The Riley's Blog

We are going to Tijuana and we need your help!

2012-01-26T08:31:00.002-05:00

Kevan and I will be going to Tijuana, Mexico June 6th-13th (pending manager approval) with our church here in Tennessee. We will be hosting a Vacation Bible School for several days with the neighborhood children, having church at the drug rehab mission and also taking a group of orphans on a day trip so they can spend the day having fun and eating great food. I'm sure it will be hard for me to not bring one of these little orphans home with me! If you hear about a woman that tried to smuggle an orphan on a plane....just kidding. lol! During this time in Mexico we will show them and share with them the love of Christ. We will love on them, laugh with them and teach them. I have never been on a mission trip so I am very excited and I have heard so many times that it is a life changing experience for the volunteer.

Bible School Picture

Tijuana, Mexico is a city of 3 million people. We will be going to an area that is mostly poor families who may not even have electricity in their homes and live in shacks. The last picture below is from the town we will be having our VBS. This area does not have a church and these children have never been to a VBS. Most likely, they have never heard about Jesus. I am praying that we have a huge impact in these children's lives and that it will even reach their parents, teachers and caregivers.

Children from the orphanage enjoying a day out:

During one of the mission trip meetings at church it came to our attention that there are a few couples and one teenager that really would like to go, but they do not have the funds to do so due to illness in the family (having to pay medical bills) or due to the loss of a job recently. Our church is filled with families in need and I am scared that they will not be able to attend even with the donations from our church members. Kevan and I are praying that this will not hinder them from going. So, I thought it might be a good idea to ask our family and friends whether they would like to sponsor a couple, teenager or activity. The activities still need to be funded. If we do not have enough funds for the activities we may have to change our plans. I pray that is not the case so we can make the most impact. You could even just give $5 or $10 if that is all you are led to do. We are not just reaching out to help these little children in Tijuana and teaching them about Christ, but we are forever changing the heart of the person that is volunteering. Plus, the more people that go with us the bigger the impact we can have on these children, their local church and our church through those that are going. Will you be a part of it?

Tijuana, area that we will be:

Kevan and I have all the funds we need so none of the contributions we receive will go to us. I wish Kevan and I could sponsor a couple, but since we will be paying for ourselves we just can't do it. I know that many of you wish you could go on a missions trip and for various reasons you can't at this time. This would be the perfect opportunity for you to help. I will try to take lots of pictures and document our trip as much as possible. If you sponsor a couple, a teenager or activity I will try to share those with you too. The airline tickets are going to be purchased on 2/16/2012 so if you will be giving we will need it by then. I know it is very short notice.

Here is a verse that may help your decision, "Do not withhold good from those who deserve it, when it is in your power to act. Do not say to your neighbor, Come back later; I’ll give it tomorrow when you now have it with you." Proverbs 3:27-28. If it is in your power to help a teenager or couple go on this mission trip and possible impact their lives or the lives of the precious children we will be ministering to I ask you to please give something...even if it is only $5.

If you are interested you can send a check to our church (email/ping me and I'll send you the address) or you can send it to Kevan and I via PayPal and we will make sure that your donation is given to the mission fund for this trip. Just send me a note, email or text if you are interested in giving. God Bless You all! I'm excited to see how God is going to work in the lives of everyone involved in this trip.

Areas for giving:

Individual Costs:

Airfare: $350.00

Meals: $120.00

Lodging: $30.00

Total: $500.00

Sponsor an Activity:

Orphanage Visit - $200

Vacation Bible School - $250/day

Matthew 19:14 - Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these."

James 1:27 - Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

Psalm 10:14b - You have been the helper of the orphan.

Deuteronomy 24:21 - When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, you shall not go over it again; it shall be for the alien, for the orphan, and for the widow.

A Couple, Some Elk, A Moose and A Priest

2012-01-22T21:46:00.001-05:00

Some of you know that Kevan and I spent a week in Colorado recently. He had to go there for work and I decided to tag along since I had never been to Colorado. The first 4 days I was stuck in a hotel room with no rental car. This was my view.

I got a lot of work done during those 4 days. I didn't have to make dinner, clean the house, put wood in the woodstove or drive anywhere. I just concentrated on putting in a little extra work. I realized that there is NOTHING good on TV and that it is VERY hard to sit in the same little room for 4 days at a time. I couldn't wait to leave. I probably gained 5 pounds (at least) from sitting on my bum the whole time.

On Friday night Kevan and I drove up to Estes Park. It was a very pretty drive. I was surprised at how different the landscape was as we drove. Some of the mountains had a forest of trees, but then it totally changed to be more desert-like.

We stayed at The Historic Crags Lodge and I loved it! I loved that it was built in 1914 and that they have old pictures all over the hotel. We had old pics in our room too and a book that explained the history of the lodge. There is a main room where you can congregate with other visitors or sit by the fireplace and enjoy viewing a scrapbook of their history. Also, if you venture downstairs there is an entire wall of the bottom floor that is an actual mountain. The wall is rock. Kevan and I thought it was pretty cool, but I forgot to take a picture. Here is a picture of Estes Park.

The room we stayed in was VERY small, but I loved it. We could barely fit our little suitcase through the path at the end of the bed, but we had our own kitchenette, TV room and view. The bathroom was pretty cute too.

We got up the next day (very early) and went to The Rocky Mountain National Park. Kevan and I love National Parks. I was on a mission to see some Elk! I was told by everyone that knew we were going that we would see Elk. Well, we went the entire day (almost) driving to all the places they told us they would be and NOTHING.

We did see some Mule Deer (below). Don't you love his mule ears? But, we didn't see any Elk.

We decided to stop at the Visitor's Center. We met a very nice man that worked there and he told us a lot of great facts about the park. Then, he told us that a couple that just came in saw an Elk herd of bulls down the road. I IMMEDIATELY walked out to the car and waved him goodbye...yelling to Kevan that we'd better hurry. I was still on my mission!

We drove down the road and I noticed a woman taking some pictures. THERE THEY WERE......resting.

I was a little disappointed that they were just laying there, but I have to say it was pretty unbelievable to see them out, in the wild and hanging out. There were about 20 of them. It seriously made my day!

Then, we decided it was getting late and we should grab some lunch and head to Winter Park. It was supposed to snow and it would be about a 4 hour drive and I wanted to get there before dark.

I know....you are waiting for me to tell you about the Moose. It's coming!

Before we left for Winter Park Kevan spoke to a few friends about which way to go. We could take this unscenic traffic filled way:

Or go this way through the mountains and we may see a few Moose or Sheep.

Even though it was supposed to snow we figured we could handle it. We went the long scenic route! It started out great. We drove around the mountains. Saw a few female Elk laying around in someone's yard. Can you imagine seeing this in your front yard? I WOULD LOVE IT!

Then, stopped to buy some "Cherry Cider" at a local Cherry Market.

But, once it started snowing....our excitement turned to scary-ness. At least for me. Kevan seemed to always be calm and under control. I was the one that got quiet, nervous, emotional, etc. The one from MICHIGAN was the one afraid of the snow. Go figure.

It started like this.

Then, turned to this.

We both had to use the restroom and there were only a few places along the way that would help us with this, but the parking lots had too much snow to stop. We thought we might get stuck.

I told Kevan, "The only thing that would make this drive worth it is if we see a Moose! I've never seen a moose before!" Then, we saw this.

God is so great. It's my moose! Ok, maybe not "my moose", but the moose I've been waiting for my whole life. I've always wanted to see one in the wild.

He decided to stop right in front of our car. Kevan didn't want to stop because he wasn't sure if we would get stuck. But, the moose wasn't moving! He sat there and looked at us. I thought he might charge the car, but then he made his way past us and we start up again. Sorry for the steering wheel in the picture.

The moose gave us a little excitement and filled us with hope that we would make it through this blizzard. We just wanted to make it to Walden. Once we got there we thought we would be fine. Also, Walden claimes to be the "Moose Viewing Capital of Colorado". Who wouldn't want to go there?

We made it to Walden and ran into a gas station to use the restroom. We talked to the lady there. She told us we would have to go over ANOTHER mountain before we would make it to Winter Park. I almost died! SERIOUSLY?? Would our marriage make it through this? This is where the priest comes into the story. Just kidding. lol!

We decided to press on. We grabbed some water and food in case we got stranded. The drive was going great until we had to start driving up the mountain. We had another car behind us that Kevan wanted to let pass us (since I was making him drive so slow...oops), but I begged him (literally) to let them stay behind us just in case we got stranded. I wanted someone there to save us!

So, we kept driving about another 1.5 hours....up and down these curvy roads. Snow off/on....of course we argued...I asked him why he chose this route....he told me to stop worrying...he threatened to throw me out of the car. Just kidding. He was probably thinking that, but he didn't say it.

We were about 45 minutes from Winter Park when Kevan noticed the car behind us was flashing his lights (turning them off/on). I got a little scared. We pulled over and then the car came up beside us. There was a man in the car that told us that he was running out of gas and he didnt think he was going to make it and could we follow him. My heart dropped. I didn't know this man. What if he DID run out of gas. So, Kevan prayed that the Lord would be with us and if this man did run out of gas that he would be a nice man who wouldn't harm us in any way. We could not leave someone out there in the middle of no where...so we would have to help him. Then, about 10 minutes later...he ran out of gas! I checked to see if we had cell coverage so I could text my MIL and let her know just in case this was an evil person that was going to steal from us. lol! Then, the man got out of his car, turned toward us and I saw....he was a PRIEST! Yup, a priest.

We gave him a ride to the gas station and then Kevan offered to help him fill his car in the middle of the blizzard. His name was Mijanko and he was from Croatia, but he was currently assigned to a church in the area. There is a little more to the story, but I won't bore you with the details. I was very happy that God blessed us with this special moment to help this man. I can't imagine what would've happened to him if we weren't there to help him. He would've had to walk through the freezing snow or hitched a ride with someone else and as far as I could see....there was no one else.

Here is a picture of what it looked liked then. It was a lot better since we were off the mountain, but it was still cold and snowy.

We arrived at our Winter Park hotel shortly after and enjoyed a nice dinner before falling asleep. I barely made it through dinner I was so exhausted. The next day we only had a few hours before we had to drive back to Denver to fly home. Kevan wanted me to experience Winter Park so he had me go up on one of the tallest lifts. I had never been skiing or to a ski resort.

Anyone that knows me knows that I DO NOT like heights, but I did it for Kev. All I can say is....it was an experience....and....now I know...I will never ski. I'm sorry babe....I know you are disappointed. Here is the view at the top.

On the way to the airport, I saw these too. They were ADORABLE.

Lastly, we saw some buffalo and elk.

That was my Colorado adventure. IF I go back again....I am not going in the winter....I hope.

Kitchen Appliance Closet

2012-01-17T20:05:00.000-05:00

Kevan and I have a 2 page list of projects that we need to work on. Projects like "redo the well house", "finish framing the bedroom windows", "fix chainsaw", and many other projects. Well, we both had the day off yesterday for Martin Luther King Day and when Kevan woke up he asked me what we should work on. Of course, we should work on the MANY projects we need to finish, but what fun is there in that? ;o) So, I told him we should redo our ugly "middle room". Which isn't on our list at all. lol!

The reason I wanted to do this was because I NEED COUNTER SPACE and my appliances take up way too much of it. I wanted an appliance closet. Here is what my counter looked like beforehand.

Our ugly middle room is a room that contains our water heater and a green/yellow shelf unit. We believe this room was the back porch before they built on to the original home. It has an "outside door" in the kitchen leading to it and then another "screen door" leading to the wood stove room (which also used to be a porch before they walled it in). Here is a before picture.

Due to the ugliness of the water heater side of the room I have refrained from showing you for fear you will have nightmares. We've only used this room to hold our recyclables and bird seed. Side note - we do not have garbage pick up where we live (I'm not sure if we can...I've never asked) and we are supposed to take our garbage to a city dump, but Kevan and I HATE the idea of putting things into the landfill. So, we recycle what we can, throw the food trash into the woods for the animals (one day we will compost it or give it to our pig/chickens) and then burn the rest in our outdoor burn bin. Sometimes, we do have items that we can't burn or recycle and those do end up in the landfill, but that doesn't happen very often.

As you can see in the picture above, the room has paneled walls. We have this paneling in a few places in the house (soon to be painted) and one room upstairs that is filled entirely by this paneling (one day maybe I will post pictures). I'm not really sure what the previous owners were thinking. Maybe they thought it was paint by number.

Anyway, the first thing we did was remove the shelf unit and I started to paint the paneling. I had Lowe's tint a small can of Zinsser so it would cover better than regular paint and to ensure it would stick to the paneling. It worked great and the color ended up matching the surround of the screen door perfectly. Then, Kevan built the shelving out of a single 4x8 sheet of plywood. This was a LOT cheaper than buying individual shelving with the pretty laminate. I wasn't really worried about prettiness. I can paint or stain them one day. Here is a picture after the paint and after Kevan installed the shelves. Maybe we can do something to the floor one day...but that isn't a priority right now.

Here is a picture of Kevan sanding the sides a little bit for me. He didn't want me to get a wood splinter. He's so sweet. (Also, the lines you see on the wall are the groove lines in the paneling...no paint can fill those in).

I could barely wait for him to finish and pretty much kicked him out while he was still sanding because I was SO EXCITED to move all of my appliances in. Don't they look great? I also love that I have recycle bins now for metal, plastic and glass!

A picture of my counter now.

Much better. My favorite part of this project wasn't actually the counter space. It was something my husband said before we even started the project. We were in the car on our way to Lowes and I asked him why he was so excited to do this project (because why would he care about my appliances. lol). He said, "Because I know it will make you happy." Is that not the sweetest thing you've ever heard?

But, just so you don't think he is "too" sweet...while we were at Lowes he asked me to hold this big piece of wood with my legs so it wouldn't flip when he stood on it (he was seeing if it could hold his weight since we will be building a bridge).....anyway, when he stood on it, it flipped and SMACKED me in the leg. HARD! I have a 4x4 inch bruise on my leg now. He just laughed. I was almost breaking out crying at Lowes. So, he isn't all sweetness. lol!

Below is a Before and After Pic.

2011 Reading List

2012-01-02T09:07:00.000-05:00

Below are the books that I have read or listened to during 2011. This is mostly for my records so that I know which year I read which book. I did not read as many books this year due to my commitment to read the bible cover to cover. Click the link to view 2010 and 2009.

The Holy Bible (NIV - The Bible in 90 Days) - It took me longer than 90 days, much longer, but I was able to read the bible through from cover to cover. I covered this version in a past post.

The Apothecary's Daughter (Julie Klassen) - it was okay. I liked the characters and the suspense, but the ending was way too rushed. She should've wrote a 2nd book instead of rushing the ending.

Letters of a Woman Homesteader - I enjoyed this book. It is a compilation of real letters that a woman wrote to her previous employer around 1914. She was a single mother who gave up city life to go live as a homesteader in Wyoming. I love how she describes the mountains, the people and the way of life then.

Mary at the Farm and Book of Recipes- this is a cute book, published in the 1920's (true story), about a young orphan girl that is getting married so she spends a short time with her aunt learning how to keep house and cook. It is neat to read about how things were then and the different recipes she makes.

Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte) - this was my favorite fiction book of the year. It was published in 1847. Once I finished the book I also watched all of the movies/television series that have been produced.

Agnes Grey (Anne Bronte) - it was okay. Not as good as Jane Eyre. I probably wouldn't recommend it or read it again.

The Woman in White (Wilkie Collins) - interesting mystery book published in 1860, but seemed very long.

Nourishing Traditions (Sally Fallon) - enjoyed reading this book. I now will never buy margarine again and will try to drink only whole milk and eat more things with meat broths and fermented food. I recommend this book.

