Choosing Thankfulness

Whenever my kids are having a hard time or are complaining I say to them "Choose Thankfulness" and help them examine the aspects of whatever it is, and pick out things to say "Thank you Jesus for...". It IS a choice. There are really happy people in really crappy circumstances, circumstances even the most empathetic person cannot wrap their heads and heart around. They are happy and at peace because they choose to be thankful. As some of you know this has been a really challenging week for our family and it's only Wednesday. Last night after my husband went to bed I sat alone with the Lord in the living room and cried about it all. Guess what he patiently and quietly whispered into my heart. "Choose thankfulness." So here it is, something I am thankful for, for each thing that was difficult or meant for my harm or the harm of those I love, I'm choosing elements to be thankful for.

I am thankful for our little monster dog Rylo who was accidentally let out and killed one of our chicks. He makes us laugh with his, whatever the opposite of majesty, grace, and beauty is called. I'm thankful that he makes my Lena Bean so happy, except that day. I'm thankful that we have chickens and the resources that includes. I'm thankful for the child who volunteered to dig the hole, bury, and make a cross for the grave of "Cammo". Seriously, the depths of this kid, just like their daddy.

I am thankful for Hannah Williams. I am thankful for the special bond I have with this BEAUTIFUL, kind, fun, deep, affectionate, gigantically hearted sister. I am thankful the Lord has given her a life mate. I am so thankful for him too. Such a precious, tender brother. I am thankful for them individually, but what they are together in the Lord is a whole other gift to be thankful for. I am thankful the Lord has a lifetime of adventure planned for them, even if it means I have to say good bye, or "see you later". I am also thankful for her parents.

I am thankful for those who have shown us understanding, sensitivity, and love how it applies to being a police family at a time where people are hating them. Between the ambush killing of an officer so close to home and Ferguson, the level of sensitivity some people have and the love and concern they show, it warms my heart more than you could ever know.  I am thankful for the officers we know, ALL GOOD GUYS. I am thankful for their servant hearts. I am thankful that the sheep have sheep dogs to protect them against the wolves. I am thankful for my police wives too! And of course, I am thankful to be married to a real life hero. There is nothing in this world, besides Jesus, I am more proud of than him who my heart loves.

I am thankful one of my children didn't receive a worse diagnosis. It really could be worse. I am thankful a couple aspects of the illness will go away with age. While there is no cure or real treatment I am thankful there are natural, dietary, and physical therapies that can help some. I am thankful for the love that surrounds them. True love. From A LOT of people. Not a thing I take lightly or take for granted. I am thankful for how the Lord plans to use this child and already has. I am also thankful He prepared me for the news with a strong suspicion and it wasn't a bomb dropped out of nowhere. His grace is also in knowing that about me.

I am thankful for the family member that hates my guts. I am thankful they are alive and well enough to hate me. Not being sarcastic, I'm serious.  I am thankful the Lord allows me to truly and completely forgive them even if they have blown through their 77X7. I'm thankful one of the things they hate about me most is that I follow Jesus. To be hated for His sake, there is no better privilege. I am thankful the Lord is my friend and shares His pain from this person with me. They hate me because I am a "christian" but hate Him because His is Christ. He shared that one with me last night too. We both love and forgive them, even if they keep wounding.

And lastly,because it's equally important to be thankful for the small things as they really add up,  I am thankful I got to clean up after Friday's party. #1 It was SO fun! #2 We got to keep the paper plates and today, this very day, Wednesday, November 26th 2014 I am SO thankful for paper plates.

Two birds in the bush IS one in the hand. Wait, what?

Okay, so that's not how the saying goes but it is up in this hizouse when it comes to dinner. There is a super duper easy way to have chicken prepared and ready for when you need it and you get a great bonus. Wanna know what the bonus is? SCHMALTZ!!! Oh, goodness gracious, sweet precious schmaltz. If you know what that is, you are oohing and ahhing right along with me. If not, you are probably thinking, "Isn't that the kind of thing gangsters drink out of a paper bag?". No baby, that's Schlitz. Schmaltz is rendered chicken or goose fat used for frying or as a spread. I use it for neither but if you wanted to you could. I put it ALL in a soup. Seriously great stuff for gut healing. So, it's this easy ready? Put 2 whole chickens (we use organic) in your crockpot, add nothing at all, turn it on low for 11-12 hours, go to bed. Yep, no water, no salt, no veggies. Nothing. In the morning you will have 2 slightly golden chickens sitting in the most insanely gelatinous/schmaltzy broth. The broth is so flavorful and strong that I use it (it comes to about 1-3 cups) just as a base for a huge pot of soup only adding water the rest of the way. The chicken is also crazy flavorful and tender and not mealy like chicken can sometimes be when you cook it in the crockpot. I don't claim to understand the majic that happens to them in the wee hours, but it's amazing. Let the chickens cool and when you are ready start picking the meat off. I usually put one chicken each in a freezer bag but you can certianly seperate it into smaller portions if you are not feeding 6 people like us. I make certian that the chicken is fully cooled before I put it in a plastic freezer bag because I don't like the idea of heating the plastic bag at all. When I make a soup or casserole or whatever I just drop the bag on the tile floor which breaks up the pieces, and add it right in. I usually take all the bones and start a broth for another time while I'm at it but if you don't have the time you can always freeze the bones and do it at a later time. So two birds in the bush, or the crockpot, means you have dinner in the hand when you want it.

