Provision, Generosity and Frugality...

Provision....Generosity, and Frugality....I'm very excited about this post! I'm going to start, by saying "Thank you, God, for your constant provision for our family!"This picture above is 20 quarts of turkey stock!!! The excitement of this is that one of my best friends does not like turkey very much and gave me 2 turkey carcasses to freeze after the holidays. Well, I pulled them out this morning, and made 20 quarts of golden, rich stock.

I got a huge platter of meat when I deboned them after cooking the stock...I couldn't believe how much meat I was able to get off those bones!

We had so much, I was able to make a large bowl of turkey salad to put on rice cakes for lunch ( my husband, who isn't gluten free had 2 big turkey salad sandwiches)...with some leftover.

I froze a large bag of meat to make Turkey Tetrazzini sometime in the coming weeks, which will feed our family dinner and have some leftovers for lunch as well.

and I took some of the stock and meat and made turkey soup for dinner with thai rice stick noodles....delicious! I have enough of the soup left for another large meal or lunches with some cooked brown rice.

So, thank you, Rhonda, for your generosity! Our family is continuously blessed by you!!!

And....how is that for frugality?! LOL I actually had fun today planning this meal...and this post as well! (my daughters couldn't understand why I was taking pictures of food....for a blog post, of course!) The girls and I even had some time today to run to the yarn store for the supplies to make a special "Dr. Who" scarf for a friend, and to return a gift at Best Buy and get a special old movie tin with 10 old movies that we love.

In a coming post, I want to put into words what God has been doing in my life, and our family for the past 2 years...with simplifying, contentment, organization, and creative frugality...but this meal was such a perfect example...and I am so very, very grateful for God's provision, Rhonda's generosity and God's gift of creativity and creative frugality!!! ~Sue~

Reflections on 2008

Our family is so blessed! On Jessica McDonald's blog, she had a great idea of posting all of what happened that year. This year has been a combination of laughter, tears, blessings and burdens. Our Lord has seen us through it all and for that, I am so thankful! New friends have come into our lives, and we've also been getting together with old friends as well. 2008 was a good year, and God really revealed to us that his way is the best way and his plan is perfect. Here is the lowdown on 2008...

January: Ronnie celebrated his 6th birthday with a huge party with eight little hyper boys... ugh. He had fun, but the noise...Ronnie had his first corrective surgery to re-align his hips, and we pretty much stayed at home during the three months of recuperation.

February: Same ole, same ole... Ronnie was receiving postcards by the pound thanks to my mom's idea: Postcards for Ronnie. She made up a chain email and emailed it to all her friends and family, who in turn emailed it to their family and friends, etc. People we don't know sent the sweetest cards and postcards, most of them from Europe and Asia! That definitely brightened his mood!

March: Ronnie began scooting around on the floor, rejoicing at this new found freedom. Ronnie moved up into the spare bed in Anna's room so it would be easier if he needed his parents at night (His bedroom and Meghan and my bedroom are on the first floor). Again, nothing earth shaking as Ronnie was still in his cast.

April: Ronnie got his body cast off, celebrated my Aunt Pammy's birthday, and went to the aviary where we got a special backstage pass to meet the new penguin, Sid. Ronnie loves penguins (Pittsburgh Penguins...get it?) so he was thrilled. They said because he went through what he did (surgery wise) he deserved something special. We were so grateful to the Pittsburgh Aviary that they thought of him.

May: Finished up school (Meghan: 9th grade. Me: 8th grade. Ronnie: kindergarden.)

June: Summer finally starts... we went to a baby shower for my cousin, other than Church, our bible study, and get togethers with friends it was a pretty slow month.

July: Our adorable cousin Ty was born July 5th, Meghan celebrated her 15th birthday, Daddy celebrated his 46th birthday, we had the oppurtunity to help church friends move to Altoona, and had our dear friends, Michaela and Morgan, sleepover to have fun and eat popcorn.