The Accidental Farmers (Tim Young) - loved this book because it gave Kevan and I insight into what it will be like when we start accumulating animals for our farm. A lot of heartache though when they lose their animals.

The Contrary Farmer (Gene Logsdon) - I enjoyed hearing the different farm stories and ideas on how to do certain things on the farm, but the writer was a little too liberal for me.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (J.K Rowling) - I've read it previously, but wanted to reread it before the last movie came out. Great series!

The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin - read this as a requirement for my American History class. I did enjoy learning more about Ben Franklin, but it seemed long towards the end.

American Stories: A History of the United States, Volume 1 - this was a requirement for my American History class. For a textbook, I really liked it. If I ever have children and home school I would like to use this book.

Currently reading:

Behold the Lamb of God: An Advent Narrative (Russ Ramsey) - Loving it.

You Can Farm (Joel Salatin) - it is okay, but I'm not really look to make money off farming so a lot of it doesn't really pertain to us. We just want to eat better and produce as much of our own food as we can.

Phantom of the Opera - it's okay so far.

Audio Books via Audible:

Kevan and I read (listened to) the below series together and we loved it! We couldn't wait to go for a drive just so we could listen to it in the car.

A Voice in the Wind (Francine Rivers) - favorite audio book this year.
An Echo in the Darkness (Francine Rivers)
As Sure as the Dawn (Francine Rivers)

We also listened to the books below:

Folks, This Ain't Normal: A Farmer's Advice for Happier Hens, Healthier People, and a Better World (Joel Salatin) - Everyone who is interested in farming or eating better should read this.

Parenting Isn’t for Cowards (James Dobson) - we both enjoyed this book. Which is saying a lot since we do not have children (yet!).

Redeeming Love (Francine Rivers) - I wanted Kevan to listen to it so he would know why I love the book so much. We are still listening to it, but almost finished.

Too Many Babies? Whatever happened to God’s Providence?

2011-12-05T13:27:00.000-05:00

I’ve felt compelled to write an opinion post. Something has been bothering me a lot lately. This post goes out to Christian women. Recently, the news came out with a story about a family with a show on the TLC channel. The name of their show is “19 Kids and Counting”. It is about a family with 19 children. They are taped on family adventures, daily routines, family milestones, etc. Personally, I love the show. I can sit down and watch a show and I don’t have to worry about bad language, sex, drugs, etc. They seem like a very nice family that tries to live their life in a godly way. I feel like they are an inspiration to me and to others in the way they live. Some of the things they have said or done on the show have influenced my daily life.

So, where am I going with this? A few weeks ago, an announcement was made on the news about Michelle Dugger, the mother, being pregnant with her 20th child. Following this announcement several of my friends and family made comments about how Michelle Dugger was irresponsible, should be using birth control, that she is a grandmother and should stop or that they cannot wait for this woman to reach menopause. Now, everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but it has been eating me up inside that EVERY one of these women that made comments are Christian women. Have they read their bibles or listened to the Dugger’s testimony? What happened to God’s Providence in our lives? The Duggar’s were convicted early in marriage that they should rely on God for children and not on their own timing. They lost a child and believed it was due to Michelle being on birth control and were convinced that they had made a mistake. They aren’t creating these children themselves…GOD IS! God says in Jeremiah, 1:5, ” Before I formed you in the womb I knew you…” God formed these children with his own hands. He knew everyone one of their children. Before you judge, think about if you had one less child than you do now. Would you give them up? Of course not. Do you think the Duggar’s would give up ANY of their 19 children? They are a blessing just as God tells us in His Word.

Every one of the Christian women that commented also have their own children. If anyone has a right to be upset over this it would be me. Kevan and I have been struggling for YEARS to have children and God has not given us even a pregnancy. I could be angry that God is giving this family child after child, but won’t give us even one child. But, you know what….I’m not at all angry with God. I think it is wonderful that God is giving this family the blessing of children. I believe in God’s Sovereignty and know that if God is not giving us children there is a reason. A very good reason. If God is giving the Duggar’s more children, then it is His decision to do so and I’m sure he has a very good reason.
Some may be basing their opinion on the fact that Michelle and Jim Bob’s 19th child was born very premature and required a lot of medical care, but SO WAS I. Should it mean that it is a sign from God that they should stop? Of course not. Wouldn’t the sign be that God would not provide them with more children? They are relying on God to determine their family size. Also, I hear that Michelle is putting her life in danger every time she has another child. Everyone’s going to die at some point. God determines our death. I’m sure that Michelle Duggar is a little scared inside due to her last pregnancy, but she has faith that God is there with her. If God decides to take her and leave Jim Bob with all of those children then God will provide for them.

Also, if you have watched the show you will understand that they know that Michelle’s life could be taken in pregnancy or childbirth. At each child’s birthday Jim Bob encourages that child to thank their mother for their birth. He explains that it impacted their mom is various ways to have them (body changes, birth, complications. etc). They don’t take Michelle giving birth lightly, but they put her life in the hands of God. They understand how precious life is.

If you have a problem with Michelle Duggar having another child, your issue is not with Jim Bob or Michelle Duggar, it is with God. If God blesses them with a child then God has a plan in it. If Michelle dies during her pregnancy or during the birth of this child then God has a plan in that too. I pray that does not happen as they are a wonderful family that loves God and I think it would be a sad loss for not just the family, but for the influence she has been on so many. They are raising their Christian family to love the Lord, be productive citizens and to serve others. I think that this is a great thing and more Christian families should be raising up little mini-armies for the Lord. They will impact generations with their children.

For those that think Michelle should go on birth control, I have a few questions for you. Where do you find this supported in scripture? Where in scripture is a child not considered a blessing? Is there scripture that supports their position? If it is not the Bible that is leading your criticism, what is? The world? Aren’t we supposed to be "transforming our minds"? Transforming our minds from what to what? Isn't it from the ways of the world to God's ways?

Why I don't like Bradford Pear Trees

2011-10-29T18:58:00.021-04:00

On August 11th I woke up just like any other day. Grabbed my coffee and then headed to the family room to look out our back windows. I like to look out in the morning and see if there are any critters (deer, birds, rabbits, etc). Well, on this day it seemed so much more sunny and I couldn't figure out why. Then, I saw it! Our Bradford Pear tree had split in the middle of the night. We did not have stormy weather and we didn't even hear it fall.

Here is a picture of the damage.

That is why I don't like Bradford Pears. No rain or storm and it just split and fell over. Now, we had two problems. #1: What do we do with the 1/2 a tree that fell in the yard and #2: What if the rest of the tree fell. If the rest of the tree fell it would fall on our house! I really want to remodel, but that isn't the remodel I'm hoping for.

We decided to start taking care of what fell first. Kevan and his dad "chopped" up the tree so that we could load up the brush on the trailer and take it down to the "burn pit". Then, the rest was cut up to use in our wood stove next winter.

Kevan's dad brough over his chainsaw and helped us out A LOT. I am so grateful for his help!

Once they were finished cutting up most of the part that had already fell they started on the rest of it. Below shows you how they tied a piece of rope to the tree and to the truck so that when Kevan's dad cut the limb Kevan would then start to drive the car forward. It worked. :o)

Here is a picture of Kevan's dad up in the tree.

When the tree fell here is the indentation it made in the ground. I'm glad I wasn't standing under it!

If you can believe it...we are still cleaning up after this tree. It has been MONTHS and many fires later we are still burning the brush and cutting up the firewood.

Burning the brush.

Some projects never end.

Kindle, iPhone, iPad and the Bible

2011-09-07T23:30:00.001-04:00

On September 4th, 2010 I read a post on one of my regular blogs about a woman that read the Bible in 90 Days using the book that Ted Cooper, Jr. put together. I was impressed with her post. I had never heard of anyone reading the whole bible in only 90 days. She had small children so I figured if she could do it, I could do it. If I started on 9/4/2010 I could finish the entire bible by the end of the year....or so I thought.

I'm going to give you a little background on my journey and then give all Christians a great excuse to why they need to save up and buy a Kindle, iPhone or iPad. If they don't have the money, then download the Kindle app (or other eBook app) to your smart phone and purchase the "Bible in 90 Days". The Kindle version is currently, $6.59. Also, if you end up purchasing it, will you purchase it using the Amazon link to the right? That way I will know if my post has made a difference in anyone's life and I can pray for whoever it is that they will succeed. (Of course, I won't know who it is, but God knows)

I need to confess that I had never read the bible from cover to cover. I am ashamed of this and that it has taken me 35 years to do it. I was excited and decided I wasn't going to tell anyone (besides Kevan) that I was going to try. First, because I didn't want anyone to know if I failed and second, because I didn't want the devil to use it as an opportunity to help me fail.

I was very "gung-ho" in the beginning and reached day 40 in about 45 days. Only 5 days behind! Then, things got hard. When reading the "Bible in 90 Days" it takes about 1-1.5 hours to read the daily reading. I was in class and couldn't fit in my reading, my studies plus my full-time job. So, some days it took me 4 or 5 days to get through my daily reading, but I pressed on. The New Year passed me by, then my birthday (April 1), but I continued to read what I could. I finally finished on September 5th, 2011. It took me 367 days, but I did it!

Now, I want to mention my journey of reading the bible using technology instead of a normal paper bible. I have tried several times in my life to read the bible in a year. I never succeeded until now and I believe that part of it was because I had the technology available at my fingertips whenever I wanted to read. I read at home on the couch, in the bathtub (probably 60% of my reading was while I was taking a bath ~ I have a waterproof cover for my Kindle), at the beach, at the doctor, reading out loud in the car to Kevan as he drove and sometimes even at Lowes when waiting on Kevan.

I am so glad that I have experienced reading the bible from cover to cover. There is nothing like it. Reading little bits here and there does not compare to reading Paul's letters one after the other or reading the Old Testament from beginning to end. It is beautiful and it made me realize just how much of a sinner I am and how much I needed Jesus Christ to be the sacrifice for my sin. I am so thankful for my God and for all he has done for me (us). Of course, I knew this before, but the Old Testament really makes it clear how much I fail at living the life I should and the New Testament showed me the love that Jesus had for all of us when he sacrificed himself on our behalf. I loved reading the different Gospel accounts back to back and seeing the slight differences in how each writer told the story. It will help you to appreciate God's holiness and make you realize your unholiness and need for a Savior.

When I started reading I used only my Kindle because I did not have an iPad or iPhone. Being a woman, it was easy for me to carry with me because it fits in my purse. So, anywhere I went I was able to read. Below is a sample of the Reading Plan on my Kindle. I'm sorry for such bad pictures, but I am not a photographer and I didn't have a lot of time to play around with the pics. The Kindle is not this dark...it is just my bad pictures.

Here is the end of the reading plan. You can see that it ends with Day 88, not 90! So, there, you are already 2 days ahead!

I love the fact that if I turn the wireless off on my Kindle the battery will last about 2 weeks. One of my favorite things about reading on a Kindle or iPad is that it tells me my progress. Down in the bottom section it shows me the percentage that I've read. A paper version won't tell you this. That may be why I have always failed. So, when I reached 20% I was so psyched to see the percentage. Then, by 50% I couldn't believe I had already read 1/2 the bible! The funny thing is...as you see below....when you end your reading in Revelation it is actually 94%. So, there....in the percentage you've already gained 6% points! So, you are ahead, again!

I found a few typo errors along the way, especially in Luke for some reason. Then, Revelation 13 starts with 1/2 a word from the previous chapter. The content is correct so I am not worried about the content being incorrect.

When you read on one device and go to the other it remembers where you were last and will come up with a message like the following (this is the iPad).

I enjoyed reading on my Kindle the most, but for highlighting and note taking I preferred the iPad. Also, the iPad has the option to "Share". So, you can share a verse on Facebook or Twitter by just a touch. The iPad was also easier to navigate the Start and End points if you wanted to view where you were. With the iPad it is just a touch of your finger, but with the Kindle you have to use the little mouse thingy and it just does not work that well for me. I have the older Kindle though with the knobby thing.

Here is an example of how to point and highlight or make notes on my iPad. First, I click with my finger:

Then, it will highlight the word and put two dots on each end. If you grab the point with your finger and drag it, it will highlight as much as you'd like.

Here is the whole verse that I highlighted using my finger.

Then, what it looks like highlighted.

Or, you can make notes:

Reading the bible on the iPhone (or Android) using the Kindle app is a little tiny, but I can read it just fine. Since the devices are linked to my Amazon account it remembers where I was when I read last. So, if I'm at the doctor or sitting in my car and I don't have my Kindle or iPad I can just take my iPhone out of my purse and catch up on my reading. [No, I can't seem to take a straight picture!]

Another advantage of reading the 90 day version is that it pushed me to read more if I had time. Because at the end of each section says, "End of Day 1 / Start of Day 2". So, sometimes I would keep reading and push myself until I made it to the section end (which I believe is about 12 pages of reading). I assume the Bible in a Year bibles have the same markers, but I am unsure.

Lastly, while I was reading I would make notes and highlight along the way. All of my notes/highlights are available on all devices, not just the device I highlighted them on. So, now, I can go back through and see what scripture I wanted to follow-up on and learn more. Here is an example of my highlights on my iPad.

And my Kindle:

The Romance of a 100-year Old Home

2011-09-02T12:43:00.011-04:00

As I post things about our house in TN on Facebook or on here I receive so many comments about it being romantic or a beautiful getaway. I thought that I should set everyone straight. I just want to be honest. I should actually post this closer to Halloween, but since I have today off from work I thought it would be a good day to reveal the "romance" of our home.

Warning: This is not romantic, but scary. You may not want to go any further.

This will be revealing WAY MORE than I would like to reveal, but I am hoping one day that the following pictures will be replaced with pictures of a beautiful "getaway" from our hard labor. Very hard labor. You will see what I mean.

Some of you know that I do not go upstairs unless I have to. The big upstairs bedroom is our cat's favorite room. They love it. So, I do have to go up sometimes to search for them, but if Kevan is not home and/or it is night time....I don't venture upstairs.

You are probably thinking, "it really can't be that bad". No! It really is. At least, to a woman, it is THAT BAD.

Are you ready?

This is a picture of the lower steps leading upstairs. They look great (except for the dust...oops!).

Then, as you get the the 2nd set of steps you see that things upstairs are not like downstairs.

Notice the white drywall, brown paneling and house/church paneling. Not sure what they were thinking. Also, the top steps are carpeted. When they redid the bottom steps....why did they leave out the top steps? These are questions we ask all the time when walking around this house. What were they thinking?

In the previous picture you probably noticed the light on the wall. Here is a close-up.

Also, there is a chandelier hanging at the top that I can see was probably once really pretty. I think my mom might like it even now. :o) She loves antiques. [note, I showed this post to her before I posted it and she loved it. She thinks I need to move it to a part of the house where everyone can see it. lol] Reminder, I don't go upstairs...so any dust you see will most likely remain until the items are taking down, thrown away, moved or painted.

Then, you might have noticed that one wall is paneling and drywall. Why didn't they redo the whole wall? Why half of a wall? What were they thinking?

Are you ready to see inside the large bedroom?

Double doors...could be a really nice entrance one day....I'm thinking pretty french doors!

The first thing you will notice when crossing the threshold is the pretty carpet.

Again, what were they thinking? I know, I know....a time long long ago this was in style. Also, they say cats cannot see color. So, maybe that is why they love it upstairs.

The next thing you will notice is the TV in the corner. The previous owners left it for us. I didn't plug it in to see if it works.

Oh, I forgot to mention that this room has no heat or air conditioning. So, they installed an air unit in the wall...which I will not show in this post because, again, I didn't dust beforehand. This will be an issue one day if we redo this room since I will, most likely, want heat!

Did you notice the brand of TV?

