The other day I went to the local health food grocery store. I picked up four pounds of brown rice, because it was on sale, a jar of cocounut oil, a bottle of olive oil, a box of sea salt, a bag of whole wheat pastry flour, a jar of local honey and a box of stevia. At Walmart yesterday I bought two boxes of whole wheat spaghetti, two boxes of whole wheat lasagna noodles, and two boxes of whole wheat rotini noodles. I picked up a few bags of beans and two more boxes of brown rice. I also picked up some Florida Cane Juice sugar crystals. We cant afford organice meat right now, but I figure every change counts. I picked up a some ground beef and three bags of chicken breasts, I also picked up about 5 pounds of turkey sausage and 5 pounds of ground turkey. There was other stuff too, but this was the bulk of my purchase.
Last night we had brown rice, yellow squash, and zuchinni. I cooked the squash and zuchinni in some olive oil and garlic. I mixed it all together and put some mozzerella cheese on top of each bowl. The kids were not impressed because they dont like squash and zuchinni, but I loved it! Hubby thought it was ok, but he likes meat so when I serve dishes like this he eats them, but I darn skippy sure better have some meat for the next meal! :) Actually he is not that bad because he knows he needs a meatless dish every now and then, just not too often!
Tonight the kids and I will be having spaghetti, what they dont know is Im going to sneak some zuchinni into the sauce I also plan on shredding some carrots and putting them in the sauce as well. Hubby has a dinner meeting tonight so he wont be home. Too bad because I plan on putting meat in the spaghetti sauce! LOL.
Im loving our whole foods co-op. I got about 12 pounds of squash and zuchinni from them right before Thanksgiving and we are just now finishing it up. We have another order coming in next week. We also just finished up the raw milk. We did decide that while hubby and I are drinking the raw milk we will switch the kids to organic milk. It just seems the right thing to do the more we read about milk. I noticed a little girl the other day almost the same age as my oldest daughter and she was developing RAPIDLY. Now, I know some of this is just the way she is made, but come on where do we think the growth hormones they inject in cows go???? I will just feel better about it.
Ok I need to go our break is up and I have to get busy with some schooling we have missed this week.
Thursday, November 30, 2006
Wednesday, November 29, 2006
Ridiculous
My children have not had their names changed on their social security cards. We finally got corrected birth certificates and hubby decided since he was home today he would head down to the office and get names changed. It should not be this hard. We have an adoption decree and birth certificates. Of course now they need another form of identification that has the full name and birthday of the child. What other form of identification do they think we have? This is ridiculous!
Saturday, November 25, 2006
My baby...
If you want to see some cute pics of my littlest one hop over to A House Full of Kids. This is a blog I try to post pics on for family and friends. As you can see I updated it like annually. :) Im trying to do better though...really!
Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. We sure did!
Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. We sure did!
Saturday, November 18, 2006
Im in tears....
This was so funny! I got it off of the MIH site. Dont know who wrote it or were it came from, but man is this funny...
To All Our Family and Friends.
Just a note to let you know we are hoping to see you Thanksgiving Day
But.... Martha Stewart will not be dining with us this Thanksgiving.
I'm telling you in advance, so don't act surprised. Since Ms. Stewart
won't be coming, I've made a few small changes: Our sidewalk will not be
lined with homemade, paper bag luminaries. After a trial run, it was decided
that no matter how cleverly done, rows of flaming lunch sacks do not have
the desired welcoming effect.
Once inside, our guests will note that the entry hall is not decorate
with the swags of Indian corn and fall foliage I had planned to make.
Instead, I've gotten the kids involved in the decorating by having them track in
colorful autumn leaves from the front yard. The mud was their idea.
The dining table will not be covered with expensive linens, fancy
china,or crystal goblets. If possible, we will use dishes that match and
everyone will get a fork. Since this IS Thanksgiving, we will refrain from using
the plastic Peter Rabbit plate and the Santa napkins from last Christmas.
Our centerpiece will not be the tower of fresh fruit and flowers that I
promised. Instead we will be displaying a hedgehog-like decoration
hand-crafted from the finest construction paper. The artist assures me
it is a turkey.
We will be dining fashionably late. The children will entertain you
while you wait. I'm sure they will be happy to share every choice comment I
have made regarding Thanksgiving, pilgrims and the turkey hotline. Please
remember that most of these comments were made at 5:00 a.m. upon
discovering that the turkey was still hard enough to cut diamonds.
