learning to walk

Josiah has spent the last 15 minutes

helping Lily walk,

excitedly calling out every few seconds,

"Lily's walking, Lily's walking!"

She's pretty happy to have such a great coach

and cheerleader.

~

I'm pretty happy to have kids that love each other so much!

take, eat

We celebrate communion every week
at our church.
Yesterday
Tim Bailey was sharing a sort of combined
‘communion mediation’
and
a ‘here’s what we do at Central’ for guests.

~
I was feeling really sad for Lana
because taking communion has always been very special to her,
and her new church doesn’t 'do' communion very often.

~
He went on to say how precious the weekly practice has become
as he’s grown in his love for the Lord and his awe of Christ.
He finished by saying
“….so when the bread comes, take a piece……
When the drink comes, take a cup and drink and
proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.”
~
The trays were passed as usual
from baptized believer to baptized believer.
Josiah didn’t get any bread
(as is the usual custom)
but when the juice was coming, he got out of his seat
and stood kinda between Tony and I,
facing us.
Neither of us thought a thing
and I would remind him to get back in his seat
as soon as the tray was safely out of the way.
When the tray got to Tony
Josiah grabbed out a cup.
It was empty

so he put it back and grabbed another, empty too.
Tony and I kinda looked at each other.
What had possessed this child?
I certainly didn’t want to cause a scene during the Lord’s Supper,
So I let him grab another cup.
And he drank.
And I realized
he was simply doing what he’d been told.
And he,
my sweet, precious, scrappy,
sitting-still-and-listening-in-church three-year old boy
was proclaiming the Lord’s death
until He returns.
~
It doesn’t get much better

unexpected blessings

We have baby chicks!!!

We found them on Monday.

Our little hand-me-down black hen

(which we haven't seen in ages

so we figured killer-dog got her)

is a momma!

And she's a good one;

she has attacked

both

Donor & Lola

when they got too close for her liking.

Sadly,

she's already lost one chick

despite her vigilance.

I think the cat got it.

~

AND

to our delight

Brandon just found

MILK
in our freezer!
A whole gallon of raw milk!
We are beside ourselves with excitement.
We haven't been able to go to the dairy
since Granny died,
as most weekends have been taken up with estate business
and if they haven't
well
Tyler's pretty happy to just be home!
We'd rationed what little milk we had left
and stretched it out as long as we could
but still
we haven't had any real milk in over a month.
I can hardly wait for it to thaw.
oh, it's gonna be sooo good.....

new words

Lily Pie has a couple of new words.
She always says them together
with great expression
and often looks at her hands while saying them.
The emphasis is always on the first word;
the second
is a one-syllable word
drawn out in true southern fashion
to be more like two syllables.
~
We can't wait to figure out what she's saying
'cause
it sounds exactly like
b*tt
head!

miracle rub

I’ve been seriously interested in herbal remedies
ever since Josiah was about 4 months old.
I’d read an article with a recipe for a sleep tincture
and decided I’d give it a whirl.
What did I have to lose ~ we were already not sleeping.
So I followed the recipe.
Exactly.
Well, not exactly exactly
but close.
I followed the procedure exactly.
To my delight
the tincture worked!
It didn’t help Josiah as much as I’d hoped
but it worked wonders with Jeremiah!
And I’ve been hooked on natural remedies ever since
(prior to that, we were pretty much no-remedy,
so while the kids aren’t always thrilled with my potions,
they are glad to have some relief from their ailments.)

~
I bought my first two herb books
The ABC Herbal and The How To Herb Book.
First time I read ‘em
they confused the fire out of me,
especially the How to Herb one.
But the more familiar I became with all these ‘new’ words and ideas
the more sense I could make of it all.
Using some of the info I gathered from The ABC herbal
and a No Greater Joy article about I-can’t-remember-what
I created my own Miracle Rub
when I had a cold with a sore throat
(I couldn’t use my kiddos as guinea pigs…)
And the stuff worked!
We have since come up with lots of uses for Miracle Rub
(thus the name.
Tyler questioned the use of ‘miracle’
but I assured him, all the ingredients were from God,
so it was a worthy name.
And
the stuff does work miracles!)
~
We use Miracle Rub for the following:

Sore throats ~ even Strep
Simply rub a bit all over your neck

and lymph nodes anytime you feel pain

~
Earaches & infections
Put a bit of warm oil on q-tip & rub gently in ear
Rub some around the ear, too
Repeat a few times a day till pain is gone
* the oil must be warmed, cold oil could cause additional pain*

~

Congestion
Rub on back & chest (and neck & nose…..)
* use caution if you do this right after a warm bath
while pores are all open ~ it may feel a bit ‘hotter’*
~

