More on Health & Health Care

I would love to hear what you think about this video. Please watch it and leave your comments.

The Winner Is....

The winner is Fiddle D Dee from over at Seedlings to Sunflowers. Thanks to everyone for taking part in the Give Away. Fiddle, please send me your address.

Count Your Blessings Monday

I am giving us an opportunity every Monday to not only count our blessings, but to share them with others. This is a way that we can encourage one another. Make a post on your blog telling us about your blessing. Please put a link back to this post. You can add the URL of your blog post on Mr. Linky below. Many of our blessings we will have pictures of and we can share those as well. This has been sort of slow to catch on, but it is growing. I think that many times we forget that it is a blessing to be able to breath, to get out of bed, to hold a baby... Share your blessings with us.



I am thankful for our dogs. We have 3 dogs and it is still funny to me. I would have never pictured us with 3 dogs. We have Australian Shepherds. Star (Southern Star) is the best dog we have ever seen or had. She is the reason that we fell in love with their breed. She is a "momma" to everything and everyone. The pup starts chewing on her and we tell her to "Get Her", she just does a funny bark at the puppy, but doesn't hurt her. She loves baby chicks, baby lambs, baby cows, and baby goats. She adores children and would play with them all day long. Belle (Southern Belle) is not near as smart as Star. Her smarts come in a wiley sort of way. She is much more fearful than Star and is a wanderer at times. She is not always obedient and she can be very rough with the puppy. Dixie (Dixie Darlin') has already shown she is smart. She has a real personality and we are truly enjoying her. Puppyhood is fun, but the yard sometimes look like puppy romper room took place. When we cut the grass, we will have to really walk the yard looking for things.

They are great watch dogs and very protective of me. They are often my door bell, while people are still coming up the driveway. We rented most of our married life and we were not allowed to have dogs. My husband loves them the most I think. He spoils them, and they adore him. My son seems to draw all dogs to himself. We were at our fellowship yesterday. They have a yorkie dog named Clyde. While we were praying Clyde jumped right up in Joshua's lap.

The first picture is all 3 dogs. The second one is Dixie. Star is the third picture shown with her favorite play toy... a ball. Belle is in the last picture. When they are locked out on the porch, that window sill is Belle's favorite place to perch.

Children's Give A Way

This post will stay at the top until the contest is over. Please scroll past it to see the new posts.

Shannon's got a new thing going at her place. It is called the Dog Days of Summer Giveaway! If you have something to give away, hurry up and post about it, then link up at Shannon's place. There are also plenty of give aways listed to enter.






Since I host Count Your Blessings Monday, and my blessing this week was all the children in my life, I am going to do a childrens give-away. I give prizes at church to children for memorizing scripture. I always have left over prizes to share. Here is a picture of the prize I will be giving away. Leave your name on the comments section of this post to enter yourself into this give-away. Everyone has someone young in their life. If you would like a second chance, then go to my last Count Your Blessings post and do all of the following. Participate by posting a blessing on your blog with the Blessing graphic and a link back to my page. Also, leave a comment under that post that you want to your name put in the second time. The contest will end on the 29th of this month.

More on Eating Choices

The pictures above are taken just a few days apart. It is amazing how the glads open up. I am really enjoying them.

I said that I might give an answer today on making choices on what you eat. I want to preface it with this... What I share is how we do it in our family. We don't hold our standards to anyone else. =) I really liked Sharon's answers yesterday. I did not hear the attitude that I was sharing about.

One of the first things I like to do when I hear the latest and greatest eating plan, or some new finding on what is good for you and what is not, is to think about what God's Word says. There is a diet out there that they don't want you to eat any meat or dairy. They say the diet is based on verses in Genesis in the Bible. There are verses that talk about eating only the plants and herbs. However, you would have to ignore large portions of the Bible to think that is the only right way. When it tells the Hebrews to bring their sacrifices in, portions of the meat are given to the priests and their families. They were instructed to eat a Passover lamb. Jesus was cooking fish over a fire by the sea of Galilee. So, for our family, we would rule that one out as a way of eating on a regular basis. Someone else told me that you should never eat a carbohydrate with a protein. Yet, what did Jesus bless and serve the multitude? Loaves and fish... carbohydrate and a protein. So, we rule that out for us. Those are just a couple of examples.

