Knoebels and Cousins ~ Love 'em! Great Memories!

Is it Autumn yet?

"As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease."

I am sooooo ready for cooler weather, for the crisp chill of the air, for the smell of woodsmoke, for the enjoyment of using the oven to make the house smell warm and cozy of things like pie and turkey. I am sooooo ready to say goodbye to the flies, and spiders, and heat, and humidity, and weeds, and air conditioning. I am sooooo thankful that I can look forward to the end of summer.
It has been a long, hot one, but I was content to stay indoors and get to know my baby and enjoy her with all of our sweet children. Hopefully the temperatures next year will be more balanced, and we will have a productive garden again and get the clothesline working well.... these are a few of my favorite things, and without them, summer is for the birds!

My Man

My Man makes wine and cheese
Doo da... doo da
He's as sweet as his bee's knees
OOOhhh dooo da day...

Ned Smith Day ~ and NY

The twins are at the Finger Lakes with Gram and Pap Showers for 10 days..... they sent us this pic.....

We miss you!

The Awesomeness of You

Although I don't really know the reason for it all, I appreciate it. I don't know the mind of God, but I know that He created YOU and that helps me to trust Him....

Jason, you're a wonderment.
A man above men, I say,
With strength, and love, and freedom,
That you give in every single way.
The longer that I know you
The longer I hope that I may.

Avé, precious daughter child,
The first of blessed more.
Sweetness, grace, embodied
With a lovely, precious core.
The words you use are wise
A great future is in store.

Destiny, darling Destiny,
The heart and soul of life.
With favor, strength, and courage,
You will make a noble wife.
I pray for you a worthy man,
And a pathway free of strife

Savannah, sunshine and smiles,
These things surround you, Dear.
Press towards the mark that's calling
Without any worry or fear.
Your head has been anointed.
Your God will make all things clear.

Chester, bright in my heaven.
Acorns are much like you are.
Planted feet in the Good Book,
Guided great men near and far.
Someday the best and brightest
Will say you have set the bar.

Shiloh, gemstones are calling!
Your worth is far above them.
Your eyes shine lively with gladness.
You will waltz among powerful men.
Stay near to peace and nature.
Joy is found in the world of pretend.

Hazel, gift of everything.
Who knew this space was yours?
End, beginning, back again,
Circles representing doors.
Our lives you have enhanced, Love.
We could not have asked for more.

Jehovah, Creator, God,
Maker of all here on Earth.
Men speak loud to deny you,
But nature boasts of Your work.
Little lost sheep you gather,
And offer to all rebirth.


(Like a fish to water, a bird to sky, a honey bee to nectar, and an owl to night, I am compelled to prayer for my loved ones... "May my prayer be counted as a sweet-incense before You; The lifting up of my hands as the evening gift." Psalms 141:2)

A Day in the Endless Mountains (with my most favorite peeps)

My Refrigerator Runneth Over....

Life is beautiful.

God is merciful.

My cup is overflowing with love and good things.

Being raised in a God-fearing, Bible believing community greatly impressed upon me the importance of sacrificing my own desires for God's desires, loving even the unlovable, and dying to self daily. But so many believers seem to be miserably mean people with all their priorities mixed up! (Certainly not all, there are many truly loving and inspiring believers.) These dying to self teachings are not meant to be shoved down each other's throats, they are meant to bring us joy! I admit to speaking up a time or two in defense of the fatherless ("Learn to do good; Seek justice, Relieve the oppressed, Defend the fatherless, Plead for the widow." Isaiah 1:17), and sometimes I can get upset about lies and injustice, but mostly I think that actions speak louder than words for those that have ears to hear and eyes to see. And as I am learning more and more to tune out the discouragement from believers that have their priorities mixed up I am finding that my personal priorities are becoming more and more clear and joyful. My calling is calling me and it is exciting! The unlovable are certainly meant to be loved, but we do not need to focus all our energy on the ones that are dreadful, tempting as it may be to want to oil the perpetually squeaky wheel. I am taking my cues from a certain person that ignores everything I say that she doesn't like, (of course it has completely ruined whatever love was ever felt from her,) but ignoring the ones that confuse us is a concept with some merit. Compassion is a noble reason to reach out to do more than we think we are capable of doing, but sometimes even compassion can be manipulated and abused. I guess the point is to take care of the negative stuff when you have to and certainly never turn a blind eye or a deaf ear to the plight of the needy, but when it comes to meditating and habitual thinking... "whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things." Philippians 4:8

