Kosher Jello!!!!

The photo and recipe are from my friend Audrey.

Kosher Jello:

Obviously start with kosher (probably beef) gelatin!

2 T gelatin
2 C of your favorite, no-sugar added organic juice

In a saucepan, heat 1 C of juice not quite to boiling. When it is steaming good, add 1 T of gelatin and stir with a whisk very briskly until the gelatin is dissolved. Pour this into another bowl and add the remaining 1 C of juice and 1 T of gelatin. Stir briskly until dissolved. From here you can transfer to a jello mold or something else if you'd like. If there is foam, I usually skim it off the top. Refrigerate for at least 3-4 hours.

Enjoy!

I don't get it. :/

Along the same train of thought as my last entry, I just don't get why people don't get it. Seriously, the things that YHWH has shown me in His Word over the last few years seem so clear when you read some key verses that I have always skipped over my whole life because I didn't understand them (and everyone I knew also skipped over them), but now all of the pieces seem to fit, and the ENTIRE bible just makes sense. It is amazing and exciting every single day!!!!

So why doesn't everyone see what I see when I show them these same verses?

I am learning to accept that I cannot remove the veil of blindness, only the Ruach Hakodesh (Holy Spirit) can do that. And I have experienced that for myself, having learned some very important Truths without hearing the teachings of man until *after* the Ruach showed me these things.

But still, even though I KNOW that I am powerless to change others, I still just can't wrap my brain around it. I mean, it is right there in black and white, even in English it makes sense, in most versions. And there are many others (few in comparison, but still many) who have been shown the exact same things, yet most do not see it. I just don't get it. I do, but I don't.

One of my brothers replied to an email I had sent him this past week as a follow-up to our conversation back in June, discussing these Truths of Scripture. I didn't go into detail, partly because the email would have been a novel if I had, but also I wanted him to look these things up for himself. Well, his response was not even any words of his own, he just copy-pasted some articles about how the "law" is bondage and we are not supposed to be "under the law". Seriously?! I asked him if he even studied it for himself or if he just looked up these articles to support the false doctrines we've always been taught. He said (through the articles) that we are in a cult. Right. So, we are the ones reading the bible *for ourselves* and NOT following any one teacher or set of doctrines, but he is sitting and being spoon-fed by his pastor every week, and we're the ones who are in a cult? Hmmm......

I cried for a long while on that one. He just doesn't see it and isn't really trying, and I can't comprehend that.

Also this past week, I had a very lengthy "discussion" with a lady on FB. She accused me of all kinds of things (lovely Christian "love" going around), but ironically she is the one who was misinterpreting Scripture, not me. I used to believe as she did, but now I see the ENTIRE bible as one Truth! This is something I wrote on my status near the end of that several day discussion (on someone else's page).

YHWH's plan was never changed by Yeshua's life and death on earth. He didn't wake up one morning and say, "I'm sick and tired of my chosen people. I think I'll start a new religion and just let them do whatever the heck they want, that way I don't have to deal with this sin crap anymore." SMH

This was one of the Truths that the Ruach showed me. I asked myself, "If Jews and Christians serve the same God, then why do they worship Him in two completely different ways?" I sought out the answer and found the Truth, His Truth, and everything just started falling in place. No more confusing doctrines that contradict each other! Now I'm learning about things I never even thought about before, moving on to the real meat!

Even though some of these people (not all) really baffle me and even frustrate me at times, it is ironically teaching me how to love people more, regardless of their beliefs. The Ruach is showing me that He will reveal the Truth to some and not to others, so they just truly don't see it. I can't imagine that, but I know that it is true. I have no idea why He chose to reveal His Truths to little ol' imperfect ME, but I am so grateful and so humbled that He has.

So we will continue to learn new things every day (seriously, every day) and grow in our love and excitement to worship Him in Spirit and in Truth, and if others don't "get it", I will love them anyway and pray for them. I so wish that the Ruach would lift the veil from everyone's eyes, but the choice is His, and I don't have to understand it. I am learning to accept it. And someday when we go back to the Land (promised land), I will be ready to leave everyone behind. I'm getting the hurt out of the way now, so when the time comes for the 2nd / Greater Exodus, or before, if the Ruach has us leave before then, I will have no doubts that my family and friends are just still blinded, and there is absolutely nothing I can do. I just pray the veil is lifted from many more before that time comes.

It is feeling more and more like a wilderness all the time.

Just consider one thing......what if what YOU believe is wrong? Just what if? We have always been taught to accept what our leaders tell us, and not to question them. I have learned to question *everything*, and my life has been flipped upside down, for the better! Please open your eyes. Please wake up. Please seek the Truth of Scriptures, not from anyone else, but from the Ruach HaKodesh. He will lift the veil if you allow Him to.

James 1:5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. 6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.

I truly do love you all! <3

Lesson Learned!

Whether I have been right or wrong in the past, I can see now how I was so offensive to some people in previous years. These last couple of days I have dealt with a woman who is new to the Torah, so she still has a very Christian mindset. Though she seems to have a lot of things *right*, she is not open to correction and drives things into the ground, repeating things over and over and over as if I didn't hear her the first time. She feels the "need" to assure me that her intentions are pure, and that she is speaking in love. She has tried to help me understand that sometimes she can't NOT say anything.

