Hell Week

Well it has been a horrible, hellish week and a half for me!  First I have some very frightening unexplained bleeding that required a trip to the doctor for me, then viking boy age 4 stops eating for no apparent reason (until later) and I have to take him into the doctor where we end up having to do a blood draw!  Let me just tell you that doing a blood draw on anyone under the age of 16 is no fun.  Then as soon as we get settled at home he starts throwing up, having diarrhea  AND not eating!  After that one by one each of our six family members went through a horrible bought of stomach flu with symptoms that included vomiting, diarrhea  back ache, headache, fever, body aches, and tiredness.  I by the way was the second one down with it but still of course  had to take care of everyone else.  The worst part was that not one of the "little's" could make it to the toilet so between caring for them I was shampooing the carpets sometimes twice a day.

Then  two days before thanksgiving just when I was thinking everything was getting better my eldest daughter who was babysitting the kids called in panic because captain submarine, age 9, was laying on the floor of the bathroom screaming in pain.  After rushing home we headed to the emergency room where he had an IV port put in his arm (two kids in one week!), got put on morphine for the pain, and had ex rays  blood-work  and exams to find out that he had separated one of his floating ribs!

Then home and bed rest for him and the next day was Thanksgiving!

What am I thankful for?  Great emergency room nurses, care, and doctors.  And also my carpet shampooer.

Great now I hear Youngest daughter hacking down stairs.

Here we go again!

A great thanksgiving song! To all my readers God Bless you this Thanksgiving Day

What I am Thankful For

I thought I'd wright what I am thankfull for this year and would love to hear from my readers!  What are you thankful for?  As I was wrighting this out I realized I have so much to be thankful for, so much to thank God for!  How can I ever be sad or discouraged when I look at this list?  I think I'm going to print it out and post it where I see it all the time.

I am thankfull for

God Being in my life

Sleep
Being Alive
My Husband
My Children
My Dog
My Home
My Husbands Job
Living In America
The Constitution
Having Enough Food
The River Near Our house that I get to walk by

Heywood Banks - I Am A Turkey Bird (Thanksgiving Day Song)

A November pumpkin massacer

Both my husband and I feel it's very important that our children understand how to safely and accuratly use firearms so we take them out and teach them shooting.  It helps that we both enjoy shooting guns and the kids LOVE it!

So as soon as Halloween was over we took out jack o lanterns to the shooting "range" and had a little fun.  Pumpkins make satisfying targets because you can see really well when you hit them.

All of the older kids are already fairly good shots and are doing well on safety.

the victims

me with a pump action shot gun

for some reason I love pump actions... they make me feel like Sara Conner!

after the first few shots

will the violence never end???

Eldest daughter is a great shot

How to remove rust stains from tubs and sinks naturally and easy

When we moved into our new very old house it was a mess, or should I say before we moved in.  I cleaned for weeks before we moved one box in because the previous occupants had been total pigs!  One of the great features of the house is an old fashioned claw-foot tub (number 5 on bucket list!).  But it was full of stains of some kind, probably rust.  I tried the harsh store bought, guaranteed to remove it or your money back stuff that put tons of fumes into the air.  It didn't do much.

Then I remembered in a book I  have called something like 1001 uses for common household items that it had said salt and lemon juice removes rust stains from tubs and sinks.  Well I had both and thought what the heck and tried it.  I can say not only did it work like a charm, way better than the store bought stuff, but it also didn't put tons of nasty fumes into the air.  Instead a nice lemon scent.  I love it when old fashioned cleaners work better than the new harsh chemical stuff!

I am adding how I did it!  Sorry everyone I completely blanked out to do this lol!

So what I did was first wet the area with lemon juice so the salt would stick better, then sprinkle the salt on, then re-wet with more lemon juice.  I let it sit for a minute or two then scrubbed with a washcloth if the stain is still there.  Some stains just disappeared, but the ones that were very severe had to be treated two or three times before they came off.

