A Boy & His Calf

'Oh, dear', he sighs, as he glances at the clock. 'I've gotta get out there. They be letting the cows back in.' And he hurriedly shovels the rest of his breakfast into his mouth. 'Good-bye, Mom. Thanks for the breakfast', as out the door he goes. I won't see him for another hour or more.

Earlier this spring I would have declared that child could tell time. The barn schedule was a bit different then, they would let the cows out around 10 and he knew when it was that time.

In the middle of play he would jump up and announce it was time to 'go let the cows out'. Or he'd be using the bathroom. (Which is not a simple thing for him. He has to strip all clothing because 'It might get dirty, Mom.') He'll come flying out of the bathroom, 'Gotta get to the barn. They letting the cows out.'

Now they let the cows out soon after milking. So he gets up around 7, get dressed and heads out the door. Most often it's even before I'm up, and he won't be back in 'til close to 9. He loves helping to let the cows out for their daily exercise and then re-tieing them in their stalls. And he takes this job very seriously, and rarely misses a day.

One day to his delight there was a 'red boy calf' born. He loves 'boy calves', and does not like the 'girl ones'. Anyway, his dad gave it to him, as long as he takes care of it.  And he has been doing an awesome job at it. Now and then I need to remind him in the afternoon and then he quickly declares he wants to 'sell the dumb thing'.

So far this calf hasn't a name, other then 'the dumb calf', 'my boy calf' or 'the red bull'. He is quite proud of the little guy. He was happy to inform me one day 'I rode the wild thing', the poor thing was only a few days old. If he'd try it now, he'd have the time of his life trying to stay on it.

The calf has just been weaned from the bottle. So Collin is enjoying the easier feedings, without a butting calf, who could about bull him over. (No pun intended.) I was quite proud of him when he took the bucket of milk out for the first time. He used the wheelbarrow-2 wheeled feed cart thing to haul the pail. The wheelbarrow is about to much for him to handle but he figured out how to get it under the fence and up the heifer pasture to the calf's pen. I'm not sure how much milk that calf got for his supper!!

My little boy is growing up so fast!! I can hardly believe he is becoming such a 'little man'. Where is time going??

I am treasuring each moment, I love these memories we are making. One day he'll no longer want to sit in my lap for a story, he won't be so quick to snuggle up beside me for a hug and some 'I love you's'.

I love you, Collin.

You've Come Along Way, Baby

This is the 3rd Chapter of the book, Voices of the True Woman Movement by Nancy Leigh DeMoss. You can read Chapter 1 here and Chapter 2 here.

'You've come along way, Baby' is by Mary A. Kassian. She does a very good job at giving a history lesson in this chapter. I love History, so found it very interesting. But not sure I'll cover much of that aspect of it.

It depicts the Woman's Movement of the late 60's and 70's. All of the promises and hopes that many are realizing are not bringing the satisfaction and fulfillment that is was said to bring.

50 years ago life was almost totally different. Here's a partial-abbreviated list of 'Real Life Observations from the 50's'.

• Getting married was the norm.
• Once married the couple would have children, the husband would work to support the wife so she could stay at home with the children.
• The divorce rate was low. Couples were expected to remain married and make their marriage work. Divorce was considered a tragedy.
• If divorce did occur & there were kids involved, the ex-husband was expected to support the wife in a homemaking role, because society considered it vitally important that the children have a mom at home.
• Chasity, virginity, and fidelity were virtues. And sex outside of marriage was shameful.
• Having a child out of wedlock was considered shameful. Now 1 child is born outside of wedlock every 25 seconds.
• Only 30% of women were employed outside of the home. And then it was only a part time job.
• Children were a highly desired, a highly valued, and a highly welcomed addition to both family and community.
• No birth control pill.
• Abortion was illegal.
• Men saw it as their responsibility to protect and provide for the women and children under their care.
• Woman saw it as their responsibility to support their husbands and focus on raising their children in a stable, nurturing, loving environment. Their professional careers took secondary status to their primary and more important career of raising and nurturing the next generation.

Our world has changed a lot since then, has it not?!?!?!? And it's all because women are seeking 'liberation'. They thought they were no longer finding fulfillment in God's Original Plan for Order.

'So in a few short decades the idea of a happy fulfilled woman has gone from one who values and serves her children, her husband and her community, to one who serves and exalts herself, sees men as dispensable, and considers children to be optional add-ons to her quest for fulfillment.'

