Spring planning/Winter thankfulness

I know,I know..............Spring *is* a long time away but it seems SO close now that Christmas is over and I am getting seed catalogs in the mail! :) It really IS close! If I take 2 weeks to get my seed order together, and then it takes 2 weeks to get my seeds, that will put me at FEB 1 and that means I would be able to start some seeds! It is a little early but I always start atleast some that early because I am so anxious.....We will be tapping 100 maple trees the whole month of March, part of April and after that......spring will truly be here! :) It is exciting......

BUT I am not tired of winter.There isn't any *sense* in me being tired of winter as winter IS here to stay for a while yet.:) I either have to like it or choose to be unhappy.I choose to like it.There are many things about winter that I am still looking foreward to enjoying......

Baking with my children.
Reading books to my children in front of a warm fire.
Hot chocolate
Warm fires :)
Being tucked up in a warm house in the middle of a beautiful snowstorm.
Having my sweet husband home more.
Having less work to do.
School with my children.
Sewing,quilting,knitting,crocheting etc.Not much time for or desire to do those things in the summer.

I am sure there are more things but those are enough to make a person thankful for winter I think!! :)

So here is a mini challenge for all of you who enjoy spring like I do......:) Learn to enjoy and be thankful for the season you are in! Think of it this way......If you live in a climate with 4 seasons and you live for 50 more years,you have aprox 150 months of winter to face and that is aprox 14 years.......14 years of unthankfulness and complaining or 14 years of joy! :):)

I am going with the joy! :)

I just wanted to say "HI" !

I have a sweet friend and her family here visiting for a week and so I haven't been on the computer much! I just wanted to say HI though and that I will be back before toooooo long....:) Hope everyone is doing wonderfully! :)

Angie

Gingerbread Village Part 5

Gingerbread Village PART 4

Decorating!

Gingerbread Village PART 3

Cutting the pieces and putting together......

Gingerbread village part 2

Mixing the dough!

Gingerbread village PART 1

We are starting out annual Gingerbread Village! Every child gets a gingerbread house to decorate.The smallest children have to have help from Mama and Daddy of course.We can get pretty fancy with these lol.Especially my husband and I.:) We have been known to cut apart jelly candies to make shiny tiles.....Tootsie rolls for logs etc. We all have a blast!

You should be able to click on the graph to make it bigger.

Here is the reicipe.....

Gingerbread dough

Mix together.......

6 Cups flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
 4 tsp ginger
4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp salt

In another bowl beat together until fluffy.......

12 TB butter
1.5 cups brown sugar

Add and beat until well combined:

2 large eggs
1 cup dark molasses
1 TB water

Add dry ingredients to wet and mix with your  hands if you want to do it the messy way.Mix with a spoon if you want to do it the hard way lol

Cover dough and let sit on your counter for 2-6 hours.You can refrigerate if you want to.Just be sure to bring it to room temp before you start rolling.

You will roll the dough about 1/4 inch thick and bake the pieces at 350 for 12-18 min depending on the size of the piece.

Cool and glue together with:

ROYAL ICING

This icing dries hard like plaster and itis pure white unless colored.It is not especially delicious lol.Just tastes like sugar.The recipe does not call for vanilla/flavoring but I always flavor mine.This year I am going to color some of it with koolaide too.Koolaide makes the most BEAUTIFUL colored frosting! I have never tried it but a friend of mine did.I am not a Koolaide user but I figure hey,if children can drink hundreds of gallons of the stuff and still live,we should be able to use it in frosting once a year.:)

Be sure that you don't get *any* egg yolk or *anything* greasy in the egg whites or your frosting will not work.Don't store it in a plastic container either.

If you are paranoid about raw eggs make your icing like this.......

1 large egg white
2/3 cup powdered sugar

Heat on the stove or *gasp* microwave it ( I do it on the stove) until the mixture reaches 160.After heating,add 2/3 cup powdered sugar and beat it until it holds a stiff peak.Add flavorings and coloring if desired.