Wow. Sounds just like me about two years ago! Oopsie! So glad I'm not like that anymore, though I am still growing (and always hope to be learning and growing more). Now that the shoe is on the other foot, I can see how it must have been so annoying!

So if you were one of those people who was annoyed by me, I am sorry! Please show me grace and forgiveness as I continue to grow. And for what it's worth, I've learned to just let people believe what they want to believe, 'cause they're going to anyway. ;) I am passionate about certain things, but you are welcome to disagree, and I won't try to change you!

Okay, so I admitted I have been annoying. You can stop laughing now.

It's a.......

No scrolling through, you have to read my post first! :)

I had an ultrasound today! I thought it was just going to be a quick one to check gender, but it ended up being maybe 20 minutes or so. It seemed like forever!

Measurements are exactly on the due date, weight is perfect (about 10 ounces), heartbeat was 154. Baby was moving a lot, holding legs together, just being modest and uncooperative. :)

I told Myles that I was going to cry either way, boy or girl, I just wanted to know! He didn't believe me, and just as he was responding, "Nah, you won't cry either way, unless you're already......" he looked at me and saw the tears in my eyes! I am so pathetic!

As the ultrasound proceeded, and she was getting measurements for a while, the longer we waited, the more I was REALLY wanting her to say it was a girl! We have one girl and four boys, so we just really NEEDED it to be a girl! But of course, I would be happy (and cry happy tears) either way!

She had a hard time seeing "down there", since the baby had its legs together most of the time, and the umbilical cord was also between the legs. Finally, just as I thought she was about to give up, she got one clear picture, and I must say, it wasn't obvious like my previous three! ;)

***STOP SCROLLING HERE UNTIL YOU READ IT ALL!***

Homemade Mayonnaise and Chicken Salad

I don't blog about food very often, because it is not my passion or something I am particularly *great* at, but this one needs its 15 minutes of fame.

I wanted to make this chicken salad with grapes, but it calls for mayonnaise, and the only kind I have has gelatin in it (and probably other ingredients we are no longer consuming). So I decided I would finally buckle down and make my own mayonnaise. I'd been threatening to do it for a few months now, and now I wish I had done it sooner. It was so easy and so delicious!

This is the basic recipe I used for the mayo, and below is exactly what I used. See the link for full recipe and to see how to ferment it and keep it longer!

1 cup coconut oil (I didn't have any other oil on hand, and I don't care for the taste of olive oil anyway.)
1 egg + 1 egg yolk
2 TBSP. kombucha (I didn't have any lemon juice or vinegar.)
1/2 tsp. salt (Himalayan or Real Salt is best!)

It turned out to be perfect!

Now this is the recipe I adapted for my chicken salad. I also added some roasted bell pepper (red) and some dried cranberries. With my homemade mayo, I just used the mayo and yogurt for the creamy part. And again, no lemons (or lemon juice) or vinegar, so I used kombucha. I have been wanting to make this for a while too, and it is everything I dreamed it would be!!! SO GOOD!!!

I also love that I was able to use, not only the homemade mayo, but organic, home grown, top quality ingredients. I am definitely going to make this more often!

Myles

This is my hubby when he was probably around 6 or 7. Ain't he cute? :) I think Jacob looks the most like him!

Josiah!

JOE! Oh my goodness, he's been a cute little guy, always making us laugh lately! A few months ago, he was still very clingy and whiny and SO SERIOUS, but he has reached a whole new stage now, and I am loving it! He is constantly doing something silly just to make us laugh, or something cute, like hugging and kissing on a doll. He loves Jayla's "babies"! He carries them around all over the place, loving on them, sharing them with others, until someone hands him something else he wants, like his bottle, then the doll gets thrown on the floor, of course. LOL! He is speaking really well, almost as clear as Jack, though Jack has a bigger vocabulary. Joe also likes to "play" the Wii (we let him think he's playing).

We are in the very beginning stages of potty training, and he is doing great (and of course, NOW I am wishing I'd done EC with him)! I let him run around in a t-shirt during the day, and he will sometimes sit on the potty by himself and pee! Then he stands up and claps. :) He is 20 months old now and such a busy little man, always walking or running to do the next activity. He is definitely not passive like my other children were at this age, he knows what he wants and he goes for it! He still bites occasionally, but he is outgrowing that, thankfully! He also hits sometimes, but most of the time it is done in a playful way and not being mean. We still don't allow him to do it, but his motive makes a difference!

With the next baby due in just a few months, I am so excited to see how Joe will react to him/her! I think he'll be a great big brother and love on the baby and probably want to carry baby around everywhere. Yikes!

Jonathan, my 12yo going on 20.

Where do I even start with this one?! Jonathan has done so much in the last couple of years and is really growing and maturing. I can't believe he is almost a teenager, but sometimes I think he already is one! He is definitely in that ornery teen stage, where everything has to be a joke....but in a good way. He's a good kid, he just sometimes has to be reminded that he is the kid and not the parent!

