. Lord willing this will be enough room for all of my many chickens.

And the almost fisnished coop. I still need to put chicken wire on the front and then some white lattice. We don't have to worry about predators (other than my chicken eating dog, that's a whole other story) so we probably wont put a door on. I would like to add flower boxes to either side and a garden flag. It will be really pretty eventually.

This is what the two beauties did while all of this building was going on.

They got two of our cars sparkling clean inside and out. They haven't been this clean since probably last summer. They look so good. Thank you girls!!Well, I am off now to get us all packed up to head down to the Coast for a couple of days.

I am also going to link this post up to the barn hop, tomorrow. I am really loving all of the posts from the barn hop. It's fun to see what others are doing on their homesteads.

The Training of a Boy to be a Man

2011-03-02T16:23:00.008-06:00

We have this great son, Peyton, who is 14 and he is growing up in a tough world. It's chock full of lazy, self indulging, men. I hate to say that, and I really don't have a great first hand account of it, but my husband is full time Army National Guard and he deals with guys fresh out of boot camp. He comes home with the most ridiculous stories of laziness and self gratification that you have ever heard of. In return, it makes he and I that much harder on this sweet 14 yr. old boy.

We firmly believe that if you teach a boy to work hard then he will never be unemployed!

~~For even when we were with you, we used to give you this order: if anyone is not willing to work, then he is not to eat, either. 2 Thess. 3:10~~

Now, don't get too worried. You can look around our place and know that no one is going without a meal. We do take it very seriously that God says we are to work and work cheerfully.

~~Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than men. Colossians 3:23~~

We are still working on the cheerful part. Ha Ha

Here are a couple of pics. of this work ethic training in action.

We live in the county and our septic tank is one that has the 99% clean water coming out of it through field lines. Well ours stopped in the soon to be chicken/ turkey/ pig and maybe sheep pasture. We needed it to run on out about 70 more feet. My husband could have rented a back hoe for such job but why when we have a 5' 9", almost 200 lb., scrapping, young man who could dig it out. We did pay for this job. We have very few pay jobs around here but this was one of them. We just told him that daddy can pay for a back hoe or he can give you the money for a back hoe. He jumped at the chance to dig it out.

It has taken him about two weeks to get it all dug out and running downhill. It has been tedious at times but he stuck with it!! They will be laying the new field line and covering it up next week.

I love to see a kid, that could be sitting in front of a TV, doing something that benefits his whole family.

That is my next point. We are also training, said young man, to TAKE CARE of his family. This is one that hits home for me, as I am the product of a single mom who was left with three small children.

It is very important for us that our children marry believers. ~~ Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? 2 Cor. 6:14~~

And also that they marry men who believe in taking care of their family and that we raise a man who does the same. ~~ But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his own household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. 1 Tim. 5:8~~ That is serious!

We don't know how all of this will work out but we are praying hard for their hearts and that God will be glorified through our efforts.

And on a less serious note, I will leave off with a picture of my new girls mixing in with the old girls. They are doing well. I soon will have more eggs than a person should be allowed to have. Ha ha

I am linking this post up to the Barn Hop.

Wow, a blog award.....

2011-03-01T07:43:00.004-06:00

I am usually an award free zone. I just don't like them. I don't like the having to choose other blogs to give them to and all of that. I read some great blogs that write of anything from decorating your house, to living a self sufficient life off grid, to being a homemaker who is passionate about the role God has given them. There is no rhyme or reason. However, this award is a little different. Katherine from over at Granny Miller gave me one of her Stylish Blogger Awards. The reason why this one is so different is because Granny Miller is like the guru of homesteading and self sustaining living. She is a go to source for anything to do with preparedness. I refer to her blog often. So to say that I am humbled that she even knows I have a blog, is an understatement. I still can't decide on 15 blogs to forward the award onto, but if you are in my sidebar, or if you follow me, or even if you are a lurker around here, then please consider yourself a stylish blog.

Thank you so much Granny!!! You have made my week!!!

Wow, we are having some good weather in Feb.

2011-02-21T17:49:00.013-06:00

It has been in the 70's this week and we are LOVING it...... The kids are having a blast in the warm temps. and we are getting lots done. I love the comradery here.
One of my latest projects is trimming and taming the overgrown muscadines. I got half way down one side today before giving up..... I will start again tomorrow.

We are also working on a new chicken coop. The old ugly coop is directly behind the muscadine vines and the newly framed coop is directly across from the old coop. I am so excited about this new abode for the girls. We should finish it up this weekend. We have to add siding, trim, and the tin roof.

Getting everything just right....

Oh, it's starting to look like something. To be continued.....

We have been planting trees, like this Little Gem Magnolia. I hope to have every tree and plant here that speaks "Southern". Lord willing, we will get a Live Oak in the ground in the next couple of weeks.
Here's one of the plum trees planted. We also planted more blueberries and blackberries. Hopefully, one day they will produce!!! Prov. 28:19

Here is the latest member of the farmette. Daisy. She is so much fun. We have had her about a month and she is 11 wks. old.

We got her because our beloved Shiloh, died the day after Thanksgiving this year. We had had him for almost 14 yrs. and we are still sad to think about him gone. We needed a diversion and so did Diesel.
Now, I wouldn't say that Diesel likes her as much as he did Shiloh but we are all gradually coming to love her.
To add to all of our great happenings, this wonderful young man turned 14 on Monday. When did this happen? Time goes by wayyy toooo fastttt. I hope to cherish the next few years, as I know they will be gone in a blink.

He loves any kind of gun or knife.

And what about this sweet girl. We elected this time not to name her and her litter mate. They have been loved on all the same. Her litter mate went to the butcher this morning. This one was the runt and now we know why "real" farmers kill the runt. She has had the hardest time growing and her litter mate would not let her eat. So we decided to go ahead and take her sister and keep this one another month to fatten up. She may even get a name but I doubt it. If you wonder why we raise pigs check out this movie but don't watch it if you don't want it to change your life, and thinking, regarding food. Food Inc.

And last but most definitely not least, here is Phoebe in all of her splendor. She is the most worthless farm animal we have but definitely the most entertaining. We are in the process of fencing off about an acre in our back pasture for her to roam and root. Right now she is in a pen in the barn where she is quite happy but we want her to have room to roam. Our chickens and turkeys will free range this pasture with her, Lord willing.

We have been told that a diet is in order....
I hope you are all getting some great weather and getting lots done.

~~ Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time because the days are evil. So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.~~ Eph. 5:15-17

I am also linking up to the new Barn Hop. I think it will be so much fun to see what is going on on other Homesteads.

Goals for a New Year.....

2011-01-04T22:38:00.006-06:00

We don't really make New Year's resolutions but I do want to make a list of some goals, both personal and farm related for this upcoming year.

Personal Goals for 2011:

I start to read through my Bible every year and I never succeed. I would like to complete the whole thing this year. I am using a mix of two plans. I am doing a chronological reading of the Old Testament and I am combining a partial of Prof. Horner's reading plan for the New Testament.
We would also like to work on the area of hospitality. We have several people right now who want to come to our house and who we want to come, yet we can't seem to find the time to get together. This is a problem that we are wanting to work on in the coming year. 1Peter 4:9, Hebrews 13:2, Romans 12:13

I would also like to lose a little weight. I lost 30lbs. last year only to gain it back. I would love to lose it again and resume a healthier lifestyle. Also, I would like to start my daily exercise regime. I did so good last year. I have gotten lazy again.:(

I also want to work on a Homemaking Binder. I would love to get everything important in one place and have a little better organizational system. Here are some examples: http://www.keeperofthehome.org/2010/01/creating-a-homemaking-binder.html, http://www.squidoo.com/home-organize

School Goals:

I need to get a little more organized with my record keeping and I need to have my children read and write MORE!! They love to read what they love to read but I need to implement more literature.

House Goals:

I would like to get the rest of the walls and trim in my home painted. I would also like to get my master bedroom and bath finished. I would like to work on my laundry room. We would love to get our garage enclosed and turn it into a work out/ rec. room.

Farm Goals:

Finish the fencing for the back acreage.

Build the new chicken coop.

Shore up the garden shed.

Plant more fruit trees.

Extend the garden.

Build a round pen and corral.

This list could go on and on.

We would like to acquire sheep and turkeys.

I hope you all have lots and lots of goals for the new year and I hope you get most of them accomplished!!!

Merry Christmas....

2010-12-24T20:44:00.002-06:00

2 The people who walk in darkness

Will see a great light;

Those who live in a dark land,

The light will shine on them.
3 You shall multiply the nation,

You shall increase their gladness;

They will be glad in Your presence

As with the gladness of harvest,

As men rejoice when they divide the spoil.
4 For You shall break the yoke of their burden and the staff on their shoulders,

The rod of their oppressor, as at the battle of Midian.
5 For every boot of the booted warrior in the battle tumult,

And cloak rolled in blood, will be for burning, fuel for the fire.
6 For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us;

And the government will rest on His shoulders;

And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,

Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.
7 There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace,

On the throne of David and over his kingdom,

To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness

From then on and forevermore.

The zeal of the LORD of hosts will accomplish this.

Isaiah 9:6

“She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”

Matthew 1:21

★Merry★* 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •

•。★CHRISTmas★ 。* 。

...° 。 ° ˛˚˛ * _Π_____*。*˚

˚ ˛ •˛•˚ */______/~＼。˚ ˚

˛˚ ˛ •˛• ˚ ｜田田｜門｜ ˛ ˚ ˛♥ The Spencer family ♥

The Simple Woman's Daybook~~ 12/14/10

2010-12-14T10:59:00.005-06:00

For Today.....

Outside my window~~ it is bitterly cold here in Mississippi and the animals just tend to be standing around miserably.

I am thinking~~ how quickly time flies by and that I need to make a better effort to try and make the most of every moment.

I am thankful for~~ the fact that we saw to homeschool 9 yrs. ago and that now I get to spend every moment of this glorious season rejoicing and sharing in the lives of my children. I can't imagine what it would be like if I missed all of this.

From the learning rooms~~ we are taking from now until the first of Jan. off of formal school. However, we will be cooking and crafting.

I am wearing~~ warm clothes, pink shirt and pants, and nice cozy socks. Remember it's cold outside today.

I am creating~~ an atmosphere of a cozy home.

I am hearing~~ the sounds of my children giggling at the Christmas movie they are watching.

Around the house~~ yesterday was a mountain of laundry day and today I get to finish the last two loads. We will also be tidying up and making goodies for a Christmas gift. I also need to work on my grocery list. Tomorrow is my big shopping day and I try to only go once.

From the kitchen~~ we will be working on cookies and I will be making homemade mac and cheese for dinner!! Yum Yum...

I am going~~ absolutely no where. Thank you Lord!!

Plans for this week~~ We have Christmas cards to get out, goodies to make for friends and neighbors, and last minute Christmas shopping. We are also working on our Jesse Tree every night. It's been a great thing.

Scripture thought~~
The people who walk in darkness
Will see a great light;
Those who live in a dark land,
The light will shine on them.
Isaiah 9:2

Here is a picture thought I am sharing with you...
My son's first deer of the season.

Enjoy 100's of other Daybooks at Peggy's Simple Woman's Daybook!

30 days of Thankfulness~~ Day 9

2010-11-09T16:16:00.002-06:00

Well, I knew it would happen. I have missed a day. I could do day 8 and 9 together but in the reality of my life this is going to happen more than once. So instead I am going to do the day I can and be thankful for that.

Today, I am so thankful for the fact that I am home enjoying every moment of my children. We went for a run this morning, school this afternoon, and now we are working on different tasks. My Lindsey is busily making yeast rolls for dinner, Peyton has been digging holes for fence posts, and Katherine is working on some paintings for a birthday present. Life is good.

In one of my comments I was encouraged to be thankful in all circumstances and I hope that I am. This is not an easy life that we have chosen. There's lots of work to do and very little money to do it all. It would be so much easier if I worked and there were two incomes coming in but the trade off of being at home is worth so much more than the lack of money. Things don't always go right around here, and sometimes I get ridiculously stressed, but Lord willing, I am working on that.

16 Rejoice ever more. 17 Pray without ceasing. 18 In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.~~~ 1Thessalonians 5:16-18

30 days of Thankfulness~~ Day 7

2010-11-07T22:40:00.006-06:00

Day 7 of my thankfulness journey will include a little about our "Journey".