And here she begins her 'history lesson'. How women were made to think they needed to become equal with men, they didn't want to be serving them anymore. They were made to feel their God-given role of wife and homemaker no longer was satisfying.

Women were made to think they needed to define their own existence.

Women were 'made to think that as a whole they needed enlightenment. They needed to discover how really oppressed they were'.

As women's 'eye's were opened', they began to rename the world. They 'needed to challenge and change that which men had constructed for their own benefits'. They 'needed to look at the world through the lenses of female experience and come up with new values and definitions'. Even school curricula was rewritten to reflect a feminist world view.

They even renamed God to a 'She'. They didn't like to think of the male role as being the dominate one.

'The underlying premise of feminism is that 'women need and can trust no other authority then our own personal truth.' Feminism teaches that women ought not to bow down and submit to any external power.'

It's is so sad that our world has come to just accept this as the norm, when the Bible states things so clearly in the opposite light.

1 Corinthians 11 states that, 'Man did not come from woman, but the woman from man; neither was man created for the woman but the woman for man'. How much clearer can it get?? The two sexes are different and were created for different roles.

However!! We will not find the true, deep satisfaction of the heart just by being a wife/homemaker. Our deepest longings and satisfactions will come only when we have yielded our lives completely and totally to Christ!! He is the only one who will be able to fill the void in our lives.

'A woman is a true woman when her heart says yes to God!!'

Today's women are searching for answers, they want to know how to make life work. We need a Biblical understanding of manhood, womanhood and gender relationships.

A busy life-

-We live!!

Can you tell my life has been very full?? My blog has been all but neglected. There are many time I wish I could some how put the thoughts from my brain right into my computer while I am busy in the garden, washing dishes or some other chore that doesn't take much mental challenges to do. I have lots of great ideas, brain storms and things to share. But the time to go write them all down and actually get them blogged is much harder to do. So it's not that I don't have things to share, it's more likely that I have other things I am doing-like My Garden Work, that right now has decided to have everything producing at once.

Yes, I have peas, beans, cucumbers, and squash. My red potatoes are needing to be dug. And some very high weeds to wade through. (Which I am guessing not much will be done with.)

1 weeks ago were were up at my Grandparents for a Family Reunion. The theme of it being 'Christmas in July'. We were all to make a gift age appropriate for ourselves to give away. A White Elephant type gift exchange. So I spent that week making gifts. (And yes, I had had a 4 month notice. But all the great inspirational ideas didn't come until 3 wks before.)

So this is what all I made in 2 wks...

The Bath Stuff was the most fun to do, and very simple too. I'll do a separate post on how to make them later. The chair I got at a garage sale cheap, and I just painted it and added the wallpaper stickers. The jean blankets were alot of fun to make. My boys are begging me to make them each one now. They love all the pockets and buttons. So that will be a winter project. And the bag was out of fabric I had on hand.

Last week we had VBS every evening from 6-8. So we left the house by 5:40 or so every evening. I took along 3 neighbor girls, and was so blessed to get to know them. And I am hoping our friendship continues. We had around 35 students every evening. The children did so well, soaking up everything. They loved the snacks and games as well.

I know a lot of you are just finding my blog for the first time... And it's not that I am trying to hide it from family and friends. I am just not one to self promote it much. So I want to 'Welcome' you here. So much as I love comments, I don't get much for the amount of people who stop. Yes, I know how many people come, where you are from, etc. I just don't know your name, but it gives me a general idea. So keep stopping by. At least I know someone is enjoying it, even if no one says much.

I have my posts all archived in the side bar under pages. It is much simple to search for the posts you want, by subject, then going through all the months in the Blog Archive, below it. If anyone has questions, feel free to ask. I am still learning and growing too. Or if you would like to see some thing posted here, feel free to tell me that too. I won't promise when things will get posted, as I know as garden things and fall doings come along, I will be much busier for a while.

I am going to try to keep my priorities right and keep my family first and not my blog!!

May you be blessed today!! 

Raising Boys

I scrub the wall of fingerprints,
Pick up the mounds of clothes.
I sweep the dirt that shoes track in-
Wish I could use a hose!

Meals are served from dawn to dark,
Dirty dishes crowd the sink.
Just when they're washed and put away-
Everyone wants a drink!

The washer pulls the dirty grime
From pants worn thin and patched.
They look so very neat and clean-
Yuck, look what the pockets hatched!