Jonathan just got elected by his fellow Boy Scouts to be the troop's Quartermaster, which is the person who takes care of the equipment, making sure it is all there and the condition it is in, etc. like whenever they go camping or someplace else. He was actually going to run for Patrol Leader but learned he wasn't ranked high enough to qualify. He was an Assistant Patrol Leader last year and really enjoyed it. I'm excited to see all that he is learing in Boy Scouts! Of course, he had to give a speech for the election, so he practiced with me and did great. It only had to be 2 minutes, so nothing major. What he WANTED to say was, "I'm Jonathan, and you should elect me because I'm awesome." Um, I didn't let him get away with that!

The troop already has several camping trips lined up and are already starting to save up and plan fund raisers for summer camp next year. I can't believe how expensive it can be, but they end up raising most of it so we don't have to pay much out of pocket. Jonathan always has a blast at all of the camps, but especially summer camp. This year they went to Tennessee, and aside from camp activities, they stayed in a hotel with a pool on the way and on the way back, stopped at a couple of different civil war reenactment places and stopped at the aquarium, which I was told was really incredible! I'm so glad he is learning so much and gaining all this experience, but I'm a little jealous that I don't get to go too! I am thankful that his daddy gets to go with him. He works so hard and deserves a break. The leaders in the Boy Scouts really don't have to do that much once all the planning and paying is done, so it was just as relaxing and fun for them as it was for the boys!

Jonathan is actually going to dance with the children at Sukkot this year! They do a big production every year, and the children (about 6-12 years old) always do a dance. I was shocked that he agreed! I was really pushing him, but ultimately I wouldn't have made him do it if he really didn't want to. He likes a girl who is also in it though, so I think that's why he agreed. LOL! He was acting embarrassed about dancing, but he is doing a great job so far!

Boy Scouts take up most of Jonathan's "spare" time, but if we could afford it and had the time, he would LOVE to be in soccer and/or basketball. He also still loves anything to do with animals and has been on a bird kick lately, reading everything he can about birds, but especially hawks. His favorite animals though are ferrets and cats. He wants to get some ferrets, cats and budgies (birds) when he builds his own "tiny house". That is another thing he is getting more serious about. He wants to earn his own money so he can buy a trailer and other supplies to build his own tiny house. He is getting more serious about it lately but hasn't really done much yet to follow through. He will soon though, as he has wanted his own room for so long. This will give him his own house that we will build (and park there for a while) right behind our house. We're looking into getting as many supplies for free as possible and already have a good start, but he wants to build it on a trailer, so we have to get that first!

And he is also saving for an iPod. I wonder which one will come first?!

My guy, Jacob!

If this guy just knew how CRAZY I am about him!!!!

Jacob will be 8 in November, and he is getting so big! He is just beginning his 2nd year in Cub Scouts and LOVES it. I think it makes him feel "big" and gives him a sense of responsibility. I love that the Scout motto, "Do your best", has really helped him at home too.

Jacob still loves to play with Legos, and he really takes it seriously. It is almost time for the county fair again, and he has made several different models that he wants to enter. He won first place last year, so he is aiming for it again! We'll have to look at the other categories too. He loves to build just about anything, so I'm sure he will want to enter as many categories as possible!

I can't convince Jacob to dance for Sukkot. He danced AT Sukkot last year with the large crowd of believers dancing during the worship time. He and Jonathan discovered that they really enjoy dancing (but don't like to admit it) during the children's dance classes. (Jayla was actually bored in that one!) But apparently he has forgotten how much fun it is, so I guess he won't be doing the children's dance in the production this year. Hopefully next year! He is definitely excited about Sukkot though, and getting to see his friends again from last year! He is such a social little guy and easily makes friends with literally anyone. He has a friend in the neighborhood who he enjoys hanging out with in his driveway (where I can see them), searching for rocks, shooting arrows, things like that.

Jacob is such a great brother. Even though he is "stuck" in the middle, he makes the best of any situation. I think he's got a great position, actually, because he can choose to play with younger OR older siblings, and he's got two of each! He is your typical middle child in many ways. I joke that he is "that 3rd child" because my husband and I are also the third out of four, and we all have very similar characteristics, some good and some not so good. :) Jacob sure can be ornery, but since I am too, that is one thing I kinda like about him. Example: at least three times this past week, when he first woke up, he came and turned his back to me and FARTED. Yep, that's my boy! LOL! I had taught him a couple of years ago how to fake burp, even though I can't do it myself. He's probably one of the best I've heard! Little stinker! He loves it too, he claims other people's farts just for a laugh! What a kid! Sometimes I'm not sure I really want to claim him, but I just love him too much. :)

Jayla

Our only daughter is such a helpful young lady. She is a very bright star in this dark world! My little girl isn't so little anymore. Well, she's still on the small side, but she is growing up and maturing so much!

