May (our girl duck) has started to lay eggs and build a nest! If all goes well we will have baby ducklings around the end of April! I am SO excited!







My little sister has started working... Martin is starting to get into our daily routine.. and let me tell you, This child is THE EASIEST child that i have ever taken care of.. seriously...





Aren't i the baby mom?


Loving my days lately!!!

http://www.blogher.com/who-guaranteed-you-perfect-child

This is a GREAT article! Go read it.

This is a horse deworming medication... this is what it says on the package...


i really hope someone doesn't take that seriously...



This is what it looks like when Matt tries to take a nap during the day...



That's why naps are rare here!

sorry for all the blog background changes... i'm feeling indesisive.

p.s. Shiloh (baby llama) is doing much better. she was grazing today (eating grass), and she was eager to try and eat grain as well!

another victory!!!

Since my little sister has moved to town i have driven her everywhere for everything. It has been difficult especially in that i feel like my life is spent in the car and that i am not putting enough time and energy into my own little family. It was also becoming a problem with my heart and circulation issues. Like i mentioned in an earlier post i just broke down to my loving husband and kept him up extremely late. After some extra blessings and things not necessary to mention here, my little sister now has a vehicle of her own! Seriously i can not tell you how much stress this takes off of me! Now I just get to cuddle with my nephew when she works... and really just feel more like a sister, then a guardian or an aid! She can bring him to me and pick him up! No need for me to drive her around all day long just to drop her off and have her call me an hour later because she thinks her stubbed toe warrants a trip to the ER (and i have to be the bad guy and tell her no it does not).
SO needless to say this is a great day for me and just frees me up in so many ways! THANK YOU JESUS!!!
GREAT BIG SIGH!

If you read my other post you also read about shiloh our llama. She is actually doing a little better today then she was yesterday, so hopefully she will pull through!

food and other things

It's been a while since i have shared a recipe. So here ya go. I know that many of my readers will find this useful as it is a gluten free recipe and full of yummies for the whole family.

Chicken Tacos

now before you pass over this thinking that you are not a "taco" fan, you need to read the indregients and all and you may change your mind.
These are the things you will need...

chicken (not a whole chicken)
your favorite salsa or picante sauce
onion
bell peppers
Black beans

Cook chicken in salsa. I cook mine in my crockpot so it makes it super easy.. usually i will use 2 jars of salsa per 3-5 pounds of chicken.. i like using chicken breast because no matter how hard i try to like dark meat i am still a white meat girl. Once chicken is cooked take out chicken and shred... now this part you can drain out the left over salsa or leave it in.. it depends on how soupy you want it...
from there add 1 chopped onion, as many peppers as you like (i usually just add one, matt isn't a big fan of peppers) and as many cooked black beans as you like ( i usually add around 2 cups) ... stir up... put cover back on crock pot and once warmed through you have what my sister in law calls chicken tacos. I usually make some rice and then we eat the chicken mixture over the rice with sour cream and tortilla chips... It really is a delishish meal that is easy to make, and GLUTEN FREE!
So there you are... a recipe from my families kitchen. I would share a picture... but it doesn't look as good as it taste!

In other news..
there is a very good chance that our baby llama Shiloh, is going to die. I wander if it's the name... because our last baby llama (also named shiloh) died as well. Anyway... today when i was out in the pasture giving grain treats, shiloh didn't want any grain (which is very odd for her) and then as i watched her closley i noticed that she was walking like a drunk sailor. Needless to say she has contracted a type of worm (ewwww) that comes from snails and slugs (yes we have A LOT of them) that attacks the central nervous system. Luckily i noticed it at the first stages so hopefully the aggressive treatment i have her on nips it fast... if not she will loose her sight and coordination and basically die a terrible death. sigh... we did deworm her when we got her, but maybe not soon enough. I am keeping a close eye on our other new llama for signs of the same issue. She is wormed as well against it, but because she comes from a farm that never dewormed their llamas she may be at a higher risk.
Anyway... don't you love talk about worms?
I just hope she gets through this... though if she does, there is a chance that she will be slightly lame forever, so we would have to find her a new home as we need a llama that can hike with us!

WIN!

After keeping my husband up unitl 2 am last night crying and just overall feeling very burdened i was blessed with little treasures today...

