Wanna Be a Steader!

What Does 'Keeper of the Home' Mean to You?

I was asked this question on an e-mail list I'm on.  My answer is below...I would LOVE to know what YOU think!

Blessings from Ohio, Kim Wolf<><

Myself, I have to include homeschooling in my personal definition…as I am a homeschool mom.  I consider it both a vocation and a ministry. 

I consider being a keeper of my home as having a finger-print on everything in the home.  If you were to look around my home you would see decorations I’ve made, cross-stitches I’ve labored over, flowers I’ve arranged, furniture I’ve refinished w/my dad, curtains and pictures I’ve hung, antique tins I’ve collected and displayed.  You would smell food I’ve either just taken out of the oven or that I’m cooking for a coming meal, soap laying out to season, herbs in my windowsill.  You might hear music circulating through the house from any one of our rooms, birds singing through the newly washed windows, the laughter of my wonderful daughters as they lean their heads together for a bit of girl talk or when they’re joking around with my hubby and me. 

When I think of a keeper of the home…I think of a mother’s attitude guided by the Lord so that she can keep it all in order.  As a keeper of the home we can – for good or bad – demonstrate that old saying “If Momma ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy!”  If “Momma” has let the Lord help her to keep her home, then even though we live in a fallen world,  peace will reign, order will be found and love will be felt.

Blessings from Ohio, Kim Wolf<><

NAIS...BAD for Small-Time Livestock Owners & Breeders

The blog SimpleLiving has a great article with links about what can happen to small-time livestock owners and breeders.  YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THIS AND TAKE ACTION NOW if this applies to you!

PLEASE go to:  http://www.homesteadblogger.com/SimpleLiving4Us/93753/

Blessings from Ohio, Kim Wolf<><

What is "Homey"?

Question for you...What is "homey" to you?  Or...How would you describe "homey"?

We live about 35 miles from our church.  Yes, there are great churches that are closer than ours, but we've been at this one for nearly 12 years and just do not feel called to leave it at this time.  Our girls have been there since they were 8 and 5 yeas old and, other then their dear and close homeschool friends around here, they also have good friends at church.

Last month was our youngest dd's 17th b-day and all she wanted to do was invite some of her Sunday School/Youth Group friends to a day at a mall and then to come up to our rural area to our house to spend the night and then all go to church together the next morning.  (Another thing that it did was show these friends just how far we travel AT LEAST twice a week and it would help them to understand the sacrifice we make just to worship w/them.)

All but one of the 4 girls (there's a city slicker in every crowd!  lol ) who came up LOVED the country drive and the little rural town we live in.  One had never seen "a real live" red-tailed hawk until she came up, they LOVED the elk farm that's just a mile from our house, the coming dusk brought a deer out of the woods on the way home...and they liked our old 170+ year old home.  Even though we are JUST inside our town limits, our house had once been a farm house when it was built.  Of course, it's been added on to over the years...particularly the 2 baths, kitchen, electricity and FURNACE!   

Two of the girls are sisters and are from a family that has certainly had it's struggles...mostly financially (which we have gone through!).  These sweet teens really enjoyed being treated to lunch at the mall and the country drive out to our house.  While the girls did all their girlie things upstairs (our girls' bedrooms, bath and an old fashioned "loft" w/a small T.V. are upstairs ~~ it's Girl Domain!), they watched DVDs, giggled, polished nails and fixed each other's hair; I was downstairs making pizza, baking some quick sweet goodies, etc.  After our pizza supper, the girls decided to watch a movie on our larger T.V. downstairs w/my dh and I.  The 2 sisters came in to gab w/me for a few minutes while the others were picking the movie and they went on and on about how they loved our old house.  One said, "it's the kind of house I would like to have someday.  It's so homey!"

Well, I have to tell you that THAT is the way to my heart!  I LOVE homey!  That is the highest compliment that anyone could ever pay me about my home.  I have always tried to make my home homey.  I have always wanted my home to be a place where people could come in and feel comfortable...I never wanted anyone to come in and wonder just where they could sit, to feel as if they couldn't touch anything.  My goal has been to make my house A HOME for my family and a comfortable place for our extended family and our friends to visit and enjoy.

What's homey to me?

~Antiques...especially if they are more on the primitive side and are usable.  I collect tins ~ antique and reproduced ~ and actually use nearly all of them.  I store noodles, pastas, candy, cookies.  In the larger ones I store my bags of flour, suger, Sucanat, baking soda/powder, salt and other bulk items until I re-fill my canisters.  Speaking of canisters...I like to use old, usually colored, canning jars as extra canisters.  I like the way they look on my counters.

~I have many of my dear Bigmom's (maternal gr-ma) things.  I don't know how I got them, as my mom is the 'baby' of her 14 children, but I'm SO eternally thankful that I have them.  There is a memory attached to each one...kitchen utensils, pots/pans/cast iron skillet that I use nearly everyday, end tables, what-not table, paintings, quilts...even her apron and I make tea everyday w/her tea kettle.

~Anything "country"!  All of the above certainly fit into this category as well.  And that could include baskets, painted and worn furniture, an old Whooseir Hutch, dry sink, pie cabnet, plates/platters/place settings, antique tins, old or hand made display shelves, roll-top desk, secretary hutch, old iron bed frame made up w/those home-made quilts, rag rugs.

~Enjoying an evening sitting out on the front porch.  Where has that gone?  No one seems to do that anymore.  We also enjoy our back yard, but sitting on the swing on our front porch does a body good.

~The kitchen table.  We live in fast and furious times.  Especially w/a teen and a dd who is now a young lady in our house.  Everyone has their own schedules, their own groups of friends and their own responsibilities.  But the one place where we all seem to meet - as many nights a week as we possibly can - is at the kitchen table for supper.  This is a place where we connect, catch up, laugh, share ideas, entertain guests...and pray.  And, OF COURSE, we enjoy good times over good food!    

