Unveiling the Mystery of a Woman’s Soul

By John & Stasi Eldredge

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Well, here it is the 4th of July already!

Happy Independence Day to my fellow Americans! Let us not forget what this day represents…and no, it’s not just about cookouts, games or fun….a great deal went into the events of July 4, 1776,

We are beginning our new school year tomorrow. This is the earliest we have ever started our year. It’s time….Rebecca is ready to get with it so she can graduate in December. Thomas is ready to catch up and be where he should be. Natalie is ready to move on. Mary is ready for art! Me? I’m ready for a schedule. Sure, I like the flexibility that being on a break affords us. But, I see too often that my children end up in front of a screen. While I don’t mind their doing this some…..it’s become too much. And….we REALLY want to finish our school year earlier next year….perhaps at the end of April, when it’s still nice out!

I went through all of the school books today. Whew! We sure have ALOT of them!

Honey is going to be working on the inventory prep crew again this year. The change of pace for him is nice. He’s toying with the idea of moving up. There are pros and cons to both sides. We are praying for God’s will….whatever that may be…in his job. This August, he will have been at Home Depot for 5 years, since our local store opened. A really neat thing is that this year, he will get 3 weeks of vacation time!! Wahoo!!!

Lots going on in our “planning” minds. Lots to think about, plan for, dream of, desire, and pray about. Life is nothing if not full!

It’s also time to get back to the gym on a more regular basis. We’ve been slackers lately. I hope that we’ll see some amazing results getting serious again. Honey has been constant in his gym time. I am proud of him!!!

This is also the first year that Honey has been able to bush hog the entire farm! Yepper, everything that needs mowing has been mowed! Yay, Honey!!! Now, if it would just rain, we might have enough grass to keep our small herd happy. The front pasture normally would keep them in grass for 21 days in rotational grazing. The lack of rain will make it last about 9 days. Not cool, not cool at all…..

We had a meal of steak, burgers and chicken tonight. Oh. My. Goodness!!! That steak is the BEST!!!!!! I especially love that our freezer is full of this yummy goodness…and that it came from our own farm!!!

Have a blessed day…and be safe….and remember why we are celebrating today!!!

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We moved to our farm six years ago. My parents very generously bought 3 cows and 1 bull from Teddy Gentry’s farm. They are south poll cows. Bred for grass. Bred for this climate.

Over the last 6 years, we’ve endured issue after issue. Frustration along with excitement.

Yes, we’ve sold some cows. But, we hadn’t had any processed for our own meat supply.

Until yesterday, that is! Two weeks ago, we took 2 cows to be processed. Yesterday, we came home with 900 pounds of meat! Grass fed, grass finished, fed no grain, given no antibiotics nor hormones, given free access to spring water and minerals beef! We are stuffed to the gills around here with meat in our freezers. But, what wonderful meat it is!!!

We had hamburger steaks last night for supper. We wanted a meal that would showcase the meat, not be drowned in sauce or seasonings. All I put on the hamburger steaks was salt and pepper. Fried in a pan. And OH. MY. GOODNESS!!! Was it ever yummy!!! Honey said it tasted like the espresso of beef…concentrated beef flavor…beef that tastes like beef is supposed to taste.

I can tell you that we are all eagerly awaiting our next beef meal!

What a feeling of accomplishment! Those two cows were born here and raised right here on our farm. We know exactly what went into them. And the satisfaction of a job well done feels pretty good too!

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We have a HUGE praise report!! Last week, our bull, Cheeseburger,  got out, along with 5 cows. We were able to get the cows back in, but watched as the bull wandered off to the back of our property. There’s not a whole lot you can do to round up a bull determined to walk off…especially when he is walking off to a wide open area, with many choices of where he’d like to go. So, we prayed and waited. We went up top to this pasture each day, sometimes more than once a day. No sign of the Cheese. Twice, we thought we heard him in the pastures behind the barns. No sighting of him upon our walks through the woods. We kept praying that God would bring him home.

Well, two nights ago, we rode up top to check on the cows. After driving around by the pond and around in Dad’s yard (the pasture affectionately named for my Dad when he had thoughts of moving here). As we came out and were about to head back down, I saw something large by the rear gate. Drove over and sure enough, there was the Cheese! Honey got out and herded him back in the pasture. He is HOME!!!

God is so good to our family. He is certainly faithful in all things…big and small!

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So, here it is almost officially summer. I really, really, really dislike summer. The heat, the humidity, the ick. In my perfect world, there would be no summer. We’d have a late spring and an early fall. That would be my ideal.

Of course, I realize I’d miss out on fresh from the garden tomatoes, cucumbers and watermelons. I love those things. But I hate the heat that comes with them.

What’s my answer? The creek. We head to the creek whenever we get a chance. This past week, we went with a bunch of friends to the creek. What fun we had! I stayed in the water with the “kids” instead of sitting in a chair on the creekside with the 2 other Mamas. It’s too hot to sit in the sun…and I genuinely enjoy being in the water with the “kids”. Course, these “kids” range in age from my Mary of 7 to 25. They make me feel young. They make me laugh. They make me happy.

We’ll be making the creek a weekly thing. At least until school starts again. Speaking of which, I plan to begin school the first full week of July. I always say we should start earlier…and I plan to follow through with that this year. Finishing so late in the year is such a bummer. We hope to finish in early May next year.
I’m finding that there are so many things I want to accomplish in a day’s time that I truly need a schedule. There are too many things to keep in mind when making plans. And I’m finding that I am forgetting some things. I don’t think it’s age…though I guess that could be part of it…I think it’s too many directions at once.

I’m really looking forward to getting started with the Homeschool Crew! I’m honored to have been chosen to be a part of this year’s Crew!!!

Missing my Reber tonight. She’s gone to spend a night with a friend. She is planning an early graduation….in December. I can’t believe she is so close to being finished with her homeschool career. She has great plans for her future…the part of getting married and having babies most thrills me. What else thrills me is that she fully intends to stay home and raise her children…and homeschool them!

Thomas returned yesterday from a 2 night sleepover. He wasn’t there for our creek day this week. We sure did miss him. Gotta say, we all feel safer with our beefy, muscle boy with us! He went to another friend’s today to work on his Airsoft gun.

Natalie, Mary and I had an “AWESOME DAY” today. We picked up a pizza (so not as good as homemade!) and an Orange soda. Came home to eat and watch movies. We chose UP and Honey, I Blew Up The Kid. Up is the single most wonderful animated movie ever. It’s the only animated movie that has ever made me cry. And it does it every time I watch it. Usually more than once.

Our friend is back to milking her cow now that the cow has had her calf. SO thankful for this!!! I’ve been making homemade ice cream again. There is nothing like raw milk ice cream!!!

Guess it’s time to close…that’s my update for tonight…

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