That Time of Year

It happens every 7 years, Christmas falls on a Sunday, which means Christmas Eve is Saturday night. We have just entered into our 7th year of marriage, last time it didn't matter. This time we have 3 kids! What to do , what to do. We have Christmas Eve Service at our church so we can't open gifts then. I figure our kids won't let us sleep that late anyway! I thought perhaps we could wait for gifts till we all got home from church as the regular Sunday morning is pretty busy...I don't think the kids will go for it. Since we have moved and it will be only 2 adults making a duck and a turkey seems silly, so I think I am making a duck and a chicken. RevDr's favorite around the holiday's is Goose Liver Pate...which no one sells in this area...suprise suprise. In other news Presbyboy turned 6,Presbybaby is now 1 and walking. I also have chicks inthe incubator that should hatch tomorrow, if the kidshaven't been to rough with them which is a high possibility!

Tuesday Afternoon Jesus

The Tuesday Afternoon Jesus All of you know my husband, You know the man who stands before you on Sunday morning, the man who visits you if you're sick or comforts you at the grave side of your loved one. Some of you know him more intimately as a friend whom you laugh with at lunches or work on projects with, but none of you really know him as I do. He is my “bride groom” the man whom I consult with on many matters, raise children with when I am sick he takes over many of my duties, when I'm weak he carries me when I'm over reacting or full of nonsense he tells me, when I'm sad he consoles me and much sooner then we think we will grown old together and go from this earthly life. You know my Sunday morning husband, but I know my Tuesday afternoon husband,the two are the same the difference is the relationship. Everyone in this room knows Jesus,even if you've never been much of a church goer you know from the media that church is where people go to talk about Jesus and that Jesus is God's son, someone to cry out to when something bad happens. Maybe someone to blame when cruel life doesn't go as you wish it did. You think that Jesus lives in the beautiful church building the one you visit to get married, baptized or to say a final farewell to a loved one, but there's another Jesus, the Tuesday afternoon Jesus. Several years ago a very bad storm came through the town where I grew up, everyone's power was out for several days, it was bitterly cold and no one could really drive anywhere, not that there was any place to go. Suddenly in the space of a few days I began to know everyone on my street very well, the people who had fireplaces offered to let those who didn't come and sleep in their homes to stay warm, everyone pooled their food and we cooked it on a grill and entertained one another, playing board games and listening to a small radio. In those few days I got to know the people I had lived within just a few feet of most of my life very well, not because I particularly wanted to but because I needed to in order to survive. The funny thing that happened, was as soon as the power was restored and the danger over we all went back to our own homes,and we went right back to the relationships we had before of the casual nod and a slight wave. Almost as if we had forgot how much we had needed one another just a few days before. The discomfort and danger was over. We could rely on ourselves again . Revelation 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will commune with him, and he with me. There is a Tuesday afternoon Jesus that wants to speak to you every day not just on a Sunday. There's a Jesus that if you'll ask him will care if you ran out of gas on the way to work, lost your check book or don't know what to do with your rebellious teenager. Sometimes you hear Jesus knocking loudly on your heart's door, but much more often it's his slight, constant tap asking to be let in, maybe so quiet that you've learned to ignore it, yet he patiently stands outside your hearts door, you pass him everyday, like that next door neighbor casually giving him a nod or a wave, but never really going beyond an acquaintance. Maybe many years ago you knew him quiet well but now you only speak occasionally. But still he waits patiently for you to ask him in, to help you in your daily struggles and to comfort you in your Tuesday afternoon problems. Asking Jesus to come in is something so simple even a little child can understand it. Hell is still hot, the Devil is as real as you and me but Jesus' blood can still conquer them both. GO INTO ROMAN'S ROAD PLAN OF SALVATION. Praying and asking Jesus to come into your life isn't made up of magical words that save you it's the believing in your heart. Sample Prayer “Dear Jesus, I know I've done thing wrong in my life and that I need you desperately , not only to be my Savior but to be my friend and guide, thank you for shedding your blood on the cross to cover my sins and promising me a home in heaven someday. Amen.

