Ten on Tuesday (early)

It certainly has been longer than I would like since I have posted here. There are some great new things in the works regarding Feasting On Joy and I have been occupied in that lately as well as 50 other things. We also are in the thick of finishing up school for the school year as well as co-op so that always comes with a lot of parts and pieces to balance in my life.

I thought I would catch you up on a few fun things happening around here.

1~~ The recent daylight savings time change totally threw me off! It usually doesn't but this year it was an "off" week. It does help that we homeschool and can be flexible and adjust though.  But that was a week that I felt like would never end.  Now I am loving the lighter later evenings and the feeling of Spring in the air.

2~~ Speaking of Spring, normally my counters would be totally covered with seedlings of all sorts that would just be popping out of the soil by now.  This year there are no seedlings adorning my counters. Steve and I have decided to let our soil (and me) rest for a year.  We plan on deeply amending the soil this year and last year started a trash can compost outside too.  It usually took me around 30 hours a week to tend the garden and that is not counting the "putting up" time. I love it but really want to open up time to be able to do a lot more outdoor things this summer here with the boys. We will probably still have a tomato plant or two (instead of 9) and we have our apples and peaches along with the never ending weeding. I will also probably plant some more expensive organic produce like collard greens and chard to save some money. It is weird to look out at our planters and see them quite bare!

3~~ After winter (which I love) it is always nice to see the signs of Spring. I love when the Daffodils start blooming! They are one of my favorite flowers. My Aunt reminded me the other day of a little poem my Grandma used to say whenever she saw a Daffodil. It made me love them even more because I absolutely adore my Grandma. The poem was. "A little cup, a little frill and now you have a daffodil!"  So cute. I love my Grandma and I love Daffodils. 

4~~ We have come to love a certain song in our house! Actually we hear it on Pandora every once in a while and thankfully the lyrics don't really come in that clear because some of them are a little out of our conservative arena for 8 year old and 4 olds. The boys have never seen the video either. However, there is something about the beat to this song that literally makes us want to start dancing around the house and be silly. It has totally helped break up the seriousness in our house. We could be eating dinner or doing chores but the minute we hear this, we convene in the living room and start dancing all around! It is a regular dance party. I love it! So, I bet you are wondering what the song is?  It is "I Like to Move it, Move it." from Madagascar. My boys have never even seen the movie but we love the song! Click here for the song. (Disclaimer, I have never let my boys watch this video and really don't think the video is appropriate so if you have littles around and you are pretty conservative don't watch. For adults it is pretty funny though.)

5~~ Our conversations around the table can get pretty funny especially with an 8 year old and a 4 year old. Lately the topic has come up multiple times of wishing we lived in a Candy land and then a Protein Land. Actually, Cody clarifies each time that we need protein land first! You know protein/fat helps sugars digest more evenly and deters blood sugar spikes! Cracks me up. They go on to describe what will be in each land. Bacon, of course, would be in protein land! Candy land gets more descriptive. Waterfalls of chocolate (organic of course with no GMO's Cody adds) and rivers of honey. We are all craving protein and candy after the conversation which happens multiple times a month at meal times!

6~~ On the topic of Bacon we have been loving a snack called Porkitos lately. Actually this is made from Prosciutto that is baked and it is oh SO good! Michelle of Nom Nom Paleo coined the phrase and created the snack.  I buy Prosciutto at Costco and decided to try Michelle's version of it one day. Now, we like to eat it her way better than not baked.  It is good for putting on top of salads or eggs. Even to jut eat plain is wonderful. Try it! It also has that crunch that sometimes Paleo eaters crave.

(picture from Nom Nom Paleo)

7~~ This month I will be Gluten Free for three years! Wow. I can remember like yesterday how I viewed it as my death sentence in 2011 when I was told I had to eat GF. I have several posts detailing my journey of going Gluten Free if you search Gluten Free Journey in the labels on the side. Funny, I never knew that being Gluten Free was actually not hard at all. Looking back at the way I used to be able to eat was a piece of cake in comparison to the way I eat now. I look back though and realize that even though the things I was eating were Gluten free they were mostly NOT healthy. Just because it is GF doesn't mean it is healthy. I repeat just because it is labeled Gluten Free does not mean it is healthy for you to eat. Gluten Free food items (even prepared at home from scratch) have A LOT of starch and refined sugar in them and can have very little nutritive value. Eating as much refined sugar and starch as I used to contributed to my demise (Intestinal Permeability) in 2013. I am SO thankful for what I have learned since that journey started in March of 2011. I will never go back to eating Gluten Free ONLY. I love eating GMO free, grain free, legume free, refined sugar free, & dairy free (and a lot of other things "free.") It does my body good and has helped my boys with rashes, allergies and more! It has even helped my husband eliminate blood pressure issues, his overall wellness and he is down to the weight he was in high school! He doesn't always eat grain free either. My boys can have dairy though and we buy raw milk for them which they tolerate very well. Anyway, even though GF was simpler in terms of being able to have more convenience foods, I love Paleo because the food is nutrient dense (almond flour and coconut flours verses white rice flours for baking and lots and lots of veggies along with small portions of "clean" lean meats...) and easier to cook. It is just the prep that takes more time. What a journey it has been. I have been Paleo for over a year now and my health (due to autoimmunity) has done a 180 in terms of improvement. I highly recommend a grain free Paleo diet (or even Autoimmune Paleo) for those with autoimmunity. I am thankful for my doctor back in 2011 who was the ONLY doctor out of several who even told me that Gluten could affect those with Hashimoto's Thyroiditis. It put me on the path to the realization that food, and everything we put in our mouths and on our skin, affects our health either positively or negatively. All God's Providence. PS: If you want to see what I can eat (which is a ton) check out my Pinterest Board.