So... for today... I have filed the things I cannot seem to help in the help less, pray more category and I am excited about cheese! Our refrigerator is literally overflowing with the summer's bounty of high quality goat's milk and in my experience it does not freeze well. We can only drink so much, we do share with several other families, but we could share with a lot more at this time of year. So our cats and dog have been enjoying it often and even still we have surplus! This is all a learning experience, but I just read that we can make stuffed manicotti to freeze! That is something that I occasionally buy frozen to bake and the idea of stocking up on it is highly appealing! I am so excited about this! I am laughing at myself at the hilarious domesticity of being excited about freezing manicotti stuffed with homemade goat's milk ricotta... and then I realize how many shows are dedicated to the enjoyment of food, and I realize that each batch of goat cheese is worth $16.00 or more... and I know that this is cool, and not just housewifey cool.
Learning the secrets of turning hay/straw into cheese/gold :-) Loving it!

"Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart." Psalms 37:4

He knows my heart, my motivations, my desires. He has always been faithful, and I am excited to watch Him work in my life. Surely goodness and mercy have followed me all the days of my life... hard times have come and lies have discouraged, but I "know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose."
Romans 8:28 This verse has always proven true in my life.

P.S. Farewell

I grew up thinking that's what people did. They welcome the outcasts, they reach out to the lost, they take time to look deeper and try to really see, they mean it when they ask "How are you?". I have learned that isn't what people usually do, but that is what he did. He wasn't perfect, and by his own recalling it took him awhile to see what priorities were most important, but by the time I knew him well he had become a ministering spirit. He came into my life in a big way when I was 12. We needed him and he knew it. We were already family, but he welcomed us closer. He invited us to join the gatherings of him and his children. I think now that the hearts of some of his children were not as generous, but I did not know that at the time and I was delighted to be loved and part of a family that took the time to talk about important things. Without him I would not have many of the most precious memories of that time in my life. Without him I would have been lost. With much sorrow I say farewell to my dear Uncle Paul Sangree. No longer will we have the pleasure of your encouragement, but we will remember you always with fondness. I hope for a reuniting in the hereafter. I love you. I thank you. I miss you.

He is gone, and I understand a little more what it means to be human.

Born Yesterday

This little red hen is so cute! You have no idea! Well, maybe you will in a minute. I think she prays :-) Or at least has read a self help book about positive thinking...

This little chicken went broody... she began to sit as if she were hatching eggs, but we were collecting all the eggs, so she wasn't actually sitting on any. Most other chickens would have simply given up after a few days of having their eggs collected, but not this little lady. She sat for two months before we finally came around to her way of thinking and let her sit on a few eggs. And she was rewarded for her perseverance yesterday... aren't Momma and Chick exceptionally adorable?

There you go little chicken, thanks for the lesson in positive thinking :-)

Midnight Moments

Wine, cigars, and wicker

Leather seating, time for two

Kerosene lamps at midnight

Talk of dreams, me and you

Bathrobes, bedsides, babies

What if is what we do

Life doesn't get any sweeter

Here we still are, who knew?

Inside Pennsylvania

Inside Pennsylvania

At the turning of the year

The evergreens hang low and white

Just past the season of good cheer

The whitetail deer are fewer

But still they can be seen

The smart ones and the young ones

Resting quiet midst the greens

Woodsmoke in the morning

Woodsmoke in the night

The comfort smells of warmth and home

Beckon tea by firelight

Just when the winter winds

Seem billowing too long

The spring begins its prelude

Sugaring season now begun

When the maples have decided

To bloom and start their leaves

The crocuses delight us

With their cheerful repartee

The days begin to tease us

With sunny warmth for play

And lambs and kids start calling

For the pastures of mid May

The night time chorus echoes

With serenades here and there

The silent dawn is broken

By an owl song in the air

Then all at once its summer

And crystal waters clear

Beckon every living thing

To spend time very near

Caves, lake beaches, campgrounds

Are worth the out of way

Parks and pools and playgrounds

Bustle in the day

And just to keep us longing

For the summer every year

The harvest time is welcomed

The school books do appear

Pumpkins, corn, and mazes

The farmers now do shine

Their labors in the hot sun

Yield cider, hay, and wine

Tobacco hangs in some barns

Apples fill the press

The atmosphere hangs heavy

With rest and thankfulness

Seasons greetings to the country

Merry Christmas to each town

Inside Pennsylvania

Another year takes a bow ~

(Didn't make the cut for publication, but I had fun writing it!)