About 6 years ago, Ronnie saw very clearly that we needed to begin a simpler lifestyle. So we left the nice new house, that my honey built, in the nice trendy neighborhood and moved to a little house, that we are constantly doing something to, on a small parcel of land. It was a huge jump but one that we have never regretted. Since that first initial move we have, Lord willing, moved to our final home on our little mini farm.

I am so thankful for this change in pace and here is a little snippet of why.....

We enjoy some of the most beautiful sunsets across the pastures.We get to see and experience God's creation up close. I love a mother hen with all of her chicks in tow. I hope we have more of these this year.

If the kids want a pot bellied pig, they can have one and I don't have to explain it to a home owner's association. Oh, and that's Lindsey's giant white rabbit in the cage. Ha Ha

The kids get to run through pastures and the garden if they want to.

The girls get to act on their passion for horses. I don't know if that's really a plus or not but they seem to think so.

We have also been able to truly experience neighborliness. Since moving to our little small town we have been able to be a part of a community that really looks out for one another. It's a neat thing to watch and be a part of.

And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.~~~ Gen. 1:31

30 days of Thankfulness~~ Day 6

2010-11-06T23:49:00.003-05:00

Whew, I almost missed it......

Today, I am thankful for my extended family. I have a wonderful mother who raised 3 kids all by herself. It was HARD. We had a tough., tough, time making it on my mother's tiny salary and my non existent father's measily little child support. However, each of us have turned out pretty well (in the "worlds" standards), if I do say so myself. After my siblings and I all finished school and were married, my mother went back to college to get a degree in nursing. She now works harder than ever so that she can spend just about every dime she has extra on the grandkids. It use to drive me insane but now I am at a place that I realize she couldn't do this for her own kids, so now she does it for all of ours. My mother is about to be grandmother to her 10th grandchild, so her giving is spread out pretty good. Ha Ha She is also enjoying life by going on trips and such. We are so glad that she is really getting to enjoy herself now. She deserves it!!

I also have a sister, who I talk to just about everyday. She and I are totally different on the way we raise our children (homeschooling) and such but we agree to disagree and have a great relationship. Then there's the baby brother. We don't talk often but when we do it's like we haven't missed a beat.

I also need to include my inlaws in on this post. My husband has really good parents and I am so thankful for that. They are part of the reason why he is the great man that he is.

God has blessed us abundantly with family!!

30 days of Thankfulness~~ Day 5

2010-11-05T16:16:00.003-05:00

Now there will be no paticular order from this point on but today I am thankful for my home.

It's not a particularly large house at about 1800-2000 sq. ft., 3 bedrooms/2 baths, but I am so thankful for this home. It's nice and comfortable and Ronnie has done so much to really make it ours. We have taken down walls to make it a more "open" floor plan, painted walls, laid wood and ceramic floorings, and the list goes on and on. We have a lot left to do, like gutting my kitchen, but more and more it is home. We have made many great memories here and hope to make many, many more.

When I write about our "home" I am constantly reminded that the King of Kings, sent to save the world, did not even have a pillow to lay His head upon.

Jesus said to him," The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head."~~~ Matthew 8:20

So no matter what the state of our home, we should be content!!

And having food and raiment let us be therewith content.~~~ 1 Timothy 6:8

As a wife and a mother, I should be working diligently to have a home atmosphere that is pleasing to my family and to the Lord.

Proverbs 31:10-31

Titus 2

This is what I am striving towards and to raise children to do the likewise.

30 days of Thankfulness~~ Day 4

2010-11-04T16:07:00.015-05:00

Todays Thankfulness should be ever so obvious.....

I am thankful beyond measure for these 3 blessings.

God is so good.

I can't believe how much Peyton has grown since this picture was taken, just over a year ago.

They are each so different and God has given each of them some really neat qualities.

Katherine is 19 and has now graduated from our homeschool. She is taking advantage of some great opportunities in her life right now and praying for God's will for her future. She is an amazing young lady and I am so glad to be a part of her life.

Lindsey is 16. She matures in her walk with the Lord daily. There's still lots of room for growth (for me too) but it's amazing to see what all He has done in her life as of late. She is so much fun to be around and just draws people to her. We call her our "social one".

I love this picture. It is so typical. She can be girly girly and still carry a big gun.

Then you have Peyton, 13. He is 100% boy. If there is something to get into, he is on top of it, but he is also such a big help to his dad and I. We are so thankful for this huge, 5'7", 200 lb., boy. He, too, is growing leaps and bounds in his walk with the Lord. He has a great character.

These two can be the best of friends at times. I am so thankful that they are all together, all day, everyday, and count on each other the way that they do.

This is from our trip to New Orleans this summer. They are priceless.....

Behold, children are a gift of the LORD, The fruit of the womb is a reward.
Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, So are the children of one’s youth.
How blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them; They will not be ashamed, When they speak with their enemies in the gate. Psalm 127:3-5

30 days of Thankfulness~~ Day 3

2010-11-03T19:51:00.009-05:00

Well, as I expected would happen, I almost missed day 3. We have had a very full day and I am just now getting a split second to sit down at the computer. However, day 3 is one of my most important thankfuls. Today and everyday, I am thankful that God saw fit to bless me with Ronnie Spencer.

There are so many things I am thankful for in him but one is his overwhelming desire to serve his family and country. He is one of a breed of men to be admired for his sacrifice to leave his family so that we can freely live. I hope my children understand the great sacrifice that he has made on their behalf.

He is a kind man who loves his me in a way that I do not deserve and oh, how he loves his kids. He will always be known as a great soldier but we know him best as an outstanding husband and father.

~~~

He reads the Word daily and has been reading through the Bible yearly for quite some time now. As a result, he leads us with wisdom.

Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.~~~ Proverbs 3:5-6

His wisdom in handling issues that come up is amazing. Some of his main verses when dealing with the children are:

But I say to you, That you resist not evil: but whoever shall smite you on your right cheek, turn to him the other also.~~~Matthew 5:39 (we just recently had to revisit this one and we are still working on it but we have seen Ronnie walk this one out many times)

In the multitude of words there wants not sin: but he that refrains his lips is wise.~~~ Proverbs 10:19

Abstain from all appearance of evil.~~~ 1 Thess. 5:22 (whooo, this one's tough)

I could go on and on.....

He is firm when dealing with us but just, as well. My children have his ear anytime they need it and that is priceless. I am so thankful.

Well, I think I have gushed enough over how thankful I am for this man. He is not perfect by any means (neither am I, ha ha) but he is one of the best men I have ever known!!

30 days of Thankfulness

2010-11-02T11:38:00.005-05:00

I never ever participate in these kinds of things because I have a hard enough time blogging as it is but I really want to do this......

I have already missed day one, so I will have day 1 and 2 in the same post. See I told you I am really bad at this kind of thing.

Day 1

I am so thankful for the salvation that the Lord gave to me about 20 yrs. ago. The great sacrifice that Christ gave on my behalf, I will forever be thankful for. Thank you Lord.

If you would like to be saved and experience a love greater than I can ever explain, please go here:

http://www.desiringgod.org/resource-library/taste-see-articles/a-summary-of-the-gospel-to-help-you-enjoy-it-and-share-it

O give thanks to the LORD, for he is good: for his mercy endures for ever. Psalm 107:1

Day 2

I am thankful for God's Word given to me to instruct me on my life.

Every scripture inspired of God is also profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for instruction which is in righteousness. 2 Tim. 3:16

About 9 yrs. ago, way into our salvation, we started really seeking God's Word and path for our lives. In this search we found Deut. 6:5-9.

5 "You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.
6 "These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart.
7 "You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up.
8 "You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead.
9 "You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

These verses led us to homeschooling.

Then Titus 2:3-5:

3 Older women likewise are to be reverent in their behavior, not malicious gossips nor enslaved to much wine, teaching what is good,
4 so that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children,
5 to be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, so that the word of God will not be dishonored.

These verses led me to being at home and doing my work in the home. They also led me to being more under the authority of my husband. Which I still work at daily.

We work hard at seeing a scripture and applying it as best as we can to our daily walk.

Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, And light unto my path. Psalm 119:105

Longing for the simplier days to come....

2010-10-23T22:14:00.014-05:00

Wow, this school year has started out with a bang. We have been driving quite a distance twice a week, in order for my girls and my not so little man, to play volleyball and flag football for the last couple of months. It has been really tough on us all but worth it for the kids to get to spend time with their friends. It all ends next Tues. and I have to say I am ready to be home and living our more simpler life.

When we have not been on the road we have been accomplishing a great deal of this......

My oldest has now taken on the job of helping her brother with his Teaching Textbooks Math. I have to say I love, love, love, this program. The kids have also enjoyed the occasional board game. Oh, how we love board games. This is an exciting game of Pictureka shared with a cousin.

When we are not schooling or playing we have done our fair share of work around the farmette. Here's the man of my dreams and my not so little man making much needed repairs to our very old barn. It's not much to look at but oh, we are so thankful for it!!

We have moved old hay around and gathered new hay for the animals to eat through the winter.

And here we have our first square foot garden planted with all kinds of fall produce. It's our test plot. The lettuce is doing great but we are still waiting on the broccoli, carrots, and cauliflower.

The real star of the show is a little black pig. She has grown so much and we really enjoy her around the homestead. She loves all of the fallen pears on the ground from our pear tree. Who would have known we would like a little pig so much. However, Katherine is not positive that she won't be going to market in the spring too. Ha Ha

And here you have our princess Phoebe doing what she loves best.....

She loves a good belly rub. Who would have ever thought that a man who shoots very large guns for a living would be caught giving a pig a belly rub? All I have to say is he is so good to us!!

Here's our, what we call, real pigs. They are being raised for our freezer. We normally get a pink American Yorkshire but we have the hardest time sending a nice pretty pink pig to market. So the man of my dreams found these not so pretty brown Duroc pigs. I am thinking it's going to be a little easier to see these go. Oh, and yes, that is one of our barn cat's visiting. He spends the majority of his day in there. Who knows what that's about........ Last but not least, we found this little guy/girl in the barn this week. We are thinking it is a white dove. He has bands on both feet. He has been hanging around our barn for the last few days.

He lets us get close enough to throw food to him and take pictures. Very strange but really neat.
Oh, and our big news around the home is that this amazing girl will be 19 on Monday. Oh, where does the time go. She is one of the most amazing young women I know. Her walk with the Lord is something to be marveled at and I am so glad that God chose me to be a part of her life. Happy Birthday Sweet Katherine. We love you more than words can tell.
Life should be calming down around here and we will be back on a track of truly Keeping the Home. The only way for me to really keep my home is to be at home!!!

~~~

1 But as for you, speak the things which are proper for sound doctrine: 2 that the older men be sober, reverent, temperate, sound in faith, in love, in patience; 3 the older women likewise, that they be reverent in behavior, not slanderers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things— 4 that they admonish the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, 5 to be discreet, chaste, homemakers, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be blasphemed.~~~ Titus 2:1-5

As the flower fades.......

2010-08-21T08:15:00.014-05:00

The whole purpose of this blog for me is to document our life. You know, so that as I forget all of these great memories, there is a record somewhere. I have not done a great job of it the last year and I hope to do better this fall. Here is a little of what our summer has entailed. It's been a great summer.

This is my chalk board in my dining area. We have had this verse on it for a few weeks. The grass is withering and the flowers are fading, sniff sniff, but we have the assurance that God's Word stands forever. Praise the Lord!!

It seems as though the season has flown by but here is a small glimpse of what we have done and seen. We have watched many beautiful sunsets over the pastures.

The girls have spent a great deal of time with these guys. They haven't ridden a whole lot, as this summer has been SO hot but they have done a lot of caring for them. This special guy went to the trainer almost 2 wks. ago and Lord willing, will come back a perfect gentleman just right for riding. The girls miss him terribly and even shed a tear when he left.

My honey has done a lot of grilling for us. And it has been soooo good. We grill though, even in the dead of winter. Ha Ha Oh, how I love this man!!!

