Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Logs for our shop building


These pictures represent lots of work!
Work from past days.
Work for present days.
And
Work for future days.
But we hope to some day enjoy the fruit of the labor!

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Dairy/Wheat Free Meal Ideas

For various reasons, we are experimenting with eating a Gluten/Dairy Free diet. I've decided to record some of our meals here as a reference for myself and also for anyone else that may be contemplating this.

Today's breakfast consisted of:
Fried Eggs
Oatmeal with your choice of Agave Nectar, Raw Honey, Molasses, Peanut Butter, and Flax Oil
Fruit Shakes ~ These seem to always be different. Today we enjoyed blueberries, bananas, flax oil, almond milk, and Pineapple/Coconut Juice with a bit of Barley Green Powder (you don't taste this).
Yum!

Today's Lunch:
Baked Talapia
Romaine Salad
Brussil Sprouts (This sounds like a funny combination but I could eat brussel sprouts with any meal! I love 'em!)

And for supper:
This was a pantry meal that was very thrown together!
Hamburger (from a local farmer), with rice and onion. Instead of cooking the rice in water I used Organic French Onion Soup and cooked it all together.
I served this with green beans. Very basic pantry eating! But it must not have been too bad or else everyone was very hungry because all but about a half of a cup is gone!

For snacks we enjoyed:
Sesame Rice Cracker
Apple Sauce
Pineapple Rings
Apples
Raisins
Juice Sprintzers
Dark Chocolate with Cacoa Nibs
Bananas
Wild Rice Cakes with Peanut Butter and Honey
My kids can never make it all the way to the next meal without some snacks, as you can see!

I miss being able to cook whatever I want. I feel like this "diet" hampers my creativity but we are making the best of it and we've eaten some wonderful food along the way!

More Neurotoxins

Back in the spring, I shared some information I had received at a conference. The lady speaking made a very strong statement, "Sugar is a neurotoxin." Today, as I was flipping through Sally Fallon's book, I read that she believes MSG and hydrolyzed protein are also neurotoxins. Now, it doesn't at all surprise me that MSG would qualify as such a poison. But hydrolyzed protein somehow seems much more innocent to me. Guess I need to wise up a bit!

Another great reason to eat "real food"!

Thursday, September 18, 2008

Animal Tracks

Animal Tracks by Arthur Dorros is just a very sweet little book for young children. Apparently, Amazon doesn't sell any new copies. I don't know if it is available new anywhere else or not, but perhaps your library would have it. We checked it out at our library.

Each page has questions in the story line and there is always expectation of what is coming next. The guess can always be an educated one, because of the tracks that are shown.

I thought it was just a fun story to read with my little ones. A great science book!

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

For Today

Outside my window....
the air is crisp, the sun bright, the shadows long.

I am thinking...."What would Jesus do?"

From the learning room....We are reading some great books together ~ Paddle to the Sea by Holling, Jonathan Goforth by Benge, Homesick by Fritz, The Tales of Uncle Remus by Lester, Just So Stories by Kipling.

I am thankful for.... the long hours (that pass so quickly) with my children day after day.

From the kitchen....We enjoyed fresh pork cutlets and fruit shakes for breakfast.

I am wearing.... a sweater.

I am reading....Phonemic Awareness in Young Children.

I am hoping.... to take a walk this afternoon.

I am creating....homemade cards.

I am hearing....the singing of my little boy as he rustles around in his tent set up in the living room, the voice of the narrator of In His Steps, toy cars being sorted through as the kids listen to the audio.

Around the house....there is much to be done!

One of my favorite things....autumn evenings and mornings.

A few plans for the rest of the week....a couple more quiet days at home, and then a busy day in town, a visit with friends, and Saturday a wedding.

Here is a picture thought I am sharing with you....






Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Like Father, Like Son

Sharpening Their Saws


Day 2 of our Wild Field Trip

We have a few members in our family who are cycling fans. All of my kids love their bikes and my husband is quite attached to his. Riding is a great stress reliever for Tim, as well as a wonderful challenge and means of staying fit. He accomplishes things on his bike that make me hurt, just to think about it.

Monday, September 8th, the first day of the Tour of Missouri ended at the Plaza in Kansas City. I didn't realize this or I'm sure we would have made our way down to the Plaza to enjoy the festivities! We watched it on the news, talked about how we wish we would have thought of that, etc.

