The addition is done!!!

The addition is complete. The guys even built a small storage shed. I can't wait to fill it with tools & building materials for our next project. God is good. All the time!!! Instead of just adding pictures of the completed addition, I decided to show a video of the progress. I hope you enjoy!

Blessing us in to the New Year

Last you knew we were enclosing our porch, using it as a kitchen. Well, to recap ... there wasn't enough room to have a wood cookstove. So, we went back to the drawing board and here's the results ....

Our new 12x16 kitchen. I am so excited!!! It will be complete tomorrow as far as walled in and roofed. Then the next step will be having a man come in to spray insulate the entire house (as a gift ... thank you, Jesus). Some men from our church volunteered to help with labor ... had most of the materials gifted and a woodstove is being delivered as a gift as well. We are blessed beyond belief!!! We are praying that the Lord blesses every single person involved in this project!!! God has certainly blessed us right in to the New Year.
May those of you reading be blessed as well!!!

Love thy neighbor

Galatians 5:14 For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

We have been blessed with some incredible neighbors on one side. They have been so helpful in our off-grid journey; in things from lending us tools to showing us how to do things and on in to the getting their hands dirty right along with us. We truly are blessed and pray the Lord blesses them abundantly for the selflessness & generosity! 

Now ... the neighbor up the road from us is a bit different. The husband has been a thorn in our sides. We have no idea what we've done to upset him. We'd only met him once when he then came barking up our driveway about one thing or another. My husband is a very patient man. He's also a peacemaker ... yet this man does not want peace. It's easy to love neighbors that have been such blessings to you ... but this guy ... he makes God's command a challenge! Well, I'm up to the challenge and will be praying that God reveals the problem, we can take care of it & that at the very least ... our neighbor is blessed.

Giving Thanks

1Th 5:18  in all circumstances give thanks, for this is the desire of Elohim in Messiah יהושע for you.

I am thankful for the incredible man God chose as my husband.
I am thankful for the amazing children God have us.

I am thankful for the church family God brought in to our lives.

I am thankful for our daily bread.

I am thankful for the freedom & ability to worship my Lord (not that I would need them, because I would do it regardless!)

I am thankful for the trials in my life.

I am thankful for God's provision.

I am thankful for God's mercy.

I am thankful for ... everything!

It's easy to be thankful when life is sweet & things are going your way. Life won't always go your way. Be thankful any way. Those are the times you look for the lessons or at the very least remember to be thankful for what you 'do' have. Trials are to grow you ... in strength and in faith. I know ... not easy ... but remember ... the beautiful rose emerges through thorns.

As posted every year ... 

Thankful For The Thorns

Sandra felt as low as the heels of her Birkenstocks as she pushed against a November gust and the florist shop door. Her life had been easy, like a spring breeze. Then in the fourth month of her second pregnancy, a minor automobile accident stole her ease. During this Thanksgiving week she would have delivered a son. She grieved over her loss.

As if that weren’t enough her husband’s company threatened a transfer. Then her sister, whose holiday visit she coveted, called saying she could not come. What’s worse, Sandra’s friend infuriated her by suggesting her grief was a God-given path to maturity that would allow her to empathize with others who suffer. “Had she lost a child? No, she has no idea what I’m feeling,” Sandra shuddered. Thanksgiving? “Thankful for what?” she wondered. For a careless driver whose truck was hardly scratched when he rear-ended her? For an airbag that saved her life but took that of her child?

“Good afternoon, can I help you?” The flower shop clerk’s approach startled Sandra. “Sorry,” said Jenny the shop clerk, “I just didn’t want you to think I was ignoring you.”

“I….I need an arrangement.” “For Thanksgiving?” Sandra nodded. “Do you want beautiful but ordinary, or would you like to challenge the day with a customer favorite I call the Thanksgiving Special?” Jenny saw Sandra’s curiosity and continued. “I’m convinced that flowers tell stories, that each arrangement insinuates a particular feeling. Are you looking for something that conveys gratitude this Thanksgiving?”

