Not the furry kind of mouse. The computer mouse. I started goofing around with a photo of our house using 'Paint', the program the kids use to draw things on the computer. The result is not professional looking by any means. But I was determined not to spend a ton of time on it, like I tend to do when i get obsessed interested in something sometimes. So this was a "get it done", not a "get it perfect" project. Maybe in a few years we will make some of these changes in real life, but for now I thought I would share what I am thinking about for our little brick ranch.

BEFORE....


AFTER....


Right now, the steps to the porch are at the side, under the carport. This is very convienient on rainy days, but every time I walk out the front door I think there should be stairs on the front of the porch. It would look more welcoming from the "curb" (we don't have a curb in the country, but you know what I mean) and it would be more convienient when exiting the house to do orchard work --which is to the right as you go out the door. So I want to leave the current steps in place and add some grand front steps.

Also, we have thought about building an addition that would add a master suite and a dining room (not shown in the rendering). This would free up space to do a MUCH needed expansion of the kitchen into the current dining area. The concern with this idea is that we know we would never, ever, be able to find a match for the unique brick the exterior is clad in. So the addition would have to be 'wood' siding, and how do you make that blend with the rest of the house?

My thought is to add more wood to the front of the house so the addition won't look like quite so out of place. That is why I added craftsman-style pillars, a railing, shutters, a gable and chose wood for the steps.

And I would definately add better landscaping than what you see here... but like I said, I was determinded to not obsess.

"Justifiable Child Endangerment" says County Judge.

Three minors, all brothers, were found Thursday duct taped to a pine tree in rural Minnesota. Authorities have detained a charming, talented woman they claim as their mother - though she denies any mutual genetic material - as their primary suspect. She was found in the boys' home hanging upside down cleaning the chest freezer which appeared to have been left open for an undetermined amount of time with 2/3 of the contents (including a stash of Breyer's ice cream snagged on super sale price) scattered across the floor and a pint of frozen cranberries scattered throughout the frozen goods left in the freezer. Several gallons of fresh strawberries were found in the kitchen, apparently left by the suspect in mid-cleaning for a jam making project.

"The neighbor came to get us for a job and I guess we just forgot we had left all that stuff out on the floor." said the oldest of the brothers.

The youngest of the boys was heard saying, "I told her there wasn't any rhubarb left in there from last year!"

"Oh, brother," was the only comment from the third child.

A judge has reviewed the evidence and the suspect is expected to be released without charges. She is being detained in the local county jail where she has refused contact with court appointed attorney services and is reportedly napping.

"We may have some trouble getting her to leave," states county sheriff. "She refers to the cell as a retreat center with room service."


The above news story was written by my friend SarahK after sending her boys out to the freezer to look for rhubarb and later discovering thawed food all over the floor and the freezer door open. I'm very impressed with her self-control. Although, if the nap spoken of, had been a sure bet... I'm not so sure she could have resisted.

Since Roe vs Wade, the amount of women & children at poverty level has increased to a majority, not decreased as was supposed would happen. This is because men are now less likely to marry a woman bearing their child --after all if she hadn't wanted to raise a child alone she could have aborted it. Our culture of abortion isn't freeing women from "unwanted" children, it's freeing men to be childish.

Thank God, I was blessed with a man who stepped up and decided to call me "My Lovely Wife" instead of relegating me to "My Baby's Mama". And thank God or the life of our precious son (who is almost 16yo now), and the two children that followed him.

I have friends, I've never met. I have mentors who, most of the time, don't even know I'm there "listening" and learning.

I live a fairly isolated life out here without a lot of "girlfriends". I've never been good at the whole "girlfriend" thing anyway. Never have been a very social person. I like my life to be kind of slow and quiet. I'm a stay at home mom, by choice, and I'm not unhappy about it. But, I must say what a blessing it is, that, any time of the day or night I can associate with true ladies... people I look up to for various reasons.

Some of these ladies are "rough and tough" country folks who, two weeks after giving birth at home without a midwife, can handle a sick calf and a mama cow with an infected udder, while their husband is away. Some grow a garden and preserve their harvest. They can milk a cow or a goat, make cheese, sew their own clothes or make quilts to keep friends and family warm.