I'm sure once I sign off of here that I'll think of many more things...but I would really like to hear YOUR ideas.  So please tell me...What is your idea of homey?  What is homey to you?

Blessings from Ohio, Kim Wolf<><     

MAGGIE IS HOME!!!!

She's here!  She's here!  Just an hour ago we arrived from our trip to get Maggie ~ Magpie Maggie, to exact!  Our new little 8 week old Miniature Schnauzer...all black (that's the "Magpie" part) w/a little white spot on her chin, throat and the tips of both right feet.  Oh, what a sweetie!! 

So far, she loves to cuddle.  The breeders were nice, family people and raise the dogs they breed in their home; I liked that they didn't keep the dogs out in kennels or pens, especially w/it being SO cold here, right now.  Their dogs are AKC registered but they seem to love each one.  They seemed satisfied that Maggie will be well loved.  Maggie's mom, Lady, is their favorite dog so I noticed that they like to want to make sure that her pups go to loving homes.  

Maggie was the only girl in her litter and her brothers are all going to their new families on Monday.  Poor Lady.  She's going to need some lovin' next week.

Just wanted to let you know about our new "baby."  We're so excited!!

Blessings from Ohio, Kim Wolf<><

Lately on the Homestead...

Well, my house smells like peppermint this morning…a couple of weeks ago I found out that we have a mouse (PLEEEEEASE let it be just ONE!!) and doggone it!...it keeps tripping all of my traps (I KNOW they work cos they get my fingers!!), PLUS I got several of those traps that you bait and when the mousie goes in the trap closes around them…NOT ONE is tripped!!  EEEKKK!!!  So…a friend told me…and also showed me in a great book…that if you put peppermint essential oil on cotton balls around the walls, in cabinets and other places where mice run, that mice are allergic to peppermint and will leave!  WOOHOO!!!  So…since I forgot to get cotton balls, I dipped a few Q-tips into some oil and placed them in strategic places.  No one heard the mousie all night!  So, either he’s laying low or he left.  It’s AWEFULLY cold outside…but I hope he left!

Some good news!...You know that our sweet dog, Hickory, died on the 7^th, well…we just picked out a little Miniature Schnauzer puppy!!!  We’ll pick her up on Friday, Feb. 1^st when she’s 8 weeks old!  She’s all black – except little white spots on her chin, throat and the tips of her toes on both right feet.  She seems to be very sweet and cuddly like her momma.  So, right now we are all in such a schizophrenic state of mind…we are still feeling the sadness of missing Hickory and still expecting to see him in his favorite lounging spots or behind us in the kitchen while we’re cooking, waiting for something to fall or getting used to him NOT barking whenever the doorbell rings.  All those habits that we fell into over the last 10 years that you don’t even realize you have.

Then…the next minute we’re just bubbling over about our soon-to-be new addition.  By they way, we have decided to call her Maggie!  (AKC name will be Magpie Maggie.)  After having a larger dog (Hickory was a Sheltie, but he was a bigger one; about 22” tall at the shoulder and about 45-50 lbs.  Even though he was AKC registered he ended up being on the bigger end of the breed.  But that’s OK, we weren’t going to show or breed him anyway, he was gotten to be a part of our family), so we decided to go a different route this time…for starters, Maggie is a female (poor Ty, now he'll REALLY be the only man in the house!), she is a non-shedder(!!), she is smaller and therefore will be more of a lap dog.  So, you can see what I’m talking about…we still miss our sweet “boy” but we are SO excited about Maggie!

So, that's what's going on at our house.  How about yours?

Blessings from Ohio, Kim Wolf<><  

The Good and Bad of 2008...and It's Only 8 Days Old!

Well...I have good news and bad news for this 8th day of 2008.  I'll give you the bad news 1st and get it said...

THE BAD NEWS ~~

Ever since my sweet hubby nearly had a heart attack (http://www.homesteadblogger.com/wannabeone/80140) back on the 18th of December, our sweet little 10 year old Sheltie, Hickory (Dickory Dog), has been in failing health.  At first, we thought it was because of all the excitement of what happened to my hubby, as Hickory is so sensitive to what goes on in our house.  He has always, being a Sheltie - which makes him a herding/watch-type of dog - thought that we are all HIS responsibility.  So, while my husband was in the hospital overnight for observation and to have his heart cath, Hickory slept on a pile of his clothes in the laundry room.  He has always done things like that...there have been times that when I'm gone for a couple of days that he wouldn't eat the whole time I was gone; you could always tell that he was "counting" each of us as we would enter the house if the whole family went somewhere and if someone was missing, he "worried" about it for a little while until he felt that since the rest of us weren't worried then he shouldn't be either. 

Anyway, we took him to the vet on Dec. 21st where his symptoms were classic of some doggie intestinal viruses that have been going around our area.  So he was given 2 shots and some meds to take at home.  After 2 more days of feeling lousy, he finally started to perk up and then had about 3 good days.  When he was sick, not only was he not eating (or keeping anything down!) during this time, but he wasn't even BARKING!  So when he started barking to greet someone coming in the door and wagging his big fluffy tail, we thought he was getting better.  But after those brief 3 days he started to throw everthing up again and all the other yucky bodily things that happen.  2 days ago he began to absolutely REEK of some foul odor, so much so that you could tell when he entered the room.  Late Sunday night we noticed that he was also passing blood which, of course, was worse on Monday (yesterday).  So, after giving him a warm bath, which seemed to comfort him some, I made a call to the vet to get him in asap.  The soonest they could see us was 4p.m. and that was fine.    Being that Hickory just turned 10 years old on Dec. 1st, we have slowly been trying to prepare ourselves that he might not be here too much longer.  I'm glad we did b/c with Jasper turning 20 (TODAY!!) and Jenna nearly 17, they have had Hickory nearly all of their lives and not having him would be a big adjustment for us all.

