Swiftly Flow The Years

How can this be?

Almost six foot, three

A blue cap and gown.

Born eleven pounds, six ounces

Two o'clock feedings and horsey bounces

First smile -- giggle -- words, written down.

After one week in a daycare crib

Realizing the World had told a fib

The briefcase was closed and Mamma stayed home.
Dandelion flowers, dirt piles and skates
Legos, cars, a balloon sale, check-mates
Who would have dreamed how fast he'd be grown?

Compassionate, hard working, friendly and true
They ask, "Is he this way even at home with just you?"
Yes, he's the same -- a real man all the time.
A guinea pig first born child
A lickety split Mother, his Father steady and mild
The prodigy, an objective thinker who spins his truck on a dime.

That first embrace when just a babe

And all the memories that have since been made

Seeds sown -- what a glorious reaping!

Cotton top hair, now brown, too soon grey

One thought on this graduation day

May the Lord continue his keeping.

How can this be?

A blue cap and gown.

Connie Riggs

Soft Drinks Linked to Pancreatic Cancer Risk

Momma, Can I Help?

She spoke with her beautiful brown eyes
I smiled
Glad she's home with me
Glad I'm her mother
...........her teacher
.............her confidant
...............her passage to womanhood
All in a slow paced world

Carefully, three cups of milk
Maybe a tad too much
Almost a whole stick of butter
Scooped from the crock
Plenty of molasses
Now? Tell me when...now?
Oh, some got on my finger
Yes, you can
Since it's just for us
But don't do that
When company is coming



Flour
...wheat grains soaked overnight
............salt
.....................yeast
Quantified with new hands
Unsure
But thrilled beyond measure

Kneading
The fun part
Fun, now
Later, fulfilling
Her family around her
Life sustenance pliable in her hands
Kneading
Shaping loaves
Warm smells from her kitchen
All in a slow paced world









"Momma, do you have time to...? Oh, never mind, I know you do. We live in the country, and have all the time in the world."
Laura -- January 2010



Recipe for Laura's Bread

3 cups milk
1/3 cup molasses
3/4 stick butter

Heat this to 120* and pour into the dry ingredients



Mix these three in prep for the wet ingredients:

3 cups organic white flour
1 Tbs yeast
1 Tbs salt

Add 4 cups fresh ground wheat which has been soaked overnight. (I will do a post on the health benefits of soaked grains soon.) Either an electric grinder or hand grinder work very well. It's nice to have both for when the electric one wears out...like mine did recently.



When the mixture is just manageable,




Pour onto a floured table





Knead until pliable and smooth. Spray with olive oil and cover with a cloth for 40 minutes.



Divide into two loaf pans, (preferably stoneware since the aluminum carcinogens can leach into your bread) score three cuts into top of the bread to help it rise, spray with olive oil again, and let rise in a warm place for 10 minutes.

Cover loosely with foil. Bake on 350* for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake ten more minutes. Turn out loaves onto a wire cooling rack until completely cool. If covered too soon, the crust and inside will be too doughy. The bread needs to breathe. After cooling, cover with a bag to seal in the freshness...if you've managed to wait until the bread cools before eating it. :)

Tea and Friendship

My friend, Teresa, often sends things to brighten my day. After an especially taxing week, I opened the mailbox to find this beautiful book waiting inside. Along with quotes, poems, and tea lore, The Art of Tea and Friendship includes charming paintings by the author, Sandy Lynam Clough.

J.R. began drinking hot tea in place of coffee nineteen years ago. He asked me time and time again to just try it because he wanted us to enjoy it together. I tried it once, and didn’t care for it. He continued to drink hot tea (alone) from a Stanley thermos without the pomp and pageantry that I had always associated with drinking tea. No herbal or perfumed teas drunk from small china cups with carved sugar lumps or cream. No, it was straight, black, hot tea poured from a Stanley thermos. The thermos was well worn from being lugged through recycling yards, demolition jobs, on airplanes, in hotels, and then back home again to be parked beside his office desk or his favorite recliner.



About three years ago, the “a-ha” light turned on in my head. I realized that the man of my dreams was not asking me just to try to like hot tea, but to spend precious time connecting with him during this tea time. (Wouldn’t Debi Pearl have a field day with that one?) Immediately, I began tasting various teas and found a favorite which quickly became my fella’s favorite too. Our mornings now began with Scottish Breakfast Tea nicely poured from a teapot with the manly motif of an English hunting scene.



I must admit that my day is now not complete without a full half gallon of good steaming hot black tea drunk cup by cup with cream and honey. But, do you know what? My preferred way to drink tea is just how I first saw him partake of it - poured straight from his Stanley work thermos into a big mug that I can wrap my hands around….as I wrap my heart around his.

When I received The Art of Tea and Friendship, I was reminded of a morning two months ago when J.R. was out of town and before our morning phone call, he texted me a picture of his empty breakfast plate and drink. My text back was the picture below. My cup of tea, the Bible opened to the page I had been reading, and his empty recliner. He knew that I was saying, “My tea time is not complete without you.”



There is no trouble so great or grave that cannot be much diminished by a nice cup of tea. Bernard-Paul Heroux

Cream of Mushroom Substitute

In an effort to cook only whole foods for our family, I found this recipe to replace canned creamed soups.

Makes 6 Cups
3/4 cup butter
3/4 cup flour
5 cups milk warmed
1 cup chicken or beef stock
season with salt/pepper


Warm the milk then stir the flour and broth into the warm milk.

1.5 C of white sauce = 1 small can of soup

His Helpmeet

I snapped a picture of a new 2010 calendar I saw in the bookstore yesterday. The caption reads, "I See You're Finally Understanding The Nature Of Our Relationship"

How is this for a reminder month after month after month that God has not given us a protector, provider, and priest, but rather has given us a groveling idiot we have to clean up after, guide like a child, and tolerate on a day to day basis? Lord help us to return to the beautiful adorning of the Old Testament women mentioned in I Peter 3:5.