8~~ Co-op is coming to and end! We have three more weeks left (after Spring Break). Time flew. It seems like we were just at Christmas break. Corbin has loved taking Chess, Creative Thinking, and Creative Writing with some amazing teachers. Cody has loved taking story hour, PE and Games, Eric Carle, and Christ Centered Character also with some amazing teachers. I absolutely love our co-op and am amazed at the sacrifice our moms make each week to teach our children. It is such a blessing and I have made some sweet friends in the process. God is good!

9~~ Steve and I started using doTERRA Essential oils in December for us individually. We have loved them so much and have seen some wonderful results in us personally as well as in our children from implementing these oils into our lives. I call them my "icing on the cake." We only got minor colds once or twice this year due to our lifestyle overhaul and using doTERRA EO's! Yay! It is so cool to us to be able to use something natural that God gave us (that were even used in Bible times) to help our bodies with their ailments. We have learned so much in the past few months and we are actually teaching classes together now to share our experience with others. We teach and help get our clients on the path to using doTERRA essential oils in their everyday lives. We love that we can literally replace our entire medicine cabinet as well as cleaners with Essential oils! Stay tuned to this blog because eventually I will be posting recipes for cleaners and home remedies. I will also have some giveaways of homemade cleaning solutions using doTERRA EO's. It is going to be fun!

10~~ One of the things that is so much on my mind and I pray about all the time lately is walking in God's will. There are so many things we can do in life. So many directions we can take. So many traps we can fall in. I know my Lord has ultimate discernment and protection over me and has my best interests and that of my family at heart. I trust in His unending sovereignty. He is amazing. I pray for protection from the snares because, as a human, it is so easy to not see one of Satan's traps. One of the best allegories and illustrations of the conniving, sneaky, deceit of the devil is played out in the book Pilgrims Progress. I like the audio version of this for road trips. They even have a kids version that my son has read over and over. It is a captivating story of the main character, Christian, who is on his life journey to heaven's gate while trying to stay on God's path. It was written by John Bunyan who was in prison at the time of the writing! I highly recommend it. 

I pray Proverbs 16:9 in my heart daily. 

Proverbs 16:9
A man’s heart plans his way, But the Lord directs his steps.

If we direct our steps we are really walking on the sinking sand. 

Temporal is the word that comes to mind. If we are in God's will and walking his path we can be safe in his arms and under his protection. That's what I want. With all these new things happening in our lives I do pray that, as I plan my ways (and heed the Lord's instruction and open doors), that God truly does direct us on this journey and that we trust in him for in and for everything.

Ten on Tuesday

Guess what?  This post isn't going to be about GAPS or my health (for the most part!) I know, some of you are very sad about that but I also know some of you are relieved.

Let's catch up on the other areas of my life, shall we?

1. ) We have been enjoying our summer already.  We've been out of school for about four weeks and have loved our break.  We have played around the house, done some spring cleaning, done some crafts, watched movies, planted our garden (that was a HUGE one), done some good ole' sleeping in and more.

2.) Speaking of our garden let me see if I can tell you what we planted this year (all organic too). Acorn squash, zucchini squash, yellow squash, peaches (which we lost all of due to a late frost), sugar pumpkins, cantaloupe, spaghetti squash, cherry tomatoes, Roma tomatoes, beefsteak tomatoes, garlic, strawberries, broccoli, kale, butter lettuce, romaine lettuce, mixed lettuce, cauliflower, sweet peppers, jalapenos, cucumbers, beets, sweet potatoes (going in soon), Fuji apples, blackberries, raspberries, sage, thyme, rosemary, lavender, marigolds (to protect a lot of the garden), chocolate mint, lemon mint, spearmint, chamomile, dill, cilantro, morning glories, and oregano. Whew! It took some weeks of prep and time but it is all well worth it. I thank God that I am physically able to do the gardening.  Two months ago, it would not have happened. I couldn't have handled it.

3.) We went to the zoo here for the first time.  The boys and I had a ton of fun enjoying the animals and the sunshine.