Well, the vet did a few tests on Hickory, including an ultrasound, where he found an enlarged liver and spots...not good.  He also took a sampling of a fluid that he had found while doing the ultrasound and tested that.  While the test was being conducted, and while trying not to cry to upset Hickory while I sat on the floor loving on "the boy" (as we liked to call him), I called Ty to keep him and the girls up-dated on what the vet was saying.  I told him I expected bad news from this test and what would we do?  We decided that if the test was bad that Hickory, bless his sweet heart, should not suffer as he was failing quickly.  And I'm sure you've guessed it by now...the test was not good.  Hickory had liver cancer and it was quickly progressing and could not be controlled, much less stopped.  Even if they had caught it a couple of weeks ago when everything first started. 

After I called Ty to come to the vet's w/the girls I called some friends of ours who know and love Hickory (and us) to pray for our situation.  What good friends.  Their prayers worked (of course) as even through our tears we were calm and cheerful for Hickory.  The girls didn't want to see him actually pass, so they left the room and Ty and I stayed.  Sweet little Hickory...he and I were on the floor and he was laying pressed next to my legs, when the vet gave him the shot he just looked up at me, laid his sweet head on my knee and gently passed away.  When the girls came back in to pet him again before we took him home, the vet's assistant cut a lock of his hair and put it in a bow for us and while we were still petting him she took his paw and pressed it into a plaster mold so that we have his print to keep.  He was our "little boy" and we'll always remember him with love and joy. 

THE GOOD ~~

OK...now everyone wipe your eyes cos I have some GREAT NEWS to share now!

TODAY is our Jasper's 20th birthday!!!!!!!!!!!   Yep, as hard as that is to believe, it's true.  I know, cos I was there!    She will have 2 celebrations this year.  The 1st will be tonight; our family and a few of her closest friends will come over for an Italian dinner (which I need to finish blogging so I can go get the goodies!) and a fun time at home.  The 2nd will be on Friday when she and a few other friends will be dressing "to the nines" and going to The Green (a local she-she-froo-froo shopping and restaurant area) where her friends will buy her a wonderful dinner and go to a movie. 

Our girls are the joy and pride of our lives.  I am SO GLAD that we kept them home to homeschool them.  As quickly as the time has gone so far, I can't imagine all the memories I would NOT have made w/them if they had spent over 24,000 hours of their growing-up years away from us being molded by some strangers!  God so richly blessed us and we are constantly aware of His grace in our lives!

Happy 20th birthday my sweet Jasper.  And many, MANY more happy years!!

Blessings from Ohio, Kim Wolf<><

NOT the Way to Start the Week...

This was NOT the way we wanted to start our week...

Monday morning, 7:10a.m.  My hubby called me to tell me that he pulled over in the parking lot of a Meijers store (about 20 miles away) because for the 2nd time that morning (the 1st time being while he was driving in the middle lane of BUSY I-75) he had to pull over for about 20 minutes because he would SUDDENLY get terrible chest pains, break out into a cold sweat, feel nauseous, and START PASSING OUT!!  Gee...I guess after the SECOND TIME he finally thought better of trying to go to work!  Sheesh...  So, that's when he called me...but...he wouldn't let me call an ambulance, nor would he allow me to wake up our oldest dd, have her drive me to him, then I could drive him to the ER.  OH, NO...he just HAD to drive himself home first!  So...what could I do?  I simply PRAYED him home!

So, I was ready to go as he pulled into the driveway, he switched seats and I drove him to the ER.  Thankfully, they ushered us right in (NOTE:  If you MUST go the a hospital's busy ER in the Dayton area, do it on a Monday a.m., it's nearly empty!).  Of course, every symptem screamed "heart attack!"  And, with his family history of heart problems (mom died of heart disease, dad has heart problems, brother has heart problems, maternal grpa died of a heart attack at 52, uncle died of a heart attack at 61, etc...) we, and the ER personel, were taking no chances! 

While we were in the ER from 8a.m. to 5p.m. (before they finally had a room for him) I have to say that they were efficient, compassionate and caring.  They performed every test they needed and even a couple that we requested.  One by one all of his tests were coming back normal and great...although there was only one that was of "border-line" concern.  But, as "good" reports CAN happen in a mild heart attack, they thankfully were taking every precaution.  

After we were moved into his room (at 5p.m. and he could FINALLY eat!), then we had to make the choice of whether or not to go for an induced stress test - which is 85% accurate and would leave that lingering 15% question of "what did we miss?" - or the 100% accurate heart cath.  Immediately, I chose the heart cath...I want to know it ALL - NOW!  I don't want to feel that there is a ticking time bomb waiting to go off and I and my girls will be left w/out him!  And, of course, even though he loves the Lord, he isn't in any huge hurry to leave us!  :-)  We are, of course, mortal!  ;-)  But now, one of the "funny" things (I love how the Lord will put a little humor in the most stressful of circumstances!)...once this big, strapping, former-farmboy found out that the cath would have to go through his groin area (in our household we call that a "groan area"), he wasn't too sure he necessarily HAD to know about that lingering 15% after all!!  HA!  ESPECIALLY when he found out that he would be AWAKE for the procedure!  HA HA! 

Well, after some discussion - with him clearly getting more and more uncomfortable w/the idea of the cath - I finally said, "Look, if it were me, I would go for the cath.  First, the girls and I do NOT want to have this lingering over our heads and I wouldn't think you would, either.  Second, you should just do it and get it over with; there may be something that comes up and they'll MAKE you do it later, anyway.  Third, I've had THREE C-sections and a colonoscopy!  For Pete's sake...YOU can do THIS!!"  Thankfully....shame can be a wonderful tool!  lol!

So, bright and early yesterday morning (Tuesday) he had his heart cath - which the Dr. later showed me the video of the whole thing while he was in recovery (it would have been a great homeschool lesson!) - and it all looked beautiful!!  We are SO thankful and are continually praising the Lord!!!

