Say "Cheese", Bubbie!

I have always been religious about family pictures. Jason and I have had a family portrait made every year since we were engaged to be married. It's something that is important to me. However, my little Bubbie seems bent on frustrating my plans! Evidently, he was born with a hatred for professional photographers, and absolutely refuses to perform.

"Bubbie, show us how a big boy smiles!" Well, as you can see, it's not exactly what I was wanting.

But at least it's an improvement over last year:

But I'm not going to worry about it. Even though he does mess up my family portraits every year, I don't think any professional could ever capture a smile better than this one below. I made this just after Bub's first flat top last year. Isn't he adorable? (NOTE: If you click on the image and look at it up close, you'll see Bubbie's perpetually dirty mouth. I honestly believe the Lord painted a smudge underneath his skin, and no matter how often it is cleaned, it ALWAYS seeps back through!)

Wisdom from the British Bulldog

"Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing ever happened."
--Winston Churchill

More:
"A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on."
"Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen."
"Ending a sentence with a preposition is something up with which I will not put."
"Eating words has never given me indigestion."
"I'm just preparing my impromptu remarks."
"Never hold discussions with the monkey when the organ grinder is in the room."
"Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm."
"We are masters of the unsaid words, but slaves of those we let slip out."
"You have enemies? Good. That means you've stood up for something, sometime in your life."

Just another day

While most of the nation, including Christians, will be in a mad frenzy this Wednesday, October 31, it will just be another Wednesday at our house, and thankfully, we will be in church. I've inlcuded a link below to a great article, worth time to read and even print off, about Halloween from a Christian perspective. I like it especially because the last section, titled "The History of Halloween" actually links the traditions back to Nimrod in the Bible. Most sources don't go back this far.
Origins of Halloween

The reason that the Nimrod connection interests me, is that I read a book some years back called The Flood by Alfred Rehwinkel , a wonderful book by a great Christian man. This book, intended to offer proof of the the great Deluge "in light of the Bible, geology, and archaeology", has a very interesting chapter entitled "Other Historical Evidence for the Flood". In it, Dr. Rehwinkel takes several ancient and modern day cultures, and examines something that they all seem to have in common. All of them have traditions, relating to a new year, at the end of October (corresponding with Flood dating), which seem to point to a major calamity of the human race. What is so interesting, is that all these events are connected with the memory of the dead, or was observed as a feast of the ancestors. For the whole story, you simply must read this book.

Don't you get it? Any source you read about the history and origins of Halloween involves visits of spirits from the past. I have always read this, but it didn't really click and make sense until I realized it went all the way back to that wicked man, Nimrod, who lived just about 100 years after the Flood. With a small population on the earth, Nimrod and the other rebellious descendants of Ham joined together to build a waterproof tower to the heavens in defiance of God. And to mock God even more, they had festivals and feasts honoring and remembering all the wicked people that God had destroyed!

As if a child of God needed another reason not to participate in Halloween, this is certainly another good reason, and perhaps the most convincing of all!

Reason #1,562 to Homeschool

Below is a link to one of my favorite speakers/writers/talk show hosts/homeschool moms/culture analysts, Ingrid Schlueter. Slice of Laodicea , her website commentary on the modern church, was recently wiped out in a bizarre webhosting failure, so it isn't quite the voluminous resource it once was, but she is gradually rebuilding it. Click on the title of the article below to read it in its entirety.

Leaders Call for Christian Pullout from California Schools
Here’s a column regarding the recent signing of SB777 signed by California’s Gov. Schwarzenegger that will allow the indoctrination of school children as young as kindergarten about homosexuality. Christians leaders are rightly calling for the removal of children from Babylonian American public schools and for parents to educate their children according to God’s clear commands in Scripture. (See Deuteronomy 6.) Sending our Christian children to the atheists, the evolutionists, the activists who seek acceptance of sexual perversity is simply wrong. The idiotic idea that our kindergarteners will go off and be “salt and light” to their lesbian teachers is finally being exposed for what it is. No Israelite general in his right mind would have sent off a regiment of little children to face the Assyrian army. For that matter, last time I checked, 5-year-olds aren’t being sent to Iraq to battle the terrorists even today. There’s a reason for that. The battle that Satan is waging against our children is fierce and we as adults need to be the ones in the fray. Meanwhile, our children need to be growing in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, not the nurture and admonition of those who hate Christ and who actively teach lies like evolution.

