Putting the Garden to Rest for the Winter

Well, I do believe we are all set.  A few days ago, my daughter and I went out and planted the garlic.  I was aiming for 100, then went out to the garden with just 80 cloves, but then could only fit 70 in my garlic patch.  But that's fine...last year I planted 40, and this year I'm up to 70!

We then grabbed a bale of straw, and covered the garlic and all of the strawberry plants well.  So I think we are all set until for the winter!  I'm always a bit sad to put the garden to rest, but at the same time the winter break is nice.  Now is time to focus on my fudge, and the upcoming holiday season--yay!!

We (well, hubby and son) are also getting ready to butcher our pigs.  We are looking forward to a freezer full of pork!

I mentioned in a recent post that we finally got our woodstove installed.  This has been such a blessing!  Not only do we actually have a warm house in the winter (a first for us), we also have been cooking on top of it, and I am really, really loving that!

All these things have been wonderful, but really, honestly...life has been super stressful.  I am constantly looking to the Lord for strength.  Life is good....but hard.

Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Matthew 11:28

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My Fudge

I just had to post about my fudge, since I'm now spending a bit of time making it, to help bring in a little money!  Here are some pictures of what I've been making and selling:

Double-Decker Peanut Butter Fudge

Creamy Chocolate Fudge

Creamy Chocolate Fudge w/walnuts



White Chocolate Fudge
 

Peanut Butter Fudge

Rocky Road Fudge (this one is with almonds--it is amazing--I've also made with walnuts and no nuts.)

Chocolate Coconut Fudge

White Chocolate Coconut Fudge

 

I also make peppermint chocolate fudge, but didn't take a picture of it.  Coming up, I'll be making Maple Walnut, Salted Caramel, S'mores, Dark Chocolate Cherry, Almond Joy,  and White Chocolate Peppermint.

Delicious!

On a slightly related side note, my husband is still totally out of work.  I am doing what I can to bring in money--not a lot but it's something--and selling fudge is one way that I'm doing it.  Please keep praying for us.  Thank you!

Reviewing my Goals for this Year

 Back in July I posted some goals for the rest of this year.  I thought I would list them again and let you all know how I am doing so far!  Here we go:

• pick berries; make raspberry jam, blueberry jam, and freeze some blueberries--made raspberry jam and froze blueberries; didn't make blueberry jam
• can peaches and pears--didn't do this--darn!
• can green beans--did this!
• freeze peas--did this
• make and can applesauce--didn't do this
• acquire items for milking goats, including a cream seperator--working on this
• worm goats and chickens; figure out ingredients of herbal wormer and make plan to grow ingredients myself--they've been wormed...haven't figured out the 2nd part yet
• plan medicinal herb garden--not yet
• find good area for compost pile--working on it
• harvest and dry garlic; use larger cloves to replant in October--did this...planting again soon! 
• sell unneeded items; use money to stock pantry with 200 lbs gluten free flour--100 lbs so far 
• add diatomaceous earth to chicken house--did this 
• breed goats in the fall--did this...hopefully they are pregnant!
• install wood stove (hubby)--finally done TODAY  
• almost forgot...order homeschool curriculum and plan out 2012-2013 school year--way done

I'm going to continue with the items that haven't been done.  In what ways are YOU working on becoming more self-sufficient?

Busyness on the Homestead

I know I've been missing in action lately, but the truth is that I just don't have a lot of time to blog.  Life is busy, and that is good, as the busy things are good things.  Children, husband, house, homeschooling, and I've started a seasonal "business" selling fudge!  It's really taken off quickly and I'm happy to be able to bring in a bit of income from home.  I'm known for my delicious fudge around here, and I've been told often that I should sell it, soooo....I am!  If you are at all interested, I do ship; you can visit my facebook page here.

Take care, my dear sisters, and I will try to blog more soon!

Homeschool Curriculum 2012-2013

Well, it's that time of year again!  August--the time of year when I am super busy harvesting/preserving the garden AND planning for the school year.  So now I will share with you what we are using for school this coming year.