Then we like to look at 3 premises or rules to live by that we read in the book, "What The Bible Says About Healthy Living" I don't agree with everything in the book, but we liked the 3 rules he shared. 1. Eat only what God intended for food. I always use the example of blue jello at this point. =) 2. Eat it as close to the way that God created it as you possibly can... Don't over process it. 3. Don't make what or how you eat your god. Don't think you control your health, as it is in God's hands.

We also look at prices. If organic bananas are 20 cents more per pound, we would probably get them for our family since there is only 3 of us. Even if we buy 5 lbs., we are only talking a dollar. There is a list of 25 (I think it is 25) things that if you buy them, then organic is a much better choice. I have that filed away somewhere if anyone is interested. If the price is too high then is there something else similar you can substitute or can you put it in a casserole and stretch a smaller amount of that food. Sometimes paying a little bit more now, saves doctor bills later on.

Cook from scratch as much as possible. I know when we lived in Florida, I had figured out how much it cost me at that time to make a loaf of bread from my freshly ground wheat. It was around 39 cents. Even then, that was a way better price than a loaf of store bought bread. To buy rice in bulk is much cheaper than to keep buying boxes of minute rice. Find a co-op and see what price breaks you can get there. I can often buy organic dried beans as cheap as regular in the store. Raise as much of your own food as you can. Get your children out there helping you in the garden. You are a family and families work together to provide for the needs of the family.

Lastly, but certainly not least, pray. Ask God to show you what you should be eating. Do what you can and then leave your health in God's hands. If some new finding comes along take it before the Lord and see if it is for your family or not. Wives talk to your husbands. Make sure that you are doing what they would have you do. Don't decide that you are going to make changes even if he does not like them. God will not honor that.

We are not purists in this family. We try to make the bulk of how we eat to be healthy. Since we have our milk cow, we purchased one of those on the counter top ice cream makers. We can make ice cream that is much closer to being good for us. One of the things that Sharon mentioned yesterday in her comments was that the old timers ate the butter, etc. I believe that they ate the "whole" food. We believe in butter and whole milk, etc. I also think that our food is much more toxic than it was for them. The ground and water is polluted. They have messed with the DNA of the plants, and now things that used to be good for you have a potential of being harmful.

I would love to hear your thoughts on this topic.

What Are You Choosing?

I was laying in bed last night thinking. My husband has the gift of falling asleep quickly. I do not have that gift. When there is a lot going on, then I lay there even longer... thinking... praying... sometimes worrying (yes, I know that is a sin)... There are a lot of different things going on in our family and extended family right now. It gives me lots to ponder and think on. It gives me even more to pray about.

One of the lines I was thinking along was about choices in our lives. We all have choices to make every day. We can choose what is easiest at the moment, what is most comfortable for us, or even choose what is the best way as a Christian. How many of us, really uses that last way on a regular basis? I think of people who turn their noses up at healthy and whole foods. That is their choice. They sometimes make comments like "We are all going to die at sometime or other." I wonder if they would still say that if their child lay there with cancer or some other horrible painful disease. Then I immediately think... "What things in my life am I treating in this way?" I don't want to concentrate on the other people, but use what I see in their lives to evaluate my own life. I want to make wise spiritual choices, not ones based on my lusts. We all have blind spots and we all have spots we pretend we are blind in. Another thing I hear is "It is too hard to feed a family healthy food. We can't afford it." Yet, I see their money going for other things that are not essential to living. That is their business and their choice. What in my life mirrors those types of decisions. Several of the people I have heard that last statement from say they do not have time to cook from scratch, etc. They are too busy. Yet, if you ask them to go garage saling for the day or go shopping or some other thing they like, there is suddenly large blocks of time. Again, it is a choice. Am I too busy with self centered things that I am not making wise choices somewhere else in my life? Lord, search me and know me and show me anything that needs to change in my life. Renew me daily. Let my choices be because they are the best choice in Your eyes. Help me to think spiritually in everything that I do. Don't let me default to my regular habits.

