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~

Happy First Day of Spring!

I really cannot believe that one quarter of our year has passed already.  It has been a blur to me because all of it I have spent unhealthy and the sickest I have ever been in my life. God is revealing himself to me more and more through my journey though but it has been the second hardest time in my life. I pray for healing as well as a thriving life for the next three quarters of this year.

I am happy to welcome spring and all the beauty that spring brings!  All the color after the winter is so welcoming.

Up and coming posts for this week and next week:

• My curriculum review of Mystery of History, Volume 1 from Creation to Resurrection by Linda Lacour Hobar  

• My summary of 60 days on the GAPS diet.

~Blessings~

Tidbits

How about some little tidbits of information to catch you up on our lives?

*School will be done for us in a couple of weeks!  Yay!  We are all excited for Summer Break.

*We had a wonderful Easter spent with my family complete with and Easter egg hunt and a wonderful lunch together.

*A couple of weekends ago I got the privilege of going on a Women's Retreat with our church.  We went to our local resort mountain town and had a blessed time. 

The lake was like glass one of the mornings I was there.

*The "creating" I posted about here is almost done!  It is coming along nicely and I would have been done sooner but I decided to add some finishing touches that are taking a bit longer.

*We recently had a death in our family.  Corbin's frog "Lake" died.  He was very upset.  I can tell he is growing up because a couple years ago when the other frog we had died it didn't phase him a bit.  This time he was so sad. We had a burial for him in our garden bed.  Now that portion of the garden will be called "Lake's Garden."

*We have gone fishing twice now.  There is a pond a block away from our house and a fishing trailer comes every couple of weeks to teach the kids how to cast and catch fish.  It is so much fun!  I took the boys yesterday to the pond and we tried hard to catch something.  They were catching 6lb. trout out of this pond! I really tried to recruit some of the male gender to come along because I REALLY didn't want to have to touch and poke a slimy old worm.  No luck though!  Steve had to work but did really want to be there.

This gentleman was there teaching casting to the kids.  There were also men there to bait the hooks (only the first time though we had to do it the other times!)

I combed Corbin's hair.  I promise!  The wind was just blowing.

The nice man gave me eggs for bait because he knew I didn't want to touch worm guts.  Under this cup of eggs is a marshmallow cup and a worm cup eewwww!

We are so blessed!

*A LOT of these (see below) have been popping up around our house lately. We have been getting rid of them quickly!  This is the season that the wasps decide to build their nests.  What an education for Corbin.  We are reading this series of books and they talk a lot about bees and wasps and their intricacies and instincts God gave them. A couple of weeks ago I checked this movie out of our Co-Op's library and it has fit perfectly into the spring season with bees and wasps all around.  I highly recommend this movie series (by Moody Institute) and the above book series. He has gotten to keep some of the nests in his "nature collection" box.

*Speaking of school, last week we had our last co-op day.  In the evening we had a presentation night that was a lot of fun.  We got to see performances from singing to taekwondo.  All the students projects were laid out on tables and it was a blessed time.  I am grateful to have been a part of this co-op this year.  Corbin had a blast and I got meet some wonderful mothers with like minds.

He made a Native Americans Lapbook in his history class.

Corbin did a Lego Club with public speaking class too.  He said he was nervous the first time speaking but got used to it after a while. He did some other classes too but I didn't have pictures of P.E. (with kickboxing) or Armor of God class.

*Time to plant our seedlings next week!  No more sign of frost and now my counter will no longer be the greenhouse.  Yay!

*I am going to do a 10 day cleanse coming up in a week and a half.  Hoping to improve my symptoms of Hashimotos Disease and Hypothyroidism.  I am not looking forward to it very much but excited to feel better.

*Cody just wanted to say hello!

~Blessings~

Root Vue

I have to tell you about a really neat gift Corbin received for Christmas from my parents in 2011. It is called Root Vue.  I am always partial to gifts that are educational as well as gifts that make you think (like wooden blocks and legos and such.)  So many toys these days just go unused after one day because the toy does everything for you. Plastic boringness (is that even a word?)  Anyway, that is another post for another day...

Root Vue is fantastic in that it is educational, hands on and lasts for a long time.  It can also be reused for other kids as they get older.  It is a complete kit with a planter that has a "root viewing" window, dirt, seeds, plant markers and water wicks.  Basically all you do is follow the directions on how to put it together which is very simple and then wait for the plants to grow.  My 6 year old put it together with supervision (I didn't want dirt all over my house) and then we set it in the window for it to get sunlight and grow.

This toy even won "Best Toy Award."

I love that they included radishes as one of the seed packets.  This is perfect for kids because radishes are one of the fastest growing veggies.  The kiddos don't have to wait to long to see results.

