Family Treasure 1/2 hr. PROJECT

Can't remember the exact date this cabinet was purchased for me by my father at my Aunt Irene and Uncle Pauls sale. I believe 15 or so years ago. I don't know the story behind it but what I do know is that as I look at it, my mind wanders.

I wonder who made it...What was kept in it? I like to imagine it was used for their beloved fishing gear-tackle, lures, hooks and such as they both loved to fish. I've thought of getting rid of it many times and JUST CAN'T DO IT!

Why keep it? It looks like a piece of junk-but to me its beautiful. Something to hold onto-to remember them by for always.
See Aunt Irene aka "GRAMMER" was special to me for many reasons. I can still picture her over sized beautifully wrinkled smile as she always fondly called me her "TWIN!" She rushed to me with out stretched arms at every Roller Reunion with either a jar of pickled beets or a crocheted HOT PAD laughing & smiling all the way.

See we share a birthday....60 years apart-making us "TWINS." Aunt Irene will be 99 this year-you can figure my age from there-ha.

She has lost her memory for the most part but from what I hear-THE SMILE HASN'T CHANGED.

I did a 30 minute REVAMP job on the old cabinet today. What do you think?
This was also Aunt Irene's basket-Initials "PKH" fondly written on the handle-probably taken on fishing trips and church pot-lucks filled with home made goodies. At least that's what I like to imagine.

Now filled with diapers and wipes.

And placed it in the hallway under a grouping of pictures-I LOVE IT!

I'm thankful today-THANKFUL for a loving family, THANKFUL God chose my parents to adopt me-otherwise I never would have known my Aunt Irene-her wonderful, loving smile and the unforgettable taste of those pickled beets.

Your Opinion-homeschool phonics/reading.

I really enjoy asking people who are homeschooling and have already taught their little ones to read about what curriculum they thought was best for teaching their child to read. My My is READY to learn.

I could really use all of your help in telling me what you use so I can decide what I would like to use next year. Can't wait to hear what you have to share!

I took this pic before church Sunday-HAD TO SHARE!

Our baby chicks are REALLY growing in the eggs-flapping around in there like crazy! So AWESOME! We are down to 17 now. Have a FABULOUS TUESDAY!

The Devil is DUMB!

We started out here last night at this sweet country Baptist church where my father-in-law accepted Christ as his savior as a boy.
They are having a revival this week & we were all ready to attend our second night. All the kids were fed, bathed and in matching outfits-I WAS DOING SO GOOD! AND, we were on time!
THEN THE DEVIL REARED HIS UGLY HEAD as soon as Wy Wy "tripped" and fell out of our party bus-gashing his forehead and road rashing his little sweet face. Luckily, he was the first out so no other unstrapping was needed. We all JUMPED back in the bus and headed for the ER!He screamed all the way there so I held him (along with a diaper on his head to soak up the blood)-SOMETIMES YOU JUST HAVE TO. It definitely helped that he had THE CAPTAIN'S hand to hold (as he drove) all the way there. The Captain told the kids Satan didn't want us at church-smart guy.A little super glue & ice cream and he was ALL BETTER! He was more upset about ripping his jeans and missing church than his head!
The blessing of the night was just being together AS A FAMILY. Even if it wasn't a major tragedy, I'm just so thankful that we don't have our kids in TONS of world-pushed activities and we can spend evenings together like this-as it should be.We then turned off all the lights and checked OUR PEEPS! Seems out of 22 eggs-20 have chicks in them-LORD HELP ME!

What on earth am I going to do with 20 chickens. This is the best picture I could get of one of BIT BUTS EGGS-you can distinctly see the veins-little miracles! THE DEVIL AIN'T STOPPIN US TONIGHT! WE'RE GOIN' BACK!

FERTILITY in QUESTION!?

NO WE'RE NOT TALKING ABOUT ME!!

This picture was actually taken in the dark, in our guest bathroom while supper was cooking. We decided to CANDLE aka check the fertility (or try to) of our 22 eggs. You do this by going in the dark and putting your egg up to a flashlight.
About 3 or 4 looked like fertile eggs-we could tell for sure (you will see veins & a dark spot). It was so hard to tell PLUS.....WE ARE CLUELESS about it really. We even looked at tons of pictures on-line and they were pretty inconclusive to a first time CHICKEN GROWER! It was VERY COOL how you could see inside the egg though!

We will candle FOR OUR PEEPS again on Friday to see if they made any progress! The below picture is of a "GOOD EGG." Not one of ours but shows what we are looking for. Just to see the miracle of life inside this little egg just makes God even more amazing to me!

Desperate FARM WIFE BLUES.....

Don't get me wrong, I'm SO THANKFUL to be a farmers wife. But, I'm allowed to have feelings too right? I'm going through a BLUE MOMENT.