I had this little nook of space beside my cabinets that I really wanted some type of storage system in so Mr. Wonderful also built this for me. He took an old ugly dresser apart cut it down and added shelves. I love it!! I am having the best time scouting out glass canisters and jars for all of my baking supplies. I found the huge one, holding my Prarie Gold Wheat Berries, at Old Time Pottery in B'ham for $3.99. In hindsight I wish I had gotten 3 of them. At the time, I didn't know if they would fit my shelf. I like the idea of all the different shapes and sizes. It gives a rustic feel. I think. Ha Ha

We've had a turtle race. Our little nephew, Ace, has now entered his 3rd turtle race at Lena Day. This turtle was named Hot Junior. He loves it and it causes us to have many laughs!!
We watched the fireworks on Lena Day, 4th of July. They were great, as always.
Cousins got to bond again over the summer. This is our youngest girl cousin Jessica. She has 4 brothers and would love to come live with us part time.
This has also consumed my summer. We were getting a 5 gallon bucket of tomatoes a day. It was a blessing but it took every moment of my day. Oh but the rewards are so worth the effort. God is good!! Prov. 3:10I have been filling my freezer. It's even fuller now. I have been filling my pantry. Oh, it is so satisfying to be able to look at the fruits of ALL your labor. The tomatoes, tomato sauces, spaghetti sauce, ketchup, and salsa are over flowing on out in the laundry room. I need more shelving and places for shelving. Ha Ha

Now the pears and muscadines are ripening but I don't think I am going to make very many preserves and jellies. We have an abundance from the last two years we need to eat up. I do hope to make and can some muscadine juice.

And last but not least, here is the newest member of the family.......

Her name is Phoebe and she is a 6 wk. old miniature pot bellied pig. My oldest daughter, Katherine, has been wanting one for quite a while. So about 3 wks ago we found one at the flea market and I told her if that is how she wants to spend her money then go for it.....Ha Ha..... and She did.She is supposed to live in this pen that was custom built for her until she gets big enough to go out in the pasture.

However.....

She thinks she is a dog..... and has been living on the back porch during the day and sleeping in her nice pen at night. Too funny.

She cracks us up....I mean literally my Ronnie watches her and just starts laughing.

We have also taken a few trips, Baton Rouge, New Orleans, and Vicksburg to name a few. We have one more planned in 2 wks. to Tn.

So it's been a great summer and we are so sad to see it leave but I am ready for some cooler days. We have already got the hammock hanging and the girls have started laying out in it and reading. So I know fall is in the air even if its still 90+ degrees outside.
**

Oh and by the way, School starts at our house on Monday.

20 years ago today......

2010-06-17T07:57:00.004-05:00

Today is our 20th. anniversary.

This is when we first saw each other after this last deployment of 9 months.

I never thought we would be here. We got married for all the wrong reasons but WOW , did God have a plan. I was way too young or should I say immature at the time. I often say that Our girls ages (18) and (15) are more mature now than I was when we got married and it's true. Neither of us knew and walked with Jesus and it was just doomed to fail. We have had MANY rough days but the good ones seem to far outweigh the bad.

Our marriage has been a growing process, much like our walk with the Lord. As we have grown in Him, we have grown together. We both got saved when Katherine was a baby but we weren't really growing in Christ. We went to church every time the door opened but never really cracked a Bible to study and read for ourselves. Then we were shown, basically the folly of our ways, and began truly walking with the Lord, reading His word, meditating, studying, and memorizing. Wow, what a difference those simple little things can make.

Even then, I had a long road to go. I needed to truly understand the word submission. Eph. 5:22-24 Having been raised by a very strong willed, independent, single, mother, submission is not a word I was ever taught. HaHa In time though, God can change your heart and show you a better way. About 5 yrs. ago I read the book Created to be His Helpmeet by Debi Pearl and it was life changing for me and I think Ronnie would say him too. I saw all of the many ways I was still trying to be the head of our family, even though I would have previously thought I had this submission thing down. Things run much more smoothly around here now.:)

Today, we have a pretty great marriage and family and Lord willing, we will have at least 20 more years together. I am extremely thankful that God took something that we didn't necessarily mean for good and turned it into something really good. Romans 8:28

Ronnie is in Hattiesburg for summer camp. However, he has managed to work it out that he is going to sweep me away for the evening. I have no idea what he has planned. He just told me to pack a bag. If you know Ronnie, than you know this is not typical. He and the girls have been back and forth on the phone and there is no telling what is going but no matter what it is, it will be special.

Have a great day!!

22Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. 23For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. 24Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing.~~ Ephesians 5:22-24

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.~~ Romans 8:28

A Glimpse at our days.....

2010-06-02T06:13:00.005-05:00

The biggest thing going on around our homestead this week is that this beautiful, sweet, loving, and most of all totally sold out to Jesus Christ, girl is spending the week on a mission trip to New Orleans. We went to a musical at Christmas time and she told me then she wanted to join the performance choir that was performing. Well, we got her all signed up in Jan. and she has worked so hard. This week they are performing at different churches, detention centers, and public places like the Cafe Du Monde. She is worn out from all of the busyness of it but is having a great time. We live by the verse,... Bad company corrupts good morals. 1 Cor. 15:33. So it was a big leap for her to go off and do something like this. However, she did just graduate and she will be 19 in Oct. By this point she should be trained in the way that she should go. (Prov. 22:6) She truly has a heart for those less fortunate and we are so proud of the young woman she is becoming.
I love you Katherine and I have missed you like crazy this week!!!!

In the meantime we are staying busy busy with the garden. I go out every morning for a while and weed or tie up tomato plants.

All of this hard work has produced beyond our wildest dreams. We have decided this may very well be our best garden yet. I think God is blessing this sweet man because he missed all of last years harvest. He loves gardening. I am so thankful. I love stalks of corn. It is really shooting up now.We have a ton of squash and zucchini blooms.
And a ton of zucchini.....

and squash. We should be picking by the end of the week. Praise the Lord.

I have 60 tomato plants planted and it looks like only one is going to die. They are already covered with little tomatoes. Today I am taking all of my frozen tomatoes from last year and working on my new spaghetti/pizza sauce. I will be putting up a lot of sauce, salsa, and ketchup this year, Lord willing.

~~she prepares her bread in summer and gathers her food in harvest. Prov. 6:8~~

By the way, I am wondering does anyone have any idea what this plant is? I don't think it is an angel trumpet. It doesn't grow on a large stem. It grows more like an amaryllis. It may just be some type of amaryllis, however the foliage looks different.

Well, I must go get started. I hope you all have a great day!!

Whirlwind of renovating......

2010-05-27T08:00:00.015-05:00

We have done a ton of renovating since my honey came home from Iraq. Here is just a snippet of what we have done.....

First of all, we took up the hardwood and laid it back down right. The previous owners didn't lay it right around the door frames and it really drove my husband and I nuts. It looks so good now. I hope to eventually put the hardwood in all of my bedrooms too. He also laid new ceramic tile in both of our bathrooms. It's a light terra cottaey color. It, too, looks great.Now, we are on to the hall bathroom. We just added these accessories yesterday. We added this white shelf.
Our house is about 40 years old and has the original iron sinks, and tubs. The hall bath's are this yellow color. I don't want to replace them because you just don't get quality like this today, so we are working around them. We chose this aqua blue set to go along with the yellow.

This is the new shower curtain.

Now on to the really big project. This was a wall with a pocket door opening. It separated my living and dining room. My kitchen was off the living room and you walked through the door opening to get to the dining room. Well, no more. We took down the wall and made a nice cased opening. I also switched my dining and living room. Now the dining room is off the kitchen and it's all one big open space. I love it!!!

This is the Before:

And the After:

I painted the walls in the living room a nice chocolate brown (Valspar's Pretzel Twist). We also got new furniture, as what I had before was 11 yrs. old and showing quite a bit of wear and tear. This set is a nice rusty/red color. I hope it lasts at least 11 yrs.

This is the "new" dining room. I painted this room Benjamin Moore's Adobe Beige. It is the perfect like ivory/khaki color. We plan on trimming out the chalkboard this weekend.

The Before:

And the After:

This works so much better for our family because we live with us all in the same area reading, playing games, watching movies, or playing on the computer.

Here's another view. I would like to eventually paint my chairs black. I am working on a family photo collage for that big empty space. I also want to put a verse on the top of the book shelf. I am thinking,

I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth. 3 John 1:4.

This is probably one of the things I am most excited about.... My honey changed out my old two sided sink for this huge single tub sink. I wanted the single tub because it is huge and I can fit a whole cookie sheet in the bottom. My oldest daughter is a budding homemaker/chef and she has put this thing to good use.

We have several more projects but they are on hold. It's about to be canning season and that will consume my summer. Praise the Lord.

Proverbs 10:5~~ He that gathereth in summer is a wise son: but he that sleepeth in harvest is a son that causeth shame.~~

And last but definitely not least.......

The newest member of our family. We are still working on the name.

I hope you all have a great weekend. We are thinking of going camping.

So many posts.... so little time....

2010-05-12T08:43:00.016-05:00

Here is our HUGE project right now, besides all of the remodeling (pics. coming soon). The garden!!! It is bigger this year measuring about 75X110. I have 60 tomato plants, 4 rows of corn, 3 rows of peas, 1 row of beans, 1 row of squash and zucchini, 2 rows of melons and cucumbers, a half row of peppers, and a row of sunflowers. We will add pumpkins later. Lord willing, it will all make and I will be canning like a mad woman come June and July.

Here are the 60 tomato plants. So far so good, they look healthy and strong. I hope to make all of our preservative free ketchup and tomato sauces this year.

We planted two blueberry plants last year and they are loaded this year. I also planted one more blueberry this year. They are all still small but in about 3 more years I will have blueberries, figs, and blackberries running out of my ears, Lord willing. Hopefully, we will be able to add peaches and plums to our little orchard soon.

Here is the bumper crop of muscadines. I will be canning quite a bit of jelly this summer, Lord willing.

These are the newest members to our flock. We have 3 hens and the white one is supposed to be a rooster. I try to add a few every year so that our flock stays at an even level. Right now, I am getting about 8 -10 eggs a day. Which is more than enough for us and allows us to give them to friends and neighbors. Eph. 4:12, Heb. 6:10

Those of you from the South, primarily Mississippi, know that this past winter was record breakingly cold and wet. I think it added to the depression we already had from Ronnie being gone. I can tell you right now that I would probably die if I lived above the mason dixon line. (not really Ha Ha)

However, one great thing about an excess of water this past winter is that it has produced some amazing roses this spring. Just look at them showing off. Oh, and yeah it has already gotten so hot here we have had to turn on the AC. I will have to remind myself to Praise God when it's 100* outside this summer.

Last but not least my oldest daughter, a true Ruby, has started a blog featuring all of her amazing photography. I would love it if you would swing by and give her some encouragement.

Here's her blog address:

http://katherinespencerphotography.blogspot.com/

Wow..... That was quite the dry spell.....

2010-05-09T17:48:00.002-05:00

I am back from my incredibly long hiatus. During my honey's deployment, I was extremely busy with 3 kids, homeschooling and trying to keep up constant contact with the man of my dreams 5000 miles away. It was just too much. I also got on Facebook so that we could keep in contact even more and that was about all I could do. I think I am now ready to start documenting our day to day here again. My sweetie has now been home 2 months and has been off work the whole 2 months. He goes back to work on Tues. During his time off we have done so many remodel projects. I don't even know where to begin but I hope to post them next week. Until then, have a great week friends!!!

An end of the season trip and so much more....

2009-07-25T19:57:00.011-05:00

This is a post full of pictures. We have had some adventures lately and the true love of my life is now, on occasion, reading my ridiculous blog so I want to share some pictures with you and him..... Here goes.

Well, at the beginning of the week, we loaded up the car and I do mean loaded, and headed for Gulf Shores, Al. My sister and her family got a beach house for a week and we decided to take my mom (mimi) and go have some fun in the sun with them. Here is a picture going through the tunnel in Mobile.

This is a picture taken in the hotel. My niece decided to go back to the hotel with us every night. So the oldest is mine and the youngest my niece. I just thought this was a beautiful picture.

Here's my girl on the alligator in the ocean. My son is the one at the end of the line on a boogie board. They had a blast.

This is my oldest playing Frisbee on the beach with my nephew. She hates the beach but even she had a really good time.

Here's our temporary man of the house showing off more of his board skills.

And here is a flag that was at the beach house next door, I just loved it waving along the ocean front.