For those who are interested in living a healthy natural lifestyle, which we are striving to do, this is a good resource to learn more. You'll learn about health, wellness, fitness, homesteading, essential oils, food allergies or sensitivities, natural health and all that jazz. There is a way you can get the courses for free, who doesn't like free? Anyway here is the link because I know you want it, and I'm stringing you along, and now you are going crazy because I just won't post it. Ready? http://healthylivingbundle.com/?ref=d5496767d2
I'm not getting paid for this advert, I just wanted to share a resource with you all.

May you have love that never ends, 
lots of money, and lots of friends. 
Health be yours, whatever you do, 
and may God send many blessings to you!

Wait! Don't throw that out!

     Once upon a time there was a couple with 3 children (at the time). The couple was deeply in love. I'm talking head over heels, DEEP in love. Unfortunately, they were just as deep in debt. So, they learned to be creative, cheap, resourceful, and use everything! Okay, blah, blah, blah, The End. Seriously people we had NO money. Negative money actually. In that time it became troublesome to  me the amount of garbage we had. We needed much yet tossed much. And that was even with using cloth diapers! So in this post I'm going to run through a few things I have made in the last day or two and then what I made from the waste from the thing I made. Did I lose you? 

First, a while back I made vanilla extract because it was cheaper. I did the math it was hundreds of times cheaper. No kidding. Vodka or bourbon+ these vanilla beans +3 months=vanilla extract. I suggest buying the ginormous package and splitting with a friend to save the most. Anywho, I had some spent beans from the process and with that I made vanilla sugar.  Have you ever had this delightful product? It's a little piece of heaven, but a piece of heaven I am not willing to spend $3.49 PER OUNCE on! I'm not even kidding. To make your own, put the spent beans in sugar and let that sit a few months shaking the jar every now and then. Put it in your coffee, or water kefir primary ferment for a cream soda kinda vibe. Or you can add cinnamon to the last little bit like I did and sprinkle on apples for apple chips. 

Guess what happens next. Well, with apple chips you have cores and trimmings that are too small for the dehydrator. Toss them? NO! Did you not see the title of this post?! You put the apple waste in a mason jar cover with water, cover with a cloth and in 6 months you have your own raw apple cider vinegar! Like Bragg's but basically free. It is exactly that easy. Get yourself a big enough jar and you can keep adding to it. I used a 1/2 gallon jar and covered with a "hippie paper towel". (That's what we call the paper towels I made with receiving blankets I no longer used. They are the best!) You can use cheese cloth if you are still working on your granola-ness.

The next thing is chicken. This can go further than you think. I'll start by asking you this. What is the first thing you do when you pop a chicken in the oven? You cut up veggies (or pull out all your veggie scraps you've been saving in your freezer in anticipation of this day) put them in your crock pot so when you are done with your chicken the bones can go straight in. To get the most minerals out of the bones add a splash of, guess what. I'll give you a hint. It's something I mentioned ^^up there^^. Apple cider vinegar. Put on low and in the morning you will have broth. Again, if scraps and carcasses is something you usually throw away, you have just made a way to get free broth with the amount and type of salt you want to add. Also I doubt you'll add weird ingredients like msg. You can actually get a few batches of this broth by continuing to pull broth out and adding water and occasionally scraps for a few days. If it has color, it has flavor and nutrients. 3-5 days for chicken bones and a week for beef bones. Once you can easily break them between your forefinger and thumb they are done. You can can or freeze the broth but do NOT freeze in canning jars.They will crack.  Don't ask how I know. A friend of mine... Okay it was me. When you are done with the veggies they can go to the dog. As for the bones,  grind them and feed them to the dogs OR if it sits okay with you, your chickens. They are cannibals. They have no problem with it. Eww.