Baptist Tongues

Affordable Organic

I love to buy organic food as much as possible, but the truth is, I can't always afford it. That's why we were pleased this past Saturday when Jason and Caleb each came home with a deer. After Jason skinned the deer (a.k.a. "poor little bambis"), he and I spent about 2 hours processing the meat. Here is a picture of my Kitchen Aid mixer (right up there with the raindrops on roses and whiskas on kittens!) along with the food grinder attachment.
We divided the meat into 10 pounds ground, 4 boneless roasts, 3 shoulders to smoke, and about 35 pieces of tenderloin. Next time we will do all sausage. We ended up with approximately 45 pounds of free, organic, antibiotic-free, hormone-free, grass-fed meat.

Thanks, guys!

"As cold waters to a thirsty soul,

so is good news from a far country." Prov. 25:25

With good news being pretty hard to come by these days, our family would like to share some of our good news with you. WE'RE HAVING A A BABY! Today, I am 6 weeks, 1 day pregnant, and the baby will be due around June 15. I know this drives some people crazy that we have the nerve to add one more carbon footprint to this crowded world, but the truth is, I take great delight in frustrating tree-hugging, Planned Parenthood supporting, Margaret Sanger thinking, abortion promoting, God hating people.

Please pray for our family, and praise God along with us that He has so kindly blessed us.

With babies on my mind, I was thinking about when we brought Bubbie home from the hospital. Everyone was very sick, and we had to keep Bubbie in a separate room all alone for the first week. Finally, as the others got well, we let them in to see the new baby. I captured Seth's first peek into the crib at his new baby, or "bubbie" (which is where Bub got his firmly stuck nickname!). This is one of my favorite pictures ever.

I just can't wait!

There's a place for all God's creatures....

right next to the potatoes and gravy!

Below is Caleb (10 years old) with his first deer.

As you can see, this is a family affair.

I just have to share this also. Below is the front cover of Caleb's journal. I know, he can't spell (yet!), but it tells a lot about what kind of man he is becoming, and his mom is very proud of him.

What's for Supper?

I love to cook, and I also love for everyone else to cook. I don't know why, but it just makes me happy. Maybe because my generation typically doesn't study homemaking, something which I have found to be such a joy! Here's a great main dish recipe that my family loves. It makes a nice, large portion, and is great left over. It even freezes well! I'll also include my own special salad dressing mix, which is a delicious and much healthier alternative to bottled dressings that are packed with preservatives and weird things that I can't even pronounce.

Bon appetit!

Baked Ziti

12 oz. uncooked ziti pasta

2 lb. ground beef

2 cloves fresh garlic

1 (26-28 oz.) jar spaghetti sauce

2 eggs

1 15-oz. carton ricotta cheese

3 c. (12 oz.) shredded mozzarella cheese, divided

1/2 c. grated Parmesan cheese

Brown meat with garlic and drain. Stir in spaghetti sauce. Cook pasta according to directions. In a large bowl, combine the eggs, ricotta cheese, 1 1/2 cups of the mozzarella cheese, and the Parmesan cheese. Drain pasta; add to cheese mixture and toss to coat. Spoon a third of the meat sauce into a greased 13 x 9 casserole dish. Top with half of the cheese pasta mixture. Repeat layers, and top with remaining meat sauce. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes. Uncover and sprinkle with remaining 1 1/2 c. mozzarella. Bake 5-10 minutes longer until cheese is melted.

Vinaigrette Dressing

1/4 c. olive oil

1 1/2 Tbsp. red wine vinegar

1/2 tsp. dried basil

1/8 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes

1 garlic clove, minced

Whisk together just before serving, and pour over salad, tossing to coat. Works well with simple greens, or maybe with a little cucumber, grape tomato, purple onion, or shredded Parmesan added. This is best made fresh, as it does not store well. This recipe serves about 4, or a small bag of lettuce. A little goes a long way!

