Thougts from our Lily-Flower

(As you read the following thoughts please remember they come from an 11 year old.  She is not intending judgement or correction in any way, but love and the desire to follow what she truly believes God would desire for all girls) 

My Mom found this site and article called A Joyous Home: Why I Only Wear Skirts and asked me if I wanted to read it, here is what I thought about the article over there.


Modesty is a word that some people don't care about anymore!


Girls these days wear short sorts and don't care who is looking at them and how they are looking!
What about God?
What do you think?
Do you think He is pleased with you?
- well maybe this site will help!


DEUTERONOMY 22:5 is the perfect verse to back me up and I have many other verse to back me up and if you have been reading your bible then you should too because God wants to make it clear what his rules are on modesty and James 4:17 - it is such a direct verse in all that we learn and think!
When women started wearing pants that's when they started working and being the man of the family, "who wears the pants in the family" where do you think that saying came from? What are the difference between girl's and guy's? Well that answer is girl's pants are tighter! Now the women and men wear the pants so they say I can do anything a man can do why are you even trying? Some people use the excuse well I can't do this and that and that and this.
Well maybe what you are doing God does not want you to do!
My sisters and I have been wearing skirts for two years and we ride bikes,swim, run, hike and a lot of other things. Girl say they like chalenges well here might be one of the biggest chalenges of your life. Christ said that all true Christians must go through trials and this maybe a trial in your life. It was in mine, I did not want to be different from other people. Some times it is still hard like when you see a friend that does not understand your beliefs. I have lots of friends that don't understand but they don't care they are still my best friends! If you will please go to this link we have you will understand!The rest of our family wears pants we don't shun them even though they wear pants we still love them a lot!!! We do not judge them either - God convicts everyone at their own right timing. This may just be your time.  Lily-Flower

What I have been reading lately

I know.. 6 kids.. a business and I am reading- Well... yes, usually I am only able to read here and there but my sweet hubby had extensive dental work done 2 weeks ago.  8 1/2 hours of dental work - so, while he was getting all of the mercury removed from his mouth, I sat, all by myself, in an air conditioned private room in a recliner - it was awesome!  And I read a book - ok, I read 2 books - they were fantastic! 

If you have never heard of the Boyer's you need to check out there website The Learning Parent - they are just really neat.  Marilyn has a wonderful heart for her children and has put her wisdom into such simple, easy to read words- I just can't say enough about this book

Parenting From the Heart: Practical Parenting From A Mom of 14 Children By Marilyn Boyer / The Learning Parent Nationally respected homeschooling speaker and author Boyer shares her wisdom---and wit---from 30 years' experience as a mother. Filled with advice about crying babies and screaming shoppers, turning problems into projects, moving from sorrow to joy, setting up "school," standing alone, and letting your children grow and go. Includes lots of family photos! 164 pages, softcover from The Learning Parent.

and then.. once your heart has been touched and you are completely refreshed (like I was) a great follow up is this book

Fun Projects for Hands-on Character Building, Revised Edition By Rick & Marilyn Boyer / The Learning Parent Create precious family memories as you dive into projects, activities, and games designed to teach kids obedience, self-acceptance, a forgiving spirit, meekness, hunger for righteousness, and a bold testimony. Written by a homeschooling family with 14 children, this character-building "tool chest" overfloweth! Revised edition includes color pictures and an updated list of resources. 156 pages, softcover from The Learning Parent.

They really go hand in hand and could make some great crafts and projects for the rest of summer too!

Something Very Important Today

Please click on the above picture and read about the needs of this team.  I do believe we should all be praying - fervently - and pass the information on, share the link.

Thank You-

Last Day - Tomorrow Already??

It is hard for me to believe but tomorrow is my last day of school for the year.  I have had years where I was glad to close the books with the children but this year I really hate it ending.. everything has been so smooth and I love our curriculum.  I guess I know that not every year will be as easy for us, that is the reality of homeschooling and we've been through great years and really tough years..