nighties at noon

'tis the season for nighties at noon
what's a sun? what's a moon?
lullabies and nursery rhymes
gentle winds and snuggle times
sisters coo and brother smiles
mommy rocks sweet daddy's child
he comes home from his long day
and still has time to sit and play
little fingers, little toes
tiny buttons, ribbons and bows
the bassinet is made for sleep
but arms work best for baby's keep

Is the quiver full?

Everyone has an opinion. We have never made decisions based on naysayers opinions, as the naysayers know. If we had followed their opinions, Jason and I would not be married or have any children. Keep an eye on us... we don't plan on pleasing the naysayers any time soon. But I have been pleasingly overwhelmed by the amount of positive opinions expressed during the expectancy and birth of Hazel, the kindness has been refreshing and much appreciated. Thank you, to the kind ones.

The baby story continued... well, after I got so sick Destiny also got very sick. Her symptoms led our family doctor to order some blood work. The results said that she was suffering from mono AND lyme! After doing an extensive amount of reading on each sickness, and comparing my own symptoms I am led to think that mono may have been what was plaguing me as well. The wonderful upside is that mono generally does not have a negative effect on an unborn baby, but it can take every negative pregnancy symptom and magnify it exponentially for the mother, and add a few other miseries as well. In the end my sweet daughter was born healthy, but my body was so exhausted that we ended up having our first cesarean delivery. For Destiny, three weeks of antibiotics helped her to get back to feeling like herself. For me, each labor and delivery has been very different from the others, the last was not an exception. Cesareans are not medically preferred, the nurses all expressed disappointment for me, considering that I even delivered twins naturally. My sweet doctor apologized to me while I was in the recovery room, he said he did all he could, but sometimes that just isn't enough. I assured him that I was extremely grateful for a healthy baby, and I did not feel disappointed. I even have a new outlook on my previous doctor. Ideally birthing would be much safer and less painful, but alas, that is not the way of it. My merciless former doctor seemed to make decisions based on his own schedule and his personal success records, I think several of my previous births would have been managed very differently at the hands of another doctor. Each previous baby was born vaginally and healthy. My former doctor has skills and many successes, but most of my physical recoveries were far more difficult than this cesarean recovery (even with the surgical complication of an alarming amount of blood loss), and the emotional trauma I experienced as a result of my previous doctor's thoughtless words lasted much, much longer than even the physical pain, BUT in the end I am glad that I did not have previous cesareans, because they can complicate future pregnancies. So, if that meant having a heartless doctor that pushed my personal physical limits, then I am grateful. But I would never choose his care again, or recommend him to anyone. I do thank God for His perfect plan, even when I don't understand it at the time. And I am very grateful for modern medicine. As my doctor mentioned in one of the conversations he had with me in the days while I was still at the hospital, once upon a time cesareans were performed knowing that the mother would be sacrificed to save the child. We have come a long way, thank the Good Lord and the hands of the skilled surgeon.




“The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together; and a little child shall lead them.” (from Isaiah 11)

“See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven." ( from Matthew 18)

"And they were bringing children to him that he might touch them, and the disciples rebuked them. But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands on them." (from Mark 10)


"Like arrows in the hand of a warrior,

So are the children of one’s youth.

How blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them;" (from Psalms 127)

Kidding Season 2010

Cappaccino
Cocoa
Carob (and Shiloh)
Ashley (and Chester)
Alabama

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
All the does were successfully bred this time and kidding season is now over. We have 5 sweet does added to our herd. Unfortunately, not all the birthings were successful, but hopefully we learned a few things to improve upon for next year.... we also have 2 does for sale if anyone is interested!

