Rehoboth Farm
What Have I Done?...
I've seen this on Homeschoolblogger's sisterchicksteph's blog and momto4beauties' blog and I thought I'd give it a whirl. If YOU take the time fill out these questions, let me know so I can read yours! This things I have done will underlined. (P.S. - Because this is copied/pasted it won't let me change some of the colors - so...sorry there are so many color variations. I hope it isn't too confusing. :-/)
Blessings from Ohio, Kim Wolf<><
1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you could afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyworld/land (I've been to BOTH!!)
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying manits
10. Sang/played a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch-hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you were not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping (I wasn't a Christian until I was 23! :-/)
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a homerun
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance (I rode in the ambulance when our little girl died - saddest and scariest ride of my life)
47. Had your portrait painted (does a chalk and pencil portrait count?)
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater (I went to my first walk-in theater when I was 9 or 10 and not again until I was a teen. My girls have been just the opposite!)
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Gotten flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platettes or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helecoptor
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial (as a baby in a stroller - don't remember it)
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the changing of the guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcyle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House (in the same stroller as the Lincoln Memorial)
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury (I was summoned but didn't make the cut! Ha!)
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved-one
94. Made a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person (and Davey Crocket's gun - Ol' Betsy!)
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake (been to Salt Lake - didn't swim)
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
Help
HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We went to Disneyland to have our annual Christmas pictures taken of our babies and grand-babies. We had a blast but the pictures did not come out as we hoped. We are hoping to re-take them if Michelle will let us have them again.
Here is one picture:
This one is cut but Maddie's is crying.
Next:
Maddie's is happy she has Kristi, but it is still not great.
Next:
This one is cute but you can see a bit of Kristi's bra! and Jeffie is looking down.
Next:
Cute but again Jeffie is looking away! And Again the bra!!!
Michelle is going to let us have the grand-babies Thursday so we will retake pictures in front of the tree. I hope this time they look good so we can send the out.
But what I love is this:
Jeffie with Bubba. Jeffie was Bubba's buddy all day. Hubby loves it!
God Bless to you all, mj
I hope to have more pictures in a few days.
How to make beef stew fast
How to make beef stew fast. Tonight I made beef stew for dinner. You can use this recipe in your crock pot or your pressure cooker. I made it in my canner.
2. lbs london broil or beef chuck. (london's were on sale for $1.87 lb)
1 15 oz can beef broth
4 carrots chopped
2 large onions
1 celery rib sliced
3 potatoes cubed
1/2 cup flour ( I use rye)
1 1.2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
Put meat in cooker of your choice. Combine dry ingredients in a small bowl. Stir into meat until well coated. Add the rest to cooker. Cover.
Slow cooker on low foe 10-12 hours.
Pressure cooker 30-45 minutes at 10 lbs.
Serve with dinner rolls or corn bread.
God Bless, mj
My menu of dinners for this week
I have read other blogger menus. It really made me want to try again on making a menu and keeping it.
Mon: Beef stew with rolls. (has veggies in it)
Tues: Navy bean soup, green beans, home made corn bread.
Wed: Meat loaf, mashed potatoes, corn , dinner rolls.
Thur: Chicken dinner bake and dinner rolls.( has veggies in it)
Fri: Grandma jeans meatballs with gravy, green beans, dinner rolls.
Sat: Fried chicken tenders, french fires.
Sun: Left overs due to being at church most of the day.
Next weeks meals are going to be kinda hard as we girls are serving at Christmas vbs and it is at night. We will not get home until after 9:30 pm and hubby will get home a bit before 8:00 pm. Any idea's ?? You may notice that there is only green beans and corn for our dinner most of the time. Hubby does not like too may veggies. We girls eat most of the veggies during the day when he is at work or we make two veggies for dinner. We love veggies. Have you even seen children fight over the last Brussels sprouts? Mine do.
God Bless, mj
The Simple Woman's Daybook ~ #12 ~ 12/8/08
FOR TODAY...
Outside my window...beautiful snow! We had about 1-1/2" this weekend and it was lovely.