As a family, God has really drawn our hearts closer to Him in the last 2 or 3 years, part of His plan has been our ability to use the IBLP seminars for some real biblical training and growing.  They are amazing and I am so grateful to God for bringing us in this direction!  Even more exciting in this past year has been our new homeschool curriculum through ATI - Advanced Training Institute.  I have learned so much, so have the children.  I am so excited about next year I almost wish our schedule would permit us to begin early. 

Putting God at the center of each and every area of thinking, learning and educating seems so natural and makes everything make so much more sense.. it just flows in fantastic ways! 

Through our years of homeschooling I really thought that was how I was instructing the children, yet I knew they were not making the connection.  I was not seeing or hearing them actually "get" that God is the center... of EVERYTHING.. now, I am so blessed to say that I am seeing it... I am knowing this in a deeper way.  God has given us a wonderful tool and a real blessing for our family~

Have a wonderful day and enjoy gardening if you have a chance!

I'm Going To Try...

I am planning on returning to blogging more regularly... no promises, but I am going to attempt it.  I know what you are thinking.. in the summer??? During gardening season... end of the year for school??.. while tearing up a kitchen to remodel... yes.. you will be my refuge.. my venting board..

my place to share

Missy

More Snow??

This is from the other day (and yes-that is a child climbing a snow bank behind the tree), but don't you think it is enough?  I mean afterall, it is spring, is it not!?

As you may have guessed, I woke up this morning to big beautiful snowflakes falling from the sky once more.

I think tomorrow is the day to start filling many of those little newspaper pots we've made! 

I need to have my hands in dirt! 

I need to see something growing! 

Ok- I think I may have cabin fever...

I made these awesome little planting pots this year.  I found the idea and directions at Thy Hand Hath Provided - be careful though, you could get lost there for a long time.. the website has a LOT of great info.

Anyway, I think it is time to put the pretty decorations on my radiator covers away and get those trays of pots filled with dirt and seeds and set them all up~

What are you doing for your garden or to prepare for Spring at your house?

Write and let me know,

Missy

What is Happening Thursday?

Well.. Several things-

1- we are making birdfood balls (or bombs at the boys have named them)
I have a canning jar full of grease from cooking- I am going to warm it up, pour it through cheese cloth to remove all particles..
Next, we will pour it into a large metal bowl, mix wild bird food with it - now comes the part the kids LOVE!
Each child gets a decent size square of plastic wrap, we (meaning my older daughter or I) take an ice cream scooper and scoop some of the birdfood mix into each piece of plastic, then the kids get to form their scoop into a ball (the ooshy gooshy part!) and my 2 daughters wrap yarn around each ball to hold and hang them, let them air dry just a bit and we hang them all over our trees and porch-

The birds love it - the kids love it and I love seeing the birds right about now...

2- Ok, we are also sledding today.  This last minute snow storm is perfect for sledding sooo, the kids are going to my mother in laws farm to play with their cousins. 

3- We are making homemade newspaper pots to begin our seed planting...

4- I am taking each of the 1 million seed packets I have listed in my other post (ok, exagerating.. just a bit)
I am going to sit down with a child or two- the do love to help - find how long before last frost they can be started indoors, mark the exact date for planting the seeds on each packet.  If I plan to stagger the harvest like I do with peas and green beans, I might mark 2 or 3 dates 1 week apart.  Now I will take each seed packet and put it in a plastic shoe box, closest date to last date.  Now, I have them planned for when the need to be planted, and in order so I don't miss a packet.  If I have more than one date on the packet, I will plant what I need, tape the packet up and refile in the next section it belongs in.  Easy and Done!

I will post pics later...

Good Monday Morning!

I hope you had a wonderful weekend and had time to praise and thank God for all he does for us each and every day!

                                                                                
Today I want to continue with tips for gardening as I said I would~8 Muddy Boots - the blog I had refered to the other day, mentioned that she had trouble keeping the little ones out of her seedlings.. well, here is what I did last year and it was a huge hit plus it kept them out of the gardening stuff.