4.) Max, our cat, has been getting into mischief.  We let him out everyday but recently he started to dig up some of my plants!  He has been quarantined to the house now.  The picture below is of him covered in spider webs after snoozing under our shed. Gross!

5.) Cody and his brother have had fun playing super heroes and dressing up.  This is the latest superhero - "Underwear Man." Oh boy.

6.) Here he is being silly with decorative tape for crafts I got at the dollar bin at Target.  It is his mask.  He wasn't too happy when he pulled it off and it was stuck in his hair.  Oops.

7.) I have to confess. I think I have a new addiction.  Well actually I don't have any addictions to be honest BUT this could become one: thrift store shopping and going to garage sales.  Oh my goodness they are so much fun!  Steve and I had some kid free time the other day after a doctors appointment and we stopped by one of our local thrift stores.  We had a blast.  HE even loved it.  I think it is so cool to be able to get books for .65 or a plant container for $1.  My latest find was this trampoline for the boys at a garage sale.  It is almost brand new and they are like $50-60 bucks in the stores.  We got such a good price and the boys have had so much fun on it. I also found the perfect school room table and chairs and plan to refinish it. That will be another post but I can't wait to show you the before and after.  Like the Duggars say "Buy used and save the difference." It truly is a great philosophy.

8.) We have been getting our raw milk and eggs from a local farmer who has been wonderful to us.  We get a great price and go every week to the farm.  The milk has the cream on top and I always skim that off to use in coffee or some kind of creamy dish. It is also good whipped up to put on fresh fruit.  The latest thing we did with it though was make butter. I can't believe I haven't done this before.  It is seriously SO easy. I couldn't taste it but the boys rave about it. I also think it was a great experience for my boys to learn that this is how it is actually made.  We also had leftover buttermilk for gluten free buttermilk pancakes. Yummers!

9.) This is what my morning juice from my juicer looks like. I had to share because I think it is so pretty. It looks like the sunset.  Carrots, celery, beets, kale, parsley and dill.  A few other things sometimes too but that is generally my "coffee" in the morning.

10.) My brother came to town for a week and it was such a blessing to see him.  It had been way too long (3 years) since I last saw him.  I did miss my sister-in-law a bunch though.  She wasn't able to make it and I was looking forward to catching up with her.  I hope to be able to see them again toward the end of the year. We showed my brother around and had great weather.  It was nice for him to be able to see my extended family too and our grandma who is 92 in assisted living. I can't wait to see them again and I pray it is this year.

Have a great week!

~Blessings~

Ten on Tuesday

1. Holy week was so much more poignant for me this year.  It always matters and means something to me and I find that each year I grow in my adulthood Holy week takes on new meanings and speaks to me in different ways.  This year God has been working on me so much through my health trial and suffering that I felt in a SMALL way I could relate to a teeny tiny amount of suffering Jesus went through.  Oswald Chambers once said, "You can't be crucified IN Christ if you haven't walked that path to Calvary." This hit home to me this year.  I feel like in a small way I have walked maybe a couple feet of that path to Calvary through my health trial and suffering the past 7 years (but especially the last year.)

2. We did our usual traditions of Resurrection Eggs along with reading Benjamin's Box The Story of the Resurrection Eggs. We did our Triumphal Entry reenactment, He's Alive Buns and dying Easter eggs along with our Maundy Thursday foot washing ceremony and Good Friday church Service. This year we also started something new. We made a poster all about Holy week.  There were eight squares on the poster and each day resembled something Jesus went through during the week: Palm Sunday, The Cleansing of the Temple, The questioning of Jesus, The anointing of Jesus, Maundy Thursday/Last Supper, The crucifixion/Good Friday, The Tomb and the Resurrection. We read the bible passage each day that pertained and then the boys had to draw something from the scripture on the poster to remember the day.  It was fun at the end of the week to have a memory poster of Jesus' last week - Holy week and see the kid's artwork.. I got the idea from this book: Christ In Easter: a Family Celebration

We had brown eggs this year to dye and they came out jewel colored!  They were my favorite eggs yet.

3. On Easter day we had a first!  In the evening, after our late Easter lunch and annual egg hunt we went out (after dessert too) and had a second dessert.  We roasted marshmallows around my Dad's fire pit.  It was a beautiful sunset and such a nice time.  I felt blessed I got to see the sun rise that day and the sunset that day!  I was bushed the next day though!

4. I made this Pavlova for Easter dessert again this year.  Let me tell you - IT WAS TORTURE NOT BEING ABLE TO EAT IT! Yes, I am screaming that.  Holidays are THE hardest being on these crazy diets.  If I was on the Full GAPS Diet it would be different but I am not.  Being around all the Easter food that day was extremely hard.  I wont lie! I did deal with quite a bit of discouragement throughout the day in regards to food.