I miss The Captain desperately when he is away at work flying airplanes 14 days each month. I get fairly lonely. Right now, I feel we are just passing in the night. Sometimes I pray for rain so he'll come inside-any other farmers wives do that?

Here's is the problem.

He changes from his pilot uniform into his farming clothes WAY TOO QUICKLY for me. He headed right out to do farm work as soon as he got home Friday. He was out on the tractor discing all day Saturday. We got to go to church as a family yesterday so that was good but he spent all day in town getting parts for something after church. Granted-he took 4 littles with him on one errand to look at baby bunnies and chicks so I could mop my ENORMOUS floor.
Wy Wy is farm, tractor, combine obsessed so he spends every waking moment with The Captain-work gloves on AT ALL TIMES.

HERE IS THE SOLUTION..

God is ALL I REALLY NEED. I must remind myself at times like this when I get lonely-lonely for The Captain, lonely for a night out with friends-TRUST ME, I have plenty of kids surrounding me but it's not the same.

I must not listen to Satan-THE FATHER OF LIES. by feeling sorry for myself-I am playing right into his lies and games.

"and you have been given FULLNESS, in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority." Colossians 2:10

"Earth has NOTHING I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever." Psalm 73:25, 26

May you be encouraged today that HE is truly all you need.

Our new BABIES..MAYBE

Introducing... JEWEL, EASTER, JOHN DEERE, PECKER, OLA, JOHN DEERE JR., HARLEY and 15 of their closest friends. 22 possible babies in all. I refuse to name mine until I hold them in my arms-adoptive mom habit I guess. We are incubating these eggs for school, Easter and just for fun! We bought an incubator on EBAY and got eggs from a home school friend (thanks Diana) and now we will wait.....

If my calculations are correct (it takes 21 days) we should have some baby chicks by good Friday-RIGHT WHEN THE CAPTAIN GOES BACK TO WORK-never fails :) Me-6 kids and 22 baby chicks-FUN TIMES PEEPS! I am SO EXCITED for the kids to learn responsibility with this project-they have to turn the eggs 2-3 times a day, check the temperature, moisture and help THE CAPTAIN build a chicken house.

Then they will feed and water their babies. I sure hope some hatch out after all this work. If not, we'll buy some chicks.
I will NEVER FORGET my mom and dad getting me a baby duck as a child. His name was "QUACKER" and he lived in the house, I dressed him, he cuddled with the cat, rode in a wagon and slept with me until he got too big and went to live at a farm.

THANKS MOM AND DAD FOR THAT MEMORY-I'm sure it was a real pain!

The Captain...I love this guy...

Tears came to me when I saw this picture. God arranged it so THE CAPTAIN had a layover in Omaha, NE last night. RIGHT DOWN THE ROAD FROM ISAIAH!

Let me just share that The Captain (like most men in my family) don't really DIG THE HOSPITAL SCENE. Especially when a sick child is involved.

He didn't even THINK TWICE about going to visit Isaiah-I do believe that this visit changed a lot inside THE CAPTAIN. It was very emotional for him.

Thank you honey, for caring about my sweet friend and her boy and thank you God for allowing this visit to happen!

Is THIS A PROBLEM?

Is it a big deal that my son wears a leotard with his JOHN DEERE BOOTS and Power Ranger underwear? Keep in mind, he's got 2 sisters the same age as him :)

This is the kind of NONSENSE I allow while The Captain is away!

This FAMILY NEEDS OUR HELP!

This is my friend Jen, hubby Aaron and son Isaiah. You can visit their blog HERE.

Isaiah is having surgery TODAY at noon-please join me in praying for my dear friend and her family. Jen & Aaron adopted Isaiah despite his MANY medical problems.

Jenni is not able to be with Isaiah during his surgery. Isaiah is in Omaha and Jen is busy working in Kansas City. I can't imagine being away from my baby during this time but Jenni has to work to keep the family going. Her husband is with Isaiah today.

It is VERY DIFFICULT for this family to live in one place and have Isaiah in a totally different state. With gas money, travel expenses, lodging and food it is VERY EXPENSIVE!

So, I'm asking you, out of the goodness of your heart-If you feel led to help this family-there are 2 ways.

#1 You can join Isaiah's FIGHT on facebook and donate with a debit/credit card. CLICK HERE TO GO TO ISAIAH'S CAUSE on facebook.

#2 You can mail a check to their church-write ISAIAH somewhere on envelope or in the memo of your check

Lifestream Christian Church
136 East Main Street
Gardner, KS 66030

Phone: 913-856-8088

EVEN $1 WILL HELP THIS FAMILY!

Jealousy & the PILOTS WIFE....

I'm sure I speak for many PILOTS WIVES when I say I am at many times JEALOUS & would TRADE PLACES WITH MY PILOT IN A MINUTE.