If you are like me,just mix 1 large egg white and 1 1/3 cup of powdered sugar in a bowl and beat.:) Skip the heating lol.

Ok,I will be back with part 2 (pictures of dough making) later.Off to cut out my pieces.....

Lady Liners

I thought these were so pretty that I just had to post a picture of them on my blog! :):) Who ever knew that cloth pads could be so pretty.....:)

Our Christmas decorations.........

These are NOT the greatest quality pictures lol.You get the idea though.We are not done with the snowflakes.....We have alot more to make.....Mamma likes to make snowflakes...:) Anyhow,if you are like me,try making some snowflakes with tin foil! BEAUTIFUL! You can see the ones that I made in the picture....

The paper chain that the girls made busted in one section and I didn't even fix it for the picture lol.I keep meaning to fix it............

The baby ripped 2 of the snowmen off of the chalk board but there *were* eight lol.

Just wanted to let you know that I *am* getting all of the emails......

I will probably keep the blog public for another week or so and then I will change it.You will all be getting invitations when I do change it.:) Oh and it isn't that I have gotten anything nasty said to me.I am just uncomfortable with having no clue who is lurking in the background kwim?

I am making my blog private

I really hate to do it but it has to be.If you would like me to invite you to my blog, comment here with your email, or email me at angiesessentials@frontiernet.net  with your email.This goes totally against my personality as I hate to hurt anyone's feelings but there are to many nasty people out there who have to ruin it for everyone.I dont' like the fact that I have *no idea* who is reading here.

For my dear friend Brandy

We just got home from shopping (thankfully dh drove us as the roads are bad!),snow is literally pouring out of the sky,we are listening to Christmas music,making glittery paper snowflakes,baking cookies and pumpkin rolls,making candy (Buckeye balls and toffee),cleaning,building a room in the basement (well ok ok,dh is doing that.....:) ),sewing,trying to prepare all of the animals for the -30 (with windchill) weather that is predicted tomorrow and the list goes on.................

YET............In the middle of all this,because I am such a GOOD friend, (ok,I am kidding about that too but I have to give Brandy a hard time) I am stopping in the middle of ALL this to post a cracker recipe for her....She is in desperate need of one she says.....:)

SOAKED crackers :)

These are truly delicious......

3 1/2 cups of whole grain flour


1/4 cup of melted butter or coconut oil (I use butter of course lol)

Choose *1* of the below options

1 cup of water with two tablespoons vinegar
Cultured buttermilk
Yogurt
Water with a couple of TB of yogurt
Water with a couple TB of whey

Mix the flour,butter and which ever option you chose above together and let sit for atleast 6-7 but up to 24 hours.I usually let mine sit overnight.

When you are ready to bake the crackers add:

1 teaspoon of sea salt


1 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder

Just throw it right on the top and knead it in.You can also dress the recipe up and add spices,cheese etc.

I love to knead in a bunch of cheese and garlic!

Preheat oven to 425 and roll dough about pie crust thin.Cut into whatever shapes you want to.I usually just take the pizza cutter to it.You can be fancy and use a fork to poke holes into the dough and make them look just like "store bought".They are pretty that way.:)

I literally smother my pan with butter before laying the crackers onto it to bake.Bake for about 10 minutes depending on how you want your crackers.We like them semi crispy but not super,super crispy.

These are soooooooooooooooo good!

"For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God."

Colossians 3:8 But now ye also,put off all these;anger,wrath,malice,blasphemy,filthy communication out of your mouth.

Lie not one to another,seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds;

And have put on the new man,which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:

Where there is neither Greek,nor Jew,circumcision nor uncicrumcision,Barbarian,Scythian,bond nor free:but Christ is all,and in all.

Put on therefore as the elect of God,holy and beloved,bowels of mercies,kindness,humbleness of mind,meekness,longsuffering;

Forbearing one another,and forgiving one another,if any man have a quarrel against any:even as Christ forgave you,so also do ye.