AnnaMarie--9th grade:

Bible--Alpha Omega Lifepacs, along with some books from Vision Forum; Character booklets from IBLP

Math--Teaching Textbooks Pre-Algebra

Language Arts--Alpha Omega Lifepacs & Wordly Wise 9

History--Truthquest Age of Revolution I

Science--Alpha Omega Lifepacs with lab kit

Spanish--Rosetta Stone

Music--continuing with Flute--independent learning

PE--exercise each day (we have a trampoline and bikes, etc)

Abigail--4th grade:

Bible--Alpha Omega Lifepacs, Character booklets from IBLP

Math--Teaching Textbooks Math 4

Language Arts--Alpha Omega Lifepacs, Wordly Wise 4, A Reason for Handwriting Cursive, Typing Instructor

History--Truthquest American History for Young Students 3, Map Skills 4, memorizing states and capitols

Science--Apologia Zoology 3 w/notebooking journal, and lab kit

Music--Clarinet: learning with instructional dvd...hopefully joining band at a homeschool co-op the following fall

Art--Abeka Art A

PE--exercise each day

I got a couple of books for my 2 year old also; he won't be doing anything formal, but he will have something to work in because he will want to be doing what his sisters are doing, and it will help keep him busy so the girls can get some work done.  I bought him Learning Numbers with Button Bear, and Arts and Crafts with Button Bear from Abeka.

I'd like to put in a plug for the lab kits we got this year...they are AMAZING!  I had used a different company in the past, and I like these so much better.  They provide everything you need for each lab, even down to a paper towel or a pair of scissors.  They package everything up in big ziplock bags, grouped by experiment, and labeled.  So when it's time to do science experiment one, you pull out the bag that says "experiment 1", and you've got everything that you need!  I can't tell you how many times I've had to delay an experiment because I was missing something.  The company I used last year provided some items, but not all.  It is a bit expensive; you just have to decide how important it is, if you do have the funding for it.  I am only able to order these because my parents pay for curriculum and school supplies, and they are willing to fund it.

I hope it's okay if I ask this...if you DO ever decide to order something from Christianbook.com that I recommend, would you mind going to their website by clicking on the link on my left sidebar?  I get a small commission for any sales that come through my blog, and that would really help out my family, as I try to find ways to bring in money from home, where I belong.  Thank you!

So You're...."Bored"?

Did you just say that you are bored?  Okay, I have to admit, that is something I have never understood...when a homemaker says that she is bored.  I hesitate to say this, but I'll say it anyway...if you are bored then you're not doing your job to it's fullest!  There--I said it.

There is SO much to do as a homemaker.  Its scope reaches in so many different directions and covers so many areas of life, that really, it would seem that it would be impossible to be bored.  When a woman says that, I think what she really means is, "I don't like any of the work that there is to do".

So, I am here to help out!  Aren't you glad?  Let's explore the many different areas that are a homemaker's responsibility, and how she can practically accomplish these things.  By the time I am done, I know you will be convinced that there is absolutely no way you could ever be "bored"!  Ready?  Let's tackle this!

Now, I am going to assume that you are not a homeschooler, and you are not a homesteader.  I am assuming this because if you are either one of those, then you definitely wouldn't have any boredom going on.  (Some of us are homeschooling homesteaders, who also have a toddler or a baby (or both!), so we are super duper duper busy, and free time is something that we've heard exists in some other people's lives...or perhaps we remember it from long ago when we were younger!)  I WILL assume that you have children, and you have a husband.  So, with that scenario in place, here comes the list:

*First and foremost, you are your husband's helper.  What does your particular husband want help with?  Does he need some paperwork done?  Does he want a home-packed lunch?  Does he like you to bring him his coffee in the morning?  Does he need you to make some phone calls during the day?  Could you run his errands for him?  Ask him!