She recently celebrated her 10th birthday at a nearby horse stable. They have a party barn that the public can rent, and she absolutely LOVES horses. So we invited anyone and everyone we could think of (I didn't realize she had so many friends!), and we had a great time.

Happenings in her life currently, or about to start as the school year starts, are dance class twice a week, American Heritage Girls (we just need one more committed leader and then we can charter!), 4-H Horse Club and she is learning the dance that the children will be performing at Sukkot!

She is extremely excited about this next baby and just KNOWS she is about to have a sister! I'm not sure when yet we will find out the gender (possibly this week!), but once we know, either way she and I have a BIG day of shopping planned!!! I might be more excited about that than she is!

I think the thing I love most about Jayla is her heart. She TRULY desires to follow YHWH and obey Him. She has to be reminded constantly to not boss her brothers around and the typical tween girl things like that, but over all, she is very sweet and loving and just wants to obey YHWH with everything she has. She is such a beautiful young lady, inside and out!

Jack-Jack is AMAZING!

Jack is just 5 years old and has "learning disabilities", for lack of a better term. I hate comparing him and try not to, but he is just not your typical 5yo boy. He has a genetic duplication that has caused delays, the most obvious being speech, so most everything has been a challenge for him.....well, if I were to push him to "keep up" with other kids his age, then it would be a challenge. I don't do that, I let him be himself.

The other day he wanted to draw. He has really been into drawing for about a year now, and I must say, he is pretty good at it! He amazes me with pictures of dinosaurs, choo-choo trains, airplanes, etc.....all the typical interests of a little boy.

He also likes to "draw" the letters of the alphabet! And I know for him it really is drawing, not writing, as with most kids his age. He doesn't draw numbers very often, but he likes them too.

So the other day, he wrote drew a "P" on the back of an envelope, then he asked me how to spell my name.

To my surprise, he drew every letter correctly! Then he asked how to spell Jonathan's name, and he did really well with that one too! So I got out a piece of paper (since he was really enjoying this) and had him draw the entire alphabet as I gave him one letter at a time. Then we did the numbers.

Mind you, he has had little to no formal training on how to write/draw, this is something he just enjoys and has picked up completely on his own. I guess he just has a knack for drawing!

You can see in the photo that I wrote some numbers on the side to help him know what they look like (mine are circled), and on the envelope, the "N" at the bottom left is also mine. Everything else is his. He started turning letters upside down in the 2nd half of the alphabet. I thought this was interesting since he ALWAYS "reads" books upside down. I don't know what that means though! I know his little brain just works differently, but is this a sign of a "problem" that can be corrected, or should it just be considered normal???  None of my other children have done this! I don't normally worry about it though, I just turn the book around for him and he happily continues to read. :)

So when he was drawing the alphabet the other day. I really tried not to interfere because I wanted to see how he drew them all on his own. I had to show him what a few of them looked like, but otherwise I didn't correct him when he drew one upside down or backwards. He did great! I'm proud of my little man! :)

Jack is about to start speech again this week, probably twice a week. We're hoping it helps, and I'm sure it will some, but we are also working more on sign language so that he can more easily communicate with us. He is getting frustrated when we can't understand him. His vocabulary is getting really big, but he still sounds like a 2-year-old. In fact, his 20-month-old brother sounds very much like him!

Jack-Jack is also about to start horse riding therapy! We are so excited about this, especially since they are only about a mile down the road from us! He still has weaker muscles than most kids his age and still often trips or falls. This therapy riding should strengthen his muscles and improve his balance, so I cannot wait to see how he likes it and how much it helps him!

This message is for my fellow brothers and sisters in the Messiah.

Don't ya love it when someone makes false accusations about you, then you try to defend yourself with TRUTH and present FACTS, and they turn it around and say you are not "acting biblically"? Gotta love people who throw "religious words" around to sound more spiritual. <rolling eyes>

Honestly, those kinds of people always annoyed me when I was in the church. It just seems forced and fake.

This same "friend" was giving me problems a couple of weeks ago. She deleted me as administrator of a group *without my knowledge* after telling me we would work things out. Long story short, I had to block her AND her emails because the false accusations continued, so I have no idea if she has emailed again or not. I guess it's all for the better.

I am so SICK of people playing the "holier than thou" card and throwing in some religious lingo to make it all sound perfectly "biblical". Like that justifies their actions?! This person was so incredibly rude to me and deeply hurt me on a very personal level, yet I am the one who is acting unbiblically. Wow.

Friends, if I ever try to play this game on you, SLAP ME. I am no better than any one of you, and I still have a lot to learn. If I ever make you feel like a horrible mother, child, friend, etc. shake me to the core. Tell me exactly what I have done in plain English. I know what the Scriptures say, so the Holy Spirit can and will convict me, just as many times in the past.

But at the same time, if you're going to accuse me of something, make sure you know all the facts and have witnesses, if necessary. That is one thing this person didn't have. She had no witnesses and was accusing me of something I knew NOTHING about. FAIL.

