Oh boy, do I have alot to say today! Guess I shouldn't have been silent all those days between postings

First of all, I can't believe it! I got accepted into the TOS Marketing Class! Oh my goodness, I'm scared to death! I read Nancy Carter's blog post about when she was accepted into the class years ago. What an encouragement to know that she was so scared at first, too! So, the next month will be busy for me. Can I do it? I reckon I'll have to! It is exciting, but I hope I don't let anyone down, including myself.
I Think I Can, I Think I Can, I Think I Can.....

Also, I'm thinking I may have to change the name of my blog. Guess what...we're down to almost NO animals. I know, crazy, huh? This is just a season...winter to be exact, and we're tired of chipping ice and frozen eggs. So, the pigs are all gone. We sold the breeders to the guy we get our milk from, and the others are in that place of eternal bliss..AKA, my freezer:-) Well, we're getting ready to smoke the hams and bacon, but the rest will be in our freezer this afternoon. The chickens are going to be joining the pigs (NOT at the breeders, LOL) on Saturday. We didn't get a cow this year. So all we will have left after this weekend will be the horse and our new goat. Oh, and the dogs and the cat. That will be wierd. All that to ask...can I still call this a farm? Or will it be Musings from a Far North....um....property....

One new change around here is the implementation of our household chores checklist. Guess what? The house is staying clean and the chores are all getting done! It is SO nice. The kids are pitching in and it's just been amazing. I look around and see things done and looking nice every day and am amazed sometimes. I think we all just needed some direction and a schedule. Wow, what took so long to figure that out...good grief!

School this year is going very well, too. Again, we have a good schedule and the kids all know exactly what is expected of them. They've stepped up and are doing awesome!

God has been providing for us in an amazing way. I really need not worry about the economy because God has proved his faithfulness over and over. ((Big Sigh)) I've got to give this worry up.
Yesterday, I needed a closet rod, a newspaper, and some snow clothes for the foster boys, among other things. I fretted and got frustrated because the closet rod would cost money, the newspaper seemed like a silly expense for a small school project, and I just wasn't sure if I should buy snow clothes for the boys since I don't know how long they'll be with us. Well, my friend Danielle offered us a closet rod because they just put in closet organizers, and she knew we were building new rooms with closets. Gene came home with a newspaper from work....first time in 17 years of marriage he has EVER done that. And we had a visitation with the fb's grandma yesterday, and she brought a bag of winter clothes for the boys. How do you like that.....And I worry?

I also got to talk with a dear friend yesterday, who I miss SO much. She kindof made a mess of her life for awhile, but she's getting things right with her family and with God. She is such an inspiration, and it was really really good to hear her voice.

Oh, one more thing! Target opened her in Alaska yesterday. I'm not sure how many stores they have, but we have one in Wasilla. Next time we go to town, we just might check it out. How fun to have some place besides WalMart or Fred Meyer to shop!

Enough about me, TTFN!

Tan

I know, I promised a post about why I support Sarah Palin, and also about what God seems to be saying to me these days, but I'm still just not quite ready...So, today I'll tell you about my 15 yo daughter's birthday party that is today.

We are picking some of the girls up on our way home from town, others will be driving themselves here. What, you say? You have a daughter old enough to have friends who drive?? Yeah, I can hardly believe it too. Amazingly enough, it's true. Meg will be getting her permit this next week and Dusty will get his in about 3 weeks! Oh boy, here we go! Here in Alaska, you can get your permit at 14 and drive for 2 years before you get your license.

Anyway, we will be playing some fun games like sucking jello up with a straw, stuffing your mouth with skittles, speedminton, ghost in the graveyard, etc. We are also having Papa Murphy's pizza....(My fave), so I will hang out with them to eat. Then a sleepover and pancakes for breakfast. Spaghetti for lunch, then they will go home and we will all have a nap:-) Sound like fun. I expect lots of giggling and little sleep around here.

No matter how old girls get, they like to giggle, eat junk food and stay up all night.

In the meantime, we will be swapping out bedrooms because the 2 new ones are ready to move into! Can you believe it? Actually, I got my bedroom all ready and the girls will sleep in there tonight. Yup, I'm giving up the room I have waited 5 years for. But just for one night. They get to spend the first night in my new room:-)

Wish us luck, should be a blessed time, really. These girls are all so neat. They are each seeking God in their own way, which is really exciting to see. Maturity seems to come a little later with girls these days, but they are each trying.

