I decided.

I am getting new chickens.


I think.

I called our TSC today and asked them if and when their chick days started.  They joyfully told me Feb 24!!!

AARRGGHH.

If they have Orpingtons, I will get them.

I heard on my chicken-raising loop that sometimes...SOMETIMES... TSC will have Polish hens.

I will not get one.  I will not.  I will make sure Samuel is with me and STOPS ME from getting one.

Of course, that was like telling John to make sure we DO NOT get another dog when Shelby girl died.

Have you met Kipper the Dog??

He is a PBGV.

He is 1 year old and has been in our home for almost 6 months.

Which is about 2 months after Shelby passed on.

Yeah.  And telling the girls to stop me from getting chicks...

Yeah.

Like that is going to happen.  :P

So, I am praying they don't even have them at our TSC.

So, we have to pull out the brooder and light and chick feeder and marbles.

All about the same time we start gardening indoors.

Teaching the kids little steps.  Working hard for food.  Good lessons.

Tomorrow our social worker comes for our 6 month report.

The house looks great.  lol. She hardly goes past the living room/dining room.  Still, what if she says, let's go see the girl's room??!!?

Spotless I tell you!  I hardly let them in their room today. lol.

Well, time to check school work.

Life is good.  

GOD is great!!! 

Matthew 5: 1- 10

Who said life was going to be easy and we would have all the answers to all our problems at our finger tips?

If someone  told you that, they lied.

Life is good.

GOD is even better.

BUT sometimes life seems hopeless and you may look at your finances, your children, your future, your marriage, your disease, your job situation, whatever the struggle may be, and you weep.

Sometimes you look at your life and your choices, and you weep.

I was reading this devotion this morning.  It was on weeping.  It kind of made the point that is there is no weeping in your life...is there any true repentance?

Well if that is the case, I have repentance coming out the wazoo.  :P  

Seriously though, they may be a point.  How often do we reflect at our lives, our sin, and weep? 

Huh.

Anyway, things are difficult here.  Not hopeless, unless I think about these things in the quiet of the night, than they are beyond hopeless, they are down right mind-crippling.

But HE is good.

Always. 

HE doesn't mind walking in the darkness, leading the way.  He doesn't mind our dramas, much.  HE doesn't condecend and condemn at a truly repentant heart.  HE waits for our pride to die, so our hearts may live.  HE shows up, because really, HE never left, we were the ones to walk away.  HE is righteous and just.  And pays the price.  HE is at work, when we gave up.  HE set the example.  HE open the gate.

HE is.

And now...we have to become.

Start with this simple step.  And wait for the rest!

Turch ( as Elsworth says it)

I was reading this blog that a friend of mine posted today.

I have read several articles on this in the past few years.  I know the statistics, the possible reasons, the possible solutions, etc...

The facts remain the same.

And it is sad.

I liked this post.

Better than most.  It is short and to the point.  It is believable.

First let me start by saying, I have told my older children when they left home.   PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE DO NOT go to a church that the word 'relevent' is anywhere in their motto, website, whatever. If they are relevant, they will take you down the wrong path.  I told them this at least 8 years ago.  I have watched and learned many things in this world.  A relevant church is a church that will teach you basically that your life is about you.


Which slaps the face of the Gospels.

I told them don't worry about the music.  The music can change at any given moment.  Plus the church is not there to entertain you, it is there to make you see who you are.  And it should never be pretty.  Music is cool, but if you are going to church for the music, stay home and listen to your cd/iTunes, whatever.

Don't go to a church just because they have lots people in your age bracket.  That is dumb and will keep you prideful.  There is MUCH to learn from the elderly... walk with them.  There is much to learn from the children... enjoy the loud whispers in church, for they are learning along side their parents.   Plus, you will one day have children also.  Watch how parents do it now.

Go to church to walk with HIM,to learn from HIM, to grow in HIM.  Everything else that a church like that offers is sweet toppings.  Fellowships, laughter, bonding, are all good blessing from a holy church.

But look at the fruit of the church.  Do the people want to grow their numbers or grow in faith?  Do they care about how they look to a community, or how to look to GOD, HIMSELF?  Is their missions about learning about missions only, or is it more...get out of the pews.  And if they are out of the pews, do they have the constant needs to advertise it?  :P

We have been going to the same church for about 27 years now.  It is not a perfect church, and a few times it has not even been a good church.  We have had our share of struggles, warts, sin abounding. But there is a heartbeat that just never stops.  A heartbeat that seeks to walk with HIM.

The praise team may sing off key here and there, but I like it like that.  We are not putting on a show, we are trying to worship as best as we can with what we have.  It may not be the coolest, prettiest, offers loads of programs church, but we will try to show you the way to the Cross.  We make loads of mistakes, we have lots of hope, we support and care for each other, but hopefully not at the cost of HIS Kingdom.  We are a little church.  And we are surviving.  So be it.

The girls love church.  They ask everyday, is today church??!!??  Samuel still wakes up to go.  Even if he is a rebel that is, seriosuly, without a cause.  Just a hormonal angry soul. I told him to stay home several times, and he won't.

I pray you have a good church.  I pray it takes you to HIS Throne.  Takes you to The Cross.

Because at the end of the day, that is the only place worth going.  Even if there is no 'church' around, The Cross still stands, HIS Throne is still in place.

And for those who are not believers in a Holy, True and Living GOD, then I pray you will seek HIM and walk in HIS ways.