At first I was hopeful I would be able to reconcile this "friendship", but after seeing how haughty she truly is, I'm not so sure now. I am still hurt, but trying to keep it in perspective and realizing that SHE was not acting biblically really helps me to know that the things she said about me really hold no water. I know she was assuming things about me that were not true, but I still have no idea how it all even started. I have an idea though that there were some seeds planted through gossip, as one of her good friends doesn't like me (never has, no explanation). I don't think this person is an active part of gossiping, at least not intentionally (wow, still giving her credit after what she did to me!), but those seeds can still be planted when someone else just makes a comment here and there.

Control the tongue, people! And that includes in text form! Sometimes emails, blogs, facebook, etc. can be really bad for communicating such things, and I have been guilty of this myself. Sometimes it's just easier to type it out, but it can get really ugly, really fast. That was how this all started and ended, and the damage has been done. We both have a copy of what was said (not good on either part.....but especially not for her!), and we could not see facial expressions, body language, hear tone of voice, etc. I definitely think it could have been worked out if we had talked in person right away, I just had no idea she was harboring all these (wrong) ill feelings for me!

I guess, all this to say, be REAL and stop throwing around a verse here and there or some "religious lingo" just to make it sound like you are in the right and the other person is wrong. GROW UP. Truth be told, you're probably both in the wrong, but just concentrate on your own actions/words. Know the facts, have witnesses and STOP GOSSIPING.

What a horrible witness we are when we can't even get along with each other!

The end. I hope.

This Is How We Brew It!

Our family has not been sick at all in about a year. The only symptoms we've had are the youngest two boys having *slightly* runny noses, a couple of the kids had a very mild cough for a day or two......and that's all I can think of! Even through those mild symptoms though, no one has felt bad, but we have been able to continue all normal daily activities. We  have been very blessed!

Oh, I just remembered, there was a couple of days that Jack started coughing, not often, but hard. It seemed to be Pertussis coming back (he got it bad in the summer of '10), but our Naturopathic Doctor had us take a homeopathic remedy, and it was GONE in less than 24 hours. Seriously. I highly recommend her, even if you do not live close.....she can still help you!

Right after Joe was born (he is 17 months old now), we were all sick for two months straight, and then off and on still for a while. I think there are many factors as to why we have been healthier; we moved to the country, we are eating better (more whole, organic, raw, higher fat and protein), we are following Scriptural guidelines for eating "clean".

We also us Young Living essential oils and brew our own probiotic drinks. YHWH's ways are MUCH better than our own! HalleluYAH!

Always changing......From left to right: 2nd ferment water kefir (I'm buying brewing jars in a couple of days), quart jar beside it is a batch of water kefir that is WAY too fermented and will be used for cleaning/fabric softener/hair conditioner, 1st ferment of water kefir (see grains at the bottom?), Kombucha in the corner, two jars of milk kefir and on the far right is milk kefir getting a 2nd ferment with some strawberries. That was YUMMY!!! I don't care for it if it is super sour, but I thought it was nice. My kids added just a little Sweat Leaf Stevia to it though.

I had the lids just sitting loosely on top, of the jars that have cultures in them, but now they are covered with a cloth and rubber band so the cultures can breathe better. I had so much water kefir grains that were sent to me back in December from my Raw Mom, that I just gave away about 3 cups of them yesterday, and I still have more to give! I love her photos and instructions on how she makes her own kefir. You can read about it here, here and here. She has been very successful, so if you are just beginning, her method (which always changes slightly) is a great place to start.

Happy brewing, and good health!

We just stack 'em!

In a recent post, I shared how we turned some of our free scraps into a loft for our oldest son. Now it's time for pictures of the boys' entire bedroom. It's taken a while to get the whole room clean all at once for pictures. In fact, these pics were not really taken at the same time. HA!

Jonathan has a loft, Jacob has a cave and Jack has a box (get it?), and under the loft is a "fort" that we intend to close off with a curtain soon. (One thing at a time!) There is a lot packed into this little 9' X 11' room! (I thought it was bigger, but I just measured, and it isn't very big at all.)

As you enter......

Are you diggin' the green carpet?!

Pan to the left. Notice the shelves above for storage.....the hubby's brilliant idea!

Looking through the end of the "box" where Jack sleeps, into the fort.

Continue to the left. Opposite side of the room, looking into the "box" where Jack sleeps (the door is just to the left).

All the toys that are too big for the shelves go behind his bed in the closet floor. Almost all of them are Little People toys that we've accumulated through the years!

Jonathan hung some random pictures on the wall to decorate Jack's box. :)

A closer look at some of the toys on the shelves up under the loft. Trucks/cars, balls......

foam blocks, wooden blocks, and (not shown) Little People figurines, letter/number cookie cutters, Lego Duplos.....

and the medium sized toys and books on the opposite side.

I also want to get a gutter and screw it to the wall to use for the board books.

And here is the "cave", a.k.a. the middle bunk where Jacob sleeps and keeps all his personal belongings. He's got approximately 4' X 6' all to himself, and he LOVES it.

And now for the loft. Jonathan was taking pictures of the new chicks a few weeks ago, and his loft was actually clean, so I'll use these. :)

Just barely to the left of the picture here is his bed, the top bunk. To the right is the window, behind the shelf (which he built himself).