Seriously decadent!  Soft yet crunchy pillowy meringue crust filled will lemon curd whipped cream and topped with strawberries.  OH MY GOODNESS! Yum.

5. Thanks to a good friend, I found a source for raw milk. You know the kind that is not ultra-pasteurized and homogenized?  The kind that has good enzymes and building blocks of life still alive in it.  I prayed for a while to find a farmer to supply us with this at a good price.  God answered my prayers.  We now pick up our milk organic, raw milk every Thursday from our farmer friend.  It is so cool too because he is going to supply us with farm fresh organic eggs AND grass fed beef with the fat and bones all for an excellent price.  I am SO thankful!  He is the nicest guy too.  He even said that he would hatch us chickens if we want to start having our own.  Maybe in the near future! I am also looking into beekeeping.  We can't have that here at our house but we can at my parents.  Honey is getting expensive due to the bee shortage.

6. I made raw milk sour cream and raw milk yogurt with some of the milk we got.  I am still trying to perfect it so when I do I will be posting about it.  It did turn out good and the boys loved the fruit sweetened one I made with strawberries and pineapple for them. They have it sometimes in the morning for breakfast.

6. Our annual Homeschool Encouragement night - Curriculum night is coming up and I am so excited. I am a curriculum junkie.  It is so much fun to see them in person and get excited about what I am going to use in the fall for school. 

7. I have been conflicted lately.  There are seriously so many books I want to read.  I keep checking them out from the library and forming stacks all over the place for me to read and I end up playing a tug of war with scrapbooking, computer stuff (like blogging), and reading.  I want to make more time to read though and it WILL happen. I did just read this book about Oswald Chambers though and it was enlightening.  Did you know that he never actually wrote a book?  All of his books were done by his wife after his untimely death at a young age (in his 40's.)  She compiled a lot of his writings and sold them as books. Thanks to her, we have My Utmost for His Highest and many other of his writings compiled to read and learn more about Christ.  His faith was amazing.

8. Friends have told me numerous times that they have tried to comment on my blog and had a problem.  I am curious as to how many people have this problem so if you read this post would you mind commenting on the post in the comments section below so I can try and figure out what the problem is?  Also if you could tell me if your comment came from a mobile device or a home computer it would help.  Thanks!

9. I am itching to update my blog. An entire re-design, probably not on blogger either.  My own actual website.  The problem is finding the time to do it.  I know right now it can't happen because of everything going on but maybe over the summer?  I will be praying about when and wait on the Lord's timing to see if that is something I should be spending my time on.

10. God has answered my prayers in finding some support in regards to my health walk.  I have had to navigate this entire 7 years almost alone.  What I mean by that is that I knew no one who had the same convictions of treating naturally and was going through similar health issues to go through this along side me.  I have certainly had A LOT of support in getting me through (thankfully) but no one that can wholeheartedly relate on the thyroid struggles, diet struggles, emotional struggles, financial struggles, doctor struggles and more.  God answered my prayers and  gave me some friends interested in doing the GAPS diet and dealing with several of the same issues.  We met for the first time last Saturday and I am so excited to have a our little mini support group. It is, and already has been, such a blessing. 

11. (Bonus) Today we were doing a project for History  and we had to paint Clay Pots like they did in ancient Greece.  We went to the store and bought pots and I had paint.  The boys and I got started and I told Cody sit in his chair correctly otherwise you will knock your pot off and break it.  Well what do you think happened?  Yup!  You're right, he broke it when he was almost done.  Oh, the crocodile tears.  I felt so bad for him.  For his disobedience he got the natural consequence - no pot.  Then shortly after Corbin was almost done with his and he got it too close to the edge of the table and dropped and broke his TOO!  AGGGHHH!  Tears everywhere.  Corbin was so sweet though, he said I will buy Cody another pot and himself one too if I would take them.  So sure enough we went back to the store and got more.  They redid them.  The first ones were better because they took more time but at least they got to have something to show for their time and I think they did a good job. What an ordeal.  I had fun painting mine though and didn't break it! :-) Aren't you proud of me?  We are going to plant some herbs in these outside after I clear coat them.

I hope you have a wonderful week and look forward seeing your comments (or not- if it doesn't work) to see if I have blog comment problems.

~Blessings~

Ten on Tuesday

1.) 11 or 12 more weeks of school left! I can't believe it.

2.) Speaking of school I have loved all of our curriculum this year.  It has been so smooth and I cannot wait to post reviews.  I used all new curriculum and usually there is a learning curve/frustration phase but I didn't experience that this year.  Yay!  I am so glad because the health part of life would not have allowed me to go through a learning curve.

3.) I used to say "ignorance is bliss" not because I really wanted to be ignorant but because the more I learn (especially about food, toxins, our bodies, etc.) the more I wish I didn't know. It is so much easier to just go to the store and buy what I see or get the shampoo that smells good.  But really "knowledge is power."  Because I know the things I do and have learned so much over the past few years I think finally I may be able to get better and allow my children to have a life free (hopefully) from autoimmune diseases and filling up their "bowls" to a toxic level.