Prevention
Rub on soles of feet any time you’ve been exposed to illness,
think you have been exposed, are feeling sick in any way
or just want to smell like Christmas.
When I remember,
I put in on everyone’s feet morning and night
all during cold & flu season

~

Warts
Needs lots of repeated treatments
~

You could use it for tooth pain
But a dot of straight clove oil would probably be better,
Although I do rub some around the jaw and ears
when someone is teething, for additional comfort
~
and now
the recipe
~

Miracle Rub
Crush a couple cloves of garlic and put in a tiny bowl
Cover with a olive oil
no more than a TBS or you’ll end up with a ton of this stuff
(which is okay, you can just store in the fridge and use later….)
Heat in microwave
(or set bowl in a shallow pan of water on stove)
for just a minute or so.
We’re getting the oil really warm, but not cooking the garlic.
Cover warm oil and garlic and leave it on the counter
anywhere from 5 minutes to a couple hours.
Strain out garlic, keeping the oil.
To the garlic oil extract you just made
add clove essential oil
until it ‘smells like Christmas’.
(you can also add lemon, orange & cinnamon essential oils;
they all add their own helpful properties,

but just clove oil works great,)
Next
note how much oil you have
and add 4 to 5 times that in olive oil
(if you have a TBS of garlic/clove oil combined,
add about ¼ cup olive oil)
This step is so important because some essential oils are very strong
and would ‘burn’ the skin

if you didn’t add more olive oil as a ‘carrier oil’
If a little one cries right after application on tender skin,
you probably need to add a bit more olive oil to the mix.

~
Its best to store this in a dark bottle, but any jar will do.
I like to keep an ounce or so out

and the rest in the fridge till we need it.
~
Keep in mind,
I’m not a herbalist or an apothecaries
just a momma who found something that
Works For Me!

small world

Tyler and I have been wanting to take

Dave Ramsey's

Financial Peace University classes

for quite some time.

We figured we'd better get a move on it

'cause if we don't get it in before Baby arrives

it'll be another year...

~

I got on Dave's website a few days ago

and printed off some class options.

Turns out

there's a class starting in about a month

just a mile and a half from the house!

Being a small town girl

I wasn't real comfortable just registering online;

I wanted to talk to the coordinators.

You know,

make sure we'd be welcome and all

instead of showing up

"Ta-da! We're here!"

~

There was no contact information

so I looked up the name of the class coordinator

in the phone book.

Small town and all....

There was only one person with that last name

so I took my chances.

~

Yes

I had the right people

but I needed to call back later and talk to the mom.

I ask her name.

You know,

so I don't sound like a complete idiot when I call back....

"Mavis"

I think, "Unusual name. I used to work with a Mavis.

Wonder if its her?

Nah, she'd be, like, near 60 now...."

~

I called after I got the kids in bed.

We talk a few minutes

then she says, "What did you say your name was?"

I tell her.

She says, "I know that name. I can see it on e-mail..."

~

Anyways

we figured out

that we've never actually met

but our paths have crossed

through different homeschool things

through the years.

Small world, huh?

~

and

it turns out

If I'd have just registered online

The class would have cost us $30 more!

just guess

who,

for only the 2nd time

since March 30, 2007,

got to sit

through

the

entire

church service

~
yep

that would be

me!

Lily had to get a few swats,

but she did so good!

listening and leader sheep

We keep the little ones in church with us.
Unlike our smarter friends,
it had never occurred to us to
practice
sitting quietly for church.
It was never an issue with the other kids;
after forcing them to go to their classes
against their will,
they were thrilled to stay with us.
Not so with this new batch of kiddos, though!
Needless to say
we have had more than our share
our unpleasant Sunday mornings.

Years of yucky Sundays!
Sometimes, we would ask each other
why
on earth
we were putting ourselves through this.
But still
we felt it was the right thing.
One day
I was talking with a young mom
whose children always sat so nicely in church
(I hated to sit in front of them,
for fear my children would corrupt hers)
She told me they worked on it during the week.
I thought she was brilliant!
And so we practice
(but not as much as we should)
and we have a list of things we do

and don’t do
at church

and talk about it weekly.
Things improved, but still weren’t great.
Last Sunday, though,
Jeremiah and Josiah were perfect!
And Lily wasn’t too bad, either.
The sermon was called
‘leadersheep’
and our pastor talked about sheep & shepherding
and focused on a particular breed of sheep that were leaders.

Today we drove to Ozark to buy some more chickens.
From the twenty we bought March 29th
we have two.
On the way there
Jeremiah sees some animals out the window
and says
“I saw some leader sheep!
and they were big”
(they were cows, but that’s not the point)
~
Tyler and I just looked at each other and smiled.
~
And that is why we keep our children in church with us

stood up

"Pearl's not here"

he says when I walk up.