"For after this manner in the old time the holy women also, who trusted in God, adorned themselves, being in subjection unto their own husbands:"

Like Mother Like Daughter

Ezekiel 16:44-45

Behold, everyone that useth proverbs shall use this proverb against thee, saying, As is the mother, so is her daughter.

Thou art thy mother's daughter, that loatheth her husband and her children; and thou art the sister of thy sisters, which loathed their husbands and their children...

She Strengtheneth Her Arms

I loved this post about the economics of the Proverbs 31 Woman. Here's an excerpt from Visionary Daughters

"Work — even paid work — is not something a biblical woman resorts to just when times get tough. Let’s go back to our Proverbs 31 woman. By all measures today, her situation was perfect — successful husband (v23), disposable income (v16) — even maidservants! (v15). Yet what do we see her doing from the darkness of the early morning through the night? Laboring. Producing. Earning. Increasing. Even in her comfortable circumstances, she embraced the privilege of productive work, the holy dignity in labor that the Lord first demonstrated Himself. Of all her virtues (generosity, kindness, wisdom, etc.), this chapter spotlights one virtue more than any other: her industry.


This used to be a mainstay of biblical economics. In times when women used to turn to their spindles and looms rather than to novels and soap operas, they didn’t have to feel financially helpless or useless.[2] Production, rather than consumption and entertainment, was their way of life, and thus their way of life was never in jeopardy. Nor were “real-world skills” something they kept stored away “to fall back on” — “just in case” they lost their life of luxury and ease — they were developing and using them every day."

Little Bakers

Laura and Clay made yeast rolls today. I think kneading was their favorite part. Anyone volunteer to help clean up the kitchen? :)

Proverbs 26:14

(Proverbs 26:14 ~ As the door turneth upon his hinges, so doth the slothful upon his bed.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As I shook your shoulder this morning

Attempting to wake you from slumber

A Proverb came to my mind

26:14 was the number

It was hard to conceal a chuckle

As you flopped onto your other side

Thinking how I would put thoughts into rhyme

And with it gently chide

One morning you awake at 5:00 A.M.

Robust and ready to greet the day

The next, 7 o'clock rolls around

While your flailing hand keeps the buzzer at bay

You'll one day have it all together
Self discipline won't be so hard
But, for now I'm enjoying this poem
In which my dear sleepy-head starred

Connie Riggs

Happy Anniversary

21 Fantastic Years!

I "set my cap" for J.R. at the young age of 14. God blessed me with Mr. Steady. I feel safe with him, I love to hear him laugh, he is a good father to our children, and has never let me down.

Michael Farris on Courtship

"On this week’s programs, Mike Farris shares the principles of courtship that have guided him and his wife as they’ve raised their ten children. Find out why premature romance is dangerous and how you can prepare your children to save their hearts for the one they marry—no matter how young or old they are now!"


http://www.hslda.org/docs/hshb/88/hshbwk6.asp

Program Listing:

3/23 The Dangers of Children Playing with Romance
3/24 Protecting our Children from Destructive Emotional Entanglements
3/25 Delaying Romantic Relationships until Ready for Marriage
3/26 Casual Dating is Out; Friendship is in
3/27 Courtship and Parental Involvement

Say Cheese!

I made mozzarella cheese and crusts with whey for our pizzas tonight. What a thrill!! J.R. is planning to make a cheese press so I can make hard cheese also. So far, I've made mozzarella and queso blanco which are soft cheeses and don't require the press. For those interested, one gallon of milk makes about one pound of cheese. I'm finding that we may need to invest in another cow to have enough to sell. Cupcake gives about three gallons per day, but with plain drinking milk,cheese, butter, sour cream, yogurt, and the myriad other uses, there most likely won't be enough left to sell.

"It's Been A Crazy Day"

As J.R. was putting Laura and Clay to bed, Laura said, "It's been a crazy day!" When he asked her why, she said that it all started when, "Momma was sick and couldn't hold me this morning." Later, I overheard her telling Barley that it had been a miserable day because she hadn't been held. It's astounding how much children rely on a daily routine. I'm thankful that theirs can start out each morning in Momma's lap. After acclimating to the day, we're off to the usual chores, school, and play, but oh, how blessed I am to hold my babies every morning when they wake up. Too fast has come the echo from this special time I always shared with Barley as well. I can still hear him say, "I wanna hold you me?"

Tallying

Kindergarten is tallying up to be one fun and fantastic year.

Are You Up For A Challenge?

I am in the final days of completing the True Woman Makeover Challenge offered by http://www.reviveourhearts.com/ You will find many areas in it that you are already succeeding in, but there are nuggets in the daily challenges that make it a definite benefit to subscribe to.




J.R. is gleaning truths from Pagan Christianity by Frank Viola. He thinks it is by far one of the best books he's ever read.

Come visit us!

We were given this house to haul off and rebuild on our land to transfurm into a 1940's era guest house.
















You can add your clothes to the line!

















Grind wheat and make bread with us!















Share an end-of-the-day rest and see God's beautiful paintings!

Smileys

Clay and Laura sewed buttons onto pillow cases in smiley face patterns. A lesson in patience....not for them, but for me. :)

Laundry Soap

This is a great link to step-by-step instructions for making laundry detergent. We are daily trying to get away from harmful chemicals. It's also a further step in trying to live frugally. Making it is supposed to be a quick and easy process. Let's hope so. :)

http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2008/04/09/making-your-own-laundry-detergent-a-detailed-visual-guide/

This link is for the powdered version: http://www.recipezaar.com/76779