Some are sassy, and city-sophisticated. They know their kids better than anyone, and their bible better than most. They worry that they may be drinking too much coffee or wearing too much makeup and they are quick to tell you about God's love.

Some have a dozen or so children at home. Some are almost through their first, full-term pregnancy. Some have grandchildren all across the nation. And many of them have children in heaven.

Some live with chronic pain and illness. Some live with fear of rejection. They juggle tight budgets, allergen-free diets, home businesses, Sunday School classes, homeschool or after school activities.

Their husbands should count themselves blessed to have them. They make their husbands richer, his work easier, his nights more pleasant, and his house a home... He can be confident in her abilities and comfortable in her arms.

Some of them are married to great guys who understand that. And some of them are married to guys who simply don't give nearly enough thought to 1Pe 3:7 "Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered." or Eph 5:25-31, "Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church: For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh." [Or Pro 5:15-19; Mal 2:14-16; Mat 19:3-9; 1Co 7:3; Col 3:19; for that matter.] and fear the Lord who wrote these things.

I'm not saying these ladies are perfect. They are not perfect, BUT they are all trying very hard to do the best they can with what they have, while continuing to learn, grow, and love those around them. And that's what makes every one of them so lovely to me.

Thanks Ladies.
WR

Remember my To Do list from September? If not.... it's only two posts down.
Well I wanted to update.
So here's the honest and ugly truth...

• The baby clothes are still here. As well as summer clothes and clothes they have simply grown out of.



• The earrings are finished and SOLD! We made some money! We also learned from our mistakes and will hopefully increase our profit margin next year (I need to be able to pay my salespeople )..... if Bull lets me do this again next year. LOL!
  
  
• Rearanged most of the kitchen but stalled and never finished.



• The herbs are still in plastic bags, piled in a cabinet.



• Haven't gone thru the toys and gadgets and probably won't before the new year.



• Ain't gonna happen. LOL!

WR

Ya' know I've got that Feedjit widget over in the side bar.... well I've noticed that a few of my repeat visitors arrive on the same page every time, a page other than the home page. And then they don't stay long. So I'm thinking some of you may have bookmarked my blog while you were viewing a category or a post. If that's the case, then when you show up it may look like I haven't posted anything new 'cause it's the same thing you were looking at the last time you were here. So if this is happening to you, [I'm posting this in as many catagories as I can so maybe you will see it] just click on the "Home" link in the menu at the top of the page to check for new posts.

I'd also like to invite y'all to look around the sidebar. I've added a link to a page where I will be adding videos and audios about Christianity, Health Issues, How-to, and whatever else strikes my fancy. I don't have much there yet, but I wanted you to be aware of it.

There's also a new gadget from Blogger called Followers. I didn't know what it was all about, but the description basically said it is for people who like like my blog, to let me know they are following it. It also lets folks who read my blog, find the blogs of other folks who read my blog.I figured that was cool so I added it.

Anyway, I want to encourage y'all to look around and take a little more time checking out the blog.

WR

Nourished Kitchen is giving away $1-off coupons for Organic Valley Butter. I love this butter. In fact I just bought some of their special edition butter from cows pastured on green, summer, grass. I've been using it to make butter oil and giving it to my kids with some Cod Liver Oil because they've all had a cold (Rooster first, then SweatPea, and now Pickle). Bull caught it too but he can't swallow oil without gaging at least twice. So he won't let me come anywhere near him with spoon these days.

WR

I added a separate blog roll for new [to me] blogs I run across called "New Finds". These are blogs that look interesting, but I'm just getting familiar with them, so I don't know if I want to add them to my regular list, yet.

Now, I'm ok with differing political views as long as the blog owners are not pounding their podium and as long as they're not too wacko. The same goes with religious views (to a point --there are some beliefs I wouldn't want to be responsible for giving an audience to, on Judgement Day).

I'm saying all this just so you know that I don't know everything about these blogs yet. And while I may not agree with everything I've seen so far, I haven't found anything particularly offencive. If you do run across something offencive or disconcerting, let me know so I can take that blog off my list.