Maybe tomorrow I will answer a question that I have been asked recently by a couple of people... How do you know what is the best way (regarding healthy eating, etc) when one "expert" tells you one thing and another "expert" tells you that is wrong. Now mind you, it will be only my opinion since I am not an expert. =)

Show And Tell Friday

Kelli hosts a show and tell Friday. Do you have a something special to share with us? It could be a trinket from grade school, a piece of jewelry, an antique find. Your show and tell can be old or new. Use your imagination and dig through those old boxes in your closet if you have to! Feel free to share pictures and if there's a story behind your special something, that's even better!



This is my wood burning cookstove. It is a Pioneer Maid. It was my only stove to cook on for awhile. It is still the only source of heat that our house has. It is funny how things seem to taste better when cooked on this stove.

The Heavens & Creation Praise His Name

I love to see the night skies. The sunsets on some evenings are so intense that you want to hold your breath while watching them. None of the colors in my pictures are even close to the real thing. Nights like last night have colors that would look fake if you tried to paint them. Here are some pictures of the sunset last evening.

My gladiolas are starting to bloom. Some of them were planted around the house when we moved here. I bought and planted a few and a friend in California sent me some beautiful ones to plant. I keep a vase full in the house until they are done. I also try to share them with others. So far I have this pinkish red ones and white ones.

I have been told that these are coreopsis. I am not sure what they are, but I am 5' 7" tall. These flowers are even with my forehead. They are really tall.
Then I found this tiny little daisy plant in my yard. Most of the daisies around here are on longer stems. These were all really short. =)
This is one of the wild kittens. It is getting a bit braver. We have been trying to catch it because it has weird eyes. At first I thought something was wrong with it's left eye. However, everyone seems to think that its let eye is a really weird green and a totally different color than its right eye. I think it will get bigger if you click on it.

How Many Children Do You Have?

We live in an area of the country where to have a large quiverful (many children) in a family is the norm and viewed as a blessing. We too view it that way and in no way want to take away from their blessings. However, there have been a few times I was looked down on when asked how many children I have and I answer one. If they asked my how many I would love to have, I would say 12 or more, but God chose to give me one and I am so grateful for that one. A friend told me to go over to a blog and watch the following video. I cried like a baby. I have been barren for 28 years (my blessing is adopted which makes him more special) and I do believe that this area of my life has been dealt with. I have lots of friends that share their babies and children with me for which I am so grateful, but to hold a newborn or little one close is truly bittersweet for me. I wouldn't miss it for the world, but it sure does tug at me way down deep. I don't know who this singer is, but her song is beautiful.

This-N-That

We had another young person baptized by their Dad on Sunday. We as adults need to be sure we are encouraging and exhorting them to walk as the Lord would have them walk.

After the baptism there were lots of things going on. Here was a small baseball game between one of our wee friends and my husband. He was trying to hit her bat with the ball. =)
This is a tire swing they have in a tree out in front. They are building a house, so they were using the pile of trusses to step on and swing off of.
A bunch of us were sitting around just talking. One of the young men had camped out with Joshua on our property the night before. He was on his way over to our house and he said something flew into his window and hit his seatbelt and then hit the window behind his head really hard. It was dark, so he figured it was a bat. When he got to our driveway he stopped and opened his door got out and was looking for the bat to make sure it got out of his truck. He couldn't find it. He went ahead stopped by the house and picked up Joshua and they headed out back. Later he went to go get something in his truck and saw this sitting on the passenger seat. Evidently, it hit the window and bounced over on the seat beside him. He had been looking behind and under his seat. My son had sat on it and not even known it. They took it, after showing it to us, and hung it on the bark of a tree right there. Several of the smaller children would come over, not knowing the story , and say... LOOK, there is a bat!!!! =) We would all act surprised.
I only have one sunflower growing this year that I

know of. =( It is not blooming yet. This is at the neighbor's house. I LOVE sunflowers.
We were coming home from town on Monday and got near home and had to stop. The farmer was moving his cows from one field, across the road to another pasture.


Guess who was attacking the sprinkler again? =)

Count Your Blessings Monday

Too often we don't take time to count our blessings. So, I am going to give us an opportunity every Monday to not only count our blessings, but to share them with others. Make a post on your blog telling us about your blessing. You can snag the picture above and use it on your blog. Please put a link back to this post. You can add the URL of your blog post on Mr. Linky below. Many of our blessings we will have pictures of and we can share those as well. This has been sort of slow to catch on, but it is growing. I think that many times we forget that it is a blessing to be able to breath, to get out of bed, to hold a baby... Share your blessings with us.



