Blessings From Home

Friday November 21st

  Well, today Jerm and I are celebrating 11  years of marriage!  Hard to believe it's been that long already, and that we  have 4 kids!  We probably won't do anything sicne he's been working 12 hour days...he won't be home until around 7, and he has to work this weekend.  Blah!  I may and at least try to get a card today.  It snowed last night and some this morning, so I really don't even want to get out anywhere.  It's 28 degrees right now!   I'm waiting on a seperation notice from Jerm's old job, I have to turn it in at least by Monday for the kids' insurance or it'll get cancelled.  I'm not too surprised I haven't gotten it yet, they always drag their feet on everything.

  Jerm has brought home a bunch of goodies from work this week...it's official...give me some alli!  Not that I don't enjoy it, but now I'm eating way more sweets than normal and I have no willpower!

  Well got to make a phone call, have a good day!

Blessings,

~*Becca*~

Divine Health

This is a book I have been reading . It has alot to think about according to the bible and our health . "God's plan for extending your life". How long shall we  live ??? Science confirms that the Bible and God's laws hold the answers . And that we all should still obey the law to live our life to the fullest .Man should be living about 120 years ,yes even Today in our time . Wow ,that is if we obey and keep our bodies healthy ,toxic and disease free . I personally had no idea that some of the foods we eat cause so many problems in the human body .

"Anyone ,then who knows the right thing to do and fails to do it ,commits sin".

So with that being said it is going to make it easier for me to find out what to feed my family .I would not want to shorten our lives and sell ue short of our lives here on earth . I believe in God's word ,and if it is unhealthy and now I know it is ,why would I want to sin ??? I don't ,but it will be a slow process in changing our habits . We think we can just eat what ever don't eat us first .

The Health Laws, with instructions for cleaniness, diet and clean and unclean meat .Saying ; some animals are vegetarians and eat clean foods :others are scavengers and are designed to clean up the refuse of other animals.

A healthy body is immune to disease by its very nature . Synthetic drugs are foreign and alien to the human body.

All dieases begin with a mineral deficiency.

It says :that we form a habit of drinking sufficient water each day in order to keep the system clean . Toxic waste that stays in the colon to long is breeding grounds for cancer to form . Experts say that 90% of human diseases begins in the colon . Start cleaning those colons with good nutrition ,which is affected by our air ,food and drink that we put into our bodies .

Calcium  is very important .Our body uses calcium more than any other substance, and woman require 7 times more than men . White sugar depletes calcium in the body .Honey is best and has important enzymes to aid the digestive process . Low calcium is aften the cause of deep depression ,insomnia ,crying spells ,tension ,anxiety ,and especially suicidal tendencies .

Vitamin C is the glue(electricity) that holds the elements of the body together.

Balance the body chemistry and the body will remove its own toxic waste . 

Exercise : This is very important for having a healthy body . "Plans fail for lack of counsel ; but with many advisers they succeed ." Prov. 15:22

Mushrooms are actually a fungus . Pork and mushrooms grew the best cancer cultures . So this is something to think about . Why eat something if you know it will for sure cause cancer . I believe alittle bit is ok ,but some folks eat pork every night !!!!!!! That can't be good for anybody. But ,God has his say on the Pork issue !!!!! When in doubt do with out !!!!

"Commit to the Lord in whatever you do and your plans will succeed ." Prov.16:3

My Latest News

So much has been happening around here that I don't even know where to start.  Last Monday, we received a call from my cousin that my aunt wasn't expected to live very long.  Now, Aunt Bea had diabetes, dementia and a touch of Alzheimer's, but this was shocking news.  She had come down with a very bad urinary tract infection that would not heal in spite of some very strong antibiotics - I believe there were three different kinds that they tried.  She was in a nursing home in Fort Worth and they admitted her to the hospital.  She was doing pretty well at the hospital, but when she went back to the nursing home she started going down.  She forgot how to swallow and could not eat or drink and was put on hospice when my cousin called.  Mom and I went out on Tuesday while Hannah babysat my great-niece, Faith, for Mom.  Aunt Bea had been given morphine and was out of it the whole time we were there until right before we left.  She roused a little as we were leaving and actually said something but no one really could understand what she said.  My brother  went out Wednesday night but she was not conscious at all, and remained that way the rest of the week.  Mom and I went back out Thursday and stayed most of the day.  We weren't going to go back on Friday but decided at the last moment to go ahead.  My niece, Charity, called her grandparents-in-law to watch Faith for Mom so we could go on out there.  I am so glad we went!  We could tell it wouldn't be too long, and we were there, along with my two cousins, when she went Home. 