Like today...The photo below is the island where THE CAPTAIN is as I sit here on the ranch, with a pounding sinus headache-DREADING the 2 hours I will spend at Wal-Mart doing my weekly shopping.As I enjoy the fine cuisine of MAC N'CHEESE ALA HOT DOG CHUNK possibly with side of peas or corn. DON'T FORGET.. a gourmet dessert of Dora fruit snacks while wearing my slobbered on WILD OLIVE TEE.

This is where The Captain will dine. WITH ADULTS!!! AND A BEACH!! AND A SUNSET!! AND 80+ degree weather. Oh how I miss him....And after I bathe the tribe, go to Wally World and put away my insanely crazy amount of groceries.

I will fall asleep dirty, probably watching "Thomas The Train" for the cuzillionth time and The Captains last view for the night will be this.. Wishing I was hand in hand with him right now.

I must remind myself many things "HE IS WORKING. He misses me too, He also misses the kids and I could never be away from the tribe, no matter how crazy I am-for days at a time like he is."

I must also echo my thankfulness to The Captain-for sacrificing time with us-his precious ones, to be an awesome provider.

Ultimately my thankfulness to God for the wonderful job he has provided for The Captain to take care of my Wally World bill.

I MISS YOU HONEY!

Maybe we can get a glimpse of paradise from your webcam later!

Hillbillies Fer' a Night!

Who are them dirty faced, ill mannered YUNG UNS?We went yonder to our homeschoolin' Hillbilly "mystery" dinner last night with 40 of our closest hillbilly friends.

Don't you love them there centerpieces? Dirt N' ALL!You got yer vittles from a fine 3 course menu.

Ya' never knew what you wuz gonna get.

I was right disappointed there was no possom stew.

Pinky got a straw with her pig toes and had to eat HILLBILLY STYLE.
My My got no fork with her night crawlers.
Her mama trained her right cuz she had no problems eatin' it with what the good Lord gave her! Granny Clampett would o been proud of me n my kin don't you think? Can I get a YEE HAW?

The SHOES and GOD!

I had FULLY INTENDED to get photos of yesterday as we testified in front of The Kansas House of Representatives. OOPS-too nervous to take pics. Last year The Captain did ALL the talking-this year I did.

Our Representative introduced the bill and I was the first "conferee" aka speaker for the proponent side (for the bill). There were 2 OPPONENTS to the bill-only one of them got to speak.

Some house members on the committee teared up when BEAN stepped up to the microphone & said his one and only sentence (he came up with his statement himself) ....

"I think this bill should pass because it hurts baby's and it hurt me."

All members were VERY RECEPTIVE to this bill-a big change from last year. They will be moving forward with it PRAISE THE LORD!

What happens next? They have to "WORK THE BILL". Meaning they will make changes/ammendments they feel necessary for a final drafted bill-this takes a while as they have to meet with lawyers and other folks that know the law. Then they will most likely vote next year since the 2009 session ends in a week. If the House votes it in, it then goes to the senate. If it passes the senate & is approved and signed off by the governor-it becomes a law. THIS TAKES A LONG TIME!

God was with us there. Real emotion was shown and I am so thankful our lawmakers-their prayers and all of your prayers.

Also making an appearance were my 5 inch satin stilleto "LUCKY HEELS". I wore these on The Tyra Banks Show and they let me keep them after the show. The painful walk to the state capitol in these puppies was worth it!

My Buddy's Shirts...WILD OLIVE!

YOU MUST Check out these new FABULOUS T's that GLORIFY HIM!

Click below and BUY EM' UP!!"GET YOUR VERSE ON"

Why...We do what we do...

Please keep The Captain and I in your thoughts and prayers as we go before the Kansas House of Representatives tomorrow to testify on House Bill 2333. We will be taking 3 kids with us. Pray that the members of the house will listen and be open to this bill making using illegal substances during pregnancy a crime-putting pregnant moms in MANDATORY REHAB until the birth of their baby.

The video above depicts what some of our children went through at birth. Take a minute to watch.

"He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the JUSTICE OF YOUR CAUSE like the noonday sun." Psalm 37:6

Revelations...Forgiveness....

I have been deep in THE WORD lately...searching...feeling that God was definitely leading me a certain way...feeling pure JOY!

Then today came.......Like a brick wall-that plan has suddenly been changed. I dont know why...a new plan has been revealed.

I trust Him..to lead me and our family.
I had a bad night last night. God was there. My actions and words did NOT glorify HIM. I didn't even recognize myself. None of you would have been proud to be my friend....bloggy or otherwise. Mama Bear...protecting one of her cubs... I never thought I was "SPRINGER" material until last night...

He was there...HE PULLED ME UP FROM THE PIT

AND HE TOLD ME THIS.

I know HE has forgiven me..Why is it SO HARD for me to forgive myself?

Now, excuse me as I go have a good cry in The Captains safe arms...