Now, they're not letting him completely off the hook, heart-wise, because of his family history; but this is still such awesome news.  The thing now, especially since he is still having the chest pains, though not as badly, is to go at a different way...now they are saying that this could be anything from gall bladder...to severe reflux...to an ulcer.  So now we'll head down that road.

So, today, we are rejoicing that not only do we STILL have the light of our home, but that he got to come home late last night and we get to spoil him and take care of him today before he goes back to work tomorrow!!

ALSO...I want to thank our pastor, our dear friends Marcy, Barry, Bob and Tom for loving us so much and for coming in to sit with us during those scary hours in the ER.  You guys are angels on earth and we don't know how we would have passed the time w/o your prayers and humor.  Thanks to Balinda for the amazing lazagna!  I also want to thank our families, our church family and the local homeschool community for all the prayers, concern, phone calls and e-mails.  I am so honored to be a part of this homeschool community!  You guys are the BEST!  

I also want to thank the boys' Jr/Sr high homeschool basketball team, the Saints, for taking the time out of your practice to pray for your biggest fan!!  You will never know how much it meant to Mr. Wolf (and I) when we heard that you all had prayed for him.  As the dad of all girls, he really enjoys rooting you on and teasing w/you after the games.  Knowing that you cared enough to pray for him really meant alot.  Love you!

Blessings from Ohio, Kim Wolf<>< 

"Just" a Homemaker?

Titus 2:3-5 (NIV) - "Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good.  Then they can train the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home,* to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the world of God."    * KJV=keepers at home

What happens to us when someone asks what we "do for a living"?  Do we proudly step up and proclaim the pride we feel in fulfilling God's purpose for ourselves and let them know that we are Homemakers...wives, moms, homeschool teachers, keepers of our homes and all that the moniker implies?  Or...do we shrink back, roll our shoulders in and meekly say, "Me?  Oh, Im JUST a homemaker."

"Excuse me?"

"Eh-hmmm.  I'm just a homemaker."

"I'm sorry, what did you say?"

"I'M JUST A HOMEMAKER!  Sorry."

WHY do we often feel like we should apologize for doing what God's will for our life is?!  WHY do we feel that the only way we are to "make a difference" in the world is to cram ourselves into power suits and heels and face the anxiety of not only trying to stay employed but then trying to run our household as well?  Been there, done that, got the  stinkin' t-shirt!

What message are we sending to our daughters?  That they should be ashamed or honored?  Which message are they supposed to adhere to...one that says, "Sorry, Honey, but your sorry lot in life is to ONLY be a housewife and mom; oh, and if you want to, you can homeschool your kids"?  OR one that says, "Oh, Honey!  God has honored women by allowing us to not only have the privilege of creating life, but He has given us the gift of being the keeper of our homes and all that it entails!"

Last week my husband and I went to his office's "Holiday" party (there's a topic for another time!) and during the pleasant evening of chat at our table we eventually got to the subject of our homeschool.  Also, during this chat the opportunity came up to explain to them that I (we) have raised our daughters to be keepers of their homes.  As we have one daughter who has already graduated from our homeschool and is working for a time while she considers if she wants to go to college or not, I explained that if I had boys I might look at their going to college a little differently, but with our girls I'm not "pushing" it, as they will want to eventually be stay-at-home moms and homeschool their own children.  Oh...my...you could have heard a pin drop!  They didn't know quite what to do with that information and offered their own "humble advice" that we may want to "reconsider" ourselves in that area as "you never know what the future holds and they may have to take care of themselves."  Granted, that is true, but we have faith that our decisions come from the Lord.

Now, we know that staying at home is not all roses and rainbows or June Cleaver doing her housework in a perfectly pleated dress, wearing pearls, mucho make-up and fancy hair.  But what we do counts for far more than the "image" that the above mentioned power suits imply.  We ARE the "hand that rocks the cradle" and we DO influence the world!

How in the world did illusion get so far?  Looking back from the distance of time, I can see where some of our problems with liberalism and feminism began to take root in our Baby Boomer generation.  In my own experience, my mom was the baby of 14 from a very rural Kentucky farm family; her experience was to be raised side-by-side with her dear mother and learning all the household skills - cooking, preserving and canning, cleaning and arranging, childcare (LOTS of nieces and nephews!), etc.  Once she was married and had my brother and I, she believed that the best way to help my dad make ends meet was to go out, find a job and bring in a little money on the side.  Well, that "side" turned into full-time and a literal life away from home.

No longer did her smiling face greet us at the door when we got off the bus...but my brother got that awesome guitar.  No longer could we sneak a peek out in the audience of the school play or band concert and see her smiling face in the audience...but she "knew" that we did well anyway.  No longer was there the opportunity to learn side-by-side with MY mom in the kitchen...but I had lots of trendy clothes.  Thinking back to my teen years, I can tell you of many times during my mom's retail career that she would bring home some cute little outfit and she would be a little offened that I wasn't "as grateful" as she thought I should have been.  Sure, I was very grateful for everything I received, but I didn't want the "stuff."  I didn't realize it then and I couldn't put it into words, but what I wanted was my MOM!  Her time, her knowledge, to learn what made her tick.  I wanted a relationship.

Now, don't get me wrong.  My mother and I have a fine relationship and we are each other's biggest fans.  But I know we could have had so much more.  We could have had a mother/daughter intimacy that was just starting to bloom when I was a child but had to wait until my adulthood to come to fruition.  I don't want that to happen with my daughters and don't believe that it's God's will for our families.

Even though the LORD has blessed my mom and I with a good relationship now (Joel 2:25), I did not want to WAIT on a good relationship with my daughters.  The way that I nurture my relationship with my daughters is by being a keeper of my home, being an example; and only part of that process is in homeschooling.  I have the relationship with my daughters that my mom always dreamed of having with me, and all the while they are learning from me about the honor the LORD has bestowed upon women by allowing them to see the right relationship we have; to see the head-ship of their father as a man who longs to serve and follow the LORD.  A man who sees part of that as being the major provider of his household and allowing me to live my God-given role as wife, mother and home-keeper.

