It has been a busy month and here now we have less than 10 days left in January!  Amanda was bemoaning this fact recently, as she has some goals and projects she wants done by a certain time.  But this evening we had a spaghetti dinner and a special cake for her 18th birthday.  Her grandparents (my inlaws) came for the celebration and we all had a nice time.  And I just want to thank our precious Lord for giving Amanda to us 18 years ago, and for the blessing she has been and continues to be.

I think that the last two Homeschooling Minutes have been so timely.  The one on Organization came out when I resolved to get more organized and then the recent one on Pondering Perspectives comes out just when I have been feeling totally inadequate and thinking everyone has their act together except me.  Now, I have been homeschooling long enough to realize these things come and go from time to time.  The best thing to do is to go to the Lord and cast all of my anxieties upon Him, as He tells me to.  Then it is good to take a look at everything objectively and see what really needs work, what is going well, and then work on a plan to make progress.   Being consistent is both the hardest thing and yet the best and most rewarding thing in homeschooling and running a household.  I guess consistency is the key to a lot of things in life -  everything from prayer and Bible study to exercising and eating right to training children and developing good habits.  And, when things fall apart occaisionally as they will, the effort to get it all back together and keep at it is the important thing.

So let us highly resolve to continue running this race with the strength that the Lord gives.  And let us each seek from Him the wisdom and guidance to do our jobs the best way we can - which will probably be different for each of us!

Blessings,

Chris

I really enjoyed and appreciated The Homeschool Minute I read today on the Midwinter Blues.  Winter is not my favorite season for a variety of reasons, and I tend to experience it with a "if I can just get through until March and the days are longer and the grass is greener..."  But I really think each one of the contributors had wonderful things to say on the subject, and I hope everyone reads their Homeschool Minute.

We have been blessed these past few days with warmer weather and I have enjoyed walking around our property, soaking up some fresh air and sunshine and having the opportunity to clear my mind and pray.  The other thing I am trying to do is come up with a schedule for this semester's studies and activities, and to get re-invigorated and get my children re-invigorated with the joy of learning.  One thing I have found is that usually if I am enthusiastic about learning and working with my children, they are enthusiastic as well.  It seems if there is a goal to work toward or something to hope for and something to get excitied about, it really helps.  Of course we all need to be able to push through drudgery when there are things to do that we don't want to do, but if there is a goal and there is hope in the end, it makes the drudgery bearable.

Amanda, my oldest child, who has been homeschooled all of her life, will be turning 18 on January 23rd.  It is hard to believe that she is that first little baby of mine who introduced me to pregnancy, childbirth and motherhood so many years ago!  I have to say that she is a "mother's helper dream" and God really knew what He was doing when He allowed me 3 and 1/2 years between Amanda and Rachel, my precious and delightful second-born.  I say He knew what He was doing because the next couple of babies were 17 months to 2 years apart, and having an older helper was indispensible to me.  Now I sometimes see her typing away at the kitchen table on her screenplay and sometimes she has little Ben (18 months)in her lap who seems content just to look at the screen and be in her lap.  Other times Beth (3)will crawl up in the chair beside her and start scribbling on some paper, happy to feel grown-up (as long as she is not scribbling on Amanda's notes!)  Once in a while, if Amanda has temporarily abandoned her post, little David (5) might have a seat and type an IM message to one of her friends.  She told me the other day that he has done that, when I mentioned how sweet it was that Rachel was showing David how to do something on the computer.   "Yes, he is cute, but I don't like it when he IM's my friends!"  She was laughing when she said that, and I had no idea he could do that.  David can actually read and write quite a bit for a little fellow who is just starting formal phonics.  He knows a lot of math facts already, but that is because he hangs out with the other children when they are doing math drills.  He really likes numbers.

I have told Amanda sometimes that she reminds me of John-boy Walton, in those episodes when all he wanted to do was get some privacy from the bustling household and interruptions of siblings so he could write.  She doesn't really complain, though, she just keeps writing and keeps at her projects, and keeps at her courses, and keeps loving her brothers and sisters, and keeps helping me.  I told her that if she can write in the midst of this household, she would certainly be able to write as a wife and mother, should that time come.  I have to say when she is painting as well, she often has a little child by her side, painting on his or her own little pallet.  The little ones just love to be with her, and she is patient enough to allow them the priviledge of her company.

So I have bragged a little on Amanda, and I think in other blogs, the Lord willing, I will brag on the rest of my children.  They truly are blessings, and I am truly thankful for each and every one of them.

May you be blessed as you spend time with your children teaching them and inspiring them and may we all learn of Jesus and lead our little ones to Him, over and over!

Chris

A few years ago I shared the following thoughts with a homeschool group I co-lead with another homeschooling mom.  I found this today as I was looking for something else, and thought I would share it now as many of us are  taking some time to write out goals, and re-evaluate the things we are doing.  Perhaps it would benefit someone.

I wrote the following in April 2005:

Here is a quote from the book, Home Built Discipline, by the late Dr. Raymond and Dorothy Moore:

"In 1960 Horizon magazine published the Smithsonian Institution report on the development of genius, authored by North Carolina University psychologist, Harold McCurdy, who studied characteristics of great geniuses and leaders through the ages.  The Smithsonian recipe for genius includes (1) "a high degree of attention focused upon the child by parents and other adults, expressed in intensive educational measures and, usually, abundant love" ; (2) isolation from other children, especially outside the family; and (3) free exploration under parental guidance (in the sand pile, in encyclopedias, in scientific experiments, in music, arts, history, social service) instead of slavery to adult imagination.*  The parental example and response reign as constructive and preventive influences in family discipline."  (p.106)

*Harold G. McCurdy, "The Childhood Pattern of Genius," Horizon 3 (May 1960): 33-8.

Other quotes taken from the book Home Built Discipline:

"Play is to children what work is to adults, and most often their play copies adults' work." p. 107

"When you are building great character in your children, you might consider which house can better stand in a storm:  one that was built deliberately with careful planning - on concrete that was dry, with wood that was well seasoned, and all finished out with loving care - or one that was built in a rush - on uncured concrete, with green, warping wood, by speculators, in a hurry.  It never pays to rush children." p. 109.

"Parenting is a daily testing process.  And this is good.  It challenges you to be a better person, for you are under scrutiny.  In a sense your children are testing you in one way or another every moment." p. 133.

THINGS TO FOCUS ON AS WE LOVE AND NURTURE OUR CHILDREN

1. Seek the Lord first, and then bring to Him everything that concerns you and your family.  Do this continually, on your own and with your family.

2. Meet your family's needs by establishing order and discipline with heavy, heavy, heavy doses of love and forgiveness.  Work on establishing good habits!  Don't get discouraged!  When you have disaster days or even disaster weeks, don't give up and quit.  Keep at it.  This is how you become an overcomer and you learn to be patient and persevere.

3. Model kindness and service, and teach your children to do this, too, first with you and then on his/her own.

4. Feed your family the best food you possibly can. Watch over their health and pray over their health, too.

5. Enjoy being a wife, enjoy being a mother and enjoy homeschooling.  The Lord wants us to be joyful!

6. Incorporate beauty into your life.  When you put classical music on in the background and look at pictures of great works of art with your child, you are teaching music and art appreciation.  Expose children to beautiful, well-made things and works of art and you are helping them to appreciate excellence.

7. Cultivate encouragement.  Appreciate your child and be complimentary of his/her efforts.  Also be thankful for efforts your child makes, even if there is much room for improvement.

NURTURING NUTRITION IDEAS:

1. If you have never eaten brown rice, try it.  A rice cooker helps to make fluffier brown rice.  Add lots of butter and sea salt or other seasonings and you will like it!

2. Use butter, olive oil, and coconut oil liberally.  Also use whole milk and whole milk products.  Children especially need good saturated fats, and contray to popular opinion, saturated fat does not clog your arteries.  Hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated vegetable oils and lots of refined carbohydrates and sugar does contribute to plaque.

3. Eating whole grains like soaked beans, freshly ground wheat and brown rice give you many more vitamins and mineral and also fiber.  Adding freshly ground flax seed to muffins, breads and biscuits also greatly boosts the nutritional value and is good for digestion.

4. The less additives, colorings and preservatives in food, the better.  Sometimes people have hidden allergies to these things, and it causes behavior problems and health problems.  When they avoid these things, the problem goes away or is greatly reduced.

