Link to a very good blog post...

Find out what former wiccans say about Halloween...


http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/carolinametzgers/739981/

A recent conversation...

Here's my little sweetie the way she goes to bed every night, hugging her Ellie! She still loves her elephants!
Well, I was at work the other day, and daddy was up that morning getting breakfast for the girls. L loves cereal, and she is very disappointed if there is something else being prepared for breakfast. Lucky for her, it was a cereal morning. Now, some of you may remember the food issues we had with L since the beginning. She still has some lingering effects, but she is doing much better. But, as you will see in this conversation, there are still some deep seated issues that revolve around food for her. Here is the conversation between her and daddy:

L: Daddy, I want more cereal!
Daddy: Ok, one more bowl, but that's all. (she eats big servings, and eats them very fast-still).
L: Thank you, da da
Daddy: You're welcome
L: (Finished with her second bowl within moments) Daddy, I want piece of toast like M.
Daddy: No, you are all done with breakfast now, M is having one piece of toast because she just had one bowl of cereal. Go play now.
L: That not fair! I mad! Where the phone???!!
Daddy: Why do you need the phone?
L: I call Mama!
Daddy: Why do you want to call Mama?
L: You not feed me!

So, as you see, she still feels deprived, even after two large, adult size bowls of cereal. We sure did get a kick out of this one, though. To think just a few months back she was barely even putting 3 words together, and now she expresses herself like this. I am a little worried looking ahead though, M is 8 and has never expressed herself in this way! What are we in for???!

Your Storm, and other random thoughts...

"Stop telling God how big your storm is, instead tell your storm how BIG your God is!"

We all go through storms in life, and this quote is one that has stuck with me. It is so true, and something we need to remind ourselves of every so often. This life is not easy. Even looking in at those whose lives may look like a piece of cake, there is a storm brewing right around the corner, if not already in full force. As christians, we aren't even promised a smooth ride, no, but we are promised that HE will be right there with us during our storms. If we ask God to help us, He will, He is always faithful!

As a homeschooling mom one of my most important duties is to teach my children the word of God. My oldest often questions how we are to truly believe. This is not always easy to answer. It's called faith. Faith is believing in something that is unseen. I have not always been a christian, but for the many years that I have now been one, I can tell you that faith is something that is also felt. It is a knowing that you know that you know that it is true. The best way I can describe it is that if we first step out in faith, God knows, he sees our hearts, and takes action. We begin to see and feel what God is doing in our lives. It is an incredible thing, and it's something to hold onto during those storms of life, as a reminder that He is there, and always will be.

Years ago a good friend and I used to walk together almost every day after work. This was way before we each had kids. Thinking back on our numerous discussions, there is one thing I remember us always saying and repeating to each other on an almost weekly basis. We would express how we know we could not make it without God. We talked about how we would have no clue how to handle the storms without knowing the Lord was with us. It was almost an unbearable thing to think about. Being without God in the good times, and without him in the hard times would not be an option for us. We just couldn't make it, we wondered how other people could. I remember reading a book a long time ago that discussed excuses people use for not going to church, or becoming a christian, etc. One of the reasons was, people would say that they didn't want to have a crutch. I remember the response, and it was, "Well, who doesn't need a crutch?" If it's not God, it's going to be something else, and I would much rather have the Lord as my crutch, than anything else. What do I have to lose? My heart is grieved when I think of several people in my life who don't understand the price of not believing, and following God. When asked what do they have to lose, they don't really have an answer. I think they feel they will have to give up their way of doing things, the things in their life that have become their "God", so to speak. When really, all God wants is for us to believe in him as our savior, and confess that we have been doing things our own way, and He will take care of the rest. The truth is, living for the Lord and following His calling, and his will for our life, is SO much more exciting than anything we could ever do on our own. If only they knew. They are so missing out on the blessings!

Oh, Lord, help me to be the kind of person you want me to be. Help me to boldly proclaim who you are not only here on this blog, but everywhere. I have failed. I have messed up. I haven't even trusted you fully during the storms I have been through, and continue to be caught up in. Help me God, to have a faith that cannot be moved. I ask this in Jesus name, Amen!