My blessing today is all my younger friends. I had wanted a very large family, but God chose to give me just one child. I am very grateful for my son. God has also blessed me with friends and family who share their babies and little ones with me. Here are a few pictures of just some of them. I may add more if blogger will allow, but I could never get them all on here. I am blessed with lots of children in my life.

Show & Tell Friday

Kelli hosts a show and tell Friday. Do you have a something special to share with us? It could be a trinket from grade school, a piece of jewelry, an antique find. Your show and tell can be old or new. Use your imagination and dig through those old boxes in your closet if you have to! Feel free to share pictures and if there's a story behind your special something, that's even better!

Joshua our son is very good at what he does. He is 23 years old and already has a great reputation for his craftsmanship. He does contracters work and remodeling things. Most of his jobs now come from word of mouth recommendations from people he has done work for. I believe one of the reasons that he is so good, is that he has a cabinet makers eye and heart. He wants everything plumb and square. When he picks out wood to make things, he doesn't just look for straight boards. He looks at the patterns in the wood, the flame, the character of the wood. We have friends that started off as customers for our meats. They were expecting another child and wanted a cradle made. Joshua was 18 years old, but they asked him to make it. They let him choose the style of cradle that he liked. When Joshua was talking to the husband, he asked Joshua questions that drew out of him what sort of wood that Joshua like to work with. Joshua told him that one day he wanted to make something with cherry, but to not stain it dark, but just put a clear finish on it. That is what they ordered their cradle in. Special thanks to Mark & Tracy for their friendship and for giving Joshua a chance to do something special. Here is the cradle he made for them. Remember, he had just turned 18. If you click on the picture, it will show you a larger view of it and you can see more detail.

Book Give Away.

Life in a Shoe is hosting a giveaway of Vision Forum's exciting new adventure series, Ballantyne books. Kim is giving away one title per week and then an entire set at the end. Be sure you enter the drawing!!

Little Dixie Down On The Farm...

Little Dixie Darlin' is growing up fast. We look at her and can't believe how big she is getting. She is in full blown puppyhood. Everything is new and everything is fair game as a toy or a playmate. Now, the actual breed of our dogs is Australian Shepherd. However, I think that Dixie is Italian. I went to the greenhouse in town last Saturday to see if they have any herbs left. My sweet Michael put some dirt in a raised bed for me to put my herbs in. The other herb bed does not do well where it is. The pickins were slim, but I got a lavender, a sage, an oregano (spicy hot one) and a thyme. Then I picked up a 4 pack of Italian parsley. They put them in a little box for us. When we got home, my husband set the box on the ground out front. Since one of her favorite "toys" is my plants and their pots, I thought to myself that I needed to come back out and put that up somewhere. My hands were full and I got sidetracked. When I did go back outside, she had chewed on the thyme and left it in the front yard and then destroyed the pot. We have never found the Italian parsley or its pot. I assume she wanted to garnish her dog food. =)

Star, only tolerates so much and then she puts Dixie in her place. Belle will romp and play with her, but she plays hard. She grabs Dixie's collar and drags her around the yard. She has also tried to drag her by her ear. I do think the big cats have taught her a lesson, but she still loves to chase them and harass them. She just keeps her distance. There are at least two wild kittens, maybe three. She goes after them yapping up a storm.

She also learned about electric fences. Yesterday morning, I heard her holler and then yap loudly all the way across the front yard. She ran under the bench on the porch. When I opened the front door, she came running in and ran right straight to her crate and got in and layed down.

We were told that Australian Shepherds did not like water. That is true of our other two. Dixie has followed the neighbor's dog down into our pond. When Michael was out moving fence the other day, he saw her get in and she was dog paddling around.

This morning, when I went out to feed calves, all the dogs and the two big cats went with me. Dixie was chasing those cats. I was just getting ready to take her picture when she spied a cat. By the time I snapped the picture she was in motion as you can see in the picture below.

These next three pictures are her watching the cats waiting for the right moment to pounce.

Here is one of the kittens ready to duck back behind stuff if she comes near.

Here the mama hen and her chick are getting ready to flee as well.

There is never a dull moment on the farm. I love living in the country and I love my animals. I am truly blessed to be able to live this life.

We are still praying for rain, but we got some last night for which we are very thankful.