Homestead Wannabes

Burns Night Supper 2012

2012-01-27T06:00:00.000-08:00

Last Sunday, "me handsome Scott" and I went on an honest to goodness date proudly wearing our Clan Lamont regalia. We went to the Burns Night Supper the Celtic Society of Eastern Oregon put on. I was a little nervous, not knowing what to expect from the food or the atmosphere. I was pleasantly surprised by both. The Celtic-themed food was terrific, even the haggis, and the best part was that apparently Celts CAN hold their drinks because I didn't notice one drunk Celt in the place. Very nice in my opinion. They read great poetry by Robert Burns and the man who read the tribute to "the immortal Robbie Burns" (Scotland's most famous poet), did an excellent job of keeping it as short as he possible could.

Here are some other members of the Celtic Society as they were taking tickets from people coming in. There were around 80 people who attended. I went to high school with the gal on the far left, Nessa. It has been great reconnecting with her through the society after all these years. As you can see, the Celtic decor complimented the beautiful wood work in the restaurant.

Piping in the Haggis.

"Toast to the Haggis!"

I took this quick picture of Michael's food before he started eating. He was one of the last to go through the line because he is the Sergeant of Arms, so he was very disappointed that he only got a few crumbs of haggis. I, on the other hand was one of the first in line and got brave enough to try it, mainly because I knew I'd never hear the end of it if I didn't. I have to admit it tasted much better than I thought. If you've never heard of Haggis it is a very traditional Scottish food made of ground up lungs, kidneys, tripe and goodness knows what else, mixed with barley or oats and spices. That mixture goes into a sheep's stomach or large intestine, then it is cooked. As one movie actor once put it, "Scottish food is based on a dare". I think he was right! The rest of the meal was excellent, rivaling even the Haggis. We had mead soaked mussels, Irish lamb stew, corned beef and cabbage, kale with bacon, mashed potatoes, Irish soda bread, Scottish shortbread and and an interesting yet tasty dessert I didn't catch the name of.

The best part of the evening was when I won the silent auction for an adorable blackboard made out of a old window frame. I've been looking for one for awhile now because I wanted to start writing a different bible verse that our family could memorize every month. It is hanging in the living room and I will have to post a picture of it once I get some chalk. It is adorable. I bid three times on that puppy and was so happy I won!

Burns Night suppers happen all over the world. If you ever get a chance to go to one, you won't regret it!

Blessings,

Jackie

The Story of the Evil Tack - Oral Rendition by Hailey

2012-01-25T06:00:00.000-08:00

In the process of Hailey showing off her new red union suit, she told me this cute story of why her foot was hurting. Just for the record, her brother DID NOT put the tack on the floor on purpose, LOL. This gives you a snippet into the personality of our daughter.

Monday Meanderings

2012-01-23T06:00:00.000-08:00

We've been getting into a comfortable winter routine. Staying home more and getting a lot done in regards to homeschooling. Of course we've had time for some play, too. Last Saturday we had the perfect sledding day with friends. Below is a pic of me and my friend, Jodi, at the end of our journey down the big hill. I was NOT going to let Jodi fall out of that sled, LOL. I think I squeezed her a bit too hard. I went down with Michael and we took a tumble, my thigh landing on the side of his boot. That is what I get for trying to be the "fun wife", LOL. It is one of the worst bruises I've ever had!

We all brought finger foods, hot drinks, roasted sausages and marshmallows around the fire. It was great having a place to warm up after a run down the hill. We got a bunch more snow on Tuesday, but alas it has almost all melted off. I'm so bummed!

My little darlings, getting ready to go to church. Sun was a shinin' that day! Hailey wanted a red union suit like her brother. This was the smallest one we could find. It practically hangs to her knees. She's got a lot of room to grow, but the important thing is that she loves it.

A couple of weekends ago we went over to visit my mom and go ice skating with my niece who was visiting her. Josiah and Jessica had a great time trying to play hockey. Josiah did much better on with his skating this time. I think a little competition was good for him.

I'm REALLY loving my 100% silicone Demarle products. It is joy to do muffins now. They aren't as crumbly and they don't ever stick. I made these individual quiches and they came out perfectly. Even egg doesn't stick!

I also love my Roul Pat. I'm not dreading doing shape cookies with the kids anymore. It doesn't stick, even when the dough warms up.

Here are our gingerbread cookies I cooked on the flexipat pans. I just have to watch it because it cooks a lot faster than the stoneware I'm used to using.

Josiah made a Scottish warrior out of

Benderoons on his bedroom door. I love the spike on the shield and the Lamont (our clan) tartan. So cute! He even has the Sgian Dubh knife in his boot and the feather in his hat. Since this, he made a whole battle scene on his door. He is such a warrior in the making!

Have a great week everyone! Blessings, Jackie

Easy, Homemade, Healthier Marshmallow Recipe

2012-01-19T14:23:00.000-08:00

I've been doing some research (see http://www.foodrenegade.com/agave-nectar-good-or-bad/) on using agave syrup and I'm finding that USDA certified corn syrup would be better than using agave syrup. With that new information, I thought I'd repost this recipe using organic corn syrup instead. While, I'm not a big cornsyrup fan, I still think that if you made these with organic corn syrup it would be way healthier than anything you could buy in the store.

I'm calling these homemade marshmallows, "Joemallows" in honor of my friend's husband who was teasing me on Facebook when I made homemade hot chocolate. He asked me if I could make homemade marshmallows, and I rose to the challenge. So glad I did because now I'm my kids' best friend. Haven't bought marshmallows or hot chocolate (with the exception of a special treat when we go camping) for years. Now my kids will no longer be deprived in this department because mama found a way to make healthy marshmallows! Here is the finished product below. No, they aren't round, but trust me they taste just as good, if not better than the store bought marshmallows. You aren't going to believe how easy these are to make!!!!

Healthier, Homemade Marshmallows:

1 cup organic corn syrup (I use to use agave syrup but it turns out it isn't very good for you see this article http://www.foodrenegade.com/agave-nectar-good-or-bad/ )

2 envelopes unflavored gelatin or (1 Tbl if you have a box of gelatin)

1/2 to 1 tsp vanilla (I used about 3/4 of a tsp for our tastes)

1/4 tsp sea salt (Celtic Sea Salt is best)

6 Tbl cold water

1. In a medium sauce pan, combine cold water and gelatin, mix until dissolved. Add organic corn syrup, salt and vanilla. Mix well, then heat to almost a boil. It won't take long.

2. Pour into mixer, mix on high for 15 minutes. Should be very stiff. I have a lightly floured pan ready to go while this is mixing. I use whole wheat pastry flour. If you want to make your own marshmallow cream, instead of buying it in a jar, just don't beat as long and pour into a jar instead of pan when done.

3. Pour into a floured pan. A 9 x 9 inch pan would probably work the best. Mine wasn't available, so I just use a pie plate which worked well, too.

4. Cut into squares using a wet knife. Let cool completely. If you really want a stiff marshmallow, put in fridge. No need to cover.

5. Add to homemade hot cocoa and you've got yourself a guilt-free comfort food! I left my pan of "Joemallows" sitting out for several days at room temp and they never dried out or hard. They freeze well, too. So make an big batch and freeze it in the pan. Amazing stuff!

This is a really easy, fun thing to make with kids. They will love you!

Enjoy,

Jackie

Toy Soldiers, Telescope and Nose Hair

2012-01-16T06:00:00.000-08:00

It seems like the more frugal we are at Christmas, the more God blesses us! When people ask Josiah if got what he wanted for Christmas, his reply has been "Yes, everything I wanted!". We had drilled into him all month that Christmas is about giving not receiving and there wasn't going to be many presents this year. Not only did I received a very generous bonus from my boss (I do 6 to 8 hours of soil database work from home each week), but our friends and family also blessed the kids with much. The above picture is of Josiah playing with the bucket of WWII soldiers and pillbox he got from his Nana and Papa. He plays with these just about every day. He uses his Jenga blocks to build more pillboxes and bunkers.

Josiah really wanted a telescope. I was able to purchase a small cheap one at a yard sale last summer and I saved it for Christmas. I should have checked it before I gave it to him, but I forgot. He opened it up, so excited, but we soon realized it was broken. Although disappointed, he did really well when we told him that we would buy him a different one (thanks to my Christmas bonus) when we went out of town to visit family. He waited patiently for a week. My husband found a much better telescope and we gave it to him when we got home. He loved it!

Hailey is trying to focus in on her daddy's nose hairs in this picture! Sorry, I know that is gross, but that's the way we roll around here.

We haven't had a clear night sky up until a few days ago, so Josiah has been trying to focus in on the neighbors instead, LOL. We told our next door neighbor and she wrote him a little note to find in her window. I love our neighbors! Very supportive of us homeschoolers, LOL. The sky finally cleared up on the night there was a full moon. So cool!

Hope you are all enjoying your Christmas blessings both large and small, material and eternal. God wants to bless us so much! What are we doing with those blessings? Are we satisfied or are we longing for more? God, examine our hearts and minds and help us to be oh so grateful for all You have given us!

God Bless,

Jackie

Family Tea Party

2012-01-13T06:00:00.000-08:00

Even though my husband is a macho soldier/hunter/mechanic type, he also has a soft side. He has been wanting to go to tea at the ANZAC Tea Parlor for awhile now as a family, including his mom. I couldn't believe it. My "coffee's gotta be thicker than mud" husband? Yep that is right! I couldn't believe he actually drank tea while we were there. We've been working with the kids and telling them if they could get their manners squared away, we would take them. Well the day finally came. It was do or die. The kids actually did very well. We only had two water glasses spill - a raging success in my book.

Hailey, showing off her little water glass that was "just her size".

Josiah, adding tea to his sugar.

Sipping tea like a princess.

The cup I always pick.

The kids pretty much only liked the cucumber sandwiches, fruit, cookies and scones. Fine with us adults, because we got the good stuff - chicken almond poppy seed sandwiches, spinach wraps and quiche puffs. I LOVE their food! I was worried Michael wouldn't get enough to eat, but he seemed full by the time we left. He is BIG eater.

Of course we had to try on some hats before we left. This is always a highlight, since Hailey and I LOVE hats! I'm not sure it is quite my MIL's cup of tea. She really looked cute in this hat. It went with her outfit perfectly.

The owner, Bev, gave the kids candy canes, too. They were sugared up pretty good before we left. She loved these frogs because they remind her of her Nana who has a thing for frogs. After the tea, we went out to the ranch to visit my dad and step-mom. We had a delightful "mini-Christmas" with them and then back to my sisters for the rest of the week to help take care of her and the kids while she recovered from her tonsillectomy.

I'm not sure if Josiah and Michael will want to go back to the tea parlor, but I know Hailey and I will be going whenever we get a chance. I was very proud of my men for giving it a try.

Hope you are all having a wonderful week :)

Jackie

Christmas Blessings

2012-01-10T08:49:00.000-08:00

It seems like a long time ago since Christmas, but I still wanted to share our Christmas highlights. We had a late start Christmas morning since my kids both decided to sleep in until 9AM. Isn't that just sick and wrong? :o) Before we started opening gifts we put the finishing touches our Jesse Tree and Waiting Tree. We let the kids put the ornaments on these trees during the month, but Michael and I put on the last ornaments on Christmas Day. I'm putting the last stone on the Jesse Tree in this picture. We read the bible passage that went with the hand-painted stone.

Michael putting the "star" on the Waiting Tree my sis made me. Both trees are used to show how the prophecies in the Old Testament, starting at creation, all point to Jesus being the Messiah. These are my two absolutely favorite Christmas decorations of all time. My kids love it, too!

Back-tracking a little, we always let the kids open their gifts from their Aunt Abby and Uncle Nathan on Christmas Eve. They look forward to it every year. The had sooo much fun with this floor piano!

Josiah learned the truth about Santa this year. I was wondering if he would be upset, but not so. In fact, the first thing out of his mouth was "So do this mean I can sneak out of bed and eat Santa's cookies and the reindeer's carrot?" Yep!

Family picture taken just before we opened our stockings. What can I say, we are a VERY patriotic family!

Michael took this pic of me. So glad I had a chance to get ready for the day!

Ironically, one of the favorite things in their stockings was "Santa's Coal" bubble gum!

I was so excited to receive the new English Standard Version Bible from Michael. I've been doing a lot of research on different biblical translations, and this is supposed to be a direct translation from the Hebrew and Greek to English. No paraphrasing. This is the new bible translation for the next generation. Christians are wanting accuracy and that is what this bible delivers. It is a wonderful study bible and I'm loving it!

Josiah found this really nice survival/camping tool for Michael at our local Christian book store. It is different as it has a hammer and small ax on the end as well as several saw blades and the typical multi-tool blades.

My friend, Kay, had this gorgeous apron made for me. I love it! I'd sleep in it if I could.

Hailey received a new children's bible in her stocking. She loved it so much, she was hugging it.

Last year when we were yard saling, I found this brand new, still in the box, Cinderella collectible snow globe. She wanted it so badly. I didn't have the $10 they were asking. As we were leaving, the lady said she would sell it to us for $5. I distracted Hailey and discretely paid for it and put it away for Christmas. Hailey remembered it as soon as she opened it. I wish I would have videoed it. She was so excited!

Speaking of excited. I love how exuberant my kids are. Josiah is loving his OSU Beaver hat.

I was blessed with a really nice bonus from my boss and I was able to get Michael a simple, yet nice, used left-handed bow with some good accessories. When I went to pick it up, the owner of the shop (a former soldier) told me that he and the other former soldiers who work for him all got together and paid to have the bow restrung and gave Michael some nice arrows with practice tips. They just wanted to bless another soldier. How nice is that?

I was able to purchase the entire Jonathan Park Adventure Series for half-off the normal price through Vision Forum. They are an awesome adventure series based on Creation. My kids love them! They don't know that I got the entire series. I'm going to be giving them a new set of adventures on every holiday or birthday, so they will really listen to each cd set over and over, getting them memorized before they get the next set. I'm doing the same thing with the "Torchlighter" dvd series based on past Christian martyrs. Giving them one at a time. I got a great deal on that series from Voice of the Martyrs.

After letting the kids play with their toys for awhile, we packed up the car and headed over the hill to my mom's house where my aunt and uncle and their families were having Christmas. Since my grandma died, it seemed fitting to all be together this year. We had a wonderful time opening gifts, eating, playing board games and eating some more.

Just before my Grandma died she had ordered these cute little Santa bags for each of the great grandchildren. She always used some cute container to put money in every year. These showed up on my mom's door step 3 days after Grandma died. Mom put $5 in each bag for the grandkids with a card explaining that it was from GG Mary. It was such a precious way of including her in the celebration.

Mom and Larry gave Hailey this beautiful necklace holder. She loved it. I thought she looked so cute with her little bloomers I made for her a couple years ago.

The next day we traveled down the Gorge to spend some time with Michael's family. We had so much fun with our youngest niece, Layla. At first she was shy but it didn't take too long before she was on my lap and I was feeding her oranges. I know the way to a child's heart, LOL!

Here is Layla in the cute outfit we got her. The next day my MIL took us all to see"War Horse" at the theater, which we LOVED (Hailey stayed with her Auntie April during the show). Then I left to visit my Grandpa and his wife Regina, then stayed the night with my sis before her tonsil surgery the next day. Mostly spent the rest of the week helping take care of my sis and her family while she recovered.

I spent last week, easing into my schedule again. We start back up with homeschooling today. Praying it all goes well. We will focus on thank you cards (which will count for writing, spelling and phonics) this week, plus add in math.

Hope you are all having a wonderful New Year!

God Bless,

Jackie

Living Nativity

2011-12-25T07:50:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas everyone! I hope you are all having a wonderful time with friends and family as we celebrate the birth of our Savior. I'm sitting here, waiting for the rest of my family to wake up so we can start all our Christmas traditions. So I decided to write a quick Christmas post instead of pacing the floor! I thought pictures of the Living Nativity that we went to last weekend would work just fine for a Christmas Day post. The above picture is our family with "Clyde the Camel". He is the coolest camel ever and we love it when he gets to visit Bethlehem!

Josiah petting Clyde.