5. Eat as much raw and cooked vegetables and fruits as you like.  Some vegetables such as spinach are actually better cooked because the minerals become more absorbable. (And make sure you add some butter!)

6. Eat full-fat yogurt or take a probiotic (such as acidophilus) supplement if you have ever in your life had antibiotics.  This helps to balance your good bacteria with the yeast in your body. A really yummy thing to do is to make or buy plain yogurt, then add frozen blueberries and maple syrup (grade B is best as it has more minerals and is less refined).  Talk about delicious, plus blueberries are one of the highest anti-oxident fruits there is!

7. Consider a good multi-vitamin for yourself and your child.  Also consider giving cod liver oil to your child and take it yourself!  It is rich in omega 3 essential fatty acids, EPA and DHA, vitamins A and D.  Children need these and so do adults to help ward off diseases.  We take our cod liver oil (Carlson's Cod Liver Oil with lemon in the green bottle) in a little bit of fruit juice made with fruit juice concentrates and no added sugar).  My children drink it willingly and it does not taste fishy.

8. Get exercise and fresh air and sunshine as often as possible.  Walking is a fantastic, whole body exercise.

9. Get plenty of sleep.  This is often easier said than done, but do make the effort and ask the Lord to help you.  Take time to relax!

And finally, dwell on these verses from Ephesians:

"For this reason, I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man; so that Christ may dwell in your hearts though faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.  Now to Him who is able to do exceeding abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever.  Amen."

~Ephesians 3: 14-21

May you be richly blessed as you seek to serve the Lord by serving your family and educating your children.

Chris

One of the things I have realized lately is that less is more.  That is, when it comes to things and housekeeping, and even clothes and shoes, keeping up with a few good things is easier than a lot of stuff.  I understand everyone knows this is true.  But another thing that has become obvious to me is that wealth is in the eye of the beholder.

When we recently built our guest house, I thought we were going to have to purchase a new table, and some new beds, and even new quilts and comforters.  So I started looking.  But everything I liked seemed to be prohibitive cost-wise.  I thought I needed to run off to the local thrift and antique stores and look for some nicely worn gems to put in our new place.  But the more I thought about all of this, the more anxious I became.  What to do?  Bryan said "Can't we just get the table out of the school room and put it in the guest house, and then move the table the computer is on to the spot where the old dining table was?"  "Oh, no,"  said I.  "That won't do...or I don't know, maybe it would... let me think."  The old dining table was my parents' when I was young, and the old china cabinet that matched it was sitting in Bryan's office holding books behind it's glass doors.  Actually, I hadn't thought of it.  Perhaps it would do, and we could move the china cabinet in there, too, for storage.  Turns out, it did work, and when we moved the china cabinet into the guest house, it forced us to clean out Bryan's office.  Then, I painted an old wall shelf that had been part of the old bathroom in the garage, and it became a nice "new" bookshelf in the living area.  We used beds we already had, with quilts and sheets we already had, and I found  a chair out on the property in the hunting stand that got a fresh coat of paint and some new material on the seat and back and is a "brand new" chair.  All of a sudden, I realized the treasures I had already been blessed with and it hardly cost me a thing.

When we were moving around in the military, I got in the habit of praying over things before I bought them.  Sometimes I would forget to do this, and those were the times I would eventually regret having made those purchases - either it would wind up as broken junk, or it would not be as useful as I thought and end up adding to our weight allowance, or just be more stuff in the way.  And oddly enough, the old furniture my parents handed down to me, that I brought into my marriage, - that is the stuff we still have and still use.  Even when we had enough money to throw it all away and get "nice" stuff, we decided rather to save our money and use the stuff we had.  This has given us the freedom to retire to the country and allows my husband to be at home with us.  I should clarify that it is the Lord who has blessed us and it is He who has accomplished this feat for us because He is our provision.

I suppose what I am really getting at is the impression that has been made on me lately to look at what I already have.  There is always the pull to want more of this or that, to feel the need to try to make a little side income or to figure out a way to have some "extras" or to get more animals or involve my children in more extra-curricular activities (which requires more income) or the need to buy something newer or nicer, but not really necessary.    I suppose this time of year, a few days before Christmas, when we are all pondering what to get and how much to spend, etc.,  we are thinking perhaps about those things we may not need, but just want.   It is not the thing necessarily that is good or bad, but rather the fruit that results from our what we do with it.  I am reminded of   1Timothy 6: 7-8: "But godliness with contentment is great gain.  For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.  And having food and raiment let us be therewith content."

So instead of trying to figure out ways to increase our income or dreaming of ways to 'expand," sometimes it is good just to see what I can do with what I have.  I came up with a list of things I could do that would not cost me anything, but would indeed improve the household or streamline things in some way.  Here is the list:  1) clean out the refrigerator and/or your kitchen pantry - you might find things you didn't know you had. 2)vacume out the car (or have the children do it).  3)make playdough for the children and play with them.  4)make soup from a leftover hambone or chicken or turkey bone - using leftovers and making a mineral-rich broth. (You can even add eggshells to the bones as they are simmering to increase the calcium and mineral content - then remove along with the bones).  5)Go through closets or drawers and give away hand-me-downs or clothes you won't use.  6)file all of your bills, statements and receipts and clean out your desk as you do so.  7) re-arrange the furniture in your living room or another room.  Go around your house and see if there is anything anywhere else that would serve better in another room.  8)Tidy up your bookshelves and organize your curriculum - a good thing to do mid-year.  9) Pop pop-corn and watch a movie with your family.  10) Go for a walk or a picnic with the children, even if it is just in the backyard.  11) Stay home instead of going out for an activity that is not necessary, and realize you are saving gasoline!  12) Take time off from some activity or committment in order to re-focus and re-energize on your priorities.

These ideas are just a few things that can be done that really don't cost money, just some time and effort.  Not all of them are particularly fun, but they are worth doing.  Some things, like filing bills and statements and receipts will really bless you and your household when it is time to find a particular bill or receipt.  I just keep my grocery and other receipts in a big yellow envelope.  And when you get in the habit of doing this, it really isn't that hard to maintain.  And then you know where they are!  I used to not do this, but have found that it is well worth the practice when I needed a packing slip for something that was shipped to me over a year ago: finally I found it after two days of sorting through papers and looking for it!

May we be blessed as we consider how fortunate we are to live in this country.  May we be blessed to realize how much we really have, and how to consider those that really are needy.  May we realize that it really is more blessed to give than to receive, and the value of acts of service which can be just as special as a gift of "things."  Hopefully we can all take some time this season to ponder and plan and pray for the next year and to think of those things that we already have and how we can best use them!

Blessings for a Merry Christmas,

Chris

Recently I was pondering that famous group of verses in Proverbs 31, 10-31.  I know there have been articles and books published studying the implications of these verses, and sermons taught and arguments started, etc., etc.  I even had a friend tell me once, "Oh, I hate that woman."  Women everywhere seem to be so easily intimidated by this "virtuous" or "wise" woman.  She seems too good to be true, too productive and seems to have it all.  She certainly is busy. 

But in all her busyness, one thing she seems to lack - stress. And burnout.  She definitely isn't an angry woman, she is not a sick woman, and she is not depressed.  She doesn't appear to be running around like a chicken with her head cut off, and her family is not mad at her, either.  Hmmm.  I have heard people say that this is not a real person, but rather it is an accumulation of everything that is ideal in a woman - that the qualities listed here are qualities that one might find in a woman who fears the Lord.  I believe therin lies the secret.

It is not about busyness and accomplishing things or being productive or being admired.  It is not about being "perfect" or better than other people.  It is not about being the best woman in the Church, as though it were some sort of contest.  It IS, I have slowly learned, about setting priorities and putting first things first.  Amazing things grow out of obedience, and in due time wonderful, big things can happen.

Prov.31:30 says "Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord shall be praised."  This is the #1, above all else priority over everything.  A woman who fears the Lord.  What does this mean?  It means your entire way of thinking and living is subjected to the Lord.  He is the love of your life.  He is your creator, your redemer, your provider, the One whom you must above all else seek to please and obey.  I have heard people say that you can't please God, because all of your good works are like dirty rags before him.  I know that in terms of trying to save yourself, this is true.  Jesus Christ alone is the way of Salvation - He bore our sins, mine and yours, and by His death and resurrection - His finished work, we are saved.  We are then called to love Him and obey Him, because He first loved us.  This is our first most important work.

