Hickory Springs Farm

catching up.........

Friday was a blur. I will NEVER EVER EVER go to the Civil War Days on 'education day' again. Ever! I had to cover JOey's ears half hte time from STUDENTS cussing! The way they treated Abe Lincoln made my stomach churn!!!!!!!!! There was a plethora of other things, but it's water under the bridge and a lesson learned. The few presenters left who would talk were good. The surgeon took out part of Mat's skull.;)  They also got up close and personal w/a gatlin gun and 2 different (time period) blacksmiths. From there we killed some time (and Mat spent all of his money) at Pet Smart. His hermit crabs are much happier tho!LOL Then to the Sunday school class party. That was lots of fun as well. We got home about 9 (left at 10:30).

Saturday was more of hte same. We left at 7:30 for Mat's 8am soccer game. WE killed the hour in between games by going to the dollar store and a garage sale.  I did well there! Two plates (I give them away when I give away food), a denim jumper (.50!), a vase and a water gun (Mat!LOL) for $2.75. Then we hung out in town since I had a crop at 1. DH picked up the boys about 2 I guess and I got to crop until 5. Then home and spent an hour getting the house put back together!

Today was church. It was interesting. The pastor guided us thru a visual (?) meditation. Definitely stretching the congregation!LOL  And that Sunday school class that I spent an hour prepping for and making 24 small star sandwiches (studying Abraham and Sarah and God telling them that their decedants will be more than the stars) was for naught! They took all the children to the other church service to sing! I thought that at least TELLING the teachers would've been appropriate! OH well.

After church, we went back to the woods for mom's party. That was fun.

I wanted to go to Marshall's and mom had a $10 off a $50 purchase. I thought there is NO WAY I'd spend taht much, but my sister and I together might. I found some nice black pants for $7 and a Tshirt for $7. Then I found a dress that I was iffy about for $10. My sister said it was not too 'young' looking, but I still wasn't sure!LOL She decided to buy a stock pot so taht sent us over $50, making that dress $5 w/my half of the coupon. She wanted to look for other stuff and I decided to browse the boys. I very rarely find anything there. Low and behold that had not one, but TWO pair of Levi's 14 SLIM! For TEN DOLLARS! Dh was picking me up so I left him a message to have Mat come in and try these pants on. HUGE MISTAKE! Dh wound up finding dress socks, a new belt (which he desperately needed) and dress pants! That sent us WAY past $50 alone! But we only had one coupon so we still split it!LOL

My mom loved all of her bday stuff. She did really like the zip 3 ring binder and organization stuff for her medical stuff (along w/all the rest!). She took them to get pumpkins while we shopped!LOL

Fab Friday

 I say Fab because the weather is just that, fabulous! It is cool but not cold, the kind where you open up your windows and the breeze blows the curtains around, LOVE IT!

  Grinding was suppose to start today but they have pushed it back until Monday, which is OK with me. Hubby can take an extra weekend to relax before he starts working nonstop for the next three months. The money is great, but he gets tired of it after a month or so. I don't blame him either, I worked grinding several years in the scale house, and it does take a toll on you. Seven days a weeks for weeks and weeks.

   So for lunch hubby wants to go to his favorite eat out, Pizza Hut. I personally don't care for them but he loves it, so Pizza Hut it is. Then it's off to see mom for a bit at the home, a quick stop at the grocery store for a few items, and then home to wait for my dear friend Debbie who is coming for a weekend visit. With the holidays kicking up soon, we are getting a visit in before things get too hectic for visiting.

   So thats pretty much me weekend, chatting, swinging, porching, garage saleing, malling, eating out, and did I mention chatting. The guys will be doing some hunting.  So I hope everyone else is going to have a great weekend ahead. Call you BFFs and chat some.

baking, baking, cleaning and VERA!

I'm dead and not stopping anytime soon! I got up and mopped and worked out and took a bread to start laundry, get Joey going on school, make bfast, make oatmeal cinnamon chip bars, and then vacuum. I did get Sunday School prepped for as well. The cinnamon rolls and caramel rolls smell HEAVENLY that are baking int he oven!  I still need to ge potatoes peeled and diced for mashed potatoes (to go w/the chicken'n'noodles!) and then I can take a break. I"m sure the laundry is ready to come off the line as well.

I GOT MY VERA BAGS TODAY! She just mailed them priority yesterday! The post office ROCKS! And I LOVE the bags! Mom's medical binder fits perfectly in the curvy tote that I got for her! PTL! I'm still not sure if I'm going to keep the 2nd tote or not. I wished that I'd had more money cuz they would've been AWESOME gifts for Christmas!

Thankful Thursday/Using what the Army gave us

  I have to give praise and thanks to the people who came to rescue during our time after Gustav hit us. We received help from several different organizations. The Salvation Army and the Red Cross  gave out cleaning and personal items by the buckets full. We decided not to take any of these items. I was looked at as snobish by my sisters in law, but it wasn't that I thought I was too good for these things, it was that we didn't feel we needed it and would have rather had someone else have it that did need it.  Also very thankful for the many power company trucks and workers that came in from other states to help restore our power lines. We actually had a crew from Alabama get us back on. Thanks guys!

