A Furry Family Walk

The other day we took the furry children to a romp in the field. The dogs love running around in the woods and the field most of the time we have a cat or two with us running with them. Especially the two in these photos.

But on this day we also had the goats with us.

Ms Amelia has a shaved belly for awhile since she was fixed a week or so ago. Pippin really did not like her for awhile but now they are buddies they love playing with boxes and running with the dogs.

Amelia hasn't gotten into to much trouble lately she did get a cactus splinter in her nose while we were in Florida and was stung by something again and had her face swell up.

We love seeing all the babies running around and enjoying themselves in the sunshine and green grass.

What things do you enjoy to see while you walk?

Meet Cricket

This is Cricket, he is 9 weeks old  and is now Wyatt's new roomie, well at least after hes housetrained.

Sun, Surf, Sand...

And lots of sunshine! Last week we went to the beach and spent the afternoon with my mom.

Even though Mississippi beaches are nothing like the beaches I grew up playing on in Florida there is nothing like a nice long soak in salty water, soaking up the sun, salty breezes while you walk in the wet sand.

Sandcastles, driftwood, shells, and seagulls.

A wonderful day with wonderful people.

What kind of day do you like to spend with the people you love?

What goes in must come out...

Don't they look yummy! I thought they were I made them for a funeral a few months back they were white flour, honey, and honey butter glazed...delish!

Food, its important its keeps us going, gives comfort (especially here in the south), brings people together....I am sure we could come up with more.

I have been thinking lately and I know, I know that ALWAYS gets me in trouble, food is important but the kinds of food is what is more important.

For two years now I have had anxiety I am really and I mean really tired of it. Sometimes I cry because I am so tired of it, feelings of being nothing but a problem and nothing but trouble plague me sometimes. Of course being told this by someone doesn't help at all. I have been told by 2 people that my family and church family are very unhappy because of me. This on top of other things has made me turn in on myself made me reevaluate what I do and who I do it with, who I talk to and now everytime I walk in the temple I cry since I feel I am not worthy to be there because someone else made me feel I was unworthy of every breath I take.

So this post isn't just what we put in our mouths but what we let go into our ears and how it comes out.  I love to cook I am not very good at it but I do love to cook with plain ingredients, real foods, not canned foods creating something out of something basic makes me feel good.

Almost three weeks ago I gave up colas I love them I mean really love them. Coke and Dr Pepper are my favorites unfortunately. I don't drink coffee or black tea, I don't even know how to make coffee but colas are my downfall. One Saturday hubby and I went grocery shopping and we grabbed a coke to share while we shopped about 10 minutes maybe less after I took my first sip the anxiety started and was really bad I just wanted out of the store leave the cart where it was and leave. I pushed on hubby was with me... he always helps and is patient with me.

As I went to take another sip of coke it hit me that I was fine until I drank that cola. So I haven't had one in 2 1/2 weeks and the anxiety hasn't been so bad. It's there but not heart racing can't catch my breath panic attack anxiety.

So I have been thinking alot and colas are the first my next favorite is brownies so they are next probably at least for now. I know to listen to my body and I can figure out what is wrong that way but the last two years I have only heard the anxiety and that has made me blow up what I think I am hearing.

I know that white flour, white sugars, lets just say breads in general bother me not in the way that my health isn't bad but sensitive too. I am actually a healthly person, overweight and feeling old somedays, but healthy. I have been rough on body so I have sore shoulders sometimes, I have heel spurs that make my feet hurt each are just normal wear as we get older.

Now what I let go in my mouth makes me feel weird sometimes, colas for one, breads all kinds, white sugar, fake sugars, desserts, pastas, anything processed to the point of not knowing it started as a food at some point. Weird things happen nerves on fire, feet and hands swelling, etc but this is my body telling me stop putting that in your mouth it doesn't like it. On top of this taking a man made medication for anxiety and wanting to get off it makes you hear all kinds of false things. I know my body doesn't like these things and have known this but with my anxiety has made it bigger than life its self sometimes.

I started on a journey years ago stopped and have recently started again things that are wholesome and God made have never affected me, those things that are man made have always made me feel yucky and out of sorts. Just like sitting inside all day in the AC with all my man made conviences make me feel out of sorts and being outside working to exhaustion and breathing in the hot humid air and soaking up Gods creation makes me feel good, satisfied.

What we let go into our bodies whether its by mouth, sight, ears, or through our biggest organ our skin affect us in more ways than we can ever imagine.  I let myself eat and hear what I shouldn't, I let it soak in so that my body feels it and is trying so hard to tell me to stop.

I had the kids make posters years ago on one side they put pictures man made things and on the other they put things only made by God that side was the prettiest.

Words can be man made or God made as well what we let come out of our mouths can affect people in so many ways. We should think and let the words come that we know our Father in Heaven would want us to say.