Prov. 31:10-12 says "An excellent wife, who can find?  For her worth is far above jewels.  The heart of her husband trusts in her.  And he will have no lack of gain.  She does him good and not evil all the days of her life."  Now obviously, an excellent wife is a rare find.  That is kind of sad to me that an excellent wife would be a hard thing to find.  But if we are excellent wives, we are a priceless asset and not an expensive liability.  If we are excellent wives, our husbands' heart will trust in us.  Do we have our husband's heart?  Really?  Will we handle it with care and will we do our husbands good and not evil all the days of our lives?  Are we really committed?  Ladies, this is the second most important work we can do.

But look with me at 1Peter3:1-8: " In the same way, you wives, be submissive to your own husbands so that even if any of them are disobedient to the word, they may be won without a word by the behavior their wives, as they observe your chaste and respectful behavior.  And let not your adornment be merely external - braiding the hair, and wearing gold jewelry, or putting on dresses; but let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God.  For in this way in former times the holy women also who hoped in God, used to adorn themselves, being submissive to their own husbands.  Thus Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord, and you have become her children if you do what is right without being frightened by any fear. 

You husbands also, likewise, live with your wives in an understanding way, as with a weaker vessel, since she is a woman; and  grant her honor as a fellow heir of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered.  To sum up, let all be harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly, kindhearted, and humble in spirit:" 

In the above verses I highlighted that one sentence to show something that is explicitely precious in the sight of God.  How many times in the Bible do you see those words, that something is precous in the sight of God?  Now, I need to mention that we need to look at the verses before chapter 3, because the first words of chapter 3 say, "In the same way,..."  If you back up to 1Peter2:18-20,  it says, "Servants, be submissive to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and gentle, but to those who are unreasonable.   For this finds favor, if for the sake of conscience toward God a man bears up under sorrows when suffering unjustly.  For what credit is there if, when you sin, and are harshly treated, you endure it with patience?  But if when you do what is right and sufffer for it you patiently endure it, this finds favor with God."

OK, so Peter is telling the wives that they are to submit to their husbands in the same way that servants are to submit to their masters.  I did not say this, the Word of God says this.  Ladies, we are servants first.  We are here to serve.   And we are to specifically serve God first by serving our husbands.  And if our husbands are unreasonable, (as probably everyone is at sometime or other), we are to still submit to them, knowing that God is pleased with this, and that He can fix things that need to be fixed.  God specifically speaks to the husbands in chapter 3 vs. 7, when it says that they are to "live with their wives in an understanding way," and "grant her honor as a fellow heir of the grace of life. so that your prayers may not be hindered."  So if husbands are having trouble getting their prayers heard and answered, perhaps they should read these verses.

So a woman who fears the Lord is going to make it her business to first love and obey the Lord and then love and submit to her husband (if she has a husband.)  If you make it your business to take good care of your husband even over your own needs, and if you do not harbor anger and resentment against him and are happy with what he provides, then I guarentee you there will be peace, joy and much less stress.  If you die to your self, your desires and your selfish ambitions, and instead embrace the Lord's provision, and your husband's efforts at leading you and your home, you will be much happier, healthier, and probably wealthier.  If you are trying to do too much outside of your home or work too much at your own projects inside your home, and you are neglecting your husband and his needs - or if you are taking advantage of his good nature and doing everything you can to take advantage of him and advance your own cause, my friend, this is not virtuous or wise.  It will eventually catch up to you and you will find yourself tearing down your own house, and not building it up.  Would that it could be said of us, as in Prov.31:28-29: "Her children rise up and bless her; Her husband also, and he praises her, saying: Many daughers have done nobly, But you excel them all."

The next thing that strikes me about the Proverbs 31"10-31 verses is that this woman personally prepares food for her household, she does not give this job to her servant girls.  Verse 15 says"She rises also while it is still night, And gives food to her household, And portions to her maidens." I find this interesting.  As a mom of 8 children, I know how important meals are.  I also have a husband who eats almost anything and does not complain very much.  But good meals are important to him.  And when I go the extra mile to make a meal that is one of his favorites, he really appreciates it and it blesses him.  I have 5 daughters, and they all like to help cook.   The other night Amanda and Abby made a delicious dish for our supper while I was grocery shopping and taking Rachel to ballet.  It was a blessing to me to come home and have a clean kitchen with a nutritious supper already prepared.  I want to see to it that my daughters consider it important to prepare good meals for their future husbands and families.  But they do not do this every day.  I consider that my job.  They will have that daily job when they marry and if they never marry and we all live together, then we can share those duties! 

You might say, "Well, cooking is not my thing.  I'm just not very good at it."  I have heard more than one woman say, "I don't cook," or "I don't like to cook very much."  I have to tell you that I used to not like to cook too.  Sometimes I don't like to cook now, to be honest.  But, that does not take away from the fact that it is my job.  I have found when you embrace meal preparation, put some time and energy into doing it, and learn from experience, you eventually reap the rewards, and eventually, you begin to enjoy it.

"She looks well to the ways of her household, And does not eat the bread of idleness." (Prov.31:27) I think this encompasses home education, child-training and nurturing, food preparation and clothing, ordering and organizing the home, preparing for the future and planning ahead, and promoting a loving, harmonious, happy atmosphere where God is readily praised and thanked and people are welcomed.  This is a full-time job and it takes a good long time to make it all happen.  Simplifying is a huge help.  Sometimes you have to focus really hard and ignore some of the loud, intrusive voices that invade your home - whether it is electronic invasion through TV or the internet,  or whether it is the phone ringing off the hook and  people trying to pull you in the wrong direction, taking your focus off of your primary calling,  or whether it is catalogs in the mail or a ladies' group needing assistance only you can provide.  Don't submit to the tyranny of the urgent mentality that is so easily forced on you.  And don't let your girlfriends intrude on your family time.  Friends are important, but they should be down the list after your God, your husband, your children.  We certainly should not be shunning our husbands or neglecting the discipleship of our children because we need some "girl time."  If you have time leftover after the first priorities, for friends and fellowship, then enjoy it to the hilt.

I think all of the other accomplishments the Prov. 31 wise woman has listed comes out of and as a result of, her faithfulness to the 3 main callings in her life : The Lord God, her husband, her children/ household.  If you are a single woman, you are to develop skills that will help you if and when you marry.  If you have a career and you are single, set aside money for when you marry and then use it in some creative way to benefit your household under your husband's authority.  Learn about finance, business, running a household.  Minister to the poor and needy as you can.  And we can minister to the poor and the needy now, as wives in a busy household, as an outpouring of our regular daily duties.

I no longer look at the Prov. 31 woman as a wonder-woman, but I do see her as a wise woman who has set her priorities straight and has a deep love for and committment to, her Lord, her husband, and her children.  This is something we all can do, and as the Lord blesses and helps, who knows what wonderful things will come about.

May you be blessed as you seek the Lord,

Chris

Today I read an article in the current Newsweek magazine which had on its cover the title "Fertility and Diet - How what you eat affects your odds of getting pregnant."   I have to add that on the cover is a side shot of a totally nude pregnant woman which I thought was a little shocking for a "mainstream" magazine.  That aside, the article finally publicized and validated some common sense and it took three Harvard medical researchers to do it.

On the first page of the article, Fats, Carbs And the Science of Conception, the subtitle reads: "In a groundbreaking new book, Harvard researchers look at the role of diet, exercise and weight control in fertility.  Guarantee:  you will be surprised."  Almost instantly I could guess what this surprising information was going to be.   I thought, "Finally, they are going to suggest that woman who are having trouble conceiving eat more saturated fat in their diet, eat more whole grains and fruits and vegetables, and get more moderate exercise (like walking)."  You know what?  I was right!

Actually, as I wrote in an article on our Fair Hills Farm website,  four or five years ago I began studying Weston A. Price's book  Nutrition and Physical Degeneration, which was written almost 80 years ago.  Dr. Price noticed as he traveled throughout the world and studied people who still ate their traditional diets (and didn't consume the refined foods that Americans typically did), that those people were remarkably healthy, had healthy children, did not have the dental decay that many Americans did, and seemed to be happier people.  He examined people from Eskimos to folks living in the Swiss Alps to people on remote Islands as well as tribal people in Africa.  Though these peoples' diets varied because of locality, traditions and basically what was available to them, he found a few things they all had in common.   One main thing in common was that they all consumed plenty of saturated fats (in the form of animal fat, dairy fat, fish and oil which was native to their area) and any grain they consumed was unrefined.   Most diets were very simple, but were packed with nutrition.  It is fair to say they also probably got more exercise than the average sedentary American.

