Sat 27 Jun 2009
Lately there’s been a lot going on with our animals and wildlife. Living in the country gives one much to see and talk about. I cannot say how many snakes I’ve shot since the weather turned warm, several of them being water moccasins at the pond behind our house. I usually will not shoot a nonpoisonous snake, unless it’s too close to the house and may bite one of the animals or might get into the house, as one did last year. Our landlord had a time getting him out of our attic! Last week, I shot 2 rattlesnakes within 10 minutes, while we were walking in the woods along the mown trail. It has really discouraged me from walking in the woods. We normally walk in the evenings after supper; perhaps the snakes will be hiding during mid-mornings.
 Daddy helped me get a shotgun last year, because he was tired of driving out to kill my snakes. I was really scared of guns at first, but now I love the security they give me. I don’t have to feel helpless when I see a snake, or feel someone is trying to harm us. I have a pistol that I carry when I go walking—it looks like one a cowboy would tote—but I love my shotgun the best. My oldest girls enjoy shooting, especially my middle daughter—she loves it!
A cat from the neighborhood jumped on our kitty Autumn last Saturday night. Autumn ended up with an infected wound and is on antibiotics. He is doing well, despite having to endure us shoving a buttered pill down his throat every morning.:) (In the picture below, Autumn was actually sleeping like this, but opened his eyes when he heard the camera click on.)
 Our neighbor’s dog, Teddy, who spends 90% of his time with us, often brings up things he has killed, including rats and ducks. When we were walking in the woods one morning a few weeks ago, Teddy was chasing grown deer. So it really came as no surprise to me this morning when he brought home a little baby fawn he had killed.:( He is a Labrador-Chow mix, so I find it hard to be mad at him. He’s just doing what Labrador’s do, and he probably thinks he is helping to provide for us. He is the best dog in the world—he obeys so well and is so sweet. He truly loves us, and we him. He’s so smart and does all sorts of tricks, like sit and stay. For some reason, though, he thinks speak means sneeze! He “sings” by howling with us. We so appreciate that our neighbor allows Teddy to spend so much time with us. I honestly thought I didn’t like dogs, because I had seen so many people let their dogs trash their homes and yards, but now realize that if dogs are taught well, or have plenty of room, they won’t trash things, nor leave their business in the yard.:)
 My friend’s full-blooded chocolate Labrador just had 11 puppies! (She had 10 last time.) My friend believes the father is a Boxer. I’m not sure how they will look grown, but this is how they look now.
Teddy brought this little fellow home to me one day after finding him at the pond. Teddy started to try to kill him, but obeyed when we told him not to.
The girls call these little fellows the “weathermen”, because they let us know when it’s about to rain or already is raining.:) They always smile for the camera.;)
Last is my mom’s rooster, who the girls have named Wendall. Wendall really doesn’t belong to anyone, but takes his meals at my folks’ house. He definitely lets them know when it’s time to get up and when it’s time to eat.
 Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer. ~Psalms 19:14
Sat 13 Jun 2009
In my last post, I mentioned that I was making do with the inexpensive camera I already had. I got to thinking about an old camera my dear friend gave me a couple of years ago. It had given her some problems, so she decided to get a different one. Because of the problems, I did not want it and put it away. I got it out the other day and realized that it only needed a new battery and a bigger memory card. I have been greatly enjoying taking pictures with it. My old camera takes pictures faster, which is really necessary for action shots, but the “new old” camera takes beautiful close-ups, takes vivid colors, and has a larger resolution size. How foolish I feel for not realizing I had such a wonderful camera sooner! I had been praying for one, not knowing that God had already provided.
Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer. ~Psalms 19:14
Wed 27 May 2009
It isn’t about what you do without. It’s about what you do instead.”
Quoted by Edith Flowers Kilgo in The Simple Life
I have been wanting a new camera—one that takes super macro shots, breathtaking closeups of distant objects, and all around awesome pics like I see on other websites. Between ongoing doctor bills for my daughters and a slowing economy, it has not been possible for me to afford a better camera. Instead of feeling bad about it, I have felt that the Lord wanted me to just be thankful for the simple one I have and to make do with it. So I’ve made the best of my situation.
I learned to make my own macro lens by holding a magnifying glass to my camera when I take a picture.
