Gracious Acres

A Farm is Born

2008-08-22T13:16:00.002-05:00

I just read an interesting article in the Des Moines Register about a young Iowa farm family starting from scratch. Oh, how I remember feeling like a fish out of water and not knowing where or how to start. Thankfully, this family didn't give up and is eaking out a living through perserverance, hard work, and lots of faith. And, of course, they blog (yay!).

Unfortunately, Mike Kilen (DM Register writer) didn't list all of the other wonderful small farm blogs (on my "Favorite Links" list to the right). There are so many great things happening with farming in Iowa with diversity in the types of crops and livestock and the fact that faith and family values play a big role in these small farms.

The cat who wanted to be a knick knack

2008-08-15T11:42:00.005-05:00

Most people who know me understand that I'm not a "knicky-knacky" kind of person. More things to collect dust and pack when we move (six times in the last eight years). So, when we got this house, there are all sort of built-in shelves in the living room flanking the fireplace. We had some books and a few other things. I felt compelled to get a couple extra things to "fill in." Obviously, Sam the cat felt I didn't have enough and enjoys being a mobile knick knack.

And then there's Tucker the dog who likes that corner, too. Sam will lay on the shelf and bat at Tucker just to torment him. Evil kitty!

A Little R&R

2008-08-15T11:17:00.008-05:00

Here. Away from all the tasks inherant when you move into a new house or build. This was a wonderful little vacation. Great food, homegrown wine, nice trails and pond, beautiful accommodations, and friendly and helpful innkeepers.

DD brought a friend along and they had a blast.

Feeding buffalo at Hawkeye Buffalo Ranch:
Lots of play in the yard. DH is the biggest kid of all.
The tire swing was a BIG hit.

Fishing at the farm pond where DH caught some bluegill, a bass, and a bull frog (twice).

The girls bottle fed the calves every morning and night.

The trail around the farm wound beside the pasture and creek, up around the old school house, through the vineyard, by the pond and cabin, and around farm fields.

The screen porch was a great place to hang out and play "magic" tricks, read, and relax.

After all that excitement, the girls actually slept in on the last day. We even had an opportunity to go on record about our experience. The Waterloo Courier came out and did an interview with the B&B owners and took photos for the article in last Sunday's paper. Needless to say, we're receiving a lot of unsolicited comments about the "paparazzi" following us everywhere we go.

I would highly recommend Farmhouse B&B for a nice retreat.

Cover Girl

2008-07-21T15:11:00.003-05:00

Check this out! Yes, that's DD gracing the cover of The Iowan Magazine. I didn't want to say too much until we knew it was definitely happening. We were contacted in the Spring of 2007 by a freelance writer who wanted to "do a story on the chicken ladies of central Iowa." The writer came out in early June and the photographer came out later that month. We didn't hear much after that and thought we weren't interesting enough to make the article. Then, about six weeks ago, the writer contacted us again to review the draft of the story. But the whole cover photo was a big, wonderful surprise. DD thinks it's pretty cool, too. No autographs, please ;)

Lawsie Mercy!

2008-07-21T14:55:00.003-05:00

This crazy chick (Pioneer Woman) has created an index of her recipes - - do die for! This is on the menu for tomorrow night, although I can't find arrowroot anywhere. Is there a suitable replacement? Stay tuned for the report.

Picture Post

2008-07-17T12:05:00.004-05:00

Lot's happening around here. But there was a few quiet moments for "porch sittin'" last week.
Still getting lots of funky weather. These pics were taken July 9th - - scary, huh?

After the rain, this is what I came home to:We're so close to finishing up. We plan to move in this weekend, but there's lots of details to settle yet. NEVER AGAIN!

A Night Like No Other

2008-06-23T12:50:00.003-05:00

We were thrilled to be invited to the High Hopes Garden wind turbine dedication/music bash/party Saturday night (link here). What a fun evening - - when we left, I just felt like my spirit had been renewed. And it was a great opportunity for DD and I to get our "chicken fix."

Update on Salem UMC, home of Walk to Emmaus, here. I am just sick about it.

Miss Independent

2008-06-16T10:32:00.005-05:00

DD is getting to be so independent these days. We live a 1.5 blocks from the community swimming pool and she is able to walk up there, spend a couple hours, and walk home all by herself. Before I freaked out, I had to remind myself that I was doing the same thing at my age. And then I still freaked out. She loves the water, but knows her limits. She's taking lessons the next two weeks and I'm excited to see her progress.

DH is working at the college for a couple weeks on some unfinished projects. Then, hopefully, we can get back to work on our new house (all progress has stopped for the last 5-6 weeks due to the awful weather). A typical day goes like this: it rains, mud and water flow into the open basement, DH cleans it up/pumps it out, and it rains again. Frustrating.

One bright spot is that we have lots of free time. I never knew what that was until now. When we were on the farm, there was always a garden to weed, grass to mow, chicken chores, home improvement projects, etc. Now, we sit on the deck and sip lemonade, I take naps on the weekends, I read and take walks. Must say, I'm getting a little spoiled, but it's a nice break.

DD has shown interest in softball, so our friends Chris & Jenn loaned us a couple gloves and balls to try out. She loves it and DH has great patience.
You'll notice that Tucker the dog got his summer haircut. He's so much happier! And then DD found the ace bandages and occupied herself for an hour or so wrapping herself up. Like I said, lots of free time.

Water everywhere...except our home

2008-06-16T09:07:00.002-05:00

Thank you for all your calls and emails regarding our safety. Fortunately, we have not been inundated by the flood waters and tornadoes that have plagued our neighbors state-wide. We have had our share of rain, wind, and hail the last couple weeks, but nothing compared to Parkersburg (tornado May 25th), Cedar Rapids (photos below), Des Moines, and Iowa City (river is expected to crest today).

Out of Iowa's 99 counties, 83 have been declared "disaster areas."

Sixteen storm-related deaths since the tornado of May 25, including one in Linn County, six in Parkersburg, two in New Hartford, one in Hamilton County, one in Wright County, one in Palo Alto County, and four Boy Scouts in Monona County.

STATE RESOURCES DEPLOYED:
More than 2500 Iowa National Guard
200 Iowa State Patrol
1,000 Iowa Department of Transportation Employees
Sandbags: More than 4.8 million
Pumps: 114
Gallons of water distributed: 180,930

Photos of downtown Cedar Rapids:

And this is another photo of downtown Cedar Rapids. Salem United Methodist Church is behind the Dairy Queen. Salem UMC is the home of the Cedar Rapids Emmaus Community. I had planned to sponsor two people this coming weekend. Needless to say, the event has been postponed.
This is an excerpt from an article in the CR Gazette:
"A church is more than a building, flooded congregations reflect
By Cindy Hadish
The Gazettecindy.hadish@gazettecommunications.com
CEDAR RAPIDS — The Rev. Linda Hansen Bibb used water from her dehumidifier to baptize 1-year-old Keaton Schooley on Sunday morning.The baptism and church service took place at Lovely Lane United Methodist Church after floodwaters swamped Bibb's church, Salem United Methodist Church at 225 First Ave. SW."New life is what our city needs to think about," Bibb said. "So having our baptism as scheduled was one of the best things we could do."Bibb used the dehumidifier water to help conserve Cedar Rapids' dangerously low water supply."For us, all of God's water is holy. All of his creation is holy, so there was no need for me to have special water," Bibb added. "Having it from a dehumidifier or from the roof in the form of rain wouldn't make any difference. For us, it's a symbol of his blessing."Katon's father, Brian Schooley, said the change was just fine with him."She used the resources she had to make the moment special for us," he said.He said it was important for him and his wife, Lesley, to be at church Sunday, where Bibb's message was that the church is just brick and stones. The congregation, he said, is a family, and everybody in it is safe..."

Not only were cities affected, but all low-lying areas near the river valleys - - can you even begin to imagine:
[all photos courtesy of the Cedar Rapids Gazette]

When peace like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot,
Thou hast taught me to say,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.
~ "It is Well With My Soul" Horatio Spafford

Memorable Day

2008-05-29T08:19:00.006-05:00

Memorial Day 2008 was memorable for many reasons.

As many of you have heard, an F5 tornado (more pics here) ripped through Parkersburg, Iowa (30 miles north of our home) and destroyed 350 homes in a town with a population of 2,000. We saw reports of the storm almost immediately after it hit from the Channel 13 helicopter. It was stunning to see the immense destruction, the loss of life (5 in Parkersburg, 2 in New Hartford), and the grieving of the community's residents. Then, something amazing happened... Teenagers came out in droves to help their friends, family, and neighbors. Surrounding communities gathered in prayer and then met to determine how they could help. Inspirational stories of hope and determination flooded the local papers and tv stations.
On Monday, I had the honor of organizing the Memorial Day Program at the Iowa Veterans Home. About 200 people crowded into the event space for a brief program, singing, and saluting. Then, we marched down to the Veterans Cemetery on the grounds where a resident laid the memorial wreath, participants placed pine boughs on the some of the 2,500 graves, and Taps was played. It was during Taps that this resident bowed his head in memory of his fallen comrades. The whole experience was so moving.

The Power of Pictures

2008-05-29T08:03:00.004-05:00

Photos offer glimpse at life in 1940s small-town Iowa

By JAMES BELTRAN, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
POSTED: May 29, 2008 DES MOINES — He spent his entire savings of $12.50 on the 35 mm Argus AF camera in 1939 and for four years documented life in the small Iowa town of Ridgeway. But it wasn’t until he was diagnosed with cancer more than 60 years later that Everett Kuntz actually printed the more than 2,000 snapshots — church picnics, his mother husking corn, soda fountain scenes from the town’s drugstore. Although Kuntz died in 2003 at age 82, the University of Iowa Press has published dozens of his photos in a book, ‘‘Sunday Afternoon on the Porch.’’ ‘‘People thought he was kind of funny,’’ said Kuntz’s wife Helen. ‘‘He took all those pictures and didn’t even have the money to print them.’’ After Kuntz bought the camera, he carried it with him everywhere, clicking away during town gatherings, lazy afternoons on a neighbor’s porch or even standing before a table piled high with his family’s Sunday dinner. He built a camera case using an old boot and a clasp from his mother’s purse, and he bought movie reel film in bulk. He rolled his own film and developed it in a closet on his parents’ farm. The 350 residents of Ridgeway took to calling him ‘‘Scoop.’’ ‘‘There are some (photos) in which he seems to have captured so much in one shot, maybe partly by accident,’’ said Jim Heynen, who wrote vignettes to accompany the photos in the book. ‘‘They remind people of what you might see in an old collection of family albums from the 1940s.’’ Heynen described pictures depicting ‘‘chiseled-looking prairie people’’ and a ‘‘community gathering spot along the creek with homemade ice cream.’’ Kuntz left Ridgeway after college, married Helen, had three children and worked as an electrical engineer in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area. He took his photo collection with him — neatly packed in a box and still unprinted — and told no one about it. After being diagnosed with cancer, Kuntz pulled out the box and developed his photographs. His final months were spent looking over his collection and reminiscing about old times. ‘‘He was emotional,’’ said Kuntz’s son David. ‘‘You could see it in his eyes that it brought back memories.’’ One particular photograph seemed to interest Kuntz more than the others, his wife said. It showed his parents harvesting on their farm — his father carrying stalks of oats and his mother driving a team of horses. ‘‘He stared at that one for 20 minutes,’’ Helen Kuntz said. ‘‘In those last months, it all came alive for him.’’ His fondest memories of Ridgeway are captured on film. Like wading along the sandy Turkey River, or the day he walked past the railroad as workers laid down track with shovels and hammers. It’s a nostalgic collection Kuntz’s family cherishes. His wife has several photos on display at her home in the Twin Cities suburb of Mounds View, as does his son David at his law firm in St. Paul. ‘‘I kind of have tears,’’ Helen Kuntz said, pausing to compose herself. ‘‘It’s a fun tribute to him. ... It would have been such a blessing if he could have seen this book.’’ The photos represent more than her husband’s legacy. For Helen, it’s a reminder of the way America used to be — a lifestyle it should strive to rediscover. ‘‘The idea of family is reflected there,’’ she said. ‘‘Friends and the simple life.’’

[I will be adding this to my bookshelf soon]

My Other Office - Part 2

2008-05-16T08:39:00.004-05:00

This is the front entrance to the Iowa Veterans Home, which sits on 150 acres on the Iowa River. The Home was founded in 1887 and is now the second largest state-owned veterans home in the country. We serve approximately 725 residents between the ages of 28 and 101. Our residents range in accuity level, from skilled nursing and dementia care to domiciliary care (independent living). Since I started in December, I've only seen snow and mud; but spring is a glorious time here on the grounds.
Yesterday, the 21st Annual "Jerry's Barnyard" event took place in the courtyard. There were 15 different animals for residents, staff, and local school kids to enjoy.
My job also takes me to some less-than-desirable places, too. Last week Governor Culver signed legislation that provides funding for infrastructure improvements at our facility and also for the state's maximum security prison in Ft. Madison. So, my boss and I drove down for the bill signing in Ft. Madison and got a tour of the facility. This photo was taken by John Gaines of the Associated Press (we weren't allowed to take cameras in). We were standing in the area of the prison built in 1839 (solitary confinement) where the worst of the worst in our state judicial system sit in their cell for 23 hours a day. It was incredibly moving to see such young men (average age is 28) so lost and without a shred of hope or humanity. I stood on the other side of the glass and iron wall and could see their empty eyes. I will never forget that experience.