I am thinking...of my uncle's family - my aunt and my cousins. My uncle passed away last Monday. He was 94 and he and my aunt were married 71 years!! That's NOT a type-o. They married when she was 14, same as my grandma. Now out of 14 siblings there are only my mother and 2 sisters left, all 3 are widows.
I am thankful for...the time I got to spend with my dearest cousin while she was in town for my uncle's funeral. What a blessing that good times and precious reunions can come out of sad times. She has had a very sad year and I think she welcomed getting some of it off of her chest to someone she doesn't see everyday.
From the learning rooms...we're on Christmas Break and Jenna is at my mom's so she won't be lonely after having so much company in from my uncle's funeral.
From the kitchen...Jasper was home during the day today, as she didn't have to go in to work until later, and we just grazed through lunch. I am contemplating pork chops, noodles and broccoli for supper.
I am wearing...thick socks, leggins and an over-sized, warm sweatshirt.
I am creating...Christmas gifts and decorations!
I am going...to stay home in my warm cocoon today!
I am reading...Bible; Creed by Michael Bauman.
I am hoping...that Jasper will feel better. She has developed a nervous stomach ache b/c of watching the stress that her friend has been put under by people that they had formerly trusted and been close to. I'm hoping/praying that it doesn't develope any further.
I am hearing..."You Can Count on Me" by Fleetwood Mac (??) playing on something on the TV.
Around the house...getting used to seeing the full view out of our living room window! We had our HUGE Blue Spruce pine tree taken down on Thursday. It was just too big and starting to creep onto our driveway and we couldn't see our front yard out the window anymore. So...bye-bye big tree.
One of my favorite things...Our Christmas tree. We bought it last year to replace one that *my* family has used since I was about 8 years old. It is so real looking and has just a touch of 'snow' and pinecones on it. We put rustic and vintage ornaments and other pinecones on it and top it w/a rustic star. I think it is the most beautiful tree we've ever had and I enjoy just looking at it.
A few plans for the rest of the week: Christmas shopping, especially while Jenna is at my mom's and everyone else is at work. 
Here is picture thought I am sharing...
This is the tree that is no longer in front of our house as it looked on Christmas 2004 after we had 21" of snow. It had grown even more and was far above our roof and spread out even farther in front of the porch. The windows on the left are on the only part of the living room corner windows, on our corner porch, that we could see out of - now we can see out of the front windows, too.
Visit other Daybooks by going to http://thesimplewomansdaybook.blogspot.com/
Blessings from Ohio, Kim Wolf<><
The Bible is ONE Book...not two
THE BIBLE IS ONE BOOKThe Bible is not a composite of two books nor sixty-six books with
conflicting concepts and teaching.
It is, rather, one book recording the acts of
God under two primary covenants (Old and New Testaments).
Doctrinally there is no conflict between the two. They are altogether compatible and in mutual
agreement.
We believe literally that “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works” (2 Tim. 3:16-17).
The themes in the Old and New Testaments are the same: God’s holiness,
righteousness and mercy; and man’s alienation and estrangement from God
through disobedience.
It might surprise you to know that the Jewish people do not rely on works for salvation—they know the only way to salvation is through the Messiah.
The basic significance of the New Testament is uniquely a Jewish one: the fulfillment of the messianic hope. The New Testament writers, with perhaps the exception of Luke, are all Jews.
The early Apostles and followers of Jesus are also Jewish. There is nothing in the New Testament that is non-Jewish or anti-Jewish.
Quite the contrary, Jesus’ entire message taught that:
Only the merciful were to receive mercy, only the forgiving could expect forgiveness and that love would be the sign of His true disciples.
Send A Soldier a Card...free :o)
I won't get into a discussion of whether or not anyone agrees with the military in general, the war in Iraq or Afghanistan or wherever they are pushing it these days. I am simply passing along some information for those interested.XEROX IS DOING SOMETHING COOL
If you go to this web site, www.LetsSayThanks.com you can pick out a thank you card and Xerox will print it and it will be sent to a soldier that is currently serving in Iraq . You can't pick out who gets it, but it will go to a member of the armed services.
How AMAZING it would be if we could get everyone we know to send one!!! It is FREE and it only takes a second. Wouldn't it be wonderful if the soldiers received a bunch of these?