This is SO exciting to me!  No, I don't do my housework in pretty pleated dresses, pearls, high heels, sprayed hair and mucho make-up; but I DO get to make my house a home - a real haven of rest for my husband, a secure nest for my family and a welcome lighthouse of hope for our friends.

Now, isn't THAT a calling worth striving for?  Worth preparing for?  Worth feeling honored to live?

Next time someone asks you what you "do for living," hold your head high and tell them proudly, "I've been honored by God to be the keeper of my home and I'm training my daughters to do the same!"

Blessings from Ohio, Kim Wolf<><

***UPDATE:  As some of you may know, I substitute blog on Wednesdays for Gena Suarez (The Old Schoolhouse publisher) on "Home Where They Belong."  This week, I posted the above article on that blog, too.  It caused a VERY INTERESTING conversation to take place between a semi-anonymous blogger (Grier), Tia (blog moderator) and myself.  See for yourself how utterly distorted this person's view of Biblical womanhood and homeschooling are.  http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/TOSPUBLISHER/443243/   This, folks, is a representation of the liberal/pc viewpoint of those who don't approve of and can't understand Biblical womanhood and homeschooling.  Your thoughts are welcome.  ~~KW<><

Christmas Traditions at the Wolf House

See if this sounds familiar to you...

It's Christmas morning, the day we remember and celebrate our dear Saviour's birth.  The alarm blares out an hour before any of the roosters roosting in the stable with the holy Babe would have dared to crow.  You drag yourself out of bed and after starting the coffee-maker, setting out food to ready for all the different stops you will make today, you wake up each family member.  Are you greeted this important day with, "Merry Christmas, Dear!"?  Or, "Merry Christmas, Mommy!"?  OR do the noises emanating from your family sound more like something that a bear family roused too early from hibernation would sound like?  Makes you wonder if you should have skipped that beautiful candle-light Christmas Eve service last night.

But does it stop there?  Oh, no.  Once everyone is up and running, the kids dive down the stairs, rip open their presents, quick "thank you's" are passed around, and breakfast is eaten half-way between the kitchen and the car as we all pile in, stowing presents for extended family members (that probably won't be appreciated) and a collection of casserole dishes as we go.

And thus begins the long tour of various family members' homes.  What a holiday.

This scenario became far too familiar at our house.  Each Christmas morning I would become depressed.  Not because of the rush, rush of getting everyone dressed, fed and packages ready; but because I would remember my childhood Christmas memories.  We had plenty of time to open and enjoy our presents, play with our new toys, put things together, try on our new oufits, to laugh and...to make memories!

When our oldest was around five years old, my husband and I made the decision that we really did want our children to have their own Christmas memories at their own home!  Since then, our family gets up on Christmas Eve morning and we make our own memories.  We take our time and open our gifts; we ooo and ahhh and pass around our "thank you's" and hugs and kisses.  My husband and I can relax and sip our coffee and watch the girls enjoy their presents while carols play in the background to remind us of our greatest Gift:  Emmanuel, God with us.

Have any of you modified your Christmas schedule to make your own family memories?  Tell us about them!

Blessings from Ohio, Kim Wolf<><

Homemade CHRISTmas

Several years ago ~ mostly for economic reasons (which means that we couldn't afford anything else!!) ~ we started making homemade gifts for family and a few friends.  Now...we make some of our gifts simply because we enjoy it and...you must know that I absolutely LOVE giving AND receiving homemade gifts.  I love the thought of not only thinking and praying for the people our gifts will go to...but knowing that when we receive homemade gifts, that those people were thinking of ~ and possibly praying for ~ us. 

It's also lovely to have friends and loved ones who ALSO APPRECIATE the giving and receiving of homemade gifts.  Unfortunately, we do have those relatives who don't appreciate the love and hard work it takes to make the gifts they may receive ~ even if it's a couple dozen cookies ~ and wrinkle their noses up at ANYTHING that's NOT store-bought.  Even though we still give those gifts out of love, it still pricks our hearts that some don't understand that, depending on our finances, that they are lucky to get anything at all!! 

Well...all that to say this...we DO have several wonderful friends and a few family members who also enjoy giving/receiving homemade gifts.  And to one of those dear friends my dd#2 has made the most precious gift ~ I just HAD to tell you about it.  If I got it, it would bring tears to my eyes...and I dare say that the sweet friend who it's for will probably be just as touched.

Both of our dd's, myself and several of their friends just love the story of "Little Women" (if I had thought of it sooner I would have had my girls call me "Marmee"...however...there are STILL those grandkids in my future!!).  My dd#2 has made a "Little Women" gift for one of her best friends.  She went to Hobby Lobby and bought an unfinished wooden box, about 10" x 10" square, with antiqued brass corners, hinges and latch.  She then stained it an antique-looking dark burgandy and inside she has glued a note on the inside lid (I'll tell you what is says in a minute), a pear, a snowflake ornament, the words to the 3 Christmas carols sung in the LW movie and slips of paper with various quotes from the movie/book.  The note on the inside of the lid says:

"In token of my gratitude and as a means of promoting communication between adjoining nations, shouting from windows being forbidden, I shall provide a post box in our hedge, to further encourage the bearing of our souls and the telling of our most appaulling secrets.  I do pledge never to reveal what I receive in confidence here."  {Laurie}

Have you guessed it yet?!  It's Laurie and Jo's "post box" that they passed notes to each other in through the hedge adjoining their properties!!!!!!!!!!!!  Isn't that just the coolest?!?!  I was just so touched that she put such thought and work into this gift for her friend that I just had to tell you!!

Blessings from Ohio, Kim Wolf<><

What's Your Favorite Autumn Activity?

