Happy 11th Birthday to Uriah

This past Sunday (the 22nd), Uriah turned 11 years old.  We celebrated in the evening and he wanted pizza mountain pies.......

And instead of birthday cake, he wanted pumpkin pie - thanks, mom, for making them!

Happy Birthday, Uriah!  We so appreciate your sweet spirit and caring ways!  Love you bunches!

Until next time........

My Favorite Men!

These are my favorite men a few years ago......

And here they are today.......

 I am still being loved and protected!

Life can be interesting in a house full of the opposite gender.  If you have ever been through the series "Love and Respect" by Emerson Eggerich, you will find the phrase "pink and blue" to be familiar.  Women see things through pink glasses, men through blue.  Is one wrong and the other right?  No!  Just different!  Now imagine a home where there is only one pair of pink glasses and 6 pair of blue!  Yes, quite interesting at times!   :-)    I love it though!   And you know that phrase "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em?"  it's true!  Sometimes I miss the pretty frills, but I know where to find them.  They are now at Kelsey's house and when I need a "pink" fix, I hang out with them!

Thank you, Ella, for taking these nice pictures!  Next time I need to remember my camera! :-)

Until next time........

Sabotaged!

I have not updated about my journey to Better Health since March and you probably wondered if I careened into a ditch somewhere and got forever lost.  Well, I haven't got lost and I am still on the road, even down 2 more #'s, but I have been sabotaged by this companion that was traveling with me.  He has been very influential in my life and sometimes he treats me good and other times he is a menace.   He has caused me to divert my full attention from Diet Highway 101 to the paralleling route of Highway Metabolism.  My companion's name is Thyroid and I knew it was time for me to get at the bottom of our relationship and find out why he has to be so disagreeable. 

I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism after our first child, Ben, was born in 1989.  Read the beginning of the story here.  At the end of that post in Feb. 2011, my med dose was being decreased.  Over the next year, they went up again.  So, I was back on the roller coaster and becoming increasingly frustrated.  I made an appt. with a specialist, who charged me hundreds of $'s to not tell me anything I didn't already know!  Plus, he didn't really care what I had to say, HE was the Dr. and HE knows me better than I know myself - NOT!  Back to family Dr., who changed my meds once more and than informed me that I really do need to see a specialist. I cannot describe how totally exasperated I felt.  Is there really nobody out there that knows to do anything different than keep putting a band aide on this problem, plus care what their patients have to say?  All blood tests that I had done this year so far, have come back with me being borderline hyper, which means I needed my meds reduced.  My exercise regiment ended, for I was once again having chest and shoulder pain and when I would do any exercising I thought my heart would be beat out of my chest.  I realized that for me to find answers and help, I would need to do it myself, which I should have done years ago.  So, I turned to Google, books from the library, and any other info that I can get my hands on.  I spent days sitting at the computer desperately searching for answers that many other's seemed to be looking for, too.  One day, God whispered in my ear that I should seek help from a mid-wife.  Would a mid-wife understand hormones better?  Be more open to other options?  I contacted one locally and to make a long story short, they can do my blood work, order tests that I want, order the dose that I know I need, and they are excited to learn right along with me.  They are accountable to a med. Dr., who is VERY willing to listen to his patients and take their suggestions to heart.  Exciting!!  Through my research, I learned of other blood work that Dr's. should also take when the thyroid function is in question, but rarely do they order them.  It is so much easier to use that band aid instead of fixing the root illness.  When the test results came back, they revealed that I have Hashimoto's, which is an auto-immune disease that is caused by allergies, stress, toxins, and a few other things.  The disease attacked my thyroid and caused hypothyroidism.  One of the symptoms that I have been experiencing for years was the tremendous fluctuation in TSH levels - hypo to hyper - back & forth.  Ahhhh....that's me and finally I have an explanation and hopefully a solution.  An elimination diet is suggested - gluten, dairy, grain free.  Eat lots of veggies, fruit and meat!  And make some lifestyle changes.  I am still in the learning stage, so I will continue to share info. with you as I learn it.

