Zoo Chatter

Perhaps it was the quietness of the day,

perhaps it was the sheer laughter of delight coming from within the littles as they ran from cage to cage, bursting with the news of the newest animal or bird they found,

but maybe, just maybe it was the animals speaking to us as we roamed through the zoo.  The beauty of God's creation all around us.  The awe and wonder of it all. . . so many unique animals with a myriad of traits, some so mystifying that scientists are left baffled.



















As we slip into the car to pick up the sisters who were rehearsing for a dance recital,

I look back at the flag that welcomes all into the zoo and I'm reminded over again, God's creation is GOOD.  It is all around us, the beauty of it shining a light over this dark world.

  And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.
  And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good.
  And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth.
  And the evening and the morning were the fifth day.
  And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so.
  And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good.  Genesis 1:20 - 25

Peace in a chaotic life

It starts early in the morning, the bickering between each of these five children God has entrusted me to raise.  Even before I've had a moment to wrap my head around getting up or out of bed, the fuzz still clouding my eyes from staying up too late again. 



I listen to the pleas,  "Mommy, he took my toy,  Mommy, she won't let me have any covers," and they continue endlessly.   I cannot disappear under the covers and wish the behavior to disappear.  I mumble something about needing more sleep and I wonder if I hide in the bathroom long enough, just until the bickering is done - would that work.    But, they always find me, somehow. . . someway their little internal tracking devices find me.


Should this be a reminder to me that even God can find us in our deepest, darkest hiding places - no closet is off limits to the Holy Spirit who indwells inside of us.

So, how do I find "Peace," that quiet moment when time and space seem to stand still and my eyes are open to the whole world around me. . . When through all the clouds and murky waters I find inner, calm, peace in this chaotic life that God has chosen for me?

Peace certainly doesn't happen with that first cup of tea, or for me, the first cup of soda, loaded with extra caffeine.  It doesn't happen either when I tune a deaf ear to the growing character issues that need to be dealt with in our house.

“Peace is the deliberate adjustment of my life to the will of God.”

Peace comes when God's strength,  The LORD will give strength to His people; The LORD will bless His people with peace. Psalm 29:11, overtakes my weaknesses.  Peace comes when I remember that my life is PEACE with God in it!

So, I close my eyes, sit in my favorite spot of the morning, say a quick prayer, take one step at a time, correct the unruly behavior and yield my will to God's will.  These children are my responsibility - not a distraction - one to be ignored - but rather all else is the distraction around me to the peace that God wants me to experience in raising these little ones.  Why else would Job tell us, “Yield now and be at peace with Him; Thereby good will come to you. "  Job 22:21



The sun peaks out from behind the clouds and I realize that while I don't have everything figured out, the chaos has passed for the time being and I will make it - I will experience ultimate peace one day - the day that I return to be with the Lord.  God speaks to my heart today and for the time being I am being molded and guided along this journey.  So for today, I can count my way through the many gifts received that give me peace beyond understanding.

# 209 - 228

* reading moments with daughters
* the boy throwing rocks at a laundry pole and laughing hysterically for no reason
* coupon savings that add up to a huge stockpile
* more teenagers to raise
* a cat taking a morning bath in the bird bath
* new flowers planted in hopes of beautiful blooms for next year
* weeding the same beds over again. . .  how stubborn those weeds are just like our sin
* two bright yellow skirts sewn in hopes that the sun would take notice
* new rhubarb plants for next year
* focused on knowing God and infusing that into my children
* homeschool field trips
* his hand reaching for mine in the dark
* happy, contented little girl waiting for sisters at ballet, sandwiched between two bean bag chairs reading a book
* peaceful music playing in the background
* little boy good-bye's to Daddy
* breath to blow over hot muffins
* shoes by the kitchen sink to put by the back door one more time

The boy got to ride the FIRE TRUCK

Last year the boy watched as his sisters rode on the fire trucks from our local fire department - he was too little. . . .   Last year the horns and sirens made him cry. . . .  Last year the boy could barely walk two feet in front of himself without falling


BUT



This YEAR the boy got to ride the "Fire Twuck!"







This year the boy was sitting next to his sisters on the fire trucks. . . . .  this year the boy was NOT too little. . . . .   this year the horn and siren scared him still - but only on one of the engines. . . . . 