Proverbs 15:18 A wrathful man stirreth up strife:but he that is slow to anger appeaseth strife.

Proverbs 16:32 He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty;and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city.

Proverbs 22:24,25  Make no friendship with an angry man;and with a furious man thou shalt not go.
Lest thou learn his ways,and get a snare to thy soul.

Proverbs 14:17 He that is soon angry dealeth foolishly:and a man of wicked devices is hated.

Proverbs 14:29 He that is slow to  wrath is of great understanding:but he that is hasty of spirit exalteth folly.

James 1:19,20 Wherefore,my beloved brethren,let every man be swift to hear,slow to speak,slow to wrath:

For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.

Do you ever get mad at your husband? I am pretty sure that everyone of us will say "Yes".Some of us have more of a problem than others but I think we can all relate.

This post is not only written by me.I had some wonderful ladies (MOMYS) give me some wonderful,godly advice when I was looking for ways to  help me STOP being angry at my husband..I have a wonderful marriage,an absolutely fantastic husband.........but I find myself getting upset  easily at petty things and I don't like it.

Below is a summary of the wonderful conversation that we had.Alot of things are re-written to save space and some things are exact words.I tried to summarize everything to make it short and powerful.I plan on printing or writing it all out to put in the front of a little book I am making.The book will be for me to write down all of the wonderful things that my husband does for me.Those things are so easily forgotten.Why is it that we humans love to concentrate on the negative?

Anyhow........

How do you keep from getting angry with your husband?

1.The very first thing we must remember is that God has forgiven us and shows us IMMENSE mercy and grace every day. And the way we approach others must flow out of that.When Our Father has forgiven so much already in us...who are we to get angry and stew?


Ephesians 4:29-32 Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth,but that which is good to the use of edifying,that it may minister grace unto the hearers.



And grieve not the holy Spirit of God,whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.


Let all bitterness,and wrath,and anger,and clamour,and evil speaking,be put away from you,with all malice.

And be ye kind to one another,tenderhearted,forgiving one another,even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.

Colossians 3:8 But now ye also,put off all these;anger,wrath,malice,blasphemy,filthy communication out of your mouth.

Lie not one to another,seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds;


And have put on the new man,which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:


Where there is neither Greek,nor Jew,circumcision nor uncicrumcision,Barbarian,Scythian,bond nor free:but Christ is all,and in all.


Put on therefore as the elect of God,holy and beloved,bowels of mercies,kindness,humbleness of mind,meekness,longsuffering;


Forbearing one another,and forgiving one another,if any man have a quarrel against any:even as Christ forgave you,so also do ye.

Our only hope is in the mercy of God. This isn't pie in the sky--it's very practical. In his mercy He provided means whereby He gives us His grace. If we neglect those means, we soon see the effects show up in our life.


One of those means is His living and powerful Word that slices deeply into us and changes us. Meditate on His Word so that it is there when He needs to use it. Don't go into a battle un-armed.(Ephesians 6:11 "Put on the whole armour of God,that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.")

1 Peter 2:18-23 Servants,be subject to your masters with all fear;not only to the good and gentle,but also to the froward.

For this is thankworthy,if a man for conscience toward God endure grief,suffering wrongfully.

For what glory is it,if,when ye be buffeted for your faults,ye shall take it patiently?but if,when ye do well,and suffer for it,ye take it patiently,this is acceptable with God.

For even hereunto were ye called:because Christ also suffered for us,leaving us an example,that ye should follow His steps:

Who did no sin.neither was guile found in his mouth:

Who,when he was reviled,reviled not again;when he suffered,he threatened not....................

We must go back to Him for grace over and over and over and over. WE NEED His help SO much! We are SO hopeless without Him!

Philippians 1:6 Being confident of this very thing,that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ: Philippians 2:13 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure.