WR

The SCOBY's arrived yesterday! Thank you Floydian!

A SCOBY is a Symbiotic Colony Of Bacteria & Yeast and it's used to brew Kombucha. Kombucha is a probiotic drink and a good substitute for other not-so-good-for-you drinks.

So, SweetPea and I will be making 'Bucha today. I'll take pictures and write more about it tomorrow.

WR

Wow, it's been a whole week since I last posted!

I've got loads of ideas for posts and some in the works, but it seems whenever I'm online I'm busy with something else.

I hope to post another favorite today, I need to give an update on the cleanse, and I'm working on a post about nutrition and good health for Wednesday. Oh! and then there's that post about plantain that I promised to write.

Sorry to have gone AWOL for a while... don't give up on me.

WR

Mom was released from the hospital and she had her first post-hospital doctors appointment yesterday. The doctor she went to see was her "blood doctor" and he said that the thinks she had a stroke, even though the they didn't find any blockages with a CAT scan (an MRI would have been better but she can't have one). We know that she was treated as though she had a stroke when she went to the emergency room, so that was a good thing. The sooner you are treated for stroke the better your chance of full recovery.

We may never know if she actually had a stroke or not, but we do know that her health has been getting steadily worse for about a decade. So something needs to change. She has too many serious health issues that the doctors have never been able to do anything about or even diagnose with any certainty.

Anyway, she is doing a little better, but not good, and still needs your prayers.

Thanks,
WR

She's in the hospital.

These are her symptoms:

• Muscle tremors (She shakes like a Parkinson patient -can't keep her head still; can't touch her finger to her nose and then to the dr's finger)
• Weak and dizzy
• Nausea
• Her blood pressure is fluctuating between normal and low (she usually has high bp)
• A sensation of falling when she closes her eyes

They've done a CAT scan and there were no blockages. They doctors here are saying they don't know what's wrong or what direction to go in.

WR

Ok, here's what's been going on with me for the last two days.

I had been having some severe itching in some spots where I'm prone to have yeast rashes along with the other aches and pains I described in my candida cleanse posts. Then Tuesday I realized something was happening.

I developed a headache with painful "stuffy" ears and my eyes hurt so bad I just wanted to keep them closed. Then came the body aches. I hurt all over. I was certain I was coming down with the flu. I started sweating while doing nothing more than sitting on the couch. But, even though I lost my appetite, I never got nauseous or threw-up like I always do with the flu.

I actually felt a little better for a while in the afternoon after getting outside for a bit and was able to eat a small meal (the only one of the day).

That evening, I was going to the bathroom a LOT, and I began to get chills and could not get warm. I was extremely dizzy/lightheaded (I was drinking to stay hydrated so I'm pretty sure that wasn't the problem) and told my older children what to do if I should pass out (because I felt as though I might, at any moment). My hands, feet, and nose felt like blocks of ice, and I was extremely weak.

After the kids were in bed and I started getting ready to turn in, it was getting ridiculous how cold my hands were and so I was moving them more to try and warm them. That's when I noticed that my nails were turning blue. At first I wondered if I had a blood clot but then reasoned that it probably wouldn't affect both my hands and there would probably be other symptoms like swelling. Also I had started spotting (women will know what I'm talking about without my giving TMI) so then I thought maybe my blood was "too thin". In any case, I decided to take some cayenne. I knew it would help me warm up and has the added benefit of regulating blood pressure and bleeding problems.

I was still feeling like I could pass out at any time but I was too weak to stay up long enough to see if the cayenne was going to work so I went to bed.

Several times early in the night and would wake-up enough to be aware that I was warming up but that the feeling of vertigo and being near unconsciousness was still there and I felt the worst I had all day. I thought about calling my sister but didn't know what she could do other than take me to the hospital and I didn't want the kids to wake up to something like that and so I told myself that if it got any worse, then I'd call. Eventually I slept well, and woke up feeling a little better.