  Another group was the Army National Guard, they were a trememdous help to us. They gave out water, tarps, ice, and food, which we did need and took. The food came in the form of MREs, meals ready to eat. These packages are a wonderful assortment of foods. Everything from spaghetti and meatballs to Mexican food, and I have to say, that what I tasted was great. I didn't eat any of these meals due to the high fat and carb content in them, but my boys did.  They are made for soldiers who need the protein and carb fill to keep going in the fields, so I understood why they were like that.  These packages also contained several others items such as drinks mixes, crackers, a tube of peanut butter or cheese spread,  poptarts and/or several types of baked goods (which were delish), candy, and packages of fruit, just to mention a few items. These meals are made to feed a person for the whole day on one meal pack if need be. They even came with these tiny little bottles of Louisiana hot sauce, which I thought was too cute. 

*If my camera was working I would take a picture of one of these great little meal thingys.

  I ended up keeping all the odds and ends that were in the meal packs that my boys didn't eat, such as the hot sauce, the crackers, the baked goods, the peanut butter, and the friut. The items have a shelf life of three years, so I stocked them on my shelf in my pantry, lol.   So this morning I used some of the friut to make muffins with, and they came out so good too.  I made cranberry and blueberry muffins. At first I thought Hummm maybe not, but to my surprise they were very good. My son ate 4 of them, so I know they were good, lol.

  Well the weather is gorgeous outside, thank you God,  so I think we will go do school on the patio. Have a great day everyone.

My thoughts for the day...Child-like Faith

Do you have a child-like faith in God?  I am happy to say that I do. 

I have been reading & hearing so much lately about Bible things that it makes my head spin. 

I believe in the trinity--Father, Son & Holy Spirit.  I believe that when you ask Jesus into your heart you are saved.  We have all sinned & fallen short of the Glory of God.  We must ask Him (not a priest or anyone else) for forgiveness.  I believe that God knows what is in your heart.  He knows what we do every second of the day & one day we will be held accountable. 

I believe in the 10 commandments, the stories in the Bible & I believe that we all can interpert certain things differently but some things in the bible are "set in stone."  These are the laws we do our best to live by everyday.

It condems homosexuality in the Bible in several places “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Corinthians 6:9-10).

To me, that needs no "interpertation," it is right there, along with many other things NOT to do. 

I have been reading different things & it seems like people are picking apart certain verses so much to try to tell the future or what "time" we are in.  That is ok, but I think some people can over-analize things so much that they have lost their child-like faith.  They may even be talking theirselves out of believing all together. 

I believe that faith is just that faith.  There are some questions & things that I will never understand until the day I meet the Lord & that's OK. with me. 

Those are my thoughts for the day!

cancer update

 I just read the email from my mom that the cancer in her throat is NOT breast cancer!!!!!!!! It's thryoid cancer, which is VERY treatable!!!!!!! PTL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

She still needs to have her adbominal lymph node run to see what kind of cancer that is.

Little Bitty Autumn Day...

I've been having a wonderful autumn day here on the little bitty homestead.

Got up early

Made a healthy breakfast

Washed my sheets & towels --hung out on the line

Cleaned up my room

Put my new quilt & shams on my bed --a beautiful gift from my mom!

Got the house vaccumed & tidied up

Got to read a bit more through my Nourishing Traditions cook/health book

Got all laundry folded & put away

Got some computer time to visit other blogs

Hope you all had a great, productive day too!

Supper tonight homemade waffles & sausage...yum!

Rain, rain, come and stay!

It'll give my DH a slow day!

I really, really, really like STAYING HOME! I've worked out, dusted and cleaned the bathrooms.  The stock is simmering on the stove and the boys are immersed in school.

I had the boys make their own bfasts this am. Mat wanted eggs, which he is messy w/by nature, but things weren't too bad yesterday. Today Joey got into the Pam (again) and I had to spot mop some areas and he sprayed a few containers. Grrrrrrrr I told him if he did it again, he was getting the amount of vinegar that he sprayed in Pam! I also found out that Mat's been making FOUR eggs! I told him to back off!LOL My egg lady would be happy tho!LOL And Joey made oats. Mat's been making oats since he was 2. This was Joey's first attempt. "Mom, is this enuf water?" I look to see oats floating in water......so I drained that popped it in the microwave. I spent more time cleaning up than it took them to make and eat itLOL

And I printed mom's calendar for her medical organizer. Well, I printed Sept-Dec. She might find another method that she likes better, but this will get her started. 

Tuesday.......

The Duggars

Has anyone been watching the shows on TLC the last two weeks about the Duggar family? I have, and I have to say that it's the best hour of TV I watch all week. Last night the eldest, Josh, asked for his girlfriends hand in marriage. To use the word "sweet" would be an understatement, lol. I have always felt so uplifted watching this family on TV, they are a true inspiration to me and others, I'm sure.

OH well, just my thoughts today!