 We can't use human logic and human gumption to fix the surface level issue.We might get self-control over outer displays of anger, but it could easily turn into a point of spiritual pride--"See my dh sinning and I am so godly that *I* am rising above that."

 We MUST allow God to deal with that root inside.

When we struggle to extend grace toward others.....We need to remember that God  has forgiven ALL of our sins, even when we did NOT deserve it. ".......if any man have a quarrel against any:even as Christ forgave you,so also do ye."

2.Concentrate on yourself.Remember that you are two individuals in one marriage. YOU are responsible for YOU 100% of the time. If he does something or says something, you are still responsible for how YOU react or what comes out of YOUR mouth.

If you are angry at your dh,it is *YOUR* problem,not his.Do not blame your anger on him saying...."Well,if we wouldn't do xyz I would not be mad.He *causes* me to act like this because of his selfishness." etc.



Remember that you CAN NOT change your husband.Only the Lord can do that.He will grow his people as he sees fit.Make sure you are being a godly help and encouragment to those around you,including your husband.*Maybe* you are 99% right but you will never be 100%  right.You will *always* have plenty of things to work on in your own spiritual life.There is also a very good chance that you are not right, but your husband is.Remember.......

You were made to be your husbands helper,not the other way around. (Gen 2:18)

You are to submit to your husband "As unto the Lord......." Ephesians 5:22 (Yes,our husbands are told to love us like Christ loved the church but we can't *demand* that of them.They will be accountable for their *own* actions just like we will ours.)

Our husbands will not always "deserve" our respect but we do it anyway because it is required by us of the LORD.(Of course,we are never to do anything against the Lord in the name of submission but that is an entirely different topic.) Do you always deserve to be loved like Christ loved the church?

The fruit of the Spirit is love,joy,peace,longsuffering,gentleness,goodness,faith,meeknes,temperness......(Gal 5:22,23)

3.Don't have unrealistic expectations.Accept the fact that you are married to an imperfect man and you always will be.He is married to an imperfect wife and always will be.You knew this when you married.

Ask yourself  how important the matter really is.Anger can make you feel physically and spiritually sick.Most of the time we should choose to just forgive, take our thoughts captive, make them obedient to Christ and move on....and quickly. It isn't worth the pattern of anger, bitterness, etc. We can't allow the enemy a foothold in ou heart or in our marriages.


If it is truly a matter of importance,take it quickly to the Father and ask how to handle it.Do not let anger lead to bitterness and take root.

4.Don't allow yourself to believe lies.

Do you ever find yourself thinking things like "He doesn't care about what I want.He doesn't love me,if he did,he wouldn't do this......I would *never* do something like that to him because I love him."

Remember his heart.Just because he forgets not to wear his muddy shoes in the house does not mean that he doesn't care about you or that he is selfish and deep down,you know that.The death bed scene always comes to my head......If your dh were dying and he told you "Sweetheart,I'm sorry for all the times I hurt you and wasn't the perfect husband for you.I hope you can find it in yourself to forgive me for forgetting my laundry laying around,for all the times I came home from work to late and for wearing my muddy shoes in the house.I always loved you and tried my best.I'm sorry if I made decisions that you didn't agree with,I was just trying to guide our home in the way I thought was godly."

Sound ridiculous? Thats because it is!If such a scene ever happened though,what would you say to your dh? I know what you would say.The same thing I would say.I know how you would feel. Let's stop looking into things farther than we should.Let's stop worrying so much about the unimportant,ridiculous things.This could be the last day you have with your dh.Life is precious...don't allow your anger to steal a moment of joy away from you. When anger *does* happen, don't sin.(Eph 4:26) Choose the joyful, forgiving path. The view is beautiful on that path.


5. Be thankful.Dwell on the many, wonderful things about your husband.

Philippians 4:8 Finally,brethren,whatsoever things are true,whatsoever things are honest,whatsoever things are just,whatsoever things are pure,whatsoever things are lovely,whatsoever things are of good report;if there be any virtue,and if there be any praise,think on these things.