Same Time Last Year

I almost never read my old posts, maybe I should deleate them. Last year at this time was kind of a dark place, our severance from our old church would run out at Christmas as well as our health care. I had a new born and at that moment we thought we were going to be going to a church...then things feel through. Of course I didn't know that we would be going on more interviews and visits and that we would get the wonderful church we have now. Between Christmas and March we lived off our savings, ministers don't qualify for unemployment, RevDr got a VERY part time job and was doing some pulpit filling but was going on so many interviews to far away churches he had to have some freedom to travel. He couldn't find any employment in the legal world and he would have to wait months to take the bar again and to hear if he would even pass. He did get his Real Estate license during that time and we did get to enjoy having him home alot which was nice due to the new baby. I had a huge stockpile of goods from my couponing in my basement. I couponed mostly because it was fun to see how much stuff I could get for so little,when my shelves we're full I'd donate it to the food bank or homeless shelter and I felt good for being able to give. We trimmed all the "fat" from our budget and lived very simply. However we had lived pretty "simply" before this. We bought few gifts that Christmas but kids 0,2 and 5 enjoy pretty much opening everything and our extended family was generous. Something I remember from that time is eating Turkey, after the Holidays I had got a bunch of frozen,leftover Turkey's for .19 a lb. that combined with my coupon stockpile fed us. In January we went on two interviews in a two week time in far away states,I went along with the newborn too. We ended up being caught in a storm and stuck in the airport for a few days coming home. When we finally got home we had one day to unpack, repack and leave again. We got offers from both churches and ended up taking the one which was much less money but a much healthier church, one we felt God was leading us to. They said RevDr could start right away since they didn't have anyone...the day he left we had 1,000 left of our savings,we had credit cards but I wasn't going to use them. I thought maybe I should sell my wedding ring...I didn't. I stayed back home with the little ones and packed and got the house ready to sell then drove up when everything was finished. Driving 1,200 miles with a 4 month nursing baby, a 2 year old and a 5 year old is a whole story just in it's self. Our new little church has been such a blessing, they get along so well with each other, there are no fights, which may sound silly if you've never been in a disfunctual church. They are able to focus their stregnth in helping OTHERS and because of this they are able to do so much more then even a large church. They love us and we love them. Just a note, a year before this I had read the Dave Ramsey books on financial planning, if not for him we wouldn't have had enough sense to save money, I truly don't know what we would have done if we hadn't followed him and saved 3-6 months of living expenses.

Gardening Plans

I'm still getting used to living here where there are several growing seasons, coming from a place where we were lucky to get one. This summer we had a drought, my Pecan Trees,Lemon Tree and grapes dropped their tiny fruit way too early. The Blueberries, Fig and Pear did better, in fact I am still getting figs every few days...I am kinda figed out. This winter I have a LOT of pruning work to be done, I would venture that most of these haven't been pruned in about 10 years. The bonus is that I have very mature trees in place. I have also been working on raised beds and building up the soil quality in a section where I plan to have traditional rows. So these are my plans for next year,right now all I have in the ground are sweet potatoes. Raised Beds with Herbs: Stevie, Parsley, Rosemary,Basil (for pesto) Raised Bed: Mescalin Lettuce and Romaine, this can be kept going in all but very hot months, with a cold frame can be kept through the winter Tomato, peppers, mainly paste tomatoes I am going to add Mignonette strawberries as a border to garden beds, these are very small, heirloom berries that are grown from seed. It was hard to find a type that won't bake here and these are self sowing without sending out runners, I will have to plant these early as they don't like extreme heat. Row Crops Heirloom Popcorn Green Beans Egg Plant Climbing stuff: Cantaloupe Watermelon Cucumbers Summer squash and Zucchini In a small plot Shallots, vidalla,garlic Fall Garden Beets, Kale,Rainbow Carrots, My fun item is a small plot of peanuts, which I'm told grow wonderfully around