The Movable Cold

2008-05-13T09:16:00.004-05:00

DD graciously shared her cold with me. This stuff is awful! Fever for a few days, cough, chills, headache...yuck!

The weather and illness cleared enough for her to play soccer last week. The girl has a ways to go in the coordination department.

Sam was de-clawed and neutered last week. We all took pity on the poor kitty and treated him well while he recuperates.

We lost a dear friend last week. After nearly a year of health issues, Frances H passed away. I have never known a kinder, gentler, more genuine person. What a blessing it was to call her friend.

Earth lost an angel but heaven gained a saint.

Birthday Girl

2008-05-06T15:45:00.003-05:00

DD celebrated her 7th birthday last weekend with a slumber party, dinner at Pizza Hut, movie night to see "Nim's Island", and a terrible cold.

DD and O at Pizza Hut. DD didn't even want a birthday cake, but I talked her into these (so adorable) cupcakes:

DD and O play Simon Says to wear off some of that energy (didn't work):
Dancing and jiving to "Bratz" movie soundtrack - - still had lots of energy:

And, this is DD on Sunday morning with a 102.7 temp. She was definitely out of energy. She slept most of Sunday and my mom came over Monday to sit with her. Slowly, but surely, she's getting back to normal.

My other office

2008-04-24T10:40:00.006-05:00

I have a little office on site at the Veterans Home, but on most days from mid-January through the end of April you can find me here:

These photos were taken on the most gorgeous day we've seen this year. On Sunday, DH, DD and I went to Des Moines for breakfast at Gateway Market Cafe and browsed their fantastic selection of natural and organic foods. Then we went to Earth Day in the Junction, a fun event for the family with displays, information, shopping, and free oak seedlings (we got two of course). Then it was off to the Drake Relays Parade in a quaint part of Des Moines. Walked away with a ton of candy, beads, and a new appreciation for small town living. On the way home, we stopped by the Capitol and got some more great photos.

View from the west side of the Capitol looking towards downtown Des Moines:

Memorials on Capitol grounds with the new Supreme Court building in the background:

Close-up of the memorial:

New additions to the Columbus statue:Last, but not least, a shot of DD hamming it up:

End of week three

2008-04-18T09:13:00.002-05:00

And it feels good. Despite the rain and wind that has ensued, progress has been made on the new house. This week, the floor for the basement was poured. You can see the bump-out for DD's room and the main entry as well as the egress window in the basement for a (someday) fourth bedroom. You can also see the stairwell from the garage to the basement - - this will be poured concrete stairs for DH to have access to his workshop in the basement. This is a "secondary" stairs. The main stairway will be in the center of the house. To be continued...

These Days

2008-04-18T09:11:00.002-05:00

The weather here has been a bit unpredictable - snow one day, 76 degrees the next, wind, then cold and rainy. DD insists on wearing capris and I insist on her wearing a jacket; I guess this is what they call "compromise."

Photos from the road

2008-04-07T10:25:00.004-05:00

Took a couple pix on the way back from Emmetsburg. The first one is along Hwy 18 outside Cylinder, Iowa. This is a straight-out-of-the-camera shot. The morning light was perfect.

And this is Hwy 69 near Clarion, which is the northern tip of a large stretch of wind turbines (in the distance) that harvest the wind. Quite a different crop than this old tractor is used to.

And this one is reminiscent of what the old pioneer trail may have looked like (though I realize wagon wheels aren't as wide).

Whenever I take a trip, I'm always "seeing" great photos but not wanting to take the time to stop and capture it. This time, I'm glad I did.

Visit to NW Iowa

2008-04-04T12:25:00.004-05:00

I just got back from a work-related trip to Emmetsburg and Sheldon. I stayed both nights at the Queen Marie B&B and this was my room:

This photo honestly doesn't do the room justice, though. Paul and Peggy, owners of the Queen Marie were very pleasant and professional and spoiled me with their superb hospitality.

On the way to Sheldon, I stopped by Spencer to see some old friends. A beautiful small town with a well-kept Main Street and neat shops. Props to the Mayor!

Wish I had more time to stop by Sugar Creek on my way home - - I was thinking of you, Kelli!

Can't wait to see the fam tonight.

A birthday, a cat, cake, and a cow(boy)

2008-04-01T16:00:00.005-05:00

I had a wonderful birthday weekend. Now that I'm 35, I officially have to "round up." The extended celebration began on Friday, when DH brought Sam home. Sam is a little lover, but very lazy (he wouldn't even turn around or get up to lick this plate):
On Saturday, we went out for dinner and then to the Waterloo Blackhawks hockey game with friends and the kids. It was DD's first hockey game (we've created a monster). I got my first ipod - - after a little trepidation, I got it up and running and downloaded the "Once" soundtrack (good stuff!). After church on Sunday, my mom took DD and I out to the 4H omelet breakfast. DH and DD made a carrot cake for me on Sunday afternoon.
This is my little brother (11 years younger than me) - - okay he's not so little in that he towers over me now. He's truly a "cow-boy". He's fallen off his horse, literally and figuratively, many times but continues to perservere. He cusses a little, picks himself up, dusts himself off, and starts again. He recently returned to the area and, although I was hesitant at first, I'm so glad he's back. Our relationship hasn't been the best, but I think we've finally turned a corner. By the way, he's single ;)

"I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 3:12-14, NIV)

After the omelet breakfast, we went out to my mom's house. Little bro brought up a new calf to show DD - - it was a twin! Although DD was a little overdressed for the cow yard, she got right in there.

What? You mean she's still alive?

2008-03-31T11:37:00.005-05:00

Why, yes, I certainly am. Even on this rainy last day of March, I find myself wearing a sunny yellow bell-sleeve jacket just to appear cheery. Truth be told, I am a much more cheerful person these days. Went through a dark time, though, and kept to myself a bit. Why dark? Well, we sold the farm and (gasp!) moved to town! I can hear the collective sigh across the agrarian blog-o-sphere. The self-imposed shame was getting a little heavy and I finally decided to come clean with y'all.

We are building a house in town...

I really love my new job...

I adore my family...

I am healthy (in the "I really don't work out, love my Doritos, but it could be worse" sense)...

I realize that the few of you who actually read my blog for the "farm life" ramblings might be disappointed. Believe me, I miss the farm and my chickens, and the ridiculously large garden, and the creaky old farmhouse, too. But it was time to make a change in my physical and emotional surroundings.

It's gonna be okay - - and I'm not just sayin' that. I believe that God has a plan that even I (the control freak that I am) can't understand. I hope some of you will follow us on our new adventures. Should I change the title of this blog, considering the circumstances? I need to think on that one a little.

For those of you still with me, here's a few photos of the "missing months":

DD came a long way with her cross-country skiing this winter:

DH built this awesome barn for her animals (complete with a hay loft, tack area, feed bunks, removable gate, ladder, etc). He rocked her Christmas. Plus, she got a piano/keyboard and is taking "lessons" from her mama.

Then, I found this gorgeous doll house in the second-hand/antique shop. That clear bucket in the background held tons of dolls and furniture and miniatures. Picked up the whole thing for $30 - - steal of the century!

Easter time came around and while we were dying eggs, we dyed a bit of DD's hair PURPLE. Can you believe it was actually my idea?! See, I've mellowed a bit.

We spent Easter Saturday with my (extended) family in Denver, IA. We had a great time catching up with family I haven't seen in years. This is a photo of me, my mom, and my lil' bro.

And, of course, this is DH and me. He's such a hunk o' man!

And this is the lot where our home is being built.

And after the first week of construction. Actually, we wall forms are up, ready for the concrete, but I didn't get a picture of that.

Update and Holiday Greetings

2007-12-19T22:04:00.000-06:00

As always, lots of changes here. I started a new (full-time) job at the Iowa Veterans Home as their PR/Marketing Director and Legislative Liaison two weeks ago. It is a wonderful opportunity to be an integral part of the third largest veterans home in the country. I absolutely love it and look forward to all the exciting challenges this position will provide.

DD has succeeded in achieving "toothless" status. Here she is in her "jack-o-lantern" phase:She lost three teeth within one week. The poor tooth fairy is going to have to get in hock soon if this keeps up. The toothless wonder still eats almost anything and thinks that "All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth" was written especially for her. Her elementary music concert was Monday night and OH WHAT A RIOT! The high school gymnasium was PACKED!

DH is supposed to be on winter break, but the college still has him working . . . on a roof . . . chipping ice . . . the less I know, the better off I am.

The chicks are officially part of the flock. They are now integrated into the rest of the chickens. They can't quite figure out the whole "roosting thing." They were still huddled up in a corner when I last checked on them. I'm pretty sure they're not all Rhode Island Reds as I had been told (some pretty cool looking ones, though). I got 18 eggs today. I keep a big cooler full of egg cartons (filled, of course) in the back of my car . . . they've become like "zuchini" around here - - I can't even GIVE them away!

DH is putting me to shame around here with all the wonderful things he bakes up. Last weekend he made a wonderful crumb-top apple pie (perfection) and this weekend he made a bunch of small banana bread loaves. We've had the bread with dinner every night this week. My cooking creativity has gone south lately. Maybe I'll get motivated after the holidays...then again...

I wish you a very merry Christmas and a blessed new year.

Holiday Spirit

2007-11-24T10:06:00.000-06:00

Sending some happy holiday spirit your way. Yesterday, I worked at the church in the morning and DD and DH got the Christmas decorations down from the attic and set up the big tree. When I got home, we decorated the house and the tree. In the middle of everything DD decides to go pull her own tooth (with a wash cloth)! What a brave kid! Her two top front teeth are very loose and I'm sure we'll soon be hearing "All I Want For Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth!" Now I need to try to find that song to put on the blog...

DH put some pizza dough in the bread maker and we had homemade pizza for supper. My neighbor friend came over and we all watched "A Christmas Story" and "Holiday Inn". What a great way to start the holiday season! DD even made her own pizza (she doesn't look too happy about it, but she was thrilled).

Well, the chickens are laying 7-10 eggs a day now. Way more than I know what to do with, so I guess I'm back in the egg business. We've had a raccoon that has been sneaking into the chicken house if I forget to close the little door at night. The other night when I went to tuck Gary into bed, the 'coon had tipped over the cat food and all I could see was his tail sticking out of the bin. I ran back to the house (with Gary still in my arms, of course) to get the .22. By the time I got it loaded and back out there, the 'coon was gone. Then last night about 1:30, Gary was crowing; then the other rooster was crowing. I totally blew it off thinking I was either dreaming or the chickens had gone crazy. But this morning, the cat food bin was tipped over again. The chickens were probably scared and crowing in distress... (duh farmgirl). So, I guess a trap is in order. He doesn't bother the chickens, but I really don't want a 'coon roaming around.

DH is in town today as part of an ARK Crew we have at church. Have you seen "Evan Almighty"? In that movie, ARK stands for "Acts of Random Kindness". We sent away for a kit that helps get you started identifying needs in y0ur church and community and acting on those needs. Today, our church's ARK Crew is at the home of a congregation member who recently moved back into the community. They've moved to a different home and then her husband got shipped off to Iraq and she took a new job. With a couple teenagers and all the changes, they haven't even had time to unpack. So the crew is there helping her get organized and decorated for the holidays. What a blessing to be able to do this for the family.

Sure glad this is a chicken farm...

2007-11-22T17:08:00.000-06:00

These guys are especially happy that today, most Americans are eating turkey.

You can probably see that we got a little snow yesterday. It was a little white knuckle driving around noon yesterday, but by late afternoon, most of the local roads had cleared off. Today, we received some big beautiful white flakes (you'd have thought it was Christmas).

As usual, we had a bountiful dinner at MIL K's with 26 of our nearest & dearest. Lots of fun to watch the cousins play...

DD dressed as a "Pioneer Pilgrim" (same as her Halloween costume) and read a Thanksgiving poem...

and DH cut the bird...

and then we all sat around and gabbed.

Does anyone have any experience with a "house trap" in their septic system? We just discovered that we have one and it is causing a few issues now that we've installed a water-saving toilet in the upstairs bathroom. Ideas?

Also, for the record, the kitten that I mentioned in the last post is doing just fine. It wasn't even our kitten to begin with, but I shared all your wonderful and thoughtful advice with the kitten's caretakers and they're happy to report that "Patches" is doing great.

Now that DD is in first grade, she brings home assignments every night. She loves to read and enjoys math, so getting her to do this is not as challenging as I expected.

I'm also trying to involve her in the kitchen more. DH lets her cut things with a knife (under close supervision, of course), but I'm not that brave. On this particular evening, we made meatloaf and had extra hamburger, so she helped make hamburger patties for the next night. She's growing up way too fast!

Finally!