“Not exactly!” Sandra blurted. “Sorry, but in the last five months, everything that could go wrong has.” Sandra regretted her outburst but was surprised when Jenny said, “I have the perfect arrangement for you.” The door to the shop once again opened.

“Barbara! Hi,” Jenny said. She politely excused herself from Sandra and walked toward a small workroom. She quickly reappeared carrying a massive arrangement of greenery, bows, and long-stemmed thorny roses. Only, the ends of the rose stems were neatly snipped, no flowers.

“Want this in a box?” Jenny asked. Sandra watched for Barbara’s response. Was this a joke? Who would want rose stems and no flowers! She waited for laughter, for someone to notice the absence of flowers atop the thorny stems, but neither woman did.

“Yes, please. It’s exquisite,” said Barbara. “You’d think after three years of getting the special, I’d not be so moved by its significance, but it’s happening again. My family will love this one. Thanks.”

Why so normal a conversation about such a strange arrangement? She wondered. “Ah, said Sandra, pointing. “That lady just left with, ah….” “Yes?” “Well, she had no flowers!” “Right, I cut off the flowers.” “Off?” “Off. Yep. That’s the Special. I call it the Thanksgiving Thorns Bouquet.” “But, why do people pay for that?” In spite of herself, Sandra chuckled. “Do you really want to know?” “I couldn’t leave your shop without knowing… I would wonder about nothing else!”

“That might be good,” said Jenny. “Well,” she continued, “Barbara came into the shop three years ago feeling very much like you feel today. She thought she had very little to be thankful for. She had lost her father to cancer, the family business was failing, her son was into drugs, and she faced major surgery. That same year, I lost my husband. I assumed complete responsibility for the shop and for the first time, spent the holidays alone. I had no children, no husband, no family nearby, and too great a debt to allow any travel,” Jenny said.

“What did you do?” “I learned to be thankful for thorns.” Sandra’s eyebrows lifted. “Thorns?” I’m a Christian Sandra and I believe God gave us all things in life, but I never thought to ask Him why good things happened to me. But, when bad stuff hit, did I ever ask! It took time to learn that dark times are important. I always enjoyed the ‘flowers’ of life but it took thorns to show me the beauty of God’s comfort. You know, the Bible says that God comforts us when we’re afflicted and from His consolation we learn to comfort others.”

Sandra gasped. “A friend read that passage to me and I was furious! I guess the truth is I don’t want comfort. I’ve lost a baby and I’m angry with God.” She started to ask Jenny to “go on” when the door’s bell diverted their attention.

“Hey, Phil!” shouted Jenny as a balding, rotund man entered the shop. She softly touched Sandra’s arm and moved to welcome him. He tucked her under his side for a warm hug. “I’m here for twelve thorny long- stemmed stems!” Phil laughed, heartily. “I figured as much,” said Jenny. “I’ve got them ready.” She lifted a tissue-wrapped arrangement from the refrigerated cabinet.

“Beautiful,” said Phil. “My wife will love them.” Sandra couldn’t help but ask, “These are for your wife?” Phil saw that Sandra’s curiosity matched his when he first heard of a Thorn Bouquet. “Do you mind me asking, Why thorns?” “In fact, I’m glad you asked,” he said. “Four years ago my wife and I nearly divorced. After forty years, we were in a real mess, but we slogged through, problem by rotten problem. We rescued our marriage our love, really. Last year at Thanksgiving I stopped in here for flowers. I must have mentioned surviving a tough process because Jenny told me that for a long time she kept a vase of rose stems-just the stems-as a reminder of what she learned from “thorny” times. That was good enough for me. I took home stems. My wife and I decided to label each one for a specific thorny situation and give thanks for what the problem taught us. I’m pretty sure this stem review has become a tradition.” Phil paid Jenny, thanked her again and as he left, said to Sandra, “I highly recommend the Special!”

“I don’t know if I can be thankful for the thorns in my life.” Sandra said to Jenny.

“Well, my experience says that thorns make roses more precious. We treasure God’s providential care more during trouble than at any other time. Remember, Sandra, Jesus wore a crown of thorns so that we might know His love. Do not resent thorns, actually be thankful for them.”