That's my story..I"ll try to post pix of my bedroom and the party tomorrow. Have a super weekend!

Tan

Seems I've changed my mind...I was going to post on what I'm learning from my Bible reading these days, but it is too personal to put into words for a little bit. Then I was going to post on my view of Sarah Palin, the reasons I personally support her with all my heart. Being an Alaskan, I would like to say how I've personally been effected by her, and the reasons for my support. I've never felt much of anything from any politician, and I've certainly never felt like I wanted to support one as much as her...but that's not today's post either.

How about we talk about my bedroom? See, our house is unfinished and my hubby and I have been sleeping on the couch (well, a futon) for the past 5 years! The house is almost finished, and the 2 final bedrooms are nearing completion. Like, we primered one this morning and will primer the other in an hour or so. I have the paint and hope to put a coat on this evening and finish in the morning. Maybe, just maybe, hubby will approve carpet and we can get the carpet stretcher this weekend and finish it up. I'm sure we won't be doing trim or closet doors for a bit, but oh well! IT IS A BEDROOM!

It will be such a special room, full of sentimental items. I'm going to hang our wedding invitations and some other memoribilia above the headboard. The wallpaper border is handed down from my grandma who passed away a couple of years ago, and the bed is from my parents. The matress on the bed feels like you're sleeping on a cloud! I don't know, maybe I'll miss the old futon...NOT!

Anyway, the room will be painted by tomorrow and we'll hopefully sleep in it by the end of the weekend! I'll be sure to post pictures as soon as we are moved in.

Hope all is well with you all...I'll be more in the mood for politics tomorrow maybe.

Keep looking up,

Tan

Trying again...Finished writing this and it erased.

I have been asked to write a post about our on-demand hot water heater. It is an Aquastar by Bosch and I LOVE LOVE LOVE it!

Here are the pros and cons:

Pros:

Eternal hot water. It never runs out. There are 7 of us and on Saturday evenings, we all shower. And the dishwasher runs and runs, and the hot water just keeps on coming:-)

It only heats the water as you need it so there is no wasted electricity keeping water hot that you don't need.

It gets hot immediately.

Cons:

You really can't run hot water in 2 rooms at one time. It is doable, but noone has any water pressure because the machine isn't made to put out that much hot water. We don't mind that at all...after showers, I run the dishwasher right before bed, and all is well.

The other thing that can be bad is that you MUST have the vented cap on the end of the outdoor vent. Our first winter, (we live in Alaska, remember), we didn't cap the vent and when the wind was screaming and it was 30 below, the tank froze and busted. That was 3 years ago, and my handy hubby fixed it and we've been in business every since. Of course, we invested in the cap that would close when the wind blows!

As far as cost, you can get them for anywhere from $500-$2000. We have the inexpensive one, propane with an electric igniter. We use 100 gallons of propane every 4 months, which runs the cookstove and hot water. There are 7 of us, and my stove and hot water are both running quite often.

There you go, if you have any other questions, feel free to ask.
As an added bonus, I'm also attaching a picture of our first killing frost on the Raspberry leaves. It is so pretty. The first frost was 2 weeks late, which is fine since we didn't have any summer up here. Winter can just take its time coming.

Hope all is well with you all, my friends. Keep looking up!

Tan

I really don't have much to say, I just wanted to add some picture to my blog since it seems so blank. Here are some pictures of the wildflowers in the wildflower garden, and of the view of the field from my house. Most people dont' think green when they think of Alaska. It can be beautiful.

I've been busy trying to absorb all the daylight I could while we had it. Well, really just absorbing rain drops, but at least it was light out while it rained:-) We had one of the coldest summers in history up here...only 2 days above 70 degrees. That is really rediculous and scary for me because of the lack of light. I'm bringing in as many of my plants and things as I can to help things look more like sunshine inside.

I'm not going to try to catch up all in one post because that would be more like a book. I'll just start from today. Isn't God awesome? I have a new bible study book called Balancing the Sword that is so fabulous. I love it because it doesn't tell me what to think, it directs me to compare scripture to scripture and gather what God thinks. I was a little apprehensive because I lacked confidence to be able to think my way thorough all this without commentaries, but God is so very faithful. I'm learning so much about His Word. I'm going to start going through it during our bible time in the mornings with the kiddos today. I'm so excited to see what we learn and discuss.

