Peace, be still

It's not often that I can get a photo like the one below. We live in a very windy part of our state. But this evening, the wind calmed and I could see a perfect reflection of the trees.

This photo got me to thinking. When I'm feeling whipped by the winds of life...when I'm focusing soley on those winds and how they are making me feel, I'm pretty miserable. But if I will just be calm, and let His peace flow over me, I can become a reflection of Him. He can still any wind, no matter how hard it blows. He can give you peace, and you can find the strength to be still.

View from the deer blind

This is the view my husband hopes to be able to spend a lot of time looking at this hunting season. And his wife hopes that she spends a lot of time cooking up yummy venison dishes this winter!

Rain, rain, go away...and a request for prayer

It's raining here again. This has been a very rainy October. The weather has been confusing and I've even seen some things blooming, thinking it's spring.

This has been the view for quite a while. The sunny days are so few and far between that they're forgotten almost as soon as they're gone.

Our family seems to be completely recovered from the H1N1. Tristan's was trying to turn into pneumonia, but we caught it in time and were able to knock that out with some Zithromax. There is still some lingering coughing, and maybe some extra fatigue on long days, but we're so much better off than we were a couple of weeks ago. I appreciate all the comments, emails, and prayers. They all worked to cheer us up in those dreary days.

There's another family out there in blogdom that desperately needs some prayers. Jennifer, better known as MckMama, and her husband have a baby that's really struggling health-wise right now. Stellan was born with SVT (if you want all the nitty gritty on SVT and to read Stellan's story, please visit Jennifer's blog) and he's fighting a bad case of it right now. He's in the hospital and really needs some prayers! And to add insult to injury, today is his 1st birthday. Not the party his momma and daddy were hoping for, I'm sure.







I hope all my bloggy friends and their families are staying well!

Love,

It goes on and on and on and....

My sweet Bubba is feeling bad again. It started last night with another fever. Although not as high as last week, I didn't like the fact that it had been less than a week since he had the flu. He's had a residual cough since then and I was praying that we weren't heading to pneumonia territory.

I took him to the doctor this morning despite him telling me how much better he felt. I've noticed that he gets very nervous about going to the doctor. I'm wondering if it started back in January when he had his appendix out. The surgeon didn't have a very good bedside manner and really hurt him when she took his drain out a few days after the surgery. After that experience, I can't blame him for being apprehensive.

The doctor heard some fluid in his lungs, but not enough to warrant an x-ray. She also did a flu test just to make sure it hadn't crept back in. That was negative. She put him on Zithromax while encouraging me he should be well on his way to recovered in a day or two. The sooner the better is all I can say, and I think Tristan would agree.

Just one more thing

Here's a cool video I've been wanting to share with you guys. It's from our trip to Waco. We visited a science and history museum that had an awesome bubble room. I would have shared this in one of my previous 253 posts about Waco, but I couldn't figure out how to embed into a blog post.

Today I finally figured it out. Go me!!




Morgan in bubble from Leigh Williams on Vimeo.

Happy Homemaker Monday

Thanks to Sandra for hosting!


The weather in my neck of the woods:
Nice blue sky right now with some cool morning air. I don't know what's gotten into the TX weather this fall, but I like it!


One of my simple pleasures:
Opening the windows and letting in the breeze.


On my bedside table:
iPod


On my TV:
No TV here.



On the menu for tonight:
Ooh, nothing. Having a partially sick family makes for a not very busy cook.



On my To Do List:
Getting some school done with Tristan and just being around for my Morgan. Not working today.



New Recipe I tried last week:
Just last night (before I realized Morgan was running a fever, again) I made these: Mini Maple Chocolate Chip Pancake Muffins from Bakerella. YUM.



In the craft basket:
Nothing, nothing at all.



Looking forward to:
Our entire family being well.


Homemaking Tip for this week:
Your kids are sick, your husband's working. Your house is starting to look like a disaster area. Please don't panic and don't stress. Just do what you can and remember what's most important.




Favorite Blog Post of the week (mine or other):
It's so hard to pick a favorite when I have to read 50-something at a time to read!


Favorite photo from last week:
I don't really have one this week. But I'll enjoy looking at everone else's.

Lesson learned the past few days:

See my homemaking tip above.