Think of all the wonderful things your man IS.Write them all down,tell him how much you appreciate them,speak of them to your children.Be THANKFUL.

Hebrews 13:5 Let your conversation be without covetousness;and be content with such things as ye have:for he hath said,I will never leave thee,nor forsake thee.


6. Pray together.

My husband and I started this months ago and this has been amazing.When I hear him pray for wisdom and strength to guide his family for the Lord and cherish me,as his wife,like he should.......I am so much more forgiving because it reminds me of the heart of gold that he has.It helps me to NOT believe the lies when they try to creep in.

7. Refrain from using words like "Never" and "Always" when you are referring to your husbands behaviour.

They provoke wrath.:)

8. Distract yourself. When you find you are dwelling on something negative about your dh,get your mind on something else.

Sing,count your blessings,get busy doing something to keep your mind on something GOOD rather than dwelling on something you shouldn't be dwelling on.

9. Ask the Lord to help you re-kindle the passion you had when you first fell in love.

Make sure you are making time for your marriage.Let you husband KNOW that you are still passionate about him.Make sure that the children,laundry or anything else is NOT coming first over your dh.Men can be prone to being easily irritable and act in unloving ways towards us when they are not getting their needs met.Lets make sure we are being everything they need in a wife,to the best of our capability.Keep the flame burning.When you are feeling "in love" you can overlook so many faults.

10. LAUGH.

Use the tool of laughter.When he does something that is prone to make you angry or irritated,just laugh about how funny it really is. How is it that a grown man cannot learn how to put his socks in the hamper? LOL That is just ridiculous! LOL Choose to not take it personally.Don't choose to believe that he does it because he is selfish. It is likely just something thoughtless he does, and it'll likely never change.Just pick them up and put them away and praise God you have a husband who is leaving socks around for you to pick up. (he is alive and present with your family).

Pictures of my finished soap!

It turned out beautifully and smells better than you can even imagine!! The dark brown is the "Angel Food Spice Cake" and the other the "Vanilla Fudge".None of the soap is trimmed up in these pictures.When it cures/dries out some more in a day or so I will trim it up and get rid of all the rough edges etc.

Soap making really is a blast and EASY.You should try it!

Making soap!

Here you go Ang! :) My SIL and I are making soap for a soap exchange and I wanted her to see my pretty swirl soap.:) I am so proud of it! The last swirly soap I made was oh about 3 years ago and my SIL and I actually made it together.It was a cream colored soap with beautiful blue swirls but as we sat admiring the beautiful soap we remembered that we hadn't added the essential oils!! lol Soap is not soap without scent :) so we were dumping bottles of oil in and stirring.We ended up with beautiful blue soap with no swirls.......

Anyhow,the soap that I made here is Vanilla Fudge and it smells SO good.I will add more photos tomorrow when I cut it.....I will also add pictures of the soap I made yesterday called "Angel food spice cake".

Menu for the next 2 weeks

OK......:) First I will say what I decided on as far as sweets go.We *love* sweets in our family and I LOVE to bake but we really do need to cut out alot of sugar so......

Saturday tea parties- We will have healthy snacks made with fruit/natural sugar/whole grains except for one tea party a month.....We can choose whatever we want for that one tea party a month.

Family night (FRI) the children get to take turns choosing a dessert.This way I don't start feeling deprived that I don't even get to bake things for my children that are super yummy.:) I will limit myself though (and them) and just have one serving of dessert.

Saturday nights/date night dh and I choose what we want.It is a free night where I can eat whatever I want but unlike my previous free nights,I am stilll going to make the meal we eat as healthy as possible although I may give a little in some areas.Anyhow,I need a time to look forward to that I can eat what I want.