This year the boy could walk and very well I might add - he was very anxious to get to the General Manager to help him out with the BBQ at town square.


This YEAR the boy got to ride the "Fire Twuck!"  Memories that will last forever.

Learning the lessons of animals

No manuals come with animals. . .  No manuals come with humans, but somehow we muddle through in raising both.



In the midst of all of the busyiness of summer days we had to learn a hard lesson with two of our animals.  Shadow and Jingles, Hannah's rabbits for 4-H, we got them when they were just weeks old.  She carried them home in her lap, stroking their soft, black fur, envisioning many special moments with her new bunnies.  She began rising early to care for them, feeding, watering and cleaning a cage - she was truly dedicated to her work, always rising without delay.  Her care became more involved when she found out she had not two girls bunnies, but a buck and a doe.  She watched them grown, practiced her showmanship routine and anxiously awaited the upcoming county fair where she would get to show them for the first time.

Tragedy struck shortly after she got their ears tagged for showing - Shadow became sick quickly and died.  No one in the house knew what happened, until a week later, Jingles experienced the same sickness.  Jingles was brought inside the house, hydrated and feed with a syringe for several days.  Seeing improvement, she took him outside on a beautiful sunny day to play in the grass.  Everyone thought Jingles was on the mend, until last evening when he took a turn for the worse and died in the night.  GI Stasis is the culprit for both of their deaths.  Learning lessons the hard way is not always comforting, but does it not say in  Psalm 23:      Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.   
Hearts are broken, tears have been shed over and over.  What a mess we've made, but we need to chose to take today in its stride. . . to learn from our mistakes. . .  to see the fingerprints of God in the midst of this mess.    All life is fragile, both human and animal. . .   Job 1:21 the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.

Weekends are for picnics

Best friends are made at picnics



Swinging high in the sky happens at picnics



Hopping on one leg can sometimes happen at picnics



Hamming it up on the swings is always possible at picnics



Once a year awards always happen at the Year End Picnic for our home school group.  Even though it wasn't sunny, we were blessed with no rain (which is amazing here in Northern Cal.).  We enjoy this picnic as our final fairwell to the school year and the beginning of a rather too quick summer vacation.  Good food, fellowship and fun times always accompany this picnic.

Proverbs 22:6

Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.

Fathers -

For the man who hand reaches for mine in the middle of the night, whose arms are strong enough to carry children, whose tender words can melt my heart.

For the man who dedicates his life to providing for his family, many moments of reading Captain Pajamas, playing with puzzles, hours of hauling trash and unpluging sinks, many heartfelt talks with his children.

For the man who selflessly takes care of our home and farm animals, taking on the stress of paying the many bills, building rabbit cages and chicken coops and often mowing the lawn late into the evening.

For the man who leads our family, with God's grace

along the journey

to growing our lives more like our Father God.

Happy Father's Day!  We are so blessed to have you in our lives.

21 - French Onion Soup Anyone?

She said that when she turned 21 she would buy her first bottle of wine, not to drink, but rather to make authentic French Onion Soup, so sweetheart, enjoy your day tomorrow.  We we wish we could share it with you and enjoy some yummy soup.

Happy Birthday from all of us!

French onion soup

1.15kg yellow onions, halved, and sliced 0.5cm thick

110g unsalted butter

1 bay leaf

125ml medium-dry sherry

125ml brandy or Cognac

375ml good dry white wine

1L beef stock

1L veal stock

1 tbsp salt

½ tsp freshly ground white pepper

Freshly grated Parmesan

1) In a large stockpot on medium-high heat, saute the onions with the butter and bay leaf for 20 minutes, until the onions turn a rich golden brown color.

2) Deglaze the pan with the sherry and brandy and simmer uncovered for 5 minutes. Add the white wine and simmer uncovered for 15 more minutes.

3) Add the beef and veal stocks plus salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then simmer uncovered for 20 minutes. Remove the bay leaf, taste for salt and pepper, and serve hot with grated Parmesan.

Soon to be summer vacation

School books put away, pencils dull and worn, paper all gone and file boxes ready for storage, BUT

there is always time for one final field trip of the school year.  

Bancrest Dairy, just seconds down the road from our house, long time friends, my very first sewing teacher in 4-H and the best neighbors. . .