This question was posed to me by a friend, here is my answer.  Please share yours as well!

Blessings from Ohio, Kim Wolf<><

I love everything about Fall/Autumn, it’s “my season!”  But probably my favorite thing to do is simply to go outside and BREATHE!

…I love the smell of the fall…leaves, the smell of smoke coming out of the all the local chimneys, the squirrels chattering and complaining as you walk under “their” trees, the sound of the breeze through the trees, fall mums, apples, cider, soups and stews simmering on the stove, bread baking, cool rain, campfires and bonfires, straw/hay/cornstalks…

…I love the sight of fall… the wonderful array of colors!  I look at fall as God’s wonderful way to assure believers that – IN HIM – there is beauty in the process of “dying.”  The “dying” of the summer brings the wonderful colors and anticipation of beautiful winter snows with all that new life hiding underneath just waiting for His nudge to awaken, and the celebration of the both Thanksgiving – when we thank God for all He does for us – and Christmas – when we remember that He loves us so much that He came to earth to suffer for our sins and save our souls.  I love how the yellow of the fall sunsets makes everything turn to gold and the long shadows at dusk.  I love the sight of combines combing through the fields gathering hay and straw, beans and corn.  I love the sight of decorations made with God’s good bounty…cornstalks, hay bales, Indian corn, scarecrows (the good kind), gourds and squash and pumpkins.  I love to watch the squirrels run and gather outside our “schoolroom” windows.  And most of all…the changing of those wonderful, beautiful leaves!!  Oh, the glory of the handiwork of God!  What a wonderful Lord we serve and how blessed we are when He decides to “show off” for us…His presence is known and felt in every season, but to me, never more than in the fall.  A favorite soft, warm sweater or a well-love hoodie is just the thing to wrap myself up in and walk around in the visible love of God.

Ahhhhhhhhhhh…

Blessings from Ohio, Kim Wolf<><

Prayer Request...

If you would, please pray for my (almost 55 year old) brother.  He was in a terrbile bike wreck on Tuesday night.  Thanks so much.

Blessings from Ohio, Kim Wolf<><

9/18/07 ~ UPDATE:

Thanks SO MUCH for your prayers!!  My brother is doing better, just VERY battered, scarred and bruised.  His arm is in a light cast as one Dr. says it's broken and one says not...so I guess they "split the difference."  I'm not sure how long he will have to wear it. 

Most of all...if the Lord lays him on your heart, please pray for his salvation.  He is very mixed up in New Age, has been for years.  I would love to see him in heaven one day.

KW<>< 

The Weekend...Busy and Blessed

Well...you KNOW it's been a busy weekend when you have to wait for MONDAY to rest up a little! 

FRIDAY:  I dropped our sweet 16yodd off at some friends' house because early Saturday morning they were to set out for an awesome - envious! - week in Florida!!  I've already gotten an e-mail from her telling us what a great time she's having and that she was shocked to find out that they are staying in a hotel that we have OFTEN admired in passing on the way to our time-share.

After dropping her off, the parents of this family and I met my hubby in the town, over an hour away, where he works and laughed our heads off at a Glenn Beck concert!  OH MY!  He is a riot and it is SO good to go hear someone so funny and CLEAN.

SATURDAY:  My hubby, 19yodd and I went to the most incredible wedding.  I seriously think this was my favorite wedding since my own!  There is a dear family, who also homeschools and some of their FIVE dd's are on the volleyball team w/our dd's, and we just love them SO much.  Saturday they married off the first of one of their dd's.  I - and 99.99% of the rest of the church - cried through the entire wedding!!    It started right from the beginning...the groom's dad was the pastor and HE started crying about 3 sentences into the service!  THEN...after the bride's daddy gave her away he strapped on a guitar and SANG A SONG HE HAD WRITTEN FOR HER!!!!  It took him 5 tries to get past the 2nd line!!  Oh...having all girls, our hearts were breaking!  But, of course, it was beautiful.  THEN...once the bride and groom had lit their candle, they stayed by the candle as a song played; while the song played they were quitely praying for each other.  So touching...it brings tears to my eyes to write it.  Oh...while everyone was being seated, before the wedding, their music was being played on a hammered dulcimer!  Of course, I just LOVED that.  I tried to find the young man who played later on, but I couldn't.  He was great.

Their reception was in downtown Dayton, Ohio at the Packard Museum - that's right...the old cars!  You wouldn't really understand how a wedding reception in a refurbished Packard garage, with 50+ refurbished Packard's parked all around could be utterly cool...but I'm telling you, it was!  They were even driven from the church to the reception in a 1930-something Packard!  We had tickets to the 7p.m. Dayton Dragon's baseball game, also downtown, so we just changed there when the reception was over and went right over to the game.  The Dragon's lost, but it was cool, breezy and we had a great time.

SUNDAY:  Last year (a year ago next weekend) we graduated our oldest dd from our homeschool.  (http://www.homesteadblogger.com/wannabeone/17591)  Some VERY dear friends of ours who moved to Michigan (WHY someone would actually move from Ohio to Michigan I have no idea...we have MUCH better football!).    They played and great trick on our dd and sneaked (snuck?) in and drove all the way down here to attend our backyard graduation and then went home.  Well...we were "terrible" and played the same trick on their dd!!  The surprise on her face was pricelss!  The Lord was so gracious, it was a beautiful day...great drive up, wonderful out-door open house and grilling out, and great drive home.

It was a great weekend.  I hope yours was just as good.

Blessings from Ohio, Kim Wolf<>< 

A Very Fluffy Day!

Yesterday, I had a VERY FLUFFY day!  What a blessing!

