MARRIED WITH CHILDREN
Predators and chickensThe Chicken killing we had experienced stopped awhile back and I thought the killer had moved on... but yesterday it was back, it got the little pullet that was always getting out...and that met me at the feed bucket to let her back in:< But she was NOT out when it got her... and now I know what it is .......a CAT! A regular everday housecat kind... I never thought a cat would kill chickens... There was brush back around the back side of the run and I had let it grow up to give the chickens some shade... but its gone now... I found where the cat was getting in, well I know it got out there anyway.. so its all closed up.. It must have been hungry because the only thing we found was feathers and the breast bone... We also found broken egg shells, I think she must have been laying under that tree back there. DH shot at it and it ran out the back and around to the neighbors.. we will be watching for it... DH went deer hunting early this morning, so I will have most of the day to myself... I really need to work at getting the walls pushed back up.. It seems during the week when I get home the mess so overwhelms me I dont get anything done...and then on the weekend I just want to rest... We have been sick so the mess is even a bit more daunting then usual. I am also dealing with anxiety attacks again..which drains me of most energy I might have left... I guess I need to make an appointment with the doc and see if there is anything we can do... I can't seem to tolerate most anti depressant that they like to use for anxiety. well off to work... Todays list: Kitchen , and laundry. I need to make some kind of soup as well, for lunches during the week Things around the homesteadOk, still don't know why the camera didn't want to upload to the computer...or why the computer didn't want it to, but that's technology for you. I've played and reloaded and rebooted and what-have-you, and finally, this time, it just sort of worked.Here's the assorted odd pictures of the last many days here:  LOL...yes, basically a useless picture...but it was supposed to be here for the day I baked the pumpkin bread and raisin pumpkin snack cake. And yes, of course I buy butter in that huge container....doesn't everyone? My goodness, what other size would there be for a large family?How do you learn to ride a bike? Well, you talk your older brother into letting you be the first to ride his new bike, then you get on and let him shove....er, push you gently....across the front yard. Note to my children: you might want to find a new place to test your bike riding skills. There is a slope to the front yard in that particular area, and it heads straight into the mulch pile and timber line.    This is Wild Child, Jacob...with Abigail there in blue, and KatiAnne on the bike....totally forgetting to even pedal...or steer. Here we have Miss Emily trying to coax the chickens into coming closer for a visit. She poked her hand into the fence and wiggled her fingers, calling them...chickee, chickee. As soon as they started over toward her, she liked to have pulled the fence down yaking her hand out so quickly.   And the new addition to the homestead...and still unnamed officially...The Buddy Dog :o)  He is a Great Pyrenese (or however you spell that...it never looks right to me). According to our friend who got him at his auction, he's about 3 months old. But goodness is he huge for a mere 3 months old! Here he is with Matthew...and our blind goat...doesn't he look awfuly big for 3 months? Maybe it's just me. I'm not very familiar with their growth patterns and all. I know they are to be large dogs, but at 3 months, I guess I thought he'd be more 'puppy' sized or something.    As to being 'protection' for the goats, well, I don't know about that. He's rather skittish with them and tries to pick his places wherever they aren't. And our 'seeing' goat is a bit of a pill with other animals in her pen. She all but killed the poor black puppies that grew up with them. The male is blind in one eye and won't go near the pen now. The female always did have a bit more gumption, but even she chooses her battles with that seeing goat.  Yeah -- that one there, staring at you, with a touch of attitude....that's the seeing eye goat :o) We bought her as a companion for the blind goat. But she's full of attitude...spit and vinegar I think is the old saying. That's definitely her.