I came here tonight to write something. I had no idea what it would be. I just knew there was something that needed to be written, and the first thing that came out was the quote, and I went with that, not even having that quote in my mind a few seconds prior to writing it. I don't even know why I wrote any of the above, other than, I did. There must be a reason, but only God knows.

Blessings!

A Bithday Party for a Dog

The other day was a big day for M, and her Doggy, Mitten! It was Mitten's 1st birthday! Being the animal lover she is, M had a little party all planned out for Mitten. She had even found a recipe for a doggy birthday cake. Here is the cake after completion! They were very proud of this!

Happy Birthday Mitten! We sang Happy Birthday, and Mitten had lots of help blowing out her candle! Then, Mitten got to dig in! No, this is not a cake meant to be shared with their humans, it is strictly a dog cake.

Mitten liked her cake so much, M wanted me to share the recipe with others, so their doggies can enjoy a birthday cake too! Here is the recipe!

Doggy Birthday Cake

1. Gather these ingredients: white or wheat flour, baking soda, peanut butter, cooking oil, carrots, vanilla, a jar of beef baby food, honey, and eggs.

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

3. Take a small bowl and shred 1 cup of carrots, and set bowl aside.

4. Place 1 cup white or wheat flour in med. bowl followed by 1 tsp. baking soda, 1/4 cup peanut butter, 1/4 cup cooking oil, 1 cup shredded carrots, 1 tsp vanilla, 1/3 cup honey, and 1 egg. Mix all together thoroughly.

5. Lightly grease your pie pan and add mixed ingredients to it.

6. Bake for 40 min.

7. Let cool 5 min.

8. Frost your doggy cake with beef baby food and sprinkle with some more shredded carrots.

Let your dog eat, and enjoy!

PUMPKIN PRIDE!

I love, love, love pumpkins, and it appears that this has rubbed off a bit on L! The day she picked out her own pumpkin was probably one of the proudest moments of her life!

A great fabric giveaway!

Pumpkin Patch Primitives is having a giveaway for some amazing fabric!!! I have been so into sewing lately, and drooling over all the quilts I want to make someday, and this bundle of fabric would definately get me started on my quilting dreams! Go check it out, and enter!

By the way, my first quilt is still not done. I am hoping to have it done next month, as I have found a nice lady at my church who is willing to help me finish it! Stay tuned for the final results!!! I better hurry and get good, because M said she is ready to start her first quilt!

Birthday Wishes...

Is this the cutest kitten you have ever seen?? I think so. He has big blue eyes, an orange nose, and orange (flame point) markings. This is my birthday wish. I want him. I am having trouble convincing DH that we need to add another animal to the pack, though. We'll see. In the meantime, I will just stare into that adorable face, and hope I can make him mine.

Check out my girls!

There is an updated photo of M & L in the header!! This was taken just a few weeks ago when it was still 95 degrees! Now, it is 50 degrees, and very wet and soggy. Well, I am off to the storage room to pull out hats, gloves and winter scarves!!

More soon!

Baby Update!

Our little foster baby is doing so well! She is growing, and developing at a nice rate, and it is so much fun to be her foster mama! She is 4 months old and sweet as can be. She still smiles all the time, and even laughs now. It is too cute and brightens our day! She is even sleeping through the night! (Except for last night when she decided to wake up at 2am! and stay awake for an hour). But, it is all worth it!! As far as her case is concerned...it has gotten nowhere. The court hearings have been delayed one after another...so there really is no plan in place for her mom to start working on yet, and this is the frustrating thing about foster care...waiting, when everything should have been started months ago! We are just living day by day, feeling so grateful to be able to care for her for as long as she needs us!

Delicious Raw Pie!

Here is a recipe for the first raw pie I have ever made, it is delicious, and healthy, and best of all you know you are eating something that is a high nutrient food, feeding each cell of your body in ways that no other pie can do!

I brought this to a gathering with friends the other day, and it went over very well. I am going to make a strawberry one next, but here is the blueberry recipe we all loved:

Crust: 2 Cups raw nuts, (I used one cup pecans, and one cut walnuts)

1 cut dates, pitted

Put the raw nuts in a food processor until nuts are reduced to small crumbs. Add the dates, plus 1/4 tsp. salt and blend again until everything is fully blended. I also added about a tsp. of cinnamon to my crust mix.