Whether you are for or against the war, our soldiers over there need to know we are behind them. This takes just 10 seconds and it's a wonderful way to say thank you.
Please take the time and please take the time to pass it on for others to do. We can never say enough thank you's.
Thanks for taking to time to support our military!
Winter Colds...and Horses
I know...late with posting again. Sorry. We didn't go to church yesterday with the colds and such here, and most likely we will not be doing the nursing visit this week either. The joys of the winter season, I guess...We have had an ongoing battle here with scratchy, itchy throats and now it's moved along to stuffy noses to boot. Poor Emily has a hard time sleeping at night...lying down, her poor little throat is just coated with her nose trying it's best to drain. She wakes off and on all night. I'm about to move on to something OTC for her after all of this. I haven't yet, but the temptation is there.
We haven't had so much as a strong 'cold' in a long time. Scratchy throats are expected this time of year as we turn heat on and the air outside battles with itself. But it's dragging out this year and moving through the whole head.
We have missed church a lot over the last month, and I don't see much difference this month really given the path of illness/discomfort right now. LOL...I know, not much of a Baptist am I? Skipping church because of a little cough and sniffle? Baptists like to share those kinds of things :o)
Seriously though, we don't go to church when we have anything going on. I've never been one to drag coughing, sniffling, gooky-nosed children off to church to share the illness with everyone. As the day progresses here we'll determine who goes and who stays, or if we all stay. Could be I'm the only one going tomorrow. Having a hand with the Sunday School class, I really should be there if at all possible.
This week we were getting the teens together to bake bread -- well, to teach them how to bake bread :o) Only my girls have the least idea how to do it. We will probably stick to the Quick Rise bread we do as it's easy and quick and makes a delicious bread. We'll keep it basic, just plain white wheat. They are also making and decorating sugar cookies. All of this is for Thursday -- the teens are visiting a couple of nursing homes here in town, handing out cards the children's class made, singing some carols and handing out a mini loaf and some cookies to the residents. This will be our second trip to the nursing homes, and they are all really excited about it. e only have one teen (out of the 7 we have) who is uninterested. She made a couple of cards, but spends her time sitting with her cell phone. She won't be coming along.
I'm terrible -- I'm glad she isn't coming with us. She has a tendency to put a shadow over everything we try to do. Her attitude spreads, slowly and quietly, to a couple of the other teens. It just makes for a bad time for everyone involved. She will stand with that blasted cell phone and make snide ccomments the whole time, like she does at church. I
hoping if she continues to not join in and sees that everyone else is interested, having a good time, sharing and such, maybe she will come around. And no, her parents aren't interested in how she behaves at church either. Already tried that approach.
Today's agenda...keeping warm and cozy in such cold windy weather. Making a pot of chicken soup...carrots, onions, celery,green peppers, lots and lots of garlic, and home-canned chicken. It's simmering now and smells soooo good! Later we'll make some egg noodles to add in. I like lots of noodles, but I think we need more broth today than anything.
Sewing...I finished a dress for Debi, 3 for Miss Rachel that still needs buttons, and countless boxers and bloomers waiting on elastic in the waist. Now for a dress for Jennifer. We moved the sewing machine to the dining room...it's sitting under that side of the island.. Really, it's in the way of regular daily life, but we need to get sewing done, so it will work well out there. The sewing room is rather open to everything, but I'm more in the mix being in the actual room now. The table was covered yesterday with fabric laid out, patterns all over and odds and ends. The cookstove is all but hidden with the ironing board :o) It's very compact on that side of the room right now, but it works for the time being.
I'm making our bread for the week today so it's done. I think we'll use the new mixer and give it a test run. I'll double the batch -- making 12 loaves -- and we'll do some cinnamon rolls as well. If we end up at church tomorrow, I'll take a few pans along, otherwise we'll freeze them to bake later. One full batch will be our bread for the week. I'm itching to play with that mixer :o)
Horses...Rebel is ready anytime we are.
We are not anything near ready.
We have barn work, lots of new fence to run around the pasture area behind the barn. More hay to get as well.