2007-11-06T11:13:00.000-06:00

The new chickens are finally laying eggs! I was getting one a day for a few days and then yesterday and today...three! Hallelujah!

It's much colder here today (in the 30's), so everyone's bundled up. The scarecrow's lap seems to be the preferred spot. I wouldn't be surprised to see "Gary" curled up there later with the cats. C'est la vie!

I got this picture of a cat the other day when I was on a photo shoot...couldn't resist! The picture I didn't take, however, is the one of DD crying inconsolably over a tiny kitten whose eyes are all "gooped up" and probably won't make it through the winter. Life and death lived out daily around the farm; tough, but important, lessons.

I was reading Reluctant Entertainer's blog this morning and it felt so timely and God-inspired. Just last night, I read Romans 12 and this idea has been on my heart lately. Especially as we enter the holiday season and a time for thanksgiving, this chapter helps to put me into the right frame of mind. I hope you will take joy in this, also.

Happy Fall, Y'all

2007-11-01T20:17:00.000-05:00

Ok, so it's been a while. DH received a voicemail from his friend down south and prompted me to get back to bloggin'. Just haven't been up to sharing a lot that's going on here. Starting to come out of this mental fog that I've been in, thanks to the help of my DH, DD, some very good friends...and lots of prayer.

So glad that the garden is done for this year. The peppers were outrageously hot, the tomatoes outrageously unproductive, the corn was layed flat by the high winds. It was pretty much a crop failure all the way around except for the green beans - - I finally just let them go (after I put 20 1-gallon bags of them in the freezer). Then, last week I noticed that they had re-seeded themselves and a new crop was growing (until the frost killed them off Tuesday night).

The port on my camera went bad a few months ago, and I just figured out how to go "around" that issue, so I can finally bring you some photos. I don't have a lot of photos of the family to share, but I can show you the girls (and a couple roosters):

I have no idea what breed most of these chickens are (they're just "perty"), but I believe this one is called a turken (or "Larry" as we like to call it):

This speckled one is the friendliest:

At dusk, they all head to the coop, except for a brave few who still roost in the pine trees behind the coop.And this is poor "Gary" - - I think he's a mix-up with that extra batch of broiler chicks we got. I don't have the heart to cook him for dinner, but he sure is a pain. He's just learning how to crow in this muffled, heart-sick way. He likes to sleep in this rocker at night and I have to carry him into the chicken house to train him where to go, but he always sneaks back to this spot. So, I put the scare-"chicken" in the rocker to deter this bad habit...he crowed at it for half an hour, but the silly thing wasn't scared....

If you can't beat 'em . . . join 'em:

And these little guys are new - - yes, more chickens. Some people inherit jewelry or money; I inherit chickens. My uncle Wade passed away a few weeks ago shortly after he hatched these RIR's and his sister asked me if I would take them, so here they are:

I'm still taking some family photos - - this one is my good friend and neighbor:

Still here

2007-08-19T18:51:00.000-05:00

Sorry for the long lapse in blog posts. Still coping and trying to see through this fog we're in. Had no idea we would be affected this deeply and profoundly by this sudden chain of events. I have felt the power of your prayers many times and am truly grateful.

Just to catch up a bit, we took a few days and went to Dubuque, Galena, and Decorah with my sweet MIL, K. We loved the Dubuque Arboretum:Galena exceeded my wildest expectations - - like a town trapped in a time warp. Absolutely gorgeous turn-of-the-century building immaculately preserved with charming shops, restaurants and B&B's. In Decorah, we visited Seed Savers Exchange and the Dairy Institute, where DD fell in love with a Jersey heifer calf she called "Butterscotch." I tried to convince DH that we could fit "Butterscotch" in the back of my MIL's mini-van, but he just didn't buy it.

Then, my Aunt S was up from Alabama to visit for a week, and we brought lots of local food to the table to tempt her southern-fried taste buds. Ribs and brats from neighbor D and ribs from Kelli at Sugar Creek, sweet corn, and salsa. Had a nice time visiting with her and her son, Alex (such a nice person for a 14 year old kid!).

Aunt S, G'ma G, Aunt L, & my mom:

Mom & me

DD has had to hang out with me at church as I put in extra hours in the absence of a pastor. We are still in the middle of the big remodel - - hopefully, the last of the flooring will be put down in the next week or two. A little tidying up, hanging curtains and pictures, and we'll be ready for Sunday School to start on September 9th.

DD and I did our annual trip to the Iowa State Fair on Thursday (the fair just isn't DH's "thing"). It rained in the morning, so we tried to make it a dual purpose trip by sneaking in some school shopping. By 11:30, the rain subsided and we headed to the fair grounds for a day of non-stop walking, eating, gawking, laughing, and ooh-ing & aah-ing.

DD starts school this coming Wednesday, and I'm wondering (as many other parents surely are) "where did the summer go?" I'm not ready for her to be in first grade and ride the bus and have homework.

Reading a very charming and humorous book titled "The Prize Winner of Defiance Ohio - - How My Mother Raised 10 Kids on 25 Words or Less." It's a true story of a woman who "contested" her way through the 1950's and 60's, written by the woman's daughter. What a lovely reminiscence. I laughed out loud for the first time in a very long time.

Speaking of domestic duties, I have absolutely no interest in canning this year. I've put up nearly 20 one-gallon bags of beans, peas & corn and I think I'm about done. The tomatoes have just begun to turn red and I'm already sick of them. Anyone else get that way? Hopefully, it's just a passing snit, but for now "thou dost protest!"

Moments of Grace

2007-07-26T08:36:00.000-05:00

My DD sits on my lap, curled up early in the morning. Her head nestles perfectly into the crook of my neck, warm and soft. She talks about her stuffed animal friends and riding her bike and everything good. These small moments have helped me cope, day by day. Little blessings, benevolent friends, praying on the promises of God, and good music (thanks to the O'Melays site, I found the tool at the bottom of this blog).

Grief

2007-07-23T20:47:00.001-05:00

I've been holding off on writing about this for a few days, but I need to get it out to my friends in the blog-o-sphere. My new boss/pastor died very unexpectedly last Thursday. Our congregation is shocked, wracked with questions, and uncertain of the future. Throughout this tragedy, however, we have been blessed with prayers, concerns, offers of help from local pastors & congregations, and the steadfast comfort of the Holy Spirit. Please pray for us as we grieve and please pray for our pastor's family (wife Grace and children Joy and Joseph). Thank you.

Another blessing in all of this is hospitality. Pastor's wife, children, and family all live out of state and do not speak fluent English. Our church's leadership and congregation has worked very hard to accommodate and comfort them in every possible way. In addition, our church is in the middle of an extensive rehab project with rooms half-painted, no furniture, old carpet, etc. Knowing that we couldn't pull these rooms together in time for the visitation and funeral, we have had to be "creative" in seeking ways to make these rooms as hospitable as possible. Fortunately, many in the congregation have brought in many flowers from their gardens, we prepared the tables to serve the family dinners with fine linens and REAL place settings (not paper plates). I know this seems a trifle amidst all the other things, but I hope that the family feels our love for them through these small touches.

"It is only when I share life’s experiences with others that I can enjoy them or endure them to the greatest advantage. You see, having a relationship calls for being in fellowship with others, and that cannot be done very easily at arm’s length. It implies getting in touch, feeling the hurts, being an instrument of encouragement and healing. Fences must come down. Masks need to come off. Welcome signs need to be hung outside the door. Keys to the locks in our lives must be duplicated and distributed. Bridges need to be lowered that allow others to cross the moat and then share our joys and our sorrows." ~ Dropping Your Guard by Chuck Swindoll

Reach out to someone today.

She rides, she rides

2007-07-17T13:36:00.001-05:00

In the spirit of Ricky Martin, this is what we were singing last night when DD succeeded at riding on TWO WHEELS. Yes, the training wheels are still attached, but you can see how "useful" they are. Me thinks they'll be coming off tonight.

It's another hot one

2007-07-15T09:12:00.000-05:00

It's so hot & dry here. The last rain we had was June 22nd. Needless to say, we're doing everything we can to stay cool. DH and DD help me water the flowers and veggies, but the grass is nearly burned out. We keep the chicks in a "tractor" beneath a big tree and just keep moving it around every other day. That way, their "poo" doesn't burn out the grass and they have fresh ground to find bugs and other tasty morsels.

On to the garden report: We're getting lots of beans, peas, and broccoli. I was able to harvest a few decent carrots, but they were mostly woody and bitter. The turnips have been good, but I'm the only one who likes them. We have lots of potatoes and onions still in the ground. The black seeded simpson lettuce is done/bolted, but I have one Sierra lettuce plant that is wonderful. One row of sweet corn is nearly ready and five more rows are nearly as tall. The rhubarb I transplanted is coming up great, but the new strawberries have stalled.

DD mustered up the courage to sleep out on the front porch (all by herself!) for a couple nights. I slept on the sofa right inside the door just to make sure she was okay; she slept until about 3 am each night and woke up disoriented, so I'd carry her up to bed. So cool. Yes, she's reading Charlotte's Web and loving it - - just about done. She saw the cartoon version a couple times, but hasn't seen the new live action movie yet. Next, she wants to start on Laura Ingalls Wilder and maybe the Kirsten series of American Girl. She's just a reading fool!

Blog-worthy

2007-07-14T00:36:00.000-05:00

We went to see Alison Krauss tonight in Cedar Rapids. Amazing...this was their closing song. Enjoy.

Having some technical difficulties with the cord that connects my camera to the computer. Now having to go the "long way around" to get photos. Here's a couple just for fun.

Barn Quilts of Grundy County

2007-06-14T13:40:00.000-05:00

A story that will appear on Farmers Almanac TV this Friday at 6:30 pm on Iowa Public TV. The barn quilt tour route passes right by our farm. Maybe we should put a quilt block on our new woodshop... "DH, I have another project for youuuuuuu...."

Happy Sunday

2007-06-10T19:25:00.000-05:00

Saturday morning, DH & DD and I helped at the Annual Dash & Splash 5k Run (organized by Nile & Glo). DH & DD drove the golf cart and I took photos. The winning time (and new course record) was 17:17! My goodness!

Took photos at a wedding reception last night (a paying gig!). Here's the happy couple and their beautiful niece:

Fellowship at church this morning, followed by a "youth only" service that DH helped organize (10 kids attended!). Nile & Glo and their kids & grandson (Adrian, 1.5 year old) came out to see the chicks, kittens, etc. Adrian was so cute to watch -- everything was a "duck".

We finally took the 26.8 pound turkey out of the freezer that we got from the neighbor. We had to hack off the wings in order to fit it into the biggest roasting pan we have. We cracked open a can of beer and stood it upright inside the turkey and put the lid on. So far, so good.

Dining al fresco this evening on the turkey wings (in a flavorful mesquite marinade), fresh new potatoes from the garden, radishes from the garden, and apple slices.

Despite sharing some of the turkey with all the cats, Leah was such a good kitty and got herself a little dessert:

Come sit a spell

2007-06-08T20:18:00.001-05:00

This little spot on the front porch is my favorite place to relax, read, and watch the world go by. Vintage Chica might recognize the blue & green print fabric. I've had the red ship fabric for several years, but didn't want to cut into it. Finally decided to pull it out of the storage container and use it and enjoy it! The little side table was a freebie from the Goodwill truck (I painted it red). And the crochet blanket was a freebie that DH had and used as padding for moving furniture! Crazy patterns to mix together, but it sure brightens up the front porch.

Picture Post

2007-06-08T20:02:00.001-05:00

Texture and blue
Leah is bored
Tucker and his new summer cut

Lacy and Goldie dine al fresco
Chicks in the brooderThe oddest chick of all (well make that second oddest to me). Any clue as to what kind of chicken this will be?

Check this out

2007-06-08T09:05:00.000-05:00

Young Corn by Grant Wood

Last night, I was driving home from vacation bible school (VBS) and heard this great interview by none other than Paul & Sandy Coughlin, of Reluctant Entertaining. I've been really inspired by Sandy's gift of hospitality; it always seemed more of a luxury to me than a ministry. But Sandy uses hospitality to create relationships, mend hurts, and restore spirits with simple acts of kindness and thoughtfullness.

Ironically, the lesson for my VBS class last night was "Plunge Into Service" and I talked a lot about hospitality: what Jesus did for his servants before the last supper (John 13:1-17), what He did for each of us, what we can do for others. The kids made thank you notes for the VBS volunteers and had a great time.

So...that's where I've been lately. VBS started Sunday night and ends tonight with a pool party. I (admittedly reluctantly) taught 3rd & 4th graders. Whoa! What a crew! We started Sunday night with 22 kids! Thankfully, the VBS directors agreed to divide the class and one of my helpers took half of the kids. After that, it went much better and it was a good experience - - but I'm glad it's over.

The chicks are doing well and growing quickly (pics this weekend).

