The Joys Of Family and Hearth

Before we left our home near the shore, I called out to God, "Lord, protect us and our home" And he did. The Lord's provision is always so much more then what we can fathom. Saturday 4pm the rain started. We had just left Wal -Mart, we were actually just out photographing people and what the stores looked like. The shelves were bare and lines at the gas stations were unreal. We let the girls outside to play while the rain was light. After a supper of fried chicken, mac n cheese and salads, we got in our "comfy clothes" to wait out the storm. By this time the rain was heavy, the weather channel was continually on, and talk radio was on so we could keep on top of what was happening in our area. I knew I wouldn't be sleeping that night, but the rest of family did attempt it. We put the little ones down to bed around 9:30 pm, wind whistling away, rain coming down..but with some cartoons on we were able ...

There seems to be a lot of hype about Hurricane Irene really taking us out here on the East Coast. I can't help but wonder, if Jesus is coming soon? First an Earthquake felt all over the Eastern Seaboard and now a hurricane, a category 3 hurricane~! We live in a shore town. We are use to Hurricane Warnings, Nor Easters ', and such...but for some reason Irene seems to be drawing a lot of attention to us. Our town has already issued a voluntary evacuation. Our Governor has already declared a state of emergency. Here on the home front , we have talk radio on in the kitchen, Where by the way 23 lbs of peaches are waiting to be canned, along with 23 lbs of nectarines . :) Weather channel on the tv in the living room so we can keep on top of the hurricane track. We have also battened down the hatches if you will. All bikes are put away, lawn furniture put along side the house, anything loose picked up and put away. We have also filled the truck with gas, char...

A few years ago we were blessed to be able to purchase a used wood stove for the house for $75.00. We had a "fireplace insert" that just wouldn't heat the house well. And with the rising costs of natural gas suppliers, plus being on the goal of becoming as self sufficient as possible we began our search. Through another homeschooling family, we were able to purchase Kodiak Wood stove . It was manufactured in the 80's. But, is in excellent condition and has been a blessing to our family. Last year, we managed to get enough FREE wood to make it through the winter almost completely. Since last year we have been collecting wood from various places, and should have plenty to make it through the winter totally and may even have some for next year. :) I love, love, love the wood stove . Especially on cold winter nights. So my men, well a couple of my mine were able to split and stack a LOT of wood, this past Saturday . This was the start and ...

Well, here is a picture of just one of the many, many cantaloupes that are growing accidentally in my garden. You see back in the spring, I threw some cantaloupe scraps in the garden bed, before we tilled it all up. A few weeks ago, we started noticing vines growing and having been waiting to find out what it is!!! Now we know!!! Cantaloupes !!! The good news is, Cantaloupes aren't genetically modified as of yet, since I was able to grow all these from seed.. YEAH, for NO GMF !!!!! The children are looking forward to picking, and tasting as soon as they are ready. We currently have 18 growing and many, many more flowers... Here's a few more shots of what's happening in the garden. Blessings, from our home to yours!! :)

After a few months of break, and just dong a lil ' bit of school here and there. We are back into a full school schedule. Matthew and Jacob are excelling at their computer work and basically have about two more weeks before they have completed everything and I will need to purchase more stuff. Emma is reading like a champ!!! I love listening to her read!!! Anna is ready to do anything that is right there along with her brother and sisters. Ashley will be officially starting Vocational School in a few weeks, early September. She is so excited about going and doing her first ever, "school shopping" . Our budget is tight this year but luckily I was able to piece a lot of stuff together for the kiddos, and then we will do unit studies as well. I look forward to doing the unit studies again with the kids, they are a favorite for all of us. Hit the local Target last night for some .40 cent crayons, .90 cent markers, erasers, folders, and other fun school stuff!!! Looking for...

My sweet, sweet Anna Bella turned 3 (number 5 in the line up) this past weekend while we were away camping!! Here she is enjoying her melon!!! Craft time is one of the three youngest ones favorite activity!!! I think by far this is my favorite picture of Anna!!! Of course, this one is adorable too!!!! Thank You Lord for blessings me with this little angel!!!

In my lovely state it is illegal to sell raw milk. Now this should be of no surprise, My state is the highest state for the number of vaccines children receive , and has the most pharmaceutical companies in it. We also rank the number one state for autism in boys. 1 in 100 here. A cowinkiedink I think NOT. Anywho , each month I drive to a raw milk friendly state and pick up my milk for the month. This past weekend was such a time. We had a lovely time away, bringing home 16 gallons of delicious raw milk. Why the government ever had to mess with milk I will never know!! If you haven't tried raw milk, I suggest you do so!!! It is sooo delicious!!! There are sooo many benefits to raw milk, that they far outweigh the risks. Check out www.westonaprice.org , for more information on that!!! Some of the health benefits include: raw milk still has the lactose in it. There for it lactose is a problem for you, it won't be when you consume raw milk. It is a natural enzyme that is in t...