We have 2 new foster kids. They are both boys and have found a mighty special place in our hearts. Today is fs2's birthday. Should be a fun celebration. He turns 3. It's been a very long time since I planned a bday party for a 3yo. It is so fun!

Meg's 15th birthday is in a couple of weeks. Yep, I'm old enough to have a 15 year old. I dont' feel that old...when did that happen anyway? Her party is this weekend and it is going to be so fun for her. I dearly adore my daughter and am so thankful to have her around. We are having a sleepover with several of her friends and lots of games, food, and movies. Should be a great time! I even really like Meg's friends. What a blessing to have a daughter who wants to serve the Lord, and who has friends who want to do the same.

Dusty and Cam are also doing awesome. Dusty has been working this summer and has saved to buy himself a truck. We are getting it today. It was cheap and is a fixer, but he's got 2 years to get it all fixed up before he'll be driving on his own. Boy, does he have big plans! Cam is a little bummed because fishing is about done for awhile. Things will start freezing up soon and we'll have to stay off the water until December sometime. He and Gene are hoping to take the boat out this weekend for the last time before we put it up for the winter. He still talks about the ocean trip we took. I'm so glad that worked out.

On the homesteading front, lots of new news. The addition is coming along. My bedroom is mudded and we'll  hopefully texture tomorrow, primer on Wednesday and paint Thursday and Friday. Lay the carpet this weekend and move in??? That would be so awesome! The other bedroom will need to follow that schedule as we will only rent a carpet stretcher once. Guess we'll be busy! It will be so nice to have more space. 2 bedrooms for 7 people is just crazy! I'm tired of the couch.
Guess it froze last night, so the garden is officially finished. I'll pick the rest of the peas to give to the horse and chickens. The pigs and chickens will be butchered in a couple of weeks. Oh, I almost forgot, Gene is getting a goat! He's always wanted one...we will pick it up this week.

Guess I did try to catch up some. That's what 's new around here. Enjoy the pix of the garden! I didn't do much for lack of sunshine but we do have green beans and carrots coming out our ears, more lettuce that we could possibly eat, and peas to beat the band. Can't complain...

God Bless you, my online friends!

Tan

Okay all you lower 48'ers. You're being a bit selfish and I'm asking you to share a little of the warmth with us Alaskans, please. We've only been to 70 degrees a couple of times...and unfortunately, May and June are typically our nicest months. I hope this doesn't mean that we don't get any summer. Please, Please...share! :-) See, we get way too much winter to have a year without summer. I don't think we could bear it if we can't get stocked up on our vitamin d. Then there's the problem with the garden...see, it won't grow without sunshine....even if we do have 24 hour daylight. When the daylight is behind clouds, it really doesn't help:-(

Okay, enough on that subject...All is well here. I do have a question or two to pose to you-all.

1. I would like to use less ziploc bags and more containers. But, I don't want the made in China cheap plastic containers, and I have very little money to spend. I've been saving jars from spaghetti sauce and other sauces. Have any of you ever wrapped a sandwich in waxed paper? Does it stay fresh? I do reuse bread bags from when I buy bread. I'm just looking for some cheap and creative alternatives.

2. Do any of you work from home? What do you do? I really don't want a sales job, but I'd love to do just about anything else. I waitress at a local cafe and have off and on for several years, when I'm needed. They are getting ready to relocate and it would be at least an hour drive for me. So, that won't work much longer. I love waitressing, but I have noticed such a decline in the number of customers..I assume because of the economy. I'm not making near the money I used to anyway. I do have a couple of side things that help. I am a raw milk coordinator for the area. What that means is that I pick up everyone's milk and earn mine for free. I also sell extra eggs so my chickens can pretty much pay for themselves. I also have a small vitamin business, but I have such a hard time selling. I know how much the vitamins help me and I love to talk about it....but only if people show an interest. I also tell people how to find things for cheap or free so they dont' need me, really. LOL
I need to work for another year and a half at least. My husband has just switched careers and is now an apprentice. He will get out of his apprenticeship program and get almost an $8 raise a year from November. We just have to hang on that long. I'd love to revamp the Alaska Railroad apprenticeship program to something that's more workable...but they don't ask me:-)
I would love to hear what you do to help your budget. I have cut back in every way possible, so just saving won't do it. Really, Gene's wage is way low...we qualify for lots of public assistance but I'd rather work. Any suggestions would be fabulous! There are tons of work at home ideas online, but I don't have the time or money to weed through the scams. I just want to know of things that are tried and true.