One more full week of work for me. *happy dance* and then this will be me & DD all summer:

Doubly blessed

2007-05-29T09:50:00.000-05:00

The chicks arrived yesterday...yes, on Memorial Day. We got a voice mail from the Waterloo Post Office after midnight (Sunday night) saying that we could pick up the chicks from the loading dock and a phone number to call. Since no one answered at the number that was given, I feared that no one would be at the P.O. on a holiday and the chicks would die. So, I called a local postal worker and she told me that someone would be there. DD and I drove the 45 miles to W'loo and, thankfully, a nice man was there and handed me two boxes of chicks. We made a couple quick stops and headed home to get the chicks into the brooder with fresh water and food. I was in such a hurry to get them comfy, I didn't count them or notice that there were 50 chicks (I ordered 25 Rainbow Layers). After working in the yard the rest of the day, I went to get the boxes and noticed the packing slips inside - - one with my name on it and the other with another name on it! The guy at the post office dock gave me someone else's order (that lives 45 miles on the OTHER side of W'loo)! I just got off the phone with McMurray Hatchery and there's really nothing we can do at this point. They basically said, "enjoy." So happens that the extra 25 I got are Cornish Roasters... huh?! I guess I'm in the meat bird business now, too. Any advice, Kelli?!

At the request of Karl, here's a photo of our $16 patio fountain and the whole patio.

And this is what it looked like just one year ago:

We invited Dean, Linda, their two boys, Nile & Glo over for an impromptu bbq last night and had a nice visit. Later, DH & I sat on the patio and listed to the trickle of the fountain while watching the moon duck in and out of the clouds.

Happy Memorial Day

2007-05-27T20:20:00.001-05:00

We enjoyed the parade in Beaman (pop 250) yesterday. DD was in G'ma K's convertible with her cousins (the theme was "Girls Day Out"). Very fun!Our westerly neighbors stood on the same corner watching the parade and had to fight DH for the candy!

We worked in the yard yesterday and today. Seems like we can never get ahead. We also went to the big city and got more supplies for the wood shop (hickory cabinets for the kitchenette) and a new table saw for DH. You'd think he'd be in heaven, but you should see all the little parts and pieces that this saw comes with just to put it all together...good grief! During a break from this tedious task, he managed to create a little fountain out of an old (terra cotta looking) plastic planter and some rock. A nice soothing trickle now fills the air on the north patio.

DH's nephew graduated today, so we went to his reception where we saw lots of relatives and met some new friends (a photographer to boot!). They have an eight-year-old son; he and DD became fast friends chasing each other around the yard until DD got a little rough and knocked him down (sorry, T!).

In the three years we've lived here, the only deer we have seen have been across the road. This morning, DD ran over to me and said, "Mom, there's a swan by the front porch!" We thought she saw a Canadian goose. When I walked over to the window, there were two young deer standing right in front of the porch (DD mean "fawn" not "swan"). I ran & got the camera and thought it was so neat to have deer in the front yard.

That was...until they started nibbling on the new fruit trees. So, Tucker was sent chasing after them. Mmm-Buh-bye little tree nibblers!

A Quiet Saturday

2007-05-26T08:25:00.000-05:00

DD stayed with her Gramma K last night and will be in the Memorial Day parade this afternoon (although the forecast says it's supposed to pour). DH and I had a nice quiet evening; we went to happy hour at the golf course and saw some friends and then out for a little dinner. Got home & crashed on the couch.

I've been trying to use up some vacation days, and have been crossing a few things of my list. One of which is using up a pile of bricks from church (you can't throw away perfectly good bricks!). So, this is what has become of the bricks:The little chair that the plant is sitting on was (also) salvaged - - this time from my neighbor's burn pile (ee-gads!). It was originally light yellow (like the shed); I had some red paint, so now it is red just like the wee little chair in front of it that I found at a flea market for a buck! To the left of the chairs are transplanted perennials like daisies, hosta, spikey purple flowers (forget what they're called now). Also planted some heirloom dahlias and glads. This little shed is half garden supplies and half chicken house (a wall down the middle). It sits behind DH's new shop and just a few feet from the garden.

The kitten are starting to warm up a bit. Still won't come out unless there is food to be had. But once you do get ahold of them, they seem to enjoy it.DH has started in on his "summer semester" at work. His program used to be just during the typical school year, but the college is building an additional dormitory, so he's on tap to manage a crew of students on the project. It's great that he has work for the summer, but I think he misses working on his clients' projects.

See that little paragraph in the upper right hand corner of the blog "girl is now farmer wannabe trying to get out of corporate America..." well, it has happened. I quit my full-time job this week and have accepted a part-time job at my church. I know in my heart it's the right thing to do. DD is so excited that she gets more of her mama, and DH is relieved that I will be more...shall we say...content. *sigh* God is good all the time.

Happy daisies for you

2007-05-21T08:42:00.000-05:00

and columbines:
and iris from Uncle George:

and pinks/dianthus - - yes, they are really this bright (no photo retouching needed)
the shade garden:

So much for having a "simple" garden this year. This one has proven to be very challenging as I'm dealing with a smaller space and have to be much smarter about where to put stuff. DH built a raised strawberry bed for me and helped put in the new dirt. Put in 10 new strawberry plants. Got the tomatoes, peppers, broccoli, brussel sprouts, cuke, zuke, and rest of the sweet corn in. Also moved the rhubarb to the "perennial" section of the garden (with the strawberries & asparagus). Yes, the asparagus did finally come up! We cleaned up the weeds around the new oak & hackberry trees that line the west edge of our property. DH also spent time putting another load of mulch around more trees and garden beds.

DD with one of the two remaining kittens. No, they are not exactly friendly yet; I caught this one and said "hold on tight, DD!" long enough to get this photo.Soccer is officially over - - DD's team:

Back from DC

2007-05-17T15:05:00.000-05:00

I spent the last few days in Washington DC for work. Left 7:30 am Sunday (Mother's Day...*ahem*) and got back at 10 pm last night. This is what I missed...

DH and DD in Praise Team at church (DD even had a duet!). DH prepared a nice meal for his mom and a friend from church. Then on Monday, DD had her Kindergarten program. Broke my heart that I wasn't there.

DH spent all of yesterday mowing and putting pine mulch around the trees and in my shade garden. It looks so nice! He was so diligent in watering the garden, plants (that I bought Saturday...duh, why would I buy veggie plants before I leave for four days?), feeding the chickens and (two remaining) kittens. They still hiss at me even when I bring them food...?

But, I was here. That was pretty cool. Feast your eyes on this, dollhouse fanatics. It was amazing. The gardens were fantastic and the weather was perfect. Would love to go back out there with DH & DD in a few years - - what a great city!

Soccer time

2007-05-11T08:44:00.000-05:00

DD wanted to play soccer this year. Typically, soccer season is filled with rain, cold and lots of "but I don't WANT to play." This year, she was ready for it, the weather has been decent, so . . . let's play soccer!

DH is not "officially" a coach, but is often called in to help out. Sometimes, he gets to sit on the sidelines and visit with friends/family. Soccer practice and games are as much a social opportunity for parents as a recreation opportunity for kids.
I'm definitely a sideline kind of parent. My little nice KK hung out with me last night.

Best Intentions

2007-05-11T08:20:00.000-05:00

I think most people who know me would say that I have the best of intentions; the results of my actions, however, are not always reflective of this. On Wednesday, a colleague came into my office and said that she saw some kittens crawling around behind our office building. Now who can resist cute, cuddly kittens, right? Well, we deemed it was our responsibility to "save" the kittens from an uncertain future by catching four of them (under great protest), putting them in a box in my office, and sending them home to Gracious Acres with me.

I knew DH was not going to be terribly excited to have four kittens roaming the farm again; we don't have the best luck with keeping kittens alive. This time was no exception. The first night, I put them in a dog kennel with some milk & Tender Vittles. They ate okay, but they were still very hissy and scared...rightly so. Leah the cat was NOT happy and pouted shamelessly.

Yesterday morning, I put some fresh milk in the kennel and left for work. When I got home, I let them out of the kennel to roam about and get a feel for the place. Before long, they hid under the front porch (unaccessible by anything bigger than a kitten). I placed some food near the porch and saw them come out to eat it, and I thought they would be okay under the porch over night. About 10:30 pm, we heard a horrible commotion out there with lots of hissing and cries from the kittens. This morning they were nowhere to be found.

Of course, I feel awful. Should I have let them run wild in town, should I have brought them to the animal shelter? I don't know anything other than sometimes I should just not try to be the "patron saint of all feral animals." Yes, DH, I have learned my lesson (until next time).

When have your "best intentions" turned out for the worst?

No squirrels at Gracious Acres...

2007-05-09T08:21:00.000-05:00

...until now. My friend's dad used to feed the squirrels in his yard in town until he discovered that the squirrels were making themselves at home in his attic. Since the discovery, he has cut the squirrels off from the abundant food supply and has been trying to humanely relocate them to a local girl scout camp (about 20 in two weeks!). When I told my friend that we didn't have any squirrels at our farm, he offered to implement a "squirrel transplant program." Last night the first squirrel came home to Gracious Acres.

Once released from the cage, he darted up the big tree. Tucker (the dog) and Leah (the cat) were so excited about the new arrival, too. We spent quite a bit of time watching his every move.

When I was little, my gramma G had a friend who fed squirrels...corn and Oreos. I spent tons of time hanging out there and watching through her big front window. She could even feed them by hand, they were so tame. When we lived in town, Tucker loved to chase squirrels; they taunted him by hanging just out of reach from him and then clucking at him from the branches.

Of course craziness broke out:

Now, who can resist that face?

Part of the garden springing to life:

I've been a bad blogger

2007-05-08T15:10:00.000-05:00

A bright bunch of flowers for my thoughtlessness.

The garden is in and sprouting well. Radishes, carrots, potatoes, peas, onions, lettuce, spinach, one row of sweet corn (so far), and two rows of green beans (so far). DH helped put up the trellis (cattle panels) for the peas and he helped me pick out my new tiller, a little Troy-Bilt that will get in between the rows but has enough power to till the whole garden. Heaven....I'm in heaven...and my heart beats so that I can hardly speeeeeeeeeeak...when I'm in my garden tilling once a week...

And...we had a little party for DD's 6th birthday.

Isn't this just the most precious thing?

I won't even bother to show you pictures of the THREE Bratz dolls that she received as gifts (TWO FROM DH!!!!) Oh, the humanity!

Darling neighbor E was so pleased to give DD flowers for DD's "very own garden."

We started off her birthday with a pancake breakfast at the Hardin County Farm Museum. Then, we stopped by the Reisinger Horse Farm, where she got a personal tour of the amazing barns full of beautiful paint horses. I grew up around horses and miss them quite a bit, so it was no surprise that I came home and dreamed out loud to DH about how we could put a pasture in the front yard...and a little shed...for just a horse or two...and...well, he doesn't exactly share my dream. Let's just leave it at that.

Later that night, my mom took DD to the 99 cent movie theater to see TMNT. DD came home exhausted but thrilled with her day-long birthday celebration.

Maybe it's just me, but...

2007-04-25T15:23:00.000-05:00

Little girls' toys aren't for little girls anymore. We recently asked DD what she might like for her upcoming birthday. She desperately wants a Bratz doll...*ugh* I've been opposed to those Bratz dolls since they first came on the scene: number one because of the name, which implies that it's cool to be a bratty little kid; number two, because of those skimpy little outfits; and number three, because of the ridiculous cartoon of the same name.

Not that Barbie is much better, but come on... then I saw this article today, which affirms my original parental instincts. The bigger question is: how do we protect kids from these kinds of influences, but educate them to know why they are bad influences - - throw out the tv (I wish, but DH would go into convulsions). We struggle with this every day.

Just because

2007-04-18T10:00:00.000-05:00

Maybe it's this alternative blog universe that I have found myself in, but throughout the course of 1.5 years and 160-odd posts in Gracious Acres blogland I've found a lot of myself that I didn't even know was a part of me. So many ideas - - practical, spiritual, atistic, cultural - - to help me come to terms with many areas of my life. Some of my friends and family think this whole "blog thing" is just a fad, a trifle, a silly diversion; but to me, it's so much more.

Kelli has opened my eyes to so many possibilities and a wonderful new friendship, Christine has helped keep me grounded with amazing biblical perspective, Karl & Tabitha are so fun to observe (the far-end-of-the-spectrum-me), Christina shares many thoughts and emotions that I'm just not eloquent enough to write, Cathy's and DMG's sarcastic humor keeps it "real", and Jenny is the springboard for all things creative and expressive.

I've always had good intentions about keeping a journal . . . but never wrote more than three days before it went on the shelf for good. Scrapbooking was my passion for 4-5 years, but then it became more of an obligation to spend lots of money and inordinate amounts of time for some lame "happy" pages. But life is more than just the "happy pages"; it's about the confusing, frustrating, simple moments as well. Blogging is a way to get down to that. I'll admit that I tend to blog about "happy" things more than the other stuff, but...I digress.

Today, I am here to defend blogging and the good that it has done for me. Hooray for blogging. Ok, I'll get down from my silly soapbox now.

BTW, I'm in Dallas, TX right now (for work). Must say the weather was nicer in Iowa! And ("when in Rome"): "Howdy, y'all!"