Each station in Bethlehem gives out a label so you know if you have missed a station. This was the inn keeper.

Hailey quickly found baby Jesus.

Our friend, Margie, played Mary. She let Hailey "feed" Baby Jesus. The doll really looked like it was drinking from the bottle. I didn't think we were ever going to get Hailey away from the stable!

They made crosses for the kids at the carpenter's shop.

Grinding herbs at the "Apothecary's Shop". Smelling lavender. Hailey wanted to be "Laura" from Little House on the Prairie that night. She is where the sunbonnet I had when I was a girl.

Carding wool.

Weighing out real Roman gold coins. Of course Josiah was trying to wheel and deal to get one it.

It was wonderful to see our friend Dennis at the potter's wheel again this year. He just got back from another tour in Iraq. So happy his family gets him home for Christmas this year!

Eating bread samples at the bakery.

Hand dipped candles.

I'm sure you can see why we love going to this every year. Not only is it a wonderful homeschooling experience, but it all points to Jesus. All of the people in Bethlehem are abuzz at the news of a the Messiah being born that night. I love the way they talk about Old Testament Prophecy, all pointing to that very special night.

I hope that you have a wonderful Christmas! Thanks to all of you who have left comments and spoken blessings into my life throughout this last year. You encourage me in this life journey so much! I'm taking a bit of a blogging break, but I will see you all in the next year :)

God Bless,

Jackie

P.S. Even after writing this post, the kids STILL aren't up, LOL! Now I'll start pacing!

2011 Family Christmas Letter/Family Pictures

2011-12-19T06:00:00.000-08:00

Summer 2011

2011 Family Christmas Letter

Friends and Family,

We hope this year was a great year for you all. We recently lost my grandma Mary. She peacefully passed away in her sleep the weekend after Thanksgiving. The kids and I had a wonderful visit with her the evening before she died. So glad she is no longer in pain, but she will be missed. Our family has been busy this year with homeschooling, organic heirloom gardening, cheese, soap and now candle making. Recently, we joined the E. OR Celtic Society and have been enjoying learning more about our family history. We discovered the Whitesell family is originally from the Scottish clan “Lamont”. Our clan motto is “Acquired By Work”. We all thought THAT fit our family well, lol.

Michael worked for the Forest Service out of Baker City up until December of this year. He just got a new job working as a federal technician for the National Guard as a tank mechanic. This is his dream job! It is a good thing he didn’t get his commission back because he wouldn’t have been eligible for this job. God works in mysterious ways! He is soon planning on putting his packet forward to become a warrant officer instead. He is still at 3670^th CRC out of Clackamas for his weekend drills and seems to like it there. Michael has been able to do a lot more hunting and work on restoring his 1923 T-Bucket Roadster as funds have allowed.

I’m busy homeschooling Josiah and Hailey. I’ve had a great time planning a lot of field trips for our local homeschool group. The kids are developing some strong friendships. We absolutely love homeschooling and know without a doubt that is the best thing for our family. I’m still working 6 hours a week doing soil database work. I’m enjoying my third year of being a table leader for MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers. I love that ministry! I also lead a Beth Moore bible study every week and continue to grow in the Lord as a result. The garden kept me very busy this summer, especially since we increased its size by 1/3! I’m still cooking from scratch like crazy and making all my own cleaning products, which saves us A LOT of money. I’ve kept up with my blog www.homesteadwannabes.blogspot.com and Facebook where I share family pictures and do various posts on healthy living.

Josiah's 2nd Grade School Picture - 2011

Josiah is 8 years old and is in 2^nd grade. Josiah is doing great academically, although keeping him focused on doing anything he doesn’t want to do is challenging. His behavior has improved tremendously since last year. So grateful I’m able to homeschool and teach him at HIS pace. He is reading on his own a lot now. He is also busy with Aikido and AWANAS.

Hailey's Preschool Picture - 2011

Hailey is 4 years old and is still in the “princess” stage. She loves anything to do with princesses, music and dancing. She loves role playing with her brother, cooking and arts and crafts. She is attending her second year of AWANAS. She did Aikido over the summer, but is taking a break. She is a joy to homeschool. She really likes to learn. We’ve been working on behavioral issues with her this year, especially involving bedtime!

May you all have a Merry Christmas, enjoying the celebration of the Messiah’s birth and a prosperous New Year (despite the current economic state) and enjoy God’s blessings for this Coming New Year. Don’t forget to pray for all our troops and their families (including Michael’s brother, Nathan) who are experiencing separation due to deployments around the world.

God Bless,

Michael, Jackie, Josiah and Hailey

Bringing Home The Tree - A Scottish-Themed Tree

2011-12-16T06:00:00.000-08:00

As is our tradition, we went out to a local tree farm and cut a beautiful fir tree. Josiah wanted to cut it down, so we handed him the saw. Love this pic of just his feet sticking out from under the tree. I liked his comment as we were looking at all the trees, "Whew, picking out a Christmas tree is harder than I thought!".

He lasted about one minute before he asked his dad to take over.

Standing by the fallen tree. Josiah wanted us all to yell, "Timber!" as it started to topple.

Packing it out is always a family effort. It pays to be the one behind the camera, hee hee!

Josiah and Hailey wanted a Scottish-themed, aka "plaid" Christmas tree this year. I was determined to be much more relaxed after our fiasco last year when I discovered that I had an unhealthy attachment to my tree. Click here for that funny story. We all managed to get the tree up and get it decorated without a family fight. A fete in itself to be sure! When the kids weren't looking, I'd quickly rearrange the ornaments.

Hailey was my helper to the end. Josiah petered out about half-way through.

I thought I'd take a couple shots of the tree, using different light settings on the camera. This one shoes the ornaments better.

But this one shows the lights better but is kind of blurry.

Now if I could just find some bagpipe ornaments! Also, we all thought pheasant feathers sticking out all over the tree would be cool the next time we do this theme. It will give us something to collect as a family.

Hope you are all posting pics of your trees so I can see them. I love looking at other peoples' trees! OK, so I can check one thing off my to-do-list. Tree is up. Check. Next thing on my list is the family Christmas letter...We have so much to be thankful for this year!

God Bless,
Jackie

First Time Ice Skating

2011-12-14T10:54:00.000-08:00

My kids have been begging to go ice skating for sometime now. We finally took them when we were in Pendleton a couple weeks ago. They have a small, inexpensive, outdoor rink.

Here are some short video clips of the kids skating the second day. I quickly realized Hailey didn't need any help from me because many of the kids at the rink thought she was so cute and they all wanted to help her. They had these great little strap-on, double-bladed skates for her to use. They were perfect for little ones.

As I predicted, Josiah was all go, but never could figure out how to stop without falling. I gotta give it to him though, he was tenacious and never stopped trying both days we were there. He ended up with some pretty good bruises and worked up quite a sweat, but he had fun and he never quit. He made several friends there who where happy to help him up and give him pointers.

I skated the first day. It is harder work than I remembered. What a work out! I was very cautious and didn't fall once. I hate pain and avoid it when at all possible!

I definitely see more ice skating in our future. The kids had a ball and it was really inexpensive. Our kind of fun!

How about you? Any new activities for your families this Christmas season? Leave a comment and tell me all about it.

God Bless,

Jackie

Grandma Mary - Our Last Visit, A Peaceful Passing

2011-12-05T06:00:00.000-08:00

I just got back from one of the hardest, yet most blessing-filled weekends of my life. I need to blog about this weekend before I forget any details. I want to look back at this post and be reminded of God's mercy, grace and love during this difficult weekend.

It all started with a homeschool field trip to Pendleton I had planned that Friday. We thought since we were already over there and my husband was gone for drill, we would stay with my mom and do some ice skating and such. Of course, we always try to get a visit in with my grandma who lives in an assisted living apartment in the same town. It had been a long day what with the all-day field trip, and I was pretty tired and was debating on if I should take the kids to see her Friday night or wait until the next evening. Mom and I talked about it and decided Friday would be best. I'm so glad that was what I did or I would have had some serious regrets.

Now my grandma hadn't allowed me to take any pictures of her since she got so sick and almost died 6 months ago. She miraculously slowly but surely got better. At the last minute, I felt prompted to grab my camera because I was hoping she would allow me to take some pictures of her and the kids. When I asked her, she didn't feel self-conscious about it, so I went for it! What blessing that did. Here is my grandma with the kids. It was the first time I had seen her dressed in something besides a nightgown in 6 months. She was 82 years old and barely had any grey hair, even with all she had been through this last year. We talked about how great she was doing and how good she looked. She was walking around and so cheerful.

She has always loved animated Christmas toys and pics up a few each year. She has quite a collection now and she so enjoyed watching the kids play each one. I love this picture of pure joy on her face as she laughed with the kids. I can still hear that laugh so clearly. I will treasure this picture always.

Hailey watching the snowman and the dog dance to Christmas music.

This was Josiah's favorite. It was a reindeer shaking the bars of his cell while it played "Grandma got run over by a reindeer". Little did he know he would be taking it home by the end of that weekend.

Hailey always loves to snuggle with Grandma.

More snuggles.

Grandma kept telling her how much she loved her.

One of the things I think is very strange is that she gave me a funny letter that my mom had written to her in 1982. She carried it around in her purse and showed it to many people throughout the years. It was so strange that she insisted I take it that night.

After I was done taking the pictures, I had to remind her to put her oxygen back on. She called the nurse for a couple of pain pills as we were leaving. Our last words to each other were literally "I love you so much."

The next morning we got a call from the assisted living home. She had died during the night. It was so shocking. We all expected it 6 months ago, but now? We thought she was going to have a few more years. We just saw her. She was doing so good! My son was devastated. It is the first time he has had a loved one die. Hailey kept saying to me in her sweet little voice, "Mommy, don't cry. We will see GG Mary in heaven". What a wonderful reminder from the lips of my four year old.

When my mom got her apartment, it was clear that Grandma had died in peace. She asked the nurse on duty if she had her oxygen on when she found her. She said no, it wasn't on. Then we understood. She had to take her oxygen off to get her nightgown on and when she did, she forgot to put the oxygen back on after she got dressed. She climbed into bed and went to sleep and slowly stopped breathing. What a way to go. Happy, full of life, knowing she was loved and cared for, she just slipped away into the arms of Jesus.

I'm blessed to have such a caring family. My sister and Aunt immediately drove up to stay the weekend, grieve, remind each other of all the blessings, laugh, reminisce and work together to take care of all the details. It was so hard going back into that apartment the next day and not hearing the familiar, "Come in!". The beautiful quilt that we were just discussing the night before lay on her empty bed.

It is going to take awhile to adjust to this. I'm grateful for the wonderful memories from this weekend and the pictures I have to remember her by. I found the journal I gave her last Christmas. I had written in the first page, "Grandma, tell me your story". She wrote in detail about her childhood. She got up to age 18. Again, another gift to hold on to. My grandma loved Christmas! It is going to be difficult this season, but even as we grieve, we will continue to look for the blessings. I praise God for His hope. For his perfect plan of Salvation so that we can claim that hope!

Please pray for us as we continue to process this. It is all so raw at the moment. I know time will heal. I hope you can see what a wonderful, loving woman she was though these pictures. I hope those angels watch out, because there is a woman riding her dirt bike up there in a red leather jacket and eating as many chicken wings as she can!

Grieving, But Blessed,
Jackie

Thankful For Family!

2011-12-01T16:51:00.000-08:00

This is me with my grandpa who soon turns 90 years old. Not many 90 year old men out there that still farm with horses. I've always felt very loved by my grandpa. He's a character for sure. Stubborn as they come, but loving as they come, too. I was so grateful to get to spend some time with him this Thanksgiving when we spent Thanksgiving break out at the ranch. My Dad and step-mom hosted us and we had a great time. All the cousins had fun playing outside and of course we all did what we do best, EAT, LOL!

This is my brother and his pregnant wife, Sonya, with their toddler, Noah. It was so nice seeing them :) They have been very busy selling trees for a fundraiser for Camp Morrow, a Christian camp out of Pine Hollow, Oregon. I truly admire their dedication.

My grandpa's wife, Regina, was kind enough to give some great back rubs. In this picture she is giving a much-deserved massage to my step-mom, Diana, who works so hard to cook for us. She brings lots of traditional dishes, like "Butterhorns" a tribute to the sweet rolls that her mom always made during the holidays. My six year old nephew, Andrew, bragged that he ate 9 of them, LOL!

Hailey and her cousin, Lily, are thick as thieves now. They are playing much better together now that they are older. They are very similar in personality and like many of the same things, especially dress up! They got those genes, from my twin sis and I. That was our main past time growing up.

My beautiful sister, Stacie, relaxing on the couch while most of the kid were outside riding 4 wheelers with Papa and Michael. She is sitting next to, Pat, who is my other grandpa's wife. We had an enjoyable visit with them as well.

Here is my Grandpa (Pat's husband). It is hard to get him to smile for a picture. This was the best I could do. It was fun visiting with him, too.

Regina and Grandpa having a cuddle moment. She keeps him young and doing what he loves :) She baked a slug of old-fashioned pies for us all to feast on. When you ask my grandpa what his favorite pie is, he will say, "more pie!"

My 13 year old, nephew, Josh, having a "James Dean" moment. He is seriously crackin' me up.

He is wearing my deceased grandfather's bomber jacket from when he was in the Air Force during Korea, I think. He loves it and never takes it off. I sure hope he doesn't lose it! He thinks he's pretty cool in it, LOL.

Two more of my nephews, Jacob and Marcus, being silly.

On Friday, I got to go visit my sis and we had Thai food for lunch, yum! The we all met up to go to the Starlight Parade. My step-mom kept with tradition and provided hot chocolate, cornbread, chili and left-over turkey noodle soup.

On Saturday we spent most of the day visiting Michael's best friend, Tim, and his family. We had a great time cooking s'mores over their shop stove and visiting until we almost lost our voices!

Sunday was very special because we were able to go to church with most of our family. My sister was singing a solo that day, and God used it greatly. There weren't many dry eyes in the place. It is wonderful to see God so active in their church. It has really changed for the better since I was a kid. God was palpably in that place!

So we are home again, and working hard to get caught up. My husband starts his new job on Monday (more details to come in my family Christmas letter)! Can't wait to tell you all about it :)

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving and I look forward to catching up with you soon :)

God Bless,

Jackie

Homeschool Creation Science Class

2011-11-22T06:00:00.000-08:00

Once a month, my friend, Billy, and I tag-team a Creation Science class for our local homeschool group. It is targeted for 1st graders to high schoolers. We typically have around 25 students, not including their parents. We have power point presentations, video clips, experiments and even skits! I've had great feedback from the kids and parents alike. In fact, we love having the parents join in because they are learning, too! For many beginning homeschoolers, this is the first time they've ever really researched the idea of Creationism. This is typical since our generation were almost all publicly educated and spoon-fed the evolution/old earth theories.

Ever since going to Russ Miller's Creation Science seminars last spring, God has lit a fire under me concerning this subject. I thought I would start sharing all that I've learned with our homeschool group. When you are a homeschooler, you've got to decide what you believe in regards to Evolution, because you can't cop out with a "go ask your teacher" since you are the teacher! Homeschool families have to decide what they are going to teach because Evolution and Creationism are completely different things. Creationism is using science as evidence that we can take the bible literally and Evolution is where people use science to try and prove that the bible is a bunch of fairy tales.

So many Christians don't think it really matters, but I ask you, why bother teaching your kids about the bible at all? If they believe that only part of the bible is true and they can pick and choose what to believe, then why believe the bible is true at all? The bible is either completely true, or it isn't. I believe without question it is the inspired Word of God. What are so many Christians teaching their children when they don't reconcile this? That we only adhere to part of the bible? That only parts of the bible are important enough to believe? That is a slippery slope, one that I slipped on myself as a teenager/college student. Praise God I hung on by a thread, and when challenged to research Creationism, I took the step of faith and looked at it with an open mind. What did I discover? The scientist in me saw the evidence pointing to a literal 6 day creation and a global flood. God's Word really was completely true, word for word and cover to cover! It gave me a confidence in Christ that I can't explain. I see that same confidence in my children and it is awesome!

