Our Green Acres

The comments are the best part

I found such an interesting article on Dr. Mercola's site about the benefits of detoxification and fasting. He recommends detoxing, but not fasting. Hey, the Lord recommends fasting once in a while, so I think the One who knows the owner's manual inside and out is right about that one. Sorry Dr. Mercola!

But what I found fascinating (as usual) are the comments which follow the article. The benefits of fasting are well explained and documented. The bottom line of the comments (not Dr. Mercola's advice) is that fasting done with the proper preparation can help cleanse and heal the body. The proper preparation includes seven days of a controlled diet to get off the sugar and white carbs roller coaster. Hey, that is Dr. Gittleman's plan! And then a juice fast with lemon on the days of no food to help the liver detox. Also Dr. Gittleman!

And I learned a few things from reading the comments: 1) the juice of 1/2 lemon in water first thing in the morning helps banish constipation; 2) a sensible diet high in oats and yogurt helps heal leaky gut (often caused by a yeast overgrowth, often caused by antibiotic use).

Thursday, May 28, 2009

Wed=== already

Life is busy

Yes, our life is too busy at the moment. It has been for the whole month of May. I'm ready to get off this merry-go-round for a bit. Merry-go-round is a good way to describe it....for each activity, in and of itself, is fun and interesting. There's just too many of them at once.

Today holds a dentist appmt for Rebecca's filling...after we go to piano lessons. This is after Thomas and I move cows this morning.

Tomorrow is actually a day AT HOME...with no where to be, nothing extra to do!!! Wahoo!!!!

We have a state shoot coming up soon. I'm looking forward to watching my son do what he does so well. I'm so proud of him!!!

The two book sales were quite fruitful, both in selling and buying. I LOVE used curriculum/book sales!!

Honey's vacation starts soon. I'm not planning to do much of anything while he's home....just soak up the time with him. I already know I don't want to give him back when it's over....

It's getting light outside now....time to wake my children and get this day started...

Moved in!

Monday, Monday....

Today is back to real life.....what a great weekend we had!!!!

I left on Friday morning for Nashville with my greatest friends.....and we met up with another of my greatest friends. We went to the MTHEA conference. It was my first homeschool conference...funny....we're in our 11th year of home education and I finally went to a conference! I listened to Mary Hood a couple of times. Can't say that I'm a huge fan after listening to her, but she did bring up some good points.

The best speaker? The lady from In The Hands Of A Child! She re-ignited my fire for lapbooking! We've done notebooking (thanks, Cindy Rushton!!!) many times...but I never got completely into the whole lapbooking thing. Well...look out...cause we're SO going to be adding lapbooking into our school work next year!

I will say that the conference was a bit lacking. The food.....oh what a less than stellar thing that was. We waited in line for nearly an hour to pay WAY too much for a burger and fries. The speakers were in rooms that had no doors, so the outside noise from the walkways was way too much. I don't think this was the first time the conference was held at the fairgrounds, so surely they have heard these complaints before??

A couple of us are thinking about attending another conference elsewhere...  though I'll have to wait awhile before I ask my family to allow this again. They did great on their own but told me how they missed me so! Those words were sure wonderful to hear. And I was exhausted tired Saturday night. Mary and Natalie told me how red my eyes were..then told me that under my eyes was blue. Yep, I took a shower after eating and went to bed. I haven't slept that deeply in a long time. But the tired-ness was sure worth it to get to attend this conference...and have a great time with such wonderful friends. We stayed up way too late talking Friday night. And someone got us up way too early Saturday morning. No names....  to protect the innocent....

We ate at Olive Garden Friday night. What a hoot that was! The drive there was masterfully executed. The back seat driving was incredibly funny. The meal and service were both outstanding. Another drive back to the hotel was just as fun as the drive there! On the way home Saturday, we explored Nashville...not that it was our intention to go exploring, but in looking for Trader Joe's, we saw LOTS of Nashville. My first time seeing Music Row, the Parthenon, and oh so much more. What a tour guide we had! We hit Costco on the way home and had fun there too.

Ahhhhh....friends....aren't they the spice of life? I'm so thankful that the wonderfully flavorfull friends FAR outweigh the ickily flavored ones. God is so good to me. I am incredibly blessed by both the best family ever and the best friends ever. Who could ask for more????

Yet, life is more than a conference...there's real life to live too...

We took Thomas to town to meet up with his shooting coach yesterday. He went to another gun range and had another practice. I'm so thankful for his coach. He went so out of his way to get Thomas there. What a blessing. Thomas had a great time.

At home, Toby, Rebecca and Mary moved the cows to the driveway so they could do some mowing for us. When it was time for me to leave to pick up Thomas, Toby moved the cows into the next pasture. Mary is Daddy's shadow....it so reminds me of Thomas when he was a little guy....always out working with Daddy. So sweet....

This week is another busy one. We're home today...thankfully....laundry, school and all the normal Monday stuff...including some baking. Must get some bread baked...and some treats. Tomorrow is a busy day...Thomas goes to the orthodontist in the morning...and Honey goes to the dentist in the afternoon to have the pins from his latest crown to bite the dust pulled out. I've been organizing a used book sale for about two months now. The big day is Friday...which means I need get my butt in gear and get these books priced to sell!!!

The washer has stopped for the second time this morning. The sun is peeking out...so it's time to get this laundry hung out on the line. I haven't done this in awhile...it's been so rainy and overcast lately...but today, we go back outside!

Oh yeah...the garden needs some weeding too.....always something to be done, eh?!

Only the coolest Daddy in the world...

Only the coolest Daddy in the world would.....

give his daughters' Kens a hair cut.