Reason #1,236 to Homeschool

Maine Middle School to Offer Birth Control Pill to Students

Who's rocking the cradle?

If it's true that the hand that rocks the cradle rules the world, then according to this report , the world is ruled by a an army of tired, unhappy, overworked, and underpaid daycare workers, who have one of the largest turnover rates of any occupation in the U.S.

No wonder we're in such dire straits!

What's even sadder, is that the bulk of daycare jobs are held by women ages 25-34, women of childbearing years. In other words, someone else cares for their kids so they can go and care for someone else's kids.

For years women have outsourced things like ironing, laundry, housecleaning, cooking, but I just have to pose this question: Is it possible to outsource mothering? Can a hireling be a mother? Only a mother can smile at her baby and sing "I love you a bushel and a peck" while she's changing a dirty diaper. (You don't even want to know how much I would charge you to change YOUR baby's dirty diaper, song not included!)

In defense of well-meaning daycare workers, I will say this. I grew up in a home daycare that my mother ran. We loved those children, and took good care of them. But I made a decision as a teenager. Moms would bring sleepy babies to our house beginning at 6:30 a.m., and I would have a lap piled full of them as the morning continued. They just wanted to be held and loved, and to sleep. I taught them how to behave, how to talk & walk, and even potty trained them. They loved me dearly, as I did them. Oftentimes when Mom would come, they would want to stay with us. As much as I loved them, I knew that one day, when I became a mother, I would never allow someone else to have that much influence over my own children. I didn't even know about homeschooling then, but I knew instinctively, that I would be the only mother my children would ever know, as long as I have breath in my body.

Ever since that first little golden-haired baby boy was placed in my arms, I have never once questioned my career or education choices. I have never once been intimidated by career women who looked down on me. I have never once looked over life's pasture and wondered if the grass was greener on the other side. I am fulfilled.

Thanks be to Jesus, my Savior. And thanks to my husband, who has never once considered sending me away from our children.

Fine Art

I doubt this would bring much on the auction block, but you couldn't buy it from me for a million dollars.

Take therefore no thought...

As a teenager, I began a notebook in which I recorded quotes that meant something to me. As I was perusing my notebook this morning, I decided to share this on my blog:

"Perhaps the most striking characteristic of worry, is its absolute impotence. Worry never changes a single thing except the worrier. History has no record of worrying warding off disaster. No tornado has been prevented, no drought averted, no plane kept from crashing, no child kept from falling off his bike, no teenager stopped from skipping classes or trying drugs. No heart attacks have ever been avoided through worry (though a great number have been caused by it). Worry is definitely counterproductive. Like the illustration of a rocking chair, it doesn't get us anywhere, but at least it gives us something to do, and women like to do something."

Linda Dillow, Calm My Anxious Heart

"Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof." Matthew 6:34

"There and Back Again"

Here's my little hobbit reading quietly in the Shire....

Can't blame me for trying....

This is just outside Jason's bathroom. (I hope Debi Pearl never runs across my blog! I might end up in a NGJ article!)

This I know...

"Oh that my words were now written! oh that they were printed in a book! That they were graven with an iron pen and lead in the rock for ever! For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God: Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins be consumed within me." Job 19:23-27

Free Entertainment

Having children in the house is a nonstop source of laughs. I'll never be able to remember all the funny things my children have said, but I try to write down as much as I can. Here are a few priceless quotes from Seth lately.

"Mom, do I have an ash-lie?" (opening his eye wide and sticking it in my face....see if you can figure it out....it took me a minute!)

(waking up with a runny nose) "Mama, my nose won't stay in my nose!"

"I want to marry a Cinderella girl."

"Daddy! Bubs needs hot sauce! He said a bad word! He said doo-doo and underwear!"

"Mom, Jesus came and talked to me while I was in the bed last night."

"I didn't do it! Peter Pan did it!"

What's for Supper?

I want to share my recipe for half-white/half-wheat hamburger buns. Now that my family has been eating these buns, we can hardly stand to choke down the store-bought kind. You'll love them too!

