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Should be up and running soon.

“Her children rise up and call her blessed…”

I was singing my prayers yesterday while washing my dishes. And as I sang of my most precious blessings, my beautiful, healthy children, I sang of how they bring light and love to me.

My children rise each morning
And call me
Mama

What can be more blessed than that?

I completely forgot to share the most exciting part of my chicken canning experience. As my husband was preparing the last of the chickens, I checked out the camping stove and canner, he had set up.

He had some water boiling, at first intending to pluck the birds. And we were just looking out over our property and animals, chatting and laughing.

I glanced down.

“I’m on FIRE!”

Yes. I screamed like a little girl. I flailed my arms up and down and repeated it as flames were climbing my skirt and sweater.

“I’m on FIRE!”

I had no idea what to do. I thought my husband helped me, but he says he did not. My flailing must have put out the flames that were climbing up on my clothing. Apparently I leaned too close to my camp stove and my skirt, which tied in the front, had some tassels sticking out into the open, very hot flames.

I am ok. Completely unharmed. And other than the most minuscule discoloring of my skirt tassels, my clothing was also ok.

I am the most graceless, klutzy human being to walk the planet.

It is kind of dangerous being me. And maybe near me too. So if you join me on cooking day…. stand back.

On Saturday we cleared our chicken coop of some pesky roosters. Three Rhode Island Reds, getting large enough, and cocky enough to be dinner.

These are birds that we incubated in our old Leahy Incubator, hatched and brooded ourselves for long, tortuous months. Unfortunately we had such a horrible time with these batches, that we began to fear that we were NOT made for raising chickens. It was so very disheartening. So many didn’t hatch. So many didn’t make it even a few days. So many perished every day after. We have since learned that this was not our fault. Since hatching our own eggs, we have nearly a 95% survival rate!

A few birds DID survive from that sad, sad batch. And the oldest of the group were all roosters. Two had to go about a month ago. They were getting quite aggressive, attacking my husband during feeding time, chasing my son while he did his chores. So we ate them. They were delicious. LOL They were plymouth barred rocks which I had heard were calmer, but these two were NOT nice. So… done.

There were also a few Rhode Island Reds. But they were so scraggly looking and thin. So we upped their feed and gave them another month.

For the last couple of weeks, we had noticed our rooster would immediately clear his hens from the coop and stay away all day, while these little (nearly full size) roosters took over the coop. They were not aggressive to us, *bonus*, but they obviously were annoying to our Main Roo and his gals. We also decided, after having them on special feed for a month, that they still looked so ugly and ragged, that we just didn’t like their breed, and didn’t want to continue with them. So, as I heard their competing cockadoodles with our main chicken man, and saw clearly that they were larger than our hens, we decided it was time to eat them.

My son and husband girded themselves, for the snow and the job. They herded the buggers into the coop and then, capturing them, took them to our ‘butchering block’. I did not watch the entire proceedings, although I did get a good laugh watching my husband chase an escapee, while my son held in one hand a headless chicken and an upside down roo in the other, taking it all in stride. I doubt many little lads get these types of educational experiences.

This time we skinned the chickens instead of plucking them. It was MUCH quicker! I was glad to see the birds were all good sized and healthy.

I also collected the livers to make some pate. I remember going out to a local restaurant, as I was growing up, and having little melba toasts with pate. I am not good about following the letter, when it comes to recipes. So I basically just threw some chopped onions, garlic and herbs in butter and then sauteed the crud out of that liver. Then I threw it in my magic bullet and refrigerated it overnight. It turned out great. Even the kids asked for more.

I then boiled the chickens and pulled it off the bone and diced it. I was able to fill 7 pints with the diced meat. I also boiled the carcasses and got 8 quarts of good thick broth. I also canned some jars of water because I don’t run the canner unless it is full.

A pretty good return!

As we entered into 2012, my husband and I discussed our New Year’s resolutions. He can share his own with you if he chooses. But I will gladly share mine with you! Aren’t you lucky!?