"What do you mean not here?"

"She told somebody that I was coming

and to take care of me

then she got on the Lunch Bunch Bus."

~

just yesterday

Tyler dropped in to visit one of our 'little old ladies'

to make sure she'd be around today

so we could come have lunch with her

at her retirement home

(I know - not my idea of a date, either

and it was Fish Day, to boot!)

She told him to be sure to bring someone.

Silly us;

we thought she wanted to visit with one/some of the kids

but apparently

she wanted to be sure

that Tyler would have company for lunch.

Cause she was hopping on the Lunch Bunch Bus.

~

Stood up by a little old lady!

who'd a thunk?!

good-bye Gus

I've been going through the house
and getting rid of anything
and everything
I possibly can.
We decided
that Gus
just wasn't earning his keep.
So he went
and now I have a whole 2 ft of counter space
wohoo!

Sandy’s hubby was talking about how he’d been
impatient and unkind (my paraphrase) after a rough day.
I can totally relate.
I also try to excuse it.
But the truth is
I’m ugly
well
because
I’m ugly.
My heart is ugly.
~
I heard something earlier
that has stuck with me all day.
“Every time you open your mouth
it’s not an aberration;
it’s a
revelation
of
your heart”
~
Create in a me a clean heart, O GOD
and renew a right spirit within me
Psalm 51:10

bloggin buddies

The boys borrowed my camera yesterday

and took

like

30 pictures in a matter of seconds.

Then

they decided

that since they were now photographers

the needed a blog

to showcase their

um

talent.

the bloggin' buddies

babies is so smart

We were laying down

and I was smothering Lily with kisses.

I was kissing her foot

and she reached down

pointed to her toes

and said,

"Toe. Toes."

and then she started counting them!

So what if she only got to 'one'?!

Now

if only this momma

was as smart as this girl!

After amazing us with her math skills

she put on a little

stand up & sit down show.

but still no steps...

Babies is just so smart!

haircuts

no

The Pie didn't get a haircut

but

she gave the lawn one yesterday.

Check out that one-hand hold

surely

she'll start walking any day now....

ready for the trash

I think these shoes have finally had it.
It's no wonder
they've been through four boys!

I know
painter's tape really wasn't the best choice
but somebody walked off with my duct tape
again

~

Josiah told me yesterday,

"I know you can fix them!"

He was thrilled!

But

it's not one of my prouder 'fixes'

and I think they'll still find their way to the trash

"No, Momma,
they still work just fine!"

~ sigh ~

furniture

We finally found a spot for the last piece of furniture

we inherited from Granny - Big Pa's chair.

Among other things

we got nine pieces of furniture.

That may not be much for some people

but we've had to do some major

moving stuff around

to fit it all in.

We actually got 10 pieces

but there was just nowhere to squeeze in the fern table

so sadly, it went to Tyler's brother.

Jeremiah says

now our house looks more like Granny's than ours.

Smells more like Granny's too.

ugh

we're hoping that doesn't last long!

fireworks

We went shopping for fireworks on Tuesday evening.

Usually
by the 1st of July
we’ve already gone several times
and could tell you the cheapest and best place
to get any type of firework.
But this year
both time and money have been in short supply
so we were just going to wait and go on the Fourth.
Poor Brandon just couldn’t stand it,
so Daddy had mercy and we went Tuesday.
First
we did our usual
run to Alma and decide everything costs too much.
We decided that next year - we’ll just skip that part.
Then we headed to south Fort Smith
and checked every tent
before we could finally start shopping.
We are such savvy firework shoppers!
Really
it’s a great way to teach your children how to spend wisely.
It didn’t take long for Jeremiah & Josiah to understand
if we buy fountains from this tent
you can get four;
if you buy them from that tent
you can get 5
for the same amount of money!
They were quick to decide

they wanted to get the most for their money!

I love taking my boys shopping for fireworks!
I
Personally
don’t get all that into it
(other than to remember what you want to buy where)
but I have so much fun going with them.
I didn’t know that until a few years ago;
firework shopping was always Dad’s department
I was usually home with a baby
or in the car with a baby…..

~
When Jeremiah was 2 ½
and Josiah just a little over 1 and learning to walk
(and behaving better in the car)
I went along for the ride.
Nobody fell asleep
so I went shopping with them.
And I realized I’d been gypped all those years!
I was so tickled watching Jeremiah get so excited over
every
single
firework.
Then
we’d come home and shoot ‘em off
and we had to go get more.
(now that I knew how much fun shopping for fireworks was
I was more willing to let them spend more money on fireworks)
And that was how we ended up locking Jeremiah
in the running car
at the fireworks stand…..
~
Happy Independence Day

doll house

Don't all little girls

play with

Batman

and

Chewbacca

in their dollhouses??