This is his top bunk, looking into the shelf of the closet. We added the shelf to match the height of his bed and made it strong enough to hold a lot of weight.

The shelf he made, looking through to the window.

And here's his little nook he created, shelf on the right and window to the left. The TV (used for gaming and DVDs only, and only with permission!) is sitting on the outside edge of the loft on a little coffee table he built for himself. He did a great job creating his own storage and arranging the room to fit his "needs". :)

And there you go! That's the whole room! We all just love it. Every aspect of it works so well for each one of them. It couldn't be any more practical, so I don't care that we have old, green carpet or that the walls and wood could use some paint. We feel proud of what we've accomplished!

Has anyone noticed there are no dressers anywhere in the room? That's because the 4th bedroom, which is right next to our master bedroom, was turned into the family closet. Maybe I'll post pictures of that another day, but it has ended up being just the boys' closet, all four of them. All of their clothes are in one room, and it is so convenient! But that's another post for another day.....

Turning Trash into Treasure!

We were given quite a bit of scrap building materials of all kinds, from several different people, when we first moved to the country 10 months ago. 

This is just some of what we were given. All of these boards were given by one family who was about to move, so they tore down their son's fort! We were sure grateful, and we have put much of it to good use!

We now have 4 bedrooms, but we I had another purpose for the "extra" room, so we I insisted that all the boys go into one room. Jonathan, the oldest at  almost 12, has been BEGGING for his own room for, well, pretty much his whole life (no one else does this!), so we finally gave him his own space using these scraps. Here's what we did.....

We still have the baby with us, so 3 are sharing the small-ish room. They still have their triple bunk bed though that doesn't take up much floor space, so honestly, they had more floor space than their sister! But they also have more stuff, and with Jonathan in Boy Scouts (a.k.a. knives and other things dangerous to little ones) and not really into toys anymore, I racked my brain to find a solution that would work for everyone.

Though the ceilings are only about 7 feet high, we decided to make a loft. The height divides the room almost exactly in half. We put the bunk bed up to the closet, which is just about the same size, built the loft to go between the middle and top bunks, and then we just closed off the area going from the middle bunk to the loft (it can be pushed open though for a 2nd way off of the middle bunk, in case of emergency). We also put in a new shelf in the closet to extend his bunk bed, basically doubling the width of it. And here are a few pictures of the process:

Myles wasn't going to help, but I really needed his help with the frame at one point, then he ended up taking over! We did have to buy the plywood, but the rest of the wood was free, and it is VERY sturdy! It is free-standing on four posts, but it is such a snug fit that it will not budge AT ALL! We joke that if a tornado comes and levels the house, this loft may very well be the last thing standing. No lie.

All the kids got to help out a little, but for some reason I didn't get a picture of Jonathan! He absolutely LOVES his very own space and actually thinks it is much better than a regular ol' bedroom (though I'm sure he would still prefer a whole room to himself). Our long-term plan, if we are here for several years, is to help Jonathan build himself a "tiny house" in the back yard, then Jacob will move up to the loft and Jack will take over "the cave" (Jacob's middle bunk, where we added a shelf in the closet to match his bed height). Then Joe will have "the fort" (the bottom) all to himself, unless we have another boy by then!

I have added pictures of their entire bedroom in another blog post. The loft was the biggest part of it, but we've been adding more to the whole design over the last few weeks.

Needless to say, Jayla wants a loft in her bedroom now. Though she has a whole room all to herself for the first time in her life, she is actually jealous of her brothers and spends most of her time in their room, often even sleeping on the bottom with Jack. Well, it IS pretty cool!

Peacock wall hanging

My oldest son, who is almost 12, now has an heirloom that once belonged to my grandparents, his great-grandparents. My mom still lives in the house they had built in 1975, but she is alone now and has been doing some remodeling and redecorating.

Jonathan always slept in "Grandpa Farmer's" bed whenever we went to visit my parents. The bed was no longer slept in by anyone else, but everything stayed the same as when they both still occupied the room, including this giant peacock that was above their bed.

I always loved it. I'm not exactly sure why, maybe because it is simply beautiful, maybe because it is a peacock or perhaps just because it was so unusual. My grandma was very stylish (unlike me!), so I'm sure this was expensive and very modern at the time. But now it is vintage.....and worth a little something! I thought it would only be worth a few dollars at a garage sale, but we actually found one on the internet that already sold recently for about $375!

This past weekend, we helped my mom repaint the room (pink!!!), and she was just ready for it to be gone. So she sent it home with us, and I decided, kind of spur-of-the-moment, to give it to Jonathan. He was so excited, so much so that he wanted to put it in the storm cellar just to keep it safe! LOL! Silly boy. We told him it would be safe on his loft, and it needs to be out where we can see it and enjoy it. We told him that if it did get destroyed in a storm or something, insurance would pay for replacement value, and the money would go to him. His words of wisdom......."If I replaced it, it wouldn't be the same since it didn't belong to Grandpa Farmer." True. 

