Compared to Who?

When we bought this farm in 2004, the house (and all buildings for that matter) needed lots of help.  We did a lot of work in the house, but any project that involved anything with the cows was priority due to the fact that they provided our income.  I have shared some of the projects we did do on past blog posts, but that is not what I want to focus on.  I want to talk about contentment, for it is an area that God has been truly working at in my life.  For those of you who have been to visit us, you know what our home looks like.  The outside is not very attractive,

The basement is dirt, our first floor consists of a porch that we made into office, mudroom and pantry.  It is the place where everyone enters, and they will more than likely be greeted with the wonderful smell of "barny" chore clothes.  The kitchen and dining room (which is also our school room) are not very big and I  get claustrophobic when 6 males decide to stand around visiting in the kitchen while I am trying to work.

The living room is the most unfinished room with drywall that needs to be finished off.  The ceilings are the floor of the upstairs and when the shower is running upstairs, it sounds like it is raining downstairs.  A door needs to be put in where the window is and little not-so-noticable things need to be repaired or finished.

 The playroom/laundry is where the boys play the most and it always seems to be in disarray.  The floors (especially in the kitchen/dining) are old hardwood with large enough cracks between them that, when I sweep with a broom, the dirt gets lost in the cracks or even falls down into the basement.  When we walk or if someone sits and jiggles his leg up and down, the whole floor shakes.  This is the first floor.....

Our bathroom is upstairs with a separate shower stall.....neither are quite up to the latest styles....

Over time, I had become more and more ashamed and embarrassed of our home, even though I do my best to make it as warm and welcoming as possible.  Don't ask Dave about it, because he feels worse than I do about our home's condition, but to have it just right takes both time and money and neither are readily available on this farmstead.  It had gotten to the point where I did not want anybody to come over to visit and if they did I would make excuses for our home.  All I could see were all the "undone" things and not the good things about it.  God started to speak to me about this.  I Tim. 6:6-8 - "But godliness with contentment is great gain.  For we brought nothing into this world and it is certain we can carry nothing out.  And having food and raiment let us be therewith content."   He does not say that we need a nice house or new car or farm or whatever to be content.  No, just two things - food and clothing.  Discontentment breeds envy, jealousy, bitterness, unhappiness.  It is unthankfulness!  I realized that my discontentment and embarrassment of my home were like slapping God in the face.  It was telling Him that what He gave me just was not good enough.  Discontentment and comparing walk hand in hand.  The question always is "Who do you want to compare yourself to?"  First of all, we should not do the comparing game at all, but we do, don't we?  I can compare my home to the home down the road that is big, spacious, new and beautiful.  Mine would fall way short and discontentment would set in.  Or I could compare my home with the rickety huts that the Haitians have to live in and mine would look like a mansion!  They would be oh so happy with the bouncy floors, the leaky windows, the barny smell, cramped quarters and an indoor toilet and shower.  They would think they were in heaven!   Blessings of peace and contentment come when I truly, from the bottom of my heart, pour out my thankfulness for what God has given me and not wish for anything more.  I can be thankful for the cracks in the floor, for they enable the heat from the wood stove in the basement to warm the upstairs more easily, I can be thankful for the small spaces and the claustrophobic feelings for it forces my dear family to be "close" together.  I can be thankful for the barny smell that penetrates the whole porch for it is a sign we are healthy enough to work.  I can be thankful for my simple bathroom, for hey! I don't need to run outside in the cold to an outhouse!  The times when comparing and discontentment come knocking at my door, (and they knock quite loudly), instead of answering I thank God for what He has given me, and for meeting my needs in a way that He feels best.  My little imperfect abode is my earthly mansion and it is a gift from my Heavenly Father.  He has seen fit to give me more than food and clothing and I am so very thankful!   I will no longer be ashamed of this gift and will welcome any visitor.  Want to come over?  Please, just remember to sit still so the floor don't shake and really!  that's not rain - it's just the shower and don't it sound relaxing?

