Cowboy Cookies

Ingredients
1/2 c. butter, softened
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1 c. all purpose flour
1 c. uncooked old fashioned oats
3/4 c. chocolate chips
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. chopped nuts (I usually use pecans but sometimes use walnuts)
1/2 c. raisins
1/4 c. granulated sugar
2 T unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. soda

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease cookie sheets.
Beat butter, egg and vanilla in a bowl until blended (mixture may appear curdled). Add remaining ingredients and stir until well mixed.
Drop two inches apart in rounded spoonfuls onto prepared cookie sheets. Bake 12-14 minutes. Remove to wire rack to cool completely.

As I was making these today, Joshua was enjoying watching. "Mommy, I'd like you to put chocolate chips in the cookies." he says. I told him that I was making cowboy cookies, so he'd just have to wait and see what all went in. He said, "Cowboys like chocolate chips." I couldn't help but to giggle. Then, as I added each ingredient he'd say, "Oh cowboys like vanilla. Cowboys like sugar. Cowboys like raisins..." I finished making the dough and had put the cookies into the oven. "Mommy?" he asks, "Cowboys ride horses, right?" "Yes, they do." I answered him. He then begins galloping across the kitchen. "Well., I'm a cowboy then." :) I like his way of thinking.

In His Precious Name,

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Marking Puzzles

Our family enjoys jigsaw puzzles. If you have puzzles and small children, then you know how easy it is for pieces to disappear only to be found months later under a table leg!

My simple solution to the obvious question of "Which puzzle is this from???" is this: I mark each puzzle with a number or letter (I used numbers for children's puzzles and letters for grown up puzzles) and then I mark each piece of that puzzle with that letter or number. So, if I find a puzzle piece marked "M" on the floor, I know just where it belongs! It takes a little time (especially on a 1000 piece puzzle!) but the time is definitely worth the effort later.

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"Babies Don't Keep"

"The cleaning and scrubbing can wait till tomorrow,
for children grow up as I've learned to my sorrow.
So quiet down cobwebs. Dust go to sleep.
I'm rocking my baby, and babies don't keep."
- Ruth Hubert Hamilton

A friend had shared this little poem the other day and I felt quite challenged by it! How easy it is to forget such a simple truth.

Mothers are busy. This is another simple truth. There's laundry and housework and child training and cooking and homeschooling and, and, and... It's so easy for all these things to begin to crowd out the little moments. I'm learning though, that it's all of the little moments that define life. The moments where you stop to kiss an owie, or snuggle a three year old "just because". The moments where you stop what you are doing to help a child with a puzzle, or to just watch the rain with them. These little moments are the things they think of when they think of "Mommy". Yes, washing dishes is very important, and keeping a tidy house does matter. But children will not grow up to treasure the clean house they grew up in, they will cherish the love their mother had for them.

Children grow fast. I want to cherish this special time in our lives that many people refer to as the noisy years, or the busy years. I want to rock my little ones, for as long as they'll let me. I want to hold hands with my five year old and enjoy a special walk to the garden to see how the plants are growing. I want to listen to my Bear tell me all about the interesting rocks he found while playing outside. I want to "tuddle" with "tute" Joe as tells me all about his day. The dishes can wait, I'm cherishing my babies, before it's too late!

In Christ,

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Notes on Contentment

Make a list of positives and negatives of your life, Which list do you dwell on?

We have a choice about how we view life, we can choose to look down and see the mud, or raise our eyes to the heavens and see the stars.

God wants us to learn to be content in our circumstances, not when they improve.

There are 2 parts to contentment, ours and Gods.
1. Our part- pray rather than be anxious. Paul commands us to have nothing to do with anxiety and everything to do with prayer.
We must pray with thanksgiving.
Psalm 116:17
"I will offer to thee the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and will call upon the name of the LORD."
Giving thanks in difficult times is sacraficial.
We have a choice when confronted with negative circumstances, prayer or worry.

2. God's part- if you make the choice to pray rather than worry you will experience His peace.
Philippians 4:7
"And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."

If we feel anxious have we done our part?

When struggling with feeling content, give thanks for what God has already done.

Philippians 4:8
"Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things."