On my Prayer List:
Friends
Family
Fellow bloggers



Devotionals, Scripture Reading, Key Verses:
Psalm 23:2,4-6 He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams. 4 Even when I walk through the dark valley of death, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me. 5 You prepare a feast fro me in the presence of my enemies. You welcome me as a guest, anointing my head with oil. My cup overflows with blessings. 6 Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the Lord forever.

It's not a fun thing: Days 3 & 4

Saturday and Sunday UPDATE: Neither of the kiddos were running any fever Saturday morning. However, Morgan was throwing up. She hadn't eaten any significant amount since Wednesday night, so there wasn't much to throw up. When her stomach was calm, she was sleeping, sleeping, sleeping. She slept so hard and long that I was starting to get a little worried. But when she finally woke up around 2:00pm, she was famished. She ate a hot dog (I know, right?) and seemed pretty much back to her old self. Tristan never threw up and is recovering well. He just gets worn out quickly.
So, all in all, I'd say this has been fairly mild compared to the regular flu we had last year. I'm just praying that the rest of us stay healthy.

Friday UPDATE: We're still just hanging in there. Ron went to work today (he took yesterday off to do some work outside) and I've been sitting on the loveseat most of the day just trying to be a comfort to my little Morgan. Tristan definitely has this too, but maybe because he's a boy, or a little older, he doesn't seem to crave my closeness like Morgan does. Also, Motrin is keeping their fevers manageable, so for the most part they're just sleeping. Neither one is complaining of any chest pain and for that I'm grateful. I'm praying this will simply run it's course without any complications.
In unspoken agreement, Ron is keeping his distance when he's home. Although no one wants me to get sick, that would definitely be the lesser of two evils, if you know what I mean. I'll be doing lots of disinfecting over the next several days along with laundering germy blankets and pajamas.
Maddy has been a huge help and I'm really not sure I could be doing all this without her. I know she doesn't like the idea of staying home from any weekend social activities, but she understands why she has to, and will do it without complaint. I am truly blessed to have her!

Thursday: While we haven't been to see a doctor yet, this mom is 99% sure that two of my kiddos have the H1N1 virus. They began showing symptoms last night and since then I found out they were exposed to it earlier this week. I've never seen anything come on so fast before, not even the regular flu, which we had last year. Within two hours, these kids went from fine and dandy to high fever, cough, and sore throats.

Right now we're treating with homeopathic flu meds, kombucha, and lots of vitamin C. Oh, and plenty of TLC as well.

Hope all my blog friends are staying healthy!

Do you see what I'm dealing with here?

Has anyone else ever had a dog that loves socks?

So what's up in your neck of the woods?

Here at the Hay Farm it's rained a lot. Our pond was almost completely dry 3 weeks ago and now it looks like this:

This photo was actually taken last week and it's rained even more since then. In fact we're not supposed to see the sun here until Thursday or Friday this week.

For any local readers who might have forgotten what blue sky looks like I have this photo, taken during a recent break in the rain:

Ron went out this morning and found this on the concrete apron in front of our garage:

Although the photo makes this snake look big, it was really only about six inches long. We put it in a pickle jar to study it for a while. Ron decided it's most likely a young bull snake so we let it go. Bull snakes are great for keeping the field mice population down.

The kiddos have been busy with school and all the activities that go along with that. The laundry is piling up and I'm not sure I'll ever be caught up again this side of heaven. We have more than usual too because the weather has been freezing cooler and with all this rain we are bringing in lots of mud on our clothes. Which brings me to the next thing...who is going to clean up all this mud? It's on our shoes, our clothes, pets' feet, the floor, the rugs. It's a mess.

Remember this pair?

Honey is now a good 70 lbs (she was about 35 in the photo above). She's already taller than our "big" dog, who will soon be demoted to "medium" dog. I'm going to try to get a photo with all four dogs. That should be no sweat, right?

I think I hear my children's stomachs growling, or maybe it's my laundry calling me. It could be the mop crying because it feels abandoned...best not to dwell on these things. I think I'll go eat a Ding Dong instead.

Have a great day!

Happy Homemaker Monday

Thanks to Sandra for hosting!


The weather in my neck of the woods:
Very foggy this morning. Instead of burning off, it's just getting foggier!


One of my simple pleasures:
A hot bath after a long day of shopping. LOL


On my bedside table:
iPod



On my TV:
No TV here.



On the menu for tonight:
Tonight we're having a skillet chili mac. It' a quick comfort dish that takes only one pan!