THANKS for the input!

Tan

Today I'm taking Cam fishing! We're going to Big Lake/Fish Creek. The littles and I will play at the park some, too. I really have a hard time playing with my kids or taking the time to take them to do something they really enjoy. But I am willing to work on it. My reward was seeing Cam's face when I told him that we were going fishing today. It doesn't get any better than that. Guess I'd better work the horse, too since Meg is gone. I'm sure not very good at that. She's way more brave and skilled than me. I am looking forward to a horse that doesn't need worked or trained. Just an old plug who takes me on trails and back without any excitement.

I better go...need to make bread and jam before we go. Have a blessed day,

Tan

Yesterday, I called the guy we get our hay from to see how long it would be before the hay is ready. I admit, I had alterior motives. Since we can't afford hay this year, I was also calling to see if we could work off some of the hay. He was thrilled! He has some work needing done and would love to pay us in hay instead of wages. How do you like that? God's providing so I'm not worrying. Well, I'm trying not to worry.
We also have to come up with an extra $1100 in July. Since we barely have enough every month, I was pretty worried how that was going to happen. Gene and I worked on the budget and made a little room but certainly not that much. The good news is that we have already gotten $300 saved up by selling some things we didn't need anyway. We'll get my in-laws paid off in plenty of time. What a relief since this has been a real thorn in their side for the last couple of months.

Cheesemaking was really fun. Oneida and Pam were our instructors and they are a real hoot. We made cheddar, mozzarella, and cottage cheeses. It really seems pretty easy. And it is SO GOOD! And I have some whey in the freezer for bread!

I miss Meg and Dusty already. They are biking the Denali Hwy. They left last night and won't be back until Thursday. I hope they truly have so much fun! Letting go takes a conscious effort for sure.

Oh, there is one more new thing. The foster kids are leaving around the first of August. It will be hard, but I do think it is best for them. It sounds like they are going to a real neat family. We are all in agreement that we want to see them go somewhere safe where they will thrive, and that we are ready to let them go. It will sure be strange not having them around. They will be missed!

Today, Cam and I and the littles go get milk, make stuff with the rhubarb and whey, and clean house. Oh, and work this afternoon and evening.

Hope you have a blessed day,

Tan

Today I am hosting a cheese making class for the ladies in my milk co-op. My friend Pam will be instructing us on the finer points of cheese making. She said we will make Colby, Cheddar, Mozarella, and Cottage cheeses. Sound wonderful? It really should be so fun.

The rhubarb is ready for its first picking! Any recipe ideas? I've heard that rhubarb juice is wonderful so we will try some. If we like it, I'll make some concentrate and freeze it up. Then we can have a taste of summer during the dark days of winter!

My goodness, I had a mountain of laundry to do this weekend. I'm so thankful to have it about wrapped up. Should finish it up this evening after the cheese class. Then, the house is in pretty good order. I'll start on the kitchen cabinets next:-)

And my dear man and Cam started a new raspberry patch. My goodness, it looks great! We have 46 new red raspberries, and 23 goldens. Apparently we could have had more red ones from our little patch and my neighbor gave us the goldens and said she has more, too. We'll be raspberry wealthy! I'm sure the moose will love the new bushes!

Think that's about it. I'm going to go do my bible study. God has just been so gracious to us. I want to get my walk squared away this week. Friday and Saturday were some of the worst days we've endured in a very long time. But the good news is that we were able to look to God and see Him working all through the day.

Have a super blessed day.

Tan

I am just so thankful and thrilled with what's new around here. God is just taking such good care of us in such a personal way this last couple of months.

First of all, when I killed all of the plants we had been nurturing inside to prepare for the garden, God provided the funds to buy new plants. That certainly helped me to keep my eyes on Him. I was so sad at our loss...the fuschia I had wintered over that was blooming so beautifully, blooming tomato plants, Cam's huge corn and green beans which were also blooming...and more. But, the reality is, we had to rely on God to replace the plants for our winter's store..and He did! Everything in the garden looks great and it's all coming up well.