A serene Saturday & Sunday afternoon Here are the photos from yesterday. The children built a fort. Well, it's an encampment of sorts, really. It's Boonesboro...or in our case, Smithsboro. The children love watching the old television series Daniel Boone. Emily sings Daniel Boone was a man....a biiiiiggggg maaaannnnn.... all day, just out of the blue. And easily switches between that and Victory in Jesus or Jesus Loves Me. She has rather eclectic singing choices, I know. This is the beginning of our fabricated chicken house, actually. It's just a cattle panel arched over a frame. We'll move the chickens around the garden area with it once it's finished. Well, maybe...looks like I may not be getting this one back any time soon:   And the laundry that was left to wait on Smithsboro's completion...  And, I just thought this photo turned out nice. It's Miss Dimples, our KatiAnne, enjoying Smithsboro's outdoor cafe...  She wanted Grandma to see her :o) Thankfully fall has arrived.The weather is much cooler and we have had a couple of days of good rain showers.. so the smokey air from the forest fires is a sad summer memory.. The leaves on the trees are starting to change colors... I love this time of year..its still pretty nice out most of the time... so we dont need the heater but its cooler so we dont use the A/C anymore, we pretty much only use it when the weather gets over 100. Almost all of my young pullets are laying now... its pr etty intersting and funny the shapes and sizes their eggs are coming in lol... but it will be nice to have eggs over the winter... they are pretty spendy around here... We are getting a few tomatoes still but the deer found the garden a few weeks ago and so they have slowed way down, next year we will have to make some changes...but this year its not worth the fight...so we share. I am looking forward to the winter weather to begin spinning again... I did some this summer but there is just to much to do outdoors to keep at it much... Work is going well.. I love my job and have been working on getting a dress up station together, I stil need a few things for the boys, didnt realize they would be so into it either.... I have been hitting garage sales and bought some books and puzzles as well... the teacher is new the district and fairly new to teaching and has not taught this young of group before.. so we are gathering things as we go... but is sure has been enjoyable helping to get the room set up... I am a bit concerned as our district still has not settled the contract so there is a very real possibility that there may be a strike, this will set us back financially if it happens... so I am praying and hoping the negotiators will come to a fair compromise(sp) Oh and did I say both DH and I work for the district.. :< I am also beginning to think about Christmas ideas for family, I talked to one of my SIL yesterday and got some good ideas for two of my nephews... two I had ideas for already so that just leaves one to figure out.... DD will be hard this year... SS needs everything so that shouldnt be easy.... The last couple of years DH and I have been buying a together gift instead of each of us spending so much... Im thinking maybe something for our primitive camp... we will talk about it later... I need to get started so I am not trying to take it all out of one months paychecks... I have threee paydays left before Christmas.. we get paid once a month.. I guess thats about all thats going on in my neck of the woods... 10 Commandments for Every ChristianWe could all certainly use far more of this in our churches today and a lot less of the 'Christian play' that goes on. • DON’T IDEALIZE the church – it’s glorious, not because it’s perfect (after all, you’re in it!), but because it’s being redeemed.
• DON’T CRITICIZE your fellow-believers anytime or the pastor (especially never ever before or after a Sunday service: the Devil’s already doing that; don’t you help him). • DON’T POLARIZE in church meetings or committees. ‘I don’t agree’ is very negative: try ‘Is there perhaps another way of looking at this?’ • DON’T OSTRACIZE people whose psychological ‘chemistry’ is different to yours, or who do not see things your way. Be Christian, and greet them warmly, and pray with them anyway. • DON’T IDOLIZE the pastor or any other leader: we are all fellow- strugglers and we all have feet of clay. • DON’T MONOPOLIZE conversations: be that kind of rare person who is an empathetic listener. • DON’T ORGANIZE anything ‘off your own bat’. Initiative is good: initiative plus collaboration plus accountability is better. • DON’T HOMOGENIZE. Talk to people who are not your cronies (even tax-collectors and sinners do that). Accept people who are not like you theologically. After all, God’s truth may include both your and their understandings! • Above all, DON’T VERBALIZE your frustration or negativity about the church to others: it is sure to discourage them. Do it with the Lord, a spiritual director or counselor, and possibly, after much prayer, to a responsible leader. The devil is very clever: he puts words into our mouth like: ‘Would you (my friend) pray with me about the problem I have with...’ • Instead REALIZE that the Church is loved by Christ, so be patient with each other: the Lord hasn’t finished with any of us yet! The Attack on MenAll I will say to this is Amen. If you can't see our society totally wrapped up in this, you need to pull off the blinders and take a really good look around you. We don't have many MEN in our society today. We don't have many LEADERS in our society. And, sadly, we aren't working to change that in our up and coming young men and boys either.THE ATTACK ON MEN: Every television show depicts men as idiots, buffoons, or evil monsters. Satan wants to reach women because they are more easily deceived. The only obstacle to his subversion of women is men. His attack on men is primarily to remove any credibility or influence they have over women. The effectiveness of this campaign is shown in the TV program “The Red Green Show”. In this show there is a motto for men that is repeated with a resigned shrug, “I am a man...I can change...If I have to...I guess.” Young men today may not even know that the pattern of male submission that is prevalent today is an aberration. It has never existed before in the history of the world. Men were created to take care of families. Women were created to be taken care of. “Women’s liberation” is a communist term for the destruction of families. Liberation implies a struggle against oppression. The communist “liberation” movements have all been armed rebellion against governments that oppose their revolution.  