What a difference a few days can make

2007-04-16T10:54:00.000-05:00

Last week, we had awful weather that threatened any plant life that dared sprout. This week, it is gorgeous. Some plant life has hung on, but holding the bud close to the ground.

This new apple tree is just beginning showing some life.The Meteor cherry tree did not make it through the winter.

Leah is thrilled to have some nice weather again. She left a little gift (black bird with severed head) at the back door this morning.

The chickens enjoy dust baths under the pine wind break.

Don't you just love a blank canvas?

I've read about growing potatoes in straw (dig a trench, put the potato seed in and cover it all with straw). Anyone tried that? Do you think I could use half-composted chicken manure mixed with the straw?

The only thing this day is good for...

2007-04-12T09:51:00.000-05:00

...is sleep.This was the scene yesterday.

With more snow last night and yucky roads, I'm ready to go back into hibernation. My newly tilled garden, however, taunts me to "come out and play!" The tulips, daffodils, and hyacinth are toast... oh well, I have lots of other flowers to look forward to.

DH and DD practiced with the Praise Team again last night and had a ball. Just to give you a little idea about how much fun this group is, here's a photo from February:

Now these are the kind of people you'd want to hang out with!

I could show you pictures of . . .

2007-04-09T08:34:00.000-05:00

...all the stuff we did this weekend, like:
a powerful Good Friday church service and prayer vigils;
DH's shop with lots of fresh paint on the interior walls (note - - he did it all himself, thank you very much) *ahem*;
a clean house and no laundry piles;
my homework done two weeks ahead of schedule;
a lovely Easter meal with ham balls, baked potatoes, mixed veggies, rolls, angel food cake and cheesecake on my great-gramma's china - - my mom joined us;
a thrilled DD who was invited to sing with the Praise Team on Easter Sunday (she was a sing-ing!);
a very proud momma & papa who watched their daughter praising God with song;
a cleaned up yard (downed limbs from the ice storm and garden beds) with the whole family working together; and
a very grateful me for so many blessings.
But, there are no photos of this weekend, just lots of great memories and moments in my mind.

Ode to the documentary film

2007-04-06T09:15:00.000-05:00

Call me crazy, but I love documentary films. Not just the "True Hollywood Story" docu-dramas, but the real, cutting edge stuff like "The Farmers Wife" and "Hoop Dreams". Even "Shut Up & Sing" was great.

The Frontline story on ALS the other night cut straight through to my heart. It was about a man who was diagnosed with ALS when he was 29 and told he had five years to live. Instead of curling up in a ball and dying, he lived the last years of his life to the fullest by getting married and having a son. His family and friends were incredibly inspiring as well. He died last November at the age of 37.

It reminded me so much of the last years of Jesus' life. He knew he was going to die a painful and humiliating death. Yet, he had a mission to teach and love and redeem until his last breath. All for us sinners - - what an amazing gift that God gave us. Redemption from all our sins just by accepting Christ? Seems too good to be true, but it's not.

It must be almost Easter . . .

2007-04-06T08:50:00.000-05:00

... because it's freezing outside! Not just chilly, but literally freezing. Low temps (teens and 20's) and lots of wind. The daffodils and hyacinth (photos below) and all other signs of spring are stalling out (if not completely ruined). The buds on the new apple & cherry trees are questionable.

It's just pitiful that stores around here try to sell Easter dresses that are short-sleeve or sleeveless. Anyone who has lived here long enough knows that Easter dresses are almost always covered up with the standard winter parka! I'll step down from my soap box now...

On a positive note (must stay positive), our church put on a wonderful Maundy Thursday service/meal. I had never been to one before and it was a great experience. DD and DH enjoyed it, too. DD is really looking forward to the Good Friday service tonight. We're doing a dramatization of "Golgotha."

Spring updating

2007-04-03T09:11:00.000-05:00

In the garden, we'll have color in no time:

In the dining room, we've got some new sage/olive green walls and "re-newed" black distressed furniture:

This is a little WIP ("work in progress") that DH salvaged from a friend's shop (he was going to burn it - - oh the horror!). It was covered in dirt and old fuel oil cans. We've got a little more sanding to do before we put a light coat of stain and a little varnish on - - and it's good as new.

Quite the "sound & light" show last night with the house-shaking thunder & sharp lightning. Several waves of the spring storm came through all night long. Some waves of pouring rain, some with strong winds, and even a little hail. I think the farmers are chomping at the bit to get the fields dried out and get some planting done. I'm even getting a little impatient that I can't get the garden tilled (I should have peas & potatoes in by now!).

Still here

2007-04-02T08:45:00.000-05:00

No, I didn't have a total breakdown, but I have been busy! Had a birthday last week. DH planned a wonderful party with great food and wonderful friends. He really went all out - - he did all the planning, inviting, shopping, preparing, and worrying himself. What a guy!Wish Kelli was here for it - - she sent some yummies and pretties all for little 'ol me! She even put this graphic up on her blog (LOOOOOOOVE it!).

Even better, I got a wild hair to redecorate the house prior to the party. So, lots of wallpaper bits torn off (12 hours to strip the lower half and border), new paint on the walls and the dining room table (& six chairs), new seat covers for the chairs, light for the dining room, pillows and curtains and wall decor for the living room, etc. And DH put up with it all (mostly without complaint).

The ice storm and spring break really took a toll on my classes. We covered six chapters in anatomy in less than two weeks and my test is tonight...can I freak out yet?!

Some amazing clouds around our place the last couple nights:

And then there's Leah who, despite the gorgeous spring weather, desperately wants to be a house cat:

A little pick me up

2007-03-21T16:07:00.000-05:00

"Rooted" by Ann Whim Tseng

Warning: sappy stuff ahead!

Had a mini meltdown last night, but my DH was exactly what I needed him to be: just there with me, not solving my problems or handing out “I told you so”s. He gave me a little breathing room and then just stayed close to me, touched my arm at just the right time and listened intently, patiently. God, I love that man!

Just when I think it's time to get a little "pharmaceutical help", I can call him up and he's the thing that "takes the edge off" for me. He's my rudder in the middle of a storm, my compass when I'm lost. He keeps me rooted and encourages me to grow.

No matter what ails me, he's always better than what any doctor could order. Love ya, babe.

Spring has...sprung

2007-03-13T15:06:00.000-05:00

Emerging from the ground yesterday afternoon - - a sure sign of spring. I think this is a tulip. Also, DD insisted on wearing a t-shirt and her sandals to ride her bike in the driveway. Then, she had to climb the remaining snowbanks to get to the compost bin. What a scene - - spring in Iowa.

DH made a wonderful dinner last night with steaks on the grill, baked potato, salad & garlic bread. We lingered at the dinner table and just talked after DD went upstairs.

Up at 4:30 to make it on the bus to DM for our annual visit to the Capitol. So tired...

Just what I needed

2007-03-12T13:30:00.000-05:00

Last weekend, I volunteered at a Walk to Emmaus and it was exactly what I needed to gain some clarity and peace in my life. The team I worked with was an amazing group of women totally committed to living as servants of the Lord and daughters of the King. Such an uplifting experience - - I can't possibly say how much my Emmaus Walk and Agape Team opportunity have meant to me.

While my weekend was a "mountain-top experience," I was so happy to come home again to DD and DH. They expressed their agape love by cleaning the entire house and getting all the laundry done. What a blessing...

DH is on spring break this week with ambitious plans for working on his shop and installing a new toilet in the upstairs bathroom. *happy dance*

Quiet please

2007-03-07T13:44:00.000-06:00

The buzzing of saws, the hammering, drilling, shuffling, sanding, and dusting that's going on right now in our office space is getting to be a bit much for me. Sure, I love all that noise when it's in my house, the prospect of trying to work and talk on the phone is more than even I can handle.

I'm a girl who likes quiet. My DH, on the other hand, likes to fall asleep to the sound of talk radio or a fan whirring. I cannot. I guess that falls under the ever-growing column of my neurotic tendencies. It's enough to deal with all the voices inside my head, let alone ambient noise!

Lots of ambient noise around me right now, and not just the kind that registers on a decibel meter. My soul is troubled, my heart fears. I've been known to worry things into existence, but these concerns are real. I'm not even sure what to pray for, but I keep praying. The Lord is always near.

DD lost another tooth this morning. Last night at dinner, it was tethered in her mouth by the tiniest piece of skin. I was scared that she would swallow it in her sleep . . . the tooth fairy doesn't leave money for those, you know! This morning, she warily came into the bathroom and asked me if I would pull it. I picked up a damp washcloth, and swiftly and painlessly pulled the sucker out. She was very relieved -- as was I.

Kids do the darndest things

2007-03-06T09:37:00.000-06:00

DD's had her first loose tooth. She was so excited to get it out, she wiggled it constantly. She received all sorts of advice from friends & family as to how to actually pull it out; everything from using a washcloth to grab it & pull it... to tie one end of a sting to her tooth and the other end to a door knob & slam the door closed (that seemed the least appealing to her). Sometimes, she wanted DH & I to try to pull it out, but then she'd change her mind:

Then, she got the idea to have her stuffed animal, Alicia, help her with the task. She tied one end of a piece of dental floss to her tooth and the other end to Alicia's paw. She then threw Alicia and shrieked. The tooth was gone:

The "toothless wonder"

Scenes of Winter

2007-03-06T08:46:00.000-06:00

Friday & Saturday provided us with a fresh layer of snow to create this lovely scene in our back yard.

When we decided not to travel to the concert on Friday, my neighbor (and fellow concert-goer) offered her husband to give me a ride home since he has 4 wd. He graciously picked me up from work and braved the treacherous roads. When I arrived home, my DH and DD had made all attempts to lift my spirits . . . chocolate will always do the trick!

The 120' long, 4-5' high drift that runs parallel to our driveway became quite the fort this weekend. While DH worked at digging out the snow, DD tested the "slide-ability" of the slope.

Pheasant on Saturday morning - - notice his tail is clumped with ice and snow. Same pheasant the next day - - he lost some of the ice & snow. He hangs out on the edge of the pine wind break and has enjoyed some of the feast.

Under the cover of night

2007-03-05T08:23:00.000-06:00

10:30 pm under a full moon, DH and I watched from the upstairs window three bunnies playing in the snow. They put on quite a show. Though the moonlight was bright and illuminated much of the earth below, there was just enough darkness to leave a little mystery to the cavorting figures. DH had scattered some bird seed by the pine wind break and it was apparently a winter feast for blue jays, cardinals, pheasants, rabbits and other countryside wildlife. After we watched the show below, we hunkered down in the covers and talked in the darkness like we did when we dated. 'Twas a magical night indeed.

On Second Thought

2007-03-02T13:12:00.000-06:00

Considering the fact that travel is not advised on any of the roads leading to the concert venue and that tow trucks are prohibited from rescuing stranded motorists on said roads, we have decided to forego the concert tonight. *sigh*

Round Two

2007-03-02T09:54:00.000-06:00

March is officially in like a lion! The second big storm hit last night with fierce wind and heavy snow. The snow was still blowing so hard this morning that I couldn't get pictures of the chicken house surrounded by 3-4 foot drifts. School was cancelled for both DH and DD, so they are home and safe. I ventured 20 miles to work down a state highway where parts of the southbound lane are covered in drifts of snow so high you have to take your life in your hands by driving in the opposite lane. My knuckles are still white.

Why go in to work on a day like this, you ask? Because it gets me closer to Des Moines so I can see these guys tonight with some girlfriends. We're staying at a hotel across the street from the concert venue, so we won't have to drive home afterwards. Woo hoo!! Love me some music.

Great photos link, and why "she thinks my tractor's sexy"

2007-02-28T11:15:00.000-06:00

Our friends over at High Hopes Gardens posted some true-to-life photos of the damage from the ice storm here.

This has now been added to my personal wish -- make that necessity -- list. Kenny Chesney said it all in this song.

The Big Storm

2007-02-28T10:22:00.000-06:00

I am finally back to work today after being stuck at home after the big ice storm last weekend. We knew this storm was going to wreak havoc on our area of the state. Friday afternoon, the sleet started around 4 pm. So I headed out to the grocery store and it was a madhouse! Saturday, the power was on and off most of the day and at 6:00 pm, it went out for 36 hours straight. We were among the lucky ones to get power restored by Monday afternoon - - some in nearby communities are still without power.

The ice and cold wind created heavy sleet coats on trees, power lines, and anything else that stood still. Power lines and poles snapped like toothpicks throughout the area (over 20 poles were completely down in a two-mile stretch near our home).

We used a propane tank (for a gas grill) with a radiant heat unit on top to stay warm. My biggest concern was the freezer full of meat. We packed two 5 gallon buckets full of ice and put them inside the chest freezer. That did the trick! We still have well water, so using the toilet was also a challenge. Those with rural water did not have the same issue.

We spent a lot of time reading, working on puzzles, playing cards, and sleeping (ok, I was the only one who slept). DH gets cabin fever something awful, so when he could finally get out and about, he did. I finally ventured out to my mom's yesterday for a little socialization.We even had a dinner guest last night - - our dear friend from church was still without power, so she came out and spent the afternoon with us. We so enjoy her wisdom and company; she taught elementary school for over 35 years and has much experience we can learn from! And there is tremendous mutual admiration between her and DD... so sweet to see them together.