Now, we are back home and back to reality. No one wanted to leave but Mimi had to go back to work and so the fun was cut short. We had a great time but we sure did miss daddy being with us. Although, I don't think I would have been able to frequent as many little stores had he been with us. (ha ha)

Next, I wanted to share with you my new pot rack. I am hanging my cast iron on it. It has freed up some space in my hobbit kitchen and I really like it but I am not sure what needs to be put in the opening.

Then today, our neighbor came over and put up a temporary electric fence for us. The grass back here has grown to a level that we can not control so he fenced it in for us to put our horses on. I really need to borrow some goats.LOL

Here the horses are enjoying some new pasture.

I also thought I would share our baby chicks that are no longer babies. Every year we get about 5 or 6 new babies and here are a couple of this years crop. I think this one is so pretty. She is an Auracauna and she will lay blue/green eggs.

My honey loves a black chicken and our last one disappeared so here is his new black chicken.

Now for the bad news, before we left for the beach, I was of course, canning tomatoes and I heard a loud pop. I had blown up my cook top. So I just decided I will deal with it when I get home. Now I am on the hunt for the best deal on a cook top. In the mean time, I still have tomatoes running out of my ears, literally. So this is what little man and I fixed up today. We put my Coleman camping stove on a table outside and I began canning on the porch. I really should have been doing this all along, as it really saved my kitchen from heating up.

Oh and by the way, so far the best deal is at Cowboy Maloney's in Jackson. However, I have a few more calls to make.

I thought last but not least, I would end with a beautiful picture of our mammoth sunflowers. They started blooming while we were gone and they were quite the site to come home to.
Have a great weekend!!!

July is flying by.....

2009-07-09T17:01:00.005-05:00

Well, we had a pretty good 4th. It was as good as could be expected without the love of my life here. My mother came down and my sister and her family. Our little version of Mayberry has a big Lena Day every 4th of July. We have politicians and speakers come and give their .02. My girls spent the day signing in participants for the antique car and tractor show. Then they moved on to making snow cones.

Last year my honey did the color guard. So this year in lieu of him being deployed they asked if my son could do the Pledge of Allegiance to the American Flag. It was great. He was so nervous but it was truly a treasured memory for us all. Here he is on stage.

There are all kinds of events for the kids. The big one is the turtle race. Kids decorate their turtles and then race them around a circle. My son did it last year and my nephew wanted to do it this year. Here he is with his turtle.

They won 3rd. place. Needless to say, my sister and family will be back next year.

It was a great day and a great way to take our mind off of the circumstances of our day to day.

Her"s one of my projects that I have somewhat completed.

Now keep in mind I did this myself and really could have used the expertise of my honey but I think it came out pretty good. I love Rue's new pantry and she was my inspiration. I love her wooden brackets and I think I will change mine out one by one. These shelves will be holding the majority of my canning. I have 19 jars of muscadine and pear preserves left out of the 75 I put up last year. If any of you would like for me to send you a jar leave me a link to your email. The harvest will be coming in again in Sept. and Oct. and I will be starting all over.LOL I would love to share our abundance.

~~ Indeed, the Lord will give what is good, and our land will yield its produce.~~

Psalms 85:12

And here's some of the produce this week. I am putting up corn, tomatoes, and peas this week. All of this harvest is slowing down the process of my really big project but it is making the days go by faster. Most days I look up and it's 2:00 before I even get the day started good.

I pray that we put up enough that we can eat from the garden all winter. We will see.

Have a great week.....

Whew.... It has been a while!

2009-06-24T19:12:00.009-05:00

We have had so much going on and so many changes in a month.

About 3 wks ago..... we put this man, the love of my life, my very best friend and the father of my babies ......

On this bus, to go to.....(actually to go to the airport but you get the picture)

Iraq.

Here he is in front of a palace.

To say it was one of the worst days of my life would be an understatement. I have cried and cried and just when I think it is getting better.... I cry some more.

On a more positive note, he made it there safely and praise God for technology. We are using Skype and a webcam to see and talk to him via computer everyday. So to say it could be much worse is so true. When we did this 4 years ago it was much worse. When he starts working 16 hour days we wont talk to him as much but right now, while they are transitioning troops over, we are getting very spoiled.

While he is gone, I plan to do a lot of my projects. Here was the first one....

This is my living room that we painted a nice dark Khaki a year ago, when we moved in.

Well, I was never really happy with it because it was so dark and this room does not have a lot of natural light. I need light and airy. So last week, I repainted it Benjamin Moore's Adobe beige. I love this color. Here it is now. I will be painting all of the trim a bright white tomorrow.

Now, this is our other huge project. The garden is coming in.

Today, I put up 3 gallon bags of corn. My corn is not ready yet but a neighbor gave us a good bit. We ate some for dinner tonight and it was so wonderful.

I also put up 7 qts. of pickles. We love homemade pickles.

Now, here is some of the rest of my bounty right now.

I hope to put up lots of canned tomatoes, ketchup and spaghetti sauce. That is if I win the battle on blossom end rot.LOL

It also looks like we will start picking peas tomorrow.

Here is a picture of one of our sunflowers. We always plant a row of sunflowers for our middle daughter. She loves them and they are beautiful in the garden.

It is a busy, busy, time but I love harvest time.

I have a really large project going on and I can't wait to share it but it will be a while before it is completed.

May Garden Party and a little update....

2009-05-06T10:51:00.011-05:00

I can't believe May is here all ready. We have been busy, busy around here. My husband left on Friday. He is not out of the country yet but he mine as well be. He will possibly get to come home for 4 days in June, then he will be off to Iraq. It is a very sad time for us and I haven't felt much like blogging but I went to Rhoda's spot this morning and thought how fun a May Garden Party. I can do that. However, over here in Ms. we are experiencing quite the down pours. So in between pouring rain episodes, I went and took a few pictures. Now, keep in mind we moved to this place with little to no landscaping and along with all of our other projects I have been piddling with the yard here and there. So here are a few items we have planted.

Oh, and of course I forgot to upload my pics first so you can't click on them. Sorry.

These are the azaleas from the spring. They bloomed like crazy. They are finished now and I have already done all of the pruning of them.

These are some elephant ears that I have planted to kind of hide the air conditioner unit. Elephant ears do great down here in the South.
These are amaryllis. I have two kinds this beautiful pink and white and we have some red. I love these.
Here's my spider wort. I literally dug it off the side of the road to go in this flower bed. We have it growing all up and down the road and highway. It is beautiful.

Now, this is not such a beautiful spot, yet, but I wanted to show it to you for a reason. This bed is completely under the awning of my back porch. It gets very little afternoon sun. Well, when we moved here it had some hideous looking roses in it that were tall and leggy looking. Now we have planted dwarf gardenia in there and I need to add some colorful flowers.

I cut the roses back and moved them to this bed and they get more sun and are loving it.

If you look closely in the corner I have some purple jade coming up and taking off. I thought I had dug it all up and moved it but I guess not. It kind of looks good in with the roses.

I have three of these little planters with perennials and potato ivy around.

Here are the muscadine vines loaded with this years bounty.

Last but not least here are the blueberry bushes and fig tree we planted this spring. They are doing great and we should have about a handful of fruit this year.LOL However, in 3 years, Lord willing, we should have more than enough.

If you get a chance stop by Rhoda's at Southern Hospitality and take a look at her May Garden.

Outdoor Wednesday!!!

2009-04-01T09:19:00.005-05:00

Good morning, friends.

Oh, my, 2 posts in the same week, I believe that is a record. I saw this little weekly meme at one of my other favorite daily stomping grounds and thought I would participate. Here are my blooming azaleas. They are really showing out. You can click on the pics. for a closer look.
We bought this house at the end of May last year and by the time we saw the house the azaleas had already bloomed, so we had no idea what color they would be. They are breathtaking to say the least and I want about 20 more of the same color all around my yard.LOL

A couple of weekends ago, we worked on some landscaping and mowing of the lawn. This is the Gerber daisy my daughter picked out for the front porch. It's blooming beautifully.

And here is a geranium I picked out for my front porch table. I just love geraniums. Red is my favorite color of geranium but my daughter's is pink. I guess you can tell who won.

Last but not least, this is what we have on the mini farm this week. The week before we left on our cruise, we noticed this chicken missing. She is a small chicken, a Wheaten Old English Game Hen to be exact. So we just thought something must have gotten her while out free ranging one day. We had looked everywhere and she was nowhere to be found. Well, she came out of hiding this week and look what she has with her.

She has 7 little chicks. This is the first time we have let one of our hens keep their chicks. We have always been afraid that predators would get them. However, she is doing a great job keeping her little brood safe and we are going to leave them alone and hope for the best. I can not tell you how much fun it is to watch a momma chick walk around the yard with her little babies in toe. It is pure joy.

I have to say letting the chickens raise babies the natural way sure beats this.

We have 7 baby Americauna chicks in our laundry room. I bought them last week. They are the ones that lay the blue and green eggs. I will keep them in the laundry room for about another week and then they will go to the barn.LOL

Well, that is all for my Outdoor Wednesday. I hope you will all head over to A Southern Daydreamer and check out a few more.

Have a great day!!!

Changes all around us....

2009-03-27T05:18:00.007-05:00

Good morning friends. It has been a tough week and last few weeks to be honest. My husband has begun the journey of deploying. He is currently away from home doing training. Yesterday was my birthday so he did sneak back home for the night. I just love him for that. He literally drove 2+ hours home, got home at 8:00 and had to leave at 5:00 this morning. I was so sad for him to leave. I know you do what you have to do but I just want to go on record saying that I hate this and I just want to cry. The loss for me and my children for this next year is overwhelming me right now. I am trying ever so hard to be strong and to just cry out to Jesus for strength. He is the only one who can provide it right now.
~

On to other topics. We had a great time on our cruise. It was just what we needed. I have so many pictures but I thought I would limit it to these. Here is the beautiful sunrise over the ocean one morning at sea.

We spent a good portion of our time out here on the balcony just watching the vastness of the ocean. God's handy work is amazing. I love this picture.

This is when we ported in Cozumel. We had a great time going through the streets and shopping. Then my honey and kids went off to zip line, rappel, and snorkel. They had a great time and I had a great time just relaxing. We also ported in Calica and went into Playa Del Carmen. It was fun.

Now for the not so great part, we had left our Shih Tzu, Beaux, with my mom. I will preface by saying that Beaux was extremely attached to our family and since we were going to be away for 6 days, we hated to leave him at the vet. We knew he would be depressed and didn't want it to go on for that long, bad decision. My mother said he did not eat or go to the bathroom for days. She said he crawled in a corner and snapped at her when she came close. On the fatal day she let him out in her fenced in back yard. He seemed to do better outside. Well, while she was at work he either dug out of the fence or climbed over. I am not sure which. He got in the road and was killed. I can not even begin to tell you how devastating this has been for our family. I think, as women, we have a natural need to baby something. I would love more real babies but do not have any so this was my families baby. He was my oldest daughter's 16th birthday present and we all loved him dearly. He slept with my daughter every night and went straight out to the barn with her every morning for chores. I made him an egg almost everyday of his life. He was rotten and I don't plan on doing that again, hence his separation anxiety. Anyway, this was Beaux and we love and miss him dearly.

The flip side to the horrifying accident is that my mother also cried for days. She knew how upset we would be and thought we would be mad at her. We were mad at ourselves for putting my mother in such a terrible predicament. I never thought that Beaux would act so terribly. I just wish in hindsight that we had taken him to the vet and boarded him. Although, I do think that God had a bigger lesson for us. I think we had put Beaux on such a pedestal that we also needed to learn a huge lesson.

Anyway, my mother thought the best thing to do was to find my daughter another Shih Tzu. So she drove to Memphis and got this little guy. If you have been in this situation, you know this just made it worse. Mother was just trying to make things better but we needed time to grieve. Not to mention, I probably would not have gotten this same breed again. They just get so attached. However, we took him so that she would not feel like we didn't appreciate the gesture or that we were mad. Oh, it has been hard. On several occasions I have accidentally called him Beaux, bringing us all to tears. His name is Murphy and he is now an 8 week old chocolate and white Shih Tzu. He is a cutey.

Before we left on vacation, we had decided to get this little guy. A friend of ours dog had puppies and my children had been around them since they were born. They had never really asked for one, as they knew I would say NO. However, my husband is leaving for a year and this is a good time to ask him for anything. So they did!! He explained to me that we need a good farm dog/watch dog. I have yet to see any real good farm dog qualities but I am on the look out for them.LOL However, on the watch dog front, I think he may be good for that, if not we have guns, and praise the Lord, he does not chase my chickens so far.