I was so struck with this information because it all made sense, and yet it  contradicted what the world and "medical science" was continually telling us.  We have been told over and over that whole milk is bad for you, that butter will clog your arteries, that meat is bad and margarine is good - that anything lowfat is good and anything that is saturated fat will kill you.  My friends, this is just not true.   Lowfat and NoFat is just not natural and furthermore, eating Lowfat and NoFat and synthetic food is not the way any healthy people ever ate ever before in history.   In fact, I read once that the ancient Hebrews were very fond of saturated fat.  I think the key is to enjoy eating good food, but moderation is the virtue!

Finally it dawns on some Harvard researchers that perhaps our diet in this nation might have something to do with fairly widespread fertility problems.  For some reason, the link between nutrition and conception has not been researched scientifically.  To quote the article, "Farmers, ranchers and animal scientists know more about how nutrition affects fertility in cows, pigs and other commercially important animals than fertility experts know about how it affects reproduction in humans.  There are small hints scattered across medical journals, but few systematic studies of this crucial connection in people." (Newsweek, Dec. 10, 2007.)

So the researchers studied a group of 18,000 women taking part in the Nurse's Health Study, which is a long-term project that studies the effects of diet on health and the development of various chronic diseases.   Each of the women were trying to conceive a baby, and many eventually did.  Of those that did not, the researchers discovered that many suffered from "ovulatory infertility," which means there is a problem with the maturation or the release of, a mature egg every month.  When the researchers compared their diet and lifestyle information with the participants who were able to conceive, they found some information which they translated into strategies to boost fertility.    The information they share in the Newsweek article is adapted from the book The Fertility Diet (by Jorge Chavarro, M.D., Walter C. Willett, M.D., and Patrick J. Skerrett.).

I will sumarize the information here, and you can either then read the article yourself, or get the book.  The first recommendation is to eat "slow carbs, not no carbs."   Basically, if you eat lots of  white bread, potatoes and sugared sodas, you are consuming lots of "fast carbs" and these tend to increase your chances of struggling with ovulatory infertility.  However, slowly digesting carbohydrates which contain fiber, such as whole wheat or dark breads, brown rice and pasta, can improve fertility.  It is also important to note that research shows that consuming these slow carbs before pregnancy can help stabilize mom's blood sugar and prevent gestational diabetes.

The next recommendation is the possibility that ovulatory infertility could be connected to not getting enough fat in the diet.  There hasn't been much research done in this area , but the little that has been done suggests that the more fat in the diet, "and in some cases saturated fat," the more improvement of the menstrual cycle.  The researchers said that the exact type of fat (saturated vs. polyunsaturated) wasn't as keenly studied, but one thing that was noted was that Trans Fat intake definitely caused problems.  The more Trans Fats consumed, the greater the chance of developing ovulatory infertility.  In fact,  to quote the researchers, "We saw an effect even at daily trans fat intakes of about four grams a day.  That is less than the average American gets each day.... To put this into perspective, for someone who eats 2,000 calories a day,  2 percent of calories translates into about 4 grams of trans fat.  That's the amount in two tablespoons of stick margarine, one medium order of fast-food french fries or one doughnut."  That is almost scary information, isn't it?   Throw out that margarine and get some real butter.

There is mention of The Protein Factor, and basically the researchers say that getting more protein from plants and less from animals seemed to be the better way to help fertility.  My take on this is that moderate amounts of protein from beef or chicken should not be bad, however, it would be ideal if we could see to it that it is grass-fed or pasture raised, not fed lots of soy protein or lots of corn or growth hormones which would wreak havoc on your hormones if you eat much of it.  Grass - fed beef has all the good substances in it and very little of what could ever be construed as bad.  Getting more protein from nuts and beans is still a good idea though, provided those are of good quality, too.   We have to remember too, that eggs, especially  fresh eggs from pastured chickens, also make healthy protein servings.

A really interesting bit of information was what the researchers had to say about full-fat dairy products and their effect on fertility.  According to the researchers, "The depth and detail of the Nurses' Health Study database allowed us to see which foods had the biggest effects.  The most potent fertility food from the dairy case was, by far, whole milk, followed by ice cream...The more low-fat dairy products in a woman's diet, the more likely she was to have had trouble getting pregnant.  The more full-fat dairy products in a woman's diet, the less likely she was to have had problems getting pregnant."

And then there was the mention of the roles of body weight and  the importance of exercise.  Concerning body weight, it was best not to be too thin or too overweight.  Both can hinder fertility.  Aiming for being at a healthy weight is the best thing to do in any case.  As for exercise, the researchers said that aiming for the fertility zone, which is atleast thirty minutes of exercise every day, is a good thing to do.  If you are not accustomed to exercising then, start walking 30 minutes a day, every day, even if it is around your yard (like I did for 4 years when we lived in Marion, Alabama).  You might find that the exercise and your ice cream for a snack might be the ticket!  But then, if you are into marathons and you are on the skinny side, maybe slow down and eat more ice cream and whole milk and put butter on your whole wheat bread!

I am glad these Harvard researchers took the time to study and learn on this issue and then make what amounts to common-sense suggestions to the public available.  I encourage anyone interested to read the article or get the book.  I have to say that I firmly believe that God is the God of conception, and no life comes about without His hand.  But we are to be good stewards of our bodies and our children's bodies not just for now, but for the sake of future generations.   Many times the answers to our dilemas are really quite simple.  A simple diet of healthy, good tasting food, moderate exercise, plenty of sleep and a joyful, thankful heart is very good medicine that everyone in this country should have.  I welcome any e-mail or questions to csread07@yahoo.com.

Blessings,

Chris

When I first began this blog, it was my intention to write atleast once a week.  Then I thought if I wrote once a month, that would be better than none.  So it is hard to believe it has been over 5 months since I last wrote.

I am always amazed, whenever I look around at others' blogs, how much people write.  I love to write- I really enjoy it.  But setting aside the time to do such is not an easy thing for me.  There is simply too much going on around here to do that with any frequency.  And I guess it really isn't that big of a priority for me because other things here at home are so much bigger.   Not that I don't enjoy interacting with others on the internet, I just find that during busy days, when I get some free time, I either can't get on the computer or I have something else more pressing.  And when it gets late at night, I can no longer burn the midnight oil like I used to.  I must rest.

So, what have we been doing around here since I last wrote?  Well, thanks be to the Lord, we were able to get our guest house built and furnished inside of our huge detached garage, (which also holds my husband's office).  This took place during July, August and September.  We have enjoyed company over those months as well.  We did some landscaping and some major cleaning -out of the garage that held years of stuff we had accumulated from my husband's 20 years in the Army.  We have been homeschooling.  We have been taking nature walks on our country property.  From daily seatwork to field trips to playing outside to cooking together and baking bread to family devotions to cleaning house together.  Together we live and learn and praise God.

And I guess because this life is so full and so satisfying, I just have to thank the Lord for the precious opportunity to homeschool our children.  Because we homeschool, we can do all of these things together.  I found a poem today that wonderfully describes my vision for our home and homestead in a book called The Country Mother's Cookbook, by Jane Watson Hopping:

                                        The Home At Peace

                  Here is a little world where children play

                     And just a few red roses greet July;

                      Above it smiles God's stretch of summer sky:

                     Here laughter rings to mark the close of day;

                     There is no greater splender far away.

                     Here slumber comes with all her dream

                     supply,

                      And frienship visits as the days go by;

                    Here love and faith keep bitterness at bay.

                     Should up this walk come wealth or smiling fame,

                   Some little treasures might be added here,

                    But life itself would still remain the same:

                    Love is no sweeter in a larger sphere.

                     This little world of ours wherein we live

                     Holds now the richest joys which life can give.