General Electric. Kevan works for GE so I had to mention it. :o)

One of Kevan's favorite things about this house/room is the upstairs "balcony". I use this term VERY loosely. When you open the doors to the "balcony" it is actually the tin roof of the house. So, when you step out you are not on a level "balcony", but on a roof that is pitched in all different kinds of ways.

Now, besides the beautiful television they also left a pool table for our recreation. I'm sure they thought they were doing us a huge favor since we now already have 2 items in our "game room". I think Kevan and his dad see hours of fun playing pool. I see something that is going to be really heavy and hard to give away. Maybe my FIL will want it in his basement? ;o)

I actually think the wall structure is very cute and has character. But, I also imagine all of the work that goes along with the redo.

At some point one of the owners of this home decided to install an intercom system so they didn't have to yell downstairs. If you ever visit our house the first conclusion you will come to is that the owners must have been too poor to buy a ruler or a level.

Growing up my grandparents had an intercom system and I thought it was so cool. Now, not so much.

Before you think that all of the walls up here are drywall I will disappoint you by showing you that for some reason one of the walls is paneling. Very pretty house/church paneling. At least, one day a long long time ago I guess this was in style.

Here is a close up.

Now, one last picture of this room that I will leave you with. This is a picture of how straight the walls are where they meet. Again, I think the owners didn't own a ruler or a level. Poor past owners. Must have been hard to do so many projects without the necessary tools. If you can't see what is wrong in the picture below...you probably should not be a carpenter.

Now, my favorite part of this post. Let's imagine what could be done. This is what I'm thinking. Tear out and install nice up-to-date carpeting. Add a few bookshelves for all of our books and you get...

Or add some bead board to the ceiling...(this is what it would look like if we had the money to pay someone to fix it up for us). I love it and especially the skylights!

Maybe one day it will be a game room with a big TV like this one...

And one more for inspiration....

So, not everything about living on a farm in Tennessee is romantic. A lot of it is about hard work and improvements. If we ever finish the Master Bedroom downstairs I will look forward to improving the upstairs. Inside and Out. I won't even go into what the pastures look like or the barn.

Although, we are only hoping to live here for a few years so I am conflicted on whether we should leave it to the next owners or fix it up beforehand. What are your thoughts? What would you do if you owned this home?

Also, don't judge me for the way my house looks upstairs. When I go up there, I see potential. :o) Hopefully, one day....(soon)...it will be pretty and I will be proud to show you my home.

They way I look at it is. God is Sovereign over all things. This is the house he has provided us during our "trial run" at living in the country. The house he wanted us to be in. He could've provided a mansion that needed no improvements, but he provided a home that will require hard work instead. I will be thankful for the things he has provided us in this home and for all the things we will learn along the way. Maybe that will be my next post...."The blessings of a not so perfect 100-year-old farmhouse".

"Be thankful in all circumstances..." I Thessalonians 5:18

Floor Update

2011-08-15T21:19:00.002-04:00

A few people have asked about how the floor is going. I still haven't put the finished poly coat on yet, but I have stained them. Here are a few pics for now to show you the progress.

Remember what it looked like in the beginning after we removing the 2 layers of carpet/foam:

Picture of the floor after the sanding, prior to staining:

Picture after the staining:

Another post stain picture. You will notice a board that is missing toward the right. Kevan and his dad repaired this and it has now been stained.

So, the floor is ready for the "Finish"....I just have to find the time. Hopefully, I will be doing this last step on Friday.

Poison Ivy Cure?

2011-08-12T18:31:00.003-04:00

If you spoke to my husband and asked him the #1 thing he hates about living in the country I'm sure he would tell you that it is his non-stop poison ivy. In the spring and summer it seems that it never goes away. He gets it on his arms and legs mostly, but has had it a few other places. Here is a picture of his leg after his poison ivy reaction. Keep in mind that this usually last a couple of weeks and this pic doesn't even show it at it's worst.

Whenever he works outside he has to come in and go straight to the shower to make sure he washes off all of the oils from the plant. I'm sure the shower helps, but we have read online that you have to wash it off within 15 minutes of exposure. This rarely happens. Then, after the shower we have to wash his clothes and towel to make sure no lingering oils are left on anything because he can still react to it if the oils from his clothing touch his skin. Even though he takes these precautions he still ends up getting it. It seems like everyday he finds a new place that is itchy and red. I feel awful for him. I am not allergic and either are his parents.

I recently did some research and found out that Jewelweed (which normally grows next to the poison ivy plant) is a natural treatment for poison ivy. There are even youtube videos out there of outdoorsman showing you what to do with it. :o) Anyway, I read a blog regularly by Tennessee Farm Girl (http://tnfarmgirl.blogspot.com/). She makes her own soaps and tinctures (and even gives classes on how to do it yourself. I searched her site and learned that she makes a Jewelweed soap and salve. I bought it right away and gave it to Kevan for his birthday. Everytime he comes in he washes with the soap. It has been two weeks and he has not had an outbreak yet. Yay!

Also, I invested in these for times when he does not have a shower readily available. He's only used them once or twice so far so I can't really comment yet on whether they work.

I'll update you in a few months and let you know how he's doing. Tennessee Farm Girl might've developed a cure for my hubby! Thank you farm girl!!

Adventures in Kitty Land

2011-08-12T18:11:00.003-04:00

It has been way too long since I posted. A lot has happened since my last post. We've already been to Florida and back to Tennessee again. While we were gone our porch kitty (I'd call her our barn kitty, but she mostly stays on the porch) was attacked by an animal.

This is her pre-attack.

The vet said he wasn't sure if she would ever be able to walk again since the nerves in her back were damaged and that her tail would need to be amputed. She also lost her bladder control. Yes, bladder control. Eww! He said he wouldn't know for sure for 6 weeks and I just didn't want to give up on her. So, after a few days at the vet my wonderful father-in-law picked her up and took care of her until we were back in TN. I'm sure it was a treat since he is not fond of cats already and he had to take care of one without bladder control and no litterbox habits. Thank you dad! I asked our family and friends to pray for her and God has answered our prayers. Woolie is doing a lot better. We kept her in this make-shift pen most of the day.

It was rough in the beginning having to change her pen newspapers 6 times a day and mop the floor several times a day, but over time she has regained her back legs and her tail is functioning again and won't have to be amputated. Toward the end I bought a pack of puppy training pads and it was much easier to keep the pen lined. She is back outside and even walked with us to the woods the other day to help us release a mouse we caught in the kitchen. [the joys of living in the country] When we released it, she caught it. Don't worry...she didn't eat him. Just played with him for a bit and grew tired of him.

Also, our first week back to TN we brought home a cute little kitten we found roaming the wood pallets outside Lowes. He was soooooo scared. He hissed and bit at Kevan when he picked him up and placed him in the Lowes bucket we used as a makeshift kitty carrier. lol! I think anyone that saw this cute little kitty face would've taken this cute little booger home too. Don't deny it.

He's been doing well. Now that he is in a safe environment he is very loving and playful. We took him to the vet to make sure he doesn't have feline HIV or leukemia and he tested negative. Yay! So, we introduced him to our kitties. They do not care much for the little guy and are actual scared of him. They hiss and growl so we are hoping they will get used to him. He wants to play with them and they will have nothing to do with it.

We are having a naming dilemma. Back when we had our old cat Misty we were trying to figure out what to name our two new kittens. We decided on Aubie (Auburn's mascot of course) and Stormie to stay with a weather theme. We joked about how if we ever had another cat we would have to name it Partly Cloudy. We laughed so hard we could barely stand it. So, now that we have this new kitten we've decided to name him Partly Cloudy since he has blue eyes and white/gray/black fur...sorta partly cloudy, right? I call him Partly and Kevan calls him Cloudy (sometimes we call him P.C. for short). Well, the vet and a few family members have told us we need to pick out a new name because it is dumb. What do you think? Does he look like a Partly?

Woolie Worm!

2011-06-12T20:45:00.003-04:00

The first morning we woke up back at the farm I walked into the family room and looked out at the view. I was a little overwhelmed at how high the grass was after being gone for several weeks, but I was happy to be back. Then, suddenly, I realized...I wasn't alone. I had two eyes staring back at me.

I quickly grabbed my camera so I could tell Kevan about this new kitty. Aubie found him also and was sitting in the window looking at the new kitty. I think Aubie was jealous because he's not allowed to go outside. They talked to each other in kitty language for a little bit.

I knew, for sure, that this kitty would run the moment I tried to get near her. I went to the kitchen to get her some food and water. I just knew she would run the moment I brought it to her. Boy was I wrong. She seemed so happy to see me and acted like she was starving. As she was eating I went to wake up Kevan. This is what happened next...

She loves us. Unfortunately, she was in need of a lot of love! We petted her off/on all day. Then, she cried all night long!! Sorry Judy! Judy spent the night and had to turn the air conditioner on to drown out the meow-ing. We were pretty scared that this was going to be an ongoing thing, but once we fed her once more and loved on her she stopped her continuous crying.

When we are outside she is always there following us around. If we are working she will lay near us to watch. When we went fishing she followed us all the way down to the pond. She is a sweet girl!

She doesn't leave the yard. When I feed her in the morning she is waiting on the porch and she is pretty much on the front or back porch the whole day. Sometimes she wanders a little, but always comes when I call her. We decided to name her "Woolie" since Kevan thought she looked like a Wooly Worm. lol! She is so adorable. She still cries at the window now and then, but that's ok. She just needs a little love and then she calms down again.

She is really funny. She acts like she needs love so bad, but after about 5 minutes or so of petting or brushing her she tires of it and will try to bite you if you pet her anymore. It is pretty funny.

When we went to Michigan I was scared she wouldn't be here when we got back since no one was here feeding her. But, she was on the porch when we drove up. I'm not sure what we will do with her when we head back to the city, but for now I am feeding her and loving her.

Why a Farm?

2011-06-10T20:54:00.002-04:00

Kevan and I have been asked why after years of living in the city would we want to move to the country? Not just that question, but why move so far from a major city? Well, let's go back about 4 years. Kevan and I love audible.com. When we travel we love listening to books together. We listen to political, historical and Christian books mostly, but this time we chose a book called, "The Omnivore's Dilemma," by Michael Pollan.

The book talks about the Natural History of Four Meals. Mr. Pollan talks about corn, chicken, industrial farming, organic and sustainable agriculture. He goes through the life of corn. From the seed, to the farm, to the elevator and all of the different places that corn ends up before it gets to our table. Same with chicken. It is ironic that during Michael Pollan's discussion of corn/chicken in our fast food that Kevan and I were sitting at a fast food place eating a fast food burger, cheese curds and a high-fructose corn syrup filled Root Beer. Anyway, this book opened our eyes to the food we eat. It made us stop and think about where our food is coming from and do we really want to eat this junk?

Now, everyone knows we still eat fast food, buy from the grocery store, etc., but this book was the start of our journey towards moving back to the land and trying to find a way to grow (vegetable, meat, dairy, etc) our own foods.

Another book that I loved was Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver. This book is the journey of one family from the city in Arizona to land in the Virginia mountains where they live off of the land (or from local farmers) for 1 year. They grow their own vegetables (including asparagus), make their own cheese, harvest their own eggs/chickens and visit the local farmer's markets to enjoy only locally grown foods. The book chronicles their journey through this and the struggles that each family member had giving up things they love that they cannot get locally (coffee, chocolate, bananas, etc).

After reading this book Kevan and I made our own mozzarella cheese, canned several items and it also kindled the dream of one day owning my own chickens for eggs and meat. We started to read more farming magazine's (Countryside Magazine is my favorite) to get a better idea of living off the land and this gave us a dream of living off the grid and not having to depend on the electric company for our power. So, while we are still living part of the time in the city we are still researching and living through the books and magazines we read.

It was not only the the books that changed our heart to want to live a simpler life, but also my father-in-law's 80-acre farm.

When we visit my father-in-law life seems to slow down. The days seem longer and you are consumed with the beauty that God created. It makes us stop and appreciate so many more things that we just take for granted on most days. You notice the birds, the flowers, the clouds, the sun, the rain and you can even imagine the history of this land and the family that lived here before. When we are in the city we just do not notice these things as much.

We have seen several baby cows shortly after birth and have rejoiced that God allowed us to be there for it and see this beautiful baby cow that He created.

One of my favorite things to do is get up early, go for a walk and find a place to read my bible. There is no feeling like it. It just doesn't feel the same to read my bible in my room in the city as it does to read my bible sitting outside where everywhere I look you see God's creation.

While visiting we've fished, hiked down to the creek, had a picnic outside, walked the land, drove the 4-wheeler around, fed the cows, moved hay, and dreamed. Dreamed of one day having a house on the hill overlooking the amazing view that God has blessed my father-in-law with every morning.

Although, there are always things that are not so pretty. There are spiders, ticks, chiggers (they love me), cow deaths, cow pies, drought, flood, mud, freezing rain, extra dirty laundry...but we are hoping the good days will outweigh the bad days.

I just finished the book Accidental Farmer, by Tim Young. He has a chapter in the book about the realization of the hard times on the farm. I know that there will be hard times, hard chores and sadness at the death of animals we love, but Kevan and I feel this is where God wants us. Life is about hard times and good times whether it be in the city or in the country and we are choosing the country.

To answer the question about why we would move so far from a major city. The answer is LAND. There are not many big parcels available anymore. They are now strip malls, subdivisions or just too expensive to purchase. As you get away from the city land becomes more inexpensive. When Kevan's dad purchased the Mountain Creek place at an auction this became our "trial run" at living in the country, far from a nice movie theater and our favorite chain restaurants. We have to plan our purchases now when we go to town and sometimes we don't leave the house/property for days. Living in the country is so different than living in the city and having access to so many things. Especially sushi and Starbucks. We won't find either in our little rural town.

We are thankful that his dad (and God) provided us with this trial run. We hope one day we will have the means to build a house on his father's 80 acres and live out our lives there just as my father-in-law is. And, if God chooses to bless us with children one day they will have a beautiful yard to play, learn and grow up and have vegetables and meat that we have grown ourselves and know where it all came from.

The Day is Finally Here....

2011-05-31T23:57:00.001-04:00

This is a very special week for me. In a few days we will be driving to Michigan to celebrate my sister's high school graduation. I can't believe the day is almost here. I am so proud of her. She received a volleyball scholarship so she will be attending college in the fall.

I remember 15 years ago when I moved 12 hours away from where I grew up. She was 3 years old. I think the hardest part was leaving my little sister and knowing in my heart that I may never move back. I may never see her grow up. I was right. It still breaks my heart to remember it. I told my mom I would only be gone 1 year and I have now been gone 15! Where does the time go? I'm sorry Mom!

It makes me sad that I was not there to see her grow up on a daily basis. I know I missed out on so much.

Although, I'm a little over protective so maybe it was a good thing as I'm sure I would've drove her crazy. I remember when she came to visit me when I lived in Chicago. I was so scared for her to come and be my sole responsibility for the week. I was scared we would get into a car accident and she'd get hurt. Or something else would happen and she would get hurt. It worked out great though. Well, except the part where she refused to go to church because she didn't like the shoes my mom had packed for her. She was 7! I had to stop by Target on the way to church just to buy her new shoes so she would go. We had a special week together (minus the kitten dying! Sorry Tasha for that bad memory!).

Also, I remember the time when we attended a family wedding. I did my hair up and my mom did Tasha's hair down. She was devastated! She said, "All the boys will want to dance with Jaydie and none of them will dance with me!" All because my hair was up! In the end, I'm pretty sure she danced with a 9-year-old boy that night and asked my parents to lie about her age. She was only 7 and she was already worried about boys! Things haven't changed!