My friend, Billy, giving the Power Point presentation. He is great with the kids and keeps their attention for a full 45 minutes of lecture time (even the 1st graders).

I have two homeschooled teenagers who love drama and do a skit for us every time. Here is "Dr. Lenslo" and "Dr. Page". I use the "Genesis For Kids - Science Experiments that show God's power in Creation". It is an awesome resource. That is where I get the skits, too.

Billy made these awesome scales so we could use them in an experiment to determine that air has mass.

Billy and I explaining an experiment to the kids.

In this experiment the kids hit the ruler sticking out of the newspaper with a hammer. The paper never lifted and the ruler broke when it didn't slip out. I definitely would use old wooden rulers next time, because plastic rulers are too slick. It is amazing that the two sheets of newspaper didn't raise up when the hammer hit the end of the ruler. Our atmosphere definitely has some "weight" to it ;)

Some students are become fast friends and science buddies.

We did several experiments involving apple juice that were a big hit with the kids.

The teenagers are so helpful.

I passed out two different colors of straws to each partner, then I had them race to see how fast they could drink the apple juice. What they didn't know was that I had pricked holes near the bottom of one of the straws, so due to the "vacuum principle" the person without the holes in the straw automatically won. It was so funny when I had the losers inspect the ends of their straws carefully to see the holes ;)

Billy created a cloud in a bottle. It showed how air pressure effects the presence of clouds.

We created rain in this experiment.

I have so many more pictures but I had to pick and choose some of the best for these blog post.

If you haven't checked out this article http://news.yahoo.com/whales-desert-fossil-bonanza-poses-mystery-135321328.html, you simply must. This may be a mystery to some scientists but to Creation scientists who believe in a global flood this mass grave of well-preserved fossilized whale bones found in a desert, makes perfect sense. The dates in this article are improvable, but this scientific evidence points to a global flood. The article seriously cracks me up. I truly think God is revealing these things on purpose as we get closer to Jesus coming back and a great revival is going to take place. I believe it is part of the "Every knee shall bow" plan spoken about in His Word. It is amazing how much evidence is coming out in very recent history regarding Creation Science. Secular scientists are having a hard time lining up this new evidence with their new theories. I can just picture God having a good chuckle over this article, too!

In His Truth,

Jackie

Healthy Pumpkin, Ginger Soup Recipe - Served In Personal Pumpkins

2011-11-18T06:00:00.000-08:00

I got the basic recipe for this soup from Sunset Magazine and I just tweaked it to my preferences. You should have seen my kid's eyes when they realized they got to eat their soup out of their very own pumpkin! I wish I would have made a straight cut across the top of the pumpkin instead of what I did in this photo as it proved a bit hard to get the soup out. Still is was fun and I would do this again. It was a nice way to use up the small pumpkins from the garden that we had been using for decorating.

Healthy Pumpkin, Ginger Soup Recipe - Served in Personal Pumpkins

Ingredients:

1 large onion, chopped

1 1/2 Tbl chopped ginger (fresh)

2 Tbl olive oil

4 large garlic cloves, pressed

2 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp sucanat, honey or maple syrup

4 cups fresh or frozen pumpkin, ground

4 cups chicken broth, preferably homemade broth

salt and pepper to taste

Italian bread crumbs (optional)

Cut tops off 4 small washed pumpkins and scoop all guts out. Place on a cookie sheet and bake at 250 for 1 & 1/2 hrs or until inside of pumpkin can be pierced with a fork. Don't over cook!

While pumpkins are cooking, in bottom of soup pot, saute onion, ginger and garlic in olive oil until translucent. Add coriander, ground pumpkin, broth, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium and cook for 20 minutes. Process soup through a blender, pour soup into warm pumpkins and sprinkle with bread crumbs. Serve on individual plates.

Monday Meaderings

2011-11-14T08:26:00.000-08:00

What a crazy week! Michael was gone elk hunting and my cold decided to turn into a stubborn sinus infection. It is now clearing up thanks to some traditional approaches, although I was close to having to go get antibiotics for this one. I had even made and appointment but ended up cancelling it at the last minute. I honestly struggled this week as I worked, homeschooled and tried to keep meals going for me and the kids. Right before Michael went elk hunting for a week, the dishwasher we had for 14 years finally gave up the ghost. We had nursed it along for years, but it finally completely died on us. It was the very first appliance we ever bought as a married couple when we moved into our home. I didn't grow up with a dishwasher, so it was really a big deal to get one. When it died, we let Josiah completely tear it apart. I don't think there was one wire left uncut by the time he got through. Here is a pic of him with our new dishwasher. Doesn't he look like a salesman in the making? He is showing off the buttons which are located on the top of the door to keep little ones from pushing buttons. Where was this when I had toddlers?!! Awesome invention! Can't believe how well it cleans. So blessed because as usual, God provided the money unexpectedly so we didn't have to take it out of our emergency fund. He has done that three times this year with unexpected, large expenses. I just praise him for his goodness and providence!

We had our first snow last week. It was just a dusting, but it didn't stop the kids from going out (before the sun had even come up all the way) and playing in the snow. Was shocked that they somehow managed to make snowballs with that little amount of snow. Where there is a will, there is a way!

Last weekend, I felt horrible, but knew I had to get the pumpkins processed. They kids were SUCH a big help. We cooked the pumpkins, let them cool, peeled them and then ran them through the KitchenAid grinder attachment.

As you can see, we got it all over us and the kitchen, but we had fun! I guess wearing a white t-shirt probably wasn't the best idea ;) We got 23 cups of pumpkin frozen, all from Josiah's little pumpkins that grew in his garden space.

The next evening we visited my husband's elk camp. Poor guy, he didn't get anything and only saw one elk that he couldn't shoot that whole week. We saw more elk than he did. On our way home that night, two elk ran right in front of us. If I had been going any faster, I would have hit them.

I brought Michael's hunting buddy's wife and baby up, too. Loved getting to hold little James. He is precious little boy.

I brought the guys some soup and cornbread and my friend brought a cheesecake. They were grateful to not have to cook a meal. It was very cold up there. Even though we were all bundled up, the kids and I were ready to leave after two hours cause our feet were freezing.

Michael and I catching up around the fire.

The kids had a blast! Josiah found a log that became his buckin' bull. Like I said it was all fun for about two hours. I was glad to be going home instead of staying up there. Those guys are crazy!

After pushing through the week flying "Hans Solo" with my nasty sinus infection, my MIL arrived just when I was about ready to crack. Praise God she had Veteran's Day off and had already planned a visit. She helped out with the kids and the house because I had to let a lot of things go in order to still have the energy to homeschool and work that week. God was so good to provide a friend who was able to take Josiah to Aikido because I couldn't leave the house one day. Another friend dropped off eggs and ran errand for me. What a blessing for such great friends!

Michael took this picture of me in my new favorite hat and wearing my penguin sweater as I was relaxing on the couch. He came home Friday and I tried to rest most of the weekend. It helped because I feel so much better now. Glad I didn't have to go to the doctor after all!

It was an emotionally disappointing weekend for Josiah. Michael took Josiah to the AWANAS Grand Prix on Saturday. He had worked really hard on his car, but alas, he didn't win any first prizes. I wasn't there, but Michael and my MIL said he handled it really well until the end. He wants a trophy in the worst way and is finding out how hard it is to get one. Then on Sunday morning he learned my mom's bird, Duffy, died. He was so upset, that we couldn't take him to church. I'm learning he's an very sensitive child, so I'm trying to be more careful about the timing of giving him bad news. I should have waited until after church. Poor kid, he cried and cried. I'm praying God will use that tender heart for his glory. We are working through these life issues one at a time and praying for wisdom along the way.

While it wasn't the greatest week ever, I can look back and see God's provision and sovereignty the whole time. So glad I'm not doing life alone and I've got my God to watch my back!

Hope you all have a great week. God Bless, Jackie

Stream Restoration Field Trip 2011

2011-11-06T06:25:00.000-08:00

Here are all the homeschool kids who went on the stream restoration field trip we had a couple of weeks ago. It was a really great day for a field trip. Not too cold or wet (if you didn't fall into the stream). They are sitting on a pile of what our family calls "dredge poop", the tailings leftover from a gold mining dredge that left a wake of destruction in the streams and rivers it dredged.

Our tour guide is homeschooling father, Joe, who works for the Forest Service. His job is to restore the "health" of these streams to increase fish habitat.

He showed us pictures of the different kinds of fish you would find in the stream we were looking at.

Netting for aquatic insects.

Hailey with her friend, Becca.

More netting.

The kids were so excited when they found an aquatic bug or minnow.

Joe is pointing out a salmon nest in the gravel bed.

Joe spent a lot of time showing us all the equipment he uses in his job. It was very interesting. I have a lot more respect for people who restore streams. It isn't an easy job at all!

Stake-pounder.

Simulating how you would "pin" two trees together. Keep in mind you would actually be standing on these logs in a stream doing this. Not as easy as it looks!

We topped off the day with a picnic on the "dredge poop". Doesn't get any better than that!

Thank you, Joe and Becky, for putting on such an interesting field trip. We learned so much!

Homemade Whole Wheat Italian Bread Crumb Recipe

2011-11-03T11:50:00.000-07:00

I've made more bread disasters than I can count! I'm forever forgetting ingredients. Sometimes I end up making tortillas out the dough, sometimes pizza dough, but if it is so bad that I can't do either of those, I will make Italian bread crumbs out of it. My family loves this on top of my Twice-baked Potato Casserole recipe or coconut oil-fried meats (every now and then). If you've ever looked at the back of the ingredients in Italian bread crumbs you get at the store, it'll make you want to make your own for sure, especially when you see just how easy and delicious it is!

Whole Wheat Italian Bread Crumb Recipe

1.Loaf of whole wheat bread, broken up on cookie sheet and toasted in the oven at 200 degrees for an hour or two (just depends on how wet the bread is).

2. After bread has cooled, put toasted bread into food processor. Blend to desired consistency.

3. While still in food processor, add to taste the following: garlic powder, onion powder, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper. Keep tasting until you get the combo you like. You want it to be strong in flavor.

Can't believe I used to just throw away my messed up bread! What a waste, when I could have been making this delicious stuff. Hope someone out there finds this recipe useful as well.

Monday Meaderings

2011-10-31T15:04:00.000-07:00

What a busy weekend. It would have been a whole lot busier if the kids hadn't got sick. Sometimes I think sickness is the only way God can bring sanity back into our schedule. While I was at a MOPS leadership meeting Friday night, Michael took Josiah and Hailey to a Hallelujah Party at a local church. We went last year and really liked it. They do praise and worship and lots of fun games and prizes, without all the scary stuff. I was really proud of Michael for dressing up and taking them by himself. I'm usually the one who does that.

Hailey was Rapunzel.

Josiah is still hooked on his kilt.

On Saturday, the kids and I were feeling a bit under the weather, so we stayed home from the homeschool picnic we were going to go to, and processed lots and lots of apples. The kids were a big help this year!

After making apple juice, using my steamer/juicer, I broke out the Squeezo steamed apples through it. This is like a kid's dream kitchen tool. It is really safe for them to use, too.

This is seriously, the coolest device ever - "The Squeezo". You feed the stuff through the hopper, turn the crank and it goes through a screen and "poops" out the peel, seeds and core material. It has different sized screens, so you can do tomatoes or even something as small as raspberries. It poops the seeds right out. Awesome!

The pulp goes into a bowl. We freeze the apple sauce (I use it for cooking only since it is a little dry and thick because I take a lot of the juice out first). We also used the apple/corer/slicer to prepare apples for drying. It was a long day, but we got it all done. Was bummed to miss the homeschool picnic, but glad the kids were inside and not getting any sicker.

On Sunday, the kids were still not up to par with their colds, so Michael stayed home from church with them. Instead of going to our church's harvest party, we decided to stay home with the kids and invite a couple of friends over. It turned into a fun kilt party. Our friend just got a kilt and was looking for his first opportunity to wear it. Of course, we were more than happy to comply! Have I mentioned that our family loves to dress up? We love it when we can find friends to dress up with, too!

His son was wearing his kilt with the addition of a new belt and rabbit fur sporran. Does it get any cuter than that?

So even though our original plans changed, we still had a lot of fun. God is so good! Since it is Halloween tonight, we are simply going to turn it into a family night. I see pajamas, popcorn and some "Smash Lab" in our near future :o)

God Bless and Happy Harvest!

Jackie

May My Life Be Like A River

2011-10-26T06:00:00.000-07:00

When I look at these photos, it sure makes me count my blessings. Man, I love these children! Even though they drive me crazy or drive me to exhaustion, it is all worth it. I love that both my kids come up to me out of the blue, multiple times a day to tell me they love me. Hailey says, "I love you even when you discipline me." Does it get any better than that?

I praise God He loves me enough to discipline me. I'm getting to a place in my spiritual walk, where I'm wanting Him to keep me on the straight and narrow path. I want to keep in step with Him always. Of course he has to discipline me to do it, but it is worth it to get back under His wing of protection.

I'm seeing glimpses of fruit in my children's lives, especially Josiah right now. I'm starting to see that the hard work of training is worth it. The other day, Josiah's AWANAS teacher told my neighbor that she noticed Josiah was really growing up and becoming a fine young mine. Last year, we were getting a bad report every other week. Since he's started the new year, there hasn't been a bad report yet. This is a good reminder to me that every season in parenting is temporary. They really are paying attention and learning. All the training we do does have its benefits.

Even though we still have our intense moments, they are fewer and farther between. So much of that is because of MY willingness to change. God has been working on me big time with my anger and frustration level, especially my natural tendency to yell and be sarcastic. It still happens every now and then, but nothing like it was. As I keep working on this character flaw of mine, I pray that one day (sooner rather than later), it will be gone completely. I want to "Lead with cords of human kindness, with ties of love." Hosea 11:4. I pray that nearly every morning and I will until the day I die if I have to.

I want my home to resemble this river. Calm, yet flowing. Peaceful, yet still moving. Still getting the job done. Still running the race. These cute, active, challenging redheads in my life have made me face myself. My pure selfishness at times. God is using them to refine me in a whole new way. My faith has been stretched sometimes to the breaking point, but still I hold on, even by a thread. When I gain perspective again, I always come out of the difficult situation with my faith stronger than it was. "For God works to the good of those who love him and are called according to His purpose" Roman 8:28 - my life verse.

If you are having a hard season with your children, marriage, employment situation, ministry, etc. I hope this encourages you today. God loves us too much to let us remain stagnant in our faith. Let our faith be like a flowing river instead. Sometimes we'll have calm moments, sometimes we'll have rapids in our lives, but we always need to keep moving towards the prize.

God Bless,

Jackie

Joe's "To-Die-For" Sweet Chili Nectarine Salsa Recipe

2011-10-24T06:00:00.001-07:00

I was at a birthday party a couple of months ago and made the mistake of sitting too close to the salsa bowl. My friend's husband, Joe, had made this sweet salsa that I seriously could not stop eating. I almost made myself sick on it, LOL. I finally had to put my hands up and back away from the bowl! Since then, I've been making it quite a bit. Most kids really like this salsa, too. Joe has given me permission to post his recipe.

Joe's "To-Die-For" Sweet Chili Nectarine Salsa Recipe

6 Roma tomatoes, chopped
1/2 yellow onion, chopped
2 nectarines, peels on, chopped
1 bunch of cilantro
1 Tbl fresh finely chopped basil leaves
1/3 cup of Franky's Sweet Red Hot Chili Sauce (made with sugar, not corn syrup)
Salt and pepper to taste

Mix all together and you've got a new salsa favorite! Just be careful about sitting too close to the bowl, LOL.

This recipe makes about 1 quart of salsa.

MOPS Pumpkin Patch Play Date

2011-10-22T12:04:00.000-07:00

We had a great time meeting up with our local MOPS group at the Pumpkin Patch. The kids played for 2 solid hours. Hailey's favorite part was getting to pet the steer while he was eating.

Josiah joined in.

They have a really great maze built from straw bales. I liked it it except I don't know why they felt they needed to add some scary elements to it. Totally unnecessary! In fact it would be more fun without it.