He loves it and has no intention of ever selling it, and I am so happy about that. :)

Passover and Unleavened Bread

Now, I know there are all different opinions on who, what, when, where, why and HOW. What's that saying? If you have 10 people, you'll have 11 different opinions, or something like that (I totally don't remember at all, but you get the idea). Well, this is MY blog, so I am going to share MY opinion. :)

A 24-hour day is rendered from sunup to sunup, not from sundown to sundown (more on this later). Today is the 14th day of the first biblical month, and after sunset tonight it will still be the 14th, so tonight is Passover (ALL of the Scriptures fit this way). Pesach is not an entire day, but an evening meal.

Ex. 12:15 - We are to eat unleavened bread with the meal, and the *following* 7 days are the days of unleavened bread, when we do not eat it or have any leaven in our homes. We are to remove any leaven from our homes on the first day. (Personally, we remove all leavening agents, but some just remove yeast, as that is the only thing they had when the command was given.)
Ex. 12:8 - The Passover meal itself only needs to have 3 foods: lamb, unleavened bread (matzah) and bitter herbs (maror).

Ex. 12:11 - We also should eat it in a way that we are prepared to run out the door, so to speak, not reclining on a pillow just chilling out.
Ex. 12:3,6 - We should slaughter a lamb on the 14th day at evening that we have kept since the 10th day.

You are welcome to have a different view, and who knows, maybe I will look back on this post one day and smile, seeing how much MORE I have learned and grown. Or maybe you will. Or maybe we BOTH will! :) The point is, right now we are all going to have different understandings, and I respect that. Won't it be nice when Yeshua comes back and sets us all straight?! :)

There is so much more to this, so many more things yet to learn, but I just wanted to share these thoughts for now. I will share more later on when the 24-hour period of times begins.

So whatever you believe about the who, what, when, where, why and how......enjoy YHWH's Passover. It is a memorial, a reflection of what Yeshua has done for us, and a reminder of how much He sacrificed for us. This day is NOT about us or what we believe, it is YHWH's Pesach, not ours. So let's do this for Him, because we love Him. ((((HUGS)))) Shalom.

Winner from the giveaway!!!

I didn't have too many entries, but there were a few to choose from. Thank you to everyone who left caption suggestions for the picture below! And the winner chosen by my family is.......

Holly T!!!! And here is her caption:

Gluten-free, grain-free cheese sticks!

I made up this recipe and may tweak it some more, but I love it so far. These were really, really yummy!

Warning if you follow this recipe......I don't always measure things exactly, so this is just close to what I did. Make any adjustments you feel necessary. And note, if you use too much Parmesan cheese it will be too salty!

1 cup almond flour

1/2 cup flaxseed meal/flour

2 tsp (or less) Parmesan cheese

1 tsp parsley flakes

1/4 tsp salt

Be sure to freeze your cheese sticks at least several hours in advance. We used cheddar cheese, but I'm sure mozzarella would be great too.

Mix all of these ingredients together in one dish and put some scrambled eggs in another dish. Dip the cheese sticks in eggs, then flour mixture, then eggs a second time, then flour mixture a second time. Fry in oil of your choice (I used coconut oil) for about 5 minutes or so. Let cool and enjoy! YUM!

These would be so great with marinara sauce, but I haven't found a recipe I like yet. If you have a good one, please put it in the comments!

Interview with my children

You can learn a lot about yourself when you interview your child(ren). It gives you a whole new perspective.....theirs. And sometimes that isn't a nice thing. *sigh*

Here are the questions (something I found on Pinterest) and the answers for my oldest three kiddos:
#1 = 11yo boy
#2 = 9yo girl
#3 = 7yo boy

1. Something mom always says to you?

#1 - Do your chores.

#2 - Get Joe! (the baby)

#3 - Do your chores.

2. What makes mom happy?

#1 - Me being happy.

#2 - Obedience.

#3 - When I do my chores.

3. What makes mom sad?

#1 - When someone dies.

#2 - Disobedience.

#3 - When I'm gone for a while.

4. How does mom make you laugh?

#1 - When you burp really loud unexpectedly. (Gee, thanks!)

#2 - When you tickle me.

#3 - When you tickle me.

5. What was mom like as a child?

#1 - A tomboy.

#2 - Friendly? I have no clue. (haha!)

#3 - Happy.

6. How old is mom?

#1 - 37 (the winner!)

#2 - Um, how old ARE you?

#3 - 40

7. How tall is mom?

#1 - 5'6" (smarty pants)

#2 - Probably 4 1/2 feet. (I know she's smarter than this.)

#3 - 6'

8. What is mom’s favorite thing to do?

#1 - Computer.

#2 - Play with us.

#3 - Computer.

9. What does mom do when you’re not around?

#1 - Computer.

#2 - Hang out with your friends.

#3 - Computer. (I see a theme here.)

10. If mom becomes famous, what will it be for?

#1 - Singing and dancing. (I have no idea where the dancing came from!)

#2 - The biggest zoo.

#3 - Singing.

11. What is mom really good at?

#1 - Typing really fast.