Ideas for Autumn fun with your family

When the pumpkins are so yellow

And the vines with grapes abound,

When the melons are so mellow

And the nuts fall to the ground;

When persimmons lose their bitters,

And the apples are so red;

When we love to eat corn fritters

Since the roasting ears have fled;

When vacation days are over

And the children go to school,

They no longer play in clover,

But much learn "Arithmos-rule,"

When weird Hallowe'en's most naughty elves

With gnomes and sprites appear,

While fat Thanksgiving fills the shelves - 

'Tis AUTUMN, QUEEN OF YEAR.

I love autumn, it is truly my favorite time of the year and always has been.  Finally the horrible heat and dust of summer is over, the leaves burst into glorious color, it is cool enough to cook stews and soups and casseroles and actually want to eat them.  Wood smoke from chimneys scent the air.  Geese call overhead and I feel the relief of summers end, food put up and done for winter.

I unfortunately have lived most of my life in desert like areas where summers heat made life almost unbearable.   No rain for months on end was and is to me an absolutely normal thing.  Only now with this horrible drought throughout our country do I realize that , duh, not everywhere goes through such dry summers.

I also just love fall crafts and holidays and always do lots of fun things with my children to celebrate 

I have been doing preschool activities for 13 years so every autumn our house is decorated with leaf projects, fall coloring pages, and crafts.   I like nice simple projects that even children with short attention spans can enjoy and that uses items I have on hand.

One of my other ideas is to create activity books for my children for when school is out for thanksgiving.  These are simply pages I have printed off for free from the Internet that include mazes, crosswords, coloring pages, simple crafts, and poems.  I staple them together for the kids to do if they are restless on thanksgiving day while I am preparing dinner.

Here is a great craft to bring the autumn beauty into your home.   Children of all ages and even adults will enjoy this.  It's easy, cheap, and your toddlers will be able to do it without lots of stress. Follow the link to the site below to follow the very easy instructions.



http://artfulparent.typepad.com/artfulparent/2011/10/autumn-leaves-stained-glass.html

Teacher encourages my Daughter to Pray for Mohammad at School!

First off I apologize for the weird formatting and how some of the text in this post is backed by white.  I tried several times to fix it but for some reason it wont let me.  But as you can still read it just fine I figure you all can just bear with me.

This last weekend my daughter came home very concerned about something her teacher was F.  They are currently learning about world religions and the teacher has been teaching on the Islamic  faith.  I am going to write just what happened from the answers I got from my daughter.  She came home from school and said she was concerned with what her teacher was saying because it not only seemed to have a real slant, but also she said some things that I frankly believe are not even within the realm of appropriate in a school setting that prides itself on the separation of church and state.

As the teacher has been discussing this subject the first thing that struck my daughter is that every time the teacher would say the name Muhammad (The prophet) she would then follow by saying “Peace be upon his name” explaining that this is how the students should say his name or it is a major insult.  My daughter felt that the teacher was meaning for the students to say it that way and in fact two students started repeating the phrase "Peace be upon him"  as well.

Here are two facts everyone should be aware of about this phrase she is encouraging them to say.  I researched this not only from regular definition sites, but also from Islamic sites for religious instruction.

1. Peace be upon him is a phrase that practicing muslims often say after saying or hearing the name of Mohammad.

2.       USE OF THIS HONORIFIC IS KNOWN AS SALAWAWT, OR AS SAYING SALAH.  SALAH MEANS "PRAYER," AND ALL DEVOUT MUSLIMS ARE EXPECTED TO INTEGRATE DAILY PRAYER INTO THEIR RELIGIOUS PRACTICE.  BY SAYING SALAWAT FOR SOMEONE, MUSLIMS PRAY FOR THE INDIVUAL UNDER DISCUSSION.  

So this teacher is literally encouraging our children to say a prayer in school for Mohammad by saying that this is the appropriate way to say his name!  And I thought religion had no place in schools!  This would be like explaining the catholic religion and then telling the students they must say a Hail Mary to be respectfull.

My View:  If a teacher in any school in America were to say that when you say the name  Jesus you should follow it by an Our Father prayer  or preform the sign of the cross and told the students that every time they said the name Jesus or God they should genuflect they would be in deep trouble.