It is important to recognize that revolutionary and political terms are used to demonize traditional families and family practice. The “liberation” that is implied is not against men, but against the God created order of life. Women are to be liberated from families and made worker bees in the corporate hive. In the communist model, women are not mothers or wives, but workers. Workers exist to serve the state. Men today do not have wives or mothers, just fellow workers. Men are told that this is the natural order of things and any suggestion of the “old way” is an insult to women and must not be tolerated. Men are told to accept the new status of women. Men are bullied into acquiescence with this rape of our culture and exploitation of women. It is sad that Satan has gotten women to be the loudest defenders of the attack upon women. It can be helpful to examine some of the specific ways men have been reduced to silent and sometimes willing partners in the exploitation of women. 1. Higher education. Men were told that only smart people in universities were educated enough to have any authority to speak to issues concerning their families. Fields such as anthropology, sociology, psychology, social work, and other phony “science” have been used to stifle objection. 2. Liberal religion. Most churches have been completely subverted to worldly perspectives in advance of the more direct attack on men. When men turned to their churches to help fight the direct attack, they only found that the churches had already “gone over to the enemy”. 3. Media. Men are portrayed as crazed killers, bullies, irresponsible, unreliable, drunken violent abusers. Satan does not allow a picture of quiet kindness and strength. Satan will never allow real men who lead their families with love to be seen. The imprint of media is a stain on all of us. More pervasive than the worst Korean War brainwashing, we are saturated to our core with Satanic images, frames of reference, and modes of thinking. 4. Elementary education. The educational system has been one of the greatest tools Satan has used to homogenize men into a submissive mold so that they will not object to the changes being brought forth in our society. As boys they are continuously told to be quiet and sit down, they are learning to stifle their natural inclinations. A primary purpose of the elementary classroom is to break the spirit of young men. 5. Elevation of sport. Boys are told that if they have to be restless then they can play sports. There is nothing so sad as to see someone whose whole life is reduced to this narrow mode of expression. Some men become so occupied with sports, it becomes the only vehicle they have to communicate with others, like the POWs who would communicate by tapping out a code.  6. Withdrawal. Satan is familiar with the most common response of men to situations of discomfort, they withdraw. By making life increasingly alien to men, he forces them out of areas he wants to control. The percentage of women in universities is increasing dramatically. Most men cannot feel comfortable in the radically political, and fervently hostile climate of campus life. Even for men who want to lead their families, they do not know how to meet the frustrating resistance from family members already held captive by the world. These men often seek divorce when they should be seeking knowledge and wisdom. 7. Self-indulgence. For centuries Satan had to rely on alcohol and adultery as his main tools to subvert morality. However, by careful planning and timing he was able to introduce abortion, the drug culture, birth control, and the sexual revolution all within a few years. We now have a climate where this is an accepted way of life. However, while some are dragged down to complete degradation, others (by God’s grace) resist the pull of consuming sensual pleasure and see the emptiness and waste of such a life. Many Christian pioneers come out of the depths of sin to the light of truth and joy of knowing real love. There is a way to fight back or at least resist these pervasive Satanic influences. 1. Become a Christian. There is a supernatural war going on all around us. Satan is allowed for a little while longer to rule over the earth. The Bible says that those who are not Christians are “held captive to do his will”. Being a Christian connects you to the winning side in this war and provides the means of being pulled out of a spiral of destruction. 2. Grow in truth. Satan achieves most of his success through our failures. If we draw close to God and gain wisdom and understanding, we are able to reduce the number of times we are deceived. The Bible says, “Greater is He who is in you, than he who is in the world”. 3. Acknowledge humility. Most men do not like the feeling that they do not have the answers or need to get advice or help from another person. The Christian life cannot be lived without humility. Men need to learn that courage is undertaking difficult or unpleasant action because of necessity. 4. Find a mentor. God provides those with wisdom who can give advice and provide encouragement. An ally in the fight against worldly corruption can be an essential part of a successful resistance to these corrupting influences. There are many poor and false teachers, so one should be careful. 5. Abandon error. Satan loves to isolate people in a shell of pride. A woman can raise a clenched fist demanding the “right” to be sexually exploited, killed her babies, and be left alone in her old age. No one will be able to convince her she has been duped because she has been inoculated against any suggestion of error. In a similar way men become encased in destructive prisons of error and humility is the key to escape. 6. Withdraw from diversion. Many children grow up in homes where they learn quickly that the father’s desire to watch television is more important than anything the child might have to say. Our recreations, entertainments, hobbies, and pleasures all act to turn us from our responsibilities. We need to understand the damage that we cause others by our selfishness. 