THE YEAR OF....

Happy New Year!!

Anyone else look at the year and shake their head? Where does the time go? I can still remember printing the changing years in public school in the 70's. When only the years ticked by....now entire decades go missing.

Tomorrow, Big Daddy will head back to work. Having him home over Christmas has been soooo good! The household is different with him here 24/7. I can sleep, for one thing. Knowing he's on guard duty, allows me to sleep deeper...noisier. :) We put some finishing touches to the new house plan while he was on holidays. This is the year...finally... we will begin building at our land. THAT land is truly the only place I'm at peace! Almost seems blasphemous to build a behemoth up there on that hill...just a simple cabin, tucked into the trees seems more fitting. I'd be quite fine at the cabin...but "we" wouldn't be...so a big house it is.

SOME CHANGES AND THE YEAR OF THE....doing?

I've been through the Year of the Dreaming. Definitely been through the Year of the Prepping. So now it's time for the Year of the.....really, there has to be a better word than "doing". Anyway, one of the things that I will be "doing" this year is read the bible. A couple of years ago, I read the entire bible - cover to cover. I was waaay calmer that year! LOL I have to admit, there were times that I felt I was just reading words on a page....I didn't seem to get anything from it. Huge sections of just "dryness", I slogged through. I made it though and I'm glad I persevered. This time it will be different....I have a yearning to know the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. I'm just hoping that I can handle the truth! Yipes!!

I'm using THIS SITE as my calendar this time. And I'll be posting my thoughts and questions here on the blog. Yes, right here on my blog!! Let the stampede to the exit sign begin....hahaha

I'm giving you one last chance....stop reading now if you aren't ready for this! :)

Here we go.....
January 1 2011:
Raining and +6
Genesis 1 - 3
(Notes to follow)

January 2 2011:
Flurries and -5
Genesis 4 - 7
(Notes to follow)

January 3 2011:
Sunny and -11

Notes on Genesis 8 - 11

Would it make sense, with the age of Noah and his wife that he ONLY had 3 sons? Would he not have had daughters who were drowned in the flood? Even other sons?

Genesis 9:3 "Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things."
Is this the first time that man was told he could eat meat?
Because back in Genesis 1:29 - 30 it says "And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.
30And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so."

Is it likely that Noah's sons were childless when they entered the ark? Or did their children get swept away as well?
Genesis 10:22 "The children of Shem; Elam, and Asshur, and Arphaxad, and Lud, and Aram"
Genesis 11:10 "These are the generations of Shem: Shem was an hundred years old, and begat Arphaxad two years after the flood"
So Shem was about 98 when the flood came? And no children??

WELL...THAT WAS A LONG MONTH!

That one month reprieve that I needed turned into 8. Mama was more stressed than she realized! hehe

We've definitely settled into our new place....stripping wallpaper, repainting, installing hardwood floors, updating the kitchen...you know, the usual for us! The old place is finally on the market. Come on buyers! Big Daddy hit the "one year to retirement" mark this month...not that he's counting. He's also settled into his new routine - home on weekends with us girls. This next year will fly by....like all the rest. Then we can start another new chapter.

The last 8 months have flown by and we've certainly had our share of adventures. We turned 7, 44, 4 and 54 during that time. We've all been riding horses - something I've always wanted to do. One of us had a good case of shingles. I'm telling you...the only place you want shingles is on your roof, my friend! Yipes! A good case of pneumonia...followed by the 100 day cough is on my plate now. You know, I'm beginning to think that God is trying to tell me something. Ummmm, slow down and get my house in order? Yup, that's what I'm thinking too! hehe

One of the reasons we moved was to get Rylee into a good school. And you know how I feel about the public school system...yeah, but really we needed to do SOMETHING! I couldn't take it anymore. Anyway, she went for the mornings in the spring time and it looked promising. However, last month it all unravelled and she's back home. J started JK this fall....and she loves it! I didn't think she'd last, since she's pretty stuck to me. But really it's like playtime 2 days a week and she's loving it! I knew she'd be staying when she told me one morning, "Mommy don't cry I'll come back!" That's my girl!