Bumpy hay ride to the barn, squeels of delight from the rear of the second trailer, seems we got the bumpiest ride.  First stop, the barn to milk a cow.

For some this might be the first time ever milking a cow, or even coming close to one. . .  for others this is second nature living in our rural community.  Either way, everyone took away a special understanding of all that goes into getting fresh milk.

Little George, so very excited about seeing the cows, riding on the wagon and touching the big tractor UNTIL the milking machine was turned on.   All fingers got to feel what the cow feels when milked, and to test whether the fresh milk was warm or cold?  Any guesses?

She never once complained, she was as sweet as they come, waiting patiently for everyone to get a turn milking her. . . . . .

There was a baby calf, born just last week, that needed to be feed.  I don't think she minded any of the attention, or the fresh, yummy milk either . . . . . .  Afterward, it was picnic time on the front lawn, surrounded by all of the beautiful flowers in bloom, with locally made chocolate milk and ice cream served for lunch. 

 

Quick, pile back into the wagon for our ride back to our cars and then home for the afternoon.  What a sweet ending to our school year.

16 Summers

My gator driving, John Deere Tractor lovin' little boy may have 16 more summers here at home, but if I keep blinking those years will go by so quickly.

Just look how's he has grown.  Happy Birthday Sweet Boy!

One day at a time

Life seems to pass by so quickly.  Here we are into the month of May, almost June and it seems like just yesterday it was January.  We have been busy at work here on One Blessed Acre.  There is always an abundance of daily chores to be had here on our growing farm.  Every morning the gang gets up to let the chickens out, change the beds and feed chickens, ducks, bunnies and a cat.  Sometimes they can even entice Georgie to help out.



Our newest additions to the family, happen to be two Muscovey ducks from a good friend of mine from high school.  Lindsay has appropriately named them John and Vanessa and has profusely told everyone in the family that she will be doing ducks next  year for 4-H.  I can't wait to see how she feels about this when her Dad decides to begin to wake her at 6:30 a.m. to take care of the ducks each and every morning!  Right now, she has the luxury of sleeping in!

Another hen has decided that spring has sprung and she must give us some more baby chicks - how sweet those darling chicks are to watch with their momma.  It is so much simpler when they are hatched and taken care of by momma than by artificial means through the incubator!  She currently has 14 eggs under her, so we'll wait a few more days and see what happens.  This just adds to the General Manager's farm list of things to do - "Build Permanent Nursery" in the chicken coop.  It will be a blessing to have that built for the many years to come of momma hens giving us baby chicks.

The General Manager and my father enlarged my garden, double the size of last year, when we added $500 worth of organic dirt to the soil.  This year we will be able to plant more, harvest more, and store more over the winter.  Once I began the task of hoeing up the rows, I quickly realized just how much work is involved in maintaining such a large area.  I wish I could say that my nerves and attitude were always meek and quiet, but alas, I can say that we have worked well as a family unit to maintain this new area, even though I may have raised my voice a time or two.  My Anne usually takes Georgie and Abby when they have tired of helping water the garden everyday; Hannah and Lindsay also have taken turns with them on the tire swing to keep them occupied.  We've slowly over the last month been able to get all the vegetables planted.  Now we just need some SUN and HEAT to get those beautiful sprouts sprouting.

Some summer plans we have for the yard is a hedge row in front of our main entrance.  This hopefully, will help keep the chickens in the yard and out of the busy country road,  as well as keep the younger children from being tempted to get too close to the road.  We also want to grate and re-rock our driveway so that next winter it isn't a giant mud puddle.

On a more restful note, my Dad's 75th birthday celebration is this weekend.  It amazes me that he is turning 75 because I can remember back when he was my current age.  I pray for his salvation daily; I want him to know Jesus and to be comforted by His love.  He is such a wonderful and talented father - I gave him a picture that I had seen in a magazine, in which he was able to build this beautiful chalkboard for our front kitchen wall.  I no sooner had put the shellac on it and this is what was to be had with the chalkboard.    I know that the girls will be able to enjoy this for years to come and it will be a family heirloom to be passed down for many generations.  Family is about memories and it is those things that I cherish the most.

Circle C Beginnings Review

Author Susan K. Marlow, has written a prequel series entitled Circle C Beginnings.  Last year, while serving on the TOS Homeschool Crew, I had the opportunity to review one of her other books in her Circle C Adventure series, entitled Trouble With Treasure.  She recently sent the next two books in her Circle C Beginnings to review. Susan is a homeschool mom, freelance editor and teacher.  