We planted grass!  Each child got there own small coffee cup, terra cotta pot (the small ones) or votive cups.
The votive cups were the coolest, since they were clear we got to see everything happening...
We filled them with potting soil and planted grass seed.  Each child had to water and watch, oh, and chart (for homeschool) the progress or lack of.  They had a project, I had a great Spring decoration for my dining room table, it was fun and they stayed away from our seedlings~

Hope This Helps,
Missy

Gardening

Are you planting a garden this year? 

Bigger than last year? 

We are!

Mostly because I just love to garden.

But also because the food just tastes so so good fresh picked.

This week we are expecting quite a snowfall in some nearby areas (Not like my brother in law down in Maryland.. but snow non the less) - just look at what is predicted for the Northeast...


So, to head off any end of winter weariness and because Sarah over at 8 Muddy Boots got me in a gardening mood.. (check out her site.. I love her blog)


I going to start sharing our plans for this years garden... hopefully every couple days I can add more info.


First thing I did this year was sit the kids down and ask each and every one what they wanted in the garden.  Some are greatly helpful, some.. my older son .. just said, "It doesn't matter as long as I am not planting and weeding."  But he does, and he is very helpful, I think he just loves saying what might annoy me.


This year I am getting more involved in using heiloom seeds so this year I ordered from Victory Seed Co




So here is our list of what will be in our garden:
Carrots - 2 types - 1 Danvers - I always have good results with them
                           - 1 Royal Chatenay - I like to try a new variety each year & they are good for freezing
Lettuce - 2 types - 1 Tango - a nice leaf lettuce - new to me
                           - 1 Tom Thumb - a nice butterhead type - also new to me
Cukes -  3 types -  1 Boston Pickling Improved - I love eating a pickling cuke - they are so crisp!
                              1 West Indian Gerkin - I am going to try pickling these
                              1 Spacemaster 80 - just for eating :)
Celery - 1 type    - 1 type - it never grows for me so type does not really matter! haha
Corn -   3 types  * please let me explain before telling the type* I will be planting the eating corn at home
                              and the popcorn at my mother in laws - she lives on a farm so we have enough land
                              and she doesn't ever complain about us using a little area.
                                1 Sweet - Stowell's Evergreen
                                1 Sweet - Country Gentleman
                                1 Popcorn - Japanese Hulless
Peas - 2 types -      1 - Oregon Sugar Pod II - these primarily get picked & eaten as we tend the garden
                              2 - Green Arrow - hopefully doubling last year will bring me enough to eat & freeze
Luffa - 1 type -       1 - Dishrag Gourd - if this works it will be a frugal Christmas Gift/ Dishscrubber/ etc.
Gourd - 1 type -     1 Birdhouse or Bottleneck - just for crafting & again Christmas Gifts
Radish - 1 type -     1 German Giant - just to add to salads
Pumpkins -3 types -1 Small Sugar - for pies and decoration
                               1 Atlantic Giant - fun and decoration (oh, and seeds! yummy)
                               1 Cinderella - for freezing (breads and muffins), seeds & decor
Tomato - 3 types -  1 Red Grape - I pack these in pots for porch and backyard decoration
                               1 Red Brandywine - the best in a salad! or plain ..
                               1 Prinipe Borghese - heavy yielder - small - good to freeze and can - salsa anyone?
Squash - 4 types -   1 summer squash/ Early Prolific Straight Neck - great on the grill & to share
                               1 summer squash/Dark Green Zucchini - bread, grill & sharing
                               1 winter squash/Waltham Butternut - my very favorite! baking and such - great to store
                               1 winter squash/ Table Queen Acorn - to bake with  - great to store
Watermelon - type -1 Watermelon - Mountain Hoosier
                              - because every single year we try a different type and hope in our cold climate that
                                 we will get at least 1 or 2.




I know it seems like a rediculous amount of stuff, but it works and is what we need to grow for our size family.


I will be adding a little more every day or two so come back - I'm sure you are anxious to hear how I will be fitting this in 24 x 32 ft. garden!


