thankful

I'm thankful for my salvation.  I find trusting and resting in Him is freedom that nothing happens to me or mine without His hand in it. He's the potter and I'm the clay and He's molding and shaping me everyday. Smoothing off the rough edges and polishing me to His will. I'm so thankful for His gift of eternal life.

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I'm thankful for my strong willed, and determined personality. As a stay at home, home schooling, farming mom of four kiddos and one husband I've had to be. It's not easy jobs that we have chosen to live, but I love it! I've never been the kind of gal to sit back and watch someone else do it for me. I like to be right in the thick of it. I love getting dirty and sweaty and dirt under my fingernails, and stepped on and pushed around by the critters, getting hay splinters and driving the tractor! Ah what a life a farmer lives. OK so not so much the hay splinters, but you get the picture! The joys and sorrows together of farming. The invaluable life skills that we are all gaining in getting back to the land, so to speak. Reclaiming what has been taken away from us by big box companies and huge scale lot feeding.  Some of which we willing just gave up all in the name of something called "progress." Bring back the generation of family farmers. I say stick it to the big guys and support small, local farmer all the way!
Have a great day all!

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I'm thankful for my husband. I love the firm yet gentle hand he has with our kiddos. They way he teases me and plays with me. His kind blue eyes I love to look into. I love who he is, what he stands for, and how he cherishes each one of us. I love his passion for farming and the whole crazy way we came into it together. I love his talent with creating things with wood. He can take a tree and turn it into many different things. I just think it's amazing to watch. I love when he comes home from the mill and smells like the shop. Wood that he's been sawing or building something. He's a quiet, gentle man that isn't afraid to stand for what is right and I cherish him more then I can say. He's my best friend. I am blessed to have married him.

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I'm having some glitches with blogger. I can't post pics anymore. My more tech savvy sister is helping me and I hope to have some pics or maybe something new coming soon. I have a few minutes to catch up with you and let you know how things are with me...I hope to get this problem solved quickly!

It all started last week. No really it did. I've mentioned that my husband made me a new cabinet. Well it's done and in the house. I had to pick out some paint to finish it. I picked a deep red color. Oh it's sweet! I hope to get a pic of it...we shall see. Then out of the blue my husband decided to paint part of the wall! I was a little surprised by this and exclaimed "What are you DOING?!" He smiled and said "Well now you can pain the walls!" Oh.
So what started as a small project of painting the cabinet turned into painting the living room. I've wanted to do it for a while now, but just didn't. So I started painting the living room. It's now updated to the same red as the cabinet on the bottom and light brown on the top. I have a chair rail around the living room and that part is the red. The brown is now what I think looks like coffee with too much cream in it! Next I need to pick out some curtains and it will be done. But if you've ever painted with red you know what a pain in the a$$ it is. SO many coats! That took forever. The brown was done rather quickly. My SIL came over and helped me. I didn't tell my family that was coming over for Thanksgiving what I had done and they were surprised! I'm happy it got done too! Such a difference in the house, a much needed updated look!

Our Thanksgiving was wonderful. So much to be thankful for. My parents, grandmother, sister and her son came over. It was at my house, and I had such a good day! The food was good, the company was good, and my living room was done!
 In farming we've learned so much. Some years have been good with only small learning curves and then wham, you get hit in the  face with learning curves or life just kinda explodes all over the place. Just making us stronger in our faith and leaning on each other.
I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Have a great day all!

thankful

I'm thankful for electricity!
I"m thankful I can cook healthy meals from scratch for my family!
I'm thankful for my life!
I'm thankful for paint!
I'm thankful for my clothes line!
I'm thankful for music!
I'm thankful for farm fresh eggs!!

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I'm thankful for the amazingly beautiful sunsets that I see almost every night from my house. I am still awed and wowed by them and have tons of pictures to prove how different and wonderful they all are! Like this sunset tonight. The colors set the sky on fire in one area and were the most amazing colors of red and orange, and then another part of the sky were the most amazing pastel shades of yellow, blue, pink and purple. Just breath taking as I walked out to do the evening chores tonight.
You'll have to take my word for it! I would love to have had a picture to show you the beauty of creation, but my stupid camera batteries decided to die. Gahh.