The rest of the pics in this post were taken by a budding teenage photographer, Janie, who is in our homeschool group and also is the main babysitter for our MOPS group. I always love seeing what she comes up with. Gorgeous view of the mountains.

Josiah with his good friend, Mitch, as they listened to the story while sitting on straw bales and drinking apple cider.

Mitch's younger brother, Max, is Hailey's age. They are also listening to the story. Love this pic!

Janie snapped this pic of Hailey and I. It was my favorite pic of the day. In fact, I'm now using it as my Facebook profile pic.

Each kid got to pick out a pumpkin. We do allow the kids to carve pumpkins, but only happy faces :o) Looking forward to the Hallelujah Party coming up this week. The kids will get to dress up in their non-scary costumes and go to a carnival at a local church. As for the actual day of Halloween, we have turned it into a "Family Night" and the kids are just fine with it. This will be our second year of not celebrating Halloween. I was worried the kids would have a hard time adjusting, but we simply brought in new traditions and they are very happy with the change. They know we can find other ways to have fun without all the scary stuff that is contrary to what Scripture teaches. Some may view this as legalistic, but the more I read the Word, I believe Christians shouldn't compromise on this one. Why are we teaching our kids that it is fun to be "scared" when scripture tells us not to fear? It just doesn't make sense to me. O.K., I'll get off my soap box now.

We are going to start working on getting our garden ready for winter today. Everything has been pulled up and thrown into the compost pile last week. Now we are going to add cardboard to the beds, then spread the compost on top of it. Maybe by next week the leaves will be falling and we'll be able to start putting a thick layer of leaves over the cardboard and compost to let it "work" over the winter.

Hope you all are having a wonderful fall. It has been absolutely beautiful so far.

God Bless,

Jackie

Monday Meaderings

2011-10-17T06:00:00.000-07:00

Thought I would do a catch up post. Still been too busy to blog much. Josiah took this pic of my twin sis, Stacie and I, when she was up for a visit last week. She came up all by herself to relax. Her husband was gracious enough to take all 6 of her children to the beach so that she could have a time of rest. We had so much fun. I was able to take her to a MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) meeting as well as the women's weekly bible study I'm a part of. It was so fun to be able to show her off and for her to meet my friends. I was sad for her to leave though. I miss her so much, but I'm thankful we are able to call each other often.

It has been a fabulous year for tomatoes around here. My 20 tomato plants (think I'll scale back a little next year) produced more than we could handle. My freezer is full of diced tomatoes, frozen salsa and tomato sauce.

My mom came over and helped me make freezer salsa for the first time. It was so nice having her help and being able to visit, too.

I quickly learned that tomato sauce isn't worth the effort in my opinion. 5 gallons of tomatoes ended up equaling about 1 gallon of tomato sauce.

We pulled out our entire garden this weekend and saved a bunch of seed. Here are some seeds that are drying. After they are completely dried, I put them in labeled paper sacks and staple the tops down. Easy peasy! I'm hoping to save myself a bunch of money next year when I plant. The beauty of heirloom gardening!

We were listening to bagpipe music the other day and Josiah grabs the paper, staples, tape and yard. He quickly whips up a paper bagpipe and comes out in his kilt and hat to play. Just cracked me up!

Front view of my piper.

Michael tried teaching Hailey how to braid. He tied three strands of yard to her toe. She pretty much just twisted it, but she had a great time doing it and it kept her occupied for quite awhile.

Hailey and Josiah are just like me. They love puzzles. The hardest part is getting them to work together to complete a puzzle - not against each other. I don't know if it is the red hair or what, but they are both so competitive. I was thrilled when I saw them complete this whole puzzle without getting on each other's nerves.

Yay, teamwork! It's a good thing ;o)

We started the homeschool "show and tell" time at the library again. We had two or three times the amount of families we did last year. It is exciting to see the homeschool community growing by such leaps and bounds. Our children's librarian even got a grant for buy specifically homeschool materials and we now have our own section. How cool is that?

Our family joined the Celtic Society of Eastern Oregon and Michael was voted in the Sergeant of Arms for that group.

We have also started seriously looking into Civil War reenacting. Unfortunately, it is pretty expensive. Hoping to start buying one item a month for Michael's uniform. We found a Cavalry unit out of Eastern Oregon and can join up as dismounted Cavalry as soon as we can get Michael's uniform together. Buying the proper gun is the real expense. Everything else can come later. We would probably only get to go to one or two events per year, so it isn't much of a time commitment.

Homeschooling is going really well. Still working on attitudes (including mine), but it is much better than last year at this time. It is exciting to see their progress. My biggest challenge is to keep from getting too busy! I'm sure you can all relate :o) Sometimes we have to say no, even to good things.

God Bless,

Jackie

Best Yard Sale Picks of the Season

2011-10-14T10:27:00.000-07:00

Here I am "without one plea", showing off the hand-made apron I got at a yard sale. It even had matching potholders. Josiah took this pic of me at the end of a very long Monday (my cooking/laundry day).

I had the opportunity to go yard saling quite a bit in August and September. I mostly went by myself with the kids since Michael was usually out of town or hunting. My kids have grown to love yard sales. My strategy for keeping them content is lots of snacks, water and a "Hank the Cowdog" book on tape. Then they don't want to get out at every sale because they are listening to "Hank". I also promise that if they are good, they will get to split an Italian soda from Dutch Bros. This is a real treat for them.

I love yard sales because I'm able to purchase or upgrade on things I normally wouldn't be able to afford. They are indeed a blessings for our family. There is sort of a thrill in it, too, like you are treasure hunting! Even Michael likes to go when he can.

My sis was able to hit a few yard sales with me when she came up for Hailey's birthday. She got this NICE "Tangled" tower that works perfectly in Hailey's room because it is tall and skinny. So glad we were able to get her a doll house in her room finally :) She plays with it all the time and Stacie even got her a "Tangled" doll to go with it. Stacie got this for $10 and it was in awesome condition.

I know I already posted this pic, but just had to say again how thrilled I was to pick up this Spanish lace shawl, vintage shirt and sash to complete my Civil War reenactment outfit. I think I paid $6 for all.

Hailey spotted this Playmobile set for only $3. It was still in the box and only had TWO pieces missing! She loves it!

I was thrilled to freshen up our bedroom with a new look. This bedding, complete with shams, a pillow and bedskirt, all for drumroll please....$10! It is in perfect condition and matches the other decor in the room perfectly. Lovin' the change!

As usual, I was able to freshen up my wardrobe this summer. I got all this and more for less than $10. The dress on the left is a vintage 50's dress with old lace. Always love vintage and it was just my size!

Found this leather jacket from the Worthington Coat Factory at the MOPS yard sale. I love it!

Of course, I got countless other items we needed for the household or homeschooling . The kids got so many toys, that we've had to purge again the other day. That is the only bad thing about yard saling with kids. Everyone wants to give them something. It gets a little crazy after awhile and I have to purge, sometimes when they aren't looking ;)

Hope you are all having a great fall so far. We've already started making hot chocolate and easy homemade marshmallows, so it feels officially fall around here. Picking the rest of the garden today and tomorrow. Will miss the garden, but will enjoy a little break from it as well :)

God Bless,

Jackie

Shepherd's Pie Recipe

2011-10-07T06:00:00.000-07:00

We always eat Shepherd's Pie for supper on Christmas Eve in honor of the shepherds who came to see baby Jesus. This is a great recipe to load up or "hide" as many veggies at you can. I also quadruple the recipe and freeze four casseroles at a time. It can be easily made non-dairy or gluten-free. This is a great dish to take to a potluck, too.

Shepherd's Pie Recipe:

2 cups ground beef

1/2 cup onion, chopped

1 tsp coconut oil

2 garlic cloves, pressed

1 to 2tsp Celtic Sea salt

1/2 tsp dried thyme leaves

1/2 tsp black pepper

3 to 4 cups fresh or thawed, previously frozen veggies such as carrots, peas, green beans, corn

1 cup fresh or frozen, kale, chard or spinach, chopped (optional)

2 cups, approx homemade beef or cream of mushroom condensed soup (can be made, non-dairy and gluten-free)

3 to 4 cups mashed potatoes, I like to add a little butter and sour cream to these, but you don't have to

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (optional)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Get about 1 or 2 lbs, potatoes quartered then boiling. In a large saute pan, brown hamburger in oil and drain. Add onion and garlic and saute until tender. Add salt, pepper, thyme. Mix in veggies and soup. Pour mixture into a greased 9 x 13 pan.

When potatoes are done, drain and then mash (I use my Kitchen Aid and add some butter and sour cream). Spoon mashed potatoes over the meat and veggie mixture as evenly as you can. Sprinkle with the shredded cheddar.

Bake at 375 degrees F for 35 to 45 minutes.

*Note - I make my make my basic condensed soup in large batches and then freeze in pint jars so I just thaw out and pour. I often times brown a whole bunch of hamburger and freeze it. You can do the same thing with the mashed potatoes. Makes this recipe super easy.

Bringing in the Harvest

2011-10-03T06:00:00.000-07:00

This is just a small sampling of why we've been so busy. Because of getting our garden in late due to the weird weather, everything finally came on all at once near the end of August. We have a very large garden and we I using every inch of space. It has been a fabulous year for tomatoes and peppers. God has blessed us richly in this area, now it is my job to bring in the harvest! The kids have been much more help this year. They helped me freeze four and half gallons of sliced carrots this year. Carrots are big job and it was nice to have some help. They also helped pick green beans and tomatoes and we had lots to give away to friends. We are making freezer salsa for the first time today with my mom. I'll let you know if it turns out well.

This is what our salads are looking like these days. We are using fresh green chard, cukes, cherry tomatoes and my favorites are these "atomic red" carrots. Seriously, aren't they beautiful? Love the flavor, too! I'm going to miss all these fresh veggies. When we prepare our garden beds for winter, I'm going to see what we can do about trying to grow some lettuce and spinach throughout the winter. It would save us a lot of money and be healthier, too.

I've been making lots of healthy, whole wheat zucchini bread for breakfast and snacks. See the post before this one for the recipe or just click on this link.

This kids and I decorated for fall on the first day of autumn. It seemed kind of weird this year since we are having such a late summer, but time marches on. This is the centerpiece for my dining room table.

I started looking for fall decorations at yard sales last year when we decided to celebrate fall and the harvest instead of Halloween. The kids don't seem to miss it at all since we've replaced the Halloween items with these beautiful finds.

Josiah decorated the covered porch entry. He used corn stalks from our garden, and placed dried corn beside the white pumpkins he grew in his portion of the garden. I thought he did a really good job.

Since we've been going yard saling the last few weekends, I've found some nice things and I thought I'd do a 2011 yard sale season "treasure" post next.

Hope to have time to catch up with all of you soon :)

Healthy, Whole Wheat Zucchini Bread Recipe

2011-10-01T06:00:00.000-07:00

This recipe is for you, Leslie. I got this out of the MOPS cookbook, but changed it up to make is healthy. If you are looking for a inexpensive, easy breakfast/snack for your kids or something to take to a potluck, this stuff is always a hit.

Healthy, Whole Wheat Zucchini Bread Recipe

3 eggs

2 cups sucanat

2 cups grated or ground zucchini

1 c butter (you could also do 1/2 cup butter, 1/2 cup applesauce)

2 tsp vanilla

3 cups whole wheat pastry flour

1 tsp Celtic sea salt

1 tsp baking soda

2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp cloves

1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 375 F. Mix together all liquids and then add all the dry ingredients (I just turn on my Kitchen Aid and start dumping). Pour into 2 greased 9x5 loaf pans and bake for 45 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes, then remove from pan to cool completely. This recipe freezes well.

Yee Ha! "Let 'r Buck" at the Pendleton Round Up - 101 Years

2011-09-23T06:00:00.000-07:00

Last Friday, we traveled to Pendleton for the world famous, Pendleton Round-Up. My mom lives there, so we always have a place to stay. What a blessing! We always start the Round Up with the "Westward Ho" parade. I believe it is the world's longest non-mechanized parade. There were over 600 horses in it this year. It is truly a "Cowboys and Indians" kind of parade. It always provides great discussions for our 365 days a year homeschool :o)

The parade started out with riders carrying 101 American flags, representing how many years the Round-Up had been going on. It seriously gives you chills when you watch them ride by.

Hailey waiting for the parade to start. She was all decked out in her pink cowgirl hat, boots, jeans and belt, with a little "Rodeo Princess" tiara on her hat.

Always love watching the mounted Round Up band.

Josiah waiting for the parade to start. He was giving me his best, "Howdy, M'am" look. Of course he had to be wearing his bright orange "OSU" handkerchief! Go Beavers!

They had rodeo royalty show up from all over, as far back east as Nebraska. I loved these gals' shirts.

As usual, Michael road with my grandpa who has the distinction of being the oldest teamster in the parade. Grandpa's wife, Regina, is riding alongside the chuck wagon on her saddle horse. My grandpa still farms with horses. Michael always has a great time hanging out with them.

This horse was beautiful! It's gait was amazing and so was the rider.

This year we were blessed by extended family (thank you Phyllis and Uncle Kerry) who gave us a couple of extra tickets. It has been so long since Michael and I were actually able to attend the rodeo together. 21 years ago, Michael and I officially became and item at the Pendleton Round Up. It was the first time we ever held hands. It is a very unique place because the area is grassy with a plowed up track around it because Pendleton uses it as a field the rest of the year. That grass is hard and makes it even more challenging for competitors.

A new exhibition event they are doing is the reenactment of the most famous saddle bronc competition ever. For the reenactment, they don't use chutes, they bring the horses out blind-folded, mug them down, get the rider, then tighten the bucking strap and let 'er buck! The competition was between George Fletcher (African American), Jackson Sundown (Native American) and John Spain (white guy) back in 1910, the year the Pendleton Round Up began. George Fletcher should have won it, but of course they gave it to the white guy. Nobody ever forgot who the real winner was though and George became instantly famous. Sherriff Til Taylor cut up George's hat and sold the pieces to the dissatisfied crown. He made enough money to have another championship saddle made for George, just like the one that was awarded to John Spain. Love that story!

I couldn't believe how many people got hurt that day, especially in the all Indian Women's race. The gal shown in my picture won, but she and the girl behind her couldn't get their horses stopped after the race. One of them ended up going back the other way on the track and they collided. The woman in blue was taken away on a stretcher, I think the other girl walked away. I was praying she was OK. So sad. I must have counted 4 or 5 stretchers that day. That is the life of rodeo I guess. It is truly a tough sport.

Michael used to be a bull rider in high school. I was so glad when he quit. It is so scary to watch someone you love out there on one of those huge beasts. Almost all the cowboys are wear helmets now, which I think is so smart!

Native American dancers are very much part of the Round Up experience/tradition. Love watching the little ones especially. They can really rattle those bells!

I just had to throw in a picture of this poor steer wrestler. The back of his shirt was ripped off and he skinned his back up pretty bad. Ouch! That was one tough cowboy! I bet he was just glad he wasn't one of the people taken out on a stretcher.

After the rodeo, thanks to my mom and step-dad, we were able to mosey downtown without the kids and watch the entertainment and look at all the booths. We had the best smoked brisket ever! It had been months since we had been on a date, so this was just what we needed.

God Bless,

Jackie

A Celtic-themed Party - Happy 8th Birthday, Josiah!

2011-09-20T06:00:00.000-07:00

I think this was the easiest, yet most fun, themed-party we've done so far. Josiah turned 8 years old and he wanted a "Highland-themed" birthday party. Our good family friend, Billy (the older brother I never had) shares a birthday with Josiah, so we decided to turn it into a "Celtic-themed" party to honor both the Scottish and Irish heritages represented by our families. Billy can trace his family roots all the way back to the county in Ireland where his ancestors are from. We did some more digging into Michael's family history and discovered that his surname falls under two clans from the same area in Scotland, the MacGregors and Lamonts.

We kicked off the party with some Highland games that Billy was in charge of. He's a football coach/former pastor/youth pastor, so working with kids is a natural thing for him to do. We had two different sets of "stones, hammers and cabers", one for the kids and one for the adults. It was fun watching so many participating. I love it when I see adults doing something fun with their kids that they normally wouldn't do. Having kids gives us an excuse to be a kid again :)

Even my dad did the "ball and chain toss". He did great!

