Another quote

Lucy Maud Montgomery wrote, "Isn't it splendid to think of all the things there are to find out about? It just makes me feel glad to be alive - it's such an interesting world. it wouldn't be half so interesting if we knew all about everything."

Kiersten asked yesterday, "Mom, do you think God wants children to always have time in their days to play?" I thought a little and answered that I thought he would probably like for that to be. She then said she thought that God smiled as he watched children play. I think he does, too! And I asked Kiersten if it helped her to think about God when she had plenty time to play. She said, "Oh, yes! Because you can look at all the beautiful flowers and other things he made. And you can think about how He made them for you!"

Yes, I believe free time outside is very important to the health, happiness, and spiritual life of a child! I also believe this would be good medicine for any adult, too!

Elisabeth Elliot said,

"It is God to whom and with whom we travel, and while He is the End of our jouney, He is also at every stopping place."

Magazine Savings

I hate spending money on magazines. I don't have a lot of time to read them anyway but I do enjoy flipping through them for decorating ideas, craft projects and best of all, new recipes and gardening ideas. So I compromise. Instead of subscribing, I check them out at the library. This works great for most magazines. Others, that I like tearing up, (you know, when you just rip out that new favorite recipe or picture of your dream kitchen) I get at the thrift store for a quarter. Southern Living for only 25 cents is well worth it for me!

Last week I just quickly flipped through the magazines at the thrift store looking for last year's Spring issues. Today I did the same at the library with the magazines Hobby Farm and Organic Gardening.

I subscribe to and love the Eating Well magazine! I've fixed countless of their recipes and we always really enjoy them. I also feel the articles are worth my time!

Happy frugal living!

More on Milk and Local Foods

If you are interested in learning more about our milk, meat, and foods in general, I would highly recommend that you read Nina Plank's book Real Food. It's a fun book to read if you enjoy food or health topics.

Educating ourselves about what we put into our bodies is very important. It is a never ending process but always an adventure! And such a wonderful taste experience! What is better than whole foods, fresh from your garden or a local farmer?

What local farmer did you support today? We enjoyed our own fresh eggs, (thanks to our 4 pet hens), beef purchased from our deacon, pork from a local farmer, kale, arugula, chives, green onions, and asparagus from our garden. I'm so far from where I want to be when it comes to consuming local foods! But I'm taking baby steps and making progress.

I'd love to hear what you're eating that is local! What are you looking forward eating soon? I'm counting the days until we get to buy baskets of fresh peas at our Farmer's Market! Awwwww.... spring!

Milk Criminals

Richard Hebron, 41, was driving along an anonymous stretch of highway near Ann Arbor, Mich., last October when state cops pulled him over, ordered him to put his hands on the hood of his mud-splattered truck and seized its contents: 453 gal. of milk.

Yes, milk. Raw, unpasteurized milk.

http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1598525,00.html

This bothers me. Let me clarify. I'm not concerned in the least that free citizens are choosing to drink raw milk. But that it is considered a crime to sell a nutritious liquid that has been enjoyed for thousands of years does trouble me!

Maybe I shouldn't be able to grow my own spinach and strawberries, either? I mean, they could be contaminated.

Weslandia

I wouldn't run out and purchase this book the next chance you get but I would suggest that you check to see if your local library has a copy! My little boy checked it out and loved it. I then enjoyed the book and recommended that my husband read it. He said he loved it and that he could identify with the boy, Wesley, in Weslandia written by Paul Fleischman and illustrated by Keven Hawkes.

I know there are only a handful of you who read my blog but I would like to encourage us all to be ourselves, the people God created us to be. Peer pressure doesn't just affect the young. I try to think about why I do what I do. Am I living the life that I want to live or am I just doing what everyone else is doing?

Be your own individual! Enjoy the day!

Marriage To a Difficult Man

I am loving this book~Marriage To a Difficult Man-The Uncommon Union of Jonathan and Sarah Edwards by Elisabeth D. Dodds. I love Sarah and I'm not even finished with chapter 4! Her life is inspiring me!

Just listen to this paragraph from Chapter 3, Yes, Yours, My Love Is the Right Human Face:
"Actually the Edwardses lived frugally, but it was instinctive with Sarah to do ordinary tasks with flair. She was the kind of woman who took the trouble to tie her hair with a ribbon for breakfast when many wives came down tousled; who spent an extra minute to stamp a design on a block of home-churned butter; who knew how to give a flourish to simple dishes with parsley, spearmint, or sage, all grown in a square of herbs by the kitchen door; who, when she had a bowl of peas to shell, would take it out into the sunshine in the garden. She put in day lilies, holly hocks, pansies, pinks....Wallpaper wasn't used until 1740 in the colonies, but New Haven had been one of the first towns to use plaster on interiors, so it is possible that Sarah had brought up with her the trick of mixing clay and water to make soft gray walls."

I'm currently borrowing this book from Kari's library at Healed Waters. She must be such a generous lady to freely mail out her books to anyone that requests them! I'll be looking to purchase this book! I want to underline and highlight and read this to my children!