Until next time. . . . . . .

Down The Wrong Alley!

So, I was speeding right along on Highway Diet 101 towards Better Health when some distractions caught my attention out the side window.  I slowed down and realized I was at the intersection of Birthday Party Alley and Highway Diet 101! I so stupidly decided to take a detour down the alley, which was lined with shops called Birthday Cake, Tortilla Shop (stuffed with apple filling), and Chips Galore! (we did have fresh veggies and fruit, also).  As I passed each one, I just had to stop in and taste test their products!  One bite led to another and another.  Uuuhhhh!  Why, oh why didn't I have the strength to squeal my tires in haste to get away from that intersection and keep heading for my destination.  Well, the detour lasted all weekend into Monday!  I got lost on Homemade Pierogi Ave., Chocolate Fountain St., and ended up on Nibble Interstate where it became clear that I was paying the price for my curiostiy.  By Monday evening, I was feeling defeated, but my dear hubby and sons encouraged me that "tomorrow is a new day, just start again."  Over the last 2 weeks, I had become lazy in doing my trackers (a sheet that I write down everything I eat and the times I do so).  Tuesday morning arrived with new grace (and self forgiveness) and a new tracker got put on fridge and blinders strapped to my head :) heehee!  Today went much better and I feel like I am back on track.  The whole incident made me realize that I CANNOT cheat.  My body reacts to the sugar and wheat and self control flys right out the back window.  I also realize that I am not as strong  fighting temptations as much as I wish I was.  It reminds me of how sin can enter into our lives - oh, just one little sentence of gossip, just one little peek at the immoral picture, oh, thats not really cheating is it and it's only a white lie!  Surely just alittle won't hurt!  And before you know you are sucked into the racecar traveling pellmell down avenues you thought you would never travel!  May we find strength to not become distracted by the luring shops that seem to line the streets we travel each day.

On a good note, I am still walking and becoming physically stronger!  Not 7 days a week, but most days.  The weather has been so nice that we have been able to walk outside.  Thought I would share the view that we (the boys go with me) have when we walk on the street.  Much better than here's a cow, there's a cow, everywhere's a cow cow - 42 times around the barn!

Starting at house, we truck up this long hill.....

Down this side..                                                                                                                                         

Up to town.... turn around, go back up hill (above pic)                                                                    

and back down this hill......                                                                                                                    

past our house to neighbors lane and back to house again ...                                                                       

                                                                        

This is our farm from on top of the hill....                                                                                                   

As far as weight and inches lost? I didn't lose any more in the last 2 weeks and will not measure until 2 more weeks.  This journey has gotten harder here lately, but I will keep my goals and do my best.  What more can I do? 

Until next time. . . . .  .

Happy 9th, Oliver

Today, the youngest person in our family turned 9!  He spent his day helping the men folk around the farm and in the afternoon enjoyed a small party we had in honor of him.   He received some money, a basketball, a fishing rod, underwear and a bomber hat.  Yea for the bomber hat!  He wanted one months ago and thought I could make one for him.  I never felt brave enough to tackle one, so I was very excited to find one at WalMart for 50% off this morning!   He wanted to make and decorate his own cake and he did a fine job! :)

Happy 9th birthday, Oliver Forest!  We love you bunches!

Until next time..............

4 Week Update on Getting Healthy

Today marks 4 weeks since I started my get healthy journey.  I am not sharing this because I have "arrived" nor because I think I now have the best road map.  I am sharing it for a few reasons....I need to be accountable to people and by making this public I will be less tempted to go down the alleys.  This blog is also my diary where I keep record of the highlights of our lives here on the farm and in our personal lives.  I know that losing weight is not an easy thing and all of you who may be thinking about starting your journey, or may have already started it - it is good to have a cheering squad and to encourage one another.  Whether you have 10, 35, 75 or over 100 lbs. to lose, the experience is the same.  Habits have to be examined and changed (and that is no easy feat!), nutritional knowledge has to be learned, and a drive and determination has be present.