Tara's Homemade Hamburger Buns

for the Bread Machine

1 7/8 c. water

2 Tbsp. real butter

3 Tbsp. honey

2 1/2 c. bread machine flour

2 1/2 c. King Arthur* white whole wheat flour

*(available at Kroger)

2 Tbsp. dry milk

2 tsp. salt

2 Tbsp. vital wheat gluten

2 tsp. bread machine yeast

Place these ingredients in order into the bread machine pan, and set on the dough cycle. When completed, turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and divide into 12 pieces. Carefully shape rolls, folding dough under to create a smooth round surface on top. Place onto greased cookie sheat, and press slightly to flatten. Cover with a cloth, place in draft-free area, and allow to rise for 1 hour. Remove cloth and bake at 375 degrees for 12 minutes. Brush tops lightly with 1 Tbsp. melted butter to soften. Allow to cool slightly, then slice with electric knife for best results.

*Do-Ahead Note: After placing buns onto cookie sheet, they can be tightly wrapped with plastic wrap and refrigerated for 4-48 hours. When ready to bake, allow 2 hours for rising (remove plastic wrap and cover with towel) and proceed as usual.

These buns are great for hamburgers, barbecue, any kind of meat sandwich. Leftover buns freeze well. We use leftovers from everything to toast in the morning (spread with butter, broil, then spread with jelly), to cheese toast for lunch (spread with mayo & a slice of cheese, broil), to buns for supper (spread with butter & garlic salt, broil), to soaking in milk and using in my meatloaf. They can even be shaped into hotdog buns! The possibilities are endless, and not a single bun is wasted.

Hope you enjoy!

What to do!

"So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom." Psalm 90:12

I wake up nearly every morning with at least a dozen things that absolutely have to be done that day. Then, my 24 hours run out, and they simply didn't all get done. Time seems to be my worst enemy. I am learning to let the Lord order my days, helping me to make out my "To Do" list (yes, I'm one of those cursed people who can't make a move without a list). At the top of my list is:
1. Pray for a quiet heart to meet whatever my day holds
2. Tell my husband I love him, show it, and greet him with a smile when he comes home (and hopefully with a straightened house and a pleasant smell of supper cooking, but no matter what, I can at least smile!)
3. Make eye contact and share a bear hug with each of my children.

After this, my list grows way too long to post here! I try to list things in order or priority, and not read too far ahead or I get ill and nervous. The point? The sun's still going to come up tomorrow no matter what's going on at your house, so you might as well be happy, and be the kind of person that your family can love. (Admit it, can't mamas be mean as bears sometimes?)

What, you say? No time listed for an hour of Bible reading and meditation, accountability partners, and MOPS, and women's small group studies? For me, at this point in life, I have learned to find the Lord in a pile of laundry, a sink full of dishes, in planning a healthy menu for my family, in applying band-aids and kisses, applying discipline, jumping on the trampoline, homeschool lessons, and a thousand other thankless tasks that I perform throughout the day. Why? Because this is who God wants me to be, and I can't do anything more spiritual than obey and submit to my role right now. ("to obey is better than sacrifice") I love my Bible and read whenever I can, usually every morning, but if my little ones get up and interrupt me, I have to lay it aside. I'm very thankful to have read and studied when I could before my life got so busy, and the Lord has carried me through with what's written on the table of my heart. He'll do the same for you too!

Have you hugged your family today?

A Horse and His Boy

Family Routine...

This clip is hilarious! It's called "Family Routine Set to Canon in D".

Turn the volume up and get ready to chuckle!

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

Off to Neverland!

Even Peter Pan has to rest every once in a while!

The Stinking Rose (and other miracles)

This post is dedicated to Greg R. and Scott W.