By Sunday afternoon, the sun came out and DH and DD worked on cleaning out the driveway. No easy task with the several inches of ice and slush - - not good for the snowblower.

We have a gas stove, so we were able to cook a couple hot meals & liquids during the outage. Also, our neighbors to the west have a generator and opened up their home on Sunday. I brought over 18 eggs, she mixed in her home-grown ground sausage, a little shredded cheese . . . voila! Dinner for 10 is ready!

Truth be told, I believe it's good to have times like this every once in a while to remind us how fortunate we are to have the luxuries of power, television, heat, and water available at the touch of a button. Imagine the millions of people living every day without those luxuries. Perspective is a wonderful, humbling thing.

More photos from the storm can be seen here.

Abundance

2007-02-22T08:16:00.000-06:00

What to do when you have a fridge full of veggies from the relish tray (carrots, celery, cauliflower, broccoli) that were not consumed by the 24 people over for dinner on Sunday night? Throw it all in a pot and make soup, of course. Kelli is getting creative and getting raves for her corn recipes with the abundance of corn in her freezer.

California Veggie & Rice Soup
Approx 5 cups raw veggies (carrots, celery, cauliflower, broccoli) chopped into small pieces
2 cans cheddar cheese soup
3 cups milk
3 cups brown rice (cooked)
1 T butter
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
1 ham hock
Salt & pepper to taste

In a large soup pot, melt butter and saute onions & mushrooms. Pour cheddar cheese soup and milk into pot, mix well. Dump in veggies. In a separate pan, cook rice. Pour rice into soup. In the rice pan, boil 2 cups water with the ham hock for 30 minutes. Place ham hock into soup pot and pour 1 cup of the ham hock water into soup. Simmer soup for 20-30 minutes. Add salt & pepper to taste. Soup will be very thick.

Yes Lord Amen

2007-02-21T07:27:00.000-06:00

[Sermon I gave on Sunday]
Yes, Lord. Yes, Lord. Yes, yes, Lord. These opening lines to the song “Trading My Sorrows” by Darrell Evans greeted me the other morning as I woke up. It was one of those times you wake up nine minutes before your alarm goes off and wish you could go back to sleep but you might as well get up because chances are it will take five minutes to fall asleep again, only to be jarred awake four minutes later. Maybe it had something to do with those lyrics. Odd that it would be that song – it was my “wake up call” from God. The remainder of the chorus goes something like this:

Chorus:And we say yes Lord yes Lord yes yes LordYes Lord yes Lord yes yes LordYes Lord yes Lord yes yes Lord Amen

Three simple words, “Yes Lord Amen.” I know when I ask Grace to pick up her room or do some other task, I get a “Yeeesssss, Mommmm.” But when I ask her if she wants to go to Adventureland, I get a “Yes, Mom, Yes, Mom, Yes, Yes Mom!” When God asks us to go through a trial or to give up something that’s worldly, we usually say, “Yeeeessss Loooorrrd.” When we are richly blessed and things are going really well for us, we say “Yes Lord!”

The Book of Ephesians should be subtitled, “Life’s Little Instruction Book.” Specifically in Chapter 4, Paul gives us some pretty clear instructions and inspiration on how we are to live:

Ephesians 4: 1. . .Live a life worthy of the calling you have received. 2Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.
7… to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it.

Although Ephesians Chapter 4 is pretty explicit, Isaiah 6:8 summarizes it quite well: “Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?" And I said, "Here am I. Send me!" Isaiah didn’t hesitate on his answer. He didn’t say, “um, where am I going, will I be fed & clothed, and cared for? What is my reward again?” He simply said “Yes Lord Amen!”

This past year has been a trying one for our family. Not just our immediate family, but also with our church family. The Big D’s: death, disease, depression, divorce, disagreements, dysfunction, and desperation. I don’t say this to bring you down, but to remind all of us of the need for and God’s command for us to “bear with one another in love.” As Pastor Sung pointed out last week, the line in our bulletin that reads “Ministers of the Gospel” includes “all members of the congregation.” When you invite the spirit of the Lord into your heart, you become a minister, a missionary with a harvest that is ripe with promise. To bear with one another in love doesn’t mean to solve each others problems, it means to listen to each other, to walk together along the sunlit mountain tops as well as the dark valleys, and to hold each other accountable.

This passage not only says to bear with one another in love, but also to, “speak the truth in love, and in all things we will grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ.” We could all use some wisdom in learning to “speak the truth in love.” I mentioned several of the “Big D’s” but the past year has also brought about some discontent among us - - I won’t pretend that there aren’t certain things that I would like to see enhanced and improved . . . changed, if you will. And we’ve had vision conferences and many conversations about how to accomplish those things. But I also respect the doctrine of the church as well as the long-standing traditions and values of other members of the congregation. I may not walk the same walk you do, I may not see things the same way you do, but I firmly believe there is a win-win to be found for all of us as Paul says, “4There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to one hope when you were called— 5one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.” Contrary to what math teachers may tell you, there’s power in one - - individually and collectively.

As individuals, we all have specific spiritual needs, a hunger to know God in an intimate and meaningful relationship. Some of us are fed by Pastor Park and his teachings and perspective. Some of us are fed through fellowship with each other. Others are fed by feeding others through missions and outreach opportunities. There are so many ways we grow, individually and collectively. 16From Him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work. As some of you know, I’m taking an anatomy class and I’m amazed how each part of our body works for the collective good. Same with a car engine. So, too, should our efforts in this congregation.

God calls each one of us -- not in the same way, not to the same thing -- but He does call. 11It was He who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, 12to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Are we unified in all that we do in this church? It’s okay to say no, to speak the truth in love. A body cannot function fully without a heart and brains and nerves. A car cannot function fully without a carburetor and spark plugs and gasoline. How can we expect to function fully as a church if we don’t have communication and dedication and innovation?

We’ve all been called to carry out a specific task for God’s kingdom. Sometimes that call is a still, small voice deep down in our heart. Other times, it is a “wake up call” that screams, “Yes Lord Yes Lord Yes Yes Lord!”

When you hear or are reminded He is calling will you, can you say with me, “Yes Lord Amen?” Will you cry out to Him "Here am I. Send me!"? The harvest is ready and the laborers are few. God is calling each of us today to some task big or small to be done in His name. I’m still not sure what God’s question or call to me was the other morning, but I know the answer will be “Yes Lord Amen.” By answering His call, we will know the joy of walking with God in the unity of the Holy Spirit.

Prayer: Lord of love and life, you call each one of us each day to tasks for you. Speak so we may understand your will. Bless our faltering efforts when we strive for obedience and yet are afraid. For we will say, "Yes Lord, I will go. I will hold your people in my heart, if you will lead me and hold my hand in yours." In Jesus' name. Amen

Life right now

2007-02-21T07:09:00.000-06:00

It's funny how the seasons of our lives are so similar to nature's seasons. Winter with desolation, reflection, with moments of pure brilliance from the million diamonds reflecting off the cold snow. Spring with inner-stirring, hope, storms that can be violent yet nurture the fledgling life underneath. Summer with the heat, scorching, but can warm the soul. Fall's abundance, endings conditioned with brilliant strokes of art.

Life right now is many seasons - - storms of discontent, inner-stirring, hope for many things, moments of pure brilliance seen in the faces of family & friends.

Leah finally went back outside, but as you can see, she desperately wants back in.

My desk overfloweth with school books, garden planning, and church website research. All three overwhelm me. But I have the music of Alison Krauss and Eva Cassidy to keep me company.Question: the seeds in this box are all marked "2006" and have been out in the garden shed all winter - - do I dare use them this year?

I kicked the chickens out of their shed the other day to get it cleaned out. They are deathly afraid of the snow, so I made sure they had a path of grass to wander in. The warm weather has melted much more of the snow, so hopefully they will spend more time outside. But they sure seem to enjoy pecking around in a new bed of straw.

Socks

2007-02-20T08:04:00.000-06:00

The cat came back
He wouldn't stay away
He was sitting on the porch
The very next day

This is Socks (on the right), the neighbor cat who seems to really like our place. He has a collar & tag, so we called the owners to let them know he was with us. They came over last night to pick him up, but he was back again this morning. Leah doesn't seem to mind him too much - - he's much more vocal & friendly than she is. DD is thrilled. DH let him in the house last night until the owner showed up. I don't mind him if he stays away from the chickens. Welcome, Socks.

Zucchini good

2007-02-13T19:45:00.000-06:00

This was a fantastic use of the zucchini today....um, yes, I made this today. It was so good, we decided to share it with some of the "unsung heroes" at DH's school: the secretary, janitor, librarian, gym teacher, art teacher, and music teacher. We had a few nibbles before dinner and after dinner. It won't last long. Here's the recipe:

Chocolate Zucchini Cake (from the Conrad Iowa Entre Nous Club Cookbook)
1/4 cup oleo, softened
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup sour milk
2 1/2 cup flour
4 T cocoa
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp soda
2 cup zucchini
Mix together ingredients. Pour into a greased and floured 9x13x2" pan. Sprinkle 1/4 cup sugar and 1/2 cup chocolate chips on top of batter. Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes.

Here's what else we did today:Don't I look so domestic in this fab apron?

DD spent over an hour looking at her scrapbooks - - a good reminder of why I scrapbook.

Digging out from the big storm

DD & I also made her Valentines for the party at school tomorrow - - we took mini Kit Kat bars, pulled off the wrapper and made our own fancy, stamped, personalized wrapper complete with flouncy ribbon. No photos; DD was sick of me taking pictures by then.

It's good to be snowed in when...

2007-02-13T13:28:00.000-06:00

...there is homemade wheat bread in the oven and a freezer full of local meat (beef and pork). We still have a 26 pound turkey in there. I'm half tempted to ask DH to take it out to the workshop and buzz saw it in half!

I have three one-gallon bags of shredded zucchini in there. Other than a simple chocolate-zucchini cake (that only calls for 2 cups of zucchini), does anyone have ideas on what to do with all the rest?

Highs & Lows

2007-02-09T08:46:00.000-06:00

On the "high" side, I got an A on my anatomy test this week. I was a nervous wreck last weekend trying to cram all that information into my tired little brain.

On the "low" side, we experienced our first loss with our chickens last night. I went out to gather eggs and one of my two Black Astralorps was lying on the floor. A wise man once said, "if you have livestock, then you're going to have to deal with deadstock." But she was a younger hen and I noticed the night before that she was a bit lethargic. She never had a name (strangely the only one without a name), so perhaps I should name her "Anna Nicole" because of her short life (but-not-quite-as-tragic death). Yes, this is all said "tongue in cheek." It just feels a bit odd to say I have five chickens now instead of six.

But God is good all the time...and all the time, God is good.

Pretty little things

2007-02-08T09:25:00.000-06:00

In honor of the upcoming sweethearts day, I made a few colorful hearts to put on all the windows & mirrors on the main floor (yes, I do get a bit carried away). These are modified a bit from Martha's version, but just as pretty. I used multiple colors between the wax paper and cut them free-hand using a pinking shears. I made another sheet for DD to cut out her own hearts to decorate her room; DH helped her with that little project last night.

Note: this is a great way to get rid of all those tiny little nubs of crayon that find their way to the bottom of the bucket. Also note: do not use your good cheese grater to shave the crayons (can you say, "wow, that's some colorful cheese on the spaghetti!")

Also found these adorable vintage Valentines. Copy them onto card stock, cut them out, and voila instant kitsch! Here is another good site.

On a roll

2007-02-05T14:41:00.000-06:00

Saturday was the INCA Conference in Marshalltown. I had the honor of taking photos at the conference, meeting Senator Tom Harkin, and sitting with Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey. The conference provided me with new ideas and inspiration about the economic and environmental impact of eating locally.

We were guests at Orchard Hill church on Sunday, where they showed an interview with Bono and his vision for global stewardship & charity. I don't have a lot of "heroes" but Bono has got to be one of the coolest people on Earth. To have all that money, celebrity & influence and use it for good is the epitome of Matthew 25:34-40:

34"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'
37"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'
40"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

Today, I finally got around to viewing the website for "An Inconvenient Truth." I still haven't seen the film, but will make it a priority when I actually have a free night. If you think one person can't have a positive impact on global warming, take a look at this. Happy "greening!"

Victory Garden Redux?

2007-02-05T12:57:00.000-06:00

Add another reason for eating locally and growing your own food ("Victory Garden"). Can you imagine if just a few more people in your neighborhood or community were to plant a garden to consume, share, and preserve? The economic and environmental impact would be huge. Don't underestimate the power of the local food dollar and the ripple effect it has. Here is a great resource to get started.

[photos courtesy of Heirloom Seeds]

Decisions, decisions

2007-01-31T16:31:00.000-06:00

I feel a bit behind as so many other bloggers are sharing their list of seeds that they've recently ordered and/or started (eee gads!). Now, folks are starting to talk about ordering chicks for the spring. Last spring, our friends at High Hopes Gardens sold us some laying hens to get us acclimated to the whole egg-laying thing. This year, I think we're ready to start some chicks.