On my To Do List:
Bank, Post Office, couple of grocery items to pick up, and work. Not to mention laundry. Oh, how I don't want to think about my laundry!



New Recipe I tried last week:
Nothing new last week.



In the craft basket:
Nothing, nothing at all.



Looking forward to:
Going to the State Fair. (Although our plans our tentative, I can still look forward to it, right?)


Homemaking Tip for this week:
Instead of just keeping all food items in the pantry, try grouping items together based on where you use them most. For example, we keep our baking items together, our snacks by the bar where we eat them, and the honey, oatmeal, and protein powder near the vita-mix.




Favorite Blog Post of the week (mine or other):
It's so hard to pick a favorite when I have to read 50-something at a time to read!


Favorite photo from last week:

Lesson learned the past few days:
When in doubt, take a nap. LOL



On my Prayer List:
Friends
Family
Fellow bloggers



Devotionals, Scripture Reading, Key Verses:
Psalm 23:2,4-6 He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams. 4 Even when I walk through the dark valley of death, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me. 5 You prepare a feast fro me in the presence of my enemies. You welcome me as a guest, anointing my head with oil. My cup overflows with blessings. 6 Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the Lord forever.

Slow Cooking Thursday: Pinto Beans

Be sure to join in with Sandra for her Slow Cooking Thursday. Thanks for hosting Sandra!

Pinto Beans

There's really not a recipe involved to cook pinto beans in the crock pot. I soaked my beans overnight, then put them in the crockpot on high for an hour. Then I turned it to low and I'll let the beans cook until later this evening when I get home from work.

Tonight's dinner will be beans and fried potatoes. The leftover beans we will use for tostados, burritos, or maybe red beans and rice. Dried beans are such an economical food that can be used in so many different recipes. I try to keep some on hand all the time.

Oh good grief

I touched it's leg!

Happy Homemaker Monday

Thanks to Sandra for hosting!


The weather in my neck of the woods:
Cool and misty.


One of my simple pleasures:
Spending a day in the kitchen just piddling.


On my bedside table:
Kleenex and my iPod.



On my TV:
No TV here.



On the menu for tonight:
We're having some leftover Bbq pulled pork that I made last week.



On my To Do List:
Figure out how to add about 4-6 hours to my day.



New Recipe I tried last week:
Made sweet potato fries last night. I had never made them at home before and they were so good!




In the craft basket:
Both handles of my crochet bag are done, but I did not pay attention to keeping the right tension in my yarn. Now one is longer than the other. I'll probably have to make another one. LOL



Looking forward to:
The weekend. So far, I have no plans except to chill.


Homemaking Tip for this week:
I've been using chorebusters web site for a while now to schedule chores for the kids. I love it!




Favorite Blog Post of the week (mine or other):
Not much blog reading the last few days.


Favorite photo from last week: Doesn't this look yummy? Hot off the grill!

Lesson learned the past few days:
A smile along with a determination to have a good attitude can transform into a REAL smile with REAL joy behind it.




On my Prayer List:
Friends
Family
Fellow bloggers



Devotionals, Scripture Reading, Key Verses:
2 Peter 1:2-3 May God bless you with his special favor and wonderful peace as you come to know Jesus, our God and Lord, better and better. As we know Jesus better, his divine power gives us everything we need for living a godly life. He has called us to receive his own glory and goodness!

Slow Cooking Thursday: Pulled Pork

Be sure to join in with Sandra for her Slow Cooking Thursday. Thanks for hosting Sandra!

Slow Cooker Pulled Pork

This is so simple it's almost embarrassing to post it! LOL

1 Boneless Pork Roast
6-7 cups barbeque sauce (bottled or homemade)
white or cider vinegar
hot sauce (Tabasco or equivalent)

Salt and pepper roast. Depending on it's size and the size of your crockpot, you might want to cut it up into a few large pieces to make it fit. Pour bbq sauce over meat. Cook on low for 10-12 hours or high 5-6 hours.
When roast is done, remove it from the crockpot, leaving the juices, and shred it. Taste sauce, adding vinegar if it's too sweet. Another good way to deal with sauce that's too sweet is to add a little hot sauce.

Serve on hamburger buns with the sauce on the side. This is a great weekend meal that can be rounded out with sauerkraut, chips, fruit salad, pickles, etc...