I am going to be vulnerable .....what finally drove me to seeking help was the fact that my eating was wwwaaayyy out of control.  I had become so disgusted with myself, with my lack of self control, with not liking what I saw in the mirror, and being limited in my physical activities.  Dear friends, you don't need to guzzle alcohol, snort drugs, or view pornography to be called an addict!  Oh, no!  Addictions can come quite close to home and we turn our backs on them and call them a "weakness" or some other name that makes us feel more righteous than drunks, druggies, and perverts.  Addiction is addiction is addiction.  Same control, same power!  I am not a expert on "addictions", but there is something in all of them that effect our physical (and emotional) bodies and drive us back for more, more, more!

For weeks before my journey, I spent my days feeling hungry all the time!  I was addicted to eating.  Never satisfied!  I hated it!  I sought help and I will briefly tell you what was mapped out for me.  For the first week, every day I had to have 6 servings of vegetables, 3 fruit, 3 grains, 3 milks, 6 proteins and 3 fats. NO SUGAR! And I was to walk 1 mile every day.  I felt better for the first 2 days and then those "hungries" came back full force.  It is horrible to diet when hunger is present all the time.  My nutritionist made some changes the 2nd week.  No milk, more protein and walk 40 minutes every day. The next day - still hungry all the time and feeling lightheaded and giddy.  She took me off all wheat and added a fat.  I immediately felt much better and best of all, I was not hungry, however, I had to eat every 4 hours or my blood sugar would drop.  Believe me, that is worse than the hungries!  By the end of the 3rd week, I felt significantly better. In the 4th week, I could go longer than 4 hours without eating and when I do eat I can hardly eat all the food I am suppose to.  I am still off milk, wheat and sugar and food no longer controls me - I control the food and that makes me extremely happy.  According to my nutritionist, sugar is addictive and with me, so is wheat.  Both effected my body to create the "addictions". The more sugar and wheat - the more hungry I was.  I have lost 9.8 lbs.  (25.2 to go), and 8 1/4 inches.   It has been worth it so far!    To all my fellow travel companions - hang in there!

Until next time...........

My Journey to Better Health

Sigh!  Were you ever on a trip that seemed more like you were on a roller coaster rather than a highway?  You have a destination in mind, a vision of how wonderful it will be to "arrive". You pack your bags, load the van, and look around for your map.  Well, there is Rand McNally Atlas, National Geographic Atlas, and Michlin Atlas to pick from. Which one to choose?  Which is the easiest one to follow?  Hopefully they all have the same information, but maybe, just maybe there are some differences.  Well, there are more, many many more, "atlas es" out there proclaiming that their highways are the best to travel to arrive at better health.  Just follow their directions and you will pull right up at your totally healthy, sleek-looking, drug-free destination.  They must all be correct, for they each have wonderful testimonies from people who have traveled their roads right to the perfect ending.   I have traveled with some of those "atlas es" - one by Dr. Atkins, another by Diana Schwarzbein, still another by Sally Fallon.  For some reason, I always ended up at the same destination - the city of Frustration!  So, instead of finding the atlas that was right for my journey, I gave up on all of them and wondered down the road of Don't Care Anymore.  Ever been on that road?  Oh, you have perfect freedom - feeling sad? Eat! Feeling happy? Eat! Mad? Eat!  Who cares??  But, soon you realize you're not alone, for every so many miles you gain another companion - and their names are all the same "Add Another Pound"!   They are sneaky companions!  They sneak up on you and latch on without you realizing it and all of a sudden! you look at yourself and wonder how on earth you ended up with all these companions!   Oh, dear friends, it is not a fun destination!  For some of us, desperation sets in and we are tempted to keep traveling on the road named Don't Care Anymore, but we now realize it is lined with enemies waiting to attack us and make us more sick and weak. 