I mentioned the book " The well adjusted child; the social benefits of homeschooling" in earlier posts. I decided to ask Daniel's special ed teacher if she would be interested in reading it because it would give a proper perspective to her on homeschooling and socialization. She was very willing to read it, and i just heard back from her on what she thought about it... I'm just going to share what she told me...

Kristin,

Actually, I was just sitting down to write to you to tell you how much I enjoyed and appreciated the book. In fact, it made me think of how great it would have been for ME to be homeschooled! Being a "shy kid", I found pressures to perform along with the sometimes meanness of other kids to be overwhelming. Homeschooling makes a lot of sense for both Daniel & Josh. It's a thrill for me to see how much Daniel enjoys his friends and how he is motivated by the desire to be with them and enjoy the things that they enjoy. The element of the book that I really gained a new appreciation for is the importance of the family and how connected and grounded children are when they are taught by the people that love them and are invested in them the most. Thank you very much for lending me the book and helping me thinking more deeply about this issue.
I have to tell you that your kids are the luckiest kids in the world to have a parent with your perspective along with the talent and energy to follow through and really make their education happen in the most meaningful way possible. And, with Matt more in picture day to day, that just doubles the richness of all of your lives.


WIN!!! I love educating those in the public school system about homeschooling. YAY for support! One more person who doesn't perceive homeschool in such a negative light!
Just had to share my joy for the day! Oh and one of my favorite sites to see... which is a regular one, but i thought i would share...


The boys regularly congregate on our bed to play or snuggle with each other. This week they basically spent all week on our bed fighting a really terrible cold!!!

OH and another joy to share.. tonight Daniel was taking a bath and i asked him if he was done. he said "yea" in his way and then he got up and yelled " ALL DONE" ! I love when this boy is able to get words out... makes me such a proud momma! Step by step he's closer to learning how to use his muscles to form words to communicate with us! YAY DANIEL!!!

Friendship

My husband tells me that I needed to go to public school longer so I could learn how to have shallow relationships! Ha! I am not one to keep friends around me who do not know me. Of course I do not spill my guts out at first meeting of someone... But if there is a felt connection then I step deeper into the pools of sisterhood. I'm not a band aid friend. Those who are close to me know that I'm more of a open the wound, clean it out, and slather healing balm over it friend. Sometimes I share to much... Sometimes I'm a little to blunt... But I'm happy in my friendships... I'm happy that I can feel known... And that I don't have to put on a brave face when I'm lacking courage. I share the truth... And I wouldn't have it any other way. Sometimes people don't understand me... Or my honesty throws them off and they don't know what to think or feel about me. But this is who I am, and I prefer a life of depth over shallow interacts of " how are you?" and fake smiles and empty answers.
And while I am at it, I hate when people run into me who know me and ask how I am. The other day I ran into our old pastors wife and she asked me how I was, I sighed deeply and said in a sad tone that I was ok. Do you know what she said to me? She said " oh that's great" in a cheerful voice. I was just like Oh My Goodness Lady... Did you hear what I just said? One of these days I am going to take my filter completely off and just bare my soul to the person who asks. " how are you?". I'm going to say " actually life is pretty crappy right now and I feel like running away from it all" ... I wonder what the person would do. When i ask someone how they are, I really want to know how they are! Not just the standard lie of "I'm good" ... Because how often are we all really doing " good"?
Anyway.. Sorry I ranted there, but I just have been thinking about friendships lately and what I desire out of interactions... Truth, compassion, respect, and love. Not shallow lies and fake smiles. I don't have time for people like that... So if you are my friend, then expect the whole me! And expect an ear that actually wants to hear you...

p.s. I really do not feel like running away from my life at this moment in time.... :)

Worthy

No matter your past, no matter what you have done, no matter where you are...


You

Are

Worthy

Of

Love

And

Respect




Believe it, feel it, live it, and let others treat you that way....

Because you are worthy.....