*Next, the children...OH the children--they're a full time job in themselves.  If they are not school age (remember, I'm assuming you don't homeschool, for the sake of example), then they are home and likely keeping you on your toes.  You're reading stories, breaking up fights, getting the toddler's hand out of the cookie jar for the umpteenth time, coloring with little Jimmy because he doesn't like coloring alone, cleaning up all of the crayons that Jimmy broke, etc.  If they are all in school, well don't despair, there is still plenty for you to do (oh and by the way, I used to have kids in school, so I do know what I'm talking about here).  Besides the fact that there is volunteering in the classrom, being a room mom, helping with homework, etc, etc..there is still plenty to do at home on top of that.  Just keep reading...

*Nutrition/food/meals--BIG one here.  Big, big one.  Absolutely, positively way up on the list of importance.  What you eat, and what your family eats, affects what happens in your house.  What you eat can have a positive effect on your body, or it can have a negative effect.  So you choose.  If you make nutrition as important as you should, then food is going to take up a lot of your day.  Making breakfast, packing lunch(es), making lunch for those at home, making dinner, and making other homemade goods such as bread, muffins, yogurt, etc.  And occasionally for fun, I'm sure your kids would appreciate if you whipped up some chocolate chips cookies or something for them.  There is also the grocery shopping to be done, which may involve hitting many different stores to get the best deals on different items.

*Cleaning--let's face it, there's always cleaning to do, as well as laundry.  So between the laundry, the dishes, vacuuming, kitchen, bathrooms, mopping, dusting...What did you say?  You get my point?  Alright I'll stop there.  I'm sure you know what is involved in cleaning a house.

*Finances--What this entails for you will depend on your specific situation.  In my marriage, my husband has always paid the bills; he just prefers to.  Your husband may be glad to have you do it (see point number one).  But whether you pay the bills or not, finances involve much more than just that.  It also include being frugal, and finding ways that you can save your family money.  Here are some examples:

• Check ads and coupon
• Plant and maintain a garden.  Just do it, if you are able to where you live.  This will save your family a lot of money on groceries!  Think you don't have the space?  Check out books from the library on gardening in small spaces; you may be amazed at what you can do in a small area.
• Can!  This covers the financial department AND the food department.  You will be saving money and keeping the food nutritious.
• Learn to sew, crochet, and/or knit.  You can make many of your own things that way, thus saving your family money.
• Make your own laundry soap. This is super easy.  There are many recipes available online.
• Develop a home-based business.  Find something you enjoy making, and sell it!

*Hospitality--have people into your home, and also go visit others.  Take a meal to a sick person, or a woman who has just had a baby.  Go help your friend, who is on bedrest, clean her house.  Host a Bible study in your home.  Volunteer at a soup kitchen.  These are all just examples...there are many other activities you could do also.

*Let's not forget the most important item on the list: your spiritual life!  Spend time with Jesus.  Read your Bible and pray.  Like I mentioned above, you could join a Bible study.  Your family needs you to be spiritually filled...if you aren't then all of the above activities just aren't as important.  You need Jesus, and your family needs you to be filled with Him.

*How's this for an idea...you could BLOG!  Ha ha ha...just thought of that one, but really it's true.  I consider mine a ministry, so it's like my "ministry time" I guess...

Okay, if you could read all of that above information, and still feel that you will be bored at home, I don't know what to tell you, but I think I've made my point: if you are doing the job correctly, there is no time to be bored.

Case closed.

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First Garden Harvest!

Boy am I slacking on blogging lately!  I just can't seem to find the time...it's really, really hard.  I'd love to blog a LOT more, but I just can't.  But here's a little garden update...

I harvested my garlic about a week ago--yay!  It was my first time growing garlic, and there was really no way to know how it was doing there in the ground, until harvesting time.  I was happy to find that it grew very nicely!  For those of you who don't know, garlic is planted in the fall ( I planted in October).  It sets there in the ground all winter, and all spring...then is finally harvested in the summer.  Lots of fun!  Here it is:

I got 49 heads of garlic; this fall I'm going to plant double that! 