I hope that all have a very blessed day and I have been so busy building a goat stall, gates, gardening, canning, sewing, etc that I haven't even thought of blogging. But I will do a plain and simple post before the end of the week. The kiddos are going to youth conference this weekend so we have been sewing skirts for Ashley and 2 new ties for Wyatt.

Blessing,

Erika

A little trip....

I hope everyone had a wonderful father's day weekend, our weekend was spent 7 hours away from home with family. Hubby stayed home with the animals and we went on a road trip.

Wyatt took this somewhere between Mobile and Pensacola.

We stayed at a Jelly Stone Park in Madison, Florida where Yogi Bear came out daily, they had a huge slid that went into a lake, a swimming pool, put put golf, kayaking trails, etc.

I was standing across one of the lakes and took this photo of my dad, step mom and sister and a niece. Oh and Molly and Scruffy the furry children my parents are raising now. Very spoiled pooches....

                                                                          My parents...

There were 3 alligators in one of the lakes they were  about 3 to 4 ft and I think people feed them 

                            since they would follow in the water as you walked on the bank. Or they were  following because of the dogs...

There was a little finger of land going out into one of the lakes they called Boo's Island and this little fledgling was sitting on little bush scouting the area out.

My imagination sees a face of an old wise woman in this picture.

There were oak trees everywhere with spanish moss, it rained the day we arrived and the ferns on the trees loved the moisture and made all the branches green and pretty.

Eagle Scout

Wyatt finally had his Court of Honor, though he's been an Eagle scout since Feb 20th.  Hes such a thoughtful person he gave mother's pins to all the sisters who helped him with his project as well as those who did letters of recommendations. And he wanted our little branch to be apart of it he asked that it be given to him during sacrament.

Babies!

Ashley and her new babies, Sha're (Shar-ray) and Aurora. They are from two different mothers but were born on the same day, Feb 21st. They are pygmy/fainting/dwarf crosses but mostly pygmy. Their daddy is pure pygmy and is such a cutie though he did stink like all billy goats do. One's momma is the mother of the other's momma with a different daddy, so they are aunt and neice, or half sisters since they have the same daddy.

Learning to bottle feed isn't fun for them, but they are learning and already bonding with Ashley. They hollar if she is out of their sight, and we've only had them about 18 hours. The one thing that bothers me about taking them from momma is the crying for momma it breaks my heart, but it doesn't take long for them to adjust....thank goodness.

Ashley remembers bottle feeding my milk goats when she was younger and has commented alot lately how much she missed my goats. So we thought she needs her own and I think it was an excellant idea.

Have a wonderfully blessed day!

Love,

Erika

Simple Woman's Daybook, February

FOR TODAY
Outside my window... Beautiful, lovely, refreshing, crisp, a brand new day!
I am thinking... nothing really just sitting here typing this and thinking of the things I need to do today.
I am thankful for...friendship, mostly the friend I have in my husband. I am not one who has to have lots of friends. I have a few close friends, but large amount of friends is very exhausting for me. My hubby is my best friend.
From the learning rooms...just another school day all of us looking forward to spring break.
From the kitchen...Sour dough muffins made with sprouted wheat. Last night we had shepard's pie which was delish!
hamburger cooked and seasoned to your taste, Ashley did a taco seasoning with tomato sauce. Layer this on the bottom of the pan
veggies of your choice and the amount you want layer this next
Mashed potatoes this is the top layer.
Bake till warm throughout
You can top with cheese if you want. But it is good without.
I am wearing...one of my favorite demin skirts and a blue top. I am dressed to my shoes and have my hair pulled back in a clip on top but down in the back.
I am creating...at the moment I am an advisor for my daughter as she is creating a quilt. She is doing great on her own, but likes me somewhere near incase she needs my advice.
I am going...to teach of bunch of girls, 8-11 years old, how to make bread tomorrow night.
I am reading...Jesus the Christ and Sunday School lesson
I am hoping..."We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men; indeed, we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul- We believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things"  Thirteenth Article of Faith
I am hearing...birds chirping, Ashley reading a scripture to me, a dog signing as she makes herself comfy for a nap.
Around the house...muffins cooling, dogs sleeping, cats napping, dishes to be washed, seedlings to be fertilized, catnip infusion to drink, plants to be watered, and life to be lived.
One of my favorite things...Demin skirts, soft cats, baby goats, spring green, a lovely note in the mail...I know more than one thing.
A few plans for the rest of the week:Kids are spending the night with grandma Friday, Hubby and I are going to Baton Rouge to the temple, picking up one of Ashley's baby goats, Seminary for the kids, turning in Wyatt's Eagle Scout paperwork that has been signed and passed by his Board of Review! Storehouse volunteering, bread making class....
Here is picture for thought I am sharing. Last night Wyatt had his Board of Review for Eagle Scout and did a good job. He was very nervous, but glad it is over and is now an Eagle Scout! They told him you are now and always will be an Eagle, there is no used to be an Eagle.