Tears rolled down Sandra’s cheeks. For the first time since the accident she loosened her grip on resentment. “I’ll take twelve long-stemmed thorns, please.”

“I hoped you would,” Jenny said. “I’ll have them ready in a minute. Then, every time you see them, remember to appreciate both good and hard times. We grow through both.”

“Thank you. What do I owe you?”

“Nothing. Nothing but a pledge to work toward healing your heart. The first year’s arrangement is always on me.” Jenny handed a card to Sandra. “I’ll attach a card like this to your arrangement, but maybe you’d like to read it first. Go ahead, read it.”

My God, I have never thanked Thee for my thorn! I have thanked Thee a thousand times for my roses, but never once for my thorn. Teach me the glory of the cross I bear, teach me the value of my thorns. Show me that I have climbed to Thee by the path of pain. Show me that my tears have made my rainbow. ~George Matheson

Jenny said, “Happy Thanksgiving, Sandra,” handing her the Special. “I look forward to our knowing each other better.” Sandra smiled. She turned, opened the door and walked toward hope.

Two steps forward ... you know the dance

We have completely enclosed our porch & have been in the process of making it our new kitchen. HA ... we plan ... God laughs. We forgot to make sure there would be enough room between the wall & the new wood stove. Nope. Start over! We are building an addition & will *temporarily* use that as our kitchen. When Spring hits we'll build a 400 sq. foot addition on a concrete foundation. THAT will be my new kitchen ... and living room. I didn't realize how much I missed entertaining until we started talking about a larger addition. Again, this is one of those situations where living the life has proven to be the teacher ... even after research & books.

I love my life!

Functional does not always mean pretty

The pantry shelves that my husband & boys built in my new kitchen .... YAY!!! Nice, big & roomy shelves ... with room under for larger, bulk canned goods.

Below you can see the dry wall projects. We still don't even have one room complete ... but we're working on it. We have at least 2 walls in each room of the house done though LOL and if you'll notice in the first picture ... there's a lot of stuff off to the side in one room. We shifted stuff from one room to another so we could start things.

Project: Kitchen remodel

In the midst of our construction we decided (thanks to Smockity Frocks) to write scriptures on our door frames and every other exposed boards; based on Deuteronomy 6:4-9. Our children were so excited to go through their Bibles to find verses to write!

Enclosing the porch, making it our new kitchen is the first of our projects. We are almost done enclosing it too. (We've had to make some odd cuts in the wood due to the way the cabin builders constructed it). Once we are completely enclosed, we'll start on building counters, pantry shelves, plumbing and getting the tile down. It sounds like a lot but a lot of it will be done quick.

More soon!

Final design on cabin; Construction zone

This week we will be building an addition, enclosing a porch to make it a kitchen and building a 10x10 deck ... as well as knocking out a window & making room for a front door & knocking out a small portion of a wall to add a window. We have a lot of hands in our family & all of them will be busy doing one thing or another! No worries ... pictures will be in future blog posts!

New building for chickens

Tin & wood given to us by our neighbors was put to good use! Pics of our new chicken coop it is complete but I don't have any updated photos)

Ma & Pa Ingalls (and Miss Beadle)

Flashback: March 1991; my (then) fiance & I stood in front of the furniture store, peering in to the windows. We'd spotted the most beautiful furniture carved out of logs. It was a perfect fit for our country dreams. "One day we'll be Ma & Pa Ingalls," we said as we chuckled.

Fast forward to today (Saturday, September 15, 2012). After a year of living the pioneer life, just as rusticly as the Ingalls, I found myself pulling up to the Laura Ingalls Wilder Home in Mansfield, Missouri for an annual town celebration. As we pulled up to the museum tears started welling in my eyes & emotion briefly overtook me. I had no clue I'd react like that. My mind flashed back to that moment my husband & I had joked about being Ma & Pa Ingalls ... and then I searched my memories and the trails we've drivenm searching for our dreams. It dawned on me a few years ago, that we'd actually followed the Ingalls trail as far as where we've lived. None of that was planned, by us any way. We have spent our entire marriage searching and pining for a simpler life; one that would bring our family closer to each other (if that were even possible), utilize the old (almost disappearing) skills such as Blacksmithing, farming without machinery and trading with neighbors. This life is not for everyone. Some times I've wondered if it was for me. I've always joked that I was Laura Ingalls, but out of recent frustrations decided I didn't want to be any longer. Well, today's visit to Laura's Mansfield, Missouri home rejuvenated that dream. I have spent my life wishing I was her ... so onward I go. Living the dream ... working harder and loving every minute of it.