Here is my first picking of peas:

Bad pic--sorry--left is peas, right is snap peas

Also, a couple of weeks ago my mom, my daughter Abby, and I went raspberry picking and made jam!  Here is the finished product:

Well, I have a lot of posts in the making, I just need TIME to get them finished.  It WILL happen!

God bless you!

A Fresh Perspective

How many times have you said to someone, "I have nothing to wear"?  We women are famous for that statement, which is basically always said while we're standing next to a closet full of clothes.  I am one of those women who has said that many times.  But have we ever really known what it's like to have nothing to wear?  I highly doubt that!

The Lord has been changing my perspective on SO many things lately, and this is one of them.  I used to be a clothes/fashion addict.  Obsessive about what I wore, and never having enough.  Well, today I went through my clothes, because my drawers were literally breaking from the weight of all the clothes in them, yet I always think I don't really have anything to wear.

I emptied them out, and really....I almost started crying.  How foolish I have been all of these years!  I have piles and piles of good, nice clothing, that any woman should be so grateful to have.  There were so many pieces of clothing that I had put aside--clothes in brand new condition--because they just weren't right somehow, or I wanted something better.  I am looking at them now with a fresh perspective!  Many of them that had been cast aside are now going to be worn, and some I am going to give away to bless someone else.

I am a blessed woman!  I always have what I need, and sometimes don't even realize it.  Our perspective in this country is soooo skewed....some of us think we are living in poverty, and really....we are RICH!

“...Anyone who has two shirts should share with the one who has none..."  Luke 3:11

How Far We Have Fallen!

Some quotes from our founding fathers, taken from here:

George Washington, our first president, said, “Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports. The mere politician, equally with the pious man, ought to respect and to cherish them. Whatever may be conceded to the influence of refined education—reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle.” Washington also said, “True religion affords to government its surest support—it is impossible to rightly govern the world without God and the Bible.”

John Adams, our second president, said, “We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion—our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”

Thomas Jefferson, our third president, said, “And can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are of the gift of God—that they are not to be violated but with His wrath? Indeed, I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just; that His justice cannot sleep forever.”

James Madison, our fourth president, known as the Chief Architect of our U.S. Constitution, said, “We have staked the whole future of American civilization, not upon the power of government, far from it. We have staked the future of all of our political institutions upon the capacity of each and all of us to govern ourselves, to control ourselves, to sustain ourselves, according to the Ten Commandments of God.”

Samuel Adams, the Father of the American Revolution, said, “A general dissolution of principles and manners will more surely overthrow the liberties of America than the whole force of the common enemy.” Adams also said, “Let divines and philosophers, statesmen and patriots, unite their endeavors to renovate the age, by impressing the minds of men with the importance of educating their little boys and girls, of inculcation (implanting) in the minds of youth the fear and love of the Deity—and in subordination to these great principles, the love of their country—in short, of leading them in the study and practice of the exalted virtues of the Christian system. Neither the wisest constitution, nor the wisest laws will secure the liberty and happiness of a people whose manners are universally corrupt.”

Gouverneur Morris, who literally wrote the U.S. Constitution, said, “Religion is the only solid basis of good morals; therefore education should teach the precepts of religion, and the duties of man towards God.”

 John Quincy Adams, our sixth president, said, “The highest glory of the American Revolution was this—it connected, in one indissoluble bond, the principles of civil government with the principles of Christianity.”

 John Jay, the first Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, said, “Providence has given to our people the choice of their rulers, and it is the duty as well as the privilege and interest of our Christian nation to select and prefer Christians for their rulers.”

 Joseph Story, an early U.S. Supreme Court Justice, appointed by James Madison, said, “We are not to attribute this prohibition of a national religious establishment, in the First Amendment, to an indifference to religion in general, and especially to Christianity, which none could hold in more reverence than the framers of the Constitution.” Story also stated, “It yet remains a problem to be solved in human affairs, whether any free government can be permanent, where the public worship of God, and the support of religion, constitute no part of the policy or duty of the state in any assignable shape.”