Proverbs 23:7
"For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee."

We become what we think. Our thought life rather than our circumstances determine whether we are content.

2 Corinthians 10:5
"Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;"

Romans 12:2
"And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God."

Philippians 4:9
"Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you."

Put it into practice:
-choosing to give our anxieties to God
-choosing to pray specifically
-choosing to be thankful
-choosing to dwell on the positive
Practice substituting prayer for worry.

Peace follows a choice to obey.

Contentment is a shift in attitude not in circumstances.

Prayer
"God, don't let my pain be wasteful, use it to conform me to Your image. Use it to teach me how to be content"

Through God's Abundant Blessings,

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The Role of a Homemaker

I wrote this sometime ago on the Yahoo homemaking group that I run. A friend resent it the other day and I was encouraged by it. I thought I'd share it again. I would love to others' thoughts. :)


I was thinking earlier about the many different aspects of being a homemaker, and the many different pictures of what a homemaker is. I know that for me personally, my picture of what a homemaker is has changed over the years, and so has my perspective on all of the things that we do. Sometimes we ladies become overwhelmed because we see all of these things that other wives and mothers are doing and we try to compare ourselves to others and we feel like we fall short. I know this has certainly happened to me far too often. It also seems like the opposite happens and ladies start to feel like because they can't "do it all" that just doing the minimum is alright, and we can become lazy in our duties. This is also something I have been guilty of. It has been easy at times to say "Well I do more than she does, so I must be doing alright". What a terrible way to view our duties!

When trying to figure out just what we should be doing I think that it helps to have a clear picture of what a homemaker's responsibilities are. What is it that is important to your home and family? What does your husband consider to be important? I know I am often surprised when I ask my husband what his priorities are for what happens in our home. Knowing what matters to him has been so helpful in planning my day. For instance, it makes my husband feel loved and appreciated to know that I put careful thought into preparing our dinner. He has told me that it is not that it has to be some wonderful perfect meal, but just knowing that I took time and care into making it.

So, what are your priorities? How does knowing your priorities influence how you live daily in your role as the keeper at home? Why is it so important that we take care in our responsibilities? These are questions I am going to be prayerfully considering as I feel I am needing to grow in my appreciation in my role. I am really beginning to understand that the things that I do in my home, and the attitude behind them very much reflect where I am in my heart.

I would love to hear your thoughts on the subject, perhaps we can encourage each other on this.

Your Sister in Christ,

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Contentment- My Thoughts

Contentment is an issue that I have been greatly struggling with over the last few months. I began a devotional study on this subject yesterday and it really hit home for me. I thought perhaps I would share my notes with you because I know contentment is something that many women struggle with.

The first was on having an eternal perspective. An eternal perspective in God's way of seeing things. When we have an eternal perspective we view our lives and evaluate what is important from His view point.

*A Prescription for Contentment* (this one is REALLY difficult, but it really hit home for me)
1. Never allow yourself to complain about anything, not even the weather.
2. Never picture yourself in any other circumstances, or some place else.
3. Never compare your lot with anothers.
4. Never allow yourself to wish this or that had been otherwise.
5. Never dwell on tomorrow, remember that tomorrow is God's, not ours.

If all of your tomorrow's are nestled in God's strong arms, you are free to live your life today.

Contentment is peace separate from circumstances. .

Contentment is a state of heart and not a state of affairs.

Contentment can be learned! (Philippians 4:11-13)
"Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.
I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me."
I think it is important to remember that Paul wrote this while imprisoned, chained to a guard and facing certain death! If he could find contentment even then, it must be possible to find it in whatever situation we face!

At all times, in all circumstances, Christ is able and willing to provide the strength we need to be content.

God infuses contentment into us through His Word..

We become more content when we spend time in His Word, allowing it to seep in and transforming us to be like Him.

It is our "helping God out" that leads to an anxious heart. When we try to take control we take our focus off of the One who is in control, and put our eyes on our circumstances.

1 Timothy 6:15
"Which in his times he shall shew, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords;" (KJV)
"which God will bring about in his own time—God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords," (NIV)


This quote really hit home too-
J.I, Packer-
" Contentment is essentually a matter of accepting from God's hand what He sends, because we know that He is good and therefore it is good."