Josiah running with the caber.

Even I got to try it. It was so much fun!

Michael helped Hailey with her caber toss.

Michael tossing the caber.

The decorations where simple, true to Celtic style. I found old plaid blankets to use for the table clothes, and set my Scottish swords out. I also found this really neat unbleached table runner at a yard sale that worked perfectly under the cake. The guests were pretty much the decorations, LOL. We encouraged everyone to wear plaid.

I had the cake made by a local bakery. They put both our family crest as well as Billy's on the cake, then I had them put shamrocks in the corners on Billy's side of the cake and thistles on Josiah's side. You can see the cool table runner underneath better in this picture.

We also had a German chocolate cake for my dad and my MIL whose birthdays are really close to Josiah and Billy's.

I was pretending to cut the cake with my Scottish basket hilt sword. Of all the swords in my collection, this one is my favorite.

Michael's good friends, Billy and Patrick. Poor Michael got teased a lot about his white legs. That is what kilt socks are for, LOL! I think he'll pull them up next time ;)

Even the littlest member of our party was wearing a kilt. Check out his sock flashes. Adorable!

Our family.

I took a picture of everyone who was dressed to the "hilt" (no pun intended), Billy, Patrick, me, Josiah, Hailey and Michael. The guys are planning on doing the Highland games next year at our local Celtic Festival, so they are thinking of using our backyard to practice in. They have kids games, too.

So happy birthday to Josiah and Billy! What a wonderful way to learn about the Scottish/Irish cultures. Can't wait to see what theme they come up with for their party next year :)

God Bless,

Jackie

WWII Bunker at Camp Rilea

2011-09-16T06:00:00.000-07:00

I think the kids were more excited about getting to play in the WWII bunker we found at Camp Rilea than the Civil War reenactment. Us adults enjoyed the view of the ocean as well as the wildlife while the kids played and played in this bunker. What a homeschool opportunity!

My nephew, Josh, inside the bunker. It was in pretty good shape still.

Loved this graffiti. Michael had to explain it to me. "Big Red One" was here Sept, 15th, 1944. How cool is that?

My nephew insisted I video their WWII reenactment. They were totally crackin' me up, especially Josh. He is the sound effect king.

I've been so busy with the prolific garden and having fun that I haven't had to time to visit other blogs, but hope to soon. Miss seeing what everyone is up to :o)

Blessings,

Jackie

The Civil War Dress Of My Dreams!

2011-09-14T06:00:00.000-07:00

I grew up on a ranch without any television. It was the greatest gift my parents could have given me. My twin sis and I always played dress up, and I never really got over it. I still like to play dress up! My kids love it when I dress up for their theme parties. If you've read any of my previous posts, you'll know that one of our family's dreams is to one day become Civil War reenactors. I got a step closer to that dream when I found a screamin' good deal on a this Civil War skirt and jacket at a sutler's tent. (The sun is shining through the trees and making it look like there are blotches on my dress)

I got the hat at Ross for $7. It will work for two of my costumes. It is a Scottish Highland type crotchet hat, but slid back, I can make it into a snood for my Civil War costume, too. This last weekend I found the rest of the accessories at yard sales. I found the lace shawl at a yard sale a friend of mine was having. She and my previous boss brought it back from Spain. Got it for $1. I found the shirt (it had tatting lace around the collar) at the same sale for only $2. I also found a early 50's style dress at that sale, too for $5. The silver brooch and earrings were Michael's grandmother's. Then I got the woven sash at another yard sale for $.25. It all went perfectly with the dress. All I need now is a parasol, a little hand bag and some fingerless gloves. Can you tell I'm excited?!!!

This is the serious, old-time photo my mom took of me. She said I had to have at least one. I tell you it was hard not to smile while wearing that dress!

I'm learning how to sit properly in a hoop skirt. Not sure how I would get into a car with that thing on, LOL.

I still can't believe how God blessed me with this outfit. It was completely frivolous. God had just provided us with some extra money that was unexpected. I almost didn't buy it, in fact I walked out of the tent and told Michael I wasn't going to. He was so sweet and my "Mr. Practical" told me to get back in there and buy it because I wouldn't find that deal again and we couldn't make the dress for that price. I couldn't believe it. So I went back in and bought it without any regrets and God blessed me with the rest of the accessories. I really felt like God was simply wanting to delight me. What an awesome God I serve! That He cares for me, even my frivolous desires, just blows me away :o)

God Bless,

Jackie

Civil War Reenactment - Camp Life

2011-09-12T06:00:00.000-07:00

I love wandering the camps looking for interesting demonstrations, as well as talking with the reenactors to learn more Civil War history. These guys really know their stuff. The first demonstration we went to was the Union hospital tent. They were treating the head wound of soldier who probably wouldn't have survived.

Next we found the Christian Society, where the "married, unattractive women" were feeding the wounded soldier's stomachs as well as their souls. There was a display of a soldier's field rations as well as his marching rations. Learned that salt pork is really just cured, un-rendered lard. The kids had fun touching and smelling all the food items.

Josiah stands at attention as the Union Fife and Drum Corps go marching by.

The cannon located outside the real earthworks Civil War fort at Fort Stevens.

Josiah and his cousin Andrew were on opposite sides of the war but pretended to be brothers who found each other during battle. They ended up walking away with their arms around each other. They were really cute.

A Southern belle camp follower.

Confederate cannons.

Despite being in a blue uniform, Josiah braved the Confederate camp. He was only waylaid twice. One of the Confederate soldiers let him hold his gun. It was so heavy!

They gave the kids pickles as a dehydration test. If the pickle tasted like a pickle, you were good, but if it tasted weird, that meant you were dehydrated. Josiah and his cousins loved this test and have been practicing it often at home ;)

Checking out the different sized barrels of some of the guns in the Confederate camp.

Camp cooks stirring beans in a huge cast iron pot. I would not have wanted to have lifted that pot!

The most fascinating demonstration, and one I had never seen before, was the button maker. He had a hand forge, where he turned the wheel and it took him about 15 minutes to make 4 buttons using an antique button mold. They man was a natural teacher.

The hot pewter in liquid form.

Kids watching with rapt attention. He showed them an interesting technique to see if something is hot before you grab on to it. The kids are now using it at home and no burns so far!

The buttons as they came out of the button mold. They were beautiful!

My mom took some pics of me in my Civil War dress I bought at the reenactment and thanks to some yard sale finds this weekend, my outfit is complete. I'll be posting those next.

Blessings,

Jackie

Civil War Reenactment - The Battle

2011-09-10T06:00:00.000-07:00

Even though we are going to wait until October to start homeschooling this year, we took advantage of a wonderful homeschool opportunity. We had the opportunity to go to the Civil War reenactment held at Fort Stevens State Park near Astoria, OR. There are usually near a 1000 reenactors who show up. This is the 5th time we've gone, and we love it! We would love to get into it, but buying the tent, the gun and clothing is very expensive. Every time we go, we usually try to pick up at least one more item we would need. Someday we're going to make our family dream come true and become real Civil War reenactors instead of wannabes (story of our lives, LOL). This time around, my dream came true as I was able to buy a ladies dress for a screamin' good deal!

Fort Stevens is the perfect site for a Civil War reenactment since it has the only Civil War fort built in the west. It was an earth works fort at the mouth of the Columbia River whose purpose was to keep the Confederates from invading the west. It never saw action, but the WWII batteries did. Fort Stevens has the distinction of being the only part of the mainland that was fired upon by the Japanese. They fired a few shots back and the submarine disappeared.

When we go to the reenactment, we always stay at Camp Rilea, an active National Guard Camp where we can stay in really cheap housing and "camp". The kids have lots of places to ride their bikes, we can go to the ocean and we found a WWII bunker there, too.

This a reenactment of the charge of General Stevens (whom Fort Stevens is named after). You can click on the link for more info about him. He died leading the 79th New York Highlanders in a charge during the Battle of Chantilly.

They had at least 5 cannons there, maybe more.

The Union troops getting into formation with the mouth of the Columbia River in the background.

Confederates lining up and skirmishing with the Union Sharpshooters in green.

79th New York Highland Regiment. They got slaughtered in this battle.

Union Sharpshooters.

The Union Marines are in the white pants. It was a hot day, I felt bad for the guys who "died", although some of them managed to crawl to the shade and take a nap for the rest of the battle. I don't blame them, LOL.

Confederate Mounted Calvary demonstration. It was explained that several million horses were killed during the Civil War. It wiped out whole breeds, especially in the South. Very sad. Confederate cavalrymen were not issued horses, they had to come up with their own.

Calvary saber training demonstration.

I'd never seen this before. Apparently one of the Confederate privates got into trouble and was forced to run messages between the regiments with shackles and chains on his hands and feet. Hum, quite interesting.

Next, I'll be posting pictures of Civil War Camp life. Hope you all had a great Labor Day Weekend!

God Bless,

Jackie

Celtic Festival - Highland Games 2011

2011-09-02T06:00:00.000-07:00

Here we are, the hot Whyte/MacRea/Fraser clan (that is our Scottish ancestry) watching the Highland Games. I shouldn't complain. It was a real test of manhood for those contestants. They were out there in the heat without any shade for about 7 hours. I don't know how they did it!

The Highland Games are all about throwing heavy weights (hammers, ball in chain, logs, bell on a chain, etc) either for distance or height. It is slow moving, but very interesting to watch. I have a lot of respect for these athletes.

This guy got overall best for the games in his novice class. His skills were impressive indeed. He is throwing a stone here.

for

This is why the athletes are required to wear shorts under their kilts, LOL.

There were many different games, but the caber toss was worth the wait. Wow! They were all tossing a 13 or 14 foot pole, which looked hard enough, but then they brought out this 18 ft monster! I was amazed any of them were able to pick it up, let alone toss it. Nobody was able to get it end over end, but they had fun trying, and we had fun watching.

No, that is not a telephone pole he is carrying. They pick it up, by the end, get it balanced, run with a little ways to get momentum, then...

Toss their end up as high as they can. This is one of Michael's friends he used to work with at the sawmill. I think he convinced Michael to try it next year. I think he'd be great at it. All I can say is, I hope they had a chiropractor and massage therapist on site. Those guys must have been utterly exhausted by the end of the day.

They also hosted children's games and a skillet toss for women (there were a couple of women in the Highland Games), the next day, but we weren't able to make it both days. Hopefully next year!

God Bless,

Jackie

Celtic Festival Fun

2011-08-30T11:09:00.000-07:00

We had a fantastic family weekend. The Eastern Oregon Celtic Society did a bang up up job of putting on their first Celtic Festival, complete with Highland Games in our community. We were very impressed at the attendance and the quality of music, vendors and reenacters involved.

Here we are at the beginning of the day (before it hit 90+ degrees). I was blessed to find Hailey's kilt and my plaid ensemble at a second hand-shop in our town. By the next day, I convinced Michael to get a kilt, too. He is thinking of participating in the Highland Games next year.

Sheep Dog demonstration.

Hailey had the privilege of learning to spin wool with a spinning wheel. She loved it!

Her spun wool.

Irish wolf hounds. One of them weighed 190 lbs!

Gathering of the Clans. They all went by the announcer stand and each clan was blessed by a priest.

Excellent Irish step dancing group.

A nice young man let Josiah try on his armor and weapons he uses in medieval tournaments. Josiah thought he was hot stuff!

Of course Hailey had to try it on, too.

So we had to get Josiah a wooden sword so he could practice.

Of course, Hailey had to have one, too. She'll grow into it. Love this camera angle, so "Lord of the Rings", LOL.

The Confederated Jacobite Clans. They explained the Jacobite history and some of the major battles. They also talked a lot about traditional Highland weaponry and soldiering. Very interesting. These guys must have been roasting!

Firing their muskets. One was a "Brown Bess", 75 caliber. Sounded like a small cannon when it went off.

They demonstrated a "Highland Charge" against some helpless Englishmen.

The Englishmen didn't fair too well.

"Good English brains!" The kids enjoyed eating the "English brains" as well.

The Jacobites demonstrated how to make a fire with flint and tender. He got it going. My fire bugs were very interested in that.

Common items a soldier would have carried with him.

Hailey and Josiah decided to do their own Highland charge.

They won of course!

We found this festival to be a great homeschool experience. It really got Josiah interested in learning about Scottish history. He wants a Highland themed birthday party this year, so we are working on getting that put together.

Next I'll be posting on the Highland Games. They were fascinating indeed. Hope you are all having a great week!

God Bless,

Jackie

Camp Carson Mine Homeschool Field Trip

2011-08-26T06:00:00.000-07:00

Earlier this month, our local homeschool group got together for a fun field trip to a hydraulic mine called "Camp Carson". Our local Forest Service archaeologist was kind enough to lead us on a tour. It was absolutely fascinating!

The mine operated from the 1860's until the 1980's. Platinum and gold were found. The area is pretty unstable due to all the mining activity and you can see efforts are being made to stabilize the area. The gulch you see is man-made.

On the other side of the gulch is the pond that was used in the hydraulic mining process as well as some old mining equipment. There were two towns above the hills you see. One was for families, the other for single laborers, Chinese and "working women".

The white material you see sliding down the "hill" is volcanic ash from Mt. Mazama (all that is left is Crater Lake). As a soil scientist, I always love seeing thick pure ash mantles. Soils with pure ash mantles at least 14 inches deep are called Andisols.

Josiah taking in the view of the Blue Mountains/Tanner Gulch area.

Tanner Gulch. You can see how unstable this hill could be. The Forest Service has planted trees on it to hopefully keep it stabilized. If it goes, scientists are concerned that it could ruin the stream/river system all the way to the Columbia River.

The kids found some petrified wood and interesting rocks. Of course, they were all in search of gold, but no such luck.

Kids, bugs and rocks. Does it get much better?

Here is the equipment that rolls the rock and dirt and separates the bigger boulders out and dumps smaller debris into the pond. Then they panned out the pond. It is full of toxic heavy metals now that were used to help separate the gold from the debris.

We had 10 homeschool families join us this time. That is quite a few people! We were blessed to have so many dad's come along this time. At least half were new to homeschooling this year. How cool is that?

Notice the pipe coming out?

One homeschooler found out the hard way that the end of the pipe contained a paper wasp's nest. The rest of us stayed away from that baby! Poor kid. He was a trooper though.

The Forest Service archaeologist, explaining the history of the area and the workings of the mine.

One of the kids found some hand-forged, square nails. Very exciting!

We are hoping to do this trip again some time since so many people couldn't make it. The response was great!

Blessings,

Jackie

Monday Meaderings

2011-08-22T17:18:00.000-07:00

Thought I'd do a little catch up post. We've been so busy with the garden, yard saling, making soap, bible studies, bear hunting (Michael) and playing with the kids lately that I just haven't had time to post much and that is OK. I've learned that the world is going to be fine without a new post from Jackie's blog, LOL.

The first pic was one I snapped while Hailey and Michael were dancing to a Don Williams song. They are so cute together. They certainly have a special bond that is sweet to behold.

Hailey decided to cut her own bangs and this was the result. I'm was so thankful she didn't cut the back of her hair. I just kept telling myself it could have been so much worse, which was true. So we had to go to the " U-tician" (she can't say beautician yet) and have her wave her magic wand and try to do something with it.

Here are the results. Hailey has very short bangs, but they are more blended in. They should grow back quickly. Little Stinker!

I was in the garden and Hailey came out in my shirt and hat. It just cracked me up!

Josiah has saved for several months to purchase a "Black Watch" kilt in time for our community's first annual Celtic Festival. He also bought a sword kilt pin and we got him the sporran as an early birthday gift. He is so excited about this kilt, you wouldn't believe it! Kind of a funny thing for a 7 year old boy to want, but if you know Josiah at all, it totally makes sense. He's been wearing it everywhere I will let him. In fact, he decided he wants his upcoming birthday party to have a Scottish Highland theme. We are going to do kid-friendly Highland games. I've got the decorations all figured out and I'm asking all party attendees to wear plaid. Josiah is soooo excited!