His name is Diesel and he is 1/4 blue heeler, 1/4 rottweiler, and 1/2 German Sheppard. I do have to admit he is kind of cute.

And here are the two of them together. They are about the same age and about 30 lbs. different.

We have also added 7 new baby chicks to the farm life. I really didn't need any, as I have eggs running out of my ears. I dropped off 2 dozen to a friend yesterday. However, I had lost all of my Americana chickens and I wanted some more blue and green eggs. So right now I have 7 baby chicks under a light in my laundry room. In about a week I will move them to a brooder box in the barn. I like to keep my eye on them for about a week first.

I guess that is about all that is going on around here. I have done some landscaping in the front and when I finish it I will post some pics. I have a long way to go to catch up to Mrs. Pickets beautiful yard. If you need inspiration go check out here beautiful pics.

I hope you all have a great day!!!
~

Busy days down on the farm.....

2009-03-07T07:26:00.007-06:00

Good Morning Friends,

It has been a while since I have had a chance to sit down and really update. As usual, things have been busy, busy around here. I got back from my procedure and everything has gone smoothly. I hope to do a whole post on that soon. However, we got back on Monday and my oldest daughter came down with the Flu on Wednesday. Which meant by Friday we all had the Flu, except Hubby, who is required by the military to take a Flu shot. It was rough, as we have never had the flu. We are just now, 2 1/2 wks. later, really getting over it.

But on a more happy note, this is what we are up to..... We have disked up our garden plot. It measures 50 X 95, which will be about 4750 sq. ft. of beautiful garden. We plan on planting:

LOTS of Peas (several different kinds)

Tomatoes (several different kinds)

Cucumbers (mainly for pickling)

Squash

Eggplant

Zucchini

Peppers

Okra

Corn

Sunflowers

Marigolds

Watermelon

Muskmelon

If you look closely you will see a little stray chicken running through.LOL
Now this is what hubby, middle DD, and Ds are doing bright and early this morning. They are taking these once little cuties to market. They looked like this back in July.

Now they look like this.

They are loaded on the trailer and are headed to the processor. It was sad to see them go but they were getting quite stinky. It has been a fun project and I think we will probably do it again if the meat is as good as we keep hearing.

And last but not least, I thought I would throw in a daily around here. Here are the horses waiting on their morning rations. As Hubby and the kids were leaving with the pigs, the horses were letting us know they are ready to eat.

Now for other news, the day for my honey to leave is getting closer and closer. He leaves our home in May for a month of training before going over to Iraq. However, he will be gone for 4 wks. sporadically between now and then. So we are leaving next week to go on a cruise. We are so excited. We will be gone from Monday to Saturday. We wanted to do something extravagant before he left and this is it!!! So today and tomorrow I will be getting things packed and then it's Bon Voyage Baby!!!

I hope you all have a beautiful weekend. It is a glorious 70+ degrees here in Mississippi, so I foresee some yard work going on here.

Good Morning, Friends....

2009-02-12T07:58:00.003-06:00

I hope you are all doing well. We have been so extremely busy lately that I have not had time to do my usual rounds. It has felt like spring around here with temps. in the 60's -70's. So we have gotten a lot done. By the way, thank you all for your well wishes for my mother. She is doing great!!

I wanted to share a new little pretty that I got recently from the amazing Susie Harris. That girl is so good. I ordered it to go in the little blank spot outside my front door but it was so pretty that I can't put it outdoors. So here she is with an added ribbon hanging above my mantel on that wonderful old window. I wish I had some other great thing going on on the mantel but this is it. Nevertheless, it is a start.

We have also been planting fruit trees and getting our garden ready for planting.

In other exciting news, my husband just got a job promotion. He is excited about it but it's an hour drive from our home so I am a little weepy. We love our new house and wont be moving right away. However, when Dh gets back from Iraq, if we just hate the situation we may look at moving again. UGHH!! Anyway, you have to do what you have to do.

As for other news, I am having a little procedure done on Saturday, if you would all please pray for me. My oldest daughter will be going with me and we will be flying on Fri. and Mon. I hate to fly. So I should, Lord willing, be home on Monday and will check in with you all. Have a great weekend and God Bless.

A Little Prayer Request...

2009-01-21T21:23:00.002-06:00

As of last Friday, my life has been turned upside down. My mom fell on a little patch of ice in her yard and tore her Supraspinatus Tendon and began to tear her infraspinatus tendon. Which, in lamens terms, is her rotary cuff in her shoulder. It is a tear that has to be surgically fixed. My sister and I have been taking turns staying with her in the hospital and then I brought her home with me for a couple of nights. She is at her home tonight but we are already feeling like that is not a great idea. Her pain is just so intense and gets worse during the night. However, she just wanted to go home for a night. My sister is going to go get her tomorrow. The surgery will be Tuesday and she will come home with me until the weekend and then go back to my sisters. If you could just say a prayer for us. We are all just worn out with this whole situation and are just ready to be on the road to recovery. I have driven the 100 mile one way trip every day this week and tonight I am dragging, oh and my house is a mess.LOL My mom is very strong and independent so you can imagine how tough this is on her and us all. So, I thank you in advance for lifting us up in prayer.

Wow, it's Jan. 12th and this is my first post of the year......

2009-01-12T15:56:00.005-06:00

Well, it's a new year and we have had so much going on. The love of my life had been off since Dec. 19th and around here that means a lot of family time. He finally went back to work and I took the week trying to get my house back in order (lots of laundry) and getting started back with schooling. We love having him home and wish he did not have to go back to work but nothing really gets done, house work wise, when he is home. We had a GREAT Christmas and New Year. However, this little gadget has taken over the living room and the rest of my families life.LOL
It is the Nintendo Wii. My honey and I are pretty much on the same page with not being real crazy about watching television or playing video games all the time. We had fought this little gadget for going on 2 years now but decided this year to break down.LOL All we have is the Wii sports game, that came with the system, and the Wii Play but the whole family just loves it. My son and honey are now in there playing baseball. I have to say it is a great game system for getting the whole family involved. We have it set up in the living room, so no one is locked away in the bedroom, away from the whole family and it's been so much fun. We are already huge board game fans and this is just a whole other level of family fun.

Now, this is what else we have been doing on our little hiatus. I painted, or rather, hubby painted my front and back door this wonderful shade of red. It was a HARD decision going with the red. I was wavering between black and red and asked hubby what he thought. He said you have talked about red for years. He was right!! I love the way it turned out!

The color is Spanish Tile from Lowe's.

Oh and I want to put something in that big bare area by the door. What do you think Susie, do I need one of your new, absolutely adorable, signs there? Oh, and I know that Gothic light fixture needs to go, it's on the list.

Then I, not hubby, primed and painted my mantel black. I got this wonderful idea from the great Mrs. Dot at Picket's Place. Of course, hers is so much prettier with all of it's great beefiness but I still love mine. I don't know exactly how I want to decorate my mantel but this is a good start. I also need to paint the stove insert.

Another one of the projects we got done was tiling the bathroom floor. If you look at the little potty room floor closely there, you will see this horrid epoxy painted concrete flooring, that was throughout the entire house. The previous owners came in and put down this Pergo laminate wood floor, which we like but they did not do the potty rooms. So we decided on a cheap peel and stick tile at Lowe's to cover up the hideous.

The bathtub and toilet are a yellow color, which I kind of like and we chose this tile to play off of the yellow. I think the improvement is 100%. Well, that is it for the projects and I bet my manly man hubby was glad to go back to work.LOL I'm just joking, he loves this stuff.

Our plans from now until his deployment, sniff, sniff, are as follows:

*Paint kitchen cabinets and add a cabinet.

*Tile other bathroom with the same peel and stick tile.

*Landscape front of house.

*Replace outdoor light fixtures.

*Paint front and back porches.

*Plant fruit trees.

*Work on new chicken house.

*Paint all of trim in the house a high gloss white.

*Get my enormous garden area ready and possibly start planting.

Oh, the list could go on and on.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I should put this in a post of it's own, as it is so important, but it is hard enough for me to get one post up much less two. However, one huge thing that I want to add that we work on every new year and are doing this new year, is our Bible Reading Plan for the year. We each, even our not so little little man, try to read through the Bible every year. We work on a plan at the beginning of every year. This year I am reading some in the old Testament, some in the new Testament, some of a Psalm, and some of a Proverb every morning. It takes me about 30 minutes to read, pray and meditate. Just 30 minutes profoundly changes the tone of my entire day. I would encourage you, that if you are not doing something similar, try it!! Reading through the precious Word of God can be life changing.

Here is the site that I got my reading plan from:

http://www.oneyearbibleonline.com/readingplan/oneyearbiblereadingplan.pdf

It's not to late to start and get caught up with me. I usually fail miserably at this but in light of my honey leaving in July, I know that I will need to cling to the Word of God and am hoping to be victorious in my goal this year!!

My totaled car and so much more...

2008-12-18T07:00:00.004-06:00

Well, I guess I will start at the beginning. Last Saturday, Dec. 13th, my honey sent me down South, to Hattiesburg, for a Family Readiness Group meeting. He will be deploying to Iraq in July and he has put me in charge of the Family Readiness Group for our area. So I spent all day in meetings and it was really a very informative time. I enjoyed it even after really not wanting to go.LOL So I was coming back home and about 15 miles from my house, a man ran a stop sign and plowed into the side of my van. My husband says he T-boned me. First let me say, if you do not wear your seat belt, START!!! I was hit straight on and spun around in the intersection like a top, and walked away without a scratch other than some bruising from the seat belt. I am a believer now. I have never been in an accident before and it was terrifying. I was hysterical because I was disoriented and thinking that my children would have been in that seat that is scrunched up. We finally found out yesterday that they totalled my van. We are pleased with the amount they are giving us for it, also. We were thinking it would be much less, as a van is worthless after driving off the car lot. So now we are car shopping or rather, truck shopping. We also have a Suburban and I will now drive it and my husband is going to get a truck to drive back and forth to work. I want to say that I always have my children in the car with me but on this very rare day I was alone. I am so thankful that it was not any worse than being a little sore and that my babies (17,14, and 11) were all safe and sound at home. I am also thankful for the very nice people who stopped to help and that the man who hit me was honest and nice. It just could have been so much worse but God is faithful!

Now to the good stuff, this is what me and my middle maiden did all afternoon yesterday. We made plates of goodies to take to the men who work for my honey and to our friends and neighbors for Christmas. We made plain fudge, peanut fudge, no bake cookies, butterscotch cookies, crock pot candy, and chocolate turtle cookies. I will also send them a home baked loaf of bread and some jelly. The little cookies with nuts around them and caramel in the center are the Turtles. They are soooo good.

I wrapped them in red Saran Wrap and will put a pretty little note card on top.

We will be car/truck hunting the next few days, if you think of us please say a prayer of wisdom, as we are seeking to do the right thing.

Have a great day!!!!

First Show and Tell Friday....

2008-12-11T21:57:00.006-06:00

I wanted to tell you about our Jesse Tree and I also wanted to participate in Kelli's Show and Tell Friday, so I combined the two and here it is. I love Kelli's blog. She is so real, down to earth, and incredibly creative. Go and check her out if you haven't already.

Ok, here is our Jesse Tree in all his glory. I want to show you the picture and then explain the concept.

First, we took a branch from a tree outside and stuck it in one of my milk bottles with some beans for stability. It of course, needed a nice red bow.LOL Then I printed our ornaments for each night and laminated them to go on the tree. Now, every night from Nov. 30 until Dec. 25 we have a devotional that pertains to some promise that God gave having to do with our need for a Saviour. Each one of these ornaments, that we add to the tree nightly, coincides with the promise for that night. So like last night we read the story of Samuel anointing David as king.(1 Samuel 16:1-13) The ornament we hung was a horn filled with anointing oil.

I have really been searching for something that sets this season apart from what the "World" looks like and for us the Jesse Tree has done it. It has been a great time of really seeing how the whole Bible is set up to show us our great need of redemption and how Jesus is that redemption.

I got mine from Graham Family Ministries. I ordered their 12 week holiday planner and the Jesse Tree was part of the planner. However, the devotions are very young and next year I may make them a little more meaty.