My resolution for 2012 is to celebrate the Biblical Feasts or Holy Days that are laid out in scripture. Personally, I have very little experience to draw from here. I have been to plenty of ‘christian’ churches. But they were not concerned with the Holy Days of the Lord. So what do I honestly have to go on? Not much. I saw Fiddler on the Roof once…. yeah.

To educate my ignorant self, I found Judaism 101.

It is quite a change for my family, and honestly I am loving it. Sunday through Friday, we work. The children and I do our school, housework, farm chores. My husband continues doing what he has done forever, my beloved workaholic.

And Friday evening comes. The table is set. The children are bathed. My daughter and I have our headscarves on. Daddy steps into the door, and it is the Sabbath. We light the candles. We pray. We eat the Challah and drink the wine. And for the next 24 hours…. we rest, we play games, we do crafts, we read books just for fun.

We are nearing our first actual biblical holy day, Feb 8 (begins on Feb 7 at sunset), Tu B’Shevat. It is a time to plant trees and is used to calculate the age of your fruit trees, as the law required the first three years’ fruit not to be eaten and the fourth years’ fruit to be given to God, and all future fruit can be eaten.

In our society, and mindset, that can seem SO inconvenient. And I will totally admit, that was my initial response too. But I remember I wanted to rest upon the providence of the Lord. I remember I want to lean upon the blessings enumerated in Deuteronomy for the people of the Lord as they enter their promised land. While my land is not ‘Zion’…. it was so clearly given to us by the Lord and His mighty hand. I look at the word and desire so greatly for those promises to be given to me and my family. And…. it seems to clearly say… ‘If you do these things…. these blessings will be yours….”

So I am extremely excited and happy that my family is following the word.

Of course, homeschool, farm life, family and friends lead to all kinds of other adventures. I promise to let you in on them.

To learn more about my reasons to celebrate the Bible Feasts see…

http://www.ucg.org/holidays-and-holy-days/biblical-festivals-teach-us-about-jesus-christ/

http://therefinersfire.org/feasts2.htm

http://newlifeonahomestead.com/2011/11/why-weve-decided-to-stop-celebrating-christmas/

During the holidays, our homeschool became less exacting. We focused more on cleaning, decorating, preparing gifts and cookies, than on letters and numbers. So it was with great surprise when this week I pulled out my son’s Kindergarten book to find it DONE. I went through it and was overjoyed to discover that he had done it all.

Some may be confused by this. Don’t I watch over my son’s school work and check it all? The answer is…. not really. I have specific daily tasks I want my son to do. I do these various tasks with him, until he knows them. Then I watch from a distance. And then….
I let him do it.
He, of course, knows where to find me if he has a question or a problem.

I LOVE HOMESCHOOLING!

And as a result, my son loves it too. And he obviously enjoyed his Kindergarten workbook, enough to finish it long before I expected him to.

So for the last couple of days, I drew up a list of those things he specifically learned in this time period and we did our testing. To my son, testing is such drudgery. But I explained to him the importance of these records (legal blah), and gave him ample rewards for each section. (If it works for Mary Poppins, it works for me.)

So here is my little man after he has completed his testing, and obviously pleased with himself.

This does make me happy.

BUT the next step made me OVERJOYED! Yup, just about bursting… Certainly lots of gushing.

I got to gather the materials for ‘First Grade.’ I am SOOOOOO excited about this. I have just been DYING to get past this teaching numbers and letters and get to the READING. Oh OH OH how I love to read. Oh how many beautiful, wonderful, glorious books I have that I LONG TO SHARE! <3

I like to gather my materials and record them all. This does not include our regular trips to the library and any large chapter book my son requests I read to him. So far I have read Robinson Crusoe, Dr. Dolittle, and The Sign of the Beaver. We have REALLY enjoyed these books and discussing them. Then before each week I will sit down and plan our workweek, and record our finished tasks each day.

My little girl has also been asking to do ‘school.’ So I gathered a few books for her too.

Like I said, I love homeschooling.