I'm currently leaning toward a nice assortment of "Rainbow Layers" from Murray McMurray. I also heard the guy from Sand Hill Preservation Center speak, and I would love to order some stuff from him. I guess he sells the best sweet potatoes.

Gotta support Seed Savers Exchange, too. My Garden Girl Neighbor and I have a crazy plan to buy "only what we need" and share extra seeds & plants with each other. Ha! Like that will work for us, Garden Girl! But a road trip to SSE (pictured above) will be just what the doctor ordered around May. If anyone else is up for a Farmgirl Getaway to SSE, drop me a line!

Welcome International Visitor(s)

2007-01-31T16:22:00.000-06:00

I had my first comment (on this post) from an international visitor. I'm so excited and flattered. It's a small world after all.

Dog days of ... winter?

2007-01-30T08:33:00.000-06:00

DD and I had an interesting science lesson in the car on the way to school this morning. We saw this amazing sunrise and the "sun dogs" that appeared shortly after. I actually sounded kinda smart as I was telling the hows & whys of sun dogs. She was so excited to tell her teacher.

Here's a little dog that I whipped up last weekend. I got the idea from here. My first experience sewing felt . . . um, don't try to put this on the sewing machine. It's a bugger to turn the ears out. Take the time to hand-sew it, trust me. His name is Casper and he's a happy, but mighty quiet little pup. He likes long walks along the end rows and dinners of scraps by the yard light. Casper doesn't have a very good sense of smell since he doesn't have a nose; hopefully, this farmgirl will fix that siutation shortly. Casper has also been whining about needing a little bell or dangly thing from his collar. Hmm...any ideas?

And, finally, I leave you with the other project I worked on this past weekend: the belated holiday card from our family. It's on light blue Bazzill cardstock, Microsoft word "art" for the greetings box, and a snowflake stamp in glittery silver in the center. I also used Rhonna Farrer "flourishes" stamp with silvery-blue ink on the back and on the envelopes.In keeping with the "dog" theme of this post, we were "dog tired" by the time this picture was taken (hee hee). I won't show post the picture of the backside of the card (it's stuff you already know if you come here often).

Have a doggone great day! [LOL - - stop, my sides are hurting!]

Reality vs fantasy

2007-01-24T10:21:00.000-06:00

DH is finally seeing a specialist (ENT) today about his ear. His ear canal is nearly swollen shut, the right side of his face is swollen, and he is in a lot of pain. I hope the ENT can give him some much needed relief. DD went back to school today. She didn't cough much last night and the school nurse volunteered to take a look at her today (thanks, Glo!).

Since DH has been going to bed extremely early, I have the tv to myself. Rather than watch fluff or the State of the Union, I watched this and this. Talk about a downer.

Neighbor D came over last night with the tractor and bucket and cleared the driveway (thanks, D!). It was a novel idea being "snowed in," but the reality is that I do actually need to go to work and I can't really be a hermit.

If I were a hermit, I think I would want to live in this adorable little cottage (in Wales).

[Edited to add photo, since link is disabled]

I always secretly wished I could live like a Smurf. Enjoy the tour!

Sick little girl

2007-01-23T08:10:00.000-06:00

DD still has a terrible cough, so she's home from school today. After she ate a little breakfast, I asked her to go upstairs and lie down. After putting dishes away, this is what I found:

Well, she made it halfway up the stairs. What you can't see is Tucker (the dog) laying on the stair near her head. Cat on one side and dog on the other side protecting her - - pets are awesome.

DH put some dough in the breadmaker before he left for work. So, a little soup & homemade bread for lunch, lots of rest & liquids, and a million kisses from her mama should make DD feel a little better.

Sunday Funnies

2007-01-21T15:58:00.000-06:00

We got quite a bit of snow last night (4-6"). Usually, we get the wind with the snow, and the wind is what keeps our driveway clear. Last night, however, no wind. So, for the first time this winter, we were snowed in. We don't have a big tractor with a bucket (or any tractor for that matter). So, we waited for the snow to stop and we dragged out the trusty snow blower. DH did most of the work. I came out in the ninth inning and finished up. It was wonderful to be outside today - - crisp, cool, and no wind.
While we waited for the snow to stop, we spent a leisurely morning reading, playing, and sipping cocoa and coffee. I made some scrambled eggs with ham & cheese. DH picked up some bagels & cream cheese, so it was a lovely mid-morning meal.
Then, the remote control Jeep made it's way around the house, picking up passengers along the way.I've got a sick kid and a sick husband. DD missed school on Friday - - terrible cough and congestion. On Thursday, DH went to the doctor with an ear ache and received some antibiotics. So far, nothing has worked for him (his ear canal is almost swollen shut and his jaw is throbbing), so he just went to town to get a shot for the pain and a different antibiotic. This guy can take a lot of pain, so he must be absolutely miserable!

On Thursday, I found out that my high school volleyball/basketball coach and teacher passed away. He was only 52 years old - - apparently no sign of illness. Just gone. My heart aches for his family, students, and colleagues. He was a good man. May he rest in peace; and may his family find peace in their sorrow and joy in the inspirational life he lived.

A Gracious Acres Mystery

2007-01-16T19:02:00.000-06:00

When I pulled in the driveway tonight I saw a pheasant standing in the snow about 10 feet from the house. I noticed that it didn't seem very alert and did not take flight when it saw me. Yep, it was dead. Then, I figured that DH stuck a piece of taxidermy in the snow and was inside laughing his bum off as DD and I cautiously approached this marvelously beautiful creature.

It was no joke - - DH found the pheasant just a few feet from the garage door with just a spot of blood on the side of his beak. Perhaps he flew into the garage door, maybe a car hit him and he got as far as our driveway. He wasn't frozen or stiff yet, so his demise was very recent (considering the below zero temps here). He was a perfect specimen, such brilliant color that I couldn't possibly capture.

DD was enthralled with the bird and wanted to hold him and look at him. How many kids (especially young girls) have a chance to experience this up close?

I called my friend who does taxidermy work. He plans to use the feathers for a fly-tying customer. We kept one tail feather for DD to keep - - she was very sad that we couldn't keep him.

Still snowing

2007-01-15T07:48:00.000-06:00

My DH is out there blowing snow and I sit here in front of the warm stove, eating good oatmeal (while my DD eats the instant kind), sipping hot coffee, and typing on the computer. I guess I'm a bit spoiled. But the division of duty line is clearly drawn for this husband and wife when it comes to blowing snow. Not that I won't do it, 'cause I have (willingly). But since this is the real "first snow" and all, I think it's only fair to let DH have the pleasure. . .

It's still snowing and classes have been delayed 2 hours.

My mom gave us tickets to see Jesus Christ Superstar at the Performing Arts Center (PAC) in Cedar Falls. We drove up there yesterday afternoon and thoroughly enjoyed it. We had front row center seats. Literally behind the conductor. So cool. Since DH used to design orchestra pits, it was especially cool. In fact the pit at the PAC was made by the company he used to work for. It was sometimes a little difficult to see beyond the 70's funk music and not see this show as blasphemous, but the performances were outstanding and the ending scene was breathtaking. DH and I have a certain view of the last days of Christ (in our minds, it was more accurately portrayed in The Passion of the Christ), but we agreed after the show that if more people come to Christ through this show, it's all good. Ted Neeley played Jesus Christ - - yes, the same Ted Neeley that played Christ in the 1973 movie version. Thanks, Mom!!!

Just be!

2007-01-13T12:17:00.000-06:00

It's finally the weekend. Time to relax, catch up, just BE.

I brought home an old laptop from work to be our "game computer." I didn't even realize that you could play dvd's in it. Twenty bucks for this little life saver:

DH brought me flowers yesterday - - gorgeous blooms to brighten my day.
The "clean up crew" stopped by for some left-over chips, crackers, and popcorn:
Leah takes a cat nap on the stairs. She's a bit of the non-committal sort. Neither upstairs or downstairs. She's supposed to be an "outdoor cat," but we always let her in. I'm terribly allergic to cats, but she's just so sweet, I can't help it.
Snow . . . yes, snow!
Suspenders . . . yes, suspenders!

Dollhouse progress

2007-01-13T12:11:00.000-06:00

Interior painted: check

Interior wallpaper: check

Carpet: check

Trim: check

Draperies: a few

Fireplace: check

Furnishings: check

Porch swing: check

Residents: check

Once again, we used what we had on hand: craft paint, ribbon for draperies, and scrapbook paper for wall paper. DH brought home a package of cup hooks and popsicle sticks for the porch swing and future projects.

May I Suggest Susan Werner

2007-01-11T20:04:00.000-06:00

I just saw an interview with Manchester, Iowa native Susan Werner on IPTV's "Living in Iowa." She is amazingly talented. Check out this "review" and click on the song "Epilogue: May I Suggest." Be prepared to drop your jaw . . .

Here's another review of her work.

Iowa rock chicks rule!

Flip that house

2007-01-11T08:55:00.000-06:00

DH and I are known for our home renovations. We lived in and remodeled four houses in six years. It's been a couple years since the last major renovation in our current home. Frankly, I'm going through a little withdrawal. I need my fix of power tools, paint samples, and projects.

A couple years ago, DH's mom found an old dollhouse at a garage sale and gave it to DD. She thought it would make a great family project. DH and DD painted the whole thing tan and put some color on the shutters. He also cut cedar shims for the shake shingles on the roof (so very cool). We had some mismatched "vintage" furnishings and felt for carpet. After seeing this and this, I knew I had found my "winter renovation project."

Last night, I found some yellow paint that we used in the guest room and used some of my craft paint for the trim, shutters, and door. I need to go in and clean up a few spots on the trim, but you get the general idea. I so wish I would have taken the "before" pictures of the exterior.

I feel good about this little project because I don't need major power tools, expensive furniture or hours of labor to accomplish something meaningful. The hour or two it took me to repaint the doll house was rewarded with a huge hug and kiss from my DD (well worth it). I look forward to spending many hours with her creating ingenious little "scenes" and interiors for this little house. We're already talking about adding a "yard" for the gardens and chicken house. Hee hee - - a girl after my own heart!

Subtle Changes

2007-01-09T20:13:00.000-06:00

I opened the bottom drawer of my desk at work today and really looked at the two cans of Campbell's soup that have been sitting there for a year (yes, a year). I realized that not only did I no longer care to eat it, but I refuse to eat it.

I've become a bit of a "soup snob." Not that I make the best soup ever - - although my ham & bean with German dumplings ("kloo-ches") kicks butt - - but I know what I put in the soup. I don't know what Campbell's puts in theirs (although I have a hunch that the chickens come from some over-crowded and disgusting egg factory).

I really love milk. Growing up, we got our milk straight out of the "bulk tank." It was the best ever. However, I've recently slowed down on my milk consumption. I had a glass of milk with dinner tonight for the first time in about a month. I abhor how dairy cows, and the milk they produce, are treated. I dearly wish I could find some local raw milk. Not the "organic" milk from Hy-Vee, but "dunk the Tupperware container in the neighbor's bulk tank" milk. While I would love to have a cow like K&T, we're just not set up for it.

I won't buy chicken, beef, or pork from the grocery store unless I absolutely have to. My chicken and turkey comes from the neighbor down the road or Sugar Creek Farm. My beef comes from Sugar Creek Farm. And my pork comes from another neighbor down the road. Notice how I take ownership and pride when I say "my" chicken/beef/pork. It's because I'm connected to the families who grew my food.

I'm not pious by any means - - just more aware. I don't always make the best food choices and probably never will. But, little by little, I'm leaving less of a footprint on this earth. I'm trying to be a good steward of God's amazing planet, animals, and people.

Now, if I could just get my family to actually enjoy eating this:

Getaway

2007-01-07T20:46:00.000-06:00

We took a little vacation this weekend to Minnesota. DD received a gift certificate from Santa to Build-A-Bear Workshop, so we travelled to Mall of America to create "Alicia" the World Wildlife Federation snow leopard. Alicia roars and wears quite a hoochie-mama outfit (DD's taste in clothing scares me a bit).

We ate at Bubba Gump Shrimp Company (one of DD's best impressions and favorite movies is "Forrest Gump"). It was great for DH and me, but a bit too spicy for DD.

We stayed at Country Inn & Suites in Woodbury - - it had a nice pool & hot tub . . . and cable tv. We don't have cable on the farm and whenever we are somewhere with cable, we turn into lazy zombies. I especially like TLC and HGTV ("Flip This House" is so cool).

On Saturday, DD had ski lessons from 10 am - 3 pm. She was so nervous - - but did great. While she was in lessons, DH and I hit the slopes. I was a bit over-confident on my first run. After falling 4-5 times down the first hill, I picked up my skiis and walked down. After pouting and nursing my wounds for a bit, I got back out there. By 2 pm, DD was spent (so was Mom!). By 2:15, DD was asleep in the car on the way back to the hotel. We ordered dinner in the room and vegged (in front of cable tv, of course) and were all asleep by 8:45 pm.