Tooth Fairy - FIRED! In the sweetest way possible.

I am the worst tooth fairy ever! I forget, sometimes for days, weeks even! Sometimes when there has been an accumulation of teeth, I just tell them to round up all their pearly whites and cash them in the kitchen, "the tooth fairy has been busy and asked me to fill in...". I have even recruited Chester occasionally since he is sometimes the last one to fall asleep....

Yesterday, Avé lost a baby molar. She put it in a container and put it under her pillow and I, of course, completely forgot about it. This morning I woke to a rattling sound... Shiloh was standing in my doorway... "Here is Avé's tooth, I gave her a dollar."

I may be a complete and utter failure as a tooth fairy, but I must be doing something right as a mom, at least some days.

Now, I just owe Shiloh a dollar, not that she expects to be paid back..... such a sweetheart, I am beaming with pride and completely humbled.

My Baby Stories....

If you belong to the "mommy club", in other words, if you have a child, then this blog probably won't seem inappropriate, but if you haven't I doubt that you want to continue reading....

My Puberty...

As a teenager my menstrual cycles were hellish, vomiting, diarrhea, passing out, extreme pain and cramping.... I was sure that labor and delivery couldn't be worse. (I was wrong.) I also had an extreme dislike of needles and doctors. I contemplated not ever marrying because I was told that it required having blood taken, but I was smitten by cupid and a needle prick seemed tolerable if it meant spending my life with my sweetheart.

First Baby...

The needles and doctors were still a big issue with me, so we opted for a Mennonite midwife for our prenatal care. We did need to find out what my blood type was so a trip to the local family practice did happen and the doctor was a total "prick"... hehe pun not really intended. He was a jerk though in my opinion, trying to convince me that I should come to him for my prenatal care... yuck. I wasn't about to remove my pants for his lousy bedside manner.... I had read lovely books about hot tea and foot massages and midwives that treated the "whole" you. What I didn't realize was that the Mennonite midwife mindset ended up being a bit more of a "barn" mentality... "get up and walk around until the baby comes out, or I can't help you..." ended up being the amount of "whole you" care that I received... 24 painful, agonizing, glimpse into the "other side" hours later we were at the emergency room of the local hospital. The midwife inferred that I was just lazy, but it turned out that the baby was stuck. My doctor/needle phobia ended with the epidural.... God has forgiven Eve!!!! Our first daughter was born after an arduous 36 hours. First time I stood up I passed out from the loss of blood, and I couldn't properly sit for weeks because of the large episiotomy. Even though we had thought a dozen children had sounded like a lovely idea, Avé was looking like an only child to me...

Change of mind....

It took about 2 months for the pain of labor to subside enough for me to consider having more children. "Experienced" mothers were reassuring that God designed natural spacing of births when a mother breast fed, so we were pretty surprised to be expecting again when our first daughter was only 4 months old. The doctor that delivered her seemed like a logical choice for our care, so that is where we went for the prenatal visits. His bedside manner was not endearing, but after the unsympathetic midwife I didn't have very high expectations. A lot more needles are used when medical doctors are in charge of care. One of the many tests came back questionable, so an early ultrasound was scheduled... "oh that test always gets that way when there are twins" was how we learned that we would be blessed with three babies one year old and under....

Although the pregnancy was tiresome and I was a bit concerned about my own limitations as a mother, there really weren't any complications. We were at the pediatricians with our oldest when my water broke. 37 weeks is considered quite normal and healthy for a twin birth and the labor and delivery was a breeze in comparison to my first. When the pain was to the point of being unbearable and I said, " I'll take that epidural now.." the nurse informed me that the babies were coming and it was too late for that. I was peeved at the time, to say the least, but if I had known that it would only be 2 hours of hard labor I may not have minded so much. That is what it was..... my lovely twin daughters had arrived.

Done for now... or maybe not...

I don't know if it was my "young mom" parenting skills or my babies' natural tendencies, but sleeping was not high on their priority list, being held was. We all caught a cold when the twins were about 5 months old and after five months of breastfeeding both of them and not getting more than an hour of sleep in a row I had a bit of a breakdown.... I needed help and I needed it now!!!! I got it, and that is all I am going to say about that.