I wouldn't say that i had a crisis in the past few months, but i would say that these past few months have been darker and full of sorrow. With the death of Marty (my step dad for those of you who may be new or happen to stumble here) I think it brought out the little girl in me. A few know the full story of the life that has shaped me into the woman i am today, but some only know fragments. You see, God used Marty to redeem our family. We were in a desperate place, but God gave Marty love for my mother and for us, and he gave us stability. He showed me what a father was. I remember being in kindergarten going over to a friends house and i thought it was so strange that her dad lived with them and she knew her dad well. I just thought it was normal for a dad not to be around.
So with Marty's passing, though i am a grown woman by the world's standards, the little girl's heart in me broke. And i know that he didn't abandon me, and I know that he loved me like i was his own flesh and blood... but the little girl in me felt left behind. And sometimes i cry because the stability is gone, and i cry for my mom because the man who God put in her life as a tangible form of grace and love has passed on, and i cry for my boys, that such a great man will only be a distant memory, and i cry for my husband because Marty was an encouragement and a man that my husband respected and admired, and now he won't be able to gleam wisdom and advice anymore from him.
I was blessed to be raised by such a man, and I am blessed to have married a man who in many ways is just like Marty. And i know the little girl in me will have her wounds healed over once again and the scares left will make me more of who I am and add to the beauty.. but in the meantime, in the healing time...

i cry for the loss and though i wonder what the future holds... i find comfort in knowing the one who holds my future, and knowing how much He loves me

Tonight

I am thankful for...

moonlight

classical music

the way he puffs out his cheeks while he shaves

a warm fire on a cold (for the pacific northwest) night

sleeping boys

friends who listen and love with acceptance and encouragment


What are you thankful for?

No Nothing

I was driving the other day and heard this hillarious kids song. Not sure if you will find fun in it as well, but i thought i would share just as well!

I love the part about the monkey...



No, nothing. No, nothing
I know nothing and you know nothing
They know nothing and we know nothing
No, nothing at all

I got two pet cats at home
One of them’s name is Muffin
Muffin is a really, really good cat
She just sits on the windowsill all day long
Soaking up the sun and purring like this
Pththththththth
And when she licks your finger
It feels like sandpaper
She’s the archetypal cat
But I got another cat
And his name is Nothing
It’s not that he doesn’t have a name
It’s N-O-T-H-I-N-G
Sometimes I spell it N-O-T-H-I-N
Then I add an apostrophe

No, nothing. No, nothing
I know nothing and you know nothing
They know nothing and we know nothing
No, nothing at all

Now as I said Muffin is very well behaved
But Nothing is totally depraved
The other day I came home
And he was climbing halfway up my window curtain
And he was reaching out with his paw
And his claw was treacherously close
To the Chagall lithograph I inherited from my grandma
And when I saw his paw and his claw
I said, No!

No, nothing. No, nothing
I know nothing and you know nothing
They know nothing and we know nothing
No, nothing at all

I also got a pet monkey at home
And his name is Kqxhc
That’s spelled K-Q-X-H-C
He was raised by ducks
His mama was a duck
And his papa was a duck
And when it came time to raise him
They said, How about Kqxhc?
Now he’s come to live with me
Well that’s another story entirely
Suffice it to say that Kqxhc
Is a very, very, very, very, very hungry monkey
The other day when Kqxhc woke up
He said, I want a muffin
I said, What? You want to eat Muffin the cat?
No way, man
We got rules against things like that
Kqxhc said, I didn’t mean Muffin the cat
I meant like a corn muffin or a raisin bran muffin
Or even a blue-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-oohberry muffin
I said, What do you think this is? The Muffin Store?
We don’t just got muffins of all flavors
Laying around for the taking
So Kqxhc said, Well then what’s in the ‘fridge
When we opened the refrigerator do you know what was in there?
A box of baking soda left over by the previous tenant
And some soy sauces and hot mustards
And a bunch of duck sauces, too
Well when Kqxhc saw the duck sauces
He said, What’s with the duck sauce?
Hey, where are my folks anyway?
And I said, No, it’s got nothing to do with ducks
It’s from the Chinese restaurant
I keep telling them I don’t need more sauce
But they don’t understand
They just keep sending it to me anyway
And I feel bad throwing it away
I don’t want to waste food
And so I keep putting it in the ‘fridge
And it keeps piling up
Well Kqxhc said, I’m not buying that
I lost my appetite
I think I’ll just have nothing
I said, What?! You’re not even hungry
And now you want to eat my cat Nothing?
Just because he’s a bit depraved
And not as well behaved as Muffin
Doesn’t mean you can eat him and—
Kqxhc interrupted me and said
I didn’t mean Nothing the cat
I meant nothing at all!

No, nothing. No, nothing
I know nothing and you know nothing
They know nothing and we know nothing
No, nothing at all