I've been switching up my exercise routine this summer. Not only am I biking to Curves twice a week, I'm also jogging 2 to 3 times a week (up to 2 miles) and doing sit ups, push ups and leg lifts. I'm down to my goal weight and I'm getting more toned up. Didn't realize how tight my pants were getting until they fit again, LOL. I was doing push ups one day and Michael decided to show off what he can do. No, he isn't touching the ground with his chest. His legs are up on the coffee table and he's formed a diamond with his hands. I tried it, what a joke. I made him let me take a picture of him for posterity's sake, LOL.

We had some really good news. Michael came back from drill this last weekend and told me his unit's mission to Afghanistan was canceled! Yee Haa!!! He was bummed, but the kids and I and all the family are thrilled. He's a typical guy, wants to go away for adventure, but soon after he's gone, he is ready to come home. It's that wild, adventure-loving heart of his. I'm ecstatic to not be gearing up for another deployment any time soon. Woohoo!!! Thank you, Jesus!

As for the garden, I'm still waiting for things to ripen up. Soon, I hope, we'll be canning pickles.

I've decided not to start homeschooling until October since Josiah is ahead. September is so busy with processing produce from the garden, the Pendleton Round-up, MOPS starting up again, and Josiah's birthday party. We're even going to squeeze in a Civil War reenactment (spectators, not participants) with my sis and her older kids. I'm also working on getting a once a month Creation Science class going for our homeschool group. I'm very excited about that!

I'll be posting on a cool homeschool field trip we took to Camp Carson Mine next... Hope you are all having a great August!

God Bless,

Jackie

Organic, Heirloom Garden Progress

2011-08-15T08:29:00.000-07:00

Now that good weather is finally here to stay for awhile, my garden has been very happy. We didn't start getting warm weather until the first part of August and even then it hasn't been too hot. My plants seem to be really loving it. Right now we are harvesting the cool weather plants because we got a late start in planting, but I think in about 2 weeks we'll be getting some warm weather plants (I hope). We planted more than we need, but we are having a great time sharing with friends in neighbors.

We are so glad to have invested in these raised beds and took the time to put landscape matting between the rows. It has saved a lot of weeding time. The other item we splurged on this year was the watering system. It saves water and time!

The top row is planted in carrots, still waiting for them to get bigger. As you can see, we've had lettuce coming out of our ears! We are now starting to harvest green-leaf chard and kohl rabbi. The next row down is onions and garlic. We are harvesting bunch onions, but the Walla Walla sweet onions are still very small.

I didn't know I had planted a banana pepper plant, but it is going great guns!

You can see some of the trellised green beans. I think we'll be getting some this week. I planted 100 pole beans, way more than we need, but that is OK. We'll share! In the next row, we have six surviving potato plants, and I lots of kale. I love kale in soups, but I think it is yummy fresh in salads, too. It is full of nutrition, too! Then you can see my pepper plants. I've got a lot of peppers on, but it remains to be seen whether they ripen up or not. I planted a whole bunch of sweet cherry peppers. Waiting....

So here I have corn, which is even taller since I took these pics last week, then I have 60 pickling cukes trellised. I got my first slicer last week and a few pickling cukes, but not enough to do pickles this last weekend. They are also way taller now then when I took this pic. And next , are the prolific pole beans.

At the top of the garden, I have peas planted. They are finally taking off, and while I know it is late for peas, I'm hoping to get quite a few. At the bottom of the pea row, we have more corn that Josiah planted and three zucchini plants and a yellow squash plant. We've been enjoying fresh zucchini cooked in all sorts of ways. Of course, my favorite is fried zucchini in coconut oil.

The corn seems to be pollinating well.

We have a lot of green tomato sets, but nothing is close to getting red. I get the most impatient for red tomatoes. I love them! Can't wait to make some salsa.

I thought this corn silk looked so pretty. The silks are starting to turn color and kernels are forming. So exciting! We've never grown corn before. Now if I can just keep Josiah from playing war games in the corn. Several stalks have been sacrificed. Urrgghh!

Even though our garden has been so late in getting going because of the cooler weather, I think it is going to produce more than enough. Hope all your gardens are doing great, too!

God Bless,

Jackie

A Winning Day at the Fair!

2011-08-12T06:00:00.000-07:00

This is the first year we've ever entered anything into the fair and I think we're hooked! Year after year we've gone to the fair and I've thought to myself, we should enter something next year. I finally got with the program, thanks to my son. I have to say it made it a lot more fun, wondering if you won or not.

First things first, the kids always love the goat milking station. There is a lady there every year who loves to let the kids help her milk her goats. I love the way Hailey is standing and looking at the goat. She looks like a real bow-legged buckaroo, LOL.

Pettin' pigs.

Josiah milks the goat by hand.

Josiah was ecstatic when he saw he won 1st place on the basil he grew in his personal garden area. It looked way better than mine. Boy, did it smell good, too!

He was also thrilled to win 1st place on his Healthy German Chocolate Chip Cookies. Trust me, the entire building knew he won, LOL.

The two blue ribbons in the case were for my organic queso fresco cheese and butter. They started two new categories, just for me. Hope I get some competition next year!

So besides, my blue ribbons for cheese and butter and Josiah's for his basil and cookies, I also received a blue for my parsley and two reds for thyme and my bread. I already have so many ideas of things I want to enter for next year. Besides cooking items and herbs and flowers, I would like to enter some photography and scrapbook pages. Between Josiah and I, we earned 13 dollars which we put in an envelope to help pay for tickets to the Celtic Festival/Clan Gathering that will be held in our area the last weekend of August.

I thought I'd throw this picture in, too. We were able to watch a mounted shooting demonstration. It was fascinating! This pic is of a woman who happens to be Oregon's state champion. Let me tell you, that woman could ride and shoot. No wonder she was state champion! If you ever have a chance to watch this sport, it is well worth your time.

Hope you all are having a chance to visit your local fairs as well. If you've entered anything and won, I'd love to hear about it in the comment section :o)

Blessings,

Jackie

Princess Tea Party: Hailey's 4th Birthday!

2011-08-09T16:38:00.000-07:00

Hailey turned 4 years old last week! She wanted a princess-themed tea party. With the help of my sister, Stacie, we were able to make her dream come true for less than $30. She really loves all things "Tangled", so I splurged and got her the outfit. I already had the wig, which worked great for her, although her red bangs sticking out cracked me up. My sister's girls, Jessica and Lily (in picture above) also joined in the fun. Of course, I always love an excuse to dress up, so I got to be Rapunzel's mother.

Instead of cake, I found these cupcake holders with crown toothpicks and we used homemade whole wheat scones with strawberry jam and whipped cream.

We made three varieties of tea sandwiches and served lots of fruit with vanilla tea.

Two of our guests had a new baby sister, Amelia, and all the girls crowded around to see her as soon as she arrived with her mom. Lots of mommies in the makin'! So sweet to see these girls' motherly instincts already kicking it :o)

The girls practiced their princess manners as they sipped tea and ate. Michael got Hailey the flowers and the balloon especially from him that morning. She absolutely loved getting those flowers! Typical female, ;o)

I got that tea cup for $1 at a yard sale the day before the party and all the linen for $1.

The linen was enough to cover all the tables, give the room some color and the small lace table was included, too.

Of course Hailey received some cool princess items. I think her favorite was the large "Tangled" tower that my sister scored at a yard sale for $10. It was a hit for sure!

We played several princess-themed games. One of them was "Pass the Glass Slipper" (same idea as Hot Potato). We also hid green apples and one red apple around the room. The girl who found the red apple won some princess stickers. This was one of the most simple parties I've done. It just goes to show you don't have to spend a fortune to have a good time. Maybe we'll do a "Little House on the Prairie" themed party next year.

Happy birthday to my wonderful daughter, Hailey! I can't imagine life without this little girl. She is so cheerful and friendly and loves to do new things. I'm seeing a love for Jesus develop in her that is so precious. She already is understanding that she can't be good on her own and that she needs the power of the Holy Spirit to help her. I didn't figure that out until I was 25. Can't wait to see what God has in store for Hailey. I know it is going to be good. May God bless her and may He give me wisdom on how to parent this strong-willed darlin'!

Miracle Turn Around! Update on Grandma/Mason

2011-08-03T14:10:00.000-07:00

This picture was taken almost a year ago. Grandma was 81 in this pic. Thank you so much for all your prayers regarding my Grandma. Her health has taken a turn for the BEST! I think the fact that Grandma went on hospice might prolong her life for awhile longer. Hospice took her off a bunch of the medications the doctors had been prescribing her for years even when she really didn't need it. The last time I saw her, we weren't sure she was going to make it through the night. She sent me home with a bunch of her clothes and things, and she's feeling so good now that she wants them back (especially her red leather jacket, LOL)! Whoo Hoo! My prayer all along has been that she stays on this earth for as long as God needs her. Well He must need her here a little longer because she is doing SO much better. She is able to get out of bed on her own now! I know hospice patients can rally for a time and then relapse again, but I'm going to enjoy every minute I get to spend with my grandma, however long that is. I'm so happy! We give God all the glory in this situation!

Also, I wanted to let you know that my friend's son, Mason (see button on sidebar) just had his scans and was pronounced CANCER FREE!!!!!!! I know many of you have prayed for this little seven year old boy and God has heard and acted! He is still having a hard time walking because of nerve damage where they had to remove the tumor, so please continue to pray that he will walk/run again. Our God is a god of miracles, yes, even today! Thanks again everyone.

Blessings,

Jackie

Last Earthly Birthday

2011-07-26T17:39:00.000-07:00

This picture was taken two years ago on my Grandma's 80th birthday. Isn't she a knock out? Today is her 82nd birthday. We were all hoping she would make it to her birthday and she did! I didn't post a current picture of her because I know she wouldn't want me to. She is extremely thin and frail now. This last year her COPD had taken its toll. She started smoking when she was 18 and was never able to stop even though she tried several times. If it wasn't for smoking, I'm sure my grandma would still be riding dirt bikes with us down in the Alvord Desert.

Just after she moved into my mother's house a couple months ago, she started failing fast. She now needs 24 hour care and hospice is helping out. What a blessing that organization is! Please pray for my mom who is juggling a full time job and all of grandma's needs. They have found a good care-giver during the day while mom is working. That has helped a lot. It has been a real eye-opener as to what I should expect when my parents are going to need this kind of care.

As I've gone to visit my grandma during her last days on earth, it certainly has helped me see death in a whole new light. I see that it can actually be a blessing and not something to be feared. I'm so grateful Grandma is a believer and I know that I'm going to see her again someday in a beautifully restored body. I have my moments of grief, but overall I'm learning to see the preciousness in the last days of a person's life. It is such an opportunity for us to serve and love on her. She is maintaining her sense of humor through it all.

"Thank you, God, for these memorable moments spent with Grandma. Thank you for the opportunity to be able to tell/show her the love I have for her. Please don't let her suffer a moment longer than she needs to on this earth, but don't let her go until you've completely finished what you want to accomplish through her life. God, I pray that as you prepare that special place in heaven for her, that you will include a dirt bike in your plans. I can just picture her riding through the streets of gold on a motorcycle. What a special time you've given us with her. Let us not squander a moment of it. In the meantime, until you take her home to be with you forever, please sustain her. In your precious son's name, Amen"

Now go hug someone you love!

God Bless,

Jackie

Family Photos at the Ranch

2011-07-22T06:00:00.000-07:00

All my parents wanted for their 25th wedding anniversary, as far as a present goes, was to have a photo of all us kids and grandkids with them. My brother and SIL granted them that wish and had a professional photographer friend of theirs come and take some shots out at the ranch. What a patient guy! He also took a bunch of shots of the kids playing and individual families. We haven't had a professional photo taken of our family since Josiah was about a year old, so I guess it was about time!

This is such a natural Hailey look! I'd show you pictures of Josiah, but apparently the photographer didn't have much luck getting him to stick around for a photo shoot. Not so with Hailey!

I love this one! I thought it looked very artistic.

Our family with Dad and Diana.

Dad and Diana with all the grand kids.

The whole family. Nine grandkids so far!

All the grandkids.

I loved this pic of Dad and Diana by their license plate collection. Awesome pic! So glad the my Brother and SIL found a way to make their dream come true.

Abandoned Cook House

2011-07-20T06:00:00.000-07:00

While we were camping at the ranch out of Heppner, my sister, Stacie and her son, Jacob, and Hailey and I, had a chance explore of one of the old buildings still left standing on the ranch. We visited an old cookhouse built for the loggers when they were logging the area probably nearly a 100 years ago. I have a thing for looking at old buildings and wondering what those old walls would say if they could talk.

I kept thinking of the movie, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. Did any of the cooks who worked here marry their customers? Yep, I'm a hopeless romantic!

The stove was still in the covered porch area.

The fireplace was still standing.

They sure had a pretty view from the once-covered porch.

What a welcome sight this cookhouse must have been for hungry, weary loggers.

Hailey and Jacob.

You could tell this was the kitchen/pantry area.

I don't know what these metal signs were used for. They were sticking out of the fireplace chimney. They must have acted as some sort of a barrier, but I'm not sure how or why. Anybody know?

4-Wheelin' Fun

2011-07-18T06:00:00.000-07:00

Instead of bringing horses to the ranch, we all opted for off-road vehicles this time. We could cover a lot more ground of this 5000 acre ranch. Between all of us, we managed to bring 6 ATVs and one dirt bike. Man, did we have fun and get dirty! The area has some of the deepest pockets of Mt. Mazma ash (resulting from when Crater Lake blew up) I've ever seen. The elk love to wallow in it. We would come back from rides, just covered.

Michael on our 1970's dirt bike that he restored. It used to be my dad's motorcross racing bike.

My brother, Jerry, with their son, Noah. His wife, Sonya, is behind him, with Uncle Kenny and my Dad bringing up the rear.

Aunt Terry and Uncle Kenny.

We went on a ride Sunday morning up to a lookout where we could see several elk across the way. My sister is pointing them out.

Taking in the view and the elk. The day before, they saw a herd of 400 elk come off the hill and settle into this area. I was bummed to have missed seeing that!

Partial view of the valley as we were coming in from a ride. You can see the cabin to the left of the picture. Can you see why we love this place?

Another piece of the valley. The wildflowers were in full bloom, a month later than normal. The smell of the wild roses was so wonderful!

Picture of our camp. I'll be posting pictures of the old cookhouse next.

Mountain Creek Fun

2011-07-16T06:00:00.000-07:00

The kids played for hours in the creek that ran below the cabin. I don't think it gets any better for kids when they have a creek to play in. It was a shallow creek with cold mountain water, so we didn't have to worry about them staying in for long. But they had fun wading, catching snakes and fresh water mussels and attempting to pan for gold. Hailey and her cousin, Jacob, hung out together at the creek for awhile. They are only six months apart in age.

Love this picture of them looking at each other with funny faces.

Look at the view behind them!

My sis looking on as the kids play.

Yes, I feed my son and he eats like a horse, although this picture makes it look like he's malnourished, LOL. He's stretching out quick, now if we could get a little meat to stay on his bones!

Hailey and Josiah panning for gold with their cousin, Marcus.

I spent an hour looking through all their diggin's. Only found "fools gold" and mica, but was definitely fun to try.

Camping with Family in God's Country

2011-07-14T06:00:00.000-07:00

My dad is blessed to be a ranch manager to a man who has several ranches. We were able to camp on 5000 acres of some of the most beautiful land I've ever seen. It is right next to Forest Service land and we were given access to ride ATVs on all the old logging roads around the ranch. The pictures I took don't do justice to the view that we saw. It is impossible to capture it on camera. We had such a great time as we met my dad, stepmom, brother and his family, my sister, Stacie, and her kids and my aunt and uncle. The above picture is of the rustic hunting cabin. It comes with an outhouse and no running water. It does have a propane stove, which is nice for cooking on. Here is most of the crew!

Josiah with his cousins, Marcus and Josh. Dad would fire up the generator at night for a few minutes and turn some lights on in the cabin, other than that, no electricity. Do these boys look like they care about electricity?