We were at this celebration because a sweet friend of our family's was singing there. One of the songs she sang was "Home On The Range" ... and in the midst of it she paused and asked if the audience had ever considered the line, "Not a discouraging word was heard." She went on to state that now-a-days discouragement was almost all that was shared. That was one of the reasons my husband & I longed for simpler times. In simpler times, people helped each other, built each other up and loved thy neighbor.

I cried again as we entered Laura's home. Her kitchen, living room, bedroom ... every room was perfect and would work for us. The house truly is little but every inch was space wisely used! Because this home was later in Laura's life, it wasn't as rustic as the others before then were. I'd eventually like to visit every home she's ever lived in. I enjoy designing floor plans and would love to use a combination of each floorplan to build a dream home on our land.

Before our adventure ended, we were blessed to listen to a young man play Charles "Pa" Ingalls actual fiddle. As the strings poured out their beautiful sound tears slid down my cheeks. I closed my eyes and pictured Pa sitting in his chair and his daughters dancing wildly between him and the fire place. The more I pictured, the more that fiddle bow plucked at my heart strings. It's amazing feeling to reach a dream.

As we spend the next year or so fulfilling our dreams, I will hold on to today and use it as fuel ... as hope ... and as a reminder; nothing worth having ever comes easily ... but it is worth every ounce of blood, sweat & tears.
On a side note ... we met the woman who played Miss Beadle. My girls were so excited to get a picture with her!

Brrrrr

The verdict is in. We LOVE having air conditioning!!! We don't keep it on all day but it helps to come in after some hard, outside work and turn it on. It cools quite fast! It works so well that some in our family actually have to cover up at night. That's what I call relief!!!

We're not doing any major homestead work today. It's a day to get paperwork & other type of business stuff done. I may even get to work on the book I'm writing, if we get most of the stuff taken care of.

I am an impatient person. We have all these things to do, with plenty of time ... but limited amount of money. That's one of the hardest parts about this lifestyle (for us anyway) ... we aren't made of cash & the projects we need to get done require that. We buy what we can, when we can ... but it just doesn't happen quick enough for me.

GREAT news!!!

Two posts from me in one day. Rare but needed today. We have some GREAT news!!!

We have AIR CONDITIONING!!! I am sitting in my house; doors & windows shut ... with the fan & A/C blowing directly on me. Thank you, Lord!!! The best part ... they are connected through our generator & battery bank. This is HUGE for us!!! We just may be able to bypass getting electric, which would sure save us a lot of money!!! Hopefully the house will soon feel like Winter in Summer!

God provides!

Keeping Cool in Excessive Heat

The sun has been beating down on us ... and the humidity just keeps rising. We've actually had an "Excessive/Dangerous" heat warning & it continues until tonight at 7:00 p.m. How did we survive? An ice chest filled with ice ... kept my feet in it all day. It actually kept me fairly cool. The pool also does wonders for combating heat, especially since some of it sits in shade. I knew the pool would be a great investment!!!
We were able to get some things done around the property & are now preparing for some bush-hogging and back-hoeing. We'll be starting our tire & pallet barn soon! We're thinking of roofing with corrugated plastic. Any thoughts on this?

Early Morning

With my schedule being all out of whack, be it because of not sleeping very well in the heat, or staying up too late while working ... I haven't been up early mornings very often lately. I didn't realize how much I'd missed that until this morning. I was actually up early enough to greet the sun. Early morning is my favorite time; especially when it has silvery clouds dancing across the sky.
I could get lost in the clouds & I wonder if angels dance on them .. or at least sit to watch the world from them.
Early mornings is my refreshing time. The house is especially quiet with the exception of two cats, playfully romping across the floor. It's my time to read my Bible, uninterrupted ... pray & then just sit and relax before the hustle & bustle.