I wanted a sister growing up because brother's were too rough. So, when my parent's adopted Tasha I was so excited to finally have my sister, even if I was 17 years old when she came along. I loved her from the moment I saw her (the day she was born). We may not look like sisters on the outside, but to me she is 100% my sister in my heart and until someone mentions how different we look I actually forget.

She was the most adorable little girl and boy did she love the attention (still does!). If we walked into a store everyone went right to her and she was such an actress! She loved to act out Shirley Temple or Maria Von Trapp (from The Sound of Music) or she would make up her own songs. She has always been so talented, whether it was sports, music, school, etc (unlike her older sister). I can't even count how many times she has been in the local newspaper for her sport's achievements.

I'm so glad that God blessed me with her as my sister. Even though she is my only sister I am not her only sister. I have to say...it makes me a little jealous to think she has other sisters and I'm not her only one. But, I am glad that her sisters have a sister like her too because she is one special young woman.

The whole family (including the extended family) has tried to support her in any way we can...probably too much at times. Instead of having one mom I'm sure she felt like she had at least 5. We are a very close family so if Tasha was going through something we all felt like we were going through it with her. If her heart breaks so does ours. If she is overjoyed, so are we.

Now, she is going to college. Tasha, I pray that during this time you will remember that God loves you and wants to be close to you. To call on Him when you are hurting or need help (even if it is just a prayer to win a volleyball game!). This is an important transition in your life and decisions now may be lifetime decisions. Good or bad. I pray that you find a husband that loves God and who treats you like a princess (I think she would insert "Diva". lol). I love you Tasha Amber! I can't wait to see you graduate on Sunday, but I'm not sure I can ever think of you as an adult. You will always be my beautiful little sister and I will always want to take care of you and be over-protective of you! Thank you God for the most amazing sister (I love you too Don and Dave, but sister's are just so much more special. lol!)

A Pretty Bluebird Couple and The Mean Bird

2011-05-09T20:53:00.007-04:00

One of the first things we noticed when we started staying at the Mountain Creek Farm was the number of bird boxes/houses all over the barns, yard, porch, etc.

Many of them are broken or need to be repaired so I was unsure if we would ever have birds living in them.

As you can see from the one above, the entrance has had repairs before. The previous owner placed a template over the top of the original hole. The reason for this is because the bluebird only needs a 1 1/2" hole in order to enter the house. If it is larger than that other birds can take over their home and as you can see above a bird had previously made the hole bigger in order to take over their home. At some point Kevan and I will try to create templates and encourage the nicer birds (bluebirds, sparrows, nuthatches) and try to discourage the more larger mean birds as you will hear about below.

One morning Kevan and I noticed a little head poking out of one of the houses that is attached the barn. We were so excited.

Then, we noticed that it was a bluebird couple. The boy bird is hanging out above the house on the edge of the barn roof watching to make sure his wife is safe. See below? Now, I know that in the bird world the male is the prettiest, but I like to think it was the male looking out for the female...so stop thinking about how much prettier the bird on the house is and how vibrant it's colors are...I think it's a girl. :o)

And this is the boy...(husband)

And he is looking out for his honey...keeping watch...

And why must he keep watch? I will tell you. Because there is this "not-so-nice-bird" called the shiny cowbird. This bird is known as a brood parasite. This means that they do not lay eggs in their OWN nests, they lay eggs in OTHER birds nest and make them hatch them and raise them. It is pretty interesting and a little funny to think that other birds will hatch their babies. But, if you do a quick google search on cowbirds you will read that most birds try to push the alien egg out of its nest and the cowbird comes back and takes revenge on them. Poor bird couples just trying to have their own babies and the cowbirds have to come and spoil it.

When you watch them ripping apart a nice bluebird nest it will make you mad. It made my husband so mad he threatened to go get his gun and shoot this cowbird if he saw him do it one more time. I think the cowbird heard him...because we never saw him bother the bluebirds again.

You can't see it in this picture, but the bluebird flew away and the cowbird swooped in and started ripping their nest out of the house. It was so sad. But, luckily that was the last we saw of him.

Update: so the picture above of the cowbird looks like a grackle, but we think it is a cowbird. Here is a picture of one of the cowbirds on our feeders (from my previous post of the cowbird). In the sun these 2 had a brown head and do not look like a grackle, but the one above does even though I don't think he is.

The Beauty of God's Creation

2011-05-04T22:19:00.042-04:00

Well, I've been back to Florida for 4 days and I already miss our farm. I miss the land, the colors, the sounds, the stars and "our" birds. So, I decided to type up a post that shows all of the birds that come to visit us. I will probably do several posts since I won't be able to fit them all into one.

Back in December we would see various birds and as it got warmer the types of birds changed. During the winter months we saw....(you may want to click on each picture to view them bigger as they are just so beautiful).

Robins...

Cowbirds (more on cowbirds in another post)...

Female Cardinals...

Male Cardinals...

Fat Finches....red ones...

and yellow ones...

and the cardinals even waited their turn...

Sparrows..

Nuthatches..

Then we started to see less Robins, Cow Birds and more Blue Jays...

Rose-breasted Grosbeak...

Bluebirds...isn't he cute? More on him in another post...

Tufted Titmouse (yes....that was not a typo)...

Hummingbirds in our Pear tree...

Bright yellow male finches...

Woodpeckers...

Hummingbirds at our feeders...

They were watching us...

and Indigo Buntings...

Well, okay....we only saw one Indigo Bunting, but it was so worth it. Isn't he beautiful. I'm hoping to follow-up with a few more posts on birds...some stories, but I will have to wait until another night. I'm off to bed. Good night everyone. Please feel free to comment so I know people are actually reading my blog. :o)

"Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds!" (Luke 12:24)

One of my favorite things...

2011-04-18T18:43:00.003-04:00

I've had quite a few people ask me about my kindle cover recently so I thought I would blog about it. I've had my kindle since November 2009 so I have the older version, but I'm sure the cover for the new version works just as well.

One of the things I LOVE about my cover is that it is splashproof. I love this cover because I read each night while I take a bath and occasionally read while we are at the beach. The cover keeps water and sand from getting to my kindle. The cover is great. I can't say enough good things about it.

As you can see, the front, all of the buttons, connections, etc are covered. I never take my kindle out of this case. My kindle looks just as new as it did the day I received it. When I need to plug it in to charge it I just undo the velcro on the bottom and plug it in.

I purchased the cover from amazon. Here is the link to my version of the cover:

http://www.amazon.com/OCTOVO-Splash-Display-Generation-Kindle/dp/B002BB68WU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=digital-text&qid=1303165149&sr=1-1

Here is the latest generation version. As you can see it is a little different.

http://www.amazon.com/OCTOVO-Tirim-splash-proof-case/dp/B004FUU54C/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1303167652&sr=8-1

I can hardly wait!

2011-04-13T22:46:00.002-04:00

As most of you know, one of my dreams is to one day own my own chickens. I love them! I can't wait to go searching for their eggs and I can't wait to have homegrown organic chicken for dinner. I know....I don't know if I will be able to do the latter, but it sure would be nice to eat my own homegrown meat.

Anyway, Kevan and I went to a store tonight and when we walked in....I heard CHIRPING! You should've seen me. I ran right to them. I was soooooo excited! Look how cute they are!!

They had 4 tubs (or troughs) of chickens and 1 tub of duckies! I was in heaven. I'm sure everyone in the store thought I was crazy taking pictures of their chickens. Yes, I'm a city-person who is a wanna-be country woman! I was so happy to see them all with their little beaks and cute little wings flapping. I love them!

Here are the duckies. I almost had my husband convinced we should get a few. Although, I wouldn't want them at the pond because I can't see it from the house. Make sure to click on the picture to make it bigger because you have to see their cuddliness up close! I love them!

I can't wait until we are here full-time and can go purchase our chickens and ducks. I can't wait until the day we build our coop and get it ready for my "ladies"! Have I said how much I love them??

Our First Farm Babies!

2011-04-11T22:34:00.007-04:00

Well, we had our first farm babies born today! It is a pretty funny story actually. Both Kevan and I were on conference calls in different rooms. We both saw something out the window and noticed that 2 people were walking into our barn. It was kind of scary at first because you wonder why someone is on your property and why would they be going into an old barn.

Then, Kevan walked out there to see what was going on. I looked out the window and saw a teenage girl run out of the barn and down our driveway to the neighbor house across the street. I asked to be excused from my call for a few minutes. Then, I sped out the other door to make sure Kevan was okay. I got really scared when I saw someone in black come out of one of the rooms toward him. Well, he told me everything was fine and to go back to my conference call.

Turns out the neighbor girls noticed blood on their dog earlier in the day and then they followed her to our barn to see what was up. Turns out she had 6 puppies under one of the floors of our barn. I wasn't able to take a picture of where they were because it was so far under the barn, but I did get a picture once they were out (the neighbors came and got them). Look, their eyes weren't even open yet!

Here is the mama (Casey). She is a really good dog. She follows us around and rolls around on our porch so we pet her belly. She has two different colored yes which is a little freaky, but she is sweet.

I'm sad the babies aren't in our barn anymore. I can't wait until we have another animal in the barn! Someday! Once we are here full time. :o)

An Update On Our Demolition Project

2011-04-10T20:36:00.001-04:00

This weekend, Kevan and I decided to rent a belt sander so we could work on the wood floors in the master bedroom. The belt sander cost about $42 a day (plus the cost of sandpaper), but since they are not open on Sundays we got a day for free.

Once we made it home with the sander I realized we were a little early on the rental. We still had a lot of the carpet still on the floor.

If you remember my earlier post when we pulled up the 2 sets of carpeting and pad there was padding leftover that was glued down. We pulled up the rest of the carpet/padding and started working on the pad/glue. We had to sit and scrape all of the black pad and glue from the floor before we could sand. It is hard work. Saturday night my arms felt like they were going to fall off. One word...Ibuprofen! :o)

While I scraped Kevan started using the sander. You would think it was easy to use a sander, but it isn't. It is hard on your arms. Also, you don't push it...you pull it. The harder it is to pull the better the sanding job. Also, you CANNOT let it sit on a certain area or it will sand too much and create burn lines on the floor. I know because I did it. I learned quickly.

Here is what the floor looked like when we started the sanding.

After a few passes. This will give you an idea of what it looks like.

A few more...

In the above picture you can tell that the middle is the most past area, followed by the bottom. Then, the top is where we haven't passed at all.

After a few HUNDRED passes...here is what it looks like.

We only worked on it about 4 hours today since we had church this morning. But, this is what the room looked like when we stopped tonight.

The sander is due back in the morning by 8am. We were really discouraged when we stopped today. We have been second guessing ourselves wondering if we are doing the right thing. 2 people that stopped by told us that we should just carpet over it. I just feel bad carpeting over almost 100-year-old oak hardwood floors. After writing this post though and reminding myself of where we started I feel a bit better. I also looked online at the prices for flooring for a 14x15 foot room and it would be $900 (installed) for carpet and $1,000 for oak hardwood (installing ourselves). After seeing the prices I feel a lot better too since we have only put out less than $100 so far. We will need to do it at least one more weekend and then buy the polyurethane, but it will still only be about $300 for hardwood floors, plus the experience of having done it ourselves and the special-ness of having original flooring.

To give you an idea of how I feel after 2 days of scraping, sanding, vacuuming, sweeping and throwing the cats out of the room over and over again....I'm ready to go back to my day job tomorrow. It requires no manual work whatsoever. My back, arms, wrists don't ache from working at a computer all day. I can sit in my PJ's until noon if I want to and just use my fingers to type. I can't wait to sit on my bum and work at my laptop tomorrow. :o)

A Walk in the Country

2011-04-07T21:34:00.010-04:00

I was talking to my dad on the phone the other day and he asked me what everything looked like right now. The trees, flowers, river, etc. You see, he is up in the freezing cold north and there is hardly any hint of Spring yet. So, I've decided to put this post together for him so he can see how much everything has changed since he was here last.

Everyday Kevan and I try to take a walk to the bridge down the road (not to be confused with the bridge on our property). We have not yet measured how far it is to get to the river from here, but I'm guessing it is a 1/2 mile or so. We start out from our driveway and this is what we see.

As we walk down the road we always run into this doggie. He does not like us passing his house. He is so funny because he will not bark until we have reached his "parents" yard. Then, he will bark until we pass. EVERY time. We have tried making friends, but he won't have it. Also, there is no fence so he could approach us, but he doesn't.

While we walk down our road we see many trees and flowers. I am not an expert on plants (as my mother-in-law knows well) so I cannot tell you the names. But, I love to look at them! Here are a few pretty yellow flowers...

Purple flowers...

Flowering tree..

White flowering bush...

Tulips...

We have to walk up this hill on the way to the bridge.

As we get closer to the bridge we pass this beautiful old farmhouse. We met the woman that lives here the other day. She was a schoolteacher her whole life and the original farmhouse is from the late 1800's. They have added on to it several times. The main house (in the picture) is over 100 years old. I love passing this house on the way to the bridge.

This little guinea lives there too. Isn't she cute?

Now, we've rounded the corner and are finally at the bridge. Only one car can go over the bridge at a time.

When standing on the bridge here is a view to the left.

Here is the view to the right. You can see the neighbor's cows in the background.

I took a picture of some moss growing on the bridge. I thought this was a pretty cute picture.

As we walk every once in a while we will see a corn cob on the ground. This is from the farmer that lives down the road. Hopefully, one day during harvest time I will get a few pictures of him carrying his corn away. The little hopper trailers look like mining trailers. It is cute.

Lastly, just so you don't think everything is beautiful and romantic in the country. Here is a picture of something that we saw on our walk tonight. Something, I don't care to see again. WORMS....lots of WORMS! They may be caterpillars...but they sure look like worms to me!

If anyone knows the names of any of the flowers, trees or bushes I pictured above let me know.

Love you dad. I can't wait to see you here again soon!

Hungry Hungry Cows!

2011-04-05T22:20:00.003-04:00

Kevan and I drove over to his dad's farm tonight to check on the cows. When we first drove up I noticed this big lump of black up on a hill near a cow. I figured it must be a new calf.

While Kevan was putting air in the gator's tires I went through the gate and walked up to the hill to see if it was a new baby calf. I was scared that it was dead. It wasn't moving at all. The mother was getting upset with me and I was a little scared of her so I decided to walk back and get into the gator to drive up there. They recognize the gator since Kevan's dad drives it around the farm.

As we got closer I was convinced it was dead. It still wasn't moving at all.

Then, I noticed it blink. I was so happy. The mama cow was not happy with us. You can see here that she is screaming at us.

The mom started to nudge the baby and it finally stood up and walked away with her.

Then, it was time to feed the cows. Kevan got on the tractor and drove over to the row of hay.

He stuck the hay spike into one of the rolls of hay. (That is a neighbor in the picture. He came over to help us.)

Then, Kevan picked it up and drove it out into the pasture.

Then left it in the pasture for them. They acted like they had never eaten. They were HUNGRY!

There was little dog following us around the whole time. I've never met this dog before so I'm guessing it was a neighbor's dog. By the time we finished another neighbor's dog also came to say hello. That is what happens when you are in the country.

Before we left we drove around the whole farm to check the fences. We had really bad storms last night and wanted to check to make sure nothing fell onto the fence. Here is a picture of the view from one of the hills we drove over. That is the barn on the other side of the farm, where we fed the cows. The place where we took the picture is where we hope our next house is built someday. So, that will be our view every morning.

The only bad part of this whole thing was the amount of manure that was splattered onto me from the wheels of the gator. Oh, farm life! Time to wash my clothes....

I'll leave you with the new baby picture...her eyelashes are so pretty.