Last year, my sweet hubby was invovled in car wreck the day before Mother's Day and it wasn't until LAST WEEK that we finally received our settlement from the other driver's insurance agency.  Sheesh.  Well, as the Lord would have it, getting the check came very close to this Mother's Day, so my dear Ty treated me to a certificate to a spa day!  WOOHOO!!!  So, yesterday I went to the salon and got ALL of my long locks cut off, got a cutsie perm, a delux manicure and pedicure...complete with massage chair...aaahhh!!!  Oh, it was 4 hours of heaven!    My fingers and all 10 of my little piggies are feelin' fine today - and I LOVE my doo!  It feels so good to have a perm and shorter hair.   

So, all that long hair that you see on my avatar picture is no longer there!  I donated my VERY THICK, HEAVY hair to Locks of Love to make a wig for a cancer patient.  My beautician said that they are usually lucky to get 2 small ponytails from someone...she got 5 fat, 14" ponytails from me!  God bless the person who wears them, may He draw them closer to Himself everyday. 

I hope you all get to have a very fluffy day sometime soon!

Blessings from Ohio, Kim Wolf<><

Prayer Request!!

Yesterday, Sunday, just after church my family and our best friends, and some other good friends, were going to a restaurant.  In just the less than 10 minutes it took us to go from church to the restaurant something terrible happened to our friend, Marcy.  When we pulled into the parking lot, Barry – Marcy’s husband – came over to our car and said that, “Marcy doesn’t know where she is, she’s suddenly completely confused, I’m going to take her home.”  We, and another family of friends who were there with us, urged him to take her to the hospital, but he wanted to take her home.  About 10 minutes later, he called my cell and said that she was getting worse – she didn’t recognize their home and anything in it - and he’s taking her to the hospital.  We met them at the hospital emergency room and, sure enough, she knew all of us, but didn’t know where she was, the date…she didn’t remember anything beyond about an hour before she went to bed the night before.  At church she had worked the nursery during Sunday School and stood right next to me on the praise and worship team and led praise with her beautiful singing!  She remembered NOTHING!  While they were back in the emergency room, her husband was giving the nurse her family history and when he told the nurse that her mother was deceased, Marcy had a heart-breaking meltdown; she had no idea that her mom was gone.  As the Lord would have it – our pastor preached on “No Accidents” – their little 5 year old boy, David, was riding to the restaurant with yet another family and their kids.  So, David saw nothing that happened to his mom and simply went home with the friends until today.  The Lord is SO good!  David would have been so worried about his mamma.  But what would break my heart is that every other question Marcy would ask was a repeat – “Did David see me?”…”Was David scared?”…”Where’s my David?”…”Who has David?”…”Is David here?”  Even though she was so confused, her sweet little boy was still at the recurring center of her concern. 

Marcy is getting some better today – they have done a CT Scan and MRI and have ruled out stroke and are leaning toward extreme stress induced Global Amnesia.  So, she should recover.  I ask for your prayers for Marcy’s complete recovery.  She still can’t remember yesterday morning, but she now knows which hospital she’s in, where she lives, and other daily things.  It was so scary to see my sweet, dear friend so scared and confused.  I’ve never witnessed anything like that before and it was quite disturbing, but we are all SO grateful that she didn’t have a stoke.  Thanks SO much.

Blessings from Ohio, Kim Wolf<><   

Working Through the Other Side...

Well, here I am on "the other side of homeschooling" with our older daughter, Jasper.  She is taking a year off of academics before she decides what she wants to do, where she wants to go, for college or some other sort of higher education.

But she is away from home most of the day, working.  There are some days that I miss her so much, my heart feels like it's beating through Jell-o.  What will I do when she actually moves out - whether for marriage or higher education?  I just miss her sweet face and funny personality.

BUT...I DO have my Jenna!!  Our sweet, wonderful 16 year old/sophomore daughter!!  She is another light in my life.  I don't know what I would do without her!  Both of the girls have such different personalities and gifts.  Jenna is my most industrious helper.  If I'm sick, SHE is the one who takes over the running of the house, without being asked, cooks the meals, reminds me of any meds, brings the cold glasses of water or juice -- she's a doll.

With Jenna being our youngest, I have really enjoyed the "alone" time that we have had this school year.  You get that with the youngest, you know.  It's been so good for us.  I never realized just how much time was spent with EVERYONE in our family and how little alone time we get with each member, until Jenna and I had this opportunity to have so much time with just the two of us.

So, here I am...having one of those "mommy moments"...missing the one, but grateful for more time with the other.  Funny how the Lord chooses to make us grow - no matter what our age!

Blessings from Ohio, Kim Wolf<><

URGENT PRAYER REQUEST!!

This past Friday, the world of our Nephew and his wife and family was tossed up-side-down.  During a Dr’s appointment for hives, they discovered that their sweet little son, Kade, has Leukemia.  Kade will be 2 on Jan. 25^th.  Below is an up-date from our nephew – Kade’s daddy – Kent.  Our family would greatly covet your prayers for this sweet little boy.

Blessings, Kim Wolf<><

Hello everyone,

As many of you may already know, our son Kade was diagnosed Saturday (1/6/07) with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL).  To get you up-to-date…today he underwent surgery to have a “port” implanted in his chest.  The “port” will be used to administer medicine and to withdraw blood and give I.V.’s in the future.  While he was sedated they also took the opportunity to do a spinal tap and give his first treatment of chemotherapy into the spinal fluid.  He will get his second dosage of chemo tomorrow, and I believe they will consider it Day 1 of Phase 1.  At this point he will go through 3 phases that they estimate will last the course of 3 years, with the first 6 months being the most intensive.

How’d we get to this point?

Well, Kade has been sick basically off and on for about 2 months.  The pediatrician diagnosed him with having a double ear infection the Wednesday after Christmas.  He was given a prescription drug to treat it, which over a week later caused an allergic reaction in which he broke out on hives on this past Friday (1/5).  Donna took him back in to see about getting another prescription.  While she was there she explained the pediatrician that Kade looked very pale over the last 2-3 weeks.  Our pediatrician decided as a precautionary to do a blood test and sent her over to Children’s Urgent Care.  From those tests they saw some irregularities in the cells and urged us that night around 10pm to get Kade to Children’s Medical Center.  They did a test on his bone marrow to make sure he had Leukemia and what subtype it was and we got those results back late afternoon on Saturday.