No where near ready. Personally, I'm not even interested in having a horse out here, but Jennifer gave Miss Escapee away, and she misses having her here. Our mail lady and family felt terribly taking her, and have been working with Rebel all along to bring him out here. He's very calm, very laid-back around even young children, and will be perfect for each of them to learn to ride and such. George trains horses (it's his true calling in life, but doesn't pay the bills just yet) and has done wonders with our wild green Miss Escapee in the months he's had her. She's just beautiful to see in the field. Rebel is probably a perfect match for us, given the age ranges of the children and all. Sharon and George want to start training Jennifer in horse keeping, as well as get her on some of their weekend trail rides. She's excited. I suppose I am as well, for her. Just wasn't looking at a horse on this homestead. Not yet, anyway.
So, I guess the next couple of weeks, we will try to get more T-Posts put up and run some wire out there. Right now, Rebel is pastured with several other horses, but just 2 strands of wire for them, so I think he'll do fine here.
I'm not fence-builder, and I certainly can't manage those decent wood corner posts in this clay muck out here, but given some time, and remembering to wear my wrist braces, I'm sure I can pound a couple dozen or so T-Posts in and run some wire. I won't guarantee his arrival by Christmas week when Dewey is home, but maybe after New Years.
Back to sewing and baking...
End of week rambles...a bit late
Ok, I am limping along with the computer now at home. Seems I can at least reinstall the modem by bypassing this and that in the gene pool of the OS here. We'll see how long that lasts. It's aggravating, to say the least. Stupid technology.Today is meat and fabric here.
Yes, quite a combination, I know. I have to get some things stitched up and off the "waiting" pile here. Of course, I say that knowing that as soon as the "waiting" pile is lessened, I'll start cutting and rebuilding it again.
The meat, well, that's a given. I tell you, I've seen and handled more raw meat that a person needs to lately. We may well go vegetarian for several months....my prideful side wants to see that pantry filled with the fruits of this bounty for a while before anyone dare touch a jar.
I have all the pipe and such needed to fire up that cookstove now. I'm no carpenter, though, so it's not getting done. We need to remove a window, reframe it with the spacer pipe sleeve, enclose it and then install my pipe. Sounds so easy, doesn't it? Well, I won't even attempt it -- it's been far too cold at night, and only in the middle 40's during the day to pull out a window and not have a clue from that point! I'm not a patient person though...I fight God on that all the time...I don't know that I won't attempt to do it before Dewey gets home again for Christmas!
Why do you homestead?
What a loaded answer that question could produce! Everyone has different visions that have led them to that word homestead. Some days I know I don't homestead at all. Not by anyone's description. I have one foot and half the toes on the other in the world around me. Other days, I just know I am not only on that path, but running down it full bore.
If I went off the grid today, bugged out and left society completely, we would not last long at all. We'd half-starve before next harvest due to very bad planning on my part, we'd freeze in the winter because I have not moved strongly enough to alternative anything, and I'd have a definite mutiny brewing within a short time because I have not trained well enough, and I have allowed far too much from the outside into my home.
Why do I draw myself a connection with the word homestead? Simply put, I live in the country because it's where I belong. I've always felt that way. Yes, once upon a time, I had visions of a great warehouse apartment in the center of New York City, smack in the middle of life and concrete. I just knew that that was the place for a dancer-to-be. LOL...that was long, long ago. I couldn't find my ballet positions, let alone execute them now if my life depended on it! Not to mention my tu-tu would be more akin to a six-six or something :o)
But, common sense (and reality) prevailed upon me to be a country gal instead. I am a combination of Olivia Walton and Ma Ingalls, with a good dose of Ma Kettle thrown in for good measure. Since first married, and even a bit beforehand, I have envision my family living out...way out off the beaten path. I have always wanted to be far into the country. Rural beyond rural. I pictured a small cabin, nothing fancy or elaborate, just cozy and practical. I could see the barn yards, the fenced areas here and there. I saw several garden plots, even some pretty areas of just useless-but-eye-appealing flowers. My days would be filled with the simple but necessary tasks of Ma ingalls...survival tasks, to be sure, but done without the drudgery of what some tasks bring me to mind of today.
I also envisioned my husband, our leader and provider, being much closer to home with his work. Everything was a family affair, from building to animal husbandry to church going. Everything was so intertwined, not a single thread could be coaxed away alone. Maybe we were off the grid, maybe not. That isn't important really. It's how that grid is used and the importance it plays in our daily life that matters, really.