Our Bridge on Mountain Creek

2011-04-04T21:29:00.008-04:00

One of the things Kevan and I love to do is walk (or take the 4-wheeler) down to our bridge. Yup, our property in Tennessee has a bridge. A big cement bridge. It seems that there used to be a road (many many years ago) that went through our current property. Our neighbors have heard that the reason it stopped being used was because our pond developed over the road and was no longer accessible and the road was moved. So, I guess I'm thankful for our pond too. Otherwise there would be a big road going through our property.

We have seen turtles, fish, frogs, otters and we've even seen evidence of beavers down at the creek. Below is a picture of the bridge. The neigbors own the property on the other side of the bridge and as you can see they have allowed everything to grow up to the bridge. Our neighbor said that the bridge hasn't been used by traffic in over 60 years.

Here is a picture of Mountain Creek from August of last year.

Sunday we drove down to the creek to just sit, relax and listen. We were told there are pretty big trout and bass in the creek, but we have only seen a few little fish here and there.

Anyway, each time we visit, the amount of debris that is up against the bridge becomes larger and larger. Each time it rains garbage, trees, pvc pipes, etc is pushed down the creek and it becomes stuck at our bridge. It is really sad. Here is a picture from August of the debris.

Here is a picture from December, right after a heavy rain.

Lastly, here is a picture from this past weekend. As you can see, it is getting worse and worse. At some point we would like to start cleaning up some of the debris, but it is going to be a HUGE job and a dangerous job.

Another view...

The clog is starting to cause erosion around the bridge. So, if the debris isn't cleared out we may not have a way to the bridge soon.

Here is a video that will give you a better idea of how bad it is. You can see the debris as well as the erosion in the video.

I guess we will try to conquer this once we finish the master bedroom, paint the barn, fix the leaks in the house....living on a farm seems to have never ending chores....I might be missing Florida...just a little.

Demolition of the Master Bedroom

2011-04-02T22:29:00.004-04:00

Kevan, Kevan's dad and I started the demo work of tearing down the wall paneling and taking up the flooring in our master bedroom here in Tennessee. When you start looking behind the walls and under the carpet of a 1930's home you are bound to find something you were not expecting. Unfortunately, I did not take a before picture of the bedroom, but here is a picture that shows the old paneling as well as the wall underneath. Click the picture to make it bigger.

I'm sorry for the blurry picture, but I wasn't using my good camera. As you can see from the picture we were very surprised when we removed the paneling and found a shiplap wall (sort of like tongue and groove).

You can sort of see that the wall was wallpapered with old newspapers. I was able to find a date on the newspaper that was 1913. So, I am unsure if the house is older than 1930 or if they wallpapered with older newspapers. We haven't decided what we are going to do yet. We had planned to tear down the paneling and then drywall, but we didn't know that the wall would not reveal normal framing. Also, we need insulation so we may have to do spray insulation between the boards.

The next surprise was that there were 2 layers of carpet and padding on the floor. Under the carpet and padding we found tongue and groove quarter sawn oak flooring. You can see the condition of the floor below. The backing of the 1st layer of carpet has stuck to the flooring. The floor seems to be in pretty good shape though. If we can successfully remove the black backing and sand the floors they may turn out to be quite nice.

We aren't sure if this is good news or bad news yet. We'll keep you updated. My body is so sore...who knew demo work would be so tiring. I thought it was supposed to be the fun part.

Let there be light....

2011-02-19T21:40:00.004-05:00

Kevan started working from home about 6 months ago. He moved into our office and started to realize that even though there is an overhead light it was way too dark to work when the day is overcast or when he is working late. He decided to install recessed lighting (or can lights). So, one day he went to home depot and bought the supplies (4 can lights + supplies). I was pretty surprised how easy it was (although, I wasn't the one doing all the work).

First, he measured the office and then he measured in the attic and then he measured somemore. I came in and stared at it with him and made suggestions and then he measured somemore. Then, we decided this was the best place for the first one so he taped up the template.

He purchased this really cool hole saw kit that traps most of the dust and ceiling peices when you cut the hole for the ceiling. We had the Klein version, but Amazon has one that is similar to give you an idea.

Here is what the ceiling looked like after he cut it with his hole saw.

He just used a razor knife to remove the remaining drywall. As you can see from my floor....it doesn't catch everything. Insulation fell through from the attic.

But, look how much dust/popcorn ceiling pieces were not on my floor.

Then, he went up in the attic and fed down a cable to me in the office.

He finished wiring the light, I handed him the clips and now the can is safely in the ceiling.

He then added the trim ring and the light bulb and we ended up with this.

We didn't like the bulb sticking out so we went back to the Home Improvement store and purchased a different trim ring that allowed the receptacle to mount differently in the can. This way the light bulb goes all the way up into the can and I think it looks much better.

Now, his office has a lot more light and he will be able to see better when working. Here you can see two in the picture, there are 4 total. (Also, pretend you don't see his messy desk and we know the fan is off-center...we have no idea what the previous owners were thinking)

Lastly, Kevan didn't want to use the same switch as the fan so that he could use one and not the other. So, he also wired a new switch. In his defense, it is perfectly straight, but his wife (the picture taker) was apparently leaning when she took the picture. Also, it is a dimmer switch so he can dim the lights if they are too bright.

Now, I'm about to confess something that I'm very embarrassed of. Are you ready? This is what my hallway looks like when my husband is working on a home improvement project.

Now, I could be a naggy wife and nag him until it is put away, but I wait patiently for ~~several~~ a few weeks for him to finish the project and at some point he decides it is time and cleans it up. Or, I warn him that someone is coming over. At least he lines it all up on one side I guess so we can walk down the left side. :o) The clothes lying on the floor is his "outfit" he wears when he's up in the attic. So, I guess it does fit in with the other tools/stuff on the floor. Anyone know how to keep your husband organized while doing a home improvement project? I need ideas that will help me keep my house clean, but not nag him to death. I want to be able to sweep/vacuum my hall without having to go around everything.

My New Fashion Accessory

2011-02-17T21:10:00.000-05:00

While Kevan and I were in Tennessee I started having pain in my foot whenever I would walk on it. I thought it would go away so I tried my best to ignore it. After a few weeks we came back to Florida and we went to an RV Show in Tampa. I realized by the end of the day that I had something seriously wrong with my foot. So, I finally broke down and went to a foot doctor.

Unfortunately, I came home with this....

I found out that I have a stress fracture on the arch of my foot and because I walked on it for 2 months I also have tendonitis. I learned that when your body is in pain you should go to the doctor when it starts, not months after you've been in pain!

I've had my cast on for 2.5 weeks now. Over these last couple of weeks I have come up with a pro and cons list of wearing a cast. Let me say, the con list is FAR longer than the pro list. When I was young I thought it would be so cool to break something and have to have a cast or crutches. Let me tell you, "IT.IS.NOT.FUN"! If you think it might be, read my list below:

Cons:

My foot/leg itches and I can't scratch it!! It is awful!!
I don't like my new waddle. I'm no longer level so I waddle around and I'm sure it looks pretty funny.
I can't shave my leg under my cast! Ewwwwww!!
The cast material is VERY rough so it scrapes off my skin if my other leg rubs against it. At night I have to put on 2 knit socks because I either scrape myself or Kevan's skin off during the night. One sock I cut the toes off of so it would slide all the way on and then the other sock goes on the bottom (see pic below).
During the day (while working at my desk) I like to sit "Indian Style" in my chair....I can't do it now! It is very frustrating and it is very hard to concentrate because I'm not in my comfortable work position.
I can't drive because it is my right foot.
My husband has to chauffeur me. It is not good for my marriage. I am a backseat driver and ~~am totally~~ a little scared of his driving.
I miss putting my jeans on in a normal fashion. Now, it takes me about 4-5 minutes just to get them on and about 4-5 minutes to take them off. Jeans are not made to maneuver around a cast. They are not a very giving material. But, I am very happy and blessed that I can even get them on. I love my jeans!
I miss having two socks on and not having to stretch a HUGE knit sock over my cast in order to warm my toes that are sticking out the bottom.
I can't sleep because I am a stomach sleeper. I can't lay on my stomach because I would have to twist my leg in order to lay it flat OR let my leg stick up in the air with my toes smashing into the mattress. Even my sleep number bed can't help me with this one.
I can't walk long distances or for a long period of time.
I am a bath person and I normally take a bath almost every night and read. It is VERY hard to get in and out of a left-sided tub when you can't step into the tub to get in. It is also really hard to get out. Luckily, my husband built me a wooden bar so I can set my leg on it instead of it laying in the tub getting wet. BUT, this doesn't help with getting in and out so I only take a bath about once a week now.
I can't use my ankle. Do you know how often you use your ankle? A LOT! If I'm sitting in a chair usually my foot would be flush with the floor. Nope. Not with a cast. It is in the permanent L position.
Did I say....I can't drive and it is REALLY bad for my marriage.
I walked on the cast without my "special shoe" so the bottom of it is kind of cracked. It makes cracking noises when I walk sometimes.
I'm constantly wanting to take my shoe off and then I realize it's a CAST! It doesn't come off.

Pros:

I only have to shave one leg. :o) (see cons list #3 above)
I only have to wash 1/2 the number of socks I normally do since I can only wear 1 each day instead of 2. :o)
I have a chauffeur (see cons list #6, 7, & 14 above).

Ok, so that is all I can come up with for the Pros list. One cool thing I also want to mention is this really cool cast cover I purchased from Amazon.com. I slip it on before I take a shower/bath and it leaves my cast completely dry. It is pretty awesome. It was only $13 and should last through the whole 6 weeks of my cast's life. If you know someone with an arm/leg cast this is definately a wonderful gift! Here is a pic of it on.

Here is a pic of my fancy knit sock(s) I wear to bed. One down side to this is that my male kitty LOVES socks like this so he is always trying to play with it or bite it. It is funny, but I'm scared I'm going to step on him and hurt him. Isn't it cute though? It's pink!

Ewe's not Fat!

2011-01-28T23:20:00.001-05:00

This is Stormie. She's my baby-girl.

She is a Tonkinese kitty (a Burmese Siamese mix). She is 5 1/2 years old and she was the runt of her litter. When we went to the breeders to pick up her brother, Aubie, we couldn't leave without her too. She was an adorable little alien kitty!

It is funny how different 2 cats can be when they are from the same litter. Here is a pic of them with their sibling that was adopted by another family.

Stormie craves love. She likes to be held. She likes to sit in our laps, but she loves our shoulders even more.

She enjoys anything that provides her with our undivided attention. When I'm working during the day she will sit on my desk and stare at me with these sad little eyes to tell me that I'm not paying attention to her. She looks so sad. Look at her sad eyes...

She is very loving and will purr pretty much whenever we touch her. Although, if she wants love and we aren't giving it to her she will bite our elbows. Not hurtful bites, but annoying little bites. Unlike most kitties, she has never scratched us out of anger or showed any anger towards us at all. She is our sweet little girl.

Stormie also loves to play and she can become very jealous if we play with her brother. She doesn't like to play at the same time her brother is playing. She wants us to ignore him and play with her instead. If we play with Aubie she will either run away and sulk or she will get on him and do this...

Lately, I've noticed that she is gaining some weight. We call her "big girl" and I hope she doesn't know what we are saying or it may give her a complex. Poor baby.

Growing up my grandmother had a little plaque on her wall with a cartoon sheep and on the top of it, it said, "Ewe's not fat, Ewe's fluffy". I always loved it and thought it was so funny. So, in Stormie's defense, I tell her "Ewe's not fat, Ewe's fluffy" so she feels better about her weight gain. And she purrs to let me know she understood and she loves me.

This is Stormie lounging on the couch last night in all her fluffiness...

I'm an Oatmeal Snob

2011-01-25T19:32:00.004-05:00

I know. I have a problem. I'm an oatmeal snob. I should rephrase that. I am an unhappy oatmeal snob and it is all Quaker Oatmeal's fault. Let me explain.

Every morning I wake up and I think about my morning oatmeal. I walk into the kitchen, put the water in the tea kettle on the stove and grab my 2 Lower Sugar Apples and Cinnamon Oatmeal packets. Yes, I said 2.

I have been doing this almost every day for the last 4 or 5 years. Of course, there are some days when I have eggs or bacon or cereal, but 5 out of 7 days I have Lower Sugar Apples and Cinnamon Oatmeal.

The problem. I cannot find the boxes for Lower Sugar Apples and Cinnamon Oatmeal anymore. I went from store to store to store to store. When I went to Chicago I looked in their local grocery store. In Tennessee I checked out their store. In Florida too. No one has the full boxes of LSA and C!

So, I emailed Quaker. They wrote me a very nice email and told me that they discontinued the full boxes of Low Sugar Apples and Cinnamon oatmeal. They only sell it now in the "Lower Sugar Variety Pack". Which would be great since Kevan likes the Lower Sugar Maple and Brown Sugar. Right?

No! It is bad. Why? Because I DO NOT LIKE CINNAMON AND SPICE! Believe me. I have tried. I have tried hard to like it, but I just don't. Some days when I'm out of Apples and Cinnamon I try Cinnamon and Spice and I regret it all day. It totally messes up my day. Over Christmas I gave away my stash of Cinnamon and Spice that I have collected over the last few months. I had about 75 packets. 75 packets of oatmeal I don't like! A person shouldn't have to buy something they don't like, right??

Also, some Variety Packs come with 4 packets of Apples and Cinnamon and some come 2 packets. When I find them with 4 packets I buy the store out. I know....I have a problem. Especially because it leaves me with MANY packets of Cinnamon and Spice. What is an oatmeal snob to do with this crisis??

To make matters worse, the other day I opened a new Variety Pack and there were 4 packets of my oatmeal. Well, one of the packets had been closed incorrectly by their fancy packet machine and the packet was ALMOST EMPTY! There was like a teaspoon of oatmeal in the packet. So, what am I supposed to do with 3 packets when I eat 2 a day? Grrrrrr!!!! Fix your stinking packet machine Quaker!

Note - Quaker thanked me for my input and sent me 2 coupons for free oatmeal. That's great, but it just didn't make me feel better since I still have to buy a bunch of packets I don't like. Their packaging is also annoying because several times I have bought the normal oatmeal instead of Lower Sugar because the packaging is so similar and I am blind and do not realize the BIG LOWER SUGAR banner is missing.

I'm praying to get over my addiction....thank you for listening.

Listen to your Mother!

2011-01-22T12:09:00.005-05:00

One night while we were in Tennessee Kevan's mom called and told us that cold weather was moving in. It would be getting down to 9 degrees overnight. She instructed us to open our cabinet doors and to turn our faucets on a light drip or the pipes might freeze overnight. We thought that she was just worrying and that we would be just fine, but decided we would at least open the cabinet doors before we went to bed. But, we went to bed and forgot about the cabinet doors. Oops.

So, I woke up the next morning (the house was about 46 degrees) and grabbed my tea kettle. I poured out the water from the day before (I always do this...I feel that the water is dirty because it sat in the kettle for the last 24 hours...I know, I need help). Then, I turned on the faucet. NOTHING came out. I was devastated that I had just poured all of our storage of water down the drain and we could not have our morning oatmeal. What was I thinking? From now on....I will test the water faucet before I pour the water down the drain!

First thought that came into my head.....we should've listened to my mother-in-law! I'm sorry Judy. I admit. You.were.right. I couldn't have oatmeal, I couldn't take a shower, I couldn't brush my teeth, I couldn't flush the toilets!! You get the picture.

Kevan and I had to work all day so we went through the day trying to adjust to not having water. I have to say, I would rather struggle with heating issues than to not have water. I'm so glad God gave us water. Next year, we will plan better and have emergency water on hand.

Earlier in the day Kevan decided to check out the crawl space just to see if he could tell what was going on. Do you see the little tiny window near the ground with the wood/bricks sitting up against it? Yes, my husband crawled through that. I could never do it. I'm so happy God gave us husbands for things like this! Sorry for the ugly house pic, but this was right after the auction pre-clean-up and pre-pressure washing.