Here are some other great sites for Jesse Tree stuff:
http://www.jesse-tree.com/
http://rocksinmydryer.typepad.com/shannon/2008/11/jesse-tree.html ( this is Shannon at rocks in my dryer's post on her Jesse Tree) http://rocksinmydryer.typepad.com/
http://www.rca.org/Page.aspx?pid=1628

Here is a list of blogs that refer to the Jesse Tree:
http://blogsearch.google.com/blogsearch?hl=en&q=Jesse+Tree&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=X&oi=blogsearch_group&resnum=11&ct=title

I hope you enjoy our Jesse Tree and go and visit Kelli and the other Show and Tell's.

**************Oh, and check out the snow pictures that I posted yesterday, we got about 4 inches. Which is unbelievable for Mississippi.*********************************************

Have a great day!!!

It is snowing in Central Mississippi...

2008-12-11T11:17:00.004-06:00

This is the little country church that you can see from my pasture. I thought this picture was beautiful.

For those of you who live in the South, you know that this little 1/2 -1 inch of snow is a big deal. The schools close and people stock up at the store like it's doom's day. It is quite the site to see. If we got a real snow we would be in trouble. However, I like this kind of snow. My kids got to play in it and they think it's the best thing. Then tommorow it will be in the 50's and all will be right in the world. God has been so good to us to give us snow twice in one year this year. We got a pretty good one in March, too. You've got to love that global warming!!!

I think this one will be our Christmas card that I probably wont get done.LOL

Have a great day!!!

Delight yourself in the LORD; and He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD, Trust also in Him, and He will do it. Psalm 37:4-5

Christmas....(pictures)

2008-12-03T15:28:00.013-06:00

Before I start this post let me preface by saying that we do "Christmas". We have a tree and the house is decorated, so don't get too worried but I do want to share this with you.

I struggle this time of year with the whole "Christmas" thing and have for a few years now. I know that sounds insane in a world that loves Christmas but I try so hard to live a life that is truly following and seeking God's guidance. So when I look at "Christmas", I ask myself what does God think of this. It is a holiday that is very deeply rooted in Paganism dating back before Christ's birth. Well, we know what God says about that.( Gal. 4:8-11) It's also so commercialized and worldly. God clearly says that we are not to love this world or the things of this world!!! (1 John 2:15)

Then there is the whole Jesus' birthday thing. Well, Jesus was born more like August or September than December. However, what does God say about celebrating His birthday. He doesn't. There are only two mentionings of birthdays in the whole book and they were not happy occassions. (Gen. 40, Matt. 14:6-10) The Bible says to mourn the day of birth and rejoice the day of death.

I could go on and on but I will spare you. I will tell you that if we had been seeking the Lord earnestly, when our children were little, we would have done things very differently. There would probably not be as much of an emphasis on this one day. However, we weren't. So here we are with 3 kids who love Christmas and 2 parents who do not want to crush their spirit.

I have heard the phrase " redeeming Christmas" and I guess that is what we now do. I don't want to focus too much on the Jesus' birthday thing (as far as the day) but I do want to take this period of time to really delve deep into the events of His birth and why He had to be born (as a sacrifice for our sin). So this year we are doing some things differently.

We are doing a Jesse Tree, which is a great devotional tool starting in Gen. and ending with the birth of Jesus. We are also memorizing Luke 2:1-20.

We will still be baking cookies and giving to friends and neighbors. There will still be presents under the tree and singing of Christmas carols. We are just little by little trying to revamp the way we do things in order to become more and more like Christ (2 Cor. 3:18) and put away some traditions of men (Matt. 15:9).

With all of that being said, here are my middle daughter and son making our yearly gingerbread houses. They turned out great and the kids had a great time. My oldest daughter missed out this year, as she has taken on an afternoon job, helping a lady up the street until January. (sniffle, sniffle, they grow up too soon)

Here is the kit I bought at WalMart. I have made them myself in the past and for the price of this kit, making it just does not make sense, for me.

Here is the end result. They are beautiful!!!

I hope to post more about our Jesse Tree and all of our other crafts and recipes but we are so busy that I don't know that it will happen. I hope you all have a great holiday Season and truly focus on those things that are eternal like Faith, family and friends.

Dinner in all her glory....

2008-11-18T07:39:00.008-06:00

I have been experimenting with recipes for quite a few years but have gotten more diligent with it in the past couple of years. In the whole spirit of Keeping my Home and taking care of my family, I have seen more and more that nourishing my family is a huge responsibility that we, as mother's have been given by God (Proverbs 31). It should be looked at, as such. I recently watched the documentary, The Family Meal Table by Nancy Campbell of Above Rubies, and it just confirmed what I had already thought but to a greater degree. Oh, and Gloria, I will be ordering the manual sometime soon. I thought I would share a staple on our menu with you today.

This post all started with my girls going to Cracker Barrel with their grandmother this past weekend and afterwards my oldest daughter called to tell me that their Chicken and Dumplings could not touch mine. Now let me tell you, here in the South, Cracker Barrel is quite the connoisseur of Southern cuisine. So needless to say this was quite the compliment.

It all starts with opening this: I started this conglomeration of our family favorites a few years ago. I hope to pass it on to the coming generations. I thaw one of these the night before. I hope one day to have all free range, pasture fed, chickens, that we raise ourselves with no hormones or antibiotics but until then, this will suffice.

I boil this little guy for about 1 and 1/2 with chopped carrots, onion, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Usually until he falls apart.

After the chicken is done, I put the chicken in a bowl to cool. Then I strain the broth through a colander lined with an old almost see through (clean) dish towel. You can also use cheese cloth. After the chicken is cooled I debone it and shred the meat. The meat from this one chicken made chicken and dumplings last night and will make chicken and dressing tonight (my trial run). This process makes about 8-10 cups of shredded chicken and 16 cups of broth. Here is the broth.

I then make my dough, roll it out to about 1/8 inch thick and cut it into little squares.

I bring 8 cups of broth to a boil and boil a portion of the dumplings at a time. I put them in a bowl to the side while cooking the rest.

I melt the butter for the dumpling sauce in a cast iron skillet.

This is the final product. A plate full of chicken and dumplings with glazed carrots and green beans on the side.Here is the recipe:

Chicken and Dumplings

2 c. flour

1/2 tsp. salt

4 Tbsp. vegetable oil

2 tsp. baking powder

1 c. whole milk ( I used 2%)

Mix above ingredients. Knead 4 or 5 times. I divide the dough into 4 parts and roll out to 1/8 inch thick on a floured surface. I cut this into little squares and boil for about 3 minutes in 8 cups of chicken broth. I cook them 1 portion at a time. Putting each portion in a bowl to the side, at a time.

While the dumplings are cooking you can start the sauce:

Dumpling Sauce

3 Tbsp. butter

1/4 tsp. salt

4 Tbsp. flour

1 c. whole milk

1 -2 c. chicken broth

Place butter in pan and melt add salt and flour, stir until thick (like making gravy). Mix in milk. I put this to the side until my dumplings are finished. Then I pour out that broth I boiled the dumplings in and add the 1-2 c.(depending on how thick you want your chicken and dumplings) of broth and gravy mixture to this same sauce pan or dutch oven that I had previously cooked the dumplings in (saves on clean up). I then add my dumplings back in and about 4 cups of shredded chicken. I also add salt and pepper to taste periodically. I let this all simmer for about 20-30 minutes and it is done.

This is not an easy recipe but it is sooo good.

So much to say and so little time to say it.....

2008-11-12T06:52:00.010-06:00

Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Romans 8:1

Good Morning, friends.

I want to start out telling you about our Veteran's Day. My husband, of course, is a veteran. He was in the first Gulf War in 1990-1991 and then he served 18 months in 2004-2005 of this Iraqi Freedom war. Now he is scheduled to go back in May or July of 2009. However, he had the privilege of doing the color guard at the unveiling of a monument for this man Colonel Van T. Barfoot yesterday. Colonel Barfoot received the Congressional Medal of Honor for his heroism during WWII. He not only battled hard and saved his regiment but he also saved lives of his soldiers. When he got up to except the monument, he said I didn't do anything, nothing more than any of you would do. I know for a fact that is not true. They just don't make them like this man any more. He is the only living recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor in Mississippi and one of only 98 in the nation. They are a dwindling breed.

You can watch a clip of the ceremony here, if you are interested:
http://www.wlbt.com/global/video/popup/pop_player.asp?ClipID1=3125985&h1=Medal%20of%20Honor%20recipient%20honored&vt1=v&at1=News&d1=140167&LaunchPageAdTag=News&activePane=info&playerVersion=1&hostPageUrl=http%3A//www.wlbt.com/global/story.asp%3Fs%3D9332010&rnd=82691289

Well, instead of working on this place and making it more homey.......

We have been working on putting this in the woods.

This is one of the shooting houses that my honey and children have been working on. It's a 6 X 6 monster. We had to load it onto a trailer and drive it at 10 MPH and set it out in the woods. I was floored at how smoothly the whole process went. Deer Season opens up Saturday for my crew. They are so excited.

My honey used the scrap lumber that he got from tearing down this old smoke house to build his newest shooting house. I just love that old rusty tin and now want him to find more to go on the side of my garden shed. I think that rust patina is so beautiful.

This has been the other project. We got my garden spot all disked up. It will measure about 50X30. So, Lord willing, this spring I will have about 1500 sq. ft. of glorious garden. We just finished the last jar of homemade pickles that I put up 2 years ago and I am truly anticipating next years bounty.

This is my little mini 5X5 garden that I have now. Of which, I am very thankful for it. It holds some lettuce, cabbage, broccoli, and cauliflower. It is growing strong and I am so excited. We have eaten some lettuce and it was scrumptious. We have little baby broccoli on the stems, so they shouldn't be too much longer.

This one just blows my mind. We have had at least two frosty cold snaps here in Central Mississippi but these beauties are still going strong. I hope to move them this winter when they go dormant to a nice sunny spot. I can't imagine what they will do with a little more sun.

And then of course, I have to add in my clown children pictures. Don't you just love this ensemble? You've got the typical Carhart jacket with shorts and crocs. Is there any other way to dress in Mississippi? It just cracks me up what these kids will go out in.

I just had to share this one with you. My daughter, last year around Resurrection Sunday time, found this little guy. We were at a Seed and Feed store where we get our chickens every year. They had this little guy and he was very sickly with only one eye. The lady said if you can nurse him back to health take him. So my daughter did and we got some medicine for his eye. (our vet loves us) She really nursed him to good health for months and he is now a 25lb. big boy. He still only has the one eye because, it was just too far infected when we got him, but he gets around perfect. I thought this picture of him sleeping half out of his box really depicts his very lazy, happy life.

In closing this post out, I want to share what my family has been studying and looking at. We have been looking for a church home here for over a year and it has been tough to say the least. We are a little different in the aspect that we don't want to do things because the "church building" has done it that way for 100 years. We wont to see it in the Word of God and then do it. Here are a couple of verses that we have just found that are so prophetic:

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"Neglecting the commandment of God, you hold to the tradition of men." He was also saying to them, " You are experts at setting aside the commandment of God in order to keep your tradition. Mark 7:8-9

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That sounds so familiar to me. So many things we do in church on Sunday morning are just traditions of men.

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I also want to share this clip. This guy is so powerful.

I could not get the clip to embed so here is the URL.

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4axy22oTkA

I hope you all have a great day.

So what exactly does a homeschool kid do when the temp. drops?

2008-10-27T13:43:00.006-05:00

Let me preface by saying that the temps. here in central Ms. have finally turned cool and we have a cool front blowing in today. It may even frost tonight. So the kids (mainly the boy) wanted to build a fire out in the yard but it was just to0 windy. So what do you do when mom is way too logical?

Well, it all starts with a very overgrown muscadine vine/bush. When we moved here these very old vines had really been neglected and this is the largest one.

Then you add a very ingenious 11 year old boy.

Who recruits his sisters. Even the one who just turned 17 on Saturday. (Oh how I am crazy about these kids)

And then you turn said muscadine vine/bush into a fort of sorts.

They have their sleeping bags under there with pillows and blankets and are all huddled up. It's great.

There are so many things that I love about homeschooling and here is one of them. My girls and boy are not concerned about boys/girls or things of the world like who's wearing or doing what and all that peer pressure stuff. They are able to be 11, 14, and 17 and still play and dream and have fun. It's truly a blessing! We make a lot of sacrifices for me being home but I would not take one minute for it!!!