Not sure what the plans or goals for today are ... but I'm sure they will be big. Maybe the 5 year old has to go out & save the world .. and the 8 year old will take her babies to the doctor for a cold or fever. Maybe the 11 year old will finally finish (or start) building that mansion he promised me. The 12 and 15 year old's will undoubtedly have time to conquer the world. I love watching & listening from a far, the things my children do, think & say.
On the real side of things ... we are straightening up the yard (stacking tires, picking up trash, moving tings around, leveling the rest of the area where the pool is ... and I think that's it for outside stuff). As for other things ... it's just too hot to do much of anything. What ever needs to be done though; will get done.

Might as well go back to town?

It was stated in a comment that if we plan on hooking back up to the grid, we might as well go back to town. It was later explained that it was because the cost of the grid tie, power pole, wiring etc was expensive especially when you are going to run an air conditioner. We already run a fan when we run the generator .. helps but not enough. Between the cost of gas to run the generator, and the cost of propane to run the fridge and stove .. connecting to the grid is probably cheaper. I'll have to do the math on that to figure it out. I know the cost of the solar panels, wind turbine and battery bank ... add that to the cost of wiring (in any case). I'd be willing to bet that connecting to the grid costs more upfront but less than what we are paying out in gas & propane costs monthly. 


Decisions, decisions!

Every penny counts!

When you are raising a large family with less than a doctor's salary, every penny counts! It's even harder when the company your husband works for keeps giving less & less hours. There was a time that our internet sales were in full force but when we went off grid, we cut internet service so all that had to be put on the back burner. Now we're back on line & wanting to get our "Trading Post" up & running again.
There are all kinds of things needed on a homestead. In light of recent issues, our most recent need is an electric pole. We've lived just fine without normal electric but the heat is getting to my health. As stated in an earlier post, we are going back on grid just long enough to get the battery bank built so we can store enough power to run our entire house with some modern desires ... air conditioning being the front runner.

There are all kinds of ways for someone to make a living from home. You can sell crafts, home made items (clothing, food etc), wood working, writing, voice overs ... so many ways if you just think outside the box. We are doing a variety of things; from home, from this page and from other sites & blogs. Today I'd like to introduce you to our Cookbook Collection.

We are offering a collection of 21 e-books jam packed with excellent recipes. You'll get Cheesecake recipes, healthy recipes, SBD recipes for each phase, fun.craft type recipes, specialty foods and even the best copy-cat recipes out there. Each book is worth a lot of money but we know what it means to have to spend less and get more. Instead of charging you the suggested retail price for *each* e-book, we'll send you the entire collection for $5.00

BUT WAIT ... 

order now & we'll throw in 5 other cookbooks filled with recipes for Chinese, Mexican, Indian and other delicious cuisine.

That's right folks ... you will receive thousands of recipes all for the low, LOW price of only $5.00

Click on the Paypal button to buy now.

Your order should be sent in email to you within 2 business days.

Enjoy~

Summer is not my friend!

There have been some really big changes around here ... mainly in my thinking. We have lived the pioneering life for over a year now (almost a year spent at our current property). I have decided that I am not Laura Ingalls. She was an amazing person & I am thrilled to be learning the skills she had. We will live our lives utilizing those very skills ... BUT ... until we have a big enough battery bank to provide our power, we will connect to the grid. Yep .. that's right ... I went there. We have power but it's provided by a generator. Not a problem unless you run out of gas. Really we haven't had a need for major electricity any way .. but .. it is Summer. Living without an air conditioner is getting hard. We have a pool now (which the children LOVE) ... but I am not able to get in because of a minor surgery on my foot. So ... that leaves me suffering in the heat. We are working toward connecting to the grid soon. At first I felt like a failure for coming to that decision ... but not any more. There is no reason we have to suffer to reach our goals & dreams.
We will have some of today's technology ... but we will be wise & use as little as possible. Eventually we will disconnect from the grid again ... but only when we can support our needs with other means! We have built some things for our home, that we will continue to use ... such as the solar water heater. It's amazing! We will also continue to use our sawdust toilet. There's no reason to change over to septic. We will compost, recycle and reuse what ever we can. We will move as quickly as possible to go off grid again ... I just know that Summer is not my friend!