Tuesday morning on our way home, we were just driving along when we saw a small sign that said "course" attached to a post on the side of an exit ramp. "Oh, the TOUR!" We turned around at the next legal u-turn and made our way back to the overpass. The tour was to be passing by in just 45 minutes. We were given cow bells and maps of the route. We happily unloaded and found a place to wait.

Here' what we saw:





And here's what some of us looked like while waiting.(Please look with eyes of grace, as this was a last minute trip, with lots of persons crammed in one car) By this point I felt as though I was falling apart:



We couldn't just watch at this one point. We quickly headed on so that we could make it to the next point. This intersection was in the middle of no where, on some back roads with fields on all four sides. This time there had been a break away and they weren't all in just one big bunch.

We were blessed to have such a wonderful "extra" thrown into our field trip!

Monday, September 15, 2008

Nature Journals


I believe in them. I love looking at them. I desire to faithfully keep one. I desire to lead my children in this endeavor. I enjoy drawing and writing in mine.

I don't know why I find it so hard to actually be consistent in this!

But, past failures aside. Here's today's humble entry...done right along with my children...another happy memory in our bank of many!

Friday, September 12, 2008

One Wild Field Trip

We decided at a moment's notice that we'd travel to Kansas City to see Senator John McCain and Governor Sarah Palin. We packed in five to ten minutes, attended our Sunday evening church services, picked up a couple friends along the way, and then headed out for our four hour trip to Kansas City.

We had a blast on the way up, eating fast food and visiting about everything under the sun as we rumbled along in my fifteen year old Volvo station wagon. I love my car!

By midnight we were in the wonderful home of my second mom and dad. We visited for another hour and headed to bed....morning would come early and we didn't want to miss out on anything.

At around 5:30 a.m. I headed to the grocery store for snacks, water, and extra camera batteries. When I returned all the kids and my friend were about ready to head out.

By 6:30 we were in line behind probably 400 other proud Americans. For two and a half hours we visited with those around us and dodged some sprinkles, praying it wouldn't rain. The sky was so dark.

A lot of older people seemed proud that the kid's were there. Strangers explained to them that they were seeing history in the making. We were also going to get to see one of America's wartime heroes. My kid's knew that. They are proud of John McCain, and are thankful for the sacrifices he made for them!

Reading up to this point, you may think I'm a big McCain supporter. In actuality I don't even know who I will vote for. I am a big supporter of America and I'm very proud of John McCain and his service to our country, even though, I disagree with him on some issues that I consider very important to me. That said, there are some issues that I think he takes a wonderful stand on!

We were also at this rally to see Sarah. She didn't disappoint us!

The media reported, around 9:00, that there were 400 people in line. Ummm.....just before that we saw the line going back, block after block, and a police officer estimated that there were 8,000 in line! Gross misrepresentation, to say it mildly!

As we were entering the building, the security was tight....and then as we waited among a few other thousand people inside the building, the standing room was tight! We were in a great position, right in front of center stage, not too far back.

As you'll see from my photos, some of us didn't get to stay at our original, optimal spot! A little girl needed to use the restroom, really, really bad!!! But it worked out fine. Kiersten and I left the others and then stayed to the far right of the stage. I would hold Kiersten over my head as much as my arms would allow, and she would wave at Sarah with all her might, just hoping Sarah would notice her. AND SHE DID! She gave her a huge smile, winked, and waved at her. Kiersten was thrilled!

As Senator McCain spoke, I whispered to Kiersten, "Just think, that's the same man who weighed 100 pounds, and lay in a cell suffering, fighting for us." Kiersten said, "Mom, I'm not thinking of that right now. I'm thinking, I'M ACTUALLY IN THE SAME ROOM WITH HIM RIGHT NOW!", her eyes shining and wide with pride, AMERICAN pride!

We got to sing the National Anthem, say our pledge, practice the UNDER GOD part and pray to the God in Heaven, all with thousands of other proud Americans! We got to honor the veterans that were there, and there were MANY! I pray that our God will have mercy on America.

Here's a couple pics of what we saw. Later, I'll tell you how we finished up our field trip, a great bonus ending to our spur of the moment trip to Kansas City!