Isn't he the coolest Daddy ever?!

Terrain is everything

I was thinking about the swine flu epidemic, specifically, how there is some evidence that this particular strain of the flu bug has been genetically engineered, containing parts of the swine flu, human flu, and avian flu. Evil men will continue playing God in this way to try to achieve their ends (which is what? Population control? Some leftists and new age earth worshippers believe it is the people who are the "disease" on the planet, contrary to the Lord's command in Scripture at the creation of mankind) until they succeed. So in the new 1984 that we live in, what can we do to protect ourselves and our families?

I didn't realize until recently that Louis Pasteur, the notable 19th century French chemist and microbiologist (and Bible- believing Creationist) best known for his remarkable breakthroughs in the causes and prevention of disease, RECANTED his germ theory of disease at his deathbed, stating,

"The microbe is nothing. The terrain is everything."

What does he mean by that? Simply, that microbes can only grow in the proper medium. They require a favorable environment. All of us are constantly being bombarded by microbes daily. Why aren't we daily coming down with devastating illnesses? Because those microbes can only begin to multiply if the conditions are right.

It is no wonder that the good bugs which inhabit our intestines and provide innumerable benefits to our digestive and immune systems, and the bad bugs such as swine flu, which cause us to get sick, require a different set, an opposite set of conditions to thrive. It stands to reason, that if we encourage the terrain necessary for the good bugs, we will discourage the terrain necessary for the bad bugs, and vice versa. Just by nourishing our inner terrain rightly, we can make ourselves and our families "immune" to the swine flu or any other pathogen which might come down the pike.

Here is the best article I have read on cultivating the proper terrain. (DETOX!) I have used the information in this article to heal myself from pneumonia without antibiotics or other drugs. Here is another article on another therapy designed to nourish the proper terrain. I have tried the first and not the second, so I can't comment on the second. The testimonials are compelling, though. And if we were to put together a few things to prepare for emergencies or a disaster, knowledge like this could prove to be a life- saver.

Mother's Day

Ahhhh...what a wonderful day....

Breakfast was skillyfully prepared by Rebecca. That girl can cook! Natalie and Mary took care of the cleanup. Thomas entertained us all with his choice of breakfast...an egg sandwich on not just toast..but peanut butter and jelly toast. Ummm...ick...but if he likes it, so be it!

I was then treated to such beautiful cards. What loving words from my babes. I am truly blessed with the best children ever. Honey gave me a card filled with his encouraging and loving words. He made me cry.

Then they brought me to the computer...to show me the gift they ordered for me but hasn't arrived yet.

They bought me a GPS! All because Thomas and I used one last weekend on our trip to Clarksville and when I called home I told Honey how much I loved it. Isn't that the sweetest thing? Sure, the GPS is cool...but what's cooler to me is that he bought it for me just because he heard how much I loved it. He sure spoils me. I am so blessed.

The day is not special due to this gift...though I dearly appreciate it....no, it's special because of the love we share.

Because of Honey, I get to be a wife and a Mama. It's the only job I ever dreamed of. I never cared about college, a career or any of that stuff. I only wanted to get married to the man of my dreams and get to Mother our babes. He has made whatever sacrifice has been necessary for over 18 years for me to be home. Sure, we could put the children in school. Sure, I could get a job. Sure, we could have more money. But, then, really...what would we have??? Not what we have now, that's for sure. Not the relationships that we cherish. I LOVE being home. I LOVE being with my children. I LOVE being the one to teach them. I LOVE being here when they need me. I LOVE getting Honey's daily call that he's on his way home to us. I LOVE it. I can't imagine being anywhere else all day long.

So, that means also that money is usually in short supply. It means that we don't do trips. We don't go out to eat. We scrimp and save everywhere we can. But, I wouldn't have it any other way.

I did a 3 month stint working at Wal Mart back in 2002. Honey was going to go back to school and I went to work. It soooo did not work. I missed my babes. I didn't mind..actually enjoyed...the work. But, I couldn't stop thinking about my babes at home..and my heart ached to be with them. I vividly remember one day...towards the end of my WM career....Honey needed the Burb that day so he and the children took me to work. Natalie was 2-1/2 at the time, Thomas 6-1/2 and Rebecca almost 9. I sat in the back next to Natalie...she held me the entire way there....and as I had to get out and say good-bye to them all, Natalie kept saying "Me stay you Mama, me stay you.".  I still tear up at that memory. It was so hard for me to walk away and go to work. I had to leave those sweet little faces. It was then that we knew beyond a doubt that we were not doing the right thing and I needed to be home. I believe I was out of work within 3 weeks.

You know, I've learned many things over my 39 years of life....some people come into your life and make it so much richer. Course, there are some who come into your life and cause stress and strife. But, thankfully, they are usually short-lived in my life. Honey protects me in ways that I don't even realize sometimes. I know beyond a doubt that he would do anything for me. 

I have been blessed with the best parents, husband, children and friends. They are truly more than I ever dreamed of. I am living my dream....and I'm ever so thankful to be granted my fondest wishes...and beyond!! Thus the name of my blog...Abundant Blessings...for I am most definitely abundantly blessed!!!

On swine flu

When I wrote this post on flu and flu shots recently, I had no idea a swine flu epidemic was right around the corner. Following that advice will help you avoid catching the swine flu too, just as it will help guard against any other kind of flu. Get outdoors every day while the threat is still on (thank you God that it is spring)! One researcher has theorized that the flu is nothing more than a symptom of vitamin D deficiency. Dr. Mercola has posted his excellent knowledge and advice about the swine flu, and Health Sciences Institute has also written succinctly on the subject.