Then, we needed to purchase greenhouse plastic, Gene was offered some overtime. The OT he worked was just enough to buy all we needed for the greenhouse, inside and out. Perfect!

There have been so many other ways, too. It is so amazing how God works so individually in our lives. Homeschool curriculum, berry plants, gas for my car...it's all being provided as we need it.

****By the way, remember how I said I needed shelves for the utility room to finish up in there? I was able to move things around and empty a cabinet which was moved in there....AND, Dusty has some leftover wood that he doesn't need that he said he would turn into shelves. I'm overwhelmed.

So, I'm not going to worry about the extra $1100 that we need for July to pay back a loan from Gene's parents. We're going to work hard and rely on God to provide what we need.

Keep looking up!

Tan

Okay, on my last post, one of the things I said I would do is to completely clean the utility room. Well, I'm finally finished. Granted, there are a couple of things that still need to be done but they are not the things I've been proscratinating on for so long.

See, I am a master procrastinator. The things I have been avoiding are cleaning out my cabinets and organizing the countertop. I made a vow to myself  not to blog until I had it done. That way, I knew I couldn't put it off forever.

Ahh, it worked!

It is done! I still need to buy shelves to put on the wall to put the big things like the crock pots, pasta maker, and extra milk jugs on. But I consider the utility room finished because the jobs that are left are fun and relatively simple.

Now, I want to put in 20 entries to catch up on all that's happened around here! Hope you like to listen because I love to talk!

Tan

Today,  I join a challenge.

Jeannie over at Honey Milk Heirlooms has posted a challenge that is not only going to be profitable, but inspirational, too. It is keeping a Proverbs 31 Heart. She said to choose 1 or 2 categories, but I am already working on 3 so I will post them all. This is just so exciting. These are areas I am working on, but I never thought to post it here for accountability. Maybe if I get really brave, I"ll post pictures of my progress:-)
Okay, here goes:

For My Lord: This one really speaks to my heart. We've just been surviving lately without any vision or direction from our Lord. All of us. I've been able to read my daily bible lately and it is overwhelming to me how humanity works, and it scares me because I'm just like them. In Joshua, the Israelites were victorius. They were listening to God and following Joshua's leadership whole heartedly. Then in Judges, they started going off on their own. It says several times that they did what was right in their own eyes. Boy, that's me. So, I plan to keep reading and praying for wisdom. Looking to the Lord for my answers instead of my own notions.

Managing the Cleaning: I have 2 areas for this. First of all, I am committed to cleaning thoroughly the laundry room. This involves putting our heavy snow stuff in the crawl space and cleaning out the cupboards. I have some old canned goods that I need to feed to the pigs and make space for new this year. Everything will fit in there, but I have to use my space wisely. It will most likely be Saturday night before I'm through, but I know I can do it!
The second area is outside. There is so much to do out there, but if I can just get the strawberry beds cleaned up and the wildflower patch ready, I will be content this week. I think I can...I think I can...I think I can:-)

For the Family: We have decided to implement "date night" with each of our kids. One day per week, we take one of them aside for something special. They get to choose who they want to be with, either their dad or me, and they get to choose what we do. It can't cost much and needs to be somewhat close to home. We start with Meg this week. We'll see what she has planned! What I haven't told them is that while she is gone, we're going to do something special for her here. If she chooses to go with me, Gene and the boys are going to work on her horse trailer to continue fixing it up. If she goes with her dad, then the boys and I will snazz up her room. Should be a blessing to her. Weekly, this is what we will do with each of the kids. Then the 4th week, Gene and I get a turn.

Are you ready for a challenge? Link over here to check out Jeannie's blog and join in!
http://homesteadblogger.com/GypsyFarmGirl

Have a blessed day,

Tan

I am a waitress for a local cafe and our black beans are so so yummy:-) I would love to share the recipe for our black beans. You can eat rice and beans at the cafe for $5.00. It is super nutritious and so filling. Not often you can get fast food that is this good for you and so cheap and quick.

16 C. dried black beans

1/2 C. cumin

1/2 C. salt

1/2 C. garlic

6-10 quarts water.

Start with 6 quarts water and boil 2 1/2 to 3 hours or until beans are tender. Slowly add water as needed.

Simple, good for you, and so tasty!

Of course, this is a huge batch, which you can can in pint or quart jars for later use.