What living "off grid" really means

When you live off grid, it technically means you are not connected to the power grid or any utility companies. That can also take on other meanings though. Like ... when your only source of power breaks down. People tied to the grid tend to panic and worry about everything when they have no power. When living with limited power though ... power "outages" are no big thing ... unless you are supposed to make an announcement on one of your other blogs LOL Well then ... the power outage can cause some problems.
Our generator went out yesterday ... fortunately we purchased it from a good company, that stands behind their merchandise! It's actually the second generator from them. The first one died (motor seized) with in 3 days of buying it. We'd had the second one for just over a month when it seized. The company couldn't replace it this time because they didn't have any more. They did have one from China but said if something broke on it, they couldn't get parts for it. No thanks! So ... they gave us a full refund PLUS the cost of the gas & oil that we had just put in it the night before it seized. That company will have a bulk of our business as far as tools & equipment!!! Anything we can buy from them ... we will!!! There just aren't a whole lot of businesses like that any more!!!
There was very little time left in the business day when the generator died, so we couldn't do much about getting another one. So, that was today's project. We made some calls and did what we could to find a replacement ... we figured that even if we needed to get a smaller one, just to get us back up & running ... the problem was that no one had a smaller one in stock ... and the bigger ones ... well, they were double what we paid for ours. We just couldn't swing that. A neighbor & my husband set out on the town, with a mission to find us some power. It worked ... but came from, what I think is the oddest place ... an auto parts store. Who'da thunk?!
Our new generator is even better than the first. It has all the bells & whistles of the first (and second) ... but it has one thing ours didn't. It has a trickle cell charger. For those who don't know what that is ... it's connectors for battery cables, so we can trickle some of the electricity in to a battery bank ... in order to "store" electricity for when the generator is off. I am soooooooo excited about this!!! I'm sure you can trickle charges with any generator ... but I'm guessing you have to rig something to do so. With this one, no rigging needed!
Now to build our battery bank!

OT: We entered a GiveAway

Life is about instruction and adventure for us, among other things ... and when the two can meet, it's really kool! We've entered in to a drawing for what we think is one of the neatest tools! It's a Child Training Bible. It's a color coding kit that breaks the Bible in to topics & answers that train our children. Life is easier when we have answers (or an instruction manual).

Check it out & enter for yourself!

CHILD TRAINING BIBLE GIVEAWAY

Camp Electric (Off Topic Post)

As a musician, songwriter, I am blessed that my children have a passion for music. Their passion runs just about as deep as mine. They've been bitten by "the bug" and we're going to do what we can to feed tat bug. The three oldest at home recently had the opportunity to go see some great Christian bands in concert ... Skillet being one of them (which happens to be the favorite band in our family). The kids had such a great time! While at the concert, they found out about a Christian Rock Camp, where kids go to learn how to play instruments, run audio boards/programs, vocals & songwriting. I've done some research & found out that the camp is really expensive! Worth it ... but way out of our price range. My kids asked for the opportunity to raise the money to go. Dad & I said yes ... so here you have this post.
They will be selling the silicone bracelets ... your choice of two colors: either block with white lettering or white with red lettering. The words "Jesus Rocks" with a music note on each side of the words & will come in youth & adult sizes. The cost is $5.00 including shipping & handling.

Camp is in July so we have less than 3 months to get their tickets purchased.

Purchase by using our "Buy Now" button ... in this post or to the right, in the side bar. 

Colors

Black w/ White Letters $5.00 USD White w/ Red Letters $5.00 USD

Sizes

Adult Youth

Thank you for you support! 

p.s. Please allow 2 - 3 weeks for you order to arrive