And I don’t love it just because it is fun. I understand that it is a duty and an obligation. And I take that quite seriously. I rejoice in the labor that the Lord put upon me and all parents, (Deut 6:4-7 especially). And I encourage ALL to prayerfully consider homeschooling their own children. I know, among my readers, those who will be hurt by these words. But know that I always speak with honesty, and with love. I mean every word I say. Homeschooling isn’t just an option. It isn’t even just the best option. It is really the only right choice.

Today, my children and I came up with an ingenious plan. Make a nativity scene with legos.

No doubt this has been done… I’ll google that when I’m done here.

But we were thrilled to have thought of it. We immediately began planning and gathering the pieces we would be needing. How does one make a lego baby???? What can we do for the wise men’s gifts?

As we gathered all the pieces, it became clear that even with our best efforts, this was not going to look like the common nativity scene, with flowing robes, crowns, and sheep. Our lego-men consisted of pirates, space men, and airport employees.

And while my children were getting frustrated, the Holy Spirit reminded me of something more important than a ‘picture perfect’ display piece.

Jesus was born to die, not just for wise men and shepherds.

But for EVERYONE! Consider the bible story all by itself. Who was there? Some animals and angels. Some wise men and shepherds. These wise men were well educated, wealthy and revered. While shepherds were poor, unwashed common folk who cared for flocks of animals in the wilderness. Yet these two classes were both uniquely invited to this event.

So I was able to share with my children a beautiful point with our lego nativity.

Pirates, Space men, Airplane pilots, policemen, Mamas and Daddies, Little Boys and Little Girls….

Our path to salvation is the same.

“For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.”
Luke 2:11-12

So come, one and all. Be ye a pirate, a spaceman, or just another type of commoner… You are called, and you are welcome. Receive the greatest gift that the season has to offer!

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 6:23

May God richly bless you and yours!

I slept peacefully as my husband got up and began preparing for work. As I slowly became aware that the shower was running, I started to wake and fed the baby. Then crawled out of bed with my brain not quite on ‘GO’ yet. For me, this is a very typical morning.

My husband came out, much sooner than I expected and told me, “There’s no water.”

No water…. What a way to start the day.

So he dressed to go out and check the well house, while I began preparing breakfast. For me, it was straightforward, and took just a bit of thinking. Can’t make oatmeal, can’t make pancakes. Eggs and bacon on the griddle. Then I went to work digging through my pantry for our jugs of stored water.
Here is where prepping comes in handy. No water does not equal an emergency in my home. I LOVE THAT!

Sweet, unshowered husband comes back to inform me that the pipe around the pump sensor is frozen. The heater in our well house just couldn’t cut it, I guess.

So we sit and eat and he heads to work. The day moves on as usual for the most part. For me, some small things need to be thought out and arranged. A large bucket of water in the restroom for flushing. A small jug in the kitchen and bathroom for washing hands. I probably should heat up some water also for washing dishes, and for little babies diaper wipes. Nothing like cold water on a naked baby butt *CRINGE*. And drinking water in the fridge.

We’re set.

The weather promises to warm up for a week or two now, so hopefully by the end of the day, the pipes will be clear and flowing again.

Like so many of our struggles lately…. we find that our ‘troubles’ are simply results of our numerous blessings!
We have frozen pipes today because we moved out here and are on sweet, blessed well water. (We had frozen pipes frequently in the city as well, but didn’t count that water as so blessed. LOL)

We are nearly out of feed for our birds today because they are numerous and laying daily, healthy and strong.
The floors in my house are constantly filthy despite daily vacuuming because we have moved out and started the mud farm we dreamed about.

The sink is full of dishes because my family had LOTS of delicious food to eat. (Honestly I was washing them last night, past my bed time, but STILL more linger. UGH!)
The laundry room is full of muddy clothes because my vivacious children insist on going out to play even in this ridiculously cold weather.

But hopefully, you can see…. these troubles aren’t really troubles at all. Just a moment to breath in and out, think about it….. and the perspective changes.

We are not troubled.
We are BLESSED! Mightily blessed by a Loving God.

Look at your troubles.

How many of them are true troubles with no hope in sight?

And how many of them are blessings that the enemy doesn’t want you to see?

http://www.ihichristiandecor.com/speak_his_word_3.html