As accompaniment to the children's recital, I will play a recording of
tribal drumming. If the children should mention that I don't own a
recording of tribal drumming, or that tribal drumming sounds suspiciously like a
frozen turkey in a clothes dryer, ignore them. They are lying.
We toyed with the idea of ringing a dainty silver bell to announce the
start of our feast. In the end, we chose to keep our traditional method.
We've also decided against a formal seating arrangement. When the smoke alarm
sounds, please gather around the table and sit where you like. In the
spirit of harmony, we will ask the children to sit at a separate table. In a
separate room. Next door.
Now, I know you have all seen pictures of one person carving a turkey
in front of a crowd of appreciative onlookers. This will not be happening
at our dinner. For safety reasons, the turkey will be carved in a private
ceremony. I stress "private" meaning: Do not, under any circumstances,
enter the kitchen to laugh at me. Do not send small, unsuspecting children to
check on my progress. I have an electric knife. The turkey is unarmed.
It stands to reason that I will eventually win. When I do, we will eat.
I would like to take this opportunity to remind my young diners that
"passing the rolls" is not a football play. Nor is it a request to bean
your sister in the head with warm tasty bread.
Oh, and one reminder for the adults: For the duration of the meal, and
especially while in the presence of young diners, we will refer to the
giblet gravy by its lesser-known name: Cheese Sauce. If a young diner
questions you regarding the origins or type of Cheese Sauce, plead
ignorance. Cheese Sauce stains everything.
Before I forget, there is one last change. Instead of offering a choice
between 12 different scrumptious desserts, we will be serving the
traditional pumpkin pie, garnished with whipped cream and small
fingerprints. You will still have a choice; take it or leave it.
I hope you aren't too disappointed that Martha Stewart will not be
dining with us this Thanksgiving and... She probably won't come next year
either
To All Our Family and Friends.
Just a note to let you know we are hoping to see you Thanksgiving Day
But.... Martha Stewart will not be dining with us this Thanksgiving.
I'm telling you in advance, so don't act surprised. Since Ms. Stewart
won't be coming, I've made a few small changes: Our sidewalk will not be
lined with homemade, paper bag luminaries. After a trial run, it was decided
that no matter how cleverly done, rows of flaming lunch sacks do not have
the desired welcoming effect.
Once inside, our guests will note that the entry hall is not decorate
with the swags of Indian corn and fall foliage I had planned to make.
Instead, I've gotten the kids involved in the decorating by having them track in
colorful autumn leaves from the front yard. The mud was their idea.
The dining table will not be covered with expensive linens, fancy
china,or crystal goblets. If possible, we will use dishes that match and
everyone will get a fork. Since this IS Thanksgiving, we will refrain from using
the plastic Peter Rabbit plate and the Santa napkins from last Christmas.
Our centerpiece will not be the tower of fresh fruit and flowers that I
promised. Instead we will be displaying a hedgehog-like decoration
hand-crafted from the finest construction paper. The artist assures me
it is a turkey.
We will be dining fashionably late. The children will entertain you
while you wait. I'm sure they will be happy to share every choice comment I
have made regarding Thanksgiving, pilgrims and the turkey hotline. Please
remember that most of these comments were made at 5:00 a.m. upon
discovering that the turkey was still hard enough to cut diamonds.
As accompaniment to the children's recital, I will play a recording of
tribal drumming. If the children should mention that I don't own a
recording of tribal drumming, or that tribal drumming sounds suspiciously like a
frozen turkey in a clothes dryer, ignore them. They are lying.
We toyed with the idea of ringing a dainty silver bell to announce the
start of our feast. In the end, we chose to keep our traditional method.
We've also decided against a formal seating arrangement. When the smoke alarm
sounds, please gather around the table and sit where you like. In the
spirit of harmony, we will ask the children to sit at a separate table. In a
separate room. Next door.
Now, I know you have all seen pictures of one person carving a turkey
in front of a crowd of appreciative onlookers. This will not be happening
at our dinner. For safety reasons, the turkey will be carved in a private
ceremony. I stress "private" meaning: Do not, under any circumstances,
enter the kitchen to laugh at me. Do not send small, unsuspecting children to
check on my progress. I have an electric knife. The turkey is unarmed.