Winter Projects

This is a wonderful link about worm compost bins http://whatcom.wsu.edu/ag/compost/wormbins.htm I Hate to use the term "winter" now that I live in FL winter to me is feet of snow, here winter will mean nightly lowes in the high 30's maybe low 30's for a few weeks, then warm up to 60's during the day. Jan & Feb. are cold by the end of March most people have their garden in. I have a LOT of pruning to do, there are lots of scrub trees growing in my blueberry bushes, and the bushes themselves are a good 15 feet tall,pretty much everything needs pruned. There is also a 12 ft. tall pecan tree growing in the middle of my Hydrangeas...I love Hydrangeas and I love Pecans but we need a shade tree where it is, I'm thinking I will try to transplant the hydrangeas. I didn't order meat birds as I planned, we have an empty freezer but the power here goes out ALL THE TIME, I'm afraid all my expense in raising organic birds will go to waste, the power company claims they will be fixing things so maybe next year. In the spring I plan to hatch out chicks from my flock (for sale) as well as a few new pullets for me. I plan on getting a milk goat but I need to secure a fence around the barn for pasture which will be an expense, I will be looking for a pregnant Nubian, however goats don't like to be alone and may also consider getting a meat goat to raise with her till she gives birth. I could fit 4 goats in the barn section I plan on using. I am told that 100 lbs. of goat = 40 lbs. of meat so I will be getting a bigger goat, I won't be keeping a male as they are smelly and can make the milk smell which is the main reason I am getting the goat to begin with. I will be working a compost bin (made from pallets) ;and a worm compost bin, the chickens eat most of my kitchen scraps but worms will eat coffee and tea grounds. I am also leery of putting table scraps in a compost bin as it might attract roaches or rats. The whole point of compost is that the soil quality here is very poor, I am very afraid of using outside compost as it can contain herbicide, I know my chicken manure is fine etc. What are you "winter" projects?

Living for Today and Tomorrow

I love my own mother dearly, she had me late in life and worked all but my infancy. My mother wasn't domestic,she liked to cook but wasn't good at it (she can decorate fancy cakes however...strange), shes not a very good housekeeper, but was a wonderful affection shower and supporter. I was raised by my grandmother mostly, I kind of got a 1950's upbringing in the 1990's. Someone once came to my house and commented that it looked just like my Grandma's and if they didn't know better they would think a 80 year old women lived there...ahh thanks,I think. As a result of all this I knew when it came time for me to have kids I would stay home with them and raise them myself! I knew this even before I got married and when I was dating seriously I made sure that my husband to be agreed with this. Is it easy? no, we have learned to live on one income which at times meant we only had one car so I was at home a lot when he was working (my sacrifice), vacations are not the trips to Europe that my husband enjoyed every year and they are few and far between (RevDr's sacrifice) our kids don't take dance or art classes (their sacrifice) we also don't eat out often (which we all love). You know something, when you almost never eat out when you do it's a real treat, my 5 year old gets more excited about Waffle House then I ever did about Red Lobster. We take more joy in the special things. Once a week I serve a really super dinner sometimes it's strip steak with shrimp. I can make two surf and turf dinners for about $8. You can but a lot of hot dogs for $8 but it helps in not feeling deprived. I also don't want to spend my retirement on take out, does that sound silly?? If I spend any "extra" money on take out and save none then that’s what I've done to MYSELF I shouldn't expect any government to help me. Do I have it "hard" absolutely not! Hard isn't using cloth diapers, it's having to beat those cloth diapers on a scrub board or put them through a wringer washer. Having my washing machine doing a few extra loads a week is very easy. Hard is sewing clothing yourself because you HAVE to, not shopping at consignment stores or accepting hand me downs. Our Grandmothers never had their own car, in the 1950's it was very unusual for a middle class family to own more then one car, it was also unusual for a mother of young kids to work. It's simple math (FYI I do have my own car now) and am very thankful for it. Anything in life you REALLY, REALLY want to do you can usually find a way to do.

Theres One in Every Group...

This is Maria, the naughty, loud hen. Maria has discovered how to jump onto my windowsills, which is pretty impressive since they are a good 10 feet off the ground. Maria pecks the other hens, squawks when she's sitting on a nest then squawks and parades around the yard after she lays an egg...and pretty much squawks all day long. When the mail man comes in the gate she follows him to the front door and back just to make sure he's not up to any funny business. I noticed the other night that all the other chickens roost together, except for Maria. I used to tell people that we're interested in chickens that hens we're only as loud as a Guinea Pig...well most are, but not Maria . Maria does have cute qualities she runs quick as her little legs can carry her the second I open any door, shes there first wanting her treat, if I don't have a treat she will follow me around the yard reprimanding me till I usually give her some sun flower seeds out of the bird feeder. I thought about selling her, but she lays an egg every day and she's my biggest fan.