It took a little longer for life to calm down enough to convince us that our family was not finished yet. A sweet friend loaned us a lovely book called The Way Home: Beyond Feminism, Back to Reality by Mary Pride. It helped to renew our original desires for a large family and a month and a half later we were expecting again. The twins would be about two years old when we welcomed our son.

Again we went to the same doctor, and again I was not pleased by his gruff bedside manner, but what did I know? He scheduled an induced labor at 38 weeks, so that he wouldn't miss the delivery when he was away for his triathlon. Another long labor, 24 hours long, but an epidural was effective, so our son's posterior position wasn't nearly as painful as our first daughter's posterior presentation, and I had the most darling, sympathetic nurse that you could hope for during the majority of it. I think she literally sat by my bedside and held my hand for hours upon hours, she must not have had too many other patients that day, lucky for me...

Definitely ready for a breather, or so I thought....

Four babes, ages four and under, kept young parents pretty occupied, but apparently not so occupied that we didn't have some time to read on the toilet... Kosher Sex: A Recipe for Passion and Intimacy by Rabbi Shmuley Boteach got checked out from the library a few times. We weren't stupid... we used condoms :-) Soon we were expecting our fifth child.

Not okay...

Our fifth child is as much a blessing as all the others, but my mind and body were not prepared. I immediately began researching my preferred method of birth control and came up with the copper IUD. I think it was at the first prenatal visit that I brought it up, probably right after the doctor said... "the only people that have this many babies this close are either very poor or very religious". We kind of were both, but the comment still insulted me. I brought up the IUD and was told that it wasn't a popular birth control method anymore and at a few hundred dollars that insurance won't cover we probably wouldn't want to afford it anyway. I assured him that we were definitely still interested and I brought it up at nearly every visit. Soon we saw "Paraguard" advertisements sitting around his office.

Again the doctor wanted to induce so that our labor would not conflict with another one of his triathlons, but this time the baby did not cooperate. Pitocin was no match for her, she would come when she was good and ready! She decided to come a day before the doctor's triathlon. I can't imagine that anyone wants to stay up all night before a marathon, but I just wasn't being cooperative and insisted on being in labor... the nerve of me. Several times during our prenatal care I had mentioned that the only birth that went smoothly was the one that "the water" broke itself. During our prenatal visits I had repeatedly asked if it would be okay to wait for the water to break itself, even if it took a very long time, so long as there were not signs of distress. He agreed to that request until I was actually in labor, he said I was taking too long, I felt bullied into having my water broken, and then things began to get rough. "Epidural PLEASE"!!!! WTH???? After two attempts the anesthesiologist decided I was a lost cause, he couldn't get the epidural in, and I was faced with an unexpected "natural labor". Apparently God hadn't forgiven Eve after all....

I calmly informed the doctor that I was not emotionally prepared for the pain that I was about to face, and that although my labors were "safe" enough, my single births were very long and both of them were presented posterior and I was worried that this baby might not come out on her own, was there anything he could do to help me through this? He said, " If this is how you get when faced with labor you should be getting your tubes tied while you are in here..." I tensed up. and the labor continued for 15 hours, most of it hard labor, I panicked. The idea of being under the care of a doctor that didn't "get" the concept of a kind word caused my mind to interpret my care as " I could die on this table and he wouldn't give a damn..." I quite firmly stated that I felt that it was extremely unreasonable to allow me to continue indefinitely, that I did not think I was going to be okay and I insisted on a cesearean delivery. He agreed to my demand, but quit. Another doctor was called in to perform the surgery. I relaxed, and our fifth child was born, not even posterior, as the doctor adamantly pointed out. The replacement doctor hadn't had time to arrive, so he got to deliver our baby before his triathlon after all.