Many of you know that I have thyroid issues for 23 yrs. and for about 5-6 years now I have been having trouble getting my levels to stay at an even keel, where I feel good for a long period of time.  I have also weighed the same for the last 6 years.   My desire is to lose 35 #'s in hopes of helping my thyroid function better and for me to be more healthy.  I know that may not sound like much to lose, but it is enough to be difficult for me. The first thing I knew I needed to do was to find someone to be accountable to, someone who could help me get a personalized map for my journey.  I visited a nutritionist and she mapped me a travel plan.  It had to be tweeked a few times since then (which was 3 wks ago), but I have learned alot.  Portion sizes are the biggest thing that has got my attention.  3 cups of veggies is alot of veggies! An ounce of bread is next to nothing.  3 oz. of meat can fill you up, 1/2 banana is a serving of fruit. Wheat makes me hungry all the time, and beans for breakfast are wonderful.  I have also learned that I have low blood sugar and if I don't eat every 4 hrs. I am in trouble.  Another discipline that has been really good for me is I have to walk for 40 min. every day.  I love to walk and I love to walk on the road, however, if it is raining or really cold, I walk in the barn.  Well, yet another thing I have learned is 40 minutes (2 miles) walking in the barn is about more than I can bear!  :) It is 42 times around and around and this is my view......up one side

down the other......

I have my challenges on this journey.  I am tempted to go down Chocolate Ave., and Donut Lane.  They beckon to me and leave me under the impression that just alittle detour won't hurt, but I know that if I am serious about reaching my destination, I cannot be looking out my side windows, but straight ahead toward the goal.  I have left a few pounds behind in the dust already, which my nutritionist says is almost a miracle because of my thyroid, but I so want to reach my destination and to do that I have to travel this road, sometimes roller coaster, that will get me there.  Only with God's strength and His timing! . . . . . . . . . . . .

Until next time. . . . . . . .

You're Invited To Breakfast!

Finally got the scrapple and sausage finished.  Now, anyone want to come for breakfast?  : )  My menu prices are reasonable and we would enjoy your company. 

Scrapple being made....all the bones have been picked, broth and meat are in kettle....we add cornmeal, salt, pepper, sage and this time we used oat flour, instead of buckwheat because Dave cannot have any wheat.  Turned out good...



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Taste testing is VERY important, you know! : )

With the sausage, first we run it through the grinder with a large hole plate, then we add seasonings (salt, pepper, sage), and run it through the grinder again using a smaller holed plate.  Some we packaged bulk, most we put in casings....

Taste testing is VERY important for sausage, also!  : )  It makes all the work more fun if we stop for a tasting break.

Yes, we did this in the milkhouse.  Please don't tell the milk inspector!  He would be extremely upset with us!  For don't you know?  Some of that raw meat just might sneak into that tank of milk and spoil the whole load.  Boy, did we have to keep our eye on those sausages!  Heehee!! 

Scrapple with apple butter smeared on top, sausage fried with onions and ketchup squirted zig zagged down the full length, sunny side up eggs with home made bread toasted with a slab of butter melting on top, cold creamy fresh chocolate milk - all for the price of. . . . .ummmmm.....let's see ......$8.95.  Is that reasonable?  Call to make your reservations!

Until next time. . . . . . .

Happy Birthday Ben!

Yesterday, Jan. 1st, our first born child turned 23! May the coming year bring many blessings to you, Ben, and thanks for being you - a wonderful son, friend and helper.  We love you!

On his birthday, we had a game day.  Ben, George and Solomon played Risk and Dave, Uriah, Oliver and I played Settlers of Catan.  We had so much fun!

And for you who play settlers, this is what our game looked like.  It was the closest game we ever played with 3 of us having 8 points at the same time.  

Happy New Year to all of you!

Until next time. . . . .