WED night I can make a healthy dessert.No white flour or processed sugar.All ingredients must be whole foods.This way my dh can have atleast one day of having some sweets in his lunch.:)

If someone gives us something sweet,we will eat it.That isn't our problem.If a special occasion arises,we will indulge.Special occasions are not our problem either.It is the every day stuff that we have the biggest problem with.

Grains.....All bread/toast/muffins/crackers/pancakes/tortillas etc. mentioned are soaked,whole grain and home made.

My children drink as much raw milk as they want and I will be trying to add it into meals when possible for myself.I am also allowing them to have vanilla/stevia milk in the evenings as a treat.Satisfies a sweet tooth, has zero sugar and is delicious!!

We will also be able to have healthy snacks in the evenings if desired even though they aren't listed on the menu below.

Herb tea will be had in the AM when everyone wakes sweetened with stevia and honey.(except for mine,I don't ever sweeten my tea)

I will be having my morning coffee with brown sugar and cream.....:) I will also have a cup in the evening if I want it which is about 1/2 the time.

Breakfast is served as soon as the children awake and they get their snack after all the morning chores are done and before school.

Yogurt is hm with raw milk.

The bone broth soup will be from freshly butchered chickens.

So,that said...........:)

WEEK 1

MON
BREAKFAST -Omelets with vegies/cheese and fried in butter/Toast/Yogurt with fruit
SNACK- Lacto fermented beets with home made cheese
LUNCH- "face" sandwiches which means a slice of bread spread with cream cheese/mayo and a face made out of vegies.
SUPPER- Peppered venison roast sandwiches/steamed brocolli


TUE
BREAKFAST- Peanut butter toast.....Green smoothie
SNACK-Crackers spread with "Cheese Crock"
LUNCH- Bone broth chicken soup with hm croutons and hm cheese
SUPPER-Brussel Sprouts Country Pie

WED
BREAKFAST- Open faced egg sands with sauteed vegies
SNACK-Sunflower seed sprouts....Crackers....Cheese Crock
LUNCH-Bone broth chicken soup (sounds grose doesn't it? lol)
SUPPER-Chicken Enchiladas....Mexican salad

HEALTHY DESSERT NIGHT....Coconut bars

THUR
BREAKFAST-Oats (unsoaked....just don't like soaked at all) with peaches....Sausage...Cucumbers w/ cream cheese
SNACK-Cottage cheese with pineapple
LUNCH- Face sandwiches
SUPPER- Sausage skillet supper (rice/beans/sausage/seasoning)

FRI (family night)
BREAKFAST-Boiled eggs....Cinnamon muffins
SNACK- Carrot sticks with hm french onion dip
LUNCH- Salad
SUPPER-Finger food buffet.....Boiled eggs/cheese/cucumber slices with french onion dip/Garlic cheese crackers with marinated pork loin cubes and chosen dessert is.....:)  Strawberry Cheesecake.Healthy almond/arrowroot crust and just a teeny bit of hm strawberry freezer jam for the topping.There will be sugar in the filling......

SAT (date night)
BRUNCH-Eggs/vegies/sausage and cheese
SNACK- Yogurt (greek style) with fruit
SUPPER- Italian meatballs/Salad/Garlic toast

DESSERT.....:) We will be sharing a *small* Symphony bar (dh and I) and having chocolate chip cookies and coffee.

SUN
BRUNCH-Dippy eggs with cayenne and toast
SNACK- Radishes with hm cheese
SUPPER- Leftovers

WEEK 2

MON
BREAKFAST-Eggs/cheese....Yogurt/fruit
SNACK-Carrot sticks/hummus/french dip
LUNCH-Beans loaded with pork chunks and sausage....salad
SUPPER- SAME

TUE
BREAKFAST-Venison back straps....eggs....green smoothie
SNACK-Crackers....hm cheese
LUNCH- Bone broth chicken soup
SUPPER-SAME

WED
BREAKFAST-Oats w/ peanutbutter
SNACK- Lacto fermented beets w/ hm cheese
LUNCH-Leftover soup with croutons...carrots/hm dip
SUPPER-Broc cheese baked potatoes with sour cream