                                             - Edgar A. Guest

It truly seems to me that life moves along in seasons.  There is a time for everything, and now is the time to focus on nurturing the family.  It is time to pour my efforts into those precious souls and do my level best with God's blessing and help to nurture, nourish and disciple.   If my Lord Jesus spent his energies discipling 12 and then within that group even focused more on 3, I must know that it is going to take a good deal of focus for me to minister to 8 children and 1 husband.   Some people have more social energy than I do, and can do more outside of their home than I can.  And some have more external obligations than I do at this time in my life.   We all do what we have to do.    Having said all that, after a busy day,  if I have energy left over and can get to that computer before it is too late, perhaps I can add a blog entry.  If not, I won't.  That is all I can promise at this time!

May the Lord bless and keep you,

Chris

Here are some more pictures we finally finished downloading.  You can see the birthday pictures of "Cuta Ben" who just turned 1 last week.  That red bucket is an antique water bucket holding some of our fire wood kindling (my birthday present this year).  The two front porch pictures show our rocking chairs and some sleeping cats.  The front door picture shows our 10 Commandments plaque and a reflection of the garden in the front door window, then there is the cucumber bed, some of our first harvest of the bush beans and vegetables, then more flower garden pictures and one of the bean plants.

So there you have it.  Now if we can get these on homesteadblogger, too.  I have all these garden pictures and I guess they really ought to go on www.homesteadblogger.com/fairhillsfarm.

Thanks, Amanda!

Yes, we have had some wonderful rain today, and what a delight.  I know there are parts of the country that have had too much rain, but we have been so dry here that the ground has been craving water.  It has been cool and overcast most of the day when it was not raining, and that is a relief, too.

My delightful daughter Amanda downloaded some pictures below for me.  We still have some of little Ben to post, but we haven't gotten around to doing that yet.  Our downstairs computer is still painfully slow at times, and I just can't sit long in front of a computer that is s-l-o-w.  Anyway, you can see that the ground around the garden is dry and brown, but hopefully we will continue to get rain, and the whole area will green up.  Also, you can see our raised beds and fence posts are made out of tree logs we cut down this past year.  Some of the beds are bordered by rocks that we gathered on our property as well.  The motto is, make due with what you have, and when the land gives you rocks and trees, use them the best way you can!  There are lots more rocks that would make good stone masonry projects, and as you can see, a lot more trees!  We already have a good stash of firewood for this upcoming winter.

We have begun harvesting zucchini and tomatoes and the green beans are just about ready.  The lettuce is still edible, but beginning to get bitter.  So far, the potatoes and asparagus are doing well, and the butterfly/ hummingbird and cut flower garden is blooming and I am cheered everytime I look at the pretty flowers.

We have been doing a lot of work on the computer today and so I have something easy for supper tonight.  I put two whole chickens in my large roaster, seasoned them with garlic and onion salt, and am letting them cook for several hours.  Since they were partially frozen, I have the oven set at 375 degrees.  You can just about tell when they are done just by smelling the wonderful aroma.  The chicken comes out so tender and tasty.  At the same time I put the chicken in the oven, I put the brown rice in the rice cooker.  It will be ready whenever we are ready to eat.  I will make some green peas and perhaps some cucumbers and onions,  some cranberry sauce (I am cheating with the canned variety tonight) and  some homemade bread.  I love to make this supper because it is so easy, so tasty, so healthy and filling.  Then, I can make chicken soup tomorrow, the Lord willing and I remember to!

I was thinking today about some of the goals I made out a few years ago for homeschooling and child raising.  It goes without saying that we want our children to be well-educated - and not just well-educated, but also to have the ability and discipline to be good learners and to be able to take initiative in the learning process.  We want our children not just to be saved and be able to defend their faith in Jesus Christ, but to be wholly and completely committed to the Lord and serving His kingdom for their entire lives.  And that is to be able to "run with endurance" the race marked out for them.  So I suppose I should list committment to the Lord first and foremost and in so doing be good servants and workers for His kingdom.  Then to be well-educated and disciplined and skilled in some sort of labor that can also be done from home - both girls and boys.  Why from home?  Because home is where the family is - or where it should be.  And families that work together, learn together, pray together and love each other turn into a team that can be a force for good.  There is always someone to help, someone to play with, someone to pray with, someone to bounce ideas off of.  Is everything always wonderful and smooth sailing?  Of course not.  But that is life.  You learn how to give and take, love and forgive, be patient when wronged, and hang in there when things are difficult.  You learn to grab hands and call on the Name of the Lord at any and all hours of the day or night.

One of the things I really wanted my girls to know how to do is run a household and take care of little ones.  I did not know a thing about babies when I had Amanda 17 years ago, (even though I had taught ladies about breastfeeding as a nursing student  - isn't that laughable?)  But one of the benefits of a large family is that all the older children get the experience of caring for little ones - and from watching Mom's mistakes so that they won't make the same ones with their children!  And they can learn what does and doesn't work for certain things.  They can learn how to organize a household for maximum efficiency - which I also never learned how to do and has taken me years to figure out.  My girls are learning crafts and skills that I did not ever learn as a child or young woman, because I was too busy going to school.  I have to say also that my sons are learning to take care of little ones, too.  They have learned the buddy system.  Joseph helps David get ready for bed and through out the day when he needs it.  I am often amazed at Joseph's gentleness and patience with his little brothers - but he loves them!

One of the things Rachel is really good at is typing.  I didn't learn how to type until I was in college.  Oh I know everyone with a computer has had to learn how to type, but the point is, I took a class to learn how to type.  I bought "Type It" I think it was called, and it was laying around on a table in the school room years ago, and the next thing I know, Rachel had taught herself how to type.  Now she knows how to type -really fast.   And really well.   I think she could be a court reporter without the machine, just using the computer!  This is a definite skill one can use from home.

I think it is exciting to try to figure out what each child's gifts and talents are.  I have been praying for years that each of our children would learn how to use their giftings and talents for the Lord and in doing the things He has called them to do.  Hopefully they will grow up having more of an idea of where their strengths and weaknesses lie and what they are good at, etc. and be able to their strengths in a fruitful manner.  I remember trying to answer a career questionaire in high school about what my gifts and talents and likes and dislikes were.  I had the hardest time filling that out, because I wasn't sure about so many of the answers, and had never taken the time to consider them.  I was just following what I was told to do, deciding on a "career" that the world had said was a good idea and just doing what everyone else was, going from high school to college.  It took me 5 and 1/2 years to finish a 4 year college, and then I went to work.  I was rescued from the rat race by my husband, who was glad to have me stay at home and be a homemaker, and I was glad and ever-so-thankful for the opportunity.  Finally I could learn how to cook and clean a house.  Finally I could read some good books (I only had time to read cliff notes in high school and college :() ).  Finally I learned to sew when my husband gave me a sewing machine for Christmas (he had seen me trying to make curtains sewing by hand).  Finally I could write!  Finally I could take the time to do the things I had always felt called to do, but was never given the time or opportunity.  Now I am learning how to make a little income from home in a lot of different ways.  I thank the Lord for my husband and my children and for the priveledge of staying home and taking care of them.  Oh, the joys and the adventures and the sweetness.

Be Blessed!

"In all labor there is profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty." ~Proverbs 14:23

It is hard to believe that the month of June is almost half over already!  Yesterday our sweet little Ben celebrated his first birthday!  He has brought such joy to the whole household - he makes us smile and laugh and is such a sweet-tempered little guy.  Hopefully Amanda will download our pictures soon so you can see him enjoying the cake Grandmama made for him.

These long days of summer are such a delight to me, even though we have had hot and dry days this year.  It gets into the 90's almost every day lately, but the evenings cool off.  Last night we all sat out on the front porch in the rocking chairs and the swing and listened to the frogs singing down at the pond, and the crickets chirping and the wonderful country quiet.  There was a gentle breeze and every now and then, a lightening bug would flash.  My Mom and Dad in-law talked about growing up in this southern county and how much simpler things were.  These moments are sweeter than the honeysuckle growing on our property!

We are waiting for our tomatoes to ripen and the zucchini to get a little bigger.  We have already gotten some peppers which my husband said were not  "too hot."  The lettuce is still good and has not yet become bitter, and the flowers in the butterfly and humingbird garden are starting to bloom!  I planted asparagus in two beds a few weeks ago and they are really coming up.  The potatoes' flowers are coming up as well.  We have mulched the blueberry plants and the fruit trees and I am trying to make sure they get enough water during this drought so they can establish strong root systems.  We planted these after we moved in almost 2 years ago, and hopefully they will bear fruit next year, the Lord willing. One thing I have noticed continually on my walks through the woods and fields on our little farm, is that the Lord has the most beautiful wildflowers growing, and the most succulent blackberries!  No human planted them, and no one tends to them, yet they thrive beautifully!  I am so thankful for God's provision!

