Billyhomesteader

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Free scrap quilt pattern

Pertussis update and goaty decisions

Just tell me when you get sick of updates...   :)    Atira had only one fit last night and Bobby was still awake (though I'd been asleep for an hour) and he helped with it and witnessed the violence of it for the first time.  The key seems to be letting her cough through it and then get her calmed down as quickly as possible so she doesn't start again.  She laid down on her bed (propping up does seem to help) and I talked to and prayed with her, rubbing her back, and she fell right to sleep.  Slept peacefully all night.  The most remarkable thing about this all is how normal they are during the day.  They drag a little bit, a little tired, but it's not even as bad as a cold aside from those fits.
        We're thinking of going ahead and catching a fireworks display somewhere tonight, but because of the pertussis we'll have to avoid people and won't get to hang out with our dear friends like we were planning to.  I know the kids would enjoy it (duh) and I'm kinda sick of sitting around myself!  I can hobble around pretty good but that foot does start to throb if I'm on it for long.  I poked around in my garden yesterday and overdid it.  But my plants missed me!
        We called the Martins to come pick up the Brownie goat.  Just can't get used to her milk and although, like I said before, we feed it to the babies and it frees up the tasty milk for us, we decided it was just that much more work.  I really prayed about whether to sell all the goats, sell some... how to not "give up" but still practice wisdom in knowing what I can handle right now.  At first I had my mind made up about what we should do, but as I prayed it became less and less clear and I really wanted to know what Bobby and my older kids thought.  Well Bobby insisted we stick it out and keep Gran and Dessy.  The girls felt stronger than I expected about keeping their two doelings.  We talked about means of management and quickly came to a workable solution.  The biggest blessing for me was realizing that I'm not in this alone.  Most of the time I assume I'm the only one commited to homesteading (though the kids love the animals, of course) and the whole burden is on me.  But this goat discussion taught me that I was wrong.  And boy, sometimes it feels so good to be wrong!   If you know Bobby you're probably amazed that he had an opinion on it at all... he's a very laid back guy that usually takes the "whatever" approach, espeically to "my" projects.  The fact that he holds an opinion on this subject is enough for me!  The rule is:  If he cares at all, we do it his way!
          We're going to sell the two almost 3-month old wethers ("August Leggo Larry" and "Log" - aka, Auggy and Loggy the Lunchmeat brothers) at the swapmeet this weekend (or at least try).  We were going to raise them and butcher them this fall, but I don't see how it's sensible.  If we had an area for them to browse, it'd be different.  But it's not cost effective to be buying hay.   We were given two cable runs that we hooked up for Gran and Dessy which freed up the corkscrew tethers.  We'll put the two doelings on them.  Farra and Atira are commited to tackling this with the knowledge that if it gets to be too much work for Momma, the doelings go.  I think we have a workable plan and I'm feeling very good about it.
        Now, about those chickens we were offered...   
        A friend of a friend lives near a farm that raises chickens for Tyson.  Tyson came to pick up their birds and ended up not taking about 3,000 birds the farm had raised for them.  This friend of a friend saw an opportunity and bought about 2,000 birds at 50 cents a piece.  He's going to get them to butchering size and will sell them for 75 cents each in 2-3 weeks.  My friend wanted to know if I would want any and how many?   Well, I'm the only one she's talked to that has freezer space....  but gosh, look a few posts back to see how my first butchering experience went!  I would have to hire someone and by then I'd be paying about what I'd pay in the store... for the same cage-raised bird!  They're talking about having a big butchering day and my friend and her husband are going to do about 100 birds themselves.  It's tempting...  but I think we're going to pass.   Bobby liked the idea of getting cheap food, but when I asked, "Well, are you willing to help butcher?"  he decided it wasn't such a good deal after all.
        And that's what's going on at the Willie Farm today...

Lemon Citrus Green Tea

Lemon Citrus Green Tea:

In a medium sauce pan bring to boil:

4 regular green tea bags

4 cups of water

Once it comes to boil pour over in a pitcher filled with ice cubes add 1 cup of sugar and 1 cup of lemon juice concentrate.  Enjoy!

Blessings,

Sherry

Strawberry Pie

Happy 4th of July....

Wishing everyone a safe and fun filled Independence Day!

HAPPY 4TH

Ray and I would like to wish you and your family and happy and safe 4th of July... God Bless America!