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On the topic of sacrificing, here is one frugal tip. With all of the fencing, preparing animal homes, and getting hay ready for winter, my husband has just not had time to put up a clothesline. So I hung a small clothesline between two of our small oaks. It is temporary but works. I love the smell of line dried sheets. There is nothing better. I have read that every load of clothes dried in the dryer can cost $.36. Around here that will add up quick. Now don't get me wrong, I do not line dry every load of clothes but I do like to use it as much as possible.

Do you see how that wind is whipping up today? They will be dry in no time!!

I love the idea of this clotheline with a garden trellis on either end. I think it would beautify a plain old clothesline. I would grow morning glories up either side. I doubt mine will be this fancy initially but maybe one day!!

I hope you all have a great week!!!

Thoughts on the days to come...

2008-10-20T17:52:00.006-05:00

If there's one prediction I can make from this analysis, it's this: It looks very much to me like there will be a rough few years ahead in the United States, whichever candidate wins.

I took this excerpt from an article found here:http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article4995.html.

Let me preface this post by saying I have several things on my mind and this may be a long post. I don't want to really be political in the sense of Dems. vs. Reps. I do have a side and I will say that I am on the side of life no matter who the candidate is.(killing millions of babies every year is unacceptable) However, I don't think it really matters who is elected this time around, as our nation is in such a pitiful financial shape. I think the economy will be the biggest focus for the next 4 years for whoever wins. I think all other points of interest will be taking a back seat to the coming recession. I don't even really care who's fault it is, although I do think that if it were all the Republicans you would here the other side kicking and screaming that fact. Nevertheless, from what all the "financial powers that be" are saying we are headed for some tough times.

First and foremost let me say, In God I have put my trust, I shall not be afraid... Psalms 56:11

I want it to be clear that I believe God knows what is about to happen and that if we trust in Him, He will not abandon us. However, I do think that we can prepare for the times ahead. Here are a few things that I am doing. I boiled a chicken this past week and instead of throwing out all that scrumptious broth, I put up 2 qts. of broth. I will be doing that with every chicken I boil for the next few months.

Now this is something I have done for several years now. I grind my own wheat and bake all of our bread, rolls, crescent rolls, cinnamon rolls and anything else you can make out of bread dough. The thing I am doing differently is that I have stocked up on wheat berries. I am just sticking them in the freezer. The price of wheat berries has gone through the roof.
The big gallon size jar is honey. Until we have our own bees, I buy honey in a gallon jug.
This is what I made today, a loaf of bread and rolls. My kids love to eat a sandwich on rolls instead of sliced bread.I think my biggest point is, not only am I trying to save some of my money at the grocery store, I am also trying to stock up on pantry items. I am adding extra bags of rice and nonperishables to my pantry every week. I think it may be a wise thing to do.

Another huge thing for the days ahead is living a life that is debt free. If you are not already I encourage you to work on this this next year. We, Lord willing, hope to be debt free at the first of the year next year. Instead of spending on all of the wonderful things I want for this new house, like landscaping, we are focusing on paying off all debt. I think it will serve us far better in the days to come.

Now for the not so glamorous part of the simple life......
We have intentions, Lord willing, of growing and raising all of our food, eventually. We hope to eventually have a diet that does not contain any antibiotics or growth hormone, just natural free range from our own range.LOL
Well, this morning my honey took care of one of our roosters. He has been aggravating our little ladies unbearably. Earlier in the summer we had to kill a rooster because he chased our middle daughter and pecked her when she went to feed them. We just don't tolerate a mean rooster, especially when they are mean to the hand that feeds them. However, this one was mean to the other chickens which can be very upsetting to the egg production. So needless to say his days were numbered. Here is honey taking him across the yard to the barn for his demise. He is not dead but if you pick them up by there feet it has a sort of tranquilizing effect.

Notice our little Shit-Zhu walking along side. He never left during the whole grizzly process.
Yes, that is an extension cord holding the wings. I didn't say we have the most sophisticated process going.
I left out some of the more gory pictures. Here is the end result. We hope to next spring, get 25-50 meat chickens to raise out for our freezer.

Picket, I think your Burly Boys would be proud. We have quite the deer season around here too.LOL

I would like to point out that while all of this killing and processing is going on, I am in the house. I just cook the stuff.LOL
Again, this way of life, I pray, will benefit us in the coming days.

I don't want to seem all doom and gloom but I do think it will benefit us all to be a little more prepared.

*****If you enjoy my blog, I would love for you to become a follower of it, over in the sidebar**** I hope to work on my list of blogs that I love to follow this week. Have a great week!!!

Beauty in the Simple Things

2008-10-10T20:28:00.008-05:00

This is one of the many amazing sunsets that I get the privilege of viewing every evening from our wonderful back porch. God truly knows how to show off all of His splendor.
Exodus 33:18

And here is our main man relaxing in the new hammock. With all the work we have around here you rarely see him relaxing. He works hard for us and in return I hope we serve him well.

This has been the latest funny. The little kitten loves to sleep in the barn shoes we keep outside the door. The kids get a big kick out of this.

This is our middle maiden. I love seeing her and her sister riding through the pasture or in this case the yard. It's the simple things that truly make me smile.

Of course, there is quite a bit of maintenance that go with these little beasts, as well. This is our oldest maiden cleaning hooves and brushing them down.

I also wanted to show my newest little vignette for fall. My husband and son found a man who was wanting and old smoke house torn down on his property. He has gotten older and just could not keep up all of the outbuildings he has. We, having this little mini farm, need all the lumber we can get, so it was a great trade off. So they went and tore it down and brought home all the lumber. This window pane was the goodie that I got to keep. It was painted an awful pinky color but I white washed it and I think it turned out great. I still need to paint that mantel. I have wanted to several times and just can't find the time. Soon!!

Have a wonderful evening.

A great girls afternoon....

2008-10-07T07:05:00.003-05:00

This past Friday afternoon, my girls and I went into Jackson to see a movie and do some shopping/looking. This is the movie we went to see.

I know what some are you are thinking, "Why didn't you go with your hubby?". Well, we were but we just couldn't work out a date night and I really wanted to see it and so did my girls. So that's how it went. Anyway, he can see it on DVD in a couple of months.LOL

As for the movie, it was amazing. I had a couple of people at church say that it was not kid friendly. Well, my girls are 16 and 14, and I think it was more than appropriate for them. It really hit on the sin of divorce but that there is redemption. It was great. Kirk Cameron did an amazing job!!! I really encourage those who are married or planning to be, to see this one. I think in America and especially in the Church, marriage has become way to convenient and not thought of as a lifelong covenant before God. This movie really makes that solid!!

The girls and I then hit Hobby Lobby and went over to what we call the "Kitchen Store", Linens and Things. My oldest daughter loves to cook and this store is heavenly to her. I think one of her Christmas gifts this year will be a basket full of kitchen gadgets. I know that may sound lame for Christmas but I would have loved a head start on my homemaking gadgets. I think she will too. We had dinner at Backyard Burger and headed home. It was a great girls night out with my favorite girls.

Have a great week!!

Should I call this my bimonthly blog post?

2008-09-30T18:21:00.004-05:00

I know that you are all just as incredibly busy as I, but I just have the hardest time fitting the blog into my schedule since we have started schooling. I do try to keep up with all of you. I would rather read all of your blogs than post anyway. Well, we have had a lot going on the past few weeks and here is one......

My mother's cat had 4 kittens and using mother's words, 11 days later she had a fatal car accident (the cat, not mother). Well, mother did not feel that she could bottle feed all 4 kittens so she decided we needed to take 2 of them. You know since she thinks because we home school we have so much free time on our hands. That's a whole other story in itself. Here are the 2 babies we brought home and my girls have been bottle feeding. They look like little rats they are so small. I have a feeling we will end up keeping these 2, as much as we do not need them.

Now, this is the crafting I have been doing. I took one of my plain white lamp shades and spray painted it red. I got the idea from the Berry's Patch. She painted hers using acrylic paint and I used spray paint. I think it turned out great. I still plan to add some trim around the edges but I have to make a trip to Hobby Lobby for that.

Susie did you recognize that wonderful tassel? I love it!!!

Then I dug out this tropical tray that I have had stored forever. I gave it a quick coat of the red.

I hope to add feet to it and use it as a centerpiece on my table. I will update when I get it done. I also painted an old window frame white. I hope to put it above my mantel. Lord willing, that will be my next post.

Have a great week.

The Harvest is Definately Coming In....

2008-09-15T06:51:00.003-05:00

It has been a while since my last post and here is a big reason why. I am up to my ears in putting up the harvest. One thing that we inherited from buying our little slice of heaven is a row of muscadine/scuppernog vines and a huge pear tree.
Here is one of 4 sink fulls of Bronze muscadines. We also have purple coming in.

Here is one of 2 clothes baskets full of pears.
And this is the end result.... I have put up about 50+ jars of muscadine jelly, pear butter, spiced pears, and pear preserves. It has been very time consuming but I know come winter and Christmas, I will be glad I did it. I will be giving neighbors and other friends a pretty jar of jelly and a fresh loaf of bread for Christmas Happy's.

So with school and preserving our little harvest, I have been a busy little bee. I am also hoping to plant a few cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage and lettuce today in a little plot we made Friday.

I still have not gotten out my fall decorations but I hope to this week. It is just now feeling like fall here in Central Ms. The temps. this week should be in the lower 80's, which is a nice change from upper 90's.

Before I go and check out all of your blogs, I wanted to share this You Tube clip. Of course it has a political overtone, that is not my intent. I just thought it was a tear jerker and wanted to share.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TG4fe9GlWS8

I hope you all have a great week. Oh, and Dot, I will be buying that black paint for the mantel today!!!!

God definately provided.....

2008-09-02T07:47:00.006-05:00

First things first, Christi at Charm and Grace Cottage, gave me this sooo sweet award. I have been given a couple of awards and am so humbled every time. If you have a chance swing by there, she does some amazing artwork. Thank you, Christi.

Well, I think all of us in the Mississippi- Louisiana area feel a huge sigh of relief. When we were watching the news on Saturday preparing for the infamous Gustav, we were told that he would come in as a Category 4 storm. That in itself is nerve racking. Instead he came in as a Cat. 2. Praise the Lord. Thank you Heathahlee for checking on us, that was just too sweet.

The evacuation of the Gulf went like clock work and all is good. My husband did have to go and spend the night in the armory on alert status but he did not have to go to the Coast. They sent 1200 troops down to the Ms. Coast on Friday to knock on doors to ask people to leave but my husband was not in that group. I don't want this blog to have any tones of politics but the differences in the operation of this storm and Katrina are huge. I think the big difference was the change in Governor in Louisiana. During Katrina, when the governor was asked is she needed federal assistance, she declined. Of course, in today's mainstream media you don't hear that, all you hear is that it was the President's fault (I have other issues with him, LOL). This go round the Governor took all the help he could get. I don't know who he is but he did a great job.

Here in Ms. our coast line was wiped out during Katrina. We had a whole town, Waveland, Ms. that was completely destroyed. You don't here, as much about the Ms. coast as you do New Orleans being so devastated by Katrina. I believe the reason why is because we had great leadership and as a result, we did not have as much loss of life. Today, you only hear the bad news. Ok, enough of that.

Here is a picture of the birthday girl from the weekend. She had a great birthday. She got a fancy smancy cell phone. I don't know who she is going to call but for some reason she felt it a necessity and my mother obliged. She got a new CD and a movie, some stationary and a new MSU t-shirt, and I got her 2 new Southern Belle's for Jesus t-shirts. She also got a good bit of money. These t-shirts are sold by a little country church about 30 miles from my house and they are too cute. They are selling them as a fundraiser for a new play ground.

This is the only real accomplishment we had for the weekend. We put up this hammock. The kids think it is the best thing. They got their pillows and blankets and swung until the rain came in.

Oh, and I also worked on the new look of the blog. You know the important things. I love this fall scene!!! I got it from Lena at Simply Fabulous Blogger Templates and there free!!! You don't get any better than that. I would love to know how I can change my template without loosing all of my saved blog links. Oh, well.