4.) I am so thankful for the internet.  Sure it can be a bad thing but the stories I have read and the healing I have heard about does my body good.

5.) I can't believe it but I only have 9 more days and I have finished my 6 month ALCAT elimination diet.  I will post a write up/summary on February 13 on that.  The good, the bad and the ugly!

6.) I started introducing raw milk into our diets. I made raw milk yogurt and raw milk greek yogurt out of it with my new yogurt maker. I can't believe how easy it was.  I think homemade yogurt is going to be a staple in our house.  Yummy.  I can only have about 1-2 tsp. a day right now to heal my intestines.

7.) Steve calls the raw milk "lactolax."  Bet you can't guess why!  Those enzymes (that aren't present in pasteurized milk) certainly work for him.

8.) Did you know that if you start taking probiotics and you have IBS, stomach problems, or yeast issues that you have to start with a very small dosage?  The reason is that when you introduce the good bacteria into your body/intestines they start killing off the bad bacteria which produces a "die-off" effect.  If you introduce too much too fast you an have extreme "die-off" that can cause itchiness, fatigue, headaches, nausea, achiness and lot more.

9.) My husband is healing well from his C5/6 spinal fusion in his neck. It has been almost four weeks.  His nerve pain in his shoulder is gone.  He still has a good amount of pain in his rib near his sternum where they harvested the bone for the fusion.  I guess when they "scoop" out the bone they put pretty intense pressure on the sternum and potentially separate a rib (slightly) from the sternum.  Unfortunately that happened to Steve and it takes a long time to heal.  He is sleeping in the recliner for comfort.  Poor guy!  It is so painful.

10.) Psalm 23 has been in my mind frequently lately.  It comforts me. I pray for the Lord to come back soon and gather us all up to His paradise.  I can't wait!

Psalm 23
The Lord is my shepherd;
I shall not want.
He makes me to lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside the still waters.
He restores my soul;
He leads me in the paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil;
For You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You anoint my head with oil;
My cup runs over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
All the days of my life;
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord
Forever.

~Blessings~

Ten on Tuesday

1 ** I was making Gluten Free Banana Bread for my family last night, not me I can't have bananas until next year as they are on my severe intolerance list for ALCAT, and I got an egg with two yolks!  We have a neighbor with chickens who has been graciously sharing and the two yolker was one of them! Cool huh? The recipe I was using was from my Blackbird Bakery Gluten Free cookbook that I got at one of my favorite stores - Anthropologie.

2 ** Speaking of ALCAT, by the end of the week I will be on my 75th day of this wonderful (insert sarcastic roll of the eyes) elimination diet. I am more than half way through the first phase.  I have 20 days to go until I can start reintroducing my moderate intolerance foods!  That is a big milestone for me because this has been one of the toughest things I have ever done. I have until next March until I can start reintroducing my severe intolerance foods.

3 ** I purchased a new Bone China Tea set with inlaid real gold at Teavana.  I had some gifts cards and I love that store.  Their teas taste SO good and are all made from REAL fruit with no natural or artificial flavors.  They also tell you what teas are good for certain ailments like allergies, digestion, colds, etc.  There are even several teas that my kids love there.

4 **  I have been teaching preschool in our homeschool co-op since September.  It has been such a blessing.  To be able to see the Lord answer my prayers each and every Monday in giving me enough energy to serve and to get to know each of my 11 preschoolers.  They say the funniest things.  Cody even calls me "teacher."  I love to see their little personalities shine through in the projects that they do each week.  I can tell who the rule followers are, the rebels are, the detail oriented students and the free flowing. I just love them.

5 ** Organizing makes me feel so good.  In fact, I have to be careful not to make it an idol in my life.  It is easy for me to want everything to be just perfect when in reality it never will be.  That being said though I spent a whole day the other weekend going through Cody's room and some of Corbin's. When we first moved in I just kind of put stuff in places.  No rhyme or reason (well there was a system - sort of.)  Now though, everything has it's place, it mostly stays neat and tidy and Cody is able to find all of his things.  I also made a few bucks selling some stuff at the local consignment store.  SHHHH! Don't tell the boys.

6 ** Have you ever refilled inks for your printer?  Well I did recently. I was so excited because I was saving about $70-80 not having to buy new ink cartridges.  Bummer thing is that my printer gets errors now all the time because the code on the old cartridge is read by my printer saying it is low.  It keeps saying it is installed incorrectly and all kinds of stuff.  I am not sure my saving the money was worth all the hassle it has created.  The verdict is still out.