The ten ton straw... ( the one that broke the pregnant woman's composure)

I was more convinced than ever that I wanted that IUD. At the hospital I requested it from the doctor, (I don't know why I even gave him another chance.... ). He told me that I had to call his office and have them order one. When I did that the nurse told me that they have a supply of them at the office. I was like...what? So I asked to schedule an appointment. She informed me that I had to have my period to have it inserted. Well, for crying out loud. My periods wouldn't start coming for awhile, especially since I was breast feeding, and I know that I can get pregnant while doing that, and I know that condoms aren't effective!!! I was peeved, especially after reading that IUDs can be inserted during a period OR immediately after delivery!!! If that freakin' @#$%@%&& of a doctor had been doing his job instead of telling me that I was no good at mine then he would have known that we both agreed I needed birth control and he would have given it to me that day!!! But NOOOO it had to be his uninformed, controlling way, and as a result of his less than professional skills I was now at risk of becoming pregnant much sooner than I felt comfortable doing so... I refused to take hormones while breastfeeding. After a few months I started getting periods, but each time I called for an appointment I was informed that I couldn't get in for one to two weeks.... I wasn't regular enough yet to schedule that much ahead of time, so I just gave up on that pathetic office and called a new one. Same day service and I was good to go!!! Woohoo!!! One precaution... watch for heavy bleeding. A week later..... heavy bleeding! A trip to the emergency room informed us that the bleeding was "natural" but that the IUD was not inserted effectively. Thank you, merciful God! Another appointment, some minor hassles, and again... I was good to go. A check came in the mail covering the cost of the IUD. When I called the office to ask about it I was told to not ask too many questions.....

When it was time for my regularly scheduled yearly gyne check-up I procrastinated. I procrastinated for a few years. The thought of going back for gynecology care just felt a bit traumatizing. I finally made an appointment at the new office and was scheduled in with a midwife. As soon as she walked in I broke down into a sobbing fit, she was so kind, so compassionate. I scheduled all future visits with her for the next several years. Matter of fact, when we finally decided it was now or never with adding to our family... 35 is considered "high risk" and I was 34 after all, I was comforted by the thought of receiving my care from her. It wasn't until I called to schedule my first prenatal visit that I was informed that she does not give prenatal care, that she is technically a nurse practitioner. I had actually followed her to a new office where she was partners with one doctor, so it has been him that I have been seeing and he has proven to be highly compassionate as well, with a comforting and respectful bedside manner, and he has been tested. This pregnancy has had its complications..... low lying placenta, followed by mysterious infection (causing a five day stay in the hospital) and polyhydramnios (extra amniotic fluid) have been some of the things my body has presented him with. We have worked well together so far, at least in my opinion, and he seems to be genuinely interested in the well being of my baby and me....

Today I called to reschedule my appointment that is scheduled for tomorrow. I have not had to reschedule any of our prenatal visits before, but I accidentally scheduled an appointment for one of my children for the same evening and it is crucial that she does not miss it. When I called, an answering machine message informed me that my previous doctor had just joined the practice. A talk with a nurse followed by a talk with my doctor informed me that my previous doctor will be taking half the work load including deliveries.... I informed them that I will completely refuse his care, and I was reassured that I didn't have to worry about it.... I am less than reassured, and we shall see... it has been nearly eight years since my last labor, but still it makes me cry sometimes at the thought of it... I know now that I can make it through a "natural labor" but I still don't necessarily want to, and I would give my life for any one of my children, but I don't want to have to...


to be continued....

Merciful Tea, Comforting Orbs, and Orchard Dreams....

Mint tea reminds me of visits to Grandma's house, always a recycled glass jar of meadow tea in the fridge and a kitchen filled with the aroma of mint, pears, and bacon? (She now sits lonely in a nursing home for most of her days, and my heart breaks for her and longs for her comfort.) I have been trying to grow mint tea since we moved into this house over three years ago... unsuccessfully, or so I thought. This spring I had given up trying, between the cats and the chickens, the tea didn't have a chance, or so I thought. Much to my surprise there are now numerous patches of mint tea coming up all over my garden! None of it is coming up anywhere that I actually planted it, so I can only assume that it was planted by Nature herself.... (or perhaps the comforting orbs?)

Chester took this picture of the ivy covered barn, or is it more than that? I was a little disappointed at first at the "blotches" in the photo, but then I remembered that some people consider them to be a sign of significant energy that is not detected by the human eye. Some believe that the color of the orb is significant... these peachy orbs would then be a sign of a comforting presence. Science says it is just light... (as if light itself wasn't a miracle) and I suppose these fringy thoughts could be offensive to some of my more religious readers, but where did the idea of halos come from? I don't mind the thought that there are comforting spirit energies floating about my barn and garden and home, these days there is quite the need. Matter of fact, I very much want to believe, maybe that is because I am a bit of a dreamer, always with an eye for what could be.... take our orchard for example...