Broken bones and bloody knees,
I should have been a nurse.
I take it all in shaky stride-
Just grateful it's not worse!

Screams and shouts and arguments
Test the keeping of my cool.
They left the neighbor's faucet on-
See their new front yard pool!

A soothing bath is ecstasy,
A reward at the end of my rope.
Raising boys isn't really bad-
But first I must wash the soap!

A rose can say I Love You,
Orchids can enthrall;
But a weed bouquet in a chubby fist,
Oh my, that says it all!

(Roberta I. Teague)

I'm A Queen

I'm the Queen of a beautiful kingdom
God gave it to me for my own.
My castle's a rambling old farm house
And a low rocking chair my throne.
My subjects are dear little children
Who willingly come at my call.
The king is the husband and father
Who furnishes bread for us all.
Sometimes when I mend little stockings
Or hear a short prayer at my knee
I marvel that God in His wisdom
Presented the kingdom to me.
I feel so weak and unworthy
To guide the little feet that roam
To keep them all safe and contented
In our beautiful kingdom of HOME.
~Author Unknown

This past Friday and Saturday my Mom, sisters and I had the privilege of attending a Ladies Retreat. I must say I was greatly Blessed to be there. It has been an amazing journey God has been leading me on, and I was so Blessed to see God work in my life in ways I would NEVER have believed could happen in a few days. I should never underestimate the Power of God, but so many times we forget just how powerful God is. And it is so amazing to see the Miracles in lives happen.
The main speaker spoke on "I Am a Queen". We as women often wish for our lives to be different, that we could be like 'So & So'. If God wanted us to be 'So & So' He'd have made us 'So & So'. As long as I try to be and live like someone else, I will live in frustration. Do we look in the mirror and see ourselves as a Kitten, when really there is a Lion sitting there?? How we look at ourselves affects how we look at and live our life. God bought us with His life. Why do we look down at ourselves and try to change what we are. God doesn't hold our sin against us, He has forgiven ALL, before we even made our first mistake. We tend to live like a pauper and not the Queen God made us to be.

I don't feel like I can do justice to what all she shared... All I can say it has changed my life. And I am excited to see where God will lead me from here.

F.A.M.I.L.I.E.S

Father's
And
Mother's
Illustrating
Love
In
Everyday
Situations


I seen this acronym today and it blessed me. And it is so true!! Our families today are not what they used to be... so many homes are torn apart. The children are left to figure life out for themselves. And the parents are hurting, taking it out on each other and the little ones. There are so many tears being shed in this country that only Jesus Christ can wipe away. Only He can heal those wounds. May we reach out to those hurting around us.

Laundry Tips#3-Stain Removers

Stains Originally uploaded by :Bron:

Yesterday, I once again had some stubborn stains to remove. This time from my Hubby's worn-only-once-before-new shirt. After doing my normal 'Spray & Wash', he was quick to inform me it hadn't come out. So I knew it was time for some harder work... A trick my sister showed me last summer.

She had sprayed a stubborn old stained on my skirt and left it sit an hour or so. Then she proceeded to scrub at it with her finger/thumb nails. And I was shocked to see it come right out. It took a bit of time, but not much. (It had been there for so long... why didn't I know it sooner. It was a favorite skirt of mine.)

So I did it with the shirt. And yes, it took a bit to do, but I think I got it all out now.:)

My favorite stain removing spray is 'Shout', I haven't found anything that will get kids stains out like it. I am open to finding something better-less toxic, but until then that will do. We go through a lot of clothes, and with 3 boys taking a turn, they are wearing out. (Boys are super hard on jeans!!)

My favorite degreaser is 'Mean Green'. My Mom always used that stuff on my Dad and brother's clothes. They worked in the woods and on equipment, so would come home quite greasy and grimy a lot of days!! But I have found that I don't need to use it real often with my own Homemade Laundry Soap.

And did you know Hairspray works great at removing ink from fabric?? Try it!!! You'll be pleasantly surpised!!

If you have any good stain removers or tips to share, please post them in the comments. I'd love to learn more too!!

Motto for my Boys

"Is everyone having fun??

If not everyone is having fun,

then nobody is having fun!!"

I have this my motto for our boys, for our home.

I recently listened to this CD on Homeschooling,

My Favorite Homeschool Ideas, by Debi Pearl, from No Greater Joy. I was once again blessed by it. And I was thankful to have found the source of that motto. I listened to that CD years ago, and remembered the saying, but I couldn't remember where I had heard it.