Next she gave the usual line of it being a religion of peace.  Now we can debate that all day but I would say that every evidence is to the contrary here.  I would also like to say that most pundits that espouse this notion of it being a peaceful religion is only referencing the Koran, they ignore the fact that Islamic countries and followers use another book called the Sunnah.    Reference below.   And the Sunnah and Koran say that good Muslims must participate in holy war and that infidels must be killed.  We see massive violence right now in every corner of the globe due to this “religion of peace” that actively calls for killing and war in it’s religious texts.

Various sources of Islamic law are used by Islamic jurisprudence to elucidate the Sharia, the body of Islamic law.^[1] The primary sources, accepted universally by all Muslims, are the Qur'an and Sunnah. The Qur'an is the holy scripture of Islam, believed by Muslims to be the direct and unaltered word of Allah. The Sunnah consists of the religious actions and quotations of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad and narrated through his Companions and Imams- (as per the beliefs of the school of Ahle-Sunnah and Ahle-Shia).^[1] However, some schools of jurisprudence use different methods to judge the source's level of authenticity. The other two sources are Ijma and Qiyas. Ijma is the decision taken as a council when both Quran and Sunnah prove to be insufficient and Qiyas is the personal opinion of a person himself not in contradiction with all first three sources.

My View:  Anyone who studies the Islamic texts, modern speeches and sermons given by their mullahs (who have the authority to interpret and judge cases and tell followers what is acceptable to do no matter the law of the country they are living in) or simply is smart enough to turn on the news would see that this religion is doctrinally violent towards unbelievers, woman, and even its own followers who step out of line.  If you are going to discuss a religion you better point out the good and the bad and not give a one sided view.

The teacher outlined some laws, giving the impression that it is a peaceful religion.  However she left out laws that are routinely enforced on not just followers of Islam, but on infidels as well (those that are not Islamic, yes even atheists) that ignore justice and human rights. But  to me the most concerning thing is that she told the students that the women she met at a mosque she attended for a college class told her how great their religion was and how they enjoyed wearing a burka (the veil). 

My View;What would happen to those women if they didn’t wear the veil?  It is a fact that in Muslim countries women who are unveiled will be attacked, stoned, have acid thrown on them, or be arrested by the “modesty police”.  Here in America we are still a nation of laws that protect personal rights and so the crimes committed against Muslim women will be punished.  However it is noted that in Muslim communities across the US woman and girls rarely report being beaten or abused because of their culture.  We are now seeing women and girls becoming the victims of honor killings right here the USA and other western nations when they become too westernized.

http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/nation/2009-11-29-honor-killings-in-the-US_N.htm

This teacher failed in every respect to point out the very real atrocities committed against Muslim girls and women even here in America to balance this view that the Islamic faith is nice to women.  She did say that woman in other Muslims countries woman have it bad but did not use any examples.  The reality is woman is Muslim countries have it bad because they use Sharia law as there justice system.  You would think that as a woman this teacher would not be to hot on a religion that doctrinally oppresses and devalues woman.  My question to her is how would she feel if our government said it is legal for her husband to beat her, that she must be veiled, that her daughters could not work, or worse yet that she could not work.

My main point is this.  If you are going to teach religions you either keep is simple or you go into detail.  She decided to go into detail by stating that

1.     IT IS A RELIGION OF PEACE 

Although in its religious texts and laws state that you can beat woman, murder a woman who has dishonored her family, crucify those who speak out against the religion, and more than I can type.  All three of the things I just typed are happening right now, even the crucifixions which are being used RIGHT NOW in Egypt to punish people who speak out against the sharia ruled government.  

http://www.algemeiner.com/2012/08/16/muslim-brotherhood-crucifies-opponents-attacks-secular-media/

2.     Woman like the laws that govern them in Islam  

(This little theory has been blown apart by so many Muslim women it’s just sad that she would even imply that they enjoy the veil or punishments they are subject to)

This teacher did not give a balanced view of a religion that is systematic in its human rights violations, atrocities against woman, or its call for the murder of innocent people.  She instead portrayed it as a religion of peace.  She did not say that Christianity is a religion of peace so she cannot say she was portraying all the religions in the course the same. 