Although I have not edited my pictures before because it seemed so complicated, I have learned to adjust color, saturation, tint, warmth to make a picture stand out more. I realized that I have software on my computer to make it simple for me.
Before
After
Before
After
After
I know there is still so much to learn. I’m sure the professionals laugh at my amateur work, but I’m having fun!
Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer. ~Psalms 19:14
Sat 16 May 2009
With Mother’s Day, there has been many great messages on the radio regarding mothers and homemakers. I hope the following resources bless you!
Family Life Today had a series called Radical Womanhood: Feminine Faith in a Feminist World. Carolyn McCulley was the guest speaker. I have heard her many times on the radio and just love to hear what she has to say. (She also has the sweetest voice to me!) As a former feminist, Carolyn has much knowledge to share with Christian women. To find out more about her, you can visit her website, CarolynMcCulley.com, her book site, Radical Womanhood: Feminine Faith in a Feminist World, and her blog, Radical Womanhood. On day 3 of the series, a song called “Homemaker” by Paul Overstreet was played. I had never heard it and couldn’t believe there actually was a song about a woman who ignored the world and poured her life into her family and home. I just love it! The video below is actually a tribute to Paul Overstreet, but listen to the wonderful words!
I have a book by Donna Otto called The Stay-at-Home Mom that I just love. I got it when Donna was a guest on Elisabeth Elliot’s radio program, Gateway to Joy. I was thrilled to find Donna’s website, Homemakers by Choice, and her podcasts at Oneplace. Donna had several podcasts on mothering, including one in which she shares the bad relationship with her Mom as she was growing up.
Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer. ~Psalms 19:14
Thu 23 Apr 2009
A friend sent me this wonderful quote from Generation Cedar blog!
A man approaching retirement called the retirement office to inquire about his pension. Afterward, he was asked if his wife worked. “She’s worked all her life making me happy”, he replied. “Yes sir, but has she earned money to receive her pension?” “When we got married we agreed on an arrangement”, he said. “I would earn the living, and she would make the living worthwhile”.
Rest of this wonderful post here: Are You Making a Living?
Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer. ~Psalms 19:14
Mon 20 Apr 2009
We love trying new recipes, and I try to cook from scratch as much as possible. I have tried many recipes that did not work for us, but are some of our favorites online recipes.
 Lemon Blueberry Muffins
I found this recipe originally on Michele’s old blog, Cherish the Home. These are delicious! I like to serve them with sausages, fruit, and juice. Leftovers can be frozen or eaten as snacks later on during the day.
Early Spring Fruit Salad
We have been loving this fruity salad made with lots of bananas and strawberries, but we don’t use grapefruit. The lime taste is a wonderful surprise! Leftovers are delicious with breakfast.
Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix Copycat
We make these corn muffins often, baking them in one pan rather that in muffin cups so we have cornbread. Sliced into wedges and drizzled with real butter, these are whoofed down pretty quick at our house!
Seasoned Baked Potato Wedges
These are quite easy to make and less messy than homemade fries. We love these! I really love playing around with different spices, too.:)
Schoolhouse Chocolate Sauce
We love this sauce mainly for making chocolate milk. It tastes just like Hershey’s chocolate syrup and is incredibly easy to prepare!
Schoolhouse Chocolate Chip Cookies
My middle daughter makes a double batch of these very often. I’ve never had such delicious chocolate chip cookies. I absolutely cannot resist them!
 Quincy’s Yeast Rolls Copycat Recipe
A friend at church made these for supper one evening, and we just had to have the recipe! I don’t have a bread machine right now, so I make these up using my Kitchenaid mixer. We make honey butter (real butter) to top these. They are wonderful and taste really close to the rolls you get from Quincy’s restaurants.
Schoolhouse Vegetable-Beef Soup
I’ve not made this in a while, but this is one soup that I actually can make with success. It’s delicious!
Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer. ~Psalms 19:14
Sat 7 Mar 2009
On our landlord’s property, there are three deer stands, two of which are occupied by flying squirrels.
Pamela lives in the one closest to our house,
while Claudia lives in the farthest one away.
Both girls are very shy, petite, and beautiful. Claudia keeps house much neater than does Pamela.
Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer. ~Psalms 19:14
Wed 18 Feb 2009
We got some great news on my daughter. The doctors are now thinking she just has eczema and not scleroderma or any other autoimmune problem other than Raynaud’s phenomenon! We don’t know if God healed her (her symptoms were very bad at the initial diagnosis) or if she was just diagnosed wrong in the beginning, but we are praising God for this answer to prayer!
Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer. ~Psalms 19:14
Wed 4 Feb 2009
 Last week we made a special trip into town to purchase the Fireproof DVD on the day it came out. We have been anticipating it for months, ever since we saw it in theaters. Back in the fall, my sweetheart had taken me to see it as a surprise, and I took my girls, my parents, and my parents’ neighbor a few days later. We were just blown away by the movie. It contains something for the whole family: action, romance, and comedy. It encouraged me greatly to see the Gospel of Jesus Christ presently so clearly on the “big screen.” We have watched it numerous times since purchasing the DVD.
Since watching the Left Behind series, my girls have been big “fans” of Kirk Cameron, who starred in Fireproof. They have loved the stories I’ve told them of how extremely popular Kirk was when I was a teen girl. My daughters are amazed at how God worked in his life and saved him. It still amazes me. I recently read Kirk’s autobiography Still Growing. I cannot tell you how much his testimony encourages me in my walk with the Lord. My middle daughter got to it and read it before I could.:) Now, my oldest is reading it, sometimes aloud to her baby sister.
Here is the official Fireproof trailer.
Although I don’t normally listen to this style of music, this song has greatly encouraged all of us. It is called “While I’m Waiting” and was featured in Fireproof. I’ve done a great deal of waiting on the Lord in my life. He has always been working behind the scenes, as I was waiting. He does that for all of His children, no matter if we can see Him working or not. We can trust that He is getting everything lined in place for His perfect timing.
We loved the Fireproof in 60 video on the Fireproof website and also on the DVD. You can view it on the website; it is the second video. Hilarious!
We have seen all the movies made by Sherwood Baptist Church. We pray for God’s continued outpouring of blessings and protection on this humble church, who just want to honor God.
Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer. ~Psalms 19:14
Wed 28 Jan 2009
I did a huge OOPS tonight! I was trying to learn more about databases, when I accidentally deleted my blog database! So, I’m starting over. For some reason, my old theme showed back up when I reinstalled Wordpress. I don’t know how or why, but I’m so thankful! Thank You, Lord! I hated to have to redo that, too, although I have been wanting a blog redesign. I just haven’t had the time lately. Fortunately, I’ve saved nearly all my posts, so I can upload them again.
It has been a while since I have been able to write. The last several months have been very busy with the normal things, but also with extra things. My business has been extremely busy, for which I’m so thankful. God has been so good and has blessed my business. I am a bit nervous about the situation with the economy, but I keep reminding myself of God’s promises in the Bible to take care of us even during famine.
Additionally, we have been back and forth to the doctor for the last several months, trying to find out what is wrong with my oldest daughter, who is 16. We are sure of one condition that she has, which is Raynaud’s phenomenon. It has certainly caused some changes for my daughter and has handicapped her in some ways, but she has had a wonderful attitude. We have made the best of it and even joke around with Miss Icy Hands.:) She was also diagnosed with scleroderma, which will kill if left untreated and will almost definitely disfigure. In addition to taking my daughter for all sorts of tests (she has had to go through so much), we have been researching, praying, and trying not to worry. At first I just accepted what the doctor said and tried to educate myself and prepare for a lifetime of constant medical care. But I started praying for healing. I believe God can heal anything. Last month I took her to a specialist, who feels like she does not have scleroderma! My daughter’s symptoms were gone when we went. I don’t know if God healed her or if there was just a misdiagnosis in the beginning, but we are so, so thankful and relieved! It may be that my daughter has a different autoimmune problem, such as lupus or rheumatoid arthritis. She will probably be referred to the nearest pediatric rheumatologist, which is a few hours away. Although all the blood tests have been good, autoimmune diseases can take years to fully present themselves, and my daughter will have to be monitored regularly. However, I’m praying and trusting in the Lord for a good diagnosis. If not, God is in control, and we will deal with it. Please pray for her if the Lord lays her on your mind.
I’m really hoping to start back blogging regularly. I have so much I want to share. I really want to encourage women in their homes, especially single mothers.
Have a great evening!
Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer. ~Psalms 19:14
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