The girls were excited to begin the next two books after remembering how fun Andi's adventures were in Andi's Indian Summer and Andi's Pony Trouble.  


In Andi's Fair Surprise, Andi wants desperately to take her pony Taffy to the 1874 California State Fair, but her older brother and mother disagree.  So what possible fun could a fair be without her favorite pony, Taffy?  Her attitude begins poorly, but she finds once she is there that the fair turns out to be very exciting.  Even though she doesn't get to keep the prize she won, she still manages to win a "blue ribbon" from her mother for her decision to give away her prize to another little girl!
My middle girls are ages 6 and 8 and they enjoy this series.  Susan writes at a level that is easily understandable for children of these ages.  When we got to the ending of the book, I quickly realized the character trait that Susan was trying to teach her young readers; generosity.  Andi learned a valuable lesson that it is better to give than to receive - and even though we are not to look for rewards for good deeds, Andi is rewarded in the end with much praise and adoration from her mother.


   In Andi's Scary School Days, Andi wants no part of school.  She doesn't want to be away from the ranch, Riley, Taffy and Coco all day.  School means wearing dresses, sitting still, sitting next to a boy who puts a lizard on her head and watching him smoosh a fly between hands. Ewww!  To top it all off, she gets sent to the corner for something she didn't even do.  She quickly finds out running away from school is not the answer and hiding in trees doesn't help either.

Once again the girls enjoyed this book and from the book they learned about humility and apologizing for wrong doings.  We also saw that it took a change in Andi's attitude for things to begin to turn around. 

Book three and four sell as a set for $9.98 on the Circle C webpage.  Be sure to check out Susan's other books in this series, as well as the Circle C Adventure series.  They are truly a fun read for children.

My heart aches

My heart is aches .. . . . . .

She grew up too fast - her father and I envisioned her not leaving our brood until she was given in marriage to her future husband, we longed for more time to strengthen the bonds between us . . to better prepare her for life

but alas,

the world beckoned and she flew with her wings spread, ready to test if the grass is greener on the other side of the fence.

She left today for Nevada to live with her grandparents. .  to experience the world. . . the one we've tried to protect and shelter her from.

As she ventures out into the world, we pray that we gave her a strong foundation to stand upon, that we raised her to love the Lord, that she'll make wise choices, and that she'll find whatever she's been missing while living under our care.

She may have severed herself from our authority, but she won't be severed from our thoughts and prayers

Another teenager in our midst

She turned thirteen today. . .

a milestone achieved in a young girls heart

to call herself a teenager.

Most of today's society would cringe at the thought of having a teenager in their brood; when society thinks of teenagers often words like ‘problem’, ‘trouble’, ‘attitude’ and ‘lazy’ come to mind.

But that could be further from the truth, for I say "Praise the Lord for teenagers," especially the ones I have been blessed to raise!  It is an encouragement to me to see Anne step up in responsibility and be able to successfully embrace life and handle many situations all on her own accord, with little or no supervision from her father and I.  We are watching her grow into a very beautiful, godly woman right before our eyes. 

She loves her sisters and brother and it shows everytime she spends a moment with them.  She is more than helpful around the house taking over many chores to unburden my shoulders - she can cook an incredible Golden Ribbons Pasta dish.  She is completely gaga over couponing and has a strict "hands off - MOM" policy when it comes to her coupon binder!  Raising teenagers is challenging at times; so many mixed emotions running rampid inside of their bodies - they have to come out somehow.  It's how I chose to respond to all of that emotion and the question I keep on asking myself is, "Do I have their heart forever?"  If I have their heart, I can manage through the worst of the emotions.

I wasn't sure if she was going to make it through her "pepperoni and gold fish" stage when she was two, the stage of carrying around a bucket because she thought she'd be sick and throw-up, the stage where she sucked her fingers way too long , the stage where she just had to wear glasses even though she didn't need them because her eyesight was perfect, or even her twelfth, or eleventh  birthday, but she did and now she's going to enter another stage of her life - being a teenager!

Happy Birthday Sweetheart!  We wish you so many more wonderful years.  Love, Momma, Dad, Sarah, Hannah, Lindsay, Abby and George