"I know how happy your are, that your wives are my best friends"

and to my own Jason,

who by first-hand experience has become an unwilling believer in "the stinking rose"

My family has always been fairly healthy, for which I am thankful. However, as I look back, I spent a lot of time during the baby and toddler years of my first 2 children, at the pediatrician's office. Just minor stuff, but I never would make a diagnosis or treat anything, without that "expert" advice. Most of the time, I loaded my sick little ones up, drove the 30-45 minutes to the office, waited for hours, exposed them to many more germs, had a 5 minute consultation, was told "Give them Tylenol and call if it gets worse", and went back home to nurse them. What did I have? A wasted day, a doctor bill, and still a lot of questions about how to care for my baby.

All that changed for me when I discovered nature's most powerful antibiotic, GARLIC! Our only trips to the pediatrician in the past 2 years have been for a fire injury, and an ear-wax buildup (which I could probably handle myself now). It's such a blessing to be able to take charge of my family's health, and save us valuable time and money. I'm very thankful for doctors when needed, but I don't want my family to get lost in the modern-day web of insurance and money and politics and bureaucracy that often harms, more than it helps, patients.

More than a week ago, my Bubbie got very sick, very quickly. For several reasons, I can say with almost certainty that it was strep throat. I'd like to share with you my protocol for handling this situation.

1. Every hour (I set my watch! Consistency is the key to success!), garlic poultices* on his feet, chest, throat, behind his ears, and on his back, until he shows significant improvement from fever and lethargy. As he improves, I space this out to every 3 hours until he is well. (I do not wake him if he is sleeping comfortably.)

2. With every (3-hour) garlic application, I give him a zinc lozenge.

3. For breakfast, lunch, supper, and bedtime, I give him a Vit. C tablet, as well as a dose of grapefruit seed extract. GSE is another of God's wonderful germ-fighting gifts to us. For dosing, I mix 3 drops of GSE with 2 tsp. of juice.

4. I immediately begin the rest of the family on the same Vit. C, GSE plan (3 meals + bedtime). Jason and I take GSE tablets. EVERYONE gets it, consistently, and I also spray our toothbrushes with GSE.

5. We all continue with the GSE and Vit. C for at least 1 day after the illness is gone.

The result? Bubbie got sick on Wednesday night and was well by Friday. So far, 7 days later, no one else has been sick. That was the quickest strep throat we've ever experienced!

I know, the big complaint: IT STINKS! I say, "It smells like health." But, honestly, shouldn't you be staying home alone when there's illness in your family anyway? No one else should even smell it! Besides, it's a small price to pay when you consider the benefits: you have built up the immune system rather than making it more resistant to antibiotics (which means less sickness in the future), and you have saved doctor bills, gas, and time!

*Here is how I prepare a garlic poultice

I usually prepare 2 at a time, so I can speed up my application.

First, press a clove of garlic with a garlic press. Here is a picture of my beloved Pampered Chef garlic press:

Next, place the crushed garlic onto a paper towel. Fold the paper towel and steep it in hot tap water for about a minute. Add a little cool water to cool the temperature of the poultice, squeeze it out and apply immediately. I usually begin with the soles of the feet, and apply for 60-90 seconds at a time. Then, I move to the chest and throat, then behind the ears, then on the back. In about 5 minutes, your patient will have garlic breath! NOTE: Garlic will burn if left directly on the skin for more than a couple minutes, so be wise!

If you haven't discovered "the stinking rose" for your family yet, give it a try. (Gel caps are great for adults!) Do a google search on the healing properties of garlic, and you'll be amazed! And remember 2 things: First of all, the reason that natural remedies don't work for most people is that they aren't used consistently enough, in high enough doses, and for a long enough period of time. Secondly, you might need a pharmaceutical antibiotic for something dangerous one day, so don't build up your body's resistance to antibiotics when it isn't necessary! (Been there, done that. But that's another blog for another day)

Thought for the Day

"Don't spend unnecessary time doing necessary things."

Fly on the Wall

A Day in the Life of Spanky and Uh-Huh

Seth: "Bub, Jesus builded us."

Bubbie: "Huh?"