One thing that I learned about yesterday I simply must share with you all.  It is extremely exciting to me.  If you work hard at home taking care of the household, the children, your husband and homeschool and maybe even keep a garden or sew or make crafts, then you know you work hard.  You don't have the cash in hand to show for all of your efforts, but you are satisfied that all of your work is more than worth it, since this is your calling, and you love it and you love your family, and you love your Lord God!  It is your life and the calling the Lord God has given you.  But one time I was talking with a friend and we were discussing how we wish that we had been trained to earn money from home like the Proverbs 31 woman so that we had extra to give away and to help others with and to maybe upgrade some things in the house.  I am college -educated with a bachelor of science in Nursing, but this does not really help me make money from home.  It would require me to work outside of the home, and be an employee.  But as my friend said, "I don't make any money, I just consume it.  I buy things - I spend the money - I don't earn any money."  Now this is a woman who has done very well living on a budget, practicing hospitality continually and homeschooling 6 children.  She has been her husband's helpmate, and an outstanding one, but she was bemoaning that she couldn't add to the family's income, because she didn't know how to.  This is many a woman's dillema since we were never taught a skill that would help us bring in a little money.  I am hoping to change this for my daughters by helping them develop skills they can use at home to bring in a little income.

But what about us?   Do you ever shop online?  Are there things that you must purchase for your family, and you use stores online to make the whole process easier? I sure do!  Well, here is an amazing, simple answer that is fairly new and that you most likely have never heard of.  It is called My Power Mall.  In short, you sign up for your own online mall for free.  There is no cost, no catch, EVER.  When you sign up for your mall, you then go to your mall whenever you want to buy something.  Now when I say mall, I am talking about hundreds of stores, including namebrand stores like landsend.com, vitacost.com, homedepot.com, Orvis, Gap, Old Navy, Gardener's Supply, Garden's Alive, Jackson and Perkins, Dell Computers, and on and on and on.  Have you ever shopped at any of these or any other stores that are well known and even some that aren't so well known like a speciallty store?  Probably it is in your own mall now.  When you make a purchase from your mall, you get a commission.  Every time you do your own shopping, you get paid for it.  Why?  Because this is advertising for the stores you buy from.  (They have to pay somebody.)  I guess this is sort of like a discount club, only there is no membership fee and you get a commission check instead.  Now, here is the clincher.  If you sign up to be a My Power Mall business instead of a My Power Mall personal member, then you will get a commission for every person you refer or sign up under your mall.  Basically, you tell others about this opportunity, they sign up under you and so on.  No one pays anything, you just purchase what you are going to purchase anyway from the stores you prefer or are used to buying from.  What a great concept.  This is a great opportunity for organizations to earn some income for charitable causes as well, and ministries that need funds.  Think about it!  For more information, go to this link, and talk to your husband and see what he says.  Read the info or watch the online video and check it all out.  The My Power Mall motto is "Harnessing the Power of Online Spending To Change Lives."  Go To:

                                                   http://www.mypowermall.com/Biz/Home/10985

I pray that all who venture to this blog today would be blessed by the Lord and encouraged to seek Him.  "For the Scripture says, "WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED." ~Romans 10:11.

I haven't been able to set aside time to do any blogging in the last 12 days or so, as I have been on a cleaning and organizing spree, both inside and outside of the house.  We also had company last week for several days, which we loved and enjoyed.  And, when it comes down to getting on the computer or taking care of little children, the computer loses!  That's OK, too.  After all, my real calling in life at this time is wife and mother and homemaker, not blogger.  So, first things first, and one thing at a time.

We have been in this current home for almost two years.  I learned from our military life that usually about the time you got good and settled, it was time to move again.  And we moved, on average, every 2 years or so, though twice we stayed in one place for 3 or more years.  Now that we have been here a while, we have been able to sort through and clean out the garage.  A few weeks ago, I decided to go through mine and everyone elses (except my husband's) clothes.  Ordinarily this would be an overwhelming job, but I realized that it probably was a bigger job in my mind than it was in actuality.  That turned out to be true. 

To simplify the process, I got out the big, black garbage bags.  The best ones are the thick, oversized leaf bags.  I went through my closet and drawers, and put everything that was in good shape, but had not been worn in 2 or 3 years (regardless of whether they fit or not), and put in the give-a-way bag.  The ones that were stained or torn (even if they could be repaired but I knew that I would not get around to it), I put in the throw-a-way bag.  A few things I handed down to my daughters, but then I was going to go through that process with them as well, so I thought carefully about whether they really needed my hand-me-downs or not.  In a few hours my closet and drawers were cleaned out and organized, and I had a couple of neat, large trash bags to show for it.  I put these in the garage to await their destinies.

I didn't get around to the children's rooms until several days later, and some clothes sat out for a few days until I could finish up.  The children enjoyed helping me, because over the years, people have given us some really nice clothes that they never got around to wearing.  So we decided that we needed to pass them on for others to use.  If we ever needed to, we could buy more.  The more important task was to make their closets organized so they could neatly keep up with things, and would feel encouraged everytime they opened up their closets to put things away.  Taking about half of the stuff out of their closets and drawers was helpful for us, because we really don't need that much stuff to live our daily lives.  I and the children tend to wear the same things over and over until they are worn out.  So a couple of every day outfits and a few dressy outfits are all we need. And I am really learning that in a houseful of people, less is more.  The less we have to put away, the cleaner the house stays.  The less clothing we use, the less laundry there is.  When we know we don't "need" any more toys or clothes right now, we don't buy them, and thus save money.  The less junk you have, the less time you spend organizing it or trying to figure out where to put it or cleaning it or cleaning around it.

This applies to outside as well.  Because our garden spot is down a slope in the front of our home beyond our yard (because the former owners installed a sprinkler system hooked up to the well water and already had a garden spot, we sort of had to stick to that area, even though I don't think I would have picked out that area had it been my choice), it needs to be neat and attractive.  We decided that we had to fence it in because the cats on our little farm think that everytime you till up an area, it is for them to go potty.  So we made a rustic fence out of trees we cut down on our property and deer netting.  Now so far,  the cats have not used our garden beds for their outhouse.  Thanks be to God for that!  We are trying really hard to keep the garden clean, keep the tools put away when we aren't using them, and not leave plastic buckets or bags of compost sitting around skullying up the landscape.  People might think I am a little over-board on this, but it is so much easier to take care of now.  We also put weed mat down between the beds, and put straw on top.  This makes it easier to walk on and it looks clean and it is keeping the weeds from growing out of control between the beds.  This makes being in the garden more pleasant, and, as the weather gets hotter and the weeds grow faster and the bugs come out, we will be glad we went to that initial trouble.  It is true that "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."

My good friend Burt, who with her family visited last week, made the point that "God gives grace for the moment, and not before."  What she meant was that God gives us grace to do the tasks we need to do at the right time.  Sometimes a job sits on my to-do list or in the back of my mind for a long time before I ever get around to doing it.  This is why I have to lift my plans up to the Lord in prayer, so that as He wills, I might have the grace to accomplish something with His help.  When things work like this, things get done and it is not totally exhausting, but rather invigorating!

Enjoy the month of May!

I will rejoice and be glad in it!  We have been very busy these days working on our farm.  It is that time of year when we are working in the garden, planting flowers, and cutting down trees and clearing brush.  In addition, we are trying to get our pasture re-planted with a good pasture mix, but it has been so dry, nothing has come up yet.  We are still waiting on a good rain.

Yesterday, my husband and I decided we would burn the brush pile from last week's clearing, and cut down some more trees in the orchard area.  So after a quick breakfast of cinnamon toast, and after the middlin's did their seatwork, I nursed baby Ben and put him down in his play pen, and left Rachel to wash some pots and pans and look after the little ones.  Amanda was doing chicken chores, so someone had to stay inside to watch Ben and Beth.  Everyone else went outside to work.