HEALTHY DESSERT NIGHT- Peanut cookies

THUR
BREAKFAST-Sausage/pancake sandwiches....Green smoothies
SNACK-Venison jerkey....dates
LUNCH- Peanut butter tortillas....fruit
SUPPER-Shepherds pie....Bread....Cheese

FRIDAY (family night)
BREAKFAST- Boiled eggs....peach muffins
SNACK-Sunflower seed sprouts....crackers....cheese crock
LUNCH-Leftovers
SUPPER- Sprouts...Crackers....hm cheese w/ sundried tomatoes...jerkey....carrots and DESSERT will be a variety of Christmas baking that I am doing for neighbors and friends.

SAT (date night)
BRUNCH- Pancakes and eggs
SNACK- Yogurt and fruit
SUPPER- Chicken with sauteed onions and vegies served with a clear sauce (made from chicken stock) over pasta.I wanted to add pinenuts but at 25 $ a lb I passed.

DESSERT will be Christmas goodies again (pumpkin rolls,buckeyes/snickerdoodles/toffee/cinnamon rolls etc.)

SUN
BRUNCH- Breakfast burritos
SNACK-  This is a "treat" snack.Sweetened vanilla yogurt with peanut butter granola.
SUPPER-Leftovers

If you can't milk it,hunt it,gather it or grow it........

don't eat it......:)

That is one of the main "principles" of the "Schwarzbein Principle."

It is  what I am doing as far as getting healthy/weight loss.Well,I actually don't consider what I am doing  the "Schwarzbein Principle" but I did learn ALOT from this book! Things that I always believed to be healthy are really explained WHY they are healthy in this book! I consider this the way that the Lord *intended* we should eat.I don't agree with everything the lady says of course but that is the way it is with almost everything isn't it? :)

I am not going to do it 100% .My family is still going to continue to have a "sugar" dessert once a week and on special occasions.

I am in my child bearing years and I *have* to keep myself healthy for myself and my family.I am not unhealthy *yet* .I have always been extremely healthy and I feel GREAT except for..........

I am starting to have teeth problems that I never had.

I also need to lose weight.

My dh has teeth problems.

My children have alot of cavities in their baby teeth.

I want to turn this around and I believe it CAN be turned around.......

This is very interesting.I have this book and again,I don't agree with everything he says and don't plan on DOING everything he says....(like eating bone marrow lol) but I do agree with most of it.

It goes right along with Nourishing Traditions.

The actually ALL go together and agree with each other.

Nourishing Traditions
The Schwarzbein Principle and
Curing Tooth Decay

There is a wealth of information in these books.It is exactly the opposite of what we have been taught but thats no surprise is it?

I will be posting my menu sometime soon!

Bringing Home The Bacon PART 3

Here are a few pictures of the meat getting ground,bacon being cut and the sausage.We had a total of 11 children helping and there was a job for everyone except the babies! lol We ended up getting 130 pounds of meat! :) 50 lbs sausage,20 lbs bacon and 60 lbs of ham/loin/chops etc.We fried some sausage up right away to make sure the seasoning was right.It is soooooooooooooo good!!! We want to smoke our own hams/bacon but that will have to come later.We are thrilled to have some good,hormone free pork!!!!

Home Butchering PART 2

                           Finishing the skinning and then the meat brought into the house to start cutting.

Bringing Home The Bacon PART 1

 
We butchered our first hog!! We have 3 hogs......two of them are for us and one is for our neighbor.We only butchered one of ours because we had never done a pig before.We've done a steer,chickens,rabbits,ducks,turkeys,deer etc. but never a hog! :) It went great and was no different than the steer.We will be doing our other one next weekend probably.We had friends here to help who had never butchered a hog before and so that was really fun!!! They were alot of help!

So these first 4 pictures are before butchering and then skinning........