The kids had so much fun playing in the little creek that runs by the cabin. They caught water snakes and fresh water mussels, panned for gold, and used their imaginations. Here is Josiah with is cousin, Jessica, and Aunt Terri. I got them to show off there "mussels". Yep, one even bit Aunt Terri's hand right off, it was so big! Just kidding, it really got caught in a meat grinder when she was a kid. I told her I'd make up a really good story for the blog though, LOL. I love watching how she doesn't ever let one hand stop her from doing anything. She road an ATV on a really rough road(trail) and can even tie her shoes with one hand. She is an inspiration for sure!

Camp from a distance. Our family camped in a tent on the nice flat deck. It was awesome. Very cold at night though. We all froze that first night! It was so cold there was frost the next morning. We listened to wild turkeys gobbling to each other at night.

Hailey and Josiah enjoying the fire, waiting for their turn to roast marshmallows.

This picture of my nephew, Jacob, cracks me up!

Here is a partial view of the gorgeous valley that the cabin (nestled in on the left) lies in. There are so many awesome logging roads to ride on and of course it is private, so you never have to worry about someone coming at you in the opposite direction. Nobody got hurt and we had a fabulous time riding.

View of the valley looking south of the cabin. I've got more pics to come, so stay tuned...

Blessings,
Jackie

And He's Off (Again)!

2011-07-12T15:45:00.000-07:00

Michael's brother, Nathan, just left again last week for his 4th deployment to Iraq (including the first Gulf War). I would covet your prayers for his wife and two daughters who are once again going to be without him for an unknown amount of time. Please pray for his safety as well as his family as they live far away from any family to help them out. We are so proud of Nathan's sacrifice as well as that of my SIL and nieces.

We will soon be facing the same reality as we found out my husband is on the deployment list to Afghanistan with his National Guard unit in 2012. I know these wars seem to be never ending, but I hope you will continue to pray for the safety of our troops and their families. They are living a reality that most people can't imagine. So keep up the prayers and the support going for those in your community who are military families.

And he's off!

Thank You and God Bless!

Jackie

Renewed Passion - Creation Ministries

2011-07-07T06:00:00.000-07:00

I've never given my testimony on the topic of Creationism before. I'm praying that even if you don't agree with me, you can read this post with an open mind. This is a topic near and dear to my heart as I was a former Evolution Theist but now I'm a full-blown Creationist.

Ever since I was very young I've always been interested in knowing how the world around me was ordered. Unfortunately, being a product of the public school system, I graduated from high school completely doubting the validity of the Word of God. I was a baby Christian with very little understanding of what the bible really said. I got good at picking and choosing parts of the Bible as to what I wanted to believe, especially when I went off to college. I definitely didn't want to be different from what other scientist believed, so I subscribed to the "no I haven't evolved from a monkey, but I believe a year in the bible could be any length of time" I totally took the "year is like a thousands years" verse from 2 Peter 3:8 completely out of context and used it to justify my stance of being a Christian, yet still believing in Evolution.

I became a soil scientist and worked in the secular world doing soil mapping (I now do soil database work from my home) for about 5 years before my world was rocked by a woman at a women's retreat who had enough guts to challenge me on my thinking. She patiently listened to all my excuses for why I believed in evolution, but then she simply asked me to research Creationism myself before I made up my mind. I got home and my sister, who was just starting to homeschool, gave me a couple of books, and I was scared to death to open them, because I knew I would never fit into the secular science world again.

When I started researching Creationism, I was overwhelmed by the fact that Evolution is just as much a religion as Christianity or any other religion. Having been a soil scientist for a few years then, I had begun to see how subjective science was and realized how much of science was based on opinion. I think that is what I liked about Creationism the most is that it was so simple. It was so easy to take apart the theory of Evolution with real science. The kind of science where things that have been tested over time and proven to be true over and over. Anyway, I could go on and on, but my point is that I felt really jipped. I didn't understand why I hadn't ever been exposed to this theory. I found out later it is because 98% of churches in this country don't teach a literal 6-day Creation or of a fairly recent global flood. No wonder I hadn't ever been exposed to it!

I've done some research over the years and studied many different Creationist's teachings. While they can differ in some of the more subjective issues that aren't clearly taught in the bible, they all agree on a literal 6 day Creation, and a global flood as well as many other points. When I finally understood that the bible really was true, front to back, it kicked my faith into gear and sent my spiritual life into over-drive! I've never be the same. I don't care if people call me crazy because I believe there were dinosaurs on the ark. Soon they will know the Truth when "every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord". God is proving himself as year after year, new archaeological and scientific evidence is coming to light.

Our community was recently blessed to have Creation Scientist Russ Miller visit us. We managed to go to three of his sessions. It sparked not only a renewed passion in me for this topic, but also my son, Josiah. He is a lot like me, very scientifically minded. He is 7 years old and he wants to go to a college that teaches Creation. Sadly there are only 6 colleges in the country that do. I could totally see Josiah doing what Russ Miller is doing someday. The kid is great at public speaking and extremely passionate. I think he'd make a great Creation scientist! Maybe his mom could be his side-kick, LOL ;o)

One thing I really appreciated about Russ Miller was the fact that he kept to the main point. He didn't get sidetracked with things that can't be proved scientifically or biblically. He recognized where we need faith but also points out where Evolutionists need a great amount of faith, too, to believe the things they've been taught. I'd love for you to visit his website, www.CreationMinistries.org . He does rafting trips in the Grand Canyon, showing evidence of a global flood as well as other field trips. Our family is hoping to go on one of these trips in the future.

If you have never even heard of a different theory of the earth's origin other than Evolution, I hope you will be brave enough to check out this video on YouTube. It is the 50 Facts vs Darwinism video by Russ Miller. Please pray your heart will be open if these are new concepts to you. I understand that it is hard to have an open mind to these things if you've never head them before, but we seriously have to decide whether the bible is true or not. If one part of it isn't true, than it is worthless. Personally, I'm siding with Truth! My prayer is that the Church will wake up to this issue and start taking it seriously. That we will hunger and thirst for the true, undiluted Word of God! I hope that is your prayer, too.

I bought his DVD series, which are not copy-righted. If you are looking for a good arm-chair ministry, you can buy these at his website www.creationministries.org and copy them for friends and family who would be open to watching them. You can also learn how to help get the word out. Look for him on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/CreationMin. I had a good friend who was a "scoffer". I encouraged her to come to one of his sessions when he was in town and her world-view was completely changed. Her heart was open and her spirit was receptive. It was a precious thing to see!

There are many different books out there by Ken Ham, too. The picture above shows several books I bought from Ken Miller's table. My kids absolutely love the "D is for Dinosaur" and "A is for Adam" children's books. I liked what Russ Miller had to say about teaching kids bible stories. He said, don't just teach kids bible stories, show them the scientific proof behind those stories! I've been noticing lately how many publishers are watering down and even flat-out changing the bible stories to make them more "kid-friendly". Not cool!

As Christians, we should not be afraid of this topic. We should be actively teaching our children the truth and reliability of God's Word, no matter how you chose to school your children. I believe when Christians can know and understand these truths, that it will help plant the seeds of the huge revival that is prophesied to take place before Jesus returns. Let us be mighty warriors for Jesus and live out his Word in our lives.

"Lord, let your Word be alive and active in your Church! Do a good work in us, please! Don't stop until your purposes are fulfilled on this earth. Break us, mold us, use us, holy Heavenly Father! Let us never be tempted to water-down your Word to fit what the world is teaching. In your precious Son's name, Amen."

God Bless,

Jackie

Happy 4th!

2011-07-04T06:00:00.000-07:00

Hope you all have a wonderful 4th of July! Amidst all the barbecues/potlucks and fun, don't forget to contemplate the sacrifice of those who helped create our country and those who are still working to defend it. May God continue to bless America. May America never forget how it was God's providence that created and sustained us through the years we've enjoyed being a nation.

Happy 235th Birthday, America!

God Bless,
Jackie

Healthy German Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

2011-07-01T06:00:00.000-07:00

This recipe has moved into my top 5 cookie recipes of all time! It is one of the healthier cookies that I make, but trust me, it doesn't taste healthy. That's the way I like it ;o) My son, Josiah, won a blue ribbon for these cookies at the county fair!

Healthy German Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe:

Ingredients:

1/2 cup softened butter

1 cup sucanat

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/8 tsp Celtic sea salt (optional)

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour

1/4 cup rolled oats

1/4 c flax seed meal

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 cup organic chocolate chips

1/3 cup unsweetened coconut flakes (optional)

1/3 cup chopped pecans (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Mix first six ingredients together well (I use my Kitchen Aid). Then add the next four ingredients and until mixed well. Then add the next 3 ingredients and until mixed well. The dough should be fairly thick. Drop the dough by small spoonfuls, two inches apart. If you want to make these fancy, you can sprinkle tops with more coconut and pecans before baking. Cook 8 to 10 minutes or until tops are just starting to crinkle and crack. Remove from oven and let set 1 minute, then remove the cookies to cooling racks.

Note: You can omit the flax seed meal, but I found that when I used it, the cookies held together better (for days afterward). Usually whole wheat cookies fall apart by the next day. I'm going to start adding some flax seed meal to all my whole wheat cookie recipe and see if they will hold up better.

Enjoy!

From My Kitchen to Yours,

Jackie

Monday Meanderings

2011-06-27T19:14:00.000-07:00

I think "Junuary" is finally over and summer has begun. Everything is a month behind. I'm trying so hard to be patient with my garden. I've had to replant cukes and beans. Because not all my potatoes have come up, I decided to plant kale and perpetual spinach (leafy green chard) where the other potatoes were supposed to come up. We're managing to sneak in some family fun in the evenings. We got to fishing at our local lake one Sunday. The fish were biting like crazy and we had an awesome fish fry that night with friends.

Here is the handmade adorable apron I bought for $6 while on vacation. I love it. Red, white and blue just in time for the 4th!

Hailey up at the lake. That kids knows how to make dirt look good, LOL!

Our elderly neighbor is teaching Josiah how to braid rugs with 4 strands of wool. He goes over nearly everyday while she teaches him how to do it perfectly. Every time he comes home, the rug looks better and better. What an awesome skill to learn and he's having fun learning. Sheila is a great teacher. She taught me how to quilt and she's a perfectionist, so you learn to do it right!

Last Friday, Michael wanted to go camping, but we didn't have time to actually go anywhere, so he set up our tents in the backyard and built a fire on an old stump. We had fun roasting marshmallows around the campfire. Michael even made me get out the fiddle and play a few scratchy tunes. Kids had an absolute ball. I made it till 1:30AM before I went into the house and crawled into my bed ;)

Saturday morning Josiah was up bright and early. He set up a toy/book sale and made signs to put up. He priced everything himself. At the last minute, I baked some chocolate chip cookies for him. Good thing I did because he didn't sell very many toys or books, but every last cookie was gone by the end of the day. Business was slow, so he went door to door and invited all the neighbors to his sale. He lasted till noon. He had a few cookies left and so he sold every last one of them around the neighborhood, too. He even sold one to the mail man! He ended up making $18. Not too shabby! He definitely has an entrepreneurial bent. Gonna encourage that :)

Sunday afternoon we headed to Hermiston where my brother was getting his fire certification. We met my dad there, too, and he gave us a ride from their hotel to the fire station in the '69 Chevelle. Yep, he peeled some rubber!

Jerry is in the light colored shirt to the right. He is a volunteer firefighter in a small community. The chief who helped train him couldn't say enough good things about him. Jerry and his friend came from the farthest distance, made every single training and were the first and the last to leave. We are very proud of him and also his wife, Sonya, for supporting his dream.

Hailey just loves her cousin, Noah, Jerry and Sonya's son. He's a cutie alright!

My sister convinced me to take a summer break from homeschooling. I usually homeschool all year round, but I can see her point about both of us needing a break. I'm going to keep him reading everyday, and really focus on character instead of academics. I'm excited and a huge load is now off me, Praise God! The kids are having fun in Aikido twice a week and also are doing a bible study at the park on Wednesdays. I think that is plenty. Between chores, helping out with the garden and just good old fashioned playing, I have no doubt the kids will keep plenty occupied.

Hope you are all enjoying the summer. We've now had 4 days without rain. It has been wonderful! I'm thinking summer might actually be here. I've got a yummy German Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe to share in my next post...

God Bless,

Jackie

Parents Vow Renewal/25th Wedding Anniversary Party

2011-06-22T06:00:00.000-07:00

This is my dad and step-mom, Diana. They were married when I was 11 years old. Can't believe that was 25 years ago! My sister, brother and his wife, Sonya, and I all worked together to coordinate their 25th Wedding Anniversary party last weekend. Thanks to the help of lots of friends and family, we were able to put on a really beautiful vow renewal ceremony as well as a nice reception afterwards. We wanted to do something special for them, but none of us kids have a lot of money right now. Well, let me tell you, God worked every detail out and none of us kids broke our budget. He is so good!

It was probably the least stressful party I've ever helped put together. the only freak out moment I had was when I bought these flowers and started putting a bouquet together (something I've never done before), the stems and leaves were all moldy. Diana talked me down and helped me strip the leaves and it made a beautiful bouquet for her to hold for the vow renewal ceremony.

A good family friend, Jeff, did the ceremony. He is a wonderful guy. He really played up the school teacher meets cowboy thing. So cute! He had us laughing and crying. Very meaningful ceremony! One really cool touch, was that we played their old wedding video silently in the background while the guests were waiting for the ceremony to start and then afterwards during the reception. It was fun to see how much everyone had changed :)

The ceremony was wrapped up with some cowboy poetry written and performed by one of their friends, Dwayne. He wrote a poem especially for them. He had us all laughing and nodding. I've got to get a copy of it!

My nephew, Noah, also provided some comic relief during the ceremony as he snored very loudly through the entire thing. I feel sorry for his wife someday, LOL! What a cutie pie.

My SIL, Sonya (in the above picture), made this beautiful wedding cake. It is only her second cake! It was awesome! Three different flavors (of course German chocolate in the middle for Dad) and edible roses with fresh raspberries and mint leaves on top. My favorite part was the round cake dividers with various photos and their wedding announcement on them. Sonya also used the cake topper from their wedding 25 years ago. Watch out, Sonya! We now know what you're capable of , LOL! You might be getting a lot busier.

My dad is joking about the last time he cut the cake and look what happened to his finger, ha ha ha. He lost his finger on an aluminum saw long before he met Diana ;)

Delicious, simple Cucumber punch. Recipe: 2 liters of lemon lime soda to 1 can frozen limeade and a sliced up cucumber. Everyone seems to like this recipe, even people who hate cucumbers! Very elegant looking.

Of course we made them do the traditional wedding toast. What a fun day we all had. Lots of family and friends brought beautiful finger foods so nobody went away hungry. What a blessing to have so many people helping. They have touched a lot of lives over the years and it was neat to see so many people come out to support them. Happy Anniversary, Dad and Diana! Here's to many more!

Love you guys so much,

Jackie

Happy Father's Day!

2011-06-19T06:00:00.000-07:00

I thought I'd pull out some pictures out of the archives of the Dads in my life. I'm so very blessed to have so many! This first picture is of Dad and I riding on Glavey Ranch with Mount Hood in the background. The best thing about my dad is that he has always made me feel so secure. I can't ever remember I time when I didn't feel loved by him. He is so proud (sometimes embarrassingly so) of his children and grandchildren. He taught me work ethic and that I could do anything if I worked hard enough at it. Love you, Dad! This year, we get to celebrate not only Father's Day, but his 25th Wedding Anniversary to my stepmom, Diana. They are going to renew their vows today. I'm so excited for them!

This is one of my favorite pictures of my stepdad, Larry, holding Hailey while we were camping at the desert when she was only a year old. Even though he came into my life when I was only 16, we've really gotten to know each other as I lived with them for a couple years while I was going to college, plus we've vacationed a lot together. He is an amazing man, with an amazing testimony! He struggled with drugs and alcohol addiction for years, and he is now a nationally renown drug and alcohol counselor. They always say that the best counselors were former addicts and I believe it is true. Larry not only treats my mom like a queen, but he extraordinarily loves my twin sister and I and all our children. Blood isn't everything. It is about relationship!

This is my husband's father, whom I never had a chance to meet, because he died when Michael was 10 years old. However, everyone I talk to says how wonderful he was and how much he would have enjoyed teasing me. So wish I could have met this hero of the Korean War. I just wanted to pay tribute to him as well today.