I want to thank everyone already who has been praying for us.  God is already answering those prayers, never was it more apparent than today.  We found that we caught the cancer at a relatively early stage (white blood count was only up to 24K, whereas many children who come in are upwards of 80K-100K.  Normal is 10K-15K).  Praise be to God, the spinal fluid test came back negative, which means the cancer had not spread to his spinal fluid.  The doctors were preparing us for a rough recovery from today’s procedures.  Kade made a liar out of them by coming back to the room with a Wolf-size appetite and was rambunctious as usual.  And everyone tells us that if you had to get Leukemia, that Kade was diagnosed with the most curable kind, which is very encouraging to us.

Again, please continue to keep him in your prayers.  We are fortunate to have such loving family and friends as you.  You’ll never know truly how much all of your support means to us.  If you’re a parent, I’d encourage you now to go to your kid(s) and show/tell them how much you love them.  Because you never know how many times in your/their life you’ll get to do that.

In His Grace,

Kent & Donna Wolf

New Year - New Life

Now that the new year is here, I'm hoping it will breathe a little new life into me.

I have been sick nearly the whole month of December and I AM TIRED OF IT!!  I had a cold about a week before Christmas, and I guess I wasn't quite up to snuff when I caught something else...I was literally on the couch from the 26th until the 1st with bronchitis - or some such lung congestion crud.  MAN!  I was down for the count!  Wicked coughing...complete with head aches and bruised ribs, dizzy spells...ick. 

Well, I'm on the mend and I'm thankful.  Here's to God's blessing of a HEALTHY 2007!

Blessings from Ohio, Kim Wolf<><

Christmas Traditions at the Wolf House

See if this sounds familiar to you...

It's Christmas morning, the day we remember and celebrate our dear Saviour's birth.  The alarm blares out an hour before any of the roosters roosting in the stable with the holy Babe would have dared to crow.  You drag yourself out of bed and after starting the coffee-maker, setting out food to ready for all the different stops you will make today, you wake up each family member.  Are you greeted this important day with, "Merry Christmas, Dear!"?  Or, "Merry Christmas, Mommy!"?  Or do the noises emanating from your family sound more like something that a bear family roused too early from hibernation would sound like?  Makes you wonder if you should have skipped that beautiful candle-light Christmas Eve worship service last night.

But it doesn't stop there.  Once everyone is up and running, the kids dive down the stairs, rip open their presents, quick "thank you's" are passed around, and breakfast is eaten half-way between the kitchen and the car as we all pile in, stowing presents for extended family members and a collection of casserole dishes as we go.  And thus begins the long tour of various famliy members' homes.

This scenario became far too familiar at our house.  Each Christmas morning I would become depressed.  Not because of the rush, rush, of getting everyone dressed, fed and packages ready; but because I would remember my childhood Christmas memories.  We had plenty of time to open and enjoy our presents, play with our new toys, put things together, try on our new outfits...and laugh!

When our oldest was around five years old, my husband and I made the decision that we wanted our children to have their own Christmas memories at their own home!  Since then, our famliy gets up on Christmas Eve MORNING and we make our own memories.  We take our time and open our gifts; we ooo and ahhh and pass around our "thank you's" and hugs and kisses.  My husband and I can relax and sip our coffee and watch the girls enjoy their presents while carols play in the background to remind us of our greatst Gift:  Emmanuel, God with us.

Blessings from Ohio, Kim Wolf<><

Thanksgiving Re-Cap

We did something a little different this year for Thanksgiving.  Since we weren't hosting either side of our families at our home this year, we gladly accepted the invitation to spend the holiday in Rochester Hills, Michigan with some VERY dear friends of ours!!  What a joy! 

They had a house-full and, I believe, there was only one other person there who wasn't family, besides us.  We felt very honored to have been invited and we had an AWESOME time!  They even went to all the trouble of "de-cat-ifying" their home so that my dh and dd#2 wouldn't be bothered with their allergies to cats. 

Friday morning, they took dh and I out to a great little place for breakfast - I had a Greek omlet; it had tomatoes, spinach and feta cheese!  WOW!  "Yummy" can't even begin to describe it!     Then, my dear friend Beth and I walked over to a shopping center where they had a complete whole foods grocery!  OH, how I would LOVE to have something like that here!  I could have roamed those isles all day.

Something a little curious about that area though ~ In most of the NICER neighborhoods there the roads are dirt/mud roads!  I kid you not!  We're talking areas with mansions and McMansions, here!  Once, when they had first moved to the area, there were terrible, DEEP pot-holes on a certain section of road and my friend, Beth, called the raod dept. to report it and she made the "mistake" of saying that the problem was on one of the "dirt roads."  The woman on the other end said, "You mean a gravel road." 

"No, it's a dirt road." 

This road dept. lady actually argued with Beth about it being a GRAVEL road!  Well, as Beth told her - and ANYONE in the area is a witness to - THERE IS NO GRAVEL!!  They ARE totally DIRT AND MUD!!    But, nooooooooooo.  According to the lady at the road dept., that's not MUD that's sticking to your car, it's "RESIDUAL DIRT"!!  GIVE ME A BREAK!!  IF there's ANY gravel in those raods, it's buried UNDER ALL THE MUD!!!  Yikes!  I am just stunned that these cruddy roads are only in the nicest areas.  Their (incredibly high) tax dollars at work.  Go figure.

But we had SO much fun with our dear friends.  It was just far too short.  I miss them more everytime we part.

Hope you had a great Thanksgiving and took the time to remember the TRUTH of the day and to truly give thanks to God for all of His gracious blessings in our lives.

Blessings from Ohio, Kim Wolf<><