I use it with my little boys all the time, when they are fighting, arguing, not sharing, tussling roughly, ect ect... and one is crying, I'll ask, "Are we having fun?? If  ____  is not having fun, then nobody is having fun!!!" I think one day they'll get it.:) And 'til then I'll keep saying it to them...

Time, do we have enough??

I have so many things I want to blog about... where do I start?? Which subject do I pick first?? What would people actually like to read about?? I read so many blogs, and think they all have a great way of writing, they have a way with words, they can make you feel like you are there-listening to what they are saying. And they know how to phrase things so you know exactly what they are trying to tell you.

Me??? I feel like I get my tongue wrapped around my eye tooth, and it all comes out twisted... Like yesterday-at Church I was sharing a testimony and it just didn't come out the way I had planned it in my mind. And somehow it's that way between my head and my fingers too. Oh, to be so eloquent as some other friends I have... but I need to remember to be Thankful for who I am. I am exactly as God made me!!

Anyway-back to all my ideas... I wanna share with you how I do my laundry, how we do school with a 4yr old, 2yr old and an 8mth old. I wanna show you tips and secrets that I do to make my days run smoother... I wanna show you my binder. (speaking of such- right now my hubby thinks it looks hideous-as it's a repurposed cookbook. So he would like me to make a cover for it. Which I do, by-the-way, think is a great idea. And I do kinda agree with him.) I wanna tell you little tips and tricks to saving money-ways to do things much cheaper then having to buy the 'real deal'. (Think cardboard boxes instead of those carpet play rugs.) I wanna share with you recipes that we love... things I do in the kitchen to save time.

But I know that all these things will just have to wait and take their turns... as I have only so many hours in a day. And those hours have to be carefully managed, or I soon have lots of time wasted. And I am all too good at wasting time.

And that one area is my time on the computer. I just love reading blogs and reading the ideas for different things in the home, work, shopping, organizing... ect, ect!!! And I hate when I find good ideas and then later can no longer remember where it was that I seen it. Like the idea for making a canvas bag to hang over the back of a kitchen chair to hold your childrens school books. If you know where it is, let me know.:) Thanks.

...Where was I?? Oh, yes, my time... see?!?!? I already got distracted... and need to be pulled back in the right direction. My time-how do I use it?? Do I spend my hours wisely?? Do I invest enough of my time in my children? Do set time aside each day to spend with my Lord?? Do I make sure my priorities are done first, then go do the pleasurable things??

All to often I fail in this... and it is one area I am commiting to change this year!!! And this blog is one of them, to help me stay focused, to give me a focus in my days. So that I have something to do with my time-channel it here to share with others what God is doing in my heart and life. And this is a big one that He is doing right now!!!

He's helping me learn to manage my Time!!! And I'm so glad He is so patient with me as I learn, and grow... it's hard for me to walk past my computer and not check up on what every one on Facebook is doing, or checking my email and maybe answering one or two notes, while my boys may have asked for something first, I end up putting them second or last... and that is VERY SAD!!! My family NEEDS to be first... they are the ones that count, they are the only things I will go with me to eternity. Why do I push them aside??

With God's help I will do better!!!

There that was my random rant for the day...:) And I feel better for it!!
Photo Credits-Flicker

Harmony in the Home

Did you know that , as a wife and mother, you set the mood in your home?? You know the old saying "If Mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy", it is so true!!! And so obviously the opposite is true as well!! If you are happy & cheerful all day, your homes atmosphere will be one of peace. If you don't get upset at your children, they are happier for it. They know Mom, isn't going to 'loose her top', just because 'I talked too loud', or 'accidentally spilled something', or seem to 'talk all the time', or do something else childish. And so the child is more relaxed and good natured. They don't fight and argue with their siblings so easily, and they aren't so whinny.

Why is it, that we as Mom's, think the world revolves around us?? It really does!! Much more then we even realize, and yet, we don't realize the full extent of the far reaching effects we have on our little worlds called HOME!! Many times, when my own day seems to be going all 'hay-wire', I trace it back to why I feel the way I do. And many times it's because I went to bed too late, thus either got up tired, or overslept. And you know how that makes you feel-snappish!! Short tempered!! Short fused… and generally out of sorts. And you know who it gets taken out on??? The ones closest to you-Your Hubby and Kids!! So you snap at them, soon they are snapping at you and the rest of the day takes a downward spiral. Unless you get a handle on it, by changing your own attitude, then those around you can change theirs too.