Kevan didn't find much out by going in the crawl space. My brother David called us that afternoon because he had heard that we didn't have water. He talked to Kevan for awhile and gave him some ideas. We didn't know if the water issues were due to frozen pipes, the well house being frozen, or what other issue could be causing it. But, Kevan and David decided to make sure it wasn't the well pump first.

Since we didn't have water Kevan would bring me a pot full of snow and I would melt it on the stove. If you aren't familiar with melting snow to make water...this much snow:

Makes this little tiny bit of DIRTY water!

Kevan wrapped the well pump with towels and once we had boiling water from the melted snow Kevan would take it and pour it on the well pump and then pour some on the pipes surrounding the well pump. Here is a pic of our well house.

We did this over and over and over and over and over and over. Remember how much water we got from one pot of snow....we did it over and over. Then, miraculously the faucet in the kitchen started dripping water! So, we did it over and over again and eventually we had water again.

Then, I went right to the bathroom and took a bath in this.....and I loved every minute of it. I love water. Indoor plumbing was the BEST invention followed by 2 person jacuzzi tubs. ;o)

Heating Adventures (Post 3 - Gas Furnace)

2011-01-22T11:42:00.000-05:00

Note - this is a really boring post about gas furnaces. If you don't care about gas furnaces you probably should read a different post. If you are a heating and air person will you please read and make any suggestions that may help us figure out what went wrong.

This will be my last post on our Tennessee heating adventures. I know everyone is probably VERY happy about that. :o) We just wanted to make sure we documented this so that we can remember and laugh later. Also, next year when we are in nice warm Florida we can read through our past posts and decide if we really want to go through it all again in cold Tennessee next year (I'm sure we will...we had a blast).

So, at this point we had the wood stove for heat in the 2 main rooms where we spent most of our time and the gas fireplace in the living room (which isn't really a room we use), but we had no heat in the bedrooms or bathrooms unless we wheeled the little radiator around the house.

When the house was purchased at auction we did not realize that it did not have a reliable/inexpensive heat source. We found out later that the previous owner had purchased a new gas furance, but passed away before he was able to install it. It had been sitting in the barn so the auctioneer sold it instead of keeping it for the new home owners (us).

I was getting really nervous because my family (mom, dad, sister, sister's boyfriend) was set to arrive in 3 days! I hated to think that we would all have to struggle to stay warm. So, we called a Heating and Air Company and asked them to come look at our Gas Furnace. He looked at us, told us that it was really old (probably from the 70's or before) and said we needed a new mercury flame sensor. He thought we needed a new furnace and that he didn't think he would be able to find the old sensor. Then, he gave us our $70 bill and we were still left without a heat source for the bedrooms/bathrooms. My husband decided to look online to see if he could find the part and install it himself. Luckily, Kevan found one online for less than $100 shipped.

When he received it he went outside to the furnace, removed the old and replaced it with the new one. It took him less than an hour.

Amazingly, we had heat. Warm heat. Heat in the bathrooms, heat in the bedrooms. It was soooooooooo lovely. My parents would be arriving the next day and I was elated that we would have heat when they arrived. They were going to stay about 6 days with us. We had wonderful heat for the first 3 days. Then, we all realized it was getting really cold in the house. Kevan went outside to investigate. Pilot light went out. That was it. Whew! Great, right? No, not really that great. We all went to bed that night and woke up freezing! Kevan and my dad went out to investigate, pilot light went out. Light pilot light. We now have heat. This went on about 3 times a day. Seems to happen at the same times everyday. We left Tennessee shortly after and have yet to find out why the pilot light does not stay lit. If anyone has any ideas please let us know. It worked for 3 full days and then start malfunctioning.

Buying another Hybrid

2011-01-17T10:28:00.002-05:00

While we were in Tennessee we started having problems with our Nissan Xterra. Kevan is VERY handy and he is also very good with car problems, but after replacing the spark plugs and doing a few other things he could not figure out why the Xterra's engine was "missing". It started to get closer to when we would need to leave for Florida and we were very concerned about driving it all those miles.

So, I started doing some research online to find out if we could trade in our Xterra for another vehicle. We have been wanting a Highlander Hybrid for about 5 years and we also thought about getting a Nissan Pathfinder. I found a beautiful used 2006 Highlander Hybrid about 1.5 hours from us so we went to look at it the next day.

Well, we bought it!

We prayed for several days before we went to see it about whether we should buy a new vehicle and then we prayed on the way and during the time we were at the dealership. We really felt like God wanted us to make the purchase so we went ahead with it. I have to say, I LOVED MY XTERRA. When we got home with the new car I was depressed. I wanted to get back in the car and drive back and get my Xterra. I cried when I had to give it to them...that is how much I loved it.

I loved my X because it was rugged and manly. We could drive it around the farm and get it all muddy, climb into it with muddy boots and accidentally scratch the paint on the outside (because it already had scratches) and I was okay with it. The Highlander is so different. It is pretty, clean, feminine and doesn't have rubber mats. I'm not okay with driving it around the farm or getting in it with boots on. I'm definitely not okay with scratches! I am still sad about giving up my X, but I am learning to love the Highlander (even with it's fake wood interior trim). It has heated seats. I love heated seats.....even in Florida.

Many of you may remember that we purchased a Toyota Prius back in 2006 and then Kevan was in an accident back in 2009 and the car was totaled. We did not replace it with another hybrid, but with an older Mitsubishi Eclipse convertible. One thing we learned with the Prius was that we do NOT like car payments. So, we have tried to pay cash for our vehicles. We were blessed that we were able to do the same with the Highlander. Dave Ramsey would be proud.

Also, we purchased it from Nelson Mazda in Antioch, TN and it was a great experience. I would highly recommend them if you are in the area and needing a vehicle. Maybe one day when Kevan and I retire we can go there and buy a Mazda Miata from them. Kevan had one when we were dating (it was also totaled in an accident) and we LOVED it. We really miss it, but it is not practical for us right now. The only thing that was not very nice about the dealership was that when we drove it off the lot it was EMPTY so we had to go straight to the gas station to fill up. Nelson Mazda....you should pay the $$ to fill up your customers tanks before they leave your lot. We've never bought a car that required us to go to the gas station as soon as we left the lot.

The Highlander Hybrid has been getting about 27-28 mpg and the Xterra got about 17 mpg. So, that is an improvement of about 10 mpg. The HH has a smaller gas tank...when we fill-up we pay about $32-$35 in the HH, but the X was about $50. So, we are also saving about $15 per fill-up. The X only went about 300 miles on a full tank and we've been getting about 315-325 miles on a tank in the HH.

Another really cool thing about the HH is that it has a 3rd row of seating that folds down into the trunk when you don't need it. This came in REALLY handy when my parents came to visit. It was great that we were all able to fit in the same vehicle and we didn't have to drive separately.

Paco-Vicunas, Goats and Dogs

2011-01-11T22:15:00.005-05:00

A couple week's ago my husband and I had the opportunity to help out family friends with their computer. I was so excited to go to their home because I knew they had farm animals....specifically, they had Paco-Vicunas! I had heard stories about them and I couldn't wait to see them. I asked Kevan to make the appointment earlier in the day just so I could visit with the animals before we worked on the computers.

Just look at this face! Sorry the pic is blurry, but I had my cheap camera and it was dark in the barn.

Paco-Vicunas are wanted for their wool. The males are so expensive (they have sold for up to $125,000) that our friends drive their "girls" all the way from Tennessee to Kansas to breed. It is the closest place for them to find a "stud" for their "girls".

They are a lot smaller than I imagined and VERY CUTE. Also, they may look like the same picture, just zoomed in...it isn't (you can tell by the background). She just always has that cute look on her face!

While we were there we were also able to pet (and covet) their goats. They have both Boer and Kiko goats (about 50 of them). They are all female.

We realized when we were there that our friends really feed their goats well. They are not pregnant...they are just that ~~fat~~ big! :o) I loved it.

Also, they let us meet their dogs and this one (Moses) even let me pet his tummy (I know...I cut his head off in the picture....oops).

They believe he is the father to Bear, Kevan's father's dog.

Our friends were very gracious and fed us dinner too. They even gave us a couple handfuls of their pecans which they hand picked from their pecan trees. I don't have a picture of the pecans, but they had TONS. We really enjoyed our visit at the Davis Farm.

Where is it??

2011-01-05T21:57:00.004-05:00

Kevan and I took a little mini-vacation to Chicago a few months ago. He had to go there for work so I went with him a few days earlier and then flew home before the work week. I was very excited about going because I used to live in Chicagoland. I wanted to show him where I used to live, take him to my old church, show him Navy Pier and downtown Chicago.

The day after we arrived we got up early and drove out to Navy Pier. It was COLD! We checked out the parking prices and found out it was like a zillion dollars to actually park at Navy Pier so we drove a few blocks away, fed a meter and then walked back.

Here is a picture of Kevan at Navy Pier.

It was a very quiet morning, about 9am, and despite the cold weather we really enjoyed our walk around Chicago. We ran into this little guy while we were there.

We also saw this double-decker bus. Who would sit up there in the freezing cold weather?? Craziness I tell you!

Once we were done with Navy Pier we drove to the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry (parking was $18!!! Can you believe it??). I did a little research about the different exhibits that were in town and I knew Kevan was going to love the Weather exhibit. I didn't tell him ahead of time because I wanted to see the excitement on his face when we reached it. Let me just tell you....his reaction WAS AWESOME! As we were walking around the museum he heard this (below) make noise.

He stops immediately and says, "WHERE IS IT!!!! WHERE IS IT!!!" He starts running through the museum to find it. It was so funny. Anyone that knows my husband knows that he loves anything weather, but he especially loves Tesla Coils. He built his own Tesla Coil in high school for the Science Fair and they even accused him of cheating and said that he couldn't have made it on his own.

Kevan entered the Hurricane Simulator...he was cocking his head to the side because he said it was messing up his hair. Haa Haa!

Another exhibit was the Smart Home (Green + Wired) exhibit. You may not know this, but one of our dreams is to one day own a home that is off-grid. We want to produce our own energy (wind/solar) and our own heat (wood/water). So, this was a pretty cool experience. We had to pay extra to view it, but it was worth it. The house isn't that pretty (see below), but it has a lot of cool ideas.

The kitchen had the ability to have cordless appliances. You just had to set the blender on a certain spot on the counter and it worked. There were no electrical outlets in the kitchen. One of the things Kevan loved was that they had a Control Panel for the whole house so you could see how much energy was being used and how much energy the home was producing. Also, the home was VERY smart. It turned the lights on by just speaking to it. If you are into stuff like this and you are in Chicago I highly recommend going to see it and paying the $8.

The wind turbine:

I will leave you with this. :o)

Heading into Deep Water...

2011-01-03T22:24:00.002-05:00

The last full day that we were in Tennessee at the Sullivan House it rained. Every time it rains we can hear the creek behind our house raging. We had not yet investigated it during a rain since we arrived so we thought we better that day or we wouldn't have the opportunity.

Kevan was going to drive his mom to the creek on the 4-Wheeler since she forgot her boots. Then I was going to walk behind and we would meet up at the creek. Sounds like a good plan right. I thought so too. I started off walking while they went to the barn for the 4-wheeler. In order to get to the creek we have to pass through a little tiny stream that we usually just hop from rock to rock to get to the other side. No biggie. Except that when I got there, it looked like this....I didn't want to walk through that. My boots are not waterproof.

I realized then that Kevan was going to have to take me for a ride on the 4-wheeler too in order to cross the stream. I waited until he took Judy across and then he came back to get me.

Once across the little stream we walk through a nice path to the creek. This is what it looks like on a normal day.

The day it rained, it looked like this.

I was sad thinking we wouldn't be able to get to the creek. Kevan and Judy were getting on the 4-wheeler to go through the water to get to the creek. I was thinking, "Are you crazy??" Of course, I didn't say that out loud. This is what I saw next.

Followed by...

So, I decided. If it was okay for them...I guess I could make it too. Kevan came back to get me.

There are no pictures of my trip since I had to keep my camera in a ziploc bag in my coat so it wouldn't get wet. We finally made it to the creek. This is the pretty creek on a non-rainy day.

This is the creek the day it rained. Craziness!! As you can see, the little island that Joe and Kevan were walking on in the previous picture is GONE.

Here is a little video for you too.

Finally, I would like to thank this little red 4-wheeler for keeping its passengers safe! I was very happy we didn't get wet, stuck or that it didn't die on us. Thank you little one! You are a great little 4-wheeler.

Heating Adventures (Post 2 - Gas Fireplace)

2011-01-03T21:03:00.001-05:00

After a few weeks of being at the Sullivan House and freezing our little toes off we decided to try and use the gas fireplace that came with the house. We had not yet used it because we wanted to get it "checked out" first. But, we were so cold. So, we used it before having a chimney guy out. Note to self - this is a bad idea.

After about 20 minutes of having it on we noticed that there was debris falling from the chimney that was on fire and the house was filling with smoke at a rapid rate. I ran outside and it looked like the chimney was on fire. Kevan screamed for me to call 911. There is a firehouse about 1 city block from our house, but it took about 30 minutes for them to arrive. I guess it is an unmanned firehouse so they only come in when needed. (I forgot to take pictures during all of the chaos)

It turned out that it was only bird's nests that were on fire and our actual chimney was NOT on fire. Whew! But, during all of the chaos the fire department removed our gas logs so we were no longer able to use the gas fireplace even if we wanted to.

Here is a picture of Kevan and his dad putting the chimney cap back on after the fire department left.

He tied this rope to the back porch (just in case he slipped) before climing up onto the roof.

We ended up hiring a chimney sweep and he also put the gas fireplace logs/insert back together again so we could use it. Now, it is really pretty and we are able to use it without the fear of burning down our house. The bad part is that it only heats up the one room of the house. So, we were still left with the bedroom and bathroom being freezing cold.

During all of this time (weeks) of figuring out a heating solution we used spaceheaters. We used a nice little radiator for the bedroom at night and it kept it nice and toasty. It only uses 1.5 KW's and we only ran it while we were asleep. It would cut off once it reached the right temp and turn back on when it was colder.

DeLonghi TRVO715 Vento Hi-Speed Convection Oil-Filled Radiator Heater

Sometimes in the morning we wheel it into the family room and use it until we are warmed up and then turn it off. It has worked out really nicely even in the larger family room. We purchased ours at Lowes.

Here is the picture of the finished fireplace once the chimney sweep cleaned it up and put the gas insert back in.

Heating Adventures (Post 1 - Woodstove)

2010-12-31T13:06:00.001-05:00

I'm sorry, but this post is going to be pretty long. We want to document a lot of what we did in case we ever want to do it again.

During our time in Tennessee we had MANY adventures. I will mostly likely blog about each of them here. Even though these various adventures took us out of our "comfort zone" we somehow still enjoyed them and loved the fact that we had learned from them. Here is a picture of one of our nice cold mornings (below). The multi-room thermometer panel was a gift I gave Kevan for Christmas last year. I have to admit it came in really handy and I didn't want to get it for him. lol!

As you can see from the picture our bedroom was 39 degrees! The outside temp was 26. I have to say that I am VERY thankful for our heated mattress pad. I'm not sure I would've survived the night without it. We love it. It is so funny....we felt like we were camping each morning. Our bodies were nice and warm under the covers, but our faces were FREEZING....just like when you camp.