This morning, DH was in a terrible hurry "to get going" so we packed, had a light breakfast, and drove to Rochester to meet Tommy Boy and his bride. Had a great brunch and chatted for a couple hours.

Found a lake and fed the geese.

On to visit the clan at Sugar Creek Farm, where I received an impromptu tractor driving lesson from Matt. DD "helped" with chores, and we took home a bundle of beef. It's always great fun to visit with Matt & Kelli.

We picked up Tucker (Grammy D was kind enough to dog sit) and headed home. Again, DD was asleep in the back - - DH carried her up to bed at 7:15.

A wonderful, busy, friend- and fun-filled weekend. We are truly blessed. . .

No regrets

2007-01-03T19:36:00.000-06:00

If I had my child to raise all over again,
I’d finger paint more and point the finger less.
I’d do less correcting and more connecting.
I’d take my eyes off my watch, and watch with my eyes.
I would care to know less and know to care more.
I’d take more hikes and fly more kites.
I’d stop playing serious and seriously play.
I’d run through more fields and gaze at more stars.
I’d do more hugging and less tugging.
I would be firm less often, and affirm much more often.
I’d build self-esteem first, and the house later.
I’d teach less about the love of power,
and more about the power of love.

by Diana Loomans

Happy New Year!

2007-01-03T18:36:00.000-06:00

"The Song of My Heart"

I've seen many posts on New Year's Resolutions the last few days. It seems that my resolutions are always the same: stop biting my nails, eat healthy, exercise more, etc. But this year, I plan to become a bit more philosophical about my life's resolve - - not just setting goals to achieve.

I resolve to find contentment in the everyday happenings here at Gracious Acres (the discussion about contentment here is inspiring). I resolve to make my life my own, not what someone else may think is appropriate or best. I resolve to treat each day and person and moment as a gift from God; I know it sounds cliche, but I really do take those things too much for granted. I resolve to let go of a little bitterness, resentment, and regret everyday until it is a miniscule memory (and not such heavy burdens). These are no trifle goals, but life-changing and God-inspired endeavors. Your prayers to this end are most appreciated.

New Year's Eve was spent with friends, food, home-made margaritas, games, and lots of laughter. The snow started falling at 7:30 and left just enough of a dusting for the kids to squeal with delight. Truly memorable.

When DD is eating popcorn, her best buddy (Tucker) hangs out with her and catches any dropped kernels.

Occasionally, she tries to gross us out by letting the dog eat a kernel from her mouth (just don't call DHS, it's all very harmless).

Prayers needed

2006-12-28T16:00:00.000-06:00

High school friends of mine and countryside neighbors of ours had a baby boy on Christmas Day. His name is Gabriel and he weighs one pound. He is at Mercy Hospital in Des Moines. Please pray that God's will be done and pray for a peace that passes all understanding in the hearts of Gabriel's family. Thank you.

[Photo courtesy of this site.]

"Whinese"

2006-12-28T08:27:00.000-06:00

How is it that children learn this mysterious and annoying language? Who taught them to say things in a nasal and disrespectful tone? Why do parents have such an averse reaction to this language? How can I erase this terrible language from my daughter's vocabulary? Oh the horror!

BRRRRRR!!!

2006-12-27T09:57:00.000-06:00

If I make typos in this post, it's because I'm wearing gloves . . . because my office has not had heat for two days! I "complained" yesterday and they blew me off saying "you women are always cold." Needless to say, that did not go over well. Then today, my office mate complained and, lo and behold, the maintenance guy discovered that the blower motor was out. Jeesh! I'm not crazy or cold blooded or some looney gal with a grudge against the maintenance crew. I just want to work without gloves and coat and scarf!

DH is home on break until January 10th. He'll be busy working in the new shop. His teenage nephew is supposed to be helping today - - DH decided to put OSB (chipboard) on the wall instead of drywall (OSB will take more abuse and it's a lot cheaper). The 4 x 8 sheets of OSB are heavy and cumbersome and not a good job for one person. So, hopefully, his strapping young nephew will be a blessing.

DD desperately wants to stay home to "help" Daddy. Alas, she's going to play all day with her friends at daycare. DH picked her up early yesterday so they could spend some time together. He made the BEST scalloped potatoes & ham for supper last night. I had two helpings and took the leftovers to work today (I don't need to refrigerate them, I can just sit them in my office - - hee hee).

I made bread pudding for Christmas day brunch, but no one really wanted to try it. I even had mixed berries and homemade whip cream to go on top. So, we've been enjoying that treat for a couple days - - YUMM! I also tried a new egg casserole recipe (that calls for 18 eggs!) and it was light and fluffy; I added diced ham, shredded monterey & cheddar, and shredded smoked swiss on top. It was a hit!

On Christmas Morn'

2006-12-25T14:02:00.000-06:00

Last night we went to G'ma K's where Santa made a special visit:

DD was thoroughly amused

She received an ornament that says: "Grace - Angel of Promise." Look at that face . . .
This morning, DH and I were up before six and sat in front of the fire sipping coffee before the chaos started. DD woke up and opened presents from Santa, Mommy & Daddy & Grammy D. Daddy made her an easel - - she loved it!

Great Gramma G joined in, too.

And my DH "enabled" my photo habit:

He also got me "Rural Renaissance" and lots of cool stuff.

This is my lil' Bro and his girlfriend, "Dubbya". She's very sweet and she has a cabin on a lake, so we'd like to keep her around for a while (hint, hint lil bro!)

Lovin' the new camera lens - - I can spot and shoot all sorts of "wild" life.

And, of course, the girls enjoyed a Christmas treat and want to wish everyone a very clucky Christmas and happy new year!

Craziness

2006-12-19T18:18:00.000-06:00

The bandana started out as a "sling" on DD's arm, which then went up on top of her head with her Swedish maiden buns and craziness ensued . . .

Olivia Newton John

Pirate

Bank robber

Aunt Jemima

Girl with a tooth ache

Immigrant

What can you do with a red bandana?

The Hope of Christmas

2006-12-19T16:20:00.000-06:00

[message given at Conrad UMC 12.17.06]
Illustration: “Let There Be Light” sung by Point of Grace
I compare the verses of this beautiful song to a story in Isaiah (Chapters 8 and 9): The horizon looked dark and bleak in the eyes of Isaiah, wondering if this would be the end of his people as he voiced a message of doom and destruction. Darkness as black as pitch prevailed upon the land through the sin of the people and the coming judgment by the hand of God.
Isaiah 8:21-22 They will pass through it hard pressed and hungry; and it shall happen, when they are hungry, that they will be enraged and curse their king and their God, and look upward. 22 Then they will look to the earth, and see trouble and darkness, gloom of anguish; and they will be driven into darkness.

Our hope at Christmas time is usually built upon the tangible things we expect or want to happen. But the Bible never allows a person of God to build their hope upon the likes of man but upon the unchanging nature of God Himself.

Where is your hope today? Is it wrapped up in the expectations of the holiday happenings or a gift under the tree? Or is it lost in the darkness that surrounds your life?

By all appearances there was no hope in the days of Isaiah. The nation was quickly coming to an end. But out of the darkness a voice was heard that spoke of the light of hope that would touch the very soul of man. It was the hope of Christmas!

Isaiah 9:2 The people who walked in darkness Have seen a great light; Those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, Upon them a light has shined.
Isaiah 9:6 For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

A Child would be born and given to bring hope into the hearts and lives of the hopeless. This Child was the "Light of the World" and He came to pierce the darkness that we might live. The Child of Hope is Jesus! The One whose birth, our hope, we celebrate at Christmas.

It was Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist, who prophesied of the light of the Christ Child.
Luke 1:79 To give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, To guide our feet into the way of peace.

The coming of Christmas is filled with the wonder, counsel and peace of hope that exceeds our expectations and lifts us from our darkness into the Light of Christ.

Christmas Hope is Wonderful
Christmas is wonderful! In other words Christmas is full of wonder. And it is more than, "Wonder what I'm getting?" It is a wonder that exceeds the minds of men and women for it is composed in the miraculous.

This wonderful hope comes to distinguish itself from the empty hope in the world.
This wonderful hope comes to accomplish in our lives what man cannot.
This wonderful hope is incomprehensible but available.

It is the psalmist who expresses to God that His works of wonder are many (Psalm 40:5). Today we have in our world and hopefully in our hearts the most wonderful work of God, salvation through Christ. This is the wonder of Christmas for Jesus came to save us.

He came to save us from . . .
The wages of sin ... death. (Romans 6:23)
Everlasting punishment ... hell. (Matthew 25:46)

He came to save us for . . .
A heavenly home ... heaven. (John 14:2-3)
A heavenly inheritance ... reserved in heaven. (1 Peter 1:4)

The apostle Paul reminds us that we were once people without hope . . . but we are people who need to know the hope of the calling of Christ to save us from our sins and know the hope of our calling to salvation. The wonderful hope of Christmas comes to accomplish what we cannot ... salvation. Christmas is wonderfully hopeful!

Christmas Hope is Counseling
It seems like never before a greater number of people are seeking out a counselor of one sort or another. You can now attend counseling sessions and self help groups for most anything that troubles you. It is all a sign of hopeless lives in need of the good Word.

Jesus as the Counselor and the Hope of Christmas comes to give . . .
Counsel that is deliberately designed to resolve our problem.
Counsel that is good advice for everyday living.
Counsel that guides and gives us purpose in life.

Jesus has the Spirit of Counsel upon him (Isaiah 11:2) and He speaks the words of eternal life. We must seek His counsel concerning the issues of life.

The hope of Christmas comes as the Counselor that speaks to us in our moments of despair to look to Jesus.

Christmas Hope is Peaceful
Fear, stress, confusion and heartache are the trademarks of our day because of an absence of peace. And they seem to be enlarged in this season of hope, love, joy and peace.
John 14:27 Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

Through the wonder and counsel of Christmas Hope we find peace through the Prince of Peace.

Real peace . . .
Peace that brings healing and health to our fragmented lives. (Isaiah 53:5)
Peace that brings about a prosperity by the hand of God. (3 John 1:2)
Peace that brings the assurance of the past-present-future of life. (Hebrews 6:11)
Peace that brings restoration by making amends. (Acts 3:19-21)

When we have peace with God through Jesus Christ, we have peace with ourselves (Philippians 4:7) and others (Romans 5:1). Christmas peace is a great gift to give and receive through Christ.
Conclusion
This Christmas, wrap your hope in the wonderful counsel of peace that Christ brings to our lives by the hand of our Mighty God and Everlasting Father. I invite you to know the wonder, counsel, and peace that only Christ can give. Today, I want to give you the gift of Jesus Christ, the Savior. Will you invite Him into your heart and accept His gifts of mercy and salvation? Will you turn from the darkness and seek the light of Christ?

Back to school

2006-12-18T18:15:00.000-06:00

I'm taking a week of vacation to take a 3-credit Human Growth & Development class at Marshalltown Comm College (slowly, but surely, getting a degree of one sort or another). In five days, we'll be covering 16 chapters, seven tests, and countless pages of hand-written notes (my hand is already sore from the 20 pages of notes I took today). This is quite an entre back into college life (it's been 12 years since I stepped into a classroom)! Wish me luck!

Catching up ... again

2006-12-17T15:07:00.000-06:00

Sunday afternoon...finally a time to rest and reflect on the busy-ness of the past week or two. I'm tired. We have both been working lots of hours; early morning meetings, late meetings & presentations, social gatherings, etc. With the movie "Holiday Inn" in the background, Leah (the cat) and I sit in front of the computer to ponder...

Last Sunday was DD's Christmas program in church (she's on the far right in the burgundy velvet dress). She had two little verses memorized.

DH's Sunday School class (Jr. High) had a big part in the program (they were the "Weird Angels") and it was very cute.

DD's new "crush" and his wonderful parents came over for chili on Thursday. He's such a ham!

Friday was my office Christmas party - - pizza at Zeno's (the local favorite).

Yesterday, we got a wild hair to go down to the Des Moines Farmers Market since it was 56 degrees outside. It's quite a drive, but well worth it - - lots of great vendors! We purchased some locally made cheese (Maytag blue and smoked baby swiss), a new t-shirt (don't ya love it?!)We ate lots of yummy food (honey crisp apples, crab rangoons, cheddar popcorn, Dutch letters). Oh my!

We've had wonderful egg production with the warm weather of late - - our cartons overfloweth!

Last night, we had a Country Friends Holiday Progressive Dinner. Some of our town and country friends (8 couples) started with hors d'oeuvres at Linda's, then dinner at Laura's (with Ellen as co-hostess), and dessert at our home. We ended the night with 10 of us sitting in our little den around the corn stove telling crazy stories.

The "hostesses with the mostesses": l to r Linda, Laura, me & Ellen

DD went to stay with Grammy D last night - - they went to "Flushed Away" and both loved it!

Our pastor is gone this week, so I gave the message at church this morning. It was a wonderful service with many "lay leaders" involved in the worship service. To DH's mom's after church. Now, DD and DH gave me a couple hours of peace & quiet - - they went caroling with the church's praise team.

Hope you all have a wonderful week before Christmas; may the gracious spirit of Jesus be in your heart!