My Mom has had her own battles over the past 8 months. Her stint in the hospital turned into almost 3 months of torture. They just couldn't figure out what was wrong with her. Finally, she was diagnosed with Stage 4 Multiple Myeloma - a very nasty cancer of the bone marrow. She was weak, had lost 45 pounds, could hardly walk, was throwing up all the time....just awful! She had given up! We moved her in with us in July and waited for the inevitable. Well, she changed her mind and decided to live! :) And she moved out a week ago into a retirement place so she could have some independence! Cool eh?

There are other changes here but I'll leave that for another day....
Have a good one!

UNDER PRESSURE

Bear with me....it feels like I'm drowning....we have so much on our plates right now...and I'm not keeping up.

• The girls and I are moving at the end of the month. There's so much to do.
• I'm putting Rylee in a new school. The guilt surrounding that decision is immense.
• The pups are home and fabulous....but still adding to the craziness here.
• Have to get seeds started or there will NOT be a garden again.
• Ten year anniversary in May...supposed to be special.
• Everyone's in a hurry.
• Put my Mom in the hospital Wednesday night. Scared me.
• Did I mention, potty training puppies....yipes.
• Purchasing, surveying and fencing part of our neighbour's land.
• Second-guessing living apart (through the week) from Big Daddy.
• Sourcing appropriate foods for Ry.
• Day-to-day dealing with Autism.
• Keeping up with my blog...everyone's blog.
• Paperwork.
• I feel the need to be baptized....NOW.
• Preparing this house to be sold....eventually.
• Extended family responsibilities.
• Lifestyle changes....some friends and family are NOT on board.
• I feel the need to just SLOW our lives down...kill the tv...radical, I know.

In a month from now...everything will look different...I'm sure. Hope you're here when I get back....

MY LITTLE HELPER

Jayme has always been a very special little girl. Right from the minute we met, I knew she was delicate, quiet and sensitive. She clung to me and basically hasn't let go! LOL At 18 months old, she started helping me empty the dishwasher...she just wanted to be with Mommy. You gotta love that!

Now at 3, she sets the table, gets glasses of water for her Daddy (cause he's always so sirsty), folds face cloths and socks like a champ, pushes the appropriate buttons on several appliances, etc. Now before you call the CAS on me, this isn't forced labour...she just likes to help!

So yesterday while I was getting dinner started, she wanted to "make the carrots". Ohhhh too funny. We ended up peeling many more carrots than usual....almost 2 lbs worth to get 4 little servings. She started with just peeling then she ended up whittling the thing....trying to get it

"fmooth".

Look at that concentration:

Now she's getting the hang of it:

Whittled flat:

I NEED...

....laying hens, some goats, black angus on the hoof, wheat in the field, 100 meat birds, and a jersey cow.

As you know we've been switching Rylee (and of course us) to a better organic way of eating. And until I have that list of "needs" on my own farm, we will pay:

$10.99 for 3L of organic milk
$5.99 for a dozen free range organic eggs
I won't scare you with the meat prices...

I have ordered up some cheese making supplies which should be here in the next couple of weeks. I can't wait! Of course that all started because I read the Omnivore's Dilemma, and The Unhealthy Truth, and found THIS BLOG. I read it right from the beginning. Incredible! Just when I thought buying wheat and grinding it yourself was a big deal, Kat, one ups me and grows her own wheat. She's also kicked Juan Valdez to the curb....yeah, she grows her own coffee too! Love it!!! Go and check the blog out...I think you're going to really like it.

On another note, I think I'm going through a mid-life crises. Not the normal symptoms of heightened shoe shopping or husband changes. No, I find myself daydreaming about farm tractors, planting crops and making artisan cheese from my Nigerian dwarfs. (Janice, don't be concerned...they're goats.) So, be warned, my 4 loyal followers....there are changes coming....big changes. And if you happen to see pictures of me with ankle length denim dresses and my hair covered...oh and maybe in rubber boots too, don't stop reading here. It's still me! Just figuring out my life and where I'm supposed to be heading....okay? Okay!