7 ** I have lost about 22 pounds in the last two months thanks to my wonderful (insert sarcastic roll of the eyes) ALCAT diet. I never thought I would complain about something like this because I could have always lost maybe a few pounds (about 10.)  Well now most of my wardrobe doesn't fit me and I am nearing the 100 lb mark.  NOT good!  I refuse to buy more clothes.  Maybe I will just have to be the saggy baggy elephant for a while until (hopefully) I gain my weight back or at least some of it. If I start feeling better maybe I can gain some muscle too with some exercise.

8 ** We have been doing our usual fall traditions around here: corn maze, pumpkin patch, hay rides, and apple picking (since we only ended up with ONE apple on our tree this year thanks to coddling moths.) It has been lots of fun.  Of course, I really enjoy the REAL fall weather where we can actually bundle up too.

Poor Cody had to be the "girl" in the photo op above.  Good thing he didn't know. Steve caught a frog while were apple picking.  I may be weird but I have always loved frogs.  I think they are so cool.

9 ** I got to do some canning over the weekend.  I made Apple Wedges with Cinnamon Red Hot syrup.  I can't have apples until next year but Corbin said they were yummy.  I can't wait to taste them.  Next up for canning this week: Curried Apple Chutney and Crock Pot apple butter.

10 ** I have been going through a fiery trial on patience lately.  Patience with my kids, my health, test results, solutions to test results, healing for my body, preparing food.  You name it - usually patience is written all over it. It is tough and I fail miserably most times.  I know I will continue to be tested until I pass and that is the hard part.  I can not do it on my own.  I can only do it through Christ who strengthens me.  His Strength is made perfect in my weakness.

11 *Bonus ** The thing I hear most often lately is "You look tired."  It is true I do look tired. My body is a mess but on the road to healing and recovery.  I really don't mind hearing it because it is true but I look forward to the day that I have that healthy glow again and look refreshed.  Lord willing.

~Blessings~



Ten on Tuesday

Haven't done one of these in a while.  Usually when I think of doing a "Ten on Tuesday" post it is Friday or some other day!

1.  I have been up to my neck in lesson planning.  Planning is something I really enjoy and thankfully God has gifted me with organizational skills.

2. I signed up to teach a Before Five a Row class to preschoolers next year at our co-op as well as being the "Preschool Coordinator."  Cody will be in preschool so I get to be his teacher too! It will be an adventure. I love Before Five in a Row curriculum.  I used it when Corbin was in preschool and kindergarten and it was so much fun!

3. I have gotten my curriculum picked out for Corbin for this year. Praise God for his guidance.  We are using Plants Grow Up for Bible (actually Bible is saturated throughout all of our curriculum but Steve is going to do this book with the boys), CQLA for language arts, Teaching Textbooks for math, Mystery of History for history, and Apologia Science (we are doing Astronomy using a junior notebook) for science.  Corbin will be taking Geography, Art and be in the choir at our Co-op and he will be taking Piano Lessons as well. I almost added Latin but decided to save that for next year. SO excited for the next school year.  This is the first year I am not doing a "Unit study" style curriculum with Corbin. In fact, every curriculum we are using is new.  There will be a learning curve!

4. I have been using a lot of almond flour lately to bake with. I also started roasting my own almonds an making my own almond butter.  My inspiration came from Elanas Pantry (and trying to stay away from "potato starch" which is in my gluten free flour blend.)  I made some really good Cherry Almond Muffins and want to try making Almond Banana bread next.

5. We have been enjoying our summer so far.  Lots of water activities have been going on - our pool, sprinklers, squirt guns, and the local water park!  The boys love the water.  Grilling has become one of our favorite ways to have dinner and cool treats like homemade ice cream is becoming a common dessert.

6. My cousin graduated from homeschool high school (actually in May) and we celebrated this last weekend.  It was such a blessed family time.  Good meal, awesome Godly encouragement (for him), and just amazing to see what a Godly young man he has turned into. What a treat to see his Dad hand him his diploma and hear all the words of wisdom!

7. We had an RV pad poured on the side of our house a couple weeks ago.  It has been something we planned to do since we moved in but it became fall and fall became winter so we had to wait until summer.  I love how it turned out. It is the perfect place for our toy hauler.  The boys also love riding their bikes on all the new concrete too!

8. We are going on our first family camp with our church in August.  I literally cannot wait!  This will be our one and only vacation this year since Steve does not get any vacation time until next year.  He just happened to have the days off for this trip.  Praise the Lord!  It will be the first time Cody has been camping.  The boys are going to have a blast.  We are blessed to be able to be surrounded by Godly families, having worship time and fun camping time in the mountains!

9. Steve and I went and saw Brave the other night for a date night.  Yea, sometimes we see "kids" movies because really (in our humble opinions) kids movies really aren't for kids these days.  The animation was great in the movie but I couldn't believe the storyline.  A rebellious little girl decided to get a witch to cast a spell on her mom because she didn't want to do what her mom wanted her to do.  She regrets her decision and then the witch gives her advice on how to change the spell.  Really??? KIDS movie? It was sad and there were VERY scary parts in it too.  Our Pastor had just spoken on demonic things the previous Sunday and how they are packaged in "pretty" little packages.  We must be aware and "flee" as believers.  This is not a children's movie.  I would not let my kids see it.  We usually check Plugged In Online before we rent or see a movie but we spaced out and didn't this time.  Never again!