So, do I still want to lose weight?  Absolutely! But, for me to do that, I have to also focus on getting my metabolism to work properly or the journey would be next to impossible.  I have new motivation to stay clear from wheat and sugar!  And to share my story in hopes of helping others who are also traveling this frustrating road with a companion who is at odds with them, too.  I want to encourage you who may be suffering with this to do your research, go to your Dr. and ask for the tests that you want.  He may think you are off your rocker, but don't let that intimidate you.  And if he does not listen, find someone who will.   Also,  I am reminded that we have a Great Physician who can heal even the worst disease, who hears all our concerns and who cares greatly for us.  My thoughts have been on a certain woman who had suffered for 12 years with bleeding.  She made her way through a crowd of people and said "if I may but touch his garment, I shall be whole".  And Jesus said to her "Daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole" and she was healed!  Matthew 9:20  I love that story and I want that kind of faith, also!     

To be continued......

     Until next time.......     

Because It Rained

 We have had the perfect weather for farmers.  We would have some rain, followed by some days of sunshine.  And that makes for some great grass growing.  We have put 2 cuttings of hay in the barn already this season and we are hoping that the weather will continue this perfect pattern.  We will see.......

But because of rain.....

Mowing

tedding

   

baling (I missed a pic of raking)

     

Dave stacks the biggest loads......

This was taken one year ago at hay making time.  I wonder what they were discussing?

Hay making is such a rewarding time and we all enjoy doing our part and working together as a family. 

Thank you, Lord, for the rain!

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

Gold or Faith

Which one would you choose?  Sometimes in life, things do not go as we plan.  Maybe for some of us, rarely do things go as we plan or dream of.  Did you ever wonder why it seems that some families seem to cruise smoothly down the highway of life and nothing major seems to happen to them?  They have  plenty of money and talent and succeed at whatever they put their mind to.  And then there are families that seem to ride on the rumble strips for years!  They have rough child bearing years, they seem to be medically needy, and only seem to have enough money to scrape by each week and when they put their mind to whatever, it just don't seem to pan out as planned. Ever wonder?  Is God blessing the one group of families and cursing the other?  Is the one group obedient and reaping all the material blessings and the other sinning in some way and God is punishing?  

Oh, I have contemplated this for many, many years!  For you see, we seem to be one of the families that rumble while we are cruising.  Sometimes we even seem to hit all the pot holes that are available.  We have experienced bruises, bumps and even a few concussions.  And it is not Dave's fault, nor mine, nor anyone elses.  It is life!  It has been a trip, and a trip that we have learned so much on!   It is not a pity seeking journey or a boo hoo sob story!  Far from it!  It is a journey that maybe some of you are traveling right now and need some encouragement.  

A few weeks ago, Dave shared a verse with us and it has effected me dramatically!  I can choose to look back and think of all the "rumbles" with a bitter, envious attitude.  I can stick my pointer finger straight out and try to find someone, anyone to wag it at and lay the blame on. I can accuse God of not caring for me or fear that He was punishing me for something I must have done.  Or I can think and meditate on the verse that Dave challenged us with......I Peter 1:7..That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth...... He asked us which we would rather have - trials or gold?   Which would you pick?  Well.....we first picked gold, knowing already that was the wrong answer. Oh, "gold" would solve all the problems!  We could have great fun!  Get out of debt, go on vacations, have a new car, if we want something we could whip out a piece of gold from our stash in the closet safe and pay it.  It would be grand.....but in the end it would all perish.  It would mean nothing in eternity.   It is so inferior to the trials that come our way, that force us to look to God and trust Him.  "Gold" can just be a smooth ride. Everything going our way, having our prayers answered on time, if there is a want it is met, great relationships, great circumstances.  We would be "earthly", and emptily rich!  The trials that come into our lives make us more understanding, sympathetic, and compassionate people to those around us.  Trials can bring us to the end of ourselves and make us realize that we are nothing without HIM!  They can force us to look at our priorities, see God at work, see His grace being poured out.  What is my trial of faith, or yours?  Is it a bad report from the Dr., a notice of eviction in the mail, a cheating spouse, a rebellious child, an addiction, financial difficulties, nagging thyroid issues ☺, a job that you hate?  Is it God's punishment to you?  No, His love will be there and shine through for us!  When we learn to look at all circumstances through the eyes of our Lord, we will see that He is asking us to lean on Him, learn from Him, trust in Him and what we learn will bring peace through the trials and have an effect on us for eternity and that IS more precious than gold can ever be.  A popular phrase is "God is so good", and He is!  But, it seems that I hear (and say) it when things are going good, going "my" way, the report was a positive one, the bills are being paid, we received an answered prayer.  The point that God wants us to arrive at is that we can shout "God is SO good" when we are vibrating down the rumble strip, with no answers, no solutions, no good report, and mean it from the bottom of our hearts.  Can I see God in the potholes?  DO I want to see God in the potholes?  Or is my desire to still ride the smooth road with no resistance?  Oh, I have a lloonngg way to travel!  But, I know the end result is worth fighting for.  I am thankful, or maybe I should say, starting to be thankful, for the rumble strips (most of them anyway :-)), and for the potholes for now I know that they can be used to increase my faith and make me more like Jesus.   