It stands to reason that I will eventually win. When I do, we will eat.
I would like to take this opportunity to remind my young diners that
"passing the rolls" is not a football play. Nor is it a request to bean
your sister in the head with warm tasty bread.
Oh, and one reminder for the adults: For the duration of the meal, and
especially while in the presence of young diners, we will refer to the
giblet gravy by its lesser-known name: Cheese Sauce. If a young diner
questions you regarding the origins or type of Cheese Sauce, plead
ignorance. Cheese Sauce stains everything.
Before I forget, there is one last change. Instead of offering a choice
between 12 different scrumptious desserts, we will be serving the
traditional pumpkin pie, garnished with whipped cream and small
fingerprints. You will still have a choice; take it or leave it.
I hope you aren't too disappointed that Martha Stewart will not be
dining with us this Thanksgiving and... She probably won't come next year
either
Thursday, November 16, 2006
A zero tolerance policy
Today I was on the way to meet some friends when I started thinking about sin. God hates sin...shouldn't we hate sin? Its a thin line because we need to be reaching out to sinners and loving on them and showing them Jesus, but on the other hand I think we need to make sure our own hearts have a zero tolerance policy on sin. I am teaching my children truths from the Bible that will one day have them labeled as freaks and bigots. The way our country is going it might even be illegal for them to call sin sin. Wouldn't that be sick? I have to tell you when these thoughts entered my head I was passing by a building that is utilized by a religious group that God despises. I know He despises them because they are blasphemors and liars and murderers. They use HIS name thinking that He wants them to take over the world. Yet He also wants these people to come to know Him personally as the TRUE God. He is not willing that any should perish... but a lot of them will. There will be people in hell who thought they were serving the TRUE God. Mainly because they never sought the TRUE God. OR no one ever shared with them the TRUE God. I have been trying to make it a point to smile and talk to people who "offend" me. People who I in NO WAY agree with. People who are trying to corrupt the world my babies are growing up in. I am a very literal person. I see EVERYTHING in black and white, Im right, your wrong vision. Im trying to overcome that. I refuse to look at sin as anything other than a disease and YES for those of you who will come on here to call me a hypocrite I am disease riddled! :) I sin..everyday. I need to see the sin in my life as a disease as well. One I want to fight aggressivly to be rid of. A cancer even. I will call sin, sin. I will stand for what is right. I will teach my children to HATE sin. I will reach out to people I dont agree with. I will share Jesus with strangers. I will love my GOD with ALL my heart, soul and mind.
At lot of this is just ramblings, but it is heavy on my heart and I wanted to share.
At lot of this is just ramblings, but it is heavy on my heart and I wanted to share.
Sunday, November 12, 2006
Babies in church
Its getting harder and harder to take the baby into church with us.
1. He loves to hear himself. He is at that age where he babbles constantly and sometimes screeches.
2. We are meeting in a home going through a video series which is not like being in an auditorium and there are not a whole lot of places to creep off to when he gets very whiny.
3. Although everyone is super duper supportive of our decision to keep our children with us, it is against the norm in our group. I always feel as if people are irritated with us for not sending ours upstairs with the others.
Dont get me wrong. Hubby and I agree that we will not be sending our children away during church. We just dont agree with it and find nothing in the Bible to support it.
So my dilema is: Is there any way to keep baby relatively quiet during church? We have come along way training him to sit fairly still. Im wondering if there is a way to train for quietness? He is 10 months old. Im impressed with how much he has learned already. I would have never thought you could teach a baby to behave as well as he does. Thank God for the mentors he has given us.
So any ideas would be appreciated.
1. He loves to hear himself. He is at that age where he babbles constantly and sometimes screeches.
2. We are meeting in a home going through a video series which is not like being in an auditorium and there are not a whole lot of places to creep off to when he gets very whiny.
3. Although everyone is super duper supportive of our decision to keep our children with us, it is against the norm in our group. I always feel as if people are irritated with us for not sending ours upstairs with the others.
Dont get me wrong. Hubby and I agree that we will not be sending our children away during church. We just dont agree with it and find nothing in the Bible to support it.
So my dilema is: Is there any way to keep baby relatively quiet during church? We have come along way training him to sit fairly still. Im wondering if there is a way to train for quietness? He is 10 months old. Im impressed with how much he has learned already. I would have never thought you could teach a baby to behave as well as he does. Thank God for the mentors he has given us.