August: My mom turned 43, our cousins Ben and Crystal tied the knot, as well as a christening for Ty, and a trip to Keystone Lake for a day trip.

September: Ronnie's Cub Scout meetings began with what is probably the biggest den in scout history: 12 boys! Luckily, we're getting a den chief to help encourage the boys and keep order. He also started hockey with Dad as parent coach. He enjoyed it immensly, and so did Dad!

October: For some reason, October was really busy for, of all people, me! I had numerous babysitting jobs, and school too. And we had my costume party. Major fun, I went as Juliet and Meghan went as Meg March.

November: I turned thirteen, Anna turned four, and more babysitting...

December: CHRISTMAS PREPARATIONS... You were with us for all that, so I won't bore you with the details, Ronnie had his second and hopefully last surgery, taking out the metal they put in the first time... he is such a trooper!Then Christmas came and went, New Years came and went...viola! 2008 in a slightly large nutshell!

I wonder what 2009 will hold... hmmm... anyways, that was our year. I'll be back soon to post something new: a tag! Made by me, I will be tagging the first four people who comment on this post. Good Luck!

Sara

An Hour into 2009

Hello all!

It is now almost an hour into 2009. Mum, Dad, Sara and I, stayed up and talked, munched and finished by watching the ball drop. It was a blessedly quiet and calm (for the most part) New Years Eve. We ate a late 'dinner' of philly cheese-steak Gluten Free pizza and salad for those who wanted to be healthy. We had shrimp and cocktail sauce as well and for dessert: root beer floats. Anna sat on the floor tilting her cup and head back to get the last few drops of it. After watching Journey to the Center of the Earth we tucked the littles in and to my personal delight, That's Entertainment II came on TCM. Sara was......less than thrilled but I delightedly kept up a running commentary. All the 'That's Entertainment' documentary films come on TCM on New Years Eve and day. It's always a treat for me.

We had so much fun this past evening and we'll always remember it. At the dinner table, we also reflected on God's goodness in the past year. Ronnie said he was grateful for his 'Blue-Bear' his Leapster, his Darth Vader laptop, and his star-wars-oh, and for God healing him too. (As Mum was quick to remind him.) Anna prayed the sweetest prayer and told the Lord that He was (and I loosely quote): "The best and most perfect God....." She's so sweet. I was grateful for daily, especially lately, being reminded through simple things, of His mercy, grace and love in our lives. I pray that our family may have another year being reminded of the Lord's love, grace and forgiveness. God is so good!

"To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven.

A time to be born and a time to die

A time to plant and a time to pluck what is planted

A time to kill and a time to heal

A time to break down and a time to build up

A time to weep and a time to laugh

A time to mourn and a time to dance

A time to cast away stones and a time to gather stones

A time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing

A time to gain and a time to lose

A time to keep and a time to throw away

A time to tear and a time to sew

A time to keep silence and a time to speak

A time to love and a time to hate

A time of war and a time of peace

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

Yippee!!!! We're Gluten Free!!!! (again!)

Yippee!!!! We're gluten free...again! I've spent the entire day cleaning out my kitchen, rearranging my cabinets, getting all of my gluten free grain and pasta organized...while taking a break perusing past issues of 'Living Without' magazine for inspiration and encouragment...and recipes! Yesterday, we got millet and brown sticky rice ground into flour, so I have a fresh supply...I'm ready.

For those of you who don't know...a little backround...I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia/chronic fatigue in the year 2000. I've also been anemic since I was around 20 years old. When I was finally diagnosed, I did hours and hours of research...what WAS it, what could I do about it, what was in my power to control...and became passionate about nutrition. I researched and bought an electric grain mill ( the only one made in the USA), ground whole wheat and made all of our food from scratch. Well...I felt no better, but assumed that it took time. Then, I had a little boy January 2002...he was nursed exclusively until around 10 months when he started food...but even before he started food, his stools were never normal and he was much gassier and crankier than my first 2 babies were.

