These Days

These days seem to be passing by without time to collect one's thoughts. I really like to keep my blog updated, it helps to keep a record of this time, so that one day I can print it off and keep it for memories.  As crafty as I like to be, I do not scrapbook, never could get the hang of it.  I like that I have this space to collect the thoughts, things, and prayers that pop into my life each day.  I also like to have this route of keeping our family in the loop with what is going on here.

These days we are wrapping up formal (lol is it ever formal) schooling, and spending a lot more time outdoors.  I am not so patiently awaiting the warmer temperatures, you know, the ones I'm sure I'll be scoffing at come September.  We all work around here, helping to make sure that things run as they should.  Most usually they don't, but with everyone pitching in, most things do. 

As I was hewing the garden a bit, something we won't have to do next year *shouts for joy* Anna and Tanner were carrying rocks over to the other side of the chicken run.  We had a bunch of rain wash through the creek, and it made some gaps in the fence.  John is using the rocks to close up that gap, so Anna and Tanner had the fun task of making a lot of big splashes.

John and Andy have been working on another project, one that I am super excited about.  They are building a goat barn (or is it shed), and soon we will have dairy goats!  I cannot wait to have a source for raw milk, and of course we like our chickens so much, why not add goats.  

Yes, these days are busy, but oh so rewarding.  It feels nice to be exhausted from working with one's hands, and having that feeling of productivity that only hard work can bring.  I workout regularly, but I must say, no workout compares to farm chores....especially when hauling around the extra chunk :)

New Things

The finishing touches are being added to the childrens' new playhouse. John has been working himself to death trying to get it finished in time for Summer fun. He used reclaimed wood from a sale he went to, and designed the whole thing himself. It looks pretty awesome, makes me wish I was a kid again. One of the things he included in this play area was a set of swings. We knew that Anna and Tanner didn't know how to swing, but we thought they would absolutely love them, and perhaps would take turns swinging each other. As it turns out, one child will persuade the other child into pushing them for a very long time....and then just walk off. So not cool.

  Thus we instated the "no pushing anyone else on the swing" rule.

What happened?

They learned how to swing themselves!

Finally they like to play with something, because truth be told, they both cried when we tried to get them to play with the new playhouse (before swings were up). We were a little disheartened. Thankfully they are warming up to it though. I mean, it's like having a playground in your backyard. The swings! I love them. They are my new incentive. It has proven difficult to find incentives for A & T, I was beginning to think that nothing other than the television or food would work. I'm not willing to use those two things, but I can use to swing as a reward, and it's working to! Woot! I'm pretty happy to have found something to motivate the kidlets.

Inner Beauty

I Peter 3:3-4

Knox Bible (KNOX)

³ Your beauty must lie, not in braided hair, not in gold trinkets, not in the dress you wear, ⁴ but in the hidden features of your hearts, in a possession you can never lose, that of a calm and tranquil spirit; to God’s eyes, beyond price.

I had a birthday yesterday.  In my world, I view birthdays each year as a new birth, almost in the same manner that others view New Years.  I like to make personal resolutions for the year, ways that I can grow, goals for being a better me.  After all, who doesn't have room for improvement?

This year, I have some very deep goals.  It has been shared here before that I spent last year in some emotional turmoil.  That time has ended for me, and I am working at cultivating an inner peace.  A foundation within myself that trusts the Lord, and lets everything else lie without worry.

As I am getting older, I am beginning to see the physical signs that youth doesn't last forever.  In our society there is a mad quest for appearing young forever.  That is not something I am remotely  interested in.  Oh sure, I want to be attractive for my husband, and I like to exercise and keep my energy stores up.  However, I have no interest in trying to stop the motions in which God has set in place.  What I want is to age in a manner that is beautiful to God.

When I think about my own grandmother, I think about the fact that she is one of the most beautiful women a person could meet.  Her and her sister, they both are in their seventies, and not what conventional standards judge as "gorgeous."  They are beautiful though.  They have a radiance about them, it's as if you know you could approach them with your sorrows, and they would give you a hug.  My grandmother is not usually a fiery sort of woman, she is quieter, not judgemental, very meek in spirit.  She is everything the Bible says God is looking for in a woman.  It isn't the way she dresses, nor her hair, or her physical form, no it is in the radiance and calm way that she loves.

I want that.  In this upcoming year, I want to cultivate a spirit that remains calm and prayerful.  I want to be less opinionated, less concerned with my outer appearance, less worried about every single thing we do in the house and how it could possibly affect the future, and become more for God.  I want to work on that inner beauty, something I think everyone could benefit from doing a little more of.

So I am left with the work, thinking that the best place to start cultivating the spirit of meekness, is by meditating prayerfully in my Bible.  I think that by spending more time there, I will have less time to worry, less time to compare myself against the unattainable "beauty" that society has set, less time to feel negative emotions.  It's going to be a good year.

 

My Grace

When Andy was born, I had pages upon pages written in my daily journal about him. I was madly in love, and I wrote everything there was to write about him on those pages. When Anna and Tanner came home, I wrote about them, and now we have Grace. It has been over thirteen months since our precious baby has entered this world, and she has captivated us all with her unique personality. Yet, I haven't written much about her. As I hope to one day hit the print button on the blog, and have a record for the kids, I will write it here. This baby er...um...toddler?!!! Oh she is amazing. God has truly blessed each of us in the house with the presence of this little firecracker.