Have a super day,

Tan

Okay, so I have some questions.

Do any of you pack lunches for your husbands...and what do you send? In the past it's usually been a sandwich, a fruit, a veggie, chips, and 2 sweets. Usually one homemade and one pack of graham crackers. I would really like to get rid of the chips, and get more ideas for his sweets. For one, it's expensive. And, I would love to send him all homemade goodies...more healthy ones. He works hard and is so skinny...he has a majorly fast metabolism so I have to pack his lunchbox pretty full.

Also, I am planting my garden and I'm looking for creative ideas. This may sound crazy, but I'm not sure what to plant. When we lived in Oregon, my husband was foreman for a farm and we were able to pick and process tons of produce. Up here in Alaska, alot of the things we used to be able to grow are not possible. So things like peaches, apples, and corn are no longer a possiblity. So, I'm still going with tomatoes (grown in the greenhouse), green beans, cucumbers, broccoli, cauliflower. I can fill my freezer and canning jars with all this, but it seems like I should do more. Of course, we're growing lettuce but you can't preserve that. Anything I may be missing? I'd love to just pack the pantry full this fall.

Also, I'm reading the book Disciplines of the Beautiful Woman by Anne Ortlund. How inspiring. Her suggestion to put God first, then believers (my family first, then others), then to reach out to unbelievers has been so freeing. I always feel like I should be concentrating on the lost...even at the detriment of the believers in my life. Of course, it makes perfect sense to make sure my walk with God is right on, then take care of my relationships with my fellow believers before I go work with the lost. What was I thinking? Ahhh, I love to learn and grow. I am so thankful for grace in abundance.

Today, we must be productive. I have a long list, but I know we can do it!

1. Bake something for lunches/snack----any suggestions?
2. Bake Bread
3. Organize Foster kids' clothes again
4. Put all our extreme winter clothes in the crawl space
5. Catch up on laundry
6. Pick up co-op milk and go to work
7. Really, really encourage my kiddos in school.

My kids also have a long list. It will be a busy day, but a good one. We must stay busy to stay caught up. Our social worker is coming out tomorrow. What a neat gal. She is full of good information, which I appreciate so much. Foster parenting is always an adventure!

Okay, I'm off to read my bible and get things straight with the Lord. Have a blessed day, my friends. Cling to the Lord today.

In Christ,

Tan

Good Morning. I'm back again. Mercy, where does time go? We've had every illness imaginable it seems this spring. But the weather is warming up and we're outside all the time these days. I think we'll make it now. We've been sick for more than 2 months!

I've been reading up on square foot gardening. I think we may try it out in the greenhouse. I will try to draw out a grid today and see what I can figure out in there. We have such little space and want to do so much with it...Anyone have any suggestions?

School is plugging along. We're trying to stay on track. It is hard with spring fever so prevalent in the house!

We've been continuing on the book of Joshua. It is so inspiring, the faith and trust the israelites showed in their leader, and their God. Then in my daily reading, I just finished Judges. Wow, what a contrast. It is so sad. Makes me really want to look hard at my life. It says over and over that the people didn't have a judge so they did what was right in their eyes. Lord, please don't let me do such a thing. I know I do some, and I really want to do what is right in God's eyes, not my own.

The pigs are growing. We'll get the chicks soon, I think. Layers and butcher chicks. It'll be great having chicken in the freezer. I am already praying Gene will get a moose this year.

Oh, did I mention that we're getting a couple of milk cows in the fall? Yep, we're going to be selling milk shares of our own soon. As long as we can find a place to keep the hay and pay for the silly cows. Seems there's always something...

That's about it I reckon. I'll try to get to the window story soon. I sure did get alot of messages about the homesteading stories. I'll try to keep up with them more now that we're all well.

Have a blessed day in the Lord. I encourage you to try to do things right in His sight, not your own. That's my goal this week.

Thank you, Lord, for Your grace. Thank You for not giving up on me. Amen.

In Christ,

Tan

I have been looking for something to spice up our learning in the OT. God has heard my prayers and has blessed this tired old mom who is suffering from the WORST case of spring fever.

Amy Pak has an OT downloadable lapbook that looks way too fun. I just can't wait to get the email saying my payment has gone through so I can download it. I think my kids will love something refreshing and new, too.