By the way, I believe that all families, including the seemingly smooth sailing ones, have their areas of trials.  Some are just more externally obvious.

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

Our Backyard Camp Ground

I think I post pictures of our Backyard Camp Ground each year, but it is our little get-away-stay-home place, and we always look forward to spending time there on our stay-cations.  With milking cows, this sometimes is the only vacation we are able to have.  A few years ago, we got a free pop-up from a listing in the merchandiser and the boys love sleeping in there sometimes.  We do not have the stress of packing to go away and we still have the luxury of showers and our own soft beds if we choose to stay in the house.  We have been lagging behind in preparing this area for the season and so on Saturday, the boys & I scrubbed the lawn chairs, benches, tables, etc. and left them in the sun to dry.

All set up for the Dry Laundry Concert!  It was the most airy concert we ever witnessed! ☺

Our camp site.....

The pool is up........

This is the 3rd year we had this pool and it was given to us from some friends.  We are still extremely grateful for the gift!  Every one enjoys it tremendously!

We have been finished with school for a few weeks and it has been wonderful!  We will have off til July and then it gets hot, the boys end up inside out of the heat and then I bring out the books.  Hey!  If they are going to be inside anyway, they may as well do something productive, right?   Right!  ☺ And so we get an early start and can then take off for days we want to do food preservation, or fun days in the Fall.  And actually, by July, we are needing some structure to our days and school has a way of forcing that to happen.

May the summer be kind to each of you!

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

The Extent of Our Garden

First, I wanted to let all you folks that did not finish reading the post on us possibly milking water buffalo, that it will not work out.  To find out why, you have to read all the way to the bottom of the post.... ☺ http://beingtriedasgold.blogspot.com/2012/04/change-in-making.html

Our garden seems to shrink more and more each year.  We do not have rich, deep soil around the house, but a lot of shale, so a few years ago we started building up a small area in the yard with compost.  Last year, we planted 50 strawberry plants in that area and still had room for some tomato plants.  This year, however, Dave transplanted the strawberry runners into the remaining space and eliminated any room for anything else besides a small patch of lettuce and a yellow baseball plant.  Baseballs?  Never heard of growing baseballs?  It's the new thing...... heeeeheee

Usually, we planted potatoes back in a field somewhere, but each winter we had the issue of poor storage.  So this year, we decided to down size and try to grow just enough potatoes to eat through the fall.  I had come across a neat idea on the internet to grow them in barrels and decided to experiment with it.  Our milk house detergents come in plastic "barrels" so, Ben drilled holes in the bottom for drainage (or you can completely remove the bottom and set barrel on old carpet) and dug up some rich soil from elsewhere on the farm.  We mixed it with some sawdust, put approx.6 inches of this soil in bottom of barrel and "planted" the seed potatoes in that....

In a barrel this size, we only planted 2 seed potatoes.  If you plant them too close together, they will be crowded and produce tiny potatoes..

As the sprouts grow into plants and start peeking through the soil, you add another layer of soil.  This is continued until the barrel is full of soil and the plants are growing out the top.  The end result is to be a barrel full of potatoes.  We will see......

I purchased a huge number of 4 tomato plants!  I think I can handle that many ☺ and those ended up down at the house in tubs. 

And that is the extent of our garden!  We are hoping to someday put in a few raised beds, but until that time I will be looking for any extra produce that friends, family and neighbors may have to sell.  Keep me in mind and give me a buzz if you fall into that category.

Ben purchased 2 more composters this year and we already can taste that sausage.....

And did you know there is 40 calories in 1 tablespoon of raw milk cream?  so how many calories does that make in a batch of homemade ice cream made with pure cream?  Waaayyy too many!  Why are calories so yummy?

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