See You Soon,
Missy

Anniversary, 17th Birthday and Christmas

Sorry if I seem to be gone again- my son celebrated his 17th birthday last week...

I am finally done decorating for Christmas and 80 percent done shopping.. now for baking...

And today, today is a very special day...

It is my 18th Wedding Anniversary.

I married my high school sweetheart- I married the man I love...

God brought us together when we were very young (15 & 16 yes, he is older), although there were many times I didn't ever think we would marry and many times I wasn't sure we could make it through the trials we've had, we are here and we have made it and I couldn't be more crazy about him or love him more than I do today.

It is fun to reminisce and that is exactly what we did last evening with our children.  We told them funny stories about our 1st year of marriage... getting married on an Air Force Base in Little Rock, Arkasas..
we even went back a bit to what is was like - good and bad - dating for all of the years we dated, our engagement .. all the memories.. we had so much fun. 

We took some time just recently to also look at our dating and wedding photos.. how funny we both looked and as my children have said repeatedly.. "How VERY '80s!" we really were..

I cannot wait to see what God brings our way in the next 18 years and beyond... I am so blessed to be married to him and to have the love, support and memories I have... I can't imagine sharing my life with anyone else.. No one could ever amount to what he has amounted to in my life.

Thank You God for blessing me with such a wonderful husband.

Good Site - Good Giveaway~

Lisa over at Homestead Originals is having a great giveaway over at her blog. 

Plus, she has a good blog and store, I love going there, I just don't get there much because of time. 

So if you have a minute or two please visit her and then let Lisa and I know you were there with a comment.

My Photographer...

What happens when you give a 16 year old a camera, a younger sister and a large pumpkin??

No princess this pumpkin will never be a carriage to the ball...

I did mention the pumpkin was the largest we ever grew ourselves.. didn't I??

Dreaming of Pumpkin Pie...

And Here is the photographer with the actual pumpkin..

Very Cute my son...

Real Garden Pictures to Share

Here are pictures from my garden this year, unlike the last picture I posted of what I'd like to have my garden look like...

This is one of seven pumkins in my garden. This is the best year I have ever had for pumkins so my son thought he'd help me document some of what we ended up with.. bear with us.. we are not bragging with the photos.. just totally pleased :)

Two of the "Old Connecticut" pumkins- they are such a dark muted orange color.. They just scream fall .. you can see a corn stalk above the pumkins. We ended up with just a small amount of stalks but enough that we harvested 32 ears of corn.. Just enough for 2 dinners around here.

This is our "monster" even the picture doesn't do it credit. It is truely huge.

Another one that is near our "monster"... these were taken a week ago and the pumkins have all grown even more.. These two are worth weighing just for the fun of it...

Yes, that is my sidewalk under the pumkin. What can I say, my sweet hubby wanted the garden near the house and soooo, it is near by.

This is the sea of pumpkins overflowing my raised bed garden in the middle of my yard.

Being in town, I do wonder what my neighbors think..

Better shot of what the yard now looks like...

A chaotic and true picture of what a green bean square foot garden looks like when your five year old helps! :) But as I have mentioned before, we were blessed ubundantly with green beans and they are slowing a bit but still producing!

Fridays...

Good Morning...

Has fall hit your area yet? We are definitely seeing the weather that has cause me to pull those sweatshirts out. This morning the temperature is a chilly 52 with quiet a heavy fog. Sounds like apple picking time..

The pictures are from last fall, but today's weather has inspired me to get out those Autumn bowl and wreaths and make the house look warm and cozy..

This is also when I gear up for colds and visit some of my favorite websites to get their recipes for cold, flu and virus fighting remedies.. GOOT is a new one I will be using this year. You can find all of the information on it at Walking Therein.

You really need to visit Jacque Dixon's website anyway.. I could spend hours over there being encouraged and gleaning from her wisdom and walk with our Lord.