Then I thought I would share the newest members to the mini farm. Here are Betty and Wilma. My husband bought these little cuties about a month ago. He is planning to feed them out until about February. Then he will have them processed for the freezer. I keep waiting for them to get fat and ugly so that it wont be so hard to know their fate but so far they haven't.
So for the rest of the week, it will probably rain, as remnants of the hurricane. We are under tornado warnings all day today. However, in the grand scheme of things we fared very well.

If you lasted through this whole post, (LOL), have a great day!!!

Wow, has it really been 14 years?

2008-08-28T07:33:00.008-05:00

Today, is my beautiful middle daughter's birthday. These are not the best pictures but they are fun. She has turned into the most amazing girl. It is bittersweet, as I am so looking forward to seeing the plan that God has laid out for her life but I do miss my baby. I hate to see them getting older. However, these days are so much fun and I can honestly say I am getting to be a part of their every waking moment.

Happy Birthday my sweet Lindsey.

Since today is a birthday, we will be taking the day off of school. I try to let them really feel how special their day is to all of us. We will probably do some fun things like picking the ton of muscadines that are ready, play a board game or two, or watch movies. We will have her birthday dinner tomorrow night, as my son has football practice tonight from 5:30-8:30. She chose to have steak and shrimp, twice baked potatoes, and salad. It will be so good!! With the high prices of groceries lately, we have not had steak in quite a while.

Here are some cute pictures taken yesterday on the mini farm. These kittens are too funny to watch. I have been reassured that at least one of them (the grey striped) is not as worthless as I have been thinking. She did have a small mouse one day last week. Which is their whole purpose of living here.LOL

As we were sitting at the table doing school yesterday morning, this was the sight we saw. I guess they were tired from a long night. Who knows what they do during the night?!!
The horse laying down is Thunder and he has been with us since the day he was born. My oldest daughter has been able to sit out there with him lying down since he was a baby. It's a neat relationship they have. The one standing up is our new boy, shooter. He too, is a big baby but we didn't get him until he was 13 months old. They are a lot of work and hastle but so much fun.
I have to say that with all that we have going on, I have not been too crafty lately but I hope to get back to working on the house this fall. Right now, I am just trying to get our new schedule down. We have had a great couple of weeks of school!!

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As a side note, Gustav is heading to the Gulf of Mississippi. This will mean that my husband will be called in to go and help. He loves being of service but it can also be dangerous. Depending on the severity of the storm, he could be gone for weeks. If you think of it pray for all those who could be affected by this storm. I pray that people take heed and leave before it comes in!!

I hope you all have a great day.

I have so much to share.....

2008-08-18T18:11:00.012-05:00

I will start with the fact that I have been so incredibly busy with the starting of the Spencer family homeschool for the 2008-2009 school year. We have been homeschooling for years but I feel an increased since of pressure this year. That sweet darling in the yellow is now in the 11 th. grade. I only have 2 more years to instill all of the many values and lessons I still have for her to learn. I can not believe time has gone this fast. I remember when she was just a tiny thing that I rocked daily. I want these next 2 years to go at turtle speed and be filled with lots of fun and tons of memories!!!

So the last few weeks I have been readying myself for this school year. I have been pouring over teachers manuals and writing lesson plans. I have also been doing a ton of organizing, as in our move, I lost a school room. Oh how devastating. I hope to get one back in our kitchen/ school room remodel but that will be a while. So for now I am making do with a dining room/ school room. So far so good.

Here are my reluctant pupils on their first day. They have been sleeping late all summer and Monday morning Hubby and I got them up at 6:30 to pray and get our day started. Trust me the day went great!!!
Now, here is some of my other exciting news......... My honey is putting up the light fixture that I won from Our Cozy Nest. It came in the mail yesterday and I had it all ready for Hubby to put up when he got home from work. You didn't think I could wait did you?!

Oh, and by the way, I know those blinds are hideous. One thing at a time.....

Isn't it just lovely?!

Now for my next little lovely.....
I got my tassel from Susie at Bienvenue on Saturday. Now let me tell you, I have been doing some coveting over these tassels. I have wanted a Susie Harris tassel or a Nester tassel for quite some time but I just can not justify $25-$30 on a tassel when I am redoing a whole house. Then Susie goes and does a thing like offering these for next to nothing. What was she thinking? Well, I had to grab it and grab it I did. It came in the mail Saturday and here is her new home. Isn't she lovely?!

And she came with these little cuties. I almost want to frame them. Susie what would you suggest I do with them?
I added these last couple of pics. for no particular reason. This is the sky this past week before one of our many storms we have had lately. I just thought it was a beautiful.

And last but not least, this one just cracks me up. My children had friends over all weekend and this was my son and a friend taking the ladder to our pear tree to climb. How inventive.!

I hope you all have a great day. I will be catching up with you all this weekend. Bless you!!!

I won!!!!!!!!!!!!

2008-08-09T07:14:00.003-05:00

Well, let me tell you, I am soooo excited. I entered Nicole over at Our Cozy Nests chandelier giveaway. Now keep in mind, I have entered Susie's giveaway, Boo Mama's, the Nester's and on and on. Too many to even count. And have never won. Usually as I am entering them, I am thinking I wont ever win this, why bother.

Well, Guess what!! I won!!

I can not tell you how excited I am. It is the perfect giveaway for my new house. I think it is going to go in the dining room, as we have a ceiling fan in there now.

Have a great weekend!!

Life and death on our little piece of paradise

2008-08-05T07:28:00.002-05:00

We had a very trying Sunday around here......

I will preface with, we spent a lot of Saturday night preparing food for Sunday, as we were going home to church for potluck. Our church back home has potluck the first Sunday of every month and we haven't been since March and I was really needing the encouragement. I have missed our home church soooo much.

So when we woke up Sunday morning, needless to say we were on a TIGHT schedule. Well, everything was going along well until youngest daughter, Lindsey, went out to put her rabbit in his daytime pen and feed the chickens. Well, she went down to the chicken coop and she saw 2 dead chickens in the pen. She ran in hysterical. My honey went down there to find that there were 2 chickens ripped to shreds on the ground. I will tell you a little about our chicken set up. We have a pretty large chicken yard. Our coop is a large rectangle box that sits about 3 feet off the ground on posts. The coop has doors on it that can close the chickens in at night. However, we had not been doing this, as we had not had any problems and probably out of pure laziness. Well, Saturday night some predator dug under our fencing and climbed 3 feet to get in our coop and got some of our chickens off their roost. We are thinking it was a fox. We're not sure. We lost 7 chickens and 3 guineas. It was a devastating loss, especially for Lindsey, as these are her project.

On top of all this commotion, we went on to church and had a great day of like minded fellowship. I sooo needed it!! We got home around 5 ish and went down to the coop to see if all was ok. I looked over to the rabbit cage and did not see a rabbit. I wanted to be sick. It seems that in all the uproar of the chickens my Lindsey forgot to latch the pen. I can not tell you how upset she was. We were scouring the yard, the pasture, and the barn with no luck. I came in the house and just begged God to let them find Lindsey's rabbit. My husband finally came in and said he was going next door to borrow a post pounder to work on the chicken yard. I told him I would ride with him. A little ways up the road, I looked out in the neighboring pasture and saw 2 little white ears. I screamed for hubby to stop. He stopped in the middle of the road and jumped out to run across the pasture to get the rabbit. He screamed back up at the house for the kids to come get him. They did and all was well.

I praise God that He hears our most nonessential, ridiculous prayers and that He cares about the broken heart of a little girl. He is an amazing God and I praise Him in the devastation of death and the rejoicing of Life.

I am not getting a lot of great decorating done, as we are getting ready to start back to school. I am trying to get organized!!!

Have a great day!

A Simple Woman's Daybook entry August 4th.

2008-08-04T08:21:00.007-05:00

For Today...

Outside my Window...

I am looking out the big picture window behind our computer desk at the freshly cut pasture, that my Ronnie worked furociously on Saturday. It looks great!!

I am thinking...

How much I love living here and being able to be at home and enjoy this place. Also, I have so much to do today and need to get off this contraption. (Keeping it real)

I am thankful for...

My family and the fact that my honey finds it important for me to be here in the home!!!

From the kitchen...

This is a tough one, as we are revamping our eating. We are really trying to watch our diet. I think I am going to be making dried beans and cornbread. Something light.

I am wearing...

Nothing special, a T-shirt and shorts. My hair is pulled up in a bun and I have my favorite Mudd ballet type shoes on.

I am reading...

I will be reading 1 Timothy today.

I am hoping...

That today is a better day than yesterday. Yesterday, we lost 6 chickens and 3 guineas to a predator.

I am hearing...

I have the news on in the background.

Around the house...

We have some cleaning to catch up on from the weekend. I also really hope to work on a home management binder.

One of my favorite things...

Yesterday, we went home to go to church. Our old church has potluck on the first Sunday of every month. One of my favorite things is sitting around fellowshipping with likeminded friends and watching my children just have a great time. I wish we could find that same thing here.

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week...

To work on really getting organized for the new school year. Hence, the new home management binder.

Here is a picture thought I am sharing with you...

I forgot to put my picture in first and then right my post. So my pic of the day is at the top. It's a picture of Ginger and her not such a baby anymore.

Do any of you know how to move the pictures after uploaded. I hate it when I forget to put them in first!!!

To view other great daybooks go over to Peggy's at the Simple Woman's spot. I really enjoy doing these and seeing what other's are doing.....

Help!!!! I need some great ideas.....

2008-07-23T22:00:00.002-05:00

I wanted to pose this question to this amazing forum of creative people. This is my "easy bake" kitchen.

It is atrocious. It measures a whole whopping 8 ft. by 9½ ft. I am talking tiny, hence the name "easy bake". Well, we fully intend on extending the width from 8 ft. to at least 12 ft. However, that will not be happening right now or even in the next year. We have soooo many other projects, fencing being one of the biggies. We did not buy this place for the great house. We bought it for the location and the land. The view off my back porch is what I have always dreamed of and sitting out there in rockers with my hubby makes everything complete. (enough of the mushy stuff).......

Nevertheless, this room is truly driving me insane. It needs a temporary face lift to get us through to the permanent change. Here is where I would love your input, please!!!! I will tell you the things I love......

I love the ceramic tile floors and counter tops. I love the new black and stainless appliances. I even love, hard as it may be to imagine, the hardware on the cabinets. That is it.

Now tell me what changes you would make in here? This room connects to my newly painted living area. That door you see goes to my rather large laundry room, 8 ft. by 10 ft., go figure. I know the first thing is that that door needs to be painted but I am waiting until I know what I am doing in the rest of the kitchen. Would you paint the cabinets and what color? I love these.....

http://ratemyspace.hgtv.com/snc/ViewItem.aspx?pguid=6db6be3f-1720-4ba3-a081-999042c09b6b&itemguid=b0eba824-329f-49f5-87bb-473849692e0a

but I am not sure that my room is big enough for that color and what color would I do the wall. I literally mean 1 wall, as that is all there is to paint. LOL I want the room to still be light and airy, so it won't look any more like such a teeny tiny box.

Well, I am so eager to get some suggestions. Thank you all in advance, I so need the help and a starting point.

The Old Red Barn Co. giveaway.....

2008-07-21T12:48:00.004-05:00

I can not tell you how much I would love to win this delicious quilt. It is so beautiful. The old red barn Co. is doing a giveaway and this is the prize. Run on over and check it out!!

Busy, Busy, Busy!!!

2008-07-17T11:18:00.002-05:00

I am so unbelievably busy around here. Ronnie, my honey, has been off for the last 4 days straight and we have been doing a lot of outside work. We expanded our temporary chicken yard by another 50 ft. making it a little more permanent. We have also done a lot of tree trimming and landscaping. We have several oak trees that had not been trimmed. We wanted to get all of the lower limbs trimmed up so that you could cut the grass easily underneath them. They look soooo much better. We also cut down an unnecessary post on our back porch. The people who lived here had a porch swing on the post but we just felt like it was an eye sore and also a little flimsy. Ronnie will be making a bench out of it for extra seating on our porch. As you can tell, when he is home we just work like crazy. Between the two of us, we try to get all that we can done, while we have help. So today, I am catching up on laundry, making kombutcha, cleaning the house, really cleaning the house, and getting together home school books to sell on eBay. As well as, working on my list of home school needs for the coming school year. I just wanted to take a moment to check in and let you know I will be back soon with pictures of all of our latest doings.