***A quiet heart is content with what God gives***

Elisabeth Elliot-
"Every assignement is measured and controlled for my eternal good. As I accept the given portion other options are cancelled, decisions become much easier, directions clearer, and hence my heart becomes inexpressibly quieter."

If we choose to let God be in control instead of ourselves, we can be a woman of contentment.

And the last point, that has probably been the biggest one for me-
Contentment is accepting God's Sovereign control over life's circumstances.


Blessings,

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Cleaning Schedule

I have gone about many different ways to take care of the housekeeping in our home over the years, and have had various degrees of success with different methods. We seem to change methods based on where our priorities are at the time. Right now we are needing to put a little more focus on having structured time with the little ones, and also since we are doing many of the tasks without modern conveniences we had to allow for more time for things. So here is what I am doing: I have one major task assigned to each day of the week (with the exception of Sunday). These tasks hit on the "big" things that need to get done, and then I try to take care of the smaller tasks as w go about the day. So here is my rotation:

Monday-Wash Day (this is when I wash all of our clothing laundry for the week)

Tuesday- Ironing and Mending

Wednesday- Cleaning (I try to hit all of the major cleaning that needs done, I have to kind of squeeze some of the jobs in as we go through the day)

Thursday- Wash diapers and any household laundry (sheets, towels, dishcloths...)

Friday-Any Special Tasks (I leave this day open for anything that just needs to get done, whether it be sewing or a special project or if something needs an extra cleaning.)

Saturday-Baking (we bake all of the breads, cookies, crackers, etc.. for the week) Haircuts for the boys and my husband (every other week), and Going to the Market (alternating weeks between haircuts)

So far this is working for us. It is hard to have less time for the cleaning- I've always been used to detail cleaning the house each week, but I am finding that as long as we stay on top of things, the house is staying clean.

How are you ladies managing the tasks that need to happen in your homes? Do you follow a schedule or do things on an as needed basis? I always love hearing how others manage their homes :)!

Your Sister in Christ,

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Butchering Chickens

I spent the forenoon over at my friend Hannah's house helping to butcher chickens. Evelyn and Esther had also brought over their chickens to butcher. This was my first time butchering chickens! Hannah was so patient with my many questions, and I learned so much!

They have a nifty machine that plucks the chickens. It was so interesting to watch the whole process. Joshua was very interested in how it all worked! The children all had such a nice time playing with the other children. Joshua even rode in the gator to dump all the heads and feathers off in the woods...yuck! (although he thought it was pretty neat!)

I think we butchered around 75 chickens or so. We enjoyed a nice noon meal together before heading home. Hannah sent me with one of the chickens, and two grocery bags full of chicken feet to make stock. Last Fall I helped my dear friend Deb with making stock from chicken feet, and I figured it was worth doing again. :)

My big stock pot is filled with two gallons of milk for making cheese, so I'll need to finish that before getting to these chicken feet.

Love in Christ,

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Ducks!

Several weeks ago we were at the farm supply store and these adorable ducks caught our attention. Jamie just loved them! He enjoyed them so much that we decided to take two home with us, and so we have added "Chuck" and "Quackers" to our little homestead. :)


I had no idea that ducks were so fully of personality! They are just adorable and ever so humorous! We have been keeping them in a little cage in the living room, although I think they are nearly ready to move to a pen outside. They have been growing so fast! They must be nearly doubled in size already.

Jacob has been taking on the task of cleaning out the duck cage and caring for them. The boys really enjoy taking care of animals. They are going to make rather good farmers someday. :)

We took the ducks for a swim in the bathtub! Oh, did they ever enjoy that! It was just precious to watch them learn to paddle. Chuck was quite giddy when we figured out he could swim backwards! We are planning to put one of the little plastic child's pools in their enclosure. We do have a pond but it's not close to the house and they are too little to be out there.

We are really enjoying having ducklings. They are such a joy!

Love in Christ,

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Planting Garden

My friend Sharon and most of her children came over to help with planting our garden. Their help was such a blessing! They arrived in the forenoon and were there till about four in the afternoon. It was hot (the high reached 93 degrees!) and hard work but we got the garden in!