We left this Monday to go to Arkansas where she was buried, and came back Tuesday after her funeral.  I'm still tired from all the travel.  While we were there we learned that it is only a matter of time for another cousin, who is battling a brain tumor.  Please keep her and her family in your prayers - Missy is only in her late thirties.

On a happy note,Tuesday was mine and Keith's 19th anniversary!  On Wednesday, my niece Charity found out she was going to have another little girl - now we will have a Faith, Hope, and Charity, and the greatest (oldest) of these is Charity.  Is that cute or what?!!!

Today the kids and I picked up my Mom and went to church to pack shoeboxes for Samaritan's Purse Operation Christmas Child.  That was our Awana mission for this month and in all our church donated 62 boxes.  Awana is a new program for our church that just started this year.  I'm so proud of my family - we are all involved in it in some way or other.   My husband is a Cubbie Leader, Shera is a Leader in Training in Cubbies, I am the Secretary, Hannah helps out where ever she's needed, my niece Charity is the Cubbie Director, my brother is a T & T Leader, and Luke, my niece Jenna and my great-niece Faith are in the program itself.  I really love this ministry!  Anyway, while we were at church today, Shera started getting a sore throat and headache with chills.  She's had a fever and has slept most of the afternoon and evening.  Poor baby!  School has pretty much been on hold for the past couple of weeks and now that Shera is sick, it's going to be hard to get much done before Thanksgiving.

Well, that's been my last couple of weeks.  It's been hard, but God is always so good!

Blessings,

Carol

Changes in the plan- its okay.

Remember when I said my menu plan was more of a set of guidelines?
We didn’t have the monkey bread on Monday as some family members were having issues at the dinner table and we decided it would be best to all go to bed early.
Yesterday evening we had an impromptu trip to Menards for some replacement pipes and fittings for the kitchen sink.
I should probably add here that yesterday, on my list of Things I Hadn’t Planned On Doing (remember this?) was scrubbing ¾ of the kitchen floor.
On my hands and knees.
Why only ¾? Because Flylady says that housework- even when done incorrectly (or in my case not completely) still blesses your family.
Huh?
Well, we’ve got skiffs of snow, layers of mud and leaves and 3 kids who are constantly tramping in afore mentioned bits of nature. And with more snow on the way- I quickly decided that the high traffic door to door path in the kitchen could stay as is.  My wrists and knees muttering protests helped to ease my conscience greatly.
Anyhoo, I quickly decided to make the most of trip by trying to do next week’s shopping since Aldi’s is just down the road. This is still a pantry week but being ever frugal-minded . . . . not to mention I’ve now checked off something from next week’s To Do List . . . .
This of course would all be taking place during evening dining time. No quick Mickey-D’s stop for us though- I’m sticking to my pantry budget week.
I quickly put together mini-sandwiches with leftover chicken salad and other lunch meats we always keep on hand, tossed some Clementine oranges in the bag, napkins, plates (just in case) and a still-warm-just-sliced loaf of chocolate cherry friendship bread. Voila.
Light dinner on the road.
I also grabbed the current family read-aloud: The Fighting Ground by Avi- very intense and riveting.
We whipped through Aldi’s in record time- the kids have the loading and unloading and packaging routine down pat. It was fun to watch Mr. Steady marvel at them. As for Menards, Mr. Steady looked for the things on his list- when a man goes to a store like that- he’s always got more things on his list than the thing that necessitated the going to the store in the first place—anyway- the kiddos and I enjoyed the Christmas displays- the trees plus the little ceramic villages.
This then lead to the kidlets asking for a Christmas movie for watching after we got home. Mickey’s Christmas Carol.
And so while it wasn’t the dinner or the evening I had envisioned for us- it was still quality family time.
And that’s what matters most.
Well, that and sticking to the pantry budget.