#2 - Bossing us around.

#3 - Computer.

12. What is mom not very good at?

#1 - Shooting diapers into the trash can. (Haha! So true!)

#2 - Writing with a broken pencil. (I had just tried to use one.)

#3 - Shooting BB guns. (I'm actually a good shot, he just never sees me shoot!)

13. What does mom do for her job?

#1 - Feed me, take Daddy's money.

#2 - Clean rooms, drive us places, cook food, give Jack and Joe a bath. (See, it's not all computers!)

#3 - Help us.

14. What is mom’s favorite food?

#1 - Italian Shells.

#2 - Italian Shells. (I like it, but it's actually everyone else's favorite.)

#3 - Nutella. (This kid KNOWS his mother.)

15. What makes you proud of mom?

#1 - You're famous on Facebook. (I have no idea why he thinks this or why in the world it would make him proud!)

#2 - Cause you're my mom! (((HUG))) -- (Special moment!)

#3 - Cause you take care of me.

16. What cartoon character would mom be?

#1 - Foghorn Leghorn. (Why on earth???)

#2 - Willa's teacher. (From Willa's Wild Life)

#3 - A lady on Mighty Machines. (Not exactly a cartoon.....does this mean he things I am strong and can tear stuff up?)

17. What do you and mom do together?

#1 - Laugh, raise our eyebrows. (He noticed one day that when we look at each other, we both raise our eyebrows, so now we do it on purpose and laugh every time!)

#2 - Sing, go to Panera Bread.

#3 - Eat out.

18. How are you and mom the same?

#1 - We both have freckles.

#2 - We're both girls.

#3 - We both like Farkle. (A dice game.)

19. How are you and mom different?

#1 - Length of hair.

#2 - You're bigger and I'm smaller.

#3 - You don't play the Wii. (I do, just not often.)

20. How do you know mom loves you?

#1 - When you give me food and kiss me.

#2 - You make food for me.

#3 - You give me hugs and kisses.

21. Where is mom’s favorite place to go?

#1 - Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles....YES!)

#2 - Panera Bread

#3 - Italian Restaurant

And there you have it, what my kids think of me! That was very enlightening and quite humorous, at times! Apparently I really like the computer and eating out more than I realized. :)

Chicken brooder

We used this as a brooder for the first time last year and it worked so well. This was just a koi pond that was sunk down in our front yard of the first house we bought 12 years ago. It was ugly and very impractical, so we dug it up. It is about 5 feet across and 22" or so deep, so lots of room!

We eventually started using it as a swimming pool for the kids. It was a GREAT swimming pool, but as the kids got older (and there are more of them now!), it just didn't seem big enough any more. I really did love it as a swimming pool though!

I also noticed a crack in the bottom, so we decided maybe it would make a nice brooder. All I can say is, if I was a baby chick, this would seem like a mansion! I'm sure they love it, and it could hold probably 50 chicks pretty comfortably for a short time, if we needed to.

This pond/pool/brooder cleans up very easy and really nicely (we've had to clean it out so many times over the years), so I think I'm going to turn it into something else this summer.....a sand box! How fun will that be?!?! And then maybe over the winter we can have it over a garden area (we've had some really nice grass/weeds in winters past!) before using it as a brooder again next year.

But for now, our new little chicks can run and play in their little huge chicky mansion.

It was a little chilly out, so it took a few minutes to warm up the place. I wish I had a picture of them when we first turned the heat lamp on. They literally stood up tall, stretching toward the lamp, and closed their eyes, just basking in the warmth! Haha! It was adorable!

Notes on what we used: The tire was just there so the 15 month old could see inside. :) The big black thing is a platform type structure built of wood and covered with some kind of rubber. We found it (and several more) in a huge dumpster. That is to keep in heat and keep rain and animals out. We took some chicken wire (also free) and attached it the edge of the black platform, attached the other edge of the wire to a 2x4 (also free), and this serves as a vent during the warmer part of the day and also to keep out predators. Then we have a board covering it, which we can remove to release heat, when needed, and a tarp over all that to keep the rain out. This is all angled as well so the rain will run down and out. It should work very well, and we are very happy with it, especially since it was all free. Oh, and the stepping stones we have the feed and water sitting on, and the cinder block the light is attached too......also free. :) Yep, every bit of it was FREE. Hey, even the eggs the chicks hatched from were free! We just had to buy a new heat bulb, water and feed trays, and wood chips. :)

New chicks and a giveaway!!!!

Heritage Rhode Island Reds. We had 5 of them hatch, but the last one had to have help, and I think it is too weak to make it. The other 4 though are all doing really, REALLY well. Here are some pics of them taken yesterday.

And now for the giveaway......This last picture for some reason just really makes me laugh! I am not a witty person though, so I need a good caption. You may enter as many times as you want and even put them all in one comment, and the caption that makes me and my family laugh the most will win this book:

Just to be clear, this is the picture to create the caption for. Share with your friends! We will pick a winner this Sunday evening, March 25th. Have fun, and thank you! :)

(I want to do another giveaway soon, so stay tuned!)