To give you a little background, the "Sullivan House" was purchased at an auction. It was not known at this time that 2 of the rooms (add-ons to the original house structure) did not have heating vents like the other rooms in the house and also the gas furnace that provided heat to the remainder of the home did not work. A new gas furnace was purchased before the previous owner passed away, but was never installed. So, guess what! The auctioneer SOLD IT! We did not know when we arrived from Florida that we would be freezing our TOES OFF for the next few weeks. I was so glad I brought two pair of slippers!

After freezing for a week we went to Michigan for Thanksgiving and my wonderful big brother gave us his woodstove because he no longer needed it. Below is a "before picture" that he took with his phone. He had some water damage in his home which caused the stove to rust. Sorry for the bad pic, but I forgot to take before pictures.

Once we arrived back to the Sullivan House Kevan and I began working on the stove after work to prepare it to be installed. Kevan helped me setup a work space in the barn and I set out to sand all the rust off of it. I used a 18-volt Dewalt Hammer drill with a wire wheel on the end. I also used an angle grinder here and there, but it was so powerful I had a hard time keeping control of it. They were both battery operated too so I did not have a lot of time. The batteries ran down pretty quickly.

When we were finally finished with the sanding we bought stove/BBQ paint and Kevan painted the stove. It only used one can. On the doors we used "William's Stove Polish". The stove turned out lovely. I think it looks so much better.

We waited about 24 hours after we painted it and then Kevan and his dad purchased a chimney kit from Tractor Supply and an extra pipe, then installed it in our sunroom. They had the stove and chimney installed in about 5 hours. We actually had to record the SEC Championship game because they were not yet done with installing the stove so we paused the game until they were ready. I'm such an awful wife for making him wait to watch his game, but I wanted heat!

This is a picture of the room and the woodstove. Yes, that is an air conditioner behind the woodstove. It also includes a heat option, but it uses 3 KW's. Wood is much cheaper. Also, please excuse the junk all over the floor!

A few things we have learned since getting this stove.

Size matters - it is too small to heat more than the two rooms adjacent to it
The stove board (black mat under the stove) is too small and we have burned little holes in the floor because coals or debris have fallen out of the stove when we open the doors.
The type of wood you use is VERY important.
It takes a lot longer to create a hot fire in a cold stove than I initially realized. One of the most important things to do is to try and get the stove warmed up as fast as possible (by burning kindling, paper, etc)
When you have a tiny woodstove you have to get up every few hours during the night and refill it with wood if you want the house to be warm when you get up in the morning.
When you go to town you make sure you aren't gone more than 2-3 hours or your fire will be out and your house will be cold when you get back.
We are hoping if we come and stay here next winter that we can get a chimney reclaimer (chimney fan). This will help us use the heat we are wasting when it goes up the chimney.

Overall, we love our little woodstove and I am sooooo thankful that my brother blessed us with it. It has been a great experience too and we have learned a lot about wood heat. Stay tuned for our "gas furnace" adventure.

2010 Reading List

2010-12-30T18:59:00.001-05:00

Below are the books I have read during 2010. I read a lot of "girlie" books this year and enjoyed them all. I didn't read as many books as previous years since I started reading only the Old Testament the last 4 months so it has stopped any other reading. Also, I took 5 classes this year so that also cut out a lot of my personal reading time. All books with an asterisk (*) were read on my kindle. Click here if you are interested in last year's list.

They are in the order of Most Current to Oldest Ones Read:

Old Testament * (The Bible in 90 Days) - I started on September 4th and I am almost finished with just the Old Testament. It has taken me a lot longer than 90 days, but it has been a great experience. I read it on my kindle so it is easy to carry my bible with me to the doctor and read while I'm waiting, read in the car while Kevan is driving or read at night while I take my bath. It takes me about an hour or so to read the full days reading.
The Contrary Farmer (Gene Logsdon) - This book was okay. I'm not sure I would recommend it. He does not have the same political views as I do so it was hard to get through some things, but the farming information was pretty good.
Sense and Sensibility * (Jane Austen) **
Persuasion * (Jane Austen) **
Pride and Prejudice * (Jane Austen) **
Emma * (Jane Austen) **
Midnight Sun * (Partial Book by Stephanie Meyer)
A Passion Denied * Book 3 (Julie Lessman) ***
A Passion Redeemed * Book 2 (Julie Lessman) ***
A Passion Most Pure * Book 1 (Julie Lessman) ***
The Confession * Book 2 of The Heritage of Lancaster County Series (Beverly Lewis)
The Shunning * Book 1 of The Heritage of Lancaster County Series (Beverly Lewis)
Coral Castle The Story of Ed Leedskalnin and his American Stonehenge (Rusty McClure, Jack Heffron) - I really enjoyed this book. We traveled to Coral Castle in Homestead, FL to view it in person and that is where I purchased the book. Ed was a very interesting man.
Core Christianity: What is Christianity all About? (Elmer Towns) - This was a book I had to read for a class at Liberty.

I love to read so I enjoyed all of the books.

* Read on my kindle.

**Jane Austen - It is hard to say which Jane Austen book was my favorite (this was my first time reading them). There were so many parts that I loved about each of them. My favorite characters were Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy (Pride and Prejudice) and Emma and Mr. Knightly (Emma). I would have to say Pride and Prejudice was probably my favorite, but Emma is very close behind.

***The Julie Lessman's books are Christian Fiction Romance novels and I would not recommend them to someone that is younger than 18. They aren't x-rated or anything (of course!) and they are not that graphic, but I feel certain topics were too mature for someone under 18.

Christmas 2010

2010-12-29T13:31:00.014-05:00

My parents, sister and my sister's boyfriend traveled down from Michigan to Tennessee to visit us over the holidays. We have been staying in an old farmhouse from the 1930's on 8 acres that Kevan's dad purchased at an auction back in July. It is known as the "Sullivan House".

It was a wonderful visit with family and I will cherish all of our memories together. We ate, talked, laughed, worshiped God, played cards and played the Wii (wish I had pictures of our bowling scores...after several nights of playing against my dad I FINALLY beat him at bowling Wii). It was a really great time and I was so blessed to celebrate Christ's birth this year with my family and Kevan's family all together in one place.

We all played lots of games and everyone participated! Dad watched football with Joe and Kevan. Joe was a great help with chopping the wood we needed for our woodstove. My mom and I enjoyed preparing Christmas dinner together. It was a really special time and I look forward to another Christmas when they can visit us (maybe with my brothers and their families too).

Tasha and Joe playing the Wii. The little Christmas tree was my very first tree when I lived by myself in my 20's. It is so cute. The feet belong to my dad and Kevan. :o) I'm glad they are nice clean socks with no holes. lol!

Here is a picture of the living room at the Sullivan House. We do not have furniture in this room so I decided it would be nice to have Christmas dinner in here with the fireplace. It turned out really well. The only thing was that all of the chairs have wheels (except one) and since this house was built in the 1930's the floors are not level. Everyone kept sliding all over during dinner. Kevan had to put his foot under my chair to hold it in place because I just couldn't stop my chair from moving. lol! It was funny. Also, all of the junk in the top right corner was my sewing supplies. Please pretend that they aren't in the picture. I forgot to move them before dinner.

The kitties loved having visitors and Stormie enjoyed playing with everyone's tissue paper. She was tired after all of the play and needed a nap.

Messy family room where everyone gathered to relax, watch TV (mostly football or foxnews) and play games. We were also blessed with 2 beautiful couches by Kevan's cousins. They no longer needed them and gave them to us for FREE! Thank you Jenny & Chris!

Another view of the messy family room (that is my dad sitting on the couch):

Kevan and I slept in the woodstove room so that my parents could have the bedroom to sleep in. They had their own bathroom (which they do not have at home) and I'm sure they enjoyed their master suite even if it was from the 1930's. :o) This "blue room" was the old porch on the house that the previous owners turned into a sunroom. That is why there are windows between the two rooms and not a wall. It is great that it is this way as it allows the warm air from the wood stove to flow into other areas of the house. Also, the cats love going through the windows to the other rooms. We were also able to chat with Joe & Tasha through the windows as they played video games in the next room while we were trying to sleep at 2am. ;o) Mostly, we were telling them to go to sleep or to turn the TV down so we could sleep!

Lastly, Tasha is turning 18 in January and I won't be there so I planned a special dinner to celebrate her birthday. Of course her birthday cake HAD to have Edward on it. :o)

Dad, Mom, Tasha & Joe....I miss you guys already! Sniff sniff.

Rock Island State Park

2010-12-29T13:22:00.004-05:00

I recently took my family to see Rock Island State Park while they were visiting. I did not take very many pictures so I will be including pictures from October this year as well as pictures from December. This post is to document my family's visit during Christmas 2010. We had a great time, but my mom fell because it was so slippery and it is such an awful feeling to know that your mom has fallen and injured herself. She is going to be fine. She just scraped her palm and knee pretty good, but we got her all bandaged up when we arrived back home. She will be good as new in a few weeks.

Here is a picture of the dam.

Below is a picture of where the local kids cliff dive when it is warm. This picture is from October. No one was cliff diving when we were there. It was way too cold. If you are a Twilight fan...I'm sure you can imagine that it is Jacob jumping from the cliff. Hee hee!

Another picture of another group of falls farther away.

Close up of the falls.

Tasha and Joe walked up to this little building. We were unsure what it was, but it was across the street from the old mill.

The Riley Farm

2010-12-29T13:00:00.014-05:00

These string of posts are for my dad. He wanted a bunch of pictures of the Riley Farm after he visited over the holidays. So, I'm putting these posts together for him to document what he saw when he was at the farm and visiting us in Tennessee.
Driveway leading to the farm. This is a picture from earlier in the year. It is much more brown and dreary during December.

Here is a picture of the original homestead. It is an old cabin from about the 1880's. The fireplace is still entact and Kevan's dad is restoring the cabin slowly when he has time.

This is a picture of the side of the cabin and the upstairs window. You can view all of the cabin pics on our flickr page here.

We said hello to Bear while we were there. He followed us around the farm and kept the cows in order while we were there. He is only about 9 months old now and he is soooooo sweet. Just look at that face.

Dad, here is the view from the hill where we will be building our house someday. Kevan's father owns all of the property you can see in the photo. The total acreage is 80 acres. It is beautiful and calming when you are there. You just have to make sure when you are walking around that you walk AROUND the cow pies. ;o)

The main barn up close.

Here is a picture of me standing next to a huge sinkhole on the property. Here is a link to more pictures of the farm.

I will leave you with this photo. She wanted to come home with you to Michigan.

Canning Pears

2010-11-14T21:12:00.022-05:00

While Kevan and I were at the farm in Tennessee we noticed that the Pear trees were ripe. The previous farm owners did not take good care of or prune the trees in YEARS. The trees were in bad shape. But, they tasted okay. They were becoming too ripe. We knew this because of the swarm of HUGE hornets, bees and wasps that surrounded the trees.

This is a picture of one of the 3 Pear trees on the property.

We gathered up the good ones and sat them on the porch so they wouldn't rot on the ground. Unfortunately, the hornets/bees/wasps loved them so we wrapped the best ones in newspaper and put them in a styrofoam cooler until we arrived back in Florida.

The pears do not look that great on the outside, but there was nothing wrong with the inside. We were able to save about 44 pears. Unfortunately, I was not able to can them immediately upon returning to Florida because of work, school and life. So, when they started to look too ripe I put them in the fridge (leaving them in the newspaper in case they got too ripe). I put 1/2 on a shelf and 1/2 in the fruit/veggie drawer. When it was time to can them, I took them out and the ones in the drawer had rotted, but the ones on the shelf were just fine. I'm not sure why that was the case, but I think it was probably due to not being enough air circulation since I really shoved them in there. I was/am devastated. I can't believe I lost 6lbs of pears because I was stupid!!

I cut up the remaining pears.

As I cut them I placed them into an anti-browning mixture (1/2 gallon water, 1 T salt, 1 T vinegar). Since I was going to can preserves and quartered pears in separate jars I tried to keep the better looking pears in the bowl on the right and the smaller cuts on the left.

Once I was done cutting them up it was about 6lbs of pears. I created a medium syrup for the preserves (sugar/water) and sliced a whole lemon. I heated the syrup and then added the smaller pear pieces to the mixture.

I cooked them until they were translucent (about 1.5 hours). While they were cooking I worked on my research paper for school. I would much rather be canning than doing homework!

It smelled so good!! It was hard to stop eating them as they were cooking. Once it was about time to actuall "can" them. I heated the pint jars up in boiling water. I also prepared a light syrup for the remaining quartered pears.

Our stove here in Florida is a glass cooktop stove so I am not able to use it for canning. This is a HUGE downside if you have one. The boiler canner is just too heavy and can crack the cooktop. So, I use our propane camp stove out on the lanai to actual do the canning.

I filled the jars with pear preserves and then with syrup, leaving a 1/4 inch space at the top. I put the tops on and then processed them using the boiling method for 20 minutes. I do not have a boiler canner so I used my pressure canner (removing the regulator and emergency plug first).

Once they were processed, I ended up with 4 pints of preserves and 4 pints of quartered pears. Of course, if I had not put the other 1/2 of the pears in the fridge drawer I would have had 16 pints instead of 8.
Also, since we didn't want to waste the pears that had fallen on the ground or were too ripe to can we gave them to the cows. They loved them!

Living in Tennessee

2010-10-12T10:50:00.020-04:00

Some of you may not know, but Kevan and I have a place up in Tennessee (thanks to Kevan's dad) where we've been staying. I was pretty hesitant about the place in the beginning because there seemed to be so much work involved with getting the place ready for us and looking nice. Not to mention all of the creepy things God created that have overtaken the porch, trees, etc. But it has turned out pretty nice so far. We have been here a total of 10 days so I thought i would make a list. I have written a list of my favorite things as well as the things I currently "dislike" about the place.

Things I love about the Sullivan Place:

8. I love that we have a 4-Wheeler that we can drive all over the property. It is soooooo fun! Here is a picture of Kevan sitting on it.

7. I love that a (very sweet) family member gave us a bedroom suite and we now have a bed to sleep on instead of the futon. My back is loving it! Our kitties our loving it too. (Yes, that is ugly paneling in the background....try to ignore it).

6. I love that when we go into a store or a restaurant the owners chat with us and if we are frequent visitors they recognize us and thank us for our business. One owner even offered to sell the store Kevan if Kevan wanted a job working 4am to 8pm. :o) I guess he doesn't know my husband. Kevan has never been awake in the 7's let alone the 4's.

5. I love that we have "Meat and 3's" within driving distance from our house. For those of you that don't know what a "Meat and 3" is...it means you get to order a meat (fried chicken, roast beef, BBQ, etc) and then pick out 3 veggies to go with it. It also comes with corn bread, biscuit or a roll. The price is usually about $5.99. It really warms my soul to eat at a "Meat and 3". Mmmmmm!

4. I love that there are Pear trees on the property and that we have been able to save about 15 lbs of good ones for me to can. I'll update the blog after canning on how that all goes.

3. I love that we have otters in our river. They are soooo cute. Sorry for such a bad picture, but they are FAST and it is hard to get a photo of them.

2. I love that we have birds coming to our feeders right outside our office windows. So, instead of seeing our neighbors side of the house or the road in front of our house (like in FL) I get to look out and watch the birds (and squirrels). I love birds.

1. I love love love the jacuzzi tub. I feel like I'm at a resort and it is big enough for two (we tested to make sure lol!). Again, I LOVE this and it is my favorite part of living in the country.

Things I dislike:

8. In the 10 days that we have lived here we have smelled or saw (running through a field) 6 skunks! CRAZINESS! I haven't smelled or seen a skunk in 5 years....so for 6 in 10 days....this place is overrun by skunks! Kevan said if I get my camera out and take a picture of one that the flash might cause him to....well....spray us with it's perfume. lol!! So, I won't be taking any pictures, just in case!