(Sorry, another day of no combing hair!)

After Corbin assembled the Styrofoam planter he added the dirt and began planting the seeds.

He labeled the plant markers so we didn't forget what we planted where.

After planting we waited literally only a couple of days to start seeing roots. It was fun because we saw roots before we saw plants. So far (as I type this post) the radish roots are the deepest. The onions sprouted second and the carrots last. I can't wait until we see the actual veggies in the viewing window. Corbin checks it everyday and has been fascinated with their progress.

This little clear window also has a slide in cover that you use when your not viewing the roots. That way the roots can have the darkness they need to grow.

This picture was taken about a week and a half after we planted.

You can see the radishes are all over the place and you can see their roots in the soil. To the right a little onion has sprouted too! Corbin announces their progress to us every morning.

As a homeschooler I really like this toy too. You could do a mini unit on gardening and roots. You could even weave the Bible into it by talking about how we need to be "firmly planted" using verses like these: Colossians 2:7, Jeremiah 17:8 or Psalm 1:3. Research these veggies specifically and the characteristics that God gave them in order to grow properly, etc. How about carrot coloring sheets or labeling the parts of a radish? The possibilities are endless.

I highly recommend this "toy." There is no sponsorship here or I don't get anything from the company for posting this, I just like the toy and wanted to share it with you. Happy Spring!

~Blessings~

Spring Gardening

Gardening season has begun here. It has been so much fun.  I have a lot to learn and love learning though! I love that beautiful fruits, veggies, plants and flowers come from such tiny little seeds and that they can actually sustain a life.  The days here have been on and off rainy (which I love) and the sunny days are bright blue and breezy with skies dotted with fluffy white clouds.  I enjoy the days we get out as a family and take care of our yard and get our garden ready. The bugs on the other hand take some getting used to!

Here are some of the flowers that have popped up here:

Tulips (for real this time I have been informed that the other ones I posted about here were crocuses NOT tulips.  Like I said, I have a lot to learn.)

Won't attempt to name these but they are pretty

Daffodils too!  We have the white ones with yellow as well.  Love these delicate beauties.

We bought a Red Fuji Apple Tree and an Elberta Peach tree to plant in our yard.  I cannot wait until we have fruit from these trees.  Yummy!

Here is Steve digging the hole for the peach tree

Cody is playing with the tape measure - he loves those!

Here we are after the tree is planted.  Our neighbor friend Rebecca joined us.  She loves to play with the boys.

This is our garden area and back patio.  You can see our kitty Max enjoys getting outside too (in the patio picture.)

Our grass is SO green now.  This was taken a few weeks back.  Our peach tree even has a lot of flowers on it now!

Since it is still early spring and we still have a chance of frost (it still gets in the thirties here at night) we have to start some of our seedlings inside.  I have planted Roma Tomatoes, Sweet Peppers, Jalapenos, Catnip and Thyme inside.  They are growing and it is so exciting to see.

This is such an exciting time and what an awesome opportunity to teach the boys about God's creation.  We plan to give Corbin a small section of garden he can plant himself and he will be helping plant and tend to our family garden through the season as part of school.  Cody also loves to plant the seeds, water and dig.  He was a great help when we planted our seedlings.  Praise God for his wonderful creation for us to enjoy!

Stay tuned, in a couple of days I am going to be posting about a gift Corbin got for Christmas called "Root Vue"  It also has to do with gardening and is another great way to teach him about how things grow and how to take care of them.

~Blessings~

Signs of Spring

There are signs of spring popping up all over. I love spring.  All the colors and beautiful butterflies fluttering by make me remember what and awesome Creator I serve.

Where we lived before we had what felt like a perpetual summer. Mostly warm weather and a winter that felt like fall in most places. I know there were subtle signs of spring like the wildflowers that would pop up in droves dotted along the freeways but it was very different than here.. 

Here we have a real winter where the leaves actually fall of the trees.  Most plants, bushes and animals go into hibernation and we don't see them for a good three months.  It is wonderful after that time to start to see signs of color!

Like this...

and this....

It was such a special surprise to learn that the previous owners of our house planted tulip bulbs in the planter in our front yard.  Tulips and Gerber Daisies are my favorite flowers!  We never knew this because we moved here in the fall and visited in the summer so the tulips weren't around.  I was giddy when I saw them springing up a week ago.

We also have chives (that were previously planted) in our garden sprouting and turning green again!  Yummy.  We are getting ready to start working on our garden so seeing the greenery makes it all the more enticing.

Our roses are even starting to bud...

Spring is such a precious time of year with new life appearing everywhere.  It is one of my favorite seasons!  I feel blessed to live in a place where each season has its distinct characteristics.

~Blessings~