I'm thankful that my husband and my son both enjoy hunting, that is where they are right now as I quickly type this out! Maybe next year I'll get my hunting license and go out too!! :)

Have a great night all!

thankful

I'm thankful for the freedom to home school my children. It's hard work and a huge commitment, but I love my kiddos and I love to have them home with me. I have the ability to seek out the help I need and talking with other home schooling moms, and those that are done home schooling their grown children and can offer their wisdom. I can teach them the word of God and our beliefs and not those that are taught else where. I can keep them safe, and close to me. I know what they are learning, and eating. They are learning life skills that we feel will help them in their future.

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I'm thankful for all of you that follow along on our journey in life. And can laugh with me when I do stupid things like walking into doors!
I'm thankful for my church family.
I'm thankful for the Internet. May sound silly but I am, I like to read others blogs and see how others are farming and what they are cooking too. I love to find a new recipe and try it!!
I'm thankful for chocolate!!!

 Triple Chocolate Coconut Scones!! Oh yum!!!
I'll share the recipe with you too!

11/2 C flour
2 t baking powder
1/3 C sugar
1/3 C coconut
1/3 C coco powder
8 T butter
3/4 C chocolate chips or chunks
3/4 C cream
Mix dry. Cut in butter. Dump in chocolate chunks. Dump in cream and mix together. Shape into a circle on the counter and cut into scone shapes. Bake in preheated oven at 425 for 15-20 minutes. Melt some chocolate with butter, put in a bag and drizzle on top of warm scones. Devour! Ahem... I mean enjoy slowly with some raw milk!!
Have a great day all!

thankful

I'm thankful for the gardening season to be over! I'm also thankful when it comes back and I can start a new season!
I'm thankful for our home.
I'm thankful for the new things that I have learned and done this year.
I'm thankful for our wood stove! It keeps us warm especially this time of year!!
Have a great day all!

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I'm thankful for my middle daughter. My little goose. I love her big, round, blueberry blue eyes with long, long lashes, her short blonde hair that sways and blows around as she moves. She is sweet and sassy with a silly way about her. She makes me laugh everyday. She makes us all laugh. She loves to learn new things and can "fly by the seat of her pants" and things don't bother her when plans suddenly change. She just goes with it. She helps with everything she has, the way she approaches life. Her love is amazing and she's not afraid to show it. She is a blessing in our lives and gives so much. I love and cherish her more then words can express.

I'm thankful for my oldest girl. I love her medium, big, blue eyes. Her long blonde hair, that she plans to cut off and donate to Locks of Love when it gets a little longer. I love how she just loves to sit and hold babies. She loves to cook and help in the kitchen. She is nice and steady and is curious about life and how everything works. She is tender hearted and gentle and loves with all her heart. Her big smile and great hugs are nice to receive, and she is always willing to give them to us. She has a willingness to help when it's needed and does it without being asked. She is a blessing in our lives and I love and cherish her more then words can express too.

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I'm thankful for my youngest daughter. My baby. I love her beautiful pale, ice blue eyes, her long semi curly blonde hair. Her tough and tender personality. Her squishy cheeks that I love to kiss. Her infectious smile and giggle and small little hand that she wraps around my finger when she holds my hand. When she bombards me with her body and hugs me with all her might, and touches my face and smiles and tells me she loves me and plants a big kiss on my cheek.  The way she will stand in a chair and help me cook, or follow me around doing everything I'm doing. The way she climbs into my lap and snuggles down and will fall asleep sometimes in my arms. Her being such a mommas girl all her life. She brings so much of everything to our lives and I love and cherish her more then I can express.

I'm thankful for my son. My oldest. I love his ice blue eyes, curly dirty blonde hair, and dimpled cheek. His zest for life and hard work that he puts forward on the farm and life. His love of John Deere tractors and his calf, Dandie. His creativity and imagination when he works or plays. His laugh is contagious. He is almost as tall as me and can give a nice big bear hug. He always comes to me in the morning with a smile, hug and a kiss that melts my heart. They way he plays with his youngest sister and how she just adores him slays me when I hear them laughing and talking together. He's a helper when needed. He brings much to our family and I love and cherish him more then I can express too!
Have a great day all!

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I'm thankful for all our critter running around our farm. They keep me busy and honestly I don't know what I would do with all my "spare" time without them :)
I love that I can go to the garden (or cupboard) and pick something, go to the freezer and grab some meat, that we raised, and eat it all for supper. I like that feeling of knowing where everything came from and how it was taken care of. And what is NOT in the foods we eat.
I'm thankful  that I can learn from my many mistakes along the way, and how to change and improve our farming way of life. And the ability to laugh at myself too, that helps a lot!

