You Might Be A Homesteader If...

Your husband gives you these for Christmas!

To go with this that he got me for my birthday. (Click the comments to find the answer.  Mr. Herrick Kimball of The Deliberate Agrarian guessed correctly.)

You also might be a homesteading/fly fishing/bamboo fly rod building kind of guy if you get these from your wife for Christmas...

And you might have homeschoolers in your household if you purchase things like this for Christmas...

And what celebration would be complete with out cookie decorating! (And eating.)

  

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

What Is It?

Well, it's my birthday gift from my husband...

Bet you can't guess what it is!  I don't have any nifty prizes or anything but if you guess it correctly you have the satisfaction of knowing more than I did.  I had to ask after I had opened it.  "I know it's a chicken but "what" is it?"

My nine year-old thinks it's a Barbie "Chicken-Horse".  What do you all think?

God's Plan For Us: Ice Storm

Had an ice storm last night followed by a light snow.  The roads are treacherous today and church was cancelled but the beauty is incredible.

Shout with joy to God, all the earth! Sing the glory of his name, make his praise glorious! Say to God, "How awesome are your deeds!"

Psalm 66:1-3b

Slip Sliding Away

I love snow.  Blizzards? Bring 'em on. I love to watch it fall, I love to see piles of it everywhere.  I have been known to throw a snow ball, build a fort or snowman, sled down a hill or go for a walk in the silence that snow brings.  However, I have to admit, I'm really a snow bunny.  I prefer the lodge or in my case the living room couch where I can cocoon in a blanket and sip hot cocoa.

One thing I don't like to do in the snow? Drive!  I'm native to Seattle.  The PNW city gets some snow but not a whole bunch.  I never really had to drive in it.  By the time I was driving my dad was retired and able to give me a ride if the roads looked bad.  Then he passed the honor on to my husband.  When we moved to Idaho we only had one car so I never drove in the snow there.  When we moved to Texas... ha.... it snowed once and was gone in a few hours.  But here in Michigan... it snows and this year it started early.  I have teens who have to go to the dentist and the doctor and church play practice and guitar lessons and any number of social events.  And since Dad is usually either at work or in bed for these lovely errands guess who gets to drive them.  Me!  It is so not good.

Tuesday I had to drop off and pick up my eldest at a babysitting gig.  Of course this family has a long, steep, curving driveway up to the house. (With tons of trees lining the drive.)  I generally choose to stop at the bottom and let my daughter walk up to the house and down also.  But Tuesday, oh Tuesday, I forgot my phone at home whilst going to pick her up.  I didn't want to walk up to get her so I drove to the top.  I am an adult after all. This backing down a long, curvy, steep, tree-lined drive shouldn't be a problem.  Never mind that it is covered in snow.

Half way down the drive and "thunk".  In avoiding a tree, I failed to see the utility pole and backed right into it.  No big deal.  I was going slow. No damage.  I just put the vehicle in 4 wheel drive and drove forward. Of course what I couldn't see because of snow was the slope away from the driveway towards the tree I had missed.  The car moved forward and promptly slid down the slope and met the tree most intimately.  Okay, I'll just back up and be on my way.  NOOOOO... I end up digging the wheels down, down, down.  Now I am stuck and parallel parked between the tree and the pole. (Apparently the only time I can successfully parallel park is when I'm not trying to.)

Long story short, it took the grandfather of the kids my daughter was sitting, and my husband about an hour to dig and pull the car out.  Sigh... why do these things always happen to me.  Now I have a nice little dent in the front passenger fender and a busted tail light. Perhaps a move to Key West might not be a bad idea.

Now for the praises!  No one was hurt, the damage is small, both my husband and the grandfather were available to help, it was still light out and there was a break in the weather, they got the car out.  Big picture time. Big picture. Thank you Heavenly Father.

Lessons learned: Remember the phone so I can text my arrival to my daughter and not have to drive up to the house and if the phone is forgotten, don't be lazy. Park the beast and walk up to the house!

Inexpensive Thank You Christmas Gift Idea

A simple and easy "homemade" gift to give to teachers or others that deserve a little "Thank You" gift this Christmas time is the time honored Candy In a Jar.

Everything I used to make these, for my youngest two daughter's Sunday school teachers, I had on hand- except for the M-n-M's.

We used to run a hand crafted soap and body care business and I have a few odd jars left over from that time.  I used a square jar with a cork lid but any shape will do and if you can't find anything with a lid a wad of tissue paper will work nicely.  Garage sales and thrift stores are great places to look for containers but craft stores and supermarkets will usually have something too.

We sorted the M-n-M's by color- something all the kids enjoyed helping with- by dumping our Costco sized bag onto a cookie sheet and grouping them into piles. Then we carefully filled the jar by the rainbow... ROY G BIV (Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet) and sealed it up.

 

Next I tied some wire-edged ribbon around the jar.

 

 

And attached a little thank you note with string and a hole punch.

 

Simple, pretty, and inexpensive!  It works with a lot of different types of candies and can be adapted to other holidays and occasions.  Being thoughtful doesn't have to break the bank.

God's Plan For Us

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over the flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.  Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let us go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about."

So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph and the baby, who was lying in the manger When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they has heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

Luke 2:8-20

Respect The Farmer Who Puts Food On Your Table!

 

I am by no means a real farmer.  We grow a large garden every year and are working toward the goal of feeding ourselves without depending on a grocery store and then eventually we hope to have extra to sell, but we aren't there yet.

Our entire animal contingent is made up of two cats, 17 hens and one rooster.  In Michigan, where we live, it is illegal to sell raw milk except under the guise of a "herd share" program.  Since our family goes through 4 or 5 gallons a week that puts "herd share" out of our current price range so we want to add a couple of milk goats.

Sounds great, right?

Well, it did up until a couple of days ago when it our temps plummeted into the little ball on the thermometer never to be seen again and the winds started chewing at my bare skin and the snow drifts organized themselves into a knee-deep wall that blocks my path to the barn.

Right now all I have to do is feed and water the chickens and collect eggs.  I bundle up and its not too bad but I really have no desire to get up at the pre-crack of dawn, daily, to milk animals in a heatless barn.  I am a wuss!

But it also makes me appreciate all the real farmers that are out there taking care of their animals day in and day out- leaving the comfort and warmth of their beds and homes to trek to the milking parlor or elsewhere.  Their dedication to keeping the food I take for granted on my table is starting to really hit home.

When I'm opening my drapes, my neighboring dairy farmer is out feeding and checking on his calves.  They milk at 4:00am and 4:00pm.  Uhhh... I'm up with my Costco managing husband at that time and I'm barely able to hold a thought.  I have gained nothing but respect for farmers since moving to the country. 

Never take for granted the food that is raised for you and the work that went into getting it to your table.  Farmers FEED us!  Farmer's are my rockstars!