The discussion of prayer in school is pretty settle as far as teachersshould not be instructing their students to pray.

I went in first thing Monday morning and not only spoke to the teacher but also the principle about the incident.  The teacher (who is very young) said she had no idea it was an actual prayer and that she wasn't intending for the students to say it, she was only trying to show how much Muslims revere Mohammad.  This of course doesn't explain why the students felt the need to say the phrase after she explained how it is considered an insult not to say it that way.

She also stated that she is going to teach about the human rights violations that are epidemic throughout Islamic countries when they study those countries later on.

She seemed very nice and sweet, but frankly if your going to teach on religion you should do more than just repeat what you've been told in a mosque.  

The lesson to parents here is ASK YOUR KIDS ABOUT WHAT THEY ARE LEARNING EVERY DAY!

I make a point to know whats going on in my daughters high school classes just for the above reasons.  Lucky for me I have also taught her to be aware and engaged in class so she noticed this issue right away.  She is an excellent student and all her teachers love her because she doesn't just sit there but engages and is interested.

This also goes to show you that even in small farming communities that are very conservative your going to have problems with liberal teachers with agendas.

Almost Free Water Storage for Emergencies

Well as  you all know I am super frugal, not because I want to be, but because it is a necessity with our family size and income.  Whats that saying about necessity being the mother of invention, or in my case frugality?  Anyways I do take prepping very seriously and with the world on fire like it is now my prepping goals have stepped up a bit.  But prepping can be very expensive so I look for ways to save money any way I can.

Water storage is absolutely essential for anyone because well, water is essential right?  The red cross, homeland security, and fema all recommend that every American has enough stored water for at least three days of use.  One person will need on average one gallon of water per day.  So for our family of six not including dogs, chickens and cats that is 18 gallons.  Now I would like to have at least a weeks worth of water stored for our family because when you look at any natural disaster the water is usually off for one week or more.  So that ups the count to 43 gallons!  At the store the cheapest gallons of water are a dollar each so I'm looking at spending at least fifty bucks for water.  But did you know that half that gallon of water recommended is actually for cleaning and personal care, not for drinking?

So keeping that in mind I found a way to have water for the cleaning and personal care part of emergency water pretty much free.  What I do is whenever I use up a gallon bleach bottle I rinse it out and then fill it with tap water.  The residual bleach from the plastic keeps the water bacteria free and is perfect for using as washing water in an emergency.  Almost everyone uses bleach so this is a great way to save money, prep, and recycle at the same time.  Also the bleach bottles are made of tough durable plastic with a sturdy handle and a self sealing lid which makes it good for long term storage of your water.  I'm thinking the water will be good for at least a year and if you don't use it you can just empty them out with no loss of money.

LOL Sunday

This one made me laugh because my kids look just like this whenever I make something with Nutella

Love this one because our golden is just like this

When Your Worried

Hearthkeeper for the longhaul and how to stay encouraged and motivated

It  occurred to me the other day as I escorted my eldest child to her first year of high school that I have been a stay at home mom for 12 years now.  Wow that is a long time and I still have a four year old in the house!  I suddenly realized that to a young mom just about to have her first child I would seem to have a wealth of experience and knowledge.  It's funny to think that, because, like most moms I at times feel that I am learning and never mastering my profession.  Maybe that's because raising children is an inherently fluid situation.  Just when you think you've got baby care handled they go and grow into toddlers, and then just when the whole toddler thing becomes easier they are suddenly gradeschoolers... And on and on probably through adulthood.  Children go through such drastic changes of personality, care needs, and emotional maturity that I doubt any parent ever really feels like they have got the whole parenting thing down.

Stay at home moms, or Hearth-keepers as I like to call them, have one of the most challenging and at times mentally exhausting jobs in the world.  Especially when you have a large family.  For me keeping motivated and encouraged through the long haul has been a challenge.  At the worst of times when I had two babies in diapers and they were less than 18 months apart in age I felt good if the house was nominally clean, the children well cared for, and I got to brush my hair.