10. I got some scrapbooking time last weekend!  Finally!  It has been so long. I started Cody's baby album.  I am thrilled to be getting his birth and first year of life documented.  Thankfully doing albums from events in the past is easy because I keep all my pictures organized in Creative Memories Memory Manager software.  I currently have almost 9000 photos organized in there. I can search by date, person, event, rating, etc.. I can also edit my pictures in it.  It has been such a lifesaver because during certain seasons of life I don't have time to scrapbook but I do have time to keep my photos organized so when I do scrap it is easy!

~Blessings~

Ten on Tuesday

1. Today I turned the gas burner on to start to boil a pot of water. I put the prepared pot on the wrong side of the stove and decided to put my arm over the burner to get it.  Duh!  I singed the hair on my arm off.  Oops!

2.  I just found out that our local swim club actually has a miniature golf course in it.  We played last week and it was so fun. It was Corbin's first time.  Even Cody got a turn using the "bat" as he called it.

3.  Do you remember the song: He who began a good work in me?  You know? He who began a good work in me, will be faithful to complete it.  He'll be faithful to complete it. He who started the work will be faithful to complete it in me.  I love it.  I have been singing it all day.

4.  I had to share with you pictures of Corbin's kindergarten graduation.  I know I posted a bit about this already but kindergarten pics are so cute!  We had a church graduation with our homeschool group. Because it was Pre-K through 11th they did not do cap's and gowns for all (except the 12th graders who graduated the next day.)  We borrowed our cap and gown from a good friend and I was able to get some good photos - the sentimental kind!

Outside of the church before the graduation

Corbin getting a rose for me after receiving his certificate for graduation

5. I just started an awesome bible study on Trusting God tonight.  Perfect timing for me, that is for sure.

6. Summer sure has been a blessing.  I am blessed that I am able to sleep until around 8 or 9 am each day!  I love my sleep.

7.  I hate family drama. (I know - random - but I had to say it.)

 8.  I hate greed. Luke 12:15 Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.”

9.  I have been thanking God that he has put some really good Christian friends and mentors in my life.  I can't imagine going through life without a person to call on for prayer or encouragement. Thank you Jesus!

10.  I took a Gluten free cooking class last weekend and it was so much fun!  I made bread and tasted muffins and pancakes.  The bread part was awesome because as you know the last time I made Gluten free bread it didn't turn out so well.  This time is was exceptional.  I can't wait for more GF cooking classes. I received some yummy recipes and learned a lot.

Ten on Tuesday

1. I have been enjoying some days in the past week where I feel like I am above water, taking a breathe of fresh air.  I praise God for this and cherish these days.  I don't take them for granted.

2. I have been enjoying attending the symphony with Corbin on some field trips with our homeschool group.  The first one we went to was a mixture of symphonies from various composers and then second one was all about Beethoven.  It was nice because we learned all about his life as well as got to listen to his amazing music.  The next one we are going to is all about Vivaldi.  We get to have Steve with us for this one.  He loves classical music.

3. I have used my brand new dutch oven twice in the past week. My first dish was not as glamorous as I has hoped it to be. I made refried beans, not Creamy Shrimp Risotto.  The Risotto is still going to happen.  I have the arborio rice to make it but my store was out of shrimp!  Wha?
Here are the beans.  Haven't you always wanted to see a picture of the refried beans I made?

I like to have homemade refried (really not refried) beans in the fridge and freezer.  We use them in a lot of things.

4. I made millet for my kids and I for breakfast yesterday for the first time.  I really was not a huge fan.  I don't know if I cooked it wrong or if I cooked it right but the texture was kind of odd.  I would rather have couscous, oatmeal, or cream of wheat in the morning.

5. I am starting to think about next school year (in the fall) and what curriculum(s) we are going to use. It is exciting to me but a bit overwhelming.

6. I thought it would be fun to look up pictures that I took on this day last year and this is one that brought me so much joy when I saw it

7. This month I will celebrate my five year anniversary as a consultant with Creative Memories.  This business has brought me such joy.  I have met many ladies that have become like family to me.  I have gotten to travel and go on amazing retreats with good friends and have completed over 40 albums. I am so glad that 15 years ago I started scrapbooking with CM.  It has been such a blessing.

8. I have found a really cool app for our new iPad. (Steve won an iPad from his work raffle for Christmas.)  The app is called Brain Pop.  It is an app that has a new, short 2-3 minute, educational movie everyday.  I really like it because it is a short way to get a lot of information.  Some of them are appropriate for Corbin to watch and he loves them.  They even have a quiz at the end.  Corbin loves that part.  He likes to be graded.  We have learned about Mars, Saturn, the space program, Mozart, digital animation, and many more.