I had a humorous conversation with my father-in-law the other day. He also has a young orchard, and he also dreams of the future sweetness of each delicious bite of homegrown fruit. Matter of fact, he is a little bit worried about planting the wrong variety of trees, who wants a bushel of plums to sit and rot for lack of use? His wife was quite the calming influence when she assured him that too much fruit was highly unlikely, between the bears and the birds, they have been lucky to get any harvest at all so far!! We shared a chuckle and I completely understand.... two Christmases ago when asked if we had any wishlist desires Jason and I only had one... a cider press, for the bushels of apples our orchard will produce.... just below you will see a picture of one of our favorite apple trees in our wonderful orchard....

You know you're pregnant when....

..."every commercial on tv either makes you sad or hungry."

..."You use your belly as a resting place for the book you are reading or the cereal bowl you are eating out of" ( my husband is a little jealous of that one I think, kind of nice to have a tray with you everywhere)

..."you avoid eating anything except bread or pasta for fear of getting heartburn..."

..."when dumb things **** you off (like the cat rubbing against your leg too much)"


.."you need a running start to get out of a chair/off a couch"

..."you frequently find yourself checking Discovery Health channel to see if "a baby story" is on, much to the dismay of those around you... then you get upset when people moan that they have seen that episode three times that week already..."

..."You feel like you want to eat someone's head one minute then cry because you are feeling particularly lonely the next."

..."*Having to sticky-note everything and keep a detailed running list of things to do because you can't remember what you did five minutes ago, let alone what you need to do in a week (then to decide you don't have the energy to do it anyway so you end up laying in bed all afternoon!!)"
(that one was probably my favorite!)

Some of these people really had me cracking up, check out this site for more cute sympathy pains....

http://forums.families.com/you-know-your-pregnant-when,t106455

For the Love of Pancakes

Our new stove ( six months old) has a cast iron middle griddle. Love it! Especially for pancakes.
Fluffy, hot, aromatic cakelets of bliss. Even the dog sits begging when the smell of fresh pancakes fills the kitchen. Made with farmette fresh eggs (and I do mean our farmette), farmette fresh goat's milk (actually it is better for pancakes if it is just a bit past fresh, but again, our farmette), and whole wheat flour (not fresh ground yet, but one of these days we will get back to doing that), and covering all of this enticing goodness is the gift of the trees, pure maple syrup (from our own sweet trees in our own sweet yard). If you knew me when... when I was living in town. If you heard me complain that I was not meant to live in town, that I belong in the country, just come and eat pancakes with me some day and I am sure that you will agree :-)

Our favorite pancake recipe:
Feeds about four appetites (we of course double it)

1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
3 Large Eggs
2 Cups Whole Milk
3 Teaspoons Baking Powder (hopefully you aren't using powder with aluminum in it...)
2 Cups Whole Wheat Flour
1 Teaspoon Sea Salt

Mix wet ingredients, add dry ingredients, beat until smooth. Fry them up in a pan on med/low heat. Serve with pure maple syrup (do not offend this recipe by topping it off with imitation syrups, save the imitators for the "just add water" mixes, and most preferable is to use syrup from a tree that you have met).

Enjoy!

In Good Company

The next time you feel like GOD can't use YOU, just remember...
Noah was a drunk
Abraham was too old
Isaac was a daydreamer
Jacob was a liar
Leah was ugly
Joseph was abused
Moses had a stuttering problem
Gideon was afraid
Sampson had long hair and was a womanizer
Rahab was a prostitute
Jeremiah and Timothy were too young
David had an affair and was a murderer
Elijah was suicidal
Isaiah preached naked
Jonah ran from God
Naomi was a widow
Job went bankrupt
John the Baptist ate bugs
Peter denied Christ
The Disciples fell asleep while praying
Martha worried about everything
The Samaritan woman was divorced, more than once
Zaccheus was too small
Paul was too religious
Timothy had an ulcer
Lazarus was dead!
No more excuses now!!
God can use you to your full potential. Besides you aren't the message, you are just the messenger.

( Anonymous )