Pumpkin Pie Coffee Creamer

Garden Jobs by the Month

I really enjoy my Old Farmer's Almanac newsletter and I have learned so much from it.  Today's newsletter offered and link to "Gardening Jobs by the Month," which is of interest to me as a novice gardener.  So many of those of you that I've spoken to lately are considering either planting a kitchen garden next year or expanding the one you already keep, so I thought you might benfit from this information, too.  Here's the link:

http://www.almanac.com/garden/jobs/index.php

Blessings from Ohio, Kim Wolf<><

TACKY or frugal smarts?

Tackiness vs. simplicity
poor etiquette vs. saving $$ and a tree or two
We send out quite a few Christmas cards each year. Last year I was able to save some pennies by making Christmas postcards to send out- saved by making them myself and saved on postage.
This year the budget is even tighter.
So------ I’m thinking of sending Christmas greetings via e-cards through Dayspring.
I must ask- Is this a big no-no on the etiquette scale?
Will I be vilified?
Of course, I can’t do all my cards this way as there are still some people on my list that don’t have email but I could cut my list way down.
By my calculations, I could save myself $20 easily.
I don’t know about you but $20 is a lot of cash here—in fact, that’s half the weekly grocery budget!

photo- last year's postcard Christmas cards.

Pumpkin Pie Coffee Creamer

The Heathens, Umm, I Mean My Chickens

That's a catchy title isn't it? Well, that's just what my chickens act like. They have gotten into the habit of running to me when I come outside to feed them as if they were puppies that have been starved to death. I can't even get the food out of the jar and into their bowl fast enough for them. I even have one that flies up while the food is being poured into the bowl, thinking she can get the food faster that way.

I can't keep enough feed in these birds. I thought that it might be because it's been so cold and they need more energy. NOT! These birds are like this ALL of the time. Out of all the breeds we have ever had, these are the most ornery selfish birds we have ever had.

Now, they are they BEST egg layers we have had. So, other than being trampled on by birds during feeding time (and any other time I am outside) I have no reason to complain. They are red stars and also lay BIG brown eggs.

I have 8 Red Stars, 2 Rhode Island Reds, one Black Star and one breed that I can't recall the name of right now. I was getting about 9- 10 eggs a day during the spring and summer. I am now getting about 3-4 a day. I think that's pretty good.

We let then free range during the day by letting them out of their coup at noon. I declare, when I go up there to let them out, they all head straight to the dog's bowl and try and eat his food. Like I said before, these bird are hungry ALL of the time.

Anyway, I just thought that I would share that little bit of info. Does anyone else have chickens that act as strange as mine?

Bless all who pass this way!

Amanda <><
II Corinthians 5:7

How Do Ya'll Like These Falling Gas Prices? Has It Changed Your Spending Habits?

Now here's something to be really happy about!

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/natural_resources/article5198537.ece-

My $25 gas fund was getting me only half a tank at during the summer months. We didn't go out too often. Now that same $25 is getting me just about a full tank! Yippee! I am now going to try and cut the bill further by using only $15 a week for gas. That should get me about half a tank (what I have been used to for the past several months anyway.). I don't want to think that just because the gas has come down that I should be going out more and ultimately spending more because I am out and about (usually happens that way.) Does that make any sense?

Hubby is still getting at least 40 hours a week. (Praise God!) They have 2 jobs that should last them until the middle of December. He says that there isn't much on the books after that.

We are used to him getting laid off during the winter months anyway. It is usually for about a month starting in Feb. It may be in January now. So no matter what happens, I don't want to get into the habit of going off the budget "just because."

God is good and in control! Praise His name now and forever! Amen!

Bless all who pass this way!

Amanda <><
II Corinthians 5:7