Sharon and I sorted through seeds and made plans while Leon went over the garden spot with the tractor and tiller once more. Karen cut the last ten pounds of seed potatoes. Jamie loved playing in the big bowl of potatoes!

The children had such a time playing together. The Eicher children are some of their favorite playmates, so they really enjoyed spending the day outside with them. Bethany and Victor pushed the littler ones around in the toy cars. Leon took all of the children on a ride in the trailer behind the tractor.

Leon took such care in explaining to Jacob all about how the tractor works and what such and such does. Jacob really enjoyed learning all about it! Victor is one of Jacob's best friends, so they really had a fun time together. Jacob likes playing with the older boys, since they do such big things! :)

Justin and Joseph caught a toad! They played with their toad friend and chased him around. Finally they decided to let him go into the tall grass. What fun!

All of the children enjoyed watching the big tractors at work on the farmland around us.

For our noon meal I made two casseroles of homemade Beefaroni, vanilla pudding, and fresh bread with apple butter. The sweet tea was certainly refreshing after working in the heat!

It was so wonderful to all work together and to see how much we could get done! We managed to get everything in, except for pumpkins and watermelons. We ended up plowing two additional spots to make it all fit! Sharon was such a help in figuring out how much of what to plant and where. She answered my many questions with such patience!

I am excited to watch our garden grow, and to see what will come of the fruits of our labors. I am so thankful for the land to plant, and the resources to plant with, and for such great friends to help! I feel so blessed indeed!

In Him Who First Loved Us,

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Busy with Being Busy!

It seems that lately my little blog has been sadly neglected. I suppose it has been rather busy and I dealt with another round of bronchitis. There's been lots of interesting happenings around our homestead, so hopefully I will have find time to catch up soon!

This morning the boys slept in, so I decided to get caught upon a few things. I washed a load of laundry, started two loaves of bread to rise, and even did a little sewing. I got most of the way finished with the bodice for a new blue dress.

I can hardly contain my excitement and joy! A very special box was in my mailbox...all the way from Texas. I think I skipped all the way back to the house. Inside the brown box was a most beautiful and cherished gift, lovingly made by the prayerful hands of a friend! What was the gift you might ask? A beautiful handmade rug from a dear sweet friend, Leslie!

Sister Leslie, I think you looked right into my heart, found the colors of who I am, prayerfully wove them together with the love of your hands and created a treasure that will be cherished in my home!
I had quite a time of trying to figure out where to put such a special rug. It is so special that I wanted it's place to be special, too. I finally decided I'd put my special rug by my chair because so often my little ones gather on the floor here to sing or read a story. They are often right there to watch when I'm doing needlework. This is the chair where I enjoy a rest after a hard day's work, and where I enjoy my coffee, quiet time and feathered friends at my window. It is where I sit for family hymn sings. So I thought such a special treasure should be somewhere that special moments are had daily.

This afternoon we worked outside. It has been hot today, almost record highs of ninety degrees! The heat made the work more difficult, but at least we had a good breeze! We got one raspberry bush planted, and then dug a trench to plant seed potatoes. This evening we are going to try to get a few more bushes planted and such. Today Jacob discovered the joy of running barefoot. The other boys had already learned this valuable life lesson, but Jacob had been hesitant to try. I do believe the heat finally convinced him to take his boots off! He was quite surprised to learn that the grass and dirt really does feel good on your toes! As I was digging the trench, Jacob kept discovering new worm friends. He decided to visit for a while with a few of them...he thought they'd like to ride in his shirt pocket. It was so humorous to see my bookworm outside barefoot in the dirt and playing with real worms!

Our family has discovered a new special treat...Frost Top Root Beer. I had never been much of a fan of root beer, but this is really tasty! And nothing tastes so good as when you've been working hard outside!

Daddy is nearly home for the eve, and we will do a little more work outside. The smothered porkchops have filled the house with an inviting aroma, and the boys are enjoying a slice of fresh bread on the porch. Lord willing, I will plan to get caught up here over the next few days. There so many things I'd love to share!

In His Precious Name,

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