7. I hate that there are two HUGE satellite dishes in our yard. One that you see when you come in the driveway and one peeking out of the woods in the back of the house. I can't wait until we get them in the trailer and dispose of them.

6. I hate that I keep finding cave crickets in our bathroom. Now, I am blessed that they are "mini" cave crickets, but I just can't help thinking big daddy is somewhere in the bathroom just waiting to scare me. If you don't know what a cave cricket is. Here is a picture (warning: it is pretty gross).

5. I hate that we have wasps, bees, yellow jackets and hornets flying around right outside our door (due to the pear trees mostly). My husband purchased a yard stick and has successfully killed about a dozen hornets and wasps, but this still doesn't make me feel any better about them.

4. I hate that there are grand daddy long legs hanging from every corner of our porch, crawling on the front door, all over the front porch (along with all of their egg pouches). I did spray most of them (and their babies) with the pressure sprayer this weekend, but they are finding their way back.

3. I hate that the previous owner decided to use empty coffee cans for the top of their porch posts. lol! As soon as we are able we are going to finish the porch and add nice pretty post toppers!

2. I hate that the previous owner did not know what a square or straight line was. Everything is off kilter.

1. I hate that the DirecTV guy installed the dish on our PORCH! I will post a picture tomorrow if I have time.

Merritt Island - Black Point Wildlife Drive

2010-08-16T11:35:00.028-04:00

Please note: The pictures in this post were taken before I purchased my Nikon SLR camera so the pics won't be that great.

As you know, Kevan and I love to watch/take pictures of various animals as well as just be outside walking/hiking. One of the things we do on a monthly basis is drive out to Merritt Island. Depending on how long we have, we visit Apollo/Playalinda beach for a few hours before we head over to Black Point Wildlife Drive (7-mile one-way self-guided tour). There is a cost to visit the beach, but the Black Point Wildlife Drive (BPWD) is free. It is also a great thing to do with any relatives that do not like to walk or be outside "too much" because you are able to drive around and view the beautiful landscape and animals without leaving the comfort of your vehicle. If you end up driving out on a Sunday the visitor center is closed, otherwise, stop in and visit the Visitor's center and put a few dollars in their donation box. When you are finished you will be glad you did. Also, there is a restroom at the Visitor's center and another restroom toward the end of BPWD.

The visitors center is pretty nice depending on what time of year it is. There is a gift shop inside as well as different interactive learning centers for kids. There are various scopes to look through to see Osprey in nests nearby (sometimes with babies) as well as a large pond to view turtles, snakes, alligators, etc. We have seen all 3 during various visits. There is also a boardwalk to walk around and see the landscape. We have seen various insects and armadillos during this walk. If you are interested, before you leave you can purchase an audio CD that will allow you to listen to a tour on CD as you drive around BPWD. The drive has numbered posts that tell you where you are and the CD corresponds with those numbered posts.

Once we are done with the visitors center we head over to Black Point Wildlife Drive. Here are a few pictures of things we have seen.

When we are finished with BPWD we usually head over to the Manatee observation deck down the road.

Then we finish off our day with the best fresh shrimp we've ever eaten at the Titusville restaurant "Dixie Crossroads". You will love their warm corn fritters that they serve you when you get seated. Depending on what time of day it is expect a wait. Only on a few occasions have we not had to wait to be seated.

Moss Park - Sunday Update

2010-08-16T11:30:00.010-04:00

I may start doing a weekly Moss park update or some "outdoor" photography update each week since we usually do something outdoors every weekend. Yesterday, Kevan and I went to Moss Park to spend a few hours watching the wildlife and walking/driving around.

Shortly after we arrived we saw this momma deer. Kevan was able to walk almost all the way up to her. Then, we drove around where the boat dock parking lot is and saw this sweet baby.
We realized the twin was in the bushes and were able to wait around to get a pic of them together.

We ended up seeing many deer, a ton of sandhill cranes (that would run up to our car like they were happy to see us), a baby armadillo (didn't get a good pic) and squirrels. This is the first time we have gone and didn't see a single hawk (except for one flying by us) so I was a little disappointed, but the twins made up for it. It was a little rainy, but we still enjoyed our visit.

Moss Park (Orlando, FL)

2010-07-23T17:07:00.015-04:00

Kevan and I go to Moss Park quite a bit. We have been there camping, hiking, fishing and we also go there on most Sunday afternoons to just drive/walk around. If you like wildlife it is a wonderful park to see. Who knew that all of this wildlife existed in a non-Disney park in Orlando?

We normally see hawks, deer, sandhill cranes, racoons, woodpeckers, various other birds and we've even seen a scrub jay. There is also a boat launch or you can fish off the shore. I did catch a pretty good size bass one day while we were there. Below are a few pics of what we encounter on our visits.

The other night while driving down the road toward the entrance we found this little guy. Isn't he cute!

Then, these sandhill cranes tried to get in our car. It may have been due to the fact that there was some leftover Taco Bell in the car that they smelled, but I like to believe they wanted to come home with us. :o)

We've seen hawks almost every time we've visited (mostly near the boat launch). Here is a picture of a hawk we were watching the other day. His head is totally turned watching us and that is the back of his body. Pretty amazing. We also caught a hawk that had a snake and was almost finished eating him. Click here if you want to see him.

If you are interested in viewing our other Moss Park pics, my favorites are here and ALL of them are here.

I will leave you with this. He is just so darn cute.

The Bird Woman

2010-06-11T09:21:00.005-04:00

I am scared I'm becoming one of those bird freaks. You know, the kind that wear their funny hats, suspender shorts, black socks pulled up to their knees, big beige boots and always have binoculars hanging from their neck. I must confess....I love birds. Any bird. Even vultures. I think they are cute. Look at this face.

I am now trying to remember to have my camera with me at all times just in case I see a bird that beckons me to take his picture. Which, they all do. Living in Florida is a dream come true for a girl that has a heart that skips a beat every time she sees a bird through her camera lens. No wonder I have heart palpitations! There are soooo many different types of birds in Florida. Be right back...(I need to go get my suspenders and black socks then head out for a walk). Oops, did I say that out loud?

Everglades National Park

2010-06-11T08:52:00.018-04:00

Kevan and I traveled to Homestead, FL to see Coral Castle. Kevan apparently did his research before we arrived in Homestead and had a little idea in the back of his mind that he didn’t share with me until after we were finished with Coral Castle and had a few wine tastings at the winery. He wanted to drive all the way to Flamingo, FL.

As you can see from the picture below, it is the southernmost tip of Florida.I have to say, I wasn’t really excited about the idea. It was 5pm and there are no restaurants/gas stations on the way and I like a plan. I like to pretend in my mind that I am this adventurous woman, but in reality I don’t like things sprung upon me! Also, I don't like to be in the middle of nowhere when it is getting dark. I do not like the dark! So, we decided to stop at the Visitors Center and check it out first. They were closing, but the ranger told us to go to the Royal Palm Stop and do the Anhinga Trail before we headed out. It was a few miles up the road so we decided to go. I'm so glad we did.When we began the trail we saw this Anhinga trying to swallow his catfish dinner.

Just a few feet from this guy/gal we saw another one drying his wings in the sun.

Anhingas are really funny birds. Driving around Merritt Island we see them all the time in the water. You will be looking out at the water and all of a sudden you will see this little head pop up. You will think in your head that it must be a snake or a turtle or something. Not a bird! Birds don't walk/swim around underwater. Then, you see him go back under and come back up with his little head popping up like a scope on a submarine. It is really funny to watch. Once they get their fill of fish they jump out of the water and dry their wings on the side of the bank. They also have feet like a duck.

As we continued the Royal Palm trail we found a boardwalk that went out into the water and looped around to a place further down the trail. Now, I like docks and all, but I'm not crazy about a huge boardwalk that you can't see land from because it is this huge trail that goes all around the water. But, I sucked air in and tried to be a man (I mean, a tough woman). Trying to forget that the boardwalk was making creaking noises when I walked on it and I could fall through at any moment (because people fall through all the time! lol!). I didn't say I was rational. You wouldn't want to fall in with a thing like this right next to you would you?

I didn't think so. We saw at least 6 of these guys swimming around just waiting for a helpless woman to fall in!

As we were finishing the boardwalk trail we saw more birds like this one:There were so many more wildlife, but I can't post them all here. So, if you are interested in seeing the rest, go here.

Memorial Weekend

2010-06-06T22:14:00.006-04:00

Kevan and I went to Weston, FL for Memorial Weekend. We stayed at the timeshare resort, Vacation Village of Weston. We had a small 1 bedroom suite. It was one of the nicest resorts we’ve stayed at through our RCI Timeshare. We had a HUGE pool with the largest hot tub I have ever been in. It was very quiet, clean and all the workers were really nice.

When I woke up in the morning I went out onto our balcony and saw this little baby sitting in one of the palm trees.

Then, while Kevan was in the shower I decided to go ask the pool lady where the best place for breakfast would be. On my way I saw this worried Mama with her baby.

The pool lady told us that the best place for breakfast was Bagel Mania in Sunrise, FL. It was really good and I highly recommend it if you are in the area. We ate there all 3 mornings that we were at the resort. :o) Over the next few days I will update everyone on the rest of our trip.

I'm back

2010-06-05T22:30:00.002-04:00

I stopped blogging for awhile because I've been busy with school (Liberty University) and with work/life. But, I've decided to start my blog up again to record some things Kevan and I have been doing.

My husband and I recently purchased a new Nikon D5000. First I purchased the D3000 and then a few weeks later decided to go back and get the better one. I do not know much about photography, but I'm hoping it becomes a new hobby that Kevan and I can have fun doing together.
The weekend we purchased it we decided to go to Merritt Island and takes some pictures with our new camera. Click the pic below to go to see our first pictures.

2009 Reading List

2009-12-03T20:56:00.015-05:00

Below are the books that I have read during 2009 (or currently reading). They are in the order of Most Current to Oldest ones read.

Annes House of Dreams - Book 4 (Lucy Montgomery)
Anne of the Island (Anne of Green Gables, Book 3) (Lucy Montgomery)
Anne of Avonlea (Anne of Green Gables, Book 2) - Book 2 (Lucy Montgomery)
Anne of Green Gables - Book 1 (Lucy Montgomery)
Dracula (Bram Stoker)
Mornings on Horseback: The Story of an Extraordinary Family, a Vanished Way of Life and the Unique Child Who Became Theodore Roosevelt
Breaking Dawn (Stephenie Meyer)*
Eclipse (Stephenie Meyer)*
New Moon (Stephenie Meyer)*
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Book 7 - J. K. Rowling)
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Book 6 - J. K. Rowling)
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Book 5 - J. K. Rowling)
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Book 4 - J. K. Rowling)
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Book 3 - J. K. Rowling)
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Book 2 - J. K. Rowling)
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Book 1 - J. K. Rowling)
Breaking Dawn (Stephenie Meyer)
Eclipse (Stephenie Meyer)
New Moon (Stephenie Meyer)
Twilight (Stephenie Meyer)
All Things Bright and Beautiful (James Herriot)
Diary of Anne Frank (Anne Frank)
Memoirs of an Ordinary Pastor: The Life and Reflections of Tom Carson (D. A. Carson)
Every Farm Tells a Story: A Tale of Family Farm Values (Jerold Apps)
Writings of a Deliberate Agrarian: One Man's Ruminations About Faith, Family & Livin' The Good Life (Herrick Kimball)
Carry A Big Stick: The Uncommon Heroism of Theodore Roosevelt (George Grant)

I pretty much enjoyed all of the books this year. There was one more book that I read that I didn't finish because I didn't like it. So, I didn't add that one to the list since I only read about 1/2 of it.

I especially enjoyed the Harry Potter series because Kevan and I read them together and then we would watch each movie. So, that was a lot of fun. I love anything about history so the Roosevelt books and the Anne Frank book was great. I love farming so the rest of the books were enjoyable too. I also really enjoyed the Twilight series, but it made me really miss my 20's. :o( Made me feel old.

I was very surprised that the Dracula book contained so many references to God. They prayed to God for strength, spoke of God sending His Son as our Savior and even gave God glory in the end for giving them the strength to overcome Dracula.

Also, the Anne of Green Gables books also contained many references to God and his Providence, keeping the Sabbath holy and one of my favorite things was that lying was such an awful thing then. I wish it was still so. Today, lying doesn't seem to be a big deal and it should be. The Anne of Green Gables movies do not have the religious side of the book and that is disappointing.

*Reread again since the movie was coming out.

Our 6th Anniversary!

2009-10-05T15:14:00.005-04:00

Kevan and I celebrated our 6th Anniversary yesterday. I am blessed that God has given us these 6 wonderful years together. Kevan is a wonderful husband and I am very thankful for him. We ended up going to church, the beach, drove around animal watching and then ended with a lobster and shrimp dinner at Dixie Crossroads. It was a wonderful day together.

I didn't realize that when I ordered the Lobster dinner (it was on sale) that it would come with eyeballs. My gracious husband cut the head off for me and hid it under a paper basket. He's so sweet.

Click here to see more pics.

Sewing Project

2009-08-23T16:08:00.006-04:00

My friend from church showed me how to make these cute bears. I kept one for myself. I made this one for a friend that is having a baby boy (his is the one with the trucks and tractors on it). Aren't they so cute! Also, I didn't finish their bows yet so they look at little funny.

Sewing Room

2009-08-23T15:11:00.000-04:00

I organized my sewing room a little more this weekend. It is still quite a mess, but at least I can move around in there now. :o) Click on the picture below to see more pictures.

Bathroom Renovation

2009-07-19T15:48:00.020-04:00

Kevan and I started demolishing our master bathroom last weekend. I am not brave enough to show you a before picture of the shower. The previous owners had used drywall instead of cement board and the tile was falling out so it looked REALLY bad. Let's just say I did NOT take showers in the shower, but always used the guest bath. I started to chip up the floor with my handy dandy demo tool/chipping hammer/hammer drill (Kevan got it for me for my birthday a couple of years ago). We have used it quite a bit for our home improvement projects. Below is a "before" picture and a "current" picture of where we are. We chipped up the floor last weekend and Friday night we started to take out the shower tile and tub. We think it went really well. The hardest part was getting the tub out because it fit perfectly in it's little spot. We had to take out some drywall to get it out. We finished everything and were leaving the dump by 2pm on Saturday. Our trailer load of debris was 1100 lbs!!! The tub was cast iron so it weighed quite a bit!

Here is a picture of our trailer full of the debris. We set it right outside the window so all we had to do was throw the debris out the window into the trailer (even the bathtub). I guess that is one of the pluses with having a window in your shower! Probably one of the only one!

New Purse

2009-05-24T17:23:00.004-04:00

I made a new purse today. It took me about 2 hours. It was one of the easiest pattern I have ever done. It was from the Quilts & More magazine. I loved it and will definitely be making another one. It has 6 pockets around the outside that are large enough for my ipod and my palm phone.

Gyros and Hummus!

2009-05-11T20:52:00.005-04:00

Tonight I made Gyros using Tammy's pita recipe and also made hummus. The pitas puff up in the oven which creates the "pocket" to stuff all of the meat, lettuce, tzatziki sauce, onions, cucumbers and tomatoes into. I should've taken a picture of the gyro, but we were so hungry we didn't want to stop to take pictures.

Here is a picture of my pitas. They turned out great. Kevan even asked me to make his sandwich for lunch tomorrow using the pita pocket instead of his normal sandwich bread.

If you like pita bread you should definitely try Tammy's recipe using the link above. I can't wait to have more hummus and bread for lunch tomorrow.

EKG Before & After

2009-04-22T13:32:00.006-04:00

Below is a picture of my EKG before the ablation. It is showing PVC's:

Below is a picture of my EKG after the successful ablation. No more PVC's!