We thought we were going to get some thunderstorms in the afternoon, so we worked and worked.  I don't know how long we worked, (atleast a few hours), but after a couple of water breaks, the tired children finally got the OK to go swimming.  When we bought our place almost two years ago, it came with a pool.  My husband has become quite a pool-care expert, so when he decided to take the cover off last weekend, it took him a few days to get it "swimable."  But now it is sparkling clear, and the children are delighted to get their "physical education" time in the pool.

On days like this, I am usually working outside until dark.  When I think ahead, I usually have something cooking in the oven or in the crockpot.  Sometimes Amanda and Rachel fix supper so I can work longer in the garden, but this night Bryan had a meeting at 6pm, and the children were still in the pool, so I just let the big girls keep working on their projects and I thought we would have something simple and quick, and just eat later when Bryan got home.  I decided we would have Cowboy beans, Coleslaw and Corn.  Usually we would have homemade bread with it, but we were out of it (will make some tomorrow).  Cowboy beans go really well with "Texas toast" which is buttered bread gently broiled to a light toast in the oven, or lightly toasted in a pan on the stove.  Anyway I will share these simple recipes:

COWBOY BEANS:  Brown 2 or 2 and 1/2 pounds of ground beef or venison with a chopped onion and drain.  Add a large can of baked beans, 3 good squirts of ketchup and mustard, a 1/4 cup of sucanat with honey or maple syrup or sugar, and garlic salt and pepper to taste.  Let simmer on low for 10 minutes or so. Yum.

COLESLAW:  The quickest recipe is to take 2 bags of the shredded cabbage and put in a large bowl.  Add a chopped onion, 3 tablespoons of mayonaise, 1 and 1/2 tablespoons raw apple cider vinegar (or regular vinegar if that is what you have),  and garlic salt, celery salt, dill weed, chives, and pepper to taste.  Stir and mix well.  Delicious.

CORN:  I just bring water to a boil on the stove and add a bag or two of frozen corn.  Let the corn come to a boil, then turn off the heat.  Drain and add butter.  My children love this.

This simple meal satisfied my family of 10.  Of course, some of us had ice cream for dessert, but we definitely burned off the energy today!

I was so inspired by this week's Homeschool Minute on "better late than early."   I remember when Amanda (our oldest child) was a toddler, I began to research with much gusto, the topic of homeschooling.  I had read a couple of Mary Pride's books and remember her saying in one that "if you can potty-train a child, you can teach him or her to read.  Potty training is much harder."  She also said somewhere that people get too uptight about their children not being potty-trained soon enough.  She said "Have you ever seen a normal 16 year old that couldn't use the bathroom?"  This I keep remembering as my precious 4 year old son seems to be taking "longer than the others" to get the hang of consistent potty use.  Some how Mary Pride's words encouraged me that childraising and educating did not have to be complicated, and many times simplifying, cutting too much drudgery and just living life together made all the difference in both parent's and children's attitudes.

I still love to read about and research new curriculum, and try new things when it suits us.  But what I learned early on, is that each child is different, born with different gifts and learning styles, and many times a different calling from God.  Honestly, a one-size fits all curriculum has never suited us, and a structured, stiff schedule at home has never worked for us, nor has a 9 month school year.  Early in our homeschooling adventure, I began to be inspired to collect good literature, good reference books, good tools of learning and good art materials.  We bought things when we could, and I considered that an investment in our education.   If we had lots of good books that were fun to look at and had good stories, if the children saw me enjoying books, and if we had good read aloud times, perhaps they would be inspired to read even on their own and learn to do research on their own.Now we have an extrememly print-rich environment, and we have some beautiful built-in bookcases in our downstairs family room/school room that holds books that we have had for years, and that have become some of our children's favorite reads.  Early on, I began reading aloud to our children - during the "school" day, before bedtime, over the holdiays, during summer time as well as during the "school year."  I began to notice that the children really did listen well, and really did learn things seemingly effortlessly, as Charlotte Mason attested to, when they were paying attention.  Talk about an easy way to "do school." 

And the easiest way to get a child to start writing is to give them a notebook and encourage them to keep a journal.  Actually, I started giving our children a Christian Daily Planner each Christmas that had a calendar and a lined space for daily entries.  Now they write a little in it each night before bed and have found that it is fun to go back an read through years later.  We all then remember things we never would have otherwise because the children are keeping journals.  The other easy way is to let them e-mail their friends and extended family members.  They can courtesy copy you or get your approval first before sending, if they need any correction.  I had one reluctant writer that has become quite a good writer starting out this way.  If I had beat this child over the head doing the traditional drudgery creative writing techniqes, it would have been unnecessarily painful for both of us and perhaps would have completely put out any fire of creativity that was there.  I thank God for real-life alternatives with homeschooling!

Not long ago, my husband noted that several of our children were gathered at the big table in our dining area, working on their seatwork.  He just smiled and walked away and said, "They seem to not realize it was Saturday, so I just figured I wouldn't say anything and just let them work away at their schoolwork."  Later on, he had everyone outside in the fields burning brush we had cut down.  There is definitely a good place for work, and working together in a homeschool lifestyle of learning.  Call it a lifestyle of living, learning and working.  Dr. Raymond Moore has it so right that when you give a child some meaningful work, it brings a reluctant child out of his or her shell, it gives them some responsibility and teaches decision-making, and not to mention perseverence and tenacity to see a job through.  These are real-life skills that you generally don't find in the traditional school setting.

I have to close by mentioning something I read that John Taylor Gatto wrote in Dumbing Us Down.  He writes that most everything a child needs to know for basic education - reading, writing and arithmetic, can be taught in about 100 hours, especially when the child is ready and able and wanting to learn.  And once a child learns these basics, he can then teach himself anything or go on then to higher education.  So think of all that wasted time that a school system has to fill up with busy work and programs and recess -  to fill up and waste 12 years of a child's life.  And when you think that our primary job as christian parents is to teach and share the gospel of Jesus Christ with our children - to teach them to pray and pray with them, to teach them the Bible and learn with them, and to teach them to live by faith - and to live by faith with them, and to teach them to love and forgive and do this with them - then who has the time to waste sending them off to others who will teach them to do exactly the opposite of what we have been called by God to do?

I find myself this evening really hoping we get some rain tomorrow.  For the last week or so it seems I have been working hard outside, trying to get our garden planted, trying to revive flower beds after the spring frost, still planting grass seed in bare spots, picking up lots of rocks, weed-eating, etc.  The children have been helping outside as well, and always someone has to be inside watching the baby, or listening out for him.  I love to be outside, especially in the springtime.  But the more I am outside, the more the work piles up inside the house.

So, the laundry is getting backed up, there are bills that need to be paid, there is school planning that needs to be done, and some writing and correspondence that waits.  I am thinking that if it would just rain all day long, I would have to stay inside and get this other work done.  And, I wouldn't then have to worry about watering all those newly planted beds that seem to dry out way too quickly!

For anyone who might read this blog, let me leave you with this verse, which I love, from 3John 1:2: "Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth."

As I am looking out the window at the clouds beginning to roll in and the balmy breeze flowing through the trees, I am pondering once again the challenges of freedom.  With all freedom comes the challenges of making yourself choose to do the right things, when no one is standing there lording it over you!   So it is with homeschooling and homemaking.  Being an introvert by nature, I always enjoy working by myself and quietly going on about my business.  With a houseful of children and a husband who works from home now, I don't get very many opportunities to just go about my business by myself!  But, hey, this is what I love - there is never a dull moment around here.

Yesterday, as Amanda and I were sipping our coffee on the front porch and discussing the challenges of implementing a daily schedule in our home that is so given to interruption, we noted that when you don't have to get up and be somewhere early in the morning, it is much harder to get yourself in bed early and then get up early.  You find yourself  reasoning, "Well, we don't HAVE to be anywhere,  at 8:00am, and we don't HAVE to get everything done by noon, etc.   It reminds me of friends of mine during college who refused to take independent study courses because, they said, they would never do anything if a professor didn't give them assignments to which they were accountable.  I think this is the challenge that all "stay-at-home" moms face (since they don't have a job to get up and go to) and especially homeschooling moms.  It is up to us to get things going and work at making ourselves accomplish things and stimulate accomlishment in our children.  May the Lord God help us to do "with all our might" the things He has given us to do, and to have wisdom to train up our children to do the same.  May the Lord help all of us parents and children to work with all our might at our tasks, and in so doing, find joy and strength for race which is before us!