This is Michael's step-dad and my current FIL, Ernie. Ernie is one of the hardest working men I know. He has been very sweet to our children as well. He loves to tease me with his dry sense of humor. We always have fun camping together.

Of course, I couldn't forget this dad in my life, the wonderful father to my children. I love this picture of he and Josiah just before he deployed to Iraq in 2004. Those desert uniforms look funny now. The kids adore their dad and miss him so much when he is gone for work or the Guards. He loves them, too, and wants the best for them. I love seeing him training them up to love the Lord. It is precious!

Once again, thanks to all the dads in my life who have loved me unconditionally. I praise God for each of you and hope I get to say Happy Father's Day for many years to come.

God Bless,

Jackie

16th Anniversary - A Tribute to My Husband

2011-06-17T06:00:00.000-07:00

This picture was taken at the Agate Mines overlooking the Alvord Desert Floor a few years ago. We love to vacation there and ride dirt bikes.

Michael,

I thank God for giving you to me. He knew I would need a rock like you to help keep me grounded. He knew I would need your common sense when my brain gets so cluttered that I can't think straight. You are patient when I'm not. You help me see things in the kids that I don't necessarily pick up because I'm with them all the time. You're frugality keeps my loose spending in check. Even though we are so different in temperament, personality and needs, we really compliment each other in the important things. Thank you for supporting me 100% with homeschooling the kids. You're the most handsome Principle ever!

I'm so grateful for your sense of adventure. I LOVE that you like to window shop and go to festivals and events as a family. I also appreciate all the things we like to do together, like fishing, riding dirt bikes, camping and sharing your motorcycle (someday we'll get your Springer). I'm so grateful that you love history as much as I do and are willing to go to any and every museum we can find.

Most of all, my love, I'm thankful that your relationship with the Lord has taken off in the last 6 months. It is exciting to see you claiming it for your own and truly becoming the spiritual leader of our home. I love watching you teach our kids the things of God. I love that WE can discuss the Word of God together in a whole new way. There is nothing sexier than a man reading his bible!

Even though the last couple of years have been the hardest of our marriage as we've learned to accept our differences and disappointments with each other, I feel stronger as a couple. I feel like we have been through the "Refiner's fire" and have come out the other side with more faith than ever, confident we will finish the race as we stand firm on the promises of God. I appreciate every year God gives us together. Happy 16th Anniversary to my husband, friend, lover and life partner. Love you more than you'll ever know!

Your Loving, Blessed Wife,

Sweet Pea

Garden Fervor

2011-06-12T06:00:00.000-07:00

Once again, the weather has not been very cooperative, regarding gardening so far this year. We finally got everything planted by the 1st weekend of June. Whew! It was do or die. It feels like April right now, can't believe it is going to be summer this month!

This is only our second garden, but after growing a successful organic, mostly heirloom garden last year, we definitely had different ideas about how we wanted to do it this year. Between rain storms, we would frantically try to get out and get the garden ready, which was a big job because we decided to increase the size by a third as well as make permanent raised beds with the idea of lasagna gardening in mind. We also want to try some square foot gardening techniques to get the most out of our beds. This year we were able to sew all heirloom varieties or open-pollination seeds.

We were blessed to have been lent a really nice walk-behind tiller to use for free. We are hoping this will be the last time we need to till since we are going to be doing lasagna gardening from now on. While we will be doing a lot of weeding this year, in the fall, we plan on layering our beds with cardboard, then composted horse manure mixed with straw and our kitchen compost. Then we'll layer the beds with leaves from the trees and grass clippings. My sister (she learned this method from her friend Catherine) has been doing this for several years with wonderful results. No tilling and very little weeding are required with this method. As soon as we can afford it, we want to put in a drip irrigation system with a timer on it.

We've have one more bed to build and then we're done. The unfinished bed is the children's garden space. They were thrilled to have a spot of ground all their own to work with. They can do anything they want with it. We used untreated cheap wood, which I know will eventually rot, but that is OK because the beds ought to be well established by that time. Each bed is 30 feet long and two feet wide. We have 11 beds total with a foot and half space between them.

This is half of the unfinished bed we are turning into a strawberry bed. A friend gave me a variety of ever-bearing strawberries to transplant. Some have made it, some haven't. We figure we'll pull the varieties we don't like and leave the ones we do.

I have one bed for salad stuff, salad bowl lettuce, spinach (shown here), radishes, turnips and kohl rabi. I scatter-seeded this bed. I made the BIG mistake of allowing pumpkin seeds in my compost pile. I have hundreds of pumpkin plants coming up throughout my beds. Yikes! I'll never do that again. As you can see, things are just started to germinate.

We started our own pepper plants in the house this spring. The looked big in the house, but tiny when we planted them in the garden. Same with the tomatoes. Praying we'll get some despite the late planting.

To help cut down on the weeding, we put landscape mat in between the beds. I'm hoping this will really help. We have a huge field-bindweed problem that can only be cured with Round-up, since their root system is 4 to 6 feet underground. Pulling doesn't work. As much as I hate to because I want to stay all organic, I'm going to have a squirt bottle of Round-up handy and squirt it directly onto the field bindweed when it comes up. I don't know what else to do. . I gotta get a handle on it!

We babied the tomatoes the first week by covering them up at night. We've only lost 4 out of the 18 plants, so far. I'm seeing some new growth on them, so that is a good sign. Thought we were going to lose them all for awhile there. They looked pretty unhappy when we first planted them.

I only planted one yellow squash and one zucchini start. The other end of this bed will all be peas. I'm planting 3 different varieties and staggering them 3 weeks apart for continual harvest throughout the summer. We will add a partial trellis to this bed.

Michael used wire stock panels to trellis our pickling cukes and pole beans. This is the pickling cucumber row. If they all come up, I'm going to have 60 plants growing on either side of the trellis. Michael still needs to put up the green bean trellis. No hurry there though, because they still haven't germinated.

Michael made this little garden/compost stand for me. We got the sink from a yard sale last year. I love having two compartments to my compost pile so that I can simple transfer it from one side to the other when I'm turning it. He made it out of scrap boards and free pallets.

Two of the three trees we planted last year didn't make it, so we bought 2 more. We now have two peach trees and an apple tree. It'll be years before they produce fruit, but we are willing to wait.

Our lilacs are finally in full bloom! They are a month later than normal. Love my lilac trees!

Here is a picture of my herb bed. You can't see it, but there are a lot of little herb plants growing in here. I'm still waiting for some to germinate. The onions you see on the end are called "Egyptian Onions". They are a perennial. I'm going to let them grow and multiply this year and see what they are like next year. I love the idea of going out in the middle of the winter to pick fresh onions out of the ground!

This is my front flower bed. The more crowded the better in my opinion. Less weeding! My tulips and phlox are in their final stages.

I always have a few of my perennials not make it threw the winter, which leaves me a little room to try some different flowers. I found these purple dalpheniams (sp?) and I thought they were gorgeous. Hope they make it!

I love this perennial geranium. The orange color is so brilliant. I just wish the blooms would last longer. I also planted some daisies and snap dragons and black-eyed Susan and zinnias for some late summer color.

As soon as my garden really takes off, I'll post some pics on it. Sorry it wasn't more exciting :o( Trusting that despite the late start, God will bless us with an abundant harvest of peas, squash, zucchini, corn, cucumbers, tomatoes, potatoes, beans, peppers, carrots, lettuce, radishes, spinach, turnips, kohl rabi, onions, garlic, strawberries and herbs :o)

God Bless,

Jackie

Engaging Politics in the New Era

2011-06-10T17:50:00.000-07:00

I really appreciated this Focus on the Family broadcast. While I think it is so important for Christians to stay engaged politically, we need to be doing it in the right way. Tone really matters! Jim Daley wisely councils us to put our faith before our politics. I hope you enjoy this broadcast as much as I did.

http://www.oneplace.com/ministries/focus-on-the-family/listen/engaging-politically-in-this-new-era-193957.html

God Bless,

Jackie

Ford Slope Mine Hike

2011-06-08T06:00:00.000-07:00

I think this was my favorite part of our Memorial Day Weekend mini-vacation. Michael doesn't get a lot of time off, so we have to take our vacations on long weekends. This is a good thing because they end up being a lot less expensive that way. On Sunday we packed a lunch and headed up to the trails surrounding the abandoned Ford Slope Coal Mine for another awesome homeschooling experience. I've always had a fascination with the subject of coal mining. I so admire those men who would do that kind of work. What a hard life coal mining was. In this picture, Josiah and Hailey are showing off a couple of pieces of coal they found along the trail.Hailey, Megyn, Josiah and Everest being silly in a coal car.

Josiah, ever the budding geologist, couldn't get enough of seeing the outcrops of coal. Of course, being the pyro he naturally is, he wants to see if it will burn :o/

Here is the sealed off mouth of the coal mine. They had dug 3500 feet, 200 feet below sea level by the time the mine was closed in the 30s. It opened right at the turn of the last century.

Here are pictures of the Ford Slope Mine. It was hard to believe there had a been a whole town in the forest where we were standing. It reminded me a lot of the Valsetz story. They had a band, Sunday school, baseball team, etc.

Ventilation pipe coming out of the mine. Would love to see where the end of this pipe is.

We did some geocaching along the way.

These are the hoist footings where 5 cars of coal would be pulled up at one time out of the mine.

The date here, reads "1920". This was part of a collapsed entrance into another part of the mine.

You can see the rails sticking out all covered with moss.

Same collapsed entrance. The kids are sitting in front of the "1920".

Josiah and his coal fascination. We were all surprised at how light coal is. Every hiker that went by us had to see his coal. That kid ;)

Here is what is left of the meadow where they played baseball. They are now working at restoring the meadow. We found a geocache here.

So much history in this trip! On the way home, we stopped at an antique mall where I scored a red, white and blue vintage-looking apron for $6. I'll have to post a picture of it later.

So now we are back home and working hard to get our garden planted. We're doing raised beds this year and making the garden a lot bigger. Now that we have a year of experience under our belts, we're making some changes. Will do a garden post soon.

Blessings,

Jackie

Blue Star Memorial Service At Kent Historical Museum

2011-06-06T06:00:00.000-07:00

Even though we were on a mini-vacation, I did some research on-line before we left for Kent, WA, and I found a sweet little museum in Kent that was hosting a Blue Star Memorial Service. I really wanted to honor those who have fallen for our country in someway as well as use it as a homeschool learningexperience. After WWII, these Blue Star Memorials started popping up all over the country and apparently there was one in Kent, WA. It was located on the grounds of the Kent Historical Museum. So after our geocaching adventure in the morning, we drove over to the museum in time to see the Blue Star Memorial Day Service.

Here is the beautiful house that was originally built by a lumber tycoon and then was sold to a Japanese man before WWII. He had to sign this house over to his step-daughter (who was white) so that he didn't lose it when the Japanese were interned during WWII. If those walls could talk!

The Boy Scouts and the VFW helped serve as the Honor Guard.

They posted the flags from each branch of the military around the American Flag in the front lawn of the museum.

A bedroom inside the museum. Loved the metal toddler bed!

I'm always fascinated by wedding dresses and this was a beautiful example of the intricate work and detail that went into these old dresses.

Buttons and sewing basket.

These were hand-made hats. The women in the area got tired of buying hats out of the Sears catalog, so they began to make them out of whatever material they could find. Back then, unique hats were the bomb! Nobody wanted to be wearing the exact same hat.

When we got back to our friend's house, Rick let me take his Harley for a spin. It is a Sportster Harley Davidson, which felt really small in comparison to riding Michael's Softail, but it was sure fun. It definitely cornered a lot easier than Michael's bike. Man do I have riding in my blood. Love it, but it does make me nervous being the mother of small children, so I try to limit myself and pray a lot when I do go for a ride.

Next I'll be showing you pictures from the old coal mine we went to where we did some more geocaching. I was able to take some neat pictures, so stay tuned...

Blessings,

Jackie

Soos Creek Trail - Geocaching Adventure

2011-06-03T06:00:00.000-07:00

These are our friends, Rick and Mindy, with their adorable children, Megan and Everest. Their kids are the same age as ours and they had a blast together over the long weekend. We've known Rick and Mindy for years. Rick was a study partner of mine in college and he quickly became friends with Michael (both are in the National Guard). Michael was the best man in his wedding. Rick has been on three deployments to the Middle East, starting with the Gulf War. They've moved around quite a bit, but we've always managed to stay in touch with them. They recently moved to Kent, WA and have bought a lovely home. They generously hosted our family over the weekend. We had never been to that area before and had a great time exploring with them.

The first thing we did on Saturday morning, after a delicious breakfast, was geocaching on some kid-friendly trails at Soos Creek. They introduced us to these family treasure hunts a couple of years ago and we've wanted to do it ever since. You really need a hand held GPS to get close to the cache because they are usually very small. They blessed us with their old one! We are very excited to try this on our own as soon as we get some time (right now the planting our garden in consuming most of it).

We really lucked out with the weather. We had a little rain when we first started, but then it cleared up for the rest of the weekend. I guess it is almost always raining in this area during this time of year, so it was extra special.

Ahhh, I love this picture.

We really need to work on Josiah. When you find a geocache, you are supposed to wait until the "Muggles" (others who aren't geocaching) are out of sight before you open the cache. Josiah kept showing everyone walking by the cache because he was so excited. We're workin' on him, LOL.

Megan and Josiah, "Geocachin' Kids", as Josiah titled them.

It is always interesting to see the places people hide geocaches. They usually aren't too hard to find, especially if you've downloaded the hints.

People hide cheap little toys, pins, etc, in something water-proof. The kids have a great time picking something out and then we put something back in for the next person to find and sign the tiny piece of paper saying we found the cache. This cache fit in the egg.

Rick, pointing to where he found it.

The best part about geocaching is that it gives the kids (and me) something to hike for, so you can get a lot more steps out of them on the trail if they have a purpose. If you haven't tried this fun sport yet, go to this link for a great website on how to do it. You can sign up for free! If you go on a trip, you can download coordinates into your GPS and make a few stops along the way, which will always make your kids happy :o)

Blessings,

Jackie

Yakima Historical Museum

2011-06-01T07:28:00.000-07:00

On our way to visit some friends of in Kent, WA, over Memorial Day Weekend, we stopped off at the Yakima Museum to let the kids get out and enjoy some history. What a great homeschool opportunity! They had a awesome museum upstairs and also a neat "hands on" town for the kids to play in downstairs. Perfect place for them to burn some energy AND learn as it was raining hard outside.

This was my favorite exhibit! A whole petrified forest was found in basalt rock in the Yakima Valley that shocked secular scientists and has rocked their thinking. I bet it did! Not shocking to us Creationists though :o) Yet again, scientific evidence has emerged proving the earth really is very young.

Neat old stagecoach.

This sign totally cracked me up! Yakima Valley is famous for growing apples and now wines.

I loved all the neon signs they had hanging from the ceiling of the museum. These were donated from past local businesses. The hands on the lady typing moved. Very eye-catching.

This was another favorite exhibit. Oh, how I wished my sister was with me. She's a real shoe hound and would have LOVED this amazing collection of period shoes going all the way through the last century. Unique was the name of the game. Very interesting collection. I could have spent a lot more time looking, but the kids were hungry.

We had lunch at the museum's old-fashion soda fountain. It was really fun. After sandwiches and hot dogs, we enjoyed root beer floats.

The soda fountain was from a 1930's drugstore located in Yakima. It was moved to the museum and is being used again. These guys were busy!

We found our newly acquired GPS to be especially helpful on this trip. It was a lot less stressful. After the museum, thanks to the GPS, we were able to easily find the Harley Davidson shop on our way out of town where we found Michael a new ball cap for an early Father's Day present. Then we were off again to Kent, WA to see our friends. More to come on the rest of our vacation...

Short Video of Hailey Doing Her Aikido Moves

2011-05-30T06:00:00.000-07:00

There is one move in particular that Hailey learned at Aikido that just cracks us up. Despite how tiny she is, she can be quite assertive. Hope you enjoy this cute video of her doing her stuff.

Hope you're having a great Memorial Day!

Blessings,

Jackie