Simple Woman's Daybook

Happenings

One of the things I love about being a stay at home mom is the time to learn and do things with my hands. I'm not saying if you work you can't, but for me if I worked I wouldn't and would be stuck in a rut. Those who can do it all I admire.

Over the years I have jumped into many messes, learning, teaching myself to do things, and my family has eatin some pretty interesting things, or put up with all my experiements, ideas, or choices.

One thing is household repairs, my husband works all day and has a full time calling at church so calling him to come home and fix something that is easy would only add more to his plate. Yesterday, the plumbing under the kitchen sink leaked and needed to be replaced so off to town I went. Ashley watched as I took off the old piping and put the new on and hubby didn't have to look for the part or come home and fix it.

Another thing is bread and below is a fruit of that labor that Wyatt and I put together yesterday for sandwich rolls. He asked for white bread so I made a batch for him with white flour and the other with sprouted wheat and sprouted poppy seeds. All things I have learned on my own and now bless my family with.

Mondays I make cheese, we buy from a dairy not far from our home. We usually buy 4 gallons of whole milk that I place in gallon glass jars, we skim the cream when it rises to make butter and sour cream. then 2 gallons is turned into cheese. This week I decided to make Pepperjack cheese with some home canned jalopeno peppers. We usually have 3 small wheels of cheese aging in the fridge, they age for a month before we open them then this lasts us 2 to 3 weeks. We don't buy any dairy products from the store or eggs since our ducks produce quite well. Over the last year I have gotten pretty good at making cheese that I want to branch out to other cheeses that need to age long like swiss or romano.

Now this is something weird and your wondering why there is a picture of a bunch of beer bottles here, since we are teetottlers here. No, we didn't drink them.

Ashley is getting to newborn goats to bottle feed so we took a trip to a feed store that is a little distance down some winding country roads to get formula etc. On the way home she spotted a cobalt blue bottle so we turned around and picked it up as well as this pile of bottles. It looked like someone had a party right there on the side of the road, after we picked them all up it looked better.

But we did have a reason for wanting bottles. A bottle border for two flowerbeds we are putting in.

Yes the kiddos were horrified I was picking up beer bottles, but I said we are cleaning up the side of the road and finding a use for them besides them being litter. so now we are on the hunt for bottles when we drive around when they are in the ground no one knows what kind they are. We got this idea from Little Homestead in the City.

Spring! Barefeet in cool dirt while the sun shines down on you.

We planted a little over half of the 30 pounds of potates we have to plant yesterday. We still have more to go, but it is lovely to be outside playing in the dirt!

Well off we go to a 1800's village for a field trip and some gem mining with our 4H group. Home all have a blessed day.

Love,

Erika

One More Post....

Well I thought I could go without posting until after the new year, but I have some news I am excited to share!

I don't think I told you how the kids did on there ginger bread house well they won first place in the Sr division.

So last night we went to an awards banquet so they could collect their prizes for the house and the pumpkin they did in October. Well to our surprise they also received money for their projects they sent to the state fair as well as MP3 players for competing in three county level competitions. We were pleasantly surprised since we were just excited they won the first two prizes.

They had a wonderful meal, great entertainment by way of a talent show, and a fun night seeing all that the kids(not just ours) earned over the last year. The talent show had 9 little shows all very talented and and entertaining.

The kids were planning what projects to make for next year's fair as we went to bed.

And again have a blessed and cheerful holiday!

Love,

Erika

~~Chef Dani~~

Last week 4H had a guest come and help them make a goodie for Christmas. She talked to them about her 16 years of restaurant experience in owning and cooking in not one but two. And then showed them a fun gift to make for the holidays...Cheese Balls.
This is her and a helper dividing up gigantic blocks of cream cheese into 24 bowls.

Now squeezing together butter and the cream cheese, the kids loved this.

Next they added a handful of chopped fresh spinach, chopped up cooked bacon, a big handful each of cheddar cheese and Colby jack cheese, a handful of canned diced tomatoes with the liquid squeezed out and a tablespoon of special seasoning. Wyatt said the seasoning smelled like it had garlic powder, cayenne, and onion powder, at least that is what he could smell. Smoosh all this together really well.

Then shape into a ball, and then be very careful walking through the building so as not to touch anything with cream cheese covered hands.

Wash up really well...warm to hot water works best...

Now take your cheese ball and plop...softly into a bowl of crushed almonds and dried green onions. Roll around gently without squeezing the nuts into the mixture to much.

Put in a pretty container or bag, chill in the fridge to set and then eat. Very yummy we gave one of ours to the kids Seminary teacher and family, two in the family don't eat spinach or onions... They loved this and didn't know it had both till the next day.

On to the ginger bread news the kids after much deliberation were awarded first place for there creation. All the houses were cute and lots of work was put into the magnificent creations!