A great giveaway!

Palmer Falls Primitives is having a fabulous 4th of July giveaway! I love it...go enter, you have until the 4th! I really need some patriotic decorations...I don't have much, and these are some I would love to win! Good luck!

Around the Farm!

I took this photo this morning while leaving the house on the way out to M's last pony class. What a gorgeous butterfly, enjoying the flowers Jeff planted this year.

And here's my girl! Molly's growing up so fast! She is not well liked by the goats. They're probably jealous, Molly gets a lot of attention, bottles of milk, and gets to hang out with the humans!

What's more precious than nursing kittens? We have four of them that live in the playhouse, 3 siamese, and one calico.

L hangin out on the front porch reading books. This is our favorite place during the summer, and we do everything out there from eating dinner, arts and crafts, or just hangin out with friends.

Here's my antique rose bush that was in bloom a few weeks ago. It has been there since before we moved to this house. Who knows how old it is, but it sure does give us a large quantity of sweet smelling pale pink roses, which we love.

I think summer is off to a great start!

A new look!

You know how sometimes you just get the urge to go in and have your hair chopped off? Well, this blog needed a change too-so here is the new look, with my little darlings in the header, I just love it! Not quite finished, but Becky is working hard, and I am enjoying the results, thanks Becky!!

Check this out!

Two days ago, my brother in law was out in his yard, when he heard a loud, "Squawk!", he looked up in one of his trees, and to his surprise, saw this bright, vibrant, exotic looking bird! He ran to get his camera, and when he went to get as close as he could to take the picture, the bird flew down and landed on his shoulder! He said it appeared to feel much more comfortable with him than in the tree. He called us and said he found a parrot, and we drove over to see it!

He stuck it in his daughters bunny hutch. I was not too happy when I heard this, as I was afraid the rabbit might hurt it, but I saw at one point it was eating a cracker and the rabbit came up to it, and the bird bit the rabbit in the nose twice! That bunny hopped away and hid while the bird continued feasting on the cracker. We brought some bird seed, and fed it from our hands. It is such a friendly bird. The problem is, we don't know who owns it, or what kind of a bird it is!

Tomorrow I am going to start calling around, because there has to be someone that is missing this amazing bird! Does anyone have any idea what kind of bird this is??

Farm Chicks!

Here is a photo from the trip to Spokane I took last weekend to the Farm Chicks sale! I was supposed to go away with the family to the lake for the weekend, but remembered I have a baby lamb to feed and I can't be away from home for too long. So, I decided to get up bright and early, bottle feed Molly, and then hop in the car and head out to the Farm Chicks! I wasn't looking forward to the drive, but it wasn't that bad! I got there 1/2 hour before it opened and there were already hundreds of people in line! Once I got in line, I met some of the people around me, and if you think I'm crazy, the people in front of me flew all the way in from New York to go to the Farm Chicks, and another couple next to them drove from Montana. Then, the people behind me were from California! On my way out, I met a group of teen girls that drove all through the night to get there from Oregon. The farm Chicks have become very popular over the years, especially after being featured in Country Living magazine. I went to their show a few years ago, and have always wanted to go back. This time it was even bigger and better! There were over 160 booths of farmgirl antiques, and handmades. I was in heaven! Here are the treasures I came out of the show with, including the cute little red wagon:

I love it all! The old green kitchen scale-I have been wanting to replace my black one-so it's up for sale if anyone wants it! Then, I got the rusty lamb garden art at the last minute, love her! I also got some bird nests and eggs, from one of the coolest vendors, and an old rabbit feeder planter that is grungy and farmgirl perfect! I also got a buttercup plant, and a green chippy paint shelf I will put in my bedroom after I re-do it soon! All in all, it was a wonderful time, and 4 hours of fun for me! I will definately be there next year!

Dream # 2

This is a follow up to my last post, where I shared the dream that God gave me one night while I was sleeping at the age of 15. Well, exactly 20 yrs. later, I was blessed by God again, and here is the dream that took place a few years ago:

I was at an outdoor event somewhere in this dream, and it isn't clear what it was. It seemed like a large park, or something like that where there were lots of people. I was there with my two children, our adopted son from russia, who was about 16 at the time, and Miranda who at the time of this dream would have been about 4. We were walking around on the grass together in the midst of all the people, and I have no idea what we were there for or what we were doing, but all of a sudden we came upon a big rock wall, and everyone was climbing this wall to get to the top and over, and so of course, this is what we were to do too, just following the crowd I guess. I remember looking up and thinking there was no way I was going to be able to climb this, and seeing everyone around me just scaling up and over like it was nothing. Then all of a sudden, there go my kids up the wall like it was as easy as pie. So, I needed to get up there too, I mean, my kids were up ahead of me, and I needed to get up there to supervise and take care of them, I couldn't just let them go on without me! So, I begin climbing this mountain, and it was literally a straight up and down dirt hill with rocks sticking out here and there. I was struggling, and just couldn't seem to figure out how to get myself up. I was sweating, crying out, and scared to look down, as I knew that I would not live through the fall. All the while everyone around me is climbing up like it's a piece of cake. I finally make it about half way up, and my kids are out of sight by now, they had gone up and over easily. I was determined to get to my children, but I was beginning to feel helpless, hopeless and desperate, as my legs and arms were shaking, and I had no strength left. Hundreds of people just continued to speed past me up the wall, and I couldn't figure it out. I then reached up, trying my darndest to find a place to get a grip of anything to pull myself up just a bit more...when all of a sudden I was moving with ease...someone beneath me was pushing me up!! I was SO relieved!!! When I was almost to the top and I reached up and caught a grip at the top, I was able to turn around and look below me to see who this wonderful, life saving person was, and to my shock and amazement....it was Jesus! I remember being completey surprised in this dream, as I just thought that when I looked down to see who it was, I would find some good samaritan who knew I needed help, but no! it was God! Then, I woke up!!

This dream literally was a precious gift from God to me!!! When I awoke, I still felt all the love, and thankfulness I was feeling at the time in my dream. I sat there with an unspeakable astonishment at the amazing love and grace that can only come from God. You see, this was a very difficult time in my life. We had been raising our son from russia since he was 12 yrs. old, and to say that our path was rough is an understatement. I can't even begin to explain how difficult the road with him was, and I was at a point where I had come to the realization that he wasn't choosing to recieve all the help that was being offered to him. He was resisting all the love, and assistance that he needed to move forward in a positive direction in his life. He was tearing down relationships left and right, and leaving us all in shambles. It was a very dark time, but at that moment, when I woke up and this dream was so clear...I knew! I knew it was the Lord showing me how much he cares, loves, and was carrying me through it all. It was Him that lifted me up, and over a wall that I could have never scaled on my own. It is this dream that will stick with me for the rest of my life, because I know that He was with me during even that darkest time, and He saved me.

A significant Dream...

I had an amazing day at an amazing place, but I will need to save that for a later post, as I feel the need to write about a dream I had. You know how sometimes when you are in a car for hours on your own, you have a lot to think about? Well, this occured to me today, as I spent many hours in the car (going to the amazing place), and I felt I needed to share this.
Do you believe God is real? Does He speak to us in dreams? Well, if you are not sure, I challenge you to decide after reading this. Way back in the 80's, when I was 15 yrs. old I had this dream that I am about to describe. This dream was so vivid in my mind at the time, and I have always remembered every detail, and I have not added anything to it. I will tell it exactly as it occured. I have only shared this with a few close friends over the years, I don't always remember to tell people about it, but it is something I don't mind sharing. Keep in mind that I was not a saved christian at this time, I did not grow up in a christian home, but I did have a godly grandmother who prayed for me, and we were very close.

The dream began with me on a school bus with a bunch of classmates. We were heading to a field trip at the ocean beach. We were all laughing and enjoying ourselves as we began to file off of the bus onto the sand. Once we were all off of the bus, we began running around, playing in the sand and water. Suddenly, all the kids began running down the beach, so I started running with them. They all seemed to be running faster than me and I couldn't catch up. I started yelling things like, "Hey, wait up", "Wait for me", "Slow down, I'm coming", but they were too busy laughing and running to hear. They got further and further away. I couldn't catch up. Pretty soon, I couldn't even see them anymore. They were gone, out of sight. I wondered what to do. I decided I needed to go back to the bus and find the bus driver and get a hold of my parents so they could come and pick me up. I ran back to the bus to find that there was noone there. I looked around, and I was alone. I saw in the opposite direction what looked like a little town, and I decided to walk to the town and find a phone to call my parents. As I approached the town, I noticed that there was noone around, it resembled a ghost town. But, surely there has to be someone here with a phone so I could call my parents, I thought. I started looking in the windows of the little shops. Most of the doors were open, so I walked into the first shop and saw a phone on the wall. Yeah! I can call my parents now. I picked it up, and it was dead. So, I decided to try some of the other shops, there had to be one somewhere that was working. As I went into the next shop, I heard something, and was startled. It was a frightening sound. I realized that it sounded like witches laughter. I quickly picked up the phone here, and it was dead too. I ran out of the shop, and looked around. Off in the distance, to my horror, there was a witch with a little goblin friend by her side, and they were after me! I quickly ran from shop to shop as fast as I could picking up each phone, and finding them all dead, all the while trying to get away from the scary witch that was coming to get me!