Grace is most assuredly one of a kind when comparing babies (I mean toddlers...I'm still in denial), she has big smiles and a big temper. She laughs at herself all of the time, makes funny voices, and loves her brothers and sister. She really loves that Daddy of hers as well. She has been walking for a few months now, and recently began trying to run, never to be held back from an exploratory adventure.

There is so much life and spirit in that baby (ahem, toddler), so much love for the outdoors. She is rightfully named Grace Magnolia. For she will require a lot of grace from her Momma with that flared up temper, and she is my little flower loving outdoorsy girl. Whenever she is fussy, we just head outdoors, regardless of temperatures she is happy. She walks around picking dandelions, testing her boundaries, exploring the different textures of grass. So inquisitive, so wonderfully new to God's blessed creations. It is a wonderful gift to be present for so much of her life, to be able to watch this little person experience the world for the first time, day in and day out. So many things that we may take for granted or look over without a second thought, she sees fresh and new, and loves it all. I couldn't have imagined a more perfect fit for our family.

  I should not have been so scared to imagine how life would work with a small baby, a fourth child. God truly sends His blessings with a plan, I should have worried less, and trusted in His plan more. Thankfully, I didn't try to overrule God and make my own plans, for His gift of Grace has been one of life's greatest blessings to me. Praise be to Him.

How To Make Nourishing Bone Broth

Have you ever heard that soup can cure the common cold?  That is actually a statement based on truth, only it isn't your run of the mill canned soup, but a nourishing long cooked mineral filled brothy soup.  A broth made from bone is a nutritional powerhouse.

Homemade stock contains minerals such as calcium, phosphorous, trace minerals, and so many more that come in a form that the body can easily absorb...FOOD!  It also contains glucosamine and chondroitin, you know those heavily esteemed and often expensive supplements that are on the shelves of every nutrition aisle. 

Stock or broth on the grocery store shelf is not the same as homemade, but thankfully with the invention of the crock pot, homemade is super cheap and easy.  Here is how you do it:

• Brown 4-5 good beef bones (with a little meat on them) up in a skillet.
• Put the browned bones, 2 cloves of garlic, and the tasty tidbits from the pan into the crockpot.
• Add enough filtered water to fill the crockpot (I have a 6 qt. crockpot).
• Add 2 TBS of Apple Cider Vinegar to the mix to help leach out the minerals from the bones.
• Turn on low and let cook for 24 hours.

I usually start my broth at 10am so that the next morning I am ready to strain and such. 



After 24 hours strain your broth. I usually do this into a large soup pot, put the lid on, and put it in the fridge to cool. Once chilled in the fridge you will see fat that has risen to the top. Skim that off to use for cooking or discard it. Now...



You will have this wonderfully nutritious gelatin broth. The gelatin is a great digestive aid to heal the gut. Don't worry though, once heated, it turns back into a liquid. I often heat it, add a little celtic sea salt, and serve it up to drink. We're weird like that though. This broth can be used to make lots of different soups, soups that will taste so out of this world you will want to slap your Momma...just kidding, never slap your Momma she's to precious. Seriously though, it is delicious.



Even baby girl thinks so.

Overcoming Obstacles

This lady here overcame a major obstacle on Monday. We went to the zoo, and she thoroughly enjoyed herself. Anna who came home a couple of years ago, would not have enjoyed herself at all. She would have been miserable, heck even Anna last year wouldn't have enjoyed herself. Why? The walking would have done her in. Last year I began to really feel the pushing to help Anna condition. I felt like if athletes condition, and people with weight issues condition (hello I know 100lbs gone here), then I wondered if maybe her muscles could be conditioned. The answer is a resounding yes. It must be noted that Anna has no heart issues, and her body is well formed, thus her only setback to this would be muscle tone. So all of the kids and myself made a game of racing across the front yard (our property spans some acreage), and thus had ourselves a good workout each day. We've been doing it for about a year, and I'm happy to say there has been much success. Not only does Anna go out and play with exuberance each day, whereas before she would stand miserably in the front yard looking so sad most of the time, but she triumphed at the zoo. The girl walked for FIVE hours without me nudging her along. She didn't cry not once. In fact she skipped, yelled, and really enjoyed herself. It was amazing, and here I am days later so in awe of what happened. It is wonderful to see her not being held back just because she has Down syndrome. She was able to just go be a kid!

  My Boy



Tanner had some problems on our trip. Even all of these years later he is still obsessed with other people eating, and at the zoo, people were eating everywhere. He also has self control and over stimulation issues that cause internal conflict inside him all day long. However, he was truly at peace with this little friend. I think he could have stayed in that pen all day. Usually he is over excitable around animals, but the goats really seemed to speak to him. That is very good to find out, especially since we will be getting goats very soon. Maybe they will be dual purpose goats as milk for us and therapy animals for Tanner.

 

We had such a great trip visiting the zoo. We are blessed with good friends who went as well, and our kids are around the same age, so they had a wonderful time with each other. It was so nice seeing Anna really be free from something that has kept her down for a very long time. She is blossoming, I can't believe she will be nine next month.

Some Days

Happy Monday :) We are off to the zoo, I have been trying to get us there for three years. Anna, Tanner, and Grace have never been, so it is a first experience for them. People are always concerned with adopting older children, because they say they will miss out on the "firsts." I say, you still get the firsts with a previous orphan, and they are so very awesome and exciting. The first time they get to celebrate their birthday, the first time they accept you as someone who loves them, the first time they play in the yard free as a bird to just be a loved kid, and today....the first time they see the monkeys :)