Blessings Sister Brenda

Dirt Pudding

Our local library has a teen program that takes place on Thursdays @ 11.  My oldest usually goes by herself because she doesn't want my youngest tagging along, although both are old enough to attend.  But you know, you have to pick your battles, right? 

Well, since the oldest is at camp I let the youngest go this week.  They were having a movie/snack party.  Everyone was supposed to bring a "buggy" snack and then they were going to watch a "buggy" movie.  So yesterday morning I had to make a mad dash to Walmart to get the ingredients for her "buggy" snack.  I made some dirt pudding for her to take along.

Here's the recipe:

Dirt Pudding

1 pkg. (4-serving size) vanilla instant pudding mix

1 pkg. (4-serving size) chocolate instant pudding mix

4 c. milk, divided

1 c. thawed Cool Whip, divided

Oreo cookies, crumbled

Gummy worms

1.  Prepare vanilla & chocolate pudding mixes separately with milk as directed on packages.

2.  Let stand 5 minutes.

3.  Gently stir 1/2 c. Cool Whip into each bowl of pudding mix.

4.  Sprinkle Oreo crumbs into bottom of bowl or bucket.  Enough to cover bottom, about 1/2" thick.

5.  Pour vanilla pudding mix over top of crumbs.

6.  Sprinkle another 1/2" of Oreo crumbs over top of vanilla pudding.

7.  Pour chocolate pudding mix over top of crumbs.

8.  Sprinkle another 1/2" of Oreo crumbs over top of pudding.

9.  Add worms & a shovel! 

10.  Refrigerate at least 1 hour before serving.

There were only 5 kids that showed up this week.  Most likely because of it being the 4th of July weekend.  Katie won a coupon to Arby's for "The Best Tasting"! 

It was good!

Diet?  What diet?

Changes

  The last few weeks God has so allowed me to see a first hand view of what we do to ourselves in our need and desire to try to be God in our own lives.  One family that we were privileged to be around were really cute folks, darling child, and on the outside seemed so together and full of potential.  However when we got past their outside what we found were lives filled with tortures of their own making from debts to dependency....and the beliefs that their problems were not answerable by anything, not even God.

   The second scenario we lived and learned from involved watching a broken family.  The Dad had turned away from God a long time ago....he had systematically lost everything that mattered to him as God allowed him to have his own way on every topic in his life.  Slowly over 12 years he has reduced himself to being alone, without his children, without a good career, and now without friends for the most part.  His devotion to control has cost him almost everything he could have had.

   A third scenario involves a very bright young family.  They have successfully achieved the 300K home, good works in their local church, health and love in their home, but abundance eludes them.  They cannot see tithing in money form though they give of them selves regularly.  They have thought that better to invest in their future and give of their services......and its funny how in that decision, somehow their finances always don't work out. They see saw on making it solidly despite hundreds of thousands of dollars of business a year.....bread money on some days of the month just doesn't exist.

     As we have prayed and listened to each of the people in the above stories. God has so shown me humility.  I know that the root cause of all the issues they are facing I too face.  The issues are such no brainers when you see it in others. They trust the problem more than they trust God is a God.  They trust their control is better than submission to God in their lives.  They trust sickness and overwhelming issues are more powerful than the way of Jesus and the promises of God to Abraham's and his descendents that if we obey and worship God He will provide for us on all levels.  Pretty easy to see when the stage isnt your own life isn't it?

     God has so been present in our involvement with each of the families and many others on our walks.  He has lead us to a place of absolute sifting this summer.  We are being shown so many areas of our lives that He expects us to give up or to change how we handle.  We are glad, for each step, which are always hard for me personally....within days I have been released from fear, from worry, from overthinking the issues to death.  I simply look for and wait for peace before I move forward.  As a toddler in this, I know that there will be disobedient days and God will once again set me straight.  I had one of those moments yesterday as I was called to stand firm against someone attacking my family verbally and potentially in other ways.  When after 18 years I stood up to him, he immediately stepped back.  Amazing.  That is God.  For this person has had serious issues and standing up to him usually means a huge emotional scene.

    Why is it we cannot trust God in all things. Why does our humanness always involve taming our wills and surrendering our plans to Jesus...you'd think after the facts of the Bible...it would be an easy course, but ole self sure holds out until the end some moments of our lives.

  God is good.  The more time I am purposefully finding to refresh my mind in Him, the better my life becomes.  God help me to always run to and trust Him.

Sweetie

Well.............today is the day. I think I am going to puke