I think one of the hardest things of being a hearth-keeper is motivation.    Few people realize how much work it takes to keep a house clean and well running when there are people in it 24 hours a day. As apposed to if both husband and wife work and children are shuffled off to school and daycare.  Instead of just coming home at night to a house that has sat empty all day you have you have tons of messes and cleanup that is ongoing.

It is hard to stay motivated because you have no boss standing over you praising you or giving you a talking to when you neglect your work.  If your husband is like mine he is not very observant about how clean and organized the house is and pretty much only notices if dinner isn't at least cooking when he comes home from work hungry and tired.  So although my husband certainly likes to have a clean house he wouldn't really notice a change unless I stopped doing everything.  I have often thought to  myself "Why do I even bother with this since nobody cares?"

This is a very discouraging thought but one I'm sure many hearth-keepers have.  Hearhkeepers are the ultimate self starters in our culture and you need to know that what you do is important.

So how do I stay encouraged and motivated?  One way I have found that is very helpful is keeping a journal like farm wives used to keep.

Back in the day a farm woman would keep a journal of pretty much everything she did.  I have read journals where the woman listed how many eggs the chickens laid, how much milk the cow gave, what the garden was doing, how much she canned and baked, and right along side these homely notes were comments on their children, family, and husband, funny stories, tips on homemaking.

These records were invaluable to the farm wife for allowing her to look back and see what was working and what wasn't, trace back to conditions that might be impacting animal production of food, and also as a record of the foods she produced.  It also undoubtedly was a great encouragement for any woman to see page after page of things she has accomplished and done and also a good memory jolter.  When you have small children you are often exhausted much of the time and writing down things that have happened helps you remember them years later.

I started keeping a journal about 10 years ago when we were in Wyoming and I first started really homesteading and learning new skills.  I noted things like eggs laid each day, what I canned, what I baked and what recipe I used, what the kids did and funny things they said, bible versus that struck me in my devotionals, weather conditions,  things happening in the garden and varieties of veggies that produced well or poorly etc.


I always feel much better after writing down what I do daily and the things I accomplished.  It is self motivational I suppose and also now looking back at past journals very encouraging and uplifting.

Tips for keeping a daily record

Tie it in with a bible study:  Even if you can only read a few verses a day you need time with God and you can note what spoke to you and is helping you in your day.  When I have been super busy with a new baby I would read from proverbs on the day of the month that corralated with the chapter in that book (did you know there are 31 chapters in Proverbs!) and it was perfect.

Wright in things your children said or did, especially the good stuff!

Keep a record of things you accomplished or are going on in your family, even if its only that you folded 4 loads of laundry

Computer FAIL!

Sorry I've been gone guys but our computer had a major problem and I couldn't get onto the net to do anything.  But now I'm back!

100 IDEAS FOR YOUR FALL BUCKET LIST

Here are 100 great ideas to do this fall as a family.  Just click and your there!  These sound like so much fun and fall is my favorite time of year because of the wonderful things to do, baking, and the glorious colors.

http://www.creativefamilyfun.net/2012/09/100-ideas-for-your-fall-bucket-list.html

Canning Enough Fruit to Last a Year For Free!

Well... almost free if you don't count the sugar or the lids.  When we moved to our new town in eastern Oregon I was amazed at how many fruit trees there were in peoples yards.  I think it is one in three houses has at least one fruit tree on it if not more!  So I have been watching with interest what is being grown and how things are ripening along as the summer has progressed.  I am unashamed to admit that I have no problem asking people if I can pick their unused fruit.  I frequently do this and have never been turned down.  In fact most of the time the owners are relieved to have someone pick the unused fruit before it falls on the ground and starts to rot.  I always make a point to pick up the fallen fruit for them and throw it away and usually bring the kind people a dozen eggs as trade for the fresh fruit.

This year I have so far been amazingly blessed to be allowed to glean from a peach tree, a plum, and a pear with two other people wanting me to come pick later on this fall.  Here are some pics of my harvest and canning.  By the way I have been canning almost every day!

The two buckets of plums, I still have one bucket to get through that I will be making into jam and preserves

I canned up twenty quarts of plums for using this winter in baking

The amazing peaches!

Almost done with 30 quarts canned and three pies made

whats left to can