9. I have only been into a Chick-fil-A a couple of times in my life but last time I went I noticed they were playing Christian music.  I was thrilled about this. Corbin also got a comic book in his kids meal that had a lesson in character in it.  This is a place I will definitely go back to.  I feel it is very important to support companies that have the same values I have.  At the same time I feel it important to stay away from companies that don't support the things I believe in.

10.  These verses were encouraging to me today:

Psalm 56:3-4 When I am afraid, I will trust in you.  In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can mortal man do to me?

Ten on Tuesday

1. I have thought all day today was Wednesday and it is actually Tuesday.  I am so excited about this because that means more time to spend with my extended family.  Yay!

2.  With all the goodies lying around it has been very hard to resist temptation and not indulge.  I do have self control but am having to REALLY exercise it now.

3. My husbands birthday is coming up in a couple of days and then we get to bring in the new year.  Wow 2010 was a blur to me.  I am so glad that I take pictures and scrapbook because it helps me to remember the good times.

4.  It has been fun playing some of my sons new games he got for Christmas - Chomp, Hiss, and Creationary.

5. I am so excited, I got this fun Cake Pops book for Christmas.  I can't wait to make cake pops for a birthday or special event.

6.  I have been patiently waiting for my husband to set up his iPad.  He has had it since last Thursday and STILL has not set it up.  It is torture to me.  If it was mine I would have at the first opportunity.  Oh rats on patience!

7.  It was nice to know that some people actually look forward to receiving our Christmas card each year and were disappointed to find out that we did not send one.  It is nice to know that people care. I was sad to not be able to send one out either.

8.  Cody now has four teeth and is getting the cutest little smile.  If I say "Show me your teeth." he stretches his mouth really big and shows me. 

9.  We have been around our family's dog named Rosie for a few days and Cody walks around the house calling her "Rooooyyeeee."  It is so adorable.

10.  I am hoping and praying for a peaceful 2011.  One that I can look back on with fond memories.

Ten on Tuesday

1. We are starting school next Tuesday.  My big boy is going to be in Kindergarten!  I need prayer in having Cody AND teaching Corbin at the same time.  I know God will work it out.  So many people do it. It is all just so new to me.

2. I could watch Food Network all the time.  It makes me hungry though.  I just finished watching The Next Food Network Star Series and my favorite person won.  Aarti!  I can't wait for her show. I liked Tom and Herb too and I hear Tom got a show as well.

3. Cody is getting quite the tude'  When he doesn't get something he wants his body shakes violently and he does this growl thing.  It is such a crack up.

4. Corbin said to me today after I told him to play cars with Cody, "But Mom, Cody is not capable of playing cars the way I want to play them."  Huh? Seriously is he five years old or 15?

5. We have Garden Club this week.  We get to go plant and harvest fruits and veggies with Grandmas and Grandpas at an assisted living facility.  I have learned a ton about gardening there and we always come home with some wonderful organic produce.  It also gets Corbin and I out of our comfort zone and it is a blessing to be around the elderly.

6. My headaches are getting more and more frequent and I am getting tired of them.  I really have nothing to complain about though in comparison to my poor husband suffering from an 8mm disc bulge in his spine. He is soon to have relief through surgery.

7. On that note - finding a Neurosurgeon AND getting an appointment is the pits.  I never thought it would be this difficult.  I have to continue to trust in God's perfect timing.

8.  I am itching to scrapbook again.  I plan to make a time very soon to get some more of my own personal albums done.  Creative Memories has come out with some beautiful new Power Palettes and tools that I have and can't wait to use. I love getting new stuff from CM, it is like Christmas!

9. My favorite season of the year is fast approaching!  Fall.  I love fall colors, warm sweaters, cool crisp air and fall food. I can't wait.

10. I have been gifted "Goliath" - not the banana, the big green thing! I just put the banana there for scale.  That my friends is the biggest zucchini I have ever seen. It was grown by my wonderful Aunt and Uncle.  Hmmm.. what shall I do with him?  Cheesy Zucchini Casserole or maybe a quiche.  You can't go wrong with Fried Zucchini either.  Maybe this will make all of the above?  We will soon find out.

Ten on Tuesday

1. I really like popcorn flavored Jelly Belly's
2. I love the smell of onions sauteing
3. I really need a getaway, even if it is just a mini weekend vacation
4. I have missed posting on my blog, I hope to post more often
5. I just installed a new software called Cook'n on my computer (hope to be able to spend time on it)
6. I got to see my 91 year old Grandpa and my uncle today
7. I have been enjoying daily quiet time with the Lord each day lately
8. Crochety neighbors make me sad
9. Cody has been sleeping 4 hour segments the past few nights -  YAY!
10. I ate at Souplantation tonight and feel like a roly poly! It was so good though, this month is lemon month.