There wasn't a sense of urgency in my dreams. Things flowed along together in a simple drifting of importance. No one complained about doing this duty or that. It had to be done. Rural beyond rural depends on everyone working together no matter what. There wasn't any intrusion from outside things...like computers, televisions, radios or people. Family life and family time was guarded strongly, as strong as any military base might be. Dad and Mom were the gate-keepers, and anything coming in was suspect and thoroughly analyzed for the better good.
I imagined long days of working side by side, Dad, Mom and children. I imagined talkative family meals where the plans and goals of the homestead were always top of the conversation. Where after dinner, other plans were made...a quiet walk together, a peaceful rock on the porch watching children run around in the yard, quiet humming as a baby was rocked to sleep.
But, my present reality is a bit different. Not that I havve foregone those first dreams really, but they have adjusted to meet the life around me more than I cared for them to. My life is far more directed by the ebb and flow of the world around me than I like and I don't see a clear way to move out of that. I see some paths here and there, and I work toward steering toward them, but there just isn't a light at the end of that tunnel just yet. I don't see the same distance I once did in my visions of homestead and family. I have muddied visions because of the worldly influences that surround me daily.
My reality at present is against everything I have ever wanted. I have a husband working in another state. I truly feel as though I am the single parent I always felt a bit of grief for growing up. I just never saw 'parent' and 'single' as going together as it should. Rose-colored glasses, I know, in this society of divorce and plain old single parenting without any marriage involved. In my heart, it's always been Dad and Mom together, though, a force so strong that nothing short of death could pull apart.
My rural beyond rural homestead is close to being the dream I once had. We could get more rural here, but it would take some looking and hunting to do so. We are removed by a mere handful of miles from small town living, but our surroundings are hundreds of miles apart right here in sense. There is a vast difference in the folks living in that close small town and the folks living in another decade here on this mountainside.
I also don't have the strength of connection I thought we'd have to church and family. Extended family is on the other side of the moon in practice and in motive. I think that is why I like reading about the Amish and such. There is close community and closer family ties. I don't have that, and I know it won't ever happen. I can still imagine it, though. It would be wonderful to have.
So, why do I homestead? Because I have always felt a pull to the land. A pull to nature around me. A pull to peace and quiet, simple living and no-fuss existence. Because I know that this world offers nothing of any substance. Sure, I have been goaded into using many of the trappings the world has to offer...my large van, the grocery store, the Super WalMart, this computer...but my heart just isn't in it. Never has been. My heart is in a garden, a root cellar, a full pantry. My heart is at my sewing machine, in the school books we teach our children with, in the barnyard and in the hay field.
My heart is in my husband and that original dream of homestead and family...still. My heart is learning Scripture as God breathed it into existence. To not blend it with the implanted thoughts and theories of the world around me, but to take it simply for what it says, and what it whipsers into my heart of hearts and into my soul.
My heart is to simply live a quiet and peaceful life without intrusions from that which surrounds me daily in this life. To maintain my focus...to find my focus again. I want to unplug and disconnect from all that surrounds me.
Is that even really possible these days? I just don't know.
Our house is growing
Our house is growing larger!
We are expecting a litter of Golden puppies is the next 2 weeks. We are so happy. Out of this litter we will be making two of the puppies service dogs. We are so happy we can help out two families in our church who need the dogs for their children very bad.
One family special needs son is having so much trouble with his health. He had a seizure at school for 3 hours before they called his parents. The other family has a child with special needs also.
We have been training and breeding Goldens for 13 years. All of our Goldens are service dogs. We have started a service dog traing business called "Service Dog University". I have been training dog for over 20 years.
Shayna is having a baby too. Well, she is having a horse. Our one friend who is fighting with breast cancer can not keep her 5 year old horse Linda Bell. She offered her to Shayna. Shayna is in horse heaven as she wanted a extra large horse. The deal with us is we will pay for 1 horse ( her Stormy) and at 18 years old she can work for the family ( my mom and aunt) cleaning house to feed Linda Bell. Shayna is also riding and training some 4h families horse.
God Bless, mj
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