I also found another wonderful remedy last year I would love to share. I am extremely prone to Bronchitis and have a horrible week or two every year. That is until last year when an acquaintance told me about what she uses...

1 onion, peeled and sliced in 1/2
2 tbsp. honey - raw is best
water
sm. sauce pot

Place both halves of the onion in the pot, drizzle 1 tbsp. of honey on each one. Cover with water, just enough to be slightly covered. Bring to boil and then turn down to a simmer. Let simmer until syrup-y while stirring. Pour liquid in tea cup and drink while warm.

It took me quite a while to really try this, just the thought gave me chills. Now, I use it the minute a child sounds raspy.. It is actually very sweet in taste and in about 1 hour you will really notice a change in the tightness of your chest.

My cough was gone after 1 very large coffee cup of this. Warning: you do smell like an onion for 2 days or so and it does make you break into a short sweat right after drinking it. How you feel so shortly is worth the odor and if you already eat a lot of onions and garlic you may not even notice it.. LOL .. just warn your hubby before he hugs or kisses you that night... :)

Just so you all know, I have given up on my bathroom being done anytime soon.. this is the slowest construction job EVER!! LOL

How is school going for all of you? This, for the month that we have actually been homeschooling, has been by far our best year yet. God has blessed each of my children with a very open heart. I am curious to hear from all of you... I am thinking that Fridays are going to become my homeschool day. I'll share some of my thoughts, struggles and even some of the fun.. but I'd really love to hear from all of you too...

God's Word...

How many times have you needed something..

I mean really needed something and in the midst of your day say, "God, I could really use..." or "Please God, could you help me..." and then either go to the store and buy it with money you shouldn't have spent or started shopping for it

or just forgotten about it because maybe it really wasn't a true need??

Oh how many times I have been there.. How many times have I prayed, "God, Please bless us with xxxxx we really need that." - just to find out that either I didn't need or I could consume all of my spare time shopping for the best price on this item because it was a need???

Through a program called Financial Freedom - we were challenged to honestly pray for an item of real need...

My stove/oven. It died. Really died. We currently have 3 burners working. The large oven on bottom well, it works but the door doesn't open or shut. The hinge came off and my sweet daughter didn't know what was wrong so she "kind of forced it" .. the door is now slightly bent and if you want it shut you now need to use the latch for self-cleaning to keep it shut. That was working and I was limping it along until the other evening when we put some food it and on 450 degrees- guess what .. self-cleaning door lock at certain temps. Needless to say.. diner was a bit overdone by the time the oven cooled off enough for the latch to release LOL!!

The upper oven door works, but doesn't seal so I am constantly cooking the whole kitchen.

It was in the house when we moved in and the previous owner said she thinks her and her husband bought it in the mid 70's. It was a great electric stove with a double oven. I never cared for electric but the double oven was so great that I was never picky about electric or gas.

I didn't say much because we are spending enough right now getting the bathroom remodeled and cars ready for winter. You know..

So, we were challenged. David said, if you really need another oven, have you asked God? Did you really ask God? Don't you believe he will bring you one??? I prayed, and then bought a Paper Shop to find this great oven from God. You know, the perfect one for just the perfect price. That is when David asked why I was shopping and I read:

So why do you keep calling me 'Lord, Lord!' when you don't do what I say?

Luke 6:46 NLT |

That is when I decided to stop looking and talking about it. I prayed. Really prayed and asked that if and when God wanted to bless us with an oven He would.

On Sunday, as we were getting out of the car from church, my neighbor yelled over to me. I thought she said, " Do you want a stove.."

What??

I'm sorry, I didn't hear you correctly...

What were you saying over the kids yelling I couldn't hear your words...

She repeats.. "Do you want a stove? My husband (our contractor) just pulled it out of another kitchen, they are doing a total remodel and gave it to us."

Again, me being a bit bad at the whole trusting God thing. "Well, let me see it, what is wrong with it?"

As you have probably guessed.. Not one single thing wrong- a four or five year old GAS stove/oven. Like new! We are putting it in this weekend---


Praise God...