7. Character is more important than performance. Men often focus on what they can do and how well they can do it. They tend to see their worth in terms of their value to “get things done”. This reinforces a materialistic and utilitarian view of the world. The Christian pioneer is understanding that all that we do is of God and there is no room for boasting. As we grow closer to God and value what He values, we learn that a humble and loving heart is infinitely more valuable that job proficiency. We need to turn our vision from the world. The images we get from the world only enslave us. We need to turn towards Christ. From Him we gain truth, wisdom, and understanding. With the truth, we can build strong families free from the degradation and corruption of the world. What happens when you aren't online for a while...Well, first off....your mail gets rather full and becomes a time-consuming go-through.Then, you end up inadvertently deleting some notes about comments here :o( When you finally get logged in, you find that there are a slew of comments waiting to be moderated. I didn't know that. I wasn't aware I had set anything up to moderate comments. So, forgive me for everyone who was sitting in the comment box, in limbo as it were. I don't moderate comments. I may not like what someone has to share, but as long as it's family-friendly for viewing, I am not going to play censor on my blog. Everyone has an opinion, everyone knows what they know and likes what they like. I'm no different. If we can agree to disagree and keep free, open minds, there's no point in moderating other than to keep it friendly for all who may see it. However...I'm a bit lost now here. I had comments that I cannot find as I've deleted the emails with them. I read them, but not sure I can answer each now. Guess I need to be online a bit more....I had an enormous amount of emails in my box and that's just ridiculous. What I need to do is go back over yahoo groups with a fine-toothed comb and really see what mail I receive and what it offers me, as well as what I offer that group. Surely I can do some serious paring down. Now, onto homestead news.... There isn't any, really. LOL...I haven't been off-line due to anything catastrophic or even chaotic. I just haven't had the motivation to get online lately. We have been working on character training around here, and schooling and laundry. Just regular life. Dewey was home this weekend some. He came in late Thursday, had to go up to Tennessee to the shop Friday, and then headed back off to Arkansas Sunday after church. It wasn't much time, but we enjoyed having even a short visit. Pretty soon his work will pick up enough that he won't be able to come home, we'll have to travel over there. I have several pictures on the camera I had planned to share...but for some reason I haven't figured out yet, the camera decided not to connect to the computer :o( Ugh. As much as I like my computer and a few select gadgets, I really get irked at technology! I'll keep playing with it all and see if I can figure out what I did, or didn't do. We've been back to making butters here. A couple from church gave us a bushel of pears from their trees. Not the prettiest fruits in the world, but oh-so delicious! We cooked them down yesterday and the puree is in the crock pot now, making into pear butter. I don't expect to get many pints from it, but every little bit in the pantry is a blessing and a treat. I haven't followed the 'bail out' news lately. I know the first attempt at a bill failed and I thought they were to vote on some changes to it today, but that's all I know. I'm sure when it all hits the fan, someone will blog about it and I'll be able to find out what I need to know ;o) There are far more eloquent bloggers out there interested in politics and finances than me! If you have news, drop me a line and fill me in :o) We are hoping to get some things done today. Yesterday I stopped by to set up the appointment to get new tires. Yes, all four...new...can we say pricey? Really, it wasn't as bad as I first imagined. We drive a 15 passenger van. It takes heavy duty tires, and we do alot of driving really, for as much as we stay home, we drive alot when we do drive. Everything is highway, so at least there's a small plus there. The total for tires, inspection and alignment with all the taxes and labor included was $731. Not nearly the ouch I expected, but still, a pretty healthy pinch. As I said, I stopped by to get the appointment all set, to make sure they had the tires I was wanting in stock, etc. They were in a lull for the day. He offered to go ahead and do it then, and hold my payment until Friday, when we originally planned to do it. Can't beat that. The children were lightly impressed with all the sights and sounds of the mechanic bay, and they thought it was kind of fun to be hoisted up in the lift and all, but an hour and a half was straining even the most pleasant of children. They were bored and things got a bit rowdy toward the end of the time. We didn't have any serious issues arise from it all, but we didi talk about how we need to be able to control ourselves, no matter how long something takes or how bored we might be. They did all stay in the car -- a repair shop/mechanic shop simply isn't a place for children to be having freedom. The waiting area was very small, and they had a television on and we are trying to curb that completely here, so it wasn't an option for us. As I said, they did really well for the length of time, and next time I think we'll do even better. Time to get moving. A fabric shop went out of business and they didn't sell everything off. He took the tons of remaining fabrics -- cotton for making scrubs! -- and boxed it up into bundles of 50 yards and 100 yards. Pieces ranging from a yard minimum to 20 yards maximum. Get this -- they are selling for $15 a box for the 100 yard and $10 for the 50 yard box! The scrubs material is perfect for us -- it washes up very nicely, releases wrinkles well, and the colors are solid. We don't always stick to solids, but they are nice. I really hope he has some left and I can get at least 4 of the 100 yard boxes. Vacation TimeCrystal’s Country Store is on vacation (and so am I
 )All orders placed as of September 29th will be mailed out on October 13th.
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- Leanne’s Mission Trip, Final PostI thought I would wrap up Leanne’s mission trip. Leanne will be sharing Sunday at church about her trip and Emily and Leanne made up this presentation and I thought I would share it with you.
My Granddaughter is Here!!My daughter Hannah delivered Elizabeth Emma on Wednesday morning, September 24th at 9:16am. She weighed 6lbs 15oz… and what a cutie she is
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