If we ever are in a situation like the great depression, or you just become broke like we were, and you have learned to use everything you have you'll not have a learning curve and you can just keep on keeping on.  If you ever wonder what to do with left over X or trimmings from Y, google it, you will be surprised, and educated, and people will think you are so cool and resourceful, mostly because you will be. 

Leftover hugs and kisses,
Meg

  

8 Facts about the majestic Mare-Bear

The Mare-Bear is a rare creature indeed. In fact at this moment in time there is only one in existence, on the ENTIRE planet and we have the privilege of  hand raising this preciousness.

Here are 8 facts to acquaint you with the beautiful Mare-Bear

#1 They dance to any kind of beat. The dog scratching himself, veggies being chopped, and if you attempt to soothe this creature with some back patting, forget it. DANCE. PARTY. They have even been known to dance to the rhythm of their own suckling.

#2 They are super soft and smooshie.

#3 They have huge eyes and are watching your every move. I'm almost sure they don't even blink.

#4 They are little fighters and survivors. (A post for another day)

#5 They don't want their own food. They want yours. 

#6 They have a sense of humor from a young age. For example they pretend to take a bite out of you, then smack their lips. Yummy humans.

#7 They are SUPER social creatures. *Excuse me random guy, I've never seen or met you before but will you hold me?*

#8 They favor the number 8. Born 8/8 at 8:46 and was 18.5 inches. 

Here is a short documentary of the birth and 1st year of us raising this beautiful little creature!

Happy birthday baby girl! We love you!

Welcome and a recipe!

Since the Lord has been showing me and my family so much lately I figured I'd share it with the world! It is our family's goal to eventually become totally self-sufficient. Yeah, like never go to Publix , as glorious as it is, again, make and grow everything we consume, solar panels, all that! And what we can't make we can barter for. Like little house on the prairie but with running water, electricity, and TP ("family cloth" is a no-go).  As of right now we are NOT there. We are well on our way, but we have a lot of work to do and this is the journey I'd like to share. We have 4 children and are currently homeschooling the oldest 3. The 1 year old is already proficient in quantum physics and has her PhD in liderachure from Harvard so I don't bother with her. We have a large backyard but nothing considered "acreage" at this point. BUT I see that as a good thing. Starting small and as we learn add in new things. I am certain that as the Lord gives us knowledge He will also give us room.  We have started the chicken thing. We have 10 of them who are a month old.  You can look for a post somewhere around the 27th when I tell you what I'm doing with the extra roosters. Dun , dun, duuuuuuuuuuun! Yep, I'm going to do that myself too. I know. Anyone remember the prissy, made up, not wanting to get dirty Meg of the past? Well, she's gone. It only took me 4 tumors (ovarian, adrenal, spinal, one huge melanoma) and 8 other melanomas to take a real look at my health, diet, and lifestyle. Getting cut open again, especially for the spinal tumor was not something I wanted to do.  I'll warn you, once you go on that journey you'll be a goner too. I learned a ton about nutrition, then where it comes from, who controls and regulates it and boy, it's very depressing. That's when the desire to DIY hits! As of now I make all our food (which is almost totally from the farmers market or local farms) from scratch which also includes fermenting and brewing things like kombucha. I also make all our cleaners and almost all of our personal care products. So, now it's more a matter of producing than knowing what to do with it. Speaking of producing my mom's cousin asked that I produce this recipe for my fermented ketchup, although I suspect he might be razzing me to some degree. I decided to give this a try after a certain ConAgra ketchup company refused to tell me what "natural flavoring" was, or meant and when the "ingredient research team" called me back again, they couldn't and wouldn't tell me.  What are they trying to hide? You really need a team that researches ingredients not explicitly named? Not comforting! I'll leave you with this SO yummy, healthy, full of probiotics recipe that is insane on sweet potato fries, INSANE or anything, including a spoon. I *may* have eaten some on a spoon. Okay, I ate some on a spoon. Don't judge me.

Lactofermented Ketchup

• 2 cups tomato paste 
• 1/4 cup raw honey 
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp fresh whey, divided
• 2 tbsp raw apple cider vinegar (or a little more if you want it thinner)
• 1 tsp unrefined sea salt
• 1/2 tsp ground cloves

Blend all ingredients except 2 tbsp whey and put in a mason jar. Tap out bubbles. Add the remaining whey to the top of the ketchup and put the lid on loosely to allow gas to release. Leave it the heck alone for 3-5 days in a cabinet at room temperature.  That's it. Blend. Jar. Ignore. Eat! This will stay in the fridge for 2-3 months. (Or on a spoon for <1 second)