This is an article written for our website, www.fairhillsfarm.com.  It is featured under the page, "Nurturing The Generations - For Moms and Moms-to-be". 

A subject dear to my heart is the topic of motherhood and
health.  You see, the health of the generations begins with
the health of the mother.  The father’s health is important
also, but because mom carries the baby in the womb, she
is the one whose body nourishes that little one’s.  And,
because she is the one who gives birth, and then can
sustain and nourish the baby with her milk, she is the
one who continues to give of herself – almost emptying
herself- for the good of her child.  For a first-time mom,
this is a new, sometimes overwhelming and exciting
time.  For a mom with several children or perhaps many
already, it is a familiar sweetness in addition to
managing a bustling household.

I want to mention here a very important book I have read
and re-read.  It is called A Natural Guide to Pregnancy
and Postpartum Health by Dr. Dean Raffelock and Robert
Rountree, M.D.  This is “the first book by doctors that
really addresses pregnancy recovery.”  If you have ever
had a baby, you will want to read this book.  Even if you
had your last baby 10 years ago, you might be surprised
to learn that perhaps you have never recovered
completely.  There are many physical, mental, and
emotional complaints that can be traced back to
hormonal imbalance, nutrient deficiencies or adrenal
exhaustion that stem from not fully recovering from
giving birth and nourishing a baby.  

In this day and age, we deal with constant bombardments
of stress in many different forms that did not exist even
100 years ago.  Moms are expected to run households on
a shoestring, teach multiple children, bring in an
income, host various functions, keep a neat and orderly
home, prepare delicious meals, keep a happy
countenance and still set aside time to exercise and get
enough sleep.  In short, many of us expect that we are to
be everything to everyone simply because that is our job
description.  Of course, no one can be wonder woman
and we should not put stress on ourselves that ought not
be there.  But that is easier said than done, right?

I mention all of this really to bring into focus how
important it is that we get the nutrients our bodies need
in order to function properly as God intended.  The more
stress we deal with, the more important it is that we are
properly nourished and properly rested.  My definition of
stress is “more demands than you have resources.”  I
firmly believe that God’s grace is sufficient, don’t get me
wrong.  But just like the plaque I used to see in a friend’s
kitchen that said, “God blesses this kitchen but He doesn’
t clean it,” there are practical realities in this life that
lend itself to being particularly stressful at times, even
when we are bountifully  blessed!  

In this section I will include some articles by Dr.
Raffelock so you can see and understand the tremendous
importance of replenishing your body after having a baby,
and also the importance of establishing good nutritional
habits before you have a baby, as well as while you are
raising up the next generation of child-bearers.  In times
past, I believe there was generally more wisdom passed
on from grandmother to mother to daughter about things
such as traditional food preparation.  Also, I think there
was more support for the new mother and more
household help, allowing her longer periods of time to
rest and recuperate after giving birth.  It seems that was a
luxury of yester-year that I would like to bring back!

In addition to Dr. Raffelock’s articles, I want to mention
the supplements that he created called  After Baby
Boost  and  Before Baby Boost.   After Baby Boost is the
only supplement I know of that has nutrients in it that
specifically target deficiencies women are known to have
after giving birth.  There are plenty of examples of women
who had not had a baby in years that were suffering from
ailments that cleared up when the nutrient deficiencies
were addressed.  I personally take these vitamins and
have found them to help me, and I highly recommend
them.

After Baby Boost is safe and good for nursing mothers
and is even recommended to take for 2 years postpartum,
though many women continue taking it beyond that.  
Before Baby Boost is a new pre-natal vitamin that will
also help to build up nutrient reserves in preparation for
birth, so that the new mom is better prepared for the rigors
of childbirth and the postpartum period, and to make sure
the developing baby has plenty of nutrients to grow
strong and healthy.

Another common problem postpartum women face many
times is a hormonal imbalance, and usually it is
predominantly a progesterone deficiency.  The pregnant
woman’s body makes a huge amount of progesterone to
sustain a developing baby.  After birth, that amount
plummets down to zero.  In the succeeding months
afterward, the levels may remain way down, leaving the
woman vulnerable to a variety of complaints, not the least
of which is postpartum depression or emotional
problems.  When a woman’s hormones are imbalanced,
stress or illness will magnify that and the resulting effect
will either be turned inward (self) or outward (towards
others).

Many women have found relief using progesterone
cream.  The absolute best progesterone cream I know of is
Oasis Serene Progesterone Cream.  It is an all-natural
bio identical 100% USP Progesterone and does not
contain any dangerous chemicals or preservatives or any
herbs that might cause disruption in a nursing mother
such as Black Cohosh.  This is another product that I use
personally and highly recommend to anyone needing a
good, clean, effective progesterone cream that is
reasonably priced.

Progesterone cream, I might add, has been shown to help
women who were susceptible to miscarriage, and also
actually prevent postpartum depression, when used
throughout pregnancy and then started again several
days after birth.

To purchase After Baby Boost,
Before Baby Boost, or an
autographed copy of A Natural
Guide To Pregnancy and
Postpartum Health, go to
www.pregancyrecovery.com.

Be sure to select Fair Hills
Farm on the "select source"
box when checking out.

This is an article written for our website, www.fairhillsfarm.com.  It is featured under the page, "Nurturing The Generations". 

12 years ago my parents gave us Kitchen Specialties Whole Grain
Flour Mill from The Urban Homemaker as a Christmas present.  I
began to experiment with grinding wheat into fresh flour and learned
how to make whole wheat bread that didn't come out like a cement
brick!  I found the white winter wheat was lighter in texture and taste
and was quite delicious fresh out of the oven with creamy butter.

At about the same time we began to eat brown rice instead of white
rice.  At first,  I mixed white rice in with the brown in order to "ease" us
into accepting the brown rice taste.  I found a rice cooker to be
indispensable here, because some how the rice stainless cooker
makes it just right.  I used a stainless steel one from The Urban
Homemaker.

We all prefer brown rice now.  Some of my children love Amanda's
Italian dressing sprinkled on it, but it is delicious with butter and
some sea salt.  If you want a special rice, make some brown rice in the
rice cooker or on the stove, and add 2 teaspoons of turmeric to the
water.  When the rice is finished, add butter and salt to taste.  Guests
won't even know it is brown rice!  It is a wonderful yellow color.

Along with learning to grind my own flour and make brown rice
instead of white, we began to make an effort to eat fresh fruit like
bananas and apples, and a raw vegetable like carrots or lettuce in a
salad, and at least one cooked vegetable with suppers.

We didn't do anything big and drastic, but little by little made
improvements to eating more whole, unadulterated foods, which
ended up tasting more statisfying.

Butter is such a wonderful food.  Of course, the best butter is from
healthy, grass-fed cows that spend lots of time on pasture in the fresh
air and sunshine.  We put butter on bread, on rice, on noodles, on
cooked vegetables and in desserts.  For more information on the
health benefits of good butter, go to the Weston A. Price website.  
Butter actually helps the body absorb the nutrients in cooked
vegetables, so that is a good reason to go ahead and add butter to your
veggies!

Some of our favorite breakfasts at Fair Hills Farm are pancakes or
waffles and maple syrup and sausage on the side, grits and fried eggs
or freshly ground oatmeal soaked overnight in lemon juice and water,
and cooked up with apples and cinnamon.  Oatmeal is actually easy
and fast on busy mornings, and is very nourishing.

Another quick breakfast is toast from homemade bread with jam or
sprinkled cinnamon and sucanat with honey.  We use Savannah Gold
dehydrated can juice and honey crystals (formally known as sucanat
with honey) from The Bread Beckers.  We have replaces white sugar
with the Savannah Gold crystals.  I use it to sweeten our iced tea,
coffee and baked goods.  It tastes pretty much like the "sugar in the
raw" products.  It does not have a strong taste at all.

Sometimes I make blueberry muffins or biscuits.  The Bread Beckers
have a great little recipe book available on their website.  I use the
muffin recipe in that book and have adapted it some to suit our tastes.

We began to make our own salad dressing a few years ago when I
noticed one of my daughters broke out around her lips when she ate
store-bought Ranch dressing.  So I took plain sour cream (like the
Daisy brand) and added dried minced onion, chives, garlic salt and
some dill or celery salt.  I added some milk to thin out the mixture a
little.  It is easy, cheap and tastes great.  This is good on salad and for
dipping carrots in.