Right now we are studying Joshua with a chapter a day. I found study sheets from gospelway.com that have been very informative. I just feel so blessed to know that the creator of the Universe heard my prayers for my little family and is helping me to finish our school year with some enthusiasm.

What else is going on around here? Not much. The horse trainer can't come today because it is just way too muddy. I think Meg and I will hook the trailer up to our old truck today and practice loading and unloading Sarg. He does pretty good, but he's not had to stay in the trailer for any time before, just get in...travel...get out. I think we'll start working on him just hanging out in the trailer awhile as he'll have to do that sometimes, too.

Dusty still hasn't gotten his guitar. Hopefully today...Who would have thought that I'd have to pay $50 for shipping for something that didn't arrive for over 2 weeks. Rediculous, I think. We'll start tracking today.

Cam has been outside with his metal detector finding all sorts of treasures that have been buried in the snow all winter. So far, he's found  fifty cents and lots of nails. He was calculating yesterday how much he'd have by the end of summer if he found fifty cents per day:-)

It's been so sunny and warm here. I've been drying things out on the line. How wonderful! I have to go out there in my boots because it is so muddy outside but I'll not complain. Spring is finally here.

Guess that's it. Hope you-all are well.

God Bless,

Tan

This morning while I was making breakfast, I was thinking over my weekend and was sweetly reminded by my God that He loves me. See, my house is out of control messy. We have clutter everywhere. I have been having convictions about the messiness because my dear husband built us this house with his own two hands. He loves a neat house and does occasionally get frustrated by the mess.
Friday, my daughter and I went to an overnight birthday party for a friend. The other mother/daughter group there happened to be a lady who loves to minister to moms who desire to neaten up. Now, Annie did not lecture, or even bring it up herself. I asked her when we ran to her house to pick up something she had forgotten for the party. When I saw her house, which was neat as a pin, I asked her if it came naturally. She said she did it partly because she enjoyed it and partly because it made things run so much more smoothly.
Anyway, back to my point. When I went to her house, I was inspired. Now, I know that by having such a messy house is sin because of all of the consequences to it. When someone is coming over, we have to spend literally hours preparing. It is so stressful. And things get lost and broken because they are left laying around. Laundry is always somewhere besides the dresser, etc. Besides the conviction that this is really part of my job and I'm disappointing my husband by keeping it so very badly.
My dear God, instead of bopping me upside the head with some tragedy because of the mess, brought me Annie and so sweetly and gently inspired me. He took my by the hand and led me to someone who would encourage me and love me for who I am.
I am so humbled and grateful. You truly are amazing, God.
Thank you,

Tandy Sue

Good grief, I still have the flu. I've had this thing for 3 weeks. It's all digestion related. Oh well. I'll go get milk tomorrow and make yogurt. I'll try to get bread made today before we leave and we got our produce box yesterday. This week, it's about good decisions.
Meg has ice skating today and she finds out if she gets to be in the spring ice show. She really wants to be. She has worked so hard. She's moved up 3 levels in the last quarter. I get to watch her skate today. I'm so proud of all the work she has put into this.
Dusty has guitar with Josh today, too. He is hoping to work on the song that he and Meg are doing for the talent show at church. They are dedicating it to their dad. I promised them I wouldn't cry when they are up on stage:-)
Cam also has a plan for the talent show. He's making waffles. I simply adore my little guy's heart. He has such a simple and sweet outlook on life. He figures most people don't know how to make waffles like his grandpa so he's going to show them.
Foster kids both are coming down with something. I hope it's not our nasty flu. Apparently they are going to be having phone calls with their mom every week. We are jumping right into it....the social worker says 3x/week. That seems like a bit much but we'll try it out.
I'm so excited for tomorrow...the kids and I are going to plant the rest of our garden inside while the little ones sleep. It will feel so good to get my fingers in some dirt. We are supposedly in break-up, but we're also supposed to get 7" of snow today....WINTER---GO AWAY!
I"m reading 1 Samuel right now. Have you ever wondered what you would have said to Hannah if you were her friend and found out she was finally expecting? I think I would have advised her against giving her son she had waited so long for. Especially understanding how Eli's sons were. He was obvoiusly not a great parent. But God had another plan. And Hannah chose to listen to Him.
That has spoken volumes to me this week. Who am I listening to, and what kind of advice am I giving my friends. Hmmm.
Thank you God, ever so much, for Grace.
Have a super day,
Tan