So any ideas would be appreciated.
Wednesday, November 8, 2006
Ponderings about children...
So here is something I have been thinking about lately. As I have stated before I am a follower of the Well Trained Mind method of education. In this method basically you have three stages of life.
Elementary which is the grammer stage. In this stage you memorize the facts.
Middle which is the Logic stage. Here you begin asking, "why and how?" You begin learning, "why and how?"
Highschool which is the Rhetoric stage. Here you learn how to express the "How and the why."
Im thinking this is the way it is throughout childhood.
For instance from birth to about 10 we are teaching our children about God and the Bible. We are filling their heads with "facts" from the Bible. "We do this this way because the Bible tells us so." We are constantly repeating Bible stories to them. We give them the basics of God and the Bible. We tell them about faith and try to model it for them.
At about 10 to about 14 we begin to explain more to them. More of the whys of the Bible. They begin to understand more and question more. We go in depth on what the Bible says about things and why God says things He says. We really start to discuss and study the Bible with them. We help them to have faith and to deepen their faith.
At about 14-adulthood we teach them how to answer for their belief. We teach them to always have an answer for why they believe what they believe and how to express their belief. We teach them to believe in their faith. To know God. To believe God.
Im often accused of sheltering my children. You have to let them grow up and learn. I believe that, but I also believe they are too young to answer for their faith. I think we should teach them what their faith is first. Teach them how to reason through the scriptures so that they can form their faith through God's word. Should my 6 year old who tells God how much she loves Him and believes He can do anything be called into question on the playground when someone steals her soul? Should my 9 year old, a new believer be expected to share why she believes aborition and homosexuality are wrong? Should she not at this age be ok knowing they are wrong because the Bible says so? Should my five year old who when she prays blesses every room and object in our home be asked about demons and spiritual warfare? No! Right now they should know these things exist. They should know that we believe what the Bible says about everything. They should know we are pretty literal when we read the Bible. They need to be hiding God's word in their hearts right now so that as they get older they can learn how to use God's word. The Bible is our sword in this battle. Before a soldier is sent off to war with a gun he is given training in how to use that gun. Before we send out children off to battle in this spiritual warfare we must teach them how to use the Bible and prayer! We are raising soldiers for the Lord's army, but we must train them.
Be Blessed!
Elementary which is the grammer stage. In this stage you memorize the facts.
Middle which is the Logic stage. Here you begin asking, "why and how?" You begin learning, "why and how?"
Highschool which is the Rhetoric stage. Here you learn how to express the "How and the why."
Im thinking this is the way it is throughout childhood.
For instance from birth to about 10 we are teaching our children about God and the Bible. We are filling their heads with "facts" from the Bible. "We do this this way because the Bible tells us so." We are constantly repeating Bible stories to them. We give them the basics of God and the Bible. We tell them about faith and try to model it for them.
At about 10 to about 14 we begin to explain more to them. More of the whys of the Bible. They begin to understand more and question more. We go in depth on what the Bible says about things and why God says things He says. We really start to discuss and study the Bible with them. We help them to have faith and to deepen their faith.
At about 14-adulthood we teach them how to answer for their belief. We teach them to always have an answer for why they believe what they believe and how to express their belief. We teach them to believe in their faith. To know God. To believe God.
Im often accused of sheltering my children. You have to let them grow up and learn. I believe that, but I also believe they are too young to answer for their faith. I think we should teach them what their faith is first. Teach them how to reason through the scriptures so that they can form their faith through God's word. Should my 6 year old who tells God how much she loves Him and believes He can do anything be called into question on the playground when someone steals her soul? Should my 9 year old, a new believer be expected to share why she believes aborition and homosexuality are wrong? Should she not at this age be ok knowing they are wrong because the Bible says so? Should my five year old who when she prays blesses every room and object in our home be asked about demons and spiritual warfare? No! Right now they should know these things exist. They should know that we believe what the Bible says about everything. They should know we are pretty literal when we read the Bible. They need to be hiding God's word in their hearts right now so that as they get older they can learn how to use God's word. The Bible is our sword in this battle. Before a soldier is sent off to war with a gun he is given training in how to use that gun. Before we send out children off to battle in this spiritual warfare we must teach them how to use the Bible and prayer! We are raising soldiers for the Lord's army, but we must train them.
Be Blessed!
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