We found out when he was around 18 months old, that I was 'sensitive' to wheat, soy and peaches. ( of all things!)...well, when I started googling the symptoms of food sensitivities, all of Ronnie's symptoms became clear and after speaking with the pediatrician, I took him ( and everyone else) off of all gluten and soy. We saw a difference in Ronnie right away...I didn't notice much difference in my pain or fatigue. Then, we switched to natural sweeteners and I noticed a difference. Well...over the years, after having all the children tested, we've discovered multiple sensitivities...Meghan reacts to peanuts, Sara used to get bellyaches from wheat...Ronnie and Anna both do better without wheat...and the last time I was checked, I was reacting strongly to wheat, soy, peaches, potatoes, sweet potatoes, tomatoes and corn. Well...I've been able to cut out almost all of those...but I need more discipline to get rid of them all! LOL

Knowing that Ronnie's surgery was December 3rd, I made the decision not to worry about a special diet for the holidays, starting with Thanksgiving. Well...I started a fibro flare shortly after Ronnie's surgery, then the past 2 weeks...I've been feeling much worse, and sick to my stomach as well. Thought maybe expecting....nope. Thought maybe the stomach virus...nope. I quit gluten 2 days ago, and no stomach upset at all...and a little more energy besides! It was pretty clear to me that I needed to live this way. So, I've been looking back thru past menus, different recipes, and planning my menu for the next 2 weeks...and feel such a peace about it! I know God couldn't possibly make it clearer to me that I need to live this way...along with simply eating fruits and vegetables raw..the way God made them. Will be dusting off my copy of 'Nourishing Traditions' again...making kefir smoothies daily, juicing carrots, and making 'green lemonade' (romaine lettuce, spinach, apples and lemons with filtered water in the blender...it's delicious!)....knowing that I'll feel better, be healthier and so will my family. So to celebrate...we had our gluten free New Years Eve!

We made a wonderful GF pizza crust, baked it, then brushed it with olive oil, added a sprinkle of garlic powder, then put sauteed chipped steak, mushrooms and onions on and put mozzerella cheese on top. It was sooooo good! With a salad, with garlic vinigrette, and some cold shrimp. Now we're watching a good movie with a roaring fire in the fireplace( while the wind blows and it snows outside)...then some special rootbear floats for dessert. What a great way to ring in the new year...we're all together as a family, remembering what we are thankful for over the past year, having some special food...mostly healthy ( minus the floats!)...and gluten free! I'm actually looking forward to getting back to simple, healthy eating! Here is to a healthy new year! ~Sue~

Homeschool Humor: Part 1

Alrighty, so I'm writing a short humorous book all about the adventures of homeschooling. I am going to try to post excerpts of it once a week. There is nothing bad in it, and it is really funy (If I do say so myself). This week, the excerpt will be from chapter 1. If you don't think it is funny, sorry! I thought it all up originally, so some things might not be funny. Then again, if it came from me, it just might be... So sit back, relax, and get ready for: EVIL PENCIL ATTACK!

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“Mom! Where’d my pencil go? It was right here a minute ago!” A scream peals out over the phone call, educational computer game, and Leapster noises. “Honey, I’m a little busy! Look in the junk drawer!” Mom answers, frantically trying to find her own pen to write down a date for a conference. “Mommy, my crayon disappeared!” Anna tries to get her mother’s attention, but failing. This is what happens at least ten times a day in our house: no writing supplies! Now, like any good mom, my mom goes out at least twice a year and buys out the pencil section of Office Max. She distributes the color coded pencils, normally twenty to each child. Off they go, proudly vowing to keep them all in one place and use one per two weeks. One week later: “Mom, I can’t find my pencil!” Sound familiar? It happens to all, except maybe to the people who attract organization like flies (Ooh, I have always despised that saying!) But why is it that they go and leave us broken hearted? Maybe because they are EVIL!