"I'm thankful for laughter, except when milk comes out of my nose."
Woody  Allen

welcome november

I am so glad to flip the calender to a new month. I went out to do chores this morning as my husband left early to head over to the mill and finish up an order of bee hive covers. I ran back in the house and grabbed my camera and snapped this

what a beautiful sunrise to greet me this morning and make the day seem that much brighter for me! A new month, a new day.

 I'm so thankful for the beauty around me and the opportunity to live in the country.
I'm thankful for our farm that we have been blessed with in ways that some people would think strange in how we came to farming, but looking back over the years I can see God's handiwork in changing my heart and my husbands.
I'm thankful for the cool, crisp, morning I woke up to, the nickering of my horses as I went outside, and the cow hurrying down the lane to greet me and banging her head on the door because I took too long to get her door opened.
I'm thankful to all the troops here and over seas away from their families. Defending us and protecting our freedoms and running to the danger when most run the other way.
Have a great day all!

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For my man. Can you see the heart? That is what we would be if we were carrots!! ;-)

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Oh am I ever thankful for a barn full of hay! Literally. We were blessed with such an amazing hay crop this year. Chicken poo is really a wonderful thing!! Our hay field was starved for some input of manure and we got a truck load and WOW what a huge difference it made. Last year we had to buy hay in the spring because it was so wet and we couldn't get the animals on the field without destroying it and our hay was gone. This year we have some extra to sell!! And we got our first second crop of hay too. I feel totally blessed with hay this year! We have all the equipment to hay the fields and better yet it's paid for. My husband likes to joke that we are state of the art 1970! But hey it works! We did have to hire out to have the field mowed due to the abundance of it, but still I'm so thankful for it all! All our animals will be fed homegrown organic hay this winter!!

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The ability to cook, and enjoy doing it, most days. There are days it would be nice to get take out, but I live in an area where there is no delivery. But you get my meaning. I am a self taught cook. I'm not bragging, but I am. It's something I have worked very hard to accomplish and to do well for not only me but my family. I've had some whoopers too, and I'll be the first to admit to that! Much like my fried zucchini... And not to mention various other cooking catastrophes, oh the horrors, and I still set off my smoke alarm from time to time. But I do enjoy cooking and learning to make new things and expanding our palates. Sometimes it's good and other times I throw the recipe in the trash. I want my kiddos to enjoy eating and enjoy eating foods they have never tasted before. I get bored cooking all the same things and that is why I am always looking to try new things, and have found some wonderful things on blogs that I follow, and stop by and visit from time to time. Not just cooking, but cooking from scratch, which seems to be a lost art, along with knowing what is IN  the foods we eat and where and how it's grown and raised. I think people are so disconnected from their food. Kinda scary actually to eat mystery meat, eewww, like fast food... I'll leave it at that!
Have a great day all!

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I'm so very thankful for family. My family, my husbands family and my church family!

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I'm thankful for being a stay at home mom. Matthew and I decided that I would stay home once I had Little Matt. I worked for a portion of my pregnancy with him. It's not always easy and certainly not glamorous, as your reaching your hand in the toilet to try to pull out that toy before it goes down and clogs up your toilet. Even though it goes down anyways. Or you wash rocks or dry red crayons into your bedding in the dryer. Yup that's happened. Having and raising kiddos has been such a life changing event in my life. With each one my life has changed and the dynamic of our family. I don't think, most days, (if I'm being honest), I could leave them for someone else to raise or teach them. I remember my mother in law telling me a joke about staying home and home schooling her sons, and now I can totally relate to her joke about it. I won't share it, but women who do what I do would understand! Ya it's a challenge, but I love a challenge and feel confident that we are on the right path. With the help of my Heavenly Father I know I'll make it, along with His forgiveness, and that of my kiddos when I fail.

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May seem silly, but I am so thankful for our wood stove, and plenty of fire wood! Wood heat gives of such a different kind of warmth I just love it. I can stand on the warm hearth pad with bare feet and warm them up before I put my boots on!! I like to turn off all the lights and curl up on the couch and watch the flames flicker and dance against the glass door as the snow comes down. And according to the weathermen we are in for a good one tomorrow! Not worried about it, we are ready! I'll take pictures of it!
I'm not really ready for snow to come just yet, I never am, I don't like the stuff, but I live in a snowy state, so I guess I'll enjoy playing "queen of the hill" with my kiddos when it piles up this winter!!

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The bartering system!! It's alive and well. Not to mention a wonderful thing!