For HE is GOD.  HE does not need your belief to exist.  HE IS.

Get to know HIM.

You will not regret it.

Snow and Laundry. I Like One WAY Better Than the Other.

It snowed yesterday/last night/early this morning.

I am not going to put any pictures because quite frankly, if you don't live here, you will be enchanted by the beauty.  If you do live in this area, you can see it for yourself.

And really, I don't want you to be enchanted.  :P

I hate winters.  Snow annoys me, the cold gives me more pain than I want to think about, and I am stuck inside, like a prisoner. Winters depress me.  It is generally a lose-lose situation.

:P

Moving on.

I have been trying different laundry detergent recipes for over a year now.  I have not been pleased with any of them.  My 'litmus' test on how effective they are is:

John's laundry.

Yup, see our laundry, meaning the children's and mine, can be washed with just plain water for the most part.  And we are good to go.

John's laundry...

Well, let it be said, it gets stinky and filthy.  He is not just a construction worker, but he has a special talent for certain things.

I FINALLY found a good combination.  And it is in powder form!!!

WhO KnEw?!?!?

I found it on my friend Lori's post.

It has to be probably the 12th or 13th combination I have tried of the same basic ingredients.  But this is my first powder form.  Usually I do the gels.

And how pleased was I when John's laundry was CLEAN and smelled great!!!  With just 1/8 of a cup!!!!

She forgot to post how much to use, so I asked her.  I was sceptical because 1/8 of a cup is NOTHING.  It is 1/2 of a 1/4 for crying out loud!!!!

Anyway, for those of you who are looking for a good laundry recipe...this is it!

Why make your own when you can just go to the store and buy one?

How much time do you have??!!??!

Anyway, pizza/movie night at our house tonight!  Now to find a movie...

Totally useless

So, we are extending our chicken run for the girls (and Arthur) come Spring.

It got me thinking...maybe we should get a few more chickens!  Because you know... I have all the time in the world.  :P

But seriously, the catalogs came in and I shamefully admit to you, I peruse them as though they were a Talbot's or Brooks Brothers catalog...dreaming away, enjoying things I will never buy in real life.

But a girl can dream right??!!??

Well, one would think that I would be buying the they-only-take- 5 -to- 6 weeks-and-then-kill-them-chickens, so we could have home grown organic chicken, butcher them and throw them in the freezer, right?  Buy a whole bunch and be set for months, since we only eat chicken about once or twice a week.

Nope.

I REALLY want a Polish hen!!!

A Silver Laced Polish hen.  They are totally and completely useless, but so darn cool to look at, I really want one! ( well 5 since they only sell them in groups of 5)

Are they good layers?

Not really.

Are they good in the cold?

Not really.

Are they good for anything?

Nope. 

Having these hens are like parents who have kids as trophies.

Check me out!  At least check out what I got!!!!

I know you know a parent or 2 who is like that.  :P

But seriously...

LOOK AT IT!!!!

How cool are they??!!??!

I will probably not get them.

I will once again, go enjoy them at the 4-H Fair come August.  Stand in front of their cage and just look at them because they are so cool/weird/fancy/different/pretty.

And maybe I will get a Buff Orpington or two. ( actually, again 5)  

They are practical, good layers, good in the cold, and big girls.  I DID want some last year.

Or maybe I won't get any more at all.

Decisions, decisions, decisions.

Things that make you go...huh.

I am starting to think that maybe we Jersey people have an accent.

MAYBE.

I still think we speak real English, as we ARE the Northeast, where the pilgrims came, so we MUST talk the right way.

Elly is learning to read.  She loves it.  But she is SO technical.  We were reading yesterday and there are pictures in between words and it asks if the picture has a short a sounds.  There was a picture of a hand.

She said no.  It was not a short a.   Clearly she was wrong.  So I repeated the question several times until she looked at me like I was a dolt as she said NO yet again.

So I asked her what it was.  She said it is not short a.  It is a short e AND a short a.

See.. she talks like me. And her father.  And her brother.  She says it he-and.  It is a heand. Not a hand.  And a pe-an, not a pan.  In fact when I said (painstakingly) pan, she laughed at me.  And forget it...when we get to water (whoader)  and dog (doag), well, I have to teach her she basically has to throw some of the technical phonics out the window and talk like we were meant to.

OK FINE.

Maybe she will talk like a non Jersey girl.

You know...I never had this problem with the other 3 kids when we were learning how to read.

HUH.

My husband asked me if he could shave his beard!

Like...in what planet would I EVER say yes to that question??!!??!

I am just thankful he asked and didn't just shave like he has in the past.  I go into a mourning period when he does that.

Again he asked me why??

I don't know why I like beards.  Neither my father or grandfather had beards.  Ever.  But I remember telling my grandfather way back when we lived with them, before we moved to this country, that I wanted to marry a man with a beard.

HUH.

About 4 years ago, I decided that I was only going to read the Gospels, the Words of Jesus for a year.  That's it.  Nothing else.  I actually ended up doing it for 2 years.  I miss them.  I am back to reading everything again, but I miss that time.  I think for Lent this year, I will do that again.

I know that the whole Bible is the Words of GOD.  But something about what HE said while he walked this earth... I LOVE it.  I grew so much.  And I miss it.

I got the Geneva Bible.

I am reading it parallel to the NKJV, the NIV and the Holman.  Interesting stuff, some of the contrasts.

There are certainly some things that make you go...

HUH.

I need to go to OK.

Seriously.

I do.