Evil pencils, you say? You’re probably thinking, “Okay, Sara, time to check you into the asylum!” Don’t worry; I’m not offended; a lot of people have said that to me! Now think back: *THE PASSAGE OF TIME IS WHIRLING* When were you ever mean to pencils? I mean, really diabolically nasty to pencils? Maybe you’ve bitten them out of habit, or even broke off their precious tip while writing furiously. Okay, so those accident s aren’t our fault… but why do pencils hold such a grudge? Because secretly they are evil, human-hating supplies that prey on homeschoolers. What can we do about them? Buy them in bulk, but only distribute one per week per child/adult. That way, when they come around next week complaining about a lost pencil, you can calmly hand them their new weekly pencil, feeling like super mom for finally besting the beast of pencils. Oh, and by the way, have you seen my pencil?

Taste Tester Tuesday!

Oh yeah...it's that time of the week: TASTE TESTING TUESDAY! Here is a recipe that is so incredibly yummy! We brought it to a party and it was a huge hit! Luckily, there was still some leftover for us! Here is the recipe, thought up by Ruth Peterson of Jenison, Michigan. (By the way, it's from Taste of Home, and my mom clipped it out. We don't actually know the person... but she does make a mean nacho dip!)

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Chicken Nacho Dip

(Prep/Total Time: 20 min.)

2 1/2 cups cubed cooked chicken breast

1 can (16 ounces) Refried Beans

1 cup Salsa

3/4 cup chopped onions

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

In a large saucepan, combine the chicken, beans, salsa, and onion; heat through.

Transfer to a serving bowl; sprinkle liberally with cheese.

Serve with tortilla chips, and enjoy!

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We all enjoyed this dish and you could even make it for a New Year's Eve party! Hope Ya like it and remember to check back next tuesday for a new recipe!

Menu plan Monday

Ok...I thought this was a cool idea when I first heard of it, and I think I will try it too. I've been planning our menus for years...saves us tons of money, and with different food sensitivities, as well as rising food costs...it's even more important to me now to really plan ahead. For this week, I'll only post dinners, but in coming I weeks I hope to post breakfast and lunches as well. ( that's how I plan anyway) So...here is this weeks menus! ~Sue~

Monday
Potatoes cooked in chicken broth with a little italian sausage and onion with salad

Tuesday
Chicken and vegetables over brown rice pasta and salad

Wednesday
gluten free philly steak pizzas, cold shrimp, veggies and dip, pintobean natchos with cheese
(after all, it is New Years Eve!)

Thursday
Pork and sauerkraut over potato dumplings

Friday
Oven fried chicken, oven roasted potatoes, carrots, beets and salad

Saturday
Turkey and Rice soup with gluten free cornbread

May the force be with you...

We now know more about Star Wars than we ever wanted to know...Ronnie is so into it! What cracks me up is Ron learning all about it...as he was never into it when he was younger. I held off from much contact with Star Wars until this last surgery, when one of Ronnie's best friends, Aaron, brought the movies over...and I actually watched them with Ronnie. He was hooked, and I was intrigued. We have had so many interesting conversations about good versus evil...and examples of that from the Bible, books, other movies and even a comparison with Pilgrim's Progress! ( we have a dvd of Pilgrim's Progress and Ronnie loves it...again, good versus evil) He also recieved a Star Wars math game for his Leapster and my sister and brother-in-law found him a Darth Vadar laptop...it's completely educational, which makes it so cool....he is learning so much with and having fun...and with 3 more weeks to go before he sees the doctor...it's keeping him productively busy while being relatively still. ( you can't tell from the pictures, but his walker is just out of the picture and he was not rough-housing too much with his dad!)

So...as with everything else in Ronnie's life...he is learning all kinds of character qualities and lessons at his father's side...and we're all encouraging him in discerning good versus evil, bravery, chivalry, perseverance, training, protecting his sisters and mom as well as leadership. And, if that means learning more about Star Wars than we thought we ever would...then we know that the Lord is with us...so the 'force' of the Holy Spirit will guide us and him as he is growing and learning lessons thru life. May the Lord be with all of you! ~Sue~

May the force be with you......................