I began running away from the ghost town as fast as I could. The witch was right behind. I began running for what seemed like hours. It had gotten dark, and I found that I was running down a two lane road in the middle of nothing but tall trees. It felt like I was now in the middle of a forest, and I was very scared, with the witch and goblin after me, and now the threat of bears and cougars that at any time could jump out of the forest and eat me. There was nothing I could do but continue running, in the pitch dark forested area, with a witch and goblin behind. I finally noticed that I was making some headway. The witches laughter became more and more faint. Finally it stopped. I was relieved that that threat was now gone, but I continued to run, as I needed to get out of this forest now! I ran all night. Finally, up ahead I began to see some light. Through the trees, I could see that it was dawn, and the morning sun was peeking through. I could also see that the forest was ending. As I took my last few steps out of the dark forest, what I saw before my eyes was one of the most magnificently beautiful sights I have ever seen. I can't really describe it in words, but it was mostly lush, green, grassy hills, and meadows. I stopped, to look around and take in the splendor of what I was seeing. I felt some peace. Off in the distance, I noticed something. It appeared to be a small white church way up on one of the green hills. I thought, "Finally, they must have a phone, I can call my parents!". So, I began to run toward this church, and it became more and more clear, and more beautiful the closer I got. As I approached, and came within about 30 feet of the front door of the church, I noticed a woman came walking out. She had her arms extended toward me, and in her hands, she held a telephone. I stood there in awe, as she said, "We knew you were coming". I reached out to take the phone, and I woke up!

When I woke up from this dream, it took me by surprise. I remember thinking about every single aspect of this story, this dream, and knowing exactly what it meant! At the young age of 15 years old, and not even a christian, I knew this dream was from God. I knew who God was as a young child, but I had never really given my heart over to Jesus. I did have knowledge of God, and who He was, but that was about it. What I got from this dream was very simple, but lifechanging messages. I learned that friends, even family, can not always be there for you, and you can't always count on them. It is God who I should put my entire trust in. I learned that we do have an adversary (satan), who was signified in my dream as a witch, and his evil forces, the goblin, will be after me. This is true, as bible believing christians we know that there is an enemy that wants to trip us up all the time, and gain a hold of us through many ways, and we always need to be on the alert for this. But, the most significant part of this dream for me was when the woman walked out of the church and handed me the phone. I knew that this meant that God knew me, and knew exactly what I needed without me even telling Him. He is always there waiting for us to turn to Him, so He can meet our needs. This dream changed me from that point on. My faith was greatly increased, and I have grown in the Lord since then. I know now that the Bible does say that God can choose to speak to us through dreams, and I know that this dream was a very special gift, as it has stuck with me for years. Most dreams I have don't make much sense, if I remember them at all, so something this vivid and meaningful was not your normal dream, and I knew that. It wasn't until 20 years later, that I had another dream that I knew was from God. I will share that one next!!!

Too Much

Oh, when will things slow down? For those of you who have read my blog long, you know this is the desire of my heart. I don't want to be running around every day from this place, to that place, appointments, stores, and more. I know there must be an easier way. There just has to be. Last fall, I began formulating a monthly meal plan. I would plan dinners for every night of the month, and do all the grocery shopping the 1st day of the month. I have loved this! It really takes the pressure off when you think about, "What's for dinner?" each day. Well, somewhere along the line things have gotten too busy. We are 4 days into the month, and I have had no time to sit down and meal plan, let alone go grocery shopping for the month! Thankfully, we were able to eat out at my favorite mexican restaurant tonight. I have narrowed it down to only a handful of places I will eat out at in our town. I have a love for healthy authentic mexican food. This is not the kind that is dripping in grease and cheese. In fact, the place I go doesn't use cheddar cheese at all, and most items are covered in shredded cabbage, and they have about 8 choices of freshly made salsas that are to die for. Everything is made from scratch, and delicious!

Oooops, back to my theme for tonight...simplicty. I need to have time to sit down with my children, play with them on the floor, bake with them, roll in the grass outside, and lately these things aren't happening. There is too much to do! Too many places to go, people to see, and appointments to make. I need to scale way back, because this is not where I intended to end up. I found myself staring at my calendar today trying to plan some summer activities and trips, and I was shocked as I realized there is something going on almost every day, and weekend! It's too much! I want to slow down and smell the antique roses out behind the garage, I noticed they were bloomed today, when did that happen?

I have a lot of things to look at and weed out for the upcoming months, and though I am tempted to do it all, I think life will be much sweeter if I step back, slow down, let go, and pray. I am at peace when things are simple, and I hear God's voice much clearer this way too, and that is most important.

Simple Summer Blessings to you...as I strive to find them too!