How often does your husband come home to a tense home?? Many times I can 'hold myself together', til my hubby walks in the door and then I lose it. Especially if the boys have been buggy all day, not having enough to do, or whatever the case maybe. Actually many times, it's when I am trying to make supper and they are hungry, so are in the kitchen 'trying to help me', whinny, ect. So 'til my man walks in the door, I am ready to turn them all over to him and go have some 'alone time'. And it is amazing how fast my attitude will have an effect on my hubby. I expect him to 'help me' out, when all he wants is to sit down and rest at the end of a long day on his own feet. If I'm being silent (my form of letting him know all's not well with me. And not right I know-I'm working on that one!!), he soon is snappy at the kids too. And it's not really even the kids fault!!! After all-it was Mom who went to bed late and got up late.

Do you treat your husband with respect?? Did you know that respect is something husbands-men, in general desire more then even love?? And we, as wives-women, desire love. A good book to read is 'Love and Respect' by Dr. Emmerson Eggerich. Do you do your daily household chores with a glad and thankful heart for all he does for you?? Does he know you appreciate all he does for you and your children?? Do you tell him?? You can be thankful for a man, who comes home to you each evening. And if you want him to continue that, then make your home a place he wants to come home to every night!! Do you have a meal ready for him?? His clothes washed?? His favorite chair ready for him, with the paper beside it?? Do you have your home tidied up, the basics of toys and messes cleaned up?? I'm not talking about having everything in a "Companies Coming" state, but just a neat and orderly look to it. It looks much more Welcoming to walk in the door to a neat abode. (Just think of the times you walk into homes that pretty much look trashed.) You can make it a project to do with the children 15 min. before Dad comes home, to do a quick pick-up of toys, ect. Doing that will also teach and show your children you love and respect him, thus instilling the same principle in them!!

Take this article for example-while it was claimed to be in a 1950's textbook-that has not been proven.

Have dinner ready. Plan ahead, even the night before, to have a delicious meal ready on time for his return. This is a way of letting him know that you have be thinking about him and are concerned about his needs. Most men are hungry when they get home and the prospect of a good meal is part of the warm welcome needed.

Prepare yourself. Take 15 minutes to rest so you'll be refreshed when he arrives. Touch up your make-up, put a ribbon in your hair and be fresh-looking. He has just been with a lot of work-weary people.

Be a little gay and a little more interesting for him. His boring day may need a lift and one of your duties is to provide it.

Clear away the clutter. Make one last trip through the main part of the house just before your husband arrives. Run a dust cloth over the tables.

During the cooler months of the year you should prepare and light a fire for him to unwind by. Your husband will feel he has reached a haven of rest and order, and it will give you a lift too. After all, catering to his comfort will provide you with immense personal satisfaction.

Minimize all noise. At the time of his arrival, eliminate all noise of the washer, dryer or vacuum. Encourage the children to be quiet.

Be happy to see him.

Greet him with a warm smile and show sincerity in your desire to please him.

Listen to him. You may have a dozen important things to tell him, but the moment of his arrival is not the time. Let him talk first - remember, his topics of conversation are more important than yours.

Don't greet him with complaints and problems.

Don't complain if he's late for dinner or even if he stays out all night. Count this as minor compared to what he might have gone through at work.

Make him comfortable. Have him lean back in a comfortable chair or lie him down in the bedroom. Have a cool or warm drink ready for him.

Arrange his pillow and offer to take off his shoes. Speak in a low, soothing and pleasant voice.

Don't ask him questions about his actions or question his judgment or integrity. Remember, he is the master of the house and as such will always exercise his will with fairness and truthfulness. You have no right to question him.

A good wife always knows her place.
Some of these things may seem a bit wild and far out... but God has called us to be Keepers At Home!! And just so you know, I don't practice all these things for my husband. But I do try to be sensitive to his needs when he firsts come in, which is kinda hard, with living on a farm he is in and out of the house all day. We are to be Proverbs 31 women/wives. I am still working on so many of these areas of life!! I am not perfect by any sense of the word!! But by God's grace I am learning and growing.

For more resources read "Created To Be His Helpmeet" by Debi Pearl and "Fascinating Womanhood" by Helen Andelin.