S: "I said, Jesus builded us. And He paints the sky, but He didn't paint the ground." [Note: referring to a few days ago when Seth asked Mom if Jesus painted those pretty yellow lines in the new Wal-Mart parking lot]

B: "Oh."
S: "And Jesus makes the flowers. And flowers are NOT just for gir-uls!"
B: "Uh-huh."
S: "Bub, Jesus told that thunder to quit when He was in the boat in the ocean."
B: "Oh."
S: "And, Bub, Jesus said not to lie. A LIE IS NOT THE TROOPH!"
B: "Okay, Bubba."

Here's my little saint, Seth, reading his Bible (notice the paint on the posts)

Wise Advice

I ran across this poem on the internet years ago. It has no credited author, and I've searched, but cannot find any. I'm listing it here as "Unknown". About 6 -7 years ago, we disconnected our cable. It was the most productive thing we have ever done in our home. We still have a television set for viewing films of our own careful, limited choosing, but our life changed dramatically once we cut off that connection to the "prince and power of the air" and his wicked domain.

TV OR NOT TV
The most important thing we've learned,

So far as children are concerned,
Is never never never let
Them near your television set.
Better yet just don't install
The idiotic thing at all.
In almost every house we've been
We've seen them gaping at the screen.
They loll and slop and lounge about,
And stare until their eyes pop out.
Past week we saw at someones place,
A dozen eyeballs on the floor.
They sit and stare and stare and sit,
until they're hypnotized by it.
Until they're absolutly drunk,
With all that shocking ghastly junk.
Oh yes we know it keeps them still,
They don't climb out the window sill.
They never fight or kick or punch.
They leave you free to cook the lunch
and wash the dishes in the sink,
But did you ever stop to think,
To wonder just exactly what
this does to your beloved tot.
It rots the senses in the head.
It kills imagination dead.
It clogs and clutters up the mind.
It makes a child so dull and blind.
He can no longer understand
A fanstasy, a fairyland.
His brain becomes as soft as cheese.
His powers of thinking rust and freeze.
He cannot think he only sees.
Alright, you'll cry alright you'll say.
But if we take the set away ,
What shall we do to entertain
Our darling children? Please explain.
We'll answer this by asking you
what use't the darling once to do?
How use't they keep themselves contented
Before this monster was invented?
Have you forgotten, don't you know
We'll say it very loud and slow.
THEY USED TO READ, THEY'D READ AND READ
AND THEN PROCEED TO READ SOME MORE.
Great Scott! Gadzooks!!
One half their lives was reading books
The nursery shelves held books galore.
Books cluttered up the nursery floor
And in the the bedroom by the bed ,
More books were waiting to be read.
The younger ones had Beatrix Potter,
With Mr. Todd the dirty rotter.
And squirrel napkin, pigling bland,
And Mrs. Figgywinkle, and
Just how the camel got his hump,
And how the monkey lost his rump,
And Mr. Toad and bless my soul,
Was Mr. Rat and Mr. Mole
Oh books! what books they used to know,
Those children living long ago
So please oh, please we beg, we pray,
Go throw your T.V. set away.
And in it's place you can install,
A lovely bookshelf on the wall.
Then fill the shelves with lots of books
Ignoring all the dirty looks,
The screams, the yells, the bites, the kicks,
And children hitting you with sticks.
Fear not because we promise you
That in about a week or two
Of having nothing else to do,
They'll now begin to feel the need
Of having something good to read.
And once they start Oh boy! Oh boy!
You watch the slowly growing joy
That fills their hearts, they'll grow so keen.
They'll wonder what they'd ever seen
In that ridicules machine,
That nauseating, foul, unclean,
Repulsive, television screen.
And later each and every kid,
Will love you more for what you did.

-Unknown

One Thing...

"One thing have I desired of the Lord, that I will seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in his temple." Psalm 27:4

My husband says that if we have a bad service at church, not to tell a soul; but if we have a good one, tell everyone. Let me just say what a glorious day it was yesterday at God's house. Many of us came with heavy hearts, but left rejoicing. Needs were met, souls were stirred, and true worship occurred. And yesterday evening, our (new) church took part in the Lord's Supper for the first time. It was a great blessing. How thankful I am for the local church, and that the Lord has provided us with a place where my children can truly know God, not just know about God.

"Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!" Psalm 107:15

My, how quickly they grow up!