So yesterday, I had a milder version of the same... sweating, headaches, body aches, diarrhea, weakness, loss of appetite (though I was able to eat more than the day before), ears hurt, eyes hurt, but with the addition of abdominal cramping and minus the spotting, dizziness, and chills. I've lost 7 lbs in two days.

Today I feel better than yesterday, but I'm still not 100%.

During this time I stopped taking the Candida Clear and other supplements except for grapefruit seed extract. I figured if had the flu then the GSE might help. And last night I took some saccharomyces boulardii. But I suspect it may be a Herxheimer reaction (immune system reaction to severe die-off), because none of the kids are sick, even though right up 'til Tuesday, I was sticking my finger into Pickle's mouth a couple times a day to apply a homemade teething ointment.

Well, I need to go rest now so I will be up to taking Rooster to football practice later today. I just wanted to post this here because it's easier than trying to update my OLFs individually. Hope y'all understand and forgive the "impersonal" reply.

WR

As you can see, the blog is going thru an overall --I mean an overhaul.
Stay tuned.

WR

This is what I got when I went shopping. Bull gave me a budget so I didn't get as many pants and shirts as I would have. Oh, I could have left off of the hooded towel I got as a gift for someone, but I just couldn't leave it behind since it matched the robe I'd already bought for the same baby, and because I didn't see any outfits I could get for Pickle for the same price or less.



Anyway, I got a three-piece set of PJs: one top, one long bottoms, and the cutest little boxer briefs. I also got an outfit for fall that has a hoody, a long-sleeved t-shirt, and blue jeans. And three of the board books we wanted (I decided to save them for Christmas).



Here's the towel I bought this time, and the robe I got last month (these are for a baby who's not born yet).



Everything was below retail. The PJs are Carter brand, and retail for $24 but I got them for $7, and the fall outfit was $15 and I got it for $8. I forget how much the robe was (it and the towel are also Carter) but I think I spent $6 or $7 for it and the towel was $17 but I spent $7.



I know there are better bargain hunters than me out there, but for somebody who doesn't like to go shopping I think I did pretty good.

WR

Today, I'm going out to get Pickle some PJ's and a few shirts and pants. I also found somewhere to get some of our favorite board books for him at about half price, so Ill be picking up some of those. I haven't decided yet, whether to put the books away 'til Christmas or let him have them now.

WR

Don't feel like bloggin' right now. Will update later.

WR

I have a pile of green beans in the fridge and more in the garden waiting to be picked. It's really not that much --too much to cook before they go bad, but hardly enough to make it worthwhile to can them, IMO. But I need to get out there and pick them and then go to Mom and Dad's house so Mom can show me how to can them anyway. That's what I need to do, but this is how I feel about it...

I've been counting my blessings lately and thought I'd share a few of the things on my list. These are not huge things, nothing profound, just little things I've been thanking God for -- you may think some of them are silly but am thankful for every one of them.

• Tomatoes from the garden that are piling up all over the kitchen counter.


• Fresh figs, summer squash, and peaches given to us by family.


• Blueberries, found on sale, to eat with my cottage cheese.


• A second freezer with frozen tomatoes, figs, grapes, and blueberries in it for when the fresh ones are all gone.


• Harvesting onions, peppers, or greenbeans right out of the garden when I need them for something I'm cooking.


• New recipes, that my family loves, from friends I haven't even met.


• A bag of free pecans that we picked up various places earlier in the year.


• Learning where the good pecan trees are so we can pick up even more next year.


• Watermelons on the vine and lots of cantaloupe blooms (and the hope of cantaloupes soon).


• Wild bees to pollinate our garden and ladybugs to eat the aphids.


• Purple Martins who kept most of the moths out of the garden and flies out of the house (the flies have always been really bad here, 'til this year).


• Being able to see such beauty every day when I walk outside.


• Wildflowers and weeds in my yard, instead of a boring stretch of plain ol' grass.


• Learning how to tell which weeds are toxic, which are useful, and which are just very pretty if you give the a place of their own to grow.


• The fig tree that we thought had died last year, came back this year and is doing well.
  
• Finding little things on sale that I can use to bless others.


• All the people who have blessed me so many times in so many ways.