 Benjamin Franklin, one of our Founding Fathers, said, “He who shall introduce into public affairs the principles of primitive Christianity will change the face of the world.” It was Franklin who moved that prayers be held every morning before proceeding with business at the Constitutional Convention in 1787.

 Patrick Henry, famous for his declaration “Give me liberty, or give me death”, also said, “It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded, not by religionists, but by Christians: not on religions, but on the gospel of Jesus Christ. For this very reason peoples of other faiths have been afforded asylum, prosperity, and freedom of worship here (in the United States).”

 Noah Webster, a Founding Father and founder of the Webster Dictionary, has been titled ‘America’s Schoolmaster.’ The following is what Webster had to say about the relationship between government and Christianity. “The religion which has introduced civil liberty is the religion of Christ and his apostles, which enjoins humility, piety, and benevolence; which acknowledges in every person a brother, or a sister, and a citizen with equal rights. This is genuine Christianity, and to this we owe our free constitutions of government.” Webster also said, “The moral principles and precepts contained in the Scriptures ought to form the basis of all our civil constitutions and laws. All the miseries and evils which men suffer from vice, crime, ambition, injustice, oppression, slavery, and war, proceed from their despising or neglecting the precepts contained in the Bible.” Webster also understood that Christian principles must be inseparable from any sound educational system. Webster said, “In my view, the Christian religion is the most important and one of the first things in which all children, under a free government, ought to be instructed. No truth is more evident to my mind than that the Christian religion must be the basis of any government intended to secure the rights and privileges of a free people.”

Jedediah Morse, the ‘Father of American Geography’ said the following about the importance of Christianity to education: “To the kindly influence of Christianity we owe that degree of civil freedom, and political and social happiness which mankind now enjoys. All efforts to destroy the foundations of our holy religion ultimately tend to the subversion also of our political freedom and happiness. Whenever the pillars of Christianity shall be overthrown, our present republican forms of government, and all the blessings which flow from them, must fall with them.”

John Witherspoon, another Founding Father and educator—trained one President, one Vice-President, three Supreme Court Justices, ten Cabinet members, twelve Governors, sixty Congressmen, and others, while serving as President of Princeton University. The following is what he had to say about mixing politics and Christianity: “It is in the man of piety and inward principle, that we may expect to find the uncorrupted patriot, the useful citizen, and the invincible soldier. God grant that in America true religion and civil liberty may be inseparable and that the unjust attempts to destroy the one, may in the issue tend to the support and establishment of both.” Witherspoon also said, “What follows from this? That he is the best friend to American liberty, who is most sincere and active in promoting true and undefiled religion, and who sets himself with the greatest firmness to bear down profanity and immorality of every kind. Whoever is an avowed enemy of God, I scruple (hesitate) not to call him an enemy to his country.”

Alexander Hamilton, who literally wrote much of George Washington’s Farewell Address, believed that religion and morality were indispensable supports to political prosperity. Hamilton penned these words: “In vain would that man claim the tribute of patriotism, who should labor to subvert these great pillars of human happiness (religion and morality).” Who that is a sincere friend to it can look with indifference upon attempts to shake the foundation of the fabric?”

In summary, the phrase ‘separation of church and state’ does not appear in either the U.S. Constitution, or the Bill of Rights, however the phrase has been severely misused in our courts over the past 50 years, ever since the 1962 case of ‘Engel vs. Vitale’ which declared voluntary non-denominational prayer in schools to be unconstitutional.

Abraham Lincoln once stated that America was “a nation under God”—but that is increasingly in question today as apostasy seems to be increasingly prevalent in all three branches of our American government, our American educational system, and in a larger percentage of our American citizenry with each passing year. 

American citizens dare not ignore or fail to heed the warnings of our Founding Fathers any longer. ‘We the People’ need to take bold and immediate steps to reverse apostasy and the practice of ‘separation of church and state’ as found within our government. If we do not heed the warnings by our visionary founders—then we face dire consequences in our effort to preserve our nation much further into the future, a nation with freedom and liberties established by Almighty God and our Founding Fathers beginning in 1776.