PRETTY GOOD WEEK

We had a pretty good week around here last week. Grandma was here for awhile so I got "out" of the house A.L.O.N.E. Hopped in my truck with the tunes just a blastin'....singing my little heart out. Sounding a little like Dolly with a bit of Trace Adkins mixed in for good measure. LOL

First stop - shoe shopping. I had my eye on a strappy little number with a 3" heel. ROFL In another life maybe...

Actually, I hit the hardware store....pockets loaded with gift cards that needed redeeming. I bought 4 more cases of canning jars, new oven mitts, some mini bread pans, cheese cloth, big honkin' cheese grater and one of those stick blender thingies so I can puree soups right in the pot. 1 1/2 hrs later, I was back in the yard (still singing), done with my adventure and ready to pull the draw bridge back up.

The weather was mighty fine here all week too. Could NOT get the kids off the swings!!

Friday night we took the girls to a farm to JUST HAVE A LOOK.....lol

Introducing Jasmine and Kailyn:

Look at those little faces....aren't they sweet?! They can come home in 11 sleeps! I can't wait....I mean, the kids can't wait. hehe

BOOKS, BOVINE, AND BLOOD SPOTS

On Day 1 of what we're now calling Ry's little miracle, a stack of books came in the mail. Big Daddy is always ordering from Chapters and Amazon. Happily, one of the books was a present for me - The Unhealthy Truth: How our food is making us sick and what we can do about it - by Robyn O'Brien. To this day, Big Daddy has no idea why he ordered it....he just did. Just another part of this mystery/miracle.

I read through the first 3 chapters....then started again! This was definitely not going to be a run-of-the-mill book. This was a "destroy with a pink highlighter" kind of book! LOL This book was good...really good...and it will make you mad. Mad at the mega companies who make the sick rules and back room deals surrounding our food supply. It was an eye-opener!! We immediately switched to organic milk. It was a small step...but a step in the right direction. It also got me to thinking about foods that Rylee was consuming....did she have an allergy to something or maybe just a sensitivity? Could it have been part of her "little miracle"? The only change in food that occurred during that week was orange juice. She drank tons of orange juice but that week, for some reason, she didn't have a drop. She was all about water and milk. Could that have been part of this mystery?

The second book that I highly recommend is Kenneth Bock, MD. Healing the New Childhood Epidemics: Autism, ADHD, Asthma and Allergies. I'm afraid I destroyed this one too with my trusty pink highlighter! LOL We searched for organic beef and started Rylee on a better vitamin program after this book.

The 3rd book that absolutely everyone should read is - The Omnivore's Dilemma. This book is excellent! It will make you mad. It will make you sick! It will make you want to buy everything organic. Then it will make you want to be a farmer so you can raise and grow your own unadulterated food. Then it will make your husband wonder why on earth he ever bought the book for you in the first place. LOL

BOVINE:
We have a quarter beef on order. It's been grass-fed. It has NOT been injected with hormones or antibiotics. Not much need to do that sort of thing because he's been healthy - in the fresh air, eating food he was meant to eat. And the best part....we saw where he was born and raised. We met the farmers who kept him. Very important!

BLOOD SPOTS:
Now if the 3 book recommendations haven't swayed you to change things, perhaps this little story will. This past weekend I cooked up the last beef roast I had in the freezer. I had it in the crock pot all day, and it was smelling mighty fine by supper time. Half way through Big Daddy's slicing, he came across this small egg sized pit of blood. You could actually see where something (I'm guessing a needle) had probed the beef and left this disgusting spot!

Yeah, we ordered pizza...

I don't want you to leave here all sick and disgusted, so I'll leave you with a funny. I was knee deep in the Omnivore's Dilemma when Jayme (3) asked me what I was reading. When I told her it was about cows, she says "ohhhhh cows, my favourite." "I'm going to reach under him and turn on his taps so I can get a drink for me and Rylee." LOL