Pour the mixture into a 9 inch pie plate, and use your hands to press them into the form of a pie crust. Put the pie crust in the freezer for about 15 min. This helps it become more firm and solid. This is just enough time to prepare the filling. There are countless variations on the ingredients you can use to make the crust, but the best place to start is with some kind of chewy dried fruit like dates, raisins, or figs.

Filling: This is quite simple, and requires 3 ingredients. 6 cups fresh fruit (such as blueberries, strawberries, cherries, peaches, apples, etc.)

2 Tbs fresh lemon juice

1 cup dates, soaked about 10 min.

Blueberry pie is the easiest to make because blueberries don't require any prep work. I use the organic blueberries from a farm we pick from nearby. I thawed and drained them first. For strawberries, and apples, you will need to cut them up, and cherries should be halved.

Put 2 cups of the fruit, the lemon juice, and the soaked dates (minus the water) into a blender, and blend until you have a smooth liquid. Put the remaining 4 cups of fruit into a large bowl, and pour the blended mixture over it. Mix it together.

Take your pie crust out of the freezer, and pour your fruit mixture into it. Spread around, and your pie is done!

You will love this, and never want to go back to lard crusted, sugar filled pies again!!!

An unlikely place...

Last weekend we spent saturday car shopping in Seattle. Car shopping all day with 3 little girls in the car was quite an adventure...and thankfully, after striking out all day, the last place we went to had the exact vehicle we were looking for! On Sunday Jeff decided to clean the garage so that we could fit our new mini van inside. As he lifted up this bike helmet that was hanging from a nail, this is what he found inside:

Looks fake doesn't it? In fact, M was helping him clean the garage and she came in to tell me about the nest and how daddy thought I put it there, because he knows I love bird nests and this one looked too perfect to be real. I came out and was very surprised as well! I assured him that...no...I did not put a bird nest in a helmet...what would be the reason for that?? I like to display my birdnests! He still didn't believe me because the eggs looked fake! They were sort of light blue speckled on one side with a line across the middle and grey on the other half. So...to prove to him that I did not "plant" this bird nest, I cracked one of the eggs open, and to his surprise, it was a real egg, yoke and all!

M is sure this is an hummingbird nest, as she read somewhere that hummingbird eggs are the size of jelly beans, as these eggs were! But, I am not sure if that is the case. Either way, this was a fun discovery!!!

Being forced to get Swine flu vaccine

In addition to being a stay at home, homeschooling mom, I also work out of the home one day per week. I work in pediatrics as an Occupational therapy practitioer and I have been at this job for almost 13 years. I get to work with wonderful children who have special health care needs. I am at an offsite clinic from the hospital I work for, and just found out that my employer is requiring all employees to get the swine flu and regular flu vaccine this year. It is mandatory. It has never been mandatory in the past. I have never been one to get a flu vaccine, and those around me that do, always seem to be the ones I see get the flu. I am looking for information from people that may know of someone this has happened to. I don't like the idea of an employer mandating what I put into my body. I don't feel this is something that should be forced. The other hospital in my community is not mandating the vaccine, they are allowing all employees to make their own decision like it has always been. I have done some research and found that this is happening across the country, and healthcare employees are being forced to get the vaccine, or be fired. If I choose not to take the vaccine, I will be required to wear a mask at all times, for no less than 6 months. This will not be appropriate in the job I do.

I am hoping to find others who are in this position, so please email me if you know of anyone, or know anything about this topic. I also heard about a large group of nurses who's union filed a lawsuit for this exact reason. Any input or ideas will be greatly appreciated!!

Fall is here!!!

It's hard to believe it's October already! My favorite season is here! The weather has cooled off which makes me smile, and the leaves are beginning to change to all the beautiful colors I love.

Fall makes me so happy! I look forward to pumpkins all around the house, the kids jumping in leaf piles in the yard, and the smell of home baked pumpkin bread coming from my kitchen.

I love to curl up with a warm blanket at home with my favorite book, drinking hot apple cider. In my garden I found a wonderful surprise of miniature white pumpkins growing abundantly, and I can't wait to bring them in to decorate with.

The pleasures of fall are so many...I hope you enjoy the blessings of this season as much as I do!